the monks of Saint-Ouen succeeded in rebuilding their monastery; but it
was again completely destroyed by fire in 1248.

At last, the celebrated Jean (_John_) or _Roussel Marc d'argent_, the
twenty-fourth abbot, was elected in 1303. Fifteen years later, he laid
the first stone of the present magnificent church, which is so generally
admired. In one and twenty years, during which the works of this edifice
proceeded, the choir, the chapels, the pillars which support the tower,
and the greater part of the transept were finished. These buildings cost
63,036 livres five sous tournois, or about 2,600,000 francs of the
present money.

The edifice was not entirely completed until the beginning of the XVIth
century; but, the tower existed before the end of the XVth. An english
tourist[15] has expressed the following sentiments on this magnificent
church:

«You gaze, and are first-struck with its matchless window: call it rose,
or marygold, as you please. I think, for delicacy and richness of
ornament, this window is perfectly unrivalled. There is a play of line
in the mullions, which, considering their size and strength, may be
pronounced quite a master-piece of art. You approach, regretting the
neglected state of the lateral towers, and enter, through the large and
completely-opened centre doors, the nave of the abbey. It was towards
sun-set when we made our first entrance. The evening was beautiful; and
the variegated tints of sunbeam, admitted through the stained glass of
the window, just noticed, were perfectly enchanting. The window itself,
as you look upwards, or rather as you fix your eye upon the centre of
it, from the remote end of the abbey, or the Lady's chapel, was a
perfect blaze of dazzling light: and nave, choir, and side aisles,