Our own special object in being here, as we have said, was
to visit the church of Notre Dame de Brou. This was outside
the town, in the Faubourg St. Nicholas. As madame at the
buffet had declared in giving us minute directions, it was
impossible to miss the way : and so in due time we found
ourselves facing this Monument historique.
Of com-se disappointment was our first impression. It was
being elaborately restored, and part of it was boarded up, all
the north side hideous with scaffolding. The west front was so
renewed that it might have been a work of to-day. Yet we
had expected to find it untouched : had been told that no work-
man's brush, chisel or hammer had desecrated it for three
centuries.
The church dates from the early fifteenth century, and is late



124 IN THE VALLEY OF THE RHONE.
Gothic influenced by Eenaissance ; the result being not very-
satisfactory. It is large and spacious, and one feels how fine it
might have been if built a century or two earlier. The whole
interior looks new and modern and is very deficient in tone,
a garish light spoiling all. The church was built by Margaret
of Austria, daughter of Maximilian and wife of Philibert le
Beau, Duke of Savoy. Margaret had been created by her father
Governor of the Netherlands, and possessed considerable power.
The church arose in fulfilment of a vow made by her mother-
in-law, Margaret of Bourbon.
Its simple interior would be striking and effective but for
its modern tone. But it possesses rare treasures — the most
splendid monuments in France — which well repay a visit.
