ption, setting
forth it was built in consequence of a "voeu solennel des habitans de
Cherbourg en 1450 de la delivrance de la domination etrangere"--that is,
from the English, whose defeat the same year at Formigny, by the Constable
de Richemont, expelled them for ever from Normandy.

There is much to see in the environs of Cherbourg, which makes it a good
central point for excursions. We drove by the fort of Octeville, where a
magnificent panoramic view is obtained, equalling in extent that from the
Mont du Roule. A fisherman, who was standing by, told us the names of the
numerous forts that bristle in every direction, and related to us the
legend of the monk of Saire, who, having received the rent due to his
father for some land, appropriated the money to his own use, and, on the
tenant declaring he had paid the sum, adjured the evil one to carry him
off, if he had ever received the money. The words were no sooner uttered
than there came a flash of lightning, and the monk vanished: but he still
appears in the roads of Cherbourg floating on the sea; when he sees a
sailor, he cries "Save me, save me! I am about to sink!" but the hapless
being who approaches to assist him is immediately dragged into the water,
a peal of infernal laughter is heard, and the luckless mariner disappears
for ever. We asked our guide if he believed in the phantom monk, but he
was silent.

[Illustration: 1. Querqueville Church.]

From Octeville we proceeded to Querqueville, where, in the same churchyard
as the parochial church, stands a little church, named after St. Germain,
the first apostle of the Cotentin, who, in the fifth century, landed from
England on the coast of La Hogue, and preached Christianity in this
district and the valley traversed by the river Saire, which falls into the
sea near St. Vaast-la-Hogue. This tiny church, for it measures only 34
feet by 24, and is 11 feet high, is by some supposed to have been a temple
of the Gauls converted into a Christian place of worship; the nave and
tower having been added to the old temple, which consists of a triple apse
forming a regular trefoil, each of which has a domed top. We drove on to
Nacqueville, the chateau of Comte Hippolyte de Tocqueville. The park is
prettily laid out, a stream of water runs in front of the house, and a row
of blue hydrangeas blazed forth in great beauty, with the relief of a
background of dark firs. Time prevented us from pursuing our excursion
further west,