--I have seen these bells suspended
(in illumination to the above psalm) to a very elegant Gothic frame,
ascending like the upper part of a modern harp."]
[Footnote 9: _Gallia Christiana_, XI. p. 270.]
[Illustration: Distant View of the Abbey of St. Jumieges]
LETTER XV.
ABBEY OF JUMIEGES--ITS HISTORY--ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS--TOMBS OF AGNES
SOREL AND OF THE ENERVEZ.
(_Ducler, July_, 1818)
The country between Ducler and Jumieges is of much the same character
with that through which we had already travelled from Rouen; the road
sometimes coasting the Seine, and sometimes passing through a
well-wooded country, pleasantly intermingled with corn-fields. In its
general appearance, this district bears a near resemblance to an English
landscape; more so, indeed, than in any other part of Normandy, where
the features of the scenery are upon a larger scale.
The lofty towers of the abbey of Jumieges are conspicuous from afar: the
stone of which they are built is peculiarly white; and at a distance
scarcely any signs of decay or dilapidation are visible. On a nearer
approach, however, the Vandalism of the modern French appears in full
activity. For the pitiful value of the materials, this noble edifice is
doomed to destruction.
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