urlaville.]

A river in the foreground, in the distance a setting sun, motto "Ainsi
puissai-je mourir." This assemblage of devices and mottoes is not
applicable to any particular individual, but may be supposed to be merely
an expression of the taste of the time. They are of the seventeenth
century, when the Ravalet had been succeeded by the Franquetot family, who
have since taken the name of Coigny. Their arms, with several others, are
in the little boudoir in one of the towers, called the Blue Chamber. Its
walls are distempered blue, and the coverlet and hangings of the bed, with
all the decorations of the room, are of the same colour. Having admired
the lovely view from the "Tour des quatre vents," we descended to the
kitchen of the farmer who rents the house, which now belongs to the
Tocqueville family. His wife was busily employed in making "crepes," a
favourite kind of cake in Normandy and Brittany. It is made generally of
the flour of the sarrasin or buckwheat, mixed with milk or water, and
spread into a kind of pancake, which is fried on an iron pan, resembling
the Scotch griddle-cakes. Another variety, called "galette," is made of
the same ingredients, but differs from the crepe in its being made three
or four times the thickness, and is therefore not so light. Though
generally made of buckwheat, wheat or oat-flour is sometimes used; and in
the towns, sugar and cinnamon and vanilla are added, and the simple
character of the crepe entirely changed under the hands of the
confectioner. The little village of Tourlaville was famous for its
glassworks, until supplanted by those of Gobain.

On our return to Cherbourg we visited the lace school of the Soeurs de la
Providence, where about two hundred girls are employed in making black
lace like that of Bayeux, which has now completely superseded the
Chantilly; the manner of making both laces is similar. The old Chantilly
has completely died out, and the modern manufacture extends the whole
length of Normandy from Cherbourg to Bayeux. How the children can keep the
bobbins from entangling is a marvel; there were as many as five hundred on
one pillow. The lace-makers were chiefly employed in flounces, shawls, and
other large works. These are all made in separate pieces, and united by
the stitch called fine joining or "raboutissage." A half-shawl or "pointe"
was divided into thirty segments. We passed the evening at the
Etablissement, and next morning left Cherbourg.

The