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ANTIQUE DOOR-WAYS.

beautiful town; and all inquiries are directed towards the "guarded mount," in the absence of a single church of interest on the spot. The lofty and commanding walls which once rendered it almost impregnable, still remain, however, to attest its former grandeur,-a broad terrace beneath them, on one side opens to the magnificent prospect spread in wondrous variety as far as vision can extend; and above, gardens and houses, all fine and commanding an unequalled view, replace the towers and battlements of old.

In some of the streets antique door-ways speak of its monastic possessions: la Rue des Prêtres is rich in these remains, but so much has been removed and so much is the town improving daily in convenience, that by degrees no doubt these will disappear; there are numerous vaults, however, so solid and so useful for merchants that they will probably always keep their place,monuments of Roman stability when all besides is swept away.

On the fine platform now called La Place Huet, at the highest point of the whole town,

*

*The learned Huet, of whom his townsmen are justly proud, was a native of Avranches. It is proposed to erect a statue of him on the place where the cathedral stood, which idea, it is to be hoped, will be carried into execution. Some public monument is required on the platform, which, if planted

LA PLACE HUET.

61

where once stood the stately cathedral, a landmark for seamen for leagues, there is now to be traced one solitary stone, cleared from the grass and weeds around it: it bears a rudely carved chalice without inscription or ornament. This, it has been asserted, is part of the pavement at the entrance of the cathedral on which Henry II. knelt to expiate by severe penance the crime he had committed by desiring, if not by suggesting, the murder of his haughty and rebellious, but powerful subject, Becket. Every trace but this has passed away of the gorgeous pile where the proud monarch submitted to an indignity which his spirit was little fitted to endure.

Bright and clear amongst the widely extending sands rise, in the extreme distance, with a background of sparkling waves, the two mounts, St. Michel and Tombelène, the object of so much speculation amongst the learned of so many ages. What was their position in former times? Did they stand in the midst of a circle of dark forests far removed from the sea which now washes their feet, and whose resistless might has destroyed all of their possessions but the rock which forms

with trees and adorned with walks, would be a delightful promenade, commanding as it does so splendid a view. No doubt the spirited inhabitants of Avranches will accord in beautifying their charming town by this addition.

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KING ARTHUR'S NIECE.

them? Antiquaries are divided as to particulars, but agree in supposing that the forest of Scycy or Quokelunde existed in the time of the Druids; that these mounts were sacred to their worship, and that either suddenly or in the course of time the sea had gained upon the vast wooded plain, and left them lonely in the midst of a sandy desert. The great quantity of blackened trees continually found beneath the waters, and far under the sands to an enormous extent, tend to prove the probability of this assertion. The museum of Avranches is enriched with several specimens of these discoveries.

Amongst many learned and somewhat tedious derivations and discussions, on the name and on the purpose of the smaller and sister mount of Tombelène or Tombeleine, are some more romantic than probable. It is related by an early historian that "King Arthur, being encamped at Harfleur, news was brought to him that a giant of marvellous size and strength, come from Spain, had carried off Helen the niece of King Hoel, his nephew, during his absence, and kept her

* Tumba Beléni appears a natural etymology as it is supposed that both mounts were consecrated to the worship of Belenus, whom the Gauls reverenced as the sun; the same, doubtless, as the Belus of the Assyrians, and the Baal of Scripture, "The fable of Belenus old," and the "Great Vision of the guarded mount," mentioned by Milton.

in durance on the Mont de Tumbe, where now the church of our Lord St. Michel is situated; the which fair maid had died of the terror inspired by this horrible monster, and had been by her nurse buried in a mount hard by. Arthur, indignant at this outrage, sought and combated the giant, whom he slew. Hoel, overcome with grief at the tragical end of his niece Helen, caused a tomb and a chapel to be erected where she lay, which was called the maiden's tomb,' and to our days is still named as Tumbe Helène."

Another account relates that a beautiful young lady also named Helen, whose parentage appears unknown, not being able to follow her lover Montgomery, who accompanied William on his expedition to conquer England, died with grief after watching his vessel till she lost it in the distance, and was buried on this rock where she expired.

The shores of Mont St. Michel have been witness to many strange events; not the least tragical is one thus recounted by M. de Roujoux as having taken place in the year 1450.

"Francis I. Duke of Bretagne, conceiving some cause of complaint against his brother Gilles de Bretagne, had closely imprisoned him for several years, loading him with severities and dragging him from dungeon to dungeon. In vain the

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THE CAPTIVE.

unfortunate victim solicited mercy or pardon, the inflexibility of Francis seemed to increase in proportion to his submission. At length, becoming fearful of his escaping him, Francis proposed to the governor of the Château de la Hardouinaye, in which the prisoner was then detained, to get rid of him by poison or the sword; the governor had the courage to refuse, and his noble example was followed by several others to whom the unnatural brother ventured to intimate his wish. The Duke, however, in the end, found three wretches who did not shrink from such an act of villany, and to them he abandoned the devoted captive. They resolved to let the unhappy prince expire of famine, and for that purpose he was placed in a frightful den, such as were so common in most castles of the period, and whose remains horrify the traveller who explores their ruins. Urged by the torments of hunger, the miserable Gilles uttered the most piercing cries and groans as he dragged his emaciated form to the bars of his prison, and from time to time these sounds reached the ears of the startled peasants, whose terror overcame the pity thus excited. A young woman, however, who had heard these groans of agony with deep commiseration, could not resist the impression which they had made on her mind, and notwithstanding the timidity of her nature