se prelates was
much in the confidence of Henry II. to whom he rendered acceptable
service in his unfortunate disputes with Thomas-a-Becket. He was not
only one of the very few bishops who then preserved their fidelity to
their sovereign inviolate, but he undertook a mission to the French
king, for the purpose of remonstrating upon the favorable reception
given to the primate, on which occasion he received the following
memorable answer:--"Tell your master, that if he cannot submit to the
abolition of the ordinances, which he designates as the customs of his
ancestors, because he thinks it would compromise the dignity of his
crown, although, as it is reported, they are but little conformable to
the will of God, still less can I consent to sacrifice a right that
has always been enjoyed by the kings of France. I mean the right of
giving shelter to all persons in affliction, but principally to those
who are exiled for justice sake, and of affording them, during their
persecution, all manner of protection and assistance."--John de Bertaut
lived in the beginning of the seventeenth century: he was principal
almoner to Mary de Medicis, and was afterwards in high favor with Henry
IV. to whose conversion he is said to have mainly contributed. He
likewise distinguished himself as a poet.--A third bishop of Seez,
Serlo, already mentioned, was a man of such commanding eloquence, that,
when he had the honor of preaching before Henry I. and his court, at
Carentan, in 1106, he declaimed with so much effect against the
effeminate custom of wearing long beards and long hair, that the
sovereign declared himself a convert, and the bishop, "_extractis e
mantica forcipibus, primo regem tum caeteros optimates attondit_."[223]

[Illustration: Plate 100. CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF NOTRE DAME, AT SEEZ.
_Elevation of the Nave._]

The church of Seez may be compared in its architecture with those of
Coutances and of Lisieux: they are unlike, indeed, but by no means
different. The points of resemblance exceed those of a contrary
description.

"facies non omnibus una,
Nec diversa tamen, qualem decet esse sororum."

Severe simplicity characterizes Lisieux: Coutances is distinguished by
elegance, abounding in decoration: Seez, at the same time that it unites
the excellencies of both, can rival neither in those which are
peculiarly its own. On the first view of the church, its mean and
insignificant western tower strikes the s