WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR'S MOTHER [To .the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sra,—In an old farmyard near Honfleur, which now constitutes all that is left of the once famous abbey of Grestain, lie un- honoured the remains of Arlette, the mother of William the Conqueror. A broken pillar, the sole. rerna.ins of the Abbey Church, marks the traditional site of her grave. Somewhere nearby lie the remains of Herjuende Cordeville, her husband, the founder of the Abbey„ and Robert de Mortain, her son, usually considered the first Earl of Cornwall—since his estates
formed the basis of. 'the Earldom—and . his wife, Matilda, daughter of the first Earl of Shrewsbury. '
It is• proposed-to strengthen this pills' and to protect it by a grille, and also to placeon it a- plaque in mosaic work, with a suitable inscription ; the work to be done under the super- vision of the learned-curates of the regional Musee of Norman Art, &c. An American lady has already given 100 dollars for this purpose. May I appeal to the descendants of William's Knights in England ; to Cornishmen, to antiquarians gener- ally, especially those in Sussex, Somerset and North Hants, where the Abbey had at one time large possessions—in Sussex alone 29 ; to lovers of romance, for the story of Arlette adds a touch of romance to history, and without romance history would not be worth reading, nor life worth living. Subscrip- tions * will received and acknowledged either by myself or the Manager, Barclays Bank, Le Hayre.—I .ara, Sir, &e.,
C. H. D. Games,
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