Hand-book for Travellers in France

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

"It would be unjust to omit to mention the admirable guides of Vaysse de Villiers, from which he has derived essential information; but though they extend to nearly twenty volumes, they comprise only a small part of France, and only portions of their contents are calculated to interest English travellers."--Hand-book for Travellers in France (1843) by John Murray

"Meurice's hotel in Paris, the house charge for servants is only 1 franc a-day."--Hand-book for Travellers in France (1843) by John Murray

{{Template}} Hand-book for Travellers in France (1843) is a book published by Murray.

1 Full text (shortened)[1]
2 NOTICE TO THIS EDITION.
3 PREFACE.
4 CONTENTS.
5 INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION.
6 m. A TRAVELLER’S GENERAL VIEW OF FRANCE.
7 ROUTE 1. CALAIS TO PARIS BY ST. OJIER AND AMIENS.
8 ROUTE 2. CALAIS TO PARIS BY BOULOGNE, ABBEVILLE, BEAUVAIS, AND ST. DENIS.
9 ROUTE 5. DIEPPE TO PARIS BY GISORS.
10 ROUTE 6. DIEPPE TO ROUEN
11 ROUTE 8. ' PARIS TO ROUEN RAILROAD.
12 ROUTE 9. PARIS TO ROUEN (LOWER ROAd), BV ST. GERMAIN AND LOUVIERS.
13 ROUTE 57. TOURS TO SAUMUR, BY CHINON AND FONTEVRAULD.
14 THE PYRENEES.

[edit]

Full text (shortened)[1]

[edit]

NOTICE TO THIS EDITION.

The Editor of the Hand-book for Travellers in France requests that tra- vellers who may, in the use of the Work, detect any faults or omissions which they can correct from personal knowledge , will have the kindness to mark them down on the spot and communicate to him a notice of the same, favouring him at the same time with their names — addressed to the care of Mr. Murray, Albemarle Street. They may be reminded that by such com- munications they are not merely furnishing the means of improving the Hand-book, but are contributing to the benefit, information, and comfort of future travellers in general.

- - No attention can be paid to letters from innkeepers in praise of their

own houses ; and the postage of them is so onerous that they cannot be received.

Caution to Travellers. — By a recent Act of Parliament, the intro- duction into England of foreign pirated Editions of the works of British authors, in which the copyright subsists, is totally prohibited. Travellers will therefore bear in mind that even a single copy is contraband, and is liable to seizure at the English Custom-house.

Caution to Innkeepers and others. — The Editor of the Hand-books has learned from various quarters that a person or persons have of late been extorting money from innkeepers, tradespeople, artists, and others, on the Content, under pretext of procuring recommendations and favourable notices of them and their establishments in the Hand-books for Travellers. The Editor, therefore, thinks proper to warn all whom it may concern, that recommendations in the Hand-books are not to be obtained by purchase, and that the persons alluded to are not only unauthorised by him, but are totally unknown to him. All those, therefore, who put confidence in such promises, may rest assured that they will be defrauded of their money without attaining their object. English travellers are requested to explain this to Innkeepers in remote situations, who are liable to become victims to such impositions. Notices to this effect have been inserted by the Editor in the principal English and Foreign newspapers. — 1844.

London: Printed by A. Spottiswoode, New-Street-Square.

HAND-BOOK

FOR

TRAVELLERS IN FRANCE:

BEING

JL CrUOE

NORMANDY, BRITTANY;

THE RIVERS LOIRE, SEINE, RHONE, AND GARONNE;

THE TRENCH ALPS, DAUPHINE, PROVENCE,

AND THE PYRENEES:

WITH

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PRINCIPAL ROUTES, RAILWAYS, THE APPROACHES TO ITALY,

THE CHIEF WATERING- PLACES, ETC.

WITH FIVE TRAVELLING MAPS.

CEXrtttrm, rtbfertr.

LONDON :

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

A. & W. GALIGNANI, STASSIN AND XAVIER, PARIS ; LONGMAN, LEIPSIG.

1844.

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[edit]

PREFACE.

The Hand-book for France is the result of four or five journies undertaken at different times between 1830 and 1841, and the Editor has covered the ground with a network of routes, described from personal observation, extending from Dunkirk to St. Jean de Luz; from Toulon and Hyeres to Brest; from Grenoble and the Grande Chartreuse through Aubenas and Aurillac to the Port de Venasque; and from Cherbourg and Mt. St. Michel to Briangon and Embrun, and including the almost entire circuit of France. But in so vast a field many interstices have been left to be filled up by the best printed information ; and that so meagre in some respects, so abun- dant and scattered in others, that the collecting and arrang- ing of the materials has been a work of very serious labour. , The materials, indeed, for describing a large part of France are far more scanty than those which present themselves for Ger- many and Switzerland, and the writer may fairly say, that he has, in the following pages, laid down routes of which no ac- count is to be found in French guides. It would be unjust to omit to mention the admirable guides of Vaysse de Villiers, from which he has derived essential information; but though they extend to nearly twenty volumes, they comprise only a small part of France, and only portions of their contents are calculated to interest English travellers. For their use this volume is compiled; and if any French readers think fit to take it up, they must not be surprised to find many details well known to them, and doubtless many errors, not a few of which will be equally discernible by the Editor’s own countrymen. He trusts that in the statement of facts he has avoided invidious comparisons, that he has set down nought in such a light as to cause prejudice against the French, or to encourage or perpetuate estrangement between the two nations.

The chapters into which the book is divided are arranged according to the ancient provinces, as being less minute, more historical, and better understood by English than the more in- tricate subdivisions of Departments. Though the latter are universally used by the French themselves, some centuries must elapse before Champagne and Burgundy cease to be remem- bered for their wines, Perigord for its pies, and Provence for its oil ; nor will it be easy to obliterate the recollection of Wil- liam of Normandy , Margaret of Anjou , and Henri of Navarre.

This volume contains no description of Paris, because to have included the capital would have extended this book to nearly double its present size, and because the “ Paris Guide of Galignanis” is a very good one, and renders the preparation of ano- ther, for the present at least, unnecessary.

June, 1843.

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CONTENTS.

Page

Introductory Information - - - - - ix

Sect. I.

PICARDY. — ILE DE FRANCE. — NORMANDY. Introductory Information - 1

Routes - -- -- -- -3

Sect. II.

BRITTANY.

Introductory Information - - - - - - 105

Routes - - - - - - - -110

Sect. III.

ORLEANOIS. — TOURAINE. — RIVER LOIRE. — LA VENDE'E. — POITOU. — SAINTONGE.

Introductory Sketch of the Country - - - - 170

Routes - - - - - - - -172

Sect. IV.

LIMOUSIN. — GASCONY. — GUIENNE — THE PYRENEES — NAVARRE. — BEARN.— LANGUEDOC. — ROUSILLON. Preliminary Information ------ 232

Routes -------- 244

Sect. V.

CENTRAL FRANCE. — BERRI. — AUVERGNE. — VIVARAIS.

— ARDECHE. — C ANTAL. — BOURBONNAIS. —LYONNAIS.

— THE CEVENNES.

General View of the Country - - - - 350

Routes - -- -- -- - 354

Sect. VI.

PROVENCE AND LANGUEDOC.

General View of the Country - - - - -43 5

Routes - -- -- -- - 438

A 4

Vlll

CONTENTS.

Page

Sect. VII.

DAUPHINE'.

Introduction. - — Sketch of the Country - 499

Routes - -- -- -- - 500

Sect. VIII.

BURGUNDY. — FRANCHE COMTE'.

Routes - -- -- -- - 521

Sect. IX.

CHAMPAGNE. —LORRAINE. — ALSACE. — THE VOSGES MOUNTAINS.

Routes - -- -- - - - 541

Sect. X.

ILE DE FRANCE. — FLANDERS. — ARTOIS.

Routes - - - - - - - -579

Index -------- 593

HAND-BOOK

FOR

TRAVELLERS IN FRANCE.

[edit]

INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION.

CONTENTS.

a . Money — Table or French Francs reduced to £ s . d

b . Tables of Weights and Measures

French Feet reduced to English Feet

Do.

English Miles \ and Furlongs j Do.

English Feet English Pounds Do.

English Acres English Yards

„ Metres —

„ Kilometres \ f

,, Myriametres J \

,, Lieues de Poste —

,, Toises

„ Kilogrammes —

,, Pounds —

,, Hectares

,, “Aunes de Paris” —

c . Passports and Police

df. The different Routes between London and Paris

COMPARED .....

e . Modes of Travelling —

Posting and Travelling Carriage Malle postes ....

, Diligences ....

Railroads .... i . Steam-boats ....

k . Inns — Tables-d’Hote, &c.

l . Cafes ......

m. A Traveller’s general View of France — Points of

Interest — Scenery — Architecture

n . List of the 86 Departments into which France is

DIVIDED, AND OF THE 33 ANCIENT PROVINCES COM- POSING THEM ......

o . The English abroad . . . . .

p . Skeleton Tour through France

q . Route and Time from London to Marseilles

a 5

Page

xii

xiii

xiv

xvi xvi xvi xvi xvi

xix

xx i

xxiv

xxv xxvii xxviii

xxix

xxxi

xxxii

xxxvi

xxxvii

xxxviii

xxxix

a. MONEY TABLES.

a. MONEY.

In France, accounts are kept in francs and centimes (or hundred parts) the coinage being arranged on the decimal system, 1 franc contains 10 decimes (or double sous), and each decime 10 centimes.

FRENCH MONEY.

Silver Coins : — £ s. d.

1 franc =100 centimes = 20 sous = 0 0 9| to 10 d. English.

\ ditto = 25 ditto - = 0 0 2^

I ditto = 50 ditto - = 0 0 4|

5 ditto = 500 ditto = 100 sous = 040

Worn pieces of money, like our old shillings, but composed of silver and copper, are also current, and bear the value of 75 centimes (15 sous), and 1 franc 50 centimes (30 sous), but they will soon be called in.

19 o 15 10 8

]

°To

Gold Coins : — £ s. d.

Louis d’or = 24 fr. - = 0

Napoleon, or 20-franc piece = 0

Double Napoleon, or 40-franc piece = 111

Copper Coins : —

Decime, or 2-sous piece - -==00

5 centimes = 1 sous - = O 0

1 centime - - - =00

N.B. To find the value of centimes remember that the Tens are all pennies, and the Fives halfpennies, thus 75c. = 7±d. : 25c. = 2|c?. — \5c. = \±d. within a fraction, but near enough for all practical purposes.

To reduce French francs to English money for common purposes, where minute exactness is not required, it is only necessary to divide the amount of francs by 25, or to substitute 4 for 100, thus : —

Francs. £

100 = 4

1,000 = 40

10,000 = 400

100,000 = 4,000

1,000,000 = 40,000

The Bank of France issues notes , but for no sum under 500 fr., and they are difficult to change out of Paris, not being received in the provinces without paying an agio.

FOREIGN COINS REDUCED TO THEIR VALUE IN FRENCH CURRENCY.

English sovereign crown -

shilling - - -

Dutch Willem = 10 guilders

guilder - - -

Prussian dollar -

Frederick d’or

Bavarian florin = 20 pence English Kron thaler

Austrian florin = 2 shillings English

fr-

50 to 25 fr. 20 c. at

par.

FRENCH FRANCS AND CENTIMES REDUCED TO THEIR VALUE IN ENGLISH POUNDS, SHILLINGS, AND PENCE.

5 cents

10 francs 0

Of To

lift

if ft

2| T 5 o

03 4 To

ioi

S i TO

Q3 2

4 5 TO

5- ft

6- ft

7_ 5

' To

8- ft

5§

sift

9“ ft

100

1 franc

200

300

400

500

750

1,000

5,000

198

10,000

396

ENGLISH MONEY REDUCED TO ITS VALUE IN FRENCH FRANCS AND CENTIMES.

Fr.

Cts.

Fr.

Cts.

Fr. Cts.:

1 penny

101

12 shillings

15 £ sterl. 378

403

311

428

453

521

478

504

731

756

1008

941

1 £ sterl.

1260

1512

1764

1 shilling

100

2016

126

2268

151

100

2520

176

200

5040

201

300

7560

226

400

10,080

252

500

12,600

277

1000

25,200

302

5000

126,000

327

10,000

252,000

1 1

352

A 6

b. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

xii

b. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

An uniform decimal system of coins, weights and measures, was introduced into France in 1790 ; and since 1840 takes the place of all others.

In this new system all the measures of length, superficies and solidity, the unit of weight, and the unit of money, are connected together, and are derived from one fundamental unit, deduced from the size of the earth, by means of geometrical and physical data, and each is capable of being verified at all times and in all places. This fundamental unit is called Metre, and is equal to the ten-mil- lionth part (O'OOOOOOl) of the distance from the pole to the equator.

The prefixes which express multiples are Greek.

Myria Kilo Hecto Deca,

represented by the capital letters M K H D,

expressing the numbers 10,000 1,000 100 10

The prefixes which express sub-multiples are Latin.

Deci Centi Milli, Deci-milli Cent-milli, represented by d c m d-m c-m,

expressing the fractions 0*1 0-01 0-001 0 0001 0-00001.

By means of this system, with a small number of words, the di- vision can be carried almost ad infinitum.

The measures of length are all either decimal multiples, or sub- multiples of the metre, thus : —

Myria

M. -m. =

10,000 Metres.

Kilo- —

K.-m. =

1 ,000 „

Hecto- — •

H.-m. =

100 „

Deca- —

D.-m. =

10 „

m. =

1 Metre.

Deci- —

d.-m. —

0*1 „

Centi- —

c.-m. =»

0*01 „

Milli- —

m.-m. -■=

o-ooi „

One great advantage of the decimal system of subdivision is, that, by the simple movement of a point, any one number of units is transformed into an equivalent number of superior or inferior units, thus : — m 489*365 = X>m 48*9365 = M m 0*489365 = cm 48936*5.

1 ) . TABLES OF FRENCH MEASURES AND WEIGHTS. xiii

TABLES OF FRENCH MEASURES AND WEIGHTS. Table A. — French Feet reduced to English Feet.*

French

Feet.

English Feet and Decimal Parts.

French

Feet.

English Feet and Decimal Parts.

French

Feet.

English Feet and Decimal Parts.

1-066

42-631

84-195

2-132

43-696

85-261

3-197

44-762

86*327

4-263

45-828

87-393

5-329

46-894

88-459

6-395

47-959

89-524

7-460

49-025

90-590

8-526

50-091

91*656

9-592

51-157

92-722

10-658

52-222

93-787

11-723

53-288

94-853

12-789

51-

54-354

95*919

13-855

55-420

96-985

14-921

56-486

98*050

15-986

57-551

99-116.

17-052

58*617

100-182

18-118

59-683

101*248

19-184

'57

60-749

102-313

20-250

61-814

103-379

21-315

62-880

104-445

22-381

63-946

105-511

23-447

65-012

100

106-577

24-513

66-077

150

159*865

25-578

67-143

200

213*153

26-644

68-209

250

266-441

27710

69-275

300

319*730

28-776

70-341

350

373-018

29-841

71-406

400

426-306

30-907

72-472

450

479-594

31-973

73-538

500

532-883

33-039

74-604

550

586-171

34-104

75-669

600

639-460

35-170

76-735

650

692-747

36-236

77-801

700

746-036

37-302

78-867

750

799-324

38-368

79-932

800

852-612

39-433

80-998

850

905-901

40-499

82-064

900

959-189

41-565

83-130

1000

1065-765

1 French Foot = 1 -06576543 English Foot. 1 English Foot == 0-93829277 French Foot.

Tables A, B, and E are abridged from Lieut. Becher’s accurate work on Foreign

Linear Measures.

xiv b. TABLES OF FRENCH MEASURES AND WEIGHTS,

Table B. — French Metres reduced to English Feet.

Metre s -

English Feet and Decimal Parts,

Metres.

English Feet and Decimal Parts.

Metres.

English Feet and Decimal Parts.

3-281

124*674

246*067

6*562

127*955

249*348

9*843

13 T236

252*629

13*123

134*517

255*910

16*404

137*798

259*191

19*685

141*079

262*472

22*966

144*359

265*753

26*247

147*640

269*034

29*528

150*921

272*315

32*809

154 202

275*595

36 090

157 *483

278*876

39*371

160*764

282*157

42*652

164*045

285*438

45*932

167*326

288*719

49*213

170*607

292*000

52*494

173*888

295*281

55*775

177*168

298*562

59*056

180*449

301 *843

62*337

183*730

305*124

65*618

187*011

308*404

68*899

190*292

311 *685

72*180

193*573

314*966

75*461

196*854

318*247

78*741

200*135

321 *528

82*022

203*416

324 *809

85 *303

206*697

100

328*090

88*584

209*977

200

656*180

91*865

213*258

300

984*270

95*146

216*539

400

1312*360

98*427

219*820

500

1640*450

101*708

223*101

600

1968 *539

104*989

226*382

700

2296*629

108*270

229*663

800

2624*719

111*550

232 *944

900

2952*809

114*831

236*225

1000

3280*899

118*112

239*506

121*393

242*786

1 French metre = 3*2808992 English Feet.

Table C. French Kilometres and Myriametres into English

Miles, etc.

Kilom.

Eng.

Miles.

Fur-

longs.

Yds.

Ft.

In.

Eng.

Kilom. Miles.

Fur-

longs.

Yds.

Ft.

In.

213

169

207

162

200

1 myria. 6

156

194

188

3 18

181

185

175

121

b. TABLES OF FRENCH MEASURES AND WEIGHTS,

Table D. — French Lieues de Poste into English Miles and Yards.

Mis.

Yds.

Mis.

Yds.

Mis.

Yds.

Mis.

Yds.

743*061

1,133*671

116*732

1,171*832

400

968

1.544*428

170*535

1,486*122

1,562*443

193*053

500

1,211

469*183

859*794

121

600

1,453

1,695

556*642

1,212*244

195*305

i 14

1,602*855

145

583*664

700

942*749

585*916

169

974*275

800

1,937

1,328*856

938*366

1,328*977

193

1,364*886

1,755*496

900

2,179

1,714*963

1,681*427

312*038

217

1,000

2,422

341*070

664*488

- 18

1,055*099

100

242

386*107

2,000

4,844

682*140

1,407*549

38*160

200

484

772*214

3,000

7,266

1,023*210

390*610

781*221

330

726

1,158*321

5,000 12,110

1,705*350

Table E. — French Toises reduced to English Feet.

Toises.

English Feet and Decimal Parts.

Toises.

English Feet and Decimal Parts.

Toises.

English Feet and Decimal Parts.

6*395

243*095

473*200

12*789

249*389

479*594

19*184

255*784

485*989

25*578

262*178

492 *384

31*973

268*573

498*778

38*368

274*967

505*173

44*762

281 *362

511*567

51*157

287*757

517*962

57*551

294*151

524*357

63*946

300*546

530*751

70*340

306 *940

537*146

76*735

313*335

543*540

83*130

319-730

549*935

89*524

326 124

556*830

95*919

332*519

562*724

102*313

338 *913

569*119

108*708

345*308

575*513

115*103

351*703

581*903

121*497

358 *097

588*308

127*892

364*492

594*697

134*286

370*886

601 *092

140*681

377*281

607*486

147*076

383*676

613*881

153*470

390*070

620*275

159*865

396*465

626*670

166*259

402*859

633*065

172 *654

409*254

100

639*459

179 *049

415*649

200

1278*918

185*443

422*043

300

1918*378

191*838

428 *438

400

2557*837

198*232

434*832

500

3197*296

204*627

441 *227

600

3836*756

21 1 *022

447*621

700

4476*215

217*416

454*016

800

5115*674

223*811

460*411

900

5755*133

230*205

236*600

466*805

1000

6 394*593

1 French toise = 6*39459259 English feet. I English foot = 0*15638212 French toise.

Xvi b. TABLES OF FRENCH MEASURES AND WEIGHTS.

Table. F. — French Kilogrammes into English Pounds (Avoirdupois).

Kil.

E. Pds.

Kil.

E. Pds.

Kil.

E. Pds.

Kil.

E. Pds.

Kil.

E. Pds.

2-606

30-880

59-554

88-228

300

761-714

4-411

33 086

61-760

90-434

400

882-286

6-617

35-291

63-996

92-640

500

1,102-857

8-823

37-497

66-171

94-846

1,000

2,205-714

11-028

39-703

68-377

97'051

2,000

4,411-429

13-234

41-908

70-583

99 257

3,000

6,617-143

15-440

44-114

72-788

101-463

4,000

8,822-857

17-646

46-320

74-994

103-668

5,000

11,028-471

19-851

48526

77-200

105874

10,000

22,057-143

22-057

50-731

79-405

108-080

20,000

44,114-286

24-263

52-937

81-611

110-286

30,000

66,171-429

26-468

55-143

83-817

100

220-571

40,000

88,228-572

1 13

28-674

57-348

86 023

200

441-143

50,000

110,285-715

Table G. — French Pounds into English Pounds (Avoirdupois.)

Fr.

Eng.

Fr.

Eng.

Fr.

Eng.

Fr.

Eng.

Fr.

Eng.

Pds.

1-080

15-116

29-152

43-188

300

323-913

2-159

16-196

30-232

44-268

400

431-884

3-239

17-275

31-312

45-348

500

539-855

4-319

18-355

32-391

46-427

1,000

1,079*710

5-398

19-435

33-471

47-507

2,000

2,159-420

6-478

20-514

34-551

48-587

3,000

3,239-130

7-558

21 -594

35-630

49-666

4,000

4,318*840

8-638

22-674

36-710

50-746

5,000

5,398-550

9-717

23*754

37-790

51-826

10,000

10,797-100

10-797

24-833

38-869

52-906

20,000

21,594-200

11-877

25-913

39-949

53-985

30,000

32,391-300

12-956

26-993

41-029

100

107*971

40,000

43,188-400

14-036

28-072

42-109

200

215-942

50,000

53,985-500

Table H. — French Hectares into English Acres.

Hect.

Acres.

Hect.

Acres.

Hect.

Acres.

Hect.

Acres.

Hect.

Acres. 1

2-471

19-769

37-067

98-846

200

494-229 I

4-942

22-240

39-538

123-557

300

741-343

7-413

24*711

42-009

148-268

400

988-457 1

9-884

27-182

44-480

172-980

500

1,235-571

12-356

29-654

46-952

197-691

1,000

2,471-143

14-827

32-125

49-423

222-403

2,000

4,942-286

17-298

34-596

74-134

100

247-114

5,000

12,355-715

Table I. — French “ Aunes de Paris” into English Yards.

Aun.

Yds.

Aun.

Yds.

Aun.

Yds.

Aun.

Yds.

Aun.

Yds.

1-300

9-098

16-896

24-695

90-981

2-599

10-398

18-196

25-994

103-978

3-899

11-697

19-496

38-992

116-975

5-199

12-997

20-795

51-989

100

129-972

6-499

14-297

22-095

64-986

200

259-945

7-799

15-597

23-395

77-983

500

649-862

C. PASSPORTS AND POLICE.

A passport is indispensable to enable a stranger to travel in France. It may be procured gratis in London, at the French Pass- port Office, 6. Poland Street, open from 1 to 3 daily. It is necessary to apply for it verbally, or by letter, a day or two in advance (one day will suffice), when a printed form is delivered to the applicant to be filled up with his name, age, profession, &c. Rentier , or inde- pendent man, is a convenient designation for those who travel for

C. PASSPORTS AND POLICE.

XVII

recreation. On returning this paper personally to the office, the passport is at once made out from it ; and after a description of the person of the bearer has been inserted in it, and his own signature (which should be written legibly) has been attached to it, will be delivered to him. The description of his person, or signalement , should on no account be omitted in any passport for France : the want of it may, in remote parts of the country, lead to the bearer’s detention or arrest ; and it is the more necessary to dwell on this point, because the officials of English ministers and consuls abroad, in making out passports for their countrymen, are apt to slur it over to save trouble.

Passports may be also obtained on payment of 5s. from French consuls residing at British sea-ports. The virtues, of a Foreign Office passport, which costs 21. 7s., appear to be much exaggerated • it is liable to be taken away at the French frontier like any other.

In cases of hasty departure from England, when a traveller has not time to apply one day in advance, he may obtain a passport at any place in France, where an English consul resides, on pay- ment of 5 francs. It is far better, however, to secure one in Eng- land. The consul’s passport may be exchanged at Paris for one from the British ambassador.

The passport which a traveller brings with him into France is not valid for travelling through the country, nor for quitting it, until it has received the signature of the Minister of the Interior. It is therefore taken away from the traveller at the sea-port where he lands, or the frontier town where he enters France, and is for- warded by the police to Paris, while a temporary passport, Passe Provisoire, is given him to carry him on to Paris, and 2 francs must be paid for it.

Until the traveller reaches Paris the Passe Provisoire will carry him through all parts of France, but not out of the country. He cannot depart until he has exchanged it either for his original pass- port, vise by the minister of the interior, or for the passport of the British minister or consul.

The first care of the traveller after landing at a French sea-port, if he does not wish to be detained there, should be to obtain his passe provisoire, which is often a tedious business, owing to the number of applicants all eager to secure their papers in time to start by diligences or steam -boats. If he be desirous of passing rapidly through France, via Paris , on his way to another country, such as Italy, India, &c. and does not wish to stop in Paris, he ought to impress this upon the agent at the passport office, and request him to forward the original passport to Paris by the same day’s post, in order that it may arrive as soon as its owner. When this is neglected, an annoying delay of several days is often caused. In cases of urgent haste, where the traveller cannot wait for the arrival in Paris of his original passport, the British ambassador will give him one in exchange for the Passe Provisoire.

On reaching Paris, the “ Passe Provisoire ” must be taken or

XV111

C. PASSPORTS AND POLICE.

sent to the Prefecture of police, where the original will be given in exchange for it. It is better to send a valet de place or commission- naire for it than to go for it: the commissionnaire being known to the officials is more likely to be attended to than a stranger, speaking French perhaps scarcely intelligible. The commissionnaire may, it is true, play false, and declare that the passport is not arrived, in the hope of detaining the traveller at his hotel ; and the best way to prevent this is to promise him an extra douceur in the event of his securing the passport at once. The traveller must give his sig- nature, and his personal attendance at the police-office is not required.

To secure personally the necessary visas of French and foreign ministers to a passport to enable the bearer to enter Austria or Italy, is not to be done under two days. The stranger who under- takes to do this for himself will find it a very disagreeable and tire- some business, the passport offices being open only at fixed hours, being situated in distant parts of the town, and being beset by crowds of applicants. In all the respectable Paris hotels (Meu- rice, Bristol, &c.), a commissionnaire is appointed to attend to the passports, for which a fixed charge (4 or 5 francs) is made, and this saves the traveller a couple of days’ running about from office to office. The signature of the Papal nuncio is essential for travellers going to Rome, and can be obtained only at Paris.

If the stranger is not going to Paris, but only to cross a part of France, on his way to another country, for instance, from Calais to Lille, on his way to Belgium, the passport which he brings with him is vise at the frontier and returned to him. If he wishes merely to make a short stay at the place where he has landed (Bou- logne for instance), or in a contiguous department, and the period of his stay do not exceed one month, the local authorities deliver to him a limited passport, retaining the original in their hands.

The traveller may have his original passport sent after him to any town in France where there is a prefecture or sous-prefecture ; but if there is danger of delay in transmitting it to the capital, there is greater in sending it to a provincial place.

In France, more than in any other country in Europe at the pre- sent time, the passport is liable to be demanded at all times and places, and should always be carried about the person. The gens- d’armes are authorized to call for it not only in frontier and fortified towns, but in remote villages : they may stop you on the highway, or waylay you as you descend from the diligence, may force them- selves into the salle a manger, or enter your bed-room, to demand a sight of this precious document. It is needless to expatiate on this restraint so inconsistent with the freedom which an Englishman enjoys at home, or to show that the police are a pest to the harm- less and well conducted, without being a terror to evil doers ; it is the custom of the country, and the stranger must conform, or has no business to set his foot in it. It must be allowed that the police perform their duty with civility so as to render it as little vexatious as possible. They cannot enter a private house without a warrant.

d. THE DIFFERENT ROUTES COMPARED.

XIX

Those who lose their passports, leave them behind, or do not take care to have them “ en regie,” are liable to be marched off to the juge de paix or prefet, often a distance of 10, 15, or 20 miles, on foot, unless they choose to pay for a carriage for their escort as well as themselves, and if no satisfactory explanation can be given may at last be deposited in prison.

Before embarking at a French port , a permis d’embarquement must be obtained ; it is given gratis at all hours on exhibiting the passport en regie or properly vise, and is received by an officer of police as the traveller goes on board the packet.

The duties of rural police are performed by Gens-d' armes , a fine body of men chosen from the line, hand- somely dressed, better mounted than any other French cavalry corps. Being settled in their native country, and not moved from place to place, they know everybody and all the localities. Their salary amounts to 80£. a-year, out of which they have to provide their horse and uniform.

d. THE DIFFERENT ROUTES BETWEEN LONDON AND PARIS COMPARED.

Br Dover and Calais.

Miles.

Hours.

Fares.

1st Class.

2d Class.

3d Class.

s. d.

London to Dover

(per Railway) - Dover to Calais

18 0

11 6

6 9

(per Steamer) Calais to Paris

10 0

8 0

(per Diligence)

178

40 6

33 6

21 6

Total -

291

68 6

53 0

36 3

By Folkestone .

and Boulogne.

Miles.

Hours.

Fares.

1st Class.

2d Class.

3d Class.

5. d.

s. d.

London to Folkestone

(per Railway) - Folkestone to Boulogne

3 *

16 6

10 6

6 3

(per Steamer) - Boulogne to Paris

8 0

6 0

(per Diligence)

156

40 0

33 0

21 0

Total -

266

25| |

64 6

49 6 )

33 3

d. THE DIFFERENT ROUTES COMPARED.

By Dover and Boulogne.

Miles.

Hours.

Fares.

1st Class.

2d Class.

3d Class.

s. a:

s. d.

London to Dover

(per Railway) - Dover to Boulogne

18 0

11 6

6 9

(per Steamer) - Boulogne to Paris

8 0

6 0

(per Diligence)

156

40 0

33 0

21 0

Total -

272

66 0

50 6

33 9

Steam-boats run between Folkestone and Boulogne twice each way every day (every tide). Folkestone Harbour is the property of the South Eastern Railway Company, and none of those vex- atious charges are made there which, till this port was opened for steam traffic in July, 1843, the public were subjected to at Dover. A reduction in the objectionable rates of 50 per cent, has, however, recently been made at the latter place. The Railway Company have placed on the Folkestone and Boulogne Stations two fast Steamers built after the model of the famous Dover and Ostend Mail Packet the Princess Alice. The voyage can be performed by them in two hours. The Hotel (Vanteni’s) at Folkestone is an excellent one ; — the charges there are regulated by the Railway Company. There are ten trains daily between London and Folke- stone and Dover.

By crossing from Dover or Folkestone to Boulogne, 22 m. of land journey between Calais and Boulogne are saved.

London to Paris by the Thames to Boulogne.

Miles.

Hours.

Fares.

London to Boulogne (per Steamer) -

110

Boulogne to Paris (per Diligence)

156

Total -

266

This route is very economical, and least fatiguing, the sea part of the voyage in general not exceeding 5 hours.

d. THE DIFFERENT ROUTES COMPARED.

XXI

By Southamton and Havre.

Miles.

Hours.

Fares.

London to Southampton (per Railway)

s. d. 21 0

Southampton to Havre (per Steamer)

122

24 0

Havre to Paris (per Diligence, and Railway from Rouen*) -

132

31 0

Total -

332

281

76 0

By Brighton and Dieppe.

Miles.

Hours.

Fares.

London to Brighton (per Railway) -

501

s. d. 14 6

Brighton to Shoreham Harbour (per Railway)

1 0

Shoreham Harbour to Dieppe (per Steamer) -

71 ' 2

20 0

Dieppe to Paris (per Diligence and Railway from Rouen) -

104

rfs

Total -

2421

19|

59 6

This is the shortest route of all, being almost a straight line.

By Brighton and Havre.

Miles.

Hours.

Fares.

London to Brighton (per Railway)

501

Brighton to Shoreham Harbour (per Railway)

Shoreham Harbour to Havre (per Steamer) -

Havre to Paris (per Diligence and Railway) -

132

Total -

2811-

24i

By Havre.

Miles.

Hours.

Fares.

London to Havre (per Steamer)

s. d.

42 0

Havre to Paris (per Diligence

132

31 0

Total -

73 0

This is the most agreeable of all the roads to Paris in point of scenery and curiosities.

The voyage down the Seine from Paris or Rouen to Havre is most agreeable, and is rapidly performed by steam-boats daily. All these circumstances render this the most eligible route, at least in returning from Paris to London, except to those to whom a long sea voyage is a serious objection.

XXII

e. POSTING.

Recapitulation.

Miles.

Hours.*

Fares.

Via Folkestone and Boulogne

266

,<?. d. 64 6

— Brighton and Dieppe -

242i

20|

58 6

— Brighton and Havre

28fi

24i

66 6

— London and Havre, by Steam

73 0

— Dover and Calais

291

29|

68 6

— Southampton and Havre

332

281

76 O

e. POSTING.

The French Post Book (Livre de Poste) published under the au- thority of the government, is indispensable for persons travelling post, as it contains the exact distances from post to post, and the extra dues on entering and quitting towns (postes de faveur) which are constantly changing. It may be had in all towns, and even at the post-houses.

By a law enforced throughout France since the 1st Jan. 1840, distances are no longer calculated by “ postes,” but by kilometres and myriametres. 1 kilometre (i. e. 1000 metres) = nearly 5 fur- longs or fths of an English mile ; 1 myriametre = 10 kilom. = nearly 6^ Eng. m. (or 6 m. 1 fur. 156 yds.) See table, page xiv.

The postmaster’s authorized charge is,

For each horse , 2 francs or 40 sous per myriametre, or 20 centimes per kilom.

The Postillion is entitled by the law to demand only 1 franc per myriametre or 10 centimes per kilom. ; but it is customary to pay him 2 francs per myriam., or at the rate of a horse, unless he has misconducted himself, when he may be punished by limiting his pay to the tariff. He is bound by the law to drive the myriametre within 46 and 58 minutes. The English, who generally want to go faster, are too often in the habit of giving him 50 sous per myriam. or 5 per kilom., which is at the rate of more than 4 d. an English mile ; i. e. more than a post-boy in England gets. In fact, French postboys are not satisfied with 4 sous, but well contented with 5.

This extravagant remuneration is contrary to the express injunc- tion of the French “Livre de Poste,” which says, p. 42. “ Les voyageurs conservent done la faculte de restreindre le prix des guides a 1 franc, a titre de punition ; et ils seront invites par les maitres de poste, et dans l’interet du service, a ne jamais depasser la retribution de 2 fr. par myriametre.”

The cost of posting with 3 persons, in a caleche through France may be calculated at 8 francs par myriametre, or 80 centimes par kilometre. For 2 persons, with 2 horses, the rate is nearly 9 d. per English mile.

The average speed of posting does not much exceed a myriametre per hour, including stoppages.

In fixing the number of horses to be attached, the postmaster

e. MODES OF TRAVELLING POSTING. Xxiii

takes into account the nature, size, and weight of the carriage, and the quantity of luggage ; a landau or berlin always requires 3 horses at least, generally 4 ; a chariot will require 3, while a britzka hold- ing the same number of persons will need only 2.

To facilitate this, carriages are divided into 3 classes : —

1. Cabriolets and light caleches without a front seat, or having one narrower than the back seat, must have 2 horses.

2. Limonieres, heavier carriages, chariots (coupees) ; to these the postmaster may attach 3 horses, even when they contain only 2 persons.

3. The heaviest kind of carriages, berlines, landaus, barouches, whether closed or not, but having a front seat as wide as the back, 4 horses.

The posting regulations allot one horse to each person in a car- riage ; but allow the traveller, at his option, and provided the post- master agrees, either to take the full complement of horses, at the rate of 40 sous each, or to take 2 or 3 at 40 sous, and to pay for the rest at 30 sous, without taking them. Thus a party of 4 per- sons in a light britzka may be drawn by 2 horses, paying 30 sous each for a third and fourth horse, which they are liable to take, or 3 francs extra for the 2 persons above the number of horses, thus compounding with the postmasters along the whole line of road. Where the carriage is so light as not to require as many horses as there are passengers, it is, of course, a saving of 10 sous a myriam. for each horse, to dispense with them. Postmasters in France are too apt to withhold the 3d horse, even in cases where the weight of the carriage and state of the roads require it to be put to. No one ought to submit to this when first attempted ; it will cause much loss of time on hilly roads.

The limitation of the number of horses on first setting out on a journey is of importance, because you are obliged to take on from every post station (except in the case of supplemental horses) the same number of horses that brought you to the relay.

One postillion may drive 4 horses, “ aux grandes guides;” — where 3 horses are required, they may be harnessed one in front of the others, or a l’arbalete. Formerly, in France, 3 horses required to be yoked abreast ; and for this purpose, shafts must be put to the carriage ; but this rule is not now enforced, and there is no difficulty in travelling with 3 horses and a pole, as in Belgium and Germany.

On certain hilly stages one or more extra horses (cheval de sup- plement) are required to be attached to carriages, and at the entry into and departure from certain large towns the postmaster is allowed to charge for a number of kilometres exceeding the real distance of the stage, called “ distances de faveur or supplemen- taires,” formerly “ postes royales.” For example, 8 kilometres beyond the real distance are charged on entering and quitting Paris. These privileges are defined by the “Livre de Poste.” Those who merely pass through towns, changing horses but not stopping, are exempted from this extra charge.

XXIV

e. MODES OF TRAVELLING.

The furnishing of post-horses does not, as in England, include a post chaise , and those who mean to post in France must have a carriage of their own. It is true the French postmasters are obliged to keep a cabriolet or small caleche for hire, but it is usually a rickety vehicle holding ojaly 2 persons, with no room for baggage beyond a sac de nuit, and is therefore seldom resorted to. The charge for it is the same as for a single horse, i. e. 40 sous per myriam.

Postillions are not allowed to pass another carriage on the road, unless the one in advance be drawn by fewer horses, or has been stopped by some accident. Travellers are supplied with horses in the order in which they and their couriers arrive ; the malle postes and government estafettes alone having a right of precedence.

A register is kept at every posthouse, in which the traveller may enter complaints against the postmaster or his servants in that or the neighbouring relays. These registers are inspected at stated times by proper authorities, and the charges are investigated.

Carriages.

Duty on English Carriages. — English travellers, on entering France with a carriage not of French make, are called upon to deposit one- third of an ad valorem duty for it ; usually 1200 francs for a barouche or chariot, and 2000 francs for a landau or coach. Travellers should be aware of this, in order that they may take with them ready money to meet this charge. A receipt, with an order upon the Bureau des Douanes, is given to the owner, entitling him to receive back fths of this one-third, if the same carriage be taken out of France within 3 years. This order describes very particularly the carriage, and on presenting it at the frontier, the money deposited is repaid, except ^th (i. e. -j-^th of the value of the carriage), which is all the duty paid.

Carriages landed in France, and taken out of the country within six days , are exempted from the duty of a third of their value, formerly levied on all carriages without exception. This re- mission of duty, however, can only be obtained on condition that some respectable French householder will guarantee that the carriage shall quit France within the six days specified. The landlord of the inn at which the traveller puts up in Calais will effect this arrangement: but as he subjects himself to a penalty of a very large amount in case the above condition is not complied with, he requires the traveller to sign an undertaking to indemnify and hold him harmless in case of failure. An order to procure this remission of duty, issued by the French custom-house, and called “ acquit a caution ,” costs 5 fr., and must be delivered up on passing the French frontier.

Owing to the inferiority of the post chaises in France (alluded to above), those who intend to travel post and are not furnished with a carriage of their own, must buy or hire one.

A travelling carriage, strong and tolerably good-looking, may be hired at Calais, or Paris, or Boulogne, from one of the innkeepers,

XXV

f MALLE POSTES.

for 850 or 400 fr. (16/.) for two months, and 8 fr. a day after the expiration of that time ; the owner to pay for all necessary repairs. Thus the expense of crossing and recrossing the Channel, of shipping and unshipping, is spared.

The hire of a carriage to go from Calais to Paris varies from 100 to 150 francs. “A good carriage (caleche, to hold 4) may be hired in Paris at the rate of 16/. for 2 months, and less for a longer term. It need not be brought back to Paris, but may be delivered to the owner’s agent at the frontier towns — Calais, Boulogne, Strasburg, Marseilles. Care should be taken to ascertain before setting out that the harness, as well as the carriage, is sound, and the sabot new.” — W.M.

Hired Carriages , Voitures a volonte.

It is difficult to fix a fair scale of prices to pay for the hire of a carriage and horses in different parts of France ; the best guide is to calculate it at one-half or two-thirds the posting price for the same distance, exclusive of the carriage.

The carriage usually to be met with for hire is the cabriolet, a heavy, lumbering, and jolting vehicle : the charge for it is commonly 8 or 9 fr. a day, exclusive of a small fee or pourboire to the driver. It has neither the neatness nor the lightness of the gigs furnished at a country inn in England, but is necessarily clumsily built to stand the terrible cross roads of France.

In out-of-the-way places often no other vehicle is to be found than a patache, a rustic cab, verging towards the covered cart, without its easy motion. He who rides in a patache, must prepare to be jolted to pieces.

f MALLE POSTES,

Equivalent to the English mail coaches, and kept up at the expense of government, travel along the following great roads of France to carry the mail, and are allowed to take 2 or 3 passengers.

to Calais Lille

Valenciennes ( senger) Sedan Forbach Strasburg Besan^on

First Section Hours.

- 17

- 15 pas-

- 13

- 19

- 25

- 33 & 36 back

- 32 & 34 —

• — from Paris

to Lyons

St. Etienne -

Limoges

Bordeaux

Nantes

Brest

Cherbourg - Havre

Hours.

- 33 i& 36 back -35 & 37 —

- 28 & 32 — -36 & 38 — -26 & 29 — -44 & 46 —

- 22 & 23 -1 —

- 13

The above 15 malle postes start from Paris every evening at 6 p. m., and arrive there between 4 and 6 a. m. The following 12 set out from the places where those of the 1st section stop, or from intermediate places.

France. a

/ MALLE POSTES.

xxvi

Second Section.

Hours. Hours.

Bordeaux to Bayonne - 17 Moulins to Montpellier - 3 6

Nantes - -22 St. Etienne to Marseilles - 22

Toulouse - 16 Toulouse to Bayonne - 20

Limoges to Pau - - - 27 Marseilles - - 27

Toulouse - - 24 Troyes to Mulhausen - 24

Lyons to Marseilles - - 20 Tours to Havre - 28

Strasburg - - 36

The mails contain two or more places, except those from Paris to Valenciennes, and from Lyons to Avignon, which take no pas- sengers ; and those from Toulouse to Bordeaux and Bayonne, and from Troyes to Mulhausen, which take only one.

The French mails are on the whole very comfortable, though the inside passengers have not very much room, and he that sits by the side of the conductor in the cabriolet is liable to be annoyed at every post town by his companion’s horn, in his efforts to rouse the postmasters, and by his bustle in the delivery and receipt of the letter bags.

The mails consist of a stoutly-built barouche which holds com- fortably inside 2 or 3 passengers ; painted of a light red colour, drawn by 4 horses with tolerable harness, with a seat in front for the postillion, and one behind for the conductor. Their rate of travelling exceeds that of the diligence on almost all the roads, equalling at least 9 or 10 Eng. m. an hour, sometimes 12 m.

The price of places is nearly double that of the diligence, being 1 fr. 75 cent, per myriam. = to nearly 3d. a mile, the outside .fare on an English mail.

The malle postes are very much resorted to, especially from Paris ; and as they take so few passengers, the only chance of obtaining a place, generally speaking, is to secure it some days beforehand. Places are taken at the post offices in Paris and in the provincial towns where the malle poste passes. The passport must be shown if required before the name can be entered, and half the fare must be paid at once, the remainder before starting.

Baggage of passengers is restricted in weight to 25 kilogram, or 55 lbs. ; all above, that weight must be paid for. No portmanteau, or sac de nuit, of dimensions exceeding the following measurement can be admitted into a malle poste.

In length. 0 ;1 , 70 decim. = 26 pouces = 27 English inches,

breadth - 0 m , 40 =14 =15

height ■ O m , 35 =13 = 13

These regulations are strictly enforced, so that it is vain for those who travel with much baggage to think of availing themselves of the malle poste. There is room, however, for a writing-case or hat-box inside.

The chief inconvenience is the shortness of the stoppages on the

xxvii

g\ DILIGENCES.

road ; only to change horses, which does not occupy 5 minutes, and to take in the bags, and once only in the 24 hours for about half an hour for dinner. It is therefore advisable to take a small store of cold provisions on a long journey, especially between Paris and Marseilles, and Bordeaux.

The fare includes all charges ; nothing is to beTgiven to the pos- tillions : the conductor generally receives a small douceur, varying from 5 to 10 fr. according to the length of the journey, at the good will of the passenger.

Places cannot be secured except for three fourths of the entire dis- tance which the mail travels ; nor are passengers taken for short dis- tances unless they are without baggage. ,

g. DILIGENCES.

The French stage coach or diligence is a huge, heavy, lofty, lumbering machine, something between an English stage and a broad- wheeled waggon. It is composed of 3 parts or bodies joined together: l.the fronf’division, called Coupe, shaped like a chariot or post chaise, holding 3 persons, quite distinct from the rest of the passengers, so that ladies may resort to it without inconvenience, and by securing all 3 places to themselves, travel nearly as comfort- ably as in a private carriage. The fare is more expensive than in the other part of the vehicle.

2. Next to it comes the Interieur, or inside, holding 6 persons, and oppressively warm in summer.

3. Behind this is attached the Rotonde , “ the receptacle of dust, dirt, and bad company,” the least desirable part of the diligence, and the cheapest except

The Banquette , or Imperiale, an outside seat on the roof of the coupe, tolerably well protected from rain and cold by a hood or head, and leather apron, but somewhat difficult of access until you are accustomed to climb up into it. It affords a comfortable and roomy ? seat by the side of the conductor, with the advantages of fresh air and the best view of the country from its great elevation, and greater freedom from the dust than those enjoy who sit below. It is true you may sometimes meet rough and low-bred com- panions, for the French do not like to travel outside ; and few per- sons of the better class resort to it, except English, and they for the most part prefer it to all others. It is not suited to females, owing to the difficulty of clambering up to it. The diligence is more roomy and easy, and therefore less fatiguing, than an English stage; but the pace is slow, rarely exceeding 6 or 7 m. an hour, and in bad weather, when roads are heavy, falling below that. Never- theless, the diligences have undergone considerable improvement within the last 15 or 20 years ; the horses are changed more rapidly; strips of hide have taken the place of rope harness; and, on one or two lines of road, the rate of travelling is accelerated to 8, or even 10 m. an hour.

xxvm

k. RAILROADS.

The coach and its contents are placed in charge of the Conducteur , a sort of guard who takes care of the passengers, the luggage, the way bill, and the mechanique, the break or leverage, by which the wheel is locked. He is paid by the administration, and expects nothing from the passengers, unless he obliges them by some extra service. He is generally an intelligent person, often an old soldier, and the traveller may pick up some information from him.

The large 1st class, three-bodied, diligences carry 15 passengers inside, and 4 out, including the conductor, and weigh when loaded 1 1,000 lbs., or about 5 tons. They are drawn by 5 or 6 horses, driven by a post-boy from the box, instead of the saddle, as was formerly the case. Besides passengers, the diligence carries a great deal of heavy merchandize, such as in England would be sent by the waggon or canal boat.

Th e places in the diligence are all numbered, and are given out to passengers in the order in which they book themselves, the corner seats first ; and it comports very much with the traveller’s comfort to secure one of them, especially in long journeys. Before starting, the passengers’ names are called over, and to each is assigned his proper place. The average rate of the fares may be calculated at 45 or 50 centimes for 2 leagues, equivalent to 1 ±d. a mile English, except for the coupe, which is somewhat higher.

Two great companies, whose head-quarters are at Paris, the Mes- sageries Royales, and Messageries Generates (Laffitte, Caillard, et Comp ie .), furnish diligences on all the great roads from the capital, and correspond with provincial companies who “ coach ” the more distant and cross roads, so that there is no want of means of conveyance in any part of France between places of moderate consequence. In many cases, however, the “ turn-out ” from pro- vincial towns is of the w r orst kind, and the organisation is through- out inferior to the stage-coaching of England.

The two chief Messageries are equally good, and, generally speaking, superior to any of the minor companies ; indeed, they manage to keep down their rivals, probably by a mutual understand- ing with each other.

N.B. During the month of August , the diligences on all the great roads are thronged with school-boys, and collegians, with their parents and masters, in consequence of the breaking up of the establishments of education in Paris, all hurrying home at once into the provinces. It not unfrequently happens that, for a fortnight together, every place in every coach is taken. The vacations at the public offices occur about the same time, and contribute largely to swell the crowd of travellers in August.

h. RAILROADS.

France has allowed herself to be outstripped by her neighbours, not only by England, but also by Belgium, Prussia, and Austria, in

Jl. RAILROADS.

XXIX

these means of extending national resources and civilisation, which the country more especially stands in need of. She has, however, for the present, laid out her money in fortifications, and has little to spare for lines of communication. This, however, is not the sole reason : it lies in the want of confidence between man and man, and in the absence of the spirit of association, by means of which all great public works are executed in England by private enterprise, but which does not exist in France. The only railroads as yet com- pleted in France, are,

Paris to Versailles (right bank)

(left bank)

Corbeil -

(Pont de’Asnieres) St Germains

■ Rouen

Strasburg to Basle Lyons to St. Etienne St. Etienne to Roanne (tramway) Nismes to Alais and Beaucaire -

Montpellier and Cette

Bordeaux to La Teste

LINES IN PROGRESS.

Eng. Miles.

9 (?)

)

7 5

■

3 4

Mils

l 1

844

Rouen to Havre - Orleans to Tours -

The following lines of railway, ramifying in different directions through France have been laid down, but will require many years to complete.

Paris to Belgium, by Amiens, Lille, Valenciennes, and to the Channel opposite England ; to Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkerque ; — in progress.

Paris to the German frontier, by Nancy, Strasburg, — Strasburg to Hommarting in progress.

Paris to the Mediterranean, by Lyons and Marseilles, Cette, be- tween Dijon and Chalons, in progress (common to Mediterranean and Rhine line), also between Avignon and Marseilles.

Paris to the Spanish frontier, by Tours, Angouleme, Poitiers, Bordeaux, Bayonne, between Orleans and Tours in progress.

Paris to the Atlantic, by Tours and Nantes.

Paris to the centre of France, by Bourges, Nevers, and Clermont. (From Orleans to Vierzon, begun 1843.)

Mediterranean to the Rhine, by Lyons, Dijon, and Mulhausen.

When the railway is completed from Paris to Amiens, it is cal- culated that the journey from Paris to London may be performed exclusive of stoppages, in

XXX

l. STEAM-BOATS.

Hours.

London to Folkstone - - - 3

Folkstone to Boulogne - - 3

Boulogne to Amiens - - 7

Amiens to Paris - - - - 3

i. STEAM-BOATS.

The use of steam is now very general in France, all the great rivers being traversed by steamers.

Inland Steam Navigation.

The Seine , from Havre to St. Germains, from Paris to Fontain- bleau, and Montereau.

The Oise , to Compiegne.

The Loire, from Nantes to Orleans, Gien, and Nevers.

The Amine, Brest, to Chateaulin.

The Charente , Rochefort, to Saintes and Angouleme.

The Garonne, Bordeaux, to Agen.

The Gironde , Bordeaux, to the sea.

The Rhone, from Arles to Lyons and Seyssel, and between Arles and Marseilles by merchant steamers.

The Saone , from Lyons to Chalons.

The Moselle, from Treves to Thionville

In almost all cases the engineers employed on these vessels are Englishmen, and the French do hot seem to have aptitude for this

duty.

The rivers of France are more liable than those of Britain to rise and fall, and a sudden elevation caused by rains, or a want of water owing to drought, has equally the effect of arresting the navigation ; the last by withdrawing the necessary depth of water, the first by filling the arches of the bridges so as to leave no room for the steamers to pass under them.

There are also a great number of coasting steamers ; but the tra- veller should be cautious in trusting himself to them, unless the character of the captains and engineers be well ascertained to be of tried experience, as accidents not unfrequently happen, and even the French themselves do not place unlimited confidence in coasting steamers.

k. INNS — TABLES-d’hOTE, ETC.

On the whole, the inns of France are very inferior to those of Germany and Switzerland, in the want of general comfort, and above all of cleanliness — their greatest drawback. There is an exception to this, however, in the bed and table linen. Even the filthy cabaret, whose kitchen and salon are scarcely endurable to look at, commonly affords napkins and table-cloths of the

ft. INNS — TABLE D’HOTE/ ETC.

xxxi

purest white, though coarse, and beds with unsullied sheets and white draperies, together with well-stuffed mattresses and pillows, which put German cribs and feather-beds to shame. Many of the most important essentials , on the other hand, are utterly dis- regarded, and evince a state of grossness and barbarism hardly to be expected in a civilised country ; the provisions for personal ablution are very defective, the washing of floors, whether of timber or tile, seems unknown. In the better hotels, indeed, the floors are polished as tables are in England, with brushes attached to the feet instead of hands ; but in most cases they are black with the accu- mulated filth of years, a little water being sprinkled on them from time to time to lay the dust and increase the dark crust of dirt.

French inns may be divided into two classes; a. Those which make some pretension to study English tastes and habits (and a few of them have some claim to be considered comfortable), and, being frequented by Englishmen, are very exorbitant in their charges. Such are met with along the great roads to Paris, and thence to Geneva, Lyons, and Marseilles, b. Those in remote situ- ations, not yet corrupted to exorbitance by the English and their couriers ; where the traveller who can conform with the customs of the country is treated fairly, and charged no higher than a French- man. The expense of living in these country inns is moderate, 6 francs a-day board and lodging, and 10 sous to the servants.

In one respect the inns of France are more accommodating than those of Germany, that they will furnish at almost an}’ hour of the day, at 10 minutes, or \ hour’s notice, a well dressed dinner of 8 or 10 dishes at a cost not greatly exceeding that of the table- d’hote. When ordering dinner in private, the traveller should specify the price at which he chooses to be served, fixing the sum at 3, 5, or more francs, as he may please. In remote places and small inns, never order dinner at a higher price than 3 francs : the people have only the same food to present, even if they charged 10 francs. A capital dinner is usually furnished at 4 fr. a head ; but the tra- veller who goes post in his own carriage will probably be charged 6, unless he specifies the price beforehand. The usual charge for a table-d’hote dinner is 3fr. (including wine in a wine country, but not in the north), and ought never to exceed that except in large towns and first-rate inns.

Bargaining for rooms before you enter an inn, though usual, sometimes leads the landlord to suppose that you are going to beat him down (marchander), and he may therefore name a higher price than he is willing to take, and thus you may cause the exorbitance which you intend to prevent.

Tables -d' Hote, though very general throughout France, are rarely resorted to by the most respectable townspeople, or by ladies, as in Germany. The majority of the company almost invariably consists of “ commis voyageurs,” Anglice bagmen, but of a stamp very in- ferior to those of the same class in England, who swarm in all the inns, and are consequently the most important personages. Without

a 4

XXX11

l. CAFES.

denying that there are exceptions among these gentry, it is impos- sible to have sojourned in France for any time without the con- viction that a more selfish, depraved, and vulgar if not brutal set does not exist, and gentlemen will take good care not to encourage their approaches, and to keep at a distance from them. They com- monly sit down to table with their hats on, scramble for the dishes, so that the stranger who is not on the alert is likely to fare very ill, and if females be present not only do not pay them that atten- tion which is customary in all civilised countries at a dinner-table, and used at one time especially to distinguish the French, but, as Mrs. Trollope remarks, constantly “use language which no Eng- lishman would dream of uttering in their presence,” evincing an utter want of all sense of propriety and decency. English ladies therefore will be cautious of presenting themselves at a French table-d’hote, except in first-rate hotels, where English guests form a considerable part of the company, and at the well-frequented watering-places. Even at Bagneres de Bigorre, Lady Chatterton relates, “ We laughed a good deal at a scene we witnessed at the table-d’hote yesterday, where a Frenchman, after helping himself to all the best pieces of the roast fowl, turned to the lady next him and said, with a most insinuating smile, ‘ Madame ne mange pas de volaille.’ ”

There are no established fees for the sei'vants at inns ; \ a franc a-day “ pour la service,” and something extra (5 or 6 sous) for boots, “ le decrotteur,” is enough. At Meurice’s hotel in Paris, the house charge for servants is only 1 franc a-day.

Average Charges at French Provincial Hotels.

Bedroom, 1 fr. 50 c. to 2 fr. 5 c.

Salon, 3 fr. and upwards.

Breakfast tea and coffee, with bread and butter, 1 fr. 50 c. ; with meat, 2 fr.

Dinner , table-d’hote, 3 fr. — Apart, 4 fr. to 5 fr. or upwards.

Bottle of vin ordinaire, 1 fr. — N. B. Included in the charge for dinner in wine-growing countries.

The better wines are sold in demi-bouteilles. When only a part of the bottle is consumed, the waiter puts it aside for the owner until another time.

Coffee , 1 fr. It is better to take it at a cafe, where it is always better, and costs only 8 or 10 sous.

Bougies (wax lights), 1 fr.; where this charge is made, that for the bedroom ought not to exceed 1 fr. 50 c.

/. CAFES.

We have no equivalent in England for the Cafes in France, and the number and splendour of some of these establishments, every where seemingly out of proportion to the population and to other

m. a traveller’s general view of France, xxxiii

shops, not only in Paris, but in every provincial town, may well ex- cite surprise. They are adapted to all classes of society, from the magnificent salon , resplendent with looking-glass, and glittering with gilding, the decorations of which have perhaps cost 4000/. or 5000/., down to the low and confined estaminets , resorted to by carters, porters, and common labourers, which abound in the back streets of every town, and in every village, however small and re- mote. The latter sort occupy the place of the beer-shops of Eng- land, furnish beer and brandy, as well as coffee, and though not so injurious to health and morals as the gin-palaces of London, are even more destructive of time : indeed, the dissipation of precious hours by almost all classes in France produces as bad an effect on the habits of the people.

It is only to the superior class of cafes that an English traveller is likely to resort, and they furnish some agreeable resources to a stranger in a strange place. In the morning he may there obtain a breakfast of coffee or tea better and cheaper than in an hotel, and far better than he can procure it in England ; in the afternoon, a demi-tasse of coffee well prepared, and a petit verre of liqueur ; and in the evening, in summer, excellent ices, sorbettes, orgeats, limon- ade, and other cool drinks, and in winter a very tolerable potation called “ ponch,” but differing from its English prototype. They are always supplied with the journals of Paris, and the provinces, in- cluding in the principal cities, Galignani’s Messenger, and have usually billiard tables attached to them.

In the evening they are most crowded, and even in the most respectable (except the first-rate Parisian cafes), the company is very mixed. Clerks, tradesmen, commis voyageurs, soldiers, officers as w r ell as privates, and men in blouzes, crowded about a multitude of little marble tables, wrangle over provincial or national politics, or over games of cards or dominoes, while others perspiring in their shirt sleeves surround the billiard table. The rattling of balls, the cries of waiters hurrying to and fro, the gingling of dominoes, and tinkling bell of the mistress who presides at the bar, alone prevail over the harsh din of many voices, while the splendour of mirrored walls and velvet seats is eclipsed behind a cloud of un- fragrant tobacco smoke — such is the picture of a French cafe !

A large cup of coffee (cafe au lait), with bread and butter, and an egg for breakfast, costs about 20 or 24 sous. A demi-tasse, or small cup in the afternoon, 8 or 10 sous ; a petit verre de cognac, 5 sous. The waiter usually receives 2 sous.

[edit]

m. A TRAVELLER’S GENERAL VIEW OF FRANCE.

It has been the custom of the English, who traverse France on their way to Italy or Switzerland, to complain of the tiresome and monotonous features of the country, and to ridicule the epithet “ La Belle, France,” which the French, who, it must be confessed,

XXXIV

m. POINTS OF INTEREST SCENERY.

have in general no true feeling for the beauties of nature, are wont to apply to it. By a “beautiful” country, a Frenchman generally understands one richly fertile and fully cultivated ; and in this point of view the epithet is justly applied to France. It is also most fortunate in its climate. Many of its vineyards, the most valuable spots in the country, occupy tracts of poor, barren, and waste land, which in our climate would be absolutely unprofitable. But in truth our countrymen are unjust in forming their opinion from the routes between Calais and Paris, and thence to Lyons, Strasburg, and Dijon, perhaps the least varied part of the kingdom, and at least no fair sample of its beauties. To this district, and to a large part of the province of Champagne, the descriptions of ‘'weari- some expanse of tillage, unvaried by hill or dale, and extent of corn land or pasture, without enclosures, supremely tiresome,” are almost exclusively applicable. Throughout nearly one half of France, especially in Lower Normandy, Brittany, a great part of the country S. of the Loire, the vicinity of the Pyrenees, Limousin, Auvergne, and Dauphine, enclosures and hedgerows are almost as common as in England, and the variety of surface in some of these districts is far greater. Our own island, indeed, presents as it were a miniature of other lands ■ — a concentration, within a small area, of scenery, varying from flat fen and rolling down to mountains and precipices. In France, the features of nature are broad and expanded, and you must often traverse 50 or 100 miles to encounter those pleasing changes which, in Britain, succeed one another almost every 10 miles. If the English had confined themselves less to the beaten track in their way from the Channel to the Mediterranean, they would have verified the truth of this assertion.

More than 50 years ago, Arthur Young advised those “who know no more of France than just once passing through it to Italy, that, if they would see some of the finest parts of the kingdom, they should land at Havre — follow the Seine up to Paris, then take the great road to Moulins, and there quit it for Auvergne, and so to the Rhone at Valence or Viviers: such a variation from the common road, though it demand more time, would repay them by the sight of a much finer and more singular country than the road by Dijon.”

The traveller may at present farther vary his route by going from Paris by railway to Orleans, and thence by Bourges either to Clermont in Auvergne, or to Nevers and Moulins on the high road from Paris to Lyons.

The districts of France which chiefly recommend themselves by their beauty and variety of scenery are, in the north, Normandy, the banks "of the Seine — the finest of the great rivers of France, the valleys round Vire, Mortain, and Avranches, the wild coast scenery of Brittany, and the course of the Ranee, and of other streams near Quimper ; in the centre, the Loire below Tours, and parts of Limousin ; Auvergne, the Cantal and Ardeche, the Rhone, by some preferred to the Rhine, on account of its more extended prospects ; in the east, the hills of the Jura, the mountains and valleys of Dauphine, especially the vale of the Gresivaudan, the gorge of the Grande Chartreuse, and the savage magnificence of peak and glacier around the Mont Pelvoux, a region which may be styled the Chamouni or Grindelwald of France. Among the Vosges and Ardennes are many soberly romantic scenes which have as yet attracted but little notice from travellers ; in the south, Provence, with its sunny sky, is too arid to deserve general praise, excepting that favoured terrace at the foot of the Alps along the shore of the Mediterranean, intervening between Toulon and Nice. The Pyrenees, however, without doubt, include the finest scenery in France, and, except in the want of lakes, are scarcely inferior to the Alps of Switzerland and Savoy.

This slight enumeration of the chief points of interest is filled up in ampler details in the introductions to the different sections into which this Hand-book is divided, with the view of enabling the traveller to lay down for himself the plan of a tour, embracing as many of these points as his time or inclination will permit.

“ Bretagne, Maine, and Anjou have the appearance of deserts. The fertile territories of Flanders, Artois, and Alsace are distin- guished by their utility. Picardy is uninteresting. Champagne, in general, where I saw it, ugly, almost as much so as Poitou. Lorraine, Franche Comte, and Bourgogne are sombre in the wooded districts, and want cheerfulness in the open ones. Berry and La Marche may be ranked in tbe same class.” — Arthur Young.

On the other hand, these districts, which are not interesting in point of scenery, have a compensating recommendation in their ar- chitectural remains, and relics of antiquity. The heaths of Brittany are studded with extraordinary Celtic remains, and abound in most beautiful churches. Out of the midst of the monotonous plain of La Beauce rises the wondrous fabric of Chartres cathedral ; that of Bourges (colossal pile) overlooks the dull plain of Berri, as the spire of Strasburg surmounts the flat valley of the Rhine. Rheims, Troyes, Laon, &c. give an interest to the otherwise tiresome journey through Champagne ; the sight of Amiens, Beauvais, and Abbeville, make one forget the length of the way through Picardy and Artois ; and the Roman remains of Nismes, Arles, St. Remy, Orange, and Antibes, equal to almost any in Italy, would alone compensate for a journey to Provence, even "had it no other claims to interest. France, how- ever, is particularly rich in architectural remains, especially in Gothic architecture*, of which it possesses some of the noblest spe- cimens existing, viz. the cathedrals above enumerated; to which must be added those of Metz, and 3 churches at Rouen.

These glorious monuments of architectural skill and lavish devo- tion, are for more stupendous in their proportions than the cathedrals

It is to be hoped that Mr. Gaily Knight will be induced to publish his rich and copious

collection of careful drawings of the churches of France, as a companion to his beautiful work on Italy. The French themselves have no work containing such valuable and accurate illustrations of their national monuments, as these drawings of Mr. Knight.;

XXXVI

m. GENERAL VIEW OF FRANCE; TOWNS.

of England, but have this peculiarity, that scarcely one of them is finished : thus, Beauvais has no nave, Ainiens is incomplete in its towers, Abbeville has no choir, St. Ouen no front. It has beeifisaid that a perfect cathedral might be made of the portal of Rheims, the nave of Amiens, the choir of Beauvais, and the tower of Chartres. 4

The rose or wheel windows are both more frequent and of larger dimensions than in English cathedrals, and contribute greatly to the beauty of those of France, where it is not uncommon to find three in one church. The quantity, variety, and richness of painted glass

which the ecclesiastical edifices still retain, in spite of Huguenot Iconoclasts and Revolutionary destructives, is quite marvellous : we have nothing to compare with it in England.i

The churches in the N. of France are closed from 12 to 6, except the cathedrals, which re-open at 4. In the S. they remain open all day. The choir, its aisles and side chapels, are usually closed by an iron grating, and to obtain admittance one must apply to the suisse, or beadle, who struts about in cocked hat, sword, and laced livery.

The finest provincial cities are Lyons, Rouen, Bordeaux, Mar- seilles, and Nantes, all more or less distinguished for commerce, manufactures, and fine edifices. The minor provincial towns have a certain number of features in common which will not fail to draw the traveller’s observation : such are the formal walk near the entrance or on the outskirts, often a mere platform, planted with rows of stunted trees, and the resort of nursery-maids, washer-women, and recruits undergoing drill, except on Sundays or fete days, when the dusty and gritty platform is crowded with a gay throng, to whom the sight of bright ribbons, shawls, and new bonnets, compensates for the want of other prospect. A walk into the country and across the fields is never thought of by the French artizan or shopkeeper, nor indeed are there any field paths, green shady lanes, or pretty villas, or neat cottages with gardens on the outskirts of the towns, to invite him to sally forth. The high roads in France have been greatly improved within the last 10 years; many are now mac- adamized, indeed the whole country shows unequivocal signs of great and increasing prosperity.

Every town of a certain size is surrounded with a wall or barrier for the purpose of levying the octroi or town duties on all ar- ticles for eating and drinking brought into it, and which go to the municipal caisse or corporation funds. All carts and carriages, public and private, are stopped at the gates in consequence, by douaniers, who search them and the baggage contained in them, to ascertain that no comestibles are concealed, in order to evade this tax. The space outside the gates usually swarms with low cabarets, guinguettes, &c., where the poor man may eat and drink at a cheaper rate than within the walls.

Arrived within the town, the traveller will commonly find narrow streets, with no pavement at the sides, but a huge gutter in the centre, neither clean nor sweet, lighted at night by lamps (rever-

71. PROVINCES AND DEPARTMENTS OF FRANCE. XXXVII

beres) swinging from ropes attached to the houses on either side. After passing one or more barracks, the number of which and of soldiers is striking every where, the barrack being often a seques- trated convent or church, he will reach the grande-Place or square. On one side of it, or in some other conspicuous situation, appears a large white-washed building, graced probably with a portico in front, guarded by a sentinel, surmounted by a tricolor flag, and fenced round by a tali iron railing tipped with gilt spear-heads. This is the prefecture or sous-prefecture.

There are many institutions and establishments in French towns deserving high commendation and general imitation in England : such are the Abattoirs, or slaughter-houses, always in the outskirts; the public Cemeteries, always removed beyond the walls ; even the Public Walks to be found in every French town, though not suited altogether to English ideas of recreation, yet show an attention to the health and enjoyment of the people which is worthy of imi- tation north of the Channel.

In all the larger towns there is a museum of natural history, and generally of paintings, which, although for the most part of inferior merit, are commendable as institutions for public recreation.

Still more commendable are the public libraries and reading rooms, arranged in convenient apartments with salaried librarians, common in all French provincial towns. An amiable traveller observes, “ I could not visit these libraries without wishing that similar institutions could be introduced into England, where the easy access to books in every part of the kingdom could not but prove at once agreeable and beneficial. The encouragement of such an object would be a wise application of the public money.” — Mr. Gaily Knight's Tour in Normandy.

There are three authors whose works should be perused before entering France : Caesar, for its ancient history; Froissart, for its feudal history; and Arthur Young, for the picture of France before the revolution : his vivid local descriptions hold good to the present day.

To those who would attain some insight into the French character , previously to any personal intercourse with the people, no more agreeable or useful work can be recommended than “ A Comparative View of the Social Condition of England and France,” by the Editor of Madame du Deffand’s Letters, the author of which has studied the national character through the double medium of long personal intercourse with the highest classes of society — and of an intimate acquaintance with the history of the country.

XXXV111 n. PROVINCES AND DEPARTMENTS OF FRANCE.

71. LIST OF THE 86 DEPARTMENTS INTO WHICH FRANCE IS DIVIDED, AND OF THE 33 ANCIENT PROVINCES COMPOSING THEM.

Provinces.

Ile de France, with la Brie, &c.

Picardie.

Artois and Boulonnais. Flandre and Hainault Francais.

Normandie.

Bretagne.

Orleanois.

Beauce and Pays Char- train.

Maine.

Anjou.

Touraine.

Poitou.

Berri.

Marche.

Limousin.

Angoumois.

Saintonge and Aunis. Perigovd.

Guyenne.

Armagnac (part of Gas- cogne).

Bigorre (part of Gas- cogne).

Pepartemens.

' Seine.

Seine-et-Oise. Seine- et- Marne. Oise.

Aisne.

Somme.

Pas- de- Calais.

Nord.

r Seine- Inferieure. Eure.

Calvados.

Orne.*

Manche. Ille-et-Vilaine. Cotes- du- N ord. Finisterre. Morbihan. v Loire- Inferieure. f Loiret. Loir-et-Cher.

Eure-et-Loire.

f Sarthe.

\ Mayenne. Maine-et-Loire. Indre-et- Loire, f V endee.

-I Deux- Sevres. Vienne.

( Indre.

Cher.

Creuze.

{ Haute-Vienne. Correze.

Charente.

Charente-Inferieure.

Dordogne.

" Gironde.

Lot-et- Garonne.

Lot.

Tarn-et- Garonne. Aveyron.

| Gers.

’’ Hautes- Pyrenees.

Chefs- Lieux. Paris.

Versailles.

Melun.

Beauvais.

Laon.

Amiens.

Arras.

Lille.

Rouen.

Evreux.

Caen.

Alenin.

Saint- Lo. Rennes.

Saint- Brieux.

Quimper.

Vannes.

Nantes.

Orleans.

Blois.

Chartres.

Le Mans.

Laval.

Angers.

Tours.

Bourbon-Vendee.

Niort.

Poitiers.

Chateauroux.

Bourges.

Gueret.

Limoges.

Tulle.

Angouleme.

La Rochelle.

Perigueux.

Bordeaux.

Agen.

Cahors.

Montauban.

Rhodez.

Audi.

Tarbes.

O. THE ENGLISH ABROAD.

XXXIX

Provinces.

Gascogne.

Bearn and French Na- varre.

Comte de Foix. Roussillon.

Languedoc.

Viva rais. Gevaudan.

Velay.

COMTAT VeNAISSIN, Orange, &c.

Provence.

Dauphine.

Lyonnois and Beaujolois. Forez.

Auvergne.

Bourbonnois.

Nivernois.

Bresse, Bugey, &c.

Bourgogne (duche)

Comte de Bourgogne, or F ranche- Comte.

Champagne.

Lorraine.

Alsace.

Corsica,

Departemens.

Landes.

Basses- Pyrenees. Arriege.

Pyrenees- Orientales. r Haute- Garonne. Tarn.

- Aude.

Herault.

Gai'd.

Ardeche.

Lozere.

Haute- Loire.

Vaucluse.

Bouches-du- Rhone. Var.

Basses- Alpes.

Isere.

Drome.

Hautes- Alpes. Rhone.

Loire.

f Puy-de-Dome.

\ Cantal.

Allier.

Nievre.

Ain.

f Saone-et- Loire.

■j Cote d’Or. f Yonne.

Doubs.

J ura,

Haute- Sabne.

Aube.

Marne.

1 Haute- Marne.

L Ardennes.

Meurthe.

Meuse.

Moselle.

Vosges. f Bas-Rhin.

\ Haut-Rhin.

Corse.

Chefs Lieux. Mont-de-Marsan.

Pau.

Foix.

Perpignan.

Toulouse.

Alby.

Carcassonne. ’

Montpellier.

Nismes.

Privas.

Mende.

Le Puy.

Avignon.

Marseille.

Draguignan.

Digne.

Grenoble.

Valence.

Gap.

Lyon.

Montbrison.

Clermont.

Aurillac.

Moulins.

Nevers.

Bourg.

Macon.

Dijon.

Auxerre.

Besan^n.

Lons-le- Saulnier. Vesoul.

Troyes.

Chalons-sur-Marne.

Chaumont.

Mezieres.

Nancy.

Bar-le-Duc.

Metz.

Epinal.

Strasburg.

Colmar.^

Ajaccio.

O . THE ENGLISH ABROAD.

It may not be amiss here briefly to consider the causes which render the English so unpopular on the Continent ; as to the fact of their being so,, it is to be feared there can be no doubt. In the first place, it arises from the number of ill-conditioned persons (mauvais

xl p. SKELETON TOUR THROUGH FRANCE.

sujets) who, not being in condition to face the world at home, scatter themselves over foreign lands, and bring no little discredit upon their country. But in addition to these, there are many respectable and wealthy persons, who, through inattention, unguardedness, wanton expenditure in some cases, niggardly parsimony in others, but, above all, from an unwillingness to accommodate themselves to the feelings of the people they are among, contribute not a little to bring their own nation into disrepute. The Englishman abroad too often forgets that he is the representative of his country, and that his countrymen will be judged by his own conduct ; that by affability, moderation, and being easily pleased, he will conciliate ; whereas by caprice, extrava- gant squandering, or ill-timed niggardness, he affects the reception of the next comer.

There are many points, however, in which our character is misun- derstood by foreigners. The morose sullenness attributed by them to the Englishman is, in perhaps nine cases out of ten, nothing more than involuntary silence, arising from his ignorance of foreign lan- guages, or at least from his want of sufficient fluency to make himself readily understood, which thus prevents his enjoying society. If an Englishman were fully aware how much it increases the pleasure and profit of travelling to have made some progress in foreign languages before he sets foot on the Continent, no one would think of quitting home until he had devoted at least some months to hard labour with grammars and dictionaries.

Englishmen and Protestants, admitted into Roman Catholic churches, at times are often inconsiderate in talking loud, laughing, and stamping with their feet while the service is going on : a moment’s reflection should point out to them that they should regard the feel- ings of those around them who are engaged in their devotions. Above all, they should avoid as much as possible turning their backs upon the altar.

Our countrymen have a reputation for pugnacity in France: let them therefore be especially cautious not to make use of their fists, however great the provocation, otherwise they will rue it. No French magistrate or judge will listen to any plea of provocation ; fine and imprisonment are the offender’s inevitable portion.

By official returns it appears that there are at present in France 66,000 English residents. Supposing the average expenditure of each to be 5 francs a-day, the sum total will amount to about 4,820,000/. per annum.

p. SKELETON TOUR THROUGH FRANCE, TO EMBRACE THE PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF CURIOSITY, AND TO OCCUPY FIVE OR SIX MONTHS.

Havre — By land up the N. bank j Descend the Seine by steamer to of the Seine, halting to explore its I Honfleur. beauties and curiosities. Caen.

Rouen (to Paris by railway). Bayeux (Cherbourg).

Andelys. ' Vire.

ROUTE FROM LONDON FOR THE OVERLAND MAIL,

xli

Avranclies and Mont St. Michel.

St. Malo.

Dinant (Brest and Quimper). Vannes and Carnac.

Nantes — Clisson.

Ascent of the Loire to Angers. Saumur.

Chinon.

Tours.

Loches — Chenonceaux.

Araboise.

Blois — Chambord.

Orleans.

Bourges.

Clermont — Puy de Dome.

Mont Dore.

Cantal.

Le Puy.

St. Etienne.

Lyons.

Descent of Rhone — Valence. Montelimart — Aubenas — Ardeche. Viviers on the Rhone.

Orange.

Avignon — Pont du Gard.

Nismes.

Montpellier.

Narbonne.

Toulouse.

Descent of the Garonne.

Bordeaux.

Bayonne

Pau.

Tour of the W. Pyrenees.

St. Gaudens.

Tour of the E. Pyrenees. Perpignan.

Narbonne.

Montpellier.

Arles — Aix.

Marseilles.

Toulon.

Cannes.

Digne.

Sisteron.

Gap.

Embrun — Val Queiras.

Brian^on.

Pass of Lauteret — Mont Peivoux. Bourg d’Oysans.

Grenoble — Vale of Gresivaudan. Grande Chartreuse.

Bourg.

Chalons-sur- Saone.

Dijon.

Besan^on.

Colmar.

Strasburg.

Nancy.

Troyes.

Chalons-sur-Marne.

Rheims.

Soissons.

Amiens.

Boulogn

q. ROUTE AND TIME FROM LONDON TO MARSEILLES TO MEET THE OVERLAND MAIL AT MALTA, SECURING BEFOREHAND PLACES IN THE MALLE POSTE.

| London to Brighton and Dieppe Dieppe to Paris by Rouen (Railway) (say 24 hours from London to Paris.) In Paris -

Paris to Marseilles (Malle poste)

(3 nights, 2^ days.)

Hours,

- li

- 10

12 or 36 - 66

You arrive at Marseilles at 6 a. m. ; the government steamers start at 5 p.m. from Marseilles to Malta, the 1st, 11th, and 21st of every month.

In order to be enabled to remain in England till the last moment, it is necessary to write to a correspondent at Paris to secure a place

xlii ROUTE FROM LONDON FOR THE OVERLAND MAIL.

in the 2 malle postes by payment a week beforehand, or even a fortnight, to make sure. Start from London on the evening of the 4th.

At Marseilles it is necessary to get the passport vise by the British consul, the local police (and the Neapolitan consul, if you intend to land at Naples) ; also a bill of health, and a permis d’em» barquement.

Persons wishing to travel more leisurely, and to avoid fatigue, should start on the first of the month or earlier, take the diligence from Paris to Chalons, whence they may proceed by water down the Saone and Rhone to Avignon or Arles, within 50 m. of Marseilles.

A place in the coupe of the diligence from Paris to Marseilles costs U. 5s.

French government steamers ply direct from Marseilles to Alex- andria, touching at Malta once a month during 1844, afterwards 3 times a month.

DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE MAPS.

The Seine, and Railways to Rouen, to face "

The Loire -

The Pyrenees -

The Rhone — Lyons to Marseilles

Index Map of France at the end.

Route 8 Route 53 Section IV. Route 12A

ABBREVIATIONS, &c. USED IN THE HAND-BOOK.

The points of the Compass are often marked simply by the letters N. S. E. W.

(rt.) right, (Z. ) left, — applied to the banks of a river. The right bank is that which lies on the right hand of a person whose back is turned towards the source, or the quarter from which the current descends/

kilom. for kilometre, m. for mile.

Dept, for Department. Inhab. for Inhabitants.

Cent, for Century R. Rte. for Route, p. for page.

St. Stat. for Railway Station.

The names of Inns precede the description of every place, (often in a parenthesis,) because the first information needed by a traveller is where to lodge. The best Inns, as far as they^can be determined, are placed first.

Instead of designating a town by the vague words “large” or “small,” the amount of the population, according to the latest census, is almost inva- riably stated, as presenting a more exact scale of the importance and size of the place.

Every Route has a number, corresponding with the figures attached to the Route on the General Map of France, which thus serves as an index to the Book ; at the same time that it presents a tolerably exact view of the great high roads of France, and of the course of public conveyances.

HAND-BOOK

ros

TRAVELLERS IV FRANCE.

SECTION I.

PICARDY. — ILE DE FRANCE. — NORM ANDY. Introductory Information.

OBJECTS OF INTEREST. COUNTRY OF NORMANDY. ARCHITECTURAL

REMAINS. SKELETON TOUR.

ROUTES.

- - The names of places are psinted in italics only in those routes -where the places are

described.

ROUTE PAGE

1 Calais to Paris, by St. Omer,

Amiens , and Chantilly . 3

2 Calais to Paris, by Boulogne ,

Abbeville, Beauvais, and St. Denis .... 9

5 Dieppe to Paris, by Gisors

and Pontoise . . .23

6 Dieppe to Rouen . . 27

8 Paris to Rouen (Railroad) 28

9 Paris to Rouen. — Lower

Road, by St. Germain, and Louviers . . . .32

10 Paris to Rouen. — Upper

Road, by Gisors, or Magny 46

11 The Seine, (a.) — St. Ger-

main to Rouen. — Roche Guion. — Chateau Gaillard 48

12 The Seine (b. ) — Rouen to

Havre . . . .52

13 Rouen to Havre. — Lower

Road, by St. Georges Bos- cherville, Jumieges, Caudebec, and Lillebonne . . .56

ROUTE PAGE

14 Rouen to Havre. — Upper

Road, by Yvetot and Bolbec 64 18 Havre to Dieppe and Ab- beville, by Fecamp and Eu ..... 65

21 Rouen to Alencon, by Ber-

nay , Broglie, and Seez . 69

23 Rouen to Caen, by Brionne

or by Honfleur . . .70

24 Havre to Caen . . .71

25 Paris to Caen, by Evreux and

Lisieux . . . .72

26 Caen to Cherbourg, by Bayeux 79

27 Cherbourg to St. Malo, by

Coutances. — Granville. — Avranches. — Mont St. Mi- chel, and Dol . . .89

j 29 Caen to Tours, by Falaise. —

Alenin .... ICO | 3 1 Caen to P. ennes, by Vire, Mor -

tain, and Fougeres . .101

32 Bayeux to St. Lo and Av- ranches . . . .103

Picardy and lie de France, through -which lie the routes to Paris from Calais and Boulogne, present no attractions of picturesqueness, but some interesting historical associations to Englishmen, and a few fine examples of Gothic architecture, the chief of which are the cathedrals of Amiens, Beauvais, Abbeville.

Normandy, on the other hand, is full of interest in many respects : — it is remarkable for varied outline of swelling hills waving with corn ; for beautiful valleys abounding in orchards, and in rich pasturages, on which large herds

France. B

2 Picardy — Normandy . Sect. I.

of cattle are reared, and traversed by winding rivers ; for richness and careful cultivation ; and, above all, for remains of antiquity ; venerable cities, the delight of the painter ; noble cathedrals, abbeys, and churches, not con- fined merely to the larger towns, but scattered over the country,' so that every little village in some parts possesses a fine specimen of Gothic architecture. Normandy is decidedly among the most attractive portions of France. Parts of the upper country are certainly flat, bare, monotonous table- land ; but in its joyous sunny slopes and winding dales, in its hedgerows, orchards, thatched cottages with gardens, in the general character of the landscape of La Basse Normandie, especially in its verdure, frequent village spires, and white chalk cliffs, an Englishman recognises with pleasure the features of his own Fatherland, which no other part of the Continent affords. He may also take pleasure in remembering that this was the cradle whence came the wise and hardy bands of conquerors from whose possession of England that country dates her rising prosperity and greatness.

To those who are fond of Gothic architecture, especially to the architect and antiquary, Normandy will afford a rich treat. Ilouen, a city possessing much of the old Teutonic character in its edifices, and containing not only a magnificent cathedral, but, if possible, a still finer church, that of St. Ouen, is certainly one of the most interesting places in France, and will alone furnish occupation for many days.

Caen is also interesting, but in a less degree ; but in its vicinity are a great number of curious village churches. The ruined abbeys, Boscherville, Jumieges, &c., on the N. bank of the Seine, are remarkable examples of genuine Norman architecture ; and the scenery of the river on whose banks and peninsulas they lie, — the great water highway connecting Paris with its port of Havre, is so very pleasing, that it deserves to be seen both from land and water. The cathedrals of Bayeux (famed for its tapestry) and of Cou- tances also are noble edifices.

Normandy abounds in old castles ; of which the most interesting, both in a historical and picturesque point of view, are Chateau Gaillard, the favourite stronghold of Richard Cceur de Lion, Falaise, the birth-place of William the Conqueror, and many others, the cradles of our English noblesse, whence they derive their titles ; and, above all, Mont St. Michel, which possesses a triple interest as an historical fortress, a remarkable ecclesiastical edifice, and a most grand and striking object.

The Roman theatre at Lillebonne deserves mention as an interesting ex- ample of an edifice of the kind, and almost the only one existing in Northern Europe.

The most picturesque parts of Normandy are the banks of the Seine, from St. Germains to Havre, and especially from Rouen to Havre, though its in- numerable islands, planted with rows of poplars and willows, are often monotonous ; the vicinity of Yire and of Avranches charmingly posted on a hill top, whence the view extending to the Mont St. Michel, rising out of the sea, is peculiarly attractive.

The JDock-yard and Breakwater of Cherbourg, at the extremity of the pro- montory called the Cotentin, which deserves to be explored for its geological peculiarities, and the Chateau d’Eu, the summer residence of H. M. Louis Philippe, must not be omitted among the curiosities of Normandy.

- - In going from Paris to Rouen and Havre, and vice versa , the lower

roads , along the banks of the Seine, which are highly picturesque, are to be preferred to the upper roads, which, though shorter, are dull and tiresome.

Picardy.

Route 1. — Calais to Paris by Amiens .

Skeleton Tour of 3 Weeks through Normandy.

Southampton to

1 1 Bayeux.

1 Havre.

12 Valonges.

Tancarville.

13 Cherbourg.

3 Lillebonne.

14 Coutances.

Caudebec.

St. Lo.

Jumieges.

15 Vire.

4 St. Geo. Boscherville.

Mortain.

7 Rouen.

16 Avranches.

Chateau Gaillard.

Mt. St. Michel.

Descent of the Seine to Honfieur

17 Dol.

(or to Havre, and by another

18 Dinant.

steamer to)

19 St. Malo, by steamer.

8 Caen.

21 Jersey and Southampton.

10 Falaise and back.

The best account of the architectural remains of Normandy will be found in Mr. Gaily Knight's “ Tour in Normandy ; ” Whewell's “ Notes on German and French Churches;” Dawson Turner's “ Tour in Normandy,” one of the earliest descriptions of the country published in England or France ; Cotman and Pugin's “ Illustrative Plates ; ” and Caumont's “ Histoire Sommaire de 1’ Architecture du Moyen Age.” Also Miss Costello's “ Bocages and Vines.”

[edit]

ROUTE 1. CALAIS TO PARIS BY ST. OJIER AND AMIENS.

281 kilom. =174 Eng. m.

This route, 6 m. longer than that by Beauvais, will be preferred by those who w r ish to visit the noble ca- thedral of Amiens. The Lille malle- poste follows the route from Paris as far as Doullens.

Diligence daily in 28 hours. A branch of the Northern French Rail- way is intended to be carried through St. Omer and Hazebrook to the Paris and Lille line.

CALAIS, in R. 2. p. 9.

The country about Calais, and for some distance inland, is low and wet, intersected by scummy ditches, and traversed by rows of pollard willows. The villages are composed chiefly of mud cottages.. The peasants, men as well as women, are frequently seen mounted on very high pattens to avoid the dirt. The road crosses the Pont

Sans Pared, thrown over the two canals from St. Omer to Calais, and from Ardresto Gravelines, at the point where they cut each other at right angles, 3 m. before reaching

16 Ardres, a small fortress. The plain between this place and Guisnes, a little to the W. of the road, is the Field of the Cloth of Gold, the scene of the meeting between Henry VIII. and Francis I., 1520, called Le

Champ du Drap d’Or, from the cloth of gold with which the tents and pa- vilions of the monarchs and their suites, of 5696 persons with 4325 horses, were covered.

8 La Recousse.

16 St. Omer. — Inns: L’Ancienne Poste, best ; Grande Ste. Catherine.

This is a third-rate fortress, whose means of defence lie less in its actual fortifications than in the marshes which surround it, and the facility afforded by the river Aa, on which it stands, of flooding the land round about, so as to leave only \ of its circuit un- b ;

4 .

Sect. I.

Route 1 . — Calais to

protected by the waters. Although it contains a population of 19,344 souls, it is a very dull place. There are, however, two ecclesiastical edi- fices worthy of notice.

The Cathedral, at the upper end of the Rue St. Bertin, is a fine building, showing the transition from the round to the pointed style. The E. end is a good example of the polygonal ter- mination of churches, with projecting chapels, so common on the Continent. The interior is good ; — the small Lady Chapel has been recently decorated.

At the opposite extremity of the same street stand the scanty re- mains of the famous Abbey Church of St. Bertin, at one time the noblest Gothic monument of French Flan- ders — in its present state a disgrace to the town, and a reproach to the govern- ment. For be it known that its destruc- tion has been perpetrated since 1830 ! At the outbreak of the great Revolu- tion the monastery was suppressed ; the Convention spared it; and though under the Directory it was sold for the materials, unroofed, and stripped of its woodwork and metal, yet its walls remained comparatively uninjured un- til the magistrates, a few years ago, barbarously pulled it down to afford employment to some labourers out of work ! The fragment remaining con- sists of a stately tower built in the 15th century (1431 — 1461), display- ing the ornaments of the florid Gothic in the mutilated panelling on its walls, and bits of tracery in its windows ; a small portion of the nave remains attached to it. The tower, threatening to fall, has been propped by an ugly, ill-contrived buttress of masonry ; there is some talk of converting it into a museum. The town is well seen from its top, but there is nothing else of interest in the view. Within the walls of the Abbey of St. Bertin the feeble Chil- deric III., the last king of the first race, ended his days ; here also Becket sought refuge when a fugitive from England .

Paris by St. Omer.

A Seminary for the education of English and Irish Catholics exists here : it has succeeded the celebrated Jesuits' College founded by Father Parsons for the education of young Englishmen. Daniel O’Connell was brought up here for the priesthood ; and several of the conspirators en- gaged in the Gunpowder Plot were pupils of the same school. There are not more than 15 or 20 students at present.

The road to Lille and Brussels (Route 188.) turns off here. Dili- gences daily thither and to Boulogne.

18 Aire, another small fortress of 3d class, contains a Gothic Church, St. Paul’s , and a belfry built in the 18th century, rising above the public square. Mallebranche was bom here.

13 Lillers.

1 1 Pernes.

13 St. Pol.

15 m. N. W. of this, and 2 m. S. of the post station, Fruges, is Azincour (1415), a village of dirty farms and poor cottages, uninteresting but for its battle-field. Only the foundations remain of the castle men- tioned by Shakespear “ that stands hard by.” Azincour lies on the 1. of the high road from St. Omer to Abbeville, which passes through the village of Ruisseauville, mentioned in all the accounts of the battle. The hottest of the fight raged between Azincour and the commune of Tra- mecour where a wood still exists corresponding with that in which Henry posted his archers, who con- tributed so much to the victory, each armed with an iron-pointed stake, to fix in the ground before him and serve the purpose of the modern bayonet.

Henry, like his great-grandfather Edward III., previous to Crecy, had marched with a force of only 9000 men at the utmost, through a hostile country, from Harfleur on his way to Calais. On reaching the Somme below Abbeville he found the ford by which

Picardy.

Route 1 . — - Calais to Paris — Amiens .

Edward had crossed staked, and was obliged to continue up the 1. bank, finding every passage fortified and every bridge broken, until he arrived above Amiens, where he gained the rt. bank by a ford which had been left open. The French army, though more than six times the number of the English, retreated before him beyond St. Pol, and there drew up across the road to Calais to dispute his passage. There is thus a considerable similarity in the events attending the victories of Crecy and Azincour, and these two famous battle-fields are not more than 20 miles apart (see p. 17.)

, 13 Frevent.

15 Doullens, chef-lieu of an ar- yondissement in the department of the Somme, has a Citadel built by Vauban, now a state prison where political offenders are confined. St. Martin's Church is said to be remark- able for the lightness of the pillars which support it.

14 Talmas.

16 Amiens.- — Inn: H. de France et d’Angleterre, tolerable.

Amiens is an industrious manu- facturing town of 46,129 inhabitants, formerly capital of Picardy, now chef- lieu of the department of the Somme, and situated on that river, which passes through the town split into eleven branches, and renders essential ser- vice in turning the water-wheels of many of the numerous manufactories, whose tall chimneys are seen rising above the other buildings, and are clustered around the outskirts. The weaving of cotton velvets, chiefly for Spanish consumption, and the spinning of cotton and woollen yarn, are the principal branches of industry. Amiens is the cradle of the cotton manufacture of France, which dates no farther back than 1773.

The object which deservedly con- centrates the attention of travellers at Amiens is the Cathedral , one of the noblest Gothic edifices in Europe. It was begun 1220, only two years later than Salisbury, though in a much

more mature style than that edifice. It was designed and begun by the architect Robert De Luzarches, but continued and completed 1269 by Thomas and Regnault de Cormont, except the W. front, not finished until the end of the 14th century. Three vast and deeply recessed portals lead into it ; the arches supported by a long array of statues in niches instead of pillars, while rows of statuettes supply the place of mouldings, so that the whole forms one mass of sculpture ; an arrangement of con- stant occurrence in French Gothic, though rare in English. The sculp- ture of these porches merits attention; over the centre door the has relief re- presents the Last Judgment; the sta- tues are those of the 12 Apostles. Over the rt. hand porch are the Death and Assumption of the Virgin ; over that on the 1. is the legend of St. Firmin, the apostle of Picardy. Above the portals runs a colossal line of French kings, behind which appears a noble wheel window; and the whole is flanked by two stately but un- finished towers.

“ The interior is one of the most magnificent spectacles that architec- tural skill can ever have produced. The mind is filled and elevated by its enormous height (140 feet), its lofty and many-coloured clerestory, its grand proportions, its noble simplicity. The proportion of height to breadth is almost double that to which we are accustomed in English cathedrals; the lofty, solid piers, which bear up this height, are far more massive in their plan than the light and graceful clusters of our English churches, each of them being a cylinder with 4 engaged columns. The polygonal E. apse is a feature which we seldom see, and no where so exhibited and on such a scale ; and the peculiar French ar- rangement which puts the walls at the outside edge of the buttresses, and thus forms interior chapels all round, in addition to the aisles, gives a vast multiplicity of perspective below, b 3

Monte 1. — Calais to Paris — Amiens.

Sect. I.

the gigantic height of the centre. Such terms will not be considered extravagant when it is recollected that the vault is half as high again as the roof of Westminster Abbey.” — Whewell.

The entire length is 442 feet. The general character of the architecture is that of the early English, except the geometric tracery of the windows. The triforium is glazed, which gives great lightness to the interior. Just within the central porch are two fine brass effigies of bishops ; that on the 1. as you enter is Evrard de Fouilly, who laid the first stone of the church ; that on the rt. GeofFroi d’Eu, “learned,” as his epitaph tells us, “in medicine as well as theology.” The splendid pulpit, the work of an artist of Amiens, Dupuis, is supported by statues of Faith, Hope, and Charity.

Placed at the crossing of the tran- sept, the spectator may admire the three magnificent rose windows, all of elaborate tracery and varied patterns, filled with rich stained glass, each nearly 1 00 feet in circumference, which form a great ornament to this church, and surpass every thing of the sort which England can show. The font in the N. transept is an oblong trough of stone, probably of the 1 Oth or 1 1 th century.

Round the wall which separates the choir from its aisles runs a low screen of stone, enclosing a series of curious sculptures, in high relief, re- presenting on the S. side the legend of St. Firmin, and on the N. the acts and death of John the Baptist. They date from the end of the 15th century.

The head of St. John the Baptist, brought from Constantinople at the time of the Crusades, has always been considered, and still remains, the most valuable relic possessed by this church. It is deposited in the side chapel de- dicated to St. John. Several other heads of St. John existed before the Revolution in other churches of France, and one, indeed, in the neigh-

bouring abbey of St. Acheul; but this, it was maintained, was the genuine one. Since the Revolution, the skull has been reduced to the frontal bone and upper jaw.

Attached to a monument of Canon Lucas, at the back of the high altar, and facing the Lady Chapel, is a weeping angel, which has received more praise than it seems to deserve on the score of art ; it is known as l’enfant pleureur. B! asset is the sculptor’s name.

The choir, terminating in a semi- circular E. end, the elegantly groined roof resting on compressed lancet- pointed arches, yields in beauty to no part of the church. It is also es- pecially distinguished for the ela- borately carved woodwork of its 116 stalls : in variety of invention and delicacy of execution there is nothing finer of the kind in Europe. The intricate details of the tabernacles and lace-like parapets, the bold draw- ing, and effective though coarse ex- pression in the bas-reliefs, represent- ing subjects from Holy Writ, the Life of the Virgin, &c., and the close imitation of nature in the twining tendrils and playful foliage of the vine and other plants, deserve minute at- tention. The carvers were Arnoult Boullin and Alex. Huet, menuisiers of Amiens : the work was finished in 1520. The diapering of fleur-de-lis at the back of the seats was effaced by order of the government in 1830. To appreciate the vast proportions and examine the details of this cathe- dral, the visitor ought to ascend to the triforium gallery; thence he may mount the tower and enjoy the view over the vale of the Somme, remark- ing in his ascent the turret with the stone table, where Henri IV. posted himself to watch the retreat of the Spaniards in 1597. The roof is a wonderful piece of carpentry, 46 feet high ; a forest of oak and chestnut must be contained in it.

Within the cathedral of Amiens, Edward III. did homage for Guienne

Picardy.

Route 1 . — Calais to Paris by St. Omer.

to Philippe of Valois, 1329 ; and i here, in 1385, Isabel of Bavaria was married to the idiot king Charles VI. The best description of l Amiens Cathedral is that of M. Gil- I bert.

The other buildings in the town possess comparatively slight interest. The deserted Church of St. Rani, J now a stable, was a rich specimen of the latest florid Gothic, the beauty of which is destroyed by mutilations. | Within it is a sculptured monument to the family Lannay. In the Hotel de Ville, a building of 1600, the treaty of “ the Peace of Amiens was signed, 1 802, by the plenipotentiaries, Joseph Buonaparte for France, Lord j Cornwallis for England, Chevalier I Azara for Spain, and M. Schimmel- penninck for Holland. The hall is hung with pictures of the modern French school, of slight merit. There is a Museum, containing some anti- quities, paintings, &c.

A Boulevard surrounds the town, occupying the site of the ancient ram- parts, and, being planted with trees, forms an agreeable promenade. A Citadel, however, remains, bixilt on the rt. bank of the Somme by Henri IV., and strengthened by modern works. The Spaniards, in 1597, gained the city, which had claimed the privilege of exemption from a military garrison, through the stra- tagem of one Hernando Tello de Porto Carrero, Spanish governor of Doullens, who, disguising him- self and a band of companions as peasants, entered the town at early dawn, along with the market folk, driving a waggon laden with fruit, which he halted under the gateway. In passing the gate it was contrived that a sack of walnuts should burst ; and while the unsuspecting guards were occupied on all-fours scrambling for its scattered contents, the Spaniards fell on them and put them to the j sword. In vain the portcullis was I hastily lowered: the waggon had been drawn up so as to catch it as it fell,

leaving a passage by which a party of armed Spaniards, in ambush outside, gained easy admittance.

Henri IV., not yet firmly fixed in his throne, felt the loss of Amiens as a severe blow, and hastened to recover it. He was aided in the siege and capture of the town, 1598, by a body of 4000 Englishmen, under Sir Ar- thur Savage, furnished by Queen Elizabeth.

Amiens was the Samarobriva of the Romans; and the Ambiani, the Gallic inhabitants of the distinct (whence the name Amiens), are mentioned by Caesar. Here Merovee was pro- claimed king by being raised on the shield of his victorious soldiers.

The following eminent persons were born in the town or its vicinity : — Peter the Hermit, preacher of the first crusade; Gabrielle d’Estrees, the cherished mistress ‘ of Henri IV.; Ducange, author of the “ Glossarium ad Scriptores mediae et infimae Latini- tates ; ” Gresset the poet, author of “Vertvert;” Helambre, the astrono- mer.

Amiens is celebrated among gour- mands for its pates de canard. The Railway from Amiens to Paris is expected to be finished in 1844.

Diligences go daily to Lille by Arras, to Beauvais, and to Abbeville (see p. 17.), as well as to Paris and Calais.

There is a coche d’eau on the Somme to Abbeville.

The Abbey of St. A cheul, on the out- skirts of the town, was converted into a Jesuits’ college under the Restoration. The crypt under the church contains some ancient tombs and bas reliefs.

19 Flers.

13 Breteuil. — Inns : Ange, not good; D’Angleterre.

The Abbey of Ste. Marie is an an- cient Gothic building.

A road stretches hence through Noirernont, 12 k., to Beauvais (p. 17.), (16 k.).

18 St. Just.

The park and chateau of Fitz- B 4

8 Route 1 . — Calais to Paris — Chantilly, Sect. I.

james are passed on the r., shortly before reaching.

16 Clermont sur Oise (Inn, Crois- sant, tolerable), a prettily situated town on the slopes of a hill, surmounted by the Castle , which is now converted into a penitentiary for women, and so aug- mented by modern constructions that its antiquity would scarcely be sus- pected. It was, however, an im- portant fortress from the 10th to the 16th century; taken by the English, 1359 and 1434, and by Henri IV. from the troops of the League, 1595. The elder Conde, disgusted with the court, retired hither, 1615, and forti- fied himself against attacks.

From the agreeable promenade du Chatellier, which surrounds its walls, jutting out over the valley, a beautiful view of its winding stream is ob- tained. Cassini, the astronomer and geographer, was a native of Clermont.

10 Laigneville.

The river Oise is crossed at Creil, a town of 1500 inhabitants, on its 1. bank. Only the foundations of a tower remain of the old Castle in which Charles VI. was shut up du- ring his madness. It stood on the island below the bridge, but was de- stroj T ed at the Revolution.

There is a large delft manufactory at or near Creil.

A monotonously straight road through an avenue of trees, partly skirting the forest, leads to

12 Chantilly (Inns: H. du Bourbon Conde; H. d’Angleterre), a town of 2524 inhabitants. The splendid chateau built by the great Conde, where he spent his latter years, after retiring from military life, in the society of Racine, Boileau, Bossuet, and the other literary men of his age, was levelled by the mob at the Re- volution. The stables remain — a splendid pile, capable of lodging 180 horses.

Conde took great pride in this beau- tiful retreat, and pleasure in embellish- ing it; and when Louis XIV., who had a claim on it, indicated a desire

to obtain possession, he said, “ Vous etes le maitre : mais j’ai une grace a deman der a V. M., c’est de me laisser a Chantilly comme votre concierge ; ” and the king had the moderation not to interfere. His affairs were never in a more desperate condition than at the moment when he was honoured by a visit from his cousin and sovereign, 1671 ; nevertheless, no- thing could exceed the magnificence of the entertainment, rendered memo- rable by the suicide of le Grand Vatel, the cook, who ran himself through with his sword in despair because the fish did not arrive in time for dinner.*

In spite of the devastation of the Revolution, Chantilly is by no means stripped of interest, nor of souvenirs of its most distinguished owner. A noble authorf, who visited it in 1841, has touchingly described its vast na- tural forest, its limpid and purling streams, its green Arbele poplars, which have taken root in the ruins of the Grand Chateau, and now quite overshadow them, its green turf drives, and its hedges of hawthorn. The Petit Chateau still existing, is full of me- morials of Conde ; and its gardens, restored in excellent taste, are once more perfumed by the blossoms of its beautiful orange grove, and glittering with the most brilliant flowers. Since the mysterious death of its late owner, the Due de Bourbon, the last of the line of Conde, Chantilly has be- come the property of the Due d’Au- male, fourth son of Louis Philippe. The Chapel contains a rich altar screen in the style of the Renaissance, brought from Ecouen : here also is some fine painted glass representing the story of Psyche. An Hospital, built and endowed by the deceased Prince de Conde, remains a monu- ment of his munificence to the town.

The park and grounds are very beautiful, and, as well as the chateau

See Mad. de Sevigne.

f La Vie du Grand Conde, par le Vicomte de Mahon. 1842.

Picardy. Route 2. — Calais to Paris by Poulogne,

and stable, are readily shown to strangers. The forest adjoining them has an extent of 6700 acres. Races are held here in the month of May.

The body of the aged Admiral Coligny, the noblest victim of the massacre of St. Bartholomew, after having been hung up by the heels on the gallows of Montfaucon, was se- cretly brought hither by Montmo- rency, and buried in the parish church , without the head, which was conveyed to Catherine de Medicis.

Chantilly is famed for its silk lace (blonde, so called from the light colour,) made here, to a less extent in the town itself than in the 20 or SO neighbouring communes, the ar- tificers being women and children. The manufacture was originally esta- blished 1710, by M. Moreau. There are now 7 large establishments; but they only give out the patterns and materials: the work is executed at the homes of the lace-makers.

In the midst of the forest of Chan- tilly, not far from the Etangs de Commelle, is a pretty little Gothic building, flanked by 4 towers at the corners, called Chateau de la Loge de Viarmes , built, it is said, by Queen Blanche of Castille, mother of St. Louis, in the style of the Sainte Cha- pelie, and at the same time. Its carved ornaments of snakes, frogs, lizards, snails, intermixed with foliage composed of water plants, are appro- priate to the aquatic site : it was probably built for a fishing house. It was restored carefully in 1826. Not far from this is the ruined Cistercian Abbey of Royaumont, founded by St. Louis 1230, who often retired hither from the world, tend- ing the sick and eating with the monks. A wall and turret of the church, with bits of the refectory and cloister, alone remain, and are now converted into a cotton mill. The valley of the Oise in this vicinity is very rich and fine.

10 Luzarches has an interesting church of the end of the 12th or be-

ginning of the 13th century : its

portal is ornamental with curious sculptures of martyred saints ; and remains of an ancient castle of the French kings exist here on the top of the hill : they consist of a fragment of a square donjon, and a chapel.

1 1 Ecouen. The chief building is the chateau of the Montmorency fa- mily, built in the reign of Francis I., now the property of the Due d’Au- male. It was converted by Na- poleon into a seminary for the edu- cation of the daughters of members of the Legion of Honour, and placed under the direction of Madame Campan. It is now subordinate to the chief establishment of the order at St. Denis. The principal front was destroyed at the Revolution, the other 3 are well preserved. Within are traces of frescoes, of the 16'th cen- tury, which were whitewashed by Madame Campan ; an elegant chapel, ornamented with carvings in wood ; and a richly decorated chimney piece.

Soon after leaving Ecouen, a fine view of Paris presents itself.

1 0 St. Denis, in Route 2.

9 Paris. See Galignani’s Guide to Paris, and p. 22.

[edit]

ROUTE 2. CALAIS TO PARIS BY BOULOGNE, ABBEVILLE, BEAUVAIS, AND ST. DENIS.

272 kilom. = 168 Eng. m.

Malleposte daily in 1 8 hours ; takes 2 passengers. 2 diligences daily from Calais ; 2 more diligences from Bou- logne. It takes 25 hours to post from Calais to Paris, exclusive of stoppages.

Calais. — Inns: H. Dessin ; very good. The bed-room in which the author of the Sentimental Journey slept is still marked Sterne’s Room ; and that occupied by Sir Walter Scott is also ticketed with his respected name. Quillac’s Hotel ; very good, and an obliging landlord. — G. T. Hotel Meurice; no connection with the house b 5

10 Route 2. — Calais to Paris by Boulogne. Sect. I.

of the same name at Paris, but tole- rably good and clean. The preference generally given to Boulogne begins to diminish the custom of the hotel- keepers ; and this circumstance leads them to seek to indemnify themselves by an increase of prices. 1 0 francs is the common charge for landing or shipping a 4*-\vheeled carriage.

For useful information on landing in France, see Introduction.

Calais has 12,508 inhabitants ; it is a fortress of the 2nd class, situated in a most barren and unpicturesque dis- trict, with sandhills raised by the wind and sea on the one side, and morasses on the other, contributing considerably to its military strength, but by no means to the beauty of its position. An English traveller of the time of James I. described it as “ a beggarly, extorting town ; monstrous dear and sluttish.” In the opinion of many, this description holds good down to the present time.

The harbour is not so deep as that of Boulogne. Passengers must some- times land in boats, and wait for their baggage until the steamer can enter.

Except to an Englishman setting his foot for the first time on the Con- tinent, to whom every thing is novel, Calais has little that is remarkable to show. After an hour or two it be- comes tiresome, and a traveller will do well to quit it as soon as he has cleared his baggage from the custom- house, and procured the signature of the police to his passport, which, if he be pressed for time, will be done almost at any hour of the day or night, so as not to delay his departure. It is necessary to be aware of this, as the commissionaires of the hotels will sometimes endeavour to detain a stranger, under pretence of not being able to get his passport signed. The owner of the passport must repair to the police office himself to have it vise. Travellers not intending to go to Paris, but merely passing through the country, on the way to Ostend,

Brussels, or Marseilles, are not com- pelled to exchange their passport for a passe provisoire. See Passports : Introduction. Persons unprovided with a passport may procure one from the British Consul for 4s. 6d.

Calais has of late become a ma- nufacturing town ; the bobbin-net (tulle) trade flourishes in rivalry of that of England ; numerous mills have sprung up ; steam-engines are multiplying, and the inner ramparts have been removed, to make way for factories. The gates remain open all night. Water is scarce here, and throughout Artois. 55 millions of eggs are exported hence to England annually.

The Pier of Calais is an agreeable promenade,’ nearly \ m. long. It is decorated with a pillar, raised to com- memorate the return of Louis XVIII. to France, which originally bore this inscription : —

“ Le 24 Avril, 1814, S. M. Louis XVIII. debarqua vis-a-vis de cette colonne, et fut enfin rendu a 1’amour des Fran 9 ais ; pour en perpetuer le souvenir, la ville de Calais a eleve ce monument.”

“ As an additional means of per- petuating this remembrance, a brazen plate had been let into the pavement, upon the precise spot where his foot first touched the soil. It was the left ; and an English traveller noticed it in his journal as a sinistrous omen, that when Louis le Desire, after his exile, stepped on France, he did not put the right foot foremost. ” — Quarterly Re- view. At the revolution of July, both inscription and footmark were at once obliterated by the mob ; and the pillar now stands a monument merely of the mutability of French opinions and dynasties.

The principal gate leading from the sea-side into the town is that introduced by Hogarth into his well- known picture. It was built by Cardinal Richelieu, 1685.

No one needs to be reminded of the interesting incidents of the Siege of

to Paris by Boulogne .

Picardy. Route 2. - — Calais

Calais by Edward III., which lasted 11 months, and of the heroic devotion of Eustace de St. Pierre and his 5 companions. Few, perhaps, are aware that the heroes of Calais not only went unrewarded by their own king and countrymen, but were compelled to beg their bread in misery through France. Calais remained in the hands of the English more than 200 years, from 1347 to 1558, when it was taken by the Duke de Guise. It was the last relic of the Gallic dominions of the Plantagenets, which, at one time, comprehended the half of France. Calais was dear to the English as the prize of the valour of their forefathers, rather than from any real value which it possessed.

The English traveller should look at the Hotel de Guise, originally the guildhall of the mayor and aldermen of the “ staple of wool,” established here by Edward III., 1363. It has many vestiges of English Tudor ar- chitecture. Henry VIII. used to lodge in it.

In the great Market Place stands the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall). In it are situated the police offices. In front of it are placed busts of St. Pierre ; of the Due de Guise, named le Balafre, -who conquered the town from the English : and of the Cardinal de Richelieu, who built the Citadel on the W. of the town : above it rises a belfry, containing the chimes. In the same square is a tower, which serves as a land-mark by day and a light-house by night, to point out to sailors the entrance of the harbour.

The principal Church was built at the time when the English were mas- ters of Calais. It is handsome, and surmounted by a stately tower and short steeple, which merit notice.

Lady Hamilton (Nelson’s Emma) is buried in the public cemetery out- side the town, on the road to Bou- logne ; she died here in great misery.

The walls round the town, and the pier jutting out nearly \ m. from the ! shore, are admirable promenades, and

command a distinct view of the white cliffs of England, — a tantalising sight to the English exiles, fugitives from creditors, or compelled from other causes to leave their homes ; a nu- merous class, both here and at Bou- logne. There are many of our coun- trymen besides, who reside merely for the purpose of economising ; so that the place is half Anglicised, and our language is generally spoken. The number amounts at present to 4800 English residents in and around Calais.

There is a small theatre here.

Calais is one of those places where the fraternity of Couriers have a sta- tion. Travellers should be cautioned not to engage one unless the land- lord of an hotel, or some other re- spectable and responsible person, give him a character derived from personal knowledge ; as many of these couriers remain at Calais only because some previous act of misconduct prevents them showing their faces on the op- posite side of the Channel. The inn yards are generally well stocked with carriages to be let or sold ; they are mostly old and rickety vehicles, and the hire demanded for them nearly equals that for which an excellent carriage may be obtained in London.

Steam boats 2 every day to Dovor. The French vessel starts on the arrival of the Paris mail, about 10 a. m. ; the English according to the tide. The average passage is 3| hours. Fare, 10s. 6d. Carriages, 21. 2s. Steamers go direct to London several times a week, in 10| or 12 hours.

MaUeposte daily to Paris (see p. 9. ).

Diligences daily to Paris and Bou- logne — to Lille, Tournay, and Brus- sels — to Lille and Courtrai, to meet the Belgian Railway — to Dunkirk — to St. Omer.

Branch Railways are projected from Calais and Boulogne to Paris.

To the flat land immediately about Calais succeeds a hilly tract, unen- closed and uninteresting, which con- | tinues as far as Boulogne.

B 6

12 Routed —

13 Haut Buisson.

The poor village Wissant, on the sea shore, about 4. m. N. of this, is supposed to be the Portus Itius of the Romans, the spot where Julius Caesar embarked for the conquest of Great Britain. Roman remains are found in the neighbourhood. The harbour has long since been blocked up with sand.

9 Marquise, a town of 2000 inha- bitants, having in its neighbourhood mines of coal and iron of no great importance, and quarries of a coarse grey marble.

Ambleteuse, another poor village on the coast, deserves mention only as the spot where James II. disembarked, Jan. 5. 1689. In the churchyard of Wimille, at the road side, 3 m. from Boulogne, the two unfortunate aeronauts Pilatre de Rosier and Ro- mani are buried ; the balloon in which they had ascended from Boulogne (1785), intending to cross the chan- nel, caught fire at an elevation of 3,600 ft. above the ground, and they were miserably dashed to pieces. An obelisk has been erected to their me- mory.

Prince Louis Buonaparte landed at Wimereux, August, 1840, on his foolish attempt upon Boulogne.

The road, previous to descending from the open high ground, passes close to a fort thrown up by Napo- leon in 1804; beyond which, about 200 yards on the rt., rises the Napo- leon column. (See p. 15.)

A rapid descent leads under the walls of the old town into the lower or new town of

13 Boulogne. — Inns: Hotel des Bains, situated close to the port, comfortable ; a good cuisine and table d’hote at 4 fr. Hotel du Nord, also good. Hotel d’ Angleterre, moderate. H. de Londres. H. de la Marne.

Boulogne sur Mer is a sea-port In the channel or Pas de Calais, on the estuary of a small stream, the Liane, which forms a tide harbour, flanked on either side by wooden

Boulogne . Sect. I.

piers stretching out as far as low- water mark. It was the Roman Gessoriacum. The old town oc- cupies the summit of a hill, on which it was built for security in ancient times, and it is still encircled by its feudal ramparts, and entered by cavernous gateways. The new, or Basse Ville, stretching down the slopes of the hills which border the harbour, and under the brown cliffs which partly line it, is the chief seat of com- merce, and contains the best hotels, streets, and shops.

The number of inhabitants is 29,145, among whom are at least 7,000 permanent English residents ; indeed Boulogne, having the advan- tage of being within 8 hours of Lon- don, has become, since the 'peace, one of the chief British colonies abroad; and, by a singular reci- procity, on the very spot whence Napoleon proposed the invasion of our shores, his intended victims have quietly taken possession and settled themselves down. The town is en- riched by English money ; warmed, lighted, and smoked by English coal ; English signs and advertisements de- corate every other shop door, inn, tavern, and lodging-house ; and almost every third person you meet is either a countryman or speaking our lan- guage ; while the outskirts of the town are enlivened by villas and country-houses, somewhat in the style and taste of those on the opposite side of the channel. There are at least 120 boarding-schools (pensionnats) for youth of both sexes, many of them under English managers.

Le Port. The margin of the har- bour concentrates the chief bustle and business ; here is the landing place of the packets, and the Douane , whither passengers are first conveyed on their arrival to deliver their passports, and to be visited by the custom-house officers.

Almost all the 1300 vessels be- longing to Boulogne are engaged in fishery, and the arrival and departure

Picardy.

Route 2,

of the boats collects a crowd of fisher- men and fisherwives in their singular and picturesque costume, such as the pencils of Prout and Stanfield are wont to portray. These people oc- cupy a distinct quarter of the town on the N. side of the harbour, the streets of which are draped with nets hung out from the fronts of the houses to dry, and in dress and man- ners they are distinct from the rest of the inhabitants, speaking a peculiar patois, and rarely intermarrying with the other townsfolk. They are an in- dustrious and very hard-working race, especially the women, and very reli- gious ; the perils and vicissitudes of their hard life reminding them more nearly than other classes of their de- pendence on Providence. The Bou- logne fishing boats are the largest and best worked in the channel. A great number repair annually to the coast of Scotland for the herring fishery, and some go as far as Shetand and Iceland.

The depth of water at high tides varies between 16 and 24 feet. The present entrance to the harbour was formed 1829 somewhat to the W. of the old, and allows the packets to enter 11 hour earlier and later than in the old. It is flanked on either side by wooden piers, that which pro- jects from the end of the quay forming a pleasant walk when the tide is in. The number of persons who disem- bark here annually amounts to 56,000 or 60,000, and hence the chief source of the prosperity of Boulogne.

On one side of the harbour, on the margin of a fine sandy beach, is the Etablissement des Bains, a showy building, fronted with colonnades, containing subscription, ball, and read- ing rooms. In front is drawn up in long array a number of genuine bathing machines (voitures baignoires), the only ones of the sort to be found in France. Boulogne is much re- sorted to in summer as a watering- place, both by the Parisians and English, on account of sea-bathing, for which it is well adapted, having a fine sandy beach.

— Boulogne.

On the opposite (1. ) side of the har- bour is a semicircular basin, dug out of the sand by Napoleon, to contain the celebrated flotilla of flat-bottomed boats intended by him to transport an invading French army to the coasts of England, but happily not destined to reach our shores.

The Rue de l’Ecu, running parallel with the Liane, and the Grande Rue, ascending the hill towards the upper town, contain some of the best shops. About half-way up the Grande Rue is the Museum (in a building which was previous to the Revolution the Grande Seminaire). It deservedly ranks amongst the best provincial col- lectionsin France, is highly creditable to the town, and owes a large part of its contents to private donations. The series of arms, dresses, imple- ments, weapons, &c. of various na- tions, including the full dress of a Lapland lady given by Admiral Rosa- mel, is very extensive. Here is an imaginary model of the Tower of Caligula, which stood on the heights above the town ; also engravings of the siege of Boulogne under Henry VIII.; a curfew of earthenware; some curious fragments of sculpture of the 15th and 16th centuries from churches, &c.; a Last Judgment, a bas- relief carved in wood very elaborately; an extensive series of medals, — among them that celebrated one, which took too much for granted, struck by Na- poleon 1804, and bearing the in- scription “ Descente en Angleterre,” “ Frappe a Londres,” of which three impressions alone are said to exist, the die having been destroyed. The quantity of Roman antiquities, of pot- tery, glass, bronzes, coins, utensils of various kinds, found in and about the town by excavations, is very remark- able, as well as their good preservation. In digging the foundations of the Ab~ battoir on theroad to Paris, a multitude of vases and other objects, with more than 1300 medals, relics of the Roman Bononia or Gessoriacum, came to light, and have been deposited here. A col- lection of siege pieces, or coins struck

14> Route 2. — Boulogne —

in haste in besieged towns, is curious, as well as a series of French Assignats, or paper money issued at the Revo- lution. The museum possesses a mummy pronounced by Champ ollion one of the finest in Europe, for the number and brilliancy of its paint- ings, &c. ; it was brought from Biban el Molouk by Denon.

Persons interested in natural his- tory will find collections in all de- partments, by no means contemptible in extent or preservation. The geo- logy of the district is illustrated by a large series of specimens, including the ironstone of the Boulonnois, the mar- ble of Marquise (lower oolite), and the coal. Of the Picture Gallery much cannot be said, but there are one or two tolerable modern paintings ; a good sea piece by De la Croix.

The museum is open to the public Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 10 to 4 ; strangers may obtain ad- mission on other days by giving a small fee to the concierge. Under the same roof is the Public Library , con- taining 22,000 volumes and 3,000 MSS., many of them rare and richly illuminated.

The Old Town of Boulogne, on the summit of the hill, retains its three arched gateways, and the ancient ram- parts which defended it in the 15th century, but offered a vain resistance to the assaults and cannonading of the army of Henry VIII. The town was restored, however, to Henri II. of France by the English (1550), in the reign of Edward VI., by treaty, upon payment of 40,000 livres. In consideration of this a bronze bust of Henri (by David) decorates the es- planade outside the gate Des Dunes. The Ramparts form an airy and agree- able walk, running uninterruptedly round the town, and commanding views in all directions, over the sea and port, over the high ground to the E., occupied in turn by the camps of Caligula, Henry VIII., and Napo- leon, and along the roads to Calais and Paris. In one corner of the walls is the old Citadelle, flanked by high round

Old Town — Le Sage. Sect. L

towers, and divided from the town by a fosse, but now much modernised externally, and converted into a bar- rack. In the midst of the old town, behind the Hotel de Ville, rises the antique tower of the Beffroi.

The Cathedral , a large modern building of Grecian architecture, has been in progress since 1827, being built by subscription, on the site of a Gothic one pulled down at the Re- volution. Two ranges of curious stunted pillars, dating probably from the 11th century, which belonged to a crypt under the old church, have been discovered beneath the new one.

There are several Nunneries in the old town ; that of the Ursulines is at No. 2. Rue de la Paille. The sisters, 40 or 50 in number, instruct a pen- sion for young ladies. The Soeurs de Bon Secours (Rue St. Martin, No. 20. ) devote themselves to attend on the sick, and their services are much esteemed by the poor.

Le Sage, the author of Gil Bias , who repaired to Boulogne in the latter years of his life to stay with his son, a canon of the cathedral, died 1747, in a house, No. 3. Rue du Chateau, as an inscription over the door points out. The existing building, however, is of much more recent date, and only occupies the site of the original house. Churchill the poet also died at Bou- logne, whither he had come on a visit to John Wilkes, then a voluntary exile from England. Attempts made by the priests to obtain access to the dying man, in order to convert him to popery, were stoutly repelled by Wilkes.

There are 2 English Chapels here ; — in the Rue St. Martin in the Haute Ville, and in the Rue du Temple ; the latter, built by subscription of the Eng- lish (1828), is capable of containing 1 ,000 persons ; — service at 1 1 and 3 on Sundays.

The Poste aux Lettres is at No. 28. Rue des Vieillards ; it is open from 8 a. m. to 8 p.m. The British Consu . resides in Rue des Vieillards.

Picardy. Route 2. — Boulogne — Colonne Napoleon.

Stubbs, Rue de l’Ecu, has an En- glish reading room and circulating library.

The office for passports is open from 10 to 2 ; but passports are counter- signed at later hours, in case of urgency.

On the very edge of the cliff, just above the sea-baths, a little to the E. of the port, are the scanty remains of solid brick walls known as La Tour d ’ Ordre (Turris Ardens, i.e. light tower), sup- posed to be the foundations of a tower built by Caligula the Roman em- peror, a. d. 40, when he marched to the shore of the Channel with an army of 1 dO, 000 men, boasting that he in- tended to invade the opposite coast of Britain, but contenting himself with gathering a few shells, which he called the spoils of the ocean. The tower is supposed to have been intended for a lighthouse, but the remains are very scanty, and from the falling of the cliff even these are likely soon to disappear.

On the same heights, 18 centuries later, another emperor — Napoleon — encamped an army of more than 180,000 men, designed to invade Eng- land, and placed under the command of Soult, Ney, Davoust, and Victor. Buonaparte himself, during his visits to the camp, occupied a temporary barraque, which -was raised within a few yards of the Roman tower. Thence he could survey his flotilla of 2,400 transports and flat-bottomed boats, and the shore on either side of the town, both under the cliff and upon the heights, bristling with bat- teries of cannon and mortars; while, in the distance, the vigilant fleets of England hovered incessantly. In one instance Nelson approached near enough to bombard the town and sink two of the floating batteries. “ Boulogne,” he writes, “ was cer- tainly not a pleasant place that morn- ing ; but it is not my wish to injure the poor inhabitants, and the town is spared as much as the service will admit.” It is stated, however, that

most of the bombs fell short, and that in excavating the new harbour many tons of them were dug out. He after- wards made an unsuccessful attempt with the boats of his squadron to cut out the flotilla in the teeth of the batteries, and burn it. Another at- tempt, in 1804, to burn the flotilla with fire-ships, made by Lord Keith, was attended with no better result.

The flotilla of Boulogne formed only part of the deeply laid scheme of Napoleon for the destruction of England. He designed to collect to- gether^ the combined fleets of France, Spain, and Holland, which for years previously he had been constructing in the harbours of Antwerp, Brest, Cadiz, and the Mediterranean, and with a squadron of 70 ships of the line to sweep the channel of the British. Under cover of this vast armament he intended to have crossed over with the army of Boulogne, ex- pecting to reach London in 5 days, where he designed to have proclaimed parliamentary reform, abolishing the monarchy, and the house of peers, and substituting a republic ! ! The troops of the Boulogne expedition were so nicely drilled, and every man so accurately informed of the boat which was to transport him, that at a preliminary review, in 10| minutes 25,000 were embarked; — and relanded and drawn up on the shore again in 13 minutes more. The whole of these projects and combinations, however, were scattered to the winds ; the fleet of England, under Sir Robt. Calder, prevented the junction of those of the enemy, and Nelson finally annihilated them at Trafalgar.

A conspicuous memorial of this projected, but unaccomplished in- vasion, exists at the distance of nearly a mile from the town in the Colonne Napoleon , which surmounts the heights traversed by the road to Calais. It ! was begun by the grand army as- sembled for the invasion of England, as a monument to their leader and emperor. The first stone was laid by

Sect. I.

Route 2. — Calais to Paris .

Marshal Soult, 1804; but its con- struction was discontinued after the departure of the troops, and the with- drawal of the subscriptions which they contributed out of their pay. Under Louis XVIII. it was resumed, with the ostensible design of com- memorating the restoration of the Bourbons. In consequence, how- ever, of the revolution of July it has resumed its original destination ; and having been purged of carved fleurs- de-lis and royalist inscriptions, was dedicated, 1841, as a monument to Buonaparte, and surmounted by a bronze statue of him in his corona- tion robes by Bosio, and one of that sculptor’s best works, while bronze bas-reliefs are destined to decorate the base. The pillar is of the Doric order, and 50 metres = 164 ft. high, exclusive of the statue, 1 6 ft. , and is constructed of marble from the quarries of Marquise. A winding stair leads up to the top, whence a view may be had of the white cliffs of England.

| m. further, on the coast, a mo- nument of marble commemorates the distribution of the order of the Legion of honour by Buonaparte to his troops, during one of his visits to the camp. Nearer at hand, attached to a small hamlet or group of houses down in the hollow, is the chapel of Jesus Flagelle ; curious, because it ex- hibits an instance of the practice so common in the Romish church of making votive offerings. It is re- sorted to by the fishermen of Bou- logne and their families before they go out to sea; and they have lined its walls with votive pictures, or even lithographs, and hung its roof with models of their barks, each to com- memorate some rescue from the pe- rils of the great deep. The chapel, a humble modern edifice, is about 11 m. distant from Boulogne.

A branch railway will be conducted from Boulogne to Paris by Etaples, Abbeville, and Amiens.

Steamers. To Dovor daily in 3

hours. The passage is very little longer than from Calais to Dovor, and 24 m. of tedious land journey are saved.

. To Folkstone"every tide.

. To London ; in summer

almost daily; in winter 2 or 3 times a week, in 10 or 12 hours.

Diligences. 3 or 4 to Paris, in 20 hours, by Beauvais ; 3 start at 9 a. m. Diligences also pass through from Calais at 1 and 5 p. m. ; but places cannot be secured by them. Diligences run to St. Omer, 2 ; to Abbeville ; to Calais ; to Samer ; to Lille and Arras.

Landing and embarking at Boulogne (see Introduction). The porter’s tariff for conveying luggage from the steam-boat to the custom-house, and thence to the hotel, or to the owner’s residence, is fixed according to weight.

Fr. Cents.

0 70 for 15 kilos (=33 lbs.) or

under.

1 0 for 15 to 100 kilos ( = 220

lbs.)

1 50 for 100 kilos and upwards.

For excursions in the neighbour- hood jackasses (baudets) are much in vogue.

The road to Paris, now macadam- ized nearly all the way, is destitute of interest, if we except the churches at Abbeville and Beauvais. These two towns are the best resting places.

On quitting Boulogne the road commands, from an eminence which it ascends, a view into the valley of the Liane — thenceforth it is mono- tonous and dull.

15 Samer (ruins of an abbey near this). Inn, Tete de Bceuf.

9 Cormont.

1 3 Montreuil sur Mer. Inns : Hotel de l’Europe ; Hotel de France et d’ Angleterre ; Cour de France.

A second-rate fortress, on a hill rising out of the marshy valley of the Cache. It has a tall flamboyant church, with a fine W. doorway under the towers.

14 Nampont is situated within the

Picardy, Route 2. — Calais to Paris — Crecy — Abbeville . 17

department of the Somme, which anci- ently formed the province of Picardy.

9 Bernay ( La Poste, comfortable — J. B. P . ). The little seaport St. Val- lery is visible from the heights tra- versed by the road.

The wood seen on the 1., at a little distance from the road, is a part of the forest of Crecy, the name of a village 12m. from Abbeville; obscure in itself, but renowned .for a victory gained in its precincts, August 26th, 1346, by Edward III. and 40,000 men over the French army of Philip of Valois 100,000 strong, commanded by the Count d’Alen 5 on, which still, after the lapse of ages, remains one of the most brilliant in English annals. Here, upon that memorable day, to the winning of which the cannon, used according to some, for the first time, contributed less than the clothyard shafts of the English yeomen, there fell, on the side of the French, the Kings of Bohemia and Majorca, the Duke of Lorraine, the Count d’Alen^on, the king’s brother, with 1,200 knights, 1,500 gentlemen, 5,000 men at arms, and 30,000 infantry. Here it was that the Black Prince gained his spurs, and the feathers which the princes of Wales bear to this day.

7 Nouvion. An extensive manu- factory of beet-root sugar is seen on the left, 2 miles before reaching Abbe- ville.

The most pleasing view on the whole road is that of Abbeville, and of the fertile vale of the Somme, in which it is situated, from the summit of the long and steep descent which leads down to it.

13 Abbeville. — Inns : Hotel de

l’Europe, table-d’hote dinner, 3 fr. ; Tete de Boeuf : both very good.

An industrious manufacturing town, of 17,582 inhabitants, which, from its situation on the Somme, here a wide river, is accessible for vessels of 150 tons. Those who will penetrate into its narrow and filthy streets will find some quaint specimens of ancient

domestic architecture, timber houses, See . ; but the chief object of interest which really ought to be seen is

The Cathedral of St. Wolfram. The W. front, and 5 first arches of the nave, are a portion of a magnificent design, never carried out, commenced in the reign of Louis XII., under the Car- dinal George d’Amboise. The fa 5 ade is a splendid example of the flamboy- ant style, consisting of three gorgeous portals surmounted by a pediment, and flanked by two towers ; the whole covered with the richest flow- ing tracery, or panelling ; the niches being filled with statues. The cen- tral door is curiously carved. The remainder of the church is a mean continuation of the first plan.

Diligences go from Abbeville to Eu and Dieppe (R. 18.), to Rouen and to Amiens.

St. Valery, at the mouth of the Somme, 12 m. below Abbeville, was the port whence the fleet of William the Conqueror set sail to invade England. It is partially resorted to as a watering place.

About 6 m. E. of Abbeville (bad road) is the Abbey Church of St. Ri* quier, a very splendid and interesting Gothic edifice, having a beautiful flamboyant W. front, in the centre of which rises an elegant tower ; while beneath it opens the main portal, having statues in its top and sides. “ The details of the front are exqui- site, well arranged, and well ex- ecuted.” The interior is also fine; the nave flamboyant, the choir appa- rently earlier. On the walls of the treasury are curious and ancient fres- coes ; one in the style of the “ Dance of Death.”

[The admirer of Gothic architec- ture may be disposed to proceed from Abbeville to Amiens, in order to visit its cathedral, one of the noblest Gothic edifices of France. (See Route I.) A coche d'eau runs up the Somme in summer, but it is tedious.

The road thither passes through

Route 2. — Calais to Paris — Beauvais.

Sect. I.

13 Ailly le Haut Clocher, so named from the tower of its church, in a style resembling early English. The road runs nearly parallel with the Somme, which is canalised all the way to Amiens.

The Abbaye du Gard is occupied by monks of the order of La Trappe.

The Somme is crossed before reach- ing

20 Picquign}^. The chateau, with its terraces, mentioned by Mde. de Sevigne in her letters, was built at the end of the 15th century. The place gives its name to a treaty signed 1475, between Edward IV. and Louis XI. The two monarchs met on the bridge ; but so distrustful of each other that a barrier of stout pallisades and wooden bars, “ such as the cages of lions are made of,” says De Comines, was raised to di- vide them, leaving space between the bars only wide enough to allow them to shake hands.

13 Amiens, (p. 5. Route 1.)]

It is a journey of 16 hours from Abbeville to Paris, posting.

The Somme is crossed by two bridges on quitting Abbeville.

1 9 Airaines. Inn : La Poste.

10 Camps.

13 Poix (Amiennois), which gives the title to the chief of the Noailles family. The road from Amiens to Rouen passes through this place.

14 Grandvilliers. H. d’Angleterre.

10 Marseille (Oise). During this

stage the scenery is rather more in- teresting. Vineyards first appear a little to the N. of

19 Beauvais. — Inns: Hotel d’An- gleterre ; Ecu de France.

This is the chief town of the depart- ment of l’Oise : it has 13,082 inhabi- tants ; the central portion (la Cite) is very ancient, still in part enclosed by its old walls, which on the E. side have given place to airy boulevards planted with trees, and many of the houses are of wood ; the more mo- dern quarter is surrounded by a boulevard planted with trees, occu-

pying the site of former fortifica- tions. The most conspicuous edi- fice, and the principal object of curiosity here, is the Cathedral. At a distance it appears a heavy and un- couth mass, overtopping the rest of the town with its prominent roof, which is supported by 3 rows of fly- ing buttresses, surmounted by double ranges of ^pinnacles rising from broad buttress walls. It was commenced 1225, and the design of its founders and architects, excited to emulation by the splendour of Amiens, which had been begun 5 years earlier, seems to have been to surpass in vastness and magnificence all other Gothic edifices. They miscalculated, however, the re- sources’both of their art and their trea- sury, and the result was repeated failure and final defeat ; for the progress of the edifice was arrested when it was only half finished, and it remains a mere gigantic choir with transepts. As it is, however, this choir is the loftiest in the world, the elevation of the roof above the pavement being 153 ft., 13 ft. higher than that of Amiens ; but though more extraor- dinary, it is less pleasing than it. “ TheJ extension of its dimensions upward is carried to a degree which strikes the spectator as exaggeration. Amiens is a giant in repose ; Beauvais a colossus on tiptoe.”— IF. To in- crease the wonder of the building, the architect designed to support it on half the number of piers employed at present ; but in spite of the iron braces used to hold the piers in their places, the walls bulged out, and the roof fell twice. The only means, then, of supporting it was by inserting inter- mediate piers in the wide spaces left between the original ones. The transepts begun 1500, under the Bi- shop Villiers del’Ile Adam (who, as well as his brother the Grand Master St. John of Jerusalem, was a Beau- voisin), by the architects Jean Waast and Martin Cambiches, and finished 1555, are a fine example of the flam- boyant style.

Picardy. Route 2. — Calais to Paris — Beauvais .

One compartment of the nave was actually begun when the architects (moved, it is said, by a vain ambition to rival the height of St. Peter’s dome, and M. Angelo’s masterpiece) aban- doned it to raise a tower 455 ft. high, which lasted only 5 years, having tumbled down 1573. The choir,

“ though raised to a loftiness that strikes the beholder with awe and astonishment, displays the space be- tween the tall and slender pillars so entirely filled with glass, that the whole range of windows only appears like a single zone of light, supported and separated by nothing but narrow mullions situated at wide intervals.” — ■ Hope.

In the interior the effect of the admirable painted glass, executed in the best period of the art, is very rich. That in the N. and S. rose windows is attributed to Nicholas Lepot, and that in some of the side chapels to Augrand Leprince, both celebrated as artists in this line in the 16th century. In the choir are hung 8 of the tapes- tries for the manufacture of which Beauvais was celebrated, and which preceded by 3 years that of Gobelins. The monument, in the N. aisle of the choir, of Cardinal Forbin de Janson surmounted by his kneeling effigy, is by Nicholas Coustou, and of good workmanship.

The entrances to the Cathedral are by the transepts : the portal at the extremity of the S. transept is loaded with flamboyant decorations, though, from the fury of iconoclasts, it has lost the statues which filled the niches. It is surmounted by a noble rose window, of very rich tra- cery. The fa£ade of the N. transept has very much the character of En- glish perpendicular Gothic ; its por- tal, deeply recessed, with feathered mouldings to the arches, retains its original carved doors, which are sur- mounted by a bas-relief, in the tympanum, of a genealogical tree ; the escutcheons suspended from the branches.

One of the best views of the ca thedral is obtained in the market- place from the side of a corner house, conspicuously distinguished by the three curiously carved stone pillars, probably of the 11th or 12th century, which support it.

A ruinous building, called the Basse (Euvre , on the W. of the ca- thedral, occupying part of the space which the nave, if carried out, would have covered, is curious as one of the most ancient buildings in France (8th or 9th century). The lower part of the outer walls displays masonry with bonds of tiles, and tiled arches in the manner of Roman edifices. The su- perstructure served as a church in the 10th century; in its interior square piers support plain round arches. It seems never to have had a stone roof.

St. Stephen’s Church. The nave exhibits the transition from Roman- esque to Gothic ; it is very plain, with round pier arches, and round- headed clerestory windows. The W, front resembles a plain early English front of our own country. The painted glass is very excellent. The Bishop's Palace, rebuilt in the 15th century, has externally the aspect of a castle, suri'ounded by walls, and its entrance flanked by 2 large round towers.

Caesar thus mentions the Bellovaci, the ancient inhabitants of the Beau- vaisis, “ Plurimum inter Belgas Bel- lovacos et virtute et auctoritate, et hominum numero valere.”

The most remarkable event in the annals of Beauvais is its Siege by Charles the Bold in 1472, when, being destitute of garrison, it might have fallen by a coup de main , had not its citizens boldly closed their gates in the face of an army of 80,000 Bur- gundians, and maintained an obstinate resistance until succour arrived from Paris. The peculiar feature in this I defence was the part which the wives and daughters of the townsfolk took I in it, guarding the walls, and sharing in all the perils of the men. The

Route 2. — Calais to Paris — St. Penis.

Sect. I,

chief heroine, Jeanne Hachette, ap- peared upon the breach at the mo- ment of the fiercest assaults, seized a Burgundian standard which a soldier was endeavouring to plant on the walls, and hurling the bearer to the bottom bore it off in triumph into the town. Louis XI. rewarded the valour of the citizens by releasing them from taxes, and complimented the ladies by an ordonnance authorising them to take precedence of the men in the procession of St. Angadreme instituted to commemorate the rais- ing of the siege. This procession is still kept up, on the Sunday nearest the 14th October; the females lead the way, carying the banner so valo- rously acquired by Jeanne Hachette, which is preserved in the H. de Ville.

At an earlier period (1357) Beau- vais was the centre of the revolt of the serfs against their tyrannic lords, called Jacquerie, from Jacques Bon- homme (Goodman James), the fa- miliar sobriquet of the peasantry. It extended over several provinces be- fore it was put down by the armed force of the seigneurs banded together, and with fearful cruelty. Froissart thus describes an instance of whole- sale vengeance performed upon the rebellious peasants by the Duke of Orleans, the Count of Foix, and the Captal de Buch. “ They set fire to the town and burned it clean, and all the villagers of the town that they could close therein.”

15 Noailles.

13 Puiseux.

10 Beaumont-sur-Oise (Hotel du Paon), prettily situated on the 1. bank of the Oise. Here vineyards first appear.

Before reaching Moiselles, a paved road, bordered with trees, strikes off to Viarmes ; the Abbey of Royau- mont and Chantilly. (See. p. 9.)

12 Moiselles. On the rt. lies the forest of Montmorency, and on the left that of Ecouen, with its immense chateau.

The road is carried through one of j

the Forts forming part of the out- works of the new Fortifications of Paris, before entering

13 St. Denis. The Abbey was one of the most important and wealthy religious foundations in France : its abbots were powerful potentates ; Tur- pin was chancellor to Charlemagne, and Suger prime minister to St. Louis.

The Abbey Church has been the burial-place of the kings of France from the time of Dagobert (580), and is a building of great interest, in spite of the wanton dilapidations of revolutionary violence, which the re- storations carried on under Napoleon, the Bourbons, and Louis Philippe have not yet entirely repaired, and can never atone for. The W. front, flanked and surmounted by 2 towers of unequal height, is in the simple early pointed style, having been raised by Abbot Suger 1134. It was in the porch of St. Denis that Henri IV. abjured the Protestant faith. Over the central portal, which is semi- circular, is a bas-relief of the Last Judgment. A vestibule, crowded with piers to support the towers, leads into the nave, which was built 1281, and is of remarkable width, considering that the roof is of stone. The choir, dating from the earlier period of Abbot Suger, is like that of Canterbury, much narrower than the nave.

On the 1. hand, as you enter the nave, is the monument of Dagobert, a singular Gothic structure, raised to his memory by St. Louis. The bas- reliefs on it represent the pretended vision of a hermit, who reported that he had seen Dagobert in a boat pur- sued and scourged by devils, but de- fended by St. Denis, St. Martin, and St. Maurice. On the same side are the splendid monuments, in the style of the Renaissance, of Louis XII. and Anne of Brittany, whose recumbent effigies in marble are surrounded by I 12 small statues, in niches, of the j Apostles, admirable for design, at-

Picardy.

Route 2 Si. Denis.

titude,~and execution. The bas-reliefs round the base represent the battle of Agnadel and the entry of Louis into Milan. This monument is the work of Paulo Poncio. That beside it of Henri IT., and Catherine of Me- dicis his queen, is said to have been designed by Philip Delorme and executed by Germain Pilon. The royal effigies are repeated twice ; be- low recumbent as dead, above kneel- ing : at the four corners are the car- dinal virtues in bronze !

On the S. side ofthenaveis the ce- notaph of Francis I., and Claude his queen, erected 1550, from designs of Primaticcio. The recumbent effigies are by the skilful hand of Jean Goujon , as well as the elegant arabesques which decorate the canopy. The frieze running round the base of the monu- ment represents, in a series of marble bas-reliefs of good execution, the battles of Cerisol and of Marignano. The canopy is surmounted by duplicate statues of Francis and his queen, with their 3 children.

In the N. transept are placed mo- numental columns to Henri III., as- sassinated by Jacques Clement 1589, and to Francis II. husband of Mary Queen of Scots, its base surrounded by weeping angels. In the S. transept is a pillar in memory of Henri IV. The effigy of the Breton knight Du- guesclin, whose valour and renown procured him burial in the company of kings, but availed not to save his ashes from sacrilegious dispersion by the republicans, is remarkable for its diminutive size. The choir and its side chapels, elevated considerably above the nave, are brilliant with modern decorations in painting and gilding, which rivals heraldic blazonry in gaudy colours, laid on much too indiscriminately, and not yet com- pleted. There is no lack of modern painted glass, a very small portion of the old having escaped the fury of the Revolution. Some fragments of that with which Abbot Suger deco- rated the building in 1140, still

preserved in the apsidal chapels be- hind the choir, are regarded as the oldest in France. A red flag sus- pended behind the altar supplies the place of the once venerated Ori - jlamme, the standard of the realm of France, but not used in battle since the time of Charles VII. It was originally the church flag of the Abbey of St. Denis, which was deli- vered by the abbot to the military guardian of the church whenever he went forth to fight its battles, and was supposed to secure victory to those who bore it. It supplanted St. Mar- tin’s cloak, which had previously served as the royal standard of France.

A flight of steps on either side of the choir leads down into the crypt beneath it. Here, along the aisle, are arranged chronologically the monu- ments of the kings of France from the time of Clovis. The statues called Clovis, king of the Franks, and his queen Clothilda, were brought from the portal of the church at Corbeil on the Seine at the Revolution. They are supposed to be works of the 11th or 12th century, and are curious spe- cimens of royal costume: the fil-

letting of the queen’s long hair is worth notice. Those of kings pre- ceding the 13th century consist of rudely sculptured effigies executed by order of St. Louis. His own bust and that of his queen, with statues of his two sons painted and gilt, follow next in a separate chapel. The more modern statues of the sovereigns of the house of Valois and Bourbon are of white marble. The series is closed with those of Louis XVI., Marie An- toinette, the Due de Berri, &c., exe- cuted for the Monument Expiatoire, destined for the spot where the Due de Berri was assassinated, but removed to the darkest corner of the crypt in consequence of the July revolution: in conception and execution they ap- pear nearly the worst of the whole.

This long range of Royal tombs is now quite empty, in consequence of a de-

Route 2. — St. Denis — Paris .

Sect. I.

cree of the Convent ion of ] 793 ordering the destruction of the tombs of the ci- devant kings at St. Denis. In the course of 3 days 51 tombs were opened, rifled, and demolished ; and the bodies of kings, queens, and princes, in every stage of decay, cast out in one, in- discriminate heap into two trenches, hastily dug without the walls of the church, after being subjected to every species of brutal indignity. A soldier with his sabre cut the beard from the nearly perfect corpse of Henri IV. to wear it as a moustache on his own lip ; and the valiant Turenne’s body, so little injured by time that the likeness to his portrait was still recognised, was stuck into a glass case, and made a show to gratify idle curiosity. The broken monuments were con- veyed along with relics of saints and church-plate to Paris, and owe their preservation and restoration to the praiseworthy zeal and care of M. Le Noir, founder of the Musee des Pe- tits Augustins. For 12 years after this sacrilege the Abbey Church of St. Denis, stripped of its lead to fur- nish bullets, remained roofless; having first been offered for sale for the value pf the building materials, and next used as a market-house. Napoleon, however, undertook its restoration, and caused the desecrated sepulchral vaults of the Bourbons to be fitted up as a mausoleum for his own fa- mily ! His design, however, was frus- trated by the restoration. At present the central vaults below the high altar contain the confused mass of royal bones, withdrawn by order of Louis XVIII. from the ditch into which they had been cast, together with the burnt remains of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette, the coffins of Louis XVIII. and others of his family. In an obscure corner lies the last Conde, father of the Due d’En- ghien, who died so miserably by his own hand at St. Leu.

Omnibuses run at all hours from St. Denis to Paris, where their station is the Porte St. Denis.

Travellers bound for the W. end of Paris turn to the rt. on quitting St. Denis, pass [one of the new barracks for the garrison attached to the fortifications, and, leaving Montmartre . on the I., traverse the Faubourg des Batignolles, up to the Barriere de Clichy. The route fol- lowed by the diligences is drawn in a perfectly straight line from St. Denis to the Barriere St. Denis, keeping the heights of Montmartre on the rt. It crosses the canal which unites the Seine at St. Denis with the Canal de l’Ourcq, and cuts off a bend of the Seine. Further to the rt., and near the Seine, is the villa of the Prince de Craon, where Louis XVIII. signed the Charter in 1814.

9 PARIS. Galignani’s Paris Guide appears so good as to relieve the Editor of this work from the necessity of enter- ing into any description at present of the French Capital. The following pieces of information, however, may not be unacceptable to strangers.

Inns: — Hotel Bristol, Place Ven- dbme, is the Mivart’s or Clarendon of Paris; excellent, and not expensive: capital cuisine, H. des Princes, Rue de Richelieu, well spoken of : a ca- pital table-d’hote, very well served, at 6 fr. ; expensive. H. Mirabeau, Rue de la Paix, a good suite of apart- ments 10 fr. a night.

Hotel Meurice, Rue Rivoli — a comfortable and well-managed house, under the direction of M. Caillez. The traveller will find in the coffee- room of the Hotel Meurice all the best English and French newspapers, and a smoking room attached to it.

Charges : — Bed-room, 3 fr. per day. Breakfast, tea and coffee, with eggs, 2 fr. Dinner at table-d’hote, one of the best served on the Con- tinent, without wine, 4i fr. Lacquais de place 5 fr., and a carriage 25 fr. Servants all round 1 fr. a day, but less in proportion for family. Lawson’s Hotel more moderate in charges. II. Victoria, Rue Vivienne. !

Boarding House — Madame Guil-

Normandy. Route 5. — Dieppe to Paris by Gisoi's,

horn’s Pension, 5. Rue des Champs Elisees ; a very respectable establish- ment.

Galignani’s Reading Room, Rue Vi- vienne, in a court, is a great resource to the Englishman in Paris : here he will find all the best newspapers of all the world ; here he will meet with his friends, a list of his countrymen visiting or residing in Paris being kept here, and may supply himself with books, or subscribe to the circu- lating library. GalignanVs Messenger' is a capital paper, condensing all the I news of the English papers without reference to politics. It is a comfort to have it sent after the traveller from place to place as he moves about France, which MM. G. will under- take to do.

Public and private carriages are stopped at the outer gate or barrier of Paris by the officers of the Octroi , whose duty it is to levy a tax upon all provisions, wines, &c. Baggage is liable to be searched by them ; and one of them accompanies the dili- gence to the coach-office, where pas- sengers are obliged to open their bag- gage before him, as at a custom- house.

[edit]

ROUTE 5. DIEPPE TO PARIS BY GISORS.

168kilom. = 104 Eng. m.

Steamboats go from Brighton on "Wednesday and Saturday, and from Dieppe Monday and Thursday, making the passage in 8 hours.

See “ Hints on Landing in France.” (§ c. Introduction.')

Dieppe. — Inns : Hotel Royal ;

perhaps the best, but far from the landing place : Hotel de Londres, on the quay : Taylor’s Hotel : none

good.

The sea-port town of Dieppe (16,016 inhabitants) is situated in a depression, between two high ranges of the chalk cliffs which here line the

coast, as white and nearly as tall asthose of England. Through this gap the small river Arques flows into the sea, making an abrupt bend round the tongue of flat land upon which a part of the town is built, and forming a tolerable tide harbour fit for vessels of 500 tons, which is lined with quays, and cleared from mud by sluices. Dieppe is one of the chief fishing ports in France, equip- ping annually 60 vessels of 9,000 tons for the cod fishery, and many more for that of the herring. It is frequented as a sea-bathing place in summer ; but less so now than during the reign of the old Bourbons, when Dieppe was favoured by the presence and patron* age of the Duchesse de Berri.

The streets of Dieppe are regular, and display few specimens of anti- quity, in consequence of the bom- bardment of the town by the English who, returning from an unsuccessful attack on Brest, 1694, revenged them- selves by laying this town in ruins, — a reckless and inglorious exploit. The principal street runs parallel with the sea from the harbour to the castle, and contains some tolerable shops. The market-place, especially on market-day, will display samples of the picturesque dresses and strange high caps of Normandy; perhaps one of those towering, helmet-like head-dresses, once the common head- gear of the women of the Pays de Caux (cauchoise), may present themselves. The Faubourg de Pollet , however, on the "W., inhabited almost exclusively by fishermen, is that in which the most character and peculiarity of costume is observable. This quarter can be reached now only by making the cir- cuit of the harbour, the old bridge across it having been pulled down in order not to check the .force of the waters discharged from the basin de retenue behind.

In the town itself there is little to merit the stranger’s attention.

The Church of St. Jacques, in the square a little to the W. of the harbour,

I is worth a visit. The body of the

Sect. I.

Route 5. — Dieppe to Paris by Gisors.

building is much hidden behind the flying buttresses, some of them con- sisting of open screen-work tracery with 8 mullions. The anti- Gothic cupola, however, above the cross, does not add to its beauty. The interior also is disfigured by yellow wash and wooden screens. The transepts are the oldest part, built in the 13th century, as well as perhaps the arches of the choir : the nave is a little later, and the roof and many of the side chapels are not older than the 15th. The screens and curious carvings in the side aisles, especially that before the sacristy or tresor — a confusion of the Gothic and Italian styles — and that in the chapel of St. Yves, deserve notice as examples of French florid Gothic of the 15th and 16th centu- ries. “ The Lady Chapel is perhaps one of the latest specimens of Gothic art. The bosses of the groined roof are of the most delicate filagree work, and the vaulting is also ornamented with knots pendant from the ribs.” Here is one of those strange representations of the Holy Sepulchre surrounded by figures of the three Maries and other holy personages, executed in a very inferior style, so common in Romish churches abroad.

The Castle, rising on the tall cliff at the W. end of the town, is now a barrack, and much modernised, so that it contains nothing remarkable. It is, however, a picturesque object, viewed from certain points, with its group of quaint cone-headed towers, its high bridge and draw-bridge spanning a chasm which runs down to the sea ; and it possesses historical associations of great interest. Within these walls Henri IV., retreating be- fore the army of the League, found shelter among his “bons Dieppois,” as he called them, who had been the first to acknowledge his right to the throne, before the battle of Arques. He made choice of Dieppe from the attachment of its inhabitants, the fide- lity of its governor, and the advantage of an open communication by sea

with England. While here he re- ceived from Queen Elizabeth a rein- forcement of 1,000 Scotch and 4,500 English soldiers.

In 1650, the famous Duchesse de Longueville, so prominent among the leaders of the party of the Fronde, defying the royal authority, was com- pelled to take refuge in the castle ; but being pursued even hither by the vengeance of Mazerin and Anne of Austria, she with difficulty at length escaped hence by night, and making her way amidst storm and tempest, after innumerable escapes and adven- tures, embarked alone from the coast in an English vessel, dressed as a man, and at length succeeded in reaching Rotterdam.

Dieppe at present, in its nearly empty port and lifeless streets, gives little token of its former celebrity and prosperity. Yet 3 centuries ago it was the most flourishing seaport of France, and one of the first in Europe. The fleets of its adventurous mer- chants traversed every sea : one of them, indeed (Ango), riding in the Tagus with his merchant squadron, bearded the king of Portugal in his own capital ; another captured the Canaries. Its skilful and hardy sailors distinguished themselves by their geo- graphical discoveries and early settle- ments in the 15th and 16th centuries. Claims are put forth for their having found out the passage round the Cape of Good Hope before the Portuguese. If it were so, they certainly kept the secret so close that they have lost the credit of it. They w’ere among the first visitors of the New World, explored Florida, opening the fur trade in Canada, and establishing the earliest European colony in Senegal ; whence, as well as from the East Indies, they drew the costliest gums, gems, precious stones, metals and tissues, with which they for a long time exclusively supplied their lux- urious countrymen. The importation of elephants’ teeth from Africa is said to have given rise to the pretty manu-

Normandy. Route 5. — Dieppe — Castle of Argues.

facture of carved ivory , which still ex- ists here, and is almost peculiar to Dieppe. The rivalry of the Port of Havre, and its superior advantages in internal communication up the Seine, were the ruin of Dieppe. The Revo- cation of the Edict of Nantes, and the English’bombardment, inflicted severe blows in addition ; and although the extensive equipment of vessels for the fisheries of cod in Newfoundland, and of the herring, have long contributed lai’gely to the support of the town, yet they are much fallen off at present, and are insufficient to revive its pris- tine importance.

The Etablissement des Bains is situ- ated on the beach, nearly under the castle. There are, however, no pro- per bathing machines; and the bottom is a mass of flint shingle, without sand. A series of little huts are erected at the sea side, from which ladies issue in robes resembling those of nuns, and gentlemen in wide trou- sers, and thus bathe in public. By the police regulations, ladies are pro- hibited bathing unless assisted by male dippers appointed for this ser- vice. There are also hot baths near the beach.

Diligences — to Paris twice a day by Rouen and the Railway in 10 hours (R. 6.), to Havre and to Ab- beville. (R. 18.)

The Environs of Dieppe present several interesting excursions. About 2 m. to the E., on the cliffs above the sea, is a camp capable of holding many thousand men, once attributed to Cassar, but now supposed to be Gallic, and called la Cite des Limes. It is triangular in form, defended on the land side by a rampart in places more than 50 ft. high. It is near the road to Eu (Route 18.), 18| m. distant, where the Chateau of Louis Philippe and the Church deserve a visit.

The most delightful walk, however, in the neighbourhood of Dieppe, is to the ruins of the Castle of Arques, which are far more interesting than France.

the Cit£ des Limes. They are situated in the valley of the Bethune, at its junction with the Arques, less than 4’m. S. E. of Dieppe, and are cele- brated for the momentous victory gained beneath the walls by Henri IV. and his devoted band of 4000 Protestants over the army of the League, 30,000 strong, under the Due de Mayenne, which decided the fate of the Bearnais prince. The artillery from its walls contributed not a little to the result of that day. “ II en fut tiree,” says Sully in his Memoirs, ‘ c une vol£e de quatre pieces, qui fit quatres belles rues dans leurs esea- drons et bataillons.” Three or four more discharges not only checked their advance, but drove them behind a bend of the valley to shelter themselves from the cannonade, and from this check they never recovered. The king, ex- pecting the Leaguers to debouche down the valley to attack him, had disposed and intrenched his little band accordingly, when he sud- denly found the advanced guard of the |Duc de Mayenne in his rear, pushing forward to cut him off from his stronghold, Dieppe. Henri, with great quickness and dexterity, changed his front, threw up fresh ramparts to protect his flanks, and managed still to keep up his communication with Dieppe. Among the heroic traits of Henri on that anxious and hard-fought day, are his words to M. de Belin, an officer of the League, Avho scorn- fully inquired where Henri’s forces were, to oppose so large an army ; “ Vous ne les voyez pas toutes, car vous ne comptez pas Dieu et le bon droit, qui m’assistent. ” A rude obelisk, raised on the brow of the hill, marks the spot where the deadliest struggle occurred.

The Castle, a fine object at a dis- tance, occupies a commanding posi- tion cn a tongue of high land be- tween two valleys, and covers a large area with its ruins ; but its shattered condition, arising less from the hazards of war and the effects of time than c

26 Route 5. — Castle of Arques. —Dieppe to Paris . Sect. I.

the dilapidations of man, has robbed it of much of its picturesqueness. For a series of years, down to the end of the last century, the government al- lowed it to be pulled to pieces as a mere quarry of building materials. It is difficult to fix the age of its shapeless walls, deprived of their casing of masonry ; but it is probable that the oldest parts, viz. the Donjon and its enclosure, date from the time of our Henry II., who rebuilt the castle at the end of the 12th century: other portions are not older than the 16th century. The English, under Talbot and Warwick, again obtained possession of it in 1419, and kept it for 30 years, down to the capitulation of Rouen, by which it was yielded to Charles VII.

The main entrance remains flanked by 2 massive towers of immense size ; and portions of the piers of the draw- bridge which led to it are still stand- ing, but <e the 3 successive arches of the gateway are tom into nearly shapeless rents.” — D. T.

“ There is yet another attraction within the compass of a pleasant walk from Dieppe — the really pretty but scattered village of Varengeville, which contains the chateau of one illustrious among the Dieppois, — the celebrated merchant Ango, — the host and friend of Francois Premier. Though now converted into a farm- house, so little of its external form is defaced that the eye can readily trace all the richness of decoration which distinguished the style of the Renais- sance, when it was built.

“ The walls are principally con- structed of black hewn flint, which, alternating with a white stone, pro- duce a very beautiful mosaic. They retain all the sharpness of their ori- ginal construction ; and the sculp- tures with which they are enriched are of the most classical and graceful form. A number of large medallions above the grand entrance, and along the facade of the principal corps de batiment, are remarkable ; and Ango

was too good a courtier not to include amongst them the portraits of Fran- gois Premier and Diane de Poitiers. In the interior are some finely sculp- tured fire-places and the remains of a large fresco ; but they are only to be discovered by groping amongst the greniers, into which the apartments once so splendid have since been, changed.” — Miss Costello.

The following direct road from Dieppe to Paris by Gisors, leaving Rouen altogether on one side, is shorter by 8 or 10 miles, but few would omit visiting that highly interesting city. (Routes 6 and 9.) Besides, the rail- way now renders the route by Rouen the quickest of the two. Diligences have in consequence ceased to run this way. The Gisors road strikes off to the 1., 3 m. beyond Dieppe.

12 Bois Robert.

1 7 Pommereval.

4 or 5 m. on the 1. of our road lies Neufchatel, famed for its excellent cylindrical cream cheeses.

24 Forges les Eaux. A village and watering-place, posessing chalybeate springs once of some repute, but neg- lected at present. They are three in number, La Reinette, La Royale , and Cardinale ; the two last named from Louis XIII. and Cardinal Riche- lieu, who visited Forges to drink the wa- ters in 1632, the period of their high- est celebrity, in consequence of Anne of Austria, after living childless for 18 years, here becoming enceinte with Louis XIV.; — an event which was attributed to a course of these waters !

21 Gournay, famed for its butter, is situated in the district anciently called Pays de Bray.

The Church of St. Hildebert was begun in the lltli century, but not finished until the 13th, and its W. front, with pointed arches, is perhaps of the latter date. In the interior, very massive round piers support semicir- cular arches inclining to the horse- shoe form. The sculptured ornaments of the capitals are very remarkable

Normandy.

Route 6 .— Dieppe to Rouen .

for variety of pattern. Herring-bone masonry occurs in the E. end.

12 Talmoutiers.

14 Gisors. — Inn : H. de l’Ecu, An ancient town of 3,500 inhab. prettily situated on the Epte. Its venerable ramparts are converted into agreeable promenades, whose planta- tions encircle the ruins of its com- manding Castle , once the bulwark of Normandy on the side of France, and still retaining many Interesting cha- racteristics of a feudal fortress of the middle ages. The octagonal Donjon especially, and its enclosure, crown- ing the top of a high artificial conical mound, are of the most solid con- struction, and are works of the 12th century, built by our Henry II. The walls of a dungeon under one of the towers have been curiously carved with a nail by some unfortunate pri- soner. At an interview which took place here between Henry and Louis VII., the two monarchs agreed to assume the cross for the recovery of Jerusalem.

The Parish Church , dedicated to St. Gervaise and Protais, presents a singular combination of . styles, and an abundance of uncouth sculptures ; it has a choir built in the 13th cen- tury by Blanche of Castille (it is said) ; the nave and remainder of the church are of a later period. The sculpture of the portal, richly carved, is of the latest style of French florid Gothic, and much overladen with or- nament. The organ loft, and an ema- ciated monumental effigy, both at- tributed to Jean Goujon, merit notice, and there is some fine painted glass in the windows. In the S. aisle is a sin- gular twisted column, surrounded by spiral bands of tracery.

Gisors is on the high road from Paris to Rouen (R. 10.).

1 9 Chars.

18 Pontoise, a town of 5,400 in- I habitants, occupies a steep slope on the river Oise, here traversed by a bridge, whence its name. It is fa- mous for calves and flour, and sup- I

plies Paris with these two articles. The Vionne, which here joins the Oise, turns 30 corn mills.

The Church of St. Maclose is an in- teresting edifice presenting various styles ; there is some painted glass in a chapel near the principal entrance. The Palais de Justice is a Gothic build- ing.

Pontoise is a place of some historical notoriety. St. Louis, attacked by a violent illness, was here warned by a voice from heaven to assume the cross — 1244. During the hai'd winter of 1437, when the ground was covered with snow, the English took the town by surprise, through the ingenious ruse of Talbot, who clothed his soldiers in white, under cover of which, in the obscurity of the night, they reached the foot of the walls unobserved by the garrison.

A steamer in summer ascends the Oise from Paris.

10 Herblay. Here the road bi- furcates : the 1. hand branch leads to Paris by St. Denis (see Route 2.); than on the rt. proceeds by Besons, where it crosses the Seine and by

12 Courbevoie, to the Barriere de Neuilly, entering

9 Paris by the Arc de l’Etoile. See Galignani’s Guide, and p. 22.

[edit]

ROUTE 6. DIEPPE TO ROUEN

57 kilom. = 35 Eng. m.

Diligences go twice a day, in 5 hrs. at 9 a.m. and 1 2, to catch the 3 and 6 o’clock trains from Rouen to Paris.

In the outskirts of Dieppe, we leave on the rt. the road to Havre (Route 18.), and 3 m. farther on the 1. that to Paris direct (Route 5.). Our road -> lies through a country pleasing when it enters the valleys, but bare and monotonous as long as it lies along the high table land of the Pays de Caux. The land pro- duces abundant crops of corn, and.

28 R. 7 .—Dieppe to Rouen. R. 8. — Paris to Rouen. Sect. I.

from the number of hedges is not unlike parts of England. “ During the whole ride there is not one object to excite curiosity.” The way is en- livened here and theve at long inter- vals by villas or chateaux, without any claim to beauty.

15 Omonville.

The numerous orchards are one of the characteristic features of Nor- mandy, which is a cider, not wine- drinking province.

13 Totes. The spinning and weaving of cotton already begin to furnish employment to the inhabit- ants ; mills and factories increase in number as we approach Rouen, the great centre of the cotton manufacture in France.

12 Cambres. We now enter the pretty, industrious, and populous vale of the Cailly, a stream which furnishes motive power to the nume- rous mills, and has given rise to a chain of populous villages along its banks.

The line of houses, factories, and chimneys, interspersed with villas, or- chards, and gardens, almost unin- terrupted, from Malaunay to Rouen, may remind an Englishman of the clothing district of the W. of England.

Before reaching the barrier, a pretty view is obtained of the blue hills which border the Seine ; nor is the atmosphere thickened with so dense an envelope of smoke as hovers over the great manufacturing centres of England. A great part of the coal here used comes from England ; the department Du Nord furnishes also its supplies.

17 Rouen (in Route 9.).

[edit]

ROUTE 8. ' PARIS TO ROUEN RAILROAD.

137 kilom. =84 Eng. m.

Trains 6 times a day, in about 5 hours. Terminus in Paris, Rue St. Lazare, bio. 110. Fares, 16, 13, and 10 francs.

This railroad was commenced in 1841, and opened May 1843, Its en-

gineer is an Englishman, Mr. Locke, who executed the London and South- ampton railway ; the greater number of the shareholders are English capi- talists of Lancashire ; the contractors for executing the works, and even most of the workmen, are also English. A considerable number of experienced “ navigators,” as they are called, having been transported across the Channel, worked on it harmoniously with their French brethren, showing them the mode of operation. The rails are of French iron, which is much dearer than English ; but the locomotives though made in France (at Rouen) are executed by an English company, who have established themselves there expressly to supply the demands of this railroad. The minute subdi- vision of property in France, and the great number of landholders with whom the company had to deal, oc- casioned some difficulty in obtaining the land over which the railway passes, and caused the number of con- tracts to be multiplied enormously ; but the demands of the proprietors were by no means so exorbitant as in England.

The first part of the line is the same as that to St. Germains. The railway, after passing on a bridge over the Rue de Stockholm, and through 2 tunnels under the Place d’Europe and other streets, quits Paris by the Faubourg des Batig- nolles. The village of Clichy is passed on the rt. hand, and the Seine is crossed by a bridge of 5 arches be- fore reaching the village.

4| Asnieres (stat. ) on the 1. bank of the Seine, here crossed by another bridge, below that of the Chemin de Fer. The Versailles railroad (rive droite) and the St. Germain railroad here branch off to the 1.

At Colombes, a small village, Hen- rietta Maria, widow of Charles I. and daughter of Henri IV., died in great poverty, 1669. The chateau which she inhabited no longer exists.

At Bezons it crosses the Seine by

-7:V;

Normandy. Route 8. — Paris to Rouen — Railway .

a bridge of 9 flat timber arches, each 1 00 feet span, supported on stone piers. From this an embankment extends nearly a mile to a cutting at Houille, which is also about a mile. Beyond this the embankment continues to the Seine, which is traversed for the second time by a bridge like the former, conducting to

17 Maisons (stat. at the end of the avenue leading to M. Lafitte’s Villa. ) (Inns: Hotel Talma, so called be- cause once the residence of the actor; good. Le Petit Havre.) The Cha- teau, now the property of M. Lafitte, was built by Francis Mansart, 1658, and is a handsome edifice of Italian architecture. Voltaire wrote Zaire here ; and he was here attacked with small-pox, which nearly carried him off. Before the Revolution it be- longed to the Comte d’ Artois, and was afterwards given by Napoleon to Marshal Lannes. The park has been cut into building lots, sold piecemeal, and studded over with villas, in the manner of the Regent’s Park. Ac- cess is given to the new colony by the bridge of wood resting on stone piers. The distance hence to Paris is only 12 m. by land.

The railway proceeds, hence in a cutting, across the forest of St. Ger- main, and follows the 1. bank of the Seine by

9 Poissy (stat.), a small town on the 1. bank of the Seine, the birth- place of St. Louis (1215), who was wont to sign himself by the modest style of Louis of Poissy. The abbey and church built by his son on the site of his birth-place were swept away at the Revolution, and their place is now occupied by a jail and house of correction. The font at which he was baptized is still shown in the parish church, a Gothic building.

The conference of Poissy was held 1561, with the hope of adjusting dif- ferences between the Popish and Cal- vinistic churches ; Beza with a train of doctors appearing for the one party, and the papal legate Cardinal Ippo-

lito d’Este for the other ; and Charles IX. attended the first meeting with his mother Catherine de Medicis. But the controversialists soon separated without having approached to a re- conciliation, each side believing it had the best of the argument.

A dirty and inconveniently narrow street leads to the long bridge of Poissy over the Seine, of 37 arches of different sizes, including the ap- proaches, built, it is said, by St. Louis. The 3 central arches, now supplied by timber, were blown up in 1815 to prevent the passage of the allies; or, as some say, so long ago as in 1589, by Mayenne, the general of the League, to secure a safe retreat for his army from the pursuit of Marechal de Biron, who had sacked Poissy because it refused to deliver its keys to the kings Henri III. and IV.

The greatest cattle market in France is held here every Thursday for the supply of Paris with meat.

8 Triel (stat.) In the church is an Adoration of the Shepherds, said to be an original, by Poussin, and some good painted glass. Here and at Vaux are extensive plaster quarries.

6 Meulan (stat.~) This town, on the rt. bank of the Seine, is partly built on the slope of the hill, partly on an island in the middle of the river joined to the banks by an old stone bridge in two divisions.

8 Epone (stat. )

The scenery of the valley is very pleasing, though the chalky white of the rocks is an eyesore. The banks of the river are enlivened with coun- try houses. The post road runs at some distance from the river until it reaches Limay, the faubourg of Mantes, where it crosses from the rt. to the 1. bank by the bridge. The railway runs in a cutting to the W. of the town of

7 Mantes (stat.) — Inns: Cheval

Blanc ; — Grand Cerf. This town is prettily situated on the margin of the Seine, whence it has gained the epithet La Jolie.

c 3

SO Route 8. — Paris to Rouen

The chief building is the Church of Notre Dame , standing a little way- above the bridge, and conspicuous by reason of its 2 towers from a long dis- tance. It is a fine Gothic building; the body supported by flying but- tresses, the roof covered with co- loured tiles. The portals are pointed ; the sculpture which adorns them is sadly mutilated. The interior, in the early pointed style, is very pleasing ; its most remarkable feature being the height of the triforium gallery formed of triple arches, which being carried quite round the E. end, and lighted by windows behind, gives a cheerful character to the church. The towers at the W. end open into the nave. It was built for Blanche of Castille and her son St. Louis by the architect Eudes de Montreuil.

The solitary Tower of St. Maclou is the sole remnant of another church, built in 1344 with the toll dues ex- acted for leave to tow barges through the bridge on Sundays and holydays. It is deservedly preserved as a flue light Gothic structure.

It was among the glowing embers of the houses and monasteries of Mantes, which he had remorselessly caused to be burnt, that William the Conqueror received the injury in his corpulent person caused by his horse starting, which proved mortal a few days after at Rouen. The -castle of the French kings, where Henri IV. held the conferences with the Romish clergy which preceded his abjurance of the Protestant faith, was destroyed by the Regent Duke of Orleans.

Coaches daily to St. Germains by the road on the left bank of the Seine.

About half way between Mantes and Bonnieres we pass on the rt. Rosny , a dirty little village, contiguous to which, between it and the Seine, stands the Chateau , the birthplace of Sully, where he was frequently visited by his friend and master Henri IV., who slept here the“might after his victory at Ivry.

— Railway . — Rosny. Sect. I.

The king, having overtaken Sully on the road desperately wounded carried on a litter, accompanied by his squires in a like plight, fell on his neck and affectionately embraced him. The chateau is a plain, solid building of red brick, with stone quoins and a high tent roof, surrounded by a deep ditch ; it was rebuilt by Sully at the beginning of the 17th century. It is destitute of architectural beauty externally, and within has been mo- dernised, although one room, is still called Chambre de Sully. From 1818 down to the Revolution of 1830, Rosny was the favourite residence of the Duchesse de Berri, who erected here a chapel to contain the heart of her husband. The chateau has since changed hands repeatedly, and its present proprietor has pulled down the wings, which were modern, and added by the duchess. The grounds extend for some distance along the margin of the river, to which they owe their sole charm, the ground being perfectly flat, and tra- versed by long formal avenues.

In skirting the forest of Rosny, contiguous to the village, we are re- minded of the sacrifice made by Sully, in felling in it at one time timber to the amount of 100,000 francs to pay his master’s debts.

A great projecting buttress of chalk now intervenes, over which the high road is carried by a steep ascent and descent, and round which the Seine winds in a widely circuitous curve. The railway pierces this by a Tunnel about 2480 yards long — • driven through the chalk and a flinty conglomerate very hard to penetrate, commencing at Rolleboise, about 5 miles from Mantes, and terminating on the W. at a short distance from

13 Bonnieres (stat.), the railway having been previously carried over the high road^ by a bridge. Bon- nieres is the station nearest to Evreux ( R. 25. ), on the road to Caen and Cherbourg. Hence it runs under the high ground close to the river as far as

Normandy. Route 9. — Pari

10 Vernon (stat.). — Inn : Grand Cerf.

This town, which, like many others in Normandy, gives a name to a noble English family, is prettily situated, and its interior retains a venerable air of antiquity in its timber-framed houses ; but its narrow streets, however pic- turesque, are by no means convenient on a great highway of traffic. There is preserved an ancient tower, tall and massive ; and a Gothic church, the choir of the 13th, the nave of the 16th century, in which one monument only among many escaped the Revo- lution, — that of a lady of the family Maignard, — consisting of a kneeling effigy in marble (date 1610).

The Chateau de Bizy, one of the finest seats in Normandy, the pro- perty of the Counts of Eu, and af- terwards of the Due de Pentnievre, was destroyed at the Revolution, and is now replaced by a plain country house belonging to Louis Philippe, approached by a fine avenue, on the outskirts of the town. Vernon is con- nected by a wooden bridge (on stone piers) with the suburb Vernonet.

13 Gaillon (stat.) A huge peni- tentiary occupies the place, and in part the remains, of the chateau of the archbishops of Rouen. It was sold at the Revolution to a speculator, and partly pulled down ; fortunately the facade built by the Cardinal d’Amboise, a splendid example of the style of the Renaissance, was rescued by M. Lenoir and transported to Paris, where it has been reconstructed in front of the Ecole des Beaux Arts. The 4 Gothic towers, and part of the terrace incorporated in the new build- ing, are fragments of the palace.

In the distance is seen the impos- I in g ruin of Chateau Gaillard, the pet I castle of Richard Cceur de Lion.

( Route 11.), rising on a lofty rock washed by the Seine, but 5 or 6 m. N. of our road ; so great is the ■ circuit which the river here again 1 makes.

Gaillon is the station nearest to

to Rouen . — Gaillon .

Auteuil and the town of Andelys, and hence an excursion may be made to the interesting castle of Chateau Gaillard (p. 50.). Near le Grand Villers, two Tunnels are driven through the mass of a projecting pro- montory of chalk hill. The first or easternmost of Le Roule is a mile long, and the second of Venables 470 yards long.

13 St. Pierre de Vauvray (stat.) The manufacturing town of Louviers is within 3 or 4 miles of this station (p. 35.)

The Seine is traversed obliquely for the 3d time by a bridge at Le Manoir just above the confluence of the Eure, and the railway pi’oceeds along the rt. bank of the Seine for a short distance to

12i Pont de 1’Arche, stat. at the extremity of the bridge leading to that town. Pont de 1’ Arche is a small town, whose main street is a narrow and inconvenient lane leading to the bridge of 22 arches, by which the Seine is crossed by the post road, a little below the junction of the Eure. The view from it is pretty ; on the right is seen the Cote des Deux Amants (see Route 11.). The tide ascends to this point.

The Gothic church contains some curious painted windows ; in one of them the inhabitants of the town, male and female, in the costume of the 16th century, are seen towing barges through the central arch of the bridge.

The railway next passes through the hill of Tourville by a short Tunnel of about 500 yards, and crosses the Seine, here divided into two arms, for the 4th time, by a bridge resting on the Isle des Boeuf, to

5 Tourville, the station for the populous and industrious town of Elbceuf (p. 52.). Hence it proceeds onwards along the 1. bank of the Seine through St. Etienne de Lou- vray and Sotteville to its termination in the Faubourg St. Sever of the great city of

c 4

32 Route 9. — Paris to Rouen (Lower Road J. Sect. I.

12 Rouen, Terminus. Rouen is described in R. 9. p. 36.

[edit]

ROUTE 9. PARIS TO ROUEN (LOWER ROAd), BV ST. GERMAIN AND LOUVIERS.

137 kilom == 85 English miles.

The malleposte takes the upper road by Gisors. (R. 10.)

Diligences , in 10 or 12 hours; but they are superseded by the railway. (Route 8.)

This road to Rouen is far more generally interesting and more pic- turesque in scenery than the upper one, through Gisors, but is nearly 7 miles longer than it. It is carried down the valley of the Seine, quitting the bank of the river only to avoid its excessive windings. The high road from Paris to St. Germain com- mences at the “ star,” or radiation of routes which gives a name to the Arc de Triomphe de V Etoile, the largest triumphal arch in the world, and the finest entrance into the French capital. Yet the eye scarcely appreciates its vast- ness ; few would suspect that it was nearly as wide and lofty as the fa9ade of Notre Dame, or that the aperture of the arch equalled that of its nave. The road skirts on the 1. the Bois de Boulogne, famous for promenades, duels, and suicides, now shorn of its proportions to form a glacis for the new fortifications.

A cross road branches off on the rt. to the Chateau de Neuilly : near the entrance of it occurred the melan- choly death of the Due d’Orleans, heir to the throne, who was killed in jump- ing out of his carriage, of which the horses had run away. An elegant Byzantine Chapel has been built on the site of the house in which he breathed his last ; it is dedicated to St. Ferdinand, and is in the form of a Greek cross. It contains a monu- mental cenotaph ; the effigy of the prince in his uniform reclining on a bed. On a pedestal to the rt. is an

angel kneeling in prayer, one of the last works of his sister the Princess Marie. The painted windows were executed at Sevres.

The road next passes on the rt. the Chateau de Neuilly , the most fre- quented residence of King Louis Philippe; and beyond that village crosses the Seine by the celebrated bridge of 5 arches, each of 120 ft. span, the masterpiece of the archi- tect Perronet, built 1772. Henri IV. and his queen were dragged into the water here in their cumbrous state coach, and narrowly escaped drowning ; an accident which caused the ferry to be superseded by a bridge of wood. The park of Neuilly ex- tends for some distance down the rt. bank of the Seine, and into the islands which here divide its stream. On the 1. bank is seen the village and large barrack of

9 Courbevoie. A little beyond the post house, our road, a perfectly straight line hitherto, separating from the Route d’en haut (Route 10.), bends to the 1. and passes the Ver- sailles railroad (rive droite).

Mont Valerien, on the 1. , recently con- verted into the citadel of the fortifica- tions of Paris, is not more than II m. distant from the chateau of Neuilly. The Church on this height, founded on the debris of one destroyed by Napoleon, contains numerous relics, among them a fragment of the true cross (!) and the Calvary attached to it has attracted pious pilgrims for several centuries.

Madame de Genlis, the preceptress of the present king, was buried in the cemetery. The aqueduct of Marly and chateau of St. Germain are now seen in the distance. At Ruel or Rueil the Cardinal Richelieu had a magnificent residence. The large barrack on the 1. of the road, was occupied in the time of the elder Bourbons by the Swiss guard. In the little church of the village, built 1584 and decorated with a portico at the cost of Cardinal Richelieu, from

Normandy. R. 9. — Paris to Rouen —St. Germain Raihvay. 33

the designs of Lemercier, is buried the Empress Josephine. A simple monu- ment bearing her statue kneeling, by Cartellier, has been erected by her children, Prince Eugene (Due of Leuchtenberg), and Hortense Beau- harnois (ex-queen of Holland). She died, May 1814, at her favourite villa, hard by Ruel, Malmaison, which,

| having been sold after her death,

I has been pulled down. Her plea- sure grounds have been cut up to be sold in lots ; her conservatory and menageries, in which she took much I delight, and the Swiss dairy and Merino farm, are swept away. The spot seems to have owed its charms chiefly to art ; the soil is very sterile. Buonaparte spent 5 days here in June 1815, between his second abdication and his’ final departure for Rochfort, having been sent out of Paris by Fouche and the provisional govern- ment.

The road skirts the enclosing wall of Malmaison for some distance, and soon after reaching the 1. bank of the Seine^ passes La Chaussee, where La Belle Gabrielle had a house, and Marly la Machine, so called from the cumbrous pile of wooden scaffolding and wheels constructed to raise the water of the Seine 300 feet to supply Versailles, but now partly replaced by a steam engine. The Aqueduct of 36 arches, the loftiest 70 feet high, by which the water is conveyed, is a conspicuous and fine object rising against the hill. The Chateau de Marly, built by Mansard for Louis XIV., was destroyed at the Revolution, having been purchased by a specu- lator, who pulled it down to sell the materials, and nothing now remains to mark that scene of a monarch’s extravagance and magnificence. St. Simon, describing its construction, re- lates that whole forests of full-grown trees were brought from Compiegne, jjths of which died and were replaced by others ; large tracts of wood were suddenly converted into sheets of water, and back again to shady groves ; and

all to adorn a small villa in a con- tracted valley without view, in which Louis might pass 3 or 4 nights in the course of the year.

The pavilion of Luciennes, on the brow of the hill above Marly, was the last residence of the notorious Madame Du Barry, mistress of Louis XV.

Le Pecq is a suburb of St. Ger- main, stretching down the hill, on whose summit that town is built, to the margin of the Seine. It is the point of departure of the steamers which go to Rouen (R. 9.) and the terminus of the St. Germain railway.

14 St. Germain enLaye (see below).

Railroad — Paris to St. Germain. The length of the line to Pecq is 1 8i kilom. = 11 Eng. m. The distance is performed in less than 30 minutes. Trains (convois) go every hour : but see the printed bills. The Terminus (Embarcadere) in Paris is in Rue St. Lazare, No. 120.

The first part of this line as far as Asnieres, is the same as the Rouen Railway, (p. 28.).

41 Asnieres (stat.).

The high road from Paris to Rouen is crossed within a short distance of

7 Nanterre (st.), a village celebrated as the birth-place of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, who pre- served it by her prayers, according to the legend, from the invasion of Attila. The chapel of the saint at which Anne of Austria came to pray for an heir, 1636, who was born 2 years after, no longer exists. Nan- terre is famed for cakes.

An omnibus runs from this station to Ruel (p. 32.).

The Seine is crossed for the second time shortly before arriving at the station of

3| Chatou, by 2 bridges resting on an island which here divides the river. The village of Chatou lies on the rt. hand of the railway and rt. bank of the Seine.

The St. Germain railroad stops short on the 1. bank of the river at c 5

Route 9. — Paris to Rouen — St. Germain.

Sect. I

3^ Le Pecq (stat.), opposite the village of Le Pecq, which is in fact a suburb of St. Germain, and is connected with the railway terminus by a bridge of stone, erected 1835, in the place of one of wood by which, in 1815, the Prussian army under Bliicher crossed the river on their march upon Paris.

Omnibuses convey passengers to and ®from the terminus into St. Ger- main ; the distance is not i a mile. The steep ascent, leading from the bridge up to the town, is now easily surmounted by a line broad road carried up a series of gradual slopes in zigzag, while a flight of stone steps affords a readier access for the pedes- trian to the Terrace which runs along the brow of the hill.

St. G er main- en- Lay e. — Inns: H. d’Angleterre — de Toulouse — de la Chasse Royale. There is a Restaurant on the slope of the hill, au Pavilion de Henri IV . ; the best, but all dear.

This deserted residence of kings

i is interesting from historical recol- lections, and pleasing from the gran- deur of its site ; but although it contains 12,000 inhabitants, it has a melancholy air of abandonment, in its grass-grown streets and straggling edifices. The huge gloomy pile of the Royal Chateau itself, the favourite residence of Marguerite de Valois, Henri II., Henri IV., Francis I., and the birth-place of Charles IX. and of Louis XIV., having been gutted at the Revolution, has nothing but its souvenirs to recommend it. It looks like a prison, and is actually converted into a military penitentiary, and sur- rounded by a wall for security. Those who will take the trouble to seek an order of admission from the com- mandant (which is not readily granted) may see the chapel, the oldest part and the least impaired, the hall of Francis I., the bed-chamber of Madame de la Valliere, and the trap-door by which the youthful Louis gained entrance into it after his mother had caused the door of the backstair to be walled

up ; also the Oratory of James II,, and the chamber in which he died, f 1701. This palace was assigned to him as a residence by his host Louis XIV., who was tired of the place himself, having taken an aversion to it, because it commanded a view of his destined resting-place St. Denis. James resided here 12 years, holding | the semblance of a court. Part of his body, “ une portion de la chair et des parties nobles du corps,” was buried in the parish church , recently rebuilt and faced with a Doric portico, where a monument was erected to his memory by George IV.

The only real attraction in St. Germain at present is its beautiful | Terrace, stretching along the brow of | the hill for more than a mile, and com- manding a delightful prospect over the valley of the Seine and its wind- ings, with the aqueduct of Marly, on the rt., Chateau of Maisons on the 1., the railways and the Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile, with the spires of St. Denis rising against the horizon in front.

The Forest of St. Germain, one of the largest in France, having a circuit of 21 miles, occupies a promontory formed by a sweeping bend of the river Seine. It is intersected by roads offering agreeable rides and walks in all directions. In the midst of it is the Pavilion de la Meute begun by Francis I. Deer and roes are found in the remote parts.

The name St. Germain-en-Lave comes from a chapel and monastery of St. Germanus, built in the reign of King Robert, in the midst of the forest then called Silva Ledia.

Many English have taken up their residence here, on account of the cheapness of living, the pure air, and the fine forest.

The Steam boats for Rouen start from Pecq near the bridge. The descent of the Seine is described in Route 11.

There are 2 roads from St. Ger-

Normandy. Route 9. — Paris

main to Mantes ; the one called Chemin de Quarante Sous, keeping on the S. side of the Seine, is the shorter by about 5 miles, but more hilly ; the other, the post road, and traversed by the diligences, cuts across the S. i extremity of the forest to Poissy (p. 29.)

The road descends the rt. bank of the river henceforth as far as Mantes, through

1 1 Triel (p. 29. ).

8’Meulan (p. 29.).

The railroad is carried along the 1. bank of the Seine, and passes in the rear of Mantes, where is a station.

15 Mantes (p. 29.).

About half way between Mantes and Bonnieres we pass Rosny, (p. SO.).

The railway is carried on a lofty terrace, side by side with the high road as far as Rolleboise, where it pene- trates in a tunnel through a hill which the road surmounts by a steep ascent. (Seep. 30. ) An abrupt curve of the river, here sweeping round by the chateau La Roche Guyon (p. 49.), is thus avoided. The farther extremity of the tunnel opens out close to

13 Bonnieres (p. 30. ).

About li m. beyond this the road to Caen and Cherburg by Evreux ' ( Route 25. ) separates on the 1. from

that to Rouen, which skirts the mai*- gin of the Seine under a shady avenue of walnut and ash trees. A small rivulet flowing into it from the S., crossed by cur road, was the boundary of the ancient province of Normandy, as it now is of the department of the Eure ; and 2 m. farther on we reach j

11 Vernon (p. 31.).

There is another post road from Vernon along the rt. bank of the Seine, by Andelys (22 kilom.), and Chateau Gaillard (Route 11.), Pont St. Pierre (19 kilom.), Le Forge Feret (10 kilom.), to Rouen (11 kilom. ), but it is longer by 3f m. than the following :

14 Gaillon (p. 31.).

The isthmus of the peninsula formed

to Rouen — Louviers. 35

by this curve is traversed by the rail- way in a tunnel (p. 31.).

The post road quits the borders of the Seine before reaching Gaillon, and does not rejoin it until Pont de 1’ Arche is reached.

At the village Heudebouville the road to Andelys and Chateau Gaillard (6 m. distant) strikes off to the rt. Here also the road to Rouen divides into 2 branches; the rt.-hand one, by Vaudreuil, though shorter, is more hilly, and takes the same time to travel, so that by Louviers is pre- ferable. Tall chimneys and nume- rous huge red brick buildings with many windows proclaim the manu- facturing town of

14 Louviers (Inns: II. de Rouen, dear; de Mouton — neither good), advantageously situated on the nu- merous branches of the Eure ; it is one of the 3 principal clothing towns of France, the other two being El- boeuf and Sedan. It contains more than 40 cloth manufactories, which employ from 7,000 to 8,000 persons in and around the town, though the number of inhabitants does not ex- ceed 9,885. The cloth of Louviers is remarkable for its fine quality. The Church of Notre Dame , shrouded be- hind the number of its flying but- tresses, presents a mass of incon- gruities and sad mutilations, yet is well worth examination. Its S. portal, projecting forwards on fringed arches, with a pendant hanging from the centre, is decked out Avith an ex- uberance of florid ornament. It was built in 1496. The W. end has 3 portals, the centre supported by a Corinthian pillar. In the inside the nave and choir date from 1218, and exhibit the transition from the round to the pointed style ; low and thick columnar piers support pointed arches, on Avhich rests a glazed triforium of round-headed trefoil arches, with lancet windows under trefoil arches in the clerestory; the aisles are more modern. The bas-reliefs, carved in wood, of sacred subjects from the life c 6

Route 9. — Paris to Rouen — Rouen.

Sect. I.

of our Saviour, and the painted glass, merit notice, as well as the open gal- lery of filagree stone-work under the central tower S. side.

The Gothic house with pointed windows, called Maison dcs Templiers, is probably as old as the 13th or be- ginning of the 14th century.

A road branches off hence to El- boeuf (R. 11); coaches run thither daily.

At Vaudreuil on the Eure, 3 or 4 m. to the right of the road to Rouen, is an old castle surrounded by the waters of the Eure, and a fine church with a beautiful W. window.

A considerable tract of forest is passed between Louviers and Pont de V Arche (see p. 31.)

To avoid a long bend of the river the road is carried over a high hill, whose top commands a charming view, but on the opposite descent re- gains the margin of the river before

17 Port St. Ouen, and thence runs beside it, skirting the foot of the chalk hills through a series of vil- lages and hamlets to the extensive suburb of Eauplet, which extends up to the gate of Rouen. The entrance into the town on this side is by the Cours Dauphin, a raised causeway planted with an avenue of trees, having the Seine on the 1. and the Champ de Mars on the rt. hand.

11 Rouen. — Inns: Hotel de Rouen on the Q,uai du Havre, close to the landing-place of the steamer ; room 3 fr; table d’hote 3 fr. ; — Albion Hotel, Q,uai du Havre; — Hotel Vatel, Rue des Carmes.

Rouen, anciently Rotomagus , the capital of ancient Normandy, and the chief town at present of the department of the Seine Inferieure, is agreeably seated on the Seine, and yields to no provincial city of France in its majestic and venerable aspect, in historic asso- ciations, and in magnificent buildings; the triumph of the ecclesiastical and civil architecture of the middle ages. It has this advantage also over most other ancient towns, that it is not a

mere heap of dry bones, destitute of life and abandoned by commerce : its narrow streets of gable-faced, timber- fronted mansions, swarm like an ant- hill with busy crowds passing to and fro ; it is a focus of trade, and the chief seat of the cotton manufacture in France. It may be called, indeed, the French Manchester. It contains 92,083 inhabitants, and is surpassed in population by only 4 other cities in France.

The situation of Rouen on a river which affords ready access on the one hand to the sea at Havre (103 m. distant by the windings of the stream), and with the capital on the other, tends highly to promote its industry and commerce. The Seine, here more than 1000 ft. broad, forms a convenient port accessible for vessels of 250 tons ; and though the number of vessels is small, they add both to the picturesque- ness and animation of the scene. Its banks are formed into fine broad Quais, and these are lined with hand- some modern buildings, which have sprung up within the last 10 or 15 years, and serve as a screen to hide a rear rank of tottering timber houses, such as form the bulk of the city, and which previously extended down to the river side. Modern improvements and additions, indeed, have of late greatly detracted from the venerable and picturesque appearance of Rouen ; but the changes are skin-deep, con- fined to its exterior, and the stranger has only to plunge into its almost inextricable labyrinth of streets to find enough of antiquity to satiate the artist or the most ardent lover of by- gone times : although a law having been passed prohibiting the rebuild- ing of houses in wood, their number must diminish every year.

A Boulevard , occupying the place of the old fortifications which resisted Henry V. of England and Henri IV. of France, runs round the old town nearly in a semicircle, touching the Seine at its two extremities. This line includes within it all the most inter-

Normandy. Route 9. — - Rouen ■ — Cathedral .

esting public monuments and objects worth notice ; outside of it spreads a supplement of populous faubourgs, occupied chiefly by the weavers and working classes, who also form the I bulk of the population in the suburb St. Sever, on the 1. bank of the Seine,

! having wider but not cleaner streets than the inner town, interspersed at intervals by tall smoking chimneys || and lavishly glazed spinning mills.

A walk through the town in the following order will carry the pe- ll destrian to the things best worth ob- I servation ; but if he wishes to see I them thoroughly, he will find one or i ! even two days not enough. The dis- j tances from one quarter of the town | to another are considerable, to say no- I thing of the want of pavement, the dirt, and the bad smells which he will have to encounter. The Rue Grand Port, which runs up from the quai opposite the suspension-bridge, and which is at once the chief thorough- fare and includes the best shops, will jl bring you to the Cathedral ; a little il in the rear of it, to the E., is the ! church of St. Maclou, from the door i of which a street running due N. will bring you to St. Ouen, the noblest j church in Rouen. Close beside it,

in the H. de Ville, is the gallery of

j pictures ; but more worthy of atten- i tion is the Museum of Antiquities, j Rue de Beauvoisin, near the Boule- vard. Hence you must thread your i way back to the river, visiting in turn the Palais de J ustice, Tour de la Grosse Horloge, Place de la Pucelle (where I Joan of Arc was burnt), and Hotel de Bourgtheroulde. As the churches close at 12, they should be visited in the early part of the day.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame oc- cupies with its W. front one side of j the fruit and flower market. The vast 1 proportions of this grand Gothic fa- ll 9ade, its elaborate and profuse de- corations, and its stone screens of open j tracery, impress one, at first glance,

I with wonder and admiration ; dimi- h nished, however, though not destroyed,

by a closer examination, which shows a confusion of ornament and a certain corruption of taste. “ It is viciously florid, and looks like a piece of rock-work, rough and encrusted with images and tabernacles, and ornamented from top to bottom.” — G. Knight. The projecting central porch and the whole of the upper part were the work of Cardinal d’Amboise (1509 — 1530) ; the lateral ones are of an earlier period (13th century) and chaster style; and the sculpture adorn- ing them deserves attention. Above the central door is carved the ge- nealogy of Jesse. Over the 1. hand (N. W.) door is the Death of St.John Baptist, — in it may be seen Here- dias’ daughter^ dancing, or rather tumbling, before Herod : over this, on the rt., much mutilated, the Virgin with Saints. Of the two stately flanking towers, that of St. Romain, on the N., rests on walls older than any other part of the building (12th century): it maybe profitably ascended, on account of the view. The rt. hand, or S. W. tower, called Tour de Beurre, be- cause built (between 1485 and 1507) with the money paid for indulgences to eat butter in Lent, is a far more beautiful structure, surmounted with an elegant circlet of stone filagree. It contained the famous bell, named George d’Amboise, melted at the Re- volution ; it is now gutted. Of the central spire the less that is said the better ; it is a cage of cast-iron bars intended to replace a spire of wood burnt by lightning, 1 822 ; and judging from its shape and size, seen at a dis- tance, might be taken for the parent of all the factory chimneys in and about the town. When finished, it will reach to a height of 436 ft. It is quite out of character with the rest of the building, and is intended to be gilt. A corkscrew or geometrical staircase of iron worms itself up the centre to a dizzy height.

The N. and S. fronts are in a j style resembling the decorated of

Route 9. — Rouen — Cathedral.

Sect. I.

England, with geometric tracery. The very beautiful N. door, called Portail des Libraires, from the book stalls which once occupied the court before it, was not finished until 1478. The opposite one leading to the S. transept, called Portail de la Calende, and nearly of the same age and style, is ornamented with bas-reliefs from the history of Joseph. The figure hanging, vulgarly supposed to repre- sent a corn merchant who suffered for using false measures, while his property was confiscated to build this entrance, is otherwise, and more accu- rately, explained to be Pharaoh’s chief butler. The N. transept is flanked on either side by open towers of great beauty, and of such proportions as would fit them for the W. front of an English cathedral.

The interior measures 435 ft. in length, and the height of the nave is 89| ft. It is in the early pointed style : above the main arches of the nave runs a second tier, smaller, but opening also into the aisles; an ar- rangement not uncommon in Nor- mandy, but of which England pre- sents only one instance, in Waltham Abbey. The three rose windows, in the nave and transepts, are very fine in size and decoration. In the end chapel, on the S. side of the nave, is the tomb and effigy of Hollo, first duke of Normandy, and opposite to it that of his son William Long Epee ; but the figures are not older probably than the 13th century.

The choir , separated from the nave by a modern Grecian screen, was built between 1 280 and 1 300. The carving of the stalls, executed 1467, is ex- tremely curious. The finest and oldest painted glass is to be found in the chapels of the choir aisles; it is of the 1 3th century. Small lozenge- shaped tablets of marble, let into the pavement of the choir, mark the spots where the heart of Richard Coeur de Lion, and the bodies of his brother Henry (died 1183), of William son of Geoffroy Plantagenet, their

uncle, and of John Duke of Bedford, regent (prorex Normannias) under Henry VI. (1435), were interred. Their monuments, much injured by the outrages of the Huguenots in 1663, when all parts of the church suffered more or less, were removed, and lost until 1838, when the effigy of Richard I . , a rude statue 6\ ft. long, was dug up from under the pavement on the 1. of the high altar. His “ lion heart ” was also found still perfect but shrunk in size, enveloped in a sort of greenish taffeta enclosed in a case of lead, and is now deposited in the sacristy. His body was interred at Fontevrault ; but he bequeathed his heart to Rouen, on account of the great affection which he bore to the Normans. The effigy of limestone, much mutilated, represents him crown- ed, and in the royal robes, and is now placed in the Lady Chapel behind the high altar, which contains two other splendid and highly interesting monu- ments. On the rt. hand is that of cardinals George d’Amboise, arch- bishop of Rouen and minister of Louis XII. and his brother, a mag- nificent structure of black and white marble, in the style of the Renaissance, executed in 1525. The marble sta- tues of the two cardinals, uncle and nephew, kneel below a covered canopy richly ornamented and gilt ; behind is a bas-relief of St. George and the Dragon ; above, in niches arranged two by two, are statues of the 12 Apostles ; below are the Cardinal Vir- tues. The pilasters and intervening spaces are adorned with rich and fan- ciful arabesques. The bodies of the Cardinals d’Amboise were torn from the grave by the Revolutionists of 1793, the lead of the coffins melted, and the contents scattered.

On the 1. side of the chapel is the monument of the Due de Breze, grand seneschal of Normandy ; but more remarkable as husband of the celebrated Diana of Poitiers, mistress of Henry 1 1. , by whom it was erected. The effigy of the distressed widow

Normandy. R. 9 . — Rouen — St. Maclou — St. Ouen. 39

kneels at the head of an emaciated corpse representing her husband after death, stretched on a sarcophagus of black marble. She is in a mourning attitude corresponding with the words i of the epitaph which she caused to be engraved on the tomb : —

“ Indivulsa tibi quondam, et fidissima con-

jux,

Ut t'uit in thalamo sic erit in tumulo.”,

A sentiment, however, which must j be taken in an ironical sense ; it is i quite certain that she was not buried with him, but at her chateau of Anet,

! and it is probable that she was as true to her word in one respect as in the other. Above, in an arched recess, is the statue of the duke in full armour on horseback. This tomb is a splendid i work of the age of Francis I. ; and is attributed to Jean Goujon, or Jean Cousin.

A rich florid Gothic niche at the side, surmounted by a stone canopy I of open work and intervening stems,

was erected at an earlier period

(1465) to Pierre de Breze, grand- i father of the preceding. Neither statue nor inscription 'remains.

l The elaborately carved screen in
front of the sacristy, executed in the

latter part of the 15th century, and its wrought-iron door, must not be passed without notice.

Passing the Archeveche, contiguous ' to the cathedral on its N. and E. side, we come to the

Church of St. Maclou, which ranks third among the churches of Rouen in beauty. Its grandest feature is h its triple porch, one division of which i:' was until lately blocked up by a I house built exactly in front of it ; it I is a fine specimen of the florid architec- ] ture of the 15th century. The tra- i veller should pay attention to the wooden doors (including that on the N. side) beautifully carved with Scrip- ture subjects, in bas-relief, by Jean i Goujon, it is said, and to the elaborate 1 winding stair of stone near the W. en- trance, within the church. There is much painted glass in the windows.

The Church of St. Ouen surpasses the cathedral in size, purity of style, masterly execution, and splendid but judicious decoration, and is inferior only as regards historic monuments. It is beyond doubt one of the noblest and most perfect Gothic edifices in the world. Although it suffered considerably from the Huguenots (1562), who made 3 bonfires within the building to burn the stalls, pulpit, organ, and priests’ robes ; and from the republicans, who turned it into an armourer’s shop, and raised a smith’s forge in its interior, by the smoke of which the windows were blackened until they ceased to be transparent, it has escaped in a remarkable degree; and judicious restoration, at present carrying on, leave little to desire touch- ing its state of repair.

The first stone of the existing edi- fice (for 4 other churches had pre- ceded it) was laid 1318 by Abbot Jean Roussel ; the choir, the chapels, and nearly all the transept were com- pleted in 21 years, and the nave and tower finished by the end of the 15th century. Thus, one plan being fol- lowed to the termination, the most perfect harmony of style prevails throughout. “ The W. front was to have been flanked by 2 steeples, be- tween which a curved portico of 3 arches was proposed ; but it is un- finished.” — D. T.

Above the cross rises the central tower 260 ft. high, which, whether examined close at hand (as it ought to be), or seen at a distance rising above the town, is a model of grace and delicacy. “ It is wholly com- posed of open arches and tracery, and terminates with an octangular crown of fleurs-de-lis.” — D. T., which an- cient royal symbol is also discovered in the pattern of the tracery of the windows, and in the painted glass.®

The S. portal, called des Marmouzets from the figures of animals carved on it, deserves attentive examination, as a gem of Gothic work scarcely to be surpassed. It is surrounded by a

Route 9. — Rouen — St, Ouen,

Sect. I.

fringe of open trefoil arches ; while 2 groined pendants, 6 ft. long, drop from its vault. The bas-relief over the door represents the Death and Assump- tion of the Virgin : the whole has been restored.

The interior (443 ft. long, and 106^ ft. high), notwithstanding its size, is peculiarly light and graceful ; the front pillars of its richly moulded piers run up uninterruptedly to the roof as ribs, the side ones bend under the arches. The clerestory, being very large, 'increases the effect of lightness ; “ the windows seem to have absorbed all the solid wall,” and the roof is maintained in its place by the support of pillars and buttresses alone. All the glass is painted, and there are 3 noble rose windows filled with it. The stranger should look into the holy water basin (benitier) close to the W. door ; he will find the beauties of the interior all mirrored on the surface of the water. The master mason under and by whom this noble church was reared is buried in St. Agnes’ chapel, the 2d on the 1. in the N. choir aisle. His name was Alexander Berneval ; and, according to tradition, he murdered his apprentice through envy, because the youth had surpassed in the execu- tion of the rose w indow in the N. tran- sept, into the tracery of which the pen- talpha is introduced, that which his master had constructed in the S. tran- sept. Though the mason paid the penalty of his crime, the monks, out of gratitude for his skill, interred his body within the church which he had contributed so much to ornament.

The whole of the transept, choir, and lower part of the tower are decorated in character, passing into the flamboyant in the upper story of the tower and in the nave.

The material used in the structure of St, Ouen is a limestone approach- ing to chalk, and containing flints, which have been often patiently cut through in the delicate carving and tracery. But the details of the build-

ing should be studied on the roof, upon the tower, and in the internal galleries. It will well repay the trouble of the ascent.

A very pretty Garden , whose great ornament, however, is the adjacent church, extends along the N. side of St. Ouen, behind the Hotel de Ville ; it was originally the convent garden. Within it, attached to the church, stands a very perfect Norman \tower , with round-headed windows, in the style of the 1 1th century; it probably formed part of a previously existing church. It is called “ La Chambre aux Clercs.”

Saint Ouen was archbishop of Rouen, and died 678.

The Hotel de Ville., a handsome build- ing of Italian architecture, attached to the N. transept of the church, formed part of the monastery of St. Ouen, to which a modern front, with Corinthian colonnade, has been added so as to give the building an official, civic air. Be- sides the public offices, it contains the Public Library , and Le Musee des Tableaux, a collection in which the good paintings bear a very small pro- portion to the bad. There is an an- cient and curious picture, attributed to Van Eyck, of the Virgin and Child amidst Angels and Saints; the pre- del la of an altar piece, by Perugino, brought from Perugia ; a copy of Raphael’s Madonna di San Sisto ; St. Francis in ecstasy ; by Ann. Ca- racci ; the Plague at Milan, by Lemon - nidre of Rouen; and an Ecce Homo, by Mignard.

The Bibliotheque Publique is a va- luable collection of 33,000 volumes, very accessible, being open every day from 11 to 4, and from 6 to 9, ex- cept Sunday and Thursday. Among the 1,200 MSS., many richly orna- mented with paintings, are the his- tory of the Normans, by William of Jumieges, 11th century; a Benedic- tionary, which belonged to an arch- bishop of Canterbury ; and a missal book of the 12th century : the Gra- dual of Daniel d’Aubonne, 17th cen-

Normandy. Route 9. — Le Musee des Antiquites.

tury, containing about 200 vignettes and initials, is very beautiful.

Le Musee des Antiquites, in the sup- pressed convent de St. Marie, Rue Beauvoisin, from the number and rarity of the curiosities deposited in it, consisting for the most part of vo- luntary donations, is one of the most interesting sights in the town, and highly creditable to the administra- tion of the department, by whom it was founded, 1833-4; no stranger should omit to visit it. The follow- ing enumeration will give an idea of the nature of the objects preserved here : — The door of the house in which Corneille was born ; many Roman and Gallic tombstones, coffins, &c., dug up at Rouen and other places in the department of la Seine Inferieure ; many fragments of Ro- man sculpture ; specimens of pot- tery, glass, mosaics ; inscriptions ; to- gether with a draped female statue of good work, but wanting the head, from the Roman theatre, Lillebonne.

It is chiefly, however, for works of art and antiquities of the Middle Ages, and the following period down to the 17th century, that this museum is entitled to attention.

The windows, 15 in number, by which the gallery is lighted, are all filled with painted glass derived from suppressed convents, churches, &c., forming a chronological series from the 13th to the 17th century; most valuable and interesting, as showing the progress of the art. The most remarkable are those from the church of St. Eloi, Rouen, 16th century ; the miracle of St. Nicholas from St. Godard (first half of 16th century), very fine. There is no collection of glass painting equal to this in France or England.

In glazed frames against the wall are hung charters and other ancient MSS. containing autographs of re- markable persons. Among them William the Conqueror’s mark, a cross (he could not write); and the signatures of our other Norman dukes

and kings, among which those of Henry I. , Richard Cceur de Lion, may be observed.

The shrine of St. Sever, which once contained the relics of that saint, formerly placed in the cathedral, is in the shape of a Gothic chapel, with silver statues of saints in niches round its sides. It is of oak, covered with copper plates gilt and silvered, and is an elegant piece of workmanship of the end of the 12th century, recently restored. A crucifix carved in stone, 16th century : at the foot of the cross the holy women ; on the opposite side the Virgin and Child. Many other specimens of sculpture of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, in stone and wood, from religious edi- fices : 5 bas-reliefs of the Last Judg- ment in marble from the church of St. Denis sur Scie ; in one, Christ is rescuing souls from the jaws (li- terally) of hell. Many capitals of Gothic columns richly sculptured.

An extensive collection of coins and medals ; Roman, Gallo- Roman, French Norman, &c.

Casts from the bas-reliefs of the Hotel de Bourgtheroude (p. 44.), representing the interview of the Field of the Cloth of Gold between Henry VIII. and Francis I. A small collection of arms and armour — among them will be found the coat of mail of Enguerrand de Marigny from the church of Ecouis (p. 47. ) ; also several early cannon and wall pieces, ancient furniture, cabinets.

A fragment of the famous bell George d’Amboise (see p. 37.), which was melted into cannons and sous pieces at the Revolution.

This Museum is open Sunday and fete days from 11 to 4, and Tuesday and Thursday from 12 to 3.

In an adjoining building is a very respectable AfMsewm of Natural History.

The amateur of stained glass should not omit to visit the churches of St. Godard, containing two windows 32 ft. high and 12 wide, and St. Pa- trice, where there are many more of

Route 9. — Rouen — Palais de Justice.

Sect. I.

still greater beauty executed in the 16th century. The architecture of these two churches is not remarkable; they are very late in the Gothic style.

The Church of St. Vincent has an exquisite Gothic porch.

Another church, St. Gervais, si- tuated in the very remote faubourg Cauchois, is reputed the oldest struc- ture in Rouen, and one of the earliest Christian monuments in France. The church itself is low, humble, and not remarkable ; but below it is a crypt even more simple and unadorned, but exhibiting to the eye of the an- tiquary marks of construction as old probably as the 4th century, in the courses of Roman tiles between the layers of rough masonry. It has an apsidal termination ; in the side walls are holes for the cancelli or rails, to which the curtain was hung to sepa- rate the chancel faom the rest of the church : the altar slab is marked

with 5 + + . The two low arched recesses in the walls are said to have been the graves of St. Mello and St. Avitien, the firsFarchbishop of Rouen.

The circular E. end of the church itself, which rests upon this crypt, is in the earliest Norman style ; and some of the pillars let into the wall, but too short to support the roof, have classic capitals. The Roman road to Lillebonne passed close to St. Ger- vais. William the Conqueror, tor- tured by the wound he had received at the cruel sack and burning of Mantes, (p. SO.) repaired to the retired mo- nastery of St. Gervais to die. His death-bed exhibited a melancholy example of the vanity of earthly grandeur. Deserted by his own sons, when the breath was scarce out of his body, forsaken by friends and cour- tiers, and plundered by his servants, his body remained stripped and de- serted, until the pity and charity of an unknown knight in the neighbour- hood provided the funds necessary for the funeral ; and he himself escorted the body to its last resting-place at Caen. There are 7 suppressed churches in

Rouen, most of them converted into warehouses.

The Palais de Justice is a most interesting specimen of civic Gothic architecture, which may vie with some of the town halls of the Low Countries. Reai-ed at a time when the style had become fantastic in its forms and exuberant in its adornments, it yet displays so much originality of in- vention, beauty, and gorgeous mag- nificence, that it is hard to condemn it for a want of taste and purity.

It lines three sides of a square ; the wing on the 1. is the Salle des Procureurs, built 1493, as a sort of exchange for merchants, native and foreign, to meet in. It is a large and handsome hall, with an open roof, like a ship’s hull reversed, 160 ft. long and 50 ft. high, a sort of Westminster Hall in miniature, and now serving the same purposes. The body of the building in the centre was raised six years later by Louis XII. for the Cour d' Exchiquier of Normandy, the ancient supreme tribunal of the duchy, at least as old as the time of William the Conqueror, for which the name of parliament was substituted in 1515 by Francis I. This fafade is deco- rated with all the ornament which the fertile resources of the architect afforded ; the square-headed windows are set within the most delicate gar- lands of stone ; the buttresses are studded with niches and crowned by pinnacles ; and the lofty dormer win- dows rising against the high pitched roof are surmounted by canopies of the most delicate open work, with pinnacles and statues, many of them executed by first-rate artists at Paris, and are connected by a pierced bat- tlement of arches and tracery. For many years past this front has been undergoing a careful restoration ; it is only a pity that it makes so slow progress.

The chamber in which the parlia- ment of Normandy met is now the Salle d' Assizes. It has a fine roof of black oak, set off with gold ; but the

Normandy. Route 9. — Rouen — Place de la Pucelle.

elegant pendants which hung from it have been removed, and the wain- scoting, painted over with arabesques and old mottoes, reminding judges of their duties, has been taken down or effaced by whitewash.

The large building behind the Pa- lais, once the residence of the presi- dent of the parliament, is now the Cour Roy ale.

La Rue de la Grosse Ilorloge, not far from the Palais, one of the nar- rowest and most picturesque in Rouen, is so called from the antique clock gate-house, built 1527, by which it is spanned, adjoining the tower of the Beffroi, whence the curfew is still tolled every evening. In this street ' are several ancient houses. Nos. 115. and 129. deserve notice.

The Place de la Pucelle , known also by the vulgar name Marche aux Veaux, serves to record the fate of the heroic and unfortunate Jeanne d’Arc, the deliverer of her country, and the terror of the English, who was burned alive here as a sorceress 1431, on the spot marked by the contemptible modern statue placed upon a pump, which bears her name, but the out- ward aspect of Bellona ! Her ashes were collected by the hangman, and cast into the Seine, by order of the cardinal of Winchester. He and other prelates were spectators of her exe- cution ; and some of them, unmoved by her sufferings, even interrupted the priest who was confessing her, by their impatience, exclaiming, “ Now, priest, do you mean to make us dine here?” After she was bound to the stake, and while the flames were rising around her, she begged her confessor to hold aloft the cross, that she might still behold the sacred emblem above the smoke ; and she died expressing her conviction of the truth of her mission, and calling on the name of Jesus. The cruelty exercised upon this simple and gentle maiden (for in all her battles she never killed an enemy, and was always intent on pre- venting the effusion of blood) is a

j disgrace to the annals of England.

| In prison she was subjected to insult, insidious treachery, and even outrage ;

I at her trial in the chapel of the castle, j she stood alone without counsel or adviser, browbeaten by her inhuman and bloodthirsty judges, yet baffling | their cunning and sophistry by her j plain straightforward answers.

But one of the saddest circum- stances connected with the death of the forlorn maiden of Domremy was I the treatment she met with from her own countrymen : the Bishop of | Beauvais, her unjust judge, her ac- cuser, and the false priest who was I introduced into her cell on the pre- tence of friendship as a spy to betray her secrets, were all Frenchmen. Her own countrymen allowed her to be made prisoner at Compiegne without an attempt to defend or rescue her ; and Charles VII., her king, who owed his country and throne to her enthusiasm, appears neither to have cared for nor remembered the heroine of Orleans, from the hour when she fell into the hands of the English. He certainly neither attempted to ransom her, nor did he protest against her trial. *

It was not until 24 years from her death that a papal bull pro- claimed her innocence ; and a cross was raised by her own countrymen, once more become masters of Rouen, on the spot where she had been bound to the stake.

The great tower of the old castle in which she was imprisoned was demo- lished 1780. She was shut up in a cage of iron, and her feet were fet- tered, — yet her spirit remained un- broken ; and when some English nobles came to insult her, she an- swered, “ Je sais bien que les Anglais me feront mourir, croyant apres ma mort gagner le royaume de France; mais fussent-ils cent mille Goddams

From a masterly and most interesting

account of Jeanne d’Arc in the Quarterly Review, vol. lxxix.

44 Route 9. — Rouen — St. Amand — Bridges. Sect. I

de plus qu’a present, ils n’auront pas ce royaume.”

On one side of the market-place, within a short distance of the statue, is an ancient mansion, which the com- mon people call Maison de la Pucelle, but properly V Hotel de Bourgtlieroudc , constructed at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century, by Wiliiam le Roux, seigneur of Bourgtheroude, nearly at the same period as the Palais de Justice. It is built round a court-yard, and its inner wall is ornamented with a se- ries of bas-reliefs on tablets of marble, representing the interview of the Cloth of Gold, and the procession of the two kings Henry VIII. and Francis I., attended by their suite, among whom Cardinal Wclsey is con- spicuous. Above these are other sculptures of allegorical figures, and the elegant hexagonal tower is deco- rated with pastoral subjects.

The Convent of St. Amand , re- cently pulled down, was a building of the same age, and decorated with similar sculptures.

There are several Gothic fountains in various parts of the city ; the most curious are those of La Croix de Pierre, resembling in form Waltham Cross, but erected 1500 by the Car- dinal d’Amboise; it stands in the Carre- four St. Vivien. La Fontaine de la Crosse is a low Gothic structure of the 15th century, elegantly adorned with tracery. The house in which the grand Corneille (Pierre) was born, the most illustrious of the natives of Rouen, exists in Rue de la Pie, No. 4.; a statue of him has been erected by his fellow-citizens on the stone bridge. Fontanelle, his nephew, author of the “ Plurality of Worlds,” resided in the Rue des Bons Enfans, No. 132 — 134. The composer Boieldieu was also born here, and the town has raised a statue to him on the quay facing the Bourse.

The edifice called Les Halles, situ- ated between the cathedral and the stone bridge, appropriated to the pur- pose of a cloth hall for the sale of

the manufactures of Rouen, occupies the site of the ancient palace and Vieille Tour, in which King John Lackland is said to have imprisoned and finally murdered his nephew Prince Arthur.

The structure called Monument de St. Romain, opposite the cloth hall (date 1542), was the spot where, by virtue of an ancient privilege con- ceded by King Dagobert, the chapter of the cathedral were entitled to claim, on Ascension-day, the release of a condemned criminal, how great soever his crime. This custom was intended to commemorate the cir- cumstance of a sentenced malefactor having been the only person wil- ling [to accompany St. Romain in his dangerous encounter with the dra- gon (gorgouille) which infested the neighbourhood of Rouen. The mon- ster, as it turned out, did not give much trouble; it was rendered power- less by the simple act of the saint making the sign of the cross over it, and with his stole tied round its neck allowed itself to be led quietly into the town. The privilege was main- tained down to the time of the Revo- lution, though latterly under consider- able modifications. In the front of the house, at the corner of the Rue St. Romain and Rue la Croix de Fer, a curious bas-relief of the 16th cen- tury, representing a school, is in- serted.

Bridges. — The first bridge over the Seine here was built (1167) by Queen Mathilda, daughter of Henry I. ; it lasted till the middle of the 15th century, when it was de- stroyed, and a bridge of boats sub- stituted for it. In 1829 the upper bridge of stone was completed, and in 1836 the boats were finally replaced, by the existing suspension bridge. An opening is left in the centre of this, between the supporting piers, under a lofty cast-iron arch rising 82 ft. above the river, to allow masted ves- sels to pass.

The cotton manufactures of Rouen

Normandy. Route 9. — Rouen — ■ Wallis and Excursions. 45

are of such extent and importance as to render it the Manchester of France ; they are greatly promoted by 3 small streams, — the Robec, the Aubitte, and the Reuelle. A particular kind of striped and chequed stuff is called Rouennerie (toiles peintes, rayees, et a carreaux), because originally and more especially fabricated here. Spin- ning and weaving mills, dye works, especially of Turkey red, printing and bleaching works, are most plentifully distributed, not only through town and suburbs, but over the adjacent country in a circuit of many miles, employing, on a moderate computa- tion, 50,000 persons.

The English church service is per- formed here on Sundays, but there is no regular church. N.B. English travellers repairing to an English place of worship abroad ought to make some inquiries respecting the charac- ter of those who officiate, and ascertain whether they be really in holy orders.

At the shop of Lebrument, late Frere, bookseller, Q,uai de|Paris, the travel- ler may provide himself with many interesting works relating to the an- tiquities of Normandy, with views and maps.

The Poste aux Lettres is in the Rue St. Nicholas; open from 8 a.m. to 8 P. M.

Malleposte daily to Paris and Havre.

The Messageries Royales in the Rue de Bee, 10. Messag. Lafitte and Co. Rue Thouret, 15.

Railroads to Paris. 6 Trains daily. Terminus in the Faubourg St. Sever. (Route 8.) — To Havre in progress.

Diligence to Caen daily, morning and evening ; to Gournay and Beau- vais daily ; to Havre morning and evening ; to Elboeuf and Lisieux ; to Evreux and Orleans ; to Pont Au- demar and Honfleur ; to Dieppe twice a day. (R. 6.)

Steam-boats daily in summer to Paris in 18 hours (R. 11.); to Havre in 8 hours ; and to Elboeuf: start from the Quai du Havre (R. 12.).

N.B — The steamers are prohibited

from stopping at any intermediate places.

Walks and Excursions.

The Mont St. Catherine, the es- carped chalk hill on the 1. of the city, rising above the Seine and the road to Paris, affords the best distant and panoramic view of Rouen, and will well repay the labour of the ascent to those who are not afraid to face a steep ascent, 380 ft. high, which maybe mas- tered in half an hour, starting from the extremity of the Cours Dauphin. The entire mass of the town is spread out below you, surmounted by engine chimneys mixed with spires, sending out its long lines of houses and factories up the hill sides and ^into the neigh- bouring industrious valleys, uniting it with distant villages ; the noble spires of the cathedral and of St.Ouen rising out of the midst, the winding and sparkling river Seine, spanned by its 2 bridges and crowded with ship- ping, give a pleasing variety to the landscape. The marks of active in- dustry are every where apparent, the bleach-fields strewn with white webs, the stream courses marked by rows of factories and tall chimneys, the nooks in the hill sides choked with villages.

All along the top of the mount are traces of ditches and brick foundations of bastions, part of the strong fort oc- cupied by the Marquis Villars and the soldiers of the League during the siege of 1591, which were captured by Henry IV., and dismantled by him in compliance with the request of the citizens, with the memorable words, that “ he desired no fortress but the hearts of his subjects.”

It is worth while to drive out to the chateau of Canteleu, on the road to Caudebec (R. 13.), on account of its beautiful view, even if you go no farther.

A. more distant excursion, which will occupy one day very agreeably, is to Chateau Gaillard, near Andelys (Route 11.). The post road thither lies through Le Forge Feret (11 kilom.), Pont St. Pierre (10 kilom. ),

Route 10. — Paris to Rouen ( Upper Road). Sect. I

Les Andelys (19 kilom. ), making the whole distance 24| Eng. m. The Paris Railway passes within 3 m. of Andelys.

There are many interesting monu- ments of architecture in the vicinity of Rouen : among them the Cbapelle of St. Julien, 3 or 4 m. S. W. of Rouen on the 1. bank of the Seine (R. 12,). St. George Boscherville, 9 m. off, on the road to Havre (R. 13.).

ROUTE 10.

PARIS TO ROUEN (THE UPPER ROAD), BY GISORS OR BY MAGNY.

By Magny, 119 kilom. = 73 Eng. m. i. e. 6fm. shorter than the Lower Road (R. 9-), but much less interesting. By Gisors, 12 6 kilom. = 77} Eng. m.

The Havre Malleposte runs daily in 7-J hours. Diligences daily.

9 Courbevoie,

14 Herblay,

9 Pontoise, r in Route 5.

18 Chars,

18 Gisors.

From Paris to Pontoise by St. Denis (R. 2.) is 3 kilom. = 1| Eng. m. longer. On quitting St. Denis it turns to the 1. out of the Calais road, and runs by the side of the Seine, skirting on the rt. the valley of Mont- morency, whose beauties are much vaunted by the Parisians, and perhaps somewhat exaggerated. A little way short of Epinay sur Seine a road strikes off through it to St. Leu, cele- brated for its chateau and park, which, before the Revolution, belonged to the Due d’ Orleans, and was the fa- vorite residence of Madame de Genlis. In the time of Napoleon it was given to Hortense, the Queen of Holland, and after the Restoration became the property of the Due de Bourbon, who ended his days there miserably and mysteriously, being found hanging from his bed.

Montmorency is a dirty little town 14 miles distant from Paris. Its fine

Gothic church, of the 15th century, contains some good painted glass.

The house called L’ Ermitage, about \ a mile off, has attained celebrity because Rousseau resided in it, 1756- 58, and wrote there his Nouvelle He- loise. It was then the property of Madame d’ Epinay, and really a her- mitage. It was afterwards occupied by Gretry the composer, who died here 1813. It still exists, but incor- porated into a larger and more modern mansion, in which are preserved Rous- seau’s bed, table, &c.

A great number of donkeys are kept for the service of visitors.

Enghien les Bains is a small bathing establishment on the borders of the Etang St. Gratien, within the valley of Montmorency. It owes its origin to a spring of sulphureous water which is supposed to possess valuable medicinal properties.

At Herblay the road by St. Denis joins that by Courbevoie. It is a tiresome road from Pontoise to

14 Bord’haut, a hamlet dependent on the village of de Vigny, whose fine old Castle, flanked by round towers, topped with extinguisher roofs, and surround- ed by a moat, stands on the 1. of the road. It was built by the Cardinal d’ Amboise, minister of Louis X 1 1. , and is a picturesque and interesting spe- cimen of domestic architecture in the beginning of the 16th century.

13 Magny. — Inn: Grand Cerf. In the pretty church, in the latest Gothic, passing into the Italian style, is a monument, consisting of 3 marble statues kneeling, to the memory of the family of Villerond (date 1617); another in bas-relief recording the virtues of M. Dubuisson, pastor of the parish, and a richly ornamented canopy, carved, and bearing statues, which covers the baptismal font.

We now enter the district anciently called le Vexin. The little river Epte divided the French from the Norman Vexin, and formed the boundary of Normandy. It is crossed at St, Clair

Normandy. Route 10. — Paris to Rouen — - Fleury .

sur Epte, whose ruined Castle, a mix- ture of late Norman and early pointed, is reputed the scene of the interview between Charles the Simple and the pirate Rollo ; when the barbarian con- queror, called upon to do homage for the fertile province of Normandy, which he had in fact wrung from the weakness of the Frankish king, instead I of kneeling to kiss the king’s foot, j seized the royal leg, and without bending carried it to his mouth, so as to upset the monarch from his seat, amidst the laughter of the rude war- riors of the north.

The Epte is crossed on quitting j St.Clair.

17 Thilliers-en-Vexin, in the midst of a monotonous plain of rich corn land. Near the middle of this stage the road passes at sorue distance on the rt., a village called Hacque- ville, insignificant in itself, but de- serving of mention as the birthplace of Mark Isambart Brunei, the engineer of the Thames Tunnel, whom England is proud to own as her son by adop- tion, although France claims him by birth. He was educated in the college of Gisors, and when the vacations called him home his favourite resort was the shop of the village carpenter, whose tools and instruments had greater attractions for the youthful engineer than Latin and Greek, and his allotted holiday task (devoirs). The writer of this has frequently heard him describe the wonder and delight with which he for the first time beheld (1784), on the quay of Rouen, the component parts of a huge steam-engine, just landed from Eng- land : “ When I am a man,” he said to himself, “ I will repair to the country where such machinery is made.”

15 Ecouis contains a remarkably fine Gothic Church built in the un- usual form of a Greek cross, founded by Enguerrand de Marigny, the un- fortunate minister and high treasurer of Philippe le Bel, unjustly con- demned to death without trial at the instigation of the succeeding king’s

uncle Charles of Valois, and hung on the robbers’ gibbet of Montfaucon. His monument, set up in this church at a time when his innocence and worth were acknowledged, was de- stroyed at the Revolution. That of his brother, Archbishop of Rouen, is still surmounted by his effigy in white marble. He went as ambassador to Edward III. in 1342, “and appeared at court in the guise of a warrior, not of a minister of peace.” There are several other tombstones in the choir.

[Between Pontoise and Ecouis there is another road through Gisors, which, though a little longer than the preceding, is taken by the malleposte.

18 Chars "1 . to * r

18 Gisors) 111 Route5 ‘

1 3 Etrepagny.

13 Ecouis.]

A rapid ascent and descent carries the road across the industrious and picturesque vale of the Andelle, in the midst of which is

9 Fleury sur Andelle. About 10 m. N. E. of this, and 2 from Lions la Foret, are the ruins of the Abbey of Mortimer, begun 1154 by Henry II. of England. The church is now pulled down ; but some of the con- ventual buildings, in the style of transition from round to pointed — including a fine chapter-house (date 1174), remain. It was at Bourg- boudouin that Roland, the ex-minis- ter and Girondist, committed suicide, 1793. As soon as he heard of his wife’s death by the guillotine, he resolved not to survive her ; but unwilling to endanger the generous friends who had sheltered him in their house at Rouen, he took leave of them, and carrying a sword-stick in his hand set out on the road to Paris. When he had got thus far, he sat down under a tree and stabbed himself, leaving about his person a note, written by his own hand, to this effect : “ Whoever you may be who find me lying here, treat my remains with re- spect. They are those of one who devoted his whole life to be useful,

48 Houte 11. — The Seine. — St. Germain to Touen. Sect. I.

and who died ’as he lived, virtuous and unsullied. May my fellow citi- zens embrace more humane senti- ments ! When I heard of the death of my wife, I loathed a world stained with so many crimes.” He perished an instance of the miserable fate which unerringly awaits those who, either from good or evil motives, are the first to plunge a country into revolu- tion.

12 La Forge Feret.

From the brow of the steep hill leading down through deep cuttings into Rouen, a fine view is obtained of that city and the Seine. The upper and lower roads from Paris unite in the suburb Eauplet.

11 Rouen (Route 9.).

ROUTE 11.

THE SEINE. ST. GERMAIN TO ROUEN.

The figures mark distances from place to place in French lieues = 2| Eng. m. From St. Germain to Rouen is 56 leagues, about 140 Eng. m.

Steamers (Les Dorades and Les Etoiles) go daily in summer (from May to September inclusive), making the ascending voyage in 1 8 hours, the descending in 12. They mount no higher than Pecq (a suburb of St. Germain, p. 34.), and start thence at 8 o’clock in the morning, after the arrival of the first train on the St. Germain railway (see Route 9.). The steam navigation from Paris to Pecq, which occupied 4 hours, has been abandoned in consequence of the completion of the railway, and of the difficulties and dangers of the passage, such as the Pertuis de la Morue, a narrow strait and rapid, near Bezons, the excessive winding of the river, and the 14 bridges which traverse it.

The scenery of the Seine ( Sequana — from the Celtic seach, devious, and an, water) is very pleasing, almost meriting the epithet “ beautiful its

banks are" abundantly studded with towns, villages, and chateaux, and are alternately wooded, or rise in round bare hills, sometimes presenting es- carpment to the river, which, from the white colour of the chalk, are not altogether picturesque. There are not many old castles — Chateau Gail- lard, however, is an imposing and in- teresting ruin, and perhaps, taken as a whole, the finest feature in the voyage. The number of islands in the river between Paris and Rouen is said to be 300. The great drawback is the circuitous windings of the river, which render the voyage tedious, prolonging the distance from Pecq to Rouen to 141 m., while by land it is only 71 m. The voyage doivn the stream, however, has the advantage of freedom from the fatigue of a land journey. The completion of the railroad has ren- dered the steamer less desirable.

Between St. Germain (or Pecq) and Poissy the river makes a bend of 21 m., inclosing as it were in a loop the forest of St. Germain (p. 34.); by land the distance is 4± m.

L. the river skirts the forest of St. Germain, passing Mesnil at the ex- tremity of the terrace of St. Germain, and the village. The Seine has re- cently been bridged to allow the rail- way to pass at

L. Maisons (1). Page 29.

Rt. Conflans (2^), a village having a suspension-bridge over the Seine, by which the road from Pontoise to Versailles crosses the river, is situated a little below the confluence of the Oise with the Seine, whence comes its name. A steamer ascends the Oise to Compiegne.

Rt. Andresis, is situated below the mouth of the Oise ; it has a fine Gothic church.

L. Poissy (1^). See p. 29. Pas- sengers by the ascending steamers often disembark at Poissy, which is not more than 5 m. by land from St. Germain, whereas by the windings of the river the voyage takes 1| or 2 hours. The most interesting objects

Normandy. R. 11 . — Roche Guyon — Chateau Gciillard. 49

on the river as far as Rosny and Rolleboise, are described p. 29, 30. Rt. Triel (2$). 1 The island

L. Verneuil. He Belle, oppo-

Rt. Meulan (2). J site Meulan, is reputed the prettiest in the whole course of the river ; but it is feared its shrubberies, and thickets, and plantations, have been cut down.

L. Mantes (4|), and Rt, ~

Limay, united by a bridge J- seep. 30.

L. the chateau of Rosny (i), a red brick building, with terraces on which Sully may have walked, clipped ave- nues, &c. See p. 30.

L. Rolleboise (i) ; between this place and Bonnieres the curve made by the Seine measures 12 m., the direct distance is 3 m.

Rt. La Roche Guyon (31), one of the largest chateaux on the Seine, and one of the most striking objects, is a structure of different ages, part mo- dern, part Gothic, situated at the base of a rock of chalk, which has been es- carped artificially to make room for it. The kitchen, vaults, cellars, &c. are excavated in the rock, with merely fronts of brick. The oldest part is the tower on the eminence above, com- manding the country far and near, and communicating with the chateau by steps cut in the hill side. On the summit of the hill is a large reservoir for water, excavated out of the rock. The chateau, longthe property of the Larochefoucaulds, now belongs to the family of Rohan. Francois de Bour- bon Comte d’Enghien, who gained the battle of Cerisoles, was killed here by a box thrown out of the castle window upon his head. The chamber and bed occupied by Henry IV. on his frequent visits to the castle are kept up in their original condition. The attraction which drew him hither was the charms of the lady of the castle, the Marquise de Guercheville, whose high-minded reply to his assiduities deserves recording: “ Je ne suis pas d’&ssez bonne maison pour etre votre France.

femme, mais je suis de trop bonne maison pour etre votre maitresse .” The bourg adjoining the castle has a handsome Gothic church. “ The houses of the poor people here, as on the Loire in Touraine, are burrowed into the chalk, and have a singular appearance ; here are 2 streets of them, one above another.” — A. Young . A suspension bridge of 656 ft. open- ing between the piers, has been thrown across the Seine here.

L. Bonnieres (1|).

Rt, Limetz, a village at a little dis- tance from the river, nearly marks the situation of the embouchure of the Epte, a small stream, which once formed the boundary or limit of Nor- mandy. Charles the Simple, in 911, v/as fain to offer to the Norman Rollo all the territory extending from this streamlet to the sea, and with it his fail- daughter Gisela, to arrest the exter- minating inroads of the warriors of the North. The offer was accepted ; and Neustria, receiving the name of its conquerors, became Normandy. (See p. 46, 47.)

L. Vernon (21), p. 31.

Rt. The hills which border the river, with nearly precipitous cliffs, have a singularly wavy outline, their curved tops being saddled, as it were, with green turf, while between them dry valleys or coombes open out. They rise in the form of an amphitheatre, encircling an extensive plain. Nearly at the centre of the curve which the Seine here describes, on the summit of a commanding chalk cliff, rises

Rt. Chateau Gaillard (6), the most picturesque ruin and interesting ob- ject, both from its situation and asso- ciations, in the whole course of the Seine. Immediately below its frown- ing antique towers, and crumbling crags, a light and convenient wire suspension bridge has been thrown over the river.

The castle was begun and finished in one year by King Richard Coeuv de Lion, in defiance of his rival Phi- lippe Augustus, and in the face of the

50 Route 11.— The Seine " — Chateau Gaillard. Sect. I.

treaty of Louviers, by which he had bound himself not to fortify Andelys, the little town on the strand at the river side. He thus broke it in substance, while he kept to the let- ter. Exulting in his stronghold, as he first looked down from its com- manding battlements on the defence- less town and exposed river below him, he named it, in the pride of his heart, his “ Saucy Castle.” Even now that it is reduced to a mouldering ruin, one cannot look up to its tower- ing battlements, or gaze down from them upon the sunny landscape be- low — the glassy Seine, flowing close at the foot of the castle rocks, then girdling the peninsula in front, and reflecting vine and corn-clad slopes, trees, spires, and cottages in its sur- face, without sharing in this feeling of exultation of the fierce soldier king, in the possession of a stronghold which enabled him to defy his enemies, and overawe the country around, with the terror of his armed bands and un- erring archers.

The eminence on which it stands projects forward, isolated from the neighbouring hills on all sides but one, where it is connected by a narrow tongue. This was cut through by a deep fosse skirting the outer line of wall. On all the other sides steep escarpments rendered the height in- accessible ; towards the river, indeed, it presents a vertical precipice. Yet even along the edge of the cliff tall flanking towers were raised, some of which have long since toppled over, while others are tottering to their I fall. But these were only the out- works, within them rose a citadel of singular form and strength, — a huge circular drum tower having a wavy surface alternately projecting and re- ceding, like a frustrum of a fluted column. The circle is broken by the insertion of a round tower shaped externally like a dice box on the side overhanging the Seine. This was the Donjon, and contained the royal J apartments ; its walls are 14 or 15 ft. !

thick. A second deep fosse surrounds this citadel, cut in the chalk rock, here interspersed with flints which were used in the building, and thus it served at once as quarry and de- fence. Extensive caverns, supported by piers of the rock left standing, branch off from one side of this fosse ; they probably were used as stables. The original gateway into the citadel is no longer accessible, but entrance may be gained by clambering through a small sally-port in the corner. It is to be feared that only a small part of the existing ruins belonged to the castle of King Richard. At his death Philippe Augustus, waging war as the champion of Prince Arthur with John, laid siege to this castle. It was bravely defended by Roger de Lacy for 6 months, when he was finally starved into surrender. He had previously expelled from its walls the useless mouths, the old men, women, and children, to the number of 400 or 500 ; but the French king, wishing to distress the garrison, drove them back and refused them passage, so that the poor wretches, denied ad- mittance into the castle, perished of famine in the ditches between the two armies. Chateau Gaillard con- tinued to be the chief bulwark of Nor- mandy down to the beginning of the 17th century. In 1314 two trail queens were immured within its walls, and one of them, Marguerite, wife of Louis X. , was strangled here by order of her husband. David Bruce found an asylum here 1334, when an exile from Scotland, the castle having been ceded to him by Philippe of Valois. With a small garrison of 120 men it resisted for 16 months the forces of Henry V., and yielded at length because cut off from a supply of water by the wear- ing out of the ropes by which the buckets were let down into the well !

Against the face of the cliff above the Seine rises a curious pigeon- house tower, lined with cells for the I pigeons, a common appendage to an-

Normandy. Route 11. — Andelys ■ — Ponte de V Arche. 51

cient fortresses, being a sort of natural larder. A chapel of recent date has been excavated in the rock near it.

The suspension bridge over the Seine beneath the castle opens a com- munication with Louviers (12 m.) rt. Below the castle rock crouches the town of Petit Andelys (no Inn) ; the large and conspicuous red building surmounted by a dome at the lower end of it, is an Hospital founded by the Due de Penthievre. At Grand Andelys (Inn, Cerf), about 1 m. in- land, away from the Seine, is a Gothic church somewhat in decay, curiously Italianized on its N. side, containing some painted glass, and a rude repre- sentation of the neighbouring Chateau Gaillard carved in stone. A fine specimen of domestic architecture in the florid Gothic style of the 1 6th century, called La Grande Maison, is now converted into a granary. It has many rich details, including a fine oriel. Andelys, or rather the adjoin- ing hamlet Villiers, was the birth- place (1594) of Nicholas Poussin, the painter ; but the humble cottage of his parents is pulled down, and no monument has been set up to his memory. Turnebus, the Greek com- mentator, was also a native of Andelys.

La Fontaine de St. Clothilde alone recalls to mind the monastery founded here by the first Christian queen of France. It is swept away, but the water of the well is believed by the peasantry still to retain the virtues imparted to it by the royal saint, and to cure their children of stomach-aches.

Andelys is above 4 m. distant from the railroad (R. 8.). There is a direct post road to Rouen by Pont St. Pierre ; it is traversed daily by a diligence.

The Seine, leaving behind the white crags and towering ruins of Chateau Gaillard, makes a wide sweep along the base of a series of semicircular chalk cliffs. This curve of the river is 18 m. long, while the direct distance from (rt.) Thuit to the mouth of the Andelle is only 8 m. There is no place worth notice on the Seine be-

tween these two points. The railway (p. 31.) emerges from a tunnel near (rt.) Venables, and skirts the river.

Rt. ( 5^. ) The pretty and industrious valley of the Andelle opens out into the Seine at the foot of a green hill, “ the last of a long promontory,” bear- ing the name of Cote des Deux Amans. It is the scene of the old romantic Lai of Mary of France, of the young lover who was to marry the mistress of his heart, a king’s daughter, pro- vided he could carry her to the top of the hill without stopping to rest. He fell dead under his precious burthen exhausted with the exertion just as he reached the summit ; . at which the king’s daughter died of a broken heart, and was buried in the same grave with him. The hard- hearted father who had caused this catastrophe by imposing such cruel conditions, stiuck with remorse, found- ed on the spot where it occurred a convent whose existence is traced to an early period, but the building now standing on the top of the hill is not older than 1685.

At Romilly, 8 m. up the valley of the Andelle, are the most extensive copper works in France, consisting of foundery with rolling mills. The banks of the Andelle are studded with fulling mills. A bridge has been thrown across for the railway a little above the influx of

L. The Eure, from which the Dept, is named, a considerable and useful river, on which stands Louviers, famed for its cloth manufacture (p. 35.), falls into the Seine 2i m. above

L. 3\. Pont de L’ Arche (p. 31.). This town is only 12 m. from Rouen ; whilst, in consequence of several ser- pentine bends the distance by water is 33. The Seine abounds in islands in this part of its course, which increase the intricacies of the navigation.

L. a little below the bridge stand the remains of the Abbey of Bon Port , consisting of the refectory, and another monastic edifice, the church being quite destroyed. It was founded 119 D 2

52 Route 11 — Elbceuf. Route 12. — The Seine , B. Sect. I.

by Richard Coeur de Lion, in grati- tude for his escape from drowning in the waters of the Seine, into which he had plunged in the heat of the chase while pursuing a stag. On reaching the bank, after a severe struggle with the current, he called the spot “ bon port,” and vowed to build a church. The approach to the town of Elbosuf is marked by the number of tall chim- nies, and the many floating arks moored in the midst of the river, used for washing wool.

L. Elbceuf, 3.

Elbceuf is exclusively a manufac- turing town, and if Rouen has any claim to be compared to Manchester, it may be called a French Leeds, as one of the principal seats of the manufac- ture of cloth ; more than half of its 11,000 inhabitants and about 15,000 persons in the adjoining communes being weavers, or occupied in other departments of this branch of industry. Its situation on the 1. bank of the Seine is advantageous to its pros- perity. The wise enactments of the sage Colbert (1669) promoted greatly its already thriving commerce ; but the Revocation of the edict of Nantes annulled their good effect, dispersing its industrious artisans, who settled in Leyden, Norwich, and Leicester. The manufactures of Elbceuf did not re- cover from this check until the events of 1815, relieving France from the competition of Belgium, gave them so decided an impulse that their pro- duce is now threefold greater than it was then. The value of the cloth made here in one year is estimated at more than a million sterling.

The two Gothic churches of St. Etienne and St. Jean contain curious painted glass ; in the latter is a win- dow presented by the cloth workers’ guild somewhere about 1466, in which various implements of the craft, such as shears and teazles, are introduced.

The working classes are generally industrious and economical, and are consequently far better off than those of Rouen.

A Steamer goes daily to Rouen.

L. The Rocks of Orival, a range pf chalk cliffs beginning at Elbceuf, con- sisting of detached pinnacles and pro- jecting shelves, formed by the hard flint layers enclosed in the rock, pre- sent a singular outline of fantastic forms. On a platform half way up their face, a small chapel has found a niche ; it is partly excavated in the rock, so are likewise many small dwellings around it. One of these needles of chalk, called Roche de Pignon, rises 200 ft. above the river. The Rouen railway crosses the river and an island in the midst of it at an oblique angle near Oissel.

Rt. From Oissel (2i), marked by its spire : to Rouen the river is thickly set with islands bearing long rows of tall poplars. Beyond (rt.) A uthieux the rt. bank rises in tall chalk cliffs, at the base of which, between them and the Seine, runs the road to Paris ( R. 9. ), passing a series of villages and manufactories.

L. St. Etienne de Rouvray, 1|. William the Conqueror was hunting in the forest of Rouvray, which still exists behind this village, when the news was brought him of the death of Edward the Confessor, and of the usurpation of his throne by Harold, his brother-in-law.

Rt. The high hill of St. Catherine (p. 45.), and the spire of the Ca- thedral are conspicuous long before reaching

2 Rt. Rouen (9.)

The steamer is moored to the quai between the Pont d’Orleans, which rests on the isle Lacroix, and the iron suspension-bridge, connecting Rouen with (1.) its suburb, St. Sever.

N. B. — In ascending the Seine from Rouen to Paris the steamers start at a very early hour, usually 5 a. m.

ROUTE 12.

THE SEINE, B. ROUEN TO HAVRE AND

HONFLEUR.

34 leagues = 85^ Eng. m. The distance to Havre by land is 53 m.

Steamers run daily, in summer,

Normandy. Route 12 . — The Seine , 13. — St. George. 53

making the voyage in about 8 hours, i. e. a little longer time than the diligence.

A Railway is in progress.

The scenery is so pleasing, that notwithstanding the windings of the river, the voyage in fine weather is very agreeable.

The steamers are not allowed to stop to take up or let down pas- sengers at any intermediate places. — 1841.

The hour of starting varies so as to enable the vessels to meet the flood tide off Quillebceuf, and by the aid of it to pass the shifting sands there. The boats start from the Quai du Havre close to the Hotel de Rouen. Fare 10fr., carriages 30 fr.

For some distance below Rouen the river is intersected by numerous islands, long narrow strips of earth planted with willows and poplars: a scene of rich verdure, but somewhat monotonous. The hills near Rouen are dotted with white country houses of its citizens and manufacturers.

Rt. The vale of Bapaume, beset with cotton factories, opens out.

L. Petit Quevilly (3 m. from Rouen). Here is an ancient little chapel of St. Julien in the Roman- esque style, terminating in an apse having the windows and doors round- headed, built soon after 1162 by our Henry II., who had a hunting seat in the adjoining forest. Though now degraded into a barn, it is an edifice possessing an interest for the antiquary.

Rt. Canteleu, a chateau of the time of Louis XIV. ; its terraces and gardens were laid out by Le Notre, but have been modernised.

Rt. Dieppedale, a long row of houses bordering the river.

L. Grand Quevilly once contained a Protestant church (temple) capable of holding 10,500 persons ; but in 1685, through the machinations of the Jesuits, it was closed, and a few months after razed to the ground. This act of intolerance was committed

shortly before the Revocation of the

edict of Nantes entailed persecution

and exile on the large and industrious Reformed community which then oc- cupied this district.

L. Moulineaux (4), a prettily situ- ated but poor village, on the high road to Honfleur ( Route 23.), has a ruinous but interesting church in the earliest pointed style ; date, the beginning of the 13th century. On the hill above it are some heaps of stone, the very scanty traces of the walls of a castle destroyed by King John, which, ac- cording to the tradition, once be- longed to Robert the Devil, a fabulous personage, a sort of Norman Blue Beard, who murdered his friends and mistresses, and in the end sold him- self to the evil one. Some suppose him to have been Duke Robert, the father of William the Conqueror.

L. Near La Bouille and Caumont are extensive quarries of building stone. Bare yellow cliffs line the river for some distance.

Rt. St. George de Boscherville. This famous abbey stands at some distance from the Seine, near the Havre road ( Route 1 3. ), and is only just visible from the river.

The Seine makes a bend 18 m. long between Rouen and this point ; in a direct line they are not more than 10 m. apart.

Rt. Duclair (5^), a pretty village traversed by the road to Havre ( Route 13.), squeezed in between the river and the rocks, one of which, an ele- vated crag, goes by the name of la Chaire de Gargantua. The rt. bank again sweeps round to the S., its elevated slopes covered with hanging woods.

Rt. It is recorded that at the little | hamlet of Mesnil, Agnes Sorel, mis- | tress of Charles VII., breathed her ' last, in the arms of the king. An old building is still pointed out as her abode ; it retains its chimnies of the 15th century. It was called Mesnil la Belle ; it is now a labourer’s cot- tage. The 1. bank below Mesnil has d 3

54 R. 12. — The Seine , B . — Caudehec — Quilleboeuf, Sect. I.

risen into round hills of considerable height, part bare, part wooded ; houses few, and scenery solitary. To this succeeds on the rt. a plain, verdant and bosky, formed into a peninsula by the winding river, out of the midst of which rise the now spireless twin towers of Jumieges Abbey (p. 57. ).

L. The Chateau de Mailleraye (71), situated at the water’s edge, below the village of Guerbavllle, where there is a large ship-builder’s yard, belongs to the Due de Mortemart. It is an edifice of the 17th century, in a park surrounded by green walls of straight clipped trees, and is a conspicuous object from the river, but not other- wise worth notice.

Below Mailleraye the river ex- pands considerably, and its channel begins to be beset with the sand- banks: which render its navigation so difficult, leaving only a narrow pas- sage in the middle free.

Rt. Caudehec (2^), the most consi- derable and prettily situated town on the banks of the Lower Seine ; its long terrace of houses screened by an avenue of green trees, and surmounted by its elegant church spire, was a favourite subject of the landscape painter Vernet. It is described at p. 58.

Rt. A humble structure at the foot of the steep, wooded heights below Caudebec, is the chapel of Notre Dame de Barre-y-va, much re- sorted to by sailors, who have covered its Avails Avith ex-votos, paintings, models .of ships, &c. The name pro- bably comes from the circumstance of the much-dreaded Barre or Bore, at the mouth of the Seine, ascending at times thus far.

Rt. Villiquier, prettily placed, and forming an agreeable intermixture of trees and houses surmounted by a Gothic spire, is a fishing village and station of the pilots, whose duty it is to carry vessels between this point and Mailleraye.

L. Vatteville la Rue.

The Seine, which has run nearly

due S. from Caudebec, resumes its proper direction from E. to W. be- low Vieux Port, and preserves the same as far as its mouth. Its banks, retiring to a considerable distance from each other, allow it to expand into a wide but shallow estuary, fre- quently enlivened by large shipping, tug steamers (remorqueurs), &c.

L. Quilleboeuf, an important town and small sea port which Henri IV. wanted to convert into a fortress, but Avhich his widow Marie de Medecis dismantled, is built on a projecting promontory, at the extremity of which stands its massive church tower and light-house. It is the station of the pilots to the number of 110, with 28 apprentices (aspirants), whose duty it is to carry vessels through the in- tricate navigation of the mouth of the Seine, from Havre and Honfleur up to Villequier.

This is the most difficult and dan- gerous portion of the Avhole river for vessels, on account of the sunk rocks and shifting sands, only to be passed during high tide. Shipwrecks oc- curred here almost every year before the introduction of steam towage, which, by enabling vessels to pass up, even when the wind is unfavourable, has diminished the delay and risque. So variable are the sand banks off Quilleboeuf that they have been knoAvn to change their position more than a league in the course of twelve months : this indeed occurred in 1840. The cause of this must be looked for in the sudden contraction of the river at this point to about ^ in., while a little below it is 3 m. Avide. The consequence is that the vast mass of Avater poured into the Seine by the rising tide forms capricious and power- ful currents, and very commonly en- ters the river in the form of a lofty wave or wall of water 3 to 6 ft. high, here called the Barre , and similar to the Bore at the mouth of the Severn. It stretches across from one bank to the other, marked by a line of white foam, sweeping all before it

Normandy. Route 12 .-— The

with a roar like thunder, heard forty minutes before it arrives. It seems to acquire the greatest force abreast of Quillebceuf, where it dashes over the quays, hurling vessels against them, and sometimes injuring the buildings, but it is perceived as high as Caudebec.

The still water produced at the point where the rising tide encounters the descending current, allows the sand and mud, carried along by the river when in rapid motion, to fall to the bottom, and accumulate into shifting deposits of sand. Among these sand banks the Telemaque, a vessel said to have been laden with pro- perty belonging to emigres, and with jewels of the Bourbon princes, was lost at the time of the Revolution. A re- cent attempt to raise the hull failed.

Rt, Through the vista of the valley of the Bolbec, which opens out op- posite Quillebceuf, a glimpse is ob- tained of the castle towers olLillebonne , celebrated for its remains of a Ro- man theatre (p. 59.).

Rt. The opening of another small valley is marked on one side by a conspicuous conical white rock called Pierre Gante (? Giante) overhanging the Seine at a height of 200 ft. and on the other by the Castle of Tancar- ville, the venerable strong hold of the chamberlains of the Dukes of Nor- mandy, planted on a pedestal of high cliff forming part of the headland called Nez de Tankarville. To the water side it presents an open terrace, on which stands a modern mansion, with sash windows and a tall watch tower, round on one side, and an- gular like a bastion on the other. Behind stretch two long lines of varied and stately towers connected by curtains forming a large triangu- lar enclosure, once the castle courts, now grass-grown and encumbered with ruins. The country behind it is one dense forest, over which these ancient battlements peer ma- jestically. The best preserved por- tions are the gatehouse with caged

Seine , B. — Tancarviile. 55

windows, and grooves for double portcullis, and the contiguous tower dating from the latter half of the 1 5th century. Here, within walls 9 ft. thick, may be seen the “ cachots ” — and the “ chambre de question ” which is frequently mentioned in the old archives. In the corner tower (L* Aigle) on the brow of the cliff over- hanging the Seine, one or two old wall pieces, so constructed as to be loaded from the breach, are preserved. In this part only of the old castle do roofs and floors remain. All the rest is mere shattered walls, gutted towers, enclosures dark and overgrown with nettles and hemlock, which now lux- uriate on the hearths of the Tancar- ville, Montmorencies, Harcourts, and La Tour d’ Auvergne, its ancient owners. The chapel and the Salle des Chevaliers, with 3 fire-places, are pointed out to strangers. The loftiness of some of the towers, and their singular forms, deserve notice: the Tour de Lion is the segment of a circle ; the Tour Coquisart, 60 ft. high, of 5 stories piled one over the other, and still surmounted by the stone groined ribs of its roof, while all the rest is fallen, is in the shape of a triangle with curved sides. It communicates be- hind, with the Donjon , which was detached from the body of the place and entered only by a drawbridge. It contains a well 300 ft. deep. The date of its construction is the early part of the 15th century, and scarcely any portion of the castle seems older. The English under Henry V. "burned down the preceding one 1437. The modern mansion is tumbling to pieces as fast as possible. From the noble owners whose names are mentioned above, Tankarville fell into the hands of Law of Lauriston, the South Sea schemer. It was plundered and demolished at the Revolution as the property of aristocrats and emigres (the Montmorencies), but after having been for 20 years attached to a hos- pital at Havre, it has once more re- verted to that family. The poor small d 4

56 Route ] 3. — St. George Boscherville — Jumieges. Sect. I*

hamlet of fishers’ huts beneath the castle affords no tolerable accommo- dation for travellers. The distance from Lillebonne is 6 m. and from St. Romain on the road to Havre ( R. 14.) about 12 m.

Below this the banks of the Seine are too distant and destitute of ob- jects of interest to need farther no- tice, excepting the towns and ports of

Rt. Harfleur, in R. 13.

L. Honfleur , described in R. 23.

Passengers can be put ashore here, where they can take the diligence to Caen.

Rt. Havre, in R. 13.

The distance from Havre to Hon- fleur is about 7 miles.

ROUTE 13.

ROliEN TO HAVRE LOWER ROAD BY ST.

GEORGES BOSCHERVILLE, JUMIEGES,

CAUDEBEC, AND LILLEBONNE.

86 kilom. = 53\ Eng. m.

Diligences run daily in 7 hours.

A Railroad , constructed bythe Rouen and Paris Company, is in progress from Rouen to Havre. It crosses the Seine by a bridge at Rouen, and the valley of Barentin, by a viaduct of 27 arches ; the central arch is 1 08 ft. high, and will pass through 7 tunnels. It is expected to be finished in 1846.

The following route is one of the most agreeable in Normandy, both for the pleasing view of the Seine which it commands, and for the suc- cession of ancient ecclesiastical re- mains in the vicinity of which it passes. It is, however, hilly. A little way beyond the industrious cotton spinning village of Bapeaume, it surmounts the long and steep hill of Canteleu, from whose top Rouen is seen to very great advantage, and the Seine wind- ing away S. to double the ridge of which the hill of Canteleu forms a part. On the 1. is the Chateau of Canteleu, belonging to Baron Lefevre, which commands the view in per-

fection, and about 2 m. beyond it a road turning off to the 1. leads to the Abbey of St. George de Boscherville whose Church is one of the most an- cient and unaltered monuments in Normandy. It was founded by Raoul de Tankarville, chamberlain of the Conqueror, previous to the Conquest, and consecrated in the founder’s pre- sence. From the precision with which its age is fixed, it has been termed “ a land-mark of Norman ar- chitecture;” as usual, it was destroyed at the Revolution, but the church was preserved for the use of the parish. It has the usual characteristics — vast proportions, simplicity, and austere grandeur. Its W. end has a round door ornamented with 5 mouldings and 2 side towers, in whose upper story the pointed arch of a very early date ap- pears. This may have been the part of the church last finished. The vaulting of the nave and transepts is also pointed, all the rest is Norman ; the arches are carried round the ends of the transepts, forming 2 lofts or tribunes supported on a column, and there is an apse at the E. end of each, as in Winchester Cathedral, the older part of which is very like this church. The Chapter house adjoining is of later date, 1 157, and of mixed architecture, both round and pointed arches oc- curring in it. The capitals of its columns, sculptured with subjects in relief, such as the Passage of the Jordan, and the Sacrifice of Isaac, merit notice.

Returning to the high road you descend to the borders of the Seine, on which is situated the village and post station

20 Duclair (6 m. from St. George’s), a row of houses between the river and the cliffs, one of which, from a supposed resemblance to a pulpit, is called Chaire de Gargantua.

The Seine once more takes a widely curving sweep, while the high road cuts across the neck of the penin- sula. In the midst of this the twin towers of the Abbey of Jumieges

Normandy. Route IS. — Rouen to Havre — Jumieges . 57

are conspicuous. A cross road turns off to it near Yainville, whence it is about 2 m. distant. It was the most important monastic institution on the banks of the Lower Seine for its ex- tent, the number of its inmates, and its share in promoting learning during the dark ages, and it now towers ve- nerable and majestic above the humble timber- framed and chalk- walled cot- tages of the village. It has been compared with some of the Ro- manesque churches of the Rhine in its plain but stately W. facade, sur- mounted by octagonal towers which have only recently lost their spires, but between them the porch projects in an unusual maimer. This and the entire nave as far as the cross, sur- mounted by a more massive central tower, one side of which only remains standing, is of unchanged early Nor- man (date 1067). The round arches are supported alternately on square piers and circular columns ; their ca- pitals, destitute of any sculpture, were ornamented with painted foliage, some traces of which still remain. The interior is in a state of ruin, en- tirely roofless save a small fragment of vaulting in the aisles, and open to the rains of heaven ; greensward sup- plies the place of pavement ; the E. end, which was in the pointed style of the 13th century, has been rased to its foundations. For the origin of this dilapidation the Revolution has to answer, but its consummation is of very recent date, this ancient and interesting fabric having been abso- lutely quarried, and carted away to build barns with its masonry. The stone employed is a hard chalk en- closing flints, which are frequently exposed in the courses of the piers. The present owner fortunately has respect for the ruins, and watches over their preservation, having fitted up the old gatehouse for his residence. A number of curiously and rudely sculptured fragments, keystones, bas- reliefs, &c. have been discovered by him, and merit notice. Beneath a plain

black marble slab, fractured into seve- ral pieces and lying in a corner, was once deposited the heart of “ Agnes Seurelle (Sorel), Dame de Breaute.” She died near this at Mesnil (p. 53.), and Charles VII., her royal lover, had apartments fitted up in the abbey in order to be near her. She was a benefactress to Jumieges, and the monks retained her heart though her body was interred at Loches in Tou- raine. Breaute was the name of one of her domains ; some have read the inscription erroneously “ Dame de Beaute Here also another mu- tilated monument has recently been, brought to light. It consists of mutilated effigies of youths in royal garb, with circlets on their heads, known by the name of “ les Enerves ” (i. e. the hamstrung) from a tra- dition that they represent the two sons of Clovis II.., who, having re- belled and waged war against their father, suffered the cruel punish- ment of having the sinews of their arms and legs cut. They were then bound and set adrift in an open boat on the Seine, whose current wafted them down as far as Jumieges, where they were kindly received by the monks and ended their days. On the S. side of the church are remains of the chapel of St. Pierre, a pointed work of the 14th century ; and of a large vaulted apartment called “ Salle des Gardes de Charles VII.,” pa- rallel with which runs a very exten- sive range of subterranean vaults, probably cellars, and the gatehouse.

The high road beyond Yainville and Le Trait is carried on a lofty terrace along the shoulders of the hills, com- manding a most pleasing view of the windings of the Seine both upwards and down. Nearly in front the inter- vening slopes are covered with or- chards and gardens, and on the opposite bank stands the Chateau of Mailleraye , a conspicuous and large edifice (see p. 54.). At the little village Caude- becquet, about 3 m. before reaching d 5

Route 13. — St. Wandrille — Caudebec .

Sect, I.

Caudebec, a road turning to the rt. leads in li m. to another monastic ruin, of inferior interest to the other two, but of great antiquity, St. Wan- drille, founded by the saint of that name in the 7th century, and at first called Fontanelle. Here may be seen some elegant pointed arches, sole relics of a church sold and pulled down at the Revolution for building mate- rials. The conventual buildings, a palace in extent, are in the modern Italian architecture of the 16th or 17th century, and have been con- verted partly into a manufactory of Jacquerie, partly into a bark warehouse and mill. The Cloisters behind them contain several arches, rich morceaux of flamboyant Gothic, and a Lava- tory, with a few relics of sculpture, becoming fewer every day through wanton mutilation. Part of the Re- fectory is Norman, and lined with a circular arcade.

The good judgment of the monks is very conspicuous in the choice of the site for this convent, a nook shut out from the world in a side valley of the Seine, fertile, well watered, and wooded. St. Wandrille now stands a monument of the fall of ecclesiastic pomp and wealth. The hill side to the N. was terraced to form gardens and shady walks, now grown wild. On the top of the height above them is a little chapel of St. Saturnin, an early Norman structure, with 3 apses and windows like loop-holes and walls of herring-bone masonry, many centuries older than any part of the convent below.

St. Wandrille is about 4 m. from

16 Caudebec. — r Inns : Poste, -—

Hotel du Commerce, not very clean, but tolerable.

This is one of the prettiest little towns on the Seine, with its quay and terrace along the water side, shaded by trimmed elms, forming a screen before the row of houses which face the river. In its outskirts, the hills are dotted with neat villas and country seats. Its only remarkable edifice is

its Church, a beautiful Gothic building in the florid style of the 15th century, in the form of a parallelogram without transepts. It is surmounted by a tower having a short steeple of open stonework, the flamboyant tracery in it taking the form of fleurs-de-lis. Its flying buttresses and variously patterned parapets are very elegant. It was begun 1426, and stands at the side of the church. In the W.

| end, the gorgeous triple portal, with side porches bent back, all exuberantly ornamented with carved foliage, sta- tues, and niches, and the rose window above, merit notice. Also the N. porch.

Within, there is much fine painted glass of the 16th century, and a wooden cover to the font, well carved in relief with subjects from the life of Christ. The spaces between the buttresses are occupied by small chapels, those at the E. end expand, and the central one, the Lady Chapel, behind thehigh altar, is distinguished by a finely groined roof, the ribs of which descend in the centre to form a pendant of stone 14 ft. long, ending in a carved bos, or cul de lampe. In the next chapel of St. Sepulchre is a group of 8 figures as large as life, representing the holy personages at the tomb of our Lord, under a florid Gothic canopy. The master mason of the church, William Le Tellier, is buried in the Lady Chapel : he was employed on it 30 years, down to his death 1484, and in that time completed the upper part of the nave, the choir and chapels around it, including the Lady Chapel and its pendant.

The artist will find, in penetrating the dirty streets of the town, some picturesque bits among its timber- framed houses.

Caudebec was anciently a strong fortress ; it was taken 1419 by the English under Talbot and Warwick, and during the wars of religion Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, commander of a Spanish force, sent in aid of the League, lost his arm in

Normandy. Route IS.—- Rouen to Havre — Lillebonne. 59

reconnoitring the ramparts, 1592. They have been long since swept away.

About 1 ± m. up the valley, near the road which goes to Yvetot(R. 14.), stands the Church of St. Gertrude, re- cently repaired by the parish : it merits notice for its architecture and painted glass.

The Havre road beyond Caudebec quits the borders of the Seine, not to rejoin it until Harfleur is passed. It mounts a steep ascent and traverses a part of the table-land of the Pays de Caux. There is nothing of interest until you descend into the valley where lies the town of

16 Lillebonne (Inn : Hotel du Com- merce), numbering 2924 inhabitants, prettily situated on the stream of the i Bolbec, and interesting on account of its Roman theatre, a relic of the ancient Julia Bona of the itineraries of Anto- nine and Ptolemy, capital of the Caletes (inhabitants of the Pays de Caux), of which the present town occupies the site and retains (with a slight change) the name. The road, on entering the town, passes under the old Castle on the rt., and nearly over the space which must have anciently been the stage of the Theatre. On the 1. hand is seen the semicircular portion allotted to the spectators, in a great degree cut out of the hill, which, forming a gradual slope for the rows of seats to rest on, saved the cost of vast sub- structions ; an advantage of which the Romans and Greeks usually availed themselves in their theatres. The remains consist chiefly of found- ations, and have been laid open since 1812. The fragments of walls in the centre belonged probably to the or- chestra, those on the slope of the side to the dressing-rooms. On the hill, among fragments of masonry, are seve- ral semicircular terraces one above the other, with traces of the vomitories, or entrances, and round the whole runs a corridor or vaulted passage gradually rising from the side to the centre, by which entrance was ob- tained to the highest seats. The

walls and part of the vaults here re- main tolerably perfect ; they are sup- ported by many spurs or buttresses. The walls are faced with ashler ma- sonry, or with small stones about the size of bricks neatly jointed, the centre filled in with rubble of flint strongly cemented with grouting, the whole banded together at irregular intervals by horizontal courses of red tiles. The stone employed is a porous but co- herent calcareous tufa, or travertine, which is to this day deposited by the water of a neighbouring brook.

This is the best preserved, and in- deed, almost the only example of an ancient theatre in the N. of France, or of Europe. It measured across the cord of the arc 300 ft ., and the dimensions of the circular corridor were 625 ft. The ground in and about the town can scarcely be turned up without disclosing ancient remains of one sort or another. In 1823 a fine bronze male statue (now in the British Museum) was discovered ; and the Museum at Rouen has been greatly enriched from this mine of antiquities.

On the opposite side of the high road looking down upon the theatre is the Castle, a picturesque ruin, his- torically interesting as the residence of William the Conqueror, who here called together his barons to unfold the momentous scheme of the invasion of England. The massive outer walls now serve to enclose a garden, and modern house, the residence of the present proprietor ; close beside it is a tall round tower of beautifully even masonry, having walls 13 ft. thick, and some finely ribbed vaults ; isolated by a deep fosse, crossed by a draw- bridge. It is a construction of the 15th century, built probably by the Harcourts, who owned the castle down to the Revolution. Not far off is a mutilated angular tower of the 13th or 14th century. The Norman part consists of the great hall, now in utter ruin, its walls of rubble, faced with free stone : its round-headed windows, towards the court, are supported by a d 6

60 Route 13. — Tancarville — Harfleur — Graville. Sect. I.

pillar in the centre, with recessed pillars in the sides in the style of the 11th century. In this hall, according to the tradition, William met his barons in council. The commanding elevation of these ruins gives them a magnificent view over the adjacent valley, with a peep, through a gap at its extremity, of the broad estuary of the Seine 3 m. below the town.

The Parish Church has a fine tower and spire, similar to that of Harfleur, but inferior, and a rich portal.

Owing to the abundant supply of water from the neighbouring hills, Lillebonne has become a manufac- turing town, and cotton mills have multiplied considerably about it, es- pecially up the valley towards Bolbec ; calicos and indiennes are principally made here.

The Castle of Tancarville (Route 12.) is 6 m. distant from Lillebonne, by cross roads, the latter part so narrow and steep as to be practicable only for a light carriage. A cabriolet may be hired for 12 fr. to go thither, and on to St. Romain on the Havre road (p. 65.), waiting to allow the tra- veller to see the castle. The direct road from Lillebonne to Havre passes within 3 m. of the Castle : the dili- gences go round by Bolbec. (Route 14.) Both roads meet at

18 La Botte.

In descending from the Plain de Caux towards

Harfleur , a fine view is obtained of that town, its noble spire, and the Seine beyond. It is situated on the Lezarde, a small stream now barely navigable for barges, and 2 m. distant from the Seine, yet Monstrelet calls it “ le souverain port de la Normandie.” The deposits brought down by the Lezarde have probably contracted its bed, and formed a fringe of land along the shore of the Seine, which has greatly increased the distance between the town and the estuary. Before the rise of Havre, Harfleur was the chief port of the mouth of the Seine, at which the wool

of Spain and Portugal was imported and sent up to Montevilliers to be wrought, while by reason of its for- tifications it was the key to the en- trance of the Seine. It resisted for 40 days the besieging army of Henry V. in 1415, who, as soon as it had yielded, uncovered his feet and legs and walked barefoot to church to say his prayers, after which he col- lected the inhabitants to the number of 8000, and turning them out of their houses with only the clothes on their backs, banished them and con- fiscated their property, substituting English colonists in their place. In 20 years, however, the town was sur- prised by a band of peasants aided by a number of the former inhabitants, and the English were expelled. The tower and spire of its church, built in the 15th century, it is said, by Henry V., and its fringed S. portal, are de- servedly praised as masterpieces of Gothic architecture.

The Terrace of the Chateau of Orcher , running along the heights above the town, commands a remarkably fine view of the river. From Harfleur to Havre the road is carried along the side of a hill, sloping gently down to the Seine, whose embouchure is seen at intervals between the trees and houses. On the rt. a little above the road stands Graville. Its small church, prettily situated on a wooded bank, is Norman of the end of the 11th century. Its transepts are decorated externally with round intersecting arches, surmounted by figures of ani- mals. The capitals of the pillars in the nave are sculptured with monsters. In the court yard behind the Hotel de Ville are caves in the rock, once the monks’ cellars. The church was built in honour of Saint Honoria. Her relics were removed for safety, at the Norman invasion, to Conflans, and confided to the custody of the monks, who, when the danger was overpast, refused to restore them. Notwithstanding this loss the place where they had been retained its sane-

NoRxMANDY.

Route 13 . — - Havre .

tity, so that more pilgrims and wor- shippers repaired hither, than to the church at Conflans which actually held them ! Remains of the masonry of a quay, with rings to attach vessels, are said to have been found under Graville.

Passing numerous gardens and country houses, intermixed with inns, taverns, and guinguettes, composing the villages of Graville and Ingou- ville, so numerous as to form almost an uninterrupted street, we reach

17 Havre. — Inns: H. de l’Eu-

rope, Rue de Paris, nenr Place du Spectacle ; good attendance and cui- sine ; — H. de l’Amiraute, on the Grand Quai ; — H. des Etats Unis, — Wheeler’s, an English house, Quai Notre Dame ; — Frascati’s Hotel, baths, and boarding house/ on the sea shore ; Sur le Terree, near the pier outside the walls, is the best, but in- conveniently distant from police and diligence offices for persons who do not intend to tarry here. It contains a subscription reading-room, and warm baths, which cost only 24 sous, with 2 to the baigneur.

Havre, originally Havre de Grace, from a small chapel of Notre Dame de Grace, which stood on its site, the port of the Seine and of Paris, one of the most thriving maritime towns of France, is situated on the N. side of the estuary of the Seine, and con- tains 25,618 inhabitants. It is quite a modern town, owing its foundation to Francis I. (1516), and its pros- perity to the judicious enactments of Louis XVI., though it has received its great impulse since the war, and has been rapidly gaining upon its elder rivals, Bordeaux and Nantes. It has no fine buildings, nor historical monuments ; its streets are laid down chiefly in strait lines, and at right an- gles with one another, and they are grouped round 3 basins, or docks, communicating from one to the other by lock gates, and placed so as to form a triangle entered from the outer (avant) port. The quays bordering

the basins lined with vessels, and choked up with cotton bales, sugar casks, &c.,are the chief scenes of life. The strange cries and glittering plu- mage of parrots and macaws, will remind the stranger of the connexion of the port with tropical countries. Its principal street (and it is a hand- some one) is the Rue de Paris, extend- ing through the Place du Spectacle, from the Porte d’lngouville to the round tower of Francois Premier at the entrance of the port, the only relic of the fortifications constructed by that monarch. The modern fortifica- tions and triple range of ditches which surround the town, due chiefly to Napoleon, cheque the extension of new streets, impede the circulation of traffic by their narrow entrances, and are useless in a military point of view, because commanded by the neigh- bouring heights. The citadel, built by Richelieu, in which Cardinal Mazarin shut up in 1650 the lead- ers of the Fronde, the Princes of Conde, Conti, and Longueville, “ the lion, the ape, and the fox, caught in one trap,” to use the expression of Gaston of Orleans, has been disman- tled.

The release of these distinguished captives was at length effected (Feb. 1651) by one of those sudden po- pular risings so common in the his- tory of the Fronde. Mazarin, pros- trated from the height of power by this revolution, bethought himself how he might make friends of his former victims, and, disguised as a courier, posted off instantly from Paris, in order to be the first to tell the joyous news, and unlock the prison gates. Assuming an air of the most obsequious servility, he as- sured them he had no hand in their imprisonment, and stooped to kiss the boot of Conde as the hero mounted his carriage, amidst salvos of artillery, on his way to Paris.

It is only by aid of a reservoir of water (la Floride), regulated by sluices, that the mouth of the harbour, formed

Route 13. — Havre.

Sect. I.

in the flat alluvium of the Seine, can be kept clear from the deposits of the river still in progress. The port is ac- cessible for vessels during only 4 hours each tide, at low water the port and avant-port are left dry. The 3 docks are capable of containing 250 or 300 vessels or more with inconvenience; a fourth dock, called Bcissin de Vauban, has been projected. The entrance to the old docks is not large enough to admit steamers, which are obliged to remain, without sufficient protec- tion from certain winds, in the outer port.

The saying of Napoleon, that 66 Paris, Rouen, and Havre formed only one city, of which the Seine was the highway,” explains the cause of the prosperity of Havre. It is the place of import of all the foreign ar- ticles needed for the supply of the French metropolis : like Liverpool

with us, it is the chief cotton port of France, furnishing this commodity to the manufacturer of Rouen, Lille, St. Quentin, and from these cities it again receives the manufactured goods for exportation.

It is also the point of communica- tion between the Continent of Europe and America ; a great trade is carried on with the United States. The De- clarations of Independence formed the groundwork of the present good for- tunes of Havre. A line of packets runs regularly 4 times a month to New York.

Here, also, a great number of emi- grants, many from Germany, annually embark for the New World.

The imports of Havre, though only one half in quantity and weight of those of Marseilles (the chief sea-port in France), are said nearly to equal them in value. In 1838 the number of vessels belonging to the port was 436. Some of the principal mer- cantile houses here are English and American.

The ship-builders of Havre enjoy a high reputation for the skill and science which they display in the

construction of their vessels, which are capital sea-boats. Yet their ship- yards are nothing more than an open space on the sea beach, outside the fortifications, fenced in with a wood- en paling. Le Norman, the chief builder, has turned out some beau- tiful steamers, which beat the English in swiftness.

The annals of Havre are connected with the history of England at seve- ral points. Henry of Richmond embarked here, 1485, for Milford Haven and Bosworth Field, backed by 4,000 men, furnished by Charles VIII. to aid his enterprise. The town was delivered over to the keeping of Queen Elizabeth by the Prince de Conde, leader of the Huguenots, 1562, and the command of it was intrusted to Ambrose Dudley, Earl of War- wick; but the English were ejected within a year, after a most obstinate siege, whose progress was pressed for- ward by Charles IX. and his mother Catherine de Medicis in person, sen- sibleThat the possession of Havre by the English would be a thorn in the side of France. Hatred of the Eng- lish, indeed, had united all parties in France against them. The Protestant Conde served in the besieging army, which was commanded by the Con- stable Montmorency, previously the ally of the English. Warwick held out against vastly superior numbers, until his force was reduced by slaughter and the plague from nearly 6000 to 1500: he was himself shot in de- fending a breach, after which the place surrendered.

The fleet of William III., which had failed before Brest, made an in- effectual attempt in 1694 to bombard the town, as it had before done in the case of Dieppe, with success. In 1796 Sir Sidney Smith, while cruising in the Channel, endeavoured to cut out a French ship of warfrom under the batteries ; but became entangled in the currents and sandbanks of the Seine, and his vessel, having been perceived next morning lying high

Normandy.

Route 13 . — Havre.

and dry, was captured by some gun- boats, and he was sent a prisoner to the Temple in Paris.

Bernardin de St. Pierre, author of Paul and Virginia, was born here in a house No. 47. Hue de la Corderie. Havre is also the birth-place of Mademoiselle Scudery, 1697, and of Casimir Delavigne.

There is an English Chapel in the Rue d’ Orleans ; service at 12 on Sundays.

The Cercle de Commerce is a large commercial club-house, furnished with almost all the European newspapers and many American : strangers can be introduced to it by members.

The Theatre in the Place Louis XVI., or du Spectacle, at the ex- tremity of the Bassin du Commerce, one of the most striking buildings in the town, was burnt down 1843.

Baths.- — Frascati, on the sea-shore, not far from the pier, contains good hot and cold sea- water baths. In summer, bathing is carried on in the open sea. Cabinets are provided for dressing and undressing, and men and women bathe together, but covered up in bathing dresses. There are no bathing-machines : ladies are led out to a sufficient depth of water by the guide, who then seizes them by the shoulders, lays them on the surface of the water, and dips them by sousing their heads under water.

N. B. The draught of the tide is so strong as sometimes to overpower even skilful swimmers. The bathers lay hold of ropes attached to posts to prevent their being swept away in stormy weather.

English travellers arriving at Havre are, for the most part, intent on quit- ting it as soon as possible, either on their way to Paris or Caen, or on their return to England. For them, the following information will be use- ful. They should be on the alert to get their passports signed and bag- gage passed, as the steamers and diligences to Paris start at an early hour.

The Bureau de Police, whither strangers must repair to obtain their passports, is in the Hotel de Ville, at the corner of the Place Francois I., not far from the old round tower. The office is open at 8 o’clock a. m.

The Custom-house, corner of Quai Notre Dame and Grand Quai (en- trance in Rue de la Gaffe), opens at 8. After the baggage has been examined (see Introihjction), the dues for the harbour on the landing, and for por- terage, are fixed by and paid to an English woman, who manages this department of the establishment.

Poste aux Lettres. 7. Rue du Grand. Croissant ; post leaves for Paris at 4^ p. m.

Consuls reside here from Great Britain and other maritime states of Europe and America.

Conveyances. — Malleposte to Paris (126 Eng. m.) by Rouen in 13 hours.

Diligences (offices, Rue de Paris, 49. and 101.) to Paris by Rouen 3 every evening in 16 hours, ( N.B. A Railway to Rouen is in progress,) to Rouen at 11^- daily in 7 hours. The lower road (R. 13. 9), though longer than the upper one (R. 14.), is far more agreeable. — To Dieppe by Fe- camp daily, in 9 hours (R. 18.); to Caen (starting from Honfleur on the opposite side of the Seine) daily. (Route 23.)

Steamers go to Rouen daily in

8 or 9 hours; to Caen daily in 4 hours (see p. 74. R. 24.) ; to Hon- fleur once a day in f of an hour (R. 23.) ; to Dunkirk every 5 days ; to Cherbourg ; to Morlaix in Brit- tany in 18 hours, every Saturday; to Bordeaux once a fortnight, 1st place 80 fr., 2nd 50 fr. ; to Nantes; to London every Sunday, to Southamp- ton daily in summer ; to Rotterdam in 24 hours every 10 days ; to Am- sterdam ; to St. Petersburg and Co- penhagen twice a month ; to Hamburg every Saturday. More than 40 steam- vessels, including tug-boats, belong to the Port du Havre.

The antiquarian and architect may

Route 14. — Rouen to Havre.

Sect. I,

visit the Norman Church of Graville, 2 m. on the Rouen road (p. 60.)

Those who have an hour or two to spare at Havre cannot better employ it than in ascending the hill of In- gouville, a village of 5,666 inhab., about | a mile to the N. of the town, con- sisting chiefly of neat country houses with gardens. The view from the top, over the town of Havre, its forest of masts, rising from amidst its build- ings, over the embouchure of the Seine, the distant hills of Calvados ap- pearing on the hoi'izon like an island, and over the heights of La Heve to the rt. (N.), crowned by its twin light-house — is very striking and pleasing.

The chalk cliffs under the lofty headland of Cap la Heve, on which the light-houses are erected at a height of 300 ft., offer some fine rock scenery ; but, except when the tide is low, the shingly beach is not favour- able for walking. These rocks were the favourite haunt of the author of Paul and Virginia.

ROUTE 14.

ROUEN TO HAVRE, UPPER ROAD BV YVETOT.

87 kilom. = 53§ Eng. m.

The Mcilleposte daily in 5\ hours. Diligences 3 or 4 daily.

A dull road through a fertile coun- try, the Pays de Caux, far less inter- esting than the lower road (R. 13.). Even after Rouen is a long way left behind, the country traversed by the road exhibits the vivifying effects of the cotton industry, in mills or fac- tories, country-houses, villages, &c. The chief of these is Deville, situated in a pretty valley which bears its name.

At Maromme our road turns to the 1. out of that leading to Dieppe (R. 6.), and ascends the hill of La Valette, by which it attains the sum- mit of the table-land of the Pays de Caux.

17 Barentin.

18 Yvetot. %

An industrious little country town of 9,032 inhabitants, with houses of timber, containing some manufactures of cotton, but destitute of objects of interest. The title of “ Roi d’ Yvetot” has given a wide celebrity to its name, and has greatly puzzled an- tiquaries and local historians, who have failed in proving the existence of any sovereign authority, or in dis- covering the origin of the title, though an edict is said to exist in the archives of the exchequer of Nor- mandy giving the rank of kings to the seigneurs of Yvetot.

There is a tradition that one Gaul- thier, Lord of Yvetot, having offended King Clothair, son of Clovis, and having been banished his presence, ventured to throw himself at the feet of the king while he was kneeling in prayer before the high altar at Sois- sons, on Good Friday, thinking that the holiness of the place, and of the day of pardon for the sins of man- kind, might obtain forgiveness for him also. Clothair, however, no sooner saw him than he drew his sword and slew him, but repenting afterwards of his crime, and desiring to make atonement to Gaulthier, cre- ated his heirs kings of Yvetot. But this story has no good foundation. Beranger describes the king of Yve- tot : —

“ 11 etait un roi d’ Yvetot,

Pen connu dans l’histoire,

Se levant tard, se couchant tot, Dormant fort bien sans gloire,

Ec couronne par Jeanneton D’un simple bonnet de coton.”

Here, in the very heart of the Pays de Caux, the traveller will now in vain look for’ the Cauchoise head- dress, once commonly worn by the women. It was a huge structure of cambric and lace, something between a cap and a helmet, and appears to have been the fashion even in Eng- land during the 15th and 16th cen- turies. The modern modes of Paris have driven it out of the field even in

Normandy.

Route 18 . — Havre to Dieppe.

remote Norman villages, and it is now rarely seen.

About 2 m. S. of Valliquerville (through which our way lies), at a village called Allonville, is an oak of unknown antiquity ; its trunk mea- sures 30 ft. in circumference at the ground. Great care is taken of it, and the parts deprived of bark are protected by tiles. The hollow of the trunk has served for 150 years past as a chapel, and is furnished with an altar, while above is an upper chamber with bed, chair, and table.

The Pays de Caux, through the centre of which our route lies, retains the name, slightly altered, of its an- cient inhabitants in Cesar’s time, the Caletes (? Celts.) It is a high table- land, only here and there intersected by river courses, exceedingly fertile, though somewhat arid. Trees are rare on the high ground, except the usual avenues of fruit trees on the road side, and around villages and farm-houses, whose existence and po- sition is invariably denoted by a sort of verdant rampart of stiff elms, planted in straight lines and double rows on or near a high bank of earth ; you may be sure that a farm or cha- teau is hid behind such an enclosure.

22 Bolbec. A fresh-looking town of staring brick houses, which re- place those of wood destroyed by a great fire in the last century ; situated in one of the pleasant little valleys which intersect the Pays de Caux. It contains a vast number of cotton mills, manufactories of calicots, printed stuffs and handkerchiefs; print works, bleaching grounds, &c. ; in short, it is one of the most industrious places in the department of the Seine In- ferieure, 9,630 inhab. The abundant stream which runs through it, and is a main cause of this activity, turns no less than 113 usines before it joins the Seine below Lillebonne. That ancient town (R. 13 ) is only 5 m. distant; its Roman Theatre merits notice.

The diligences taking the low road from Havre to Rouen, turn off here

to Lillebonne ; the two roads separate however at the village of St. Romain ; whence to the castle of Tancarville the distance is 9 m. (see p. 60).

13 La Botte. The remainder of this route through Harfleur to 17 Havre is described in R. 13.

ROUTE 18.

HAVRE TO DIEPPE AND ABBEVILLE BY FECAMP AND EU.

171 kilom. =106 Eng. m.

Diligence daily to Dieppe in 9 hours.

At Harfleur (p. 60.) we turn out of the Rouen road, and ascend the pretty green valley of the Lezarde to Montivilliers, agreeably situated, with many trees about it, and containing some picturesque wooden houses. Its Church belonged to a once famous abbey of Benedictine nuns founded in the 7 th century. It is in the Romanesque style of the 11th cen- tury, except the N. aisle, which is florid, and the Lady Chapel, early pointed. Notice should be taken of its elegant Norman tower sur- mounted by a light spire, with a florid portal on one side of it and a round doorway, ornamented with the em- battled fret, on the other, and within, of the carved capitals of the columns, and a gallery of stone fretwork near the W. end.

16 Epouville. We now reach the high ground of the Pays de Caux (p. 65.), but traverse a number of val- leys or gullies intersecting it, running down to the sea, in every one of which a village or small town nestles ; this renders the road a succession of ups and downs. When the harvest is cleared from the ground and sheep are feeding among the stubble, a long narrow cart, covered either with a coved wooden roof or thatched with straw, a sort of horizontal sentry box on wheels, may be seen drawn up by j the road side or in the fields ; it is the movable bed of the shepherd, in

66 Route 18. — Havre to Dieppe — Fecamp — Eu. Sect. I.

which he shelters himself at night or in bad weather.

14 Goderville.

13 Fecamp. — Inns: Poste, extor- tionate; Hotel du Commerce.

Fecamp, a town of 10,000 inhabit- ants, nearly fills the bottom and sides of a narrow valley opening out towards the sea between 2 high falaises or cliffs, on one of which stands a lighthouse. It has the advantage of being at once a seaport and a manufacturing town, owing to the abundant stream which, as it descends the valley, turns nu- merous cotton and other mills, be- sides which there are 3 steam saw mills. The harbour is small and much sanded up, but is resorted to by a few colliers and Baltic timber ships, besides fishing vessels.

In the centre of the town stands the Church of the Abbey of Notre Dame , a large and fine edifice in the early pointed style, with some Norman features, built in the beginning of the 13th century, except the 2 round arched apsidal chapels behind the E. end, which are older, and the S. side of the choir, which is more mo- dern and florid. The Lady Chapel, with its carved woodwork of the 16th century, and the monuments in the side chapels of abbots Richard (1223), William (1297), and Robert (1326), consisting of altar tombs enriched with crocketted niches, bearing their effigies reclining under florid cano- pies, merit notice. Also some curious carvings of Scriptural subjects in the N. transept.

Fecamp was the retreat of Cuvier during the storm of the Revolution. He commenced his studies in natural history here on the sea-beach.

About 10 m. S. W. of Fecamp, on the coast, is the fishing village of Etretat , situated amidst rocks which have been excavated by the sea into arches, aiguilles, and other fantastic shapes. It is resorted to by French artists, and there is a tolerable and cheap little Inn (Au Rendezvous des Artistes). The road thither is bad.

A hill steeper than that which leads into Fecamp from the W. carries the road out of it on the side of Dieppe.

19 Cany, in its pretty green and wooded valley, is an agreeable con- trast to the bare open land which precedes and follows. The Chateau belongs to the Due de Luxemburg.

The road again approaches the sea at

12 St. Vallery en Caux, a fishing town, of 5,328 inhab., with a port formed by locking the stream, which here descends to the sea.

14 Bourg Dun.

18 Dieppe, in Route 5. (p. 23.)

A rudely jolting, one-horse patache runs daily between Dieppe and Eu. A cabriolet costs 10 fr. to go and re- turn. The road, as before, is carried over the high ground at some dis- tance from the sea, and traverses in succession several valleys.

19 Tocqueville, a small hamlet. Beyond it a considerably larger vil- lage^ Creil, with a massive church, is passed.

12 Eu. — Inns: Poste; Hotel de 1’ Union, neither good nor cheap.

A somewhat lifeless town of 3,730 inhab., on the Bresle, a small stream which formed the boundary of Nor- mandy, and which falls into the Channel 2 m. lower down at Treport. In the centre of the town is an ir- regular market-place, no 2 sides of which are parallel, overlooked by the E. end of the Parish Church , a heavy building and injured by modern re- parations, externally propped up by huge flying buttresses. It is in the early pointed style ; the triforium arches open into the aisles, the E. end is angular, but several of the side chapels are of late florid Gothic. At- tention should be directed to thescreen before that of St. Laurent, an Irish archbishop ; to the Entombment in another chapel composed of statues as large as life ; and to the fantastic, spi- rally banded column in the S. tran- sept. The church has been restored by the King, who has also given se-

Normandy,

Route 18 . — Eu — Royal Chateau .

veral modern painted windows from the manufactory at Sevres.

In the crypt (caveau) below the church are deposited a series of monu- mental effigies which were mutilated by the revolutionists 1793, and thrown into a vault filled with rubbish, but have been restored by the present king. The oldest is of St. Lau- rent, archbishop of Dublin, who died at Eu (1181), whither he had repaired on a mission of peace, to reconcile Henry II. and the king of Ireland. The rest are of the counts of Eu, of the family of Artois ; viz. Charles d’ Artois, 1471, the head and hands are of marble; of his father, Philip d’ Artois, made prisoner -at Nicopolis by the Turks, d. 1397 in Anatolia; Jean d’ Artois, 1386, his surcoat studded with fleurs-de-lis of copper; he was taken prisoner at Crecy along with the French king; Isabella de Melun, his wife, in an elaborately carved dress, with dogs at her feet; Jeanne de Sa- veuse, wife of Charles d’ Artois, a pleas- ing countenance and curious costume; Helene de Melun, his 2d wife ; Isabelle d’ Artois, who died unmarried, 1 397.

Eu is chiefly remarkable, however, on account of its Chateau, belonging to King Louis Philippe, who inherited it with the Comte d’Eu from his mother, daughter and heiress of the Due de Penthievre. His Majesty spends here in retirement a few weeks of every autumn, and here he received H. M. Queen Victoria in 1843. The chateau is a low building of red brick surmounted by high tent-shaped roofs of slate, like the pavilions of the Tuilleries, and is without architec- tural beauty. It was built 1578 by Henry of Lorraine, le Balafre Due de Guise, on the site of a castle which had belcmged in turn to the Lusignans, the Briennes, the Artois, the Cleves, and the Saint Pols, and which was burnt down by Louis XI. | (1475), to punish the treachery of the I Comte de St. Pol. It has been much j augmented by the present king, and , splendidly fitted up, the walls being j

clothed with a collection of historical and family portraits, including those of the royal family and the various lines of the counts of Eu to the number of 1100. Many of them are copies, others are mere furniture pictures ; yet the collection is highly inter- esting, and the formation of it seems to have given rise to the grander gal- lery of Versailles, which this resem- bles on a miniature scale. There appears to be no other arrangement than that of making a certain num- ber of pictures fit into certain spaces ; names, dates, nations, and families are intermixed, and the walls are co- vered with them from the top to the bottom of the house.

As the pictures are chiefly valuable in an historical point of view, not as works of art, and as every one bears its name on the frame, it is useless to enter into long details, which would merely be to give a list of the most eminent names in French his- tory. A few, however, are here noted down, as possessing some peculiar interest : — the Regent Duke of Or- leans by Mignard — Napoleon and his father, Charles Buonaparte ! There are several portraits of the frivolous and ambitious Anne Marie Louise de Montpensier, called sometimes la Grande Mademoiselle, who, after having aspired to the hands of her cousin Louis XIV., of the Grand Conde, of Charles II., and of the Em- peror of Germany, was content at last to be married to Lauzun, a simple gentleman, and endured from him, according to report, the insult of being ordered, by the undignified appella- tion of “Louise d’Qrleans,” to draw off his boots ! She often resided in this chateau ; and one of these like- nesses, at the age of 43, in which she is drawn holding her father’s ( Gaston Due d’Orleans) portrait, is mentioned by her in her “ Memoires.” Her bedroom was that occupied by the present queen. Some of the drawings in the Cabinet de la Ccquille, on the first floor, are by her. She became

Sect. I.

Route 18. — Palace ofEu.

possessor of Eu by purchase from Mademoiselle de Guise, the last de- scendant of that family in a direct line, 1661. She bequeathed it to the Due de Maine, natural son of Louis XIV., by Mde. de Montespan, in the vain hope of ransoming Lauzun her husband from the Bastille. She first commenced the historic gallery of portraits at Eu, and her collection forms the groundwork of that still existing. At the back of one of the portraits of herself there is written by her own hand, “ Bergere alant a la faite du Vilage voisin.” Portraits continued — of Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette, his queen, the Dauphin their son, who died in the Temple, and all the other members of their family ; those of Louis Philippe and his family occupy the Salon de Famille : — the most pleasing and interesting is the Princess Marie of Wirtemburg, the sculptor of the admirable statue of Jeanne d’Arc. There are two por- traits of Louis Philippe Egalite (d. 1793), one as a young man in civic dress, the other in uniform, by Sir J. Reynolds.

One of the most superb and inter- esting apartments is the Galerie des Guises , filled with portraits of that remarkable family, who once owned this chateau ; among them, Claude de Lorraine, with the armour and sword with which he fought at Marignan ; Francis de Lorraine, Due de Guise, who was wounded in the face before Boulogne by an English lance, and who endured the pain of having the lance head extracted from his cheek with a pair of pincers, while the sur- geon rested his foot on the duke’s head to obtain a purchase. He was the successful defender of Metz against Charles V., and the capturer of Calais from the English ; he was killed by the poisoned bullet of Poltrot, 1563. His son, Due Henri le Balafre, so called also from a wound in his cheek received from an arquebuse at the battle of Dormans. He began to build the chateau d’Eu 1578; he

was the chief of the Ligue, the hero of the Journee des Barricades, and the murderer of Coligny on St. Bartholomew’s night. He was assassinated by Henri III. at Blois (Route 53.), 1688, together with his brother, the Cardl. de Guise.

Marie de Lorraine, daughter of Duke Claude, Queen of James V. of Scotland, and mother of Mary Queen of Scots ; — Queen Mary herself in her widow’s weeds of white (royal mourn- ing) ; — Catherine, Duchesse de Montpensier, sister of Le Balafr£, who revenged his death by instigating Jacques Clement to assassinate Henri

III. ; — the Due de Mayenne, bro- ther of Le Balafre, commander of the armies of the Ligue against Henri

IV. Henry II. de Lorraine, Due de Guise, conqueror and viceroy of Na- ples after Massaniello’s rebellion.

“ Le recit de cette salle a fait un long digression sur les portraits qui y sont,” are the words of Mademoiselle de Montpensier herself, in describing these very pictures in her own gal- lery ; yet how momentous a tale does every countenance tell ! Where shall we find such an accumulation of ambition, of crime, and of romance, as in that one family ?

Of Louis XIV. there are several likenesses, also of his family, his mis- tresses, his generals, his court ; and even more of Louis XV. In the billiard-room are Charles I. and II., Oliver Cromwell, Queen Elizabeth, Joan of Arc, and Agnes Sorel.

The superb Salle des Rois is so called, because filled with portraits of kings and queens only : here are Marie de Medicis by Van Dyh, given by her- self to Mademoiselle de Montpen- sier, and Henri IV.

In the King's Cabinet , among por- traits of his own family, including his father, are Madame de Genlis, his preceptress; Pamela, afterwards Lady Fitzgerald; and Madame de Lamballe, who was murdered 1793.

The Hall of Victoria is decorated with the scene of the visit of the

Normandy.

Route 21 . — Rouen to Alengon.

Queen of England to Eu, painted by j French artists.

The small Chapel, a mixture of Go- thic and Italian in its decorations, has some modern painted glass win- dows from Sevres; one is a portrait of St. Amalie, after the picture by Paul de la Roche.

The Park or grounds are less attrac- tive than the palace : being a wilderness of trees, mostly weedy elms, planted in rows with angular terraces ; a gloomy canal, and muddy circular ponds beset with willows. No ad- vantage has been taken of the slopes of the ground, — no taste shown in laying out the brotherhood of al- leys and formal parterres. Only on the 1. of the castle a few an- cient beeches survive, beneath whose branches the Balafr6 Due de Guise heard the suits of his vassals, and con- certed plots against his sovereign. Here a small space has been railed in by the king, who has affixed this in- scription : — “ Ici les Guises tenaient conseil au XVI. siecle.” At the ex- tremity of the grounds is a terrace overlooking the gap through which the Bresle quitting the bare and dull valley enters the sea, and the little village, Treport, is perceived at its mouth. On this terrace is a brick Pavil- ion, fitted up by poor Mademoiselle, during the time she was banished to her estate at Eu by the tyrant Louis XIV., for refusing to marry the pa- ralytic and imbecile king of Portugal. Louis Philippe has restored it, and ornamented it with pictures of the events of her life.

Treport, the port of Eu, 3 m. dis- tant, is a fishing village of 2,265 in- habitants, having an old Church with a fine portal. It is supposed to be the ulterior portus of Julius Caesar.

There remain to be noticed at Eu the effigies of the Due Henri de Guise Le Balafre, murdered at Blois, and of his wife Catherine de Cleves in the Eglise du College, originally of the Jesuits, who were established at Eu by le Balafre. The church built out of the ruins of the old

castle, as well as the monuments, were raised at her expense ; they are rich in marble, but of no value as works of art. He is represented in armour, she in ruflf and farthingale ; there are duplicate effigies of both attended by figures of Prudence, Strength, Faith, and Charity; Gillot was the sculptor. From the pulpit of this church Bour- daloue preached his first sermon. On the Bresle, close to the palace, is a mill for making sea biscuits, esta- blished by an Englishman.

16 Valines.

18 Abbeville (R. 2.).

ROUTE 21.

ROUEN TO ALENGON BY BERNAY, BROG- LIE, AND SEEZ.

143 kilom. =89 Eng. m.

A malleposte runs this way from Rouen to Tours.

42 Brionne (R. 23.)

15 Bernay — ( Inn, La Poste : Lion d’Or), a manufacturing town of 6,600 inhab. It once possessed an import- ant abbey, founded by Judith, wife of Richard II. duke of Normandy; the Church of which, now converted into warehouses, is one of the oldest Norman (Romanesque) buildings ex- isting in Normandy, having been begun in the early part of the 11th century. It is large in its dimensions and perfectly simple in its style : plain square piers support equally plain circular arches. The columns at- tached to the piers are carved, and one is inscribed “ Isambardus me fecit.” The choir ends in an apse, and there is one in each transept. “ The dome vaulting in circular courses over the isles is exceedingly curious.”

10 Broglie.

The Church is an ancient and sin- gular building : along its W. front runs a row of interlacing circular arches, one side of the nave rests on very massive piers ; the other is mo- dernised, the piers pared down, and

70 Route 22. — Seez. Route 23. — Rouen to Caen. Sect. I.

pointed arches substituted for round ones. The large and plain Chateau near this is the family residence of the Due de Broglie, ex-minister, and one of the most virtuous, enlightened, and eminent statesmen in France.

16 Monnai.

14 Gace.

12 Nonant.

12 Seez (Inn: La Come), a poor little city with a population of only 5,500, owing that title to the posses- sion of a Cathedral , a fine edifice, the remarkable features of which are, the porch, 47 ft. deep, under the W. front, flanked by 2 spires ; the nave, 80 ft. high, of elegant early pointed Gothic of the ] 3th century ; the windows are double lancet and very elegant. The choir and transepts are in the decorated style of the end of the 14th century.

A cathedral was built here in 1055, but no part of it exists in the present one, judging from the style. The town was burnt down in 1 150 and 1353, and probably the cathedral also.

21 Alengon (R. 35.).

ROUTE 23.

ROUEN TO CAEN BY BRIONNE, OR BY HONFLEUR.

a. By Brionne 128 kilom. =79^ m.

The road after issuing out of Rouen crosses the Seine, and runs within a short distance of the 1. bank, here bordered by chalk cliffs (p. 33.), skirting on the 1. the forest of Rou- vrai, to

12 Grand Couronne ; thence by Moulineaux (R. 12.) and near the castle of Robert de Diable to Bouille (p. 53), where it quits the Seine, separating from the branch to Honfleur which turns to the rt. (see below).

13 Bourgtheroude.

About 2 m. N. of the road and the same from Brionne are the ruins of

the Abbey of Bee, now of little im- portance or interest, but famous for having given two successive arch- bishops to the See of Canterbury, Lanfranc and Anselm. It has been demolished, except a tower and some uninteresting conventual buildings now turned into a mill.

17 Brionne. — Inn : La Poste, once the chateau of the seigneur of the place. Brionne is a small town on the Rille. The religious council which con- demned the doctrines of Berengarius was held here, in the presence of Wil- liam the Conqueror.

1 1 Marche Neuf.

14 PHotellerie.

13 Lisieux , in Routq 25.

17 Estrees.

13 Moult.

17 Caen. (p. 74.)

Before reaching this the road falls into the great Route 25. from Paris to Cherbourg, and is fully described under that head.

b. By Honfleur 136 kilom. =841 m.

To Caen by Pont Audemer and Honfleur, a diligence runs daily.

12 Grand Couronne.

13 Bourgachard.

At 5 minutes past 1 on Saturday the 19th September 1829, the tower of the parish church sank down in a heap, crushing the nave and covering part of the churchyard. Had the accident occurred the following day, it being the hour of mass, the whole congregation must have been anni- hilated. There was a curious leaden font in this church. A dreary and barren district extends from this place as far as the pleasant valley of the Rille, one of the loveliest streams in Normandy, in which lies

23 Pont Audemer. — Inn: Pot d’E- tain ; the samlets (saumoneaux of the Rille) are excellent. This is a prettily situated town of 4,526 inhabitants, famed for its tanneries, of which it contains 40 ; besides which some cotton is woven here, its industry being greatly promoted by the Rille,

Normandy. R. 23 . — Honfleur. JR. 24 . — Havre to Caen. 71

which passes through it in small streams. It once had a castle, in besieging which, in the early part of the 14th century, cannon were first used in France : it was razed by Du Guesclin. The churches of Notre Dame des Pres, now a tan-house, and of St. Germain, in the suburb, may furnish some points of interest to the antiquarian architect.

The Terrace of the chateau de Bon- nebon presents a pleasant view.

There ought to be a direct road from Pont Audemer to Pont l’Eveque, avoiding the detour by Honfleur.

In the latter part of this stage, at Fiquefleur, we obtain a fine view over the embouchure of the Seine.

23 Honfleur (Inns: II. d’Angle-

terre, close to the pier, and com- manding a fine view of the mouth of the Seine ; a new house, clean, and good cuisine, with much attention. — L. D. Honfleur is famed for me- lons. )

A sea-port town of 10,000 inhabit- ants at the mouth of the Seine, here 7 m. broad, on its S. bank opposite to Havre, and communicating with that port daily by steam-boats. The town is dull and utterly without in- terest to the traveller, and moreover very dirty, but its situation, backed by wooded heights, is very pleasing. Its commerce, once considerable, has been ruined by the rise of Havre. Its harbour, protected by a stone pier not yet finished, is accessible only at high water, and is principally resorted to by fishing vessels, though some timber ships unload here. 7000 dozens of eggs are exported weekly to England, besides butter and fruit. The chapel of Notre Dame de Grace on the hill above the town to the W., much resorted to by sailors and filled with their ex-votos, is in a charming situation for the viexo over the Seine. It was formerly not uncommon for the crews of vessels which had escaped imminent danger at sea to make a pilgrimage hither in their shirts, barefooted and bareheaded. The

English church service was performed twice every Sunday in 1844, in a building on the route de Rouen.

The Steamer from Havre to Rouen calls off the port in going and re- turning. (R. 12.)

Steamers daity to Havre and back, start according to the tide : the pas- sage takes up ^ of an hour. Dili- gences daily to Caen and Rouen.

After the long and stately avenue of trees leading out of Honfleur, the way to Caen possesses no great in- terest ; yet orchards and hedges give an English cast to the scenery. The head-dress of the women, a night cap twisted like a Phrygian bonnet, is by no means elegant.

1 7 Pont 1’ Eveque, a town on the Touques. Trouville on the sea, at the mouth of the Touques, is a small bathing place much frequented o late years.

Here the road to Lisieux (Route 25.) and Falaise branches S.

1 8 Dozulle. We here cross the Dives, from whose mouth the Con- queror'set sail for England.

12 Troarn.

14 Caen in Route 25.

ROUTE 24.

HAVRE TO CAEN.

Steamboats pass daily to and fro, starting as soon as the height of the tide allows them.

The voyage, which takes up about 4 hours, 2 of them on the open sea, is pleasant in fine weather. The steamer skirts the coast of Lower Normandy as far as the mouth of the Orne, which is entered with difficulty on ac- count of the sands and rocks, and then threads its sinuous channel be- tween low banks, but the landscape is enlivened by several ancient churches. A canal is in progress, by which some of the windings of the Orne will be avoided, and the distance from the sea to Caen, 10 m., abridged. If the

Route 25. — Paris to Caen — Evreux.

Sect. I.

vessel, owing to tempestuous weather, should miss the tide to cross the bar, it must wait outside, and lie off the mouth for 10 or 12 hours for the next tide ; but this rarely happens.

“ At length the city of Caen extends itself, terminated at each extremity by the venerable abbeys of William the Conqueror, and Mathilda his queen ; the latter, surmounted by 3 towers, is nearest at hand. There are no traces of workshops and manufactories, or of their pollution ; but the churches, with their towers and spires, rise above the houses in bold architectural masses, and the city assumes a cha- racter of quiet monastic opulence comforting the eye and the mind.” — Palgrave.

Abreast of the town, the river is lined with sumptuous quays of solid masonry, alongside of which the vessel is moored

Caen. Route 25.

ROUTE 25.

PARIS TO CAEN AND CHERBOURG, BY EVREUX AND EISIEUX.

To Caen 223 kilom. = 138 Eng.m. Caen to Cherbourg 118 kilom. = 74 Eng. m.

Malleposte in 15 hours to Caen, and 23^ hours from Paris to Cher- bourg. Diligences daily.

From Paris to

n 70 Bonnieres is described in Route 9. A little beyond this we quit the route to Rouen, turning to the 1. out of the valley of the Seine, up a wooded combe to an elevated and fer- tile but monotonous country.

15 Pacy sur Eure. 10 m. S. of this is Ivry, where Henri IV. gained a momentous victory over the Due de Mayenne and the army of the League 1590 (see p. 115.) !

At Cocherel, on the rt. bank of the Eure 4 m. below (N. of) Pacy, Du- guesclin, in 1364, defeated the forces of the King of Navarre, Charles le Mauvais.

18 Evreux — (Inns: H. du Grand Cerf, tolerable — de France, opposite the Cathedral), chef lieu of the depart- ment of the Eure, has 10,287 inha- bitants, and is prettily situated in a bowl-shaped valley shut in on N. and S. by hills, and watered by the Iton, an affluent of the Seine, divided into several branches. It has a consider- able share in the cotton manufacture, here carried on by the hand- loom more than by the steam-engine. Its chief edifice is

The Cathedral, presenting to the W. an incongruous front of Italian architecture, flanked by two towers, and surmounted in the centre of the cross by a loftier tower and florid spire, erected by the Cardinal de la Balue, favourite of Louis XI. The nave is in the Norman style, probably of our Henry the First’s time, since he burnt the town, with the permission of the bishop, on condition of rebuild- ing the churches. The rest is pointed, and for the most part more modern than the reign of Philippe Auguste, who again burnt the town to revenge himself on the treachery of Jean Sans Terre, in making it over to him during King Richard’s captivity, but on Rich- ard’s unexpected return not only with - holding it, but murdering the French garrison placed in the castle. The choir, supported on clustered columns with glazed triforium (13th century), is very lofty and light. The N. tran- sept is still more recent, and the por- tal leading into it, in the flamboyant Gothic, elaborately ornamented, is deservedly admired, in spite of the injuries and loss of its statues in- flicted by the Revolutionists. The beautiful rose window in the S. tran- sept, and the wooden screens to the side chapels round the choir, showing the flamboyant Gothic style modified by the reviving Italian, also merit notice. St. Taurin, the first bishop of Evreux, was wont to engage in per- sonal contests with the evil one ; he even took the devil by the horns, and in proof of his victory, one of the ac-

Normandy. Route 25. — Paris to Caen — * Lisieux.

tual horns wrested off in the struggle was preserved here before the Revolu- tion !

At the opposite end of the town is the Church of St. Taurin, attached to the seminaire ; it is small, and re- sembles the cathedral in the various styles it displays, having shared like it the fortune of war and conflagration. The outer wall of the S. transept is ornamented with an arcade of semi- circular arches, the panels of which are prettily diapered with a pattern formed of red tiles let into the ma- sonry. This is supposed to be a relic of the church built 1026 by Richard II. duke of Normandy.

The greatest curiosity of this church is the Chdsse or Shrine of St. Taurin, which once contained his relics, preserved in the sacristy. It is a wooden box, shaped like a Gothic chapel, covered with plates of copper, or silver gilt, enchased with a diapered pattern, and set round with bas-reliefs and small statuettes of bishops and saints. The architectural decorations are rich and in good taste : such

shrines are now very rare. The pre- cious stones which once ornamented it have been stolen or lost.

The streets of Evreux preserve many antique timber-framed houses, and it possesses a Beffroi called Tour d' Horloge, built in the 15th century.

The title of the premier English Viscount, Devereux Earl of Hereford, is derived from this town : the family traces its descent from Normandy.

The Chateau de Navarre, about 1 in. from Evreux, exists no longer, having been pulled down, 1837-8.

Coaches go hence to Chartres and Rouen ( Route 50. ) daily.

The next post station to Evreux is called

18 La Commanderie, from a castle and church of the Knights Templars, of which the ruins and some tombs of members of the order remain. It lies very high.

1 7 La Riviere Thibouville. A little to the N. is Harcourt, cradle of France.

one of the noble bouses of England, who trace their descent from a baron of the name who fell beside William the Norman at Hastings. There are scanty remains of a castle.

10 Marche Neuf.

14 L’Hotellerie. The upland dis- trict traversed by the road forms part of the Pays de Lieuvin , celebrated for its fertility and excellent cultivation.

13 Lisieux. (Inns: H. de France; — la Belle Fontaine. ) A thriving manufacturing town (11,473 inhab. ), prettily situated at the confluence of the Touques with the Orbec. About 3,500 persons are employed in and around the town in weaving coarse Avoollens, flannels, horse cloths, &c. Its main street exhibits specimens of ancient domestic architecture, timber- framed houses and pointed gables, well suited to the artist’s pencil.

The Church of St. Peter (formerly cathedral) faces an open square with its W. front flanked by 2 towers. It is in the early pointed style of the 13th century, with lancet windows, holding a place between the Norman and the lancet Gothic of England. A preceding edifice, built 1143-82 (when the pointed style had scarcely begun to appear in this part of France) was burnt down, 1226. Nor- man arches occur in the S. W. tower only ; the outside of the S. transept is a fine example of the pointed style. The Lady Chapel was founded, in the 15th century, by Pierre Cauchon, bishop of Lisieux, and president of the unjust tribunal which condemned Joan of Arc, in c-xpiation of “ his false judgment of an innocent wo- man,” as he expressly states in the deed of endowment. (See p. 43.)

Henry II. was married to Eleanor of Guienne, the divorced wife of Louis le Jeune, 1 152, in the cathedral of Lisieux.

There is a very singular old wooden house in the Rue aux Fees.

Lisieux was the capital of the Lexovii, a Gallic tribe mentioned by Ca?sar, and ruins of the ancient town %

Route 25. — Caen — Abbaye aux Homme s. Sect. I.

( Noviomagus, L.) have been dis- covered. at a short distance from the present one. Thomas a Becket re- tired hither 1169, during his exile from England.

17 Estrees. The road from Lisieux to Caen is almost totally destitute of interest.

IS Moult.

.17 Caen. — Inns: Hotel de France; best, and very comfortable : — charges , table d’hote, 3 fr. ; bed, 2 fr. ; servants, 1 fr. 10 sous per diem ; — Hotel d’Angleterre; reasonable and also very good ; — Hotel du Palais Royal ; not very clean, but moderate.

Caen, chief town of the depart- ment of Calvados (so named from a long reef of rocks on its coast), is situated on the Orne 10 m. from its mouth, and has 41,876 inha- bitants. A smaller stream, the Odon, passes through the town and around the line of its old ramparts, to which it served as a fosse, before it joins the Orne, turning on its way several mills. Notwithstanding the antiquity of Caen, its wider streets, the large cen- tral square, in which stands the statue of Louis XIV. and its houses of white stone, give it a more cheerful air than Rouen, though less enlivened by passing crowds. The tall white Norman head-dress of the women, ornamented with lappets behind and sometimes with lace, is striking and quaint to a stranger’s eye.

To the traveller Caen recommends itself by its numerous specimens of ancient architecture, to the permanent resident by the salubrity of its site, and the cheapness of house rent and provisions, which have caused our countrymen to settle themselves down here in a colony 2003 strong.

Near the centre of the town, on one side of a small market-place full of bustle and quaint costumes and cha- racter in the early part of the day, rises the Church of St. Pierre , sur- mounted by one of the most graceful towers and spires, in the complete Gothic style, which Normandy can

produce ; the middle story, formed of tall lancet windows framed within reeded mouldings, is a model of strength and lightness ; it is sur- mounted by a spire of stone, partly pierced au jour. It was built 1308, and is 242 feet high. The nave was constructed probably about the same time, the choir, more richly orna- mented, rather later, while its roof and the chapels round the choir were added in the 16th century (1521). The rich groining of the roof of the choir is surpassed in the chapels, where it assumes the form of pendant fringes, giving the roof a cellular character, while open rings are sub- stituted for key-stones. The side walls of these chapels are picrc 'd with arches and set with statues. S >me of the capitals of the columns in the nave exhibit ludicrous carvings, such as Aristotle bridled and ridden by the mistress of Alexander, and Lancelot crossing the sea on his sword, from the old romances. The exterior of the E. end, well seen from the banks of the river, is as much Italian as Gothic, so entirely are forms and styles jumbled together.

Caen possesses two very remarkable monuments of the piety of William the Conqueror and his queen, in the churches of the Abbayes, Aux Horn- mes and Aux Dames: both founded 1066, and valuable in an architectural point of view, because their date is undoubted.

The Church of St. Etienne, or of the Abbaye aux Hommes, destined by the Conqueror as a resting-place for his own remains, was finished and dedi- cated by him in his lifetime, 1077, under Archbishop Lanfrane, who was the first abbot. The W. front is so perfectly and severely plain that it will probably disappoint expectations ; it is surmounted by 2 stately towers and spires of later date (1200) which, with the choir, were rebuilt or added to the original edifice, long after the time of William. The interior of the nave, however, exhibits the rigid se-

Normandy. Route 25 . — Caen — Abbaye aux Dames . 75

verity, and massy strength, with the grandeur of proportion, of the Nor- man Romanesque style. The church is 371 ft. long and 98 ft. high. The lower row of arches supports a gal- lery, having arches of nearly the equal span, and § of the height of those below, an arrangement resem- bling the arcades of the Roman Coliseum. These upper arches ori- ginally opened into the aisles, the vaulting below them being of posterior date. The clerestory windows consist of a tall and short arch placed alter- nately on one side or the other to meet the curve of the vault. The j choir ending in an apse, and sur- j rounded by apsidal chapels, is in the j pointed Gothic style, answering to the early English of the 1 2th century (some say 1316 — 44). A. plain grey j marble slab in the pavement, before the high altar, marks the grave of William the Conqueror, the founder of the church, but it has been long since empty : it was broken open, the

costly monument erected over it by William Rufus destroyed, and the bones scattered by the Huguenots, I 1562, and lost, without record, except one thigh bone, which was re-interred. The Revolutionists of 1793 again violated the grave, and this also dis- appeared.

The funeral of the Conqueror, un- dertaken by the charity of a simple knight, as already detailed (p. 42.), was singularly interrupted, even with- in the precincts of the church, and before the service for the dead was concluded, by a cry from one of the bystanders, a man of low degree, who claimed the site of the grave, saying, that it occupied the place of his fa- ther's house, that he had been illegally ejected from it, in order to build the church, and he demanded the resti- tution of his property. This claim, thus boldly made, in the presence of the dead monarch’s son Henry, the chief mourner, being backed by the assent of the town’s-people, who stood by, was not to be denied or rejected,

and the bishop was obliged to pay down on the spot 60 sous for a, plage of sepulture for the royal corpse. Even then it is related, that as the coffin was being lowered into the grave, it struck against some obsta- cle, fell and was broken into pieces, so that the corpse, ejected from its tenement, diffused so horrid a stench through the church, that the rites were hurried to a close, and the as- sembled priests and laity dispersed.

The exterior of this church, sur- mounted by its 2 W. towers, its cen- tral octagonal tower, and 2 turrets on the E., has a peculiarly striking effect from a distance, and reminds one of the arrangements of some of those on the Rhine.

The adjoining conventual buildings (date 1726) have been converted, since 1 800, into a College, numbering not quite 300 students.

At the opposite end of the town is the Ahhaye aux Dames, or church of la Ste. Trinite, founded 1066, and consecrated the same year, though probably unfinished, by Queen Ma- thilda, the Conqueror’s wife, and destined by her for a nunnery of noble ladies. The conventual build- ings attached to the church are quite modern (1726), and are converted into an Hospital, in which 40 sisters, of the order of St. Augustine, per- form the duties of nurses of the sick : the choir of the church is railed pff for their use. The church, in the lighter and more ornate character of its architecture, displays so broad a contrast to the masculine plainness of St. Etienne, that it would scarcely be supposed that they had been both in progress at the same time. With the exception of the upper part of the W. towers, however, this edifice is a perfect and unaltered specimen of pure Norman Romanesque ; the choir ending in an apsis being of the same age and style as the nave. “ The piers are lighter, the engaged pillars proj.ct more than in St. Eiienne, the embattled fret here runs round the e 2

Route 25. — - Caen.

Sect. I,

main arches, and instead of a lofty triforium the walls above them are threaded by a gallery supported by misproportioned pillars, exhibiting grotesque figures among the foliage of their capitals. The arches under the central tower are remarkably bold, and their archivolts are chased with the Norman lozenge.” — Sir F. P. The one opening into the nave is obtusely pointed, but apparently of the same date. The choir, ending in a semicircle of double arches, one tier over the other, encloses in the centre the fragments of the black marble gravestone of the foundress, broken in pieces by the Calvinists who dispersed her remains, which, however, were collected some years after. Under- neath is a crypt resting on 34 closely set pillars.

For the student of ancient architec- ture the following churches remain also to be visited. Not far from St. Etienne is St. Nicholas, another Norman church, coeval with the two abbeys, having been built, except the tower and the pointed vaulting of the nave, between 1066 and 83 ; it is now a stable belonging to the Remonte de -Cavallerie. It is unaltered, very plain in style, and ends in an apse.

St. Etienne le Vieil, though dese- crated and in ruins, is a fine specimen of pointed Gothic ; on the wall of the choir is a mutilated equestrian statue said to be William I.

St. Jean has 2 unequal and unfi- nished towers in the style of that of St. Pierre, but inferior to it, in late pointed style.

St. Michael in the suburb of Vau- •celles (Vauxball?) displays some curious architectural features ; in the Norman tower the very long but narrow and round-headed windows deserve notice. The fringed portal is surmounted by a gable filled with elegant flamboyant tracery, in the style of the 15th or 16th century.

Within the precincts of the Abbaye aux Hommes are several remains cf -ancient conventual buildings ; one of

these, now turned into a magazine and stable for soldiers of the garrison, is a large building of 2 stories, much mutilated, pierced with pointed win- dows ; it dates from the end of the 13th or early in the 14th century.

The Hotel-Dieu is a still older civil edifice, built in the reign of Henry II. ; it is a long and ugly building termi- nating in a gable at either end, sup- ported by buttresses, but it includes a fine hall of large size, supported on two rows of columns with pointed vaulting in the style of the 12th cen- tury.

There are many old houses, with curiously ornamented fronts of the 15th and 16th centuries, in the Rue St. Pierre (No. 52. 18. 20. 54. 24. &c. ), but they are fast disappearing.

The Hotel de Valois, Place St. Pierre, now the Bourse, is of Italian architecture.

The Castle, surmounting the height to the W. of St. Pierre, built by William the Conqueror and bis son Henry — held for a long period by the English, but finally taken from them by the brave Dunois, who com- pelled the Duke of Somerset with a garrison of 4,000 men to surrender, 1459 — has now the aspect of a modern fortress bastioned and coun- terscarped ; but having been disman- tled by a decree of the Convention, it is at present reduced to a barrack. The only Norman portion subsisting is the small Chapel of St. George, whose nave is probably of the 11th century, though the earliest mention of it is in 1181 ; while the chancel, se- parated from it by a bold arch, is of the 15th century; it is used as a I storehouse. The castle hall is still preserved, and is Norman in style. From the ramparts there is a good view of the town.

In the Hotel de Ville, which occupies with its Grecian portico one side of the Place Royal e, is a Collection of Paintings. The only ones worth no- tice are a genuine Perugino, Marriage of the Virgin, imitated by Raphael in

Normandy.

Route 25 . — Caen — Environs.

77 '

the famous Sposalizio ; — the Passage ! of the Rhine, Vander Meulan; — Mel- j chizedec offering bread and wine j to Abraham, Rubens; — the Virgin ! with 3 Saints, by some old master, j called Albert Durer.

In the Cabinet d'Histoire Naturelle j is a collection of the fossils of Nor- mandy, including Icthyosaurus, Pie- j siosaurus, and a very perfect crocodile ! from the neighbouring quarries of j l’Allemagne. The collections made 1 in the South Sea by Admiral Dumont S d’Urville have been deposited here.

The English church service is per- formed on Sundays at 1, in the French Protestant Temple, Rue de Geble.

The Poste aux Lettres is in the Rue de l’Hotel de Ville.

Caen is well provided with prome- nades, formal avenues of trees ; — the chief are called Grand Cours, and Cours Cafarelli, by the side of the Orne. The handsome quays border- ing the Orne and Odon near their junction form pleasant walks.

The women of the lower and mid- dle classes in Caen, and throughout a large part of La Basse Normandie, are finely formed, fully grown, and handsomer than in most other parts of France.

The principal street, in which are the best shops, is the Rue St. Jean.

Froissart narrates the story of the capture of Caen in 1346, a short while before the battle of Crecy by Edward III. and the Black Prince, who, being irritated by the resistance of the citizens, gave it up to plunder. It was then “ large, strong, and full of drapery and all other sorts of mer- chandise, rich citizens, noble dames, damsels, and fine churches.” The English fleet returned home laden with its spoils.

Several of the leaders of the party of the Girondins, proscribed by the Jacobins of the revolutionary tribunal, and driven from Paris by the insur- rection of May 31. 1793, retired to Caen to organise a revolt against the tyranny of the Mountain, but were

entirely defeated and put down in a battle at Vernon. It was shortly after this event that Charlotte Corday (a native of St. Saturnin near Seez), actuated by the spirit of resistance against the bloody tyranny of the Terrorists, which prevailed strongly at Caen, set out hence to Paris to as- sassinate Marat.

Among the illustrious natives of Caen, the learned Huet, Bishop of A vranches, born 1613, may be singled out ; also Clement Marot, the poet.

Brummel, the Beau par excellence of the court of George IV. when regent, lived many years at Caen, and ended his days miserably in a mad- house here.

Malleposte daily to Paris and Cher- bourg.

Diligences ; to Paris morning and evening by Lisieux and Evreux (p. 73.); daily to Cherbourg (Rte. 26.); Dol and St. Malo (Rte. 27.) ; to St. Lo, Coutances, and Granville (Rte. 27 and 32.); to Rennes and Nantes (Rte. 31.) ; to Havre by Harfleurand Rouen (Rte. 23.) ; to Tours by Fa- laise and Alen^on. “

The making of lace is said to oc- cupy 20,000 women and children in and about Caen. The streets of the suburbs are lined with family parties seated round their cottage doors, merrily twirling their bobbins. They make tulles, brodees, and blondes.

With this exception Caen has no claim to be a manufacturing town ; though it was so, in an eminent de- gree, until the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes banished all its most in- dustrious artisans.

Environs.

A cabriolet or other one-horse car- riage may be hired for 8 or 10 fr. the day.

The student of ancient architecture might spend many days profitably and agreeably in visiting the eccle- siastical and civil monuments which j abound in the neighbourhood of Caen.

' The department of Calvados is par- j ticularly rich in monuments of archi-

Route 25. — Caen — Fontaine le Henri.

Sect. I.

tecture ; the distinguished archasolo- gist of Caen, M. de Caumont, enu- merates nearly 70 specimens of the Norman architecture of the 1 1 th and 12th centuries existing in it.

On the outskirts of Caen, to the E. at the extremity of the Rue Basso St. Gilles, is a singular castellated mansion called Aux Gens d'Armes, from 2 stone figures of armed men on the top. Though surrounded by battlemented walls and furnished with towers, it was not built as a place of defence, but as a maison de plaisance, for one Gerard de Nollent, in the beginning of the 16th century. Its walls are fantastically ornamented ex- ternally with medallion heads of em- perors, &c.

There is a very beautiful and re- markable ruin near Caen, first de- scribed by Prof. Wheivetl, the Abbey of Ardenne, now a farm-yard. It has a fine gate tower with a round-headed gate and pointed wicket, large stables,

“ a buttressed barn which puts to utter shame the largest of our edifices of this kind,” and a beautiful Church , closely resembling in style the early English of our abbeys of Bolton and Newstead, now a barn or hay maga- zine. Its W. front is especially no- ticeable; it has a rose within a pointed window, and a rich porch supported “ on detached shafts.”

To the N. and N. E. of Caen, or | between the town and the 1 sea, lie the following objects of interest.

Thunn. About 9 m. N. W. of Caen. Here is a true Norman church scarcely altered since the days of Henry I. when it was built, excepting the loss of its S. aisle. It is a good deal orna- mented. The tower is capped with a hollow pyramid of stone, the oldest example of the nascent spire known.

1 m. farther to the N. is the inter- esting Chateau of Fontaine le Henri , a seat of the family d’Harcourt, built in the first 30 years of the 16th cen- tury, partly in the bastard Gothic, corresponding more with the late Elizabethan of England, partly in j

the Italian style, resembling the revived classic architecture of Aud- ley End and Longleat. It is a mansion of no great size, but is dis- tinguished by a preposterously lofty and steeply pitched roof, surmounting one wing, flanked by an equally lofty chimney. The most profuse decoration of sculpture is lavished on its singu- larly irregular fa£ade. The ornaments of the windows, the pannelling, balus- trades, &c. are not inferior to those of the Palais de Justice at Rouen, which they much resemble. The Church of the village is Norman.

Further on, 12 m. from Caen, on the sea, is Corseulles, a small bathing place and fishing port facing the ter- rible rocks of Calvados. It is famed for its oysters. Paris receives from the “ pares aux huitres ” here T 7 5 of all that it consumes, amounting to 5A million dozen annually. They are transported by light and fast car- riages.

3 m. E. of Fontaine le Henri is the pilgrimage chapel of Ndtre Dame de la Delivrande, to which the Nor- man sailors and peasants have resorted for the last 800 years. A very toler- able road, planted at intervals with stations and crosses, leads thither 10 m. from Caen. It has been thus ad- mirably described by Sir Francis Palgrave : — “ The traveller will not fail to linger on the little hill just beyond the first crucifix. Here he enjoys a lovely prospect. The horizon is bounded by long lines of grey and purple hills nearer are fields and pastures, whilst the river glitters and winds amidst their vivid tints ; nearer j still the city of Caen extends itself (see p. 72.). About 4 m. farther we reach Cambres, one of the many seigneuries which belonged to the noble family of de Mathan. The cha- teau escaped spoliation at the Revo- lution. The Church of Annisy, on the 1. of the road, is only remarkable for its herring-bone masonry, a complete imitation of Roman constructions, by Norman builders. It is composed

Normandy. Routed* — Caen to Cherbourg — Norrey . 79

of small flagstones of the size and shape of tiles. The church of Douvre, the next village, is rather a picturesque building. The upper story of the tower has 2 pointed windows of the earliest date. The other stories of the tower and the W. end of the church are Norman ; the E. end is in ruins.”

The Chapel of la Delivrande is a small Norman edifice. The statue of the Virgin, which now commands the veneration of the faithful, was resuscitated in the reign of Henry I. from the ruins of a previous chapel destroyed by the Northmen, through the agency of a lamb constantly grub- bing up the earth over the spot where it lay. Such is the tenor of the legend. The reputation of the image for performing miracles, especially in behalf of sailors, has been maintained from that time to the present, although it suffered much at the Revolution, when pilgrimages were forbidden. It was visited by Louis XL in 1471.

From an eminence near this 6 or 8 church spires may be discovered ; they have all a strong family likeness to that of St. Pierre in Caen.

Near this, on the coast, is Luc or Lucques , another small watering- place with an hotel (de la Belle Plage), said to be good.

Thann, Fontaine le Henri, and La Delivrande, may be all visited in the course of a summer-day, taking one road in going, the other in returning ; the distance to and fro is rather more than 24 m. There is some sort of public conveyance to Corseulles in summer.

The church of Ifs, about 3 m. S. of Caen, has a curious early pointed steeple ; but a still more remarkable tower and spire exists at Norrey, on the way to Bayeux (Route 26.).

The quarries of Caen stone, so abun- dantly used in England during the middle ages, and of which the White Tower, old London Bridge, Henry VI I tli’s Chapel, Winchester and Can- terbury cathedrals, besides many of our country churches, were built, are

situated within the circuit of ]| m. to the W. and S. of Caen, near Mala- drerie, on the road to Bayeux, and

at Haute Allemagne. The rock is an

I oolite, equivalent to our Stonesfield I slate, but without its slaty structure ;

| it is extracted from subterraneous

quarries through vertical shafts, in

blocks 8 or 9 ft. long and 2 ft. thick. It is still employed in England ; the I magnificent new tower at the W. end | of Canterbury Cathedral is built of stone brought from hence.

A visit to Falaise Castle, the birth- j place of the Conqueror, will occupy [ a day ; a diligence runs thither and i back daily (see Rte. 29.).

Another antiquarian and architec- tural excursion may be made on the way to Bayeux, to Fresne Camilly, Creuilly, and St. Gabriel (Rte. 29.).

ROUTE 26.

CAEN TO CHERBOURG BY BAYEUX.

121 kilom. = 74 Eng. m.

Malleposte daily in 8t hours.

Diligences daily, going round by St. Lo (Rte. 32.).

1 m. beyond Caen, is la Maladre- | rie, so called from a lazar house founded by our Henry II., for lepers | of the town of Caen, now replaced by | a huge penitentiary ( Maison Centrale ! de Detention). Near this may be | perceived the whims or wheels by which the Caen stone (see above) is raised out of the quarries. At St. Germain le Blancherbe, the direct but not post road to St. Lo (Rte. 32. )

| branches off’ to the 1.

The first station on the way to Bayeux

12 Bretteville, is called l’Orgueil- j leuse, though of what it has to be proud ! is not evident, except its handsome I steeple. This, however, is entirely ■ eclipsed by the very fine open belfry i and spire of Norrey, seen on the 1. about 1 m. off the road.

This beautiful Church , whiclT has e 4

Sect. I.

Houle 26 Bayeux Cathedral.

been termed a miniature cathedral, is in the pure and simple Gothic style of our early English, and of the most elegant proportions, with an enriched choir, circular apse and N. porch. “ All the mouldings are deep, free and repeated so as to give the greatest strength of line to all its parts.” The tower owes its character of unequalled beauty to the 4 narrow and tall lancet arches which occupy the N. face of its belfry story, the two central ones open so as to let daylight through.

In going from Caen to Bayeux, a detour may be made to visit Fresne Camillv, a church in the transition style, round ai'ches prevailing in the body of the building, with indications of pointed arches in a pannelled arcade on the exterior of the N. wall. At Creuilly, the Castle , a construction of different ages, retains among more modern additions 2 round towers. It belonged to Robert of Gloucester, natural son of Henry I., and is now converted into a dwelling-house. The church is genuine Norman. A little farther is St. Gabriel , a ruined priory founded by Robert of Gloucester, 1128; the choir of the church alone remains, and is a very remarkable ex- ample of florid Norman. This is a detour which will repay those of antiquarian taste.

There is another road from Brette- ville to Creuilly, passing by Sacque- ville en Bessin, whose church is curious, partly pointed, partly round.

On the direct road from Caen to Bayeux, the country is not very in- teresting ; orchards abound, or rather the corn-fields are planted with rows of apple trees, under which the grain crop ripens.

16 Bayeux (Inn: II. du Luxem- bourg, good), a quiet and dull eccle- siastical city, with much the air of some cathedral towns in England, was anciently capital of the Bessin, and contains 10,803 inhab. It is washed by a small stream, the Aure, which enters the sea at 5 m. distance. It consists of two main streets, in- cluding some ancient specimens of

I domestic architecture, running up a hill to a large open place, lined with trees. Its only curiosities are its Tapestry and its

Cathedral, its chief ornament, though disfigured by a central cupola in a semi- Grecian style. The W. front is a fine elevation, in the pointed Gothic, surmounted by two steeples of the 12th century, in the towers of which pointed arches alternate with round. The 3 porches, which, as well as that on the S. side, deserve attention for their bas-reliefs and ornamental foliage, are later in date and florid in style. The interior is 315 ft. long, and 81 high. The W. end of the nave con- sists of florid Norman arches and piers, whose natural heaviness is re- lieved by the beautifully diapered patterns wrought upon the wall, pro- bably built by Henry I., who de- stroyed the previously existing church by fire, 1106. Above this runs a blank trefoiled arcade in the place of a triforium, surmounted by a clerestory of early pointed windows very lofty and narrow.

The arches of the nave, nearest the cross and the choir, ending in a semi- circle, exhibit a more advanced state of the pointed style ; and are distin- guished by the remarkable elegance of their graceful clustered pillars. They were built by Bishop Henry de Beau- mont, an Englishman, 1205. The circular ornaments in the spandrils of the arches are very pleasing and of fanciful variety.

The stalls are of oak well carved ; the modern screen is totally at va- riance with every part of the church, except the cupola.

The chapels in the side aisles, and the exterior of the E. end, should not pass unnoticed. Under the choir is a crypt, probably the only part remain- ing of the original church, built, in 1077, by Odo, half brother of the Conqueror, and 50 years bishop of Bayeux. It is supported on 12 pillars with rude capitals, and contains some episcopal tombs.

The student of architecture may

Normandy.

Route 26 . — Bayeux — Forinigny .

visit with profit the chapel of the former Seminaire, now Hotel- Dieu, a simple oblong plain groined hall, lighted by double lancet windows, and not unlike the E. end of the Temple Church, in London ; its date is 1206. Behind the altar is a sin- gular recess beautifully groined. Also the little Norman Church of St. Loup , in the outskirts of the town, on the way to St. Lo.

The Tapisserie de Bayeux has been removed from the Hotel de Ville, near the cathedral, where it used to be kept, — to be unwound by the yard from a roller like a piece of haberdashery, and subjected to the fingers as well as eyes of the curious, — to a new room in the Public Library , where it is more carefully preserved, and quite as conveniently exhibited, under a glass case. Many persons will look upon it merely as a long strip of coarse linen cloth, 20 inches wide and 214 ft. long, rudely worked with figures worthy of a girl’s sampler. It is, however, a curious historical record, of peculiar interest to an Eng- lishman, and although it presents such anomalies as horses coloured alter- nately blue and red, there is much spirit in the drawing. It is ascribed, with much probability, to the needle of Mathilda, Queen of the Conqueror, and represents the Conquest of Eng- land, and the events which led to it. It was preserved in the cathedral until the Revolution, being hung round the nave on certain days. The earliest record of it is in an inven- tory of the effects of the church, taken 1476. Its series of rude worsted pic- tures represent such events as Edward the Confessor designating William as his heir ; the treachery of Harold; the shipment and landing of the Nor- man army and battle of Hastings : in many of these scenes Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, the Conqueror’s half bro- ther, is a prominent figure. The de- sign has evidently been to represent Harold as an usurper, and William as the rightful heir to the crown, having

other claims beside that of conquest. The Normans are drawn with shaven heads and chins, in armour of scales, helmets protected by nose pieces in front, and shields shaped like boys’ kites, sometimes bearing devices o. crests (supposed to be of later inven tion) suspended by a belt round the neck. All the buildings have round arches. At the bottom runs a curious border of animals, including camels and elephants, said to represent fables from iEsop. (?)

The tapestry has been excellently engraved for the London Society of Antiquaries, by the late Charles Sto- thard. When Napoleon was medi- tating the invasion of England, he caused this tapestry to be transported from town to town and exhibited, on the stage of the playhouses, between the acts, to stimulate the spectators to a second conquest !

Wace, the author of the Roman de Rou, was a native of Bayeux, and' canon of the cathedral. According to it Harold actually did homage to William of Normandy, as heir of Edward the Confessor, for the throne of England.

There are good Baths, at the side of the river, and near them a pretty Nursery Garden.

Diligences run daily to Cherbourg and St. Lo, Granville and St. Malo.

In going from Bayeux to Cher- bourg, the diligences make a detour of 9 leagues ; by passing through St. Lo ( Rte. 32. ), the malleposte takes the direct line, as follows, passing La Tour en Bessin, whose little church has a chancel in a style resembling the best English decorated ; the nave is Norman, the tower and spire earlier than the chancel.

16 Formigny. Here the English were defeated (1450), in an engage- ment so decisive that it occasioned them the loss of Normandy, which has never since been separated from the French crown. A monument on the rt. of the road marks the battle- field, and commemorates the victory. e 5

82 Route 26. — ■ Carentan — Quineville — Valognes. Sect. I.

It must be borne in mind, that Sir Thomas Kyriel, who commanded the English, an old soldier of Agincourt, who took little account of superior numbers on the side of the French, attacked, with a vastly inferior force, the army of the Comte de Clermont, and while thus engaged was assaulted in the rear by a second army under, the Constable de Richemont.

16 Isigny on the Aure is accessible for vessels of considerable size, with the tide. Much butte? is exported hence to England and elsewhere.

The river Vire, forming the bound- ary between the departments of Cal- vados and La Manche, is crossed about one-third of the distance.

11 Carentan (Inn : Hotel de la Place, good), a town of 3,1 93 inhab. in a low marshy situation surrounded by fortifications no longer kept up, pos- sessing an old Castle, which belonged to the k ings of France, and was besieged by Edward III., 1346, and a hand- some Church, surmounted by a spire ; it is Norman, with pointed additions, the E. end in the style of the 14th century. There is some painted glass, but defective.

At Carentan, we enter the penin- sula of the Cotentin , so called from the “ cotes,” coasts, which border it on 3 sides. It is a fertile and pleasing district, celebrated for its pastures, on which large herds are fed, every where enclosed within hedges, and abound- ing in old ruined castles and ancient churches. It is particularly interest- ing to Englishmen, as the cradle of some of the oldest and most noble English families. At every step the traveller will encounter obscure vil- lages and hamlets, whose names are familiar to him as household words, as patron imics of great houses distin- guished in French and English annals, most of whose founders left their coun- try in the train of William the Nor- man. Such are Beaumont, Greville, Carteret, Bruce, Neville, Pierpont ; but these are only a few examples among many.

1 3 Sainte Mere l’Eglise, has a simi- lar church to that of Carentan.

The ruins of the Abbey of Monte- burg have been swept away to the foundation since 1817, having been sold in lots, and pulled down for the materials.

At Quineville, 6 m. N. E. of this, on the coast, is an ancient monument of masonry 27 ft. high, and 30 in cir- cumference at the base, which is square, and surmounted by a hollow cylinder garnished round with 2 rows of pillars. It is called la Grande Cheminee, and though some writers have made it a Roman monument, it may be more safely pronounced a structure of the end of the 12th cen- tury, and nothing more nor less than a chimney.

From the heights of Quineville King James II. beheld the sea fight of La Hogue, which destroyed all his hopes of regaining the throne. It is said that in the heat of the battle, on seeing the French ships boarded and carried in succession, his English feel- ings so far prevailed, that he ex- ultingly exclaimed to the French officers about him, “ See my brave English sailors.” (Seep. 83.)

Through a pleasing country, to which the hedges and woodlands give a perfectly English character, not unlike parts of Sussex, to

17 Valognes (Inn : Grand Turc, tolerable, in a plain way ; civil peo- ple) ; a pleasant town of 6,940 in- habitants, containing some large and handsome mansions, the residence of numerous genteel families. The castle of William the Conqueror is demo- lished ; it was here that he was warn- ed by his fool in the middle of the night, of the conspiracy of the Seig- neurs of the Bessin and Cotentin to surprise and assassinate him. He instantly mounted his horse, and es- caped with difficulty to Falaise.

M. de Gerville, a distinguished an- tiquary and geologist, resides here.

Although Valognes possesses no- thing in itself to detain the traveller,

Normandy.

Route 26 . — La Hougue.

in its vicinity are several objects of i high interest. St. Sauveur le Vicomte | (10 m. S. ) has a picturesque ruined i castle and abbey (Route 27.) At ! Bricquibec (9 m. S. W. ) is a con- 1 vent of Trappists. The geology of the Cotentin is very interesting ; its | tertiary beds, in which more than 300 species of fossil shells, identical with those of the Paris Basin, have been found, and its Baculite lime- stone, may be well studied in the quar- ries near Valognes.

At Alleaume, the Roman Alauna, a village contiguous to Valognes, are very scanty remains of a bath : a Ro- | man theatre described by Montfaucon j has been totally demolished.

An excursion may be made hence j to La Hougue and Barfleur by Ta- j marville (2^ m. ), where the Norman j ChurcJ has an elegant octagonal tower | (a rare form) composed of 3 stories of narrow round-headed arcades and ! windows.

St. Vaast la Hougue, 13 m. from j Valognes, is a sea-port town of 3,500 ; inhabitants, situated in a fine bay, j with the fortified island and lazaret j of Tatihou in front, recently provided with a pier 984 teet long. Previous to the rise of its rival Cherbourg, j it was the chief port of the Cotentin, j and of greater importance than at present. The English frequently effected hostile landings here, to lay desolate the fair fields of France. King Stephen in 1137 landed here, ' and the army which conquered at Crecy under Edward III. in 1346. Other armaments disembarked here in the reigns of Henry IV. and V., and in 1 574 a force of 5,000 French and English Protestants despatched by Queen Elizabeth under the Comte de Montgomery, to aid the cause of the Huguenots, made a descent upon Normandy at this point. La Hougue is chiefly known in English history, however, on account of the sea fight of Cap la Hougue in 1692, when the united English and Dutch fleets under Admirals Russel and liooke, anni-

hilated the expedition prepared by Louis XIV. fora descent upon Eng- land, with the design of restoring James II. to the throne. The action commenced at some distance from the coast between Cape Barfleur and the Isle of Wight. The French admiral Tourville, a man of great bravery, having orders from his master to en- gage at all odds, ventured to measure his strength with a fleet of 80 vessels, the largest which had entered the Channel since the Armada, while his own force did not exceed 44. It is supposed that he was ignorant of the junction of the Dutch, and that he counted on the desertion of Admiral Russel, who, it is well known, was in secret correspondence with James. However, nothingof this sort occurred, and after a running fight the French, in 3 divisions, retired to their own coast, pursued by the English. 3 of the largest ships, including the admi- ral’s, le Soleil Royal, sought refuge in Cherbourg, where they were blown up by the English Admiral Delaval. Tourville, hoisting his flag on board another vessel, conducted 12 into the bay of La Hougue ; where he had time, before the arrival of Russel the day after, to prepare means for a stout defence, running them aground on the shallows with their broadside to the enemy. The French army, united with a body of Irish and English re- fugees, were drawn up on the heights above ; while the artillery was em- barked on floating batteries, a fleur d’eau, to assist in repelling any attack on the ships. James II., attended by Marshals Berwick andBellefonde, who commanded his forces, was a specta- tor of the action which ensued. The only really brilliant part of the battle was the attack and capture of this armament by the boats of the English squadron under Sir George Rooke; these, and a few light fri- gates, only being able to approach near enough to take a part in the ac- tion on account of the shallows. In the teeth of a tremendous fire of mus- e 6

Sect. I.

Route 26. — JBcirJleur — Cherbourg .

quetry and artillery from shore and ships, the English sailors pulled up to the stranded vessels, boarded them all one after the other with loud huzzas, and pointed their guns against the French on the shore. All the 12 ships of war were burnt, together with a number of transports, 300 of which had been collected in this and the neighbouring ports to convey the army across to England.

About 7 m. N. of St. Vaast is Barfleur, an ancient and now nearly deserted town built of granite.

Down to the end of the 12th cen- tury, it was the most frequented port by which the communication between Normandy and England was main- tained, in spite of the dangerous rocks around. Upon them perished the “ Blanche Nef,” — the ship which conveyed William, the only son of Henry I., with 140 young noble- men — through the fault of the in- toxicated pilot and crew. The prince himself might have escaped bad not an affectionate desire to save his natural sister, the Countess of Mortagne, caused him to turn back towards the foundering vessel. The boat which was bearing him to the shore was filled by a crowd of de- spairing wretches, and all sank to the bottom together.

On the extreme point of the Cap de Gatteville, the W. horn of the great bay into which the Seine discharges itself, the E. headland being near Fecamp, about 1 m. N. of Barfleur, a magnificent Lighthouse was completed in 1835. It is 271 ft. high above the sea, and is constructed entirely of granite. The light is seen at a distance of 27 m. out at sea. There is a fine view from the top. Barfleur is 15 m. E. of Cher- bourg ; a good road leads thither.

At the distance of about 7 m. from Valognes, the direct post road from Valognes to Cherbourg passes 2i m.on the 1. the small town of Brix, a me- morable name, since it is the same as Bruis or Bruce in its primitive spell- ing. The noble family of that name

was allied to the Dukes of Normandy and from it sprang Robert Bruce, the king of Scotland. The castle of the Seigneur de Brix, built in the 12th century, is now reduced to a few ruined vaults and foundation walls. It was called Chateau d' Adam. With this exception, there is nothing to notice on the road, until from the top of the last hill a fine view of the sea is presented through the gap of the valley, with Cherbourg at its mouth. A winding descent through a pictur- esque gully, displaying here and there bare cliffs, terminates in a long ave- nue of trees, which forms the approach to Cherbourg. On the 1. rises the eminence La Fauconniere, crowned by the telegraph ; on the rt. the cliff of Roule exposes a precipitous es- carpment, 350 ft. above the sea.

20 Cherbourg. — Inns : Hotel

d’ Angleterre, on the new Quai du Port ; — H. de Commerce : — good cuisine, but little comfort.

Cherbourg, one of the principal naval ports and dockyards of France, is situated at the N. extremity of the peninsula of the Cotentin, in the de- partment of La Manche, in the centre of a bay, the extremities of which are formed by Cap Levy on the E., and Cap Omanville on the W. Its docks have been gained out of the rock, and its harbour won from the winds ; for no pains nor cost have been spared to secure for France on this point, so advantageously projecting into the Channel, a naval arsenal and port, whence she may be ready to watch or annoy her rival on the op- posite coast. The town lies in the hollow of the valley of the Divette, which opens out to the sea under the lofty falaise of the quartz hill of Roule, crowned by a fort. Apart from its consideration as a naval station Cherbourg is utterly insignificant ; with dirty streets, reminding one of Portsmouth point. Its commercial relations are very limited ; but its extensive naval works employ about 6,000 out of its 19,872 inhabitants

Normandy, i?. 26. — Cherbourg — Dockyard — La Digue. 85

and upon them alone depends its prosperity. Among its few articles of export are eggs to the value of one million francs yearly, sent to Eng- land. Cherbourg has a Bassin de Com- merce, a commercial harbour, formed at the mouth of the Divette, never very full of shipping, but often visited by vessels of the English Yacht Club, who come over to lay in provisions and champagne. It is lined with quays, and the entrance to it is protected by stone piers, with a lighthouse _at its extremity. The commercial port is quite distinct from the Dockyard (Grand Port), situated on the N. W. of the town. English travellers desirous of seeing the dockyard, must provide them- selves with a note of recommendation from the British Consul to the Major de la Marine at the Vieux Port, on the E. of the commercial harbour, in order to procure a ticket of admis- sion. He will appoint a gendarme to accompany them, to whom a couple of francs may be given for his trouble. The Grand Port occupies a nearly triangular space of ground, one side resting on the sea, and is surrounded by fortifications, which have recently been replaced by more lofty ramparts, taking in a larger extent of ground, surrounded by fosses cut in the rock, faced with granite masonry, and adding greatly to the strength of the place.

The Port Militaire, and Arsenal de la Marine, planned, but only partly begun by Louis XVI., have been more than 36 years in progress ; and the new works, commenced since 1831, will take as many more, pro- bably, to complete. It consists of an ancient port, accessible for vessels of war at all tides, 56 ft. deep, capable of holding 12 or 15 ships of the line, and frigates ; of a floating basin (bassin a flot), closed by lock-gates ; and of a third basin, begun June, 1836, now in progress of excavation, by the aid of gunpowder, out of the

solid slate rock, which forms the foundation of the entire yard, and out of which the other basins were quarried in the same manner. From the stairs on the W. quai of the avant port, Charles X. and his family embarked in 1830. There are four slips (Calesde Construction), of very solid construction ; the lofty roofs rest on arches supported by piers of gra- nite and slate ; the arches are partly closed by wooden blinds. Adjoining them is a dry dock ( Forme de Ra- doub'), and beyond them are the Ateliers des Forges (smithy) des Machines (workshops tilled with ma- chinery for planing, turning, scoop- ing, and cutting rods, beams, screws, &c. of iron) ; the Atelier de la Fon- derie, roofed with zinc, furnished with two large and six smaller furnaces, and with iron cranes, & c.

The Timber Shed ( Hangar au bois) is 958 ft. long, and supported on 130 stone pillars. The yard is supplied with water from the Di- vette by a long and expensive con- duit.

Convicts (for£ats) are no longer employed in the dockyard of Cher- bourg.

La Digue. The roads of Cher- bourg, though protected cn three sides by the land, are naturally open and exposed to the N. wind. To remedy this defect, the project of throwing a Breakwater across the bay’s mouth, in the deep sea, has been favourably entertained by every government since that of Louis XVI., with whom it originated. The old Bourbons, the Republic, the Empire, the Restoration, and Louis Philippe, have all desired to advance a scheme which should contribute to secure for France a safe and strong harbour on this part of their coast, exactly opposite Portsmouth, which would be an eye to watch, and an arm to strike the English on the opposite side of the Channel. At present the French possess no port for ships of

Sect. I.

Route 26. — Cherbourg . — Digue.

war from Dunkirk (and that is fit only for frigates) and Brest. Yet even now, after the operations have been carried on nearly 50 years, and nearly 28,000,000 of francs, together with about 4,000,000 cubic metres of stone, sunk in the undertaking, it is only just beginning to raise its bead above water ; while, j udging from past experience, it remains still very pro- blematical whether it will be able to withstand the sea, and continue perma- nent. The whole undertaking may, as yet, be regarded as a long series of experiments and failures. The plan first adopted under Louis XVI. (1784) was that of forming trun- cated cones of timber, or huge broad- bottomed tubs, floating them on empty casks to the proper place, sinking them, and filling them with stones, and heaping up others round about them. But a very brief ex- posure to a few storms overset some of the caissons, shattered the frame - work of others to pieces, and spread the stone and wood over the anchor- age, so as to injure it. After a considerable interruption from the Revolution, another scheme was re- sorted to of forming a bank of small stones, and covering these with large solid blocks: this was continued down to the time of Napoleon, who, as was his custom, looked at it in a military point of view, and at once directed the formation of a fort in the centre of the digue. All exertions were thenceforth concentrated on this ob- ject ; a mole was formed, a battery raised on it mounting 20 guns, a garrison of 90 men was established on it, and lodged in barracks erected for the purpose. In 1808, however, a Storm of extraordinary violence burst upon the roads ; the waves, carried to an unusual height, soon submerged all the buildings raised upon the digue, and by the impetuosity of their shocks, swept them all off, save the cabin of the commandara of the prison ; and forming a wide breach in the masonry, poured over and

through it with tremendous violence. There were at the time upon the dyke 263 soldiers and workmen, of whom 194 were drowned, 69 were saved by finding shelter in hollows among the stones, and 38 got off in a boat which managed to reach them during a short lull, with great difficulty, since the vessels in the roads within the Digue were all driven from their moorings. By this fatal disaster the operations of 16 years, in sinking large blocks, were nearly annihilated, and the whole mass of stone reduced to the condition of a shifting shingle bed, rendering it doubtful whether the plan of even protecting the roads at all was prac- ticable. Nevertheless, Napoleon did not abandon it, nor did his successors on the throne lose sight of it. A survey made by order of the govern- ment in 1828, showed, however, that the foundations had shifted in the course of 40 years, from the position in which they had been first placed, to a considerable distance. A fresh impulse has been given to the work since 1830; and under the vigorous superintendence of Louis Philippe, it is possible that the undertaking may yet be carried out. A new mode of proceeding was adopted in 1832, and as the result of the schemes previously pursued had shown that the mere weight and volume of the stones thrown into the sea was insuf- ficient to secure their fixity, a layer of beton, a species of concrete com- posed of 1 part of pounded brick and

2 of lime, is now deposited on the loose stone heap, and upon it a wall of well jointed and solid masonry, faced with granite, is raised. Even this, however, was destined to be the sport of the waves during a storm which occurred in 1836, the most terrible since that of 1 808 ; the coat of con- crete was broken and turned over in places ; blocks of stone, weighing

3 tons, were raised 22 ft. high in the air, and carried over the wall to the inside of the digue, so that at the

Hormandy. Route 26. — Cherbourg — Digue .

t?ad of 3 days 300 of them had found I their way across, and wide gaps and I fissures were formed in the body of j the breakwater.

Instead of being discouraged, the present government seems spurred on by this last mishap to over- come ali obstacles. Since these last injuries, the width of the dyke at its base has been increased to 295 ft. ; more than 500 workmen are con- stantly employed upon it, being lodged in barracks on the break- water, and protected during their operations by a movable shed, and for a considerable distance the colossal structure raises its head several feet above the surface of the sea ; at the present rate of progress it may be finished in 8 years.

The Digue de Cherbourg extends between the Isle Pelee and the Pointe de Querqueville for a length of 3,760 metres, =4,1 1 1 yards, or more than 2 m., leaving openings for the entrance and exit of vessels on the E. of 1,257 yards and at the W, of about ]i mile. The depth of the sea about the digue varies from 36 to 45 ft. A light- house has been raised in the centre, together with a strong battery. The stone employed is partly from the quarries at the base of the Montagne de lloule, conveyed to the harbour along a tramway ; the slate comes from Becquet, and the granite from Ferminville and Flamanville.

Persons desirous of seeing the digue have only to hire a boat in the harbour and row off to it, the dis- tance being about 2 m.

The following statement of com- parative measurements in yards will show how much more serious an undertaking the Cherbourg Digue is than the Plymoutli Breakwater: — |

Length. Hreadth. Height.

Digue, 4111 295 36 to 4 5} =/i

Break -?n6oF- 0atbase> (1

water, j £16 at top, 14 ) ^

It, however, remains to be seen whether the digue will ever be com- pleted successfully. Its failure

hitherto may, at least in part, be at- tributed to a defect of the plan in presenting to the violence of the sea a vertical wall instead of a gradual slope. During the occurrence ot storms, the waves hurl the loose masses of stones, many of them tons in weight, with appalling violence, and a noise like thunder, against the even granite masonry, and acting upon it like so many battering rams, effect serious breaches.

The Roadstead of Cherbourg is, it is said* beginning to experience the benefit of the breakwater. Though only a third of its area is fit for large vessels, it is capable of containing between 30 and 40 men of war in its anchorage. It is protected by the batteries of Fort Royal, of 100 guns, on the Isle Pelee, and Fort du Hornet on the W., to which must be now added the fort on the mole in the centre of the digue.

These works would render Cher- bourg, if not impregnable from the sea, at least very difficult to attack. On the land side it has hitherto been almost open, but the fortifications now in progress are intended to strengthen it there.

In 1758 the English, under Gene- ral Bligh, effected a descent on the coast, to the number of 7,000, in the face of 16,000 French troops, who offered no effective opposition. The English forces kept possession of Cherbourg for three days, in which, time they destroyed all the naval and military works, docks, arsenals, &c., blowing them up with the powder which the French had left behind, burning the lock gates of the har- bour, and all the vessels of war and commerce. They levied a contribu- I tion of 44,000 livres on the town, but no injuries nor pillage of the in- habitants or their dwellings was per- mitted. 'To this the French them- selves bear honourable testimony, ac- knowledging that the protection of the British officers prevented any outrage. All the cannon were carried

Route 26. — Cherbourg — Querqueville. Sect. I.

off, but the bells of the church were conceded to the entreaties of the cure, and allowed to remain.

Cherbourg has no antiquities to show, except the Vieille Tour , which formed part of the ancient fortifica- tions, washed by the sea, and the Church, not far from it ; both built about 1450, and neither possessing any in- terest.

The Chapelle de Notre Dame du Vceu, outside the town near the dockyard, owes its existence and its name to a vow made by the Em- press Maude when caught in a fierce tempest, which threatened to over- whelm the vessel in which she was attempting to gain the port of Cher- bourg, on her flight from the usurper Stephen, by whom she had been driven out of England. While still at her prayers, and in the agony of anti- cipated death among the waves, “ Chante, Reine,” exclaimed a sailor ; “ behold the land ; your prayers are heard:” and from this circumstance, it is said, the spot where the queen landed, and near to which she built the chapel, now enclosed within the dockyard, was called Chantereine, — a name which it still retains. The pre- sent Chapel of the Vow, however, is modern, and stands on a different spot. Mathilda is not the only refugee sovereign whom Cherbourg has seen within its walls at various periods; besides Charles X., who here took a last farewell of his country, after abdicating the throne at Ram- bouillet 1830, Don Pedro, ex-em- peror of Brazil, arrived here, 1831, when driven from his states, and James II. repaired hither, after the battle of La Hougue.

The Hotel de Ville contains a Col- lection of Pictures , formed and be- queathed to the town by a native, Thomas Henry, himself an artist.

Consuls reside here from Great Britain and the maritime states of Europe and America.

There is a Bathing Establishment on the sands, to the E. of the Old Ar-

senal and Jettee, but it is not well appointed.

The Poste aux Lettres is on the Quai du Port.

A malleposte goes daily to Paris, in 24 hours.

Diligences daily to Paris by Caen ; to St. Lo, Coutances, and St. Malo. Inferior coaches daily to Valognes ; to Barfleur ; to St. Vaast ; to Bricque- bec.

Steamers to Havre twice a week ; to Weymouth once or twice in the summer.

Excursions may be made to the Phare de Gatteville ; Barfleur, and La Hougue, (pp. 83, 84.)

Querqueville, 5 m. W. of Cher- bourg, is a hamlet, whose name is va- riously derived from the oak, quercus, which once surrounded it, or, with more probability, from its small Church (kerk) of St. Germain stand- ing by the side of the parish church. This is one of the oldest monuments of Christianity in Normandy. It is in the form of a cross ; its chancel and transepts, lighted by loophole win- dows, all end in apses, and all this part is of herring-bone masonry : the nave and tower were added at a sub- sequent period. The ornaments of the towers, stripes of stone projecting from the wall surmounted by the round arch, resemble those of Bar- ton on the Humber, Barnack, and others in England.

The fort of Querqueville is one of the defences of the roads of Cher- bourg, and its lighthouse points out the entrance to them.

13 m. further to the W., beyond Beaumont, the Cap la Hague (often confounded on the maps with La Hougue) stretches out towards Al- derney (called by the French Au- rigny), from which island it is only 9 m. distant. Both the cape and the island, as well as the Cape Flamin- ville, are of granite, the fundamental rock of the Cotentin, supporting the grauwacke and clay slates, which for the most part appear on the sur-

Normandy. Route 27 . — Cherbourg to St. Malo.

face of that district. Opposite Cap la Hague, on a rock, called le Gros du Raz, about a mile out at sea, stands a lighthouse.

The Trappist Convent at Bricque- bec, and the Castle and Abbey of St. Sauveur le Vicomte, are described in Route 27.

ROUTE 27.

Cherbourg to st. malo, by st.

SAUVEUR, COUTANCES, GRANVILLE,

AVKANCHES, MONT ST. MICHEL AND

Dor.

205 kilom. =127 Eng. m.

Diligences go daily from Cherbourg by Carentan and Coutances to St. Malo.

Persons travelling in their own car- riage may vary the road back to ‘ 20 Valognes, the first post station (p. 82.) by going round by Octeville (1 m. )where is a Norman church with an octagonal tower and curious carv- ings (a Last Supper, &c.in bas-relief) older than the reign of Henry II., Martinvaast (2| m. ) having a still older church in the same style, and unaltered, with slender half pillars, supporting Ionic capitals outside its semi-circular E. end, and a cornice of grotesque heads under its eaves : its lofty stone vaulted roof is sup- ported on horse-shoe arches. It stands in a sequestered spot, with a fine old I yew beside it. There is a Castle still inhabited, hard by. Bricquebec (8 [ m. from Valognes) a village including j an ancient Castle, whose lofty donjon keep, 1 00 feet high, in shape a decagon seated on a high mound, remains tolerably perfect (date 14th century), as well as the walls of the outer en- closure. Other portions are as late as the 1 6th, and some as early as the 1 1 th century. It belonged in turn to the families of Bertram, Paisnel (Pag- anel), and Estouteville. It was taken from the last by Henry V. after the battle of Agincourt, and bestowed

on his favourite William de la Pole,. Earl of Suffolk, who parted with it to ransom himself from the hands of the French.

In the adjoining forest, on the hill des Grosses Roches, are three Druidical monuments of the kind called “Gal- leries Couvertes.” A little more than a mile N. E. of Bricquebec is the Trappist Convent, founded 1823 by M. Onfray, on a spot of ground just cleared from the forest. Its inmates, 32 in number, of whom 12 are priests, are bound by strict vows to silence, communicating by established signs on indispensable matters, living on coarse dry bread, a few vegetables, a salad with a spoonful of oil, a little milk, and a bit of cheese, and one plateful of a meagre potage, which on fast days is reduced to 6 oz. of bread in the morning, and 2 or 3 at night, with a fixed allowance of herbs and roots. They are prohibited from wearing linen even when ill, and sleep with their clothes on, upon a straw mattress, piquee, 2 inches thick. They are allowed one sort of meat when sick, but fish is forbidden, They rise daily at 2 a. m. and on fete days at 12 or 1, and spend their time in prayer, reading, and work.

There is a cross road from Bricque- bec to St. Sauveur. On quitting Va- lognes our route separates from Route 26., and turning to the 1. passes by Columby (a church with pointed lancet windows) to

15 St. Sauveur le Vicomte, where there is a picturesque and imposing Castle of the Tessons and Harcourts, but given by Edward III. after the treaty of Bretigny to John Chandos, one of the most famous captains of the wars of Edward TIL and the Black Prince. He built the square and lofty keep tower, one of the gateways, and other portions. In the 17th cen- tury it became a hospital, and con- tinued such down to the Revolution. Although falling to ruin, at present it is the best preserved feudal fortress on the Cotentin.

Here are also ruins of an Abbey

Route 27. — Coutances — Cathedral.

Sect. I.

which in 1831 were being pulled down for the sake of the materials. The church was beautiful, the ground- work Norman (1067 — 1160), with additions, in the pointed style, of the 13th century.

From St. Sauveur to Beriers the road, although a post road, was very lately impracticable for heavy car- riages, and perhaps remains so still. It passes near the Abbey of Blanche- lande founded by Richard de la Haye, a favourite of Henry II. (115 — 85) who had been captured by corsairs, and passed many years in slavery. It is beautifully situated, and con- sists of the abbot’s house, still per- fect, and inhabited by a farmer, and part of the Church , in which late insertions have been added to an original Norman structure.

10 La Haye du Puits. The castle, dating from the 11th century, the only thing of interest in this obscure little town, has been pulled down within the last 15 years to mend the roads ! Mr. Gaily Knight saw, in 1831, the last remains, a fine old machicolated tower, which was then condemned to fall by the pickaxe, and has probably by this time entirely disappeared.

At Lessay is another abbey and church in the Norman style, begun in the 11th century, but not consecrated till 1178. “ It is of one character,

plain, but grand throughout ; and possesses a noble central tower. The W. portal is more ornamented than the other parts, and exhibits the dog- tooth moulding, which does not appear in England till nearly the end of the 12th century.” — Knight.

18 Periers.

16 Coutances. — Inns: Hotel de

France; bed, dinner (including a bottle of wine), and tea, cost 5 fr. 10 sous, 1841. — Hotel d’Angleterre; both tolerable.

Coutances, at present a somewhat lifeless town of 8,957 inhabitants, is built upon a nearly conical hill, the summit of which is occupied by the

Cathedral, proudly predominating over other buildings, with its 3 towers. The high road, carried in a broad winding terrace along the flank of the hill, round the outskirts of the town, forms an agreeable walk, while on the opposite or E. side are more for- mal and gloomy promenades closely planted with avenues of trees.

The Cathedral is one of the finest churches of Normandy, in the early pointed style, free from exuberant ornament, but captivating the eye by the elegance of proportion and ar- rangement. “ The whole is of a piece, complete in conception and execution. The lofty towers ter- minating in spires, both finished and alike, flank its W. front.” “ Its in- terior is very lofty, more than 100 ft. from the floor to the keystone of the vault. Cluster piers divide the nave from the aisles ; coupled pillars sur- round the choir (which ends in an hexagon). Most of the windows are of later date than the body of the building.” — Knight. The peculiarities of this cathedral are, the side porches close behind the towers; the open screens of mullioned tracery, corre- sponding with the windows, which di- vide the side chapels; and the excessive height of the choir, which has no tri- forium, only a balustrade just before the clerestory windows. The central tower is wonderfully fine in the exte- rior ; it is apparently an expansion of the plain Norman lanthorn as at Caen. Some of the painted glass is in the oldest style ; diapered patterns in a black outline, on a grey ground.” — Palgrave.

A magnificent cathedral was built at Coutances in the 1 1th century with contributions partly furnished by Tancred de Hauteville and his 6 sons, the conquerors of Sicily and Apulia, who were natives of the diocese of Coutances; “it was consecrated 1056 in the presence of William Duke of Normandy, 9 years before he con- quered England.”

Some of the antiquaries of Nor-

Normandy. Route 27 . — Couiances — Hambye.

j mandy have maintained that the ex- ! isting edifice is the one completed at jj that time, and have claimed in con- ji sequence for their country the in- ! vention of the pointed style in the 11th century; but as no buildings either in W. France or in England II were constructed in that style until I ISO years after, and as, on the con- i' trary, all the buildings erected during I that period are in the round style;

I for instance, the church of Lessay only 9 m. off, consecrated 1178; there is no reason to concede their claim. The evidence upon which they found it is, that the Livre Noir, (a mere account of the advowsons of the diocese, compiled 1250,) makes no mention of the rebuilding of the church after the 11th century. There exists, however, proof from inscrip- tions on the walls of the side chapels, that several of them were dedicated, and therefore probably built, in the latter half of the 13 th century (1274), and it is also known that the church was nearly ruined in 1356 by the army of Geoffrey d’Harcourt, so that it must have needed serious repairs, though the record of them is lost, executed probably about the end of the 14th century. — ( See Mr. Knight's Normandy . )

From the top of the fine lanthorn tower a view may be obtained of the sea, with the distant island of Jersey ! on the W. , and of the rock of Gran- I ville.

The Church of St. Pierre is in the florid Gothic style of the 15th cen- : tury.

The steep and narrow valley which bounds the town on the W. and is I traversed by the terraced road leading j to Granville, before mentioned, is ! crossed by the remains of an ancient Aqueduct , consisting of 5 perfect ' arches and 15 piers supported by I buttresses, called Les Piliers, which is j also the name given to the village, or j suburb, in which it is situated, | m. out of Coutances. In most guide- j books and descriptions of the town it |

is called a Roman aqueduct, but its pointed arches, its buttresses with offsets, and coarse irregular masonry, prove clearly that it is not so, but a work of the middle ages, probably monkish. According to Dawson Turner it was erected in the 13th century by one of the noble family De Paisnel (Paganel).

Coaches go from this daily to St. Lo ( Rte. 32.)

Those who love old Gothic ruins, either for their picturesqueness or architecture, will be repaid by an excursion hence to the Abbey of Ham- bye. , about 13 m. to the S. E. It may be taken on the way to Granville, making a detour of 6 or 7 m. A good road leads through a pleasing but hilly country by Mesnil l’Aubert, and St. Denis le Guest, leaving Ham- bye CEglise | m. to the rt., to Bourg d’Hambye, a scattered village, with a small but clean cabaret furnishing only homely fare, — coffee, milk, cheese, and cider. The old Castle of Hambye, whose keep, 100 ft. high, stood on an eminence towering over the Bourg, and of which Mr. Knight found one tower standing in 1831, is now swept away to mend the roads. Happily a better spirit is now abroad in France, and the government at present holds out an example to Eng- land, of zeal for the preservation of the many noble or curious edifices dispersed over the country.

It is a pleasant walk of 1^ m. from the Bourg to the Abbey, but the road thither, through narrow lanes, is prac- ticable only for light cars.

The little Abbey of Hambye nestles in a retired valley, sheltered under picturesque cliffs by the side of a trout stream (the Sienne), the beau ideal of a monastic site. The roof and W. end are gone, the ivy begins to creep up the mouldering walls, and destruction is advancing apace, yet there is much beauty in the narrow arches which enclosed the choir rest- ing on columnar piers, in the style of the 15th century. Behind them are

Route 27. — Brehal — Granville.

Sect. I.

side chapels much older, having round and pointed arches in combination, which marks the period of transition. The tower in the centre of the cross rests on square piers which become octagonal below by chamfering. The convent buildings are now occupied by a farmer. The Chapter House , a double pointed vault elegantly groined, resting on angular pillars and entered by a fine doorway deep sunk in its early English mouldings, is now turned into a woodhouse : it should be seen. This abbey was founded by William de Pagnel 1145, but re- novated, or probably rebuilt, in the 15th century, by Joanne de Pagnel, the last of her family, who was buried in the church with her husband Louis d’Estouteville, the defender of Mont St. Michel against the English (p. 95.). Their tombs were destroyed at the Revolution.

About 5 m. from Hambye is Perci, cradle of the earls of Northumberland. The high road to Granville may be regained at Brehal.

The direct road from Coutances to Granville has no interest.

19 Brehal. Trees diminish in size and number on approaching the sea, peeps of which and the island of Chaussey are seen at intervals. The entrance to Granville is by a steep descent, excavated partly through a deep hollow way ; on the rt. a natural wall of rock separates the road from the sea-shore, and through a gap cut in it, access is afforded to the baths and sea-shore. In front rises a high hill, its slope cut away evenly and levelled, until it is as steep and smooth as the roof of a house, in order to form a glacis for the fort on its top. Abend in the road presently discloses to view the lower town and harbour.

10 Granville . — Inns : very bad, Ho- tel du Nord. This is a small but tolerably prosperous seaport (7,600 inhab. ), chiefly resorted to by fishing vessels, but driving some commerce along the coast and with Jersey (33 m. distant) and Guernsey.

Its situation is singular, built in steps or terraces under a rocky pro- montory projecting into the sea, sur- mounted by the fort whose presence restricts many of the buildings from rising above one story in height. Under the shelter of this eminence lies the little port, screened by it from the N. winds. A new town is gradually spreading itself along the low margin of this harbour, and up the banks of a stream so small that it is generally swallowed up in soap- suds, and contributes, with the filthy abominations of the town itself, es- pecially at low water, when the har- bour is drained to the lees of mud, to produce a state of atmosphere barely tolerable. The sombre hue of the buildings, whose walls are dark granite and their roofs black slate, renders Granville on a near examination as unattractive to the sight as to the smell, and moreover it contains no objects of interest.

The stranger desirous to rescue himself from ennui must repair to the noble Pier, begun 1828 and still un- finished, enclosing an older one in its much wider circuit. It is very strongly built, so that guns can be mounted on it. The tide rises and falls here at times from 40 to 44 ft.

Steamers go hence to Jersey (in 3 hours) and to St. Malo once a week.

The church at the W. end of the town is a low, gloomy building, chiefly in the late flamboyant style, though it has some round arches. It is of grey granite, even the capitals of its columns being worked in that hard stone.

In order to ascend the hill above the old town it is advisable not to thread the labyrinth of filthy alleys, steep slopes, and stone steps which compose it, but to issue out by the road to Coutances, and then scale the steep slope no farther than the walls of the fort, a point which commands a good sea view. Close under the cliffs lie the baths ( Salon des Bains) and reading room , which can be approached

Normandy. Routed . — Granville — Avranches . 93

only through the breach in the rock before alluded to, leading also down j to the sands, a fine smooth and broad I expanse, quite shut out from the town. There are no machines ; in- I stead of them bathers are enclosed in I cases of canvas carried in the fashion j of sedan chairs, and they must walk I into the water thickly clad ; the la- | dies led by women ; the men are ban- j ishedto the distance of Am. to the N.

Though Granville is not a par- ticularly strong place, it resisted ef- fectually the attack of the peasant army of Vendeans, 80,000 strong, on their ill-fated march N. from the Loire in 1793, led on by the gallant Laroehejacquelin. The inducements of the royalists to make this attempt was the hope of opening a communi- cation by the sea with England, whose government had promised to send them succour ; and to secure a forti- fied place where they could deposit in safety the women and children, the sick and the priests, who embarrassed the operations of the army. The Vendeans, being destitute of artillery to breach the ramparts, were unable to resort to a regular siege. The attempt to storm the place, though conducted with the most dashing courage, was foiled. More than once these brave soldiers gained the ram- parts, sometimes supplying the want of scaling ladders by sticking their bayonets into the chinks of the ma- sonry, but as often they wei'e * swept off by grape and musquetry from the walls and gunboats in the harbour, until at length they were forced to retire with a loss of 1,800 killed. Their army never advanced farther N. ; this was the culminating point of their success, and from henceforth they were compelled to retreat. During this attack the suburbs of the town were set on fire by the re- publican commander of the fortress and burnt down.

It is a very pretty ride from Gran- ville to Avranches ; the view ob- tained from the height, after crossing

the wooded dell of Sartilly, of the peaked rock of Mount St. Michel, is especially striking.

About 4 m. N. E. of Sartilly is the ruined abbey of Luzerne. The church in the transition style is tole- rably perfect ; it was completed 1 178, except the nave, which is later. The conventual buildings, turned into a cotton mill at the Revolution, are fast going to decay. The road from Sar- tilly is wretchedly had.

26 Avranches. — Inns : Hotel de France; — Hotel de Bretagne; both tolerable.

Avranches (Abrancas), a town of 7,269 inhabitants, is now chiefly re- markable for its very beautiful situ- ation, on the sides and summit of a high hill, the last of a widely extend- ing ridge, rendered accessible for the high road by broad terraces carried up its steep slope in zigzags. The view which you obtain in ascending, and especially that from the little mound on the 1. of the road before you enter the town, in front of the Sous Prefecture, is perhaps the most beautiful in the N. of France. The landscape abounds in wood with partial clearances of well cultivated corn land, through the midst of which winds the river, flashing in glittering pools until expanding into a broad estuary it meets the sea, which bor- ders the horizon. But the prominent feature of the view is the peaked rock of Mont St. Michel, and the twin islet of Tomblaine rising grandly from the hem of the waters.

Under this mound is a Public Walk planted with trees, formerly the garden of the archeveche, in the midst of which a statue of General Valhubert, a native of Avranches, who fell at Austerlitz, is set up.

The Cathedral of Avranches, one of the noblest in Normandy, and the chief ornament of the town, was de- stroyed by the mob at the Revolu- tion ; its site remains an open plat- form, commanding an extensive view, and recently named Place Huet , from

Route 27. — Mont St. Michel .

Sect. I,

the celebrated Bishop of Avranches. All traces of the church are swept away, save the stone, now protected by a railing, which formed the step of the N. door upon which Henry II. kneeled, a humble peni- tent, before the Papal Legates, to make atonement for the murder of Becket, “ which had affected him more than the death of his own father or mother.” After swearing on the gospels that he had neither ordered nor desired it, he here re- ceived the Papal absolution, 1172.

There are some portions remaining of the old ramparts of the town.

Another point of view, preferable perhaps, in some respects, even to that above described, is obtained from the Jardin des Plantes.

There is an extensive Public Li- brary here, containing 10,000 vo- lumes and some old MSS., among which was discovered recently a copy of Abelard’s treatise, called “ Sic et Non,” published 1836 by M. Cousin.

The beauty of the situation, the salubrity of the air, and the cheap- ness of living, have rendered Av- ranches a favourite residence of the English, who form a considerable colony here.

There is a way practicable with a guide on horseback from Avranches to Mont St. Michel, across the sands when the tide is out ; but as there are two watercourses to wade through, beset with quicksands, there is some risk in taking it, especially with a guide not perfectly master of the line of route. It is far prefer- able to go round by Pont Orson. As is the case on Lancaster sands, the rise of the tide here is so exces- sively rapid at times, that a fleet horse, it is said, could not outrun it.

In going to Pont Orson and Dol you quit Avranches by another series of zigzags overlooking the bay of Can- calc with Mont St. Michel in the midst, rising above a beautiful fore- ground of trees, and at Pont au Baud, at the bottom, of the hill, you cross the little river Selune.

At Louis a cross road, very bad, turns off on the rt. to the Mont St. Michel by Ardevan.

22 Pont Orson. The Croix Verte cannot be recommended as an inn to stop at, but it will furnish a horse and car for 5 fr. or 6 fr. to go to the Mont St. Michel, 5 m. off. A good, new macadamised road thither will be completed, 1842, it is said, to replace “ un des plus aflfreux chemins” in all France, and render Font Orson by far the best approach to the mount. It passes through Beauvoir and near Ardevan, where are the re- mains of conventual farm buildings, anciently belonging to the monks of the mount. The road terminates on the margin of “ la Greve,” i. e. the sands, extending for many square leagues all around the mount, and left bare every tide for 4 or 5 hours by the sea, which interrupts the passage to it between 1 and 2 hours near high water. The distance across the greve to the mount is about a mile ; the driest track is firm and perfectly safe for horses or carriages, but on either side are quicksands, which render it dangerous to diverge. There always remain behind a few pools which would reach above the ancles of a pedestrian. There is something mysterious and almost awful in the aspect of this solitary cone of granite, rising alone out of the wide, level expanse of sand. One might imagine it the peak of some colossal mountain just piercing through the crust of the earth, but deprived, at the moment of its appearance, of the geological force necessary to rear it aloft. Slight as is its elevation, its isolated position in the midst of the sea, and its heaven- pointed top, render it the prominent object of every view from the sur- rounding coast, and from a long distance give it the appearance of being much nearer at hand than it really is. On approaching it, it is found to be girt round at its base by a circlet of feudal walls and towers, washed by the sea ; above these rise the quaint, irregular houses of the

Normandy,

Route 27 . — - Mont St. Michel.

little town, plastered as it were against the rock, and piled one over another. Above them project the bare beds of rock, serving as a pe- destal from which the lofty walls, high turrets, and prolonged but- tresses of the conventual buildings are reared aloft, surmounted in their turn by the pinnacles and tower of the church (now bearing a telegraph) which crowns the whole, and forms the apex of the pyramid.

Not inferior in interest to its out- ward aspect are the historical associa- tions connected with this shrine of the Archangel Michael — the successor of Bel and the Dragon — the saint of high places. Holy hermits succeeded to Pagan priests in the possession of this natural temple, which Norman dukes and kings further honoured by build- ing a church, and converted into a fortress almost impregnable in ancient times. Henry T. here effectually in- sisted his two elder brothers. Here Henry II. in 1166 kept his court, and received the homage of the turbulent Bretons, whom he had subdued with a strong arm. This was the only fortress which held out for the French king, when all Normandy was over- run by the armies of the conqueror of Azincour ; successfully withstand- ing 2 sieges, in 1417 and 1423, under the brave Louis d’Estouteville. The shrine of St. Michel was for ages visited yearly by thousands of devotees from far and near, and the records of the convent preserve the names of more than a dozen royal pilgrims who have repaired hither to prostrate them- selves as penitents before it, and to load it with their bounty. The Re- volution dispersed the monks, inter- rupted the pilgrimage, and changed the destination of the building to a Prison, in which 300 aged priests were immured until death should re- lease them : not but what its prisons and oubliettes are of far greater an- tiquity. Who has not heard of the iron cage of St. Michel, which though originally of metal bars, was after-

wards changed to one of thick beams of wood placed 3 inches apart. Its last occupant was an unfortunate Dutch journalist, who was seized most unjustifiably, beyond the terri- tory of France, for having abused the unscrupulous tyrant Louis XIV., who treated the Dutchman as he did the Italian prisoner of the iron mask. St. Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, which bears so remarkable a resem- blance to this, though on a smaller scale, was one of the foreign depend- encies of the abbey.

The entrance to Mont St. Michel is by 3 gates, one within the other, the second flanked by 2 of the cannon with which the English forces of Henry V. ineffectually bombarded the mount in 1424, firing from them stone balls 1 ft. in diameter. Near this the arms of the knights of St. Michel, with a lion for supporter, are seen carved in the wall : the third gate is provided with a portcullis, and within it is the little inn (not very inviting ; though crabs, shrimps, and fish may be got here). The town (so to call it) consists of one narrow, steep, and very foul -smelling lane. The best way of ascending is by the ramparts, turning to the rt. after passing the gate, up a succession of grass-grown flights of stairs “hanging to the side of the rock,” provided with machicoulis at the side to annoy an enemy below. The uppermost gateway leading into the castle- convent, stands midway across a flight of steps, and is flanked by 2 bartizans or turrets ; it “ is very scenic and baronial,” built probably 1257 ; but the chamber of knights and princes now re-echoes to the clank of chains and the rattle of the shuttle and beam. The present des- tination of the building is a prison for ordinary criminals and political offenders. For this reason only parts of it are accessible for the minute ex- amination of strangers ; and others are concealed by screen partitions. The formality of delivering the pass- port, and requesting admission of the

Route 27. — Mont St. Michel . — Pontorson.

Sect. I.

governor, having been gone through at this gate, the stranger is conducted by dark mysterious vaults and pas- sages, up and down gloomy stairs, to the Cloisters, the most beautiful part of the building, and a gem of Gothic architecture, unique of its kind, built between 1220 and 1228, and “ strangely moresque.” Towards the court they are supported by a double row of pointed arches resting on thin granite pillars, leaving an exquisitely groined narrow vault between the rows. The pillar of one arch alter- nates with the point of the next, so as to allow a most graceful carved volute or sprig, issuing from the ca- pital of every alternate pillar, to be seen. The spandrils of the arches are filled up with a vegetative cre- ation, of foliage, sprigs, flowers, gar- lands, such as is scarcely to be equalled any where for fanciful va- riety, and sharpness, and excellence of execution ; the whole is sur- mounted by a cornice of flowers and is in good preservation. It highly merits to be drawn in detail. The arches and carvings are of soft lime- stone brought from a distance ; all the rest of the buildings are of gra- nite, and the rock of St. Michel itself is of that stone.

The Church of the convent consists of 2 parts, of different ages and styles. The Norman nave, in the massive style of the 11th century (1060), with slightly ornamented capitals, and a wooden roof, is now used as a chapel for the convicts. The pointed Gothic choir is of the 15th century (1452— 2 521 ) : — the mouldings of the arches are carried down into the reeding of the piers, without any interruption of capitals. The arches are closed up with walls, into which curious Scrip- tural bas-reliefs, such as Adam and Eve driven from Paradise, Noah’s ark, &c., St. Michael killing the dra- gon, very grotesquely treated, are let in. The piers supporting the cen- tral towers having given way, owing to the injury they received from a fire, the last of the 8 or 10 conflagrations

which, at different times, have con- sumed the abbey, the arches of the transept (also Norman) are staved up by a complicated framework of timber to prevent the roof falling.

The Chambre des Chevaliers, below the cloisters, is a noble hall or nave, of 4 finely vaulted aisles, supported on 3 rows of pillars, and measures 98 ft. by 68. The date of its construction is supposed to be the 12th century. The chapters of the knights of the order of St. Michel, founded 1496, by the bigot Louis XI., who twice repaired hither as a pilgrim, were held in it. This is now filled with the looms, at which the prisoners are compelled to work. La Salle de Montgomery is also a fine Gothic apartment.

Beneath the choir of the church a circle of drumlike pillars, set very close together, with one in the centre, sup- ports the superincumbent weight, and forms a curious crypt. The view from the top of the church, elevated 400 ft. above the sands, from amidst its florid buttresses and pinnacles, now much mutilated, is curious. The Rochers de Cancale, on the coast of Brittany, the town of Avranches, and the neighbouring rock of Tomheleine, Tumba Beli, on which, as well as on St. Michael’s rock, the god Bel was worshipped in Pagan times, are the most conspicuous objects; all around is, as the tide ebbs or flows, either a waste of sand, interspersed with pools and channels of rivers, or a wild ex- panse of tossing waves.

Owing to the short stay the sea makes around the walls at every tide, and the hillocks and sand banks which intersect the sands, the castle is hardly accessible by a boat, and from this circumstance, and its amphibious i>osi- tion, changing twice a day from land to water, its strength as a fortress arises.

The Castle of Pontorson (p. 94.), now entirely swept away, was in- trusted by Charles the Wise, 136’, to Duguesclin, to hold as a frontier post against the English. During his ab-

Normandy. Route, 27 . — Cherbourg to St. Malo—Dol. 97

sence on a foraging expedition, how- ever, it was very nearly lost, through an understanding between an En- glish prisoner, Felton, and the waiting- maids of Duguesclin’s lady. The attempt was discovered, as the enemy were scaling the walls, by his sister, a stout Amazon, who overthrew the ladders into the ditch, and the trea- cherous waiting-maids were sewed up in sacks and drowned in the river !

The granite Church of Pontorson, partly Norman, with a transition W. end and pointed choir, contains, in the N. aisle, a singular series of carv- ings in stone, representing the Passion — but- so mutilated as to lose much of their value.

The river Couesnon, crossed by a bridge on quitting Pontorson, forms the boundary between Normandy and Brittany. A fertile and very picturesque country succeeds, well wooded; in fact, one entire orchard, the corn-fields being invariably planted with rows of fruit-trees. A last view is obtained of Mt. St. Michel from a lofty hill, over which the road is carried.

The caps worn by the women here- abouts consist of a piece of white linen, bent like a roof, laid on the top of the head, the front, or gable, turned back in a sort of scroll, exactly correspond- ing with that seen on monumental effigies in English churches, of ladies of the 15th and 16th centuries.

19 Dol. — Inns : La Grande Mai- son, not very good ; homely, but not dear; — Hotel de Notre Dame.

Dol is a remarkable town, as bearing thoroughly the aspect of ancient days : the black hue of the granite of which its houses are built, contrasting sometimes with splashes of whitewash dashed over them, the heavy projecting gables, the arcades of various heights and patterns, running under the houses, the quaintly carved, granite pillars on which they rest, all give a peculiar character to the place, and offer some good bits for the artist’s pencil, while he may fill a sketch- France.

book with costumes in its market- place. It has 3,990 inhabitants, and a considerable corn market held in a desecrated church (des Carmes) dis- tinguished by a fine flamboyant W. window, and a Norman nave.

The chief building is the Cathedral (before the Revolution an episcopal see) built of sombre grey granite, uniformly in the early pointed style, except the porches ; that on the S. leading into the nave being florid, and having carvings in white stone like those in the cloister of Mont St. Mi- chel. The arches of the nave have deep mouldings, and rest on circular piers, composed of a group of 4 columns, the inner one towards the nave being detached half way up to the roof, where it becomes engaged like the rest. The choir, more ornamented than the nave, but in the same style, has a square E. end, like the English churches, but behind the high altar is an open arch of two divisions separated by a slender pillar admitting a view into a small Lady Chapel behind. The space above this arch is occupied by a large E. window filled with old and good painted glass. These are the most striking points in this church, which is a fine edifice, worthy of attention for its similarity to the Gothic of England; indeed many of the churches of Brittany are said to be the work of English ar- chitects.

The old walls of Dol remain to- lerably perfect, wanting the gates ; many of their flanking towers and bastions are surmounted with deep machicoulis, and the Avhole is sur- rounded by a deep ditch. A high Terrace walk has been formed on the outside of this, and planted with trees. On the side of the town next the cathedral a view is obtained from this walk of the solitary eminence of Mont Dol, a granite rock something like Mont St. Michel, only rising out of the dry land. (See next page.)

These antiquated fortifications of the 15th and 16th centuries were de- F

Route 27. — St. Malo.

Sect. L

fended by the Vendeans after their retreat from Granville against the republican army, which was beat off after a bloody combat of 15 hours’ duration, and compelled to retreat.

The tract of land between Do! and the sea, a distance of 3 m., is chiefly marsh gained from the waters by embankments ; very fertile, but teem- ing with miasma, which, however, has diminished of late from improved drainage. A tremendous irruption of the sed, reclaiming its own in the beginning of the 17th century, over- whelmed this district.

About a mile outside of Dol and | m. to the 1. of the Rennes road is one of those Druidical stones, so com- mon in Brittany, called Menhirs (see p. 1 06. ). It is known as la Pierre du Champ Dolent, a name which probably marks it as a funereal monument, per- haps on some field of blood or battle. It is a rude, skittle-shaped obelisk of granite, a single block 30 ft. high above ground, and 8 or 10, it is said, below, rising in the midst of a corn- field, and surmounted by a wooden cross.

On the way to St. Malo you pass on the rt. the Mont Dol, a granite rock surmounted by a telegraph rising out of the flat land and most probably once an island in the bay of Mont St. Michel, for the sea no doubt once extended thus far. Where the road reaches the present margin of the bay the shore is lined by a long scattered village, composed of nearly as many windmills as cottages. Not a boat can approach them, owing to the shallowness of the water, although the tide comes up to their doors twice a day. On the W. shore of the bay, however, is the small port of Cancale — 4,880 inhabitants — visible on the rt., backed by high cliffs, famed for the oyster beds on the Rochers de Cancale below them, whence Paris and a large part of France is supplied.

In 1758 an army of 14,000 Eng- lish, under the Duke of Marlborough, landed here, but after fruitlessly sum-

moning St. Malo, which was found too strong to be taken by assault, they re-embarked, having burned a few small vessels, and, as Walpole said, “ The French learned that they were not to be conquered by every Duke of Marlborough.”

28 St Malo. — Inns: H. de France, very fair, but charges very high ; the traveller should insist upon abate- ment, and he will succeed. Table d’hote at 5, 2 fr. 50 cent. H. de la Paix. This fortified sea port town — population 10,100 — may be styled a little French Cadiz from its position on a rocky island (l’lle d’Aron) communicating with the mainland by a long causeway called Le Sillon ; the mouth of the river Ranee, which forms the port, being separated from the open sea by the island and this causeway. The town fills the island completely, so that its picturesque walls and flanking towers, surmounted by a deep cornice of machicoulis, rise at once from the water’s edge, washed by the waves, and the houses and buildings squeezed closely together, having no room for lateral extension, rise to the height of five or six stories above its narrow and filthy lanes.

The tides rise here higher than at any other point in the Channel, viz. to an elevation of 45 to 50 ft. above low water mark, and the harbour, which is protected by a stout pier, is drained perfectly dry at ebb, so that carriages and foot passengers cross it to go to the populous suburb St. Servan (9,984 inhab. ) in places covered an hour or two before with 4 fathoms of water. But a solid wall of granite has been recently thrown across from St. Servan, with lock gates in the centre wide enough to admit steamers and frigates, so as to retain the tide, and form a floating dock (Bassina flot). This will open a second ap- proach from the Rennes road to St. Malo, across a bridge to be thrown over the lock gates. A sort of tete du pont is constructed to defend it.

Normandy.

Route 27 . — St. Malo.

The harbour is lined with a broad quay running just under the town walls, and here the steamers moor when the tide permits them to enter. The Town walls afford an almost un- interrupted walk around the island, and the circuit may be made in | of an hour. The.view out to sea is varied by the little archipelago of islands ; — white, angular, bare rocks which raise their bristling heads around the roads : the larger ones crowned with forts and batteries. That ctdled La Conchee is occupied by a strong citadel built by Vauban ; and Cisambre, 6 m. off, is also strongly fortified. The smaller isles and the sunken rocks attached to them render the access to the port difficult.

The public buildings are of no interest : on the side of the town, nearest the Sillon and separated from it by a bridge, is the old Castle, which, together with a large part of the for- tifications, may have been constructed in the 16th century by Anne of Brit- tany, who placed over one of the towers this inscription — “ Qui qu’ en grogne, ainsi sera, c’est mon plai- sir.” The Cathedral, very capacious and much modernised, has a choir something like that of Dol, and a new gaudy Gothic altar from Paris, with several marble statues worth notice.

The sabbath is more strictly ob- served by the Malouins, and indeed in Brittany generally, than in most other parts of France.

English service is performed here on Sunday, — but there is no chapel.

The statue opposite the Hotel de Ville is that of Dugay Trouin, a native of St. Malo (born 1673), and a naval hero of whom the French are very proud “ parcequ’il a chass£ les Anglais sur toutes les mers.”

The illustrious Chateaubriant first drew breath in the Rue des Juifs, No. 15. in the house which is now the H. de France, in the room marked No. 5., from the window of which the sea and his tomb are visible. The Abbe de la Mennais, author of

Paroles d’un Croyant, and Mahe de la Bourdonnais, governor of the French East Indies, who took Madras from the English, 1746, were also Ma- louins.

On the sea shore by the side of the Sillon, just beyond the castle, on the rt. of the road from Dol, are Sea baths and a Subscription Reading room. There is a large expanse of sand extending at low water as far as a little rocky island in front, well adapted for bathing, but unprovided with machines.

St. Malo flourished during the war, when it was styled the “ Ville de Corsaires,” fitting out privateers to prey on the commercial ships of Eng- land ; many large fortunes were then made.

The best view to be obtained of St. Malo is from the half-ruined Fort de la Cite, situated on the promon- tory a little to the W. of St. Servan, reached by the first turning on the rt. after you enter that suburb from St. Malo. Hence from a considerable elevation, you look down upon the town, upon the singular inlets of the sea branching out into the land which form the harbour, and on the archipelago of little islands grouped around its entrance. Among them the islet of Grand Bay situated to S. W. of the town, chosen by Chateau- briant for his last resting place, and bestowed upon him by the munici- pality of his native town, is con- spicuous. His fellow-citizens have erected a tomb on it to contain his remains. Immediately beneath the spectator on his I. rises the tower of the Solidor, a feudal fort 60 ft. high, with flanking towers at its angles approached by a drawbridge. It is now a prison.

Diligences daily to Rennes (Route 41.), and Paris (Route 35.), to Brest ( Route 36. ), to Dinan ( Route 41.), to Dol and Caen. (Route 27 and 31.)

Steamers. There cannot be a more delightful excursion than that by the river Ranee from St. Malo to Dinan t.

F 2

100

Route 29. — Caen to Tours — Falaise.

Sect. I.

A small steamer ascends and returns with the tide daily. (Route 41.)

Steamers twice a week to and from Jersey, where they correspond with the boats to Southampton.

ROUTE 2£

CAEN TO TOURS BY FAEAISE, ALENfON, ^ AND LE MANS.

232 kilom. = 143^ Eng. m.

A daily communication is kept up by diligences, but with interruptions, and the traveller is compelled to wait 3 or 4 hours at a time for the coach which is to carry him on. A separate conveyance runs from Caen to Fa- laise, and back daily. About 7 m. from Caen, and 2 or 3 to the right of the road, lies Fontenay le Marmion, cradle of the family of Marmion.

20 Langannerie. The country for the first 2 stages is bare, open, and monotonous, until the castle of Fa- laise is perceived on the rt. rising out of a picturesque valley.

6 m. short of Falaise, and nearly 2 to the 1. of the road, lie the 7'ocks of St. Quentin sometimes called Breche du Diable, a rocky gorge bounded by precipices, pinnacles, &c. It has been compared with Cheddar cliffs> only on a much smaller scale.

15 Falaise. — Inn: II. de France C. This ancient town of 9,580 inhabitants occupies the summit of a lofty plat- form, bordering on a rocky precipice, or Falaise, whence its name. One very populous suburb has extended into the narrow ravine below this pre- cipice; and another, situated at the distance of 1 m. to the E., called Guibray, now rivals the town itself in size and population, and is distin- guished for its fairs established by William the Conqueror, held in Au- gust. Falaise is a dull lifeless town, at present, having only one object of interest to the passing traveller — the Castle , one of the few real Norman fortresses remaining in France, the ancient seat of the Dukes of Nor-

mandy, and the birthplace of William the Conqueror. It is a grand and picturesque ruin, occupying a com- manding position at the extremity of the town, where the platform is cut into a narrow promontory by gullies which isolate it on 3 sides, rendering it a place of great strength, until the invention of gunpowder. To this it was indebted for the nine sieges which it had to endure. The ap- proach to it is behind the modern Hotel de Ville. A college or grammar school has been planted with- in the exterior court. A grassy ter- race walk along the ramparts, shaded with trees, leads to the Norman Donjon Keep, an oblong square, whose walls, supported by high and massy buttresses, rise abruptly from the edge of the precipitous rocks de Nor- rou. It is now a mere shell partly filled with rubbish ; its walls show traces of herring-bone masonry, and retain several round-headed windows, of 2 lights supported on short pillars, and having capitals carved with Runic knots. In one corner a little cell is shown in which, according to the tradition, the Conqueror was born. From those windows and ruined walls you look down into the Yal d’ Ante, so called from the small stream which runs through it, crowded with mills and tanneries. It was while gazing upon this scene, according to the tra- dition, that Duke Robert, the father of the Conqueror (like David of old), first espied Arlotte, the tanner’s fair daughter, and became at once so smitten with her charms, that he made her his mistress, and continued faithful to her until death.

The keep is surpassed in elevation by Talbot's tower, a cylinder of beau- tifully smooth and perfect masonry, rising beside it to a height of more than 100 ft., crowned with a rim of broken machicoulis. Its walls, 15 ft. thick, enclose a winding stair leading to the top, and a well opening into each of the 5 vaulted stories. The chapel is converted into a powder

Normandy* Route 31 . Caen to Rennes — Fire.

101

magazine. This tower is supposed to have been built by “ Valiant Tal- bot” who was lord warden of the “ Marche Normande,” after the cap- ture of Falaise by Henry V., be- tween 1418 and 1450. Henry as- saulted the castle from the top of the still loftier cliff Mont Mirat, on the opposite side of the ravine, where traces of his entrenchments still re- main : the siege lasted more than 4 months. On the other side of the castle is a relic of another siege, viz. the breach in the wall by which Henri IV. carried the fortress by assault, after 7 days of cannonade, in 1589.

The churches are not remarkable. A considerable portion of the old town walls remain, running round the edge of the ravines, through which the stranger may ramble agreeably, either upwards into the suburb of Val d’ Ante, the birthplace of the Conqueror’s mother, below the castle keep, or issuing out of the picturesque “ Porte des Cordeliers,” the only gate remaining perfect, he may follow the direction of the Ante downwards through shady lanes, and re-enter the town by the dismantled Porte St. Laurent.

There are several cotton mills in the vicinity, and the weaving of night- caps occupies a considerable number of hands.

22 Argentan. — -Inn : Trois Maures (?). A town of 6,147 inhabitants, on the Orne, surrounded by ram- parts.

23 Seez (in Route 21.).

21 Alen^on (in Route 35.).

14 La Hutte.

9 Beaumont sur Sarthe.

15 La Bazoge.

11 Mans (in Route 46.).

21 Ecommoy. — -Inn: Poste.

20 Chateau du Loir. — Inn: Poste. The Castle, after which this village is named, is gone ; it was built 1 080 by Robert Eveille-chien Due d ? Anjou. The cliffs near this are hollowed into caves serving partly for houses to

more than 100 poor families, partly as cellars for the richer.

20 La Roue in Touraine.

20 Tours (in Route 53.).

ROUTE 31.

CAEN TO RENNES BV VIRE, MORTAIN, AND FOUGERES.

171 kilom. = 106 Eng. m.

2 Diligences daily.

The road conducts through some of the most pleasing scenery in Nor- mandy ; at first it ascends the valley of the Odon, in which lies

13 Mohdrainville. We now enter the bocagc of Normandy, a pleasing wooded district, situated about the source of the Orne, Odon, and Vire.

12 Villars bocage ; here is an hos- pice founded 1366, by Jeanne Bacon, of Mollay.

15 Menil au Zouf.

19 Vire (Inn: Cheval Blanc, not good), a most picturesque antique town, (population 8,000,) the capital of the Bocage, romantically situated on a lofty eminence, bordered by deep ravines. A Norman Castle occupies the extreme point of the promontory, naturally inaccessible on 3 sides owing to the precipices which surround it ; and on the fourth originally separated from the town by a deep ditch. It is now reduced to the fragment of the tall keep, a construction of the 1 1 th century, having been dismantled 1630, by order of Richelieu, but its ruins are carefully preserved, and surround- ed by a charming promenade, planted with trees, extending over the site of the castle courts, and forming one of the chief attractions at Vire. From its elevation it commands a view of the country around, and especially of the two vallies beneath it called par ex- cellence Les Vaux de Vire, whence comes the word Vaudeville originally applied to the merr); and humorous drinking songs composed among these vallies by one Oliver Basselin. He was a native of Vire, and owner of a F 3

102

Route 32. — Caen to Rennes. — Mortain. Sect. I.

fulling mill, which still remains at no great distance from the town. He flourished in the 15th century, and is reported to have been present at the battle of Formigny (p. 8.). His chansons, chiefly in praise of good wine and his native province, soon became so popular over France, that their name was transferred to those truly national dramas peculiar to the French stage, in which the plot or story is carried through chiefly by songs-

In the narrow and steep streets of Vire may be found many specimens of ancient domestic architecture, well adapted for the artist’s sketch book : the Church of Notre Dame also is a fine building ; but the chief boast of Vire are the walks in and about it. Besides the promenade above men- tioned, particularly agreeable are the walks , adjoining the fish ponds, famed for their huge tame carp which come eagerly to be fed by the stranger’s hand. The terraced paths are carried most agreeably up the hill side amidst thickets and plantations, commanding at intervals very pleasing views.

But almost all the vallies in the neighbourhood, generally shut in by craggy heights, and copse-covered slopes, deserve to be explored. They abound in mills of paper and cloth, in which the clothing for the French army is made. This gives employ- ment to half the inhabitants of Vire. On the 10th August, the “ Fete des drapiers ” is celebrated here, and more than 1 0,000 persons assemble under the apple trees which are illuminated at night for the occasion.

Vire has a gastronomic celebrity for chitterlings (andouilles), and for pastry.

10 m. S. E. of Vire is Tinchebray, where Robert of Normandy suc- cumbed in battle to his younger brother Henry, 1106. This victory secured a throne to the one prince, and a prison for life to the other.

13 Sourdeval.

10 Mortain. There is but one

poor inn, opposite the church, which, however, furnishes a good dinner and clean bed.

Mortain, a decayed and lifeless town, occupies a position nearly resembling that of Vire, and at least equally romantic. Mr. Knight says “ the leading features of both places are the same, but the scenery of Mortain is more beautiful. The vallies are narrower, the steeps more rocky and better wooded ; the river at the bottom is more considerable, and a wide ex- tent of distant Campagna is seen through the jaws of the ravine. The whole scene put me in mind of Italy, and of Tivoli, and the cascades which we heard from above and visited afterwards helped to keep up the re- semblance.”

“ You descend to the side of the old Castle, but when you arrive there you find it a most suitable spot for an eagle’s nest. A jutting cliff, only connected to the height by a narrow ledge of rock, afforded just space enough for a feudal fortress. The strength of this fortress made it once a place of importance. Here dwelt the brothers and the sons of kings of England.” The whole of this ve- nerable structure has been levelled with the dust, and in its place now rises the staring modern prefec- ture.

The Collegiate Church has been groundlessly pronounced to be a work of the year 1082, when a church is known to have been founded here. But the only fragment remaining of that epoch is a circular doorway leading into the nave, on the S. side, orna- mented with zigzags and saw-tooth ornaments, the rest is of the pure and unmixed early pointed style of the 13th century, and the clumsy junc- tion of the new wall around the old circular portal is very apparent. The arches of the nave rest on thick short pillars ; those of the choir are nar- rower.

About a mile out of the town, seated in a secluded valley, is the

103

Route 32. — Bayeux to St. Lo.

Normandy.

Abbey e Blanche , founded 1105. The Church is in the Transition style, round-headed windows, alternating with pointed. An early pointed cloister also remains tolerably perfect, but the abbey is now a manufactory, and it is quite uncertain how long it will escape destruction.

The Cascades of Mortain are the finest, and indeed almost the only ones, in Normandy.

About 8 m. from Mortain are the ruins of the Abbey of Savigny, b. 1173, in the Transition style, but partaking more of the round than pointed cha- racter.

15 St. Hilaire du Harcouet is the entrepot for the agricultural and ma- nufacturing produce of a large part of Brittany : — its markets are greatly frequented. The frontier of Brittany is crossed about 4 m. to the N. of

1 1 Souvigne.

1 6 Fougeres. — Inns : Poste (?) ; St. Jacques. This town was once a fron- tier fortress ; — anciently the key of Brittany on the side of Normandy ; it has now a modern aspect, in con- sequence of destructive conflagrations, which reduced it to ashes, in the last century.

The huge Castle, constructed in the latter end of the 12th century, still remains the most prominent object, surrounded by battlements, and sur- mounted by two towers, but ruined.

20 St. Aubin du Cormier; near this La Tremouille gained a decisive victory, in 1488, over Francis II. Duke of Brittany, the Duke of Or- leans, afterwards Louis XII., and others, who had leagued against the Crown,

10 Liffre.

18 Rennes (in Route 35.). ROUTE 32.

BAYEUX TO ST. LO AND AVRANCHES.

90 kilom. = 55\ Eng. m.

Diligences daily.

13 Vaubadon.

The road traverses a portion of the extensive forest of Cerisy. The Abbey of Cerisy, one of the most con- siderable in Normandy in olden time, lies on the rt. of the road. The church still exists, an early Norman building of the same plain character as St. Stephens at Caen (p. 75.). It was founded 1030, by Robert, Duke of Normandy, and completed by his son, William the Conqueror.

21 St. Lo. — Inn: Soleil Levant ; best, but far from good, and very dirty.

This town, named from St. Lo, or Laudus, who lived in the 6th cen- tury, and came from this part of Nor- mandy, is picturesquely situated, and its Cathedral, standing prominently on the brow of the hill, has an im- posing appearance, with its double towers and spires, but as a building it is inferior to those of Bayeux or Coutances. The W. end is florid, of the 15th century ; it has three fine porches, but the upper part is defec- tive and irregular ; and, as well as the choir, exhibits marks of slovenliness in its builder. The nave is earlier and better, in the pointed style of the 12th century. Outside the Church, in the S. W. angle, is a fine stone pulpit, with a pyramidal canopy over it. Charlemagne founded here, in the 9th century, the once celebrated Abbey of St. Croix ; but this building was swept away at the invasion of the Northmen, and the present Eglise de St. Croix, a very curious edifice in the early Norman style, does not appear older than the 11th century. The nave arches rest on pillars, and the S. side is plainer, and apparently older than the N. Over the round- headed doorway at the W. end is a bas-relief representing St. Lo re- storing sight to a blind woman. The adjoining conventual buildings are of late dates ; they are now converted into a Stud (haras), for improving the breed of horses.

St. Lo is chef lieu of the Depart- ment of La Manche, and numbers f 4

104

Route 32 . — Bayeux to Avranches. Sect. I.

8,941 inhabitants ; it has a manu- facture of fine cloth, but possesses no great attraction to the stranger. There is a small terraced platform to the W. of the cathedral, called Petite Place, which commands a view of the Vale of the Yire.

Diligences go twice a day to Cou- tances (Rte. 27.), passing* within a short distance of Hauteville, the humble village which sent forth the bold Baron Tancred and his six sons to conquer Sicily and Apulia. On the way from St. Lo to Vire (Rte. 31.) lies the town of Torigny. The building now used as an Hotel de Ville is one wing of the Chateau of the family of Matignon, Counts of Torigni, one of whom, by marriage with Louisa Grimaldi, became Prince of Monaco. In 1793 the building was turned into a prison, and the park, terraces, and gardens sold piece- meal.

The Church of St. Laurent is early Norman, and that of Notre Dame retains traces of the same style.

The road from St. Lo to Avranches lies through

1 9 Villebaudon. The little humble village Percy was the cradle of the ancestors of the house of Northum- berland.

15 Villedieu les Poeles derives the adjunct to its name from the number of coppersmiths, who drive a thriving trade in pots, pans, and other articles, which the French call dinanderies and quincailleries. These artificers were originally settled here by the Knights Templars, who employed them in making decorations for churches. Here are many furnaces for melting the copper, and mills for rolling it into sheets.

22 Avranches (Rte. 27.).

105

SECTION II.

BRITTANY.

Introductory Information.

1. Character of the Country. 2. People. 3. Language. 4. Celtic Re- mains classified. 5. Superstition. 6. Churches, Carvings, Bone-houses, Kersanton Stone. 7. Connection with England. 8. Chouannerie. 9. Books to consult. 10. Tour of Brittany. 11. Accommodation for Tra- vellers.

ROUTE PAGE

35 Paris to Rennes, by Versailles,

Dreux , Verneuil, Alengon, and Laval ( Railroads to Versailles ) . . .110

36 Rennes to Brest . .119

38 St. Brieuc to Brest, by Paim-

pol, Lannion, Morlaix, St.

Pol de Leon . . .128

41 St. Malo to Nantes by Dinan,

Rennes, and Chateaubriand 1 33

42 Morlaix to Nantes, by Huel-

ROUTE PAGE

goat, Carhaix, Pontivy, and Josselin . . .137

44 Brest to Nantes, by Quimper,

\ Lorient, Auray, the Dru- idical remains of Carnac, Vannes, and Roche Ber- nard . . . .140

45 Rennes to Vannes, by Ploer-

mel . — Excursion to Carnac 150

46 Paris to Nantes, by Chartres,

Le Mans, and Angers . 151

1. There can scarcely be a more abrupt contrast to the smiling land of Normandy than that presented by the neighbouring province of sombre, poverty-stricken Brittany. Here we find an atmosphere of mist and mois- ture ; and a soil based on hard granite, best fitted for heath, furze, and broom, the very broom ( genet ) which supplied our first Plantagenet with his crest and name. In many points the country bears a strong resemblance to Scotland ; the same wide, barren moors, the same deep and picturesque wooded dells, and storm-beaten coasts. Here, however, are no grand lofty mountain chains like the Grampians: the highest ridges of the Menez-Arres hills, the back-bone of the peninsula of Brittany, rarely surpass 1,200 ft. above the sea level.

2. In civilisation it is behind almost every other part of France : its in- habitants are of Celtic origin, speaking a language of their own, allied to, and, indeed, essentially the same as the Welsh and Cornish, so that Breton sailors landing on our coasts can make themselves understood by the Welsh there. It is exclusively spoken to the W. of a line drawn from the point of Finisterre through Chatelaudran and Pontivy ; the “ Vrai Bretagne Bretton- nante,” as Froissart calls it, to distinguish it from “ La Bretagne Douce,” where French is spoken. One of the principal objects of interest and study for the stranger in Brittany is its inhabitants, who have been kept distinct from the rest of France by position as well as difference of language.

The peasantry are almost as wild as their country, excessively quaint in their costume, wearing broad-brimmed hats and flowing hair, and in some dis- tricts trunk hose(bragons bras = breeks) of the 16th century; in others wrapped up in goat-skins, like Robinson Crusoe, a costume which they retain as it was

F 5

106

Sect. II.

§ 4. — - Brittany — Celtic Remains .

handed down from their ancestors. They are usually mean and small in their persons ; coarse-featured in face ; squalidly filthy in their habitations ; rude and unskilful in their agriculture. They are almost unchanged in their manners, customs, and habits : modern innovation has not entirely rubbed off the rust of long-continued habit ; old legends and superstitions still retain their hold on the popular mind. They present a curious picture of a primitive state of society ; and if a century behind their neighbours in what is called improvements, they are at least not corrupted by revolutions and commotions. In no part of France are the people, both of upper and lower orders, more observant of their religious duties, of festivals, fasts, &c. ; nowhere are the churches so thronged.

“ There is much picturesque beauty in Brittany, though of a character not so imposing at first sight as that of countries moulded on a grander scale. Scenery of great and winning loveliness is to be found on the banks of the Trieux, the Lannion, the Chateaulin, and the Ranee, and in many other secluded and scarcely accessible valleys, where the ‘ broomie kno,’ the wooded dell, and the rocky cliff alternately border the brawling mountain torrent, as it flashes along its stony bed, or is pent up in the still pool of an old water mill, which looks as if it had stood untouched (as it has perhaps) from the time of the ‘good Duchess Anne.’ The quaint and antique aspect of the buildings adds much to the picturesque character of the country. Some, as in Dinan, Morlaix, Quimper, &c., are framed of timber, with projecting stories resting on grotesquely carved brackets. But generally the houses both in the towns and villages are of grey granite, with massive round or ogee arched imposts to the doors and windows, often enriched with gothic mould- ings ; and presenting, from the peculiar colour and grain of the stone, an appearance of antiquity even in buildings recently erected. The churches again $re features of great interest and beauty scattered profusely over the country, and many a ruined castle or tower, or dilapidated * manoir ’ with its old avenue, huge granite portals, round turrets, and ‘extinguisher’ roofs, recals the days of the Breton chivalry. Add to these characteristic features, that the country is usually very intricate and thickly wooded, the enclosures being small and surrounded by high earthen banks, upon which, from six to ten feet above the level of the road or field, grows a close phalanx of timber trees, oak, elm, or ash, gnarled and pollarded into grotesque forms, and in- tercepting all view, so as to give rise to constant excitement, as the scene changes almost at every step that the traveller advances.” — G. P. S.

4. Of Ancient Monuments of different ages there is no lack in Brittany, and above all, of Celtic Remains ; those extraordinary masses of rude unhewn stones whose objects, age, and uses have never been satisfactorily accounted for, but which are supposed to have been in some way connected with the religion of the Druids, and their number would prove this country to have been the chief seat of that mysterious worship. In Great Britain we possess a few, and, above all, we have in Stonehenge a more stupendous monument than any elsewhere; but in Brittany the number is enormous; almost every wild heath possesses one or more. They are most numerous, however, on the storm-beaten promontories and islands of the W. coast ; especially in the Morbihan, which includes the wondrous stony array of Carnac and the monstrous granitic obelisks of Lokmariaker, larger than any single blocks at Stonehenge, but now fractured.

These rude Remains are of several different kinds, distinguished by the following names : . —

a. Menhir (literally long stone: Ir-min-Sul ; long stone of the sun) is a

Brittany. §5. — Brittany — Celtic Remains. 107

monolith in the form of a rude obelisk set upright on one end, whose height much exceeds its breadth. There is a menhir near Dol which rises 30 ft. above the ground, but the largest specimen of this class known is at Plouarzel, near Brest ; it exceeds 42 ft. in height. Those at Lokmaviaker, now laid prostrate and broken by violence, were more than 60 ft. high, and were thick in proportion.

b. Penlven (pillar of stone), an upright stone of inferior height to the menhir ; the single stones at Carnac are generally of this class.

c. Dolmen (from “ taal,” table, and “ maen,” or men, stone), in England commonly called Cromlech, is an arrangement of rude blocks, by which one or more upright stoues are made to support a horizontal block or slab. Some- times they nearly resemble a table ; the upright stones serving merely as props or legs, and are called in French pierres levees, or pierres couvertes ; at others the supporting stones are wide slabs, so arranged as to fit close to one another, and so lofty as to allow a man to walk upright beneath the horizontal roof- stone which they support. Kits Coity House in Kent is an instance of this kind, and there are others in Cornwall, but they are far inferior in size to those of Brittany, which are often 60 or 80 ft. long. The French sometimes call them 44 allees couvertes,”

d. Kistvaen is similar to the Dolmen, inasmuch as it consists of two rows of upright stones supporting flat blocks ; but the stones are smaller, and the whole structure lower and longer ; it appears to correspond; with the “ Hun. nengraber” of North Germany. The most remarkable example is on the island Game Innis near Lokmariaker.

e. Galgal is a tumulus, barrow, or cairn ; the largest known is the Butte de Tumiac on the shore of the sea of Morbihan.

These Celtic remains are not confined to Brittany, though most numerous there; they occur almost invariably on some flat open plain at a distance from the hills, in situations corresponding with Salisbury Plain and Dart- moor in England. Brittany appears, like our Mona, to have been the sacred land of the Gauls, the centre of their worship, to which probably the various nations and tribes repaired on pilgrimage at stated times to pay their devo- tions.

Of the particular destination or object of these rude elevations in general, or of the individual uses of the different classes enumerated above, no satis- factory explanation has been offered. The accumulated ranges, the long avenues of stones of Carnac and Erdevan, amounting to thousands in number, may have stood in the place of temples where rites of initiation and purifi- cation, similar to the Grecian mysteries, may have been performed. The upright solitary menhir may have been a symbol of some individual deity, as the sun ; the dolmen may have served as an altar or shrine, and the galgal and kistvaen were probably monumental. Eqpally unexplained are the me- chanical means by which a rude people contrived to transport, and to elevate one above another, such huge masses.

5. Their mysterious influence is not yet, by any means, effaced from the mind of the lower orders in Brittany. The first teachers of Christianity in this region found this attachment to superstition so strong, that, after in vain attempting to eradicate it, by overthrowing and destroying these rude stones, they altered their plan to that of engrafting, to a certain extent, their own faith upon the old idolatrous worship of stones and fountains, converting the dolmen into a chapel, and making the menhir serve as a pedestal to a crucifix, which it commonly does even to the present day.

The influence of paganism lingered long in these remote wilds, attached

f 6

108 §6. — Brittany — Antiquities . Sect. II.

as it was to visible objects : indeed, the inhabitants of Ouessant are said to have been idolaters until within 150 years.

Hence has arisen a strange jumble of Paganism and Romanism ; thus pilgrimages are made to fountains by those who desire to be relieved from some malady, by pouring its holy water over the affected part : and visits are paid in the depth of night to some solitary menhir by the barren woman, who hopes to become fruitful by rubbing her bosom against the hard stone. Some of these inanimate objects also are supposed to possess virtue to cure the diseases of cattle. Heathen divinities were replaced by saints, of which the number in Brittany exceeds that of any other part of Romanist Europe; most of them are peculiar to the country, their names being unknown elsewhere, and their canonisation conferred rather by the popular voice than with the authority of the Pope. Almost every church has its own strange legend, and on its saint’s day a pilgrimage or Pardon is celebrated, when indulgence for past sins is obtained, and the penitent pilgrims are no sooner shrived than they begin to run up a fresh score at the riotous festivities which follow these assemblies. These pardons, or village festivals, which are nearly equivalent to the German Kirchweih, the Flemish kirmes, and the English wake , deserve the attention of strangers, from the illustrations they afford of Breton life, manners, and costume.

6. In Ecclesiastical Monuments Brittany is not so well furnished as Nor- mandy, but the architecture is of a different style, chiefly the florid or flam- boyant Gothic, and of a much later period : indeed, even in architecture, Brittany seems to have been behind the rest of the world, and the fashions of building only reached it when superseded in other parts. There are, indeed, some peculiarities in “the Breton style,” which render it well worthy the attention of architects. In elaborateness and profuseness of ornament, in the minuteness and delicacy of carving, especially of the foliage, (for the figures are inferior,) there are some churches in Brittany which yield to few in any part of Europe. As instances may be mentioned those of Folgoat near Brest, St. Pol de Leon, which is remarkable for its exquisite spire, Theo- gonec near Morlaix, St. Herbot, near Poulahouan, and the cathedral of Nantes.

The department of Finisterre is the quarter in which churches more especially abound, and it is quite as profusely supplied as Lincolnshire, and many of the village churches are of unusual size and richness.

Several of the churches, even in remote situations, as at St. Herbot, are decorated internally with carvings in wood and stone ; roodlofts still exist at Folgoat, &c., though scarcely found elsewhere on the continent: painted glass is also by no means uncommon. These very gorgeous churches of Brittany were erected principally from the end of the 14th to the beginning of the 16th century.

Formerly the church-yards and even roadsides were adorned with Crucifixes of most elaborate execution, and comprising a multitude of figures; “most of them suffered by the Revolution, but many exquisite examples remain almost as perfect as those of Plougastel near Brest, St. Theogonec, &c., and hardly a single point of intersection of two roads can be passed which is not marked by a more or less mutilated cross, oftentimes restored by the piety of the present generation.” — G. P. S.

The Bone-house or Reliquaire will be constantly found in the Breton churchyards, and illustrates a curious custom. To allow “the rude fore- fathers of the hamlet” to repose quietly in the grave is opposed to the ideas of piety and affection in these rude people : after a certain number of years the survivors are required to show their remembrance and respect for their

Brittany. § 7 . — Brittany — Connection with England . 109

parents and relations by removing the sculls and bones from the coffin and placing them in the Ossuary, — where the former are arranged on shelves, open to the view of all, each with the name or initials in black paint written across the fleshless brow. There is a curious Reliquaire in St. Herbot.

One cause of the profuse decoration of these churches, and of their excel- lent preservation, may be referred to the materials employed — a green stone, peculiar to Brittany, called Kersanton (St. Anthony’s house), remarkable for the facility with which it is worked, and its tenacity in withstanding the weather. Its composition is not exactly understood, but it is supposed by mineralogists to consist of mica and amphibole, in particles minutely dis- seminated. It is found only in two localities, on the W. of the harbour of Brest, near the escarped rocks of Quelern, between the river of Faou and that of Landerneau. It is regarded as volcanic, both from its composition and because the rocks adjacent to it show marks of dislocation, caused appa- rently by its intrusion. The weather has scarce any destructive effect on it, even after the lapse of ages ; and its peculiarly bright green colour gives to a portal carved out of it the appearance of being cast in bronze.

Of churches in the Romanesque or Norman style the examples are few ; among them are the church of Dinan and the chapel of Lanlejf, which, after all the disputes of learned antiquaries, respecting its origin and great age, is probably merely an equivalent to the round churches of England.

The cathedx-al of Dol nearly corresponds in style to the Early English ; and the tradition of the country attributes it and some of the later churches to English architects. This is not surprising considering the long and early connection between Great Britain and Little Britain, to the S. of the Channel: Armorica , as it was styled, which the careful researches of historians and philologists have proved to have been colonised by natives of Britain after the sixth century, partly during the Roman dominion, partly after the invasion of the Saxons. From Brittany, if we believe the native traditions, we derive our most popular romances, our nursery and fairy tales. Arthur here held his court with the Knights of the Round Table ; and the cradle of Merlin was on the He de Sein, a % low sand bank in that stormy sea La Baie de Trepasses.

7. Many of the names of places closely resemble those of Wales and Corn- wall. Brittany also has its Coumouaille, equally celebrated with our own for wrestling matches, still held annually, at which the true Cornish hug is said to be given ; and for wreckers, whose infamous trade is promoted by the ever raging sea and iron-bound coast. The Droit de Bris, right of “jetsam and flotsam,” is, however, nearly abolished in France as in England ; and the time is past when a race or whirlpool was as productive to a landlord as a mine or fishery.

English armies have fought and bled on this soil of Brittany ; and the chivalric heroes of our history, Edward III., Chandos, Sir Walter Manny, were opposed to no unworthy antagonists in the Duguesclins and Clissons. In the castle of Elven, Henry of Richmond passed 15 years of his youth, though a prisoner, yet protected from the vengeance of the Yorkists.

A perusal of Froissart will be a good preparation for a visit to Brittany.

8. Brittany, old-fashioned in all things, is still the stronghold of that old- fashioned virtue, loyalty to its sovereign ; and, besides sharing in the horrors and glory of the war in support of the legitimate monarch, which had its rise in La Vendee, was the seat of a hard-fought contest of its own, called La Chouannerie, from the cry, " chou, chou,” in imitation of the night owl, the signal for onset among the Breton peasantry, originally employed as a sign

Route 35 . — Paris to Versailles.

110

Sect. II.

by smugglers, in their nocturnal expeditions. Memorials or recollections of these struggles will be encountered by the traveller at every step.

9. Those who desire full information respecting the antiquities, customs, legends, and poetry of the Bretons should read Souvestre's excellent work, <£ Les Derniers Bretons,” and Freminville's “ Finisterre and Morbihan.” For its churches and Druidic remains consult Merimee , “ Sur les Monumens de 1’ Quest de la France;” for its history, Daru : — Miss Costello's Bocages and Vines,” Mrs. Trollope's “ Brittany,” are interesting English works ; and Mrs. Stothard's “ Tour in Brittany” will repay the perusal.

10. Skeleton Tour of Brittany.

Brittany is accessible to travellers from England, by steamers either direct from Southampton to St. Malo, a very good starting point, or from South- ampton to Havre, and thence by land through Normandy, or by steamer to Morlaix.

The traveller coming from Paris may commence his tour at Rennes, but the capital of la Bretagne does not possess any of the characteristic features of the province..

Dol.

St. Malo.

Dinan.

St. Brieuc.

Lanleff.

Paimpol.

Treguier.

Morlaix.

St. Pol de Leon.

Folgoat.

Brest dock-yard.

Pointe St. Matthieu.

Chateaulin (by water).

11. Accommodation for travellers , even in the large towns, is inferior to that of the rest of France ; while in spots at all remote from the high road the filth is most disgusting, the fare miserable.

f Carhaix.

J Folgoat. j St. Herbot.

|_ Chateaulin.

Quimper.

Quimperle.

Auray.

Carnac and Lokmariaker. [Peninsula of Rhuys.] Vannes.

Roche Bernard.

Nantes.

ROUTE 35.

FAKIS TO RENNES BY VERSAILLES, VERNEUIL, DREUX, ALEN90N, AND LAVAL.

355 kilom. = 220 Eng. miles.

The Brest malleposte goes daily (3 places) in 26 hours.

From Paris to Versailles there are 2 railroads, one on the 1. the other on the rt. bank of the Seine.

a. Chemin de fer 7 Rive Gauche , 16|

kilom. = 11^ Eng. m. Terminus outside the Barriere du Maine at Paris. Trains go every half hour. Those starting at the hour are stop- ping trains, those at the \ hour quick or direct. Time employed 20 to 25 minutes, with stopping train 35 minutes.

Before issuing beyond the line of the new fortifications you see on the rt. Grenelle and Vaugirard ; now forming a town of about 6,000 in- hab., most of the houses being

Brittany. R. 35.— Railways

Cabarets, the resort of the working classes on Sundays and fete days, and on the 1. Montrouge, where are nu- merous quarries of building stone.

Beyond the Lines the railway passes between the detached forts of Vanvres and Issy, a village whose name is fan- cifully derived from a temple of Isis ! In the Seminaire, Fenelon was interro- gated by a conclave of bishops, styled the Conference of Issy, on certain points of doctrine, and here the Car- dinal Fleury lived long in retirement, and died 1745.

Rt. Vanvres. The Chateau, formerly the property of the Condes, built here by Mansard for the Due de Bourbon, now belongs to the College Louis le Grand.

5 Clamart (stat.) The village, half hid among the trees, on the 1. was the retreat of La Fontaine, of the Abbe Delille, who wrote here his poem LTmagination, and of Condorcet.

Emerging from a deep cutting we traverse on a lofty viaduct (Pont du Val) of 2 rows of arches, one above the other, 108 ft. high and 145 ft. long, the bosky dell of Val Fleury, com- manding a pretty view of the chateau of Meudon on the 1., while the Seine is perceived on the rt.

2 Meudon (stat.) A little on the 1. lies the bourg of 3,000 inhabitants. Rabelais was cure of Meudon, or rather the income of the living was bestowed on him by Cardinal du Bailey, for it is believed he never was in orders, and he certainly never per- formed the duties of a priest.

The Chateau, now belonging to the Crown, approached by a fine avenue of 4 rows of lime trees, was built by the 2nd dauphin, father of Louis XV. Louis XIV. said when he saw it, “ Ceci ressemble a la maison d’un riche financier plutot qu’a celle d’un grand prince,” and refused to enter it. It was fitted up for Marie Louise by Napoleon 1812. The best things about it are its situation, its gar- dens laid out by Le Notre, but lately re-arranged on a more modern plan,

to Versailles, Rive Gauche. Ill

and its terrace. This last belonged to the older chateau constructed by Philibert Delorme for Henri de Guise, Car- dinal of Lorraine, and belonged after- wards to the Minister Louvois. It was purchased by Louis XIV. for his son the Grand Dauphin, who died here, but it was pulled down in 1803 owing to its dilapidated condition. The view from the terrace is very fine. The late Due d’ Orleans had a breed- ing stud for race horses here.

The Foret de Meudon is a favourite holiday resort of the Parisians. Near this the fatal accident occurred on this railway, May 1842, when, by the frac- ture of the axle of a locomotive, several of the foremost carriages of a long train were crushed, thrown upon the engine furnace, and set on fire, and more than 100 persons were burnt alive, together with the railway car- riages in which they were locked up, in the space of about ^ hour. An expiatory chapel, dedicated to Notre Dame des Flammes, has been erected on the spot where this catastrophe occurred. Another cutting succeeds, and the railway passes under the Meudon avenue.

1 Bellevue (stat.) was named from a villa built in a few months to please Madame de Pompadour, but pulled to pieces during the Revolution.

Rt. Sevres (stat.), contiguous to Bellevue, is described farther on (p. 113.) The high road, and the Chemin de fer, rive droite, now run parallel and within a musket shot of our line.

A deep cutting through part of the crown forests leads to

4 Chaville (stat.), so called from a village on the 1.

1 Viroflay (stat.)

4 Versailles, (stat. in the Avenue de la Mairie.) See Galignani’s Paris Guide.

b. Chemin de Fer, Rive Droite. Terminus in Paris, Rue St. Lazare 120., the same as the St. Germains and Rouen railways, and the three railways use the same line of rails as

112

Route 35. — Paris to Rennes — St. Cloud. Sect. II,

far as Clichy. Trains every half hour (stopping), and every hour direct, from 7| a. M. to ] 0 v. m., 22f kilom. = 14 Eng. m., time in going 30 to 35 minutes.

After crossing the Seine by the Pont d’Asnieres (stat.) beyond Clichy, this railway turns to the 1. out of the St. Germains line (see Rte. 8.) to

Courbevoie (stat. ), whose large barrack, built by Louis XV., is seen on the 1., and beyond it the Arc de 1’ Etoile. The avenue leading from it, after passing the Seine by the Pont de Neuilly, branches out into two roads leading to Rouen, the upper and the lower, both of which are grossed by the railway before reaching

Puteaux (stat.) A fine view is obtained of Paris and the Seine from this part of the line, while skirting on the rt. the flanks of Mont Valerien (p. 32.), now converted into one of the citadels of Paris.

Suresnes (stat. )

St. Cloud (stat.)

The Royal Chateau, built or altered t>y Mansard for the Due d’Orleans, brother of Loxiis XIV., has been the scene of great events. Here the fatal Ordon nances of J uly 1830 were signed, which lost Charles X. the throne ; here Napoleon, like Cromwell before him, t laid the foundation of his power on the memorable 19 Brumaire (Nov. 11.1 799), by expelling with his armed grenadiers the council of five hundred t from the Orangerie in which they held their sittings ; — two of the most mo- j mentous of the Revolutions of France.

It was a favourite residence of Marie t Antoinette, of Buonaparte, and is now occupied every summer by the present royal family.

The interior is handsomely fur- nished, and contains some paintings chiefly of the modern French school, t Gobelin tapestry, Sevres vases, &c. The finest apartment is the Salon de Mars; the most interesting for its as- sociations, the Orangerie already men- tioned. Even more remarkable than the Chateau is the Parc de St. Cloud ,

laid out by Le Notre, always open to the public, and well worthy of a visit on account of the beautiful view which it commands over the winding Seine, and the country around Paris, for its artificial cascades, and its water works, which play the 1st and 3d Sunday of every month. The Grand Jet d'Eau rises from the centre of a circular basin, at the extremity of a long avenue to a height of 137 ft. and dis- charges 5,000 gallons per minute. The copy of the beautiful circular temple at Athens, called the Lanthorn of Demosthenes, should not be passed unobserved. In this part a fair is held on the 7th September, and lasts 3 weeks, one of the most celebrated and frequented of all the fetes near Paris.

The name St. Cloud is a contrac- tion of St. Clodoald, grandson of Clovis, who escaped alive when his brothers were murdered by their uncle Clothaire, by hiding himself in a wood here, and living as a hermit. Here, in the Maison de Gondi, Henri III. was assassinated, by Jaques Clement 1589, while his army, united with that of Henri of Navarre, were en- camped on these heights preparing to attack Paris. The father of Louis Philippe was born here.

The railway is carried under a part of the park of St. Cloud in a Tunnel more than 1,650 feet long.

Sevres (stat. ) Both railways have stations here, but at some distance from the village, as well as at

Chaville (stat.)

Viroflay (stat.)

Rt. The small village of Montreuil is the birth-place of General Hoche, who commenced life as an under groom in t|ie royal stables, and rose to be commander of the army of the Moselle.

Versailles. Terminus Rue Du- plessis, Boulevard de la Reine.

c. The High road, Route Royale , quits Paris by the Barriere de Passy. The village of Passy was the residence of

Brittany. Route 35 . — Paris to Rennes — Sevres.

113

Benjamin Franklin 1788. He occu- pied the house No. 40. Rue Basse, previously Hotel de Valentinois. The Abbe Raynal died here, 1796, and Bellini, the composer, 1834. The road runs along the rt. bank of the Seine through Auteuil, 2 miles further on, which was also the residence of many eminent men. The wise and good Chancellor d’Aguesseau lived and died here ; an obelisk in the churchyard marks his grave. Boi- leau’s house is still pointed out, Rue de Boileau, 18., and Moliere composed here a great part of his works. Condorcet and Madame Hel- vetius had also houses here. The park and chateau de St. Cloud are conspicuous on the hill to the rt. The river Seine is crossed by the Pont de Sevres, a short way before entering le Bourg de

1 2 Sevres (population 4,000), situ- ated on the 1. bank of the river, 6 m. distant from Paris, between 2 hills, the hill of Meudon on the 1. and that of St. Cloud on the rt., along whose slopes the 2 railways to Ver- | sailles are carried. Sevres, like Faienza ? and Delft, gives its name to the china j made in it, and for which it is prin-

cipally known. The manufactory is

in the large building on the 1. of the road, erected 1755, when the works were transferred from Vincennes,

- and purchased hy Louis XV. It is still the property of the crown, and employs 150 persons. Admission to see it is given by the directeur, M. Brongniart, a distinguished mineral- ogist and geologist, to whose sci- entific researches the manufacture owes much of its present perfection. Besides the show-rooms filled with objects for sale, there is a very com- plete and curious Porcelain Museum here, consisting of clay, earthenware, and china of all countries and periods, • from the oldest Greek and Etruscan vases down to the most recent pro- ductions of the nations of Europe and Asia, China, Japan, and the East Indies, and of many of the rude tribes

of America. Here is a series of all the objects made in the establishment since its commencement, marking the change of fashion and forms ; also the various materials, earths, calces, colouring matters used in the manu- facture. The Kaolin, or white clay, comes from St. Yreix near Limoges. The paintings are very remarkable from the talents of the artists em- ployed, (among whom Madame Ja- cotot andM. Constantin rank highest,) and the skill displayed in[the burning of the colours gives an equal pre- eminence to Sevres ware. Several pictures by ancient and modern masters have been copied in the size of the originals ; some were painted on the china tablet in Italy and sent over to Sevres to be burnt, and again returned thither to be re- touched. The Sevres manufacture is celebrated for its white unglazed ware, biscuit de Sevres, the white glazed ware, the elegance of the shape, and the beauty of the painting.

The manufacture of painted glass, so erroneously supposed to be lost, has been revived and brought to consi- derable perfection within a few years ; also the imitation of precious stones.

The park of St. Cloud (p. 112.) reaches as far as Sevres ; there are 2 entrances to it from the town.

The road continues between the 2 railways as far as Versailles, and enters that town by -the Grand Avenue de Paris.

7 Versailles. — Inns : H. du Re- servoir and H. de France.

Versailles is described in Galig- nani’s “ Paris Guide.”

The road to Brest, in quitting Ver- sailles, passes between the park wall and a large sheet of water, called Piece des Suisses.

A little way on the rt. lies St. Cyr, converted by Napoleon into an Ecole Militaire, 1806, for 300 pupils — a destination which it still preserves, but it was originally founded by Louis XIV., at the suggestion of Madame de Maintenon, as a school for 25 Q

Route 35. — Paris to Rennes — Dreux.

Sect. II.

114.

young ladies of noble birth, and Man- sard furnished the designs for it, 1686. Racine’s tragedies of Esther and Athalie, written for the pupils of the establishment, were here first brought out, in the presence of the King and Madame de Maintenon. She retired hither after Louis’s death, and dying here, 1719, was buried in the church. At the village of Trappes the road leaves, on the 1., the route to Nantes ( Route 46.), through a dull country to

19 Pontchartrain.

1 1 La Queue.

13 Houdan. — Inns : l’Ecu, le

Cygne. There is a handsome Gothic Church and an old Tower, part of the ancient fortifications, in this town of 2,000 inhabitants.

7 Marolles.

The river Eure is crossed at Cherisy.

12 Dreux — -(Inn : H. du Paradis) (Durocassis), a town of 6,400 inhab., on the Blaise, a tributary of the Eure. It was on the plain between the two rivers that the battle, known as la Journee de Dreux, one of the bloodiest in the French religious wars, was fought between the Roman Catholics, under the Due de Guise, who was victorious, and the Hugue- nots, under the Prince de Conde, who was made prisoner, 1563. The Due de Guise shared his couch the night after with his mortal enemy, and slept soundly by his side.

The hill which rises above the town is crowned by the ruins of the Castle of the Comtes de Dreux, which was captured with the town from the Due de Guise by Plenri IV. : the remains of the keep tower of brick, of a handsome Norman gate- way, and of a Gothic chapel, built 1142, still exist. The space enclosed by the walls is planted and converted into a garden, in the midst of which rises a modern Chapel, in the form of a Greek temple surmounted by a cupola, erected by the present King when Due d’Orleans, as a burial place for his family : — within it are in- terred the Duchesse de Penthievre,

and the Princesse Marie of Wiirtem- berg, the accomplished daughter of the King, and the lamented Duke of Orleans, heir to the throne. The King has recently caused to be con- structed a tall tower, which serves as a residence when he visits the spot : it has a subterranean communication with the chapel.

The Gothic parish church or ca- thedral, not very large, nor of good design, and the Hotel de Ville, a semi- Gothic building of the 16th century, containing a curious chim- ney piece, and a bell, cast in the reign of Charles IX., bearing a re- presentation, in relief, of the proces- sion of the Flambards, are said to merit notice.

Rotrou, the tragic poet, who pre- ceded Corneille, and Philidor, the chess player, were born at Dreux.

There are numerous manufactures of coarse cloths, serges, &c. in the ar- rondissement of Dreux.

Diligences go hence to Chartres and Rouen daily.

11 m. N. E. of Dreux are the scanty remains of the Chateau d’ Anet, built by the architect Philibert De- lorme for Diana of Poitiers out of the funds furnished by the liberality of her royal lover Henri II., 1552, on the site of a castle which belonged to her husband Louis de Breze, to which she retired to pass her widowhood. When she first became acquainted with the king she was 31, and he a youth of 13, yet she maintained her influence over him to the day of her death, in spite of the Queen, Cathe- rine de Medicis, and he wore her co- lours — the widow’s weeds, black and white — to the last, and her symbol, the crescent of Diana, is conspicuous in all his palaces. She was buried in the Chapel, which still remains sur- mounted by a cupola, but her mo- nument was removed to Paris, 1793, when her body was torn from the grave, and lost.

The chateau was almost entirely pulled down at the Revolution, part

Brittany. R. 35. — Paris to Rennes — Verneuil — Alen^on, 115

of the fa£ade was transported to Paris, where it has been re-erected at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. The ruins are pleasantly situated on the banks of the Eure. That stream traverses a little lower down the Plain of Ivry, the scene of one of the most decisive victories gained by Henri IV. over the armies of the Ligue, 1590, composed of French and Spaniards under May- enne. Henri’s words to his soldiers ; before the battle were, “ Je veux ! vaincre ou mourir avec vous. Gardez , bien vos rangs, ne perdez point de : vue mon panache blanc, vous le trou- verez toujours au chemin de l’hon- : neur.” The monumental obelisk erected on the spot to commemorate the battle was thrown down 1793, but | restored by Napoleon. The Ch. of St. Pieme near Dreux is a tine example of the flamboyant style.

14 Nonancourt.

The house in which Henri IV. slept the night before the battle of Ivry is pointed out.

11 Tillieres sur Avre.

10 Verneuil. — Inn; Poste; Cheval Blanc. This interesting old town, of 4,000 inhab., contains several remark- able specimens of Gothic architecture,

■ — the finest being the Tour de la Madeleine, a magnificent work in the most gorgeous late Gothic style, sur- mounted by a stunted spire. Verneuil was once a place of strength ; — under its walls , which partly remain, a fine specimen of fortification of the 12th century, was fought a bloody battle in 1424, between the French and English, which, after two days of hard and uncertain contest, terminated in favour of the Regent, Duke of Bed- ford, and was the last great victory obtained by him. The bravest leaders j and most efficient troops who fought j on the side of the French were the ! Scotch. Their commanders, the Earl of Douglas, who had been created j Duke of Touraine, his son, the Earl ! of Buchan, and many other knights \ were slain. The English army was i inferior in numbers to the enemy, I

yet it left 1,600 dead on the field, while on the side of the French there fell 4,000, including Scotch and Ita- lian allies. As usual the English archers contributed mainly to the victory. Attached to the portion of the fortifications not yet removed, is a tall tower, 60 ft. high, on the margin of the Avre, called la Tour Grise.

The road by Argentan and Falaise branches off here. Route 29.

16 St. Maurice.

22 Mortagne. — Inn: H. de France. An old town (5,158 inhab.) which claimed to be capital of la Perche. It is situated in a commanding position on a hill, surmounted by the high road in a series of zigzags, in order to reach the principal square. It was a place of strength, often besieged, and suffered much from the horrors of war. During the contests of the League, it was taken and pillaged by the two parties 22 times in 3i years. Parts of its j ramparts remain. Its only supply of water is obtained by means of a steam- engine pump, from springs at the | bottom of the hill. The Church is remarkable for the pendants in the roof of its nave.

The canvas used for pictures is made at Mortagne, besides other coarse cloths, and some porcelain.

7 m. N. of Mortagne, at Soligny, is the convent of La Trappe, founded in the 12th century; but owing its celebrity to the severe rule of the order enforced, 1666, by the Abbe la Ranc£, who, after leading a dissipated life in his youth, spent 37 years in penitence here, and died at the age of 77. It was suppressed 1790, by a decree of the Assemblee Nationale, and its church destroyed with the tomb of La Ranee, but the monks were re- stored in 1814.

16 Mesle sur Sarthe. The Sarthe, a tributary of the Loire, is crossed here.

10 Menil Broust.

13 Alencon (Inns: La Poste ; — Hotel d’Angleterre ), chief town of the Dept, de l’Orne, has a population

116 R. 35. — Paris to Rennes — Mayenne — Laval. Sect. II.

of 14,000, and is a thriving place, si- tuated on the Sarthe, near the junc- tion of the Briante, in an open plain. Its manufactures consist chiefly of hempen and linen cloths, called “ Toiles (TAlengon ,” of which nearly 22,000 pieces are sold annually.

The making of point lace, “Point d’ Alenin,” established here by Colbert, for which the town was long celebrated, has now nearly disappeared. Cyder and perry (poire), the common drink of the country, are sold to a con- siderable extent, in casks called pipes.

The public buildings are not very remarkable. The Cathedral consists of a Gothic nave, built in the 16th century, having some painted glass, injured by a storm, 1821, and a pulpit approached by a staircase cut in the pier, attached to a plain modern choir. The crypt beneath the church con- tains the monuments of the Dues d’ Alenfon — lately opened.

Three battlemented towers of the old Castle are incorporated in the modern Hotel de Ville, and the Pre- fecture is a brick building, which once belonged to the Duchesse de Guise.

One of the most atrocious of the Revolutionary leaders, Hebert, the anarchist, editor of the infamous journal, Pere Duchesne, was a native of Alen£on. Pie was led trembling and weeping to the scaffold, to which he had condemned so many thousand innocent persons, in 1793, exhibiting in his last moments the most extreme cowardice.

The name Diamants d’Alen^on is given to the crystals of smoky quartz (rock crystal), found in the neigh- bouring granite quarries j where the beryl also occurs.

Diligences go hence to Tours and Caen. ( Route 29. ).

11 St. Denis. The river May.- enne rises near this, and is crossed about i way to

13 Prez en Pail, in the depart- ment of the Mayenne ; the portion of it traversed by the road is a dreary

country, unenclosed and covered with heath.

18 Le Ribay.

The high road to Brest merely skirts a suburb of Mayenne, leaving the town itself on the rt.

18 Mayenne. — Inns: Belle Etoile; ■ — Tete Noir. A town of 10,000 in-

habitants, situated § on the rt. bank and 1 on the 1. of the Mayenne. Its manufactures of calicos, linen cloth, and tickens, employ 8,000 persons in and around the town. The Castle, now in ruins, is a picturesque object, on the rt. bank of the river, near the bridge. It belonged to the seigneurs of May- enne, and was taken, after a 3 months’ siege, by the English, under the Earl of Salisbury, 1424. Many of the streets are very narrow, and so steep that it requires 8 or 10 oxen to draw a cart up them.

Laval, chief town of the depart- ment, is situated 24 m. S. of this.

The road descends the valley of the Mayenne, having the river on the rt. but out of sight, to

13 Martigne.

17 Laval (Inns: Tete Noire ;

— Cour Royale), a curious ancient town, chef lieu of the department of the Mayenne, on the river Mayenne, has 16,500 inhab. The oldest part consists of black timber houses, each story projecting beyond that below it, until the gable overhangs the street ; but a new quarter has risen on the W„ where the streets are wide and regular. On the rt. bank of the river close to the old bridge, the Castle of the seig- neurs of La Tremouille rises from a basement of rock, on which its lofty wall is raised, flanked at one end by a macliicolated round tower. It was built in the 12th century, and its Chapel on round arches is perhaps of that date, but there are many later additions, and the jambs of some of the windows facing the inner court retain some rich ornaments in the style of the Renaissance (15th or 16th cen- tury). It is now a prison.

The Cathedral presents a singu-

Brittany. Route 35 . — Paris to Bennes — Vitre,

117

larity of ground plan, taking the form of a right angle, occasioned by the sloping ground on which it stands. It is a curious Gothic edifice. The nave and choir (except the aisles and side chapels, additions of the 15th and 16th centuries, in the flamboyant style,) are not older than the 12th. The E. end is square ; the porch is a wretched addition of recent times. Under the church are very extensive substruc- tions and crypts, thrown up in con- sequence of the slope of the ground to form a platform or pedestal for the building.

St. Venerand, a church of the 15th or 16th century, has a little painted glass.

The church in the village of Ave- nieres adjoining the town, built 1040, deserves the notice of the architect. Its choir, in the early pointed style, is surrounded by 5 apsidal chapels, and 2 others open into the transepts. Above the cross rises an elegant stone spire of decorated Gothic. The church contains a miracle-working image of the Virgin. The architect and antiquary ought not to leave un- seen the little ruined Church of GVe- noux, 2 m. from Laval. It. is destitute of all ornament. The structure of its masonry, small square stones with intervening bonds of tiles, mark the style of a period not later than the 9 th century. Within it is a monu- ment of a knight and his lady.

Laval is essentially a manufacturing town, occupied in the production of linens and cottons, (toiles, coutils, siamoises,) and of linen thread, large quantities of which are spun here. A market for the sale of these productions is held every week in the Halle aux Toiles .

Laval was the centre from which arose the royalist insurrection of 1792 called Chouannerie, either from 4 brothers named Chouan, its first leaders, of the village St. Ouen des Toits, or from the cry of the owl, imitated by the salt smugglers of this district as a signal to their con-

federates, and afterwards adopted during the struggle, by the peasant guerillas, to announce the enemy’s approach.

One of the most glorious victories of the Vendeans was gained in October 1793, a little to the S. of the town. Defeated in several previous combats, and driven across the Loire, with a large republican army in pursuit of them, their enemies believed the war extinguished. Barrere announced this intelligence to the Convention in Paris; “ La Vendee is no more, the brigands are exterminated, a profound solitude reigns in the Bocage, covered with cinders and watered with tears — but at the very time that these words were being uttered, Larochejacque- line had carried Laval at the point of the bayonette ; — then turning round on his pursuers, he exhorted his brave bands to efface the memory of their former defeats, and to fight for the preservation of their wives and chil- dren who accompanied them, now far from their homes. Lescure insisted on being carried through the ranks on his death-litter, mortally wounded as he was, to encourage the Royalists by his presence, and to share their peril and toil. TheVendeans, obeying the appeal , on this occasion rushed upon the enemy inclose column, routed them entirely, and pursued them beyond Chateau Gonthier, withaloss to the Republicans of 12,000 men, among whom were the redoubted garrison of Mayence, who were mostly cut to pieces, and of 19 cannon. The conflict began at les Croix de Bataille, 2 m. S. of Laval. So precipitate and complete was the rout, that the remains of the republi- can army, reduced to 1 2,000 men, were not collected and reorganised until 12 days had elapsed, and not before they had left the town of Angers in their rear.

21 La Gravelle. “There are large coal works at St. Pierre la Cour, near this.” — L.

16 Vitre (Inn; La Poste) is in ap* i pearance a town of the middle ages,

118

Route 35. — Rennes.

Sect. II.

Gothic and irregular, retaining the greater portion of its feudal fortifi- cations, high and thick walls flanked by towers, surmounted by machi- colations, and surrounded by a deep ditch. They appear not later in date than the 15th century. On one side of them, but detached from them by a ditch, stands a ve- nerable and picturesque Castle of the Seigneurs de la Tremouille, now converted into a prison and fall- ing to decay. In the court is an elegantly ornamented structure, half Gothic, half Italian, supposed to have been a pulpit. At the time of its construction the lords of the castle were adherents of the Reformed faith, and the inscription, which may still be read around the console, “ post tenebras spero lucem,” probably al- ludes to the persecutions they suf- fered.

The church of Notre Dame is in a style indicating the decline of Gothic art ; attached to it, on the outside, is a stone pulpit, and within one of the chapels hangs a frame containing 32 small enamels, probably from Li- moges.

The peasants of this part of Brit- tany wear a dress of goatskins with the hair turned outwards, which gives them a somewhat savage aspect, and reminds one of Robinson Crusoe.

About li m. S. of Vitre is the Chateau des Rockers, long time the residence of Madame de Sevigne ; her bed-room and the cabinet where she wrote many of her charming letters are pointed out, and there is a fine portrait of her by Mignard, but the furniture, &c. of the interior has been totally altered.

Near Esse, 7 lieues S. W. of Vitre, is a Druidical monument called “ la Roche Aux F£es,” consisting of 43 large rough blocks of stone — 34 up- right, supporting 8 others which form a roof.

The Vilaine river, after which the department is named, rises near Vitre ; our road runs parallel with its

course as far as Rennes, crossing it by a stone bridge at

15 Chateaubourg.

2 m. beyond this the road passes close to a large slate quarry excavated to a depth of more than 100 ft.

9 Noyal. The country possesses little interest.

12 Rennes. — Inns: No good inn; — moderate charges, but all dirty; H. de l’Europe, H. de la Corne de Cerf ; — H. de France, near the Mes- sageries. This town, formerly capital of Brittany, now chef lieu of the de- partment of Ille et Vilaine, is situated at the confluence of these two streams, and contains 37,900 inhab. Here are few antiquities ; the town has an entirely modern aspect, arising from a dreadful fire which in 1720 reduced nearly the whole city to ashes. It lasted 7 days, and con- sumed 850 houses, besides nearly all the public buildings ; the ancient and solidly built clock tower crum- bled to pieces on the third day, cal- cined by the flames. The public buildings, of a date subsequent to this catastrophe, display for the most part the bad taste of the 1 8th century.

The streets are uniform ; and, “not- withstanding the sober and gloomy hue of which the houses are chiefly built, Rennes is rather a handsome city,” but dull. Considerable im- provements have recently taken place, many narrow streets have been re- moved, and a new bridge has been thrown over the Vilaine.

The stately Palais de Justice , in the handsome Place du Palais, was the parliament house of the States of Brittany, and is the most remarkable building here. It contains one fine large Salle des Pas Perdus, and several apartments rich in gilded ceilings and stucco ornaments, Cupids bearing festoons, &c. with roofs and panels painted by Jouvenet. Its date is 1670.

The interior of the modern Cathe- dral, “ recently finished, is a very spa- cious, lofty, and imposing Hall of

Brittany.

Route 36 . — Rennes to Brest .

Grecian architecture ; the principal aisle having a richly decorated vaulted roof, supported by massive and well-proportioned fluted Corin- thian columns. On the whole, the effect is striking, but not at all eccle- siastical.” M.A.S. The ancient Cathe- dral St. Melaine retains a Romanesque porch supported on engaged pillars with curiously carved capitals, pro- ; bably of the 1 2th century. The tele- graph on the top of the cathedral is one of the chain communicating be- ! tween Paris and Brest.

There is a very handsome modern ; Theatre , situated in another respect- able square, with covered arcades : around it, lined with shops.

In the Hotel de Yille facing the theatre is a collection of pictures re- moved from the damp Musee in which they were before deposited : the greater part are of little worth. ! As a curiosity may be cited a Judg- ! ment of Solomon painted by King Rene of Anjou, but much injured, faded and dingy in hue. There is a Lion Hunt said to be by Rubens (?) I

Here is also the Public Library con- ; taining 30,000 volumes, and many I rare MSS., among them a charter of j Don Henry, of Trastamare, granting J lands in Spain to Duguesclin.

The chief attraction of Rennes, j however, is its Public Walks, especially that called le Mont Thdbor, planted j with fine trees and commanding a ! pleasing view over the town and val- ley of the Vilaine. A miserable statue of Duguesclin has been set up in it.

The other walks are le Mail, ex- I tending down to the junction of the Ille and Vilaine, la Motte , and le Champ de Mars.

One of the old town gates, la Porte \ Mordelaise, is preserved opposite the new cathedral ; the entrance is by a pointed arch, and the masonry in- cludes a stone bearing a Roman in- j scription, dedicated by the town of Rennes ( Redonis ) to the Emperor Gordian; it is no longer legible, j

Through this gate the ancient dukes of Brittany made their solemn entry into Rennes on their accession, but before passing it they swore to pre- serve the Catholic faith and the church of Brittany, to govern wisely, and to execute justice ; they were then conducted into the church, where, after 2 days spent in prayer, they were crowned with the golden circlet, and girt with the ducal sword.

The manufactures of Rennes are sail cloth, which it supplies to the French navy, and some table linen. The butter is excellent, especially that of Prevalaye, large quantities of which are sent to other parts of France.

Rennes has a communication by Canal with St. Malo and the Channel on the one hand, and with Nantes and Brest on the ether.

Diligences daily to Paris and Brest (R. 36.) — to Dinan and St. Malo (R. 41.) — to Caen (R. 31.) — to Nantes (R. 41.)

ROUTE 36.

RENTES TO BREST.

240 kilom. = 149 Eng. m.

Malleposte daily in 18 hours.

Diligences daily.

10 Pace.

13 Bedee.

14 La Barette.

16 Broons is remarkable only as the birth place of Bertrand Dugues- clin, the great captain of France in the 15th century. He was 10th child of Robert Duguesclin, and remarkably ill favoured to look upon. He first saw the light in the castle of La Motte Broons, of which no vestiges remain, but the place where it stood is marked by an avenue of trees, and a Monument, erected at the cost of the department, by the side of the road to Brest, about 1 m. out of the town.

12 Langouedre.

15 Lamballe was the chief place

120

Route 36. — Rennes to Brest — Morlaix . Sect. II.

of the Comte of Penthievre ; the castle of the counts was reduced and dismantled by Cardinal Richelieu, 1626, to punish a rebellious seigneur. The Church of Notre Dame , standing on the top of the hill, whose slope is occupied by the town, was originally the castle chapel, and is a fine Gothic building. Thick cylindrical piers, surmounted by capitals in bands, support the lancet arches of the nave, whilst the choir rests on] clustered pillars, the arches being surmounted by a double triforium gallery. It has a wooden roof. In a side aisle is some good carved wood-work, with decorated and flamboyant tracery, perhaps the remains of a rocdloft. Part of the church was not built until 1545.

The road to St. Malo (R. 41.) di- verges from this.

Glimpses of the sea are obtained on the rt. before reaching

20 St.Brieuc — Inn : Croix Blanche, clean and good ; one of the best on this road : dinner, bottle of wine, bed, and tea for breakfast, 4 fr. 50 c.

There is nothing worth notice in this town of 12,500 inhab. ; it is situated on the Gouet, and has a port called L£gue, 2 m. lower down the stream, provided with a long quai, accessible for vessels of 400 or 500 tons, to unload at. On the top of a hilly promontory, commanding the bouchure of the river, stands the ruined Tour de Cesson, built 1395, to defend its entrance, but blown up 1598, after the war of the league, by order of Henri IV. Such, however, was the thickness of the wall, and the coherence of the mortar, that one half of the cylinder remains standing, brav- ing the tempests, while the other lies shattered into a few large masses at its base, as it fell. There is a pretty walk from St. Brieuc to Legue, through a narrow ravine, traversed by a small tributary of the Gouet.

St. Brieuc was taken by the Chou- ans in the Vendean war, 1799.

An interesting antiquarian and

architectural excursion to Lanleff, Paimpol, &c. may be made from this (Rte. 38.).

17 Chatelaudren, a small town on the Leff.

14 Guingamp (Hotel des Voy- ageurs) is a very picturesque town, si- tuated in the vale of the Trieux, which abounds in pleasing scenery (7,200 inhab. ). It formed part of the vast pos- sessions of the Dues de Penthievre, and has descended from them to Louis Philippe. The site of their castle, razed to the earth, is occupied by a grove of trees, and serves as a promenade ; but fragments of the town walls remain. Its Church, surmounting the other buildings, part Gothic, part in the style of the revival, has some pecu- liarities ; viz. grotesque heads, pro- jecting from the shafts of its piers.

The Fontaine de Plomb, in the middle of the place, is rather an ele- gant work of Italian artists in the 15th century, it is supposed.

The Chapel of Notre Dame de Grace , 3 m. out of the town, is well deserving a visit, although its rich decorations in sculptured tracery and figures have been much mutilated. “ Its elegant spire, finely propor- tioned pillars, and light arches, are still worthy of admiration ; and much of the grotesque carving, which formed the cornices of the nave and aisles, may still be seen.” — Trollope. It was erected in the 14th century by Charles of Blois.

19 Belle He en Terre.

The department of Finisterre in La Basse Bretagne, the ancient Ar- morica, is entered before reaching

19 Ponthou.

15 Morlaix (Inns : Hotel de Paris; Hotel de France), is a flourishing little port and town of 10,500 inhab. picturesquely seated in a valley, wide enough only for the tidal river or creek which runs up it, lined with 2 quays and 2 rows of houses, “ behind which the hills rise steep and woody on one side, on the other gardens and rocks and wood ; the effect romantic and

Brittany. Route 36 . — Rennes to Brest — Morlaix .

121

beautiful.” — A. Young. The rock rises so close behind the houses as to give rise to a proverb, “ From the garret to the garden, as they say at Morlaix.” It is only 61 m. from the sea, and is reached by vessels of considerable tonnage. To the stranger, its chief attraction is the unaltered air of antiquity which it retains in its older quarters, such as the Rue des Nobles, and du Pave, and the tho- roughly Breton character of its street architecture and houses, over-hang- ing the footway, each story, fronted with an apron of slates, more nearly approaching its neighbour on the opposite side of the way, until the inmates of the garrets may shake hands. The grotesquely carved corner posts, ornamented with figures of kings, priests, saints, monsters, and bagpipers, the Gothic doorways, the sculptured cornices, would enrich an artist’s sketch-book, and furnish em- ployment for many days. The cos- tume of the people, also, is thoroughly in keeping with the buildings ; their pent-house brimmed hats, their loose trunek hose, their shaggy locks, hang- ing like manes down their backs, are all thoroughly characteristic of la Bretagne Brettonnante (§ 2.).

Sad havoc, however, has been made in this antique town by modern im- provements ; and the outlet recently formed for the new Rue Royale, by which the road to Brest issues out on the W., has swept away a crowd of crazy, but picturesque constructions, whose loss would make Prout sigh.

Two small streams, descending from separate ravines, but uniting above the town, are arched over to furnish j space for the market-place and Hotel | de Ville; below which, expanding naturally, and partly by their bed being artificially excavated, they form I a port, lined with quays and lofty < picturesque houses, resting on covered | galleries or arcades, called Lances.

1 One of the houses on this quai is

I I particularly remarkable for its carved j staircase. Besides these quays several France.

merchant vessels may usually be seen lying together, with a variety of small craft.

The churches are not remarkable : in St. Melaine is some good carved screen work.

The Hotel de Ville has been lately rebuilt.

Many of the houses in the Rue des Nobles (especially the staircase of one high up on the right hand) deserve notice ; they are richly ornamented in the flamboyant style.

The Gothic fountain of the Car- melites, and the ruined Chapel of St. Francis may be visited by those who have time. The Manufacture Royale de Tabac , a large building on the W. quay, is said to produce the worst tobacco in Europe.

In 1522, the fleet of Henry VIII., who was at that time incensed with Francis I. for seizing the ships' and goods of English merchants in French ports, on its return from es- corting the Emperor, Charles V, to Spain, under the command of Henry Earl of Surrey, entered the river, in number 50 vessels, and effecting a de- scent in the neighbouring bay of Dourdu, surprised Morlaix. The En- glish set fire to it in four different places, pillaged it, massacred the inha- bitants, and burnt to the ground great part of it, “ together with some right fair castles, goodly houses, and proper piles.” — State Papers. They retired to their vessels loaded with booty ; but 600 of the hindmost were inter- cepted by the infuriated inhabitants, and cut off with great slaughter near a spring, still called Fontaine des Anglais, or, as the Bretons, like their Welsh kinsmen, style them, the Saxons.

Near the said fountain begins a very pleasant promenade, planted with trees, called Cours Beaumont, which extends nearly I t m. down the 1. bank of the river. The views from it of the river and the wooded valley are very pleasing.

The site of the old castle planted

122

Route 36. — Brest,

Sect. II,

with trees also commands a fine view of the town.

Morlaix is the native place of General Moreau.

Diligences daily to Paris and Brest ; to St. Malo ; to Rennes; to Lorient.

A well-appointed steamer runs from Morlaix to Havre, 70 leagues, in 20 hours, once a week, fare 30 fr.

The churches of Kreisker, at St Pol de Leon, and of Folgoat, may be visited by making a detour, on the way to Brest (Rte. 38.). Another interest- ing excursion is to the mining dis- trict of Huelgoat and Poulahouen (Rte. 42.).

Rather more than half way (9m.) between Morlaix and the next relay, the village of Theogonec is passed, remarkable for its fine Church in the style of the Renaissance ; a vast edifice, richly decorated with sculptures in the dark Kersanton stone. Its delicately carved pulpit, its reliquiary and its Calvary, deserve notice.

21 Landivisiau has a church also with a very fine S. portal, filled with statues of the 12 Apostles, and at the W. end a most elegant tower and spire.

The Church of Lanbader , 5 m. N. of this, on the road to St. Pol, sur- mounted by an elegant tower and spire, was originally attached to a commandery of Templars, ruins of which exist near the tower. Within is a beautifully pierced and carved roodloft of wood, composed of ex- quisite flamboyant tracery, also a staircase in the same style. The chains of some knight, liberated from slavery among the followers of Mahoun, still hang in the choir.

3 m. short of Landerneau, on a hill above the village La Roche Maurice, stand the ruins of its castle, reduced to 3 shattered towers, but very pic- turesque in its outline and position.

In the churchyard is an Ossuary, filled with skulls and dry bones, or- namented in front with a sculptured frieze, representing the Dance of

Death, executed 1639. The Church is Gothic, and built 1559, and con- tains some good painted glass. The carved portal in Kersanton stone, and the sculptured roodloft of wood within, are worth notice.

16 Landerneau (Inn: Hotel de l’Univers), a pretty town, seated in the hollow of a valley on the Elorn, whose mouth forms one branch of the roadstead of Brest. There are some picturesque Gothic bits among its old houses. 4,963 inhab.

The roads to Brest from Morlaix, from Carhaix (Rte. 42.), and from Quimper (Rte. 44.), all converge at this point.

A little beyond Landerneau, on the 1. of the road, between it and the river Elorn. a ruined gateway, draped with ivy, is the sole sub- sisting relic of the Castle of the Joy - euse G&rde, now known as Chateau le Foret, the cradle of chivalry, the seat of Arthur, Lancelot du Lac, and the knights of the round table. Of course there is no pretension that the existing remains are of their time. No satisfactory explanation is given of the origin of the name Joyeuse Garde ; but it is supposed to be a perversion of a Breton term.

20 Brest. — Inns : Hotel de Pro- vince, best; Hotel du Grand Mon- arque.

Brest, the chief naval seaport of France, an arsenal of war and for- tress of first class, is most advan- tageously situated near the W. ex- tremity of the department Finisterre (the Land’s End of France), on that portion of her territory which projects most to the W. between the Channel and the Gulf of Gascony. It stands on the N. side of one of the finest harbours in the world, nearly land- locked, accessible only through a narrow and well fortified throat, Le Goulet, and extending far inland in 2 branches, one running up to Lan- derneau, the other towards Chateau- lin. The town is built on the sum- mit and sides of a kind of projecting

123

Brittany. Route 36 . — Brest — Dockyard.

ridge, and some of its streets are too steep to be passable except on foot. A narrow but deep creek, which is in fact formed by the mouth of the small stream the Penfeld, running up from the harbour behind this ridge, serves as the basin to the dockyard, and divides the town on its 1. bank from the suburb La Recouvrance on its rt. The communication between the town and suburb is kept up by nu- merous ferry boats. Close above the mouth of this creek, which is not more than a musket shot across, and is defended by several tiers of bat- teries on either hand, rise the feudal round towers and colossal curtains, not less than 100 ft. high, of the pic- turesque old Castle, which belonged to the Dues de Bretagne. It was besieged in vain by Duguesclin and Clisson, was long held by the English, having for governor, 1373, the brave war- rior Robert Knolles. It was yielded up by Richard II. 1395, in consider- ation of 12,000 crowns, and was finally modernised by Vauban 1688, who formed casemates in the interior of its massive towers, and platforms with embrasures for cannon on their tops. From its walls there is a good view of the port and dockyard, but the Fort de l’Ecole, on the opposite side of the water, commands one still finer, including the roads also. There are numerous dungeons beneath the castle, and extensive vaults were dis- covered 1832.

The inner port of Brest, or creek above mentioned, is so narrow that if j the town had any commerce it would not be large enough to hold the mer- I chant vessels, but there is no defi- ciency of depth (25 ft. at low water), and 30 or 40 ships of Avar might lie within it in single file. Above the | castle the shores of both sides of this | creek are enclosed by a high wall jj separating the dockyard within it j from the town. The mouth of the creek is closed by a boom. The | population of Brest is said to ex- r ceed 32,000, though, to avoid the ad-

ditional contributions on large towns, it is put down in the census at 29,860. There is accommodation in the nu- merous barracks for a garrison of nearly 10,000 men.

Although Brest is enclosed Avithin ramparts, there are several fine open spaces within its walls; such are the square called Champ de Bataille, in- nocent of any other combat than a sham fight, and the Cours d’Ajot (so named from an officer of engineers Avho laid it out), a promenade agreeable on account of the fine trees which shade it, and the beautiful vieAv of the roads, appearing like avast lake, Avhich its terrace commands ; but infested all the morning by parties of recruits undergoing drill.

More rain, it is said, falls in Brest than in any other town of France, and the Avhole department of Finis- terre is peculiarly exposed to storms, Avinds, mists, and fogs.

In 1548, Mary Queen of Scots, then a child 5 years old, landed at Brest, and a few days after was af- fianced to the dauphin Francis at St. Germain.

The Dockyard, or Port Militaire. — The authorities connected with the dockyard (major de la marine, &c.), are very niggard in giving admission to strangers, but an application to the Port admiral or Maritime Prefet made by the English consul, who is particularly obliging to persons re- commended to him, will procure it. Entrance to the Bagnes and Hbpital de la Marine, the most interesting objects here, should be expressly included in the ticket of admission. The celebrated dockyard of Brest is situated on the 2 sides of a narrow but deep creek or arm of the sea, running up in a winding direction be- tween high and steep rocks, which in- trude so near upon the water that it is only by paring them down that space is formed for the buildings, and for the quays and yards required in front of them. The first view looking down from above into this narrow g 2

1 24> Route 36. — Brest — Dockyard — Bagnes. Sect. II.

ravine, lined with long and massive ■ ranges of buildings rising tier over tier in the form of an amphitheatre, is exceedingly striking. On one side js the V oilerie (sail house), Magazin General (slop shop), and Corderie (ropery) of 3 stories, surmounted by the Bagne, and above it rises the New Hospital. On the opposite side are various ateliers, forgeries, Atelier d'Artillerie Marine (burnt in 1833.) The new Foundery (for casting can- non) begun 1841, and the Quartier des Marins, or sailors’ barracks, where they are lodged when in port in the same manner as soldiers ; — an admirable establishment, which might be advan- tageously copied by the English ad- miralty, fill up the opposite side. The level space at the water’s edge is occupied by slips (cales de construc- tion), only 2 of which are covered, about 8 being uncovered, dry docks (formes) at times converted to the purpose of building ships. It is surprising that the first dockyard of France should possess so few covered slips. There are besides timber yards, boat sheds, water cis- terns supplied by a steam-engine where vessels fill their tanks, sheds for containing the new tanks, and government cellars, while a very large space near the sea entrance of the dockyard is covered with dismounted cannon. Here also is placed a trophy from Algiers, a brass gun 20 ft. long, which forms an excellent column, reared on its breech. The precautions against fire and theft are very rigid ; a vigilant guardian watches in every •apartment, a door-keeper at every door ; cisterns are placed at short distances, with tubs full of water every 8 or 10 yards. ;

The ground occupied by most of these buildings has been gained, as before observed, by excavations out of the hill side. Greatly as the space on either side of the water has been widened by artificial means, the cliffs even now approach too near the slips and timber sheds, preventing afree cir-

culation of air, causing dampness, and consequently dry rot. Near the tim- ber sheds is the Musee Maritime filled with models, ships’ heads, &c., but containing nothing very remarkable.

On both sides of the port, roads are carried up the steep sides of the con- fining heights in zigzag terraces, so that they may easily be surmounted by heavy carriages.

The Victualling Office (Direction des Subsistances et Parc aux Vivres) is near the mouth of the port on the rt. bank, and includes the bakehouse, containing 24 ovens, the slaughter- house, kitchens, &c. In 1802-3, when the combined Spanish and French fleets lay in the roads, 50,000 rations were supplied hence daily.

The Bagnes (from bagnio, Ital. bath ; the Christian slaves in Turkey and Barbary were employed in heat- ing the baths of the sultans, pachas, deys, &c. ) contain about 3,000 con- victs (formats), condemned to forced labour for a certain term of years or for life. Their di'ess is a jacket of dirty red serge, fitting no better than a sack, yellow trowsers, and a green, red, or yellow cap ; the green cap de- notes one condemned for life ; the yel- low sleeve one twice sentenced. The worst offenders are heavily loaded with shackels fastened to a ring ri- vetted fast round the leg. The chain and shackel together weigh more than 7lbs., and usually cause a wound on the leg at first. It is not, however, the hideous dress nor the clanking chains which render the foi^ats repulsive ; it is the countenance marked with bad passions and villany, which indi- cate the degradation of human nature. The worst offenders are coupled two together to the same chain. They work in gangs, each gang accom- panied by a plante or garde chourme, a fierce-looking moustache, with a tranchant sabre, accompanied by a soldier with a loaded musquet. The Prison of the Bagnes has a long fagade, with more of architectural ornament and style in its pediment than usually

Brittany. Route 36. — Brest — Bagnes — Hospital. 125

marks a prison destined for doubly and trebly dyed criminals. It con- tains 4 Salles, lofty, wide, and airy, filled with large wooden platforms having sloping tops like desks ; these are the bedsteads of the fo^ats, who recline on them upon a small mattress provided with a coarse quilt of sack- cloth, the chain of each being passed i over a bar of iron vunning along the I foot of the bed, but allowing tether j enough to move a distance of 5 or 6 ; ft. Only the better class of convicts are allowed a thin mattress.

As soon as their allotted task for the day is done out of doors, they are allowed to repair hither ; some have writing desks, others employ them- selves in handicrafts, many in making toys out of cocoa-nuts, horse-hair, &c., by which they may earn a little money. At gunfire the names are called over, and in an hour profound silence is required; the night, passed on a hard board, is a time of suffering, especially in winter, from the cold.

Their daily allowance of food in- cludes a pint of wine, a measure of biscuit, or \ a loaf of brown bread.

The 4 salles are closed by strong iron gates at night, but stand open during the day ; there are, however, plenty of guards at hand, and im- mediately behind the Bagnes rises the Caserne de la Marine Militaire ; which could pour in some hundred men in a few minutes, in case of revolt. The foi^at, degraded as he is, is not al- lowed to be struck by his guards or keepers ; his punishment, if he does wrong, is either solitary confinement in the black hole, a series of cells in the court behind the building, or de- privation of his wine, Sec., coupling to another prisoner, or flogging with the rope’s end. As a further pre- ventive of tumult or rebellion, the walls of each salle are pierced with embrasures through which 2 cannon show their mouths; they are loaded with grape, and would enfilade the chamber, and sweep it from end to end. L Outside the dockyard, a little higher

up the hill than the prison, rises the Hopital de la Marine, an edifice of great extent though of unpretending architectui'e, of which Brest may well be proud. It was begun 1824, and is only lately finished. It con- tains 26 salles, each with 53 beds; and is attended by between 30 and 40 Religieuses, Soeurs Fideles de la Sagesse as they call themselves, who are also lodged within the building. So far from being revolting, as is the case in many hospitals, it is a pleasing sight to enter one of the salles ; its cleanliness is not only extra French, it is ultra English, and puts to shame the confined frowsy wards of Green- wich Hospital. Here are wide, airy apartments, the roofs without speck, the floors, though of tile, sedulously polished and provided with pieces of carpeting, each window hung with white curtains, each bed of metal, also with white curtains and furni- ture. The salle des officiers is su- perior to the common rooms, even elegant. The kitchens, laboratories, linen closet, Sec., are in the same style. Even the convicts when sick are re- ceived and nursed in this establish- ment.

A British Consul resides here.

At Hebert’s library and reading- room, Rue d’Aiguillon, the papers may be seen, and many interesting works on Brittany, especially those of M. Souvestre and Freminville, oly tained.

Conveyances; — malleposte daily to Paris in 45 hours ; diligences daily to Paris by Rennes ; — to St. Malo ; to Lorient and Nantes.

Steamer every other day traverses the Roads and ascends the river of Chateaulin, on the way to Nantes ( Rte. 44. ), as far as Port de Launay, a very pleasant voyage.

The Roadstead of Brest lies be- tween the great promontory of Finis- terre on the N. and the smaller pe- ninsula of Q,uelern on the S., which approach so near as to leave a passage only 1,749 yards broad between them

> n

126

Sect. II.

Route 36. — Roads of Brest.

called the Goulet. The Mingan rocks, rising in the midst of this channel, contract the entrance still more, and compel vessels to pass close under the guns of batteries which line it on either side and command it by a cross fire. The road consists of numerous bays into which several rivers empty themselves, the principal being the Elorn from Landerneau, and the Cha- teaulin, which is navigated by a steam-boat. In some places the har- bour is 3 m. broad, and the area of its surface is estimated at 15 square leagues. All the fleets of France might lie snugly within it, and a hostile ship dare not venture within its entrance without the risk of being battered to pieces. Not only are the Jaws of the harbour bristling with fortifications “ a ’fleur d’eau,” but the works are carried inwards so as to command the anchorage, and the bat- teries spread outside to the rt. and 1. of the entrance, while every eminence is crowned with other forts commanding those below. The number of cannon and large mortars which could be brought to bear on an enemy from the batteries of the Goulet, and of the coast outside of it, is not less than 400, while 60 pieces sweep the anchorage from the forts within the Goulet. On the N. of the Goulet, in the midst of the bay of Bertheaume, are 2 island forts, united together by a rope bridge, and by one of wood with the shore. The extreme fort on this side is the batterie de St. Mathieu, under the ruined abbey (p. 127.), and close to the new lighthouse. On the S. of the Goulet lies the bay de Camaret, one of whose numerous and formidable batteries goes by the name of Mort Anglaise, commemorating the miserable defeat of the Expedition which landed here 1694 from a British fleet commanded by Admiral Berkley. On approaching the shore, the English found it bristling with armaments : batteries were thrown up on all sides, gunners at their posts, troops of horse and foot drawn up behind the guns,

and as soon as the English began to disembark, 3 masked batteries opened on the ships a most destruc- tive fire. 900 men under the com- mand of General Tollemache, who persisted in landing in the face even of such formidable preparations, reached the shore and were almost imme- diately cut to'pieces ; the ebbing of the tide having left their boats dry, and cut off their retreat. And thus the expedition failed miserably. What wonder ! The news of the intended descent had been betrayed to Louis XIV. and James II. more than a month before by the Duke of Marl- borough, the hero of Blenheim! These are the words in which he commu- nicated the intelligence to his old master James : — “ The capture of Brest would be a great advantage to England, but no advantage can pre- vent, or ever shall prevent, ; me from informing you of all that I believe to be for your service ; therefore you may make your own use of this intelligence. ” — Macpher son's State Pa- pers. In the interval between the receipt of this letter and the sailing of the armament, the skill and activity of Vauban had put the intended landing- place in such a state of defence, by throwing up batteries, disposing cannon, and collecting troops, as to render success hopeless, defeat in- evitable.

The Pointe des Espagnols owes its name to a body of Spaniards, about 600 strong, who occupied it for seve- ral weeks, 1594, and threw up an earthen redoubt, which was captured by assault. The Peninsula of Q,ue- lern is defended by lines, drawn across the isthmus, which connects it with the mainland, nearly a mile long, con- sisting of bastions faced with masonry, constructed by Vauban, mounting 60 pieces of cannon. From a point near these lines, just above the Bay of Camaret, the finest view is obtained of the roads of Brest and their defences, with the point of St. Mathieu and the archipelago of Ouessant on the

Brittany.

Route 36 . - — Brest — Environs.

127

N., and on the S. the Bay of Douar- nenez and the Pointe du Raz.

The defences above enumerated do not include those of Brest itself, amounting altogether to 400 pieces of cannon, nor of the entrenched camp behind it, numbering 60 more cannon and mortars.

Excursions. The country about Brest is far from picturesque, but it contains many objects of interest.

The Menirof Plouarzel (§4.), about 10 m. N. W. of Brest and 3 beyond the village of St. Renan, is the loftiest of those singular Celtic monuments now remaining in Finisterre. It measures 35 ft. in height, and stands on an eminence in the midst of a wild heath. Whatever its original destin- ation, it. is still looked on with awe by the peasantry, and singular su- perstitions are associated with it. Often in the dead of night the barren woman repairs hither, hoping to pro- cure the boon of fruitfulness by rubbing her naked breast against the hard granite.

Near the mouth of the pretty river Aber Ildut, which flows past St. Renan, are the quarries of granite which furnished the pedestal for the obe- lisk of Luxor, erected in the Place Louis XV., at Paris.

3 m. N. of St. Renan, at Lanriouare, is the graveyard of the 777 Y saints, a walled enclosure, never trod by the peasants except with bare feet and head uncovered ; it is paved with slabs, and marked by a cross.

The ruined Abbey of St. Matthew, situated on the extreme W. cape of Finisterre, N. of the Rade de Brest, is about 15 m. W. from Brest and 10 from St. Renan. The roads from both places converge at the little town of Le Conquet, where La Grace de Dieu is a decent cabaret. Con- quet suffered from an English fleet sent forth by Queen Mary, 1558, to ravage the French coast, and to sur- prise Brest, “ because it was known not to be well garrisoned, and was thought the best mark to be shot at

for the time.” But the English commander contented himself with a far more inglorious enterprise. Land- ing at Conquet, “ he put it to the saccage, with a great abbey, and many pretty towns and villages, where our men found good booties and great store of pillage.” — Hollinshed. Thence it is a walk of 3 m. along the tops of the cliffs, battered below by the waves, to the storm-fretted ruins of St. Mattheiv's Abbey, which stand on the bleak exposed promontory above the sea ; “ the most W. spot of France, and, with the exception of Cape Finisterre in Spain, of the European continent. It occupies a position similar to St. Mary’s Abbey, Whitby, so as to be the first and the last object seen by the mariner quitting or entering the Bay of Brest. Whatever wind may blow, it is rare but it rages a hurricane around these mouldering arches and piers, which yet have braved for live centuries the pelting storm and whistling wind. The architecture is pointed in the greater part of the building, with some Romanesque portions and round arches. It is of solid granite, simple in style, and with- out ornament. Close beside the ruins, a Lighthouse has recently been erected. There is much savage grandeur in the scene around, viewed from this point, increased by the sullen roar of the mighty Atlantic chafing in the eaves and fissures of the rocks below. In clear weather the eye ranges over the dangerous strait called Passage du Four beset with rocks, between the mainland and the granitic islands Moline, Beniguet, and Ouessant. The last is supposed by some to be the Ultima Thule of the ancients ; its inhabitants remained idolaters down to the 17th century. The indecisive naval action of Ushant (as we call it) was fought off this island, 1778, be- tween the French fleet under d’Or- villiers, and the English under Keppel and Palliser. On the S. the roads of Brest and the Peninsula of Quelern g 4

128

lie open, and on the horizon appears the Pointe du Raz.

On the E. side of the roads, and on the opposite shore of the estuary of the Landerneau river, lies Plougastel, remarkable for a Calvary attached to its cimetiere, one of the most re- markable of the Gothic monuments of Finisterre. It is a crucifix of Ker- santon stone (§ 6.), adorned with a multitude of sculptures, rudely but for- cibly executed, representing scenes of the Life and Passion of Christ. Some of the subjects, such as the Entry of our Saviour into Jerusalem to the music of the bignion (bagpipe), the Temptation and Hell, are treated in a homely manner, approaching the grotesque, marking the hand of a rustic artist. “ Notwithstanding its Gothic character, it appears by an inscription upon it to have been exe- cuted in 1602 : but we must remember that the middle ages lasted longer in Brittany than elsewhere.” — Souvestre.

The costume of the women of Plougastel is remarkable for its ele- gance.

Ferry boats ply between Brest and the point of Plougastel.

The fine Gothic Church of Folgoat (Rte. 38.) would form an agreeable day’s excursion for any one who in- terests himself in architecture. He might take the patache, which runs daily from Brest to Lesneven and back.

ROUTE 38.

ST. BRIEUC TO BREST. COAST ROAD BY

PAIMPOL, LANNION, MORLAIX, ST. POL DE LEON, AND FOLGOAT.

The distances are marked in lieues communes of 3 Eng. m., measured from place to place*

This route properly consists of two excursions, from the high road from Rennes to Brest : it carries the tra- veller to a succession of interesting churches and ecclesiastical remains well worth visiting, though much of it lies over cross roads ; no posting.

Lanleff. Sect. II.

St. Brieuc. (p. 120.) A wretched patache runs between this place and Paimpol, passing near the little port of Binic, through Plouha.

Thus far there is nothing remark- able, unless the traveller diverge about 1 m. to the 1. of the road beyond Binic, to visit the beautiful Gothic, chapel of Lantec, which has been compared with the Ste. Chapelle at Paris, but is far inferior to it.

From Plouha the antiquarian tra- veller should diverge to the 1., to visit a ruined building, known as the

Temple de Lanleff, about 8 m. from Plouha. A carriage cannot easily get within a mile of it, owing to the badness of the roads. It has been the subject of much controversy, some writers calling it a Pagan Tem- ple; but, in truth, it is nothing more than an early Christian church, pro- bably of the 10th or 11th century, in the rare form of a rotunda, like the English churches of the Temple, St. Sepulchre, Cambridge, Little Maple- stead, Essex, &c. But the building which it perhaps most nearly resem- bles, is the round church at Nymegen, in Holland, attributed to Charle- magne, but now in ruins. It consists of two concentric walls, the inner one a cylinder, 30 ft. high, resting on 12 circular arches, supported on square piers, with engaged columns on each side, of granite, having rudely carved capitals of monsters, human faces, rams’ heads. Outside of this runs a lower concentric wall, destroyed for a considerable part of its circuit, but which once extended quite round the inner wall, and thus formed the aisles of the church. It is pierced with nar- row loop-holed windows, which widen inwards — the early form common in churches built before glass came into use. The edges of the vaulted roof which covered this aisle may still be traced, and a small portion of the aisle is included in the modern church j but whether the vaulting of it be as old as the Avails on which it rests cannot be distinctly affirmed. This

Route 38. — * SL Brieuc to Brest —

Brittany. Route 38 . — - St. Brieuc to Brest — Paimpol. 129

ruin now forms a vestibule to a little village church. As a ruin, it is too rude in its architecture to be pleasing, but in the midst of it rises a noble yew-tree , tall and straight, surmount- ing the old wall with its dark canopy of foliage.

The tradition of the country is, that it was built by the Templars, the “ Moines Rouges,” as they are called. It is just possible, that Gothic archi- tecture in Brittany was not more ad- vanced in the 12th century than this building indicates.

LanlefF is about 24 m. from St. Brieuc, and from

2i Paimpol. — Inn : Pelican, the only one, 1841, but not clean, and very extortionate. 2,112 inhab.

On the sea-shore, 2 m. to the E. of Paimpol, are the ruins of the Abbey of Beauport (in 1841 the keys were kept at Paimpol, and should be ob- tained before setting out). It is beau- tifully situated on the shore of a re- tired bay. The remains consist of a Church , now roofless, and deprived of the choir, in the pointed style, built 1202, with a W. front, showing an early English character, together with several conventual buildings, at the E. end. An elegant small chapter- house, its vaulted roof supported on a row of circular pillars, is so perfect that it is now used as a school. On the N. side are an extensive vaulted cellar, and an apartment of a superior character also vaulted, which was the grand refectory. These serve the purpose of farm buildings at present, being divided between 2 tenants.

From Paimpol to Treguier is about 9 m., passing through Lezardrieux, where the river Trieux, descending from Guingamp, is crossed by a fine wire suspension bridge resting on lofty piers.

The castle of La Roche Jagu, near this, is an interesting specimen of domestic architecture, now in ruins, finely situated on the Trieux above Lezardrieux. It is a semi-castellated mansion, entered by a low doorway

closed by an oaken door, and a heavy iron gate of cross bars. Although dismantled, it is inhabited by a pea- sant. There is a fine view from its roof.

Another still larger and loftier sus- pension bridge thrown over the Jaudy leads into

3 Treguier (Inn : Hotel de France, tolerable), a town of 3,178 inhab., occupying the summit and slope of a hill.

The Church in the market-place, formerly the cathedral, has a fine S. porch, the vaulted roof pannelled, and the divisions filled with quatrefoils, and a doorway ornamented with sta- tues in niches, of good workmanship. The piers of the nave are irregular in form, and its arches vary in width. The N. transept is Romanesque, with circular arches, and well wrought capitals to its pillars. Contiguous to it is a tower in the same style, and probably of the 1 1th century, though named Tour de Hastings after the Danish pirate of a much earlier period. This tower is best seen from the cloisters, where some mutilated effi- gies of ecclesiastics and knights are deposited.

In a farm-house a little way out of the town, called Kermartin, is pre- served the bed of St. Yves, a favourite Breton saint. It is a cupboard bed- stead, the front of dark wood finely carved.

4 Lannion (Inn: Hotel de l’Eu- rope) on the Guier, possesses a market-place filled with odd old houses, several of a very peculiar style of architecture, and nothing else worthy of remark but narrow and dirty streets. A diligence runs daily to Morlaix. There is a post-road hence to Guingamp (32 kilom. ), and another by Plesten (18 kilom.), to Morlaix (19 kilom.).

The district extending N. from Lannion to the sea, between the rivers Guier and Jaudy, is the very cradle of romance. King Arthur held his court at Kerdluel, graced by

130 JR. 38. — St. Brieuc to Brest — St. Pol de Leon. Sect. II,

the presence of the Paladins, Lance- lot, Tristan, and Caradoc, and a short distance off the coast is an islet called Agalon or Avalon, which the Bretons maintain to be King Arthur’s burial place, thus depriving Glaston- bury of that honour.

About 6 m. S. of Lannion, on the E. bank of the Guier, between it and the road to Guingamp, is the Castle Tonquedec, one of the largest and best preserved in Brittany. It was built in the 13th century, and dis- mantled by order of Richelieu, after having served during the wars of the Ligue as a royal fortress. It con- sisted of 3 courts defended by moats, drawbridges, and portcullises. In the inner court is the keep , a tall round tower “ accessible only by an open- ing in its 2d story, approached by 2 drawbridges, supported midway upon an isolated square pier.” The staircase was formed in the thickness of the wall. “ In many respects these ruins are well worth coming some distance to visit. To the antiquary they are precious as a specimen of the finest military architecture of the 13th century. For the sketcher they combine the requisites to form a lovely landscape.” — Trollope.

The direct road from Lannion to Morlaix (about 23 m. ) passes St. Michel sur Greve, a spot where the sea encroaches on the shore, and a little farther we enter the department Finisterre. On the sands near this, according to the legend, King Arthur fought the dragon.

The crypt under the church of Lanmeur is of great antiquity, and encloses the holy fountain which caused its foundation, and is still held in repute by the common people. The piers which support the crypt have serpents carved on them.

About 5 m. N. of Lanmeur, close upon the coast, lies the village of St. Jean du Doigt, whose church, contain- ing the precious finger of St. John from which it is named, is a favourite place of pilgrimage with the pea-

santry, who repair hither to the number of 12,000 on the eve of St. John. The church has a wooden roof u elegantly carved and painted, and surmounted by a spire of lead; it also possesses a ciborium bearing enamelled medallions of the 1 2 Apos- tles, a beautiful crucifix of the 16th century, a chalice and a patena pre- sented by Anne of Brittany, who was a patroness of St. John’s finger. She built the hospice by the side of the church to receive pilgrims.

Souvestre mentions a singular cha- pel called the Oratoire between this and Plougasnon, in which the young girls who are about to marry in the course of the year, hang up their hair as an offering to the Virgin ; this ancient Gaulish custom, however, is diminishing every year.

7^- Morlaix (Rte. 36. p. 120.).

There is nothing very interesting beyond Morlaix until the towers and spires appear of

5 St. Pol de Leon. — Inn : Hotel du Commerce, tolerable, and very cheap; bed, tea, and breakfast 2 fr.

This ancient and almost deserted ecclesiastical city reminds one of St. Andrew’s in Scotland, and St. David’s in Wales, in its remote position near the sea-shore, in its decayed state, and in its ancient edifices. It possesses 6,700 inhab. and 2 very fine churches.

The Cathedral , dedicated to St. Pol, is flanked at the W. end with 2 fine towers, whose central stories, pierced with long and elegant lancet windows (like St. Pierre at Caen), are surmounted by spires also pierced through to the sky. They open to the choir beneath, so as to form a sort of vestibule as at Peterborough. The nave is in the early pointed style, probably of the 13th century ; the transepts display Romanesque fea- tures ; in the S. transept is a fine circular window, its tracery cut in granite. The trough-shaped benitier near the W. end was probably a tomb, and from its rude sculpture is certainly very old. The choir, longer,

131

Brittany. Route 38 . — ■ St. Pol de Leon — Folgoat,

more ornamented, and of later date than the nave, is surrounded by double aisles, and ends in a Lady Chapel ; it contains some good carved wood- work of the 16th century. The S. porch, a rich florid work with foliage delicately cut in Kersanton stone, merits examination.

The boast of St. Pol is the spire of the Church of Creizher (the word means centre of the town), 393 ft. high ; a structure of open work of great lightness and grace, though constructed entirely of granite. The richly ornamented square tower is surmounted by a very boldly pro- jecting cornice, above which rises the spire, its masonry cut to imitate over- lapping tiles. The whole rests on 4 pillars not particularly thick, but the arches of the aisles act as but- tresses to support it. This spire was built at the latter end of the 14th century by John IV., Duke of Brit- tany ; according to tradition the archi- tect ' was English. The N. portal, florid and fringed, is very rich and in good taste, though much injured ; the rest of the church is not remark- able. These are the curiosities of this dull town, and after exploring them one is happy to leave behind its grass-grown streets, and the melan- choly which they inspire.

3 m. to the N. lies the little port of RoscofF. Half way, near Chapel Pol, are some Celtic remains, several dolmens, and a menhir. § 4.

RoscofF is filled with sailors and smugglers, and contains a vegetable prodigy, a fig tree, in the garden of the Capucin convent, whose branches, supported by scaffolding, would shelter beneath them 200 persons. The church, though of the time of Louis XIV., has a Gothic character, while its details are Italian ; below it are 7 very curious bas-reliefs in alabaster.

Opposite RoscofF lies the little island of Batz, separated from the mainland by a strait which may be ' crossed in 10 minutes. In the ceme- tery there is a monument of granite,

to the memory of a lady who suc- coured the proscribed and fugitive priests during the Revolution. The young Pretender landed here after his hazardous escape from Scotland, sub- sequent to the battle of Culloden.

The road from St. Pol to Brest lies through

7 Lesneven. — Inn : Grande Mai- son ; does not look promising. Some Roman remains, urns, &c. found a few miles S. E. of this dull little town, on the way to Landivisiau, have been supposed to mark the site of the long-lost Breton town Occis- mor.

Pursuing the road to Brest 1 m. beyond Lesneven, on a drear, bleak, unsheltered spot, we reach the village of Folgoat, marked in the distance by its tall spire little inferior to the Creizker, of unusual splendour for a village, attached to the Church of Notre Dame, one of the most remark- able Gothic buildings of Brittany. It owes its origin to the following circumstance : — This spot was once haunted by an idiot boy, who was in the habit of begging alms of those who passed, using at the same time this one unvaried exclamation, “ Oh ! Lady Virgin Mary ! ” so that the place became known as “ ar fol coat,” the fool of the wood. The fool died, and in a short time there sprung up from his grave, even out of his mouth, according to the legend, a beautiful lily, whose leaves bore inscribed upon them the name of Mary. This mi- racle was noised abroad, and coming to the ears of John de Montfort, then warring with Charles de Blois for the dukedom of Brittany, he vowed to build a church on the spot if he triumphed over his rival. In con- sequence, after the victory of Auray, he laid the first stone on the spot where the lily had sprouted forth, but the church was not finished until 1423, by his son John V., who, in an inscription legible on the 1. of the W. portal, claims to be its founder.

It is built of the very dark green

G 6

Sect. II.

132 Route 38. — St. Brieuc to Brest — Folgoat.

stone called Kersanton (§ 6.), which gives the edifice on the whole a gloomy appearance, but it is well adapted for delicate sculpture, and by the sharp- ness with which it has retained the delicate touches of the artist’s chisel, shows how great judgment he ex- ercised in selecting it. Almost every part of the church inside and out de- serves minute inspection; the fertile invention, laborious pains, and dexter- ous skill of the sculptor are visible in almost every part, though the edifice has been sadly injured through neg- lect. This is more especially conspi- cuous externally in the W. portal, the canopy of which fell down 1 824 ; but round the portal runs so delicate a wreath of thistles and vine leaves, per- fect in their prickly flowers and stems, and even in the very fibres of the leaves, and the curves of the stalks and tendrils, as cannot be seen without wonder. Birds also (chardonneret) and serpents are interspersed among the leaves. Above the door is a bas-relief of the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi on one side (St. Joseph with wooden shoes has all the character of a Breton peasant), and of the Shepherds on the other. Below, the centre pier is formed into an elegant niche en- closing the benitier under a graceful canopy, and supporting it on a bracket. Among the foliage here and in other parts may be seen the ermine, the armorial device of the dukes of Brittany, bearing their motto ; “ Me- lius mori quam fcedari.” The thistle (chardon), and the goldfinch (char- donneret), also recur repeatedly in the ornaments of various parts of the church.

A far more beautiful porch is at- tached to the S. transept. Here 12 most exquisite niches line the vault leading to the door, in the mouldings around which similar leaves and wreaths are reproduced with far greater truth and delicacy. The stone from its peculiar colour has all the effect of bronze. This portal is believed to have been built by Anne of Brittany,

as the arms of France united to those of Brittany are visible on it.

The sloping, open parapets which decorate the gables of the transept, the tracery of the E. windows, espe- cially the central one surmounted by a rose, and the elegant arched niche at the E. end below it, on the out- side of the church, constructed to re- ceive the waters of the miraculous fount , which bursts forth from be- neath the high altar itself, are not to be passed unnoticed. The water of this spring is held in great repute by pilgrims, who, regardless of by- standers, strip themselves to apply it to all parts of their persons.

Within the church, on the rt. as you enter, is the' Fool's chapel, covered with frescoes nearly destroyed by the damp. Every capital, cornice, and border, merits attention for the minute carving, but the chief object of in- terest is th ejube or Roodloft between the choir and nave : it consists of 3 round arches most elegantly fringed, surmounted by canopies resting on pannelled pillars, and supporting a gallery, of rich open work, pierced with quatrefoils. The foliage com- posing the crockets is an elaborate, yet natural imitation of the most compli- cated leaves, and the 2 angels who occupy the place of finials are well designed.

The E. window, seen from within, surmounted by its rose, is admirable for its tracery : the high altar below it is a single slab of stone, 14 ft. long, supported on a front of niche work filled with statuettes. The side screens and side altars are all more or less worthy of observation. There are numerous statues of saints curious for their costume. But the chief pecu- liarity of this church is the manner in which the sculptor who decorated it has rendered into stone the pro- ductions of the vegetable creation.

The roof of the church does not agree with the rest in splendour, and is evidently not completed conform- ably with the original plan.

Brittany. R. 41. — St.Malo to Nantes — The Ranee . 133

The Gothic College on the N. side of the church was built by Anne of Brittany ; she, as well as Francis I., were lodged in it when they came on a pilgrimage to Folgoat.

The country between St. Pol and Brest is very dreary ; much heath, furze and broom ; — the cottages are poor dingy peat-covered hovels, among which a few starveling black sheep seek a scanty mouthful : few trees appear higher than brushwood. There are many beggars, some of them rivalling in their rags the mendicants of Ireland.

We fall into the great high road from Paris about a mile before enter- ing

6^ Brest, in Rte. 36.

ROUTE 41.

ST. MALO TO NANTES BY DINAN AND

RENNES. ASCENT OF THE RIVER

RANCE, TO DINAN.

To Rennes direct 71 kilom. =44^ Eng. m.; thence to Nantes 107 kilom. = 66^ Eng. m.

The detour by Dinan is 13 kilom. or 8 Eng. m. longer than the direct road.

St. Malo is described in Rte. 27.

The pleasantest and shortest way to Dinan is to take the steamer, which ascends the Ranee daily with the tide, making the voyage in 3 hours.

Owing to the variation of the tides on this coast, amounting to 40 ft., the current of the Ranee is despe- rately rapid, and the river fills and empties with remarkable celerity.

The places passed in succession upon either bank are —

Rt. St. Servan and the Castle of Solidor, p. 99.

L. St. Suliac, the prettiest village on the Ranee.

L. Port St. Hubert, a little water- ing place in a charming situation.

L. Plouer.

Rt. Pleadihen.

Chatelier.

L. Tadens.

“ The river is confined between lofty precipices nearly all the way to Dinan, and may vary in breadth from \ to I a mile. Sometimes ex- panding into wide reaches, it resembles a Scotch lake.” — C. “ The sail up the Ranee is' perhaps as beautiful as any thing that the varied earth can produce.

“ On glided our boat ; and, as the stream wound in and out amongst its high banks, we soon lost sight of St. Malo. Now darting through a narrow pass between immense bold rocks, which seemed scarcely to leave space for the passage of the boat, we could almost have touched the stony cliffs on either side ; and now floating over the bosom of what seemed a wide, calm lake, we could perceive no outlet till we nearly reached the opposite shores. Thus alternately confined between tall crags, and pouring out into wide basins, the beautiful river flowed on ; and, breast- ing its stream, we passed on in sun- shine and shade, till, at last, rushing out from one of the deep gorges through which it poured, we beheld an immense extent of undulating country, covered here and there with wood, and broken in various spots with crags, while, brightly relieved by the deep shadow of a cloud which covered all the foreground, the town of Dinan appeared on its high hill behind, with its old battlements catch- ing the full light of the day, as they hung over the bold masses of rock on which the town is perched. ” — G. P. jR. James.

The high road from St. Malo to Dinan runs on the E. side of the Ranee, but only now and then in sight of it, and is devoid of interest until it comes in view of Dinan.

The postmaster charges 4 kilom. extra on quitting St. Malo at high water, on account of the circuit round the port which his horses are obliged

134 *

Route 41. — St Malo to Nantes — Dinan, Sect. II,

to make, instead of crossing direct to St. Servan, as is done when the tide is out ; but the new bridge will remedy this. See p. 98.

15 Chateauneuf, a fort covering the high road to Rennes ; here are remains of an old castle.

We here quit the direct road to Rennes, by St. Pierre de Plesguin 13 kilom., Hede 20 kilom., Rennes 23 kilom = 34f Eng. m.

The picturesque towers and spires of Dinan are close at hand as the crow flies, but it takes a good half hour to descend the steep hill at whose foot the Ranee flows, and to ascend that equally steep, though now rendered accessible by zigzags, on the opposite side, before you can enter

18 Dinan. — Inns : Hotel du Com- merce, best; Poste ; both in the Place Duguesclin, and neither very good.

The country in which Dinan is placed is perhaps the most beautiful in Brittany. The situation of the town (8,044 inhabitants) is very sin- gular, on the crown and slopes of a hill of granite, overlooking the deep and narrow valley of the Ranee, flow- ing 250 ft. below it. The sides of the hill are excessively steep ; but, notwithstanding, houses and streets have been built along the face of it to the water’s edge. The Rue de Jersuel, which stretches down to the bridge, is so precipitous as to be im- practicable except on foot, and it is even difficult for a pedestrian to de- scend its slippery pavement ; yet this originally formed the only approach to the town on the side of St. Malo, through a pointed and ribbed Gothic gateway.

The modern road from St. Malo, after making a wide sweep and many turns under the old walls, in order to master the hill, enters the town by the Porte St. Louis close to the old and picturesque Castle, built about 1 300, and often inhabited by Anne of Brittany, but now a prison. It was besieged by the Duke of Lancaster,

1389, and successfully defended by Duguesclin against the English. It stands on the edge of the ravine, on the outskirts of the town, and isolated from it by a deep fosse. The present entrance has been forced through a wall into the chapel, a finely vaulted chamber. A recess on one side, beside the altar, in which the lord or lady of the castle might hear mass without being seen, is called the oratoire of Anne of Brit- tany. The deep cornice of machico- lations which crown the Donjon tower give it a very picturesque ap- pearance, and there is a pleasing view from its top.

The Place Duguesclin receives its name from that Breton hero, whose statue (in plaister !) is placed in the midst of it ; and, from the circum- stances of its having been the lists in which he fought and vanquished an English knight, “ Thomas of Can- torbie,” whom he challenged to single combat for seizing treacherously, in time of truce between the two nations, his brother Oliver, 1359.

The Cathedral of St. Sauveur is an interesting edifice to the antiquary, in the Romanesque style, such as is more commonly met with in the S. of Europe than in the N. The crumbling nature of the granite of which it is composed give it the ap- pearance of greater antiquity than it really possesses. The lower part of the W. front and the S. side are probably of the 12th or even 11th century : the rest is modernised. The central portal, a round arch deeply recessed within mouldings and pillars (the two outer ones detached), is flanked on each side by blank arches, containing statues of the four Evangelists stand- ing on lions, &c., under curious Ro- manesque canopies. From the wall above, the winged lion and ox, attri- butes of St. Mark and St. Luke, pro- ject in high relief. The buttresses against the S. wall are in the form of round attached pillars, or square pilasters surmounted by capitals.

Brittany. Route 41 . — St. Malo to Nantes — Dinan. 135

Nothing within the church merits notice except a black tasteless slab in the N. transept, bearing engraved on it and gilt, a double-headed eagle, whose outspread wings are crossed by a bar, below which a quaint inscrip- tion, in gold letters, informs us that the heart of Bertrand Duguesclin (spelt gueaqui) reposes beneath it, while his body lies among those of kings at St. Denis. Now, at least, neither statement is any longer true. The slab was found among the ruins of the church of the Jacobins now razed to the ground; and all traces of the heart and of the tomb of the Lady Tiphaine, the wife of Duguesclin, by whose side the heart was de- posited, are gone : the body shared the fate of the royal ashes at the de- secration of St. Denis in the Revolu- tion. (See p. 20.) The old town wall and watch towers still remain; the streets in the older quarters abound in picturesque bits of architecture ; and no spot in Brittany is better titted to exercise the artist’s pencil.

The admirer of ancient domestic architecture should explore the narrow streets with overhanging houses, the basements planted on pillars, each story projecting on corbels, which form the nucleus of the town. Arcades resting on carved granite pillars or wooden posts are very prevalent. Besides the steep Rue de Jersuel already men- tioned, the Carrefour d’Horloge, so called from its lofty granite clock tower, the Rue de la Vieille Poisson- nerie, (where is a house bearing the date 1366,) and the Rue de la Croix, (where the house of Duguesclin and his lady Tiphaine is shown near the Hotel de Vdle,) are the most remark- able in this respect.

The English settled in Dinan are said to amount to 400 or 500 : they have a Chapel here, in the Ancien Tribunal, Rue de la Lainerie, in which the English Church Service is per- formed on Sunday at 1 1£.

Mademoiselle Costa keeps a tolerable Circulating library.

The Steamer from St. Malo ascends the Ranee as far as the bridge of Dinan.

Diligences daily to Rennes and Paris, to Brest, to St. Malo, Dol and Caen.

On the outside of the town, under the old walls, now overgrown with ivy, while the ditches are converted into gardens, run most agreeable Ter- races, commanding beautiful views over the vale of the Ranee. The Mont Dol and Mont St. Michel are visible, it is said, from some points. There are manufactories of fine linen and of sail-cloth in and about the town.

Excursions almost without end, each varying from the other, may be made on horse and foot in this delightful neighbourhood.

At the distance of less than a mile from the Porte St. Louis, prettily si- tuated in the bottom of a dell, through which a streamlet falls into the Ranee, lies the village of Lehon, where are the ruins of a once celebrated abbey and a castle. The abbey is entered by a fine circular archway within deep mouldings : the church, now roofless, is in the early pointed style : it is called La Chapelle des Beaumanoir, from being the burial place of the family of that name, whose tombs were broken open at the Revolution, and the remains dispersed, while their monumental effigies, originally placed in the niches on either side of the church, have been removed to the Mairie. There are 4 figures of warriors armed, and an ecclesias- tic, all in high relief ; the drapery well executed, the hands folded in prayer. One of them is said to have been the leader of the Bretons in the famous “ Combat des Trente.” (See Route 42.)

The steep wooded height above the village is crowned by the Castle, now reduced to a square enclosure of walls levelled down to the surface of the potato 6eld which they enclose, having round towers in the angles and centre

156

Route 41. — Dinan to Rennes .

Sect. IL

of each face. It was taken by Henry II. of England, 1168. From this castle-crowned height a beautiful view opens out of the village and ab- bey at its feet, of the course of the Ranee and the romantic valley through which it flows. The navigation above this is continued by means of a canal which unites the Ranee with the Vilaine.

The walk may be very pleasantly extended from this along the slopes of the hills, by paths across the fields be- hind the Hospice des Alienes, towards the village of St Esprit, where there is a curious Gothic crucifix, now much mutilated. The charm of this walk, however, is the fine view it presents of the antique towers and spires of Dinan, on the opposite side of the valley to the rt., and the insight it affords into the curious system of labyrinthine lanes, by which a great part of Brittany is traversed. The country is well wooded, abounding especially in oaks, and each field is surrounded by hedges. The lanes by which it is intersected in all di- rections, owing to the soft and crum- bling nature of the soil, differ little from ditches worn down 8 or 10 ft. below the surface of the fields, and vary in character between a pool or slough of mud, or a mound of hard bare rock. A stranger is almost sure to lose his way among them, so intricate and numerous are their crossings. The country, "seamed and grooved by these hollow ways, is like a rabbit warren, and this thoroughly explains how the Chouans and Vendeans were able, among such fastnesses, to put to de- fiance so long the armies of the re- publican government.

On the opposite side of Dinan, about 1 m. distant, at the bottom of a really romantic little valley, is the spa or Eaux Minerales, a source of saline sulphureous water, good for liver complaints, much resorted to in summer. Alleys have been planted and a sort of pump-room built, which contribute little to the beauty of the

spot, though they cannot spoil it. A walk along the paths, cut through the trees along the steep sides of the dell, is highly to be recommended.

The Chateau de la Garaye is a ruined mansion of the time of Francis I., exhibiting in its falling walls and towers some picturesque bits of ar- chitecture, in the style of La Re- naissance, intermixed with Gothic or- naments. The last owner, M. de la Garaye, quitting the gay world, con- verted this house into an hospital, while, with his wife, he devoted all his time and fortune to the care of the sick. To fit themselves for this duty they both studied medicine and surgery, and the lady became an excellent oculist. The hospital was destroyed at the Re- volution, which the benevolent foun- ders fortunately did not live to see, having died 1755-7, but the monu- ment over the graves even of these benefactors of the district, in the churchyard of Faden, did not escape destruction from the ruthless hands of the republican spoilers.

About 10 m. N. W. of Dinan, is the Chateau of La Hunaudais , an in- teresting old castle surrounded by rampart and ditch, and tolerably per- fect, in the form of a pentagon. It is supposed to have been built in the 1 3th century, by Olivier de Tourne- mine. It is to be reached only by a cross road, intricate to find without a guide, passing through Corseul, where Roman remains have been discovered. About 10 m. beyond the castle, on the coast, is St. Cast, where an ill-contrived expedition of the English was igno- miniously defeated in attempting an inroad on Brittany in 1758, with a loss of 822 men, including 42 officers killed and taken prisoners.

On the road from Dinan to Rennes the small town of Evrau is passed ; it is situated on the Canal which joins the Ranee to the He. The castle of the Beaumanoir here is now modern- ised. The country beyond is very tame : fields and hedgerows, and few

Brittany. R. 42 . — Morlaix to Nantes — Huelgoat. 137

villages. Country houses, where they occur, lie at a distance from the road, without lodges or dressed grounds.

29 La Chapelle Chaussee.

24 Rennes in Rte. 35.

There are 2 roads from Rennes to

Nantes :

— a. By Derval 107 kilom. = 66 ^- Eng. miles.

16' Bout de Lande.

1 1 Roudun.

A high hill is crossed before reach- ing

17 La Breheraye.

9 Derval.

12 Nozay.

14 Bout de Bois.

14 Gesvres.

14 Nantes in Rte. 46.

— b. By Chateaubriant 1 1 9 kilom. = 73 Eng. miles.

18 Corps Nuds.

17 Thourie.

18 Chateaubriant (Inn, Hotel des Voyageurs, small but clean) is named from an old castle, built 1015, by Briant, Comte de Penthievre, taken and destroyed in the reign of Charles VIII. by La Tremouille, who left- nothing standing but the keep and 2 other towers. The Chateau Neuf was the residence of Fran£oise de Foix.

18 La Meilleraye.

About 1 m. on the 1. of the road lies

a Monastery of the Order of La Trappc . It was sold as national property 1793, and was repurchased 1816 by a Ro- manist Society of Trappists, who had been settled at Lulworth in Dorset- shire, but their number has been greatly diminished (to 25) since 1830, in consequence of their having mixed themselves up with the Chouan in- surrection of that period.

19 Nort is a small town on the 1. bank of the Erdre, which becomes navigable here for steamers. One plies daily between Nantes and Nort, to and fro. Below this the Erdre swells out into the form of a lake ; on its rt. bank are Chapelle sur Erdre, and the castle of la Gacherie, residence of the Princess Marguerite de Navarre, sis-

ter of Francis I., and authoress of the romances known by the title Hep- tameron.

A little farther is the castle of Blue Beard (Gilles de Retz), whose story is told in Route 58.

1 8 Carquefou.

1 1 Nantes, in Rte. 46.

ROUTE 42.

MORLAIX TO NANTES, BY THE MINES OF HUELGOAT AND POULAIIOUAN, CAR- H AIX, PONTIV Y, JOSSELIN, AND PLOER- MEL.

This is a cross country road, not a post road, but it is described, because it includes several places of interest.

There is a good view of the pic- turesque town of Morlaix (p. 120 .) from the heights crossed on quit- ting it. The road gradually ap- proaches and surmounts the chain of the Menez Arres hills, through a desolate country chiefly moorland. The summit level is reached at Croix Court, which is also the boundary of the arrondissements of Morlaix and Chateaulin. About ll m. beyond Le Mendi, a hamlet 12 m. from Morlaix, a road turns off on the 1. to Huelgoat (4 m. farther). Here is only a poor inn, which, however, can furnish a clean bed and something to eat. Huelgoat is a town of 1,200 inhabit- ants,' in a remote and thinly peopled district celebrated for its Mines of lead, containing silver mixed with it. They are situated about I 3 - in. from the town in the midst of a pic- turesque valley, through which runs a rushing stream, concealed from view at one particular spot by an ehoule - ment of colossal fragments of rocks.

The path to the mines is carried through thick woods by the side of a narrow canal or aqueduct, conveying water to move the machinery and the hydraulic pump by which the mine is kept dry. This machine is a mas- terpiece of mechanical skill, con-

138 Route 42. — Morlaix to Nantes — St. Herbot. Sect. II,

structed by M. Juncker, an engineer of Alsace, and related to Cuvier. It well deserves the minute attention of all who take an interest in mining or machinery, and has been thought worthy of an eulogistic report, read to the Academy of Science by M. Arago. It has the force of 280 horses, and raises 3 cubic metres 53 cen- times per minute, a height of 754 ft., effected by a column of water equal to 21 cubic inches, falling from a height of 1 96 ft. It has been at work for many years night and day, its movements are free from the least irregularity or the slightest noise. It is entirely under ground at a considerable depth below the surface. The process of separating the silver from the ores by amalga- mation with mercury is also very curious. M. Juncker, who for many years directed these works, in- troduced considerable ameliorations on the Saxon method, by means of which large masses of very poor ores have been worked, which were for- merly rejected ; by this means the prosperity of the Huelgoat mines has increased much of late years. Permission to enter the mines is rea- dily given by the director. The best time for visiting them is at six o’clock, when the gangs of miners are shifted, and the nightworking set relieve those who have toiled through the day. The descent is made by a bucket and rope.

The vein of lead has been traced for more than £ a mile in a clay slate of the upper Silurian formation.

The lead ore (Galena) is sent to Poulahouan to be smelted.

In the church of Huelgoat is a curious reading desk (lutrin) resting on a pedestal resembling the classic tripod, but of wood, each of the 3 sides ornamented with a figure in bas- relief of a classic character. On one is a man with long hair and a mace over his shoulder, with no other clothing than a short cloak, on an- other a young man in classic garb,

bearing a torch in one hand, and a dart in the other ; on the third a fe- male bearing a cup and vase, in the guise of a Bacchante. It has been well described by M. Freminville; but nothing is known of its origin or the meaning of its carvings.

The Menage de la Vierge is a spe- cies of cave formed by fallen masses of granite rock, through which a small stream of black water and of unknown origin flows, in places out of sight. It is possible with a sure foot and steady head to descend into the gulph. Near this is a Rocking Stone.

The Cascades of St. Herbot are worth the walk to them, less on ac- count of the waterfalls themselves, than for the scenery of the little valley in which they lie, varied with dense woods and bare jutting rocks. The village Church , surmounted by a fine square tower on a height above, con- tains the tomb and effigy of the an- chorite St. Herbot, some carved screen-work in the choir, and a rood- loft of elaborate and beautiful work- manship in the style of the Re- naissance. There are 2 painted windows of rich colour with the date 1556. It has a fine W. portal in the decorated style, but bearing the date 1516, an ogee arch ornamented with frizzled foliage, and a still more beau- tiful S. porch, but the statues are poor. Herbot is a veterinary saint, who cures the diseases of animals, pro- vided a lock of the beast’s hair be laid on his altar.

At Branilis in the parish of Loc- quefret, about 6 m. from Huelgoat, at a distance from any village, sur- rounded by 3 or 4 hovels, is a fine large Church in the best style of Gothic art, surmounted by a spire, and internally adorned with carving in stone and wood, and with painted glass, now all going to decay.

Poulahouan, on the direct road from Morlaix to Carhaix, contains other lead mines, but inferior in extent and productiveness to those of Huel* goat. Here, however, are the smelting

Brittany. Route 42 . — - Morlaix to Nantes . — Josselin. 139

houses in which the ore from both mines is reduced. The galleries of the mine have been driven horizon- tally f of a mile and vertically mbre than 600 ft. in the grauwacke.

There is a direct road (15 m.) from Huelgoat to Carhaix, a primi- tive town, among the hills, in the midst of that most unsophisticated district of ancient Brittany, Cor- nouailles. It abounds in old houses, with projecting cornices, and carved timber work, and is inhabited by peo- ple as old-fashioned as their dwellings.

Here is shown the house in which La Tour d’ Auvergne was born, in 1743; who, stern republican, as well as brave warrior, steadily refused rank, but died the “premier grenadier' de France,” in the battle-field on the banks of the Danube. A statue of him by the Piedmontese artist, Ma- rochetti, was erected in the Place in 1840.

A little way out of the town on the road to Callac, is an ancient structure said to be a Roman aquaduct. There is also a Roman road which can be traced for more than a mile on the way to St. Gildas. Richard Coeur de Lion was defeated at Carhaix, 1197, by his rebellious vassals, the nobles of Brittany. Six high roads unite here, to Brest, Morlaix, St. Brieuc, Vannes, Chateaulin and Quimper.

A direct road leads from Carhaix to Lorient, by Le Taouet, and over the high range of the Montagne Noire. Not far from Le Taouet, is a very handsome Gothic chapel.

The road to Pontivy and Vannes quits the dept, of Finisterre soon after leaving Carhaix, passes Rostrenen (dept. Cotes du Nord), beyond which it crosses the Brest and Nantes canal, and reaches

Pontivy (Inn ; H. des Voyageurs), an ancient town with old walls and gates, to which a new quarter was tacked on by Napoleon, who changed the name of the place to Napoleonville.

At the restoration of the Bourbons,

however, his name and his public works were dropped ; and many of the buildings remain half finished. The river Blavet, now rendered navigable to the sea at Lorient, and the canal from Brest to Nantes, afford openings for some commerce. The Castle of the Dukes of Brittany is of ancient foundation, but the actual edifice was rebuilt 1485. It is very picturesque, but rapidly falling to ruin.

About 6 m. N. of the road to Jos- selin, is Rohan , cradle of the noble family of that name, now a poor and insignificant village, but prettily situ- ated. Of the Castle, now neglected by the princes its owners, scarcely a morsel of wall remains above the sur- face ; the last fragments having been pulled down recently to build cottages with the stones.

Posting is established on the road between Pontivy and

34 Josselin. — Inn : Poste ; Croix d’Or. The Castle of Josselin, an an- cient feudal fortress, founded on a rock above the river Oest, was the re- sidence of the famous Constable de Clisson, who added a donjon, now destroyed, to the building, and died here, 1407, in a chamber facing the river, still pointed out. The oldest parts are the round towers, on the outside, built of slate. The most remarkable portion of the building is the inner front, in the irregular but picturesque style of Gothic in its latest form, equivalent to our Elizabethan, and dating probably from the 16th century. It is surmounted by pointed gables, and no two divisions corre- spond ; the windows surmounted by Gothic canopies, interspersed with parapets of interlacing tracery, in the midst of which the words, “a plus,” the motto of the Rohans, to whom the castle still belongs, cut in letters of stone, is constantly recurring. From the initials A. V. with a coronet, it is supposed to have been built by Alain VIII. Vicomte de Josselin.

The Tomb of Olivier de Clisson, in the Church of Ndtre Dame, was vio*

140

Route 44. — Brest to Nantes.

Sect. II.

lated at the Revolution, and the effi- I gies of himself in armour, and his wife Marguerite de Rohan, through whom he inherited the castle, were broken to pieces. The mutilated fragments were to be seen lately in the sacristy. A modern mausoleum has been erected in execrable taste.

In the midst of a wild open heath, half way between Josselin and Ploer- mel, a modern obelisk marks the spot where the Combat des Trento took place. Here, if we may believe Breton poets and writers of modern date (for ancient authority is wanting for the event, and many have doubted whether it ever occurred), close to an oak, which has long since disappeared, called chene de mie voi, a battle is said to have been fought 1351, be- tween 30 Bretons on the side of Charles de Blois, and 30 partisans of Jean de Montfort, consisting of 20 English, 4 Flemings, and 6 Bretons, there not being enough English on the spot to form the full comple- ment of combatants. The challenge was given by Du Beaumanoir, theBre- ton leader of the garrison of Josselin, to his opponents, who composed part of the garrison of Ploermel. in consequence of an alleged infraction of a treaty by the latter. The En- glish were led on by a knight, whom the French call Brembro (?Pembroke) and after a very stout resistance were vanquished, chiefly owing to the death of their leader. The combat of the 30 is not mentioned in the oldest copies of Froissart, the contemporary chronicle of the wars of Brittany, and is doubted by Daru in his history ; notwithstand- ing which, the monumental obelisk erected since the Restoration, in the place of one destroyed at the Revolu- tion, headed “Vive le Roi ! Les Bour- bons toujours ! ” gives a list of the names of the 30 Bretons engaged in it.

12 Ploermel in Rte. 45.

15 Malestroit.

There is no posting from this place

Redon, a town of 4,500 inhabitants on the Vilaine, which is a tidal river up to this point, and navigable for vessels of considerable size, while the navigation is continued by locks above this to Rennes.

The Church, originally belonging to the Abbey, is a fine Gothic build- ing with a semicircular E. end. The conventual buildings are turned into a college.

The Chateau de Beaumont, in the vicinity of the town, retains 3 towers of considerable antiquity attached to its modern constructions. There are extensive slate quarries near this.

19 Rozay.

24 Bout de Bois. We here enter Rte. 41 a. p. 137.

14 Gesvres.

14 Nantes. (Route 46. ) ROUTE 44.

BREST TO NANTES, BY QUIMPER,

AURAY, VANNES, AND LA ROCHE

BERNARD. EXCURSIONS TO LORI-

ENT AND TO CARNAC AND LOCK-

MARIAKER.

307 kilom. =191 Eng. m.

A Diligence (mail) runs daily.

Between Brest and Chateaulin the steamer (see below) is preferable to the diligence.

The high road from Brest to Cha- teaulin makes a great circuit, in order to avoid the creeks jutting out of the Bay of Brest : it follows the Paris road to

20 Landerneau (Rte. 36.), then turns abruptly S. to

19 Faou, seated on a river which becomes all slime at low water. The costume of the people in these little towns, and indeed in this part of Brittany, is such as was worn in En- gland in the time of Charles I., and II. — slouched hats, trunk hose, (bra- gon bras, i. e., brogues or breeks,) very wide, and with many folds, the hair hanging down the men’s backs,

Brittany. Route 44 . — Brest to Nantes — Chateaulin . 141

reminding one of the pictures in Isaac Walton. The black charcoal burners thus attired have a very singular ap- pearance. The women here wear a sort of cravat round their necks. The Pardon (§5.), celebrated four times a year at Rumengol near Faou, is at- tended with’very curious ceremonies.

From the high ground beyond Faou, a pretty view is obtained on the rt. ; the road, which is very hilly, next dips into a wooded and picturesque dell, at the bottom of which is a royal manufactory of gun- powder, called Pont de Puis. Ano- ther hill surmounted, and we reach the banks of the Chateaulin river at Port de Launay , the point of arrival and departure of the steamer from Brest.

The steamer runs only three times a week, making the voyage from Brest to Port Launay, 2 m. short of Cha- teaulin, in four hours. It traverses the Rade de Brest through its entire length, and thus enables the stranger fully to enjoy the beauties of that fine salt-water lake. For a general de- scription of it, and of the vast range of batteries which defend it, see p. 126. Rte. 36. On setting out, the opening of the Goulet is seen on the rt., and on the 1. the wide creek or inlet which extends up to Landerneau. The steamer passes between

Rt. the Pointe des Espagnols, the extreme projection of the peninsula of Quelern, and 1. the Pointe de l’Armorique, both strongly defended by forts. During the wars of the Ligue, a Spanish force sent over to aid the Due de Mercoeur in his re- sistance to Henri IV., took posses- sion of the point, and intrenching themselves on it, completely com- manded the entry of the roads. Their fort was at length captured by assault by Marechal d’Aumont, assisted by 1800 English, commanded by Col. Norris, sent overby Queen Elizabeth, after an obstinate defence, and all within it were put to the sword — the French say, chiefly through the sa- vageness of the English.

The peninsula of Quelern, con- sumed on both sides by the ever restless waves, exhibits a fringe of notched and jagged rocks, which, as they be- come undermined by the ocean, are constantly giving way. Immense fissures are formed every year in the ground above, and are followed by numerous landslips. These bare and exposed promontories covered with heath, and cut up and corroded by the waves, were the chosen site of the wor- ship of the Druids, and abound in those curious Celtic remains called Druidic stones. (§4.)

L. The Bay of Daoulas, or <£ Double murder,” is so called from the slaughter of two saints by a pagan chief, which gave rise to an Abbey whose ruins still remain. They are chiefly of the 15th century, with earlier portions in the round style. Near this are the quarries of the Kersanton stone, so much used for the churches of Brit- tany. (§ 5.)

Rt. The steamer next enters the inlet of Chateaulin, bending round the projecting promontory Landevennec, on which are ruins of a church at- tached to a once celebrated Abbey, the Breton Chartreuse, which was destroyed at the Revolution, and its valuable charters and MSS. sent to Brest to be made into cartridges] by the artillery.

The banks of the inlet, now con- tracting into a river, are picturesque, but the course of the stream is very- winding.

At Port de Launay the voyage for steamers ends; the river Aulne being crossed by a weir and lock a short way above this, to render it navigable for barges as far as Cha- teauneuf, where the canal to Nantes commences.

There are many slate quarries on the banks of the river near to

19 Chateaulin. — Inn : Poste, toler- able. A small, but not remarkable town in a pretty, park-like valley, having a bridge over the Aulne, and an old castle in ruins on a rock behind it.

142

Sect. II.

Route 44. - — Brest to Nantes —

At Pleyben , 7 m. E. of this, is a fine Gothic Church, with a lofty tower and well preserved sculptured portal, bear- ing inside of it statues of the twelve Apostles ; the windows are adorned with painted glass. In the church- yard is a very curious Calvaire resting on four arches, on the sides and the top of which our Saviour’s passion is represented in bas-reliefs and statues, more than 120 in number, not ill drawn, the drapery especially. The costume is that of the 16th century, yet the date affixed to the monument is 1650.

Quimper may be reached from ChEiteaplin in about 6 hours. The road here quits the valley of the Aulne by a steep ascent 3 m. long ; from the very top of which, an open moorland tract, you still look down upon Chateaulin and its valley. This ridge is called the Black Mountain. It was near this part of the road that a party of intrusive clergy and bishops, appointed by the Revolutionist go- vernment, proceeding to a confirm- ation at Brest, were stopped, dragged out of the coach by a party of Chouans, and murdered on the highway.

24 Quimper ( Corentin). — Inn : H. de l’Epee, the only good one.

Quimper is capital of the department of Finisterre, though it has only 9,860 inhabitants, while Brest has 30,000. It bears the stamp of antiquity as much as any town in Brittany, and is still partly surrounded by the walls and watch towers, erected for its de- fence by Pierre de Dreux, who, though a bishop, was also a great captain in his time. The Cathedral rears its stately W. front with a deep sculp- tured portal, rich in foliage, but much fractured, between two massive towers, on one side of the market place. It is a large and fine edifice, begun 1424, and has this peculiarity, that its nave is not on a line with the choir, which inclines considerably to the N. E., although the irregularity is not so perceptible as to be a defect. The interior is of a stately height ; in

Quimper .

the S. "aisle is a curious grated niche. The pulpit is carved and gilt. The sculpture of the porch is like that of Folgoat in the beautiful treatment of the foliage. The towers though mas- sive are not heavy, being set off* by the slit windows 30 ft. high which pierce them, and by the light open parapet with which they terminate.

The ruined Church of the Cordeliers begun 1224, with the elegant though mutilated cloister appertaining to it and the chapel of Lochmaria , on the outskirts of the town to the S., ap- parently older than any in Quimper, and a work of the middle of the 12th century, will be appreciated by the antiquary.

The best and most modern houses line a quay on the rt. bank of the Odel, which flows through Quimper in the form of a canal. On its 1. bank stands the Prefecture, fronting a sort of Champ de Mars, behind which a tall and steep hill rises, covered with a hanging wood, cut into ter- races and zigzag paths, forming an agreeable public walk, leading to the top, whence there is a fine view of the river, which expands greatly be- low the town.

Quimper is said to be an agreeable residence ; its situation is very pretty, and some trout fishing might be had in the neighbouring streams ; the climate is bad, however.

For those who have time and inclin- ation there remains to be visited near Quimper the picturesque manoir of Coat Bily a little to the rt. of the road to Chateaulin (date 1517); the elegant and well preserved chapel of La Mere de Dieu , 16th century; the Moustoir , an ancient fortified mansion on the way to Concarneau.

A new high road has been made from this to the Pointe or Bee du Raz, a storm-beaten promontory sur- mounted by a lighthouse, which though nearly 270 ft. above the sea, is con- stantly covered by the spray during tempests. The spot has little grandeur, but a savage wildness ; the sea around

Brittany. Route 44. — - Brest to Nantes. — Lorient.

143

is always tempest- tossed, and the shore of the Baie des Trepasses, so called from the number of dead bodies washed upon it, is perpetually co- vered with wrecks. The flat bare rocky peninsula of Penmarch abounds in Celtic remains. Near Soc’h is a Druidic parallelogram of upright stones, and the finest dolmen in Finisterre, consisting of 16 vertical slabs supporting two horizontal or ta- bular stones. (§ 4.)

The road out of Quimper to Quimperle has been carried round the flanks of the hills, instead of over their tops.

21 Rosporden stands on the bor- ders of a large pond.

25 Quimperle (Inn : Qy. if any good one) is seated amidst hills, on a brawling river, the Elle, and is a pretty town. 5,300 inhab.

The large mass of building on one side of the Place, now serving as Mairie, &c., was originally a convent of Benedictines, attached to which, behind, is the Church of Ste. Croix, a building calculated to interest the antiquary and architect, from its age (10 or 11th century?), and its form, a rotunda surmounted by a dome with 4 projecting apses, one of which has been modernised. The arrangement of the central piers, concave inwardly, convex outwardly, the pilasters at- tached to them, the narrow, loopholed roundheaded windows high up in the wall, all mark its antiquity. 3 flights of steps lead up to the altar, beneath which is a curious and still more an- cient crypt, entered from the outside. It contains the grave of St. Gurlot : the Bretons thrust their arms through a hole in his tombstone, in order to be cured of rheumatism. Above the main entrance to the church is a bas-relief of good execution, of the age of Francis I., representing the 4 Evangelists and the Theological Virtues.

There is another church (St. Mi- chel ) on the top of the hill, its groundwork Romanesque, with ad-

ditions of the 12th and 15th cen- turies.

Travellers bound for Lorient (where the Hotel de France is a good inn), take a route to the rt. of our line on quitting Quimperle. There is no- thing remarkable in that dull modern town of straight streets and 19,095 inhabitants, save its Dockyard , which is not readily shown to an English- man, and which he need not care to see, as it is much inferior to those of his own country. The town is strongly fortified, and stands in the angle between two creeks, one of which, the estuary of the ScorfF, forms the port militaire, the other the port marchand. They unite below the town, where they are met by the estuary of the Blavet from the E. and expand into the Roads ; but as the dockyard occupies nearly the entire margin, and is surrounded on all sides by a high wall, all view of the water is excluded from the town, and con- tributes nothing to remove the mo- notonous dullness of its dirty streets, whose meagre houses look as though they were built merely to be knocked down. An excellent bird’s-eye view of the dockyard maybe obtained from the top of the tower of the parish church.

At the entrance of the Dockyard is the house of the Prefet Maritime. The adjacent buildings are part of those erected by the “ Compagnie des Indes Orientales,” whose esta- blishment here, 1666, converted into a town a previously obscure village. The company was dissolved 1770. Law of Lauriston, the South Sea schemer, occupied the house which is now the Prifecture. Near to it stands a narrow look-out tower 180ft. high, overtopping all other buildings, affording a view of the whole road- stead and of the coast far and wide; near this is a small astronomical observatory. Lorient is exclusively a building dock ; there are no bagnes nor convicts here. There are 15 or 16 building slips (cales) here, and

144

Route 44. — Brest to Nantes. — Hennebon. Sect. IT.

on the opposite side of the creek, but only one has a permanent roof, fit for first-rates ; the rest are mostly frigates and steam- vessels. A new Fonderie is in progress near to the shed for masting vessels ; 2 large mast-houses, and very extensive workshops, pro- vided with a steam-engine, have been finished.

The roads open out at the lower extremity of the creek which forms the port : they are partly dry at low water. Some way down is the He St. Michel, covered with the yellow buildings of the Lazaret, and beyond it, on a projecting point, the fortress of Port Louis, commanding the en- trance of the harbour, mounting 500 cannon. (?)

A steamer goes from Lorient to Nantes and vice versa every week, touching at Belle Isle, a barren rock, which was captured by the English under General Hodson and Admiral Keppel in 1761.

The estuary of the ScorfF is crossed by a wooden bridge in going to Auray from Lorient.

A mail runs between Quimperle and Nantes daily in 36 hours, through Lorient and Hennebon. The direct road to Hennebon passes cut of the department Finisterre into the Mor- bihan about 6 m. from Quimperle.

The river Blavet is crossed by an iron suspension bridge to reach

24 Hennebon, 4,477 inhab.

An antique town situated on its left bank, once the chief port of Morbihan. Its name must be familiar to all who have read Froissart, through the - noble defence which it made in the succession war of Brittany 1342, during two sieges sustained by Jeanne de Montfort against the armies of Philippe de Valois and Charles of Blois. The capture and imprison- ment in Paris of Jean de Montfort would have ruined his cause in Brit- tany but for his heroic countess, who, possessing the courage of a man and the heart of a lion, threw herself into Hennebon, strengthened its works, filled it with provisions, and animated the courage of the garrison and in- habitants to resist to the last extre- mity. To marshal troops, to lead them to the onset, to fight hand to hand armed cap-a-pied with sword and casque, to manage a war-horse with the skill of the most adept cavalier, to preside in council, or dictate treaties; such were the ac- complishments of this noble dame. Several times did she boldly sally forth at the head of her troops to assail the enemy, and on one occasion set fire to his camp, and when the besiegers turned round to defend it in such numbers as to cut off' her re- treat into the town, she forced her way through them and effected her escape to Auray, whence, after beating up the country around for 5 days, she returned in triumph to Hennebon with a force augmented from 300 to 600 men, and entered the gates in safety. At length the last extremity arrived, provisions were nearly ex- hausted, her counsellors advised sur- render, and articles of capitulation were drawn up. She was forced un- willingly to consent to yield, provided at the end of 3 days succour did not arrive from England. On the eve of the 2d day as she was gazing from her watch-tower, she perceived the English fleet which had been detained by contrary winds, entering the mouth of the Blavet full sail, bringing the brave knight, Sir Walter de Manny, with a strong force of English knights and archers, and plenty of provisions. All thoughts of surrender were now abandoned, and after one or two suc- cessful sorties, the siege was raised. Two years after this, Edward III. in person landed here with an army of 12,000, which laid siege to Vannes. In 1375, however, the town was taken by Duguesclin, and the English gar- rison all put to the sword, except the commanders Wisk and Prior, who were reserved for ransom The only

145

Brittany. Route 4 * 4 . — Brest to Nantes — — Auray.

relics now remaining in the town from that period of bloodshed are a portion of the town wall on the side of the river, and an ancient gate which led to the castle ; it is a pointed gateway between 2 very massive round towers, and is now a prison. The Church is said to have been built by the En- glish ; it is unfinished, and only re- markable for a lofty and elegant portal, recessed and fringed, not un- like that at Harfieur, surmounted by a crccketted steeple. There are some picturesque old houses here.

Near Baud (a poor town destitute of a tolerable inn) 15 m. N. of Henne- bon, is the statue called Venus of Qui- nipily, from a castle of that name now razed to the ground, on whose site it is placed. It is of granite, coarsely worked and badly designed ; the arms are crossed in front over a piece of drapery like a stole, descending halt- way down the thighs ; in other respects it is naked. Nothing is known re- specting its origin, and the conjectures respecting it are very vague. One writer supposes, from its Egyptian character, that it was a Gallic Isis, and it is called Venus only in the in- scriptions on the pedestal set up 1689. This much is certain, that down to the 17th century it was worshipped with foul rites, and is even now looked on with superstitious venera- tion by the peasantry.

A dreary and monotonous country of moor and heathland is crossed on quitting Hennebon to reach

13 Landevan.

15 Auray. — Inn: Pavilion d’en haut; tolerable. A town of 3,734 in- habitants, on the Auray ; in no wise remarkable, but from its position it is the best starting point for a visit to the Celtic antiquities of Carnac and Locmariaker. Jolting gigs may be hired here for 10 fr. to go and return.

The Castle of Auray , no part of which is now standing, is said to have been founded by King Arthur. A battle fought under its walls 1364,

France.

settled the succession to the duke- dom of Brittany in favour of young de Montfort, son-in-law to King Edward III., who owed the victory to his English allies, led on by the brave .John Chandos. In the oppo- site ranks fought Duguesclin, who was made prisoner by Chandos, and Olivier de Clisson, who lost an eye in the battle. Charles de Blois was slain in the thickest of the fight, and there fell on his side not less than 5,000 men, while the English lost a very small number.

St. Anne d’ Auray is a celebrated pil grimage church 6 m. from the town, frequented usually by 6,000 devotees from all parts of Brittany in the month of July, but not otherwise remarkable. It is a modern and not handsome building.

In another direction, about a mile from Auray, is the nunnery of the Chartreuse, occupied by the Sceurs de la Sagesse, who instruct a school for the deaf and dumb. Attached to their church is the Expiatory Monu- ment erected by the Bourbons to the memory of the 950 unfortunate Emi- gres and Royalists, who composed the ill-advised expedition to Quiberon, 1795, and who either fell there, or were shot by the republicans on the banks of the Auray, at the spot marked by a Grecian temple not far distant from the Chartreuse. The monument which has been placed in the church to record their unhappy fate is not a work of merit, either in general design, or in the execution of the bas-relief intended to adorn it. It bears the names of those who fell.

The village of Brech was the birthplace of George Cadoudal, the leader of the Chouans. Morbihan was the centre of their insurrection.

The Excursion to Carnac and Loc- mariaker may be made in one day, by pursuing the following plan, "and pro- vided the traveller can walk 8 m., the only mode of passing between these two places being on foot. If the wind be favourable, lie may take a

146 R. 44. — Morbihan — Gcivr Innis — Locmarioker. Sect. II.

boat and descend the Auray to Loc- mariaker, a pleasant voyage of a little more than an hour ; if he visit Gavre Inis ( N.B . in this case take candles and matches), 1 or 1| hour more is required : — from Lockmariaker on foot to Carnac will take 2 hours. He must, however, beforehand, hire a gig at Auray, and send it on to’ Car- nac to wait for him. He may return to Auray in the gig in 2^- hours.

In sailing down the estuary of the Auray he will pass

Rt. the Chateau de Plessis Kaer, a . Gothic castle, with additions of the time of Francis I., and the ruins of another called Rosnareu. Near this the boatmen assert that ruins of ’the piles of a bridge, which they attribute to Caesar, may be discovered at low water in the bed of the river.

Rt. A perfect Chateau called Ker- entrec. The river now widens out, and a little further on we enter “

The Morbihan (Little Sea), an in- land sea or archipelago from which the department is named, so thickly beset with islands, that the common belief assigns them a number equal to the days of the year. The shores on all sides have a most jagged out- line, fringed with capes, creeks, and inlets ; they are of granite barely covered with the scantiest vegetable soil, supporting a growth of barren heath ; very often the surface is mere bare rock. 2 narrow peninsulas or arms, projecting from the E. and W., separate this gulf from the sea, al- lowing only a narrow passage between them. This archipelago is very diffi- cult to navigate- — a perfect labyrinth of islands, separated by intricate pas- sages, which only the experienced navigator can thread. The land rises but little above the sea ; it is sterile in the extreme ; the peasantry are mi- serably poor, and barely win a scanty crop from a soil whose proper pro- ductions seem heath and furze. Yet this melancholy and mysterious, but uninviting district, seems to have been the head quarters of the religion of

the Druids — the number of barrows, cairns, dolmens, and menhirs, &e. is extraordinary. (§ 4.)

The island of Gavr Innis , or Gaffr’ ne, nearly opposite Locmariaker, may be visited on the way thither, diverging a mile or 2 to the E. Here, underneath a cairn of stones (galgal), a subterraneous chamber has been discovered and cleared out. You enter by a triangular opening, crawl- ing on hands and knees through a vestibule leading into a chamber, re- gularly formed, like a dolmen, of ver- tical stones covered by very large horizontal slabs. This chamber com- municates with a much narrower gal- lery paved and roofed with stones, more than 40 ft. long : the entire length of the chamber being at least 50 ft. ; its direction is from E. to W. Curious and unexplained figures of a rude kind, chiefly of a wedge form — intermixed with others evidently re- presenting serpents — are engraved on the under surface of the stones ; and one of them, forming a sort of partition, is pierced with a hole wide enough to pass the arm through, like the handle of a shield. Nothing has been discovered within this inexplicable structure ; the stones composing it are granite.

Locmariaker is a poor village, not possessing accomodation of the com- monest kind for a traveller, nor even affording provisions. It stands on a heathy promontory projecting be- tween the ocean and the Gulf of Mor- bihan, but is deserted by the tide at low water, so that one must land at a sort of pier a little to the N. of the village, near the Mont Hellu, a mound of stones or galgal, about \ m. N. W. of the village. There is another si- milar mound to the S. E. called butte de Ca?sar. The most interesting of the Celtic monuments lie to the N. of the village, between it and the Mont Hellu. Contiguous to the last house is a menhir 20 ft. long, over- thrown like every other in this dis- trict ; a little to the 1. on an eminence

Brittany.

Route 4 . £. — St. Gildo.a — Carnac.

a dolmen, the top stone of which is 12 to 15 ft. square, and in parts 3 ft. thick. Still farther to the N. lies prostrate and broken into 4 fragments the largest Menhir known ; it mea- sures nearly 60 ft. in length, and 5 or 6 ft. in height as it lies. It is difficult to imagine by what force so huge a mass can have been snapped short across, with such clean fractures. Some have attributed its fall to light- ning. Near to it is another dolmen called Dolar Marchant, the Merchant’s Table, which seems larger than any other in the neighbourhood ; it con- sists of 2 table-stones, one of them 16 ft. by 12, supported on 3 vertical ones ; it is possible to creep under it, and remark the singular figures cut on its under surface. Between it and the Mont Hellu, a vast heap of cinders is said to have been found. (?)

There are many other similar mo- numents near Locmariaker, but these are the principal ones.

Locmariaker (i. e. place of the Vir- gin Mary) is supposed to occupy the site of the ancient Dariorigum, the capital of the Venetes ; its position agrees with Caesar’s description of their “ oppida in extremis linguis, promontoriisque posita,” and some substructures of houses laid bare near the village are attributed to the Ro- mans.

The peninsula of Rhuys, which, with that of Locmariaker, form, as it were, the natural piers separating the sea of Morbihan from the Atlantic, con- tains the following objects of curiosity. 1. Le Grand Mont, called also la Butte de Tumiac, situated about 4 m. from Sarzeau, an obscure little town, but memorable as the birth-place of the author of Gil Bias. It is the largest tumulus existing in France, 100 ft. high and 300 in circumference, and is planted near the extremity of the promontory. 2. The ruined church of the Abbey of St. Gildas de Rhuys, remarkable because it was the retreat of Abelard in 1125, who narrowly escaped poisoning at the hands of the

refractory and ill-conditioned monks, whose dissolute manners he resolutely repressed. The remains consist of a modern nave, and a very ancient choir in the Romanesque style, terminating at the E. end in 3 semicircular cha- pels. The walls of the transept are partly of herring-bone masonry. The date of the oldest part of the building is probably 1038. The tomb of the saint is pointed out ; an ancient font deserves notice. St. Gildas is about 21 m. from Vannes. On the way to St. Gildas from Vannes, 3. the Castle of Succhiio may be visited. It is a fine and perfect feudal fortress, built 1260 by John the Red, Duke of Brittany. It has nearly the form of a pentagon flanked by 6 round towers. It was the birth-place of the Constable de Richemont, who defeated the English at Formigny.

Between Carnac and Locmari- aker, a deep frith of the sea pene- trates far inland, and is crossed half way by a ferry ; the way is very in- tricate, from the number of paths, so as scarcely to be found without a guide, and the road is very bad. The dis- tance, 8 m., is practicable only on foot.

The Ferry of Cherispere over this inlet is prettily situated, and com- mands a view of the little port of La Trinity in the bay of Crach.

A little to the W. of the ferry, near some salt works, at the bottom of a shallow dell, is a rude monument to mark the grave of a royalist, shot on the spot, 1801.

The approach to Carnac is marked by the prominent Cairn, or Tombelle de St. Michel, so called from the chapel surmounting it. It is a cone of loose stones artificially heaped together, standing at the E. extremity of the great army of rocks of Carnac, of which it commands a view, as well as of the sea and promontory of Qui- beron.

Carnac. The Soleil, cliez Rio, the only house of entertainment, is a very humble cabaret, possessing only the commonest accommodation, though it

148

Route 44. — Carnac — Quiberon.

Sect. II.

vill afford something to eat. The people are very civil, however.

The great Celtic Monument of Carnac , the most extensive in France, is situ- ated about | m. from this remote vil- lage, and is traversed by the road from Aurav. In the midst of a wide heath, as dreary and blasted in aspect as that “ near Forres,” extends this brother- hood of grey stones, — rude blocks set on end, angular, showing no marks of polish, and hirsute with the long moss which has covered the hard surface of the granite, and marks the length of time they must have stood in their present position. At first sight, it is difficult to distinguish any order, so many are overthrown, and the gaps left in the lines by depreda- tions are so numerous and wide ; in- deed, every house and every wall in the vicinity seems to have been built

Out of this ready quarry. The great

-mass of the stones extends between 2 windmills. They are arranged in 1 1 lines, forming 10 avenues, with a curved row of 18 stones at one end, touching at its extremities the two outside rows.

The rani

called Mcnec. not less than

s are best preser

the stones are highest near the farm

There are, it 12,000 stones

ed, and

is said, blocks

of the granite which forms the basis

of the country, and which is barely covered with soil, and in many places projects naked above it. None ex- ceed 1 8 ft. in height, and a very large proportion are cubical masses, not more than 3 ft. high. They give one the idea of a regiment of soldiers, and the tradition of the country re- specting their origin is, that St. Cor- nely (Cornelius), hard pressed by an army of Pagans, fled to the sea shore, but finding no boat to further his escape, uttered a prayer, which con- verted his pursuers into stones. Of the numerous theories invented by learned antiquaries to account for the origin and object of these stones, several are not less absurd nor more improbable than the legend just men- tioned ; none are satisfactory. The opinions perhaps least unworthy of consideration would suppose either that it was a burial place on the site of some great battle field, and that each stone marked a grave, or that it was a great temple dedicated to ser- pent worship. It was probably con- nected with some of those rites of initiation which formed part of the Druidical religion, and were derived from the same source as the Greek Mysteries.

At Erdevan , about 8 m. W. of Car- nac, and again at St. JBarbe, between Carnac and Frdevan, there are similar assemblages of stones, but not so nu- merous. Some have maintained that these three systems of rude pillars were once united, but there is no evidence of this. The piles of stones invariably follow the same direction from E. to W. One can scarcely see Carnac without comparing it rvith Stone- henge ; and it must be admitted that in spite of the vast multitude of stones, the few and gigantic masses of Salis- bury plain are far more impressive than the long array of the petrified army on the heath of Morbihan. At Carnac there are no cross -stones raised on the top of the upright slabs, as at Stonehenge.

The Peninsula of Quiberon stretches

Brittany.

Route 44 . — Quiberon. — Vannes.

149

10 m. S. into the sea, a little to the W. of the village of Carnac. Its name is associated with melancholy recollections of the ill-contrived and ill-executed expedition, consisting of 6,000 French emigrants in the pay of England, who were landed there from a British fleet, 1795, and after a futile attempt to break through the Repub- lican armies opposed to them, were for the most part driven into the sea by General Hoche. The surprise by Hoche, of Fort Penthievre, which guards the entrance of the peninsula, and of which the emigres had made themselves masters on first landing, de- cided the fate of the expedition. Som- breuil, their brave leader, when ex- pelled from it, drew up his little band on the farthest extremity of the sand, where they made the most determined resistance, so as to call down the admi- ration of their antagonists and fellow countrymen. Humbert, the republican general, advanced with a flag of truce, and promised that their lives should be spared if they laid down their arms. A storm prevented the British fleet rendering them any assistance ; one corvette alone for a time checked the Republicans by its destructive fire, and a few of the fugitives were brought off in the boats of the squad- ron ; but many, including women and children, perished in the waves. 950 unfortunate men, most of them per- sons of rank or station, who capitu- lated on promise of amnesty with their commander, Sombreuil, were, hi spite of that, conveyed to Auray as prisoners of war, and shot there (see p. 145.). The descent on Quiberon was an example of the danger of dis- grace and failure which England runs by “ waging a little war.”

The road from Auray to Carnac is not good ; the latter part is very bad.

There is nothing to note between Auray and

18 Vannes. — Inn: Hotel du Com- merce, tolerable. This town, capital of the department of Morbihan (po-

pulation 10,395), is built at the ex- tremity of a narrow inlet, branching out from the Gulf of Morbihan, and about 15 m. from the open sea. It possesses in an eminent degree the character of antiquity which dis- tinguishes most Breton towns, in its narrow streets, overhanging houses, massive town walls and gates, but has no curiosities to detain the stranger. The portal of carved Kersanton stone, and the towers of the Cathedral , and a tower in the centre of the town, er- roneously called Tour du Connetable, because Olivier de Clisson was said to have been confined in it, 1387, are the only buildings worth mentioning. 3 or 4 old convents, suppressed at the Revolution, now serve for barracks, and similar purposes.

The castle into which the Constable de Clisson was entrapped, under pre- tence of asking his opinion of the new fortifications, by’ John (IV.) de Montfort, who then locked the door upon him, and loaded him with chains, was the Chateau de V Her mine, which was razed to the ground in the 16th century. Clisson owed his life to the forbearance of the governor, Bazvalan, who (like King John’s Hubert) pretended compliance with de Montfort’s order to murder his prisoner, but, when his master’s anger cooled, informed him of his captive’s safety. Clisson was not released, how- ever, without paying a heavy ransom.

A sailing boat with a favourable wind will cross the sea of Morbihan to Locmariaker, on the way to Car- nac (p. 146.), in about 2i hours; but as no conveyances are to be ob- tained at either of these places, most persons will prefer the land journey via Auray.

The excursion to the promontory of Rhuys is described (p. 147.)

Diligences go from Vannes daily to Rennes (Route t 45.); to Brest; to Nantes.

Through a country abounding in heath and broom, we pass through

9 Theix, and

150 R. 44 . — Roche Bernard. 45 . — Rennes to Vannes. Sect, II,

15 Muzillac, to

16 Roche Bernard, on the 1. bank of the Vilaine, which is here crossed by a remarkably fine Suspension Bridge of iron wire, supported on 2 piers of granite masonry, each ap- proached by 3 lofty arches of granite. The opening between the two points of suspension measures 626 ft., the elevation of the road way above high- water mark 108 ft. In its general appearance it very much resembles the Menai bridge ; it was constructed under the superintendence of M. Leblanc, the engineer des Ponts et Chaussees. It was completed 1839, and subjected to the trial of its strength, which the French law requires, by placing 2 rows of 115 carts and carriages heavily laden on the carriage way, and of 1 17 barrows filled with stones, on the footpath, which it stood without the least symp- tom of weakness.

The road leading to and from the bridge is well engineered, and leaves the town of Roche Bernard, on one side. A new Inn (Hotel Silvestre, tolerable) has been built on the new road, | m. S. of the bridge. Those who remember the tedious and dangerous fei'ry which this bridge replaces, and all the trouble and inconveniences of embarking and disembarking, will rejoice in the improvement.

There is nothing of interest beyond this ; the country is very dreary, with few hills ; the road in the dept, of the Loire Inffirieure is only beginning to be macadamized.

19 Pont Chateau.

15 Le Moere. At Savenay, on the rt. of our road, in December 1793, the last relics of that daring army of Vendean peasants, which had crossed the Loire 6 weeks before 80,000 strong, now reduced to 8,000 or 10,000, made a last stand against the Republicans, but their obstinate bravery was of little avail against overpowering numbers. They fought long after their ammuni- tion was exhausted, even women taking part in the combat, but were at length

cut to pieces or made prisoners, 3,000 only escaping back into La Vendee.

1 1 Le Temple. Glimpses of the es- tuary of the Loire, running parallel with our road, are seen on the rt. Near Santron, through which the road passes, is the Chateau de Boron, one of the residences of Madame de Sevigne. The approach to Nantes is marked by the number of neat country houses.

23 Nantes (in Route 46.).

ROUTE 45.

RENNES TO VANNES BY PLOERMEL, AND TO CARNAC.

92 kilom. = 57 Eng. m.

A diligence daily.

15 Mordelles.

20 PI elan.

24 Ploermel ( Inn : LIbtel du Com- merce), a town of 4,875 inhab.

In the Parish Church are the mo- numental effigies in armour of Dukes John II. (1305) and III. (1341) of Brittany. They were brought from the church of the Carmelites, founded by John II., who had fought in Syria against the Infidels, and had visited Mount Carmel ; the sculpture is good, and they are tolerably perfect : the church was destroyed at the Revolu- tion. These statues are interesting examples of the costume and armour of the time. There is some painted glass in the church.

About 7 m. W. of Ploermel is the Castle of Josselin (R. 42.).

10 Roc St. Andr4.

16 Pont Guillemet.

Beyond this, about 1 m. to the rt. of the road, is the ruined Castle of Elven, one of the best preserved for- tresses of the middle ages in Brittany, built on the model, it is said, of some castle in Syria. It stands on a flat, surmounted by a lofty octa- gonal keep tower. Elven is interest- ing to an Englishman, because young Henry of Richmond (afterwards

Brittany. Route T6. — Paris to Nantes — Port Royal. 151

Henry VII.) was shut up in it for repairing hither for study; and here many years along with his uncle, the , composed those works which, as “ they earl of Pembroke, by Francis II., , were published anonymously, are

Duke of Brittany. The two English fugitives, escaping from their own i country after the battle of Tewkes- j bury, were driven by a storm on the j coast of Brittany, and Henry re- ! mained a prisoner nearly 15 years, j until 1484, when, escaping into France, he accepted the invitation of friends in England to supplant the tyrant Richard III.

1 8 Vannes. ( R. 44. ; where the excursion to the Druiclical Monuments of Carnac is also described.)

ROUTE 46.

PARIS TO NANTES, BY RAMBOU ILLET, I CHARTRES, LE MANS, AND ANGERS.

394 kilom. = 244^ Eng. m.

Malleposte daily in 28 to 30 hours. | Diligences daily. A Railroad is pro- j jected, in continuation of the Rive j Gauche line (p. 111.), from Versailles to Chartres.

The first part of the road by

12 Sevres to

7 Versailles, is described in R. 35. N. B. 8 kilom. “ de faveur ” above ! the real distance are reckoned in the first stage, and 4 in the second. The road to Rambouillet is uninteresting : it divides into 2 at Trapes ; the rt. hand branch is the road to Brest fR. 35. 36.). Near Magny Les Hameux are the scanty remains of the once celebrated abbey of Port Royal des Champs , destroyed by royal decree, 1709, at the instigation of the Jesuits, as the head quarters of Jan- senism, after the nuns, its tenants, had been subjected to the most cruel persecutions in order to compel them to subscribe to the bull of Alexander VII. against the doctrines of Jansen. In 1644, a number of learned men and profound divines professing the same doctrines, settled in a farm house near the convent, called La Grange,

known by the name of their place of residence. Arnauld, Paschal, Nichole, are among the Messieurs de Port Royal, — an appellation so glorious in the 17th century.” — Hallam. Boileau was their friend, and Racine, who wrote their history, their pupil.

“ He whose journey lies from Ver- sailles to Chevreuse, will soon find himself at the brow of a steep cleft or hollow, intersecting the monotonous plain across which he has been pass- ing. The brook which winds through the verdant meadows beneath him, stagnates into a large pool, reflecting the solitary Gothic arch, the water mill, and the dove-cot, which rise from its banks, with the farm house, the decayed towers, the forest trees, and innumerable shrubs and creepers which clothe the slopes of the valley. France has many a lovelier prospect, though this is not without its beauty, and many a field of more heart- stirring interest, though this, too, has been ennobled by heroic daring; but through the length and breadth of that land of chivalry and of song, the traveller will in vain seek a spot so sacred to genius, to piety, and to virtue. That arch is all which re- mains of the once crowded monastery of Port- Royal. In those woods

Racine first learned the language — . the universal language — of poetry. Under the roof of that humble farm- house, Pascal, Arnauld, Nicole, De Sace, and Tillemont, meditated those works which, as long as civilization and Christianity survive, will retain their hold on the gratitude and re- verence of mankind. There were given innumerable proofs of the graceful good humour of Henri IV. To this seclusion retired the heroine of the Fronde, Ann Genevieve, Duchess of Longueville, to seek the peace the world could not give. Madame de Sevigne discovered here a place “ tout propre a inspirer le h 4

152

Houle 4-6. — Rambouillet — Maiif tenon.

Sect. II.

desir de faire son salut.” From the petit Trianon and Marly, there came hithei’ to worship God many a cour- tier and many a beauty, heart-broken or jaded with the very vanity of vanities — the idolatry of their fellow- mortals. Survey French society in the 17th century from what aspect you will, it matters not, at Port Royal will be found the most illustrious examples of whatever imparted to that motley assemblage any real dignity or permanent regard. Even to the mere antiquarian It was not without a lively'interest.” — Edin. Rev. St.

The Chateau of Dampierre , in the vale of Chevreuse, has lately been re- stored by its owner, the Due de Luynes, one of the richest nobles in France. It has been adorned with paintings by Ingres, and with sculp- tures by Simart. The park has an area of 2,000 acres.

18 Coignieres.

14 Rambouillet, a dull town of 3,000 inhabitants, remarkable only for its Chateau, long the residence of the kings of France, down to the time of Charles X., who, after the July revolution, here signed, in con- junction with the Due d’Angouleme, his abdication of the French throne, Aug. 2. 1830; under pressure of the news that the mob of Paris, armed, was on its march hither, seeming to threaten results not unlike those which befel Louis XVI. at Versailles, Oct. 1789. It is a gloomy and ugly pile of red brick, with 5 flanking towers of stone, destitute of interest beyond what it may derive from its history. A chamber is shown in the great round tower where Francis I. died, 1547, aged 52. The dreary park and extensive forest adjoining was the favourite sporting ground of Charles X. The chateau is now let out to a private individual.

Beyond this the road becomes more hilly and varied.

13 Epernon, no tolerable Inn. The name of this town of 1,600 inhabitants was changed from Autrist to Epernon

by Henri III., who created it and the district around a duchy for his fa- vourite Nogaret. It retains ’portions of its old walls and towers, and is prettily situated on the banks of the Guesle, under a commanding rock of limestone.

The Chateau attached to the little to%vn of

9 Maintenon was given by Louis XIV., with the estate and title of Marquise de Maintenon, to Franchise d’Aubigny, widow of Scarron, at the time when the king made her his w r ife. Their marriage is said to have been celebrated in the chapel of the castle by the Pere la Chaise, in the pre- sence of Harlay and Louvois, 1685, she being 50 years old and Louis 47. The castle stands on the margin of the Eure, and now belongs to the Due de Broglie ; parts of it are said to belong to the original structure raised by Cocquereau, treasurer of finance to LouisXI. and Charles VI 1 1. The bed- room of Mde. de Maintenon, and her portrait in robes trimmed with ermine, and fleurs-de-lis, are shown.

The valley of the Eure is here crossed by the imposing ruins of the aqueduct, constructed 1684, at the mandate of Louis XIV., to convey the waters of the Eure from Pont Gouin to Versailles, but afterwards abandoned for the machine at Marly.

“ As Lewis had committed the blunder of building in a place with- out water, he proposed to remedy his mistake by conveying the river eight leagues, by a new channel, to adorn his park. To accomplish this it was necessary to join two mountains at Maintenon, and form an aqueduct : 40,000 troops were employed in this great work, and a camp formed ex- pressly for the purpose. From the unhealthiness of the work or of the air, a great mortality ensued ; the dead were carried away in the night time that their companions might not be discouraged ; but the loss of many thousand lives to please the wanton caprice of a despot, excited

Brittany.

Route 46 . — Chartres — Cathedral.

153

no sympathy and created no surprise. The war of 1688, however, Inter- rupted the labour, and it was never afterwards resumed.” — Ld. John Rus- sell. It was partly pulled down, after a lapse of 65 years, to build the villa of Crecy for Mde. de Pompadour. The remains consist of 47 arches, 42 ft. wide and 83 high. The total length of the canal, of which this was to form a part, would have ex- ceeded 33 miles, if completed.

On leaving Maintenon behind, we enter the fertile plain called La Beauce, comprising some of the finest corn land in France. The twin steeples of Chartres are conspicuous a long way off.

19 Chartres.- — Inn: Hotel de France ; tolerably good.

Chartres, a city of 14,439 inhab., once capital of the fertile Beauce, and now of the department d’Eure et Loir, is situated on a slope, at the bottom of which runs the Eure, washing the only remaining portion of the old fortifications, and two of the city gates. The Porte Guillaume, one of these, is picturesque ; the rest have been pulled down, the ramparts levelled into walks, and the town thrown open. Chartres is remark- able in a commercial point of view for one of the largest corn markets in France, held every Saturday, where the produce of the Beauce is disposed of ; in point of architecture, for its

Cathedral, one of the most magni- ficent in Europe, conspicuous far and near, with its two tall but unequal spires surmounting the hill on which the city stands. Its most striking and interesting-features, after its vast di- mensions and elegant proportions, are its two rich and singular lateral portals, its painted glass, scarcely equalled in France, and its three rose windows.

There is much perplexity in the dates assigned to different parts of the building, but, with the evidence of style, we may pronounce the Crypt, running under the whole extent of

the choir aisles, to be the only part remaining which was built by Bishop Fulbert, 1029. He was aided in his pious foundation by gifts from the kings of England, France, and Den- mark, and a great body of people came over from Rouen to work at it, encamping in tents around while it was in progress. The church, as it exists, was not dedicated until 1 260, and the greater portion of it may safely be re- ferred to the 13th century; but the W. front was completed in 1145, ex- cept the elegant crocketted N. spire raised in 1514, partly at the charge of Louis XII., by Jean Texier, an archi- tect of the Beauce : it is 403 ft. high, and the upper part of beautifully light and delicately executed work. In the W. front, which is simple in its style, we have to remark the triple portal of pointed arches ; that in the centre, supported and flanked by statues of royal saints. These are attenuated figures with formal plaited drapery, characteristic of the Byzan- tine sculpture of the 12th century^ Above the door is the image of Christ in an oval, with the symbols of the 4 Evangelists, as designated in the vi- sion of Ezekiel, around him. Below these are the 14 Prophets in a row, and in the arches above the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse, playing on musical instruments of the middle ages. The sculpture of the rt. hand portal re- lates to the life of the Virgin, and in that of the 1. is seen Christ again sur- rounded by angels, with the signs of the zodiac, and the agricultural labours of the 12 months.

Far finer are the two entrances on the N. and S. sides, consisting of triple projecting Gothic porticos (something like the W. end of Peterborough), resting on piers, or bundles'of pillars, with side openings between them. The stately statues which line the sides and vaults are of a superior style of art, and of a later date (14th cen- tury) than those of the W. front.

The interior is of such consistent vastness in all its parts, that its di- h 5

154

Route 46. — Chartres.

Sect. II.

mansions do not perhaps strike the spectator, at first sight, to their fullest extent, but its length is 422 ft., and the height to the apex of its roof 112 ft. The style throughout nave and choir is the mature Gothic. In the centre of the nave a maze or labyrinth, of intricate circles, is marked out on the pavement in coloured stone : to fol- low it through its windings (1,320 ft. long), saying prayers at certain sta- tions, was probably, at one time, a pe- nitential exercise. The church pos- sesses a perfect treasure of Painted Glass, more than 130 windows being completely filled, and few being quite destitute of this splendid ornament. They date, for the most part, from the 13th century. Some of the glass is i an inch thick. The 3 rose win- dows at the end of the nave and tran- septs are remarkable for their size, 30 or 40 ft. diameter, and their com- plicated tracery, but it is somewhat clumsy.

The painted windows, both in nave and choir, illustrate subjects from the Bible or legends of saints ; in the lower compartments are frequently seen representations of various trades — shoe-makers, basket-makers, &c., showing that their guilds or corpora- tions were the donors.

Attached to the E. end of the church is a chapel dedicated to St. Fiat, in the form of an oblong ; it was founded 1349, and is flanked by 2 round towers externally.

The choir has double aisles and a semicircular E. end ; in the inside 8 marble bas-reliefs, of Scriptural sub- jects, mediocre in design and execu- tion, are inserted, and behind the high altar is a huge marble piece of sculp- ture, in the taste of the time of Louis XIII., not consistent with the cha- racter of the building. The outside of the screen, which separates the choir from its aisles, is ornamented with a series of very remarkable Gothic sculptures, each representing an event in the life of Christ or the Virgin Mary, in 45 compartments

surrounded with the most elaborate tracery and tabernacle work; they were begun, 1514, and continued down to the middle of the 1 7th cen- tury, and are interesting as some of the final efforts of Gothic art. The execution has been compared to “point lace in stone, and some of the sculp- tured threads are not thicker than the blade of a penknife.” i

In the choir of Chartres cathedral Henri IV. was crowned 1594; — Itheims, the ancient scene of the royal coronation, being at the time in the hands of the Leaguers. The cere- mony was performed by the bishop of the diocese, and as the “ Sainte Am- poule” was not to be got at, a vial of holy oil, said to have been given by an angel to St. Martin of Tours, to cure a bruise, was brought in pro- cession from the Abbey of Marmou- tiers, and with this the King was anointed. This cathedral narrowly escaped destruction by fire in 1836; fortunately the roof and interior of the towers were alone consumed.

After exploring this noble and sur- passing edifice, the traveller will pro- bably have little desire to look at inferior churches, yet the only other curiosities here are

The Church of St. Pierre (St. Pere), contiguous to a huge caserne, once a convent, and not far from the river ; — although very inferior to the cathedral, it presents a remarkable lanthorn- like E. end, filled with rich painted glass. The lanthorn character is increased by the triforium, running all round the choir, being open, and glazed. The choir, though pointed, must be very eai’ly in the style, the piers having a Romanesque character. The nave slightly different, and ap- parently later, yet retains the transi- tion appearance in its columns. Its triforium is a row of trefoil headed arches, supported on pilasters.

St. Andre , also near the river, and now a magazin de fourrage filled with straw and hay, is yet interesting to the student of architecture as an

Brittany.

155

Route 46 . — JBretigny — Villebon .

early, plain, and severe example of the pointed style. In the W. fa$ade a circular headed doorway is sur- mounted by a triplet of lancet win- dows, and these by a bold rose win- dow. The piers supporting the nave arches are cylindrical, marking the transition from Romanesque to Gothic. The choir, which was j carried across the Eure, is destroyed. : A curious crypt extends from the S. aisle down to the river and below its level. St. Andre is supposed to have been founded 1108.

An Obelisk has been set up in the Marche aux Herbes to record the fact that Marceau was a native of Chartres — “ Soldat a 16 ans, General a 23 ; il mourut a 27.” The original in- scription mentioned his exploits in | destroying “ the rebel Vendeans at Le Mans and Laval.” The Revo- lutionary leader. Petion was born here.

The Corn market is exceedingly well regulated ; business is transacted for ready money, and is. usually over in | hour. The measuring and selling of the grain, and receiving payment for it, are managedjby a corporation of women, *of [long standing, remark- able for their integrity, and implicitly trusted by the owners.

There is a public Library of 30,000 volumes and a Museum (?) in the town.

Diligences daily to Orleans and Rouen by Evreux (R. 50.). To Tours by Vendome (R. 54.) — to Nantes.

The little village Bretigny, 6 m. from Chartres, gives its name to the celebrated Treaty of peace signed 1360 between France and England, by which Edward III. renounced his claim to the throne of France, and released the French king, John, taken prisoner at Poitiers, upon payment I of a vast ransom, and delivery of numerous hostages. A violent storm which fell upon Edward and his army near Chartres, and “ reminded him of the day of judgment,” caused him to make a vow (looking towards

the towers of the cathedral), that he would give peace to France, and led to this important treaty.

The journey from Chartres is con- tinued through the monotonous but fertile and well-cultivated corn plain of La Beauce to

19 Courville, 3 m. S. of which is the Chateau de Villebon, where the illustrious Sully died. It is a square j building of brick, with towers at the j angles, and not many years ago re- i tained its ancient furniture, even to the bed on which the great minister expired. The Eure is crossed for the last time by the road near Courville; it rises about 15 m. to the N. of the road.

18 Montlandon. Here the fertile j Beauce terminates, and the country

becomes hilly.

19 Nogent le Rotrou, a town of 7,070 inhabitants, contains a ruined Castle, the residence of Sully, and his Monument in the) chapel of the Hotel Dieu founded by him. It bears the marble statues of himself and his wife by Boudin, 1642, and a long inscrip- tion at the back : it escaped the fury of the Revolution, but the grave itself was violated, and the bones disinterred and scattered. The word Nogent is an abbreviation of the Latin Novi- gentium ; Rotrou was the name of a count of Perche, in which district it is situated. The river produces craw- fish in great abundance. (Inn : St.

| Jaques. ) The road follows the direc- tion of the Huisne river from Nogent nearly to Le Mans.

22 Ferte Bernard is a prettily situated town in the department Sarthe skirted by the road. Within it the Parish Church is an interesting Gothic building, having a richly sculptured external gallery with the I w'ords “ Salve Regina,” cut in stone, and 3 chapels from the vaulted roofs of which hang stone pendants.

19 Connerre. Near this is a large Dolmen, or Druidic monument of rude stone slabs, like Kits Coity house in Kent. (§ 4.)

H 6

156

Route 46 . — Le Mans.

Sect. II.

10 St. Mars la Bruyere indicates by its name the desolate sandy heaths in the midst of which it is situated.

15 Le Mans (Inn: Le Dauphin), once capital of the province of Le Haut Maine, now chef lieu of the Dept. La Sarthe, is situated on the 1. bank of the river Sarthe, a little above the junction of the Huisne, and has 20,000 inhab.

The principal edifice is the Cathe- dral of St. Julien, which is well de- serving of attention. It is in two styles; the Nave Romanesque, though with pointed arches, dates probably from the 12th century, but its side aisles and walls and the plain W. front are not later than the 1 1 th, perhaps much earlier. Indeed, the external masonry of the side walls, resembling Roman constructions, is probably part of the original church founded in the 8th or 9th century. Above the W. door are portions of reticulated masonry, and an ancient bust of a king or bishop ; on each side are figures supposed to represent the 2 signs of the zodiac, Capricorn and Sagittarius.

On the S. side is a very richly cai'ved Romanesque doorway — a round arch preceded by a pointed porch flanked by statues of kings and saints, resembling the W. door at Chartres, and with angels in the vault. It is much mutilated unfor- tunately.

The Choir is a beautiful production of the 13th century, the period of perfection in pointed Gothic archi- tecture. It is surrounded by ] 1 chapels, and its windows are filled with beautiful painted glass, little in- ferior to that of Chartres, except in preservation. In the transept is a fine rose window, together with much stained glass, of the 14th or 15th century, a date rather more modern than that of the choir.

This church contains the monu- ments of Berengaria of Sicily, Queen of Richard Coeur de Lion, brought from the Abbey of Epau and much

defaced ; of Charles of Anjou ; and of Langeay du Bel lay, distinguished as a soldier and as a writer in the reigns of Francis I. and Henri II. The last is attributed to Germain Pilon ; the arabesques and bas-reliefs in marble are well worthy of attention.

An undressed block of silicious sandstone, standing on one end, has been incoi'porated into the wall of the church on the outside ; it is supposed to be a Druidic stone.

The Church of Notre Dame du Pre is probably of the 11th century.

Ndtre Dame de la Couture (de cultura Dei) has a very old choir, supposed to have been begun 990 ; both arches and vaulting are round and of rude construction: it has a very elegant por- tal, adorned with sculptui'e of con- siderable merit. The conventual buildings to which it was originally attached are now the Prefecture , but contain besides, the Library and a Mu- seum , partly devoted to natural history, partly to paintings of a very inferior order, but possessing one curiosity at least, viz. a portrait of Geoffroi Plan- tagenet enamelled on copper, a very early specimen of that class of art : it was anciently placed in the cathedral where he was buried. There are also many objects of Roman antiquity found in Mans and the neighbourhood, at Alonnes pottery, &c. St. Pierre is supposed to be the oldest church here, that is to say, the lower part of its walls.

The Seminaire, originally the Abbaye de St. Vincent, has a noble facade and a fine staircase. There is a handsome Theatre.

Many specimens of ancient domestic architecture still remain here, especi- ally in the Grande Hue. Nos. 7. 10. j and 12. deserve attention; the last is I known as the house of Queen Beren- garia, but appears not to be older than the 15th century. It contains a chimney piece adorned with bas-re- liefs. The house of Scarron (husband of Madame de Maintenon) is pointed out near the cathedral. The vestiges

Brittany. Route 46. — Paris to Nantes — La Fleche. 157

of the Roman rule at le Mans are not considerable : the chief are the re- mains of 3 subterranean aqueducts, by which the city was supplied with water from a distance. A portion of them may be seen in a cellar of the Rue Gcurdaine. Fragments of the Roman town walls still exist ; but all traces of an amphitheatre, discovered in the last century, have been swept away.

Le Mans was the birthplace of Henry (II.) Fitz-Empress, the first of the Plantagenet kings of England; a name derived from the plant or sprig of broom (genet), the abundant production of his native province An- jou and Maine, which his father, Geoffroi, used to wear in his cap.

A great trade is carried on here in clover seed, which is sent over in large quantities to England. The chief article of manufacture is wax candles. Le Mans is also famed for poultry: its poulards and chapons

supply the markets of Paris.

Le Mans witnessed the ruin and final dispersion of the Vendean army in 1793. Worn out by the disastrous fatigues of a six months’ campaign, they were here assaulted by the Re- publican forces under Mavceau’s com- mand. Most obstinate was the re- sistance made by the Royalists in the streets and great square of the town before they were finally expelled, with their leader, Larochejaquelin, who was wounded in the action. Then ensued the most fearful carnage, not only of the' Vendean soldiery, but of their miserable wives and children, who accompanied them. By the joint exercise of cannonades of grape, and platoons of musquetry, discharged upon the defenceless crowd, under the order of the commissioners of the Convention, upwards of 10,000 per- sons were slaughtered on that occasion .

Conveyances daily to Caen by Aleiu^on and to Tours (R. 29.).

The road, on quitting Le Mans, crosses the Huisne just before it falls into the Sarthe, and then runs along the 1. bank of that river as far as

16 Guecelard. On the outskirts of Le Mans, not far from the bridge over the Huisne, the buffoon Scarron threw himself into the river, to conceal himself from the pursuit and taunts of the mob, whose derision he had excited by parading the streets during the Carnival tarred and feathered, by way of masquerading. The result of this frolic, so little becoming his position as canon“of the cathedral, was, that he caught a rheumatism in his limbs which rendered him a crip- ple for life.

Maize begins to grow to the S. of Le Mans, but nowhere to the N. of that place.

7 Fouletourte.

The road descends into the pretty valley of the Loir ( N.B . not to be confounded with the Loire), a little before it reaches

19 La Fleche (Inn: La Poste), a town of 6,500 inhab., prettily situated in a country where vineyards begin to be cultivated with advantage. The large edifice, now the Ecole Militaire, was built by Henri IV. as a Jesuits’ College, 1603, but turned into its present destination by Napoleon. The heart of Henri is still preserved in the church. The Church of St. Tho- mas is a heavy Romanesque edifice.

20 m. N.W. of La Fleche is Sable (Inn: Croix Verte, comfortable and moderate), a beautiful little town on the Sarthe, with a Chateau built by M. de Torcy, minister of Finance in the reign of Louis XII., and nephew of Colbert, still in the Torcy family. Near Sable are immense marble quarries. Coal is worked at la Ragotene.” — L. About a mile beyond Sable, is the Abbey of Solesmes, recently purchased and re- occupied by a society of Benedictine monks, who devote themselves to study in this picturesque retreat. The church is remarkable for 4 groups of statues called Les Saints de Solesmes enclosed in niches, each surrounded by a rich framework of architecture and sculp- ture, in a style of Gothic approach

158 Route 46. — Angers — The Castle. Sect. II.

ing to the renaissance. The groups of statuary represent, 1. The Entomb- ment of our Saviour ; the head of Christ, and the figure of the Magdalen, are particularly well executed. Above the recess rises an ogee arch decorated with the richest foliage of thistles and mallows. It bears the date 1496.

2. Christ disputing with the Doctors ; the figures, in the dress of the 15th century, are somewhat coarse, re- minding one of a Dutch painting.

3. On the 1. of the choir, the Com- munion of the Virgin. 4. Death of the Virgin ; — in the N. transept. These sculptures have been variously at- tributed to Italian artists, and to the Frenchman Germain Pilon, but with- out authority. An altar in the S. transept has been lately fitted up with fragments of other statuary found among the ruins of the abbey. The stalls in the choir, carved with the genealogy of Christ, are worth no- tice.

The road to Angers follows the valley of the Loir downwards, run- ning at the foot of gentle hills covered with vineyards.

13 Duretal is a town of 1,500 in- hab., overlooked by two picturesque embattled tow ers, part of a Castle built by Foulques Nera Comte d’Anjou. ~

14 Suette.

The Loir now bends away from the road to the W., and 6 m. below this falls into the Sarthe.

On approaching Angers the road passes near some of the vast quarries of slate which form a principal pro- duction of the district.

1 9 Angers. — - Inns : Hotel de

Londres, on the quai opposite the landing-place of the steamers, best; Cheval Blanc.

Angers, chef lieu of the Dept. Maine et Loire, is situated on the Maine, called Mayenne, in the up- per part of its course, a little below the junction of the Sarthe with it and about 5 m. above the influx of the Maine into the Loire. It has 33,000 inhab. Modern improvements, the

formation of a broad quay along the 1. bank of the river, the substitution of tall, regular, white stone houses, like those of the Rue Rivoli, for the old gable-faced cottage-built struc- tures, have greatly innovated upon the thoroughly antique character which Angers previously bore. A broad formal boulevard, planted with young trees, replaces the old forti- fications, —

“ The flinty ribs of this contemptuous town ; ”

. . . “ those sleeping stones,

That as a waist did girdle it about,

By this time from their fixed beds of lime Have been dishabited.”

King John.

The “ strong barred gates ” are all down, and only one tower remains near the upper bridge of those “saucy walls.” Black Angers, as it was called from the sombre hue of its buildings of slate, is now like an old coat with a modern trimming: but plunge into the midst of its labyrinth of buildings, scale its steep and nar- row streets, many of them inacces- sible to wheel carriages, and you will find traces enough of the Angers of olden time, the capital of Anjou, and residence of its dukes. In few towns of France will the antiquary, artist, or architect find a greater number of interesting antique churches and houses than here.

Most of the old houses are timber- framed, their fronts gable -faced, the roofs, and often fronts, covered with scales of slate, Avhich abounds in the neighbourhood and forms the com- mon building stone, and many of the door and corner posts, the joists and cornices, bear rich Gothic carvings. The most venerable relic of antiquity is the old Castle , at the water side, close to the new suspension bridge. Its walls were originally washed by the waters of the Maine, until its moat was partly filled to give place to the new quay. If its size and pre- servation be jointly considered, it is perhaps the finest feudal castle in France. Seventeen colossal towers

Brittany.

159

Route 46 . — A7igers — Cathedral.

surround it ; they are 70 to 80 ft. high, close set along the walls, shaped like dice boxes, thick below, narrow waisted and having bands of white stone let into the black rough slate of which they are built, so as to give them the appearance of being hooped. A broad and deep ditch isolates the castle from the rest of the town ; it is entered by a massive gateway un- der a perfect portcullis, and within its portal is the furnace where lead and pitch were melted for the benefit of invaders. This castle was begun by Philippe Auguste, and completed by Louis IX. It serves at present for a prison, barrack, and depot of powder. The part which served as a palace of the dukes of Anjou, overlooking the river, is now in ruins, but shows the architecture of the renaissance. It stood between the high tower called Du Moulin, because it once supported a windmill, and that called Du Diable, because close to it was the fearful Oub- liette, down which criminals were cast alive. From this tower there is a capi- tal view of the town, its spires and other buildings, of the river and its bridges ; while a slight glimpse of the Loire also, deep set in its distant valley, may be gained. There is a neat chapel, now filled with fire-arms, showing, in the delicate tracery of its windows, a good example of Gothic. Beside it is a small building flanked with tur- rets in which, it is said, King Rene of Provence and Anjou was born. The view from the terrace outside the castle- gate is less extensive but nearly as good as that from within the walls, and on the whole the castle is more imposing from without than inter- esting within. On one side of the open space surrounding the castle stands a handsome modern building originally V Academie d' Equitation. Mr. Pitt (afterwards Lord Chatham) and the Duke of Wellington received part of their education at the military college here, now removed to Saumur, which occupied this edifice, still called L'A- cademie. It has been converted since

the Revolution into a caserne de Cavalerie and depot de la Remonte. No trace or tradition is preserved of either of these great men, of whose education it may be said, “ fas est et ab hoste doceri.”

The Cathedral of St. Maurice is every where conspicuous from its ele- vated position and its twin towers, placed so close together as to seem thrown into one. The very delicate spire on one side is injured by the contiguous ugly pavilion, an addition of the Renaissance (1540). The W. portal, a work of the 12th cen- tury, is remarkable for the rich- ness and good preservation of the sculptures surrounding its elegant early-pointed arch ; they retain indeed even their colouring. On either side are 4 saints, male and female ; above, the curved niches are filled with smaller statues, angels, &c., while the tympanum is occupied by the Saviour, surrounded by the at- tributes of the 12 Apostles. The workmanship is good, the faces ex- pressive, the draperies elaborate, but the whole displays the stiff style of By- zantine art of the period. Higher up,

in a row of niches, are 8 statues of dukes of Anjou, later in date (15th century) and inferior in execution. On the 1. hand as you enter, passing from below the carved organ-loft, is an antique benitier of oblong form, in verde antique, supported on lions, a Byzantine work of the lower em- pire ; it was brought from the East, and presented to the church by King Rene. The church consists of a very long nave without aisles, each division of the side wall being a wide pointed arch resting on the ground without pillars, and an upper arch rising from engaged groups of pil- lars having Romanesque capitals, en- closing a pair of narrow circular- headed windows. The greater part of these windows, as well as those of the nave and choir, are filled with painted glass of the richest colour I and very old (13th century), forming

160 Route 46. — Angers — Museum — Prefecture. Sect. II.

one of the chief ornaments of the church. This and other churches in the Angevine style are destitute of triforium or clerestory. The choir and transepts are short, the E. end is multangular. Both transepts (1225) terminate with fine wheel windows, the other windows are pointed, and below these along the wall runs a rich pointed arcade. The nave is about 80 ft. high, and nearly 54 ft. wide, stone vaulted. Local historians lay great stress on its roof being support- ed without flying buttresses, but their place is supplied by huge clumsy square piers at least 8 feet by 10 square, and retaining the same thick- ness up to the roof, raised outside between each pair of windows and at the angles of the transepts, and thus the wonder is removed. Mar- gax-et of Anjou was buried in St. Maurice, but her tomb was destroyed at the Revolution.

Not far from the cathedral is the Musee, placed in a building erected by an intendant of the province, after- wards converted into the Seminaire, and added to in the time of Louis XIV. Its cloister and winding stair- case are curious examples of the latest Gothic style.

It contains a large collection of mediocre paintings, mostly of the modern French school. Among them is placed a Vase of antique Egyptian porphyry, brought by King Rene from the East, which for a long time passed for one of the water-pots used at the marriage feast at Cana. It bears 2 bearded masks carved on it, and is broken, which is not surprising considering its thinness. Here is a fine bust of Napoleon by Canova, in marble, condemned to be broken at the Restoration, but saved by being hid in a garret. One room is filled with casts from the works of the living French sculptor j David, given by him to his native town. His statues of Guttemberg, inventor of printing, for Strasburg, of General Foy in a Roman dress,

of Armand Carrel in loose pantaloons plaited round the waist, of the Greek girl at the tomb of Marco Botzaris ; his busts of Gothe, Hahneman the ho- moeopathist, and Jeremy Bentham, ap- pear best worth notice. He also | executed a series of medallion heads j of celebrated persons of the 1 9th cen- tury.

The museum of Natural History , si- tuated in the upper story of the build- ing, is reached by a corkscrew stair remarkable for its lightness, and its sin- gular groined roof. The collection is exceedingly well arranged and named. The geology of the department is illustrated in a series of specimens by themselves. Among a few antiquities is the crosier of Robert d’Arbrissal, founder of Fontevrault, found in that Abbey ; it bears a semi-pagan repre- sentation of St. Michael and the dragon, of gold (?) partly enamelled. The shoes of Joanne de Laval, 2d wife of King Rene, high-heeled and ornamented with open work ; also an aerolite, which fell in one of the fau- bourgs of Angers 18 22, ‘deserve atten- tion. The Library possesses some curious old MSS.

Not far from the musee is the ruined church of Toussaints, attached to a convent now converted into a Depot des Subsistances Militaires. It is an elegant pointed building, and almost identical in style with the early En- glish. It is a cross church without aisles, with lancet windows, richly cut capitals, and corbels, from which springs the roof destroyed at the Revolution. The E. window is a wheel, apparently of later date.

The massive and stately tower of St. Aubin in the early pointed style, unfinished and surmounted with a conical roof of slate, is now converted into a shot tower.

A curious discovery was made some years ago at the Prefecture , viz. that along the corridor on the 1. hand, concealed by thick plaster, runs a colonnade of florid Norman archi- tecture, of very early date, and of

Brittany.

161

Route 46 . — Angers — St. Serge.

curious and elaborate workmanship. The small round arches rest alter- nately on piers faced with pilasters, and on detached pillars arranged in 2 rows, each 5 deep. All the pillars, cor- nices, andmouldings of the arches are most elaborate, sharply cut, very per- fect, and no two alike. The mould- ings running round the arches consist of bearded heads, monsters, animals, fish, &e. In the midst is a circular portal, the lower part of which is sunk rather below the surface of the ground, supported on cut columns of varied patterns, and surmounted by a series of Runic bands, cords and foliage, each confined to one stone, and radiating from a common centre. Next to this is a double arch ornamented with fresco paintings instead of sculpture, the sub- jects being Herod on his Throne, the Massacre of the Innocents, the Temple of Jerusalem, and the Nativity and Adoration of the Magi, who are seen on horseback approaching Bethlehem. The style of drawing bears a near resemblance to the tapestry of Bay- eux ; the colours are very perfect. These arches formed part of an early church and convent of St. Aubin, of which the prefecture occupies the site.

The old Eglise de St. Martin, now converted into a magazine of fagots, and piled up to the roof with them, so as to be scarcely visible, will yet interest the antiquary from its age and style of structure. It is in the early Romanesque style, consists of an inordinately long nave, of a tran- sept — having thick round pillars set in the 4 inner angles of the walls which supported the tower, and of an i apsidal E. end. Its windows are round headed and long. It is the oldest church in Angers, and one of the few churches in France whose | origin can with probability be re- ferred to the period of the Carlovingian kings. The nave and transept, ex- clusive of certain repairs, appear to be part of the church founded in the 9th century bv Hermengarde Queen of

Louis le Debonnaire, who died 819. The choir is later, probably of the 12th century.

At the extremity of the town to the N. is the Church of St. Serge, re- markable for a choir supported on 6 columns of peculiar lightness and | height, from whose freely cut capitals rises an elegant pointed roof ; behind I it is a square Lady Chapel. The style I indicates the transition from Roman- I esque to early pointed. The windows [ are without tracery, i for the most | part round headed, enclosed within pointed arches. The transepts seem of a much older date than the choir; the nave is in the late Gothic of the 15th century.

Here is a finely carved spiral stair- case of wood ; every panel contains a different sculpture and composi- tion.

In the same quarter of the town is the Jardin des Plantes, an agreeable walk in hot weather under shady trees, near to the Seminaire, a vast edifice.

Among the more interesting spe- cimens of ancient domestic architec- ture, with which the streets of Angers abound, may be mentioned a corner I house, in the Place behind the cathe- dral, adorned with curious carvings in wood ; that called Hotel des Marchands in the Rue Baudriere, and another in the Rue du Figuier known as the Hotel des Dues d' Anjou, for what rea- son is not evident, since Rene, the last Duke of Anjou, died 1480, and this building cannot be older than the 16th century, and is in the style of Francis I.’s time, with more of Italian than of Gothic in the composition of its architecture. The square turrets, or projecting oriels, at its angles are singular.

In the suburb of Doutre (beyond, or on the further (or rt. ) bank of the Maine) are several buildings deserving notice for their antiquity. The Eglise de la Trinite is a Roman- esque building probably of the Uth and 12th centuries. It consists of a

162 R. 46. — Angers — Hospice — Slate Quarries . Sect. II.

long nave without aisles, having in the side walls a series of apsidal recesses under pointed arches. The choir very shallow, and formed of a central and 2 side apses, is separated from the nave by a wall pierced with a pointed arch, which contracts the view of thfe high altar, but serves as a support to the Tower , which is square below, oc- tagonal above, and very elegant.

Close to this church, indeed touch- ing it, is a second equally ancient and in a nearly similar style, V Eglise de Ronceray, once attached to an ex- tensive nunnery, now converted into the Ecole des Arts et Metiers. The church serves as a chapel for the students ; it is very plain and con- siderably modernized, g

On the same side of the river, a little higher up is the Hospice St. Jean, founded by Henry II. King of England, and duke of Anjou, 1153. The great hall, said to be of that date, is a fine apartment, lofty and airy, its groined and pointed roof supported on 2 rows of light pillars. Here the beds of the patients are ranged in rows, the males separated from the females by a low partition. The office of nurses is performed by nuns ; the whole is kept very orderly, the linen-closet particularly neat. The cloisters between the great hall and the church are partly in the Roman- esque style ; double pillars support the arches ; a round portal with deep mouldings leads into the Chapel. A decayed barn near the hospital is still older than it.

At the opposite extremity of the Suburb Doutre, below the suspension bridge, near the Nantes road, is the vast Nunnery au Bon Pasteur, sur- rounded by high walls. The sisters keep a school for females.

Very extensive Boulevards, planted with trees and lined with some very handsome houses, the Mairie, & c., occupy the site of the old walls, and communicate with a wide open space for the exercise of troops, called Champ de Mars, traversed by the road to Sau-

mur. Some of the houses about it bore until lately the marks of bullets fired in the attack of Angers by the Ven- dean army, 90,000 strong, 1793.

The forces of King John laid waste Brittany in 1199, and to that period we must refer the scene in Shakespeare “ Before the walls of Angiers,” where the citizens "are summoned by both the rival kings, — “Yemen of An- giers, open wide your gates.”

Angers occupies a fortunate posi- tion near the mouth of 3 navigable rivers, in a country producing lime, coal, and slate.

Angers is famed for its nursery gardens ; there are not less than 30.

The neighbourhood abounds in Slate Quarries, which employ between 2,000 and 3,000 men, and supply a large part of France. They furnish 80 millions of slates yearly, which are exported, to the value of li millions of francs per annum.

The most considerable, Le Grand Carreau , is about 4 m. off, a little to the 1 of the road to Saumur. It is nearly 400 ft. (105 metres) deep, and occupies an area of 4,000 metres. Be- sides the yawning open excavation, a considerable cavern, approached by a horizontal gallery on one side of the quarry, has been driven under ground. It is approached by vertical ladders, and frail extracting machinery over- hangs the precipice. At times serious slips, or eboulements, produce very dangerous avalanches of rock.

There are 2 steamers daily to Nantes, and 1 to Tours and Orleans, making the circuit of the tongue of land which separates the Mayenne from the Loire. (See R. 58. p. 208.)

Diligences daily to Paris by Le Mans (R. 46.); to Paris by Tours; to Nantes ; to Chartres ; to Saumur.

The direct distance from Angers to the Loire at Pont de Ce is about 5 m., and 5. m. beyond the river is the in- teresting Chateaude Brissac( p. 208).

The road to Nantes quits Angers by the Suburb Doutre, and leaving

Brittany.

Route 46 . — Nantes — Cathedral.

163

the Mayenne on the J. hand, reaches the Loire at

1 7 St. George sur Loire.

8 Champtoce.

13 Varades. described in

13 Ancenis. > Route 58. p.

9 Oudon. 207.

1 5 La Seilleraye. __

14 Nantes. — Inns: H. de France, in the Place Graslin, close to the theatre, best, but has only male at- tendants ; H. de Bretagne, much praised ; IL. des Voyageurs, Rue Moliere ; H. du Commerce.

Nantes, the ancient residence of the dukes of Brittany, when that province was independent ; which disputed with Rennes the title of capital of the duchy, now chef lieu of the depart- ment of the Loire Inferieure, is situ- ated on the 1. bank of the Loire, at the influx into it from the N. of the Erdre ; the junction of the two rivers being in the middle of the town. The Sevre (Nantaise) from the S. flows into the Loire a little below Nantes. There are at least 16 bridges in the town over these various streams. It is distant about 40 m. from the ocean, and is a flourishing seaport, the fourth in rank and population in France, numbering 77,992 inhabitants; and, though less prosperous since the loss of St. Domingo to France, and of late outstripped by Havre as a port, it has remained nearly stationary in population and commercial prosperity for the last 50 years ; it is still the seat of much respectable opulence and active industry. As a town, it is one of the handsomest and most pleasing in France. Its fine Quais, extending about 2 m. along the Loire, and on both sides of the Erdre, and the wide open space left by these two rivers, enlivened with small craft, remind the traveller somewhat of the busy aquatic towns of Holland, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and give a very cheerful character to Nantes, which is, besides, far less dirty than most French towns. In the new i quarters, it has streets lined with j

houses not unworthy of Paris. The Place Royale and Rue d’ Orleans contain the chief shops, while the old quarters, belonging to the capital of the ancient duchy, abound in pic- turesque houses, gable-faced and over- hanging the narrow streets. Those who admire and would seek out pic- turesque bits of street architecture, now fast disappearing even from the old town under modern improvements, must penetrate the Rues de la Pois- sonnerie, where the house “ aux Enfans Nantais,” so called from the carved figures of the martyrs St. Donatien and St. Rogatien, at the corner of the Place du Change, deserves par- ticular notice : it dates from the 15th century. There are other old houses in the Rues du Calvaire and de la Juiverie. In the Rue de la Boucherie is a house said to have been inhabited by Anne of Brittany.

The most prominent and remark- able edifice is the Cathedral of St. Pierre, externally an unsightly pile, from the unfinished towers not rising much higher than the roof. The three lofty portals of its W. front, however, are striking for size and the great number of small bas-reliefs and other sculptures adorning them. It was begun 1434, and finished about the end of the century. The nave, of the same age, is very imposing on account of the great elevation of its roof, 120 ft. above the pavement, and the elegance of its arches, but its windows are destitute of tracery. The modern wood carving in some of the side chapels, and the stone- work of the organ loft decorated with pendants, a delicate work of the 16th century, deserve notice. Attached to this noble nave is a plain Romanesque choir, inferior in height and plain in style, probably of the 11th century: it was already enclosed in new walls, corresponding with the nave, preparatory to pulling down the old structure, when the works were stopped for want of funds near the latter end of the 15th cen-

164

Route 46. — Nantes — Corns - — Chateau.

Sect. II.

tury. The solitary transept on the S. side, which had been alone com- pleted, is now partitioned off, and serves to contain the splendid Monu- ment, removed from the suppressed Carmelite convent, of Francis II., last due de Bretagne, and his wife, Marguerite de Foix, raised to their memory by his daughter, Anne of Brittany. It is ' a splendid work of art in the style of the Renaissance, executed by a Bas Breton artist, Mi- chel Colornb, a native of St. Pol de Peon, who preceded Jean Goujon. It was fortunately secreted at the Revolution, and thus preserved from destruction. It is a raised altar tomb of marble, black, white, and red, raised to a height of 5 ft. Upon it repose the recumbent figures of Fran- cis and his wife ; thi*ee angels support their heads, and their feet rest on a lion and greyhound. In the four corners stand statues as large as life in white marble; of Justice, with sword and scales, said to be a portrait of the Duchess Anne ; of Power, strangling a dragon (heresy), which she draws out of a tower ; she is attired with helmet and breastplate, and has a scarf wound round her arm ; Wisdom bears a mirror and a compass, and Prudence, double-faced, holds a lanthorn in one hand and a bit in the other, as attributes. These statues are well designed, and exe- cuted with great delicacy, which is particularly conspicuous in the dra- peries. Along the sides of the tomb, small statues of the 12 Apostles are ranged in niches, and below them are figures of mourners in coloured mar- ble. The patron saints of the Duke and Duchess, St. Francis d’ Assisi and St. Margaret, stand at their head, St. Louis and Charlemagne at their feet. The remains of the illustrious dead, for whom this splendid tomb was raised, having been torn up and scat- tered in 1793, the body of the Con- stable de Richemont, one of the generals who contributed to drive the English out of France in the reign

of Charles VII., was deposited within it in 1815. The N. transept and the choir of this church are in progress of completion, to correspond with the nave, and it is proposed to pull down the old choir.

Beyond the cathedral, a broad and much frequented promenade, occupy- ing the site of the old fortifications, and forming a sort of boulevard, ex- tends from the Loire to the Erdre, under the names Cours St. Pierre and Cours St. Andre. The former is ap- proached by a broad and stately flight of steps from the Loire, and is orna- mented with statues of the Duchess Anne and of the three Breton heroes, — the constables Du Guesclin, Clis- son, and De Richemont. Between the two walks stands a Column raised to the memory of Louis XVI., and sur- mounted by his statue ; but since 1830, made to commemorate a com- bat between some young men of the town with the troops of the line, in which 10 of the former were killed, during the July Revolution. The brass plate which records this, states that “ Des ouvriers Anglais ont fait graver cette inscription.” ’Tis a pity English workmen cannot mind their own business without meddling with the politics of a foreign country.

The Castle (chateau), a massive and venerable edifice of the 14tli cen- tury, partly modernised in the 16th by the Due de Mercceur during the wars of the League, flanked with bastions, still bearing on them the cross of Lorraine, stands at the extremity of the Cours St. Pierre, on the margin of the Loire, surrounded on the land side by a deep fosse. Its massive round towers are built of slate and granite : a portcullis still defends its entrance, and the interior contains several constructions of the 16th cen- tury in the latest Gothic; the windows surmounted with canopies. In one is a curious spiral staircase. Most of the kings of France, from Charles VIII. downwards, resided for a time within its walls. The powder maga-

Brittany.

Route 46 . — Nantes — Museum.

165

zine is said to have been the Chapel . in which Anne of Brittany was mar- j ried to Louis XI I. (?), thus becoming, , for the second time, queen of France. She certainly was born here, and made the castle her residence. In this castle Henri IV. signed the Edict of \ Nantes for the protection of the Pro- testants in 1598, revoked to the injury j and stain of France by Louis XIV.

In 1654 it was the prison of the J Cardinal de Retz, who escaped by | letting himself down by a rope from the bastion de Mercoeur, into a boat j moored in the Loire, which at that time, and until the present quai was formed, washed the castle walls. The attention of the sentinel meanwhile was taken off by giving him a bottle of wine to drink, and his eye was de- ceived by the cardinal’s red cloak and hat slipped off and hung over the battlements. De Retz reaching the shore by means of the boat, instantly mounted a horse provided for him by his friends, which, however, quickly threw him and dislocated his shoul- der. In spite of the accident and the pain it caused, he rode on to a place of safety, the Chateau de Beaupreau, whence he effected his escape through Spain to Rome. Madame de Sevigne describes her visit to the castle in 1648, shortly after, and the Duchess de Berri was shut up in it previous to her removal to Blaye. That ad- venturous Princess, after having long encouraged disaffection and ferment- ation in Brittany and la Vendee, was finally detected in concealment, Nov. 1832, in the house No. 3. Rue Haute du Chateau , facing the castle, which belonged to 2 ladies, zealous partizans of the Bourbon cause. Her presence in this house had been betrayed to the government by a Jew, named Deutz, previously a confidant of the du- ehcss and her friends, and a party cf soldiers and police were despatched thither instantly. They searched the whole building from top to bottom, but found her not. Con- fiding, however, in their information,

a party of soldiers was left behind, to keep watch. Some of them, posted in a garret, remained a whole day beside a fire which they had lighted, when on a sudden they were startled by voices and the sound of kicks, proceeding from the back of the chim- ney, and out scrambled 3 persons, greatly to the surprise of the soldiers. These were the duchess and two com- panions, who had passed 12 hours in a secret hole or hiding place under the sloping roof, entered by a door 20 inches wide, and too low for a man to stand upright in. Not only this oppressive confinement, but even the heat of the fire were endured patiently, and without the slightest noise, until they were nearly suffocated, and the duchess’s dress, entirely scorched by the iron door being heated red hot, was on the point of catching fire.

Nantes possesses a Museum of Paint- ings, rather above the average of pro- vincial collections, though a large portion are copies ; situated in the upper part of the Cloth Hall, Rue de T Arche- Seche. The greater part were collected by one M. Cacault, of this town. Among the curiosities may be specified a head of a Crusader painted by Canova ; — an old church painting of a Holy Family, on two shutters; a head of Christ brought from the cathedral ; portrait of Queen Eli- zabeth (? artist unknown) ; portraits of the children of Henri II., by Janet ; a Bull, by Brasscapat, a mo- dern artist, good. Here is a copy of Napoleon’s bust by Canova.

Travellers who have leisure to de- vote any time to a Library, will find that of Nantes, above the Halle aux Grains, Quai Brancas, an especially rich collection of 30,000 volumes. A MS. copy of the Cite de Dieu of St. Augustin, of the year 1375, is re- markable for its beautiful miniatures.

The Archives, deposited in the Prefecture, contain a mass of curious I documents relating to the history of 1 Brittany ; many ancient charters | of Abbies, &c., and the trial of that

166

Sect. IL

Route 4 - 6 . — Nantes — Salorges.

most infamous of criminals, Gilles de Retz, Marechal de France, who was burnt on the Chaussee de la Made- leine (R. 58.). It is in Latin, and will not bear translation.

In the Musee d’Histoire Naturelle, Rue du Port Communeau, may be seen a collection illustrating the geology of the department, formed by the late M. Dubuisson ; besides several fragments of antiquity found in the neighbourhood, and a mummy, presented by the Egyptian traveller, Caillaud, who is a native of Nantes.

A handsome Arcade called Passage Pommeraye leads by a flight of iron steps from the Rue Crebillon to the Rue de la Fosse.

The Quais, lined on the one side by handsome houses, and on the other fringed with shipping, present a lively scene, and form an agreeable walk about 2 m. long (at least in the lower part, where they are gravelled). An Englishman, in traversing them, may remember with some interest that it was at this port that the young Pretender embarked on the expedition of 1745, in a fast-sailing brig, the Doutelle, provided by one Walsh, a French subject settled at Nantes, who accompanied him. He was disguised as a student of the Scotch college at Paris, and for better concealment had allowed his beard to grow. On the quais are situated the Halle aux Grains and the Bourse, which is not remark- able for excellence of architecture. The Quai de la Fosse is lined by a fine row of trees, reminding one a little of the Boompjes of Rotterdam. Near its lower end, where the ship builders’ yards commence, in which the steamers for the Loire are con- structed, is a building, insignificant in itself, but remarkable for its associa- tions, and they are melancholy, called Salorges, built as an entrepot for colo- nial merchandise, and still serving as a warehouse. Who has not heard of the Noyades and Republican mar- riages ; the invention of Carrier, the most detestable, perhaps, of the mon-

sters of the Revolution, when sated with single murders by the guillotine, and thirsting for more blood, and the excitement of executions on a large scale ? It was in front of the Salorges that they took place, and that building served as a temporary place of con- finement for the miserable victims, who were dragged hence and put on board barges (gabarres) furnished with a sliding valve (sou-pape) or trap door in their bottom. These boats, when towed into the middle of the river, and deserted by the crews, were sunk with their load of 20 or 30 human beings, by pulling from the shore a cord attached to the valve. To prevent the possibility of escape for the strong swimmer, or poor wretch who might be cast ashore alive by the current, armed men of the bloody band called Compagnie de Marat, composed of the most aban- doned wretches whom the lowest dens in Nantes could pour forth, were sta- tioned on the banks to fire on those who rose to the surface, while others, armed with swords, cut off the hands and fingers of such as struggled to reach the boats. As many as 600 human beings perished on one day ; the total number of persons thus destroyed has never been correctly ascertained, but 25 of these Noyades or executions by water are known to have taken place, and the number who perished has been variously estimated at 6,000 or 9,000 ! At first, the wholesale butchery was perpetrated at night, but, emboldened by impunity, and supported by a por- tion of the citizens, almost exclusively of the class of little tradesmen, the tyrants did not hesitate to immolate their victims in broad day. The most atrocious feature in these massacres is the number of women and of young children, who were thus con- signed to eternity, without the pos- sibility of having committed any of- fence, by the exulting savages who then ruled the people’s destinies. When a remonstrance was made against the murder of the children.

Brittany.

167

Route 46 . — Nantes — Nouades.

“ Ce sont des Louvetaux, il faut les detruire, — Ce sont des viperes, il faut les ^touffer,” were Carrier’s answers. The experiment of the Noyades was first tried on 24 priests condemned to transportation (deportation). “ Le decret de deportation fut execute ver- tiealement,” was Carrier’s boast. The marriages Republicans, as another refinement of cruelty was called in mockery, consisted in binding toge- ther a man and woman, back to back, stripped naked, keeping them exposed for an hour, and then hurling them into the current of “ la Baignoire Na- tional, ” as the bloodhounds termed the Loire. That river, as it were in- dignant at crimes scarcely paralleled in the history of the world, threw back upon its banks, at each'returning tide, the corpses with which it was choked, until the air became pestilential, and its very water and fish poisonous. When Carrier was at length called to account for his crimes, which, how- ever, had been connived at, if not ap- proved by the Convention a short while before, and asked for proofs of the accusations against him, he was answered, “ Vous me demandez des i preuves ? faites done refluer la Loire.” But these are only a part of the Re- volutionary atrocities committed at Nantes : to the victims of the Noy- ades must be added those who perished by the guillotine, by disease, famine, and terror in the prisons, and, above all, by the fusillades, which took place day after day on the Plaine de Sainte Mauve, where, at one time, 500 chil- dren, the eldest not more than 14, were mowed down by musketry, and where deep ditches, dug for the pur- pose, were filled with corpses heaped confusedly one over the other. The population of Nantes, which amounted in 1790 to 81,000, was reduced to 7 5,000 in 1 800, and the number who were slaughtered in 1793 belonging to the town and surrounding country is estimated at 30,000. It is painful to describe these horrors, but they form an integral part of the history

of Nantes, and that which is here de- tailed is only a sample; they might be greatly expanded.

The Vendean war has also left some sad souvenirs at Nantes. In the attack of the town by the Vendean forces on the 29th June, 1793, their leader, the gentle Cathelineau (the carter), was mortally wounded in pe- netrating into the Place Viarme, now the cattle market, and his fall was the cause of their retreat. Not far from this spot another of their generals, Charette, was shot, at the corner of the Rue de la Misericorde, April 1796.

Fouche, the notorious police mi- nister, Due d’Otrante, and Marshal of France, was born at Nantes.

The new Quarter of the town, the West End of Nantes, was commenced | 1784 by M. Graslin, ancien fermier- | general, after whom the Place con- taining the theatre is called. He i seems to have exhausted the Biogra- I phie Universelle for names to the ad- I joining streets ; among them appear the Rue Jean Jacques, Rue Racine, Rue Franklin, Rue Crebillon, &c. The houses are built of white stone from the neighbourhood of Saumur.

The commerce of Nantes, though j no longer what it was, is still of great ! value ; in 1836 it was carried on by ! 458 vessels, but more than ^ of them were of less than 100 tons. Owing i to the want of water in the Loire i abreast of the town, vessels of more than 200 tons burthen are obliged to unload at Paimboeuf (p. 169.), 24 m. i lower down, near its mouth.

The importations consist of sugar,

| coffee, cotton, and other colonial j produce.

Nantes is gradually changing from I a commercial to a manufacturing ! town. The most considerable manu- ! facture is that of cotton yarn; in

1837 there were 16 mills in the vi-

cinity of the town.

A Canal is in progress to connect Nantes with Brest by the Erdre ; it ‘ will be about 230 m. long when j finished. There is a singular manu-

168

Route 46 . — Nantes — Steamers.

Sect. XL

facture here of preserved dinners ready j cooked (Conserves Alimentaires), i prepared by the firm Colin et Compie, j Rue de Salorgcs, No. 9., which sends forth, hermetically sealed, all kinds of provisions, so as to be capable of i perfect preservation in all climates, j and for any length of time. 150,000 j boxes of young peas and 800,000 ! boxes of sardines (pilchards) are em- balmed in one season, and 8 oxen can be cooked at once in a single boiler. Roasting is carried on by heated air, j and boiling by steam, in a kitchen roofed with glass, after the manner of the passage d’ Orleans in the Palais Royal. The proprietor of the esta- blishment employs in the autumn 800 persons in curing and packing sardines alone, and monopolizes all the green peas which come to market in early spring to supply his wants.

The suburb of Nantes on the S. side of the Loire is spread over a se- ries of islands, formed by the branches of that river and the Sevre, connected together by no less than 6 bridges in one line, over all of which the roads to Bordeaux and Clisson pass.

The Protestant Church is in the Rue des Carmelites, in the chapel of the former convent.

The Posts aux Lettres is in the Rue Boileau.

Prosper Sebire, bookseller, Place du Pilori, No. 5., has a number of views, plans, guides, &c. relating to Nantes, as well as maps.

Fiacres are found for hire in the principal squares.

Omnibuses (said to be a Nantais invention, transferred from this to Paris) run along the Ligne des Ponts from the Place du Commerce to the Pont de Permil, and along the quays from the Bourse to the Chantiers de Construction.

i Malleposte daily to Paris in 30 hours, j (R. 46.)

Diligences daily to Paris by Le Mans in 44 hours — 3; by Angers I and Tours, 54 hours (R. 58.); to j Brest, 2 — Rennes, 3 — Bordeaux, 4 — Poitiers, to Bourbon Vendee, 2.

Steamers. — Inexplosibles daily ascend the Loire, reaching Angers on the 1st evening, Tours on the 2nd, Orleans the 3d, starting from the Quai du Port Maillard. — The steamers of another company called Riverains, daily to Angers; down the Loire to Paimbceuf daily ; and to St. Nazaire when the high tides per- mit ; to Bordeaux, 3 times a month ; to L’ Orient and Quimper once a week.

Steamer on the Erdre to Nort starts from the Quai Ceneray, be- hind the Prefecture. (R. 41. )

Environs of Nantes.

The immediate vicinity of the town displays great marks of opulence and prosperity, in its numerous and neat white villas, many of them quite in the English style, and in the great number of factory chimneys, many of them new.

The excursion most commonly re- commended to a stranger is that to Clisson, the Richmond of Nantes, 1 8 m. S. of the town, on the borders of La Vendee, described in Route 60. It is a pretty spot, though its beauties have been considerably exaggerated by local enthusiasts. You may go thither by the omnibus in the morn- ing, visit the castle and all its curi- osities, and return by the same con- veyance at 7 p. m. But as this may leave the traveller a prey to ennui for several hours after exhausting thesights of Clisson, it is even possible to hire a cabriolet, and see Tiffauges, returning to Clisson in time for the omnibus.

The Loire below Nantes

Is navigated by steam vessels, but with caution, on account of the nu- merous sand banks.

L. a little below Nantes the Sevre Nantaise enters the Loire.

On the island of Indret, 7 m. below Nantes, the French government have a recently formed establishment con- sisting of a dockyard for building steamers, with forges for the construc- tion of steam-engines. More than 800 workmen are employed here, and great activity prevails. The steam engines turned out here are

Brittany.

169

Route 46 . — Nanteb. — Paimbceif

very capital, and France is thus be- I coming independent of England in the supply of these powerful auxilia- i ries of war or peace. Indret is well situated at the mouth of the Loire so as to have a speedy communication, safe from cruisers in time of war, with the great dockyards of Brest, L’ Orient, and Rochefort. The establishment j is not readily shown to Englishmen, j who after all will see here nothing I which cannot be as well seen at home.

The estuary of the Loire is 3 m. broad abreast of

L. Paimbo2uf(30m. below Nantes). This place may be regarded as the out-port of Nantes, since large vessels above 200 tons burthen stop here and

discharge their cargoes into lighters (gabarres). The loss of St. Domingo, and the long-continued wars under Napoleon, reduced the population of this town from 9,000 to 4,000, which it does not exceed at present.

2 steamers ply daily to Nantes in 4 hours. Coaches go hence to the watering place of Pornic, 12 m. S. of Paimbceuf, situated on the shore of the bay of Bourgneuf opposite the island of Noirmoutiers, the last retreat of the Vendean bands. Comfortable ac- commodation is to be had in the Etablissement des Bains. The town j was bui'nt in the Vendean war ; an old castle overlooks its little fishing I port.

France.

170

SECTION III.

ORLEANOIS. — TOUR AINE.— RIVER LOIRE. —LA VENDEE. — POITOU. — SAINTONGE.

ROUTE PAGE

48 Paris to Orleans - -172

49 Paris to Orleans ( Railway ) 178

50 Rouen to Orleans, by Char-

tres - - - - 180

52 The Loire (a). — Gien to

Orleans. - - - - 181

53 The Loire (b). - — Orleans

to Tours, by Blois and Am- boise. — The Chateaux of Chambord and Chenon- ceaux - - - - 182

54 Chartres to Tours, by Ven-

dome . . . .196

56 Tours to Loches and Cha-

teauroux . . . - 197

ROUTE PAGE

57 Tours to Saumur, by Chinon,

and Fontevrault . .199

58 The Loire (c). — Tours to

Nantes by Saumur and Angers .... 201 60 Nantes to Poitiers, by Clisson 211 62 N antes to B ordeaux , by Bour- bon Vendee, Rochelle, Roche- fort, and Saintes . .214

64 Tours to Bordeaux, by Poi-

tiers and Angouleme . . 220

65 Poitiers to Chateauroux, by

St. Savin. — Excursion to Montmorillon . . .228

66 Poitiers to Rochefort by Mori 229

INTRODUCTORY SKETCH OF THE COUNTRY.

Arrived on the borders of the Loire, which divides France nearly in the centre, the traveller already finds himself amidst sunny landscapes, under the influence of the more genial climate of the south. The provinces bordering on that great river, Touraine, Orleanois, Anjou, Poitou, have been styled “ the garden of France and the golden vineyards, the blooming orchards, the yellow corn-fields (especially those of La Beauce, the granary of France), and the acacia hedges, bear testimony to the facile bounty of nature. But little pains have been taken to improve her gifts ; an ornamental garden or pleasure ground is rarely seen ; the earth seems to bring forth abundantly with less than the average amount of pains-taking ; u c’est le pays de rire et de rien laire.” The Loire, which forms its chief feature, is decidedly inferior in beauty to the Seine. In Touraine its banks are flat and monotonous, and it is only after passing Tours that it becomes really picturesque. Near Saumur it is a romantic stream ; and from thence, with slight interruptions, nearly all the way to Nantes, the “ considerable boldness of its banks, the richness of the culture, the wooded islands, and the animation derived from the swelling canvas of active commerce, conspire to render it eminently beautiful ; but for the rest of its immense course it exhibits a stream of sand, and rolls shingles through the valley instead of water.” — A. Young. “ Quel torrent revolutionaire que cette Loire ! ” was the expression of Carrier, the most atrocious of the democrats; and the unbridled impetuosity of its course, its sudden inundations and changes of bed justify the epithet, and are as detrimental to the utility as to the beauty

Sect. III.

The Loire — Touraine — La Vendee.

171

of this main artery of France. In winter the Loire rages, and swells, and has too much water, just as in summer it has too little. Its broad shoals greatly disfigure the landscape ; its shallows and sandbanks render the passage of steamers intricate. Navigation is limited to very small vessels, and is fre- quently arrested in the dry months. The cave dwellings excavated in the cliffs of soft chalk (craie tufeau) along the river banks, and the long Levee or dyke which protects the right bank between Blois and Angers, a distance of 96 m., from inundations, will be remarked as peculiar features in the borders of the Loire. The descent of the Loire from Orleans to Nantes is productive of much interest, partly derived from its venerable cities, gloomy castles, and the great events in French history which have passed upon its banks.

These provinces of France, especially Touraine, were the chosen residence of her kings down to Louis XIV., and they afford a hundred sites pre- ferable to the sands and morasses of Versailles. The vast and castellated Chambord, bristling with turrets and pinnacles, studded with Diana’s cres- cent ; where the Emperor Charles V. was entertained by his good-natured enemy Francis I. ; the gloomy Blois, haunt of bigotry and scene of the deep- plotted assassination of the Guises; Amboise, the favourite abode of the warrior Charles VIII., and also witness to conspiracy and wholesale massacre; Che- nonceaux, the retreat of Diana of Poictiers ; Plessis, the den of the timorous bigot Louis IX. ; Chinon, where passed the careless revelry of the indolent Charles VII., and the opening scene of the wondrous career of “ the shep- herd girl of Domremy ; ” Fontevrault, the last resting-place of the lion- hearted Richard ; Loches, with its dungeon of sighs and tears, a provincial Bastille, contrasting with more agreeable recollections of the beauteous and gentle Agnes Sorel ; Dampierre, where Margaret of Anjou’s life and sorrows ceased ; and Nantes, which saw Henry IV. put his hand to the edict of toleration ; and, in later times, witnessed the heroism and frailty of a daughter of Bourbon, his descendant ; — all these are national monuments ; integral portions, as it were, of French History. It is a region of interesting asso- ciations and recollections: here Joan of Arc first unfurled her victorious banner; here the chief events of the contests of religion in the sixteenth century occurred ; this soil is watered with the blood of Guise and Conde, the fields of La Vendee are fattened with the unburied bones of the thousands who fell in the cause of loyalty, and in opposition to revolution and irreligion.

All the places above-named or alluded to well deserve to be visited by the traveller. Orleans, though retaining few traces or relics of the Maid ; Blois and Amboise; Tours, a fine city, though seated on a flat, amidst dust and glare ; Saumur, once the stronghold of Protestantism ; Loches, for its archi- tectural remains and historical souvenirs, and pleasing situation in the charm- ing valley of the Indre ; black Angers, cradle of our early Plantagenet monarchs, all abound in specimens of ancient architecture, all possess more or less claims to attention. Chenonceaux is a charming specimen of the old French chateau, with turrets and extinguisher towers ; without, all crinkum crankum, and within, lined with tapestry and armour ; preserved unimpaired, and well kept up. Aizy le Rideau is nearly as perfect and beautiful, but with less interesting associations.

S. of Nantes, between the Loire, the Sea, and the Sevre Niortaise, lies La Vendee, celebrated in the history of the wars of the Revolution for its adhesion to royalty and opposition to innovation. The framework or founda- tion of the country is composed of the elevated plateau of the Gatine, whose crest is in no wise distinguishable, and which presents a series of hills, fur- rowed by narrow glens or valleys, through which run a few muddy streams.

172

Route 48. — Paris to Orleans.

Sect. III.

“ It is an inextricable complication of heaths, brooks, heights, hollows, and little plains having no connection with one another, and apparently no general water -shed. It is covered with trees, yet has no forests ; every field, every dwelling is surrounded by quick hedges, abounding with close-set trees, and surrounded by ditches, forming complete natural redoubts. The lines of communication from place to place are hollow ways, cut so deep below the surface of the ground that a man’s head in walking along them will not appear above it, and their vertical sides are surmounted by hedges. They are narrow, shady, and muddy or rutty according to the season, and intersect one another so as to form a multitude of crossways, looking all like one another. There are few high roads ; no large towns ; the villages are scattered and thinly inhabited ; estates very much subdivided ; houses con- cealed by trees and bushes, and a peasantry of primitive and rude man- ners : these are the combination of circumstances which have made this

district a complete labyrinth, perfectly adapted as the theatre of the civil war which so long and so fearfully desolated it. It is divided into three parts : the Marais, comprising the sands, salt marshes, and ponds bordering the sea- shore, intersected by dykes and canals, abounding in pastures, destitute of drinking water ; the Bocage, covered with thickets and heaths, rough and bristling, much cut up and well cultivated ; and the Plaine, very rich and highly cultivated, abounding with corn and vines.”

The traveller disposed to visit the theatre of the Vendean war may do so from Nantes by way of Clisson ; but the character of the country and its inhabitants is fast changing under the system pursued by Napoleon and Louis Philippe ; and intersected, as it has been by them, with a network of high roads, it has lost much of its primitive character.

The Railway to Orleans, lately completed, brings this interesting country in a manner to the gates of Paris, and opens the readiest line of communication between Paris, Lyons, Tours, and the South of France.

ROUTE 48.

PARIS TO ORLEANS.

119 kilom. = 74 Eng. m.

The highroad is now superseded by the Railroad. Mallepostes and diligences are transferred to it. See It. 49.

The high road to Orleans quits Paris by the Barriere d’Enfer; it passes through Bourg la Reine, where Condorcet, proscribed by the Con- vention, put an end to himself by poison, 1794. It leaves about 1 m. to the rt. the town of Sceaux , once famed for its Chateau, built by the Minister Colbert, afterwards enlarged by the Due de Maine, whose duchess

assembled around her here a literary circle the most eminent in France. It was destroyed at the Revolution, and its park, laid out by Le Notre, ploughed up. A part of it has been i made a public garden. Sceaux is now celebrated for its large cattle market,

| and has a considerable glass manu- factory. Florian, the novelist, who resided in the chateau and died here, is buried in its Cimetiere.

12 Berny. Chatenay, about a mile to the rt. of Berny, was the birth- j place of Voltaire, 1694. He was born in a house which lately be- i longed to the Comtesse de Boignes. j At the village of Aunay is the re- } sidence of M. de Chateaubriand.

173

Sect. III. i?. 48. — Etampes — Orleans — Cathedral.

8 Longjumeau, a small town on the Yvette.

Beyond this the road skirts the hill of Mont Lhery (p. 179.).

12 Arpajon. The Maroiles station of the railway is about 1 m. to the 1. of this town (p. 179.).

12 Etreey, a walled town.

Morigny, on the 1. of the road, beyond the river Juine, has a fine church.

8 Etampes, a station on the Railway. (R. 40. p. 180.)

Beyond this the road enters the monotonous plain of La Beauce, famed for growing corn.

9 Montdesir.

At Mereville, on the 1. about mid- way in this stage, is the Chateau of Comte de Laborde.

10 Angerville.

14 Toury.

14 Artenay. Here the road from Chartres falls in. (R. 50. p. 181.)

6 Chevilly.

We here enter the Forest of Or- leans ; Cercolles is a small hamlet in the heart of it, inhabited by wood- cutters. The suburb Bannier, more than li m. long, precedes the town of

14 Orleans. — Inns: H.d’Orleans, close to the railway, and new ; — H. du Loiret, improved ; — Boule d’Or ; — H. de France, Place du Mar troy; — H. de 1’Europe.

Orleans (the Roman Genabum, named afterwards Aurelianum, from M. Aurelius, who rebuilt it in the 3d century), occupies an extensive level area, on the 1. bank of the Loire ; it contains 45,000 inhab., and is chef lieu of the Dept, of the Loiret. In a town so important for its situa- tion, nearly in the centre of France, I midway on the course of the sunny but shallow Loire, of consequence in j a military point of view as command- ing the passage over that river from | the N. to the S. provinces of the j kingdom, and conspicuous in history from a very early period — the tra- veller will probably expect more of !

j interest than he will find. Orleans is j not conspicuous for trade or manufac-

tures, and is deficient in tangible his-

torical memorials, chiefly owing to ! the cacoethes of pulling down for the | sake of what is called improvement,

1 which has prevailed to a most de- structive extent during the last 50 j years in the town council. The town | gates and walls have been destroyed, several of the latter since 1830, and above all, nearly every memorial of the heroine of Orleans, Joan of Arc, has been swept away.

A tolerably handsome street leads from the bridge over the Loire to the irregular Place du Martroy, which oc- cupies nearly the centre of the town, and is prolonged from it under an- other name (72we de Banier') to the Barriere de Paris and the Railway.

A wide and handsome new street (Rue Jeanne d’Arc) has been driven through a dense mass of old houses from the Rue Royale to the W. front of the Cathedral (St. Croix), the chief building of the town, which this opening now for the first time allows to be seen to advantage. The remark- able circumstance connected with this I church is, that it was built, as it now stands, in the 16th century, at a J period when Gothic architecture was { not only on the decline, but had ! fallen into disuse. Notwithstanding | this it is a beautiful edifice, in a pure style, and reflects credit on its architects, and on Plenri IV. who furnished the funds, to atone for j the destruction by the Calvinists of | the former ( churcli, to ingratiate him- I self (vain hope) with the Jesuits, and ! to liberate himself from the pope’s ex- communication. He laid the first stone 1601, and the building, un- finished at his death, was continued under Louis XIII., XIV., and XV. Since 1816, a great deal has been done towards repairing and com- pleting it, and it has been computed that the cost first and last exceeds 22 millions of francs. The design of the W. front was made, 1764, by the ar-

174

Route 48. — Orleans — Museum .

Sect. III.

chitect Gabriel, and modified by his successor M. Paris. It consists of 3 somewhat plain pointed portals, sur- mounted by 3 rose windows, flanked by 2 towers of equal height (280 ft.) and of great elegance : the circular top is capped by a circlet of cut stone ; below this runs a light arcade with fringed arches ; in each tower are 3 circular windows. Over the W. por- tal are some incongruous coats of arms, supported by cherubs, including the shield of the old Bourbons, now lily- less. The S. porch is a Grecian abomination. The nave is flanked by double aisles ; its clerestory is parti- cularly lofty.

A portion of the former cathedral, blown up 1 567 by the Huguenots, who had previously turned it into a stable for their cavalry, in spite of the re- monstrances of the Prince de Conde, still remains in the N. choir aisle : the choir ends in an apse. There is nothing else to notice in the interior.

The other churches are either mo- dern or so mutilated as scarcely to deserve notice. St. Aignan is the finest ; its much injured portal and nave are in the florid style. Under it is a Romanesque crypt ; its towers are surmounted by a pyramid. The houses No. 2. and 4. in the Place ad- joining this church, formerly the Con- vent of St. Aignan, were built and inhabited by Louis XI. They are of plain red brick, with high pitched slate roofs, having dormer windows, and resemble closely the remaining fragment of the chateau of Plessis les Tours ( R. 53. ). St. Pierre le Puellier (Petrus Puellarum) has a Norman N. porch and an ancient apse.

Next to the cathedral, the stranger will find the most to interest him in the Musee, in the ancient Hotel de Ville, a picturesque old edifice of the timeof Charles VI II. and Louis XII., situated Rue des Hotelleries, not far from the Rue Jeanne d’Arc. Be- sides a considerable number of bad pictures it contains a curious collec- tion of local antiquities, carvings in

ivory, wood, and stone, which once ornamented the houses and churches of Orleans, chiefly of the 15th and 16th centuries. Amidst old fur- niture, cabinets, chimney-pieces, bas- reliefs, and statues, is an elaborately carved chest, bearing the history of Solomon and David in relief; another, which came from St. Aignan, is orna- mented with a representation of the coronation of Louis XI. A Massacre of the Innocents in stone, an enamel- led triptic, and some elaborate iron- work, locks, &c. with Gothic patterns, chef- d' oeuvres of the hammer and anvil, also deserve notice.

Not far from the Musee, in the Rue des Albanais, and Rue Neuve No. 22., is the house of Diane de Poitiers , so called because she is supposed to have been laid up in it with a broken leg, but it appears to have belonged to the Bishop of Orleans, and was built 1552. The inner front facing the court is a good specimen of Italian architecture, such as we see in the works of Inigo Jones.

Owing to the excessive filth and bad pavement of the older streets of Orleans, the stranger will do well not to trust himself to thread their laby- rinths, but should rather keep to the great thoroughfares and the quays, and should only dive into the side streets to visit some particular ob- ject and return. The Rue du Ta- hourg contains some interesting spe- cimens of domestic architecture, as the house of Jeanne d’Arc (No. 35.) described page 175. and that of Agnes Sorel (No. 15.), which is well worthy of examination, on account of its carved wood and stone work, its doors, the reliefs round the galleries facing the court, their roofs and the staircases. The style of architecture and ornament, and the coats of arms, j fleurs-de-lis, &c. render it probable that it was erected by Charles VII.

! for his mistress, previous to 1470.

No. 28. Rue de la Recouvrance, called Maison de Frangois Pre- mier , is supposed to have been built

175

Sect. III. Route 48. — Orleans — Maid of Orleans.

for the Duchesse d’Etampes 1540, and in its general arrangement, sculptures, (including the Salamander of Francis) is a good specimen of the renaissance.

At one extremity of the Place du Martroy is a bronze statue of Jeanne d’Arc, erected 1804, affected in attitude, incorrect in costume, and entirely in bad taste ; around the pe- destal are bas-reliefs, representing her exploits and death. An ancient statue, erected on the bridge soon after her death, was broken to pieces by the Re- volutionists of 1 7 92, to melt into can- non ! We’have reserved to the last the enumeration of the few remaining memorials, souvenirs and relics of the heroic Maid of Orleans. A careful in- quiry has only discovered thejfollow- ing; —

In the Salle du Conseil of the Hotel de la Mairie is a portrait of her, painted 1581, from an older picture, it is said ; it represents her in a the- atrical attitude, and in a female cos- tume of the time of Francis I., and apparently deserves 'little confidence as a likeness. A view of the town hung up here, shows its ancient con- figuration about the time of the siege. King Louis Philippe has presented to the town a bronze cast of the sta- tue by his gifted daughter, by far the worthiest representation of the inspired maid.

In the ■private cabinet of antiquities, j belonging to M. Vergniaud Romagnesi, a highly respectable furrier, who has most successfully and indefatigably unravelled the archaeology of his native town, there exists a likeness of Jeanne, which has far better claim to be considered as a genuine portrait ! than any other : it is the banner j

which was carried at the annual procession to celebrate the raising of I the siege, presented to the town by ! Francis I., and painted in the early part of the 16th century, probably by Italian artists of Leonardo da Vinci’s school settled at Amboise. It is on canvas, painted on both sides. It re- presents the Virgin and Child in the

centre; on the right hand Charles VII. supported by his patron St. Denis, kneeling to receive a ring from the infant; on the 1. the Pucelle, also kneeling with hands lifted in prayer, clad in full armour except the helmet, and girt with her sword. Her long black hair parted across her forehead is bound by a fillet behind her back.

! The expression is remarkable, the j eyes very deep set in the face. The ! background is a curious view of the town, including the old bridge and I the tourelles in the midst of it. This j banner still bears the cuts and slashes of the swords of the fanatic Hugue- j nots who regarded it as a relic of | popery. It was removed from the j Mairie at the Revolution, on ac- I count of the Fleurs-de-lis which had nearly caused its destruction,

! and was concealed in the garret of one of the Echevins of the town, where it remained until a few years back.

The museum of M. Vergniaud contains among other curiosities some fine painted glass of the 16th century from Chenonceau, and the halbert of La Tremouille, brought from his castle.

The Maid of Orleans entered the city on Friday, April 29th, 1429, in the teeth of the English army, which was vastly superior to the French force. She had convoyed a supply of provisions from Blois to the famished townsmen, who, as she rode in triumph through their streets on her charger, in full armour, bearing her sacred banner, looked on her as their guardian angel sent from heaven. She was lodged in the house of Jacques Bouchier, trea- surer of the Due d’ Orleans, which she had selected, with that sense of modesty which always actuated her, because she would be under the pro- tection of a matron of good repute, his wife. It stood close to the Porte Renard, (long since removed,) and only in part exists in the house No. 35. Rue du Tabourg. The chamber which she occupied is removed, and a sort of 1 4

176

Route 48. — Maid of Orleans — The Siege. Sect. III.

pavilion of Italian architecture, erected in the latter part of the 16th century, occupies its place.

The scene of the chief exploits of the maid was the old bridge, which stood considerably higher up the river than the present one (b. 1761), and rested in the centre on an island. It was defended at its extremity, on the S. bank of the Loire, by a fort, or Tete du Pont, called Les Tourelles, which had fallen into the hands of the English before Jeanne’s arrival, and, together with another tower in the centre of the bridge, formed a strong post whence the English greatly an- noyed the besieged by a battery of cannon planted on it. It was while reconnoitring the town from this bat- tery that the English commander, the Earl of Salisbury, was mortally wound- ed by a shot from the walls, which drove a splinter into his head.

The maid in her enthusiasm de- cided that this post should be first attacked, and though her design was opposed by the most skilful of the French commanders, they were ob- liged to yield because she carried the people and soldiery with her. As the bridge had been broken between the Tourelles and the town when that fort fell into the hands of the besiegers, a chosen band of troops with the maiden at their head was pushed across the Loire in boats, and began the attack upon the Tete du Pont on the 1. bank, which formed part of the Bastille des Tourelles. It was defended by a picked body of 500 English soldiers, under Sir Wm. Gladsdale, who for many hours kept their assailants at bay by their unerring flights of arrows, and fire of cannon. At length the maid, seeing her countrymen falter, snatched up a ladder and planting it against the walls began to mount to the escalade, but an arrow pierced her corslet, and she fell as one dead into the ditch. She was with diffi- culty rescued by her own people from being made prisoner, and was borne to the rear. Here, however, after a few

woman’s tears called forth by the an- guish of the wound, she received, as she said, the consolation of “ her voices,” and encouraged by St. Mi- chael, St. Catherine, and St. Mar- garet, &c. hurried back once more to the contest. Great was the dismay of the English when they beheld her, whom a few minutes before they had supposed mortally wounded, again leading the assault, and waving on high her magic banner. To the feeling of supernatural agency fighting against them was now added the failure of arrows and ammunition, and the hopelessness of aid from their army on the opposite bank. The spirits of the French proportionately increased, and they now began to assault the Tour- elles from the side of the town, throw- ing beams over the broken arch to I render it accessible. 300 men had fallen on the side of the English, but the surrender of their fortress was at length decided by the death of their leader, whom a cannon shot hurled into the river as he was crossing the draw- bridge. That same evening the cou- rageous Jeanne, whom but the day before the English had tauntingly de- sired to “ go home and mind her cows,” entered Orleans in triumph, by the bridge which had remained many months closed ; as she had herself fore- told before she began the attack. Next day the English broke up the siege, burning the remaining bastilles which they had erected around the town to hem it in, and retreating from before the walls. Thus in seven days from her arrival in the town, had the maid accomplished its deliverance.

Opposite to the spot where the old bridge terminated, on the 1. bank of the river, stands a small cross called Croix de la Pucelle, and the cellars , un- derneath the neighbouring cabaret called Le Boeuf, are part of the cele- brated Tete du Pont included in the English bastille called Les Tourelles. They are now below the surface of the ground, but receive partial light from the old loop holes, which seem de-

Sect. III.

Route 48. — Maid of Orleans.

177

signed for fhe firing of cannon, and are furnished with rings above, from which it is probable that the guns were suspended by chains, as carriages were not then in use. The fort has two branches, and there is a vaulted passage from it, which the people say led to the river. In its present state the fort is nothing more than a damp, dirty, low cellar, possessing this in- terest alone, that it is perhaps the sole remaining relic of the siege.

The life of the Maid of Orleans has been admirably told in the Quar- terly Review, No. 138. by one who has used the discrimination of the practised historian in sifting the true from the false, and has unravelled, for the first time, the mystery of her story, without depriving it of any of the charms of a romance.

During the Wars of Religion, at an- other siege of Orleans, 1563, the Due de Guise, the conqueror of Calais and defender of Metz, who commanded the Catholic army which invested the town, was assassinated before its walls by a fanatical young Huguenot, Polt- rot de Mere. He was shot near the village Olivet (R. 70. ), and died a few days after in the Chateau de Caubrai. Orleans was then justly regarded as a stronghold of the Pro- testant party, and continued so until the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes banished those who followed the Re- formed faith. Previous to that event its population amounted to 54,000.

Francis 1 1., husband of Mary Queen of Scots, ended his insignificant life at Orleans, whither he had repaired to assist at the meeting of the Estates, in the building now the Mairie. In his last illness, at the instigation of his mother Catherine de Medicis, he sent a deputation of pilgrims to Notre Dame de Clery, promising to purge the kingdom of heretics if he ever recovered. The vow was accom- plished not by him, but by Charles IX., at the instigation of the same wicked mother, in the St. Bartholomew’s night.

j Cassar mentions Orleans in the fol- I lowing passage : “ Carnutes Gena- bum concurrunt, civesque Romanos, | qui negotiandi causa ibi consisterant, interficiunt.”

Promenades are formed round the town upon the line of the former ramparts.

The Post Office is in the Rue d’H- liei’s.

Conveyances. — Mallepostes to Tours and Bordeaux, to Limoges, daily.

Railways to Paris, 7 trains daily. To Blois : — to Vierzon in progress.

Diligences : — to Tours, Bordeaux, Nantes, 4 daily ; to Lyons by Briare, Nevers, and Roanne ; to Clermont by Bourges and Neris ; to Bourges, to Rouen, by Chartres ; to Limoges and Toulouse.

A slow coach runs along the road on the 1. bank of the Loire, through Clery and St. Die, which is only

3 m, from the Chateau de Chambord (p. 185.) to Blois.

Steamboats on the Loire, 3 times a week, to Gien, Nevers, and Moulins, up the river. (Route 52.)

2 daily to 1’ours and Nantes.

(Route 53.)

Environs. The objects of interest in the vicinity of Orleans are the Cha- teau de la Source, the residence of Bolingbroke, 2 m. S. E. ( Route 70. ) ; Notre Dame de Clery, the burial- place of Louis XL (p. 182.)

The distance to Chateau de la Source is about 5 m. ; a cab costs

4 or 5 fr. The way thither leads across the bridge over the Loire to the village of Olivet, whither omnibuses run every hour from Orleans, where the road turns to the 1. The chateau is named from the little river Loiret, which here rises at once out of the ground in full flood, from a natural basin, but injured by art, close under the walls of the chateau, in the midst of the pare. After a course of only 10 m. it falls into the Loire, giving, how- ever, its name to the department. With this exception, the grounds laid out in the formal French style, have

i 5

178

Route 49. — Railway — Paris to Orleans. Sect. III.

little interest ; nor has the chateau itself any other than what it derives from having been the residence of Bo- lingbroke, who rented it from the pro- prietor during the latter years of his life when exiled from England. He was visited here by Voltaire. He wrote here his Reflections on Exile. There is a second and more copious source produced at the beginning of the last century, by the artificial means resorted to, to confine the waters of the old source, which in consequence, broke a new passage for themselves.

ROUTE 49.

RAILWAY. PARIS TO ORLEANS, AND

TO CORBEIL.

121 kilom. = 75 Eng. miles.

Trains go to Corbeil (30 kilom.

= 19 Eng. miles) in 1 hour, or 55 minutes, 8 times a day, on week days ; every hour on Sundays and fete days.

Trains to Orleans 7 times a day in 4 hours. Fares 12 fr. 60 c., 9 fr. 50 c., and 3rd class uncovered 6 fr. 35 c., a place in the coupe 15 fr. Carriages 62 to 82 fr.

The railway was completed to Or- leans in 1843.

Terminus in the Boulevard de l’Hopital, close to the Jardin des Plantes. The line, at first skirting the walls of the Hospital of the Salpe- triere, is carried through a pretty country, at the foot of the slopes which border the 1. bank of the Seine. It approaches the river closely at each curve which the Seine makes, and commands pleasant views of it. There are many pretty villas and country- houses on the river banks, and villages are numerous.

It skirts the walls of Ivry, and of I Vitry, famed for its nursery-gardens, on the rt.

Choisy stat. is close to a viaduct of 8 arches, which also support the tow- ing-path along the Seine ; 4 of the

arches are left open to allow a passage between the Seine and the town. Choisy is a very thriving, ma- nufacturing town, whose population has increased within a few years to more than 3,000. It was called Choisy le Roi, because Louis XV. made it one of his residences ; the Chateau which he built for himself and Madame de Pompadour is de- molished, except a fragment, now turned into a china manufactory. There are also manufactories of mo- rocco leather (the largest in France), of glass, and of beetroot sugar, and a chemical work. Close to the station the Seine is crossed by a bridge of j 5 arches, built 1802. The chateau and village of Orly are seen on the height to the rt. The railway skirts the pare of Villeneuve le Roi. A station is to be made here, and a new bridge over the Seine is in progress to give access to it. We approach the vine- clad slopes, bounding the Valley of the Seine.

6 Ablon(stat.). Ablon is composed almost entirely of neat villas. One of the 3 Protestant churches which the reformers of Paris were allowed by the edict of Nantes to possess, stood here.

2 Athis Mont (stat.).

Juvisy, situated at the foot of a hill on the rt., is remarkable for its an- tiquity. Its bridge over the Orge an- ciently formed the boundary between the kingdoms of Paris and of Orleans. Isabella of Bavaria was arrested here as she was carrying off the Dauphin.

[ At J uvisy a Branch Railway to Cor- beil separates from the main line to Orleans, turning off to the 1., but continuing along the margin of the Seine, and running near the high road to Lyons (R. 105.). It passes through

4 u ChatiIlon sur Seine (stat.). Cha- tillon is a little port on the Seine. At Viry is the fine garden of the Duchesse de Raguse

3 Ris (stat.), — close to Laborde.

Here is a suspension bridge built

179

Sect." III. J Route 49. — Railway — Paris to Orleans.

over the Seine by the late M. Aguado, the Spanish banker.

The railway cuts through a part of the park of Petit Bourg, broken up and parcelled out by its owner, the late M. Aguado. The Chateau, when it belonged to the Due d’Antin, was often the residence of Madame de Montespan, who was visited here by Louis XIV.

4 Evry ( stat. ).

3 Corbeil (stat.).

Corbeil is a considerable manufac- turing town of 3,900 inhab., on the Seine, here crossed by a bridge, at the influx of the Essonne. Here are very extensive Flour Mills and a corn ware- house (Magazin), belonging to go- vernment, for the supply of Paris. The Church of St. Spire (Exupere), re- built 1437, after a fire, contains the tomb of Jaques de Bourgoin, founder of the college of Corbeil, 1661, and the casket or reliquaire containing relics of St. Leu and St. Rembert. The little church of St. Jean en Vile, was built by the Templars, in the 13th century.

Omnibuses are waiting at Cor- beil to convey passengers on to Fon- tainebleau. (Route 105.) A conti- nued street connects Corbeil with the village of Essonne.

It is probable that the Corbeil railway will be continued on to Dijon.]

At Juvisy (19 kilom. from Paris) the Orleans Line, curving a little to the S. W., enters the valley of a small stream, the Orge, the railway cross- ing previously the high road to An- tibes. It traverses the gardens of

3 Savigny (stat.), a village pos- sessing a handsome castle, fortified 1486 by Etienne de Vesi, cham- berlain to Charles VIII., now the property of the Princess Dowager of Eckmiihl. A great hemp market is held here. Viaducts of 3 and 5 arches lead to and from

2 (rt.) Epiny (stat.), which is 2i m. distant from Longjumeau on the

post road (p. 173. ) The quarries near this furnish paving stones for the streets of Paris. You next skirt on the 1. the foret de St. Genevieve ; on the rt. beyond the Orge, you see the chateau of Vaucluse; Villiers, and its villas of Paris citizens, and Long- pont, whose church of the 14th cen- tury is the sole relic of its ancient abbey. A portion of the pare of the handsome chateau of Ormay is traversed before reaching

4 St. Michel sur Orge. Mont Lhery is about l|- m. on the rt. Its ancient castle, of which a tower re- mains, built (1012) by Thibaut- File-Etoupe, forester of King Robert, was the terror of the kings of France in feudal times, and has been made famous by Boileau in the poem of the Lutrin.

“ Ses murs dont le soramet se derobe a la vue,

Sur le cime d’un roc s’allongeant dans la nue,

Et presentant de loin leur objet ennuyeux, Du passant qui les fuit semblent suivre les yeux.”

A bloody but indecisive battle was fought between Mont Lhery and Longpont, 1465, between Louis XI. and the troops of the so-called “ Ligue du Bien Publique,” commanded by the Comte du Charollais, afterwards Charles the Bold, of Burgundy. The spot still goes by the name of Cime- tiere des Bourguinons.

The line passes through the midst of the collection of hamlets called 3 Bretigny (stat.), beyond which the railway attains a summit level, and descends into the valley of the Juine shortly before 5 Marolles (stat.). The village and chateau lie a little on the 1. ; Arpajon (2,400 inhab.) is about 1 m. off on the rt.

3 Chaptainville (stat.). On leav- ing this station we pass through the park appertaining to the chateau of Mesnil Voisin, the property of the Comte Choiseul Praslin, a building of brick and stone on the borders of the Juine. Farther on to the 1. is i 6

180

Route 50. — Rouen to Orleans.

Sect. III.

another chateau, Chamarande. The railway skirts the walls of

9 Etr£cy (stat. ). It here ap- proaches the post road, which passes through Etrecy, a walled town, and the two run parallel for some distance.

7 Etampes (stat. ), close to a ruined tower called Guinette, the only re- mains of the royal castle and palace, built in the 11th century, by King Robert, and dismantled by Henri IV. It is formed externally of 4 segments of circles.

This ancient town, of 8,000 inhab., carries on a considerable trade in flour, the produce of its forty water-mills, and in wool. Notre Dame is a Gothic church of the 13th century ; St. Mar- tin, a very fine edifice, has a leaning tower. The royal castle was given as an appanage to various remarkable personages, among others to the mis- tresses of the three French kings, Francis I. (Anne de Pisseleu), Henri II. (Diana of Poitiers), and Henri IV. (Gabrielle d’Estrees). The town consists of one long street, and retains several picturesque old houses of the age of the Renaissance ; one of them is attributed to Diana of Poitiers. The H. de Ville is an antique build- ing with turrets.

Omnibus twice a day to Pitheviers.

The railway crosses the streams of the Louette and Chalonette on viaducts, and ascending the valley of l’H&nery reaches the upland plain of La Beauce and a second summit level. It crosses the post road on a bridge shortly before reaching

19 Angerville (stat.). Coaches run hence once a day to Chartres. 14 m. from this is Pitheviers, famed for pates d'alouettes, for almond cakes , and for its trade in saffron. From this point the post and railroad run side by side, within a short distance of each other, so that the description of the one will serve for both.

1 3 Toury.

14 Artenay (stat.). Here the road from Chartres falls in ( R. 50. ) A little to the W. of the road, near Ilouvray, an English detachment of about 2,000

men, under Sir John Fastolf, escorting a convoy of provisions to the army be- sieging Orleans, defeated a force 4, COO strong, consisting of French and Scotch, commanded by Dunois and the Count of Clermont, who en- deavoured to intercept them. The French left 500 dead on the field, among them Sir John Stewart, con- stable of Scotland. This engagement, fought February IQ. 1409, was called “ The Battle of Herrings,” from the salt fish for Lent, which formed the bulk of the provisions intended for the English.

A few monthsTater, June 18., and nearly on the same ground, at Patay, the English forces under the same commander, retreating dispirited from Orleans, were put to flight at the first onset by the French, led on by Jeanne d’ Arc. Fastolf ran away, and the brave Talbot, who never turned back on an enemy, being left to fight almost alone, was made prisoner to- gether with Lord Scales.

5 Chevilly (stat. ). Some curious fossil remains of gigantic quadrupeds ( Deinotherium) have been discovered near Chevilly.

14 Orleans. Terminus a little to the E. of the Porte Bannier.

See Route 48. p. 173.

ROUTE 50.

ROUEN TO ORLEANS, BY CHARTRES.

201 kilom. = 124 Eng. m.

Diligences daily.

11 Port St. Ouen, 1 n N

17 Louviers, ’] (Route 9.)

23 Evreux, (Route 25.)

13 Thomer. Our route traverses the fertile but monotonous district of La Beauce (Belsia), one of the grana- ries of France, on a table land ex- tending nearly from the Seine to the Loire; of which Chartres is considered the capital.

15 Nonancourt.

14 Dreux. (Route 35.)

16 Peage.

Sect. III. Route 52. — The Loire A — Gien to Orleans. 181

1 6 Chartres ( Route 46. ) It takes | about 10 hours to travel hence to Or- leans. At the village of Bercheres are stone quarries from which Chartres cathedral was built. The road tra- verses the fertile corn -lands of La Beauce.

26 Allonne.

19 Allaines.

15 Artenay, on the Paris road, (Route 48.) ; and in the department of the Loiret.

6 Chevilly.

14 Orleans. (Route 48.)

ROUTE 52.

THE LOIRE A '. GIEN TO ORLEANS.

62 kilom. = 38i Eng. m.

Steamers, 3 times a week.

N. B. The common route at pre- sent from Paris to Lyons and Mar- seilles is to Orleans by railway. Thence by

12 Pont Aux Moines "I along the

1 3 Chateauneuf I north bank

22 Ouzouer J of the

15 Gien J Loire.

15 Briare (in Route 100.)

The scenery of this part of the course of the Loire is not particularly interesting. When the height of water permits, the steamers ascend as high as Nevers. From Nevers to Gien the course of the Loire is described in Route 105.

Gien is a town of 5,530 inhabitants, on the rt. bank of the Loire, here crossed by a bridge, on the road from Orleans to Lyons. Its old church, St. Etienne, has been injured by re- pairs. Near it is a portion of the an- cient Castle, now turned into the Pre- fecture. It was at Gien that the Maid of Orleans crossed the Loire on her way from her native village, to announce her divine mission to “ Charles the Dauphin,” at Chinon.

L., a mound of earth, called Motte du Leon, is supposed to be a Celtic tumulus.

About 1 2 m. below Gien lies L. Sully, a town of'2, 1 45 inhabitants, possessing a wire suspension bridge, (since 1836), and an old Castle, rest- ing its front upon the Loire, and se- parated on the other side from the town by a deep ditch. This building is remarkable as the residence of the minister of Henri IV., Maximilian de Bethune, first Due de Sully, who purchased it from its former possessors, the family de la Tre- mouille ; and in the alterations which he made in the building every where effaced their arms to substitute his own, along with cannons, gre- nades, bullets, and similar ornaments. He passed here the latter years of his life, after his disgrace under Louis XIII., maintaining considerable state with his regiment of lancers, and oc- cupying himself with the preparation of his work “ Sur les Economies Roy- ales,” which he printed at a press established in one of the towers. It remained in the possession of his de- scendants down to 1807, when the last Due de Sully died. One of them fitted up a little theatre in the cha- teau, and was visited by the literary men of his times, among them by Voltaire, who here commenced his Henriade. The building is now going to decay, and is no longer in- habited : in one corner a few bits of tapestry, old portraits, &c. have been brought together; also a statue of Sully.

Rt., the Church of St. Benoit, one of the oldest and finest in the depart- ment, was originally attached to a monastery, destroyed 1792. Its tower was lowered in consequence of a re- volt of the monks against the royal authority under Francis I. It has a curious N. portal, some carved stalls, and one or two curiosities in the sa- cristy.

Rt. Chateauneuf. Here are re- mains of a fine chateau.

The river is crossed by another sus- pension-bridge at

L. Jargeau, a town of 2,358 in-

1 82 R. 53. — The Loire B — Notre Dame de Clery . Sect. III.

habitants, 12 m. from Orleans. It still retains a portion of its old walls, within which a few hundred English soldiers, with their commander-in- chief, the Earl of Suffolk, shut them- selves up, after the raising of the siege of Orleans, to resist the attacks of the French led on by Dunois and the Maid. She was struck down into the ditch by a stone, while mounting a ladder to scale a breach made in the walls by the besiegers’ cannon ; but, recovering herself, instantly rose, and encouraged her followers by her voice and waving banner. The town was taken, and almost all the garrison put to the sword, in spite of the en- deavours of the Maid to prevent the shedding of blood. Suffolk was made prisoner.

The Church of St. Etienne and St. Vrain, though injured by the Hugue- nots, 1562, is still a fine building.

Rt., a little below Checy, at Com- bleaux, is the opening of the canal d’ Orleans, which unites the Loire with the Seine.

Rt. Orleans, p. 173.

ROUTE 53.

THE LOIRE B. ORLEANS TO TOURS, BV

BLOIS AND AMBOISE. EXCURSIONS

TO CHAMBORD AND CHENONCEAU.

By the post road, which runs along the rt. bank of the Loire, the distance is 1 14 kilom. =73 English m. 4 or 5 diligences run daily. A railroad is in progress to Blois and Tours.

Steamboats start every morning from the Q,uai de Recouvrance at Orleans, about 7 or 8 o’clock. The voyage from Orleans to Tours takes up about 9^ hours ; the ascent requires double the time.

The steamers called Inexplosibles belong to a company established by M. Henri de Larochejacquelin, bro- ther of the chief of that eminent family. They are of iron, very slight and small, in order to draw as little water as possible ; they are furnished with

a cabin where refreshments may be had, but have a very limited deck. Carriages are not taken on board.

The course of the Loire from Or- leans to Tours lies for the most part through a wide valley, slightly varied by hills of very moderate height ; its scenery, therefore, consisting chiefly of slopes covered over with vineyards, of low banks, and islands, fringed with willows and poplars, is somewhat mo- notonous, though of a sunny character, and relieved nowand then by a frown- ing old town such as Blois or Amboise, or by a formal chateau. Lower down a yellow streak of cliffs hollowed out into caves and subterranean dwellings frequently forms the bank. The river itself winds very much; its shallow waters occupy a bed too large for them to fill in summer, and it is ob- structed by shifting sandbanks to such an extent that steamers navigate up and down only by zigzagging from side to side, by which one-third is added to the length of the actual windings of the river.

The high road from Orleans to Blois is somewhat tedious.

The first thing worth noticing after- quitting Orleans is

L. the outlet into the Loire of the Loiret, a stream not 30 ft. broad, which yet gives the name to a depart- ment. On the peninsula between the rivers once stood the Abbey St. Mes- min, whose fertile territory was the gift of Clovis to the monks. A part of the church and traces of the gardens remain. The road to Clery crosses the Loiret by a bridge at St. Mesmin.

L. opposite to St. Ay*, whose vine- yards produce the best wine in the Orleanais, the spire of the Church of Notre Dame de Clery may be per- ceived about 3 m. from the Loire on its 1. bank. This little town, 9 m. from Orleans, contains a very fine Church , remarkable for the veneration in which its image of the Virgin was held by the bigot and tyrant Louis XI., who was buried within its walls.

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Sect. III. R. 53. — The Loire B — Beaugency — Blots. 183

Its name must be familiar to every reader of Quentin Durward. Louis passing this way in his frequent jour- neys into Touraine always performed his devotions to our Lady of Clery, whose leaden figure he carried in his cap. The existing church was almost entirely built by him, in the place of an older one ruined by the English under Salisbury, 1428. He selected it as his burial place in preference to St. Denis, because he believed he had recovered from a severe illness by the intercession of the Virgin. A grave was made for him in his lifetime, in which he used to lay himself at full length to ascertain whether it fitted him ; but, this as well as the statue in bronze which adorned the tomb, was destroyed by the Huguenots, 1563. The existing monument is said to resemble the preceding one, except that the statue is in marble ; it was executed by Michel Bourdin, an artist of Orleans, for Louis XIII. It went to Paris 1794, but returned 1818, and has a fresh and modern air from the restoration it has undergone. Lewis is represented bare-headed, on his knees in an attitude of prayer, upon a black altar tomb with 4 angels in the corners. The image of the Vir- gin is said to be the identical one before which Lewis spent so many hours in prayer ; it is black. Inde- pendently of its fine architectural pro- portions, the church possesses several objects of interest, as the sculpture of the Sacristy, much mutilated, the carved wood- work of its stalls, and the Chapel of the family of the Counts of Dunois, in which Tanneguy du Chatel was buried 1477. A wretched road leads from this to Meung on the Loire.

The Loire is crossed by a wire suspension -bridge at

Rt. Meung, or Mehun, a town whose name occurs in the annals of the English campaigns. It has a Romanesque church, and a red, ruined Castle close beside it, partly concealed by trees, and backed by a hill.

L. In the church-yard of Lailly, Condillac was buried without a line to mark the spot. An irregular bridge of some 30 arches, the oldest parts of which date from the 15th or 16th century, is thrown over the Loire at

Rt. Beaugency*, an antique town of 4,849 inhabitants, prettily situated between two bills. Conspicuous above its old houses rises the square Donjon tower , of great antiquity (10th or 11th century) and solid construc- tion, 115 feet high, adjoining the Castle built by Le Beau Dunois. The Hotel de Ville, designed by the architect Viart of Orleans 1526, has an elegant front ornamented with the arms of the Card’ de Longueville and of the Comte de Dunois. The clocher de St. Firmin is the only remains of the church of that saint, and is now attached to the Hotel Dieu. Beau- gency gives its name to one of the best wines of the Orleanois.

The high road runs at the back of the town, skirting without entering it, and for the next 3 stages separates itself from the Loire, to avoid its wind- ings, and passes the little town of

Rt. Mer and Suevresf, and the vil- lage of

Rt. Menars le Chateau:}:, so called from the well built but ill kept chateau which belonged to Madame de Pom- padour, and under Louis XVIII. to the Due de Belluno. It is now the property of the Prince de Chimay, who has established a college here.

L. St. Die, nearly opposite Suevres, is about l^m. distant from the Palace of Chambord. ( See p. 1 85. )

Rt. Blois. § — Inns : H. de l’Europe, tolerably good, nearest the landing- place of the steamer ; bed 2 fr. ; — Nouvelle Angleterre, close to the bx’idge ; — Bceuf. The creme de St. Gervais, a preparation resembling Devonshire cream, made at the vil- lage St. Gervais, near Blois, is said to be very good.

This ancient and picturesque town,

Post Road 13 k. Beaugency.

f 13 Mer. J 10 Menars. § 8 Blois.

184? Route 53. — The Loire B — Blois — Castle. Sect. III.

chef lieu of the Dept. Loire et Cher, containing 14,000 inhabitants, is built upon a steep slope, crowned by its historic and gloomy castle at one end of the ridge, and by the ca- thedral at the other.

The quarter which reaches down to the river consists of modern houses, forming a handsome quay lined with rows of trees, and along it, between the town and the river, the high road passes. A bridge of 11 arches, sur- mounted by an obelisk in the centre, unites Blois with its suburb Vienne on the 1. bank.

Numerous streets of stairs running up the hill, and winding narrow lanes lined with picturesque old houses, form the bulk of the town, and must be threaded to reach

The Castle , now degraded into a barrack, but for ages the residence of kings and princes, and the scene of momentous events, crimes, and murders. The E. front, of red brick, facing the square, is o? the time of Louis XII., who rebuilt this edifice, in which he was born.

The fine Gothic portal, surmounted by a niche or oriel, is not in the cen- tre of the facade ; it leads into a court, the E. side of which is lined with a cloister, resting on pillars carved with a net-like panelling. On the rt. hand (N. side) is the pile raised by Fran- cis I. corresponding in style (renais- sance) with part of Chambord. That on the W. was commenced under Gaston Due d’ Orleans from the de- signs of Mansard, but never finished ; that on the 1. (S.) is the most ancient and least like a palace, the work, pro- bably, of Louis XI. An elegant winding staircase of stone, from whose rich roof the Salamanders of Francis I. have been effaced, leads into the suite of rooms, now occupied with soldiers’ beds, muskets, and accoutrements, in which the Tragedy of the Guises was consummated. Tradition, as it seems, gloating over this deed of blood and deception, has preserved the memory of the minutest particulars connected

with it ; and, though the interior was stripped of almost all its decorations at the Revolution, and the walls white-washed like those of a prison, points out the chamber and oratoire of Catherine de Medicis, the contriver of the plot, — the Cabinet of Henri III., where he distributed with his own hand the daggers to his 45 gentlemen in waiting, who were to rid him of his rival, the hero of the barricades, — the Vieux Cabinet, at the entrance of which the victim, sent for by the king, was set upon by his assassins, as he was turning aside the tapestry hung over the door, and fell pierced with more than 40 wounds, — the outer chamber where the body lay for 2 hours with a cloak and a cross of straw thrown over it, until the royal murderer, issuing from his den to look at the corse of the once mighty Henri le Balafre, spurned it in the face with his foot, saying, “ Je ne le croyais pas aussi grand,” and then ordered it to be burnt, and the ashes thrown into the river. During the progress of the murder, prayers were being offered up for its success in the adjoining chapel, distinguished by the pendents which still ornament its roof. This happened on the 23d December, 1588 : — on the following day the Cardinal de Lorraine, brother of the Balafre, was murdered in cold blood in another part of the castle. The ground floor of this wing of the building is occupied by the Salle des j Etats de Blois, to attend the meeting of which the Guises had been enticed hither from Paris, their stronghold. It was while seated at the council board in this hall, eating prunes de Brignolles, that the duke was sum- moned by the royal page to attend the king. This hall is supposed to be as old as the 13th century: a row of pointed arches supports its double, barn-like roof of wood. The king’s throne was placed against the wall on one side.

One other memorial of that age of crime and superstition remains to be noticed, — it is a sort of pavilion raised

Sect. III. II. 53. — The Loire B — Blois — Chamhord. 185

upon an old tower, detached from the rest of the castle, projecting over the Church of St. Nicholas towards the river : this was the Observatory of Ca- therine de Medicis, to which she used to retire with her astrologer to consult the stars. It bears the inscription “Ura- nite Sacrum.” A stone slab, like a tomb-stone, in front of the pavilion, served as a support for the astrolabe.

A good general view of the gloomy chateau is gained by turning to the 1., as you issue out of the great gate, through a vaulted passage into the Place du College, above which it rears aloft its blackening, ill-omened mass from a basement of grass-grown buttresses. Here we may remark the window from which Catherine de Medicis let herself down, to escape from the Cal- vinists engaged in the Conjuration d’Amboise. (See p. 188.)

In the Jesuits’ church ( Eglise St.

■ Vincent'), now belonging to a sister- hood, facing this Place, is the tomb of Gaston d’Orleans (?), who passedhere, in a sort of exile, the last eight years of his insignificant life.

The Church of St. Nicholas is a fine Gothic edifice, chiefly belonging to the 12th century, except the lower part of the side chapel, said to be of the 1 1th, and the three first arches of the nave, which probably date from the 13th. The manner in which the capitals are executed, and the regu- larity of the arches, deserve notice. This church has been restored lately.

The terraced gardens attached to the prefecture (formerly Eveche) form a most agreeable walk, commanding a fine view of the town and river, extending to the distant towers of Chambord and Chauraont. The ca- thedral is not worth entering : it is | said to have been built by Mansard. A vaulted sewer, partly cut in the solid rock, by some attributed to the Romans and called an aqueduct, runs under a considerable part of the town. It is known to the common people as j the Pont de Cesar.

In the old streets of Blois may

! still be found some interesting spe- | cimens of domestic architecture of the | 16th century. The Hotel d’Alluye ' retains an elegant portico in its inner court, and some rooms on the ground I floor, but little altered. Miss Costello mentions a curiously-carved house in the Rue Pierre de Blois leading to the Eveche ; and an elaborately-sculptured staircase of wood representing St. George and the Dragon, with a cen- tral ballustrade corded to the top,

I and compartments filled with various compositions, is figured in Muller’s views.

Among the illustrious natives of I Blois may be named the learned di- vine and chronicler Peter of Blois,

I who died in England a. d. 1 200 ; Louis XII.; and Denys Papin, for whom the French have claimed the invention of the steam-engine.

In 1814 the empress Marie Louise, with the king of Rome, and the rem- nant of the Imperial court, govern- ment, and army, were despatched hither by Napoleon, who made his wife regent ; and the last imperial decrees were dated from hence.

The interesting excursion to the Chateau de Chambord may be conve- niently made from Blois, whence it is about 12 m. distant, a 2 hours’ drive. The road thither runs up the 1. bank of the Loire in sight of the Chateau of Menars on the opposite bank, on an embankment or Levee, nearly as far as St. Die, a village with a small inn (au Grand Chambord) 1-| m. distant from the chateau. A cross road, in very bad condition, leads thither.

Chamhord, the Versailles of Tou- raine, until Louis XIV. deserted that beautiful province to fix the royal residence in a swamp close to the me- tropolis, has no beauty of site to re- commend it, being placed in the midst of a sandy flat, surrounded by a park 21 m. in circumference, where the roe and deer cross the traveller’s path. By many the chateau itself will be pronounced ugly and fantastic :

1 86 R. 53. — The Loire B — Chamhord — Chateau. Sect. III.

a vast group of turrets, minarets, and cones or inverted funnels, rise con- spicuous at a distance from a solid basement, the chief features of which are 6 external round towers of pro- digious size, 60 ft. in diameter, which seem the types of all those which cha- racterise French chateaux. Its ar- chitecture marks the transition be- tween the fortified castle and the Italian palace, and is a fine specimen of the age and taste of Francis I., who built it, after his return from captivity in Spain, on the site of a favourite hunting lodge of the Counts of Blois, engaging Primaticcio to furnish designs for it. He laid the foundation of it 1526, and employed 1,800 men constantly on its construc- tion until his death. It was after- wards continued, though with less zeal, by Henri II. and Charles IX.; and even Louis XV. added the low screen at the back, which, though from Mansard’s designs, is most ugly, and of course inappropriate to the style of the original. It is at present the property of the Due de Bordeaux, having been purchased for him, and presented to him by public subscrip- tion. He has been confirmed in his possession, though the Bourbons have forfeited other estates in France, by the decision of the French law courts. Its 440 chambers are uninhabited, dis- mantled, and falling to ruin, the glass broken in the windows, the slates falling from the roof, the floors partly ripped up ; — but the decay (dating of course from the Revolution) will, it is hoped, be arrested, since a small sum is now laid out yearly by its owner in repairs.

Enclosed within the building a cen- tral tower rises above all the rest, called Donjon , or Tour de la Fleur de Lis, from the lily of France, in stone 6 ft. high, which surmounted it. After having escaped the hammer which defaced all its minor brethren so pro- fusely scattered over the building, at the first Revolution, this monster lily was destined to fall at the second.

This tower is filled with a very beautiful double spiral staircase, an architectural curiosity, so contrived that 2 parties may pass up or down at the same time without meeting, scarce- ly even seeing each other. It opens on each floor upon 4 corridors, branch- ing from it like the arms of a cross, vaulted. The compartments of their roof were once filled with the Sala- mander and F. of Francis I. One of these corridors was converted under Louis XIV. into a theatre, for the first performance of Moliere’s Bour- geois Gentilhomme, in which Moliere and his troop performed before the king for the first time, 1670. The device of Henri II. and Diana of Poictiers, the H. and D. entwined with the crescent, are distributed over the parts which he built, but left unfinished.

It is worth while to mount to the terrace and top of the tower to ex- amine the details of the building, its solid masonry inlaid with morsels of black slate cut into the shape of lo- zenges, crescents, &c. Its rich niches, its classic chimneys converted into ornaments instead of being eye-sores, its balustrades, and flying buttresses, are all curious specimens of the style of the Renaissance, resembling some- what the Elizabethan architecture of Burleigh. The roof is like the hull of a ship, and must contain a forest of timbers. From the top of the tower you look down upon the wide forest and wilderness of a park with its avenues.

There is little pleasure in traversing a labyrinth of empty rooms, mostly small, stripped of all ornament, open to the weather, and showing no traces of the frescoes with which they were decorated by Jean Cousin ; unless the imagination can restore them, and repeople their halls and corridors with the brilliancy and beauty of the courts of Francis I. and Henri II., recalling the time when Charles V. was en- tertained here on his passage through France, 1539, by his generous rival, or that when poor Mademoiselle de

187

Sect. III. Route 53. — The Loire B — Valengay.

Montpensier here lost her heart to the fickle Lauzun.

Among the occupants of Chambord since it was deserted by its royal own- ers, was Marshal Saxe, — that veteran of a hundred fights, to whom it was given by Louis XV. He brought with him 6 cannon taken from the enemy, and a regiment of lancers whom he reviewed daily from the terrace, although with one foot al- ready in the grave. He died here 1750. It afterwards became the asylum of Stanislas king of Poland, and his queen Maria Leczinski. It was plundered and dismantled by the mob of 1792, and sold as national property. Napoleon bestowed it in 1809 upon Marshal Berthier, from j whose widow it was purchased by a body of Loyalists and presented to the Due de Bordeaux, as already mentioned.

Another excursion may be made from Blois to Valen 9 ay by Selles, | an old town on the Cher. The Chateau of Valengay , built by Phili- bert de l’Orme, in the reign of Francis I., is interesting architecturally as a specimen of the style of the Ren- naissance, and historically as the prison-house allotted by Napoleon to Ferdinand VII. of Spain, from 1808 to 1814, and still more as the residence of M. de Talleyrand, during the latter part of his life. The larger rooms contain portraits of monarchs (Napoleon and Louis Philippe pre- sented by themselves) and of states- men, his cotemporaries. His study and bedchamber remained in 1843 (when visited by Mr. Chambers) ex- actly as he left them : his shoes, one furnished with steel spring and band- ages fora club foot, his walking sticks, his desk, writing materials, together with his robes, stars, and orders, in a , glass case, may still be seen.

Talleyrand’s last resting-place is in a vault beneath the chapel of a small nunnery, in a narrow street off the Place at Valengay. It is entered through an ; iron trap-door in the floor, and in one |

I corner a dark stone sarcophagus con- I tains all that remains of the wily minister of so many sovereigns.

Returning to Selles, the traveller j may proceed down the valley of the i Cher to Chenonceaux, and thence to Amboise or Loches, passing through St. Aignan, where there is a magni- ficent Chateau of various ages, for- merly belonging to the Dues de St. A. It is inhabited and kept up with beautiful gardens and terraces, fine trees, and profusion of flowers ; the gardens open to the townspeople.” L.

Bidding adieu to Blois, its frown- ing castle, whose W. front looking down the Loire is imposing and more cheerful than the rest, with the astrological tower of Catherine de Medicis in front of it, and the pepper- box dome of the cathedral in the distance, we resume our voyage be- tween vine hills and willow beds.

Rt. Hereabouts begins the colossal dyke called La Levee, commenced in very ancient times under the Carlo- vingian monarchs, and augmented and improved by different kings of France, to restrain the furious Loire within its bed, and check its destruc- tive inundations. It runs along the j rt. bank as far as the mouth of the j Mayenne, below Angers, a distance of j about 100. m. It is faced with ma- | sonry kept in constant repair, and the ! high road is carried along its top.

It is a considerable work, though j vastly inferior to the dykes of Holland.

There are other very extensive dykes

on the 1. bank in different portions of the river’s course.

This high embankment conceals from the view of those who travel by water the wide and fertile plain be- yond it ; only now and then the tops of houses are seen rising above it.

Rt.* Chousy. The first object to be noticed below Blois is,

L., the Chateau de Chaumont, a conspicuous building, on a height, with machicolated towers, forming

Post road. — 10 Chousy.

188 R. 53. — The Loire B — Amboise - — Chateau . Sect. III.

3 sides of a square. It was the resi- dence of Catherine de Medicis, who here spent her time in plotting and in reading the stars until the death of her husband, Henri II., when she obliged his mistress, Diana of Poi- tiers, to exchange her bijou chateau of Chenonceaux (p. 190.) for this, which, however, Diana does not appear to have inhabited. It was the birth- place of the Cardinal George d’ Am- boise, 1460, the wise and popular mi- nister of France under Louis XII. The arms, still visible, cut in the ma- sonry, are a blazing hill, — cliaud-mont.

Rt. * Veuves : a little beyond this the Loire enters the province of Tou- raine, and the Dept. Indre et Loire.

Rt. The high road does not pass through Amboise, but through a suburb on the opposite bank of the river.

L. Amboise. j- — Inns: Liond’Or. La Boule d’Or was shut up, 1 841 . At the Cycne, on the rt. bank of the river, close to the Poste aux Chevaux, the landlord keeps a good horse and cab, and charges to Chenonceaux 8 fr., or thither and to Loches 15 fr.

Amboise, an old and languid town of 4,600 inhabitants, stands on the 1. bank of the Loire, here divided by an island, upon which the 2 bridges which cross the river rest.

The principal and most conspicuous object is the Castle, long the residence of the kings of F ranee, and now the property of Louis Philippe. Its build- ings, flanked by round towers roofed with cones, reduced to a very small portion of their original extent, oc- cupy the platform of a lofty rock, es» carped in front and rear. The present king, who inherits the castle as the descendant of the Due de Penthievre, has caused the old houses to be swept away from the base of the rock, so as to form an opening from the bridge to a tunnel, which he has bored through the rock and under the castle. It is vaulted with masonry. Two enormous

Post F.oad 11 Veuves.

t 12 Amboise.

towers, 90 ft. high and 42 in diameter, spring from the ground at the base of the rock, and rise to the level of the other towers. They contain 2 winding, inclined planes of so gradual a slope that horses and even carriages can as- cend them to the summit of the rock. The one in front has been lately closed to form a saloon, but that behind, on the 1. as you emerge from the tunnel, still gives access to the castle, and is remarkable for its elegant florid Gothic doorway and groined roof. This and most of the other existing buildings date from the time of Charles VIII., who was much attached to Amboise, having been born here, 1470 ; he also died here, 1498.

In the interior of the chateau there is nothing worth seeing ; the im- proving hand of the present possessor having pierced holes as big as the em- brasures of a battery in its old and massive walls, to admit broad day into vaults once perhaps cachots or ou- bliettes, but now, by the aid of white- wash, ventilation and stoves, converted into comfortable kitchens, larders, pan- tries, and cellars; while the upper rooms, papered, polished, and filled with cast-off furniture from the Palais Royal, preserve no traces of antiquity. Yet in them perhaps was decided the bloody doom of those 1,200 miserable and misled Huguenot prisoners con- cerned in the well-known “ Conjura- tion d' Amboise , which had for its ob- ject to extricate the young and simple king Francis II. from the clutches and influence of the Guises, 1560. The se- cret of the plot was betrayed to the Due de Guise by one of the conspirators, and its leader, La Renaudie, seized and hung on a gibbet in the centre of the bridge. The remainder of the con- spirators were dispersed and every- where seized ; the castle walls were decorated with the hanging bodies of the criminals, and the courts and streets of the town streamed with blood, until the wearied headsman, re- signing his axe, consigned the re- mainder to other executioners who

Sect. Ill,

Houte 53. — The Loire B — Amboise.

189

drowned them in the Loire. Such was the extent of the carnage that the court was driven from Amboise by the stench of the dead bodies. This butchery formed the prelude to the still more horrible tragedy of St. Bar- tholomew. In 1470 the exiled Queen Margaret of Anjou and her son, through the intervention of the cun- j ning Louis XI., were reconciled in this castle to her quondam foe, by whom her own husband had been dethroned, the Earl of Warwick, the king-maker. Hatred to Edward IV. became the I bond of union, and they agreed in vowing vengeance on him.

The gardens are well kept up, and the view from their terraces is as good as that from the chateau itself, which is not worth entering, as it contains no paintings or architectural decorations, and is simply furnished as a country gentleman’s house. Within the garden, however, stands the little Chapel, one of the most exquisite morsels of pro- fusely florid Gothic in France, re- cently restored by the king in a man- j ner most creditable to French taste. It is in the form of a cross, was built | for Anne of Brittany, and is dedicated to St. Hubert, whoso, miraculous meeting with the stag having a cross | growing between its horns, is curiously j carved over the rich doorway. This j and the interior arepannelled through- ! out, or decorated with foliage of the 1 most delicate sculpture. The leaves, i showing all their fibres, crisped and , curled round the edges like kale, are ' cut behind in a style more common in ivory than stone. Interspersed among the foliage are singular and grotesque figures : along the wall runs a sort of frieze of stone work ; the roof is elaborately groined, and the pend- ants hanging from it carved with grotesques, the whole reminding one of the richness of Henry VHth’s chapel, without its arrangement. Un- derneath is a crypt in which was ori- ginally placed the Holy Sepulchre , now removed . to the little chapel of St. Florentin in the town below. It

consists of a group of figures as large as life, well executed in baked clay and coloured, representing the En- tombment of our Lord. The figures are said to be portraits of the family of an intendant of the palace named Babou, the three Marys being like- nesses of his daughters, who were in turn mistresses of Francis I., as the story goes. Marie de Beauvilliers and Gabrielle d’Estrees, mistresses of Henri IV., were daughters of 2 of these ladies.

In the cliff a little above the castle, and entered from the garden behind a private house, are very singular ca-

vems, called Les Greniers de Cesar.

They consist of a lofty, narrow exca- 1 vation running in a direct line into the rock, evidently once divided into i three stories, as the broken edges of the chalk vaulting which formed the roofs and floors still remain ; and by their removal the three are thrown into one. The walls are covered with cement. At the extremity is a round, vaulted chamber lined with masonry ; at one side runs a staircase cut in the rock, descending towards the river and ascending to a level with the roof of the high excavation, where it leads to three other similar vaulted chambers constructed, it is supposed, to hold corn. There is a tradition that Casar, after conquering the Gallic confedera- tion, reached the Loire at this spot, and formed a camp, traces of which still exist on the cliff above, together with thsee caves below it, to serve as store-houses.

It seems likely that these caves had a"much later origin, though their des- tination was probably for granaries or cellars.

Amboise is said to derive its name from its position between the two streams, “ ab ambabus aquis,” the Loire and the Amasse, which here falls into the Loire.

[A very pleasant excursion may be made from Amboise to Chenonceaux, 10 m. S. The road lies through the forest of Amboise, belonging to the

1 90 Route 53. — The Loire B — Chenonceaux. Sect. III.

king, passing on the rt. the pagoda of the park of Chanteloup, whose magnificent chateau, the retreat of the Due de Choiseul, discarded minister of Louis XV., when ba- nished from the court to his estate by- way of punishment, has disappeared. After the Revolution, it belonged to le Comte Chaptal, the distinguished chemist, and minister of Buonaparte, who established here a refinery of sugar from beetroot, which he first brought to perfection. The chateau was pulled down and sold a few years ago by the “ bande noir.”

At Blere (Inn: Boule d’Or) we reach the valley of the Cher ; and a road turning to the 1. up the rt. bank of the river, covered hereabouts with black vines (gros noir), leads to the village of Chenonceaux (possessing a tolerable little inn) which is connected by an avenue with the Chateau de Chenonceaux.

In front of the building extends a stately terrace lined with stone balus- trades set with orange trees, ap- proached by a flight of steps ; and adjoining is a pleasure garden.

Chateau Chenonceaux has nearly as many souvenirs about it as Amboise, but not of so disagreeable a kind. It was built in the more joyous days of Francis the First. Its picturesque round towers, bartizans, and bridged moat, though still preserving the shape of a castle, were not meant for de- fence ; and its front is covered over with graceful and delicate Italian ornaments, such as are seen at Longleat, at Audley End, and in works of Inigo Jones. It stands on the river Cher : literally on, for it is built partly upon a bridge, and the river passes under it. At a distance it is most picturesque, with its green court, its single advanced round tower, occupied by the Concierge, and pretty formal gardens around. Its interior is almost unaltered since the day it was built, besides, what is so rare in France, being well and carefully kept up, retaining all its old furniture,

old cabinets, old china, enamels, and glass. Its vaulted hall is hung with armour, its walls are covered with stamped cloth, its doors are screened by tapestry curtains which draw aside, and the rich ceilings are of blue ground studded with stars. You are shown the very glass out of which Francis I. drank ; Mary Queen of Scots’ mirror, & c. But its chief in- terest depends on the persons who have lived in it. It was given, by Henri II. to his mistress, Diana de Poitiers, who enlarged it, by extending the bridge, previously constructed over only part of the river, quite to the other side, and raising upon it a hand- some, but less quaint and interesting building, of two stories. Hither her royal lover used to repair after hunting in the neighbouring forest of Loches, Her initial, D, is plentifully intro- duced combined with his H, thus, BS She was, however, dispossessed of her fair mansion, on the death of Henry, by the wicked and unscrupulous Ca- therine de Medicis, whose bed-room, with the original furniture, is still shown. It was afterwards for some time occupied by Louise de Lorraine, widow of Henri III. : her chamber is still hung with black. Nor does the list of distinguished inmates cease here, for fnear the end of the last century all the wits of the time used to assemble here, drawn together by the owner of the mansion, Ma- dame Dupin, a beautiful, amiable, and accomplished lady, who died so re- cently as 1799, at the age of 93. In her time, Voltaire, Bolingbroke (the exiled minister), Rousseau, and many others, were her constant visiters ; and in the little, dusty, faded theatre, which occupies the end of Diana’s gallery, Rousseau’s opera, “ Le Devin du Village,” was performed for the first time. The collection of his- torical portraits, including all the persons who have lived here, is very curious ; among them a whole- length portrait of Diana, said to be by Primaticcio, in the costume of

Sect. III.

Route 53. — The Loire B — Tours.

191

her namesake, the goddess, with a dog in a leash, a bow at her back, and wearing a taffetta petticoat, em- broidered with golden fleurs-de-lys. Here are also portraits of Henri IV., of Sully, of Rabelais, and a cast of the sweet face of Agnes Sorel from her monument at Loches. The most re- markable thing about Chenonceaux, perhaps, is that it escaped the ravages of the Revolution ; owing solely to the respect which the character of Ma- dame Dupin, its mistress, commanded. Strangers are obligingly admitted by the present proprietor, Le Comte de Villeneuve, to see the interior.

Loches ( R. 56. ) is about 18 m. S. of Chenonceaux ; the road runs partly through the forest of Loches. It is a dreary ride.]

Rt. The road to Tours, below Amboise, is carried along the Levee, at no great distance from the Loire.

L. Mont Louis, a village composed partly of caves cut in the rocks, was the place of meeting of an ecclesiastical assembly, convened to witness the reconciliation of Henry II. with Thomas a Becket only 3 months be- fore his assassination.

Rt. Frilliere* : near this, the banks of the river rise into considerable heights ; and on the top of a projecting promontory stands, conspicuous from afar, rt., the feudal beacon tower, called Lanterne de la Roche Corbon, not unlike a great factory chimney of modern times. It anciently commu- nicated by telegraphic signals with the Castle of Amboise. It is about 50 ft. high, and stands on the very verge of the cliff, above the small village of Roche Corbon, remarkable because most of its habitations are cut out of the limestone (craie tuffeau). They are sometimes faced with walls, at others with partitions of the living rock, and are prettily festooned with vines. One mass of rock which must have slipped from above, and now lies in a nook, is turned into 2 cottages of 2 stories. These habitations seem

Post road. — 12 La Frilliere.

comfortable, and are mostly provided with little gardens in front. Some large excavations which belonged to the castle of Roche Corbon, with fragments of masonry, remain. It is worth while to climb up to the top of the rock, beside the Lanterne, to look down upon the Loire from thence, a pleasing prospect. It is possible to scramble through the vineyards along the top of the cliff nearly to St. Rade- gonde, and so to reach Tours (4i m.), but there is no path.

Rt. A row of villas with formal gardens, interspersed with villages, line the bank nearly all the way to Tours, whose cathedral towers form a fine object in the distance.

Rt. The round tower, rising at the water-side, close to the road, together with a gate-house, and a few crumb- ling foundations of pillars and walls, are the sole remains of the once mag- nificent Abbey of Marmoutier (Majus Monasterium ), one of the richest in France, founded by St. Martin, in which the sainte ampoule, or vessel of holy oil, given by an angel to St. Martin to rub a bruise which he had received, was preserved, an object of veneration with pilgrims. It was sent to Chartres to anoint Henri IV. at his coronation.

L. Just above the city of Tours is the mouth of the canal or cut which joins the Loire to the Cher, whose course is nearly parallel with the Loire, and only 1 3| m. S. of it.

Rt. Opposite to it are remains of the old Gothic bridge built by Eudes Count of Touraine, in the 11th cen- tury.

L. Tours. f — Inns: Faisan, good, clean, and reasonable ; — H. de Lon- dres ; comfortable, civil attendance ; — La Boule d’ Or ; all 3 in the Rue Royale close to the Messageries ; — H. St. Julian, adjoining the desecrated church of that name.

Tours, chief town of the department Indre et Loire, and once capital of Touraine, is situated in the midst of f Post road — 12 Tours

192 R. 53 . — The Loire JB — Tours — Cathedral. Sect. III.

the fertile but flat valley of the Loire, on its 1. bank, and between it and the Cher, and has 28,000 inhabitants. The great road from Paris to Bor- deaux and Bayonne here crosses the river by its bridge of 15 arches, 1,423 ft. long, and traverses the whole ex- tent of the town through its principal street, the Rue Royale, a fine avenue running in a direct line from the bridge, and containing the principal hotels, cafes, shops, and offices of the diligences. At its entrance from the bridge stands on the rt. the Hotel de Ville, and on the 1. the Musee, while in front run quays and planted platforms, serving as promenades. The town is no longer remarkable for the many objects of curiosity which it possessed before the sweeping convul- sion of the Revolution ; and the charms of its situation, in an unvaried plain, have been greatly overrated by the French. The Loire, though a fine river at certain seasons, contributes less to its beauty than might be expected, owing to a great part of its channel being left bare in summer, so that only three or four of the arches of the bridge bestride the shrunken stream, while the rest traverse wide, ugly beds of bare gravel. Owing to the flatness of the surface and the dust there are few interesting walks or rides in its im- mediate vicinity. However, our de- scription of the town shall assume the form of a walk, which may occupy a long morning, or a short day.

Starting from any of the hotels in the Rue Royale, a turning on the 1. ( Rue de la Scellerie ) leads you past the Poste aux Lettres to the Archeveche, approached by a handsome Italian portal, at the side of which rises the stately Cathedral of St . Gatien. The W. front, consisting of 3 lofty por- tals enriched with florid ornaments, niches, and foliage, surmounted by a window having a 4-pointed head, as- tonishes by its vastness ; it dates from about 1510. The 2 towers which flank it are 205 ft. high ; their domed tops, carved as with scales, are some-

what later than the rest, and of a de- based Italian style, not conformable with the lower part.

The interior, 2 56 ft. long and 85 ft. high, is in a mature and noble style of Gothic resembling early English, with varied capitals to the columns ; the choir was begun 1170, and the nave carried on to completion in the reign of St. Louis, but the W. end is still later, of the 15th century. In the beautiful old painted glass sur- rounding the choir, and shedding a venerable gloom about the altar, may be seen the arms of St. Louis, of his mother, Blanche of Castille, and those of the town, a group of towers. The fine rose window in the N. transept is injured in effect by a thick stone prop carried through the middle to support the roof. At the angle of the S. transept and aisle is the marble mo- nument of the 2 only children of Charles VIII. and Anne de Bretagne, in consequence of whose early deaths the succession passed to the branch of Valois Orleans. Figures of the 2 princes, watched by angels, recline on a sarcophagus of white marble de- corated with the arms of France, with dolphins, bas-reliefs, and orna- ments in the style of the renaissance it is the work of 2 Tourangeaux artists named Juste, cotemporaries of Jean Goujon.

It is worth while to ascend the towers on account of the view ; which includes Amboise, Plessis les Tours, and the course of the Loire and Cher. The woodwork of the roof, a master- piece of carpentry, covering the stone roof, and the elegant, light, spiral stair- case ( renaissance ), resting on a crown of open groins or ribs, in the N. tower, should be seen at the same time.

Passing from the cathedral towards the quay, two circular and machicola- ted towers are seen on the rt., enclosed within the Cavalry Barracks : these formed part of the Castle built by Henry II. of England in the 12th century. From this tower Charles de Lorraine, the son of the Due de

Touraine. Route 53. — The Loire JB — Tours.

193

Guise le Balafre, imprisoned by Henri HI. after his father’s murder at Blois, escaped by letting himself down by a rope. Turning to the 1. and following the line of the quay, you reach the Bridge (b. 1762) already mentioned : several of its arches have given way at different times, owing to the river undermining its foundations.

The Musee contains a collection of nearly 200 bad pictures, chiefly copies, and some casts ; it is open to the pub- lic only on Sundays, 12 — 4. A Last Judgment, brought from the chapel of the castle of Plessis, may be mentioned as curious.

A little way up the Rue' Royale, on the 1. in going from the bridge, is the desecrated Church of St. Julian, now r turned into a remise and coach house for diligences; but though so degraded it is a fine pointed edifice of the 13th century ( 1224), except the lower part of the W. tower, which is founded upon circular arches, with Romanesque capitals belonging to an. older church. The building is so perfect that it might easily be ren- dered fit for divine service. There are three or four other desecrated churches here. The first street on the rt. is the Rue de Commerce, and No. 35. the residence of M. Gouin (Ban- quier, Agent of Coutts, & c. ), is the handsomest old mansion in the town, and a perfectly preserved specimen of the style of the renaissance (16th cen- tury) adapted to domestic architec- ture : its front is richly decorated

with coats of arms, scroll-work, &c. ; its dormer windows are terminated by crocketted gables ; a turret projects in front, below which is the entrance, and round the bottom runs a light trefoil balustrade. The house is said to have been the Chancellerie de Louis XI.

Continuing our walk along the Rue de Commerce we come to the Rue des Trois Pucelles ; where the house No. 18. passes for that of TWs- ian VHermite , the ill-omened execu- tioner of Louis XI. (See Quentin France.

Durward. ) It is a bricx mansion, evic \-ntly of the 16th century; its frei ‘arminates in a gable, and is flank by a stair turret, 70 ft. high, overtopping the neighbouring houses and commanding a view of Plessis. Its door and windows are enriched with florid canopies, that over the door supported on twisted columns ; but the remarkable feature, to which probably the house owes its name, is that the string courses dividing the 3 stories are formed by ropes in relief, ending in fantastic knots so as to resemble the noose of a halter ; the same occurs also over the door. On the wall may be read the motto, “ Assez aurons, et peu vivrons ” and “ priez pour — ” The court-yard walls are similarly decorated, and on the ground floor is an elegant vaulted re- cess for a lavatory. In the same street, on the opposite side, is a house of evidently much greater antiquity ( 14th century) having a vaulted ground floor and an arcade of pointed arches running along its first floor.

In going hence to the Yieux Marche a corner house, now a shop, is remark- able for the carvings on the front, re- presenting the Holy Family.

In the centre of the market-place itself is a white marble fountain, La Fontaine de Baune, of considerable elegance, in the renaissance style, ex- ecuted by the brothers Juste. Among its ornaments are the porcupine, the crest of Louis XII., and the ermine of Anne of Brittany.

Two Towers, rising on either side of the Rue St. Martin, are conspi- cuous objects in all views of the town : one, containing the clock, having a domed top, is called the Tour de St. Martin, or d’Horloge , the other, La Tour de Charlemagne, was so named, it is said, because his wife Luitgarde was buried below it. They deserve notice and mention as the only remaining re- lics of the vast Cathedral of St. Martin of Tours. The palladium of this cele- brated building was the shrine of St. Martin, the first metropolitan of Tours, x

1 94? JR. 53. — Tours — St. Martin — Plessis les Tours. Sect. Ill,

(a.d. 340), which became to the bar- barians of the dark ages what Delphi was to the Greeks, — the oracle which kings and chiefs came to consult, in the beginning of the 7th century. The concourse of pilgrims to this shrine occasioned the old Roman town Ceesar- odunum of the Turones to swell to ten times its original extent. The great ecclesiastical establishment of which this church was the centre spread civilisation and religion through the country, and its archbishop became the patriarch of France and one of the most influential persons in the state. At the head of the chapter even the kings of France were proud to enroll themselves.

Its treasures in precious metals, jewels, &c. amounted to 575 marcs of gold and 2,200 marcs of silver, in 1562, when it was pillaged by the Huguenots, who broke the images, melted the lamps, and burnt the relics deposited here. After flourishing for twelve centuries, the church, an enor- mous edifice, was utterly destroyed at the Revolution, excepting two towers out of the five which adorned it. On viewing the space which now intervenes between them, some idea may be formed of its extent. One of these stood at the W. end, the other at the N. W. ; both seem from their style to date from the 12th century. At- tached to that of St. Martin may be seen Romanesque pillars and capitals of an earlier edifice. Louis XI., through gratitude for supposed benefits derived from the Saint’s intercession, sur- rounded St. Martin’s shrine with a railing of solid silver which weighed nearly 677 6 marcs. His needy fol- lower, Francis I., had it taken down and converted into good crown pieces, which were called “ testons au gros bonnet.”

Bishop Gregory of Tours, a na- tive of the city, was buried within the walls of this church.

A florid Gothic portal, forming the front of a house in the street running from the market to the Rue St. Mar-

tin, was one of the residences of the chapter.

The Halle au Ble is another secular- ised church, dedicated to St. Clement, gutted to a mere shell. It is a build- ing of the 16th century; its florid N. porch, though mutilated, still retains portions of foliage cut with much de- licacy. There is nothing to be seen within.

Plessis les Tours , the castellated den of the tyrant and bigot Louis XI., with which all the world is acquainted through the admirable descriptions of Quentin Durward, is situated in the commune of La Riche, adjoining a humble hamlet of scattered cottages, on a perfectly flat plain, about a mile distant from the Halle au Ble, on the W. of Tours, passing the Barriere des Oiseaux, and beyond the Hospice Generale. Visiters to Plessis must not expect anything in the shape of a feudal castle, for it was built at a time when the fortress was giving place to the fortified mansion. When complete, it must have been somewhat like the older parts of Hampton Court and St. James’s Palaces, which were built not many years after Plessis, with this difference, that the niggardliness of Louis, and his apprehension of danger, caused it to be built in so plain a style, and with so many defensive pre- cautions, walls of enclosure, draw- bridges, battlements, and wet and dry ditches, that its external appearance must have corresponded with that of a gaol much more than of a palace. The small fragment now remaining, so far from having about it the least trace or character of a castle, looks like a mean ordinary dwelling: indeed it

formed part of the inner constructions, but was surrounded by three ramparts and fosses. It is of plain red brick, with quoins of stone, and sash win- dows, surmounted by a high pitched roof, and almost all traces of the scanty ornaments have been destroyed. Be- side it is a stair turret, recently raised 16 or 20 feet, with a wooden addition at the side to convert it into a shot

Touraine.

Route 53 . — -Plessis les Tours.

195

tower i Originally a cloister ran along the front. The interior is modern, ex- cept the stair, and contains nothing worth notice. All traces are gone of the pitfalls, fosses, &c. which originally surrounded the castle ; but on the 1., as you approach the house, are seen the foundations of walls of masonry ; and a door, below ground, leads into a range of vaulted chambers barely lighted by small windows, which may once have served for prisons as they now do for cellars. It is evident that the palace was well supplied with dungeons. At the end of the small terrace walk in the garden is another vault, called the prison of Cardinal de la Balue, who was shut up for betraying his master’s secrets to Charles of Bur- gundy : it has been repaired, but the lower steps of a stair, the lower part of the fire-place, the grated bars and shutters are old. At the back of a cottage, nearly facing the garden gates, is a small vaulted chapel, now filled with casks, said to be the Oratory of Louis XI., where he passed hours in abject prayer to the Virgin and Saints for cure of his complicated maladies. The present doorway has been broken through the wall where the altar stood ; the two small windows are nearly stopped up. Louis ended his miserable life here, 1483. Plessis was converted into a Depot de Mendicite about 1778 ; it was sold and pulled down at the Revolution. Plessis lies on the tongue of land between the Loire and Cher, about a mile from the Cher, and 9 m. above their junction.

Between Plessis and the Hospice is an old house, called La Rabaterie , having a square turret at the back which passes for the residence of Oli- vier le Daim, the barber and minister of Louis.

There remains little else to describe at Tours. Under the mutilated and uninteresting church of N6tre Dame la Riche (originally called La Pauvre) is a cave vaulted, and having pillars in the corners, where it is said St. Ga- tien, the predecessor of St. Martin,

first preachedChristianity to the Gauls,

a. d. 251., but it is now shut up.

At the Prefecture is placed the Public Library of 40,000 volumes, in- cluding some curious MSS. ; for ex- ample, a copy of the Gospels in gold letters on vellum, which belonged to the church cf St. Martin, upon which the king of France took the oaths as premier chanoine of that church ; Les Heures of Charles V. of France and of Anne de Bretagne, and numerous Missals, besides early printed books. The library is open Tuesday, Wednes- day, Thursday, and Friday, 12 — 4.

The most respectable Cafe is that De la Ville, Rue Royale, opposite the Hotel de Londres.

The Poste aux Lettres is in the Rue de la Scellerie, and the Theatre in the same.

The number of English established in and around Tours in very con- siderable; they have a subscription club.

The English Church service is peri- formed every Sunday at 12 in the chapel Rue de la Prefecture. There is a second chapel, 5. Levee St. Sym- phorien.

Conveyances : — to Paris, matte - poste and 8 or 10 diligences daily (see Introduction, g ) ; to Bordeaux, malleposte and 3 great diligences daily, beside others to Poitiers, Angou- leme, &c. ; to Nantes; to Rochelle, Rochefort, Saumur, Angers ; to Loches, Bourges, or Chinon daily.

Malleposte to Rouen and Havre by de Mans, daily.

Steamers : — Les Inexplosibles daily to Nantes (in 1 1 hours) and An- gers ; to Orleans in 14 or 15 hours. They start very early ; about 4 or 5 ! o’clock in the morning.

Tours was long famed for its manufacture of silk, established 148Q by Louis XI., who brought over and settled here Italian weavers. Tl^is j branch of industry, however, was j ruined by the revocation of the edict of Nantes, by which the population was I reduced from 80,000 to less than one

196 Route 53. — The Loire B — Tours — Mettray. Sect. III.

half. This tyrannical act transferred 3,000 families, with their wealth and industry, from France to Holland, and the manufacture dwindled away at Tours to take root at Lyons. Tours has now no manufacture of great importance, but receives some life from being a place of much pas- sage, planted on one of the great high roads of France. Th epruneaux

de Tours , once so celebrated, are now far less esteemed in commerce than the dried plums of Gascony and Pro- vence.

Tours is a city of some importance in history. The Turones, its ancient inhabitants, joined the league of the 64 Gallic towns under Vercingetorix against Julius Caesar, and are men- tioned by Lucan, “ Instabiles Tu- rones circumsita castra coerunt.” The Lande de Mire, about 9 m. to the S.W. on the road to Azay le Rideau, is supposed to be the place where the Saracens under Abder- ahmen were defeated by Charles Martel, and Europe saved from the Mahomedan yoke, a.d. 732.

One of the chief mints of France was established in the middle ages at Tours, whence come the livres Tournoises, silver pieces (libra or as of the Romans) the equivalent of francs at present, which were coined here.

The Porte Hug on, which stood at the end of a street running down to the Loire, is said to have given the name of Huguenots to the Protestant party in France, who being very numerous in the town, but checked and watched by their enemies, used to meet beyond the walls, issuing out stealthily through this gate at nightfall. A more probable deriva- tion of Huguenot, is from the Swiss Eidgenossen, i. e. Confederate. An- other memorial of the days of per- secution of the Protestant s is retained in the name Rue Renard, persons suspected of heresy being pursued in the streets by the Romanists about 1562, hunted down with the cry “ au Reynard,” and often massacred.

Touraine was bestowed as an apa- nage on Mary Queen of Scots and her short-lived husband Francis, and she is said to have drawn revenue from it, as Duchess of Touraine, even while in captivity in England, but it was afterwards given in her life- time to the Due d’Alen^n, brother of Henri III.

It is a pleasant walk of about 4 m. along the road to Orleans up the rt. bank of the Loire to the singular village La Roche Corbon , excavated out of the rock (p. 191.). It would be better to ride thither, and thus avoid the long dusty road.

The Colony of Mettray, about m. from Tours, established by two phi- lanthropic French gentlemen, the Vicomte Bretigneres De Cour- teilles and Le Conseiller Demetz, deserves very high praise, and will be visited by all who take an interest in the improvement of their fellow- creatures. The objects which its founders and directors have in view are, the education, reward, and re- storation to society of juvenile of- fenders, who while in the public pri- sons have distinguished themselves by good conduct and by signs of peni- tence. This is sought to be effected by teaching them the mode of gain- ing an honest livelihood, chiefly by agricultural labour. The ground on which the establishment stands was given by the vicomte; it is conducted by him and his friend in person, and is supported by voluntary donations and annual subscriptions.

More distant and highly interesting excursions may be made to Amboise (p. 188.), Chenonceaux, 24 m. off (p.190. ; 4 hours’ drive), Loehes

(p. 197.), and to that curious and un- explained monument of antiquity La Pile de St. Mars (p. 202.).

ROUTE 54.

CHARTRES TO TOURS, BY VENDOME.

139 kilom. = 88 Eng. m.

Diligences daily.

Touratne.

Route 54 . — Chartres to Tours.

197

15 La Bourdiniere.

16 Bonneval.

An ancient Benedictine convent here is converted into a cotton mill.

14 Chateaudun. A town of 6,500 inhabitants, standing on the banks of the Loir. Its most conspicuous building is the ancient Castle of the Counts of Dunois, surmounted by a prodigious tower, 90 ft. high, built by Thibaut le Tricheur in the 10th century. The ancient name of the town, whence comes the modern, was Castellodunum.

During the next stage the road descends by the side of the Loir, passing the Gothic castle of Mon- tigny on a height beyond the river.

1 2 Cloyes.

17 Pezou.

1 1 Vendome. — Inns : Hotel Ga- liondre, good. A town of 9,470 inhabi on the Loir, at the foot of vine-clad slopes. Above it rise the picturesque ruins of the Castle of the Dues de Vendome, demolished at the Revo- diuon, when the graves of Jeanne d’Albret, mother of Henri IV., and of several Bourbon princes, were rifled, and their tombs destroyed. There is a College here.

We now cross the Loir for the 4th time, and quit its valley to tra- verse a monotonous plain to

14 Neuve St. Amand.

12 Chateau Regnault, a town of 2,500 inhabitants.

15 Monnaye (Indre et Loire).

15 Tours, in R. 53.

ROUTE 56.

TOURS TO LOCHES AND CHATEAUROU

108 kilom. =67 Eng. m.

Diligences, daily, to Loches, about 41 hours.

You continue along the road to Bordeaux (Route 64.) for about 2 m . after crossing the Cher ; then turn to the 1. There is little to notice until after passing

1 9 Cormery, we reach the borders | of the Indre, which flows through one i of the richest and most fertile valleys | of Touraine ; in the midst of which ! stands

21 Loches . — Inns : H. Grand Mo- narque, best, F. I. ; — du Promenade, extortionate. This is one of the most picturesque towns of Touraine, far more striking than Chinon or Amboise; its buildings are huddled together round the base of a lofty rock, from whose commanding top the romantic ruins of its historic and ill-omened Castle still frown over the land-

scape, forming the grand and strik-
ing feature in every view. The town

I still retains several of its old gates \ grooved for the portcullis, and gar-

nished with holes for stockade beams,

and in its streets are some old houses.

On the opposite bank of the Indre lies the suburb of Beaulieu, connected with the town by a row of bridges. The river winding through the vale overspreads its bottom with a carpet of the richest verdure, fringed with willows and poplars, and turns the machinery of one or two mills.

The Castle of Loches, though long a royal palace, in which James V. of Scotland was married to Magdalen of [ France, and where Francis I. held his | splendid court and received the Em- i peror Charles V. on his way from Spain to Ghent, is better known,

' and has a more terrible reputation ' as a prison of state, especially during I the reign of Louis XI., when “the I sound of the name of Loches was i yet more dreaded than Plessis itself, j as a place destined to the workings of i those secret acts of cruelty with which even Louis shamed to pollute the in- terior of his own residence at Plessis. There were in this place of terror dungeons under dungeons, some of them unknown even to the keepers themselves ; living graves, to which men were consigned with little hope of farther employment during the rest of their life, than to breathe impure air, and feed on bread and water. At k 3

1 98 Route 56 .- — Tours to Loches and Chateauroux. Sect. Ill,

this formidable castle were also those dreadful places of confinement, called cages, in which the wretched prisoner could neither stand upright, nor stretch himself at length ; an invention, it is said, of Cardinal Balue.” — - Scott . Louis appointed Olivier le Dain, the barber, who was also his prime minis- ter, governor of the castle and gaoler. It is composed of a pile of build- ings of various ages, partly in ruins. The most conspicuous of all is the tall white Donjon tower, rising at the extremity of the platform of rock to a height of 120 ft., and overhanging the verge of the precipice. Its walls of even and perfect masonry, sup- ported by buttresses, in the form of circular pillars, pierced by scanty round-headed windows above, and by mere slits below, mark it as a work of the Norman style, probably of the 12th century, though some attribute its construction to Foulques Nerra, Comte d’ Anjou, in the 11th. In its size, form, and the arrangement of the entrance stair, within a projecting lower tower, it is not unlike the white Tower of London, and the castles of Newcastle and Norwich, j Its walls, 8 ft. thick, are now empty, gutted of the four stories into which they were divided. It stands within the inclosure of the town gaol, a part of the castle having been con- verted into that ignoble purpose. Beside it rises a picturesque group of less ancient towers, in one of which, circular in form, are the terrible Cachots of Louis XI., ex- tending downwards in four stories below one another. Two of them contained the iron cages invented by Cardinal Balue, who himself expiated his treasonable betrayal of his master’s secrets to the Duke of Burgundy by a confinement of eight years in one of them. In another, Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, the prisoner of Louis XII., from 1500 until death came to release him, lingered for many years. Here Philip de Commines, the his- torian, was also shut up in 1486 ; the Due d’Alen^on, 1456 ; Charles de

Melun, who was beheaded, 1468 ; and many more victims of tyranny. These dungeons are vaulted, and dimly lighted by small windows, whose deep recesses in walls 10 or 12 ft. thick, are crossed by double iron gratings. The cages existed down to 1789.

At the other end of the castle plat- form, on the 1. as you ascend from the town through the arched gate- way, is a more modern pile of build- ing, now serving as the Sous Prefecture . At one end of the terrace behind it, within a small tower, is placed the monument of Agnes Sorel, mistress of Charles VII., who was born, 1400, in the neighbouring chateau of Fro- monteau. Upon a base of black mar- ble reclines the effigy of La Belle des Belles, well sculptured in white lime- stone, her hands uplifted in prayer, with two angels bending over her* head, and shielding her with their wings, and two lambs reclining at her feet. She is gracefully attired in long robes, and a simple circlet surrounds her brow ; her countenance exhibits a refined character of beauty, modesty, sweetness, and gentleness, not un- worthy of the Madonna of Raphael, and befitting one whose influence over a king was never exercised but for good. It has been proved, however, by an acute historian, that she could in no wise have contributed to sti- mulate Charles to the assumption of his dominions and the expulsion of the English, not having been seen by him until 1431, after the death of Jeanne d’ Arc. When Charles died, the ungrateful monks of Loches, whom | the bounty of Agnes had cherished

and her bequests had enriched, were

j desirous of ejecting her remains and tomb from their church, on the score of some scruples as to the purity of her life, but even Louis XL, much as he hated Agnes, reproved such in- gratitude, and they remained in their place until the Revolution, when the grave was violated, and the monument was preserved from destruction only by the interference of the prefect.

Between the Sous Prefecture and

Touraine.

Route57 * — Tours to Saumur ,

199

the Norman keep stands the Church of St. Ours, a very interesting monu- ment of the ecclesiastical architecture of the 11th century, founded by Foul- ques Nera, Comte d’ Anjou, or his father ; but said to have been in great part rebuilt at the end of the 12th cen- tury. It is surmounted by an octago- nal cupola and by two spires, in the manner of the churches on the Rhine. A larue W. doorway, enriched with most singular mouldings and carvings of monstrous heads, has been preserved in a very perfect state, owing to its being covered by a porch or vestibule. Another doorway on the N. has harpy- like figures on the capitals of its pillars. The choir and short tran- septs have apsidal terminations. The nave is singularly roofed in compart- ments, forming two cupolas which rise externally in the form of co- nical pyramids. The crypt chapel beneath the choir, recently discovered, ■was the place of devotion chosen by the bigot Louis XI.

The rest of the road lies up the pretty vale of the Indre, to

21 Chatillon sur Indre, a town of 2,700 inhab., in the Dept, l’lndre, and the ancient province of Berry.

23 Buzan^ais, a town of 3,800 in- habitants, on the rt. bank of the river, whose branches are here crossed by several bridges.

23 Chateauroux, in R. 65.

[edit]

ROUTE 57. TOURS TO SAUMUR, BY CHINON AND FONTEVRAULD.

76 kilom. = 47 Eng. miles. Diligences daily.

This route issues out of Tours lined by avenues of poplars, and crosses at the distance of 1§ m. the river Cher, a little to the E. of Plessis les Tours (p. 195.) The Cher runs for about 15 m. below this nearly parallel with the Loire, before uniting itself

to that river. Along its N. bank runs a considerable levee or dyke con- structed by Madame de Vermandois, abbess of Beaumont les Tours, to pro- tect the land between it and the Loire from inundations. After crossing the flat land, passing numerous white hamlets and villas, the road ascends and traverses an extensive table land before entering the valley of the Indre, on whose banks stands

24 Azay le Rideau, a small town prettily situated, 15 m. from Tours. On the 1. of the road nearly concealed by trees, and surrounded by branches of the Indre, is the Chateau, one of the best preserved specimens in France of the semi-castellated manor house, in the style of the Renaissance. It was built by Gilles Berthelot in the reign of Francis I., and over the chief portal, enriched with sculpture and combinations of three classic orders, may be discerned the emblem of that king, the Salamander, with the motto “ Nutrio et extinguo,” and the initials of Diana of Poitiers. The carving has been thought worthy of Jean Goujon ; the entire fa£ade and the stair- case are very elegant, the wall partly pannelled, and the compartments filled with diversified patterns. The interior has been preserved nearly unaltered, and contains old furniture and a col- lection of portraits. A bed, supported in the 4 corners by carved figures, is of most elaborate Gothic workmanship. A neatly kept garden surrounds the house. The present owner is M. de Biancourt.

A considerable tract of forest is tra- versed on the direct road from Azay, before it descends by the hollow way behind the castle of

22 Chinon. — Inns : H. de France, best, tolerable, though small ; — Chene Vert, dirty. A deserted and dull little town, which yet deserves a visit, owing to its pleasing posi- tion on the rt. bank of the Vienne, and on account of the numerous and interesting historical associations at- tached to its utterly ruined Castle, k 4

200

Route 57. — Chinon — Castle .

Sect. III.

the French Windsor of our Planta- genet kings, as it has been termed, where Henry II. breathed his last, uttering curses on his own sons, whose disobedience had hastened his death. It was the favourite residence, also, of the French monarchs from Philippe Augustus to Henri IV., and the scene of Joan of Arc’s first public appear- ance. The remains are of vast extent, but too much demolished, and too white in colour, to be very picturesque. They occupy the summit of a lofty platform of rock, rising nearly 800 ft. above the town and river. A natural escarpment surrounds it on 3 sides ; where the cliff was not naturally vertical, it has been cut away, and huge walls of smooth masonry have been built up from below to a level with the top of the cliff, so as to render it hope- less, before the days of gunpowder, to scale or batter such a fortress. Be- tween the river and the rock crouch the buildings of the town. Behind the castle, in a deep hollow, runs the road to Tours, originally commanded by the castle embrasures; and a deep gully or fosse is cut through the rock on the 4th side, to isolate the pro- montory from the ridge of which it forms the termination.

Several of the tall flanking towers remain tolerably perfect ; the rest is all crumbling wall. The 3 divisions into which the castle was separated, by deep dry ditches, may still be dis- covered. In the central division, above the entrance to which rises the tall Donjon, the only part now in- habited, are shown the royal apart- ments ; and among them the very one in which Joan the Maid, the simple shepherdess of Domremy*, recognised Charles the Dauphin, though dis- guised in plain attire, and signalling him out from among the crowd of courtiers, led him apart to the recess of the window, where she unfolded to him “ secrets known only to himself and to God.” The scene of that interview, and of the splendours o

Sae Quarterly Review, No. CXXX V 1 1 1 /

the court of the careless and luxurious Charles, whom even the loss of a king- dom could not recall from indolence and pleasure, is now a broken ruin open to the sky, with one or two transoms remaining in the windows, and a few traces of paint upon the walls. Close beside it is a very deep square tower, adjoining one of the ditches, and without openings, said to have been the Oubliettes down which prisoners were cast.

Crossing a bridge into the 3d court, we find around it the towers of La Glaciere, in w'hich Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Templars, is said to have been confined ; the Tour du Moulin , so called because it was sur- mounted by a windmill, standing at the farthest extremity, and of very solid structure ; and the Tour d’Ar- gentau, from which, as the story goes, a secret passage led beyond the wall to the Maison Robardeau, the retreat of Agnes Sorel, Charles’s mistress. Among all these fragments, the only trace of the original Norman castle is to be found in the round tower du Moulin ; the rest seems not older than the 15th century.

The view from the walls is very pleasing, extending for a long distance up and down the fertile valley, — “a glowing and glorious prospect ; a green expanse of groves and vine- yards all blending into one,” - — with the winding Vienne sparkling and flashing among the green meadows, or foliage of poplars, walnut trees, and vines, nearly as far as its junction with the Loire, which, however, is not visible. Fontevrault, the last resting- place of Henry II. and his undutiful son, the Lion-hearted Richard, is concealed from view by intervening heights.

There is nothing worth notice in the town of Chinon (pop. 6,677) itself. No tradition is preserved of I the hostelry in which the Pucelle j was lodged, on her arrival from her ! native village, and where she was ! kept two days before she could obtain

Touraine. Route 58 . — The Loire C — Tours to Nantes. 201

admission to the king, until his coun- cillors had ascertained whether she was a sorceress. Nor can the church be pointed out in which she spent the greater part of each day in prayer, while she resided here. It was at Chinon that she first received from the king her suit of knight’s armour, and an escort of a squire, a confessor, and 2 pages. Here she first girt on the mysterious sword found in the church of St. Catherine of Fierbois (p. 221 .), and here unfurled her white banner sprinkled with fleurs-de-lis, made expressly for her under the di- rection of her mysterious “ voices.”

The rocks behind the town, under- neath the castle, have been quarried for ages to supply building materials, and these subterraneous excavations have attained a great extent. There is nothing worth seeing in them, nor is it a task of pleasure to explore them.

Chinon is the country of Rabelais, who was born 1483, in the farm- house called La Deviniere, in the com- mune of Seuilly, a little way on the 1. of the road to Saumur, on the op- posite side of the Vienne. He com- menced his education in the school of the neighbouring abbey, whose monks he afterwards ridiculed in his writings.

At Champigny, about 9 m. S. of Chinon, is a chapel containing very remarkable painted glass, representing the life of St. Louis.

It is a very delightful drive from Chinon to Saumur, through a country teeming with fertility, amongst orch- ards, and walnut groves, and acacia hedges, while beneath the fruit trees springs up a crop of corn, without exhausting the soil. The valley of the Vienne terminates at Candes, re- markable for its fine church (p. 203.), where that river falls into the Loire ; and our road emerging upon its ]. bank, is carried along it, through most pleasing scenery, to

30 Saumur, described, with the rest of the road, in p. 204.

At Montsoreau, close to Candes, our road passes within 3. in. of the !

Abbey of Fontevrault. The excursion thither is described in p. 203.

ROUTE 58.

THE LOIRE C : TOURS TO NANTES, BY

SAUMUR AND ANGERS.

By land 200 kilom. ==124 Eng. m.

A steamer descends daily to Nantes in about 1 1 hours, touching at An- gers.

Two steamers ascend daily between Nantes and Angers, in 10 hours; one of them continues on to Tours, in 8 or 10 hours.

The prettiest part of the course of the Loire lies below Tours, in the neighbourhood of Saumur, and thence to Nantes. For some distance below Tours, however, its banks continue low, and its bed, every where too large in summer for its stream, is left bare and unsightly. Owing to the want of water, and the constant shifting of sand-banks, very often, in hot sum- mers, the navigation is interrupted for two or three months. In winter, the river sometimes rises 20 ft. above its ordinary level, and from these irregu- larities it is unfit for the permanent establishment of water-mills or ma- nufactories on its banks. It is con- fined oil both sides by levees as far down as Angers.

The project of limiting its bed to a width of 120 metres, by stone dykes raised in the midst of the stream pa- rallel with its course, intended to force the bulk of water into a central chan- nel, and allow the sand to be deposited behind them, has produced an exactly opposite effect; for the river, having in most instances broken through the walls, runs on the outside of them.

The high road continues, as before (p. 187.), along the Lev^e, or river dyke, often on a level with the tops of the houses and cottages, which, to- gether with the fertile fields, orchards, gardens, and vineyards, it protects from the inundations of the Loire, k 5

202 Route 58. — - The Loire C

commanding, both on the river and land side, an extensive view.

Rt. St. Symphorien, nearly opposite Tours, forms a sort of suburb to that city ; and not far from it is the pretty hamlet of St. Cyr, where a cottage, called La Grenadiere, is at present the retreat of the veteran poet Beranger.

Rt. Luynes* is a small town at the opening of a valley into the Loire, backed by a limestone cliff, pierced with numerous cave dwellings, on the top of which stands the old Castle, com- manding the country around. It was the residence of the seigneurs of 'Luynes, and among them of the first duke, the favourite of Louis XIII. and Constable of France, who gave his own name to the castle and town, pre- viously called de Maille, 1619. Not far off are the ruins of an aqueduct , said to be Roman, of which nearly 50 square pillars and 8 arches remain. Luynes is the birth-place of Paul Louis Courrier, the celebrated politi- cal writer $ he was found shot dead near his own residence, Veretz, on the banks of the Cher, not far from this, 1825.

A little below Luynes is,

Rt., Cinq Mars, or more correctly St. Mars, since the name is supposed to be a contraction of St. Medard. Near this village, whose ruined castle gave a title to another favourite of Louis XIII., who fell by the exe- cutioner’s axe, under the relentless rule of Cardinal Richelieu, is the curi- ous ancient monument called La Pile de Cinq Mars, a. square tower of brick, 92 ft. high and 13 ft. wide on each face, surmounted originally by 5 pin- nacles 10 ft. high, one of which was thrown down by a storm, 1751. The origin, use, and age of the pile, are equally unknown. Some attribute it to the Romans, others to the Celts. It is destitute of door, window, or other opening, and is perfectly solid. On the S. face the bricks are arranged so as to form 12 compartments. It was probably a funereal monument.

Post road. — lOJLuynes.

- Pile de Cinq Mars. Sect. III.

The traveller continues to pass en- tire villages cut in the yellow chalk rock, or tuffeau, whenever it rises into cliffs favourable for human habita- tions.

L. The Cher, after running parallel with the Loire for about 15 m., enters it a little above Cinq Mars, but sends off a bx-anch which continues to run parallel with it until it joins the Indre, 9 m. lower down.

Rt. Langeais f , another little town, has also a castle, intolerable preserva- tion, which is remarkable because the marriage of Charles VIII. with Anne of Brittany was celebrated within its walls — an event which united that important province to France. The gate-house serves as a gaol. This castle was built, in the 13th centurj^ by Pierre de la Brosse, minister of Philippe le Hardi, after having been barber to his predecessor St. Louis. He ended his career on the gibbet of Montfaucon, being hung for high treason in poisoning his master’s son and accusing the queen of the crime.

Rt. Near St. Patrice is the Char teau of Rochecotte, where the famous Clxouan leader of that name was boim ; it belongs to the Duchesse de Dino, now Princesse de Talleyrand, who was often visited here by her uncle, M. de Talleyrand.

Rt. Trois Volets. +

L. Nearly opposite this, backed by a wooded hill, is the Chateau d’Usse, belonging to one of the family of La- rochejacquelin, but partly built by Vauban, its original owner.

Rt. Chouze §, on the confines of Touraine. Near this, if any where, the valley of the Loire exhibits its garden- like character, an exuberant vegeta- tion, with trees of large growth, capa- ble offurnishing some shade to the road,

— among them the graceful feathery acacia, which also forms the hedges, — vines, Indian corn, and mulberry- trees, prevail. At Port Boulet the

t 14 Langeais. t Trois Volets.

§ 12 Chouze.

Anjou. I?. 58. — The Loire C — Candes — Fontevrault. 203

Loire is crossed by a wire suspension- bridge of 5 spans, leading to

L., Candes, opposite to which place we pass out of Touraine into Anjou.

L. The river Vienne here pours itself into the Loire ; and immediately be- low it stands the pretty white town of Candes, where St. Martin of Tours breathed his last. It has an interest- ing church, of which the apsidal choir seems to be of the 12th century, and the nave of the 13th (1215). Its S. porch is remarkable, though much mutilated ; 14 statues in trefoil- headed niches adorn the facade, with smaller niches below them filled with heads. The porch itself is a vestibule supported by a light central column, in the manner of the chapter-houses of English cathedrals. The W. end is flanked on either side by a maehico- lated buttress, and includes a circular window, now stopped up. The tomb of St. Martin is shown in this church. The possession of his remains was warmly contested between the Poite- vins and Tourangeaux.

About 10 m. from Candes, up the valley of the Vienne, is Chinon. (Route 57.)

A small brook alone separates Candes rom Montsoreau, whose castle, now parcelled out among poor people, was the seat of that cruel Comte de Mont - soreauwho became the executioner of the Protestants of Anjou, by carry- ing out the infamous St. Bartholomew decrees of Charles IX.

3 m. up the little retired and wooded valley behind Montsereau lies the Abbey of Fontevrault, one of the richest in France in ancient times, where 150 nuns and 70 monks sub- mitted to the rule of an abbess, who was always a lady of high degree. This singular establishment, which thus combined members of both sexes, was founded by a Breton monk, Robert d'Arbrissel, 1099 ; who by his power- ful preaching converted and led after him a multitude of followers of both sexes, and all ages, amounting to 3,000, whom he at length settled here,

in a sequestered forest, on the borders of Touraine and Anjou. In spite of the scope for scandal, the convent main- tained its existence for 9 centuries, down to the Revolution. It has an interest to Englishmen, from having been the burial-place of several of our Plantagenet kings. A tolerably good road leads to the poor village of Fontevrault, where the inn ( Croix Blanche) does not look promising.

The Abbey is now converted into a prison (Maison Centrale de Deten- tion) ; one of the largest in France, covering 30 or 40 acres with its courts and ranges of building occupied by 500 women, 1,200 men, and 300 boys ; the entrance is in the little place close to the inn. The prison is not shown without an order from the prefet ; but no objection is made to admit strangers into the church to see the tombs, which they can do without coming in contact with the prisoners. Above the abbey, build- ing rises a singular octagonal tower,

[ or oratory, called Tour d' Evrault ; it ! dates from the 12th century.

The church, approached by a covered way, from which you look through loop-holes into the prison yards, is a very ancient building, supposed to have been begun by Foulques, 5th Comte d’ Anjou, 1125. Its nave is now partitioned off, and, by the introduction of 2 floors, is con- verted into dormitories for the prison- ers. The Royal monuments are trans- ferred to the S. transept, enclosed by bolts and bars and grilles, in a dark corner ; their mutilated visages and broken limbs bearing testimony to the violence of the Vandals of the Revolution, who tore them up in order to rifle the graves of their con- tents. The royal dust of 2 kings and 2 queens was scattered. The effigies, in spite of the injuries they received, are interesting from the evident marks I they exhibit of being portraits ; they retain still a little of the colouring with which they were ornamented. They are recumbent statues of Henry

204 Route 58. — The Loire C — Dampierre. — Saumur. Sect. III.

II. and Richard Coeur de Lion, re- presented in their royal robes without armour ; the drapery of complicated execution. Richard is remarkable for his lofty stature (6± ft.) and broad forehead ; he wears moustache and a beard ; his hair is cut short. The two female effigies are in better preserva- tion ; they represent Eleanor of Gui- enne, queen of Henry II., and Isa- belle d’Angouleme, widow of King John ; the last a statue of considerable beauty. It is much to be desired that these neglected effigies of our kings should be transferred from their dark prison-house to Westminster Abbey, where they would form an interesting link in the series of British historical sculpture. There can be no longer any harm in separating them from graves rifled and empty, and from an abbey now become a prison. The French government owes us some return for our ready compliance with its wishes to possess the bones of Napoleon.

The body of Henry 1 1, was brought hither from the neighbouring royal residence of Chinon, and laid in the sanctuary previously to interment. When Richard, his undutiful son, approached, the dead body is said to have shuddered convulsively, and to have sweated drops of blood while he remained in its presence ; “ the very corpse, as it were, abhorring and accusing him of his unnatural con- duct.” —

L. Souze, a little below Montso- reau, contains a castellated mansion, behind which are vast excavations in the rock, which is pierced through and through like a rabbit warren to furnish dwellings for people of the poorer sort.

L. Still lower down is Dampierre, where Margaret of Anjou ended a life of ambition and sorrow, in misery and poverty, in a house granted to her by Louis XT., who had ransomed her at the price of 50,000 crowns from the hands of Edward IV., after 5 years of imprisonment, dating from the battle of Tewkesbury.

L. The approach to Saumur is marked by the number of windmills on the heights, below which stands the domed church of Notre Dame des Ardilliers. Beneath its cupola runs an inscription celebrating the suppression of heresy throughout his dominions, and the expulsion of its followers by Louis XIV. ; a subject rather of shame than of boast, on a spot which suffered in turn the mas- sacre of St. Bartholomew, the atro- cities of the Dragonnades, and Anally ruin from the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.

The convent attached to this church is now the Hospice de la Providence, attended by charitable sisters : a por- tion of the patients, including the insane, are lodged in cells and vast dormitories cut in the cliff behind.

Rt. La Croix Verte *, a suburb of Saumur, at the extremity of the bridge opposite to the town, con- tains the post-house.

L. Saumur. • — • Inns : Belvedere, on the quay, well placed and good; Ane view from its top : Hotel de Lon- dres, Rue Porte Fouchard.

This cheerful white town is one of the most picturesque on the Loire. Seen from the river or the bridge, its quaint Hotel de Ville, near the water side, surmounted by a tent-like roof and pinnacled turrets, its church spires and towers, surmounted by the castle behind, have a very pleasing effect. The town itself, however, is torpid, though its population amounts to 15,000 souls, and it does not possess many curiosities.

On the handsome quay, which lines the river, stand a modern ediflce which combines theatre and market-house, and the antique Hotel de Ville, a square building of black and white stone, surmounted by a peaked roof as high as its walls, with a cornice of trefoiled machicolations running under it, and turrets or bartizans in its corners. It was anciently included in the fortiAca-

Post road. — 16 Croix Verte. 4 kilom.

extra are paid by those who take the horses into or from Saumur, crossing the bridge.

Anjou.

Route 58 . — The Loire C — Saumur .

205

tions, and joined the town walls, and, therefore, has few openings in the lower part. The front towards the court-yard has not the same castellated character, but is enriched with florid Gothic or- naments, very elegant, and recently restored. The date of the building is probably the 15th century, about the time of Louis XI. The upper story is converted into a Museum. The best part of its limited collection are the antiquities found in the depart- ment ; such as Roman vases, statues, spear-lieads, axes, &c. of bronze ; ( a complete set of Roman carpenter’s tools, Roman weights, glass, cinerary | urns (30 of them dug up in one spot), | pottery, &c. But its chief curiosity is a Roman trumpet of bronze, 5 ft. long. Among the Celtic remains are several stone axes, dug up under one of the Dolmens in the neighbourhood, and a Druid knife of flint, from that of Bois Berard.

St. Pierre, the principal church, in the centre of the town, is disfigured by a modern Italian fa9ade, and its massy tower is surmounted by a re- cent spire. Its interior, originally built without aisles, in the Angevine fashion, has had side chapels added. It is in the pointed style.

More curious for its age and archi- tecture is the church Notre Dame de NantiUy, on the outskirts of the town. The oldest parts, the N. side, the nave, and E. apse, in the Romanesque style, have been supposed to date from the 5th or 6th, but cannot be older than the 11th century. The S. aisle is an ad- dition of the 15tli century, nearly as wide as the nave itself, and the pillars between are nothing more than the old buttresses. The roof of the nave is slightly pointed, with plate-bands run- ning across from pier to pier. In the S. aisle is the oratory of Louis XL Against one of the piers is a bas-relief of John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness, renewed 1 830. The church is hung with curious antique tapestries, probably of the 16tli century, produce tions of the looms of Flanders, if we

may judge by the style of art. In one, representing the siege of Jeru- salem, one soldier appears to be discharging an instrument like a matchlock, (?) but all the others are armed with bows and arrows. In this church are buried Gilles, Arch- bishop of Tyre, keeper of the seals of St. Louis, whose crozier is preserved here, and the nurse of king Rene of Anjou.

The castle, standing conspicuously on the top of the ridge which rises I like a wall above the town (Sous-le- mur is a fanciful derivation of its I name), is only worth entering for | the view from its terraced bastions, over the Loire and the rich flat land on either side of it, not forgetting the pretty gardens at the base of the walls. The tall Donjon, circular below and octagonal above, and flanked by four turrets, is a magazine for powder and fire-arms, and is shut to strangers.

The wise Protestant leader, Du- plessis Mornay, was appointed go- vernor by Henri IV., and under his prudent and fostering care Saumur was a stronghold of the Protestants, and a flourishing town of 25,000 in- habitants. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes annihilated its pros- perity, by expelling the industrious Huguenots, and reduced its popula- tion to one fourth.

One of the greatest exploits of the Vendean army was the capture of j Saumur, 1793, June 10, by storming ! the heights, on which the republican j army, 15,000 strong, had formed an entrenched camp, defended by 100 j pieces of artillery. Henri de La- ! rochejacquelin forced the entrench- ments of the town from the side of S the meadows of Varen, exciting his i followers to the capture of a redoute I by throwing his hat, conspicuous for

its white plume, into the midst of the

| enemy, crying, “ Qui va me le cher- cher ? ” — an appeal not lost upon his followers, especially when enforced ! by his own example in taking the lead. Foremost of his band, with only

206

Route 58. — Saumur — Vendean Victory. Sect. III.

6'0 of his men to back him, he forced his way into the town, clearing the Streets before him as far as the bridge. Here, seizing two cannon, he turned them against the enemy, drove them quite across the river and on the road towards Tours, thus separating them from the garrison of the castle, which surrendered the day following. The Vendeans obtained this victory with a loss of only 60 killed and 100 wounded, and with a gain of 60 pieces of cannon, 10,000 muskets, and 1 1,000 prisoners, who were released after having one side of their heads shaved, and pro- mising not to serve against La Ven- dee — humane conditions, contrasting Strongly with the atrocious system of massacring their prisoners, already adopted by the Republicans at the command of the Convention.

Detached from the town, to the S. W., on the rt. hand, as you issue out of the main street, is the Ecole de Cavalerie, for the instruction, in all branches of information suited to their profession, of between 300 and 400 sous-officiers, who are drafted hence into different regiments to instruct their corps. There are large riding - schools , covered and open, in which the various exercises of the manege are performed with much precision. This establishment was transferred from Angers hither at the latter end of the last century.

Some remains of the old fortifica- tions may be seen in the Rue du Petit Mail; they consist of two feudal towers and a prison-house. In the quartier dcs Ponts, the suburb which fills the island on which the bridge rests, is a house built by King Rene of Anjou, and called Maison de la Reine Cicile (de Sicile). Its once highly ornamented front, in the latest Gothic, not unlike that of the H. de Ville in style, has been so deplorably defaced that it retains little interest, but it may still be worthy to employ the artist’s pencil.

Within about 1 m. of Saumur, on the S., stands one of the largest, most

perfect, and best preserved Druidical monuments in France, the Dolmen of Pontigne (§4.). It may be termed a hall composed of huge blocks of un- hewn stone, set upright to form the walls, with others laid across them for a roof, in the manner of a house of cards. This rude cot measures more than 80 ft. in length, yet con- sists of only 18 stones, 4 on each of the sides and on the roof, one at the W. end, which is closed, an- other at the E., now thrown down, serving as a threshold over which you step to the present doorway, formed by bricking up the mouth. The largest stone measures 24 ft. by 21 ft., and 2| ft. thick. The stones are set so close, that originally a man could not force his body be- tween them. The blocks com- posing it are of the sandstone found in this district, but not near at hand, nor near the surface. Among the ad- joining vineyards stands an upright stone, also of Celtic origin. Near Riou, \ m. distant, on the top of an eminence, is another pierre-couverte , formed of only 6 stones, in the manner of Kits Coity house in Kent.

The road to these Druidic stones, on issuing out of Saumur, crosses the small river Thoue by a handsome new bridge of 3 segiuental arches, called Pont Fouchard, thence by cross roads proceeds to the village of Bagneux, beyond which they are situated.

Anne Lefebre, who became Ma- dame Dacier, the learned translator of Homer, was born at Saumur.

Diligences daily to Tours, Angers, and Nantes ; to Le Mans ; Chinon, Cholet ; Poitiers and Bordeaux ; to Niort and Saintes.

Steam-boats. The ascending boat from Angers and Nantes arrives here about 10 a.m. ; the descending boat from Tours about 12. They bring to for a few minutes opposite the Bel- vedere.

L. The Ecole de Cavalerie is seen as you quit Saumur. The whiteness of the houses about Saumur is re-

Anjou.

Route 58 . — The Loire C — St. Maur.

207

markable, and arises from the pure colour of the stone, which, being readily cut, is formed into smooth, nicely-jointed masonry, and gives even to humble cottages the aspect of viilas. They add much to the pleasing cha- racter of the country, peering from amidst the luxuriant foliage. Acacia hedges, vines, and walnut trees, with orchards and rich crops of corn, cover this really beautiful district, upon which all the bounties of nature seem to have been lavished.

L. The village of Tuflfeau receives its name from its quarries of tufa, worked into vast subterranean cata- combs, which have furnished building materials for the surrounding district.

L. Treves is conspicuous owing to its pretty Gothic tower, 100 ft. high. It was built by Foulques d’ Anjou, 101-6, and given by Charles VII. to his Chancellor, Robert-le-Ma 9 on, for saving his life at the capture of Paris by the Burgundians : it is carefully kept up by its present owner. Not far off is the Church of Cunault, at- tributed to King Dagobert, and though not of his time, at least of great antiquity : 1 1th to 13th century.

Rt. Les Rosier s. L. Nearly op- posite, the very ancient Church of Gennes rises on the top of a hill : it is dedicated to St. Eusebe, and is said to have been used by the early Chris- tians. The ruined nave is built of small stones, alternating with bands of tiles in the fashion of Roman ma- sonry. The N. door is arched with bricks intermingled with stones, and in the wall above is a row of small semicircular arches. Gennes lies in a remarkably pretty situation, on a streamlet called Avort.

L. The vast conventual buildings of St. Maur, with sixteen windows on a row in front, deserve to be looked upon with respect as the retreat of those learned and laborious Benedic- tines who, in the 17th century, by the patronage of Richelieu, 1621, com- piled those ponderous folios — stores of learning and erudition, — «“ L’Art

de verifier les Dates,” “ Gallia Chris- tiana,” — the Collection of French His- torians — the Monumental Antiqui- ties, &c. “ Works of general and

permanent advantage to the world at large ; showing that the revenues of the Benedictines were not always spent in self-indulgence, and that the members of that order did not uni- formly slumber in sloth and indo- lence.” — Sir W. Scott . Among the

most eminent names which distin- guished this society of learned monks are those of Felibien, Montfaucon, Vaisette, Lobineau, and Mabillon.

A wire bridge of 5 spans has been constructed at

Rt. St. Mathurin*, nearly opposite St. Maur. At Dagueniere, a little lower, the Levees de la Loire (see p. 187.) terminate, after running by the river side from Blois hither, a dis- tance of nearly 100 miles ; and here the road to Angers j- and Nantes turns away from the Loire, to rejoin it about 20 m. lower down.

Below this the Loire is split into a number of channels by considerable islands, which are connected together by a series of 4 bridges of more than 100 antiquated arches of wood and stone, equally inconvenient for boats, which pass under, and for vehicles, which go over them, measuring al- together about 4,600 ft.

Rt. Ponts de Ce.

A town of 3,520 inhabitants, on the right bank of the Loire, which is here nearly 2 m. distant from the L bank. It is about 4 m. from Angers ( R. 46.). Some antiquaries have attributed its origin to Ce-sar, who, according to them, also bequeathed to it the first syllable of his name — a theory which is considerably thwarted by the fact, that the name was anciently written Ponts de Scez. The bridges form an important passage over the Loire. A

Post road from Saumur.

15 Les Rosiers.

11 St. Mathurin.

t 21 Angers, on the Mayenne, is described in R. 46.

208 Route 58 . — The Loire C — Pouts deCe — Servant . Sect. III.

bloody engagement was fought here in the Vendean war, 1793.

Coaches run several times a day between Ponts de Ce and Angers, p. 158.

L. About 7 m. S. E. of Ponts de Ce is the Chateau de Brissac, seat of the noble and ancient family of that name, consisting of a handsome Italian palazzo, between two older castellated round towers, of such solid construction that it was found impossible to remove them when the centre was built, and they [were in consequence amalga- mated with it. It is conspicuous for the red colour of the stone. The general effect of its fa 9 ade, though of a mixed character, is stately and good, but the details of carving have been destroyed by mutilations. The cha- teau was ransacked, stripped, and dis- mantled during the Vendean war, and returned to the Due de Brissac at the Restoration a mere shell. It is still uninhabited, but contains only a few articles of antique furniture.

L. The Loire is joined by the Maine (called Mayenne above An- gers) about 6 m. below Ponts de Ce. On the point of land between them stands the village of La Pointe, where are numerous white villas and walled gardens of the citizens of Angers.

The steamers, both in ascending and descending the Loire, penetrate up the Maine to touch at Angers.

Below the junction of the Mayne the Loire is sensibly augmented in expanse and depth, and its banks at- tain a more considerable elevation than above, rising into hills, often in abrupt precipices from the water’s edge.

Rt. One of these heights, called Coulee de Serrant, is clothed with vines, the growth of which is much esteemed. The Chateau de Serrant, the stately mansion of Count Walsh, is one of the finest on the Loire, and is situated 3 m. from the river, be- tween it and the high road to Nantes. Its gardens, park, and orangery are said to be fine and well kept up. In

the chapel is a marble monument by Coysevoix to the Marquis de Vaubrun, killed at the passage of the Rhine.

The family is of Irish origin, hav- ing emigrated with James II. A portrait of the Pretender, still in their possession, was a gift from him to their ancestor, who fitted out the vessel which conveyed Charles Ed- ward from Nantes to Scotland in 1745.

The pretty wooded He de B^huard contains a chapel of Our Lady, founded on a rock, whose uneven surface forms its floor, and projects upwards in a point 4 or 5 ft. high. It was for ages a place of pilgrimage, and was visited with superstitious veneration by Louis XI., whose faded portrait is still hung up within it, and by his son, and both lavished on it con- siderable gifts. By accident it was forgotten at the Revolution, and re- mains undespoiled, retaining many ex votos, some church plate, & c.

Its walls, still retaining the fleurs de lis and other coats of arms with which they were painted, are hung with the chains of Christian captives rescued from Algiers.

Rt. The church of the small town of Savenieres (pop. 2,500), opposite the lie Behuard, has parts of extreme antiquity. The front and part of the S. wall of the nave, of singularly con- structed masonry, consisting of black slate alternating with bands or layers of red tiles, arranged in fern-leaf pattern, intermixed with white tufa stones, are probably as old as the 6th or 7th century. The doorway is more modern. The choir and E. apse, added in the 11th or 12th century, display on their external walls and around the windows, rich Byzantine ornaments and mouldings.

L. The triple rock of Rochefort was anciently crowned by a fortress, of which nothing now remains but a few fragments of wall. It was de- stroyed by Henri IV., 1598.

Between (1. ) the picturesque town of Chalonnes, surmounted by the

Loire.

209

Route 58 . — Mont Jan — Champtoce.

square tower of its castle, and (rt.) St. George (at some distance from the Loire, on the high road), the river traverses a small coal field, which has been worked to a considerable extent of late, though it produces only an inferior quality of coal.

At Chalonnes another suspension- bridge has been thrown over the Loire.

L. The eminence crowned with a modern-looking ruin, through whose numerous windows and roofless walls the sky appeal s, is Mont Jan ; whose name, according to etymologists, has something to do with Janus — though they cannot exactly agree what the connection is. The ruins are those of a convent of Cordeliers : it had been converted into a sort of state prison, of which the monks were the gaolers, when it was burnt during the Ven- dean war.

Rt. Champtoce*, a little village op- posite Mont Jan, and situated on the post road, which here again joins the Loire, is surmounted by the imposing ruins of a feudal castle, celebrated from the crimes of its owner in the reign of Charles VI I,, the infamous Gilles de Retz, Sieur de Laval, a monster in human shape, the bugbear of the surrounding country, called Barbe Bleu, and the original of our well known Blue Beard ; who, although clothed by us in a turban, in reality comes from the banks of the Loire. His history affords a remarkable in- stance of the superstitions of the 15th century, and of the impunity for his atrocities which a feudal seigneur en- joyed in that dark age. Having run through an enormous fortune by ex- travagance, and impaired by excesses his constitution in early youth, the Sieur de Retz sought to renovate both by magic. He kept in his pay an Italian alchemist and magician, who induced him to believe that a charm could be produced from the

Post road from Angers.

17 St. George sur Loire.

8 Champtoc£.

blood of infants, which would restore him to health and fortune by using it as a bath. For this end children and young persons were spirited away and murdered in the deep dungeons of his castles or in the solitude of his forests, to the number, it was said, of more than 100 ; he himself, in most cases, plung- ing the poignard in their breasts. At length the whole country rose up against the tyrant ; and his suzerain, Duke Jean V. of Brittany, having heard the charges against him, caused him to be seized and tried : he was found guilty, condemned, and burnt at the stake in Nantes in 1440, after making full confession of his misdeeds. The peasant still regards with horror the ill-omened walls and vaults in which the monster raised the devil, and sold himself to Satan, according to the popular belief.

Rt. Ingrande, a long line of houses raised upon a terraced wall stretching along the strand, is placed exactly on the boundary of ancient Brittany and Anjou, and between the modern de- partments of Loire Inferieur and Maine-et-Loire. The name was ori- ginally “ Ingressus Andium,” the en- trance of the country of the Andes, i.e. the Angevine.

Rt. At Montrelais are extensive coal mines, some of the pits extending under the river. The coal is not good enough for the steamers, which burn English coals.

L. The heights of St. Florent are marked by two piles of building; the vast but not picturesque ruins of the Abbey of Montglonne, whose foundation is traced to Charlemagne, burnt down and destroyed by the republicans in the Vendean war ; and a little below it, the church of St. Florent, surmounted by a modern- looking tower, by the side of which rises a Pillar to the memory of the brave Vendean general Bon- champs, but now surmounted, as if in insult and mockery, by the symbol of revolution, which he died in com- batting, the drapeau tricolor. Wounded

210 M. 58. — The Loire C — St. Florent — Ancenis. Sect. III.

mortally in the fatal fray of Chollet, he was brought hither by the routed Vendeans to die. He closed his career with an act of mercy in sparing the lives of 4,000 republican prisoners, who had been taken and shut up in the church, and against whom the irri- tated Vendeans were already pointing their cannon, worked up to madness by defeat, by the mortal wound of their general, and by terror for their wives and families. The commands and entreaties of the dying hero, and nearly the last words he uttered — “ Grace aux prisoniers,” — had the effect of saving them from military execution, when nothing else could have rescued them. Bonchamps expired in a miserable hovel, in the village of Meilleraye, on the opposite side of the Loire, but is interred within the church of St. Florent, and a monument of marble by David is erected to his memory. St. Florent was the scene of the most memorable event in the war of La Vendee, which all who have read Madame Larochejacquelin’s touching memoirs will remember— the passage of the Loire by the Vendean army after their rout at Chollet, 1793. They reached the narrow strip of level ground at the base of the semicircle of heights on the 1. bank, in number nearly 100,000, half of them unarmed, old men, women, and children ; the enemy pressing on in the rear, the country behind smoking with the conflagration of their homes by the republicans, who, to use their own words, “ left behind nothing but ashes and piles of dead.” The tumult of such a multitude crowding down to the twenty-five small barks which alone could be mustered to ferry them over, the cries of children seeking parents or relations, the groans of the wounded, the alarm caused by the enemy, formed a scene of pain, confu- sion, and despair, which Madame de Larochejacquelin compares with the awful spectacle that the world must behold at the Day of Judgment. The whole multitude, however, were trans-

ported across in safety before the ar- rival of the enemy, whose advanced posts reached the river the day after.

The broad expanse of the river is divided by an island, between St. Flo- rent and rt. Varades *, the spot where the fugitives, when landed, waited the junction of their companions. It is a town of 4,000 inhabitants.

Passing many monotonous clumps and rows of willows, we reach the suspension-bridge of wire supported by wire shrouds or stays, erected 1 839, of five arches, more than 1,300 ft. long, which leads from La Vendee to the little town of

Rt. Ancenis f (Inn: H. de France; small, but clean and comfortable. — H. M.), a town of nearly 4,000 inhab., having remains of an old castle of the Dues de Bethune at the water side, above the bridge, now reduced to a few strong walls and towers. The large barracks are formed out of a ci- devant convent of Ursuline nuns.

Here a broken remnant of the Ven- dean host, which had crossed at Va- rades, endeavoured to recross a few weeks after, shattered by the recent defeat of Le Mans. Larochejacquelin, on this occasion, volunteered to cross the river in the only boat which could be found on the 1. bank, to bring over some hay barges attached to the op- posite shore ; but while so engaged he was attacked by the enemy and driven into the woods. A gun boat of the enemy sunk the barges destined to transport his followers, and thus cut off all communication between them and their general.

L. On the top of a hill covered with brushwood stand the ruins of the castle of Champtoceaux, in which Jean de Montfort was kept a prisoner by Marguerite de Clisson ; and at the foot of the hill a bridge or pier of two arches projects into the river, designed by the owner of the fort above to fa- cilitate the levying of toll on the ves- sels which passed, in feudal times.

Rt. The tall black octagonal tower of

Post road. — 13 Varades. f 13 Ancenis.

Poitou. Route 60 . — Nantes to Poitiers, by Clisson.

211

Oudon*, five stories high, surmounted by machicolations, overlooks the flat land and a series of islands which here intersect the river. It was built pro- bably in the 13th century.

Rt. After passing a group of pseu- do-castellated modern constructions, worthy of a tea-garden, and called after their founder, a citizen of Nantes, Les Folies Siflfa.it, we approach the (rt.) Castle of Clermont, on the top of an abrupt and lofty escarpment, yet not destitute of foliage, forming one of the most picturesque scenes on the Loire, but unendowed with any his- torical interest.

Rt. La Seilleraie f , at a little distance from the river, was several times visited by Madame de Sevigne, who dates some of her letters hence, and its gardens were laid out by Le Notre. The apartment and portrait of the Sevigne are preserved, and the man- sion contains other portraits by Mig- nard, Le Brun, & c.

Rt. The precipitous heights gradu- ally give place to gentle undulations, which, below the rocks of Mauves, subside into a flat monotonous plain, out of the midst of which, in the distance, the towers of the cathedral of Nantes are seen to rise. Islands and sandbanks greatly multiply in this part of the river, interspersed with dykes of stone heaps to regulate the river, and a few insignificant vil- lages occur at intervals.

Nantes. 1 Route 46.

ROUTE 60.

NANTES TO POITIERS, BY CLISSON.

178 kilom. =1101 Eng. m.

Diligence daily in about 19 hours, and several from Nantes to Clisson.

Our road, before it gets clear of the suburb of Nantes (St. Jacques), is carried over the different branches of the Loire on a series of seven bridges, united by causeways, about

9 Oudon. t Le Seilleraie. t 14 Nantes.

2 m. long, lined with houses. Be- yond the last bridge the road to Bordeaux (R. 62.) branches off* to the rt. About 2 m. S. of Nantes we find the country, though nearly level in surface, covered with vineyards.

13 Tournebride.

The little village Le Pallet is cele- brated as the birth-place of Abelard ; the crumbling briar-grown founda- tions of a square tower behind the church, on the 1. of the road, are called the remains of the house of his father Beranger.

The stream of the Sevre Nantaise runs nearly parallel with our road, a little on the rt., as far as Clisson.

A small bridge carrying the road over a valley is stated in an inscrip- tion to have been built “ l’An 2 du Regne de Napoleon le Grand.”

15 Clisson. — Inns: H. de France, new ; Poste, beyond the bridge.

This small town is celebrated for its very romantic situation in the deep narrow bosky valley of the Sevre, on one side of which towers the stately old castle. The scene has a some- what Italian character. As the town was destroyed in the Vendean war, its houses are mostly modern, and contribute little to the beauty of it. A handsome new Bridge of 12 arches, 54 ft. high in the centre, rising on very lofty double piers, now spans the valley, carrying the road to Poitiers across, without descending the very steep slope which leads to and from the river. The perspective of the^ interior of the bridge from below, through its arched piers, forms a vista like that of a cathedral.

The Castle of Clisson, the cradle of that illustrious family from which sprung the famous Olivier de Clis- son, the fierce and successful anta- gonist of the English in the wars of the 14th century, who was thought worthy to succeed Duguesclin as Constable of France, stands on the 1. bank of the Sevre. It is based on the rock, or, where that was wanting to furnish a foundation, huge sustain-

212

Route 60 . — Clisson — La Garenne.

Sect. III.

ing walls have been raised from the bottom of the valley, on a line with the escarpment of the rock, to support its towers and bastions. Where not protected by an escarpment, it is surrounded by a fosse. On the 1. of the grass-grown court-yard, after entering by the gateway of the Tour des Pelerins, so called from the crusader Clisson, who built it after his return from Palestine, is a vast pile separated by ditches from the rest, entered by several gates in succession, containing the great hall, the tall donjon, of which one side only remains, and the kitchen, with its wide fire-place. From some of the windows a fine view is obtained over the two valleys of the Maine and Sevre. All this part of the building is in a state of most complete ruin, occasioned by the civil war of La Vendee. Before that broke out the castle belonged to the family Rohan- Soubise, and had fallen into neglect, but its destruction was completed by the republican army in 1793. When the town was set on fire and destroyed by them, a number of its unfortunate inhabitants, chiefly old men, women, and children, sought refuge within the castle walls, and remained in its gloomy vaults and dungeons, whither they had conveyed some of their cattle also, for a little time unno- ticed. But no sooner was their retreat discovered by the army of Kleber, than they were dragged forth from their hiding-place, and hurled alive down a deep well in the second court of the castle, now stopped up, and marked by a cypress planted near it. For many hours the feeble and half stifled cries of these unfortunate creatures were heard issuing from its depths, before tlrey utterly perished. The number thus destroyed is vari- ously stated at 100 and 405; the latter, it is to be feared, is nearest the truth. The story of the well of Clisson is one of the blackest spots on that page of atrocities.

The pretty grounds of La Ga-

renne, once highly extolled, perhaps too highly, as “ a show place,” but now no longer kept up, are indebted for the considerable beauty which they possess to the full stream of the Sevre, which flows past them, to the fantastic rocks piled one above another rising near its margin, and to the fine trees dipping their branches in its waters, alternating with rich flat meadow-land, which here gives variety to the valley, and to the glimpses of the old castle seen at certain points. Winding walks are carried through the park, decorated at intervals with monuments and statues, a temple of Vesta, a grotto called after Heloise, and a Roman milestone of the age of Antonine found on the road to Poitiers. The Garenne owes its artificial embellishment to the brothers Cacault, who deposited their collection of paintings here, and to M. Lemot, a sculptor; successively its owners, who built the house on the height now deserted.

The Villa Valentin is a would-be Italian cascina on a height above the Maine.

On leaving Clisson, you pass on the top of the hill the little Chapelle de Unite Joie, so called by a lord of Clis- son who received on this spot the joyful news of the birth of a son, and built it in consequence.

The road from Clisson to Poitiers has been made about 15 years, and is part of a network of lines of commu- nication formed to facilitate not only commercial intercourse, but the pas- sage of large bodies of troops ; they will contribute more than any thing else to alter the primitive state of society in this part of France. Clisson is on the very verge of La Vendee, (p. 171.) which begins on the 1. bank of the Sevre ; but our road, running parallel with the river, does not enter it until within a short distance of

14 Torfou, a village almost exclu- sively composed of new houses, the old having been destroyed in the | civil war. One of the greatest vie.

Sect. IIT.

213

Route 60. — Torfou — Tiffanges.

tories of the Vendean peasantry was gained near this over a republican army superior in numbers by 10,000 men, including the terrible garrison of Mayence, — veterans, and reputed the best soldiers in France, and com- manded by Kleber. A pillar set up on the post road, about a mile beyond Torfou, at the junction of four high- ways, marks the scene of the battle, which occurred Sept. 19. 1793. Its four sides bear the names of Charette, D’Elbee, Lescure, and Bonchamps, the four Vendean leaders who took part in it. The day would have been lost for the cause of the royalists, soon after the action began, had not Le- scure rallied around him 1,700 pea- sants of the village of Echanbrognes, who stood the brunt of the assault for two hours, until the division of Bon- champs came up.

About 3 m. from Torfou in a di- rect line, and more than 4 by the post road, passing the column (where turn to rt.), is the Castle of Tiffanges, an extensive ruin on a high table land between the 1. bank of the Sevre and a small rivulet (La Crume) falling into it. The donjon stood on the rocky height overlooking and commanding the gap through which the high road to Les Herbiers is carried. The inner courts, now separated merely by a few foundations of wall, are converted into productive corn fields ; but behind two cottages, built in the midst of them, runs a pile of building skirting the brow of the cliff, originally occu- pied by the seigneur, and more per- fect than any other part. The most picturesque bit is a round tower pro- jecting over the rivulet, containing a fine vaulted apartment and a spiral stair, probably of the 16th century. Round the top runs a covered gallery, resting on the corbels of the machi- colations. These chambers now serve as store-rooms for hay, corn, and other farm produce, and the inner wall is prettily draped with vines. By a little postern you may descend into the valley of the Crume. This

castle is said to have been one of the residences of the wicked Gilles de Retz, the Bluebeard of the Loire ( p. 209. ) ; it was dismantled by the Cardinal Richelieu.

The part of the valley on which the village Tiffauges stands is rocky and somewhat bare of grass. A cotton- mill has been built under the castle. There is no good inn.

Those who take the direct line be- tween Torfou and Tiffauges will have an opportunity of learning what sort of a country La Vendee was before Napoleon and Louis Philippe inter- sected it in all directions by broad, open, macadamized high roads. At the distance of a few hundred yards from either village you find yourself in a labyrinth of lanes branching in all directions, worn down by cart wheels or winter torrents, consider- ably below the surface, lined on either side with trees or hedges which close above your head, and form a covered way like a subterranean passage. So numerous are these deep paths, and so intricate their crossings, that even the inhabitant is apt to be misled by them, while the frequent stagnant pools, and sloughs of mud, alternating with deep ruts or projecting bosses of bare granite rock, render the passage through them harassing and fatiguing. At the same time, the country is so thickly wooded by thickets and hedge- row trees, which surround every small field, that it is difficult to see your way far before you. It can easily be understood what a complete strong- hold such a district would become when defended by a brave peasantry, fighting close to their own homes, and thoroughly acquainted with all its in- tricacies. 20 years ago, it must be remembered, only two high roads, properly so called, existed in La Ven- dee ; that from Nantes to Bordeaux, and from Tours to Poitiers, and these were 70 m. apart. The peasantry were ! all accustomed to the use of the gun ;

1 many wei*e old poachers, and capital marksmen. The tactics which they

214- Route 60. — La Vendee — Cholet — Poitiers. Sect. III.

adopted was a species of skirmishing, never attacking the enemy but to ad- vantage, themselves choosing time and place, when and where they found him entangled in the toils. At the word of command from their chief, these rude bands assembled at the place of rendezvous, scattered themselves on the enemy’s approach, lining every hedge and copse, from which a mur- derous fire opened on all sides, the Yendean marksmen picking out their men, while they themselves were in- visible or unassailable.

15 Mortagne( Vendee) on the Sevre was burnt down, like Torfou, in the Vendean war, and has been since re- built. It was long the head-quarters of the royalist army. At Cholet, 8 m. N.E. of this, a manufacturing town of 8,897 inhabitants, entirely rebuilt since its destruction in the civil war, two actions were fought in 1793; in the first of which the Vendeans lost one of their bravest leaders, M. Lescure, who was shot through the head, and in the second suffered a more fatal defeat, which, in fact, decided the war, and drove them across the Loire (see p. 209.). Before this battle began, on the 13th October, 1793, the whole Vendean army heard mass by torch- light, performed by the cure of this parish. On the first attack, the

peasants, who here, for the first time, marched in close column, succeeded in driving back the enemy, and a party, headed by Larochejacquelin and Stofflet, even captured a park of ar- tillery ; but a charge of the re- publican cavalry, and an attack from the garrison of Mayence, the so-called invincibles,” turned the scale; the Vendeans were utterly routed, and their best general, the brave and generous Bonchamps, was carried off the field mortally wounded.

At a short distance from Nouaille, on the road from Cholet to Saumur, a third leader of the Vendeans, Henri Larochejacquelin, fell, March 4. 1793. For a long time after the wreck of the royalist cause, he had

carried on a successful partisan war- fare, issuing out from the fastnesses of the Forest of Vezins at the head of a few determined followers, and spreading dismay among the repub- lican outposts. He was shot by a grenadier, while in the act of offering him quarter. At his death, the Con- vention could, for the first time, with safety and truth, proclaim that La Vendee had ceased to exist. An apple-tree is pointed out as marking the spot where he fell.

18 Chatillon sur Sevre, destroyed also, except three houses, in the civil war, is now rebuilt. It was called Mauleon down to 1737.

22 Bressuire, a new town built on the ashes of one ruined by the same disastrous war.

31 Parthenay, a town of 4,024 inhab., though carried by storm by the republican forces under Wester- man, escaped annihilation, and retains some fragments of antiquity, in the ruins of its castle, the gate of St. Jacques, and the church of St. John, said to be a structure of the 9th cen- tury. The town stands on the right bank of the.Thouet, a tributary of the Loire, in a hilly district.

25 Ayron.

25 Poitiers. R. 64.

ROUTE 62.

NANTES TO BORDEAUX, BY BOURBON VENDEE, ROCHELLE, ROCHEFORT, AND SAINTES.

345 kilom. =214 Eng. m.

A malleposte daily in 22 hours. Diligences daily.

Steamers ply regularly between Nantes and Bordeaux. N.B. Some trustworthy person should be con- sulted as to the efficiency and safety of the boats before embarking.

On quitting Nantes by the six bridges at the extremity of the Fau- bourg St. Jacques, our route turns to the rt. out of that to Clisson (p.211.),

Sect. III.

Route 62. — Nantes to Bordeaux.

215

and crosses, on a handsome new bridge, the Sevre Nantaise, just above its junction with the Loire.

21 Aigrefeuille.

A little beyond this the road enters the department of 'La Vendee, and thenceforth traverses the centre of the district which was the theatre of the terrible civil war of 1792-93.

13 Montaigu, prettily situated on a height above a small stream called the Mayne, in the midst of the Bocage of La Vendee, has fallen from the condition of a town to a village since the war, when two thirds of its houses were burned, and a large part of its inhabitants massacred. The terrace of the chateau, not now inhabited, commands a good view.

After crossing the Maine, a wild open heathy country succeeds, pro- ducing furze, broom, and a little barley or buckwheat, as far as

24 Belleville.

13 Bourbon Vendee (Inns: H. des Voyageurs ; H de 1’ Europe, both slovenly and comfortless), a new town of right-angled streets and ugly fresh-looking houses, founded by Na- poleon in the very centre of the re- bellious province La Vendee, and destinedbv him to be called Napoleon- Vendee, is now the chef lieu of the department. La Roche sur Yonne, an ancient apanage of the Bourbons, occupied nearly the same site, and now, united with it, forms a suburb. It has not quite 5,060 inhabitants. Des- titute of commerce or manufactures, in a situation deficient in any advan- tages required to render a town flou- rishing, in the midst of a district of barren open heath, it stands about the dullest town in France, and a melan- choly example of the folly of esta- blishing a town by word of command. “ It is exactly what one might expect it would be from the hasty and arbi- trary manner of its creation. A huge oblong ‘ Place ’ forms the centre and principal part of it. From the sides and corners of this eight or ten streets branch off at right angles. The build-

ings which compose this square are almost all public edifices, each looking more mesquin and meagre than the other, and all having the appearance of being stretched out at the least possible expense to the greatest pos- sible extent of front, for the purpose of making them go as far as possible towards the composition of the pro- posed town. A theatre, on the steps of whose portico the grass was growing, forms part of one side. A huge Hotel de Ville, which seems deserted and shut up, stands opposite to a great barn of a church. A prefecture, a court-house, a mairie, and enormous barracks, surrounding a court in which a dozen regiments might manoeuvre at once, occupy the most of the remaining space. The barracks have been con- structed so much in haste and with so little solidity that they are already beginning to fall to ruins — new ruins, the most unsightly spectacle. They are deserted and apparently abandoned to their fate.” — Trollope, W. France.

Conveyances go from this to Nantes, Bordeaux, Saumur, and Les Sables.

About 4 m. to the W., (2 of them not fit for carriages, but only for the pedestrian) are the ruins of the abbey of Fontanelles ; a Gothic chapel re- mains in excellent preservation.

Les Sables, 20 m. W. of Bourbon Vendee on the sea, is a place of some interest, curiously placed on a nar- row sand-ledge, at the margin of a bay forming a large and beautiful crescent. The sands are smooth and extensive. A fleet of 70 fishing ves- sels may be seen at times entering the roads in one hour, sweeping from the wide sea into a deep narrow channel between two piers, and so entering the large harbour at the back of the town. There are two peculiarities in the female costume here, a small bell-shaped laced cap, and an enormous blue hood of cloth- 1 shreds or wool, giving to their upper

figures the shape of a huge beehive. —

Inn : H. de France, fair accommoda- 1 tion and civil people. — F. T.

216

Sect. III.

Route 62. — La Rochelle — The Siege .

The same dreary unenclosed and heath-clad land extends to

22 Mareuil, beyond which a fine corn country commences.

Between Les Sables and Lucon (25 m.) is the castle of Talmont, a lofty picturesque feudal ruin.

1 0 £019011, a dull and dirty small town, in a situation which is unhealthy, on account of its vicinity to the marshes, connected with the sea by a canal, and having a population of about 3,000. Lu9on was the episcopal see of the Cardinal de Richelieu, having been a sort of family living, into which he, though bred up for a sol- dier, was inducted at the age of 22. Its Gothic cathedral, surmounted by a tall spire of open-work, is the prin- cipal building.

10 Moreilles. Our route now lies across a district which may be called the Fens of France, a series of marshy flats, traversed by numerous rivers, the chief of which are the Vendee and Sevre Niortaise ; it is intersected also in all directions by canals, and, not- withstanding the drainage effected by them, is unhealthy from malai’ia. A solitary conical mound rising out of the flat on the 1. of the road is crowned by the village of Chaille. The limits of La Vendee and the stream of the Sevre Niortaise are crossed shortly before reaching

17 Marans, a town of 4,000 inha- bitants, 9 m. from the sea, exporting a considerable quantity of corn from La Vendee and of flour from Niort.

Before half the next stage is tra- versed the road crosses the canal from La Rochelle to Niort. Near this the marshes of La Vendee terminate, and the marly lands of the Aunis begin.

15 Grolaud. Here the canal is crossed.

A picturesque group of towers and spires, visible from a considerable dis- tance, announces the approach to

9 La Rochelle Inn : Poste ; very

good.

This third-rate fortress and com- mercial town of secondary importance,

is situated on the sea, on the shore of a bay in front of which rise the Isles de Re and d’Oleron. It was capital of the district of Aunis, and is now chef lieu of the Department de la Charente. Before its memorable siege of 1628, it had a population of 27,000: at present it contains no more than 14,857.

Its little port is entirely enclosed by the buildings of the town, and consists of an outer tidal basin, and an inner wet dock, protected by a pier, and flanked at its entrance on either side by a round tower, once part of the old fortifications. A quay, planted with trees, runs round the harbour, and forms an agreeable pro- menade.

Its chief commerce consists in the exportation of the brandy made in the adjoining province of l’Aunis, the finest in France, of wine, corn, and flour.

At low water the remains of the famous dyke thrown out into the sea by orders of Richelieu during the siege of 1628-29, and which contributed mainly to the surrender of the town, by interrupting all supplies and suc- cour from England, are distinctly visible. This long pile of stones, stretching for a distance of 1,640 yds. from the point of Coreille to that of Fort Louis, was built by the engineer Metezeau.

In the Hdtel de Ville, a handsome building in the debased Gothic of the time of Francis I., is shown the cham- ber in which the heroic Guiton accept- ed the office of mayor on the very eve of the siege, “ on condition,” said he, “ that I be allowed to plunge into the heart of any one who speaks of sur- render the dagger which I hold in my hand, which I insist shall be placed on the table of the council chamber where we meet, to be used against myself first, should I be weak enough to propose a capitulation.” Influenced by so obstinate a spirit of resistance, the citizens held out for 14 long months against the vast force brought

Sect. III. Route 62. — Nantes to Bordeaux — Rochelle.

217

.against them, commanded by Cardinal Richelieu in person, and supported by the presence of Louis XIII. At length, when famine, which followed the vigilant blockade established on the land side, by throwing up lines, 3 miles long, and by the dyke before mentioned drawn across the harbour, had re- duced the numbers of the besieged from 27,000 to 5,000, La Rochelle, the bulwark of the Protestant cause in France, which had remained in the hands of the Huguenots since the first unsuccessful siege of 1573, was yielded up to the king, and its for- tifications levelled, except the two towers at the mouth of the harbour. The ill success of the two expeditions fitted out by Charles I., whose fa- vourite, Buckingham, contributed to the failure of the first by his incompe- tence, and Avho was assassinated by Felton while about to assume the command of the second, prepared the way for its fall. The town never re- gained its previous prosperity, though Protestants are still numerous here. By its capture, Richelieu destroyed the political influence of the Cal- vinists in France. The chair of Gui- ton, and the council table of marble, are still preserved in the H. de Ville. His house, at the Rue Guiton, is also pointed out — a building in the style of the Renaissance, flanked with tourelles. 6 or 8 of the old town gates remain, and the Tour de la Lanterne, a conspicuous struc- ture, surmounted by a spire, dates from 1445.

The Gothic Porte de VHorloge, whose architecture announces it to be a work of the 16th century, is another relic of the time of the siege, and there are some old houses still standing, which I must also have existed at that memor- able event, when streets and houses were rendered infected by the dead I bodies too numerous for the living to bury. Such was the extreme misery to which the inhabitants were reduced, that one of them declared that for a whole week he had kept his child France.

alive solely by blood drawn from his own body. One of the articles of ca- pitulation was, that the invincible Guiton should continue in the office of mayor, retaining all his dignities : he is lost sight of, however, after the siege.

The town was again fortified by Vauban in the reign of Louis XIV. The tower of the church of St. Sau- veur, the loftiest in the place, now used as a shot tower, commands from its top a view embracing the Isles de Be, whose town, St. Martin, resisted all the efforts of the English under Buckingham to capture it, 1628 ; and of Oleron, a long low bank of land separated from Re by a strait called Pertuis d’ Antioche. Still nearer, not 2 m. off the shore, is the He d’ Aix, op- posite the mouth of the Charente : the fort and batteries upon it, defending the entrance of the roads, were cap- tured by the English, 1757, but have been greatly strengthened since that time. An attempt was also made, 1809, by the English, to destroy the French fleet here by fire ships, and was partly successful, as, out of 14 vessels, 4 ran ashore and were burnt, and 2 were captured.

Some years ago, a singular plague of white ants (Termites), originally imported from India, infested the wooden buildings of La Rochelle.

There is an Etablissement des Bains here, situated on a fine Promenade or Mail, a grove of trees stretching along the shore ; nice gardens are attached.

A steamer plies daily between La Rochelle and l’lle de Re.

Rochelle is the birth-place of Reaumur, inventor of the thermo- metric scale named after him, and of Billaud Varennes, member of the national convention.

Coaches to Paris by Poictiers daily; — twice a day to Rochefort.

An uninteresting tract of flat marshy land intervenes between Ro- chelle and Rochefort. Near the vil- lage of Passage stood an ancient

218 Route 62. — Nantes to Bordeaux — Rochefort. Sect. III.

town, Chatelaillon, which preceded La Rochelle, and has long since disap- peared, owing to encroachments of the sea.

14 Trois Canons.

17. Rochefort. — Inns: Hotel des Etrangers, not good, D. ; H. Grand Bach a.

Rochefort, a fortress of fourth rank, but standing third in importance among the naval arsenals of France, is built on the rt. bank of the Charente, about 10 m. from its junction with the sea, and contains 14,040 inhabit- ants. The river is deep enough to float vessels of the largest size abreast of the town, having 20 ft. water at ebb, and 40 ft. at the highest tides, and five forts at its mouth protect the dockyard from hostile approach. Its position is well chosen, owing to its vicinity to the roadstead formed at the embouchure of the Charente, by the protection of the islands of Re, Oleron, and Aix. Rochefort is quite a modern town, founded in 1664 for the estab- lishment of a dockyard by Louis XIV., or rather by his wise minister, Colbert, who saw the necessity for a second port and arsenal on the ocean besides Brest. Its streets are built at right angles, and the only buildings of con- sequence are those connected with the Port Militaire, or Dockyard. Ad- mission is given (with difficulty at present, especially to Englishmen,) by the Major de la Marine, on appli- cation of the British consul, and on exhibition of the passport. Among the vessels on the stocks are several large war steamers : the model room contains some curiosities. To describe the sail makers’ shops, the cable- twist- ing loft, the workshops -whose ma- chinery is set in motion by a steam- engine, would be nearly to repeat what has been said of Brest and Cherburg (pp. 85. 122.). The only novelty to an Englishman, acquainted with the British dockyards, will be the Bagne , or convict prison, capable of containing 2,200 formats, but occu- pied by only half that number.

The largest and most remarkable edifice here is the Hopital de la Marine, outside the town, consisting of nine separate masses of building, contain- ing 1,200 beds. It is excellently arranged and well kept up, cleanly in the extreme. There is a tole- rable anatomical museum attached to it.

The town was originally very un- healthy, owing to its low situation among the marshes; but these have been drained, and fevers are become rare. In the Grande Place is a, foun- tain adorned with figures, representing Old Ocean shaking hands with the Charente !

On the 3d July, 1815, Napoleon arrived at Rochefort, seeking to escape to America, and lodged at the pre- fecture; but finding that the Belle- rophon, an English line-of-battle ship, was off the roads, and that there were no possible means of evading it, he went on board on the 15th, and sailed for England, after in vain at- tempting to obtain a pledge from Captain Maitland for safe conduct.

A Steamer runs twice a week from Royan, a small port on the N. bank of the Gironde, 29 m. from Roche- fort, to Bordeaux : the voyage takes 7 hours. Coaches convey passengers between Rochefort and Royan, fare 3 fr., and total to Bordeaux, 10 fr. In going to Royan (a small watering place opposite the lighthouse of the Tour de Cordouan [R. 69.]), the Charente is crossed by a ferry. The road traverses an uninteresting flat, only redeemed by drainage from the state of a pestilential marsh, called Les Marennes.

A Steamer ascends the Charente to Saintes (35 m. ) every morning, re- turning in the afternoon: the passage takes 4 hours.

The voyage up the Charente is agreeable, though somewhat mono- tonous, from the windings of the river and the unvaried nature of the green flat pasture lands on its banks. Near to Saintes it passes the ruined

Sect. III. Route 62. — - Nantes to Bordeaux — Saintes. 219

Castle of Taillebourg, on an isolated rock, near which St. Louis defeated the English in 1242.

Those who travel by land from Rochefort to Bordeaux cross the Charente by a magnificent new sus- pension bridge, in the place of the old ferry, close under the town of Tonnay- Charente, which Louis XIV. had fixed upon for the site of his dockyard, a design which was defeated by the enormous de- mands of its owners for the purchase of the ground. The Gothic Castle, having a park and gardens attached to it, is the ancient seat of the family of Mortemart. A great quantity of brandy is exported from hence, almost all the vineyards on the banks of the Charente being cultivated for the ma- nufacture of eau-de-vie (seep. 220.): 6,000 casks, a large part of the pro- duce of Cognac, is annually shipped here for England.

11 St. Hyppolite.

13 St. Porchaire.

On the 1. bank of the Charente stands

14 Saintes. — Inns: Hotel du Ba- teau a Vapeur; best, and very good.

Saintes, formerly capital of the province Saintonge, betrays in its name the antiquity of its origin, as chief city of the Santones, and has many traces to prove its importance under Roman rule.

The principal and best preserved ancient monument is, the Roman arch of Triumph, upon the bridge over the Charente, serving for a principal entrance into the town, constructed of a coarse limestone, originally very plain, and now, after the lapse of ages, much injured by the weather, which has rounded the angles of the stone, and converted the joints of the masonry into gaps. It is a heavy pile of masonry, pierced by two arches, and destitute of all architectural beauty, 38 ft. high. Five inscriptions upon it, now half-effaced, record that it was raised (in the reign of Nero)

to the memory of Germanicus, of Tiberius his uncle, and of Drusus his father, by Caius Julius Rufus, priest of Roma and Augustus. It was saved from destruction in 1665 by Blondel the architect, who at that time rebuilt the bridge, and it has been repaired very lately. It is said to have been built originally on dry land, and that the river has since altered its bed, and isolated the arch ; but this seems doubtful.

“In 1844, this arch was pulled down, but the separate stones are marked, and laid in order for re-erec- tion.” — F. T.

There are also considerable remains of a Roman Amphitheatre, near the church of St. Eutrope, in the fau- bourg. Though nearly equal in size to the grand circus of Nismes, it is very inferior in an architectural point of view, being built of small stones squared, and destitute of ornament, and it is now reduced to a few fractured vaults and arches. The oval of the arena measures 70 ft. in its greatest length, and 57 ft. in width. The dens destined for the wild beasts still remain, and there are fragments of an aqueduct, contrived, it is supposed, to convert the arena into a naumachia for aquatic spectacles. (?) Many an- tique fragments, capitals, inscriptions, sarcophagi, &c., are preserved in the garden of the sous-prefecture. Such are the few traces of the former mag- nificence of the ancient Mediolanum Santonum, one of the most important cities of Aquitaine.

The Church of St. Eutrope is a structure of the 11th century ; its huge crypt, the most curious part of it, is probably still older ; some of the capitals of columns have quaint carvings. The spire was built in the 15th century.

The detached tower of the Cathe- dral, conspicuous from the pinnacles which surmount it, occupies the site of the church built by Charlemagne in fulfilment of the vow of his father Pepin, after defeating on this spot l 2

220

Route 64. — • Tours to Bordeaux.

Sect III.

Gaiffre Due of Aquitaine. The portail is ancient.

The public Library contains Fe- nelon’s Bible, with notes in his own hand.

The population of Saintes amounts to 11,000. The Charente is here a tidal river, but navigable only for barges. Much eau-de-vie is sent down to the sea for exportation. About 18 m. to the E, higher up the river, on the road to Angouleme, is the town of Cognac (Inns : H.d’Or- leans, poor outside, but very com- fortable), which gives its name to the best brandy in France, pro- duced from vineyards in its vicinity, and along the banks of the river near Jarnac and Angouleme (R. 64. ), in the department of La Charente. The quantity produced annually does not exceed 6,000 butts (tie^ons), but the num- ber sold under the name “ Les fines Champagnes,” by which the best quality is distinguished, exceeds 15,000 butts. Cognac contains nu- merous distilleries, and is the staple place for the brandy’ produced in the surrounding districts. The vines cultivated for its manufacture are allowed to grow to greater luxuriance than those used for wine-making, and run along the ground, whence they acquire strength, while the earthy flavour which is inseparable from wine produced from creeping vines, is dissipated in the processes of dis- tillation.

Francis I. was born at Cognac, while his mother Louise de Savoie, Duchesse d’Angouleme, was residing in the castle ; but, according to tra- dition, he first saw the light under an elm tree, where his mother was unexpectedly brought to bed. A stone now marks the spot.

A Diligence runs from Saintes to Mortagne on the Garonne, to meet the steamer to Bordeaux.

The road from Saintes to Bordeaux is carried through

12 La Jard.

9 Pons, a town of 4,000 inhabitants, picturesquely seated on the 1. bank of the Seugne. Its castle, distin- guished by a keep-tower 100 ft. high, built in the 11th century, is now a prison. Theodore Agrippa d’Au- bigne, grandfather of Madame de Maintenon, and a favourite of Henri IV., was a native of Pons.

11 St. Genis.

12 Mirambeau.

17 Etauliers, in the department of the Gironde.

The road reaches the banks of the Gironde at

13 Blaye, described in Route 69.

Steamers ply daily between Blaye

and Bordeaux.

15 Gravier. There is a direct road from Etauliers to Graviers, avoiding the detour by Blaye round two sides of a triangle ; but not long since this road was impracticable for carriages for want of repair.

Paris to Bordeaux. (R. 64.)

10 Carbon Blanc.

11 Bordeaux.

Route 64.

ROUTE 64.

TOURS TO BORDEAUX BY POITIERS AND ANGOULEME.

528 kilom. = 203 Eng. m.

The Malleposte daily in 22 hours.

3 or 4 Diligences daily — besides coaches between intermediate towns.

The posting on this road is good : from Tours to Poitiers may be done in 8 hours. A Railway is proposed.

A somewhat monotonous avenue, 2^ m. long, leads out of Tours across the Cher, and the rich green pastures bordering on it. At the end of the vista stands the Chateau de Grammont, once belonging to the Arch bp. of Tours. Its gate and one window through a gap in a tree, command the whole breadth of the valley. At this point the road bends to the rt., ascending a height which limits, on this side, the Vale of the Loire and Cher, and com-

Poitou.

Route 64 .— Chatellherault — Poitiers.

221

mands an extensive~view across it. A little beyond this the road to Loehes (R. 56.) turns off on the 1.

13 Montbazon, a small town, with a castle on a rock. Here the Indre is crossed. A little beyond

7 Sorigny you pass, on the 1., the Chapel of St. Catherine de Fierbois, whither Joan of Arc sent from Chinon, to fetch the sacred sword, “ marked with 5 crosses, lying in a vault,” which she afterwards bore in all her battles. She had previously passed through the village, however, on her journey from Lorraine to Chinon, and had doubtless then remarked the weapon ; but the vulgar belief attributed its discovery to divine inspiration.

14 St. Maure, here a road to Chinon branches off. See p. 199.

The river Creuse is crossed at Port-de- Piles, about 4 m. above its junction with the Vienne. Higher up, on the rt. bank of the Creuse, and 3 m. to the 1. of our road, is the village of La Haye, the birthplace of the philosopher Descartes. The house in which he was born (1596) is preserved.

About 7 m. S. of La Haye, also on the Creuse, is the Chateau de Guerche, built by Charles VII. for Agnes Sorel, his mistress, where she resided when the king was at Loehes, and where he used to visit her on his way to and from the chase in the neigh- bouring forest. It is a massy pile, rising 100 ft. above the water side flanked by 4 towers at the angles. It retains in its interior some traces of fresco painting, and ;tlie punning initials of his mistress’s name, an A over L (A- Sur-Ette). In the chapel is placed a statue of Agnes.

16 Les Ormes, on the Vienne. — The chateau belongs to the family d’Argenson.

The road runs parallel with the Vienne, though not in sight of it, through Dange, and

12 Ingrande.

7 Chatellherault (Inn : H. de

l’Esperance, good), a smoky town of mean houses, on the rt. bank of the

Vienne, is one of the chief seats of the Manufacture of Cutlery in France, which gives employment to about 600 families, out of its 9,437 inhab., who I work for large houses. There is also | a royal manufactory of swords and I bayonets (armes blanches), estab- lished 1820. No sooner does the tra- veller’s carriage stop here than he is assailed by a host of women plaguing him to purchase knives, scissors, See.,

I mounting upon chairs to force them in at the window.

The Duchy of Chatellherault was bestowed by Henri II. upon James Hamilton, 2d Earl of Arran, Regent of Scotland, 1548, to induce him to consent to the projected match be- tween his ward, the infant Queen Mary, and the Dauphin Francis.

On quitting the town, the Vienne (which is navigable for a short dis- tance higher up) is crossed ; and a portion of a gateway flanked by tur- rets, erected by the Due de Sully, is passed at its extremity.

8 Rarres de Nintre.

5 La Tricherie.

8 Clain. For the last 3 stages the road has continued to ascend the valley of the Clain. That stream I traverses a rocky and wooded ravine, of much picturesque beauty, before arriving at

12 Poitiers. — Inns : H. de

France; — best and comfortable; bed 2 fr., dinner 3fr., tea 1 fr., coffee 15 sous ; — Trois Piliers.

Poitiers, the capital of ancient Poitou, an early possession of the kings of England, who were its Dukes down to the time of Charles V. (1371), stands on a rounded eminence of considerable height, the summit of which is occupied by the Prefecture and Palais de Justice. From this its streets sweep down in steep slopes, or curve, in winding mazes, to the small river Clain, which, encompass- ing nearly \ of its circuit, while the smaller river Boivre encircles another ! part, so that they formed, in ancient . times, a sort of natural fosse round

222

Route 64. — Poitiers — Cathedral . Sect. Ill,

its ramparts, now almost entirely- swept away by town-council im- provements. The number of inha- bitants is 23,128, but it has neither commerce nor manufacture of any great importance, as might indeed be surmised from its dull and empty- streets, excepting the market-place, which is a scene of much bustle and densely crowded.

It has an Ecole de Droit , number- ing between 200 and 300 students, but of greater celebrity in former times than at present. Lord Bacon in his youth studied here. The town still contains more than a dozen nun- neries , chiefly serving as boarding schools for the education of young females.

The curiosities of Poitiers are chiefly of an antiquarian nature. It possesses a remarkably large number of churches ; all more or less interest- ing to the lover of architecture and antiquity, — and, as some of them date from a very eaidy period, and others were commenced later, and con- tinued down to comparatively modern times, they form a very instructive series by which to study the progress and change of style in building.

Notre Dame de Poitiers, in the market place, nearly opposite the Ecole de Droit, presents a remark- able example of the florid Roman- esque style in its W. fa 9 ade, which is nearly covered with sculpture from top to bottom. It rests on a triple arcade ; the central arch forming the entrance being circular, the two side arches pointed, but all decorated with mouldings and capitals of the same character of richness and singularity. The rest of the facade, on each side of a tall window, is occupied by- arcades filled with statues and bas- reliefs ; and the usual pointed oval frame (vescica piscis,) within the gable contains 2 statues. The whole is flanked by 2 round turrets. The probable date of this facade is the middle of the 12th century.

The interior is of a more severe

style : it has an apsidal E. end, with circular arches and hooped vaulting, except the side chapels, one of which, in the S. aisle, an addition in the florid style of the 15th century, con- tains a rich recess to include a some- what grotesque group of sculpture meant to represent the Entombment.

The Salle des Pas Perdus, at- tached to the Palais de Justice , which originally formed part of the palace of the Comtes de Poitou, is a vast hall, with an open wooden roof ; its walls are decorated Avith arcades, circular on one side and pointed on the other, yet both perhaps nearly of the same date, the 12th century.

The Cathedral, dedicated to St. Peter, is said to have been founded by Henry II. of England. The 2 tOAvers, similar in style, but unequal in size, — the semicircular N. doorway, in which the capitals of the pillars are human figures, stiff, but good in style, — and a large part of the body of the building, whose round and pointed arches are intermixed, as in the Salle de Justice, — may possibly be of Henry’s time.

The plan of the building is a pa- rallelogram, divided into 3 aisles, the central one being much the widest. It terminates a little way above the arches, without either triforium or clerestory ; the latter being transferred, as it were, to the side walls, Avhere it appears in the form of a range of Avindows ; one large pointed window, or 2 narroAv round-headed ones, filling each compartment. The E. end is square, and has 3 covered recesses, in the thickness of the wall, to contain altars. The piers, composed of 4 engaged shafts, surmounted by sharply cut capitals, are very elegant. There are several painted windows, and a fine rose at the W. end, hid, internally, by the organ. Very solid buttresses support the Avails and roof.

A little way behind the E. end of the cathedral, stands the Church of St. Radegonde ; the loAver part of whose elegant Byzantine toAver, though

Sect. III. Route 64. — Poitiers — Temple de St. Jean . 223

masked by a florid porch, is probably of the 11th century, as well as the white marble benitier, shaped like a horse trough, within it. Above it is a curious niche, containing the statue of a saint. The Romanesque choir is raised upon a very old crypt, per- haps older than any part of the upper structure, partly cut out of the rock. In this is deposited the black marble Coffin of St. Radegonde, resorted to, in the month of August, by thousands of pilgrims, chiefly of the lower orders, who throng the low vault to kiss the worn marble Sarco- phagus, (on which some curious orna- ments, of an early age, may be discerned,) and to bring their sick children to be cured. The saint's empty coffin, it appears, still retains the virtue of healing possessed by her body, before it was burnt by the ruthless Huguenots in 1562. In the S. wall of the nave is a small chapel, fenced with iron bars, called “ Le Pas de Dieu ,” because it contains the stone impressed by the footmark of our Saviour, who here appeared to St. Radegonde, according to the legend ! It is covered over by an iron cage to protect it. Part of the internal decorations of this church are, like the porch, of the 15th century, and some of the sculpture is by no means appropriate to a church.

The building, called the Temple de St. Jean, now converted into a Musee, and previously a church, is, next to the Roman Circus, the oldest edifice in Poitiers, and one of the oldest Chris- tain monuments in France ; on which account, as well as from the style of its architecture, it deserves particular attention from those who take an interest in ancient architecture.

It is an oblong building, measuring about 40 ft. by 25, its greatest length being from E. to W., and its walls on these sides, terminating in obtuse ga- bles.

The masonry is very neat ; and on 3 of the walls, inside as well as out, a sort of arcade is introduced, consist-

ing of a circular arch, flanked and surmounted by small triangles, re- sembling pediments. These triangular ornaments are similar to those in the old church of Lorsch, on the Rhine, and may remind the architect of the flat-sided arches occurring in the churches of Barton-on-the-Humber, and elsewhere in England. This debased style of building, arising from want of skill in the architects, and of funds in the founders, followed the Roman, at the fall of the Empire, and preceded the Romanesque, and it is probable, therefore, that the Temple de St. Jean dates from the 6th or 7th century. Its destination appears to have been that of a Baptistery , judging from the well in the centre of its flooi’, about 8 feet deep, having a pipe running obliquely into it.

This supposition, — taking into con- sideration the coincidence in style with the church at Lorsch, a build- ing supposed to be of the 8 th century, appears more probable than that which would make it a Roman tomb, merely because a Roman monumental inscription was found within it. The style of construction is decidedly post- Roman.

To convert it into a church, a semicircular apse was thrown out from the E. wall, and a sort of porch was raised before the W. The style of building in these alterations de- notes a date probably not later than the 10th century ; and the curious frescoes, still visible on the inner walls, are perhaps nearly as old. The bull’s-eye windows by which it is lighted were originally round-headed windows, the lower part of which has been bricked up. This edifice was condemned, a few years ago, by the municipal authorities, to be pulled down, because it stood in the way of the road to Limoges. Luckily there were found in Poitiers some ad- mirers of ancient art to save it from destruction.

The antiquities deposited within consist chiefly of broken fragments of l 4

224 Route 64 Poitiers — Bains de Belvedere . Sect. III.

Roman sculpture and architecture ; a mile-stone of the age of Alexander Severus, and some inscriptions ; also a curious Byzantine bas -relief represent- ing St. Hilarius.

The following churches deserve the notice of the antiquary and architect, in addition to those already men- tioned. St. Hilaire, finished 1049, has lost a portion of its nave. The apsidal choir rests on 7 lofty columnar piers. The Church of Moutiersneuf is also Romanesque, but has been much restored since the Revolution. St. Porchaire has a curious portal with has reliefs.

The Romans have left traces of their settlement here, on the site of Gaulic Limonum, a city of the Pictavi, in the remains of an Amphitheatre, which is best approached through the Inn called Hotel d’Evreux. At the back of the stable-yard is a toler- ably perfect wedge-shaped vault, now filled with hay ; and, leading to it, a part of the vaulted corridor which ran round the building on the ground floor. The oval interior of the Circus is now converted into the inn garden, and some houses have been built upon the sloping constructions around it, which formerly supported the rows of benches. There is no doubt that other vaults and corridors remain under them. The hardness and re- gularity of the masonry, in the portions of the wall exposed to view, are such as characterise all Roman constructions.

The town of Poitiers is surrounded by narrow valleys or ravines, on all Sides but the S. W., where a neck of land connects it with the high ridge whose extremity it occupies. In ancient times the town was defended on this side by strong walls and a deep ditch dug across the isthmus. The space immediately within these walls is now converted into a Prome- nade, called de Blossac, from an intendant of the Province in the last century. It would be a very agree- able walk were it only kept clean, for the terraces, resting on the foun-

dations of the old walls, command a pleasing view into the deep valley of the Clain below.

The Bains de Belvedere, not far from this walk, are comfortable and moderate.

From the heights on the rt. bank of the Clain, there is a very good view of the picturesque town of Poitiers, but no path runs along them. The writer of this took an agreeable but scrambling walk, issuing out of Poitiers by the Paris gate, crossing the bridge over the Clain, then ascending through vineyards behind the Faubourg, and keeping along the edge of the cliff as far as the road to Limoges, where he re-crossed the Clain by another bridge, at the back of St. Radegonde.

About li m. out of the town, a little to the 1. of the road to Limoges, on a height, is a Dolmen, or Druidic monument, called Pierre Levee. It is a block of calcareous sandstone, about 13 ft. long and 3 thick, resting at one end upon upright stones, but at the other deprived of its support. Rabelais attributes its erection to Pantagruel, “ pour le divertissement des escholiers de l’Universite.”

At about an equal distance from the town, in another direction, a little to the 1. of the road to Angouleme, are remains of a Roman Aqueduct, which supplied water to the town and circus. 4 or 5 of its arches are still tolerably perfect, but they are neither imposing nor very orna- mental.

Poitiers is historically very cele- brated. The invading tide of the Saracenic hordes penetrated in the 8th century, thus far into W. Europe, at a moment when the fate of Christianity seemed trembling in the scale. At that epoch, having already conquered Spain, they poured through the defiles of the Pyrenees, overspread Aqui- taine, advanced up to the walls of Poi- tiers, under their famed chief Abdeh- ramen, and burned the Church of St. Hilaire to the ground. They were even threatening to pass the Loire,

Poitou. Route 64. — Poitiers — Rattle — Civray,

when they were met, somewhere be- tween Poitiers and Tours, by Charles Martel, in 732. This contest between the East and the West, between the Gospel and the Koran, ended in the defeat of the Saracens, 300,000 of whom, it is said, but on the doubtful authority of a single chronicler, were left dead on the field ; and the remnant retired, never more to trouble Christ- endom in the West. The site of the battle-field has never been exactly as- certained, and no discovery of bones, “ grandia effossis ossa sepulchris,” has been made, which would surely mark the scene of so enormous a slaughter. At an earlier period (507) the plains of Poitiers had been the scene of the defeat of Alaric, king of the Visigoths, by Clovis.

Poitiers is distinguished in English history by the signal victory gained under its walls, in 1356, by the army of the Black Prince, consisting of English and Gascons, who early in that year had invaded the S. of France, and spread desolation through Languedoc, Limousin, and Auvergne, as far as the gates of Bourges in Berry. The prince’s whole force did not exceed 12,000 or 14,000 men, and the expe- dition had no other design than that of a foray, to “ harry ” the fair fields of France. On his way back to Bor- deaux, however, suddenly and unex- pectedly, on the 9th September, he encountered the army of John, king of France, amounting to 60,000 men, of whose vicinity, and even of their march to meet him, he had been en- tirely ignorant.

“ God help us,” said the prince “ we must now consider how we can best fight them.” The Pope’s Legate, Car- dinal Talleyrand, assuming the office of peace-maker, in vain endeavoured to prevent the impending strife and bloodshed, though Edward himself offered to acquiesce in any reasonable terms, consistent with his honour, to be permitted to go free. He of- fered to give up all the towns and castles he had taken, together with

the prisoners, and not to bear arms against the French king for the space of 7 years. The French, however, confident in numbers, would listen to no conditions but the surrender of the Black Prince, and 100 of his principal knights. The result is well known. The English owed the success of the day, under Providence, to their well-chosen position, to the deadly and skilfully aimed arrows of their yeomen, which availed more than the lances of their knights, and to the stout hearts of their leaders, the Black Prince and Lord Chandos, and of all the English under them.

On that fatal day France beheld the flower of her chivalry laid low, while her king, John, was led into captivity. The noble dead were buried by the towns-folk in the churches of the Cordeliers and Jaco- bins within the town. The field of battle, fixed by Froissart on a spot which he calls Maupertuis, a name now lost in the country, is proved, by old records, in which it is frequently mentioned, to have been situated between the commandery of Beauvoir and the Abbey of Nouaill^, near the road to La Rochelle.

Conveyances. — Daily to Bordeaux, and Tours, by Angouleme; to Limoges; to Rochefort (R. 62.); to Nantes (R.60.).

The road from Poitiers to Angou- leme possesses little interest. Shortly after quitting Poitiers, by the neck of land bounded by the Clain valley, on the 1. it passes on the 1. the road leading to the Roman Aqueduct (p. 224.), and at a short distance on the rt. that to Saintes and Rochefort (R.62.)

7 Croutelle.

12 Vivonne.

8 Minieres.

8 Couhe.

1 1 Chaunai.

8 Maisons Blanches. Civray , 2. leagues E. of this, contains a Roman- esque church, whose facade is curiously ornamented with sculptures, including signs of the zodiac, somewhat like l 5

226

Sect. Ill

Route 64. — Ruffec — Angouleme.

Notre Dame at Poitiers, but dating | probably from the early part of the 12th century. At Charroux, 8 m. farther off, are remains of an Abbey, now reduced to a tower about 80 ft. high, rising from 2 circular arcades, one above the other, supported by piers, formed of bundles of shafts. This was originally the central tower of a very curious church, consisting of a circular choir, preceded by a rectangular nave : but all the rest is de- stroyed. The abbey was founded by Charlemagne, but these ruins are not older than the 11th or 12th century.

12 Ruffec.— (Inns: H. des Ambas- sadeurs, a capital dining house ; the pates de perdrix auxtruffes unrivalled. — Ld. B. Poste, good.

6 Les Negres.

1 1 Mansle ; here the river Cha- rente is crossed.

14 Churet.

The towers of the cathedral and castle of Angouleme are espied 10 m. off. The cultivation of the vine now becomes general. The wines produced about Angouleme and along the borders of the Charente are of inferior quality, but fit for converting into brandy. The picturesque and broad valley of the Touvres is entered, and that stream is crossed at Pontoux.

A few miles up this stream is the Royal cannon foundery of Ruelle : charcoal is exclusively employed as the fuel for the smelting furnaces, and is abundantly supplied by the neigh- bouring forests.

Farther on, in the same direction, is La Rochefoucauld, whose castle was the ancient residence of the family of that name, its most noted scion being Francis, author of the ce- lebrated “ Maximes.” It escaped destruction at the Revolution, and still belongs to the same family, though no longer inhabited by them. It is a huge pile, flanked by round, cone-roofed towers at the angles, forming 3 sides of a square, and, with the exception of the antique donjon, was erected in the time of Francis I. A range of arcades serves

| as a passage along the inner fa£ade, and a curious and richly- ornamented spiral stone staircase leads to the upper stories. Below the castle are very extensive Caves, not now entered, which served as a refuge to the Huguenots, in the wars of Religion. There are similar natural caverns all along the valley of the Tardonere, the largest of which, Les Grottes de Rancogne, are about 3 miles above La Rochefoucauld. They are tra- versed by a streamlet, and contain some stalactites.

The approach to Angouleme lies through the long suburb de l’Hou- meau (in which is the Poste aux Chevaux), and it is not necessary to enter the town at all in proceeding to Bordeaux, unless you intend to stop here, but the inns are in the upper town. A very steep ascent leads from l’Houmeau into

1 1 Angouleme. — Inns : La Poste, new and good ; the landlord’s pates, of foies de canards, famous ; the cuisine excellent : — H. des Etrangers, dili- gence-house.

Angouleme, the ancient capital of the Angoumois, now of the Dept, de la Charente, occupies a situation, not unlike that of Poitiers, on the top of a high hill, terraced round with remains of the ancient ramparts above, while below it is nearly encircled by the course of the Charente, and by another small stream falling into it. The town is distinguished by far more life, industry, and trade than Poitiers, and possesses, with its sub- urbs, a population of 16,910 inhab. Though planted on the top of an iso- lated hill, more than 200 ft. above the Charente, it is most abundantly sup- plied with fountains of fresh water, pumped up by machinery recently established. Its houses, being of a very white stone, easily cut, have a cheerful appearance : it has many new streets and a few old buildings. Its most pleasing features, however, are the series of Terrace-walks running round it, in the place of the old ram- parts, and commanding a charming

Sect. III.

Route 64. — Angouleme — - Cathedral .

227

view of the industrious valley, deep below, of the winding Charente fringed Avith verdure, of the suburbs, and the paper-mills on the river banks, which furnish the staple article of manufacture here. By far the finest portion of these terraces is the Pro- menade Beaulieu • and a series of walks and shrubberies extend down the slopes below it towards the bottom of the valley. In the midst of them stands a column dedicated, by preci- pitate loyalty, to the Duchess d’ An- gouleme in 1815, re-dedicated, since 1830, “ A la Liberte.”

In the irregular Place, serving for the market, in the centre of the town, stands the old Castle, distinguished by its 3 picturesque feudal towers, and tall donjon, now converted into a prison, and surmounted by the tele- graph. It contains a number of vaulted apartments, but possesses nothing of interest, save the recollec- tion that it was the residence of the ancient Counts of Angouleme ; that Marguerite de Valois, Queen of Na- varre, was born in it, — the most ac- complished princess of her day, “ La Marguerite des Marguerites,” as her brother Frangois I. called her; and that its walls gave shelter to Marie de Me- dicis. She retired hither, after her hus- band’s assassination, under the protec- tion of the Due d’Epernon, governor of the Angoumois, who has been suspected of being the accomplice of Ravaillac; while the queen-mother herself is not free from suspicion — “The death of Henry did not sufficiently surprise her.”

The Cathedral is rather a curious than a beautiful edifice, in the Ro- manesque style, rebuilt from its foundations, in 1120. It suffered at the Revolution ; and till very lately bore over its frontispiece the ill- effaced inscription, “ Temple de la Raison,” set over it at that period. It is surmounted by a fine tall tower, of 6 rows of semicircular arcades, rising on the N. side. The W. front is in the style of the churches of

Italy; almost the whole space being divided by circular arcades, resting on elegant columns, enclosing statues much mutilated, surmounted, in the pe- diment, by a statue of the Saviour (once supposed to be Jupiter), surrounded by the attributes of the 4 Evangelists. The nave has no side aisles, and its roof is formed of 3 vaulted cupolas, a style of construction not known to the N. of the Loire. At the cross rises an octagonal tower. The choir ends in an apse. Numerous additions and repairs were made to the interior, after the barbarous devastations committed by the Huguenots in 1562 and 1568.

Among modern buildings, the Pa- lais de Justice is by no means con- temptible. In the attic has been placed the public Library, containing 14,000 vols., and a small collection of Natural History.

Outside the town, to the N., in the escarped rock below the ramparts, is the Grotte de St. Cybard, a holy her- mit, whose real name was Eparchus, who occupied it as his cell, and died here in the 6th century. By the sanc- tity of his life he caused the foundation of a church and monastery, which ex- tended from the cave to the Charente, and was once much frequented by de- vout pilgrims, but both are now swept away. In the grotto, which Charle- magne himself approached on bended knees in order to perform his devo- tions, mass was said daily, down to the time of the Revolution. This oldest Christian monument in Angou- leme is respected by its present owner, but no longer serves as a church.

Ausonius makes mention of this town under the name Iculisma, fanci- fully derived from “ In collis summa,” and gradually softened down, as some conjecture, into the modern Angou- leme.

Angouleme and the surrounding province were governed, from the 8th century down to 1303, when they were united to France, by a long line of independent counts, 19 in number; first of the race of Taillefer, and, after l 6

228 i?. 64 -. — Poitiers to Bordeaux — Jarnac — Barbezieu . Sect. Ill

1180, of the house of Lusignan. It also belonged to the English, and was some time the residence of the Black Prince after the battle of Poitiers, 1360. One of the town gates, not pulled down until 1808, was named Porte de Ghandos, from the brave English knight who built it, while constable of Aquitaine, for Edward III. A house in the Rue de Geneve is pointed out as that inhabited by Calvin, who sought refuge here 1533, and taught Greek to maintain himself. The Place de Murier receives its name from a mulberry-tree which stood in the midst of it while it was the convent garden of the Jacobins. During the outrages committed by the Calvinist soldiery, 1562, when they captured and sacked the town, the monk Michel Grillet was hung to its boughs, in the presence of the Admiral Co- ligny, whose death he is said to have foretold with his dying words, saying, “ You shall be thrown out of the window, like Jezebel, and shall be ignominiously dragged through the streets. ”

Among the remarkable persons natives of this place are Ravaillac, the assassin of Henri IV ; Pol trot, who shot the Due de Guise le Balafre before the walls of Orleans ; and Montalambert, the inventor of a system of fortification.

The Naval School, established here at the suggestion of the Due d’ An- gouleme 1816, was suppressed 1830, and very judiciously transferred to Brest, and the building in the Fau- bourg PHoumeau still remains closed.

The manufactures of Angouleme consist of paper, made in numerous (36?) mills in the neighbouring val- leys, and brandy.

Capital pates de perdrix aux trouflfes are made here.

The Charente is navigable up to the quay below the town. A Steamer runs to Saintes (R. 62.) 3 times a week.

18| m. W. of Angouleme, on the way to Cognac, ( R. 62. ) is Jarnac, where a handful of Protestants, com-

manded by the Prince de Conde, en- gaged the royal army commanded by the Due d’ Anjou, doubling their force in number, and were defeated. Conde fell, after giving the signal for a third charge, which he led, with one arm in a sling, and his leg shattered. Young Henri, Prince of Bearn, his nephew, was a spectator of the bloody affray, but was not permitted to take part in it.

The road to Bordeaux descends from Angouleme into the valley by a series of zigzags, under the Promenade de Beaulieu. About the middle of the stage the ruins of the Abbey of la Couronne are seen on the 1., in the midst of a green valley abounding in paper-mills. After escaping destruc- tion at the Revolution, it has been de- molished, for the sake of the material, since 1808, and is now reduced to a mere fragment, including the W. front with a fine door- way, and part of a rose-window over it.

1 3 Roullet.

8 Petignac. The post house is like a little chateau ; beyond it is a steep ascent.

13 Barbezieu. — Inn: Poste; Boule d’Or, the only good inn between Angouleme and Bordeaux : dinner in- private, 4 fr., with wine.

The high road traverses the boule- vard, or promenade, on the outskirts of this little town, of about 2,500 inhabitants : it once belonged to the Seigneurs of La Rochefoucauld.

7 Reignac.

7 La Graulle, in a monotonous sandy district of heath and common.

At Chevanceau, a road branches off to Libourne. ( R. 71.)

14 La Garde- Montlieu.

6 Chierzac. More common and fir plantations. In this district, and else- where in the south, during very hot weather, the oxen wear coats, and the asses are breeched, to protect them from the flies.

13 Cavignac (Dept. Gironde).

About 1| m. beyond the village St. Andre the road reaches the post station,

229

Sect. III. Route 64. — Cubsac — Bordeaux Bridge .

16 Cubsac, on the rt. bank of the j Dordogne, here a broad estuary, formerly crossed in ferry-boats, in which passengers and carriages were embarked. The transit occupied ; from 1 to i an hour, and was some- times attended with danger, and al- ways formed a [serious interruption to the communication between Bor- deaux and the French metropolis. For this disagreeble ferry an iron- wire Suspension Bridge is now substi- tuted, divided into 5 curves, supported on 6 pair of piers, consisting of hollow open columnar shafts or towers of cast iron. The road- way of the bridge is raised 93 ft. above the water, so as to allow vessels of large size to pass under it ; and the approaches to it. from either bank, are by a series of lofty stilted arches, 29 in number, on either bank, which have a striking effect. The bridge itself has much the appearance of the Brighton chain pier, and is of slight construction, being warranted to stand no more than 40 years, it is understood. Be- sides the suspending wire cables, others are attached to the summits of the piers, in the manner of stays or braces, to steady them. The length of the central, or suspension bridge, is 1,640 ft., and the 29 arches, on either side, measure 656 ft., making a total length of 2,952 ft. or more than i a mile: it is 20 ft. wide. The wire bridge of Cubsac, the longest in France, and, indeed, in Europe, was begun 1835, and finished 1839, at a cost of 3,000,000 fr., by the engineer Fortune de Vergez.

The tolls for passing the bridge are heavy.

The Dordogne" joins the Garonne 10 m. below this bridge, and their united waters form the estuary called the Gironde, after which the depart- ment is named.

The tongue of land which separates the Dordogne from the Garonne, across which our road lies, is a fertile district, chiefly laid out in vineyards and corn fields, and scattered over

with country seats. It is called the « Entre Deux Mers.”

The road from Libourne falls in on the 1. (R. 71.)

10 Carbon Blanc.

The approach to Bordeaux is very striking ; the road is carried down, from a considerable height, in gently terraced slopes, winding round the shoulder of the hill, overlooking the broad Garonne, and the city of Bor- deaux lining its opposite, concave bank. From the foot of the hill a straight avenue, 2 m. long, leads to the magni- ficent Bridge , one of the finest in Eu- rope, consisting of 17 arches of stone, the walls and spandrils being brick, with stone quoins, 1,534 ft. long, tra- versing the Garonne, from the little suburb La Bastide to the city of Bor- deaux.

Until 1821 t the Garonne was passed, in the same manner as the Dordogne down to more recent times, by a ferry ; and the want of a bridge has confined the city exclusively to the 1. bank of the river.

A bridge of wood was begun in the time of Napoleon, but was abandoned soon after for one of stone, which was completed, 1821, by a company of shareholders, who are repaid, by the tolls during 99 years, for their outlay, which amounted to 260,000/. (6* millions of fr.). The architect was M. Deschamps.

A vaulted passage runs under the roadway, , between it and the arches, for the whole length of the bridge: this gives a great height of wall be- tween the crown of the arches and the parapet.

As the French are fond of com- paring this bridge with that of Waterloo, the dimensions of both are here given in English ft.

No. of Width

Length. Width. Arches, of Arch. Bordeaux 1534 47 17 85*

Waterloo 1326 40 9 118 j

The view of Bordeaux from the

Only the 7 central arches have this width ,

the rest are smaller.

230

Route 65. — Poitiers to Ckateauroux .

Sect. Ill,

bridge is very striking. Opposite the bridge stands the Porte de Bourgogne, erected to commemorate the birth of the Due de B., grandson of Louis XIV.

11 Borbeaux in Route 73.

ROUTE 65.

POITIERS TO CHATEAUROUX BY ST. SA- VIN ; WITH EXCURSION TO MONT-

MORILLON.

119 kilom. =73i Eng. m.

This cross road, not much travelled, leads to some interesting antiquities.

23 Chauvigny, a town of 1,000 in- habitants, occupies a commanding height on the rt. bank of the Vienne. It was, in feudal times, a strong for- tress, and still possesses the ruins of 3 distinct Castles built on the same plan, a square flanked by turrets. The Donjon, on the top of the hill, shows on one side a breach in its wall, made by a battery of cannon in the 16th cen- tury, during the wars of Religion, and now filled up with bricks arranged herring-bone fashion. One of the castles, the most modern, probably of the 13th or 14th century, with pointed windows, now serves as a prison. There are many old houses in the upper town dating from the 15th and 16th centuries.

The Church, also in the upper town, is a very interesting Romanesque building, decorated with all the or- naments of Byzantine art externally, and also within ; the capitals of its columns being carved with mermaids, monsters, &c., as well as with scrip- tural subjects.

1 9 St. Savin has a Church decorated in its porch, nave, and crypt, under the choir, with fresco paintings, re- presenting scriptural subjects from the Creation, the figures as large as life, and tolerably well preserved. Those in the crypt describe the Legend of St. Savin and St. Cyprien, and are of smaller proportions. They

are probably the work of Greek or Italian artists in the 11th, or, at earliest, of the 10th century, and are certainly very valuable as monuments of early art. It has been remarked, as a proof of the antiquity, or the Eastern origin, of these frescoes, that the horsemen are represented riding with- out stirrups. The whole church was originally covered with paintings : those in the choir have been effaced by whitewash ! The church itself is a very ancient specimen of Roman- esque architecture ; it is entered by steps leading down into it, and the W. end seems to have been separated from the rest, so as to form a Narthex, like the gallilee of some English churches. The choir and shallow transepts end in apses.

At Montmorillon, 1 2 m. S. of St. Savin, “ in the court yard of what was the baronial castle, and is now a college, there is an ancient and very curious chapel. Originally, it must have been the domestic chapel of the lords of the adjacent castle, doubtless erected by them, and for their private use. It consists of a subterraneous crypt, which, probably, was the fa- mily vault, and an octagonal chapel above it, with a conical roof. Part of this building is in the round style, and part in the pointed. That part which is in the round style may be- long to the 11th century. The pointed part cannot be older than the 13th. But the most remarkable fea- ture in this building, and that to which it owes its celebrity, is a group of rudely sculptured figures which occupy a recess above the door-way. Various explanations of this singular group have been offered by the learned, but none of them are satis- factory, and the problem is more dif- ficult to solve, as some of the figures are taken from ordinary life, and some are allegorical.” — H. G. K. The most singular and inexplicable, per- haps, are two female figures, the one corpulent, having toads or scarabs hanging from her breasts ; the other meagre, entwined by serpents, and suckling them.

18 Le Blanc.

18 Scoury.

11 St. Gaulthier.

15 Lothiers.

15 Chateauroux. (R. 70.) ROUTE 66.

POITIERS TO ROCHEFORT BY NIORT.

1 32 kilom. = 80 Eng. m.

Poitiers (in Route 64.) to

6 Croutelle, on the road to Bor- deaux.

17 Lusignan on the Vonne (Inn : Lion d’Or) gave its name to the noble family which rescued Jerusalem from the Infidels and for some time occupied its throne. The castle was surprised and razed by the Catholics 1574, and a public walk occupies its site. The Church , a dilapidated building, has a

curious portal, ornamented with the signs of the zodiac.

| 14 Villedieu du Perron.

15 St. Maixent, an old walled town,

! 5,500 inhab., on a height above the I Sevre.

10 La Creche.

! 13 Niort (Inn: Maison de Bour-

j gogne, not recommended), a modern I town, chef lieu of the dept, of the j Deux Sevres, on the Sevre Niortaise, 22,000 inhab.

The old Castle surmounted by 2 keep towers each flanked by 8 tur- rets, remarkable as the birth-place, or at least the cradle, of Madame de Maintenon, whose profligate father, Constant d’Auhigny, was confined in it, is now the Maison d' Arret.

10 Frontenay.

13 Mauze.

12 Surgeres

10 Mur on.

16 Rochefort, in Route 62.

232

SECTION IV.

LIMOUSIN.— GASCONY. — GUIENNE. — THE PYRENEES. — NAVARRE. — BEARN. — LANGUEDOC. — ROUSILLON.

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION.

SCENERY OF LIMOUSIN OBJECTS OF INTEREST IN THE PYRENEES COMPARISON

WITH THE ALPS FORESTS GAVES LAKES PORTS OR PASSES VALLEYS

CIRQUES OR OULES A DASH INTO SPAIN INHABITANTS — CAGOTS

SPORTING HISTORY THE ENGLISH IN THE PYRENEES FROISSART THE

ELACK PRINCE WELLINGTON CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHIEF WATERING

PLACES THE BATHS WORKS ON THE PYRENEES DIRECTIONS FOR TRA- VELLERS APPROACHES AND NEAREST ROUTES STARTING POINTS SKELE- TON TOURS SPANISH PASSPORT ACCOMMODATIONS INNS CONVEYANCES

GUIDES HORSES CHAISES A PORTEURS.

ROUTE PAGE

70 Orleans to Toulouse , by Vier-

zon, Chateauroux, Limoges , and Montauban - - 244

71 Limoges to Bordeaux, by Pe-

rigueux and Libourne - 259

73 The Garonne. — Toulouse

to Bordeaux , by Moissac , Agen, Marmande - -261

74 The Gironde from Bordeaux,

to La Tour de Cordouan. —

Wine District of Me doc. — Chateaux Margaux. — La- fitte and Latour - - 271

76 Bordeaux to Bayonne , St.

Jeande Luz , and the Spanish Frontier - 277

77 Bordeaux to Bayonne,

throughZ.es Grandes Landes 28 5

78 Bayonne to Pau, by Ortliez 287

79 Bordeaux to Auch, by Castel

Jaloux and Nerac - - 288

80 Bordeaux to Pau - - 289

82 Pau to the Spanish Frontier,

by Oleron, and the Val d’Aspe 294

83 Pau to Eaux Bonnes , and

Eaux Chaudes. — Pic du Midi d' Ossau, and Spanish Baths of Panticosa - - 295

ROUTE PAGE

85 Pau to Lourdes, Cauterets ,

Luz, St. Sauveur , Bareges , and Bagneres de Bigorre. —

The Mountain Road, with Excursions to the Lac de Gaube, Gavarnie, Breche de Roland. — Mont Perdu, Pic du Midi, fyc. - 302

86 Bagneres de Bigorre to Bag-

neres de Luchon. — Moun- tain Road, by the Hourquette d' Aspin, Arreau , Col de Pey- resordes, and Val de I’Ar- boust. — Excursion to the Lac de Seculeijo - - 319

87 Pau to Bagneres de Bigorre,

and Bagneres de Luchon, by Tarbes. — Post Road. — Ex- cursions to the Val de Lys ,

Port de Venasque and Val d' Aran - - - - 322

90 Toulouse to Pau, by Auch

and Tarbes - 335

91 Toulouse to Bagneres de

Luchon and Bagneres de Bigorre, by St. Gaudens - 336 93 Toulouse to Narbonne, and Marseilles by Carcassonne.

— Canal du Midi - - 337

Pyrenees.

[edit]

THE PYRENEES.

233

ROUTE PAGE

94 Narbonne to Perpignan , Port Vendre, and the Spanish Frontier - 340

97 The E. Pyrenees Toulouse

to Foix and Pmjcerda. —

The Valley of the Ariege. — Vicdessos. — Andorre- - 343

ROUTE PAGE

93 The E. Pyrenees. — Perpignan, to Mont Louis and Puycerda, by the Valleys of the Tet and Tech. — Ascent of the Canigou - 347

The scenery of Limousin, through which province the following Routes conduct the traveller to the Pyrenees, is thus described in the excellent work of Arthur Young : —

“ In regard to the general beauty of a country, I prefer Limousin to every other province in France. It does not depend on any particular feature, but is the result of many. Hill, dale, wood, enclosures, streams, lakes, and scat- tered farms are mingled into a thousand delicious landscapes, which set off everywhere this province.”

The length of the portion of the chain of the Pyrenees running between the Mediterranean and Bay of Biscaj r , and forming the boundary line be- tween France and Spain, is estimated at about 270 in. The highest parts of the chain are near the centre, and it descends considerably towards the Medi- terranean and the Gulf of Gascony. The highest summits do not occur on the central ridge or main chain, but on the buttresses running out from it to the S., and therefore belong to Spain. Only one summit within the French frontier, the Yignemale, attains an elevation of 11,000 ft., while 3 in the Spanish portion of the chain exceed that measure. The average length of the valleys running up from the plain to the crest of the mountains is about 36 m.

Without doubt some of the finest scenery in France is to be found among the Pyrenees, which, though inferior in height, and on the whole in grandeur of scenery, number of snowy peaks, and area of crystal glaciers, to the Alps, yet possess beauties peculiar to themselves, of which the Alps cannot boast. The sunny atmosphere, which they owe to their more southern latitude, gives a warmth or glow to the landscape which will in vain be sought farther to the N. ; and this genial climate, while it banishes perpetual snow to a height of about 9,000 ft. (i. e. more than 1,000 ft. above the Alpine snow line), also spreads a richness of sylvan decorations over these mountains unparalleled in Swiss scenery. Heights which in a more northern region would either be condemned to nakedness, or to a scanty growth of lichens, are here clothed in verdure to the very top ; and precipitous rocks, elsewhere rejecting all vege- tation, are tufted in every cranny and fissure with brushwood, especially with box, which thrives and spreads wonderfully.

But the pride and boast and chief charm of the Pyrenees are their vast forests, the seas of undulating foliage which clothe their sides and tops, not merely of dark monotonous fir, but oak and beech : examples of these are presented in the upper part of the Val d’Ossau, near Gabas, in parts of the d’Argelez and Val d’Aure.

The meadows which carpet the lower slopes and bottom of the valleys equal if they do not surpass those of Switzerland in intense verdure produced by irrigation and sunshine, and approximate to the even surface of an English lawn ; and while the plains of Languedoc and Provence are parched into a yellow desert, here the hues of spring are prolonged into summer and autumn, and the traveller is constantly refreshed by vernal gales.

23 4 ?

THE PYRENEES — GAVES — CIRQUES.

Sect. IV.

The brawling rivers ( Gaves is the local name, derived from the same Celtic root as our Avon ) are remarkable, beyond those of almost any other country, for their excessive purity, and for tints resembling beryl and chrysoprase. The waterfalls are second rate, quite inferior to those of Switzerland ; those above Cauterets are pretty, and, perhaps, the finest. That of Gavarnie, the loftiest in Europe but one (in Norway), though 1,300 ft. high, is a mere thread of water. Lakes are almost entirely wanting, and here the inferiority of the Pyrenean mountains to those of Switzerland is most decided. The Lacs de Gaube, of Seculeijo (or Lac d’Oo), and the Lac Bleu, though very interesting from the adjuncts of scenery, precipices, and streamlets dashing into them, are mere mountain tarns, yet they are the finest and almost the only sheets of water.

The chain of the Pyrenees has in a considerable degree the character of a vast wall drawn from sea to sea, inasmuch as it preserves an almost un- varying ridge, notched by frequent passes of cols, rarely more than 1,000 ft. lower than the summit of the crest which surmounts them. The consequence is, that the passes leading across the chain are generally higher than among the Alps, far higher in proportion to the comparative elevation of the Pyrenees, and that they are much less accessible for high roads ; indeed only two are practicable for carriages — the Pass of the Bidassoa, at the W. extremity, close to the Bay of Biscay, and that of the Col de Pertus, at the E., along the shore of the Mediterranean. There are however at least 50 passes known to and used by the shepherds and mountaineers, and most of them practicable on horseback. They are here called “Ports,” a very expressive name, for in many instances they are literally doors cut in the crest of the mountains lead- ing from France into Spain. The most striking of these, and well worth the traveller’s attention, are the “ Breche de Roland,” and the Port de Ve- nasque, the passage of which reveals the grandest, and almost the only, view of the Maladetta, the monarch of the Pyrenees.

The valleys of the Pyrenees run nearly at rt. angles with the great dorsal ridge descending from the central spine into the plain, in a series of basins and gorges: the most considerable are the valleys of the Garonne and Ariege.

The most beautiful are the Val d’Argelez (which no one should omit see- ing), Val d’Ossau, and valleys of the Garonne, Adour, and Lys, Val d’Aure, and Val d’Aran.

The most grand gorges are those leading from Pierrefitte to Cauterets and Luz, and that of Mahourat leading to Pont d’Espagne, and the approach to Eaux Chaudes.

Several Pyrenean valleys have a termination quite peculiar to themselves — in a Cirque or Oule (a local word, meaning pot, Latin olla ), a vast circle or semi- circle, excavated in the mass of the mountain, walled round by precipices of great height, surrounding two-thirds or three-fourths of the basin, and leaving no opening but that by which the waters escape. The finest of these cirques is that of Gavarnie, at the commencement of the Val de Lavedan : its walls are loftiest and most perfect; that of Troumouse at the head of the Val d’Heas is larger, but not so deep : another occurs at the bottom of the Val Estaube. The nearest approach to this peculiar formation of the vale head in the Alps is at Leuk ; but the precipices of the Gemmi, which wall it round, want the semicircular arrangement, as well as the waterfalls, the towers, and cylinders of rock which give the grand character to the scenery of Gavarnie.

The valleys of the Pyrenees are separated from one another by lateral ridges descending like ribs or buttresses from the great chain, over which the communication is maintained by numerous minor cols, called Portillons,

Pyrenees, a dash into spain — basques — cagots. 23 5

or in some parts Hourquettes. Such are the interesting passes of the Tour- malet and of the Hourquettes d’Arreau and d’Aspin.

Most visiters to the Pyrenees make a point of ascending one of the high peaks in the vicinity of the baths, either for the sake of the view, or to say they have been on such of such a peak : hence, “ Avez-vous fait quelques ascensions?” is a common inquiry. The mountain which may be ascended with least trouble, and which repays well by its prospect, is the Pic de B ergons, above Luz. The Pic du Midi de Bigorre, conveniently reached from either Bareges or Bagneres de Bigorre, is loftier and more difficult. Less easy still are the Pic du Midi d’Ossau, the Canigou in the E. Pyrenees, and the Breche de Roland ; while the still more lofty Vignemale is no easy task to surmount, and the Mont Perdu is both difficult and dangerous — an exploit for a practised mountaineer ; and the Maladetta wears snow on its crest never trodden by human foot until 1842.

A dash into Spain, of three or four days’ duration, will add much to the variety and interest of a journey among the Pyrenees. The points whence it may be made with most advantage, are either from Bayonne to St. Sebastian, from Eaux Bonnes or Cauterets to the Baths of Panticosa, from Gavarnie to Busaruelo and Faulo, or from Luchon to Venasque and the Val d’Aran. The scenery on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees is far grander and wilder than on the French. Those who attempt to explore it must be prepared to “ rough it ; ” they will encounter a wild people, rude villages, accommodations of the very worst kind, yet very expensive, paths scarcely passable, and cookery nauseous to those unused to it from oil and garlic. The sudden transition from France to Spain, the total difference of people, language, manners, habitations, food, yields the chief zest to such a journey. An invitation to one of the Spanish Bull-fights, which are held every year in all the large towns of the N. of Spain, may tempt some to penetrate farther into the country. (See for details the Handbook for Travellers in Spain.)

The inhabitants of the Pyrenees, composed of various races, interesting for their antiquity, customs, costumes, &c., are worthy of the attention of the tra- veller. At the W. extremity of the chain, S. of Bayonne, you have the Basques, the aborigines of W. Europe, who have seen Carthaginians, Celts, Romans, Goths, Saracens, pass before them, and still remain in possession of their mountain home, part in France, part in Spain, speaking a language which has nothing in common with any other of Europe. (See R. 76. p. 283.)

The peasantry of Bearn, who occupy the beautiful Val d’Ossau and its tributaries, the land of Henri IV., in the midst of which he spent the years of childhood, are a fine race, retaining much of their pri- mitive simplicity of manners, along with their ancient costumes, the men wearing the berret or cap, like the Lowland bonnet of the Scotch, and a red sash round the waist ; the women covering their heads with the red hood or capulet. In the E. Pyrenees, the people of Foix and Rousillon have a con- siderable resemblance, in character, dress, and language, to the Catalans of Spain.

The proscribed and outcast race, called Cagots, exist more in tradition than in reality at present among the Pyrenees. The writer never met with any during his travels in these mountains ; though he heard of families who had intermarried with them, or were descended from them. The ban of caste no longer hangs over them. They are said to have been weak in body and mind, low in stature, sallow in countenance, and to have lived only in the remotest valleys, shunning their fellow-men. There are various theories to account for their origin and name, none of them satisfactory — for ex-

236

THE PYRENEES.

Sect. IV.

ample, that they are the descendants of the Goths, dispossessed of Aquitaine by Clovis — “ chiens de Goths,” whence Cagots, by a somewhat forced deriv- ation. 2d. That they sprung from the Saracens, who stayed behind in France after their defeat by Charles Martel. Sd. That they were lepers, banished from human haunts for fear of infection ; or, what seems probable, fugitives tainted with heresy and driven apart from the community by the prejudices and aversion of the Romish priesthood. They are now nearly lost through inter- mixture with the mass of the population.*

The Sportsman may still find some occupation among the Pyrenees in the pursuit of the bear, the ibex or bouquetin, and the izzard or chamois, though these animals are growing rare. The bouquetin, especially, is almost ex- tinct ; if anywhere, he may be found on the Maladetta. The izzard is not uncommon, and the best localities for enjoying this chase are Eaux Bonnes, where are some capital guides (see R. 83.), the snow-fields of the Vignemale, the Mont Perdu, and the Maladetta, or in the Spanish Val de Broto.

The izzard is hunted either by stalking, in the manner in which the red deer is stalked, though with much more difficulty and danger, amidst precipices, glaciers, and snow-fields, until, after a tedious pursuit, the huntsman may have the chance of a steady shot.

The other method resorted to is that of driving the animals by the guides and mountain shepherds towards the spot where the chasseur is posted. Suc- cess in this case entirely depends on the perfect knowledge possessed by the guides of the habits and haunts of the izzard.

The rivers are so much netted as greatly to interfere with the sport of angling ; a scientific fisherman, however, would doubtless find full scope for the exercise of his rod among its innumerable gaves and mountain streams.

Histori / and Antiquities. ■ — The passage of the Pyrenees by Hannibal, and afterwards by Caesar, with large armies, are the earliest events of importance connected with these mountains. The pass by which they crossed was that of Pertus, at the east end of the chain. Charlemagne’s advance into Spain, in 778, was through that of Roncesvaux , where he received the memorable check so ce- lebrated in history and romance, chiefly at the hands of the hardy mountaineers, the Basques, who fell upon his rear guard while entangled in the defiles, and killed many of his “ paladins and peers,” amongst them the renowned Ro- land, who has left his name upon the highest mountain ridge of the chain in the so-called Breche, cleft through the rock, according to the tradition, by a swashing blow of his celebrated sword Durandal. The valleys and passes of the Pyrenees, like those of all other border countries, abound in castles and watch towers, relics of feudal times, when war and rapine was the business of a great portion of the inhabitants, especially of all who claimed to be noble or gentle. Those who would know something of the history of these ruined hill forts, and of the mode of life of those who occupied them in the 14th century, of the marauding expeditions which went out from them on border forays, to harry the cattle or fair fields of some neighbouring chief, of am- buscades to rob the burgess of the neighbouring towns of his merchandise, or capture some wealthy ecclesiastic or seigneur of eminence, and clap him into the deep dungeon until a ransom was paid, must refer to the delightful pages of Sir John Froissart's Chronicles , the oldest and best hand-book for the Py- renees, which he traversed and threaded in various directions, picking up anecdotes for his history.

The Editor is desirous of obtaining information from personal research, not hearsay*

respecting the present state and numbers of the Cagots ; if, indeed, any of them do exist.

Pyrenees.

THE PYRENEES.

237

In his time many of these strongholds were held by English garrisons for the Black Prince, the province of Gascony, with Bigorre, having been ceded to the English as part of the ransom of the French king, John, captured at Azincourt. The tradition of the country, indeed, attributes the building of some of the castles to the Black Prince. He led an English army into Navarre, to reinstate Pedro the Cruel on the throne of Spain, through the pass of Ronceval, the scene of the “ dolorous rout” of Charlemagne.

Four centuries and a half later, the Pyrenees once more became connected with English History, and in a more glorious cause.

« Many of these romantic heights are endeared to an Englishman by the recollection of gallant deeds of British valour performed at the close of the Peninsular war.” — S. To visit the scenes of the masterly passage of the Bidassoa, and of the Adour below Bayonne, the spot where the fatal sortie took place under the walls of that fortress, the heights of Orthez, and those where the hard-contested but decisive and final battle of Toulouse was fought, cannot but add to the interest of the journey. It will augment the satisfaction of an Englishman on visiting the theatre of the war, to know that the British commander, so far from displaying the insolence of a conqueror on entering the French territory, took measures to repress rigidly all acts of plunder on the part of his troops, by careful discipline. No inconsiderable difficulty was at first experienced in restraining the Spaniards smarting under the oppression and wrongs inflicted on their own fatherland by the soldiery of the country which they then entered in triumph, and ex- pecting to avenge upon its inhabitants the injuries they themselves had suf- fered. The firmness of the British commander, however, succeeded in alleviating, as far as possible, the horrors of war to the French ; and the two following extracts, one from a general order of the Duke issued after the passage of the Bidassoa, the other from a letter written by him to a Spanish officer, will show how great care he took to effect this.

General Order. — “ The Commander of the Forces is particularly desirous that the inhabitants should be well treated, and private property must be respected, as it has been hitherto.

“ The officers and soldiers of the army must recollect that their nations are at war with France, solely because the ruler of the French nation will not allow them to be at peace, and is desirous of forcing them to submit to his yoke ; and they must not forget, that the worst of the evils suffered by the enemy in his profligate invasion of Spain and Portugal have been occa- sioned by the irregularities of the soldiers, and their cruelties authorised and encouraged by their chiefs towards the unfortunate and peaceful inhabitants of the country.

“ To revenge this conduct on the peaceable inhabitants of France would be unmanly and unworthy of the nations to whom the Commander of the Forces now addresses himself ; and, at all events, would be the occasion of similar and worse evils to the army at large, than those which the enemy’s army have suffered in the Peninsula ; and would, eventually, prove highly injurious to the public interests. * * *

To General , a Spanish Officer. — “I did not lose thousands of men

to bring the army under my command into the French territory, in order that the soldiers might plunder and ill-treat the French peasantry, in positive disobedience to my orders ; and I beg that you and your officers will under- stand, that I prefer to have a small army that will obey my orders, and pre- serve discipline, to a large one that is disobedient and -undisciplined ; and that, if the measures which I am obliged to adopt to enforce obedience and

238

THE PYRENEES WATERING PLACES.

Sect. IT.

good order occasion the loss of men, and the reduction of my force, it is totally indifferent to me ; and the fault rests with those who, by the neglect of their duty, suffer their soldiers to commit disorders which must be pre- judicial to their country.” — Despatches.

HOT SPRINGS CHARACTER OF THE WATERING PLACES BATHS IN THE PYRENEES.

The bounty with which nature has poured forth, throughout the whole range of the Pyrenean mountains, mineral sources of healing quality, of various kinds, adapted to the various ills to which flesh is heir, is truly surprising, and an interesting natural phenomenon. It has been calculated that in the whole chain there are not less than 200, many of them of a high temperature.

It has been observed, that they usually issue forth to light near the junction of the primitive rocks, as granite, gneiss, or slate, with some other formation, chiefly limestone.

The value of these natural medicines was not unknown to the Romans, traces of whose constructions have been discovered near more than one of the hot sources.

Here follows a list and a brief character of a few of the principal watering places, beginning from the W., with a notice of the nature of the mineral waters attached. The list might be greatly extended, and very many springs gush forth unseen and unknown, “ carent quia vate sacro,” i. e. because they have found no literary M. D. to celebrate them in an 8vo volume.

Eaux Bonnes. — A fashionable resort, consisting of a row of eighteen or twenty fine tall houses, chiefly modern, and Parisian in their style, and rather expensive, in a wild mountain nook. The water is sulphureous. It is re- commended for those afflicted with complaints in the lungs.

Eaux Chaudes. — Water sulphureous, nearly like Eaux Bonnes, from which it is only 3 m. distant; more homely accommodation, and visitors less stylish.

Cauterets. — Sulphureous water. A neat little mountain town, in an upland valley surrounded by colossal peaks. Plenty of accommodation, and good ; also a place of fashionable resort. In autumn frequented by many Spaniards. Climate bracing, if not cold, from the elevation of its site. Excursions numerous. Its waters and site are considered efficacious in bronchial complaints and rheumatism.

St. Sauveur. — Feebly sulphureous. A mere watering-place of It dozen lodging-houses.

Bareges. — A complete hospital, thronged with miserable invalids ; inferior accommodation; a poor village in a dreary gorge, which nothing but the hope of recovering health would render endurable beyond an hour or two: yet the efficacy of its waters is astonishing, and in a medical sense it deserves its celebrity, more extended over Europe than that of any other Pyrenean bath. It is often quite full in the season, and lodgings dear. A sharp atmosphere, owing to its great elevation.

Bagneres de Bigorre. — Saline springs; weak; one ferruginous spring. A considerable town, something more than a mere watering-place, seated just within the roots of the Pyrenees on the verge of the plain, and not much raised above it ; warm climate. Various amusements ; pleasant excursions. The tepid baths are efficacious only for slight complaints : the waters are not powerful remedies.

Bagneres de Luchon. — Seated in the bottom of a basin surrounded by

PYREN. THE PYRENEES — DIRECTIONS FOR TRAVELLERS. 239

mountains ; resorted to for pleasure as well as cure. Its waters are sulphu- reous and hot — efficacious in rheumatic complaints or cutaneous affections. There are charming excursions in its vicinity.

At every French watering-place is a medical inspector appointed by the government, and invalids intending to take a course of the waters had better put themselves in communication with him. He will assist them respecting lodgings, and assign to them a lixed hour for bathing, which they will retain during the whole time of their stay ; a measure often indispensable during the season, owing to the number of bathers, to obtain access to the bath at all.

The Bath Houses ( Etablissements Thermals ) of the Pyrenees are very far behind those of Germany in orderly and medical arrangement ; the waters, in many cases, losing some of their properties in their passage from the source to the baths. But their chief inferiority is in ivant of cleanliness. The cabinets des bains are dark hot cells ; the baths themselves, though of marble, mere troughs, calculated to inspire disgust in those who either do not need, or are not thoroughly convinced of their sanative power.

Works relating to the Pyrenees. — The best of all the descriptions of the Pyrenees are the works of Ramond (the Saussure of these mountains), “ Observations dans les Pyrenees,” and “ Voyages au Mont Perdu.” To these may be added, Vayse de Villiers, 2 vols. of Itineraire ; and Charpentier’s Geological Essai, &c., now superseded by the more recent geological papers by Elie de Beaumont and Dufresnoy, in the Transactions of the French Geological Society. In English, we have Mrs. Ellis’s very pleasant little volume, Lady Chatterton’s charming work, more recent and more compre- hensive, and the Hon. Erskine Murray’s “ Summer in the Pyrenees,” which relates especially to the little-visited valleys in the E. part of the chain.

The very amusing “ Letters from the Pyrenees, 1843,” of Mr. Paris, a hardy and intrepid pedestrian, have shown the way into some of the most remote valleys rarely visited, and never yet described by any English writers.

DIRECTIONS FOR TRAVELLERS IN THE PYRENEES.

Approaches and most direct Boutes.

1. Southampton to Havre, steamboat; Havre to Rouen, up the Seine, steamer ; Rouen to Paris, railway ; Paris to Orleans, railway ; Orleans to Tours, down the Loire, by steamer ; Tours to Bordeaux, land journey of 3 days. Bordeaux to Pau, a land journey of about 125 m., 2 or 3 days’ post- ing, 18 hours’ diligence; or up the Garonne to Langon, and thence by land to Pau.

The Railways from Rouen to Paris and from Paris to Orleans render this a speedy and agreeable route, perhaps the most eligible of all.

2. Southampton to Bordeaux, by steamer; passage 60 or 70 hours.*

3. Southampton to St. Malo, steamer ; St. Malo to Nantes, land journey of 3 days ; Nantes to Bordeaux by steamer, or by land through Rochefort.

4. Paris, Orleans, Limoges, Toulouse, Bagneres, a long and uninteresting land journey from Orleans.

5. Paris to Chalons sur Saone, by steam ; thence to Lyons, Avignon, and Beaucaire, toNismes and Cette, by railway; to Narbonne by steamer ; by land or canal to Toulouse ; a land journey thence of nearly 90 m. to Bagneres.

The best starting points for making the tour of the Pyrenees are Pau, for

This steamer does not run regularly.

240 THE PYRENEES DIRECTIONS EOR TRAVELLERS. Sect. IV.

those coming from the W., and Toulouse for travellers approaching from the J2. Those who do not intend to make a permanent stay at any of the watering places, should dismiss their heavy baggage before they plunge into the mountains, sending it on by Roulage, from the one extreme point of their intended tour to the other, from Pau to Toulouse, or vice versa.

The Brunnen of the Pyrenees, ensconced each in its own beautiful valley, form good halting places for the passing traveller who visits these mountains merely from curiosity to explore their beauties, and he may thus terminate almost every day’s journey in a comfortable hotel, or at least in tolerable quarters. Almost every valley is accessible by a good 'carriage road, but it stops at a certain distance, without surmounting the mountain ridge, or penetrating into Spain, except the two extreme passes at the E. and W. ends of the chain. As there are few carriage roads over even the lateral ridges from one valley into .another, those who travel only in carriages must retrace their steps down the valleys. Pedestrians and equestrians (and the only way to see the Pyrenees to advantage is on foot or horseback) may pass, in most instances, by foot or bridle-paths, out of one valley into another across the minor ridges which separate them, and thus enjoy some of the finest scenery without going twice over the same ground. The great chain can only be crossed in the same way, by bridle or foot-paths, over some of the many Ports or Cols, more than 50 of which are enumerated between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean.

' SKELETON TOUR OF THREE OR FOUR WEEKS, TO INCLUDE THE MOST IN- TERESTING OBJECTS IN THE W. PYRENEES:

Pau. Starting point to —

Eaux Bonnes et Cbaudes.

Pic du Midi d’Ossau.

Col. de Tories.

Val d’Azun.

Argelez.

Cauterets.

Pont d’Espagne, Lac de Gaube.

[or from * Eaux Chaudes to Panti- cosa in Spain, by Pont d’Espagne to Cauterets.]

Gorge of Pierrefitte.

Luz, or St. Sauveur.

Gavarnie.

Breche de Roland, back to Luz

[or to Busaruelo and Faulo in Spain, and back].

Val d’Heas.

Vignemale.

Bareges.

Tourmalet.

Pic du Midi de Bigorre.

Bagneres de Bigorre.

Lac Bleu.

Hourquette d’ A spin.

Arreau.

Tramesaiguesandthe Vald’Aure.

Port de Peyresourdes.

Lac de Seculeijo.

Bagneres de Luchon.

Val de Lys.

Port de Venasque, Venasque,

Viella.

St. Beat, in Val d’Aran.

Toulouse.

N. B. This mark * denotes places which cannot be reached in carriages, but only on horseback or foot.

CARRIAGE TOUR BY POST ROADS :

Pau. Eaux Bonnes et Chaudes. Louvie, Lestelle, Lourdes, Argelez, Cauterets.

Pierrefitte, Luz, Bareges.

Lourdes, Bagneres de Bigorre, Valley of Grip, Arreau (? no posting).

Lannemezan, Cierp, Bagneres de Luchon.

Cierp, St. Beat.

St. Gaudens.

Toulouse.

N. B. Ladies may be carried up to most of the points of interest in a chaise a porteur.

Pyrenees.

INFORMATION FOR TRAVELLERS.

241

COMPLETE ITINERANT OF THE FRENCH PYRENEES PERPIGNAN.*

'ROM BORDEAUX TO

Days. Night Quarters. Objects of Interest.

1 Mont de Marsan.

f Citadel (Sortie). Embankments to turn the " L Bayonne. s course of the Adour. — St. Pierre d’Ar-

3 J L ruby. — Biarritz.

f Interesting ride, through scene of the war 4~i St. Sebastian and back, J in Spain. — Irun and Hernani, curious

5 j by Diligence. j Spanish towns. — See Citadel of St. S.

l_ and walk to Passages.

6 St. Jean Pied de Port.

II -

Roncesvalles, 15 m. from St. Jean.

Oleron.

Val d’Aspe.

Eaux Chaudes d’Ossau.

12 1

13/

Eaux Bonnes.

14 Pau.

Cauterets. Cauterets. Pantieosa. Eaux Bonnes. Argelez.

Luz.

21 Luz.

J Grip or Bagneres de (_ Bigorre.

24 J"

Bagneres de Bigorre. Arreau.

Inn: Soleil.

Arrange about passport and procure a guide and horse at St. Jean. It will

\ take a day to go, and the same to return. — Lodge at the Abbey.

{ By Mauleon, a. Basque town, and Tar- detz.

J" Bedous, best sleeping place, but bad. — Take provisions — at least white bread. C Cross from Escot by the Col de Marie, j Blanche, and Plan de Benou (the bed j of a former lake), to Bielle in Val d’Os- ( sau.

Ascent of Pic du Midi d’Ossau.

f By Diligence. Or, if you do not wish to •j visit Pau, cross Col de Tortes and des- [_ cend Val d’Azun to Argelez.

/ By Lourdes, (Argelez, ascend Val d’Azun, as far as Pouy le Hun). — St. Savin. Ascend Monn4 ; 10 hours up and down. f Visit, on the way, the Pont d’Espagne (_ and Lac de Gaube.

By the Case de Broussettes. f By Col de Tortes and the beautiful Val \ d’Azun, 12 hours’ walk.

Pic de Bergons. — St. Sauveur. f Gavarnie and Breche de Roland. If Val -J d’Heas also, must sleep at Gavarnie and scale the Breche next day. f By Bareges, which may be seen en passant.

Turn off at foot of Tourmalet, and ride < up by the Lac d’Oncet to the top of the Pic du Midi. Sleep at Grip, if unable ^ to reach Bagneres. Must start early. f See marble works. — Baths. — Walks. — \ Visit Lac Bleu.

{ Ascend Penne de l’Hyeris. Cross Hour- quette d* Arreau.

Compiled from the notes of J. J.,

obligingly communicated to the Editor. France.

most experienced traveller in the Pyrenees

242

INFORMATION FOR TRAVELLERS.

Sect. IV.

Bays . Night Quarters.

Aragnouet or Hospice de Coubise; miserable' quarters.

28 Bagneres de Luchon

29 Bagneres de Luchon.

30 Luchon or Venasque.

31 Vald’Aran: Lez.

32 Cierp or Luchon.

33 St. Bertrand de Com-

minge; Inn in Haute "Ville.

34 St. Gaudens.

34 St. Girons ;“poor Inn.

35 Foix.

36 Tarascon.

}

Ax or Mt. Louis.

39 Prades.

40 Prades.

Objects of Interest.

Ascend Val d’Aure by Vielle, beyond which it splits into several branches. That called Val d’Aragnouet and Gorge de Couplan contains magnificent moun- tain scenery, forests, cascades. — Return to Arreau.

By Val de Louron, Port de Peyresordes, and Lac d’Oo. If time admits, ascend by Scala to upper Lake.

Val de Lys. — Go or return by Sopra Bag- neres.

Port de Venasque — Trou du Taureau — re- turning by Port de Picade, to Luchon. N. B. This excursion may be extended to Venasque, and round the Maladetta to Vitallez and Viella.

By Port de Portillon to GEil de Garonne. — Castel Leon. — Bososte. — Sleep at Baths of Lez.

Below Lez the finest part of Val d’Aran. — St. Beat.

See the church and remains of Lugdunum Convenarum below the town. — Ride up Val de Barouse to Mauleon. The moun- tains are pierced with caverns.

Visit la Basse Grotte de Gargas, 5 m. from St. Bertrand near Tyberan. — Cross the Neste to St. Gaudens.

By Diligence to St. Martory, where hire a horse to St. Girons, on the Sallat, a bad cross road, but practicable for vehi- cles.

By Remont and La Bastide de Seron.

Visit Iron Mines of Vic de Sos.

Cross to Puycerda and Bourg Madame by Port de Morens. Arrange with the Douane to take a horse across the frontier. Sleep at Bourg Madame or at Cabannes under the walls of Mt. Louis.

Ride by Olette down Vale of Tet.

Ascend Canigou : must start early.

Next day to Perpignan and Narbonne.

PASSPORTS CONVEYANCES ACCOMMODATION FOR TRAVELLERS.

Passports. — Those who mean to enter Spain should obtain a Spanish Con- sul’s vise at Bordeaux or Bayonne, — to prevent their being mistaken for refugees or smugglers : they should also provide themselves with the Spanish Handbook.

Mallepostes from Toulouse to Bayonne and from Limoges to Pau. Dili- gences run regularly from Bordeaux and Bayonne to Pau and Tarbes, from Toulouse to Bagneres and Tarbes, which is the point of concentration for conveyances from all directions ; and in summer a constant communication is kept up between all the watering-places. The diligences, however, are ill appointed, and very slow, and the routes they follow exceedingly circuitous.

Pyrenees. information for travellers.

24-3

They are of use to the pedestrian in conveying his luggage from place to place.

Inns are far inferior to those in the German watering-places ; the best are at Pau, Eaux Bonnes, Cauterets, Luz, and Bagneres de Bigorre (by far the best), but they have all the fault of filth. Those at Bareges and Luchon are inferior.

The charges vary much, especially for rooms, according to the season, rising exorbitantly when the places are full. Provisions are cheap. — Bed, If. 10 s. to2f. ; dinner (table d’hote), 3 f. ; breakfast a la fourchette, 2 f. ; tea or coffee. If. 10s. On ordinary occasions the traveller’s expenses ought not to exceed 8f. per diem ; and if he stop a week or longer in an hotel, he may easily bar- gain for 6 f. The chance traveller is often asked 3, 4, or 5 f. for the worst bed-room for a single night during the season.

| § Fr. ’ cent.

" Board and lodging at an hotel for a

month or 6 weeks, per diem -

5 —

Caleche and 2 horses -

16 —

Expenses

A horse, exclusive of feed

3 —

[at Bagneres <

„ „ for a month

60 —

de Bigorre.

A room in the town - - -

If. 50c.

to 2f.

Bath at a fixed hour -

Warm linen -

Chairmen (porteurs) -

Izzard venison, game, ortolans, truffles, mountain trout, green figs, and strawberries, are among the delicacies which await the traveller in the Py- renees.

“ The remote valleys — Val d’Aran, Val ]d’Aure, and all those on the Spanish side, are miserably off for inns ; travellers should always take pro- visions thither, or at least white bread, as the rye bread, which can alone be procured, is apt to disagree with strangers.” — J. J.

Riding horses , or rather ponies, very unprepossessing to look at for the most part, yet hardy and capable of work, and well used to the mountains, are kept at all the watering-places. The charges for them are moderate, viz., 5 f. a day, including the feed, or 3 f. paying the forage, which it is not advisable to do. It is the custom of the French visitors at the baths to unite in large parties, and invade some quiet valley, or interesting point of view, in troops of cavalry 50 or 60 strong, and to establish there a pie-nic. Very little regard is paid by these riotous assemblages to the beauties of nature. Awakening the echoes with the loud cracks of the whip with which they urge on their jaded hacks, they scour along the rough roads, up hill and down dale, attired in the most fantastic costume — men and women wearing the red sashes of the peasantry, and broad-brimmed felt hats ; while even the ladies assume neat white pantaloons, sometimes set off with boots and spurs.

Guides. — There are very excellent and trustworthy professional guides, well acquainted with the mountains, and many of them capital mountaineers and skilful sportsmen ; though not, perhaps, so good as the guides of Switzer- land or Savoy. The best are met with at Eaux Bonnes, Cauterets, Luz, Bag- neres de Bigorre, and Luchon. A guide receives 5 f. a day, feeding and lodging himself. A horse must be provided for him, unless the traveller is willing to be retarded by his following on foot.

For return money, 4f. a day each for horse and man, until the guide can

m 2

244 Route 70. — Orleans to Toulouse, Sect. IV.

reach his home from the place where he is dismissed, is the fair allowance ; but 5 f. are generally asked.

Chaises d Porteur . — There is scarcely an excursion off the high road, how- ever distant, or a mountain-top, or other spot, however difficult of access, which ladies may not reach by the aid of a chair on poles. Each lady will require from 4 to 6 chairmen ; the cost is 15 f. a day, and 3 or 4f. pour boire. This conveyance has been pronounced by a lady traveller “ at once the gentlest, safest, and most agreeable mode of conveyance imaginable. The chairmen will go anywhere and everywhere ; and instead of being rocked and jolted in a dislocating machine, those who cannot walk, and fear to ride, are carried about like petted children, without the risk of fatigue or the proba- bility of danger. ” — Mrs. Boddington.

ROUTE 70.*

ORLEANS TO TOULOUSE BY CHATEAU-

ROUX, LIMOGES, AND MONTAUEAN.

570 kilom. =353 Eng. m.

Malleposte to Limoges in 20 hours ; thence to Toulouse in 25 hours. Dili- gences daily. A Railway to Yierzon. This is not an interesting road.

An avenue of trees leads from the bridge of Orleans to the suburb, St. Marceau, abounding in country- houses; and a little farther on, the in- dustrious village of Olivet (3,250 inhab. ) is reached. Here the river Loiret is crossed by a bridge, about 2 m. below its source, and 5 or 6 above its termination in the Loire. The Chateau of La Source, the resi- dence of the banished Lord Boling- broke, near this, is described in R. 48. Below the bridge, between it and the Chateau de Ponty, on the 1. bank, it is pretended that the assassination of the Due de Guise by Poltrot took place (see p. 177.) : he was conveyed to Caubray, where he breathed his last.

Our road, as far as Vierzon, tra- verses the district of La triste Sologne, noted for its barrenness ; a large part of it being waste land, heath, and common ; a dead flat of hungry sandy

The Editor has not travelled this route

beyond Vierzon and will be glad of correc- tions or additional information from those who have.

gravel, the surface slightly varied, and the scenery monotonous. The name Sologne ( Segalonia ) has been derived from “ segale,” seigle, barley, the crop chiefly produced on its unprofitable soil. (?)

21 La Ferte St. Aubin. At the entrance of this village, on the 1., stands the Chateau of Lowendahl, named after a Danish general who served in the armies of France, along with his friend Marshal Saxe, and was made Marechal de France for his share in the capture of Bergen-op- Zoom. It now belongs to the Prince d’Essling, son of Marshal Massena. It is a low building, surrounded by water. The name Ferte, an old form of fortifie, denotes the existence, in ancient times, of a castle, embattled and fortified by royal permission, granted to the seigneur.

12 Les Gyons, Dept. Loire et Cher.

11 Nouan le Fuzelier.

12 Salbris.

9 La Loge.

14 Vierzon (Inn: H. des Mes- sageries), a town of the Department Cher, and of the ancient province of Berry, enlivened by the Canal de Berry, which passes through it, running side by side with the river Cher. By means of it the iron of Berry, manu- factured in furnaces not far distant from the town, is exported ; and coal is brought hither to smelt it. The population of Vierzon amounts to 4,700. Here the road to Bourges

Limousin. R. 70 . — Vierzon —

strikes off to the 1. (R. 103.) Its Cathedral is one of the finest in France. At Vierzon, the tiresome Sologne has terminated ; the valley of the Cher is rather cheerful, and on its borders are some vineyards. The Evre and the Cher are crossed on quitting Vierzon.

10 Massay.

16 Vatan. 12 m. N. W. of this is the Chateau de Valengay (see page 187).

14 Maison Neuve.

At Bourg Dieu, or Deols, situated within II m. of Chateauroux, are the ruins of an ancient monastery, and a church containing, irf a crypt under the altar, a curiously carved marble sarcophagus.

16 Chateauroux. — Inns: La Poste, (Ste. Catherine) clean, and people attentive ; H. de France. This town, chief lieu of the Department Indre, containing a population of 13,847, is of little interest to the traveller, but of considerable industrial importance, owing to its^extensive cloth manufactures, the sale of which is estimated at 4 millions of francs yearly. The wools of Berry are almost exclusively used in their fa- brication. Some trade is also car- ried on -in iron, there being more than 40 iron furnaces in the depart- ment. The Castle, on an eminence above the Indre, close beside the modern Prefecture, is a gloomy build- ing flanked by turrets, probably of the 16th century. It was the prison, for 23 years, of the unfortunate Cle- mence de Maille, Princesse de Conde and niece of Richelieu, who here ended a life of suffering, 1694. The Grand Cond£, her husband, repaid her devotion to him and ill-requited affection, by 'procuring from Louis XIV. an order for her imprisonment; and his last dying request to the king was, that she should never be set free. Her grave, in the church of St. Martin, was violated 1793. The town owes its name to an older chateau, built in the 10th century by

-Chateauroux — Limoges . 24 5

one Raoul de D4ols. One of the old town gates, a venerable structure, still remains.

General Bertrand, who accom- panied Napoleon to St. ILelena, was a native of Chateauroux.

Diligences go hence to Bourges, and to Tours by Loches. (R. 56.)

15 Lothiers, a dreary country of heath to

14 Argenton, a town of 4,000 in- hab., on the Creuse ; it had once a large castle flanked by ten high towers, dismantled by Louis XIV., and farther reduced to ruin in recent times.

15 Le Fay.

25 La Souterraine.

16 Morterolles. I

17 Ville au Bran.

17 Morterol.

1 2 Chanteloube.

15 Maison Rouge.

14 Limoges (Inns : Boule d’Or, dirty; H. Richelieu not much better, H. de Perigord), the capital of the ancient province of Limousin, at pre- sent chef lieu of the Department Haute Vienne, is a commercial and manufac- turing town, situated on the rt. bank of the Vienne, and contains a popu- lation of 27,61 1.

It is very picturesque in its ancient street architecture, but has few cu- riosities to show to the passing stranger. The Revolution swept away the greater number of its churches, many of which were very curious from their antiquity. Of those which remain the most interesting are

The Cathedral of St. Etienne, be- gun in the 13th century, and slowly continued down to the 16th, when the work came to a stand ; and the building has since remained a mere fragment consisting of the Choir, the N. transept, and two compartments of the nave, now blocked up by a common partition wall, while at the spot to which it ought to have ex- tended rises an isolated belfry, now iu a very insecure condition, sepa-

246

jR. 70. — Limoges— St, Michel-aux- Lions, Sect. IV.

rated by a wide gap from the rest of the edifice. Under this tower is a Romanesque porch belonging to an older cathedral. The church is built of granite, and terminates in an apse. The interior is not remarkable in itself, but contains a Jube , or rood- loft, removed, without reason, 1789, from its proper place, between the choir and nave, to one side of the nave. It is a curious jumble of flam- boyant Gothic ornaments and tra- cery, with sculpture in the style of the Renaissance : it bears the date 1543. It has been seriously mutilated, and its niches robbed of their sta- tues, but contains curious bas-reliefs, among which are represented the Labours of Hercules. Its construction is attributed to Bishop Langeac, whose tomb is remarkable for the richness and elegance of its decorations, far superior to those of the Jube. It was prepared for him before his death, 1541, and includes some admirable bas-reliefs, well worth examination in spite of their mutilations ; among them one, representing “ Death on the White Horse,” is much praised. Two other monuments, that of Bishop Regnault de la Porte, of the 14th century, and of Bernard Brun, his nephew, deserve notice.

St. Michel-aux- Lions is the most conspicuous object in the town, owing to its tall and graceful tower and spire, planted on the highest ground, sur- mounting the other buildings. This church, erected 1364, is named from the rudely sculptured figures of lions which ornament its porch ; the light- ness and height of the 8 lofty pillars supporting the roof are alone remark- able in the interior.

An old Cross of granite, in front of the church of St. Aurelian, deserves mention for the elaborate workman- ship bestowed on it, which has recently been concealed under a coat of oil paint.

The Episcopal Palace is a hand- some building of granite, with a fine Garden attached to it.

Although Limoges was an import- ant place in Roman times, under the names Lemovices and Augustoritum , there are no remains of Roman build- ings. The only trace of the amphi- theatre, to which Moliere alludes in M. de Pourceaugnacy Act. I. Scene VI., is the name Les Arenes given to a burial-ground. Its site is nearly covered by the Place d ’ Orsay , on one side of which runs a terrace whence there is a view over the valley of the Vienne. A Latin name “ Aqua lenis,” is said to be retained in the Fontaine Aigoulene, and its water is supplied through a Roman con- duit.

The ancient fortifications of Limoges have been thrown down, planted, and converted into boulevards and public walks ; nothing therefore remains as a relic of that terrible siege (1370) and capture by assault of the place by the Black Prince, who, irritated at its revolting from him, through the treachery of its bishop, swore by the soul of his father that he would have it back again. Too ill to ride on horseback, he directed the operations from a litter, and having forced a breach by blowing up a tower, en- tered through it, and denying quarter to its wretched inhabitants, allowed 3,000 men, women, and children, to be massacred, a blot on the fair fame of his heroic career, the verge of which he had already reached, for the hand of death was upon him, and he breathed his last six years after.

Limoges is distinguished by having been the birth-place of the upright chancellor d’Aguesseau, born 1688. Vergniaud, the republican orator, the leader of the Girondins, beheaded by Robespierre, 1793, Marshal Jourdan, the conqueror at Fleurus, and Du- puytren, the surgeon, were also natives. Limoges likewise produced in the 15th and 16th centuries a series of artists, among whom the names of Laudin, Noel, Leonard, Courtois, Rexmore, are conspicuous, eminent for the beautiful paintings in enamel , which

247

Pyrenees. Route 70 . — Limoges to Toulouse,

they produced, still so highly es- teemed all over Europe. Nayllier, the last master in this genre of art, died 1765, and the art died with him. It appears to have originated as early as the 12th century, but was at its acme in the time of Francis I. The private cabinets of M. Germeau and M. Maurice Ardint of Limoges contain some very remarkable speci- mens of enamels.

The Manufacture at present most prevalent here is that of porcelain, due to the discovery in this neighbourhood (at St. Yrieix) of the kaolin, or pure white porcelain earth, consisting of the decomposed felspar, arising from gneiss, which alone furnishes a fit material for the manufacture. The substance appears to owe its origin not to a mere disintegration of the gneiss, but to an electro -chemical decomposition, and combination with neighbouring rocks, especially such as are ferruginous. Sevres is sup- plied hence with the kaolin, and nearly 2,000 persons are employed in and about Limoges in making china. There are also some cotton and woollen mills.

The Limousin horses are a cele- brated breed, in much request for the French cavalry ; they are reared in the prairies bordering on the Vienne.

A malleposte goes hence to Toulouse, another to Perigueux, Auch, and Pau.

Diligences to Toulouse, Bordeaux, Poitiers, Angouleme, Clermont, Mou- lins.

The road from Limoges to Bor- deaux, by Perigueux, is described in Route 7 1 .

At the town St. Junien, 18 m. from Limoges on the way to Angouleme, is a very curious church of the 1 1 th century, containing at the back of the high altar a curious sarcophagus of white marble, adorned with reliefs in the Byzantine style of art. It con-

tains the relics of the saint, much visited by devout pilgrims. In the lower part of the town near the bridge is a

chapel of the 15th century of Notre Dame ; and 1 m. out of the town, on the borders of the Vienne, are the ruins of St. Amand. M. Merimee observed in its transept a basin hol- lowed out of the rock, supplied by a spring of running water, into which little pieces of bread had been cast by the peasants, as offerings to St. Amand, who is believed still to work miracles, though his shrine has been destroyed for ages. This was in 1836-7.

At Boisseuil, 7 m. from Limoges, we leave about 1 m. to the rt. the ruined Castle of Chalusset, a curious example of the art of fortification in the middle ages, situated on an isolated rock at the junction of two streams. It must have been very strong both by its natural position and its out- works. It has been referred to the 12th century.

20 Pierre Buffiere. Arthur Young praises much the beauty and variety of the country to Brives, hill and valley, a quick succession of land- scapes.

21 Beausoleil.

18 Uzerche, a picturesque little town on a conical hill, converted into a peninsula by the bend which the Vezere makes round it. It has a curious church on the crest of the hill, surrounded at the E. end by 5 apsidal chapels. Under it is a crypt , containing the tomb of St. Coronat, in a niche, closed in front by a wooden railing. Insane persons are shut up within it for a night, in the belief that they will thereby recover their reason !

The road to Tulle here turns off to the 1.

About 10 m. W. of Uzerche is the Chateau de Pompadour, anciently the residence of a noble family, several of whom were governors of the province of Limousin, whose name was never sullied, until on the extinction of their line (1722) it was bestowed upon the mistress of Louis XIV., the daughter of the bankrupt butcher Poisson.

25 Donzenac.

m 4

248

i?. 70. — Orleans to Toulouse — Cahors. Sect. IV.

10 Brives (Inn : H. de Bordeaux, clean, comfortable, and a good cook, who makes capital pates) enjoys a fine situation in the valley of the Correze ; but its favourable appear- ance at a distance is not realised in its interior, which contains nothing remarkable but an ancient Gothic house attributed to the English : it is said to have been the residence of the governor. Brives is the birth- place of the Cardinal Dubois, son of an apothecary, who became tutor and afterwards minister to the regent duke of Orleans; and of Marshal Brune, one of the generals of the republic, assassinated at Avignon 1815.

The culture of the vine and of maize flourishes near this.

The road has now reached a hilly country ; it passes within a short dis- tance of the semi- Gothic Chateau de Noailles, cradle of the noble family who derive their ducal title from it. The old feudal Castle of Turenne, si- tuated about 2 m. to the E. of the road, on the Tourmente, a tributary of the Dordogne, gave a name to another great family, illustrious by deeds as well as by descent : the

Dues de Bouillon obtained the do- main and viscounty of Turenne by alliance. Within its walls, the wife of the great Conde, a fugitive with her son from the pursuit of Mazarin, was received amidst a crowd of en- thusiastic partisans of the Fronde, in 1650, and sumptuously entertained for 8 days ; during which, taking counsel with the Dues de Bouillon and de La Rochefoucauld, she planned the memorable rising in the South which was called the civil war of Gui- enne. She here summoned her vassals and retainers to mount the fawn-co- loured scarf, and to rally round her for the rescue of her husband from prison. At the order of the Due de Bouillon the tocsin was sounded in the 400 villages of his vicomte of Turenne, and the peasants at once flew to arms and flocked round his standard.

20 Cressensac (Dept. Lot).

Truffles flourish in the uncultivated ground around this village.

16 Souillac, a miserable little town in the deep valley of the Dordogne, on its rt. bank.

After crossing the river, a steep hill, nearly 3 m. long, requires to be surmounted, in effecting which the postmaster is authorised to attach a pair of oxen to all four-wheeled car- riages. 2 m. on the 1. is the village and chateau of La Motte Fenelon, not the birth-place, as some have stated, of the author of Telemaque, but a property belonging to his family. A hilly country, arid, barren, and un- interesting all the way to Cahors.

16 Peyrac.

18 Pont de Rodes.

17 Pelacoy. Near this is Murat, and a little beyond it La Bastide, the birth-place of Joachim Murat, general of cavalry, and king of Naples. Lie was the son of an aubergiste who was steward in the family of the Talley- rands.

A long but gradual descent of nearly 5 m. leads down into the valley of the Lot.

The very distant outline of the Pyrenees, 1 50 m. off, may be distin- guished in clear weather near

16 Cahors. — Inns: Des Ambas- sadeurs; (not very clean, but excellent cook, D. ;) Trois Rois; de l’Europe. Cahors, ° the chef lieu of the depart- ment of Le Lot (population 12,050), is situated on the top and round the base of an escarped rock on a wide sweeping bend of the river Lot. It is a very ancient town of narrow streets, full of antique edifices, to which a new quarter has been added. The name comes from its ancient ap- pellation, Divona Cadurcorum, and there still exist the scanty remains of a Roman amphitheatre, and of a conduit, which conveyed water to it from the village, St. Martin de Vern, through La Roque, where are vestiges of the arches of an aque- duct.

The Cathedral consists of a large

Pyren. R. 70 . —Orleans to Toulouse — Montauban.

249

nave, surmounted by two hemisphe- rical cupolas, in the Romanesque style; a portal and the choir are Gothic. The Bishop’s Palace is now the Pre- fecture. The bishop originally bore the title of count, and enjoyed the privilege of wearing a sword and gauntlets, which he deposited on the altar when he said mass. When he took possession of his diocese, he was received at the gate of the town by his vassal, le Vicomte de Sessac, bare- headed, without cloak, with one leg bare, and the foot in a slipper, and was conducted by the count in that guise to his palace, and waited on there by him at table. This curious tenure had fallen out of use before the Revolution.

The surprise and capture of Cahors in ] 580 was one of the most brilliant exploits of Henri IV. (when king of Navarre). He reached the town by a forced march of 30 m. under a burning sun, and posting his men in ambuscade among the walnut trees, awaited the nightfall, when silently approaching the gate, he blew it up with a petard, and entered himself the seventh, followed by 700 men, and leaving 700 outside, to check the arrival of reinforcements to the gar- rison. The bursting of the gate had alarmed the town, which was strongly guarded, and a shower of stones and tiles from every house-top assailed the Navarrese troops and their general. The combat was carried on through- out the night, and yet when dawn appeared, the assailants had gained but a very small footing. Henri was strongly advised to retire, especially when intelligence was brought of the arrival of succour to the town ; but the king, setting his back against a shop, persisted in fighting on, ex- claiming, “ Ma retraite hors de cette ville sera celle de mon ame hors de mon corps.” The reinforcements were driven back, but Henri still had to struggle step by step, to lay siege | to every street and almost to every I house. It was not until the fifth

night that Cahors submitted. Henri’s soldiers, irritated by the resistance made by the garrison, put a great many to the sword.

On the open promenade de Fosse, in front of the college, is placed a statue of Fenelon, who was a student here. One of the 3 bridges over the Lot is curious, being surmounted by 3 watch-towers. Cahors is the native place of Pope Jean XXII., whose name was Jacques d’Euze; his Castle is pointed out near the entrance to the town, on the side of Paris ; also of Cle- ment Marot, the poet, author of son- nets, ballads, &c. (1495), and page to Marguerite, sister of Francis I.

The country around produces a good deal of wine, which is not much esteemed, and truffles in abundance.

21 La Magdeleine.

17 Caussade stands on the fertile plain, watered by the Loire ; it is a town of 5,000 inhabitants, famed for turkeys stuffed with truffles.

In the next stage, the river Aveyron is crossed, and we enter the wide and fertile plain of Languedoc, which ex- tends to the foot of the Pyrenees with little interruption.

23 Montauban (Inns : Hotel de France ; best inn since leaving Paris, D. ; — de 1’ Europe), chef lieu of the Dept. Tarn et Garonne, is a good-looking little town, with clean and wide streets, on the rt. bank of the Tarn, here lined by a fine quay, and crossed by a bridge, at the end of which stands the Prefecture, a square building with 4 turrets at its angles. There is nothing to be seen in the town. The cathedral is a large modem building of Italian architecture, with a frontispiece at the W. end.

“ The Promenade of Les Terrasses on the borders of the Trescon, and on the highest part of the ramparts, com- mands that noble plain, one of the richest in Europe, which extends on one side to the sea, and in front to the Pyrenees, whose towering masses, heaped one upon another in a stu- pendous manner, and covered with m 5

250 H. 70 . — Orleans to Toulouse — Montauban. Sect. IV.

snow, offer a variety of lights and shades from their indented forms, and the immensity of their projections. This prospect has a sort of oceanic vastness, in which the eye loses itself ; an almost boundless scene of culti- vation ; an animated but confused mass of infinitely varied parts, melting gradually into the distant obscure, from which arises the amazing frame of the Pyrenees, rearing their silvered heads far above the clouds.” — A. Young.

Montauban is a flourishing manur facturing town, producing various kinds of woollen cloths, hair stuffs (cadis, molletons), which are ex- ported to the colonies : it has 24,660 inhabitants.

In the 1 6th and 17th centuries Montauban was a stronghold of Pro- testantism, its inhabitants having early embraced the Reformed doctrines, and being prepared to defend them. It endured in consequence a very memo- rable siege in 1621, from the royal army led on by the favourite Luynes, who brought hither his master Louis

XIII. ; but instead of witnessing its fall, after nearly three months of fruitless assault, Louis and his mi- nister were forced to withdraw, such was the obstinate bravery of the in- habitants and the skill of their go- vernors. Under the reign of Louis

XIV. , and the influence of Madame de Maintenon, the Protestants of Montauban were singled out to suffer the direst persecutions inflicted by the so-called Dragonnades, or quarter- ing of regiments of soldiers on them, who exercised every species of licence, inquisitorial tyranny, arid cruelty, with the design of forcing them to become papists.

At the farther extremity of the bridge over the Tarn we pass under an arch of brick into the extensive suburb of Ville Bourdon, founded by the Protestants expelled fromToulouse in 1562.

We enter the grand route, from Bordeaux to Toulouse (R. 73.), a little short of

22 Grisolles. The Garonne runs parallel with our road, at a little dis- tance on the rt., through a plain of unequalled fertility. The British army, under the Duke of Wellington, passed the river before the battie of Toulouse, by 2 pontoon bridges above the small town of Grenade on the 1. bank nearly opposite Castelnau, 15 m. below Toulouse. The road crosses the river Lers, a little farther on. The capture of the bridge over it at Croix Daurade, by a gallant charge of the 18th hussars, on the day before the battle, secured a communication between the columns of the allied army, part of which marched up the rt. and part up the 1. bank of the Lers, to attack the strong position of Marshal Soult.

12 St. Jory.

The approach to Toulouse lies over a bridge flanked by two columns thrown across the Canal du Midi, which, half encircling the town on the N. and E., joins the Garonne about a mile to the rt. of this bridge in the Faubourg d’Arnaud Bernard.

The Obelisk on the height to the

l. marks the centre of Marshal Soult’s position at the battle of Toulouse, which, though strongly fortified by redouts and cannon, was carried by the Allies (see p. 257.).

17 Toulouse. — Inns: Hotel Vi- dal, on the Place du Capitole ; — IL. du Midi ; excellent table d’hote, tole- rable in other respects ; very mode- rate, but not clean; — H. de l’Eu- rope, Place Lafayette ; good situation, but dirty.

In the midst of the great plain of Gascony and Languedoc, beginning at the very foot of the Pyrenees, and stretching from them nearly 100

m. N., stands Toulouse, the ancient capital of Languedoc, and now of the Dept, of Haute Garonne. It is built on both banks of the Ga- ronne, just above the point where the Canal du Midi, connecting the Atlantic with the Mediterranean, falls into it ; after winding round the N. and E. side of the town. The

Pyrenees.

251

Route 70 . — Toulouse — Capitole.

river is crossed by a brick bridge con- necting the city with the suburb St. Cyprien on the 1. bank of the river.

It is far from being a handsome city ; its streets are irregular and dirty, its. houses and even churches of brick : and neither public nor

private buildings are distinguished by special architectural beauty : but it ranks as the seventh city in France, from the number of its inhabitants (77,400), and the extensive trade and commerce ofa provincial capital, which it enjoys. It is interesting from its historical souvenirs, as the capital of the kingdom of the Visigoths from 413 to 507, when it was destroyed by Clo- vis on the battle-field of Vouille near Poitiers ; as the place where the art of the troubadours was encouraged at the gay court of its counts ; as the scene of the papal crusade against the Al- bigenses, headed by an English leader, and as the seat of the ancient Parliament of Toulouse. But the Revolution has, as usual, done its worst to extirpate all tangible relics of bygone days.

The Place du Capitole (once Place Royale), a handsome though un- finished square, consisting of three sides of regular modern buildings and one of old and irregular structures, is the centre of bustle and traffic ; the chief market-place, and the point of departure of the main thoroughfares. It is named from le Capitole or Hotel de Ville, so called either from the tradition that in the time of the Ro- mans the Capitol of the Tolosates may have stood here, or from the meetings of the civic chapter (capitolium), whose members were also called capitouls, on this spot. The build- ing presents externally a modern front, finished 1769, with eight columns of red Pyrenean marble in the centre, and includes, besides the munici- pal buildings and the archives, the Theatre in the 1. wing. The principal apartment, running along nearly the whole length of the first floor, is the Salle des Illustres , or hall of the worthies of Toulouse, so called from

38 terra-cotta busts of men of note, born in and near Toulouse, or connected with it, each with a pom- pous Latin inscription below it, fill- ing as many gilt niches in the walls. In real truth a great many, as Riquet, engineer of the canal du Midi, Pope Benedict XII., &c., have no con. nection of birth with the town ; and many more, though really citizens, have no claim to renown beyond its walls. Among those of most general celebrity may be mentioned Raymond St. Gilles, Count of Toulouse, one of the leaders of the first crusade ; Cujas, the lawyer (“ cujus merum nomen plus laudis amplectitur quam quaslibet oratio potest”), who was rejected by the university here when a candidate for the professorship of law ; and P. Fermat, the mathematician, inventor of the integral calculus, b. 1608.

In this hall are held every year the meetings of the Societe des Jeux Floreaux , deriving its origin from the ancient troubadours, but founded, it is said, by one Clemence Isaure, a Toulousan lady, who revived the science of the “ gai Scavoir ” in the 15th century. Her very existence, however, is not a little doubtful, as there is no mention of her in the archives of the town, though her statue is preserved in the Ca- pitole. In spite of these doubts, the society has adopted her as its pa- troness and founder, and every year at the beginning (3d) of May, after making a pilgrimage to the church of the Daurade in which her tomb once was, it distributes, to various com- petitors, prizes consisting of golden and silver flowers, the violette, ama- ranthe, eglantine, souci, and lis, for the best original compositions in verse, and essays in prose, for which the di- rectors give the subject. The society maintains about equal importance, and the prize compositions have nearly the same literary value, as those of the bardic meetings held in Wales. Al- though the existence of Clemence is uncertain, there is no doubt of the m 6

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Route 70 . — Toulouse — St. Semin.

Sect IV.

antiquity of the society, and it claims for itself to be the oldest literary insti- tution in Europe, dating from 1333. Indeed it appears that in that year a number of Troubadours, or Main- teneurs du Gai Scavoir, citizens of Toulouse, met in a field near the town to distribute prizes to the com- posers of the best verses.

In the same room with the statue of Clemence Isaure is preserved the axe with which Henri, Due de Mont- morency, the victim of the implacable Cardinal Richelieu, and one of the last of the great vassals of the crown of France, was decapitated. It is a sort of huge carving-knife, and was made in the town. The execution took place 1632, in the first court of the Capitole, at the feet of the statue of Henri IV., in whose reign that part of the building was erected. In the 2d court on the rt., two barred win- dows mark the dungeon in which the Duke was confined, and belong to the eldest portion of the building. Here also is the old Sails de Consistoire, with ornamented roof and chimney (? if still existing). The council chamber of the senators of the town, or capitouls, equivalent to the echevins elsewhere, no longer exists.

The antiquity of the municipal privileges of Toulouse, and of the meetings of the magistrates, who were elected by the people themselves, and who were recognised by Ray- mond V. as far back as 1 1 52, de- serves notice. These rights, of five centuries’ duration, were infringed, in spite of the remonstrances of the citizens, by Louis XIV., who caused the capitouls to be appointed at Paris by royal ordonnance.

The Place du Capitole is a good starting-place from which to visit the chief curiosities of the town.

UEglise St. Semin , the largest, oldest, and most perfect ecclesiastical edifiee here, is a plain building of brick and stone in the Romanesque style, dating from the year 1090, when it was finished and consecrated

by Pope Urban II. It is conspicuous for its lofty octagonal Toiver , formed by five tiers of arches, each story less in size than that below it, the lower tiers surrounded by circular arches, the two upper by angular ones. The upper part is of the 14 th century, the lower corresponds exactly in style with the church below. Of its two S. porches one is distinguished by a curious early bas-relief over the door in the Byzantine style, and by the capitals of its columns representing the murder of the Innocents, expul- sion of Adam, &c. ; the other a dou- ble portal, leading into the S. transept, bears carved capitals of the seven deadly sins. By the side of it, within a modernised chapel, are several tombs of early counts of Toulouse. The interior is remarkable for its very long Nave (not unlike that of St. Albans, but flanked by double aisles). Its cradle-vaulted roof is supported by plain angular piers, having en- gaged columns, and above its circular arches runs a triforium having slight double pillars with delicately cut capitals, continued all round the tran- septs, and lighted by windows on the outside. The E. end is semicircular and its arches round ; close set co- lumns support the vault above the high altai', painted with the colossal figure of Christ and the symbols of the four evangelists. From the aisle behind it project five apsidal chapels, decorated with curious carvings of saints, and legends in wood. Here also is a model of the church as it stood be- fore the Revolution, showing that it formed an isolated fortress, apart from the town, walled in by towers and battlements. Some curious Byzan- tine bas-reliefs in white marble, said to have belonged to the old church of St. Sernin, built by Charlemagne in the 8th century (?), are let into the wall of the aisle behind the choir; they represent our Saviour, angels, and saints. The Crypt under the choir, modernised in the 15th cen- tury, was the place of deposit of relics

Pyrenees, i?. 70 . — Toulouse — Cathedral — Muste.

253

in great number and esteemed of I immense value. Before the Revo- j lution this church indeed boasted of i possessing the bodies of no less than j seven of the apostles, one of them being a duplicate of St. James, ano- ther of his bodies being preserved at Compostella ! This motto was bla- zoned over the entry — “ Non est in toto sanctior orbe locus.”

The wooden stalls of the choir are well carved in the style of the 16th century.

The Church of St. Taur, situated in the street leading from the Capitole to St. Sernin, derives its name from the wild bull to whose horns the body of the martyr St. Saturnin was bound by his heathen persecutors. The struggles of the furious animal having detached it from the cords, on this spot, a church was in conse- quence erected. That at present ex- isting has nothing remarkable but its flattened fronton belfry surmounted by angular arches.

The Church of the Cordeliers, a brick building of great loftiness, erected in the 14th century, is now turned into a magazin de fourrage, and filled with hay ; that of the Ja- cobins, surmounted by a conspicuous brick tower, rising in arches having straight angled heads, is of vast size, and of brick like the other churches. It has become a barrack, and is di- vided by floors, the lower story serv- ing as a stable for artillery horses.

Issuing out of the Place du Capi- tole by the Rue de la Pomme, we come to the Cathedral, or Eglise St. Etienne, chiefly remarkable for the irregularity and want of concord in all its parts. The large rose window is out of the line of the centre of the main portal immediately below it ; the centre of the nave is parallel with the side aisle of the choir, and its two walls do not correspond. The Nave was built by Raymond VI., Comte de Toulouse, in the 13th century, at a time when he was accused of favour- ing the heretical Albigeois, and was

excommunicated in consequence by the pope. Raymond was besieged within the walls of Toulouse by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, appointed by Innocent III. head of the crusade against the heretics. He met his death in one of the suburbs of the town, from a stone discharged by a mangonel, whilst he was endeavouring to repel a sally of the citizens in the 9 th month of i the fruitless siege, on St. John Bap- tist’s day, 1218. Count Raymond’s j consti’uction is the oldest part of the j church, and was doubtless intended ! to be removed by those who raised | the more elegant Gothic Choir. It was j begun 1272, but not roofed until 1502,

' by the Cardinal d’ Orleans, son of the

brave bastard Dunois, who built also

I the clocher and the singular isolated j column called Pilier d' Orleans, which fronts you as you enter the nave. There is some good painted glass in the choir. The tower is singular from its form, having two broad sides and two narrow.

In the Rue des Arts is the Musee, deposited in the desecrated church of the Augustins, and’comprising a large collection of bad paintings, copies, &c., filling two rooms, one of them being the old church itself, which has been re-roofed and re-floored. The best pictures are a Perugino, St. John Evangelist and St. Austin ; a Vander Meulen , Siege of Carnbray ; and a curious painting of the eight capitouls forming^the town council of Toulouse in 1645. A good collection of casts from the antique is placed in the chapter -ho use, an elegantly vaulted atidj groined apartment of the 16th century, supported on light pillars. The Collection of Antiquities in this museum is the most interesting sight in Toulouse ; it is placed under the admirable direction of M. du Mege, who may be con- sidered its founder. The locale which it partly occupies is the elegant Gothic Cloister of the old church, the traceried arches of which are sup-

254 *

Route 70. — Toulouse — ■ Museum ,

Sect. IV.

ported on pillars of marble in pairs, producing an effect not unlike the Campo Santo at Pisa.

In addition to a small series of Egyptian sculptures, there are nu- merous inscriptions, Roman and Gallic, votive altars, &c., with frag- ments of statues and of marbles, showing that the quarries of the Pyrenees were worked by the Ro- mans, from various places in Lan- guedoc and the Pyrenees. The most remarkable part of the collection, however, is the three following se- ries, forming an almost uninterrupted chain in the history of art, from the Gallo- Roman period to the Renais- sance or cinquecento through the Gothic period.

1st. A very large collection of an- tiquities dug up near the small town of Martres, on the 1. bank of the Ga- ronne, a little below St. Gaudens, and proved by M. Dumege to be the ancient Calagorris. In consequence of the excavations undertaken at his suggestion, it has become a Gallic Pompeii. The discoveries consist of a series of about 40 busts and me- dallions of Roman emperors, and of members of their families, from Au- gustus and Claudius down to Gal- lienus, forming a tolerably complete portrait gallery ; — of a number of small statues of gods and goddesses, of good execution, especially in the drapery, including Isis, Venus, Diana, Jupiter, Serapis, Esculapius, Har- pocrates ; a series of bas-reliefs, much mutilated, representing the labours of Hercules ; a mosaic of the head of a river god ; a number of Co- rinthian capitals, friezes, and other architectural ornaments. Among the bronzes are a pair of wheels and the pole of a Roman chariot , very rare and interesting objects, dug up at Fa, near the Bains de Rennes. Two bas- reliefs with inscriptions relating to the two Emperors Tetricus, have given rise to much discussion among anti- quaries. They were found at Nerac.

2d. A collection of works of art

of the Middle Ages, consisting of bas- reliefs, statues, monuments, portals, and a long series of curiously carved capitals of columns obtained from ecclesiastic edifices and Christian monuments, destroyed or desecrated, at or since the Revolution, beginning with early Christian tombs, sarco- phagi, and coffins, covered with sculp- ture rude and debased in point of art, but showing Roman influence, bearing Christian symbols, combined with heathen subjects, the cross, X, P, the vine-branch, &c. One of these brought from the outer wall of the church of La Daurade, where it went by the name of Tombeau de la Reine Pedauque (pes aucas, queen goose-leg), bears six bas-reliefs of the multiplication of loaves and fishes, the raising of Lazarus, and other scriptural events, which were adopted as types symbolical of the goodness of God, and of the resurrection, by the early Christians. Another sar- cophagus from St. Orens at Auch, displays, with similar symbolical al- lusion, the sacrifice of Isaac, and Lazarus deplored by Martha, with Adam and Eve. Others of these tombs come from the very ancient ce- metery of St. Saturnin in Toulouse. Several bas-reliefs which ornamented a portal of that church are preserved here ; one represents 2 females seated, their legs crossed ; one holds a ram, the other a lion : the names of these two signs of the zodiac being written at the side, and below one of them, “ Hoc factum est in tempore Julii Caesaris.” They are supposed to have formed part of a Zodiac, or Julian Calendar, attached to that church. It is not improbable that they were executed in the time of Charlemagne. From St. Sernin also comes a carving of a hawk, with a human head, tread- ing under foot a monster, inscribed “ Crocodilus : ” the allegory seems derived from Egypt. A pedestal in white marble, bearing 4 figures in re- lief, 2 of them saints with palms (St. Justus and Rusticus) the Virgin, and

Pyrenees, li. 70 .- — Toulouse — Museum— Inquisition* 255

a crowned king, supposed to be Char- lemagne, holding a lotus-headed (?) sceptre, and wearing a cross on his breast, was brought from the Cathe- dral of Narbonne, of which he was the founder. The curious Portal of the old Church of La Daurade , pulled down in 1812 when the monastery attached to it was converted into a tobacco manufactory, has been re- erected here, as nearly as possible in its original condition. Its circular arch is supported by statues, instead of pillars ; attached to it are 4 figures in has relief, — David playing on the Harp, and the Virgin and our Saviour, with a king and queen, founders or benefactors of the church.

In like manner, the Portal of the Cathedral Chapter House, at Toulouse, decorated with figures of the Apostles in bas-relief, has been removed hither.

Here are numerous statues, partly coloured and gilt, of Christ, the Virgin, Apostles, and Saints. A series of more than 60 capitals of columns, almost all differing in form and decoration, the greater part ornamented with subjects minutely carved from the Bible or Legends of Saints. The casts of sculp- tures from the church of St. Victor at Marseilles, and from that of Moissac, merit attention, as well as many mo- numental effigies of noble knights and high-born dames, and holy eccle- siastics, mitred abbots, bishops, and several archbishops of Toulouse, here deposited.

The museum also boasts of pos- sessing the ivory horn of the renowned Roland, richly carved — formerly pre- served in the treasury of the church of St. Sernin.

A third division of the museum con- tains Monuments of the Renaissance, in- cluding casts from a portion of the carved wood screen- work in the Cathe- dral of Auch, and church of St. Ber- trand de Comminges. A Pieta, in white marble, from the Eglise des Carmes at Carcassonne, several frag- ments of statues, bas-reliefs, &c. by Bachelier, a sculptor of Toulouse, and

pupil of Michael Angel' , 1485 — 1567 ; a relief, in white marble, of boys dancing, by Pierre Paul Puget, is very clever.

Toulouse possesses several other churches, scarcely worth visiting.

The plastered and stuccoed church of La Daurade derives its name from the gilt mosaics of a former church, of which no traces are now left : the monastery attached to it, on the quay, a little below the bridge, is now the Fabrique Royal du Tabac.

There are numerous specimens in the streets of the grand but exag- gerated architecture of the Renais- sance ; one, perhaps the best, is attri- buted to Primaticcio’s design, and is situated near the bridge over the Garonne.

If the stranger will continue past the bridge, up the street, on the rt. bank of the Garonne, called Rue du Couteliers, he may view the Hotel de St. Jean, of Italian architecture, that called Hotel Daguin, or more com- monly Maison de Pierre, a gaudy specimen of the style of the Renais- sance, and nearly opposite an orna- mental portal, in much better taste, designed by Bachelier, already men- tioned.

Still farther on is the cannon foundery, occupying the ancient nun- nery of Sainte Claire ; and a little beyond it Le Couvent de Vlnquisi- tion, an obscure edifice retaining its old ill-omened name, but now belonging to a religious brother- hood engaged in education. It is memorable for crimes which stain the annals of Toulouse. Here alone, in France, was that accursed tribunal allowed to take root. Here, as in Spain, it brought with it its usual train of tyrannous atrocities, — tor- turing, imprisoning, roasting at the stake the living, tearing up the dead from their graves, or refusing Chris- tian burial to persons deceased. It was first established here, in the time of Count Raymond VII. (1221), by the ecclesiastical council assembled to

255 R, 70. — Toulouse — The Inquisition — Jean Calas, Sect.I V.

exterminate the heresy of the Albi- genses, which, at the beginning of the 1 3th century, had overspread the entire S. of France, under the connivances or encouragement of Raymond VI. of Toulouse, one of the wealthiest and most powerful princes of his time. St. Dominic himself, the founder of the Inquisition, visited Toulouse to water the thriving offset from his own terrible foundation ; the cell which he occupied was shown until 1772.

The Place de Salin was the scene upon which the French Autos da Fe were enacted.

The house No. 50. Rue des Fila- tiers was in 1762 occupied by a re- spectable Protestant family, named Calas. The father, Jean Calas, car- ried on the trade of draper, and pros- pered, in good repute with his neigh- bours, and in contentment at home. The only exception to his domestic happiness was the conversion, by a priest named Durand, of his third son, Jean Louis, to the Romish faith. The youth had, in consequence, been sent from home, receiving a small al- lowance from his father.

On the night of the 13-1 4 th October 1761, cries were heard issuing from the house of Calas, and the chief of police, with an escort of soldiers, on entering it, found near the door the dead body of the eldest son of Calas Marc Antoine by name.

A proces verbal was prepared, de- claring that he died, hung by himself; which there can be no doubt is the truth, for he was of a melancholy temperament ; but a malicious cry was raised in the crowd by a voice unknown, that he had been strangled by his father, to prevent his abjuring Calvinism as his brother had done, and the report spread and was partly be- lieved by the fanatic Toulousans. The elder Calas was, in consequence, ac- cused of the murder of his own son, be- fore the parliament of Toulouse ; and that ancient and venerable assembly, without listening to one tenth of the evidence which had been prepared, and

without any proof of his guilt, sullied its reputation for justice by condemn- ing him, at the age of 63, to be tor- tured, and broken on the wheel, and his remains burnt and scattered to the wind.

The act of condemnation, in virtue of which this atrocious judicial mur- der was committed, runs as follows: “ La Couv le condamne a etre livre aux mains de l’executeur de la haute justice, qui, tete, pieds nus, et en chemise, la hart au col, le montera sur le chai-iot a ce destine, et le con- duira devant la porte principale de l’Eglise de Toulouse ; ou, 6tant a genoux, tenant entre ses mains une torche de cire jaune allumee, du poids de deux livres, il lui fera amende ho- norable, et demandera pardon a Dieu, au Roi, et a la justice, de ses crimes, et mefaits ; ce fait, le remontera sur le chariot, et le conduira a la Place St. George de cette ville, ou, sur un ^cliafaud, qui y sera a cet effet dresse, il lui rompera et brisera les bras, jambes, cuisses, et reins ; ensuite l’ex- posera sur une roue qui sera dressee tout aupres du dit echafaud, la face tournee vers le ciel, pour y vivre en peine et repentance de ses dits prefaits, servir d’exemple, et donner de la ter- reur aux mechants, tout autant qu’il lui plaise a Dieu de lui donner la vie ; et son corps sera jet6 dans un bucher prepare a cet effet sur la dite place, pour v etre consume par les flammes, et ensuite jetees au vent. Prealablement le dit Calas sera ap- plique a la question ordinaire et extra- ordinaire, serale dit Calas Pere etran- gle, apres avoir reste deux heures sur la l-oue. Jugele 9 Mai 1762, Cassan, Clairac, rapporteurs.” He bore the torture inflicted on him in the Hotel de Ville with the greatest firmness, answering all questions with the ut- most clearness, and giving no advan- tage to his interrogators, but persist- ing in maintaining his innocence. On the scaffold, after suffering with the most patient resignation the agonies of his punishment for 2 whole

Pyren. i?. 70.

hours, during which he was sub- jected to the mental rackings of a Romish priest, being still fully alive, the signal was given to the execu- tioner to inflict the “ coup de grace ”

“ De faux tdmoins ont egares mes juges,” exclaimed he, before breathing his last breath, “je meurs innocent : Jesus Christ, qui etait 1’innocence meme, voulut mourir par une sup- plice plus cruel encore.” The very Dominicans who attended Calas, ex- claimed as he expired, “ II est mort un juste! ” With his murder an end was put to martyrdoms and cruel persecutions of the Protestants which had disgraced the South of France for almost a century, and chiefly owing to the publicity given by Vol- taire to the case of Jean Calas. His sentence was reversed and his inno- cence proclaimed by the Conseil Royal at Paris.

The Palais de Justice, totally mo- dernised externally, and for the most part a new building, was the seat of the Parliament of Toulouse, where its sittings were held. The fine ceilings ornamenting its interior have been re- tained in two apartments : one, carved with reliefs, in compartments, repre- senting the Labours of Hercules, is by no means contemptible ; the other is richly gilt.

At a short distance below the bridge, the navigation of the Garonne is interrupted by a weir thrown across it, to supply water to the large corn mill of the town, called le Basacle , re- built 1814.

Between this mill and the church of La Daurade is the mouth of the Canal de Brienne, constructed by the archbishop whose name it bears, to remedy the interruption in the navi- gation caused by the mill weir. It runs nearly parallel with the Garonne for about mile below the Basacle, and then falls into the Canal da Midi. A fine avenue of trees leads to this junction. Here the 2 canals are crossed by small bridges, between which, on a level with the water, is stuck a

-—Battle of Toulouse. 257

lai'ge piece of sculpture, in high relief* of white marble, representing some unmeaning allegory, without allusion to the founder of the great work, Riquet, and contemptible in execu- tion.

A few hundred yards beloAV this, the Canal du Midi, after sweeping round the E. and N. sides of the city of Toulouse, enters the Garonne, through a basin provided with double locks, and guarded against ice by a sort of pier. The Garonne is at this point 144 metres, or 473 ft., above the level of the Atlantic.

The navigation of the Garonne, though carried on by barges, is very difficult, 'owing to rocks and stems of trees in its bed, from Toulouse to the junction of the Tarn. A lateral canal has been projected from Tou- louse to Castels in Department Gi- ronde. For a description of the Canal du Midi, see R. 93.

At the battle of Toulouse, the inner bank of the canal, towards the town, was lined with French troops, and every bridge over it strongly defended by Tetes de Pont and entrenchments. In an attack made by the British light divisionjffipon the bridge nearest the embouchure of the canal, designed by Wellington merely as a feint, but converted by Picton, in disobedience to orders, into a hopeless assault, the British were repulsed with a loss of 400 men.

A monument has been erected, in the grounds of the Chateau Grag- nague, on the N. side of the canal, to a British officer of great merit, Co- lonel Forbes of the 45th regiment. Several other English monumental tablets are also placed in the Protest- ant Church of Toulouse.

The best point of view for survey- ing th e field of the battle of Toulouse, ( April 10. 1814) as well as for viewing the town, is the Obelisk of brick, erected by the city, “ Aux Braves morts pour la Patrie,” occupying the site of one of Marshal Soult’s re- doubts, taken by the English, on

— Canal du Midi

258

Sect. IV.

Route 70 . — Battle of Toulouse .

the height of Calvinet. It is reached by traversing the fine oval -place , and the broad Avenue Lafayette (origi- nally d’Angouleme), crossing the canal at the flying bridge, or Pont Matabiau, and ascending at the back of the Ecole Veterinaire. The view owes its chief interest to the distant chain of the Pyrenees, occupying the horizon, whose peaks may be dis- cerned, in fine weather, from the Ca- nigou on the E. to the Pic du Midi de Bigorre on the W. with the Ma- ladetta, Crabioules, and Mt. Perdu in the centre. The city itself is not striking ; the country around is very flat and monotonous, and the Ga- ronne runs^in^too deep a bed to form a feature in the landscape.

The most important part of Mar- shal Soult’s position, at the time of the battle, was along the heights called Mont Rave, composed of two platforms, Calvinet (on which stands the obelisk) and Sypierre, both of which had been fortified, several weeks beforehand, with 5 redoubts, and en- trenchments between them, mounted with a great many guns. The position was supported by the canal, and by the ramparts by which the town was then surrounded, in the rear of the canal ; and in front the position was covered by the Ers. That stream was at the time unfordable, and all the bridges over it were blown up, or strongly guarded, except that of Croix Dau- rade, taken by the British Hussars the day before the battle. General Beresford’s division, which achieved the victory, had to make a flank movement, marching for 2 m. up the rt. bank of the Ers, under the fire from the heights, over ground na- turally very difficult, marshy, and in- tersected by watercourses, but ren- dered almost impassable by artificial inundations. After passing Calvinet, the British troops formed, and, charging up the height, took first the redoubt on Sypierre, and afterwards those on Calvinet. Here, however, a terrible struggle took place : the

British, “ clinging to the brow of the hill,” in spite of the masses opposed to them, stood fast on the ground they had gained ; and though the French made desperate efforts from the canal, they never retook Cal- vinet. A previous attack on Calvi- net, made in the early part of the day by the Spaniards, had been very dif- ferent in its result ; so quickly, in- deed, did they retire, that the Duke of Wellington said of them, “ he never before saw 10,000 men running a race : ” 1,500 of them were slaugh- tered on the slope of this hill, chiefly in a hollow road upon its flank, raked by a battery from the Pont de Mata- biau on the canal, “ which sent its bullets from flank to flank, hissing through the quivering mass of flesh and bones,” to use the words of Co- lonel Napier.

At 5 o’clock, p. m., Soult with- drew his whole army behind the canal. The next day he remained inactive, and on the night of the 11th was “forced to abandon” Tou- louse, leaving behind 1,600 wounded, and 3 generals, to fall prisoners into the hands of the allies. They lost in this battle 4,659 men, and 4 generals ; the French nearly 3,000, and 5 generals killed or wounded ; an useless waste of human life, since Napoleon had abdicated on the 4th April, some days previously, though that event was unknown to either of the commanders. There can be no doubt that the charge brought against Marshal Soult of fighting this battle though aware of what had happened at Paris is unfounded, and the Duke of Wellington himself has nobly vindicated him from it. The forces of the allies amounted to 52,000 men ; but of these only 24,000, and 52 guns, were actually engaged in the battle ; the French had 38,000 men, with from 80 to 90 guns. This is the estimate drawn out with the ut- most fairness by Colonel Napier.

The country immediately about Toulouse is generally flat and unin-

Pyrenees.

Route 7 1 . — Limoges to Bordeaux.

259

teresting, and being besides arid, and burnt up in summer, the want of shade and verdure, and the excessive dust, offer no inducements to explore. Its fertility, however, is very con- spicuous.

Toulouse is joined by a bridge of brick, pierced with round holes be- tween the spandrils of the arches, and terminating in an archway, with the suburb of St. Cyprien, which was invested by General Hill and one division of the British army at the time of the battle.

The principal Cafes are in the Place du Capitole. The market held here is very abundantly supplied : fruit, vegetables, poultry, and wine are very cheap ; butter and milk dear ; ortolans, truffles, figs, pates de foies de canards, are the delicacies which await the gourmand here.

Mallepostes daily to Paris by Mont- auban and Limoges ; to Marseilles by Narbonne and Montpellier ; to Bor- deaux by Agen ; to Bayonne by Auch and Pau.

Diligences ; daily, to Paris ; to Bordeaux ; diligences also correspond with the steamers on the Garonne to Bordeaux ; to Tarbes, Pau, and Ba- yonne ; to Auch and Bagneres de Bigorre ; to St. Gaudens and Bag- neres de Luchon ; to Foix, Ussat, and Ax; to Villefranche (Aveyron); to Nismes and Marseilles by Narbonne and Montpellier; to Perpignan by Limoux ; to Alby

ROUTE 71.

LIMOGES TO BORDEAUX, BY PERIGUEUX AND LIBOURNE.

215 kilom. = 133^ Eng. m.

Malleposte as far as Perigueux.

Diligences daily.

Through a hilly country we reach the first relay at

12 Aixe, on the Vienne, a small town skirted by the road.

23 Chalus. The post-house and

inn is situated at some distance from this little town, which is only remark- able for its Castle of Chabrol, rising above it in picturesque ruins. Be- neath its walls, Richard Cceur de Lion received his death-wound from the arrow of a youth named Bertrand de Gurdon. The tamer of the infidel, and hero of the Crusades, thus ended a chivalrous life of nearly constant war- fare, before the petty fortress of a vassal, the Viscount of Limoges, which he had besieged in consequence of a quarrel about the division of a treasure found in the viscount’s do- main, of which Richard claimed the whole, or a larger share than had been conceded to him. The castle was soon taken, and the garrison of only 38 men were hung by the king’s order, except the bold archer who had sped the shaft so fatal to him. The youth avowed, when brought before the dying monarch, that re- venge for the death of his father and two brothers, slain by Richard, had prompted him to free the country of its oppressor. His life, though mag- nanimously spared by Richard, was taken after his death ; and he is said to have been flayed alive by order of Richard’s minister. The most conspi- cuous part of the castle yet remaining is a circular donjon, entered by a door- way high up in the wall, and no longer accessible without a ladder. The tower is entirely gutted. Around it are grouped some shattered fragments of buildings, including a portion of a chapel. A little conical stone, rising out of the meadows in the front of the castle, in the valley below it, is pointed out as the spot where Richard had placed himself to reconnoitre the fort, when the arrow struck him in the 1. shoulder. The stone is called Maumont.

The bridge of Firbeix, 3 m. from Chalus, crosses the boundary line of the ancient province of Limousin into that of Perigord, famous for truffles , the groundwork of its celebrated pates.

260

Sect. IV.

Route 71. — Perigueux — Libourne.

1 3 La Coquille.

15 Thiviers.

1 3 Palissou.

1 9 Perigueux ( Inns : H. de France ; Du Chene Vert), the chef lieu of the Dept. Dordogne, contains 11,576 inhab., and is situated on the rt. bank of the river L’Isle, which was canalised in 1837.

The town, composed of streets nar- row, tortuous, and dirty within, is fringed by green alleys externally.

Its Cathedral of St. Front, is sup- posed to be of an age anterior to the 10th century, except the lofty tower, 197 ft. high. The arrangement of the ground plan and the construc- tion of this ch. display some remark- able peculiarities. It is in the form of a Greek cross, with 4 equal arms, formed by squares, set round a 5th square in the centre. Each square is surmounted by a stone-vaulted cupola, concealed from without by a wooden roof, but visible to those who choose to mount up to the roof. In a chapel within it is a remarkable bas-relief in wood, representing the Annunciation, of elaborate execution. The Prefecture is a handsome modern building.

The first ancient name of this city was Vesuna, retained in the tower de Vesune, a circular edifice of Roman construction, 100 ft. high, its walls 6 ft. thick, without doors or windows. It is supposed to have been a tomb, and is situated in a suburb called La Cite, which contains another ancient church. Traces of a Roman amphi- theatre and arch in the town also still exist. At a later period, the name Vesuna was changed to Petrocorii , mentioned by Csesar, whence Peri- gueux. The streets of Perigueux contain some curiously ornamented houses of the 16th century; one at the corner of Rue l’Aiguillerie bear- ing the date 1518; 2 others in Rue Taillefer, Nos. 31. and 37. and a 4tli at the end of the Rue de la Sagesse, ornamented with arabesques and carvings, merit notice. There are

some buildings and vaults which are as old as the 12th and 13th centuries.

The celebrated pates de Perigueux , well known to all gourmands, are made of partridges combined with truffles, and form an article of con- siderable export.

The road descends the valley of the L’lsle, nearly all the way to Li- bourne, crossing the stream opposite Castel Fadaise.

Passing under the castle of Mon- tancey, we reach

18 Massoulie.

17 Mussidan.

1 7 Montpont.

18 St. Medard. (Dept. Gironde). A few m. to the rt. lies Coutras, where Henri IV., while still only king of Navarre, gained a bloody victory over the forces of the League, under the Due de Joyeuse, who lost his life on the field, along with many other great lords, 1587. Coutras is visible from a hill overlooking the valley of the L’lsle, surmounted be- fore reaching

20 Libourne (Inns: H. de France; Des Princes), a town of nearly 10,000 inhabitants, situated on the rt. bank of the Dordogne, here a tidal river, capable of receiving vessels of 300 tons burthen, and crossed by a bridge of brick, like that of Bor- deaux, at the confluence of the L’lsle, which is traversed by an iron bridge. It is a neat and regularly built town, founded, it is said, by Edward I., on the site of the “ Condatis portus ” mentioned by Ausonius.

An interesting excursion may be made from Libourne up the valley of the Dordogne to St. Emilion, a town of 3,100 inhab. (3 m. dis- tant), celebrated for its wines, and remarkable for the antique buildings it contains ; viz. a ruined Castle , sur- mounted by a square keep tower, in a style resembling the Norman ; a monolithic church cut in the rock ; a round Gothic church, called the Ro- tonde; the Parish or Collegiate Church , a fine building surmounted by a

Pyrenees. Route 73. — Toulouse to Bordeaux.

261

graceful tower, octagonal above, I square below ; the ruins of several other churches ; and a handsome building, the Palais du Cardinal de Cantarac.

About 12 m. S. E. of this is Cas- tillon, under whose walls was fought, in 1453, the battle in which valiant Lord Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury,

“ The Frenchman’s only scourge,

Their kingdom’s terror, and black Nemesis,”

hemmed in by a French force greatly superior to his own, was slain, at the age of nearly 80 years, gallantly fighting along with his son, the Lord Lisle, whom his father in vain coun- selled to depart out of the field, see- ing that all was lost, — a real incident, which has furnished Shakespeare with a fine scene. The result of Talbot’s defeat and death was the capture of Bordeaux from the English, and their final expulsion from Guienne. Near Montraval, on the rt. bank of the Dordogne, a tomb was formerly pointed out under the name of Tal- bot’s ; but it is known that his body was transported by his friends to England. 3 m. from Castillon, on the 1. of the road, but accessible only by rough cross roads, is the Castle of St. Michel de Montaigne, the birth- place of Montaigne, the philosopher of the 16th century, and Shakespeare’s favourite author. Llis room is pre- served in the gate tower, over the entrance, and is decorated with Greek and Latin sentences ; among them

“ Homo sum : humani a me nihil alienum puto.”

There is a pleasing view from the terrace.

The new road to Bordeaux, after crossing the bridge over the Dor- dogne, passes through

16 Beychac.

A few miles S. of Carbon Blanc, our road falls into that from Angou- leme to Bordeaux, described in R. 64., while

15 Bordeaux itself will be found in II. 73.

ROUTE 73.

TOULOUSE TO BORDEAUX BY MOISSAC,

AGEN, MARMANDE: DESCENT OF

THE GARONNE.

256 kilom. =1581 Eng. m. '!

Malleposte daily in 16 hours.

Diligences daily.

Steamers ply on the Garonne from Agen or Marmande to Bordeaux.

The first 2 stages from Toulouse

17 St. Jory, and

12 Grisolles, are the same as R. 70. p. 250., but we turn to the 1., out of the road to Paris by Montauban, be- fore reaching

16 La Vitarelle.

The Garonne runs nearly parallel with the road, but so far off (11 to 2 m. ) as scarcely to be seen.

After skirting the little town of St. Porquier, and crossing the road from Montauban to Auch, we reach

13 Castel Sarrazin, a town of 7,000 inhab., carrying on some trade in the corn grown on the fertile plain around. Opinions differ as to the origin of the name; some deriving it from the Saracens, who may have built the castle, of which scanty re- mains exist, to secure themselves in this part of France; othei*s, from Castel sur Azin, the name of the small stream flowing through it. The Abbe de Prades, one of the phi- losophers of the 18th century, and a friend of Voltaire, "was born here.

The river Tarn, flowing down from Montauban to join the Garonne, is crossed before entering

7 Moissac (Inns: Grand Soliel), a town of 10,165 inhab. on the rt. bank of the Tarn.

Its church, dedicated to St. Pierre and St. Paul, once attached to a cele- brated abbey founded by Clovis, or more probably by St. Amand of Maes- tricht in the 7th century, has a very remarkable portal, which was added, in the early part of the 12th century, to the still older church. It is a

262

Sect. IV,

Route 73. — The Garonne — Agen.

deeply recessed porch, preceding a pointed arch, the mouldings and tym- panum of which, over the door, are enriched with the most fantastic sculp- tures, designed with the utmost bold- ness and fancy. Figures of apostles, saints, angels, bas-reliefs, fanciful patterns and mouldings, have been dashed off with wonderful freedom. The central pier, supporting the door- way, and the side walls, under the porch, are similarly adorned. In the interior are some very early Mo- saics.

The cloisters, a range of pointed arches, resting on twin pillars with singular capitals, are supposed to have been constructed at the same time.

An ancient fountain in the town merits notice.

A hilly stage intervenes between Moissac and

10 Malause, a prettily- situated town, whose ancient castle has been destroyed since the Revolution. The flat land ceases here, and the country around is very pleasing : the Garonne, which the road now approaches more closely, is a charming feature in the landscape.

The little town of Valence is passed, and a few miles further the road runs along a sort of terrace or quay by the side of the Garonne, through

12 La Magistere.

10 Croquelardit.

About half way between Toulouse and Bordeaux lies

10 Agen. — Inns: H. du Petit

St. Jean, very good, capital cuisine, famed for its Terrines de Nerac, its pates aux truffles; — H. de France.

Agen, chef lieu of the Dept. Lot et Garonne, is an uninteresting town of 12,500 inhabitants, most agreeably si- tuated on the 1. bank of the Garonne, between it and the gently sloping height, covered with vineyards and country houses, called Cote de l’Er- mitage. It is a very old town, chiefly of narrow streets. The Garonne is here crossed by a bridge of stone, and also

by a suspension bridge, between which and the town runs a beautiful avenue of trees, forming an agreeable pro- menade called Les Graviers. The old church of St. Caprais is a fine Ro- manesque building with numerous apses, and has been well restored. There are a few scanty remains of the cathedral of St. Etienne, destroyed at the Revolution, and its site, is now become a beast-market.

The prefecture was originally the episcopal palace, and is a handsome edifice. An aqueduct for the canal is in progress.

The town was known to the Ro- mans under the name Aginum. The early Christians suffered severe per- secution here from the Roman praetor ; and St. Vincent, the 2d bishop, and many followers, underwent martyr- dom, being torn to pieces on the spot now occupied by the Fontaine St. Vincent. Agen suffered much from the fortunes of war, especially in the 14th century, when, by sieges and assaults, it passed repeatedly from the hands of the French to the English, and vice versa. During the wars of the League, it was taken by the Due de Matignon, with the aid of an en- gineer, who blew in one of the gates with a petard, 1591. Marguerite de Valois, who was in the town at the time, had great difficulty in securing a horse, with a pillion, for herself to escape, and post-horses for a portion of her maids of honour, many of whom were compelled to decamp “ on foot without masks, others without riding-habits.”

Those who have time should walk to the top of the rocky height of L'Ermitage, on the way to Villeneuve, for the sake of the view over the beau- tiful valley of the Garonne and the dis- tant Pyrenees. In a pretty gorge or recess in the slope of the hill is the curious house of the erudite Julius Sealiger, whither he retired, in the reign of Francis I., after migrating from his native city, Verona. He died here 1558, and here his no less learned

Pyrenees. Route 73 . — The Garonne — Marmande.

263

son, Joseph Julius Scaliger, was born. Agen is also the birth-place of Ber- nard Palissy, inventor of a beautiful species of earthenware, the Wedge- wood of the 16th century, and not less scientific for his age, also of Lacepede, the naturalist, and of Bory de St. Vincent.

A great number of plum orchards clothe the neighbouring slopes and fields, and produce the celebrated prunes d' Agen, which form an article of considerable export.

Steamers navigate the Garonne as far up as Agen, Avheti the river is of proper height : the descent hence to Bordeaux requires eight hours. The vessels are small and dirty ; they do not take carriages, which must be sent by land by voiturier.

Mallepostes to Auch and Pau ; to Limoges and Orleans ; to Bordeaux and Toulouse. The traveller bound to the Pyrenees may turn off here to Pau, by Lectoure.

10 Pont St. Hilaire.

1 1 Port St. Marie. Here is a sus- pension bridge ever the Garonne.

Near the village of St. Come, on the rt. of the road, the remains of a tower, called Tour de St. Come , constructed of small square stones, and supposed to be of Roman origin, are worthy of notice. It stands at a short distance from

10 Aiguillon.

A town of nearly 2,000 inhab. on the 1. bank of the Lot, about a mile above its influx into the Garonne. Its principal building is the large chateau on an eminence left unfinished by the last Due d’ Aiguillon, noted for the part he took in the Revolution. But it is said to include portions of older construction. The duchy was created by Henri IV. 1599, to bestow it upon the Due de Mayenne. The old castle, so stoutly defended by the English in 1 346, when besieged for 5 months by Jean Due de Normandie, son of Phi- lippe de Valois, with an army of 60,000 men, no longer exists. Although the prince directed against it twenty as-

saults in seven days, and though he had sworn not to move until it was taken, he was compelled to retire from before its walls, without having succeeded, being called off by in- telligence of his father’s defeat at Crecy.

The Lot is crossed here by a bridge of 8 arches, built by Napoleon.

11 Tonneins (Inn: H. d’Angle-

terre), a cheerful-looking town, chiefly of modern buildings, remarkable for the beauty of its situation, on the rt. bank of the Garonne, containing 6,500 inhabitants, half of whom are Protestants. There are extensive manufactures of rope here, and a royal manufactory of tobacco, large quantities of which are cultivated around Tonneins, and throughout the departments of Lot and Lot et Ga- ronne, under the inspection of the excise.

There is a suspension bridge over the Garonne here.

17 Marmande. — Inns: H.de France; — H.de la Providence; — Tete noire.

A town of venerable aspect, many of its houses being timber-framed, but possessing no objects of interest to the traveller ; its population amounts to 9,900. The bridge over the Garonne was injured by an inun- dation in 1835.

Below Marmande the navigation of the river is more sure, and steamers ply more regularly than above. One or two vessels run daily to Bordeaux, corresponding with the diligences to Toulouse.

The road avoids the windings made by the river below Mai’mande, being carried in nearly a straight line to

1 1 La Mothe Landeron, which lies within the Dept, of the Gironde.

L. The lofty old ruined tower of Meilhau remains long in sight of those who travel by water, owing to its position at the extremity of an acute angle or elbow made by the river.

A fine suspension bridge of a single curve, 558 ft. wide in the opening, spans the river at

264 i?. 73. — The Garonne — Toulouse to Bordeaux. Sect. IV.

9 La Reole.

A town of 4,000 inbab., retain- ing the ruins of an ancient castle, which Froissart says was built by the Saracens. The vast Benedictine convent, rebuilt in the 17th century, and suppressed at the Revolution, has been converted into a nunnery. The Gothic church attached to it has been allowed to go to decay.

9 Candrot.

The ancient town of St. Macaire, retaining its feudal Avails and pos- sessing a fine Gothic church, is passed shortly before reaching the suspen- sion bridge, 656 ft. long, which car- ries the road over the Garonne into

9 Langon (Inn : H. d’Empereur), a miserable town of 3,745 inhab., partly surrounded by old Avails on the 1. bank of the Garonne, which, though Lan- gon lies on the great line of traffic between Bordeaux and Toulouse, could be crossed only by a ferry boat, down to 1S31.

The high roads from Bayonne and Pau to Bordeaux (R. 76. and 80,) unite with that from Toulouse at Langon. The tide runs up as far as Langon.

The post road hence to Bordeaux is described in R. 76.

The banks of the river are noAv clothed with vineyards, Avhose pro- duce, chiefly Avhite Avines, enjoys some reputation and fetches a considerable price, being known by the name of Vins de Grave. Sauterne and Barsac are both grown in the commune of

L. Preignac, not far from Langon. Bertrand de Gout, Avho became pope under the name of Clement V., Avas born in the very picturesque castle of Villandraut, about 8 m. S. of Prei- gnac.

L. Barsac, whence comes the Avhite wine named after it, is a town of 2,896 inhab.

Rt. Cadillac Avas the seat of the Due a’Epernon, governor of the pro- vince of Guienne in the 17th cen- tury ; the first duke, Avho was the favourite of Henri III., but died in

the prison of Loches, built the Chateau (1598), which is now converted into a female Penitentiary . His splendid monument, attributed to Girardon, erected by his son in the parish church, Avas destroyed at the Revolu- tion, except one statue now in the Louvre. There is a great manufac- ture of wine casks here.

12 (1.) Cerons, an old castle.

L. Podensac, 15 m. from Bordeaux.

Rt. At Langoiron, at the foot of the slope, are ruins of a castle built apparently in the 14th century : near this l’Ami des Enfans, Berguin, Avas born.

L. Portets is the place [where the inhabitants of the Landes embark their rosin and timber, the produce of that sandy district, which stretches S. from the Garonne near this to the Adour.

11 (1.) Castres.

13 (1.) Bouscaut, at some distance from the rh r er. Among the numerous villages which crowd the banks of the Garonne none appear to deserve par- ticular mention. On approaching Bordeaux the wooded and vineclad (rt.) heights of Floirac form a pleas- ing feature in the view. The bridge is described p. 229.

11 (1.) Bordeaux. — Inns: H. de France, 29. Rue Esprit des Lois ; — H. de Rouen, 1 1. Fosse de l’lnten- dance ; — H. de Paris, frequented by English ; — H. de Richelieu ; — H. de la Paix (Sansots), beds, 2 fr. ; sitting room, 3 fr.

Bordeaux, the second sea-port town of France, which may be styled its Liverpool, containing 110,000 inhab., is placed on the 1. bank of the Ga- ronne, on a spot Avhere its volumi- nous stream, deep enough for vessels of 1,200 tons burthen, makes a very regular curve, Avhich being lined with handsome buildings of varied archi- tecture, chiefly Italian, forms a noble crescent, lined Avitli quays not less than 3 m. long, surmounted by several Gothic tOAvers and antique spires, in the back ground. No city in Europe,

Pyrenees. Route 73 . — Bordeaux — Cathedral.

265

except perhaps St. Petersberg, can display a more splendid quay than this. The river abreast of the town, 2000 ft. wide, and 18 to 30 ft. deep, is filled with shipping up to the magnificent bridge, the handsomest in France. (See p. 229.) This noble exterior, equally striking to the stranger whether he approaches by water or by land from the side of Paris, is borne out by the aspect of a large part of its interior, which has a courtly rather than a com- mercial air. The Rue du Chapeau Rouge and de 1’ Intendance running E. and W. through the heart of the town, nearly separate the old town, of narrow and insignificant though very populous streets, from the N. or more modern quarter, consisting of wide openings : broad streets, exten- sive places, and avenues, and gardens running into one another, which render Bordeaux a sprawling city, difficult to get over on foot, but omnibuses and neat fiacres are fortunately very abundant.

The Place and Allees de Tournay are so named from an ancient intend- ant of the province, who in 1750 led the way in improving the city.

Some of the finest streets and rows of houses, and the open Place Louis Philippe terminating at the river side with two lofty rostral columns, occupy the site of a citadel called Chateau Trompette, built by Vauban for Louis XIV. to overawe the Bordelais, dis- mantled under Louis XVI., and removed since the Restoration. The construction of this new quarter has united with the town of Bordeaux the vast Quartier des Chartrons (so called from a convent of Chartreux) stretching down by the river side, and once a distinct faubourg.

One of the most conspicuous, and at the same time handsomest buildings, is the Theatre, of good Grecian archi- tecture, faced with a Corinthian por- tico of 12 arches and isolated on all sides ; it is situated in a very central part of the town. It was erected France.

1780, under the direction of the Due de Richelieu, by the architect Louis.

The Cathedral of St. Andre is dis- tinguished by its 2 elegant spires 150 ft. high, at the end of the N. transept, said to have been erected by the English, who held possession of Bordeaux for nearly 300 years, and flanking a pointed portal enriched with statues and bas-reliefs, above which is a fine rose-window sur- mounted by a gable. The nave partly in the round Romanesque style, partly, towards the W. end, repaired in a bungling manner in the 15th century, after the destruction of a part of the church by an earthquake, is destitute of aisles, and remarkable only for its breadth — 56 ft., which being out of all proportion with its height, deprives it of the chief merit and cha- racteristic of Gothic architecture — elevation. The choir is more elevated, and in a more truly Gothic style, with a triforium gallery and lofty clerestory windows ; it is probably of the same age as the spires, and is also said to be by English architects. Our Richard II. was christened, and the marriage of Louis XIII. with the Infanta of Spain, Anne of Austria, was solem- nized in this church, 1615.

Opposite the W. end of the cathe- dral is the Palais, and Hotel de Ville.

Near the E. end of the cathedral, but quite detached from it, is the Tour de Peyberland, a noble structure 200 ft. high, square below, and supported by buttresses, but gradually diminishing from its base until it terminates in a circular top. It was originally sur- mounted by a spire, which rose to a height of 300 ft. It is named from Pierre Berland, who rose from being the son of a poor labourer in Medoc to be bishop of Bordeaux ; he caused it to be erected in 1430. During the Reign of Terror it was condemned to destruction ; but the spire alone suffered, the rest resisting all attacks, owing to its solidity. Its handsome windows, however, were stopped, and it was converted into a shot tower, N

266

Route 73 . — Bordeaux — St. Michael.

Sect. IV.

in which capacity it still continues to bear the words, “ Fabrique du plomb de chasse.”

L'Eglise Ste. Croix , situated quite at the S. extremity of the town, near the quay, considerably above the bridge, is supposed to be the oldest church here, though a much earlier age has been assigned to it by some than it can claim, as its oldest parts cannot date farther back than the 10th or 11th century. Its W. front, quite without uniformity, owing to its par- tial destruction and subsequent re- pairs, is a specimen of richly decorated Romanesque architecture, and from its age and quaint ornaments deserves some notice. Its semicircular portal and two lateral closed arcades are surrounded by mouldings elaborately carved, some with singular and un- explained naked groups of figures, intermixed with cable mouldings. In the tympanum above the door are three rows of bas-reliefs, in a style curiously resembling the Egyptian. The rest of the fa£ade and the wall of the tower rising on the one side, is oc- cupied by arcades ; groups of twisted or grooved pillars flank the portal, and 3 tiers of 4 small pillars, placed side by side one above the other, serve instead of buttresses to the tower.

The interior is of later date and inferior interest: its clustered roof rests on clumsy drum-like piers, partly plain, partly surrounded by shafts, some of them surmounted by curious stiffly- carved capitals. It contains a handsome canopied tomb of an abbot, in decorated Gothic. In a chapel on the 1. as you enter, the pannelled walls of which are decorated with tolerable paintings from the life of the Virgin by an old Italian artist, Vasetti, is an oblong baptismal font, bearing on 2 sides well executed bas-reliefs of the Last Supper, with decorated orna- ments.

In descending the quay from Ste. Croix, you pass, a little above the bridge, near the church of

St. Michael , situated nearly on a line

with the bridge, and distinguished by its lofty detached tower, deprived of much of its effect by being hemmed in with mean houses. Its N. front is a superb Gothic elevation in the florid style (15th century). It has an elegant rose window framed within a richly decorated arch, whose mould- ings are curved back below it. Under it is the florid porch. Over the door are placed a pair of bas-reliefs representing the Sacrifice of Isaac and the Pas- chal Lamb, dating from the 1 6th cen- tury ; they are separated by a charm- ing group of wonderful expression, representing Judas’s kiss. Within the church, at the back of this portal, over the door, is another group, an “ Ecce Homo,” of the same period, and a cen- tury earlier than the bas-reliefs on each side of it, which represent St. Michael destroying the Dragon, and Adam and Eve. The nave and choir are nearly uniform, and of noble pointed Gothic ; the choir (about the 13th century) has a triforium and clerestory running behind the high altar, so that the E. end is like any compartment at the side, except that the space below, behind the altar, is filled with a shallow apse.

There are a few good painted win- dows, and in the N. side of the nave a chapel furnished with an altar in the richest and most overladen renaissance style. Within its niches are three graceful statues — the Virgin and Child, St. Catherine, and St. Barbara.

Near the W. end stands the elegant detached belfry, 178 feet high, which now bears the telegraph, but was origi- nally surmounted by a steeple, and rose to a height of 300 ft. It is of octagonal form, supported by elegant buttresses, and was built between 1472 and 1480. In the vault beneath it are shown from 40 to 50 human bodies, interred in the vault below before the Revolution, and preserved by its dry and antiseptic qualities, until they are now like leather, or salt fish, — a disgusting sight.

St. Seurin( St. Severin) situated be-

Pyren. R. 73 Bordeaux — St. Severin — Palais G allien. 267

yond the Place Daupbine in the Allees d’ Amour, is remarkable for a finely carved triple S. porch, consisting of a trefoil-headed door, enriched with statues of good workmanship, well- executed draperies, and dating from 1267. They represent the 12 apostles and 2 more sacred personages.

The W. front is modern, but is a tolerable attempt to follow the Romanesque style. The W. porch consists of three detached low vaults, one within the other, supported on pillars with curiously carved capi- tals.

Within this church, on the rt. hand or S. wall, is a curious bas-relief within a pointed arch above a door- way, now walled up, representing a pope saying mass (supposed to be Clement V., archbishop of Bordeaux) assisted by a cardinal. On the opposite wall is another bas-relief of seven figures in niches. The Gothic woodwork of the choir is curious but sadly bedaubed with paint. Under the seats are numerous grotesque groups. The high altar is decorated with fourteen curiously carved bas- reliefs of marble, framed, representing the legend of St. Severin, bishop of Bordeaux in the 5th century. On the one side of the chancel stands the Bishop's Throne , a curiously carved seat, under a canopy, all of marble, richly sculptured. This church was the cathedral before St. Andre. Under the choir is an early crypt with 3 aisles and semicircular arches. . At the W. end rises a tower sur- rounded by a double row of circular arcades.

In the Chapelle of the College, a bold Gothic structure, is the monu- ment of Montaigne, the essayist, a native of Montaigne St. Michel in Perigord, who was mayor of Bordeaux in 1553. He is represented in full armour ac- cording to the custom of the period, laid on his back, with his hands joined in prayer. The statue is a well executed work of the 16th century. At No. 17. in the Rue des Minimes

stood 'his modest mansion, in which he lived and died, 1592, now pulled down.

These are the most remarkable eccle- siastical edifices of Bordeaux, but it retains still a monument of the Ro- man city Burdigala, in the fragment of an amphitheatre, now called Palais Gallien, not quite accurately, because though possibly built in the reign of the Emperor Gallienus, it was not a palace but a circus, capable of con- taining 1500 persons. It is supposed to have been built by Tetricus, one of the so-called 30 tyrants who as- sumed the purple here. It was con- demned to destruction 1792, and has been since gradually pulled down to build houses, so that it is now reduced to mere fragments, interesting to the antiquary alone, of an oval wall formed of small stones with layers of tiles between them, interrupted by the broken archways which lead into it. The interior is occupied by houses and workshops, and two streets cross in the centre of it ; so that you may stand in the midst of its area and scarcely recognize these ancient re- mains.

Bordeaux has preserved two of its feudal town gates : one, now called Tour de VHorloge, built 1246 by Henry III. of England, surmounted by 3 pointed turrets, formed part of the old Hotel de Ville. The other, Porte de Caillou, at the end of the Rue du Palais, was built 1 492 to com- memorate the victory of Charles VIII. at Fornova. The old Bourse in the Place d’Aquitaine, now an office of roulage, but built as a palace for Charles IX.; and the old Eveche in a narrow street near it, are picturesque examples of the architecture of the XVI. century.

Bordeaux, like almost every other chef lieu de Departement in France, has a Gallery of Paintings. They are placed in the numerous saloons of the Hotel de Ville ; but ex- cept for their number they are in no wise remarkable, and the less said 1 N 2

268

Route 73. — Bordeaux-— Musee — Bourse. Sect. IV.

of their merits the more true the description. There are however some tolerable works of the French school.

The Musee situated in Rue St. Dominique, a street leading out of the Chaussee de Tourny, contains a collection of antique fragments, in- scriptions, altars, &c., chiefly Roman, found in the vicinity of Bordeaux, two sarcophagi with bas-reliefs of inferior merit and late date, also fragments of the marble bas-reliefs, representing the battle of Fontenov, and the capture of Port Mahon from the English by the Due de Richelieu, which ornamented the pedestal of the statue of Louis XV. in the Place Roy- ale, destroyed at the Revolution. In the Musee d'Histoire Naturelle are tole- rable collections of shells, of the fossils of the neighbourhood of Bordeaux, marked by blue tickets, and of the marbles of the Pyrenees. A specimen of a sea-eagle was shot at La Teste. These museums are open daily to strangers.

In the same locality, Rue St. Do- minique, is the library of more than 100,000 volumes, partly the bequest of a member of the old parliament of Bordeaux, partly the remains of con- ventual libraries forfeited at the Re- volution. A copy of Montaigne’s Essays with marginal notes in his own hand, and the first French translation of Livy illuminated, are among its cu- riosities.

The Bourse, the centre of the com- merce and trade of the city, is situated on the quay at the extremity of the Rue Chapeau Rouge, between it and the Place Royale. The merchants meet here daily, under a glass dome which covers the inner court of the building, 98 ft. long by 65 broad.

The commercial importance of Bordeaux is due to its situation on a fine navigable river where the rise and fall of tides amounts to 20 feet, in which vessels of more than 1000 tons may ride at anchor, at a distance of about 70 m. from the sea. It is con- nected by the same river, through the

Canal du Midi, with the Mediterra- nean. The commerce of Bordeaux is carried on chiefly with South Ame- rica and Mexico, the United States, French Colonies, and Great Britain. Its principal articles of trade and ex- ports consist in wines, known in France as vins de Bordeaux, and in England as claret, a name of doubtful origin. From 50,000 to 60,000 tuns of wine are exported annually. Nearly half ofthe best quality and highest price is sent to Great Britain ; very little is consumed in France. The Quartier des Chartrons is the focus of this trade ; here the principal wine-mer- chants have their counting-houses and cellars.

The Cellars of MM. Barton and Guestier, leading bankers and wine- merchants here, are among “ the lions” of Bordeaux. They are two stories in height, and commonly contain from 8000 to 9000 casks (barriques) of wine, never less than 4000 or 5000. The duty paid by this house in one year alone to the British government has amounted to 300,000^.

For an account of the wines of Bordeaux, see p. 271.

Among the delicacies furnished by the Bordeaux markets to the table are royans, a species of sardines (pilchards), caught in autumn ; Ceps, a sort of mushroom cooked in oil ; Muriers, small birds something like beccaficas ; Ortolans, caught in Au- gust near Agen and the Pyrenees.

The Cafe de Paris is a tolerable Restaurant,

Consuls reside here from the chief powers of Europe and America ; Great Britain is most respectably repre- sented by Mr. Scott, No. 7. Place du Champ de Mars.

The English church service is per- formed on Sundays at the English Protestant ch., on the Pave des Char- trons, recently built.

The Poste aux Lettres is at No. 5. Rue Porte Dijeaux : a letter reaches London in four days from this.

Public baths on a very extensive

Pyren EES. 7i. 73 Bordeaux — La Teste — History,

269

scale in two fine buildings on each side of the Place Louis Philippe.

Newspapers of all countries, Eng- lish, French, German, Spanish, &c., may be found in great abundance at the Cercle, 7. Place de la Comedie, op- posite the theatre.

Paul Cliaumas Gayet, the book- seller, 34. Rue fosse du Chapeau Rouge, keeps a number of topogra- phical works, maps, &c., besides the newest French publications.

Besides the Grand Theatre , men- tioned already(p. 2 65. ),open commonly three times a week, there is a smaller Theatre Frangais or des Varietes, near the extremity of the Rue de l’lntend- ance adjoining the Place Dauphine.

Omnibuses run along the quay from one end to the other, and in a direction across the town, from the river to its outskirts.

Fiacres stand for hire in the prin- cipal places: they are better but rather more expensive than those of Paris, charging 2 fr. for the course, or, by time, 2 fr. for the first hour, and 1 fr. SO c. for every hour after.

Conveyances. — Mallepostes daily to Paris by Tours in 3 6 hours ; to Bayonne in 1 7 hours ; to Nantes in 22 hours ; to Toulouse in 16 hours.

Diligences daily to Paris (three or four) in 60 hours; to Toulouse several; to Bayonne in 1 7 hours ; to Pan, Bagneres, Cauterets, and the Pyre- nsean baths, to Libourne and Peri- gueux; to Nantes by Niort, Rochefort, and la Rochelle. You may post from Bordeaux to Paris in 51 hours, ex- clusive of stoppages.

Steamers to Nantes, 3 times a month ; to Havre, 3 times a month in 60 hours, fare SO fr.

Steamers on the Garonne. — Down the river to Blaye and Pauillac daily, starting from the quay abreast of the rostral columns ; to Royan, 21 m. from Rochefort, in correspondence with coaches thither(see R.62.), twice a week in 7 hours.

Up the river, daily to Langon and Marmande ( R. 73.) on the way to

Pau or Toulouse ; starting from the quay just above the bridge.

Environs of Bordeaux.

A railroad has been formed from Bordeaux to La Teste, an inconsi- derable place 31 m. distant, a journey of about 2 hours, near the sea, on the borders of a great salt lake in the fiat district of the Landes, whose sole productions are salt and pitch from the large fir forests.

This railroad has been most unac- countably made through a line of coun- try where no previous traffic existed, to a spot possessing no commercial or manufacturing importance, in the vain hopes of generating these advantages in the midst of a desert. The specu- lators should have known that a rail- way is rather the consequence than the cause of traffic and commerce.

An excursion to La Teste (Inn : La Providence?), will give the traveller some notion of the nature of the sandy district called Les Landes, and pro- bably afford him an opportunity of seeing some of its inhabitants mounted on stilts. Here are several bathing establishments, and an Agricultural Association for redeeming the barren Landes.

The banks of the Garonne, below Bordeaux and the wine district of Medoc, which produces the claret, are described in R. 74.

The Garonne above Bordeaux, in R. 73. p. 264.

The excursions to the Chateau de la Brede, the birth-place of Montes- quieu, 2 hours’ drive (R. 76.), or to Blanquefort, the castle of the Black Prince, p. 271.

The wire suspension bridge of Cubsac, on the way to Angouleme and Tours, is about 8 m. distant, see p. 229., and is worth a visit.

Passages in the History of Bordeaux.

The earliest mention of Bordeaux is in the geography of Strabo, who calls it BoupdiyaAa, under which it was known to the Romans, and described in some N 3

270

Route 73. — Bordeaux — History. Sect. IV.

pretty verses by Ausonius the poet, who was born here, in the 4th cen- tury.

“ Impia jamdudum condemno silentia quod te,

O patria, insignem Baccho, fluviisque, viris- que,

Non inter primas metnorem. * * *

Burdigala est natale solum, dementia cceli

Mitis ubi, et riguse larga indulgentia terras ;

Ver longum, brumaeque breves, juga fron- dea subsunt,

Fervent asquoreos imitata fluenta meatus.” Auson. Clara: Urbes.

Hadrian created it the capital of 2d Aquitania.

Bordeaux belonged for nearly 300 years to the kings of England, who obtained it along with the duchy of Aquitaine by the marriage of Eleanor of Guienne, sole heiress of the last native duke, with Henry II., in 1152, and her inheritance became the fruitful cause of strife between England and France.

The Black Prince, having been in- vested by his father with the govern- ment of Guienne, resided many years at Bordeaux. Hence he set forth on that adventurous foray into the centre of France which led to the battle of Poitiers (p. 225.). Here he held a brilliant court, to which Don Pedro the Cruel repaired, when driven out of Spain, with his two fair daughters, who were here married to the English Princes John of Gaunt, and the Earl of Cambridge.

Here the Black Prince’s son, Richard II., was born, and surnamed from his birthplace Richard of Bordeaux.

The Bordelais retained their affec- tion for the English long after the downfal of our sway in the rest of France, in the reign of Henry VI. ; revolting from the rule of Charles VI I. to receive within their walls the valiant Talbot (1453), but his speedy defeat and death forced them again to sub- mit to the French monarch.

Bordeaux was the seat of one of the provincial Parliaments of France,

high court of justice composed of laymen and ecclesiastics, who regis-

tered the royal decrees and transmitted them to the lower courts.

One of the most momentous events of the civil war of the Fronde was the siege of Bordeaux, undertaken by the royal army with Mazarin, young Louis XIV., and his mother at its head, while the city held for the Princess de Conde, the Dukes of la Rochefoucauld and Bouillon, at the head of their vassals assisted by the towns-people and backed by the par- liament of Bordeaux. The heroic wife of the great Conde having escaped the clutches of the Cardinal, who already held her husband in prison, and wished to transfer her and her son to like durance, tra- versed the country from Chantilly, and after a series of adventures and escapes threw herself into the city, where the interest of the Condes was strong. Her beauty, eloquence, and forlorn position enlisted in her favour the enthusiasm of the magistrates and towns-people, and upon her per- suasion they agreed to admit her allies and resist the force of Mazarin. She captivated all hearts, and became, as it were, queen of Bordeaux, then the 2d city of the empire, and Conde, while shut up in Vincennes and em- ployed in watering his pot of violets, learned with surprise that his feeble princess was acting the part of a general, conducting the defence of a town, and exposing her life on the walls. The defence was conducted with such obstinacy, that at the end of several weeks, Mazarin, having made little progress, was happy to offer fair terms to the Frondeurs. The citizens of Bordeaux were right glad to be released from the blockade just at the approach of the vintage, for their warlike enthusiasm had be- gun to cool at the prospect of being shut out from their vineyards.

A great impulse was given to the French Revolution by the inhabitants of Bordeaux. At the beginning of the reign of Louis XVI. the parlia- ment of Bordeaux, having refused to

Pyrenees. i?. 73. — Girondins. R.^k. — The Gironde. 271

acknowledge the edict of the king, was banished to Libourne, and in consequence contributed largely to the clamour for the assembling together of the States-general. Many of the persons of greatest eloquence and talent sent as members to the Legis- lative Assembly, including Vergniaud, Guadet, Gensonne, Ducos, &c., were returned by the department of the Gironde, whence the party which they composed was called the Girondins. But having themselves brought on all the evils of the Revolution, they were swallowed up by the monster they had created, and guillotined for the most part by the stronger party of the Montagne, which succeeded them in the Convention. Bordeaux had a Reign of Terror of its own ; the guillotine was erected in the square near the centre of the town, called Place Dauphine (in honour of the Dauphin, afterwards Louis XIII.), but then named Place de Justice, and some of her best citizens were sacrificed. No less than 500 persons suffered death here, whom either envy of their merits, or cupidity for their wealth, caused to be condemned under the false charge of conspiracy against the sovereignty of the people.

The names of some of the streets afford a curious commentary on the history of the town, and a proof among many of the mutability of the French nation. The Place Louis Philippe was Place Louis XVI. down to 1830, and a statue of that king had been prepared, and its pedestal actually erected when the July Revolution broke out. The Cours de Douze Mars was the name given to the row of houses now called Trente Juillet , because on the former day, in 1814, the Due d’Angouleme made his triumphant entry into Bordeaux, at the invitation of the mayor Lynch (whose name has also been erased from a street which bore it), and amidst the acclamations of a part of the inhabitants.

On the 8th March in that year 2

divisions of the British army under Marshal Beresford marched upon Bordeaux ; where the presence of the dauntless Duchesse d’Angouleme, who had thrown herself into the town to revive the dormant spirit of loyalty towards her family, and the intrigues of the Due d’Angouleme, contrary to the advice and wishes of the Duke of Wellington, caused the premature proclamation of the Bourbons by the royalist mayor. The Duke had ex- pressly declared that “ he could not interfere to produce any declaration in favour of the Bourbons, nor to support their measures by military force.”

ROUTE 74.

THE GARONNE AND GIRONDE FROM

BORDEAUX TO LA TOUR DE COR-

DOUAN ; THE WINE DISTRICT OF

me'doc.

100 kilom. = 62 Eng. m.

Steamers daily to Blaye and Pauil- lac — 2 or 3 times a week to Royan.

Diligences daily along the S. W. side of the river to Chateau Margaux, and Lesparre, through the midst of Medoc, and along the rt. bank to Blaye. The road on the W. side of the Garonne passes Bouscat and Bruges, so named by Flemish settlers established here by Henri IV. to drain the marshes, and Blanquefort , whose castle, a fa- vourite residence of the Black Prince, still preserves part of its outer circuit walls and fosse, and some of its apart- ments entire. The leopards of Eng- land are only half effaced from the walls. It is a picturesque object. Thence the road runs to Margaux.

Bordeaux Wines.

The long tongue of land stretching N. from Bordeaux, between the sea on the one hand, and the Garonne and Gironde on the other, is called Medoc (quasi medio aquse), beeause nearly surrounded by water. It is the N. termination of the extensive N 4

272

Sect. IV.

Route 74. — Wines of Bordeaux .

district of sand hills and sand plains, called Les Landes, extending from Bayonne north, which changes to a bank of gravel on approaching the 1. bank of the Garonne, and forms a narrow strip of land nowhere more than 1 or 2 m. broad, raised from 50 to 80 ft. above the river, which is planted with vines, and contains some of the most precious vineyards in the world. The transition is abrupt from this gravel bank near the river to the mere Landes or sandy waste running to the W. and S. of it, producing no- thing but firs, furze, and heath. The soil of Medoc is a light gravel, and indeed on the spots were some of the best wine is produced, it appears a mere heap of white quartz pebbles rolled, and about the size of an egg, mixed with sand. The best wine is not produced where the vine bush is most luxuriant, but on the thinner soils, where it is actually stunted, and in ground fit for nothing else, where even weeds disdain often to grow. Yet this stony soil is congenial to the vine, retaining the sun’s heat about its roots after sunset, so that, in the language of the country, it works (travaille) in maturing its precious juices as much by night as by day. The accumulation of sand and pebbles, of which this soil is composed, is ap- parently the spoils of the Pyrenean rocks, brought down by the torrents tributary to the Garonne and other great rivers, and deposited in former ages on the borders of the sea. At the depth of 2 or 3 feet from the surface, occurs a bed of indurated conglome- rate, called alios, which requires to be broken up before the vine will grow, as it would stop the progress of the plant, being impenetrable to its roots. The vine is trained exclusively in the fashion of espaliers, fastened to hori- zontal laths, attached to upright posts at a height not exceeding 1| or 2 feet from the ground, running in an uninterrupted line from one end of the vineyard to the other. Manure is scarcely used in the culture, only

a little fresh mould is laid over the roots from time to time ; but the plough is driven between the vines four times every season, alternately laying open and covering its roots : this is performed by oxen, who, with steady and unvarying pace, thread the ranks without treading on the plants. Manure is supposed to depreciate the quality of the wine, and moisture or standing water is most injurious to the plant. The vine begins to pro- duce at 5 years of age, and continues productive sometimes when 200 years old, provided its roots have found a congenial soil to insinuate (pivoter) their fibres, which they sometimes do to a distance of 40 or 50 ft., when the soil is dry and deep enough to pro- tect them from the sun. The wines are classed into growths (crus), ac- cording to their excellence, and only a very small part of the strip of land before mentioned is capable of pro- ducing the “ premiers crus ; ” indeed so capricious is the vine, that within a few yards of the finest vineyards it degenerates at once. The following list will show the classification of Bordeaux wines, or clarets as we call them in England (though whence the name, or what its meaning, are unknown in Medoc), together with the average quantity of each produced in one season. The tun, or tonneau, contains 4 hogsheads, called barriques.

r Chateau Margaux - 140—160') . ^ S 3 Chateau Lafitte - 120 ( g

o ) Chateau Latour - 120 (

^CHautBrion - - 60— 80 3

The last is properly a vin de Grave, grown on the Garonne above Bor- deaux, yet is classed with Medoc wines ; it is less in repute now than formerly.

-ej3 ") Mouton (Lafitte) - 120—146)

| IS ( Leoville, the best of the f S

p f wines of St. Julien - 145— 186f,s 03 £ 3 Rauzan (Margaux) - 75 — 95 3 ^

La Rose Gruau, Pichon Lon- gueville, Durfort, Degorse, Las- combe, Cos- Destournelle, in all about 800 tons.

It is needless to enumerate those of

Pyrenees. Route 74 . — Medoc — Gironde — Margaux . 273

Sd, 4th, and 5th rate growths, many of which are produced in the vicinity of the first-rate vineyards, at the villages or in the communes of Margaux, Lafitte, Latour, without partaking in their excellences. The goodness of a season will sometimes give an excellence to second class wines, while in bad years those of first class sink to mediocrity, and are not fit for exporting to England (such is the importance of maintaining the character of these wines there), but go to Holland, or are retained in France. This is so well understood, that some years ago the proprietor of the vineyard of La Rose used, to hoist on a flagstaff above his house, the English flag in good years, the Dutch in middling, and the French in bad years. England consumes more than one half of the premiers crus, and very little of inferior sorts ; Russia takes a good deal, Paris little of the best ; Holland, is the great mart for wines of second quality, and the third rate sorts or vins ordinaires are chiefly used in France. An er- roneous notion prevails in England that clarets are prepared for the Eng- lish market, by a certain mixture to brandy. This is not the case; brandy would destroy the wine. A mixture does take place to adapt the wines to the English palate ; but they are doc- tored with strong-bodied (corses) Rhone wines, and chiefly with Her- mitage, the principal consumption of which is for this purpose. The prac- tice of mixing is very general. The characteristic of the good wines of Bordeaux is their aroma or bouquet ; spirit they have none, and will distil away into nothing, yet the aroma will be retained and penetrate even through the Rhone wine, when it is judici- ously added. The average price of a hogshead (barrique) of genuine wine of first growth, in the cellar of the first houses at Bordeaux, is 50/., which with carriage, duty, bottling, &c. amounts to 80/., rather more than 70s. a dozen. A first growth wine !

of a fine vintage is scarcely to be had at a less price ; indeed the whole pro- duce of Chateau Margaux has been sold on the spot for 1,000 francs the hogshead,' in the case of a very first- rate vintage. Very great skill is shown, and much experience required in the making of the wine, in the compounding of various growths and qualities, and in the preservation of it : a promising vintage often disap- points expectations, while a bad one sometimes turns out excellent ; in- deed all that can be said of the pre- miers crus is, that they are the wines which most often succeed. The total produce of Medoc, in average years, is from 150,000 to 170,000 hogsheads, of which about 6,000 go to England.

Travellers desiring to visit the prin- cipal vineyards of Medoc may take the steamer to Pauli lac (which may be reached in 4 hours, or 6 against tide), which is not far from Lafitte and Latour, or the coaches which run daily will convey them to Margaux. The high road thither, and thence to Pauillac, traverses the centre of the narrow strip of land forming the wine district. For some distance out of Bordeaux it passes a series of country houses.

The Garonne below Bordeaux is a fine broad tidal river, but very much charged with mud, having few fea- tures of interest, its banks being chiefly low, while an intervening fringe of marsh and meadow land, grown over with willows, separates the river from the vineyards, little of which can be seen from the deck of the steamer.

Nothing can be finer than the view of the long crescent quay of Bor- deaux, and the broad river crowded with shipping, many of them 3 masted vessels, as the steamer casts off from the quay, opposite the rostral co- lumns, and skirts the long Faubourg des Chartrons.

Rt. Lormont is a picturesque emi- nence, covered with wood and vine- I yards, interspersed with some neat N 5

274- JR. 74-. ■ — The Gironde — Margaux — Blaye. Sect. IV.

country houses on its top, and be- low its steep side. In a recess un- der the hill stands the village, with a domed church, surmounted by a chateau.

Rt. below Montferrand, a small vil- lage hid by poplars, is a large Cha- teau, the residence of M. Peyronnet, one of the ministers of Charles X. who signed the ordonnances.

Rt. The tongue of land between the Garonne and Dordogne, called Entre Deux Mers, which produces a vast quantity of wines of inferior quality, draws to a termination at the low point called Bee d’Ambes. The union of the two rivers forms the broad estuary of the Gironde, whence the department is named. The monsters of the revolutionary Moun- tain, after overwhelming in 1793 their antagonists, the Girondins (so called because the leaders came from this part of the country), swamped even the name of the department, which for several months bore that of “Am- bes.” A long line of low hills, faced towards the water with cliffs, lines the 1. bank of the Gironde and Dordogne. Looking up the Dordogne, you per- ceive on an eminence Bourg, a small town of 3,8 55 inhabitants, where Louis XIV. when a child resided with his mother, Anne of Austria, for nearly a year (1649-50) during the continu- ance of the siege of Bordeaux (see p. 270). Mazarin, in order to super- intend the operations and watch the leaders of the Fronde within the city, had repaired in person to the S., drag- ging with him the King, the Regent, and the Court. The ladies in waiting complained bitterly of the want of a theatre to enliven the ennui of their residence, and the cardinal got angry with the mayor because the whole place could not furnish a sedan-chair to carry him through the steep and dirty streets. The extensive vine- yards around Bourg produced the wines (claret) esteemed the best in the district 200 years ago, before the cul- tivation of the vine in Medoc had

commenced, which does not date far- ther back than 250 years.

Rt. The steamer stops to set down or take up passengers at the Pain du Sucre, a landing-place at the mouth of the Dordogne, close under the Bee d’Ambes, and about 1| m. below Bourg. Two large islands are here formed in the middle of the Gironde.

L. Nearly abreast of the Pain de Sucre, a glimpse may be obtained of the mansion of Chateau Margaux, situated some distance inland : it is an Italian villa, the handsomest in Medoc, and belongs to the heirs of the Spanish banker, the Marquis d’Aguado, though rarely inhabited, owing to the malaria which prevails around it. It stands in the midst of the vineyards producing the celebrated wine of Chateau Margaux, the most esteemed growth of Medoc. The grape which yields it is small and poor to the taste, with a flavour slightly resembling that of black currants. The Chateau is about \ m. from the village of Margaux, which abounds in neat whitewashed villas, seated in little gardens, amidst acacia hedges and trellised vines. It is about 20 m. distant from Bordeaux.

Rt. The yellow cliffs along the river side are pierced to form cellars, in which is deposited the wine grown above them ; and for a considerable extent near Gauriac, they are exca- vated in quarries of building stone. At the base of the cliffs are several small villages.

Rt. Blaye. The dead walls and gloomy-looking modern bastions of the citadel of Blaye are seen pro- jecting over the river at a height con- siderably above it. In the midst of them stands a fragment of the old feudal fortress, whose towers may be seen surmounting the turfed ramparts. This citadel was chosen as the prison of the Duchess de Berri, who was confined here in a double sense after her capture in La Vendee (see Nantes, p. 165.), having been brought to bed of a daughter in 1833. After a de-

27 5

Pyrenees. Route 74. — Vineyards of Medoc.

tention of 7 months she was sent back to Naples. The body of Roland the Brave was, according to tradition, transported hither from Roncesvaux, by Charlemagne, and interred in the Church of St. Romain, with his sword Durandal at his head, and his famous horn of ivory (Oliphant), with which he had awakened the echoes of Fuent- arabia, at his feet. The body was afterwards transported to St. Seurin, at Bordeaux.

Opposite Blaye several islands have been formed in the middle of the river by the deposits brought down by the Dordogne and Garonne, and are con- stantly increasing. On one of them is planted the little fort du Rate , so called from its round shape. It crosses its fire with that of the fortress of Blaye on the rt. bank, and of Fort I Medoc on the 1., and thus commands | the passage of the Gironde.

To the N. of Margaux, the vines ! decline in quality ; and it is not until I after an interval of several miles of in- ferior vineyards, that we reach others, producing wine of reputation, in the vicinity of

L. Beycheville, lying within the commune of St. Julien , a name of note on account of the wine grown in it. The Chateau de Beycheville , situated on the height in the midst of valuable vineyards, is the seat of M. Guestier, ancien Depute, and one of j the first wine merchants of Bordeaux. |

Here begin some of the most re- j nowned vineyards of Medoc, which I lie crowded together in almost unin- terrupted succession, within a narrow | space, stretching about 6 m. N. of Beycheville.

About l|m. off is Chateau Leoville, which produces one of the best second I growths, nearly equalling the first growths. The estate is divided be- tween Mr. Barton and M. de Las Cases. In the same commune is the vineyard of La Rose, a prime second j growth, and in the adjoining one of j St. Lambert, is the vineyard of Cha- j teau Latour, yielding a well-known

) wine, premier cru. The estate, which does not exceed 330 acres, was sold a few years ago for 60,000/. The ! second growths, Pichon-Longueville

and Mouton, come from the same

| quarter.

L. Pauillac, a small sea-port, be- hind which, at the distance of about ! l^m., is the vineyard of Chateau La- fitte , producing one of the three best | wines of Bordeaux ; it is the property j of Sir Samuel Scott, and does not yield ! more than 400 hogsheads yearly. The region of good wines extends N. as far as Lesparre, but the wines are far inferior to those of the commune of Pauillac.

The aspect of the vine district of Medoc is that of an undulating coun- try, slightly raised above the Garonne, affording here and there peeps of the river between the gentle hills and shallow gullies which intersect it. It abounds in marshes and stagnant pools, which render it unhealthy, so that the chateaux which occur in it are inha- bited only for a small part of the year by their proprietors. Yet the district is populous, a group of cottages being attached to almost every vineyard, and inhabited by the peasants who cultivate it. The vineyards are open fields ; even those of greatest value being for the most part unprovided with walls, or even hedges, in order to avoid the loss of any space of ground which must be left round the margin to allow the plough to turn. When the grapes begin to ripen, a temporary fence is formed round the vines, of twisted boughs interwoven with furze, to keep out the dogs, who are most destructive consumers of grapes. Further to deter both bipeds and quadrupeds from com- mitting depredations, guards armed with guns are posted on the watch day and night, while streaks of paint, and bits of white paper stuck upon poles, announce that the vineyard is strewn with poisoned sausages, and that the grapes themselves are smeared with some deleterious mixture. The n 6

276 R* 74?.— Vineyards of Medoc — Tour de Cordouan. Sect. IV.

vines are planted in quincunx order on ridges (about 3 feet apart): they are trained to espaliers, and not al- lowed to rise more than 2 feet above the ground. In the best vineyards they barely cover the soil, but allow the singular mass of pebbles, of which it almost exclusively consists, to ap- pear between the rows. The growth of the vine is confined within a nar- row line of demarcation, and the transition is most abrupt from the most precious land to an uncultivated sandy desert. The distance of a few feet makes all the difference. The vintage takes place in the month of September ; and it is then that Medoc presents a scene of bustle, activity, and rejoicing. The proprietors then repair hither with their friends and families to superintend the proceedings and make merry ; vignerons pour in from the 1. bank of the Gironde, to assist in the gathering. Busy crowds of men, women, and children sweep the vineyard from end to end, clearing all before them like bands of locusts, while the air resounds with their songs and laughter. The utmost care is employed by the pickers to remove from the bunches all defective, dried, mouldy, or unripe grapes. Every road is thronged with carts filled with high-heaped tubs, which the labour- ing oxen are dragging slowly to the Cuvier de pressoir (pressing trough). This is placed usually in a lofty out- house, resembling a barn, whence issue sounds of still louder merri- ment, and a scene presents itself sufficiently singular to the stranger. Upon a square wooden trough (pres- soir) stand three or four men with bare legs all stained with purple juice, dancing and treading down the grapes as fast as they are thrown in, to the tunes of a violin. The labour of constantly stamping down the fruit is desperately fatiguing, and without music, would get on very slowly -. a fiddler, therefore, forms part of every wine grower’s establish- ment ; and as long as the instrument

pours forth its merry strains, the treaders continue their dance in the gore of the grape, and the work pro- ceeds diligently. The next process is to strip (egrapper) the broken grapes and skins from the stalks, with an in- strument called derapoir, and to pour the juice and skins into vats to fer- ment. The skin rises to the top, and the wine is drawn oflf into hogsheads as soon as fermentation is carried to the proper extent, in judging of which the utmost experience is required, as on it depends much of the quality of the vintage.

At Trompe-Loup is the Lazareth, where vessels from the Levant per- form quarantine.

L. The cultivation of the vine ceases to the N. of Castillon, and the extreme point of Medoc, towards the mouth of the Gironde, consists of rich pasture land, famed for its breed of cattle, and some corn-fields. It lies on a level with the surface of the sea, and was redeemed from the condition of marsh by a colony of Flemings, invited over to France by Henri IV., who sur- rounded it with sea-dykes like their own country.

Rt. Mortagne. A diligence runs hence to Saintes in communication with the steamer.

Rt. Royan is a small sea-port town in the department of the Charante, about 25 m. from Rochefort, whither a diligence runs in correspondence with the steamer. (R. 62.) It is a station of pilots : and is resorted to for sea-bathing.

On an isolated rock outside the mouth of the Gironde, which is beset with dangerous sandbanks, rises the lighthouse called La Tour de Cor- douan, whose beacon guides mariners entering or quitting the river. It is a circular structure of three stories, the central one being domed like a church, from the midst of which rises a sort of pepper-box turret. It was designed in the reign of Henri II. by Louis de Foix, one of the architects of the

277

Pyrenees. Route 76 . — Bordeaux to Bayonne .

Escurial, 1611, who is said to have died here, and to have been buried within it. It replaced a lighthouse founded by the English 1362-71, while the Black Prince was governor of Guienne. (See Rymer.)

ROUTE 76.

BORDEAUX TO BAYONNE, ST. JEAN DE

LUZ, AND THE SPANISH PRONTIER.

227 kilom. = 184 Eng. m.

Malleposte daily in 17 hours, dili- gences daily in 24 hours, to Bayonne.

For a mile or two out of Bordeaux a succession of neat villas lines the road, and the ground is mostly laid out in vineyards. Here, however, the vines grow upright, and are not trained along the ground as in the more famous district of Medoc (p. 276.). Their produce is a wine as black as ink, full of spirit, from which brandy is distilled. Before the end of the stage the country becomes open and heathy ; it is, in fact, the border of that extensive region of flat sand called the Landes, to avoid which the high road to Spain makes a consider- able circuit. See Route 77.

1 1 Bouscaut. Between 2 and 3 m. to the rt. of La Prade, a hamlet which is passed about the middle of this stage, lies the Chateau de la Brede , the birth-place and family seat of Montesquieu. It is a low many- sided castle, probably of the 15th cen- tury, surmounted by a circular donjon entirely surrounded by the waters of the Guemort, which forms a broad fosse around it, and served anciently to defend it from foes, since it can only be entered by three bridges (once drawbridges). It is far from imposing, either without or within ; but retains its primitive condition nearly unaltered, together with some old portraits of the family Secondat, and, above all, the chamber of Mon- tesquieu, with his simple bed, arm- chair, &c., nearly as he left it. The

wainscotting on one side of the fire- place is rubbed by the motion of his foot resting against it, a habit attri- buted to him when seated in his easy chair lost in thought, meditating on his works. It was here that he com- posed his work “ Sur la Grandeur et la Decadence des Romains,” while it is reported that the dark feudal ca- chot beneath the castle, which is en- tered by a stair from his room, assisted him in his reflections “ On the Liberty of the Subject.”

12 Castres. The road ascends the valley of the Garonne, but at the distance of 3 or 4 m. from the river, whose banks are described in R. 73.

1 1 Cerans. Barsac, passed in this stage, produces one of the best white wines grown on the Garonne, and 4 or 5 m. S. of Preignac lies the chateau of Satiterne, which gives its name to the best of all the white wines of this district. (Seep. 264.)

12 Langon on the 1. bank of the Garonne, is described in R. 73. (Inn : Cheval Blanc.) Here the road to Toulouse (R. 73.) branches off, and our road quits the Garonne and turns nearly due S., penetrating through a portion of the Petites Landes. Few houses and no villages occur before

15 Bazas, an ancient town of 4,300 inhab., which existed in the time of the Romans, and is mentioned under the name Vasates by Ausonius, whose father was born here. It has a fine Gothic church, which was once a cathedral. It is in the purest style of Gothic, without transepts. The sculpture, adorning the three portals of its facade, represents the call of St. Peter, the Coronation of the Vir- gin, and the Last Judgment, and is of great excellence. The angels pre- senting the souls to Christ, and the dead bursting from their graves, are executed with boldness and expres- sion. Bazas retains on its outskirts fragments of the old town walls.

17 Captieux lies in the midst of sand wastes and pine forests ; the country presents all the characters o f

278

Route 76. — Bordeaux to Bayonne. Sect. IV.

the Landes, and the road enters the department so called shortly before reaching

15 Les Traverses.

15 Roquefort, an insignificant town of 1,600 inhab., named from the rocks of tufa, which border the bank of the Douse, a tributary of the Adour. This place must not be confounded with Roquefort, famed for cheese, in the Dept. Aveyron, near Rodez.

About 20 m. W. of this, in the midst of the sandy Landes, is an ob- scure and wretched hamlet called Labrit or Albret. It was the cradle of the Sires d’Albret, one of the oldest families of France, from whom sprang the illustrious Henri IV., the son of Jeanne d’Albret.

Here the road from Bordeaux to Pau branche off to the 1. (R. 80.)

12 Caloy. The chain of the Py- renees, 30 leagues distant, may al- ready be discovered in clear weather.

10 Mont de Marsan (Inn: H. Des Ambassadeurs ; a very tolerable sleep- ing place (forbye the fleas) ; Ortolans may be had in August) is chef lieu of the department of Les Landes, (3,774 inhab.), and enjoys some com- merce by virtue of its position at the junction of two streams, the Douze and Medou, which, becoming navi- gable here, take the name of Me- douze. It is united with the Garonne, by the Canal des Landes, nearly 60 m. long, designed to open a communi- cation between Bayonne and Bor- deaux, when the sea is closed in time of war.

Roads branch off hence to Pau (R. 80)., and to Orthes.

The road hence is somewhat less dull : it lies through extensive forests of spindly pines, whose sides are rasped or grooved to extract the resin which exudes from the wound, and is collected in a hollow at their foot.

13 Campagne. Beyond

14 Tartas, where the Medouze is crossed by a new bridge, are some fine oak woods.

1 1 Pontons. As before, the same alternation of pine woods and bare sand, not a pebble to be seen. Py- renees well seen beyond Pontons.

Pouy, a village on the 1. of the road shortly before reaching Dax* was the birth-place of the philan- thropic founder of the order of Soeurs de la Charite, St. Vincent de Paul. When a boy he tended his father’s flock in the sandy heaths near the Lazarist convent of Buglose. The road passes through the village of

12 St. Paul de Dax, about a mile

distant from the town of Dax, which lies on the 1. bank of the Adour, and is reached by a bridge of wood. Its name probably comes from its hot springs (de aquis), which are one of the curiosities of Guienne, and doubt- less induced that bath-loving people, the Romans, to found here their set- tlement, Aquae Augustae Tarbellicae. They rise nearly in the centre of the town, and are received in a large square basin enclosed with porticoes, whence rise such clouds of steam as in a frosty morning to envelope all the town. The temperature at the source is 66° Reaumur, 212° Fah- renheit, a scalding heat. The water is nearly tasteless, and though only partially used medicinally, is much employed by the washerwomen. There are several other sources in and about the town. Near the bridge are portions of the old fortifications ; and Roman masonry may, it is said, be discovered in their substructions. Inns : Hotel St. Etienne ; de St.

Esprit.

The tertiary strata near Dax abound in fossil shells.

The postmaster is entitled to charge 2 kilom. extra on carriages which cross the Adour into Dax from St. Paul.

The road beyond Dax traverses numerous forests of cork trees, which being stripped of their flaky bark to stop the claret bottles of the merchants of Bordeaux, have a singular effect, from the dark brown colour of their

Pyrenees. Route 76 . — Bordeaux to Bayonne — Bayonne . 279

naked trunks. A new skin speedily repairs the loss of the old.

15 St. Geours.

The Pyrenean range now forms a grand feature in the landscape. They are not unlike some views of the Grampians, in which sharp peaks here and there surmount intervening round- backed hills : the most conspicuous and picturesque peaks seen from this are the Arrhune in France, and the Quatre Couronnes in Spain. Near

13 Cantons, a large pond or etang is passed, and a peep is obtained over the Bay of Biscay on the rt.

The direct road from Bordeaux across the Grandes Landes (R. 77.), falls into ours at St. Vincent, and the Landes cease altogether at Oudres.

The descent upon Bayonne presents that town under a striking aspect, seated on the Adour, surrounded by fortifications. A short way before you reach the Octroi, a lane on the rt. leads down to the Cimetiere Anglaise, a simple enclosure between 4 walls, planted with poplars ; it contains the remains of many braveBritish soldiers, and several officers of the Coldstream Guards, who fell in the sortie from Bayonne, April 14, 1814. Bayonne is entered by the Faubourg of St. Esprit, in which is situated the Citadel, the strongest of the military works. The town itself is reached by a nar- row bridge of boats over the Adour, and, after crossing the triangular strip of land between the rivers, by a per- manent stone and iron bridge over the Nive.

19 Bayonne Inns: H. St. Eti-

enne, a good family hotel ; H. du Com- merce, also good ; H. de l’Europe.

Bayonne, a strong fortress of the first class, commanding the Passes of the W. Pyrenees, and one of the two carriage roads leading from Spain into France, has an agreeable situation at the junction of the Nive with the Adour, and is divided into three parts, by these fine broad rivers, which are lined with quays, and always include a small quantity of shipping. The

suburb St. Esprit on the rt. bank of the Adour, lies within the Dept, des Landes, and alone includes 5,897 in- habitants, (more than the chief town of the dept.), among whom are 2,000 Jews, descendants of those expelled at different times from Spain. On an eminence rising above this suburb, just at the lower end of it and command- ing with its formidable batteries the town, both the rivers, and the plain to the N., rises the Citadel, the most formidable of the works, laid out by Vauban, and greatly strengthened, especially since 1814, when it formed the key to an entrenched camp of Marshal Soult, and was invested by a detachment of the army of the Duke of Wellington, but not taken, the peace having put a stop to the siege after some bloody encounters. The last of these, a dreadful and useless expenditure of human life, took place after peace was declared, and the Bri- tish forces put off their guard in con- sequence. They] were thus entirely taken by surprise by a sally of the garrison, made early on the morning of April 14th ; which, though re- pulsed, was attended with the loss of 830 men to the British, and by the capture of their commander, Sir John Hope, whose horse was shot under him, and himself wounded. The French attack was supported by the fire of their gun-boats on the river, which opened indiscriminately on friend and foe. 910 of the French were killed. Admission to the citadel is obtained by a ticket from the commandant ; but, except to a military man, it pos- sesses nothing of interest. Steep ap- proaches, resembling inclined planes, lead up to it, deep fosses surround it, nearly vertical walls 40 feet high and numerous bastions flank and en- filade every access to it : visitors are not allowed to mount the ramparts, Bayonne Proper occupies the trian- gular space between the two rivers, and stretches for a considerable dis- tance up the bank of the Nive, which is crossed by 3 bridges. Its total

280 Route 76. — Bayonne — Passage of the Adour, Sect. IV*

population, excluding St. Esprit, is 15,912 souls, many of the streets have a half Spanish character, from the piazzas running under the houses. The handsomest quarter of the town is that adjoining the theatre, newly built, consisting of fine tall houses.

The only building of consequence is the Cathedral, ugly externally, but within a fine lofty church in the pointed Gothic of the 13th century, with choir and transepts very short. The arms of England are still visible on its roof, The cloisters behind, in the florid style, nearly the largest in France, deserve notice. From the top of its tower there is a good view of the distant Py- renees, of the town, rivers, and cita- del, and of the spot a little below it, at the extremity of the long avenue of trees, where a part of the British army under Sir John Hope crossed by a bridge of boats furnished from the fleet of Admiral Penrose, and transported with much difficulty over the bar, Feb. 23-27. 1814, in order to invest the citadel.

As very malignant calumnies have been spread by some French writers, respecting the conduct of the Duke of Wellington’s army in France, it may not be amiss to refute them by the unexceptionable testimony of one of their own writers, and an eye-wit- ness, the late M. Vayse de Yilliers, author of the Itineraire de la France , the best guide book for that country. He traversed the theatre of the war only a few months after the occupa- tion by the Duke of Wellington, and states that so far from laying waste the country to a distance of a league around Bayonne, as a French writer had asserted, “ Ilavait etabli une telle discipline qu’il etait accueilli partout comme liberateur .” — Route de Paris en Espagne , p. 91.

The Duke’s own immortal de- spatches show with what severe disci- pline he prevented the troops, Spanish and English, under his command, imitating the cruel injuries which the French army had inflicted on Spain

and other countries invaded by them.

The construction of the bridge over the A dour below Bayonne, and the passage of the Allies across it, dis- play the genius of Wellington in con- ceiving, combining, and executing a measure deemed impossible by his opponents ; and is styled by Colonel Napier “ a stupendous undertaking, which will always rank among the prodigies of war.” The impediments consisted in the breadth of the river, the rapidity of its current, the height to which the tide rises (14 ft.), the difficulty of procuring and trans- porting the materials of the bridge : since, if sent by land, through bad and difficult roads, they must have alarmed the enemy ; if by water, the bar, passable only at high water, and surf at the river’s mouth, rendered the entrance of boats next to impos- sible. The latter measure, however, had been decided on by the Duke ; and to effect this purpose, a little flotilla of chassemarees had been pre- pared in the Spanish harbour of Pas- sages. The long prevalence of storms, however, and contrary winds had ren- dered its approach impracticable ; and the gallant Sir John Hope, to whom the execution of this measure had been intrusted by the Duke of Welling- ton, at last on the 23rd of February, 1814, began to push his troops across upon a raft attached to a hawser ; and thus in the teeth of a strong fortress and garrison of nearly 15,000 men, 600 men of the Guards gained the opposite bank ; the French gun-boats which guarded the river being silenced by rockets, three of them burnt, and a sloop of war driven up the river un- der the guns of Bayonne, while the same effective weapons kept the gar- rison at bay. Next morning, in spite of the tempestuous weather, and the raging surf on the bar, which was so furious as to leave no strip of black water to point out the passage; without pilots, with no land-marks on the shore, the little fleet made for the mouth of

Pyrenees. R.76. — Passage of the Adour — Bayonne. 281

the Adour. Each vessel had an engi- neer on board, and a supply of timber, cables, &c., and aided by men-of- war’s boats from the fleet, they boldly dashed into the midst of the breakers, blindly seeking the entrance. Several of the foremost, mastered by the wind and the waves, ran aground or were dashed ashore, and their crews perished. This did not deter the others however ; one more fortunate boat discovered the only safe channel ; and the rest follow- ing in its wake, gained smooth water within the bar, a glorious and gallant exploit. The twenty-six chassemarees thus introduced were moored head and stern by ropes stretched over the dykes, which line the river, at a spot where it is 800 ft. broad, at a distance of about three miles below Bayonne. Platforms of loose planks were laid between the boats, and the ropes were left slack, so as to allow the bridge to rise and fall with the tide : yet this seemingly frail structure was strong enough to bear the heaviest artillery, and it was finished by the 26th. This deep-laid scheme entirely foiled Mar- shal Soult', whose attention had been drawn off by the British general to an attack among the Gaves, the tri- butaries of the Adour high up the country, at the very moment when the passage of that river was effected close to the sea.

Bayonne is a town of commerce as well as of war, though its port is of comparatively small use, on account of the shifting bar at the mouth of the Adour, which can only be passed at high water, and not without danger at some seasons, though the employ- ment of tug-steamers now diminishes the risk. In the 14th or 15th cen- tury the Adour changed its bed, owing to its mouth becoming ob- structed by shifting sands or dunes blown up by the winds, and running N. parellel with the coast within this sand- wall, until it found an outlet either at Cape Breton, or at Vieux Boucaut. This lasted down to 1579, when the engineer, Louis de Foix, re-

stored it to its old channel, called Boucaut Neuf. In 1684, however, it broke a fresh channel for itself to the 1., in the direction of the Chambre d’ Amour, but was brought back again shortly after to the bed by which it still finds a passage to the ocean through a waste of sand-hills.

The commerce of Bayonne consists chiefly in Spanish wool, which is largely imported, and in an extensive smuggling trade carried on with that country.

Excellent chocolate and eau de vie are made here ; but the Bayonne hams , so called because largely ex- ported hence, are reared and cured among the Pyrenees, near Orthes and Pau. Some ships are built here.

From what has been said, it will be perceived that Bayonne has few sights to amuse the passing stranger. The well-supplied market, abounding in fruit and vegetables sold at the cheapest rates, are worth a visit ; and these, or the promenades, will afford an opportunity of seeing the Bayon- naise ladies, who are remarkably pretty, as well as the Basquaise pea- sants, who are also distinguished by pretty faces and good figures, and contrast with the inhabitants of the Landes to the N. of Bayone.

Those who desire a pleasant shady walk and fresh air, should repair to the Alices Marines, an avenue of trees more than a mile long, on the 1. bank of the Adour, below the town and op- posite the citadel, reaching down al- most to the bend of the river, near which the Duke threw his army across.

A little way outside the town is the dilapidated Chateau de Marrac, de- stroyed by fire in 1825 and gutted. It belonged to Napoleon, who here re- ceived the degraded sovereigns of Spain Charles IV. and his queen; and her minion Godoy likewise. The Emperor also brought hither to meet them Fer- dinand Prince of Asturias, whom, by false pretences, he had entrapped from Madrid in 1808 : and in this chateau, under threat of death or imprison-

282 Route 76. — Bayonne to the Spanish Frontier. Sect. IV.

ment, they resigned to him their hereditary rights to the crown of Spain.

Bayonne was capital of the an- cient district, enclosed within the Adour and Bidassoa, called Pays de Labourd, from Lapurdum, by which it was known down to the 10th century. The name Bayonne, is merely the Basque Baia una, a port. Hence comes the word Bayonette , said to have been invented in this neigh- bourhood (see p. 285.), and first made here. The gloomy old castle oppo- site the Sous- Prefecture, now a bar- rack, was probably the residence of Catherine de Medicis, when, dragging with her her weak son, Charles IX., she repaired hither to that secret con- ference with the cruel Alva, in 1563, at which it is now known the atro- cious massacre of the St. Bartho- lomew’s night was suggested and de- cided on. Yet Bayonne has the rare credit of refusing to execute the bloody orders of Charles IX., to slay all the protestants in the town, owing to the firmness of the governor Da- premont, Vicomte d’Orthes, who told the king that the town of Bayonne included only good citizens and brave soldiers, but not a single executioner.

The chief place of resort for the in- habitants of Bayonne out of the town is the little watering-place of Biaritz, described farther on (p. 283).

Cambo, in the vale of Nive, is also a pretty watering-place, with mineral baths.

Those who wish to make a short excursion hence into Spain, may take the diligence to St. Sebastian, which starts every morning, pass through a portion of the country, which was the theatre of the late war, visit the cita- del of St. Sebastian and the singular land-locked harbour of Passages, eat an olla, and smoke a cigarillo, and return to Bayonne the following afternoon. See Hand-book for Spain.

The British consul , residing at Bay- onne (Captain Graham), will sign his countrymen’s passports for the journey.

In the coach-offices and inns at Bayonne will be found hung up ad- vertisements of approaching Bull Fights , to be held at Vittoria, Tolosa, Saragossa, and other places in the N. of Spain, in the vicinity of the French frontier.

Conveyances : — mallepostes daily to Bordeaux in 17 hours: to Toulouse in 21 hours.

Diligences daily to Bordeaux (2 or 3) ; to Toulouse; to Pau, by Orthez and by Oleron.

Conveyances into Spain : to Madrid — Malleposte travels by night, and is three nights on the journey.

Diligences belonging to 2 different companies to Madrid.

Diligences every other day to Tolosa and St. Sebastian in 10 hours.

The Southern Road quits Bayonne by the Porte d’Espagne, through which Napoleon poured so many gal- lant armies in succession into the Peninsula. The road is hilly the whole way to the frontier, and from time to time affords glimpses of the sea on the rt. After passing a number of country-houses, amongst which, at a little distance on the 1., stands the Chateau de Marrac (p. 281.), a finger- post at the end of 2 m. points the sandy way to Biaritz (Inn: H. de Monhau, rooms small, but clean and comfortable), a little secluded water- ing-place, 3 m. on the rt. and about 5 m. from Bayonne. It consists of a group of white-washed lodging- houses, cafes, inns, traiteurs, cottages, &c., and generally of a humble character, scattered over rolling emi- nences and hollows bare of trees, on the sea shore, here fenced with cliffs 40 or 50 feet high, excavated by the waves into numberless quiet coves and curious caverns. In these the sea at times roars and chafes, per- forating the rock with holes, and un- dermining huge masses, which are detached from time to time ; and some of them, left like islands at some dis- tance from the shore, still project

Pyrenees, ft. 76. — Biaritz — TheBasques — St.JeandeLuz, 283

above tlie waves. From the tops of these cliffs, especially that which bears the ruins of an old. fort or lighthouse, you look over the wide expanse of the Bay of Biscay, bounded on the rt. by the French coast, on which rises the new Phare, showing the way into the mouth of the Adour ; and on the 1., by the shore of Spain beyond St. Sebastian, with peaks of distant Sierras rising behind it. The limpid purity of the sea and the smoothness of the sand render bathing in the sheltered bays most agreeable. French ladies and gentlemen “ en costume des bains,” consume hours in aquatic pro- menades. The ladies may be seen floating about like mermaids, being supported on bladders or corks, and over- shadowed by broad-brimmed hats. The geologist will be interested to recognise in the rocks of Biaritz the fossils of the chalk or green sand, though the rock here assumes an ex- ternal character very different from that we are accustomed to in Eng- land. Beyond its sea-bathing, its rocks, and its view, Biaritz must be the dullest place upon earth, ex- cept to those who have other resources of friends, &c. on the spot. Omni- buses and coucous are constantly plying between the baths and the Porte d’Espagne of Bayonne. The ancient mode of conveyance hither, which is peculiar to the spot, but is now becoming obsolete, was to ride “ en cacolet." In this mode of con- veyance the rider, seated on one side of a hack, in a wooden frame fitting to a horse’s back, as a pair of spectacles does to a human nose, occupies the place of a pannier on one side of an ass’s back, while his conductor usu- ally a stout and buxom lass, fills the opposite division, and by her weight the balance is preserved. Some little skill is required in mounting, for unless both parties jump into their seats at the same moment, he who reaches it prematurely runs the risk of destroying the equipoise and of being capsized into the dust, and the same

in dismounting. It is chiefly pea- sants and market women, now-a-days, who ride en cacolet ; though under the ancien regime of the Bourbons, the frolicksome Duchesse de Berri, when on a visit to this part of France, was wont to resort to this primitive conveyance.

There are 3 lines of custom-houses on the road from Bayonne to the Spanish frontier. The 3d, or inner- most, is not more than 5 m. from Bayonne. A large fresh- water pond within a funnel-shaped basin is passed shortly before reaching

11 Bidart. We now enter the Pays Basques, inhabited by that pe- culiar race who speak a language having no relation with any other in Europe. They occupy in France only a small part of the S. W. corner of the dept, des Basses Pyrenees, but are much more widely disseminated in Spain, where they form the mass of the population of 5 provinces. The French and Spanish Basques are dis- tinguished by their speech, and also by their costume, consisting of the red beret, a cap resembling that of the lowland shepherd in Scotland, a red sash round the waist, and sandals made of hemp, called Espartillas, on the feet, and a stout stick or shilalah in the hand. They are supposed to be the descendants of the “ Canta- brum indoctum ferre juga nostra,” who sided with Hannibal in opposing the Romans, who contributed mainly to the defeat of Charlemagne and Roland in the pass of Roncesvaux, and whose boast is that they were never conquered. In France they are confined to portions of the ai'rondisse- ments of Bayonne and Mauleon, which formed part of the ancient kingdom of Navarre.

9 St.JeandeLuz. — Inns: Poste ; St. Etienne ; good. A frontier town of France, at the mouth of the Ni- velle, where it falls into a small creek oi bay, over which a new bridge has been thrown. The inroads of the sea for some time past have washed

284?

Route 76. - — The Bidassoa — Rehohia. Sect. IV.

away parts of the town, breaking through the dykes thrown up to pro- tect it, and the shifting sands at the mouth of the Nivelle have almost entirely blocked up its port. The town is distinguished by its narrow street and white-washed houses, some of considerable antiquity. Here is the 2d Douane. The suburb on the 1. bank of the river is called Sibourre. The marriage of Louis XIV. with Maria Theresa, Infanta of Spain, was celebrated here, 1660.

In Nov. 1813, the British army, under the Duke of Wellington, cross- ed the Nivelle close to this town, after attacking and carrying the very strong entrenched position occupied by the French army upon the heights on the 1. bank of the river.

In the midst of barren, heathy, high ground stands

5 Urugne, last post station in France. The forms of the mountains are picturesque, especially of that called Montagne d'Arrhune, rising above Urugne, which is visible even on the other side of Bayonne. Before reaching this point, the traveller finds, contrary probably to what he could have expected from books, that the mountain chain of the Pyrenees by no means terminates in France, but stretches W., in lofty ridges and bare peaks tossed about in wild confusion, traversing Spain to its farther corner, and ending in Cape Ortegal in the Asturias.

Beyond Urugne, the antique Cha- teau of Urtubi is passed. Louis XI. came hither, 1462, to meet the King of Aragon, John II.

The French frontier custom-house is placed at Behobia, a small village (with a poor inn, Poste) on the rt. bank of the Bidassoa, which here se- parates France from Spain. The bag- gage of travellers entering France is strictly searched ; and after it has un- dergone the process, they will do well to have it plombed, to save themselves from a repetition of the same twice between this and Bayonne. 10 sous

is the charge for plombing each pack- age.

The wild and lofty mountains around and behind Behobia, called Montagne Vert, and Mendele, now so solitary, were strongly fortified by Marshal Soult in 1813, to defend the Passage of the Bidassoa , which the Duke of Wellington effected never- theless, in the face and in spite of them. In the course of several months preceding, entrenchment be- hind entrenchment had been thrown up by the French ; every weak point had been strengthened, and the whole line of slopes and precipices, from the sea to the Arrhune mountain, bristled with ramparts and batteries, defending the fords of the river ; the bridge of Behobia being then broken down.

From the middle of the existing wooden bridge, which unites France to Spain, the stranger looking up the stream will perceive the green knoll, or mamellon of St. Marcial ; on this a strong battery was planted by the Allies, which covered the passage, by the ford higher up, of one division, consisting of Spaniards, under Gen. Freire, who won from the French the heights of Mendele. The most formidable part of the French posi- tion was the Montagne d’Arrhune, not only from its elevation, steepness, and tremendous precipices, but from the redoubts, intrenchments, abbatis, &c. thrown up on it, wherever there ap- peared the least facility of approach, and from the strong body of troops, who held every commanding point, sweeping the slopes and ravines with their cannon and musquetry. The Duke of Wellington employed nearly 20,000 men in the attack of this mountain, which was gained, as it were inch by inch, the enemy being driven from one work after another up to the very summit, where they occu- pied a rocky height called the Her- mitage. This was nearly impregnable, and they defended it for sometime merely by rolling down stones upon

Pyren. i?. 76 . — Bidassoa. JR. - 77 . — Bordeaux to Bayonne. 285

their assailants. The bones of many a brave man are probably even now whitening among the dells and clefts of that rugged mountain : many who were wounded were left to perish where they fell, from the difficulty of discovering them among these vast solitudes.

A lower ridge, or projecting but- tress of the Montagne d’Arrhune, is called La Bayonnette, from that fearful weapon of war, invented extemporane- ously, it is said, on this spot, by a Basque regiment, who, having run short of ammunition, assaulted the Spaniards opposed to them by sticking the long knives which the Basques commonly carry, into the barrels of their muskets, and thus charging the enemy. This must have occurred some time in the 16th, or early in the 17 th century. The ridge of the Bayonnette was stormed and carried by the Allies 1813, before they gained the Arrhune.

Behind St. Marcial opens out the Valley of the Bastan, the cradle of the Bidassoa. Close below the bridge of Behobia is a little island, reduced by the washing of the current to a nar- row' strip of earth, tufted with grass and willows. This is the historically celebrated lie des Faisans, on which the conferences were held between the French Minister Mazarin, and the Spanish Don Louis de Haro, which led to the famous treaty of the Py- renees, 1659, and the marriage of Louis XIV. with the daughter of Philip IV. Each party advanced from its own territory, by a temporary bridge, to this little bit of neutral ground, which then reached nearly up to the bridge. The piles which supported the Cardinal’s pavilion were visible not many years ago. The death of Velasquez, the painter, was caused by his exertions in superin- tending these constructions ; duties more fitting to an upholsterer than an artist.

The Bidassoa forms the line of de- marcation between the two kingdoms

only for about 12 m. : it enters the sea about 5 m. below Behobia, between Andaye on the French side, and the ancient walled town of Fuentarabia (accent on the i) on the Spanish, after passing near the town of

9 Irun, first Spanish post station. See Hand-book for Spain.

Between Irun and Fuentarabia are the 3 fords discovered by the Duke of Wellington, on the information of Spanish fishermen, by which he car- ried one division of his army across, and, gaining the first permanent foot- ing in the French territory, turned the rt. of the French position, and the strongly defended heights near Andaye, (once famed for distilling brandy). These fords were practicable only at certain states of the tide, and. for 3 or 4 hours, being covered by the sea, to a depth of 14 ft., at high water. Soult was therefore perfectly unprepared for an attempt to cross at this point, and his troops were de- ceived by the tents of the British camp 'being left standing as though still occupied. At the close of a fierce thunder storm, early on the morning of Oct. 17, the allied army formed into 7 columns behind banks and ridges, issued forth at a given signal, and winding slowly, like snakes, across the broad sands, effected the passage.

ROUTE 77.

BORDEAUX TO BAYONNE, THROUGH LES GRANDES LANDES.

69 lieux de poste = about 173 Eng. m.

This was once the only road into Spain ; but since the construction of the route through the Petites Landes (R. 76.), and the removal of post horses from this line, it has been almost entirely abandoned, although it is 25 m. shorter than the other. In fact, it traverses a country scarcely practicable for carriages, owing to the

286 B. 77. — Bordeaux to Bayonne — The Landes . Sect. IV.

want of proper materials for the roads ; a small portion only, near Bordeaux and Muret, being paved. The ac- commodation for travellers is, of course, very scanty. Many of the old post stations enumerated below, with the distances from one to another, are mere single houses or stables, es- tablished solely as relays, and perhaps now abandoned.

3 Gradignan. Beyond this village fields give place to heaths and pine woods, interspersed with a few patches of barley and a little maize ; for these crops will grow wherever manure and industry can be employed upon the soil. The surface of the ground is of a dull grey or ash-coloured sand. A few flocks of lean, tattered, ill-conditioned sheep wander over this waste, tended by shepherds renowned for walking on stilts (echasses). By the aid of these they are not only enabled to stalk over the prickly bushes, and avoid the inconvenience of filling their shoes with sand, but they gain an elevation not afforded by the even surface of the ground, from which they can overlook their flock, and prevent their sheep straying. They carry a long pole, which, when stuck into the ground, forms a sup- port, and against it they can rest, and knit stockings all the day through. A stranger, unprepared for the sight, would have some difficulty in explain- ing the nature of the extraordinary tripod thus formed ; and the sheepskins worn by the peasant would not dimin- ish the mystery. The peasants of the Landes are all accustomed to the use of stilts, and with a very slight ex- ertion, and not a very quick move- ment, will clear the country at a pace which would keep a horse at a hard trot, by the aid of these wooden legs.

There is at least one thing which appears peculiarly at home among the Landes, which seems to rejoice in this dry sand, and to flourish in the most robust vigour — the pine (Pinus maritima). Nearly \ of the Dept, des Landes is covered with dark forests

of this tree, and the distribution of it is greatly increasing, since, from the value of the timber and of the rosin which it produces, and the facility with which it is grown, large districts have been planted by order of the government. The Landes, it must be remembered, are not confined to the dept, so called, for we have hitherto been traversing that of the Gironde, and it is only between Belin and the next station,

3 Muret, that the boundary line of the Dept, of Landes is passed. Here the small river Leyre is crossed, which falls into the sea at La Teste. Like all the streams of the district, its waters are brackish ; and one of the chief evils to which the inhabitants are subject is the want of good water.

2 Bellevue.

2 Puch.

3 Barps.

2 Hospitalet.

2 Belin, a small town.

3 Lipostey.

4 Bonhere. Here used to be the best inn on the line.

3 Belloe, a single cottage.

4 La Harie.

3 Esperon.

4 Castels.

The Pignadas, or pine forests of the Landes, furnish a large quantity of rosin, which is obtained by grooving the trunk, or scarifying the bark 3 or 4. ft. above the root, and allowing the pitch to flow into a hollow below.

4 Majese. An inn here formerly.

3 Les Monts.

2 St. Vincent. Here our road falls into the post road from Bordeaux to

9 Bayonne (R. 76. p. 279.).

The wild district of the Landes stretches uninterruptedly from the Garonne, at Bordeaux, to the Adour, at Bayonne, and from the sea to Mont St. Marsan and Dax.

The inhabitants of the Landes oc- cupy a low position, physically and morally, in the scale of civilisation.

N. B. Any more accurate and re- cent information than what is con-

287

Pyrenees. Route 78. — Bayonne to Pau — Orthes.

tained in the above route, will be welcome to the editor.

ROUTE 78.

BAYONNE TO PAU BY ORTHES.

105 kilom. = 65| Eng. miles.

Malleposte to Pau and Toulouse daily.

Diligences daily by Orthes and by Oleron.

The road turns to the rt., out of that to Bordeaux, (R. 76.), on the top of the hill above St. Esprit, the suburb of Bayonne. It runs in a di- rection nearly parallel with the Py- renees, through a country abounding in heath, having the Adour at some distance on the rt., until, a few miles beyond

17 Biaudos, that river is crossed: the descent upon it is fine. The Gave de Pau falls into the Adour a little below the bridge ; henceforth we as- cend the rt. bank of that stream all the way to Pau. Hereabouts the Gave divides the district called Chalosse from the Pays Basque (see p. 283.).

20 Peyrehorade (Inn: H. de

Voyageurs ; second rate), a prettily situated town, on the Gave de Pau, just below its junction with the Gave d’ Oleron, under a height crowned by a ruined Castle , mentioned by Froissart. About a mile out of the town, a turning on the rt. carries the new road to Pau by Oleron (un- finished 1841), across the Gave de Pau, by a new wire suspension bridge. It passes through Sorde, a walled town, Sallies, so called from its strong brine spring, which furnishes the salt used in curing Bayonne hams, and Sauveterre.

The road from Peyrehorade to Or- thes crosses, shortly before entering

16 Puyoo, a rivulet which an- ciently formed the boundary line be- tween the kingdoms of France and Navarre.

The fertility of the plain, the abun-

dant watercourses, the luxuriant fes- toons of the vines, and the magnificent views of the Pyrenean range, give great interest to this portion of the route. At Berenz, Sir Willoughby Cotton’s division of cavalry, and Pic- ton’s 3d brigade, crossed the Gave before the Battle of Orthes. That victory w as achieved, Feb. 27. 1814, by driving the French from a very strong position on the heights above Orthes, extending from the town to the high road to Dax and the village of Bo£s. The retreat of the enemy ended in a flight, and they were pur- sued by the British, the same night, as far as Sault, de Navailles. A wound received by the Duke of Wellington in the critical moment of pursuit, contributed to save the French from greater loss. They attribute their de- feat to a superiority of force on the side of the allies, but the impartial estimate of Col. Napier sets down the numbers of Soult’s army at 40,000, (including 4,000 or 5,000 raw con- scripts), and that of the Duke at 37,000. The British cavalry outnum- bered that of the enemy by 1,000. The French lost nearly 4,000 men killed, wounded, and prisoners ; the Allies, 2,300.

12 Orthes (Inns: H. Bergerot ; Sene (?)) is a somewhat dull town of 7,857 inhab., though situated at the junction of 6 roads, — to Spain, by St. Jean Pied de Port, to Dax, to Bordeaux, to Oleron, to Pau, and to Bayonne. It has an old Gothic bridge, which resisted the attempts of the French to mine it, and blow it up, consisting of 4 arches, surmounted in the centre by a tower from which, according to tradition, the Calvinist soldiers of the army of the Comte de Montgomery, after taking the town by assault, 1569, and putting to the sword most of its defenders, precipi- tated into the river the Roman Ca- tholic priests who were found with arms in their hands, and who refused to abjure their religion. Jeanne d’Albret, Queen of Navarre, mother

288 R. 78. — Artix. JR. 79. — Bordeaux to Auch. Sect. IV.

of Henri IV., established here a Pro- testant College.

Orthes was once a place of greater importance, as residence of the Princes of Bearn, down to the end of the 15th century, when they removed to Pau. The Castle de Moncada, built by Gas- ton de Foix, IV., 1240, after the pattern of a Spanish castle of that name, is reduced to a few ruined walls, over- topped by a stately tower, left to attest its former splendour, on a height above the town. It is mentioned by Froissart, who paid a visit to Gaston Phoebus Comte de Foix, 1388, and was received into the household, in order to obtain, from the Count’s own mouth, information for his history re- specting the wars in Gascony and Spain. He describes the death of Gaston de Foix, at the neighbour- ing village of Riou, on his return from hunting the bear, and the ce- lebration of his funeral in the Church of the Cordeliers at Orthes, where he was buried, in front of the grand altar. The Castle of Orthes was the scene of unparalleled crimes dur- ing the life of the brutal Gaston Phcebus, who filled its dungeons with the victims of his unbridled passion ; among them his own kinsman, the Viscomte de Chaleaubon, Pierre Ar- nault, the faithful governor of Lour- des, who, because he refused to betray his trust, and surrender the fortress, was stabbed by Gaston’s own hand, and thrust into a dungeon to perish ; and, finally, his own son and only child, whom he killed with his knife, in the dark cell into which he had caused him to be thrust.

The very picturesque peak called Pic du Midi d’Ossau is \isible near this.

20 Artix. About 4 m. before entering Pau, the road passes, at a short distance on the 1., the curious old and decayed town Lescar, sup- posed by some to be the ancient Bene- harnum, whence the district of which it was originally the capital was called Bearn. The town was sacked and

ruined during the wars of Religion, 1569, by the troops of the Comte de Montgomery. On a detached emi- nence, rising above the town, stand the Castle and the Church, a decayed edifice, partly in the Romanesque style, containing some carved oak. The early princes of Bearn, includ- ing Henri d’Albret, grandfather of Henri IV., and his wife, the Mar- guerite des Marguerites, were buried in it, but their tombs were destroyed either by the Huguenots or the Re- volutionists. There is a fine view of the mountains from the cathedral terrace.

The Jesuits' College, founded here by Henri IV. after his conversion, has been turned into a manufactory.

Still nearer to Pau, on the 1. of the road, is Bilhere, where Henri was nursed by a peasant, whose humble dwelling is still preserved and pointed out Avith some pride to strangers. The eminence rising on the opposite bank of the Gave, its slopes covered with verdure and vineyards, is the Cote de Jurangon , which produces the best of all the Pyrenean wines.

The road, before entering Pau, skirts the woody ridge which forms its beautiful Parc ; and which, inter- vening between the river and the road, conceals the view of the moun- tains.

20. Pau (R. 80.).

ROUTE 79.

BORDEAUX TO AUCH, BV CaSTEL JA- LOUX AND NERAC.

186 kilom. = 115 Eng. m.

The road is the same as R. 76. as far as

61 Bazas, p. 277.

14 Grignols.

15 Castel Jaloux, a town of nearly 2,000 inhab., owing its name and origin to a Castle built by the Seig- neurs d’Albret, on the 1. bank of the Avance, now in ruins.

Pyrenees, li. 79 . — Bordeaux to Auch. B. 80 . — to Pau. 289

At Barbaste corks are made. Henri IV. had a flour-mill here, whence he was sometimes called “le Member de Barbaste : ” it still exists.

17 Pompiey. The road passes a little to the S. of the castle of Xain- trailles, the birth-place of Pothon de Xantrailles, a knight celebrated in the wars against the English in the reign of Charles VII., who took the valiant Talbot prisoner at the battle of Patay.

13 Nerac (Inn: Tertres; famous for its pates, or terrines de perdrix, composed of ducks’ livers), a town of 6, 327 inhab., pleasingly situated on the Ba'ise, once capital of the duchy d’Albret. It was an ancient possession of the family d’Albret, who built and resided in the venerable Castle, which remained nearly entire down to the Revolution, but is now demolished, excepting one wing, and its fosses turned into gardens. Yet even this fragment is interesting, be- cause within its walls Marguerite de Valois, queen of Navarre, held her court, assembling around her the men most distinguished by learning and literary genius of the time ; among others, Calvin, Beza, Clement Marot, here found an asylum from persecu- tion down to 1534. At a later period, the “ BonRoi Henri,” whose mother resided in the castle to within four months of his birth, passed here a por- tion of his youth. His chamber is pointed out at the W. end of the building. Here, in 1579, Catherine de Medicis held a conference. The tomb of Pothon de Xantrailles was destroyed along with the church of Cordeliers, at the instigation of the Calvinists.

The promenade called La Garenne was once the park of the kings of Navarre, planted by Marguerite de Valois. A bronze statue of Henri IV. has been erected to his memory by a private individual, inscribed “Alumno, mox Patri Nostro Ho. IV.”

The Fontaine de St. Jean is over- shadowed by 2 elms, planted by France.

Henri IV. and Marguerite de Va- lois.

Corks are manufactured here for the wine-merchants of Bordeaux.

We enter the Department de Gers before reaching

22 Condom (Inns: Cheval Blanc ; Lion d’Or), a town of 7,144 inhab., and of considerable trade. It has a handsome Gothic parish church (?).

19 Castera Verduzan.

Near this village are mineral springs ; one sulphureous, the other chalybeate, which are received into a Bath-house.

24 Auch, in R. 90.

ROUTE 80.

BORDEAUX TO PAU.

195 kilom. = 120 Eng. m.

Diligences daily in summer.

Roquefort is a tolerable sleeping place ; so is Mont de Marsan, p. 278, but it is 12 m. out of the way.

The Bayonne road (R. 76.) is fol- lowed as far as

108 Roquefort (Inn: ),

and by the diligence as far as Mont de Marsan (22 kilom.)

The mountains of the Pyrenean chain are visible even to the N. of this, rising ridge over ridge abruptly, from the low plain of Gascony, so as to give | the greatest effect to their elevation, with a grandeur worthy of the barrier wall between two great kingdoms.

No villages of consequence, and few habitations, occur on the sandy tract between Roquefort and

16 Villeneuve de Marsan, on the Medou.

I he district of sandy and heath- clad common, stretching from the sea coast, through the Landes (Route 77.) eastward, gives place to culti- vated and enclosed ground near

22 Aire (Poste, a mere auberge), a poor, old town, of 4,028 inhab., on j the 1. bank of the Adour, near which a detachment of the French army, o

290 Route 80. — Pau — View from the Park — Castle. Sect. IV.

retreating from Orthez, were defeated, a few days after that battle, by Lord Hill, who also gained possession of the French magazines here, and at St. Sever, lower down the Adour.

A steep ascent leads out of the valley of the Adour, and a table-land separates it from

17 Garlin.

12 Auriac.

From the top of each eminence, as you surmount it, a splendid view of the Pyrenees expands before the eye.

21 Pau. — Inns : H. de France, at the corner of the Place Royale ; good, and excellent cuisine ; a good table d’hote, 3 f. : its back windows have a view. — H. de l’Europe, Rue de la Prefecture; very good. D. — La Poste, Place de Henri IV. ; beds, 3 f. to 30 sous ; cafe au lait and eggs, 2 f. ; table d’hote, 3 f. — H. de Daurade, ditto. N. B. Try here the white wine of Juran£on, which, when good, deserves commendation.

Pau, ancient capital of the little kingdom of French Navarre and Bearn, now chef lieu of the Dept, des Basses Pyrenees, stands on a lofty ridge, forming the rt. bank of the river, or Gave de Pau, and has nearly 13,000 inhab. Its situation is per- haps scarcely surpassed by that of any town in France, if we consider the magnificent view over the chain of the W. Pyrenees, which expands in front of it. The English have shown their good taste in having chosen it for their residence, especially in winter. The View , reminding one somewhat of that from the platform at Berne, though far inferior to it, is well seen either from the Castle and its terrace, or from the extremity of the oblong, formal, gravelly promenade near the centre of the town, called the Place Royale, or from the Parc. This Parc is a fine natural terrace, running along the rt. bank of the Gave, thickly covered, on its top and sides, with noble trees, affording a grateful shade in the heat of the day, and provided with seats

wherever, through gaps in the foliage, the different parts of the view appear to advantage. This spot formed part of the domain anciently attached to the old castle, and a communication between the castle and the Parc, through a formal square planted with rows of trees, called Plante, has been established by a handsome bridge of two arches, thrown over the high road.

The range of the Pyrenees, as seen from Pau, presents a strikingly beau- tiful and varied outline of peaks, cones, and ridges, often cut like a saw, rising against the S. horizon. Among the mass of summits, and precipices, and bold forms, are two pre-eminent from their elevation and shape — the Pic du Midi de Pau to the W., a peak with sides nearly vertical and cloven crest, rising at the extremity of the beautiful Val d’Ossau ; and to the E., the Pic du Midi de Bigorre. These members of the great central range are disclosed to view through the gaps of a subordinate chain of round-backed and wooded hills form- ing the middle distance; while in the foreground appears the venerable Castle of Pau, the torrent, or Gave, its banks beautifully fringed with trees, the picturesque bridge, and the ruins of another bridge destroyed by its inundations. Within the scope of this view appear J uran^n, a vil- lage famed for its wines, and Bilhere, where Henri IV. was nursed. It is a glorious prospect, to be dwelt upon and seen over and over again.

Pau owes its chief renown to its hav- ing been the birth-place of the “ Bon Roi” Henri IV., who drew his first breath (Dec. 13. 1553) in its an- cient, time-honoured, historic Castle, the most conspicuous and interesting building in the town. It stands statelily upon the ridge above-men- tioned, overlooking the river and bridge, at the point of a sort of pro- montory formed by a small rivulet which cuts its way through the town, and behind the castle walls at the

Pyrenees. R. 80. — Pau — Castle — Cradle of Henri IV. 291

bottom of a deep ravine, to throw itself into the Gave, just below it. The five towers of the Castle, and the outer wall which unites them, and serves to support the upper stories, are the oldest part, and supposed to date from the time of Gaston Phoebus, Comte de Foix, who founded the castle about 1363. The tallest tower, or Donjon, named after Gaston, rising at the E. end to a height of 115 ft., is of brick, fur- nished with loopholes. The windows have been stopped up in modern times. A copy of the contract for erecting it (dated 1375) still exists, and in it the Count himself engages to furnish the bricks from the Tuileries de Pau. In the gutted and half- ruined Tour de la Monnoye, rising on the side of the castle next the river, from the bottom of the eminence on which it stands, to a level with the terrace, Margaret de Valois, it is said, gave an asylum to Calvin and other persecuted Reformers, and took great delight in listening to their discourse, although she never actu- ally abandoned the Roman Catholic faith. This tradition, however, re- quires confirmation. The tower was used as a gaol until the Restoration (1814). The little oblong court yard of the castle is destitute of archi- tectural beauty ; but the Tour de Montauzet, on one side of it, contained, according to popular belief, the oub- liettes. It is about 80 ft. high, and its walls, to a height of 40 ft., were originally destitute of any opening, the gate at the bottom having been broken through in 1793, when the castle was sacked and despoiled by the Revolutionists. It stands within, and detached from, the outer wall of the castle, from which a small drawbridge, thrown over the gap, gave access to it through a little door. Within the thickness of its walls 7 or 8 confined dungeons exist, lighted by very small apertures, barred. The upper story only is provided with a window, look- ing into the court, and with a fire-

place. Its wall, on the side of the court, is spotted with the marks of the shot fired by the Biscayans, when they assaulted the castle during the troubles, or civil wars in Bearn (1569), in the absence of Jeanne de Navarre.

Opposite the tower of Montauzet is the grand staircase, the vaulting of which, divided into squares, contains rich carvings, among which may be observed the letters H.M., the initials of Henri II. of Navarre and Mar- garet, the grand-parents of Henri IV., by whom it was built. The entire restoration of the interior, now in progress, has been undertaken by Louis Philippe, and has been exe- l cuted as yet with very good taste and

splendour. The King has revived, as

i far as possible, the ancient decorations, j injured by the Revolutionists, who first ! stripped and ruined this ancient palace,

| and then degraded it to a barrack, and I he has replaced those which they destroyed by others as far as possible in accordance with the age and style j of the edifice. The walls of the chief ! apartments have been covered with ! tapestry, and the rooms filled with ancient furniture of the period, col- | lected at vast expense.

In an apartment on the first floor

is preserved a most interesting relic —

the cradle in which Henri IV. was rocked, consisting of a large tortoise- shell, inverted and suspended by cords, like the scale of a balance. It | is at present surmounted by a trophy of flags, embroidered by the Duchesse d’Angouleme, the staves of which ! serve to support it. When the castle I was sacked in 1793 by the Republi- | cans, bent on destroying all traces of

royalty, they would certainly not have

spared this ; but, luckily, another tortoise-shell was substituted in its place, which was broken, and burnt with every insult. The names of the parties who have the merit of preserv- ing the original shell deserve to be recorded : they are M. D’Espalunge I d’Arros, commandant of the castle, o 2

292

Route SQ.—Pau — Henri IV. — Bernadotte. Sect. IV.

who devised the pious fraud ; M. Beauregard, the possessor of a col- lection of natural history, who ex- changed a tortoise-shell of the same size for the cradle, which he after- wards concealed for many years in the roof of his house ; and M. La- maignere, concierge of the castle, who, at great risk, conveyed away the true cradle, and substituted the false in its place. A contemporary statue of Henri IV., preserved here, represents him leaning on his trun- cheon, after the battle of Ivry; it has little merit as a work of art. In front of the state apartments pro- jects a balcony, commanding a view of the chain of the Pyrenees un- surpassed for its beauty. In the second story of the castle, in the room adjoining the Tour de Mazeres, in the S.W. corner, Henri IV. was born. Here his venerable grand- father, Henri d’Albret, taking in his arms the new-born infant, after his lips had been rubbed with garlic, according to the custom of Bearn, poured down his throat some drops of Juran^on wine, the best which the country affords, to give him a strong constitution ! On the day of Henri’s death, in 1610, there is a tradition that the castle was struck by light- ning, which broke in pieces the royal escutcheon ! Jeanne d’Albret was also born in the castle, 1528. It was alternately the prison of Re- formers and Romanists during the religious wars and troubles of Bearn ; and was the refuge of Theodore Beza and other Protestant teachers whom Jeanne de Navarre protected from persecution.

It also possesses more tragical as- sociations, for within its walls eight Roman Catholic leaders of the revolt against Jeanne de Navarre, captured at Orthez by the Protestant general Montgomery, were executed. Ro- manist writers assert that this was done in contravention of a solemn treaty, which engaged to spare their lives ; and add, that the sufferers were

assassinated at a banquet to which they had been invited in token of reconciliation. The annals of the troubles in Bearn are a sickening narrative of bloody retaliations, mur- ders, massacres, and cruelties perpe- trated by both parties; but this state- ment, resting entirely on Romanist historians, needs confirmation ! Nor does it seem necessary to resort to the treachery of a banquet to destroy men who were already prisoners. They were put to death as rebels on St. Bar- tholomew’s day, 1569. There is a tradition that Charles IX., on hearing of it, exclaimed “ he would cause a second St. Bartholomew in expiation of the first.”

Among the costly and curious ar- ticles of old-fashioned furniture col- lected by the king to decorate the castle, and restore it to its ancient splendour, may be mentioned the bed in the chamber a couch e'r du Roi, said to be that of Henri IV. ; it is curiously carved with medallion heads of the kings of France : in an adjoin- ing room is the bed of Jeanne d’Albret, and a state chair, richly carved, bear- ing her arms, purchased in England by Marshal Soult, and presented to Louis Philippe. The chapel has been newly fitted up, and has a painted window of Sevres glass. The apart- ment leading to it contains some magnificent presents made by the late king of Sweden to the town of Pau, his birth-place. They consist of vases of porphyry of large size, superb tables of various kinds of por- phyry, conglomerate &c., and a chim- ney-piece 'of serpentine, all the pro- duce of Sweden, and of great value and beauty.

Bernadotte, king of Sweden, son of a poor saddler in Pau, was born in a house Rue de Tran, No. 6. He quitted his native town, 1780, as a drummer boy in the Regiment Royal de la Marine. Some of his relations still remain in very humble situations in the neighbourhood.

It is a somewhat remarkable^ co-

Pyrenees.

Route 80 . — Pau — Protestant Church . 293

incidence, that of the two most emi- nent men and sovereigns who first drew breath at Pau, the one aban- doned the Protestant faith, the other the Roman Catholic, in order to secure a throne.

The low ugly church of St. Martin is only remarkable, because in it Jeanne d’Albret, the most sagacious and accomplished princess of her age, after our Elizabeth, first received the communion according to the form of the Reformed church, on Easter day, 1560. Viret, the Reformer, preached from its pulpit.

A Statue of Henri IV. has been set up in the Place Royale ; the bas-reliefs on the pedestal represent events of his life.

The College , at the E, end of the town was originally a convent of Bar- nabites, founded by Henri IV., after he had abandoned the faith of his mother, in order to conciliate the Roman Catholics.

In the Mairie there is a collection of marbles of the Pyrenees, and a picture, by JDeveria, of the birth of Henri IV.

The Poste aux Lettres adjoins the Prefecture, where is deposited a very curious collection of old records, deeds, &c., relating to the ancient state and history of Bearn, includ- ing the Fors (fueros, privileges,) of Bearn ; autographs of its most illus- trious Bearnois sovereigns, and a list of the contributions collected in Bearn towards the ransom of Francis I. from captivity.

There are Hot Baths (for 15 sous) at the extremity of the Place Royale adjoining the Basse Plante.

There is a Musee devoted chiefly to the natural history of the Pyrenees, above the new Halle, where the mar- kets are held.

The town of Pau in itself is not very handsome or remarkable. Its chief street is the Rue de la Prefec- ture, which, on market days, presents a bustling scene ; here are the chief shops, such as they are.

Many English, as before observed, make Pau their residence, chiefly for the winter months, when its mild and dry climate, and the stillness of at- mosphere peculiar to it, are a great recommendation. — See Sir James Clarke’s excellent work on Climate.

Pau has been greatly resorted to of late by the wealthy Parisians also; good houses are consequently difficult to procure, and though provisions are cheap, house rent is enormously high ; a moderately good suite of apartments costs more than a similar set at Paris. A number of new houses, however, have lately been built.

A new Protestant Church has been built in the Rue des Cordeliers, mainly by means of the aid afforded by the handsome contributions of the Duchess of Gordon. It Is unfortu- nate that it should be so very ugly a building. The English church ser- vice is performed in it every Sunday by a resident clergyman.

A good Circulating Library of En- glish and French books is kept by Markham, a respectable English book- seller, Place Royale, where some very well -executed views of the Pyrenees may be purchased.

Conveyances. — Malleposte to Tou- louse and Bayonne. Diligences daily : to Bordeaux in 22 hours; to Bayonne, 9 hours ; to Bareges, Luz, and Cau- terets, 12 hours; to Bagneres de Bi- gorre, 36 m. ; to Toulouse, to Oleron in 3 hours ; to Eaux Bonnes in 6 hours.

Commerce. — From the swine reared near this and at Orthez are derived the so-called Jambons de Bayonne; they are said to owe their excellent flavour to the abundance of acorns in the woods where the swine are herded, and to the salt of Salies with which they are cured. There is a consider- able manufacture of chequered hand- kerchiefs here.

Baggage may be transmitted from this to Toulouse, or vice versa, by the house of Turettes et Comp., com- missionnaires, or at a somewhat higher cost by the diligence.

o 3

294

Route 82. — Oleron — Val d’Aspe. Sect. IV.

Pau, situated at the termination of the plain, and at the roots of the Pyrenees, is excellent head-quarters for travellers intending to explore those mountains and the valleys which penetrate into their recesses. Of these, no one surpasses in beauty of scenery the Val d ’ Ossau, which opens out to the S., immediately in front of Pau, and terminates in the magnificent Pic du Midi de Pau.

The excui*sion to Eaux Chaudes and Eaux Bonnes, about 26 m. dis- tant, situated at the head of the valley of Ossau, near the base of the Pic, are described in Route 83. ; that to the Val d’Aspe in Route 82.

The church of Ste. Foi at Morlaas, 6 m. N.E., is interesting, but much dilapidated. It has a splendid portal with much carving, and a rich chapel containing an altar-piece of the 16th century.

Lascar, the antiquated town, 4 m., and Bilhere, 1 m., where Henri IV. was nursed, are mentioned in Route 78.

Cauterets is about 45 m., and Bag- neres de Bigorre 36 m., from Pau. (Route 85.)

ROUTE 82.

PAU TO CAHPFRANC IN SPAIN, BV

OLERON AND THE VAL D’ASPE.

113 kilom. =70 Eng. m.

A post road as far as Urdos.

Diligences daily to Oleron in 3 hours. The road has been greatly improved on the side of France, with the design of making it a highway to Madrid.

The road as far as Gan is the same as R. 83. ; beyond that place it crosses the hills to

17 Maison la Coste Belair.

16 Oleron. — Inns: H. Condesse,

good ; dinner 3 fr. ; — Poste ; — H. des Voyageurs, chez Lustalot. This is a large and prosperous manufacturing town of 6,5Q 0 inhabitants, on the Gave

d’Oleron, formed by the junction at this spot of the Gaves d’Ossau and d’Aspe. The oldest part of the town occupies the summit of the hill and includes the church. A lofty stone bridge thrown across the stream unites Oleron with the suburb St. Marie, containing 3,400 inhabitants. Its church is profusely ornamented, though not in good taste, and its sacristy contains some costly priests’ vestments. At the side of the Gave is the new Seminaire.

The objects manufactured here are the chequered handkerchiefs so much in vogue as a head-dress among the peasantry of Arragon and Gascony, and also the berrets worn by the Bearnais. There is some trade in Spanish wool.

Diligences go in summer to Eaux Chaudes and Bonnes (R. 83.), and to Urdos.

The Val d’Aspe, at the mouth of which Oleron stands, contains scenery of great beauty, though it wants the boldness of many other valleys in the Pyrenees. A gradual ascent along a good road leads up it, following the course of the stream. At Asaspe the traveller has entered the Basque country and is already in the heart of the mountains. The Gave is crossed at Escot, near which a Latin inscription, cut in the rock by the wayside, commemorates the first making of this road by the Romans, under one Valerius, and twice more before reaching

24 Bedous, last post town in France, 1,200 inhab. ; it has a to- lerable but dirty inn. Here the vale swells out into a basin shape. In the neighbouring village of Osse there is a Protestant community of 30 fami- lies, who have preserved their faith in the midst of Roman Catholics.

An Obelisk of marble lias been reared near the village of Accous (Aspa Luca) to the memory of Des- pourins, the poet of the Pyrenees — their Burns, who was born here.

Grand defiles succeed to this basin ;

Pyren. B. 83 . — Pau to Eaux Bonnes and Eaux Chaudes, 2 95

and in the midst the Pont d’Esquil, a bold antique arch, forms a fine ob- ject. Above Accous, the new road has been blasted out of the rock. After passing the villages of Aigun and Et- saut, we reach a grand rocky defile at the ruined fort Portalet, which once entirely barred the passage up and down the valley : it was destroyed by the Spaniards. Near this, Buona- parte caused a road to be formed at vast expense, partly by excavating a shelf out of the face of the vertical precipice, partly by building up ter- races of masonry, for the conveyance of timber for ship-building from the neighbouring forests.

17 Urdos, a poor village of 300 in- habitants, at which the carriage road ends.

11 Paillette (no post horses) is the last place in France. The journey into Spain as far as Jaca is a dis- tance of 30 m., and must be performed on mules. On the way, 10 m. short of Jaca, lies

23 Campfranc, a village about equal in population to Urdos.

ROUTE 83.

PAU TO EAUX BONNES AND EAUX

CHAUDES. EXCURSION TO THE PIC

DU MIDI D’OSSAU, AND THE SPANISH

BATHS OF PANTICOSA.

42 kilom. = 26 Eng. m. to Les Eaux.

Diligences go daily from June to middle of Sept, in 6 hours, returning in about 4 hours ; very slow.

A voiture may be hired at Pau for the journey at the rate of about 25 fr.

The road is very good, but up hill most of the way. For those who travel only in carriages it leads into a cul de sac; and to prosecute their jour- ney to other parts of the Pyrenees, they must retrace their steps nearly to Pau.

After crossing the bridge over the Gave du Pau, the village of Juran^on,

distinguished by its groves of fine oaks, is passed on the rt. ; it is famed for its wine, perhaps the best grown in the Pyrenees. The vineyards producing it extend along the slopes from this to Gan. One of the houses near the road was occupied for many years by Lord Elgin, when released from the dungeons of Lourdes by Napoleon as prisoner on his parole. The well-wooded, verdant, shady val- ley, up which the road runs, is watered by the Neez, or Neiss, a clear stream rushing over the limestone rocks, whose slaty foliations, crossing the direction of its current, resemble a flight of steps. In this country the vines are either trained over trellises, upon cross bars of wood, or are al- lowed to climb up the trees ; whence their long tendrils sweep down over the hedges ; the box tree flourishes, and would attain great size were it not constantly cropped. At the vil- lage of Gan on the 1. also locally famous for its wines, is seen an old castellated house , in which Pierre Marca, the historian of Bearn and Archbishop of Paris, was born 1594. The front towards the court is said to possess some architectural interest. Here the road to Oleron (R. 82.) turns to the rt. Above Rebenac rises its chateau on a hillock, and a little beyond, on the 1., the copious source of the Neiss bursts out of the rock. A long and toilsome ascent leads up to the village of Sevignac, situated on the top of the ridge separating the Neiss and other streams flowing into the Gave de Pau from the tributaries of the Gave d’ Oleron, flowing out of the Val d’Ossau, which we now enter. It here expands into the form of a basin, round which the Gave takes a wide turn, passing by the village of Arudy. In descending the wooded slope from Sevignac, several glimpses are afforded of the Pic du Midi d’Os- sau, a grand object ; but near the bottom of the hill, and as far as the Pont de Louvie, his cleft crest and precipitous cone appear in full majesty, o 4

296 R. 83 . — Pan to Eaux Bonnes — Val d' Ossau. Sect. IV.

filling up the vista at the extremity of the Val d’Ossau. This is a magni- ficent view on a clear day, and in ad- vancing up the valley it is soon lost. Rocks and precipices of limestone now line the road, which is partly cut out of them. On their smooth surface, or in their narrow chinks, the box de- lights to fix itself. They furnish the slabs of black and grey marble with which the door-posts and lintels of even the humblest cottage are here adorned. The Gave d’Ossau is crossed at the end of the village of

27 Louvie Juzon, and here also the road from Oleron (R. 82.) to Les Eaux falls in, at the Hotel des Pyrenees, at the end of the bridge. The great transverse Val d ’ Ossau, which we are now about to ascend, and in which the Eaux are situated, is one of the most interesting among the Pyrenees for its picturesque beau- ties, and for the people who inhabit it. They still retain much of their ancient customs and costumes. The women are distinguished by the scarlet capulet, a sort of monk’s hood, serving at once for bonnet and shawl, descend- ing as far as the shoulders. Whether sitting or walking, and even when carrying burthens on the head, the spindle and distaff are never out of their hands. They are inferior in stature and features to the men, which may perhaps be owing to the hard and unfeminine labours which devolve upon them ; it is common to see them holding the plough, and carrying sacks of manure on their heads, or spreading it over the land. The men, however, are not idle ; they are absent on the high mountain pastures tending their flocks and herds, or following the hardy trade of wood-cutters and | charcoal burners a great part of the year.

The men are chiefly distinguished by the wide cloth cap or berret, pro- perly and most commonly of brown colour, which, overhanging the brow and assuming very picturesque folds, sits very becomingly on a head of hair

allowed to grow thick and of even length allround the neck, but cut short in front. They wear short jackets and knee breeches, also brown, the colour of the undyed wool of the sheep, and round the waist a brilliant red sash of silk or woollen is tied. To defend them from rain or cold, they carry the white or brown capa, which re- sembles a sack, unseamed on one side, pulled over the head. An artist would find many good subjects among them, very picturesque countenances, such as are seen in pictures of Van Eyck and Albert Durer.

The mountains around the valley abound in izards (chamois), which are sometimes met with in troops of 40 or 50. The chasse aux izards is a common amusement of visitors at the baths, under the guidance of ex- perienced huntsmen, of whom there is no lack. The haunts most fre- quented by the izard, in this district, are the Pics d’Arcizet, de Gazie, and de Sesque.

Bears, though less common, are sometimes killed. “ While at the Eaux Bonnes, we were roused by several musket-shots discharged close to the baths, and on running out to ascertain the cause, were met by a curious proces- sion, a young ass dressed up in the skin of a bear which had been just killed on the mountains, led in by the successful huntsmen. Their tall athletic forms, dressed all in brown, from the berret to the stockings, armed with their guns and woodman’s axes, had a pic- turesque appearance. The poor ass was sadly impeded in walking by the bear’s paws, which dangled about his hoofs, and by the bear’s head-piece, which compressed most uncomfortably his long ears. The bear had slain the night before ten sheep, and had eaten two ; he fell pierced with bullets, one entering precisely in the centre of the forehead.” — Journal , 1841.

Flocks of sheep form the chief wealth of this valley ; but as they are led up to the mountains in April, and do not return till the end of summer,

Pyren. B. 83 . — Pau to Eaux Bonnes — Val d'Ossau. 297

they are seldom seen, except by those who traverse the high mountains. They are guarded by a remarkable breed of dogs of large size, very courageous, whose duty is less to drive the flock, as the shepherd’s dog of England and Scotland, than to protect it from the wolf and bear.

The rustic fetes, dances, &c. still kept up in some parts of the Val d’Ossau, especially at Larruns (Aug. 15.), are well worth seeing, as they collect some of the finest specimens of the men of the valley, and of its primitive costumes. They have a pe- culiar musical instrument called tam- burin, a lyre or zithern of 6 strings, struck with a stick by one hand, while the other holds the rustic mountain flageolet ; it thus corresponds in sim- plicity and mode of playing to the old English tabour and pipe.

The part of the valley which we first enter is shut in by lofty moun- tains of bold forms and steep sides, separated by a plain of considerable breadth, through which winds the torrent, and it is scattered over with numerous villages. It is cultivated in patches to a considerable height, and covered below with large fields of maize, or with meadows deriving their bright verdure from well-ma- naged irrigation, and producing, by means of it, three crops of hay in a year.

Within a mile of Louvie you pass, on the opposite bank of the Gave, the ruins of Castel Jaloux , or Geloz, occupying the top of one of two little hillocks ; the other, also anciently en- closed within its ramparts, is now crowned by a small chapel. This stronghold was the key of the Val d’Ossau, and residence of its viscounts in early times, while the valley formed a separate state, independent of Bearn.

In the church of the village of Bielle, the finest in the valley in the pointed style, are four columns of marble, which, it is said, were so much admired by Henri IV., that he begged them of the inhabitants, but

was met with this ingenious reply in the negative : “ Nos coeurs et nos

biens sont a vous, disposez en a votre volonte ; quant aux colcnnes, elles appartiennent a Dieu, entendez-vous en avec lui.” The pillars themselves seem too poor to have excited the admiration of the king, but it was pro- bably in the days of his boyhood, when wandering among his native moun- tains, that they struck his fancy.

A little before reaching the village of Laruns, one of the most consider- able in the valley, a snow-white gash or scar, high up on the mountain side to the 1., marks the situation of the white marble quarry of Louvie Sou- biron, producing a stone well adapted for the sculptor’s purpose. It has been employed at Paris for the statues in the Place de la Concorde, and for the bas-reliefs on the outside of the Madeleine. It is harder than that of Carrara, but is sometimes traversed by grey veins.

The situation of Laruns, encircled by high peaks and ridges, which im- pend on all sides above it, is very striking ; among them the distant Pic de Gers raises his conspicuous head. The Church appears originally to have had no windows much larger than loop-holes, though wide ones have been broken through in modern times: its font or benitier, of the white marble mentioned above, is carved outside in the fashion of a basket, and within bears the inappropriate figures of mermaids.

On issuing out of Laruns you might suppose that you had arrived at the termination of the valley, so completely is it blocked up by the mass of the mountain Hour at ; but after crossing the furious and injurious winter torrent^ the Larienze, and reaching the mountain foot, two roads are found to diverge ; that on the 1. to Eaux Bonnes (p. 301.), that on the rt. to Eaux Chaudes, both places being equally distant (4 kilom. = 2i Eng. m.) from this spot.

The road to Les Eaux Chaudes is o 5

298

Route 83. — Les Eaux Chaudes.

Sect. IV.

carried up the mountain at an angle so steep as to render caution neces- sary in ascending and descending it with a carriage. At the top of this abrupt slope, the shoulder of the mountain, which, as it were, laps over, and conceals from the view of those below the upper part of the Val d’Os- sau, has been cut down, and scooped out, by the aid of the auger and of gunpowder, into a notch, barely wide enough to allow 2 carriages to pass. A cold gust of air constantly traverses this gloomy recess, the portal of the valley; but after passing it, a sudden change of scene takes place. Before you opens out a lofty ravine or defile of mountains, almost preci- pitous, rising from 1,000 to 1,500 feet above your head, and approaching so close to one another, at their base, as to leave no room for culture or meadow, only space for the torrent. Below the road, which now, resuming a gentle slope, continues for 8 m. as good and broad as an English post road, the torrent here called Gave ae Gabas, roars, chafes, and tumbles from rock to rock, boring the lime- stone, by its whirlpools, into cauldrons and pits. The deep fissure, at the bottom of which it takes its course, is well seen near the bridge, which transfers the road from its 1. to its rt. bank. From this point the river forces its way out into the lower Val d’Ossau, through a remarkable gorge walled in by precipices on either side, which has hitherto bid defiance to the passage of any road, and ren- dered necessary the steep ascent of the Hourat; it is quite inaccessible for man or beast. Its outlet is seen on the road to the Eaux Bonnes.

A project has been formed to carry the road from Pau to Eaux Chaudes, directly through this gorge into the valley, and thus avoid the steep and awkward ascent and descent of the Hourat ; but as it would require to be blasted out of the rock, the great expense has hitherto prevented its ex- ecution.

The approach to the Eaux Chaudes is grand ; the height and steepness of the mountains, now robed from top to bottom in box bushes, now starting out in lofty precipices of bare lime- stone, scarred by the course of tor- rents, which at times descend in long falls, like white ribbons, from their brows, and the variety imparted to the road by the projecting shoulders, round which it winds, give much in-* terest to this part of the journey. At length the last projection is doubled, and a view opens of the group of houses called

1 7 Eaux Chaudes. — Inns : H. des Pyrenees ( Chez Longa), the best ; but rather a barrack, in external and internal aspect, than an hotel. It is entered by the upper story ; the rest of the building lies below the level of the road, and is traversed by long dark corridors; while in a vault below it are set up the booths of itinerant vendors of goods, as well as the Baths. There is a traiteur attached to the house, as well as to Baudot’s inn. Dinner at 5 ; table d’hote 3 fr. ; breakfast, or tea, 1 fr. 50 cents ; beds, 2 fr. There are 6 or 7 other inns and lodging-houses, which form the bulk of the place. It lies wedged in, as it were, in the midst of the long trough of the valley, between lofty precipices, towering over head, and often draped with clouds. The houses are founded upon granite, which here first makes its appearance jutting up in a round boss behind the village. In its rise it has considerably elevated the limestone above it, as may be per- ceived by the remarkable curve in the strata, visible on the face of the precipices on the 1. bank, opposite the baths. The hot springs burst forth out of the granite, close to the junc- tion of the limestone. This pheno- menon of the outbreak of hot sources near the points of contact of granitic or trappean rocks is of frequent occur- rense among the Alps and Pyrenees.

In spite of the name, Eaux Chaudes, the temperature of the waters is not

Pyrekt. Route 83.—Les Eaux Chaudes— -Val d Ossau. 299

so high as at many other Pyrenean springs, the hottest not exceeding 95° Fahrenheit ; and one of them is cold. The principal sources are Lou Rey (le Boi), named from Henri IV., a frequent visitor, 93°, and L’Esqui- rette, 95°, the most sought after, and most highly mineralised. The waters are sulphureous, and are supplied from 6 springs, 3 of which, used for bathing, are conveyed into Longa’s bath-house, and to a separate esta- blishment at the end of the village. The others are used for drinking. At present they burst out from the rock into rude little basins, whither invalids resort to fill their glasses, without the shelter of a pump-room, or the aid of a Hebe to fill it for them. A handsome Etdblissement des Bains, however, to include pump-room, pro- menade, and baths, chambers for the resident physician, and some sets of rooms for guests, is in progress, on the platform of rock below Longa’s hotel, and will be finished, it is cal- culated, in 1846. Into it the waters of 3 of the springs will be con- ducted. The existing baths are not particularly inviting. This new building will be furnished with 5 baths, besides douches. At present, the Eaux Chaudes contains neither billiard-room, cafe, nor reading-room (though these will probably he in- cluded in the new etablissement), and the Eaux Chaudes baths are resorted to, either by the real invalid in search of health, or the passing traveller, attracted by the beauties of nature. The village, indeed, with its low houses, and its little narrow plat- forms intended for promenades, has a triste air.

There is, however, at least one very interesting excursion to be made from this, viz. to Cabas and the Pic du Midi d' Ossau. Horses may be hired at 3 fr. to 4 fr. for the day ; guides 4 fr. The valley of Ossau is a frequented passage between France and Spain, along which 15,000 mules pass an- nually. Its scenery, above Eaux

Chaudes, is far grander and more varied in its mountain outlines and vegetation than below ; and the whole range of the Pyrenees presents few more interesting rides than that to Gabas (6 m.). The fine near view obtained, in proceeding thither, of the Pic du Midi, which is out of sight at Eaux Chaudes, would alone well re- pay the trouble. About 2 m. beyond Eaux Chaudes, the Gave is crossed by a bridge of wood, called Pont d’Enfer, above which, on the rt., a small cas- cade, named from the neighbouring, but elevated hamlet of Goust, de- scends the mountain. In this portion of the valley, the limestone has en- tirely given place to granite, which forms the substance of the mountains, and the vegetation which covers them is of a beauty and variety unrivalled. It is at this point that we pass into the zone of fir trees ; whose dark files, covering the mountain tops, descend half-way, mixing like mourners in the crowd of trees of lighter foliage ; birch, beech, hazel, alder, and oaks, which rise from amidst an under- growth of box, mixed with a wonder- ful profusion of wild flowers. At times the road mounts to a great height above the torrent ; and there is a fearful pleasure in looking down, over the tree tops, upon its waters, writhing, struggling, and serpentining in the dark depths below. The firs in the forests around were formerly sent to Bayonne, to supply timber for the French navy, being hui'led down the steep mountain sides, and floated down into the Gave d’Oleron.

Gabas is a poor hamlet, the last in France, having a small cabaret which will furnish a very tolerable dinner to a sharp appetite, and where Spanish wine may sometimes be had good. At the extremity of the hamlet is the French Douane. Hence the fine view of the forked summit of the Pic du Midi is obtained. From this point also the ascent of the Pic du Midi is made, following the right- hand branch of the valley above o 6

300 Route 83 . — Pic du Midi — Gabas — Panticosa. Sect. IV

Gabas. It takes three hours, passing the Cabanes de Magne-Baigne, to reach the Crete de Pombie at the base of the peak itself, which is of granite, very steep, and takes 1| to 2 hours to surmount.

Should the traveller be disposed to take a peep at Spain, he may go from Les Eaux Chaudes to Panticosa, an Arragonese watering-place, a long day’s journey of about 14 hours , in- cluding a rest of 2 hours.

The route is quite easy, neither very steep in any part nor difficult to find, as there is a broadly-marked track the whole way. The col is rather swampy in spring, after the melting of the snow.

The carriage -road up the valley terminates at

2 h. Gabas. A steep mule path turning to the rt. leads to the Plateau of Bioux Artiques, which commands so grand a view of the Pic du Midi, that Lady Chatterton says it is worth while to come all the way from England to enjoy it alone. It is only 1± hour from Gabas. The mule-path turning to the 1. from that place, on the*W. side of the mountain, leads into Spain past the solitary house called

2 h. Case de Broussette, the last in France, which will furnish only very homely fare, home-made cheese and the like, so that it is prudent to take provisions. It has been built by the Government as a sort of refuge ox- hospice halfway between Gabas and Salients.

1 h. The passage or col, called Le Port d’ Aneou, is an hour’s walk above this ; a mule path of gradual descent leads from it, by the side of the stream of the Gallego.

2 h. Salients, the first Spanish village, is reached by a steep descent, a little beyond the Custom House. While the horses are resting here you may take a cup of excellent chocolate at

the Posada, and visit the little church and its tresor. The village of Pan- ticosa is 2\ hours’ ride hence ; and 21 hours of difficult ascent by a winding path through a narrow and savage gorge, called El Escular, are required to reach the Baths. The baths consist of 4 or 5 large buildings, in a wild, romantic situation, at a height of more than 8,300 ft. above the sea level, in a confined hollow basin or valley, half of which is occupied by a lake surrounded by wild mountains of granite. The inn here is provided with a capital cuisine Fran^aise, and there is a daily table d’hote during the season. Accommodation, i. e. a clean room, may be had at the house of Don Jose Juan Torla. The season lasts only for 3 months.

The Spanish Valle de Broto is one of the few remaining haunts of the ibex or bouquetin.

From Panticosa village you may reach Gavarnie, or Broto, or Torla, in one long day, by climbing the Pass of Bendeneta. A guide is ne- cessary, however. The scenery is very grand. See Handbook for Tra- vellers in Spain.

From Panticosa* to Cauterets is a journey of 7 or 8 hours on foot, and a little more with mules, over the Col de Marcadau, one of the most desolate passes in the range ; tra- versed by a very rough mule track, but at times, when the snow is deep, it is impassable for mules. “ For the greater part of the way there is no marked track. From Panticosa the ascent, for 2 hours of hard climbing, is up the face of a rock covered with debris. Another hour over swampy ground, bearing patches of melting snow, brings you to the foot of the col. The ascent from this to the frontier is as steep as a staircase, for about li hour. The descent on the French side, passing some grand pines, equally steep, \ hour. An-

Moi-e precise information is desired by

the Editor respecting the Routes to and from Panticosa.

Pyrenees.

Route 83. — Eaux Bonnes.

301

other hour brings you to a hut at the foot of the col. Hence to the Pont d’Espagne another hour, and from the Pont to Cauterets \ hour, though 2 hours are required to ascend.” — E. P. (R. 85. p. 308.)

One of the first sights which tra- vellers are invited to see at Eaux Chaudes is the Grotte situated in the rock on the 1. side of the valley, 3^ hours’ walk above the baths.

The road to Eaux Bonnes, branch- ing off to the 1. at the bifurcation beyond Laruns, crosses the Gave de Gabas by a bridge, whence there is a good view of the dark and narrow gorge, through which that stream issues out of the upper valley (see p. 298. ). A steep ascent, carried up in a terrace along the mountain side, succeeds, and does not terminate till the road reaches Eaux Bonnes. On the 1., low down, lies the castle of Espalunge, and higher up, on the shoulder of a mountain, the village d’Aas looks down upon our road. The stream flowing at the bottom of the valley is a tributary of the Gave d’Ossau, called the Valentin. At the very entrance of Eaux Bonnes a nar- row, rocky gully, with a torrent at its bottom, is crossed by a wooden bridge. This stream is the contribution sent forth by the confined nook in which Eaux Bonnes stands, partitioned off, as it were, from the vale of the Va- lentin by a ridge of rock of no great height, and concealed from view until you are about to enter it. Be- yond the bridge above alluded to is the fashionable and much-frequented watering place

17 Les Eaux Bonnes, consisting of a street of rather more than 20 hotels and lodging houses, of large dimen- sions and many stories, which would not disgrace a German watering place, and contrast with the homely low buildings of Eaux Chaudes. One side, however, of the street is still incom-

plete; the other is occupied by a miserable and filthy yard, planted with a few trees and hedges, nick- named Jardin Anglais, a disgrace to the name and the place. The village is cradled in the lap of the mountains, niched in a complete cul de sac with precipices rising all around close to the houses, so that the rock has been blasted in order to make room for some of them.

Above these cliffs, to the S. E., towers the majestic Pic de Gers, the grand feature in all the views of this neighbourhood, while nearly due E. rises the serrated ridge of the Col de Torte.

The principal Inns are Hotels de France, chez Cazeres ; — La Poste ; — Quatre Nations ; — H. des Etrangers ; — de l’Europe.

The charges are high, but vary according to the season and the throng of visitors ; but owing to the extent of accommodation and the number of inns, rooms are now al- ways to be had. Meals are supplied even in the hotel by traiteurs, at the rate of 4 fr. per diem, including breakfast and dinner, at table d’hote ; or 5 fr. if sent into the visitor’s pri- vate apartments; children 2 fr. 10 sous, and servants 3 fr. The season opens in June, and lasts till October, being at its height in July and August.

There are 4 or 5 springs here of warm sulphurous water, stronger than those of Eaux Chaudes, but of lower temperature, the hottest not exceeding 91° Fahrenheit. The prin- cipal ones rise at the foot of the craig called Butte du Tresor, and are con- ducted into the Bath-house at the ex- tremity of the village. The water of one source is subjected to artificial heating to fit it for baths. The cold spring alone is used for drinking. The waters are considered good for complaints of the lungs and chest, and very efficacious in the early stages of consumption. Their reputation is of long standing, for the Bearnais sol-

302

Route 85. — Pau to Lourdes.

Sect. IV.

diers of Henri d’Albret, wounded in the battle of Pavia, repaired hither for the cure of their injuries, and first gave the water the name of Eau d’Ar- quebusade.

The well- wooded cliffs around have been rendered accessible for invalids by zigzag paths and terraces. The summer-house on the top of the Butte du Tresor commands a view of Laruns and the Val d’Ossau. Other paths lead down to the pretty but trifling waterfalls of the Valentin. The finest fall is that named De Gros Hetre, from a beech tree now cut down about 3 m. distant. Another very delight- ful walk of \\ hour, at first under the shade of the beech trees, leads to the Promenade Jacqueminot, so called from a general who caused it to be cut. Thence there is a way through the forest of Assouste and to the Col de Gourzi, which leads over the moun- tains to Eaux Chaudes ; but though running in a direct line, it takes twice as much time, and is twice as difficult as the carriage road by the Hourat.

There is a mountain path from Eaux Bonnes, scarcely traced in some parts, over the Col de Tories, and under the Pic de Gabisos ; then over a second ridge to Arrens, and down the Val d’Azun to Argelez. (R. 85. p. 305.) By means of it the pedes- trian may reach Luz or Cauterets in the shortest time, avoiding the de- tour by Pau and Lourdes which the high road makes.

Esterle is a good guide.

Persons residing at Eaux Bonnes should not omit to explore the Val de Gabas above Eaux Chaudes, with its luxuriant forests and its noble Pic du Midi, the grandest mountain in this district,. (See p. 299.) It is a drive of an hour, or a walk of 2, to Eaux Chaudes by the road.

ROUTE 85.

THE PYRENEES. PAU TO LOURDES,

CAUTERETS, LUZ, ST. SAUVEUR. GA-

VARNIE, BAREGES, AND BAGNERES DE BIGORRE, MOUNTAIN ROAD. EX- CURSIONS TO THE LAC DE GAUBE.

BRECHE DE ROLAND AND MONT PER- DU. THE PIC DU MIDI, &C. &C.

A daily communication of dili- gences is kept up in summer between all the principal watering places of the Pyrenees.

Distances from Pau — to Cauterets 68 kilom. = 42 Eng. m. — to Luz and St. Sauveur 71 kilom. = 44 Eng. m. — to Bareges, 76 kilom. = 48 Eng. m. — to B. de Bigorre.

This route includes some of the most interesting objects and places in the Pyrenees; and the drive from Lourdes to Luz and Cauterets in particular is a continued succession of the most beautiful scenery.

The road ascends the rt. bank of the Gave de Pau, through a plain of considerable width, nearly covered with maize, and passes between fes- tooned vines slinging their tendrils between the apple and cherry trees. One village rapidly succeeds another, but they contribute little to the cheer- fulness of the drive, as the houses turn their backs on the traveller, whose gaze is met by dead walls. He has however something more interesting to occupy his attention in the varying forms of the mountains which he is gradually approaching. But there is one exception in the village of Coar- rase, where the Gave is crossed by a bridge ; for its old tower crowning a mound on the rt. bank, is part of the castle in which the Bon Henri IV. was confided from his early years to the care of Susanne de Bourbon, Ba- ronne de Missans, and by the wisdom of his mother brought up in the rough fashion of the peasants of his native country, dressed like them, fed like them, sharing in their sports, and tra- versing the rugged rocks with bare feet ; thus acquiring the vigour of body and strength of mind which en- abled him to surmount in after-life so many hardships, dangers, and diffi-

Pyren. Route 85. — Val Lavedan — Castle of Lourdes. 303

culties. Beside the ruin a modern chateau has been built.

The feet of the mountains are fairly gained at

24 Lestelle. — Inn: Poste. Just outside of this village, at a spot where the road is hemmed in between a fine wooded hill, spotted with chapels or stations, and the river, which itself running in a contracted rocky bed is spanned by a bold arch most pic- turesquely draped with ivy, stands the Pilgrimage Church of JBetharram, an ugly modern building, containing a statue of the Virgin reported to have miraculous powers, which attracts a multitude of devotees from a distance in the month of September. Here also is a Seminaire for the education of priests.

Traversing a narrow defile again on the rt. bank of the Gave, which is hemmed in between barren bracken- covered hills, we pass into the depart- ment of the Hautes Pyrenees, and from ancient Bearn into Bigorre, shortly before entering the little manu- facturing town of St. Pe. It is chiefly inhabited by nailors, who obtain iron from the forges of Asson, and by comb makers who supply the Spanish ladies with combs of box-wood for their hair. It has a curious Romanesque church with apsidal terminations, and sculpture over the door. Much roof- ing slate is exported hence.

16 Lourdes (Inns: La Poste and H. Lafitte) consists of a picturesque but somewhat gloomy-looking hill fort, seated on a rock, around which the town of narrow dirty streets and shabby houses group themselves. This Castle was once the key of the valley of Lavedan, or of the Gave de Pau, commanding the 4 roads which unite here from Tarbes, Bagneres, Argelez, and Pau. It is reached by flights of stairs, and entered by a small draw- bridge, and a door 4 feet high and only wide enough for one person to squeeze through ; but, not being strong according to modern rules of art, is rather of use as a barrack than

a fortress. It was long a state prison, and in 1804 Lord Elgin was incar- cerated within it by Napoleon, who caused him to be seized in his pas- sage through France from Constanti- nople. Far different was its import- ance in ancient times ; it was held for the English monarchs, and the Black Prince, as part of the country of Bigorre, which was yielded up to the English by the French king John as part of his ransom, in conformity with the treaty of Bretigny. Froissart gives a very long account of its varied fortunes, which render this feudal fortress interesting for all who are acquainted with its history. He tells us that when the Black Prince came over to take possession of Aquitaine, which his father had given him to hold in fief, he and his prin- cess, while on a visit to the Comte d’Armagnac at Tarbes, rode over to [ Lourdes, which he had a great desire to see. He was greatly pleased, “ as well with the strength of the place as with its situation on the frontiers of several countries, for those of Lourdes can overrun the country of Arragon to a great extent, and as far as Bar- celona in Catalonia.” The Prince intrusted the command of it to a knight of Bearn, one of his house- hold, in whom he had great confi- dence, Sir Peter Arnaut, to guard it well. When the war broke out with France, he held it fast, and, assisted by many bold adventurers, made re- peated incursions through Bigorre | and all Languedoc, sometimes to a | distance of 30 leagues. “ In their j march out they touched nothing, but j on their return all things were seized,

! and sometimes they brought with i them so many prisoners and such j quantities of cattle that they knew not how to dispose of or lodge them. They laid under contributions the whole country except the territory of the Comte of Foix, where they dared J touch nothing without paying for it.

Tarbes was kept in great fear, and j was obliged to enter into a compo-

3(H Route 85. — Val de Lavedan — Argelez. Sect. IV.

sition with them.” In 1369, not very long after the visit of the Black Prince, Lourdes was actually attacked by the French army, commanded by the Due d’ Anjou, and at the end of 16 days the town, defended only by a palisade, and much injured by the machines which the duke brought to bear against it, was won; but the enemy made no impression on the citadel above, which bade defiance for six weeks longer to all efforts to take it. The governor remained true to his oath sworn to the Prince of Wales to guard his stronghold, and resisted the offer of a large sum from the Due d’ Anjou to deliver it up. Another attempt was made to induce this faith- ful chatelain to betray his trust, by Gaston Phoebus, who invited him to his castle of Orthez. Before setting out, however, Pierre Arnauld confided his stronghold to his brother Jean, who took the same oaths of fidelity. Gas- ton, irritated at the stedfast honesty of Arnauld in refusing his proposal to yield up the castle, in a brutal fit of rage stabbed him in 5 places with his poignard, and thrust him into a dun- geon, where he perished. The atro- cious crime availed him not ; for Jean, the brother of his victim, proved as trusty a governor and skilful a captain as the murdered Pierre.

There is nothing to be seen here, but the artist-traveller may probably get a sketch of the castle and its pic- turesque donjon. The sides of the valley are very bare and uninviting near this.

The direct post road from Pau to Bagneres branches off from Lourdes, whence it is distant 21 kilom. (R. 87.)

When Lourdes is left behind we are in the heart of the mountains, but the valley continues for some time stern, rocky, bare ; showing marks in its gashed sides and strewn bottom of the fury of the torrents.

Here and there a feudal hill fort rises upon its rocky perch, a relic of the days when nearly every valley of

the Pyrenees was the scene of almost constant border warfare.

This unpromising vestibule, how- ever, leads into what has not unjustly been called the Paradise of Argelez, where the valley of Lavedan (for so this part of the watercourse of the Gave de Pau above Lourdes is called) expands into a wide basin renowned for its picturesque beauty, fertility, and cultivation, and ranking among the finest in the Pyrenees. This altered scene opens out to view after passing the widely conspicuous dis- mantled tower of Vidalos, which, rising in the midst of the valley upon a monticule, conceals the village and what lies behind it.

Rich maize crops or verdant pas- tures occupy the bottom, interspersed with orchards alternately powdered with blossom or laden with fruit, wal- nut, fig-trees, and vines ; but the tilled land extends far up the slopes, and the grand mountains around are clothed with forests of noble growth, the whole scattered over with houses and villages, which adds to the whole the charm of much cheerfulness. In the midst of this lies the village or small town of Argelez. ( Inns : H. de la Paix, and du Commerce, are the best, but dirty.) It is dirty and insig- nificant in itself, and destitute of a good inn, but, from its sheltered situ- ation, enjoys a climate where winter tarries so short a while that its pre- sence is scarcely perceived ; where the snow flake melts as soon as it falls, and spring begins when the valley above and below is buried in snow. In summer, however, it is intensely hot. It is precisely in the midst of these beauties of nature that man ap- pears most miserable : the malady of goitre and cretinism is very prevalent about Argelez.

The Val d’Azun , opening out on the W. opposite Argelez, and extend- ing up into the central chain between the mountains called Pic du Midi d’Azun and Pic de Gabisos, includes some very fine scenery, and is well

Pyrenees.

Route 85 . — Pierrefitte — Cauterets .

305

worth exploring. A path leads up by Anzizans, a beautiful spot, to Arrens, the highest village (8 m.); but be- yond it stands the pilgrimage chapel of N. D. de Pouey la Hun, a most picturesque building on a pedestal of rock overlooking the valley. Fiona Arrens a mountain path runs to Eaux Bonnes (R. 83.), crossing two ridges, the second being the Col de Tortes.

Beyond Argelez the scanty remains of the ancient abbey of St. Savin, now sequestrated, are passed high up on the hill to our right. The view from the convent garden is most beautiful, and the church, said to be as old as Charlemage, is very cu- rious. The valley of Argelez termi- nates at

19 Pierrefitte. — Inn: Poste. This village, whose population seems to live by begging, much to the traveller’s annoyance, is the centre from which the roads to Cauterets and to Bareges separate: it is' seated at the foot of a lofty and conspicuous mountain, which seems to block up the passage, and which, in fact, gives rise to 2 minor j valleys. The road to Luz, Bareges, and St. Sauveur (p. 308.) runs up that on the 1., and the way to Cauterets is on the rt. of this mountain. The highest point of the ridge dividing the valley of Cauterets from that of Luz is named the Pic du Midi de Viscos : it is 7,030 ft. above the sea level. The whole way to Cauterets lies through a narrow gorge, where the cheerful beauty of the lower valley gives place to savage grandeur. A good carriage road, which took 4 years to complete, is carried through it, rising immediately behind Pierrefitte, before it penetrates into the defile, in well- contrived zigzags, either elevated on terraces of masonry or cut out of the hard rock : it is a fine work of engi- neering, not inferior, as far as it extends, to some of the celebrated roads through and over the Alps. The ascent by the old road was both difficult and dan- gerous ; 4 horses and 3 pair of oxen being attached to a carriage to drag it

j up. A portion of the old way remains, ! and serves as a short cut for the pe- | destrian, whence he may survey to | advantage the mouth of the narrow j gorge, in the depths of which the 1 torrent struggles along. It is a rent | burst through vertical strata of slate, yet, except where its sides are abso- ! lutely perpendicular, they are either j carpeted with bright patches of green meadow or covered with trees and brushwood, among which the hazel j thrives. At a short distance from the mouth of the gorge, the view, looking j back upon the vale of Argelez, is pe- culiarly beautiful, from the contrast of rugged, gloomy wildness in the 1 foreground, with the sunny richness beyond of groves, pastures, and corn- fields. Near the middle of the pass, which longo intervallo may recall to the Swiss traveller some features of the Via Mala, the road surmounts in a series of graceful curves a bed of lime- stone or marble, called Butte du limagon, which stretches across the valley like a dam. Over this the Gave tumbles in a long rapid, which frets its waters into foam as white as snow, and leaves little to be seen of its na- tural hues of beryl and chrysoprase. To this succeeds a slight opening in 1 the valley, and a tall pointed moun- tain appears at its extremity, clad in j fir : at its foot lies Cauterets ; though ■ intervening hills conceal it from view 1 until you are close upon it.

9 Cauterets . — Inns: H. de France; Lion d’Or, comfortable and less dear, &c.

There are tables d’hote twice a day at the chief inns, and families may be supplied with meals in their rooms by a traiteur. Cauterets, though in a spot so remote and elevated (3,096 ft. above the sea), with savage mountains en- circling it in an amphitheatre, and ! overhanging its roofs with their peaks [ and pine forests, has a perfectly town- ish air, with an octroi at its entrance,

| paved streets of inns and lodging- I houses, and in the centre an irregular market-place. It is one of the chief

306

Route 85. — Cauterets — La Rattier e.

Sect. IV.

Brunnen of the Pyrenees, containing nearly 1,000 permanent inhabitants, —abounding in agents, guides, horse- jobbers, and itinerant marchands, who beset the traveller the moment be sets foot within it. The number of houses is about 200 ; most of them have the door-posts, window-sills, and thresholds of grey marble, and over every other door is emblazoned “ Chevaux ou voitures a louer.” In- valids repairing to Cauterets, to take the waters, must address themselves to the inspector (Dr. Buron), who will inscribe their names in a book, and allot to them an hour for taking the bath, to remain fixed during the whole of their stay, with a chaise a porteur to convey them if required.

The chief building is the pump- room or Etablissement des Bains, re- cently built near the foot of the hill, to receive the waters of the source called les Espagnols, one of the most powerful and hottest in the Pyrenees. It is so named from its having at an early period, according to tradi- tion, cured the ailments of a king of Arragon, or from being much fre- quented by Spaniards, who cross the mountains in great numbers, to re- pair hither. The new building is supplied with water in pipes carried down the slope of the hill de Per- raute, from the source situated at a considerable elevation, where the old bath-house stands. The bathing appa- ratus and accessories are constructed on the most approved plan dictated by the experience of modern science. The older bath-houses in the same di- rection are little better than wretched sheds, approached by paths so steep and stony as to require much exertion on the part of the robust to surmount ; yet up them the invalid was formerly compelled either to toil on foot or be carried in a chaise a porteur.

The Mineral Springs here are sul- phurous and hot, varying only in the quantity of the same ingredients, and in warmth from 102° to 122° Fahr. There are about 16 distinct sources,

six of which rise, on the hill of Per- raute, above the town to the E., and the remainder are situated -higher up the valley, on the banks of the Mar- cadaou, from 1 to 1| mile distant. They are said to present in their strength, warmth, and qualities an epitome of almost all the sulphurous sources scattered over the Pyrenees ; some of them being even more power- ful than those of Bareges, others as mild as St. Sauveur. The chief of the springs on the banks of the Mar- cadaou, and the one most resorted to, is the Railtire , whose waters are re- ceived in a building of some preten- sions, faced with a portico, on a raised terrace, at the foot of a granitic mountain, destitute of trees or ver- dure, but covered over with fallen blocks of stone, which descend its slopes in dreary ruin. From 6 to 8 in the morning all the world of Cauterets repairs to this desolate spot, and, during the thronged season, bathers assemble here at a much earlier hour, even at 4 in the morning. The road is thronged with sour- faced invalids ; open sedan-chairs upon poles, covered with a canvas hood, of which 50 or 60 are kept in the town, hurry to and fro, occupied by muffled females; peasant women in red capulets, mingle with Paris dandies in white berrets, and red Bearnais sashes (la mode des Bains), black ecclesiastics in broad- brimmed hats, capuchin monks in brown sackcloth and hoods, and Spaniards of swarthy, olive-coloured visage and stately gait, their heads swathed in mottled handkerchiefs, their persons muffled up in the em- bozo of their cloaks, which are often no better than horsecloths, offering a singular combination of dignity and poverty, — such are the component parts of this motley and picturesque crowd which repairs daily to La Rail- lere. There are 23 Cabinets des Bains at La Raillere, with 2 douches and a fountain for drinking.

Above the Raillere is a group of other springs, and a cluster of little

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Route 85 . — Cauterets — Baths.

307

bath-houses, built one above another against the hill-sides : the principal are the Bain du Pre, beneath a stream of fallen rocks, grown over’ with li- chens, Petit St. Sauveur, Mahourat, des CEufs, des Yeux. The Source de Montmorency is a sort of grotto, whose waters, too hot for the hand to bear, deposit a white, greasy slime; and the Bain du Bois, the highest in this direction, contains 4 cabinet baths, with a douche in each, and beds for the invalid who may desire to encou- rage the perspiration produced by the bath, and 2 piscines or large baths : the charge for one is 20 sous.

July and August are the season when Cauterets is most thronged : lodgings are then very dear; poorly furnished apartments sometimes cost- ing as much as 4 or 5 fr. each, per diem.

There is a subscription reading- room or club here, called Cercle.

Several formal avenues and alleys on the outskirts of the town, by the side of the road to Pierrefitte, and the Parc on the margin of the Gave, sa- tisfy the wants of French visitors as promenades, but must appear weari- some to English : indeed, except in the society of friends, or with the inducement of illness to make one tarry, the attractions at Cauterets are few.

The Grange de la Beine, a humble farm, so called from Queen Hortense having once been belated in crossing the mountains, and having passed the night there, is a good point of view for the basin of Cauterets, about 600 ft. above it. The mountain called Peak of Monne commands a far more ex- tensive and very striking view, but is a serious mountain to climb; 10 hours up and down.

The sportsman may be thankful to know, that the rivers abound in trout, and that the chace of the izard and the bear may be pursued on the neighbouring mountains between the Vignemale and the Pic du Midi d’Os- sau, with some prospect of success, at the latter end of spring. These

wild animals are, however, becoming rare even in these their last retreats. Jean Destapins is a capital guide and chasseur, recommended by Mr. Erskine Murray.

Chaises a porteur cost 1 5 fr. a day, and 3 fr. pourboire to the porteurs, who are very agile and sure-footed ; ladies are often carried by them as far as the Lac de Gaube. Good ponies may be hired here (p. 243. ).

Nobody thinks of quitting Cauterets without making the customary excur- sion (one of the most interesting in the Pyrenees) to the Pont d' Espagne and Lac de Gaube. There is a bridle road all the way, well marked but steep at its farther extremity, and the excursion may be performed by men without a guide. It requires about 2 hours’ good walking to reach the Pont d’Espagne, and 45 minutes more thence to the Lac de Gaube : the return may be effected in less time.

The road ascends the desolate valley of the Gave de Marcadaou, passing the source de la Raillere, between the mountains Perraute and Peyrenere, whose sides, strown with rocks fallen from above, and in headlong ruin hurled, effectually prevent the growth of trees or shrubs. The Gave is crossed by a wooden bridge beyond the Raillere, close to the junction of a tributary Gave descending from the Val de Lutour, up which runs a path. It is not until after a steep and toilsome ascent has left behind the Bains du Bois, that a change comes over the features of the valley, and dark forests of fir relieve the bared and wrinkled face of the granite pre- cipices. The torrent leaps down from the upper to the lower slopes of the valley in several fine falls, the best of which is the cascade de Cerizet. The precipices rising on either side of the gorge are surmounted by ser- rated peaks and pointed aiguilles of granite, which assume most pic- turesque forms, while their base is clothed with fir forests.

About 6 m. from Cauterets is the

SOB R. 85 . — Pont d'Espagne and Lac de Gaube . Sect. IV.

Pont d'Espagne, in itself a mere sim- ple structure of pine trunks thrown across the torrent, here confined in a narrow chasm between rocks, just below the juncture of the Gave de- scending from the Lae de Gaube with that from the Marcadaou. The streams unite by leaping together into the chasm under the bridge, in pictur- esque Falls, but of no great magni- tude. These are but accessories to the sublime scene around, which, from the predominance of black fir forests, surrounded by granite cliffs shooting upwards in spires and pinnacles, our friend and fellow traveller (T. ) as- sures us, reminded him somewhat of Norway.

The valley above the Pont d’Es- pagne, called Val de Jarret, conti- nues of great grandeur, and is tra- versed by a path on the 1. bank of the Marcadaou, which leads by the pass called Port de Cauterets to the Spanish baths of Panticosa in Spain. (See p. 300. R. 83.) The road is good as far as the frontier, 4 hours’ ride from Cauterets; there horses must be left in a rude cabin, and the descent made on foot, as the path thence is bad. The journey occupies 7 hours from Cauterets. It is well worth while to ascend the valley to the foot of the Marcadaou, a scene of great grandeur, even if you do not intend to cross over into Spain.

To reach the Lac de Gaube you must turn to the 1. close to the Pont d’Espagne, immediately below it, where a very steep path strikes up the mountain side through the pine wood, and at first by the side of a torrent. After about \ hour’s walk (2m.) over trunks and roots and shattered stones, you reach this lonely basin of green water. It is not more than m. in circumference, yet is the largest lake among the Pyrenees, and lies at an ele- vation of — ? ft. above the sea level, and is 300 or 400 (?) ft. deep. The steep precipices on either side are bare, except where seamed with lines of straggling black firs, alternating with streams of

fallen rocks ; but the entire centre of the picture is filled with the noble mass of the Vignemale, one of the highest mountains in France, white with eter- nal snow, crowned by crags and by glaciers which feed the lake through a small fall. The only habitation is the fisherman’s hut, which now serves as a restaurant (furnishing lake trout for the hungry traveller’s breakfast at a high rate), planted upon a ridge of granite, stretch- ing across the valley, and damming up the waters of the lake. On a projecting rock a little monument of white marble railed in, is the record of the melancholy fate of a young En- glishman, named Pattison, and his wife, who, within one month of their marriage, were drowned in the lake. They had trusted themselves to the frail skiff of the fisherman to row across the lake ; and it is supposed to have been accidentally overset, for no human eye beheld the accident. Their bodies were conveyed to Wi- tham in Essex.

The ascent of the Vignemale is some- times made from the lake, which is either crossed in the boat, or skirted by the path on the 1. The clue to the ascent is the Gave, which forms the waterfall at the extremity. Fol- lowing its bank, you ascend in suc- cession, in the course of 11 hour’s walk, 5 different stages or steps of the mountain, each of which the tor- rent clears by a leap. The mass of the mountain is alpine limestone, which here overlies the granite, pre- vailing from la Raillere to the Lac de Gaube. The Gave has its origin in the foot of a glacier stretching nearly up to the top of the mountain. Its crest is topped by 3 peaks detached from one another ; the lowest of the 3, called Petit Pic, is alone accessible. The highest is 11,001 ft. above the sea level, surpassing every other in the French Pyrenees. The view is said to extend into Spain and over a large part of the French chain. This ex- cursion cannot be performed without

Pyrenees.

Route 85 . — Vignemale — Luz.

309

the aid of approved and experienced guides.

There is a difficult mountain path among broken rocks and the debris of glaciers, from the Lac de Gaube over the shoulder of the Vignemale, keep- ing that mountain on the rt., through the Col or Port de Ossoue and down the Val d' Ossoue to Gavarnie (see p. 312.). It requires 8 or 10 hours, and should not be undertaken with- out good guides, being one of the most difficult expeditions in the Py- renees.

The course usually taken by per- sons proceeding to Bagneres, Bareges, and Gavarnie, from Cauterets, is to re- trace their steps down the valley as far as Pierrefitte (see p. 305.), and thence ascend the gorge leading up to Luz, which is so interesting in its scenery, that no one should omit to explore it.

It is a truly magnificent defile, differing from that to Cauterets, being rather less gloomy, but scarcely su- perior. It abounds in rich foliage throughout. Near the 3rd bridge over the Gave a new road has been made with much engineering skill, running 200 or 300 feet lower down than the old, which mounts a very steep ascent, only to descend imme- diately after. It is alternately a shelf cut with vast labour out of the rock, or a terrace built up with masonry ; an abyss under foot, and towering masses over head. The chasm through which the Gave flows is very striking : it is a rent so narrow that its sides seem to overlap each other, and never to have been completely parted. The green torrent chafing along, and worming its way through the depths between the rocks, is a beautiful j object. Where the new road, in one even gradual ascent, meets the old, the gorge opens into a basin-shaped vale, remarkable for it? rich carpet of ver- dure, cultivated in patches, and with little villages planted a considerable way up its sides, until fields give place to forests. The mountains by their separation leave space for a

small plain nearly in the form of a triangle, entered by a narrow defile at each of its angles. On the S. W. opens that of Gavarnie, at the mouth of which lies St. Sauveur, on the S. E. that of the Bastan leading to Bareges, guarded at its mouth by the Castle of St. Marie. From both of these issue Gaves which, meeting in the midst of the plain, escape by its third or N. angle, through the defile leading to Pierefitte, and traversed by the car- riage road. At the upper end of the plain between the defiles of Gavanxie and Bareges, at the foot of a lofty mountain called Pic de Bergons, lies the little village of Luz. An avenue of formal poplars ti*averses the ver- dant flat meadows, gushing with rills of water, to which they owe their emerald tints and rich crops of grass, and leads into Luz , where Madame Cazaux’s inn (LI. des Pyrenees or Poste) deserves the praise of comfort, tolerable cleanliness, a good cuisine, and great civility. It is the best head- quarters for expedition to Gavarnie and Bareges. Grandet’s lodging- house is also recommended.

Luz is a cleanly village, situated on a crystal Gave of rapid flow, to the refreshing stream of one of its tributary bi-ooks, under the inn win- dows, horses and pigs repair to bathe all day long. The pigs in particular seem to have acquii*ed unwonted ha- bits of cleanliness in this country, and to enjoy excessively the ablutions of their sides administered by the swine- herd, who bastes them with a wooden ladle.

The Church of Luz , enclosed within a castle furnished with battlements and loop-holed walls, is a great curi- osity, bearing as it does the mixed character of the order of the Tem- plars, — half monks, half soldiers, — by whom it was founded. They were planted here to guard the fron- tier in troublous times, forming an outpost of Christians against the Sara- cens at first, and Spaniards afterwards. The church, entered by a machicolated

310 R. 85. — Luz — St. Sauveur — Pic de Bergons. Sect. IV.

gate under a projecting turret, is a Romanesque building probably of the 11th century. The carved doorway, and the arcade of straight-sided arches, running round the E. end on the out- side, deserve notice ; also a small door- way now walled up on the S. side, through which alone, according to a tradition, which wants confirmation, the proscribed race of Cagots were allowed to enter the church, where they occupied a chapel apart from the rest of the congregation, (p. 235.)

The knoll behind Luz crowned with the ruins of a hermitage, com- mands a most pleasing view, looking down into a valley on either hand, and is easily accessible. A path may be found to descend on the opposite side to St. Sauveur, crossing the road to Gavarnie, and the small wooden bridge over the Gave.

It is not more than A a m. by the level road from Luz to the Baths of St. Sauveur , a narrow street of white inns (H. de la Paix ; de France) and lodging-houses planted on a narrow terrace or ledge, on the top of a rocky cliff, about 200 feet above the Gave on its 1. bank, and just within the jaws of the romantic and beauti- fully wooded defile, leading to Gavar- nie. Its most conspicuous edifice is a modern church in the form of a Rotunda, so badly built that its walls are cracked from top to bottom. Near it rises a pillar, which, by the erasure in 1830 of its inscription, has ceased to commemorate the event to which it owes its existence, viz. the presence of the Duchesse d’Angou- leme at these baths. It stands in the so-called Jar din Anglais , a name given in France to a little spot where trees and weeds are allowed to grow pro- miscuously, without having any at- tention paid to it.

In the middle of the village are the baths (Etablissement Thermal), one of the handsomest in the Pyrenees, containing 14 or 16 baignoires, sup- plied from springs of sulphurous water, resembling those of Cauterets,

but less warm, and less rich in gas. They are considered efficacious in female complaints, for nervous affec- tions, &c. Thus the greater number of invalids here are ladies, while at Bareges the male sex abounds. Being weaker than those of Bareges, a course of them is recommended as a good preparation for the stronger waters of Bareges.

The name St. Sauveur is said to be derived from an inscription set over the healing source by a bishop of Tarbes, at what period is unknown. — “Vos haurietis aquas de fontibus Salvatoris.”

The carriage road up the valley stops at St. Sauveur : a wooden bridge opposite the baths leads over to the other side, where a bridle road is carried.

To a mere passing traveller Luz appears more cheerful and pleasant head-quarters as well as less expensive than St. Sauveur, while the one is as near to the various points of attraction in this neighbourhood as the other.

At Luz horses and guides may be had at the usual charges (p. 243.). Jacques St. Laur, who may be heard of at Madame Cazaux’s, is an excel- lent guide. Bernard is also recom- mended. Another guide, Pierre Sanio of Luz, made the ascent of the Mala- detta in 1842.

The summit of the Pic de Bergons , the hill behind Luz and opposite St. Sauveur, 6,117 ft. above the sea, is one of the best points of view among the Pyrenees, and one of the most accessible, since even ladies may ride up without difficulty, or be carried in a chaise a porteur. From Luz you follow the road to Bareges as far as the village of Estre, where a road turns to the rt. About 2 hours are required to reach the summit, and li to descend. From the top may be seen the Cirque of Gavarnie, the Breche de Roland, and Tours de Mar- bore, and the more distant and lof- tier Mont Perdu to the S. ; to the W. the Vignemale j to the E. the ste»

Pyrenees.

Route 85 . — Gavarnie — Gedre,

311

rile valley of Bareges, and the Pic du Midi ; to the N. the Vale of Lavedan and the plains beyond it.

There is a path, not easy to find without a guide, over the mountains from St. Sauveur to Cauterets : the journey takes 5 hours on foot ; but the high road (already described) is much grander in scenery, and as smooth as a bowling-green all the way, though it makes a wide detour.

Cirque de Gavarnie — Breche de Ro- land — Mont Perdu.

The valley of the Gavede Gavarnie, at whose mouth stands St. Sauveur, contains some of the most striking scenery in the Pyrenees, and termi- nates in the most remarkable of those Oules or Cirques peculiar to the Py- renees, and already described (p. 234.). The distance from Luz or St. Sauveur to the Cirque de Gavarnie is about 15 m. A good but narrow horse road runs thither, and the time employed, riding as fast as stones, gutters, and steep and frequent ascents and de- scents will permit, is rather less than 3 hours ; but ladies riding at a gentler pace will take 4 or 5. On reaching the foot of the bridge leading to St. Sauveur, you turn short to the 1., without crossing, and ascend by the road along the rt. bank of the Gave, passing the baths on the opposite side. The grand scenery of the defile begins at once : — umbrageous woods alter- nating with precipitous rocks . moun- tain peaks of picturesque form rear their heads aloft ; below gapes a con- fined chasm. The road is a narrow shelf, cut in the face of a rocky preci- pice, down which the eye gazes 300 or 400 ft., sheer into the green and frothy river, agonised within the narrow, half-opened fissure below. One difficult pass around an angular shoulder of the mountain is called Pas de VEchelle, because, before the present road was cut, it could only be traversed by a hazardous stair, de- scending on one side and ascending on the other. Here the peasants of

j Bigorre defeated a force of Miquelites I ( Spanish troops), who invaded the I frontier for the last time in the wars of Louis XIV., 1708. There are ruins, down in the hollow, of an old fort called Escalette, the vestiges of which are nearly gone. Many small falls are passed and torrents crossed by high and narrow bridges, sus- pended over deep gulfs : many of the water-courses are bestridden by mills, not much larger than boxes ; a row of such, close together, seen on the hill- side, near the romantic double bridge of Sia, .looks like beads on a white string.

Twice the valley expands into the basins of Pragneres and Gedre, and it is more often throttled (etrangle) by narrow defiles. On approaching the village of Gedre from the hill above it, you have a fine view, for a short space, of the snowy mountains called Tours de Marbore, and of the Breche de Roland, a gap in the wall of rock which crests the mountain, looking like a notch made in a jaw by the loss of a single tooth. It was cut through, according to the legend, by Roland, the brave Paladin, with his trusty blade, Durandal, to open a pas- sage in pursuit of the Moors. To the rt. of it is the false Breche, a similar gap. They both lie immediately above the Cirque of Gavarnie, and are soon lost to view behind intervening moun- tains, as the valley curves, and they are invisible from the Cirque itself. At Gedre there is a small inn, and a sight scarcely worth notice, but to which travellers are invited, called Grotte de Gedre. It is an imperfect arch, formed by the torrent scooping out the rock, partly grown over with creeping shrubs. There is a pleasant excursion from Gedre across the shoulder of the Vignemale to the Lac de Gaube, 4 hours’ walk.

The opening on the 1., behind Gedre, through which the torrent issues, is the mouth of the Val d'Heas , one of the largest and deepest val- leys which penetrate the granitic region of the Pyrenees, containing

312 i?. 85. — Val d’lleas — Troumouse — Gavarnie. Sect . IV.

fine wild scenery, and terminating in the Cirque de Troumouse, situ- ated a little to the E. of that of Gavarnie. In coming from Luz the valley is entered by a road turning to the 1., on the height which precedes the village of Gedre. It keeps up on the slope for some distance, then ascends along the rt. bank of the Gave, under the shade of fine trees, ashes and syca- mores. The torrent descending on the 1. from the Cambiel, is next crossed on a bridge ; a sombre gorge suc- ceeds, leading to the village of Heas, remarkable for its chaos of granite blocks, about 4 miles from Gedre, which have fallen from the mountain above, across the valley, and resemble that of Peyrada, described father on. This enormous land-slip took place in 1650, blocked up the torrent, and formed a lake behind it, which lasted until 1788, when its waters, sweeping away the dam, broke out, inundating the valley below, and thus the lake was tapped and emptied.

Here is the celebrated Chapelle de la Vierge d' Ideas, 4,910 ft. above the sea level, resorted to yearly between the 15th of August and 18th of Septem- ber, by hosts of pilgrims from afar, who come to worship and kiss her miraculous image, dressed in gold, embroidered stuffs, and hooded with the red capulet of the country. Be- fore the rude chapel was built by the shepherds of the valley to shelter it, the image sought refuge upon an enornjious block of granite, the largest and most elevated of the group of fallen fragments, called Le Caillou de j VArayille, which is much reverenced in consequence,. It is a wild and naked spot, with little cultivation. Beyond it the gorge d’ Aguila opens out to the E. About 6 hi. farther on the valley ends in the Cirque de Troumouse, a semicircular wall of precipitous moun- tains, enclosing a verdant plain.

The road to Gavarnie, from the prettily situated village of Gedre, skirts the flanks of the mountain Cor-

\ |

nelie, between hedges of box, and reaches in a little space the Chaos or Peyrada, an eboulement or slip of masses of gneiss fallen from above, so extensive that it looks as though a mountain had tumbled to pieces. It is a grand and savage scene. The path winds, in zigzags, through a per- fect labyrinth of blocks, many of them as big as a house, and far larger than the Cumberland Bowder stone, piled one above another in extreme confu- sion, forming mysterious cavities and sheds between them. These fragments sweep down to the Gave, and partly conceal it ; their fall must have oc- curred long ago, from the lichens which cover their surface, and was probably produced by the action of the atmosphere, especially of frost, so powerful an agent in fracturing and disintegrating the slaty structure of the gneiss. Beyond the Chaos the road passes under the base of the Pimene, a picturesque mountain, rising on the 1. to a height of 9,384 ft.

In passing the Pont de Barregui the peaks and glaciers of the Vigne - male are disclosed to view for a short time, at the extremity of the Yal d’Ossoue (p. 309. ), up which runs the mountain path to Cauterets by the Lac de Gaube.

Gavarnie is a poor small village, 4,498 ft. above the sea level, with an inferior public-house Inn, furnishing fresh trout and tough cutlets, which, unless a bargain is made, will be charged for exorbitantly.

The poor and uninteresting Church, whose want of a tower to hold its bells is supplied by a timber scaffold, con- I tains the sculls of 12 Templars (?) be- headed in the reign of Philip le Bel ; such is the tradition, and the Order I certainly had a commandery in this desolate spot. One of the heads is said to be that of a female ! The church is almost entirely modern.

Behind Gavarnie rise the black walls of the Cirque, surmounted by eternal snow, closing up the valley.

It appears close to the village, and

Pyrenees. Route 85 .-— Gavarnie — Breehe de Roland. 313

the stranger will scarcely believe that he has 3 weary miles to trudge or ride, which will take nearly an hour before he can reach its farther extremity. Three shallow, basin-shaped valleys, partly strewn with stones, partly car- peted with grass, seemingly at one time lake basins, are passed, before you surmount the small projecting wall of rock which masks the entry to the Cirque, and once, doubtless, dammed up the waters of the Gave. Here, shut out from the world, and, as it were, arrived at its end, you gaze up to the vast semicircle of rocks around, the tall rampire of a kingdom, at the base of which France terminates. The precipices forming its sides, varying

divided into 3 or 4 steps or stages, upon each of which a glacier covered with white snow is heaped : not a scrap of vegetation relieves their bare sides. Down the- vertical faces of the rocks stream 12 or 15 thin cas- cades, like white threads ; but there is one on the 1. hand, where the pre- cipice is least interrupted, which falls in one white cord, only twice broken by ledges, nearly 1266 ft. high : it is reputed the highest fall in Europe, and is the head water of the Gave de Pan ; but so small is it in volume that it dissipates into spray before reaching the bottom. These stream- lets are the drainage of the glaciers above, and all, joining the Gave, es- cape from the Cirque by the only opening, that by which the traveller enters. The floor of the Cirque is an uninterrupted and irregular heap of rubbish and blocks of rock, the ruins of the neighbouring mountains which have fallen from above, very toilsome to walk over; and in the midst are one or two patches of dirty snow nearly consolidated into ice, under which the Gave flows in a hollow vault. It takes nearly \ an hour from the en- °e to reach the foot of the high fall, where the geologist may womens of the fossils contained cks of the Cirque, which have •ce.

been ascertained by M. Dufresnoy to be identical with those of the chalk. An English traveller would certainly not recognise, otherwise, that form- ation, in the dark cliffs around, so unlike in colour and texture to the white chalk of England.

The mountains rising above the Cirque, but not visible from within its enclosure, are to the E. the Cy- lindre , 10,050 ft., so called from its shape, whose base is embedded in the great glacier whence springs the high fall ; the Tours de Marbore, 9964 ft., forming part of the Mont Perdu; and on the W. the Breehe de Roland, and further on the Fausse Breehe.

The ascent of the Breehe de Roland is made from the Cirque of Gavarnie : it is fatiguing and difficult, but not dan- gerous, provided the head be steady, and the brain proof against the sight of precipices yawning far below the feet. Some provisions, and a wine or brandy flask, should be taken. It occupies 3 hours, and 2 to descend, and com- mences from the corner of the Cirque on the rt. hand, opposite to the high fall. A stranger would scarcely find the spot ; no path leads to it, and there is no apparent break or interruption in the perpendicular wall of the Cirque. The strata of the limestone are here vertical, and a buttress of it slightly projecting from the mass furnishes the means of scaling the precipice along the abrupt and shattered edges of the slaty rock here divided like the leaves of a book, set on end, but shiverv on the surface. The broken angles and splinters serve with care as steps, in which one may insert the toes and fingers, but it is as abrupt as the as- cent of a ladder ; and wide spaces of smooth rock often intervene without any notch or projection offering a foothold. To those who cannot look down a sheer precipice many hundred feet deep without a tendency to giddi- ness, there is some danger in this es- calade, as well as in passing over some smooth projecting shoulders of rock, and round the edges of 1 or 2 cliffs, v

314

Route 85. — Breche de Roland.

Sect. IV.

which alternate higher up with steep slopes, covered less with grass than with fallen stones. These steep grassy banks form a pasturage, called Las Serrades, for the flocks of some Span - ish shepherds, who rent them from the commune of Gavarnie. There is no | intermission to the steepness of the | ascent, no flat interval between the j slopes ; it takes more than 1 hour of [ “ treadmill work ” to rise above the high cascade. It is a glorious sight to j look down from this upon the precipices and waterfalls, and the great glacier which feeds them, at which, shortly | before, you gazed up with aching neck. Hence the Tours de Marbore are well seen ; and at this height about noon, the roar of avalanches succeeds to the monotonous dash of waterfalls, which before alone interrupted the solitude. The Cirque is soon after lost sight of : above your head rises an expanse of snow and glacier co- vering a steep slope, inclined like the roof of a house, surmounted by the wall of rock, in the midst of which is Roland’s Breach, and another similar embrasure on the rt. of it, called Fausse Breche. As the glacier is too abrupt to ascend, you leave it on the 1. hand, and begin to climb a less steeply inclined, snow-clad slope, which at some seasons is denuded down to the slaty rubbish below the snow. It is a work of some fatigue to surmount this, and crampons and a pole are generally furnished by the guide. When two-thirds of the acclivity are surmounted the guide turns to the 1. across the glacier, whose surface is so highly inclined that it is not pos- sible to scale it from below. Even to cross it when the snowy surface is hard or slippery requires great cau- tion. The mountaineer sets his foot down firmly with a stamp, to secure a firm hold, and drives in his pole well at every step he takes : a false move would send you at once to the bottom. A few paces beyond the glacier brings you to the Breche. That insignificant notch in the moun- tain brow seen from Gedre (p. 311.)

has now expanded into a colossal portal 300 ft. wide, 350 ft. high, and 50 ft. thick — 9,337 ft. above the sea level. The ridge or crest in which it is formed is literally, not meta- phorically, a wall of rock varying in height from 300 to 600 ft., which here divides France from Spain, escarped on both sides, and not more than 50 or 80 ft. thick. Through this sin- gular opening — as it were a window in the mountain, nearly square in its angles, and not much wider above than below, Spain is seen ; a most uninviting prospect of rugged and bare mountains and valleys filled with stones and snow in the fore ground, while the distance is formed by the hazy plain of Arragon rising high up against the horizon. On the French side there is more of interest in the striking forms of the Vignemale, the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, the Bergons, and a hundred other peaks.

The Breche is said by Ramond to be visible from Saragossa and Huesca; and a practised eye, knowing where to search for these cities, might, with the aid of a telescope in a clear state of the atmosphere, be enabled to dis- cern them from hence.

The threshold of the Breche is an- gular, like the roof of a house, and the frontier line runs directly along it, so that one may sit astride of it with one leg in France, and the other in Spain.

All along the front of the Breche, on the French side, the glacier is scooped out into a deep fosse or cavity by the action of the sun’s rays pouring from the south, through the opening, as Raymond has well explained, so that it cannot be approached directly, but only by skirting the edge of the cavity. The ascent was accomplished by the Duchesse de Berri, in 1828, but it is not fit for ladies in general.

The Breche de Roland is used by the inhabitants of several villages on the Spanish side as a pass into France, I and especially by smugglers. Through / it lies the way to ascend the Mont / Perdu, whose top may be reached in 6 / hours from the Breche, descending at /

Pyrenees. Route 85. - — Mont Perdu — Luz to Bareges. 315

first some hundred feet, and skirting the crumbling slopes of the Marbore on the 1. Travellers usually pass the night in a poor hut near its base on the high table land called Mi llaris, scattered over with slaty debris, and traversed by rents and deep fissures. Mont Perdu is composed of 4 stages or terraces, faced by abrupt escarp- ments, each receding farther back than the one below. The 2 lower steps are easily ascended by means of a talus of marly debris fallen from above. The 3d and 4th are very difficult to scale, especially the 4th, which can only be reached through a sort of chimney, serving as an outlet for the melting snow. The summit of the Mont Perdu is 11,168 feet above the sea level, second in height to the Maladetta alone among the Pyrenees ; and was first sur- mounted in 1802 by Ramond after two dangerous and frpitless attempts. It is not to be tried without the aid of a skilful guide. One may ascend from the hut of the Millaris, and re- turn from the summit to Gedre on the same day.

Very interesting excursions may be made from Gavarnie into Spain to Busaruelo, and 1 hour beyond, return- ing the same day; and, 2dly, Over the Breche de Roland to Faulo, Nerin, and the rivulet Bellos. See Hand- book for Spain.

Bareges and Pass of the Tourmalet to Bagneres de Bigorre.

It requires 1| hour to go in a car- riage with two horses from Luz to Bareges, though the distance is only 4\ m., but it is an ascent all the way, and the road is heavy and badly made, because constantly washed away by the torrent. Notwithstanding this the accommodation at Bareges is so very inferior that the traveller bound for Bagneres by the Tourmalet had better lengthen his day’s journey by starting from Luz than put up at Bareges.

On quitting Luz you pass on the

1. the ruined castle of Ste. Marie, one of the last possessions retained by the English in the S. of France, since it held out for the Black Prince nearly as long as Lourdes (p. 303.). It stands on a mount, at the point where the valley of Bareges, or of the Bas- tan, opens into the plain of Luz. This is one of the least attractive val- leys of the Pyrenees ; the mountains around it are not picturesque in their forms, and the fissile and easily disin- tegrated shale composing them, crum- bling down and filling up the bottom and sides of the valley, has been cut through by the Bastan. and other furi- j oustorrents which seam the mountains’ sides. From time to time vast masses of debris are washed down, and eboulements ensue, which stop up the watercourses until a debacle occurs, and spreads desolation below it. Such catastrophes are of frequent occur- rence; and the main torrent, the Bas- tan, is a very scourge. The great elevation of the valley above the sea contributes to its cheerless and forbid- ding character ; and it is in such a situation, at a height 4,180 ft. above the sea level, confined by gloomy mountains which almost seem to over- hang it, that

7 Bareges stands, a watering place better known byname, perhaps, in dis- tant countries, than any other among the Pyrenees, and in deserved repute 1 with those who are really ill and in earnest to get well, on account of the cures effected by its waters, but void | of all other attractions, destitute even of a tolerable Inn (H. de France; best,

but very uncomfortable ; cuisine dirty

and bad ; — H. de La Paix ; worse j still). There is nothing to see here, so that our advice to travellers for | amusement is, pass through and tarry i not. Being the loftiest of the Pyre- nean baths, its atmosphere is chilly i and variable even in the height of summer. It contains about 70 houses, chiefly lodgings, with two miserable cafes, arranged in a long, dull street | running by the side of the Gave. The

-p o.

316

Sect. IV.

Route 85. -

buildings next the stream, which I are meant to last, are based on huge \ buttresses of masonry, without which precaution they would long ago have been swept away by the inundations of the torrent. A wide gap, how- ever, is left in the midst, upon which only a few temporary booths and huts of wood are raised, for the winter avalanches sweep down from the mountains Ayre on the S. and Midaii on the N., through the wide gaping gashes in their sides, which open out opposite the vacant space, and bury this part of the town under the snow for several months of the year. In consequence Bareges is inhabited only during summer and autumn, and is abandoned for the rest of the year, except by a few persons who take care of the houses, to the wolves and bears, who often come down and prowl about the streets. Mr. Erskine Murray, who came hither in the midst of winter, found the entire population reduced to 30 men and women, col- lected around the great public bath for the sake of the heat of the water, all busily employed knitting. At the beginning of summer the owners re- turn and dig out their houses from the snow, which covers them up to the first floor. The triste air of the place is greatly increased by the num- ber of cripples, sick, and invalids you encounter at every step. This may be called the Hospital Brunnen of the Pyrenees, being visited yearly by 1 ,000 or 1,200 genuine invalids, to whom the prospect of regaining health is a sufficient attraction. The French go- vernment have established here a military hospital, capable of receiving 300 men and 100 officers (perhaps more) for 50 days. The cures effected by the waters are wonderful : their efficacy is very great in gunshot and other wounds, in curing sores, in re- lieving rheumatism, stiffness of the joints, and scrofulous complaints. They cause old wounds or ill-cured ulcers to open afresh at first, then relieve them by discharges, drawing to the surface extraneous bodies long

— Bareges.

imbedded in the flesh, and promoting the exfoliation of carious portions of bone, and finally close the wound in a healthy manner.

The mineral water is very strong, its principal ingredient being sulphuret of sodium, with portions of carbonate, muriate and sulphate of soda, azote, sulphuretted hydrogen, and animal matter. It is derived from 6 or 7 different springs, the most potent being that called Le Tambour, but the sup- ply is scarcely adequate to the demand. They are conducted into a miserably- arranged, dirty, and ill-smelling bath- house, where they fill 16 baths, for the use of which 1 fr. is charged, and into 3 piscines or public baths capable of holding from 12 to 20 persons each. One of these is appropriated to the soldiers, another to the civil service, the 3d to the poor. Admis- sion to them is settled by order of precedence, and they are in use all day and all night. Indeed so pre- cious is the fluid, that the water from the bath-house is said to be turned into the piscines. The piscines are horrid vaulted dens below ground, their roof serving as a promenade, filled with vapour ; and the water has a greenish- yellow tint. The waters have a strong smell of rotten eggs, and a nauseous oily taste ; after standing they are covered on the surface with a film of glairy unctuous substance, which they also deposit in the sides and bottom of the bath, called Baregine by French chemists. These valuable medicinal springs rise (as usual in the Pyrenees) near the junction of the slate rock with the granite, and force their way to the surface through a mass of debris com- posed of the neighbouring rocks. They were first brought into notice by a visit which Madame de Maintenon paid to them 1676, by advice of the royal physician Fagon, for the sake of the young Due de Maine, natural son of Louis XIV., and her pupil. The “ gouvernante ” dates several of her letters from hence ; and after a pro- tracted residence she had the satis- faction of bringing back the little

Pyren. R. 85. — The Tourmalet — Pic du Midi de Bigorre, 317

cripple so much better that he could enter the room to meet the king walk- j ing. She reached this place by cross- ' ing the Tourmalet, the road by Lourdes not being then made, and lodged in the Maison Maraquette. Bareges was once nearly swept away by the burst- ing of the Lac d’ Oncet.

A scanty and stunted wood of firs j and alders is planted on the hill above Bareges on the S. It serves as a par- tial protection from avalanches, and below is converted into a promenade by walks cut along the slopes.

The fine tissue called crepe de Bar&ges, is not made here, but at Bagneres de Bigorre.

Diligences go daily in the season to Lourdes, where they correspond with those to Pau, Toulouse, and Bagneres. The direct road to Bagneres, and by far the most interesting, is over the Tourmalet, but it is not practicable for carriages. Horses and guides may be obtained at Bareges.

Besides the excursions described under the head of Luz, which may be made from Bareges nearly as weil as j from that place, is the ascent of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, which lies but j a short way off the road to Bagneres by the Tourmalet, and will now be ; described.

The distance from Bareges to Bag- neres de Bigorre across the Tourmalet is about 18 m. ; including a halt to ■ rest the horses, it takes up from 7 to 8 : hours. A good bridle road, which might be made passable for chars, ' leads up the Bastan valley on the 1. j bank of the torrent. The valley looks very dreary from the barrenness of the mountain tops, and the deep gashes cut in their crumbling sides by the avalanches which rush down them in spring. Yet the course of the fall- j ing snow is so regular, that on the j very margin of these gashes cottages | are built, each protected by a tuft of trees, and along their slopes a few cul- tivated patches of corn stretch upwards. Two torrents descend from the rt., out of the vales of Lienz and Escabous, at

whose head lie nearly a dozen small tarns, or lakes. After passing these, the Bastan is crossed, and the main ascent begins.

[About If hour’s walk from Bareges you pass on the 1. a path striking S. up a small valley towards the Pic du Midi de Bigorre. That majestic mountain, which though 9,553 ft. above the sea level, is free from snow in summer, rises on the 1. of the Pass of the Tourmalet, and is accessible, even on horseback, in 41 hours from Bareges. The path is steep, and in many places dangerous, there being scarcely room for a horse to step. It is possible to ride to within 100 yards of the summit. The way lies by the margin of the Lac d’ Oncet, a picturesque tarn at the foot of the peak, nearly closed in by precipices, about 2,000 ft. below the summit. The view from the top is magnificent. It wants the numerous lakes of the Righi, — but in other re-

spects is superior. The Pic stands

j at the outer verge of the Pyrenean range ; it descends with only one break to the plain, and affords a view towards Bordeaux and Toulouse, bounded only by the limit of vision. It comprises on the N. the plains watered by the Adour and Garonne, on the S. the great chain, including the step-like mass of the Mont Perdu, the Cylindre, Tours de Marbore, Breche de Roland, and Vignemale, covered with glaciers, while among a multitude of peaks to the E. rises the Maladetta, the loftiest of the Pyre- nees, forming a conspicuous point in this immense semicircle of mountains. There is another way down through the Hourquette de Cinq Ours and the ravine leading from the Lac d’ Oncet to Trames Aigues in the valley of Grip.]

The Tourmalet is a low curved ridge, such as would be called a col in the Alps, an isthmus uniting the Pic du Midi with the main chain of I the Pyrenees, over which lies the passage from the valley of the Gave de Pau into that of the Adour. A p 3

318

Route 85. — Vale of the Adour — Grip. Sect. IV.

series of steep zigzags carried over heaps of shivered shale, leads up to it. On the rt. rise three bristling moun- tains of fine form, the Caubere, the Camparia, and the Pic d’Espade. The summit of the Pass is 7,141 feet above the sea level : the view from it is not very striking ; but as you look back the Monne and mountains above Cauterets are visible beyond it. The vale of Grip opens out far more plea- singly than that of Bareges, carpetted with beautiful pastures ; it is the cradle of the infant Adour, which rises near the base of the Pic d’Espade. After a mile or two of gradual de- scent, the valley makes an abrupt dip, down which the path is carried by a series of very steep zigzags called Escalette, to a hamlet occupied by shepherds, called Trames Aigues (3 hours from Bareges), at the mouth of a gorge through which the pyramidal mass of the Pic du Midi appears in full majesty. This is the finest object on the pass : its bare precipice, when lighted up by the sun, exhibits the most singularly contorted strata, imi- tating the lines on an agate. It re- mains in sight only for a short dis- tance, but from no point does this mountain appear to greater advantage. The summit of the Pic is reached from Bagneres by ascending this valley.

Near Artigues, a hamlet on the rt. beyond the river, is a cascade formed by one of the tributaries of the Adour, and a little lower down is another, the Garret , in the course of the Adour it- self, beneath a black fir forest, which covers the shoulder of the mountain like a bear-skin, above the village of Grip. Grip is a prettily situated group of scattered cottages, including a very tolerable country inn, famed for its trout (H. des Voyageurs, chez Caze- res) : it is the one nearest Bagneres, 4 hours’ walk or ride from Bareges, and 3^ from Bagneres de Bigorre. Grip is much frequented by visitors from both baths, on account of its waterfalls and its pleasing position, precisely in the part of the vallej’-

where trees flourish, corn begins to grow, and pastures become most ver- dant. The Pic du Midi may be reached in 5 h. from this.

From Grip to Bagneres de Bigorre there is a good carriage road, which, at St. Marie, falls into the valley of Campan, and the route to Luchon by Arreau (R. 86.). The aspect of the Val de Campan from this point, and in descending to Bigorre, is less attrac- tive than in ascending, owing to the arid, bare, and stained escarpments of the limestone cliffs (Jura limestone) on the rt. bank of the Adour, but there are some fine views on the 1. looking up the tributary valleys to- wards the Pic du Midi.

Ste. Marie, 1\ m. from Bagneres, lies near the point of junction of two valleys, up one of which runs the road to Grip and the Tourmalet, and up the other, that to Luchon by Arreau. The village of Campan, lower down, which gives its name to the valley, is not remarkable, but every traveller is pestered as he passes to visit the grotto, which is not worth seeing.

16 The Pics du Midi and de Mon- taigu are well seen below this, through the fine opening of the vale of Les- ponne to the 1. : near its entrance stands the mansion of St. Paul.

At Baudean, a small village a little lower down, Baron Larrey, the army surgeon and favourite of Buonaparte, who accompanied him on his various campaigns, was born 1766, in a hum- ble house marked by a marble tablet. The valley of Campan is fertile, well cultivated, and populous, with a con- siderable show of picturesque beauty (seep. 326. ). The precipitous moun- tain rising on the rt. is the Penne de V Hyeris, often ascended on account of its view. The Pont de Gerde, over the Adour, leads to it.

2 m. short of Bagneres close to the road, is Medous, a sequestrated and abandoned Capuchin convent, reduced to uninteresting ruins. A copious source of clear water rising here serves to turn a marble mill. On the out-

Pyrenees. Route 86, — Bagneres de Bigorre to Luchon. 319

skirts of Bagneres, the road passes close under the promenade called Allees Maintenon, p. 326.

Bagneres de Bigorre (Route 86.).

ROUTE 86.

THE PYRENEES. BAGNERES DE BI"

GORRE TO BAGNERES DE LUCHON.

MOUNTAIN ROAD, BY THE HOUR-

QUETTE D'ASPIN. ARREAU, COL DE

PEYRESORDES, AND YAL DE L’AR-

BOUST. EXCURSION TO THE LAC DE

SECULEJO, OR LAC d’oO.

This route may be divided into 2 days’ journey by halting for the night at Arreau, situated about half way. The road to that place is prac- ticable for light cars ; beyond it there is only a bridle road. The total distance may be about 40 m., exclusive of the excursion to Seculejo, which is about 12 m. more, to and fro, off the direct road ; The route abounds in picturesque beauties ; it ascends the Val Campan (described in R. 85.) as far as the village of Ste. Marie, m., 4 hours’ walk from j Arreau. We here leave, on the rt., the road to Grip and the Tourma- j let, and crossing the x^dour ascend j gradually along the bank of its E. ! tributary, up the Yal de Seoube, and, passing through a scattered and pic- turesque village, reach, in 21 or 3 hours, Paillole, a group of cottages, in the midst of green pastures, en- circled by noble forests, which seem I to have suffered little diminution from the woodman’s axe. In the mountain on the E. side of the valley, composed j of transition limestone, are the quar- ries of Espiadet, yielding the marble called of Campan, a great deal of which was employed in the decoration of the royal villa of Trianon. After being long abandoned, they are now again worked by M. Geruset of Bag- neres At Campan itself, where the rocks are of the Jura limestone, no marble is obtained.

The ascent to the Col, or Hourquette d'Aspin , is carried up from the farm

cottages of Paillole, at first in zigzags, entirely through forests of fir, com- posed of fine trees of ancient growth, covering the hill sides far and wide. Through gaps among the trees, the bare Pic d’Arbezon is seen, from time to time, on the rt., at the head of the valley. The trees thin out before reaching the top of the pass, whose open curved slopes are covered with turf. The Hourquette d’Aspin (li hours from Paillole) commands one of the finest views in the Pyrenees. Look back, and the Pic du Midi de Bigorre and the Pic d’Arbizon rise majestically above the pine forests ; forward, and the billowy forms of many mountains, and the junction of many valleys, peaks, ridges, and hol- lows, one behind another, are pre- sented to view, and the horizon is closed by the snowy top of the | Maladetta, or at least of the Monts I Maudits. The slope of the hills, on j the side of Arreau, is so steep that the I descent upon that town, which appears j lying in a hole, as it were, no more than a rifle shot off, is only ef- fected by most complicated tourni- quets, or winding terraces, the vagaries of which are most extraordinary and tantalising : 4 or 5 times, when

you think you are close to Arreau, the road turns away to penetrate nearly to the head of the valley, on the rt. or 1„ and it takes a good hour from the top of the pass to reach the town, which is about 5| hours’ ride or walk from Bagneres. There is another pass from the Yal de Campan into the Yal d’Aure, and to Arreau, crossing the mountains more to the S. than the above, but the path is not so well marked, and is much steeper though shorter. It is called Hourquette d’ Arreau,

Arreau\(Inn: H. de France, neither clean, good, nor moderate ) is a small town, no wise remarkable except for its situation, nearly in the midst of the picturesque Yal d’Aure, which runs up into the Pyrenees, between the Val de Campan and the Val de ? 4

320

Route 86. — Arreau — Val de Louron. Sect. IV.

Luchon, at the junction of the Nestes (or torrents) de Louron and d’Aure, which turn several saw -mills : the number of inhabitants is about 1,600.

Lower down the valiey, near Sar- rincolin, are the marble quarries of Beyride and Camous.

The upper part of the Val d’Aure unfolds scenery whose extreme beauty and magnificence will well recompense the pedestrian disposed to explore it, and prepared for the wretched ac- commodation which is to be found. Indeed it is advisable to take pro- visions of some kind, or at least white bread. A path along the 1. bank of the Neste leads through the villages of Cadeac (i hour), Ancisan, Gui- chen, all ancient settlements of the Templars, to Vielle (Aure), 5 m., a village with a wretched inn (H. d’Espagne), a very picturesque ruined castle on a height, and a curious church of the Templars, with a wooden clock tower, and a singularly orna- mented door. Over this part of the valley the Pics d’Arbizon and d’Azet rise in great grandeur. One hour’s walk above Vielle is Tramesaigues, a village having sulphureous springs, whose situation Mr. Paris considers one of the most romantic in the Py- renees. Here the valley divides, and 2 paths strike off into Spain, one due S. by the Port de Plan, the other inclining to S.W. by the Port de Bielsa, passing Aragnouet, whence a path mounts over the Port de Cam- biel to Gedre, at the mouth of the Val d’FIeas. (R. 85. p. 311.)

The Port de Camhiel is a depression between the mountains of Cambiel and the Pic Long, nearly 8,000 feet high, whence the Vignemale and Mont Perdu are well seen.

Two mule paths conduct from Ar- reau to B. de Luchon ; one by the Port de Pierrefitte (6 hours’ walk), which is the loftier and the finer in point of scenery, but a bad road ; the other, more commonly taken, by the Port de Peyresordes. It runs up the Valley of the Neste de Louron,

which, at first narrow, widens out, and becomes populous higher up, and is studded with a great number of old feudal castles, now in ruins, but which once defended the passage into Spain, perched on conical rocks. That of Borderes, on the 1. bank, was the stronghold of the Counts of Ar- magnac, owners of the valley, the last of whom, John V., in the reign of Louis XI., 1475, on account of his infamous union with his sister, was excommunicated by the pope, and deprived of his princely domains by Louis. Below this, looking back, there is a good view of the windings of the road to the Col d’Aspin and of the town of Arreau, which looks well only at a distance. At Avejan, above Borderes, the road crosses to the rt. bank, and, gradually ascend- ing by narrow lanes flanked by trees and hedges, through the villages Es- travielle and several others, reaches Loudervielle, distinguished by its square feudal Avatch-tower projecting over the valley, and confronted, on the opposite side, by a rival fort, based upon a rocky pedestal now quarried for slates. Above this, the vale of the Louron divides into 2 branches, terminating in the Ports de la Pez and de Clarbide, leading into Spain, but difficult, if not dangerous, and little used ; and between them rises the grand Pic de Genos. Near the Port de la Pez are remains of a tunnel 200 feet long, commenced by some specu- lators, who designed to bore through the mountain in order to reach the Spanish pine forests, and make use of their timber. The scheme was aban- doned. The ruined gallery is situ- ated high above all habitations, and to visit it would take up a day. We pursue our course up the valley no farther, but at Loudervielle (2^ hours’ ride from Arreau) turn to the 1. up a very steep stony ascent leading to the Col de Peyresordes , 4,452 feet above the sea, which separates the Val de Louron from that of L’Ar- boust, covered with coarse pasturage

Pyrenees. Route 86. — Val de V Arboust — Lac d' Oo. 321

dotted over with a few fir trees. Cultivation is carried up very high in the opposite valley ; but the woods (arbusta), from which, doubtless, it derives its name, are greatly dimi- nished. Before descending, a narrow path, difficult, and not practicable for horses, strikes off on the rt. direct to the Lac d’Oo, or de Seculejo. Horsemen must make a considerable detour, descending the valley as far as an ancient, half-ruined, solitary church, planted on a singular mound, by the side of which rises the brand or split fir tree set in readiness to be lighted on “The Eve of St. John” (If hours from Loudervielle).

In order to reach the beautiful Lac d’Oo you turn to the rt. at this church, and by a very narrow and stony path, through the fields and along the slopes of a hill which drops down upon the village d’Oo and its picturesque castle, you enter the Val de Lasto, as this branch of the Val de 1’ Arboust, at whose upper end lies the Lac de Seculejo, is called. It is very nar- row and deep, closed in by impend- ing mountains, and at its head by glaciers. The horse path up it crosses the clear stream of the Oo or Go, just outside of the village, and follow- ing the rt. bank of the stream, threads stony lanes between pastures of vivid green under the shade of ash trees. Next, it emerges upon open meadows, beyond which it begins to mount in earnest, by a long series of zigzags, a high step stretching across the valley, which from below or above appears a precipice, yet is made accessible for horses, but is very toilsome to sur- mount. We now enter the fir woods ; the mountains, sternly grand, rise beetling over the path, which is at one spot a mere shelf cut in the face of the rock. At length, the valley is tra- versed from side to side by a natural dam of slate rocks, whose strata are vertical. Behind this the little oval basin called Lac d’ Oo, or de Seculejo, lies snugly cradled, shut in all round, save on the side of the dam, by pre-

cipices of great height, which, though vertical, are tinged green by partial vegetation. In front, a very fine cas- cade forms the centre of the picture, and is reflected in a white streak upon the dark mirror of the lake below. The waters of the lake escape in a fall over a gap in the slate dam al- ready mentioned, upon which also stands a hut, where horses may be put up, and common refreshments obtained. The lake abounds with trout. Here a small toll is paid for keeping up the path.

The waterfall of the Lac d’Oo is fed from a still higher reservoir, the Lac d'Espingo, drawing its supplies from the contiguous glaciers. It may be reached either by a narrow path along the 1. or E. margin of the Lac d’Oo, or by crossing it in a boat kept to convey people to the foot of the fall, and then by clambering up at the side of it through a rent in the slate rock, whose broken laminations serve as steps (scala); next, passing above the cascade, it reaches the upper lake, D’Espingo, and a third lake close beside it, called Saounsat, in which fish cannot live, though trout are found in its neighbour, lying at the foot of the Mount Espingo, amidst scenery far more savage than that of the Lake d’Oo. The path continues above this, over beds of snow, past a fourth lake, which remains ice-bound almost the whole year, to the col called Port d ’ Oo, 9,850 ft. above the sea level, the loftiest col or pass in the Pyrenees, and surpassed by very few among the Alps, leading to the Spanish town of Venasque. (R. 87.). On the 1. of this pass lies the vast glacier of the Port d’Oo, the second in extent, next to that of the Mala- detta, among the Pyrenees.

It takes about li hrs. to ascend from the village d’Oo to the Lac d’Oo, and 3 hrs. to descend from the lake to Luchon.

In going from Luchon to the Lac d’Oo you turn to the 1. out of the Val de L’ Arboust at the village of Cazeauz ; r 5

322

Route 87. — Pau to Bagneres de Bigorre. Sect. IV.

beggars and goitres abound here. Lower down is St. Aventin, a large village named from a chapel of that saint.

Thus far the road is kept in very bad order ; hence, to Luchon, though steep, it is practicable for chars. After crossing the minor stream of the L’Oueil, the fine avenue called Allde des Soupirs leads into

Bagneres de Luchon. (R. 87.)

ROUTE 87.

THE PYRENEES. PAU TO BAGNERES

DE BIGORRE, AND TO BAGNERES DE

LUCHON, BY TARBES. POST ROAD.

EXCURSIONS TO THE VAX DE LYS, PORT DE VENASQUE, AND VAL d’aRAN.

To B. de Bigorre, 60 kilom. = 37 Eng. m., thence to Luchon 78 kilom. = 48 Eng. m.

Diligences daily, but very slow.

The following is the direct post road between the two Bagneres ; it runs through the plain to the N. of the Pyrenees, affording only distant views of them. To explore their beauties, the traveller must pursue Routes 85. and 86. — practicable partly only on horseback.

A high table land, in part unculti- vated, is traversed both before and after reaching

16 Bordes d’Expouy.

The village passed on the rt., shortly before entering Tarbes, dis- tinguished by its lofty church, is Ibos.

23 Tarbes. — Inns : H. de l’Eu- rope; — de la Paix ; — H. de France: Grand Soleil. Sir John Froissart put up at the Star, and commended his hostel. Tarbes, chef lieu of the Department of the Hautes Pyrenees, is pleasantly situated on the clear Adour, in the midst of a fertile plain, in full view of the Pyrenees. It has 9,706 inhabitants and some manu- factures, but contains few objects of interest. Several public walks con- tribute to the public health and re- creation, the principal and most

striking of which is the Place Man - bourguet, where are the principal inns and cafes. There is also a pleasant walk by the side of the river. The buildings are not remarkable. On the Place Marcadieu the markets and extensive yearly fairs are held. There is a fine bridge over the Adour, and a portion of its water is distributed in canals through the town. The chief building is a modern cathedral, said to occupy the site of the Castle of the Counts of Bigorre, of which Tarbes (the city of the Tarbelli) was the capital. The English monarchs re tained possession of Bigorre, which, with Guienne, formed the dowry of Queen Eleanor, for 300 years, down to the reign of Charles VII. The Black Prince kept his court at Tarbes ; Froissart describes his visit to the Comte d’Armagnac.

The distant view of the Pyrenees is scarcely equal to that from Pau, but the Pic du Midi de Bigorre here forms the prominent object, and the mountains about Luchon are also visible. An English baronet keeps a pack of fox-hounds here, and turns out several times a week in the sea- son. Tarbes was the birth-place (1755) of the infamous Bertrand Barere de Vieusac, member of the National Convention, the meanest and most dastardly, as well as the most cruel of the monsters of the Revolution. (See Edin. Rev. 1844.)

A smart action was fought at Tarbes, in the interval between the battle of Orthez and that of Tour louse, in which the British army drove the French from their position, and compelled them to retreat, One French brigade was attacked by the 3 rifle battalions : “ The fight was

short, yet wonderfully fierce and violent, for the French, probably thinking their opponents to be Por- tuguese, on account of their green dress, charged with great hardiness* and being encountered by men not accustomed to yield, they fought muzzle to muzzle, and it was diffi-

Pyrenees.

323

Route 87 . — Bagneres de Bigorre.

cult to judge at first who would win. At last the French gave way.” But out of the 120 men who fell on the side of the British, there were 12 officers and 80 men of the Rifles. — Napier.

The road from Tarbes to Cauterets and Bareges, by Lourdes (19 kilom. ) is described in R. 85. Tarbes is the key to the communication with all parts of the Pyrenees.

Mallepostes go daily to Pau and Bayonne ; to Auch and Toulouse ; to Auch, Agen, and Limoges.

Diligences go to Lourdes and Ba- reges ; also to Bagneres ; to Toulouse and Bordeaux ; to Bayonne, Auch, Agen ; to Bagneres de Luchon, by Lannemezan, a long stage of 20 Eng. m.

From Tarbes our road ascends the 1. bank of the Adour; gradually ad- vancing within the embrace of the mountains, which rise in height in pro- portion as we advance. The country is richly cultivated, copiously irrigated, and thickly peopled ; no less than 8 villages being passed on this stage. A little off the road lies the Chateau d’Odos, where Marguerite, Queen of Navarre, sister of Francis I., died, 1549. Near Montgaillard, the road from Lourdes, Bareges, and Cau- terets, to Bagneres, falls in on the rt. At Trebons, the Val d’Ossouet opens out on the rt., and runs up towards the Pic de Montaigu.

A little below Pouzac occurs a church, walled round like that of the Templars at Luz. About 2 m. below Bagneres, on the rt. bank of the Adour, near the farther extremity of a wooden bridge over that river, the geologist will discover a knob of hornblende or trap rock (ophite), which appears to have affected the rocks about it, since, a little lower down, the granite is found decom- posed, intermixed with a limestone which has assumed a large granular structure.

The knoll passed on the rt., a little behind the village of Pousac, before !

reaching the town, is the Camp de Ccesar, so called from an intrench- ment upon it.

21. Bagneres de Bigorre. — Inns: Hotel de France, good ; comfortable apartments, and excellent table d’hote ; Galignani is regularly taken in ; per- sons making some stay may board and lodge for 6 fr. per diem : — Fres- cati, a large establishment, including mineral baths and springs, a concert room, billiard and coffee rooms : — Hotel du Grand Soleil : — du Bon Pasteur, good : — de la Paix.

Bagneres is the most town-like of the Pyrenean watering places in ex- tent, amusements, shops, &c., having a permanent population of 8,000, often augmented by 6,000 or 8,000 strangers intent upon pleasure as well as health, during the season, which lasts from the end of June to the end of September. It is a cheerful town of white- washed houses, set off with blue marble window- sills and door-jambs, delightfully situated, just where the plain of Tar- bes begins to contract into the vale of Gam pan, and the slopes which bound it to change from hills into mountains, whose noble peaks and masses rising to the S. form the back- ground of all the beautiful views in and about the town, while undu- lating slopes, trees, fields of maize, vines, and villas fill up the fore- ground. It stands at a height of only 1,852 ft. above the sea level ; audits fault is the fervid heat, dust, and glare during part of the summer, un- fanned by the mountain breezes. The Adour, on whose 1. bank it is built, is here greatly reduced in breadth and volume by the numerous artificial cuts and canals, which borrow its waters for the purpose of irrigation, and to turn marble, paper, and other mills. A large part of these streams also is made to circulate through the streets; and thus they contribute to clean them, while they freshen the air. Every street and lane has its own clear gutter, at which the house- p 6

324?

Sect. IV.

Route 87. — Bagneres de Bigorre.

wives wash their linen and domestic vessels before their own doors ; while to the deeper canals, horses, asses, and pigs repair twice a day, and after wading knee deep, are ladled over with water thrown from their backs bv a wooden scoop.

Montaigne preferred Bagneres above all the Eaux Thermales which he had visited, “ comme celles ou il y avait plus d’amenite de lieu, commo- dite de logis, de vivre, et de bonne compagnie;” and on almost all these heads it still continues to deserve praise. The climate is warmer and less variable than that of the moun- tain baths; the cost of living and price of provisions are moderate, lodgings being very numerous, since almost every householder in the town lets either part or the whole of his domicile.

To the passing traveller its chief attractions are the picturesque beauties of the valleys and mountains around, which afford endless resources : in the town itself are scarcely any curiosities or sights.

The tall, octagonal, Gothic tower, rising near the H. de France, be- longed to a church of Jacobins, sup- pressed at the Revolution. The church of St. John, which belonged to the Templars, but is now converted into a playhouse, retains a fine pointed doorway, enriched with mouldings. One or two old feudal towers remain of the ancient fortifications, relics of the days when Froissart describes Bagneres as “une bonne, grosse ville, fermee,” whose peaceful citizens suf- fered sorely from a neighbouring den of thieves, or castle, or, to borrow Froissart’s words, “ Ceux d’icelle ville avoyent trop fort temps, car ils estoyent guerroyes et harries de ceux de Mal- voisin qui sied sur une montagne. ( See p. 327. ) Bagneres was given up to the English by the Treaty of Bre- tigny ; and, as a border fortress on a line of passage into Spain, it was taken by Henry of Trastamare by storm, after the death of his brother,

Don Pedro the Cruel. One of the towers, called de Malfourat, still stands opposite the Thermes.

Bagneres de Bigorre owes its re- putation as a watering-place to its warm saline springs, varying in tem- perature from 87° to 1 23° Fahrenheit. They are good for disorders of the digestive organs, and resemble those of Baden Baden, but contain a smaller quantity of saline substances. They were known to the Romans, as in- scriptions found in and near the town prove; indeed the name Bagneres is not improbably traced to the Latin “ Bal- nearia.” The sources rise, to the number of about 40, within the space of 3 or 4 hectares, out of a shaley calcareous rock, supposed to be the equivalent of the Jura limestone.

The Public Bathing Establishment , or Thermes, situated at the extremity of [the town, under Mount Olivet, is the largest building in it, and the handsomest and most cleanly in the Pyrenees, though the arrangements for conducting the mineral waters to it are said to be defective, and to de- prive them of a part of their medicinal properties. The six springs, La Reine (named from Jeanne de Navarre, mother of Henri IV., who used it 1567), Le Dauphin, Roi de Lannes, St. Roch, Foulon, and Des Yeux, are conducted into the building and distributed among its 29 baths and 4 douches. The water is previously received and cooled down in open tanks ; and it is in this situation that the substance called by French che- mists Baregine, but whose nature, whether animal or vegetable, conferva or oscillatoria, has not yet been ascer- tained, collects on the surface.

There are about 20 other private establishments in and around the town ; indeed it is only necessary to bore into the ground to a certain depth to obtain with certainty a warm saline spring. The most fashionable and frequented bath, and the water apparently most efficacious, is that of Le Salut, rather less than a mile out

Pyrenees, 1 Route 87 . — Bagneres de Bigorre

of the town, in a great recess in the flank of the Monne hill. The bath- house is a solitary building, ap- proached by a long avenue of poplars, winding through the pretty green valley, crowded at all hours, but chiefly in the morning, by bathers on horseback or foot, or in sedan chairs. It contains only 10 baths, so that, during the season, they are in request at all hours. The water of the Salut is saline, with a sulphureous smell ; and it has the property of blackening silver. It has scarcely any perceptible taste, only a sort of milky feel in the mouth.

Bagneres also possesses a chalybeate spring, Fontaine Ferrugineuse (or d’ Angouleme), almost the only one in the Pyrenees, situated on the E. fiank of the Mount Olivet, in the direction of the village of Pouzac (p. 323.). Granite is stated to have been found by digging, within a few feet of the spring, which, doubtless, originates in that rock.

The vale of Campan above Bag- nei'es abounds in the beautiful marbles for which the Pyrenees are famed : they are much used in Paris, and the working of them gives employment to many persons here. The Mar- ■ brerie of M. Geruset is on a very extensive scale, and the modes of cutting, turning in the lathe, and polishing large blocks, by^ machinery moved by the river, are well worth seeing. Tables, chimney-pieces, buf- fets, pillars, slabs, as well as vases and other articles, are made here ; and no less than 20 varieties of marble are employed. The prices are not extra- vagant : a list of the cost of the dif- ferent varieties is printed. The most beautiful are the green and flesh- coloured marbles of Campan, the blood red or Griotte, filled with fos- silised shells of the nautilus, whose spirals are disclosed in cutting. The quarries whence they are derived oc- cur in the transition limestone form- ation (see p. 319.). M. Geruset is also banker and agent of Coutts.

— Marbles. 32 5

The knitting of the fine wool of the Pyrenees, derived from Spain, gives employment to the greater part of the females, young and old, in and about the town, who may he seen sitting at their cottage doors, in the roads and streets, hard at work. The articles made here are counterpanes, mittens, aprons, caps, work-bags, be- sides shawls and scarfs of woollen gauze, rivalling in thinness fine lace. The so-called crepe de Bareges is not made at that place, but in Bagneres. The principal depot for this kind of articles seems to be chez Mademoiselle Laffourque.

“ A French Protestant minister from Lourdes preaches every Sunday through the summer to a congre- gation of from 50 to 100 persons.” — > Mrs. Ellis.

The reading room, library, and museum' of M. Jalon, Place d’Uzer, is an agreeable lounge : there is a good assortment of newspapers, including Galignani, and the library contains a most complete collection of works upon the Pyrenees. The museum is not very remarkable.

There is a Theatre here in a dese- crated church.

Concerts and balls, during the sea- son, are given at Frescati’s, a superb establishment which was formerly a gambling house.

Diligences, *4 or 5 daily to Tarbes ; thence to Pau, Auch, Bordeaux, Li- moges ; daily to Toulouse, to Bag- neres de Luchon, to Cauterets, Luz, Bareges (nearly 40 m. distant by the post and coach road, 20 by the Tour- malet). (See R. 85.)

Guides and ponies for excursions in the mountains are very numerous. The landlords of the H. de France or other inns will recommend the most trustworthy.

Chaises a porteurs, or sedan chairs, are much used by invalids to go to the bath. To be carried to the Bain de Salut and back costs 1 fr.

The Promenades most frequented in and near the town (besides the

326 B. 87 . — Bagneres de Bigorre — Val Lesponne . Sect. IV.

Avenues de Salut already mentioned) are the Coustous (? Coteau), a long platform in the midst of the town, lined with houses and cafes ; shaded with trees, under which a sort of fair is kept up throughout the season, in temporary booths occupied by itine- rant marchands. It is crowded in the cool of the evening.

The Alices de Maintenon, a row of trees planted along a bank above the road leading to Campan, are named from the lady who became the wife of Louis XIV., but who visited these baths in the capacity of gouvernante to his deformed child, the Due de Maine, for the benefit of the waters in 1675, 1677, and 1681.

The pleasantest walk in the morning is along the slopes of the Mont Olivet , the wooded hill rising behind the Thermes. Numerous shady paths are cut through the trees, whence you may survey the vale of the Adour. One path skirting the flanks of the hill leads to the chalybeate spring.

In the rear of Mont Olivet and of the Bains de Salut rises the loftier cone-topped mountain Bedat, which takes more than half an hour to ascend, but is accessible on horseback.

By crossing the 2 bridges over the two main arms of the Adour, by which the road to Toulouse quits the town, and turning to the rt., after passing the second, up a steep road in zigzags, the Palombiere is reached ; a row of trees on the top of the hill, between which the fowlers stretch their nets in September and October, to catch the migratory flocks of wild pigeons, aided by boys hoisted aloft in a sort of cradle at the top of a pair of poles 130 to 150 ft. high above the ground, a position which seems ter- rific, owing to the bending of the poles beneath their weight. On the approach of the birds the boy throws down a piece of wood somewhat in the shape of a pigeon, which making a whizzing noise causes the birds to stoop in their flight, so as to come within the reach of the net, which the

fowler allows to fall on them by loosening the cords. There is scarcely a better point than this to look up the valley of Campan and survey the magnificent mountains at its head, bounding it on the S. W. ; the Pic du Midi and the Pic de Montaigu, with the Penne (pen or Ben, Celtic, head) de l’Hyeris rising on the 1. In the midst, the white buildings of Bagneres are spread out, backed by the dark masses of the Mont Olivet, the Bedat, &c. The Adour makes little figure in the view, so much are its streams frittered away ; but be- low the town to the N. its wide, cul- tivated plain expands to view for miles and miles, xintil it unites with that of the Garonne.

More distant excursions, of great beauty and interest, are to the Valley of Grip and its cascades ; to Trames Aigues, on account of the fine view thence of the Pic du Midi, described at p. 318.; the ascent of that Pic also, p. 317.

The most beautiful scenery of the Vale of Campan is to be found within the branch of it called Val Lesponne, opening out near the Chateau de St. Paul, between Baudean and Campan, and running up between the Pic du Midi on the S. and the Pic de Mon- taigu on the N. Its lower portion has chiefly the pastoral character of rich verdure, alternating with culti- vated fields. Beyond the village Les- ponne it contracts in width, its aspect alters, and becomes wilder ; bare rocks and rugged crags succeed to dark forests of beech and pine : the forms of the mountains are very striking. About 2 m. above Lesponne a gorge, opening on the rt., displays the entire mass of the Montaigu, a noble spectacle ; and the streamlet traversing it descends the steep rocks in a pretty fall. Half an hour’s walk farther, and the valley divides : the branch on the rt. leads, in 3 hours, over the pass called Hourquette de Baran by Villelongue, to Pierreiitte in the Val d’Argelez ; that on the 1., disclosing the noble form

Pyrenees. JR. 87. — Bagneres de Bigorre — Lac Bleu . 327

of the Pic du Midi, leads up to the j Lac Bleu, in which the stream of the j Val Lesponne takes its rise. The as- 1 cent to it is very steep and fatiguing, though achieved by ladies ; it is cut through the mica slate rock, covered at first by a wood, beyond which are extensive pasturages. The lake itself “ is an oval basin, or tarn, about 2 m. long, at the top of a mountain, sur- rounded by bare craggy peaks of the most curious formation, within whose declivities the snow always remains. It is a solitary spot with no house, or tree, or living thing to be seen in its | vicinity, a stillness almost death-like reigning around. It might be dreary, but for the rich warm colouring of the rocks, the depth and stillness of the water, and its intense blue, whence it takes its name.” — Mrs. Ellis. Higher up is another smaller tarn, difficult to approach, distinguished as the Lac Vert, another of the head waters of the Adour.

The shortest and most romantic way to Bagneres de Luchon from B. de Bigorre is the bridle road by Arreau over the Hourquette d’Aspin, at the head of the Val de Campan, and through the Val de Louron, described in Route 86. Those who cannot endure the fatigue of riding must pursue the circuitous post road, which doubles the mountains, and skirts their roots between the valley of the Adour and that of the Garonne, as follows. It quits Bagneres by crossing the Adour, and for the two first stages is identical with that to Toulouse. A steep hill precedes

12 Escaladieu, where the post house occupies part of the buildings of the an- cient Abbey, now in ruins, charmingly placed on the borders of the Arros. It now belongs to a gentlemen of Bordeaux, who has fitted up a portion of the building as a dwelling. The chapel remains, with some fragments of Gothic sculpture. A little beyond it the ruins of the Castle Mauvezin (i. e. Mauvais Voisin, a name given by the i nhabitants of the neighbouring towns,

who suffered from the depredations of the bands of marauders sheltered in this stronghold) crown a detached hill. It witnessed many exploits during the occupation of this country by the English. It was besieged 1374 by the Due d’ Anjou, with an army of 8,000 men ; and the strength of the castle was so great that it would have held out for a very long time, but the well which supplied it being without the walls, the besiegers cut off the con- munication, and as the weather was hot and the cisterns dry, not a drop of rain having fallen for six weeks, the garrison were obliged to come to terms. The Due d’ Anjou allowed them to depart, saying, “ Get about your business, each of you to your own countries, without entering any fort that holds out against us ; for if you do so, and I get hold of you, I will deliver you up to Jocelin (his headsman), who will shave you without a razor.” He also allowed them to carry off as much of their booty as they could convey in trunks on sumpter horses. — See Froissart.

Capbern, a little farther on the road, is a small village, on one side of which, ) m. off, in a retired nook, are the Sul- phureous Springs of Capbern, having a bathing establishment, 3 hotels, and several lodging-houses attached to it. It is a place of increasing resort, owing to the virtue of its waters.

14 Lannemezan : on quitting this small bourg, a road branches off, S., into the Val d’Aure, to Arreau (R. 86.). There is a short cut for the pedestrian, or equestrian, to St. Ber- trand, by La Barthe, where is a good little country inn, opposite the ancient square tower, at the E. end of the village.

16 Montrejeau (Inn, tolerable), a town of 3,034 inhabitants, in front of the opening of the Vale of the Ga- ronne, whose vista is terminated by the grand peaks and ridges attached to the Monts Maudits, ranking among the highest of the Pyrenees ; at whose foot, on the S. , rises the Ebro, and on

328 JR. 87* — B. de Bigorre to Luchon — St. Bertrand . Sect. IV.

the N., the Garonne. It is a truly magnificent view. The stream of the Neste d’Aure falls into the Garonne a little above this. Here the road to Toulouse ( R. 91.) turns off to the 1 . ; and that to Luchon, crossing the Ga- ronne, begins to ascend its valley. On its rt. bank lies the ancient and curious walled town of St. Bertrand de Com- minges (Lugdunum Convenarum), situated at the opening of the Val de Barousse, upon and around a solitary rock, rising picturesquely out of the plain. Its summit is crowned by a Gothic church, the finest among the Pyrenees, in the Pointed style, whose choir and organ are ornamented with wood carvings, of very remarkable ex- cellence, executed apparently in the 16th or 17th centuries. The painted glass, and a monument of a bishop (date 1351) in white marble, deserve notice. Upon the walls are a series of rude and ancient (? fresco) paint- ings of the Miracles of St. Bertrand ; and some relics of the Saint are preserved in the sacristy. Here is hung up the skin of a crocodile, which is said to have infested the neighbourhood, and to have been destroyed by the saint ! In a frag- ment of the cloisters, which have only recently been pulled down, are some curious old tombs. This church was once a cathedral, and the town itself, now deserted (847 inhabitants), was the capital of a comte, and a bishop’s see. Many of the houses belonged to the canons and chapter. The inn is in the upper town.

The grotto of Gargas, 5 m. N. of the town, in the wooded hill extend- ing between the Garonne and Neste, is the finest in the Pyrenees, for ex- tent, and the beauty of its stalactites : the entrance is a hole so small that it is necessary to crawl through on one’s hands and knees.

The high road, leaving St. Bertrand on one side, again crosses the Garonne, by the Pont de Labroquere, and pur- sues its 1. bank, through scenery of great interest, in which well-cultivated fields, enclosed by festoons of vines,

hanging from tree to tree, form the foreground, and grand mountains the distance, by

16 Estenos — to Cierp, where we quit the Garonne, and enter the Vale of the Pique, which becomes its af- fluent at Cierp, a picturesque village, both on account of its antique cot- tages, and from its position, under cliffs which nearly overhang it, at a point where the vistas of 2 valleys meeting disclose noble views. There are quarries of a beautiful marble near this.

A road runs from Cierp up the Valley of the Garonne ( Vallee d’ Aran), one of the most beautiful in the Py- renees, to St. Beat, the last town of France, situated in a narrow gorge be- tween high mountains. (See p. 335.)

St. Beat is not more than 5 m. from the Spanish frontier.

The Valley of the Pique, which is very picturesquely varied with wood, rock, human habitations, and culti- vated fields, presents a succession of savage contractions, and smiling, basin- shaped expansions, covered with ver- dure, the river alternately winding over the plain, and dashing through the gorge ; its upper end terminated by the grand, snowy peaks contiguous to the Port de Venasque. The road, which now makes several awkward as- cents and steep descents, is about to be carried on a regular terrace. When the iron furnaces of Guron are passed we traverse, near Pont de Casaux, the defile, before the geological rupture of which, the basin of Luchon must, doubtless, have been a vast lake.

21 Bagneres de Luchon. — Inns: H. de France ; — FI. de Londres, atten- tive landlord ; Pierre, the guide, has good horses; — H. du Commerce. — A new inn 1843, probably better than these, none of which are good. The accommodation and cuisine at the inns are far inferior to that afforded at Bagneres de Bigorre. Strangers about to stop some days here had better hire lodgings, of which there are enough to accommodate from 1,500 to 2,000 persons.

Pyrenees.

329

Route 87 . — Bagneres de Luchon.

The situation of Bagneres de Lu- j ing places, for Ihe cabinets are small chon is somewhat like that of Bigorre, j dark, and do not look cleanly. The except that the mountains are loftier, | waters are good for rheumatic com- and entirely surround the flat, fertile j plaints, paralysis, and cutaneous dis- plain on the edge of which it stands, j orders, but are injurious in nervous forming a sort of oval basin in the very • diseases, and to persons of sanguine heart of the Pyrenees. On the W., temperament. They are taken inter- close to the town, the Val de 1’ Arboust ; nally as well as in baths.

(R. 86.) opens out; on the S., high I By driving horizontal galleries into among the clouds, rise bare, serrated j the rock of the mountain behind, near ridges, destitute of vegetation, but the old sources, an experiment which contrasting grandly with the luxuri- , was 2 years in progress, hotter water, antly cropped plain near at hand. i and a more copious supply, has re-

Luchon is a town of 2,000 inhab., j cently been obtained, but some of the of narrow streets and mean houses, I old springs are dried up in ^use- less neat and civilised than B. de Bi- j quence.

gorre, with one exception, — the Alice : The Romans were well acquainted

des Bains, a triple avenue of limes, with the hot springs of Luchon ; many lined with buildings, including the altars and inscriptions, now in the chief inns and best lodging-houses, j museum of Toulouse, have been dug Another avenue stretches up the hill | up here, some of them dedicated Deo to the entrance of the Val de L’Ar- Lixoni, from whom the place would boust ; and a third, of poplars, crosses | appear to be named, the valley, from the church, towards | Protestant service is performed in the river Pique. These Allees enable the Mairie.

the pedestrian to move to a consider- Zigzag paths run up the hill be- able distance under shade, protected ; hind the baths, through the wood, and from the sun, and enjoying the view j along the face of the hill, but they of the mountains which close the upper ! are too steep for invalids, and too end of the valley. This range of filthy for anybody English, peaks and precipices, among which | The chief season of these baths is the Pic de la Pique is conspicuous, j from July to the middle of September, screens from view the Maladetta, the I but many come before and others Monarch of the Pyrenees. In the ! linger after that period, middle distance rises the tower of ! About 200 horses and ponies are Castel Vieilh, which stops the mouth j kept here for hire, at the usual charges, of the gorge to the S. and are in constant request in fine

At the end of the Great Alice are 1 weather. Guides are proportionably the Baths, — a group of buildings, numerous ; among them Laffont, neither handsome outside, nor con- j called Prince, is hardy, experienced, venient within. The chief of them ! and trustworthy, and has very good was burned 1841, and it is to be hoped I horses; he knows every step of the may be replaced by a better. They ' country around and every mountain stand at the foot of a precipitous peak.

wooded hill of slate, called Super Bag- j Diligences — daily, 3 to Toulouse; neres : the waters issue forth at the ' 1 to Auch ; 1 or 2 to Bagneres de junction of the slate with the granite ; j Bigorre.

they are sulphureous (except two, one The inhabitants of the valley of saline, the other ferruginous?), and Luchon, and its tributaries, appear an vary in temperature from 77° to 152° inferior race to those of the valleys in Fahrenheit. The accommodation for the W. ; not so well off, nor so well bathing is more extensive, there being clothed. In their dress, the berret about 80 baths, but not more com- gives place to an ugly night-cap, and fortable than at other French water- the capulet, if retained, is black,

830 JR. 87. — JBagneres de Luchon — Val de Lys. Sect. IV.

instead of red. Beggars are very nu- merous, and goitres not uncommon ; yet the lower parts of the valleys are fertile, producing two crops of corn in the year ; the first, of wheat or maize, the second, late in September, when the fields are literally white, for the harvest of buck-wheat. Many goats are kept, which find sufficient food in the luxuriant herbage of the rocks ; and the tinkling bells of the scamper- ing flock, as they enter the town at sunset, produce a merry sound.

The Cascade of Montauban, on the E. side of the valley, is a very ro- mantic spot, and, though the fall is inconsiderable, forms an agreeable walk. It is approached through a garden made by the cure of the vil- lage, who devotes to his parish the douceurs left by visitors.

The Excursions to be made from B. de Luchon are superior to those from B. de Bigorre, and are indeed the finest in the Pyrenees. That to the beautiful Lac de Seculejo or Lac d’Oo will be found in R. 86. p. 321. ; 4 hours are required to go thither, and 3 to return. St. Beat and the Val d’Aran (p. 335.) are well worth visiting ; the excursion may be combined with that to the Port de Venasque. (See below.)

One of the nearest at hand, a ride of 2 hours or a walk of 3, the distance being 7 or 8 miles, is to the Val de Lys , so called, not from its lilies, but from an old or provincial form of the word eau, water, from the number of streams and waterfalls. The road to it ascends the valley from the baths, having the Pique at some distance on the 1. It passes, also on the 1., the picturesque border tower of Castle I Vieilh , perched on a projecting crag, | before the mouth of the Gorge de St. | Mamet, watered by the Bourbe, lead- ing, by the pass of the Portillon, into the Spanish Val d’Aran (p. 334.). This tower was designed to defend the en- trance into the Val de Luchon by the ports of Portillon and of Venasque. Soon after passing it, the road crosses the Pique to its rt. bank, and | a mile farther, leaving on the 1. the road to

Venasque (p. 331.), it recrosses the Pique, to enter the fine wooded gorge out of which the Lys issues to unite with it. After a mile and a half’s plea- sant ride through the wood, under the shade of beech and hazels, the gorge expands into a green basin-shaped valley, of a truly pastoral character ; the pastures covered with herds oc- cupying its bottom being overlooked by very lofty mountains, girt with fir woods, especially at its upper end. It is there shut in by the snowy peaks and glaciers of the Crabioules, rising above the fir-clad precipices, which look like a festooned curtain of black drapery drawn across the valley head. The centre of this curtain of foliage is streaked by the white lines of the foaming cascades which form the lions of this valley. The principal one leaps down into the valley, about 200 yards above the little cabin , half chalet, half pot-house, where visitors put up their horses, and may obtain some common refreshments. The slate rock is cleft by a very narrow fissure or groove, called Trou d'Enfer, down which the fall, really a picturesque one, dashes. The other fall, on the 1., called Cascade de Cceur, is less striking in character and less accessible ; it is fed by the glaciers of the Tuque de Maupas. The glacier of Crabioules, which feeds the other, is very difficult of access, owing to its steep inclination and its crevices. It joins, on the W., the glacier of the Portillon d’Oo and the Port d’Oo. The pedestrian should go to the Val de Lys or return from it by the hill of Super Bagneres, the height behind Luchon, whence he will enjoy a magnificent view.

None of the excursions from Lu- chon, nor indeed in the whole range of the Pyrenees, surpass that to the Portde Venasque. 1 1 is somewhat difficult, yet is achieved by ladies in chaises a por- teur. The expense for taking up one lady is 60 francs. It is practicable on horseback, and no one should omit it who has strength and love of fine scenery. It may be accom- plished in 9 hrs., allowing 1^ hr. halt

Pyrenees.

331

Route 87 . — Port de Venasque.

at the port. A guide is necessary. The road is the same as that just de- scribed as far as the 2d bridge over the Pique above Castel Vieilh. Leaving the opening of the Val de Lys on the rt., without crossing this bridge, you continue up the valley of the Pique, , through park-like scenery, under the grateful shade of beech forests inter- j spersed with firs and yews, between i whose branches appear the rugged crags of the Pic de la Pique on the op- | posite side of the torrent. The ascent j is gradual up to the Hospice de Bag- j neres (It hr. ride), the last habitation | in France, where the horses are com- monly allowed half an hour’s rest to prepare them for the fatigue in store for them. It is a large, massive, dirty stone house, like a Refuge on a Swiss mountain pass, belonging to the Com - mune of Luchon, intrusted to an inn- keeper who resides herp till the 20th December, and on his departure leaves behind a store of bread and wine, wood and straw, for the entertainment of wayfarers who cross the pass even in the depth of winter. No one avails himself of this provision without leaving behind money in payment for it. The house is on a par with a common cabaret, affording only the commonest necessaries, and appears a miserable hovel to those who need neither food nor shelter. It stands in j a grassy hollow at the foot of high hills j some way below the head of the valley where the Pique takes its rise at the j foot of the mountain called La Picade, over whose shoulder lies the pass of the Port de Picade. The path to it scales the hill behind the house, and it is a good 2 hrs. ascent, chiefly over | grass, to reach the port.

Opposite the house, at rt. angles to the vale of the Pique, a colossal : semicircular recess, or natural cirque j cut out of the mountains, which sur- round it with bare precipices, opens out ; it is a scene of dreary solitude, disturbed only by the hoarse raven or the howling blast. It is approached by a little wooden bridge crossing the Pique in front of the hospice, under

the singular Pic de Picade, rising on the 1. hand.

Within 100 ft. from the top of this obelisk of rock a very remarkable gallery was discovered 1843, bored into the mountain for about 300 ft., supposed to have been made by the Romans in search of lead, which still abounds. The spot is accessible only with great difficulty : a profitable

lead mine has lately been opened near the base of the peak.

“ We were all puzzled, as our horses’ heads were turned towards the glen, and we commenced the ascent, to tell by Avhat magic men on foot, much more laden beasts, were to pass up and over this wall in any part of its cir- cumference. Up, however, we went, toiling for 2 hrs. incessantly along a slightly traced path, always winding in zigzags, over large stones or rough beds of debris fallen from the moun- tains, alternating with smooth solid rock. It was a picturesque sight to look down upon this tortuous path, like a cord unwound, with our caval- cade of men and horses toiling up it. In all the difficult passes I have tra- versed, I never met with an ascent so abrupt or long, yet our little jaded horses did the work wonderfully well, taking to the steep staircase road most willingly, and clambering among the cliffs like kids, never making a false step, so that, except for a very short dis- tance, no one needed to dismount. As we mounted higher, however, another obstacle besides the steepness presented itself — in the wind , ‘the rushing mighty wind,’ which sweeps down the gully with a hideous howl and a force perfectly tremendous, and renders it very difficult to keep one’s seat. As the path in the upper part of its course is carried up the face of a slope which is all but a precipice, it is easy to ima- gine what serious consequences to horse and man these gusts may pro- duce ; and there is a proverb, that in ascending the Port de Venasque, ‘a father will not look back at his son, nor a son wait for his father.’ Two or three tremendous gusts had

332

Sect. IV.

Route 87* — Port de Venasque.

given us a foretaste of what might be expected when a sudden and more severe one whistled and whirled among the rocks ; the horses stag- gered, the riders bent before it, clap- ping one hand to their hats, and the other to the pummels of their saddles. One ill-starred animal, however, could not stand it — it was that which bore one of the Englishmen, who was a good rider. To my terror and dismay, I saw his beast down, slipping and struggling on the edge of a most abrupt descent : to have gone over would have been death ; neither horse nor man would have stopped till they had reached perhaps a thousand feet below, and they would have swept others with them. Luckily the rider was able to throw himself off, and his beast regained his footing. The same accident, however, happened again in about a quarter of an hour to the same individual. It was amusing to see with what alacrity at the second alarm every one dropped from his saddle. About three-fourths of the way up is a small ledge or recess in the face of the mountain, in which lie 4 small, deep-sunken tarns or ponds, frozen over a great part of the year. The steepness of the mountain and the shortness of the zigzags constantly in- crease till, near the top, the angle of the slope is so highly inclined that the path must turn abruptly at every 6 or 8 ft., and as the ground is covered with loose splintery shale, the horses have no secure footing. Nothing is to be seen but the awful abyss directly under your feet, the rocks in front hiding all view until the moment when you enter the Port, a wedge- shaped fissure cut into the crest of the mountain ; — a mere gate, not more that 6 ft. wide. T. and I. were the two first on the top, and on passing this doorway, stepped from France at once into Spain. To tarry in the singular portal or port hole was im- possible on account of the wind which threatened to blow us back again more quickly than we had entered, so we descended a few steps, driving

our horses before us, and seated our- selves on the smooth slate rock, which here dips downward as abruptly as the roof of a house. But what a scene opened before us — not a glimpse of which had been perceived before ! We beheld an enormous mountain, the highest of the Pyrenees, called the Maladetta, or Accursed — I suppose from the utterly barren and dreary air of it and every thing about it. Its huge round top and ridges are covered with everlasting snow, except where one or two brist- ling black peaks break through it ; its lower part is shrouded with scanty fir-trees : a great gulf or deep ravine separates it from the bare slope on which we stood ; not a sign of human habitation or cultivation ; all around a desert, as though a corner of the world forgotten and left unfinished. We spent more than an hour re- clining on the scanty grass, gazing on this magnificent spectacle ; then by another similar pass returned into France, proceeding on our way out of Arragon, through a corner of Catalonia. Thus ended our most striking excursion in the Pyrenees.” — MS. Journal. *

In Blackwood’s Magazine, No. CLXV.,

will be found a most vivid and true descrip- tion of the Port de Venasque. The final as- cent is thus related by its observant author : —

“ Our position became at every step more interesting and extraordinary; for to all powers of observation this cul-de-sac was so perfect, and all means of exit so inscrutable, that not one of the party, after the most mature inspection, could form a conjecture as to the continuation even of the very path- way, much less of the pass itself, which ap- peared to elude our grasp as we drew near, and yet must, if it really existed, be now close at hand. At length, on rounding a sharp corner, the pass started into view, about 50 ft. above our head. . . . The poor animals, as if conscious that the severest portion of their task was drawing to a close, exerted themselves with redoubled efforts to accomplish the remaining — 1 may say— steps in the ladder. . . .

Another march brought me to the breach, when I drew up, and in motionless and speechless admiration sat with my eyes rivetted on the stupendous scene so singu- larly, so suddenly revealed. . . The Maladetta was immediately in front, without a single intervening object, standing in all its dreary nakedness, like the ghost of some mountain belonging to a departed world.” — S.

Pyrenees. Route 87. — Port de Venasque — Maladetta . 333

The pass called Port de Venasque (reached in 2 hrs. from the Hospice of Bagneres) is cut through the mountain wall called Penna Blanca, at an elevation of 7,917 ft. above the sea level, but at a considerable depth below the crest of that mountain. The frontier line, near its top, is marked by an iron cross. In the depths of the hollow below the Port, within the Spanish territory, the Es- sera takes its rise, and a low ridge stretching across at its head unites the Maladetta with the main chain and the mountains of the Port de Venasque. To the E. of this ridge, on the 1. lies the mysterious Trou du Taureau, an oval basin or gulf without visible outlet, excavated in the limestone rock to a depth of 80 feet, which, swallowing up the waters descending from the N. E. slope of the Maladetta, is be- lieved to convey them under the in- tervening mountains igto the Valley of Artigues Tellina, where, rising again to light, they form the

Source of the Garonne . This phe- nomenon merits the personal investi- gation of travellers.

The Maladetta, erroneously included in some maps in the central chain, and even placed within the French frontier, is an outlier or buttress lying to the S. of the dorsal spine of the Pyrenees, and entirely shut out by it from France, as it were by a screen of peaks and ridges. Though the highest of the Pyrenees, 11,426 ft. above the sea level, it loses much of the effect of elevation when seen from the Port de Venasque, on account of the great height of the Val d’Essera, : out of which it rises. The highest of its summits, the Pic de Nethou, had never been reached until 1842, when it was surmounted by a Russian officer named Tchitchacheff, with one French companion and 3 guides. The glacier upon its N. flank is the largest in the Pyrenees, and is dan- gerous to cross on account of the j crevasses. In 1824 a guide, named | Barran, perished miserably in one of ; them, owing to the covering of snow

giving way beneath him, before the eyes of two French gentlemen, pupils of the Ecole des Mines, who heard his agonising cries as he gradually sunk down, without being able to render any assistance. The crags and snows of the Maladetta are the favourite haunt of the izard ; and many a bold chasseur dares all the perils of the mountain in pursuit of them.

The Spanish town of Venasque is about as far from the Port to the S. W. as Luchon is to the N., i. e., a walk of 4 hours ; but the way is very rough and difficult, following at first the windings of the Essera, wading the torrents which fall into it, and threading the mass of rocks and rubbish fallen from the gigantic wall of Penna Blanca on the rt. Some way down is the Spanish Hospice, “ a vile posada ” serving as a guard and custom-house, occupied by carabi- neers, and supplying the place of a hospice swept away by an avalanche in 1838, which resembled that on the French side of the pass. From this to Venasque, about 10 m., the path runs by the side of the Essera, and is very difficult. The scenery of the gorge is grand but savage, its striking feature being the number of its water- falls, and rapidity of the torrents de- scending into it. A bath has been built on the opposite slope of the valley.

The path from the Port d’Oo (see p. 321.) descends the Val d’As- tos. The sides of the mountains are stripped of wood near Venasque, which is suddenly disclosed to view by a bend in the valley. Its most conspicuous feature is the picturesque castle by which it is surmounted, originally a stronghold of the middle ages, converted by modern works into a fortress, which was besieged and taken by the French in 1809, and possesses no great strength. It is surrounded on three sides by deep ravines.

In the principal street, Calle Mayor, are several picturesque old houses ornamented with sculptured figures,

334 Route 87. — Venasque — Port de Picade. Sect. IV.

coats of arms, & c., and some of these retain the towers which originally served for defence. The church, at the end of the town farthest from the castle, is a curious Romanesque building, fitted up in the Spanish style with carving, gilding, &c. Another church was destroyed by the French, who did much mischief here. There is no regular inn at Venasque, but strangers are readily accommo- dated in private houses, though at charges exceedingly high.

The excursion may be continued round the base of the Maladetta, from Venasque, through wild and magnifi- cent scenery, by the Port de Casta- neze, 3 hours; village of C., 4 hours; | Vitalles, 2| hours ; Hospice de Viella,

4 hours, situated amidst stupendous scenery, superior to any on the French side of the Pyrenees ; Port de Viella, Hi hours, 8,322 ft. above the sea, and very grand ; town of Viella, 2\ hours, in the Val d’Aran.

Return to Luchon from the Port de Venasque. — Port de Picade.

It is by no means necessary to re- trace one’s steps, and take the same way back. The ridge of the Penna Blanca, through which the Port de Venasque opens, is traversed about 1^ m. to the E. of it by another pass, called Port de Picade, reached by turning to the 1., traversing the meadows at the base of the moun- tains, whence the Port de Venasque looks as though it had been formed by chipping a bit out of the Sierra, and then scaling a steep ascent en- cumbered with rubbish, and not marked by any path. On the top you pass out of Aragon into a corner of Catalonia, and look down upon a chaos of wild peaks and ridges. Here you have the choice of two passes, the shortest the Picade; on the 1. is a very narrow path carried along the shat- tered edges of the slaty stone, barely traced among shivers and splinters of rock upon the very ridge or crest of the Sierra, along the brink of the precipice. It is a grand wild spot, and is named Picade from the gigantic

obelisk of rock which real’s itself aloft. It leads back to the Hospice de Bagneres by a path marked with tolerable distinctness on the grassy slopes, and, though steep, much easier than that up to the Port de Venas- que. Thus the traveller has passed from France into Spain through one I door or gap in the great separation wall between them, and returned through another.

The pass on the rt. hand, after reaching the crest of the Port de Pi- cade, is called Port de Pommereau, and leads into the vale of the Garonne, the upper part of which is called the Val d' Aran, and though lying on the French side of the Pyrenees, belongs to Spain. The descent runs through the grand gorge of Artigues Tellina, covered, as you proceed down it, with dense intact forests of primaeval growth, in the midst of which, in a deep hollow at the foot of precipices, 10 minutes distant from the path, one of the chief sources of the Garonne issues forth from a series of cavities encumbered with broken rocks called CEil de Djoueou, and by the Span- iards Ojosde Garonna, “the Garonne’s eye.” It is said that the copious stream which here bursts forth to day is the torrent whose cradle is the snows of the Maladetta, and which, after being lost in the Trou de Tau- reau (p. 333.), pursues its way under ground, through the caverns of the limestone mountains, as far as this spot, where it rises a ready-made river. This is one of the most im- portant sources of the Garonne. A little farther down lies the Hospice of Artigues Tellina. The part of the valley below this is covered with pas- tures. Much timber is cut in the forests, and floated down the Garonne to Bordeaux. Near the junction of the valley of Artigues Tellina with that of the main stream of the Garonne of Viella, the river is crossed by a bridge near the ruined Castel Leon, destroyed by the French in the war of the Suc- cession, whence there is a fine view of the Maladetta. The Val d' Aran

Pyrenees. R. 87 . — Val d' Aran — Toulouse to Pau. 335

contains 32 towns and villages, 69 ] churches, and 20,000 inhab. ; it runs j up towards the great chain, 14 m. above Castel Leon ; 5 m. up it lies ! Viella, the chief place of the valley, containing 900 inhab., 8 m. below the ; Port de Viella. Below Castel Leon I at Las Bordas, the path to Luchon by the Portillon and the Val Burbe j (p. 330.) stretches off to the W. j Lower down is Bosost, the second | place in the valley, a miserable vil- ! lage, but in a charming situation. | On the outskirts of the village of j Les (?) are Baths supplied by sulphu- j reous springs, and the Bath-house af- j fords the best accommodation in the j valley. Below this a fine view is j obtained of the Maladetta. Here > the Val d’Aran puts on its greatest beauty and grandeur, which cause it ! to rank high among the Pyrenean valleys. TLe river is jammed in j between the rocks near a bridge over ! a tributary stream, called Pont du j Roi, which marks the frontier of j Prance ; it is the custom-house post, : &c. The Val d’Aran belonged to France down to 1192, when it was transferred as the dowry of Beatrix de Comminges to her husband, a prince j of Aragon. It was ravaged by the L Carlists in the late war. Fos is the , first place within the French ter- ritory. The valley contracts lower down to a grand defile, in the midst of which lies St. Beat, a very pictur- esque and interesting old town, con- sisting of a narrow street overhung by beetling cliffs : a ruined castle j stands on a rock in the midst of the defile. - The scenery around is most | lovely. The Inn (Fortan’s) is not good, but it is one of the best in the ! valley. There is an excellent carriage road from this to Cierp and Luchon.

There are quarries of marble here. :

At Cierp, 6 m. below St. Beat, the Garonne is joined by the Pique coming from Luchon, and our road fells into the high road from Bigorre and Toulouse (p. 328.) leading thither.

- - More detailed and accurate in-

formation respecting the Val d’Aran, the scenery S. of the Maladetta and Venasque, would be acceptable to the Editor.

ROUTE 90.

TOULOUSE TO PAU, BY AUCH AND TARBES.

188 kilom. = 116 Eng. m.

MaUeposte, daily in 15 hours.

Diligence , daily.

Toulouse is in R. 70.

At the radiation of roads outside the Faubourg St. Cyprien, called Patte d’Oie, the branch on the rt. is that which leads to Auch ; it crosses, at the distance of 2 m., the stream of the Touch.

1 8 Leguevin.

15 L’lle Jourdain, a town of 2,000 inhab., on the rt. bank of the Save.

18 Gimont.

9 Aubiet. The road runs through a highly cultivated and very produc- tive country, in a direction nearly due W., not inclining in the least to S. all the way from Toulouse to

17 Auch (Inns: H. de la Paix ; H. de France), the chef lieu of the depart, du Gers, a town of 10,461 inhab., and see of an archbishop, is situated on the top and slopes of an eminence washed by the Gers at its base, and crowned by the Cathedral of Sainte Marie, one of the finest Gothic edifices in the S. of France, begun in the reign of Charles VIII., and completed, by the tasteless addi- tion of its inappropriate Grecian por- tico, in that of Louis XIV. The church is 347 ft. long, and 74 ft. high. The painted glass is of rare richness and beauty ; it was executed (1513) by Arnaud de Moles. The carved woodwork of the choir is equally remarkable, and is scarcely surpassed in France. At the back of the stalls are well executed figures of Virtues, &c. in bas-relief, enclosed in niches and canopies of elaborate work- manship (date 1525-7). The choir

336 Route 91. — Toulouse to

is separated from the nave by a gal- lery (jube), or rood loft.

Long flights of stairs lead from the lower town to the upper; many old houses are preserved here. The Place Royale , in the higher and better quarter of the town, is a handsome square; adjoining it is the Cours d'Etigny , so named from a magistrate by whom it was laid out, commanding a glorious view of the chain of the Pyrenees.

Auch was anciently capital of the Ausci (whence Auch), afterwards of the Comte d’Armagnac, and seat of the primate of Aquitaine.

A malleposte runs hence daily by Agen to Limoges (R. 73. 70.)

15 Vicnau.

9 Mirande.

13 Mielan. Soon after crossing the Arros we descend a slope, com- manding the view of the Pyrenees, among which the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, rising directly in front, is grandly conspicuous, into the plain of the Adour, which stretches hence to the foot of those mountains, and enter

16 Rabastens, an old town men- tioned by Froissart. A perfectly straight road connects this place with

19 Tarbes, in R. 87.

23 Bordes d’Expouy.

16 Pau (R. 80. p. 290). There is a second and more direct road from Toulouse to Tarbes, which, though unprovided with post horses, is taken by the diligence daily, in 22 hours, passing through Lombez, Boulogne, and Trie.

ROUTE 91.

TOULOUSE TO BAGNERES DE LUCHON,

AND BAGNERES DE BIGORRE, BY ST.

GAUDENS.

To B. de Bigorre, 144 kilom. = 80 Eng. m. ; to B. de Luchon, 135 kilom. = 84 Eng. m.

Diligences daily.

The first part of the road, across the great plain of.Languedoc, and along the 1. bank of the Garonne, though

Bagneres de Luchon. Sect. IV.

seldom in sight of the river, is very monotonous. The Pyrenees are yet too distant to form an important feature, but the richness of the soil and abundance of the crops are very remarkable. The Duke of Wellington attempted the passage of the Garonne at Portet, a village on the 1. of the high road, 6 in. above Toulouse, but the width of the river proved too great for the pontoons provided, and the army consequently crossed lower down, below Toulouse. The con- fluence of the Arriege with the Ga- ronne takes place opposite Portet.

20 Muret.

The army of the Comte de Tou- louse, aided by Pedro II., king of Aragon, amounting to 100,000 men, was defeated under the walls of Mu- ret by Simon de Montfort, who made a sortie with 1 4,000 men, headed by St. Dominic, bearing a crucifix, and cut the besiegers to pieces, leaving Pedro dead on the field.

13 Noe, on the 1. bank of the Ga- ronne. At Cavbonne, above this, some way to the 1. of the road, Lord Hill crossed the Garonne with 18,000 men ; but finding the roads impassable, speedily returned to march along the 1. bank, against St. Cyprien, the fau- bourg of Toulouse.

27 Martres. In a field near this, interesting Roman antiquities have been discovered, consisting of an im- mense number of busts, statues, re- liefs, inscriptions, &c., now deposited in the museum of Toulouse, marking this as the site of the ancient town Calagorris Convenarum.

There is a bridge over the Ga- ronne at St. Martory. A new road has been made to skirt the town, and avoid the narrow streets of 28 St.Gaudens (Inn : H. de France), an old and gloomy town of 6,020 in- liab., at a little distance from the Ga- ronne, has a church of considerable antiquity, in the Romanesque style, with 3 apses at the E. end, and small round-headed windows. The road to Bagneres de Bigorre here di- verges on the rt., up the 1. bank of

Pyren. E. 93 . — Toulouse to Narbonne — Canal du Midi . 337

the Garonne to Montrejeau, where it | falls into R. 87. p. 327.

The Garonne is crossed by the road to Luchon, a short way out of the town ; and from the slope leading down to it there is a fine view of its windings and of the distant Pyrenees.

At the distance of 6 or 8 m. farther the road passes abruptly from the plain into the midst of the mountains, by ascending an eminence, the extreme root or spur of the Py- renees, to avoid a wide curve of the Garonne, but descends upon the river at the foot of the opposite slope. An uncommon view is here presented of the interesting town of St. Bertrand (R. 87.), which our road leaves on the rt. “ You break at once upon a vale, sunk deep enough beneath the point of view to command every hedge and tree, with St. Bertrand clustered round its large cathedral on a rising ground. If it had been built purposely to add a feature to a singu- lar prospect, it could not have been better placed. The mountains rise proudly around, and give their rough frame to this exquisite little picture.” A. Young. The Garonne is crossed at the Pont Labrequere to

27 Estenos, described, with the rest of the road, to

21 Bagneres de Luchon, in R. 87. p. 328.

ROUTE 93.

TOULOUSE TO MARSEILLES, BY CAR- CASSONNE AND NARBONNE. CANAL

DU MIDI.

420 kilom. = 260 Eng. m. Malleposte daily, in 27 hours. Diligences daily. With post horses in 9 hours to Carcassonne.

Bateaux de Poste daily, along the Canal du Midi from Toulouse to Agde : a very tedious conveyance, to which, for the most part, the lower classes only resort : the boats very uncomfortable, the delays from locks excessive.

Prance.

The road, on quitting Toulouse, passes on the 1. the hill of Pech Da- vid — a good point of view to see the Pyrenees from, — and skirting, at a short distance on the 1., the Canal du Midi, continues to run nearly parallel with it for several stages. This great and useful public work, sometimes called Canal des Deux Mers, be- cause it unites the Mediterranean with the Atlantic, was executed under Louis XIV., by the engineer Paul Riquet, though the design is clearly sketched out in the Memoires de Sully. It was commenced 1666 (100 years save 6 before Brindley, in Eng- land, began the Bridgewater Canal), and finished 1681, the year after Ri- quet’s death. It measures, from the basin where it joins the Garonne at Toulouse, to the Etang du Thau, near Agde, where it falls into the Me- diterranean, 244 kilom. =151 Eng. m. ; it is 20 met. (65 ft. 7 in.) wide at the surface, and 10 met. (32 ft.) at the bottom. It cost more than 16 million livres = 33 million ft.

It has 64 sluices, and many other considerable works, reservoirs, &c., whieh will be enumerated as we ap- proach them. These, though won- derful for the time when they were constructed, have been surpassed by many in England, and even in France. The articles transported along the canal consist chiefly of corn, oil, soap, wine, brandy, &c ; it is navigated by barges of 100 tons, but the traffic is not very extensive, judging from the number of voyages yearly to and fro, which is only 960. It is closed for a month or 6 weeks once in 3 years for the “chomage” (still stand), in order to be cleaned.

Our road lies across a rich corn country, but monotonously flat, which before the end of summer becomes parched, dusty, and arid.

12 Castanet. The canal and the river Lers, running parallel with it, are crossed at

12 Baziege.

11 Villefrancbe, a town of 2,400 Q

338 JR. 93. — Toulouse 10 I\ zrbonne — Carcassonne. Sect. IV.

inhabitants, consisting of a long street traversed by the road.

Beyond Avignonet we pass from the Dept. Haute Garonne into that of l’Aude, and a little farther skirt on the rt. the Bassin de Naurouze, an artificial reservoir formed for the sup- ply of the canal, which here attains its summit level (point de partage). The water is derived from a still higher and larger reservoir, le Bassin de St. Fereol, measuring 5,249 ft. by 2,558 ft., situated on the flanks of the Montagne Noire, whence it is con- ducted hither in an artificial channel to be discharged into the two seas. The descent of 208^ ft. between this and Toulouse is effected by 18 locks, and that of 719 ft., down to the level of the Mediterranean at Agde, by 46 locks. Riquet intended to have founded a town upon the basin of Naurouze — a design not yet accomplished, but an obelisk, by way of monument , was erected to him by his descendants, on this spot, 1825. A little island has been formed in the basin opposite the mouth of the Canal by the deposits brought down by it. After crossing this main feeder of the canal, there is nothing to notice until reaching

22 Castelnaudary (Inns: La Fleche; Notre Dame), a town of nearly 10,000 inhabitants, on an eminence, skirted at its base by the Canal du Midi, which here expands into a bassin, much larger than that at Nau- rouze, the only thing remarkable here. There are stone-quarries and lime- kilns near.

The name has been traced to “ Castrum Novum Ariancrum,” the name given by the Visigoths to the town, which they refounded. It suf- fered severely in the crusade against the Albigenses, having been taken both by Simon de Montfort and the Comte de Toulouse: and in 1237 the inquisitors enacted an auto-da-fe here; in which, in their desire to root out heresy, they not only burnt many persons alive, but many dead bodies,

dragged ignominiously from the grave for this purpose. The most memor- able event in the annals of Castel- naudary is the battle fought here on the banks of the Fresquel, 1632, be- tween the forces of Louis XIII. and of Gaston Due d’ Orleans, at which the unfortunate Due de Montmo- rency was wounded and made prison- er, and soon after conveyed hence to Toulouse to be beheaded.

12 Villepinte. The rounded out- line of the Black Mountain bounds the view on the N.

8 Alzonne, a town of 2,000 inhab.

16 Carcassonne. — Inns : H. Bon- net, good ; — St. Jean Baptiste, good and reasonable; on the airy Boulevard. — F. K. This chef lieu of the Dept, of L’Aude, a city of 17,394 in- habitants, is traversed by the river Aude, and by the Canal du Midi, which, at first carried at a distance from its walls, at the request of the inhabitants has, in recent times, re- ceived at vast expense another direc- tion, in order to bring it up to the town, where it now forms a large bassin.

Carcassonne itself is composed of two parts, the modern town on the plain and the old town on an emi- nence above it, forming a picturesque background with its venerable towers and commanding battlements. The lower and newer town, cheerful, flourishing, and industrious, consists chiefly of modern- built houses in streets, ranging at right angles with one another, surrounded by boule- vards, occupying the site of its ram- parts, including squares planted with trees and furnished with marble foun- tains, and running with freshening rivulets. It contains several large woollen factories, and not less than 7,000 persons of the town and its vicinity are employed in the manufac- ture of cloth, chiefly exported to the Levant, Barbary, and S. America, where it is esteemed for its brilliant dyes. From this and other sources of commercial prosperity it has in-

Languedoc.

Route 93 . — Carcassonne.

339

creased, in the course of four or five centuries, from a suburb to be the town itself, while the original city on the height has dwindled down into an insignificant faubourg. Beyond this, however, it has no claim to de- tain the passing traveller. Its mo- dern cathedra], and church of St. Vincent, whose tall tower stands on the line of the meridian of Paris, are not remarkable. The avenue of trees planted along the margin of the canal, and embellished with a column of the red marble of the country to the memory of Riquet, its engineer, leads to the aqueduct bridge by which the canal has been carried over the stream of the Fresnel in recent times.

The old town, on the height be- yond the Aude, deserves the notice of all who take an interest in anti- quities, as retaining unchanged, to a greater extent perhaps than any other in France, the aspect of a fortress of the middle ages. A traveller with such tastes must not be deterred from entering by odious smells, steep, nar- row, dirty, and desolate streets, with the grass growing in many of them, and the houses falling to ruin, for it has been abandoned entirely to per- sons of the poorer class and to arti- sans, composing a population of paupers pent up within its narrow enclosure.

A portion of the inner line of ram- parts and towers, which enclose it, is attributed to the Visigoths with much probability, and the rest, including the castle, seems to be of the 11 th or 12th century, while the outer cir- cuit has been referred to the latter end of the 13th century. The former are therefore the same defences which withstood for a time the assault of the army of Crusaders under the fierce Simon de Montfort and the Abbot of Citeaux, who, reeking with the blood spilt at Beziers, laid siege to Carcassonne, where a vast number of fugitives, together with the Viscomte de Beziers, had taken refuge. At

the intercession of the King of Ar- ragon his uncle, the papal legate pro- mised to spare his life and those of 12 others with him; but the brave young warrior rejected these terms, declaring that he would sooner be flayed alive than betray one of those who had endangered themselves for his sake. Finding, however, that, owing to the number of men, women, and children, who had poured in from the surrounding country, it was im- possible to hold out, he managed to let them escape by a secret passage, and surrendered under a promise of safe conduct for himself. He was nevertheless seized treacherously, and soon after died in prison, while of those who remained in the town 50 were hung and 400 burnt alive. In 1356 this fortress effectually resisted the Black Prince, who burnt the suburb below, and ravaged with fire and sword the whole of Languedoc. A curious sally-port, or barbacane, projects from the walls on the side nearest the modern town ; and one of the towers has been split into two, but the one half, though fallen down, has not broken to pieces, — such is the thickness and solidity of the ma- sonry. The legend respecting it is, that Charlemagne, after in vain be- sieging for several years the town, which held out, though defended only by one Saracen woman named Carcas , was about to raise the siege in des- pair, when this tower gave way of its own accord, and opened a breach by which his army entered. The figure of this Saracen Amazon is still to be seen rudely carved over the Porte Narbonnaise, on the E. side of the town.

The Church of St Nazaire, formerly cathedral, in the middle of the old town, consists of a Romanesque nave, part of the church dedicated by Pope Urban II. in 1096, supported by massive piers round and square, and of a Gothic choir and transepts added at the beginning of the 1 3th century. In this part of the church are two Q 2

340 Route 94. — Narbonne to Perpignan.

fine circular windows, and some painted glass of great brilliancy of colour, though inferior in drawing. On one side of the high altar a slab of red marble is said to mark the grave of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, that cruel and ambitious warrior, who, steeled in the holy wars, in the school of the Templars and Assassins, turned at the bidding of the pope the sword whetted against the infidels upon the heretical Chris- tians, the unfortunate Albigenses. In one of the side chapels of the nave is a curious bas-relief, representing an assault of a besieged town, probably of the 13th century. This church has been restored.

Near the centre of the town is a very wide and deep well, into which, according to tradition, the Visigoth kings threw their treasures.

Carcassonne was the birth-place of the Revolutionist Fabre, who called himself D' Eglantine, because he had gained the prize of the golden sweet- briar in the floral games at Toulouse (seep. 251.); he began his career as an actor, and ended it on the guillotine in 1793,

Diligences daily to Narbonne, Montpellier, Nismes, and Marseilles ; to Perpignan by Limoux ; to Tou- louse.

At Caunes, 12 m. N. E. of Car- cassonne, are the quarries of marble, commonly used in churches and other public buildings in the S. of France. They are associated with slates of the transition series and furnish 4 sorts ; 1 . flesh-coloured, much em-

ployed by Louis XIV. and XV. ; 2. marbre cervelas; 3. grey marble con- taining Encrinites; 4. Griotte, includ- ing nautili: one variety is called “ oeil de perdrix.”

On quitting Carcassonne, the road crosses and runs for some distance by the side of the Aude ; the canal makes a bend to the N., its new channel being cut through deep excavations. The cultivation of the olive begins near this, though the tree can scarcely be said to flourish hereabouts.

Sect. IV.

14 Barbeira.

Near this, a little to the N. of the canal, is the drained lake of Mar- seillette, converted from a useless pool or morass into 2,900 hectares of excellent arable land by the enter- prise and capital of Madame Lawless, an Irish lady domiciled in France. The drainage was completed 1808, and the ground is now portioned out into 24 farms. The country between this and Narbonne is very dreary; large part of it white naked rock : trees very scarce.

13 Moux.

14 Cruscade.

18 Narbonne, in R. 126.

ROUTE 94.

NARBONNE TO PERPIGNAN, PORT VEN-

DRE, AND THE SPANISH FRONTIER.

To Perpignan is 62 kilom. = 40 Eng. m. Diligences twice a day.

The road is very uninteresting, skirting on the rt. the low chains of the Corbieres, consisting of bare rocks without trees or herbage ; only a few bristly plants, and tufts of the heath which produces the Narbonne honey ; and on the 1., the salt lagoons, or shallow lakes, called Etangs de Bages, de Sigean, de la Palme, and de Leu- cate, which here line the shore of the Mediterranean, bordered with mud and sand. The district is unhealthy, owing to the miasma from this marshy tract. At intervals, when the road surmounts a slight eminence, a glimpse may be obtained of the open sea be- yond the etangs.

21 Sigean, situated on the margin of the lagoon of the same name, was the scene of a victory gained by Charles Martel over the Saracens, 737.

The few trees near the road are all bent in one direction, to the S.E., by the violent winds from the N.W., which prevail here for 8 months out of the 12.

16 Fitou stands on the edge of

Rousillon.

341

Route 94 .

the large etang, called de Leucate, from a half-deserted town on the tongue of land between it and the sea ; a place of strength and import- ance during the period when Rou- sillon belonged to Spain, and Leucate stood on the frontier of France. The extremity of the chain of the Pyrenees, stretching into the sea, may be dis- cerned near this.

10 Salces; the fort on the rt., be- fore entering this village, was built by the emperor Charles V. ; it is now a powder magazine.

The little town of Rivesaltes, famed for its wine, lies about \\ m. on the rt., upon a small stream often dried up, the Agly, which is crossed by the road half way between Salces and Perpignan.

The two branches of the torrent- river Tet are crossed in order to reach Perpignan ; between them stands the suburb Notre Dame ; and on the rt. bank the lofty and singular castle of CasteUet, a double tower of brick, sur- I mounted by machicolations erected by ! Charles V., now a military prison.

15 Perpignan. — Inns : H. des

Ambassadeurs ; — du Commerce; — de l’Europe ; — Petit Paris, good ; — du Midi.

Perpignan, chef lieu of the Dept. ! des Pyrenees Orientales, also a first 1 class fortress of great strength, defend- ing the passage by the E. Pyrenees from Spain into France, is placed on the rt. bank of the Tet, about 6 m. above its termination in the sea, in the midst of the level plain of Rousillon, ] and contains 18,500 inhabitants, ex- clusive of its garrison. As Rousillon, of which province it was the capital, was not permanently united to France until the Treaty of the Pyrenees, in ! 1659, it is not surprising that both the town, in its narrow dirty streets co- vered with awnings, its semi- Mo- resque buildings, its houses furnished with wooden balconies and courts (patios), and its inhabitants, especially the lower orders, in their physiogno- my, language, dress, dances, should

— Rerpignan.

I resemble those of Catalonia, on the S.

J side of the Pyrenees. Those to whom ! Spain is unknown will be struck with ■ this novel character ; but beyond this j there is not much to interest the I stranger. Almost all the public build- ings date from the Spanish period,

| and are of brick or rolled pebbles.

! The Cathedral, begun 1324, and con- j tinued by Louis XI., during the time he held Rousillon in pawn from the I king of Aragon, consists of a very i broad and lofty nave. The altar j screen, of beautiful carved work,

! partly wood, partly stone, in the j style of the Renaissance, deserves j notice; and the massy frame- work,

I gilding, tapestries, &c., which decorate this part of the church are thoroughly Spanish in style. The font, of marble, in the form of a tub, is very old; some attribute it to the time of the i Visigoth kings. Adjoining this church are remains of a still older church, now in ruins, called St. Jean le Vieux. Of the church and convent of the Do- minicans, now a military store, a por- tion, in the Romanesque style, belongs to the edifice which St. Dominic, the Inquisitor, inhabited when he entered Rousillon. The building called La Loge, from the Spanish Lonja, ex- change or bazaar, is a curious ex- ample of the mixed Moresque and Gothic styles of the end of the 15th century. Its facade, exhibiting flam- boyant ornaments, foliage and tracery, though much mutilated and injured by alterations, and the covered gal- leries round the court behind, merit notice. The ancient University con- tains the public library of 20,000 vols., and the commencement of a museum.

The Citadel, separated from the town by a wide glacis, and surrounded by a double line of works, is consi- dered very strong, and commands the town. The inner ramparts were raised by Charles V., the outer by Vauban; and in the midst rises a tall square castle, or Donjon, built by the kings of Majorca, and the remains of a Q 3

342

Sect. IV.

Route 94. — Perpignan — St. Pine.

church , whose facade is remarkable, and is said to resemble that on Mount Sinai. The portal is a pointed arch, faced with slabs of marble, red and white alternately, resting on columns whose capitals represent fighting dra- gons. On one of the ramparts, an arm carved in stone (dextrochere), projecting from the parapet, was for- merly pointed out as marking the spot where the emperor Charles V., going the rounds at night, found a sentinel fast asleep at his post, and, pushing him into the fosse, himself took the musquet, and did duty until relieved by the guard. This has been recently destroyed. From the citadel a view may be obtained over the plain of Rousillon, extending 15 m. on all sides, save that towards the sea not more than 6 m., and surrounded by a semicircle of mountains, the most elevated being the Pyrenees on the S., though they are still distant. The only mountain which makes a con- spicuous figure is the Canigon, the highest of this portion of the chain.

Perpignan is more remarkable as a fortress than a place of commerce, but some trade is carried on in wines of Rousillon, also in cork, from the mountains.

For information regarding pass- ports on entering France from Spain, see Introduction, d.

Diligences twice a day to Nar- bt nne ; daily to Toulouse, by Limoux ; and to Barcelona in 2 days.

M. Arago, the mathematician and astronomer, is a native of Estagel, a poor village near Perpignan.

About 17^ m. S.E. of Perpignan is the sea-port of Port Vendre ; the road to it passes

12 St. Elne , the ancient Illiberis, mentioned by Pliny as “ ingentis quondam urbis tenue vestigium,” and by Livy as the place where Hannibal first encamped, after crossing the Pyrenees on his march to Rome, “ Pyrenaeum transgreditur, et ad op- pidum Illiberis castra locat.” It was rebuilt by Constantine, who gave it

the name of his mother Elena. It has a very ancient Church of St. Eulalie, once the cathedral, and episcopal see of Rousillon before Perpignan. It dates from 1019, and is in the Ro- manesque style, but with a pointed roof ; it is very plain internally, but the cloister adjoining is very richly ornamented with carvings, bas-reliefs, &c., and is worth notice. It is entered from the church by a pointed door- way resembling that in the citadel of Perpignan. Many inscriptions and bas-reliefs are let into the outer walls of the church ; one of them is called the Tomb of Constans, who was assas- sinated at Elne by order of Maxen- tius. Elne is now reduced to a poor village. On quitting it the river Tech is crossed, and Argelez is passed. Beyond this the E. extremity of the Pyrenean chain, dropping down into the sea, forms, by its projecting but- tresses and roots, a number of head- lands, and retreating coves or bays. On the shore of one of these lies 14 Collioure ( Cauroliberis), de- fended by numerous forts, the whole commanded by the citadel of St. Elne, between this and Port Vendres. At the entrance of the harbour rises a little rocky island bearing a Church of Pilgrimage, dedicated to the Virgin. The town contains about 2,000 in- habitants, and is surrounded by vine- yards : the rocks, bare as they are, suffice to maintain the vine, and even the aloe, and produce some of the best wines in the department.

About 2 m. beyond Collioure is 3 Port Vendres (Inn: H. du Com- merce), a town of 800 inhabitants, and a harbour of some consequence, as it is the only port of refuge between Marseilles and the Spanish frontier, and is accessible for frigates. It is defended by 4 forts and 4 batteries. It has gained of late in prosperity, from its increased com- munication with Africa, most of the troops destined for Algiers being em- barked here. 3 or 4 steamers, plying between Marseilles, Barcelona, Gib-

Rousillon.

Route 97 * — Toulouse to Foix.

343

raltar, and Cadiz, touch here every week. The marble obelisk, 100 ft. high, in the square, was raised to Louis XVI., who caused the harbour to be cleared, excavated, and made useful, 1780. The ancient name of this place was Portus Veneris, from a temple of Venus, built here by the Romans. There is a mule path hence into Spain, by the village and Col of Banyuls to Lanza, the first place in Catalonia.

The interesting road up the valley of the Tech, from Boulou, is de- scribed in R. 98.

The high road into Spain from Per- pignan continues to cross the mono- tonous plain of Rousillon, but, as it gradually approaches the Pyrenees, commands a fine view of the Canigou on the rt.

22 Boulou lies at the foot of the mountains on the Tech, whose valley is described in R. 98. * The stream is crossed as you quit Bolou, and about a mile farther the ascent begins, the road making considerable curves, up to the pass or Col de Perthus, which may be reached in 1| hour. Half way, upon the 1. of the road, is the ruined castle of L’Ecluse. At the summit on the rt. of the col, on a height above the little village of Per- thus, stands the fort of Bellegarde, constructed by Louis XIV., in 1679, to command the passage into Spain. It is a regular pentagon with 5 bas- tions, in one of which, facing Spain, General Dugommier, killed in the battle of the Montagne Noire, on the road to Figueiras, 1794, is buried.

This pass was crossed by the con- quering army of Pompey, who erected upon it a trophy of his successes, in- scribed with the names of 876 places which he had subdued. Ceesar fol- lowed not long after, and raised an altar by the side of the monument of Pompey, over whose lieutenants he had, in turn, been victorious. No traces of either now remain.

Junquiera, the first Spanish town,

15 m. from Boulou, and the road to Barcelona, are described in the Hand- book of Spain.

ROUTE 97.*

THE EASTERN PYRENEES. TOULOUSE

TO FOIX AND PUYCERDA. THE VAL- LEY OF THE ARIEGE. VICDESSOS.

ANDORRE.

81 kilom. = 59 Eng. m. to Foix, 18 lieux thence to Puycerda = 50 Eng. m.

A post road as far as Foix. Dili- gences run daily to Foix, Ussat, and Ax.

At Portet (p. 336. ) the road turns to the 1., away from that to Bagneres de Luchon (R. 87.), and crosses the Garonne by a brick bridge, nearly opposite the influx of the Ariege, and afterwards runs along the 1. bank of that river.

26 Viviers.

Near Beccarest is the seat of Mar- shal Clausel ; and a little higher up is Cintegabelle, where Lord Hill passed the Ariege in 1814.

22 Saverdun, a town of 3,000 inhab., was the birth-place of Pope Benedict XII. ; he was the son of a baker or miller. At Mazeres, a little to the E. of our road, Gaston de Foix, Due de Nemours, the hero of the battle of Ravenna, was born 1489. Crossing the Ariege, by a bridge at Saverdun, the road ascends its rt. bank to

15 Pamiers, a cheerful and pretty town, has a population of 6,000 souls, a cathedral, surmounted by an octa- gonal Gothic tower of brick, spared by Mansard when he rebuilt the nave in the style of the 17th century, and several promenades ; one, near the church, looks out upon the distant Pyrenees. About ] 2 m. W of this

Routes 97. and 98., not being described

j from personal knowledge, may, perhaps, be somewhat inaccurate, and the Editor would I feel much obliged to any traveller who has ! travelled on these lines for notes to correct ' them.

Q 4

344? Route 97. — Foix — Tarascon — Vicdessos. Sect. IV.

the philosopher Bayle, author of the Dictionary, was born, 1647, in the obscure village of Carla le Comte.

The road still runs along the rt. bank of the river ; the valley contracts in width, and increases in beauty.

19 Foix (Inns: Rocher de Foix; — Poste), the ancient capital of the Comt£ de Foix, is now the chef lieu of the Dept. L’ Ariege, which is nearly coequal with the Comte de Foix. It is one of the smallest chef lieux in France, as its population does not ex- ceed 4,857. It has a very picturesque site, at the junction of a stream called the Larget with the Ariege. “ It fills up the mouth of the valley, here nar- row and bounded by precipitous hills, and lines either bank of the rapid river, whilst an isolated rock, rising from amidst the houses, sustains the ancient castle of the Counts of Foix, who resisted with such invincible courage the attacks of the kings of France and Arragon, and whose line terminated with the chivalrous Gas- ton. It is known by the name of Les Tours, an appropriate one, as its lofty towers, built of a coarse whitish mar- ble, and preserved unstained by the dryness of the climate, stand pro- minent. Part, also, of the ancient ramparts have resisted time’s decay ; and the antique character of many of the houses, together with ‘ the magic of a name, 1 have thrown a colouring over it that makes it, although now unimportant and remote, a spot in- teresting to the tourist.” — J.

The castle, now converted into a gaol, and much injured by modern exertions, is approached by a very narrow, steep path, bending, with most abrupt turns, along the edge of the precipice. Of its 3 fine towers, all of different ages and all anterior to the 1 5th century, the tallest, or donjon, 136 ft. high, is also the oldest, having been built, 1362, by Gaston Phoebus Count of Foix : it commands a fine view from its top. Simon de Montfort in vain besieged this strong- hold, in 1210, during the wars of the

Albigenses; and at a later period, 1272, Philippe le Hardi, unable to take it by other means, began to un- dermine the rocky pedestal, with the intention of toppling it over, together with the fortress on the top of it ! Such, at least, is the popular tale; and though there seems little possibility that such a threat could have been ac- complished in days when gunpowder was unknown, it had the effect of in- ducing the garrison to surrender.

An elegant building of the 15th century, at the foot of the rock, serves as Palais de Justice.

The prefecture was originally part of the abbey of St. Volusien, sup- pressed at the Revolution. The church of St. Volusien, rebuilt by Roger II. Comte de Foix, is a heavy Gothic building.

A considerable trade in iron, the staple of the Department Ariege, de- rived from the mines of La Rancid, in the Vicdessos, is carried on here. The metal is embarked on the Ariege at Autrerive, below St. Foix, for ex- portation.

Diligence hence to Toulouse.

The valley above this is bare of trees, but productive in corn and wine ; the vine itself being frequently planted on the heaps of boulder stones cleared away from the fields, where they are otherwise so numerous as to hinder cultivation. Tarascon, a smaller town than Foix ( 1 ,555 inhab. ), having also its ancient castle on a rock above it, stands at the point of convergence of several valleys, — that of Vicdessos, in which the iron mines of La Rancie are situated, traversed by a carriage road as far as Sens, that of Saurat (near the entrance of which is the fine cave of Bedeillac), up which runs a carriage road to St. Girons, by the Col de Portet and town of Massat (1,000 inhab.), and that of the Ariege.

The valley of Vicdessos is rendered one of the most industrious in the Pyrenees by its iron mines and works. It is farther embellished by the neat

E. Pyrenees, Route 97. — Vicdessos — Bains d' Ussctb

3 45

houses and gardens of the iron mas- ters and miners, and by several pic- turesque old castles, among which that of Meglos is very conspicuous. The mines of Rancie, situated 460 ft. above the village of Sem, reached by a difficult path in zigzags which takes an hour to surmount, have been worked for many ages but without a proper system, and it is supposed that the supply of ore will be ex- hausted in 20 years. The ore is chiefly the hydrate and carbonate of iron, and is very rich, often yielding 60 per cent.; but as it requires to be brought down from the mine on mule back, and to be transported often 40 or 50 miles to the furnace, and as the fuel (charcoal) must be sought for in many situations from a like distance, the metal produced is very dear, in spite of the cheapness of labour. Yet nearly 60 furnaces are supplied from hence in the department of Ariege alone. The iron ore is found deposited in caverns, veins, and hollows within the strata of a limestone rock, belonging apparently to the lower jura lime- stone (lias) formation, and within a short distance of the fundamental granite. The ore has been worked horizontally to a depth of 300 metres, and vertically to a height of 600 me- tres. Owing to the unskilfulness, want of concert, and heedlessness of the miners, the ore has been extracted without any regard to economy or safety of life ; the roofs and walls of the galleries and chambers excavated, having no proper support, are con- stantly giving way in consequence, and serious loss of life has frequently attended these eboulements. Many of the galleries leading into the mines have been blocked up by the ruins. At the village of Vic de Sos, which is surrounded bvfumaces (forges), there is a clean inn. There is a path up the Val de Sallix, over the mountain pass called Port d’Aulus, into the Val d’Erce, and by Aulus and Oust to St. Girons.

A little more than a mile above

Tarascon lie the Bains d'Ussat, a group of lodging and bath-houses, &c., including two large and comfort- able hotels (Des Voyageurs, close to the road, and L’Etablissement, on the opposite side of the river), which the traveller may conveniently make his head-quarters when exploring the neighbouring valleys. They stand, shaded by trees, within a few yards of the river, at a point where the valley is closed by mountain walls of lime- stone, barely allowing a fewbox bushes to take root in their crevices, but tra- versed by numerous caverns, in some of which fossil bones have been found. The cave on the 1. bank of the river, above the Hotel des Voyageurs, is of considerable extent, requiring an hour to reach its extremity. The waters are warm, acidulous, and, when adminis- tered in baths, are said to have a calming effect over the nervous system, and are much used by females. The baths are hollows excavated in the ground, lined with slate, filled natu- rally by the water rising from be- neath.

The high road runs up the 1. bank of the Ariege, but there is a path along the rt. from Ussat to Tarascon. Above Tarascon the vale of the Ar- riege makes an abrupt bend to the E., round the N. base of the Mont St. Barthelemy, one of the loftiest of this portion of the chain of the Pyrenees, whose top, surmounted by snows and glaciers, appears, from time to time, domineering over the upper valley on the 1. The Pont de Gu- dane carries the road over the stream of the Aston, descending from the lofty and snowy range separating France from Andorre. Numerous old ruined castles, built originally to command the valley, or defend the frequented passage through it into Catalonia, occur at intervals, rising on peaked eminences above the valley ; but the largest and most lordly and picturesque of all is that of Lordat, near Cabannes ; its origin is attributed to the Moors or Goths. Iron works Q 5

346 R. 97. — Ax — ■ Valley of the Ariege — Andorre. Sect. IV.

in equal number alternate with these feudal remains ; thus the romantic associations of former times combine with the active industry of the present to add an interest to a valley which derives so many attractions besides from the beauties of nature. Its an- cient inhabitants were called Teeto- sages, from the sagum, or cloak, which they wore, which has descended to the present generation, who, by a curious coincidence, still designate it by the same name, in their patois, “ un sago. ”

Ax, 13m. above Ussat. — Inns: H. d’Espagne ; H. de France ; both ex- tremely dirty. Ax is a town of 2,000 inhab., prettily situated, amidst gra- nitic mountains, at the junction of 3 valleys, out of which issue 3 moun- tain torrents, whose streams combine, in or near the town, to form the river Ariege.

In the name Ax it is easy to dis- cover the Latin Aquce, derived from the hot sulphureous springs which burst out on all sides; indeed, there ap- pears to be a natural kettle of boiling water under the town. More than 30 hot sources issue forth in different parts of it, varying in temperature from 113° to 168° of Fahrenheit; and in order to obtain cold, one must re- sort to the river ; and even it, in some parts, is rendered tepid by hot springs rising in its very bed : the snow rests but a few instants on a soil so tho- roughly heated from below. Besides the application of the waters to baths, of which there are 2 or 3 establish- ments, and for drinking, it is turned to various domestic and economic purposes by the inhabitants, who wash not only their linen, but a vast quan- tity of wool in its tepid streams. The town itself is a miserable collection of dirty lanes, the only considerable buildings being the hotels and hospi- tals, one of which has recently been constructed by government for mili- tary patients. Near the hospital is an ancient bath, established in 1200, and still called Bassin des Ladres, or Le- pers’ Basin.

The carriage road up the valley ceases shortly before reaching Merens, a poor village; beyond it the mountains close in and form a long, gloomy de- file ; it afterwards expands into an open, stony, and uninteresting tract. A very rough and steep path leads to Hospitalet (12 m. from Ax), a jour- ney of 3^ hours on horseback. This is a poor hamlet, but has a small inn. 1 § hour’s ride above this is the pass or col over the mountain, called Port de Pugmaurins, upon which a custom-house is planted. Close to this pass, on the W., begins the territory of Andorre, a small neutral state between France and Spain, which has been allowed by its powerful neigh- bours, partly through its insignifi- cance and poverty, to maintain an independent existence, under a repub- lican form of government, for six cen- turies since the days of Charlemagne, resembling, in this respect, the repub- lic of San Marino in Italy. It is shut in by high mountains on all sides but the S., where the river Embalire issues out towards the Spanish town of Urgel. Its population amounts to about 15,000, and its capital, Andorre, numbers about 2,000. It is governed by a council of 24, a syndic, and 2 vi - guiers, or magistrates, appointed, one by the king of France, who, as pro- tector of Andorre, receives 960 fr. of tribute yearly, the other by the bishop of Urgel. It consists of 3 valleys, hemmed in by grand mountains of great elevation : its productions are limited nearly to wood and iron; and from the sale of these (and from smuggling) the inhabitants are en- abled to purchase corn and other ne- cessaries, which their barren and lofty country refuses to yield. For the traveller there is no accommodation ; and he that ventures thither, if he be not prepared to sleep in the open air, with some risk of starving, should carry letters with him from persons of authority at Ax to some of the wealthy proprietors. The only English traveller who has given an account of Andorre, derived from a personal ac-

347

Perpignan to Mont Louis ,

E, Pyrenees. Route 98 .- —

quaintance with the country, is the Honourable Erskine Murray.

After passing the crest of the great chain by the Port de Puymaurins the path descends the S. slope, through a very wild valley, strewn with rocks, passing the hamlets of Porte and Porta, near which a path strikes off to the rt., up a minor valley, into An- dorre. Between Porta and Cour- bassil is the old ruined castle, after which the vale is named, called Tour du Carol, built, according to popular tradition, by the Moors ; but upon the conquest of this country and their ex- pulsion from it by Charlemagne, the towers were christened Carol, after him. They occupy a very picturesque position, on the top of an immense isolated mass of granite, rising in the midst of this narrow and rugged valley. Beyond Courbassil is the village called Tour de Carol, situated within a mile of the Spanish frontier, which is mark- ed neither by stream* nor mountain, but is a mere imaginary line at this point. About 2 m. within it lies the Spanish Town of

Puycerda, 13 m. from Hospitalet. See Hand-book for Spain.

The road hence to Perpignan, by Mont Louis and the Valley of the Tech, is described in R. 98.

ROUTE 98.*

EASTERN PYRENEES. PERPIGNAN TO

MONT LOUIS AND PUYCERDA, BY THE

VALLEYS OF THE TET AND TECH.

ASCENT OF THE CANIGOU.

About 47 Eng. m.

A post road as far as Olette, but not always provided with horses.

The vale of the Tet, up whose rt. bank our road ascends, is flattened down and absorbed in the great plain of Rousillon, near Perpignan, and it is not until after leaving behind, at some distance,

See note to Route 97.

24 Ille, a walled town of 3,000 inhab. , that the road enters fairly among the mountains. From Vinpa, another town, the ascent is gradual to

18 Prades. This town of 3,013 in- hab. possesses a tolerable inn, but is in no wise remarkable, except for its pretty situation on the rt. bank of the Tet, in a valley abounding in corn, wine, and fruits, vineyards terraced up the hill-sides, maize, and hemp fields. “ The banks on the rt. and J. are spotted with villages, and clus- tered with old chateaux.” Prades lies at the N. base of the Canigou, whose summit may be reached by 8 or 9 hours’ walk up the vale of Lentilla. (See p. 348.)

There is, however, another and more interesting way of approaching the Canigou, pursuing the high road into Spain (R. 94.) as far as Boullou (22 kilom. ), where it turns to the S. W. up the Valley of the Tech. At Ceret, 6 m. up, the river is spanned by an ancient bridge of a single bold arch, 144 ft. in the opening, whose construction is attributed to the Visi- goth kings, but which in reality is not older than 1 352. It is very narrow, and the arch thins out towards the keystone. Ceret, a town of 3,000 in- hab. , is about a mile farther ; and 7 m. above it is the small fort of Arles les Bains, constructed, 1617, by Louis XIV., on the top of an emi- nence, from whose base issue hot sul- phureous springs of a temperature of 157° Fahr. They were known to the Romans, and the vaulted chamber in which one of them is still received is of their building, but is remarkable only for its solidity. Between this and the town of Arles are some iron forges, where the ore derived from mines situated high up on the N. flank of the Canigou, and brought hither on mules’ backs, is smelted. The Tech is again crossed before en- tering the town ; it has 2,000 inhab. The church is ancient ; the front and portal enriched with curious carving,

Q. 6

348 Route 98. — The Canigou — Valley of the Tet. Sect. IV.

J n white marble, dated from 1045. On the 1. of the facade, under a sort of shed, is a very ancient sarcophagus resting on 4 feet, filled with miracle- working water, which is never ex- hausted, and is sold at 20 sous the vial-full. It owes its virtues to the coffin having enclosed the relics of two saints, which were brought from Rome to free the neighbourhood of Arles from dragons, lions, & c., which then infested it 1 Adjoining the church is a cloister, a range of pointed arches on slender pillars, of the 13th cen- tury, without a roof.

About 10 m. distant among the mountains, and approached by steep paths, from which fine views are ob- tained of the Canigou, is the Roman- esque church of Coustouges, which may interest the antiquary, as it is supposed to date from the 9th century.

8 m. above Arles, in the Valley of the Tech, lies Pratz de Mollo, a fron- tier town of 4,000 inhab., surrounded by old-fashioned fortifications, but commanded on the height above by the efficient Fort Legarde, constructed from the plans of Vauban. A mule path runs hence over the mountains to the Spanish town Compredon.

The ascent of the Canigou , which projects forward from the great chain of the Pyrenees, and rises, almost isolated, above the plain of Rou- sillon, to a height of 9,141 ft., was made by Mr. E. Murray from Arles. He followed the mule paths leading to the iron mines, as far as the old tower of Bateres, standing on a ridge whence you look down upon both valleys of the Tech and Tet ; and after 3 or 4 hours’ scrambling’’ from this ridge, “ up steps, along precipices, and over snow wreaths,” attained the summit ; whence the eye surveys the plain of Rousillon, and the coast of the Mediterranean, with Perpignan on its margin ; the valleys bordering on the Tet ; the mountain range of Catalonia on the S. ; and on the W., the chain separating Rousillon from the Vale of Ariege. “ The ascent or

descent to Valmania is so difficult and dangerous as to deter many an aspi- rant from attempting to surmount it; but no one, with a tolerable pair of legs, good lungs, and not unaccus- tomed to mountain climbing, ought to be discouraged : should he succeed, he will find himself amply repaid for his toil and fatigue.” Valmania is a hamlet, composed of a few miners’ houses, and a very humble cabaret, which will afford night shelter, and fresh eggs, with vin du pays, in a wild situation under an old ruined castle. The iron mines occur near the junc- tion of a limestone (of the age of the chalk) with the granite. It is a five hours’ walk hence to Prades, descend- ing the Vale of the Lentilla, through picturesque scenery, and joining the high road near Vinca.

Above Prades the plain of the Tet contracts into a valley : and, after passing the old castle of Ria, the cradle of a noble line, whence came the Counts of Arragon and Barcelona, narrows to a gorge at Villefranche, a town fortified by Vauban, but not strong, because commanded by the neighbouring heights, which squeeze it in as it were, and leave barely space for its two narrow streets, and the river below. In the vale of Corneilla, which penetrates S. from this into the flanks of the Canigou, lies Vernet, a watering-place, supplied by some of the numerous hot springs bursting out in all parts of the Pyre- na?an chain ; and above it the ruined abbey St. Martin de Canigou.

The high road crosses the Tet, by a bridge, on quitting Villefranche, and terminates soon after, giving place to a mere mule path.

16 Olette. 2 m. farther the culti- vation of the vine ceases ; the valley becomes sterile and wild ; the road, ascending more rapidly, traverses a narrow defile, guarded and closed, in ancient times, by walls, towers, and gateways, whose ruins still remain. To this succeeds an open expanse, a

34 9

E. Pyrenees. Route 98. — Valley of the Tet.

table land of green meadow, a pas- toral scene, surrounded by fir-clad heights; and in the midst, at a dis- tance of 1 0 m. above Olette, stands

Mont Louis (a tolerable Inn), a frontier fortress (442 inhab.), built 1 684 by Vauban to guard the passage from Spain.

The town consists of 8 short streets, in straight lines, crossing one another at right angles, surmounted by the citadel* whose casemates afford shelter | for 800 men.

A road runs N. from this to Car- cassonne (R. 93.), and a path over the mountains by Langles into the vale of the Ariege.

About 2 m. from Mont Louis, | and at a height of 350 metres above j it, 1,559 metres above the sea level, is j the pass over the mountains, called I Col de la Perche. The path from it j

! descends into the basin-shaped valley i of the Cerdagne Fran 9 aise, traversed j by numerous streams, the chief of which is the Seyre or Segre, a tribu- I tary of the Ebro. The territory of j France has here been pushed, for | some distance, down the S. slope of the backbone of the Pyrenees, in the j same manner that the Spaniards oc- j cupy the head of the Yale of the Garonne, on the N. of the chain (R. 87.). 5 m. below the col is Sail- lagousa, a town of 400 inhabitants ; 2 m. farther is Llivia; and 3 m. more carry the traveller across the frontier to the first Spanish town, Puycerda (10 m. from Mont Louis). See Hand-book for Travellers in Spain.

The road from Puycerda to Tou- louse is described in Route 97.

350

SECTION Y.

CENTRAL FRANCE. — BERRI. — AUVERGNE. — VIVARAIS. — ARDECHE.— CANTAL. — BOURBONNAIS. — LYONNAIS. —THE CEVENNES.

ROUTE PAGE

103 Orleans to Bourges and Clermont .... 354

104 Orleans to Moulins and

Lyons by Bourges . . 359

105 Paris to Lyons. — Route de

Bourbonnais, by Fontaine- bleau, Montargis, Nevers, Moulins. — The Baths of Vichy . . . .360

106 Paris to Lyons. — Route de Bourgogne, by Sens, Auxerre, Arnay le Due, Chalons-sur- Sadne,axi&. Macon. — Descent of the Sadne, from Chalons

to Lyons .... 381

107 Paris to Chalons-sur-Saone,

by Auxerre and Autun . 389 109 Moulins to Clermont and Le Buy. — Volcanoes of Au- vergne .... 391

ROUTE PAGE

110 Clermont to Mont Dore les

Bains . . . .405

112 Clermont toLyons, by Thiers 409 114 Clermont to Toulouse, by

the Cantal and Aurillac . 410 116 Clermont toToulouse, by St. Flour, the Baths of Chaudes Aigues, Rodez, and Alby . 414 118 Lyons to Le Puy, Aubenas, Mende, and Nismes. — Rail- way to St. Etienne. — The Cevennes . . . .419

.119 Roanne to Valence on the Rhone, by St. Etienne and Annonay. — Railway from Roanne to St. Etienne . 424 121 Valence to Nismes, by Pri- vas, Aubenas, the Volcanoes of the Ardeche, and Alais . — Railway from Alais to Nis- mes. — The Cevennes . 427

CENTRAL FRANCE.

General View of the Country.

Among the crowds of English travellers who annually roll along the high road from Paris to Lyons on their way to Italy, complaining of the dull monotony of France, how few have taken the trouble to ascertain what beauties and curiosities were presented by the districts which they almost skirted with their carriage wheels — Auvergne, theVivarais, the Ardeche, and Dauphine. Auvergne, little known even to the French themselves, except among men of science, in whose works it is minutely described, is best ap- proached by quitting the high road to Lyons at Moulins, and ascending the valley of the Allier to Clermont. The road thither, and for some distance beyond, traverses a country contrasting remarkably with that left behind at Moulins in varied surface, fertility, and abundance of foliage. It is ^thickly inhabited, and sprinkled over with towns and villages, not hidden, but planted on the road side or on the top of conspicuous eminences, where they alternate with ruined castles. The chief source of interest, however, in Auvergne consists in its extinct volcanoes, which of themselves deserve to attract visitors from all quarters of the globe. Even the distant outline of these commanding mountain groups marks them as something uncommon, while on a nearer approach their structure and composition furnish undeniable proof of their extraordinary origin. Many of them swell into domes, showing that “ The earth hath bubbles as the water has

others are formed into craters as regular and perfect as those of Etna and

351

Central France. Auvergne — The Cevennes.

Vesuvius, assuming the shape of a funnel or inverted cone. In many in- stances the lava streams may be traced from the very lips of the crater out of which they originally flowed for miles over the country, capping the hill tops and filling up the valleys.

Castles of the feudal ages, dismantled by the levelling politician Richelieu, or by the unbridled fury of the Revolutionists, abound in Central France and contribute to adorn the landscape. In the volcanic country they are usually perched on a platform of basalt crowning some conical peak, which is the relic of a great bed of the same rock which once overspread the country. These ready-made pedestals, from their isolated position and precipitous sides, afforded security for property in troublous times, and impunity for violence and rapine.

The best head-quarters for exploring Auvergne is Clermont, at the foot of the Puy (or pic) de Dome, whence numerous excursions may be made over the Phlegrsean fields of France, including a visit to Mont Dore les Bains, situated within another volcanic chain, the Monts Dores. Further S. lie the volcanic groups of the Cantal, between Murat and Aurillac, whose scenery is striking and very peculiar ; of Velay, in the midst of which stands the town of Le Puy, one of the most singular and picturesque in France; and of the Ardeche or Vivarais. Both the Cantal and Le Puy are accessible by good roads from Clermont, but there is a want of communication between them, and a carriage can only proceed from one to the other by a long detour, while the Ardeche is accessible by good roads only from the Rhone. The pedestrian and geologist will find his way readily across the country.

Aubenas, in the Ardeche, has a good inn ; Vais, too, which is even more centrical, affords very fair accommodation, where travellers may put up while exploring its basaltic causeways, its domes of ashes, and craters of scorice,.on which the chesnut luxuriates. The pedestrian and equestrian can pass from Le Puy, by Langogne, direct to Thueyts and Montpezat. (R. 121.)

Bordering upon the Ardeche to the S. extends the wild mountain chain of the Cevennes , which may be termed a moral extinct volcano, the last strong- hold of persecuted Protestantism in France, “ Le Desert,” as its own inhabit- ants called it, while further in allusion to the children of Israel, they styled themselves “ Les Enfans de Dieu.” The Cevennes fill a large part of the departments of La Lozere and Gard ; and, by tracing up to their sources on the map the rivers Tarn, Gardon, Vidourle, and Herault, the reader will ascertain the theatre of that dire struggle, in the coui*se of which 30,000 Cevenols pe- rished in battle or on the scaffold ; and a much larger number of royal troops fell, between November 1702 and December 1704. The boundaries of the Hautes Cevennes are precisely marked by the lozenge-shaped outline formed by the head waters, or forks, of the Tarn, and the two Gardons, that of An- douze and that of Alais. The Basses Cevennes lie S. of this, between the Gardon d’Andouze and the Vidourle. These mountains are a natural cita- del, an inextricable labyrinth of gorges and defiles well fitted for desultory warfare, where a handful of bold defenders could hold out against a host ; with mountain peaks and ridges for camps ; passes and gorges for ambus- cades ; forests to rally in, in the event of defeat ; and for escape and refuge, mountain paths, trodden only by the wild goat, and caves haunted by the fox ; but which the Cevenols converted into arsenals and storehouses. The best disciplined troops availed nothing in storming these bulwarks of nature; and army after army, sent forth by the bigot Louis XIV. at the instigation of the Jesuits, was annihilated by rude peasants, and their leaders were recalled with disgrace. But the miseries of war, the assassinations, burnings, pillagings, slaughter of females and infants, were not confined to these mountains : they

352

The Cevennes,

Sect. V,

spread far and wide down into the plain, to the ocean on the S. , to the Rhone on the E., and N. beyond the Ardeche: the incursions of the peasants in their forays, pouring down from the hills, repeatedly spread consternation up to the very walls of Nismes, Uzes, Alais, and Montpelier ; and their leaders in disguise boldly penetrated into the interior of these towns when in search of provisions or intelligence. And who were these chiefs ? Simple peasants, shepherds, labourers, carders of wool, and weavers, who exercised the double office of military leaders and prophets ; a singular compound of psalm-sing- ing and throat-cutting, combining the strongest religious fanaticism with much worldly vanity, love of fine dresses, and of plunder ; and, above all, the most dauntless courage. One or two had served as soldiers in the ranks, during the war of the Alps ; but this could not have given them that skill in generalship which enabled them repeatedly to bring their wild hordes to face troops four, six, or eight times more numerous, not only in the mountains, in advantageous positions, but also in the plain, with so much skill as to call forth the admiration even of Marshal Villars. The story of the poor peasants of the Cevennes differs but little from that of the Covenanters in Scotland, except that the oppression which the Cevenols endured was more cruel. It affords a remarkable proof how fruitless are the efforts of bigoted persecution and tyrannic cruelty, even when backed by unlimited power, in procuring passive submission. When, in an evil hour for France, Louis XIV., listening to the advice of Louvois and Bossuet, backed by the Jesuits, revoked the Edict of Nantes, made it a crime to pray except according to his own religion, banished the Reformed pastors to distant lands, pulled down the churches, and let loose the Dragonnades to torture the people into conformity, a strange fermentation was produced in the public mind, heated by the perusal and misapplication of particular parts of the Bible. Prophets and prophetesses began to spring up among the Protestant community. That wild enthusiasm, bordering on insanity, which roused up the Maid of Orleans to resist the oppression of the English, here seems to have developed itself among a whole community. The disease of prophesying seems first to have broken out«in Dauphine, but soon spread, like an epidemic, across the Rhone, and a large proportion of the cases were mere boys and girls, and all un- taught peasants. The ignorant peasantry, believing the ecstasies of these preachers to be inspired by the Holy Ghost, flocked from far and near to listen, and, deprived of the sober guidance of their own exiled pastors, im- bibed the fervour of fanaticism. The spirit of resistance began to show itself, drawn forth by the recital of their wrongs, the denunciation of their tyrants, and the assurance of support from heaven : conventicles were held, in spite of the terrors of prison, torture, and the soldiery, in the open air among rocks and caverns. The desire of vengeance on the instrument of their suffering, a bigoted priest who had acted the part which Archbishop Sharp is sup- posed to have done in Scotland, and who was assassinated by a fanatic French Balfour of Burley, was the signal for denial of mercy on the part of the ministers of Louis, and of open rebellion on the side of the Cevenols. Hereupon commenced the insurrection of the Camisards, as the persecuted outcasts of the Cevennes were called by their enemies, it is supposed from the white shirt (in Languedocian, Camisa ) which they wore over their clothes to distinguish themselves. The whole of the Protestant communities were organ- ized chiefly by the leaders Roland and Cavalier ; troops were levied from the different parishes, and each furnished its quota to the ranks and the commis- sariat or a contribution of money ; and losses in the ranks were filled up by fresh levies. The Cevenol force never exceeded 3,000 in arms at one time, and

Central France.

The Cevennes.

353

was divided into three brigades under different chiefs, each of whom had his own post and district (generally near his own home) among the hills. Such troops and commanders, intoxicated by the wild harangues of prophets and prophetesses who accompanied the expeditions on horseback, and made their hearers believe that their bodies should be as stone against sword and musket, and who led them into action with some inspiriting psalm, produced acts of most dauntless daring and prowess and a total disregard of the numbers brought against them. The seizures, tortures, executions, by breaking on the wheel and burning alive (the common modes of punishing a Camisard), led to reprisals on their part, to murders of priests, sacking and burning of popish churches. Yet, horrible as were the acts of vengeance and violence committed by the Cevenols, they were equalled, if not surpassed, by the crimes, plunder, and murder of women and children, perpetrated by the ruffian soldiery in the pay of Louis, especially by the guerilla bands called Florentins. The royal troops carried fire and sword into every village ; and the unscrupulous generals and governors of Louis acting in Languedoc, re- sorted to the atrocious measure of devastating the whole of the upper Ce- vennes ; destroying by fire and axe 400 hamlets and villages, and driving away the inhabitants. The Camisards did not attempt to defend their home- steads, but retorted by carrying fire and sword over the fertile plain, and spreading terror into the cities of Nismes and Montpellier. The rebellion was at length arrested, less by any successes gained against the Protestants in the field, by the number of troops employed against them, and the skill and generalship of the four marshals of France dispatched in turn to take the command, than by the cautious policy of one of them, Marshal Villars, in cajoling and bribing the Cevenol leaders.

Though the struggle of the Cevenols ended in failure — though the tolerance of their faith, according to the Edict of Nantes, the chief object for which they contended, was denied them — though the insurrection was followed, not by alleviation of their wrongs, but by persecution continued for half a century, — yet these misguided sufferers, who bled upon their native mountains, who were broken alive on the wheel, burnt alive on the pile, tormented in dungeons, or pined away their lives in gaol, gave a terrible lesson to tyranny and religious bigotry, and shook the “ grand monarque ” on his throne. Even at the present time their country has not recovered from the desolation inflicted by the destruction of its houses and temples. Many parishes, destitute of places of worship, meet for prayer in the open air, and the traveller in passing through them may be arrested by the distant sounds of psalmody, or in passing an abrupt turn in his road may come upon a congregation of peasants attentively listening to the pastor, who holds forth from the top of the rock, or from beneath the shade of a venerable tree. Many families trace their descent from the chiefs of the insurrection. The people are poor, and the greater part of their country, especially the Upper Cevennes, is not easily accessible for want of roads. There is but little traffic along the two highways from Mende to Nismes (R. 118.), and from Aubenas to Alais (R. 121.), which skirt or traverse it. Manufactures, however, are gradually creeping up its remote valleys from the S. ; and the railway com- pleted between Nismes and Alais, and the neighbouring coal field, cannot fail to give an impulse to traffic and commerce. The traveller will find little picturesque beauty, owing to the bare aridity of the hills, the want of foliage and of verdure.

Its history and ancient associations form its chief interest. An English- man may be willing to be reminded, as he traverses this district of former

3 5F

Sect. V.

Route 103. — Bourges.

strife, that many of the Irish officers and soldiers who fought at the battle of the Boyne on the side of James II., and afterwards accompanied him to France, were employed here against the Protestants ; that the Cevenol leaders were encouraged by the ministers of William III. and Queen Anne, and received promises of assistance, but promises only ; that on two occa- sions British fleets, under Sir Cloudesley Shovel, approached the coast of Languedoc to support the insurrection with troops and arms, but failed in effecting that purpose ; that the band of Cevenol insurgents expelled from France by the intrigues and negotiations of Villars was formed into a regiment under their chief Cavalier, and fought in the English army com- manded by Peterborough in Spain, at Almanza, where they were almost cut to pieces by their own countrymen ; and that Cavalier, their leader, died a pensioner in Chelsea Hospital.

A full account of the war of the Cevennes, and the events which led to it, will be found in Peyrat, Histoire des Pasteurs du Desert , Paris, 1842.

For the geology of Auvergne, Velay, and the Vivarais, there is no work so good as Scrope’s Central France, with illustrations from the author’s sketches. Consult also the French works of MM. Lecocq and Bouille, and of M. Bertrand de Doux ; not forgetting our own countrywoman Miss Costello’s Summer in Auvergne. Merimee’s Notes d'un Voyage en Auvergne contains the most complete account of the monuments of that district. There is an admirable Map of Auvergne by Desmarest.

ROUTE 103.

ORLEANS TO BOURGES AND CLERMONT.

Ill kilom. = 69 Eng. m. to Bourges. 71 kilom. thence to Cler- mont.

A railroad is in progress to Vier- zon.

Diligences daily.

This road is the same as Route 70. as far as

79 Vierzon. About a mile out of the town, on the banks of the Canal, is the village Les Forges, consisting of very extensive furnaces, where the iron of Berry is wrought in large quantity. The post road passes through

18 Beauregard, having on the rt., near to the river Yevre, the town of Mehun, where a fragment, consisting of 2 machicolated towers, alone re- mains of the castle in which Charles VII. spent much of the early part of his reign in indolence, and at last ended his days ; allowing himself to die of starvation, through the fear of being poisoned by his son, afterwards

Louis XI., 1461. The demolition of the building has been chiefly effected since 1812, down to which time the chamber of the king, and that of his mistress, Agnes Sorel, were still pointed out.

14 Bourges. — Inns: H. de France; —•La Boule d’Or, near the Dili- gences : both second-rate ; — Le Boeuf Couronne.

Bourges, anciently capital of Berry, and now of the Department of the Cher, is situated nearly in the centre of France, upon a considerable emi- nence, rising abruptly out of an unin- teresting and flat country, watered by the river Auron, and has 20,000 inhab. It possesses little trade and no exten- sive manufacture ; though some cloth is woven and some iron ore is smelted in it. Its streets may be divided into 2 classes : those of very ancient houses with gables facing outwards, many of them having frame fronts of timber, generally occupied by shops ; and streets of dead walls and portes co- cheres, denoting the habitations of families of independent fortune, and

Central France. Route 103,

in easy circumstances, in which class Bourges abounds. The number of silversmiths is remarkable in a pro- vincial town. The highest platform of the hill on which the town is built is occupied by the Cathedral of St. Etienne, a colossal and magnificent edifice, one of the finest in France, conspicuous, with its 2 solid towers, far and near. Its W. fa£ade presents a row of no less than 5 deeply recessed portals, all ornamented, in a style of peculiar richness and originality, with sculpture ; that in the centre, higher than the rest, is decorated, above the carved wood doors, with a bas-relief, of admirable execution, representing the Last Judgment. In the centre, Christ seated amidst Archangels, and the Virgin and St. John on either- side, on their knees : below, on his rt., the Good led to the Gate of Paradise by St. Peter ; on the 1. the Wicked seized by Demons and hurled into a fiery Cauldron, which divers Imps are exciting with the Bellows: 6 rows of niches, filled with figures of the An- gelic Choir, Saints, Patriarchs, &c., line this deep porch on either side. The varied expression of the coun- tenances, the elevated character of many, the easy flow of the drapery, and the good execution of the whole, be- speak the work of an eminent sculptor, but his name, as well as that of the architect of the building, is unknown. The portals have been lately restored, with great care and skill, in a species of clay. The injuries are attributed to the Protestants ; but if they be the result of a popular commotion, and not of the mere progress of time, they are wonderfully slight. The other portals have smaller reliefs, from scrip- tural and legendary stories, and fewer niches, but equally deserve examina- tion. Those on the rt. of the spectator represent the stoning of St. Stephen, and the Acts of St. Ursin ; on the 1. the Death of the Virgin, and St. Ursin and St. Just preaching the Gospel in Berry. The foliage between i the mouldings can scarcely be sur- j passed for delicacy.

. — Bourges — Cathedral. 3 55

The oldest part of the church is the lateral doorways on the N. and S. sides ; they are circular arches, adorned with florid Norman ornaments and statues, in a stiff style, dating, pro- bably, from the 12th century. The N. door is covered by a projecting porch of later date. The N. and most perfect tower was founded 1508, and finished 1538. Its builder was Guil. Pellevoisin : it is 199 ft. high ; it is called the butter tower, because built with the money raised from indulgences to eat butter in Lent. The S. tower is inferior in elegance.

The interior consists of one long and vast parallelogram, without tran- sept, but, to make amends, provided with double aisles on each side, those next the centre being 65 ft. high, and furnished, like it, with triforium and clerestory, worthy of a cathedral nave, extending all round the choir. Be- yond the outer aisle are 18 chapels. The vaulted stone roof of the central aisle, 117 ft. high, is supported by 60 piers, with capitals in the early En- glish style, presenting the most varied and striking perspective.

One of the chapels is said to have been built by the celebrated jeweller, Jacques Cceur, and his son John, 88fA Archbishop of Bourges, 1446. The sculpture of the portal of the sacristy is very delicate. One of the chief boasts of this cathedral is the quantity, excellence, and good preservation of the painted glass of the windows of the choir and chapels. They include spe- cimens of the art from the 13th down to 17th century. The oldest, confined chiefly to a beautiful arrangement of patterns, may be called a transparent Mosaic, unsurpassed in the beauty of the colour; these were succeeded, in the 15th and 16th centuries, by glass pictures, groups, and single figures, well drawn, and also of good colouring. The chapels containing the finest ex- amples of the latter state of the art are those of Jacques Cceur, St. Loup, St.

I Denis: those in the chapels of Tullier

J and Coppin are the work of Lecuyer, an artist of Bourges, (d. 1556). One

356 Route 1 03. — Bourges — Ramparts — - H. de Ville. Sect. V.

of the most modern specimens is a beautiful Ascension of the Virgin, given, 1619, by the Marechal de Montigny, whose portrait, with that of his wife, is seen in the corner below.

In the crypt, an early Pointed struc- ture, running below the choir, in a semicircle, is deposited the monument of Jean le Magnifique, Due de Berri, son, brother, and uncle of kings, and nephew of Charles V. of France, erected by his own nephew, Charles VII. His effigy, in marble, of good execution, was brought hither from the Sainte Chapelle, which he built, now destroyed. Here are also the effigies, in marble, of the Marechal Montigny and his lady, and the statue of the Virgin, of good design. Louis XI., son of Charles VII., b. at Bourges 1423, was baptized in the cathedral by Huri d’Avanjour, 89th Archbishop.

Adjoining the cathedral, on the S., is the archeveche, a handsome edifice, in the Italian style, with gardens attached, traversed by fine avenues of limes ; and a little way from it the Caserne d' Artillerie, an immense building, formerly the grande Semi- naire, surrounded by numerous de- tached buildings, stables to accom- modate the men and horses, of whom 800, with all their train and equip- ments, are commonly stationed here.

The city of Bourges is still sur- rounded by Ramparts, converted, for the greater part of their extent, into a public promenade, and planted with trees. It was formerly defended by 60 watch towers, all of which have been demolished except 6 or 8. Two of these, behind the archeveche and cavalry barrack, opposite the pro- menade called the Cours Seraucourt, deserve notice, as being undoubtedly Roman. One is formed of huge blocks of stone, now much worn at the edges, a style of durable masonry (opus incertum) employed by the Romans in their great works ; the other is of smaller stones, with layers of large tiles in bands : the substruc-

ture of the wall, as far as the garden of the prefecture, is of the same kind. These Roman relics are of some interest. Joseph Scaliger and D’An- ville are satisfied that Bourges is the ancient Avaricum (named from the river Avara, now E'vre), chief town of the Bituriges (Berry), mentioned by Caesar in his Commentaries (viii. 13.), “ Oppidum quod erat maxi- mum munitissimumque, in finibus Biturigum,et totius Galliae urbsprope pulcherrima.” On account of its im- portance and beauty it was the only city of the Celtic Gauls which they spared to burn to the ground, when, like the Russians in Moscow, they resorted to that expedient as a last re- source to check the conquering armies of Julius Caesar.

At the entrance of the Garden of the Prefecture, close to the Promenade de Seraucourt, is a Romanesque portal of the 11th century, removed from the Church of St. Ursin , now destroyed. It is a circular arch, enclosing curious sculptures in relief, representing the 12 Months of the Year, a Boar Hunt, &c., Scenes from JEsop’s Fables, as the Stork and the Fox, a Fox drawn by Geese, of very good execution.

Next to the cathedral, the most in- teresting building is the Hdtel de Ville , originally the private mansion of Jacques Coeur, a citizen of the town, a great capitalist and successful mer- chant and jeweller, and finance mi- nister to Charles VII., who, after lending his master 200,000 gold crowns, was torn from his palace, cast into prison, and condemned to death and confiscation of his propery, a sentence commuted by the king into perpetual banishment. The cause of his accusation and condemnation re- main a mystery. The building, begun 1443, is in the late or florid Gothic style, of great magnificence, yet not overladen : the walls alone cost 130,000 livres. There is no uniformity of parts ; no one wall or window corre- sponds with another; all is varied, yet all is harmonious. The entrance is

Central France. R. 103 . — Bourges — Sceurs Bleues.

357

flanked by a most elegant tourelle, and is surmounted by a projecting balcony, or open oriel, of elegant tracery. Two figures, sculptured in stone, on each side, are said to be the servants of Jacques Cceur, on the look-out to warn him of danger from the officers of justice, but are more probably a mere freak of the architect. This elegant palace is distinguished, like many other French domestic edifices of the 15th century, by its circular cone- roofed towers, containing spiral stair- cases. Its windows surmounted by flat arches are ornamented below with open tablets of quatrefoils, among which is introduced the punning de- vice of Jacques Cceur, the heart, and the scallop shell of the pilgrim to St. James’s Shrine. On a little Gothic balustrade between the outer gateway and its flanking turret the motto of Jacques Cceur, “ A vaillants Coeurs rien impossible,” is most elaborately carved in tall Gothic characters of stone. Over the doorways in the court are singular bas-reliefs : observe that on the left of the great entrance, and that over the kitchen. The chapel above the gateway deserves to be seen, but espe- cially the upper part divided from the lower by a modern floor, its groined roof being elegantly painted in fresco, probably by Italian artists, with angels in flowing robes of white upon a blue ground, representing the multitude of the angelic host, bearing scrolls, in- scribed, “ Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax,” &c. : the figures are well foreshortened, and in good preserva- tion. In the lower part of the chapel are 2 elegant niches, nearly blocked up. The rest of the interior has been sadly mutilated and altered, to fit it for conversion into law courts, stripped of panelling, cornices, and chimney- pieces, so that the chapel alone is now worth entering. This palace was ap- propriated as a residence to the youth- ful Conde, destined to become Le Grand Conde, while pursuing his stu- dies at the Jesuits’ College here.

The Caserne de Gendarmerie, in a

street behind the Hotel deYille, not far off from it, was the house of Cujas, pro- fessor in the University, which existed here from 1465 to the Revolution. It is of brick, of very solid construction, in a style resembling the Tudor of England, built towards the end of the 16th century, and displays about its door, windows, and turrets, some frag- ments of elegant decoration.

The Convent of the Sceurs Bleues, in the Rue des Vieilles Prisons, origin- ally the mansion of the family Lalle- mand, and built probably about 151 2, has an irregular front, flanked by tourelles, gracefully decorated with arabesque patterns, bas-reliefs, &c., in the style of the Renaissance, which will please an architect. It contains a little family oratory, about 1 Oft. by 15, surmounted by a roof of 3 stone slabs, divided into 30 compartments, each filled with some device, as a Globe on Fire, a Hand gathering a Chesnut, or other pattern, rebus, relief, or orna- ment, alternating with the letters R E, often repeated, most elaborately carved, but of which the meaning is difficult to explain.

Bourges was the residence and re- fuge of Charles VII., at a time when three-fourths of his kingdom of France belonged to the English, when he was little more, in fact, than “ king of Bourges.”

Bourges has a museum, a recep- tacle of antiquities, of various ages, and other curiosities, without order or arrangement. A series of 6 weeping figures (pleureuses), in alabaster, from some monument ; a model of the Sainte Chapelle, mentioned above, now destroyed ; an ebony cabinet, orna- mented in the style of the Renaissance, from Agnes Sorel’s castle, Bon-sire- aime, and some portraits, including those of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette, merit notice.

Bourges is the birth-place of Louis XI., and of Bourdaloue, one of the first pulpit orators of the French church.

It is at present the forced residence

358

Route 103. — Orleans to Clermont. Sect. V.

of Don Carlos , of Spain, who lives here under the surveillance of the police, never stirring abroad without an escort of gens-d’armes.

Diligences go hence daily to Paris by Orleans; to Tours by Chateauroux and Loches ; to Toulouse by Li- moges ; to Nevers ; to Clermont, and the Baths of Neris.

There is little to interest in the flat but fertile country across which we proceed by

18 Levet to Montlucon.

13 Jariole.

A little on one side of the road is the ruined Abbey of Noirlac, so named from a dark pool near it. It is now converted into a China manufactory, including The Church, a large and still perfect structure, and a good ex- ample of the transition Gothic of the latter part of the 13th century, 1189. The kitchen and refectory, supported on pillars, still remain, as well as the cloister.

16 St. Amand Montrond, a neat town of 6,636 inhab., on the Mar- mande, about a mile from the rt. bank of the Cher. Only a few shapeless ruins remain of its castle, once an im- portant stronghold belonging to the princes de Conde, in which the sickly infant who grew to be Le Grand Conde was nursed and reared. His heroic wife, the Princess Clemence de Maille, after her escape from Chan- tilly, 1 650, threw herself and her son into this castle, whence, after gather- ing around her the dependants and retainers of the house of Conde, she set forth to cross some of the wildest provinces of France in order to join the Dukes of Bouillon and La Roche- foucauld, and put herself at the head of the army of the Fronde, which kept possession of Bordeaux against Ma- zarin. Montrond, after enduring a siege of a whole year’s duration, 1 652, from the royal forces, was compelled to surrender to the Comte de Palluau, who levelled the fortifications. The last tower which remained standing has been pulled down, in order that

the proprietor may make gardens and terraces on the site.

About 21m. S.W. of St. Amand is the Chateau de Meillant, built 1511, for Charles, Seigneur de Chaumont, somewhat in the style of the house of Jacques Cceur at Bourges, with simi- lar external ornaments, balustrades, and projecting towers to contain the snail-shell stairs, but vastly inferior to it. The blazing hill, sculptured in va- rious parts, is intended as a sculptured pun on the owner’s name, Chauds Monts. The decorations of the inte- rior are not supposed to be later than the 18th century. On the towers are sculptured figures of sentinels threat- ening all who approach, like those on the battlements of Alnwick.

The road from St. Amand is very agreeable, running by the side of the Cher. At Drevant, on its rt. bank, traversed by the road, extensive sub- structions of a theatre, and other Ro- man buildings, have been laid bare.

A branch of the Canal du Cher runs parallel with the Cher and the high road from St. Amand to Mont- lucon, and the coal mines of Com- mentry, where it terminates.

18 Meaulne.

16 Reugny (Dept. Allier).

15 Montlucon (Inns: H. de

France, and de l’Ecu), a very an- cient town of the province of the Bourbonnais, having 5,400 inhab., picturesquely situated on the slope of a hill, whose base is washed by the Cher, and its summit crowned by a castle. During the middle ages it was a strong fortress ; and, from its position near the frontier of the French king’s domains, had often to sustain the attacks of the English. A part of its old walls, and their flanking watch towers, still remains, constructed with great solidity. The donjon, and a few towers on the summit of the hill, are all that remains of the castle of the Dues de Bourbon, which commanded the town, as its ruins still command an extensive view.

A hilly and uninteresting road to

C.France. B. 103 , 1 04 .— Nens les bains — Orleans to Lyons. 359

8 Neris (Inns: Grand Hotel; — H. Leopold), a watering place of considerable resort within a few years, but well known to the Romans, who must have had a magnificent esta- blishment here, judging from the architectural fragments — columns, friezes, foundations of walls — dis- covered from time to time. Yet it is only since 1821 that the French have begun a bath-house , which is not yet finished, and which, with se- veral boarding-houses attached to a poor village of 800 inhabitants, com- pose the place. The mineral waters are warm, alkaline, but. nearly taste- less, so that the inhabitants employ them for culinary purposes and for drinking ; they are furnished from 4 sources, one of which, La Source Nouvelle, burst forth, 1757, at the time of the earthquake at Lisbon. They are exclusively used for baths, being introduced into the houses. They resemble the spring of Schlan- genbad, have the same unctuous feel to the touch, the same smoothing ef- fect on the skin, and sedative influence on the nerves. It is usual to go to bed after taking the bath, in order to promote perspiration. There are also douche and mud baths, and 3 piscines, or public baths.

The very pretty promenade, or Jardin des Bains, occupies the site of an amphitheatre, built by the Romans for the recreation of visitors to these remote baths of Aquce Neri, as Neris was anciently called. Concentric ter- races mark the stages on which the seats were placed ; and traces remain of one of the passages which divided them into cunei or wedges. There are considerable fragments of walls.

The church is a very ancient Ro- manesque edifice, in the form of a ba- silica, ending in 3 apses. The arches in the nave are pointed, those in the choir round. From the rude sculp- ture of the capitals, its date has been referred to the 11th century.

The country around is pleasing, and the situation very healthy.

The road to Clermont is carried through a wild hilly district, passing out of the coal formation into a coun- try of primitive rocks shortly before reaching

1 8 Montaigu, a little town appro- priately named from its site on a pointed hill, crowned by a castle, situated in the Dept. Puy de Dome.

At Menat are quarries, whence tripoli or polishing slate is obtained : it is produced by the spontaneous com- bustion of iron pyrites among beds of bituminous clay. It contains im- pressions of vegetables, fish, and in- sects. Near this the road ascends a long and steep hill, commanding a very extensive view over the volcanic ranges of Auvergne, and near at hand looks down upon the Castle of Blot, seated amidst rugged rocks. The river Sioule is crossed before reaching 27 St. Pardoux. The very pecu- liar forms of the volcanic mountains of the Puy de Dome cannot fail to arrest attention, (p. 350.)

We now enter the fertile plain of the Limagne d’ Auvergne.

23 Riom "1 described in Route 15 Clermont j 109.

ROUTE 104.

ORLEANS TO AIOULINS AND LYONS, BY BOURGES.

The Paris and Orleans railroad offers facilities to travellers bound for the S. of France, who may shorten the duration and lessen the fatigues of the journey, by proceeding from Orleans to

191 Bourges (as in R. 103.), and thence by a good road.

14 St. Just (Cher).

21 Blet.

1 6 Sancoins.

17 St. Pierre le Moutier (in R. 105. p. 366., where the rest of the road to Lyons is described).

The quickest way from Paris to

360

Route 105. — Paris to Lyons.

Lyons is to take the railroad to Or- leans (R. 48.), and to post thence by Gien (R. 52.) to Briare.

ROUTE 105.

PARIS TO LYONS. — - ROUTE DU BOUR-

BONNAIS, BY FONTAINEBLEAU, MON-

TARGIS, NEVERS, AND MOULINS.

THE BATHS OF VICHY.

473 kilom. =293 Eng. m.

The Marseilles Malleposte follows this route daily, but only as far as Roanne, to which place it takes 31 hours.

Diligences go to Lyons in 48 hours. By the route de Bourgogne (R. 106.) 52 hours are required; but the travel- ler may enjoy a night’s rest at Chalons, and go thence by water to Lyons.

The road, soon after quitting Paris by the Faubourg St. Marceau and the Barriere d’ltalie, passes, at a short distance on the rt. of Bicetre, an hospital for old men, a lunatic asy- lum, and a penitentiary. Its name is said to be a corruption of Winchester, because it is thought to occupy the site of a country house built, 1290, by John, Bishop of Winchester ; an- other derivation is from its owner in the 15th century (1410), John, due de Berry, in Latin, “ Dux Bitu- ricensis.” The oldest of the existing buildings are chiefly those constructed by Cardinal Richelieu, as an asylum for wounded soldiers, which was after- wards transferred to the Invalides.

Nearly 4,500 criminals are confined here, including convicts awaiting their transmission to the hulks.

The road, which is paved, runs through an avenue of trees along the table land, which sinks down into the valley of the Seine.

8 Villejuif. At the entrance of this town, on the 1., stands an obelisk, marking the N. base of a triangle, established for the construction of Cassini’s Map of France; a similar

Sect. V.

obelisk, at Fromenteau, marks the other extremity of the base.

1 1 Fromenteau.

Napoleon, hastening to the relief of Paris, March 30th, 1814, here met the head of the column of dejected troops who informed him of the surrender of the capital to the allies ; in conse- quence, he was forced to return to Fontainebleau, where he soon after signed his abdication. Near Juvisy our road crosses the railroad to Or- leans (R. 49.), and runs for some distance parallel with the branch to Corbeil.

12 Essonne, a small town on the Essonne which falls into the Seine, 11 m. below, at Corbeil (R. 49.), where the branch-railway termi- nates.

Essonne lies in a hollow.

There are several chateaux near this part of the road, Villeroy on the rt., Coudray on the 1., but they contri- bute in no respect to adorn the road, as the parks, and lodges, and seats of England. On the 1. the Seine, wind- ing through its fertile valley, is a pleasing feature.

1 1 Ponthierry.

8 Chailly. The postmaster here furnishes only grey horses, of which he has 40 or 50.

About 5 m. short of Fontainebleau we enter its noble Forest , which ex- tends over an area of about 23,700 hectares, the attractive hunting ground which induced the monarchs of France, ai'dent lovers of the chase, to build a palace within it, and make it their favourite resort. At the Re- volution of 1830, however, all the deer were exterminated. Only a small portion of the forest is occupied with full-grown trees ; but here and there it has preserved noble groves of oaks and beech, of majestic size and luxuriant foliage, which may have sheltered the jovial Francis I., the Bon Roi Henri IV., Louis XIV., and Napoleon. A large space is covered with broom, heath, and underwood, and with extensive plantations of black

Central France. Route 105 . — Fontainebleau.

361

fir, from the midst of which picturesque masses of bare sandstone rock (Gres de Fontainebleau) break through, and give great variety and picturesqueness to the forest scenery. The points best worth visiting are — to the rt. of the road from Paris, the Gorges d' Apre- mont and de Franchard , above which are remains of a hermitage, as old as the days of Philippe Auguste, de- stroyed by Louis XIV. ; and to the 1. of the road La Vallee de la Solle.

“ La Croix du Grand Veneur,” an obelisk on the grand route, at a place where 4 roads meet, receives its name from a spectral Black Huntsman, who was supposed to haunt the forest, and who appeared here to Henri IV., ac- cording to the story, shortly before his assassination. The forest is so intersected with roads radiating in all directions, that it is difficult to find one’s way without a map or a guide.

10 Fontainebleau. — Inns: H. de France, facing the Palace, an excel- lent house; the best between Paris and Nice; bed- rooms 3 fr., or if a family 2 frs. ; dinner 5 frs. a head, or fora family 4 frs. M. — La Poste,

(Ville de Lyon), good and moderate.

This town, planted in the midst of the Forest of Fontainebleau, has swelled, under the influence of the presence and smiles of royalty, to a populous town, from a poor hamlet in the time of Louis VII. who first built a castle here (1162). It owes its consequence entirely to its

Chateau Royal , a palace of much historical interest, but not very im- posing as a building externally, in spite of its extent ; the masses of build- ing composing it, though they en- close 6 courts, being limited to low ranges of 2 or 3 stories, chiefly of brick. The oldest, and the greatest part of the existing edifice, dates from the reign of Francis I., excepting the chapel.

Time, neglect, and violence had greatly dimmed the splendour of this venerable seat of kings, when Louis Philippe undertook to revive it; and his judicious and splendid restora- France.

tions, following closely the style and character of the different periods at which it was originally constructed, have added greatly to the magnifi- cence and interest of the building.

The entrance is by the “ Cour de Cheval Blanc,” so called from a plais- ter cast of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius at Rome, which Ca- therine of Medici set up in it, but it no longer exists. In the midst of ths court, near the foot of the horse-shoe stair, Napoleon took leave of the remnant of the old guard, who had followed him to the last, midst his reverses, previously to his departure for Elba, 1814, an event commemo- rated by the well-known picture of “ Les Adieux de Fontainbleau.”

The apartments first entered are those recently fitted up for the late lamented Due d’Orleans, on the occa- sion of his marriage; they bad been originally occupied by Catherine de Medici, and Anne of Austria, whence they got the name Appartements des Reines- Meres. Here Pope Pius VII. was lodged, rejecting all the magnifi- cence and comforts prepared for him by his imperial jailor, who desired that his forced residence of 3 years should have the appearance of a visit rather than an imprisonment. Napoleon attempted in a private interview to wring from the old man his consent to the Concordat, by which he renounced temporal power. The ceiling of the salon , recently restored, is very gor- geous.

In the Chapelle de la Trinite, whose paintings are inferior and faded, the marriages of Louis XV. with Maria Leckzinska (1725)), and of the late Due d’Orleans (1837) were cele- brated. The Galerie de Frangois I. is one of the most striking in the pa- lace ; perfectly characteristic of the style of art of the period of the Renais- sance, and it supplies specimens of some of the productions of the Italians attracted, at the king’s bidding, to France, where they founded a school of art. Its roof is of walnut wood, its

362

Route 105. — Fontainebleau .

Sect. V.

walls are richly pannelled and covered with stucco, scroll-work, carvings, tro- phies, devices, among which the Sala- mander of Francis is often repeated, alternating with Terms, or Caryatid fi- gures, medallions, bas-reliefs. These serve partly as frames to 14 pictures, in fresco, the work of Rossi (Maitre Roux), a Florentine, and his scholars. One of Danae, however, is attributed to Primaticcio, who is supposed also to have designed the ornaments. The paintings, now too much faded or in- jured to he appreciated, are chiefly my- thological subjects chosen for their al- legorical reference to the life of Francis, In the first he is represented opening the Temple of Art and Taste to a crowd of blind persons ; next comes a Triumph, in honour of the victory of Marignan, led by a caparisoned ele- phant ; then the Rape of Europa ; the Burning of Troy ; iEneas carrying off Anchises, &c. In the centre is a bust of Francis. The paintings of the age of Francis I., were of so licentious a character, that A nne of Austria thought right to cause a great part of them to be effaced, in 1653, when she became Regent, and this will account for the slight remains now existing. The Cabinet de Travail contains the little round mahogany table at which Na- poleon, in 1814, signed his abdication, a fac-simile of which, blotted and scrawled, is suspended on the walls. His bed-room remains nearly as he left it. The Salle du Tr6ne is of the age of Louis XI II. and XIV., but the throne was set up by Bonaparte. Th eBoudoir de la Reine was fitted up for the unfortunate Marie Antoinette by Louis XVI., and the metal win- dow bolts (Espagnolettes) are said to have been wrought by his own hand, and are masterly specimens of his skill in smiths’ work. The Galcrie de Di- ane is a long corridor, built 1600, but decorated with paintings relating to that goddess, by modern artists. Below it runs the Galerie des Cerfs, which was in 1657 the scene of the atrocious murder of an Italian, the

Marquis Monaldeschi, by 3 assassins hired for the purpose by Christina of Sweden, at that time residing in the chateau as the guest of Louis XIII. The reason assigned by her for the crime was some alleged betrayal of her secrets by Monaldeschi, who was her high chamberlain, and had en- joyed her full confidence. She sub- jected him to a sort of mock trial, in which she acted as judge and jury. She sent for a priest to confess him before she gave orders for his murder, which was executed in the confessor’s presence. Monaldeschi, seems not to have been free from sus- picions of his mistress ; for he wore under his dress a coat of mail, which turned the first thrusts of the sword of the assassin. The French court was content to give a hint of displeasure at this atrocity, but the queen remained here until 1659. This gallery is now subdivided into small apartments and is not shown.

The suite of rooms called Salons de Reception comprises one called De Frangois /., containingGobelins tapes- tries, of recent date, as brilliant as oil paintings, and a chimney-piece orna- mented with Sevres china. A second is named after Louis XIII., because he was born in it, and the Salle de St Louis is ornamented with a high relief of Henri IV. on horseback, over the fireplace. The Salle des Gardes is admirably and most richly reetored : the paintings on the walls are in the style of those of the Loggie of Ra- phael. The chimney-piece rests on 2 figures of Strength and Peace, and in the centre is a bust of Henri IV.

The Salle du Bal, or Galerie de Henri II., is the most splendid of the recent restorations, and one of the finest things in the palace. The paint- ings have been renovated with as much care as possible, yet, it is to be feared, retain little of the master pencils of Primaticcio, and his pupil, Niccolo del Abbate, by whom they were executed. The ceiling is most gorgeous and elaborate with ornaments : the walls

363

Central France. Route 105 .

are of consistent richness. Every where appears the crescent of Diana of Poictiers, and her initial D. linked with that of her royal lover, H. The chimney-piece, glittering with fleurs- de-lis, and resplendent with marbles, was the work of the sculptor Ron- delet.

The Chapelle de St. Saturnin, on the ground floor, is said to be of the time of Louis VII., and the oldest part of the palace ; but the repairs of Francis I., who found it in ruins, have dis- guised and altered it so that little of its primitive structure can be traced. It was originally dedicated by Thomas a Becket. In its windows is some good modern painted glass, from the designs of the late talented Princess Marie d’Orleans.

The Porte Boree, a splendid portal, decorated with revived frescoes, ori- ginally by Rossi, leads from the Cour Ovale to the Allee de Maintenon ,

“ named by the proudest and vainest king in Europe after his plebeian wife.” The Oval Court is also called Cour du Donjon, from an elevated pavilion on an archway in the style of the Re- naissance, and includes the oldest part of the Palais. The other entrance to it is called Porte Dauphine, because built at the birth of Louis XIII., 1601.

The gardens at the back of the palace are not, on the whole, very re- markable to one accustomed to those of England. That called Jardin Anglais is bordered by a triangular pond, in the midst of which rises a pavilion surrounded by water. The “ Fontaine de Belle Eau,” which gave the name to the palace, rose, it is said, within the garden ; but the source has been lost in forming the artificial ponds.

Philippe le Bel was born and died at Fontainebleau; the emperor Charles V. was lodged in the Salle des Poeles, and entertained here by Francis I., 1539. Henrietta Maria sought refuge here when the cause of Charles I. became hopeless, 1644; here the

Fontainebleau.

Mareehal de Biron, betrayed by his agent Latin, was arrested for con- spiracy against Henri IV., 1602, and conveyed to the Bastille; Le Grand Conde died here 1686, and Louis XIV. here signed (1685) the Revo- cation of the Edict of Nantes.

In the old church of the village of Avon, a little to the E. of Fontaine- bleau, the miserable Monaldeschi is buried, at a spot marked by a small square stone near the benitier.^

Farther to the E., on the borders of the Seine, at Thomery, are grown the fine Chasselas grapes, called Fontaine- bleau grapes. 5,000 or 6,000 baskets of them, packed in heather, are sent down the Seine every week in au- tumn, to supply the markets of Paris. The vines are trained along the houses and walls of the village, sheltered by narrow roofs from the rain. Even the streets are vineyards, and every foot of wall is covered with vines.

The Sandstone quarries around Fon- tainebleau furnish paving stones, not only for the road we are traversing, but for many others, and are transported in vast quantities down the Seine to Paris. The rock sometimes pre- sents very pretty groups of crystals, covered over with fine sand, well known to every mineralogist.

A steamer goes from Valoin, a village about 21 m. from Fontaine- bleau, down the Seine to Paris, a pleasant voyage ; but the railroad from Cc-rbeil to Paris is much more expe- ditious. (R. 49.)

Travellers may gain the road to Chalons ( R. 106. ) from Fontainebleau through Moret, a very pleasant drive, and Fossard (21 kilom). Moret has an old church, castle, and walls, and is interesting froiu its antiquity.

On quitting Fontainebleau our road passes an obelisk or Pyramid, planted in the midst of a star (6toile) formed by the divergence of 1 1 roads ; among them those to Orleans, to Montereau, and to Nemours, the last of which we follow.

r 2

364? Route 105. — Paris to Lyons — Montar gis. Sect. V.

For 4 or 5 m. the road continues through the forest ; then issues out into a plain of sand, amidst which the traveller’s carriage flounders ; in sum- mer enveloped in tormenting dust, in winter sinking up to the axles in mud. The pavement ceases near

16 Nemours, a town of 3,830 in- hab., deriving its name from the wood (nemora) which once sur- rounded it. The old castle , the resi- dence of the Dues de Nemours, of the line of Savoy, still exists, flanked by 4 towers, and includes several in- stitutions.

The Parish Church, originally at- tached to the Priory of St. John, is a fine building. St. Pierre is the oldest in the town.

Mirabeau was born at Bignon, near Nemours, in 1749.

We continue by the side of the small river Loing all the way to Mon- targis, through

13 La Croisiere.

7 Fontenay.

14 Montargis (Inns: Poste ; —

H. de Lyon), a town of 7,757 inha- bitants, on the borders of an extensive forest, at the junction of the Canal de Briare with that of Orleans, by the side of which there are public walks. The castle, which for a long time formed part of the domain of the crown, and serving as a royal nursery, was called “ le Berceau des Enfans de France,” is entirely destroyed. It was of vast extent ; but was sold in 1809, to a demoiisseur, for 60,000 fr. Over one of the fire-places in its great hall (for it had no less than 6) was a fresco painting, representing the combat be- tween “ the Dog of Montargis" and the murderer of its master, Macaire, which is said to have taken place, in the presence of Charles VI., in the lists of the lie Notre Dame at Paris. The sagacity of the dog not only in- dicated the spot where his master was buried in the forest of Bondy, but also singled out the murderer, and the king, according to the spirit of the laws of the time, directed that the

cause should be tried by a duel be- tween the dog, as accuser, and the ac- cused. After several attacks, the dog seized his adversary, who was armed with a club, by the throat, and com- pelled him to confess his crime. In 1652, the Grand Conde, then a rebel against the royal authority, arriving before Montargis with a small force, summoned it to surrender. The magistrates hesitated, but Conde, taking out his watch, declared he would sack the town and slay the inhabitants if it were not given up in an hour. This produced the desired effect, and gave rise to the saying, “ que M. le Prince avait pris Mon- targis avec sa montre.”

The country in which Montargis lies belongs to the district anciently called Gatinois ; it has little interest. The road is carried, in a straight line, through a dull district, to

17 Nogent-sur- Vernisson.

A road strikes off from this to Gien on the Loire (R. 52.), whence a steamer descends to Orleans.

About 5 m. to the E. lies Chatillon- sur- Loing, in whose ancient castle the Admiral Coligny was born, 1516. After his murder on the Bartholo- mew’s night his body was cut down from the gallows of Montfaucon, upon which it had been shamefully hung by his Romanist assassins, and con- veyed by his cousin Montmorency to his wife, who concealed it for many months before she could venture to commit it to the tomb at Chantilly. Chatillon belonged to the family of Conde.

12 La Bussiere has a handsome chateau of the 15th century. From the summit of a hill, on approaching Briare, the valley of the Loire bursts into view : the pleasing effect of the broad winding river, and its vine-clad banks, is much enhanced by the previ- ous barrenness and monotonous road.

12 Briare (Inn, Poste), a town of 2,730 inhabitants, on the rt. bank of the Loire, has given its name to the Canal , begun by Sully, and com-

Central France. R . 105 . —

pleted 1642, remarkable as the first attempt to open a communication between 2 river basins by means of supplies of water stored up on the summit level (point de partage). It runs from the Loing at Montargis to the Seine at St. Mamet, thus opening a communication between Paris and the S. and centre of France. From Briare there is a post road along the rt. bank of the Loire by Gien (R. 52.) to Orleans, where the traveller may take the railroad to Paris.

17 Neuvy. Across an undulating country, commanding, from time to time, peeps of the Loire, the road proceeds through

14 Cosne, where there are iron forges ; and a little way above which the town of Sancerre is seen, on the opposite bank of the river.

15 Pouilly.

13 La Charite (Inn, La Poste, pretty good. C. B.) an ancient town of 5,000 inhabitants, still partly sur- rounded by ramparts, flanked by watch towers, of the 14th century.

It is said to have derived its name from the benevolence shown to tra- vellers by the Monks of St. Benedict ; and its arms are 3 open purses, on a field azure. Its church must have been originally a fine building; but the nave is, in part, destroyed, and the aisles and other portions modernised. The choir, however, surrounded by pointed arches, on light piers with elegant capitals, and the front, are probably as old as the latter part of the 12th century. There were some curious bas-reliefs over the doors, formerly covered up by hovels built against the walls. The church was, in great part, destroyed by fire, 1204, and was restored by Philippe Au- guste. A ruined tower is the only remaining relic of the monastery, whose priors were so wealthy and powerful, that in the 16th century the Pope found it necessary to interfere and regulate the number of knights who should form their escort when they went abroad.

- Paris to Lyons — Never s. 365

The road to Bourges here crosses the Loire on a stone bridge ( R. 103.) ; there is also a suspension bridge. A diligence goes daily to Bourges.

At La Marche are ruins of a Romanesque church, which, from the rudeness of its architecture and carved capitals, is probably as old as the 10th century. Under its E. end is a crypt.

1 3 Pouges.

There are mineral springs about a mile from this.

From the top of a hill surmounted in the course of this stage, a fine view is presented of the valley of the Loire and of that of the Allier, which joins it a little below Nevers ; the latter river, however, is not visible.

At Fourchambault there are ex- tensive iron furnaces and forges, per- haps the largest in France, where the iron conservatories in the Jardin des Plantes, the arches of the Pont du Carrousel, the frame- work for the roof of Chartres cathedral, and the piers for the bridge of Cubsac, were cast. They employ between 2,000 and 3,000 workmen.

12 Nevers ( Inn : H. de France, very good. — C. B. ), an unprepossessing, dirty, but ancient city of 17,085 in- hab. chef lieu of the Dept. Nievre, formerly capital of the Nivernois, is situated on the rt. bank of the Loire, at the confluence of the Nievre. It is mentioned by Caesar in his Com- mentaries, “ Noviodunum oppidum ASduorum, ad ripas Ligeris opportuno loco positum.” He deposited here his money-chest.

The oldest ecclesiastical edifice here is the Church of St. Etienne, in the Romanesque style, and very plain, both within and without, probably of the 11th century. It is entered by descending several steps. The tran- septs are separated from the body of the church, opening below in a wide arch surmounted by smaller arcades. The date of the foundation of this i church is proved, by the charter, to be j 1063. St. Sauveur , near the Loire,

I another Romanesque church, is turned r 3

366 Route 105 . — Paris to Lyons — Never s — Moulins. Sect. V.

into a warehouse ; St. Genest, an example of the Transition into the Pointed style, is also desecrated into a brewery, and is possibly pulled down ere this.

The Cathedral of St. Cyr, on the hill, somewhat heavy externally, con- sists of a nave and choir, built in the 13th, 14th, and 15tli centuries, with an apse at both ends ; that at the W. is Romanesque, and probably of the 10th century ; beneath it is a large crypt. The nave and choir have not the same axes, the choir inclin- ing perceptibly to the S. (rt. ) The tower is flanked at the angles by colos- sal figures, in bad taste. The deco- ration of the interior is praiseworthy ; the capitals of the columns exclusively sculptured with rich foliage, of admir- able workmanship. All the statues were mutilated at the Revolution. There is some painted glass in the choir ; and in the S. transept a rich flamboyant doorway , leading to a fan- ciful spiral staircase, is a remarkable example of what Mr. Willis calls ‘ f interpenetration,” or the running of several series of mouldings into one another : these complicated inter- lacings pervade not only the canopy of the arch, but even the pinnacles.

The Hotel de Ville, also on the height, facing an irregular place, formerly pa- lace of the Dukes of Nevers, built by the princes of the line of Cleves, is an edifice in the flamboyant style, retain- ing several of its picturesque turrets and gables.

One of the old town gates, a relic of the fortifications erected by Pierre de Courtenay, Seigneur de Nevers, at the end of the 12tb century, rebuilt 1393, still exists in the Porte des Croux, black with age and dirt. An- other entry into the town is by a triumphal arch, erected to commemo- rate the battle of Fontenay, 1746.

Behind the H. de Ville is a pub- lic garden, formerly the park of the palace.

Nevers is a thriving, busy manu- facturing town ; its potteries are 8

centuries old, and employ 700 persons : in its iron works, chains and cables for suspension bridges are made ; the iron used is that of Berry. There is a royal cannon foundery, for the navy, where 125 pieces are cast annually. Not far from Nevers, the lateral canal of the Loire is carried over the Allier in an aqueduct, called Pont-canal de Guetin, said to be a work of magnitude, re- cently completed.

Steamers ply on the Loire to Gien and Orleans, except when stopped by ice, fog, or drought, and up the Allier to Moulins in 1 3 hours.

The road crosses the Loire by a heavy bridge of 20 arches on quitting Nevers, and, leaving that river on the 1., proceeds to ascend the valley of the Allier, its tributary. The scenery between Nevers and Moulins is on the whole very pleasing, the country much enclosed with hedge-rows, and generally fertile. The river Allier is seldom seen, concealed as it is by trees, in the flat valley through which it passes.”

12 Magny.

11 St. Pierre le Moutier. Near this is a large pond. Hence a road strikes off to Bourges and Orleans. (R. 104.)

8 St. Imbert.

10 Villeneuve sur Allier (Dept. Allier).

12 Moulins (Inns: Poste ; — H.

d’ Allier, good and moderate ; — Lion d’Or, pretty good), a cheerful town, without the activity of much trade or commerce, pleasantly situated on the rt. bank of the Allier. It is chef lieu of the Dept. Allier, and contains a po- pulation of 15,231 .

It is a comparatively modern town, and has no fine buildings. The castle is reduced to a square tower, of the 15th century, called La Mai Coiffee, and some buildings erected by Ca- therine de Medicis.

The Cathedral of N6tre Dame, con- sisting of a small choir in the Florid style, is only remarkable for its very fine painted glass, chiefly of the 16th

Central France.

Route 105 . — Moulins .

367

century. It contains an old painting of the Virgin and Child, the two shutters of which, now detached from it, and hung against piers, bear por- traits of Pierre I., Due de Bourbon, and his wife, Anne of France, attended by their patron saints, attributed to Ghirlandajo.

In the Chapel of the College is the monument of Henry Due de Montmo- rency, who suffered, under the heavy hand of Richelieu, for having con- spired agsinst him and his master, Louis XIII., and was executed at Toulouse, 1632. His widow, Marie Orsini, conveyed his remains to this chapel, then attached to the Convent of the Visitation, of which she became superior, spending in it the rest of her days. The monument, attributed to an Italian sculptor, Agheri, consists of the reclining statue of the duke, in Roman armour, resting on his helmet, with his duchess beside him in an at- titude of grief and resignation ; the expression of profound sorrow in her countenance is perfect, and the draperies are very beautifully exe- cuted. On either side is an allegorical figure, Valour, a sort of Hercules, and Liberality, a coarse female. The fact of this monument being in honour of a man beheaded for conspiring against a king preserved it from de- molition at the Revolution.

Marshal Villars, the opponent of Marlborough, and Marshal Berwick, natural son of James II. by Arabella Churchill ( Marlborough’s sister), who won the battle of Almanza from the English in Spain, were both born here.

The watering place of Bourbon V Archambault, a town of 3,017 inha- bitants, frequented on account of its mineral waters, is about 19 m. W. of Moulins. The waters are saline, and are supplied by a hot spring, and a cold spring, called Source de Jonas. There is a bath-house in the middle of the town. There are very considerable and picturesque remains of the ancient castle of the early Sires de Bourbon.

Diligences run daily from Moulins to the Baths in summer, and the road thither passes through Souvigny, a poor village 5 m. from Moulins, con- taining an Abbey Church , which is one of the most remarkable Gothic monu- ments in the province for size. It displays different styles, from the early Romanesque to the latest flamboyant, the oldest parts dating from the 11th century, the more recent from 1446, when the church was rebuilt. Of the first period are probably the central nave, the apses at the E. end, and the crypt below the choir. The nave is flanked by double aisles, the outer ones nearly as broad as the centre. In the N. aisle is a curious bas- relief in the Byzantine style. The Chapelle Vieille, on the S. side, is se- parated from the choir and transept by a stone screen, beautifully carved with flamboyant tracery. It encloses the monument of Louis Due de Bourbon and Anne his wife, bearing their recumbent figures, of white mar ble, sadly mutilated by the Revolu- tionists. A recess, or niche, in the wall opposite displays, amidst most rich de- corations of flamboyant tracery, the word “ Esperance,” the motto of the Order of the Thistle, founded by the Duke. This chapel, the greater part of the choir, the vaults, and windows of the nave, 4 divisions of the outer S. aisle of the nave, and the remains of the cloisters on the S. side of the chapel, are supposed by M. Merimee to have been built 1441. On the N. side of the choir is La Chapelle Neuve, similarly decorated, and even more injured by the Vandals of 93, contain- ing the tombs of Due Charles, and his wife, Agnes de Bourgogne. The date of this chapel is somewhere about the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century.

All persons who take an interest in Gothic architecture should visit Souvigny from Moulins : in spite of its mutilations, it is a very interesting church. The Auberge de la Poste is the ancient Priors’ palace. At St Me- r 4

368

Sect. V

to Lyons — Vichy .

P. 105. — Paris

noux, not far from Souvigny, is an- other ancient churchy once attached to a Benedictine abbey, but much de- cayed. The choir is the most inter- esting portion, and a good example of the florid Romanesque.

Some cutlery, of an inferior kind, is made at Moulins ; the manufacture has much fallen off.

At Moulins the very interesting road through the Limagne, Clermont, and the Volcanic district of Auvergne, strikes off up the valley of the Allier (R. 109.). Diligences run daily, and a Maileposte to Clermont and Mont- pellier. It is possible to go this way to Eyons, by Montbrisou, and to Marseilles, by Le Puy and St. Etienne, though, in both cases, it is a detour.

Diligences go hence also to Vichv (see below). No one will quit Moulins without thinking of Sterne and his Maria. The scene of her melancholy story being laid here.

1 5 Bessay.

15 Varennes. — Poste ; a comfort- able little Inn. — C. B.

11 St. Gerard le Puy. From this a road turns off to the fashionable watering place of Vichy , on the Allier, 61 kilom. from Moulins = 39\ Eng. m., through a rich but un- picturesque country, the only objects of interest being the Puy de Dome and Mons Dore ; visible the whole way.

Vichy. Inns ; every one lives in boarding houses; of these there are 6 or 8. H. de Paris is most fre- quented by Parisians: H. Guillier- men ; good. — L. : H. de Corneil ;

civil people; in none is the accom- modation first-rate. The guests live together, taking their meals in public, consisting of a breakfast a la four, chette at 10, and dinner at 5. Nobody is allowed to be served in his own room, unless illness prevent his ap- pearance in public.

Vichy consists of an old town, seated on the rt. bank of the Allier, in no- wise remarkable, and of a new ex- ternal quarter, or suburb, of handsome

lodging and boarding houses, con- nected with old Vichy by a fine pro- menade , shaded by avenues of plane trees. This is the watering place, now one of the most frequented in France ; and here rise the mineral springs, of acidulous alkaline water, in taste resembling soda water, their principal ingredients being carbonate of soda and carbonic acid gas, and their peculiarity the small quantity of iron, in proportion to these ingre- dients, which accompanies them. They operate with advantage on the diges- tive and urinary organs, and are efficacious in long standing stomach disorders, obstruction and enlarge- ment of the spleen.

There are 7 springs, varying in tem- perature from 86° to 111° Fahr., but differing only slightly in the propor- tion of the same ingredients ; 3 of them are received in the bath-house ( Ftati- ment Thermal), a very handsome building, faced on the ground floor by a long colonnade, containing, in the upper story, a cabinet de lecture and ball-room ; and in the lateral ranges 72 baths, tolerably well appointed, and 4 douches. The principal source, or the one most used for drinking and exportation in bottles, is that called Grande Grille. The water, received into stone basins, has the appearance of boiling, from the quantity of gas which bubbles up through it. The season begins here in the early part of May, and ends by the middle of Sep- tember.

The routine of a day is as follows : — As early as 6 the crowd assembles to drink the waters, which takes up an hour or two : 1 0 is the hour of break- fast : to this succeeds, after an interval, the bath, for those who are recom- mended to bathe, each individual hav- ing his hour and turn marked upon a card. The table-d’hote dinner takes place at 5 ; and in the evening the company assemble in the drawing- room (salon) of the hotel, where cards or music afford resources for passing the evening. Precedence is deter-

Central France. R. 105 . —

mined by the older of arrival, those who have been longest resident occu- pying the upper seats at table, &c. There are occasional balls at the rooms, but, as the physicians are mas- ters of the ceremonies, they begin at 81, and usually end before 1 1 : rak- ing is not allowed. Frequent col- lections (quetes) are made at the in- stigation of the cure, for the good of some charity, or parish school, and the poor-box is commonly carried round by a lady and gentleman.

The situation of Vichy is agreeable, but not striking, in an open and highly cultivated country, the celebrated Li- magne d’Auvergne (R.109.); in fact, Vichy’s main attractions are its waters.

Some pleasant excursions, however, may be made in the neighbourhood, and many troops of donkeys are kept for the use of the guests.

The valley of the Sichon affords pleasant walks or rides. •

More distant expeditions may be made to the Chateau of Effiat, a build- ing of the 17th century, now dilapi- dated, but still inhabited, and retaining its formal garden flanked by fosses. It was erected by Marshal Effiat, who was ambassador to England to nego- tiate the marriage of Henrietta Maria with Charles I., and father of Cinq Mars, beheaded by Richelieu at Lyons.

The castle of Randan, in which Bayard tarried so long, paying court to its noble Chatellaine, now belongs to Madame Adelaide, sister of the King of the French, who has become the Lady Bountiful of the neigh- bourhood.

Diligences go daily to Moulins, on the way to Paris ; to Roanne, on the wav to Lyons ; to Clermont ( R. 109.), &c.

The road to Lyons has now quitted the valley of the Allier, and enters on a hilly country. The mountains of Auvergne appearing to the S. W., and those of Forez more to the E., form features in the landscape.

■Paris to Lyons — Roanne . 369

10 LaPalisse. — Inn; Poste; C. B* Between this and la Pacaudiere the road traverses a hilly tract.

The road crosses a deep ravine by a very lofty bridge, called Pont de la Vallee, shortly before entering

8 Droiturier.

7 St. Martin d’Estreaux is seated on a height, in the midst of a barren and hilly country.

7 La Pacaudiere. Here we are once more in the valley of the Loire, though that river is not reached until, after passing

12 St. Germain l’Espinasse, we ar- rive at

12 Roanne (Inns; LI. du Centre; de Flandres, near the bridge), a town of 11.600 inhabitants, deriving impor- tance from its situation on the 1. bank of the Loire, at the point up to which it is navigable against the stream as well as downwards. It has a great transit trade : the manufac- tures of Lyons, the iron and coal of St. Etienne, the productions of the S. provinces of France, and the imports from the Levant, conveyed hither from the Rhone by railway or canal, are transported hence, down the Loire, to Nantes, or through it, and the Canal de Briare, to the Seine and Paris. There are also considerable manu- factures of cotton in the town and its neighbourhood.

The railroad from Roanne to St. Etienne and Lyons is described in Ii. 119.; it is very inferior, as a line of conveyance, to those in the vicinity of Paris. The malleposte to Marseilles here turns out of our road, and pro- ceeds, by Montbrison, to St. Etienne and Valence. (R. 119.) The Loire is crossed by a fine new stone bridge on leaving Roanne, and the road pro- ceeds across the plain for some dis- tance parallel with the railroad. About half way to

17 St. Symphorien en Lay, the ascent of the Montagne de Tarare begins. The ascent has been made comparatively easy by a truly Alpine road, carried up in a series of zigzag r 5

370 i?. 105. — Paris to Lyons — Tarare — Lyons. Sect. V.

terraces, sweeping round the shoulders of the hills, and crossing the gorges on handsome bridges of masonry, pro- tected, at the sides, by stone studs like milestones.

15 Pain Bouchain. Near this is the summit of the Pass, about 3,000 ft. above the sea. You reach the foot of the descent at

12 Tarare (Inn: H, del’Europe; le Soleil), a wonderfully thriving manu- facturing town, of 7,762 inhab., seated in a narrow valley. The weaving of muslins , remarkable for their fineness, is the staple branch of manufacture, and it is calculated that between 3 and 4 millions of pieces are produced an- nually. It is said that as many as 52,000 persons are employed in the town and surrounding country on this branch of industry. The weavers ply their trade in damp cellars, which are neither floored nor warmed by fire, in order to keep up the moisture neces- sary for weaving fine webs, and to prevent the breaking of the thread.

The road continues along the nar- now valley of the Tardine from Tarare to

1 1 Arnas, where the country opens out.

19 Salvagny.

A few m. to the 1. of the road is the copper mine of Chessy, which produced the beautiful blue ore of copper so well known to the mineral- ogist, but it is now abandoned.

“ As you approach Lyons, the road becomes extremely fine, and imme- diately above the city you look down upon it, extending along the banks of the two great flowing rivers, sur- rounded by an amphitheatre of hills. Handsome country seats, gardens, and vineyards are dotted over the land- scape, bespeaking the wealth and pros- perity (in a mercantile sense) of the district. As the town is entered, by the quay of the Sabne, it assumes a most picturesque character, the grey rough rocks forcing themselves, as it were, into the city, protruding be- tween the lofty houses, — a singular

mixture of nature and art. One of these rocks is the celebrated “ Pierre Seise.” See p. 376 F. P.

14 Lyons (French, Lyon). — Inns :

H. del* Europe; the best, but dear; no table- d’hote ; dinner a la carte, at 4 or 5 fr. It stands near the Sabne and Place Bellecour, and commands a fine view. H. du Parc : — H. du Nord ; cuisine good. There is no tolerable inn here ; the dirt beastly, - and insects horrible.

There are few more stately cities, in external aspect, in striking situ- ation, seated as it is on two great rivers, the Rhone and Sabne, or in the lively air of bustle and com- merce diffused through its interior, than Lyons, the second city of France, the chief seat of manufactures, the focus where the commerce of the North and South converges. Its population amounts to 180,000, including its suburbs.

The appearance of grandeur, how- ever, is limited to its quais, bridges, and noble rivers, to the steep and com- manding heights of Fourvieres on the rt. of the Sabne, and to the two Places de Bellecour and Des Terreaux ; it is deficient in fine streets, and long open thoroughfares. The interior is one stack of lofty houses, penetrated by lanes so excessively narrow and nasty as not to be traversed without disgust.

It is worth the stranger’s while to remember, as a clue to find his way through this labyrinth, that the streets whose names are written on black plates run parallel with the course of the two rivers, those on yellow plates at rt. angles to them.

Lyons stands on both banks of the Sabne and Rhone, but the largest part occupies the tongue of land between these two rivers, extending from the heights covered by the populous suburb of La Croix Iiousse, the residence of the silk- weavers and the hot-bed of in- surrection, down nearly to the conflu- ence of the rivers, towards which the quarter of Perrache has pushed for- ward buildings. On the 1. bank of the

Cen. France. B. 105 . — Lyons -

Rhone are the suburbs of Les Brot- teaux, the scene of revolutionary exe- cutions and of Guillottere, where a new town is rapidly rising : on the rt. bank of the Saone, the suburbs of Vaise through which you enter Lyons from Paris, of Fourvieres, mounting up the face of a slope so abrupt as scarcely to be accessible for wheel car- riages, of St. Irenee behind it, and of St. George, lower down, near the water-side. These dry topographical details will be best understood when the traveller has scaled the Height of Fourvieres, which he should do the first thing after his arrival, on account of the view it commands. To reach it you pass between the Palais de Jus- tice and the cathedral, ascending the steep and narrow streets above the ca- thedral, which are very foul and stinking.

“ This is a very steep hill imme- diately in front of the cathedral. The streets, which partially cover its face, are principally inhabited by weavers, and through every open window you hear the click of the looms, and see the bright webs upon which they are employed in gaining their daily bread — if they can. They are wretchedly poor. Amongst them are very many English, who are in the lowest state of degradation, imbibing, in addition to their own vices, all the corrup- tions of the country to which they have migrated, without adopting any of the better parts of the French cha- racter. They are wholly without re- ligious instruction. The very excel- lent and pious Protestant minister, M. Monaud, established, at his own expense, a chapel, in which he caused service to be performed in English, but none attended, and it has been since discontinued.” — F. P.

You pass behind the huge straggling hospital of Antiquailles , occupying the site of the Roman palace in which Claudius and Caligula were born, now assigned to the reception of 600 pa- tients, the most miserable wretches of this populous city, afflicted with mad-

- Notre Dame de Fourvieres , 37 1

ness and all sorts of incurable and disgusting diseases, to the care of whom 27 Freres Hospitaliers and 67 Soeurs devote their lives. Up narrow lanes, as steep as stairs, partly in zigzag, and in front of a row of shops, in which rosaries, medals, pictures, can- dles, and wax models of different parts of the body for suspension in the church, are displayed before the eyes of devout pilgrims, you reach

The church of Notre Dame de Fourvieres, recently repaired and en- larged, but only remarkable for the quantity of exvotos, paintings, &c., to the number of 4,000, with which its walls are covered, offered to the altar of the miracle-working figure of our Lady of Fourvieres, whose interces- sion is stated, by an inscription over the entrance, to have preserved Lyons from the cholera. Close beside the church a speculator has built a tower , by way of observatory, 630 ft. above the Saone, and either from it, or the terrace beside it, a most magni- ficent view may be obtained. The city of Lyons appears unrolled as a map beneath your feet, including the two noble rivers visible (nearly) to their junction, the Saone crossed by 8 bridges, the Rhone by 3 or 4. Be- yond it stretch fields, plains, and hills dotted over with country houses, and the distance is closed (in clear wea- ther) by the snowy peak of Mt. Blanc , nearly 100 m. off, this being one of the farthest points from which it is seen. More to the S, the Alps of Dauphine, the mountains of the Grande Chartreuse, and the Mont Pilas appear. The church is seated on the very summit of the hill, and is said to occupy the site, and re- tain the name, of the Roman Forum Vetus built by Trajan, Numerous but inconsiderable Roman remains have been brought to light on the hill, the principal being an amphi- theatre within the Jardin des Plantes, and a fragment of an aqueduct.

In the faubourg St. Irenee, behind Fourvieres, is the church of St. Irenee ,

R 6

372

Sect. V.

Route 105. — Lyons — Cath edral.

an uninteresting modern building, but erected on the grave of that saint and martyr, and upon subterranean vaults, in which St. Polycarp preached, at the age of 86, and where, it is said, the early Christians met for prayer, and were afterwards massacred, by order of Septimius Severus, a.d. 202. In the midst of this crypt, an ancient Romanesque building, resting on plain columns, is a sort of well, down which the bodies of the Christians were thrown, until it overflowed with the blood of the 9,000 martyrs, for such is the number reported to have fallen, according to the legend; and a recess is filled with their bones.

The upper church was destroyed, and the crypt much injured, by the Calvinists, 1562.

The Cathedral of St. Jean Baptiste, on the rt. bank of the Saone, has 4 towers, two of which flank the W. front, and two more, massive but shorter, forming the transepts. The W. front is the most recent part, not having been completed until the reign of Louis XI. : its bas-reliefs and sta- tues are curious, but they have suffered from the Calvinistic iconoclasts of the 16th century; these injuries have usually, but unjustly, been attributed to the infamous Baron des Adrets, since he was not in Lyons at the time when they were perpetrated. “ The greater portion of the cathedral is of the age of St. Louis ; but, though Gothic, the attentive observer will remark some curious imitations of Romm ornaments, particularly in an incrusted band or frieze of red and white marble, composed of masques and foliage, copied from the antique, with considerable exactness, running round the principal apse. The painted glass windows are remarkably fine. The centre tower, which opens into the cross, contains a rose window, which produces a peculiarly good ef- fect. In a side aisle, on the floor, stands the once celebrated clock, made or built by Nicolas Lippeus of Basle in 1508. It is very much like that

at Strasburg, exhibiting various pro- cessions of little figures, the courses of the sun and moon, and the like ; but it is quite out of repair ; and to be called in action it requires the ad- ministration of half a franc to the sacristan.” — F. P. “ The clerestory presents an interesting series of win- dows, giving, in order, the gradations from plain lancets and circles, without foliation, or even a containing arch, to the perfect mullioned window with flowing tracery” ( Petit), a good lesson for the student. The Bourbon chapel, built by the cardinal Bourbon and his brother Pierre de Bourbon, the son- in-law of Louis XI., is remarkable for its ornaments, principally flowers and foliage of the most delicate sculp- ture. Amongst them the thistle or cliardon is repeatedly introduced; a pun or rebus, allusive to the ch^r-don, which the king had made to Pierre in the gift of his daughter.”

“ The see of Lyons, the religious metropolis of the Gauls, ascends to the era of the primitive church, its founders having been St. Pothinus, an Asiatic Greek, in the 2nd century, and St. Irenseus, disciples of the apostles, both of whom suffered mar- tyrdom here. Before the Revolution, the cathedral enjoyed many high pri- vileges. The canons had the title of Counts of Lyons : and in the service many ancient, usages are retained ; amongst others, yellow or native wax alone was used for the tapers, and no instrumental music was allowed. Ad- joining the cathedral is a building, part of the ancient archiepiscopal pa- lace, which seems to be of the 9th cen- tury. According to popular opinion, Becket lodged here ; but as it is not known that he visited Lyons, though Anselm did, the two archbishops may have been easily confounded ; several anthems and hymns yet sung in th» cathedral are said to have been com- posed and set to music by Becket.”— F. P.

On the quai, a little above the ca- thedral, opposite the Pont Seguin,

Central France. JR. 105 . — Lyons— Church of Ainay. 37 3

destroyed by the flood of 1840, is the new Palais de Justice , a handsome building, faced with a colonnade of 24 pillars. Baltard is the architect.

On the opposite side of the Sabne, about i mile lower down, at the end of a street running up from the Pont d Ainay, is the Church of the Abbey of Ainay , a very remarkable monument, both of Pagan and Christian anti- quity. “ The centre of the cross is supported by 4 ancient granite co- lumns, supposed to have belonged to the altar erected at the confluence of the Rhone and Sabne (which origin- ally met close to the church), in ho- nour of Augustus, who resided for 3 years at Lyons, by the 60 nations of Gaul. In the representation of that altar existing on medals, there are only 2 pillars, one on either side of the altar, each supporting a statue of Victory ; but these lofty columns, each of a single shaft, having been cut in two, now form the 4 sup- porters, of somewhat low propor- tions, to the central lanthorn.” The measurements of the diameter of the sections in each pair show how they were joined. Their capitals, an imi- tation of the Corinthian, are medi- aeval. The original capitals were Ionic. The church, as a building, was in existence before 937 (its founda- tion as a monastery was much earlier), and these are possibly of that ajra. The outer tower is probably Carlo- vingian ; but the building has recently been restored, in some parts awk- wardly, so as to prepare much per plexity for the antiquarians who are yet unborn. Beneath the sacristy are the dungeons in which Potliinus and Blandina were immured pre- viously to their martyrdom.”

“ The sufferings of these witnesses for the truth rest upon a document of great authenticity, the Epistle of the Churches of Vienne and Lyons to the Brethren in Asia and Phrygia. Pothinus, chosen bishop of Lyons, and then 90 years of age, was sent back into this dungeon, where he ex-

pired after two days’ confinement. For Blandina, who was a converted slave, greater tortures were reserved. After being scourged and exposed to the fire in an iron chair, she was deli- vered over to the beasts in the amphi- theatre. These events took place during the persecution under Marcus Antoninus, the implacable enemy of Christianity, a. d. 177.

• These dungeons are most gloomy

cells, without light or air, below the bed of the adjoining river. The aper- tures by which they are entered are so low. that you must creep into them upon hands and knees. They adjoin a crypt which, until the Revolution, was used as a chapel : traces of Ro- man work are here distinctly seen.

“ The middle-age name of Ainay is Athenaeum , and most of the historians of Lyons are unanimous in supposing that it is built upon the site of the Athenaeum founded by Caligula, and the buildings of which joined to or included the Augustan altar. It was a school of debate and composition, in which pleaders competed for the prize. Great honours were bestowed upon the successful competitors ; but those who failed were liable, accord- ing to the statutes of the Imperial founder, to the most severe and hu- miliating punishments — to be chas- tised with a ferula or thrown into the river, and to obliterate their own compositions by licking them out with the tongue : hence even the

most gifted would approach the altar with trepidation and fear” (F. P. ), and hence the line of Juvenal —

“ Palleat, ut nudis pressit qui calcibus an- guem,

Aut Luglunensem rhetor dicturus ad aram.”

Some other remarkable churches, &c. have been spared : — Saint Nizier, a splendid example of the flamboyant Gothic. The bosses of the arched roof are curiously pointed. The portal, in the style of the Renais- sance, is a work of the architect Phi- libert Delorme, in the 16th century.

Sect. V.

374 R. 105 . — Lyons —Hotel de Ville — Museum.

Several hundred of the insurgents in the insurrection of ] 834 were pur- sued within the walls of this church by the soldiery, and killed there.

Sainte Pierre has a carious Carlo- vingian portal, in perfect preserva- tion, though barbarously coated with oil paint.

The Church of the Cordeliers is strikingly monastic.

The square called Place des Ter- reaux, one side of which is occupied by the Hotel de Ville, and another by the Museum, or Palais des Beaux Arts, was the scene of the execution of Cinq Mars and De Thou : “ they perished on the scaffold, the one like a Roman, the other like a saint,” thus atoning for their share in a con- spiracy against the unrelenting Car- dinal Richelieu. Here also, in 1794, the guillotine was erected, and ac- tively kept at work until the square became so flooded with human blood, that the Terrorist chiefs, fearing to rouse the sensibility of the people, resolved on a wholesale massacre, by musquetry andgrape, in the Brotteaux, on the other side of the Rhone.

The Hotel de Ville (1447-55,) with its lofty roofs and bold projections, is not unworthy of the ancient consulate, who, before the Revolution, were a most influential and useful magistracy, though much reduced in authority by Henri IV. In this building sat the Revolutionary Tribunal which, under Challier, before the siege of Lyons, and after it under Couthon, Collot d’Herbois, and Fouche, despatched so many thousand victims to perish by the guillotine and the fusilade. Collot d’Herbois, the chief of these tyrants, had been an actor, and, in that capacity, had been hissed off the stage of Lyons. He vowed vengeance against the town, in consequence of this affront ; and amply did the savage glut his desire for it.

The Palais des Beaux Arts, or Mu- seum, in the ancient convent of Saint Pierre, contains some very remark- able specimens of Roman antiquity.

A Taurobole, or square altar, 5 feet high. “ The Bronze Tables containing the speech made by Claudius when Censor, in the Roman senate (a. d. 48), on moving that the communities of Gallia Comata should be admitted to the privileges of the citizenship of Rome, an act of the highest national importance. They are beautifully cut, and the letters are as sharp and as legible as if they had just issued from the engraver’s hands. In these engravings we have, probably, the very words, or composition, of Clau- dius himself. They were discovered in the year 1 528, on the heights of St. Sebastian. Claudius was born at Lyons on the very day when the altar of Augustus was consecrated.

“ In contemplating a relic of this description in the city to which it belongs, we become sensible how much of its interest would be di- minished by depositing it in any situation out of its proper locality. A very fine mosaic pavement repre- senting the games of the Circus, in which the Spina, and the gates whence the chariots started for the race, are fully given, was found at Ainay, ] 800. Several other pavements were found in or near the city, including one of Orpheus and the Beasts, brilliant in colour, with many sepulchral and other inscriptions.” — F. P.

The legs of a bronze horse, ex- tracted from the bed of the Sadne, are remarkable.

In the Picture Gallery are several paintings of celebrated masters. — Pietro Perugino: The Ascension, the heavenly choir in the sky, the Apos- tles and Virgin below ; one of the best works of the master ; given to the city by Pope Pius VII. Rubens : St. Francis, St. Dominic, and the Virgin, interceding for the world, against which the Saviour is about to launch his thunder ; finely coloured, but coarse, profane, and offensive in the composition. The Adoration of the Magi. Spagnoletto : St. Francis after Death, as placed in the tomb

Central France. JR. 105 . — Lyons — Museum.

375

by Gregory IV. ; the ghastly glare I of the eye and rigidity of the frame are truly, but somewhat painfully, I represented. Caracci: The Baptism i in the Jordan. A portrait of a canon ! of Bologna. Guercino : The Circum- cision. Teniers : St. Peter delivered from the Prison, or rather soldiers gaming in the guard-house ; for what is called the subject is rendered merely an accessory. Perugino : St. Gregory and St. James. A. Purer (?) .- The Emperor Maximilian and the Empress. A Portrait of Jacquart, inventor of the silk loom named after him, by Bonnefonds . Portrait

of Mignard , by himself. Portrait of William III. of England. Van Heem : A View of the Rock and State Prison of Pierre Seise, now destroyed, is curious.

A School of Design established here has been attended with remark- able success in improving the manu- factures of Lyons. A portrait of Jacquart, in imitation of an en- graving, but produced by the loom invented by him, is both a monument to his memory and a proof of the skill attained by his townsmen. Co- pies of the Madonna, of the Seggiola, and of a Crucifixion, have also been executed in the same style. Here is also an academy of the fine arts. The productions, judging at least from two exhibitions, are not above mediocrity.

In one of the apartments are placed the busts of some of the illustrious natives of Lyons, as Philibert De- lorme, architect ; Bernard Jussieu, the botanist; Jacquart, inventor of the silk-loom ; Suchet, marshal of France; Poivre, governor of L’lsle de France, who introduced pepper.

The Museum of Natural History is very creditable to the town, by its extent ; and most useful and instruc- tive to the student, by its excellent systematic arrangement , according to orders, families, genera. It is to- lerably well filled in all the depart- ments of natural history ; but where

specimens of a genus are wanting, the place is supplied by a drawing.

Among the minerals are a very complete and valuable series of mar- bles, antique and modern, of Italy, France, &c. ; a suit of the blue and green copper ores from the mine of Chessy, on the Saone, now aban- doned. The mineralogical and geo- logical topography of France is il- lustrated in a collection of rocks and fossils from the different depart- ments.

“ The Bibliotheque Publique is the best provincial collection in France. The consulate of the city took great pride in this institution, which was originally annexed to the college. It contains many manuscripts, and about 80,000 printed volumes. Amongst them are many valuable and all but unique articles of the early printers, — the delight and despair of the biblio- maniac. During the siege of Lyons in 1793, the library suffered greatly from the bombardments and the can- nonade to which the city was exposed. The roof of the library was beat down, large heaps of the books were covered by the rubbish, and it might have been wished that they could have continued so during the reign of the Convention. Some were carried to Paris; others stolen. The foregoing were at least preserved for literature. But the library was turned into a barrack, the National Guard lighted their fires and boiled their coffee with the volumes, which they employed in preference to any other combustible ; and a Juge de Paix in a different can- ton caused a cart-load to be brought to him every decade for the same purpose ; for, said he, they are all books of devotion, and we do not exactly seek truth in the age of reason.” — F. P.

In the suburb of Vaise, on the rt. bank of the Saone, on the line of the old fortifications, and just above the road leading to Paris and Chalons, rise the scanty remains of the es- carped rock of Pierre Seise, or encise,

37 6

R. 105. — Lyons — Pierre Seise — Hotel Dieu. Sect. V.

so called from its having been cut through by Agrippa, in order to open a military road. It is now used as a quarry, and the proprietors are destroying the picturesque and beautiful by wholesale. Upon this rock stood a castle, formerly the dwelling of the Archbishops, and of which the central tower was remarkable for its symmetry. It was demolished during the Revolution, perhaps in conse- quence of the odium which it acquired by having been anciently employed as a state prison, and also because it was offensive to the inhabitants from its domineering over the town. In this castle Ludovico Sforza, called 11 Moro, was confined by Louis XII. ; he was afterwards removed to the castle of Loches. where, being occasionally con- fined in an iron cage, he sank under the misery that he sustained. So closely was he incarcerated, that the exact time of his death is unknown : some writers place it in 1508, others in 1510. (See R. 56.)

Here also Card. Richelieu shut up M. de Cinq Mars, for conspiring against his authority, and correspond- ing with Spain, and de Thou, the son of the historian, for not betraying the conspiracy.

Farther on, upon the opposite (1. ) bank of the Saone, is an antique castle, surmounted by a lofty tower, called Tour de la Belle AUemande , from a tradition of a German damsel being immured in it while her beloved was shut up in Pierre Seise. He, as the story goes, having escaped, by leaping into the Saone, was swimming across the river to join her, when he was perceived by the castle guard, and shot at the foot of the tower.

“ The charitable institutions of Lyons are numerous. The principal one is the Hotel Dieu , on the quay facing the Rhone, between the Pont de lTIotel Dieu, and Pont Guillo- tiere ; it is the most ancient, perhaps, now subsisting in France, having been founded by Childebert and Ul- trogotha, his queen. The present

edifice, built by Soufflot, has a splendid new front. The plan of the building is that of a cross, and it is arranged upon the Panopticon principle. An octagon altar is placed under the cen- tra] dome. From this the wards radiate, and the crucifix and the offi- ciating priest can be seen from every bed in the hospital. The chambers are very lofty and spacious. Amongst other attendants are 150 sisters of charity.” — F. P.

This building was destroyed dur- ing the fatal siege of 1793, when filled with wounded, by shells and red-hot shot ; a black flag, hoisted upon the building to avert the deadly shower, seemed only to attract towards it a larger share of the fire ; and after the flames had been in vain extinguished 42 times, it was finally consumed. From an inscription discovered not long since in a courtyard of the Hotel Dieu (once a Protestant burial ground), it would seem that Mrs. Temple, daughter of Young, author of the Night Thoughts, who died at Montpellier, 1736, was actually bu- ried here. By the archives in the H. de Ville, it appears that 729 livres were paid for permission to inter her.

On the quay of the Rhone, below the Pont Guillotiere, is the still larger Hospice de la Charite.

The Place Bellecour, one of the largest squares in Europe, perhaps too large, covering nearly 15 acres, ornamented in the centre by a statue of Louis XIV., has been rebuilt since 1793-4. On the capture of Lyons by the republicans, the total annihila- tion of the town, and of all its chief buildings, public and private, which had escaped the 11,000 red-hot shot and the 27,000 shells hurled against it, during a bombardment of several weeks, were decreed by the National Convention, in order to humble the pride of the Lyonnais. The demo- lition of the houses of the Place Belle- cour was directed by Couthon, who, borne on a litter, on account of ill- ness, gave the signal by striking on

377

Central France. Route 105.— Lyons — Massacre.

the door of each condemned house, repeating the words, “ Je te condamne a etre dsmolie an nom de la loi.” A mob of discharged workmen and others of the lowest classes then has- tened to carry into effect these com- mands. Lyons, the chief manufac- turing town of France, was reduced to a heap of ruins, and the expense of merely pulling down amounted to 700,000/., a sum larger than that which built the Hotel des Invalides at Paris. Thus was fulfilled the de- cree of the Montague, that “ Lyons should no longer exist,” that “ even its name should be effaced,” and that of “ Commune Affranchie ” substi- tuted. This decree enacted also that a column shoidd be erected on its ruins to bear these words : —

“ Lyon fit la guerre a la Liberte ;

Lyon n’est plus.”

The Siege of Lyons, which preceded this wanton razing of the town, was undertaken by the National Conven- tion, to punish and bring back to their side the people of Lyons, who, irri- tated by the vexations, and horror- stricken by the tyranny, of the club of Terrorists, and the municipality, had risen up in arms against them, and made prisoner, tried, and executed their pre- sident, the infamous Challier, a Sa- voyard, and once an abbe. In conse- quence 60,000 troops were collected from all quarters against this devoted town. Its defence was intrusted to about 3 3,000 of her citizens, who cheer- fully manned the walls, resolving that their oppressors should not capture the place without marching over piles of ruins and heaps of dead. After an heroic resistance of 63 days, during which acts of the utmost bravery and scenes of the direst misery were ex- hibited ; after all the surrounding heights had been gained by the ene- my; and 30,000 persons had perished within the walls, famine began to arrest the power of all farther resist- ance, and the town was yielded, Oct. 9. 1793.

The Suburb of Perrache, between

the Saone and Rhone, receives its name from the architect who con- ceived and executed the plan of re- moving the confluence of these rivers, which, before 1770, were united a little below the church of Ainay, to its actual situation. He effected this by- strong embankments; and the greater portion of the land thus gained is either built over, or is prepared for building. Here is situated the ter- minus of the railroad to St. Etienne. (R. 118.)

Until the commencement of the present century, the Rhone merely skirted the city, and Lyons may be said to have been confined to its rt. bank ; or, as Gray in his letters hu- morously describes the confluence, “ the Saone goes through the middle of the city in state, while he (the Rhone) passes incog, outside the walls, but waits for her a little below.”

Since that time the 1. bank of the Rhone has been covered over with houses, forming the suburbs of Brot- teaux and Guillotiere. Several streets of fine and lofty houses are now building here, and a new bridge in construction over the Rhone will con- nect them directly with the business quarter of the city. At the back of these new constructions an embank- ment has been formed, and a military canal dug, protected by forts, so as to serve the double purpose of securing the neighbourhood from the inun- dations of the Rhone and the attack of an enemy. In the Brotteaux, at the extremity of the street called Avenue des Martyrs, a monumental Chapel , in the form of a pyramid, perpetuates the memory of the mi- serable victims of one of the worst atrocities of the Revolution. After the siege and capture of Lyons, as narrated above, the guillotine proved too slow an instrument of slaughter of the accused or suspected victims condemned, with or without cause, to suffer by the mandate of the revo- lutionary tribunal. The bloodthirsty and infamous tyrant, Collot d’Her-

378 Route 105. — Lyons — Bridges — Inundation. Sect. V.

bois, therefore conducted the prison- ers, by 60 at a time, under the escort of soldiers, to a field beside the granary of La Part Dieu. Here, with their hands bound behind their backs, they were fastened by ropes to a cable at- tached to a row of willows ; and at the end of the line two cannons, loaded with grape shot, were so placed as to enfilade the whole. At the first discharge few fell dead ; a second and third, directed against the poor wretches, mutilated, wounded, and deprived of their limbs a great num- ber, but left the greater part still alive, rending the air with their agonising shrieks, so that the soldiers were obliged to finish the work with their swords or the butt end of their musquets. So laborious was the task, and so imperfectly performed, that some were found breathing 12 hours after, when their bodies were covered with quicklime, and thrown into a hole for burial. These heart-sicken- ing massacres were repeated, by the aid of grape-shot or musquetry fired by platoons of soldiers, until the number of victims amounted to 2,100. Collot d’Herbois and Fouclie looked on while these deeds were done ; and the former, when informed, on one oc- casion, that a band of prisoners about to be led forth to death exceeded by two the number condemned for ex- ecution, replied, “ Qu’importe? s’ils passent aujourd’hui, ils ne passeront pas demain.”

The miscreant, Collot d’Herbois, exulting in his atrocities, forwarded from time to time to Paris, reports of his proceedings to the Convention, from which these are extracts. He says of himself and colleague, “ The sword of the law is falling on the conspirator's at the rate of 30 at a time ; that they have already de- spatched 200 ; and they were occu- pied, in the most unceasing manner, in the discharge of their functions.”

Three days after he writes, —

“ I send you a second list ; the number now amounts to 300. A more

grand act of justice is preparing; 400 or 500, with whom the prisons are filled, are one of these days to expiate their crimes ; the stroke of powder shall purge them from the earth by a single discharge.” In a vault beneath the chapel are shown about 200 skulls and skeletons, the relics of the miser- able sufferers by this tyranny.

At the extremity of the suburb of La Guillotiere is an ancient castle called Chateau de la Motte, in which Henry IV. was married to Marie de Medicis.

The Bridges. There are 4 over the Rhone : — the Pont Morand, of wood, opposite the Place des Terreaux, lead- ing to Les Brotteaux, named after its architect, who perished by the hand of the revolutionary assassins ; Pont Lafayette (formerly de Charles X.), of wood, on stone piers ; Pont de V Hotel Dieu, a suspension bridge ; Pont de la Guillotiere, between the Hotel Dieu and la Charite, leading to the Place Bellecour, is of stone, 539 yards long: it is the oldest of all the bridges, its foundation being referred to Pope Innocent IV., 1190, though no part of the present structure is of that age. The high road to Savoy passes over it. Avery curious silver buckler, bearing a representation of the Continence of Scipio, in relief, was found at the base of one of its piers.

The bridges over the Saone, be- tween L’lle Barbe and LaMulatiere, are 10 in number, or rather were, for, by the inundation of 1840, 4 were de- stroyed, and 2 others seriously injured. The principal are Pont de Tilsit, a beautiful stone bridge, leading from the Place Bellecour to the Arche- veche ; the Pont Seguin, a suspension bridge (destroyed 1840), named after its engineer, opposite the Palais de Justice; and higher up, the Pont du Change, an old stone bridge.

The Inundations of October and November 1840 were the most fatal in the records of the city. The Sadne, usually regarded as a placid stream, submerged the suburb of Vaise, de-

Central France, F. 105 . — Lyons — Fortifications . 379

stroyed nearly half its houses, and ! overspread nearly the entire city be- j tween it and the Rhone, from the j Place des Terreaux, which escaped, downwards : the Places Bellecour and Des Celestins became lakes, and most of the streets canals. In three places the waters of the Saone forced a pas - sage, through the midst of the city, into the Rhone, cutting a deep bed, owing to the rupture of the dyke of the Tete d’Or. The entire suburbs of Guillotiere and Les Brotteaux were covered by the swollen waters of the Rhone, which spread over the country to a distance of 1^ m. from its banks, destroying 450 houses. The grand increase of the Rhone began on the 27th October, but abated on the 31st ; that of the Saone con- tinued until Nov. 5. It was calcu- lated that the quantity of rain which fell during 7 days preceding this ca- tastrophe equalled that usually dis- tributed over 7 months. *

The Quartiers des Capucins, be- tween the Place des Terreaux and Croix Rousse, and of St. Clair, are chiefly inhabited by rich capitalists and manufacturers. The former stretches up the foot of the hill of Croix Rousse, separated from the faubourg of that name by a line of antiquated ramparts and bastions.

The fortifications of Lyons consist of a number of detached forts crowning the heights of St. Croix and Four- vieres, on the rt. bank of the Saone, and of Croix Rousse, above the suburb of that name ; and the circuit is com- pleted by 7 other forts built round the faubourgs Brotteaux and Guillotiere. They owe their origin to the fearful insurrections of the workmen and others, which took place as a conse- quence of the July Revolution in 1831 and 1834; and are at least as much designed to repress intestine revolt as to withstand invasion from without. The chief work, the Fort Montessay , is so constructed that its guns entirely command, and could level with the dust, the favboury of La

Croix Rousse , the St. Antoine of Lyons, a moral volcano teeming with turbulence and sedition ; while a for- tified barrack on the Place des Ber- nardines separates it, at will, from the rest of the city. From this faubourg issued, in 1831 and 1834, the armed j insurgents who for several days held possession of the town, having ex- pelled the military, until an army j could be assembled large enough to ! put them down, which was only ef- fected with great loss of life. Indeed, in these recent revolts (for they were far too serious to fall under the name of riots), this ill-starred and ill-con- ditioned city experienced a renewal of many of the horrors, the bloodshed, and misery of the first Revolution. Many workmen were obliged to quit the town for their share in these dis- turbances, and settled in Switzerland.

The Croix Rousse is principally inhabited by silk weavers, who live in densely-crowded, narrow streets, where 12 to 20 families are piled, one above another, in the lofty houses.

Silk is the staple manufacture of Lyons ; in the extent of it she sur- passes every other town of Europe. The manufacture of silk was first esta- blished in Lyons in the year 1450. In variety of design, in taste, in ele- gance of pattern, and in certain co- lours, the manufacturers have a supe- riority over the English. “ They can work 25 per cent, cheaper ; but the hand-loom weavers of Lyons are nearly as ill off as those of Spitalfields.” — Laing. There are no huge factories here ; the master, instead of having a certain number of workmen con- stantly employed in his own premises, merely buys the raw material, and gives it out to be manufactured by the weavers, dyers, &c., at their own houses, by themselves and their fami- lies. The patterns are produced by draughtsmen (generally a partner of the master manufacturer), and the laying or preparing of the pattern (mise en carte) is the province of an-

other artiste. There are about 31,000

380 i?. 105. — Lyons — Silk Trade — Conveyances . Sect. V.

silk looms in and about Lyons. The silk weavers are, bodily and physically, an inferior race ; half the young men of an age for military service are exempted, owing to weakness or de- formity. Of late manufactories of cotton, hardware, &c., have been established in Lyons : it is also the centre of money transactions with Switzerland and Italy.

The Conseil des Prudhommes is a commercial tribunal, composed partly of masters, partly of men, designed to settle disputes respecting wages and such matters, between the two classes, and between masters and apprentices, in a spirit of conciliation. It is of immense service, and exists in other manufacturing towns, and might, per- haps, be imitated with advantage in England. Every workman is pro- vided with a “ livret de bonne con- duite,” in which particulars of his ability, industry, and conduct are en- tered from time to time, so that it serves as a passport for him when in want of work, provided it shows a good and steady character.

The Condition des Soies is an esta- blishment in which the quality and goodness of raw silks brought hither for sale is tried, by exposing them to heat, at a temperature of 721° to 77° Fahrenheit. The weight of the silk is then ascertained, and marked by a sworn estimator, and fraud is thus prevented.

There are several Theatres ; the chief one behind the H. de Ville, another in the Place des Celestins, which abounds with cafes.

The Post Office is in the Place Bellecour.

Omnibuses traverse the town from end to end ; and cabriolets and fiacres stand in the Places des Terreaux and de Bellecour, and on the Quaide Retz.

Conveyances.

Mal/eposte , daily to Paris in 36 hours; to Strasbourg in 36 hours.

Diligences, daily ; 4 to Paris (2 morning, 2 evening) in 60 hours in summer, 72 in winter; to Turin, by

Chambery, in 38 hours ; to Aix les Bains ; 4 to Marseilles in 2 days ; to Strasburg, by Lons le Saulnier, Be- sanfon, Belfort, Colmar ; to Cler- mont, by Montbrizon, to Grenoble.

Railroad to St. Etienne. Office, Place Bellecour, whence omnibuses go to the terminus in the Quartier Perrache. Trains 3 times a day. ( See Route 118.)

Steamers on the Rhone start for Vienne, Valence, Avignon, and Arles, every morning at 4 or 5 a. m., from the Quai on the Rhone. (See Route i25.)

Steamers on the Sadne, for Chalons, starting from the Quai (Route 106.) every morning, from 4 to 6 a. m.

The environs of Lyons are correctly described by Gray: “ The hills around are bedropped and bespeckled with country houses, gardens, and planta- tions of rich merchants and bourgeois. ” These villas are much more numer- ous than in the vicinity of Paris.

“ LTle Barbe, an island in the Sabne, above Lyons, nearly surrounded by escarped rocks, and connected with the banks of the river by a wire bridge, is celebrated as having been the frequent residence of Charle- magne ; and at the upper extremity is a species of watch-tower, on which, according to tradition, the emperor sat and contemplated his Paladins, heading his army, as it marched along the banks of the river. This castle seems not older than the 15th cen- tury ; and a chapelon the island dates, probably, from the 12th. Many cu- rious antique fragments are dispersed in the island. At Easter and Whit- suntide, the good folks of Lyons, rich and poor, visit the Isle of Saint Barbe, with the object of a pilgrimage by carriage, horse, and foot, to the near- est points of embarkation. The is- land is then filled with gay parties, eating, drinking, and dancing ; and more especially in the ‘ Wauxhall.’ ” _ F. P.

A few Historical Notices of Lyons. — The ancient city of Lyons, the

Central France. B. 106 .— Paris to Lyons— Melun. 381

Roman Lugdunum , founded, accord- ing to Dion Cassius, by Munatius Plancus (b. c. 40. ), occupied the heights of Fourvieres. Here Au- gustus and Severus resided. Here still exist traces of the vast Aqueduct, constructed, it is said, by the soldiers of Marc Antony, when his legions were quartered here, to supply the town with water from the distant mountains of La Forez. It may be still traced for miles, crossing the val- leys on arches, of which the most considerable remains are at Bionnat (6 arches), Chapponost, Chardonniers, and Oullins.

Remains of Agrippa’s 4 great roads, which met at Lyons, radiating thence to the Pyrenees, through the Cevennes, to the Rhine, to the Ocean through Picardy, and to Marseilles, may also be traced.

The settlement of the early Chris- tians, and the persecutions they en- dured in the 2d and Sd centuries, have been alluded to in pp. 372, 373.

Lyons was possessed and governed by its archbishops, who held it by grant from the Emperor of Germany, during the 12th and part of the 13th century, and was not restored to the French crown until the reign of Philippe le Bel.

The silk manufacture was esta- blished here in the middle of the 15th century by Italian refugees, and was nearly ruined by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which dispersed most of its best workmen to Spital- fields, Amsterdam, Crefeld, &c.

The events which occurred at Lyons during the first Revolution have been detailed at p. 376.

In 1815, Lyons threw open its gates to Napoleon on his return from Elba; the troops intended to defend it having at once deserted the standard of the Bourbons, to gather round the tricolor, in spite of the exertions of the Comte d’ Artois and Marshal Mac- donald to keep them to their duty.

ROUTE 106.

PARIS TO LYONS. ROUTE DE BOUR-

GOGNE BY SENS, AUXERRE, ARNAY

LE DUC, CHALONS SUR SAONE, AND

MACON. DESCENT OF THE SAONE.

■ — CHALONS TO LYONS.

466 kilom. = 289 Eng. m.

Malleposte (4 places) daily in 33 hours, returning in 37 hours.

Driigences daily in 41 hours to Chalons, and 8 or 10 thence to Lyons.

This route has the advantage over that by Moulins, that, by taking the diligence no farther than Chalons, you may enjoy a night's rest there, perform the rest of the journey by water, and yet reach Lyons as soon.

The traveller desirous of visiting Fontainebleau on his way to Lyons may follow R. 105. as far as that place, and then strike off into this road at Fossard.

The best point to quit Paris on this route is by the Barriere de la Gare, and the road along the S. or 1. bank of the Seine, crossing that river just above the confluence of the Marne.

7 Charenton, a village of 1,900 in- habitants, where the road to Troyes ( R. 144.) strikes off to the 1. Two of the detached forts intended to defend Paris, guard the passage of the Seine here, one on each bank. At Alfort, through which our road passes, is a large Veterinary College.

The large building at Charenton is a lunatic asylum.

11 Villeneuve St. George.

The road passes through the forest of Senats, consisting chiefly of plan- tations of copse, cut down in rotation for fuel. In the midst stands an obelisk which led to a chateau of Louis XVI I T., now pulled down.

13 Lieusaint.

13 Melun (Inn : H. de France), a town of 6,6 22 inhab., chef lieu of the Dept. Seine et Marne. It is mentioned in Caesar’s Commen- taries under the name Melodunum. In 1520 it was besieged and taken by

382 Route 106. — Paris to Lyons — Montereau. Sect. V.

the armies of Henry V. and the Duke of Burgundy, but the English were ejected 1530.

1 1 Chatelet.

8 Panfou.

“ The traveller who approaches Montereau from the side of Paris involuntarily halts on the summit of the heights of Surville, which over- hang the town on the N., to gaze on the lovely scene which lies spread out, like a map, beneath his feet : he would do well to remember that there, beside the little cross adjacent to the chateau, stood Napoleon during the last and not the least of his many victories, on Feb. 18th, 1814. On the evening of the 17th, the French troops assembled in imposing masses on these heights (which they had gained only after a severe conflict), and which commanded the bridge and town beneath. The artillery of the guard was placed on either side of the road near the cross, and the emperor took his station, in person, amidst the guns, to direct their fire, for the enemy still held the town. Such was his eagerness to annihilate the dense masses of the enemy crowd- ing over the bridge, that he himself, resuming his old occupation of a gun- ner, with his own hand, as at Toulon, levelled and pointed a cannon upon them.” — Alison. The allies were so hotly pursued by the French cuiras- siers, that they were driven over the Seine, and out of Montereau, having barely time to blow up the bridge over the Yonne, which checked the pursuit in the direction of Sens.

Montereau is a town of 4,153 in- habitants, occupying a pleasing situ- ation, and one most advantageous for commerce, at the junction of the two navigable rivers the Seine and Yonne. The most considerable part lies on the 1. bank of the Yonne. Both rivers are crossed by bridges, and the one over the Seine (or rather an older bridge in the same situation) was the scene of the murder of Jean Sans Peur, Duke of Burgundy, in the pre- sence and by orders of the Dauphin

(afterwards Charles VII.), during a conference between them, and in spite of the precautions which had been resorted to of erecting double barri- cades to divide the persons of the 2 princes. The blow was struck by Tanneguy du Chastel. The confer- ence was designed to bring about a reconciliation, in order that the two parties might combine to resist the invasion of France by Henry V.

Steamers ply on the Seine, between Montereau and Paris.

14 Fossard. — Inn : La Poste, to- lerably good. The road ascends the pleasant and fertile valley of the Yonne.

9 Villeneuve la Guiard Inn: II.

de la Souche, tolerable.

12 Pont sur Yonne, pleasantly situated on green banks, fringed with tall poplars and silvery willows. The country is full of vineyards ; and a larger proportion than ordinary of the chateaux of the old noblesse seem to be in existence near the churches of the villages, or peeping over the trees.

12 Sens. — Hotel de l’Ecu ; very good. This ancient capital of the Sennones is now but a small city, containing 9,279 inhab., partly sur- rounded by its original ramparts. It is remarkably clean, with little becks of water running through the streets, supplied from a stream called the Vanne, which falls into the Yonne hard by. The Cathedral , dedicated to St. Stephen, is one of the finest of its style, early and pure Gothic, resem- bling Canterbury ; it is now under- going a thoiough repair. The tracery in front of the transepts is the per- fection of flamboyant detail. The painted glass deserves peculiar atten- tion. It was executed by Jean Cousin, a native of Soucy, a village near Sens, who attained great excellence in this as well as in other branches of art. The colouring is extremely harmo- nious. The tomb of the Chancellor du Prat has partly escaped the general destruction ; the bas-reliefs around it

Central France. R. 106 . —Joigny — Auxerre .

383

are very curious. There is also a monument to the dauphin, son of Louis XV., and his wife, by Coustou. In the Treasury, among other curious relics, are shown the vests and mitre of Thomas a Becket, his alb, girdle, stole, maniple, and chasuble, to all appearance genuine ; they have been lately repaired. He fled to Sens 1164, when he escaped out of Eng- land from the wrath of Henry II.

The altar of St. Thomas is said to be the same at which Becket per- formed his devotions, and is very an- cient. He resided while in this city in the Abbey of St. Columbe, now oc- cupied by the Soeurs de l’Enfance de Jesus. Three of the old town gates, the Portes Notre Dame, St. Antoine, and St. Remy, still remain ; they are probably as old as the 14th century.

The walls of Sens, which, on the south side, extend in a straight un- broken line, exhibit in the lower por- tions magnificent remains of Roman, some say Gaulish, masonry.

At Vallery, 12 m. to the W. of Sens, the Grand Conde is buried in the Church, which contains a costly monument of marble. The Chateau was designed by Philibert Delorme.

An open, chalky country follows Sens, till you reach

14 Villeneuve le Roi, a remark- ably pretty and peculiar town, with much scope for the use of the pencil and sketch book. The principal street is terminated by a gate at each end, of feudal times, yet apparently more for ornament than defence. The church, in the style of the Renais- sance, is richly ornamented.

8 Ville Vallier.

9 Joigny. — Hotel Due de Bour- gogne. This town (pop. 5,537) is also pleasantly situated on the Yonne. It derives its ancient name ( Jovinia - cum ) from Jovinian (see Rheims). — F. P. A fine quay, closed at either end by an iron gate, runs along the side of the Yonne, from one end of the town to the other. The road to Dijon (R. 145.) issues out at the

farther end ; ours, turning to the rt., crosses the Yonne by a stone bridge. The Abbey of Pontignv, the retreat of Thomas a Becket, is about 20 m. from Joigny. (See R. 145.)

12 Bassou.

15 Auxerre. — Inn: Hotel du Leo- pard. This city, of 12,300 inhab., very prettily situated on the 1. bank of the Yonne, and chief lieu of the department, is seen to great advan- tage from the hill above it, from which you descend. The grand mass of the cathedral, and two or three other large churches, and a fine ruined spire, all rise finely above the houses, looking very much like the cities in the background of pictures by old German masters ; within, it is not of a common-place character. The Ca- thedral has a splendid though un- finished facade, in the Flamboyant Gothic style, which style indeed pre- vails throughout the edifice, except in the choir, in the early Gothic, of the end of the 12th, or beginning of the 13th century. “ The transepts are covered externally with the boldest flowing tracery, occasionally standing free from the wall. The doors and rose windows are magnificent.” — Petit. Within, it is most beautifully proportioned ; and the painted glass, principally in mosaic patterns, is splen- did. Here is the tomb of Jacques Amyot, whilome bishop of this see, and celebrated for his racy translation of Plutarch, so excellent in its style as almost to form an era in the history of the French language. The chapter of Auxerre was at one time one of the richest in France, but they freed themselves from most of their super- fluous posseesions by indulging in the luxury of litigation.

St. Germain, now attached to the Hotel Dieu, on the height, is in a plainer style than the cathedral : it has lost part of its nave, but possesses a lofty choir, and transepts. Under- neath are curious crypts, one below another : in the lower are some tombs of early counts of Auxerre. It has

384 ?

Sect. V.

Route 106 . — Paris to Lyons — Vezelay .

an ancient tower, which belonged to the W. front, but is now detached.

St. Pierre is a large and handsome specimen of Italianised Gothic, begun at the end of the 16th century, and finished 1672. St. Eusebe is a Roman- esque church in its nave, and detached tower, with a choir in the florid style, begun 1530.

There is an old clock tower over a gate-house in the Place du Marche.

“ The Boulevards , in the place of the ancient walls which surround the town on 3 sides, are unique in the charming variety of prospects they present : the moats are filled with

plantations of acacia, gardens, and vires; the fine old towers are covered with festoons of ivy.” — Miss Costello.

A considerable quantity of wines (chiefly ordinaires), the growth of La Basse Bourgogne, are sent down the Yonne, hence to Paris. Chablis, about 12 miles to the E of this, on the road to Tonnerre, gives its name to a wine of superior quality, prized for drinking at breakfast or with oysters. About 1 2 miles to the N. E. is Pontigny, whose once celebrated Cistercian Abbey, suppressed at the Revolution, served as an asylum for 2 years to Thomas a Becket. The church is still the finest ecclesiastical structure in Burgundy, after the Cathedrals of Sens and Auxerre.

10 St. Bris.

13 Vermanton.

“ Near Auxerre the vine is much cultivated, but in France its stunted stumps give no charm to scenery. Further on the soil is worse, but pro- digiously manured, and they grow oats and rye in what appears a stiff* red clay. Nothing to relieve the eye ; not a bush, not a speck of green, not an habitation for miles on either side of the glaring white road ; we travelled for ever up the steep rise, and down the sharp descent which succeed, as like each other and un- interesting as if all had been cast in the same mould.” — Ride to Florence.

19 Lucy le Bois (a homely inn)

stands in a sheltered and rather pretty valley. The rocks around, and the stone heaps at the road-side derived from them, abound in fossils of the lias and gryphite limestone.

About 6 m. from Vermanton, and 9 from Lucy le Bois, to the S., are the Grottes d’Jrcy, a series of natural caverns in the limestone, many of vast extent, abounding in stalactites, and in bats, separated from one another by natural divisions, through which it is often necessary to crawl on hands and knees. The entrance to them is by a door inserted in an opening in the rock of a wooded dell, on the borders of the Cure. A guide, with candles, can be obtained at the village : the best time to visit them is during dry weather. The largest cavern is about 25 ft. high, 30 wide, and 400 long.

9 Avallon (Inn: Poste), a plea- santly situated town, nearly sur- rotmded by a ravine. Around it runs a broad terrace walk, under lime trees, about 500 ff. above the bed of the Cousin. The church is ancient, and has a curious Roman- esque portal. Parts of its interior are singular.

8 m. off* the road, to the E., is Vezelay , a decayed town, containing a very remarkable abbey church , dedicated to the Madelaine, finely seated on the summit of a hill. The ruinous W. front lost one of its towers by the attack of the Hugue- nots in 1569 : the lower part of it is Romanesque, the upper, a late Pointed restoration, poor in effect. Another tower rises from the angle between the nave and S. transept. The W. doors lead into a sort of porch, destined, like the gallilees in some English cathedrals, for cate- chumens: 3 other doorways open out of this vestibule into the nave ; that in the centre is very rich in sculpture, and supported by an ornamental shaft, on which rests a transom co- vered with a procession of figures, in relief. The tympanum of the arch

Central France. li. 106.—

above it is filled with a large bas- relief: the figure of the Saviour forms the centre, attended by groups of saints reading or writing. One of the archivolts above is carved with a zodiac, the signs of which are inter- mingled with monsters forming 29 medallions. The interior of the nave is very impressive from “ its great length, its gloom, and the simplicity of design which pervades its Nor- man features.” It has no triforium, and is surmounted by a cradle roof. These walls doubtless echoed to the voice of Becket in 1168, when he re- paired to Vezelay on Ascension day, when the church was crowded, and mounting the pulpit cursed, by bell, book, and candle, all those who main- tained in England “ the Customs of their Elders.” This proceeding so enraged Henry II. that he threatened to confiscate all the Benedictine abbeys in England, if the Order con- tinued to shelter Becket in France. A flight of steps leads up into the choir, which, with the transepts, is a fine specimen of early complete Pointed Gothic. It is surrounded by 8 round pillars, each of a single stone, and it is lighted by lancet windows. The axe of the choir differs from that of the nave, inclining a little to the 1.

Attached to the S. transept is the Chapter- house, a low vaulted cham- ber, its roof resting on 2 clumsy central piers in the Romanesque style. Here, it ns said, the monks as- sembled, with tears in their eyes, before their expulsion in 1154, through the rebellion of their vassals, the towns- folk, aided by the forces of the Comte de Nevers. The oldest part of the existing church is the nave, from the porch E., and the crypt, and they probably date from 1050, the pre- vious church having been destroyed, “ prope ad nihilum redactum,” in the middle of the 10th century, and its re- storation begun 1008. The W. front is probably of the 12th century, and the choir of the early part of the 13th. Scarcely any remains exist of the do- France .

Vezelay — The Crusade. SS5

mestic buildings of the abbey, which were so vast that kings, with their suite, could be lodged in them without discomfort to their monkish inmates. The entire length of the building is 404 ft. ; the height of the choir 70 ft.

Vezelay is now a poor wretched town ; its church is dropping to pieces, the roof and walls being cracked and crumbling, yet it possesses interest- ing historical associations. Here, on March 31. 1145, St. Bernard assem- bled a solemn Council of the Church, and preached in the presence of Louis VII. to a multitude assembled in the open field (the church being too small to bold them) the necessity of a new r Crusade, w'ith such impressive eloquence, that the universal cry for the Cross burst from the crowd around ; and the supply of crosses not being sufficient, the Abbot of Clairvaux tore his own red robe to pieces to dis- tribute among his willing hearers. The king, on his knees, first received the sacred symbol from him ; the nobles followed his example ; and the year following he set out from hence, with his army, for the Holy Land. In 1190 Richard Cceur de Lion, and Philippe Auguste, repaired hither to assume the pilgrim’s cross at the head of their armies.

Theodore Beza, the Reformer and Calvinist theologian, was born at Vezelay, of noble parents, 1519. On the way to Vezelay you pass the church of St. Ptre, whose tower is “ an almost unique specimen of tran- sition, or very early complete Gothic. The detached shafts, and canopies at its angles, and its several stages of open windows, give it an air of lightness and elegance such as I have never seen sur- passed in later buildings.” — Petit.

To the S. W. of Avallon stretches the extensive tract of woodland called Foret de Morvan, which supplies Paris with fuel, the wood being cut every 10 or 15 years, by portions at a time, and transported down the Yonne and Seine in rafts of faggots.

386 R. 106 . — Chalons sur Saone. Descent of the Saone. Sect.V.

15 St. Magnanee. Beyond this we enter the Dept, de la Cote d’Or.

1 1 La Roche en Brenil.

13 Saulieu (Inns: La Poste, very good and clean; — H. d’Angleterre, also good) has a Romanesque church : some of the columns and mouldings are very beautiful.

Here a road branches off, through the interesting city of Autun (R. 107.), to Chalons; it is 5^ m. longer than the following line.

13 Maupas.

15 Arnay le Due (Tnn : Poste; very decent), rather prettily situated on the Arroux.

17 Ivry.

A fine view over the valley of the Saone and distant Jura is presented a little short of

10 La Rochefort (no good inn), a poor village, surmounted by a ruined castle, flanked by watch-towers.

1 1 Chagny.

The road runs near the Canal du Centre nearly all the way to

16 Chalons-sur- Saone. — Inns: H. du Parc, very good ; — Trois Faisans. The Saone, which runs through this town of 1 2,200 inhab. , and which, from this point, becomes an important river, navigable for steam-boats, gives it much water -side activity. The Canal du Centre , which joins the Saone to the Loire, commences here, and affords an outlet for a consider- able traffic and transit of goods to the Mediterranean and Atlantic from the central departments of France. Chalons is the Cabillonum of Caesar, whose Commentaries should be one of the hand-books of every traveller through the districts of Gaul. A fine granite column, standing, or rather raised, on one of the places, is unques- tionably a relic of the Roman age.

The town is dull, but clean, for France; and there is little worth seeing. But the quai, facing the river, is lined by good houses, and is the most lively portion. The cathedral (St. Vincent), lately re- stored, in tolerably good taste, with the addition of 2 new towers, is in

the early Gothic, when the pecu- liarities of that style were beginning to mix themselves with the older Romanesque. The Hospital of St. Laurent, on the island in the Saone, has some good painted glass, which, it has been suggested, should be re- moved to the cathedral. At present it is necessary to traverse the sick ward in order to see it. The date of this vaulted dormitory, and of the hospital itself, is 1528.

Diligences daily to Paris; to Lyons; to Dijon.

Abailard died (1 142) at the Abbey of St. Marcel, about 2 m. from Chalons, now destroyed, except the church ; he was buried there, but afterwards removed to the Paraclete.

Descent of the Saone. — Chalons to Lyons.

From Chalons the traveller may proceed to Lyons either by land or by water. Steam-boats start every day, and if the traveller avails himself of them, he may complete his journey to Marseilles (or, if he chooses, to Civita Vecchia,) entirely by water. “ The captain of the steamer will take charge of the carriage, embark- ing, and landing it, and the luggage, and will forward them to and from the hotel. In 1843 the fare for 4 persons and a carriage was only 90 fr.” (IT. M. ), but the charges vary. The voyage is far preferable to the land journey, and is performed in 8 hours descending, — *fo or 12 ascend- ing. Meals are served on board. Some of the steam-boats are not large enough to convey carriages on board. The expense with a carriage ought not to exceed that of posting, including the passenger’s fare. The steamers are liable to be arrested by too much water in the river, in which case there is not room for the vessel to pass under the bridges, as well as by too little, and to be delayed by fogs. The post road is good and picturesque.

Diligences run daily to and fro, but take 16 hours, double the time of the steamer. The distance by the river is about 100 m. (35 lieux).

Central France. i?. 106 . — The Saone — Macon.

£87

The post road runs along the rt. side of the Sadne, sometimes close to it, at others out of sight of it, but so little removed from it that the course by water or land may, without inconvenience, be described together. *

Rt. immediately below Chalons is the mouth of the Canal du Centre , and a basin or dock (see p. 386.) for barges entering or quitting it.

The banks of the Sadne are at first tame, but improve as you approach Lyons.

Rt.f Tournus (Inns: Sauvage; LI. del’ Europe: both tolerable), a town of 5,311 inhab., possessing a wooden bridge of 5 arches over the Sadne. Its Church , formerly attached to a venerable abbey, now destroyed, is a very plain edifice, in the Romanesque style, but interesting to. the student for its architecture and antiquity. It is surmounted by a central tower, flanked with Corinthian pilasters at the angles, and has 2 other towers at the W. end. Its nave, preceded by a narthex or vestibule supported on 2 rows of short thick pillars without capitals, is probably of the 10th cen- tury. The nave is roofed with a series of cradle vaults, placed trans- versely, separated by cross arches, so as to divide it into compartments.

In the Place de l’LIdtel de Ville is a granite column, reputed an antique.

The charming painter Greuze was a native of Tournus : the house where he was born is marked by an inscrip- tion : he died at Paris, 1805.

L. Fleurville, a bridge over the Saone.

Post Road. — 18 Sennecy. First relay

from CfiMons.

From some of the eminences surmounted by the road, towards the East, you see the chain of the Jura, and, in favourable wea- ther, the white snow of Mont Wane, which may at first easily be mistaken for a cloud, distant as the crow flies about 100 miles.

t There is a pretty view of the winding Saone and the town of Tournus from a hill at a short distance from 10 Tournus.

L. St. Albin J has a curious, early pointed Gothic church; the windows lancet. The costume of the villagers is picturesque.

Near the river vineyards cover the slopes, which are a prolongation of the distant range of the hills of Charolois.

Rt. Macon. § — Inns: Le Sauvage, from which there is a good view of the river; tolerably gcod : - — H. de 1’ Europe. Macon was heretofore the capital of the country of the Macon- nois, and ruled by its own sovereigns from the time of Louis le Debonnaire until it passed to the house of Bur- gundy. The country was often settled as an appanage upon the younger branches of the family. The present population of the town, which is not flourishing, is 11,994: it is chef lieu of the Dept. Saone et Loire. The conjoint devastations of the Hugue- nots, who exercised the greatest cruel- ties and atrocities here, and of the Revolutionists, have nearly denuded Macon of all its ancient religious structures ; hence the necessity of erecting a new church, which, until recently, was an unheard-of event in France. The towers of the cathedral are standing, but mutilated, together with a very small portion of the body of the building, now turned into a blacksmith’s forge. The river is crossed by a bridge of thirteen arches. From the bridge, but still better from a little esplanade planted with poplar trees beyond it, a view of Mont Blanc may be obtained. In the neighbourhood of Macon are many very fine prospects of the ranges of the hills of the Bourbonnois and Charolois, the latter being a continu- ation of the Cote d’Or.

Macon is thus mentioned by Caesar,

“ Tullium Ciceronem Matiscone, rei frumentariae cau§a, collocat.” It is the birth-place of the distinguished living poet and deputy M. Alphonse de Lamartine.

t Post Road — 16 St. Albin.

§ 14 Macon.

s 2

388 Route 106. — The Saone

Macon is the centre of a great trade in the wine grown in itsarrondissement, though at some distance from the town itself, and from our road ; at the foot of the hills on the W. The best sorts are the growths of Thorins, and Mou- lin a Vent, which are red, and the Pouilly, a white wine. Romaneche, situated in the midst of this wine dis- trict, 12 m. from Macon, possesses an important mine of manganese, which gives activity to many manufactures.

15 m. N. W. of Macon is Cluny , once famous for its ancient and wealthy abbey , of the order of St. Benedict, which, before the Revolution, had 600 religious houses dependant upon it, and enjoyed a revenue of 300,000 fr. a year. It was so utterly destroyed in 1789, that of its noble Gothic church, which had five aisles and double tran- septs, only the two towers remain, with some fragment of wall, and a chapel of the 15th eentury. The town which has a population of 4,152, and carries on some manufac- tures, is built on the site and with the materials of the abbatial buildings, The cloisters form a sort of public square, and a fragment of the Abbot’s Palace is converted into a private dwelling.

The country on the 1. bank of the Saone formed part of the ancient di- visions of La Bresse and Dombes ; its inhabitants are a primitive race, by no means enlightened.

The banks of the Saone acquire some elevation and picturesqueness below Macon ; the Jura mountains being all along a feature in the view to the E. : the nearer hills studded with white chateaux and villages. The Chateau de Corielles, flanked by 4 round towers, stands at some distance off the road to the W.

Rt. At St. Romain, a suspension bridge.

L. Toissey, an ancient town of the principality Des Dombes, partly hid by poplars and willows.

Rt. Belleville.* A bridge.

Post Rond. — 13 Pontaneveaux.

11 La Croissee.

— Chalons to Lyons . Sect. V.

About 13 m. to theW. is Beaujeu, capital of the province of Beaujolais, in the midst of a district famed for its wines.

L. Montmerle, a village situated below a considerable island, has a suspension bridge : other bridges are thrown across at Flechere, Beaure- gard, and at Frans, opposite to

Rt. Villefranche.f “ A small town founded in the 12th century by Humbert IV., Count of the Beaujo- lais. It was the custom in the middle ages, when a feudal lord set up a new town, that he would endeavour to at- tract settlers by granting them advan- tageous privileges and franchises ; and hence there are many Ville Franches in France, and Freyburgs in Ger- many, all founded in eras when it be- gan to he needful to conciliate public opinion. Humbert did his best to draw custom. He granted to all who would become his burgesses, that the land should be let to them at 3 deniers per toise, and that they might beat their wives as much as they chose without fear or penalty, provided death did not ensue. “The place has now rather a cheerful aspect, whatever it may have been in the age when the privilege was in vigour. The church has been a beautiful, though small, specimen of the florid Gothic.” — F. P.

There is a bridge at St Bernard.

Rt. Anse is the port of Ville- franche.

L. Trevoux , is an ancient town of 2,239 inhah., on the slope of a con- cave hill, surmounted by the ruins of its old castle. It possesses now no interest beyond that connected with the recollection of its having once been capital of the principality of Dombes, and the place where the Jesuits compiled and printed the very learned works, called the “ Journal de Trevoux,” 1701, and“ Dictionnaire de Trevoux,” 1704, a sort of Ency-

f 14 Villefranche. Here the road turns away from the river, avoiding its windings, and following a nearly straight line, by

18 I.imonest to

11 Lyons. (Route 105.)

Central France. B. 106. — Chalons to Lyons . i?. 107. 3S9

elopaedia. Their house remains, marked by the shield of arms of the order of St. Ignatius.

Dombes was acknowledged as an independent state by the French kings (except Francis I.), from Philippe Auguste down to Louis XIV., owing them only allegiance and aids of men in case of war. It had a parliament of its own, which met at Trevoux, and the right of striking money dorvn to 1762. It is supposed to have been the Roman Triviae, near which Sep- timus Severus beat the army of his rival, Albinus, and thus secured the empire for himself.

Through pretty scenery, between banks thickly scattered with habita- tions, the Saone, considerably con- tracted in width, passes under the richly-wooded heights called Mont d’Or, rising 1,000 ft. above the river, on the rt., by Belle Isle.

L. Neuville, and its suspension fjridge, and

Rt. Couson, opposite to

L. La Roche Taillee, so called from the cutting which Agrippa caused to be made through it, to allow the pas- sage of one of the great Roman high- ways.

Lower down is Vile Barbe, the fa- vourite retreat of Charlemagne, linked to either bank by a suspension bridge. (See p. 380.)

The valley of Rochecorbon, with its wood and fountain of Roset , was a favourite haunt of Rousseau.

L. La Tour de la Belle Allemande (described p. 376. ), and

Rt. Pierre Seise. See p. 375.

The entrance to Lyons has been compared to the “ approach to Bristol under the slopes of Durdham, and King’s Down, and the rocks of the Hot Wells; but the river Saone is larger, and the cliffs not so high.”

Lyons, in R. 1Q5. p. 370,

ROUTE 107.

PARIS TO CHALONS SUR SAONE, BY AUXERRE AND AUTUN.

470 kilom. = 291 Eng. m., or 5\ m. longer than R. 106.

The road is the same as Route 106. as far as

258 Saulieu, p. 386.

10 “ Pierre Ecrite, so called from an inscribed stone just beyond the village : that is to say, the stone re- mains, but the inscription is invisible. Antiquaries, however, maintain that it was in the Celtic language. This is the highest land between Paris and Lyons, and it is curious to observe the effect produced by this elevation, and its corresponding alteration of character, upon the aspect of the country. It might be Yorkshire. Trees and hedge-rows, so rare in other parts of France, are here uni- versal ; oak, hawthorn, and briar, not only skirting the road, but dividing the fields.” — F. P.

1 1 Chissey. “ The road continues descending, winding round by a spe- cies of corniche, from which the views are often extended.

21 Autun. — Inns: la Poste; — La Cloche. “ Let no one approach Au- tun in September ; a fair is then held which lasts the whole month ; the inns are then intolerable, and the town one scene of bustle and confusion.” — W. M. The first view of this in- teresting city is very pleasing. It is supposed to have been the ancient Bi- bracte, capital of the iEdui, mentioned by Caesar as “oppidum maxima? auc- toritatis apud eos,” but its name was changed, in the time of Augustus, into Augustodunum, modernised into Autun. Tacitus describes its impor- tance as a fortress and great city, and states that the most illustrious of the youth of Gaul were educated here. “Autun, now a town of 10,000 inhab,, stands at the foot of a range of well-wooded hills. The Roman ruins, hoary grey, situated low down s 3

390

Route 1 07. — Autun,

Sect. V.

near the river, distinguish themselves by their fine and peculiar forms. Amongst the masses of buildings, crowned by the cathedral and its lofty spire, is the Temple of Janus, as it is called, though without any sufficient authority, a square building, of which 3 sides are standing. It is denuded of ornaments, but imposing, from its proportions and its solidity. It pro- bably dates from the time of the Lower Empire. The two Roman Gates are beautiful and very perfect. They are both nearly on the same plan; double arches below, and ranges of smaller arches above, ornamented with pilar ters. The Porte d' Arroux

is Corinthian, the Porte Saint Andre , Ionic. They are evidently of the Lower Empire, and the purist will find fault with the details ; but if you will put away criticism, and enjoy the objects, the effect is most satisfactory. Nothing can be more charming than the appearance of the delicately-cut arches, coming off against the blue sky.” — F. P. The Roman walls of Augustodunum, within which the present city has shrunk, are very massy ; and large fragments still exist.

Just without Autun, upon the Dijon road, is a singular pyramid of ma- sonry, called the Pierre de Couars. It is about 50 feet in height, and was probably originally much more lofty. The facing is entirely destroyed. It is quite solid, and is probably sepul- chral ; antiquaries suppose it to be the tomb of Divictiacus (?).

Autun had a noble amphitheatre. The ruins are now encircled by other buildings, but the general site of the Roman city is a perfect mine of anti- quities. Many were collected by the late M. Jovet, whose house covers a mosaic, representing the Combat be- tween Bellerophon and the Chima?ra.

“ In M. Jovet’s collection is another remarkable relic of a different era : it is a fragment of the tomb of the wicked Brunehault, who was buried at the abbey of St. Martin, a most

curious structure, of which the last fragment has been razed to the ground.”

“ The Cathedral of St. Lazare ex- hibits a great and interesting variety in its style of architecture. The lofty spire, covered with foliaged crockets, is a masterpiece of Gothic : so, also, is the rood-lofc, composed of delicate and elaborate filagree work. But a large proportion of the building is in the Romanesque style, and exhibiting the closest imitation of Roman art.” — F. P. The elegant flamboyant deco- rations of the chapels in the nave, and especially the door of the sacristy, a charming bas-relief of Christ and the Magdalene, in the chapel which serves as baptistery, the painted glass in the Chapelle St Nazare, representing the genealogy of the Virgin, deserve also particular attention.

In all parts of the city, you may see the disjointed and lamentable fragments of the ancient edifices by which Autun was once adorned. There is a good collection of the geology of the district in the Petit Seminaire, of which the Abbe Lan- driot is superior.

St. Symphorien suffered martyrdom here for refusing to join a procession in honor of Cybele.

Autun, it will be remembered, was the see of Bishop Talleyrand.

Not far from Autun are the two valuable coal basins of Epinac (to the N. ) and of Creuzot, which are worked by pits, in some cases more than 65 Oft. deep, and employ about 1,900 work- men. Mineral oil for lighting the mines is obtained by a distillation from the bituminous schists accompanying the coal. The Romans used these very schists to line the walls of their houses at Autun.

At Creuzot are extensive iron fur- naces, but the iron ore requires to be brought from a distance. From Epinac (where are considerable glass works for making wine bottles), the coal is transported on a tramway tp the Canal de Bourgogne, ^nd thence,

Central France. Route 109 . — Moulins to Clermont. 391

by water, to Paris and Alsace. The Canal du Centre traverses the coal field of Creuzot (see p. 386.).

“Soon after quitting Autun, you enter the forest of Morvan. (p. 385). The road ascends, but with frequent dips. It is richly wooded, and some of the little glens are lovely. The sides of the road are clad with alder and beech, with here and there a fine oak tree lifting up his head above his compeers. The rocks show between and amongst the verdure, and you see and hear the rushing of the little rills, dashing by or in the road.”

17 St. Emiland. “Beyond St. Emiland you begin to find yourself in another climate. Vines re-appear in great luxuriance, and, unlike other parts of France, they are often trained in festoons and arcades; a mode equally disadvantageous to the pro- duce, and advantageous to the beauty of the scenery.” — F. P.

14 St. Leger.

8 Bourgneuf.

12 Chalons sur Saone. (See Route 106. p. 386.)

ROUTE 109.

MOULINS TO CLERMONT AND LE PUT.

VOLCANOES OF AUVERGNE.

To Clermont 95 kilom. = 59 Eng. m. Malleposte in 6 hours, daily to Clermont, and in 36 to Montpellier.

Clermont to La Puy 122 kilom. = 75 Eng. m. Diligences daily.

Moulins is described in R. 105. This road contrasts agreeably with the monotonous dulness of that from Paris to Lyons, and is interesting from the natural beauties and rich cultivation of the country which it traverses ; but more than all, for the phenomena of the extinct volcanic mountains of Auvergne, through the midst of which it passes. It pro- ceeds nearly due S. from Moulins, up the valley-plain of the Allier, the chief tributary of the Loire, first

crossing by a bridge to its 1. bank. The upper part of this valley above Aigueperse was anciently called La Limagne, and is believed to have been once a lake basin, in which were deposited the freshwater marls, sands, &c. which now contributes so much to its fertility.

18 Chatel Neuve, or de Neuvre. The mountains of Forez, which divide the waters of the Allier from those of the Loire, are seen on the E.

12 St. Pou^ain. — Inn: Poste. A town of 4,000 inhab. on the Sioule. An Ecce Homo, carved in the stone, in the church here, is praised.

The road, leaving the Allier on the 1. at St Pour^ain, ascends the vale of the Sioule. It is a flat and uninter- esting stage to

16 Mayet d’Ecole.

8 Gannat. There is a road hence to the Baths of Vichy (R. 105.). Our route is shaded by luxuriant walnut avenues.

The hill rising on the 1. of the road, about 1 m. N. E. of Aigue- perse, is called La Butte de Mont- pensier, and is composed of yellow marly limestones. There is a fine | view from its top. Between it and 1 the road is a hole which exhales car- bonic acid nearly pure, so that small animals which come to drink from the pool of water which often collects at the bottom are apt to be suffocated. The common people, attributing this to the water, called it La Fontaine empoisonnee.

9 Aigueperse (Inn, Poste, comfort- able) is the first town in the Dept. Puy de Dome, and is celebrated as the birth-place of the Chancellor d’Agues- seau, born at theChateaude la Roche: his statue may be seen in the Hotel de VUle. Its name is derived from “ acqua sparsa,” from the streams around it. The choir of the principal church, attached to an ugly modern nave, deserves notice as a pure spe- cimen of the Gothic of the 13th cen- tury ; its lofty roof is sustained by long graceful columns. Here is a

s 4

392 Route 109. — Moulins to Clermont — Riom. Sect. V.

painting of the Nativity, attributed to Ghirlandajo , in a stiff style, (the figures said to be portraits of princes and lords of the Bourbonnais,) and a St. ^Sebastian (?), locked up. There is also a Sainte Chapelle here, founded, 1475, by Louis, Dauphin d’Au- vergne, inferior to one at Riom.

The Abbe Delille, author of “ Les Jardins,” was born here 1738.

“ O champs de la Limagne, 6 fortune sejour, J’ai revu les beaux lieux qui m’ont donne le jour.”

The hill of Chaptuzat, on the rt. of the road, is quarried for building stone ; the rock is an oolite. Above it, and on many other eminences throughout the Limagne, beds of a ter- tiary limestone occur, entirely formed of the cases of insects resembling the caddis-worm, or May-fly, incrusted by carbonate of lime and formed into a hard travertine, called calcaire a friganes, or indusial limestone. The cases, or tubes, are coated over with shells of Paludina, often to the number of 100 around one tube, and 10 or 12 tubes are packed within the space of a cubic inch. These insects must have inhabited the lake which once covered the valley of the Limagne.

Near Riom the country becomes interesting, and exhibits the charac- teristic features of the scenery of Auvergne, a rich vegetation and beau- tiful verdure, produced by the abun- dant irrigation ; a varied outline of country, with towns, castles, and vil- lages perched on the tops of emi- nences commanding the Limagne.

16 Riom (Inns: Colonne; Ecu de France) is a town of 12,500 inhab., the second in the Dept. Puy de Dome, in a cheerful situation, but built of dark lava from the quarries of Volvic, and paved with volcanic stones. It is encircled by boulevards planted with trees, in one part widening out into a platform called Pre- Madame, where a monument of granite has been raised to the memory of General D6saix.

The Sainte Chapelle, attached to the Palais de Justice, is, like that of Paris, a light and lofty lanthorn of stone, built 1382, the piers which support the roof forming the separa- tions between the windows. It has, however, suffered material injury from being divided horizontally, by a floor, into two stories : the lower one is converted into a law court (Cour Royale), and is stripped of its painted glass in order to throw a light upon the proceedings ; the upper one, turned into a record office, is filled with old musty deeds, so that its really beautiful stained windows can scarcely be seen.

St. Amable is a curious church, which will interest the architect and antiquary. The date of the nave, the oldest part, seems uncertain. The lower arches are Pointed, and rest on piers, having engaged pillars on three sides, but plain on the inner face ; above them runs a gallery of circular arches roofed with a demi-vault, which serves the purpose of a range of flying buttresses to support the roof of the central aisle. The little sculpture employed is very rude. The choir is in the Gothic style of the 13th century, the arches alter- nately pinched up and expanding- The W. front and cupola above the cross are tasteless additions of the 17th century.

About a mile from Riom, on the W., is the village of Mosac or Mosat ; whose church has been attributed to Pepin; but the only part which can be referred to the 8th or 9th centuries is the W. porch, now walled up. The nave, in the Romanesque style, seems to belong to the early part of the 12th century, and is remarkable for the beautifully executed capitals of its columns : the only windows are in the aisle. The choir and rest of the church are of the 1 5th century, and uninteresting. In the sacristy is pre- served a silver gilt shrine, in the shape of a sarcophagus, ornamented with enamels in the Romanesque style,

Auvergne, i?. 1 . 69 . — Moulins to Clermont — Clermont. 393

made in the middle of the 10th cen- tury. It contained the relics of Saints Calmidius and Numadia.

At Volvic, a few miles farther to the W. of Riom, are the vast quar- ries of lava which have furnished the stones for building that town and Clermont The lava current in which they are excavated has issued out of the extinct crater called Puy de la Nugere. They are partly subterra- nean, partly open to the sky ; they have been worked since the 13th cen- tury, and give employment to the whole neighbouring population. The stone is porous, resembling trachyte, and contains specular iron in its cells ; it is easily worked, and the bed fur- nishes blocks 20 ft. by 6 ft. in size. When first extracted, it is of a grey or slate colour, but darkens by ex- posure to the air : it is used for rude works of sculpture. The church of Volvic is ancient.

Volvic is built at the foot of the volcanic cone called Puy de la Ban- niere, on the lava current which has flowed from it, and appears to have crossed and covered that from Puy de la Nugere.

On an eminence near Volvic stands the very romantic ruined Castle of Tournoelle, in ancient times one of the strongest in Auvergne, so that it resisted 1 ong and stoutly a besieging army under GuyDampierreand Renauldde Forez, Archbishop of Lyons, in 1213, and again 1590, when it was defended against the forces of the League by Charles d’Apchon. The remains are accessible by a steep path, and part of them are tolerably perfect : the ou- bliettes, or dungeon entered only by a small hole from above, still exist under the round tower.

There is a foot-path or horse road direct from Volvic to Clermont.

About a mile before entering Cler- mont, the suburb of Montferrand, a cluster of narrow streets conspicu- ously seated on a limestone eminence, crowned by an old church dedicated to Notre Dame de Prosperite, is pass-

ed. It was anciently an independent town and fortress, and was called Montferrand le Fort. It was sur- prised and pillaged by the English, under Perrot the Bearnais, 1388. Froissart, in his Chronicles, recounts at length the story of its capture.

An avenue of trees, nearly a mile long, leads into

15 Clermont, or Clermont Fer- rand. — Inns : H. de l’Ecu, kept by

M. Dessat ; very good ; — H. del’Eu- rope ;^-H. de la Paix (Boyers): all dirty, but good cuisine.

Clermont, once capital of Lower Auvergne, now of the Dept. Puy de Dome, is a cheerful town, which, in consequence of recent improve- ments, has lost the gloomy character which once distinguished it, its houses, built of dull grey lava, being now whitewashed. Its principal interest is derived from its situation on a hill, composed chiefly of volcanic tuff, in the fertile Limagne, in the midst of a mountainous country, at the foot of that extraordinary range of extinct volcanoes which rear their conic or crater-shaped forms around, surmounted by the mountain of the Puy (i. e. pic) de Dome, whence the department is named, which, though apparently overhanging Clermont, is nearly 5 m. distant. The population amounts to 32,427, including the suburbs.

On the outskirts of the town, nearly all round its circuit, except on the

N. W., runs a line of boulevards, or “ places,” the chief of which are the Place de Jaude , a wide oblong dusty space on which fairs are held, sur- rounded by houses ; the Place de Taureau, on which a monument has been raised to Gen. D^saix, a native of Clermont ; and the Place Delille , by which the Paris road enters the town, named after the poet, who wqs also an Auvergnat.

Clermont is destitute of fine public buildings : the principal edifice is the Cathedral , externally an irregular pile of dark lugubrious hue, from the s 5

394

Route 109. — Clermont.

Sect. V.

black lava of Volvic, of which it is built ; it suffered serious injury from the phrenzy of the Revolution, being stripped of its ornaments and monu- ments, and condemned by the mob to be levelled with the ground, but was saved by the exertions of a citizen and magistrate, M.Verdier Latour, under the pretext that it would be useful to hold popular meetings in. It is, not- withstanding, an interesting example of the mature pointed Gothic, begun 1248, and carried on till 1265, by the architect Jean Deschamps (J. de Campis), but never completed. The interior, therefore, is all of a piece, presenting one harmonious whole, re- markable for its lightness and lofti- ness, the vaulted roof (of tufa) being more than 100 ft. above the pavement. There are fine rose windows in the transepts. The painted glass is very beautiful ; that in the choir is of the age of St. Louis (13tli century), and displays his arms quartered with those of Spain : the glass in the large

window of the nave is of the 15th and 1 6th centuries, and inferior ; it has, besides, suffered from a hailstorm in 1835.

In one of the side chapels of the choir is an ancient sarcophagus of white marble, adorned with sculptures well executed.

The N. portal suffered least at the Revolution, is very richly adorned with sculptures, and deserves notice.

From the top of the tower the stranger may survey to advantage the town, and the volcanic mountains, the valley of the Limagne, and the plateau of Gergovia, the scene of Cajsar’s discomfiture. (See p. 399. )

The most ancient and interesting church, in an architectural point of view, is Notre Dame du Port , a Ro- manesque edifice of the 10th or 11th century, judging from the evidence of style, but said to date from 870, and perhaps portions of the very cu- rious crypt may be of that age. It is encrusted externally with rude mo- saics. The tower above the W. door

is modern (1823), but in tolerable taste : the S. doorway is surmounted by curious bas-reliefs, much muti- lated, and partly hidden behind wood- work; yet Christ, between two six- winged cherubims, and the Adora- tion of the Magi, and the Baptism of Christ, may be distinguished below. The interior possesses some modern painted glass by a native artist, M. Thevenot, and in the crypt is a black image of the Virgin, said to have been found at the bottom of the well, which is supposed to work miracles, and is resorted to by pilgrims on the 15th May.

In the N. E. corner of the town, not far from the last-named church, is the Place Del ill e, in the midst of which has been placed a fountain of elegant design in the style of the Re- naissance, with some mixture of Go- thic, executed 1515, for the Bishop Jacques d’Amboise. In the same quarter, on the 1. of the road to Mont- ferrand is the Cimetiere de la Ville ; in whose chapel a curious antique sar- cophagus, richly sculptured, has been converted into an altar.

In the Faubourg St. Alyre, to the N.W. of Clermont, and at the foot of the eminence on which it is built, rises a remarkable calcareous spring, called Fontaine petrifiante, issuing out of a volcanic peperino resting upon granite. It resembles that of Matlock, except that its deposits are more copious and quickly formed, from the larger quantity of calcareous matter suspended by the carbonic acid with which it is impregnated. It has de- posited in the course of ages a mass of travertine or limestone, 240 ft. long, 16 ft. high, and 12 ft. wide at its termination. It has formed over the rivulet a sort of natural bridge, Pont de Pierre, which is in fact nothing more than a huge stalactite, while a second bridge is in progress, and gradually increasing. So abundant is the quantity of lime held in solution in the water, that the pipes and troughs through which it passes would be

395

Auvergne. Route 109 . — Clermont — Pay de Pome .

choked up with stone, were they not cleared out every 2 or 3 months. By breaking the fall of a jet of the water, and allowing its spray to descend upon any articles subjected to it, such as bunches of grapes, baskets, nests, eggs, hedgehogs, & c., they become encrust- ed with the calcareous sediment, or petrified, as it is vulgarly called ; and in this way even very fine casts are obtained from medals, &c.

The fountain and bridge are situ- ated in a garden, within which is a bathing-house supplied from its waters.

The Musee, or Etablissement Scien- tifique, a building situated on the S. side of the town within the ill-kept but beautifully-situated botanic gar- den, contains — 1 a collection of Na- tural History , particularly rich in the mineral products of Auvergne, which may be studied with advantage by the geological traveller previous to tra- velling through the country, as the specimens are arranged topographi- cally. 2. Tne Public Library of 15,000 vols., including some curious ancient MSS., and a folio bible of the 12th century, illuminated with vignettes.

Here is a statue of Pascal (b, 1623), and a bust of Delille, both Auver- gnats.

In a corner of the Jardin Bota- nique, a number of antiquities, in- scriptions, fragments of columns, &c., and a head in relief of the Gallic Mercury (?), dug up in the vicinity, have been deposited here, but are very little cared for, being exposed to the weather in the open air.

The terraced walks called Place du Taureau and Place de la Poterne command fine views of the surround- ing mountains.

Clermont has been the seat of se- veral ecclesiastical Councils : the most remarkable was that held in 1095, which may be said to have lighted the spark of the crusades in Europe, the train having been laid by Peter the Hermit. It was convoked by Pope Urban II,, who presided in person

over the vast assembly at the head of his cardinals, of 13 archbishops, and 20 5 bishops. The place of meeting is supposed to have been an open space to the rear of the church of Notre Dame du Port. Here, from a throne raised in the midst, around which were grouped the tents of tens of thousands of enthusiastic hearers, the pope pronounced that eloquent discourse, which melted all to tears, and was followed by the universal shout of “ Diex le volt ” ( Dieu le veut); when the cloaks of red cloth worn by the noble bystanders were torn into shreds, to form the badge of the cross, then first adopted and laid on the breast of all who took the vow,

Clermont is supposed to be the an- cient Augustonemetum.

Conveyances. — Mallepostes to Paris by Moulins ; to Montpellier, by St, Flour, St. Chely, Mnrvejols, and Lodeve,

Diligences daily to Paris, by Mou- lins ; to Lyons ; to Le Puy and St. Etienne; to Montpellier, to Aurillac, to Alby and Toulouse, to Tulle, Limo- ges, and Bordeaux.

Several persons in the town let for hire, at a moderate rate, small car- riages and saddle-horses, by aid of which numerous interesting excur- sions may be made in the

Environs, the beauties of which can be reached only by passing over a dreary intervening space of dusty road between high walls. It is not therefore advisable to make these ex- cursions on foot.

The ascent of the Puy de Dome, the highest mountain in the neighbour- hood, 4,846 ft. above the sea level, is very interesting on account of the in- sight it affords into the geological phenomena of the district. It may be performed in the following manner : — you may hire a char-a-banc at Cler- mont for 8 or 10 fr. to go and return. No carriage can advance farther than to the foot of the cone, the rest of the ascent must be performed on foot ; it s 6

396

Sect. V.

Route 109 Pay de Dome.

is practicable on horseback if the beast be sure of foot : the distance is about 6 m. A steep, but well engineered road, commencing at the barrier, passing at first over black basalt, and afterwards over the more modern lava, scoriae, and calcined stones, which have issued from the Puy de Pariou, leads, in about an hour and to the hamlet and cabaret of la Barraque, where the road divides, the 1. hand branch leading to the Puy de Dome and Mont Dore, the rt. hand to the Puy de Pariou and Pont Gibaud, and passing on the 1. the ruined Castle of Montrodeix. A guide may be hired at la Barraque, and the carriage may proceed nearly to the base of the Dome, beyond which is a very steep ascent, partly over coarse grass, mixed with bilberry bushes, partly over the bare crumbling rock of which the mountain is composed ; a variety of trachyte, called Domite by the French geologists, because peculiar to this locality. It is so porous, that it re- tains no water on its surface, and the mountain in consequence does not possess a single spring. The summit is most easily accessible from the S., where a sort of zigzag path has been carried up its side. The Puy (pic) de Dome rises to a height of 1,600 ft. above the table land around ; it is the largest in mass, and the most central of the group of volcanoes of Clermont. Viewed from the W. only has it the form of a dome, but its name is said to come from dumum, the thickets which once covered its sides. From the top, the eye surveys the singular range of igneous mountains, craters, domes, lava currents (called cheires in the dialect of the country), and heaps of scoriae, the produce of volcanoes, which, though extinct within the period of all human tradition, were once as active as A£tna or Vesuvius, and con- verted the surrounding district into the Phlegraean Fields of France. In many instances the vast lava currents, flowing across the country for miles, may be traced up to the funnel-shaped

craters which poured them forth. The fertile Limagne lies expanded to view, traversed by the winding Allier. On the S.W. rises the rival group of vol- canoes of the Monts Dore ; the re- mainder of the panorama is somewhat uninteresting over a monotonous coun- try. The range of hills of the Monts Dome rises from a granitic platform, and stretches “ 18 m. in length by 2 in breadth. They are usually truncated at the summit, where the crater is often preserved entire, the lava having issued from the base of the hill ; but frequently the crater is broken down on one side, where the lava has flowed out. Had these cones of loose sand and ashes been in existence previous to the Deluge, they must have been swept away, or greatly altered, by the power of a current of water. Had these volcanoes, again, been in activity in the time of Caesar, he would scarcely have failed to observe them when encamped on the neighbouring plateau of Gergovia (p. 399.), or to have mentioned them in his Com- mentaries.” — Lyell's Geology. See Scrope and Daubeny on Volcanoes.

The experiments instituted by the philosopher B. Paschal, to determine the weight or pressure of the atmo- sphere, were made on the Puy de Dome within view of his native town.

A chapel, dedicated to St. Barnabe, formerly stood on the summit; and the blocks of basalt, brought from a dis- tance to build it, still strew the moun- tain side.

In descending from the summit, every one should visit the crater called the Hen's Nest , Nid de la Poule , at the base of the Petit Puy de Dome, a regular bowl-shaped hollow, 294 feet deep, and nearly the same in dia- meter.

Still further to the N., the Puy de Pariou deserves to be ascended, be- cause it is one of the most beautifully regular and perfect volcanic cones and craters existing in Auvergne. The sides of this bowl-shaped hollow are composed of scoriae and pozzolana,

Auvergne.

397

JR. 109 . — Volcanoes of Auvergne.

thrown up so regularly from below, that they taper upwards into a narrow ridge so little degraded by time or by the weather, that in many places it is barely wide enough for one person to walk along it. The crater is 300 ft. deep, and 3,000 in circumference, measured along the brim of the bowl. It has the figure of an inverted cone.

« It is clothed to the bottom with grass ; and it is a somewhat singular spectacle to see a herd of cattle quietly grazing above the orifice whence such furious explosions once broke forth. Their foot tracks, round the shelving side of the basin, in steps rising one above the other, like the seats of an amphitheatre, make the excessive re- gularity of its circular basin more re- markable.” — Scrope.

The lava from this crater flowed down in one undivided stream, brist- ling and rugged on its surface, like that of a river blocked up by floating masses of ice. After descending as far as la Barraque it encountered a small knoll of granite. The lava has accu- mulated against this impediment into a long and elevated ridge, “ which still bears the appearance of a huge wave about to break over the seemingly insignificant obstacle ; but an easier issue offered itself in two lateral valleys.” The rt. hand branch “ en- tered* the valley of Villar, a steep and sinuous gorge, which it threaded, ex- actly in the manner of a watery torrent, turning all the projecting rocks, dash- ing in cascades through the narrowest parts, and widening its current where the space permitted, till, on reaching the Limagne, it stopped at a spot called Fontmore, where its termination constitutes a rock, 50 feet high, still quarried for building-stone. From the base of this rock gushes a plenti- ful spring, the waters of which still find their way from Villar, beneath the lava which usurped their ancient chan- nel.” — Scrope.

The left-hand branch “ plunged down a steep bank into the valley of Gresinier, replacing the rivulet which

flowed there with a black and shagged torrent of lava ; entered the limits of the Limagne at the village of Durtol, and, following the course of the stream, did not stop till it reached the site of the village of Nohanent. Here, as at Fontmore, an abundant spring bursts forth from the extremity of the lava current. The springs of the valley of Durtol find a passage beneath the lava concealed among the scoriae, which always form the lowest part of a bed of lava, and flow on in these sub- terranean channels, till they burst forth at the limits of the lava, in the same manner that the Arveiron and other Swiss rivers issue from beneath, under the termination of a glacier. Above Nohanent, consequently, is seen the anomaly of a valley without any visible stream ; and the inhabitants of Durtol are condemned, in seasons of drought, to the strange necessity of seeking at Nohanent, a distance of 2 m., the water which flows below their own houses. A similar pheno- menon is common throughout Au- vergne, wherever a current of recent lava has occupied the bed of a moun- tain rivulet not sufficiently copious or violent to undermine the lava above* or open a new side channel through its former bank.” — P. Scrope.

“ A little to the N.W. of the Puy de Pariou is the Puy de Cliersou, whose * figure is most precisely that of a bell,’ and which is curious from the numerous perforations made in it for the purpose of obtaining trachyte for sarcophagi.” — T. J. T.

Instead of returning from the Puy de Dome by la Barraque and the high road, you may strike down into the Val de Fontanat to Boyat, a poor and filthily dirty village, 8 m. from Cler- mont, which has twice been nearly swept away by inundations of the tor- rent which flows past it. It is built on one of the branches of the lava current which has issued from the Puy de Gravenoire. The torrent, flowing through the valley, has cut through the bed of basaltic lava to a depth of

393

Sect. V.

Route 109. — Auvergne — - Pontgibaud.

65 feet, exposing, at the bottom, a sort of grotto, out of which gush numerous copious springs, some of which, con- ducted in an aqueduct to Clermont, supply the town with fresh water. There are many other sources higher up the valley, issuing out at intervals from the rocky sides. The scenery of the vale of Royat is overpraised by the French ; but a fine view is gained of the Puy de Dome from some part Of it. The church is remarkable for its antiquity (anterior to the 11th cen- tury) : it has a curious crypt sup- ported by low columns, and a spring rises in the midst of it ; it is in a very dilapidated state.

The Puy de Gravenoire is composed of scoriae and pozzolana; the latter is used in the country to make mortar, and is commonly called “ gravier noire,” whence the name of this hill.

“ The conical basaltic summit of the Puy de Girou, 3 or 4 m. to the S. of Clermont, is an excellent point for obtaining an extensive view over a considerable portion of Auvergne.” — T. J. T.

At Pontgihaud, 1 3 m. from Cler- mont, on the road to Limoges, may be seen an old feudal castle of the 14th century, which once belonged to the family Lafayette, and was visited by Montaigne ; and the smelting- houses, where the argentiferous lead from mines in this neighbourhood is refined and separated. The village and castle stand on a lava current, which has issued from the base of the very perfect and regularly-conical crater, called Puy de Come. The course of this current deserves observ- ation : descending the granite slope, it has covered the ground on which Pontgibaud now stands; then, pouring in a broad sheet down a steep granite hill into the valley of the Sioule, it has usurped the ancient bed of that river for more than a mile, and cross- ing the more ancient stream of Lou- ehadiere, near Pichadoire, terminates there. The river has, in consequence, worked out for itself a fresh bed be-

tween the lava and the granite of its W. bank, and in one place has laid bare a singular basaltic colonnade, formed of jointed pillars, partly verti- cal, partly twisted. “ In the ravine between the smelting house and the castle is a small isolated knob of granite which separates the two great lava currents of Louchadiere and Come. The former continues a short way down the rt. bank of the river, and then crosses it.” — T. J. T.

At some little distance to the N. W. of Pontgibaud are the ruins of the Chartreuse de Port Sainte Marie , while in an opposite direction, a little to the S., near the margin of the lava cur^- rent, from the Puy de Come, is the Fontaine d' Oule, a grotto whence issues a streamlet which is partly frozen in the hottest weather of summer ; but in winter preserves a temperature considerably higher than that of the outer air. “ Several of the more interesting Puys are easily ac- cessible from the road between Cler- mont and Pont Gibaud ; and of these two may be particularly specified, viz. the Puy du Grand Sarcouy, 3,799 ft. above the sea level, composed of domite, of a striking, flattened hemi- spherical form, and having on its S. E. side a large artificial excavation, about 70 ft. long, 30 wide, and 35 high, from which the trachyte was quarried in ancient times for sarco- phagi ; and the conical Puyde Chopine , 3,910 ft. above the sea, of a singularly complicated and confused geological structure, and composed chiefly of domite, granite, and basalt : the view from it is very fine.” — T. J. T.

■■ The Puy de Louchadiere may be visited from Pont Gibaud by the cross-road leading to Volvic.

The excursion to the volcanoes and baths of Mont Dore is described in R. 110.

The Puy de la Poix, about 3 m. from Clermont on the Lyons road, is mentioned in R. 112.

The Limagne, or Valley of the Allier, is far more interesting above

Auvergne. Route 109 . — Clermont to Le Puy—G erg ovia. 399

Clermont, on the way to Le Puy, than below it. Here it is truly a luxu- riant garden, teeming with the most varied productions.

Soon after quitting Clermont, by the road to Issoire, we skirt a lava current from the mountain Grave- noire, called Plateau de Beaumont, a most characteristic specimen of a lava stream, which, although partly covered with vines, exhibits, even to the un- scientific eye, in a manner not to be mistaken, compact and porous lava, ashes (scoriae), and volcanic dust (pozzolana). Beyond rises the sin- gular peak of Monlrognon , a basaltic dyke bursting through fresh water strata, crowned by an old castle , built by the 1st dauphin of Auvergne (not by Caesar), and demolished, like so many other feudal fortresses, by the Cardinal Richelieu. The basaltic prisms on which it is founded are the most regular which occur in this dis- trict. Our road next passes, within a short distance on the rt., the Hill of Gergovia (4^ m. from Clermont), memorable as the site of the chief cityofthe Arverni \ whence Auvergne), so nobly defended by the Gauls and their chief, Vercingetorix, against Caesar, who was more seriously worsted here than in any other of his numerous campaigns, having run great risk of being made prisoner, and having left his sword in the enemy’s hands. The hill of Gergovia is as interesting for its geology as for its history : it is a table-land, composed of a base of fresh water marls, capped by a sheet of basalt, surrounded by steep escarpments, absolutely inaccessible on the N. and W., while on the S. and E. it pre- sents a slope, in the form of steps, oc- casioned by the horizontal strata of rock composing it. At the base of the eminence flows a small stream, the Auzun, whence the Gaulish gar- rison are supposed to have drawn water, there being no springs upon t he pla'eau itself ; and one of Caesar’s first objects was to cut them off’ from this supply. The hill called La Roche

Blanche, surmounted by a tower of the middle ages, though called Tour du Caesar, is conjectured to be the Gaulish post seized by two Roman Legions in order to effect that object. Caesar’s camp is supposed to have been formed on a detached and lower eminence, called Le Crest. The only traces of human habitation on the top of the table-land of Gergovia are some scanty foundations of walls. Some Roman coins and Gaulish axes of flint, found from time to time, and a rampart or agger of loose stones, which may be traced near the margin of the plateau. In the ravine above the village of Merdogne, a section of the strata composing the hill is ex- hibited, consisting of beds of white and greenish marls, nearly 300 ft. thick, intersected by a basaltic dyke, which has greatly altered the marl in contact with it. In the flanks of this hill also are found extensive deposits of the limestone formed of the cases of insects mentioned before (p.392.).

The road to Le Puy, unlike the mo- notonous chaussees of most other parts of France, winds and undulates be- tween and over varied heights, some- times crossing a lava current or basal- tic dyke, and is generally shaded from the sun by luxuriant walnut trees. Scarcely an eminence but possesses some interest, either from its volcanic origin, or from its picturesquely- placed castle in ruins, or village, which, in this district, is almost invariably perched on the hill-top. The coun- try is very populous as well as fertile, and intersected by numerous roads.

“ The Puy de Mar man, a little to the N. of Vayre, is celebrated among mineralogists for the beautiful crys- tallized specimens of mezotype con- tained in the volcanic tuff arid basalt of which it is composed. In the same neighbourhood interesting fragments of charred wood, whose bark has been converted into mezotype, are met with in the tufa of the Puy de la Pignette, situated a little to the N. of Mouton,” — T. J : T.

After passing the populous village

400

Sect. V.

R. 109, — Clermont to Le Puy — Issoire.

Vayre, we reach, by a steep descent, the post station

24 Coudes, situated on the bank of the Allier. The castle of Montpey- roux, on an adjoining eminence, now reduced to a round tower, and some fragments of walls, belonged to Philip Augustus. “ Near Coudes a variety of sandstone termed Arkose is quar- ried for millstones. Between Coudes and Montpeyroux veins of fibrous arragonite occur in travertine, and farther down the river Allier at Co- rent there are gypsum quarries which afford fine specimens of fibrous gyp- sum.” — T. J. T. F rom Coudes through a lovely country, which keeps the at- tention constantly alive,

In the Ravine des Etouaires, near the village of Perrier, an interesting geological section is presented. Here fossil remains of extinct quadrupeds, mastodon, tapir, rhinoceros, elephant, &c., have been found in alluvial beds, covered by volcanic breccias, and alternating with them. Near Vayre and at P’errier the rock has been excavated, to form cave-dwellings ; above Perrier rises the tower of Mau- ri foie t.

A view of the Monts Dores rising on the W. may be obtained near

11 Issoire (Inn: La Poste), an an- cient town of 5,990 inhab., situated on the Couze, a short way above its exit into the Allier. The church of St. Paul will interest the architect and antiquary, as a characteristic speci- men of Auvergnat architecture, as it prevailed in the 10th and 11th cen- turies. It is in the Romanesque style, ending in 5 apses at the E., surmounted at the cross by a tower, the upper part of which, and also the W. front, are modern. The exterior of the wall at the E. end is singularly decorated with rude mosaics, and with 12 medallions, representing the signs of the zodiac, let into the wall under the cornice. Under the win- dow of the N. transept are 2 bas- reliefs, representing the Angel ap- pearing to Abraham, and the Sacri-

fice of Isaac. In the interior the arches are semicircular, the side aisles and transepts being covered with a stone roof, forming the quarter of a circle, and thus serving as a buttress to support the tower and central walls of the nave. There is an extensive crypt under the choir.

The chancellor Duprat was born here. The chief manufacture is that of copper kettles.

After passing through St. Germain Lembron, and leaving a little on the 1. the coal mines and steam engines of St. Florine beyond the Allier, we quit the volcanic country, and the Department Puy de Dome, to enter that of La Haute Loire, shortly before reaching

20 Lempde (Inn: Poste) situated on the rt. bank of the Alagnon. Here the road to St. Flour, Montpellier, and Aurillac ( R. 114.), branches off It is the line of a malleposte.

15 Brioude Inn: H. du Com-

merce. The very fine Romanesque church of St. J alien is curious for its semicircular E. end, with chequered patterns in a coarse mosaic of parti- coloured stones on the outer walls, and round its 5 projecting apsidal chapels, of elegant design. The in- terior is lofty; the arches of the choir are pointed, and the capitals of the columns adorned with foliage : the arches of the nave are round, and the capitals of the columns supporting them are partly very grotesque, partly display a nearly pure classic cha- racter. At the W. end, which is almost bare externally, is a sort of inner vestibule, or narthex, support- ing, on low arches, 3 chambers, one of which, the chapel of St. Michel, is decorated with curious antique fres- coes of the 1 3th century. The canons of the church of St. J ulien the Martyr anciently bore the title of counts.

[The very curious Church of La Chaise Dieu is distant 18 m. from Brioude, nearly due E.

The monastery of La Chaise Dieu (Casa Dei) now ruined, and attached

Auvergne. R. 109 . — La Chaise Dieu — - Polignac. 401

to a dilapidated little village ( Cheval Blanc is the inn), is situated at a con- siderable elevation, on a high moun- tain. It was founded in the 11th century by St. Robert, a canon of Brioude, and became the most opu- lent convent in Auvergne. Of this original structure nothing exists, ex- cept, perhaps, an external gateway. The monastic buildings were de- stroyed at the Revolution. The Church alone remains, and is a noble edifice in the pointed Gothic style, begun 1 343, chiefly at the expense of Pope Clement VI., a native of Chaise Dieu, who laid the first stone, and is buried under a mutilated monument , surmounted by his effigy, wearing the triple crown. The carved wood- work of the 156 stalls in the choir is much admired, and deservedly. On the N. wall, which encloses the choir, are traces, now nearly defaced, and obliterated by moisture, of a Dance of Death, painted in fresco, probably in the 15th century. Here are preserved some of the most cu- rious ancient tapestries remaining in France, executed probably at the be- ginning of the 16th century, woven partly with gold thread. The tomb of another pope, Gregory XI., and of an abbot, in the S. choir aisle, de- serve notice. Two sides of the clois- ters remain tolerably perfect, and are of a good style. Contiguous to the church rises a tall square donjon tower, the only remains of the ancient forti- fications which surrounded the mo- nastery. It is surmounted by a bold cornice. ]

2 m. beyond Brioude, on the road to Le Puy, at the wretched village of La Vieille Brioude, the Allier, here running in a deep and rocky bed, is crossed by a Bridge of a single arch of stone, which was long celebrated as being the widest in span of any known, measuring 181 English ft. and 90i ft. in height, but now surpassed by the stone arches of Turin and of Chester (200 ft. span). It is a very noble arch, and constructed of Volvic lava.

It replaces a more ancient bridge (b. 1451), of equal dimensions, which fell down in 1822. Immediately be- yond the bridge, the road begins to ascend, and continues over a hilly and uninteresting country, almost con- stantly mounting higher, for many leagues. A little beyond the poor village of

21 St. George d’Aurat, the chateau de Chavagnac is passed, at the dis- tance of m. on the 1. of the road: it is remarkable as being the birth- place of Gen. Lafayette.

By a long, though gradual ascent, which the diligence takes 3 hours to surmount “au pas,” the Montagne de Fix, separating the valley of the A llier from that of the Loire, is passed. Measured at the village of Fix, this road is 3,197 ft. above the sea level, and one of the highest carriage roads in France.

18 Limandre.

We are now again upon volcanic rocks, belonging to the basin of Le Puy. The small river Borne, which runs into the Loire below Le Puy, is crossed, and the road is carried down its valley, passing, at a distance of 4 m. from Le Puy, under the black rock of basaltic breccia, escarped and inaccessible on all sides but the N., which bears the ruined castle of Po- lignac, seat and cradle of that ancient family, the branche aine of the name, whence sprang the Cardinal, a diplo- matic servant of Louis XIV., and the well-known minister of Charles X. It was pulled to pieces during the fury of the Revolution, and all the lands sold ; but the mouldering and picturesque ruins, which still bristle on the top of the rock, were repur- chased by the family. They consist of rude but strongly-built walls, often double and treble, with flanking towers at intervals, surmounted by a square donjon tower. Part of the pile of buildings which served as dwellings may be as old as the ] 2th century. There is little to be seen except an enormous mask, rudely

402

Sect. V.

Route 109. — Le Pity — St. Michel.

carved in granite, of a bearded human face, with a wide orifice for the mouth. According to the tradition, a Temple of Apollo occupied the summit of the rock before the castle, and from this mouth-piece (some- what after the fashion of the Bocca della Verita at Rome) oracles were delivered : hence some have gone so far as to derive Polignac from “Apol- linis Arx.” (?) Sunk in the platform of the castle is a well, called Puit cT Oracle, from a tradition that the oracles were delivered from it through the mask, which is said to have covered the well. At a depth of 20 ft. this well communicates with a vaulted chamber, supported on cir- cular arches, resting on square piers, designed doubtless as a cistern, into which rain water was conducted by pipes, now stopped up. About 25 paces from tbe well is the abyme , a hole about 40 ft. deep, and 15 wide, cut in the rock, probably designed as a storehouse. The church of Polig- nac, at the foot of the castle rock, is an ancient Romanesque edifice.

Upon a sudden turn of the road, here bordered by basaltic columns, a very striking view is presented of Le Puy and its volcanic rocks ; the “ spirey pinnacle ” of St. Michel’s, resembling more an artificial obelisk than a natural eminence, and Cor- neille, starting up from amidst the masses of buildings, while on the rt. appears Espailly.

19 Le Puy. — Inns: Palais Royal; — H. du Commerce: neither first rate. Le Puy, anciently capital of the Ve- lay, and now of the Department of Haute Loire, with 14,924 inhabit- ants, is, at a distance, one of the most striking, uncommon, and picturesque towns in France. Excepting the broad modern Boulevard, through which the high roads from Clermont and St. Etienne pass, which stands on level ground, the buildings and narrow streets of the old town are carried up a steep slope, surmounted by a towering, table-topped mass,

called Rocher de Corneille, whose sum- mit, vertically escarped and moulder- ing in the form of turrets, is sur- mounted by the ruins of an old castle, the stronghold and place of retreat from danger of the former bishops. This rock is a volcanic breccia, resting on a calcareous base.

Far more remarkable, though less lofty, is the Rocher de St. Michel, an isolated rock of basaltic tufa, which, from its needle shape, gives the name De V Aiguille to the suburb in which it stands. It rises from the margin of the stream of the Borne to a height of 265 ft., with a thickness of 500 ft. at its base, and 45 or 50 on its top. It is a fragment of a vast bed of vol- canic rock, once covering the country around. The rocks of Corneille and Polignac are also relics of it, and, be- cause harder than the rest, have re- sisted the erosive processes of rivers and the atmosphere, which have scooped out into valleys the inter- vening portions, and have washed away the debris. Faujas de St. Fond absurdly supposes the Aiguille of St. Michel to have been projected by a volcanic eruption from below, and consolidated in its actual form. The sides of this truncated cone, or sugar- loaf, are nearly vertical, and its top is surmounted by a small chapel, which just fills the platform, dedicated to Michael, the saint who loves such airy sites (see p. 95. ). This building, rendered accessible by a winding stair partly cut in the rock, is in the Ro- manesque style, and was constructed at the cost of a dean of the cathedral in the 10th century. Its Moresque portal, a circular arch under a tre- foiled arch, is ornamented with cu- rious sculptured mermen, bas-reliefs, and chequered stone work, composed of black scoriae, white sandstone, and red tile, in the style of Marquetterie. The interior presents a low irregular choir, supported by short pillars with carved capitals.

From tbe top of the rock a good view is obtained of the vine-clad hills

Central France. R. 109.

403

— Le Puy — Cathedral.

covering the slopes of the valley, dotted over with white country-houses, boxes, and pavillions, built in the midst of the vines, also of the white escarp- ments of the tertiary strata, laid bare here and there.

Near the foot of this rock stands an octagonal building which has long passed for a heathen temple of Diana , though destitute of any pretensions to such a title, being, in fact, a Chris- tian edifice in the Romanesque style, and perhaps originally a baptistery : some say a chapel of St. Claire. A small apse projects from its eastern side, and it is entered by doors on the N. and W. It has an octagonal roof, with a hole in the centre, resting on columns placed in the angles. It may have been built by the Templars, who had property in this suburb.

A road slopes upwards from St. Michel, under the Rock of Corneille, past the Hospital, and the little turn- ing box, in which enfans trouves are deposited after ringing a bell to an- nounce their arrival, through the “ Rue de la Raison,” to

The Cathedral, which rears its sin- gularly streaked W. front high over the other buildings. The regular ap- proach to it is up the steep streets leading from the market-place to the long flight of steps under the huge cavernous vaulted portal, which is prolonged in a sort of corridor be- neath the church. As the slope of the hill denied to the architect level ground sufficient to extend his church to the W., he was forced to raise an artificial platform for it upon these vast substructions. The doorway is flanked by two pillars of Egyptian porphyry. It is a heavy ungainly building in the Romanesque style ; its interior not improved by the re- pairs and stucco applied at the ex- pense of Louis XVIII. The oldest parts of the church are the choir, in- cluding 4 compartments of arches on I either side, and the transepts; each compartment is cross-vaulted ; the probable date is the 10th or 11th

century. This church is chiefly re- markable for a miracle-working image of Notre Dame du Puy, which for many centuries has attracted thou- sands of devout pilgrims, who still repair hither, though in less number than formerly. Among its visitors in former times are numbered several popes, and the following kings: Louis VII., Philippe Auguste, Philippe le Hardi, Charles VI. and VII., Louis XL, Charles VIII., and Francis I. : its visitors at present do not exceed 4,000 annually, and are chiefly of the lower order of peasants. One cause for this falling off may be that the existing image deposited over the high altar, a black group of the Virgin and Child with shining faces, is a modern work, executed by a sculptor in the town, whose name is well known, from recollection of the original, which was destroyed at the Revolution. The original Notre Dame du Puy, be- lieved to have been made by the Chris- tians of Mount Lebanon, or, accord- ing to some accounts, by the prophet Jeremiah himself, and brought to Europe at the time of the Crusades, was of cedar wood, singularly swathed round with bands of papyrus glued to it, and partly inscribed. Upon this the features of the face of negro tint, the flesh of hands and feet, and the dra- peries were painted in distemper, in a rude style, probably by some artist who copied from Egyptian models.

A marble tablet on one side of the church records the names of 20 priests of the diocese slaughtered in the Re- volution 1793-4 and 8.

The monument raised to the Con- stable Du Guesclin, whose body re- posed some time at Le Puy, after his death at Chateauneuf de Randon, and whose entrails were buried here, has recently been restored in a chapel on the N. side of the Gothic church of St. Laurent , in the lower I part of the town. His effigy repre- sents him in armour, except the hel- met, lying on his back, his hands raised in prayer. The head is modern,

404.

Sect. V.

R. 109. — Le Puy — Muste — Espaly.

but copied from a cast of the original destroyed by the Baron des Adrets and his followers, and is considered to have some claim to be looked on as a portrait.

The collections in the Musee , not far from the cathedral, are of con- siderable interest as local curiosities in art and nature. Besides some mediocre paintings, (among them Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I., a copy from Vandyke ; a faint, but curious portrait of Henri II., in the style of Janet, and a good landscape by Huysman ,) are some Roman an- tiquities, a bas-relief of a Stag and Boar Hunt, found on digging the foundations of the Eveche ; also 3 Genii or Cupids fishing (one with 2 Dolphins of very fair execution), from Margeaix ; a cippus hollowed out into a sarcophagus, bearing figures of arms, cut in relief, among them a cross- bow (?) ; cast of a bronze hand, with a Greek inscription, recording a treaty of peace ; a cast from the so-called Mask of Apollo, at Polignac, (see p. 401.) ; one or two groups of Gothic sculpture, nuns, female saints, &c. ; carvings in ivory, in Byzantine and Gothic styles ; a portion of the in- scribed papyrus in which the image of N. D. de Puy was swathed, preserved at the time the image was burnt, at the Revolution ; some old furniture ; an abbot’s seat, carved in the style of the Renaissance, and an arm-chair of Gothic work, bearing the arms of Po- lignac. Those who take interest in the geology and mineralogy of the district will find the collections here not only the best part of the whole museum, but one of the best arranged and best named cabinets which any provincial museum in France possesses, under the inspection of M. Bertrand de Doue, the able expositor of the geology of Velay. The formations of La Puy en Velay, the Vivarais, and the Ardeche may be studied in distinct series of specimens topographically arranged, side by side with a series of the vol- canic rocks of Vesuvius for the sake of comparison.

Here are preserved the bones of rhinoceros, hyasna, deer, &c., found by Dr. Hibbert, a Scotch geologist, at St. Privat d’Allier, in a matrix of scoriag, between 2 layers of basaltic lava ; a discovery of great interest, as proving the recent date at which the volcanoes of the Velay were in activity ; also fossil bones of Pa- Iceotherium, of Anthracotherium Ve- launum, so named by Cuvier from Le Puy, the locality where it was found, of hippopotamus, found in the terrain du transport near Polig- nac, and fossil fruits from the coal measures at Longeac.

The manufacture of cotton lace gives employment to the females of the lower classes in and about the town, and some specimens are shown at the museum of great beauty.

About 1 m. W. of the town is the village of Espaly, surmounted by an- other castle- crowned rock of volcanic breccia. Charles VII. was residing here during the occupation of France by the English (1422), when news was brought of the death of his father, and his scanty train of followers pro- claimed him King of France in the ancient fashion, by raising him aloft on a shield, at the same moment that the infant Henry VI. of England was proclaimed, with all pomp, at Paris, the successor to the French throne. There are good displays of basaltic columns here, called Les Orgues d' Espaly ; and on the opposite side of the river, in the eminence of Denise, several coarse varieties of pre- cious stones, sapphires, zircons, and garnets, are found in the basalt, and in the sands of the neighbouring streamlet of Riou Pezzouliou. Fossil remains of Anthracotherium and other extinct animals have been found in the marly limestone near Espaly.

The castle of Polignac is a walk of about an hour, not far from the road to Clermont (p. 401.).

The Roche Rouge, an isolated mass of basalt, rising abruptly out of the granite rock to a height of 60 ft..

C. France. JR. 110 . — Clermont to Mont Dore Les Bains. 405

about 3 m. to the E. of Le Puy, will interest the geologist. Its name is probably derived from the colour of the lichens which grow on it. It is nothing more than the expanded portion (renflement) of a basaltic dyke ; which, from superior hardness, has resisted the action of the weather- while the softer granite around has been disintegrated. The dyke is con- tinued on either side in a vein often not more than a foot wide.

Diligences twice a day to St. Etienne ; daily to Clermont, and to Langogne.

The views of the town from the surrounding heights from the roads to Espaly, Polignac, St. Etienne, are very striking. Mr. Scrope pre- fers the extensive 'panorama from the more distant Mont d' Ours, and observes, with some geological en- thusiasm, — “ There are, perhaps, few spots on the globe which offer a more extraordinary prospect than this. To the eye of a geologist it is super- latively interesting, exhibiting in one view a vast theatre of volcanic for- mation, containing igneous products of various natures belonging to dif- ferent epochs, and exhibited under a great diversity of aspect.”

<c The traveller bound from Le Puy to the Volcanic District of the Vivarais and Ardeche may take the diligence to Pradelles, and thence strike across the country, by bad cross roads, to Aubenas, by Thueyts (R. 118. 121.), or, more directly, by a mule-road to Montpezat ; in the course of which he may visit the Mt. Mezene, the highest volcanic mountain in Central France, presenting some wild and singular views. He may also pass the curious mountain called Gerbier des Jones, at the foot of which rises the Loire. There is scarcely any accommodation on this route, which can hardly be performed in a day ; and the people are rude and forbiddinj. ” — P. F.

ROUTE 110.

CLERMONT TO MONT DORE LES BAINS.

I. Grande Route, 53\ kilom. = 33 Eng. m.

II. Petite Route, 42 kilom. == 27 Eng. m.

I. Diligences run daily in summer.

It is a hilly journey by either of these routes, beginning to ascend from the Barrier of Clermont to La Bar- raque (see p. 396.), then leaving the Cone of the Puy de Dome on the rt. and the ruined castle of Montrodeix on the 1. ; its walls formed of basaltic prisms.

The road reaches the summit level of the chain of the Monts Dome, at a spot called Moreneau, between the Puys de Leschamps, covered with wood, and de Montchie, a volcano, furnished with 4 craters, which has been cut away at the base to gave pas- sage to the road ; and trunks of trees charred have been disclosed by the section of the trachytic rock. De- scending the opposite slope it crosses the stream of the Sioule, here in its infancy. At St. Bonnet, near Pont des Eaux, a basaltic clinkstone is quarried, to serve as roofing slate, as bridges, fences, &c. : the thin slabs

ring like a bell when struck.

29 Rochefort.

The ruined castle, on the summit of a basaltic rock, once belonged to the Dauphins of Auvergne.

Tne road continues to ascend through a hilly and bleak country, often blocked up by snow in winter. About 3 m. beyond the village of Laqueuille the road to Mont Dore branches off to the 1., out of that to Aurillac by Muriac, and, crossing another ridge, descends upon the vil- lage Murat le Queire, in the valley of the Dordogne, and proceeds up the rt. bank of that stream to

24 Mont Dore les Bains (next page).

No. II. La Petite Route is the same

406

Route 110. — Clermont to Mont Dore.

Sect. V.

as No. I., until reaching the village Laschamp, 3 m. beyond La Barraque; “ or, on foot, more directly and agree- ably by Thadde. As there are few villages, the route may most conve- viently be traced by the Puys, which are passed, viz. Gravenoire and Cha- rade on the rt. : La Bache and Las- solas, also on the rt., are extremely well preserved, and are completely thrown open on the S.W. side, to- wards which they have diverted their lava streams. There is here quite a circle of craters, among which Mont Jughat and Mont Chat are conspi- cuous.” — P. F.

21 Randanne (a tolerable road-side Inn.) In the vicinity, at the foot of the Puy de Montchal, is the residence of the patriotic philosopher Le Comte de Montlosier, who settled himself down here, after his retnrn from exile in 1816, in the midst of an unpro- ductive wilderness, the home of his fathers having been destroyed in the Revolution, and by the enlightened agricultural improvements which he introduced, redeemed a large tract from unproductive barrenness, and “ bid the desert smile.” He is bu- ried in a small Gothic chapel, erected on a pretty spot within his estate ; the priests having refused interment to his remains within consecrated ground, on account of his writings against the Jesuits.

About 3 m. on t lie 1. is the sheet of water called Lac d'Aidat, formed by the volcanic current from the Puy de la Vache, damming up the course of 2 rivulets. On its borders Sidonius Apollinaris is said to have lived, and an inscription on the wall of the church has been supposed (?) to mark it as the place of his interment. “ To the rt. is the Puy de la Bodde, a fine crater opening to the S., and commanding an extensive view of the Puys, the streams of lava, and the mountains of Mont Dore. Abun- dance of fine crystals of Augite are found in it.” — T. J. T.

After attaining the table land of

Baladaud, which commands an exten- sive view, but is itself bleak and unin- teresting, it is an uninterrupted and steep descent into the vale of the Dordogne. It is clothed with wood, and interesting. At Quereilh the traveller turns abruptly to the 1., and enters the valley enclosing

21 Mont Dore les Bains. “ Many hotels : Chez Chatancy is thought

the best; — chez Baraduc, very com- fortable.” — L. There is a daily table- d’hote at most of them. The rivers and lakes furnish trout, and the mountains roe venison. This small watering-place is a village at a height of 3,411 ft. above the sea-level, in an upland valley, the cradle of the river Zlor-dogne, surrounded by an amphi- theatre of volcanic hills, their sides clothed with verdant meadows or black pine forests, but torn and gashed at intervals by ravines and gullies, down which numerous streams dash in small cascades from the bare table-land above. The village lies at the distance of about 2 m. from the Pic du Sancy, the highest summit in central France, 6,217 ft. above the sea level, and the culminating point of the Mont Dore, that vast volcanic excrescence which has broken through the fundamental granite rock, and stretching from this point to a distance of 8 or 10 m. measures 18 leagues in circumference. It is seamed and fissured by deep valleys radiating in all directions from the common cen- tre, the chief of them on the IS. side, being the valley of the Dordogne, or of Mont Dore. The crater from which this eruption burst forth is not dis- tinctly marked, owing to the dilapida- tions in its sides caused by volcanic convulsions, by the wearing down of torrents, and even by the effects of the weather ; but there can be no doubt that we see the traces and remains of the lava walls which surrounded it in “ the elevated peaks which still bristle over the circus-like gorge occupying the very heart of the mountain. This was probably the site of its central

Central France. Route 110 . — Baths of Mont Bore. 407

crater, but now branching off into deep and short recesses, it forms the upper basin of the principal valley, and the recipient into which 2 moun- tain rills, the Dor and the Dogne, unite, at the source of the noble river which henceforward bears their joint names.” — Scrope, 98.

The mineral springs, on account of which Mont Dore is resorted to from June to the end of September, are 8 in number, 2 being cold, the rest of a temperature of 106° to 1 13° Fahren- heit ; they issue out of the trachytic rock, at the foot of the eminence called Plateau de 1’ Angle. They are alka- line, and are efficacious in complaints of the lungs, when unattended with inflammation, in disorders of the sto- mach, and in rheumatism. They are conducted into a very handsome bath- ing establishment , built like the rest of the houses, of a trachytic lava, resem- bling that of Volvic, but obtained from a neighbouring quarry. The most copious source, La Madelaine, is also used for drinking, and large quantities are exported in bottles. It, as well as that called Le Bain du Caesar, is enclosed in Roman masonry, proving that bath-loving people to have made use of these warm springs. Numerous architectural fragments, columns, &c. have been discovered here, supposed to have belonged to a temple whose foundations exist, and go by the name of Le Pantheon.

Horses may be hired at the rate of 3 fr. a day ; also guides, and chaises- a-porteurs with bearei's for ladies, for the numerous interesting excursions in the vicinity of these baths. In front of the bath-house is a pretty green promenade, encircled by the windings of the Dordogne, over which a suspension bridge has been thrown, conducting to a path which leads to the base of the Capucin, the isolated, cowl-shaped rock, conspicuous from all parts of the valley, named from a detached pinnacle, jutting forward on one side, said to resemble a monk in a hood.

The direction of the valley of the Dor from its head, at the base of the Pic de Sancy, to a short distance below the baths, is nearly due N. and S. In its E. side, not more than t an hour’s walk above the baths, a singular breach or fissure is percep- tible, worn away by the descent of a stream called La Grande Cascade , which has cut through the rock, and exhibits, in the face of the precipice, an instructive geological section of a series of beds of trachyte, tufa, and basalt. Vast blocks have been de- tached and hurled below, so that the stream, after its leap of nearly 80 ft., is almost hidden from view.

The Valley of Mont Dore is a region of woods and waterfalls ; the latter, though not of any great ele- vation or grandeur, add an interest to the many pretty scenes around ; the principal falls are the Cascade de Qucreilh and de Verniere.

On the W. side of the valley, op- posite to the Grande Cascade, is the gorge called Vallee d'Enfer, excavated out of a volcanic rock, consisting of scoria) and other fragments, bearing the marks of fire, over which rise the naked summits of the Pic d’ Aiguiller. The breccia is in many places pene- trated by vertical dykes of dark por- phyritic trachyte ; and such a dyke forms the separation, called Les Femes, between the gorges of Enfer and La Cour. Similar dykes are seen tra- versing the precipices of the Pic d’ Ai- guiller exposed to view at the end of the Val d’Enfer.

The ascent of the Pic de Sancy may be made in 2 hours from the baths, on horseback, or in a chair; proceeding to the head of the valley past the gorges D’Enfer and De la Cour, and turning to the 1., near the ravine of La Craie, where a steep ascent begins, through a fir wood, in the depths of which lies the Cascade du Serpent, passing the marsh in which the Dore rises. The Pic is reached by passing the high Col between it and the Puy Ferrand. The distant objects seen from it are

408 R. 110. — Murol —Puy de Tartaret — St.Nectaire. Sect,V.

the volcanic group of the Cantal, to the S., and the Monts Dome to the N., while near at hand yawns a labyrinth of valleys and gorges, with peaks bristling around on all sides; and numerous small lakes glitter in the depths, among them the cra- ter Lakes de Pavin and that De Chambon.

Another very interesting excursion is to the castle of Murol, situated to the E. of the baths, crossing the moun- tains by the Puy de Diane and the pretty little Lac Chambon. There is a road thither directly over the Mont Dore by la Croix Morand, but as it requires to be repaired every spring after the melting of the snow, inquiry should be made whether it is passable. Murol, the village, is built at the base of the red scoriaceous volcanic hill called Puy de Tartaret, upon a lava current which has issued from it, at a period long after the formation of the volcanic rocks of the Mont Dore. Murol is nearly surrounded by a dense forest, one of the finest in Auvergne. Homely and rustic ac- commodation at the public house kept by Morin.

The castle, one of the largest relics of feudal times in France, and a most picturesque object, crowns the summit of a detached eminence topped with basalt, affording a platform just large enough to hold the fortress, whose walls rise up, as it were, in continua- tion of the vertical precipices beneath them. It consists of a double en- closure, an outer wall flanked with bastions, dating from the 16th cen- tury, and an inner circular wall, sur- mounted by machiocolations, of the 15th. In the midst rises a round tower, or donjon, commanding the country far and near, and affording a most interesting view of the plain and valley around, covered with lava vomited forth from the Tartaret. Some of the existing constructions of the castle are as late as the 18th cen- tury, and none appear older than the 1 5th ; the first mention of it occurs in

1223, when its seigneur was named Jean Chambre Chevarier.

The Puy de Tartaret deserves the attention of the geologist ; it consists of loose scoriae, lapilli, and fragments of granite, which have been forced up through the fundamental granite rock. “ It has 2 deep and regular bowl- shaped craters, separated by a high ridge, and each broken down on one side : ” the lava current which they have furnished first spreads over the plain, then, contracting, confines itself to the valley, whose sinuosities it follows as far as Neschers, a distance of 13 m., occupying the channel of the former river. Near Neschers and Champeix it assumes a regular co- lumnar form. Neschers is a pic- turesque village, and the cure, the Abbe Croizet, has a collection of fossils.

Rather more than an hour’s walk (4^ m.) from Murol, passing partly over the lava from the Puy de Tartaret, and near the waterfall Des Granges, one of the prettiest in Auvergne, lies St. Nectaire, a village possessing hot Baths and an incrusting spring, much more remarkable than that at Cler- mont, which issues from the granite, and deposits large quantities of lime. The curious Romanesque church, is a very ancient and unaltered but much dilapidated specimen of the style, no part of it apparently older than the 12th century. It is surmounted at the cross by an octagonal tower, and terminates at the E. end in 3 apses. The capitals of the pillars in the choir, carved with bas-reliefs of scrip- tural and legendary subjects, are curious. In this church are preserved a curious Byzantine crucifix of copper gilt, and a reliquiary, in the form of a bust, of embossed copper gilt, also Byzantine, and probably of the 11th century. The Castle of St. Nectaire, the cradle of a noble family, whence sprang 2 marshals of France, has been destroyed. On the rt. of the road to Neschers, a little way out of St. Nectaire, is the arch of a Roman

409

Central France. Route li2. — Clermont to Lyons.

bridge, the piers of which stand on the lava of Tartaret.

On the heights above the Bairs de Boite, not far from St. Nectaire, are some Druidic remains, consisting of a dolmen or altar formed of the unhewn blocks of the granite found in the country. On the summit of the hill of Cornadore are extensive excavations, supposed to be of great antiquity, formed, perhaps, by the Gauls as store-houses, or places of refuge: they are now used as sheep-sheds.

“ Another interesting excursion, especially for the geolqgist, may be made to the Rocks of La Thuilliere and La Sanadoire, li hours from Mont d’Or. The columnar feldspar or pho- nolite of the Roche Sanadoire is cu- rious, and the view fine. 1 i hour more takes the traveller to the Lake of Servieres, from which he may gain the great road to Clermont by de- scending the valley of the Sioule by Vernines (old Castle) and St. Bon- net.” _ p. F.

The above is but a very imperfect enumeration of the curiosities and excursions of the neighbourhood of Mont Dore, which affords many other objects of interest, well calculated to repay the traveller for exploring. A full and excellent description of them will be found in the work of M. Lecocq, “ Le Mont Dore et ses Environs.” *

CLF.RMONT TO LYONS, BY THIEltS :

MONTBRISON.

177 kilom. = 109 Eng. m.

Diligence daily.

The road out of Clermont runs nearly due W., passing on the 1. the Pity de la Poix, an eminence of ba- saltic tufa, having on the N. side a spring of bitumen, or mineral pitch, which issues out of the earth along with a source of water.

For any corrections and additions to the

above Route, derived from personal know- ledge, the Editor will be much obliged.

France.

15 Pont du Chateau, a prettily situated town, named from a bridge over the Allier, by which our road crosses it. “ About i m. above the bridge, on the rt. bank of the river, there is an interesting geological dis- play of fossiliferous freshwater lime- stone strata, alternating with calca- reous beds containing volcanic sub- stances. — T. J. T.

The Chateau of Beauregard, a little on the 1. of the road, was formerly the country seat of the Bishops of Clermont, and the residence of Mas- sillon as such.

13 Lezoux, a small town on the verge of the Limagne, has an ancient church.

The Castle of Ravel belonged to Philippe le Bel. Our road is hilly, threading a part of the chain of the mountains of Forez, which separate the Allier from the Loire.

12 Thiers (Inns: Poste; — Hotel de TEurope ; new and good), an in- dustrious manufacturing town, built on the top and slope of a peaked gra- nitic hill, at whose base the Durole flows in a deep rocky bed, turning many paper-mills, and forges, where various articles of cutlery are wrought, the staple manufacture of the town, giving employment to a large portion of its 9,830 inhabitants. The town, so picturesque at a distance, with its houses rising one above another, on nearer appx-oach is found to consist of dirty lanes ; but from the upper part of it, especially from the high ter- race, fine views are obtained over the Limagne, and the distant chain of the Monts Dome. Here also is situated the antique church of St. Genes, a Ro- manesque building, chiefly of the 12th century, though the vaults of the roof are newer : the end of the S. transept is ornamented with coarse mosaics. More curious to the antiquary is the church Du Moutier, in the lower part of the town ; the E. extremity of the choir has been referred to the 8th century. “

A portion of the old castle remains.

410

Route 114. — Clermont to Toulouse — Cantal. Sect. V,

The road for about 4 m. is carried along the edge of a precipice, and is called Le Cordon. The views over the rich plain of the Limagne, to the range of the Monts Dome in one direction, and of the chain of the Forez in the other, are very fine.

14 La Bergere.

13 Noiretable, a village at the foot of the high Montagne de l’Hermitage.

12 St. Thurin.

15 Boen (Inn: Poste ; tolerable, clean beds), a dirty village. It is about 11 m. distant from Montbrison, chef lieu of the Dep. of the Loire, though inferior in extent and po- pulation both to Roanne and St. Etienne. It stands at the base of a lofty and precipitous rock, from the top of which, or from the tower of the neighbouring church, as some say, the ferocious leader of the Cal- vinists, Le Baron des Atgets, com- pelled his Roman Catholic prisoners to leap, to their certain dt Auction. When one of the condemn ?d, after twice approaching the brink, faltered in taking the leap, the tyrant ex- claimed, “ Two chances are too much.” “ I’ll lay you will not do it in ten,” was the ready reply ; and, it is said, saved the waverer’s life. The cathedral is a Gothic building of the 13th century (1205), and contains the tomb of its founder, Guy IV., Comte de Forez. (Inns: H. du Nord ; — Du Centre.)

From Boen the road to Lyons crosses the flat and marshy plain of the Loire, and runs parallel with the Lignon, which is seen on the rt. : it is crossed, and at a short distance the river Loire also, before entering

18 Feurs, which occupies the site of one of the most important cities of the Gauls — Forum Segusianorum. In this name may be traced the modern one of Forez, given to the district of which it was the capital, during the middle ages. Extensive fragments of Roman walls, aqueducts, inscribed stones, &c. attest its ancient conse- quence. Population 2,250.

The railroad from Roanne to St. Etienne ( R. 119.) runs past the town on the E., directly across our line of route.

Soon after, the road ascends out of the fertile valley of the Loire.

10 St. Barthelemy FEstra.

13 Sainte Foy l’Argenti^re.

6 Duerne.

A high mountain ridge, a continu- ation of the hill of Tarare, described in R. 105., commanding an extensive view over the valley of the Rhone, and extending even, it is said, as far as Mont Blanc, is traversed in this stage.

1 1 La Braly.

14 Grand Buisson.

Lyon. (Route 105. p. 370.)

ROUTE 114.

CLERMONT TO TOULOUSE BY THE CAN- TAL AND AURILLAC.

322 kilom. = 199^ Eng. miles.

Those who wish to avail themselves of a public conveyance must take the Montpellier diligence as far as St. Flour, whence a private vehicle may be procured to Aurillac.

The most direct road from Cler- mont to Aurillac is by Rochefort (R. 110.) and Mauriac, but it is not provided with post-horses, and it avoids the picturesque district of Cantal, so interesting to geologists, through the heart of which the fol- lowing road through Murat is car- ried.

It is the same as Route 109. as far as

55 Lempde, where it turns to the 1., ascending a long hill as it quits the town. By another hill, du Gre- nier, you descend in zigzags to

18 Massiac (Dept. Cantal), where you turn to the 1. out of the St. Flour road, by a very pretty branch line carried up the vale of the Alag- non, not yet passable for diligences to

14 Ferrieres (Cantal).

Cantal. Route 114 . — Murat — Tunnel — Puy de Griou. 411

22 Murat. — Inn : Chez Dolly ; to- j lerable, excepting the dirt. Fine trout j here and elsewhere in the Cantal. j

Murat is a dirty and antiquated j town of 2,941 inhab. in the up- j land valley of the Alagnon ; here bare ! of trees, but surrounded by hills of uncommon appearance, capped by ba- salt. One of these rises immediately behind Murat, in a tall cliff called Roche Bonnevie, composed of lofty and regular basaltic pillars 30 to 50 ft. long. The castle on its summit was razed by Louis XI., after he had put to death its owner, Jacques d’Armag- nac, 1477.

Opposite the town is another re- markable hill, also topped with basalt, on which stands the pilgrimage chapel of N. D. de Bredom.

Soon after quitting the town, the convent of St. Gal, now an hospital, is passed on the 1., and the Castle of Anterroches on the rt. An excellent road is carried up the valley of the Alagnon, constantly ascending, amidst cliffs and precipices of granite. Near the Pont de Pierre Taillee, a bridge thrown over a stream which falls in a pretty cascade, a good geological sec- tion of the trachyte and tufa has been exposed. Above this, the fine fir forest of Lioran, which clothes the upper part of the valley, commences. The additional steepness of the valley near its head, has hitherto been sur- I mounted by a series of tourniquets or zigzags ; but in order to avoid this, as well as the snow which blocks up the highest part of the road, fre- quently for weeks and months in winter and spring, a Tunnel is now (1842) being carried through a sad- dle-shaped ridge, which divides the waters of the Alagnon from those of the Cere, a little to the E. of the highest point of the old road, and ' about 400 or 500 ft. below it. This Tunnel is driven through the trachytic rock for a distance of about 4,593 ft. (1,400 metres) ; it is nearly 18 ft. I high, ascends slightly in the centre, I and terminates a little below the vil- j

lage of les Chazes. On emerging from it, the Puy de Griou , a pointed, wedge-shaped peak of white rock, with a stream of debris descending from it, is seen on the rt. ; and the Plomb de Cantal, a boss like a camel’s hump surmounting a precipice, rises on the 1. Those, however, who are content merely to pass through the tunnel, will miss altogether the grand and striking scenery of the vast vol- canic amphitheatre, through the midst of which the old road is carried, in proximity to the sources of the Al- agnon and Cere.

The traveller, whether geologist,, or merely a lover of picturesque, will be well rewarded by making the as- cent of the Puy de Griou , which may be effected in about an hour from the hamlet of les Chazes, even without a guide. It is fatiguing from the ex- treme steepness of the slope ; but the only difficulty is in surmounting the bare crest of white clinkstone, covered with loose fallen masses, which rattle down under your feet into the depths below. But even here a sort of path has been formed, over the scanty grass tufts springing up between the stones. The summit itself is a mere crest only 3 or 4 ft. wide and 20 yds. long, plunging precipitously down on all sides. The Puy de Griou rises in the midst of an irregular circle of precipices, supposed by geologists to have been the fiery mouth or crater whence the volcanic rocks of the Can- tal were erupted, and whence they spread for 15 or 20 m. around, from this centre as far as Aurillac, Murat, and St. Flour. It is also supposed, that, at a later period, the volcanic forces acting from below, at the same point, burst through these deposits of trachyte, tufa, and basalt, fracturing the strata, with radiating cracks like those in a starred pane of glass, and that these cracks gradually widening, be- came the valleys of the Alagnon, Cere, Jourdanne, Dienne, &c. The circuit of precipices which composed the walls of this crater, is broken by gaps t 2

412

Route 114 . — Clermont to Toulouse.

Sect. V.

formed by the openings of the dif- ferent valleys radiating from this point like the spokes of a wheel. These walls are most perfect on the E. be- low the basaltic hump, called Plomb de Cantal, the highest summit in the district, 6,095 ft. above the sea level ; on the N. in the Puy Mary, 5,459 ft. ; and on the W. in the Puy Chavaroche. Through the gaps between them, the eye ranges down the vistas of the valleys over an extensive hori- zon of plain and distant hills. The dimensions of this crater greatly ex- ceed those of any in Auvergne, as it is more than 6 Eng. miles in dia- meter. Within and beneath its bounding walls are rounded slopes, wooded or covered with turf, forming the lining of the crater, and present- ing a pleasing picture. Quite at the foot of the Puy de Griou, is a re- markable kettle-shaped hollow, co- vered with the brightest verdure, and dotted over with 2 or 3 cabins, and with herds, for it is the best piece of pasturage in the district. From its shape it might be mistaken for a minor crater, hemmed in by wooded eminences. It is called le Font du Vacher.

Quitting the volcanic amphitheatre at les Chazes, we commence the de- scent of the valley of the Cere, which is far more picturesque in its scenery than that of the Alagnon, but is best seen in ascending, as the forms of the mountains at its head lend to the views their most striking features. The first village, St. Jacques des Blats, pro- duces excellent cheeses of goat’s milk, called cabegons. The numerous pro- jections on either side of the valley conceal the villages from view, until you are close upon them. The river cuts through a rocky bed, and the road, skilfully engineered, is carried in terraces hewn out of the trachytic rock, along the edge of deep precipices, the most remarkable of which, called Pas de Compain, ter- minates within a few hundred yards of the village of

26 Thiezac, where the poste (Tete Noire), though most forbidding ex- ternally, by reason of its dirt, can afford 2 clean beds and a tolerable supper, with trout ; for which and a breakfast only 5 fr. are charged. Below Thiezac calcined flints shattered by heat like unannealed glass, may be seen em- bedded in the trachyte rock at the road side.

The most strikingly picturesque scene in the whole valley is at a spot called Fas de la Cere, a little way above the solitary projecting rock (Rocher de Murat), rendered con- spicuous by the single round-headed lime tree which crowns its summit. Plere the valley at once expands con- siderably, and makes a deep descent or step, and the river has forced for itself a passage, at a great depth below the road, in a fissure lined by smooth walls of rock, and nearly shrouded by a luxuriant growth of trees. The rocks towering above the road imitate the forms of old castles. The little town of Vic (Vic-en-Carlades, or Sur-Cere) is the chief place in the very picturesque valley. (Inn: Chez Vialette.) Close to it there are mineral springs of acidulous water, received into a bathing esta- blishment. 1 m. out of the town, at the roadside, stands the Chateau de Comblat, belonging to an ancient and loyal family settled here for ages, the present owner being the Comte Charles de la Baume. At Polminhac is a far more picturesque castle, towering over the road, a fit subject for the artist’s pencil. The valley of Vic, here widening out into a small plain, covered with meadows and corn fields, is yet enlivened by a pretty distribution of wood and hedgerows, amidst which rise numerous chateaux and modern country houses, indicating that the proprietors reside on their estates. At this point our road quits the vale of the Cere, gradually as- cending in a sloping terrace cut through the white tertiary limestone, containing flints, in appearance closely

Cantal.

413

R. 114 . — Clermont to Toulouse — Figeac.

resembling the upper chalk of Eng- land, though of a very different age, which has been disturbed and baked by the trachvtic rocks. Turning the shoulders of the hills, we enter the val- ley of the Jourdanne, a tributary of the Cere, at the mouth of which stands

27 Aurillac (Inn : Trois Freres ; best and good), chef lieu of the Dept, of the Cantal, and anciently one of the 6 good towns of la Haute Auvergne, is a dull town of 11,000 inhab., without objects of interest, in a tame and bare valley watered by the Jourdanne. The churches, con- vents, and palace of the abbot, were destroyed by the Huguenots, who took the town, 1569, by assault, and kept it for a year : the existing pub- lic buildings are modern and common- place. The Castle of St. Etienne, rising on a rock above the town to the W., is said to have belonged to the ancestors of St. Geraud (d. 918), the patron of the town : it was held by the abbots, and now belongs to the bishop of Clermont, but is not worth visiting.

The chief manufactures carried on here are of copper kettles and coarse lace.

The infamous J. B. Carrier, the author and inventor of the Noyades at Nantes (p. 166.), was born, 1756, in the village of Yolet, close to Au- rillac.

Diligences daily to Paris, to Ro- dez, 3 times a week to Toulouse, by Figeac. The road to Figeac, after crossing the level verdant valley of the Cere, and the river itself, mounts into a hilly district of gneiss and mica slate rocks, barely covered with heath. From the high ground fine views are obtained of the volcanic group of the Cantal.

27 Cayrols.

A very long and winding descent doubling the shoulders of the hills, and diving deep into the recesses of the glens, leads down a wooded valley to

18 Maurs. Another hilly tract in- tervenes before we reach

24 Figeac. — Inn: Poste. A town of 6,400 inhab., in the Dept, of Lot, lying snugly at the bottom of a small valley, so shut in by steep hills that the high roads are obliged to make the most singular and circuitous contortions in order to reach it. The town, whose natu- rally obscure name has become fa- miliar through its illustrious citizen Champollion, who was born here, and to whom a monumental obelisk has been erected at the water side, contains a great number of antique houses, and 2 curious churches. The abbey Church of St. Sauveur, in the lower part of the town, consists of a Romanesque basement, with a later pointed superstructure of the 15th century, and a modern front of the 19th. The choir, however, seems almost entirely of the 11th century. Attached to the S. transept is a small chapter house, resting on pointed arches.

I On an eminence, above the town, stands Notre Dame de Puy, a church of the 11th century, though much altered, in the form of a basilica, ending towards the E. in 3 apses.

| At the bottom of the choir is a very I fine altar screen of wood richly carved and ornamented, a masterly work of i the early part of the 17th century, j judging from its style.

The Chateau de la Baleine , now Palais de Justice, fortified and moat- ed, also deserves attention.

A high table land of limestone, j bounded by very abrupt slopes, se- parates Figeac from the valley of the Lot. After reaching its summit by a steep ascent, the road to Ville- franche passes near a singular stone pillar, or obelisk, rising on the brow of the hill above Figeac. Its use and age are equally unknown. Some consider it to have been a beacon : it was more probably a landmark to designate the boundary of some juris- diction. There is a similar pillar on the other side of Figeac.

From the high ground a view is x 3

414 Route 116 . — Clermont to Toulouse — St. Flour. Sect. V.

obtained, on the L, of the town of | Capdenac, on the rt. bank of the | Lot, supposed by Champollion to be | the ancient “ Uxellodunum ” besieged | by Caesar, and mentioned in his Commentaries.

The Lot is crossed by a wire sus- pension bridge : the hills bordering j on the river sides are very steep.

18 La Remise.

17 Villefranche. — Inn: Grand So- leil. This is a town of 9,540 inhab., on the Aveyron. Its principal building is the large Collegiate Church, in the pointed Gothic style of the 15th and 16th centuries, standing in a Place surrounded by arcades. Its W. fa- cade, though bare of ornament, is im- posing from its proportions, and is surmounted by a lofty tower, sup- ported by obliquely set buttresses, at the base of which a porch, furnished with triple arches, gives entrance to the interior.

There are many ancient houses of the 15th and 16th centuries, very picturesque in their architecture, in the principal street.

Steep hills lead into and out of

29 Caylus, a town of most pic- turesque character, both in itself and in its situation, buried as it were in the deep recess of a valley. In the midst its castle, rising on a rock, towers above the houses clustering round its base ; and by its side rises the church spire.

The road emerges from this bowl- shaped hollow, by being carried in bends round its nearly vertical sides.

22 Caussade "] ,

-i. m , , | described in It.

23 Montauban

51 Toulouse J *

ROUTE 116.

CLERMONT TO TOULOUSE BY ST. FLOUR,

THE BATHS OF CHAUDES AIGUES,

RODEZ, AND ALBY.

385 kilom. = 238| Eng. m.

Malleposte as far as St. Flour, and thence to Montpellier, in 31 hours.

The route is identical with R. 109. as far as

54 Lempde — Inn : la Poste. At

18 Massiac (Cantal), it turns to the 1., away from the road to Au- rillac, and reaches by an ascent re- quiring li hour to surmount, an elevated plain called la Fageole, formed by a great basaltic plateau.

10 La Barraque, is a solitary post house, surrounded by a few farm buildings, in a desolate spot.

About 5 m. short of St. Flour, a good view of it, and of the volcanic group of the Cantal beyond, is ob- tained.

19 St. Flour. — Inns: chez Aubertot, tolerable ; supper, bed, and coffee, cost 3 fr. 5 sous ; — H. de France.

St. Flour, the 2d town in import- ance of the Cantal, is strikingly con- spicuous at a distance, owing to its elevated position on the top of a table mount, whose platform is of basalt. The high road from Cler- mont to Montpellier passes through a suburb at its base ; but the upper town is rendered accessible for car- riages by a road carried in winding terraces cut into the basaltic rock, and laying bare a regular natural colon- nade near the crest of the hill. Ex- cepting its singular and picturesque situation, bounded on 3 sides by escarped precipices, the town, con- sisting of narrow streets and houses built of basalt, and containing 6,464 inhab., is deficient in attraction. Its Cathedral, the chief edifice, is a Gothic structure, not remarkable, de- dicated 1496, but not finished till 1566 ; its towers, demolished in 1593, have been recently rebuilt. The roof is finely groined, and rests on piers without capitals.

From a little terrace behind the cathedral, from another behind the Seminaire, and from the Promenade , or Cours Chazeret, occupying the neck of land by which the town is alone connected with the adjoining high ground of the Planese, views may be obtained over the country and dis-

415

Central France. Route L16.

tant hills, but they are arid and bare, and over the contiguous valley watered by the Arder, on whose banks the suburb, the most busy part of the town, is planted. The basaltic rocks in the neighbouring mountains are covered with the lichen archil (or- seille) used in dyeing, which is col- lected and largely exported hence.

St. Flour was anciently a veiy strong fortress, and withstood many sieges from the English in the 14th century.

At this point the road to Chaudes Aigues and Rodez separates from that to Montpellier : a malleposte from Clermont follows the latter through St. Chely, Marvejols, and Millau.

The road to Chaudes Aigues tra- verses for a considerable distance the elevated basaltic plateau called la Planese. The volcanic group of the Cantal mountains is visible for a long time on the W.

On the way to Chaudes Aigues, but considerably to the 1. of the road, lies Alleuzes mentioned by Froissart under the name Louise, a castle which belonged to the celebrated robber chief of the 14th century, Aymerigot Marcel, whence his band used to sally forth to pillage on the highways. A little further in the same direction is Montbrun, another castle, which was taken and held for the English, 1357, by John Chandos, constable of Guienne.

The approach to Chaudes Aigues is by the steep hill called Cote de Laneau, where the road has been terraced through rocks of gneiss and mica schist, whose contortions are laid open in sections, at. the edge of ravines and precipices. After pass- ing the ravine called Saut du Loup, from a fanciful resemblance in the rock to a wolfs head, it descends into the valley or gorge of the Truyere, a tributary of the Lot. That river is passed on a handsome stone bridge.

33 Chaudes Aigues. — Inn : the

best is Chez Fabre, recently rebuilt ; — H. Felgere, furnished with baths.

— Chaudes Aigues .

This is an old but rustic-looking town of 2,351 inhab., planted in a narrow and picturesque gorge, which about 3 m. below opens into that of the Truyere. The mineral waters from which it has obtained some re- sort as a watering place are almost pure, warm water : they issue out of the slate rock, and are 4 in number. That called Source du Par is the hottest spring in Europe, except the Geysers in Iceland ; having a tem- perature of 177° Fahrenheit, and is one of the most copious sources in France; the others, de Felgere , du Ban , and de la Grotte, vary in heat be- tween 135° and 162° Fahr. The wa- ters are taken in baths, and are drunk, being considered efficacious in rheu- matism, swellings of the joints, and some cutaneous disorders, though by no means richly impregnated with mi- neral particles. They are also turn- ed to various domestic and economic purposes ; they have the property of discharging most rapidly the grease from sheep’s wool, and a vast number of fleeces are sent hither from the dept. Aveyron to be washed. From the month of Nov. to April, the hot water is used for warming the town, being conducted in pipes into some of the houses, called in the patois of the country Maison Caoudo ; and it thus saves the inhabitants the cost of many tons of coal or whole forests of firewood: the equal distribution of the waters is watched over by the police. The hot streams are also partly em- ployed for cookei'y, for boiling eggs, preparing soups, and scalding pigs. They have also been turned to the artificial incubation of chickens with considerable success.

There is no object of interest in or near the town except the waters : a ruin at a short distance, near the chapel, is called le Fort des Anglais ; indeed the English are said to have captured the town in the 14th cen- tury, in the two incursions which they made, in 1357, under the com- mand of Robert Knollys, and in t 4

416

Route 116 . — Rodez — Caihedrcd.

Sect. V.

i.387. A large portion of the inha- bitants of Chaudes Aigues migrate every winter to Paris, to obtain em- ployment in various menial offices, as water carriers, decrotteurs, &c., a practice common among the lower orders throughout Auvergne. From Chaudes Aigues it is possible to as- cend on foot the Plomb de Cantal, and descend on Thiezac (p. 412.), but this cannot be accomplished in a single day.

Scarcely a human habitation oc- curs on the long stage from Chaudes Aigues, except the poor hamlet of Lecalm, where the road enters the dept. Aveyron ; a hilly road.

32 Laguiole, built on the slope of a basaltic hill, trades in the excellent cheese made in this district.

The road skirts on the 1. a valley, in whose recesses, once shrouded by forests, stood the venerable and wealthy Bernardine Monastery of Bonneval, now entirely swept away. The de- scent into the fertile and verdant valley of the Lot is very pleasing. Above the winding course of the river, which is bordered with wooded and vine-clad slopes, rise the escarped peaks crowned with the ruined castles of Caumont and of Roquelaure.

24 Espalion ; is a prettily situated small town, residence of a sous-prefet, on the Lot. There is nothing of in- terest in the town itself, but in its vicinity the two castles already men- tioned, and a curious chapel in the cemetery of the village of Perse.

The road to Rodez ascends out of the valley of the Lot after crossing it, under the castle-crowned height of Caumont. From a distance of many miles, the traveller discerns the pic- turesque towers of

31 Rodez. — Inns: H. des Voya- geurs ; — des Princes ; — Ville de Paris.

Rodez, chef lieu of the dept. Aveyron, is a town of 9,685 inhabit- ants, and occupies a commanding site on an escarped peninsula, surrounded on three sides by a curve of the Aveyron, which flows at a depth of

150 ft. below. The tongue of land, which alone connects it with the neighbouring plain, is traversed by the road from Paris and Espalion ; from all other sides the town is ac- cessible only by steep ascents.

The Cathedral , so imposing and con- spicuous at a distance, will probably not altogether justify the impression it has produced on a near approach, though it is of large size and pos- sesses some elegant details. It was founded 1274, but carried on slowly through the two following centuries, and never finished. The W. end is destitute of entrance, because fitted up internally with a high altar as well as the E.' end. The entrances are at the sides, and, though muti- lated, display some rich ornaments ; near the N. transept rises the belfry , the pride and boast of Rodez, 265 ft. high, consisting of a square base sup- porting an octagonal summit, richly ornamented in the upper part with florid tracery. It is surmounted by a statue of the Virgin, and was finished 1531.

The interior of the church, 110 ft. high, rests on piers without capitals, and the style of its decorations re- sembles the perpendicular of English Gothic. At the entrance of the choir is a finejube (rood loft), which, though mutilated, exhibits workman- ship of surprising beauty, in the de- licate sculpture of its curled foliage. A part of the screen intended to sur- round the choir is of like beauty. The wood-work of the stalls and bishop’s throne in the choir are of good execution, and were well pre- served until painted recently. One of the side chapels contains a fine altar screen of wood, elaborately carved with bas-reliefs, arabesques, and orna- ments partly Gothic, partly classic, in the style of the 16tli century. The whole is painted and illuminated. The partition screen to this chapel is of rich open work in stone, flam- boyant in its style. The wood- work of the organ loft, a tomb in the form of a sarcophagus, adorned with has-

C. France. Route 116. — Valley of Marcillac — Conques . 417

reliefs of the 9th century ; another tomb of Bishop Guirbert, 14th cen- tury ; an altar table of white marble, 6 ft. long, with Byzantine ornaments, 10th century, now used as an altar screen, and painted with a figure of the Virgin, — also deserve attention.

The town abounds in antique houses of the 15th and 16th cen- turies, and contains some of per- haps a still older date. In the Place d'Omet, there is a house charmingly decorated, in the style of the Re- naissance, with arabesques, medallions richly framed, and in the upper story with a range of fantastic consoles. — (See Merimde, 157 — 169.)

Terraced gardens run round the town upon the line of the old forti- fications, and afford agreeable views, though the country round Rodez is not particularly attractive, the valley of the Aveyron being bare, and not very fertile.

Rodez was the Segodunum of the Romans, and capital of the Gaulish tribe, the Ruteni, whence comes its present name.

Fromage de Roquefort , the finest cheese which France produces, which was sent to ancient Rome, and was enthusiastically praised by Pliny, is made with ewe milk, in the mountains of La Lozere, about 28 m. E. and S. of Rodez, in the district around St. Rome, St. Afrique, St. Georges, and Milhau. It is kept in cellars be- longing to the cheesemongers to ripen. About 10,000 cheeses are made an- nually. The village of Roquefort, where are the principal cellars, is situated near St. Afrique, in the midst of the pastures of Larza, which sup- port more than 100,000 sheep.

Diligences go to Toulouse and Montauban.

The Valley of Marcillac, beginning at Salles Compteaux, about 5 m. N. of Rodez, forms an agreeable contrast to the barren district immediately around that town. This beautiful green dell, gushing with springs and | waterfalls, covered with trees and j

orchards, is excavated out of a high plain destitute of vegetation, which must be crossed to reach it. At the head of the valley rises an old castle, near which a copious spring bursts forth. Following this valley past Marcillac (5m.) along the banks of the Dourdou for about 12 m. below that town, you reach Conques , a small town half hidden in a rocky ravine, in the midst of the wildest mountains of the Rouergue, scarcely! accessible at some seasons, owing to the badness of the roads. It owes its origin to an ancient abbey, whose site it oc- cupies, but the buildings of which have all disappeared except the Church of St. Fog, constructed to all appear- ance at the beginning of the 11th century by Abbot Odalric. It is entirely in the Romanesque style, with semicircular vaults and arches ; it terminates at the E. in 3 apses, and is surmounted at the cross by an octagonal tower more modern than the rest (14th century). The W. end is flanked by 2 towers ; the central portal is ornamented with a curious bas-relief in the tympanum, repre- senting the Last Judgment, divided into 3 horizontal friezes ; in the cen- tre, Christ within the Vesica piscis ; on his rt. the good, on his 1. the wicked ; above, angels ; below, on one side, the gates of Paradise, with bolts and a huge lock, and the dead rising from beneath their gravestones ; in the centre, below Christ, an angel and devil weighing souls ; on the other side, the gate of hell, an enor- mous open jaw, into which the devil is thrusting the condemned. Each group and portion of the relief is designated by inscriptions in Leonine verses. The figures are coloured.

The Tresor of the church contains the following curious and valuable relics of ancient art, which at the Re- volution were intrusted to the care of different inhabitants of the town, and were most carefully preserved, and religiously restored by them when the political storm had passed away, x 5

418

Sect. V.

Route 1 16. — Alby — Cathedral.

An ancient reliquiary, called Charle- magne’s A, from its triangular form, and the tradition that it was given by that monarch to the abbey ; it is of silver gilt and partly enamelled, and set with polished gems and some an- tiques : at the base are 2 little figures of gilt bronze, supposed to be less ancient than the upper portion. A statue of St. Foy, 18 inches high, of silver gilt, and studded with precious stones and antique gems, cameos, &c. ; a Byzantine enamel of the figure of a saint, on a plate of copper ; a silver crucifix of beautiful workmanship ; a square slab of red porphyry in a frame of silver, covered with heads of Christ, the Virgin, and Saints in niello. There are also some tapestries of the 16th century.

About 3 m. below Conques the Dourdou falls into the Lot.

The high road from Rodez runs through

26 La Motte.

30 Farguette.

At Carmeaux a coal field is worked, which furnishes a good fuel.

22 Alby. — Inns •. H. des Ambas- sadeurs; — de 1’ Europe ; — du Nord. An ancient city, chef lieu of the dept, of the Tarn, in the midst of the flat but fertile plain of Languedoc, watered by the river Tarn, has 1 1 ,662 inhab. Its buildings are of brick, as is the case throughout the plain of Languedoc; the ramparts are thrown down and planted, and especially on the side next the new Quartier de Vigan, there are extensive walks, avenues, and gardens, partly on the site of the ancient lists (les Lices), where tournaments were held.

The Cathedral of St. Cecile is the chief building in the town ; it is a noble Gothic edifice of brick, founded 1282, and not completed till 1512. The tower at the W. end, raised by Louis d’Amboise, 1475, is 290 ft. high and of curious construction. The nave, without transepts, and unsup- ported by pillars, is 88 ft. wide and 98 ft. high. The choir is separated from the nave by a rood-loft ( Jube ) of

extreme beauty of design, and ela- borate delicacy of execution in its Gothic tracery, foliage, &c. ; the en- closure of the choir is of equally rich workmanship. But the most striking feature of interest is the profusion of fresco paintings on the roof and walls, which escaped destruction at the Re- volution ; portions in the vaults are untouched, and of the utmost fresh- ness and beauty, on an azure ground, the work of Italian artists, 1505. In some of the side chapels, and near the entrance, are paintings of a still earlier date (14th century), and in a style resembling that of the German schools. The stone carvings of the choir, consisting of elaborate taber- nacle work with a profusion of statues, were executed for Cardinal d’Amboise by a company of itinerant masons from Strasburg.

The Prefecture, formerly the Epis- copal Palace, but at a still earlier period the residence of the counts of the Albigeois, is, in part, a heavy castellated edifice of brick, at the margin of the Tarn on its!, bank. Its terraced garden, overlooking the river, is pleasing.

The Church of St. Salvi presents some architectural features of inter- est.

Some manufactures are carried on here of coarse linen cloths, candles, and tools, files, scythes, also of woad (pastel), which has been made here from a very early period. Its chief commerce is in grain ; the plain of Alby being one of the richest corn countries in France.

Alby has given its name to the sect of dissenters from the Church of Rome, the Albigeois, who abounded in the district during the 12th and beginning of the 13th centuries, and who were condemned as heretics by a council held here, 1254, and soon after nearly exterminated at the siege of Beziers. Route 126.

Alby is the birth-place of the un- fortunate sea captain and circum- navigator of the globe, La Peyrouse.

At Saut de Sabot , about 3 m. off,

Route 118 . — Lyons to Le Puy, 419

Central France.

the course of the Tarn is intercepted by rapids of considerable descent, by the side of which a furnace and forge for the manufacture of steel is esta- blished.

The Castle of Castenau de Levi, on the rt. bank of the Tarn, is a pic- turesque object. The Tarn is crossed at the village of Marsac.

21 Gaillac stands on the rt. bank of the Tarn, in a country producing abundance of wine. Its population exceeds 7,000.

23 Pointe Sainte Sulpice.

16 Montbert.

15 Toulouse. Route 70.

ROUTE 118.

LYONS TO LE PUY, A UBENAS, AND MENDE,

BY ST. ETIENNE. RAILWAY TO ST.

ETIENNE. — ARDECHE, AND CEVENNES.

220 kilom. = 134 Eng. m.

Railroad from Lyons to St. Etienne, 14| leagues = 35g Eng. m. Trains go 3 times a day in 4 hours, returning in 3^ ; the line is not well made, the jolting is great, and the carriages, except the first class carriages (coupes), which are more select, are large and dirty, and filled with workmen and market people ; stoppages are frequent at the numerous villages near the line. It was opened 1837. It is carried through more than a dozen tunnels. Its chief use is to supply Lyons with coal from St. Etienne. The termi- nus, or depot, is situated outside the town of Lyons, in the suburb de Per- rache, between the Saone and Rhone, but passengers are conveyed thither in huge omnibuses, which start from the Place Bellecour. The railway is carried over the Gare, or safety dock for barges, opening into the Saone, and crosses the Saone itself just above its junction with the Rhone, by the new suspension Pont de la Mulatiere, and thenceforth skirts the rt. bank of the Rhone as far as Givors, some- times close to the river, sometimes

separated from it by low meadows and rows of plantations of willows, which intercept much of the view.

The course of the Rhone is de- scribed in R. 12 5.

Rt. The first village is Oullins, sur- rounded by country seats of Lyonese manufacturers; in its churchyard Jac- quard, the inventor of the loom named after him, is buried. The line is car- ried through several small tunnels and cuttings past the villages Irigny, Vernaison, and Grigny, before reach- ing Givors.

1 3 Brignais, the first post station on the high road, is about 5 m. to the W. of the railway. At Irigny the high road crosses a hilly range between Brignais and Rive de Gier.

Givors, a dirty and smoky town, abounding in manufactories, especially of glass bottles, on the rt. bank of the Rhone, at the point where it receives the stream of the Gier, and the Canal de Givors, which transports much coal and ironstone. Population about 5,000.

Omnibuses go hence to Vienne ( R. 125. ), 5 m., in about an hour, cor- responding with the railway trains.

The railroad here quits the side of the Rhone, and ascends the valley of the Gier, keeping that stream and the canal on the rt. hand. Industry prevails everywhere ; manufactories occur at every step, and envelope the country with their dense smoke.

A tunnel about f m. (1,500 metres) long is driven through a hill of the coal measures, near Terre noire, before reaching

1 7 La Rousilliere.

22 Rive deGier, a very flourishing and increasing manufacturing town of 12,000 inhab., on the rt. bank of the Gier, at the commencement of the Canal de Givors, situated in a pro- ductive coal field, which is the chief source of its prosperity. More than 40 coal mines in the vicinity are pro- vided with steam engines. There are very large glass works here, and a manufactory of steei carried on by t 6

420 Route 118. — Lyons to Le Puy — Yssingeciux. Sect. V.

Englishmen, Messrs. Jackson, which produces the best steel in France.

Here are also manufactories of steam engines and other machinery, and some silk mills. Lyons is chiefly supplied hence with fuel ; but Mar- seilles, Mulhausen, Paris, and Nantes, also receive fuel in large quantities from this coal field, the most impor- tant in France, from its extent and position. Above this, owing to the steep inclination of the railway, horse power has hitherto been alone em- ployed ; but a new and more level line is being cut (1843) to admit of the use of locomotives. The railroad and post road run side by side to

15 St. Chamond, another manu- facturing town, where ribbons and stay laces are made. More than 1 ,200 frames (metiers a la poupee) are em- ployed in weaving stay laces, which are largely exported. Here are be- sides numerous iron furnaces, foun- deries, and forges, and several silk mills. Population, 8,246. This place has been much injured by the railway not passing through it. Between St. Chamond and St. Etienne runs the ridge separating the waters flowing into the Mediterranean, through the Rhone, from those which go to the Atlantic through the Loire.

Another tunnel, about 1 m. long, traverses a hill under a considerable village, immediately before reaching St. Etienne. It is very narrow and low, affording space for only one line of rails. The latter part of the line is an inclined plane, which the train descends by its own impetus in going to Lyons.

12 St. Etienne, in Route 119.

The diligence takes 12 hours to make the journey from St. Etienne to Le Puy. The road is very hilly and varied : crossing a long ridge out of the valley of the Furens, it con- tinues to traverse a district very po- pulous, and abounding in manufac- tures as far as thecoal measures extend. At Le Chambon are manufactures of cutlery, nails, saws, &c. At

12 Firmigny there are many coal mines, some of them worked after the fashion of quarries, open to the sky, in a coal bed more than 32 feet thick ; also glass works, ribbon and silk mills. The valley is bristling with chimneys, coal heaps, manufac- tories, but they cease before you reach St. Ferreol, just within the borders of the department Haute Loire. The road is admirably en- gineered, and partly cut through the granite rock in a terrace winding round the shoulders of the hills.

17 Monistrol: the chateau, for-

merly a country seat of the Bishop of Le Puy, is now a ribbon manufactory. Some ribbons are woven here, but the manufacture extends no further. 4 m. beyond Monistrol our road ap- proaches the Loire, and crosses, by a very long and steep descent and as- cent, the deep and picturesque gorge of the Langon, which falls into the Loire about ^ m. below the bridge. The course of that river and its deep and wide valley may be traced for a considerable distance on the rt. from the heights beyond the Langon.

20 Yssingeaux. — Inn : H. de

l’Europe ; not good. A town of no particular interest ; pop. 6,700.

Near this we enter the volcanic district of the Velay : on either side of the road rise hills of basalt and trachyte, and from the summit of the tracliytic ridge of the Montagne de Pertuis, which it traverses by a long ascent, an excellent panorama is pre- sented of the country. A part of Le Puy itself is visible. The hills gene- rally assume a conic form, and are frequently capped with basalt. The top of the Mt. Pertuis is of slaty clinkstone, which is used for roofing houses.

On the rt. of the road is passed the ruined Castle Lardeyrolles, perched on the top of such a volcanic emi- nence.

Within 3 m. of Le Puy the Loire is crossed, here an insignificant stream descending from its source at Gerbier

J Central France. Route 118

des Jones, at the base of the Mont Me- zene in the dept, de 1’ Ardeehe. The pedestrian may proceed direct from Le Puy to Montpezat and Aubenas by the Source of theLoire. See page 405.

A good view is obtained of the town of Le Puy in approaching it, though it is partly concealed by the Roclier de Corneille.

28 Le Puy , in Route 109.

The road to Mende is now fur- nished with post horses ; it is very hilly, being carried over part of the range of the Cevennes, in which some of the principal rivers of France take their rise. At first it ascends the valley of the Dolaison. From that stream as far as Pradelles the country is all volcanic.

19 Castaros.

About 3 m. W. of this is the Lac de Bouchet, a mountain tarn occupy- ing the basin of an ancient crater, 91 ft. deep in the centre, without visible outlet.

At the small and elevated town of Pradelles, near which the granite rock shows itself, a cross road strikes off to Aubenas, by Savilatte, over the mountains into the valley of the Ar- deche, near its source, and follows its course downwards, by Mayras, to Thueyts. ( Inn, chez Burine. ) Thuey ts is built on a current of basaltic lava, which has flowed from a crater a little to the E. of it, and has occupied the bed of the Ardeehe; but the river has cut for itself a passage on one side, laying bare a majestic colonnade of basalt 150 ft. high, stretching with a few interruptions li m. down the valley. Its situation and environs are most picturesque and interesting (see p. 432.). About 4 m. below Thueyts, the river Alignon enters the Ardeehe from the S. The course of that stream for about 3 m. up lies at the base of vertical cliffs formed of columns of basalt 150 ft. high, the section of another lava current, made by the Alignon, which has gnawed for itself a channel between the granite and the basalt. This lava |

. — Le Puy — Ardeehe. 42 ^

current is traced up to a large vol- canic crater, called, from its regular cup shape, La Coupe de Jaujac. It has been breached and broken down on one side. Its cone and slopes are covered with Spanish chesnut trees, which grow in the greatest luxuriance on volcanic soils, as is especially seen on the slopes of Mount Etna. This crater of Jaujac has burst forth through a coal formation, which lines the bot- tom of a triangular-shaped valley, bounded by mountains of granite and gneiss. The village of Jaujac stands in a very striking and singular posi- tion, on the edge of the basaltic pre- cipice, on the rt. bank of the Alignon, near the base of the crater, whence a mineral spring and copious jets of carbonic acid gas issue. Another lava current enters the Alignon about 300 yards above its junction with the Ardeehe : its origin is to be sought in another volcanic cone, the Gravenne de Souillols. It has spread for a con- siderable distance down the valley of the Ardeehe. Numerous picturesque ranges of columnar basalt are pre- sented on the river banks from time to time. Some of the most striking occur near Pont de la Beaume, at the junction of the Fontaulier, which flows from Montpezat, with the Ar- deche. The excursion to Montpezat and the rest of the road to Aubenas are described in Route 121.

The road from Pradelles descends into the valley of the Allier, which it crosses before entering

21 Langogne, a town of 2,720 in- hab., in the dept. La Lozere. It has an ancient church, which belonged to a monastery founded in the 10th century.

20 La Vitarelle. About 6 m. to the S. and E. of this the rivers Allier and Lot take their rise. A stone has been set up here to commemorate the death of the chivalrous Duguesclin, who breathed his last while besieging

o b o

a company of marauding mercenaries of the bands called “ compagnies” in

422 Route 118. — Mende — Lozere — Cevennes . Sect. V.

the petty fortress of Chateauneuf le Randon, a little on the rt. of the road, which still retains the ruins of its castle. The commander had pro- mised to yield the place to Dugues- clin in a fortnight, provided no suc- cour arrived ; but the constable, who was adored by the compagtiies as their father, who had spent his own fortune in ransoms for them when taken prisoners, died in the interval. The governor of the fortress never- theless kept his word by placing the keys on the dead warrior’s coffin on the appointed day.

The road is carried over a very high pass in the granitic range, a part of the Mont Margaride, often blocked up with snow, called in irony Le Palais du Roi.

29 Mende (Inn: H. du Pavilion), chef lieu of the dept. Lozere, anciently of the province Gevaudun, is a feudal and monastic town of 5,909 inhab., in a hollow, surrounded by mountains, on the Lot. It has a fine cathedral , surmounted by 2 spires.

The ancient Bishop’s Palace is now the prefecture. On the slope of the Mont Mimat, above the town, is perched the Hermitage de St. Privast, over the grotto of that saint, the apostle of the Gevaudun.

Some considerable manufactures of serges and other coarse cloths are carried on here.

The direct road from Paris to Montpellier runs through Marvijols, about 12 m. W. of Mende.

About 6 m. S. E. of Mende rises the Mont Lozere , whence the depart- ment is named, whose summit, 1,490 metres above the sea level, is covered with extensive pastures occupied in summer by large flocks of sheep, to the number, it is said, of 200,000, which migrate in the winter to the plains of Languedoc, and its base is girt round with large forests, which still abound in wolves.

At 3 m. from Mende our road quits the valley of the Lot, and cross- ing a calcareous table land, utterly

bare and arid, destitute of habitation, cultivation, and almost of soil, called Causse de Sauveterre, descends into the valley of the Tarn, and the coun- try of the Cevennes. (Introduction, Sect. Y.)

26 Molines.

The principal source of the Tarn is in the plateau de l’Hopital: on its borders lies Grisac, birth-place of Pope Urban V., and about 6 m. from its source the Pont de Montvert, a small village, deep sunk between the Mont Lozere and Bouges, the scene of some remarkable events in the war of the Cevennes. The insurrection in fact commenced here by the mur- der of the archdeacon Chayla, a cruel persecutor of the Calvinists, who had scoured the country, backed by a troop of dragoons, seizing, imprison- ing, and torturing women and men. On the night of July 24. 1702, the house, still standing at the N. end of the bridge, at that time occupied by Chayla and a party of priests and sol- diers, was beset by a band of armed Camisards, headed by one of their prophets, Seguier, who, after break- ing down the door with the trunk of a tree and releasing the prisoners, set fire to it, and slew those who attempted to escape.

A few of its inmates were allowed quarter, but Chayla, whose death was the motive for the assault, hav- ing broken his leg in letting him- self down from a window, was dis- covered and killed without mercy. He fell, pierced with 52 wounds, 24 of which were mortal. The prophet and his companions, having perpe- trated this act of vengeance, passed the night on their knees around the corpses singing psalms, and did not withdraw before the morning. Se- guier was captured shortly after, and expiated his crime by being burned alive on the 10th August, 1702. As Pont de Montvert was the cradle, so was it also the tomb of the insurrec- tion : the last bold act of the Cami- sard chief Roland before his death

The Cevennes. Route 118 . — ■ Florae — Gardon.

423

was an assault upon the Miguelets or Spanish soldiers posted in the village, from which he was repulsed. Joani, one of the last of the Camisard leaders, having been made prisoner near this (1710), slipped off from behind the horse of the “archer” or policeman who was conveying him to a dungeon, as he was passing the bridge, like Rob Roy in Scott’s novel, and leaped down into the Tarn, a height of 20 ft. He was shot, however, by the captain of the archers, and perished in the river. Our road quits the Tarn to follow its tributary, the Tarnon, shortly before reaching

11 Florae, a town of 2,200 inhab., situated under a hill, whose bare cleft ridge rises in the form of castellated towers on the Tarnon, close to the influx of the Mimente. The 3 valleys of the 3 head waters of the Tarn lead into the inextricable labyrinth of de- files composing the mountainous dis- trict of the Hautes Cevennes. The Mimente rises in the mountain of Bouges, whose N. summit is crowned by the forest Altefage, in the depths of which the murderers of the arch- priest Chayla had their rendezvous under 3 huge beech trees, one of which was standing in 1837, reduced to a shattered trunk. At Cassagnas, a village near the source of the Mimente, 13 m. from Florae, many of the caverns which were converted into storehouses and arsenals by the Camisards still exist, and serve as habitations. They were filled with corn, wine, oil, chesnuts, and other provisions taken from convents and Romish villages, or contributed by the Protestants to their leaders. The provisions were conveyed thence to the spots where the insurgents met, either in conventicle for prayer, or in battle array, and there distributed in rations. 'Hie corn was for the most part ground in hand-mills, the water- mills having been destroyed by the military commander of Languedoc, who, at the same time, laid waste and burned all the villages in the Upper

Cevennes, to the number of nearly 400, driving away their inhabitants. Other caves were filled with living flocks and herds or with meat salted, while others again were used as pow- der magazines and mills, for the Ca- misards made powder for themselves from the saltpetre collected in their caverns, and the ashes of the willows growing on all the streams. Their principal supply, however, was pur- chased at Papal Avignon ; so that the papists were shot chiefly by the pope’s own powder. The most airy and wholesome caverns were trans- formed into hospitals for the wounded, and stored with drugs from Mont- pellier. To such an extent was the commissariat organised by Roland and other leaders of that fearful civil strife. The mountains skirted by the road on the 1., from Molines down to Ledignan, may be regarded as the citadel of the Camisard insurgents; but their ravages and incursions ex- tended S. of the Gardon, and as far as the sea. Among these desolate solitudes they met, like the Came* ronians of Scotland, with arms in their hands, in secret conventicles, where the harangues of their prophets and their hymns and prayers were often interrupted by an onset of the royal troops, and the congregation arose from their knees to do battle. After some miles, we ascend out of the valley of the Tarnon, leaving it and the road to Montpellier on the rt., and, crossing the high land of Hospitalet, enter the valley of the Gardon, in which lies

23 Pompidou.

The road runs along a sort of hog’s back or ridge, dividing the dept. Lo- zere from that of Gard, and traverses a sterile and dreary country.

30 St. Jean du Gard, on the 1. bank of the Gardon, contains silk mills: 4,128 inhab.

Within this canton, 6 or 8 m. to the N. E. among the mountains, lies Mialet, a village of 1,358 inhab., the stronghold and head quarters of Ro-

424

Route 1 1 9 . — Roanne to Valence .

Sect. V.

land, chief of the Camisards, who was born at Massoubeyran, close to Mia- let. It is also remarkable for the caves and grottoes around it, converted by him into arsenals and storehouses during the war of the Cevennes. Another position of strength held by him was Durfort, among the moun- tains on the rt. of the Gardon and considerably to the S. of Anduze.

To the S. W. of St. Jean rise the mountains of the Basses Cevennes, the chief of which is the Aigoal, at whose base the river Herault rises.

Anduze (no post) is a town of 5,554 inhab., on the rt. bank of the Gardon, and protected from its fu- rious inundations by a strong dyke forming a terrace and promenade. It is overhung by escarped rocks of the Monts Peyremale and St. Julien. It was the centre of the religious wars which followed the death of Henri IV., and the head quarters of the Calvinist leader Rohan. A large portion of its inhab. are still Calvinists. During the Camisard insurrection this town as well as Alais was constantly beset by the Camisards up to its very walls.

Florian, the agreeable author of “ Gonzalvo de Cordova,” was born in the castle of Florian, between Anduze and St. Hyppolite. The valley of the Gardon below Anduze, between Fornac and Ners, is called Vallee de Beaurivage, and is described in his pastoral romances Estelle and Ne- morin, but with so much exaggeration as scarcely to be distinguished.

Near Lezan our road quits the val- ley of the Gardon.

27 Ledignan.

Ribaute, a village situated among the hills to the N. of this, was the birth-place of Cavalier, who, having been bred a shepherd, and afterwards apprenticed to a baker at Anduze, was elected at the age of 17 second in command of the Camisard in- surgents, and proved himself a most able general, as well as powerful pro- phet or preacher. He died a pensioner in Chelsea Hospital.

1 3 Les Barragues de Fons. 18 Nismes, in Route 126 .

ROUTE 119.

ROANNE TO VALENCE ON THE RHONE,

BY ST. ETIENNE AND ANNONAY.

RAILWAY FROM ROANNE TO ST. ETIENNB.

179 kilom. = IlOf Eng. m.

The malleposte from Paris to Mar- seilles takes this route, thus avoiding the long detour by Lyons.

Diligences go daily..

Roanne is described in Route 105. A railroad , 421 m. long, has been carried from Roanne to St. Etienne : the branch from Andresieux to St. Etienne was the first railway con- structed in France : horses and not locomotives are used on it, and, though passenger trains traverse it, in about 6 hours, it is chiefly used for the conveyance of coals and merchan- dise : its construction is very imper- fect, and it is not recommended to English travellers.

From Roanne it is carried up the valley of the Rhins, a small tributary of the Loire, parallel with the post road to Lyons, as far as St. Sym- phorien de Lay, where it turns S. The post road to St. Etienne turns off previously at L’Hbpital to

20 Neulise, beyond which it meets the railway, and the two proceed side by side up the valley of the Loire along its rt. bank. Near the village Pouilly the Loire is confined between huge dykes , faced with stones ce- mented and clamped together, called Mole de Pine , the original construction of which is attributed to the Romans. The rapids thus produced in the river prevent the ascent of boats.

20 Feurs, in R. 112.

1 1 Montrond, a village on the rt. bank of the Loire, 11 m. W. of the railway. Above it rises the majestic ruins of its old castle , burned at the Revolution by order of an itinerant representative of the people.

Central France. Route 119 . — St. Etienne.

425

Montbrison (R. 112.) is 10 m. dis. taut from Montrond.

14 La Gouyonniere.

The railway reaches the banks of the Loire at Andresieux, to which place large quantities of coal are con- veyed from St. Etienne, to be em- barked on the Loire for the supply of the centre and W. of France. At Andresieux the line quits the side of the Loire, and ascends the industrious valley of its tributary the Furens, which, in the course of 9 m., sets in motion more than 100 forges and mills. The line from Roanne meets that from St. Etienne at a place called Querillere, near La Fouillouse.

14 St. Etienne. — Inns: H. du Nord ; large, and comfortable, in the Rue Royale ; — ^Poste, also good.

St. Etienne, the largest and most populous town in the department de la Loire, although not its chef lieu, now numbering with its suburbs about 48,700 inhab., is a remark- able example of a sudden rise, and of still increasing prosperity, owing to two very dissimilar but flourishing branches of manufacture, the making of fire-arms and the weaving of ribbons, To use the words of a French topo- grapher, “ce sont les ateliers de Mars a cote de ceux de Venus.” The town is advantageously situated on the banks of the Furens, which furnishes water power to move its machinery, in the midst of one of the most pro- ductive coal fields of France. It may be called a French Birmingham, and, like that of England, it is “ the child of coal,” surrounded by mines, and even seated on coal deposits, so that some galleries are driven beneath its very streets, though under strict su- perintendence of the authorities. It is by no means an inviting place to tarry in : little regularity is preserved in the building of streets so suddenly thrown up ; and the fine white sand- stone of its houses, many of them 5 and 6 stories high, is soon tarnished and blackened by the coal smoke which constantly hangs in clouds over j

it. It has one fine broad street, di- vided into 2 “ Places,” planted with trees, by the Hotel de Ville, which stands in the centre of it and of the town. It is a building of no great merit, but of large size. It contains the Bourse and the commercial tri- bunal called Conseil de Prudhommes (see p. 380.).

Within its walls is an incipient Museum ( Musee Industriel ) containing specimens of the staple manufactures of the town, ribbons of all kinds, gun barrels, Jocks, and stocks engraved and carved by local workmen ; also a collection of the minerals of the neigh- bourhood, and of the fossils of its coal field, &c.

There are more than 200 master manufacturers of Ribbons here. The number of persons in the town and neighbouring communes employed in this branch of industry has been es- timated at 40,000, and the number of looms at about 20,000. The weavers live chiefly on the outskirts of the town and in the adjoining villages, where they avoid the smoke, and live cheaper, by escaping the octroi.

The beauty and varied invention shown in the patterns, and the de- licate combinations of colours, are admirable. An English traveller should not omit to visit a ribbon weaver’s atelier. About 60 artists are employed in designing and drawing patterns. The total annual value of ribbons made here is estimated at 45 millions of francs.

The gunsmiths' shops may be better seen at Birmingham, or even at Liege, both which places produce a larger quantity of arms. About

30.000 or 40,000 stand of arms are made here annually in time of peace, besides 30,000 fowling pieces and 1,500 pair of pistols; and during the sway of Napoleon not less than from 60,000 to 100,000 were turned out ; but it is stated that at a push

300.000 muskets might be pro- duced in 12 months. A musket may be bought for 12 or even 10 francs;

426 Route 119. — Roanne to Valence — Annonay . Sect. V.

but the price paid by government is from 24 francs to 35 francs a piece. About 500 men are employed in the Manufacture Royale des Armes, which is carried on by contractors, under the superintendence of artillery officers, but many more out-labourers are em- ployed. All the barrels made must pass through a trial at the proof house ( Maison d’Fpreuve), open twice a week. There are also considerable manufactures of quincaillerie, hard- ware, and cutlery.

The making of bayonets, gun locks, gun stocks of walnut wood seasoned by steam, employs a great number of hands.

St. Etienne has the merit, rare in France, of being well lighted with gas. Its Cathedral exhibits in its choir an ancient specimen of Romanesque ar- chitecture.

There is a Theatre here.

Chemins de Fer. — Two short rail- ways branch off from St. Etienne — I. to Lyons : the terminus is at the end of the Rue Royale, on the E. of the town, and there are 3 trains daily (see Rte. 118.); II. to Roanne. The station is also about \ hour’s walk from the centre of the town. Trains go once a day. (See p. 424.)

Diligences daily to Lyons (3 times) ; to Le Puy ; to Annonay and Va- lence ; to Clermont ; to Roanne.

Malleposte in 37 hours to Paris ; — ditto to Marseilles, in 22 hours, by the following route.

The road to Annonay, almost im- mediately on quitting the town, passes out of the coal basin, and com- mences a long, but gradual ascent, through a rugged valley, over the high mountain ridge separating the waters flowing into the Atlantic from those which run into the Mediter- ranean, and the valley of the Loire from that of the Rhone. These two rivers run parallel to each other, but in an opposite direction, for not less than 1 20 m. A short way below the summit stands

12 La Republique, the first relay,

a solitary cabaret, which will fur- nish a tolerable meal, and glass of wine. The ridge which our road crosses is a continuation of the granitic range of the Mont Pilas (pileatus), so conspicuous from the banks of the Rhone, near Vienne (R. 125.), whose peak is visible on the 1. near La Republique. The summit of the pass, and country around, is occupied by a vast forest of firs, le Grand Bois, on emerging from which, and beginning to de- scend, a fine view opens out, at the end of the valley, of the Alps of Dau- phine stretching along the horizon, of the minor chain running from them down the valley of the Isere,and more near, on the rt., of the mountains of the Ardeche.

The road is finely engineered, car- ried gradually down along the flanks of the mountains, following their sinuosities. It passes above the ruined Castle d' Argental, planted on a sort of promontory, where the rocks are naked and inaccessible. The Bourg, once attached to it, has pru- dently descended from this feudal platform,

(16 Bourg d’ Argental), and now occupies a more genial and sunny site lower down, in a part of the valley where the vine grows and the white mulberry flourishes. The white silk produced here is the best in France for the manufacture of blonde lace, and bears a high price.

A little below this town, the road passes out of the dept, of the Loire into that of the Ardeche.

The valley of the Dieune, in which lie both Bourg d’ Argental and Annonay, has no very striking fea- tures of beauty ; naked rocks inter- mixed with formal mulberry planta- tions, with green meadows, aspens, and willows, are the components of its scenery. Lower down, the river is bestridden by several large paper mills, chiefly belonging to the re- spected family Montgolfier. The road, carried high up, looks over slopes oc-

Ardeche. JR. 119. — Annonay. i?.121.— Valence to Nismes. 427

cupied by vineyards, beyond which J rises the Alpine chain, and between ! which, in a deep ravine, runs the river. I Numerous country houses, or boxes, I among the vines announce the ap- j proach to Annonay.

15 Annonay. — Inns: H. duMidi; — H. du Nord.

This active and increasing manu- facturing town, the largest in the dept, de l’Ardeche, containing a po- pulation of 10,000 souls, is situated in the rocky gorges of the Dieune and the Cance, which join their streams in the very centre of the town. The houses are either crammed in between the rocks, or carried up their sides in tiers, or in ranges along their tops, so that its ground plan is very irregular, and from no point can the whole town be seen at'once. It has no public buildings of the least interest, merit, or good taste. The Grande Place includes in its centre the Bascule, and on one side an Obelisk to the memory of the in- genious brothers, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier, natives of Annonay, the inventors of the air balloon, and founders of the celebrated -paper mills near this ; it was erected “ par leurs concitoyens.” Their first ascent into the air was made from this spot, June 1783, in the presence of the Estates of the province. The descendants of the brothers still reside in the neighbourhood, where the family is distinguished by its well-earned opu- lence and intelligence. Boissy d’An- glas, the firm and unbending presi- dent of the Convention, was also born here.

The chief manufacture of An- nonay is that of paper , celebrated all j over France, produced in 8 paper ! mills on the neighbouring streams, j The preparation of kid and other J glove leather occupies 65 master ma- | nufacturers, and 600 men : 350,000 j dozen of skins are prepared annually, I of which half are sent to England. The cultivation of the silk-worm, and the production of silk, chiefly the

white kind, prized for tulles and blondes, is rapidly advancing in the neighbourhood. Vast quantities of mulberries have been planted within a few years, and numerous silk mills (filatures) established.

The name Annonay is said to come from the Latin annona, corn maga- zines, established by the Romans on this spot (?).

1 2 Diligences run daily ; to St. Etienne ; to Paris ; to Lyons; to Gre- noble; to Valence and Marseilles.

A steep ascent leads out of An- nonay : from the heights above it, and nearly all the way to the Rhone, the Alps form a fine feature in the view.

The borders of the Rhone are reached a little below la Tour des Mar- tyrs, near Andance, picturesquely situ- ated among granitic hills, on whose sides every inch of space opening to the sun is occupied by vines. A crag rising above the village is sur- mounted by a Calvary. Near this the sad effects of the inundations of the Rhone, in 1840-41, meet the traveller’s sight, in fields and vine- yards overwhelmed with sand, broken bridges, and ruined houses, until the Rhone is crossed, by a wire bridge, at

21 St. Vallier 32 Valence (Inn : Poste),

described in Route 125.

ROUTE 121.

VALENCE TO NISMES, BY PRIVAS.

AUBENAS AND ALA IS. VOLCANOES

OF THE ARDECHE.

184 kilom. =115 Eng, m.

A post road, but not good in places, and very hilly. A diligence goes daily to Aubenas, but it takes 12 hours owing to the defects of the road, which, while it continues along the Rhone, is carried through several rivers by fords, and beyond is very hilly. Throughout it is interrupted by numerous villages, the passage of

428

Route 121. — Privas — Aubenas.

Sect. V.

whose narrow and ill-paved streets is very difficult and tedious.

The Rhone is crossed by the wire bridge at Valence to the rt. bank : and the Eyrieu by another wire bridge to

19 La Voulte; all which is de- scribed in Route 125.

The Valley of La Pay re, up which the road turns on quitting the Rhone, is not remarkable for beauty ; owing to the extreme aridity of the hills, which are of bare limestone, with a drapery of vines too scanty to cover their nakedness. There is some pas- ture in the low ground ; but the dis- trict must properly be considered one vast grove of mulberries, for rearing the silkworm, — the source of wealth to the Ardeche (see R. 125.)

The large white buildings which line the banks of the useful stream traversing the valley are, for the most part, silk mills, for the moulinage (reeling) and filature (throwing) of the silk. They are very numerous near Chomerac, the most considerable place in this valley. A low ridge separates it from that in which is situated

20 Privas. — Inns: La Croix d’Or; tolerable, but dear ; — H. du Com- merce. Avoid stopping here for the night if possible, in autumn, on ac- count of the mosquitoes.

Privas, chef lieu of the Dept. 1’ Ar- deche, 4,219 inhab., and the smallest chef lieu in France, is situated on a steep ridge, a root of the range of the Coiron, projecting between the valley of the Ouveze, and that of a smaller stream falling into it, within an am- phitheatre of rugged and arid hills. Its principal street running along this back-bone, is prolonged, at either end, into terraces planted with trees, whence a good view is obtained of the valleys around, their slopes clad with vines, and dotted with country houses ; their depths, along the line of the streams, studded with silk mills.

The town has an aspect of some

pretension at a distance, with the Greek portico of its Palais de Justice, but contains nothing worth notice except its establishments for the reel- ing and throwing of silk. It was in the 1 6th and 17th centuries a for- tress, and stronghold of Protestant- ism, so that in 1612 a synod of all the Reformed Churches of France was held here ; and in the reign of Henri IV., there was not a single Roman Catholic in the town or its territory. It has now quite a modern appear- ance, owing to its having been burned to the ground, and levelled with the dust, by Louis XIII., who assisted in person to besiege it, in the train of Cardinal Richelieu. The defence was conducted by the brave St. Andre de Montbrun, and a garrison of 1,200 men, assisted by the inhabitants. At the end of 2 months a general assault was made by the royal forces, who were repulsed with a loss of 500 men ; but the place being no longer tenable was abandoned by Montbrun, who retired to the Fort de Toulon, where the want of provisions compelled him soon after to surrender. The king caused him and all his companions to be hung ; he confiscated the property of all the inhabitants of the town who were in it during the siege, and for- bade, by an edict, any person living there without letters issued under the great seal. The site of this fort is marked by a conical hill, surmounted by 3 crosses, and a Protestant temple near the Esplanade marks the position of the old castle, which was razed to the ground. Privas had, in a previous war of Religion, 1574, successfully resisted the royal forces, under the Due de Montpensier, and had become a sort of metropolitan church to the Protestants : hence the exasperation of the Roman Catholic party against it.

The road to Aubenas surmounts the chain of the Coiron mountains, which traverse the dept. Ardeche, from N. W. to S.E., by a steep ascent, requiring 2 hours to climb to the

The Ardeche. Route 121 . — Aubenas — Ardeche.

429

summit of the pass. It passes through large plantations of sweet chesnuts. The famed “ Marrons de Lyons ” come chiefly from the Ardeche. The country is not interesting, the extreme nakedness of the hills being a great drawback. The mountains on either side of the gap or col over which the road passes are capped by basalt. From the slope and top of the pass the mountains of the dept, of the Drome beyond the Rhone are well seen. On the opposite slope, a little way down, stands

16 Les Moulins, a single house. On the descent towards Aubenas, the hills are not less parched and naked, nor more picturesque, than on the side of Privas. The vine grows very high up, and it is curious to see it flourishing upon the dry disintegrated debris of rock fallen from the tops of the mountains, streaking their whitened flanks with the faintest tinge of verdure. The descent is very long, and the road, towards the bottom of the valley, as bad as pos- sible ; not properly made.

The river Ardeche is crossed im- mediately before reaching Aubenas, in a suburb of that town composed chiefly of silk mills. A series of zig- zags carried up the face of the hill are surmounted in order to enter

14 Aubenas. — Inns : H. de l’Union ; kept by Barry, good, and tolerably comfortable with capital cuisine, and not expensive. Truffles abound here: chesnuts, figs, ortolans are to be had in perfection. The house being si- tuated on the brow of the hill com- mands a fine view from its terrace.

Aubenas (4,685 inliab.) is a town of very striking appearance at a dis- tance, from the commanding height on which it stands, and the picturesque forms of its old Gothic castle, feudal walls, and other chief buildings. From this elevated platform, the foot of which is washed by the Ardeche, you command a view of some interest over its industrious and productive vale, clothed in its lower slopes with

vines, fig trees, and mulberry groves* surmounted, in the distance, by the usual bare arid mountains. You trace the river’s course upwards, to the point where it issues out of the more confined gorge of Vais, and as it were rejoicing in riotous liberty, widens its bed, and overspreads the valley with gravel, bare at most seasons but winter, and after autumnal storms, when the whole channel is covered by its muddy stream. It is never- theless useful ; serving to irrigate the fields, and turn the machinery of a long array of silk mills which line its banks.

Aubenas is of importance as a place of trade, having become the staple for the silks of the Ardeche, Drome, Gard, and L’Herault, which are de- posited here in commission houses, sometimes to the value of 3 millions of francs, to be disposed of and dis- tributed to the consumers in Lyons, St. Etienne, &c., who find here an assortment of all the different quali- ties of silk, suited to the exigence of the various manufactures. The canton of Aubenas furmishes about the 30th part of the silks sold in its market: in 1838 it possessed 60 mills for reeling and throwing the silk, which employed 1,600 persons, chiefly females ; the number has since greatly increased.

The College Royal was originally placed under the care of the Jesuits, established here in the 16tli century, for the conversion of the Protestants, who abounded in the Vivarais, as well as for the dissemination of learning. Neither the building nor its church merit notice.

The castle, an ancient and pic- turesque edifice, flanked by round and square towers, was occupied alter- nately by Romanists and Huguenots during the wars of Religion : it is now converted into municipal and police offices ; and the public scales for weighing all the silk brought to mar- ket are deposited in it.

Diligences daily to Privas and Va-

430

Route 121. — Antraigues — Coup d’Ayzac. Sect V.

lence ; a courier to Bourg St. Andeol ; and 3 times a week to Montelimart.

Although there is little worth see- ing in Aubenas itself, it makes capital head quarters (more especially con- sidering the goodness of its Inn) for exploring the surrounding district of the Vivarais, so interesting in a geo- logical point of view.

The course of the river Ardeche and its tributaries, above Aubenas, and within a range of 15 or 20 m., exhibits a series of interesting volcanic phenomena, which the geologist will not fail to explore, and which may be visited with interest even by the or- dinary traveller, merely on account of the picturesqueness and singularity of the scenery.

Some of the valleys of the Bas Vi- varais present an exquisite combina- tion of beauty and magnificence. Their scenery has been compared by Mr. Scrope, in his excellent geolo- gical description of this district, to that of the Apennines, but with a more luxuriant vegetation. The rich glow of the chesnut forests, tinted by a soft and brilliant atmosphere, are admirably adapted to painting.

Excursions. — 1. Antraigues and the Coupe d'Ayzac are distant about 8 m. above Aubenas. A good road leads thither turning out of that to Le Puy at La Begude, and crossing the river Ardeche, by a wire bridge, to the vil- lage of Vais (H. de l’Europe ; a good inn, and convenient head quarters for geological excursions), resorted to on account of its mineral baths, supplied by a spring of cold acidulo-ferruginous water. Vais lies on the 1. bank of the Volane, a tributary of the Ardeche; and for nearly 6 m. above Vais the valley, which is very picturesque, and alter- nately well wooded or bounded by rocks of gneiss and granite, is studded, at intervals, by patches of basalt, form- ing platforms and regular colonnades, like those of the Giant’s Causeway, but on a much smaller scale, although, at times, 100 or 150 ft. high. These I fragments are all that remain of a

I lava current which once, undoubtedly, filled the bottom of the valley, but was | cut away by the Volane, in forcing j a passage for its waters. They appear to be composed of 3 beds, or stories, of which the lower one presents the most regular columns, and the upper j is nearly amorphous. In places the current of the river, or of some minor rivulet, still saws through or under- mines the basalt, and strews the bed of the Volane with detached pillars, mostly regular prisms of 5 or 6 sides. In some places you look down on the top of the lava stream, which presents the appearance of a gigantic tesselated pavement. The origin of this erup- tion is to be traced in a volcanic cone, called La Coupe d'Ayzac , rising on the 1. bank of the Volane, opposite Antraigues, a picturesque village, which occupies a commanding plat- form, on the top of a high rock of gneiss, near the head of the valley. Around the base of this rock still cluster numerous groups of columns, corresponding with a much finer co- lonnade, on the opposite or rt. bank of the river, at the same level, which were, doubtless, originally united. Antraigues affords no accommoda- tion but a miserable cabaret. To reach the Coupe d’Ayzac is a walk of f hour from the bridge over the Vo- lane, leaving on the rt. hand, the road up to Antraigues. It is a very regular crater, but slightly broken down on the N. W. side, facing the Col d’Ayzac, and from this breach the stream of basaltic lava which has flowed down the course of the Volane may be seen to issue.

The stout pedestrian may find his way over the mountains from this to Burzet and Montpezat, but the aid of a guide may be desirable ; otherwise he must retrace his steps down the Volane to Vais.

2. To Montpezat, Thueyts, Jaujac. It is a long day’s excursion to Mont- pezat alone, which is probably 16 miles from Aubenas, — a ride of nearly 4 hours by a bad road. The road to Le

431

The Ardeche. Route 121.—

Puy, up the valley of the Ardeche, is followed ; but instead of crossing the bridge at La Begude, you continue along the rt. bank, leaving on one side the dirty village of Prades, where coal in small quantity is found, and proceeding to La Baume, (61 miles from Aubenas), a village picturesquely situated, under a mass of basalt, exhi- biting in the face of its cliffs a fine architectural facade of columns, and occupying an angle in the valley, nearly opposite to the junction of the Fontaulier with the Ardeche. The top of this platform of basalt, called Chaussee du Pont la Baume, is co- vered with vines, and its mass is pe- netrated by a sort of grotto, lined and vaulted with natural pillars. This chaussee is probably the production of no less than 4 or 5 extinct volcanoes situated in the side valleys opening into the Ardeche, above this, whose lava streams united at this point, just, as the waters flowing out of them now do. Between the 2 rivers, on the top of a domineering rock, its shattered towers and walls picturesquely draped with ivy, rises an old Castle , which once belonged to the Dues de Venta- dour : it is one of the finest feudal relics in the district.

The road to Montpezat (a bridle or cart road only) here quits that to Thueyts and Le Puy (see R. 118.), crosses the Ardeche by the Pont de la Baume, and ascends the valley of the Fontaulier, having the castle on the 1., and commanding a fine view of it and the 2 valleys. Ranges of basalt appear from time to time on either side of the valley.

On the rt., a little beyond the vil- lage of Meyras, the valley of Burzet opens out on the rt. ; a bed of basalt occupies the bottom of it, and the river frequently flows over the tops of its columns, instead of cutting through them. About 6 miles up this valley is a village.

The vale of the Fontaulier expands as you ascend it ; its lower slopes are covered with one vast forest of sweet

- Montpezat.

chesnut, which flourishes in the con- genial soil, composed of volcanic ashes, many of the trees being centuries old. The roads are strewn with their fruit in September, yet, productive as they are, and valuable to the peasant, who exports the best to Lyons or Paris, and feeds on the inferior fruit himself, in winter, they are gradually giving place to the still more profitable mul- berry trees and the culture of silk. The higher slopes, nearly to the tops of the hills, are terraced to plant vines. The red ashes, or scorise, which compose the soil of the valley, have issued from a volcanic crater near its head, easily distinguished for some distance below by its red hue, called La Gr avenue de Montpezat. It is a regular bowl-shaped orifice, composed of porous scoriae, roasted like the slag of a furnace, or of puzzolana (here called gravier). The crater is slightly in- clined on one side; and from the lowest edge of its rim the lava current which occupies the valley below Montpezat has been discharged, filling the beds of the streams to a depth of 130 ft., and for the width of nearly 1 a mile. The road to and from the bridge leading to Montpezat passes under cliffs cut through this eruption of lava, and showing on tbeir face co- lumns of considerable regularity. A branch of the lava current from the Gravenne has descended, on the op- posite side of the crater, towards Thueyts, into the Ardeche. Vol- canic tears, bombs, black and white cinders, are among the productions of its lava.

Montpezat ( Inn : a dirty, miserable cabaret, de France) is a poor and dirty town, composed of singular gloomy houses, in a narrow street, at the foot of the granitic range of the Coiron mountains. A carriage road has re- cently been made from the town up the valley, and over the bridge behind, as far as the village Pal (1^ hour’s walk), beyond which, on the opposite slope, is the very perfect volcano of Pal, in the midst of which rise 3 cones.

432

Route 121. — Aubenas to Nismes — Alois. Sect. V.

About 15 m. N. of Montpezat, near Gerbier des Jones, at the base of the Mount Mezene, is the source of the Loire, 4,71 1 ft. above the sea level. There is a bridle path by it to Le Puy (p. 405.).

It is possible to cross the mountain from the Gravenneof Montpezat direct to Thueyts : the only other way is to return to Pont de la Baume.

A short way above La Baume, the Ardeehe is joined by the river Alignon, in whose valley are situated the sin- gular craters of Javjac and Souillols. (See Route 118.) There is a road from Jaujac down the valley of the Liane to L’ Argentiere.

Thueyts (Inn: Chez Burine ; far better than that at Montpezat) lies on the 1. bank of the Ardeehe, surrounded by the most splendid volcanic scenery, about 4 m. above La Baume, (see Route 118. p. 421.); it stands on a volcanic current, which has issued from the same ridge as the Gravenne de Montpezat, if not from that very crater. For nearly 1 m. below Thueyts the river is lined by the majestic colonnade of basalt proceed- ing from it. A stair, the steps of which are basaltic prisms, has been formed up the rock, and is called Escalier da Roi .* A stream dashing down into a tremendous ravine called La Guevle d'Enfer, forms a remark- able waterfall

The road from Aubenas to Nismes is that by which the silk produced in the S. is transported to the market of Aubenas, and thence transferred to the manufactories of Lyons and St. Etienne. It leaves the town of L’Argentiere a little on the rt. before reaching

23 Joyeuse, a small town on the Baume, at the foot of the Cevennes. An excursion might be made hence by Ruoms and Vallons (famed for the caves in its vicinity) to the Pont de

Additional information respecting the

valley of the Ardeehe is desired by the Editor.

V Arc, a natural bridge of limestone spanning the river Ardeehe, open to a height of 90 ft. above it, and 160 ft. wide. It was once the common line of passage from the Vivarais into the Cevennes, and was fortified in the religious wars.

29 St. Ambroix in the Dept. Gard, a town of 3,000 inhab., on the Ceze, surmounted by an old castle.

The coal mines of Bessege, near which the road passes, are remarkable for the quantity and size of the fossil vegetables occurring in them.

The rivers Ceze and the 2 Gardons take their rise in the mountains of the Hautes Cevennes, — the wild theatre of the insurrection of the Protestant mountaineers, known as Camisards, or “ Enfans de Digu,” as they called themselves ; while they distinguished their native mountains, whose roots our road may be said to skirt on the rt. from St. Ambroix to Ners, by the name “ le Desert. ” Their deso- lating irruptions and bloody contests with the forces of Louis XIV. spread far and wide over the country we are about to traverse, on both sides of our route, up to the very gates of Nismes and Alais ; and almost every step will recal to those familiar with the his- tory of that fearful contest some me- lancholy memorial of bloodshed and violence.

19 Alais (Inns : H. du Commerce ; — Lion d’Or), an important manu- facturing town, containing 15,884 inhab., in the midst of a productive coal field, which has only recently begun to be worked to any extent, and which furnishes iron as well as coal. The chief collieries are at Grande Combe on the railway. There are in the vicinity of Alais numerous iron furnaces, silk mills, glass works, and many steam engines hard at work.

The Place de la Marechale is sur- rounded by low porticoes or arcades.

The town contains no fine build- ings. It was taken by Louis XIII., as a stronghold of Protestantism, and its fortifications destroyed.

Cevennes. Route 121 . — Aubencts to Nismes — Alais. 433

A railroad connects Alais with Nismes ; trains go twice a-day. Dis- tance 49 kilom. = 30 Eng. m. A branch extends from Alais to Grande Combe, 10 m.

At la Tour de Bellot, a deserted sheep farm and watch-tower to the "W. of Alais, between it and Anduze, a band of 1,500 Camisards, betrayed by a miller on the Gardon, who had supplied them with provisions, were surprised at night by the troops of Louis XIV., 1704. The Camisard outposts had barely time to sound an alarm, when they were cut to pieces, so that only the leader and a part of the band were able to issue forth from the tower before it was invested. The Camisard chief, Cavalier, made furious efforts to drive back the soldiery, and relieve his brethren in the tower, but in vain. Its garrison, however, blocked up every entry, pouring a deadly fire from every window and cranny, and were only subdued after an obstinate resistance of 8 hours, by fire being set J to the building, in which 298 of them ! perished, besides 100 left dead outside the walls. The loss of the king’s troops was estimated at 1,200 killed and wounded. Wild justice was soon after done by the Camisards on the traitorous miller ; he was seized, con- demned to death, and led out to exe- cution in front of the insurgents, who, as was their custom, knelt around him the while, offering up prayers for his soul. His two sons, who served in their ranks, refused his parting em- brace, and looked on unmoved during his punishment.

Vezenobre, through which the road passes, is frequently mentioned in the history of the Cevenol war ; and the inhabitants of Euzet, a village a few miles to the E., were put to the sword, 1704, by a king’s officer, La- lande. Entering the town suddenly, he found great store of provisions, heaps of bread, hams, sausages, and a bullock skinned, evidently destined for the Camisards, whom a brief search disclosed concealed in the j

France.

neighbourhood. They were the re- mains of the force of Cavalier, de- feated at Nages ( R. 126.), and were here again routed with a loss of 170 killed, including several prophetesses. Further evidence that the inhabit- ants of Euzet were aiding and abetting the rebels was furnished by the dis- covery in their vicinity of one of those caverns which the Camisards converted into hospitals and arsenals. It was filled with wounded, medicines, arms, and ammunition. This sealed their fate ; they were all slaughtered, including the patients in the cavern, and Euzet was destroyed. Such was the system on which this exterminat- ing war was carried on. The Cami- sard commissariat was supplied by requisitions upon towns and villages, both Catholic and Protestant : when not furnished with good will, a mis- sive of this sort preceded their ap- pearance, addressed to the chief men of the place : — M. M. vous ne man- querez point de nous preparer de- main le diner, sous peine d’etre as- siege et mis a feu et a sang. Cava- lier.”

14 Ners is a village on the 1. bank of the Gardon, at the angle formed by the junction of its two branches, the Gardon d’ Anduze and d’ Alais. The river in winter rolls down a flood of water with the force of a torrent, but in summer is dried up to a few rills or threads. Owing to its impetu- osity and sudden rising, no attempt to throw a bridge across it has suc- ceeded.

Not far from Ners, on the W., is the Castle of Castelnau (8 m. S. of Uzes). It is remarkable as the spot where Roland, the chief and general- issimo of the Cevenol insurgents, ended his career, Aug. 13. 1704. His presence on the spot had probably been betrayed to Marshal Villars, for in the middle of the night, when Ro- land and his companions (including a female called Mademoiselle de Cor- nelli) were fast asleep, their sentinel on the tower heard the noise of u

Route 121. — The Cevennes.

Sect. V.

434

horses 1 feet approaching at a gallop. He gave the alarm just as the cavalry were about to enter. The Camisards started up half naked, rushed to the stable, and mounting the bare backs of their horses, gallopped off for their lives, but without saddles, belt, or spurs. They were soon overtaken, compelled to dismount, and, having been discovered trying to conceal themselves in a hollow way, were forced to face about. Roland, plant- ing his back against the trunk of an old olive tree, made a desperate re- sistance ; answering to the summons, “ Rendez-vous ! Bas les armes ! ” by killing 3 of the dragoons with 3 suc- cessive shots of his blunderbuss, and

he was drawing his pistols, of which he carried a row at his girdle, when a musket-shot brought him down. The wound was mortal, and his compa- nions, seeing his fall, at once threw themselves on his body, and allowed themselves to be seized and bound like lambs. The body of Roland was publicly burned at Nismes.

Near Ners rises the tall tower of the modernised Castle of Boucoiron, on a rock.

16 La Calmette.

The road passes near the limestone quarries, whence the Romans ob- tained the material for the amphi- theatre of Nismes.

14 Nismes. (Route 126.)

435

SECTION VI.

PROVENCE AND LANGUEDOC.

ROUTE

PAGE ROUTE

rAGE

125 The RhoxNe (b). — Lyons to Avignon and Arles, by Vi- enne, Valence, Orange ( Vau- cluse), Tarascon, Beaucaire, and St. Remy

127 Nismes to Marseilles and Nice, by Beaucaire ( Rail - ivay'), Arles, The Crau, Toulon and Hyeres

481

438 128 Avignon to Marseilles and

126 Avignon to Narbonne, by the Pont du Gard, Nismes, Mont-

Nice, by Aix, Frejus, and Cannes -

493

pettier, and Beziers. — St.

Gilles and Aigues Mortes 467

1. FEATURES OF PROVENCE. CLIMATE, PEOPLE. 2. MISTRAL. 3. MOS- QUITOES. 4. FERTILITY AND VARIED PRODUCTIONS. 5. THE TRUE GARDEN

OF FBDVENCE. 6. THE ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. 7. GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE.

—8. THE RHONE.

§ 1. The Englishman who knows -the S. of France only from books ; who thei-e finds Provence described as the cradle of Poetry and Romance, the para- dise of the Troubadours, a land teeming with oil, wine, silk, and perfumes, has probably formed in his mind a picture of a region beautiful to behold, and charming to inhabit. These anticipations may probably be strengthened by Mrs. Radcliffe’s well-known, but perfectly unfounded, descriptions of scenery in the “ Mysteries of Udolpho.” Nothing, hower, can differ more widely from the reality ; and at least it is not from this quarter that France deserves the epi- thet 44 La Belle.” Nature has altogether an arid character ; — in summer a sky of copper, an atmosphere loaded with dust, the earth scorched rather than parched by the unmitigated rays of the sun, which overspread every thing with a lurid glare. The hills rise above the surface in masses of bare rock, without any covering of soil, like the dry bones of a wasted skeleton. Only on the low grounds, which can be reached by irrigation, does any verdure appear. There is a sombre melancholy sternness in the landscape of the South. The aching eye in vain seeks to repose on a patch of green, and the inhabitant of the North would not readily purchase the clear cloudless sky of Provence with the verdure of misty England. Neither the bush-like vine nor the mop-headed mulberry, stripped of its leaves for a great part of the summer, nor the tawny green olive, whose foliage looks as though powdered with dust, will at all compensate in a picturesque point of view for forests of oak, ash, and beech.

“ After Aix, the austere South of France, silent, burnt up, shadeless, and glaring, with houses all closed, showed the misery of a hot climate, while in Italy its luxury had struck us. The sun had bleached every thing, and the universal atmosphere was thickened with the perpetual dust of habitual drought, for here it is said not to rain for seven months together in summer. The roads were of a dusky buffy white : the farm-houses, built of the materials nearest at hand, of the same colour ; roads, soil, houses, men, trees, animals, all partaking of the same hue of universal dust, as the caterpillar does of the leaf on which it feeds. Now and then parched and scanty grass sprang

u 2

436

Sect. VI.

§ 2. Mistral . § 3. — Mosquitoes.

up among the clodded earth, and long-legged sheep were feeding anxiously upon it, in the scorching sun, without a single tree of shelter. All the inns, however miserable, have large remises, to afford coolness and shade, during the middle of the day, for travellers and horses.” — P.

The character of the people appears influenced by the fiery sun, and soil which looks as though it never cooled. Their fervid temperament knows no control or moderation ; ferocious in disposition, they are led by very slight religious or political excitement, on sudden impulses, to the committal of murders, assas- sinations, and other acts of violence unknown in the North. They are rude if not brutal in manner, coarse in aspect, and harsh in speech, their patois being unin- telligible, even to the French themselves. From the loudness of tone and energy of gesture, they appear always as though going to fight when merely carrying on an ordinary conversation. The traveller who happens to fall into the hands of the ruffianly porters at Avignon will be able to judge if this be an exag- gerated picture.

Those who are prone to complain of the climate of England should be sent to try that of the South of France. If they expect an unvai-ying serene sky and warm temperature, they will be wofully disappointed. The variations between summer and winter are marked by the dead olive, and vine trees killed by the frost ; and the torrid influence of summer by the naked beds of torrents left without water. In many years not a drop of rain falls in June, July, and August, and the quantity is commonly very small : the great heats occur between the middle of July and the end of September, yet even in summer, scorching heat alternates with the most piercing cold; and the vicis- situdes are "so sudden and severe, that strong persons, much more invalids, should beware how they yield to the temptation of wearing thin clothing, and of abandoning cloaks and great coats.

§ 2. The cause of these sudden changes in temperature is the mistral or Vent de Bize, the N.W. wind, one of the scourges of Provence, from the oc- currence of which no season is exempt. It is a most violent, bitterly cold, and drying wind, which fills the atmosphere with a yellow haze, and is most pain- ful to the eyes and face. It prevails chiefly in spring all along the coast, and up the Rhone as far as Valence.

“ Voila le vent, le tourbillon, 1’ouragan, les diables dechaines qui veulent emporter votre chateau ; quel ^branlement universel ! ” are the words in which Madame de Sevigne describes it : it overthrows at times the largest trees ; the branches are generally turned in a direction contrary to its cutting blasts, and while it rages vessels are not unfrequently prevented putting out to sea in the teeth of it. It was well known to the ancients, and is supposed to be the Melamborias of Strabo, which he describes as sweeping stones and gravel from the ground. It is sufficient to blow a man from his horse. “ In the winter months, December, January, February, the weather is truly charming, with the mistral very rarely.”

§ 3. Another plague of the South of France is the mosquitoes, cousins, or moucherons, which, to an inhabitant of the North, unaccustomed to their ve- nomous bite, will alone suffice to destroy all pleasure in travelling. They ap- pear in May and last sometimes to November ; and the only good which the mistral effects is that it modifies the intensely hot air of summer, and re- presses, momentarily, these pestilental insects. They are not idle by day, but it is at night that the worn-out traveller needing repose is most exposed to the excruciating torments inflicted by this cruel insect. Woe to him who for the sake of coolness leaves his window open for a minute ; attracted by the light they will pour in by myriads. It is better to be stifled by the most

Provence. 5 4. — Fertility. §5. — Garden of Provence. 437

oppressive heat than to go mad. Even closed shutters and a mosquito cur- tain ( cousiniere ), with which all beds in good inns are provided, are ineffectual in protecting the sleeper. A scrutiny of the walls, and a butchery of all that appear, may lessen the number of enemies ; but a single one effect- ing an entry, after closing the curtains and tucking up the bed-clothes with the utmost care, does all the mischief. The sufferer awakes in the middle of the night in a state of fever, and adieu to all further prospect of rest. The pain inflicted by the bites is bad enough, but it is the air of triumph with which the enemy blows his trumpet, the tingling, agonising buzzing which tills the air, gradually advancing nearer and nearer, announcing the certainty of a fresh attack, which carries the irritation to the highest pitch.

The pain and swellings usually last for several days, and there is no re- medy but patience. The state of the blood at the time, however, considerably modifies or increases the amount and duration of suffering. It is said to be the female only which inflicts the sting. Mosquitoes, of course, are not peculiar to the S. of France, but there the traveller from the N. will probably first encounter them ; and it is necessary that he should be prepared.

The scorpion is not uncommon in Languedoc and Provence, and even now and then makes his entrance into the houses, being brought in along with fire-wood ; and it is even not uncommon to discover it in the folds of the bed curtains or sheets. Instances, however, of persons being bitten by this foul insect are very rare indeed.; from its nature it is fearful, and when discovered endeavours to run away and hide itself.

§ 4. The foregoing description of Provence and Bas Languedoc has hitherto been limited to the dark side of the picture : it remains to examine the resources, fertility, and curiosities of the country.

Its valleys and lowlands accessible to irrigation are most fertile; and the earth, where it can be sufficiently supplied with moisture, teems with varied productions all the year round. Before the spring is over, the mulberry trees, which line the roads and cross the fields, in ugly cabbage-headed rows, are stripped of their juicy foliage to feed the silk-worm, — silk alone being a source of immense and increasing wealth in the S. provinces of France. Early in summer comes the corn harvest, the crops having grown, for the most part, under the boughs of the mulberry, olive, or vine ; sunshine and soil sufficing for both. Autumn is the season of the vintage ; and the wines of Lunel and Frontignan have a widely established reputation, though the bulk of the produce is used in the manufacture of wines and for mixing with other sorts. Chesnuts are another crop collected in the same season, and furnishing a store of wholesome food for the peasant during winter. The winter has set in before the olives are gathered and pressed. A visit to the market-place in every town will show with what abundance the earth brings forth fruits and vegetables of endless variety, — grapes, figs, melons, almonds, citrons, mush- rooms, tomatas, truffles, &c. The drying and preserving of fruits of various kinds is a great source of mercantile wealth to Provence.

§ 5. There is, however, one little corner of Provence which combines remark- able picturesque beauty with a climate so serene and warm, and well protected from injurious blasts, that its productions are almost tropical in their nature, 'lhis is a narrow strip in the Department of the Var, bordering on the blue Mediterranean, extending from Toulon to Nice, stretching inland to Grasse and Draguignan. In this favoured region, the true garden of Provence, the real paradise of the Troubadours, in the valleys, and on the S. slopes of the small mountain chains of Les Maures and Les Estrelles, sheltered from the injurious mistral, and open only to the S., the aloe, the cactus, the pine of

u 3

4*38 §6. — Roman Antiquities, §8 — The Rhone. Sect. VI.

Aleppo, the umbrella pine, the pomegranate, the orange, and even the palm tree, may be seen flourishing in the open air. This is especially the case at S. Maxime, Hyeres, Antibes, and Cannes, whose gardens, luxuriant with aro- matic herbs, heliotropes, orange flowers, jasmines, &c., supply the perfume distilleries of La Grasse, where more scents, pomades, essences, &c. are made than in any town in Europe, save Paris.

§ 6. The chief attraction, however, of these southern provinces is their Roman remains , not surpassed in beauty and preservation by any in Italy. The Pont du Gat’d, between Avignon and Nismes, and the walls of the Theatre at Orange, are stupendous and most impressive structures, perfectly charac- teristic of the great people that raised them ; the Amphitheatres of Nismes and Arles, though far less enormous than the Colossaeum, are more interest- ing, on account of their better preservation. The Maison Carree is a gem of architecture : the monuments at St. Remy, and the arch at Orange, are also of great excellence, besides many other curious relics, which are described in their proper place.

§ 7. The student of Christian architecture will find much to interest him in the churches of Arles and its vicinity, of St. Gilles, of Aix, of Avignon (the cathedral), where the stupendous Papal palace is also a most interesting historical monument, and many more. ;

In these, and other mediaeval monuments of S. E. France, the traveller will not fail to observe the long-perpetuated influence of Roman architecture on the ecclesiastical edifices of the district which still retains its Roman name of the Province, par excellence.

§ 8. The Rhone, the great highway to Provence and to Italy, since the esta- blishment of steamers, is not of commercial utility proportioned to its length and volume, owing to its turbulence and shifting sand- banks. Yet it is a noble river, and its scenery very striking, and some have preferred it to the Rhine ; but, in truth, the two have a totally different character, and each its own ex- cellences : the writer of this, however, cannot conceal his preference for the German stream. The traffic upon the Rhine is at least fourfold greater than that on the Rhone : the Rhine is navigated by 42 steamers, and, although there are 28 at present on the Rhone, they make on an average only 50 passages in the year, while a great part of the Rhenish steamers are, with the exception of a few weeks, in action all the year through.

The works which will best afford detailed information respecting Provence and the South of France are — Millin, “ Voyage dans le Midi de la France Frossard, “ Tableau de Nimes ; ” Merimee, “ Rapport sur les Monumens du Midi de la France” (for architecture); and Hughes’ “ Itinerary of Provence and the Rhone.”

ROUTE 125.

THE RHONE (b). LYONS TO AVIGNON

AND ARLES, BY VIENNE, VALENCE, ORANGE.

By land, 263 kilom. = 163 Eng. m. By water to Arles, 285 kilom. Steamers, belonging to several com- panies, but almost without exception managed by English engineers, start every morning from the Quai on the rt. bank of the Rhone, except when

the river is too high to allow them to pass under the bridges, or too low, which sometimes happens. The hour of departure varies, according to the season, from 5 to 7 a.m. They make the voyage to Avignon, a distance of at least 135 Eng. m., in 11 hours; and to Arles in 13. They take carriages at a charge varying from 60 fr. for a light caleche, to 160 for a Berline. The captain manages the embarkation and landing of carriages ; transporting them to and from the hotel. The

THE RIVER RHONE

Provence. Route 125 . — The Rhone B — Venice ,

439

passengers’ fare varies from 10 to 20 or 30 fr., so that it is cheaper than post- ing for a party in a light carriage (?). They are by no means clean, and are often crowded with merchandise. There is a capital and cheap restau- rant on board. They touch at Vienne, Tournon, Valence, Avignon, Beau- caire, Arles. Steamers also run be- tween Lyons and Valence. It is very advisable to go by water down the Rhone, as the road is bad. It scarcely answers for passengers to ascend the river, as the vessels take as long as the diligences, requiring 40 or 50 hours from Arles, and at least 2 days from Avignon to Lyons.

4 diligences* run daily, along the 1. bank, to Marseilles, and many more between the intermediate towns.

There is little interest at first in the, banks of the Rhone, after getting clear of Lyons, its bustling quays and tall stately houses, and passing,

Rt., the junction of the Sadne with the Rhone, —

Ubi Ithodanus ingens amne prserapido Suit,

Ararque dubitans quo suos cursus agat

Tacitus quietis alluit ripas vadis,”— Seneca.

under the new wire suspension bridge of La Mulatiere, which carries the railway to St. Etienne over the Saone (R. 118. p. 419.). The junction of the Rhodanus and Arar originally took place nearly 2 m. higher up, until 1770, when the architect Perrache con- structed dykes between the rivers, and gained from the water the long tongue of land now partly occupied by an important suburb of Lyons. Cassar appears to have visited the junction from his description of it : “ Arar in Rhodanum influit incredibili lenitate, ita ut oculis in utram partem fluat, judicari non possit.”

By land, 263 kilom. = 163 Eng. m.

The post road quits Lyons, after tra- versing the Rhone, by the Faubourg Guillo- tiere, passes on the 1. the detached Fort de La Motte, one of the modern defences of Lyons, named after an old castle occupied by Henri IV., at his marriage with Marie de I Medicis, and shortly before reaching

St.Fons, enters the Dept, de 1’Isfcre.

The united waters form a broad majestic flood ; the banks are studded with small villages, scattered among willow and poplar avenues.

L. The high road along the 1. bank of the Rhone is one of the worst in France; a series of ups and downs, liable to constant injurj' from the tor- rents descending from the hills across it ; but, above all, tremendously cut up by the immense number of broad- wheeled waggons which traverse it at all seasons. Even though the Rhone, the largest river in France, runs parallel with it, such is the rapidity of the current, and the perversity of the navigation, from shifting sand-banks, that the transport up its valley of most of the bulky articles the produce of Provence, soap, oils, silk, dried fruits, &c., and of the colonial imports of Marseilles, is made on the axle. Every mile or two the road is studded with enormous barn-like Remises, whose open portals yawn invitingly to re- ceive in their shade the loaded wag- gon and its 6 or 8 horses, each with a cabaret or carter’s hostel attached to it.

The traveller “journeys onwards in the dazzling dreariness of the sun- shine, amidst clouds of intolerable dust, crossed ever and anon by long caravans of roulage, drawn by tall mules.”

Rt. The railway to St. Etienne (R. 118.) continues near the water’s edge as far as the dirty manufacturing town of

Rt. Givors, distinguished at a dis- tance by the smoke of its glass-houses. It is a place of some importance from its position on the railway, and at the mouth of the canal, which brings down coal, iron, &c. from R.ive de Gier (see R. 118.). Its population is 4,900. Omnibuses run between Givors and Vienne corresponding with the rail- way trains.

Along the banks of the Rhone, from Lyons to Valence, a “ poste aux | anes,” or relays of donkeys, for the J convenience of bargemen and such u 4

44-0

Route 125. — The Rhone B — Vienne. Sect. VI.

persons, was at one time established. The cultivation of the vine is very general in the neighbourhood of Vienne : vineyards here cover all the slopes.

L.* Vienne. — Inn: La Table

Ronde ; the best ; passable, but not clean. Vienne, a town of 17,000 inhab., stretches its buildings along the 1. bank of the Rhone, faced by a tolerably handsome quay, at the foot of preci- pitous hills, and runs up a small valley between 2 heights, the on e, Mont Salo- mon , crowned by a ruined castle of the middle ages, the other Mont Pipet , ori- ginally a fortified camp of the Romans. The Castle of Salomon passes with the common people for the prison of Pi- late, who was banished to Vienne in Gaul, according to Eusebius and others, after his return from Judsea to Rome.

From the valley behind Vienne, the Gere issues out into the Rhone, turn- ing in its passage many mill wheels, and giving activity to manufactures of coarse cloth, pasteboard, iron forges, &c.

Vienne is one of the most ancient towns in France, having been already a flourishing place before Lyons is known to have existed. It is men- tioned by Caesar, by Ausonius, in the line,

“ Accolit Alpinis opulenta Vienna colonis,” and by Martial, who calls it “opu- lenta Vienna,” and it is natural to expect to find some remains of its Ro- man possessors. Besides numerous water conduits and substructions of masonry, the chief Roman building is a Temple , supposed to have been de- dicated to Augustus, in form some- what like the Maison Carree at Nismes, but much injured during the middle ages by having the interstices of its columns built up with masonry, and the columns themselves rasped to bring them to a level with the walls,

The post road continues through

8 St. Symphorien, at a considerable dis- tance from the river, but it approaches it at

13 Vienne.

in order to convert it into a church. It is now a museum , and contains a number of sculptured and architec- tural fragments found in and about the town, a very rich frieze, capitals of columns, &c. A Greyhound, in marble, two Boys quarrelling about a Bird (a common subject of antique sculp- ture), and 2 copper Dolphins found in the Rhone, are worth notice.

Behind the Place du Pilori is a lofty double arch and vault, with pil- lars inside, called Arche de Triomphe y but in reality part of the portico of the ancient Forum. It now leads to the modern theatre, and is unimportant.

On the slopes of Mont Pipet the remains of the seats of a Roman theatre may, it is said, be traced among the vineyards, but they are very in- considerable. Lastly, outside the town, below it, is the Roman obelisk, or Aiguille, described p. 441.

The cathedral of St. Maurice is a stately edifice in the lower part of the town, raised upon an elevated basement or parvis, facing the river, on a line with the bridge, and ap- proached by a broad flight of steps. Its W. front, flanked by 2 massive towers, is rich in flamboyant orna- ments, but they are clumsy and with- out delicacy; and it was much mu- tilated, like all the churches on the Rhone, by the fanatic Huguenot sol- diery (1562), less than SO years after its completion. The interior wants height. The pointed roof, painted blue, and sprinkled with stars, and the 4 compartments nearest to the W. end, seem of the same age as it, viz. 15th or 16th century. The pillars of the choir, and the apses at the E. end, are said to be of the 12th century. There are no transepts. A marble monument of an Archbishop Mont- morin, on the rt. of the altar, though much vaunted, seems a heavy piece of work ; its artist was called Michel Angelo Slodtz. The N. porch retains some statues in a stiff style.

The Romanesque tower of St.AndrS le Bas will be admired by the archi-

Provence. R. 1 25. — The Rhone B — Cote Rotie.

441

tect for its composition and propor- [ tions ; but the cloister, so interesting for the varied sculpture of its capitals, is now included in a private garden, and its pillars built up in a wall.

In the suburb Pont l’Eveque, in a hill on the 1. bank of the Gere, there is a lead mine.

Many who have occupied them- selves in tracing the route of Hannibal over the Alps suppose that he quitted the 1. bank of the Rhone at Vienne, (which was one of the chief towns of the Albobroges,) proceeding hence, by Bourgouin and Yenne, to the Little St. Bernard.

Vienne is interesting as the cradle of Christianity in the W. : the Epistle of its early Martyrs to their brethren in the E. is a very instructive and perfectly authentic document.

Vienne was capital of the 1st king- dom of Burgundy in the 5th century; and at a later period was the capital and residence of the Dauphins. A celebrated ecclesiastical council held here 1 307, and presided over by Pope Clement V. and Philippe le Bel, con- demned the Order of the Templars. The archbishops long enjoyed consi- derable temporal sway : they had the privilege of naming the governor of the forts Salomon and Pipet, who was always a canon of the cathedral, but had a military deputy under him.

A suspension bridge, recently recon- structed, the previous one having been washed down by the inundation of 1 840, connects Vienne with,

Rt., its suburb, St. Colombe, where stands, by the water side, an old square tower, sometimes called “ Tour de Mauconseil,” from a tradition that Pilate threw himself off from the top of it, but in reality built by Philippe de Valois as a tete du pont to the original stone bridge, which was de- stroyed by the Rhone, 1651, except the trunks of some of its piers still visible, when the water is low.

j Diligences go daily to Grenoble (Route 131.) and Lyons, and omni- buses run hence along the rt. bank of j

| the Rhone to meet the trains on th railway to St. Etienne and Lyons (Route 118.)

L. Immediately below Vienne, in the midst of a field, on one side of the road to Avignon, stands a Roman obelisk, called L' Aiguille, 76 feet high, rising from a square base, pierced by a double arch, and supported at the angles by pillars of clumsy propor- tions. The whole is of excellent masonry r , the stones being fastened together, not by mortar, but by iron clamps. Its destination is unknown, and it bears no trace of an inscription, but was probably a sepulchral monu- ment.

Rt. The uniformity of the vine-clad slopes which border the river is re- lieved by the lofty irregular ridge and picturesque outline of Mont Pilas , 3,516 ft. above the sea level, a mem- ber of the chain of hills which divides the Rhone from the Loire.

Rt. Ampuis*, at its base, is a small village, from the flat behind which rise the sunny slopes of Cote Rotie, called “ the burnt side,” from their happy exposure to the sun, which, striking full on them, as on a forcing wall, matures the excellent wine named after them. 3 m. below the hills of Cote Rotie is

Rt. Condrieux, a town of 4,000 in- hab., famed for its wines ; it has a suspension bridge over the Rhone.

The soil of the valley of the Rhone abounds with rolled pebbles, which in places almost exclusively compose it ; yet upon this grows the mulberry tree in vast quantities, planted in rows across the fields, while beneath, and in spite of its shade, luxuriant crops of corn are produced.

Rt. There is another suspension bridge at Serrieres, and hence a road strikes off to Annonay. (R. .119.)

Rt. The church of Champagne is a

The' Post Road continues near to the

Rhone, until almost opposite Ampuis, where it turns away to the station 13 Auberive, situated outside the village, which it leaves on the rt.

| 6 Peage de Rousillon.

U 5

442

Route 125 . — The Rhone B — Hermitage . Sect. VI.

Romanesque edifice of the 13th cen- tury, well worth the attention of the -antiquary, on account of the singular •bas-reliefs with which its outer walls are incrusted, consisting of heads of animals, monsters, &c., and for the sculptured cornice running under the roof. Some of these carvings have been conjectured to belong to a more ancient structure. Two of them re- present David and Goliah, and Judith and Holofernes. The interior ends in an apse at the E. The grand portal is decorated above with 6 bas- reliefs in medallions, representing, 1. .a satyr ; 2. a lion couchant ; 3 and 4. 2 young fauns ; 5. a tiger ; 6. a group of 2 genii embracing. The meaning of these sculptures seems difficult to explain.

Before the Revolution the towns of Andance, Champagne, Annonay, though on the rt. bank of the Rhone, belonged to Dauphine, having been ancient possessions of the Dauphins of Vienne.

L.* St. Rambert. Just below this the Rhone passes from the Dept, de L’lsere into that of La Drome.

Rt. The direct road from Paris to Marseilles, by Annonay, descends through a gap in the vine-clad granite hills near

Rt. Andance(R. 1 19.), and crosses the Rhone, a little lower down, by the suspension bridge of

L. St. Vallierf (Inns: Poste; — Grand Sauvage ; not good), a town of 2,455 inhab., consisting of a long street, extending on a terrace above the Rhone. It has a large modern chateau. There are numerous silk mills here.

Behind the town, in the gorge of the Galaure, rise the picturesque ruins of the castle of Vais ; and near it is the Roche Taillee, a passage cut in the rock, through which a small load is carried.

L. The Chateau de Ponsas (de- rived, by the vulgar, from Pontius

Post road. — 9 St. Rambert,

t 12 t. Vallier.

Pilate, who, according to the tradi- tion, ended his days here by throwing himself from the rock, see p. 440.) is a fine object, frowning with towers and battlements over river and village from the summit of a lofty precipice.

The valley of the Rhone is nar- rowed to a pass, by rocks projecting on either side, on approaching Tain. Nearly opposite the mouth of the con- siderable river Doux, which is crossed by a wire bridge,

(L. ) a lofty, round-topped hill, with a scanty scarf of black bushes round its shoulder, pushes forward its naked and almost precipitous sides into the river, which, along with the road, winds closely round its base. On doubling the sort of cape which it forms, its southern side will be found to consist of a more gradual slope, descending in a succession of steps, or terraces, formed by the natural divi- sions of the slaty beds of gneiss rock, all covered from top to bottom with vines. This is the celebrated vineyard of L' Hermitage, named from the ruin on its summit, once, perhaps, a her- mit’s cell. On its favoured slopes the sun plays all day long, maturing the juices of its grapes, which pro- duce the Hermitage wine, one of the finest which grows on the Rhone. The white sort will keep for half a century ; the red, of the best quality, is sent to Bordeaux, to be mixed with clarets of first growth, principally the kinds exported to England, which derive from it, and not from brandy, as is commonly supposed, that body which fits them for exportation, and adapts them to the English palate. The whole extent of the vineyard does not, perhaps, exceed 300 acres, and of this only a part near the centre, where a calcareous band traverses the gneiss rock, produces first-rate wines; the soil below is too rich, and above is too cold. The hill is divided among numerous proprietors ; it is cultivated with vast labour, and at great ex- pense ; the vines are manured with sheep or horse-dung. The grape

Provence. Route 125 . — The Rhone B — Valence .

4*43

grown for the red wine is called Ceras, and is said to have been brought from Shiraz, in Persia, by one of the her- mits of the mountain.

L. * Tain (Inn : L’ Assurance ; mid- dling), a town of 2,338 inhab., con- nected by a wire suspension bridge, the first, on a large scale, erected in France, with

Rt. Tournon, one of the chief j towns of the Dept, of I’Ardeche, 3,971 inhab. Above the bridge, the picturesque towers of the old castle of the Counts of Tournon and Dues de Soubise rise on a precipitous rock, at the foot of the hills; it is now con- verted into the purposes of a mairie, j tribunal, and a prison. Below the j bridge, at the water side, stands the j College Royale, originally founded by | the Cardinal de Tournon, a favourite j of Francis I. (1542), and a few j years after, 1561, delivered over to j the care of the Jesuits, in order to ex- j tirpate the seeds of Protestantism, and j they maintained their post here until the suppression of the order in 1766. ' It next became an Ecole Militaire.

Diligences run from Tain to Ro- mans on the Isere, on the w T ay to Grenoble. (R. 132.)

L. The valley of the river Isere, one of the chief tributaries of the Rhone, rising at the foot of the Little St. Bernard, now opens out into a wide and monotonous plain, after traversing which, and being crossed itself by the high road, on a handsome bridge of 7 arches, the river falls into j the Rhone. Its waters have usually j a black tint contrasting with the white muddy Rhone. Hannibal is supposed by some to have reached the foot of the Alps by ascending this valley, having passed the Rhone lower down, perhaps near Roque- maure.

L. The vista, opening out through the valley of the Isere, is terminated by the majestic snowy mass of Mont Blanc , clearly distinguished from I among the Alps of Dauphine ; a !

magnificent object, although 70 or 80 m. distant as the crow flies. The deck of the steamer is probably too low to command it, but it is well seen from the road, or rt. bank.

Rt. Mr. L. Giraud, the owner of the picturesque white feudal castle, the Chateau Bourg, perched on a pedestal of rock, projecting into the Rhone, with a little hamlet at its foot, is much to be envied : his dwell- ing stands in the eye of Mont Blanc, and the everlasting snows of the monarch of mountains add magnifi- cence to the distant horizon of a view in which the exulting and abounding Rhone forms the foreground.

Rt. Comas, at the foot of lime- stone hills of considerable elevation, produces a tolerable red wine.

Rt. On approaching Valence, the bare limestone precipices, rising be- hind the village of St. Peray, and crowned by the picturesque castle of Cryssol, arrest the attention. (See p. 446.)

L. Faience, f — Inn : Poste ; not at all bad, with some pretensions to English comforts, but rather dear. Travellers should try here the spark- ling St. Peray, an excellent wine, not inferior to Champagne.

The steamer passes the town and the Citadel, which is conspicuous from the Rhone, but is separated from it by a considerable space of garden ground, and comes to her moorings below the wire Suspension Bridge , one of the handsomest on the Rhone, sup- ported in the centre by a fine lofty arch of classical architecture.

The high road from Lyons to Avig- non skirts the outside of the town, which lies between it and the river, through a faubourg, in which the Poste aux Chevaux and other inns are situated.

Valence is an ancient town of 10,967 inhab., still surrounded by its feudal ramparts, battlemented, flanked by towers, and entered by arched gates. It is chef lieu of the De-

Post road. — 14 Tain. t Post road. — 18 Valence.

u 6

Sect. VI,

4-14* Route 125. — Valence— St. Peray .

partment de la Drome, and was formerly capital of the Valentinois, created a dukedom for the infamous Ca?sar Borgia, by Louis XII.

The Cathedral, a Romanesque build- ing, small in size and very plain, is yet interesting to the architect for its age and constructive peculiarities. It is a cross, with long transepts. Out- side the nave, above the aisle roof, runs a small arcade of arches, al- ternately round and straight-sided. The interior is simple ; the piers, sur- mounted by nearly pure Corinthian capitals, support round arches, from which rises the cylindrical roof, with- out triforium or clerestory. The E. end is an apse, roofed with a semi- dome. The Church contains a bust and bas-relief, by Canova, to the me- mory of the unfortunate Pope Pius VI., who, after having been carried off a prisoner from the Vatican, and loaded with insults by the French, which he bore with resignation, died here, 1799.

On the S. side of the church is a singular building, known as Le Pen- dentif, of classical architecture, erected 1548, as a monument to the family Mistral, whose arms are still visible on it. It is square in form, consisting of 4 piers, with pillars in the angles, and arches between them, supporting a vault, the first of its kind erected, and regarded as a type in architecture. In the rusticated space occupying the sides, carvings of monsti'ous birds may be discovered.

The ancient Eveche, now subdi- vided, and partly destroyed, was often visited by Madame de Sevigne.

The semicircular E. end of the cathedral adjoins the Place aux Clercs, a small square, about to be ornament- ed with a statue of the Napoleonist General Championnet, a native of Valence.

In the “ Grande Rue,” leading out of this Place, will be found a very ricli and interesting specimen of domestic architecture, in a Mansion of the 16*b century, now converted

into a bookseller’s shop. Its origin and destination are not clearly known. It has a Gothic front, covered with elegant Florid tracery, now sadly mutilated, combined with a certain mixture of classic ornament, such as rows of heads and statues, the upper heads representing the 4 Seasons. The doorway is an elegant flattened arch ; the transoms of the windows have unfortunately been knocked out. The front of the house is not in one plane, but projects forward ; only one part of it is ornamented, and that which is unadorned retreats backward at a slight angle, so as to be partly con- cealed from view as you approach it from the Place aux Clercs, probably with design on the part of the archi- tect. The groined and vaulted pas- sage, and the walls towards the inner court, also deserve notice. In the same street, at No. 4., on the 1st floor, Napoleon lodged, while yet a poor and obscure sous-lieutenant of artillery ; and some of his first essays in the art of war were made in the Champs de Mars here. The stair- case at the back of the house of Madame Dupre, Rue Perolierie, is a good specimen of the Renaissance in architecture, enriched with sculpture.

The Citadelle, begun by Francis I., and bastioned only on the side facing the town, but of no use now as a fortress, is converted into a Caserne du Genie. From the finished bastion there is a good view over the river, of St. Peray, and the Castle of Crussol on its arid rock beyond the Rhone.

Valence is the seat of an Ecole d’ Artillerie, and the practice of gun- nery is taught on the polygone , a large sandy area on the outskirts of the town, bordering on the Lyons road.

The reeling (filature) and throw- ing (moulinage) of silk affords em- ployment to a large number of per- sons at Valence. (See p.447.)

Steamers up and down the Rhone daily. The ascent to Lyons is made in one day.

Provence. JR. 125 . — The Rhone B — St. Peray — • Wines. 445

Malleposte, by Annonay, to Paris and to Marseilles.

Diligences daily (4) to Lyons and Marseilles; 2 to Grenoble (R. 132. ) ; 1 to Aubenas and Privas (R. 121.); to St. Etienne and Annonay.

Rt. St. Peray, famed for one of the best wines of the Rhone, is 2 Eng. m. from Valence, on the opposite side of the Rhone, within the Dept, of the Ardeche : an omnibus goes thither several times a day.

The little village of St. Peray lies snugly in the quiet nook of a sheltered valley running down to the Rhone op- posite Valence. Its most conspicuous buildings are the house of M. Faure, the chief proprietor of the vineyards around, and on the height, a little above it, the Chateau de Beauregard, a singular mansion on the plan of a mimic fortress, bastioned and cur- tained, with loopholed walls, portcul- lis, &c., built, it is said, by Marshal Vauban, as a freak, reminding one of Uncle Toby and Corporal Trim, now converted into a depot for the wine of the district, for which it is better suited than for a dwelling, being constructed over cellars of vast extent.

The slopes of the hills around St. Peray are covered with one uninter- rupted vineyard, and wherever they present an aspect to the S. E., so as to receive the sun’s rays during nearly the whole day, the best wines grow ; such are the Cote de Hongrie, Cha- pelle de Crussol,, and the Prieure vineyards. The soil is a decomposed granite, and the vine seems to flourish most on this mere dry gravel. Great pains are taken in digging about the roots, but the only manure employed is the leaves of the box, cut small. The grape, when ripe, assumes a beau- tiful golden hue ; its taste is cloyingly sweet, and the saccharine matter ex- uding often covers the bunches with a brown stain.

The sparkling St. Peray wine is dis- tinguished from Champagne in this respect, that its sweetness arises from

the natural juice of the grape, and not from the addition of sugar to the grape juice ; and it is consequently a far more wholesome and not less palat- able wine. The red St. Peray derives its colour, a delicate rose tint, from the hue of the skins of the grapes. The vintage takes place about the middle or end of September, and the juice is at once transferred to the cask before the fermentation has begun, and rests there for 6 or 7 months, during which time it is fined. In March or April it is bottled, and remains 2 or 3 years to mature, and allow the dregs to deposit. The bottles are piled up in stacks, each row separated by laths to allow of the bottles which burst (and they form 14 or 15 per cent, of the whole) to be withdrawn. After this the wine is racked, L e. every bottle is taken out, and is thrust, with its neck down- wards, into a hole cut in a board. By this means the dregs sink down gradually into the neck, and, as they descend, day by day, the bottle is tilted more and more until its position be- comes nearly vertical. To expedite the falling of the sediment the bottles are lifted and set down with a jerk once or twice a day ; and after receiving 200 or 300 of these jerks, the bottle is taken up, and the sediment is dis- charged by cutting the string and letting the cork fly, and with it the lees at the neck of the bottle, but as little as possible of the wine. This is called “ disgorging.” The vacancy thus caused is filled with clear wine ; and this process of corking and un- cox-king is repeated 2 or 3 times, until no more sediment is deposited. The wine is then fit for use, and an excel- lent wine it is, the “ St. Peray grand Mousseux” of M. Faure being at least equal to a first class Champagne:

Rt. A very conspicuous but un- sightly line of cliffs of limestone, naked, arid, and partly stained black and yellow, bounds the W. side of the Rhone valley, opposite to and below Valence. Quarries of building stone

446 M. 125. — The Rhone B — Lavoulte— Rochemaure . Sect. VI,

are worked in these rocks. The highest peak of all, a castled crag rising above the entrance of the valley, in which lies St. Peray, is crowned by the ruins of the Castle of Crussol, called, from its 2 projecting and roof- less gables, Les Cornes de Crussol, and conspicuous from a great distance. It belonged to the ancient family of the Crussols, Dues d’ Uzes, and once en- closed within its fortifications, which may be seen running down the rock, a small village long since deserted. Owing to the precipice, from whose very edges its walls start up, it must have been impregnable in the olden time.

Rt. Lower down, on the top of the same escarpment of limestone, stands Soyons Castle, now an utter ruin, con- spicuous from its leaning tower, on the verge of the precipice, once a stronghold of the Calvinists, who by means of it held the key of the Rhone, intercepting the communication be- tween Lyons and the S. in 1627, under their chief, Brisson : it was taken and ■demolished the same year by the Prince de Conde. A flight of steps cut in the rock leads to the summit.

L. Among the Dauphine mountains the lloche Courbe becomes a conspi- cuous feature in the landscape, from its precipitous sides and horned brow. A little further down it changes its aspect, presenting a series of peaks as seen from the river.

L. l’Etoile, a pretty village.

Rt. The river Eyrieu pours itself into the Rhone a little below Charmes, at Beauchastel, where a new wire bridge shortens the way to Lavoulte by more than 2 m. Formerly it was necessary to ascend as high as St. Lau- rent du Pape to cross the Eyrieu.

Rt. Lavoulte, a little town, piled up in a heap against a rock, is distin- guished by the large castle, on the summit of the height above it, and the clouds of smoke rising from the 4 large iron furnaces at its base. The Castle, an ancient possession of the house of Ventadour, a,nd residence of

Louis XIII. in 1629, is now occu- pied by an iron company, and partly serves as a fire-brick kiln : 1 or 2 pic- turesque towers remain of its older feudal part. The furnaces at its base are supplied with a very rich ore (red carbonate or haematite), from mines a short way up the valley. More than 300 persons are employed in them and in the iron works ; and the red tinge from the ore peiwades the hi- deously filthy streets, and its dirty inhabitants, whose flesh, clothes, and even hair, acquire the same ruddy stain. The coal comes from St. Etienne, and the metal is sent hence in barges, for whose reception a little basin has been formed here at the water side.

A little below Lavoulte, on the op- posite side of the Rhone,

L. the river Drome, which gives its name to a department, pours itself into the Rhone.

L. On either side of the Drome, about 2 m. above its confluence, stand the towns of Livrons (half of whose 3,457 inhab. are Protestants), and Loriol * (Inn: Chariot d’ Or). A fine bridge over the Drome connects them, and the high road passes through both. On the 1., in the valley, is the Chateau of Crest, well placed. Loriel was the birth-place and residence of Faujas de St. Fond, who wrote a bulky tome on the extinct Volcanoes of Central France, in his own neighbourhood, which, as the author had never seen an active volcano, abounds in fallacies, and is now little valued.

The road to the volcanic district \>f the Ardeche, by Privas and Aubenas (Route 121.), turns away from the Rhone, near Pouzin.

L. Cruas, a curious fortified Abbey on a hill, in ruins, but retaining its antique ramparts, gates, and donjon, which stood sieges in 1584 and 1585, from the Calvinists, who were repulsed by the Monks. The church, below the road and half buried under the de- posits brought down by a neighbour- ing torrent, is a curious specimen of

Post road — 11 Paillasse. 11 Loriol.

Provence. Route 125 . — Montelimart — Silk-worms. 447

Romanesque architecture : beneath it are crypts. It contains the monu- ment of Count Adhemar, founder of Montelimart and Rochemaure.

One of the most striking scenes on the banks of the Rhone is

Rt. Rochemaure, a small village, at the base of a hill from which pro- ject 3 peaked masses of black basalt, contrasting vividly with the light- coloured limestone around. The mid- dle peak, rising precipitously 300 ft. -above the river, is surmounted by the ruins of a feudal castle , which be- longed to the families of Ventadour and Soubise. The donjon, crowning a now isolated peak, was formerly joined to the rest of the fortress by bridges thrown across the abyss. In these precipices of Roclimaure you be- hold the last root or limb of the Cciron chain of hills, which, after traversing the whole of the Ardeche, terminates here, on the margin of the Rhone. The black rocks are 3 dykes of basalt, branches of the vast lava current which caps that mountain plateau. The ba- salt assumes in places a columnar form, and some of the houses and a part of the castle are built of regular prisms. From the top of the rock of Roche- maure there is a fine view over the course of the Rhone, the Alps of Dauphine, &c.

About 3 m. lower down, but l-l from the river-side, stands

L. Montelimart * (Inn: Poste), an ancient town of 7,956 inhab., en- tirely surrounded by Gothic ramparts flanked with watch towers, and en- tered by 4 gates. On a rising ground within it stands the castle or citadelle. It obtained its name, Monteil d’ Ad- hemar, from a powerful family of mag- nates, who held possession here from the days of Charlemagne, and from whom many of the old noblesse of the province traced their lineage. Some morocco leather is made here, and the

manufacture is mentioned by Rabe- I lais. The almond cakes (nougat), in I

Post road — 13 Derbidres. 10 Monte- |

limart.

texture resembling a piece of soap, enjoy some celebrity. Near this the olive is first seen, though it cannot be said to flourish farther to the N. than Avignon : black truffles abound ; and the mulberry tree is cultivated to a very great extent for the silk- worm.

At a small village called Allan, about 9 m. S. E. of Montelimart, and the same from the Rhone, there ex- isted, down to 1802, the first white mulberry planted in France. It was brought thither from Naples, by Guy' Pope de St. Auban, seigneur of Allan, one of the soldiers who accompanied Charles VIII. on his Italian cam- paign, 1494. It spread hence all over the S. of France, where the culture of the silk- worm is now one of the chief sources of industry and pros- perity to the people. The silk-worm is here called magnan, and the esta- blishments in which it is reared mag- naneries. A single tree will furnish 5 cr 6 quintaux of leaves, and not unfrequently as much as 9 or 10 quintaux.

At the time when the eggs (la graine) are beginning to be hatched, sheets of paper pierced with holes are laid upon them, and through these the worms, extricating themselves from the shells, climb to reach the mulberry leaves hung over them, whence they are transferred to hurdles formed of reeds, arranged like shelves, for their future habitation. The worms live in that state (as larvae) about 34 days, and in the course of that period change their skin 4 times. Before each of these sloughings, called “ages" by the peasant, they become torpid, and cease to eat, but, having changed their skin, their appetite increases enormously. The period of appetite preceding the 4 first changes are called petites frezes, and that before the 5th change, grande freze. The consumption of leaves increases with each age. The worms produced by an ounce of eggs devour 7 lbs. of leaves during the 1st age, and as much as 200 to 300 lbs. of leaves during the final period. At that time

448

Route 115. — The Rhone B — Viviers. Sect. VI.

they make a noise in eating which re- sembles that of a heavy shower fall- ing. On the 10th day of this 5th age they cease to eat, and try to climb up to the small twigs of heath or other plants purposely hung over the shelves, in order to spin their cocoon, which they complete in 5 or 4 days. Formerly it was usual to bake the cocoons in an oven, in order to kill the worm and prevent its biting through the silk ; a more effectual method, unattended by risk of burning the silk, is to enclose the cacoon in a copper filled with steam, and hermetically sealed, and thus to stifle the worm. It is then fit for reeling (filature).

17 m. S. E. of Montelimart is Chateau Grignan, celebrated in the letters of Madame de Sevigne, and the residence of her son-in-law. It was originally a stately pile, “ un chateau vraiment royal,” as Madame de S. calls it, seated on a commanding height above the town, fronted with a terrace raised partly on a rock, partly on masonry, 100 ft. high, com- manding an extensive view, bounded by the Mont Ventoux. But it was burnt and gutted at the Revolution "by a band of robbers composed of the scum of Orange and the neighbouring towns, and now stands a mere shell ; yet the window of the bed-chamber and boudoir of the Sevigne is still pointed out. In the church , whose tower adjoins the castle terrace, and rises to a level with it, Madame de Sevigne (who died at Grignan) is buried. A black stone in the pave- ment marks the entrance of the family vault, Vhich was saved from desecra- tion at the hands of the Revolu- tionist pillagers of the church by the removal of this stone, so as to conceal the position of the vault.

The traveller may regain the banks of the Rhone from Grignan by a dif- ferent road, leading direct to La Palud, near Pont St. Esprit. The cross- roads, however, to and from Grignan, are very bad indeed.

Rt. The inundation of 1840 car- ried off the suspension-bridge across the Rhone at Le Theil, nearly opposite Montelimart.

The superior transparency of a southern atmosphere becomes percep- tible hereabouts, in the remarkable blueness of the distant hills, approxi- mating in intensity to ultramarine. The inhabitant of a northern climate, who has, perhaps, regarded as exag- gerations the azure mountains in the backgrounds of the paintings of Ti- tian, will be surprised to find them here realised in nature.

The Rhone is confined between high but arid limestone cliffs abreast of

Rt. Viviers, a town of only 2,500 inhabitants, r yet a bishop’s see, and anciently the capital of the province of Vivarais, which is named after [it. The town, inclosed within its [old walls, is a complicated labyrinth of narrow streets, partly crossed by arches, not unlike the interior of a hive. On an eminence, near the verge of the cliff, rising abruptly from the Rhone, stands the Cathedral , overtopping the other buildings : it is small, and not very remarkable ; the nave modern, surmounted by a tower. Near it is the Eveche. At the upper end of the town stands the Seminaire, a huge modern edifice of 6 stories, for the education of priests. A private house in the principal Place presents in its richly orna- mented front a good specimen of do- mestic architecture. Viviers suffered much during the wars of Religion, having been one of the first towns to declare against the king in favour of the Prince de Conde and the Pro- testant party, 1562. It was several times besieged and captured by both parties.

There is a road from Viviers to Aubenas, by Villeneuve de Berg, the birth-place of Olivier de Serres ; near which is a curious volcanic moun- tain, known as les Rampes de Mont- brul, pierced with grottoes.

Provence,

449

Route 125 . — Pont St. Esprit,

L. The majestic summit of the Mont Ventoux, the extreme buttress or root pushed forth from the French Alps towards the Rhone, continues in view, a noble object and landmark from this as far as Avignon.

Below Viviers* the river expands, and its current is divided by numerous willowy islands. A fine suspension- bridge of 3 curves, rebuilt since 1840, when the inundation destroyed it, crosses the Rhone at

Rt. Bourg St. Andeol, a town of 4,300 inhabitants, built on a slope. Close to it is a copious source rising from the base of a rock, on the face of which, about 20 ft. from the ground, is a rudely-sculptured group, repre- senting the Sacrifice of a Bull to the god Mithras, to whom the source seems to have been dedicated. It is now nearly effaced.

Those who intend to visit the an- tiquities of Orange, on their way to Avignon, must quit the steamer at Bourg St. Andeol.

L. Opposite to St. Andeol, but removed 1 ± m. from the river, is Pierrelatte, so called from the broad isolated mass of rock rising out of the plain behind it, to a height of 300 or 400 ft. For many miles beyond this, nearly as far as Avignon, the road runs at such a distance from the Rhone that it is rarely seen at all.

L. La Palud f, the first place in the Dept. Vaucluse, is about 2 m. dis- tant from the Rhone, but the crock- etted stone spire of its Gothic church rmay be distinguished. A few miles j to the E. of the road is St. Paul j Trois Chateaux, the Roman Augusta Tricastinorum.

Rt. The river Ardeche pours its waters into the Rhone nearly opposite La Palud ; and its deposits seem to have formed the numerous islands occurring near its mouth.

Rt. About 2 m. lower down, at Pont St. Esprit, a town of 4,500 in- I habitants, whose citadel was built by j

Post road — 14 Donzere.

t Post road. — 16 La Palud.

| Louis XIII. to keep in awe the Pro- testants, the Rhone is crossed by a bridge of 26 arches, the longest stone bridge in the world, and down to 1806 the only one over the Rhone. It was built 1310 by an associated brother- hood formed in the town, then called j St. Saturn in, and 45 years were occu-

pied in its construction, the first stone

j having been laid 1265 by the prior of ' the convent. The cost of this great j public work was defrayed by subscrip- tions raised among the inhabitants of j both banks of the Rhone, and by j offerings made by the pious at a little J chapel dedicated to the Holy Ghost i at the end of the bridge, whence its actual name. The stones for it were brought by water from the quarries of St. Andeol, and a company of monks and nuns was established on the bank, the one to superintend the works, the other to attend the sick orjwounded workmen. It is 2550 Fr. ft., or 2717 English ft., long, more than three times as long as London Bridge, and 17 ft. wide : the arches are irregular in size j the widest have an opening of 108 ft. ; the piers are pierced with small, round-headed, flood-water arches. It is not straight, but makes an angle against the stream. The passage under the Pont St. EspriLused to be thought an achievement like that of shooting old London Bridge, owing to the rapidity of the current ; but the experience of the pilots is a guarantee from all danger, and the steamers pass in perfect safety, although the eddying river, rushing through the low arches, has an alarming look, increased by the sudden twist which the steersman is obliged to give to the vessel the moment it has passed through. The bridge is about 2 m. distant from the high road to Avignon. Roads branch off from it E. to Gap, and S.W. to Nismes, by the Pont du Gard. (R. 126.)

L. The Avignon road, having crossed that from Pont St. Esprit to Gap, skirts the towns of Montdragon

450 R. 125. — The Rhone B — Orange — Theatre . Sect. VI.

and Mornas, both seated at the foot of precipitous cliffs crowned by ruined castles . From that of Mornas, as the story goes, the ferocious Huguenot leader, the Baron des Adrets, forced his prisoners to leap down on the pikes of his soldiers below.

L. After passing a small stream, the Aigues, a glimpse may be obtained from the river of a huge structure surmounting the town of Orange, 3 m. inland from the Rhone : it is the wall of its Roman theatre. (See be- low.) The post-road, just before it reaches Orange, flanked by poplars, is carried in a double sweep round the antique Roman arch.

L. Orange * — Inns: Griffin d’Or; tolerably good ; — Croix Blanche ; both dear: mosquitoes are to be much dreaded here. (§3.) This town of 9,223 inhab., situated about 3 m, E. of the Rhone, was the ancient Arausio, and is remarkable for the interesting Roman remains which it possesses. Its name has been rendered familiar and illustrious by having been borne by the noble family of Nassau. It was the chief town of a small but in- dependent principality which had ex- isted from the 11th century, and on the death of Philibert de Chalons, Prince of Orange, 1531, without chil- dren, became the inheritance of his sister, who was married to the Prince of Nassau Dillingen. The family of Nassau was confirmed in the posses- sion by the Treaty of Ryswick ; but upon the death of William III. of England the King of Prussia claimed it, as a descendant of the princes of Nassau- Orange, and in spite of other, rightful perhaps, but weaker claimants, he was allowed by the Treaty of Utrecht to make over the principality, in exchange for other possessions, to the King of France, from whose do- minions it has never since been sepa- rated. The house of Nassau conse- quently retains at present no more than the title of Prince of Orange,

Post road. — 12 Mornas. 11 Grange.

which is borne by the heir to the throne of Holland.

The principal Roman remains are, 1 . The Triumphal Arch, situated about f m. outside the town, on the road to Valence. It is a handsome structure in a good, if not in the best, style of Roman architecture : its preserva-

tion is remarkable, considering that it was incorporated in the palace of the Princes of Orange; and the deep yellow tints of the stone (a tertiary limestone abounding in fossils) of which it is composed have a rich effect. The bas-reliefs with which it is adorned represent chiefly naval tro- phies, — rostra, masts, yards, shrouds, anchors, and a number of barbaric shields skilfully disposed ; others con- sist of groups of figures, but the sub- jects are not satisfactorily explained : one female holds her finger to her ear. The sunken panels (caissons) in the vault of the central archway are very elegant. The date and destination of this arch are unknown ; no inscrip- tion is visible, excepting certain names inscribed on the shields, among which the most distinct is MARIO, and some have, in consequence, supposed that it was raised in commemoration of Marius’ victory over the Cimbri near Aix. But arches of triumph were not known, it appeal’s, until the time of the emperors, and the generally- received opinion at present refers it to the reign of Marcus Aurelius, and to his successes on the Danube and in Germany.

The building has been very judi- ciously repaired.

Quite at the other end of the dirty little town stands, 2. The Roman Theatre , at the foot of a hill, whose side, with skilful economy, was ex- cavated into semicircular ranges of seats for the spectators, and whose top was crowned by the citadel of the Romans first, and afterwards of the Princes of Orange, finally razed by Louis XIV. The colossal wall form- ing the scena, the chord of the se- micircle, built over against the hill,

Provence. Route 125 . — Vaison — Cathedral .

451

overtops all the puny edifices of mo- dern times, and is conspicuous for miles around. Few such walls, it may safely be asserted, exist in any part of the world : its dimensions are, 34

met. =121 ft. high, 102 met. =334^ ft. long, and 4 met. = 13 ft. thick. It is formed of huge blocks, fitted accu- rately together without cement. It had 3 entrances below, and near the top ran 2 rows of projecting corbel stones, those nearest the extremities being pierced with holes for the masts, by which an awning was stretched over the scene. Owing, however, to the'projection of the crowning cornice, the masts must have inclined out- wards. The inner face of the wall is denuded of ornament ; in its centre is an arch, and on either side a curi- ous and lofty recess. The interior has recently been cleared of the miserable hovels which filled it, and whose tenants, in some instances, burrow- ing like moles, had formed cellars in the thickness of the walls, regardless of the risk of undermining them, and of being buried in its ruins. The removal of 100 of these cabins now enables the spectator to judge, to a certain extent, of the arrangement of the scene on its inner face. It is still accessible by stone stairs nearly to the top. Some of the corridors are vaulted with long stone beams. Near the top the stone is calcined and red- dened by the action of fire. The apartments at the side were destined for the actors, scenery, and other ac- cessories of a theatre. A few seats remain on the slope, formed by exca- vating the limestone rock ; on one may be seen the letters Eq. C. hi., (Knights’ 3d row). — Round the semi- circle run 3 passages, lined with masonry of small stones. A great many fragments of architecture and sculpture, slabs of marble, pillars of granite, &c., dug up within the en- closure, are preserved here.

Side by side with this theatre ran a circus, or hippodrome, the greater part of which has disappeared, quar-

ried out to build the houses of the town, except a few arches of the por- tico, which joined it to the theatre.

The ancient Arausio, which could construct and maintain edifices of such splendour and magnitude as these, far exceeded in extent the present provincial town ; and, judging from the range of the Roman walls, part of whose circuit still remains, they may have enclosed a population of 40,000. A good Survey of it may be made from the heights above the theatre, where the citadel, now reduced to fragments of masonry, and the base of a round tower, once stood.

The people of Orange have a cha- racter for ferocity, of which they cer- tainly displayed a sample during the Revolution ; 378 persons perished

here by the guillotine, in the space of 3 months, in compliance with the decree of the revolutionary tribunal.

At Vaison, 15 m. N. E. of Orange, are some scanty ancient remains, 2 arches of a theatre, and a Roman bridge , of a single arch, over the torrent Lou Veze, beyond which, in the modem town, are 2 old Romanesque churches, St. Quinin , partly of the 8th century, and the cathedral, calculated to inter- est the antiquarian architect.

The most curious of the bas-reliefs and other antiquities, built into the walls of the house called Chateau Maraudy, j have been removed to Avignon.

The Rhone, below Orange, tra- verses a wide plain, with little variety of surface.

Rt. Roquemaure, distinguished by its tower, perched on the edge of a cliff, excavated below by stone quar- ries, is fixed on by various authors as the spot where Hannibal passed the Rhone with his army and ele- phants, 4 days’ march below the junc- tion of the Isere, on his way to the Little St. Bernard, where he crossed the Alps.

L. Nearly opposite, is Chateau-

452

Route 125. — The Rhone B — Avignon. Sect. VI.

neuf des Papes, where the Popes had a country residence.

L. The stony plain on the E. of the Rhone is nearly barren, but sup- port a few olives and willows. The road passes by Courthezon, near which is a salt lake, the only one in France ; in its bed salt is collected when the waters dry up. There is greater fertility near Bedarrides (Biturritaa, from 2 towers which it possessed), and Sorgues, a village named from the clear stream flowing through it, which rises at Vaucluse. At its junction with the Rhone, that river divides into 2 branches, separated by broad islands.

The spires of Avignon, and the gigantic towers of the Papal palace, now rise conspicuously to view, whe- ther we approach by land or water.

The steamers stop at the quay, out- side the lofty battlemented city wall, just above the broken stone bridge of St. Benezet, and its little chapel, which is about a mile from the Inns. Passengers are left in the hands of the porters of Avignon, who are notori- ously a brutal set, and whose exactions and insolence ought to be repressed by the police.

L. Avignon.* — Inns: Hotel de l’Europe, very good ; a most atten- tive landlord; — H. du Palais Royal, also very good and moderate. There are few better inns in France than these.

This ancient city of the Popes is seated on the 1. bank of the Rhone, a little above the influx of the Durance into it, and is still enclosed by the lofty %valls, surmounted by a' cornice of machicolations, battlemented, and flanked by watch towers, which were constructed for its defence by Clement VI. in the middle of the 14th century. They are very perfect and picturesque, interrupted only on the side towards the Rhone by the cliffs of the Rocher des Dons , which, starting up abruptly, nearly from the water’s edge, is let into the wall, serves as a rampart,

Post road. — 18 Sorgues. 10 Avignon.

and renders other defence needless. Within the circuit of these fortifi- cations, however, will be found large spaces, now vacant, once covered with habitations ; for Avignon, though now numbering only 31,786 inha- bitants, possessed down to the time of Louis XIV. a population of 80,000. It has indeed several thriv- ing suburbs outside its walls. A new suspension bridge is thrown over the 2 branches of the Rhone, from the Port d’Oulle to Villeneuve les Avig- non, on the rt. bank of the river. In the Place d’Oulle, just within this gate, stand the two principal hotels, and a small theatre, designed by the architect Mignard, now a warehouse. On this Place Marshal Brune, in passing through Avignon, 1815, was murdered by an infuriated mob of Provencal royalists, who, upon the news of the battle of Waterloo, and instigated by hatred of Buonaparte, rose upon their adversaries, and committed all sorts of excesses and massacres. The marshal, though furnished with Lord Exmouth’s passport, was shot by the pistol of an assassin in his chamber at the Hotel du Palais Royal, his body was thrown into the Rhone, and his murderers escaped justice.

To obtain an idea of the leading features of Avignon and its vicinity, the traveller must penetrate through its ill-paved and dirty streets, so nar- row that an awning is often stretched across from house to house to keep off the sun, to the height of the Dons. On reaching its platform of bare rock lately converted into a prome- nade, close to the Telegraph, he will find himself on the brink of a preci- pice, looking over the Rhone, here divided bv an island, towards the towers of Villeneuve, which was long a frontier fortress of France, on the opposite bank. In the S. appears the barren range bordering the valley of the Durance, and the Durance itself hurrying on to join the Rhone. On the N. E. rises the Mont Ventoux, and the blue hills at whose feet lies Vaucluse, and close at

Provence.

453

Route 125. — Avignon — Cathedral .

hand the buildings of the city are spread out, surmounted by the cathe- dral, the palace of the popes, and its ill-omened tower of the Glaciere, planted side by side.

The Cathedral , called Notre Dame des Dons (de Dominis) is founded on the rock, and approached by a long flight of steps. It is entered by a projecting porch, calculated to in- terest and puzzle the architect and antiquary, consisting of a circular arch, flanked by 2 Corinthian columns at the corners, so completely Roman in character that some have supposed it to have formed the porch of a Roman building, a temple of Her- cules; and, judging from a juncture perceptible in the masonry behind, it is probably of a different date from the body of the church. The pedi- ment surmounting it is rather higher pitched than is usual in classic build- ings ; its tympanum is pierced with a circular opening, and over the door- way are the remains of frescoes of the 14th century. Behind this rises a massy W. tower, and the cross is surmounted by an octagon, supported at the angles and flanked externally by fluted Corinthian columns. The roof is Pointed ; the side chapels date from the 14tli century; that of St. Joseph was once a passage leading into the papal palace. The tomb of Pope Jean XXII. , is a florid Gothic canopy, richly carved, but mutilated, and its niches emptied since the revo- lution ; beneath it reclines his broken effigy. Benedict XII. is also buried here under a plainer monument. Here is preserved a very ancient altar, a slab of marble supported on 5 pillars with classic capitals. In the choir is placed the papal throne, now the seat of the archbishop, of marble, carved with the Winged Bull of St. Luke, andthe Lion of St. Mark. 4 or 5 popes were consecrated in this church.* Besides what it suffered at the

The Popes gained possession of Avignon

on the strength of a grant made by Joanna of Naples, while yet a minor, 1348 : she was

Revolution, this edifice, was, in 1814, made the receptacle for some hundred Spanish prisoners. It has lately un- dergone repairs, and has been modern- ised with bad effect One chapel is decorated with frescoes by Deveria ; in one a statue of the Virgin, by Pradier, has been placed.

The ancient Palace of the Popes, now degraded into a barrack and pri- son, is magnificent from its vastness, in spite of its present degradation and mutilations, and partakes of the mixed character of a feudal castle and convent. “ Every thing is irre- gular and colossal about it, and its vastness cannot fail to produce an effect upon the spectator.” Its walls are 100 feet high, and some of its towers 150 feet, with a proportionate thickness of masonry. But above all, how rich in associations ! During the greater part of the 14th century, the period of its construction by succes- sive rulers, it wrns the seat of the Papal court, which had become a by- word for its luxury, profligacy, and venality. In those halls, now echo- ing to the blasphemous oaths of pri- soners, or subdivided and filled -with

to receive for it 80,000 gold crowns, which were never paid.

List of the Popes who reigned at Avignon, — all Frenchmen :

1305. Clement V. Born near Bordeaux. 1316. John XXII. Born at Cohors.

1334. Benedict XII. Born at Verdun, Comte de Foix. >

1342. Clement VI. Born near Limoges. ' 1352. Innocent VI. Born near Limoges. 1362. Urban V. Born in diocese of Mende. 1370. Gregory XI. Born in Limousin. Quitted Avignon for Rome, 1376. Thus ended the Babylonish Cap- tivity of the Romish Church, as it is called ; “ L’EmpiaBabilonia,” Petr. Sonn. 91.

Afterwards the following schismatic Popes set up their throne at Avignon, and resided there 40 years :

1378. Clement VII.

1394. Benedict XIII. (Pierre de Luna.) 1424. Clement VIII.

On the termination of the schism Avignon became the residence of a papal Legate. Louis XI V., “ the eldest son of the Church,” seized Avignon to revenge a pretended af- front on his ambassador at Rome. Louis XV.

I held possession of it for 10 years. It was not | united with France until 1791.

454

Route 125 .— Avignon — Papal Palace . Sect. VI.

soldiers’ cribs and accoutrements, the conclave of cardinals sate by whom the pope was elected : here Petrarch was a guest. Giotto or his scholars adorned its walls, and in its dungeons Rienzi was a prisoner. Here the once formidable Tribune of Rome, who bad ruled from the Capitol with the sway of the Cassars, now humble and despicable, owed his life to the inter- cession of his friend the poet. He was imprisoned in the tower Des Oubliettes, and fettered with a single chain, fastened into the vault of the dungeon ; in other respects kept in honourable custody, and had his meals from the remnants of the papal table, which were distributed to the poor. He could pursue his beloved studies: the Bible, and the history of the an- cient Romans, particularly the books of Livy, were his companions in his prison, as formerly at the height of his prosperity.” These battlemented walls and towers defied for several years a French army under Marshal Boucicault, who in vain besieged within them the anti-pope Benedict XIII. (Pierre de Luna), who finally escaped by a postern.

Above the entrance, originally de- fended by drawbridges, portcullis, and iron gates, now removed, is the balcony whence the popes bestowed their benediction upon the people. The first court is disfigured by new buildings. A wide stone staircase, under a depressed arch, on the rt. hand, leads up to what was once the great hall of the palace, called Salle Brulee, ever since Pierre de Lude, papal legate in 1441, caused it to be blown up, with the guests assembled in it, consisting of the nobles of Avignon, in revenge for their having murdered his nephew, a young liber- tine, who had outraged them by his excesses ! Attached to it are side chapels, and the Salle du Consistoire, having traces of frescoes executed in the 14th century ; but they are partly effaced or concealed from view by the modern division of this lofty range of

halls by floors, into 3 stories, to con- vert them into dormitories.

Another stair, on the opposite side of the building, leads to the chamber occupied by the Inquisition, which was established here in the 13th century. The Chapelle du Saint Office, vaulted and groined, retains scarcely any traces of the frescoes with which it was decorated by Giottino (pupil of Giotto) : a large portion, including the Last Judgment, is effaced ; but figures of prophets, &c. may be dis- tinguished. Here the Jews inhabit- ing Avignon were assembled at stated times, to hear a sermon, designed to promote their conversion to Christi- anity. The chamber of torture (salle de la question) adjoining, is built with funnel-shaped walls, contracting upwards, in the manner of a glass- house, a form devised, it is said, to stifle the cries of the miserable vic- tims. In the thickness of the wall, in one corner, are the remains of a furnace for heating torturing irons, according to the tradition. Near it are the holes to which was attached the instrument called La Veille, a pointed stake upon which the con- demned was seated, suspended by cords from above, so as only to pre- vent his falling, but allowing his whole weight to bear upon the point. These are the associations of the dark ages, and they are dismal enough; but this building has beheld events in modern and enlightened times which far distance them in their horrors and atrocities. The crimes accu- mulated during a few hours of the French Revolution exceed those dis- persed through previous ages. Who has not heard of the Glaciere of Avignon ? The tower so called, from an ice-house in a garden near it, stands close to that of the Inqui- sition. The stranger is invited to gaze into it, through an aperture in its walls, and he will discern near the bottom long black stains ; they are streaks of human blood ; and into those dark depths below were hurled

Provence. Route 1*25. —Avignon — * Musee . 455

from above no less than 60 unfortu- nate and innocent persons, females as well as men, massacred by a band of democrats more savage than wild beasts, in Oct. 1791. The prisoners were dragged from their cells, and poignarded or struck down in the door ; but in the blind haste of the ruffians, it is believed that some of their victims were precipitated from above before life was yet extinct ; but to finish the deed of infamy, quick- lime in large quantities was thrown down from above upon the mangled heap of dead and dying.

In the narrow passage, shut up within lofty walls, by which you ap- proach this part of the castle, some of the prisoners of the revolutionary executioner Jourdan, called Coupetete from his butcheries, were thrust, and, cannon being brought to the gate, were dispatched by grape-shot, the marks of which still indent the walls.

The modern building facing the Papal palace, now Caserne de Gen- darmerie, fantastically ornamented in front with large garlands, carved in stone, was the Papal mint.

A little way behind the castle, pass- ing into the Rue Peirollerie, under a huge flying buttress, which supports the castle wall, and leaving on the rt. an ancient building, once the re- sidence of the Podestat or Governor of Avignon, we reach the church of St. Pierre, having a richly florid front, built 1512, nearly in the Perpendicu- lar style, but mutilated. It contains a stone pulpit, carved and surrounded by little statues, in canopied niches. Scarcely any other of the numerous churches here deserve notice ; but to give an idea how completely ec- clesiastical Avignon was before the Revolution, we may mention that it contained 8 chapters, 35 convents of both sexes, 10 hospitals, 7 frater- nities of penitents, 3 seminaries, a university, and 60 churches, of which 18 now remain : \ of its population were dedicated to the church, and it possessed between 200 and 300 towers and spires. Rabelais, in consequence of the number of bells, called it, “ La Ville sonnante.”

The Place cCHorloge is overlooked by the clock-tower, or belfry, called Jacquemart, from the figure in ar- mour, who strikes the hours attached to the Hotel de Ville, a semi- Gothic edifice, originally a palace of the Co- lonna family. Here are situated the principal cafes and the theatre.

In the Rue Calade is situated the Musee , founded by Calvet, a native of Avignon. Its collections are of considerable interest. The Roman antiquities found in the neighbour- hood are numerous, though few are derived from Avignon itself, the an- cient Avenio. Several large monu- ments, carved in high relief, have been brought from Vaison near Orange (p. 451.), among them a Chariot car- rying 2 Persons, and a driver drawn by Horses harnessed with Traces, and shod, (this use of horse-shoes has been attributed to later times); another represents the Sacrifice of a Bull (?Mithraic). They are overladen with ornament, and in the debased style of the Lower Empire. An amphora or wine jar, 5 ft. high, and 8 or 10 in circumference, deserves notice for its size.

In the upper rooms are a large collection of antique bronzes, arms, utensils, & c., found in Provence, and the Comtat Venaissin, in fine pre- servation ; some of them have a Greek character. Among them is the Head of a Roman Standard (the Eagle of a Legion ?). The collection of Roman glass is large and perfect. Many of these objects were obtained from the Roman town Vaison by excavations in 1838 — 1840. There are 2 perfect Egyptian paintings on papyrus, and other Egyptian antiquities. The coins and medals amount to 14,000 : among them is a suit of Papal me- dals struck at Avignon ; also the seals of the Popes and their Legates, and the last seal used by the Inquisi- tion here.

4-56

Route 125. — Avignon — Picture Gallery. Sect. VI.

In the Picture Gallery, besides many early paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries, which seem to have been retouched, there are 2 portraits attri- buted to Holbein; another head, like John Knox, 1535, in an oval ; and a Holy Family of the Milanese school. A crucifixion, by Eckhout, is not un- worthy of Rembrandt, and is perhaps the best picture in the gallery. There are paintings by the 3 Vernets : by Jo- seph, who was a native of Avignon, one of his best landscapes ; by Carl, several landscapes ; and by Horace (whose bust, by Thorwalsden, is placed in the room), Mazeppa on the Wild Horse. Many of old Vernet's sketches for the views of French sea ports in the Louvre exist here.

The library amounts to 42,000 vols. derived from suppressed convents in the town ; it includes 700 MSS. and many early printed editions of the 15th century.

In the same street, further on, is the Gothic church of St. Martial, re- markable for the elegant florid win- dows at its E. end, in one of which the tracery assumes the form of the fleur-de-lis.

The large Benedictine convent ad- joining it has been converted into a Museum of Natural History . In this collection may be seen specimens of the flamingo caught in the delta of the Rhone, where it frequents the ponds (etangs) of the Camargue. (See p. 467.) It is stated to be a permanent inhabitant of that part of France, forming a nest of mud, in the form of a truncated cone, on which it sits over its eggs, with its long legs dan- gling down on the outside. The bird does not assume its red plumage j until it is 2 years old.

Here is the beaver of the Rhone, j an animal now nearly exterminated, since the late inundations drove most ' of them from their retired haunts. Its colour is tawny, and its hair harsh compared with the American beaver. It does not build houses, nor lay up stores in Europe, but burrows

in the dykes or river bed, and feeds on willows or other brushwood, whole plantations of which are often laid prostrate by its sharp teeth. Here are collections of the minerals and fossils of the Dept. Vaucluse; also of fossil insects and fishes from Aix. The museum has been enriched by the splendid bequest of M. Riquet, and the whole appears well arranged. Behind is the botanic garden.

Continuing in the same direction, as far as Rue des Lices (No. 8.), a street abounding with dyers and tan- ners, at the back of the Maison des Orphelins, a charitable institution for the education of 50 poor children, we shall find the last relic of the church of the Cordeliers, in which Petrarch’s Laura, a married lady of the family De Sades in Avignon, was buried. The church, destroyed at the Revo- lution, is now reduced to a fragment of the tower and side walls, sold pro- bably for the value of the materials, but not worth pulling down.

Laura’s tomb, described by Arthur Young as “ nothing but a stone in the pavement, with a figure engraved on it, partly effaced, surrounded by an inscription in Gothic letters, and another on the wall adjoining, with the armorial of the family de Sade,” has entirely disappeared, having been broken open and the contents of the tomb, as well as that of the brave Cril- lon, scattered by the Revolutionists. In a sort of tea garden behind the j fragment of the church, a vulgar, tasteless monument has been raised to Laura, bearing the pompous inscrip- tion, “ Hunc cippum posuit Carolus Kelsall Anglicus.” Petrarch has re- corded that he first saw Laura in the church of St. Claire, 1327, in the time of his early youth.

In this church of the Cordeliers, June 1791, the mob of Avignon, irri- tated at the tyranny, spoliations, and sacrilegious acts of the democratic j municipality, put to death its agent and secretary Lescuyere : the chief actors in this deed of blood were wo-

Provence, i?. 125 . — Avignon

men, who actually tore out his eyes with their scissors.

Behind the church and convent of St. Martial is the Hotel des Invalides , subordinate to, and dependant on that of Paris, founded for old soldiers, after the expulsion of the French from Egypt. It occupies the buildings of 2 suppressed convents, between which a park extends. The upper part of a chapel, in the roof of which are traces of fresco, serves as the Lingerie. The establishment is furnished with a good library for the use of the inmates.

A crucifix of ivory, 26 inches high, executed by one Guillermin, accord- ing to the story, to save his nephew from execution, and preserved in the chapel of the Hospice des Insenses, is much vaunted in the guide books ; but is not, after ah, of high merit.

Conveyances. Steamers , 2 daily to Lyons in the morning ; 2 to Arles in the afternoon.

Diligences , daily, 3 or 4 to Mar- seilles; to Nismes 3 (in 4 hours); to Arles twice a day ; to Lyons and Paris 4 daily ; to Narbonne and Tou- louse.

Rt. Opposite to Avignon, on the rt. bank of the Rhone, at the extremity of the wooden bridge, stands Ville- neuve-les- Avignon, an ancient town of 4,000 inhabitants, which was much encouraged by the kings of Fi ance, as a border fortress, on the frontier of Languedoc, confronting the foreign territory of the Pope, on the oppo- site shore of Provence. It contains several objects of curiosity. In the chapel of the Hopital is placed the elegant Gothic tomb of Pope Innocent VI., composed of tabernacle work, and niches beautifully carved, though much mutilated. It has recently been removed from the ruined convent of the Chartreuse, and carefully restored. In the same hospital is preserved a curious painting of the Last Judgment, an ancient work of the 15th century, of good design ; the heads of careful execution, but much injured. It is in water colours (? distemper), var- France.

— Villeneuve- les- Avignon . 45 7

nished, and is attributed, but with slight probability, to King Rene, Due d' Anjou.

In the Gothic church, a heavy building of the 14th century, there is a Descent from the Cross, attributed to Bellini.

The ruins of the Gothic church of the Chartreuse, and the tower which formed the Tete du Pont of the broken bridge of St. Benazet, faced with stones cut in diamond facettes, built by Philippe le Bel, also merit notice. The Fort St. Andre, on an elevated platform above the town, is a nearly unaltered citadel of feudal times.

The climate of Avignon is de- scribed in the proverbial line, — “ Avenio ventosa, sine vento venenosa, cum vento fastidiosa.”

The following very interesting ex- cursions may be made from Avignon : — a. To Vaucluse; b. To the Pont du Gard, on the way to Nismes ( R.l 26.) ; on no account to be omitted : both may be seen in one day from Avig- non, sleeping at Nismes. The tra- veller should not return to Avignon from the P. du G., but by all means go on to Nismes. c. To Orange, on the way to Lyons (p. 450.); d. To St. Remy (p. 462.) ; e. to Carpentras. The Roman remains of Nismes (p. 468.) and Arles (p. 463.), more dis- tant from Avignon, are scarcely in- ferior in interest to any in Italy.

a. Vaucluse. 29 kilom. = 18 Eng. m.

A carriage, with 2 horses, costs 18 or 20 fr. to go and return ; the excur- sion will take about 8 or 10 hours.

It is incumbent upon all travellers to perform this “ sentimental jour- ney,” not only on account of Petrarch and Laura, but because Vaucluse it- self is a striking scene. You quit Avignon by the Porte St. Lazare, tra- verse long avenues of willows and poplars, leaving on either hand nu- merous country-houses, each fronted with an avenue of planes ; and after crossing the Canal de Crillon, which conducts the waters of the Durance x

458

Route 125. — Vaucluse — Petrarch.

Sect. VI.

to fertilise the fields of madder around Avignon (R. 128.), reach the village of Le Thor, so named from a bull, which, by constantly falling on its knees, when brought to water on the margin of a pond, led to the discovery of a miraculous image of the Virgin, which was fished out of the mud, and deposited in the church of St. Marie du Lac ! This is an ancient and cu-rious Romanesque building; its W. doorway resembles that of Notre Dame des Dons, and is pro- bably of the 11th century; an orna- mented portal at the E. end is rather later. The country is dreary as far as

22 L’lsle ( Inns : H. du Petrarque et Laure ; not very good, and dear; — Poste ; better), a town of 5,000 inha- bitants, 12 m. from Avignon, on an island surrounded by branches of the Sorgues, whose waters, employed in irrigation, spread fertility and ver- dure around. This is a green oasis in the desert, affording bubbling streams and grateful shade. There is a road from L’lsle to Carpentras. (See p. 459.)

The valley of the Sorgues, whose course we trace hence upwards, is ex- cavated in a mountain chain, branch- ing from the lofty Mont Ventoux. Near its head lies the little village

7 Vaucluse. — Inn: H. de Laure; small, and not very clean. The land- lord is a capital cook, and, judging from the Strangers’ Book — a singular record of frivolous sentiment and self- ish “ gourmandise,” bis fried trout and eels, soupe a la bisque, and co- qui le d’Ecrevisse, have made a far deeper and more lasting impression on his visitors, than the souvenir of Laura ; and, indeed, they are not to be despised ; even Petrarch himself has mentioned the fish of the Sorgues with praise. Close to the village stands a tasteless monument to Pe- trarch, which the Academy of Avig- non planted at the mouth of the grotto itself, whence it was judiciously removed by order of the Duchesse d’Angouleme, when she visited the

spot. A path leads from the village to the fountain by the side of the Sorgues, whose exquisitely limpid waters are dried up near the head in summer, and, instead of bursting out exuberantly from the cavern, filtrate underground, and issue out, some hundred yards lower down, in nu- merous streamlets, out of holes in the limestone rock.

The valley of Vaucluse (vallis clausa) is a complete cul de sac, a semicircu- lar excavation in the side of a moun- tain, which seems to have been split from top to bottom, so as to disclose the secret storehouse of water within it, whence the sparkling Sorgues de- rives its supplies. All around rise walls of rock from 500 to 600 ft. high, intermixed with bristling py- ramids, arid, destitute of verdure, and glaringly white. The sides and bottom are strewn with broken frag- ments of stone, which, where the Sorgues rolls over them, are covered with a luxuriant mantle of green moss. It is a desolate and arid scene. On a ledge half way up, to the rt., is perched a ruined castle, which belonged to the bishops of Cavaillon, one of whom, the Cardinal de Cabassole, was Petrarch’s friend. Though popularly known as Pe- trarch’s Castle, it never belonged either to him or to Laura ; but the site of his house is pointed out be- tween the castle and the village. Here, beside a natural grotto in the rock, mentioned in his letters, one of the gardens which he formed with so much care was probably situated.

At the extremity of this majestic recess, at the base of the precipice, yawns the cavern which contains the fountain of Vaucluse. According to the season, and the abundance of the water, it presents, alternately, a gushing cataract, tumbling over the moss -clad stones, from step to step, or a quiet, pellucid, dark blue pool, sunken within its grotto, so that you may enter under the vault beside it, and, gazing into its funnel-shaped

459

Provence. Route 125 .— Vaucluse — Carpentras.

basin, watch the stones which are I thrown in gradually descend into its fathomless depths. A wild fig-tree, springing from a crevice in the face of the rock, above the natural vault, marks, with its roots, the height which the waters attain when they fill the cave.

Around this spot must have been the other garden mentioned by Pe- trarch in his letters ; that consecrated to Apollo, adapted to study, “ where art surpasses nature.”

It is more agreeable to contemplate Petrarch in these haunts, as the la- borious student retired from the world, than as the mawkish lover, sighing for a married mistress, and converted, as in the sentimental verses of Delille, into a sort of Italian Werther. Listen to his own account of his occupations at Vaucluse.

“ The Sorgue, transparent as crys- tal, rolls over its emerald bed ; and by its bank, I cultivate a little sterile and stony spot, which I have destined to the Muses ; but the jealous Nymphs dispute the possession of it with me ; they destroy, in the spring, the labours of my summer. I had conquered from them a little meadow, and had not enjoyed it long, when, upon my return from a journey into Italy, I I found that they had robbed me of all my possession. But I was not to be I discouraged ; I collected the labourers, the fishermen, and the shepherds, and raised a rampart against the Nymphs ; and there we raised an altar to the Muses ; but, alas ! experience has proved that it is in vain to battle with the elements. I no longer dispute with the Sorgue a part of its bed ; the Nymphs have gained the victory.

“ Here I please myself with my little gardens and my narrow dwell- ing. I want nothing, and look for no favours from fortune. If you come to me, you will see a solitary, who wanders in the meadows, the fields, the forests, and the mountains,

! resting on the mossy grottoes, or be- neath the shady trees. Your friend

detests the intrigues of court, the tu- mult of cities, and flies from the abodes of pageantry and pride. — Equally removed from joy or sadness, he passes his days in the most pro- found calm, happy to have the Muses for his companions, and the song of birds and the murmur of the stream for his serenade. ... I have but few servants, but many books. Some- times you will find me seated upon the bank of the river ; sometimes stretched upon the yielding grass : and, enviable power ! I have all my hours at my own disposal, for it is rarely that I see any one. Above all things, I delight to taste the sweets of leisure.”

e. Carpentras. 23 kilom. =14 Eng. m. and The Mont Ventoux.

The road thither from Avignon lies through Entraigues and Monteux, crossing the Sorgues, here as limpid as at Vaucluse, between the two vil- lages. The country around Carpen- tras is a fertile plain, which, by means of irrigation, and of a southern sun, produces crops of all kinds in abun- dance.

23 Carpentras is a flourishing town of 10,000 inhab., still retaining, like most of those in the old Papal terri» tory (the Comtat Venaissin), its feudal walls, towers, and gates ; the Porte d ’ Orange being particularly perfect and stately. It was an important Roman station ; but almost the only relic of that people remaining is an Arch of Triumph, formerly built up into the bishop’s palace, and serving as his kitchen, but recently set free from that degradation, and detached from the buildings surrounding it. It is a ruin, reduced to the mere stone vault, without the attic, resting on the side piers. Upon these are curious sculptures in relief, representing Bar- barian Captives, their hands bound behind their backs to trophies. No- thing is known of the date or destina- tion of this arch ; but it is doubtless a work of the Lower Empire.

The cathedral, rebuilt 1405, has a x 2

460 Route 125. — The Rhone B — Avignon to Arles. Sect. VI.

tower attached to it of the 10th cen- tury, and contains a nail of the Cross, made into a bit, and used for that purpose by Constantine, if we may believe the tradition.

There is a musee here containing antiquities, and a public library of 12,000 volumes, and 700 MSS.

The aqueduct of Carpentras, a massive structure of 48 arches, was finished 1734.

The ascent of the Mont Venioux may be made from Carpentras by way of Malaucene, whence it is 6 m. distant. Its top, reached by Petrarch in 1345, is 6,427 feet above the sea level, and is covered for half the year with snow, which supplies the Dept, with ice in summer. The view from it includes a portion of the chain of the Alps, the Cevennes, the Coiron, the course of the Rhone and Durance, and, it is said, extends to the Medi- terranean. At the foot of the moun- tain stands Bedouin, a miserable vil- lage rising from amidst the blackened ruins of a former village destroyed at the Revolution. There is no darker spot in the black history of that period than the burning of Bedouin and the massacre of its inhabitants by the re- volutionary committee. Their agent, the apostate priest Maignet, directed this atrocious crime, and Suchet, af- terwards so eminent a general, with his soldiers, carried it into execution, setting fire to the houses, blowing up the public buildings, hurrying the peaceful inhabitants to the scaffold, and picking off with musquetry those who tried to escape, until 180 had perished. And these horrors were enacted, not in a hostile country and in time of war, but upon fellow coun- trymen, women, and children, French- men being the executioners ; and all because a tree of liberty planted with- in the parish had been sawn through in the night.

Descent of the Rhone continued : — Avignon to Arles.

The Rhone opposite Avignon al- !

ways belonged to the King of France, even when its 1. bank formed the territory of the Pope, and, in con- sequence, during an inundation of the river, which had laid a quarter of the town under water, the royal bailiff entered the streets in a boat, and claimed all those parts which the river had occupied for his master.

L. Within 21 m. of Avignon, the Rhone is joined by the Durance, a turbulent and injurious stream, part of whose course is described in R. 128.

The course of the Rhone below this possesses very little interest. The high road to Arles is equally unin- teresting, but more direct than the river : traversing at first a country rendered fertile by irrigation, it crosses the Durance, at a distance of 11 m. from Avignon, by a very long sus- pension bridge, rendered necessary by the broad bed of gravel, not half of which is occupied by the wild river, except in times of flood.

L. At Barbautane there are exten- sive quarries.

L. A low ridge of hills, called Al- pines, remarkable for their utter na- kedness, now approaches the Rhone, running from E. to W. In the dis- tance, upon their flanks, the white houses of St. Remy, and its 2 Roman monuments, may be distinguished.

Rt. Aramon is a town of 2,800 inhab. : and a little below it the river Gardon, which gives its name to the dept., flows into the Rhone.

A wire bridge, suspended from 4 piers, 1,446 feet long, over which the high road from Marseilles to Nismes and Narbonne passes (R. 126, 127.), connects

L. Tarascon, whose massive square castle at the water side is overtopped by the spire of its Gothic church behind, with

Rt. Beaucaire, lying at the base of cliffs of bare rock, one of them sur- mounted by a Calvary, the other by a ruined castle. The bridge was erected in 6 months in 1829 by M. Seguin, of Lyons, at a cost of 600,000/.

Provence. Route 12 5. — Tarascon — Beaucaire.

Passengers disembark or go on board the steamer from a pier de- scending from the bridge.

L.* Tarascon (Inn : H. des Em- pereurs, close to the bridge ; not re- commended, G.B.) is a town of about 11,000 inhab. Etymologists have been bold enough to derive its name from the Greek rapdaaic, disturb, connecting it with the tradition of a dragon, called Tarasque, which, once upon a time, infested the borders of the Rhone, preying upon human flesh, to the great terror and disturb- ance of the inhabitants. They were at length delivered from the pest by St. Martha, sister of Lazarus, since adopted as the patron saint of the town, who conquered the monster with no other weapon than the Cross, and made him a prisoner with her girdle. This deliverance was comme- morated until within a few years by a procession of mummers, attended by the clergy, who paraded the town, escorting the figure of a dragon, made of canvas, and wielding a huge beam of wood by way of a tail, to the im- minent danger of the legs of all who approached. The ceremony was at- tended by numerous practical jokes, and led to acts of violence, in conse- quence of which it has been sup- pressed. The effigy of the dragon uow slumbers in the lumber-room of the playhouse.

The church of St. Martha is a pointed Gothic building of the 14th century, with the exception of the S. portal, which is circular and re- cessed with deep mouldings ; between these the dog-tooth ornament appears ; it dates from 1187. In a crypt be- neath the nave of the church is the shrine and tomb of St. Martha, orna- mented with her reclining effigy of white marble, not badly executed, but modern. Against the walls the history of Martha is represented in a series of bas-reliefs. Here also is the tomb of a Neapolitan knight, a fol- lower of Roi Rene, and a well in the

Post road. — 23 Tarascon.

46 1

floor, the water of which is said to rise and fall with the Rhone.

The picturesque Castle, remarkable for its massive construction and per- fect preservation, was begun by Henri II. in 1400, and finished by King Rene of Anjou, who frequently resided here, spending his time in festivities and fetes, during one of which he and his queen appeared in the attire of shepherd and shepherd- ess : it is now a prison, and contains nothing remarkable.

The road from Tarascon to Mar- seilles and Nismes is in R. 127.

Rt. Beaucaire (Inn: H. du Lux- emburg), though it contains only 9,967 inhabitants, is a town of more life than its opposite neighbour Ta- rascon. It stands at the mouth of the Canal de Beaucaire, which joins the Canal du Midi, and thus unites the Rhone and Garonne, and it is the terminus of a railway to Nismes and Alais. It is, besides, the locality of the celebrated fair, held here every year between the 1st and 28th of July, on the wide space of ground, planted with rows of trees, extending between the Rhone and the castle rock. This space is then covered with booths and sheds, arranged in streets, forming a sort of supplemental town of wood and canvas, within which the various kinds of merchandise are deposited, each classed by itself. The shore is lined by a flotilla of barges, the roads are choked with waggons, and the inns are filled to overflowing. Though somewhat fallen off of late, this fair collects together about 100,000 per- sons, and is attended by merchants not only from all parts of France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, but by many Jews, Turks, Armenians, Greeks, and even Moors from Barbary, who sell dates, &c. It terminates July 28. at midnight. It is said to date as far back as 1168.

The Castle, standing on the top of an escarped rock, was an ancient pos- session of the Counts of Toulouse, and was recovered bv Count Ray- x 3

462

Sect. VI,

Route 125. — Beaucab'e — St. Remy.

mond VII., when only 19 years of age, from the usurping Simon de Montfort and his sons, after a long and memorable siege (1216), in which he, besieging the garrison, was him- self surrounded by an army from without. It is now reduced to a complete ruin ; one stately triangular tower, and a curious Romanesque chapel of great antiquity, in which St. Louis is said to have heard mass be- fore he embarked for the Crusade, alone surmounting the crumbling walls. There is a good view, from the castle rock, of the Rhone, the bridge, the scene of the fair, the dis- tant arid range of the Alpines on the opposite side of the river, and the equally naked hills of the Calvary and gallows (fourche patebulaire) on this side, but verdure is wanting. The rock, which serves as the pedestal to the castle, is being cut through, to allow the passage of a road to the Rhone.

Beaucaire is the scene of the old Proven 9 al romance of Aucassin and Nicolette.

St. Gilles (see p. 173.) is about 15 m. distant.

From Tarascon an excursion may be made to St. Remy (10 m.), a de- serted town, remarkable only for two well-preserved Roman buildings, de- tached from all others, and about | m. from the town : the one is a funereal Monument, of most elegant design, about 50 ft. high, ornamented on its square base with bas-reliefs. On the N. side is a Skirmish of Cavalry ; on the W. a Combat of Infantry ; on the S. the Sacrifices and Erection of Trophies after a Battle ; on the E. a winged Victory supporting a wounded Soldier : above this rises a double arch with engaged columns in the angles, and the whole is surmounted by a circular temple enclosing 2 sta- tues. It bears this inscription, which throws no light on its date, —

SEX.L.M.JVUEI.C.F.PARENTIBVS.SVEIS.

The Arch of Triumph, standing within

a few yards of it, is less perfect, having lost its upper story, but the stones of its vault remain, beautifully carved in hexagonal compartments, or sunk pannels. Much of the sculp- ture has perished ; the bas-reliefs remaining represent captives, bound, with women beside them. The date of this monument is as little known as that of the former : it has been sup- posed to commemorate the victories of Marc Aurelius. St. Remy w'as the ancient Glanum ; it stands on the slope of the naked Alpines, and one of the lime-stone crests near the town is pierced through and through by a natural orifice. St. Remy was the birth-place of Nostradamus, 1503, the astrologer and fortune-teller.

Orgon, on the road to Marseilles, is about 10 m. from St. Remy(R. 128.).

Rt., close to the bridge of Beau- caire, is the mouth of the canal join- ing the Rhone to the Canal du Midi. The plain around was transformed into a sandy desert by the inundation of 1840, the Rhone having burst its banks at this point.

L. The country between Tarascon and Arles is a flat and uninteresting alluvial marshy plain, intersected by ditches, and the olive here gives place to the willow.

L. A little on the 1. of the road, about 2 m. from Arles, a singular rock rises, like an island, above a marshy pond, crowned with the ruins of the once celebrated abbey of Mont- majeur , founded in the 10th century, and continued down to the 18th. Of the latter period are the vast palatial constructions of Italian architecture, which formed the convent, now ra- pidly falling to pieces. The church is partly Romanesque, partly Pointed, but beneath it is a vast crypt, of the 11th century, running under nearly the whole upper church. Behind the altar of this crypt stretches a semicircular wall, pierced with win- dows so as to render the altar visible

Provence. Route 125 . — The Rhone R — Arles.

463

from the side chapels. Attached to the church is a ruined cloister , in which 2 mutilated monumental effi- gies remain of princes of the house of Anjou.

At the foot of the rock, on the N. E., is the very curious chapel of Salute Croix, consisting of a central square tower, from which project 4 equal semicircular apsides, that on the W. having a porch attached. It is in the Romanesque style, but des- titute of all ornament. It is proved by records to have been dedicated by Pons de Marignan, Bishop of Arles, in 1019. An inscription , forged by the monks of Montmajeur at a com- paratively late period, attributed its origin to Charlemagne, to commemo- rate a victory here gained over the Saracens. Down to 1789 this chapel was resorted to every year, on the festival of the Discovery of the True Cross, by infinite multitudes of pil- grims, anxious to reap the advantages promised by papal indulgence to all who then flocked hither. The rock on which the chapel is built is honey- combed with tombs of all sizes exca- vated in it : some are said to have been the last resting place of early Christians.

L. The Rhone first forks off into 2 branches, forming the head of its delta, about a mile to the N. of Arles. The branch which it sends off to the W., called Petit Rhone, is crossed by a wire suspension bridge at the village Fourques.

L. * Arles. — Inns: H. du Nord, in the Place du Forum ; dirty : - — H. du Forum. The Inns here are de- cidedly bad. A new Hotel on the Quai kept by the wife of one of the English engineers on the steamboats.

Arles, one of the most ancient, and once the most important city in France, the Rome of Gaul (“ Gal- lula Roma Arelas,” as Ausonius calls it), the residence of a Roman Pre- fect, and, after the fall of the Roman Empire (a. d. 876.), the capital of

Post road 15 Arles.

the kingdom of Arles, or of Trans- Jurane Burgundy, is now shrunken up into a dull provincial town. It is, however, rich in ancient remains of the period of its greatness ; and the stranger who succeeds in thread- ing its labyrinth of dirty narrow streets, more intricate than any other perhaps in France, will be duly re- warded, if he takes an interest in an- tiquities. Arles is justly celebrated for the beauty of its women.

It is a sea-port town of 20,000 inhab., standing on the 1. bank of the Rhone, near the apex of its delta, about 28 m. from the sea. The river bank is lined by a quay, at which may be seen moored a number of heavy barges, with one mast, and a very long yard, and a prow not unlike that of the antique galleys. A bridge of boats unites the town with its suburb

Rt. Trinquetaille, and supplies the place of an old bridge, over which passed the Aurelian Way, extending from Rome to Cadiz,

“ Per quern Romani commercia suscipis orbis,”

to use the words of Ausonius, in his description of Aides.

The most interesting ancient mo- numents existing at Arles are,

1 . The amphitheatre, a magnificent and most interesting relic of former days, larger than that of Nismes, (measuring 459 feet by 338 feet, having 5 corridors and 43 rows of seats, and capable of holding 25,000 spectators,) but by no means so well preserved, owing to the devastations of human hands, rather than those of time. It consists of 2 stories of 60 arches, the lower Doric, the upper Corinthian, both rude in style, and of most massive construction, formed of enormous blocks, very exactly fitted together. Owing to the unevenness of the ground, it is supported on one side by vast substructions. The outer wall is now nearly separated from the second by the removal of the vaults, and the interior is completely gutted. Yet the lower portion, including the x 4

464 Route 125 . — Arles — Amphitheatre — Theatre. Sect. VI.

podium, or parapet surrounding the arena, faced with marble slabs, is even more perfect than at Nismes, having been covered up with earth until within a few years. Scarcely 12 years have elapsed since this building was entirely filled within, and choked up without, by an accumulation of mean hovels, occupied by the poorest and worst part of the population of the town, to the number of 2,000, part of whom burrowed under the vaults, or nestled in its recesses, reminding one of the fungi and parasites spring- ing up over the trunk of some vener- able monarch of the forest. One of these houses is still allowed to remain to give an idea of the former condi- tion of the amphitheatre. Another excrescence, not forming part of the original structure, are the two square towers surmounting the entire edifice. But they are interesting historical relics, having been raised in the 8th century, either by the Saracens, who, under Jussouf- Ben - Aldelrahman, Wali of Narborme, then obtained possession of Arles, or by Charles Martel, who expelled them from the city, 739. At all events the amphi- theatre, like the Coliseum of Rome, was at that period converted into a fortress, and withstood sieges and assaults, while 4 towers of defence were erected at the 4 cardinal points. From the top of the loftiest remaining tower the best view is obtained of the amphitheatre, and of the city of Arles, of the course of the Rhone upwards to Beaucaire, of the distant outline of the Alpines, and Mount Ventoux, and of the plain of the Crau : the sea is not visible.

The stranger will not fail to remark the beauty of the masonry of the amphitheatre, the arches sometimes turned flat, of small stones, sometimes replaced by huge single beams of stone. The vaulted chambers communicating with the arena are supposed to have been the dens for wild beasts. The very scanty traces of inscriptions re- maining on this building throw no

light on its date, but it is supposed to be older than the arenes of Nismes, and is attributed to the age of Titus.

The Roman Theatre, more recently disinterred from the earth than even the amphitheatre, has suffered equal if not greater dilapidations in the course of ages. It is said to have been demolished by order of the early Christian bishops, who regarded it as the focus of idolatry and vice. Although reduced to a mere fragment, the costly marbles, the columns, the sculptured friezes (some preserved in the museum), and the statues found in it, one of which, called the Venus d' Arles, forms an ornament to the Louvre, attest its ancient magnifi- cence. The portions remaining are two Corinthian columns, surmounted by part of their entablature, which stand isolated like those in the forum of Rome ; they formed part of the Scena, the rest of which is reduced to the pedestals of other pillars on a line with these, to truncated walls pierced by openings for doors, by which the actors made their entrance and exit, and furnished with niches for statues. Opposite to this wall is the semicir- cular space destined for the audience, scooped out of the rock, and still re- taining some of its stone seats, rising in steps one above the other. In the middle are some very curious sub- structions, attached apparently to the orchestra, consisting of 3 parallel walls, 6 or 8 feet high, stretching quite across the building, leaving a space of about 1 foot between them, which is set with grooved ridges projecting alternately from either wall at regular distances. Within these was probably placed the wooden support of the proscenium or pulpitum, the stage in fact. Near the theatre there is a very beautiful Doric gateway, or arch, with both frieze and architrave richly sculptured.

In the midst of the Place Royale, or de l’Hotel de Ville, in which are situated the church of St. Trophime, the Hotel de Ville, and the museum,

Provence. 1 L 125 . — Arles — Museum — Cathedral.

465

j rises an Obelisk of a single shaft of grey granite, antique, but not Egyp- tian, since it is ascertained to have been brought from a quarry in the Esterelle mountains, near Frejus; and

it differs in shape from those of Egypt,

tapering more rapidly from its base to its summit. After having been for i centuries prostrate in the mud of the Rhone it was elevated in its present position in 1676. It is supported on 4 lions, and surmounted by a very tasteless gilt sun, set off with eyes, cheeks, and mouth. It is supposed to have stood upon the spina in an ancient circus, all traces of which are gone ; it is 47 ft. high (the Luxor ! obelisk is 72 ft.), and is destitute of inscription or hieroglyph.

The Museum occupies the sup- pressed church of St. Anne; it is filled with an interesting collection of ancient remains discovered in or near Arles, a large proportion in the theatre, including a very rich marble frieze, and numerous statues,

I whose merit as works of art is small, except a head of a female (? Diana,

I or the Empress Livia) without a nose,

! and a head of Augustus found in 1834, belonging to a torso previously sent to the Louvre, both very fine.

I An altar to Apollo bears representa- I tions of the Delphic Tripod and of I Marsyas flayed alive. A leaden pipe,

|| more than 40 ft. long, stamped with the I name of the Roman plumbers, was dis- covered in the bed of the Rhone, and is I supposed to have conveyed fresh water I to the opposite bank. The cemetery called Eliscamps (p. 466.) has fur- | nished a great number of sarcophagi,

I some pagan, but the majority Chris- l! tian, ornamented with bas-reliefs of I good design and execution, showing that Roman art survived long after the extinction of paganism, though the I subjects on which it was exercised were || taken from the Bible. Those most I commonly represented are Adam and II' Eve, the Deluge, the Passage of the If Red Sea, Moses striking the Rock, || Jonah and the Whale, the Sacrifice

of Isaac, &c. On one is seen the Oil Press and Olive Harvest. A mutilated statue of the god Mithras, wanting the feet and head, is very curious. It is a human body entwined by a serpent, between whose folds the signs of the zodiac are sculptured.

The cathedral of St. Trophimus, who is said to have been a disciple of St. Paul, and to have first planted the Cross here, is entered from the Place by a very curious projecting porch, constructed in the 12th or early in the 13th century. It consists of a deeply recessed semicircular arch, with mould- ings not unlike our late Norman, vest- ing upon a horizontal sculptured frieze which forms the lintel of the door, and is continued from beneath the arch on the rt. and 1. of the facade, supported on pillars. There are 6 of these pillars, round, square, and octagonal, on either side of the door, of stone, resembling metal in colour, and one in the mid- dle of the door forms the support of the lintel. They are based upon carved lions, some of them devouring men. Between the pillars are statues of Apostles and Saints, those in the angles being St. Trophimus and St. Stephen. The tympanum over the door is occupied by the figure of the Saviour as Judge of the World with the attributes of the 4 Evangelists ; and the sculptured frieze below re- presents in the centre the 1 2 Apostles, and on the sides the Last Judgment ; the Good being on the 1. of the spec- tator, the Bad, bound by a rope and dragged by devils, on the rt. The archivolt is filled with the Heavenly Host in the shape of rows of che- rubims.

The interior is modernised, and less interesting ; it contains 3 antique sculptured sarcophagi, one of which serves as a font.

The cloisters on the S. side are very curious ; two of the sides have round arches, and two pointed, resting on double shafts, or ‘square piers carved on the sides with figures of saints, and projecting towards the court-yard in x 5

466 Route 125. — Arles — II. de Ville — Eliscamps. Sect. VI.

the form of fluted Corinthian pilasters. The capitals of the pillars are very curiously but rudely sculptured, in part with Scripture groups.

The square tower is also ancient, and in its upper story Corinthian pi- lasters again appear.

The Hotel de Ville vr as built 1673, from designs of Mansard , contiguous to the clock- tower, which is somewhat older. It contains a collection of natural history.

Besides the more important Roman remains already described, there are, within the town, in the Place du Forum, 2 granite pillars and part of a Corinthian pediment, let into the wall in front of the Hotel du Nord ; they are supposed to have been moved, from some building now destroyed, into their present position. Other constructions, which may have be- longed to the forum , are known to exist beneath the houses. In a narrow street, near the Rhone, is a tower of brick, called Tour de la Trouille , sup- posed to have been built by Constan- tine the Great, who resided much at Arles, and whose eldest son was born here.

Beyond the walls, to the E. of the town, is situated the ancient Cemetery of Arles, still called Aliscamps, a slight variation from the original name ( Elisii Campi ) by which it was known 18 centuries ago. It was of vast ex- tent, a complete Necropolis, and the dead were brought hither from other cities, as far distant as Lyons, for in- terment. Dante mentions it in the Inferno, IX. 112.:

“ Si come ad Arli ove ’1 Rodano stagna, Fanno i sepolcri tutto '1 loco varo.”

And Ariosto alludes to it in the Or- lando Furioso :

“ Piena di sepolture § la campagna.”

One portion of the ground was used for burials in pagan times ; another, marked off with crosses, was afterwards designated for the interment of Chris- tians. The ground teems with grave- stones, sepulchral memorials, and sar-

cophagi, but the most curious have been removed to the museums of Arles, Toulouse, Marseilles, &c. In the neighbouring farms the cattle drink out of stone troughs which are nothing but empty coffins ; and with their lids the ditches are bridged. Several chapels were erected within the area of this vast churchyard : the most remarkable is that of St. Honorat or of Notre Dame de Grace, now falling to ruin. It is surmounted by an elegant octagonal tower, of two stories, having 2 circular-headed win- dows in each face ; the interior, ex- cept the crypt, is not older than the 14th century.

The ecclesiastical constructions of the middle ages on the Montmajeur are described at p. 463.

Although in the days of the Ro- mans, Arles was plentifully supplied with spring water, conveyed to it from the chain of the Alpines in aque- ducts of masonry many miles long, the modern town is destitute of this important commodity, and the inha- bitants suffer severely from the want of drinking water. Owing to the marshes and pools in the vicinity, the town and the district around Arles is unhealthy at certain seasons : and in- termitting fevers are very prevalent ; but less so now than formerly, in con- sequence of the extended drainage.

A Canal has been formed from Arles to Bouc, on the sea-coast, at the mouth of the salt lake called Etang de Berre, which opens a more direct com- munication to Marseilles than the course of the Rhone. This canal, be- gun 1802, with the double object of draining the marshes on the 1. bank of the Rhone, and of facilitating traffic, by avoiding the bars and sandbanks at the mouth of the river, was not com- pleted until 1835. It is about 30 m. long. It was traversed regularly by barges until 1840, when the great inundation of the Rhone overwhelmed a part of it with sand.

A steamboat plies between Arles and Marseilles ; but the navigation at

Provence. Route 126 . — Avignon to Narbonne.

467

the mouth of the Rhone is intricate, and there is little accommodation for passengers on board. Steamers ascend daily to Avignon and Lyons, but the voyage to Lyons takes 3 or 4 days.

Diligences daily to Marseilles, to Nismes, to Narbonne, and to Avignon.

The wide uninterrupted plain stretching from Arles to the sea, S. and E., nearly as far as Marseilles, including the delta of the Rhone, or the island of Camargue, (derived from K a/j.a.1;, marsh, and aypos, held?), pre- sents some singular phenomena not unworthy of attention. Indeed, both its climate and its soil of mud banks, arid sand, or vast bare gravel beds, alternating with salt marshes and la- goons, raised from 2 to 7 feet above the sea, assimilate it rather to Africa and the borders of the Nile than to France. Even some of the animals which resort to it, the ibis, the pelican, and the flamingo, properly belong to the African continent. (Seep. 456.) The ground is so impregnated with salt, that the water is brackish ; the sur- face of the soil is, in summer, covered with a white saline efflorescence, like a coating of snow, and, when the pools are dried up, the salt forms in a cake 2 inches thick. Here, as in the deserts of Asia and Africa, the mirage con- stantly occurs during the heats, trans- forming the arid plain in appearance into a wide lake. Cultivation can only be pursued by excluding the sea by dykes, which entirely surround the Camargue, and the saline influence is counteracted by covering the surface with the muddy deposits brought down by the Rhone. In this manner, the district produces extensive pas- tures, on which large flocks of sheep are fed, together with herds of small cattle, and wild horses or rather po- nies, said to be of a stock originally brought from Africa by the Arabs, in their frequent invasions of this part of France. At stated times the young bulls are chased and separated from the herd by horsemen armed with tri- dents, in order to be branded, and re-

ceive the marks of their different pro- prietors : this is called La Ferrade. A considerable portion of the district is ploughed land, furnishing crops of corn, madder, &c., which are produced in abundance ; but this fertility, as well as the rich pasturages, arises en- tirely from irrigation, and the distri- bution in all directions of the waters of the Rhone, derived from the river in cuts and canals. The salt marshes and lagoons are unprofitable except in producing salt. There is only one village in the Camargue, that of Saintes Maries, but many isolated farms are scattered over it. At harvest time, in the month of July, the corn is threshed in the oriental fashion, by driving 10 or 12 young horses, held with a long rein by a man in the centre of the threshing floor, over the sheaves laid in heaps around. The winnowing is performed by tossing the straw, chaff, and grain into the air, and allowing the wind to separate them.

The Crau, or stony plain to the E. of Camargue, is described in Route 128.

The very curious church of St. Gilles is described in Route 1 26.

ROUTE 126.

AVIGNOX TO NARBONNE BST THE PONT

DU CARD, NISMES, MONTPELLIER,

AND BEZIERS. EXCURSIONS TO ST.

GILLES, CETTE, AND AIGUES MORTES.

200 kilom. =124 Eng. m.

Malleposte from Nismes to Nar- bonne daily, in 12 hours.

Diligences from Avignon to Nis- mes, in 4 hours ; daily thence to Nar- bonne. The Pont du Gard and Nismes may be seen in one day.

9 kilom. extra are charged by the postmaster for making the detour by the Pont du Gard. 1 hour will suf- fice to see it.

You quit Avignon by the new sus- pension bridge which crosses the Rhone.

From the slope and summit of the x 6

46 S JZ. 126.~Avi</?ion to Narbonne — Pont du Guard. Sect. VI.

steep ascent which carries the road from the foot of the bridge of Avig- non over the hills which form the rt. hank of the Rhone, you have a fine view of it, and of Avignon, and then a dreary country succeeds, hills bare as dry bones ; but in the low ground olives, mulberries, and vines,

12 Begude de Saze.

The point where our road ap- proaches nearest to the Pont du Gard is at Remoulins (1| m. distant from it), a small town on the 1. bank of the Gardon, now at length connected by a bridge of wire with

11 La Foux (Fabre’s restaurant), a village and post station on the rt. bank. 9 kilom. extra are charged if the traveller posting chooses to be driven round by the Pont du Gard. The sight of this noble edifice, one of the grandest monuments which the Romans have left behind them, in France or any other country, would well repay for a very long detour. Like Stonehenge, it is the monument of a people’s greatness, a standard by which to measure their power and intellect. It consists of 3 rows of arches, raised one above the other, each smaller than the one below it ; the lowest of 6 arches, the central tier of 1 1, and the uppermost of 35 ; the whole in a simple, if not stern style of architecture, destitute of ornament. It is by its magnitude, and the skilful fitting of its enormous blocks, that it makes an impression upon the mind. It is the more striking from the utter solitude in which it stands, a rocky valley, partly covered with brushwood and greensward, with scarcely a human habitation in sight, only a few goats browsing. After the lapse of 16 cen- turies, this colossal monument still spans the valley, joining hill to hill, in a nearly perfect state, only the upper part, at the N. extremity, being broken away. The highest range of arches carries a small canal about 41 ft. high, and 4 ft. wide, just large enough for a man to creep through, still retaining a thick lining of Roman

cement. It is covered with stone slabs, along which it is possible to walk from one end to the other, and to overlook the valley of the Gardon. The height of the Pont du Gard is 180 ft. and the length of the highest arcade, 873 ft. Its use was to convey to the town of Nismes the water of 2 springs, 25 m. distant, the Airan rising near St. Quentin, and that of Ure near Uzes. It forms only a small portion of the conduit constructed for this purpose, whose course, partly raised on low arches, some of which exist on the N. of the Pont du Gard, partly cut in the rock round the shoulders of the hills, may be traced at the vil- lage of St. Maximin, near Uzes, and above that of Vers, to the Pont du Gard ; thence, by St. Bonnet and Sernhac, to the hill of the Tour Magne, and Bassin des Thermes at Nismes.

The conveyance of this small stream was the sole object and use of this gigantic structure, an end which would now be attained by a few iron w-ater-pipes. Its date and builder are alike lost in oblivion, but it is attributed to M. Agrippa, son-in-law of Augustus, b. c. 19. , The quarry whence the stone was obtained is a little way down the Gardon, on its 1. bank. The bridge by which the road crosses the Gardon, on a level with the lower tier of arches, and formed by merely widening them, is a modern addition to the ancient structure, having been erected in 1743 by the States of Languedoc.

A little below La Foux, (which is Q m. from the Pont du Gard,) the road to Nismes turns out of the valley of the Gardon, and traverses a more fertile and productive, but un- interesting country, by

10 St. Gervasy, to

10 Nismes. — Inns: IL. du Luxem- bourg ; very good ; tolerably clean ; the best, but much frequented by Commis Voyageurs ; good cuisine ; — H. du Midi.

Nismes, chef lieu of the Dept, du

469

Provence. Route 126 . • — Nismes - — Amphitheatre.

Gard, a flourishing manufacturing town of 44,240 inhab., consists of a central nucleus of narrow intricate streets and old houses, encircled by a girdle of open boulevard , which sepa- rates it from its modern faubourgs, composed of wide streets and new houses. The boulevard is itself a fine broad street, planted with trees, lined with handsome buildings ; and there is little need for the passing traveller to penetrate into the old town, as the chief curiosities and ob- jects of interest are situated on the edge of this boulevard, or at a short distance from it. They consist almost exclusively of Roman monuments, relics of the ancient city of Nemausus, which, though passed over in oblivion by classic authors, so that its origin is unknown, and merely mentioned in the geographical catalogues of Strabo and Ptolemy, yet affords more pal- pable testimony of its ancient extent and splendour than most cities cele- brated in classic page. While the renowned cities of Marseilles and Narbonne have few relics and no ex- isting edifices of the ancient masters of the world, the obscure Nismes is richer in well-preserved antiquities than any town in France or Northern Europe.

A walk along the boulevard, start- ing from the H. du Luxembourg, and keeping to the 1., will bring you first to the Esplanade , a square ter- raced platform, planted with trees, furnishing a promenade of consider- able extent. Facing it is the new Palais de Justice, fronted with an im- posing portico, and a little further on stands

The Amphitheatre, Les Arenes, now isolated by the removal of the build- ings which obstructed it within and without, in the middle of a wide place, allowing unimpeded view of its very perfect oval circuit. It consists of 2 stories, each of 60 arcades, 70 ft. high ; the lower arches serving as so many doors : the arches of the upper arcade are double, but the inner arches are

not concentric with the lower. It is far better preserved, externally, than the Coliseum at Rome, although like it converted into a fortress during the middle ages, and retains even its pro- jecting stones, pierced with holes, for inserting the masts to which the awn- ings (velaria) were attached.

The interior, though less perfect, retains some of the original seats, especially of the lower and upper rows. The modern French architect employed on the building, not con- tent with preserving and protecting the parts wich remain, has committed the fault of restoring, or rather re- constructing, in a somewhat clumsy manner, part of them and some of the arcades. There were originally 32 rows of seats, and the number of spec- tators which it is supposed the build- ing may have contained is estimated at from 17,000 to 23,000.

A long corridor, surrounding the building runs within the arches on the ground story, and a smaller corridor encircles the upper story. It is worth while to make the circuit of these, and, indeed, to penetrate every part of this extraordinary structure. The vaults of the lower corridor or portico are like some vast natural cavern ; the upper one is roofed with huge stone beams, 1 8 ft. long, reaching from side to side, many of them cracked, either by an earthquake, or by the confla- gration which consumed the Arenes in the time of Charles Martel. It is interesting to penetrate the wedge- shaped passages, radiating from the centre, and widening outwards, so contrived as to facilitate the egress of the hastening crowds and allow them to depart without any check ; to ascend the stairs, by which ready access was given to every part of the huge structure ; to clamber over the broken seats, some still marked with the line indicating the space allotted to each spectator, scaring the fright- ened lizard, which starts away from under your foot, out of the sunshine in which it has been basking, to the

4-70 12. 126. — Nismes — Arenes — Maison Carree. Sect. VI,

shelter of the tufts of grass or weeds springing up among the crevices of the masonry ; and, finally, to stand on the topmost stone, the rim of this huge oval basin, surveying its whole interior, dismantled, and almost gut- ted. Here you may examine the round holes cut in the projecting stones, and corresponding with hol- lows in the exterior cornice below, into which the poles were put, in order to fasten the awnings stretched over the spectators. A very narrow stair in the thickness of the wall, near the N. side, was destined, it is sup- posed, for the men who had charge of the awning. The zones of seats, as is well known, were divided into 4 tiers (praeeinctiones) by spaces wider than the seats themselves, and were destined for spectators of different rank ; the patricians occupied the lower, equivalent to the dress circle, the plebeians the upper, correspond- ing with the gallery. These spaces, or landing-places, were each reached by 10 passages or vomitories. The 3 uppermost rows of seats rest upon a half arch, whose only support is the outer wall.

The dimensions are, length 437 ft., width 332 ft., height 70 ft.

The founder of this building and its date are unknown: it is attributed to Antoninus Pius, whose ancestors came from Nismes, but by others to Titus and Adrian.

The Visigoths converted it into a fortress, and it was known as the “ Castrum Arenarum. ” The Saracens occupied it as such in the beginning of the 8th century, until expelled by Charles Martel, who endeavoured to destroy the building altogether, by filling its vaults and passages with wood, and setting fire to it ; finally, down to the middle of the 18th cen- tury, it was occupied by mean hovels, all of which are now swept away. The people of Nismes use the Arenes for an entertainment called Ferrade , which consists in teasing a number of wild bulls from the Camargue (p.467.),

previous to branding them with hot iron ; the sport is but a poor imitation of a Spanish bull-fight, nearly as cruel, without being so exciting, and it has properly been prohibited.

Continuing through the boulevard, from the Arenes, and passing on the 1. the Great Hospital, you reach the modern Theatre , remarkable only for its tasteless portico, contrasting very unfavourably with a neighbouring building, which, though of an age deemed barbarous, shows yet a far greater refinement in taste —

The Maison Carree, the vulgar name given to a beautiful Corinthian tem- ple, a gem of architecture, which has come down to the present time in a state of wonderful preservation, con- sidering its various fortunes, and the purposes to which it has been con- verted. Originally a temple, con- secrated in the reign of Augustus, according to some ; of Antoninus Pius, according to others : it became afterwards a Christian church, and in the 11th century the Hotel de Ville; still later it was converted into a stable, and its owner, to extend his space, built walls between the pillars of the poi’tico, and pared away the flutings of the central columns to allow his carts to pass ; it then be- came attached to the Augustine con- vent, and was used as a tomb-house for burial ; its next changes were into a Revolutionary Tribunal and corn warehouse ; and finally, at present it is converted into a museum.

It is surrounded by 30 elegant Corinthian columns, 10 of them de- tached, forming the portico, and 20 engaged : their height is equal to 10J diameters ; and learned architects will tell you that these proportions are contrary to Vitruvian rules, and that the building is debased and defective in consequence. This, however, ap- pears a case in which ignorance is bliss ; the ordinary and unlearned spectator will scarcely fail to be im- pressed with the elegance of its gene- ral effect, as well as with the simplicity

Provence.

Route 126 . — Nismes — Fountain .

471

of its form, the beauty of its fluted Corinthian columns, and the richness of the capitals, frieze, and cornice which they support.

M. Seguier, an antiquary of Nis- mes, first hit upon the ingenious idea of restoring the inscription on the frieze above the portico from the holes left in it, by which the bronze letters composing it were attached, the let- ters themselves having long since dis- appeared. According to his reading, it ran thus : —

C. CAESARI. AUGVSTI. F. COS. L. CAESARI.

AUGUSTI. F. COS.

DESIGN ATO. PRINCIPIBUS. JUVENIUTIS.;

thus attributing the dedication of this temple to “Marcus and Julius Caesar, grandsons of Augustus, Con- suls Elect, Princes of Youth.” The style, however, of the building, and the profusion of ornament, indicate a period much later than Augustus ; and another antiquary, on examin- ing the original state of the holes in the frieze, discovers S holes pre- ceding the 2 to which M. Seguier’s first letter C was fastened, and thus converts the C into an M. This slight alteration shifts the date of the Maison Carree from the era of Augustus to that of Antoninus, for it appears that the only 2 princes bearing such names who enjoyed together the title Prin- cipes Juventutis, after the sons of Agrippa, were Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, adopted sons of An- toninus. It is evident, however, that the determination of the letters from such data must, in a great degree, be a mere piece of guess-work, owing to the confusion and number of the holes. Recent excavations have laid bare the foundations of walls extend- ing on either side of the temple, show- ing that it was only the centre of a larger edifice, from which two long colonnades extended, in the manner of wings, on either hand, and it is sup- posed that it occupied one end of the ancient forum of Nemausus.

The whole is now enclosed by an iron railing, within which are de- posited numerous antique fragments found in and about the town.

The contents of the Museum (into which the temple is now turned) con- sist of other antiquities, including a bronze head (of Apollo?); a marble bust of Venus, and a quantity of pic- tures, very poor and common -place for the most part, excepting Paul de Laroche’s master-piece, Cromwell opening the Coffin of Charles I. (? if removed), and Nero trying upon a Slave the Poison destined for his Bro- ther Britannicus, by Sigalon.

Returning to the boulevard, and continuing along it as far as the irre- gular Place de la Bouquerie, you come upon a handsome canal, sup- plied with water from the ancient Fountain of the Nymphs. It must not, however, be judged of at first sight, for at this point nothing can be more unclassical ; its limpid rills are stained with soap-suds, and in the place of nymphs a swarm of blanchis- seuses convert it into a public washing tub. Trace it upwards, however, and you will find its source within a fine Public Garden, planted with trees, in the midst of which it bursts forth in exuberant copiousness from the foot of a hill, and is received into a large reservoir, originally a Roman bath for women. It is surrounded by a large colonnade below the level of the ground, and is conducted through a formal canal lined with masonry like the ditch of a fortification, and bordered with a handsome stone ba- lustrade. A part of this enclosure is of antique masonry, but the whole has been restored in modern times. It is a very handsome, but formal construction, and it and the garden which it traverses form a principal ornament of the town. On one side of it is a ruined Roman building, sup- posed at one time to have been a temple of Diana, but now regarded as a Nymphceum (or fane dedicated to the Nymphs), and connected with

4-72 JR. 126. — Nismes — Tourmagne — Cathedral . Sect. VI.

the neighbouring baths. It appears to have had a semi -cylindrical roof rising from an entablature, supported by columns. It is proved by inscrip- tions to have been built, along with the baths, by Augustus. It was reduced to ruin 1577. The ancient aqueduct which the Pont du Gard carried across the valley of the Gar- don (see p. 46.) terminated in the fountain at Nismes, into whose basin it discharged its waters, at a point not far from this edifice.

The hill rising behind the foun- tain, planted with trees, and rendered accessible by zigzag walks, is sur- mounted by another singular ancient monument, known as La Tourmagne , a dismantled tomb of rough ashler, not unlike several still existing in the vicinity of Rome, but which has passed at different times with learned antiquaries for a lighthouse (50 m. inland, and remote from any river!), a Gallic temple, and a treasury. It is hollow within, having a rude coni- cal shape, resembling that of a glass- house. The walls are very thick below, but taper upwards ; externally it was an octagon, but the surface-stonework is for the most part removed. It is, perhaps, the oldest building in the town. Some have referred its origin to times preceding the Romans : in their time it was included in the de- fences of the town, and connected with the walls. It was originally filled with earth, and it seems not unlikely that it was built upon a nucleus of earth, for its cone is not properly vaulted, but consists of small stones, held together by the strength of the cement alone. It was cleared out by a gardener, who obtained leave from Henri IV. to search the building for treasure, a scheme which turned out eminently unprofitable.

The situation of the Tourmagne is very commanding ; at the foot of the heights on which it stands the whole city is displayed, and the distant ho- rizon includes the bifurcation of the Rhone, and, perhaps, the site of Aigues Mortes on the Mediterranean.

Nismes retains two of its original Roman gates, the Porte d' Auguste, founded in the reign of that Emperor, b. c. 16, consisting of a double arch with two side doors for foot pas- sengers, flanked by 2 towers, and the Porte de France.

In the heart of the old town stands the Cathedral, an ancient building, but so injured during the wars of religion of the 16th and 17th centuries, and now so much modernised, as to possess little interest. High up, on the W. front, above a circular window, a cu- rious sculptured frieze, representing events from the book of Genesis, is introduced ; it is very ancient.

The cabinet of antiquities of M. Pelet, and the cork models made by him of the ancient buildings in Nismes, are well worth seeing.

There are 12,000 Protestants at Nismes, who have 2 churches ( tem- ples ) and a chapel : they have endured severe persecutions at different times. So little even now do the Protestants and Catholics coalesce, that each party frequents distinct cafes.

The Maison central de Detention was originally a citadel, erected by Louis XIV. to keep down the Pro- testants.

The manufactures of Nismes con- sist of various articles of silk and cot- ton, which change with the fashion and the demand ; it has large printing and dyeing works ; but cotton hand- kerchiefs seem the staple production at present.

The want of water is severely felt for 3 months of the year, the town being dependant for the supply re- quired by its inhabitants and its manu- factories on the single source already described. A considerable trade in the wines and spirits of Languedoc, in raw silks, and in oil, is carried on here.

In the garden of the Convent of Recollets, now occupied by the The- atre, Marshal Villars had an interview in 1704 with the celebrated chief of the Camisards, Cavalier, who, origin- ally a baker’s boy, and at that time a mere youth, had raised himself by his

Prove n t ce. Route 126 . — Nismes — The Cevenols .

473

talents for command and his fanatic eloquence to be the head of the for- midable rebellion of the Cevennes. He appeared on that occasion magni- ficently mounted, and attired in laced coat, cocked hat, and plume of white feathers, escorted by a body-guard on horseback. The result of this me- morable conference was to detach him from the insurgents by flattery and promises of rank and reward in the service of Louis XIV., as the price of his defection, coupled with assurances of justice and tolerance in religion to the persecuted Protestants of the Ce- vennes. Neither the one nor the other was destined to be kept or fulfilled. Villars, however, thus dealt a death- blow to the insurrection, by depriving it of one of its heads ; and Cavalier, despised and hated for his desertion by his own party, and neglected by the court, was soon driven into exile, and died a pensioner at Chelsea.

On the Place de Boucairie in 1705 were erected the gibbet, the wheel, and the stake, at which a vast number of the Camisards concerned in the rebellion of the Cevennes perished miserably, after suffering the most horrid tortures in the prison of the fortress. The most memorable exe- cution w^is that of the chiefs (April 22.) Catenat and Ravenel, who were burnt alive, almost within sight of the battle field where 2 years before they had defeated the royal forces under the Comte de Broglie ; while their companions, Jonquet and Villas, were broken on the wheel and then burnt. On the 16th August, 1704, the body of Roland Laporte, general of the Camisards, (see p. 433.) was dragged into Nismes at the tail of a cart and burnt, while 5 of his com- panions were broken on the wheel around his funeral pyre.

Nismes has been, even in recent times, the scene of bitter conflicts between the Roman Catholics and Protestants, and a fearful and atro- cious persecution of the latter, ac- companied by horrible murders and

massacres, committed by ruffians called Bandes Verdets, broke out in 1815, on the restoration of the Bour- bons. The murderers in many in- stances went unpunished, and justice seemed almost denied to the sufferers, until in 1819 the advance of a body of Protestants from the Cevennes upon Nismes, and the threat that “ 30,000 of them were ready to assist their brethren with the weapons of despair,” put an end to the cruel per- secution.

Nismes is the birth-place of Nicot, a physician who first introduced from Portugal into France tobacco (called after him Nicotiana). Some one pro- posed to raise a monument to him in the form of a snuff-box, bearing the inscription, “ Dieu vous benisse.” M. Guizot, Minister of France, also comes from Nismes.

Railroads connect Nismes with Alais and its coal-field (R. 121.); trains twice a day; and with Beau- caire (R. 1 27.) ; trains 4 times a day. Another line is finished from Nismes to Montpellier and Cette.

Mallepostes to Marseilles and Nar- bonne.

Diligences daily to Marseilles ; to Montpellier, Narbonne, and Tou- louse ; to Avignon, 3 times ; to Alais (railway) ; to Lyons ; to Mende, St. Flour, and Clermont ; to St. Gilles and Aigues Mortes ; to Uzes, by Alais.

Mons. E. B. D. Frossard’s “ Nismes et ses Environs” is a. charming book : the author is a Protestant clergyman.

The Pont du Gard (p. 468.), dis- tant about 15 miles from Nismes, on the way to Avignon, ought to be vi- sited expressly by those whose route does not lead them past it. It is about 2 hours’ drive ; a carriage may be hired for 12 fr. to go and return.

About 13 miles, nearly due S. of Nismes, is St. Gilles, a town of great antiquity, originally Rhoda Rhodio - rum, a colony founded by the Rho- dians according to Pliny, situated on the Petit Rhone, chiefly remarkable at present for its magnificent abbey

474 JR. 126. — St. Gilles — Church — Vaunage. Sect. VI.

church , which will interest the anti- quary. The upper church was begun 1 1 16, on a scale of great magnificence, by Alphonso, son of Raymond IV., Count of St. Gilles, called Jourdain, because baptized in the Jordan, but was destroyed during the wars of re- ligion, having been turned into a for- tress by the Huguenots in 1562, and demolished, when no longer tenable as such, by the Due de Rohan, 1622. It has been replaced by a temporary structure of late date and inferior architecture.

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Hand-book for Travellers in France

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Contents

Full text (shortened)[1]

NOTICE TO THIS EDITION.

PREFACE.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION.

m. A TRAVELLER’S GENERAL VIEW OF FRANCE.

ROUTE 1. CALAIS TO PARIS BY ST. OJIER AND AMIENS.

ROUTE 2. CALAIS TO PARIS BY BOULOGNE, ABBEVILLE, BEAUVAIS, AND ST. DENIS.

ROUTE 5. DIEPPE TO PARIS BY GISORS.

ROUTE 6. DIEPPE TO ROUEN

ROUTE 8. ' PARIS TO ROUEN RAILROAD.

ROUTE 9. PARIS TO ROUEN (LOWER ROAd), BV ST. GERMAIN AND LOUVIERS.

ROUTE 57. TOURS TO SAUMUR, BY CHINON AND FONTEVRAULD.

THE PYRENEES.

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