[Illustration:  LANDERNEAU.]

The gables of the transept are decorated with open parapets; and at the east end, below a rose window remarkable for its tracery, an arched niche protects the water of the fountain of Soloman the idiot:  the actual spring itself being beneath the high altar.

These waters, like those of the lovely fountain of St. Jean du Doigt, are supposed to be miraculous, and are the object of many a pilgrimage, though fortunately for the village, the day of its Pardon is not the chief occasion for the assembling together of the blind, halt, maimed and withered folk of Brittany.  But the pilgrims bathe in the waters, which are said to possess the gift of healing, and we know that faith alone will often perform miracles.  As we looked upon the clear, transparent water, we felt at least the innocence of the charm, and therein a great virtue.

The interior of the church has been much praised by competent judges, and very justly so, for in its way it is very perfect.  Yet, to us, its beauty was marked by a certain heaviness; and the “dim religious light” that adds so much to the effect of many an interior, here brought with it no sense of mystery.  Perhaps it was not sufficiently subdued; or the heaviness of the stone may have had something to do with it.  Also, it looked singularly small, in comparison with the exterior.  It has been much altered since it was first built, and has lost nearly all its arches, which have been replaced by Gothic canopies in the form of ornamental projections.

Much of the interior is beautifully and elaborately sculptured, and will bear long and close inspection.  The nave and aisles are under one roof, like the church of St. Jean du Doigt:  an arrangement not always effective.  The choir is short, as also are the aisles, the south transept being the longest of all.  A very effective rood screen separates the choir from the nave.  It is constructed of Kersanton stone, and consists of three round arches, above which are canopies supporting a gallery of open work decorated with quatrefoils.  The effect is extremely rich and imposing; and the foliage of the screen is a perfect study of complications.

At the end of the south transept is the Fool’s Chapel.  The frescoes are a history of his life, which is yet further carried out in the windows and on the bas reliefs of the pulpit.  The high altar under the rose window is very finely moulded, with its canopied niches and beautiful tracery.  There are many statues of saints in the church, dressed in Breton costumes, that would no doubt astonish them if they came back to life and saw themselves in effigy.  Many parts of the church are decorated with wonderful carvings of vegetables, fruit and flowers.

But the general impression is heavy and sombre, the true Kersanton effect and colour.  Time and the elements have softened, subdued and beautified the exterior; but the tone of the interior, unexposed to the elements, remains what it originally was:  wanting in refinement and romance; it is the beauty of elaborate execution that imposes upon one.  All the windows are remarkable for their lovely Flamboyant tracery, that of the rose window being especially fine and delicate.