s a municipal workshop.

We have more than once referred to the church of St Pierre, but as yet we
have made no reference to its architecture. The tower and graceful spire
needs no detailed description, for it appears in the coloured illustration
adjoining, and from it one may see what a strikingly perfect structure this
is for such an early date as 1308. It is a marvel of construction, for the
spire within is hollow, and without any interior framework or supports at
all. Although it is so seemingly frail, it was used during the sixteenth
century for military purposes, having been selected as a good position for
firing upon the castle, and it naturally became a target for the guns
inside the fortress. You cannot now see the holes made by the cannon balls,
but although they were not repaired for many years the tower remained
perfectly stable, as a proof of the excellent work of Nicholas, the
Englishman who built it.

Unlike the church of the Abbaye aux Dames, St Pierre is brilliantly lit
inside by large, traceried windows that let in the light through their
painted glass. In the nave the roof is covered with the most elaborate
vaulting with great pendants dropping from the centre of each section; but
for the most crowded ornament one must examine the chancel and the chapels.

The church of St Jean is not conspicuous, but it is notable for two or
three features. The western tower is six and a half feet out of
perpendicular, the triforium has a noticeable balustrade running all round,
and the chancel is longer than the nave. St Sauveur, in the Rue St Pierre
is of the same period as St Jean, but its tower if it had been crocketed
would have very closely resembled that of St Pierre, and it is chiefly
notable for the fact that it is two churches thrown into one--that of St
Eustace being joined on to it.

Another feature of Caen that is often overlooked is the charm of its old
courtyards. Behind some of the rather plain stone fronts, the archways lead
into little paved quadrangles that have curious well-heads, rustic outside
staircases, and odd-shaped dormer windows on the steep roofs. One of these
courtyards behind a house in the Rue de Bayeux is illustrated here, but to
do justice to the quaintnesses that are to be revealed, it would have been
necessary to give several examples. In the Boulevard St Pierre, where the
pavements are shaded by pink horse chestnuts there stands the Tour le Roy.
It is the most noticeable remnant