emblems of old nobility--all in the dust; a hatchment half defaced, a
dragon with the gold still about his collar, a bit of an eagle's wing, a
halberd snapped in twain--all piled together in a heap of ruin!

A few weeks only, and we pass the place again--all is in order, the
'improvement' has taken place; there is a pleasant wide _pavé_, and a
manufactory for '_eau gazeuse_.'

The cathedral church of Nôtre Dame (the west front of which we have seen
in the illustration), and the church of St. Ouen, the two most
magnificent monuments in Rouen, are so familiar to most readers that we
can say little that is new respecting them. When we have given a short
description, taken from the best authorities on the subject, and have
pointed out to artistic readers that this west front with its
surrounding houses, and the view of the towers of St. Ouen from the
garden, at the _east_ end, are two of the grandest architectural
pictures to be found in Normandy, we shall have nearly accomplished our
task.[43]

[Illustration: CATHEDRAL OF 'NOTRE DAME' AT ROUEN.

"Like a piece of rockwork, rough and encrusted with images, and
ornamented from top to bottom."]

'The cathedral of Nôtre Dame occupies with its west front one side of a
square, formerly a fruit and flower market. The vast proportions of this
grand Gothic façade, its elaborate and profuse decorations, and its
stone screens of open tracery, impress one at first with wonder and
admiration, diminished however but not destroyed, by a closer
examination; which shows a confusion of ornament and a certain