A NEW ZEALANDER ABROAD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2672, 31 May 1905, Page 77

A NEW ZEALANDER ABROAD.

II.— IX THE COUNTRY OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.

Br Gambia.

The Chateau of Falaise dominates the town of that name as Edinburgh Castle dominates Edinburgh, rearing its powerful battlements high above the clustering roofs at the foot of the cliff on nvhich it stands. One of the windows at an angle of the walls looks sheer over the cliff, or falaise, to the village fountain below ; and from that tower, 900 years ago. Robert le Diable looked down and remarked the beauty of the village maiden Arlette, who became afterwards the mother of William, later to be called the Conqueror ; for in that stronghold he was born, and to-day the guardian of the chateau will show you the narrow room, high in that same tower, that saw his birth. Later this little town, knowing at the present time no larger excitement than market day, witnessed the stormy scenes of his childhood, when three of bis guardians during his minority suffered .death rather than betray him ; and later still it felt the strong rule of lis manhood. To-day, the houses with their picturesque roofs of shingle or red tiles still cluster, as if for protection, -at the foot of that great rock, but the castle itselt is in ruins, and pigeons wheel and circle through its roofless chambers. The town, however, retains other traces of those days when right was might, for parts of th« old fortifying wall that surrounded it, and even one of the gates, remains. A later memento of the great -<uke stands in the market place — a bronze equestrian status, the horse rearing on its hind legs and the rider triumphantly holding in his outstretched right arm his lance with its waving pennon. Round the high pedestal of the statue stand six bronze figures ot William's Norse ancestors, great ani powerful warriors, too, like the magnificent mail-clad rider above them. The inscription on the statue runs :

gctixattme, Dtxc de Nokmakdie, Roi d'Angleterre. And the English tourist, visiting the spot is forced to recall the time when the title of "King of England" followed that of a dukedom of France.

Not far from Falaise lies the curious and interesting old town of Caen, with its narrow, ancient streets, where the houses almost meet overhead, and shut in effectually the noises and odours below. It also has its associations with William the Conqueror, for there stand two famous abbeys which date from his time. William had married, contrary to the command of the Pope, who forbade the union on grounds of consanguinity, Matilda ot Flanders ; but the Pope was prevailed upon by Lanfranc, the Abbot of Bee, to accept as expiation from William and Matilda the building of these two abbeys — that of St. Stephen, the Abbaye aux Hommes, and that of the Holy Trinity, the Abbaye aux Dames. , Both are in a state of good preservation, the latter now being used as a hospital. A strangely insanitary one it must be, too, in spite of the beautiful acres of garden surrounding it ; for ~ne vault containing Matilda's tomb, where the pious sisters chant masses for the repose of her soul, emits baleful odours, that linger in the memory even when the violets of the garden are forgotten.

Vviiiiam was also buried in the abbey that he built ; but his tomb was desecrated later by the Huguenots. The castle that he and Matilda inhabited still stands, but has now been converted into soldiers 1 barracks.

In the picture gallery of the Museum at Caen there is a painting which has had a varied history — Perugino's "Marriage ol the Virgin." From this work Raphael diew his inspiration for his representation of the same subject, and the close similarity of the two pictures is evident from a glance at the reproduction of Raphael's picture hanging here beside the original Perugino. This valuable work was one of those brought from Italy by Napoleon, and was sent to Caen for safety — so it is said — when the Germans were seeking for works of art at the end of the Franco German war. It is also recounted that some German officers who were sent there to recover it were audaciously entertained at dinner by the loyal citizens of Caen, who served the repast upon the picture as a. dining table, thus sucessfully concealing it from their adversaries.

From this great picture of Perugino's to the famous Baveux tapestry is, in point of art, a very wide leap indeed; but Mie latter is certainly more interesting in 'Is history. Curiously enough, it is no tape •- try at all, but "*s a sort of rough worsted embroidery upon linen, the ground being! by no means covered with the work. It censists of one long band of linen, 2SCO long and only 20in high, on which are depicted 72 scenes, making up the whole history of Harold's visit to Normandy and promise of fealty to William, and of W'lliam's subsequent conquest of England. The drawing of these scenes is ludicrously primitive, and, in reproduction, looks like the first rude attempts of a child at art ; the colouring, however, is not inartistic, though only eight different shades arc used in this immense piece of work — two blues, two greens, red, yellow, black, and light brown. As a result, the animals n*e sometimes half green and half red ; but mi spite of such whimsicalities, the general effect is vigorous enough. This piece of work is of very great value, and forms a rea'ly important and complete chronicle of the events, personages, and dress of the time. Its value is now fully recognised, and it is carefully mounted in glass cases, specially built, co that the whole history is exposed in consecutive order. The work is variously supposed to have been done by Queen Matilda, William's wife, and her ladies ; by the Empress atilda :or under the orders of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and William's halfbrother, as decoration tor the cathedral.

But it is usually known as "La tapisserie de la reine Mathilde" — Queen Matilda's tapestry.