A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany Volume I Part 11

[103] It was a similar depot 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 subst.i.tution 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 espargne pour auoir ceste decoration et commodite en leurs villes."--spiritedly adding--"si j'estois encore en auctorite, 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 meprise fort singuliere." 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-gla.s.s 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 a.s.sures 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 a genoux, comme s'ils demandoient raison de la mort de leur enfant, qui est vne antiquite de grand remarque dont je ne puis donner autre cert.i.tude 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,_ _Trespa.s.sa_ 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 amus.e.m.e.nt and information which his unostentatious octavo volume--ent.i.tled _Les Recherches et Antiquitez de la Ville et Universite de Caen, &c_. (a 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 a.s.sertion. 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 a la Dame Abbesse, ni a 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 s.h.i.+ps 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.

LETTER XIII.

LITERARY SOCIETY. ABBe DE LA RUE. MESSRS. PIERRE-AIMe LAIR AND LAMOUROUX.

MEDAL OF MALHERBE. BOOKSELLERS. MEMOIR OF THE LATE M. MOYSANT, PUBLIC LIBRARIAN. COURTS OF JUSTICE.

From the dead let me conduct you to the living. In other words, prepare to receive some account of _Society_,--and of things appertaining to the formation of the intellectual character. Caen can boast of a public Literary Society, and of the publication of its memoirs.[121] But these "memoirs" consist at present of only six volumes, and are in our own country extremely rare.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ABBe DE LA RUE AEtat. LXXIV.]

Among the men whose moral character and literary reputation throw a sort of l.u.s.tre upon Caen, there is no one perhaps that stands upon _quite_ so lofty an eminence as the ABBe DE LA RUE; at this time occupied in publis.h.i.+ng a _History of Caen_.[122] As an archaeologist, he has no superior among his countrymen; while his essays upon the _Bayeux Tapestry_ and the _Anglo-Norman Poets_, published in our _Archaeologia_, prove that there are few, even among ourselves, who could have treated those interesting subjects with more dexterity or better success. The Abbe is, in short, the great archaeological oracle of Normandy. He was pleased to pay me a Visit at Lagouelle's. He is fast advancing towards his seventieth year. His figure is rather stout, and above the mean height: his complexion is healthful, his eye brilliant, and a plentiful quant.i.ty of waving white hair adds much to the expression of his countenance.[123] He enquired kindly after our mutual friend Mr. Douce; of whose talents and character he spoke in a manner which did equal honour to both. But he was inexorable, as to--_not_ dining with me; observing that his Order was forbidden to dine in taverns. He gave me a list of places which I ought to visit in my further progress through Normandy, and took leave of me more abruptly than I could have wished. He rarely visits Caen, although a great portion of his library is kept there: his abode being chiefly in the country, at the residence of a n.o.bleman to whose son he was tutor. It is delightful to see a man, of his venerable aspect and widely extended reputation, enjoying, in the evening of life, (after braving such a tempest, in the noon-day of it, as that of the Revolution) the calm, unimpaired possession of his faculties, and the respect of the virtuous and the wise.

The study of _Natural History_ obtains pretty generally at Caen; indeed they have an Academy in which this branch of learning is expressly taught--and of which MONSIEUR LAMOUROUX[124] is at once the chief ornament and instructor. This gentleman (to whom our friend Mr. Dawson Turner furnished me with a letter of introduction) has the most unaffected manners, and a countenance particularly open and winning. He is "a very dragon" in his pursuit. On my second call, I found him busied in unpacking some baskets of seaweed, yet reeking with the briny moisture; and which he handled and separated and cla.s.sed with equal eagerness and facility. The library of M. Lamouroux is quite a workman-like library: filled with sensible, solid, and instructive books--and if he had only accepted a repeated and strongly-pressed invitation to dine with me at Lagouelle's, to meet his learned brother PIERRE-AIMe LAIR, nothing would have been wanting to the completion of his character!

You have just heard the name of Pierre-Aime Lair. Prepare to receive a sketch of the character to which that name appertains. This gentleman is not only the life and soul of the society--but of the very town--in which he moves. I walked with him, arm in arm, more than once, through very many streets, pa.s.sages, and courts, which were distinguished for any relic of architectural antiquity. He was recognised and saluted by nearly one person out of three, in our progress. "Je vous salue"--"vous voila avec Monsieur l'Anglois"--"bon jour,"--"comment ca va-t-il:"--The activity of Pierre-Aime Lair is only equalled by his goodness of heart and friendliness of disposition. He is all kindness. Call when you will, and ask for what you please, the object solicited is sure to be granted. He never seems to rise (and he is a very early riser) with spleen, ill-humour, or untoward propensities. With him, the sun seems always to s.h.i.+ne, and the lark to tune her carol. And this cheerfulness of feeling is carried by him into every abode however gloomy, and every society however dull.

But more substantial praise belongs to this amiable man. Not only is Pierre-Aime Lair a lover and collector of tangible antiquities--such as glazed tiles, broken busts, old pictures, and fractured capitals--all seen in "long array", up the windings of his staircase--but he is a critic, and a patron of the _literary_ antiquities of his country. Caen (as I told you in my last despatch) is the birth-place of MALHERBE; and, in the character now under discussion, it has found a perpetuator of the name and merits of the father of French verse. In the year 1806 our worthy antiquary put forth a project for a general subscription "for a medal in honour of _Malherbe_,"[125] which project was in due time rewarded by the names of _fifteen hundred_ efficient subscribers, at five francs a piece. The proposal was doubtless flattering to the literary pride of the French; and luckily the execution of it surpa.s.sed the expectations of the subscribers.

The head is undoubtedly of the most perfect execution. Not only, however, did this head of Malherbe succeed--but a feeling was expressed that it might be followed up by a _Series of Heads_ of the most ill.u.s.trious, of both s.e.xes, in literature and the fine arts. The very hint was enough for Lair: though I am not sure whether he be not the father of the _latter_ design also. Accordingly, there has appeared, periodically, a set of heads of this description, in bronze or other metal, as the purchaser pleases--which has reflected infinite credit not only on the name of the projector of this scheme, but on the present state of the fine arts in France.

Yet another word about Pierre-Aime Lair. He is not so inexorable as M.

Lamouroux: for he _has_ dined with me, and quaffed the burgundy and champagne of Lagouelle, commander in chief of this house. Better wines cannot be quaffed; and Malherbe and the Duke of Wellington formed the alternate subjects of discourse and praise. In return, I have dined with our guest. He had prepared an abundant dinner, and a very select society: but although there was no wand, as in the case of Sancho Panza, to charm away the dishes, &c. or to interdict the tasting of them, yet it was scarcely possible to partake of one in four... so unmercifully were they steeped and buried in _b.u.t.ter!_ The princ.i.p.al topic of discourse, were the merits of the poets of the respective countries of France and England, from which I have reason to think that Pope, Thomson, and Young, are among the greatest favourites with the French. The white brandy of Pierre-Aime Lair, introduced after dinner, is hardly to be described for its strength and pungency. "Vous n'avez rien comme ca chez vous?" "Je le crois bien, (I replied) c'est la liquefaction meme du feu." We broke up before eight; each retiring to his respective avocations--but did not dine till five. I borrowed, however, "an hour or twain" of the evening, after the departure of the company, to enjoy the more particular conversation of our host; and the more I saw and conversed with him; the greater was my gratification. At parting, he loaded me with a pile of pamphlets, of all sizes, of his own publication; and I ventured to predict to him that he would terminate his multifarious labours by settling into consolidated BIBLIOMANIACISM. "On peut faire pire!"--was his reply--on shaking hands with me, and telling me he should certainly meet me again at _Bayeux_, in my progress through Normandy.[126] My acquaintance with this amiable man seemed to be my security from insults in the streets.

Education here commences early, and with incitements as alluring as at Rouen. POISSON in the _Rue Froide_ is the princ.i.p.al, and indeed a very excellent, printer; but BONNESERRE, in the same street, has put forth a vastly pretty manual of infantine devotion, in a brochure of eight pages, of which I send you the first, and which you may compare with the specimen transmitted in a former letter.[127]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Chapolin, in the _Rue-Froide-Rue,_ has recently published a most curious little manual, in the cursive secretary gothic, ent.i.tled "_La Civilite honnete pour les enfans qui commence par la maniere d'apprendre et bien lire, p.r.o.noncer et ecrire_." I call it "curious," because the very first initial letter of the text, representing C, introduces us to the _bizarrerie_ of the early part of the XVIth century in treatises of a similar character. Take this first letter, with a specimen also of those to which it appertains.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

This work is full of the old fas.h.i.+oned (and not a bit the worse on that account) precepts of the same period; such as we see in the various versions of the "De Moribus Juvenum," of which the "_Contenance de la Table,"_ in the French language, is probably the most popular. It is executed throughout in the same small and smudged gothic character; and, as I conceive; can have few purchasers. The printers of Caen must not be dismissed without respectful mention of the typographical talents of LE ROY; who ranks after Poisson. Let both these be considered as the Bulmer and Bensley of the place.

But among these venders of infantine literature, or of cheap popular pieces, there is no man who "drives such a trade" as PICARD-GUERIN, _Imprimeur en taille-douce et Fabricant d'Images_," who lives in the _Rue des Teinturiers,_ no.175. I paid him more than one visit; as, from, his "fabrication," issue the thousands and tens of thousands of broadsides, chap-books, &c. &c. which inundate Lower Normandy. You give from _one_ to _three_ sous, according as the subject be simple or compound, upon wood or upon copper:--Saints, martyrs, and scriptural subjects; or heroes, chieftains, and monarchs, including the Duke of Wellington and Louis XVIII.

le Desire--are among the taille-douces specified in the imprints. Madame did me the honour of shewing me some of her choicest treasures, as her husband was from home. Up stairs was a parcel of mirthful boys and girls, with painting brushes in their hands, and saucers of various colours before them. Upon enquiry, I found that they received four sous per dozen, for colouring; but I will not take upon me to say that they were over or under paid--of so _equivocal_ a character were their performances. Only I hoped to be excused if I preferred the plain to the coloured. In a foreign country, our notice is attracted towards things perhaps the most mean and minute. With this feeling, I examined carefully what was put before me, and made a selection sufficient to shew that it was the produce of French soil.

Among the serious subjects were _two_ to which I paid particular attention.

The one was a metrical cantique of the _Prodigal Son,_ with six wood cuts above the text, exhibiting the leading points of the Gospel-narrative. I will cut out and send you the _second_ of these six: in which you will clearly perceive the military turn which seems to prevail throughout France in things the most minute. The Prodigal is about to mount his horse and leave his father's house, in the cloke and c.o.c.k'd hat of a French officer.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The _fourth_ of these cuts is droll enough. It is ent.i.tled, "_L'Enfant Prodigue est cha.s.se par ses maitresses."_ The expulsion consists in the women driving him out of doors with besoms and hair-brooms. It is very probable, however, that all this character of absurdity attaches to some of our own representations of the same subject; if, instead of examining (as in Pope's time)

... the walls of Bedlam and Soho,

we take a survey of the graphic broadsides which dangle from strings upon the wall at Hyde Park Corner.

Another subject of a serious character, which I am about to describe to you, can rarely, in all probability, be the production of a London artist.