sur Somme, carried off the relics of the patron saint, and
deposited them in this town. My reporters tell me that it has an air of
antiquity and gloom, but that it contains nothing worthy of notice
except a crucifix in the churchyard, of stone, richly wrought, dated
1575, and a _benitier_ of such simple form and rude workmanship, as to
appear of considerable antiquity. The place itself is only a wretched
residence for four or five thousand fishermen; but still it has a
name[27] in history. Hence William sailed for the conquest of England;
and its harbor, all poor and small as it is, has always been considered
of importance to the country; there being no other between Havre and
Dieppe capable of affording shelter to vessels of even a moderate size.

The road to Fecamp passes through the little town of Cany, situated in a
beautiful valley; and there my family met the Archbishop of Rouen, who,
at this moment, is in progress through his diocese, for the purpose of
confirmation. The approach of his eminence gave the appearance of a fair
to every village: young and old of both sexes were collected in the
highways to welcome the prelate. He travelled in considerable state,
attended by a military escort of twenty men; and arrayed in the scarlet
robe of a Roman Cardinal, with the brilliant "decoration" of the Legion
of Honor conspicuous upon his breast. For the archbishop is a grand
officer of that brotherhood of bastard chivalry; and this ornament,
conjoined to his train of whiskered warriors, seemed to render him a
very type of the church militant. His eminence is extremely bulky; and
my pilgrims were wicked enough to be much amused by the oddity of his
pomp and pride. Nor did the postillion spare his facetiousness on the
occasion; for you are aware that in France, as in most other parts of
the continent, the servile classes use a degree of familiarity in their
intercourse with their betters, to which we are little accustomed in
England, and which has given rise to the Italian proverb, that "Il
Francese e fedele, l'Italiano rispettoso, l'Inglese schiavo[28]."

Throughout this part of France, large flocks of sheep are commonly seen
in the vicinity of the sea, and, as the pastures are uninclosed, they
are all regularly guarded by a shepherd and his black dog, whose
activity cannot fail to be a subject of admiration. He is always on the
alert and attentive to his business, skirting his flock to keep them
from straggling, and that