Rouen being an old town is in general badly built. The houses for the most part are built of lath-and-plaster, the timbers uncovered and painted red or black, the plaster frequently coated with small gray slates. Many of these old houses however are highly picturesque and distinguished for their rich carvings and old quaint gothic orna ments. Iu general they are very tall and very narrow, which adds to the singularity of their appearance; but mixed with these are other houses of white brick or stone, and really handsome. The frequent rains, by cleansing the streets, render the town less unhealthy than it would be; and beneficial changes introduced of late years have con tributed to the same result. The broad quays, with the river covered with craft of all sizes, from the light skiff to vessels of 300 tons burden in front, and a line of warehouses behind, form at once the busiest and moat agreeable part of the town. On the western side of the city and suburbs are some handsome straight streets lined with good stone-houses. The squares and other open spaces are numerous, but for the most part very irregularly laid out ; the Champ-de-Mars, adjacent to the eastern boulevards, and the used for tho cattle and horse market, adjacent to the northern boulevards, are of more regular form. The Place St.-Ouen, or Place-de-V110tel-de Ville, is large, and planted with trees.
The cathedral, the most remarkable building in Rouen, is a noble gothic edifice, cruciform, with two towers at the extremities of the west front, and a lofty tower and spire over the intersection of the nave and transepts. The interior, which is lighted by 130 magnificent punted glass-windows, has a total length of 434 feet, and a width of 104 feet; the height of the nave is 90 feet, that of the aisles 45 feet; the transept, each end of which is lighted by a magnificent rose window, is 175 feet long; at its intersection with the nave four massive pillars support the lantern tower, on which rests a beautiful pyramidal cast-iron spire, the summit of which is 433 feet above the pavement. The west front, which opens upon a spacious close, is about 170 feet wide; the towers by which it is flanked are of dis similar architecture, though of nearly equal height (245 feet). The summit of the west front is crowned by a range of open screens, with the lightest and most elegant tracery. There are three deep doorways in the front; the central, which is the largest, projects like a porch before the others, and is surmounted by a pyramidal canopy of open stone-work, partly concealing the great rose-window behind. The northern tower of the western front, called the tower of St.-Remain, is one of the oldest portions of the church. The southern tower is of a very rich pointed architecture, and was built in 1599 by Cardinal D'Amboise. The interior of the cathedral contains 25 chapels, includ ing the Lady-Chapel at the end of the choir, and many interesting monuments, including those of Rollo and his son, William Longue Epee. The monuments of Henry the younger, son of Henry II.; of his brother Richard Cceurele-Lion (whose heart was buried here); of Charles V. of France ; of John, duke of Bedford, and others were destroyed by the Hugrumots. The heart of Ccour-de-Lion was dis covered in 1838, and is now deposited in the sacristy. The library was plundered during the Revolution; the staircase of the room which contained it is remarkable for its delicacy and beauty. The
extensive palace of the archbishop, adjoining the cathedral, contains some good paintings.
The abbey church of St. Ouen, the noblest gothic edifice in Rouen, was rebuilt in the 14th century. It is a cruciform building, with a central tower and two western towers, which jot out diagonally from the angles of the western front, and were intended to be connected by a porch of three arches, extending along the lower story of the western front : the towers were for a long time raised only to about fifty feet. The lightness and purity of the architecture; the flying buttresses, with crocketed pinnacles and unusually lofty shafts ; the beautiful Booth porch; the large rose or circular windows; the balus trade of varied quatrefoils round both the body of the church and the axles; the painted windows, the whole of which have been preserved; and the rich central tower, 296 feet high, and terminated by an octa gonal crown of flours-de-14, entitle this church to the highest admira tion. Its dimensions are little inferior to those of the cathedral itself. This splendid church was completely restored at the expense of the nation in 1852. There are in all 14 Catholio churches, several of Roman architeetnre. Under the choir of the church of St.-Gervais there is a crypt which is said to be 16 centuries old ; this church, situated in the Cauchoise suburb, belonged to the abbey of St.-Gervais, In which William the Conqueror died.
The Palais-de-Juatice, or courthouse, a gothic structure built in the 15th century for the Parliament of Rouen, forms three sides of a quadrangle, of which the fourth aide consists of an embattled wall and a gateway of elaborate architecture. In the Place-de-la-Pucelle is an USA ornamented with has-reliefs, representing the interview of Henry VIIL and Francois 1. in the Field of the Cloth of Oold. There are a town-hall, formerly part of the abbey of SL-Onen, a clock-tower, some remains of the ancient castle, and a few fragments of the town wall. In apartments in the town-hail are kept the public lit-rary of about 40,000 volumes, and a collection of paiutings. The Martaiuville barracks, in the square of the Champ-de-Mare, has an imposing front ; the liCe el-Dieu, or great hospital, is spacious and airy; and the Haller, or covered markets, are considered to be among the finest in France. They surround on three sides ono of the publio squares, and form several conveniently arranged and extensive apartments. The Mcrcery Hall, or Halle-des-Rouenneriee, is 205 feet long by 55 feet wide; the corn-market is still larger. These halls occupy the site of the old castle, the scene of Prince Arthur's murder. A considerable number of handsome fountains are distributed through the streets and squares of the city. Among other structures of the town may be mentioned the archiepiscopal palace, near the cathedral; the custom-house and consular buildings, on the quays ; and the theatre, barracks, and Bic4tre prison. Among the more recent buildiva, the railway termi nus, on the left bank of the river, by which trains from Pans reach Rouen, and the terminus on the right bank, from which the railways to Havre and Dieppe diverge, deserve special mention. Opposite the customhouse a statue of Boleldieu (who was a native of the town) was erected a short time ago.