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THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  SAUVE,  MONTREUIL.

Montreuil  is  a  town  of  France,  in  that  part  of  Picardy  which  now  forms
the  Department  of  the  Pas  de  Calais.  It  is  situated  on  a  hill,  the  foot  of  which  is
bathed  by  the  little  river  Canche,  about  three  leagues  from  the  sea,  nine  leagues
S.S.E.  of  Boulogne,  and  fifty-four  leagues  N.N.W.  of  Paris.  It  is  a  small  fortified
town,  with  about  3,500  inhabitants;  it  suffered  considerably  during  the  French
revolution,  but  it  still  contains  several  good  buildings.  Among  them  are  two
ancient  Abbeys,  which  were  both  of  the  order  of  St.  Benoit;  one  of  St.  Sauve,
represented  in  the  plate,  for  men;  the  other  of  St.  Austrelette,  for  females.
The  town  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  lower  town  on  the  banks  of  the
river  Canche,  and  the  upper  town,  which  is  separated  from  it  by  a  wall.
King  Philip  the  First,  having  repudiated  Queen  Bertha,  his  consort,  assigned
her  Montreuil  for  her  place  of  banishment,  where  she  died  in  the  year  1093.  This
town  is  called  Montreuil-sur-mer,  to  distinguish  it  from  many  other  towns  in  France
of  the  same  name.
The  accompanying  Vignettes  represent  the  front  of  a  curious  old  fashioned
house,  and  a  statue  of  the  Virgin  crowned,  holding  the  infant  Jesus  in  her  arms,
placed  in  a  richly  ornamented  niche.