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FOREST SCENERY.-ST. LO.

of the violin, singing verses made for the occasion.

It was a lovely evening when we quitted Bayeux and the country became more and more beautiful, justifying the pretension which is claimed for Lower Normandy. Half way to St. Lo we entered the forest of Cerisy, where our course lay for upwards of six miles, with a dense mass of wood on either side, occasionally relieved by long vistas through which the rays of the setting sun were streaming. The road is remarkably fine and wide, and the stillness of the evening and the solitude of the spot threw an inexpressible charm over the scene. The forest of Cerisy is of great extent, seven leagues at least, in circumference, and contains a great deal of game, both deer and wild boar, and the privilege of hunting is fully enjoyed by several opulent landholdhers of the district.

At the further extremity of the forest we quitted the department of Calvados and entered that of La Manche, and from one of the heights on this hilly road we shortly caught a glimpse of the lofty spires of Notre Dame de St. Lo. It was dark when we arrived there, and not liking the appearance of the inn where the diligence stopped, we drove on in hopes of finding a better; but this being an impossibility, we were

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obliged to retrace our steps, and were fain to content ourselves with the place we had originally slighted, though the accommodation was sufficiently poor. Soit dit en passant, all the inns along this line of road are extremely bad,-a quality which reaches its height when you arrive at Granville; the beds are, however, always an exception.

We were not a little entertained at breakfast next morning by the relation of an adventure of a gentleman of our party, who requiring some English money changed, and of course anticipating no difficulty in a large town like St. Lo, had sallied forth on that errand. At the first goldsmith's shop he entered, (the usual places of exchange,) he was told that there were no money changers in the town; at the second he was directed to a third, where a young girl of sixteen, the professed factotum of the shop, as girls generally are in France, came forward and answered his inquiry in the affirmative. He accordingly produced a few sovereigns, for which he requested five franc pieces. The demoiselle took them up one by one, looked at them very wistfully, put them down again, drew out a pair of scales, pulled forth a large quarto volume full of engravings, and began to study it very attentively. It was a treatise on numismatics, published, as the type and binding of the book proclaimed, about

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the middle of the last century, and contained effigies of all the coins current at that time throughout the world, with the weight and value of each. After turning over a great many pages, and then fixing her eyes on the one where English coins were depicted, she exclaimed with an air of satisfaction, "Ah! ce sont des guinées!" and then proceeded to weigh the mysterious pieces of money, which she seemed doubtful might turn, like fairy gold, into leaves as soon as he was gone. Our friend explained to her that there were no such things now as guineas in circulation; that these were sovereigns,-worth so much less,-mentioned their value, and explained that no premium was wanted. The young money-changer was silent for a little while; at last she said with some hesitation, that her papa was not at home, and that she "was ignorance itself in this," but if he would leave her one of the sovereigns she would send it to her parent, who was only gone a few miles into the country, and when she knew the weight and value of one coin she could easily calculate what they would all come to.

He ventured to decline this proposition, as it involved a period of time of somewhat doubtful length, and a result of some uncertainty, alleging as his excuse his proposed departure immedi

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ately, observing merely that apparently there was not much commerce at St. Lo in affairs of this nature. "Oh no, Monsieur," said she, “very little indeed, for if there were I should have known all about it." Our friend therefore made his bow to the little Jessica, and soon after effected his purpose at the bureau of the messagerie, without further difficulty.

In all the Norman towns, the cathedral or principal church is the chief attraction. That of St. Lo is very fine, though inferior to Bayeux. It is said to be a copy of the cathedral of Coutances, but I know not on what ground, as I could trace no resemblance. The western front is very richly and elaborately sculptured, and the moulding of leaves and flowers on the south side is exquisite. On the north side is a stone pulpit of very beautiful form, projecting over the street. From thence, probably, the priest blessed the cattle on the fête of St. Martin. Within the church there is another peculiarity, a well of consecrated water about twenty feet deep it is situated close to one of the chapels, in the apsis, behind the grand altar. The stained glass, though it has suffered in many of the windows, and is pieced irregularly, is of a very beautiful colour, and many of the figures, in the costume of the fifteenth century, are quite

perfect. The columns which support the nave are very massive, and are without capitals, the arches springing from the shaft. We were speaking of this peculiarity afterwards in a bookseller's shop hard by, the owner of which had exhibited great interest in our opinion; but he evidently thought we were depreciating the beauties of his cathedral by the remark, and with great importance remarked that though there might be no capitals to the columns on ordinary occasions, "C'est possible qu'on ne les met que les jours de féte."

The old church of St. Croix, a relic of the 9th century, is in very good preservation, though the interior is disfigured by being covered with a bright yellow wash. There is some curious sculpture over the western entrance, but only a portion of the original door now remains.

We were desirous of seeing the public library, and proceeded to the college where it is situated. The librarian was just gone, but one of the professors who was standing in the court-yard, and became aware of our wishes, informed us where he lived, and though he admitted that there were no manuscripts and few books, he added that our wishes would, no doubt, be gratified. This mode of expressing himself was characteristic of his nation: "Monsieur," said