end, which is one of the few remaining in France.

[Illustration: Exterior Pulpit at St Lo.[23]]

If we ascend one of the towers, we shall be rewarded with a view over a
varied and undulating landscape, stretching far away westward towards
the sea, and southward towards Avranches and Vire; whilst here and
there we may distinguish, dotted amongst the trees, those curious
châteaux of the _ancienne noblesse_, which are disappearing rapidly in
other parts of France; and the view of the town and cathedral together,
as seen from the opposite hill, with the river winding through the
meadows, and the women washing, on their knees on the bank, is also very
picturesque.

We do not, however, make a long stay at St. Lo, for we are within
sixteen miles of the city of COUTANCES, with its narrow and
curiously modern-looking streets, its ecclesiastical associations, and
its magnificent cathedral. As we approach it, by the road, we see before
us a group of noble Gothic spires, and are prepared to meet (as we do in
nearly every street) ecclesiastics and priests, and to find the
'Catholic Church' holding its head high in this remote part of France.

Everything gives way to the Cathedral in point of interest and
importance. It is considered 'one of the most complete and beautiful in
France, free from exuberant ornament, and captivating the eye by the
elegance of proportion and arrangement. Its plan possesses several
peculiar features, comprising a nave with two west towers, side aisles,
and chapels, filling up what would in other cathedrals be intervals
between buttresses; north and south transepts, with an octagonal tower
at their intersection; a choir with a polygonal apse, double aisles,