Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-05-23
NORMANDY
THE SCENERY ALONG THE SEINE
RIVER.
Views of Castles and Townsville
Famous City of ROueR-its
Attractions.

Leaving RaTlS 1Or tour through nor
mandy, we took the steamer for Rouen,
The scenery along the river Seine between
Paris and Havre offers number Of attrac-
tons. Both banks are abundantly studded
with towns, villages and chateaux; green
fields alternate with forests or round hills
and the islands are so numerous that be-
tween four and five hundred are said tc
exist. The first curiosity after leaving 81
German ana Poissy, where St. Louis was
born, is La Roche Guyon, one Of the larges.
castles on the Seine. 1t belongs to the
family De Rohan, and is situated at the base
of a rock of chalk, which has been escarped
artifcially to make room for it. This
structure, part modern, part Gothic, is one
of the most striking objects on the river.
An old tower, standing on an emiAence
communicates with the chateau by means
OF steps cut in the hillside, and
commands the country far and near.
1t was at this castle that Francois
de Bourbon, Count dEnghicn, was
killed, while playing at SNOWFALL, by a
chest of linen being thrown upon his head
from a window above This was done, it
is said, by the Count d'Aumale, afterwards
Duke de Guise. and by order Of the
Dauphin Henry ". used to visit this
castle frequently, and the chamber and
bed which he occupied have been kept IN
their original condition until the present
DAY. In the little town near the castle a
number of houses Of the poor people have
strange appearance They are burrowed
into the chalk hills and form two streets,
one above the other, more resembling caves
than human dwellings. The next object
of interest on the Seine Is
CHATEAU GAILLARD,
The once favorite castle OF King Richard,
Cuur de Lion This romantic ruin Is in
tcresting for its situation and associations.
Standing on an eminent and isolated hill,
with steep escaIpments on all sides, 1t is
almost inaccessible. Toward the river 1t
presents a vertical precipice. In its time Ii
was the strongest castle in Normandy.
Notwithstanding its inexpungable position
it had strong walls and great thanking
towers along the edge OF the cliff, of which
only the ruins remain. But these were
only the outworks Within them arose a
strong citadel with huge circle OF towers,
among them the Donjon, in which the
royal apartments were. Its walls are from
fourteen to fifteen feet thick.
Approaching Rnuen one passes htbocuf,
the most important cloth manufacturing
town III France. About 10000 people are
employed in these factories in and around
Elboeuf The cloth is finer in quality
and more beautiful in design than the Eng
lish article, but not so durable in tissue
Between Elboeuf and Rouen are the rocks
of Oriyal, range of chalk ellis consisting
- al Il mo
shelves, which present a curious outline OF
all kinds of fantastic forms and grOtesque
figures. One of these needles of chalk
called Roche de Pignon, rises 300 feet above
the river.
PARTING WORDS FOR FRANCE
Before continuing our route through
beautiful Normandy we may be allowed &c
say few words about the Indifferent appre-
citation by most foreigners of the charms
and attractions of France. Most tourists
and travellers enter France from the ex-
IRENE north or northeast by way OF Calais
or Dieppe, and those who traverse France on
their way to Italy or Switzerland take the
route Of Lyons and Marseilles or Strasberg
and Dion, and meet with a monoton0us
and sometimes dreary aspect Of the coun'
try. But let them follow the course of the
llNtIS CtLlltf lJtllC 'iil'A iAilp4iC ALiN
wild coast scenery of Brittany, pretty Nor
mandy, the fertility and the charming seen
cry Of central France, including the dis
tricts of Orleans, TOuraine, Linousin, Au'
vcrgne, Cantal, etc.-visit the hills OF the
Jura, the mountains and splendid valleys
of Dauphine, or look at the grand pano-
rama Of the PyrcneeS-and they will readily
understand why the French call their
country - La Belle France"
AGRICULTURE, ETC, IN NORMANDY.
Agriculture and general industry are
much developed in Normandy. Less thar
. per cent. OF its soil is unproductive, all
the rest is in a high state of cultivation OIL
planted with timber. Villages there d feI
from others in France, III as far as agglomer-
alton of buildings is concerned; for while
the houses of most villages nestle around
a church and form regular streets, in Nor
mandy they stand isolated in the midst O
a vast courtyard fruit trees surround them
and bitches and high hedges defend theil
approach. These courts have two issues
one upon the high road, the other upon
the fields. The trees and high hedges
which sOmetim reach the hight of thirty
or forty feet, are intended for protection
against storms 1t has sometimes been as
serted that the French peasantry is incllneC
to uncleanliness. which is not true; for, no
only are the houses for the most part clear
and tidy but nothing could be neater thar
the rOsy-cheeked French peasant girls IL
their short, well-fitting dress, snow-whit(
apron and Golf Nor do the men in theil
coarse hOme-spun jackets or blouses
wooden shoes and caps, show any signs o
uncleanliness. We venture the assertion
that the French peasants have less I'M
couthncSS about them, less rOughness II
their appearance, and generally more pc
likeness in their manners, than those o.
many other countries in Europe.
THE CITY OF RoUEN
Roucn, the principal town in Normandy
is agrecablv situated on the river Seine
and Yields to no other provincial city Of
France in its majestic and venerable aspect
in historic associations and i'll magnificent
public buildings, which are the triumph Of
the ecclesiastical and civil architecture oil
the Middle Ages. 1t has this advantage
over most other ancient towns, that 1t Is
not mere heap of antiquities, destitute OF
life and abandoned By commerce; but on
the contrary. its narrow streets OF gable
faced imber-fronted mansions swarm like
an ant-hill with busy crowds passing &c
and fro. Being the principal seat OF the
cotton manufacture in the country IT IS q
focus Of trade, and may be called the
French Manchester The population is
about 10000 The most imposing edi-
fees in Roueu are its splendid churches
The cathedral was built in the thirteenth
century, and its west front occupies one
side of square. The vast proportions OF
this grand Gothic facade, its elaborate and
profuse decorations, and its stone screens OF
open tracery, impress one with wonder and
admiration. 1t is ilanked by two stately
towers, and its central spire is 49, feet high
The interior measures 435 feet in length,
and is adorned with
NUMEROUS FINE SCULPTURES
And painted windows. The choir is sepa-
rated from the nave BY a Grecian screen
and the carving of the stalls is extremely
curious. Lozenge-shaped marble tablets,
placed in the pavement, mark the spots
where the heart OF Richard l., Cour dc
Lion. and the bodies of his brother Henry
OF William, son of Godfrey Plantagenet
and that of John, Duke of Bedfort were in
TERED. In 1888 statue of Richard l. was
found under the pavement near the high
.1t.- wall ~ J., I ic,, IJoart