" You will find the epitaph, wherein he is
styled "templi fundator et aedificator," copied both in the _Neustria
Pia_ and in _Ducarel's Anglo-Norman Antiquities_. The latter speaks of
it as if it existed in his time; but the doctor seldom states the extent
of his obligations towards his predecessors. And in consequence of this
his silent gratitude, we can never tell with any degree of certainty
whether we are perusing his observations or his transcripts. If he
really saw the inscriptions with his own eyes, it is greatly to be
regretted that he has given us no information respecting the paintings:
did they still exist, they would afford a most genuine and curious
proof of the state of Norman art at that remote period; and possibly, a
search after them among the cottages in the neighborhood might even now
repay the industry of some keen antiquary; for the French revolution may
well he compared to an earthquake: it swallowed up every thing,
ingulphing some so deep that they are lost for ever, but leaving others,
like hidden treasures, buried near the surface of the soil, whence
accident and labor are daily bringing them to light.
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