This church has numerous side chapels, and figures of patron-saints.  The entombment of Christ in white marble, (at the end of the chapel of the Virgin,) is rather singular; inasmuch as the figure of Christ itself is ancient, and exceedingly fine in anatomical expression; but the usual surrounding figures are modern, and proportionably clumsy and inexpressive.  I noted one mural monument, to the memory of Guillaume Tellier, which was dated 1484.[86] Few churches have more highly interested me than this at Caudebec.[87] From the church I strolled to the Place, where stood the caffe, by the banks of the Seine.  The morning view of this scene perfectly delighted me.  Nothing can be more picturesque.  The river cannot be much less than a mile in width, and it makes a perfect bend in the form of a crescent.  On one side, that on which the village stands, are walks and gardens through which peep numerous white villas—­and on the other are meadows, terminating in lofty rising grounds—­feathered with coppice-wood down to the very water’s edge.  This may be considered, in fact, only a portion of the vast Forest de Brotonne, which rises in wooded majesty on the opposite heights.  The spirit and the wealth of our countrymen would make Caudebec one of the most enchanting summer-residences in the world.  The population of the town is estimated at about five thousand.

Judge of my astonishment, when, on going out of doors, I saw the river in a state of extreme agitation:  the whole mass of water rising perpendicularly, as it were, and broad rippling waves rolling over each other.  It was the coming in of the tide.... and within a quarter of an hour it appeared to have risen upwards of three feet.  You may remember that, in our own country, the Severn-tides exhibit the same phenomenon; and I have seen the river at Glocester rise at once to the height of eight or ten feet, throwing up a shower of foam from the gradually narrowing bed of the river, and causing all the craft, great and small, to rise up as if by magic, and to appear upon a level with the meadows.  The tide at Caudebec, although similar in kind, was not so in degree; for it rose gradually yet most visibly—­and within half an hour, the elevation could not have been less than seven or eight feet.

Having walked for some time on the heights of the town, with which I was much gratified, I returned to my humble auberge, ordered the cabriolet to be got ready, and demanded the reckoning:—­which, considering that I was not quite at an hotel-royale, struck me as being far from moderate.  Two old women, of similar features and age, presented themselves as I was getting into the carriage:  one was the mistress, and the other the fille de chambre.  “Mais, Monsieur (observed one of them) n’oubliez pas, je vous prie, la fille-de-chambre—­rappellez-vous que vos souliers ont ete superieurement decrottes.”  I took out a franc to remunerate the supposed fille-de-chambre—­but was told it was the mistress.  “N’importe, Monsieur, c’est a ce moment que je suis fille-de-chambre—­quand vous serez parti, je serai la maitresse.”  The postilion seemed to enjoy this repartee as much as ourselves.