its being without a transept, declared to be "the most beautiful chapel he had ever seen," is a very fine specimen of Gothic architecture. The great gate is especially admired for its tasteful delicacy. A balustrade runs round the building, which was formerly resplendent with gilding; and on the wall, or entablature, some portions of the Salve Regina, Magnificat, Benedictus, and Tota pulchra es, are inscribed in letters three feet long. The interior has lost a great deal of its splendour; but the chapel of the Virgin, where the body of the principal architect reposes, is still highly worthy of the traveller's attention. His name, we learn from the epitaph which describes his share of the task, was Le Tellier; and, after having been thirty years employed in the work, he died in the year 1484 (l'an mil iiii° quatrevings et quatre), leaving to the church a rent of seven sols and six deniers.1

Caudebec possessed a port so early as 853, since Charles-le-Chauve, by a charter dated that year, presents it, with its port, &c., to the monks of Fontenelle. It was not, however, a place of any importance, or the Normans in their frequent visits to the monastery would not have overlooked its dependency. It was probably not a town till the latter part of the eleventh century; for its church is mentioned by William, in a charter dated Lillebonne, shortly after the conquest of England. At the beginning of the fifteenth century it was surrounded by walls and ditches, and protected by towers, and was in a condition to disregard the summons of Henri V, after the capture of Rouen. It was besieged by Warwick and Talbot, and taken, after an entrenchment of six months. Talbot became the governor, and held it for England till 1449, when all Normandy was united to the French crown by Charles VII. Caudebec is About threepence three farthings.

well known also in the wars of the League; having had the honour of wounding the Duke of Parma in the arm when he besieged it. Before this time it had several manufactories, particularly one of gloves made of goat-skins, and so fine that a pair could be contained in a walnut. Its hats were also famous, under the name of Caudebecs; but the revocation under the Edict of Nantes scattered its artisans, and consequently its arts, over the face of the earth. To make up for the loss of real advantages, the government overwhelmed the town with those fatal gifts bestowed before the revolution upon the places which the king delighted to honour. Caudebec was the seat of the bailliage of Caux, and at the head of six sergenteries. It possessed, besides, innumerable courts and offices, such as présidial, provôté, maîtrise, amirauté, élection, grenier à sel, haute justice seigneuriale, recette des tailles, ferme générale, direction des aides, bureau des traites, bureau des domains, &c. The consequence, it is said, is felt to this day, in the absurd importance attached by the inhabitants to official titles, and the consequent disdain of commercial employTravellers who do not advert to the above causes,

ment.

express their astonishment " que l'industrie ait si peu d'activité dans une ville qui offre tant des chances et des avantages à son développement."

Near the town is the holy well of Saint Onuphre, a sort of puddle celebrated for the cure of all cutaneous diseases from ringworm to leprosy. On a particular day in the year the unclean patients resort to the waters in crowds, to drink, and bathe, and wallow in the marsh. Each of them, at the commencement of the exercises, gathers a branch in a neighbouring wood, which he deposits in some central spot; and in the evening, the faggot so formed is set fire to by the parish priest, who comes forth to the expectant

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flock dressed in his sacerdotal robes, and marching to the tune of an anthem. When the smoke is at the thickest, he flings a white dove into the cloud, and as the liberated bird rises from amidst into the air, the patients fall upon their knees, exclaiming, "It is the Holy Ghost!" On this signal a lame man starts up, throws his crutches into the fire, and is straightway cured. The ceremony concludes with copious draughts of cider, which the patients, we have no doubt, find a more pleasant, if not a more medicinal, beverage than the foul waters of Saint Onuphre.

THE BAR OF THE SEINE.

OPPOSITE Caudebec there was formerly an island called Belcinne, inhabited by some monks, who had built there a little convent. It belonged, as well as the seigneurie of Caudebec itself, to the celebrated monastery of Fontenelle; but the little convent was so much eclipsed by its splendid superior, that few visitors sought the solitary shore, except now and then a pious fisherman, who went to return thanks to God and the Virgin for his escape from the perils of the Seine. One day, however, the Lord of Caudebec bethought himself suddenly, that he had never paid his vows at the humble shrine; and, seized with a fit of devotion, he stepped into his barge, and was soon at the foot of the altar.

The extreme poverty of the place, however, the nakedness of the altar, and the mortified looks of the holy brethren, hardened his heart; and, gazing around him for a moment, as if he had merely come out of curiosity, he turned away, and regained his barge. The water was rough; and the poor priests, instead of resenting his haughtiness, besought him to take care lest his vessel, which was heavily loaded, should sink.

"Do you threaten me?" said the Lord of Caudebec, conscious that he deserved no kindness.

"God forbid!" said the poor priests; "we trust you will live long enough to be fit for death: it is only the righteous who can afford to die suddenly; and to them death is the

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highest boon even Heaven can bestow on this side of eternity."

"Pull away, my men!" cried the seigneur, abruptly. "As soon shall their solid island sink in the Seine as this trim vessel of ours."

"Sooner, we pray God," replied the monk; "sooner!sooner!"

The next morning, the Lord of Caudebec, while looking out of the window of his château, rubbed his eyes, and blessed himself. The island had disappeared, the convent, the monks-all had been swallowed up, and sunk in the river! The effect of this awful lesson may be imagined. The seigneur retired into the monastery of Fontenelle, where he lived a holy life long enough to understand that death may be looked upon by the righteous as a boon.

This event must have occurred after the year 853, the seigneurie of Caudebec not being till then the property of the monks of Fontenelle, who in that year received it as a gift (as we have before noted) from Charles-le-Chauve. In the year 1641, however, the island suddenly reappeared; and the inhabitants of Caudebec saw, with superstitious wonder, the broken walls of the convent, which by that time was only a memory of "the oldest inhabitant."

Still, it did not remain long the object of their gaze. The waters of the Seine, as if conscious of the presence or approach of some terrible phenomenon, shuddered visibly. A low moaning sound was heard along the river; and presently a white line appeared in the distance, extending from shore to shore. The noise increased, till it resembled first the bellowing of a herd of wild beasts, and then the roar of a cataract. The white line appeared to be a wave of boiling foam rushing against the stream, and revolving as it rushed on its own axis. Sometimes it broke upon the prow of a