ale head, with a
ferocious-looking man on each side of it, either saluting the woman, or
whispering in her ear. But the most striking objects are the stone figures
of two men, upon a circular tower, of which one is in the act of shooting
an arrow, and the other as if holding a drawn sword. I got admittance
within the building; and ascending the tower, found that these were only
the _trunks_ of figures,--and removable at pleasure. I could only stroke
their beards and shake their bodies a little, which was of course done with
impunity. Whether the present be the _original_ place of their destination
may be very doubtful. The Abbe de la Rue, with whom I discoursed upon the
subject yesterday morning, is of opinion that these figures are of the time
of Louis XI.: which makes them a little more ancient than the other
ornaments of the building. As to the interior, I could gather nothing with
certainty of the original character of the place from the present remains.
The earth is piled up, here and there, in artificial mounds covered with
grass: and an orchard, and rich pasture land (where I saw several women
milking cows) form the whole of the interior scenery. However the
_Caennois_ are rather proud of this building.

Leaving you to your own conclusions respecting the date of its erection,
and "putting the colophon" to this disquisition respecting the principal
public buildings at Caen, it is high time to assure you how faithfully I am
always yours.

[96] ["Besides her numerous public schools, Caen possesses two Schools of
Art--one for design, the other for Architecture and Ornament--where
the Students are _gratuitously_ instructed." LICQUET.]

[97] It is called _Vin Huet_--and is the last wine which a traveller
will be disposed to ask for. When Henry IV. passed through the town,
he could not conceive why such excellent grapes should produce such
execrable wine. I owe this intelligence to Mons. LICQUET.

[98] Somewhere about 150 English acres.

[99] [I had before said _twenty_--but Mons. Licquet observes, I might
have said--thirty thousand pairs of hands.]

[100] Caen was celebrated for its table linen three centuries ago. Consult
BOURGUEVILLE: _Antiquitez de Caen_; 1588, 8vo. p. 26.

[101] The fauxbourgs of Caen, in the present day, wear a melancholy
contrast to what they appear to have done in the middle of the XVIth
century. Consult the pleasantly penned description of these fauxb