tables
who have been mentioned "had pity for the destruction of the city and would
not consent to the assault." Without their orders, however, the troops,
whose ardour could not be restrained, attacked in one place, but not having
had the advice of their leaders the onslaught was quite indecisive, both
sides suffering equally from arrows and culverins. It was soon after this
that Matthew Gough, the English leader, was obliged to surrender the city,
and we are told that nine hundred of the bravest and the best soldiers of
the Duchy of Normandy came out and were allowed to march to Cherbourg. The
French lords "for the honour of courtesy" lent some of their horses to
carry the ladies and the other gentlewomen, and they also supplied carts to
convey the ordinary womenfolk who went with their husbands. "It was," says
Jacques le Bouvier, who describes the scene, "a thing pitiful to behold.
Some carried the smallest of the children in their arms, and some were led
by hand, and in this way the English lost possession of Bayeux."

[Illustration: THE GATEWAY OF THE CHATEAU]

CHAPTER X

Concerning Caen and the Coast Towards Trouville

Caen, like mediaeval London, is famed for its bells and its smells. If you
climb up to any height in the town you will see at once that the place is
crowded with the spires and towers of churches; and, if you explore any of
the streets, you are sure to discover how rudimentary are the notions of
sanitation in the historic old city. If you come to Caen determined to
thoroughly examine all the churches, you must allow at least two or three
days for this purpose, for although you might endeavour to "do" the place
in one single day, you would remember nothing but the fatigue, and the
features of all the churches would become completely confused.

My first visit to Caen, several years ago, is associated with a day of
sight-seeing commenced at a very early hour. I had been deposited at one of
the quays by the steamer that had started at sunrise and had slowly glided
along the ten miles of canal from Ouistreham, reaching its destination at
about five o'clock. The town seemed thoroughly awake at this time, the
weather being brilliantly fine. White-capped women were everywhere to be
seen sweeping the cobbled streets with their peculiarly fragile-looking
brooms. It was so early by the actual time, however, that it seemed wise to
go straight to the hotel and to postpone the commencement of sight-se