STREETS, in this extraordinary city, that of the _Great Clock--(Rue
de la Grosse Horloge)_ which runs in a straight line from the western front
of the Cathedral, at right angles with the _Rue des Carmes_, is probably
the most important, ancient, and interesting. When we were conveyed, on our
entrance, (in the cabriolet of the Diligence) beneath the arch to the upper
part of which this old fashioned clock is attached, we were lost in
admiration at the singularity of the scene. The inhabitants saw, and
enjoyed, our astonishment. There is a fountain beneath, or rather on one
side of this arch; over which is sculptured a motley group of insipid
figures, of the latter time of Louis XIV. The old tower near this clock
merits a leisurely survey: as do also some old houses, to the right, on
looking at it. It was within this old tower that a bell was formerly
tolled, at nine o'clock each evening, to warn the inhabitants abroad to
return within the walls of the city.[61]

Turning to the left, in this street, and going down a sharp descent, we
observed a stand of hackney coaches in a small square, called _La Place de
la Pucelle_: that is, the place where the famous JEANNE D'ARC[62] was
imprisoned, and afterwards burnt. What sensations possess us as we gaze on
each surrounding object!--although, now, each surrounding object has
undergone a palpable change! Ah, my friend--what emotions were _once_
excited within this small space! What curiosity, and even agony of mind,
mingled with the tumults of indignation, the shouts of revenge, and the
exclamations of pity! But life now goes on just the same as if nothing of
the kind had happened here. The past is forgotten. This hapless Joan of Arc
is one of the many, who, having been tortured as heretics, have been
afterwards reverenced as martyrs. Her statue was, not very long after her
execution, almost _adored_ upon that very spot where her body had been
consigned with execrations to the flames. The square, in which this statue
stands, contains probably one of the very oldest houses in Rouen--and as
interesting as it is ancient. It is invisible from without: but you open a
wooden gate, and quickly find yourself within a small quadrangle, having
three of its sides covered with basso-rilievo figures in plaster. That side
which faces you is evidently older than the left: indeed I have no
hesitation in assigning it to the end of the XVth century. The clustered
ornaments of human figures and cattle