They merit our thanks, however, for the preservation of what remains
of this precious pile. I should remark to you that the eastern and
northeastern sides of the abbey of St. Ouen are surrounded with promenades
and trees: so that, occasionally, either when walking or sitting upon the
benches, within these gardens, you catch one of the finest views
imaginable of the abbey.
Chartres
By Epiphanius Wilson
[Footnote: From "The Cathedrals of France." By permission
of the author. Copyright, 1900.]
For many a mile over the rich cornfields of Beauce, of which ancient
district Chartres was once the capital, the spires of Chartres are
visible. The river and the hill constitute at Chartres the basis of its
strength in long-forgotten warfare; its walls in piping times of peace
have been leveled into leafy boulevards, but it may still be entered
through one of the antique gates that survive as memorials of its former
fortifications.
The cathedral itself is one of that group to which belong Amiens, Rheims,
Bourges and Notre Dame de Paris. It is noted for its size, magnificence
and completeness, and contains in itself, from its crypt to its highest
stone, an exemplification of architectural history in France from the
eleventh to the fourteenth centuries.
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