--Besides, there is a certain degree of regularity in the
construction of the buildings, and some care is taken in keeping them
clean.--Lace-making is the principal occupation of females of the lower
class in Caen and the neighborhood; the streets, as we passed along,
were lined almost uninterruptedly on either side, with a row of
lace-makers; and boys were not uncommonly working among the women. It is
calculated that not fewer than twenty thousand individuals, of all ages,
from ten or twelve years old and upwards, are thus employed; and the
annual produce of their labor is estimated at one hundred and seventy
thousand pounds sterling. Caen lace is in high estimation for its beauty
and quality, and is exported in considerable quantities.
The present population of Caen amounts to about thirty-one thousand
individuals. The town, no longer the capital of Lower Normandy, is still
equally distinguished as the capital of the department of the Calvados.
The prefect resides here; and the royal court of Caen comprises in its
jurisdiction, not only the department more especially appertaining to
it, but also those of the Manche and the Orne.--The situation of the
town, though at the confluence of the Orne and the Odon, is not such as
can be regarded favorable to extensive trade.
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