CAEN. SOIL. SOCIETY. EDUCATION. A DUEL. OLD HOUSES. THE ABBEY OF ST.
STEPHEN. CHURCH OF ST. PIERRE DE DARNETAL. ABBÉ DE LA SAINTE TRINITÉ. OTHER
PUBLIC EDIFICES.
I have now resided upwards of a week at Lagouelle's, the _Hotel Royale_,
and can tell you something of the place and of the inhabitants of CAEN.
Caen however is still-life after Rouen: but it has been, and yet is, a town
exceedingly well-deserving the attention of the lounging traveller and of
the curious antiquary. Its ecclesiastical edifices are more ancient, but
less vast and splendid, than those of Rouen; while the streets and the
houses are much more wide and comfortable. This place is the capital of the
department of CALVADOS, or of LOWER NORMANDY: and its population is
estimated at forty thousand souls. It has a public library, a school of
art, a college, mayoralty, and all the adjuncts of a corporate society.[96]
But I must first give you something in the shape of political economy
intelligence. Caen with its arrondissemens of _Bayeux, Vire, Falaise,
Lisieux, Pont L'Eveque_, is the country of pasturage and of cattle. It is
also fertile in the apple and pear; and although at _Argences_ there have
been vineyards from time immemorial, yet the produce of the grape, in the
character of _wine_,[97] is of a very secondary description. There are
beautiful and most abundant market gardens about Caen; and for the last
seventy years they have possessed a garden for the growth and cultivation
of foreign plants and trees. It is said that more than nine hundred species
of plants and trees are to be found in the department of CALVADOS, of which
some (but I know not how many or how few) are considered as indigenous. Of
forests and woods, the number is comparatively small; and upon that limited
number great injuries were inflicted by the Revolution. In the
arrondissement of Caen itself, there are only 344 _hectares_.[98] The truth
is, that in the immediate neighbourhood of populous towns, the French have
no idea of PLANTING. They suffer plain after plain, and hill after hill, to
be denuded of trees, and make no provision for the supply of those who are
to come after them. Thus, not only a great portion of the country about
Rouen--(especially in the direction of the road leading to Caen--) is
gradually left desolate and barren, but even here, as you approach the
town, there is a dreary flatness of country, unrefreshed by the verdure of
foliage: whereas the soil, kind and productive by nature, requires only the
slightest attention of man to repay him a hundred fold. What they will do
some fifty years hence for _fuel_, is quite inconceivable. It is true that
the river Orne, by means of the tide, and of its proximity to the sea,
brings up vessels of even 200 tons burthen, in which they may stow plenty
of wood; but still, the expenses of carriage, and duties of a variety of
description--together with the _dependence_ of the town upon such
accidental supply--would render the article of fuel a most expensive
concern. It is also true that they pretend that the soil, in the department
of Calvados, contains _coal_; but the experiments which were made some
years ago at _Littry_, in the arondissement of _Bayeux_, should forbid the
Caennois to indulge any very sanguine expectations on that score.
In respect to the trade of the town, the two principal branches are _lace_
and _cap_ making. The former trade is divided with Bayeux; and both places
together give occupation to about thirty thousand pairs[99] of hands.
People of all ages may be so employed; and the annual gross receipts have
been estimated at four millions of francs. In _cap_ making only, at Caen,
four thousand people have been constantly engaged, and a gross produce of
two millions of francs has been the result of that branch of trade. A great
part of this manufacture was consumed at home; but more than one half used
to be exported to Spain, Portugal, and the colonies belonging to France.
They pretend to say, however, that this article of commerce is much
diminished both in profit and reputation: while that of _table linen_ is
gaining proportionably in both.[100] There were formerly great _tanneries_
in Caen and its immediate vicinity, but lately that branch of trade has
suffered extremely. The revolution first gave it a violent check, and the
ignorance and inattention of the masters to recent improvements, introduced
by means of chemistry, have helped to hasten its decay. To balance this
misfortune, there has of late sprung up a very general and judiciously
directed commercial spirit in the article of _porcelaine_; and if Caen be
inferior to its neighbouring towns, and especially to Rouen and Lisieux, in
the articles of cloth, stuffs, and lace, it takes a decided lead in that
which relates to _pottery_ and _china_: no mean articles in the supply of
domestic wants and luxuries. But it is in matters of higher "pith and
moment" that Caen may claim a superiority over the towns just noticed.
There is a better spirit of _education_ abroad; and, for its size, more
science and more literature will be found in it.
This place has been long famous for the education of Lawyers. There are two
distinct academies--one for "Science and the Belles-Lettres"--the other for
agriculture and commerce. The _Lycée_ is a noble building, close to the
Abbey of St. Stephen: but I wish its façade had been Gothic, to harmonise
with the Abbey. Indeed, Caen has quite the air of Oxford, from the
prevalent appearance of _stone_ in its public buildings. The environs of
the town afford quarries, whence the stone is taken in great blocks, in a
comparatively soft state--and is thus cut into the several forms required
with the greatest facility. It is then exposed, and every succeeding day
appears to add to its white tint and durable quality. I saw some important
improvements making in the outskirts of the town,[101] in which they were
finishing shafts and capitals of columns in a manner the most correct and
gratifying. Still farther from the immediate vicinity of Caen, they find
stone of a closer grain; and with this they make stair-cases, and pavements
for the interior of buildings. Indeed the stone stair-cases in this place,
which are usually circular, and projecting from the building, struck me as
being equally curious and uncommon. It is asserted that they have different
kinds of _marble_ in the department of Calvados, which equal that of the
south of France. At _Basly_ and _Vieux_ white marble is found which has
been judged worthy of a comparison with Parian; but this is surely a little
presumptuous. However, it is known that Cardinal Richelieu brought from
Vieux all the marble with which he built the chapel in the college of the
Sorbonne.
Upon the whole, as to general appearance, and as to particular society,
Caen may be preferable to Rouen. The costume and manners of the common
people are pretty much, if not entirely, the same; except that, as to
dress, the _cauchoise_ is here rather more simple than at Dieppe and Rouen.
The upper fille-de-chambre at our hotel displays not only a good correct
model of national dress, but she is well-looking in her person, and
well-bred in her manners. Mr. Lewis prevailed upon this good-natured young
woman to sit for her likeness, and for the sake of her costume. The girl's
eyes sparkled with more than ordinary joy at the proposal, and even an
expression of gratitude mingled itself in her manner of compliance. I send
you the figure and dress of the fille-de-chambre at the _Hotel Royale_ of
Caen.[102]
[Illustration: FILLE DE CHAMBRE, CAEN.]
Caen is called the dépôt of the English.[103] In truth there is an amazing
number of our countrymen here, and from very different causes. One family
comes to reside from motives of economy; another from those of education; a
third from those of retirement; and a fourth from pure love of sitting
down, in a strange place, with the chance of making some pleasant
connection, or of being engaged in seeking some strange adventure: Good and
cheap living, and novel society, are doubtless the main attractions. But
there is desperate ill blood just now between the _Caennois_ (I will not
make use of the enlarged term _Francois_) and the English; and I will tell
you the cause. Do you remember the emphatic phrase in my last, "all about
the duel?" Listen. About three weeks only before our arrival,[104] a duel
was fought between a young French law-student, and a young Englishman; the
latter the son of a naval captain. I will mention no names; and so far not
wound the feelings of the friends of the parties concerned. But this duel,
my friend, has been "THE DUEL OF DUELS"--on the score of desperation, and
of a fixed purpose to murder. It is literally without precedent, and I
trust will never be considered as one. You must know then, that Caen, in
spite of all the "bouleversemens" of the Revolution, has maintained its
ancient reputation of possessing a very large seminary, or college for
students at law. These students amount to nearly 600 in number. Most young
gentlemen under twenty years of age are at times riotous, or frolicsome, or
foolish. Generally speaking, however, the students conduct themselves with
propriety: but there had been a law-suit between a French and English
suitor, and the Judge pronounced sentence in favour of our countryman. The
hall was crowded with spectators, and among them was a plentiful number of
law-students. As they were retiring, one young Frenchman either made
frightful faces, or contemptible gestures, in a very fixed and insulting
manner, at a young Englishman--the son of this naval captain. Our
countryman had no means or power of noticing or resenting the insult, as
the aggressor was surrounded by his companions. It so happened that it was
fair time at Caen; and in the evening of the same day, our countryman
recognised, in the crowd at the fair, the physiognomy of the young man who
had insulted him in the hall of justice. He approached him, and gave him to
understand that his rude behaviour should be noticed at a proper time and
in a proper place: whereupon the Frenchman came up to him, shook him
violently by the arm, and told him to "fix his distance on the ensuing
morning." Now the habit of duelling is very common among these
law-students; but they measure twenty-five paces, fire, and of course ...
MISS--and then fancy themselves great heroes ... and there is an end of the
affair. Not so upon the present occasion. "Fifteen paces," if you
please--said the student, sarcastically, with a conviction of the
backwardness of his opponent to meet him. "FIVE, rather"--exclaimed the
provoked Englishman--"I will fight you at FIVE paces:"--and it was agreed
that they should meet and fight on the morrow, at five paces only asunder.
Each party was under twenty; but I believe the English youth had scarcely
attained his nineteenth year. What I am about to relate will cause your
flesh to creep. It was determined by the seconds, as _one_ must necessarily
_fall_, from firing at so short a distance, that only _one_ pistol should
be loaded with _ball_: the other having nothing but _powder_:--and that, as
the Frenchman had challenged, he was to have the choice of the pistols.
They parted. The seconds prepared the pistols according to agreement, and
the fatal morning came. The combatants appeared, without one jot of
abatement of spirit or of cool courage. The pistols lay upon the grass
before them: one loaded only with powder, and the other with powder and
ball. The Frenchman advanced: took up a pistol, weighed and balanced it
most carefully in his hand, and then ... laid it down. He seized the other
pistol, and cocking it, fixed himself upon the spot from whence he was to
fire. The English youth was necessarily compelled to take the abandoned
pistol. Five paces were then measured ... and on the signal being given,
they both fired ... and the Frenchman fell ... DEAD UPON THE SPOT! The
Frenchman had in fact _taken up_, but afterwards _laid down_, the very
pistol which was loaded with the fatal _ball_--on the supposition that it
was of too light a weight; and even seemed to compliment himself upon his
supposed sagacity on the occasion. But to proceed. The ball went through
his heart, as I understood. The second of the deceased on seeing his friend
a reeking corpse at his feet, became mad and outrageous ... and was for
fighting the survivor immediately! Upon which, the lad of mettle and
courage replied, that he would not fight a man without a _second_--"But
go," said he, (drawing his watch coolly from his fob). I will give you
twenty minutes to come back again with your second." He waited, with his
watch in his hand, and by the dead body of his antagonist, for the return
of the Frenchman; but on the expiration of the time, his own second
conjured him to consult his safety and depart; for that, from henceforth,
his life was in jeopardy. He left the ground; obtained his passport, and
quitted the town instantly ... The dead body of his antagonist was then
placed on a bier: and his funeral was attended by several hundreds of his
companions--who, armed with muskets and swords, threatened destruction to
the civil and military authorities if they presumed to interfere. All this
has necessarily increased the ill-blood which is admitted to exist between
the English and French ... but the affair is now beginning to blow
over.[105]
A truce to such topics. It is now time to furnish you with some details
relating to your favourite subjects of ARCHITECTURAL ANTIQUITIES and
BIBLIOGRAPHY. The former shall take precedence. First of the _streets_;
secondly of the _houses_; and thirdly of the _public buildings_;
ecclesiastical and civil.
To begin with the STREETS. Those of _St. Pierre, Notre Dame_, and _St.
Jean_ are the principal for bustle and business. The first two form one
continuous line, leading to the abbey of St. Stephen, and afford in fact a
very interesting stroll to the observer of men and manners. The shops are
inferior to those of Rouen, but a great shew of business is discernible in
them. The street beyond the abbey, and those called _Guilbert_, and _des
Chanoines_, leading towards the river, are considered among the genteelest.
Ducarel pronounced the _houses_ of Caen "mean in general, though usually
built of stone;" but I do not agree with him in this conclusion. The open
parts about the _Lycée_ and the _Abbey of St. Stephen_, together with the
_Place Royale_, where the library is situated, form very agreeable spaces
for the promenade of the ladies and the exercise of the National Guard. The
_Courts_ are full of architectural curiosities, but mostly of the time of
Francis I. Of _domestic_ architecture, those houses, with elaborate
carvings in wood, beneath a pointed roof, are doubtless of the greatest
antiquity. There are a great number of these; and some very much older than
others.
A curious old house is to the right hand corner of the street _St. Jean_:
as you go to the Post Office. But I must inform you that the residence of
the famous MALHERBE yet exists in the street leading to the Abbey of St.
Stephen. This house is of the middle of the sixteenth century: and what
Corneille is to _Rouen_, Malherbe is to _Caen_. "ICI NAQUIT MALHERBE," &c.
as you will perceive from the annexed view of this house, inscribed upon
the front of the building. Malherbe has been doomed to receive greater
honours. His head was first struck, in a series of medals, to perpetuate
the resemblances of the most eminent literary characters (male and female)
in France: and it is due to the amiable Pierre-Aimé Lair to designate him
as the FATHER of this medallic project.
[Illustration]
In perambulating this town, one cannot but be surprised at the absence of
_Fountains_--those charming pieces of architecture and of street
embellishment. In this respect, Rouen has infinitely the advantage of Caen:
where, instead of the trickling current of translucent water, we observe
nothing but the partial and perturbed stream issuing from ugly _wells_[106]
as tasteless in their structure as they are inconvenient in the procuring
of water. Upon one or two of these wells, I observed the dates of 1560 and
1588.
The PUBLIC EDIFICES, however, demand a particular and appropriate
description: and first of those of the ecclesiastical order. Let us begin
therefore with the ABBEY OF ST. STEPHEN; for it is the noblest and most
interesting on many accounts. It is called by the name of that Saint,
inasmuch as there stood formerly a chapel, on the same site, dedicated to
him. The present building was completed and solemnly dedicated by William
the Conqueror, in the presence of his wife, his two sons Robert and
William, his favourite Archbishop Lanfranc, John Archbishop of Rouen, and
Thomas Archbishop of York--towards the year 1080: but I strongly suspect,
from the present prevailing character of the architecture, that nothing
more than the west front and the towers upon which the spires rest, remain
of its ancient structure. The spires (as the Abbé De La Rue conjectures,
and as I should also have thought) are about two centuries later than the
towers.
The outsides of the side aisles appear to be of the thirteenth, rather than
of the end of the eleventh, century. The first exterior view of the west
front, and of the towers, is extremely interesting; from the grey and clear
tint, as well as excellent quality, of the stone, which, according to Huet,
was brought partly from Vaucelle and partly from Allemagne.[107] One of the
corner abutments of one of the towers has fallen down; and a great portion
of what remains seems to indicate rapid decay. The whole stands indeed
greatly in need of reparation. Ducarel, if I remember rightly,[108] has
made, of this whole front, a sort of elevation, as if it were intended for
a wooden model to work by: having all the stiffness and precision of an
erection of forty-eight hours standing only. The central tower is of very
stunted dimensions, and overwhelmed by a roof in the form of an
extinguisher. This, in fact, was the consequence of the devastations of the
Calvinists; who absolutely sapped the foundation of the tower, with the
hope of overwhelming the whole choir in ruin--but a part only of their
malignant object was accomplished. The component parts of the eastern
extremity are strangely and barbarously miscellaneous. However, no good
commanding exterior view can be obtained from the _place_, or confined
square, opposite the towers.
But let us return to the west-front; and opening the unfastened green-baize
covered door, enter softly and silently into the venerable interior--sacred
even to the feelings of Englishmen! Of this interior, very much is changed
from its original character. The side aisles retain their flattened arched
roofs and pillars; and in the nave you observe those rounded pilasters--or
alto-rilievo-like pillars--running from bottom to top, which are to be seen
in the abbey of Jumieges. The capitals of these long pillars are
comparatively of modern date. To the left on entrance, within a side
chapel, is the burial place of MATILDA, the wife of the Conqueror. The
tombstone attesting her interment is undoubtedly of the time. Generally
speaking, the interior is cold, and dull of effect. The side chapels, of
which not fewer than sixteen encircle the choir, have the discordant
accompaniments of Grecian balustrades to separate them from the choir and
nave. There is a good number of _Confessionals_ within them; and at one of
these I saw, for the first time, _two_ women, kneeling, in the act of
confession to the _same priest_. "C'est un peu fort," observed our guide in
an under-voice, and with a humourous expression of countenance! Meanwhile
Mr. Lewis, who was in an opposite direction in the cathedral, was
exercising his pencil in the following delineation of a similar subject.
[Illustration]
To the right of the choir (in the sacristy, I think,) is hung the huge
portrait, in oil, within a black and gilt frame, of which Ducarel has
published an engraving, on the supposition of its being the portrait of
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. But nothing can be more ridiculous than such a
conclusion. In the first place, the picture itself, which is a palpable
copy, cannot be older than a century; and, in the second place, were it an
original performance, it could not be older than the time of Francis
I:--when, in fact, it purports to have been executed--as a faithful copy of
the figure of King William, seen by the Cardinals in 1522, who were seized
with a sacred phrenzy to take a peep at the body as it might exist at that
time! The costume of the oil-painting is evidently that of the period of
our Henry VIII.; and to suppose that the body of William--even had it
remained in so surprisingly perfect a state as Ducarel intimates, after an
interment of upwards of four hundred years--could have presented such a
costume, when, from Ducarel's own statement, another whole-length
representation of the same person is _totally different_--and more
decidedly of the character of William's time--is really quite a reproach to
any antiquary who plumes himself upon the possession even of common sense.
In the middle of the choir, and just before the high altar, the body of the
Conqueror was entombed with great pomp; and a monument erected to his
memory of the most elaborate and costly description. Nothing now remains
but a flat black marble slab, with a short inscription, of quite a recent
date.
In the present state of the abbey,[109] and even in that of Ducarel's time,
there is, and was, a great dearth of sepulchral monuments. Indeed I know
not whether you need be detained another minute within the interior; except
it be, to add your share of admiration to that which has been long and
justly bestowed on the huge organ[110] at the west end of the nave, which
is considered to be the finest in all France. But Normandy abounds in
church decorations of this kind. Leaving therefore this venerable pile,
endeared to the British antiquary by a thousand pleasing associations of
ideas, we strike off into an adjoining court yard, and observe the ruins of
a pretty extensive pile of building, which is called by Ducarel the _Palace
of the Conqueror_. But in this supposed palace, in its _present_ state,
most assuredly William I. _never_ resided: for it is clearly not older than
the thirteenth century: if so ancient. Ducarel saw a great deal more than
is now to be seen; for, in fact, as I attempted to gain entrance into what
appeared to be the principal room, I was stopped by an old woman, who
assured me "qu'il n'y avoit rien que du chauffage." It was true enough: the
whole of the untenanted interior contained nothing but wood fuel. Returning
to the principal street, and making a slight digression to the right, you
descend somewhat abruptly by the side of a church in ruins, called _St.
Etienne le Vieil_. In Ducarel's time this church is described as entire. On
the exterior of one of the remaining buttresses is a whole length figure,
about four English feet in height (as far as I could guess by the eye) of a
man on horseback--mutilated--trampling upon another man at its feet.
It is no doubt a curious and uncommon ornament. But, would you believe it?
this figure also, in the opinion of Bourgueville,[111] was intended for
William the the Conqueror--representing his triumphant entry into Caen! As
an object of art, even in its present mutilated state, it is highly
interesting; and I rejoice that Mr. Cotman is likely to preserve the little
that remains from the hazard of destruction by the fidelity of his own copy
of it.[112] It is quite clear that, close to the figure, you discover
traces of style which are unequivocally of the time of Francis I. The
interior of what remains of this consecrated edifice is converted "horresco
referens" into a receptacle for ... carriages for hire. Not far from this
spot stood formerly a magnificent CROSS--demolished during the memorable
visit of the Calvinists.[113] In the way to the abbey of the Trinity, quite
at the opposite or eastern extremity of the town, you necessarily pass
along the _Rue St. Pierre_, and enter into the market-place, affording an
opening before the most beautiful church in all Normandy. It is the church
of _St. Pierre de Darnetal_ of which I now speak, and from which the name
of the street is derived. The tower and spire are of the most admirable
form and workmanship.[114] The extreme delicacy and picturesque effect of
the stone tiles, with which the spire is covered, as well as the lightness
and imposing consequence given to the tower upon which the spire rests, are
of a character peculiar to itself. The whole has a charming effect. But
severe criticism compels one to admit that the body of the church is
defective in fine taste and unity of parts. The style is not only florid
Gothic, but it is luxuriant, even to rankness, if I may so speak. The parts
are capriciously put together: filled, and even crammed, with ornaments of
apparently all ages: concluding with the Grecian mixture introduced in the
reign of Francis I. The buttresses are, however, generally, lofty and airy.
In the midst of this complicated and corrupt style of architecture, the
tower and spire rise like a structure built by preternatural hands; and I
am not sure that, at this moment, I can recollect any thing of equal beauty
and effect in the whole range of ecclesiastical edifices in our own
country. Look at this building, from any part of the town, and you must
acknowledge that it has the strongest claims to unqualified
admiration.[115] The body of the church is of very considerable dimensions.
I entered it on a Sunday morning, about eleven o'clock, and found it quite
filled with a large congregation, in which the _cauchoise_, as usual,
appeared like a broad white mass--from one end to the other. The priests
were in procession. One of the most magnificent organs imaginable was in
full intonation, with every stop opened; the voices of the congregation
were lustily exercised; and the offices of religion were carried on in a
manner which would seem to indicate a warm sense of devotion among the
worshippers. There is a tolerably good set of modern paintings (the best
which I have yet seen in the interior of a church) of the _Life of Christ_,
in the side chapels. The eastern extremity, or the further end of _Our
Lady's Chapel_, is horribly bedaubed and over-loaded with the most
tasteless specimens of what is called Gothic art, perhaps ever witnessed!
The great bell of this church, which has an uncommonly deep and fine tone,
is for ever
Swinging slow with solemn roar!
that is to say:--it is tolling from five in the morning till ten at night;
so incessantly, in one side-chapel or another, are these offices carried on
within this maternal parish church.[116]
I saw, with momentary astonishment, the leaning tower of a church in the
_Rue St. Jean_,[117] which is one of the principal streets in the town: and
which is terminated by the _Place des Cazernes_, flanked by the river Orne.
In this street I was asked, by a bookseller, two pounds two shillings, for
a thumbed and cropt copy of the _Elzevir-Heinsius Horace_ of 1629; but with
which demand I did not of course comply. In fact, they have the most
extravagant notions of the prices of Elzevirs, both here and at Rouen.
You must now attend me to the most interesting public building, perhaps all
things considered, which is to be seen at Caen. I mean, the _Abbey of the
Holy Trinity_, or L'ABBAYE AUX DAMES.[118] This abbey was founded by the
wife of the Conqueror, about the same time that William erected that of St.
Stephen. Ducarel's description of it, which I have just seen in a copy of
the _Anglo-Norman Antiquities_, in a bookseller's shop, is sufficiently
meagre. His plates are also sufficiently miserable: but things are
strangely altered since his time. The nave of the church is occupied by a
manufactory for making cordage, or twine; and upwards of a hundred lads are
now busied in their _flaxen_ occupations, where formerly the nun knelt
before the cross, or was occupied in auricular confession. The entrance at
the western extremity is entirely stopped up: but the exterior gives
manifest proof of an antiquity equal to that of the Abbey of St. Stephen.
The upper part of the towers are palpably of the fifteenth, or rather of
the early part of the sixteenth century. I had no opportunity of judging of
the neat pavement of the floor of the nave, in white and black marble, as
noticed by Ducarel, on account of the occupation of this part of the
building by the manufacturing children; but I saw some very ancient
tomb-stones (one I think of the twelfth century) which had been removed
from the nave or side aisles, and were placed against the sides of the
north transept. The nave is entirely _walled up_ from the transepts, but
the choir is fortunately preserved; and a more perfect and interesting
specimen of its kind, of the same antiquity, is perhaps no where to be seen
in Normandy. All the monuments as well as the altars, described by Ducarel,
are now taken away. Having ascended a stone staircase, we got into the
upper part of the choir, above the first row of pillars--and walked along
the wall. This was rather adventurous, you will say: but a more adventurous
spirit of curiosity had nearly proved fatal to me: for, on quitting
daylight, we pursued a winding stone staircase, in our way to the central
tower--to enjoy from hence a view of the town. I almost tremble as I relate
it. There had been put up a sort of temporary wooden staircase, leading
absolutely to ... nothing: or, rather, to a dark void space. I happened to
be foremost in ascending, yet groping in the dark--with the guide luckily
close behind me. Having reached the topmost step, I was raising my foot to
a supposed higher or succeeding step ... but there was _none_. A depth of
eighteen feet at least was below me. The guide caught my coat, as I was
about to lose my balance--and roared out "Arrêtez--tenez!" The least
balance or inclination, one way or the other, is sufficient, upon these
critical occasions: when luckily, from his catching my coat, and pulling me
in consequence slightly backwards, my fall ... and my LIFE ... were equally
saved! I have reason from henceforth to remember the ABBAYE AUX DAMES at
Caen.
I gained the top of the central tower, which is not of equal altitude with
those of the western extremity, and from thence surveyed the town, as well
as the drizzling rain would permit. I saw enough however to convince me
that the site of this abbey is fine and commanding. Indeed it stands nearly
upon the highest ground in the town. Ducarel had not the glorious ambition
to mount to the top of the tower; nor did he even possess that most
commendable of all species of architectural curiosity, a wish to visit the
CRYPT. Thus, in either extremity--I evinced a more laudable spirit of
enterprise than did my old-fashioned predecessor. Accordingly, from the
summit, you must accompany me to the lowest depth of the building. I
descended by the same (somewhat intricate) route, and I took especial care
to avoid all "temporary wooden stair-cases." The crypt, beneath the choir,
is perhaps of yet greater interest and beauty than the choir itself. Within
an old, very old, stone coffin--at the further circular end--are the
pulverized remains of one of the earliest Abbesses.[119] I gazed around
with mixed sensations of veneration and awe, and threw myself back into
centuries past, fancying that the shrouded figure of MATILDA herself glided
by, with a look as if to approve of my antiquarian enthusiasm! Having
gratified my curiosity by a careful survey of this subterraneous abode, I
revisited the regions of day-light, and made towards the large building,
now a manufactory, which in Ducarel's time had been a nunnery. The
revolution has swept away every human being in the character of a nun; but
the director of the manufactory shewed me, with great civility, some relics
of old crosses, rings, veils, lachrymatories, &c. which had been taken from
the crypt I had recently visited. These relics savoured of considerable
antiquity. Tom Hearne would have set about proving that they _must_ have
belonged to Matilda herself; but I will have neither the presumption nor
the merit of attempting this proof. They seemed indeed to have undergone
half a dozen decompositions. Upon the whole, if our Antiquarian Society,
after having exhausted the cathedrals of their own country, should ever
think of perpetuating the principal ecclesiastical edifices of Normandy, by
means of the _Art of Engraving_, let them begin their labours with the
ABBAYE AUX DAMES at Caen.
The foregoing, my dear friend, are the principal ecclesiastical buildings
in this place. There are other public edifices, but comparatively of a
modern date. And yet I should be guilty of a gross omission were I to
neglect giving you an account, however superficial, of the remains of an
apparently CASTELLATED BUILDING, a little beyond the Abbaye aux Dames--or
rather to the right, upon elevated ground, as you enter the town by the way
we came. As far as I can discover, this appears to have escaped
Ducarel.[120] It is doubtless a very curious relic. Running along the upper
part of the walls, there is a series of basso-relievo heads,
medallion-wise, cut in stone, evidently intended for portraits. They are
assuredly not older than the reign of Francis I. and may be even as late as
that of Henry II. Among these rude medallions, is a female head, with a
ferocious-looking man on each side of it, either saluting the woman, or
whispering in her ear. But the most striking objects are the stone figures
of two men, upon a circular tower, of which one is in the act of shooting
an arrow, and the other as if holding a drawn sword. I got admittance
within the building; and ascending the tower, found that these were only
the _trunks_ of figures,--and removable at pleasure. I could only stroke
their beards and shake their bodies a little, which was of course done with
impunity. Whether the present be the _original_ place of their destination
may be very doubtful. The Abbé de la Rue, with whom I discoursed upon the
subject yesterday morning, is of opinion that these figures are of the time
of Louis XI.: which makes them a little more ancient than the other
ornaments of the building. As to the interior, I could gather nothing with
certainty of the original character of the place from the present remains.
The earth is piled up, here and there, in artificial mounds covered with
grass: and an orchard, and rich pasture land (where I saw several women
milking cows) form the whole of the interior scenery. However the
_Caennois_ are rather proud of this building.
Leaving you to your own conclusions respecting the date of its erection,
and "putting the colophon" to this disquisition respecting the principal
public buildings at Caen, it is high time to assure you how faithfully I am
always yours.
[96] ["Besides her numerous public schools, Caen possesses two Schools of
Art--one for design, the other for Architecture and Ornament--where
the Students are _gratuitously_ instructed." LICQUET.]
[97] It is called _Vin Huet_--and is the last wine which a traveller
will be disposed to ask for. When Henry IV. passed through the town,
he could not conceive why such excellent grapes should produce such
execrable wine. I owe this intelligence to Mons. LICQUET.
[98] Somewhere about 150 English acres.
[99] [I had before said _twenty_--but Mons. Licquet observes, I might
have said--thirty thousand pairs of hands.]
[100] Caen was celebrated for its table linen three centuries ago. Consult
BOURGUEVILLE: _Antiquitez de Caen_; 1588, 8vo. p. 26.
[101] The fauxbourgs of Caen, in the present day, wear a melancholy
contrast to what they appear to have done in the middle of the XVIth
century. Consult the pleasantly penned description of these fauxbourgs
by the first topographer of the place, BOURGUEVILLE: in his
_Antiquitez de Caen_, pp. 5, 6, 26.
It may be worth subjoining, from the same interesting authority, that
long after the time even of the publication just referred to, the town
of Caen was surrounded by lofty and thick stone walls--upon the tops
of which three men could walk a-breast: and from thence the
inhabitants could discern, across those large and beautiful gardens,
"the vessels sailing in the river Orne, and unloading their cargoes by
the sides of walls." It appears indeed to have been a sort of lounge,
or fashionable promenade--by means of various ladders for the purposes
of ascent and descent.
Among the old prints and bird's-eye views of Caen, which I saw in the
collection of DE BOZE at the Royal Library at Paris, there is one
accompanied by three pages of printed description, which begins with
the lines of Guillaume Breton "Villa potens, opulenta, situ spatiosa
decora." See First Edition, vol. i. p. 274. Evelyn, in 1644, thus
describes the town of Caen. "The whole town is handsomely built of
that excellent stone so well knowne by that name in England. I was
lead to a pretty garden, planted with hedges of Alaternus, having at
the entrance, at an exceeding height, accurately cut in topiary worke,
with well understood architecture, consisting of pillars, niches,
freezes, and other ornaments, with greate curiosity, &c. _Life and
Writings of J. Evelyn_, 1818, 4to. vol. i. p. 52.
[102] See the OPPOSITE PLATE.
[103] It was a similar dépôt in Ducarel's time.
[104] The story was in fact told us the very first night of our arrival, by
M. Lagouelle, the master of the hotel royale. He went through it with
a method, emphasis, and energy, rendered the more striking from the
obesity of his figure and the vulgarity of his countenance. But he
frankly allowed that "Monsieur l'Anglois se conduisait bien."
[105] [The affair is now scarcely remembered; and the successful champion
died a natural death within about three years afterwards. Mons.
Licquet slenderly doubts portions of this tragical tale: but I have
good reason to believe that it is not an exaggerated one. As to what
occurred _after_ the death of one of the combatants, I am
unwilling to revive unpleasant sensations by its recapitulation.]
[106] Bourgueville seems bitterly to lament the substitution of wells for
fountains. He proposes a plan, quite feasible in his own estimation,
whereby this desirable object might be effected: and then retorts upon
his townsmen by reminding them of the commodious fountains at
_Lisieux, Falaise and Vire_--of which the inhabitants "n'ont rien
espargné pour auoir ceste decoration et commodité en leurs
villes."--spiritedly adding--"si j'estois encore en auctorité, j'y
ferois mon pouuoir, et ie y offre de mes biens." p. 17.
[107] [I am most prompt to plead guilty to a species of _Hippopotamos_
error, in having here translated the word _Allemagne_ into
GERMANY! Now, although this translation, per se, be correct, yet, as
applicable to the text, it is most incorrect--as the _Allemagne_
in question happens to be a _Parish in the neighbourhood of
Caen_! My translator, in turn, treats me somewhat tenderly when he
designates this as "une méprise fort singulière." vol. ii. p. 25.]
[108] The plate of Ducarel, here alluded to, forms the fourth plate in his
work; affording, from the starch manner in which it is engraved, an
idea of one of the most disproportioned, ugly buildings imaginable.
Mr. Cotman has favoured us with a good bold etching of the West Front,
and of the elevation of compartments of the Nave; The former is at
once faithful and magnificent; but the lower part wants characteristic
markings.
[109] It should be noticed that, "besides the immense benefactions which
William in his life time conferred upon this abbey, he, on his death,
presented thereto the _crown_ which he used to wear at all high
festivals, together with his _sceptre and rod_: a cup set with
precious stones; his candlesticks of gold, and all his regalia: as
also the ivory bugle-horn which usually hung at his back."
_Anglo-Norman Antiquities_, p. 51. note. The story of the breaking
open of the coffin by the Calvinists, and finding the Conqueror's
remains, is told by Bourgueville--who was an _eye witness_ of these
depredations, and who tried to "soften the obdurate hearts" of the
pillagers, but in vain. This contemporaneous historian observes that,
in his time "the abbey was filled with beautiful and curious
stained-glass windows and harmonious organs, which were all broken and
destroyed--and that the seats, chairs, &c. and all other wooden
materials were consumed by fire," p.171. Huet observes that a "Dom
Jean de Baillehache and Dom Matthieu de la Dangie," religious of St.
Stephen's, took care of the monument of the Conqueror in the year
1642, and replaced it in the state in which it appeared in Huet's
time." _Origines de Caen_; p.248. The revolution was still more
terrible than the Calvinistic fury;--for no traces of the monument are
now to be seen.
[110] The west window is almost totally obscured by a most gigantic organ
built close to it, and allowed to be the finest in all France. This
organ is so big, as to require eleven large bellows, &c. _Ducarel_,
p.57. He then goes on to observe, that "amongst the plate preserved in
the treasury of this church, is a curious SILVER SALVER, about ten
inches in diameter, gilt, and inlaid with antique medals. Tradition
assures us, that it was on this salver, that king William the
conqueror placed the foundation charter of the abbey when he presented
it, at the high altar, on the dedication of the church. The edges of
this salver, which stands on a foot stalk of the same metal, are a
little turned up, and carved. In the centre is inlaid a Greek medal;
on the obverse whereof is this legend, [Greek: Ausander Aukonos] but
it being fixed in its socket, the reverse is not visible. The other
medals, forty in number, are set round the rim, in holes punched quite
through; so that the edges of the holes serve as frames for the
medals. These medals are Roman, and in the highest preservation."
[111] Yet Bourgueville's description of the group, as it appeared in his
time, trips up the heels of his own conjecture. He says that there
were, besides the two figures above mentioned, "vn autre homme et
femme à genoux, comme s'ils demandoient raison de la mort de leur
enfant, qui est vne antiquité de grand remarque dont je ne puis donner
autre certitude de l'histoire." _Antiquitez de Caen_; p.39. Now,
it is this additional portion of the group (at present no longer in
existence) which should seem to confirm the conjecture of my friend
Mr. Douce--that it is a representation of the received story, in the
middle ages, of the Emperor Trajan being met by a widow who demanded
justice against the murderer of her son. The Emperor, who had just
mounted his horse to set out upon some hostile expedition, replied,
that "he would listen to her on his return." The woman said, "What, if
you never return?" "My successor will satisfy you"--he replied--"But
how will that benefit you,"--resumed the widow. The Emperor then
descended from his horse, and enquiring into the woman's case, caused
justice to be done to her. Some of the stories say that the murderer
was the Emperor's own son.
[112] [Since the publication of the first edition of this work, the figure
in question has appeared from the pencil and burin of Mr. Cotman; of
which the only fault, as it strikes me, is, that the surface is too
rough--or the effect too sketchy.]
[113] Bourgueville has minutely described it in his _Antiquities_; and
his description is copied in the preceding edition of this work.
[114] Bourgueville is extremely particular and even eloquent in his account
of the tower, &c. He says that he had "seen towers at Paris, Rouen,
Toulouse, Avignon, Narbonne, Montpelier, Lyons, Amiens, Chartres,
Angiers, Bayeux, Constances, (qu. Coutances?) and those of St. Stephen
at Caen, and others, in divers parts of France, which are built in a
pyramidal form--but THIS TOWER OT ST. PETER exceeded all the others,
as well in its height, as in its curious form of construction."
_Antiq. de Caen_; p.36. He regrets, however, that the _name of
the architect_ has not descended to us. [It is right to correct an
error, in the preceding edition, which has been committed on the
authority of Ducarel. That Antiquary supposed the tower and spire to
have been built by the generosity of one NICHOLAS, an ENGLISHMAN."
Mons. Licquet has, I think, reclaimed the true author of such
munificence, as his _own_ countryman.--NICOLAS LANGLOIS:--whose
name thus occurs in his epitaph, preserved by Bourgueville.
_Le Vendredi, devant tout droict_
_La Saint Cler que le temps n'est froit,_
_Trespassa_ NICOLLE L'ANGLOIS,
_L'an Mil Trois Cens et Dix Sept._]
&c. &c.
Reverting, to old BOURGUEVILLE, I cannot take leave of him without
expressing my hearty thanks for the amusement and information which
his unostentatious octavo volume--entitled _Les Recherches et
Antiquitez de la Ville et Université de Caen, &c_. (à Caen, 1588,
8vo.) has afforded me.
The author, who tells us he was born in 1504, lived through the most
critical and not unperilous period of the times in which he wrote. His
plan is perfectly artless, and his style as completely simple. Nor
does his fidelity appear impeachable. Such ancient volumes of
topography are invaluable--as preserving the memory of things and of
objects, which, but for such record, had perished without the hope or
chance of recovery.
[115] [Ten years have elapsed since this sentence was written, and the
experience gained in those years only confirms the truth (according to
the conception of the author) of the above assertion. Such a tower and
spire, if found in England, must be looked for in Salisbury Cathedral;
but though this latter be much loftier, it is stiff, cold, and formal,
comparatively with that of which the text makes mention.]
[116] [For six months in the year--that is to say, from Lady Day till
Michaelmas Day--this great Bell tolls, at a quarter before ten, as a
curfew.]
[117] A plate of it may be found in the publication of Mr. Dawson Turner,
and of Mr. Cotman.
[118] Of this building Mr. Cotman has published the West front, east end,
exterior and interior; great arches under the tower; crypt; east side
of south transept; elevation of the North side of the choir: elevation
of the window; South side exterior; view down the nave, N.W.
direction.
[119] Bourgueville describes the havoc which took place within this abbey
at the memorable visit of the Calvinists in 1562. From plundering the
church of St. Stephen (as before described p. 172,) they proceeded to
commit similar ravages here:--"sans auoir respect ni reuerence à la
Dame Abbesse, ni à la religion et douceur feminine des Dames
Religieuses."--"plusieurs des officiers de la maison s'y trouucrent,
vsans de gracieuses persuasions, pour penser flechir le coeur de ces
plus que brutaux;" p. 174.
[120] Unless it be what he calls "the FORT OF THE HOLY TRINITY of Caen; in
which was constantly kept a garrison, commanded by a captain, whose
annual pay was 100 single crowns. This was demolished by Charles, king
of Navarre, in the year 1360, during the war which he carried on
against Charles the Dauphin, afterwards Charles V., &c."
_Anglo-Norman Antiquities_, p. 67. This castle, or the building once
flanked by the walls above described, was twice taken by the English;
once in 1346, when they made an immense booty, and loaded their ships
with the gold and silver vessels found therein; and the second time in
1417, when they established themselves as masters of the place for 33
years. _Annuaire du Calvados_; 1803-4; p. 63.