ays' siege was sufficient to
induce its garrison, of two hundred men, to surrender, what the
contemporary historians admit to have been one of the finest and
strongest places in the duchy. St. Sauveur, from this time, is no longer
celebrated in history, as a fortress; nor, indeed, does it even appear
to be mentioned as such, except in the Memoirs of Marshal de Matignon,
where a demand is stated to have been made for thirty men to garrison
it. In all probability, the change produced in the art of warfare, by
the introduction of cannon, caused it silently to pass into
insignificance, and then gradually to sink into its present wretched
state of dilapidation. Towards the close of the seventeenth century, an
hospital was established within its walls; and the same still subsists,
but in great poverty, in consequence of the funds having been alienated,
or lost, during the revolution.

Of the ancient fortifications of the castle, the greater part exists,
either entire, or sufficiently so to be traced. The most important of
all, the keep, is perfect in its exterior, but has been so completely
gutted within, that the original situation of the floors and beams is
not to be discovered without difficulty. The two ballia likewise remain:
the larger, which defended the keep; the lesser, in the form of a
crescent, designed to oppose the approach of an enemy on the side of the
town. Towards the north, the small river, the Ouve, formed a natural
defence. On the south, are still to be seen two gates, of which, that
leading to the dungeon was considerably the stronger. It was defended by
the works, commonly employed from the fourteenth to the sixteenth
century, for the protection of the entrances to fortresses; and, under
it, there yet remain, on either side, freestone seats, designed for the
guard, capable of containing from fifteen to twenty persons. The rest
of the outworks, which were many, have now disappeared; but people are
still living in the town, who remember to have seen the fosses filled
with water. At present they are obliterated; and their site is occupied
by houses and gardens.

The following is a list of the lords of St. Sauveur, from the year 1450,
to the revolution.--Charles VII. when first he wrested the castle from
the English, conferred it, together with its extensive domain, upon
Andrew de Villequier, and his heirs male; and it remained in this family
till 1536, when, from default of such heirs, it reverted to the c