Of the latter, I
send you a drawing. Leaden fonts are of very rare occurrence in
England[52], and I never saw or heard of another such in France: indeed,
a baptismal font of any kind is seldom to be seen in a French church,
and the vessels used for containing the holy water, are in most cases
nothing more than small basins in the form of escalop shells, affixed to
the wall, or to some pillar near the entrance.--It is possible that
the fonts were removed and sold during the revolution, as they were in
our own country, by the ordinance of the houses of parliament, after the
deposition of Charles Ist; but this is a mere conjecture on my own part.
It is also possible that they may be kept in the sacristy, where I have
certainly seen them in some cases. In earlier times, they not only
existed in every church, but were looked upon with superstitious
reverence. They are frequently mentioned in the decrees of
ecclesiastical councils; some of which provide for keeping them clean
and locked; others for consigning the keys of them to proper officers;
others direct that they should never be without water; and others that
nothing profane should be laid upon them[53].
[Illustration: Leaden Font at Bourg-Achard]
As we were at breakfast this morning, a procession, attended by a great
throng, passed our windows, and we were invited by our landlady to go to
the church and see the wedding of two of the principal persons of the
parish, We accepted the proposal; and, though the same ceremony has been
witnessed by thousands of Englishmen, yet I doubt whether it has been
described by any one.
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