, and a preacher of considerable popularity. He had one of the
most meagre and forbidding physiognomies I ever beheld, and his beard was
black and unshaven. But he preached well; fluently, and even eloquently:
making a very singular, but not ungraceful, use of his left arm--and
displaying at times rather a happy familiarity of manner, wholly exempt
from vulgarity, and well suited to the capacities and feelings of his
youthful audience. His subject was "belief in Christ Jesus;" on which he
gave very excellent proofs and evidences. His voice was thin, but clear,
and distinctly heard.

And now, my dear Friend, if you are not tired with this detour of the
CATHEDRAL, suppose we take a promenade to the next most important
ecclesiastical edifice in the city of Rouen. What say you therefore to a
stroll to the ABBEY of ST. OUEN? "Willingly," methinks I hear you reply. To
the abbey therefore let us go.

Leaving the Cathedral, you pass a beautifully sculptured fountain (of the
early time of Francis I.) which stands at the corner of a street, to the
right; and which, from its central situation, is visited the live-long day
for the sake of its limpid waters. Push on a little further; then, turning
to the right, you get into a sort of square, and observe the ABBEY--or
rather the _west-front_ of it, full in face of you. You gaze, and are first
struck with its matchless window: call it rose, or marygold, as you please.
I think, for delicacy and richness of ornament, this window is perfectly
unrivalled. There is a play of line in the mullions, which, considering
their size and strength, may be pronounced quite a master-piece of art. You
approach, regretting the neglected state of the lateral towers, and enter,
through the large and completely-opened centre doors, the nave of the
Abbey. It was towards sun-set when we made our first entrance. The evening
was beautiful; and the variegated tints of sun-beam, admitted through the
stained glass of the window, just noticed, were perfectly enchanting. The
window itself, as you look upwards, or rather as you fix your eye upon the
centre of it, from the remote end of the Abbey, or the _Lady's Chapel_, was
a perfect blaze of dazzling light: and nave, choir, and side aisles, seemed
magically illumined ...

Seemed all on fire--within, around;
Deep sacristy and altar's pale;
Shone every pillar foliage-bound....

_Lay of the Last Minstrel_.

We declared instinctively that the ABBEY OF ST.