A fair wind conveyed us in six hours from Poole to Cherbourg. It was dusk
when we entered the harbour, and so we had no opportunity of seeing its
beauty until the following morning, when we ascended a height behind the
town, called the Mont du Roule. It is reached either on foot or by
carriage, the Emperor having ordered a road to be made up to the fort
which crowns the heights, on the occasion of the visit to Cherbourg, in
1858, of her Majesty Queen Victoria. Some 1500 men were immediately set to
work, and, in a few days, an easy carriage-road was finished, up which the
Emperor drove the Queen at his usual rapid pace. The view from the fort is
lovely, commanding the whole line of the northern point of the Cotentin,
from the low promontory of Cape de la Hogue to Barfleur. The water of the
harbour, owing to its great depth, is of the most intense blue, which we
quite agreed with the guardian of the fort in likening to that of the Bay
of Naples. Across its entrance stretches, for two miles, the long line of
the breakwater, and within were anchored the fleet of our yacht squadron,
which the day before had run a race between Poole and Cherbourg. We took a
boat to visit the breakwater. It is commanded at each end by a fort, with
another in the centre, where the provisions are kept. In stormy weather
the sea washes over the breakwater, and sometimes for days prevents all
communication between the forts, and the supplies consequently are
stopped. Boys offered us for sale the silvery shells of the Venus’ ear,
which inhabits the rocks of the breakwater. We afterwards saw them in the
fish-market exposed for sale, and, on expressing some curiosity as to how
they were eaten, the landlord had a dish prepared for us. These fish
resemble the scallop in taste, but are very tough, and require a great
deal of beating with a wooden mallet to make them tender enough to eat.
They are called "ormer," or "gofish." The table d’hôte was very
plentifully supplied with fish, and here, as throughout Normandy and
Brittany, cider, the customary beverage of the country, was always placed
upon the table. It varies very much in quality in different districts;
that of Bayeux is most esteemed.
The next morning we set out for the dockyard. To obtain admission, it
first requires a letter from the English Consul, who lives in a charming
spot overlooking the sea, at the foot of the Montagne du Roule. Furnished
with this, we repaired to the Préfet Maritime, who gave us an order to be
presented at the dockyard gate, where it was countersigned, and a guide
appointed to show us over the establishment. We made the tour round all
the basins and workshops, and saw the canot impérial used by the Emperor
on the visit of our Queen,—a most elegant boat, beautifully carved with
marine subjects. The model of a Roman trireme, or galley, is in one of the
basins, and in the little museum, or Salle des Modèles, are the two
flagstones that covered the grave of Napoleon, and were deposited here by
the Prince de Joinville, when he returned with the Emperor’s remains from
St. Helena. The dockyard partly stands on a spot called Chantereyne. The
Empress Matilda, fleeing from Stephen, was overtaken by a tempest when
making for Cherbourg, and vowed, if her life were spared, to build a
church. The ship was in jeopardy, but the pilot cheered her spirits, and,
when gaining the port, exclaimed, "Chantes Reine! we are safe in harbour."
The place where she landed has always retained the name; and here the
Empress, in fulfilment of her vow, founded an abbey, which was destroyed
in the Revolution. The habitations of the nuns is the present provisional
Hôpital de la Marine; a new one, containing above a thousand beds, being
in course of construction, and a modern church, called Eglise du Vœu, has
been erected in another part of the town in place of that of the Empress
Matilda.
Henry II. held his court in the castle with his empress-mother in great
splendour; it had formerly been tenanted by Duke William of Normandy
before his invasion of England, and, within its enclosure, he built a
church also, in consequence of a vow made during a serious illness. There
are few objects of interest in the town of Cherbourg. The women all wear
the large Normandy cap. In the Place d’Armes is a bronze equestrian statue
of the Emperor Napoleon I., and on the pedestal is inscribed "J’avois
résolu de renouveler à Cherbourg les merveilles de l’Egypte." In the
Library is a curiously sculptured chimney-piece of the fifteenth century,
coloured and gilt, removed from a room of the abbey. The principal church,
La Trinité, is a strange jumble of architecture. There is some beautiful
tracery in the windows, and a fine boss (clef pendante) in the south
porch, now restored. On a board in the church is an inscription, setting
forth it was built in consequence of a "vœu solennel des habitans de
Cherbourg en 1450 de la délivrance de la domination étrangère"—that is,
from the English, whose defeat the same year at Formigny, by the Constable
de Richemont, expelled them for ever from Normandy.
There is much to see in the environs of Cherbourg, which makes it a good
central point for excursions. We drove by the fort of Octeville, where a
magnificent panoramic view is obtained, equalling in extent that from the
Mont du Roule. A fisherman, who was standing by, told us the names of the
numerous forts that bristle in every direction, and related to us the
legend of the monk of Saire, who, having received the rent due to his
father for some land, appropriated the money to his own use, and, on the
tenant declaring he had paid the sum, adjured the evil one to carry him
off, if he had ever received the money. The words were no sooner uttered
than there came a flash of lightning, and the monk vanished: but he still
appears in the roads of Cherbourg floating on the sea; when he sees a
sailor, he cries "Save me, save me! I am about to sink!" but the hapless
being who approaches to assist him is immediately dragged into the water,
a peal of infernal laughter is heard, and the luckless mariner disappears
for ever. We asked our guide if he believed in the phantom monk, but he
was silent.
[Illustration: 1. Querqueville Church.]
From Octeville we proceeded to Querqueville, where, in the same churchyard
as the parochial church, stands a little church, named after St. Germain,
the first apostle of the Cotentin, who, in the fifth century, landed from
England on the coast of La Hogue, and preached Christianity in this
district and the valley traversed by the river Saire, which falls into the
sea near St. Vaast-la-Hogue. This tiny church, for it measures only 34
feet by 24, and is 11 feet high, is by some supposed to have been a temple
of the Gauls converted into a Christian place of worship; the nave and
tower having been added to the old temple, which consists of a triple apse
forming a regular trefoil, each of which has a domed top. We drove on to
Nacqueville, the château of Comte Hippolyte de Tocqueville. The park is
prettily laid out, a stream of water runs in front of the house, and a row
of blue hydrangeas blazed forth in great beauty, with the relief of a
background of dark firs. Time prevented us from pursuing our excursion
further west, to see the famed cliffs of Jobourg.
[Illustration: 2. Plan of Querqueville Church.]
To the east of Cherbourg a high road leads to Barfleur and the lighthouse
of Gatteville, between which and the Isle of Wight is the narrowest point
of the English Channel, passing by Saint-Pierre-Eglise, near which is the
château of the late Alexis de Tocqueville, author of ’Democracy in
America;’ but we did not get further on the road than Tourlaville, the
ancient château of the Ravalet family, upon whom tradition has heaped
every crime imaginable. One seigneur entered the church with his hounds
and stabbed the priest at the altar, because he refused to administer to
him the consecrated element; another hanged some of his vassals, because
they did not grind their corn at the seignorial mill, for "haute or basse
justice" was then among the nobles’ rights. Marguerite, a daughter of this
ancient house, expiated, with her brother, their offences upon the
scaffold at Paris. Every effort was made to spare their lives; but the
King, or rather Queen Margot, was inexorable. The château of Tourlaville
is beautifully situated; it is in the style of the Renaissance, with an
angular tower, which recalls that of Heidelberg Castle. The ground-floor
consists of two large unfurnished rooms, and a staircase, with iron
railing, leads to the story above. In one room hangs the portrait of a
lady châteleine, in the costume of the period of Louis XIII., with the
château of Tourlaville in the distance. On her left are eight Cupids with
bandages over their eyes, one in advance of the others is not blinded.
From the lady’s mouth is a label, with the inscription "Un (seul) me
suffit." This is said to be the portrait of the Lady Marguerite, but the
costume is of a later date. In one of the rooms is a chimney-piece covered
with a variety of amatory devices and mottoes:—a Cupid blinded, holding a
lighted torch, motto "Ce qui me donne la vie me cause la mort." Again,
another Cupid with eyes bandaged, pouring water out of a vase to cool a
flaming heart he holds in his hand, motto "Sa froideur me glace les veines
et son ardeur brûle mon cœur." Six winged hearts flying at the approach of
Cupid, but which are reached by his darts, "Même en fuyant l’on est pris."
Further is a sentiment in verse:—
“Plusieurs sont atteints de ce feu,
Mais il ne s’en guérit que fort peu.”