— 400 — 



ereigns, Louis XII and others, to its present dimensions 

 and beauty. The facade to the South, is one hundred 

 and ninety-five feet in length and is unique in archi- 

 tectural design. The exquisite octogonal tower in the 

 centre, angular pillars, surmounted by dais and statues, 

 the elaborate sculptures, encircling the windows, the 

 series of arcades, which form a gallery on the whole 

 length of the upper part, the leaden railing which sets 

 off the roof, everything in fact is in excellent taste. 

 The statues chiselled by Lebrun represent Louis XIII, 

 Ann of Brittany, Cardinal George d'Amboise, the 

 gallant Monarch Francis I, Justice, a ploughman, a 

 Monk, an artist, in fact all the classes which had a hand 

 in building the edifice. Time precludes us from enter- 

 ing into fuller particulars, but you have enough to judge 

 of the style and state of preservation of old and modern 

 monuments and buildings in the ancient town of Eouen. 

 Two handsome bridges, one a light suspension bridge, 

 erected in 1836 ; the other, a solid stone structure built 

 in 1813, and some of whose arches rest on the He 

 Lacroix, connect the two portions of this thriving town, 

 divided by the Seine. The city proper stands within 

 an arch of a circle formed by a belt of boulevards 

 opened in 1770, on the site of the old ditches. From 

 the neighbouring heights of Bonsecours and Cantleleu, 

 a full view is obtained of the spires of Eouen, its houses, 

 public edifices ; as well, as of the placid course of the 

 Seine, dotted with verdant isles, stately ships, smoking, 

 swift steamers ; lined with broad, regular quays, in 

 view of the lofty chimnies of workshops, amidst a fertile 

 valley crowned by green and distant hills. 



Ladies and gentleman, we have tarried long enough 

 contemplating the attractive, though artificial beauties 

 of cities; with your leave, we will take train for Pont 

 cle VArche, near Eouen. I am panting for a glimpse of 

 the country, its tranquil, pastoral, green fields. Let us 

 light in the centre of an old Norman village and see 

 whether it resembles our own French villages. We are 



