BY AUGUSTUS J. C. HARE. 
 
 Now ready, crown 8vo, ios. 6d. per volume, 
 With Maps and 500 Illustrations. 
 
 NORTH-EASTERN FRANCE. 
 SOUTH-EASTERN FRANCE. 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 In preparation. 
 
 NORTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Complete list of Works by same Author at end of 
 this Volume. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 GEORGE ALLEN, 8, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR; 
 AND SUNNYSIDE, ORPINGTON. 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE, 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2014 
 
 https://archive.org/details/southwesternfranOOhare 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE 
 
 AUGUSTUS J. C. HARE 
 
 AUTHOR OF ' PARIS,' ' WALKS IN ROME,' ' WALKS IN LONDON,' ETC. 
 
 GEORGE ALLEN 
 8, BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR, LONDON 
 
 AND 
 
 SUNNYSIDE, ORPINGTON 
 189O 
 
 [All rights reserved] 
 
Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 I. The Loire. Paris to Nantes by Etampes, 
 Orleans, Beaugency, Blois, Amboise, Tours 
 (Loches, Chinon), Saumur, and Angers. In 
 Seine et Oise, Loiret, Loire et Cher, Indre 
 et Loire, Maine et Loire, and Loire In- 
 ferieure ..... I 
 
 II. Paris and Tours to Bayonne and the Spanish 
 
 Frontier, Poitiers, Angouleme, Libourne (S. 
 Emilion), Bordeaux, Bayonne, and S. Jean- 
 de-Luz. In Vienne, Charente, Gironde, and 
 Landes . . *. . . . . . .179 
 
 III. In Charente, Deux-Sevres, and La Vendee. 
 
 Jonzac, Saintes, La Rochelle, Niort, Les- 
 Sables-d'Olonne, La-Roche-sur-Yon, Par- 
 
 THENAY, AlRVAULT 248 
 
 IV. Paris and Orleans to the South by Vierzon, 
 
 Chateauroux, Argenton (Le Dorat, Mont- 
 morillon), Limoges (S. Junien, La Roche- 
 foucauld). Hence by Perigueux (Sarlat, 
 Monpazier), and Monsempron-Libos (Cahors) 
 to Agen : or by S. Yrieux, Brive (Uzerche, 
 Tulle), Rocamadour, Figeac, Villefranche, 
 Najac (S. Antonin, Albi) to Toulouse. In 
 Indre, Creuse, Correze, Dordogne, and 
 Lot . . . . . . . . 294 
 
viii 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP PAGE 
 
 V. Bordeaux to Toulouse and Narbonne — Langon 
 (Bazas), La Reole, Marmande (Nerac and 
 Condom), Agen (Auch and Lectoure), Moissac, 
 Toulouse, Carcassonne (Alet), Narbonne. 
 In Gironde, Lot et Garonne, Gers, and 
 Tarn et Garonne) 442 
 
 VI. Narbonne to the Spanish Frontier — Perpignan 
 (PraDes, Amelie-les-Bains), Elne. In Aude 
 
 AND PYRENEES-ORIENTALES) . . . . 505 
 
 VII. Narbonne to Montpellier — Beziers, Montpellier 
 (Maguelone, Aigues-Mortes, Lunel). In 
 Herault and Gard 522 
 
 VIII. The Cevennes. Montpellier to Lodeve (the 
 Causses, Canon du Tarn), Mende, and Rodez 
 (conques). a very interesting tour in 
 Herault, Lozere, Aveyron, and Tarn . . 548 
 
 IX. In the Central Pyrenees — Pamiers, Foix, S. 
 Girons, S. Gaudens, Luchon, Tarbes(Bagneres, 
 De Bigorre). In Ariege, Haute-Garonne, and 
 Hautes-Pyrenees 583 
 
 X. In the Central Pyrenees — Pau, Eaux-Bonnes, 
 Eaux-Chaudes, Luz, Bareges, and Cauterets. 
 In Basses-Pyrenees and Hautes- Pyrenees . 615 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE LOIRE. PARIS TO NANTES BY ETAMPES, 
 ORLEANS, BEAUGENCY, BLOIS, AMBOISE, TOURS 
 (LOCHES, CHINON), SAUMUR, AND ANGERS. 
 
 r I ^HIS much-beaten track is full of interest, especially 
 
 X to Englishmen, from the many memorials which it 
 offers of the rule of the Plantagenets. It also embraces 
 some of the most beautiful river-scenery in France — 
 
 as it follows the lower wanderings of the magnificent Loire, 
 which has a course of i,oook. 
 
 The best places for staying at and making excursions 
 from are Vendome, Amboise, Tours, Blere, Saumur, 
 Clisson, and Le Croisic. Tourists have hitherto generally 
 followed each other to a recognised routine of sights — 
 Chambord, Chaumont, Chenonceaux, etc. But Montreuil, 
 Clisson, and many other places contain as much or more 
 that is worth seeing. 
 
 The Chemin de Fer d? Orleans starts from the Boulevard 
 ' de l'Hopital at Paris. It passes — 
 
 10 k. Choisy-le-Roi, formerly Choisy-Mademoiselle, where 
 ' La Grande Mademoiselle,' Mile, de Montpensier, only 
 daughter of the first marriage of Gaston, Due d'Orleans, 
 
 ' La terra molle e lieta e dilettosa,' 
 
 Tasso, 'La Ger. Lib., 1 c. i. f s. 62. 
 
2 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 brother of Louis XIII., employed F. Mansart to build a 
 chateau. Mademoiselle bequeathed Choisy to Monseigneur, 
 son of Louis XIV., who exchanged it with Mme. de 
 Louvois for Meudon. It afterwards belonged to the 
 Princesse de Conti, the Due de la Valliere, and eventually 
 to Louis XV., when it became Choisy-le-Roi, and one 
 of his favourite retreats. The king employed Jacques 
 Gabriel to enrich (and spoil) the architecture of Mansart, 
 and to build a smaller chateau for Mme. de Pompadour. 
 Both the chateaux were decorated by Chardin, Nattier, 
 Boucher, Oudry, and other artists of the day. In 1774 
 Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette held their Court here, 
 but the Grand and the Petit Chateaux were both utterly 
 destroyed at the Revolution, and nothing remains except 
 les grands comnmns, now occupied by a china manufactory. 
 
 20 k. Juvisy-sur-Orge. It was here, in the post-house of 
 the Cour de France, that, March 30, 18 14, Napoleon I., on 
 his way to Paris, received the despatch which announced 
 the capitulation of the capital, and returned to Fontaine- 
 bleau. Near Juvisy is the picturesque double bridge of 
 Belles Fontaines. 
 
 22 k. Savigny-sur-Orge. Close to the station is the very 
 handsome xv. c. chateau where Charles VII. is said to have 
 kept Agnes Sorel in a tower, which he could only reach by 
 a ladder. In recent times the chateau has been inhabited 
 by the Princesse d'Eckmiihl, widow of Marechal Davoust. 
 It now belongs to the Marquis d'Alta- Villa. 
 
 24 k. Epinay-sur-Orge. To the 1. of the railway we 
 now pass the Forest of S. Genevieve^ or Sequigny. Here 
 Louis XIV. was hunting with his Court, when the wind 
 blew away the hat of one of the ladies-in-waiting of 
 
LONGPONT. 
 
 3 
 
 Madame and attracted his attention to Marie de Fontange, 
 i belle comme un ange, mais sotte comme un panier,' who 
 soon shared the title of mistress with Mme. de Montespan. 
 The chateau S. Genevieve, inhabited by Louis XIII. and 
 Louis XIV., was pulled down by Berthier de Savigny, 
 Intendant de Paris, but he only began to build a new- 
 residence. 
 
 CHATEAU OF SAVIGNY-SUR-ORGE. 
 
 To the r. of the railway, on the other side of the Orge, 
 is Longpont, where a very curious church is the only remnant 
 of an abbey founded by Guy de Montlhery and his wife 
 Hodierne, in 1061, on the site of a pilgrimage chapel where 
 an image of the Virgin had been found in a hollow oak. 
 The abbey perished in the Revolution. The church portal, 
 with its mutilated statues, is of great beauty. 
 
4 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 29 k. S. Michel. Half an hour's walk beyond the brook 
 of the Orge (r.) is Montlhery (diligence, 30 a), which 
 possessed a famous castle, constantly besieged by early 
 kings of France till Hugues de Crecy strangled the owner, 
 Milon de Bray, who was his cousin, and threw the body 
 from an upper window, and afterwards, being challenged to 
 clear himself of the accusation by single combat, confessed 
 the crime, retired to a monastery, and abandoned Montlhery 
 to the king, Louis le Gros. 
 
 S. Louis and his mother afterwards took refuge here 
 during the troubles of his early reign. In 1360 Montlhe'ry 
 was occupied by the king of England, afterwards by the 
 Armagnacs, and, in the reign of Louis XL, it gave a name 
 to a battle between the royal troops and those of the rebel 
 nobles who formed the ligue du Men public. The latter were 
 so far successful that the king was obliged to accord all 
 their demands, and made a treaty ' par lequel,' says Comines, 
 6 les princes butinerent le monarque et le mirent au pillage ; 
 chacun emporta sa piece.' The plain which was the scene 
 of this battle long bore the name of La Cimetiere des 
 Bourguignons. Ruined in the Wars of Religion, the castle 
 of Montlhery was afterwards . used as a quarry ; and the 
 dungeon tower, with fragments of four smaller towers and 
 broken walls, now alone exists. Boileau describes Night 
 going to search for an owl in the Tour de Montlhe'ry. 
 
 One of the old town gates remains, the Porte Baudry, 
 built, as an inscription tells, by Thibault-i% Etaupe, in 
 1015, rebuilt by Henri III. in 1587, restored under 
 Napoleon I. Through the Porte Baudry we reach the 
 suburb of Linas, where a great part of the church is 
 XIII. c. 
 
MARCOUSSIS. 
 
 5 
 
 A little W. of Montlhery is Marconssis, which has some 
 small remains of the fortress built at the end of the xiv. c. 
 by Jean de Montaigu, Chancellor of the Exchequer under 
 Charles VI., beheaded at the Halles at Paris in 1409. His 
 body was brought from the gibbet of Montfaucon to be 
 buried here in the Celestine convent which he had founded. 
 
 PORTE BAUDRY, MONTLHERY. 
 
 In the time of Henri III. the chateau belonged to Francois 
 de Balzac d'Entragues, the husband of Marie Touchet, 
 mistress of Charles IX., and it was afterwards the residence 
 of his daughter, Henriette d'Entragues, at one time beloved 
 by Henri IV. The chieftains of the Fronde were im- 
 prisoned in the fortress, which was pulled down in 1805. 
 The church, of 1388, has some good stained glass. 
 32 k. Butigny. 
 
6 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 [Here the line to Tours by Vendome turns off r. passing — 
 
 41 k. Breuillet. 4 k. S. is the magnificent Church of S. Sul- 
 picc-de-Favieres ) founded to receive the relics of S. Sulpice le 
 D6bonnaire, archbishop of Bourges, and almoner of Clotaire II., 
 who died in 644. It is a splendid specimen of late xm. c. gothic, 
 with a very lofty choir, sculptured stall-work, and xv. c. glass. 
 La-Butte-S.-Yon is said to have been a Roman camp. 
 
 47 k. kS. Cheron. The neighbouring Chateau de Blaville, begun 
 by the President Guillaume de Lamoignon in 1658, is a very 
 stately building of the time of Louis XIII. Boileau, Racine, and 
 Bourdaloue were frequently here as the guests of Guillaume and 
 Francois de Lamoignon, and Mme. de Sevigne describes the charms 
 of its society in her letters. 
 
 56 k. Dourdan (Hotel : de la Poste), a picturesque old town, 
 with an interesting ruined castle, built by Philippe-Auguste. 
 The xm. c. Chitrch of S. Germain is very picturesque in outline, 
 and contains a stone pulpit, good wood-carving, with the grave of 
 the poet Regnard, 1709. The Halle is xm. c. At Grillon, W. 
 of the town, was the residence of Regnard. On the road to 
 Rambouillet is (7 k.) 6*. Arnoult, once fortified : the church (xi. c. 
 and xvi. c.) has a crypt and fine xvi. c. glass. 
 
 77 k. Atcneau (Hotel : de France), has a restored romanesque 
 church and a ruined xm. c. castle. La Fontaine de S. Manr is a 
 point of pilgrimage. 
 
 100 k. Voves. The church is xn. c. and xv. c. To the S.E. of 
 the town is the dolmen called La Pierre Levee. 
 
 [A line of 51 k. diverges S. to Orleans by — 
 
 27 k. Patay, where Jeanne Dare gained a great victory over 
 the English, June 18, 1429, and which was bravely defended 
 against the Germans, Dec. 1870. 
 
 36 k. Bricy, 13 k. S. of which is Colmiers, where a monument 
 has been erected to commemorate a victory of the French over 
 the Germans, Nov. 8, 1870.] 
 
 # 
 
 [The line runs N. to (26k.) Chartres (see North-Western 
 France).] 
 
 1 20 k. Bonneval, deserves a passing visit. The town had five 
 gates, of which only the Porte S. Roch remains. The old Abbey 
 
BONNE VAL, CHA TEA UD UN. 
 
 7 
 
 of Bonneval was founded in ix. c. ; it is now a lunatic asylum : 
 thegothic gateway is of xn. c., with an upper storey and towers at 
 the sides, of xvi. c. The beautiful parish church, of xn. c, has a 
 triple nave with a triforium and a curious slated spire. Near the 
 station, in the Czmetiere, is a disused xn. c. chapel. A house is of 
 
 CHATEAU, CHATEAUDUN. 
 
 xiii. c. 6 k. N. is the (xm. c. and xiv. c.) castle of Alluycs. 2 k. 
 is Guibert, with a ruined chateau and manor of 1623. 
 
 133k. Chateaudun (Hotel: du Bon Labourcur), on the site 
 of the Gallo-Roman Castrodunum, was the capital of the 
 countship of Dunois in the middle-ages. The town suffered 
 terribly in the Franco-German war, when 450 houses were burnt 
 by the Prussians. It is well worth while to halt here for a few 
 
8 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 hours, though the first aspect of the town is most uninviting, 
 and gives no idea of the beauty on the other side. Turning 1. 
 from the station, and passing the beautiful gothic facade of a 
 church ruined during the siege, we reach the early gothic church 
 of 6*. Valerien, which has a fine romanesque portal, a stone (xv. c.) 
 spire, and some xvi. c. glass. In the centre of the great square 
 
 CHATEAUDUN, FROM THE LOIR. 
 
 near this is an admirable modern renaissance Fountain, perfect in 
 its proportions. Turning 1. from the square, we reach, by a pretty 
 garden, the fine church of La Madeleine, which is chiefly xn. c, 
 with a xv. c. apse. The romanesque facade is on the N. ; the 
 doors of the principal portal are of 1522. The choir has stalls of 
 xv. c. The xvi. c. buildings of the Abbaye de la Madeleine are 
 now occupied by the Palais de Justice and Hospital. Close by 
 rises the highly picturesque and huge mass of the Chateau. Built 
 
chA TEA UD UN. 
 
 9 
 
 originally in 940 by Thibault le Tricheur, it was rebuilt in the 
 xn. c, and again in the xv. c. by the famous Dunois (' le batard 
 d'Orleans '). The keep is a magnificent round tower of the xu. c. 
 The earlier facade and the Sainte Chape lie (in two storeys) are due 
 to Dunois, whose heart was brought hither ; the rich renaissance 
 facade and pavilion, with a staircase covered with delicately- 
 sculptured ornaments, were added, under Louis XII., by 
 Francois II. d'Orleans-Longueville. The interior was restored 
 
 GATE OF S. JEAN, CHATEAUDUN. 
 
 by the Due de Luynes. An artist will probably paint the great 
 tower rising above a bright little public garden, with its masses 
 of Virginian creeper — 'Vigne vierge.' 
 
 Descending the Rue S. Lubin (at the top of which is a very 
 rich and curious timber house), we see the chateau from below, 
 where it rises on massy walls and buttresses to a stupendous 
 height above the Loir. We should cross the river to (1 k.) S.Jean, 
 a xu. c. and xv. c. church, approached by a very picturesque lych- 
 gate of the xv. c. The desecrated church of Notre Dame du 
 Champde is early renaissance. 
 
TO 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 I k. N., on the road to Bonneval, are the remains (with a xm. c. 
 church) of the Commanderie de Notre-Dame-de-la-Boissiere y 
 founded in XII. c. for monks, afterwards used by the Templars, 
 then by knights of S. John of Jerusalem. 
 
 5 k. N. is Marboue, with a xv. c. spire. A number of Gallo- 
 Roman antiquities have been found in this district. At 6*. Lubin 
 (2 k. N.W.) is the menhir called La Pierre de Merlisse. 2 k. N. of 
 Marboue is the Chateau des Courdreaux, rebuilt in xvm. c, which 
 belonged to Renee de France, Duchess of Ferrara, and where 
 Clement Marot was often her guest. At the beginning of this 
 century, the chateau belonged to Marshal Ney. 
 
 [A line from Chateaudun to (53 k.) Orleans joins that from 
 Chartres to Orleans at Patay, see p. 6.] 
 
 The railway coasts the river Loir. On a hill on the r. bank is 
 seen Montigny-le-Ga7i7telo7t 1 a walled town with a xv. c. castle. 
 The church contains a beautiful reliquary of S. Felicitas. In the 
 midst of the town are the ruins of the Porte Roland. 
 
 146 k. Cloyes (Hotel : du Dauphin), whence there is a public 
 carriage (3 fr.) to (32 k.) Mondoubleatc, with ruins of an important 
 castle built by Hugues Doubleau in the x. c. 7 k. N. (passing 
 near the ruined priory of Gueriteaii) is >S. Agil, which has a 
 beautiful moated renaissance chateau, with a keep of 15 10. In 
 the neighbouring village of Arville are remains of a romanesque 
 priory and transition church. 
 
 On the r. of the Loir the Chateau de Beauvoir is seen. 
 Between the river and the railway, we pass the church of 
 5*. Jean-F7'oidme7itel and the xvn. c. Chateau de Rougemont. 
 
 155k. Moree-S. Hilaire. The church of 5. Hilaire is xi. c. 
 and xvi. c. There are three dolmens in the commune. The 
 walled town of Mo7xe has remains of a priory and a romanesque 
 church. The mairie occupies a xvi. c. house. La Ferme de 
 Morce has a magnificent tithe-barn. Le Ma7ioir de la Perrine is 
 xvi. c. and xvn. c. The line passes close to the Ma7ioir de 
 Morville, flanked by towers. 
 
 160 k. Freteval, a town formerly walled, has an xi. c. church, 
 and (1. of the Loir) the ruins of a castle, built by Thibault le 
 Tricheur in the x. c. The remains are all of xi. c. ; the most 
 
VENDOME. 
 
 remarkable feature being the circular keep. Richard Coeur de 
 Lion gained a victory here over Philippe-Auguste in 1194. 2 k. 
 W. is a dolmen, near the Tour de Grisset, a very curious building, 
 supposed to date from the in. c. Near Freteval, the farm of La 
 Maladrerie has an xi. c. chapel, now a barn. 
 
 166 k. Pezou, has a little romanesque church. To the 1. of 
 the line is seen the Chateau de Monce } then the Chateau de 
 Me stay (1734). 
 
 176 k. Vendome (Hotel: Gailtandre or de Commerce — excellent, 
 clean, and comfortable), the ancient Vindocinum, where S. Bien- 
 heur6 preached Christianity in the v. c. The capital of the 
 Vendomois, and an independent countship from the x. c, in 15 15 
 Vendome was created a duchy, which belonged to a branch of 
 the family of Bourbon. Mathieu de Vendome was a poet of the 
 xii. c. Vendome (much larger than it appears from the railway) 
 is a most attractive and beautiful little town, well worth a visit. 
 
 The magnificent church of La Trinite is one of the most 
 refined and beautiful specimens of flamboyant architecture in the 
 world. It was founded by Marie de Luxembourg, Comtesse de 
 Vendome, and its architect is said to have been a monk of the 
 adjoining abbey, named De Jarnay. The western gable is 
 flanked by open turrets, and surmounted by a balustrade of open 
 work, which surrounds the whole building. Two tiers of flying 
 buttresses, fringed with stone lace-work, support the walls of 
 the nave, and rest on buttresses rich with pinnacles and tracery. 
 Of the eight bays of the nave, the four first are of xv. c, the next 
 three xiv. c. and xv. c, the last xiv. c. : the triforium is remark- 
 able for its height. On the 1. of the nave are two chapels, one 
 (1545) used as a baptistery; the other of 1341. Most of the 
 choir (begun 1275), which has five radiating chapels, is xiv. c. ; 
 the transepts, less lofty than the rest of the church, are early 
 XIII. c. 
 
 The choir apse is surrounded by a renaissance cloture. 
 The sculptured tears and an inscription on one of its divisions, 
 have reference to the belief that the Abbaye de la Trinite 
 possessed one of the tears shed by Christ at the tomb of Lazarus, 
 a relic which was long a point of pilgrimage. The 132 stalls 
 are xv. c. and xvi. c, the benitiers xvn. c. The magnificent 
 monuments of the Bourbons-Vendome, though representing 
 
I 2 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the ancestors of their leader the Prince de Conde, were all 
 destroyed by the Calvinists in 1562. The sacristy occupies the 
 XIII. c. Salic des Archives. A door on the r. of the first bay of the 
 nave leads to the remains of the Cloister, of xiv. c. and xv. c. 
 
 Of the magnificent Abbaye de la Trinite, founded 1030, and 
 of which the famous Cardinal Geoffroy was abbot from 1093 to 
 1 132, the primitive chapel (altered xm. a), the xv. c. chapter 
 house, and a xvn. c. ' corps de logis ' remain. The noble 
 isolated belfry is of xn. c. The circular kitchen had six fire- 
 places, each with two flues for the smoke, and was lighted by 
 six windows between the chimneys. Most of the abbatial 
 buildings are occupied as a barrack. The beautiful romanesque 
 warehouses of the abbey are now used as dwellings, and are 
 divided by the street leading from the church to the centre of the 
 town. Behind the apse is the highly picturesque Presbytery, 
 occupying the abbot's residence (xv. c. and xvi. c.) 
 
 The Place S. Martin, in the centre of the town, was formerly 
 occupied by a great renaissance church, which, from the time of 
 the Revolution, was used as a halle, and falling in, in 1854, was 
 destroyed, with the exception of the tower. The streets contain 
 many curious and picturesque houses. One of the best views to be 
 obtained is that from the Rue du Change, near the half-desecrated 
 chapel of the Lycee, of 1452. The brick buildings of the Lycee 
 itself were erected 1623-39, by Cesar, Due de Vendome, illegiti- 
 mate son of Henri IV., on the site of the hospital of S. Jacques, 
 to which the chapel belonged. A portrait of C6sar de Vendome, 
 preserved here, is attributed to Vandyke. A bridge unites the Lycee 
 to a garden, at one angle of which is the picturesque xvi. c. Hotel 
 die Saillant. The church of La Madeleine near this (of 1474) has 
 a crocketed spire. Its baptistery is of 1523 ; a window, removed 
 thence to the choir, represents Jacques de Malon, Seigneur des 
 Juppeaux, with his wife, his three sons and five daughters. 
 
 The most picturesque building in Vendome is the Porte S. 
 Georges (very near the Place, and now occupied as a Hotel de 
 Ville), which faces a bridge over the Loir. A quaint little figure 
 seated in an angle on the side towards the town should be 
 noticed. Facing the Hotel Gaillandre is the renaissance Hotel du 
 Gouvcrncur, built by the governor Maille-Benehart. The Hotel 
 Fincambault (in a street of the same name) is xv. c. No. 23, 
 
VENDOME. 
 
 '3 
 
 Rue Saulnerie, and No. 3, Rue Basse, are xvi. c. At the angle 
 of the Rue Potterie and La Grand'Rue is a curious little house of 
 xiii. c. No. 24, Place S. Martin, is a timber house, with statues 
 of four saints. The Chapelle de S. Pierre-de-la-Mothe, of x. c, 
 is occupied as a tannery. In the Faubourg de S. Bienheure are 
 remains of the church of the name. LArche des Grands Pres is 
 a curious bridge over the Loir on the N. On the wooded hill 
 
 PORTE S. GEORGES, VENDOME. 
 
 at the back of the town, now occupied as a public promenade, 
 rise the picturesque remains of the Chateau of the Comtes 
 de Vendome, which dates from the middle of the xi. c, when 
 it was built by Geoffroy Martel. It was altered xiv. c. and 
 xvii. c. The largest of its two semicircular towers is the Tour 
 de Poitiers, containing prisons of xvi. c. A little S.E. of the 
 chateau is a menhir. 
 
 At Areines (2J k. N.E.) are remains of a Roman Theatre, and 
 a very curious little church, which presents the triangular openings 
 
'4 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 and other peculiarities, only found in the very earliest French 
 churches. 
 
 N.W., on the road to S. Calais, is Azay t with a church of 
 xii. c, xv. c, and xvi. c. ; the chapel of the ancient priory of 
 Beaulieu, used as a barn, and considerable remains (xi. c. to 
 xvi. c ) of the priory of Courtoye. 
 
 The very interesting excursions on the line to Pont-de-Braye 
 should be made from Vendome. The country E. of Vendome 
 is especially rich in relics of the past — dolmens, menhirs, 
 cromlechs, tombelles, old castles, and subterranean towns, still 
 partially inhabited. 
 
 [A line leads S. from Vendome to (35 k.) Blois by — 
 
 12 k. Selommes. The church is partly ix. c. and x. c. In the 
 
 village are remains of a priory and, near it, the ruined castle of 
 
 Puyfond. 
 
 18 k. Villefrancoeur. N.E. are the two Chateaux de Frechines 
 of xvi. c. and xvm. c, which both belonged to Lavoisier, who 
 established his laboratory there. 
 
 22 k. La Chapelle-Vendomoise, has a dolmen seven metres in 
 length. There are several other monuments of the same kind. 
 
 28 k. Fosse-Marolles. Fosse (1 k. S.W.) has a chateau of the 
 style of Louis XIII., at one time inhabited by Mme. de Stael. 
 2 k. is the (xii. c. and xv. c.) church of Bohaire, with a xv. c. 
 reliquary of S. Bohaire, bishop of Chartres, who died in 623.] 
 
 [A line leads E. to join the line from Paris to Bordeaux by 
 Chartres, at (33 k.) Pont-de-Braye, passing — 
 
 11k. Thore. 3 k. S.E. is the Dolmen de Vaugouffard. On 
 the opposite bank of the Loir are the inhabited Grottes die Breuil, 
 a little beyond which, on the r. bank of the Loir, is the Chateau 
 de la Bonnaventure, a renaissance building, now a farm-house, 
 which belonged, in the beginning of xvi. c, to de Salinet, one of 
 the officers of Antoine de Bourbon, king of Navarre, the father 
 of Henri IV. : it became one of the ftetitcs-maisons of the king, 
 where he used to improvise songs with his courtiers. The 
 neighbouring Rockers de S. Andre are inhabited, and one of their 
 caverns is a chapel : the Caveme du Dragon has its legend. 
 
MONTOIRE. 
 
 Crossing the river at the Gue. du Loir, we may return to 
 Thore by the Chateau de Rochai?ibcau, cradle of an illustrious 
 family, where all the offices are cut out of the rock. One cavern is 
 said to have been used as a hiding-place by the Due de Beaufort 
 — ' le roi des Halles ' — when he escaped from Vincennes in 
 1648. 
 
 15 k. 6*. Rimay. To the r. of the line is the curious Gaulish 
 sepulchre of Envernoy, discovered in 1869. 
 
 18 k. Montoire (Hotel : des Trots Rois). In the centre of the 
 town is the Grande Place, where the Church has an admirable 
 xv. c. choir, containing the reliquary of S. Outrille. The street 
 opposite the church crosses the Loir, and leads through the old 
 town as Rue Ronsard. The third house beyond the bridge (r.) 
 is an interesting renaissance building. The street, of which this 
 house forms an angle, leads to the Chapelle S. Gilles, containing 
 curious frescoes of xn. c, which belonged to a priory, of which 
 some xm. c. buildings remain. Continuing the Rue Ronsard, we 
 reach the ruined Chateau, chiefly xiv. c. and xv. c. : below the 
 ruins is the church of ►S. Outrille, now a barn. 
 
 After visiting the castle of Montoire, we may follow the 1. 
 bank of the Loir, passing many rock-dwellings, to Lavardin, 
 which has most interesting remains of a castle where Jean VIII. 
 de Bourbon died suddenly ( Jan. 6, 1477), whilst reading a letter 
 from Louis XL, supposed to have contained a subtle poison. 
 Deep moats surrounded the castle, which was protected by a 
 double line of walls on the S. and W. A third line of walls 
 protected the portion used as a dwelling, which contains remains 
 of a magnificent escalier dlionneur, built (xv. c.) by Jean VIII. 
 A terrace resting on a vaulted hall supports the rectangular keep, 
 flanked on the W. by round towers at the angles — la tour des 
 Oubliettes, and la tour du Guet. Below the castle is the church, 
 of the xi. c, a very curious and interesting building. The 
 village has a house of the xm. c. and several houses of the 
 Renaissance. An ancient bridge should be crossed to return to 
 Montoire by the r. bank of the Loir. 
 
 4 k. N. E. of Montoire is the curious village of Les Roches de 
 EEveque, mostly cut out of the rock. The Chateau de la 
 Sallee occupies the site of the Abbaye de la Virginite, founded 
 in 1220. 
 
i6 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 24 k. Troo (Hotel : de la Boule d'Or). At the entrance of the 
 town, near the hotel, is a romanesque fragment of the Maladrerie 
 (leper-hospital) de S. Catherine. The church of 6*. Martin is a 
 fine specimen of the Angevin style of the xn. c. The stone spire 
 was destroyed by lightning in 1737. The stalls are xv. c. ; the 
 font and benitier of 1687. S. of the church is a Tombelle, 
 175 metres in circumference. Opposite Troo, on the 1. bank 
 of the Loir, is 6". Jacques-des-Guerets, with a church of x. c. 
 and XII. c. 
 
 30 k. Souge. The church was rebuilt, xiv. c. and xv. c, on 
 ancient foundations. The Presbytere is XI. c. and xv. c. On the 
 W. of the town is the rock-chapel of 6*. Amadour, with a statue 
 of the saint, which is a frequent object of pilgrimage. The 
 Camp de Cesar, at the promontory above the confluence of the 
 Loir and the Braye, has been destroyed by agriculture. 
 
 2 k. S. E. is the interesting desecrated church of Artins, of 
 xi. c, XII. c, and xvi. c. 
 
 2 k. S., near Plat-dEtain, is the partially ruined (xv. c.) 
 Chateau de la Roche- Turpin. 
 
 4 k. beyond Plat-d'Etain is Couture, with a good church 
 spire. A little S. of the village, at the foot of wooded hills full 
 of caverns, is the curious little jenaissance Manoir de la Pois- 
 sonniere, in which the poet Ronsard was born in 1524. The 
 facade towards the garden is a modern ' restoration,' but the 
 inner court is very interesting. Above the different doors are 
 devices appropriate to their destination : as over the cellar, 
 ' Sustine et abstine ; ' at the foot of the staircase, ' Voluptati et 
 gratiis ; ' over other doors, 1 Cui des videto ; ' ' Tibi soli gloria.' 
 Many of the windows bear the device — ' Avant partir.' 
 In the principal chamber is a fine chimney-piece, bearing the 
 royal arms of France, with those of Ronsard (d'azur a trois 
 poissons d'or) below them, and the legend, ' Non fallunt futura 
 merentem.' Two shields accompany that of the poet : one is 
 that of his grandmother Jeanne de Vendome ; the other bears a 
 marguerite, in allusion to his patroness, Marguerite de Navarre, 
 sister of Henri IV. The neighbouring Manoir du Porteau 
 is xv. c] 
 
 Leaving Vendome, on r. is seen the town of Tourteline, then 
 
CHATEA URENA UL T. 
 
 the Chateau de Prepatour, on the site of a manor of Henri IV., 
 with the vineyard where his favourite Vin de Surin was grown. 
 Mounting to the plateau of La Beauce, on r. is Huisseau-en- 
 Beauce, then the remains of the Chateau de Plessis- 
 Fortias (1590). 
 
 207 k. Chdteaurenault. In the forest of Chateaurenault (N. E.) 
 the famous La Renaudie was killed in 1560. Only part of the 
 outer wall, a gate of xiv. c, and the keep of xi. c. remain of the 
 Chateau. 
 
 220 k. Monnaie. The xv. c. church has a good stained window 
 of that date. 6 k. N.W. is the modern Chateau de V Orfradere. 
 5 k. further, in the village of 6*. Laurent-e?t-Gdti7ie, is the 
 curious Grand' Maison of xv. c. 7 k. E. of Monnaie is Reugny, 
 with a church of xn. c. and xv. c. and a (xv. c.) pavilion of the 
 Chateau de la Valliere, which belonged to the family of which 
 the mistress of Louis XIV. was a member. S. of Reugny is the 
 renaissance Chateau de la Cote. 
 
 228 k. Notre-Dame-d Oe. 2 k. E. is the gigantic tithe-barn of 
 Meslay, built by the monks of Marmontier in 1220. In the 
 same enclosure are a xiii. c. porch and a xiv. c. chapel. At 
 2 k. N. of Notre-Dame-d'Oe is Cha7iceaux, which has a church of 
 the x. c. 
 
 239 k. Fondettes-S. Cyr. Fondettes (4 k. from the station) has 
 a good romanesque church. At ►S. Cyr,, near the river, is a 
 church attributed to Louis XI. 
 
 245 k. Tours (see later).] 
 
 Continuing the line from Paris to Orleans we pass — 
 
 43 k. Lardy. The Chateau de Mesnil Voisin, belonging 
 to the Marquise de Polignac, is a fine building of the time 
 of Louis XIII. 
 
 46 k. Chamarande. The chateau, built by Mansart, 
 with a park by Lenotre, was inhabited, under Napoleon III., 
 by the Due de Persigny. 
 
 49 k. Etrechy, which has a remarkably simple early- 
 pointed cruciform church, with a central tower. The 
 
 2 
 
[8 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 sculpture of the foliage in the pier capitals is extremely 
 bold. 
 
 56 k. Etampes (Hotels : du Grand Courrier ; du Grand 
 Monarque ; du Cheval Blanc), the ancient Stampae, a 
 most picturesque and interesting place, which was one of 
 the earliest domains of the kings of the third race. The 
 charming public walks and avenues are bordered by 
 remains of the city walls. The long, white, ill-paved town 
 straggles through the hollow, full of curious buildings, 
 possessing four churches of the greatest value to the 
 architectural student, and watered by the little river Juine, 
 which Coulon (U Ulysse Eranfais, 1643) describes as 
 ' pavee d'une si grande quantite d'ecrevisses que plus on en 
 pesche, plus il en vient.' 
 
 Nearest the station is the Church of S. Easile, a 
 gothic building with renaissance details. The W. front is 
 romanesque, with a grand portal. The church was par- 
 tially rebuilt under Louis XII., but only the nave, with 
 very wide aisles, and part of the choir were finished, 
 owing to want of funds ; and the architects have left on 
 the east wall the inscription — Faxit Deus perficiar. The 
 tower is of the end of the xn. c. 
 
 Close by, a Caisse d'Epargne occupies the house which 
 bears the name of Diane de Poitiers. The facade towards 
 the court is of extreme richness and beauty. One of the 
 doors has a medallion of Francois I. 
 
 Very near this, at the angle of the Rue de Paris and 
 Rue S. Croix, is the house of Anne de Pisseleu, Duchesse 
 d'Etampes (1538), of the best period of the xvi. c. The 
 neighbouring house, of the time of Louis XII., is made into 
 a Hotel de Ville 
 
ETAMPES. 
 
 19 
 
 Above the market place rises the beautiful Church 
 of Notre Dame du Fort, founded by Robert le Pieux, 
 exceedingly picturesque, with its battlemented facade and 
 its buttresses overgrown with wallflowers (boutons oVor). The 
 wide gothic portal is under the romanesque tower, which 
 is in the centre of the W. front, with a steeple of great 
 beauty, ribbed and ornamented with scales. 
 
 S. BASILE, ETAMPES. 
 
 Near the Juine is an old hotel, inscribed — Hostel 
 Saint- Yon, with octagonal tourelles, and richly sculptured 
 windows. 
 
 The fine parish church of S. Gilles is chiefly xvi. c, 
 but has a very simple romanesque W. portal of the 
 xii. c. The restored interior has many good incised 
 monuments. 
 
 S. Martin (4 k. from the station), has a leaning W, 
 
20 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 tower, standing detached in front of the church, and 
 only connected with it by a porch. The upper part of 
 the W. front is free. The church is early pointed or 
 transitional, having a nave with aisles, small transepts 
 
 S. GILLES, ETAMPES. 
 
 not extending beyond the aisles, and a semicircular apse, 
 from which three radiating chapels project. 
 
 The hill beyond the station was occupied by the xn. c. 
 Chateau des Quatre Tours ', said to have been built by 
 Queen Constance, of which the most important remnant 
 is the curious keep, or Tour Guinette. This is of very 
 peculiar form, seeming to be composed by the union of 
 
LA BEAUCE. 
 
 it 
 
 four circular towers. The entrance, on the first floor, 
 was reached by a drawbridge. The apartment of the 
 lord on the second floor was beautifully vaulted in stone ; 
 the capitals of the columns still exist. Amongst the other 
 remains of the castle are those of a little chapel of S. 
 Laurent. It was in an earlier chateau on this site that 
 Robert, the first Capet king, held his court. 
 
 ' Comme il soupait a £tampes, dans un chateau que Constance 
 venait de lui batir, il ordonna d'ouvrir la porte a tous les pauvres. 
 L'un d'eux vint se mettre aux pieds du roi, qui le nourrissait sous 
 la table. Mais le pauvre, ne s'oubliant pas, lui coupa avec un 
 couteau un ornement d'or de six onces qui pendait a ses genoux, 
 et s'enfuit au plus vite. Lorsqu'on se leva de table, la reine vit 
 son seigneur depouille, et, indignee, se laissa emporter contre le 
 saint a des paroles violentes : Quel ennemi de Dieu, bon Seigneur, 
 a deshonore votre robe d'or ? Personne, repondit-il, ne m'a 
 deshonore ; cela etait sans doute plus necessaire a celui qui l'a 
 pris qu'a moi, et, Dieu aidant, lui profitera.' — Helgaldits, c. 3. 
 
 The court resided here through several reigns. Louis 
 le Jeune assembled the notables of the kingdom here to 
 deliberate upon his departure for the crusades, and here he 
 appointed Suger, abbot of S. Denis, regent of the kingdom 
 during his absence. 
 
 The line now enters upon the bleak, dreary district 
 of La Beauce, the ugliest district in France, truly a ' pays 
 ennuyeux,' as La Fontaine calls it. 
 
 70 k. Monnerville. 6 k. S.E., on the Juine, is the 
 interesting Chateau de Mereville, of xv. c. to xvn. c, built 
 by the banker De la Borde, under Louis XVI., at an 
 expense of fourteen million francs. It was designed by 
 the architect Bellanger. The apartments, decorated by 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Joseph Vernet and Hubert Robert, and lighted by 365 
 windows, contain a vast amount of interesting old furniture. 
 
 89 k. Tonry. The xin. c. church has an interesting 
 gothic porch. 
 
 108 k. Chevilly. Here the line enters the vast forest 
 of Orle'ans. 
 
 119 k. Les Aubrais (Buffet). The express trains to 
 Tours or Vierzon stop here and do not enter Orleans : 
 the travellers for Orleans change to a special train. 
 
 121 k. Orleans (Hotels : <F Orleans — least bad ; S. 
 Aignan ; du Loiret — horrors), the capital of the Depar Le- 
 nient du Loiret. It is supposed to occupy the site of 
 Genabum, taken by Caesar 52 a.c, and it owed its new 
 name to the Emperor Aurelian, who raised it to the 
 rank of a city. In the v. c. it was an important town 
 and the seat of a bishopric, which was occupied by S. 
 Aignan when Attila presented himself before the walls 
 (451) and was repulsed by the energy of the prelate. At 
 the death of Clovis, Orleans became the capital of a 
 kingdom founded by Clodomir, and reunited to that of 
 Paris by Clotaire II. in 613. From this time the town 
 played a great part in the history of France ; it was re- 
 garded by its kings as their first city after Paris, and 
 (1305) its schools were raised to the rank of a University. 
 In 1344 Orleans was separated from the crown by 
 Philippe de Valois and made a duchy for his second 
 son Philippe, in exchange for Dauphine, which was then 
 given to his eldest son, with the title of Dauphin. 
 Charles VI., following this example, gave Orleans to his 
 brother Louis, formerly Due de Touraine. After the 
 murder of the Duke, Orleans, faithfully attached to him, 
 
ORLEANS. 
 
 23 
 
 vehemently espoused the cause of the Armagnacs. In 
 May 1429 the city was delivered from the English by 
 Jeanne Dare: in 1562 it became the centre of the 
 Protestant rebellion under the Prince de Conde. 
 
 Louis XII., on his accession, had reunited the duchy 
 of Orleans to the crown. Louis XIII. detached it again 
 (1626) for his brother Gaston, who died without a male 
 heir. Then it passed to Philippe, brother of Louis XIV., 
 whose descendant in the fifth degree, Louis-Philippe, 
 becoming king of the French in 1830, gave up his title 
 of Due d'Orleans, then purely honorary, to his eldest 
 son, who died from a carriage accident in 1842. 
 
 * Le sort d'Orleans a ete souvent celui de la France ; les noms 
 de Cesar, d'Attila, de Jeanne d'Arc, de Guise rappellent tout ce 
 quelle a vu de sieges et de guerres.' — Michelet. 
 
 The French of Orleans used to be considered so pure 
 that Orleanism was an expression like Atticism. 
 
 ' This citty was by Francis I. esteemed the most agreeable of 
 his great dominions.'— John Evelyn, 1644. 
 
 In the centre of the town is the Place du Martroy^ 
 decorated with an equestrian statue of Jeanne Dare by 
 Foyatier. 
 
 ' Orleans n'attribua-t-il sa delivrance qua Jeanne et au Dieu 
 qui l'avait envoyee : une procession solenrielle parcourut la ville 
 et les remparts, avec des cantiques d'allegresse et de reconnais- 
 sance. Cette ceremonie, renouvelee chaque annee, le jour 
 anniversaire de la levee du grand siege (8 mai) s'est perpetuee 
 de siecle en siecle jusqu'a nous sous le nom de Fete de la Ptccelle. 
 — Martin, i Hist, de France.' 
 
24 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 ' Elle sembloit tout au moins un ange, une creature etrangere 
 a tous les besoins physiques. Elle restait parfois tout un jour a 
 cheval, sans descendre, sans manger hi boire, sauf le soir un peu 
 de pain et de vin mele d'eau.' — 1 Chronique de la Pucelle! 
 
 A broad street just beyond the square leads to the 
 cathedral, passing (r.) the old Hotel de Ville, with a 
 beautiful tower, containing a very poor collection of 
 pictures. 
 
 The Cathedral of S. Croix was begun by Bishop Gilles 
 de Patay in 1287, but was still unfinished when it was 
 burnt by the Calvinists in 1567. Nothing survived the fire 
 but the eleven chapels of the chevet, the side walls of the 
 choir, and two romanesque towers demolished in the 
 xviii. c. The first stone of the existing building was laid 
 by Henri IV. on April 18, 1601, in fulfilment of an obliga- 
 tion imposed by Clement VIII. before he would release 
 him from excommunication. The process of reconstruction 
 lasted till the Revolution, the original gothic style being 
 followed throughout, except in the facade, which was due to 
 Gabriel in the reign of Louis XV., where horizontal lines 
 prevail too much and the gothic towers terminate oddly in 
 crowns of Greek columns. The interior is very impressive 
 and simple. The central aisle of the nave is immensely 
 wide as well as lofty, with a narrower choir and very short 
 transepts : there are four side aisles. A Chemin de la 
 Croix, in modern sculpture, clothes the lower walls of the 
 nave. The interest of the church, however, is confined to 
 the beautiful circle of eleven xm. c. chapels which radiate 
 round the apse. In the central chapel, faced with black 
 and white marble, is a Madonna by Houdon. A chapel 
 (on r.) has the tomb of Msgr. Dupanloup, the most famous 
 
ORLEANS. 
 
 25 
 
 bishop of Orleans in modern times — £ Pinoubliable eveque, 
 as the Empress Augusta called him. An epitaph com- 
 memorates the jurisconsult Pothier, whose remains were 
 transported hither in 1823. In the 1. choir aisle is the 
 beautiful door called Porte de l'fiveque. 
 
 The Eveche is of 1631 ; the Grand Seminaire, which 
 faces it, of 1670. It contains the Crypte de S. Avit, said to 
 be as old as the vi. c. 
 
 The Hotel de Ville, a little N. of the cathedral, is like a 
 country house in England externally, and very picturesque. 
 An inscription tells how it was built as a residence by 
 Jacques Groslot de ITsle, in 1530, and afterwards inhabited 
 by F. de Balzac, C. de la Chastre, and F. d'Orleans- 
 Longueville, governors of Orleanais. It was the lodging of 
 Francois II., Charles IX., Henri III., Henri IV., and of 
 Queens Catherine de Medicis, Marie Stuart, Louise de 
 Lorraine, and Marie de Medicis, on their visits to Orleans. 
 It was also the residence of Louis L, Prince de Conde, in 
 1562. In 1790 it became the Hotel de Ville. The fagade 
 is adorned with statues of Orleans worthies, that of Jeanne 
 Dare, from the figure by Princesse Marie d'Orleans, occupy- 
 ing the central place. The caryatides of the doors are by 
 Jean Goujon. Inside, the modern antique furniture is 
 detestable of its kind. In the first room is a picture, by 
 Lewis Wingfield, of Jeanne Dare receiving the sympathy of 
 the people. In the Salle des Manages a picture by Pierre 
 Dupuis represents the death of Frangois II., husband of 
 Mary of Scotland, which occurred in that room, in his 
 seventeenth year, after a reign of seven months : the room 
 retains its old chimney-piece. 
 
 The Hotel de Farval (22 Rue Neuve, a little S. of the 
 
26 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Place de Martroy), — also called Maison de Diane de Poitiers, 
 because she was carried thither when hurt by a fall from her 
 horse on entering Orleans in 1551,— was built for the citizen 
 Cabut in 1540. Externally it is a well-preserved renaissance 
 house, and it contains a very interesting collection of old 
 furniture, glass, china, etc. 
 
 MAISON DE DIANE DE POITIERS. 
 
 A little E. runs the Rue du Tabourg, a semi-deserted 
 side street, which contains almost all the historic interest of 
 the town, and is full of curious old houses. No. 13, called 
 Maison £ Agnes Sore/ — la Belle des Belles — with a xv. c. 
 facade and a renaissance courtyard and staircase, was given 
 by Charles VII. to a citizen named Compaing. No. 37, 
 
ORLEANS. 
 
 27 
 
 called Maison de Jeanne Darc^ is that where the heroine 
 lodged during the siege of 1429. Formerly known as 
 L'Annonciade, because it had belonged to nuns of that Order, 
 the house was at that time the hotel of Jacques Bouchier, 
 treasurer of the Duke of Orleans. The room which Jeanne 
 shared for two or three days with the wife and daughter of 
 the treasurer has been pulled down, and the so-called 
 Cabinet de Jeanne Darc^ which occupies its site, is renais- 
 sance. Nos. 39 and 40 of the Rue du Tabourg are also 
 good specimens of the Renaissance. 
 
 Following the Rue du Tabourg eastwards, we reach the 
 Rue de Bourgogne, containing the Prefecture^ below which, 
 in the direction of the river, is the church of S. Pierre le 
 Puellier, which has remains of ix. c. and xn. c. architecture. 
 Further E. is S. Aignan, founded in the v. c, but often 
 rebuilt, and terribly mutilated by the Protestants and the 
 Revolution. It is now only the polygonal choir and 
 transepts of a large church, but is a fine specimen of 
 flamboyant : the crypt dates from the time of Robert le 
 Pieux, 1029. The building composes beautifully with the 
 cathedral in all the views from the opposite side of the 
 river. In the convent of S. Aignan, Louis XL had his 
 palace. S. Euverte, a little N.E., is a church of the xn. c, 
 altered into a flamboyant building. The monument of 
 Jeanne Dare, on the bridge, was destroyed by the French 
 Calvinists in 1562. Close to the station, is the vast modern 
 S. Pateme, replacing a church whose cure was hanged 
 by the Protestants in 1562. This church may be reached 
 from the cathedral by the Rue de Bretonnerie, containing 
 the Hotel de la Vieille-Intendance (xv. c. and xvi. c), which 
 has served as a residence to Henri III., Henri IV., and 
 
28 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Louis XIII. There are many other interesting houses in 
 Orleans, including No. 34, Rue de V Aiguillerie, where 
 S. Frangois de Paul stayed as he was going to visit Louis XL 
 at Tours, and 17, Rue Jeanne Dare, which belonged to 
 Geoffroy Vallee, burnt for atheism, in 1574, on the Place de 
 Greve. The Rue Putts Landan (London well) is so called 
 from a well into which a number of English prisoners were 
 thrown in 1423. 
 
 An excursion should be made from Orleans to Notre Dame 
 de Clery, which is near the station of Meung, but it is pleasanter 
 to drive there and back. 
 
 [For the line from Orleans to Vierzon (see ch. iv.) ; to Voves 
 and Chateaudun see p. 6.] 
 
 [A line leads N.E. to (103 k.) Moret, on the main line from 
 Paris to Lyon, passing — 
 
 45 k. Pithiviers (Hotel : de la Poste). The church of S.Salomo?i 
 (dedicated to Salomon III., king of Brittany, murdered 874), is 
 chiefly renaissance. On the Place de la Mairie is the xiii. c. 
 belfry of the church of 6*. Georges. 6 k. E. is Yevres-le-Chdtcl, 
 where the church (xi. c. and xiii. c.) was once the chapel of the 
 curious xiii. c. castle, of which there are considerable remains. 
 In the cemetery is the beautiful ruined gothic church of 
 6*. Lubin. 
 
 To the 1. of the line is Ramoulu, with a xn. c. church and 
 beautiful cross of 1636. 
 
 56 k. Marchecourt, has an xi. c. church. 
 
 64 k. Malesherbes (Hotel : du Lion d'Or). The church has an 
 octagonal tower. The chateau, chiefly rebuilt under Louis XIII., 
 belonged to the chivalrous defender of Louis XVI. 
 
 81 k. La-Chapelle-la-Reine. 5 k. S. is Larcha7it, with a fine 
 XIII. c. church, mutilated by the Protestants. In the neighbour- 
 hood are the curious rocks known as La Roche du Diable and 
 La Chaudriere du Diable.'] 
 
 [A line leads S.E. from Orleans to (64 k.) Gien, passing — 
 
6*. BENOIT-SUR-LOIRE. 
 
 29 
 
 9 k. Checy-Mardie. Checy (1 k. S.W.) has a fine church of 
 XL c, xii. c, and xin. c. 
 
 18 k. kS. Denis Jargeau. On the opposite bank of the Loire is 
 Jaj'geau, where Jeanne Dare gained a bloody victory over the 
 English, May 22, 1429. The church is xi. c, xin. c, and xvn. c. 
 
 26 k. Ch ate annenf-sur- Loire, has remains of a chateau 
 built, on the site of a royal castle, by the Due de la Vrilliere, 
 minister of Louis XV. In the church is the sumptuous tomb 
 of Louis Phelypeaux de la Vrilliere, Secretary of State under 
 Louis XIV. (1681). 4jk. S.E. is Germigny-des-Pres, see later. 
 
 33 k. 5*. Aignan-S. Benoit. An omnibus meets all trains for 
 S. Benoit-sur-Loire (Hotel : du Loiret — a good and clean little 
 inn), 4J k. S.W., near the river, which had its origin in the abbey 
 of Fleury, founded early in vn. c, and believed, in France, to 
 possess the body of S. Benedict, which the abbot Aigulfe went 
 to rescue from the ruins of Monte Cassino, after the destruction 
 of that famous monastery by the Lombards in 660. Under 
 Charlemagne, the abbey of Fleury became one of the great 
 literary centres of the kingdom, and in the time of Charles le 
 Chauve its schools numbered as many as 5,000 pupils. At the 
 end of the x. c. S. Abbon was one of its abbots, and Gerbert, after- 
 wards Pope Sylvester II., was amongst its scholars. In the reign 
 of Louis VII. the abbey was so rich that the king borrowed from 
 it the money which he wanted for his crusade. The abbey was 
 made commendatory in i486, and its abbots included Jean de la 
 Tremouille ; Etienne Poncher, archbishop of Sens ; Francois 
 Poncher, bishop of Paris ; the Chancellor Duprat ; Antoine 
 Sanguin, uncle of the Duchesse d'Etampes ; and Odet de 
 Chatillon. In 1562 the abbey was pillaged and burnt by the 
 Protestants, and its famous MSS. dispersed. It never recovered 
 its former splendour, and at the Revolution its buildings were 
 destroyed, with the exception of the church. 
 
 The noble Church of S. Benoit is one of the finest romanesque 
 buildings in France. It is in the form of an archiepiscopal cross — 
 i.e., with two transepts. To the E. of each division of the larger 
 transepts are two apsidal chapels. The facade is preceded by a 
 huge porch, with splendidly carved capitals. 
 
 1 Ce porche, qui date du xi e siecle, se compose d'un quinconce 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 de piles 6paisses, portant des voutes d'arete romaines. II occupe 
 une surface considerable, et est surmonte d'une grande salle 
 ouverte, comme le rez-de-chaussee, sur trois de ses faces et pre- 
 sentant de meme un quinconce de piles. Le clocher devait 
 selever sur les quatre piles centrales.' — Viollet le.Dnc. 
 
 S. BENOIT-SUR-LOIRE. 
 
 In the porch are lists of the saints especially connected with 
 S. Benoit, including the B. Leodebold, the founder, S. Mommole, 
 S. Aygulphe, S. Raoul, S. Odon de Cluny, S. Odon de Cantorbury, 
 B. Oscar, S. Cadroc, S. Oswald, S. Felix, B. Malcalenus, B. 
 Herve, S. Abbon, and B. Drogon ; also those brought here 
 after death, including — as is here asserted — SS. Benedict and 
 
5. BENOIT-SUR-LOIRE. 
 
 3 
 
 Scholastica, Martin de Tours, Frogent, Maur, Tenestine, and 
 Paul de Leon. 
 
 On the N. of the nave is a beautiful side door, terribly muti- 
 lated by the Protestants, the lintel of which represents the removal 
 of the body of S. Benedict from Monte Cassino. 
 
 The wide central nave has very narrow side aisles and no 
 
 PORCH OF S. BENOIT. 
 
 triforium. The choir begins with the last two bays of the nave, 
 as in Spanish churches, and continues ascending. Altogether 
 the nave has seven bays, with gothic arcades, the capitals of 
 the pillars representing scenes in the life of S. Benedict. 
 The principal transept is separated by six arcades forming the 
 choir, from the secondary , transept at the entrance of the rond- 
 point, and whichjs only marked externally by the two truncated 
 
3 2 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 xv. c. towers which surmount it. Over the vault of the central 
 cupola rises a two-storeyed tower. The stalls (of 1413) are of fine 
 workmanship ; the canopies, which surmount them, are sculp- 
 tured with figures of monks on one side, with night birds on the 
 other. Round the choir is a romanesque triforium arcade, and 
 it has a noble opus-alexandrinum pavement. A crypt extends 
 under the choir, and five chapels there surround the Marlyrium, 
 which once contained the tomb of S. Benedict. Fragments of 
 paintings belong to the x. c. or XI. c. Beneath the tower is the 
 xii. c. tomb of Philippe I., the last king of the third race, who died 
 at Melun, July 29, 1108. 1 A slab, resting on four lions, bears the 
 statue of the king, who had been excommunicated because, 
 married himself already, he had re-married with Bertrade de 
 Montfort, who had run away from her first husband, Foulques de 
 Rechin, Comte d'Anjou. 
 
 1 L'an de l'lncarnation 1 108, le roi Philippe, se voyant grave- 
 ment malade et en danger de mort, convoqua les grands de ses 
 etats et ses amis particuliers, puis leur parla en ces termes : " Je 
 sais que la sepulture des rois francais est a S. Denis ; mais, 
 comme je sens que je suis un grand pecheur, je n'ose me faire 
 inhumer aupres du corps d'un si glorieux martyr, et je tremble 
 que mes peches ne me livrent en proie au demon, ce qui, suivant 
 1'histoire, est advenu a Charles Martel. J'ai toujours aime" et 
 honore grandement S. Benoit ; j'implore humblement ce venerable 
 pere des moines, et je desire d'etre inhume dans son eglise de 
 Fleuri-sur-Loire ; car il est clement, plein de benignite, et propice 
 a tous les pecheurs qui cherchent a se r£concilier avec Dieu selon 
 la regie qu'il a etablie." ' — ' Orderie] I. xi. 
 
 (A carriage may be obtained at S. Benoit (5 fr.) for the delight- 
 ful drive of 5 \ k. along the embankment of the Loire, to the very 
 curious church of Germigny-des-Pres, originally built by Theo- 
 dulphe, bishop of Orleans and abbot of Fleury, and consecrated 
 in 806. Till 1865 this invaluable little building was the only 
 authentic church in France of the time of Charlemagne, but in 
 that year it was destroyed under pretence of ' restoration,' and 
 entirely rebuilt on the old lines. Though the arrangement 
 
 1 The first king- of France who bore the old Macedonian name, introduced 
 by his mother Anne, daughter of the Russian duke Yaroslaf. 
 
GERMLGNY-DES-PRES, LORRIS. 
 
 33 
 
 of the church is exceedingly curious and interesting, nothing 
 really ancient is left, except two capitals and a mosaic in the 
 central apside (unique in France), representing angels and 
 cherubs, with Latin verses by Theodulphe. The altar is under 
 the central tower, with apsides on three sides. 
 
 ' Le moine Letalde, ecrivain du x e siecle, rapporte, dit M. 
 Merimee, que Theodulfe, d'abord abbe de S. Benoit-sur-Loire, 
 puis eveque d'Orleans, fit batir l'eglise de Germigny h limitation 
 de celle d'Aix-la-Chaftelle. II faut avouer que limitation est fort 
 libre, car ce qui existe du plan, c'est-a-dire la partie principale de 
 ledifice, donne quatre piliers carres entoures d'un bas cote avec 
 trois absidioles, une a l'orient et deux au sud et au nord. Ce 
 plan rappelle bien plutot les petites eglises grecques de l'Asie et 
 du Peloponese que celui d'Aix-la-Chapelle. Quoiqu'il en soit, 
 sur les quatre piles centrales s'eleve un clocher carre portant sur 
 les quatre arcs-doubleaux. Son beffroi n'est separe du vaisseau 
 que par un plancher, et est perce, sur chacune des quatre faces, 
 a letage inferieur formant lanterne, de quatre petites fenetres 
 decorees de stucs a jumelles. On retrouve dans les stucs et dans 
 la construction* meme, faite de moellons recouverte d'enduits et 
 dune mosai'que sous la voute de l'abside orientale, les traditions 
 du Bas-Empire.' — Viollet le Due.) 
 
 40 k. Les Bordes. It is only 6 k. from hence to Sully, with its 
 famous chateau, on the line to Bourges. See South- Eastern 
 Eranee, ch. iv. 
 
 There is an omnibus from the station of Bordes to (13 k. N.E.) 
 Lorris, an ancient royal town, which had a palace, now destroyed, 
 where S. Louis (1243) signed a treaty with the barons who had 
 rebelled with the Comte de la Marche. The church is a fine 
 building of xi. c. and Kill, c, with a square apse, surrounded 
 by an ambulatory. The stall-work is XV. c, the cloture renais- 
 sance.] 
 
 [For the line to Malesherbes, see South- Eastern France, ch. iv. 
 For the line to Montargis, South- Eastern France, ch. ii.] 
 
 Leaving Orleans, the railway reaches — 
 128 k. (from Paris) La Chapelle-S. Mesmin, which has 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 a little Seminaire. In the park of this establishment is a 
 chateau built by Charles IX., now the country-house of the 
 bishops of Orleans. Under the church is a crypt, reputed 
 Merovingian. A cross on the 1. bank of the Loire, opposite 
 La Chapelle, was erected by Mgr. Dupanloup to mark the 
 site of the Abbaye de Micy, founded by Clovis. 
 
 139 k. Meung (Hotel : S. Jacques), on the site of the 
 Roman M^udunum, on the ruins of which S. Liphard, 
 Comte d'Orleans, founded a monastery in the middle of the 
 vi. c. The abbatial church remains much as it was rebuilt 
 in the xn. c, after being destroyed by Louis le Gros in his 
 contest with the lords of Orleans. It is a fine building of 
 late romanesque, with a peculiar ground-plan, for the tran- 
 septs as well as the choir terminate in circular apses, besides 
 which the transepts have apses to the E., and another 
 apsidal chapel projects from the N. side pf the nave. 
 Attached to the W. wall is a romanesque tower, a remnant 
 of the original church, crowned by a stone spire. A curtain- 
 wall unites this with a fortified xm. c. tower, which was part 
 of the chateau of the bishops of Orleans, rebuilt in xvi. c. 
 and xvii. c. The xvi. c. Porte d'Amont remains from the 
 ancient fortifications. Meung is the birthplace of Jean de 
 Meung, author of the greater part of Le Roman de la 
 Rose. 
 
 An uninteresting road leads to (5 k. E.) the famous church of 
 Notre Dame de Clery, a large building with a polygonal choir and 
 short transepts. There is no central tower, only a low belfry on 
 N. The choir is surrounded by flying buttresses. 
 
 Louis XL, who had a peculiar devotion for Notre Dame de 
 Clery, constructed his own tomb here, and would frequently lie 
 down in it — ' afin de voir si le lieu etait juste a son corps et bien 
 proportionne pour le recevoir apres sa mort.' His monument, 
 
NOTRE DAME DE CLERY. 
 
 35 
 
 destroyed by the Calvinists in 1562, was renewed in 1622 by 
 Louis XIII. : it was again violated at the Revolution (1792), but 
 its remains were collected by the antiquarian Lenoir, and it was 
 reconstructed in 181 8. The statue of the king, by Michel 
 Bourdin, kneels on a pedestal higher than that which originally 
 occupied the site. 
 
 'A ses genoux sont ses heures et son chapelet, et autres 
 
 TOMB OF LOUIS XI., NOTRE DAME DE CLERY. 
 
 menus ustensiles, sa main de justice, son sceptre, son chapeau, et 
 sa notre-dame ; je ne sais comment le statuaire n'y a point mis 
 le prevot Tristan.' — La Fontaine. 
 
 Besides Louis XL, his wife Charlotte de Savoie, their son 
 Louis, the heart of Charles VIII. and the body of his third son 
 Francois de France, were interred here. The remains of a child 
 of Louis XL and the heart of Charles VIII. were found under the 
 pavement of the nave in 1873. The tombs of Dunois (whose 
 
36 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 body was brought hither from S. Germain in 1468), of Francois 
 d'Orteans, and Agnes de Savoie have also been replaced in the 
 church. 
 
 147 k. Beaugency (Hotels: de FEcu de France; S. 
 Etienne), a pretty little town, with a fine old bridge over 
 the Loire, which formerly had thirty-nine arches, and still 
 possesses twenty-six. Frequently besieged, pillaged, and 
 burnt, Beaugency has lost most of its fortifications, and only 
 
 BRIDGE OF BEAUGENCY. 
 
 one of its seven gates— the ruined Porte Tavers — remains. 
 The principal objects of interest stand close together in a 
 little square above the river. The fine Tour de S. Firmin, of 
 1530, is a remnant of a church destroyed at the Revolution. 
 The huge Tour de Cesar, which recalls Rochester Castle, 
 is of the xi. c, and was the keep of the original chateau. 
 Close by are later buildings, erected by the famous Dunois 
 (son of Louis d'Orle'ans and Mariette d'Enghien, 4 la dame 
 de Canny ') in 1440, and now used as a Depot de Mendicite. 
 
BEAUGENCY. 
 
 37 
 
 Above one of the windows of the pavilion on 1. of the 
 entrance is the device of the bastard d'Orleans — Cor 
 mundum crea in ?ne, Dens. This is repeated beneath a 
 fresco in the chamber called Oratoire de Dunois, and cut 
 out of the thickness of the wall. In the hall which precedes 
 
 NOTRE DAME, BEAUGENCY. 
 
 this oratory is a fine chimney-piece. The winding staircase 
 which serves this part of the chateau was erected by the 
 grandson of Dunois in 1530. The chateau, which belonged 
 in turn to several queens of France, was given by Henri IV. 
 to Henriette d'Entragues. 
 
 Opposite the chateau, is the picturesque abbatial church 
 
38 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 of Notre- Dame, built in xi. c, burnt by the Protestants 
 in 1567, and restored to worship in xvn. c. The tower is 
 xii. c. and xin. c. Most of the abbey buildings were 
 destroyed by the Protestants. The Maison de PAbbe and an 
 old round tower — Tour du Diable — at the angle of the quay, 
 alone remain. 
 
 A street on the r. leads under the fine Tour de PHorloge^ 
 passing (r.) the pretty little renaissance Hotel de Vzlle, 
 erected before 1526, from designs of Viart d'Orleans. The 
 arms of Cardinal de Longueville, his brother, and his 
 father the Comte de Dunois, as well as the salamander of 
 Francois I., are represented on the front. The abundant 
 fleurs-de-lis on the mullions of the windows are in allusion 
 to the motto of the town — Manibus date lilia plenis. The 
 balustrade under the roof is supported by corbels resting on 
 arches ; at the angles are two corbelled tourelles. In the 
 interior are some tapestries from the choir of the abbey- 
 church. 
 
 No. 2, Rue Puits de l'Ange is a romanesque house. At 
 the angle of the Rue du Change and the Rue du Pot d'Etain 
 is a house, with a decorated gothic portal, said to have 
 been inhabited by Henri IV. Under the Maison Bideault^ 
 Place du Martroy, is a fine vaulted crypt. S. Etienne, 
 near the place so called, is a little disused building of 
 the xi. c. In the neighbourhood of Beaugency are several 
 dolmens. 
 
 159 k. Mer, which is 12 k. from Chambord. The feudal 
 chateau of Diziers is seen on 1. before reaching — 
 
 164 k. Suevres, which has two ancient churches, reputed 
 to be partially Carlovingian — S. Christophe and S. Lubin ; 
 the latter occupies the site of a Roman temple. 
 
BLOIS. 
 
 39 
 
 169 k. Menars, the seat of a marquisate, purchased by 
 Mme. de Pompadour in 1760. The existing chateau was 
 built in 1764, after the death of the Marquise, by her 
 brother and heir, M. de Marigny. 
 
 178 k. Blots (Hotels : de Blots — best ; d'Angleterre — with 
 a lovely river view, indifferent), the capital of the Departe- 
 ment de Loir-et-Cher, a picturesque and attractive place. 
 The history of the town is that of its famous chateau — sold, 
 in 139 1, by the last Comte de Blois to Louis d'Orleans. 
 After the murder of the duke in Paris, his widow, Valentine 
 de Milan, retired to Blois. It was thence that Jeanne Dare 
 set forth to deliver Orleans. Charles d'Orleans adorned the 
 chateau and composed many of his poems there. His son, 
 Louis XII., was born there. Anne of Brittany died there. 
 The emperor Charles V. came thither to visit Francois I. 
 Henri III. assembled there the States-General, and caused 
 the Due de Guise to be assassinated there (Dec. 23, 1588). 
 Catherine de Medicis (Jan. 5, 1589) died there. Louis XIII. 
 banished thither his mother, Marie de Medicis, who escaped 
 in 1619. In 1626 Richelieu arrested there the Due de 
 Vendome and his brother the Grand Prieur on suspicion 
 of having plotted against the life of the king. In the 
 xvii. c. and xvm. c. the temporary residents at Blois 
 included Louis XIV., who took refuge there when driven 
 from Paris by the Fronde ; the Due d'Anjou ; and King 
 Stanislas Leckzinski, whose wife died there. 
 
 When Napoleon I. visited Blois, he lived at the 
 Prefecture, and it was at the Eveche that Marie Louise 
 stayed, with the fugitive princes and ministers, when she 
 fled from Paris in 1814. 
 
 The superb Chateau de Blois is nobly placed on a lofty 
 
4 o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 terrace, and, occupying the site of a Roman camp, dominates 
 the town with its stately mass. Its vast buildings are of 
 four different dates. That which contains the Salle des 
 Etats is xin. c. ; the chapel and the buildings which enclose 
 the principal portal are of Louis XII. : the renaissance facade 
 to the N. — of which La Fontaine writes, ' Cela fait quelque 
 chose de grand qui plait assez ' — is of Frangois I. ; the W. 
 
 BRIDGE OF BLOIS. 
 
 facade is the work of Mansart, and was built in 1635 by 
 Gaston d'Orleans, who was fortunately prevented by death 
 from carrying out his intention of rebuilding all the rest of 
 the chateau in the same style. Mutilated at the Revolution, 
 and afterwards used as a barrack and powder magazine, the 
 restoration of the chateau was begun in 1845. 
 
 The chateau is entered on the W. from a square at the 
 top of the hill by the picturesque brick and stone buildings 
 
BLOTS. 
 
 4i 
 
 of Louis XII., whose equestrian statue, by Simart, stands 
 above the portal. A vaulted passage leads to a gallery 
 from which opens the Salle des Gardes de Louis XLL. 
 
 1 The architectural scheme of the buildings of Louis XII. is 
 very simple. Three rows of pilasters are superimposed one 
 above another. At about two-thirds down the front the open 
 spiral staircase juts out and towers upwards. It seems at first 
 to stand free, breaking up the even succession of small columns 
 and their perpendicular descent with the bold projection of its 
 octagonal lines. But above it is embraced and caught into the 
 whole mass by the broad crowning cornice which gathers within 
 its strengthening bands every various curve. The sculptured 
 dormers fret along its edge, and twice the carved cases of the 
 chimney stacks break aloft through the roof, like towers. So far 
 this eastern facade at Blois brings to mind the general type which 
 may be recognised in other chateaux of the district. It is but by 
 the grave simplicity of the ordonnance that Blois appears to detach 
 itself from the rest, and stand somewhat alone. A disciplined 
 intellect, disposing soberly of the means at command, here carries 
 on the w r ork begun by Bastien Francois in the cloister of S. 
 Martin. It may be Bastien Francois himself, or that unknown 
 Italian who raised ten years earlier the beautiful chateau of 
 Bury.' — E. F. S. Pattiso?i, 1 Conle?np. Rev! xxx. 
 
 On the r. of the court is the Salle des Etats ; facing are 
 the buildings of Gaston ; on the 1. is the Chapelle de S. 
 Calais, of which the apse and two bays of the nave were 
 destroyed in 1830. 
 
 Visitors are usually shown the chateau in an order 
 which begins with the little cloister (on the L of the 
 court) which belonged to the original palace of Louis 
 and Charles d'Orleans, where the widowed Valentine de 
 Milan lived with her four children — Charles, the poet, 
 long a prisoner in England (father of Louis XII.) ; Jean, 
 grandfather of Francois I. ; Philippe, Comte de Vertu ; 
 
42 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 and Margaret, who became the grandmother of Anne of 
 Brittany — all 'moult noblement conduits et indoctrines; n 
 and here the Duchess Valentine died, Dec. 1408. The 
 Chapel, in which Henri IV. was married to Marguerite 
 de Valois, is so completely ' restored ' as to have lost 
 all interest. From the little garden beyond this (always 
 open to the public), and the Tour de Foix upon the 
 ramparts, there is a beautiful view. In the buildings of 
 Gaston d'Orleans there is nothing to remark except the 
 interior of the noble dome by the elder Mansart. The 
 magnificent renaissance Staircase of Francois I. is splen- 
 did in its decorations, in which the famous salamander is 
 often repeated ; some statuettes are attributed to Jean 
 Goujon. It was about this part of the building that we 
 find Marguerite de Navarre writing to Francois I. from 
 hence : ' Knowing that you are longing to see your plans 
 carried out, I have no greater gratification than in visiting 
 all the spots you were pleased to show me, to entreat the 
 workmen to hasten what you ordered. ... I never fail 
 to go twice a day through your buildings and gardens/ 
 Ascending the staircase, we reach the Salle du Capitaine 
 des Gardes, decorated with the devices of Francois I. 2 
 and Claude de France ; the curious little original open- 
 ings of the windows are preserved. The Salle des Simples 
 Gardes had existed already in the earlier palace. A 
 gallery, with four balconies marking the site of four 
 
 1 Monstrelet. 
 
 2 The device of Francois I. was a salamander, with the legend : Nutrio et 
 extinguo. It was given to him in his childhood by his governor, Boisi. The 
 sense is explained by the legend of an Italian medal struck in the youth of 
 Francois. Nudrisco il buono e spenzo il reo (I nourish the good and ex- 
 tinguish the bad). The salamander is as the signature of Francois I. upon 
 all his buildings. 
 
BLOIS. 
 
 43 
 
 earlier towers, leads to the Appartements de Catherine de 
 Medicis, upon which descends the little staircase by which 
 Henri III. came down to announce the news of the 
 murder of the Due de Guise to his mother. The bedroom 
 is that in which the terrible queen died. 
 
 1 Elle mourut a Blois de tristesse a cause du massacre qui 
 se fit, et de la triste tragedie qui se joua, et voyant que sans y 
 penser elle avait fait venir la les Princes pensant bien faire, 
 ainsi que M. le Cardinal de Bourbon luy dit : u Helas ! Madame, 
 vous nous avez tous menez a la boucherie sans y penser ! " 
 Cela lui toucha si fort le coeur, et la mort de ces pauvres gens, 
 quelle se remit au lit, ayant ete auparavant malade et oncques 
 plus n'en releva. 
 
 ' On dit que, lorque le roy lui annonca la mort de M. de Guise, 
 et qu'il estait roy absolu, sans compagnon, " muy maistre ; " elle 
 lui demanda s'il avait mis ordre aux affaires de son royaume, 
 avant de faire ce coup. II repondit qu'ouy. " Dieu le veuille, 
 mon fils ! " dit-elle. Comme tres prudente quelle estait, elle 
 prevoyait bien ce qui luy devait advenir, et a tout le royaume.' — 
 Brantame. 
 
 In the dressing-room are the curious little secret 
 armoires of Catherine, concealed in the panelling all 
 along the wall. From the window of the study Marie 
 de Medicis made her escape from Blois. 
 
 Hence, by the half-ruined Tour des Oubliettes we reach 
 the prison to which the Cardinal de Lorraine and the 
 Archbishop of Lyons were taken after the murder of 
 Henri de Guise. The latter left it for exile ; the former 
 was summoned forth on the following morning, and 
 murdered in the little entry just outside the door — the 
 heavy iron door which still remains. Ascending a stair- 
 case, we reach the Salle du Conseil, where, on the fatal 
 day, the Due Henri de Guise (who had entered by the 
 
44 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 central door) was talking to his brother by the fire, 
 when he was summoned to the presence of the king. 
 In the neighbouring gallery, beyond the Salle des 
 Gardes on the r., two Capuchins were praying for the 
 success of the murderous enterprise. The Due was 
 introduced from the 1. to the Cabinet de Henri Iff., and 
 the eight gentlemen chosen from ' the forty-five ? in 
 attendance upon the king, then descended the staircase 
 which communicates with the garrets, and closed in behind 
 him. The duke, seeing himself pursued, passed into 
 the Cabinet de Toilette de Henri III., where he knew 
 that behind a portiere, in a niche which still remains, 
 there was another door by which he could escape, but 
 the king had caused this to be walled up, and then the 
 assassins closed around him. 
 
 'Le roi, leve des quatre heures du matin, avait fait monter 
 dans sa chambre, par un escalier derobe, Loignac (premier gentil- 
 homme de la chambre) et les quarante-cinq. 
 
 1 Ces gentilshommes hai'ssaient mortellement le due de 
 Guise, qui poussait les feats Generaux a exiger leur licenciement ; 
 aux premiers mots, ils faillirent tout compromettre par l'explosion 
 bruyante de leur joie. Henri III. posta dans sa chambre huit 
 d'entre eux qui avaient Tepee et le poignard ; les autres, armes 
 seulement de leurs epees, furent places, douze, dans un cabinet 
 qui avait vue sur la cour, le reste, sur l'escalier derobe. Le roi 
 se retira dans un cabinet donnant sur le jardin, avec Alphonse 
 Corse et deux ou trois officiers. Pendant ce temps, d'Entragues 
 allait requerir un des chapelains du roi de " dire messe, pour que 
 Dieu fasse la grace au roi de pouvoir executer une entreprise 
 dont il espere venir a bout dedans une heure, et de laquelle 
 depend le salut de la France." 
 
 ' Le due, cependant, avait rencontre les gardes du corps, au bas 
 du grand escalier, et recu leur requete. Un d'eux lui marche sur 
 le pied ; il ne comprit pas ou dedaigna ce dernier avertissement, 
 monta l'escalier et entra au conseil, ou le cardinal son frere et 
 
BLOIS. 
 
 45 
 
 l'archeveque de Lyon l'avaient precede. Les gardes du corps 
 obstruaient la porte de la salle du conseil et le grand escalier ; 
 la suite du due fut obligee de rester sur la Perche-aux-Bretons. 
 Crillon, sur ces entrefaites, fit fermer les portes du chateau. 
 Quelques moments apres, le secretaire d'Etat Revol vint 
 appeler Guise de la part du roi. Le due se leve, passe de la 
 chambre du conseil dans la chambre du roi et s'avance vers celui 
 des deux cabinets qui donnait sur la cour et dans lequel il comp- 
 tait trouver Henri III. Henri s'etait retire dans l'autre cabinet et 
 en avait fait changer la porte, tant il craignait que Guise ne pene- 
 trat jusqu'a lui a travers les glaives de vingt assassins. A 
 l'instant ou le due allait soulever la portiere de tapisserie du 
 cabinet, un des quarante-cinq, Montseri, lui saisit le bras droit et 
 lui porta un coup de poignard dans la poitrine ; un second, 
 Sainte-Maline, le frappa par derriere, et trois ou quatre autres lui 
 sauterent au corps et aux jambes et l'empecherent de tirer son 
 epee. II etait si puissant, disent les relations, que, tout crible de 
 coups, etouffe par le sang de ses blessures, il entraina ceux qui 
 le tenaient d'un bout de la chambre a l'autre, et se debarrassant de 
 leurs mains par un supreme effort, il s'avanca, les bras tendus et 
 les poings fermes, vers Loignac, le chef des meurtriers. Loignac 
 le repoussa du fourreau de son epee ; il alia tomber, expirant, au 
 pied du lit du- roi. 
 
 • On dit que Henri III., quand il fut bien assure que Guise ne se 
 releverait pas, sortit de son cabinet, l'epee au poing, en s'ecriant : 
 44 Nous ne sommes plus deux ! je suis roi maintenant ! " et lanca 
 un coup de pied a ce corps pantelant. 
 
 ' Au bruit que s'entendait dans la chambre du roi, tout le conseil 
 s'etait leve en sursaut ; le premier mouvement du cardinal de 
 Guise fut de courir au grand escalier pour appeler au secours ; 
 le premier mouvement de l'archeveque de Lyon fut de voler au 
 secours du due ; mais le marechal d'Aumont, mettant Tepee au 
 poing, arreta le cardinal, et l'archeveque fut saisi par les gardes a 
 la porte de la chambre du roi. 
 
 1 Le roi s'epanouissait dans sa victoire. Voyant la terreur se 
 peindre autour de lui sur tous les visages et les plus factieux 
 devenir les plus serviles, il croyait tout fini et repetait le proverbe : 
 11 Morte la bete ! mort le venin ! " II descendit chez sa mere, qui 
 etait au lit, malade de la goutte, dans une chambre situee precise- 
 
46 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 ment au-dessous de la piece ou s etait accompli le grand homicide. 
 Catherine avait demande avec effroi ce que signifiait tout ce bruit, 
 mais personne n'avait ose lui repondre. " Madame," dit Henri 
 en entrant, " ce matin je me suis rendu roi de France ; j'ai fait 
 mourir le roi de Paris ! " — " Vous avez fait mourir le due de 
 Guise ! " s'ecria Catherine, frappee de stupeur; " Dieu veuille que 
 cette mort ne soit point cause que vous soyez roi de rien ! e'est 
 bien coupe, mais saurez-vous recoudre ? " 
 
 1 Le cardinal de Guise setait associe avec emportement aux 
 entreprises de son frere : captif et le couteau sur la gorge, il 
 menacait deja ses geoliers ; libre, on ne pouvait douter qu'il ne se 
 consacrat tout entier a venger le due Henri. Apres deux jours 
 d'hesitations, sa mort fat decidee. II ne fut pas facile de trouver 
 des executeurs ; les quarante-cinq, tout souilles du sang de 
 Henri de Guise, Larchant et ses gardes du corps, le grand 
 prevot et ses archers, reculerent devant ce qu'ils nommaient un 
 sacrilege. Un capitaine aux gardes francaises, nomme du Guast, 
 accepta, et, le lendemain matin, fit massacrer le cardinal a coups 
 de hallebarde par quatre soldats de sa compagnie. La mere des 
 Guises reclama en vain du roi les cadavres de ses fils ; les corps 
 des deux freres furent consumes dans la chaux vive, de peur que 
 les ligueurs n'en fissent des reliques.' — Henri Martin, ' Hist, de 
 France? 
 
 Ascending the stairs of the Quarante-Cinq we have a 
 beautiful view from an open gallery. 
 
 The Salle des Etats (xm. c.) of the time of S. Louis, has 
 a vaulting supported by eight columns, but is spoilt by 
 modern decorations ; the little figures at the ends of the 
 door are curious. The Kitchen of Louis XII. is used as a 
 sort of bazaar for china and photographs. 
 
 In the Place du Chateau are the xv. c. Hotel d'Epernon 
 (No. 5), and the Hotel d'Amboise (No. 3), of the time of 
 Louis XII. 
 
 Between the chateau and the river is the Place 
 Louis XII., with a pretty fountain — Les Grandes Fontaines — 
 
BLOIS. 
 
 47 
 
 of the xv. c. The . S. side of the place is filled by the 
 College, occupying buildings which belonged to the abbey 
 of Bourg-Moyen. A little E. is the Hotel-Dieu, of which 
 the buildings belonged to the Benedictine abbey of 
 S. Laumer. The abbatial church, now called S. Nicolas, is 
 a beautiful building of transition and early gothic (1138 to 
 12 10), strikingly picturesque in outline. The noble facade 
 is flanked by unequal towers ; over the three portals is a 
 gallery corresponding with the triforium within. The side 
 walls have double flying buttresses. At the cross rises a 
 truncated tower with a wooden and slender spire. The E. 
 chapel is xiv. c, and is continued by a (disused) chapel of 
 xv. c. Each of the transepts has an eastern apse. 
 
 ' The important feature here is the central lantern (if we can 
 call that a lantern which is not lighted by any windows) beneath 
 the square tower at the intersection. It is circular, and conse- 
 quently rests on Byzantine pendentives ; that is, triangular sur- 
 faces belonging to a hemispherical dome, which, if complete, 
 would rest upon a circular base equal in its diameter to the 
 diagonal of the square contained between the piers of the tower.' 
 —Petit 
 
 Beyond the Rue Denis Papin is the cathedral, begun 
 1678, and built in the flamboyant-gothic style under 
 Louis XIV. In the chapel of the Virgin are two reliefs re- 
 presenting Memory and Meditation, being all that remains 
 from the tomb of the mother of King Stanislas. 
 
 The Church of S. Vincent de Paul, in the place of that 
 name on the way to the station, formerly the church of 
 the Jesuits, is of 1626-71. Before the Revolution it 
 contained the tomb of the mother of Stanislas, King of 
 Poland. The monument still exists (r. of high altar) 
 
48 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 which La Grande Mademoiselle erected to her father, 
 Gaston, Due d'Orleans. A little W. of the church is the 
 picturesque building known as Les Bains de Catherine de 
 Media's. 
 
 In the Faubourg de Vienne, on the other side of the 
 Loire, is the church of S. Saturnin, of xv. c. and xvi. c. 
 It contains the statue of Notre Dame des Aides, for which 
 Anne de Bretagne had an especial veneration. The 
 bridge over the Loire was built by Gabriel, 1717-24. 
 
 The Hotel d'Alluye (8, Rue S. Honore) is a beautiful 
 renaissance house, built by Robertet d'Alluye, Secretaire de 
 Finances under Louis XII. and Francois I. The gallery 
 of the courtyard is decorated with medallions of the twelve 
 Caesars and Cardinal d'Amboise. The Hotel Denis-Dupont, 
 at the angle of the Rue S. Honore and Porte Chartraine, 
 was built for the famous lawyer of that name in the xvi. c. 
 Le Petit Louvre (18, Rue S. Martin), also called Hotel de 
 Cheverny, was built 1477. The Hotel Sardini (17, Rue 
 du Puits-Chatel) is of the time of Louis XII., and has an 
 oratory adorned with frescoes. The Hotel Gaillard (the 
 presbytery of S. Nicolas) has a stair-turret and window 
 of xv. c. The Tour d 'Argent (Rue des Trois Clefs), 
 formerly the mint, has an octagonal xv. c. tower. 
 
 An excursion may be made through the Forest of Blois — 
 passing (1.) the great oak called Le Chene de Louis XIV. — to 
 (10 k.) the ruined Chateau de Bury, built (15 15) by an Italian 
 architect whose name has perished with his work, for the Minister 
 of Finances, Florimond Robertet, who built the Hotel dAlluye 
 at Blois. 
 
 But the chief excursion from Blois is that to the famous 
 Chateait de Cha?nbord (Carriage, 1 2 fr. Hotel : 5. Michel), 1 8 k. 
 from Blois. 
 
CHAMBORD. 
 
 49 
 
 ' Chambord est le Versailles de la monarchie feodale ; it etait 
 au chateau de Blois, cette residence centrale des Valois, ce que 
 Versailles fut au Tuileries. C etait la maison des champs de la 
 royaute.' — Jules Loiseleur. 
 
 The chateau, approached for some distance through the Foret 
 de Chambord, was originally built by Louis d'Orleans, brother of 
 Charles VI. It was rebuilt (1526) as a magnificent palace of the 
 renaissance, at a cost of 440,000 livres, by Pierre de Nepveu — 
 ' maistre de la maconnerie du batiment du chastel de Cham- 
 bord ' — for Francois I., who was attracted to the spot — arid 
 and sandy as it was — by his love of hunting as well as of the 
 Comtesse de Thoury, who inhabited a neighbouring chateau. 
 Francois received Charles V. here in 1539, and the last years of 
 his life were spent at Chambord. His works in the chateau were 
 continued by his son Henri II., Whose monogram often appears 
 on the building, and Primaticio and Philibert de Lorme were 
 employed here ; but after this time, though the Court occasion- 
 ally inhabited Chambord, no important changes were made, till 
 Stanislas of Poland, residing here for eight years, 1 filled up the 
 moat, which was nourished by the Cosson, ' petite riviere 
 inconnue,' as Chateaubriand calls it. Afterwards, Chambord 
 was given (1748) to Marshal (Maurice de) Saxe, son of 
 Auguste II. and the Comtesse de Koenigsmarck, and thus 
 illegitimate brother to Auguste III , the father of the then 
 Dauphine. Marshal Saxe injured the building in various ways, 
 and eventually died in the chateau, saying, 'Je sens que la vie 
 n'est qu'un songe : le mien a ete beau, mais il a ete court.' By 
 Napoleon I., Chambord was given to the Prince de Wagram, 
 from whose widow it was bought by national subscription in 
 1 82 1, and presented to the newly-born Due de Bordeaux. It 
 is now the property of his nephew, the Due de Parme. 
 
 The original magnificence of Chambord was sadly effaced 
 during eight years of 1 improvements ' by Stanislas Leczinski 
 and mutilations by Marshal Saxe. The truncated building we 
 now see, bereaved of its moat, drawbridge, balustrades, and 
 embattlements, gives little idea of the original palace of 
 Pierre de Nepveu. Yet Chambord, with its soaring cupolas, is a 
 
 1 Many of the villagers are still called Stanislas. 
 
 4 
 
5o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 noble and brilliant example of early renaissance. Lippomano, 
 ambassador from Venice in the time of Henri III., says : — 
 
 ' I have seen many magnificent buildings in the course of my 
 life, but never anything more beautiful or more rich. They say 
 that the piles for the foundation of the chateau in this marshy 
 ground have alone cost 300,000 fr. I counted 186 steps in the 
 spiral staircase which occupies the centre ; it is constructed with 
 such skill, and is so convenient, that a party can go up one side and 
 down the other, six or eight abreast, at a time. . . . The number 
 of the rooms is as remarkable as their size, and indeed space 
 was not wanting to the architect, since the wall that surrounds 
 the park is seven leagues in length. The park itself is full of 
 forests, of lakes, of streams, of pasture land, and of hunting 
 grounds ; and in the centre rises the chateau, with its gilt battle- 
 ments, with its wings covered in with lead, with its pavilions, its 
 towers, and its corridors, even as the romancers describe to us 
 the abode of Morgana or Alcinovis. More than half remains to 
 be done, and I do not believe it will ever be finished, for the 
 kingdom is completely exhausted by war. We left much 
 marvelling, or, let us rather say, thunderstruck.'— ' Documents 
 IneditsJ v. ii., p. 300. 
 
 • Qui n'a pas vu Chambord ne soupconne pas tout ce qu'il y 
 eut de fantastique poesie dans notre art du xvi e siecle : c'est 
 quelque chose d'indescribable que l'aspect de ce palais de fees 
 surgissant tout a coup aux yeux du voyageur, au fond des tristes 
 bois de la Sologne, avec sa forest de tourelles, de fleches, de 
 campaniles aeriennes, qui detachent sur l'ardoise sombre des 
 grands toits des belles teintes de leurs pierres gris de perle 
 marquetees de mosaiques noires. Cette impression ne saurait 
 etre surpassee que par le spectacle dont on jouit sur les terrasses 
 du donjon, au pied de la charmante coupole qui termine le grand 
 escalier, centre et pivot de tout cet ensemble si vaste et si varie, 
 et qui jaillit radieuse au-dessus des terrasses comme une fleur 
 de cent pieds de haut. Partout, entre les lacs d'amour et les 
 F couronnees, les mysterieuses salamandres vomissant des 
 flammes rampent sur les frontons, se roulent dans les medaillons, 
 se suspendent aux corniches et aux caissons de voutes, pareilles 
 
CHAMBORD. 
 
 5 1 
 
 aux dragons qui veillent sur les chateaux enchantes de nos vieilles 
 le"gendes, attendant le retour du maitre qui ne reviendra plus.' — 
 Martin, ' Hist, de France? 
 
 1 Chambord is truly typical of the earlier stage of the Renais- 
 sance movement. In the general arrangement, in the ordonnance, 
 late gothic caprice and fantastic love of the unforeseen rule 
 triumphant. The older portions of the chateau, the seemingly 
 irregular assemblages of half-Oriental turrets and spires, are 
 debased gothic, full of audacious disregard of all outward 
 seeming of order. The architect, instead of seeking to bring 
 home to the eye the general law, the plan on which the whole is 
 grouped, wilfully obscures and conceals it beneath the obvious- 
 ness of the wild and daring conceits heaped above.' — E. F. S. 
 Pattison, * Contemporary Review J 30. 
 
 1 Comme plan, comme aspect et comme construction, c'est 
 une oeuvre non-seulement francaise, mais des bords de la 
 Loire.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 4 Le sentiment du charme etrange qui s'attache a la situation 
 de Chambord sera partage par tous les artistes qui visiteront 
 cette etrange realisation d'un reve oriental. Au bout d'une longue 
 avenue de peupliers, percee au milieu de maigres taillis, et 
 qui porte, comme toutes les routes de cette residence, un nom 
 illustre, on voit peu a peu poindre et sortir de terre un monu- 
 ment feerique, qui, surgissant ainsi au milieu de ce sable aride et 
 de ces bruyeres, produit un effet d'autant plus saisissant qu'il est 
 inattendu. Un genie d'Orient, comme l'a dit un poete, semble 
 l'avoir derobe au pays du soleil pour le cacher dans ceux du 
 brouillard avec les amours d'un beau prince. Au sommet d'une 
 masse imposante de batiments, dont 1'oeil ne discerne pas bien 
 d'abord ni le style ni l'ordonnance, au-dessus de terrasses garnies 
 de balustres elegants, jaillit, comme d'un sol fecond et inepui- 
 sable, une incroyable vegetation de pierre sculptee, fouillee, 
 travaillee de mille manieres. C'est une foret de campaniles, de 
 cheminees, de lucarnes, de domes, de tourelles, dentelees, de- 
 couples, contournees avec un caprice qui n'exclut pas l'harmonie 
 ni l'unite, et que decorent les F gothiques, des salamandres, 
 et aussi des mosaiques d'ardoise imitant le marbre, pauvrete 
 
5^ 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 singuliere au milieu de tant de richesses. L'elegante lanterne a 
 jour du grand escalier domine cet ensemble de pinacles et de 
 clochetons, et baigne dans l'azur sa fleur-de-lis colossale, 
 dernier point pyramidant parmi tant de pyramides, derniere 
 couronne de tant de couronnements.' — Loiseleur, ' Les Reside?tces 
 Roy ales de la Loire! 
 
 The great characteristic of Chambord externally is that the 
 chief ornamentation is not bestowed upon doors and windows, 
 but upon chimneys, tourelles, pinnacles, etc., all covered with a 
 variety of sculpture, infinitely delicate and beautiful in itself, but 
 producing a heavy general effect. 
 
 The chateau is always shown. Entering the court, we find 
 on r. the stables of Maurice de Saxe, into which a number of 
 fragments from the original chateau of Henri d'Orleans are built 
 up. The lodge is turned into a bazaar for the sale of photographs 
 and articles made from the wood of the park. The interior of 
 the chateau has four halls on each storey, occupying the greater 
 part of the building, and opening on the curious double spiral 
 staircase in the centre^ which allows persons to ascend and 
 descend at the same time without meeting. 
 
 1 Ce qui merite les plus grands eloges, c'est la disposition 
 ingenieuse de cet escalier a double rampe, se croisant Tune sur 
 l'autre, et toutes deux communes a un meme noyau. On ne peut 
 trop admirer la legerete de son ordonnance, la hardiesse de son 
 execution, et la deli'ratesse de ses ornements, perfection qui 
 etonne et laisse a peine concevoir comment on a pu> parvenir a 
 imaginer un dessin aussi pittoresque, et comment on a pu le 
 mettre en ceuvre.' — Blondel, i Lecons d ' Architectwe! 
 
 The halls have rich vaulted ceilings, in the decorations of 
 which the salamander is constantly repeated. The hall on the 
 third storey, which retains traces of colour in the vaulting, was 
 used as a theatre by Louis XIV., and the Pourceaugnac (1669) 
 and Bourgeois gentilhomrne (1670) were first acted there. In 
 describing her arrival at Chambord as a little child, to meet her 
 father, Philippe d'Orleans, ' La Grande Mademoiselle ' writes : — 
 
 * Une des plus curieuses et des plus remarquables choses de 
 
CHAMBORT). 
 
 53 
 
 la maison, est le degre, fait de maniere qu'une personne peut 
 monter et une autre descendre, sans qu'elles se rencontrent 
 quoiqu'elles se voyent. Monsieur prit plaisir a jouer d'abord 
 avec moi ; il etait au haut de l'escalier lorsque j'arrivai : il des- 
 cendit quand je montai, et rioit bien fort de me voir courir dans 
 la pensee que j'avois de l'attraper. Jetais bien aise de l'amuse- 
 ment qu'il prenoit, et je le fus encore davantage quand je l'eus 
 joint.' — { Memoir es de Mile, de Moiitpensier! 
 
 The part of the chateau most worth seeing is the roof, where 
 we are able to observe the curious and simple decorations of slate 
 upon the chimneys and turrets, simply fastened by iron nails to 
 the stonework. The lanthorn tower rises 32 metres from the 
 roof, and is crowned by a great stone fleur-de-lys. 
 
 The Chapel, in the W. tower, is of the time of Henri II. Low 
 mass is said there on Sundays for the twenty employes of the 
 chateau. Only a few of the 440 rooms are meagrely furnished. 
 In the first of these are some miniature cannon, etc., given to the 
 Comte de Chambord as a child. The second has his portrait by 
 Schwiter, and a statue of Mme. Elisabeth — ' La Reine, c'est moi ' 
 — presenting herself to the mob to save Marie Antoinette. A 
 pretty little Cabinet de Fra7icois I. repeats the decorations of the 
 great halls in miniature, and has a contemporary door. Brantome 
 says that in the ' Chambre du Roi ' Francois wrote 1 Souvent 
 femme varie ' in the embrasure of the window in large letters. 1 
 The Chambre de Louis XIV. has fine consoles of the time. The 
 visitor will be struck with the fact that there is no provision at 
 Chambord for servants ; the architect provided for the guard- 
 chamber, but left the household to sleep in the cellar — 
 
 ' En cour pour le beau premier soir, 
 Couche fuz comme en un pressoir, 
 En lit bien autre que de plume, 
 Un petit plus dur qu'une enclume : 
 On le peut sentir a s'y seoir.' 
 
 ' Des Periers? 
 
 The excursion to Chambord is often prolonged by a long 
 drive through the Foret de Boulogne to Cheverny (see later), 
 
 1 Both the site and form of this inscription have been often misrepresented 
 
54 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 36 k. from Blois : but this is not worth while. If Cheverny 
 be visited, the interesting little Chateau de Beauregard 
 should be seen in returning. 
 
 8 k. from Blois, on the r. of the road to Cheverny, is the 
 (xvi. c. and xvn. c.) Chateau de Beauregard (Comte de Chollet), 
 approached by a pleasant drive through woods. This charming 
 country-house, once a hunting lodge of Francois I., contains on 
 the first floor a beautiful gallery, with a splendid painted ceiling, 
 and a floor of curious and unique blue faience tiles representing 
 costumes of the time of Louis XIII. The walls are panelled with 
 a quaint series of portraits illustrative of the history of France, 
 executed (1617-38) by Paul Ardier, counsellor of state. A little 
 room adjoining, restored under Louis XIII., contains the carved 
 chair of Francois I. and a cabinet of the time of Henri II. The 
 chateau is always shown to strangers. 
 
 [The road from Blois to (32 k.) Montrichard passes — 
 1 2 k. Les Montils, with a ruined xn. c. chateau. Hence a road 
 ascends the valley of the Bievre, passing (2 J k.) Savonnieres, where 
 the farm buildings of the chateau embrace a little manor4rouse 
 (xv. c. and xvi. c.) which belonged to Dunois, and (3 k. further) 
 leaves on r. the striking remains of the Chateau de Fougeres, 
 founded in the x. c, but rebuilt in the xv. c. 
 
 25 k. Pontlevoy, with a chateau built in ix. c, converted 
 (1034) into a Benedictine abbey, which opened a flourishing 
 school afterwards named ' ^cole royale militaire,' and spared 
 at the Revolution as a place of national education. The parish 
 church is of the xu. c] 
 
 [The road from Blois to (34 k.) Chateaurenault. passes (at 
 18 k.) Hei'bault, with a chateau built under Louis XII., and a 
 church with stalls from the abbey of La Guiche, of which there 
 are interesting remains at Chouzy.'] 
 
 [A line runs S.E. from Blois to join the line from Tours to 
 Vierzon and Bourges at (57 k.) Villefranche (see later). It passes — 
 
 21 k. Cour-Cheverny, The chateau of Cheverny (Marquis de 
 Vibraye), to which the excursion to Chambord is often (unneces- 
 
CHOUZY, ONZAIN. 
 
 55 
 
 sarily) prolonged from Tours, was built (1634) by the Comte de 
 Cheverny, son of the Chancellor Philippe Herault. It is little 
 more than a handsome country-house, the work of Boyer, an 
 architect of Blois. Part of the interior is shown. A monument 
 to the Chancellor Herault has been removed to the chapel of the 
 chateau from the parish church, where monuments to other 
 members of the family remain. 
 
 37 k. Mur. On the r. is Lassay, where the (xv. c. and xvi. e.) 
 church, founded by Pierre de Moulin, contains the tomb of that 
 knight, who saved the life of Charles VIII. at the battle ol 
 Fornovo. There are some remains of the Chateau de Moulin , 
 also built by Pierre. 
 
 49 k. Romorantm, has a curious gothic church, houses of xv. c. 
 and xvi. c, and the royal chateau, built by Francois I., and where 
 Francois II. gave (1560) the Protestants an edict which assured 
 them liberty of conscience.] 
 
 [For the line from Blois to Vendome, see p. 14.] 
 
 On leaving Blois for Tours, there is a beautiful view 
 (looking back) of the town and the valley of the Loire. 
 
 188 k. Chouzy. Near the river is the ruined Abbaye de 
 la Guiche, founded in 1268 by Jean de Chatillon, Comte de 
 Blois. There remains a vaulted hall of xin. c, surmounted 
 by a granary, and one gallery of a cloister. A little modern 
 chapel contains the tombs of the founder and of another 
 Comte de Blois, Guy I., 1342. Bury (see p.- 48) is 6 k. from 
 La Guiche. 
 
 193 k. Onzain, where the splendid chateau, destroyed 
 by the Bande noire in 1834, served as a prison for Cardinal 
 la Balue, whose treason against Louis XL was punished 
 by his confinement there for ten years, in an iron cage 
 eight feet square, hung up in a cellar. Three hundred 
 years afterwards Voltaire wrote La Pucelle at Onzain. 
 
 Opposite Onzain the Loire is crossed by a suspension 
 
5* 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 bridge to the village of Chaumont (a sketch is given of one of 
 its houses, of an admirable type common in France). 
 
 The Chateau de Chaumont crowns the steep hill above 
 the village, whence it may be approached by the Mail de la 
 Reine. 1 In origin it dates from the x. c, after which it be- 
 longed to the Comtes de Blois, then to the house of Amboise, 
 of which Pierre d' Amboise died in 1475, leaving seventeen 
 
 HOUSE AT CHAUMONT. 
 
 children, of whom the ninth, afterwards the famous Cardinal 
 d'Amboise, was born at Chaumont in 1465. But, in the 
 same year, the interior of the chateau was burnt by 
 Louis XI., after which Pierre d'Amboise devoted himself 
 to the restoration of Meillant in Berri, which had been part 
 of the dowry of his wife, Anne de Beuil. The next historic 
 
 1 Visitors are always allowed to see the exterior of the chateau, on approach- 
 ing by the principal drive ; but the interior is only shown on Thursdays. 
 
CHAUMONT. 
 
 57 
 
 owner of Chaumont was Catherine de Medicis, who forced 
 Diane de Poitiers to exchange Chenonceaux for it. The 
 device, which is to be seen on the architectural band 
 encircling the towers at two-thirds of their height, and said 
 to represent a mount of chaux vive on which a torrent Of 
 tears is falling, is still pointed out as an emblem adopted by 
 Catherine after the death of Henri II. 
 
 CHATEAU DE CHAUMONT. 
 
 1 Par ainsi nostre Reyne montroit Son ardeur et son affection 
 par ses larmes, encore que sa flamme, qui estoit le roy son mary, 
 hit esteinte.' — Brantd?7ie. 
 
 But the tears are imperceptible, and the flaming hill is 
 probably only the Chaud-mont. The chateau afterwards 
 belonged to the Duchesse de Bouillon, who married Henri 
 de la Tour, the father of Turenne. Mme. de Stael lived 
 
5* 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 here during her exile (1810). Now the chateau belongs to 
 the Princesse de Broglie. 
 
 The position of Chaumont is more beautiful than that 
 of any other important inhabited chateau in France, and 
 most exquisite are its views of the wide reaches of the river 
 and richly-wooded plains. Not being a palace, but a simple 
 chateau, it depends entirely for its effect upon its noble 
 corner towers. Over the entrance, between two other 
 machicolated towers, is the monogram of Louis XII. and 
 Anne de Bretagne ; on the r. are the arms of Cardinal 
 Georges d'Amboise ; on the 1. those of his nephew, Charles 
 de Chaumont, grand-maitre de France. Much of the exist- 
 ng edifice is attributed to Delorme. The cour d'honneur 
 is surrounded by buildings on three sides ; on the fourth — 
 once also built up — it is now open to the view. On the r. 
 of the courtyard are the state apartments and chapel ; on 
 the 1. the dwelling rooms. The chambers shown — salle des 
 gardes, chambre de Diane de Poitiers, salle du conseil, 
 chambre a coucher de Catherine de Medicis, chambre de 
 Ruggieri (the astrologer of Catherine), and the chapel — 
 have much fine furniture of xv.c. and xvi. c, but not 
 originally belonging to the place. On the battlements of 
 the tower to the r. of the entrance are still to be seen some 
 of the cabalistic signs of Catherine de Medicis. 
 
 An interview between Henry II. of England and Becket, 
 
 described by Thierry as having taken place here, really 
 
 occurred at Amboise ; but the third meeting of the king and 
 
 archbishop, in France, took place at Chaumont. 
 
 1 Ayant appris que Henri etait dans ce chateau, le prelat, dit 
 Heribert de Bosiham, vint l'y trouver, non dans le but de rien 
 reclamer ni exiger de lui, mais uniquement pour le voir et tacher, 
 
AMBOISE. 
 
 59 
 
 avec l'aide de Dieu, de renouer l'ancienne intimite qui avait 
 existe entre eux. Le roi recut l'archeveque avec convenance et 
 meme avec affection. Au milieu de propos familiers et meme 
 enjoues, il laissa echapper ces mots — " O Thomas ! pourquoi ne 
 pas faire ma volonte ? Je te remettrais l'administration de mon 
 royaume. Quid voluntatem meam non facts ? Et certe omnia 
 tradercm in manus tuas. En rapportant ce propos a maitre 
 Heribert de Bosiham, l'archeveque ajouta : Pendant que le roi 
 me parlait ainsi, je me rappelai cette parole de T^vangile : Je te 
 donnerai tout cela si tu te prosternes devant moi pour m'adorer. 
 Haec omnia tibi dado, si cadens adoraveris me! — Loiseleur. 
 
 211 k. Amboise (Hotels : du Lion d Or— very good ; dn 
 Cheval Blanc), much modernised and spoilt of late years, 
 yet still one of the most picturesque and attractive places 
 upon the Loire, and an admirable centre for excursions. 
 Known under the Romans as Ambrasia, it belonged to 
 Clovis and his successors till the end of the ix. c. Louis le 
 Begue gave it to the Comtes d'Anjou, who were succeeded 
 by the Comtes de Berri. In 1434 it was reunited to the 
 royal domain by Charles VII,, who fortified the chateau, 
 which became the favourite residence of the court in the 
 xvi. c. Before going to live at Plessis-les-Tours, Louis XI. 
 resided at Amboise. He received Marguerite d'Anjou, 
 Queen of England, here in 1462, when she stood sponsor 
 with him to the future Louis XII. ; eight years later she was 
 here with her son as a fugitive. Charlotte de Savoie gave 
 birth here to Charles VIII. (June 30, 1470), and here he died. 
 Cardinal la Balue was arrested and kept prisoner here till 
 taken to his iron cage at Onzain. Louis XII. and Frangois I. 
 occasionally lived here. Francois II. took refuge here with the 
 Guises from the Protestant rebels under Conde. After the 
 murder of the Due de Guise at Blois, the chateau of Amboise 
 
6o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 was used as a state prison, and long continued to be so 
 employed. Louis XV. gave it (1762) to the Due de Choiseul, 
 but repurchased it, to give it to the Due de Penthievre in 
 exchange for his rights over Dombes. Louis XVI. confirmed 
 its erection into a duchy. Napoleon I. bestowed it upon 
 his former colleague in the consulship, Roger Ducos, who, 
 to avoid the expense of keeping it up, pulled down part of 
 the chateau, and mutilated the remainder. The Restauration 
 gave it back to the Due d'Orleans, as representative of the 
 
 AMBOISE. 
 
 Due de Penthievre. Louis-Philippe restored the chapel, 
 but used the chateau for five years as the prison of Abd-el- 
 Kader, who was set free (Oct. 1852) by Louis Napoleon, 
 then president of the Republic. The chateau is now the 
 property of the Comte de Paris, to whom it was given back 
 by the National Assembly in 1872. Its restoration has 
 been begun under the architect Ruprich-Robert, but the 
 works have been stopped since the expulsion of the French 
 princes. 
 
 ' Le chateau d'Amboise est place a la porte de la Touraine 
 comme une sentinelle jalouse qui garde l'entree de ce jardin des 
 
AMBOISE. 
 
 61 
 
 Hesperides. Ce n'est ni un palais comme le chateau de Blois, 
 ni une ville de maitresse royale comme Chenonceaux, ni une 
 sorte de grand couvent plein de cellules mysterieuses, comme 
 Chambord ; c'est une place de guerre, une veritable forteresse 
 du moyen age, sur laquelle s'est ente un chateau du quinzieme 
 siecle.' — Loiseleur. 
 
 After crossing the bridge and turning r., the first street 
 on 1. brings us to the chateau. A staircase leads to a 
 vaulted corridor where the gardien is found. A second 
 staircase ascends to the delightful gardens, always open 
 to the public, with enchanting walks upon the ramparts, 
 whence La Fontaine describes the view as ' grande, majes- 
 tueuse, et d'une etendue immense.' 
 
 The Chapelle S. Hubert is an exquisite little gothic 
 building of the time of Charles VIII. The triple bas- 
 relief over the portal represents the stories of the conver- 
 sion of S. Hubert and of SS. Christopher and Anthony. 
 Under the pavement (in 1879) were laid the bones of the 
 famous Leonardo da Vinci, brought from the ruins of 
 S. Florentin — a larger chapel of the chateau, where he 
 was buried in 15 19. The lovely interior of the chapel, 
 with its lacelike gothic sculpture, has been so modernised 
 and whitened, that it looks like a new building. 
 
 There is not much to see in the chateau itself. The 
 grand staircase, which can be ascended on horseback, 
 leads to the top of the main tower, from which there is an 
 enchanting view over the river. The Salle des Etats was 
 the residence of Abd-el-Kader, when it was divided into 
 a number of small rooms. The balconies towards the 
 Loire are those from which the bodies of the Huguenot 
 chieftains were hung in 1560. The girouettes, with the 
 arms of France cut out and crowned, deserve notice. At 
 
62 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the end of the garden terrace is the little postern gate 
 against which Charles VIII. received the blow which 
 caused his death in 1498. 
 
 1 Le septieme jour avril il partit de la chambre de la reine 
 Anne de Bretagne, sa femme, et la mena avec lui pour voir jouer 
 
 PORTAL WHERE CHARLES VIII. WAS KILLED, AMBOISE. 
 
 a la paume ceux qui jouient aux fosses du chateau. En passant 
 par une vieille galerie obscure et " derompue," il se heurta le 
 front contre la porte ; quoique un peu etourdi du choc, il pour- 
 suivit son chemin et regarda longtemps les joueurs, en " devisant " 
 avec tout le monde. Tout a coup on le vit tomber a la renverse ; 
 on le releva ; il etouffait ; il ne pouvait parler ; on le transporta 
 dans un galetas voisin, et on lecoucha " sur un pauvre paillasse," 
 
AMBOISE. 
 
 63 
 
 il ne se releva plus, et apres neuf heures d'agonie " ce grand et 
 puissant roi se departit du monde en si miserable lieu." II 
 n'avait pas vingt-huit ans.' — Martin, ' Hist, de France' 
 
 The entrance from the Rue Montrichard, to the 
 Tour Heurtant (which can be ascended by a carriage), is 
 a very fine specimen of the architecture of Charles VIII., 
 who was the first of the French kings to employ Italian 
 workmen — £ plusieurs ouvriers excellents, comme tailleurs 
 (sculptors), peintres, qu'il avoit amenes de Naples,' says 
 Comines. Following the Rue Montrichard and then the 
 Rue du Clos-Luce, we reach the Clos-Luce, at the S. end 
 of the town. In the house, belonging to a xvi. c. oratory, 
 which is still preserved, Leonardo da Vinci died, May 2, 
 15 19 : the manor was partly rebuilt in the xvn. c. 
 
 The parish church of S. Florentin is due to Louis XI. ; 
 near it is a very noble and beautiful Gateivay of xiv. c. or 
 xv. c. The (restored) Hotel de Ville, below the chateau, 
 occupies a house built (1500 — 1505) by Pierre Morin, 
 treasurer of France. In the S.W. faubourg of S. Denis 
 Hors, is the fine transitional church of S. Denis, with 
 a massive central tower. It has beautifully sculptured 
 capitals, and a very curious xvi. c. S. Sepulcre, formed by 
 the tomb of Philibert Babou (intendant of the palace) 
 formerly in the church of Notre Dame in the chateau, 
 which was destroyed in 1802. 
 
 ' C'est un sarcophage en terre cuite ouvert sur le devant. La 
 figure du divin Sauveur, modelee sur celle de Philibert Babou, 
 est couchee nue sur le linceul dans lequel Joseph d'Arimathie, 
 Nicodeme et saint Jean sont occupes l'ensevelir. Ces trois 
 saints personnages offrent, dit-on, les portraits de Francois I. et 
 des deux ills Babou, l'un eveque d'Angouleme, l'autre doyen de 
 S. Martin de Tours. Dans le fond, la Sainte Vierge, sous les 
 
6 4 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 traits de Marie Gaudin, femme du seigneur de la Bourdaisiere, 
 contemple d'un oeil en pleurs, ces funebres preparatifs, entouree 
 de trois saintes femmes qui ne sont autres que ses trois filles. 
 Tous ces personnages, de grandeur naturelle, sont peints de 
 couleurs vives, suivant la mode de lepoque.' — Loiseleur. 
 
 The churchyard contains the tomb of Choiseul. 
 
 4 k. N. is the fine xv. c. chateau of Poce\ now used as a 
 foundry. 3 k. S.W., visible from a great distance, is the absurd 
 Pagode de Chanteloup, erected by the Due de Choiseul to com- 
 memorate the attentions he received, when exiled in 1770, for 
 having offended Mme. Dubarry. The chateau of Chanteloup, 
 which was built with great splendour during her prosperity by 
 the Princesse des Ursins, who hoped to reign there as a petty 
 sovereign, was abandoned after her disgrace to her favourite 
 equerry d'Aubigny, and was pulled down by speculators in 
 1823. 
 
 It is a pleasant drive from Amboise to Chenonceaux (carriage, 
 12 fr.), which may also be visited by rail from Tours. An 
 excursion should be made to Chaumont, see p. 56. 
 
 220 k. Vernou. Near the church (xn. c. and xiv. c.) is 
 an elm said to have been planted by Sully. The ruin 
 called Palais de Pepin le Bref, is a building of Gallo- 
 Roman or Merovingian date. 
 
 231 k. S. Pierre des Corps. The express trains for 
 Bordeaux do not enter the station of Tours. Travellers 
 for Tours by express change trains here. 
 
 1 A travers le tendre feuillage des iles, au fond du tableau, 
 Tours semble, corame Venise, sortir du sein des eaux ; et les 
 campaniles gris de sa vieille cathedrale s'elancent dans les airs, 
 ou ils se confondaient alors avec les creations fantastiques de 
 quelques nuages blanchatres.' — Balzac, ' U?ie Vue de Toiiraine! 
 
 1 One of the few poetic legends that break the stern story of 
 the Angevins is the tale of Count Fule the Good, — how, journey- 
 ing along Loire-side towards Tours, he saw, just as the towers 
 
TOURS. 
 
 65 
 
 of S. Martin's rose before him in the distance, a leper full of 
 sores, who put by his offer of alms and desired to be borne to 
 the sacred city. Amid the jibes of his courtiers the good Count 
 lifted him in his arms and carried him along bank and bridge. 
 As they entered the town the leper vanished from their sight, 
 and men told how Fule had borne an angel unawares.' — J. R. 
 Green, ' Stray Studies.' 
 
 TOURS. 
 
 234k. Tours (Hotels: de VUnivers — very good, but 
 Anglicised and dear; de la Boule d^Or — an excellent old- 
 fashioned French hotel • du Faisan ; de Londres), the 
 ancient capital of Touraine, now the capital of the Departe- 
 ment d'Indre-et-Loire. Before the time of the Romans, 
 the primitive town of Tours, known as Altionos, occupied 
 the hill of S. Symphorien, on the r. bank of the Loire. 
 The Romans moved it to the plain on the 1. bank of the 
 river, and called it Caesarodunum. Here Christianity was 
 
 5 
 
66 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE, 
 
 preached by S. Gatien in the in. c., and the whole district 
 was converted by S. Martin, third bishop of Tours. S. 
 Clotilde died at Tours in 545, and Gregoire de Tours wrote 
 there the first history of France. At the end of the viu. c. 
 Alcuin opened here the first public school of theology and 
 philosophy in the country. During the middle-ages Tours 
 was governed by counts, from whom it descended to 
 Henry II. of England, and became a constant source of 
 dispute between England and France, till definitely united 
 to the latter in 1242. Almost all the kings of France, after 
 the time of S. Louis, resided at some time at Tours ; but it 
 was left to Louis XL to choose it as his especial residence, 
 and to enrich the town by the establishment of manu- 
 factories of silk and of cloth of gold and silver. Francois I. 
 began to surround the town with fortifications, which were 
 finished under Louis XIII. But the Wars of Religion, 
 and its constant sieges by Protestants and Catholics, were 
 fatal to the prosperity of Tours, which has never entirely 
 recovered. 
 
 Though, during a great part of the middle-ages, the 
 Langue d'oc was spoken in the higher surrounding districts, 
 and though the Celtic dialects are maintained in Brittany, 
 the idiom of the peasant of Touraine (tourangeau) is the 
 Langue d'oui in all its richness and purity. The true 
 centre of the nation, where all its best qualities meet and 
 harmonise, is to be found on the banks of the Loire. 1 
 
 The neighbourhood is charming, and Tours is a capital centre 
 for many excursions. The town itself may be seen in a few 
 hours. The station is at the edge of a boulevard which divides 
 the old town from the new. Turning 1. from the station, the 
 
 See Elisee Reclus, 
 
TOURS. 
 
 67 
 
 Rue Royale cuts the town in half on its way to the Loire. On 
 the r. are the cathedral S. Julien and the Musee ; on the 1. the 
 remains of the Abbaye de S. Martin, Notre Dame la Riche, and 
 several interesting houses. 
 
 ' No citty in France exceeds it in beauty or delight.' — John 
 Evely?ii 1644. 
 
 The Rue S. Gatien leads direct from the station to 
 the Cathedral oj S. Gatien, originally dedicated to S. 
 Maurice, but now to the first bishop of Tours. It was 
 begun, on the site of an earlier building destroyed by 
 fire, in 1175, but not finished till early in the xvi. c, 
 though the works were never intermitted. 'Cest long 
 comme l'oeuvre de S. Maurice,' was a proverb. The 
 facade, of wildest flamboyant, like a veil of lace, has 
 three great flamboyant portals, with gables of open work, 
 a large central rose-window, with a gallery above it beneath 
 the gable, and two tall towers, slightly dissimilar, and spoilt 
 by being surmounted by renaissance domes. The exterior 
 of the E. end and the noble flying buttresses on the N. 
 deserve attention. 
 
 Sir Walter Scott 1 rather absurdly calls the cathedral of 
 Tours ' the most magnificent church in France/ but it is 
 a striking building. Of the eight bays of the nave, the 
 six inner bays are flamboyant ; the two outer, with the 
 side-portals and rose-windows above them, are early xm. c. 
 The choir was finished in 1267 : it has five rectangular 
 bays with aisles and square chapels, and an apse encircled 
 by an ambulatory and five chapels. This was the earliest 
 part of the building, and Etienne de Mortagne was its 
 
 1 Quentin Durzvard, ch. xiv. 
 
68 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 architect. The contemporary stained glass is very re- 
 markable. In a chapel opening on to the S. transept is 
 a beautiful marble tomb by Jean Juste to two children 
 of Charles VIII. and Anne of Brittany, who died 1495 
 and 1496, the younger aged twenty-five days, the elder 
 three years. 
 
 ' Genii are holding the coat of arms on the sarcophagus, 
 which is completely covered with graceful and well-restored 
 arabesques. On the lid the most lovely and innocent pair of 
 children are calmly represented side by side. The younger 
 is holding his little hands under the ermine mantle, the elder 
 folds his hands piously together. The drapery, the fine 
 countenances, with their crisp curls and soft eyelids, are all 
 of exquisite tenderness. Two enchanting angels, full of heart- 
 felt devotion, kneel in prayer at the head.' — Liibke. 
 
 The Cloister (xv. c. and xvi. c.) has a beautiful renais- 
 sance staircase — VEscalier de la Psalette — leading to an upper 
 gallery, which was the singing-school. 
 
 Close to the cathedral on the S. is the Archeveche, of 
 which some portions date from the xn. c. Near the E. 
 end of the cathedral, on the exterior of the Archbishop's 
 chapel, is a stone balcony, whence the decrees of the 
 ecclesiastical tribunal used to be read. A modern renais- 
 sance house at the corner of the Place de l'Archeveche 
 deserves notice for its quaint and rich details. It was 
 built by a lady in order to alienate as much property as 
 possible from a hated daughter, who is caricatured in the 
 sculpture, with other members of the family. 
 
 Turning W. from the cathedral by the Place de 
 l'Archeveche, the Rue de la Scellerie, and the Rue des 
 Halles, we come to the remains of the magnificent abbey 
 
TOURS. 
 
 69 
 
 of S. Martin, built on the site of the little oratory raised 
 on the grave of the saint, c. 400. The first basilica was 
 consecrated in 472. It gave the right of sanctuary, and 
 thence the early kings carried the relics of S. Martin with 
 them in their wars. A monastery rose around the shrine, 
 and afterwards a town, which took the name of Martinopolis, 
 then of Chateauneuf, and which became the nucleus of 
 the existing Tours. The first basilica was burnt in 997, 
 and in its place a glorious church was built in the xn. c. 
 and xiii. c, which survived the Revolution, and was wantonly 
 pulled down to make a street in 1802. Nothing remains 
 but the Tour du Tresor (Rue S. Martin), which stood on 
 the r. of the facade ; the Tour de Charlemagne, under which 
 his fourth wife, Luitgard, who died when he came hither to 
 visit the famous Alcuin, is said to be buried, in the Place 
 aux Legumes (where the Hotel de la Croix Blanche is a 
 curious xvi. c. house); and one gallery of the little Cloister 
 (1508-19), which can be seen on asking at the Couvent 
 du Petit S. Martin, Rue Descartes, and which is one of 
 the loveliest works of the renaissance — exquisite in the 
 bas-reliefs, sculptures and medallions, which fill its arcades 
 and cover its pillars. The cloister is supposed to be the work 
 of Bastien Francois, the nephew of the Burgundian Michel 
 Colombe, who was certainly architect to the chapter in 
 15 1 1. Balzac says that the old people of Tours used to 
 declare that all those who helped to pull down S. Martin 
 died an evil death before six months were over. 
 
 ' S. Martin mourut dans une grande vieillesse, vers la fin 
 du quatrieme siecle. Beaucoup de personnes entendirent, a 
 sa mort, un concert dans les cieux, dit Gregoire de Tours. 
 
7 o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 'La gloire de saint Martin de Tours alia toujours croissant: 
 l'epoque de sa mort fut pendant longtemps une sorte dere 
 nationale pour les Gaulois : son tombeau, son fameux convent 
 de Marmoutier, et la basilique que lui consacra un de ses 
 successeurs, tinrent plus tard une place tres considerable dans 
 I'histoire de la Gaule franke ; trois siecles apres, son ombre 
 reveree protegeait encore contre les courroux des rois barbares 
 les proscrits qui se refugiaient dans son eglise.' — Henri Martin , 
 1 Hist, de France' 
 
 On the Place du Grand Marche is the Fontaine de 
 Beaune, erected 1510 from designs of Michel Colombe, 
 by his nephew Bastien Francois, for Jacques de Beaune, 
 Seigneur de Semblancay. 
 
 The church of Notre Dame-la-Riche (a little N.W.), 
 near the Place Victoire, was founded in the iv. c, rebuilt 
 xv. c, and again restored after its almost total destruction 
 by the Protestants in 1562. In the Rue Royale, near 
 the bridge, is the abbey church of S. Julien, founded by 
 Clovis, but dating from the xm. c. It was sold at the 
 Revolution and turned into an hotel, but has been bought 
 back and restored. The choir has double aisles, which 
 give it a breadth equal to that of the transept, though the 
 central choir and two nearest aisles terminate abruptly 
 at the third bay. Near the Pont de la Motte are remains 
 of the Priory of S. Come, where Berenger (1088) and 
 Ronsard (1585) died. The ruined church is of xn. c. 
 and xv. c, the refectory of xn. c. In a cemetery S. of 
 the town is the romanesque chapel of S. Jean Descous 
 (Decolle). A round machicolated tower (xn. c. and xv. a), 
 enclosed in a barrack, is the only remnant of a royal castle 
 built by Henry II. of England, c. 1180: it is known as 
 the Tour de Guise, from having been used as a prison 
 
TOURS. 
 
 7i 
 
 for the Due de Joinville, son of Henri le Balafre, after 
 the murder of his father at Blois. 
 
 There are a great number of old houses in Tours, of 
 which the most noticeable are the (miscalled) Maison de 
 Tristan PHermite of the time of Charles VIII. (18, Rue 
 Briconnet), only named after Tristan because it has a 
 decoration like a halter ; the Hotel de PArbaPete (Rue 
 de PArbalete), of xn.c, xvi. c, and xvn. c, and the 
 
 PLESSIS-LES-TOURS. 
 
 renaissance fagade and chapel of the Hotel de Semblangay^ 
 or de Beaune (i, Rue S. Francois de Paule). 
 
 i k. from the town on the S.W. was Plessis-Pes- Tours, 
 the chateau (now a powder magazine) which Louis XI. 
 built, and which was his favourite residence. Most of 
 its buildings were destroyed at the Revolution, but the 
 (brick and stone) wing which contained the especial 
 rooms of Louis remains, and the cellar which was one 
 of the first prisons of the perfidious Cardinal la Balue. 
 
72 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 1 Impopulaire chez tous, Louis se defiait de tous ; il evitait les 
 grandes villes et surtout Paris ; ses courses et ses pelerinages 
 devenaient moins frequents, et il restait presque toujours confine 
 dans son chateau de Montils-lez-Tours, auquel les fortifications 
 dont il l'entourait avaient valu le nom de Plessis {plexitum, 
 pare, lieu ferme). Ce sombre manoir, aux guerites ou veillaient 
 jour et nuit quarante arbaletriers, aux murailles herissees de 
 broches de fer, aux fosses semes de chausse-trapes, attristait de 
 son ombre lugubre le " jardin de France," tout pleine encore des 
 souvenirs de la " dame de Beaute." Les sentinelles avaient ordre 
 de tirer sur quiconque approcherait du chateau pendant la nuit ; 
 on arretait tout alentour les passants et les voyageurs sur le 
 moindre soupcon : Ton ne voyait autour de Plessis u que gens 
 pendus aux arbres, car Tristan l'Ermite, prevot des marechaux 
 (le roi l'appelait son compere), faisoit pendre, gehenner (torturer) 
 et mourir les gens sans grands indices ni preuves, et les prisons 
 et autres maisons circonvoisines du chateau etoient pleines 
 de prisonniers, lesquels on oyoit bien souvent de jour et de 
 nuit crier pour les tourments qu'on leur faisoit, sans ceux 
 qui etoient secretement jetes en la riviere." ' — Martin, ' Hist, de 
 France! 
 
 Louis XL died at Plessis-les-Tours, 1483. 
 
 1 La medecine,* les reliques, les oraisons, tous les expedients 
 bons ou mauvais, furent impuissants a retenir la vie dans ce 
 corps qui semblait " une anatomie ambulante." Louis avait beau 
 s'habiller magnifiquement, contre son ancienne coutume ; l'or et 
 le velours ne faisaient que rendre son etise et sa decomposition 
 plus evidentes ; le 25 aout, 1483, jour de S. Louis, il fut frappe 
 d'une nouvelle attaque d'apoplexie, et perdit la parole et la 
 connaissance. II recouvra toutefois l'usage de ses sens, mais il se 
 sentit tellement faible qu'il " se jugea mort ; " il envoya querir sur 
 l'heure monseigneur de Beaujeu, mari de sa fille Anne, et lui 
 commanda d'aller au roi son fils qui etait a Amboise, en lui 
 recommandant le roi son dit fils. 
 
 ' Louis n'avait pourtant pas encore pris son parti, et il pressait 
 instamment 4< le bon chretien," ainsi qu'on nommait Permite 
 calabrais, de vouloir bien " lui allonger sa vie," car il ne doutait 
 
MARMO U TIER. 
 
 73 
 
 pas que frere Francois de Paule n'eut ce pouvoir. Mais, sur 
 l'avis d'un docteur de Sorbonne, maitre Olivier le Daim et maitre 
 Coictier lui signifierent, en breves et rudes paroles, qu'il n'eut 
 plus d'esperance au saint homme ni au autre chose ; car c'etoit 
 fait de lui, et il ne falloit plus songer qu'a sa conscience. 
 
 Ce redoutable genie retrouva son energie au dernier moment : 
 Louis languit six jours sans proferer une plainte, demanda les 
 sacrements de l'^glise, et continua jusqu'a la fin de parler des 
 affaires publiques aux gens qui l'entouraient, en recommandant 
 qu'on tint le royaume en paix pendant cinq ou six ans, " jusqu'a ce 
 que le roi fut grand en age." II mourut le samedi, 30 aout, dans 
 sa soixante et unieme annee.' — Martin, 1 Hist, de France? 
 
 Near Plessis, close to the Jardin Botanique, is the 
 farm of La Rabaterie, a building of the xv. c. , which is 
 supposed to have been the manor of Olivier le Daim, 
 barber and minister of Louis XL 
 
 Upon the r. bank of the Loire, opposite Tours (turning r. on 
 crossing the bridge), is the church of 61 Symphorien, rebuilt 
 xvi. c, except the apse and a little tower which are of xn. c. 
 The principal portal is renaissance of 1 53 1 . From the church, 
 the Rue du Vieux Calvaire, at the foot of the rocks, passes below 
 the romanesque (Merovingian ?) church and cave oiS. Radegonde. 
 The church is built against the rock, at the top of which, N. of 
 the nave, stands the tower, which communicates with a chapel 
 cut in the rock. Beyond this is (2jk.) an xvm. c. portal 
 which was once a principal gate of Marmoutier ; but it will be 
 better to proceed to the principal gate (facing the river) of 
 the Abbey of Marmotttier (majus monasterium), founded by 
 S. Martin, and one of the principal monasteries of France in 
 the middle-ages. 
 
 The Portail de la Crosse, which forms the approach to 
 Marmoutier from the Loire, is a beautiful little xm. c. building, 
 with an open gallery and a pyramidal tourelle added in the xv. c. 
 It is said that Peter the Hermit was at Tours whilst the gate was 
 building, and, mounting its scaffolding, preached the first crusade 
 to the multitudes assembled in front of the abbey. The enclosure 
 
74 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 of the abbey is now occupied by a pensionnat under the Dames 
 du Sacre-Coeur, but visitors are admitted on request to see the 
 few remains which exist. The splendid xu. c. church has entirely 
 disappeared, but some of its pillars remain, and the cliff is pierced 
 by a number of single-hermitage cells and chapels, which formed 
 a perfect Thebaid in the middle-ages. In the first group of these 
 is the Chapelle des Sept Dormans, where seven monks, nephews 
 of S. Martin, are said to have lived in seclusion, and to have died 
 
 PORTAIL DE LA CROSSE, MARMOUT1ER. 
 
 in their sleep in the same day. Hard by, are the curious cell and 
 self-made grave of 6". Leobard. 
 
 'Leobard, jeune homme riche, doux et charmant, au moment 
 de se marier, ayant deja echange avec sa fiancee le baiser et le 
 don des brodequins qui etaient le gage des noces futures, mais se 
 sentant tout a coup saisi d'une solicitude toute sacerdotale pour 
 sa pauvre ame, va se cacher dans une cellule pres de Marmoutier. 
 II y recoit la visite de Gregoire de Tours, et y acheve sa vie 
 partagee entre la transcription de l'^criture sainte sur du parche- 
 min qu'il fabrique lui-meme, et le rude travail qu'il s'impose pour 
 creuser de plus en plus le flanc de la montagne, arm d'ajouter 
 
MA RMO U TIER. 
 
 75 
 
 a sa cellule line chapelle, ou il se livre tout entier a l'oraison 
 et a la psalmodie. II meurt seul (565), comme il a vecu, con- 
 sume par vingt-deux annee de ce labeur incessant.' — Montalem- 
 bert, 1 Les Moines d 'Occident? 
 
 The second group of chapels, in the garden of the convent, 
 has the caverned cell of 6*. Brice, and, with more of architectural 
 character than the other hermitages, the cell of S. Martin, with 
 a bas-relief of his vision of the Virgin with SS. Agnes and 
 Thecla. 
 
 ROCHECOURBON. 
 
 1 Ascending many stepps (at ' Marmoustier ') we went in to the 
 abbot's palace, where we were shew'd a vast tun (as big as that 
 at Heidelberg), which they report S. Martin (as I remember) 
 filled from one cluster of grapes growing there. 5 — John Evelyn, 
 1644. 
 
 ijk. beyond Marmoutier, a staircase cut in the rock leads to 
 a platform with the xn. c. church of £*. Georges, which is partly 
 subterranean and very curious. The lower compartment, between 
 the actual church and a chamber cut in the rock, has a circular 
 
76 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 dome on round arches. The church belongs to Rochecourbon, a 
 ruined castle of xn. c. (6 k. from Tours) which has the curious 
 machicolated tower known as La Lanterne de Rochecourbon, 
 rising from the perpendicular rock. In the valley below is a 
 romanesque church, with central tower, transepts, and apse. 
 The rocky banks here are full of cavern dwellings. 
 
 [An excursion may be made to (9 k.) the Roman camp of 
 Larcay (see later), by (5 k.) 6*. Averting named from a hermit 
 
 LUYNES. 
 
 who had been one of the deacons of S. Thomas of Canterbury. 
 The church has an xi. c. nave and a choir built, under Louis XL, 
 by one John Coningham, who is also said to have built the 
 neighbouring Chateau de Ca7ige.~\ 
 
 [A pleasant long day's drive from Tours may be taken through 
 Savonnieres and by the beautiful Chateau de Villandry to Valleres, 
 crossing the river opposite the grand chateau of Langeais, re- 
 turning by the opposite bank, and visiting the Pile de Cinq-Mars 
 and the castle of Luynes. For the former places see later.] 
 
LUYNES. 
 
 77 
 
 [A pleasant afternoon's drive, crossing the bridge and Tours, 
 and turning L, may be taken to Luynes, formerly the seat of the 
 countship of Maille, which was erected into a duchy for Charles 
 Albert de Luynes, the favourite minister and keeper of the seals 
 under Louis XIII. In the village is a beautiful old timber xv. c. 
 
 ASCENT TO ! CHATEAU, LUYNES. 
 
 house, with pillars bearing sculptures of a Pieta, the Madonna, 
 S. Christopher, etc. On a rock above the village rises the 
 Chateau^ surrounded with a belt of noble towers of xv. c. and 
 xvi. c, and approached by a long staircase. The picturesque, 
 still habitable, buildings in the courtyard are chiefly xvn. c. To 
 
78 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the E. is a xv. c. chapel. On the property of Luynes is the Camp 
 de S. Venant, supplied by an aqueduct, of which there are con- 
 siderable remains at the end of the village : a priory was built 
 within the circuit of the camp in the middle-ages.] 
 
 [For the line from Tours to Vendome see p. 14.] 
 
 [A line leads N.W. from Tours to (99 k.) Le Mans, passing — 
 13 k. Mettray, where there is a famous penitential-industrial 
 colony, founded 1839. Near the village, close to the mill of 
 Reehausse, is one of the finest dolmens in France, composed of 
 twelve stones. 
 
 21 k. 6*. Antoine-du-Rocher, has a public carriage for (3 k. W.) 
 Semdlanfay. To the E. of the village, surrounded by a little lake, 
 are the picturesque (xn. c. and xm. c.) ruins of the castle of the 
 famous Jacques de Beaune, Baron de Semblancay, minister of 
 finances under Francois I. He was the son of Jean _de Beaune, 
 treasurer of Louis XI. and Charles VIII., and had the complete 
 confidence of Francois, who was wont to call him ' mon pere,' 
 till he was falsely accused by the king's mother, Louise de 
 Savoie, of having embezzled public money, which she had really 
 taken herself, and, by her influence, was hung in 1527. One of 
 his sons succeeded him as surintendant des finances, and two 
 others were bishops of Tours and Vannes. 
 
 20 k. Neuille-P ont- Pierre , has an old castle. 1 1 k. S. W. is 
 Souzay, with a fine xn. c. church, 2 k. S. of which is the Chateau 
 de la Motte Soitzay, of xn. c, xv. c, and xvn. c. 15 k. N.E. is 
 Neuvy-le-Roi, whence a road leads (10 k. N.E.) to Che?nille-sur- 
 Deme, which has a fine church of xn. c. and xv. c, with good 
 stained glass and stall-work. 
 
 The line passes (r.) the Chateau de la Roche- Racan, rebuilt 
 xviii. c, where the poet Honore de Rueil, Marquis de Racan, 
 was born in 1589. 
 
 37 k. vS. Paterne. The xiv. c. church has a curious xv. c. terra 
 cotta group representing the Adoration of the Magi, brought 
 from the Cistercian abbey of La Clarte-Dieu (2 k. W.), founded 
 in 1 140. 
 
 The line passes (1.) the ruined castle of 5*. Christofthe, opposite 
 which (r.) is the xii. c. and xv. c. Chapelle S. Gilles. 
 
bler£. 
 
 44 k. Dissay-sous-Courcillon. The church is xn. c, xvi. c, 
 and xix. The famous Dangeau was born in the Chateau de 
 Cottrcilton, now in ruins. 7 k. S.E. is Bueil, the cradle of an 
 ancient family, of which there are three tombs in a collegiate 
 church (founded 1476) united to the parish church. 
 
 70 k. Mayet. The Church of S. Martin (xn. c, xiv. c, and 
 xvi. c.) is used as a Hotel de Ville and Halle. Some small 
 remains exist of the Chateau du Fort des Salles. 
 
 6 k. E., in the forest of Bersay, are the remains of the 
 Chateau de Haute-Perche. 5 k. S.W. is the ruined Chateau de 
 Sarceau. 
 
 4 k. W. is the Lande de Rigalet, where the Constable 
 Duguesclin gained a bloody battle over the English under 
 Robert Knolles. An obelisk replaces the cross erected over 
 the slain.] 
 
 [A railway leads S.E. from Tours to (145 k.) Bourges, 
 by- 
 
 12 k. Veretz, with a renaissance church and a single tower of 
 a chateau built by Jean de la Barre, chamberlain of Charles VIII., 
 and inhabited, in the xvin, c, by the Due d'Aiguillon. At 
 Larcay (2 k.) is a Gallo-Roman camp of peculiar construc- 
 tion. 
 
 18 k. 6*. Martin-le-Beau (de Bello), named from a victory 
 gained over the Normans in the ix. c, by the aid of the relics 
 of S. Martin. The central portion of the triple church is roman- 
 esque, of xn. c, with a good portal and tower. The apse is 
 semicircular, and has no E. window. Gabrielle d'Estrees was 
 born in the chateau of La Bourdaisiere, in 1565. The line 
 passes (1.) the xn. c. and xv. c. church of Dierre, with a stone 
 spire. 
 
 25 k. Blere (Hotel : du Cheval Blanc — an excellent country 
 inn, much frequented by young Englishmen studying French). 
 The village is 1 k. S. of the station. Close to the inn is 6*. 
 Croix, a cruciform church with a noble octagonal tower, bearing 
 a low xiv. c. spire, and with romanesque apsidal chapels to the 
 chancel and E. side of the transepts. Of the three parallel 
 naves, that on the 1. is chiefly romanesque, with wooden vault- 
 ing. The bay which precedes the apse is interesting from its 
 
8o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 rudimentary XII. c. vaulting : that on the r. has beautiful 
 Plantagenet vaulting. The Hotel du Gouvemeur is renais- 
 sance. At the S.E. end of the little town, in a grassy space 
 at the junction of the roads to Montresor and Montrichard, 
 is the beautiful little debased gothic Chapelle du Marche, with 
 a polygonal apse and octangular dome, built 1526, in memory 
 of Guillaume de Seigne, treasurer and receiver-general of 
 artillery. 
 
 CHAPELLE DU MARCHE, BLERE. 
 
 At 7 k. S., near Sublaines (on the road to Loches), which has 
 a romanesque church with a fine low tower and a curious xi. c. 
 font, are a dolmen and Les Danges de Sublaines, two mounds 
 said to have been erected by Clovis and Alaric II., to mark the 
 limits of their states. 
 
 32 k. Che?ionceaux (Hotel : dti Bon Laboureur — good and 
 clean. Omnibus (40 c.) sets visitors down for the chateau). 
 
 Chenonceaux, though a small chateau, is, architecturally, one 
 of the most beautiful in France. A long avenue (crossing the 
 railway) leads to it from the end of the little village. It is built 
 
CHENONCEAUX. 
 
 81 
 
 on arches over the Cher, and the peasants (on ringing a bell) 
 are still permitted to use its galleries as a bridge. The original 
 chateau was founded on the site of a mill by Thomas Bohier, 
 receveur-general des finances in Normandy, and his wife, 
 Catherine Briconnet, in 1496. Bohier died, leaving only a 
 portion of the principal building completed, and bearing the 
 device : ' S'il vient a point, me souviendra.' His son was 
 obliged to give up the chateau to the state, in payment of 
 his fathers debts. Francois I. frequently came to hunt there. 
 Henri II. gave the estate, with the duchy of Valentinois, to Diane 
 de Poitiers, who employed Philibert Delorme to build the bridge 
 over the Cher. But, after the death of Henri II., Diane was 
 compelled to exchange Chenonceaux with the Queen Regent, 
 Catherine de Medicis, for Chaumont. Catherine, in 1560, 
 built the long gallery upon the bridge erected by Diane, and 
 the stables. She bequeathed the chateau to her daughter-in- 
 law, Louise de Vaudemont, wife of Henri III., who lived there 
 in her widowhood. Queen Louise died in 1601, and the chateau 
 afterwards belonged to the Duchesse de Vendome, to the Dues 
 de Vendome, to Marie Anne de Bourbon, granddaughter of the 
 great Conde, to the princess-dowager of Conde, and to the Due 
 de Bourbon, who sold it, in 1730, to the farmer-general Dupin, 
 whose clever wife received all the witty French society of her 
 time here. 
 
 ' Elle etait Mile, de Fontaines, et passa pour etre la fille de 
 Samuel Bernard, du moins Jean-Jacques Rousseau le rapporte. 
 
 Elle apporta une dot considerable a M. Dupin On sait 
 
 comment Jean-Jacques Rousseau devint secretaire de M. Dupin, 
 et habita Chenonceaux avec eux, comment il devint amoureux 
 de Madame Dupin, qui etait belle comme un ange, et comment 
 il risqua imprudemment une declaration qui n'eut pas de succes. 
 II conserva neanmoins des relations d'amitie avec elle. 
 
 1 Mme. Dupin cultivait les lettres et la philosophic sans 
 ostentation et sans attacher son nom aux ouvrages de son mari, 
 dont cependant elle aurait pu, j'en suis certaine, revendiquer la 
 meilleure partie et les meilleures idees. Elle a laisse a Chenon- 
 ceaux quelques ecrits fort courts, mais tres-pleins d'idees nettes 
 et de nobles sentiments. . . . Belle et charm ante, simple, forte et 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 SOUTH WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 calme, madame Dupin finit ses jours a Chenonceaux dans un 
 age tres-avanceV — George Sand, ' Hist de ma Vie' 
 
 Chenonceaux has recently been the property of Mme. Pelouze, 
 sister of Mr. Wilson (son-in-law of the President Grevy), and was 
 sold in the winter of 1888-89 to tne Credit Foncier. 
 
 CHENONCEAUX. 
 
 1 Le chateau de Chenonceaux, groupe elegant de construc- 
 tions elevees sur une ile du Cher, a la place d'un ancien moulin 
 et sur un pont qui rejoint Tile a Tune des rives, est un des 
 merveilleux edifices de la Renaissance. Philibert Delorme, 
 Germain Pilon, Jean Goujon, Benvenuto Cellini, Le Primatice, 
 et d'autres grands artistes furent appeles a le construire et a 
 l'orner. Ce fut aussi une demeure royale, mais l'epoque de sa 
 yraie gloire est le dix-huitieme siecle, alors que la societe 
 litteraire, appelee par Fhospitalit6 du fermier-general Dupin, y 
 reunissait ses plus illustres representants. — Elisee Reclus. 
 
CHE NONCE A UX. 
 
 §3 
 
 ' Le chastel de Chenonceaux et une belle place et maison 
 assise sur la riviere du Cher en beau et plaisant pays. . . — 
 Francois I. 
 
 ? Le chasteau de Chenonceaux est assis en un des meilleurs et 
 plus beaulx pays de notre royaume.' — Heiiri II. 
 
 ' Chenonceaux est un lieu a la decoration et embellissement 
 duquel notre defunte mere s'est plus que a nul autre affectee et 
 delectee.' — Henri III. 
 
 i Je passai par Chenonceaux, ancienne maison de la plus ex- 
 traordinaire figure que Ton puisse voir. C'est une grande et grosse 
 masse de batimens sur le bord de la riviere du Cher, auquel tient 
 un grand corps-de-logis de deux etages batis sur un pont de pierre 
 qui traverse la riviere. Tout ce corps-de-logis se compose de deux 
 galeries, qui sont par ce moyen dans un aspect fort agreable. II ne 
 manque a cette maison qu'un maitre qui voulut y faire la depense 
 de la peinture et de la dorure que meriteroient ces deux pieces : 
 les appartements de la maison, quoique d'un antique dessin, sont 
 neanmoins assez beaux. Pour les jardins, il ne manque que ce 
 que Ton n'y veut pas faire ; les eaux, les bois, et toute la 
 disposition naturelle qu'on peut souhaiter s'y trouve le plus 
 heureusement qu'il est possible. Ce lieu appartient a M. de 
 Vendome, et lui est venu de la maison de Lorraine par la 
 reine Louise, soeur de M. de Marcoeur, qui, depuis la mort de 
 Henri III., y avoit toujours fait sa demeure; Ton y voit encore 
 sa chambre et son cabinet, qu'elle avoit fait peindre de noir 
 seme de larmes, d'os de morts et de tombeaux, avec quantite 
 de devises lugubres. L'ameublement est de meme : il n'y a 
 pour tout ornement dans cet appartement qu'un portrait en 
 petit d'Henri III., sur la cheminee du cabinet.' — { Memoir es de 
 Mile, de Montpensier! 
 
 The chateau and its grounds are always open to visitors. The 
 concierge lives in the donjon, a cylindrical tower, which stands on 
 the mainland, and is a remnant of the old manor of the Marques 
 family. External beauty is now entirely confined to the architec- 
 tural design ; modern restoration has scraped everything into 
 
84 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 absolute newness. The gondolas on the river and the lanthorns 
 at the little wharfs have a Venetian sentiment. 
 
 A finely vaulted passage runs through the chateau. On the 
 1. is the salle d manger \ with a great salamander over the chimney- 
 piece, and through it is the chapel. On the r. is the Chambre 
 de Diane de Poitiers. The long gallery over the Cher has been 
 recently used as a library, and in the middle of its ceiling is 
 introduced that which belonged to the chamber of Queen Louise 
 de Vaudemont, painted black and white (with all her furniture) 
 after the murder of Henri III. In the piers of the bridge beneath 
 are the kitchen and offices, and the Bath of Catherine de Medicis. 
 A beautiful stone staircase leads to the upper gallery and apart- 
 ments. The chateau, which only contains twelve principal 
 chambers, had in 1888 a good deal of old furniture (now dis- 
 persed), but very little which originally belonged to the building, 
 and the rooms inhabited by the late proprietor were decorated 
 in execrable taste. 
 
 39 k. Montrichard. The town (1 k. E. of the station) is built 
 round the curious castle tower, supposed to have been erected by 
 Foulques Nerra in the beginning of the xi. c, and which has 
 encircling walls of xiii. c. and xv. c. It is built of the tuffeau de 
 Saumur, a soft stone which hardens when exposed to the air. In 
 the principal street, at the end of which the castle rises most 
 picturesquely, is a romanesque house, in which the ground floor 
 has cradle-vaulting and the first floor a good window ; other 
 houses are of xv. c. The interesting church of Nanteuil, charm- 
 ing in its varied outline, has three bays of a xn. c. nave, a transept, 
 and three romanesque* apsides, polygonal externally. The brackets 
 which support the vaulting are exquisitely carved. The rich W. 
 door is xv. c. In the xv. c. also was built, partly at the expense 
 of Louis XL, the Chapelle de la Vierge, of two stories, the lower 
 serving as a Chapelle des Morts, the upper containing a much 
 revered image. 
 
 7jk. S. is the beautiful ruined monastic church of Aiguesvives, 
 of xii. c, xiv. c, and xv. c. It is situated in a private garden 
 (shown), and consists of a nave with aisles, a central octagonal 
 tower and transepts, and the usual triapsal E. end. 2 k. from the 
 station is the (xv. c, xvi. c, and xvn. c.) Chateau, de Chissay. 
 
 50 k. Thesee, the ancient Thassiaca, has a Gallo-Roman monu- 
 
5. AIGNAN. 
 
 85 
 
 ment of unknown origin. Preceded by a square court, is a vaulted 
 hall communicating with other rooms. 
 
 57k. 5*. Aignan (Hotel: de la Gerbe a 7 ' Or— a good country 
 inn), 2 k. from the station (omnibus), is the picturesque and in- 
 teresting little town, nestling under its great chateau, on the 1. 
 
 MONTRICHARD. 
 
 bank of the Cher : it retains several curious old timber houses. 
 The noble Church is a very fine specimen of florid romanesque. 
 The nave is preceded by a porch, open on three sides, and sur- 
 mounted by a room. The interior, very striking in its proportions, 
 is rendered almost new by restoration. At the cross under the 
 tower, is an octagonal cupola. A stone staircase ascends from 
 
86 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the church to the Chateau, beautifully situated on a lofty terrace. 
 Under Louis XIV. it belonged to the Due de Beauvilliers, who 
 was governor to the three grandsons of the king. The ruins of 
 the feudal castle are of xiii. c. and xv. c. The later chateau, of 
 the renaissance and xvn. c, has been restored by the Prince de 
 Chalais, heir of the Dues de S. Aignan. The interior is shown. 
 On the r. bank of the Cher, at some distance from the town, is a 
 Leper Hospital, of xi. c. or xn. c. 
 
 S. AIGNAN. 
 
 Valencay (18 k.) may be visited from S. Aignan (carriage for 
 the whole day, 12 fr.). The road passes close to the very fine 
 ruined castle of Villentrois. The fine half-ruined chateau of 
 Lucay-le-Male (c. 25 k. S.E.), upon the Modon, may also be 
 visited from S. Aignan. 
 
 71k. Selles-sur-Cher (1 k. from station). The name, formerly 
 Celles, is derived from the cell of the hermit Eusice (ob. c. 542), 
 who predicted to Childebert his victory over Amalaric. The 
 church of ►S. Etisice somewhat resembles that of S. Aignan. The 
 
SELLES-SUR- CHER. 
 
 87 
 
 triple nave, of 6J bays, was restored in the xm. c. and xv. c. 
 There is a long transept with apses. The ambulatory, destroyed 
 in xvi. c, is restored. Outside the apsides are large friezes, with 
 bas-reliefs from the New Testament and the history of S. Eusice. 
 The abbatial buildings, which belonged in turn to canons 
 
 PORTAL OF CHATEAU, S. AIGNAN. 
 
 regular, Benedictines, and Feuillants, have been partially rebuilt 
 in xvii. c. The Hotel de Ville^ and the two remaining pavilions 
 of a chateau built by Philippe de Bethune, younger brother of 
 the great Sully, are of the same date. Behind the church is a 
 little xm. c. building, and a house is of that period. 
 
 A public carriage leaves Selles twice daily for (16 k.) Valencay 
 
88 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE, 
 
 (Hotel : du Roi d'Esftagne — very good), famous for the magni- 
 ficent chateau of the Due de Valeneay et Sagan. On the road 
 hither, and throughout this district, we may observe the large stone 
 crosses at the cross-roads, with hundreds of little wooden votive 
 crosses round them. The latter part of our way lies through the 
 Foret de Valeneay, abounding in stags. Reaching the white town 
 of Valeneay, we are struck by the splendid renaissance portal of 
 the chateau on the side of the cour d'honneur, but the most peculiar 
 feature is the two great domed round towers on the W., encircled 
 by a band of rich sculpture under the roof, and connected by 
 a long wing, which is approached by a drawbridge over a dry 
 moat, from a terrace set with huge orange trees. The S. facade 
 faces lofty terraces over the wooded valley and river. The 
 gardens and park are full of beauty. 
 
 The chateau (shown daily from 8 to 5) is remarkable as a 
 type of the architecture of the middle of the xvi. c, when the 
 graceful decorations of Italy were encrusted upon a French 
 fortress of the middle-ages. It was built 1540, by Jacques 
 d'lLtampes, in the reign of Francois I., and, being purchased 
 by the Prince de Talleyrand, was assigned by Napoleon I. as 
 a residence to the captive Ferdinand VII. and the Infante of 
 Spain, still commemorated in the park by the Allees des Princes 
 dEsftagne. The first wife of the present possessor was a niece 
 of Talleyrand, and inherited the fine pictures, etc., presented to 
 him by royal admirers, which are now to be seen here. The 
 rooms on the ground floor have striking portraits of Louis XVIII. 
 and Charles X. ; Napoleon I., by David ; Louis-Philippe ; the 
 Due de Courlande, last reigning member of the House, of 
 Biron (who was maternal grandfather of the Duchesse de 
 Valeneay) ; Ferdinand VII. ; and the Prince de Talleyrand, 
 by Prud'hon. Magnificent busts of Moliere and La Fontaine 
 are by Houdon : at the foot of the stairs is the Paris of 
 Canova. The bedroom of Talleyrand retains its original fur- 
 niture ; and his rich court dresses and orders are preserved 
 in cases. Amongst the pictures is an interesting drawing of 
 Fox giving his arm to the aged Talleyrand, inscribed, ' The 
 Lame leading the Blind.' A long gallery on the upper floor 
 is hung with an important series of life-size portraits of the 
 family of Talleyrand (Due de Courlande, Due and Duchesse de 
 
VALENCAY. 
 
 89 
 
 Dino, etc.) The chambre de Ferdinand VII. is preserved. In 
 the Galetie de la Chape lie is a very valuable collection of 
 engravings which belonged to Talleyrand, the space between 
 each window illustrating an especial group of celebrities — 
 French, German, and English. The Library (25,000 vols.) 
 
 CHATEAU DE VALENCAY. 
 
 contains the easy chair on wheels used by Louis XVIII. in 
 his infirmity, given to Talleyrand by Charles X. ; also the 
 saddle of Talleyrand. The Cabinet de Medailles has a fine 
 collection of miniatures. The carriage used by Ferdinand VII., 
 and in which he took two months to travel hither from Madrid, 
 is preserved in the coach-house. 
 
9 o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 In the town is a Hospice, endowed by Talleyrand, and its 
 chapel contains his grave and that of Marie-Therese Poniatowska, 
 sister of the famous Poniatowski. 
 
 ' Jarrivai a Valencay aux flambeaux ; je crus entrer dans une 
 maison enchantee. II y a un corps de logis, le plus beau et le 
 plus magnifique du monde ; le degre y est tres-beau, et Ton y 
 arrive par unegalerie a arcades qui a du magnifique.' — ' Memoires 
 de Mile, de Montpensier? 
 
 4 k. S.E. of Valencay, near Vicq-sur-Nahon } is the fine xvi. c. 
 Chateau de la Moussetiere. 
 
 80 k. Chabris-Gievres. Chabris — Carobriva (bridge over the 
 Cher) — (4 k. S.W.) has a curious church (of x. c, xn. c, xiii. c, 
 and xv. c), in the walls of which are fragments of masonry and 
 sculpture attributed to the first centuries of Christianity. In the 
 romanesque crypt, a wooden statue of S. Phalier is an object of 
 pilgrimage. 6 k. distant, on the road to Valencay, is the little 
 disused monastic xli. c. church of Varennes. 
 
 88 k. Villefranche-sur-Cher, where the line to Blois branches 
 off (see p. 54). There is no buffet at the station, but an excellent 
 luncheon is always ready for passengers by the midday train at 
 the little Hotel de Marseille, close by. 
 
 About 18 k. S., near Gracay, is the curious romanesque xi. c. 
 church of S. Outrille. 
 
 (A branch line will lead from Villefranche to (115 k.) Le Blanc, 
 passing (30 k.) Vatan, where the church of 6*. Lanrian is a very 
 curious building, partly of xi. c, and Levroux, see ch. iv.) 
 
 97 k. Mc7inetou-sur-Cher has ramparts of xiii. c. and remains 
 of a chateau and a church of xn. c. and xv. c. A romanesque 
 gate-tower is unusually interesting and picturesque. 
 
 113 k. Vierzon, see ch. iv.] 
 
 [A line leads S.E. from Tours to (118 k.) Chateauroux, by — 
 17 k. Montbazon, on the Indre, built in the x. c. around a castle 
 erected by Foulques Nerra, Comte d'Anjou. The quadrangular 
 keep, flanked by buttresses, was rebuilt in the xn. c. Since 1866 
 it has been surmounted by a colossal statue of the Virgin. One 
 
CORMERY, LOCHES. 
 
 9' 
 
 of the town gates remains. 2 k. N.E. is the xvn. c. Chateau de 
 Couzieres, of the Dues de Montbazon : an inscription records the 
 meeting (Sept. 5, 1619) of Marie de Medicis and Louis XIII., 
 which took place there, and led to their reconciliation. 
 
 22 k. Esvres. The church (x. c. and XI. c.) has a stone spire 
 and stall-work of xv. c. : near it are two tourelles of a destroyed 
 monastery. Opposite Esvres a bridge leads to the Plateau de S. 
 Maure, whence there is a wide view. 
 
 27 k. Cormery, which had a famous Benedictine abbey, founded 
 in viii. c. by one of the courtiers of Charlemagne, and where the 
 famous Alcuin established a school. Of the Monastery only a 
 beautiful ruined xm. c. refectory, part of a cloister, and a fine 
 romanesque tower, bearing an octagonal spire with eight lights, 
 remain. The parish church, at the other end of the town, is a 
 very interesting building of XI. c. and xn. c. It has a nave with- 
 out aisles, an apsidal chancel, transepts with eastern apsides, 
 and an unfinished central tower. The roofs of the apsides are 
 semi-domical. The tower compartment has a hemispherical 
 dome, with pendentives resting on pointed arches. 1 
 
 On the r. bank of the Indre (1 k.) is the romanesque church 
 of Truyes, with a magnificent tower of five storeys. 6 k. N. are 
 a chapter house and other remains of the Abbaye de S. Jean des 
 Gres. 5 k. N.E. is the circular Tour des Brandons, of xi. c. From 
 the line, on r. of the Indre, are seen the fine rocks of Courcay 
 which has a romanesque church with xvi. c. spire. 
 
 34 k. Reignac. The church (2 k. N.E.) is partly Carlovingian. 
 There is a dolmen here. 
 
 47 k. Loches (Hotels : de la Promenade — tolerable ; de France), 
 still a very interesting and beautiful place, and well worth a visit, 
 though the spirit of ' restoration ' has quite spoilt it for artists. 
 The town, on a hill above the 1. bank of the Indre, is united by a 
 chain of houses and bridges to Beaulieu on the opposite bank. 
 Loches rose around a monastery founded by S. Ours in the v. c. 
 From the vi. c. it was defended by a castle. Under Charles le 
 Chauve it became the seat of a hereditary government, which 
 passed by marriage to the house of Anjou in 886, and belonged 
 to it till 1205. Richard Coeur de Lion seized Loches in 1194, 
 but it was recovered by Philippe-Auguste, who gave it in fief to 
 1 See Caumont. 
 
9 2 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Dreux de Mello, constable of France, whose nephew sold it to 
 S. Louis in 1249. From this time the castle was at once a state 
 prison and a royal residence. Charles VII. often resided there 
 with Agnes Sorel, who was buried in the parish church, and 
 
 TRUYES. 
 
 Loches was frequently visited by succeeding kings, and continued 
 to be a royal city till the Revolution. 
 
 From the station the most conspicuous feature is the Tour S. 
 Antoine, a. beautiful renaissance remnant of a demolished church, 
 now used as the town belfry. Entering the town by the fine xv. c. 
 
LOCHES. 
 
 93 
 
 Porte des Cordeliers, in the Rue S. Antoine is the Hotel Nau, 
 of the time of Henri II., which contains fine tapestries and a 
 chimney-piece surmounted by a bust of Diane de Poitiers. 
 
 The Rue du Chateau has several good renaissance houses, 
 especially (Nos. 10 and 12), La Chancellerie of the time of 
 Henri H. On the r. is the renaissance Hotel de Ville, built 
 by Jean Beaudoin, 1535-43 : it joins the Porte Picoys, of xv. c, 
 with a beautiful renaissance niche. 
 
 The Rue du Chateau continues to ascend to the precincts of 
 the Chateau, 1 which was once of vast dimensions, its plan covering 
 a circumference of 2 k. At the N. point was the royal dwelling — 
 Logis du Roi — inhabited by the French kings from Charles VII. 
 to Louis XII. — now the Sous-Prefecture. Visitors are admitted 
 to see the beautiful little Oratoire d'Anne de Brctagne, and, in 
 the vaults, the tomb of Agnes Sore], brought from the collegiate 
 church, from which Louis XVI. gave the canons permission to 
 expel it. It has a beautiful xv. c. statue, with angels at the head 
 and lambs at the feet. 
 
 The collegiate church of Ours stands within the area of the 
 chateau. It was begun by Geoffroy Grise Gonelle, Comte d'Anjou, 
 in 962, and continued by his son Foulques Nera, who built the 
 nave. 
 
 1 C'est un monument unique au monde, completet d'une sauvage 
 beaute, un monument etrange, dans lequel viennent, pour ainsi 
 dire, se fondre les influences de l'art oriental avec les methodes 
 de construire adoptees dans le nord au commencement du xn e 
 siecle. L'eglise, qui est a une seule nef, est divis6e par quatre 
 travees a plan carre chacune. Sur les deux travees extremes 
 s'elevent des clochers ; mais sur les deux travees intermediaries, 
 au lieu de coupoles ou de voutes d'arete, ce sont des pyramides 
 creuses portees sur des encorbellements qui couvrent la nef. On 
 peut, par la pensee, se rendre compte de 1'effet que produit un 
 interieur voute d'une facon aussi etrange. Ces enormes pyramides 
 creuses, obscures a leur sommet, causent un sentiment de terreur 
 indefinissable. Les grands triangles en encorbellement qui leur 
 servent de base ne sont que la prolongation de quatre des plans 
 
 1 Entered at the end of the Mail, succeeding the Rue du Donjon, which 
 opens on the r. of the Rue Foulques Nerra. 
 
94 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 de ces pyramides entre les arcs-doubleaux et les formerets. 
 Ici, du moins, la construction est d'accord avec la forme : car 
 des pyramides creuses, composees d'assises dont les lits sont 
 horizontaux, constituent une des constructions les plus solides 
 qu'il soit possible de combiner.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The vaulted porch was added in the xn. a, and the magnificent 
 portal is of that date. The first bay of the nave belongs to the 
 building of 965, and is surmounted by a massive tower, to which 
 an octagonal upper storey was added in xn. c. The pyramids of 
 the two next bays are due to the Prior Thomas Pactius (pb. 1 168). 1 
 The little crypt of S. Martin, also called the oratory of Louis XI., 
 is shown by the sacristan. At one side of it is an oratory of 
 S. Brice, with early fresco painting. 
 
 The Donjon is a very curious romanesque fortress of xn. c, 
 and was used as the state prison. Thibault III., Comte de Tour, 
 Jean, Due d'Alencon, Pierre de Breze, and Philippe de Savoie 
 have been amongst its prisoners. 
 
 The Prison des Eveques retains the remains of a rude 
 Chemin de la Croix, which the imprisoned bishops made for 
 their devotions, and a primitive benitier. The marks remain to 
 show where they clung with hands and knees to obtain some 
 light from the window. Beyond the garden were the rooms 
 occupied by Marie de Medicis when she fled from Blois, and the 
 window by which she escaped from Loches. In the vaults of 
 the Tour Ronde are the traces of the iron cages, suspended from 
 the ceiling, in which Louis XI. shut up his victims, and especially 
 Cardinal la Balue, who is falsely said to have been their inventor. 
 They were eight feet square, and were so arranged that they 
 could be raised or lowered to the level of the king, who would 
 come with Olivier le Daim, to question and mock his captives, 
 by a secret passage which still exists. 2 On the staircase is a 
 wooden grille, in front of the prison said to have been occupied 
 by Philippe de Comines. The ordinary prisons of Loches 
 were in the vaults of the xv. c. building called Le Martelet, of 
 which the upper storeys are destroyed. The prison which 
 
 1 There is a similar cupola in the ruined church of S. Orens, near Argelez, 
 in the Hautes-Pyrenees. 
 
 2 Some authorities think that the Cardinal was never at Loches, but was only 
 imprisoned thus for ten years in the chateau of Onzain. 
 
BEAU LIEU. 
 
 95 
 
 Ludovico Sforza, il Moro, occupied for nine years, is covered 
 with inscriptions and rude drawings and paintings from his hand, 
 including a portrait of himself. He died in an upper chamber of 
 the tower in 1510. 
 
 The traveller should ascend the little hills near Loches for 
 the views. The Chapelle de Vignemont has frescoes of xn. c. 
 and xiii. c. The Donjon de Mauviere (2 k.) is a square tower of 
 xiv. c. 
 
 LOCHES. 
 
 I k. E. of Loches, in a direct line from the Porte des Cor- 
 deliers, is Beaulieu. One of the best views of Loches, with its 
 castle and church, is to be obtained just before passing (r.) the 
 renaissance (1529) Chateau de Sansac. Beaulieu has more 
 picturesque streets than Loches itself, and has several admirable 
 xiv. c, xv. c, and xvi. c. houses. Its noble abbey-church, partly 
 ruined, was built (1008-12) by Foulques Nerra, who is buried 
 here. The grand belfry is xn. c. The abbatial buildings are 
 used as mairie and schools. On the outside of the abbot's house 
 (xvi. c.) is an open-air pulpit. Artists will draw the beautiful 
 old mill on the river. The church of 6*. Laurent is early gothic. 
 
9 6 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 At the end of the town is the xn. c. Tour Chevallon. 2 k. N. 
 are remains of the Roman Aqueduct of Contre. 
 
 II k. N., on the way to Montrichard, is the church of Genille, 
 with a beautiful alabaster benitier of 1490, and a remarkable 
 xviii. c. retable, representing the appearance of the Virgin to 
 S. Dominic. 
 
 10 k. N.E., in the direction of S. Aignan, is the Chartreuse du 
 Liget, founded by Henry II. of England in 1176. The circular 
 Chapelle du Liget contains a series of frescoes of the xiii. c. At 
 17 k. is Montresor, with a fine renaissance chateau (Comte 
 Branicki), and a renaissance church containing the magnificent 
 tomb of Imbert de Bastarnay (1523), his wife Georgette de 
 Montchenu, and their son Francois. The stalls are xvi. c. 
 
 55 k. Verneuil-S -Germain. Verneuil (3 k. S.W.) has an 
 xviii. c. chateau with a xiv. c. chapel. 2 k. N.W. is Bridore, 
 which has a xv. c. castle. 
 
 68 k. Chdtillon-sur-Indre. The church is xi.c. with xvi. c. 
 stalls. There are fine ruins of a castle with a xiii. c. keep. 
 
 (The road from Chatillon-sur-Indre to Blanc passes (at 18 k.) 
 Azay-le-Fcrron, which has a xii. c. church, and a chateau partly 
 of 1480 and partly renaissance. 6 k. from hence is Paulnay, 
 where the church has a romanesque facade of very graceful 
 detail.) 
 
 76 k. Clion. 1. of the line the picturesque and beautiful xv. c. 
 Chdteati de risle Savary rises above the Indre. The Chapelle 
 de Marteau is xi. c. 7 k. S.W. is the Chateau de Fromenteau, 
 where Agnes Sorel was born in 1409. 
 
 84 k. Palluau-S.-Genou. Palluau (2 k. N.W.) has a ruined 
 castle, with a circular keep, a gate of xvi. c, and chapel of xiv. c. 
 The church is xii. c. and xvi. c. S. Genou (1 k. E. of the station) 
 preserves the choir and transept of a very beautiful abbey- 
 church of xi.c. The monastery, ' which possessed the body of 
 S. Genulphe or Genou, bishop of Cahors, was first established 
 at Estrees (1 k. r. of the line), which preserves a fine xn. c. 
 lanterne des morts. 
 
 104 k, Villedieic, has a mutilated xii. c. church.] 
 
 [For the line from Tours to Bordeaux see ch. ii.] 
 
AZA Y-LE-RIDEA U. 
 
 97 
 
 [A line runs S.W. from Tours to Bressuire (see ch. iii.) 
 by- 
 
 iok. Ballan, which has remains of a Commanderie of the 
 Knights of Malta, and a church of XI. c. and xvi. c. 1. is the 
 Chateau de la Carte, of which the chapel has beautiful xvi. c. 
 glass. 
 
 22 k. Valleres has a curious church of xi. c. and xn. c. It has 
 a massive S. tower with an E. apse. The tower compartment is 
 
 is 
 
 AZAY-LE-RIDEAU. 
 
 a cylindrical vault, the apse semi-domical. Near this is the 
 menhir of La Pierre aux Jones. 
 
 26 k. Azay-le-Rideau (Hotel : du Grand Monarque). The 
 town (2 k. from station — omnibus) on the r. bank of the Indre, is 
 famous for its glorious renaissance Chateau, built early in the 
 reign of Francois I. by Gilles Berthelot, Mayor of Tours, 
 secretary to the king, and afterwards treasurer-general of 
 finances. Its after-owners included the diplomat Guy de 
 S. Gelais, and Henri de Beringhem, who built the stables and 
 decorated the rooms occupied by Louis XIV. when he visited 
 
 7 
 
9 s 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Azay. The present owner — le Marquis de Biencourt — allows 
 the chateau to be shown to strangers. 
 
 The chateau stands in a small low-lying park, and instead 
 of a moat, the river Indre surrounds the building on all sides, 
 and it rises directly from the water. It consists of two sides of 
 a square, one side being prolonged and abruptly truncated at an 
 outward angle. The ornament of the main building is confined 
 to the cornice and to the connecting panels of the different 
 storeys, except where the magnificent high portal stands rich in 
 carving, the first frieze showing in bas-reliefs the salamander 
 of Francois I. and the ermine of his wife, Claude de Bretagne, 
 with the device ' Nutrisco et extinguo.' The towers at the angles 
 are pierced with beautiful cross windows, and have pyramidal 
 roofs crowned with spikes and adorned with chimneys. In the 
 interior the principal feature is the staircase, vaulted with 
 pendants and decorated with medallions. There is a large 
 collection of historic portraits. The facade of the church of Azay 
 is xi. c. 
 
 5 k. N.W. of the station is the church of Lignieres (xn. c, 
 xiii. c, and xv. a), with paintings symbolical of the labours of the 
 months. 
 
 The railway leaves to r. the Chateau de rislette ) flanked by 
 machicolated towers. 
 
 33 k. Rivarennes. 3 k. S. is (near the railway) the well-pre- 
 served camp of Turpenay, near which are some ruins of an 
 abbey. The line soon enters the forest of Chinon. 
 
 44 k. Huismes. The village (3 k. N.) has a xn. c. church. 
 Near this are the Chateau de Tours, which formerly belonged to 
 the archbishops of Tours, now a farm ; the handsome xv. c. 
 Chateau de la Ville-au-Maire, now restored; the ruined Chateau 
 de Bounavenlure, said to have been built by Charles VII. for 
 Agnes Sorel ; and La Chancetlerie, an admirable but dilapidated 
 building of the xvi. c. The line passes (r.) the xvn. c. Chateau 
 de la Grille. 
 
 50k. Chinon (1 k. r. from the station. Hotels: de France; 
 de la Boule d'Or), the ancient Caino, existed in Roman times. 
 S. Brice founded a church there in 427, and S. Mexme a 
 monastery and second church. Clovis made Chinon one of the 
 principal fortresses of his kingdom. In the xi, c. it belonged to 
 
CHINON. 
 
 99 
 
 the Counts of Touraine, one of whom, Thibaut III., gave it up 
 to Geofroy Martel in 1044. Thus, in the XII. c, it came to 
 Henry II. of England, who preferred it to all his other continental 
 possessions, often inhabited it, and died in the chateau in 1 189. 
 Chinon was besieged, taken, and united to France by Philippe- 
 Auguste. Charles VII. assembled the States-General there 
 whilst the English were besieging Orleans, and, in the most 
 troublous times, gave here the magnificent fete in which, when 
 
 CHINOX. 
 
 he asked the brave La Hire what he thought of his preparations, 
 he received as answer, ' Sire, je pense qu'on ne saurait perdre un 
 royaume plus gaiement.' Philippe de Comines was governor of 
 the castle and town under Louis XI. 
 
 From the little place near the Hotel de France a road leads up 
 to the castle, which can be entered by ringing at the Pavilion de 
 l'Horloge. The chateau is comprised of three fortresses. Of 
 the Chateau de S. Georges, the outer of the three, added by 
 Henry Plantagenet to the earlier castles, from which it is separated 
 by a deep fosse, nothing remains but the outer walls. The 
 
IOO 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Chateau de Milieu was built on the ruins of the Roman camp, in 
 xi. c, xii. c, and xm. c, but often restored afterwards. At its 
 S.W. extremity is the Grand-Logis (xn. c. and xv. c), where 
 Henry II. died, and Charles VII. and Louis XI. lived. It was in 
 its great hall that (March 8, 1429) Jeanne Dare was presented to 
 Charles VII. The third and innermost castle, called Chateau de 
 Coudray, is separated from the Grand-Logis by a deep trench, 
 on the opposite side of which rises the polygonal Tour S. 
 Martin, battlemented and machicolated, and containing a 
 XIII. c. chapel. The principal watch-tower is the Tour du 
 Moulin, It was in the Chateau de Coudray that a residence was 
 appointed for Jeanne Dare during her stay at Chinon. The 
 two inner courts are occupied by gardens. 
 
 The little town of Chinon has picturesque winding streets. 
 At a corner of the Rue S. £tienne, near the church, is a timber 
 house, with rude carving of the stoning of S. Stephen. The 
 church of 6*. Etienne, begun by Charles VII. and finished by 
 Philippe de Comines, has a very rich portal, divided into two 
 bays. The interior is a single nave, into which one descends by 
 steps. This church possesses the curious (x. c. or XI. c.) cope 
 called La Chape de S. Mexme. A little further in the same 
 direction is the Church of S. Mexme, formerly collegiate, but 
 now disused. Its choir and transept were destroyed by the fall 
 of the central tower in 1821. The outer facade has curious 
 remains of sculpture of the beginning of xi. c. The 1. tower is 
 romanesque, and retains XI. c. frescoes ; that on r. was rebuilt xv. c. 
 The inner facade has sculptures of ix. c. or x. c, and the central 
 nave is x. c, with side aisles added xi. c. 
 
 6*. Maurice has a gothic nave of Plantagenet date, to which a 
 nave of the xvi. c. is united. The vaulting, of xn. c, is interesting 
 from its sculptured bosses and the statuettes sculptured at the 
 base of the ribs. The choir, with a straight end, is flanked by 
 two chapels. The romanesque choir is crowned by a stone 
 (xv. c.) spire. 
 
 On the quai, near the bridge, is a statue (by Hebert, 1882) 
 of Rabelais, who, the son of a publican, is said by natives of 
 Chinon to have been born in a house of the Rue de la Lamproie. 
 On the island in the Vienne, 150 Jews, charged with poisoning 
 the fountains, were burnt on an immense scaffold in 1381. 
 
LOUD UN, THOUARS. 
 
 101 
 
 At S. Louani (2jk. W.) four sarcophagi of the vn. c. have 
 been discovered in the ruins of an ancient priory, one of them 
 containing the relics of the saint : they are preserved under 
 the chapel of the Soeurs Augustines de Chinon. 2 \ k. further is 
 the xv. c. Chateau de Coulaine, built by the family of Garguesalle, 
 who still possess it. 
 
 (For the line from Chinon to Port de Piles, and for the road 
 to Saumur and Fontevrault see later.) 
 
 55 k. La Roche- Clermault, has a xn. c. church with xvi. c. 
 spire. 1 k. r. is La Deviniere, usually believed to have been the 
 birthplace of Rabelais. The neighbouring Chateau de Coudray- 
 Montpensier is xv. c. 
 
 61 k. Beuxes, has a gothic church with a tall tower, and remains 
 of a castle. 
 
 73 k. Loudun y not worth a halt, was once a fortified town, 
 and retains one of its old gates, the Porte du Martray. A 
 square xn. c. tower remains of the old Chateau, destroyed by 
 Richelieu : its site is occupied by a promenade. The church of 
 6*. Pierre du Marche, begun under Philippe-Auguste, has a rich 
 renaissance portal : the tower and its stone spire are xv. c. S. 
 Pierre du Martray has side chapels with xv. c. gables. The 
 fine romanesque church of ►S. Croix is now a corn-market. The 
 Convent des Carmes has a fine xv. c. chapter-house. In the 
 neighbourhood of Loudun are two dolmens : one of them near 
 (2 k. S.W.) the Chateau de la Bdtie, which has a portal like an 
 arch of triumph, a salle des gardes, and curious kitchen. 4 k. 
 S. of Loudun is Chalais, with a church of xi.c, xn. c, xiv. c, 
 and xv. c. and the transition romanesque Chapelle de Nouzilli, 
 used as a barn. 3 k. further is the ruined castle of 6*. Cassien, 
 and 3 k. E. of this is the transition church of Angliers, with 
 xvi. c. choir and glass. 
 
 81 k. Arcay. At the hamlets of Briande and Chassigny are 
 dolmens. 4^ k. N. is the curious and picturesque Chateau de 
 Ran ton. 
 
 86 k. Pas-de-Jeu. 4 k. S.W. is the interesting renaissance 
 Chateau d'Oyron, see later. 
 
 98 k. Thouars (Hotel: du Cheval Blanc — very clean and good), 
 was once governed by its own viscounts, who were faithful vassals 
 
102 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 of the Plantagenet kings. From these it passed to the family 
 of La Tremouille, for whom it was created a duchy in 1 563. The 
 Chateau, now used as a prison, occupies a rocky precipice above 
 the Thouet. It was built in the reign of Louis XIII. by Marie de 
 la Tour, wife of Henri de la Tremouille, at a cost of 1,220,000 
 livres. The Sainte Chapelle, joining the chateau, but open to 
 the public, was finished in 15 14, from designs of Andre Amy, at 
 the cost of Gabrielle de Bourbon, wife of Louis II. de la 
 Tremouille. Beneath is the vault in which the family of La 
 Tremouille is buried. Three chapels below are cut out of the 
 rock. 
 
 The church of 6*. Laon is xn. c, altered in xv. c. It has a 
 good transition tower. Formerly it contained the tomb of 
 Margaret of Scotland, first wife of Louis XI. The still existing 
 monument of Abbe Nicolas (xv. c.) has reliefs of the Passion. 
 ,S. Medard is chiefly xv. c, with a very rich xn. c. portal, 
 plentifully adorned with sculpture. A door on N. has curious 
 ornamentation. The vaulting of the wide single nave is very 
 fine. The Tour du Prince des Galles is xiii. c. ; the massive 
 Porte du Prevot is xiv. c. The Maison du President is a pictur- 
 esque building with a good xvi. c. tower. 
 
 Thouars is the best point from whence to make the interesting 
 excursion (12 k. ; carriage, 8 fr.) to the Chateau d'Oyron (Marquise 
 d'Oyron), founded (1546) by Claude Gouffier, grand ecuyer de 
 Francois I., and which, in the middle of the xvn. c, passed to 
 Francois d'Aubusson, Due de la Feuillade. In 1700, the domain 
 was purchased from Louis de la Feuillade by the Due d'Antin, 
 legitimate son of Mme. de Montespan, who resided here after 
 her disgrace. It afterwards belonged to the Marechal de Villeroy 
 and the family of Boisayrault. The present Marquise d'Oyron 
 only occupies one wing of the chateau, which is liberally shown 
 to strangers. 
 
 The chateau is approached through semi-deserted gardens. 
 The vast cream-coloured buildings comprise a centre with wings, 
 and are very rich in renaissance decoration. The wall, above a 
 cloister with twisted columns, has medallions of heroes of various 
 ages. In the interior the motto 'Hie Terminus haeret' appears 
 constantly repeated. A broad twisted staircase leads to a 
 magnificent gallery on the first floor, with a beautiful painted 
 
CHATEAU DOYRON. 
 
 103 
 
 ceiling. The walls are covered with frescoes relating the story 
 of the Trojan war. At the further end is a splendid chimney- 
 piece. The Chambre dn Roi, which has a medallion of Louis XIV., 
 has a very rich ceiling, but the finest decorations are those of 
 the Salle des Muses. The view from the moated terrace over- 
 
 looking the vast plain, rich in corn and wine, and ending in blue 
 distance, is striking. The glazed pavement of a little boudoir 
 is the product of a manufactory established at Oyron under 
 Henri II. 
 
 The handsome renaissance Parish Church of S. Maurice, 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 which formerly served as a chapel to the chateau, was founded in 
 1 518 by Artus Gouffier. In the transept, barbarously mutilated 
 by the Huguenots, are four noble marble tombs — of Philippe de 
 
 BANC SEIGNEURIALE, OYRON. 
 
 Montmorency, wife of Guillaume Gouffier ; of her children, 
 Artus and Guillaume Gouffier ; and of Claude, son of Artus and 
 Grand Ecuyer du France. In spite of its mutilation, the tomb of 
 Philippe, surrounded by mourning widows, is very striking. On 
 
CURCAY, TOURTENAY. 
 
 105 
 
 either side of the altar are bancs seigneuriales, rich in renaissance 
 decorations : near that on the r. is a beautiful gothic tabernacle. 
 A dried crocodile hangs in the r. transept. 1 A hospice in the 
 village, founded by Mme. de Montespan, contains a portrait of her, 
 attributed to Mignard. 
 
 MAISON DU PRESIDENT, THOUARS. 
 
 6 k. N. is Curcay, with a xn. c. and xv. c. church, a machi- 
 colated castle, and xvi. c. manor-house. 
 
 10 k. N.E. is Tourtenay, where the little church of S. Fort is 
 partly of the VIII. c. 
 
 1 As at Abbeville and S. Bertrand-de-Comminges. 
 
io6 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Another excursion should be made from Thouars to (16 k. ; 
 carriage, 9 fr.) 6*. Generoux. It is not an interesting drive, but a 
 lovely spot, where the Thouet runs through luxuriant woods, and 
 is crossed by a very fine old bridge under the hill crowned by 
 ruins of a castle. The church, nestling beneath the hill and built 
 over the burial place of the saint, is one of the oldest in France, 
 and though altered in the xn. c, dates from the ix. c. The S. 
 and E. walls have romanesque windows separated by triangles, 
 
 S. GENEROUX. 
 
 much recalling the ornamentation of S. Jean de Poitiers. The 
 E. gable has reticulated masonry, and a herring-bone fringe runs 
 above the windows. The interior has a large central apse, and 
 the very narrow aisles end in apsides. An open gallery sepa- 
 rates the nave from the sanctuary. Close to the church are 
 considerable ivy-covered remains of an abbey. 
 
 [For the routes from Thouars to Saumur see later. For the 
 line from Thouars to Niort see ch. iii.] 
 
SAVONNIERES, VILLANDRY. 
 
 109 k. Cotdonges-Thouarsais. 2jk. r. is the Chateau de la 
 Brosse 'Guilgqidt, built, under Louis XL, by the first president of 
 the parliament of Bordeaux. 
 
 128 k. Bressuire.] 
 
 Leaving Tours the line reaches — 
 
 245 k. (from Paris) Savonnieres, where the church has 
 
 CHATEAU DE VILLANDRY. 
 
 a nave with aisles, a short polygonal chancel, and a tower 
 with a lofty wooden spire between the nave and apse. The 
 arches are mostly pointed, though the general character is 
 romanesque, and there is a beautiful romanesque portal. A 
 lovely drive, passing the ' Caves gou Uteres, ' leads to (3 k. W.) 
 Villandry, where the magnificent late xvi. c. Chateau oc- 
 cupies the site of that of Colombiers, where Henry II. and 
 
io8 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE, 
 
 Philippe-Auguste signed a treaty of peace in 1189. The 
 chateau is splendidly kept up. The great square tower is 
 
 xiv. c. Strangers are permitted to walk in the grounds, 
 which are some of the most beautiful in France, with vast 
 green lawns, fountains, canals full of lilies, groves of cedars, 
 magnolias, and catalpas, clipped alleys, and glorious orange- 
 trees. Connected with the chateau by an avenue is the fine 
 romanesque Churchy consisting of nave, transepts, central 
 tower, three apsides to the chancel and one to each of the 
 transepts. 
 
 Crossing the ferry over the Loire at (2 k. N.E.) Port- 
 Maille is (4 k.) Luynes, see above. 
 
 252 k. Cinq- Mars-la- Pile, where many of the houses 
 are cut out of the rock. The cruciform church of x. c. 
 and xii. c. has a central tower with a stone spire, transepts, 
 and apse. Two battlemented gate-towers on the hill, with 
 
 xv. c. windows, remain of the Chateau, which belonged to 
 the favourite of Louis XIII., Henri de Cinq-Mars, beheaded 
 for conspiring against Richelieu. At some distance from 
 the village, on a hillside above the Loire, in the direction 
 of Tours, rises the strange Pile de Cinq Mars, of un- 
 known origin and intention — a tall slender brick tower, 
 crowned by four pinnacles, supposed to have had a fifth 
 in the centre. 
 
 257 k. Langeais (Hotel: du Lion a" Or), the ancient 
 Alangavia. The church has work of ix. c. at the E. end, 
 which is triapsal : the romanesque tower at the W. end has 
 a handsome stone spire. The Chateau, a noble example 
 of a fortress palace, was begun by Pierre de la Brosse, 
 barber of Louis XL, and finished by its next owner, the 
 minister Jean Bourre, under the same king. The walls 
 
LANGEAIS. 
 
 rise from a mass of rocks which unite them to an earlier 
 chateau, of which three sides of the romanesque keep, 
 built by Foulques Nerra in 992, remain at the end of the 
 garden. In the xv. c. chateau, every means of repelling 
 attack by scaling ladders is provided. The angles of the 
 external walls are guarded by massive towers of great 
 
 GARDEN TERRACE, CHATEAU DE LANGEAIS. 
 
 height. A single gate, flanked by huge towers and pro- 
 tected by a portcullis, gives access to the court. Here, in 
 contrast to the severe exterior, is a graceful fagade, each 
 battlement having its own sculpture. The chambers of 
 the interior, with their collection of ancient furniture, are 
 shown, and strangers are permitted to walk on the beautiful 
 terraces, with their noble orange-trees and aloes. 
 
 266 k. S. Patrice. 1 k. W. is the Chateau de Rochecotte, 
 
I IO 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 belonging to the Marquise de Castellane, great-niece of 
 M. de Talleyrand, who died here. 
 
 At 6 k. (follow the road along the r. bank of the Loire to the 
 Isle S. Barbe, cross there, and take the avenue on the 1. bank) is 
 the picturesque and charming Chateau d'Usse, rebuilt by the 
 Espinay family in the xvi. c, but preserving its circular keep of 
 
 CHATEAU D'USSE. 
 
 xv. c. The buildings form two groups, connected by a gallery 
 Vauban, whose eldest daughter married a member of the family 
 of Valentinay, who then owned the place, constructed the 
 terraces and built the pavilion on the W. The chapel is an 
 admirable work of the Renaissance. 
 
 278 k. Port-Boulet. 
 
 4 k. N. is Bourgeuil, which has some remains of a Benedictine 
 abbey, founded 990. The parish church of .S. Germain has a 
 
CHAMP IGNY-SUR- VE UDE, RICHELIEU. in 
 
 remarkable facade of xi. c. and xil. c., and a choir and triple nave 
 of Plantagenet gothic. 
 
 [A line leads S.E. to (53 k.) Port-de-Piles and (154 k.) 
 Argenton, passing — 
 
 15 k. Chinon (see p. 98). 
 
 20 k. Eigne- Riviere. Riviere has a curious romanesque 
 church, with an xi. c. crypt. 
 
 10 k. S. is Chanipigny-sur-Veude, which, after belonging to a 
 number of illustrious owners, came to the family of Richelieu in 
 the xviii. c. Cardinal de Richelieu pulled down the old Chateau 
 of Champigny, only preserving its stables and the Sainte 
 Chapelle, a renaissance church begun (1508) by Louis I. de 
 Bourbon, Prince de la Roche-sur-Yon, and finished, c. 1538, by 
 his son Louis II., first Due de Montpensier, whose tomb remains 
 in a chapel on r. The splendid stained glass of eleven large 
 gothic windows was executed by the famous Robert Pinaigrier. 
 Each window, divided into three parts, contains three subjects, 
 the masterpieces of the artist. At 16 k. is Richelieu, where the 
 cardinal-minister rebuilt the town and replaced his paternal 
 mansion by a magnificent chateau, wantonly demolished by 
 speculators at the beginning of this century. The church was 
 also built by the cardinal from designs of Lemercier. At 23 k. 
 is Faye-la-Vi7ieuse, a little walled town, which was the seat of 
 a barony acquired by the house of Richelieu at the end of the 
 xvi. c. The church of 6*. Georges, formerly collegiate, was 
 founded xi. c, but is chiefly xn. c. A chapel of xin. c. has 
 beautiful vaulting : the pulpit is of the same date. The 
 magnificent crypt has a triple nave, and reproduces exactly the 
 plan of the upper church : it preserves its curious capitals, 
 altar, and a tomb. A second crypt, higher than the first, was 
 arranged for defence, as well as the external tourelles of the 
 church. 
 
 32 k. L'lle Bouchard. The church of 6". Maurice has a tower 
 and stone spire of 1480. 5*. Gilles, dating from 1067, was 
 enlarged in xn. c, and has two fine romanesque portals of that 
 date. A ruined xi. c. apse, with its radiating chapels, remains 
 ol the Priory of S. Leo7iard. Between L'lle Bouchard and 
 Crouzille is a dolmen of great size. The historian Andre 
 
H2 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Duchesne was a native of L'lle Bouchard. At 8^k. is the 
 curious deserted church of Cravant, partly Carlovingian, with 
 additions of xi. c. and xil. c. 
 
 35 k. Crouzille, whence there is a branch to (19 k.) Azay-le- 
 Rideau by (4 k.) Avo?t y which has a very fine xn. c. church. 
 2 k. E. of Avon are the ruined castle and the church of Roches- 
 Tranchelion, of 1527. 
 
 48 k. Noudtre, has a church of 1480 with curious mural 
 paintings. 
 
 SAUMUR. 
 
 53 k. Port-de-Piles, a junction station on the line from Tours 
 to Chatellerault. For the line from hence to Le Blanc by the 
 famous abbey of Fontgombault see ch. ii.] 
 
 295 k. Saumur (Hotels : Budan — first-rate and most 
 comfortable \ d'Anjou ; de la Paix), a town which rose in 
 the x. c. round a monastery and fortress built to protect 
 the relics of S. Florent. The citizens, furious at the 
 usurpations of the abbeys of S. Florent and Fontevrault, 
 
SAUMUR. 
 
 ii3 
 
 embraced Calvinism at an early period, and Saumur became 
 its head-quarters. At the time of the reform the town 
 had 25,000 inhabitants. It received a fatal blow from 
 the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, when Louis XIV. 
 inscribed on the cupola of Notre Dame des Ardilliers — 
 ' Ludovicus XIV., Franc, et Navar. Rex, toto regno haeresim 
 destruxit, ejusque fautores terra marique profligavit.' Though 
 the establishment of an Ecole de Cavalerie has done some- 
 thing to help it, Saumur has never recovered. In the most 
 powerful of his novels, Balzac describes one of its semi- 
 deserted quarters : — 
 
 1 La rue monteuse qui mene au chateau, par le haut de la ville, 
 maintenant peu frequentee, chaude en ete, froide en hiver, obscure 
 en quelques endroits, est remarquable par la sonorite de son petit 
 pave caillouteux, tonjours propre etsec, par l'etroitesse de sa voie 
 tortueuse, par la paix de ses maisons, qui appartiennent a la 
 vieille ville, et qui dominent les remparts. Des habitations trois 
 fois seculaires y ont encore solides, quoique construites en bois, 
 et leurs divers aspects contribuent a l'originalite qui recommende 
 cette partie de Saumur a l'attention des antiquaires et des artistes. 
 11 est difficile de passer devant ces maisons sans admirer les 
 enormes madriers dont les bouts sont tailles en figures bizarres, 
 et qui couronnent d'un bas-relief noir le rez-de-chausee de la 
 plupart d'entre elles. Ici, des pieces de bois transversales sont 
 couvertes en ardoises et dessinent des lignes bleues sur les freles 
 murailles d'un logis termine par un toit en colombage que les ans 
 ont fait plier, dont les bardeaux pourris ont ete tordus par Faction 
 alternative de la pluie et du soleil. La se presentent des appuis 
 de fenetre uses, noircis, dont les dedicates sculptures se voient a 
 peine, et qui semblent trop legers pour le pot d'argile brune d'ou 
 s elancent les oeillets ou les rosiers d'une pativre ouvriere. Plus 
 loin, c'est des portes garnies de clous enormes, ou le genie de nos 
 ancetres a trace des hieroglyphes domestiques dont le sens ne se 
 retrouvera jamais. Tantot un protestant y a signe sa foi, tantot 
 un ligueur y a maudit Henri IV. Quelque bourgeois y a grave 
 les enseignes de sa noblesse de cloches, la gloire de son echevinage 
 
 8 
 
H4 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 oublie. L'histoire de France est la tout entiere. A cote de la 
 tremblante maison, a pans hourdes ou l'artisan a deifie son rabot, 
 seleve l'hotel d'un gentilhomme, ou sur le plein cintre de la porte 
 en pierre se voient encore quelques vestiges de ses armes, brisees 
 par les diverses revolutions qui depuis 1789 ont agite le pays. 
 Dans cette rue, les rez-de-chausee commercants ne sont ni des 
 boutiques ni des magazins ; les amis du moyen-age y retrouve- 
 raient Vouvrouerc de nos peres en toute sa naive simplicity. Ces 
 salles basses, qui n'ont ni devanture, ni montre, ni vitrages, sont 
 profondes, obscures et sans ornements exterieurs ou interieurs. 
 Leur porte est ouverte en deux parties pleines, grossierement 
 ferrees, dont la superieure se replie interieurement, et dont 
 l'inferieure, armee d'une sonnette a ressort, va et vient con- 
 stamment. L'air et le jour arrivent a cette espece d'antre 
 humide, ou par le haut de la porte, ou par l'espace qui se 
 trouve entre la voute, le plancher et le petit mur a hauteur 
 d'appui dans lequel s'encastrent de solides volets, otes le 
 matin, remis et maintenus le soir avec des bandes de fer bou- 
 lonnees. Ce mur sert a etaler les marchandises du negociant. 
 La, nul charlatanisme — suivant la nature du commerce, les 
 echantillons consistent en deux ou trois baquets pleins de sel et 
 de morue, en quelques paquets de toile a voile, des cordages, du 
 laiton pendu aux solives du plancher, des cercles le long des murs, 
 ou quelques pieces de drap sur les rayons. Entrez. Une fille 
 propre, pimpante de jeunesse, au blanc fichu, aux bras rouges, 
 quitte son tricot, appelle son pere ou sa mere qui vient et vous 
 vend a vos souhaits, flegmatiquement, complaisament, arrogament, 
 selon son caractere, soit pour deux sous, soit pour vingt mille 
 francs de marchandise. Vous verrez un marchand de merrain 
 assis a sa porte, et qui tourne ses pouces en causant avec un 
 voisin ; il ne possede en apparence que de mauvaises planches 
 a bouteilles et deux ou trois paquets de lattes ; mais sur le port 
 son chantier plein fournit tous les tonneliers de l'Anjou ; il sait, 
 a une planche pres, combien il fteut de tonneaux si la recolte est 
 bonne ; un coup de soleil l'enrichit, un temps de pluie le mine : 
 en une seule matinee, les poincons valent onze francs ou tombent 
 a six livres. Dans ce pays, comme en Touraine, les vicissitudes 
 de l'atmosphere dominent la vie commerciale. Vignerons, pro- 
 prietaires, marchands de bois, tonneliers, aubergistes, mariniers, 
 
SAUMUR. 
 
 "5 
 
 sont tous a l'affut d'un rayon de soleil ; ils tremblent en se couchant 
 le soir d'apprendre le lendemain matin qu'il a gele pendant la 
 nuit ; ils redoutent la pluie, le vent, la secheresse, et veulent de 
 l'eau, du chaud, des nuages, a leur fantaisie. II y a un duel 
 constant entre le ciel et les interets terrestres. Le barometre 
 attriste, deride, egaye tour a tour les physionomies. D'un bout 
 a l'autre de cette rue, l'ancienne Grand'Rue de Saumur, ces 
 mots : " Voila un temps d'or ! " se chiffrent de porte en porte. 
 Aussi chacun repond-il au voisin : " II pleut des louis! " en sachant 
 ce qu'un rayon de soleil, ce qu' une pluie opportune lui en apporte. 
 Le samedi, vers midi, dans la belle .saison, vous n'obtiendrez pas 
 pour un sou de marchandise chez ces braves industriels. Chacun 
 a sa vigne, sa closerie, et va passer deux jours a la campagne. 
 La, tout etant prevu, l'achat, la vente, le profit, les commercants 
 se trouvent avoir dix heures sur douze a employer en joyeuses 
 parties, en observations, commentaires, espionnages continuels. 
 Une menagere n'achete pas une perdrix sans que les voisins 
 demandent au mari si elle etait cuite a point. Une jeune fille 
 ne met pas la tete a sa fenetre sans y etre vue par tous les 
 groupes inoccupes. - La done, les consciences sont a jour, de 
 meme que ces maisons impenetrates, noires et silencieuses 
 n'ont point de mysteres. La vie est presque toujours en plein 
 air : chaque menage s'assied a sa porte, y dejeune, y dine, y 
 querelle. II ne passe personne dans la rue qui ne soit etudie. 
 Aussi, jadis, quand un etranger arrivait dans une ville de province, 
 etait-il gausse de porte en porte. De la les bons contes, de la le 
 surnom de copieitx donne aux habitants d'Angers, qui excellaient 
 a ces railleries urbaines.' — 'Eugenie Grandet! 
 
 Saumur will at once attract visitors by the fine view 
 from its bridge of the great yellow, many-towered chateau 
 rising above the quaint Hotel de Ville and old houses of 
 the quay. Artists will probably paint many of its quaint 
 street corners and tourelles, amongst which the entrance of 
 the Rue du Fort is a very attractive point. The neigh- 
 bourhood is lovely, especially the banks of the Loire in 
 the direction of Montsoreau. 
 
n6 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The church of S. Pierre, in the centre of the town, was 
 built xii. c. and xm. c, but is modernised. The 1. aisle of 
 the nave is renaissance. There is a splendid romanesque 
 S. doorway. Prettily situated above the suburb of Nantilly, 
 at the S. end of the town, is Notre Dame de Nantilly, said 
 to date from v. c. or vi. c, but chiefly (nave) of xi. c. and 
 (choir) of xii. c. The principal portal is xn. c. On the r. 
 
 BRIDGE OF SAUMUR. 
 
 of the entrance are a well and the beautiful gothic oratory 
 of Louis XI. On one of the pillars of the nave is a curious 
 renaissance bas-relief of S. John preaching ; on another an 
 interesting epitaph by King Rene d'Anjou to the memory of 
 his nurse— Thiephaine (i45 8 )- Opposite this, fixed to a slab 
 of black marble in the wall, is the head of the enamelled 
 staff of Gilles de Tyr, keeper of the seals under S. Louis, 
 buried hard by. The walls are partially clothed with great 
 
SAUMUR. 
 
 117 
 
 (xv. c. and xvi. c.) tapestries; those of the history of the 
 Virgin are very curious as to costume, that of the Adoration 
 of the Shepherds for its botany, that of the Siege of Jeru- 
 salem as to military accoutrements. 
 
 ' On sait que les artistes du moyen-age ne se piquaient pas 
 d'observer la coiileur locale. Aussi il ne faut pas s'6tonner de 
 voir sur le premier plan un soldat romain portant une arme a feu- 
 Celle-la peut-etre regardee comme la representation des premieres 
 bo?7ibardes a ?nain dont il est fait mention des la fin du quator- 
 zieme siecle. C'est un tube de cuivre, emmanche au bout d'un 
 baton, qui a le meme axe que le canon. Le soldat qui le porte 
 le tient a deux mains, appuyant le manche ou la crosse sur son 
 epaule gauche, et, baissant la tete, il ajuste son ennemi. Derriere 
 lui un autre soldat va poser un charbon sur la lumiere de l'arme.' 
 — Prosper Merimee. 
 
 S. Nicolas, once romanesque, was almost rebuilt in 
 
 xv. c. It has the peculiarity of two W. apses. Near it is 
 a xii. c. pyramid, which once supported a lanterne des 
 morts. S.Jean (between the Quai and the Rue S. Jean), 
 on or near the site of a church founded by King Pepin, 
 now the chapel of the Soeurs de S. Anne, is a little basilica 
 of xii. c. 
 
 The Chateau, begun in xi. c, has now more of the 
 
 xvi. c. than the xm. c. ; it serves as an arsenal. The Hotel 
 de Ville, facing the river, is a beautiful xvi. c. building, with 
 machicolated towers ; it contains a Musee of Roman anti- 
 quities, etc. The principal halls of the Hospice de la 
 Providence are cut out of the rock — ' tant les moeurs des 
 anciens troglodytes se maintiennent toujours.' 1 In the 
 Faubourg des Ponts is the Maison de la Reine Cecile, built 
 
 1 JElisee lieclus 
 
n8 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 and inhabited by King Rene : it bears his half-effaced 
 arms. 
 
 The old Protestant city now enjoys almost a monopoly 
 of the fabrication of rosaries, with which it furnishes Rome, 
 France, and Spain. All English visitors to Saumur will give 
 a day to the excursion to Fontevrault. 
 
 LA PIERRE COUVERTE. 
 
 Near the village of Bagneux (2 k.), in a garden, is the Dolmen 
 de Bagneux, 19 met. long, 7 wide, and 3 high. The house of 
 Mme. Dacier is marked by her bust. Near this, close to the way 
 which leads from the high-road to Riou, is another dolmen called 
 La Pierre couverte, composed of six large stones, of which one 
 alone, twenty feet long, forms the S. wall, three the opposite 
 wall, and a single stone, overlapping the others, the roof. In the 
 neighbourhood are many other dolmens. 
 
 At 5. Hilaire S. Florent (2 k. N. W. from the £cole de Cavalerie) 
 is a fortified church of xn. c. and xm. c, with aromanesque crypt 
 
DAMPIERRE. 
 
 119 
 
 and fine xiii. c. porch, a remnant of the abbey of S. Florent. The 
 relics of S. Florent are preserved in a tabernacle. The monastic 
 buildings (xi.c. and xvm. c.) are now occupied by the Soeurs 
 de S. Anne. 
 
 [A charming excursion may be made by carriage from Saumur 
 to Cunault and Gennes (see later). A carriage (15 fr.) should also 
 be taken for the day from Saumur to (16 k.) Fontevrault The 
 drive is one of indescribable loveliness, and no single excursion 
 shows more of the rich characteristic scenery and picturesque 
 villages of the Loire. The road leaves the town by the fine 
 domed pilgrimage church of Notre Dame des Ardilliers (under 
 the hill), built 1553, and enlarged in the xvn. c. by two chapels, 
 one of them erected (1634) by Cardinal Richelieu, the other 
 (1654) by the Marquis de Sable. The dome was finished in 
 1695 by Mme. de Montespan, who often stayed at Saumur to 
 see her director, the Pere de la Tour, general of the Oratorians, 
 when she was on her way to visit her sister, the Abbess of 
 Fontevrault. Just beyond this is one of the best views upon the 
 Loire, when at sunset the grey buildings and cliff and bridge of 
 Saumur are relieved against a vast expanse of sky and river. 
 
 The road passes through groves of beautiful trees, along 
 terraces above the water, and is lined for miles by a range of 
 cliffs which are full of rock dwellings, thickly inhabited. At 
 (4jk.) Damftierre, the tourist should turn aside a little, up the 
 steep street on r., to visit the highly picturesque xv. c. Chateau 
 de Morains, where the brave queen Marguerite d'Anjou, daughter 
 of King Rene, and widow of Henry VI. of England, lived during 
 her exile — 
 
 i Anjou's lone matron in her father's hall.' 
 
 Lord Morpeth. 
 
 Dampierre, however, actually belonged to Francois Vignolles, 
 that faithful officer of the household of King Rene, to whom he 
 committed his desolate daughter on his deathbed, and who 
 brought her hither after the king's funeral from the royal chateau 
 of Reculee, near Angers. Margaret died at Morains, Aug. 25, 
 1480, worn out with grief at the age of 51, and was buried by 
 
120 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 her father's side in the cathedral at Angers, without other 
 monument than her figure in the stained glass. 
 
 The little chateau is well preserved, and a statuette of the 
 haughty queen shielding her son stands near the entrance of the 
 court. Dampierre has many other buildings of xv. c. and xvi. c. 
 The church is xv. c, and in the old Priory of S. Vincent is a xv. c. 
 chapel. 
 
 At 6 k. the xv. c. andjxvi. c. church of Sonzay, with a stone 
 
 CHATEAU de morains. 
 
 spire, stands most picturesquely upon the cliff on r. (at Cham- 
 pigny, 3 k. S.W., are romanesque ruins of a priory chapel). The 
 cliff is now a street of rock dwellings : to many of the windows 
 outside shutters have been added ; some have remains of gothic 
 and renaissance sculpture ; chimneys often appear built up at the 
 top of the rock. Parnay (8 k.) has a church dating from the xi. c, 
 with a xv. c. tomb. At Turquant (9jk.) the church is xv. c. and 
 xvi. c. At Montsoreau (12 k.) we should continue to follow the 
 Loire for a few minutes, before turning aside to Fontevrault, in 
 order to admire the stately though dilapidated renaissance chateau, 
 
FONTEVRAULT. 
 
 121 
 
 which looks out upon a broad reach of the river. The village has 
 two ruined and one complete church of the xn. c. 
 
 Through a lovely valley rich in vines and walnuts we reach 
 (16k.) Fontevrault (Hotel: de France — with a charming little 
 garden). 
 
 'A shallow valley w T hich strikes away southward through a 
 break in the long cliff-wall along "the Loire narrows as it advances 
 
 MONTSOREAU. 
 
 into a sterner gorge, rough with forest greenery. The grey escarp- 
 ments of rock that jut from the sides of this gorge are pierced 
 here and there with the peculiar cellars and cave-dwellings of the 
 country, and a few rude huts which dot their base gather as the 
 road mounts steeply through this wilder scenery into a little lane 
 of cottages that forms the village of Fontevraud. But it is almost 
 suddenly that the great abbey-church round which the village 
 grew up stands out in one colossal mass from the western hill- 
 slope ; and in its very solitude, and the rock-like grandeur of its 
 vast nave, its noble apse, its low central tower, there is something 
 
122 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE, 
 
 that marks it as a fit resting place for kings. Nor does its present 
 use as a prison-chapel jar much on those who have grown familiar 
 with the temper of the early Plantagenets. When the choir of 
 convicts are practising the music of a mass in the eastern portion 
 of the church, which, with the transepts, has now been set apart 
 for divine service, the wild grandeur of the music, unrelieved by 
 any treble, seems to express in a way that nothing else could the 
 spirit of the Angevins. " From the devil we come, to the devil 
 we go," said Richard.'—/. R. Green , 1 Stray\Stndies! 
 
 FONTEVRAULT. 
 
 The abbey of Fontevrault was founded at the end of the XI. c. 
 by the Breton priest, Robert d'Arbrissol. It soon became rich, 
 and its magnificent church, begun iioi, was consecrated by 
 Pope Calixtus II. in 1 1 19. The abbey was founded by Arbrissol 
 both for men and women ; but at the end of his life he delegated 
 the whole of his authority to Petronille de Chemille, who already 
 ruled the nuns, and henceforth Fontevrault presented the unique 
 instance of a convent of men, ruled by an abbess. The abbesses 
 were usually of the highest birth, and many were of blood-royal. 
 Marie-Gabrielle de Rochechouart-Mortemart, the learned younger 
 sister of Mme. de Montespan, was abbess of Fontevrault under 
 
FONTEVRAULT. 
 
 123 
 
 Louis XIV., 1 Mesdames,' daughters of Louis XV., were brought 
 up in the abbey. 
 
 The abbatial buildings, enclosed in high walls, are now 
 occupied by a barrack and a prison, containing upwards of 900 
 convicts ; but, on application at the lodge, an order is easily ob- 
 tained (both for male and female visitors) to see the principal 
 objects of interest. The vast and magnificent Cloister dates from 
 the xii. c, but was much retouched in the xvi. c. and xvn. c. A 
 gorgeous portal opens thence to the Chapter House of 1543, with 
 frescoed walls, and a vaulted roof supported by two central 
 pillars. Only the choir and transepts of the noble transition 
 church called Le Grand Moutier are used for worship, but these 
 have been beautifully restored. The church had once five 
 cupolas, but only one, in the transept, remains. 
 
 TOMB OF RICHARD COEUR DE LION. 
 
 In a semicircular chapel on the E. of the S. transept are the 
 Plantagenet monuments. Only the statues belonging to four 
 tombs are preserved. The four effigies lie low on the ground, 
 in robes of pale blue and red. The first is the sleeping 
 figure of Eleanor of Guienne (1204), with beautiful expression 
 and crossed hands. By her side lies her son Richard I., Coeur 
 de Lion (1199) with small head and delicate features, holding a 
 sceptre with both hands. Henry II. (1 189) has a noble simple 
 statue : his hand holds a sceptre. These effigies are all in 
 stone. Then comes the smaller effigy, in wood, of Isabelle 
 d'Angouleme (1218), the wife of King John; her hands hold a 
 book. 
 
 The nave of the church is now divided into four floors, and 
 used as the dormitory of the prison. The splendid sculpture of 
 the capitals is well seen on one of the upper floors. The 
 
124 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Refectory of the abbey, also divided, is still used for the same 
 purpose ; and, as he is shown over these great halls, the visitor 
 will have an opportunity of remarking the comfort of a French, 
 compared with an English prison. Near one end of the 
 refectory is the Tour d'Evrault, of the xii. c, a singular pyra- 
 midal building, which was used as the kitchen of the abbey, and 
 
 tour d'evrault, fontevrault. 
 
 which is the most curious edifice of its kind in existence. The 
 main plan is octagonal, but attached to five of its faces is a semi- 
 circular apse, each of which is supposed originally to have had 
 its own chimney. 1 The Church of S. Lazare and its depen- 
 dencies are now used as a prison-hospital. Near the ancient 
 
 1 The kitchens of Marmoutiers, Pontlevoys, S. Pere de Chartres, and 
 S. Florent de Saumur resembled this in their general disposition ; and, in 
 England, the kitchens of Glastonbury and the deanery at Durham. 
 
C ANDES, BAUGE. 
 
 125 
 
 dormitories is another church — 6*. Benoit, with its especial 
 cloister. The Fontaine S. Robert, to which one descends by 
 steps, is enclosed in a round tower. 
 
 Well seen from the little garden of the Hotel de France, close 
 to the Promenade behind the church, which was once a cemetery, 
 is the xiii. c. Chapelle S. Catherine, surmounted by a square 
 tower supporting an octagonal pillar, crowned by a la?iteme 
 des morts. The parish church of 5*. Martin has good Angevine 
 vaulting. 
 
 6 k. from Fontevrault, in the direction of Loudun, is Boiffe\ 
 where the church is said to replace that in which Henri Court- 
 Mantel, the rebellious eldest son of Henry II., who died at 
 Chateau Martel, near Brive (June 11, 1183), at the age of twenty- 
 seven, is said to have been buried. In this neighbourhood are the 
 Dolmen of Petite Croix, and the magnificent Allee Couverte of La 
 Pierre Folle, in the courtyard of a farm, formed by three chambers, 
 having a total length of 17 met. and a width of 4 to 6 met. 
 
 1 k. beyond Montsoreau is Candes, formerly walled, and with 
 remains of a xv. c. chateau. The church is erected on the spot 
 where S. Martin died in 397 or 400. It is of xn. c, except a 
 side apse, which is older. The transepts have each an eastern 
 apse. The porch of S. Michel, with a central column from 
 which the vaulting of the roof radiates, and with its 14 statues, 
 is of great beauty : it is flanked by two great buttresses like 
 square towers, crowned with machicolations, which recall 
 Maguelone, near Montpellier.] 
 
 [A line is in construction from Saumur to (54 k.) La Fleche. 
 It passes — 
 
 28 k. Chartre7ie, near which are the romanesque church of 
 Cuou, with a conical scaly spire, and the handsome renaissance 
 Chateau de Landifer. The line passes on 1. the xi. c. and xiii. c. 
 church of 6*. Symfthorie?i. 
 
 34 k. Bauge. The chateau (now the mairie), much altered, 
 dates from the xv. c. It has a good corbelled staircase, with a 
 vaulted roof. There are many curious old houses (xvi. c. and 
 xvii. c.) in the town. An inscription commemorates the victory 
 gained over the English at Bauge, and the spot where Gilbert de 
 la Fayette slew the Duke of Clarence with his own hand. 
 
126 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 15 k. N.E. of Bauge is the fine romanesque church of Genne- 
 teil, with a xn.c. portal. k. E. is the xn. c. church of 
 Pontigne, with paintings of the same date. 
 
 10 k. N.W. is the Chateau de Jarze, built in 1500 by Jean 
 Bourre, formerly minister of Louis XL, and recently restored. 
 The church, formerly collegiate, is xvi. c] 
 
 [A line leads N.E. to (69 k.) Chateau-du-Loir (then to Chartres 
 and Paris), passing — 
 
 12 k. Blou, where the church is xi. c, xn. c, and xm. c. 
 
 20k. Verna7ites. The modern church has a xvn. c. cenotaph 
 to the Seigneurs de Jalesnes, xv. c. glass, and a xn. c. tower. 
 
 1 k. W. is the Chateau de Jalesnes (xvi. c. and xvn. c.) ; 
 4 k. N.W. the ruined Abbayede Louroux, founded by Eremberge 
 d'Anjou in 1121, with a fortified gateway. 
 
 The road leads E. to (2k.) Vernoil-le-Fourrier, with a good 
 church of xi. c. and xiv. c. and chateau of xvn.c, and (12 k.) 
 Giseux } with remains of a xiv. c. chateau and a church containing 
 tombs of the families of Yvetot, du Bellay, de Villequier, and de 
 Contades. 
 
 27 k. Linieres-Bouto?i. The church contains an ancient cros's 
 from the abbey of Louroux. 5 k. W. is Mouliherne, with a fine 
 romanesque church on a rock, built XI. c, and altered xm. c. 
 The apse has sculptured capitals of xi. c. The vaulting of the 
 nave deserves the attention of architects. 
 
 ' II existe une petite eglise qui indique de la maniere la plus 
 evidente les incertitudes des constructeurs de l'Ouest entre les 
 innovations des architectes du domain royal et les traditions de 
 l'Aquitaine : c'est leglise de Mouliherne.' — Viollet le Due, 
 
 In the churchyard is an ossuary — a vaulted crypt of xii. c. 
 
 The old episcopal manor of Val (xi. c. and xvi. c.) has a fine 
 renaissance chimneypiece. 
 
 33 k. Noyant. 5 k. N. is the ruined Cistercian abbey of La 
 Boissiere, founded 1 131. Of the church, only the choir remains. 
 On the slope of. the hill on W. is the (xm. c.) Chapelle de la 
 Vraie Croix, now a barn ; the relic it contained is in the hospital 
 of Bauge. 
 
MONTRE UIL-BELLA Y. 
 
 127 
 
 50 k. Chateau-la- Valliere, takes its name from an old fortress, 
 and was made a duchy (1667) in favour of Louise de la Baume 
 le Blanc, mistress of Louis XIV. The church has an xi. c. portal. 
 The old ducal house is called La Grande Maison. 3 k. S.E., at 
 Vaujours, are a menhir and picturesque ruins of a chateau. 
 
 For the rest of the line to Paris see North-Westem France. ~\ 
 
 [A line leads S. from Saumur to (37 k.) Thouars by — 
 5 k. Chace-Varrains. The mairie of Chace occupies part of a 
 xvii. c. chateau. On the 1. bank of the Thouet is Artanncs, with 
 an interesting romanesque (xn. c.) cross church with a low 
 central tower and wooden spire. It contains a curious xiii. c. 
 font. In a field on N. is a large menhir. 
 
 9 k. Breze-S.-Cyr. In a little wood is the ruined xiv. c. 
 Chateau de la Bouchardiere. Breze (S. of the station) has a 
 moated chateau, rebuilt in xvi. c. by Arthur de Maille. The 
 line passes r. the ruins (xv. c.) of the Chateau de Bois de 
 Saumoussay. 
 
 19 k. Montreuil-Bellay . The town of Montreuil (Hotels : de 
 France; de Londres), beautifully situated on a hill above the 
 Thouet, rose in xi. c. around a chateau and priory founded by 
 Foulques Nerra, Comte d'Anjou. It afterwards belonged to the 
 families of Melun, Harcourt, Longueville, La Meilleraie, Cosse- 
 Brissac, and La Tremouille. The existing chateau, built by the 
 Harcourts in the xv. c, and well restored, is, artistically, one of 
 the most attractive of all the chateaux of the Loire district. It is 
 well seen from the bridge over the Thouet, where it rises above 
 the rich foliage and limpid river with its water-lilies, whilst close 
 to the bank are remains of a fortified priory of the xi. c. and xv. c. 
 The town retains its ancient walls and two noble gates, one of 
 which, the Porte de Thouars, has two huge round towers with 
 curious decoration en bossages. 
 
 By a wide fortified gate we reach the Church, which has a 
 single flamboyant nave, the vaulting of which is supported on 
 niches. At the W. end is a tribune, and on the N. an oratory, 
 with square openings to the nave. A very fine second gate, 
 picturesquely decorated with xvi. c. gables at the top, leads to the 
 charming court and gardens of the chateau, with noble orange 
 trees and a terrace overlooking the ravine. Here the Chateau 
 
128 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Neuf is flanked by three round towers. A polygonal tower 
 contains a staircase. Another staircase is of such slight incline 
 that a rider can ascend to the first floor. The vaulted kitchen is 
 supported by four columns. 
 
 In the plain, towards Meron, are two enormous tombclles.~\ 
 
 [A road leads from Saumur to Cholet by — 
 
 3 k. Where a road branches off to Montreuil by (5 k.) Le 
 
 CHATEAU DE MONTREUIL. 
 
 Coudray - Macouard, which has an xi. c. church over a curious 
 crypt cut in the tufa. In the sacristy are curious tapestries. 
 
 \i\ k. Montfort. 2 k. S.E. is the church of Cisay-la-Madeleinc, 
 where the nave is x. c, the choir xn. c. and xm. c. ; the tower is 
 xii. c. There are interesting tombstones and an abbot's chair of 
 xvii. c. The Chateau de Fosse-Bellay was a Benedictine priory. 
 2 k. N. from Cisay are the beautiful ruins of the Abbaye dAsnieres, 
 now a farm. The church is used as a barn. The pendants of 
 its vaulting are beautifully sculptured. The old abbatial chapel 
 
NUAILLE. 
 
 129 
 
 is xiv. c. There are fragments of the (xi. c. and xn. c.) cloisters 
 and of the three courts of the abbey. In the abbot's garden is a 
 dovecot of xvii. c. 
 
 32 k. Pont de Tremont. 8 k. S.E. is Nueil-sous-Passavant, 
 with a church of XI. c, xn. c, xm. c, and xv. c. In its tower 
 (May 28, 1794) twelve heroes of Nueil, commanded by Maire 
 Pitet, sustained a siege against 4,000 Vendeans. The half-ruined 
 Chateau de la Boissoniere is xv. c. At Passavant (2 k. beyond 
 Nueil) are an xi. c. church and the striking (xvi.c. and xvn. c.) 
 ruins of a chateau, flanked by towers, with moat and drawbridge. 
 
 43 k. r. is the fine (xv. c. and xvi. c.) Chateau die Coudray- 
 Montbault Close by are the ruins of a priory and its splendid 
 church, founded in 1146. 
 
 48 k. Coron. Near this are two Peulvens — la Pierre Pointue 
 (2 k. N. ) and la Pierre du Chateau des Hommcs, near the ruined 
 chateau of the name. The road passes (1 k. 1.) the vast ruined 
 (xv. c. and xvi. c.) Chateau de la Roche des Aubiers, surrounded 
 by water, burnt during the Vendean war. 
 
 53 k. Vezins, once fortified. The chateau, burnt 1793, has 
 been rebuilt. 
 
 60 k. Ntiaille. To the 1. of the road is the yew beneath 
 which the brave Henri de la Rochejaquelein was buried before 
 being moved to the Chateau des Aubiers, near Chatillon. He 
 was killed in the first field on the r. of the road. 
 
 ' Le mercredi des cendres, 4 mars, 1794, en se portant de 
 Trementine sur Nuaille, ou il avait remporte un leger avantage, 
 il apercut deux grenadiers republicans ; on voulut tomber sur 
 eux. "Non," dit-il, " je veux les faire parler." II courut en 
 criant : " Rendez-vous, je vous fais grace ! " L'un des grenadiers 
 se retourna, tira sur lui a bout portant : la balle le frappa au 
 front ; il tomba mort ; le grenadier se mit en devoir de lui arracher 
 sa carabine, pour tirer un second coup sur M. de Bauge et 
 quelques autres qui arrivaient precipitamment, ils sabrerent le 
 grenadier, et, penetres de douleur, ils creuserent une fosse ou 
 Ton ensevelit a la hate Henri et son meurtrier, parce qu'une 
 colonne ennemie arrivait. 
 
 1 Ainsi finit, a vingt-un ans, celui des chefs de la Vendee dont 
 la carriere a ete la plus brillante. II etait l'idole de son armee : 
 
 9 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 encore a present, quand les anciens Vendeens se rappellent 
 l'ardeur et 1 eclat de son courage, sa modestie, sa facilite, et ce 
 caractere de heros et de bon enfant ; ils parlent de lui avec 
 fierte et avec amour ; il n'est pas un paysan dont on ne voie 
 le regard s'animer quand il raconte comment il a servi sous 
 Monsieur Henri! — 1 Memoires de Mme. de la Rochejaqnelein, 
 1811. 
 
 68 k. Cholet, see ch. iii.] 
 
 Leaving Saumur, the line follows the r. bank of the 
 Loire. 
 
 303 k. S. Martin-de-la- Place. A ferry crosses to 
 Ch'enehutte, with a Roman camp, a romanesque church, 
 and ruins of a xvi. c. priory. 
 
 311 k. Les Rosiers (Hotel : de la Poste — a good country 
 inn). There is an omnibus from the station to the bridge 
 over the Loire and the little place of the village with the 
 fine renaissance tower of a xm. c. church, and a pretty 
 fountain decorated with a statue of Jeanne de Laval, who, 
 in her twentieth year, became the second wife of King 
 Rene. Beyond the double bridge over the Loire, the 
 exceedingly picturesque deserted church of S. Eusebe rises 
 in an exquisite position on a wooded height above the 
 river, and deserves attention for the perfection of its pro- 
 portions : portions of its half-ruined walls are older than 
 the x. c. Beyond the village of Gennes, stands the large 
 church of S. Veterin, chiefly xi. c, and approached by 
 a wooden portico, above which is a flamboyant window 
 of fleur-de-lis design. There are some small remains of 
 a Roman theatre here. 
 
 A beautiful road terraced above the Loire leads to (4 k. from 
 
CUNAULT. 
 
 Les Rosiers) Cunault, which has an exceedingly curious large 
 romanesque Plantagenet church of the xiii. c. Its low tower has 
 four tiers of romanesque arcades, and the E. front is battle - 
 mented. A flight of eleven steps forms a descent into the 
 church. The nave has seven bays, the first three with ribbed, 
 
 S. EUSEBE, GENNES. 
 
 the others with cradle vaulting. On the r. is a well. Several 
 of the pillars and portions of the wall have remains of frescoes, 
 and half-way up some of the last pillars of the nave are reliefs. 
 The choir has three bays of narrow stilted arches besides the 
 apse, which is surrounded by a cloture and ambulatory. Two 
 beautiful romanesque chapels open from the ambulatory, richly 
 
132 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 decorated externally, but the E. wall is flat, and fortified outside 
 by tourelles. In the chapel on the N. is an effigy of a prior, in 
 that on the S. a very beautiful ancient reliquary. The capitals 
 of the columns, more than three hundred in number, are all 
 varied, and very curious. The parish church (xn. c. and xm. c.) 
 stands, half-ruined, in the cimetiere. 
 
 i k. further is the charming village of Treves, with the fine 
 round tower of a castle said to have been built by Pierre de 
 Macon, owner of the place, on the site of a castle of Foulques 
 Nerra, who, having promised the governor of Saumur to ' faire 
 treve,' fulfilled his vow by erecting a castle, which he called La 
 Treve. Pierre de Macon, 1442, has a tomb in the curious little 
 church close to the castle, which also contains a xv. c. tabernacle. 
 The village is full of attractive old houses. 
 
 A little S. of the village is the ruined priory of 6*. Mace, 
 built xii. c. on the site of a much more ancient building. 
 
 Following the 1. bank of the Loire from Gennes, we reach 
 (2k.) Besse, with a peulven and romanesque church; (4k.) Le 
 Toureil, with a fine xm. c. church tower, and the Tour de Galles, 
 remnant of an xi. c. castle. To the S. and W. are four menhirs 
 and three dolmens, the largest called La Pierre Couverte. 3 k. 
 beyond Toureil is £*. Maur, which once had a very important 
 abbey, said to have been the earliest Benedictine abbey in 
 France, which gave its name to a famous community of 
 Benedictine monks who had houses at S. Denis, S. Germain- 
 des-Pres, Marmoutier, Corbie, etc. Nothing remains of the 
 abbey here but a xn. c. chapel and some buildings of xvn. c. 
 
 316 k. La Menitre (opposite S. Maur), has a public 
 carriage for (23 k.) Bauge (see p. 125), passing Beaufort-la- 
 Vadee, overlooked by a ruined castle of xi. c. to xv. c. 
 The church (xv. c. and xvi. c.) has a fine tower built by 
 Jean de Lepine, an architect of Angers, in xvi. c. A 
 fountain has a statue of Jeanne de Laval, second wife of 
 King Rene, who died at Saumur in 1498. Near another 
 fountain is the curious house of Jean Chardavoine, poet and 
 musician of the xvi. c. Near Beaufort are the Chateau de 
 
ANGERS. 
 
 133 
 
 la Bliniere (xvi. c. to xvm. a), and the ruined priory of 
 Avrille (xiv. c, xv. c, and xvm. c.) 
 
 320 k. S. Mathurin. The stalls in the church are said 
 to have come from the abbey of S. Maur. S. Remi-la- 
 Varenne, on the r, bank of the Loire, has a restored xi. c. 
 church, and an old priory, with sculptured windows, a 
 fine chimney-piece, and xn. c. fresco in the chapel. 
 
 327 k. La Bohalle. On the r. bank of the river is 
 Brain, 3 k. from which is the oratory of Notre-Dame-de 
 la-Reak) founded by Richard Coeur de Lion. 
 
 338k. Angers (Hotels: du Cheval Blanc; Grand — 
 both good, but pretentious and expensive ; d'Anjou), 
 on the river Maine (formed by the junction of the 
 Mayenne, Sarthe, and Loir), capital of the Departement du 
 Maine-et-Loire, and, till recently, one of the most interesting 
 towns in Western France. The Romans built a stately 
 city here on the site of a Gaulish town of the x\ndicaves 
 (whose name has clung to the place), and called it Julio- 
 magus. Childeric I. united it to his other conquests in 
 
 475- 
 
 The first Comte d'Anjou was Ingelger, adopted by the 
 childless Comtesse du Gatinois, the champion of whose 
 fame he had been, and whose slanderer he, had slain in 
 a duel, for which she made him her heir. It was his 
 grandson, Foulques II. (le Bon), who often used the ex- 
 pression 'An unlettered king is a crowned ass.' His son, 
 Geoffroi Grise Gonelle, who styled himself ' Count of 
 Anjou by the grace of God and the favour of Gesberge 
 his mother,' is said to have killed a Danish giant under 
 the walls of Paris. The son of Grise Gonelle was the famous 
 Foulques Nerra, the great castle-builder, who after returning 
 
134 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 from the second crusade, went again to Palestine, where he 
 was dragged on a hurdle through the streets of Jerusalem, 
 with a rope round his neck, scourged by two servants, 
 and incessantly crying 1 Lord have mercy on the per- 
 jured traitor, Foulques.' His son and successor, Geoffroi 
 Martel, went into a convent, leaving his estates to two 
 nephews. One of these, Foulques le Rechin, was the 
 husband of Bertrade de Montfort, who ran away from 
 him to marry Philippe I. of France. Some time after 
 this, the royal pair were at Angers, when Bertrade effected 
 a reconciliation between her two husbands, and Foulques 
 appeared in church sitting on a stool at the feet of his 
 faithless wife. Being afterwards converted to a religious 
 life by Robert d'Arbrissel, Bertrade became a nun at 
 Fontevrault, where the monastic rigour soon ended 
 her existence. The lofty and romantic Foulques V. 
 betrothed his daughter Matilda to Etheling, son of 
 Henry L, who was drowned just before his marriage, when 
 she became a nun of Fontevrault. Foulques then married 
 his son Geoffroi to the princess Matilda, thus conferring 
 Anjou upon the English crown. Abandoning his duke- 
 dom at once to his children, he set out for the east, 
 where he was elected king of Jerusalem. 
 
 Henceforth Angers became the capital of the Planta- 
 genets in France, and was greatly adorned by Henry II., 
 whose marriage with the divorced Eleanor of Guienne 
 made him lord of half France. Richard Coeur de Lion 
 succeeded, and then John, from whom the continental 
 inheritance was torn by Philippe-Auguste, thus giving 
 rise to the endless wars between France and England. 
 Henry III. kept the title of Count of Anjou till the 
 
ANGERS. 
 
 135 
 
 treaty of peace in 1259. S. Louis had, however, already 
 given the countship of Anjou and Maine to his brother 
 Charles, Comte de Provence, who founded the third 
 house of Anjou. When Philippe de Valois, son of 
 Charles III., mounted the French throne, Anjou was 
 reunited to France, but John II. alienated it again, and 
 created it a duchy in favour of his second son, Louis, 
 first Due d'Anjou. By Louis XL Anjou was again re- 
 united to the throne. The town suffered greatly in the 
 war of the Fronde, and still more in that of La Vendee. 
 One of the most eminent natives of the town has been 
 the sculptor, David d' Angers, 1789 — 1856. 
 
 ' To the English traveller Angers is, in point of historic in- 
 terest, without a rival among the towns of France. The physio- 
 gnomy of the place has been singularly preserved. Few towns 
 have, it is true, suffered more from the destructive fury of the 
 Revolution : gay boulevards have replaced " the flinty ribs of this 
 contemptuous city," the walls which play their part in Shake- 
 speare's King John ; the noblest of its abbeys has been swept 
 away to make room for a prefecture ; four churches were demo- 
 lished at a blow, to be replaced by the dreariest of squares ; the 
 tombs of its later dukes have disappeared from the cathedral. 
 In spite, however, of new faubourgs, new bridges, and new 
 squares, Angers still retains the impress of the middle-ages ; its 
 steep and narrow streets, its dark tortuous alleys, the fantastic 
 woodwork of its houses, the sombre grimness of the slate-rock 
 out of which the city is built, defy even the gay audacity of 
 Imperialist prefects to modernise them. One climbs up from the 
 busy quay along the Mayenne into a city which is still the city of 
 the counts. From Geoffry Greygown to John Lackland there is 
 hardly one who has not left his name stamped on church or 
 cloister, or bridge, or hospital. The stern tower of S. Aubin 
 recalls in its founder Geoffry himself; the nave of S. Maurice, 
 the choir of S. Martin's, the walls of Roncevray, the bridge over 
 Mayenne, proclaim the restless activity of Fulc Nerra ; Geoffry 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Martel rests beneath the ruins of S. Nicholas, on the height 
 towards the river ; beyond the walls to the south is the site of the 
 burial-place of Fulc Rechin ; one can tread the very palace halls 
 to which Geoffry Plantagenet led home his English bride ; the 
 suburb of Roncevray, studded with buildings of an exquisite 
 beauty, is almost the creation of Henry Fitz-Empress and his 
 sons/ — J. R. Green, * Stray Studies! 
 
 In spite of the charm which still lingers in its obscure 
 corners, no town has been more spoilt by improvements 
 than Angers. The new streets are in the worst style of 
 Parisian boulevards, and, where old houses are spared, their 
 surroundings are usually of the ugliest. The churches have 
 undergone a coarse and wholesale ' restoration/ destructive 
 of all their interest. An artist will with difficulty find a 
 ' subject ' here. The great Duke of Wellington was at the 
 military school at Angers, 1785-86. 
 
 All tourists should endeavour to give a whole day to 
 Angers. Those who only stay a few hours should follow 
 the Grand' Rue de la Gare to the Place de la Visitation, and 
 then follow the Rue Talot and Rue des Lices. On the 1. is 
 the Tour S. Aubin (xn. a), a relic of an abbey founded by 
 Childebert, and consecrated in 534. Part of the abbatial 
 building, reconstructed in xvn. c, is occupied (r.) by the 
 Prefecture. A fragment of rich romanesque cloister is to be 
 seen in its courtyard. 
 
 Turning 1. by the entrance of the Rue S. Aubin, the Rue 
 du Musee leads (1.) to the Logis Barrault, now the Musee 
 (behind the Tour S. Aubin), a splendid renaissance palace, 
 built by Olivier Barrault, treasurer of Brittany, thrice mayor 
 of Angers (1497, 1504, 1505). On the 1. of the court is a 
 beautiful gothic cloister. The staircase of the great tower 
 
ANGERS. 
 
 137 
 
 is spiral, ending in beautiful ribbed vaulting. The musee 
 has three divisions : the galleries of painting and sculp- 
 ture (containing a magnificent bust of Napoleon I. by 
 Canova) ; the Musee David ; and the Cabinet Turpin de 
 Crisse. 
 
 The Musee David, filled with works or casts from the 
 works of the great local sculptor, resembles the Thorwaldsen 
 Museum at Copenhagen in its character. Amongst the 
 original works are : 
 
 1. The Wounded Otryades. 
 
 2. A Head expressive of Grief. 
 
 3. The Death of Epaminondas — a relief. 
 
 4. Head of Ulysses — the first work of the artist in marble. 
 
 5. The Young Shepherd. 
 
 6. Nereid bearing the helmet of Achilles. 
 
 94. Rene dAnjou. 
 
 95. Fenelon — a bust in bronze. 
 
 The casts comprise those from the noble tombs of 
 Bonchamps at S. Florent and of Fenelon at Cambrai. 
 
 Behind the museum, and entered from its garden, is the 
 beautiful ruin of Toussaint, of xiii. c. — a miniature Tintern 
 — an abbey of regular canons founded 11 15. The nave 
 and choir, separated by a transept, have no side aisles. 
 The square chevet, with its fine rose-window, was rebuilt 
 xviii. c. 
 
 Behind Toussaint, extending down the whole side of the 
 hill to the river, are the huge walls and towers of the Chateau, 
 built by S. Louis. The towers were, for the most part, levelled 
 with the curtain-wall by Henri III. after he had taken the 
 castle in 1585 : still they are very magnificent. Two chapels 
 remain, one built by Yolande of Arragon. The bastion was 
 
138 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 destroyed to make the existing boulevard. The chateau is 
 now a powder magazine, and is not shown. At the top 
 of the hill, between the Place du Chateau and the 
 Place de l'Academie, is a statue, by David d'Angers, 
 of King Rene, 'le bon roi Rene,' poet, painter, and 
 musician, father of Margaret of Anjou, the unhappy queen 
 of England. 
 
 Turning N. from the Place du Chateau, we soon find 
 ourselves at the Cathedral of S. Maurice, a typical example 
 of the Angevine style, on high ground in the centre of the 
 town. The walls of the nave, which are the earliest part, 
 belong to a rebuilding of 1150-60, the choir and transept to 
 xiii. c. The W. front, with its towers, recalls the churches 
 of the Rhine, whilst the warlike aspect of the statues of 
 S. Maurice and his seven companions (by Jean Giffard) is 
 characteristic of feudal Angers. The principal portal, with 
 its eight great statues, is of 1150-60 ; the lower part of the 
 facade and twin towers of the end of xn. c. All was finished 
 in 1240, except the central W. tower and the spires of the 
 other towers, which are the work of Jean de Lepine in the 
 xvi. c, and greatly injure the effect. Under the side-towers 
 traces are to be seen of a porch which Foulques de 
 Mathefelon erected in 1336 along the whole of the front. 
 The W. transition portal (of 1150-60) is rich in saints and 
 angels ; in the tympanum is Christ enthroned between the 
 emblems of the evangelists. 
 
 Instead of domes, the interior has the intersecting vault 
 of the north. It consists of a nave of three bays, two square 
 transepts, an inter-transept, and a square bay preceding the 
 apse. There is much splendid glass of xn. c. and xiii. c, 
 the earliest windows (in the nave) having been given by 
 
ANGERS. 
 
 139 
 
 Canon Hugues de Semblancay. The story of Thomas 
 a Becket is given in one of the windows of the choir. The 
 grand S. rose has the zodiac. Bishop Jean de Rely 
 (1491-99) is represented in the E. window of the N. transept. 
 But to strangers the characteristic feature of the cathedral 
 will be the Tapestries, which line the whole of the central 
 walls, and are, for the most part, exceedingly curious works 
 of the xiv. c. The chapel on r. of nave, with a domical or 
 Angevine vaulting, is used as a baptistery. The opposite 
 chapel (xv. c.) contains a Calvaire by David cP Angers. On 
 the 1. of the W. door is a font of verde antico, given by King 
 Rene. The fine buffet d'orgues is late xvn. c. On the 
 N. wall of the nave are the tombs of Bishop Guillaume 
 Angebault, 1876, and Bishop Radulph de Bellomonte, 1490. 
 The N. transept — la Chapelle des Eveques — contains the 
 tomb of Bishop Claude Reuil (1628-49), an d some fragments 
 of the tomb of Bishop Jean Olivier. Nothing remains of 
 the tombs of the Dues d'Anjou, of whom the whole dynasty 
 were buried in the apse, except the tomb of King Rene 1 
 (poet and artist, whom his evil destiny placed on a throne), 
 and Isabelle de Lorraine, moved to the S. wall of the nave 
 in 1783. 
 
 The episcopal palace, which joins the N. transept, and 
 occupies the site filled by the castle of the Comtes d'Anjou 
 before 850, is partly romanesque. A staircase, built by 
 Bishop Frangois de Rohan in 15 10, leads to the romanesque 
 Salle Synodale (end of xi. c.) Henri Arnaud, brother of 
 the famous Mere Angelique, resided in this palace as a 
 devoted and laborious bishop of Angers. A friend, fearing 
 
 1 Titular prince of Jerusalem, Naples, Sicily, Majorca, Lorraine, Bar, Anjou, 
 Provence : the last only at his death. 
 
i 4 o SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 his health would be injured by his incessant work, implored 
 him to rest one day in every week. ' I have no objection/ 
 he said, ' if you can choose one in which I am not bishop.' 
 
 In the Place S. Croix, to the E. of the cathedral, is the 
 curious Maison Adam (xv. a), with a sculpture of a man 
 killing a bull, and others more curious. The Rue S. Croix 
 leads to the Rue de l'Oisellerie (with the buildings of the 
 new Eveche on the N.), whence the Rue Baudriere, with 
 many curious old houses, descends to the river. 
 
 ' Any one of these projecting gables, turned into a perfect bower 
 of roses, creepers, and vines, with perhaps a gentle-faced matron 
 knitting by, or a cat sleeping on the sill, or a bird singing from 
 its perch in the roof, lends an indefinable grace and gaiety to the 
 sober-coloured streets. The framework of these dormers is of 
 dark stained wood ; in summer the windows are always open, 
 and there, amid their flowers and pets, the humbler Angevines sit 
 down to rest when work is done.' — Fraser } Nov. 1875. 
 
 Crossing the Pont du Centre, and proceeding in a direct 
 line, we reach the church of La Trinite, which belonged 
 to the abbey of Ronceray. It was founded in 1062, but 
 not finished till the xm. c. Only the lower part of the 
 tower is romanesque, the rest was added by Jean de 
 Lepine (xvi. c.) except the top, which is modern. The 
 interest of the church has been annihilated by ' restoration.' 
 All the glorious sculpture of the once-magnificent 
 romanesque portals has been carted away, and replaced 
 by copies in the feeblest and coarsest of mason's work. 
 The interior is now only worth visiting from its disposition, 
 which is very curious. The nave, without aisles, has seven 
 bays, of which six are vaulted two by two, in a com- 
 promise between the Angevine dome and the six-sided 
 
ANGERS. 141 
 
 arrangement of the lie de France : the plan is varied in 
 each of the three divisions. The side-walls, which are 
 flat externally, are pierced internally by a succession of 
 large niches, each lighted by a window, and framed, 
 towards the nave, in a gothic arch of great richness. The 
 choir is exceedingly narrow, only occupying the space 
 under the tower, with an apse with ribbed vaulting. Two 
 narrow entrances appear in the E. wall on either side of the 
 pillars at the opening of the choir, and these lead to the 
 transepts, which have E. apsides. Close to the W. door 
 is a winding renaissance staircase in wood. The sacristan 
 will admit to the crypt of the adjoining church of Ronceray, 
 built for a monastery of nuns by Foulques Nerra, and 
 consecrated by Calixtus II. in 11 19. The church has 
 Roman-like masonry of the x. c. Part of it serves as a 
 chapel to the Ecole des Arts et Metiers ; only nine bays of 
 the nave remain. Ronceray contains several old timber 
 houses, and is generally more picturesque than Angers. 
 In the Rue S. Nicolas is (r.) the Maison de la VoiUe, a 
 beautiful building of the xv. c. 
 
 The Boulevard de Ronceray leads N. to the ancient 
 Hotel Dieu or Hopital S. Jean, founded by Henry II., 
 King of England and Comte d'Anjou, in 11 70, from which 
 time a great part of the building dates. The Grande 
 Salle, with a beautiful vaulted roof, supported by mono- 
 cylindric columns, is one of the earliest gothic halls in 
 existence. It is used as an archaeological museum, and 
 contains the porphyry urn bequeathed by King Rene 
 to the cathedral, and said to have been handed down 
 from the Marriage of Cana (!) ; a statue of Dame Huet de 
 Chenaye (xv. a), lady-in-waiting to Marie d'Anjou, wife of 
 
142 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Charles VII., etc. In the garden are several columns 
 of a Roman temple. 
 
 Two of the three existing galleries of the cloister 
 behind date from the time of the foundation ; the third, of 
 the renaissance, is the work of Jean de Lepine. A beautiful 
 romanesque portal leads from the cloister to the chapel, 
 a square hall, with four compartments of domical vaults 
 nieeting on two isolated columns. A small apse is found 
 on one side of the square. All the windows are richly 
 decorated romanesque. Standing further back (at the 
 end of the Rue S. Jean) are the old warehouses of the 
 hospital, now used by the town, lighted on two sides by 
 beautiful double windows, pierced with a little oculus at 
 the tympanum. 
 
 The extremities of the lines of walls which enclosed 
 the town to the right and left of the Maine were termi- 
 nated by towers which received the names of haute chaine 
 and basse chaine, because from them the great chains were 
 suspended, which were lowered at night to defend the 
 approach to the town by the river. The tower of the Haute 
 Chaine still stands by the bridge. 
 
 Crossing the Pont de la Haute Chaine, where a modern 
 iron bridge replaces that built by Henry II. near his 
 hospital, and following the Boulevard, the Levee Ber- 
 nardiere leads 1. to the church of S. Serge, formerly abbatial, 
 built with the riches acquired by the monastery from 
 pilgrimages to S. Brieux, a Breton saint, whose relics 
 were sent hither for security when Brittany was invaded 
 by the Normans, and which were afterwards only regained 
 by their original owners after a long lawsuit. Of this 
 time are the choir and transept — beautiful and most 
 
ANGERS. 
 
 i43 
 
 graceful early Plantagenet gothic (xi. c. — xn. c), but the 
 nave is xv. c. The choir is five bays in length, and of 
 these two have five aisles, two three, and the last is single. 
 The two outside aisles of the first bays end in apsides, 
 the other aisles and the chevet have a square termination. 
 The slender lofty isolated columns and the vaulting are 
 marvellously graceful. In the second S. aisle is the epitaph 
 of Abbot Jean Tillon, 1483 — 1501. The choir has a 
 charming xvi. c. piscina. 
 
 The Benedictine monastery of S. Serge was founded 
 in the vn. c, and frequently rebuilt, lastly at the end of 
 xvii. c. : it is now the Grand Seminaire. Behind the 
 seminary, the former gardens of the abbey of S. Serge 
 are now a Jardin Public, with an admirable botanic 
 collection. Here, on the Terrasse des Magnolias, is the 
 little church of S. Samson, with a romanesque portal. 
 
 Crossing the Place du Pelican, on the Boulevard de la 
 Mairie, facing the pretty Jardin du Mail, is the Hotel 
 de Ville, formerly the College d'Anjou, built 1691 by the 
 Peres de l'Oratoire. Turning into the town from hence, 
 we find in the Rue Basse du Figuier (N.W. of the Place 
 du Ralliement) the Hotel Pince, a beautiful renaissance 
 building of Jean de Lepine, sometimes called Hotel 
 d'Anjou, because Pierre de Pince, for whom it was built, 
 and who lived there (1523-30), was ' lieutenant-criminel 
 du senechal d'Anjou.' It was bought by the artist 
 Bodinier, and given to the town, on condition of being 
 consecrated to the arts. The hotel was rebuilt, stone for 
 stone, in 1880-84. The effect of horizontal bands of orna- 
 ment is balanced by the perpendicular shafts, which are 
 characteristic of the architects of the later renaissance. 
 
144 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Crossing the Place du Ralliement, we find in the Rue 
 Haute S. Martin, the church of S. Afartin, originally built 
 in the ix. c. by the Empress Hermengarde, first wife of 
 Louis le Debonnaire, in the hope of being cured of a 
 fever, of which she died before it was finished. It was 
 rebuilt by Foulques Nerra, in 1020, to which period the 
 transept, central tower, and four remaining arcades of the 
 nave belong. The cupola, under the tower, without either 
 pendentives or ribs, is believed to be of xn. c. The choir, 
 of two square bays, without side aisles, terminates in an 
 apse, probably of the end of xn. c. Incrusted in the vault- 
 ing are terra cotta vases. Since 1791 the church has been 
 taken away from worship, to be used as a wood-warehouse. 
 
 Angers is celebrated for its nursery gardens, admirable 
 for their vast collections of shrubs and herbaceous plants, 
 and especially for their roses, which they export to 
 England at very low prices. Perhaps the best, amongst 
 many nurseries, is that of Andre Leroi. 
 
 The famous Slate Quart ies (Ardoisieres) near Angers 
 can only be visited with an order from the Directeur. 
 
 An excursion may be made to the Chateau de Serrant and 
 S. Florent (see line to Nantes). Also to the Chateau de Plessis- 
 Bourre (line to Le Mans) and the Chateau de Plessis-Mace. 
 These may both be visited by carriage from Angers, or the 
 morning express may be taken to Etriche, and a carriage taken 
 from the inn near the station (15 fr.)to Plessis-Bourre, and on to 
 La Membrolle, whence it is a pleasant walk to Plessis-Mace, 
 returning by rail, or by the omnibus from Lion-d Angers to Angers 
 in the evening. 
 
 [A line leads from Angers to (80 k.) Chateaubriant (from 
 the station near S. Serge and the Pont de la Haute Chaine) 
 passing — » 
 
PLESSIS-MACE. 
 
 145 
 
 6 k. Avrille. The modern church has stalls from the priory 
 of La Haie-aux-Bons-Ho??imes, founded 1178, 3 k. S.W. of 
 Avrille ; its xn. c. chapel is now a stable. 
 
 15 k. La Membrolle (Hotel : du Cheval Blanc). 3 k. S. is the 
 picturesque village of Plessis-Mace, where old oaks and chestnuts 
 surround the ramparts and dry moat of the Chateau, founded by 
 Mace de Plessis in the xi. c. The enclosure is entered by two 
 stately gateways, one retaining remains of its portcullis and 
 drawbridge. The buildings within were reconstructed in the 
 xv. c„ and have been recently restored from ruin. They have 
 beautiful renaissance details, especially a w T ide balcony, and a 
 tower like that of the Maison du President at Thouars. At one 
 end of the dwelling-house is the chapel, with timber vaulting, 
 and a richly decorated gallery and winding gothic staircase in 
 oak. The chambers contain admirable tapestries from the abbey 
 of Ronceray. Rising high from the festoons of clematis which 
 embower the walls, are the remains of the keep. 
 
 24 k. Le-Lion-d 'Angers. The church, which belonged to a 
 Benedictine priory, is partly as old as x. c. and xi. c, as is shown 
 by its masonry and windows. In the interior are ancient frescoes 
 representing the Passion. Along the 1. bank of the Oudon, 
 stretch the grounds of Ile-Briant ; the chateau is xvm. c. 
 
 38 k. Segre. For this and the line hence to Chateaubriant, 
 see North-Western France.] 
 
 [A carriage road leads N.W. from Angers to (71 k.) Chateau- 
 briand, by — 
 
 39 k. Cande (Hotel : de la Paste). 
 
 53 k. La Chapelle-Glain. 2 k. S. is the noble Chateau de la 
 Motte-Glain, rebuilt 1496 by Pierre de Rohan, Mar£chal de 
 France. It was visited by Charles VIII. and IX., and the fleurs- 
 de-lis scattered over the walls attest the loyalty of its owners, 
 whilst the pilgrims' staves and cockle-shells record their piety. 
 The chateau, devastated at the Revolution, has been recently 
 restored. 
 
 57 k. S. Julien-de-Vouvantes. The church, partly xv. c, bears 
 the arms of the Sires de Penhoet on one of the bosses of its choir 
 vaulting. The windows contain the arms of Brittany, Laval, 
 Dinan, and Chateaubriant. Another cushion in the nave is 
 
 10 
 
146 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 charged with the arms of the Cure Robert Guibe, afterwards 
 cardinal-bishop of Nantes. Near the church are three fountains, 
 which are great objects of pilgrimage. One is said to bear the 
 print of the hoof of the horse of S. J ulien.] 
 
 [A line leads N.E. from Angers to Le Mans, by — 
 
 4 k. Ecouflaut. On 1. is the house of Per ray aux Nonnains, 
 
 chAteau of plessis-bourrl. 
 
 occupying an old Cistercian convent. On r. is the Chateau 
 dEventard, a manor of the bishops of Angers. 
 
 9 k. 5. Sylvain-Briollay. Only the mound remains (3 k. S.) of 
 the chateau de Briollay. 
 
 18 k. Tierce, has a fine modern church by Richou and Bibard. 
 3 k. W., on the Sarthe, is Cheffes, with a fine xin. c. tower. The 
 choir has an inscription recording its consecration by Geoffroi de 
 la Mouche, bishop of Angers, in 1 167. 4 k. S.W. of Cheffes, 
 situated in flat meadows, and approached by a long green avenue, 
 is the Chateau du Plcssis-Bourre, built (1468-73) by Jean Bow re, 
 
PLESSIS-BOURRE, SOLESMES. 
 
 147 
 
 finance-minister to Louis XI. The chateau, restored into an 
 appearance of newness externally, stands in a wide moat of clear 
 water, crossed by a bridge of seven arches. At the angles are 
 four square towers, one of which, higher than the others, serves 
 as a keep. On the ceiling of the salle des gardes are paintings of 
 the time of Jean Bourre, representing proverbs in action, with 
 metrical inscriptions. 
 
 23 k. Etriche-Chdteauneuf (a small inn near the railway, 
 whence a carriage may be taken to Plessis-Bourre or to Plessis- 
 Mace). 1 k. r. is Etriche, where the church has a fine xvn. c. 
 pulpit, and the Chateau du Plcssis-Chivre, of the xvi. c. At 
 Clidteauneufsur-Sarthe (3 k. N.W.) is a church of xn. c. and 
 xiii. c. 
 
 32 k. Moramies, has a church of xn. c. and xv. c, and is only 
 separated by the Sarthe from Chemire, which has two curious 
 xvi. c. houses, one of them used as a presbytery. 
 
 36 k. Pince-Precigne. Pince has a xv. c. priory converted into 
 a presbytery. Precigne\\ k. E.) has a xiii. c. church. The convent 
 of S. Francois, founded 1610, is now a school. 
 
 47k. Sable (Hotel: Notre Dame et du Commerce), has the 
 ruined castle of its ancient barons, with a later chateau near it» 
 situated on a lofty terrace. 
 
 It is fi'om Sable that tourists used to visit the very important 
 and bcatitiftil sculptures at Solesmes, but these have been entirely 
 closed to the piddic since the expulsion of the Benedictiiies in 1880, 
 a?id it will be well to ascertain at Angers that they are again visible 
 before making the excursion. 
 
 There is an omnibus from the station to (3 k.) Solesmes, or 
 pedestrians may reach it by turning 1. at the Place de la Mairie 
 by the Rue de rile, crossing the Sarthe and turning 1. at the Place 
 des Ormeaux, by the Rue de THospice, and passing under the rail- 
 way viaduct. Solesmes owes its celebrity to its Benedictine abbey, 
 replacing a priory founded in the XI. c. The abbatial buildings 
 are chiefly xviii. c. The xv. c. church has been modernised. 
 Near the entrance of the nave is a cornice from an earlier building. 
 The genealogy of Christ is represented in the woodwork which 
 covers the walls of the choir, — ' a genealogical tree sculptured in 
 wood,' — with heads full of character. But the monuments which 
 
148 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 attract strangers, the famous Saints de Solesmes, are in the tran- 
 septs, where they occupy vast niches decorated with the utmost 
 magnificence, each niche having a decoration proper to itself — 
 gothic, with renaissance details of exquisite delicacy and beauty, 
 executed — probably by Italian artists — between 1496 and 1550 
 under the priors Philippe Moreau and Jean Bougler. 
 
 'Jamais le meme ornement ne se reproduit deux fois, et 
 toujours celui quon examine le dernier semble l'emporter sur 
 les autres en elegance. La, point de ces formes convenues, 
 triviales, tracees a la regie et au compas. Chaque partie de la 
 decoration semble l'invention d'un artiste qui, ayant trouve le 
 motif, en a ete lui-meme 1'ouvrier.' — Prosper Merbnee. 
 
 The earliest (1496) and finest of the groups occupies the end 
 wall of the S. transept, and represents The Entombment. The 
 figures reproduce the costume of the time of Louis XL, and it is 
 said that Joseph of Arimathea is a portrait of King Rene. The 
 majesty of the dead Saviour, and the anguish of the Virgin sup- 
 ported by S. John, are marvellously represented, but the most 
 admirable figure is that of the Magdalen. 
 
 ' Elle vit, elle respire doucement : son silence est en meme 
 temps de la tristesse et de la priere. C'est unc de ces figures 
 qui se gravent profondement dans l'esprit de celui qui les a une 
 fois contemplees.' — Piolin. 
 
 Above the caverned tomb are David and Isaiah exhibiting the 
 predictions relating to the burial of the Saviour, and three angels 
 bearing the crosses of Calvary. The central cross is vacant, for 
 Christ is already in the tomb. Two soldiers guard the tomb, but 
 are fearfully mutilated, owing to the simplicity of the villagers 
 of Solesmes, who have avenged on them the outrages of the 
 Saviour. On the altar to the 1. of this chapel is a powerful relief 
 representing the Massacre of the Innocents, and above it a Virgin 
 supporting the dead Christ, venerated as Notre Dame de Pitie. 
 
 The principal position in the N. transept is occupied by the 
 Burial of the Virgin. S. Peter looks down upon the beautiful 
 figure in the sleep of death. S. John holds a corner of the 
 winding-sheet. S. James the Less leans forward for a last look. 
 
SOLESMES. 
 
 149 
 
 Opposite S. John, a monk represents the famous prior, Jean 
 Bougler, to whom the monument is due. A figure seated near 
 the tomb has been mutilated by the people, who believed 
 that it represented the devil looking for the sins of the Virgin 
 in his register. 
 
 ' Un exces de zele religieux a coute le nez et la moitie du visage 
 a Tun des personnages qui assistent a la mort de la Vierge. Le 
 motif qui la designe a la fureur des lideles est assez singulier. 
 Cette figure est assise, tenant un livre entre ses mains ; sans 
 doute elle represente un docteur de la loi, un apotre peut-etre, 
 assistant la Vierge a ses derniers moments. Les bonnes gens de 
 Solesmes, voyant ce livre tout blanc, ont explique ainsi cette 
 statue. " C'est le diable," disaient-ils, " charge d'enregistrer les 
 peches de la Vierge ; n'en pouvant trouver un seul, son livre est 
 tout blanc." Mais pour le punir de sa mauvaise intention, ils lui 
 ont donne nombre de coups de couteau et de baton. Pared 
 malheur est arrive a deux autres statues, placees en dehors de la 
 niche, a l'extremite du transept meridional. Elles sont plus 
 modernes, je crois, que les autres figures du meme groupe, et 
 representent deux soldats en faction devant le tombeau du 
 Christ. Le crime de celles-la etait bien evident, c'etaient des 
 gendarmes de Pilate ; on les a traites en consequence.' — Prosper 
 Merimee. 
 
 The architectural decorations include figures of SS. Bernard, 
 Anselm, Bonaventura, and another. Above the principal group 
 is the Assumption, and in front David celebrating on his harp the 
 triumph of his descendant, and two angels holding the stone taken 
 away from the sepulchre. 
 
 On the r. is the Communion of the Virgin. SS. John and 
 Peter uphold her to receive it from the Saviour. Six apostles 
 stand around, with Hierotheus, who, S. Dionysius the Areopa- 
 gite says, was present at the death of the Virgin. Behind are two 
 women, one of them marvellous in expression. On the 1. is a 
 monk, in Benedictine habit. SS. Dionysius the Areopagite and 
 Hierotheus are represented again in the architectural decorations. 
 Above the communion is represented the Coro?iation of the 
 Virgin. 
 
150 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 On the 1. wall, facing the altar of the communion, is Christ 
 amongst the Doctors. The child Jesus rises to welcome his 
 parents, who have at length found him. Ten figures compose 
 this group. The doctors are full of character, and are supposed 
 to be portraits : Lenormant finds Luther and the leaders of the 
 Reformation amongst them. 
 
 Under the choir is a crypt, with an altar, over the relics of the 
 martyr S. Leome, copied from the altars in the catacombs at 
 Rome. 
 
 A modern monastery of Benedictine nuns was built 1866-71, 
 near the abbey, with a fine gothic church. 
 
 6 k. S.E. of Sable is the famous pilgrimage chapel of Notre- 
 Dame-du-Chene, see North- Western France. 
 
 54 k. Jnignc-snr-Sarthe, has a fine chateau, rebuilt xvn. c, but 
 which has belonged to the family of Le Clerc from xiv. c. 
 
 78 k. La Snze. The chateau, founded xi. c, was rebuilt xv. c. 
 
 98 k. Le Mans, see North-Western France.^ 
 
 [A railway leads N.E. to (49 k.) La Fleche, passing — 
 
 17 k. Villeveqne, with a (xv. c. and xix. c.) chateau of the 
 bishops of Angers. 
 
 29 k. Lezigne. Near this is the Chateau dn Verger, built 
 (xv. c.) by Pierre de Rohan, marechal de France, and visited by 
 five kings ; but the greater part of the buildings were pulled down 
 in 1776 by the Cardinal de Rohan, and only some ruined towers 
 and offices remain. Near the chateau is the ruined priory of .S. 
 Croix, also founded by Pierre de Rohan. 
 
 35 k. Dnrtal, where Geoffroy Martel built a chateau in xi. c. 
 The existing chateau is a fine building of the xvi. c, disfigured 
 by modernisations. It is nobly placed above the town and the 
 Loir, which is crossed by a xiv. c. bridge. 
 
 41^ k. Bazouges-snr-Loir. The church is xn. c, the wooden 
 vaulting covered with paintings of xv. c. The chateau, flanked 
 by machicolated towers, is xvi. c. and xvn. c] 
 
 [A line leads S.E. from Angers to (87 k.) Loudun by — 
 10 k. Les-Ponts-de-Ce (connected with Angers by omnibuses 
 from the Boulevard le Saumur), only remarkable for its causeway 
 
CHATEAU DE BRISSAC. 
 
 3 k. long, in the direction of Angers, with bridges crossing the 
 canal de l'Authion, and two wide arms of the Loire, and taking 
 advantage of an archipelago of islets on the way. On a central 
 island near one of the bridges is a little Chateau of King Rene, 
 now a gendarmerie. 
 
 4 It is a quaint old-world place, and, as you drive over the 
 Ponts-de-Ce bridges, you have a magnificent view of the river, 
 now flowing bright and clear ; the orchards and vineyards, green 
 as emerald, shutting in the blue ; the far-off villages, with church 
 and chateau ; whilst nearer the overhanging rocks, and the rows 
 of windmills perched so airily on their summits, like weird birds of 
 prey, with wings folded in their eyrie, for a moment at rest, lend 
 uniqueness to the picture.' — Eraser, Nov. 1875. 
 
 20 k. Quince- Br is sac. 1 k. N.E., standing in a small park 
 close to the little town, is the Chateau de Brissac, built 1610-20, 
 under Jacques d'Angluze, son of the architect of Fontainebleau, 
 with the assistance of the architects Hutin, Corbineau, and 
 Malherbe, and the painters Pottier, Gillion, Gasselin, and many 
 others. Brissac was created a duchy in 1629, for its builder 
 Charles de Cosse, marechal de France, whose descendants have 
 ever since inhabited it. The principal facade ends in machico- 
 lated towers, relics of a chateau of xiv. c. A high pavilion has 
 the five orders, with a large semicircular opening in each, and 
 two niches with pilasters. The interior, ruined and devastated 
 at the Revolution, is now handsomely furnished and well kept up. 
 Many of the rooms have fine old painted ceilings and contain 
 some good tapestries, but the antique furniture is mostly modern 
 and the pictures copies. The chapel has statues by David 
 d' Angers. 
 
 In the grounds, is the Mausoleum, a classic building, the burial- 
 place of the Cosse family, with statues from their tombs. On the 
 E. choir window of the xvi. c. Church of Brissac (Hotel : de 
 la Poste) the Marechal de Cosse is represented kneeling, with 
 his wife. 1 
 
 1 Brissac is scarcely worth an excursion. Those who go there by rail from 
 Angers may return by carriage (6 fr.) to Ponts-de.-Ce, and thence take the 
 omnibus to Angers. 
 
152 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The line passes (1.) Notre Dame d'Alencon, with the xvi. c. 
 manor house of La Mare, facing the church. 
 
 33 k. Le-Perray-Jonannet, with mineral baths. There is a 
 branch line hence to (22 k.) Chalonnes, by (15 k.) S. Anbin de 
 Lnigne, with a renaissance church and presbytery, and the 
 ruined castle of La Guerche. 
 
 37 k. Martigne-Briand, has a fine renaissance chateau. 
 
 51 k. Doue-la-Fontai7ie ) takes its name from the abundant 
 fountains at the entrance of the town, which is singularly built 
 over ancient quarries. An excavation in the form of an amphi- 
 theatre was used for the Mysteres of xv. c. 6 k. N. are the 
 romanesque church and dolmens of Deneze. . 
 
 54k. Bouge-les-Verchers. Between these places are the 
 remains of the Chateau des Basses Fontaines, with a xvi. c. 
 chapel. 
 
 58 k. La Vaudelenay-Rille. 3 k. S.W. is L^e-Puy-Notrc-Dame f 
 with a beautiful priory church, made collegiate by Louis XI. 
 The triple nave is xm. c. The tall stone spire of the church is 
 xv. c, the spires of the facade xm. c. The church professes to 
 possess the girdle of the Virgin, which is believed to have the 
 power of annulling the pains of childbirth. Anne of Austria 
 caused it to be solemnly brought to her at S. Germain before the 
 birth of Louis XIV. A picture by Jean Boucher of Bourges 
 (1644), represents the Assumption. Joining the church are two 
 xv. c. chambers, one formerly the chapter-house. 
 
 The whole country before reaching Loudun abounds in 
 dolmens.] 
 
 Leaving Angers for Nantes, the old convent of La 
 Baumette, founded by King Rene, and his favourite 
 retreat, is seen rising above a ridge on the 1. 
 
 351k. (from Paris) Les Forges. A modern chateau 
 replaces that of La Roche aux Moines, built by Philippe- 
 Auguste. Opposite is BLle Behuard, with a curious church 
 of xv. c. and xvi. c, consisting of two halls built one 
 above the other. It contains a xv. c. statue, xvi. c- 
 glass, a portrait of Louis XL given by Charles VIIL, and 
 
SAVENNIERES, CHALONNES. 
 
 153 
 
 chains of prisoners offered in ex-voto. Close to the church 
 is a house of xvi. c. and xvn. c. 
 
 1 k. from Forges, on r. of the line, is Savennieres, with 
 a church of great antiquity (attributed to vi. a), the walls of 
 the nave and fagade being probably of ix. c. 
 
 ' On remarque a differentes hauteurs, depuis le niveau du sol 
 jusqu'au sommet de l'ancien fronton, six larges bandes de briques 
 posees en feuilles de fougere, et trois petits cordons composes 
 seulement d'un double rang de briques posees a plat. Ces 
 differentes lignes rougeatres contrastent par leur couleur avec le 
 fond rembruni de la muraille. Deux fenetres, percees au centre, 
 ont leurs archivoltes garnies de briques, et Ton remarque tout 
 pres de l'extremite du pignon, des briques disposees de maniere 
 a former un triangle.' — De Caumont. 
 
 The choir and towers are xm. c. The xv. c. aisle has 
 quaintly-carved beams. 
 
 355 k. La Possonniere. There is a beautiful view over 
 the river from the station. In the ruins of the castle is the 
 xv. c. Chapelle de S\ Rene. 
 
 [A branch line leads S. to (90 k.) Bressuire by — 
 6 k. Chalonnes. The town (2 k. r.) has the church of 
 5. Maurille, partly xn. c, with curious pendants to its vaulting 
 — one representing the martyrdom of S. Valerie. One tower, on 
 the bank of the Loire, remains from an ancient episcopal palace. 
 On an island is the Hermitage of S. Herve. A branch line 
 connects Chalonnes with Perray (see p. 1 52 ). The railway passes 
 (1.) the Chateau de la Contrze, ruined in the Vendean war and 
 restored 1869. 
 
 21 k. Chemille. The village of S. Pierre-de-Chemille (\ k. 1.) 
 has a church dating from xi. c, but restored. In the romanesque 
 tower is an oratory with curious xm. c. sculptures. Chemille 
 (1 k.), a small manufacturing town, has the church of Notre 
 Dame (xi. c, xn. c, and xvi. c, with a xvi. c. spire) and a 
 ruined castle. 
 
1S4 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 32 k. Tremcntines, is a district abounding in megalithic 
 remains. 
 
 43 k. Cholet (Hotel : de France). 1 La Cle de la Vendee,' an 
 ugly, featureless place, of perfectly modern aspect, though it 
 dates from XI. c. The whole town is a great workshop of woollen 
 and linen manufactures. Here the royalist troops of La Vendee 
 suffered a bloody defeat from the republicans on Oct. 17, 1793. 
 On Oct. 15 the Marquis de Lescure was mortally wounded at 
 La Tremblaye, and, in the second engagement on the 17th, the 
 Marquis de Bonchamps received the fatal wound of which he 
 died at S. Florent. Nearly all the antiquities of Cholet have 
 been destroyed or rebuilt. The Vieux Pont is xv. c. Menhirs 
 abound in the district. 
 
 64 k. Chdtillon-S.-Aubhi. At the manufacturing town of 
 Chatillon-sur-Sevre (2 k. r.) is the Abb aye de la Tri7iite\ founded 
 xi. c, rebuilt xvm. c, and now occupied as the mairie. The 
 church, also rebuilt, is now parochial. There are some remains 
 (xn. c. and xm. c.) of the old chateau. The church of 6*. Aubin 
 (2 k. 1.) contains the graves of the La Rochejaquelein family, the 
 ruins of whose ancient Chateau de la Durbelliere (burnt 1793) are 
 near a pool 1 k. N. of S. Aubin.] 
 
 360 k, S. Georges-sur- Loire, has some small remains of 
 an abbey founded xn. c. 1 k. N.E., near the Angers road, 
 is the magnificent Chateau de Serrant (Comte L. Walsh de 
 Serrant), which belonged (xv. c. and xvi. c.) to the family of 
 Brie ; was purchased by Sardini in 1596 ; and again, in 1620, 
 by Hercule de Rohan, Due de Montbazon. In 1636 it was 
 sold to the witty Guillaume Bautru, counsellor of state, who 
 received a visit from Louis XIV. here, and whose nephew 
 and heir, Nicolas Bautru, was famous as a general. In 1749 
 the property was purchased by James Walsh, an Irishman, 
 created Comte de Serrant six years later, and his descend- 
 ants still possess it. 
 
 The chateau, surrounded by wide moats and pleasant 
 gardens, is exceedingly vast and stately, and contains a 
 
5. FLORENT-LE-VIEIL. 
 
 155 
 
 beautiful staircase. Near the entrance of the courtyard is 
 the chapel, built by Hardouin Mansart especially to contain 
 the great tomb of Nicolas Bautru, Marquis de Vaubrun, 
 which Coysevox erected for his widow, Marguerite de 
 Vaubrun, who is represented lamenting him in agonies of 
 grief, upon a sarcophagus which bears a relief of the battle 
 in which he was killed. The chapel is surrounded by black 
 marble pillars and touching inscriptions to the memory of 
 the many children of the present owner. 3 k. S.E. is the 
 Chateau de Chevigne, built by Mansart. 
 
 368 k. Champtoce, has the ruins of a xv. c. castle. 
 Several xvi. c. and xvn. c. houses are interesting. In 
 the church is a statue of S. Peter, the only one left of six 
 statues by the brothers S. Simon. 2 k. S. is La Pommeraye, 
 where the modern church contains the xvi. c. tomb of 
 Pierre Chenu, roi d'Yvetot. At 3 k. S.E. is Chdteaupanne, 
 with an xi. c. church and ruins of a xn. c. priory. 
 
 381 k. Varades. 1 k., crossing the Loire by the island 
 and its two bridges, is S> Florent-le- Vieil (Hotel : du Boule 
 d'Or), where the early Breton hero Nomenoe, conqueror 
 of the Normans, erected his own statue. The view of the 
 church known as Le Cavalier, on a steep wooded hill 
 above the river, will recall Turner's drawing, though 
 he has exaggerated the height : still it is a very at- 
 tractive spot. The view from the moss-grown bastion, 
 under the old acacia trees, is most beautiful at sunset. 
 Then the massy foliage of the island stands out black and 
 colourless against the vast expanse of the river, which is a 
 sheet of glistening silver, while the faint greys of the 
 distant plain fade into the amber sky. 
 
 The church, celebrated for the monument of Bonchamps 
 
i 5 6 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 occupies the site of an abbey, transferred to Saumur in the 
 ix. c. It is a handsome building of the xm. c, rather 
 picturesquely altered in the xvm. c. A column, at 
 the end of the terrace, commemorates a review of the 
 Vendean troops by the Duchesse d'Angouleme in 1823. 
 The church of Marillais, near the river (often rebuilt), has 
 been a point of pilgrimage from the iv. c. 
 
 S. FLORENT-LE-VIEIL. 
 
 It was here that the rising in La Vendee began by two 
 hundred young men, assembled for the drawing of the 
 militia, attacking the soldiery, defeating them, and taking 
 two field-pieces. When the royalists were compelled to 
 take refuge beyond the river, after their defeat seven months 
 later, they intended to massacre 4,000 republican prisoners 
 collected at S. Florent, but were deterred by the dying 
 orders of their wounded general, the Marquis de Bonchamps. 
 
5. FL ORENT-LE- VIEIL. 
 
 157 
 
 These words, ' Grace aux prisonniers, Bonchamps l'ordonne,' 
 are inscribed on his tomb (behind the high altar of the 
 church), which bears a very fine statue by David d' Angers, 
 and the epitaph : — 
 
 ' A la gloire de Dieu et a la memoire de Charles Melchior 
 Artus, Marquis de Bonchamps, moissonne a 33 ans, pour la cause 
 sacree du lys. Si jeune encore, il mourut enseveli dans son 
 triomphe, et vengea sa mort, en laissant la vie a cinq mille 
 prisonniers qui allaient perir. Vendeans, pleurez votre chef, 
 votre ami, votre modele, et priez pour lui. 
 
 Thours Torfou S. Florent 
 
 v. mai. xix apr. xvi. octob. 
 
 Les compagnons d'armes de Bonchamps, de nombreux admirateurs 
 de ses vertus, lui ont eleve ce monument : l'offrande du riche, le 
 denier de la veuve, en ont fait les frais.' 
 
 'Les hauteurs de S. Florent forment une sorte d'enceinte 
 demi-circulaire, au bas de laquelle regne une vaste plage unie 
 qui s'etend jusqu'a la Loire, fort large en cet endroit ; quatre- 
 vingt mille personnes se pressaient dans cette vallee ; soldats, 
 femmes, enfans, vieillards, blesses, tous etaient pele-mele, fuyant 
 le meurtre et l'incendie ; derriere eux, ils apercevaient la fumee 
 s elever des villages que brulaient les republicans ; on n'enten- 
 dait que des pleurs, des gemissemens et des cris. Dans cette 
 foule confuse, chacun cherchait a retrouver ses parens, ses amis, 
 ses defenseurs ; on ne- savait quel sort on allait rencontrer 
 sur l'autre rive ; cependant on s'empressait pour y passer, 
 comme si au-dela du fleuve on avait du trouver la fin de 
 tous les maux. Une vingtaine de mauvaises barques portaient 
 successivement les fugitifs qui s'y entassaient ; d'autres cher- 
 chaient a traverser sur des chevaux ; tous tendaient les bras vers 
 l'autre bord, suppliant qu'on vint les chercher. Au loin, du 
 cote oppose, on voyait une autre multitude, dont on entendait le 
 bruit plus sourd ; enfin au milieu etait une petite ile couverte de 
 monde. Beaucoup d'entre nous comparaient ce desordre, ce 
 desespoir, cette terrible incertitude de l'avenir, ce spectacle 
 immense, cette foule egaree, cette vallee, ce fleuve qu il fallait 
 
i 5 8 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 traverser, aux images que Ton se fait du redoutable jour du 
 jugement dernier. 
 
 1 On avait amene a S. Florent cinq mille prisonniers republi- 
 cains. M. Cesbrous d'Argognes, vieux chevalier de S. Louis 
 et commandant de Chollet, les avait conduits; c'etait un homme 
 fort dur; il en avait fait fusilier en route neuf, qui avaient 
 cherche a echapper. Cependant on ne pouvait pas les trainer 
 plus loin, ni leur faire passer la riviere ; les officiers delibererent 
 sur le sort de ces prisonniers. J'etais presente ; M. de Lescure 
 etait couche sur un mateJas, et je le soignais : chacun fut d'avis, 
 dans le premier mouvement, de les faire fusilier sur-le-champ. 
 M. de Lescure me dit, d'une voix affaiblie et qui ne fut point 
 entendue : C'est une horreur. Mais quand il fallut aller donner 
 Tordre et faire executer ces malheureux, personne ne voulut s'en 
 charger: l'un disait que cette affreuse boucherie etait au-dessus 
 de ses forces ; l'autre, qu'il ne voulait pas faire office du bourreau ; 
 quelques-uns ajoutaient qu'il y avait de l'atrocite aexercer des re- 
 presailles sur de pauvres gens qui, prisonniers depuis quatre 
 mois, n'etaient pour rien dans les crimes des republicans : on 
 disait que ce serait d'autoriser les massacres des bleus ; que leur 
 cruaute en redoublerait, et qu'ils ne laisseraient pas une seule 
 creature vivante sur la rive gauche ; enfin il fut decide qu'on leur 
 rend rait la liberte. Depuis, quelques-uns ont trouve le moyen 
 de temoigner leur reconnaissance, en sauvant Mme. de Bon- 
 champs a Nantes. ... A la verite, les prisonniers devaient avoir 
 pour elle une reconnaissance particuliere ; elle avait rencontre 
 sur la place le vieux M. d'Argognes, qui echauffait les soldats 
 pour faire massacrer les prisonniers ; et par ses reproches, 
 elle l'avait force a se retirer.'— ' Memoires de M?ne. de la 
 Rochejaq uelein . ' 
 
 394 k. Ancenis (Hotel : de France). The chateau was 
 dismantled by Henri IV., but rebuilt in 1700. There 
 are some remains of xv. c. Lire, on the opposite shore, 
 was the birthplace of Du Bellay, called by his contempo- 
 raries the French Catullus. 
 
 403 k. Oudon, at the confluence of the Loire and the 
 Havre, has a restored octagonal (xv. c.) keep and other 
 
NANTES. 
 
 159 
 
 remains of its castle. Opposite, on the 1. bank of the 
 Loire, is Champtoceaux, with some remains of a chateau, 
 ruined by the Bretons, to avenge the imprisonment there 
 of their duke, Jean V., in 1419. 
 
 412 k. Mauves, where some remains of a Roman amphi- 
 theatre and temple were found in 1886. 3 k. N.W. is the 
 Chateau de la Sailleraye, rebuilt by Mansart, and containing 
 a portrait by Mignard of Mme. de Sevigne, who spent 
 some days here in 1675. 
 
 427 k. Nantes (Hotels : de France, Place Graslin ; de 
 Bretagne ; des Voyageurs), capital of the Departement 
 de la Loire-Inferieure, at the confluence of several rivers, 
 and a busy, active, bustling commercial town, though 
 its value as a port has decreased since the employ- 
 ment of ships requiring a greater depth of water than 
 can be looked for with safety in the Loire. The town 
 still commemorates in its name the Nannetes, whose 
 capital it was. 
 
 There is no picturesqueness or beauty in Nantes, and 
 its chateau and cathedral, close to the principal station, 
 may well be seen between two trains, by tourists going to 
 Clisson or La Croisic. A great characteristic of the town 
 is that a railway, as well as a tramway, runs along its 
 principal quays. 
 
 As the Roman Armoricum, Nantes was of considerable 
 importance. It took its present name from being the 
 capital of the Nannetes, as Condate, capital of the 
 Rhedotes, became Rennes. In the in, c. it received its 
 first Christian teaching from S. Clair, and in 300 the 
 brothers SS. Donatien and Rogatien were martyred here 
 for their faith. In later times, Nantes has been chiefly 
 
i6o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 celebrated for the horrors of its revolutionary fury and 
 for its terrible noyades — ' les manages republicains ' — to 
 which Carrier doomed so many innocent victims that no 
 ship could cast anchor in the Loire, without drawing up a 
 corpse. 
 
 1 II y eut aussi beaucoup de personnes sauvees dans la ville 
 de Nantes, malgre l'horrible terreur qui y regnait. Le petit 
 peuple y etait fort bon, et Ton pourrait citer les plus beaux 
 traits de courage et de devouement envers les proscrits. Tou 
 les riches negocians se montraient aussi pleins d'humanite : 
 ils avaient adopte les opinions du commencement de la revolu- 
 tion ; mais ils en detestaient les crimes ; aussi etaient-ils 
 persecutes autant que les royalistes ; cent neuf d'entre eux 
 furent conduits a Paris pour y etre guillotines ; mais ils arri- 
 verent apres la mort de Robespierre ; ce qui les sauva. La classe 
 feroce, qui s'empressait aux massacres et aux noyades, etait 
 composee de petits bourgeois et d'artisans aises, dont beaucoup 
 n'etaient pas Nantais. 
 
 1 D'autres dames furent oubliees, comme par miracle, dans les 
 prisons ; on y trouva Mme. de Beauvolliers, Mme. et Mile, de 
 La Marsonniere, Mile, de Mondyon, etc. ; mais la plupart de 
 celles qui furent prises, perirent sur l'echafaud ou furent noyees : 
 elles montrerent toutes en mourant un noble courage, ne 
 desavouant en rien leur conduite et leurs opinions. Les paysans 
 et les paysannes n'avaient pas moins de devouement et d'en- 
 thousiasme ; ils repetaient en mourant, "Vive le Roi / nous 
 allons en paradis ! " et perissaient avec un calme extraordinaire. 
 
 ' Je n'oublierai point de rapporter deux histoires plus tou- 
 chantes encore que lesautres. Mme. de Jourdain fut menee sur 
 la Loire pour etre noyee avec ses trois filles : un soldat voulut 
 sauver la plus jeune, qui etait fort belle ; elle se jeta a l'eau pour 
 partager le sort de sa mere : la malheureuse enfant tomba sur 
 des cadavres, et n'enfonca point : elle criait, " Poussez-moi, je 
 n'ai pas assez d'eau," et elle perit. 
 
 1 Mile, de Cuissard, ag6"e de seize ans, qui etait plus belle 
 encore, s'attira aussi le meme interet d'un officier qui passa trois 
 heures a ses pieds, la suppliant de se laisser sauver ; elle etait 
 
NANTES. 
 
 161 
 
 avec une vieille parente que cet homme ne voulait pas se risquer 
 a derober au supplice : Mile, de Cuissard se precipita dans la 
 Loire avec elle. 
 
 1 Une mort affreuse fut celle de Mme. de la Roche-S.-Andre. 
 Elle etait grosse : on 1 epargna ; on lui laissa nourrir son enfant, 
 mais il mourut, et on la fit perir le lendemain. Au reste, il ne 
 faut pas croire que toutes les femmes enceintes fussent respectees; 
 cela meme etait fort^rare ; plus communement les soldats massa- 
 craient femmes et enfans : c'etait seulement devant les tribunaux 
 que Ton observait ces exceptions ; on y laissait aux femmes le 
 temps de nourrir leurs enfans, comme etant une obligation 
 republicaine. C'est en quoi consistait toute l'humanite des gens 
 d'alors.' — 1 Memoires de M?ne. de La Rochejaquelein! 
 
 There are several railway stations at Nantes, and 
 visitors will do well in arriving to take their tickets and 
 see their luggage registered by all the different lines to 
 the central station of the Compagnie d 1 Orleans. This is 
 close to the Place de la Duchesse Anne and Quai du Port 
 Maillard, overlooked by the Chdteaii, founded in the ix. c. 
 or x. c, which was the residence of the dukes of Brittany, 
 and whence Henri IV. promulgated his edict on the 
 reformed church. The greater part of the existing buildings 
 is due to a reconstruction under Due Francois II. in 1466, 
 but the three towers towards the quai, and the grand logis on 
 the r. of the court, were built by the Duchesse Anne. The 
 chapel is that in which she was married to Louis XII. 
 The well in the court is surmounted by a fine grille of 
 wrought iron. 
 
 Ascending the steps of the Cours S. Pierre, between 
 statues of the Due Arthur and Duchesse Anne, we find 
 ourselves at the E. end of the Cathedral of S. Pierre, 
 founded in the 111. c. and rebuilt by S. Felix in 570. No 
 buildings of this early time remain, but in the foundations 
 
 11 
 
1 62 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE, 
 
 are many fragments of Roman masonry of that date. In 
 the xii. c. the cathedral was again rebuilt, but the church 
 of that time was almost entirely demolished to make way 
 for a gothic edifice, begun in 1434 and still unfinished. 
 The W. front has three portals full of sculpture ; that 
 of the central portal represents the Last Judgment. The 
 triforium is richly decorated. In the r. transept is the 
 magnificent tomb of Francois II., last Duke of Brittany, 
 and his second wife, Marguerite de Foix, a glorious 
 renaissance work of Michel Colomb, a native of S. Pol de 
 Leon, in 1507. The figures at the angles represent Justice, 
 Strength, Temperance, and Prudence, the first being 
 considered a portrait of the Duchesse Anne. In little niches 
 are the mourners — the twelve apostles, S. Marguerite, 
 Charlemagne, S. Louis. The tomb, formerly in the 
 church of the Carmelites, was brought to its present site 
 in 181 7. It contained the body of the Duke and those 
 of his two wives, with the heart of his daughter, the 
 Duchesse Anne, enclosed in a heart of gold, inscribed — 
 
 4 En ce petit vaisseau 
 De fin or pvr et mvnde 
 Repose ung plus grand cvevr 
 Que onqve Dame evt av mvnde 
 Anne fvt le nom delle 
 En France deux fois roine 
 Duchesse des Bretons 
 Royale et sovveraine.' 
 
 In the 1. transept is a fine modern tomb to General 
 Lamoriciere, the work of Dubois, 1879. Near the 
 cathedral is a beautiful small renaissance facade which 
 belonged to the church of Notre Dame. 
 
NANTES. 
 
 The churches of Nantes are modern and of no interest. 
 S. Nicolas (almost due W. of the cathedral) is the work of 
 Lassus. It contains the tomb of Bishop Fournier (1877), 
 who had been Cure of S. Nicolas. Just behind this church 
 is the Musee (open 12 to 4), containing the usual picture- 
 gallery, in which a picture of the Abbot Suger by Philippe 
 de Champaigne and an admirable family piece by Gonzales 
 Coques may be noticed. The Archives of the Pre'fecture are 
 rich in documents relating to the wars of La Vendee. 
 
 Of old houses at Nantes, we may notice, in the Rue 
 du Brioud, the Hotel de Bordelievre, and (No. 9) Hotel de 
 la Bouvardiere ; and, near the cathedral, La Psallette, with 
 xv. c. sculptures ; also 3, Rue Haute du Chateau, where 
 the Duchesse de Berri hid herself in the chimney (Nov. 7, 
 1832) and was forced to emerge, when the gendarmes, who 
 were searching for her, lighted a fire there. 
 
 4 Nantes a une originalite qu'il faut signaler : la perpetuite 
 des families commercantes, les fortunes lentes et honorables, 
 l'6conomie et l'esprit de famille, quelque aprete dans les affaires, 
 parce qu'on veut faire honneur a ses engagements. Les jeunes 
 gens s'y observent, et les moeurs y valent mieux que dans 
 aucune ville maritime.' — Michelet. 
 
 [The line from Nantes to S. Nazaire has a station at the 
 Bourse in the centre of the town. It passes — 
 
 15 k. Coueron, where the dukes of Brittany had a castle, in 
 which Due Francois II. died of a fall from his horse, 1488. 
 
 39 k. Savenay, where the republican troops gained a great 
 victory, Dec. 23, 1793, which practically put an end to the insur- 
 rection of La Vendee. The line passes (1.) the Benedictine 
 abbey (xn. c.) of Blanche- Couronne, now a private residence. 
 Savenay is the junction for the Brittany lines to Redon and 
 Vannes, see North-Western Finance 
 
164 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 58 k. Montoir, in the midst of the great pastures called 
 
 Meres. 
 
 64 k. 6*. Nazaire (Hotel : 'ties Messagerie*s), the port of Nantes, 
 at the mouth of the Loire.] 
 
 [A line runs near the sea from S. Nazaire to — 
 16 k. Pornichet-les-Bains (Hotels: du Casino; des Bains'), a 
 little watering-place, with pleasant' pine-woods. 
 
 20 k. Escoublac-la-Bole, connected by a line of 6 k. with 
 Guerande. This line passes (1.) the renaissance Chateau de 
 Careil, described by Balzac as the residence of Beatrix. 
 Guerande (Hotel : Paquelet — good, opposite the fine Porte S. 
 Michel) is one of the most perfectly mediaeval and interesting 
 little towns in Western France. It is so small that it can easily 
 be seen in an hour, but an antiquarian or artist will certainly 
 spend some days here. The town has still a certain celebrity 
 for its admirable manufacture of sabots (Lemot) and Espadrilles 
 (Chaillon). 
 
 The grand machicolated walls of the town remain perfect, 
 though overgrown with pinks and valerian. They were built 
 by Jean V. in 143 1, and are entered by four gates. Close to the 
 station (N.) is the Porte de la Vannetaise, a simple arch between 
 two ruined towers. On the W. is the Porte Bizienne ; on the S. 
 the Pcrte de Saille. But the finest gate is the Porte S. Michel, 
 defended by two massive towers in perfect preservation, and 
 used for the archives, prison, and Hotel de Ville. The streets 
 contain nothing modern, and there are many curious door and 
 window frames of xv. c. and xvi. c. Ancient turreted houses 
 of a better class rise in secluded courts and gardens like manor 
 houses in the country. 
 
 4 Une des villes ou se retrouve le plus correctement la physio- 
 nomie des siecles feodaux est Guerande ; le nom seul reveillera 
 mille souvenirs dans la memoire des peintres, des artistes, des 
 penseurs qui peuvent etre alles jusqu'a la cote ou git ce magni- 
 fique joyau de la feodalite, si fierement pose pour commander les 
 relais de la mer et des dunes, et qui est comme le sommet d'un 
 triangle aux coins duquel se trouvent deux autres bijoux non moins 
 curieux, le Croisic et le bourg de Batz. Encore aujourd'hui, 
 
GUERANDE. 
 
 165 
 
 Guerand est enceinte de ses puissantes mnrailles ; ses larges 
 douves sont pleines d'eau, ses creneaux sont entiers, ses meur- 
 trieres ne sont pas encombrees d'arbnstes, la lierre n'a pas jete 
 de manteau sur ses tours carrees ou rondes. Elle a trois portes 
 ou se voient les anneaux des herses, vous n'y entrez qu'en passant 
 sur un pont-levis de bois ferre qui ne se releve plus, mais qui 
 pourrait encore se lever. La mairie a ete blamee d'avoir, en 
 1820, plante des peupliers le long des douves pour ombrager la 
 
 PORTE S. MICHEL, GUERANDE. 
 
 promenade. Elle a repondu que, depuis cent ans, du cote des 
 dunes, la longue et belle esplanade des fortifications qui semblent 
 achevees d'hier avait ete converti en un mail, ombrage d'ormes 
 sous lesquels se plaisent les habitants. La, les maisons n'ont 
 point subi de changement, eljes n'ont ni augmente ni diminue. 
 Nulle d'elles n'a senti sur sa facade le marteau de l'architecte, 
 le pinceau du badigeonneur, ni faibli sous le poids d'un etage 
 ajoute. Toutes out leur caractere primitif. Quelques-unes re- 
 posent sur des piliers de bois qui forment des galeries sous 
 lesquels les passants circulent, et dont les planchers plient sans 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 rompre. Les maisons des marchands sont petites et basses, a 
 facades couvertes en ardoises clouees. Les bois maintenant 
 pourris sont entres pour beaucoup dans les materiaux sculptes 
 aux fenetres ; et aux appuis, ils avancent au-dessus des 
 piliers en visages grotesques, ils allongent en forme de betes 
 fantastiques aux angles, animes par la grande pensee de Fart 
 qui, dans le temps, donnait la vie a la nature morte. Ces vieille- 
 ries, qui resistent a tout, presentent aux peintres les tons bruns 
 et les figures effacees que leur brosse affectionne. Les rues sont 
 ce qu'elles etaient il y a quatre cents ans. La place publique 
 est pleine de costumes bretons que viennent dessiner les artistes 
 et qui ont un relief incroyable. La blancheur des toiles que 
 portent les ftaludiers, nom des gens qui cultivent le sel dans les 
 marais salants, contraste vigoureusement avec les couleurs bleues 
 et brunes des ftaysans, avec les parures originales et saintement 
 conservees des femmes. Ces deux classes, et celle des marins a 
 jaquette, a petit chapeau de cuir verni, sont aussi distinctes entre 
 elles que les castes de l'lnde, et reconnaissent encore les distances 
 qui separent la bourgeoisie, la noblesse et le clergeV — Balzac, 
 1 Beafrix? 1 
 
 The noble church of S. Aubin was chiefly built in xii. c. and 
 xiii. c. ; the transept and choir were added in xv. c. and xvi. c. 
 In the thickness of the buttress on r. of the principal entrance is 
 an admirable xv. c. outside pulpit. The pillars of the nave 
 (c. 1 1 30) are alternately cylindrical and composite, with a great 
 variety of capitals, some of them very curious. The whole E. 
 wall is occupied by a vast window, filled with miserable glass. 
 In the S. transept a xvn. c. picture represents the canons of 
 S. Aubin before the crucified Saviour. In a beautiful low gothic 
 chapel on r. of the choir is the tomb of Tristan de Carne (xvi.c), 
 maitre d'hotel of the dukes of Brittany ; it is a subject well worth 
 painting. 
 
 The Chapelle Notre Dame de la Blanche was built in 1348 by 
 Jean de Montfort. The entrance of the old Hopital S. Louis 
 is a graceful work of the renaissance. Near Guerande are three 
 
 1 Beatrix should be read by every visitor to Guerande. It is not easy to find 
 any house in the place exactly answering to that described by Balzac as the 
 residence of the Baron de Guenic. The ' Maison de Balzac' is pointed out. 
 
GUERANDtL. 
 
 167 
 
 dolmens — at Kerleotir, Kerlo, and Sandun, and a cromlech at 
 Kerbour. The salt marshes, over which the town looks to the 
 sea, are full of character. 
 
 1 Ces tristes carres d'eau saumatre, divises par les petits 
 
 OUTSIDE PULPIT, GU RANDE. 
 
 chemins blancs sur lesquels se promene le paludier, vetu tout en 
 blanc, pour ratisser, recueillir le sel et le mettre en mulons ; cet 
 espace que les exhalaisons salines defendent aux oiseaux de 
 traverser, en etouffant aussi tous les efforts de la botanique ; ces 
 sables ou l'oeil n'est consol6 que par une petite herbe dure, 
 
1 68 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 persistante, a fleurs rosees, et par Foeillet des Chartreux ; ce lac 
 d'eau marine, le sable des dunes et la vue du Croisic, miniature 
 de ville arretee comme Venise en pleine mer ; enfin, l'immense 
 ocean qui borde les recifs en granit de ces franges ecumeuses pour 
 faire encore mieux ressortir leurs formes bizarres, ce spectacle 
 eleve la pensee tout en l'attristant, effet que produit a la longue 
 le sublime. Ce desert plein d'accidents, ou parfois les rayons 
 du soleil reflechis par les eaux, par les sables, blanchissent le 
 bourg de Batz, et ruissellent sur les toits du Croisic, en repandent 
 un eclat impitoyable.' — Balzac, ' Beatrix' 
 
 BOURG-DE-BATZ, FROM THE SALT MARSHES. 
 
 The line beyond Escoublac reaches — 
 
 27 k. Batz, or B our g-de- Batz, which, with Le Croisic, was 
 formerly an island, but has been attached to the mainland for the 
 last four hundred years by sandbanks, now much cut up for 
 salt-pans. Batz is a place much frequented by artists, who delight 
 in the effects of its pale grey storm-beaten buildings rising against 
 a paler sea, above the salt marshes, or the upland wastes, bare 
 as an African desert, except where a tuft of wild stocks or pinks 
 enlivens the colourless sand. The fine tower (1677) of the hand- 
 some xvi. c. church of 6*. Gicenole is the principal feature. Inside 
 the church are two pillars of xin. c, and choir-bosses of very 
 
BOURG-DE-BATZ. 
 
 169 
 
 quaint sculpture. Between the church and the sea are the striking 
 ruins (xv. c. and xvi. c.) of the Chapelle de Notre Dame du 
 Miirier. The population of Batz has always been celebrated for 
 its morality. 1 Une boule lancee dans les rues du village,' says a 
 local proverb, 's'arretera toujours devant la porte d'un honnete 
 homme.' 
 
 'Les habitants du Bourg-de-Batz disent ne pas appartenir a 
 la meme race que les populations d'origine bretonne des villages 
 
 BOURG-DE-BATZ, FROM THE DUNES. 
 
 environnants ; ils se croient de souche scandinave ou saxonne ; 
 cependant cette tradition n'est probablement pas anterieure au 
 siecle dernier, et ni l'aspect physique, ni le costume, ni la langue 
 des paludiers de Batz, n'indiquent une ligne de separation nette 
 entre eux et leurs voisins du plateau de Guerande : dans les deux 
 regions on trouve a peu pres en meme nombre des hommes de 
 haute taille, a la chevelure blonde ; les anciens costumes, qui ont 
 a peu pres disparu, sauf la coiffe des femmes, etaient de meme 
 apparence generate, et la langue, fort rapprochee du vannetais, 
 etait jadis bretonne pour les gens de Batz et de Guerande, ainsi, 
 
iyo SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE, 
 
 que pour les habitants de toute la cote jusqu'au dix-septieme 
 siecle : actuellement il reste seulement, dans les hameaux avoisi- 
 nant Batz, 400 personnes environ parlant l'ancien dialecte. Ce 
 qui distinguait surtout les gens de Batz, c etait l'isolement dans 
 lequel ils vivaient et le patriotisme local qui en etait le con- 
 sequence. Naguere il n'y avait pas d'exemple qu'un seul des 
 jeunes hommes de Batz se mariat avec une fille des villages 
 bretons des alentours. La purete de la race etait complete. 
 Tous les habitants du bourg sont cousins les uns des autres, et 
 les families qui portent le meme nom sont si nombreuses qu'il 
 faut les distinguer par des sobriquets.' — Etisee Rectus. 
 
 The xv. c. Chapelle du Crucifix and some picturesque wind- 
 mills are passed before reaching — 
 
 29k. Le Croisic (Hotels: Guillore; d'Anjou; Guilloux — 
 pension 7 fr. at all ; all much of the same humble aspect, but clean 
 and good, and very reasonable, situated on the picturesque quay ; 
 Grand des Bains — in an ugly desolate position away from the 
 town). At first Le Croisic will not strike a visitor, but he will 
 soon feel the charm of its views across still reaches of sea and 
 sand to the pale hills ; of the wonderful variety of its boats, with 
 their red sails and nets ; of the long, rambling terrace of white 
 houses of most varied outline, framed and ornamented with 
 granite, and of the amusement of the landing of the various 
 kinds offish, to be disposed on the broad tables of the Poissonniere. 
 The xv. c. church of Notre Dame de Pitie has a fine late xvn. c. 
 tower. Several houses are rich in curious sculpture, especially 
 in the leaden gargoyles of their roofs. The rocky coast beyond 
 the town has many picturesque points. Altogether, desolate, 
 storm-beaten Le Croisic is a very attractive and charming place.] 
 
 [For the line from Nantes to Redon and Brest see North- 
 western France?^ 
 
 [The carriage road from Nantes to (70 k.) Redon passes at 
 (14 k.) TreilliereSi with a ruined chateau which belonged to 
 Cardinal de Retz ; (38 k.) Blain, which only retains some frag- 
 ments of its old chateau, which belonged to Olivier de Clisson, 
 
CHATEAU DE LA GACHERIE. 
 
 171 
 
 and afterwards to M. de Rohan; and (52k.) Rosay, 2jk. from 
 which is the Chateau de Carheil, built 1725, which belonged to 
 Mme. Adelaide, and was bequeathed by her to the Prince de 
 Joinville, who has restored and beautified it.] 
 
 [A line leads N.E. from Nantes to (63 k.) Chateaubriant, by — 
 njk. La Chape lle-sur-Erdre. 1 k. distant is the Chateau de 
 
 la Gacherie, built in xvi. c. by Arthur d'£pervier, grand-veneur de 
 
 Bretagne. 
 
 28 k. Nort. 10 k. N.E. is Joue-sur-Erdre, with the (xvin. c.) 
 
 HOUSE OF ABELARD, LE-PALLET. 
 
 Chateau de la Chauveliere and the (xvi. c. and xvin. c.) Chateau 
 de Luciniwe, with tourelles and moat. 
 
 41 k. Abbaretz, whence there is a public carriage to (10 k. E.) 
 La Meilleraie ) 2 k. S.E. of which is a Cistercian abbey, founded 
 in 1 145, and occupied since 181 7 by the Trappists. The church 
 has a romanesque nave of 1 183, and a flamboyant choir. In the 
 treasury is the beautiful (xvi. c.) abbatial cross of Jacques Raoul 
 de la Guibourgere, bishop of La Rochelle.] 
 
 [A line leads S.E. from Nantes to Cholet, by— 
 7 k. Vertou. The village (2 k. r,) has a large church on the 
 site of the cell of the hermit S. Martin de Vertou. 
 
172 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 19 k. Le-Pallet (Palatium). Beyond the village, 1 k. from the 
 station, is (1.) the cimetiere, and a calvaire, close to which, over- 
 grown with wild clematis, are some ruined walls of the Chateau 
 in which the famous Abelard was born, and where his beloved 
 Heloi'se gave birth to her son Pierre Astrolabe, who was baptized 
 in the little romanesque chapel of S. Anne close by. Inside the 
 ruined chateau is a tiny cemetery, with a stone cross and some 
 
 CHATEAU DE CLISSON. 
 
 ancient tombs overgrown with creepers and flowers. It is a 
 very interesting little spot. 
 
 1 Ces ruines sont celles de la demeure des seigneurs du Pallet, 
 detruite en 1420, lors des guerres qui suivirent Fattentat commis 
 sur Jean V., due de Bretagne, par Marguerite de Clisson. C etait 
 la, qu'au xi e siecle, un petit chateau fortifie dominait le bourg, 
 du haut d'une eminence sur letroite riviere de la Sangueze, ainsi 
 nominee, dit-on, pour avoir ete souvent rougie du sang des com- 
 
CLISSON. 
 
 173 
 
 battants, ail temps des luttes acharnees des Bretons et des 
 Anglais.' — Charles de Remusat. 
 
 On r. of the station is the ruined Chateau de la Gali'ssom'ere. 
 
 24 k. Clisson (Hotel : de V Europe — a small country inn of 
 the best kind, very clean and good, in a lovely position, with a 
 delightful view of hills and river, and a terraced garden). This 
 
 CLISSON. 
 
 is one of the most beautiful places in France, and artists will do 
 well to make it a resting-place. Seeing it only from the railway 
 gives no idea of its exquisite position above the Sevre, of the 
 extreme picturesqueness of its old buildings, or the beauty of its 
 wooded and rocky gorges. The view from the bridge which is 
 crossed to the inn, whence the castle is seen between magnificent 
 woods feathering down to the Sevre, will recall the view of the 
 Lion Bridge at Alnwick. Near the older bridge over the Sevre 
 artists will certainly paint from the open spots used by the 
 
174 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 washerwomen, both the fine view of the castle and that of the 
 town, with its varied old houses, crowned by a modern romanesque 
 church admirably in keeping with the scene, and its terraced 
 gardens and pergolas of vines. It is difficult to believe that 
 such a view is in France and not in Italy, and the southern 
 character of the place is enhanced by the number of cypresses 
 and umbrella pines in the neighbourhood. 
 
 Clisson, in the xm. c, belonged to Olivier (le Vieux) who built 
 its chateau. His descendants, Gauthier, Olivier III., and Amaury, 
 were famous in the Breton wars between Jean de Montfort and 
 Charles de Valois. Olivier III. was beheaded (1344) by Philippe 
 de Valois, but avenged by the warfare which his brave widow 
 Jeanne de Belleville carried on at sea against the French ships. 
 Their son was the famous Olivier de Clisson, constable of France, 
 and owner of all the finest chateaux in this district, which were 
 taken from his daughter Marguerite, who had captured the Duke 
 Jean V. by a stratagem. 
 
 In 1472 Duke Francois II. married Marguerite de Foix at 
 Clisson and restored the chateau, which he afterwards gave to 
 his natural son, the Baron d'Avangour. The chateau was often 
 besieged, but never taken, during the Wars of Religion. At the 
 time of the Revolution it belonged to the family of Rohan- 
 Soubise. In 1793 it was burnt by the army of Mayence, to 
 prevent its being used as a fortress by the Vendeans. In the 
 following year the town was burnt, and it has only risen from 
 its ruins in the present century. 
 
 The chateau, which stands magnificently above the town, is 
 approached by a picturesque staircase and gateway. The interior 
 is a complete ruin ; its five courts are carpeted with violets and 
 overgrown with festoons of wild clematis, and will recall many 
 of the pictures of Gustave Dore. In the innermost court a fir- 
 tree marks the position of a (closed) well, into which General 
 Crouzat ordered (April 6, 1794) thirty Vendeans, men, women, 
 and children, discovered in the vaults where they had taken 
 refuge, to be thrown down alive. In the chapel, Francois II. de 
 Bretagne was married to Catherine de Foix. The portress will 
 show the terrible dungeons, one of which retains the wicket in 
 its door through which food was given to the prisoners. 
 
 A little door in the wall (\.) ascending the hill below the 
 
CLISSON. 
 
 175 
 
 chateau to the 1. is the entrance to the Gare?me Lemot % a name 
 given to wild walks of the most extreme beauty, amongst the old 
 trees and picturesque rocks on the 1. bank of the clear Sevre. 
 This enchanting scenery inspired Poussin, and saw the wanderings 
 of Heloi'se. Above the river the groups of oaks growing out of 
 the rocks in the most fantastic forms are the best studies an 
 artist can obtain of the original bocage. The beauty is scarcely 
 
 BOCAGE NEAR CLISSON. 
 
 injured by a Temple d'Amitie, picturesquely placed. A column 
 from the Chateau de Madrid supporting a bust of Henri IV. will 
 recall the fact that the grandfather of the present owner was Lemot, 
 the sculptor of the statue of Henri IV. on the Pont Neuf. The 
 lane at the back of this bust soon leads to the picturesque ruins 
 of a romanesque church, with a stone cross near it. 
 
 By the old bridge over the Moine we may reach (a fee) the 
 Garenne Valentin, with delightful walks, but of far tamer char- 
 acter than those on the other side of the river. The dwelling- 
 
176 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 house contains many historic and artistic relics, especially a fine 
 drawing of Marie Antoinette by Mme. Lebrun. 
 
 A line unites Clisson with (50 k.) La-Roche-sur-Yon, see 
 ch. iii. Excursions may be made from Clisson to Le Pallet and 
 Tiffauges. 
 
 42 k. Torfou-Tiffauges. Near the village of Torfou (2 k. W.) 
 is the megalithic monument known as La Pierre Toumisse- 
 From thei pretty fir grove near the station, a road turns r. to 
 
 GATE OF TIFFAUGES 
 
 (2 k.) Tiffauges, which rises like Clisson from the banks of the 
 Sevre, and is crowned by the ruins of a Chateau (of xi. c, xiv. c, 
 and xv. c), dismantled by order of Richelieu. The towers are 
 overgrow r n by wild clematis, and the rocks by wild pinks and 
 valerian, but the place is scarcely worth the visit of an artist. 
 The Chapelle S. Nicolas is xiii. c. 
 
 52 k. Evruues-Mortagne. The situation (3 k. S.E.) of Mor- 
 tagne, with its ruined castle and convent, is striking. 
 
 63 k. Cholet, see p. 154.] 
 
PORNIC. 
 
 177 
 
 [Another road (railway in progress) leads from Nantes to 
 (77 k.) Cholet, by— 
 
 20 k. Le Loreux-Bottcrcau, with a ruined castle which belonged 
 to Landais, the favourite of Duke Francois II. 7 k. S.W. is the 
 Chateau de Haute Goulaine, of xv. c. and xvn. c. 
 
 28 k. Montrevault, with a ruined chateau of xv. c. 5 k. N. is 
 Botz, where the Vendeans (April 25, 1793) gained the victory 
 known as Le grand choc de Chaudron. 
 
 56 k. Beaitprcau. The chateau (xv. c, xvi. c, and xvm. c), 
 partly burnt in 1793, has been rebuilt. 
 
 66 k. Begrolles. 3 k. E. is the fine xiv. c. church of le May, 
 which contains a throne surmounted by tiara, in remembrance 
 of Pope Clement V. having once officiated there.] 
 
 [A line leads S.W. from Nantes to (57 k.) Pornic, by — 
 15 k. Bouayc, on the Lac de Grand-Licit (9 k. long by 7 k. 
 wide). 
 
 27k. £*. Pazanne, whence a line turns S. to (ink. from 
 Nantes) La-Roche-sur-Yon, see ch. iii. 
 
 42 k. Bourgneuf-en-Retz, with (2 k. S.W.) a little port in the 
 Bate de Bourgneuf. In the Champ des Pierres-Levees is a 
 cromlech of thirty stones. 
 
 57k. Pontic (Hotels : de V Europe — in the little town, good; 
 de la Plage — more pretentious, facing the sea, beyond the town). 
 This is a pretty and much-frequented sea bathing-place, where 
 endless villas, pleasantly situated along the shore, are let for the 
 summer. The town, like an inferior Dartmouth, winds along the 
 little port at the mouth of the Canal de la Haute Perche, with a 
 small, still inhabited Chateau of xin. c. and xiv. c, on a rocky 
 point. Beneath the chateau, a simple cross on the rock bears 
 the name of Croix des Huguenots, from a groundless tradition 
 that it was placed there by converted Calvinists. The Place 
 dArmes and out-buildings of the Hotel de FEurope occupy the 
 site of the old cemetery, in which two hundred Vendeans, killed 
 at Pornic, were buried. The neighbourhood is uninteresting, 
 but there are pleasant walks along the edge of the low but 
 sharp and precipitous rocks which gird the shore. 
 
 A steamer (4fr.) takes visitors from Pornic to the barren 
 He de Noirmoutier, where the village of Noirmoutier has a 
 
 12 
 
178 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 chateau (xin. c. and xiv. a), remains of an abbey, and a church 
 with an xi. c. crypt. 
 
 9 k. W. of Pornic (omnibus, 2 fr.) is the bathing-place of 
 Pref allies (Hotels: de S. Marie; des Voyageurs), 3 k. from the 
 Pointe de S. Gzldas, with a lighthouse at the mouth of the 
 Loire.] 
 
 [A line leads S.W. from Nantes to (59 k.) Paimboeuf, by — 
 
 27 k. 6*. Pazanne, see above. 
 
 56 k. £*. Viaud ) with a cave where S. Viaud died. 
 
 59 k. Paimboeuf (Hotel : Tremblet ), the Ben Bo or Tete de 
 Boeuf of the Bretons, on a rocky islet of the Loire, now united 
 to the mainland. The high-altar of the church comes from the 
 Abbaye de Buzay. Here the cargoes of large vessels are trans- 
 ferred to the flat-bottomed river boats. The place is semi 
 deserted since the filling-up of its port. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 PARIS AND TOURS TO BAYONNE AND THE SPANISH 
 FRONTIER, POITIERS, ANGOULEME, LIBOURNE (5. 
 EM I LION) BORDEAUX BAYONNE, AND S. JEAN- 
 DE-LUZ. IN VIENNE, CHARENTE, GIRONDE, AND 
 LANDES. 
 
 Two of the places described in this chapter — Poitiers and S. 
 Emilion — are among the most interesting in France. For the line as 
 far as (234 k.) Tours, see ch. i. 
 
 LEAVING Tours, the line crosses the valley of the 
 Indre by a long viaduct. 
 254 k. Villeperdue. 
 
 9 k. S. is the famous church of 6*. Catherine de Fierbois y rebuilt 
 by Charles VIII. and Anne de Bretagne. A chapel on r. 
 contains a magnificent flamboyant altar in wood. In the original 
 chapel on this site Charles Martel offered a thanksgiving in 732 
 for his victory over the Saracens. When Jeanne Dare was 
 making her way from Vaucouleurs to the Court of Charles VII., 
 she lingered here near the pilgrimage church of one of the two 
 saints who had such a part in her visions, and wrote from hence 
 to obtain the orders of the king, who summoned her to Chinon. 
 
 'La Pucelle n'attendit pas a Chinon I'achevement des pre- 
 paratifs qu'on poursuivait. . . . Des incidents merveilleux se 
 multipliaient autour d'elle : ses voir, a ce quelle raconta plus 
 tard, lui avaient appris qu'une epee, portant cinq croix gravees sur 
 
i8o SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 la lame, etait ensevelie dans la terre, pres de l'autel de S. 
 Catherine de Fierbois, eglise qu'elle avait visitee avant d'arriver a 
 Chinon : elle envoya a Fierbois : on fouilla la terre, et Ton 
 trouva l'epee, a l'endroit designe. Jeanne ceignit cette arme 
 mysterieuse.' — Martin , ' Hist, de France' 
 
 266 k. S. Maure. The town (3 k. E.), originally Arciacum, 
 owes its name to a chapel founded by S. Euphrone, arch- 
 bishop of Tours, in the v. c, over the tomb of Martyrs Maure 
 and Brigitte. Nothing remains of the chateau, which was 
 built here c. 1000 by Foulques Nerra, and rebuilt in the 
 xv. c. by Pierre de Craon, Comte de S. Maure. A church, 
 now modernised, was erected in the precincts of the chateau 
 in the xii. c. : in its crypt are tombs of princes of the house 
 of Rohan-Guemene. In the valley of Courtineau (3 k. N.) is 
 a curious cavern-chapel of the middle-ages. 
 
 The Plateau de S. Maure, between the Indre and the 
 Vienne, is very interesting to geologists. 
 
 6 k. after leaving the station of S. Maure, the line passes 
 (on 1.) the Chateau d'Argenson, cradle of a famous family of 
 diplomats, of whom the most celebrated was Rene-Louis, 
 Marquis d'Argenson. 
 
 277 k. Port-de-Piles (where a line [see ch. i.] branches off 
 N.E. to Port-Boulet by lTle-Bouchard and Chinon). 
 
 ' Cette ville, creee par la volonte et puissance du cardinal de 
 Richelieu, devait avoir bientot la gloire d'etre le plus beau village 
 de l'univers.' — La Fontaine. 
 
 [A line branches off S.E. to (67 k.) Le Blanc, by — 
 10 k. La Haye-Descaries, the native place of Descartes, whose 
 house is still preserved, and to whom a bronze statue has been 
 erected. The (restored) parish church is of the xi. c. and xn. c. 
 13 k. distant is Ligueil, with a church of xi. c, xiv. c, andjxv. c. 
 
PRE [/ILLY, FONTGOMBA ULT. 
 
 181 
 
 15 k. Abilly. The church is partly xn. c. In the valley of the 
 Claise is the Chateau de la Claize (xv. c. and xvi. c). 7 k. r. is 
 Guerche-sur-Creuse, with xi. c. church, and chateau built by 
 Charles VII. for Agnes Sorel. 
 
 21 k. Ix Gra7id-Pressigny, is overlooked by a xn.c. fortress ; 
 close by is the partially ruined Chdteatt neuf, of the xvn. c, near 
 which are a polygonal stair-turret and a well with a domed 
 canopy. The church, of xn. c, xiv. c, and xvi. a, has xv. c. 
 paintings. 
 
 35 k. Preuilly, a curious and interesting place, famous for 
 its noble romanesque church, which belonged to the abbey of 
 6*. Pierre, founded by Effroy, Seigneur de Preuilly, in 1001, 
 and rebuilt in the xn. c. The place had a triple nave of five 
 bays, a transept flanked by two towers, and an ambulatory 
 with three radiating chapels. The western tower was rebuilt 
 in 1873 ; beneath it is the modern chapel of S. Melaine. The 
 cross is a ribbed cupola of xil. c. The chapter house is xin. c. 
 The church of 6*. Nicolas, turned into a barn, is xi. c. 6". Ma?ie 
 des Echelles, used as a warehouse, is of 12 17. Amongst the 
 (xn. c. and xv. c.) ruins of the Chateau is the chapel of 6*. Melaine. 
 The cemetery chapel is late xv. c. 
 
 51k. Totimon. A road diverges hence to (93 k.) Loudun by 
 (13 k.) La-Rochc-Posay, and (62 k.) Lencloitre, see later. 
 
 58 k. Fo7itgo?nbault, named from the hermit Gombault, who 
 lived there beside a fountain on the 1. bank of the Creuse. At the 
 end of the xi. c. Pierre de l'litoile built a magnificent abbey on 
 the r. bank, of which the splendid cruciform church (1010— 1 142) 
 is one of the finest romanesque buildings in the centre of France. 
 It has a triple nave, with two stages of windows and triforium ; a 
 transept projecting one bay beyond the aisles, a choir of two bays, 
 with double side aisles, and an ambulatory with three deep 
 chapels. The facade has three beautiful portals, the columns of 
 that in the centre supported by lions : above is a vast gothic 
 window deprived of its mullions. In the interior the arches and 
 vaulting are romanesque, but, by a singular arrangement, round- 
 headed windows pierce the cradle-vaulting with a slightly 
 pointed arch. In the choir the columns and triforium are ad- 
 mirable in beauty. The cloisters have been appropriated to farm 
 purposes. 
 
182 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The line frequently follows the picturesque valley of the 
 Creuse, and passes near the ruined priory of Monts-la-Chapelle, 
 then (r.) the Chateau de Rochefort, before reaching Le Blanc, 
 see ch. iv.] 
 
 281 k. Les Ormes. The chateau has belonged since 1729 
 to a younger branch of the family of Voyer d'Argenson. 
 It has a gallery painted with the battles of the reign of 
 Louis XIV. 9 k. W. is the ruined (xiv. c.) Chateau de la 
 Marmande. 
 
 299 k. Chatellerault (Hotels : de V Univers ; de FEsp'erance\ 
 a town which originated in a castle built by the Vicomte 
 Airaud, who called it Castellum Airaldi. The viscountship 
 passed from the family of Harcourt to that of Armagnac ; 
 in 15 14 it was made a duchy by Frangois I. in favour of 
 Francois de Bourbon, killed at the battle of Marignan. 
 After the treason of the Constable de Bourbon it was con- 
 fiscated, and became part of the appanage of Charles de 
 France, Due d'Angouleme. In 1545 it returned to the 
 crown. 
 
 The Angevine church of S. Jacques (xn. c. and xm. c.) 
 has a modern facade. Some old houses are of xv. c, xvi. c, 
 and xvii. c. Of late years Chatellerault has been famous 
 for its manufacture of arms and cutlery of all kinds. 
 
 1 Dieu vous garde de Chatellerault si vous n'avez pas la passion 
 des petits couteaux : il est vrai que si vous l'avez, en cinq 
 minutes vous pouvez en faire la plus complete collection qui 
 soit au monde.' — Alexandre Dumas. 
 
 [A line turns N. to (30 k.) Loudun (p. 101) by — 
 12 k. Scorbe-Clairvaux, which has a church of xn. c. and xv. c, 
 and a chateau of xv. c. and xvi. c. At the hamlet of Clairvaux 
 le Haul are a ruined castle and the old transition chapel of Notre 
 Dame de Vergers. 4 k. N.E. is Thure, which has a church with 
 
LA-ROCHE-POSA Y. 
 
 183 
 
 a cupola, ancient tombs, and xn. c. tower, the old chapel of Notre 
 Dame du Cimetiere\ and the remains of a fine old castle. 4 k. N. 
 is the fine square keep of Pontile. 
 
 19 k. Lencloitre, which retains the romanesque church of a 
 convent dependent on Fontevrault ; the facade was fortified in the 
 
 xv. c. The ruined gothic (xiii. c.) chapel of S. Jean is used as 
 a barn. Hence there is a branch line of 19 k. to Mirebeau (see 
 later).] 
 
 [A line turns W. to (59 k.) Blanc by — 
 
 9 k. Senille-S.-Saiivenr. Semite (1 k. r.) has a romanesque 
 church with a xv. c. tomb. S. Sauveur (2J k. 1.) has a fine xv. c. 
 stone spire. 
 
 30 k. La-Roche-Posay, has a square castle keep of xn. c, a 
 church of xiv. c. and xv. c, and remains of ancient ramparts. 
 
 43 k. Totirnon, on the Creuse (where the line from Chinon and 
 Port-de-Piles is joined).] 
 
 308 k. Les-Barres. Opposite this, on the r. bank of the 
 Clain, are the Roman wall and arch called Le Vieux Poitiers. 
 Close by is a Menhir, with a Gallic inscription saying that 
 it was erected by Tarbellinus to Frontus. The hamlet 
 of Moussais-la-Bataille is believed to have been the 
 scene of the great victory (732) of Charles Martel over the 
 Saracens. 
 
 317 k. Dissais, has a fine chateau, partly gothic, partly 
 renaissance, which was chiefly built by Pierre d'Amboise, 
 bishop of Poitiers, 1481 — 1505. The manor of Maris (2 k. 
 S.E.), of xv. c, has fine tapestries. 
 
 321 k. Clan. 1 k. r. is Jaulnay, with a church of xn. c, 
 xiii. c, and xv. c, a renaissance chateau, and (3 k. N.W.) the 
 ruined castle (xv. c.) of Brin. S. Georges-les-Baillargeaux, on 
 the opposite bank of the Clain from the station, has a church 
 of xii. c, xiii. c, and xv. c. The manor of Vaires is late 
 
 xvi. c. 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 332 k. Poitiers (Hotels : de France — good ; de P Europe , 
 du Palais), the capital of the Departement de la Vienne, 
 most picturesquely situated on a hill at the confluence 
 of the Clain and the Boivre, and well worth a halt 
 from the historian, architect, or artist. The distances are 
 very great, and a carriage (2 fr.) should be taken by the 
 hour. 
 
 Poitiers, originally called Limonum, the capital of the 
 Pictaves, took a fresh name under the Romans, from its 
 inhabitants. Christianity was first preached here in the 
 in. c, and was established by S. Hilaire, the fourth bishop 
 of Poitiers, celebrated for his defence of the Catholic faith 
 against the Arians. 
 
 In 732 the Saracens took possession of Poitou, 
 hoping to occupy the rest of France from thence, but 
 were prevented by their defeat under Charles Martel. 
 The Duchy of Poitou was annexed to the English throne 
 by the marriage of its heiress, Eleanor, with Henry II., 
 but after the queen's death it was seized by Philippe- 
 Auguste, and was given as an appanage by Louis VIII. 
 to his second son Alphonse (de Poitiers). Under King 
 Jean, the celebrated battle of Poitiers was fought, which 
 restored Poitou to the English, who preserved it for 
 nine years, after which Du Guesclin reconquered it for 
 France. Marie d'Anjou, widow of Charles VII., the only 
 person who exercised a salutary influence over her son 
 Louis XL, died here on her return from a pilgrimage to 
 Compostella. 
 
 The inhabitants of Poitiers are known as Pictoviens. 
 The railway station is in the valley of the Boivre, whence 
 the Boulevard Solferino, followed by the Rue Boucenne, 
 
POITIERS. 
 
 185 
 
 leads to the centre of the town. Here we find (r.) 
 the Palais de Justice, the ancient palace of the dues 
 d'Aquitaine and comtes de Poitiers, rebuilt in the xn. c. and 
 xv. c. It was here that Alphonse de Poitiers received 
 the homage of his vassals, and that Hugues de Lusignan, 
 the second husband of Isabelle d'Angouleme, queen of 
 England, was prompted by her to rebel against him. Here 
 also Charles VII. was proclaimed king in 1241, and here 
 Jeanne Dare was examined before the University of Paris, 
 transferred hither with the Parliament. 
 
 ' Le conseil du roi se transporta a Poitiers avec Jeanne. " En 
 nom Dien," dit Jeanne, qnand on lni ent appris qn'on la menait a 
 Poitiers, "jesais que j'aurais bien a faire, mais Messire m'aidera ; 
 or, allons, de par Dieu ! " 
 
 4 Elle eut en effet bien a faire. ... " Beau spectacle," ecrit 
 Alain Chartier, sous une impression toute fraiche encore, " que 
 de la voir disputer, femme contre les hommes, ignorante contre 
 les doctes, seule contre tant d'adversaires ! " Les docteurs 
 l'accablerent de citations, l'enlacerent dans les mille replis de 
 leur dialectique ; elle s'avanca d'un pas ferme et sur a travers ces 
 labyrinthes ; elle deconcerta les savantes arguties de ses exami- 
 nateurs par l'imprevu de ses reponses et par le grand sens qui 
 se joignait chez elle a la plus ardente exaltation. Apres qn'elle 
 eut expose " de grande maniere," comment sa revelation lui etait 
 advenue, comme elle disait que le roi lui devait donner des gens 
 d'armes pour secourir Orleans : " Si Dieu veut delivrer le peuple 
 de France," repondit un des theologiens, 11 il n'est pas besoin de 
 gens d'armes." " En nom Dieu, les gens d'armes batailleront, et 
 Dieu donnera la victoire ! " Un autre, frere Seguin, s'avisa de lui 
 demander: " Quelle langue parlent vos voir? " " Meilleure que 
 la votre ! " L'interlocuteur parlait limousin. " Croyez-vous en 
 Dieu?" reprit le theologien avec colere. " Mieux que vous," 
 repliqua-t-elle. " Dieu ne veut point qu'on croit a vos paroles si 
 vous ne montrez un signe (un miracle) qui prouve qu'on doit vous 
 croire." " Je ne suis pas venue a Poitiers pour faire des signes. 
 Conduisez-moi a Orleans, je vous y montrerai les signes pour 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 quoi je suis envoyee. ... II n'est besoin de tant de paroles ; ce 
 n'est plus le temps de parler, mais d'agir ! " 
 
 ' Quand les theologiens, tout etourdis de ses vives repliques, 
 appelaient a leur aide maints auteurs sacres et profanes, et les 
 saintes Ecritures et les Peres, pour contester la realite de sa 
 mission : " II y a plus," repondait-elle en levant les yeux au ciel, 
 " il y a plus dans les livres de Dieu que dans les votres ! " 
 
 ' Jeanne vainquit : les docteurs assembles a Poitiers decla- 
 rerent que " ladite Pucelle " ayant ete eprouvee touchant sa vie, 
 ses moeurs, et son intention, " sans qu'on trouvat en elle que tout 
 bien, humilite, virginite, devotion, honnetete, simplesse. . " on 
 ne pouvait la rebuter ou delaisser sans se rendre indigne de l'aide 
 de Dieu, et qu'on devait la mener devant Orleans pour y montrer 
 le signe divin qu'elle promettait." ' — Martin^ 1 Hist, de France.' 
 
 The entrance and fagade of the Palais de Justice are 
 modern. The Salle de Pas-Perdus (49 met. long by 
 17 wide) is always open, and is a truly magnificent hall. 
 The side walls are adorned with arcades, romanesque 
 on one side, early gothic on the other. At the gable 
 wall, above the dais, are three fireplaces, the chimneys 
 of which mask a great part of the windows on the 
 outside, but have been rendered almost invisible within 
 by stained glass and an open screen of stone, which has 
 winding staircases at the sides. The keep of the chateau 
 is best seen from the street on the r., where it stands 
 in a garden. It is known as the Tour Maubeaugeon, and 
 has truncated towers, crowned by statues of the counts of 
 Poitiers. 
 
 ' Le donjon du palais de Poitiers est a lui seul un petit 
 chateau, possedant une grande salle a chaque etage et des 
 chambres dans les tours. II affecte une apparence de forteresse, 
 mais il n'est reellement qu'un gros logis eclaire par de larges 
 baies et n'etait nullement propre a la defense : il se rapproche de 
 
POITIERS. 187 
 
 l'architecture civile, et les tours, les machicoulis, ne sont la qti'un 
 appareil feodal.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The extraordinary church of Notre Dame la Grande 
 presents the richest romanesque facade in existence, ex- 
 cept that of the cathedral of Troja in Apulia — ' Couverte 
 
 NOTRE DAME, POITIERS. 
 
 de sculptures representant du sommet a la base Fhistoire 
 biblique de l'homme.' 1 Its centre is composed of three 
 ranges of arcades, surmounted by a gable, on either 
 side is a group of columns supporting a tourelle, and the 
 whole is incrusted with statues, sculpture, and bas-reliefs 
 of fantastic luxuriance. 
 
 1 A distinct architectural organisation is, indeed, produced by 
 the large and small arcades formed by clumsy columns and 
 
 1 Elisee Reclus. 
 
i88 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 repeated in several stories ; but the entire surface, capitals, 
 friezes, and archivolts are covered with such a flood of rudely 
 executed arabesques, that the eye is lost as in a maze of fantastic 
 flowers, and has to force itself to any attention to independent 
 sculptures. Above the three large arched openings in the lower 
 storey, in a perfectly unsuitable position, are representations in 
 relief, from the Fall of Man to the Annunciation of the Virgin, 
 the Visitation, and the Birth of Christ, scattered over the whole 
 surface in a somewhat confused manner. The relief is coarsely 
 treated, the figures are heavy, and the drapery is executed in a 
 hard style, and yet, though the movements are angular, there is 
 a vigorous feeling of nature. There are not a few expressive 
 touches, such as the nurse, who, while she helps to wash the 
 new-born infant, looks anxiously round to the bed on which 
 the mother is lying. Above, in the rows of arcades are the 
 figures of the apostles and two bishops, the lower ones sitting, 
 the upper ones standing, all executed in a hard and severe style, 
 but with graceful arrangement of drapery ; still higher, in a 
 concave oval compartment in the central pediment, Christ appears 
 surrounded by the tokens of the evangelists. Here also the 
 framework, graceful stone filigree, is so predominant that, as in 
 all other parts of the facade, it appears rather to resemble the 
 art of the goldsmith than an architectural work.' — Lilbke. 
 
 The side aisles of the nave are as old as the xi. c., and 
 parts of the N. wall are older still and present reticulated 
 masonry with chains of bricks, being remnants of the 
 original collegiate church of the ix. c. or x. c. The choir, 
 also of xi. c, is surrounded by an ambulatory and three 
 chapels. The chapels of the nave were added in xv. c. 
 and xvi. c. ; one, on the N., is a good specimen of renais- 
 sance. The upper storey of the tower is circular, pierced 
 by six openings, and surmounted by a scaly cone. 
 
 In the interior, which is daubed with wretched painting, 
 is a xvi. c. S. Sepulcre, and (behind the high altar) a 
 statue of the Virgin with a bunch of keys, recording ' le 
 
POITIERS. 
 
 189 
 
 miracle des clefs,' by which the keys of the town were 
 miraculously concealed from a traitor, who (1202) had 
 undertaken to deliver it up to the English. 
 
 Returning a little and turning r. (N.E.) we find, in the 
 street of that name, La Prevote (now a school), possessing 
 a beautiful xv. c. fagade, with tourelles and rich windows. 
 
 MONTIERNEUF. 
 
 Hence, we should proceed to (quite at the N. end of the town, 
 r.) the church of Montierneuf (monasterium novum), which, 
 in spite of its name, belonged to a convent founded in 
 1077 by Guillaume-Guy-Geoffroy, Due d'Aquitaine, who was 
 buried in the church, before the choir was consecrated by 
 Urban II. in 1096. In the xm. c. the ancient choir was 
 replaced by the many-windowed edifice known as La 
 
190 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Lanterne. On the r. of the steps by which we descend 
 to the level of the church is the (restored) tomb of the 
 founder. The three first bays of the nave, which had 
 been mutilated by the Protestants, were pulled down in 
 1640, and the upper part of the tower fell during the 
 Revolution. In the S. transept are quaint modern grottoes 
 and a fountain. 
 
 ' On the north of Poitiers, near an old bridge, and also com- 
 manded by some high rocky ground on the further bank, is the 
 church of Montierneuf, which, notwithstanding some partial 
 destruction, much alteration in the 14th century, and some 
 modern restoration, is still a very fine specimen of romanesque. 
 It is a cross church with central tower. The nave has aisles, 
 and a semi-cylindrical roof. The compartment of the tower is 
 roofed by a hemispherical cupola. Most of the arches are semi- 
 circular, with plain square orders. The choir has a lofty cleres- 
 tory of the 14th century, with flying buttresses ; the lower part 
 and its aisle still retain their romanesque features. The tower is 
 square and massive; indeed, the heightened clerestory of the choir 
 ranges pretty nearly with its upper line, but above are remains 
 of a circular stage, also of romanesque work, flanked at the four 
 corners of the tower below with circular turrets having conical 
 tops ; of these only the two eastern ones remain.' — Petit. 
 
 From Montierneuf a pleasant drive along the N.E. 
 boulevards, passing (r.) the Jardin des Plantes, leads, near 
 the base of the hill, to the curious church of S. Radegonde, 
 named from the Thuringian Princess Radegonde, taken 
 prisoner as a child (529) by Clotaire L, and educated to 
 become one of the wives of that prince, the most cruel 
 and debauched of the sons of Clovis. After the murder of 
 her young brother by her husband, she fled from the royal 
 residence at Soissons, to seek at Noyon the protection of 
 Bishop Medard, who consecrated her as a deaconess. 
 
POITIERS. 
 
 Clotaire pursued her as far as Tours, but the intervention 
 of S. Germain of Paris was eventually successful in pro- 
 curing his consent to her remaining at Poitiers, where she 
 founded a convent and died in 587. Her memoirs were 
 written by two of her contemporaries, her friend Fortuna- 
 tus, the poet-bishop of Poitiers, and Baudonivia, one of her 
 nuns. 1 The original church was burnt (955) in that siege 
 by Lothaire and Hugues le Grand, after the failure of 
 which the latter was never known to smile. 2 
 
 S. Radegonde, till recently one of the most beautiful 
 buildings in Poitou, has been terribly spoilt by restoration, 
 every roughness smoothed down, every time-stain effaced. 
 The upper part of the tower, with slender romanesque 
 columns and arcades, is remarkably striking. The choir, 
 with its ambulatory and three radiating chapels, is of 
 1099; the nave, a very remarkable and beautiful specimen 
 of the Angevine style, with cupolas, was added in the 
 xiii. c. The vestibule, which is contemporary with the 
 choir, has a xv. c. portal. The side doors are xiii. c. 
 and xiv. c. A descent of ten steps leads into the church. 
 On the r. of the nave is La Chapelle du Pas de JDieu, 
 where the mark of a foot on an ancient tomb in the 
 wall, is shown as having been left by the Saviour when 
 He appeared to S. Radegonde. The crypt, lined with 
 votive tablets, and ever full of burning tapers (for the sale 
 of which there is perpetual contention between the old 
 women at the church door), contains the tomb of the saint, 
 which, even if not made at the time of the death of the 
 
 1 Montalembert, Les Moines d 'Occident; A. Thierry, Recite des Temps 
 Merovingiens. 
 
 2 Palgrave. 
 
192 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 holy queen, is extremely interesting from its sculptures. 
 The marble balustrade surrounding it was given by Anne 
 of Austria, in gratitude for the recovery of Louis XIV. 
 from illness through the supposed intervention of the saint. 
 In a niche on the r. rests S. Agnes, the beloved friend of 
 S. Radegonde, and first abbess of her convent of S. Croix ; 
 on the 1. is S. Disciole, one of her disciples. 
 
 ' Vos quoque, quae struitis haec, Agnes cum Radegunde, 
 Floribus aeternis vester anhelet odor. 
 O regina potens, cui aurum et purpura vile est, 
 Floribus ex parvis, te veneratur amans.' 
 
 Fortimati Opera, viii. 10, 11, 12. 
 
 It is only a few steps W. from S. Radegonde to the 
 Cathedral of S. Pierre^ begun by Queen Eleanor of 
 Guienne, wife of Henry II., who laid its first stone in 
 1 162. After her death the work languished for want of 
 funds ; many of the early windows were enlarged in the 
 xiii. c, and the church was not consecrated till 1379. The 
 transepts are only projections of one bay on each side, and 
 the apsides, slightly sunk in the surface of the wall, do not 
 appear externally in the square E. end. 
 
 1 Au dehors, la cathedrale de Poitiers, couverte par un comble 
 a deux pentes, terminee a l'orient par un enorme mur pignon 
 sans saillies et a peine perce, parait etre plutot une salle immense 
 qu'une eglise avec nef centrale et collateraux. Rien, dans le 
 plan, n'indique ni le choeur, ni le sanctuaire. Nous sommes dis- 
 poses a croire que, comme a S. Pierre d'Angouleme, des tours 
 avaient ete projetees sur les deux bras de croix. Une facade de 
 style francais du nord fut commencee, vers le milieu du xm e 
 siecle, a l'ouest, et flanquee de deux petites tours non achevees. 
 Les constructions superieures de cette facade ne datent que des 
 xiv c et xv e siecles. Malgre sa grandeur, la beaute de sa con- 
 struction et de ses details, c'est la, nous l'avouons, un monument 
 
POITIERS. 
 
 '93 
 
 strange, une exception qui ne trouve pas d'imitateurs.'— Viollet 
 le Due. 
 
 Two noble towers project boldly from the sides of the 
 W. front, and, though wanting in height, are very beautiful 
 
 TEMPLE DE S. JEAN, POITIERS. 
 
 in their details. The intervening facade is richly adorned 
 with statuettes and other sculpture. The interior is 
 excessively imposing, the walls are clothed with roman- 
 esque arcades. The windows are of xn. c. and xm. c. ; in 
 the end window Henry II. and Eleanor are represented. 
 The stalls, spoilt by painting, date from 1235-57. 
 
 *3 
 
194 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The concierge of the Palais Episcopal will admit 
 visitors to the Temple S. Jean (a little S.W.), one of the 
 earliest Christian monuments in France, sometimes be- 
 lieved to have been a tomb, but more probably a baptistery. 
 It is a plain oblong, standing N. and S. ; to its E. and W. 
 sides a porch and chapel are annexed, which makes a 
 cross. The S. wall has curious work in which the straight- 
 sided arch appears, and also some round arches, very 
 Roman in character. Brick, as well as stone, is used in 
 the construction. The interior, which is exceedingly 
 impressive and curious, is decorated with paintings — 
 patterns — of the xn. c, at which date the little campanile 
 was built. The Jesuit fathers have collected here a 
 number of curious early Christian sepulchral monuments, 
 chiefly found near the Pierre Levee. 
 
 The Rue de l'Eveche leads to the Pont Nenf, by which 
 we may cross the Clain to the Faubourg S. Saturnin, and 
 (taking the second turn r.) reach (in a potato garden at a 
 cross-ways) the megalithic monument known as La Pierre 
 Levee or Pierre de Gargantua, 18 feet in diameter, but far 
 from imposing. A Gaulish inscription, in three lines, has 
 been discovered upon it. 
 
 A little to the 1. of the way leading to the Pierre Levee 
 (on the Chemin des Martyrs) was found the so-called 
 Hypogee- Martyrium, a chamber containing thirty-seven 
 Christian tombs, some of them bearing the names and 
 inscriptions of martyrs. The tombs are now at S. Jean. 
 Hence we should drive past the gilt image of the 
 Madonna, which overlooks the town, as far as the terrace 
 in front of the Artillery Barracks in the Quartier des Dunes, 
 for the sake of the really magnificent view of the town, 
 
POITIERS. 
 
 195 
 
 one of the finest city views in France, showing most of the 
 churches of Poitiers, and the green windings of the valleys 
 on either side. 
 
 On recrossing the Pont Neuf, we should follow (1.) the 
 Boulevard S. Cyprien, which runs beneath the towered wall of 
 the public gardens called Pare de Blossac. Near the gate at 
 the S.E. corner of the town is S. Hilaire ^ where an oratory 
 was built in the iv. c, over the tomb of the sainted bishop 
 of Poitiers, who, as bishop and confessor, still retains his 
 commemoration in the Anglican calendar. This was re- 
 placed in the vi. c. by a larger church, and in xi. c. and 
 xii. c. by a magnificent collegiate edifice, much injured 
 since, and the nave destroyed at the Revolution, but re- 
 cently restored, though shorter by one bay than the original. 
 This is the only church in France which has a nave of seven 
 aisles, and it is surmounted by six cupolas. The choir is 
 surrounded by four polygonal chapels, which are the only 
 ones existing, except at the cathedral of Le Puy, in a 
 romanesque church with aisles, and the effect of the endless 
 interlacing pillars and arches is most picturesque. Part of 
 the apse and transepts is as early as the x. c. Under the 
 choir, which is much higher than the nave, and approached 
 by staircases from the sides, is an oratory containing the 
 relics of S. Hilaire and a sarcophagus of the iv. c. 
 
 The Roman amphitheatre was destroyed in 1857, to build 
 the Marche S. Hilaire. A short distance from the town, 
 on the road to Bordeaux, are Les Arcs de Parigne, remains 
 of a Roman aqueduct. 
 
 Excursions may be made to a vast number of interesting 
 places on or near the different lines which converge at 
 Poitiers. Of these, the most important are Chauvigny and 
 
196 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE, 
 
 S. Savin, S. Maixent, and Moncontour for S. Jouin des 
 Marnes. 
 
 [A railway runs S.W. from Poitiers to (78 k.) Niort, on the 
 line to La Rochelle, by — 
 
 19 k. Conlo7nbiers. 9 k. N. is Mo7itrcuil-Bonnin, with an xi. c. 
 church, and a castle-keep, attributed to Richard Coeur de Lion, 
 surrounded by high outer walls flanked by six towers. 8 k. is 
 
 S. HILAIRE, POITIERS. 
 
 Benassais, with a xii. c. church, and the spring of Eleury, whence 
 an aqueduct took its waters to Poitiers. 
 
 27 k. Lusig7ici7i (Hotel : ►S. Catherme), a picturesquely situ- 
 ated and very attractive old town, running along the upper edge of 
 the deep wooded gorge of the Vonne. Lusignan gave its name to 
 the famous family of kings who occupied the thrones of Jerusalem 
 and Cyprus from 1192 to 1475. It once possessed one of the 
 most important castles in France, said to have been built by Melle 
 de Lusignan, the original of the enchantress Melusina, famous 
 in the legends of Poitou, who had the power of changing herself 
 
5. MAIXENT. 
 
 197 
 
 into a serpent every Saturday. One day, being surprised by her 
 husband, Raymondin, whilst in process of transformation.Melusina 
 disappeared for ever, only being heard to hiss sadly for three 
 nights whenever any death or misfortune threatened a member 
 of the house of Lusignan. The castle, constantly taken and re- 
 taken in the Wars of Religion, was dismantled in 1574. The 
 'Tour de Melusine' alone was allowed to remain till 1622, 
 when, as it was pulled down, the enchantress made her last 
 appearance in the form of a white and blue dragon, uttering the 
 most terrific cries. The site of the chateau is now occupied by 
 a promenade. 
 
 The church, of xi. c. and xn. c, belonged to a priory of Notre 
 Dame, founded in 1024 ; it has a triple nave of seven bays with 
 cradle-vaulting, a transept with a beautiful central tower, two 
 apsides, and a central apse resting upon a crypt with four pillars. 
 Only the N. transept is as old as the XI. c. The principal portal 
 (on S.) and porch are of xv. c. In the lower town is the abundant 
 Font-de- Ce. 
 
 A public carriage (75 c.) unites Lusignan with (13 k.) Sanxay, 
 passing (6 k.) Jaze7teuil } with considerable Roman remains and a 
 xii. c. church. A little N.W. of the town of Sanxay remains of a 
 Roman settlement have been found, comprising a temple, baths, 
 and theatre. 3 k. N. is the Chateau de Marconuay, of xiv. c. and 
 xvi. c. 
 
 47 k. La-Mothe-S.-Heraye. The manufacturing town of La- 
 Mothe owes its origin to a monastery founded in the vi.e. by S. 
 Heraye, minister of King Theodobert. A number of dolmens, 
 tombelles, etc., exist in the neighbourhood. Three very fine 
 tombelles are at Bougon } 5 k. E. 
 
 55 k. 6\ Maixent (Hotel: des Ftrangers — very humble and 
 indifferent), which originated in an abbey founded c. 459 by 
 Agapitus, abbot of S. Hilaire at Poitiers, who was himself 
 forced to retire hither by the Huns, and became the second 
 abbot of S. Maixent. S. Leger afterwards ruled the monastery 
 before becoming bishop of Autun. 
 
 The magnificent church, which occupies the highest point in 
 the town, and is one of the finest in Poitou, was completely 
 ruined by the Protestants, but restored by the Benedictines 
 (1670-82) on the old lines. It is ill seen, being enclosed on two 
 
198 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 sides by buildings used as a barrack. The porch in the centre 
 of the facade is surmounted by a decorated xv. c. tower, with a 
 truncated spire. The walls and windows of the nave are xn. c, 
 but the pillars and vaults belong to the xvn. c. restoration. The 
 choir (with the exception of xv. c. and xvn. c. alterations) is a 
 very pure specimen of the Angevin style. It has four side aisles, 
 the outer of four bays, the inner of five, all ending in apsides. 
 The chevet is a straight wall with an open arcaded gallery 
 surmounted by a rose-window. 
 
 S. MAIXENT. 
 
 The most interesting part of the church is the Crypt beneath 
 the sanctuary, where eight low columns with splendid capitals 
 and romanesque arches cluster in a circle round the small en- 
 closure which is filled by the two original huge stone coffins 
 of the sainted abbots, Maixent and Leger : the remains of the 
 latter were brought hither from his bishopric of Autun, near which 
 town he was murdered in 678. 
 
 The abbey, rebuilt in the xvn. c, is now an Ecolc dTnfan- 
 terie. Of the old church of 5*. Leger, nothing but a crypt of the 
 
MIRE BEAU. 
 
 199 
 
 vii. c. remains. Some houses are xiv. c. and xv. c. 1 k. N. are 
 the ruined Chateau dA7tbig7ie and the Puy d'Enfcr, with a little 
 waterfall.] 
 
 [A line leads N.W. from Poitiers to (70 k.) Loudun, passing — 
 10 k. Migne. The village, 2 k. from the station, is 1 k. from 
 
 the castle of Auxancc, built 1474 by Jean Merichon, chamberlain 
 
 of Louis XL 
 
 TOMB OF S. MAIXENT. 
 
 17 k. Neuville, whence there is a branch to (39 k.) Parthenay, 
 passing (32 k.) La Peyratte, where there is a xii. c. lanteme dcs 
 morts. 
 
 32 k. Mirebeau, picturesquely situated, with remains of ancient 
 walls and of the castle where Arthur of Brittany was taken 
 prisoner by King John of England, in 1202. The church of Notre 
 Dame (xil. c, xv. c, and xvi. c.) has a romanesque chapel under 
 its xiii. c. tower, an open-work spire and xvi. c. stalls. The xi. c. 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 church of 6*. Andre has a romanesque tower and xv. c. choir. 
 6 k. N. is the moated renaissance Chateau de Coussay. 
 
 40 k. S. Jean-de-Sanves. 5 k. N.E. is the chateau of Dan- 
 designy (xv. c. and xvi. c.) 5 k. S.W. is the ruined castle of 
 
 6*. Radegonde de Marconnay. 
 
 S. JOUIN-DE-MARNES. 
 
 51 k. Montcontonr, has a noble castle keep of the xn. c. and 
 xv. c, conspicuous from a great distance, with a transition chapel. 
 The church is romanesque, and there are houses of xiv. c. and 
 XV. c. 
 
 3 k. W. (and the same distance N. from the station of its own 
 name, on the line to Airvault) is Jouin-de-Marnes , interest- 
 ing and important as the place where the oldest monastery in 
 
S. JO UIN-DE-MARNES. 
 
 20 1 
 
 Gaul, Le Monastere d'Ansion, was founded by S. Martial, c. 350. 
 In the v. c. the abbey was governed by S. Jovin, who has left his 
 name to it, and in the vi. c. by |S. Generoux and S. Pair or 
 Paterne, who left it to become bishop of Avranches. The abbey 
 church is a vast building with a gorgeous romanesque facade, still 
 
 PAVILLON DE L'ABBE, NOUAILLE. 
 
 (1890) unspoilt by restoration, divided by four groups of massive 
 columns corresponding with the three aisles of the nave. The 
 outer columns support octagonal tourelles of two storeys, which 
 rise to the base of the gable, and one of which has preserved its 
 stone spire. The deep portal is richly ornamented. The statues 
 below and on the gable form a representation of the Last Judgment. 
 
202 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The chapels of the apse are also very richly ornamented exter- 
 nally, but this decoration is later (end of XII. c.) 
 
 Of the ten bays of the nave, only the three first have preserved 
 their primitive vaulting ; the vaulting of the other seven bays and 
 of the choir, with the ambulatory and its three chapels, was 
 renewed in the xiii. c. in the most peculiar and complicated 
 Angevine style. The side aisles of the nave have still their cradle- 
 
 ABBEY BRIDGE, NOUAILLE. 
 
 vaulting of the xn. c, and the cross its eight-sided cupola, sup- 
 porting a square tower of two storeys. In the xv. c, the choir 
 and all the S. side of the church were fortified. There are very 
 small remains of the abbey buildings, and the dreary village has 
 no beauty. 
 
 At Marnes (4 k. S.E. of S. Jouin), is a romanesque church of 
 late xii. c, and 3 k. from Marnes is the ruined castle of 6*. 
 Chartres, with an enormous circular keep. 
 
 55 k. Martaize. 2 \ k. is the old Chateau de Doemont, flanked 
 
NOUAILLE. 
 
 203 
 
 by round towers ; r. of the line is Ouzilly-Vignollcs, with a croix- 
 hosa?i?ie in its cemetery. 
 
 62 k. Arcay, with many megalithic remains.] 
 
 [A line runs E. from Poitiers to (72 k.) Le Blanc, by— 
 10 k. Mignaloux-Nouaille (where the line to Limoges diverges). 
 A pleasant walk (no carriages) leads to (2 k. S.) Nonaille, a pretty 
 village in a wooded hollow, where, in the ix. c, a magnificent abbey 
 was founded, of which considerable remains still exist, though it 
 
 AVAILLE. 
 
 was ruined by the English in the xiv. c, and the Huguenots in the 
 xvi. c. An artist will find beautiful subjects for colour in the varied 
 grey buildings and the rich masses of green, with the clear moats 
 and their yellow water-lilies. The abbatial precincts are entered 
 by a gateway, inside which is the picturesque octagonal pavilion 
 called de I' Abbe, of late xv. c. The noble fortified church, of 
 early gothic, has very narrow aisles, and renaissance screen 
 and stallwork, with a fine carved lectern. On the opposite 
 side, the enclosure is entered by a bridge between two round 
 towers. 
 
204 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 2 k. further S.E. is the hamlet of Availle, where, in a mossy 
 hollow shaded by old fruit-trees, is the beautiful ruined roman- 
 esque chapel of a Priory. Close by is a flamboyant gateway, 
 with exquisite sculpture of cabbage, and angels holding a shield 
 with fleurs-de-lis. A transparent fountain is overhung by a grove 
 of box. It is a seldom-visited but lovely spot. Pedestrians who 
 
 NOTRE DAME, CHAUVIGNY. 
 
 make this an excursion from Poitiers, may regain the railway on 
 their return at the (separate) station of Nouaille. 
 
 1 6 k. Savigny-V Evcscaidt. The church is late xn. c. 
 
 19 k. £*. Julien-Lars. The church is xil c. — xm. c, the chateau 
 xv. c. 
 
 23 k. Jardres. The church is xn. c, with a xiv. c. spire. 
 
 30 k. Chauvigny (Hotel : du Lion d Or), which, though small, 
 
CHAUVIGNY. 205 
 
 is important, and a very picturesque and interesting place, with ruins 
 of no less than five castles. The church of Notre Dame (restored), 
 in the valley, contains a curious xv. c. fresco, representing Christ,' 
 and his followers in different ages. £ Pierre (restored), on the 
 hill, is a Latin cross ending in a splendid apse, with three apsides : 
 the external decoration is very beautiful. The tower is early 
 xiii. c. The pillars of the ambulatory have very remarkable 
 capitals. Two xiv. c. tombs have statues. The neighbourhood 
 
 CHATEAU DE TOUFFOU. 
 
 is very pretty. At 2 k. is the curious church of Pierre-les- 
 Eglises, with xn. c. frescoes. There is a wonderful view of 
 Chauvigny after leaving the station by the railway. 
 
 An excursion may be made to the Chateau de Touffou, in an 
 exceedingly picturesque position on the E. bank of the Vienne. 
 
 42 k. Paizay-le-Sec, has a curious romanesque church with a 
 xvi. c. retable. 
 
 ! - ■-- 49k. 6*. Savin (Hotel: de France), a little town upon the 
 Gartempe, famous for; its monthly cattle fairs, at which the 
 
206 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 costumes of the country may be well seen — the hugely tall 
 white caps of the elder women, and the picturesque cloaks with 
 square hoods over the head, worn at all ages. The town rose 
 around an abbey, founded by Charlemagne in 811, on the burial- 
 place of the missionary S. Savin, martyred close by at Antigny. 1 
 The (restored) church is the finest specimen of the xi. c. in France. 
 It rises at the end of a square which occupies the site of the abbey, 
 and is especially remarkable for its xiv. c. tower, and its spire, 
 
 S. SAVIN. 
 
 which is the tallest in Western France, except S. Michel de 
 Bordeaux. Beneath it is a porch in the centre of the W. facade, 
 whence several steps must be descended to the level of the 
 church. 
 
 The nave, of nine bays, has collaterals as wide as the central 
 aisle. The central vaults are cradle, those at the sides are ribbed. 
 The four pillars at the intersection of the transepts sustain a low 
 
 1 This S. Savin had no connection with the S. Savin of the Pyrenees, who 
 was a native of Poitiers. 
 
5. SAVIN. 
 
 207 
 
 cupola. The transept has two eastern apsides. At the cross rises 
 a square tower of a single storey. The sanctuary surmounts the 
 crypt, which is the burial-place of the saint, and is raised above 
 the floor of the church by a low wall without steps, after the 
 fashion of many old Roman basilicas. 1 A circle of pillars with 
 gloriously sculptured capitals surround the sanctuary, and five 
 beautiful semicircular chapels radiate round the ambulatory, 
 containing several of their original stone altars bearing curious 
 and interesting inscriptions. 
 
 The ancient frescoes of S. Savin, executed in the xi. c, are 
 unique in France. They once covered the whole of the walls, 
 and Viollet le Due has unfortunately covered the old pillars with 
 colour in imitation of what he believed to be the original intention, 
 thereby rather spoiling the effect of the earlier paintings. The 
 latter, however, are themselves untouched, and of the greatest 
 interest. Those in the vestibule are from the Apocalypse, and 
 very remarkable for their drawing and character. Over the 
 western door is a Madonna. The pictures on the vaulting of 
 the nave are from Genesis and Exodus ; those in the choir 
 represent Christ with the sainted protectors of the abbey or 
 of Aquitaine ; those in the chapels also refer to the patrons or 
 bishops of the district. The crypt was devoted to the legend of 
 S. Savin and S. Cyprien. In the tribune, besides the Passion, 
 are represented a vast number of the saints especially honoured 
 in the monastery. The frescoes in the choir and chapels are 
 inferior to the others. 
 
 ' Les figures sont maigres et longues comme les aimaient les 
 artistes bysantins. Bien que raides, les draperies sont quelque- 
 fois ajustees avec grace et dune maniere tout-a-fait antique. De 
 perspective, on sent qu'il n'en peut etre question des tableaux 
 aussi barbares. Le paysage est egalement sacrifie. II y a pour- 
 tant des rochers et des arbres, mais ce sont plutot des hieroglyphes 
 de convention que des essais limitation ; par exemple, un baton 
 fourchu represente un arbre. En verite, on ne saurait micux com- 
 parer ces accessoires qua ceux du meme genre que Ton voit sur 
 les vases etrusques.' — Prosper Merimee. 
 
 1 By the ill advice of Merimee and Viollet le Due, steps were placed in front 
 of the sanctuary destroying this arrangement, but they have now been removed. 
 
2o8 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 An excursion should be made from S. Savin to (5 k.) A?itigny, 
 where the saint was martyred. Here there is a very fine lanterne 
 des morts of the xm. c. Near this is the interesting Chateau de 
 Bois?nora7id. 
 
 59 k. Ingra7ides, on the Anglin, a picturesque stream with a 
 number of ruined castles on its banks.] 
 
 [For the line from Poitiers to Montmorillon and Limoges see 
 ch. iv.] 
 
 [A road leads S.E. from Poitiers to Confolens, by — 
 
 1 2 k. Les Roches ; with a xi v. c. castle. 
 
 15 k. Villedieu. The romanesque church has a fine portal. 
 
 25 k. Gencai, with fine ruins of a (xm. c. and xiv. c.) castle. 
 1 k. S. are the Chateau a?id Chapelle de la Roche (xvi. c. and 
 xvii. c.) vS. Maurice, on the opposite bank of the Clouere, has a 
 fine romanesque church, in which the ends of the transepts, as well 
 as of the choir, are semicircular, and each transept has an E. apse. 
 
 42 k. 1. is the Chateau dArtron, of the xv. c. There are several 
 dolmens near this. 
 
 47 k. £*. Martin-Lars. 3 k. S.E., near a xvi. c. chateau, is the 
 famous oak of Combe, 13 met. in circumference. 
 
 49-J k. On 1. is the ruined Abbaye de la Reau, with a fortified 
 romanesque church, a XII. c. chapter-house, and xv. c. cloister. 
 
 59 k. Pressac, has a small romanesque church adorned with 
 symbolic sculpture. 
 
 74 k. Confolens (Hotel : Rouffy), a manufacturing town with 
 several old churches. ►S. Christophe is xn. c. ; 5*. Maxime is 
 xm. c. The Commanderie du S. Esprit has a xiv. c. chapel 
 used as a barn. A little E. is the Menliir du Repaire.~\ 
 
 Leaving Poitiers, the line passes — 
 
 337 k. (from Paris) S. Benoit-de-Quinfai, at the entrance 
 of the valley of Miousson, a favourite resort of the inhabit- 
 ants of Poitiers. The church (xn. c. and xv. c.) with a tall 
 spire, belonged to a Benedictine abbey, of which there are 
 some remains. It is here that the lines to La Rochelle and 
 Limoges leave the main line. 
 
BATTLEFIELD OF POITIERS. 
 
 To the r. of the line, near S. Benoit, is the farm of 
 La Cardinerie, formerly called Maupertuis, which, on 
 Sept. 19, 1356, was the scene of the great Battle of 
 Poitiers, gained by the English army of eight thousand 
 over sixty thousand Frenchmen. 
 
 ' The battle commenced about nine o'clock, and was ended by 
 noon : but the English were not all returned from the pursuit, 
 and to recall his people the Black Prince raised his banner upon 
 a high bush. They did not return till after vespers from pursuing 
 the enemy. Then it was known that all the flower of French 
 knighthood was slain ; and that, with the king and his son the 
 lord Philip, seventeen earls, without counting barons, knights, or 
 squires, were made prisoners, and from five to six thousand of 
 all sorts left dead in the field. When all were collected, the 
 English found their prisoners were twice as many in number as 
 themselves ; they therefore consulted if, in consideration of the 
 risk they ran, it might not be wiser to ransom them on the spot, 
 and this was done. 
 
 4 In the evening, the Prince of Wales gave a supper in his 
 tent to the king of France, and to the greater part of the princes 
 and barons who were prisoners. The prince seated the king 
 and his son the lord Philip at a high and well-spread table ; with 
 them were Sir James de Bourbon, the lord John d'Artois, the 
 earls of Tancarville, Etampes, Dammartin, Graville, and the lord 
 of Parthenay. The other knights and squires were placed at 
 different tables. The prince himself served the king's table, as 
 well as the others, with every mark of humility, and would not 
 sit down at it, in spite of all entreaties that he would do so, 
 saying that "he was unworthy of such an honour, nor was it for 
 him to seat himself at the table of so great a king, or of so 
 valiant a man as he had shewn himself to be by his actions of 
 that day." He added also, with noble courtesy : " Dear sir, do 
 not make a bad meal because Almighty God has not carried out 
 your wishes as to the event of this day ; for be assured that my 
 lord and father will shew you all honour and friendship in his 
 power, and will so arrange your ransom, that you shall ever 
 henceforward remain friends. Indeed, it seems to me that you 
 
 14 
 
210 SOUTH-WESTERN ERANCE. 
 
 may rejoice that the battle has not turned out as you desired, 
 for you have this day acquired such a fame for valiant deeds 
 that you have surpassed all your knights. I do not say this, 
 dear sir, in flattery, but all those on our side who have watched 
 the actions of each party, unanimously allow that the prize 
 and wreath of valour is your due." At the end of this speech, 
 murmurs of praise were heard, and the French said that 
 the words of the prince were noble and true, and that he 
 would be the most gallant prince in Christendom, if God 
 should grant him life to pursue his career of glory.' — Eroissart, 
 1 Chronicles.' 
 
 340 k. Liguge, where S. Martin first established his 
 monastic rule. The church is of the time of Louis XII. 
 Rabelais is said to have once inhabited a room close by. 
 On r. is the xv. c. Chateau de Bernay. 
 
 352 k. Vivonne, at the point where the Vonne falls into 
 the Clain. The church and ruined chateau are xn. c. and 
 
 xiv. c. 5 k. E. is Chateau-Larcher, with a romanesque 
 church in a ruined castle and a cemetery with a very fine 
 lanterne des morts. The neighbouring Camp de Thorus 
 abounds in dolmens. 
 
 361 k. Anche-Voulon. To N. of Anche is the Camp de 
 Sichard, an ancient burial-place. To r. is Ceaux, where 
 the church (xn. c. and xiv. c.) contains four gothic tombs. 
 To 1. is the xvi. c. Chateau de Monts. 
 
 366 k. Couhe-Verac. 2 k. is Vaux-en-Cormi, with a 
 curious romanesque church. On the r. bank of the Dive 
 (1 k.) is a xiii. c. vaulted hall, a remnant of the Cistercian 
 abbey of Valence. 3 k. N.E. is the ancient camp of 
 Chdtillon. 
 
 7 k. E. is Champagne-S.-Hilairc, with a ruined chateau of 
 
 xv, c. 6 k. S. of Champagne, near the old bridge of La Milliere, 
 
CIVRAL 
 
 211 
 
 is a ruined (xvi. c.) chateau, and 4 k. thence, on the Clain, the 
 ruined Cistercian abbey of Morcaux, and (7 k.) the Chateau de 
 Sommieres, a. fine work of Mansart. 
 
 384 k. S. SavioL Near this is the fine Dolmen de la 
 Pierre Pese. 
 
 LANTERNE DES MORTS, CH ATEAU-LARCHER. 
 
 [A branch line leads E. to — 
 
 7 k. Civrai, which was an important seigneurie of the middle- 
 ages. The noble cruciform church of Nicolas is xn. c, and 
 has a magnificent arcaded facade, with a richly-sculptured central 
 portal. The upper part of the vvall was fortified and machico- 
 lated in xv. c. The interior is a Latin cross with an eastern 
 apse which is richly ornamented externally. From the cross 
 
212 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 rises an octagonal tower. In the choir and transept are (restored) 
 paintings of xv. c. The Hotel de la Prevote is xv. c. and xvi. c. ; 
 over a door on its staircase is a bust of Louis XIII., who slept 
 here in 1616. 
 
 10 k. E. of Civrai is Charroux, which had an important abbey, 
 founded by Charlemagne. Its ruined walls remain, and a cupola 
 surmounted by a tower. In the interior is a well, the water of 
 which, drawn out on the Fete Dieu, and at no other time, is 
 supposed to cure all maladies, if certain prayers are recited 
 when they are taken ; it is called La Fontaine du Bon Sauveur. 
 An isolated statue of Christ — le Bon Sauveur — near it, is of great 
 merit.] 
 
 [A line leads from S. Saviol to (37 k.) Melle, see ch. iii.] 
 
 398 k. Ruffec (Hotel : des Ambassadeurs). A little town 
 celebrated for its patties of truffles and partridges. The 
 church (chiefly flamboyant of xv. c. and xvi. c.) has a 
 spendid romanesque facade, with Poitevin details. The 
 low tower has a barrel roof of romanesque date. 6 k. 
 S.E. is the Chateau de Verteuil, of 1459, which has been 
 thoroughly restored by the Comte de la Rochefoucauld. 
 10 k. E., on the road to Confolens, are a beautiful portal 
 and romanesque church, remains of the abbey of Nanteuil- 
 en- Vallee. 
 
 [A line leads N.W. from Ruffec to (48 k.) Melle (and Niort) 
 by- 
 
 16 k. Paizay-Nattdouin. The Chateau de Saveille (N.) is 
 xv. c. 
 
 28 k. Chef-Boutonne. 1 k. W. are the remains of the xv. c. 
 Chateau de Javctrzay. The xn. c. church belonged to a Bene- 
 dictine priory. 
 
 38 k. Brioux, which is 17 k. from the famous church of 
 Aulnay, see later. 
 
 46 k. Mazieres-S.-Ro7nans. 2 k. S. is the Tour de Melzeard, 
 a remnant of a chateau built in xv. c. by Pierre Frottier, counsellor 
 to Charles VII.] 
 
angoulRme. 
 
 213 
 
 426 k. S. Amant dc-Boixe, near which the battle was 
 fought (575) between the Neustrians and Au'strasians, in 
 which Theodobert, son of Chilperic, was killed. The little 
 town stands on a hill above the valley of the Charente. 
 The fine romanesque church dates from 1170, and has 
 remains of a (xn. c. and xv. c.) cloister. At Montignac (2 k. 
 S.W.) is a ruined castle ; at Villejoubert (3 k. E.) a ruined 
 romanesque church. 
 
 445 k. Angouleme (Hotels : de France — best ; des Postes 
 — tolerable ; du Palais — worst, dirty, and dear), the ancient 
 Encolisma, the capital of the Departement de la Charente, 
 famous for its beautiful promenades, which follow the lines 
 of the ancient ramparts. 
 
 A winding steep ascent leads up to the town, of which 
 the chief features are the Hotel de Ville and cathedral. 
 Tke former, rebuilt by the native architect, Abadie, in 
 1866 — a very feeble and indifferent work — retains two 
 towers from the ancient chateau of the Comtes d'Angouleme 
 — the Tour Polygone, built by Hugues IV. (pi?. 1303), and 
 the xv. c. Tour de Valois, where Marguerite, sister of 
 Francois L, was born : there is a statue of her in the 
 neighbouring square. 
 
 The Cathedral of S. Pierre was built 'a primo lapide,' 
 by the great bishop Gerard de Blaye in the xn. c, and was 
 consecrated in n 28. Till the xvi. c. it had two towers upon 
 the facade, two others at the transepts, and a central lant- 
 horn. In 1562 and again in 1568 it was pillaged and burnt 
 by the Protestants, and three of its towers were destroyed. 
 Under Louis XIII., Dean Jean Mesneau restored tha build- 
 ing with the exception of the towers. In 1856 the architect 
 Abadie was employed to restore the cathedral to its primitive 
 
214 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 state. The magnificent facade, in some respects the most 
 beautiful romano-byzantine fagade in France, and a master- 
 piece of xii. c. sculpture, rises from a terrace facing a 
 vast view of the plain. The main subject of its various and 
 intricate sculpture is the Last Judgment, but all the arcades 
 are filled with allegorical figures. Lower down, S. George 
 and the dragon and S. Martin dividing his cloak with the 
 beggar are conspicuous. The gable and W. and towers are 
 modern restorations. The great tower is a noble specimen 
 of romanesque. 
 
 The interior retains nothing of interest but its outline, 
 everything else having been improved away by Abadie, so 
 that the church looks entirely new, and has suffered horribly 
 from the architect's mania for planing all old walls and pillars 
 down to a perfectly smooth uniform surface, and filling 
 the interstices of the stones with blackened mortar. Over 
 each of the three bays of the nave is a cupola ; there is 
 a much larger cupola at the cross, and one over each of 
 the transepts. The walls of the nave are clothed with 
 arcades, surmounted by a gallery ; in the arcades on the 
 N. are several xn. c. monuments of bishops, and in the 
 centre of the pavement is the gravestone of Philippe de 
 Volvire, Marquis de Rufifec, and governor of Angoumois, 
 assassinated at Paris in 1585. The splendid tombs of the 
 Valois-Angouleme, ancestors of the then reigning house, 
 were all destroyed, and their contents desecrated, by the 
 Protestants in 1562. 
 
 To the N.E. is the Eveche, partly romanesque, and 
 restored by Abadie. The Boulevard Desaix leads to the 
 Jardin Vert, and to the indifferent Church of S. Ausone, built 
 by Abadie, 1864-69. Hence one may follow the beautiful 
 
LA PALUD. 
 
 215 
 
 walks upon the ramparts. Beneath the Rempart du Nord is 
 the curious cavern-chapel called La Grotte de S. Cybard, 
 whither that saint retired in the vn. c. From this part of 
 the ramparts there is a noble view over the plain and the 
 windings of the river Charente, 
 
 ON THE WALLS OF ANGOULEME. 
 
 [An excursion should be made to the abbey ot La Couronne 
 (see later), and the church of La Palnd, on the Bordeaux road, 
 may be visited at the same time. 
 
 'La Palud belongs to two very distinct epochs of roman- 
 esque. The central part of the nave, the cupolas, the 
 transepts, and apse are of the end of the eleventh century. 
 The composition of the nave is very like that of Couronne, 
 having the arched bays on plain imposts, the semi-cylin- 
 drical roof, and the shaft supporting the transverse arch of 
 
216 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 one square order. But it has also clerestory windows pierced 
 through the vaulting, and consequently forming curves of a double 
 curvature. The nave has no aisles. The cupola rests on roman- 
 esque pendentives, the apse is semicircular, and the transepts 
 have eastern apses. On the intersection is a very elegant octagon, 
 tapering in stages, and crowned with a conical spire. The 
 belfry-storey has in each face a couplet of round arches on shafts, 
 the central one bisecting the real opening, a single round-headed 
 window. The spire has the fir-apple ornament which we see 
 at Roulet, Perigieux, etc' — Petit. 
 
 [A line leads W. from Angouleme to Cognac, by — 
 6 k. kS. Michel-dEntraigues. The very curious and important 
 church, of 1 137, is an octagon crowned by a vast cupola, and 
 flanked by eight apsides, one of them pierced by the portal 
 which has S. Michael and the Dragon in its tympanum. The 
 church has, unfortunately, been restored by Abadie. 2J k. N. of 
 the station is Fleac, where the xn. c. church has three octagonal 
 cupolas. 
 
 ' The nave is roofed by two domes on Byzantine pendentives, 
 separated by a round arch, with not a very wide archivolt. The 
 longitudinal arches in the wall are also round, but those under 
 the tower are pointed. The tower, w T hich stands between the 
 nave and chancel, has its compartment roofed with a dome and 
 pendentive belonging to one sphere. The chancel is apsidal, 
 with semi-domical vault. The tower is square, and there are no 
 transepts.'—/. L. Petit. 
 
 Linars (1 k. S. of Fleac) has an xi. c. church. The line 
 passes (r.) the fine xn. c. church of Les Trois Palis. 
 
 12 k. Nersac, has a xn. c. church. The fine machicolated 
 Chateau de Fleurac is xvi. c. 4 k. N. is £*. Saturnin, which has 
 remains of a priory and xn. c. chapel, and where a house is 
 pointed out as that where Calvin wrote his commentaries. 
 
 15 k. Sireuil, has a church on a romanesque crypt. La Tour 
 de Fa is a Gallo-Roman monument of unknown intention. 
 
 24 k. Chdteauneuf-sur-Charente, retains very slight remains of 
 its castle above the crystalline Charente, besieged for four years 
 
LIGN1ERES, JARNAC. 
 
 217 
 
 (1376-80) by the troops of Charles V. The church— partly 
 romanesque, partly gothic — has a restored xn. c. facade. 7 k. 
 W. is the fine ruined (xvn. c.) Chateau dc Boutcvillc. The church, 
 which belonged to a priory, is partly romanesque, with a XIII. c. 
 choir. 3 k. S. of Bouteville (8 k. from Chateauneuf) is the xu. c. 
 and xiii. c. church of Bonneuil. The neighbouring Chateau dc 
 Breicil is of 1520, the Chateau de Luchct is renaissance. At 
 Lignieres, the church is partly romanesque. The Chateau, 
 chiefly renaissance, was the place where the unhappy Jeanne de 
 France, daughter of Louis XL, was brought up, and where she 
 lived after her divorce by Louis XII. Amblcville (3 k. further) 
 has a church of xi. c. and xiv. c. and the remains of a chateau 
 which belonged to the Chevalier de S. Preuil, beheaded at 
 Amiens in 1641. 
 
 [A road leads N. from Chateauneuf to (15 k.) Merignac by 
 (6 k.) Vibrac, which has a ruined xv. c. chateau on an island in 
 the Charente, and (10 k.) Bassac, with a curious church dating 
 from xi. c. to xvn. c. It retains the cloisters of an abbey, founded 
 in 1009. In the plain between Bassac and Triac the great battle 
 of Jarnac was fought between the Protestants and Catholics, 
 March 12, 1569. A pyramid marks the spot where the Prince de 
 Conde was killed.] 
 
 [A line leads S.W. from Chateauneuf to (19 k.) Barbczicux 
 (Hotel : de la Boule d'Or), an important town in the xi. c, which 
 retains little of its ancient ramparts or castle except the Porte 
 du Nord, which belonged to the latter. In the church of »9. 
 Matthias, part of the nave and the portal are XII. c. The 
 church of the Cordeliers has a fine xv. c. portal.] 
 
 30 k. ►S. Amant-de-Graves. The Chateau de Bois-Charente 
 is xvi. c. 
 
 34 k. 6*. Mhne. The church, with a richly decorated apse, is 
 partly romanesque. The vaults of the ancient castle remain. 
 2 k. S.W. is the renaissance Chateau d'Angueville. 2 k. from 
 S. Meme is a very remarkable dolmen. 
 
 37 k. Jarnac, an old walled town which has given a name to 
 a distinguished branch of the family of Chabot, and to the battle 
 fought near Bassac. The magnificent chateau built by Rene- 
 
218 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Chabot, Comte de Jarnac, is entirely destroyed. The parish 
 church has a transition crypt with a central pillar. In the Hotel 
 de Ville is the marble table on which the body of the Prince de 
 Conde was laid, after the battle of 1569. 8 k. S. is Segonzac, 
 where the church (rebuilt) retains its curious romanesque tower, 
 with a cupola, surmounted by a conical spire. The line passes 
 (r.) the xii. c. church of Bourg-Chare?ite, and some remains of a 
 xii. c. castle. 
 
 44 k. Gensac-la-Pallue. At Getisac (1 k. 1.) is a church of 
 xii. c. and xiii. c, where the nave has four cupolas. The line 
 passes (1.) Chateau-Bernard, where the church belonged to a 
 Commanderie de Templiers. 
 
 51 k. Cognac, see ch. in.] 
 
 [A road leads N.W. from Angouleme to (47 k.) Matha 
 (see ch. hi.) Leaving Angouleme, it passes (r.) the xiii. c. church 
 of Balzac (1.), the xviii. c. Chateau de Neuillac, and the church 
 of Mar sac (xii. c. and xv. c.) 
 
 16 k. ►S. Gents d'Hiersac. The church is x. c. or xi. c, the 
 chateau xvn. c. 6 k. N. is the romanesque church of Genac, 
 with a cupola over the entrance. 
 
 21 k. 61 Cybardeaux. The church, partly x. c. and xi. c, has 
 curious sculptures. 
 
 24 k. Rouillac. The church, with an octagonal tower, is 
 xii. c. At Temple (2 k. N.) is a ruined Commanderie. 7 k. N. 
 are the xii. c. church and xiv. c. chateau of Gourville. 
 
 36 k. Siecq, has remains of an XI. c. castle. At Macqueville 
 (5 k. S.W.) is an xi. c. church.] 
 
 [For the very interesting line which runs N.E. from Angouleme 
 to Limoges by La Rochefoucauld see ch. iv.] 
 
 [A line leads S.E. from Angouleme to Thiviers, by — 
 29 k. Marthon. The fine ruined castle has a xii. c. keep. A 
 later unfinished chateau is xvi. c, the church xn. c. 3 k. N. is 
 the romanesque Chdpelle S. Sauveur. 9 k. N. is Montbron, on 
 the Tardoire, with a very fine church, chiefly xii. c, restored by 
 Abadie. The Chateau de Ferrieres (1 k. N.E.) is xvi. c. 
 
 36 k. Varaignes, has an old chateau of the Dues de Cars, 
 built xv. c, and xvi. c, The church is xv. c. 
 
LA COURONNE. 
 
 219 
 
 40 k. Javerlhac. The chateau is xv. c. 
 
 51 k. Nontron, a manufacturing town. There are some ruins 
 of the chateau of the Vicomtes de Limoges. Coutcaux de 
 Nontron are to be recognised by their wooden handles and 
 copper ferrules. 
 
 73 k. Jean de Cole, see ch. iv. 
 
 80 k. Thiviers, see ch. iv.] 
 
 [On the road from Angouleme to (61 k.) Brantome (see 
 ch. iv.) is (41 k.) Marenil-S7ir-Belle, with a ruined castle of xiv. c. 
 and xv. c, and a church (rebuilt xv. c.) with several cupolas.] 
 
 Leaving Angouleme the line passes — 
 
 453 k. (from Paris) La Couronne. The curious and 
 interesting xn. c. church has an octagonal tower with a 
 scaly conical spire. Near the Bordeaux railway (in a 
 private garden) are, on r. before reaching the village, the 
 ruins of the fine Abbey Church, built 1171 — 1201, and 
 altered in xv. c. Only the walls remain of the triple nave ; 
 the transept was flanked by four square chapels, of which 
 one is tolerably perfect. The buildings of the monastery 
 are xv. c. and xvin. c. On the Bordeaux road, 6 k. S. of 
 La Couronne, is the curious church of Roallet, partly xn. c. 
 
 1 It has a nave, central tower, and chancel longer than a mere 
 apse. There are no well-developed transepts. The nave has 
 three domes, the circle separating them from the pendentives 
 having a sort of tooth ornament. The piers present a cluster 
 of five engaged shafts and columns, the longtitudinal arches 
 against the wall, as well as the transverse arches, having two 
 square orders ; both are pointed. The tower compartment, 
 which is older, has an octagonal cupola on romanesque squinches. 
 The tower is square, with fine romanesque belfry windows (two 
 double ones in each face) and a conical spire with fir-apple 
 ornament. The parapet, if original, has a very peculiar style 
 of ornament, namely, a sort of bead or torus, set vertically.' — 
 /. L. Petti, 
 
220 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 459 k. Mouthiers, where the Boeme is joined by a 
 stream from a spring which rises at the foot of a rock 
 bearing the Chateau de Rochechandry r , rebuilt 1855. The 
 church, much altered in xm. c, has a romanesque nave. 
 It is a picturesque spot. 
 
 6 k. S.W. is Plassac, where the xn. c. church has a very 
 rich facade and a scaly conical spire. 4 k. further W. is the 
 romanesque church of Mainfonds — a Greek cross. 13 k. S.W. 
 of Mouthiers is Blanzac, with a ruined castle of xn. c, and church 
 of xii. c, xm. c, and xiv. c, the central tower of which, of xi. c, 
 is flanked on each side by a pointed gable. 
 
 467 k. Charmant. 
 
 2 k. E., near the source of the Boeme, are a xii. c. church and 
 ruins of a Commanderie de Templiers. 6 k. S.W. is Puyfteroux, 
 with a curious church of xi. c. and xii. c, which has an apse 
 with six apsides. 4 k. W. of this, at Perignac, is another 
 romanesque church, with a scaly spire. 10 k. E. of Charmant is 
 La Valette, with a fortress chapel of xi. c, a church of xm. c, 
 and the Chateau de Villebois, built in xvn. c. by the Marechal de 
 Navailles. 
 
 479 k. Montmoreau. The romanesque church has 
 been restored by Abadie, who has rebuilt the large square 
 tower. On the hill above is the chateau, which retains 
 little of interest except a curious (xi. c. and xii. c.) chapel. 
 
 [A line leads S.E. from Montmoreau to Perigueux, by — 
 
 14 k. .S. Severin. 7 k. S.W. is Aubeterre (see later). 
 
 25 k. Riberac, with a romanesque church and an ecclesiatical 
 college. A road leads hence to (31 k.) La-Roche-Chalais, passing 
 (18 k.) the fine xii. c. church of >S. Autnaye. 
 
 31k. 6*. Meard-de-Dronne. On the hills on r. are the two 
 castles of Vernode (xii. c.) 
 
 42 k. Lisle. The church was altered in xm. c. and fortified 
 in xv. c. ; the remains of the chateau are xiv. c. 
 
 62 k. Perigueux, see ch. iv.] 
 
AUBETERRE. 
 
 496 k. Chalais (Hotel : de France — close to the station, 
 a good country inn), famous for its counts, one of whom was 
 the favourite of Louis XIII. , beheaded by Richelieu in 1638. 
 The remains of the ancient chateau are engrafted into a 
 vast modern building. It belonged from the xm. c. to 
 the family of Talleyrand-Perigord, Princes de Chalais : now 
 it is the property of the town. The church has a fine 
 romanesque portal. 
 
 An excursion may be made to (8J k. W.) the farm of Mon- 
 tr avail, where there is an oak of enormous size, passing (5 k.) 
 La Tour d'Yviers, a castle of xv. c. ; k. S.W. of which is the 
 romanesque church of Rioux-Martin, with an octagonal xm. c. 
 stone spire. 
 
 Chalais is the best point from which to visit (12 k. ; carriage for 
 the day, 8 fr.) the much-overrated little town of Atibeterre (Hotel : 
 de France — tolerable country inn). The chateau, of which only 
 a few of the outer towers remain, occupied a low precipitous lime- 
 stone hill above the Dronne, and is isolated by a wide entrench- 
 ment on the side towards the plateau. Beneath it, cut out of the 
 rock itself, is the curious deserted monolith parish church of 
 •S*. Jean, entered from the road to S. Severin, in the lower town. 
 The interior has an apse, a nave separated from its aisle by huge 
 columns, and a vast vestibule, probably of later date than the 
 rest. The whole is of the rudest character, but of great height ; 
 the vaulting is of the simplest romanesque, but there is a cornice 
 round the apse. Galleries and a staircase in the rock connect it 
 with the chateau above. In the centre of the apse is a huge 
 monolith tomb in two storeys, the upper decorated with columns. 
 It once bore marble statues to Francois d'Esparbes de Lussan, 
 Marechal d'Aubeterre, and his wife Hippolyte Bouchard. 
 
 The late gothic church of 6*. Jacques, in the upper town, is 
 attached to the sumptuous romanesque facade of a xn. c. church. 
 The convent of the Minimes was built by Esparbes de Lussan 
 in 1 61 7. Though curious, Aubeterre is not a picturesque 
 place. 
 
 On the road from Chalais to (30 k.) Barbezieux, are (15 k.) 
 
222 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the xii. c. church of Chillac and an elm 300 years old, and (22 k.) 
 the remarkable xn. c. church of Condeon. 
 
 510 k. La- Roche- Chalais. The town (3 k.) is very 
 strikingly situated. 
 
 527 k. Coutras (Buffet), the Roman Corterata, has a 
 church with a byzantine cupola rebuilt xv. c, and some 
 small portions of its once famous renaissance chateau, 
 inhabited at different times by Catherine de Medicis, 
 Henri IV., etc., and for the most part demolished in 1730. 
 The curious hexagonal well remains, with a doric cupola, 
 and the inscription £ Nodos virtute resolvo.' 
 
 [A road runs N. from Coutras to (54 k.) Barbezieux, by — 
 22 k. Montguyon, which has ruins of a vast castle of the xv. c. 
 which belonged to the De la Rochefoucauld. At 1 k. N.E. is the 
 transition church of Vassiac; at 3 k. N.W. the romanesque church 
 of 6*. Martin d'Ary; and near it the Chateau de la Madeleine 
 (xm. c. and xiv. c.) 
 
 34 k. Chevanceau, has a chateau and an xi. c. church.] 
 
 [A line diverges W. to (54 k.) Blaye, see ch. hi.] 
 
 [A line runs N.E. from Coutras to (75 k.) Perigueux, by — 
 16 k. Soubie. 8 k. S. is Villcfranche-de-Longchapt, walled in 
 
 xiv. c, 3 k. S. of which are the xiv. c. ruins of the Clidteau de 
 Gurcon. 
 
 24 k. Montpoiit. 4 k. N.E., in a very picturesque situation 
 near the Isle, is the Chartreuse de Vauclaire, founded (xiv. c.) by 
 Archambault, Comte de Perigord. It has recently been re- 
 purchased and restored by the Carthusians (and is visible from 
 the railway). 
 
 40 k. Mussidan. 3 k. is Sourzac, with a church of xi. c. and 
 
 xv. c, and ruined castle of xiv. c. 1 k. distant (near the railway) 
 is the ruined town of 6". Louis, with a church built by the famous 
 king. 
 
5. EMILION. 
 
 223 
 
 50 k. Neuvic. The renaissance Chateau de Mcllct was built 
 1520-30. The line passes r. the xv. c. Chateau dc Beausejour. 
 
 58 k. 5*. Asticr, named from a hermit upon whose tomb a 
 church (with cupolas) was built in xi. c. and XII. c. It was fortified 
 in xvi. c. In the facade are figures of Christ and six apostles. 
 The tower is xvi. c. The Chateau de Puy-Fcrrat (2 k. W.) 
 is xv. c. 8 k. S. is the ruined (xn. c. and xv. c.) Chateau de 
 Grignols. The line passes (1.) the xv. c. Chateau de Puy S. 
 As tier.'] 
 
 543 k. Libourne (Hotels : des Princes ; de V Europe), a 
 town which rose to great prosperity under the English rule 
 of the xiii. c. On the quai is the Tour de PHorloge, a 
 relic of the xiv. c. ramparts. 3 k. E. is Fronsac, with a 
 singular natural mound, once the site of a chateau, which 
 gave its name to a duchy created by Henri IV. in favour of 
 the house of Orleans-Longueville. 
 
 [A line diverges E. from Libourne to join the main line from 
 Perigueux to Agen at (98 k.) Buisson. It passes — 
 
 8 k. S. Emilion (Hotel : Dussaud — small, but most clean and 
 comfortable : no commercial travellers : a paradise for artists). 
 This is one of the most curious, characteristic, and picturesque 
 places in France, and a most delightful resting-place for a few 
 days. Hitherto S. Emilion has not been ruined by ' restoration,' 
 and the valerian and pinks by which its rocks and buildings are 
 alike overgrown, add a wonderful charm to its buildings half- 
 caverned out of the rock, like those of Les Baux in Provence. 
 The town rose around a Benedictine monastery, itself half a 
 cavern, founded by S. Emilion in the vm. c. This was after 
 wards formed into a chapter and surrounded by minor convents, 
 which were endowed and enriched by different kings. Ruined 
 by the Revolution, which dissolved its religious communities, 
 S. Emilion became the last refuge of a number of the principal 
 Girondins, after their fall. The wines of S. Emilion are 
 famous. 
 
 Entered from the little Place, which contains a noble spina 
 
224 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Cristi tree, by a splendid gothic portal overgrown by scarlet 
 valerian, and an earlier romanesque entrance, is the extraordinary 
 Monolith Church of S. Emilion, caverned out of the rock by 
 the disciples of the saint who lived in the vin. c, with no addition 
 
 PORTAL, S. EMILION. 
 
 except the gothic portal. The vast interior, of huge arches 
 and decaying altars, green with damp, is most striking. To 
 the 1. of the portal is the isolated chapel of 5. Trinite, of 
 two storeys, the upper a chapel with an apse of xn. c, and 
 decorated with nearly mural paintings, the lower containing the 
 Hermitage of S. Emilion, 2l circular oratory, with a cupola and 
 
6-. Am/lion. 
 
 rude sculptures. The rock bed and seat of the saint are pointed 
 out. An abundant spring has its source here. Above the mono- 
 lith church, standing alone upon a terrace, is the noble (xn. c. and 
 xiv. c.) Belfry tower, with a tall, crocketed spire, the whole sup- 
 ported by four pillars of the subterranean edifice. Behind the 
 belfry, rises the magnificent Collegiate Church, which dates from 
 the xii. c. The rich romanesque facade and four bays of the 
 original nave remain, one of them forming a porch ; the two last 
 
 CLOISTER, S. EMILION. 
 
 have stone byzantine cupolas. The interior is very striking and 
 imposing. Noble columns separate the late xin. c. transepts, 
 built by Pope Clement V., from the centre of the church. The 
 N. portal, much injured, has a relief of the Last Judgment : its 
 central pillar has a statue of Clement V. A xiv. c. chapel is named 
 from Cardinal de Sourdis. The deep xin. c. apse forms the 
 choir. In the beautiful xin. c. Cloister on the S. of the church 
 each gallery has fourteen arches resting on two disengaged 
 columns. 
 
 is 
 
226 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Above the Hotel Dussaud, the steep, narrow street is crossed 
 by the lofty Arcade de la Cadene (Catena) uniting the building 
 called la Commanderie to the opposite house. Turning r. by the 
 upper street beyond this, we immediately find ourselves in front 
 
 ARCADE DE LA CADENE. 
 
 of the Church of the Cordeliers, ruined in wars of the xiv. c, 
 with the remains of a cloister of 1343-74. Continuing the little 
 terrace beyond the convent, between walls overgrown by the 
 peculiar and beautiful pinks of S. Emilion (Dia7ithns monsftesu- 
 lanum), we reach the Porte Brunei, the only remaining of the 
 
& EMILION. 
 
 227 
 
 six gates of the town, which an artist will certainly paint ex- 
 ternally with the long reaches of distant blue plain beyond the 
 arches of its bridge. Turning L, a delightful walk may be taken 
 from hence outside the walls, with their ruined bastions covered 
 with clematis, and by the remains of the Jacobin Convent, to the 
 
 CHATEAU DU ROI, S. EMILION. 
 
 site of the Porte Bourgeoise, on the 1. of which are the ruins of 
 the Palais Cardinal, noble romanesque XI. c. arches of a building 
 which was the residence of the first dean of S. limilion, the 
 Cardinal de S. Luce, nephew of Pope Clement V. Near this 
 rise, above a vineyard on the other side of the road, the striking 
 
228 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 xm. c. ruins of the Dominican Convent (Freres Precheurs). In 
 the distance, across an expanse of vines, is seen (i k.) the curious 
 xi. c. church of £*. Martin de Mazerat, with a heavy square tower. 
 
 Continuing to follow the walls beyond the collegiate church, 
 by a little terrace with most romantic views, we reach the striking 
 fortress tower called Chateau du Roi t founded by Louis VIII. in 
 1224, one of the few remaining romanesque castles of the de- 
 partment of La Gironde. 
 
 A visit should be paid to the curious cavern, called La Grotte 
 des Girondijis, where Mme. Bouquey, sister-in-law of the Girondin 
 Guadet, concealed him with six of his companions (Salles, 
 Barbaroux, Petion, Buzot, Louvet, and Valady) for several 
 months, during which, though they were known to be in the 
 town, their retreat remained undiscovered. The w T ell remains by 
 which they reached their hiding-place. The cave is thirty feet 
 in depth, and there is a deeper hollow, where the refugees re- 
 mained closely packed together, having taken care to cover the 
 opening whenever any unusual noise from the house announced 
 that a search was being made there. A little hole in the middle 
 of the central walk of the garden gave the feeble ray of light by 
 which Louvet, placing himself immediately beneath the opening, 
 wrote the first part of his memoirs, dated from the first days of 
 November, 1793. 
 
 At Pierrefitte, between the communes of S. Sulpice and S. 
 £milion, is a great Menhir, 5 met. high and 3 wide. 
 
 13 k. 6*. Etienne-de-Lisse. 2 k. S. W. is 6*. Pey-d 'Armens, with 
 a beautiful xv. c. cemetery cross, with figures. 
 
 1 8 k. Castillo7i, where an obelisk commemorates the defeat 
 of the English and death of their commander, Talbot, Earl of 
 Shrewsbury, in 1453. At 6 k. S. are the xi. c. church and feudal 
 castle of Pujols. The line crosses the battle-field. Near the 
 Dordogne is a little chapel called La Chapelle de Talbot. 
 
 'Sous " la plus terrible tempete de couleuvrines et ribaudequins 
 qui jamais eut ete ou'ie," les Anglais avancerent " de grand 
 courage," et planterent la banniere de Talbot jusque sur les 
 palisades du camp. Une heure, entiere, ils s'opiniatrerent a 
 l'assaut ; la banniere de Talbot avait ete renversee ; les 
 cadavres des assaillants jonchaient le fosse ; les Anglais 
 
5. FOY-LA-GRANDE. 
 
 229 
 
 commencerent a faiblir. Un corps d'auxiliaires bretons, qui 
 n'avait point encore pris part a Taction, fondit sur lenncmi 
 ebranle ; toute la gendarmerie et les archers sortirent du pare 
 pour appuyer ce mouvement, et la deroute des Anglais commenca. 
 Un boulet venait de tuer la haquenee de lord Talbot, et de le 
 jeter a terre avec la cuisse fracassee ; lord Lisle et le batard de 
 Talbot, ses deux fils, trente autres barons et chevaliers anglais 
 resolurent de sauver le vieux chef ou de mourir avec lui ; ils 
 perirent tous. Talbot fut acheve par les francs archers, qui 
 vengerent sur lui le massacre de leurs camarades. Ainsi finit a 
 quatre-vingt ans, " ce renomme chef anglois, qui, depuis quarante 
 ans, passoit pour un des fleaux les plus reformidables de la 
 France." ' — Ma?'tin, 1 Hist, de France! 
 
 23 k. La-Mothe-Montravel. 3 k. N. is 6". Michel- Bonncf arc, 
 near which is the (xiv. c. and xvi. c.) chateau of Montaigne, 
 where Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, the famous moralist, was 
 born 1 533, and died 1 592. The house is only visible with an order. 
 Montaigne's chapel, his library, and his bedroom — covered with 
 partially effaced Greek and Latin inscriptions — remain. He was 
 rudely nursed and brought up in the neighbourhood amongst his 
 father's peasants. To the 1. of the line the xn. c. Donjon de 
 Moiitravel is seen. 
 
 27 k. Montcarret. 7 k. S. is Gensac, with a fine ruined castle 
 a church with a slender spire, an old clock tower, and houses of 
 xv. c. 
 
 39 k. kS. Foy-la- Grande, with a suspension bridge over the 
 Dordogne. The town has the rectangular plan of xiii. c. adopted 
 under the English rule in France. The church (xiv. c. and xix. c.) 
 has a stone spire. Near it is the tower of a Commanderie des 
 Templiers. The inhabitants are chiefly Protestants. At 5 k., in 
 the direction of Montpont, is the fine ruined Chateau de Segur. 
 6 k. N. on the road to Mussidan is Le Fleix, where, in the chateau, 
 now a Protestant temple, Henri III. and Catherine de Medicis held 
 conferences with Henri de Navarre in 1578 and 1579, in which a 
 two years' peace was concluded in the Wars of Religion. 
 
 61 k. Bergerac (Hotel : des Voyageurs), a considerable town 
 with a great modern church. At the corner of Rues de France 
 and Ancien Pont, is a fine xvi. c. house. At 29 k. (on the way 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 to Montpazier and Villefranche-de-Belves (see ch. iv.) is the 
 curious xiii. c. English bastide of Beaumont de Perigord, with a 
 very singular fortified church (containing a well), built in 1272 by 
 Lucas de Terny, governor of Gascony for Henry III. (25 k. S.E., 
 in the direction of Villeneuve and Castillonnes, is Issigeac, with a 
 fine renaissance church and a chateau built 1663 for the bishops 
 of Sarlat.) 
 
 69 k. Creysse-Mouleydier. Mouleydier has a ruined castle. 
 On the carriage road, 5 k. N. from Bergerac to Perigueux, is the 
 Chdteaic de Montastruc, rebuilt 1475, where the philosopher Maine 
 de Biron was born in 1766. 
 
 79 k. Couze, with many cavern habitations. The church is 
 xii. c. and xiii. c, with a chapel of xiii. c. and xiv. c. 11 k. S.E. 
 is Beaumont (see above). 
 
 82 k. Lalinde. The town (1 k. E.) is a rectangular fortified 
 bastide, built by the English in the xiii. c. The ruined castle of 
 Badefol is seen on a hill. 
 
 90 k. Trentolat, has a curious church with xn. c. cupolas. 
 
 93 k. A lies. 5 k. is Paunat, where the church of xn. c. and 
 xv. c. had several cupolas, and preserves one under the porch.] 
 
 548 k. Arveyres. * 
 
 At Nerigea?i (5jk. S.) is a fortified church of xn. c. and xvi. c. 
 with a sculptured xvi. c. cross in the cemetery. At »S. Quentin 
 (9 k. S.) is a church of xn. c. and xv. c, and 3 k. of this the 
 (xiv. c. and xv. c.) Chateau de Curton. 
 
 At Baron (2 k. W. of Arveyres) is a curious romanesque crypt ; 
 and, on the Camiac, the Moulin Neuf and Montin de Montf range, 
 of xiv. c. and xv. c. At Daignac (4 k.) is a mill, on the Estey, 
 which dates from the xn. c. 
 
 552 k. Vayres, the ancient Varatedum. The chateau 
 dates from xiii. c. to the Renaissance. 
 
 558 k. S. Sulpice-d 'Izon, has a church of xi. c. and xvi. c. 
 
 578 k. Bordeaux ; the capital of the Departement de la 
 Gironde. (Hotels: de France ; de Nantes ; des Princes ; de 
 la Paix ; Richelieu). 
 
BORDEAUX. 
 
 231 
 
 Bordeaux, as Burs Wall, was a chief place of the Celtic 
 tribe Bituriges Vivisci. The Romans called it Burdigala, 
 and made it one of the principal cities of Gaul. SS. Martial, 
 Front, and Martin, preached Christianity there in the m. c. 
 and iv. c. Marriage with Eleanor, heiress of Guillaume X., 
 last Comte de Poitou, gave it (1 [52) to Henry II. of Eng- 
 land, and for three hundred years it prospered greatly under 
 the English rule. Aquitaine, which then bore the name of 
 Guienne, with Bordeaux as its capital, was made into a 
 principality for the Black Prince. After the defeat of 
 Talbot at Castillon, the town was forced to capitulate to 
 the French, who deprived it for a time of all its privileges, 
 but they were restored by Louis XL During the reigns 
 of Louis XV. and XVI., Bordeaux was so improved and 
 adorned by its magnificent governor, Louis Urbain Aubert, 
 Marquis de Tourny, as to be raised to the position it has 
 since occupied, of one of the most important cities of France. 
 Ausonius, who was born here in the iv. c, has described 
 Bordeaux : — 
 
 ' Impia jamdudum condemno silentia quod te, 
 O patria, insignem Baccho, fluviisque, virisque, 
 Non inter primas memorem. . . . 
 Burdigala est natale solum, dementia coeli 
 Mitis ubi, et riguae larga indulgentia terrae ; 
 Ver longum brimaeque breves, juga frondea subsunt, 
 Fervent aequoreos imitata fluenta meatus.' 
 
 * Clarae Urbes! 
 
 1 On peut dire que Bordeaux est une des rares villes de 
 province qui gardent leur esprit local, leurs moeurs, leur person- 
 nalite, quoique la langue gasconne en est deja presque disparue. 
 . . . Elle ne met point sa vanite a imiter simplement Paris, elle 
 aime a faire a sa guise. La vie litteraire et scientifique n'y 
 
232 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 sommeille pas, comme en tant d'autres villes de province, meme 
 tres-peuplees. Elle possede un riche musee, une bibliotheque 
 importante, des associations actives, parmi lesqnelles une societe 
 de geographie recemment fondee. La quatrieme ville de France 
 veut, a tous les points de vue, garder son rang.' — A Usee Recites. 
 
 To English travellers, Bordeaux is chiefly interesting as 
 having been the residence for many years of the Black 
 Prince, whose son, Richard II. — Richard of Bordeaux — was 
 born there. 
 
 ' There was found all nobleness, all joy and merriment, bounty, 
 freedom, and honour. And all the Prince's lieges and his people 
 loved him passionately, for he did them much good. They looked 
 upon him with one feeling as a good lord, loyal and wise ; and 
 I may truly say, that since the birth of Christ never was such 
 good entertainment, nor more honourable than then ; for every 
 day at his table he had more than eighty knights, and four times 
 as many esquires.' — ^Chandos Herald! 
 
 Distances are great in Bordeaux, and to visit its sights it will 
 be well to take a carriage by the hour. 
 
 Travellers enter the town from the station by the Pont 
 de Bordeaux ) of seventeen arches, over the Garonne. This 
 takes them direct to the Cours des Fosses^ the widest 
 thoroughfare in the town. It may be better, however, for 
 the cursory visitor to turn first to the r. by the Quai de 
 Bourgogne and Quai de la Bourse. On the 1. we pass the 
 Bourse^ built by Jacques Gabriel in 1749. The magnificent 
 Porte du Palais or de Caillou, built 1495, was the approach 
 to the palace of the Dues d'Aquitaine. The enormous Place 
 des Quinconces occupies the site of the Chateau Trompette, 
 one of the fortresses built to overawe Bordeaux after its 
 subjugation to the French rule. It has statues by Maggesi 
 
BORDEAUX. 
 
 z 33 
 
 (1858) of Montaigne and Montesquieu. Turning a little r. 
 at the top of the place we reach the Jardin Public. From 
 the neighbouring Place de Tourny, the Rue Fontandede 
 will take us to (1.) the remains of the Roman amphitheatre, 
 known as the Palais Gallien, the principal of which— 
 exceedingly picturesque in its bands of grey stone and red 
 
 PALAIS GALLIEN, BORDEAUX. 
 
 brick — serves as a gateway across a street. The medals 
 which have been found here cause the construction of the 
 monument to be attributed to the Emperor Gallienus in 
 the in. c. 
 
 Returning to the Cours Tourny and crossing the Square 
 de Gambetta, we reach the Hotel de Ville, adjoining which 
 is the Musee^ containing a large collection of pictures, of 
 
234 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 which the most important is a grand portrait by Murillo 
 of Don Luiz de Haro : there is a good portrait by 
 Mignard of Louis XIV. The neighbouring Place de Pey- 
 Berland contains the Cathedral of S. Andre, which has 
 suffered a ' restoration ' by Abadie, who has destroyed the 
 cloister. The principal facade is at the N. transept, built, 
 with the lofty gothic choir, in the xiv. c, chiefly by the 
 efforts of Bertrand de Goth (afterwards Clement V.), when 
 he was archbishop of Bordeaux. His statue occupies the 
 central pillar of the portal ; six cardinals accompany him. 
 The low nave, of seven bays, with arches of great span, 
 dates from the end of xn. c. At the entrance of the tran- 
 sept on 1. is the tomb of Cardinal de Cheverus, by Maggesi, 
 1850. In the chapel of S. Marguerite, at the E. end, is 
 that of Dom. Antoine de Noailles, 1662, and in another 
 chapel that of Mgr. de Avian. Detached from the cathedral 
 rises the Tour Pey-Berland, which takes its name from ..the 
 archbishop, by whom it was rebuilt in 1440, and who was 
 the son of a poor labourer in Medoc. The modern spire 
 supports a gilt image of the Virgin. 
 
 The Palais de Justice, on the Place Magenta, is of 
 1839-46. Opposite is the Hopital S. Andre (founded 1390), 
 of 1825-29. The Church of S. Eulalie, close by (conse- 
 crated 1 1 74) is chiefly xv. c. 
 
 The Cours d'Aquitaine and the Cours S. Jean lead W. 
 to the Petit Seminaire on r. and the Abattoir General on 1. 
 Behind the latter is the very curious and interesting xn. c. 
 church of S. Croix, The rich facade bears a representation 
 of S. George and the Dragon, with the rescued princess in 
 the corner. The buildings of the adjoining abbey (recon- 
 structed xviii. c.) have been pulled down except the portal. 
 
BORDEAUX. 
 
 ^35 
 
 In the N. transept is the xv. c. tomb of an abbot. The 
 remains of the paladin Roland were brought hither from 
 S. Romain at Blaye. 
 
 The Rue S. . Croix leads to the great church of 
 S. Michel, founded 11 60, and rebuilt in xv. c. and xvi. c. 
 The N. front is very rich xv. c. The nave is much higher 
 than its side aisles and the apse. In the fourth chapel is 
 a sculptured Descent from the Cross of the xvi. c. The 
 isolated tower was built 1472-92 ; the spire is a good work 
 of Abadie. The guardian of the tower will admit visitors 
 to the subterranean vaults full of dried corpses, like those 
 of the Cappuccini at Rome. 
 
 ' L'imagination des poetes et des peintres n'a jamais produit 
 de cauchemar plus terrible ; les caprices les plus monstrueux de 
 Goya, les desires de Louis Boulanger, les diableries de Callot et 
 de Teniers ne sont rien a cote de cela : tous les faiseurs de 
 ballades sont depasses ; il n'est jamais sorti de nuit allemande de 
 plus abominables spectres ; ils sont dignes de figurer au sabbat 
 du Broken avec les sorcieres de Faust. 
 
 4 Le gardien nous montra un general tue en duel — la blessure, 
 large bouche aux levres blanches qui rit a son cote, se distingue 
 parfaitement — un portefaix qui expira subitement en levant un 
 poids enorme, une negresse qui n'est pas beaucoup plus noire 
 que les blanches placees pres d'elle, une femme qui a encore 
 toutes ses dents et la langue presque fraiche, puis une famille 
 empoisonnee par des champignons, et, pour supreme horreur, un 
 petit garcon qui, selon toute apparence, doit avoir ete" enterre 
 vivant. 
 
 ' Cette figure est sublime de douleur et de desespoir; jamais 
 l'expression de la souffrance humaine n'a 6te portee plus loin ; 
 les ongles s'efforcent dans la paume des mains ; les nerfs sont 
 tendus comme des cordes de violin sur le chevalet ; les genoux 
 font des angles convulsifs ; la tete se rejette violemment en 
 arriere ; le pauvre petit, par un effort inoui, s'est retourne dans 
 son cercueil.' — Theofthile Gautier, 
 
236 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Hence the Rue des Fauves leads us into the Cours des 
 Fosses. Here, on the 1., is the Lycee, the chapel of which 
 contains the tomb of Montaigne (1592), who was mayor 
 of Bordeaux in 1553. Near the church of S. Eloi (which 
 contains the tomb of Elie Vinet, 1587) is the Porte de P Hotel 
 de Ville, built by Henry III. of England, now used as a 
 clock tower. The church of S. Seurin, on the Place du 
 Prado, is partly xi. a, with chapels of xm. c, xiv. c, 
 and xv. c. It is entered by a deep porch on the W. The 
 beautiful S. portal bears the date 1247, an d the name of its 
 builder, Raymond de Lafont. In the tympanum of the door 
 is the Last Judgment, in those of the arcades at the sides 
 the story of S. Seurin. The branches of sculptured vine 
 employed in the decorations are very beautiful. By the 
 side of the renaissance porch is a little romanesque tower. 
 
 An excursion may be made to (8 k. W.) the Tourde Veyrines, 
 a xm. c. castle. 
 
 [A line runs N.W. from Bordeaux through the district of 
 Medoc (La Gironde), passing — 
 
 8 k. Blajiquefort, in the Medoc wine district, with (ik.) an 
 ancient chateau, which has fine round towers, but is ill situated. 
 
 25 k. Margaux, especially famous for its Chateau-Margaux 
 wines. 
 
 32 k. Moults, with wines especially popular in Germany. The 
 church is romanesque. Chateau Lamarqite (3 k. r.) has two towers 
 of xii. c. and xm. c. and a portal of xiv. c. 
 
 41 k. 6*. Laurent-S. Julien } of wine celebrity. The church of 
 6*. Laureiit has a romanesque apse, a xiv. c. facade, and xvi. c. 
 spire. 
 
 47 k. Pauillac, opposite an island in the river with a lighthouse. 
 Near this is the famous Chdteau-Lafitte, now the property of the 
 brothers Rothschild. 
 
 52 k. 6*. Estephe, with the largest vineyard in Medoc. 
 
LA GIRONDE. 
 
 237 
 
 56 k. Verteuil, has a romanesque church, remains of a XII. c. 
 castle, and of an abbey rebuilt in the xvm. c. 
 
 67 k. Lesparre, the former capital of Bas-Medoc, has a square 
 (xiv. c.) tower of its ancient chateau. 
 
 93k. Soulac-les-Bains (Hotel: delaPaix). At Vieux-Soulac 
 (3 k.) is a curious xil. c. and xiv. c. church, called Notre Dame de 
 la Fin des Terres } at one time completely buried in the sand, 
 which has now shifted away from it. Near this was the port of 
 Noviomagus, of which ruins may be seen under the sea. 
 
 101 k. Le Verdon, opposite Royan, in the salt marshes at the 
 mouth of the Gironde. The end of the promontory on the S. of 
 the river mouth, defended by a fort and lighthouse, is the Pointe 
 de Grave. Opposite the mouth of the Gironde is the island 
 lighthouse called Tour de Corduan, of which the lower storeys 
 date from 1585.] 
 
 [A line leads E. from Bordeaux by (6 k.) the curious fortified 
 church of Bouliac to (27 k.) La Sauve, which has a parish church 
 of xiii. c. and xiv. c, and the remains of an Abbey, founded by 
 S. Gerard in 1095, and partly rebuilt by the abbot Grimoard in 
 the xiv. c. The beautiful abbey-church has a transept flanked by 
 chapels and three apsides. The octagonal (xiii. c.) tower has a 
 stone spire, the oldest in the department. A road leads E. from 
 La Sauve to Villeneuve-sur-Lot by (21 k.) Sauveterre de Guicnnc, 
 a bastide of 1281 ; (46 k.) Duras, created a duchy for the family 
 of Durfort in 1668, with a chateau and many houses of xv. c. and 
 xvi. c. ; (66 k.) Eymet, with remains of a chateau, ancient walls 
 and gothic houses; and (75k.) Castillonnes, a bastide of 1260. 
 7 k. S.E. of Eymet is Lauzun, which gave a title to the husband 
 of ' La Grande Mademoiselle,' with a gothic church possessing 
 an xi. c. tower and a chateau rebuilt in xvi. c. 10 k. N.W. of Eymet 
 is the ruined castle of Puyguilhem. A little S. is the curious 
 church of ^S. Colomb, with a sanctuary of viii. c. and nave of 
 xii. c] 
 
 [For the lines from Bordeaux to Blaye, Saintes, etc., see 
 ch. iii. For the lines from Bordeaux to Bazas, Agen, Toulouse, 
 etc., see ch. v.] 
 
 Soon after leaving Bordeaux for Bayonne, the Chateau 
 de Haut-Brion is seen on r. 
 
2 3 8 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 582 k. (from Paris) Pessac. The Vignes du Pape Clement 
 (Bertrand de Goth, Clement V.) are seen on 1. Soon after 
 this, pines begin to replace vines, and the line enters upon 
 the desolate district of the Landes, 130 k. in length. This 
 once desert country is now being rapidly brought under 
 cultivation, 1 and its peculiar picturesqueness will not 
 strike those who are not crossing it by road. 
 
 ' Au lever du soleil, les Landes formaient un spectacle 
 merveilleux. Nous avions a notre droite et a notre gauche des 
 plaines immenses, mouchetees de bruyeres fauves comme la 
 peau d'un tigre gigantesque ; a l'horizon oriental, tout etait 
 flamme, la lumiere tombait ruisselante ; a l'horizon occidental, au 
 contraire, l'obscurite livrait sa derniere lutte, et se retirait lente- 
 ment, laissant trainer derriere elle les plis sombres de son 
 manteau, encore constelle de quelques etoiles. 
 
 ' En face de nous, c'est-a-dire au midi, la vue etait bornee par 
 une dentelure ferme et nerveuse ; c etaient les monts Pyrenees, 
 qui decoupaient leur silhouette argentee sur l'azur du ciel 
 espagnol. 
 
 ' Tout cela, plaine sablonneuse, bruyeres fauves, horizons, 
 sombres ou ardens, tout cela s'eveillait a l'existence, aussi jeune, 
 aussi ardent a vivre qu'au premier jour de la creation. Des 
 alouettes montaient perpendiculairement au ciel, et chantaient 
 en montant. Des troupeaux de moutons marchaient devant eux, 
 conduits par des patres montes sur de longues echasses, et 
 soulevaient des myriades de perdrix rouges, qui, apres un vol 
 bruyant et effare, allaient s'abattre a cinq cents pas du lieu d'ou 
 elles etaient parties. Enfin la caille, invisible et obstinement 
 tapie dans l'herbe, faisait entendre sa note stridente et claire, dont 
 le grincement metallique des cigales semblait former la basse 
 continue.' — Alexandre Dumas. 
 
 621 k. La Mothe. 
 
 [A line diverges W. by (5 5 k.) La Teste de Buck (the residence 
 
 1 For the story of the cultivation of the Landes, read the Maitre Pierre of 
 About. 
 
ARCACHON, MONT-DE-MARS AN. 
 
 239 
 
 of the famous Captaux de Buch) to (58k.) Arcachon (Hotels: 
 Grand; Legaliais ; de France; Richelieu), which since 1857 
 has become a much-frequented winter resort. Its situation on 
 a tideless salt lake, with flat sandy surroundings, and featureless 
 woods of pine and arbutus, has nothing whatever to recommend 
 it, except its cough-subduing atmosphere. There is no beauty 
 and there is no interest at Arcachon : nothing to enjoy and 
 nothing to admire. 
 
 ' Arcachon is the quaintest place in the world, with a village 
 of lodging-houses, built like pagodas, forests of little pine-trees, 
 little walks and drives about a little lake, and a climate of such 
 soporific quality as to produce a kind of mental torpor upon all 
 tourists who go there.' — M. Beth am- Edwards.'] 
 
 677 k. Labouheyre. 
 
 29 k. W. is Mimizan, once the seat of an abbey, which had the 
 right of giving sanctuary. Three ancient obelisks outside the 
 town mark the points within which criminals were safe. The 
 abbatial church (xn. c. and xiv. c.) has a fine romanesque 
 portal. 
 
 697 k. Morcenx. 
 
 [A line leads E. to (139 k.) Tarbes, by — 
 9 k. Arengosse, where the chateau of Castillo7i was built, by 
 Vauban. 
 
 39 k. Mont-de-Marsan (Hotel : des Ambassadeurs), the 
 capital formerly of the Vicomte de Marsan, now of the Departe- 
 ment des Landes. Gaston Phoebus built the castle of Nou-l'y- 
 Bos (tu ne l'y veux pas) to keep the inhabitants in order. 
 
 1 Je n'ai rien vu plus charmant que la sortie de Mont-de- 
 Marsan. Je crois que les derniers grands arbres de la France 
 sont la.' — Alexandre Dumas. 
 
 24k. in the direction of Bazas is Roquefort, 20k. N.W. of 
 which is Labrit, formerly the capital of the duchy of Labrit or 
 Albret, created in 1556 by Henri II. in favour of Antoine de 
 Bourbon. There are some remains of the chateau inhabited by 
 Henri VI. 
 
240 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 [A road leads to (100 k.) Marmande by (18 k.) Croisement, 
 where the church has curious frescoes of 1529; (60 k.) Houeilles, 
 13 k. E. of which is Durance, with the beautiful ancient gothic 
 chapel called La Grange de Durance ; and (76 k.) Casteljaloux, 
 which retains part of its ancient wall, a Commandcrie des 
 Temftliers, and a ruined castle with the kitchen called Culottc 
 de Gargantua.~] 
 
 [A road leads from Mont-de-Marsan to (53 k.) Orthez (see 
 ch. x.) by (16 k.) Sever, called Cap de Gascogne in the 
 middle-ages from its strategic position. The church, built by 
 Guillaume Sanche, at the end of the x. c, is the most interesting 
 in the department. The right side and the lower vaulting of 
 the nave has been replaced in the style of the xv. c. ; but the 
 choir with its seven apsides, either with cradle or ribbed vaulting 
 or cupolas, is very striking. The huge capitals are carved 
 with foliage and fantastic animals. The romanesque W. portal 
 is modern. The buildings of the monastery, reconstructed in 
 xviii. c, now serve for municipal uses. At 28 k. is Hagetmau, 
 which once had a magnificent chateau, in which Henri II., king 
 of Navarre, died, and where, after the massacre of S. Bar- 
 tholemew, 250 Catholic gentlemen, collected by the Comte de 
 Grammont to re-establish the Catholic religion in Beam, were 
 attacked and nearly all massacred by the young Baron d'Arros, 
 son of the governor of Beam for Jeanne d' Albert : the life of the 
 Comte de Grammont himself was alone conceded to the tears 
 of his daughter-in-law, Corisande d'Andouins.] 
 
 [A road leads from Mont-de-Marsan to (50 k.) Dax by (27 k.) 
 Tartas, the ancient capital of the Tarsates, which became one of 
 the principal strongholds of the Protestants in the xvi. c, and 
 (39 k.) Pontoux, whence it is 9 k. to the baths of Gamarde and 
 5 k. to the baths of Prechacq.~] 
 
 53 k. Grenade. 10 k. S. is Eugenie-les- Bains. 
 
 71 k. Aire (Hotel : de la Poste), the Roman Atura. The 
 Cathedral of S. Jean Baptiste, has a romanesque choir and 
 transept, a central nave of xiv. c. and xv. c, an apse of xvn. c. 
 The facade was fortified in xv. c. The £veche is xvi. c. and 
 xvn. c. On the hill above the town is the very curious church 
 
VIC-FEZENZAC, DAX. 
 
 241 
 
 of Mas d'Aire, built over the tomb of S. Quitterie, a martyr of 
 the iv. c, whose much venerated early Christian sarcophagus is 
 preserved in the crypt. The choir and most of the nave are 
 romanesque, with xin. c. and xvn. c. additions. The lower 
 portion of the facade and the principal portal are xin. c. Over 
 the porch rises a square brick (xiv. c.) tower, with romanesque 
 arcades. For the road from Aire to Agen see ch. v. 
 
 [A road leads from Aire to (80 k.) Auch, by (52 k.) Vic- 
 Fezcnzac, a town founded vn. c. or vin. c, with a curious 
 fortified church dating from xi. c, and a ruined castle of the 
 Comtes de Fezenzac] 
 
 121 k. Vic-Bigorre. nk. S.W., at Montauer, is a ruined 
 castle of Gaston Phoebus. 
 139 k. Tarbes, see ch. ix.] 
 
 712k. Laluque. 
 
 N.W. by (12 k.) Castets, where the church portal is that of an 
 ancient fortress, is (28 k.) .5. Girons, where (as at Mimizan) four 
 pyramids mark the limits of sanctuary afforded by an ancient 
 abbey. 
 
 726 k. Dax (formerly Acqs), a small bathing-place, with 
 hot mineral springs known to the Romans as Aquae 
 Tarbellicae. The curious Roman fortifications were 
 destroyed in 1856. The church of Notre Dame, once a 
 cathedral, was rebuilt 1656 — 1755. 
 
 [For the line from Dax to (83 k.) Pau, see ch. x.) 
 
 [A road leads from Dax to (47 k.) S. Sever (see p. 240), by— *• 
 iojk. Hinx, where the castle retains its donjon and en- 
 trenchments. 
 
 19 k. Montfort-en-Chalosse } a bastide of the xin. c, which 
 preserves part of its ramparts. The church is in the village 
 of Baisemfte, and has a fortified nave of xv. c. and a beautiful 
 romanesque choir. 
 
 29 k. Mugron. A little N.E. is Nerbis, with a romanesque 
 church and remains of a monastery founded ix. c. At 6*. Anbin, 
 a little S.E., is the Tour de Poyale, in a picturesque situation.] 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 763 k. Labenne. 7 k. W., over the sandhills, is the 
 dreary little bathing-place of Cap-Breton. 
 
 776 k. Bayonne (Hotels: S. Etienne ; du Commerce), 
 the capital of the Departement des Basses-Pyrenees, 
 a fortress town, at the confluence of the Nive and 
 Adour. The town, known in Roman times as Lapurdum, 
 received its present name, signifying port, in the xi. c. 
 or xii. c. Passing under the English rule, by the 
 marriage of Eleanor of Guienne with Henry II., it 
 obtained great privileges and prospered through the ex- 
 
 BIARRITZ. 
 
 portation of wine and manufacture of arms. In Feb. 18 14, 
 the Duke of Wellington made here his celebrated passage 
 of the Adour, on a bridge constructed byj English 
 engineers in the face of seeming impossibilities. Some 
 traces of the Roman wall of Bayonne still exist, though 
 the only real object of interest is the Cathedral, founded 
 1 140, but dating from the xin. c. and xiv. c. The arms 
 of England may be seen in the vaulting. The sculptured 
 portals were much mutilated in the Revolution. One gallery 
 of the Cloister of 1240 (S. of the church) is used as a sacristy 
 and chapel. A Lycee occupies the site of the Chateau de 
 
BIARRITZ. 243 
 
 Marrac, outside the town, where Napoleon I. received the 
 deposed Charles IV. of Spain and his queen. 
 
 The kitchen of a hospital at Bayonne (by its order and 
 cleanliness) struck Tasso more than anything else in 
 France : see II Padre di Famiglia. 
 
 PAS DE ROLAND. 
 
 A branch line of 8 k. leads to Biarritz (Hotels : d ' Angleterre 
 — best and most comfortable ; Gra?zd — good, more pretentious ; 
 des Ambassadeurs ; des Princes ; de V Europe), a delightful sea- 
 bathing place, rendered interesting by the splendid colour and 
 grand waves of the Bay of Biscay, and the views towards the 
 Spanish coast. The beauty of the place itself has been injured 
 of late years by over-building, but there are still pleasant walks 
 on heathy moorland, and the wild flowers are most beautiful in 
 spring, when whole hill-sides are covered with pink Daphne 
 Cneorum, 
 
244 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE, 
 
 The imperial residence, known as Villa Eugenie, was built (of 
 English brick) 1855-56. The quaint forms of the rocks, per- 
 forated by the sea, which roars through their chasms, will often 
 afford good subjects to an artist. The Chartreuse des Bemardines 
 is sometimes visited by strangers. The delightful excursion to 
 Fuenterabia, in Spam — a more thoroughly Spanish town than 
 almost any in Andalusia — may easily be made in the day from 
 Biarritz. 
 
 The pleasantest inland excursion is that to (27 k.) Cambo, a 
 prettily situated little bathing-place, and (4 k. further) Itsatsou 
 and the exceedingly picturesque gorge of the Nive, with its rocky 
 path through the natural arch called Pas de Roland, said to have 
 been cleft by the magic power of the famous paladin. In Basque 
 this rock-portal is called Utheca Ga'iz — the evil gate. It is well 
 worth visiting. 
 
 [A line leads from Bayonne to (51 k.) Puydo, on the line from 
 Dax to Pau and Tarbes, by — 
 
 34 k. Peyrehorade (Pierre-Percee), formerly capital of the 
 Vicomte d'Orthe, and now of the D6partement des Landes, 
 situated at the foot of a hill crowned by the ruins of the xiv. c. 
 Chateau d'Asftremont. A later chateau, near the Gave, was built 
 in the xvi. c. 7 k. N. is the xn. c. church which belonged to the 
 Benedictine abbey of Cagnotte.~] 
 
 791 k. Bidart, a small bathing-place with sands — de- 
 lightful, but dangerous, from the great waves which occa- 
 sionally sweep across them. This is the first village in the 
 Pays Basque, where the men still wear scarlet sashes and 
 berrets, while they are shod with the hempen sandals 
 called espartillas, common throughout the whole of Western 
 France. 
 
 799 k. S. Jean-de-Luz (Hotels : d 'Angleterre ; de F Ocean), 
 a quaint little bathing-place with a miniature port. On the 
 place is the Chateau Lohobiague or Maison de Louis XIV, (of 
 time of Henri IV.), where Louis XIV. resided when he came 
 on May 8, 1660, with his mother, Anne of Austria, his 
 
& JEAN-DE-L uz. 24s 
 
 brother, Philippe d'Orleans, and his cousin, La Grande 
 Mademoiselle, to wait for his bride, the Infanta Maria 
 Teresa. She stayed with her aunt, Anne of Austria, at the 
 Maison Joanoenia or Chateau de r Infante, which belonged to 
 Joannot de Haranader. It is inscribed— 
 
 4 L'Infante je rectus l'an mil six cent soixante, 
 On m'appelle depuis le chasteau de l'lnfante.' 
 
 The interior, which is shown, contains pictures by Gerome 
 of the marriage, which took place on J une 9 in the Church 
 of S. Jean Baptiste, a very curious building, internally ar- 
 ranged after the fashion of north-Spanish churches, with 
 three tiers of galleries for the men, the whole of the floor 
 being given to the women of the congregation. A picture 
 by Restout in one of the chapels was given by ' Monsieur ' at 
 the time of his brother's marriage. 
 
 ' Le lendemain de Farrivee de la reine a S. Jean-de-Luz, elle 
 demeura chez la reine-mere, habillee a l'Espagnole ; j'allai l'y 
 voir, et elle me fit toujours beaucoup d'amities. Je la trouvai 
 ecrivant au roi son pere ; elle dina avec la reine-mere, et ensuite 
 elles allerent a la comedie espagnole. La ceremonie du manage 
 se fit le lendemain. 
 
 On partit pour se rendre a la messe ; il y avoit un pont pour 
 aller du logement de la reine a leglise : on l'avoit tapissee, et Ton 
 avoit mis des tapis par terre jusqu'a leglise. La reine avoit un 
 manteau royal de velours violet, seme de fleurs-de-lys, un habit 
 blanc dessous, et une couronne sur la tete. J'ai deja dit celles 
 qui lui portaient la queue ; je marchois apres elle ; pour le roi, 
 j'avoue que je ne me souviens pas comme il etoit habille ; je crois 
 pourtant que son habit etoit couvert de broderies d'or, et celui de 
 Monsieur aussi, et qu'ils avoient les cordons de diamans dont j'ai 
 parle. Je crois que Monsieur menoit la reine ; je ne sais si le roi 
 lui donnoit la main, ou s'il marchoit devant elle ; cela peut se voir 
 sur les registres de M. de Rhodes. Les regimens des Gardes 
 
246 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Suisses et Francaises etoient en haie dans la rue des deux cotes 
 du pont, qui n'etoit eleve que de deux ou trois pieds ; il y avoit 
 une garde que je n'ai jamais vue, parcequ'elle ne sert qu'aux 
 ceremonies, qu'on a dit avoir ete autrefois en grande considera- 
 tion, qui sont deux compagnies de gentilhommes qu'on appelle 
 au Bee de Corbin. L'eveque de Bayeux fit la ceremonie, et dit la 
 messe ; on ne doit pas douter si l'eglise etoit paree ; qu'il n'y eut 
 une grande foule, et que la musique n'y fut tres-bonne. On s'en 
 retourna avec le meme ordre qu'on etoit venu a l'eglise.' — 
 * Memoir es de Mile, de Montpensier? 
 
 It was hence that the Princesse des Ursins, who had been 
 supreme in Spain during the life of Marie-Louise de Savoie, 
 
 THE BIDASSOA. 
 
 first wife of Philippe V., being ignominiously expelled by his 
 second wife, Elisabeth Farnese, wrote (Jan. 14, 17 15) to 
 Mme. de Maintenon : ' Je suis dans une petite maison sur 
 le bord de la mer. Je la vois souvent agitee et quelquefois 
 calme : voila les Cours, voila ce que j'ai vu, voila ce qui est 
 arrive, voila ce qui excitera votre genereuse compassion.' 
 
 811 k. Hendaye (Hotel : de France), the last station in 
 France, only 1 k. by water from Fuenterabia and 2^ k. by 
 land from Behobie, opposite the famous lie des Faisans, in 
 the Bidassoa, 1 where a conference took place between 
 
 1 The frontier between the kingdoms for 20 k. 
 
THE BIDASSOA. 
 
 247 
 
 Louis XI. and Henri IV. of Castille in the xv. c. ; where 
 Francois I. was exchanged from captivity for his two sons 
 in 1526 ; where Anne of Austria was given up to Louis XIII. 
 and Isabelle de France (daughter of Henri IV.) to Philip IV. 
 of Spain in 1615; where Cardinal Mazarin met Don Luiz de 
 Haro to arrange the marriage of Louis XIV. ; and where, 
 finally, on the 4th June, 1660, Marie Therese was given up 
 by Philippe IV. to Anne of Austria in person — the sister he 
 had not seen for forty-five years. Here it was that Philippe 
 said, when Turenne was presented to him by Louis XIV. : 
 ' Voila un homme qui m'a fait passer de mauvaises nuits.' 
 
 1 La moitie du pont de la Bidassoa appartient a la France, 
 l'autre moitie a l'Espagne : vous pouvez avoir un pied sur chaque 
 royaume, ce qui est fort majestueux.' — Thcophile Gauticr. 
 
 Crossing the Bidassoa, the line reaches — 
 814 k. Irun, the first (picturesque) town in Spain, 
 whence it is a short drive to Fuenterabia. Visitors to 
 Biarritz will often make a longer excursion by rail, passing 
 the picturesque bay of Pasages to (17 k. from the frontier) 
 S. Sebastien. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 IN CHARENTE, DEUX-SEVRES, AND LA VENDEE. 
 JONZAC, SAINTES, LA ROCHELLE, NIORT, LES- 
 SABLES - D'OLONNE, LA - ROCHE - SUR - YON, 
 PARTHENAY, AIR VAULT. 
 
 r I A HIS, except Creuse and Correze, is the portion of 
 
 X France least frequented by English travellers. No 
 district is so rich in early church architecture : village 
 churches are more usually of the xn. c. than of any other 
 date. The few who see this country are usually those who 
 have passed the winter at Pau or Biarritz, and take it on 
 their return journey. In this case, therefore, the de- 
 scription will begin from the south. The second-class 
 carriages on the Chemin de Fer de PEtat are the best in 
 Europe. 
 
 46 k. S. Martens, has a fortified church. 
 
 [A line diverges W. by (20 k.) Cars, with a romanesque 
 church, to (25 k.) Blaye (Hotels : du Medoc ; des Voyageurs). 
 Till his body was transported to S. Seurin at Bordeaux, the 
 paladin Roland with his olifant was buried here, in the church 
 of S. Romain, which was destroyed when the citadel was 
 fortified by Vauban in 1683. The tomb of Caribert, king of 
 Toulouse, son of Clotaire II. (631), is still preserved in the 
 citadel. The Duchesse de Berri was imprisoned at Blaye 
 for seven months, and gave birth to a daughter during her 
 incarceration. 
 
JONZAC. 
 
 249 
 
 31 k. from Blaye, on the road to Royan, is the interesting 
 old chateau of Mirabeau, besieged and taken by the Karl of 
 Derby in 1346. Over the portal is inscribed ' Bienveillance et 
 liberte.' At 46 k. the road to Royan leaves to the 1. the very 
 fine xii. c. and xv. c. church of >S. Fort-sur-Gironde.~\ 
 
 [The line which connects S. Mariens with (30 k.) Coutras 
 passes (23 k.) Guitres, which once possessed a famous Bene- 
 dictine abbey. The church is romanesque, with a striking 
 facade.] 
 
 CHATEAU DE JONZAC. 
 
 63 k. Montendre, has remains of a xii. c. castle. 6 k. 
 N.E. is the (xii. c. and xv. c.) church of Sousmoulins. 
 
 76 k. Fontaine- Ozillac. Ozillac (r. of station) has a 
 xii. c. church, restored xv. a, with a xiv. c. tomb. At 
 Fontaine (1. of station) is a great church, with a fine xii. c. 
 portal. The old Chateau de Fontaines is flanked by 
 tourelles. 
 
 84 k. Jonzac (Hotels: de France; de PEcu), a very 
 
250 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 pretty and interesting old town. Passing through the 
 main street, we find a side street on the r. crossed by a 
 most picturesque machicolated xv. c. gateway, overgrown 
 by pink valerian. 1 Passing under this, we find ourselves 
 in a wide place, with avenues of clipped limes, ending 
 in the fine xvi. c. chateau, in a lofty situation above the 
 Seugne, now used for municipal purposes. The part 
 
 CHATEAU DE PONS. 
 
 employed as a Hotel de Ville is xv. c, with a beautiful 
 portal. The inner court is ornamented with signs of the 
 zodiac, and great lions stand at the door. The keep is 
 xv. c. On the same ridge of hill, on the other side of 
 the place, is the church, which has a noble and simple 
 facade of x. c. or xi. c, and a square apse. Jonzac is 
 a small place, but well worth a visit. 
 
 1 A perfect subject for water-colour artists. Afternoon light. 
 
PONS. 251 
 
 Guitinieres, near Jonzac, has a fine romanesque xn. c. 
 church. 
 
 94 k. Mosnac, has an xi. c. church. 4 k. S.W. is S. 
 
 BELOW THE CHATEAU, PONS. 
 
 Genis-de- Saint onge, with ruins of the Chateau du Pin, and 
 (1 k. S.) the xviii. c. Chateau de Dampterre. $\ k. further 
 is the xii. c. church of S. Sigismond de Clermont. 
 
 103 k. Pons (Hotel : S. Char/es), was a great stronghold 
 of Protestantism, and is a very interesting and attractive 
 
252 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 place, with a clear river, charming gardens, and curious 
 old buildings. The fortifications were demolished by 
 Louis XIII. in 1622. Only a tower remains, and the 
 gothic gate uniting the Hospital to the old church of 
 S. Martin. 
 
 The summit of the hill is occupied by a delightful 
 public garden, with clipped avenues and terraces along 
 the ramparts. On one side rises the noble xn. c. keep 
 of the Chateau, with romanesque windows and long flat 
 buttresses. The later buildings, of xv. c. and xvi. c, are 
 used as a Hotel de Ville. On the other side of the 
 garden, overgrown by roses, is the castle chapel, which 
 has a grand romanesque portal opening on a lower 
 garden. We should descend the great staircase near 
 the Hotel de Ville to see the picturesque buildings of 
 the chateau rising boldly above the rocks from gardens 
 delightful to artists. In the S. of the town are an old 
 romanesque church and the remains of a Commanderie 
 des Templiers. Agrippa d'Aubigne, grandfather of Mme. 
 de Maintenon, was born (1552) in the (ruined) Chateau 
 de S. Maury, on the W. of the town. 
 
 The ecclesiologist will find a rich feast in the district round 
 Pons. About 7 k. E., on the road to Barbezieux, is the fine 
 church of Echebrune, with a magnificent N. facade. A few k. 
 S. of this is Chadenac, with a most curious xn. c. facade, having 
 a splendid triple portal, very richly and quaintly sculptured, 
 and surmounted by extraordinary monsters. 
 
 [A line branches W. to Royan and La Tremblade, by — 
 140 k. (from Bordeaux) Saujon, where the line divides. The 
 ruined church of Thezac is xn. c. iojk. N. on the road to 
 Rochefort is the curious fortified Chateau de Blenac. 
 
LA TREMBLADE. 
 
 253 
 
 162k. (from Bordeaux) is La Trerjiblade (Hotel: du Cheval 
 Blanc), a sea-bathing place amongst the sandhills. 
 
 The sandhills or 4 puechs ' of Arvert, between the Gironde 
 and Maumusson, occupy a surface of 900 square kilometres, 
 and one of the hills near La Tremblade reaches a height of 
 62 met, The sands of Arvert are distinguished from those of 
 
 ECHEBRUNE. 
 
 the Landes by their richness in carbonate of lime and broken 
 shells : thus the cultivation of madder has become possible 
 upon them. But 1 the moving hills of Arvert ' is a local proverb, 
 and endless are the disasters occasioned by the progress of 
 the sand within historic times. A town, called Auchoisme or 
 Auchouanne, has frequently been displaced by the sand, and 
 has only finally become fixed on reaching the point where 
 
254 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 we now find La Tremblade. Further S., the village of Buze 
 has been covered by the lofty sandhill of La Briquette. 
 
 149 k. (from Bordeaux) is Roy an (Hotels : de Bordeaux ; 
 d'Orleans), once famous for its sardines (royans), now for its 
 four sandy coves, much frequented during the bathing season. 
 An excursion is often made hence by water to (12 k.) Le Phare 
 de Cordoua?i 1 a lighthouse on a rocky islet, which can only be 
 approached in a smooth sea. It was founded by the Prince 
 of Wales in 1370, and rebuilt in 1 581 by Louis de Foix, one 
 of the architects of the Escurial.] 
 
 ink. Montils-Colombiers. 3 k. N.W., at La Jard^ are 
 a ruined xin. c. abbey and a xn. c. church. 
 118 k. Beillant (Buffet). 
 
 [A line leads E. to Angouleme by (18 k.) Cognac (Hotels : de 
 Londres — good; d' Orleans), on the 1. bank of the Charente, famous 
 for its eau de vie. It is some distance from the station to the 
 centre of the town, its principal feature being the church of 
 6*. Leger, which belonged to a priory founded 1041. Portions of 
 the nave and four stages of the tower are romanesque, the rest 
 xiv. c. and xv. c, except the upper part of the tower, which is 
 xviii. c. The portal is a beautiful and highly-decorated specimen 
 of the best period of romanesque. The interior is ruined by 
 ' restoration ' in the style of Abadie. Opposite the Hotel de 
 Londres is an equestrian statue of Francois L, by Etex. 
 
 Descending into the lower town, we find, close to the 
 entrance of the bridge, the remains of the Chateau of the 
 Comtes d'Angouleme, now used as a brandy warehouse. 
 Francois I. was born here in 1495. The only part of the 
 building which has any character is a projecting window, with 
 a crown between two salamanders. Just beyond is a fine 
 old city Gate, spared when the walls were pulled down. 
 
 5 k. N.E. is Boutiers-S.-Trojean, with a church (at Boutiers) 
 of xi. c, xin. c, and xiv. c, and a romanesque chapel (at S. 
 Trojean, ijk. S.E.) which was the burial-place of a branch of 
 the La Rochefoucauld family. Near S. Trojean, at 6*. Brice, is the 
 dolmen called Pierre de la Vache, and a chateau containing 
 the room (with a painted ceiling) where Henri de Navarre 
 
SAINTES. 
 
 255 
 
 had an interview with Catherine de Medicis, Sept. 25, 1586. 
 2 k. N. is the very remarkable church of Chdtres (now a barn), 
 which belonged to an Augustinian abbey. It has three cupolas 
 over the nave, and another at the cross. The facade is a 
 very fine specimen of romanesque ; the choir is gothic ; the 
 transept has been destroyed. 
 
 At >S. Fort, 14 k. from Cognac on the road to Jonzac, is 
 the finest dolmen in the Angoumois, measuring 10 met. 45 by 
 6 met. 40. 
 
 GATE OF COGNAC. 
 
 [A line leads from Cognac to (22 k.) Matha (for which see 
 later) by (6 k.) Ckerves, which has a fine church of xi. c. and 
 xii. c, with three cupolas, a decorated apse, and af sculptured 
 cross in its cemetery. The Chateau de'jOhes7iel is flanked by 
 square towers.] 
 
 For the line from Cognac to Angouleme see ch. ii.] 
 
 127k. Saintes (Hotels : des Messageries — good ; de France)^ 
 in a dull flat country on the 1. bank of the Charente, was 
 
256 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 as the capital of the Santones, a flourishing town when 
 Caesar conquered Gaul. The Romans called it Civitas 
 Santonum or Mediolanum Santonum, and enriched it 
 greatly with public buildings. An aqueduct supplied it 
 with water from Font Giraud, three leagues distant. S. 
 Eutrope preached Christianity here c. 250, and became 
 the first bishop of Saintes. In the xn. c. Richard Coeur 
 de Lion, in rebellion against his father, fortified himself 
 here ; but Henry II. took the town and destroyed it, 
 with the exception of the Roman capital, which was 
 demolished when Charles d'Alencon, brother of Philippe 
 de Valois, took Saintes from the English in 1330. 
 
 A long straight road leads from the station to the town 
 of Saintes through the Faubourg des Dames. Above the 
 houses on the 1. is seen the picturesque conical spire of 
 LAbbaye de Notre Dame, or S. Marie, now enclosed in 
 the courtyard of a barrack. The church 1 is a striking 
 work of xi. c. and xn. c. At the cross is the noble late 
 xi. c. tower. 
 
 ' II se compose, au-dessus des voutes de 1 eglise, d'un etage 
 carre perce sur chaque cote de trois arcades soutenues par des 
 piles formees de colonnes engagees. Une voute hemispherique 
 porte un etage circulaire, non ,plus compose d'un quillage de 
 colonnes, mais de douze petits contre-forts cylindriques, entre 
 lesquels s'ouvrent des arcades divisees par une colonne. Cet 
 etage est surmonte du chapeau conique legerement convexe, 
 couvert d'ecailles retournees, comme celui de S. Front de 
 Perigueux/ — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The interior is a single nave. The neighbouring church 
 of S. Palais is xn. c. and xm. c. 
 
 1 To visit it, one must obtain a permission from the poste militaire. 
 
SAINTES. 
 
 257 
 
 On reaching the Place Bassompierre, at the entrance of 
 the bridge, on the 1. is a statue erected (1868) to Bernard 
 Palissy, who lived long at Saintes. Just beyond this, shut 
 in by trees, is the most important relic of Roman times in 
 the town— a double Corinthian Arch in honour of Tiberius, 
 
 L'ABBAYE DE NOTRE DAME, SAINTES. 
 
 Drusus, and Gernianicus. This originally stood at the 
 entrance of the old bridge (like the arches of S. Chamas), 
 with great picturesqueness and dignity. But the bridge 
 has been pulled down by the folly of the municipality, 
 without any advantage to navigation, and the arch removed 
 and rebuilt (under the Commission of Hist. Monuments), 
 
 T 7 
 
258 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 after being shelved to its present position, a spot leading 
 nowhere, where it is without either purpose or character. 
 
 Crossing the bridge, we should ascend the pretty Cours 
 National, lined with trees and shops, to the top, from which 
 (turning 1.) we soon reach the suburb which is crowned by 
 the magnificent Church of S. Eutrope, said to have been 
 founded in the vi. c. by S. Palais, bishop of Saintes. It 
 was rebuilt, as well as its crypt, at the end of the xi. c, 
 altered xv. c, and partly destroyed by the Protestants in 
 1568. On either side of the apse are very remarkable and 
 lofty romanesque chapels. The huge xv. c. tower has an 
 octagonal spire. Beneath it is an inclined passage forming 
 the approach to the vast Crypt, which, except that of 
 Chartres, is the largest in France. Behind the modern 
 altar is the tomb of S. Eutrope. 
 
 'La charmante eglise de S. Eutrope possede une vaste crypte, 
 ou plutot une eglise basse, a rez-de-chaussee, sous le choeur. 
 L'apside de cette eglise est flanquee de trois chapelles. Ces 
 chapelles regnent dans le crypte comme au niveau du choeur ; 
 leurs fenetres ne sont pas de la meme dimension que celles du 
 collateral ; elles sont plus petites. Les chapelles de S. Eutrope 
 sont done un petit edifice accole a un autre plus grand.' — Viollet 
 le Due. 
 
 The facade of the church is modern. The existing 
 nave (xi. a), which was the original choir, is separated 
 from its aisles by four huge quadrangular pillars, with 
 round columns at the angles, and rich romanesque capitals. 
 The choir is an apsidal chapel of xv. c. 
 
 Leaving the church, a little path leads from the opposite 
 side of the place (on r.) into the valley between the faubourgs 
 of S. Eutrope and S. Macoul, and winds through the prettily 
 
SATNTES. 
 
 259 
 
 situated, but vague and poor ruins of the Roman Amphi- 
 theatre, built of small stones, and much dilapidated. On 
 the 1. is the fountain called Source S. Estelle^ a point of 
 pilgrimage for young girls who desire to marry within the 
 year. Near the Arenes, in the house called Le Coteau, 
 is a Hypogenm, or family tomb. 
 
 Ascending into the suburb and turning r., we soon 
 
 THE ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE, SAINTES. 
 
 reach the Hospital, occupying the site of the Roman 
 Capitol, of which nothing but the substructures remain. 
 
 Descending into the hollow beyond, a winding street 
 brings us to S. Rierre, which was the cathedral of Saintes 
 till 1790, when the bishopric was suppressed. The 
 church is due to a rebuilding by Bishop Pierre de 
 Confolens in 11 17-27, but was much altered in xiv. c. 
 and xv. c. In 1568 it was utterly ruined by the Protestants, 
 
26o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 who only spared the tower, part of the transept, some 
 arches of the aisles, and the noble buttresses, which now 
 stand detached. The whole was feebly restored 1582-85. 
 At the foot of the xv. c. tower is a grand flamboyant 
 portal, with an open gallery above it. 
 
 A little N. of Saintes is the admirable xn. c. church of 
 Fontcouverte, and, at the hamlet of Les Arcs, considerable 
 remains of the Roman aqueduct which supplied the ancient 
 town. 
 
 14 k. N.E., on the road to S. Hilaire, is Douhet, with remains 
 of the Roman aqueduct which supplied Saintes, a xn. c. church, 
 with a striking facade, and an xviii. c. chateau. 6*. Hilaire-de- 
 Villefranche (16 k.) has a church of XL c. and xv. c. Near this 
 are a number of curious churches, especially Ecoyeux, an 
 interesting building of xn. c, and 6*. Sulpice de Cognac, of xi. c. 
 
 [18 k. W. from Saintes, in the direction of Royan, is 6*. 
 Romain-de-Benet, with an xi. c. church. Near S. Benet is the 
 curious massive Roman monument consisting of a pedestal and 
 rude pyramid called Pile de Pire Longe. It is supposed to have 
 been a military trophy. 4 k. N. is the ruined Benedictine abbey 
 of Sablonceau.~] 
 
 [Another road leads from Saintes to Marennes by 29 k. £*. 
 Sornin, which has an xi. c. church with a xm. c. tower. Here are 
 vast salt marshes. The traveller, Albert Jouvin, 1672 (Le Voyageur 
 d Europe) says: ' Je ne scay point de gens plus pauvres dans 
 la France que dans les marets du bas Poictou.'] 
 
 From Saintes two routes may be taken to the north, the first 
 by La Rochelle and La-Roche-sur-Yon to Nantes ; the second by 
 Niort to Angers or Tours (for which see later). 
 
 The line from Saintes to La Rochelle and Nantes 
 passes — 
 
TAILLEDOURG. 
 
 137 k. (from Bordeaux) Taillebourg, on a hill above 
 the Charente, surmounted by the ruins of a castle, which 
 was formerly deemed impregnable, rising on three sides 
 from precipitous rocks, and isolated by a deep and wide 
 moat, outside which is a second skirting wall. The 
 position is a very striking one, and the old balustraded 
 terraces following the windings of the cliff, and the tall 
 ivy-covered tower, are very picturesque. It was in this 
 castle that Jacques Coeur was accused before Charles VII., 
 by Jeanne de Vendome, of having poisoned Agnes Sorel. 
 The apse of a ruined church is of the xi. c. The line 
 passes near the curious Chateau de Crazannes, of which 
 the earliest portion is xm. c. and xiv. c, the second 
 renaissance, the third xvin. c. In the fortified enclosure 
 is the romanesque church of Crazannes. 
 
 144 k. S. Savinien-sur- Charente. Near the station are 
 massive remains of a gothic Augustinian convent, ruined 
 during the wars of the xvi. c. The older part of the town, 
 which has a castle and a gothic church, with a romanesque 
 facade and fine early gothic tower, occupies a wooded 
 rock above the river. 
 
 154 k. Itords, has a transition church in grey stone, of 
 great beauty of outline, with a massive square tower on the 
 S. In the field called Champ du Poignard are the stone 
 tombs, ' Tombes Sarrasines? 
 
 9 k. S. is ►S. Porchaire, where the church, of three portals, 
 and with transition vaulting, is xn. c. The Chateau de la Roche- 
 Courbon, on a rock surrounded by marshes, has an interesting 
 interior. Pont PAbbe, near this, is a fine gothic church, with a 
 tall spire. At La Vallee (4 k. W.) are an xi. c. church and three 
 ruined dolmens. 
 
262 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 A suspension bridge over the Charente, of 204 met., 
 with a causeway of forty-eight arches, is seen on the 1. 
 before reaching — 
 
 165 k. Tonnay- Charente (Hotel : du Point du Jour), on 
 the r. bank of the Charente, from the xiv. c. the seat of 
 an important seigneurie possessed by the family of 
 Rochechouart, of which that of Mortemart is a branch. 
 The Due de Mortemart, marshal of France and viceroy 
 of Sicily in 1636, was born here. The old chateau, 
 destroyed by order of Louis XIII., has been replaced by 
 xvii. c. buildings, part of which still exist. The massive 
 church, rebuilt xvi. c, retains a huge portal of xi. c. 
 
 A long low line of buildings and masts rising above 
 the flats on the L, indicate the approach to the sea- 
 port of — 
 
 171k. Rochefort (Hotels : de France ; de la Rochelle), a 
 fortified modern town, upon the Charente, with rectangular 
 streets, and a military port and arsenal. 
 
 [A road leads S.W. from Rochefort through a district 
 abounding in megalithic remains, by (8 k.) Moeze, which has a 
 beautiful xvi. c. church spire and magnificent hosanna-cross in 
 its cemetery, and (13 k.) Brouage, a fortified town, where the 
 church contains tombs of the ancient governors, to (21 k.) 
 Marennes (Hotel : du Commerce), a seaport containing some 
 ancient buildings, including maritime residences of the Due de 
 Richelieu and the abbesses of Saintes. There are public carriages 
 from Marennes to the Pointe Chapus, whence a steamer crosses 
 in 25 min. to the tie d'Oleron. The price of a place from 
 Rochefort to Chateau d'Oleron is 3 fr. 
 
 The He d Oleron is 30 k. in length, and from 4 k. to 10 k. 
 in width. Chateau d'OMro7i takes its name from the chateau 
 where Eleanor of Guienne signed the laws called Jugements 
 d'Oleron.'] 
 
LA ROCHELLE. 
 
 263 
 
 [A road leads S. to (59 k.) Royan, by — 
 
 2 k. Martrou, near which is the x. c. or XI. c. church of 
 Echillais, a very interesting building, half-ruined in the xvn. c. 
 
 10 k. Villeneuve. In the ruins of the church is a well- 
 preserved sepulchral chapel of the family of Comminges, where 
 Charles de Comminges, killed at Pignerol in 1630, is buried. 
 
 15 k. La Griperie, near which is the fine xi. c. and xn. c. 
 church of 6*. Symphorien-des-Bois, with a splendid facade and 
 portal. 2J k. S.W. is the ruined castle of Broue, of xi. c. and 
 xn. c. 1 k. W. is the old manor of Blenac, with three towers. 
 4 k. W. is the ruined priory of >S. Ge??tmeP\ 
 
 177 k. Charras. The lie d'Oleron is seen on the 1. 
 179 k. S. Laurent-de-la- Free. The restored church 
 dates from xi. c. 
 
 5 k. across the dreary flats, is the bathing-place of Fouras ; 
 the chateau is xiv. c, modernised. A little N.W. is the Fort de 
 V Aiguille. The lie d'Aix is only separated from the extremity 
 of the Pointe de l'Aiguille by a canal. 
 
 195 k. Angoulins. The church, turned into a fortress, 
 is xi. c. 
 
 200 k. La Rochelle (Hotels: de France — unusually ex- 
 cellent in every respect, with a pleasant garden ; des 
 Ftrangers), capital of the Departement de la Charente- 
 Inferieure, and a fortress of the second class. Known in 
 its earliest state as Rupella, La Rochelle became one of the 
 great maritime cities of France in the xiv. c. and xv. c, and 
 was fortified by Vauban. The English called it La Ville 
 Blanche, from the reflection of light on its rocks and sands. 
 In the xvi. c, La Rochelle was the head-quarters of 
 Calvinism, and in 1572, having become the refuge of 
 a great number of Huguenots who had escaped from the 
 massacre of S. Bartholomew, it underwent a long siege, 
 in which 20,000 Catholics perished before its walls. 
 
264 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Thus it was one of the towns to which full liberty of 
 Protestant worship was accorded by the peace of 1573. 
 A second siege in 1627, in which the Protestants of La 
 Rochelle were almost deserted by the English allies upon 
 whom they had counted, turned out less favourably, 
 and the revocation of the edict of Nantes took away from La 
 Rochelle 3,000 of its most industrious inhabitants. 
 
 I 
 
 PORT OF LA ROCHELLE. 
 
 La Rochelle is a most interesting place, well worthy of 
 a visit. Entering the town by the Porte de la Gare, we find 
 ourselves on the quay of the little port, guarded at the 
 entrance by two noble towers, the Tour S. Nicolas, of 1387, 
 and the Tour de la Chaine, of 1476. The grey and yellow 
 walls of these ancient fortresses, the bright green of the 
 water, the old arcaded houses surrounding it, and the 
 
LA ROCHELLE. 
 
 265 
 
 brilliantly coloured boats with their sails and nets, make a 
 most picturesque scene. Beyond, on the sea-wall, rises the 
 quaint round tower called Tour de la Lanterne (1445-76), 
 surmounted by a beautiful crocketed stone spire, the top of 
 
 TOUR DE LA LANTERNE, LA ROCHELLE. 
 
 which formerly bore a light in stormy weather. On the r. 
 of the port is the church of S. Sauveur (rebuilt xv. c, and 
 altered xvi. c. and xvm. c), with a very fine xv. c. tower, 
 decorated with renaissance statues. 
 
 A gate beneath the Tour de la Grosse Horloge (xiv. c. and 
 xv. c.) leads from the port to the principal streets, all lined 
 
266 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 with arcades, resting on heavy pillars, recalling those of 
 Padua and many North Italian cities. Turning r., we soon 
 reach the beautiful Hotel de Ville (i486 — 1607), which has a 
 battlemented curtain wall, flanked by two picturesque towers 
 towards the street. Towards the court the splendid fagade, 
 decorated with allegorical figures, is partly of Henri II. (the 
 little pavilion on 1.), and partly of Henri IV., as is attested 
 by the chiffre of Henri IV. and Marie de Medicis. The 
 grand salle is that in which Guiton, the brave defender of 
 La Rochelle at the time of the siege by Richelieu, accepted 
 the title of mayor. 
 
 ' Le maire Guiton entretenait dans les ames de ces concitoyens 
 un fanatisme heroi'que. Un de ses amis lui montrant une personne 
 de leur connoissance qui se mouroit de langueur et de faim, il lui 
 repondit froi dement : " Vons etonnez-vous de cela ? il faudra Men 
 que vous et moi en venions Id!' Et, comme un autre lui disoit 
 que tout le monde mouroit de faim, il repartit avec la meme 
 froideur : " Pourvu quit e?i reste un pour fermer les ftortes, c est 
 assez / " Guiton ajouta qu'il etait pret, si cela devenait necessaire, 
 a tirer au sort avec qui Ton voudrait pour savoir lequel mangerait 
 Fautre ! ... Richelieu entra le 30 octobre, dans la cite con- 
 quise. Lorsque l'homme qui avait tenu pendant huit mois sa 
 fortune en echec, lorsque Guiton, toujours fier, se presenta devant 
 lui, il demanda ce qu'il pensait des rois de France et d'Angle- 
 terre: " Je pense," repondit le vieux huguenot, "que mieux vaut 
 avoir pour maitre le roi qui a pris La Rochelle, que le roi qui n'a 
 pas su la defendre." ' — Henri Martin. 
 
 The Rue du Palais (in a straight line with the Tour de 
 PHorloge) leads to the Cathedral of S. Louis, of 1742 — 1862, 
 occupying the site of an old church of S. Barthelemy, de- 
 stroyed xvi. c, but of which the xiv. c. tower still exists 
 behind the cathedral. 
 
 Opposite the cathedral is the Place d'Armes, occupying 
 
Ile de re. 
 
 267 
 
 the site of the chateau, demolished in 1590. The Rue 
 Gargoulleau, which opens on the place, contains (No. 28) the 
 old Hotel Legoux, at one time the episcopal palace as well 
 as the residence of the different royal persons who have 
 visited La Rochelle. It is now used for the Bibliothcque 
 and Mtisee. 
 
 La Rochelle is rich in interesting specimens of domestic 
 architecture. We may especially notice 22 Rice de G. Admy- 
 rauld, with a tourelle — said to have belonged to the family 
 of Beauharnais ; 7 Rue de la Vache, of xvi. c. ; 11 Rue S. 
 Nicolas, with a very fine chimney-piece ; 3 Rue des Merrier s, 
 as the house of Guiton ; and 1 1 Rue des Augustins, at the 
 angle of the Rue Chaudrier, called Maison de Henri II. 
 There are delightful walks in the gardens above the sea, 
 where the Atlantic breezes may be inhaled in all their 
 purity ; but there are no sands at La Rochelle, which has 
 consequently never become very popular as a bathing-place. 
 
 At lagoret (3 k N.) is a fine restored romanesque church. 
 
 Steamers cross from La Rochelle to the Ile de Re in from 1 to 
 2 hrs. Those who wish for a shorter voyage may take the 
 omnibus to (19 k.) La Repentie, whence a little steamer crosses to 
 Rivedoux in 30 mm. — making the journey, weather permitting, 
 four times daily. Re once formed part of the mainland, of which 
 its ocean barrier was formerly the outer shore, and it is said that 
 an ancient city called Antioch, on the W. of the island, of which 
 the name was probably a souvenir of the Crusades, was 
 engulfed during the tempest which caused the separation by 
 the waters of the ' Mer Sauvage.' In our own days it is affirmed 
 that fishermen have been able to see the ruined houses through 
 the clear waters. The strait, or Pertuis d'Antioche, which sepa- 
 rates the islands of Re and Oleron, has taken its name from this 
 legendary city. Re, which has only been mentioned by geo- 
 graphers since the vni. c, is protected by rocks or 1 platins,' which 
 
268 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 continue 4 k. out to sea, overlooked at the northern extremity of 
 the island by the noble lighthouse called Le Phare des Baleines. 
 The northern part of the island, occupied by the village of Ars, 
 is now only united to its mainland by the Isthmus of Martray, 
 which requires constant protection. 
 
 There is an omnibus from Rivedoux in 1 hr. (1 fr.) to vS. 
 Martin, the principal place on the island, founded in the vin. c, 
 and with a (rudely restored) church of the xn. c, fortified with 
 machicolations and tourelles. It contains the tomb of the BarOn 
 de Chantal, father of Mme. de Sevigne, killed at the Pointe de 
 Sablanceaux in 1627, and some curious inscriptions to governors 
 of the island. The fortifications are due to Vauban. It is 13 k. 
 from S. Martin to Ars-eu-Re, which has a xiv. c. church with a 
 handsome spire, and two lighthouses — les Fiers d'Ars. 
 
 [A steamer (3 fr. and 2 fr. 25 c.) leaves La Rochelle daily — 
 weather permitting — for the lie d'Oleron (Hotel : de Commerce), 
 performing the passage in i\ hrs. The lie d'Oleron evidently 
 continues the sands of La Tremblade. Seen from a distance, it 
 appears to form a continuous chain with the mainland ; and, 
 indeed, the arm of the sea which separates them is only 500 met. 
 wide at low water. In the xiv. c. it is said to have been narrower 
 still, and to have been too small for any vessel to pass. It has 
 enlarged since, and in the beginning of the century a large frigate 
 could pass, but now no vessel risks the passage called Mau- 
 nmsson or Male Bouche. Even in fine weather a boat cannot 
 penetrate the Maumusson, unless impelled by a continuous 
 breeze ; if the wind falls suddenly, it is infallibly drawn by the 
 currents upon the sandbanks and soon demolished by the waves. 
 When the wind blows strong, the roar of the formidable passage 
 can be heard 60 k. off: 4 Maumusson grogne,' say the peasants. 
 The lie d'Oleron has few objects of interest, except a xn. c. 
 lanterne des morts.~\ 
 
 [A line runs E. to (67 k.) Niort, passing — 
 
 33 k. Surgcres, which has a very fine xn. c. church, and some 
 remains of a (xiv. c. and xvi. c.) castle. 
 
 45 k. Mauze-sur-le-Mignon. Near this was the Chateau 
 d'Olbreuze, whence came ^leonore d'Olbreuze, who (1676) 
 
MARANS. 
 
 269 
 
 married George William, Duke of Zell, and became the pro- 
 genitor of the royal houses of England and Germany, her only 
 daughter, Sophia Dorothea, marrying George Louis, afterwards 
 George I. of England, and her granddaughter (also Sophia 
 Dorothea) the Crown Prince of Prussia, afterwards Frederick 
 William I., by whom she was mother of Frederick the Great.] . 
 
 GRANDE FONTAINE, FONTENAY-LE-COMTE. 
 
 216 k. Andilly-S.-Ouen. 6|k. W. is Esnandes, with a 
 fortified church of xn. c. and xm. c. The choir is xv. c. 
 1 1 k. 1. is Andilly-les- Marais, with a ruined castle and priory. 
 
 224 k. Marans, which rose around a castle built during 
 the English rule. The gothic church is xm. c, with a 
 polygonal tower surmounted by a spire. 
 
 242 k. Velluire. 
 
270 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 [A line diverges E. to (43 k.) Niort, across flat, dreary, open 
 country. The fine spire of Fontenay is visible on 1. long before 
 reaching — 
 
 1 1 k. Fontenay-le-Comte (Hotel : de France), the ancient 
 Fontenacum, which took the name of Comte when it came into 
 the possession of Comte Alphonse de Poitou. The Counts of 
 Poitou built a castle here, which afterwards passed to the 
 families of Mauleon and Lusignan. Louis IX. took it from the 
 
 CHURCH OF MAILLEZAIS. 
 
 latter in 1241, and gave it to his brother Alphonse, who made it 
 the most important fortress of Bas-Poitou. It was afterwards 
 several times bestowed upon the younger sons of kings of 
 France. Only some fragments of wall and two romanesque 
 arches now remain of the ancient chateau, where Cardinal de 
 Bourbon — ' roi de la Ligue ' — died May 9, 1590. Fontenay is a 
 dreary, wind-stricken, ugly little town. Its only feature is the 
 fine spire, 79 metres high (rebuilt 1760), of the church of Notre 
 Dame, which occupies the site of a romanesque basilica, of which 
 
MAILLEZAIS. 
 
 271 
 
 the crypt remains. The church was rebuilt 1425-45, but has 
 been much modernised since. The sacristy is renaissance. The 
 church of ►S. Jean, ruined by the Protestants in 1568 and rebuilt 
 in 1604, has a gothic spire of 1645 and a rich portal. The Hotel 
 du Due de la Rochefoucauld was the home of the author of the 
 Maxmies in his childhood. The Gra?ide Fontaine, of 1540, 
 bears the device which Francois I. gave to the town : F011- 
 tiniacum, felicium inge7iiorum fons et scaturigo. Several 
 houses are of xvi. c. and xvn. c, but Fontenay is not the least 
 picturesque. 
 
 ABBEY OF MAILLEZAIS. 
 
 12 k. S.E. is Maillezais, possessing a curious abbatial church, 
 chiefly xi. c, which was a burial-place of the Comtes de Poitou. 
 Part of the abbey buildings is a most picturesque ruin, part 
 is occupied by a farm. The parish church has an admirable 
 romanesque facade. 
 
 [A road runs N. to (128 k.) Cholet, passing (65 k.) Ardelay, 
 with the ruined abbey of Grainetiere, partly xn. c. ; (67 k.) Les 
 Hcrbiers, scene of many conflicts in the Vendean wars ; (71 k.) 
 Mont des Alouettcs, an eminence of 231 met., whose windmill, by 
 
272 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the disposition of its sails, showed the royalist leaders the 
 relative position of the armies ; and (83 k.) Mortagne-sur-Sevre, 
 in a very picturesque district.] 
 
 23 k. Nieul-Onlmes. At Nieul-sur-Autise^ in a dreary open 
 country, are interesting remains of an abbey, founded in 1068. 
 Its church, now parochial, is xi. c. and xn. c. The facade has 
 
 CHURCH OF NIEUL-SUR-AUTISE (BEFORE THE CHANGES). 
 
 been spoilt by a modern tower. On the S. is a romanesque 
 cloister. The chapter-house is xn. c. The gothic refectory is in 
 ruins. The farm of La Conr de Nieuil is built on the vaults 
 of the chateau of the Dues d'Aquitaine, in which Eleanor of 
 Guienne, queen of England, was born in 11 22. 
 
 250 k. Le-La?igon-Mouzeuil. Mouzeuil (2|k. N.) has a 
 
LUCON. 
 
 273 
 
 xii. c. and xm. c. church, which belonged to a priory 
 attached to the abbey of Maillezais. 
 
 256 k. Nal/iers, has a church partly xn. c. and xm. c, 
 and, beside it, the old manor of Montreuil. The line passes 
 
 PORTAL OF THE EVECHE, LUCON. 
 
 (r.) near S. Gemme-la-Plaine, where the battle of Lucon was 
 fought, in which the Vendeans were defeated in 1793, with 
 a fine xm. c. church. 
 
 266 k. Lufon (Hotels : de la Tete Noire ; du Croissant), 
 a dull little town, once celebrated for its abbey, ruled by 
 
 18 
 
274 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 S. Philibert de Jumieges in the vil. c. Its vast but not very 
 interesting church, turned into a Cathedral in 13 17, is of 
 many styles. Only the gable of the N. transept is xi. c. 
 The nave is xm. c, xiv. c, xv. c. The W. facade has a 
 tower and spire of xvn. c. At the S. side of the cathedral 
 is a cloister, communicating with the (restored) Eveche, 
 which contains the chamber of Richelieu, who was bishop 
 of Lu^on from 1607 to 1624 : his arms decorate the 
 wooden vaulting. 
 
 21 k. S.E. is L Aiguillon-sitr-Mer, with a bay and lighthouse. 
 
 At 19 k. from Lucon, on the way to (50 k.) Sables d'Olonne, 
 is Angles, where the abbatial church is of xm. c, restored xiv. c. 
 On the gable of the W. facade is a stone bear : 4 la bete qui 
 mange la beaute des filles d'Angles.' 
 
 In this district is the great dolmen of La Freboncherc, a 
 granite slab supported by two ranges of stones, met. in length 
 and 5^ wide. At 36 k is the exceedingly picturesque renaissance 
 Chateau de Talmont. 
 
 273 k. La Bretonniere. 7 k. is Mareuil-surle-Lay, with 
 a church containing some admirable portions of romanesque 
 work. Near it are the ruins of a renaissance chateau. 
 
 282 k. Le-Champ-S.-Pere. Near this is the menhir called 
 Pierre de S. Gre, and another megalithic monument called 
 La Pierre Folk. 
 
 303 k. La-Roche-sur- Yon — Napoleon- Vendee (Hotels : de 
 V Europe ; du Pelican), the dreary capital of the Departement 
 de la Vendee, occupying the site of the ancient chateau of 
 Roche-sur-Yon, destroyed under Louis XIII. Prince de la 
 Roche-sur-Yon was one of the titles borne by members of 
 the royal family before the Revolution. Napoleon, in 1805, 
 began the works which fitted the place for being a chef-lieu : 
 his equestrian statue adorns the place, at the top of the hill. 
 
LE BOCAGE. 
 
 275 
 
 At 8 k. on the road to Les-Sables-d'Olonne is the ruined 
 Benedictine abbey of Fontenelles, founded 12 10. 
 
 La-Roche-sur-Yon is situated at the W. extremity of the 
 district called Le Bocage — La Vendee Militaire, so famous in 
 the war. 
 
 ' Ce pays differe, par son aspect, et plus encore par les moeurs 
 de ses habitans, de la plupart des provinces de France. II est 
 forme de collines en general assez peu elevees, qui ne se 
 rattachent a aucune chaine de montagnes ; les vallees sont 
 etroites et peu profondes ; des fort petits ruisseaux y coulent dans 
 des directions variees ; les uns se dirigent vers la Loire, quelques- 
 uns vers la mer ; d'autres se reunissent en debouchant dans la 
 plaine et forment de petites rivieres. II y a partout beaucoup de 
 rochers de granit. On concoit qu'un terrain qui n'offre ni chaines 
 de montagnes, ni rivieres, ni vallees etendues, ni meme une 
 pente generale, doit etre comme une sorte de labyrinthe ; rare- 
 ment on trouve des hauteurs assez elevees au-dessus des autres 
 coteaux pour servir de point d'observation et commander le pays. 
 Cependant en approchant de Nantes, le long de la Sevre, la 
 contree prend un aspect qui a quelque chose de plus grand ; les 
 collines sont plus hautes et plus escarpees ; cette riviere est 
 rapide et profondement encaissee, elle roule a travers les masses 
 de rochers, dans des vallons resserres. Le Bocage n'est plus seule- 
 ment agreste ; il offre la un coup-d'oeil pittoresque et sauvage. 
 Au contraire, en tirant plus a Test, dans les cantons qui sont 
 voisins des bords de la Loire, le pays est plus ouvert, les pentes 
 mieux menagees, et les vallees forment d'assez vastes plaines. 
 
 ' Le Bocage, comme indique son nom, est couvert d'arbres ; on 
 y voit peu de grandes forets, mais chaque champ, chaque prairie, 
 est entoure d'une haie vive qui s'appuie sur des arbres plantes 
 irregulierement et fort rapproches ; ils n'ont point un tronc eleve 
 ni de vastes rameaux ; tous les cinq ans on coupe leurs 
 branchages, et on laisse nue une tige de douze ou quinze pieds. 
 Ces enceintes ne renferment jamais un grand espace. Le terrain 
 est fort divise ; il est peu fertile en grains ; souvent des champs 
 assez etendus restent longtemps incultes ; ils se couvrent alors de 
 grands genets ou de joncs epineux ; toutes les vallees, et meme les 
 
276 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 dernieres pentes des coteaux, sont couvertes de prairies. Viie 
 d'un point eleve, la contree parait toute verte ; seulement, au 
 temps des moissons, des carreaux j amies se montrent de distance 
 en distance entre les haies. Qnelquefois les arbres laissent voir 
 le toit aplati et couvert de tniles rouges de quelques batimens, 
 on la pointe d'un clocher qui s'eleve au-dessus des branches. 
 Presque toujours cet horizon de verdure est tres-borne ; quelque- 
 fois il s'etend a trois on quatre lieues. 
 
 1 Les chemins du Bocage sont tous comme creuses entre deux 
 haies, ils sont etroits, et quelquefois les arbres, joignant leurs 
 branches, les couvrent d'une espece de berceau ; ils sont bour- 
 beux en hiver et raboteux en ete. Souvent, quand ils suivent le 
 penchant d'une colline, ils servent en meme temps de lit a un 
 ruisseau : ailleurs, ils sont tailles dans le rocher et gravissent sur 
 les hauteurs par les degres irreguliers: tous ces chemins offrent 
 un aspect du meme genre. Au bout de chaque champ, on trouve 
 un carrefour qui laisse le voyageur dans l'incertitude sur la 
 direction qu'il doit prendre et que rien ne pent lui indiquer. 
 Les habitans eux-memes s'egarent frequemment, lorsqu'ils 
 veulent aller a deux ou trois lieues de leur sejour.' — Mme. de la 
 Rochejaqnelein, i Memoires! 
 
 ' Cette Vendee, qui a quatorze rivieres, et pas une navigable, 
 pays perdu dans ses baies et ses bois, n'etait, quoiqu'on ait dit, 
 ni plus religieuse, ni plus royaliste que bien d'autres provinces 
 frontieres, mais elle tenait a ses habitudes. L'ancienne monarchic, 
 dans son imparfaite centralisation, les avait peu troublees, la 
 Revolution voulut les lui arracher et l'amener d'un coup a l'unite 
 nationale ; brusque et violente, portant partout une lumiere 
 subite et hostile, elle effaroucha ces fils de la nuit. Ces paysans 
 se trouverent des heros. On sait que le voiturier Cathelineau 
 petrissait son pain quand il entendait la proclamation republicaine ; 
 il essuya tout simplement ses bras, et prit son fusil. Chacun en 
 fit autant et marcha droit aux bleus. Et ce ne fut pas homme a 
 homme, dans les bois, dans les tenebres, comme les chouans de 
 Bretagne, mais en masse, en corps de peuple, et en plaine. Ils 
 etaient pres de cent mille au siege de Nantes. La guerre de 
 Bretagne est, comme une ballade guerriere du border ecossais, 
 celle de Vendee une Iliade.' — Michelet, ' Hist, de France! 
 
LES-SABLES-U OL ONNE. 
 
 277 
 
 ' Depuis un demi-siecle, la physionomie de cette partie de la 
 France a deja beaucoup change, grace a l'eleve des bestiaux qui 
 a fait la fortune du pays. Les ajoncs, les genets, les mauvaises 
 herbes y sont devenus rares. Chaqne paysan, proprietaire d'nn 
 champ, a sa vache paissant l'herbe de la cheintre, son cochon 
 qu'il nonrrit pendant l'hiver des fenilles recoltees sur les ormeaux 
 des haies, ses deux boeufs qu'il sait animer au labeur en 4 notant,' 
 c'est a dire en chantant des melodies fort douces et d'un charme 
 penetrant.' — Elisee Reclus. 
 
 [A line diverges W. to Les-Sables-d'Olonne, by — 
 19 k. La-Mothe-Achard. 13 k. N.E., on the way to S. Gilles- 
 sur-Vie, is La-Chaize-Giraud, a. very fine church of xn. c, with a 
 magnificent facade, adorned with great bas-reliefs of the Annun- 
 ciation and Adoration of the Magi. In the interior is an ivory 
 Virgin of xm. c. 
 
 36 k. Les-Sables-d Olonne (Hotels : du Casino ; de la Plage ; de 
 rOcea?i ; de France), a very popular bathing-place, with most 
 delightful sands. Picturesque costumes may often be seen here. 
 The church of Notre Dame (1647) has good renaissance portals. 
 3 k. S.E. is Le Puits d'Enfer, & rocky fissure by the sea. 2 k. 
 further are some remains of the Benedictine abbey of Orbestier, 
 founded by Guillaume IV., Due d'Aquitaine, in 1007, and 
 destroyed by the Huguenots in 1577. 2 k. further still (7 k. from 
 Sables) are the sands of Caiola, famous for their shells, and 
 bordered by great rocks. Further still (10 k. from Sables) are 
 two towels and an open gallery, remains of the Abbaye de 
 Veillon. 
 
 14 k. from Sables is the beautiful Chdteau de Talmo?it ) see 
 p. 274.] 
 
 [A line (the line to Paris) runs E. to Bressuire, by — 
 
 35 k. Cha7itonnay. At 6 J k. on the road to Angers is the fine 
 xv. c. Chdteau des Roches-Baritaud, and at 22 k. in the same 
 direction, the ruined abbey of La Grainetiere, chiefly xn. c. 
 
 58 k. Pouzauges, in a lofty situation, with a very wide view 
 over the Bocage and the plain. The church is xvl c, the fine 
 ruined castle xiii. c. and xiv. c. 
 
 73 k. Cerizay, with a ruined xn. c, castle. 2 k. S.W., at 
 
278 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Beauchene, is an admirable chapel of xm. c. and xv. c. 5 J k. S. is 
 the chateau of Foret-sur-Sevre (Comte de Rohan-Chabot), built, 
 1810, on the site of a manor where Duplessis-Mornay died in 
 1625. At 6*. Andre-sur-Sevre is a fine xiv. c. and xv. c. castle. 
 
 87 k. Bressuire (Hotel: du Dauphin — good), became an im- 
 portant place in the xn. c. under the great family of Beaumont, 
 to which belonged Jacques de Beaumont, the confidential agent 
 of Louis XL, by whom he was made lieutenant-general of Poitou, 
 
 CASTLE GATE, BRESSUIRE. 
 
 Saintonge, and Aunis. In 15 10, the barony passed by marriage 
 to the family of Laval-Montmorency, then to the Fiesque, Cour- 
 cillon-Dangeau, and Luynes. 
 
 Bressuire is a dreary, unpicturesque little town. The church 
 of Notre Dame (partly xn. c, but chiefly xvi. c.) has a fine xvi. c. 
 tower, to which lichen has given a golden tint. L Au7no7ierie 
 S.Jacques was founded in the xn. c. : the chapel still exists. The 
 church of 6". Cyprien, in the faubourg, belonged to an xi. c. priory. 
 
 The Chateau (best seen from the Route de Cerizay, turning 
 1. on leaving the station) occupies a promontory above the Yon, 
 
BRESSUIRE. 
 
 279 
 
 and has no less than 48 towers, more or less preserved. The 
 outer court, containing the entrance gate, the Tour de la Fontaine, 
 and the Tour de la Poterne, is of c. 1470. Of the same period are 
 the great facade towards the cliff upon the S., and the Tour du 
 Tresor in the inner court. A modern chateau occupies the 
 interior of the castle. 
 
 9 k. S. of Bressuire, near Boisme, was the chateau of Clisson, 
 the home of M. de Lescure, which, under him and his heroic 
 wife, afterwards Mme. de la Rochejaquelein, became a great 
 royalist refuge in the early days of the Revolution, and a centre 
 in the Vendean revolt. The chateau was burnt by Westermann 
 in 1793. On April 18, 1794, Marigny gained a great victory over 
 the republicans there. 
 
 15 k. N. of Bressuire is Argenton- Chateau, where the church 
 has a noble romanesque portal, richly sculptured with Scriptural 
 subjects and the Last Judgment. The eleven pillars on either 
 side have very rich capitals, and the vaultings are filled with 
 statuettes. The ruined chateau has a chapel with mural paintings. 
 Ruins exist of a chateau, built by Philippe de Commines, and in 
 which he died in 1509. At Breuil-sous-Argenton is the pictur- 
 esque ruined (xv. c. and xvi. c.) Chateau de Beaupinay. 
 
 For the line from Bressuire to Chinon see ch. L] 
 
 [A line runs N.E. from La-Roche-sur-Yon to (50 k.) Clisson, 
 by- 
 
 13 k. Belleville, long the head-quarters of the Vendeens. The 
 church is xn. c. or xill. c. 
 
 28 k. L! Herbergement-T Entier. 1 k. r. is the Chateau de la 
 Chaboterie, and the farm of THospitau, where the Vendeen 
 general Charette was wounded and taken prisoner. 
 
 38 k. Mo7itaigu, on a hill at the confluence of the Maine and 
 Asson. Here 600 royalists under Charette were cut in pieces 
 by the republican general Beysser. Two-thirds of the town were 
 burnt in the Vendeen war.] 
 
 320 k. Aizenay. Here the Vendeens were defeated by 
 General Travot, and M. de Beauregard, brother-in-law of La 
 Rochejaquelein, was killed. In the church is the tomb of 
 Marechal de Clerambault, 1665. 
 
28o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 329 k. S. Maixent-sur-Vie. 5 k. E. is the renaissance 
 Chateau d'Apremont, built by Admiral Chabot, and ruined 
 by Richelieu. 
 
 333 k. Commequiers, near the Menhir de la Palissonniere 
 and the Dolmens des Pierres Folks. 
 
 [A line branches W. to (13k.) 6*. Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. The 
 station at Croix-de-Vie is separated by the Vie from 6*. Gilles-sur- 
 Vie (Hotel : des Voyageurs), a small sea-bathing place, with a 
 pier and lighthouse. The Vendeens were defeated here by 
 Travot in June, 181 5. 17 k. N. is 6*. Jean-des-Monts, a quiet 
 bathing-place, with delightful sands.] 
 
 344 k. Challans. Near the chateau of Fa Verie is a 
 tall menhir. 
 
 [A road leads W. by (11 k.) 6*. Gervais, with the curious round 
 tower called La Hugttenote, to Beauvoir-sur-Mer (Hotel : Briand), 
 whence an excursion, partly by water, may be made to (8 k.) the 
 lie Bouin. Public carriages cross at low water to (20 k.) the 
 lie de Noirmoutier, which has gradually increased by the deposits 
 of the Loire from a small rock to an island 18 k. long, and from 
 1 k. to 6 k. wide. The land is chiefly salt marsh, but abounds in 
 pre-historic monuments. Its name comes from Heri Monasterium, 
 the Benedictine monastery of Her, founded by S. Philibert, c. 680. 
 The town of Noirmoutier (22 k. Hotel : du Lion d'Or), has a 
 chateau, now the arsenal, which was the ancient residence of the 
 abbot of Her. The church is xn. c] 
 
 [Challans is also the station for (8 k.) La-Barre-de-Monts, 
 where travellers embark for He d* Yeu or Dieu, a rock 9 k. in 
 length, almost entirely inhabited by fishermen. The short 
 herbage affords good pasturage. The principal place is Port 
 Breton. On the W. side of the island is a ruined castle of XL c. 
 and xn. c] 
 
 353 k. Bois-de-Ce?ic. Near this is the old Chateau de 
 Fonteclause, the home of the Vendeen general Charette. 
 
5. JEAN-D ANGEL Y. 
 
 281 
 
 363 k. Machetoul, which belonged to the Barons de Retz, 
 who inhabited the neighbouring Chateau de S. Croix, and 
 of whom the most famous was the cruel Gilles, executed at 
 Nantes in 1440. In 1581 Henri III. made Retz a duchy 
 (of which Machecoul was the capital) in favour of Albert 
 de Gondi, ancestor of the celebrated Paul de Gondi, Cardinal 
 de Retz. Nothing remains of the famous chateau, which 
 was the contemporary and rival of Clisson, except some low, 
 ivy-covered walls. The church dates from xm. c. 1 k. 
 N.W. are some slight remains of the Abbaye de la Chaume, 
 founded 1055, by a Baron de Retz. 5 k. N.W. is the 
 Chateau de Fresnay, which was the birth-place of the 
 Calvinist leader Francois de la JVoue, surnamed Bras de Fer. 
 The vaulting of the chapel is adorned with xv. c. paintings. 
 
 377 k. S. Pazanne, on the line from Nantes to Pornic, 
 see ch. i. 
 
 404 k. Nantes, see ch. i. 
 
 If we take the other line to the N. from Saintes, we 
 pass — 
 
 137 k. (from Bordeaux) Taillebourg^ see above. 
 
 148 k. Mazeray. On r. is Fcnioux^ with a romanesque 
 church and xn. c. lanterne des morts, known as La Colonne 
 de Fenioux. 
 
 156 k. S.Jean-d 'Angely (Hotels : de France; des Voyageurs), 
 a town which arose around a hunting lodge of the Dues 
 d'Aquitaine, transformed into a monastery by Pepin, son of 
 Louis le Debonnaire, who enriched it with the head (one of 
 the numerous heads) of S. J. Baptist, visited annually by 
 thousands of pilgrims in the middle-ages. In the xiil c. 
 
282 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the town became one of the strongholds of Protestantism in 
 the W., and was taken after a long siege by Louis XIII., 
 who destroyed its fortifications and rescinded all its 
 privileges. 
 
 The principal church occupies the site of, and includes 
 some of, the walls of the great xm. c. Benedictine abbey, 
 destroyed by the Calvinists in 1568. Two domed towers 
 remain of xvm. c. buildings. The picturesque Tour de 
 PHorloge is xv. c. On the Place de l'Hotel de Ville is a 
 statue of Regnault de S. Jean d'Angely, by Bogino, 1863. 
 The Fontaine du Pilori (1546) comes from a well at the 
 Chateau de Brisambourg. 
 
 [There is a diligence from S. Jean-d'Angely to (29 k.) Aulnay ) 
 on the road to Melle, which has a xn. c. castle, and possesses, in 
 its cemetery, one of the most remarkable romanesque churches 
 in the country. 1 The church of S. Pierre is covered with rich 
 ornamentation externally. The W. facade, flanked by two round 
 towers of comparative simplicity, has three large gothic arcades, 
 of which the central contains the entrance. The four vaults of 
 this portal are filled with mythological figures of the Virtues and 
 Vices. The archivolts of the arcades at the sides are full of 
 beautiful sculptured foliage, and contain reliefs, with traces of 
 colour, of the martyrdom of S. Peter and Christ between two 
 angels. The highest stage of the facade was modernised in the 
 xvi. c. 
 
 The facade of the S. transept is even more rich in sculpture. 
 Its vast single portal has archivolts with statuettes. The four 
 gables at the extremities of the cross are more pointed, and rise 
 much higher than the roofs. The tower has three square stages, 
 and is surmounted by a slated spire. The nave, of cradle 
 vaulting, is separated from its side aisles by pillars formed of 
 groups of columns. Under the tower is a cupola resting on eight 
 ribs of vaulting. The central apse is very deep There are 
 
 1 The church is only open early in the morning-. The sacristan lives at the 
 entrance of the town from the cemetery. 
 
NIORT. 
 
 283 
 
 apsides to the transepts. Near the W. door is a benitier on a 
 pedestal adorned with eight romanesque statuettes. The cross 
 of the cemetery has a sculptured pedestal.] 
 
 162 k. S. Denis-du-Pin. 1 k. W. is the Abbaye de Fayolle, 
 with a curious conical well. 
 
 168 k. Loulay, with a ruined castle. 3 k. W. is Zozay, 
 with a pilgrimage chapel and fountain of S. Radegonde. 
 
 175 k. Villeneuve-la-Comtesse, with remains of walls and a 
 castle. 9 k. S.E. is B ampler re-sur-Boutonne, with a chateau 
 of Diane de Poitiers. 10 k. W. is S. Felix, with a church of 
 xi. c, xii. c, and xvi. c. 
 
 204 k. Niort (Hotels : des Etrcingers — very good ; de 
 France), the capital of the Departement des Deux-Sevres, 1 
 which rose around a castle — le fort Foucault — built by 
 Henry II. of England, in 1 155, on an island in the Sevre. 
 It was a stronghold of Protestantism in the xvi. c. 
 
 Niort is a clean, pretty, but unpicturesque little town. 
 Its principal street, now called Rue Victor Hugo, runs 
 between the two slight hills on which the town is built. To 
 the r. (by the Rue de Pilori) is the old (restored) Hotel de 
 Vllle, sometimes still called Palais d'Alietior (d'Eleanore), 
 though it was rebuilt 1520-30. Near the end of the Rue 
 Victor Hugo (r.), in the humble Conr de Candie, is the 
 house — with a tourelle and gothic windows — where Mme. de 
 Maintenon was born in 1635. ^ dates from xv. c. or xvi. c, 
 and was used as a prison attached to the old Palais de 
 Justice. 
 
 ' Constant d'Aubigne, noua des intelligences avec le 
 gouvernement anglais. II fut enferme au chateau Trompette, 
 
 1 The departement is named from two rivers, La Sevre Niortaise and 
 La Sevre Nantaise, 
 
284 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 a Bordeaux, d'ou il obtint d'etre transfere a Niort. On ne l'avait 
 point separe de Mme. d'Aubigne, femme respectable par savertu, 
 son devouement sans bornes et ses malheurs. C'est dans la 
 conciergerie de la prison de Niort que naquit, le 27 novembre, 
 1635, son troisieme enfant, Francoise d'Aubigne.' — Hequet^ ' Vie de 
 Mme. de Maintenon? 
 
 The Rue Victor Hugo ends near the Halles, above which 
 and the quai of the Sevre rises the Chateau, consisting 
 chiefly of two massive square towers, of which that on the 
 S. is attributed to Henry II. On the hill on r. is the 
 great church of S. Andre, a feeble work of Secre'tain, dis- 
 graced by terrible stained glass. The streets on 1. soon lead 
 to the church of Notre Dame, rebuilt 1491 — 1534. It has a 
 lofty stone spire. The balustrade of the N. portal forms the 
 inscription, ' O mater Dei, memento mei.' The first chapel, 
 L, has three tombs of the family of Baudean-Parabere. In 
 the 2nd 1. chapel is that of the Abbe Taury. Against the N. 
 wall is a renaissance tribune. 
 
 In the Rue S. Nicolas is the Musee, of no importance. 
 
 [For the line from Niort to Fontenay and Nantes, see above. 
 For the line from Niort to Poitiers, see ch. ii.] 
 
 [A line leads N.W. from Niort to (125 k.) Cholet, by — 
 15 k. Benet, with a fine xv. c. church. 
 
 26 k. Coitlonges-siir-Aiitise, which has a chateau of 1554, 
 used for public offices. 
 
 49 k. Breuil-B arret. On r. is the Menhir de la Croix-Crocion } 
 the upper part of which forms a little reservoir at which it is 
 believed that were-wolves (loups-garous) quench their thirst at 
 night.] 
 
 [A line leads S.W. from Niort to (67 k.) La Rochelle, by— 
 10 k. Fronte?iay-Rohan-Rohan, made a duchy for Hercule de 
 
 Rohan by Louis XIV. The church has a xn. c. porch and 
 
 tower. 
 
MELLE. 
 
 285 
 
 22 k. Mauze-sur-le-Migno7i) has a renaissance chateau in the 
 place of an ancient castle. 
 
 34 k. Surgeres (Hotel : du Commerce), has a very curious and 
 important xn. church with a splendid but mutilated facade, 
 containing seven arcades with the portal in the centre. The 
 central window has an equestrian figure on either side. The 
 central tower is composed of sixteen lofty pillars, originally 
 united by arches. In the crypt are tombs of Barons de 
 Surgeres. 
 
 49 k. Aigrefeuille, where the line to Rochefort turns off. 
 
 56 k. La Jarrie. On the 1. is the interesting romanesque 
 church of La Jarne. In the neighbourhood are a curious 
 dolmen, and the fortified church of Aytre, which was besieged 
 by the royal troops in 162 1.] 
 
 [A line leads S.E. from Niort to (76 k.) Ruffec, by — 
 
 23 k. Celles-sur- Belle. The church (with the exception of its 
 romanesque portal) was built under Louis XL, who made a 
 pilgrimage here in 1469. Being destroyed by the Huguenots 
 in 1569, it was rebuilt in the gothic style of the xvn. c. The 
 Abbaye de Genovefains, of which some ruins remain, was built 
 by the Tuscan architect Leduc, c. 1700. At Verrines-sous- 
 Celles (4k. S.) are interesting ruins of a fortified church of 
 XII. c. 
 
 28k. Melle (Hotel: Catherine), the ancient Metallum, so 
 called from its mint of Carlovingian times, has several fine 
 churches. S. Pierre is xn. c, with a cupola under the central 
 tower. vS. Hilaire has a triple nave of xn. c, and an apse with 
 radiating chapels of xi. c. The inscription, ' Facere me Ay- 
 mericus rogavit,' probably refers to Aimeric, abbot (1018-30) of 
 S. Jean d'Angely, of which S. Llilaire was a dependent priory. 
 The W. facade, flanked by towers, has three ranges of arcades. 
 The N. wall and N. portal are very richly sculptured. Entering 
 at the W., one descends from the first to the five succeeding 
 bays by nineteen steps. The walls, which have twelve arches 
 (two in each bay) are very richly sculptured. 6*. Savinten, 
 which is entirely of^xi. c, now serves as a prison. The towers 
 called Tours de VKveche are xv. c. 
 
 For the line from Melle to Ruffec see c'h. h\] 
 
286 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 213 k. Echire, has a fine transition church, much rebuilt 
 of late years, and the picturesque ruins of the Chateau du 
 Couldray-Salbart, which belonged from its foundation to 
 the Seigneurs de Parthenay, and served, in 1419, as a 
 prison to Jean V., Duke of Brittany. At 4 k. E. is the 
 Chateau de Mursay, where Mme. de Maintenon was brought 
 up by her aunt, Mme. de Neuillant. 
 
 1 On la confondit avec les domestiques ; 011 la chargea des 
 plus vils details de la maison. " Je commandais dans la basse- 
 cour," a-t-elle dit depuis, 11 et c'est par la que mon regne a com- 
 mence." Tous les matins, un loup sur le visage, pour conserver 
 son teint, un chapeau de paille sur la tete, un panier au bras, 
 une gaule a la main, elle allait garder les dindons, avec ordre de 
 ne toucher au panier, ou etait le dejeuner, qu'apres avoir appris 
 cinq quatrains de Pibrac. . . . Un jeune paysan la delivra de 
 ces humiliations en lui faisant une declaration d'amour.' — 
 Hequet 
 
 Henri IV. and Marguerite de Navarre passed some time 
 at this manor. 
 
 223 k. Champdeniers, has a church of xn. c. with a 
 crypt. The apse and the polygonal tower, with little 
 columns at the angles, are xv. c. 
 
 233 k. Mazier es-en- Gatine, is situated in the district of 
 La Gatine- — a continuation, in the Departement des Deux- 
 Se'vres, of the Bocage of La Vendee, and equally celebrated 
 in the Vendeen war. At (3 k.) Verruyes is a xn. c. church, 
 with a beautiful xv. c. chapel. At (7 k.) S. Georges-de- 
 Noisn'e is a church of xi. c, xn. c, and xvi. c. 
 
 249 k. Parthenay (Hotels : Tranchant ; des Trois Filters 
 — both indifferent), the capital of La Gatine, a picturesque 
 interesting place, and a very ancient seigneurie, raised into 
 
PAR THEN A Y. 
 
 287 
 
 a duchy for the Marechal de la Meilleraie, who bought it 
 in 1 64 1. A straight road leads from the station to the 
 place on the outskirts of the town, which is a labyrinth of 
 narrow dirty streets. The Grande Rue, winding and 
 
 PORTE DE LA CITADELLE, PARTHENAY. 
 
 rugged, has, in its upper part, the church of S. Laurent, 
 with a tall spire. The central nave, transept, and central 
 tower are xn. c, the rest xv. c. and xix. c. : a fine crypt is 
 of 1444. Lower down the street is the little Hotel de 
 Ville, facing which is the fine gate called Porte de la 
 
288 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Citadelle. Passing under this, we find, on r., the stately 
 church of S. Croix, beautiful and venerable externally, but 
 ruined by ' restoration ' within : there is a singular ribbed 
 dome at the cross. A little further, on r., are the graceful 
 ruins of the church of Notre Dame de la Couldre, which 
 served as a chapel to the chateau. Three magnificent 
 arches of the W. front remain, rich in splendid decoration. 
 
 PORTE DE ST. JACQUES, PARTHENAY. 
 
 Each of the side arches contains remnants of an equestrian 
 statue. In the garden behind are some xn. c. sepulchral 
 statues. Beyond this is a wide open space once occupied 
 by the Chateau, of which nothing remains but several of 
 the external towers overhanging the ravine of the Thouet. 
 
 Returning to the Hotel de Ville, we should descend the 
 steep way beneath it, to the lower town, chiefly composed 
 of a long rambling irregular street, in which many of the 
 
PARTHENAY. 
 
 289 
 
 houses are xv. c. and xvi. a, and some of them of timber, 
 with projecting upper storeys, or festooned with vines and 
 roses. The street ends in the Porte de S. Jacques, a noble 
 machicolated gateway at the entrance of the bridge over 
 the Thouet. An artist will certainly paint this subject with 
 the perfectly clear river, and the flotillas of ducks sailing 
 across the deep amber shadows of the bridge. In the 
 
 \ 
 
 PARTHENAY-LE- VIE LJX. 
 
 Faubourg S. Jacques is the Chapelle de P Aumonerie (late 
 
 xii. c.) Most of the ramparts were destroyed in the 
 
 xiii. a, but picturesque fragments, wreathed in creepers 
 and flowers, remain at intervals. 
 
 2 k. S.W. is the beautiful little church of Parthenay-le- 
 Vieux, of xi. c and xiij c. The central portal has two 
 lateral arcades, with tympanums containing on 1. an equestrian 
 statue ; on the r. are Samson and the lion. 
 
 *9 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 On the road from Parthenay to Bressuire is Amailloux, near 
 which artists will sketch the characteristic Chateau de Remezin, a 
 fortified farm. 
 
 [A road leads W. from Parthenay to (64 k.) Fontenay-le- 
 Comte (see above), by — 
 
 15 k. Seeondigny, with a XII. c. church. 
 
 42 k. La Chdtaigneraie, with a church of xm. c. and xv. c. 
 
 CHATEAU DE REMEZIN. 
 
 51k. Votcvent, in the valley of the Mere, with a noble church of 
 the beginning of the xi. c. partially destroyed and restored. The 
 N. portal is especially rich in fantastic sculpture. The three 
 circular apsides (xn. c.) are divided by columns in groups of 
 three together. The crypt is xn. c. The Tour de Melusine 
 (xm. c.) is a remnant of the chateau.] 
 
 265 k. S. Loup-sur-Thouet. The chateau, built by 
 Cardinal d'Escoubleau de Sourdis under Louis XIII., 
 
A IR VAULT. 
 
 291 
 
 replaces an ancient fortress of which the xv. c. keep and 
 chapel remain. S. Loup is the native place of Arouet, 
 father of Voltaire. 
 
 CHURCH OF VOUVENT. 
 
 269 k. Airvault (Hotel : des Voyageurs — with an unusually 
 pretty courtyard, clean and tolerable). There are two 
 stations-— Airvault Gare (a junction), and Airvault Ville on 
 the line to Thouars. If the train only stops at the former, 
 travellers will find themselves at 2 k. from the town, and no 
 
292 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 carriage unless written for ; the station of Airvault Ville is 
 1 nearer. 
 
 In a pretty situation, embosomed in walnut groves, is 
 the little town of Airvault, chiefly remarkable for the fine 
 
 AIRVAULT. 
 
 Poitevin church of S. Pierre^ which belonged to an abbey 
 founded in 971. The tower, with long lancet windows, has 
 a stone spire. The facade, retouched in the xin. c, was 
 terribly mutilated by the ferocity of the Protestants in the 
 xvi. c. In the central of its three portals, the twelve elders 
 
AIRVAULT. 
 
 293 
 
 of the Apocalypse are represented. The arcade on 1. 
 contains the remains of an equestrian statue. A vestibule, 
 of three aisles of two bays, precedes the nave which has 
 seven bays. The central aisle and the choir were revaulted 
 at the end of the xn. c, and are remarkable for the exquisite 
 sculpture of their ribs and bosses. ' The three apsides were 
 fortified in the xv. c. In the N. transept is a curious xn. c. 
 tomb decorated with figures of saints, said by some to be 
 that of Heldeardix, founder of the abbey ; by others that of 
 Pierre, a sainted abbot. There are some remains of the 
 Chateau on the hill to the N. From the Place du Mmage, 
 a staircase leads to a subterranean fountain. 
 
 1 k. S.W., between the two stations, is the curious Pont 
 de Vemay, over the Thouet, built by the monks in the xi. c, 
 and perhaps the finest bridge of the middle-ages remaining 
 in France. It is a charming spot. The romanesque arches 
 of the old bridge are repeated in the clear water which they 
 cross, and the rocky meadows are shaded by fine walnut 
 trees. 
 
 [For the line from Airvault to Moncontour by S. Jouin-de- 
 Marnes, see chap.ii.] 
 
 298 k. S. Varent. At 7 k. E. is S. Genereux (for which 
 see ch. i.) and 7 k. N. of S. Genereux, La-Butte-de-Montcoue, 
 at the foot of which is a group of four dolmens. A bloody 
 battle was fought here, Sept. 9, 1033, between Geoffroy Martel, 
 Comte d'Anjou, and Guillaume le Gros, Due d'Aquitaine. 
 
 311k. Thouars, on the line from Tours to Bressuire 
 (see ch. i.) 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PARIS AND ORLEANS TO THE SOUTH BY VIERZON, 
 CHATEAUROUX, ARGENTON (LE DORAT, MONT- 
 MORILLON), LIMOGES (S. JUNIEN, LA ROCHE- 
 FOUCAULD). HENCE BY PERIGUEUX (SARLAT, 
 MONPA ZIER ) , AND MONSEMPRON-LIBOS (CAHORS) 
 TO A GEN: OR BY S. YRIEUX, BRIVE (UZERCHE, 
 TULLE), ROCAMADOUR, FIGEAC, VILLEFRANCHE, 
 NAJAC (S. ANTONIN, ALBI) TO TOULOUSE. 
 
 r I the architect and artist this central district is per- 
 
 JL haps the most interesting in France, and it is far 
 less known by them than it deserves to be : the scenery 
 of the Correze, Creuse, and Dordogne, is also full of all the 
 beauty that rocky hills, clear tossing rivers, and ancient 
 forests can give. 
 
 T2i k. (from Paris) Orleans, see ch. i. 
 132 k. S. Cyr-en-Val. A little N. is the Chateau de la 
 Source (so called from the source of the Loiret, which rises 
 in its grounds), which was inhabited by Lord Bolingbroke, 
 who received Voltaire there in 1722. After Waterloo, the 
 Prince d'Eckmiihl made this his headquarters. 3 k. (r. of 
 the line) is the xvi. c. Chateau de Cormes. 
 
 143 k. La-Ferte-S.-Aubin (or S. Michel). The Chateau 
 de Lowendal was built, 1635-50, from designs of Mansart. 
 Its offices were added in 1748 by the Marechal de Lowen- 
 
LA-FER TE-BEA UHARNAIS, 
 
 295 
 
 dal. The line now crosses the melancholy plain of La 
 Sologne. 
 
 159 k. La-Motte-Beuvron. The chateau (xvi. c. and 
 xvii. a), which belonged to the family of Durport-Duras, 
 was purchased and restored by Prince Louis-Napoleon, in 
 1849. I n T ^7° it was turned into an agricultural establish- 
 ment. 
 
 VIERZON. 
 
 15 k. E. is La-Ferte-BeauharnaiS) with a chateau which 
 belonged to Prince Eugene. The church is of xn. c, xm. c, and 
 
 xv. c. 
 
 165 k. Nouan-le-Fuzelier. 
 
 1 ok. W. is Pierrefitte, where the church has good xv. c. and. 
 
 xvi. c. glass. 8 k. W. is 6*. Vidtre or Tremblevif. In the crypt 
 of the church (xi. c, xn. c, and xvi. c.) is the tomb of S. Viatre. 
 On one of the buttresses grows a young aspen — a relic, it is said, 
 
296 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 of the great aspen which grew from the coffin of the saint and 
 encircled the choir of the church with its branches. On a hillock 
 in the village is an arcaded gothic building, with an altar, called 
 
 le Reposoir de S. Vidtre. 
 
 GATEWAY OF VIERZON. 
 
 177k. Salbris. The gothic church has good glass and 
 a xvii. c. retable. 
 
 200 k. Vierzon (Hotel : du Boeuj — good). This quiet 
 little place is very attractive in spring. It is said to be a 
 manufacturing town, but the manufactories are covered to 
 their roofs with wistaria, and the little river Cher rushes 
 
ISSOUDUN. 
 
 297 
 
 quite clear through its bridge and between islets ablaze with 
 lilacs and Judas trees. There is only one church, unusual 
 in so large a place — Vierzon ville and Vierzon village — but 
 it stands well on the edge of the hill, with a long staircase 
 leading up to it. The interior has a lofty nave, ending in a 
 very low apse, and side aisles divided by intersecting arches. 
 Behind the church a quaint gateway leads towards the 
 mounds of the demolished castle. 
 
 [A line leads E. to (32 k.) Bourges (see South-Eastern France, 
 ch. iv.), by (15 k.) Mehun-sur-Yevre, which has a ruined castle 
 of xiii. c. and xiv. c. (where Charles VII. often lived, and where 
 he died), and a fine church. 
 
 'This romanesque church has a narrow engaged western 
 tower, the lower part of which forms a kind of porch ; its arches 
 are pointed, with square orders. The nave is wide and un- 
 vaulted ; it has round-headed windows, ornamented externally 
 with shafts. The chancel arch is round, and the chancel has the 
 cylindrical and semi-domical vault. It is apsidal with an aisle, 
 from which branch out apsidal chapels, besides which there is a 
 north apse, forming a kind of transept, but diverging obliquely. 
 The south transept is flamboyant.' — J. L. Petit.~\ 
 
 215 k. Chery-Lury. Lury has a picturesque gate and 
 castle of xii. c. A little N. is the small xn. c. church of 
 Mereau. 
 
 219 k. Reuilly. The church has a crypt, said to be 
 Carlovingian. La Grand? Maison is a curious house of the 
 Renaissance. 2 k. S. is the Chateau de la Fer te- Reuilly , 
 rebuilt by Mansart in 1659. 
 
 236 k. Issoudun (Hotel : de France— good), the Gaulish 
 Uxellodunum, where the buildings of the old town are well 
 grouped upon a little hill. Its name indicates, by its 
 termination, a Celtic origin. On one side of the wide 
 
298 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 market-place rises a fine old gate, now used as a prison. 
 Through this you reach the Hotel de. Ville, where the 
 porter will admit visitors to an old-fashioned garden of 
 clipped yews and terraces, containing the Tour Blanche, the 
 lofty cylindrical keep of the castle, which was successfully 
 besieged in 11 95 for Richard Coeur de Lion. The ground- 
 
 1 
 
 ISSOUDUN. 
 
 floor, of the time of Philippe-Auguste, has a number of 
 inscriptions left by prisoners. Dating from a century later, 
 the first floor has a beautiful vaulted ceiling, and retains its 
 chimney and its well in the corner. Hence a staircase 
 winds to the battlements, from which there is a wide view 
 over the town and its perfectly flat surroundings. Artists 
 will find a charming subject for a picture at the old Hospice, 
 where the brown buildings and their gothic bridge are 
 
chAteauroux. 
 
 299 
 
 reflected in the clear river, and masses of alders and quince- 
 trees dip into the stream ; a little mill makes its foaming 
 splash, and in the foreground are still shallows, where the 
 soldiers, watering their horses, leave long ripplets of silver 
 behind them. 
 
 10 k. E. of Issoudun is the church of Segry, with a good 
 romanesque portal and two xn. c. reliquaries. 22 k. W. of 
 Issoudun, on the road to (44 k.) Valencay (see ch. i.), is Vatan, 
 where S. Laurian, bishop of Seville, is said to have been 
 martyred. The church is XI. c, xn. c, and xvi. c, with glass of 
 1539. La Chantrerie is a house of xvn. c. 8 k. N. is the curious 
 romanesque church of .S. Oustrille. 
 
 248 k. Neuvy-PaillouX) has a romanesque tower. 
 
 3 k. S. 6*. Fanste, has good xvi. c. glass, and the old Chateau 
 de la Ferte. In the commune are a tumulus and la Mardelle- 
 Sainte — one of the curious excavations of unknown origin, which 
 are found in great numbers in this part of Berri, and which are 
 supposed once to have been inhabited. Here, tradition tells 
 that, as those who had stolen the relics of S. Fauste were bringing 
 them to the parish church, they were unable to move their car 
 any further, and, whilst seized with agonizing pains, beheld the 
 saint rise from his bier and bury himself in the Sainte Mardelle. 
 Since then the hollow has been the object of an annual pilgrimage 
 for those afflicted with acute pains, especially for rheumatic 
 patients. 
 
 263 k. Chdteauroux (Hotel : de France — indifferent), a 
 pretty town upon the Indre, was the native place of Otho, 
 the companion of S. Louis in the crusades. The two 
 large churches, S. Andre and Notre Dame, are both modern. 
 Close to the latter are the remains of the old Chateau Raoul 
 (which has bequeathed its name to the place), containing 
 the prefecture and public offices. Clemence de Maille, 
 Princesse de Conde, was imprisoned here for many years 
 
3oo SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 by the will of her husband, Le Grand Conde, and here 
 she died. Near a wooden bridge is the pretty disused 
 gothic Chapelle de S. Marc. 
 
 ABBEY OF DEOLS. 
 
 From a square containing a statue of General Bertrand, 
 who was a native of Chateauroux (where he died in 1844), 
 an avenue leads to (i^k.) Deols, the ancient Vicus Dolensis, 
 afterwards known as Le Bourg Dieu, from its famous Bene- 
 dictine abbey, founded by Ebbon le Noble in 917. At that 
 
DEOLS. 
 
 301 
 
 time Deols was the capital of Bas-Berri, but the abbatial 
 town has perished, as the lay-town of Chateau Raoul 
 has increased. The magnificent abbey church, which was 
 consecrated three times — in 102 1, 1107, and 1162 — was 
 
 PORTE DE L'HORLOGE, DEOLS. 
 
 entire till 1830, but was sold for its materials in 1844. 
 Only one of its beautiful towers, surmounted by a low 
 conical stone spire, now remains entire, and rises finely 
 above the water-meadows at the meeting of the Indre 
 and Angolin. Amongst the modern constructions near, are 
 
302 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 many fragments of the buildings of the abbey, called in 
 the middle-ages ' La Mamelle de Saint Pierre,' but 
 suppressed by Gregory XV. in 1622, on account of the 
 immorality of its monks. In the village an exceedingly 
 picturesque gate, Porte de PHorloge, remains, crowned 
 by machicolations and flanked by huge round towers. 
 Passing under this, we reach the Church of S. Ettenne, 
 of the xv. c, with a solid low Angevine tower. Here 
 the crypt contains the curious tomb of ' S. Ludre ' (Eudes, 
 son of Leotalde), an early Christian sarcophagus, covered 
 with reliefs of genii and hunting scenes, and containing 
 bones much resorted to for the cure of fever. At the 
 end of the N. aisle is an image of the Virgin, which is 
 a relic of the abbey, and is reputed miraculous. Its 
 miracles are attested in some curious xvi. c. pictures, 
 and a Latin inscription tells that 1 a soldier, seeing this 
 image of the Virgin holding her Son in her arms, angrily 
 threw a stone at the child ; blood flowed from the marble, 
 but death punished the offender.' 
 
 20 k. W., in the direction of (42 k.) Valencay, is Levroux 
 (Hotel : dn Lion d'Or), the ancient Gabbatum, which possessed 
 a great temple, destroyed by S. Martin. The place received 
 the name of Leprosum or Levronx in the middle-ages, from 
 the cure by S. Martin of one of its chief citizens from leprosy. 
 The site of the palace of the Roman governors is occupied by 
 the church of 67 Sylvain, of xn. c. and xm. c. The tympanum 
 of the portal represents the Last Judgment. The four bays of 
 the central nave have lofty ribbed vaulting in six compartments. 
 The side-aisles have cradle vaulting. The central nave ends in 
 an apse, and the aisles in square chapels. The vaulting of the 
 apse rests on statues of the four special saints of the place — 
 Sylvain, Coruscat, Sylvestre, and Rhodene : at the keystone is 
 Christ in benediction. Under the choir is the crypt, which 
 
 V 
 
NO H ANT. 
 
 contained, in the middle-ages, the body of S. Sylvain (now at 
 Celle Brnere, but the head remains here), supposed to be the 
 same as Zaccheus, originally preserved in an oratory, which was 
 annually visited by S. Martin. 
 
 Near the church is a curious timber house, with the arms of 
 France, used as a hospice for pilgrims going to Spain. The old 
 Porte de Champagne is now a prison. On the W. of the town 
 is the Fontaine de S. Sylvain, whither parents bring children 
 attacked by convulsions. At the foot of the hill which bears 
 the ruins of the chateau, is the Champ de la Tibie } a Roman 
 burial-place. 
 
 [For the line W. from Chateauroux to Tours by Loches see 
 ch. i.] 
 
 [A line leads E. to (105 k.) Monlucon, by — 
 31k. Nohant, where the chateau is of great interest as the 
 beloved home of George Sand (Mme. Dudevant) — 
 
 ' Je dirai quelques mots de cette terre de Nohant ou j'ai ete 
 elevee, ou j'ai passe presque toute ma vie, et ou je souhaiterais 
 pouvoir mourir. 
 
 1 Le revenu en est peu considerable, l'habitation est simple et 
 commode. Le pays est sans beaute, bien que situe au centre de 
 la vallee Noire, qui est un vaste et admirable site. Mais precise- 
 ment cette position centrale dans la partie la plus nivelee et la 
 moins elevee du pays, dans une large veine de terres a froment, 
 nous prive des accidents varies et du coup d'oeil etendu dont on 
 jouit sur les hauteurs et sur les pentes. Nons avons pourtant de 
 grands horizons bleus et quelque mouvement de terrain autour 
 de nous, et, en comparaison de la Beauce et de la Brie, c'est une 
 vue magnifique ; mais, en comparaison des ravissants details 
 que nous trouvons en descendant jusqu'au lit cache de la riviere, 
 a un quart de lieue de notre porte, et des riantes perspectives 
 que nous embrassons en montant sur les coteaux qui nous 
 dominent, c'est un paysage nu et borne. 
 
 ' Quoiqu'il en soit, il nous plait et nous l'aimons. Ces sillons 
 de terres brunes et grasses, ces gros noyers tout ronds, ces petits 
 chemins ombrages, ces buissons en desordre, ce cimetiere plein 
 d'herbes, ce petit clocher couvert de tuiles, ce porche de bois 
 
304 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 brut, ces grands ormeaux delabres, ces maisonnettes de paysan 
 entourees de leurs jolis enclos, de leurs berceaux de vigne et de 
 leurs vertes chenevrieres, tout cela devient doux a la vue et cher 
 a la pensee quand on a vecu si longtemps dans ce milieu calme, 
 humble et silencieux. 
 
 ' Le chateau, si chateau il y a (car ce n'est qu'une mediocre 
 maison du temps de Louis XVI.), touche au hameau et se pose 
 au bord de la place champetre sans plus de faste qu'une habita- 
 tion villageoise. Les feux de la commune, au nombre de deux 
 ou trois cents, sont fort disperses dans la campagne ; mais il s'en 
 trouve une vingtaine qui se resserrent aupres de la maison, comme 
 qui dirait porte a porte, et il faut vivre d'accord avec le paysan, 
 qui est aise, independant, et qui entre chez vous comme chez 
 lui. Nous nous en sommes toujours bien trouves, et, bien qu'en 
 general les proprietaires aises se plaignent du voisinage des 
 menageots, il n'y a pas tant a se plaindre des enfants, des poules 
 et des chevres de ces voisins-la, qu'il n'y a se louer de leur 
 obligeance et de leur bon caractere.' — George Sand, i Hist, de 
 ma Vie' 
 
 Mme. Dudevant is buried near her grandmother Mme. Dupin 
 (Marie Aurore de Saxe) in the churchyard of Nohant. 
 
 37 k. La Chdtre (Hotel : de V Europe). The church of 
 S. Germain is xi. c. — xvi. c. The Hotel de Ville was an ancient 
 convent. 
 
 ' Cite ancienne et affranchie anciennement, la Chatre est 
 placee dans un vallon fertile et delicieux, qui s'ouvre tout entier 
 aux regards quand on a gagne la lisiere des plateaux environ- 
 nants. Par la route de Chateauroux, a peine a-t-on laisse 
 derriere soi une chaumiere au nom romantique (la Maison du 
 diable), qu'on descend une longue chaussee bordee de peupliers, 
 avec un ravin de vignes et de prairies a droite et a gauche, et de 
 la on embrasse d'un coup d'oeil la petite ville, sombre dans la 
 verdure, dominee d'un cote par une vieille tour carree qui fut 
 le chateau seigneurial des Lombaud, et qui sert aujourd'hui de 
 prison ; de l'autre par un lourd clocher bien reluisant, dont la 
 base, servant de porche a l'eglise, est un fort beau morceau 
 d'architecture antique et massive. On entre dans la ville par un 
 
LA CHATRE. 
 
 vieux pont sur l'lndre, ou un rustique assemblage de vieilles 
 maisons et de vieux saules offre une composition pittoresque. 
 
 1 Sa salete gratuite et volontaire n'inspire que le degout, mais, 
 sans cette affreuse malproprete, la Chatre serait un sejour agrea- 
 ble. La plus belle rue, la rue Royale, est, en realite, la plus 
 laide ; elle est sans caractere. Mais le vieux quartier est pitto- 
 resque, et conserve quelques-unes de ces maisons de bois de la 
 renaissance, si elegantes et d'une si belle couleur. La ville, jetee 
 en pente, monte toujours vers la prison, et des rues etroites, qui 
 serpentent entre des rangees de pignons inegaux envahis par la 
 mousse et des pigeons, vont appuyer le flanc de l'antique cite a 
 un ravin coupe a pic, au fond duquel l'lndre dessine ses frais 
 meandres dans un paysage etroit mais ravissant. Ce cote-la est 
 remarquable, et quand on sort de la ville par la promenade 
 de l'abbaye, pour suivre le petit chemin sablonneux de la 
 Renardiere, on arrive aux Couperies, un des sites les plus 
 delicieux du pays, au dela duquel on peut se perdre dans un 
 terrain mine par les eaux, dechire de ravines charmantes, et 
 seme d'accidents pittoresques. 
 
 ' J'ai decrit la Chatre, parcequ'au fond je l'aime, et je l'aime 
 parce que mon pere y eut des amis dont les enfants sont mes 
 amis.' — George Sand, 1 Hist, de via Vie' 
 
 About 5 k. N., near Lourouer-S. Laurent, is the fine re- 
 naissance Chateau d Ars, attributed to Diane de Poitiers. 12 k. 
 S., in the direction of Aigurande, is the fine xvi. c. Chateau de 
 Lalande. 
 
 The extraordinary church of Neuvy S. Sepulcre (see later) 
 may be visited from La Chatre. A little N. of the road thither 
 is the striking and well-preserved xv. c. Chateau de Sarzay. 
 
 10 k. S.E. is 6*. Severe, which has a very fine xm. c. castle, 
 taken from the English by Du Guesclin in 1372. A double 
 fortified gateway is xiv. c. ; a beautiful renaissance cross of 
 1543. 
 
 50 k. Champillet- Urfiers. 
 
 [Hence a branch line of 38 k. leads to Lavaud-Franche, on 
 the line from S. Sulpice-Lauriere to Montlucon, by (32 k.) 
 Botcssac, a very ancient town in a most picturesque situation, 
 
 20 
 
3°6 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 with a castle built by Leocade of Deols, containing rooms in- 
 habited by Zizim. iok. from Boussac, near Toulx S. Croix, are 
 remains of a great Celtic city, with a triple line of fortification.] 
 
 57 k. Chdteati?neillant, has a romanesque church with seven 
 apsides ; the chateau is xv. c. and xvi. c. 
 
 68 k. Culan, has a ruined chateau of xm. c. and xvi. c] 
 
 289 k. Chabenet. The restored chateau is xv. c. 2 k. 
 W. is the xv. c. chapel of Pont Chietien. Near this is the 
 picturesque cascade of the Saut de Loup. 
 
 294k. Argenton (Hotel: de la Promenade— good and 
 clean, with pleasant rooms on the Creuse : a good centre 
 for artists and fishermen). The old town, which occupies 
 the site of the station Argentomagus, is picturesque, 
 with its gabled houses and wooden galleries overhanging 
 the Creuse. The magnificent castle, demolished by 
 Louis XIV., had eleven towers, each of which bore a name. 
 Over the gateway of that on the N. — Tour d'Heracle — 
 was inscribed, ' Heraclum veni et vici.' At one end of 
 the further bridge is a curious old building, now called the 
 prison, and at the other a beautiful niche with an image of 
 the Virgin. 
 
 2 k. (beyond the railway) is Marcel, whose curious fortified 
 church and lofty tower, crowned by an overhanging wooden 
 gallery, is a landmark for a great distance. The interior has 
 only a single nave, but the choir has side aisles, and ends in 
 three apses. Its handsome renaissance stall-work is shut in 
 by screens and rood-loft, like a Spanish coro. Under the centre 
 of the choir is a crypt. There are some small remains of a 
 Roman theatre here. 
 
 Argenton is little known to Englishmen, but all French tourists 
 stop there ; for what Frenchman has not read George Sand, and 
 thus become familiar with Gargilesse, one of the most picturesque 
 
LA C REUSE. 
 
 villages in the district, which the historian, M. Rayral, describes 
 with reason as 1 la Highland du Berry ' ? The excursion of the 
 Creuse to Gargilesse, Chateaubrun, and Le Crozant is of about 
 50k., and will occupy a whole day; a carriage costs 25 fr. 
 Most charming is the drive, especially on an early May morn- 
 
 CHURCH OF S. MARCEL. 
 
 ing — first by green pastures, amid which the Creuse flows 
 through a rocky bed fringed with golden broom ; then by deep 
 lanes overhung by walnuts in their young red foliage, and 
 poplars in their brightest green ; by young vines just making 
 their first appearance amid the red sorrel which always seems to 
 overrun the vineyards in this part of France ; by slopes bright 
 
3 o8 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 with broom, breaking into brown rocks near the river ; then 
 close to the rushing stream, broken into white eddies by the 
 poplar stems. All the little incidents of the wayside, too, will 
 be found to present a succession of pictures : a man in a blouse 
 and a woman in a bright blue apron, both in sabots, carrying 
 large baskets of eggs to market ; carts driven by old women in 
 white mob-caps and blue gowns ; a woman nursing her baby 
 whilst tending her goats, who are nibbling the dwarf wild 
 pear-trees ; a nun driving her abbess in a donkey cart ; a party 
 of labourers in blouses, with their dinners slung to the pickaxes 
 upon their shoulders, singing as they walk. 
 
 i La classique et solennelle cantilene des laboureurs, qui 
 resume et caracterise toute la poesie claire et tranquille du 
 Berry/ — G. Sand, ' Hist, de ?na Vie! 
 
 After a long ascent we look down upon an amphitheatre of 
 grey cliffs sloping abruptly to the Creuse, but we are now so 
 high up that we see far beyond them into the delicate pink and 
 blue distances of the far uplands, amid which the fortified church 
 tower of S. Marcel is conspicuous. In the depth a little cascade 
 foams white through the gloom. A little Switzerland, as George 
 Sand says, reveals itself in the heart of a country which has 
 hitherto given no sign of mountain beauty. On the near pro- 
 montory the village and church of Le Pin nestle amongst their 
 fruit trees, and look at the similar village and church of Saumon, 
 separated from them by a huge chasm, through which the river 
 flows into the shade of the black cliffs. 
 
 Passing through Le Pin, we enter upon a rocky terrace 
 overlooking the gorge in which George Sand used to bathe, 
 and where four ladies — a mother, her daughter, and two nieces 
 — were drowned in 1883, whilst bathing from the farm close 
 by. They had been warned, but could see no danger in the 
 clear water with its sandy bed, and were sucked into a 
 whirlpool under a cliff, which now bears a little obelisk to their 
 memory. 
 
 Now we turn inland, and, in an upland hollow, surrounded 
 by stony hills, we find Gargilesse. A second amphitheatre of hills 
 rises behind the first, so that the valley is sheltered on all sides, 
 but a number of streams bursting from the rocks keep up an 
 
GARGILESSE. 
 
 eternal freshness. A nest of houses is grouped in and around 
 the mass of rocks with which the ruins of the castle are inter- 
 mingled, and which themselves enfold a beautiful romanesque 
 church. The greater part of the village, through which a tiny 
 brook tumbles noisily, is built below the castle, along the edge 
 of the ravine, and this is so steep that from the upper road we 
 look down the chimneys of the houses below. The old cruciform 
 church has a dome under its central tower, very narrow side 
 aisles, and three apses. In the central apse of the shadowy 
 
 GARGILESSE. 
 
 interior xv. c. frescc ^s represent the Redeemer in glory, with two 
 adoring angels and the Madonna. Beneath is a crypt with three 
 chapels, and, at the head of the step's leading to this, a beautiful 
 statue upon an altar-tomb represents a knight with a sword by 
 his side and a leopard at his feet. Its inscription narrates that 
 it commemorates William de Nolac, who died in the year of the 
 Lord 1266, upon the Sunday after the festival of All Saints ; but 
 not very long ago this statue was honoured as that of a saint, 
 and its features bear the marks of the files used to scrape off the 
 stone which barren women found it exceedingly efficacious to 
 drink in a glass of water. Of late years, however, owing to the 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 exertions of the cure, the figure has only been shown under the 
 commonplace designation of 4 lentrepreneur de batiment' 
 
 Close under the E. end of the church lies the modern chateau, 
 built like an abbey in the last century. The ancient gateway, 
 flanked by two towers, still serves as its approach, and its walls 
 descend abruptly to the torrent. 
 
 1 Nul chateau n'a une situation plus etrangement mysterieuse 
 
 CHURCH OF GARGILESSE. 
 
 et romantique. Un seul grand arbre ombrage la petite place du 
 bourg, qui, d'un cote, domine la precipice, et de l'autre, se pare 
 naturellement d'un enorme bloc isole, d'une forme et d'une 
 couleur excellentes. Arbre, place, ravin, herse, eglise, chateau 
 et rocher, tout cela se tient et forme, au centre du bourg, un 
 tableau charmant et singulier qui ne ressemble qu'a lui-meme.' — 
 George Sand. 
 
 Many of the houses in the village are of the xiv. c. or xv. c, 
 and have walls four feet thick and windows with deep em- 
 
GAR GILESSE. 
 
 3" 
 
 brasures: one house especially is a good specimen of the 
 Renaissance. Every one in the village, as indeed in all this 
 part of France, however miserable the hovel they live in, is 
 monsieur or ma dame. Every one is a proprietor, though a very 
 small one. They can all talk of ??iy house, my garden, my 
 vineyard. The different families live so near each other, and 
 so entirely removed from every one else, that they see each 
 other at all hours of the day, and the children are brought 
 up together like a flock of pigeons. Every Sunday in summer 
 the whole population takes to the river like ducks, swims, 
 plunges, and teaches its children to throw themselves into 
 the deep water from the top of the rocks, or to fish with 
 their hands under the great stones of the river. After- 
 wards a joyous partition is made of the fish which has been 
 caught, and they go home to enjoy all but the best, which 
 are sold at Argenton, when there are no strangers in the 
 village. In the evening they dance on the castle hill in 
 the bourree, which, though long and monotonous, is full of 
 character. 
 
 ' Quelque rustiquement bati que soit ce village, son vieux 
 chateau perche sur le ravin et son eglise romane d'un tres-beau 
 style, fraichement repar^e par les soins du gouvernement, lui 
 donnent un aspect comfortable et seigneurial. La fertilite du 
 pays, la riviere poissonneuse, l'abondance des vaches laitieres 
 et de volailles a bon marche, assurent une nourriture saine au 
 voyageur. Les gites propres sont encore rares, mais les habi- 
 tants, naturellement hospitaliers et obligeants, commencent a 
 s'arranger pour accueillir convenablement leurs hotes. 
 
 ' Une fois installe chez ces braves gens, on n'a que l'embarras 
 du choix pour les promenades interessantes et delicieuses. En 
 remontant le cours de la Creuse par des sentiers pittoresques, 
 on trouve, a chaque pas, un site enchanteur ou solennel. Tantot 
 le rocker du Moine, grand prisme a formes basaltiques, qui 
 se mire dans les eaux paisibles ; tantot le roc des Cerisiers, 
 decoupure grandiose qui surplombe le torrent et que 1 on ne 
 franchit pas sans peine quand les eaux sont grosses.' — George 
 Sand, ' Promenades atitour d'un Village! 
 
 Life is very cheap at Gargilesse. When a house is for sale, 
 
312 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 which is not very often, a very tolerable residence and a plot of 
 ground in this lovely situation may be bought for about ^25. 
 Half of one of the double whitewashed cottages, in the very 
 centre of the village life, with a steep roof, and stone steps 
 leading to its door, was that where George Sand lived, loved, 
 and wrote. The landlady of the little inn (1890) remembers all 
 about her, and was the Madame Rosalie of the Pro??tenades 
 autour dun Village, 
 
 About 4 k. beyond Gargilesse, the tourist should send on his 
 carriage to meet him at the Pont des Piles, and turn down a lane 
 to the r. to Chateaubrun. The castle, with its fine xm. c. keep, 
 soon appears, but there is no admittance : ' Defence d'entrer sous 
 aucun pretexte, de visiter ces mines' ; however, they are just as 
 well seen outside the gates, and the view of the brown tower and 
 ivy-hung wall, with the road winding through rocks and broom 
 into the gorge below, and the wooded hills enfolding the valley, 
 leaves nothing to be desired. George Sand tells how the Marquis 
 of Gargilesse bought the castle in her time, with its vast en- 
 closure, its great gateway with its double portcullis, its vast guard- 
 room with its huge chimney, its formidable keep, 125 feet high, 
 overlooking one of the most beautiful sites in France ; its dark 
 dungeons, the broken ruins of the renaissance manor-house with 
 its sculptured friezes, and all for ^100. 
 
 Below the castle is that ravine of the Creuse which is so fully 
 described by George Sand, which was the scene of such happy 
 picnics, which possesses such exquisite effects of light and shade, 
 of rugged rock and tumbling water, and where such wonderful 
 butterflies are to be found. But the way back to the mill of 
 Gargilesse by the winding river and the rocks called Les Cherons, 
 La Grand Roche, and Le Roc de Cerisier, takes about four hours 
 to accomplish. 
 
 ' Ce qui n'a pas du tout d'histoire, c'est le rivage agreste de 
 cette partie de la Creuse encaissee entre deux murailles de 
 micaschiste et de granit, depuis les rochers Martin jusqu'aux 
 ruines de Chateaubrun. La n'existe aucune voie de communica- 
 tion qui ait pu servir aux petites armees des anciens seigneurs. 
 Le torrent capricieux et tortueux, trop herisse de rochers quand 
 les eaux sont basses, trop impetueux quand elles s'engouffrent 
 
LA C RE USE. 
 
 313 
 
 dans leurs talus escarpes, n'a jamais ete navigable. On peut 
 done s'y promener a l'abri de ces reflexions, tristes et humiliantes 
 pour la nature humaine, que font naitre la plupart des lieux a 
 souvenirs. Ces petits sentiers, tantot si charmants quand ils se 
 deroulent sur le sable fin du rivage ou parmi les grandes herbes 
 
 CHATEAUBRUN. 
 
 odorantes des prairies, tantot si rudes quand il faut les chercher 
 de roche en roche dans un chaos d'ecroulements pittoresques, 
 n'ont ete traces que par des petits pieds des troupeaux et de 
 leurs patours. C'est une Arcadie, dans toute la force du mot. . . 
 Une journee d' Arcadie au coeur de la France, c'est tout ce que 
 Ton peut demander au temps ou nous vivons.' — George Sand 
 1 Promenades autour d'un Village.'' 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Turning to the 1. below Chateaubrun by a rather obscure path 
 through the wood, one may soon reach the Pont des Piles, where 
 the carriage should be waiting. Hence a delightful drive through 
 the forest leads to (4 k.) Eguzon, and (8 k. further) to Le Crozant, 
 the finest scene in this land of beauty. Here the little inn, La 
 Bonne Re?tcontre des Touristes, is kept by Madame Lepinat, 
 truly a 1 brave femme ' in the highest sense, and a very handsome 
 old woman, who has often been painted by her artistic guests ; 
 and a capital picture she would make, with her maid and grand- 
 children, all in white caps and sabots, in the bright-tiled kitchen, 
 where every necessary of life is suspended from the beams. A 
 number of sketches of the neighbourhood, from the masterly 
 hands of M. Douzel, are let into the panelling of the tourist's 
 bedroom, and the signboard is by the same artist. The food is 
 good, but rough ; ' pain gris,' eggs and ham, cream cheese made 
 in the house, country wine and excellent coffee, are all that can be 
 hoped for, unless ordered long before. 
 
 The huge scattered ruins of the castle of Le Crozant occupy 
 the rugged summit of a promontory of black cliffs above the 
 confluence of the rivers Creuse and Sedelle, which almost 
 surround it. Only the piers of the drawbridge remain, but the 
 great square tower, which was the residence of its lords, 
 Lusignan, Comtes de la Marche, the keep with its dungeon, 
 and the circular Tour de Renard, containing an octangular 
 room and a staircase, are tolerably perfect. Archaeologists 
 will trace out many more of the buildings, but to ordinary 
 travellers there will be a greater charm in the carpet of 
 thyme and saxifrage which covers the slopes. Grander, too, 
 than any view from Rhineland castle is that from the tower 
 at the end of the promontory, which projects over the very 
 edge of the last angular precipice, below which the roaring 
 Sedelle unites its waters with the Creuse. Some of the other 
 towers also stand grandly along the edge of the savage rocks, 
 which seem to rise to meet them in fantastic natural pinnacles. 
 
 The one still covered tower, which overhangs the edge of the 
 precipice, serves as a sheepfold for the goats of the old woman 
 in white cap and blue cloak, who rents the ruins as a farm, and 
 sits everlastingly at the entrance to demand a fee of 50 c. from all 
 visitors, delighting, in spite of her great age, in her open-air life 
 
LE CROZANT. 
 
 315 
 
 here, always alone, in heat or cold, shine or shower. George 
 Sand describes just such an old woman in this neighbourhood, 
 whose son, who respected and loved her, having made a fortune, 
 persuaded her to come and live with him in the town ; but she 
 soon died there of ennui, for comfort and repose are fatal to those 
 who have led from infancy 1 la vie libre et reveuse au grand air.' 
 
 On the highest part of the hill is the interesting simple church 
 of Le Crozant. The low heavy pillars of its choir have rich 
 capitals. There is a font of admirable design, and the nave has 
 pews like those of an old unrestored village church in England. 
 
 LE CROZANT. 
 
 One may return to Argenton by a rather shorter way, passing 
 the old fortified manor of Prune au Pot, where Henri IV. was a 
 guest. It belonged to the family of Pot of Rhodes till 1484, when 
 it was transmitted by marriage to that of Montmorency. 
 
 [Another excursion which may be made from Argenton is that 
 to (24 k., in the direction of Le Chatre) the very curious round 
 church (1045) of Neuvy S. Sepulcre, which was intended by 
 its founder, Geoffroy, Vicomte de Bourges, as a reproduction 
 of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, to which he had made a 
 pilgrimage. 
 
3i6 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 ' L'eglise de Neuvy-S.-Sepulcre etait en grande veneration 
 pendant les xi e , xn e , et xm e siecles, car, en 1257, le Cardinal 
 Eudes de Chateauroux, eveque de Tusculum, envoya de Viterbe, 
 au chapitre de Neuvy, un fragment du tombeau de Jesus-Christ et 
 quelques gouttes de son sang. On placa ces reliques au centre 
 de la rotonde, une sorte de grotte, a l'imitation du tombeau du 
 Sauveur a Jerusalem. Cette grotte existait encore en 1806, 
 epoque a laquelle un cure de Neuvy la detruisait, parcequ'elle 
 masquait l'autel au fond de la nef.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 There is an old feudal gateway at Neuvy. To the r. of the 
 road to Le Chatre, at Fougerolles, is a xvi. c. stone cross. 
 
 A few k. N. of Neuvy, at Lys-S.- Georges, is a chateau which 
 belonged to the famous Jacques Coeur, where Ludovico Sforza, 
 Duke of Milan, was imprisoned in 1501.] 
 
 [About 8 k. N. of Argenton is the Chateau de Rocherolles, 
 with a well-preserved chapel. Near this also is the fine old 
 Chateau de Prunget, with a square xiv. c. keep crowned with 
 tourelles and machicolations. A little W. of this is the ruined 
 Chateau de Mazieres, with a five-storeyed keep and a chapel with 
 traces of xvi. c. paintings. The xvi. c. Chateau de Broutay has 
 been restored. All these may well occupy a day.] 
 
 [A line leads W. from Argenton to Le Blanc, by — 
 
 10 k. £*. Gaultier, on the Creuse. The church, founded by its 
 patron saint, is a curious building of the xi. c, having massive 
 pillars with quaintly sculptured capitals and a square xn. c. tower. 
 12 k. N. is the romanesque abbey-church of Meobecq, with xv. c. 
 frescoes. The nave was ruined by the Protestants. At Luzeret 
 (7 k. S.) are considerable ruins of the priory of Lieu-Dieu. 
 
 15 k. Chitray. The church of Rivarennes, on the 1. bank of 
 the Creuse, is romanesque, with a gothic chapel. The line passes 
 (r.) the xn. c. ruins oi Long e font, a priory of Fontevrault, then the 
 manor of Cors, near which is Oulches, a Commanderie of the 
 Knights of Malta ; then the Chateau de la Barre. 
 
 24 k. Ciron. In the cemetery is a remarkable lanterne des 
 morts of the xn. c. On the opposite bank of the river are the 
 fine ruins (xiv. c.) of the Chateau de Romefort, on a rock encircled 
 by a triple barrier of walls. The keep has been restored by its 
 owner, the Comte de Bondy. 5 k. N. is the remarkable Dolmen 
 
LE BLANC. 
 
 317 
 
 de Sennevaiit. At Ros?iay (5 k. N.E.) are the splendid ruins of the 
 Chateau de Bouchet, built xiv. c, restored xvi. c, in a beautiful 
 position, with a wide view on one side over the lake of the Mer- 
 Rouge and the valleys of Creuse and Gartempe, on the other 
 over the Brenne. On an island in the Mer-Rouge is the Chapelle 
 de la Bonne Dame, a place of pilgrimage. 
 
 The line passes 1. the remarkable ruined romanesque church 
 of Ruffec. 
 
 37 k. Le Blanc (Hotel : de France), the Roman Oblincum, 
 situated on the side of two hills divided by the Creuse. The 
 church of 5*. Genitour has a central nave of the xiii. c, with 
 aisles altered in xv. c, and again in xix. c. The choir is xn. c. 
 altered. Above the principal portal is inscribed : 1 Soli Deo.' 
 At the end of the 1. aisle are remains of a romanesque apse. 
 Above the S. transept rises the romanesque tower, with an upper 
 storey of xv. c. Joining the chateau is a romanesque church. 
 
 [For the line from Le Blanc to Loudun, see ch. i. ; to Poitiers, 
 see ch. ii. ; to La Souterraine, see later.] 
 
 An excursion should be made from Blanc to (14 k. S., near 
 Ingrandes) the fine feudal castle of Forges, upon the picturesque 
 banks of the Anglin, and (5 k. from Ingrandes), E. on the opposite 
 side of the river, the stately restored Chateau de la Roche-Bellnsson, 
 which belonged to the family of the famous Fenelon. Much of 
 the scenery of the Anglin will be found very attractive by an 
 artist. 
 
 7 k. N. of Blanc is Pouligny-S -Pierre, where the church 
 contains mediaeval frescoes, and there are ruins of a priory. Near 
 this are the tombclle of the Moulin du Rat and the xiv. c. 
 
 Chateau de Roche-Chevreux. 
 
 322 k. S. Sebastien. 3 k. W. is the ruined Cistercian 
 abbey of Aubignac^ with a xn. c. church. 
 
 329 k. Forgevieille. 2 k. 1. is S. Agnaut-de- Versillat, with 
 a romanesque church of 1250, and a xn. c. lanterne des 
 morts in the cemetery. 
 
3i8 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 341 k. La Souterraine (Hotel : de France), a very curious 
 little mediaeval town. 
 
 Close above the railway rises the old citadel, entered by 
 a magnificent gateway of xvi. c, which leads at once to the 
 
 GATE OF LA SOUTERRAINE. 
 
 principal square. On one side of this stands the church, 
 with a noble tower of xm. c, supporting a low twisted 
 spire. Its W. front has a great portal, surrounded with the 
 singular half-moon ornament which encircles many church 
 doors in this district, and surmounted by a tower between 
 
LA SO U TERRAINE. 
 
 319 
 
 two pyramidal romanesque tourelles. On the S. is 
 another splendid portal, much injured by time. In the 
 interior, the nave, divided into rive bays, has low side aisles 
 with simple vaultings ; whilst of the five principal compart- 
 
 CHURCH OF LA SOUTERRAINE. 
 
 ments, the first, under the tower, has a cupola, the second is 
 vaulted, the three last are ribbed and are accompanied by a 
 little clerestory. At the cross is a second cupola. The wall 
 of the apse is straight. Under the choir is the crypt which 
 has given the town a name. 
 
320 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 There is an unusual number of old houses of the xn. c, 
 xiii. c, and xiv. c. in La Souterraine, with heavy arcaded 
 porticoes, windows sculptured with delicate low reliefs of 
 the renaissance, or gothic doorways. In the cemetery — a 
 
 LANTERNE DES MORTS, LA SOUTERRAINE. 
 
 beautiful garden open to all the world — are many ancient 
 tombs and a lanterne des marts, transferred from an earlier 
 burial-ground. Hence we look across the rich valley to the 
 great cylindrical tower of Le Bridier, of the xiv. c. or xv. c, 
 near which are considerable remains of the Gaulish fortress 
 of Breth, on a site which afterwards became known as the 
 
5. BEN 01 T-D USA UL T. 
 
 3 21 
 
 Roman station of Praetorium. Hard by are two enormous 
 sepulchral tumuli, surrounded by a ditch, and with a 
 fountain between them. 
 
 6 k. S.E. is the remarkable dolmen of 6*. Priest-la-Feuille, 
 the table of which rests upon six blocks of stone two metres in 
 height. At Chiron (7 k. S.) is another dolmen, and at (n k.) S. 
 Pierre-de-Ftcrsac, a beautiful xiv. c. and xv. c. church, with a fine 
 xv. c. window representing the Crucifixion. 
 
 27 k. E. on the way to Blanc is £*. Benoit-du-Sault, a most 
 picturesque mediaeval town, which well deserves a visit from 
 artists. An old priory (still inhabited by sisters) is the prominent 
 feature on approaching. The romanesque church has a facade 
 of xiv. c. Two towers and a double gothic gate (xiii. c. or xiv. c.) 
 remain from the ancient fortifications. The Logis du Gouvcmciir 
 has fine vaulted cellars. Under the little Chateau de Montga?'na?id, 
 a stream tumbles in the pretty cascades, which have given a 
 name to the place, and which form the little river Portefeuille, 
 an affluent of the Anglin. On the upper plateau is the dolmen 
 called Montgarnaud. 8 k. W. are the imposing ruins of the 
 Chateau de Brosses, which belonged to the powerful family of 
 that name, and afterwards to Mile, de Montpensier. 
 
 367 k. S. Sulpice-Lauriere, a great junction station. 
 
 [A line diverges W. to Poitiers, passing — 
 
 23 k. Chdteauftonsac, which has a fortified gateway and three 
 romanesque churches — 6*. Pierre, La Chapelle de la Vierge, and 
 5. Thyrse. The last has a crypt and a number of curious 
 reliquaries, including one given to the abbey of Grandmont in 
 1226 by S. Sernin de Toulouse. 
 
 43 k. Le Dorat (Hotel : de Bordeaux). The little town 
 stands on a hill and retains its xv. c. walls, which foot passengers 
 enter by a steep road through the Porte Bergere. The magni- 
 ficent church is said to occupy the site of a chapel founded by 
 Clovis after the battle of Vouille. Destroyed by the Normans, 
 rebuilt by Hugh Capet in 987, and again by Boson II., Comte de 
 la Marche, it was again destroyed in 1080 by Stephen, Lord of 
 
 21 
 
322 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Magnac-Laval, and finally, it was rebuilt as it now stands, between 
 1088 and 1 1 30, with the exception of the principal spire, which 
 dates from the beginning of xm. c, and of the fortified tower 
 erected over the apsidal chapel in xv. c. 
 
 This church is one of the finest romanesque monuments ol 
 central France, and has all the peculiarities which the style 
 exhibits in these districts. It has a battlemented wall, supported 
 by brackets over all the bays, and the apsidal chapel is still 
 
 CHURCH OF LE DORAT. 
 
 surmounted by a tower. The W. door has the curious twisted 
 mouldings which we saw at Le Souterraine. The heavy tower 
 above it surmounts the first of two great domes, only visible from 
 the interior, which forms a Latin cross. A long flight of steps, 
 flanked by huge holy-water basins, leads at once to the immense 
 central nave, which has exceedingly narrow but lofty side aisles, 
 widening around the short choir, divided from its aisles and their 
 surrounding chapels by narrow stilted arches upon slender 
 circular pillars, Under the sanctuary is a very interesting crypt. 
 
LE DOR AT. 
 
 323 
 
 ' La nef collaterale contourne un sanctuaire dont la voute est 
 portee par quatre legeres colonnes monocylindriques ; la s'eleve 
 l'autel ancien et sa curieuse piscine. Cette piscine, rare et 
 precieux exemple d'un ancien usage liturgique, est au cote de 
 l'epitre de Tautel dont elle n'atteint pas la hauteur, creusee dans 
 le chapiteau d'une colonne, elle est percee d'un trou central qui 
 conduisait les ablutions dans la terre, a travers le fut. Un autel 
 et une piscine exactement semblables se trouvent a trois lieues 
 
 BEN ITIER OF LE DORAT. 
 
 de la dans leglise du prieure de la Plaine, convertie aujourd'hui 
 en grange.' — Texier, i Amiales Archeologiques' 
 
 A second very lofty dome at the cross is surrounded internally 
 by a graceful arcade, and has eight windows in the octagon. The 
 spire which surmounts it is crowned by a copper angel of the 
 xiii. c, which turns with the wind. Two canons of Le Dorat 
 have become celebrated in Catholic Church history— S. Israel 
 (1014), author of a poem, and S. Theobald (1070). 
 
 ' Cette eglise a servi de type et fait ecole. En plus de 
 cinquante monuments on retrouve sa disposition, ses motifs, son 
 
324 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 ornementation ; il en existe un portrait reduit, mais ressemblance 
 parfaite, a Benevent (Creuse) ; aux dimensions pres, on dirait 
 deux edifices sortis du meme moule.' — Texier, * Annales 
 Archeologiques. ' 
 
 10 k. E. of Le Dorat is Magnac-Laval, with an xi. c. church 
 and a college and hospital founded by the family of Salignac- 
 Fenelon. 
 
 MONTMORILLON. 
 
 Soon after leaving Le Dorat, the line passes the ruins of the 
 Chateau de la Peyriere (xn. c, xiv. c, and xvi. a), which belonged 
 to the family of Armagnac and the Comtes de la Marche. 
 
 72 k. Mo7it?norillo7t ) a very picturesque town, rising on either 
 bank of the river Gartempe, in which its old houses, intermingled 
 with foliage, are reflected. On the r. bank is the modern gothic 
 church of ►S. Martial. An old bridge, recently rebuilt in the 
 worst taste, connects it with the opposite shore, whence the lofty 
 church of Noire Da?ne rises in a fine position, its choir abruptly 
 overhanging the cliff. The greater portion of this church is in 
 
M ONTMORILL ON. 
 
 325 
 
 the Angevine style of the xii. c. and xiii. c, preceded by a portal 
 of a century later, with a romanesque transept, a Byzantine 
 cupola, and a triple apse, beneath which is a crypt. 
 
 Hence a rambling street leads to the immense building of 
 the Maison Dieii, once an Augustine convent, now, for the most 
 part, a seminary. The W. front of the XII. c. church is exceed- 
 ingly striking, with a fine octagonal tower, and a frieze repre- 
 senting the Infancy of Christ over the portal. In a side chapel, to 
 the r. of the entrance, is the neglected tomb of Etienne Vignoles, 
 
 THE OCTAGON OF MONTMORILLON. 
 
 the brave warrior who was devoted to the cause of Jeanne Dare 
 and vainly endeavoured to save her from her murderers, and who 
 derived his surname of La Hire, which signifies the growling of 
 an angry dog, from his fury in battle. The stone is inscribed, 
 1 Ci git Etienne la Hire, dit Vignoles, en son vivant chevalier.' 
 The tomb might well be removed to the front of the altar from 
 its present position, buried under stones and rubbish. 
 
 ' Le celebre la Hire ayant ete envoye par le Comte de Dunois 
 a Charles VII., pour lui apprendre quelque mauvais succes qui 
 
326 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 etoit arrive, et pour savoir quel ordre Sa Majeste vouloit mettre 
 en cette rencontre, trouva au bal ce prince, lequel apres avoir su 
 de lui le sujet de son voyage, lui dit qu'il y songeroit, et en meme 
 terns lui demanda avec un visage plein de joie: "Que vous 
 semble-t-il de cette fete? Ne trouvez-vous pas que je passe bien 
 mon terns?" La Hire enrage devoir l'insensibilite de ce prince, 
 ne lui repondit rien, et le roi le pressant encore de lui dire son 
 sentiment, la Hire lui repondit avec un sourire amer : " II est vrai, 
 Sire, que vous vous divertissez fort bien, et qu'on ne peut pas 
 perdre un royaume plus gaiement que vous faites." ' — 1 Bussy 
 Rabutin a Mme. de Sevigne? 
 
 In the principal court is the famous Octagon, a low octagonal 
 chapel raised on a lofty crypt, now used as a bone-house. Over 
 the door of the upper chapel are four very curious groups of 
 symbolical sculpture, arranged like mullions of a window. Part 
 of the pyramid, which originally surmounted the Octagon, has 
 perished. It was originally crowned by a funeral lanthorn. In 
 one corner of the pleasant old-fashioned gardens is another 
 smaller octagon, supposed to have been used as a kitchen, like 
 those of Durham and Glastonbury. 
 
 nk. N.E. is Jotirnet, which has a lanterne des morts of xn. c, 
 and 6 k. N.E. from thence the curious romanesque church of 
 Villesalcm, which belonged to a Benedictine monastery founded 
 1089. This church is now used as a barn, but its N. facade is a 
 splendid work of the xn. c. and its W. facade beautiful, though 
 less decorated. 4 k. S.E. of Journet, at 6". Leomer, is another 
 lanterne des morts, of xn. c. 
 
 Soon after leaving Lussac-les-Chdteaux, which has a roman- 
 esque church, the line passes a bridge, near which is a monument 
 of the famous English captain, Sir John Chandos, who received 
 his death wound here in 1369, whilst fighting against the French. 
 
 1 Sir John Chandos, a strong and brave knight, sagacious in 
 all his acts, had his banner borne before him. He wore a long 
 robe which touched the ground, blazoned with his arms on white 
 sarcenet, argent, a pile gules ; one on his breast, the other on 
 his back ; so that he appeared prepared for some bold exploit ; 
 
MORTEMER. 
 
 and thus, sword in hand, he advanced on foot against the 
 enemy. 
 
 1 That morning a hoar frost made the ground slippery, and, 
 as he marched, his legs became entangled in his long robe, so 
 that he stumbled ; and at that very time a squire, James de S. 
 Martin, made a thrust at him with his lance, which struck him in 
 the face below the eye. Sir John Chandos did not see the blow 
 coming, for he had lost that eye five years before, on the lands of 
 Bordeaux, whilst hunting a stag ; and it was additionally unfortu- 
 nate that he had not lowered his vizor, so that as he stumbled, 
 he fell against the lance, assisting its stroke. Driven by a strong 
 arm, the lance pierced his brain, and then the squire drew it 
 forth again. . . . When the English had gained the day, the 
 barons and the knights of Poitou were filled with grief when they 
 beheld their seneschal, Sir John Chandos, lying helpless and 
 speechless. Grievously did they begin to lament his loss, 
 saying, " Oh, Flower of Knighthood ! oh, Sir John Chandos ! 
 cursed be the forging of the lance which has stricken you, which 
 has imperilled your life." And those around his body most 
 tenderly bewailed him, which he heard, but could only answer 
 with groans, for not a word could he articulate. They wrung 
 their hands, and tore their hair, uttering cries and lamentations, 
 more especially those of his own household. 
 
 4 Very gently, Sir John Chandos was disarmed by his own 
 servants, laid upon shields and targets, and carried at a foot's pace 
 to Mortemer, the nearest fortress. The gallant knight only sur- 
 vived one day and night. God have mercy on his soul ! for 
 never through a hundred years was there amongst the English 
 one more, courteous, more full of every virtue and noble quality 
 than him.' — Froissart, 1 Chroiiicles! 
 
 90 k. Lhommaize. 3 k. r. is Mortemer, with the old castle in 
 which Sir John Chandos died, and the church in which he was 
 buried, with the inscription : 
 
 1 Je Jehan Chandault, des anglois capitaine, 
 Fort chevalier, de Poictou seneschal, 
 Apres avoir fait guerre tres lointaine 
 Au rois francois, tant a pied que a cheval, 
 Et pris Bertrand de Guesclin en un val, 
 
328 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Les Poitevins pres Lussac, me different, 
 A Mortemer, mon corps enterrer firent, 
 En un cercueil eleve tout de neuf, 
 L'an mil trois cens avec soixante neuf.' 
 
 The Tour de Cogniac, near Mortemer, is xn. c. 
 114 k. Mignaloux-Nouaille, see ch. ii. 
 126 k. Poitiers, see ch. ii.] 
 
 [A line of 123 k. diverges E. to Montlucon, through a district 
 of the deepest interest to the ecclesiologist, passing — 
 
 21 k. Vieilleville. A little N. is the fine romanesque church of 
 Bene vent V Abb aye. At Le Grand Bourg, further N.E,, are a xiii. c. 
 church, with the tomb of its founder, " Maitre Gerard," and the 
 ruined Chateau deSalagnac. A line leads S. to (20 k.) Bourg aneuf, 
 which has a church of xn. c. and xv. c, the Tour de Zizini, and 
 other remains. At Poiitarion, near this, are fine ruins of a xv. c, 
 chateau ; and at Thauron a curious monument in the cemetery 
 known as Chapeau des Anglais. 
 
 45 k. Gueret (Hotel : Rousseau), capital of the Departement 
 de la Creuse. The Palais des Comtes de la Marche is a beautiful 
 xv. c. building, containing a fine chimney-piece. At (3 k.) Buy de 
 Gaudy are remains of a Gaulish oppidum. At Vaury (N.W.) 
 is a very interesting xv. c. relief, representing the Passion, at- 
 tached to the church-wall. At Jouillac (N.E.) the gothic church 
 has a xn. c. apse, and a curious lion before the portal. 
 
 60 k. Busseau-d Ahun. Hence a line runs S.E. to (8 k.) 
 Lav aveix-les- Mines, 3 k. from which is Mouthier-dAhun, with a 
 fine church, partly romanesque, partly xv. c. At Maissonnisses, 
 a little W., is a fine xiii. c. church of the knights of Malta, with 
 the sepulchral statue of a Templar. (25 k.) Aubusson, famous 
 for its carpets, which had once a magnificent xi. c. castle, de- 
 stroyed by Richelieu. The town was ruined by the revocation 
 of the edict of Nantes, but is recovering ; a single manufactory 
 employs 2,000 workmen. The neighbouring village of £ Al-pinien 
 has a fine xn. c. church and a granite cross. (36 k.) Fclletin, 
 has a church of 145 1 and a xvi. c. chapel of its old chateau. 
 2 k. distant is the dolmen called Cabane de Cesar. S. Quentin, 
 near this, has an interesting xiii. c. church, and fine lanterne 
 
AMBAZAC. 
 
 329 
 
 dcs ?norts in its cemetery ; and £*. Frion a Commandcric dc 
 S. Antoine, with a beautiful xv. c. chapel. The line will be 
 continued by ►S. Rcmy y with a ruined castle, to Ussel (see SoutJi- 
 E astern France). 
 
 68 k. Cressat. A little S.E. are Chenerailles, with a tomb of 
 1300; Peyrat-la-Noniere, with a curious granite lion in its 
 cemetery, and remains of the abbey of Bonlieu; and the xvi. c. 
 and xvii. c. Chateau de Mazeul. 
 
 94 k. Lavaud-Franche (for the line from hence by Boussac 
 see p. 305). At Toulx-S.-Croix } a little S. W., are a fine xii. c. 
 church, and remains of an ancient tower. At Cha?nbon } some dis- 
 tance S.E., a fine transition romanesque church, partly XI. c. ; 
 and at Lepaud a chateau of the Due de Montpensier, rebuilt 1847. 
 
 The scenery of this attractive district is described by George 
 Sand : — 
 
 * C'est un pays d'herbes et feuilles, un continuel berceau de 
 verdure. La riviere qui descend le ravin s'appelle la Voueze, et 
 puis, melee a Chambon avec la Tarde, elle devient le Char, lequel, 
 au bout de la premiere vallee, s'appelle le Cher, que tout le monde 
 connait.' — ' Le Marquis de Vitlemer.' 
 
 112 k. Huriel, has a fine xn. c. church and a ruined castle.] 
 
 374 k. La Jonchere. A road diverges opposite the station. 
 On reaching a crossways, take the central way to go round 
 the base of the Puy-Bemard to the Signal de Sauvagnac, 
 which has a fine view over the valleys of the Vienne and 
 Taurion. At the foot of the hill on the W. is the church of 
 Sauvagnac (xn. c. and xv. a), a great place of pilgrimage. 
 This is 5 k. from Grandmont (see below). 
 
 382 k. Ambazac. The church has a magnificent xii. c. 
 reliquary of S. Etienne de Muret, and his dalmatic — a 
 present from Matilda, wife of Henry V. of Germany. 
 Another splendid reliquary from Grandmont is preserved in 
 the church of Les Billanges. A picturesque road leads 
 
33° 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 through rocky gorges to the plateau which bears the obscure 
 remains of the once famous Abbaye de Grandmont, founded 
 in 1076 and abandoned in 1772, when its treasures were 
 divided between the neighbouring churches. That of S. 
 Sylvestre has a xni. c. reliquary and a silver bust of S. Etienne 
 de Muret, founder of the abbey. The hamler of Muret, 
 where S. Etienne died, is passed to the r. of the line. 
 
 388 k. Les-Bardys-S.-Priest. 5 k. N.W. is S. Priest, 
 with a bridge built by the monks of Grandmont, and a 
 church with a fine enamelled cross. Between S. Priest and 
 Chassagne is a Borne de Justice of xv. c. 
 
 400 k. Limoges (Hotels : de la Paix, Place Jourdan — very 
 good, and an admirable centre for excursions ; de la Boule 
 d'Or ; de Richelieu). The large modern town surrounds 
 the tortuous streets of the old city, and contains the principal 
 hotels and public buildings. 
 
 ' La subtilite de Fair peut contribuer a y rendre les habitants 
 grands rnangeurs. Aussi y aime-t-on beaucoup la bonne chere ; 
 le sexe y est assez beau et assez vif.' — Silhouette, 4 Voyage de 
 France', 1770. 
 
 The ancient capital of the Gaulish Lemovices was situated 
 on the right bank of the Vienne, two kilometres from the 
 existing town. But the Romans removed the city to its 
 present position, and built a fortress around the site of the 
 present cathedral. Then a second town arose, where S. 
 Martial preached Christianity, some say in the 1. c, others in 
 the in. c, and where, in the vi. c, a basilica and monastery 
 replaced the primitive oratory over his tomb. Under the 
 Merovingian kings this second Limoges became celebrated 
 by its school of goldsmith's work, founded by S. Eloi, and 
 
LIMOGES. 
 
 33i 
 
 it was fortified and surrounded by walls in the xn. c. The 
 two towns had distinct governments. The Ville was ruled 
 by the viscounts of Limoges, who at the first were vassals 
 of S. Martial ; the Cite (more than half occupied by the 
 cathedral, four parish churches, the episcopal palace, and 
 residences of the canons) was under the jurisdiction of the 
 bishops. Falling under the kings of England in the xn. c, 
 Limoges rebelled in 1370 and was sacked by the Black 
 Prince, who, according to Froissart, put to death three 
 thousand of the inhabitants — men, women, and children ! 
 Only the bishop was given up to the Pope at Avignon, who 
 had begged his life. 
 
 The great tower of the Cathedral of S. Etienne, sepa- 
 rated from the western part of the gothic building, like that 
 of S. Martin at Etampes, stands on the porch of the 
 romanesque church which existed before the present cathe- 
 dral was begun in 1273, and of which the crypt is the only 
 other remnant. It was built by Bishop Sebrand Chabot 
 in 1 190, and has twice been struck by lightning, when the 
 spire by which it was originally surmounted was destroyed. 
 The choir of the church was finished in 1327, the transept not 
 till the middle of the xvi. c. — the whole, though unfinished, 
 forming one of the most sumptuous gothic buildings in 
 this part of France ; whilst, from being built of granite, it is 
 impervious to time. 
 
 The exterior of the apse is very stately ; the north tran- 
 sept of indescribable richness. Its splendid portal has 
 doors adorned by sculptures of the martyrdoms of S. Stephen 
 and S. Valerie. The general effect of the interior is most 
 beautiful, but the magnificent rood-loft erected by Bishop 
 Jean de Langeac, c. 1540, loses greatly in effect by having 
 
332 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 been removed to the provisional W. wall of the nave in 
 1789, when many of its statues were broken. Though still 
 a beautiful work of the Renaissance, it now only retains the 
 frames which once contained the ' Labours of Hercules.' 
 Its columns bear the device of the founder, ' Marcessit in 
 otio virtus.' On the 1. of the S. choir aisle is a rich 
 frame of the xv. c, which once enclosed an ' Entomb- 
 ment;' and on the opposite side of the aisle, forming the 
 screen of the choir, are three tombs, terribly mutilated 
 during the Revolution, of Cardinal Regnault de la Porte, 
 1325 ; of Bishop Jean de Langeac, 1541; and that of 
 Dean Bernard Brun (nephew of Bishop Regnault), covered 
 with reliefs, one of which represents S. Valerie presenting 
 her head to S. Martial. To visit the crypt, which is reached 
 through the floor of the N. transept, a permission from the 
 architect is necessary. It contains some valuable frescoes 
 of the xi. c. 
 
 Very near the cathedral stands the Episcopal Palace, with 
 6 the gardens which follow the lines of the hill, and are 
 supported by strong walls crowned by balustrades,' where 
 Balzac places one of the finest scenes in Le Cure du 
 Village, when the bishop, taking his dessert ' in an arbour 
 of vines at the angle of the lowest terrace ' looking upon the 
 river and its poplars in the golden tints of sunset, discusses 
 the affairs of Limoges with his three abbes. 
 
 1 Le palais episcopal de Limoges est assis sur une colline 
 qui borde la Vienne, et ses jardins, que soutiennent de fortes 
 murailles couronnees de balustrades, descendent par etage en 
 obeissant aux chutes naturelles du terrain. L'elevation de cette 
 colline est telle, que, sur la rive opposee, le faubourg Saint 
 £tienne semble couche au pied de la derniere terrasse. De la, 
 
LIMOGES. 
 
 333 
 
 selon la direction que prennent les promeneurs, la riviere se 
 decouvre, soit en enfilade, soit en travers, au milieu dun riche 
 panorama. Vers l'ouest, apres les jardins de leveche, la Vienne 
 se jette sur la ville par line elegante courbure que borde le 
 faubourg Saint-Martial. Au dela de ce faubourg, a une faible 
 distance, est une jolie maison de campagne, appelee le Cluzeau, 
 dont les massifs se voient des terrasses les plus avancees, et qui, 
 
 LIMOGES. 
 
 par un effet de la perspective, se marient aux clochers du fau- 
 bourg. En face du Cluzeau se trouve une ile, pleine d'arbres et 
 de peupliers. A Test, le lointain est occupe par des collines en 
 amphitheatre. La magie du site et la riche simplicite du bati- 
 ment font de ce palais le monument le plus rernarquable de cette 
 ville ou les constructions ne brillent ni parle choix des materiaux 
 ni par Farchitecture.' — Balzac. 
 
 The great Seminary, on the N.W., occupies the site 
 
334 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 of the abbey of La Regie (1609), of which there are very 
 small remains. 
 
 A steep street, Rue des Petits Cannes, containing the 
 birthplace of Marshal Jourdan, leads from the E. end of 
 the cathedral to the xni. c. Pont S. Etienne, consecrated, 
 like the cathedral, to the first martyr, 1 beyond which is 
 a terrace, now a timber yard, whence the best general 
 view of the city is to be obtained. 
 
 ' Partout ou les ponts n'ont pas importance au point de vue 
 militaire, s'il est pratique des avant-becs aigus en amont, les piles 
 sont plates du cote d'aval. Dans plusieurs de ces ponts du 
 Limousin, dont les piles sont tres-epaisses relativement aux 
 travees des arches, ces piles ne sont souvent composees que 
 d'un parement de granit, au milieu duquel est pilonne un massif 
 de terre. Les avant-becs de plusieurs ponts du Limousin donnent 
 en section horizontale, non point un angle aigu en droit, mais une 
 courbe en tiers-point, ce qui avait l'avantage de permettre le 
 glissement de l'eau courante et de donner plus de force a ces 
 eperons.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The two principal churches of the Ville are interesting. 
 Of these S. Pierre du Queyroix (du Carrefour) has a fine 
 tower of the xni. c, to which part of the facade belongs, 
 though the main part of the building dates from two cen- 
 turies later. S. Michel des Lions, higher on the hill, takes 
 its name from three ancient lions at its S. door. The 
 octagonal tower is of the xiv. c, and supports a spire of 
 1383. The broad square interior, with slender pillars and 
 rich glowing glass, is very striking. The relics of S. Martial, 
 the first apostle of Limoges, were brought hither from the 
 magnificent basilica dedicated to him, now entirely destroyed. 
 
 1 This and the Pont S. Martial, of the same date, remained, for six hundred 
 years, the only bridges of Limoges. 
 
SOLIGNAC. 
 
 335 
 
 Both churches are very effective internally, from the soft 
 yellow-grey colour of the stone of which they are built. 
 
 Excellent open carriages (2J frs. an hour), may be found on 
 the Place Jourdan, and one of these should certainly be taken to 
 Solignac and Chalusset, though they may also be reached by 
 omnibus, and a railway is in progress. After crossing the Pont 
 Neuf, the road ascends the opposite hill, whence there is a fine 
 view over Limoges, and winds — passing the Chateau du Pre- 
 
 SOLIGNAC. 
 
 Saint- Yrieux, flanked by picturesque tourelles — through a richly- 
 wooded undulating country. 
 
 The Benedictine Abbey of Solignac was founded in 631 by 
 S. £loi, in a royal villa which he had received from Dagobert. Its 
 first abbot was S. Remacle, who became Bishop of Maestricht in 
 650, and among its early monks was S. Tillon, who united with 
 the founder in establishing the famous Limousin school of gold- 
 smiths' work. Though injured externally by restoration, the 
 abbey church, consecrated in 1 143, and rebuilt about the end of 
 xii. c, is still most picturesque. The first view of the interior is 
 intensely striking. A long flight of steps descends to the floor of 
 the vast nave, which is without side aisles, but has arcaded walls, a 
 
33^ 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 central position being occupied by the font. There are five domes, 
 after the fashion which the Venetians introduced into France 
 in xi. c, two over the nave, one at the cross, one over the chancel, 
 and one over the 1. transept. The apse, polygonal externally, 
 is flanked by three chapels, of which the largest is also polygonal. 
 Under the chancel is a crypt. Most sweet is the singing of the 
 responses in this church on Sundays, and most picturesque the 
 scene in the huge gloomy church, where the peculiar head- 
 dress of the women, with its white wings of lawn, gives them the 
 effect of nuns. 
 
 There is a great charm in all this district about the simple, 
 kindly, cordial peasantry, who, for the most part, lead easy, 
 happy lives. Each possesses his own scrap of land, and the soil 
 is rich, the wine sound, the bread and vegetables excellent ; the 
 great variety of produce insures a livelihood to the landowner, to 
 whom everything is seldom wanting at once. A marriage is the 
 great event of their lives, and the peasants will often expend a 
 years income during the three days of a wedding festivity. 
 Many of the curious ceremonies which attended this season are 
 now extinct, but that of the chou is still in full force. On the day 
 after a marriage, the bride and bridegroom, preceded by music, 
 and attended by the wedding guests, proceed to some garden to 
 look for the finest cabbage that can be found. This operation 
 lasts more than an hour. Spectacles on nose, the old people of 
 the village will discuss and dispute the question as one of the 
 utmost importance. At last the choice is made ; but great 
 imaginary difficulties are raised in extracting the cabbage from 
 the soil. Ropes are attached to its stem, compasses are used, 
 plans traced out. Then firing of pistols gives the signal, music 
 strikes up, and slowly, with feigned effort, the cabbage is drawn 
 out of the soil, and placed in a great basket adorned with flowers, 
 fruits, and ribbons. The whole is arranged upon a litter, which 
 four strong young men raise upon their shoulders to carry to the 
 dwelling of the married pair. But then, followed by a crowd of 
 shouting children, a strange couple appear, two young men, of 
 whom one is dressed as a woman — the jardinier and jardiniere. 
 Both are dirty and ragged, degraded by vice, but the husband is 
 the worst of the two ; the wife has only been dragged down by 
 his disorders. Reeling with wine, he is crowned with vine-leaves 
 
J A RDINIER ET JARDINIERE. 
 
 337 
 
 like an antique Silenus. With an old sabot slung at his girdle, 
 he begs for more wine, which no one refuses, and which he 
 really pours upon the ground while pretending to drink it, and 
 falling down, as in the last stages of drunkenness. His poor 
 wife runs after him, trying to pick him up, calling for help, and 
 reproaching him pathetically. 
 
 Such is the part of the jardiniere, whose lamentations con- 
 tinue to the end of the performance — an improvised comedy, often 
 lasting the entire day, in which the whole village takes part, and 
 which is assisted by all the accidents of the wayside — the whole 
 evincing the curious natural eloquence and power of repartee 
 which exists among the peasantry. 
 
 Eventually the young men of the place are supposed to per- 
 suade the unhappy wife to cease her lamentations, and, leaving 
 her drunken husband to himself, to amuse herself with them. 
 Gradually, very gradually, she allows herself to be led away, 
 brightens up, forgets her miserable spouse, sports and dances 
 first with one and then with another. The drunkenness of the 
 husband has now led to the immorality of the wife. At last the 
 drunken wretch wakes up, searches for his companion, and arms 
 himself with a cord and a stick, with which he pursues her. All 
 the bystanders interpose themselves. She hides behind one 
 after another. But eventually the faithless woman is caught and 
 about to be chastised, when the whole society interferes with — 
 ' Do not strike her ; never strike your wife,' a formula repeated 
 over and over again. Then the husband, in his turn, acts the 
 part of the faithless one — runs after all the other girls and tries 
 to embrace them. It is a primitive moral 4 mystery,' like those 
 of the middle-ages. 
 
 At length, with the evening, the chou reaches the dwelling of 
 the real bridal pair, and is planted on the highest point of the 
 roof. Here it is watered with wine, and left till the storms carry it 
 away. It is regarded as the emblem of fecundity, and the future 
 hopes of the family are supposed to rest upon its remaining 
 green or withering away within a certain time. After the planting 
 of the cabbage, the festal train feast and dance till night. 1 
 
 About 4 k. from Solignac, passing the village of Le Vigen, 
 1 See George Sand, Promenades autour d'un Village. 
 
 22 
 
338 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 stands the glorious Chateau de Chalusset, which is seen long before 
 you reach it, rising grandly on the summit of a promontory above 
 the meeting of the Ligoure and Briance. At the Pont de Pierre 
 it is necessary to leave the carriage, and turning back along the 
 further bank of the Briance, to begin the ascent of the hill at its 
 
 extremity, by the lowest gateway. During this walk, there is 
 abundant opportunity of seeing the serpents for which Chalusset 
 is celebrated. They are writhing everywhere amongst the flowers, 
 lying asleep in the sun, hustling away from the sound of footsteps 
 into the thickets. 
 
 The fortress is entirely of the xm. c, when it was rebuilt 
 on the site of a xn. c. fortress by the Viscounts of Limoges, and 
 
CHALUSSET. 
 
 339 
 
 became the principal seat of their power. 1 It was dismantled 
 in 1593 by the inhabitants of Solignac and Limoges, who were 
 urged to its destruction by their priests, because it had long 
 served as a refuge to Protestants. The castle had three courts. 
 The first contained a lofty square dungeon tower, which belonged 
 to the earlier construction, with a flat buttress in the centre of 
 each wall. This tower is known in the country side as La Jean- 
 nette. The second closely encircles the third, which is entered 
 by a gothic arch under a machicolated curtain wall, protected by 
 a barbican. The third court contained the actual castle, with 
 lofty walls flanked by towers, the longest side being occupied by 
 a vast building, divided into three handsome vaulted chambers, 
 lighted by mullioned gothic windows. Only the pillars which 
 supported the vaultings now remain. In the centre of this court 
 is the principal keep, showing at one angle some remains of a 
 chapel. 
 
 ' Le veritable donjon de ce chateau, cetait le chateau lui- 
 meme. Sur tout ce vaste developpement, les courtines, presque 
 aussi hautes que les murs et couronnees comme eux de machi- 
 coulis et de creneaux, n'ont jamais moins de 20 metres de hauteur. 
 Tout assaut, toute escalade etait impossible avec de semblables 
 remparts.' — De Caumont. 
 
 Near the bridge is an old mill in a charming spot, where the 
 millers wife will provide an excellent dejeuner of trout and other 
 country luxuries. The clean little guest-chamber of the mill 
 overhangs the sparkling river, and one may see the fish caught 
 from the windows. All looks serenely lovely in summer sunshine, 
 but it is not long since the river suddenly rose and overwhelmed 
 the little dwelling. The housewife just escaped with her life by 
 abandoning all her household treasures, and the miller took 
 refuge on the roof for several days, expecting hourly to be 
 carried away. 
 
 [An excursion should be made from Limoges to Le Dorat (see 
 p. 321), and it maybe continued to Montmorillon, returning at 
 night. The best way is to take the line by S. Sulpice-Lauriere 
 
 1 M. de Verneilh. 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 in going to Le Dorat, and to return by Bellac (where the church 
 is xii. c. and xiv. a), a shorter railway journey, which lands 
 travellers at a more distant station on arriving at Limoges. Both 
 lines lead through a pleasant forest-clad country. Other excur- 
 sions should be made to S. Leonard, S. Junien, Rochouart, and 
 Chalus, as below.] 
 
 [A line leads E. from Limoges to Ussel, passing — 
 25 k. 6*. Leonard, a picturesque hill-set town, which has a very 
 important and curious xn. c. church, restored in xiii. c. and xv. c. 
 It occupies the site of the home of the sainted hermit whose 
 prayers succoured Clotilde in the pains of . child-birth, and who 
 received a portion of forest-land from Clovis in reward. Town 
 and castle grew up round the hermitage. The church was that 
 of a monastery founded ix. c. It has a crypt and a very beautiful 
 romanesque tower. 
 
 1 L'architecte du clocher de S. Leonard entreprit d'elever un 
 beffroi octogone en prenant comme point d'appui les quatre angles 
 de la tour carree et les quatre points des pignons couronnant les 
 arcs perces a la base de ce beffroi, de maniere de presenter quatre 
 des angles de son octogone sur le milieu de quatre faces du 
 carre. C etait un parti tout nouveau, original, franc et parfaite- 
 ment solide, car les angles de l'octogone ainsi plantes portaient 
 plus directement sur les parties resistantes de la construction, que 
 si cet octogone eut ete pose ses faces paralleles aux faces du carre. 
 Cette etude et cette recherche de la construction percent dans 
 l'execution des details et dans les proportions de ce beau monu- 
 ment. 11 y a, dans cette oeuvre remarquable, toutes les qualites 
 que Ton se plait a reconnaitre dans la bonne architecture antique 
 romaine, et, de plus, une certaine finesse, un instinct des propor- 
 tions qui tiennent a cette ecole darchitectes de nos provinces 
 occidentales.' — Viollei le Due. 
 
 The stalls and an alabaster bas-relief are xv. c. 
 
 4 Les stalles offrent une suite de fantaisies tres bizarres et 
 souvent fort obscenes. On y voie un pore prechant devant des 
 oies, ailleurs un moine embrassant fort amoureusement unefemme 
 
AIXE. 
 
 34i 
 
 qua son costume on pourrait prendre pour une religieuse.' — 
 Prosper Merimee. 
 
 51k. Eytnoutiers, founded by Saracens in a wild and 
 picturesque situation. The monastic church, built over the 
 grave of the hermit Psahnet, who died in 630, is xn.c. and 
 xv. c, with beautiful xv. c. and xvi. c. glass. In the neigh- 
 bourhood is 6*. Pierre-Chateau, with a beautiful ruined gothic 
 chapel. 
 
 64 k. La Celle, near which, in a wild situation, is the beautiful 
 and picturesque fall of the Vezere, called Saut dc la Virolle, well 
 worth a visit. At 13 k. is the old town of Treignac, beautifully 
 situated above the Vezere, with a ruined castle, and xv. c. bridge 
 and church. 
 
 114 k. Ussel, on the line from Brive to Clermont-Ferrand, 
 see South-Eastern France.'] 
 
 [A line runs W. from Limoges to Angouleme through a district 
 called by the natives ' La petite Suisse,' so beautifully wooded is 
 its undulating country, and so clear are its rivers. The line 
 passes — 
 
 1 1 k. Aixe, connected with its station by a bridge over the 
 Vienne at its junction with the Aixette. The town, on the 
 opposite steep, has a restored romanesque church, fortified in 
 xv. c. The Chapelle du Dognon dates from 1330. In the Chateau 
 de Berry, near the bridge, the poet-academician, Beaumont de S. 
 Aulaire, was born. In early times the inhabitants of Aixe were 
 constantly at war with those of Limoges. The castle of Aixe 
 was the refuge of Henry I. of England, when defeated at Nogeac 
 and was stormed and taken by Henry II. in 1 180. The Vicomtesse 
 Marguerite had her principal fortress here, where she coined 
 the money called Limousine, suppressed by order of Philippe le 
 Hardi. Jeanne d'Albert, Queen of Navarre, is said to have 
 passed much of her last years and to be buried here. 4 k. N. W. 
 is S. Priest-sous- Aixe, where the church (xi. c. and xv. c.) contains 
 the body of S. Martin des Arades, confessor of Charles Martel. 
 7 k. S.W. is Sereillac with a church of xn. c. and xv. c. and 
 a chateau of the Dues des Cars. 
 
 28 k. 5*. Victurnien. The romanesque church contains the 
 
342 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN TRANCE. 
 
 tomb of the patron saint, and a fine specimen of an ancient 
 lanteme des morts may be seen in a cemetery to the r. of 
 the railway. Another fine lanteme des morts may be seen 
 at (6 k. S.) Cognac, where the chapel of the chateau is the 
 parish church. 
 
 CHURCH OF S. JUNIEN. 
 
 37 k. S. Junien (Hotel : du Co?7tmerce — very poor), the Roman 
 Comoddiacum, a very interesting place The steep narrow 
 streets are full of xiii. c. houses, with heavy arches in the lower 
 storey, and widely overhanging roofs. Tradition tells that 
 Junien, son of a companion of Clovis, abandoning the world in 
 his fifteenth year, lived here in a cell, which he never left except 
 
5. JUNIEN. 
 
 343 
 
 to pray under the shadow of an immense hawthorn in the depth 
 of the neighbouring forest. Under this flowering thorn-tree he 
 was buried after forty years of a hermit's life, and the tree only 
 disappeared to make way for the monastery which was the 
 cradle of the existing town. 1 The splendid church dates from 
 the end of the xn. c, of which it is a most valuable specimen. 
 In plan it is a vast rectangle, intersected near the centre by a 
 transept. The central tower has scarcely any windows. Above 
 the gothic portal of the W. front rises a massy tower, each 
 face of which is broken by a gable enclosing two windows. 
 A picturesque romanesque stair-turret rises against the N. 
 transept. 
 
 A flight of steps leads down from the W. door to the interior, 
 which is indescribably solemn and striking, partly from the huge 
 bases of the lofty columns, partly from the varied outlines caused 
 by the domes under each of the towers. The nave and its aisles 
 have simple cradle vaulting, and so have the transepts, from 
 which square chapels, rudely vaulted, project, and are open 
 towards the choir. The choir itself, which is less ancient than 
 the rest of the church, has a roof with gothic vaulting in the 
 central, but with herring-bone work in the side aisles ; at the 
 E. end is a fine rose-window. Huge ribbed xn. c. benitiers 
 stand on either side of the entrance ; on the r. an oak screen 
 encloses a well. Behind the high-altar is the huge marble altar- 
 tomb of S. Junien, brought hither from the famous abbey ot 
 Grandmont, in 1 8 19, when its treasures were dispersed and its 
 buildings dismantled. At the E. end of this curious tomb, which 
 dates from the beginning of the xn. c, we see the Saviour repre- 
 sented in glory, with the emblems of the evangelists. On either 
 side are statuettes of the twenty-four elders of the Apocalypse, 
 holding instruments of music and vases of incense. In the midst 
 of these, on the N., are the Virgin and Child, in a nimbus borne 
 by angels ; on the S. the Lamb of God. Tiny columns, richly 
 sculptured at the base, divide the figures. 
 
 The refectory, of xn. c, which belonged to the chapter of 
 canons attached to the church, still exists. A short distance 
 from the town, on the banks of the Vienne, is the ruined church 
 of kS*. A?nand. 
 
 1 See Montalembert, Les Momcs d 'Occident. 
 
344 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 45 k. Saillat-Chassenon, whence a branch line leads to 
 Bussiere-Galant, by (7 k.) |Rochechonart, and (38 k.) Chalus (see 
 later), which deserve a separate excursion from Limoges. 
 
 53 k. Chabanais, which has two towers of its feudal fortifica- 
 tions, of XL c. and xni. c. 2 k. S.W. is the ruined romanesque 
 church of Grenord. 4jk. S.E. is Chassenon, occupying the 
 site of the Roman town of Cassinomagus, where foundations 
 have been found of a palace, temple, amphitheatre, and some 
 vestiges of aqueducts, also a Gallo-Roman cemetery. The 
 church is XI. c. with a xv. c. apse. 
 
 79 k. Chasseneuil, has a fine xvn. c. chateau. The church is 
 of x. c. and xv. c. 9 k. N. is 6*. Claud, where the church has 
 a crypt containing an XI. c. sarcophagus. 6 k. W. of this, at 
 Cellefrouin, are a remarkable lanterne des 77torts ) and an abbey 
 church of xii. c. There are several Roman camps in the 
 district. 
 
 90 k. La Rochefoucauld (Hotel : de Co?nmerce — tolerable). Be- 
 yond the little town, where the parish church (xm. c. and xv. c.) 
 has a graceful (xm. c.) crocketed spire ; and occupying a wooded 
 cliff above the sparkling river Tardoire, is the truly magnificent 
 Chateau- de la Rochefoucauld (Due de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt) 
 which was founded in the x. c. by Foucauld, who gave his name 
 to the place. Imposing alike in position and architecture, its 
 buildings form an immense square, unfinished on the N., where 
 the court is enclosed by a simple curtain wall. The whole is 
 surmounted by a lofty romanesque keep. A steep ascent 
 through an avenue of old trees leads from the bridge to the 
 entrance pavilion. Hence the portress will conduct visitors 
 across the desolate garden to the gateway, flanked by two of the 
 four huge round towers, which are a great feature in all views 
 of the castle. The buildings which overlook the courtyard 
 on two sides have triple galleries with arcades and pillars 
 decorated in the richest style of the renaissance, and admirably 
 preserved, except the shields of arms on the vaulting, which 
 were mutilated at the Revolution, when the young Due de la 
 Rochefoucauld, escaping to join the emigration, was murdered 
 in his carriage at Gisors, whilst seated between his wife and 
 mother-in-law. 
 
 The noble winding renaissance staircase encircles a richly 
 
LA ROCHEFOUCAULD. 
 
 345 
 
 ornamented central pillar, and from the platform wall at the top 
 looks out the bust of the architect, Antoine Fontant (1538) ; the 
 brackets which sustain the ribs of the vaulting are exquisitely 
 sculptured. The door at the top of the staircase bears A. F. 
 for Francois de la Rochefoucauld and Anne de Polignac, his 
 wife, and, on the frieze, the date 1528, with three medallions 
 representing members of the family. The vast apartments are 
 left in decaying splendour. . Several retain their magnificent 
 
 CHATEAU DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD. 
 
 stone chimney-pieces, from which all the heraldic emblems have 
 been effaced ; in one, a later chimney-piece in wood, richly 
 painted and gilt, has concealed the shields of arms on the stone 
 beneath. Several rooms still possess a great deal of painted 
 panelling, and, in the graceful boudoir of the duchess, this is 
 almost entire. Some of the apartments open upon little private 
 gardens and terraces with lovely views over the river and plain. 
 The stately chapel, at the end of the galleries on the E., is partly 
 gothic and partly renaissance, but from the edge of the courtyard, 
 where time has covered the old pavement with mossy turf, 
 
346 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 we look down upon the romanesque apse of an earlier chapel 
 of the XII. c, which originally belonged to the chateau. 
 Altogether La Rochefoucauld is the finest private residence 
 in France, is most beautiful in its premature decay, and well 
 deserving of a visit. Artists and architects will equally find 
 it full of interest. 
 
 From the time of Francois I., counsellor of Charles VIII. 
 and Louis XII., all the eldest sons of the family have borne 
 the name of Francois. Francois II. was the builder of the 
 beautiful chapel here ; Francois III. was the Huguenot friend 
 of Charles IX., whom he vainly tried to keep in his cham- 
 ber, so as to save him on the night of the massacre of 
 S. Bartholomew ; Francois IV. was killed by the Ligueurs in 
 1 591 ; La Rochefoucauld was raised to a duchy by Louis XIII. 
 for Francois V. as a reward for his conversion to Catholicism ; 
 Francois VI., due de la Rochefoucauld, was the author of 
 the famous Maximes. His descendants still possess their 
 famous chateau, but have not sufficient fortune to furnish and 
 restore it. 
 
 . On the 1. bank of the Tardoire is the old Priory of S. Florent, 
 now a warehouse : it has a triple nave of xi. c. The College has 
 the remains of a cloister and a chapel of xv. c, which belonged 
 to a Carmelite convent. The Hospital was founded in xvn. c. by 
 the diplomat Gourville, a native of the town. There are pleasant 
 walks amongst the rocky glens and caves of the valley of the 
 singular little river Tardoire. 
 
 4 Lorsque le Tardoire arrive a la zone des terrains calcaires, 
 elle roule une masse liquide a peine inferieure a celle de la 
 Charente meme ; mais de fissure en fissure, de crible en crible, 
 elle s'affaiblit de plus en plus, se change en ruisseau, puis en 
 simple filet, et au-dessous de la Rochefoucauld il ne reste plus 
 que le lit rocheux, empli seulement pendant des pluies excep- 
 tionelles.' — Elisee Reclus. 
 
 The hamlet of Lerac (1 k. S.) has a romanesque chapel, used 
 as a house. At Vilho7tneur ) a little further S., is a chateau of 
 xv. c. and xvi. c, and the church contains the tomb of a 
 Chevalier de Chambes. 
 
LE TOUVRE. 
 
 347 
 
 103 k. Le Queroy. At Pra?tzac (3 k. E.) are a lanterne des 
 morts of xii. c, and the ruins of a castle. 
 
 [A branch line leads from Le Queroy by (1 3 k.) Mart/1071, which 
 has a ruined xii. c. castle, a xvi. c. chateau, and a xii. c. church, 
 to (35 k.) Nontron, which has some remains of a castle of the 
 Vicomtes de Limoges, and, on the place, the romanesque 
 Chapelle die Moutier.~] 
 
 109 k. Totcvre. On r. are the picturesque Sources de la 
 Touvrc, at the foot of a steep hill crowned by a ruined castle. 
 The little river Touvre is as curious as the Sorgues of Vaucluse 
 in its abrupt appearance. It has a course of only 10 k. in length, 
 and is formed by waters which permeate through the fissures of 
 the upper plateaux. 
 
 118 k. Angouleme, see ch. ii. 
 
 There are two lines from Limoges to the south, that by 
 Perigueux joining the southern line from Bordeaux to Toulouse 
 at Agen ; that by Brive and Cahors joining it at Montauban. 
 Both are full of interest to the artist and archaeologist. The 
 tourist will do best by going first to Brive and making numerous 
 excursions from thence, especially to Rocamadour. Then he 
 may take the cross line to Perigueux and make excursions from 
 thence, especially to Brantome and Bourdeilles. He may after- 
 wards go to Cadouin, Sarlat, Fenelon, and Souillac; to Montpazier ; 
 and take the beautiful cross line to Cahors, whence he may reach 
 Montauban. Thus all the principal points of interest will be 
 combined. 
 
 420 k. Nexon. The church, of xii. c, altered xv. c, 
 contains a reliquary of S. Ferreol, of 1346. 
 
 The line to Perigueux branches off at Nexon to the 
 S.E. (carriages changed at Limoges). It passes— 
 
 428 k. (from Paris) Lafarge. The country is covered 
 
348 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 with sepulchral hillocks or to7iibelles, here known as las 
 tours. A little N. of the station, in a valley, is the curious 
 xv. c. Chateau de Lastours, with a keep of the xii. c. 2 \ k. 
 further W. is Les Cars, cradle of the ducal family of the 
 name, with a ruined castle and small romanesque church 
 of xi. c. 
 
 438 k. Bussiere-Galant, a junction station. 
 
 [A road (passing r. the old gothic chateau of Vieille Couf) 
 leads E. to (14 k.) Le Chalard, a curious old town with gothic 
 houses, conventual buildings of xn. c, and a church of xn. c. and 
 xv. c, containing the tomb of Gouffier de Lastours, a hero of the 
 first crusade.] 
 
 [A line runs N.W. to join the line from Limoges to Angouleme 
 at (45 k.) Saillat-Chassenon (p. 344), passing — 
 
 7 k. Chalus-Chabrol, interesting to all Englishmen as the 
 place where Richard Coeur de Lion died. The large rambling 
 village has two castles on different heights ; both have round 
 keep-towers. To the upper a romanesque chapel is attached ; 
 the lower, nearer the railway, rises from other massive buildings of 
 xiii. c. It was in this castle that Richard was besieging Aymar, 
 Vicomte de Limoges, who refused to account to him for a 
 treasure he had found, when, from one of its windows, a knight^ 
 usually described as Bertrand de Gourdon, but whom the monk 
 Geoffry de Vigeois, the chronicler who lived nearest the time, 
 speaks of as Pierre Basile, shot the fatal arrow from his cross- 
 bow. The king lingered twelve days, during which time the 
 castle was taken, when he magnanimously ordered that the 
 life of the knight should be spared and that he should be 
 set at liberty. But unfortunately soon after giving the order 
 the king died, and his infuriated followers roasted the knight 
 alive. 
 
 At the end of the xv. c. the castles belonged to Charlotte, 
 daughter of Alain dAlbret, Comte de Perigord, who brought 
 them as her dowry to Caesar Borgia, Comte de Valentinois. 
 The daughter of Caesar Borgia married Philippe de Bourbon as 
 her second husband, and since that time the castles of Chalus 
 
CHAL US-CHABROL. 
 
 349 
 
 have belonged to the family of Bourbon-Busset. In the xvi. c. 
 they were ruined by the inhabitants of Limoges, to expel the 
 armed bands who had taken refuge there and were ravaging the 
 country from thence. 
 
 Between the castles the Tardoire, a mere brook, tumbles 
 towards an old water-mill in a rocky hollow, where an artist 
 may find a delightful subject, and flows out into a rich 
 
 CASTLE OF CHALUS. 
 
 water-meadow, in the midst of which uprises the large grey 
 stone called Rocker de Marmont, upon which Richard is 
 sakl to have been standing when he received the fatal 
 blow. 
 
 At an angle of the village street is a remarkably fine xiii. c. 
 house, with low heavy arches enclosing the shop on the ground- 
 floor, and huge projecting beams of timber supporting the upper 
 storey. 
 
35o SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 7 k. S.W. is Dournazac, which has an ill-restored romanesque 
 church, and 2 k. further the fine ruined castle of Montbrun, 
 named from its founder Aymeric Brun, in 1 179. The machicola- 
 tions of the square central donjon tower are supposed to be 
 the earliest known of their kind. In the xv. c. Pierre de 
 Montbrun, bishop of Limoges, surrounded the donjon to half 
 its height by one of the great round towers of the castle of 
 H33-38. 
 
 38 k. Rochechonart (Hotel : Faure — humble, but clean). At 
 the end of the town, close to the inn and the church with its 
 twisted spire, rises the magnificent chateau of grey stone, with 
 huge round towers bearing pyramidal roofs, built on a promon- 
 tory ending in a rocky precipice above the meeting of the Graine 
 and the Vayres. The interior is now used for public offices, but 
 they fail to fill half the building, and the department is too poor 
 to restore the rest. One of the rooms is surrounded by frescoes, 
 which represent the events of a hunting day at Rochechouart in 
 ancient times, from the departure from the castle to the cutting 
 up of the stag, and the open-air banquet which followed. The 
 immensely long carriage filled with ladies attending the hunt, 
 and the buffoon riding with might and main, are exceedingly 
 quaint. 
 
 On the 1. of the castle gate is a great lion in a niche, which 
 commemorates a real lion kept here by former Barons de 
 Rochechouart. One of these was jealous of his wife's intimacy 
 with his cousin, M. de Cremiere — a jealousy increased by her 
 accidentally saying that M. de Cremiere had a beautiful hand. 
 It is said that he desired his cousin to leave the castle, and, as 
 he was mounting his horse, cut off his hand at one blow. Bring- 
 ing it to his wife, he flung it into her lap, saying, ' Here is the 
 hand you admire so much.' Then he seized her and let her 
 down through a hole in the floor, which is still shown, into a 
 dungeon, where she was shut up with the castle lion for three 
 days and nights. At the end of that time, upon the servants 
 announcing that the lady was still alive, the baron allowed her to 
 be drawn up, and the sculpture on the castle wall attests the 
 clemency of the lion. 
 
 The best view of the chateau is from the wooded valley 
 below. 
 
JUMILHA C-LE-GRAND. 
 
 35i 
 
 [A road leads from Rochechouart to (41 k.) Nontron, by — 
 17 k. 6*. MathteUy which has a church of xn. c. and xv. c. 7 k. 
 N.W. is Les Salles Lavauguyon, an interesting place, which has 
 a curious xn. c. church. The road passes near the remarkable 
 ruined xv. c. castle of Lavauguyon. 
 
 29 k. A little r. is Piegut, with a xn. c. castle of the Vicomtes 
 de Limoges. 8 k. N.W., passing 1. the xvi. c. Chateau de Puy- 
 chamaud, is the church of Bussiere-Badil, with a curious 
 romanesque facade.] 
 
 448 k. La Coquille. The Chateau de la Maynardie is 
 
 CHATEAU DE ROCHECHOUART. 
 
 xvii. c. 13 k. S.E. is Jumilhac-le- Grand, with an im- 
 portant xvi. c. chateau, enlarged under Louis XIV., and 
 an octagonal romanesque tower ; and, in the same district, 
 the ruins of the Cistercian Abbaye de la Perouse. 6 k. 
 S.W. of the station is the picturesque xv. c. manor of 
 Masvaleix. 
 
 462 k. Thiviers (Hotel : de France). The fine church 
 dates from the xm. c, but was altered in xv. c. Behind it 
 is an old fortified presbytery. 
 
35 2 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 8 k. is 6*. Jean-de-Cole, which has a curious abbey church 
 built by Raymond de Thiviers, bishop of Perigueux, in the end 
 of XI. c. Only part of it was finished, the lofty choir with a 
 cupola, and a polygonal apse with three chapels. A tomb 
 commemorates Geoffroy de la Marthonie, bishop of Amiens, 
 1 617. Close to the church is the fine Chateau de la Marthonie, 
 partly xv. c, partly xvi. c. 
 
 At njk. is the ruined castle of Bruzac, xv. c. 
 
 S. JEAN-DE-COLE. 
 
 [The line from Thiviers to (79 k.) Brive passes — 
 
 8 k. Corgnac. A romanesque church has a beautiful tower 
 and apse. A house is xiv. c. 
 
 20 k. Excideuil (Hotel : Mordier), on a hill above the Loue, 
 with a fine chateau of the family of Talleyrand-Perigord, chiefly 
 renaissance and exceedingly picturesque, but with towers of 
 xiii. c. and xiv. c, united by a curtain-wall of xv. c, against 
 which a renaissance chapel has been built. The church has a 
 facade of xiii. c. 
 
 33 k. Hantefort, with a noble chateau of xvi. c. andxvn. c, on 
 
P&RIGUEUX. 353 
 
 the site of a fortress which belonged to the troubadour Bertrand 
 de Born, one of the instigators of the rebellion of the sons of 
 Henry II. of England against their father. The castle was 
 besieged both by Richard Coeur de Lion and Henry II.] 
 
 [For the line from Thiviers to Nontron and Angouleme see 
 ch. ii.] 
 
 483 k. Agonac, retains a xn. c. tower of the castle 
 founded by Bishop Frotaire in 980. The church has two 
 byzantine cupolas. 
 
 490 k, Chateau-P Aveque, see later. 
 
 499 k. Perigueux (Hotels : de France — good ; des Mes- 
 sageries ; de F Univers), capital of the Departement of the 
 Dordogne. Most strange and eastern, as the railway crosses 
 the Isle, is the effect of the many domes of S. Front, now 
 set free from the high roof which has long concealed 
 them. 
 
 Nothing remains of Vesuna, capital of the Petrocoriens, 
 which occupied a site on the 1. bank of the Isle, a little 
 to the S. of the existing town ; but in La Cite, the part 
 of the town nearest to the railway station, are considerable 
 remains of the second Vesuna, which the Romans, after 
 the conquest of the Petrocoriens, built on the r. bank of the 
 river. Turning to the r. from the station, the Rue Papin, 
 Rue de la Croix Blanche, and Rue de la Fai'encerie lead to 
 the Rue Turenne, a back alley which is crossed by the 
 Porte Normande, a simple arch resting upon walls of 
 massive masonry. Immediately beyond the Porte Nor- 
 mande a gate on the r. leads to Chateau Barriere, the base 
 of which is of Roman date, though it has been used as 
 foundation for a great square tower of the x. c, to which 
 Other buildings, ornamented in the xvi. c, were added in 
 
 2 3 
 
354 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE, 
 
 the xi. c. and xn. c. A beautiful foliated door is of the 
 latest date. In the garden are many broken pillars and 
 other ancient fragments. Turning to the r. from hence, 
 and crossing the railway by the next bridge, we find the 
 Tour de Vesone, a massive circular building, recalling the 
 Torre dei Schiavi at Rome, supposed to have been dedicated 
 to the tutelary gods of Vesuna, and to have been the point 
 
 PORTE NORMANDE, PERIGUEUX. 
 
 where all the streets of the ancient city met. The small 
 masonry, divided by bands of brick, of which the tower is 
 constructed, was formerly faced by slabs of red and white 
 marble, secured by iron bolts. 
 
 Returning to the Porte Normande, the Rue de la Cite 
 leads to the oval Amphitheatre, capable of containing 
 40,000 spectators, of the skeleton of which — for all the 
 ornamented part is torn away — there are considerable 
 remains in a garden. Close by rises the ancient cathedral, 
 
PARIGUEUX. 355 
 
 the church of S. Etie?ine de la Cite, dating from the end 
 of the x. c. Only the W. half of the present structure, 
 however, is of that date. This is one of the earliest of the 
 forty churches in the province of Aquitaine roofed with a 
 series of domes. 1 It once had three domes — now only 
 one remains. The E. portion, with a larger cupola, is a 
 
 S. ETIENNE DE LA CITE, PERIGUEUX. 
 
 careful restoration of a structure of the xn. c, destroyed by 
 the Protestants, with some additional height and enrich- 
 ment. The altars are formed from the huge altar of the 
 Jesuit Laville, turned out of S. Front during the recent 
 changes. 
 
 'As it now stands, the church consists of two square com- 
 partments, of which the western one, part of the original nave, 
 
 1 L'Abbe Michon, Statistique monumentale de la Charcnte. 
 
356 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 is the oldest, and differs in few particulars from any of those of 
 S. Front. The most important point of difference is, that the 
 pier compartment is here compressed into a solid pier, and 
 consequently the arch compartment is limited in its breadth. 
 In this instance the pier is very massive, and the arch broad ; it 
 consists of a single square order, and is pointed. The cupola 
 forms an external feature. It has a conical tiled roof, and is 
 crowned with an elegant lantern, formed by a circle of shafts 
 very close to each other, supporting a small cupola without the 
 intervention of any arches. Westward of this compartment are 
 the remains of another, showing the pendentives of its dome. 
 The eastern, square of the church is a careful restoration (after 
 the ravages caused by the religious wars of the xvi. c.) of an 
 extremely elegant structure of the xn. c, on nearly the same 
 model with the other, but higher, and much enriched.' — 
 /. L. Petit. 
 
 Hence, a few steps take us to the Place Francheville, 
 with the Tour Mataguerre in the corner, a remnant of the 
 fortifications of the later town — Bourg du Puy S. Front — 
 built around the abbey which arose in the x. c, enclosing 
 the little oratory which contained the tomb of S. Front, by 
 whom Christianity had been preached at Perigueux in 
 the vi. c. 
 
 A block of buildings containing the Hotel de France 
 alone divides the Place Francheville from the Place Bugeaud, 
 whence the handsome Cours Michel-Montaigne and Tourny, 
 adorned with statues of Daumesnil, Montaigne, and 
 Fenelon, extend for some distance, bounding the narrow 
 streets of the Puy S. Front, in which, especially in the Rue 
 Taillifer, are many curious old houses. Passing these, we 
 find ourselves at the extraordinary church of S. Front, 
 which has been the cathedral since 1665. 
 
 To the unspeakable regret of all archaeologists, this 
 most curious building has been nearly rebuilt since 1865 to 
 
PERIGUEUX. 
 
 357 
 
 carry out the ideas of its architect as to what its design 
 originally was — in fact, under the name of ' restoration, 
 one of the most remarkable churches in France has been 
 almost entirely destroyed. Bare, white, and unsympathetic, 
 the modern church is utterly without beauty, and has 
 nothing of interest but its architectural features. 
 
 The destroyed church, built 984-1047 — the French 
 basilica which presented the Byzantine style in its greatest 
 purity — is supposed to have been copied from S. Mark's at 
 Venice, with which it was almost contemporaneous. Its 
 form and plan were the same, — a Greek cross, 182 ft. each 
 way, exclusive of the comparatively modern apse and the 
 outer church and porch, extending 150 ft. further, which are 
 remains of an older church, to which the domical church 
 was added in the XL c. There are five great cupolas 
 supported upon pointed arches resting on massive square 
 pillars. 
 
 1 All these domes are surrounded by their respective arch and 
 pier compartments, those around the centre doing double duty. 
 Indeed, these compartments might have been reduced in size, 
 and simple piers used, since one dome compartment would act 
 as abutment to its neighbour. This was done in later edifices, 
 where the domes, covered from the first by a long roof, did not 
 require to stand so far apart.' — Petit. 
 
 It is supposed that it was in this cathedral that gothic 
 architecture — here very obtusely pointed — made its first 
 appearance in France. The ancient tower, which still 
 remains, is described by M. de Verneilh, 1 the great authority 
 on Perigueux, as the only Byzantine campanile in the 
 world, and the most ancient monument of the kind which 
 
 U Architecture Byzantine en France. 
 
358 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 exists in France. Perhaps the best view of the cathedral is 
 from the other side of the river, where it is seen rising 
 above a xv. c. house on the quay. 
 
 A delightful excursion for the day may be made from 
 Perigueux to Brantome and Bourdeilles (carriage 15 fr.) 
 
 It is a drive of about two hours from Perigueux to Brantome. 
 The road passes under the fine old deserted castle of Chateau 
 
 S. FRONT, PERIGUEUX. 
 
 VEveque, once the abode of the bishops of Perigueux ; then it 
 ascends from the valley of the Isle into a barren limestone 
 upland, on the other side of which it descends into the valley of 
 the Dronne. This river, always full in summer, and clear even in 
 winter, flows through the little town of Branto7ne (Hotel: Chabrol), 
 its farther bank lined by the buildings of the famous abbey, behind 
 which the limestone cliffs rise abruptly and are full of caverns, some 
 of them still used as habitations, one of them containing a spring. 
 This cave is said to have been a Druidical resort before it became 
 renowned as the hermitage from which the abbey had its origin, 
 
BRANTOME. 
 
 359 
 
 and it contains rude sculptures of the Last Judgment and 
 Crucifixion. 
 
 1 Brantome, dont le nom est devenu si celebre dans le monde 
 des lettres, est surtout remarquable par la beaute des sites 
 
 ABBAYE DE BRANTOME. 
 
 environnants. Elle-meme est batie dans une ile de la Dronne, 
 entre des rochers perces de grottes, qui furent habitees jadis : les 
 restes de son abbaye, ses tours et ses clochers, les debris de son 
 enceinte, son pont bizarre, lecluse de la riviere, les grands arbres 
 et les prairies de ses bords forment un tableau a la fois original 
 et charmant. , — Elisee Recites. 
 
360 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The abbey buildings are approached through a low machico- 
 lated gateway, beyond which rises an xi. c. tower considered by 
 Viollet le Due to have been the model of a new school of archi- 
 tecture which has left abundant works in Limousin, Tourraine, 
 and Orleanais, and which is characterised by a square base and 
 an octagonal upper storey, with gables on either side, at the point 
 where the change of form takes place. The whole is crowned 
 by a pyramidal roof. The lower storey of the tower, which is 
 
 FORTIFIED CHAPEL, BRANTC)ME. 
 
 detached from the church, formed a hall, open on three sides, 
 and of which the arches supported a curious elliptical vault. 
 Internally the church has been spoilt by a recent restoration 
 under M. Abadie, and has no longer any interest except from its 
 form, a vast vaulted nave, with two cupolas ; the E. window 
 was filled in to the form of a cross in xvi. c. A beautiful gothic 
 W. door opens into the remains of a cloister, built here in the 
 xv. c. by Cardinal de Bourdeilles to connect the church with the 
 abbey. On the outer walls of the church are some quaint xm. c. 
 sculptures. 
 
 The huge white facade of the abbatial buildings of the 
 
i? O URDEILLES. 
 
 361 
 
 xviii. c. faces a pretty terrace upon the river, ending in a xvi. c. 
 bridge, of which the three farthest arches are at a right angle 
 with the other six. A beautiful avenue of limes ends at the 
 remains of a second gateway. On the farther side of another 
 bridge, opposite the church, is a fortified chapel of the xv. c, 
 of which the lower part is used as a market. One of the 
 streets contains a curious house, partly early gothic, partly 
 renaissance. The manor called La Hierse is xvi. c. 2 k. E. of 
 the town, on the road to Thiviers, is the most important dolmen 
 in the department of the Dordogne, known as La Pierre Levee. 
 An excursion may be made from Brantome to the renaissance 
 chateau of Piiyguilhem, built in the reign of Francois I., and 
 recently restored by the Due de la Rochefoucauld. 
 
 It is an hour's drive from Brantome to Bourdeilles. The 
 road passes under the fortified caves of Rochebrune, three 
 chambers, partly artificial, in the rock. The first has several 
 openings upon the river ; the second is only lighted from the 
 first, and circular openings in its floor open towards lower 
 caverns. The third chamber, in the depth of the rock, is only 
 lighted from above. A stair cut in the rock leads to a little path 
 to the platform above. 
 
 Passing under the xiv. c. castle of Ramefort, and by the 
 village of Valeuil, and leaving to the r. the range of cliffs which 
 contain the cavern called La Chambre Noire, the road reaches, 
 on high ground, the beautiful terraces which form the promenades 
 of Bourdeilles, and beyond which its magnificent castle rises 
 grandly above the valley. 
 
 The older castle, rebuilt by Helie de Bourdeilles, bishop of 
 Perigueux, who died in the odour of sanctity in the xv. c, is 
 entered by a gateway between two machicolated towers. It is 
 situated on a promontory of perpendicular rock perfectly in- 
 accessible towards the river, and isolated towards the town, 
 of which the principal street lies deep beneath its walls. Above 
 rises the keep, an octagonal tower containing four vaulted 
 chambers, and crowned by huge machicolations. 
 
 Adjoining the second court of the old castle rises a later 
 chateau, built, from her own admirable designs, by its lady, 
 Jacquette de Montbron, in the xvi. c. It retains its vaulted 
 corridors, its fine staircase, and its 1 Chambre Doree,' with a 
 
362- SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 ceiling of painted beams, and two great chimney-pieces. Its 
 founder, Jacquette de Montbron, was sister-in law to the famous 
 Brantome — Pierre, Abbe and Commendataire de Brantome, 
 celebrated as an author. 
 
 Between the castle and the terraces stand the parish church 
 — of the xii. c, with cupolas, and the exceedingly picturesque 
 xv. c. residence of the seneschals of the barony. Beneath the 
 castle is a fine old bridge over the clear-flowing Dronne. 
 
 BOURDEILLES. 
 
 [7 k. N.W. of Bourdeilles is the church of Panssac, with three 
 cupolas of the xn. c. 
 
 7 k. — passing r. the curious fountain (2 k.) called Putts de 
 Fontas — is the Chateau de Maro7iatte, a ruined fortress of (xv. c. 
 and xvi. c.) the Comtes de Jarnac. At 12 k. in the same direction, 
 is the curious church of Grand-Brassac, with early xni. c. cupolas, 
 and a portal with a remarkable xm. c. relief.] 
 
 In returning to Perigueux we pass the interesting abbey church 
 of La Chancelade, 5 k. from the town, which lies in a hollow 
 below the road. The abbey was founded in 1129, and, though 
 
LES EYZIES. 
 
 363 
 
 mutilated by the English in the xiv. c, and by the Protestants 
 in the xvi. c, it is full of interest, though it partly dates from 
 a restoration by the Abbe de Solminihac in 1623. The roman- 
 esque W. portal is of the earlier date. The square tower is 
 adorned on the first storey with blind gothic arches, and in the 
 second with three windows on either face. A beautiful roman- 
 esque chapel with an apse stands opposite the W. end of the 
 church. 
 
 [For the line from Perigueux to Coutras and Bordeaux see 
 ch. ii.] 
 
 The railway line from Perigueux to Agen runs through 
 a good deal of picturesque scenery, near the limestone cliffs 
 of Dordogne, famous for their caverns. It passes — 
 
 533 k. Miremont. 
 
 5 k. S.E. is the immense cavern called La Grottede Miremont, 
 which is shown by a guardian living close by, but it cannot be 
 seen under eight hours, and the most prominent features demand 
 four hours of a subterranean walk. 
 
 540 k. Les Eyzies (a humble hotel near the station). In 
 this neighbourhood is a group of the most remarkable 
 caverns in France. Very near the station is the entrance 
 to the Grotte de Cro-Magnon, of the third prehistoric age, 
 where five prehistoric skeletons have been found entire. 
 
 At 7 k. N.E. is the Grotte de la Madeleine, of the fourth pre- 
 historic period, where an ivory tablet was found, engraved with 
 a representation of a mammoth. At 1 1 k. is the Grotte du 
 Moustier, which has given the name of Mousterienne to the 
 first prehistoric period, and where a number of cut flints have 
 been found, like those discovered in the valley of the Somme. 
 
 4 Les noms des Eyzies, de Laugerie-Haute, de Laugerie-Basse, 
 de la Madeleine, de Tayac, dont la roche, percee dans tous les 
 sens, etait une sorte de citadelle, ont acquis dans la science un 
 nom imperissable, qui s'applique desormais a toute une race 
 
364 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 d'hommes, ainsi qu'a toute une periode de la civilisation historique.' 
 — Elisee Rectus. 
 
 8 k. E. of Les Eyzies is the striking ruined castle of Comarque, 
 with a xii. c. keep, separated by a trench from the Maison forte 
 de Comarque, which always had different owners. At the foot of 
 the hill, in the valley of the Beune, is the old Chateau de Lauset. 
 
 556 k. Le Buisson. 
 
 FACADE OF CADOUIN. 
 
 A covered car meets the early morning train at Le Buisson, 
 and takes travellers 8 k. over the hills to Cadouin (Hotel : Faisan 
 — primitive, but clean). The little town emanated from its abbey, 
 which rises, huge and massive, in its midst, and which, in the 
 middle-ages, was a great place of pilgrimage, as it was supposed 
 to possess the holy shroud of our Saviour. The church, conse- 
 crated in 1 1 54, has a beautiful romanesque front with pointed 
 arches at the portal. The tomb of an abbot forms the impost of 
 one of the windows. The magnificent interior has a triple nave 
 and three apses, the central of which is decorated with a xv. c. 
 
CADOUIN. 
 
 fresco of the Resurrection. The transept has a cupola. A door 
 on the S. leads to the cloister, of the beginning of the xvi. c, one 
 of the richest and most beautiful cloisters in France, admirable 
 statuettes of saints and sculptures representing the stories of Job 
 and Samson occupying every projection and filling every niche. 
 
 CLOISTER OF CADOUIN. 
 
 Near one entrance are the arms of Louis XII. and Anne of 
 Brittany : another portal is of the renaissance. The Pilgrims' 
 Porch has an exquisite decoration of cabbage leaves, and is sur- 
 mounted by cockleshells. 
 
 Above the cloisters are the priest's lodgings, to which some 
 tapestried rooms are annexed, used by the bishop on his visits. 
 
366 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Many books from the abbatial library are preserved here, especially . 
 the Letters of S. Bernard and the Acta Sanctorum, beautifully 
 illuminated. 
 
 [For the interesting line W. from Le Buisson to Libourne 
 see ch. ii.] 
 
 THE PILGRIMS' PORCH, CADOUIN. 
 
 [A line leads E. from Le Buisson to (83 k.) S. Denis, on the 
 line from Paris to Toulouse, through very charming scenery, by — 
 
 1 5 k. 6*. Cyprien. The church belonged to an Augustinian 
 priory. 1 k. N. is the old chateau of Faye } and 4 k. further N.W. 
 the ruined monastery of Reignac. 3 k. S.E. is the mineral 
 fountain of Panassou. 
 
BEYNAC, SARLAT. 
 
 3^7 
 
 23 k. Castelnau. On a rock above the 1. bank ot the Dordogne 
 is a xiv. c. chateau, with a great round tower of xv. c. Near the 
 station is the xv. c. manor of Fayrac. 
 
 On the opposite (r.) bank of the river rises the magnificent 
 castle of Beynac, one of the finest castles of xm. c. and xiv. c. in 
 France, situated on precipitous rocks above the Dordogne. It is 
 a very striking scene. Beynac was one of the four great baronies 
 of Perigord. The Salle des £tats of the castle is full of curious 
 mural paintings, and its chapel still serves as the parish church. 
 
 CHATEAU DE BEYNAC. 
 
 33 k. Sarlat (Hotels: de la Madelei?ie ; de France). The 
 little inn stands at a central point in the old-fashioned town on 
 the Cuze, which abounds in splendid old houses, of which perhaps 
 the finest example is a lofty house of xiv. c, with rich flamboyant 
 windows, near a fine ruined xiv. c. church, now used as a market. 
 Close by is the magnificent Hotel de Brons, of the time of Henri II. 
 The town owes its origin to an abbey dedicated to S. Sacerdos 
 or Serdot by Pepin le Bref in the viii. c, and upon which Bernard, 
 Count of Perigord, conferred the lordship of the place. It was 
 made an episcopal see in 13 17, and in its line of bishops, which 
 
368 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 ended in 1790, included several members of the great neighbouring 
 house of F^nelon. The diocese was suppressed in 1790. The 
 former cathedral, oi S. Cyftrien, dates from xi. c. and xii. c, but 
 was remodelled in xv. c. The tower, at the W. end, is for the 
 most part romanesque. Over the portal are five curious figures. 
 
 HOUSE OF XIV. C, SARLAT. 
 
 The interior is more striking than that of many finer buildings — 
 consisting of an immense nave, with an apse, beyond which 
 a kind of porch connects the choir (formed by the apse) with 
 the ambulatory and lady-chapel. The nave has very low side 
 aisles, opening to the central aisle by low arches resting on 
 heavy round pillars. 
 
SARLAT. 
 
 3°9 
 
 Facing the cathedral is the beautiful renaissance house of 
 the time of Francois I., in which, in 1530, Etienne de la 
 Boetie was born, called the Caius Gracchus of the xvi. c, the 
 beloved friend of Montaigne, and the author of the protestation 
 against tyranny called Discoitrs de la Servitude Volontaire. 
 After having filled for twelve years the office of counsellor 
 
 HOUSE OF LA BOETIE, SARLAT. 
 
 to the parliament of Bordeaux, he died, 1563, in his thirty-third 
 year. Inconsolable for his loss, Montaigne wrote, in his chapter 
 ' De l'Amitie ' — 
 
 ' J'estois deja si faict et accoustume aestre deuxiesme partout, 
 qu'il me semble n'estre plus qu'a demi : 
 
 O misero frater aderepte mihi ! 
 
 24 
 
370 SOUTH-WESTERN ERANCE. 
 
 Depuis le jour que je le perdis, je ne fays que traisner languis- 
 sant ; et les plaisirs mesmes qui s'offrent a moy, au lieu de me 
 consoler, me redoublent le regret de sa perte ; nous estions 
 a moitie de tout.' 
 
 Behind the church, in a garden on the hill-side, is the strange 
 sepulchral chapel called Tour des Maures, built like a beacon, in 
 the xii. c. 
 
 TOUR DES MAURES, SARLAT. 
 
 Wolves are still frequent in the neighbourhood of Sarlat. As 
 late as February, 1888, a wolf was killed in the streets of the 
 town itself, after attacking several persons. 
 
 [A road leads N. from Sarlat to (41 k.) La Bachellerie, on the 
 line from Perigueux to Brive, by (9 k.) Salignac, with a chateau 
 of xiii. c, xv. c, and xvi. c, which belonged to the family of 
 Fenelon, and near this the xv. c. Chateau de S. Claud; (13 k.) 
 
 Genies, with a rock-built chapel of xiv. c. and a ruined castle 
 
GOURDON, DOMME. 
 
 37 1 
 
 (2 k. 1. the ancient Chateau de Pelvezis) ; and (24 k.) Montignac, 
 with a ruined castle.] 
 
 [A road leads S. from Sarlat to (70 k.) Cahors, passing 
 (8 k.) Carsae, with a church of xn. c. and xvi. c. ; and (25 k.) 
 Gourdon, which belonged to Bertrand de Gourdon, who is believed 
 to have shot the arrow at Chalus which was fatal to Richard 
 Coeur de Lion. During the Wars of Religion it belonged to 
 Pons de Lauzieres de Themines, made Marechal de France by 
 Louis XIIL, after the magnificent chateau which he had built at 
 Gourdon had been burnt through the jealous suspicion of Marie 
 de Medicis. On the tower of the great church of Pierre 
 (1304 — 141 5) is the (xiv. c.) figure of a hooded monk, bearing 
 a sun dial. In the church of the Cordeliers (xiii. c.) is a fine 
 xiv. c. font, in S.Simeon a good xvn. c. pulpit. Near the S.W. 
 gate of the town is the chapel of Notre Da??ie de Majon, and 
 1 k. S.E. Notre Dame de Neiges (with a xv. c. reliquary), both 
 places of pilgrimage.] 
 
 [Another road leads to (63 k.) Cahors, by (12 k.) Cenac, which 
 has a romanesque church with three apsides, and above which 
 (iijrk.) is the very curious royal (French) xm. c. bastide of 
 Domme. Much of the walls and a fine gateway on the E. are 
 still standing. On the W. are the ruins of the chateau, formerly 
 called Domme-Vieille, which existed before the town, and was 
 besieged by Simon de Montfort in 121 5. From the Place before 
 the church one may look down over the precipice into the 
 valley of the Dordogne. The Hotel de Ville has fragments of 
 the xiv. c] 
 
 To the 1. of the line to S. Denis is the beautiful gothic Chdteait 
 de Paluel of xi. c. and xv. c, flanked by towers. Near it are the 
 Roman remains of La Salvie, surrounded by stone coffins. Then 
 the railway, passing beneath the castle of Braulen, follows the 
 Dordogne to — 
 
 48 k. Calviac. 1 k. r. of the station is a ferry over the 
 Dordogne to 6\ Mondane, an exceedingly pretty village in a 
 wooded hollow of the hills, with an old church, whence it is a 
 lovely walk up a rocky gorge to the Chateau, de Fcnelon, which 
 stands grandly at the end of a promontory. Few families have 
 
372 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 given more illustrious servants to Church and State in France 
 than that of Fenelon, of whom was Bertrand de Salignac, Marquis 
 de Fenelon, the distinguished soldier who, when ambassador 
 from France to England under Charles IX., refused to undertake 
 the justification of the massacre of S. Bartholomew to Queen 
 Elizabeth, saying to his king, ' Adressez-vous, sire, a ceux qui 
 vous Font conseillee.' Of this family also was that Marquis 
 Antoine de Fenelon, of whom the Grand Conde said that he was 
 1 egalement propre pour la conversation, pour la guerre, et pour 
 le cabinet.' Finally, in this old chateau was born (Aug. 6, 1651), 
 his nephew, Francois de Salignac de-la-Motte Fenelon, whose 
 great charm of manner, even more than his talents, brought him 
 into notice at the court of Louis XIV., where personal graces were 
 so highly esteemed. ' Cetait un esprit coquet,' says S. Simon, 
 1 qui, depuis des personnes les plus puissantes jusqu'a l'ouvrier 
 et au laquais, cherchait a etre goute et voulait plaire, et ses 
 talents en ce genre secondaient parfaitement ses desirs.' His 
 treatises on education led to his appointment, by Louis XIV., 
 as tutor to that unmanageable Due de Bourgogne of whom 
 S. Simon wrote — 'II naquit terrible, et, dans sa premiere jeunesse, 
 faisoit trembler.' The ascendency of Fenelon over Madame de 
 Maintenon, and the boldness with which he marked out her line 
 of duty, soon made him one of the most important personages 
 in France, and he was appointed by the king to the archbishopric 
 of Cambrai, upon the condition that he only remained in his 
 diocese for the time enforced by the canons of the Church, and 
 spent all the rest of the year at court. But his adoption of the 
 quietist views of Mme. Guyon, and of her theories on divine 
 love, condemned by Bossuet and Bourdaloue, led to the fall of 
 Fenelon from court influence in 1695, and to his banishment to 
 his archbishopric, whence he kept up by letter an animated 
 discussion with Bossuet. The urgency of his rival with the court 
 of Rome eventually led to the public condemnation of Fenelon's 
 book, Maximes des Saints. He received the news at Cambrai as 
 he was about to enter the pulpit, immediately took submission 
 to the^Church -as his theme, announced the condemnation of his 
 book, and concluded by expressing his complete acquiescence 
 in the 1 decision of the Pope. It was soon after this that the 
 publication of Telcmachus gave Fenelon a European reputation, 
 
FENELON. 
 
 373 
 
 but additionally irritated the king, who fancied himself described 
 in Idomenee. The rest of Fenelon's life was devoted to the 
 assiduous and noble fulfilment of his episcopal duties. His 
 declining years were saddened by the death of his beloved pupil, 
 the then saintly Due de Bourgogne, with whom he had kept up an 
 affectionate correspondence, and whom he had fully impressed 
 with the maxim that kings are made for their subjects and not 
 the subjects for kings. The bishop died in January 171 5, oc- 
 cupied to the last with paternal anxiety for his diocese, but full 
 
 CHATEAU DE FENELON. 
 
 of hope and peace for himself. Two of his great-nephews had a 
 certain celebrity in their time, Gabriel de Salignac, Marquis de 
 Fenelon, killed at the battle of Rancoux, and Jean-Baptiste de 
 Salignac, Abbe de Fenelon, almoner of Marie Leczinska, who 
 died on the scaffold in 1794. 
 
 Fenelon is a noble and perfect specimen of a chateau of the 
 xv. c. and xvi. c, and is unrivalled in position. A portcullised 
 gate leads into the outer enclosure, which has a walk upon the 
 well-defended walls, with glorious views of the mountain valleys 
 with their villages and rivers. After making the complete circuit 
 
374 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 of this court, one reaches the entrance of the second court, the 
 centre of which is occupied by the massive building of the main 
 structure — a solid feudal fortress on the side towards the land, 
 while on the side towards the precipice is an exquisite terraced 
 platform approached, from a very curious perron, by a draw- 
 bridge which isolates it at night. The whole is brilliant with 
 flowers in spring and summer, and the view is unspeakably 
 lovely over the many windings of the valley of the Dordogne, 
 
 TERRACE, FENELON. 
 
 with its towers and castles, and its varied background of purple 
 hills, breaking into cliffs towards the river. The Grande Salle has 
 a fine stone chimney-piece. 
 
 The line continues up the valley of the Dordogne, with its 
 woods and rocks, to — 
 
 57 k. Cazo?ilcs, whence there is an omnibus to Souillac. Here 
 the magnificent church, formerly abbatial, dates from the xn. c. 
 It is very massive externally, with polygonal apses. The mosque- 
 like interior is a Latin cross, and has a single nave with a gothic 
 arcade along each wall, surmounted by a gallery, and with two 
 
SOU ILL AC. 
 
 375 
 
 great cupolas. A third cupola is at the cross of the transepts. 1 
 The choir is semicircular, with a range of romanesque windows 
 under the vaulting. The high altar is under the cross, and the 
 choir, with its stalls, is behind it : three polygonal chapels open 
 from the apse. 
 
 Over the W. door is a representation ol the Last Judgment, 
 between throned figures — S. Peter and an abbot, and beneath 
 this is an extraordinary, probably unique pillar, and part of 
 another, composed of a mass of beasts rending and tearing each 
 
 SOUILLAC. 
 
 other. To find anything analogous to these strange sculptures 
 it is necessary to turn to Iceland and Scandinavia, to Anglo- 
 Saxon manuscripts, or to certain Hindoo sculptures. But in the 
 pillars at Souillac there is an effort at imitation of nature, which 
 would lead to the supposition that, though the sculptors derived 
 their first ideas from North-European works, they turned to 
 nature when they came to execution. A bearded figure in move- 
 ment is represented at either side. 
 
 1 The church is only 205 feet long internally, including the porch, and is 
 100 feet across the transepts. 
 
376 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 In the centre of the town is the ruined belfry of the old parish 
 church, destroyed when the abbey church was adopted as 
 parochial. The original parish church is now a most picturesque 
 ruin, and a splendid subject artistically. Over the portal is a 
 relief of Christ throned between two saints.] 
 
 563 k. Belvh, an ancient town, with houses of xm. a, 
 xiv. a, and xv. c. ; a church of xiv. c, and xv. c. ; a feudal 
 tower of xm. c, joining a chateau of xv. c. ; a belfry of 
 
 ARCADES OF MONTPAZIER. 
 
 xv. c. ; a renaissance house, etc. At Siorac-de-B elves are 
 great remains of an old castle. 
 580 k. Le Got. 
 
 An omnibus meets the early and late trains twice a day (those 
 who arrive by other trains must telegraph to be met) for the 
 curious hill-set town of Montpazier (Hotel : du Commerce — un- 
 usually good and clean), which was built by Edward I. of England 
 in 1284, and is little altered from his time. The town is a perfect 
 square, walled all round, and intersected by rectangular streets 
 
MONTPAZIER. 
 
 377 
 
 originally ending in six gates, of which three still exist, and 
 centring in the market-place, surrounded by huge arcades, through 
 which carriages drive under the houses. The perfect regularity 
 which exists in the plan of the town, all built at the same time, 
 is carried out in the uniformity with which all the houses are 
 constructed, and in the narrow alleys which separate them. The 
 most remarkable house is the Maison du Chapitre, with gothic 
 windows. The Caserne has fine gothic doorway and windows. 
 
 STREET, MONTPAZIER. 
 
 In the vineyards, detached from the town, are some remains of 
 the castle. It is said that the open rectangular form of the town 
 marked the confidence which was shown by its builders in a time 
 of peace, as well as its name — Mons pacis. The church, which 
 stands near the market-place, dates from the xiv. c. to the xvi. c. 
 It is a single nave with an apse of splendid vaulting, with fine 
 old stall-work, and with chapels at the sides entered by arches 
 of different heights. 
 
 It is a pleasant drive of 7 k., by hill and dale, and past the 
 old Chateau S. Germain, to where the grand Chateau de Biron 
 
378 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 crowns a far-seen eminence with its immense constructions. The 
 little town was fortified by the family of Gontault, of whom the 
 earliest known member was Gaston de Gontalt, Baron de Biron, 
 who died in 1374. A road winds on the ramparts to the gate of 
 the principal court, on one side of which are the chapel and a 
 picturesque pavilion of the xvn. c. 1 Through this pavilion 
 visitors are conducted to a walk on the walls by which they 
 reach the kitchen with its monumental cistern and fireplace. 
 The huge Salle de Reception is still very perfect. Another stair 
 
 PAVILION, CHATEAU DE BIRON. 
 
 leads to the Salle de Justice, and the Salle des Conferences — 
 all huge, desolate, and unfurnished. The library still retains 
 paintings of angels, and the motto, ' Non exaudio,' repeated upon 
 its beams. The hinges and decorations of shutters and doors 
 are beautiful specimens of metal-work. A graceful newel stair 
 leads to the roof; the gothic vaulting which surmounts it being 
 all of one piece of stone, purposely of a lighter kind than the rest 
 of the construction. In the cour d'honneur, which has a well 
 
 1 Visitors are not allowed to sketch within the walls of the Chateau de 
 Biron. 
 
CHATEAU DE BIRON. 
 
 379 
 
 and a portico with a fine view, are a few rooms still inhabited by 
 the young Marquis de Biron when he comes here every summer ; 
 but the whole castle was pillaged during the great Revolution, 
 only one huge marble table remaining from an earlier time. 
 
 Biron was made a duchy in 1598 by Henri IV. in favour ol 
 his faithless friend, Charles de Gontault, Marechal de Biron, 
 governor of Burgundy, ambassador to Queen Elizabeth, hero 
 of a hundred battles, whose life, as a young man, had been 
 saved by the king in person, and who had been loaded with 
 honours and riches by his master. Yet, with a degree of pride 
 which amounted to madness, Biron constantly boasted that Henri 
 owed his crown to his services, and complained of the king's 
 ingratitude. Finally, he entered into a treasonable correspond- 
 ence with Spain, though, finding himself deserted by his co- 
 conspirators, he stopped short in time, confessed his faults, and 
 implored the king's pardon. Henri IV. freely forgave him, 
 believing his repentance to be sincere, and, at the same time, 
 tried to occupy his restless spirit by sending him as ambassador- 
 extraordinary to England, and afterwards (1602) to Switzerland. 
 Only a year elapsed, however, before the king was again warned 
 that his friend was conspiring against him. He summoned Biron 
 to Fontainebleau, where he again urged him to confess, promising 
 him full forgiveness ; but he continued to deny all knowledge of a 
 plot, the proofs of which were in the king's hands. ' M. de Biron,' 
 said Henri for the last time, ' you know that I love you : only tell 
 the truth, and I will forgive you all.' Biron continued to declare 
 that he had nothing to tell. The king looked at him reproachfully, 
 and said : ' Then, M. de Biron — farewell ! ' In the ante-chamber 
 he was arrested and sent to the Bastille. There, the treasonable 
 letters which he had written were shown to him, and, feeling all 
 was lost, he implored his life. His old mother, widow of the 
 great Marechal de Biron, wrote a touching letter to the king to 
 the same effect ; his brothers and brother-in-law flung themselves 
 at the king's feet ; but it was too late. Henri spoke with sorrow- 
 ful pity to the suppliants, but 1 for the good of his children and 
 his people, he could not interfere with the course of justice.' 
 The only favour which the family obtained was that Biron should 
 be executed in the court of the Bastille instead of upon the 
 Place de Greve. 
 
3 8o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The father of the Due de Biron, the Marechal Armand de 
 Gontault, a hero of Arques and Ivry, had fallen in the battle of 
 Epernay, and his grandfather, Jean de Gontault, was mortally 
 wounded at S. Quentin in 1557, but since the time of the duke 
 the family has produced no illustrious members, except the young 
 Marquis Louis Antoine, who died in 1788. It was this high- 
 minded Frenchman who heard Admiral Rodney, detained in 
 France by his debts when the American war broke out, swearing 
 at the conduct of the French, and boasting that if he was free 
 he should soon subdue the Americans and destroy the French 
 fleet. Forthwith he paid the debts of the Englishman and set 
 him free, saying : ' Partez, monsieur ; allez essayer de remplir vos 
 promesses : les Francais ne veulent pas se prevaloir des obstacles 
 qui vous empechaient de les accomplir ; e'est par leur seule 
 vaillance qu'ils mettent leurs ennemis hors de combat.' 
 
 The castle chapel is a singular building of two storeys. The 
 lower, of flamboyant architecture, on the level of the town, serves 
 as the parish church ; the upper, of the beginning of the xvi. c, 
 opens upon the level of the castle court, whence it is entered by 
 a wide flamboyant portal. In the centre is the tomb of the founder, 
 Pons de Gontault, lord of Montferrand and Carbonnieres, who 
 died in 1524, with reliefs upon its four sides, and his reclining 
 statue. On the r., in a chapel, is the tomb of an archbishop 
 of the family, who is represented again, with Pons de Gontault, 
 kneeling before a Pieta, in figures of wonderful expression. An 
 Entombment, with many figures, is also full of character. 
 
 Only 4 k. from Biron is La-Caftelle-Biron, the native place of 
 Bernard Palissy. 
 
 587 k. Villefranche-de-Belvh. On L is the chateau de 
 Sermet^ of 1616, with an older tower. At Besse (6 k. N.E.) 
 is a cromlech of twelve large stones, arranged in a circle 
 round a thirteenth. The church is romanesque with a 
 curiously-sculptured portal. The renaissance chateau was 
 restored under Louis XV. 
 
 593 k. Sauveterre-de-Fumel, has a fine old gothic church 
 and xiii. c. castle. At ik., on the L, are seen the ruined 
 
PUY-L&VEQUE. 
 
 towers of the Chateau de Bagel. On the r. is S. Front \ 
 whose old church has a curious lofty circular battlemented 
 apse. 
 
 602 k. Cuzorn. 
 
 6 k. N.W. is the ruined xiii. c. Chateau de Gavaudtm, which 
 belonged to the family of Belzunce. 
 
 608 k. Monsemfiron-Libos, a junction station (see below). 
 Monsempron has a very curious romanesque church, of con- 
 siderable architectural interest, with a choir, which is chiefly 
 xv. c.j and a renaissance W. portal; 
 
 [An excursion of 10 k. N.E.imay be made to the important and 
 interesting Chateau de Bonaguil, built 1450, for the family of 
 Roquefeuil — a picturesque mass of square and round towers, with 
 a polygonal keep and an outer enclosure, the walls of which are 
 pierced for cannon, and are the earliest example in France of this 
 means of defence. The castle, which belongs to the town of 
 Fumel, is well preserved.] 
 
 [Most travellers will turn aside E. at the junction station of 
 Monsempron-Libos, by the picturesque valley of the Lot, to — 
 
 609 k. (from Paris) Fumel (Hotel : de la Poste), whence the 
 interesting excursion (8 k. N.E.) to the Chateau de Bonaguil (see 
 above) may be made. 
 
 621 k. Duravel, at the foot of steep rocks above the Lot, 
 has a romanesque church with a crypt. The town was vainly 
 besieged by the English under Robert Knolles. 
 
 626 k. Puy-V Eveque, in the vine land. The town, on a hill on 
 J., has a church of xiv. c. and xvi. c, with a flamboyant portal 
 beneath a great square tower. A fortress tower is of xiii. c. A 
 xv. c. house in the Rue Bial has a sculptured portal. There is a 
 fine suspension bridge over the river. 
 
 633 k. Castelfranc, has a very picturesque bastide of thexin. c, 
 which belonged to the bishops of Cahors. 
 
 640 k. Luzech, now usually looked upon as the Uxellodunum of 
 
3§2 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the Gauls. The town (2 k. S.E.), which belonged to the bishops 
 of Cahors, has a ruined xiii. c. castle. Near it are the remains of 
 the Gaulish Oppidum de VImpernal. 
 
 644 k. Parnac. From the line we see the (xv. c.) Chateau 
 de V Angle, then, after crossing the Lot, the renaissance Chateau 
 de Grezette ; then, following the river bank, we have a most grand 
 view of — 
 
 650 k. Mercues, with the intensely picturesque, still inhabited 
 xiii. c. chateau of the bishops of Cahors, rising gloriously from 
 
 PONT VALENTRE, CAHORS. 
 
 perpendicular precipices above the limpid river— a splendid 
 subject for artists. The ruined castle of Pradmes, built by the 
 English, is seen on the 1. before reaching — 
 
 658 k. Cahors (Hotels : de I Europe — best ; des Ambassadeurs), 
 the ancient Divona. On approaching the episcopal city, the 
 extraordinary bridge known as the Pont Valentre, or Pont de la 
 Calandre, is seen upon the r. It is the most beautiful and com- 
 plete bridge which has anywhere remained in existence from the 
 xiii. c. Built across the Lot in 125 1, it united the walls of the 
 town, and consists of six pointed arches, on the central and two 
 
CAHORS. 
 
 333 
 
 extreme piles of which stand three towers, that in the centre 
 being square, but those at the ends wider on one side than the 
 other. From the level of the bridge battlemented stairs lead to 
 the first floor of each of these towers. The bank of the river 
 opposite the town is lined by high limestone cliffs, so that on 
 that side the bridge could only be approached sideways, whether 
 from up or down the stream, between the cliffs and the river. On 
 that side, therefore, the approach was fortified by a small castle, 
 which commanded the road and the lower heights of the cliffs, 
 and had a double gate which allowed entrance at a right angle to 
 the level of the bridge outside the first tower. The parapets of 
 this first tower were battlemented, and communicated on one 
 side, by a staircase equally battlemented, with the upper defences 
 of the castle. Its boldly projecting machicolations (moucharabis) 
 made the defenders certain of crushing their assailants, because 
 the weights thrown down could only fall before the embrasures 
 of the gates. After passing through the machicolated portal of 
 the first tower, the first half of the bridge was entered, which was 
 commanded by the great central tower, ascended by a staircase 
 contained in a continuation of one of the breakwaters. This 
 central tower was also defended by a gate. After passing this, 
 the second half of the bridge was entered, commanded by a third 
 tower, defended by machicolations. Finally, on the side towards 
 the town, another gate defended the approach to the third tower, 
 which was ascended by an embattled staircase, resting on a 
 flying buttress. The breakwaters served as refuges, and were 
 embattled, so as to guard the bridge, whilst cutting the river. 
 Unfortunately, owing to recent restorations, the bridge looks 
 almost new, and in spite of its quaint setting of rocks, is ruined 
 k from an artistic point of view. 
 
 Opposite the Hotel de France is the picturesque xvn. c. brick 
 tower of the Lycee. Hence, following the Boulevard Gambetta as 
 far as the Place Thiars, we may see on the 1. the little Roman 
 gateway of some baths, known as Porte de Dia?ie. On the r. rises 
 the Palace, built by Pope John XXII., with a great square tower. 
 Born at Cahors early in thexiv. c, Jacques d'Euse was the second 
 cobbler's son who had sat on the throne of S. Peter. In turn 
 tutor to the royal children of Naples, bishop of Frejus, bishop of 
 Avignon, cardinal of Porto, the Conclave of Lyons raised him 
 
384 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 to the Pontificate in 13 16. The Italian cardinals consented to 
 his election, after having exacted a promise that he would never 
 mount horse or mule till he should set out on his return to Italy. 
 He kept his vow ; but after his coronation at Lyons, he quietly 
 dropped down the Rhone in a boat to Avignon, and there fixed 
 the seat of his pontificate. Worldly, cruel, avaricious, and even 
 accused of heresy by his contemporaries, he tormented the world 
 till the age of nearly ninety. Though to his native place he was 
 boundlessly generous, he inspired greater terror there than any- 
 where else, because he had actually caused Hugues Geraud, then 
 bishop of Cahors, to be flayed alive and torn asunder by wild 
 horses, on an accusation of compassing his life by the use of 
 magical arts. 
 
 Close to the palace of the pope is the xiv. c. church of Notre 
 Dame, and the Place Lafayette, with a monument in honour of 
 the soldiers who fell in defence of their country in 1870-71. At 
 the back of the church, the Rue Soubirons and its ramifications 
 lead, like Edinburgh wynds, to the lower town. Here is the 
 Chateau Royal, where the Senechal de Quercy resided, with a 
 tower of the xiv. c. The narrow street ends at the Place des 
 Petites Boucheries, whence the cathedral is reached by the Rue 
 Clement Marot, which recalls the birth, in 1495, of the poet- 
 author of the Roman de la Rose, the devoted valet- de-chambre 
 of Marguerite de Valois. 
 
 The Cathedral of S. ittienne was reconsecrated by Calixtus II. 
 in 1 1 19, and its principal buildings are probably of that date, 
 though a much earlier has been assigned to them. The W. 
 front, which has a fine rose-window, only dates from the xiv. c. 
 Hence a flight of steps leads down to the level of the nave, 
 which has two cupolas, apparently built in imitation of those at, 
 Perigueux, and resting on the same massive pillars, between 
 which gothic chapels have been here constructed. There is no 
 central tower. The gothic vaulting of the choir is of 1293. The 
 vast windows, of the same date, were formerly filled with rich 
 glass, of which only a single fragment remains. In the chapel of 
 the Virgin is the tomb of its founder, Bishop Sicard de Montaigu, 
 who died in 1300. The frescoes, discovered under the whitewash 
 in the choir, and dating from 131 5, have all been repainted; and 
 the ancient figures of S. Genulphe, the apostle of Cahors, and his 
 
CAHORS. 
 
 385 
 
 successor, S. Gaubert, once in one of the cupolas, no longer exist. 
 In one of the chapels are some frescoes of the time of Louis XII. 
 The pretty little cloister, recalling that of Cadouin on a small 
 scale, was built by Bishop Antoine de Luzech (1494 — 1 5°9)- A 
 three-lobed S. portal is veryjgraceful. 
 
 The N. portal, though dilapidated, and with its base buried 
 
 CATHEDRAL PORCH, CAHORS. 
 
 in the earth, is, however, the most remarkable point in the 
 cathedral. In this a porch, with a cradle roof, overshadows 
 the two gothic bays of the portal, which are of lowly height in 
 order to leave room for the sculptures of the lintel and tympanum. 
 On the lintel, under low trefoil arches, are ranged the apostles. 
 In the centre of the tympanum is the figure of Christ, perhaps the 
 noblest sculpture in western France, surmounted by two ranges 
 
 2 5 
 
386 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 of bas-reliefs, representing Jesus and the Woman of Samaria, 
 the Stoning of S. Stephen, the Life of S. Genulphe, etc. 
 
 1 Le Christ occupe le centre dans une aureole allongee. Cette 
 belle sculpture contemporaine, ou peu s'en faut, de celle de la 
 porte de Vezelay, n'en a pas la secheresse ni Faprete. Mieux 
 modelee, plus savante, sans accuser les tendances au realisme 
 des ecoles du Nord ni l'affeterie de celle de Toulouse, elle 
 indique un etat relativement avance sur une voie tres-large, une 
 recherche du beau dans la forme, qui n'existe nul part ailleurs sur 
 le sol francais a la meme epoque.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 Behind the cathedral a beautiful promenade extends along the 
 river side. Beyond the gothic Pont Neuf rise the picturesque 
 ruins of a Dominican convent. On the 1. is the Maison Henri IV. } 
 or Roaldes, of the xv. c, one of its windows beautifully de- 
 corated with a sculpture of roses ; and beyond this 6*. Urcisse, 
 a good early xm. c. church. Hence a broad street leads to the 
 Allees Fenelon, at the entrance to which stands a statue of 
 Gambetta, born at Cahors in 1838. On one side is the theatre, 
 opposite which the river is reached by the Rue des Boulevards, 
 a narrow street containing the Maison Pezet, a splendidly 
 decorated house of the Renaissance. 
 
 7 k. (on the road to Villefranche-de-Rouergue) is the fine 
 xvii. c. chateau of Arcambal, in a district abounding in dolmens. 
 
 8 k. in the direction of Montauban is the interesting roman- 
 esque church of Le Montat. 
 
 [For the line from Cahors to Capdenac see later.] 
 
 [A road leads to (57 k.) Gramet (on the line from Brive to 
 Figeac), passing (34 k.) La-Bastide-Murat, of which King 
 Joachim Murat was a native. 7jk. S.E. of this is Caniac, with 
 a romanesque church, with the shrine of S. Nymphaise in its 
 crypt.] 
 
 The line from Cahors to join the southern railway to 
 Montauban, passes through a desolate barren country of white 
 limestone. Continuing the line to the S. from Cahors, we 
 pass — 
 
MONTP&ZA T. 
 
 387 
 
 684 k. Montpezat. 5 k. 1. is the little hill-set town of Mont- 
 pezat (with a small clean inn), like a mountain town in the 
 Abruzzi. It has arcades of the same character as those at Mont- 
 pazier, though smaller. The town ends in a grassy platform, where 
 its old women sit knitting and gossiping in the shade of a great 
 stone crucifix. All around extends a vast expanse of country, 
 almost painfully distinct in the perfectly clear atmosphere, from 
 
 CHURCH OF MONTPEZAT. 
 
 the delicate tints of the pink and blue distance, to the nearer 
 hills with their vineyards dotted with white villages and farm- 
 houses, and the different white roads which unite below the hill, 
 after winding over lowland and upland for ten miles of their 
 course. Close beneath is the xm. c. church, with its magnificent 
 decaying rose-window, its bold parapets and rough roofs of 
 conical tiles ; the single lofty vaulted nave of the church ending 
 in an apse, which forms the choir. At the entrance of this are 
 
388 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 two tombs of early bishops, and around it hangs a curious narrow 
 xv. c. tapestry, representing the legend of S. Martin. Admirable 
 stall-work remains, and several curious early reliquaries and 
 diptychs. 
 
 To the r. is the loftily situated bastide of Montalzai. 
 
 1 Entre Figeac, Cahors, et Montauban, toute la zone calcaire 
 a la plus grande ressemblance avec les causses orientaux de 
 l'Aveyron et de la Lozere : memes etendues monotones, pier- 
 reuses, recouvertes d'un rare gazon, meme rarete des eaux 
 courantes, memes gouffres en forme d'entonnoirs ou se perdent 
 les eaux de pluie, memes sources pures jaillissant a la base des 
 falaises dans les vallees qui decoupent le plateau, la plus grande 
 difference dans l'aspect du pays provient de la moins grande 
 elevation du sol et de la douceur relative du climat.' — jfrlisee 
 Recites. 
 
 698 k. Caussade (Hotel : Besse). The church has an octa- 
 gonal brick belfry surmounted by a crocketed stone spire, and 
 mounted upon a fortified stone tower. This, to the traveller 
 coming from the north, is the first perfect specimen of the 
 characteristic Toulousan architecture, with which he will after- 
 wards become familiar. 
 
 [A road leads E. from Caussade to (51 k.) Villefranche-de- 
 Rouergue, by (21k.) Cay lux, a picturesquely situated town, 
 overlooked by a ruined castle of xm. c. and xv. c. The (xiv. c.) 
 church is fortified. 3 k. N. is the pilgrimage chapel of Notre 
 Dame de Livron.'] 
 
 722 k. Montauban, see ch. v.] 
 
 Continuing the line from Monsempron-Libos to Agen, 
 we come to — 
 
 614 k. Trentels'Ladtgnac. Trentels has a xm. c. church. 
 
 624 k. Penne-d y Agenais. Considerable ruins exist of a 
 castle, taken by Simon de Montfort in 12 12, by the English 
 in the xiv. c, and the Catholics and Protestants in xvi. c. 
 
VILLENE UVE-SUR-L O T. 
 
 389 
 
 One of the town gates remains. 3 k. S.E. are the ruins of 
 Cast el- Gaillard. 
 
 [There is a branch from Penne to (9 k.) Villeneuve-sur-Lot 
 (Hotels: Lamouronx ; de France), a bastide of 1264, which 
 belonged to the English from 1279 to 1337. In the xvi. c. the 
 town, besieged by Marguerite de Valois, was under the com- 
 mand of a young Ciotat, whose father was in the hands of the 
 enemy. The prisoner was brought beneath the ramparts to 
 exhort the town to surrender, as the only means of saving his 
 life. The young man, with four brave companions, pretending 
 to parley, descended from the walls, dispersed the escort, and 
 brought back his father in safety, and Villeneuve held out 
 successfully. Like all the bastides, the town has rectangular 
 streets, meeting at a central market-place surrounded by arcades 
 (cornieres) of xiii. c. On the side towards the Lot are xni. c. 
 ramparts, and two gates, with their high towers, still stand. The 
 central arch of the xiii. c. bridge was rebuilt under Louis XIII. 
 1 k. N.E. is the Abbaye d'Eysses, turned into a prison. 3 k. S.W. 
 is Pujols, a walled village of the xiii. c] 
 
 636 k. La Roque-Timbaut. 1 k. 1. is the village, with 
 ruined walls and castle, and a xv. c. chapel. 
 
 An excursion may be made by (2J k.) Bourdiels, with a xv. c. 
 church and remains of a house of the Templars, to (5 k.) Haute- 
 fage, a most picturesque place, overlooked by a lofty decorated 
 tower built by Leonard and Antoine de la Rovere, bishops of 
 Agen, in the xvi. c. This now serves as belfry to the xv. c. 
 church, once the chapel of the castle, and which contains a 
 miraculous spring and black image of the Virgin. 
 
 An excursion of 12 k. W. may be made to Beauville, an 
 ancient bastide, with ruined ramparts and xiii. c. church. 
 
 The line passes (1.) the ruined chateau of Bajamont. 
 65 1 k. Agen, see ch. v. 
 
39Q SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The line from Limoges to Toulouse by Montauban 
 passes — 
 
 429 k. (from Paris) La Meyze. 
 
 4 k. S.E., at Roche-VAbeille, are a XIH. c. church, a dolmen, and 
 ruins of a chateau, which was long the resort of a band of coiners. 
 
 442 k. S. Yrieix (Hotel : du Faisan — good). The little 
 town on the Loue, founded by the monk Yrieux at the end 
 of the vi. a, contains a very fine early gothic collegiate 
 church, called Le Moutier. The porch dates from the 
 beginning of xn. c. ; the rest was all built, as it now stands, 
 in twenty-seven months, May 17, 1181 — Aug. 25, 1183. 
 The church forms a Latin cross, having a nave without 
 aisles, except in the first bay, but three parallel choirs, that 
 in the centre ending in a three-sided apse, which was added 
 or rebuilt in the middle of the xiil c, those at the sides 
 terminating in flat walls. 
 
 A gothic portal opens from the S. wall, beneath a frieze 
 which is half romanesque, half gothic, with a figure of 
 Christ throned in the centre. Above this is a triple lancet 
 window of great beauty. The nave, choir, and transepts 
 are surrounded by an arcaded gallery resting upon corbels. 
 The tower, at the W. end, has a storey of three-lobed 
 romanesque arches ; two windows, each divided into two 
 lights, adorn each of the four faces of the upper storey. In 
 the sacristy are three beautiful reliquaries, one of the xn. c, 
 the two others of the xm. c. On the r. of the dark en- 
 trance stands a miraculous image of the Virgin, the railing 
 in front of it being covered with ex-votos of the oddest kind. 
 
 45 1 k. Coussac-Bonneval. The fine chateau of Bonneval 
 is xv. c. restored, and has great machicolated towers. The 
 church has a lanterne des morts of the xm. c. 
 
CHATEAU de pompadour. 
 
 39* 
 
 456 k. S. Jitlien-le- Vendonnois. 
 
 6 k. S.S.W., in the valley of the Vezere, is the picturesque 
 town of Segur, with curious old houses, a romanesque chapel, 
 and a ruined castle. 
 
 468 k. Pompadour. The Chateau de Pompadour is a 
 grand xv. c. castle with huge towers and conical roofs, 
 preserving its outer bastions intact, with a complete circle 
 of bastion towers, all still inhabited by dependants. 
 Antoinette Poisson, the butcher's daughter, who became 
 
 CHATEAU DE POMPADOUR. 
 
 the mistress of Louis XIV., for whom Pompadour was 
 erected into a marquisate, never lived here. At her death 
 the estate was inherited by Choiseul, who made a haras 
 near the castle, which is still kept up. Arthur Young 
 (1787) mentions that the horses at Pompadour had to be 
 confined at night, on account of wolves, ' so common as to 
 be a great plague to the people.' 
 
 2 k. N.W. is the curious xn. c. church of Arnac, a single nave 
 ending in an apse, and with a transept formed by an apse on 
 either side. On the facade are three romanesque statues in 
 niches. 
 
392 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 15 k. E. is Vigeois, with a romanesque church which belonged 
 to a Benedictine abbey. The road crosses the Loyre opposite 
 (8 k.) the Chartreuse de dandier, a most picturesque spot, where 
 the monks were re-installed in 1874. 
 
 4 k. S.S.E. is the interesting little church of Beyssac, bearing 
 the arms of Pope Innocent VI. (Etienne Aubert), who was born 
 in the parish, at the hamlet of Monts. The partially ruined 
 Chateau de la Riviere (1 k. S.) is used as a succursale to the haras 
 of Pompadour. 
 
 478 k. Vignols-S.-Solve. 
 
 3 k. S.W. is S. Bonnet-la-Riviere, which has a very curious 
 circular romanesque church with an ambulatory. 
 
 483 k. Objat. 
 
 2 k. N.W. is S. Cyr-la- Roche, with a xv. c. church, whence 
 (at 6 k.) one may reach Le Saillant (see below). Near this the 
 line from Thiviers will fall in. 
 
 490 k. Le Burg. 
 
 2 k. E. is 6*. Viance, where the church has a fine xiii. c. reli- 
 quary. 10 k. W. is Aye7i, which gives the name to a duchy 
 attached to the house of Noailles. On a huge buttress outside 
 the church is a fanal fimeraire, and further in the same direction 
 (at 14 k.) is 6*. Robert, with a xn. c. church. To the 1. of the road 
 (at 6 k. from Burg), the ruined castle of Yssandon is passed. 
 
 There is a public carriage from Le Burg to A llassac, which is 
 only 3 k. from Le Saillant (see below). 8 k. from Saillant is the 
 picturesquely situated village of Comborn, with a ruined castle. 
 6 k. from Allassac is Donzenac, with a fine belfry and walls of 
 xiv. c. ; all this district is full of beauty. 
 
 502 k. Brive (Hotel : de Bordeaux — an excellent old- 
 fashioned inn, with friendly people, where the table-d'hote, 
 in hot weather, is spread under the vine-covered berceau in 
 the garden ; a capital centre for excursions, as several rail- 
 ways meet here). Brive is a pretty place, with boulevards 
 of plane-trees, lined by handsome houses of the last century, 
 
393 
 
 each having its little garden full of lilacs and magnolias. 
 These enclose the old town, a labyrinth of narrow streets of 
 rugged pavement, converging at the market-place, which 
 contains the vast church of S. Martin, dating partly from 
 the xii. c, partly from the xvi. c, and altered in the xvm. c. 
 It has an immensely lofty nave, divided from its narrow side 
 aisles by huge circular pillars. There are many admirable 
 old houses and tourelles in the winding streets The 
 Seminary has a beautiful renaissance screen of slender 
 columns, with the portal in the centre. The church of 
 S. Liberal is xiv. c. Statues commemorate Marshal Brune 
 and Dr. Majour, benefactors of the town. 2 k. distant on 
 the Toulouse road are the pilgrimage Chapel and Grotto of 
 S. Anthony, of Padua. 
 
 The most important excursions to be made from Brive are — 
 1. Rocamadour; 2. Tulle and Gimel ; 3. Uzerche; 4. Obazine. 
 Other places worth visiting are — 5. Turenne ; 6. Martel ; 7. Pom- 
 padour and S. Yrieux ; 8. Hautefort and Excideuil. Those who 
 stay long at Brive will also drive to (20 k. ; carriage, 1 5 fr.) Le 
 Saillant, a picturesque old village and bridge, with an old manor- 
 house where Mirabeau used to stay, a little below a gorge through 
 which the little river Vezere rushes in pretty cascades. This 
 excursion, however, is less worth while than the others. 
 
 [The road from Brive to (36 k.) Souillac (see p. 374), passes 
 (8 k.) Noailles, the cradle of the famous family of that name. In 
 the church are enamelled reliquaries of the xin. c. (3 k. W. is the 
 ruined Chateau de Couzage). At 10 k. is the Chateau de la Faye y 
 a modern building replacing an old residence of the Dues de 
 Noailles, but with fine xv. c. sculptures used in its construction.] 
 
 [A pleasant drive of four hours, through wooded upland 
 country, leads to (31 k.) Uzerche, passing ■ through -"the^village of 
 Donzenac ) which has a fine church spire. At the farmhouses 
 along the road, and in all this part of France, we see how the pigs 
 
394 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 and goats are completely part of the family, the former often lying 
 asleep with their heads in the lap of the housewife, who sits 
 with her knitting by the wayside, to be amused by a chance 
 carriage. From solitary houses huge dogs usually spring out and 
 follow for some distance ; they are often dangerous from seizing 
 horses by the throat, but seldom attack foot passengers. There 
 is a steep descent before reaching Uzerche, which covers the 
 opposite hill. 
 
 CASTLE OF UZERCHE. 
 
 Uzerche (Hotel : Sargai — good, clean, and reasonable, with 
 a charming view from its garden). 
 
 4 The view of the town of Uzarch, covering a conical hill, 
 rising in the hollow of an amphitheatre of wood, and surrounded 
 at its feet by a noble river, is unique. Derry, in Ireland, has 
 something of its form, but wants some of its richest features. 
 The water-scenes from the town itself, and immediately after 
 passing it, are delicious.' — Arthur Young, 1787. 
 
UZERCHE. 
 
 395 
 
 The town occupies a promontory, surrounded by the Vezere, 
 retains its old walls and gates, and has streets which are a history 
 of domestic architecture from the XII. c. to the xvn. c. There is 
 no end to the picturesque subjects, which might occupy an artist 
 for months. At the summit of the hill rises the noble cruciform 
 
 GATE OF UZERCHE. 
 
 church of the XI. c. and xn. c, with a gabled tower like that of 
 S. Junien. 
 
 ' Le clocher d'Uzerche est construit en granit, et les faces 
 diagonales de l'etage octogone sont portees par des encorbelle- 
 ments interieurs. Le beffroi, de charpente, repose sur une voute 
 en calotte a base octagonale, percee a son sommet d'une lunette 
 pour le passage des cloches.' — Voillet le Due. 
 
396 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Several parts of the church are fortified, and retain their 
 great machicolations, but those on the W. tower have been re- 
 cently destroyed. A boy with a lanthorn shows the crypt, which 
 is entered from the exterior. Here a number of priests took 
 refuge during the revolution, this part of the town, defended by 
 its own walls, belonging entirely to the clergy. At the end of a 
 crypt is a tomb, the sanctity of which is supposed to cure 
 
 CHURCH OF UZERCHE. 
 
 lunatics, who are often shut up here with that object ! Corpses 
 are still often laid in its hollow for six months before being buried 
 elsewhere.] 
 
 [A line runs E. to Ussel, for the most part through desolate 
 country. But an excursion should be made by the railway from 
 Brive as far as Tulle and Gimel, to which the line runs through 
 mountain-forests or along the banks of the sparkling Correze. 
 The railway passes — 
 
OBAZINE. 
 
 397 
 
 ilk. Obazine, 3 k. from the village, which is reached more 
 pleasantly by the charming drive, through woods and pastures, 
 from Brive (carriage, 10 fr.) A beautiful road, winding through 
 ancient chestnut woods, leads up the hill from the station to 
 Obazine (an excellent country inn, where artists may stay with 
 comfort), which clusters round the remains of the magnificent 
 
 CHURCH TOWER, OBAZINE. 
 
 abbey founded by S. £tienne d'Obazine, who died at the abbey 
 of Bonaigue in 1 159, after a long life of good works and miracles, 
 which are still the topic of the forest-villages in these parts. 
 The noble cruciform church, of the xn. c, is one of the purest 
 and finest specimens of its date. It has a cradle-vaulted nave 
 with side aisles (only a fragment of that which originally existed), 
 and a stone cupola over the cross, surmounted by a low octagonal 
 tower. The apse is completely romanesque, but the rest of the 
 
398 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 church early gothic. The N. transept has a long staircase con- 
 necting the church with the monastery. In the same transept is 
 a magnificent armoire contemporary with the church. Several 
 objects of interest of xn. c. and xiii. c. are preserved in the curious 
 two-storeyed sacristy, which has windows with designs in lead. 
 
 THE NUN'S STAIRCASE, OBAZINE, 
 
 The S. transept contains the glorious tomb of the founder, to 
 which his relics were transported in 1280 — one of the most re- 
 markable sepulchral monuments in France. The sleeping figure 
 of S. 6tienne, clad in sacerdotal robes, lies under a canopy sup- 
 ported on all sides by open arches of exquisite delicacy. The 
 spandrils above the arches are filled with beautiful leaf sculpture, 
 and a band of little leaves supports the cornice under the canopy. 
 
OBAZINE. 
 
 399 
 
 The sloping roof of the sarcophagus-canopy is covered on the 
 N. with arcades, filled with figures of the monks and nuns of 
 Obazine and Coyroux, children of S. Etienne, bringing their 
 works, manual and intellectual, as offerings to the Virgin and 
 Child, throned in the last arch. On the S. the monks and nuns 
 are represented as received into the heavenly life by their pro- 
 tection. The figures are marvellous in drapery and expression. 
 The spandrils above are filled with lovely representations of 
 angels, and a beautiful garland of leaves runs along the summit. 
 
 TOMB OF ST. ETIENNE, OBAZINE. 
 
 Beneath the whole is a band 01 roses. In the tympanum at the 
 foot of the tomb is a vine, and at the head are an oak, a pear, and 
 a cherry, symbolic of the earthly work of the monks. 
 
 To the N. of the church is the Abbey ; where some of the later 
 buildings are still entire, and are occupied by sixteen nuns, who 
 are the Providence of the surrounding country, and who maintain 
 here as large an orphanage as their limited resources allow. In 
 the charming garden is a large fountain, formed from a single block 
 of stone. The romanesque chapter-house, supported by columns, 
 now used as a chapel for the orphans, is still entire. It was here 
 that S. Etienne rested, with his first companions, Bernard and 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Pierre, till his translation to the church. Below the ruins of the 
 kitchen a rushing stream of clear water falls into a large reservoir, 
 and amid the walnut-groves on the hill above is the still efficient 
 canal cut in the rock by S. Etienne to bring to his new foundation 
 the springs which rise in abundance near the (now ruined) 
 monastery of nuns at Coyronx, also founded by S. Etienne. 
 Lovely gorges, richly clothed with vines and walnuts, surround 
 Obazine in all directions. A road] leads S. from Obazine to 
 
 CHAPTER-HOUSE, TULLE. 
 
 Beynat, where, near the hamlet of Brugeilles, is the dolmen called 
 La Cabane des Fees. 
 
 1 8 k. Cornil, has a xn. c. castle. 
 
 26k. Tulle (Hotels: Notre Dame; de Lyon). Tulle is not 
 seen from the railway, but lies in a hollow of the hills — a long 
 narrow town, divided by the clear Correze, rushing under many 
 bridges. It is said that Christianity was first preached at Tulle 
 by S. Martial, the apostle of Aquitaine in the I. c, but its religious 
 history really dates from the foundation of its monastery of 
 
TULLE, GIMEL. 
 
 401 
 
 S. Michel, c. 360, by S. Martin of Tours, after whom it was after- 
 wards called. This monastery continued to exist till its conventual 
 church was made episcopal by Pope John XXII. in 13 18, and its 
 last abbot, Arnold de Saint-Astier, became the first bishop. 
 
 The Cathedral, of the beginning of the xn. c, has a beautiful 
 tower and lofty stone spire, and is celebrated in modern times 
 for its miraculous image of S. Joseph. Its plan is that of a 
 basilica, without choir or transepts, and its interior, of romanesque 
 changing into early gothic, has little beauty. But the Cloister, 
 now used as a mason's yard, forms the approach to a monastic 
 chapter-house of xn. c, adorned with rich zigzag ornament. In 
 the square behind the cathedral is a very interesting xv. c. house, 
 known as la Maison de I Abbe. The handsome modern Eveche 
 looks down upon the cathedral from the opposite hill. Several 
 dolmens exist in the vicinity of Tulle. 
 
 The manufacture of tulles, to which the place gave a name, 
 has been long since abandoned here, and is transferred to 
 Calais. 
 
 The whole district is rich in antiquities. At Naves (5 k. N.) 
 are Roman ruins known as Les Arenes de Tintignac, and 
 near it the tumulus of Chaunac and the feudal mound of 
 Chdtelard. At Laguenne (2 k. S.) is a xn. c. church containing 
 curious inscriptions and a singular dove of enamelled copper 
 suspended from the roof. A house of the xiv. c. was built by 
 Cardinal Sudre, who was born at Laguenne. A road leads 
 S.E. from Tulle to the gorges of the Dordogne near Auriac and 
 S. Privat, and to La Roche Carillac, with its ruined castle. 
 At 6". Marlin-la-Meanne is the fine Cascade de Crevesac. At 
 Servieres, a once fortified town, is an old castle of the Turenne. 
 
 [A railway is in construction from Tulle to (85 k.) Aurillac. 
 It will pass (30 k.) Argentat, on the Dordogne, which here 
 becomes navigable, but only for argentats — flat boats which do 
 not draw more than three feet of water.] 
 
 Up into the hills of the Correze, and into the masses of the 
 chestnut forests, through exquisite scenery, ascends the railway 
 after leaving Tulle, and on one of the high ridges is — 
 
 39 k. Gimel, a desolate little station (no carriage) in a wild 
 forest country, only here and there an old farmhouse, each with 
 
 26 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 its own little shrine and stone crucifix, and, about a mile from 
 the station (turning r.), a rambling village, intensely picturesque, 
 possessing two lofty ancient stone crucifixes and, a church with a 
 peculiar flat W. tower pierced with four arches for bells, and 
 a curious xn. c. reliquary. Below this is a stone bridge at a 
 
 FALLS OF GIMEL. 
 
 beautiful point amongst rocks, where the river Montane leaps 
 down to the valley. A tiny path just beyond the bridge leads 
 through the garden of a peasant to the finest view of the upper 
 fall, which is perhaps the most beautiful, though there is a second 
 and a third fall lower down. 
 
 56 k. Rosters. 3 k. are the ruins of the Chdteait de Maumon* 
 
EGLETONS, LARCHE. 403 
 
 the birthplace ol the Popes Clement VI. and Gregory XI. The 
 country now becomes wild and heathy. 
 
 62 k. Egletons. The church has xin. c. reliquaries. 4 k. is 
 the fine ruined Chateau de Vcndadour, of XII. c. and xv. c. 
 The Chateau de Lieitteret was built in the xvn. c. by the widow 
 of the Constable de Montmorency. The road from Egletons to 
 Ussel passes through £*. Angel, which has a very curious xn. c. 
 priory church, with a triple nave. The square apse was added 
 in the xiv. c. The buildings of the priory (xv. c.) are now the 
 presbytery. 
 
 68 k. Soudelltes. The church has a xiv. c. tomb and a curious 
 reliquary. 
 
 81 k. Meymac. The important romanesque church belonged 
 to an abbey. There is a feudal tower of xv. c. The triple 
 porch is of the xi. c, the three apsides of xin. c. 
 
 94 k. Ussel, see South- Eastern France. 
 
 1 Le territoire, nu, triste, est fort eleve en moyenne, et Ton 
 pent y voyager pendant des journees entieres en se maintenant 
 a sept ou huit cents metres d'altitude : nulle region en France 
 n'offre plus de continuity dans ses plateaux que ces espaces 
 granitiques, parcourus des troupeaux de boeufs ; aussi le pays 
 est-il encore tres-depourvu de grandes voies de communication ; 
 sur la carte des chemins de fer francais, c est autour de ce terri- 
 toire que se trouve la maille la plus large du reseau.' — A Usee 
 Rectus. 
 
 The district to the S. of Ussel has a certain wild grandeur. 
 Excursions may be made to the gorges of Roche-le-Peyroux, on 
 the Diege, a tributary of the Dordogne.] 
 
 [For the line from Brive to (79 k.) Thiviers, see p. 352.] 
 
 [A line of 72 k. connects Brive with Perigueux, passing — 
 9 k. Larche. The church of 6*. Cernin-de~Larche is xn. c. The 
 scenery of the Vallee de la Roche is picturesque. Near this are 
 the dolmens of La Palaine and La Chassagne. A little S.E. is 
 Chasteau, with a picturesque neighbourhood, in which the artist 
 will find much to attract him in the fortified rock of Pille- Brive ; 
 
404 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the ruined xiv. c. Chateau de Couzage in the forest of the same 
 name ; and several rocky valleys and caves. 
 
 19 k. Terrasson, which has a gothic church and other remains 
 of a Benedictine abbey. 
 
 25 k. Condat, which has a chateau of 1540 and a house of the 
 knights of Malta. The line passes 1. the Chateau de Rastignac, 
 before reaching Thenon. 
 
 52 k. Milhac-d 'Auberoche. 2 k. 1. is the modern Chateau de la 
 Bazsse, with an ancient machicolated tower.] 
 
 Leaving Brive by the beautiful line towards the S., we 
 reach — 
 
 518 k. (from Paris) Turenne. The great castle which 
 rises on the r. was — almost till the Revolution — the seat of 
 viscounts who exercised a sovereign jurisdiction over a cer- 
 tain number of towns in the neighbourhood. A number of 
 houses are of the xin. c, xiv. a, and xv. a, and two grand 
 towers of the castle remain, a circular tower — Tour de 
 Cesar — of the xm. c, and the huge square keep of the 
 xiv. c. At the village of Nazareth (W.) are houses of 
 xiv. c. and xv. c. Jugeais, close by, has an ancient chateau. 
 Nearly facing the station of Turenne (1.) is the old Chateau 
 de Linoire ; then, on r., the restored xvi. c. Chateau de 
 Couze ; on the 1. Cavagnac, with a xm. c. castle. A little 
 E. is Collonges, with many curious old houses and a church 
 with a romanesque tower. 
 
 523 k. Quatre- Routes. 
 
 3 k. r. is Cazillac, with its feudal fortress. After crossing 
 some open ground, the rocks supporting the plateau of Puy 
 d'Issolud are seen on 1. 
 
 530 k. S. Denis ) where the line from Le Buisson and 
 Sarlat (see p. 367) will fall in on r. 
 
M ARTEL, BEAU LIEU. 
 
 7 k. on this line is Martel {en Quercy), which has a beautiful 
 xv. c. church, with a xil. c. portal, on which the Last Judgment is 
 sculptured, and a tower of 15 13. The Hotel de Ville is xiv. c. 
 with a battlemented belfry and fine carved chimney-piece of 
 xvii. c. Near this a house of xn. c. and xiv. c, which is shown 
 as that in which Henri Court-Mantel, eldest son of Henry II. of 
 England, died in 1183, immediately after pillaging the sanctuary 
 of Rocamadour, for which his contemporaries regarded his pre- 
 mature end as a punishment. The house is really of later date, 
 and probably replaces that in which the prince died. Many 
 houses are of xiv. c, xv. c, and xvi. c. A tower of xiii. c. has 
 served as a prison. 
 
 [A road leads E. from S. Denis to (3 k.) Vayrac, which has a 
 xv. c. church, with a fortified apse. A few k. S. of this is 
 Carennac, with a very interesting romanesque church, ruins of a 
 Cluniac priory, and the Maison Tillac^ containing a splendid 
 renaissance chimney-piece. 
 
 From Vayrac, a somewhat intricate road leads E. to Beaulieu, 
 an old fortified town, rather difficult of access, but well worth 
 a visit. The magnificent church of xn. c. and xiii. c, which 
 belonged to a famous Benedictine abbey, has a gothic facade and 
 a glorious S. portal decorated with reliefs, those on the r. repre- 
 senting Daniel in the Lions' Den, Avarice and Luxury ; those on 
 the 1. the Temptation of Christ and His Victory over Satan. At 
 the sides are statues of the Virgin and Christ, and half-length 
 reliefs of SS. Peter and Paul. In the tympanum is the Last 
 Judgment. The interior has a triple nave with little tribunes, 
 transept with an octagonal tower in the centre, and central apse 
 surrounded by an ambulatory with three radiating chapels. In 
 the sacristy are reliquaries of xn. c. and xiii. c. A precious 
 enamelled statue of the Virgin is xn. c. A xn. c. chapel was 
 formerly the parish church. Several houses are xiii. c, xiv. c, 
 and xvi. c, and opposite the church is a restored house of xv. c. 
 with a remarkable chimney. 
 
 8 k. S. of Beaulieu is Bretononx, a. town built at once in 1279, 
 and retaining two of the gates of its old fortifications. At 
 Gintrac, near this, are the ruins of the castle of Taillifer. 
 
 It is well worth while to visit the picturesque ruined castle of 
 
4o6 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Castelnau-de-Bretonoux, on a rock separated by a natural rift 
 from its chain of hills, with a splendid view over the valleys of 
 the Dordogne and Cere. The encircling ramparts are flanked by 
 great towers at the angles. In the centre is a xiij. c. donjon 
 decorated with machicolations of xv. c. The ancient audience 
 chamber is preserved ; a beautiful upper hall is lighted by 
 romanesque windows ; the xiv. c. or xv. c. chapel has remains of 
 frescoes and simple stall-work of xv. c. The ancient collegiate 
 church, now parochial, is of 1330-31, and has a stone banc 
 'seignenriale, xv. c. stalls, an altar with a wooden retable of xv. c, 
 renaissance glass, and a painted pulpit of time of Louis XIV. At 
 Bonneviolle is a little romanesque church. ] 
 
 On the 1. of the railway is seen the plateau of Puy d'Isso/ud, 
 the ancient Uxellodunum (high-hill), where the Gaulish chief- 
 tain Lucterius, the friend of Vercingetorix, took refuge after 
 the fall of Alesia. 1 The garrison, protected by their walls of 
 natural rock, held out for a long time, being well provisioned 
 and supplied with an abundant spring. But eventually, by 
 underground passages, Caesar contrived to turn aside the 
 waters of their spring, and then thirst compelled them to 
 capitulate. With them fell the last fortress of Gallic liberty. 
 All those who had borne arms had their hands cut off, that 
 they might carry terror into the rest of the kingdom ; and 
 Lucterius was reserved, with Vercingetorix, to swell the 
 triumph of Caesar. 
 
 1 Ce fut la derniere bataille de la liberte gauloise.' — Henri Martin. 
 
 The railway now begins to perform an extraordinary 
 curve, to leave the rich plain of vines and walnuts, and to 
 ascend perpetually. On 1. are the xvi. c. chateau and the 
 xv. c, church of Floirac. Then the castle of Mirandol rises 
 
 1 See South-Eastern France. 
 
ROCAMADOUR. 407 
 
 above the precipices of the Tourmente and the Dordogne. 
 At the summit of the pass, which is reached by the railway, 
 is — 
 
 537 k. Montvalent. Above the gorge on r. is seen the 
 village of G/uge, with an old romanesque church and the 
 fortified (xiv. c.) cavern of Taillifer. Then we cross a 
 stony plain — Le Causse de Gramat — the waters of which are 
 all lost in rocky chasms, recalling those of Calabria. 
 
 549 k. Rocamadour (Hotels : des Templiers ; S. Marie), the 
 most interesting place in this part of France. 
 
 At the station a number of omnibuses wait, 1 and for 10 c. 
 (during the time of the pilgrimages in May and September, 
 otherwise 1 fr.) convey us over 3 k. of desolate country, 
 which give no idea of what is beyond, till we reach a little 
 gothic chapel and the ruins of the Hopital de S. Jean, 
 intended as a fortified resting-place for pilgrims. The 
 octagonal stone lanthorn still exists where a lamp guided 
 them to their refuge at night, close to the first gate leading 
 to the ' bourg.' Hence the town is seen hanging over the 
 edge of the opposite precipice, piled house upon house, with 
 its sanctuaries wedged in half way up the cliffs, and, at the 
 top of all, the castle. We descend into the valley of the 
 Alzou, a deep gulf of green, known as La Vallee Tenebreuse? 
 and the pilgrims, who have arrived by our train, descend 
 with us in a crowd. Many of these take a rocky path to 
 the r. — £ the Pilgrims' Way ' — which leads direct to the 
 sanctuaries. A second and a third gate open from the lower 
 
 1 On the few occasions when there are not likely to be pilgrims, the omnibus 
 only meets the train once in the day. Those who wish to return by the 5.20 
 express, which does not stop at Rocamadour, must drive to catch the train at 
 Gramat (1 hr.), and must then make a strict agreement with the driver for 5 fr. 
 
 2 So called in the bull of Pope Pius II. 
 
408 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 road to the little town, which is full of xv. c. houses, one of 
 them very rich in sculpture. The artist may find a glorious 
 subject in the tall yellow gate and the quaint houses in the 
 cool shadows beyond, with their oleanders in tubs, whilst in 
 
 ROCAMADOUR. 
 
 the foreground vines are clustering over the time-stained 
 walls, and clinging in festoons from a terraced parapet which 
 supports a number of flowering plants in old vases — green, 
 yellow, and red. One of the best houses is in the Rue 
 de la Couronnerie, so called from the crowning of the 
 rebel Henri Court-Mantel, son of Henry II. of England, as 
 
ROCAMADOUR. 
 
 409 
 
 king of Aquitaine. There are some remains of the Chateau 
 de la Charrette — a gothic portal and a vaulted hall now used 
 as a wine-cellar. A flight of 215 steps, ascended by the 
 faithful on their knees, leads hence to the churches. Near 
 
 ASCENT TO THE SANCTUARIES, ROCAMADOUR. 
 
 the top, the steps are intercepted by a group of buildings — relic 
 shops, the Hotel des Templiers, and the excellent Restaurant 
 S. Marie, which supplies comfortable lodging to travellers. 
 
 More relic shops, a gothic gate, and a most picturesque 
 winding stair under heavy gothic arches and a gallery in the 
 
4io SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 convent, lead to the extraordinary court which recalls the 
 Cappucini of Amalfi, overhung by stupendous rocks and 
 surrounded by the buildings of the sanctuary. These, with 
 a quaint tourelle on the side towards the valley, belong to 
 the Palace of the Bishops of Cahors. We next enter the 
 Chapelle de S. Jean — the Baptistery containing the beautiful 
 tomb of Arnaldi de Valon, Knight of S. John of Jerusalem, 
 with his effigy at eighty, the age at which he died. An 
 older branch of the family brought a lawsuit to compel the 
 removal of this tomb from its original position — the place 
 of honour on the r. Then comes the Chapelle de S. Blaise^ 
 then that of S. Anne, with a beautiful rose-window. 
 
 A flight of steps now descends into the lower Chapel of 
 S. Amadour, dating from n 66, and covered with frescoes, 
 one of which represents the finding of the incorruptible 
 body of S. Amadour, and another the visit of S. Saturnin of 
 Toulouse and S. Martial of Limoges to the saint, when he 
 Jived here as a hermit. In this chapel there is an admirable 
 stone pulpit. Over the altar are the relics of S. Amadour. 
 The original reliquary is still to be seen on the 1., with the 
 marks of the fire by which it was nearly consumed by the 
 Huguenots. Above the entrance to the lower church of S. 
 Sauveur, a stair leads to the upper church, which retains its 
 rough pavement — a vast vaulted rectangular hall, frescoed all 
 over with representations of illustrious pilgrims, including, on 
 the L, S. Louis, Robert d'Artois, Charles d'Anjou, Alphonse 
 de Poitiers, Alphonse de Boulogne who came here in 1245, 
 and Louis XI., with the date 1463. On the r. are Charles le 
 Bel and Marie de Luxembourg, his wife, with John, King 
 of Bohemia, pilgrims in 1324 ; and John, then Duke of 
 Normandy, in 1344. The chapel would be gaudy if it were 
 
ROCAMADOUR. 
 
 411 
 
 not for the dim light from the stained windows, in which 
 the figures of the nuns gliding in and out are mysteriously 
 visible. A huge crucifix stands in the centre. 
 
 ENTRANCE TO THE MIRACULOUS CHAPEL, ROCAMADOUR. 
 
 A graceful open gallery leads from the chapel of S. 
 Sauveur to that of the Virgin, La Chapelle Miraculeuse, 
 containing the famous black image, before which Henry II. 
 (on his second pilgrimage here) made his vow of recon- 
 
412 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 ciliation with Becket. The chapel was rebuilt by Denis 
 de Bar, bishop of Tulle, in 1479. It i s entered by a 
 beautiful gothic portal, above which S. Joseph appears on 
 one side, on the other the Annunciation, with God the 
 Father in benediction above. The cabbage-leaf decorations 
 are exquisitely sculptured. At the side, are remains of a 
 fresco of the 4 Dance of Death.' On the W., the Chapel 
 of the Virgin is walled by the living rock ; but this and the 
 rest of the walls are covered with crutches, manacles of 
 Christian captives taken by the Saracens, and other votive 
 offerings ; and a little ship, offered by a naval captain 
 hangs from the rocky roof. The walls are also incrusted 
 with marble tablets of ' Reconnaissance a Notre Dame de 
 Rocamadour,' of ' Merci a ma Bonne Mere.' A little picture 
 is very interesting, as having been offered by M. et Mme. 
 de Lamothe-Fenelon, in gratitude for the cure of their 
 son, then an infant, afterwards the famous archbishop of 
 Cambrai. In accordance with her will, the mother of 
 Fenelon is also buried in the vestibule of this chapel. On 
 the altar is the statue of the Madonna, said to have been 
 brought to these solitudes by Zacchaeus, the publican of the 
 Gospels, who is affirmed to have lived here in a hermitage, 
 before going to Levroux, where he died, and is honoured 
 under the name of S. Sylvain. On the r. wall are two 
 exquisite flamboyant tabernacles. The number of banners 
 hanging from the galleries, the pictures, cases of jewels and 
 other offerings to the Madonna, and the votive candles ever 
 burning in a girandole, give splendid effects of colour and 
 the picturesqueness of an Italian sanctuary. The bell 
 hanging in the vaulting of the chapel, and supposed to be 
 that of the original oratory of the hermit Amadour, is 
 
ROCAMADOUK. 
 
 413 
 
 believed never to be rung except by supernatural hands. 
 It is considered to be one of the earliest bells in France, 
 and was brought from Rome. 
 
 On emerging from this chapel, we find on the r. a cavern 
 containing the tomb of S. Amadour the first pilgrim to the* 
 hermitage of Zacchaeus, and founder of the Madonna shrine 
 The venerable figure of Amadour is seen through the bars 
 of a grating, between which the peasants throw sous, so 
 that, at the end of a great day of pilgrimage, the reclining 
 statue is almost covered with copper pieces. Curious old 
 stone candelabra at the sides of the tomb await the candles 
 which are offered at it. A monument in the wall close by 
 commemorates Benjamin Caillac, by whom the pilgrimage 
 of Rocamadour was revived in recent days. 
 
 Opposite to the Chapel of the Virgin is that of S. Michel, 
 more entirely a cavern. A great sword preserved here is 
 said to be that of Henri Court-Mantel, eldest son of 
 Henry II. of England, left here in exchange when he 
 took away the famous Durandel of Roland, vowed to the 
 sanctuary when he passed it on his way to Spain, and 
 sent hither after the battle of Roncesvalles. Hence 
 galleries wind along the edge of the precipice, every 
 projecting ledge being occupied by oleanders and other 
 flowers. 216 steps lead to the Castle, which may also 
 be reached by a Chemin de la Croix, winding through 
 thickest of cytizus and laburnum, to a Gethsemane and a 
 S. Sepulcre in a grotto, supported by pillars, given by 
 different votaries. From beneath the great cross on the 
 highest point of the rock, which came from Jerusalem, 
 and was brought hither by a barefooted pilgrimage, the 
 Bishop of Cahors preaches during the great fete — ' avec 
 
4H 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 sa voix de tonnerre ' — between Sept. 8 and 15, when the 
 whole valley is illuminated, and all the pilgrims bear 
 torches. Here the missionaries of Rocamadour have their 
 residence, and thence they go forth on their excursions 
 of piety and charity. 
 
 An excursion may be made to (3 k.) the source of 
 the Ouysse, and the little neighbouring lake called Le 
 Gouffre de S. Sauveur. 
 
 3 k. from the station of Rocamadour is Alvignac, where the 
 patients lodge who use the waters of Miers. The road hither 
 passes close to the curious gulf and cavern of Le Reveillon. 
 
 3 k. beyond Rocamadour the pretty fall called Le Saut de la 
 Pucelle is seen on r. 
 
 556 k. Gramat (Hotel : de Bordeaux), has churches of 
 xv. c. and xvi. c. 
 
 The neighbourhood, especially the valley of the Alzon towards 
 Rocamadour, is full of picturesque and wild scenery. 
 
 Le Gouffre de Bede, in the desolate ' Causse,' is an extraordinary 
 chasm filled with culture, and recalling the latomiae of Syracuse, 
 and still more the famous Pozzo di Santulla, near Alatri. The 
 bottom of the hollow is shaded by noble walnut-trees, but 
 labourers are not obliged, as at Santulla, to be let down by 
 cords : a narrow fissure in the rocks allows them to pass with 
 the beasts employed in their work. 
 
 573 k. Assier, has the very interesting remains — a fagade 
 adorned with medallions and a grand staircase — of the 
 noble Chateau built by Galliot de Genoillac, grand-master 
 of artillery under Francois I. A number of the houses 
 in the village are adorned with fragments from the chateau. 
 The beautiful church, also built by Galliot (c. 1546), con- 
 
FIGEAC. 
 
 415 
 
 tains his tomb, which he constructed in his lifetime, a 
 sarcophagus bearing his reclining statue, and with a bas- 
 relief at the side, on which he is represented in relief, with 
 all the engines of artillery. Near the station is a dolmen. 
 At Livernon (5 k. S.W.) . is the fine dolmen of Pierre 
 Mar tine. 
 
 592 k. Figeac (Hotels : des Ambassadeurs — good rooms 
 and food, horrors ; des Voyageurs\ which owes its origin to 
 a monastery founded by Pepin le Bref in 755, surrounded 
 by walls in the xi. c. Taken twice by the English in the 
 xiv. c, pillaged by the Protestants in the xvi. c, and 
 ravaged by bandits in the xvn. c, Figeac, on the r. 
 bank of the river Cele, is more a town of the past than 
 of the present. Its curious narrow winding streets centre 
 in a square, La Place Basse, which contains the market- 
 house, with its circular arcades covered by a pointed roof 
 of xvi. c. In the Rue Gambetta, near this, is a very fine 
 old house, with romanesque windows. 
 
 The principal church, S. Sauveur, formerly belonged to 
 a Benedictine abbey subject to Conques. Built at the 
 end of the xi. c, it was repaired in the xiv. c, when a 
 fine romanesque portal was destroyed to make way for the 
 wretched W. facade and its tower. The interior is stately 
 and striking in spite of changes. The plan is a Latin cross 
 with three E. apsides : at the intersection of the transepts 
 is a tower surmounted by a dome of the xvn. c. All the 
 upper part of the nave and transepts seems to be later than 
 the lower, which, according to an inscription in the nave, 
 was consecrated by Gerard II., bishop of Cahors. The S. 
 side is the best preserved, but even here, over the roman- 
 esque arcades, is a gothic gallery of xiv. c. The choir 
 
4i 6 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 retains complete its ancient romanesque character, though 
 it bears the singular inscription — ' Dieu m'a ornee, 1540 : 
 Dieu m'a reparee, 1761.' The benitiers rest on corinthian 
 capitals reversed. From the S. transept opens a beautiful 
 xiii. c. Chapter House of two aisles, the vaulting of which 
 is sustained by two isolated pillars. On the exterior of the 
 church a line of very curious corbels remains, evidently 
 replaced from the earlier building. 
 
 LES HALLES, FIGEAC. 
 
 Near the bridge is the Chateau de Balenes, sold by 
 Edward III. of England in the year of his death to the 
 consuls of Figeac, and adorned with roses and -shamrocks. 
 For a time it was used as a Palais de Justice ; now it is a 
 school. It has very beautiful gothic doors and windows. 
 Close to the Rue Ortabadial (abbot's garden) is an exceed- 
 ingly beautiful house, of which the fagade is lighted on the 
 first floor by eight windows, united two and two under four 
 gothic arches, and resting on little columns, of which the 
 
FIG E AC. 
 
 417 
 
 capitals and bases are composed of delicately sculptured 
 foliage, without mouldings. Quatrefeuilles of similar form 
 are pierced in the tympanums. On one of the side walls 
 rises, in turret form, an octagonal chimney sustained by 
 little columns, of which the capitals are adorned with 
 figures. Turning hence to the Place CJiampollioH (so called 
 from the famous orientalist who was born close by in 1790), 
 we find a house, with three beautiful double windows with 
 rich tympanums, under gothic arches adorned with crocket 
 foliage of the xiv. c. 
 
 Quite at the top of the town, above a little public garden, 
 is the Church of Notre Dame de Puy> of the xn. c, con- 
 sisting of a wide nave of seven bays, surrounded by an 
 aisle and terminating in three little bays with apses. The 
 upper part of the church is lighted by xm. c. windows. 
 Before the principal apse rises an immense altar-piece 
 of 1696. 
 
 1 Ouatre colonnes torses, d'un travail exquis, soutiennent un 
 large fronton couvert d'une profusion de moulures. Ca et la, un 
 gout epure peut reprendre, il est vrai, des details ou mal places 
 ou bizarres a l'exces, mais il est impossible de ne pas reconnaitre 
 et de ne pas admirer la magnificence de l'ensemble. Peu de 
 boiseries du meme temps pourraient entrer en comparaison avec 
 celles-la, et l'execution materielle me semble au-dessus de tout 
 eloge. ' — Prosper M erimee. 
 
 On the hills above Figeac, at Lissac and Ciugle, still remain 
 two of the four Aiguilles which once marked the bounds of the 
 sanctuary of the abbey of S. Sauveur. They were also used to 
 support torches to guide travellers lost amongst the hills, and 
 bring them to the town in the hollow. 
 
 7 k. W. of Figeac are the xiv. c, castle of Camboiriit, and the 
 xv. c. Chateau de Cei?it d'Eau. 
 
 [The road from Figeac to (79 k.) Cahors passes (14 k.) 
 
 27 
 
4i 8 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Fro?itenac, with some remains of a Roman temple near the 
 church. Another road (78 k.) by the Vallee du Cele passes 
 (30 k.) Mareillac, near which is the curious stalactite cavern 
 called Grotte de Marcillac. A third road (69 k.), by the Cansse 
 de Gramat, passes (46 k.) the Moulin de S. Hilaire, near 
 which, at Mtircens (1 k.), are very curious remains of a Gaulish 
 fortress. 
 
 598k. Capdenac. (Hotel: Raynal — annexed to the 
 railway buffet). The town is situated on the opposite 
 bank of the Lot, in a most picturesque position. It was 
 important in the middle ages, and in the xvi. c. became 
 one of the great strongholds of Calvinism. A suspension 
 bridge connects it with the station. There are remains 
 of the ancient gates. The Chateau de Sully, on the ram- 
 parts, was sometimes inhabited by the minister (who was 
 Seigneur of Capdenac) after the death of Henri IV. At 
 the foot of the rocks which overhang the village is La 
 Fontaine de Cesar, approached by a descent of 130 steps, 
 defended by loopholed walls. 
 
 [A line of great interest leads E. from Capdenac towards 
 Rodez and Mende, see ch. viii.] 
 
 [The line to Cahors turns W. from Capdenac by — 
 
 14 k. Toirac, which has a fortified church. 
 
 25 k. Carjac, with remains of a castle of the bishops of Cahors. 
 3^ k. is the curious abyss called Goitffre de I 'Antony \ quite worth 
 visiting, and near it the ruins of a conventual church founded by 
 S. Nymphaise. 
 
 32 k. Calvignac, has an old chateau. 
 
 36 k. .S. Martin- Lab otiv at. The huge chateau of Geitevieres, 
 which belonged to Waifre, Due d'Aquitaine, rises on a precipice 
 above the Lot. The buildings, of xin. c, xv. c, and xvi. c, are 
 well preserved. The neighbouring Causse de Limogne abounds 
 in dolmens. 
 
 41 k. .S. Cirq-la-Poftie, on a rock above the 1. bank of the Lot, 
 
VILLEFRANCHE-DE-ROUERGUE. 
 
 419 
 
 has a ruined xm. c. castle, a fine xv. c. church, and a number of 
 old houses. It is a picturesque and interesting place. Condnchct 
 has a xvi. c. chateau. 
 
 53 k. 61 Gery, has a number of subterranean refuges and a 
 tumulus in its commune. At Vers are remains of a Roman 
 aqueduct, which took to Cahors the waters of the fountain 
 of Polemic. The line becomes very picturesque on passing 
 the defile of Tustal. 
 
 72 k. Cahors, see p. 382.] 
 
 Continuing the line to the S., we come to — 
 606 k. Naussac. 4^ k. S.E. is the curious old town of 
 Peyrnsse, which is seen on the 1. 6 k. W. is the ruined 
 castle of Balaguier. Then, on emerging from a tunnel, 
 we see the xv. c. Chateau de la Roque^ and, further on, 
 the Chateau de la Case. The valley is very prettily 
 wooded. 
 
 612 k. Salles-Courbatier. In this neighbourhood are 
 a number of dolmens. On the r. we pass the Chateau 
 de Rousset. 
 
 617 k. Villeneuve. The village is 4 k. W. of the station. 
 The church has two opposite apses, that to the W. of 
 xii. c, that to the E., as the greater part of the church, 
 of xiv. c. The two gateways and many houses are of 
 xv. c. We see (1.) the Chateau de Vouzac, and frequently 
 cross the Algousse, before reaching — 
 
 628 k. Villefranche-de-Rouergue (Hotels : Grand Soleil 
 — very good ; Notre Dame). The town was founded 
 c. 1252, and received from Alphonse de Poitiers, Comte 
 de Toulouse, the number of immunities to which it owes 
 its name. Taken by the Black Prince, it was the first 
 to give, in 1368, the signal for the contest which ended 
 in the expulsion of the English from Guienne. In 1554 
 
420 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the Protestant chiefs who had stirred up the religious 
 dissensions were hung by Montluc from the windows of 
 the Hotel de Ville, which the Protestant inhabitants after- 
 wards avenged by the murder of the Catholic governor 
 sent by Henri IV. 
 
 The town centres round a square surrounded by 
 arcades, and containing a very fine xv. c. house (there 
 is another in the next street). The walk under the 
 arcades is continued under the huge tower of the Church 
 of Notre Dame, which encloses its splendid entrance. 
 The church is a single nave of xiv. c. and xv. c, flanked 
 by chapels, with a central apse, and two side apses form- 
 ing transepts. In the central apse are rose-windows : that 
 on the r. xiv. c. ; that on the 1. xv. c. Between the 
 principal apse and that on the N. is a hexagonal tower, 
 crowned by a balustrade and spire. The choir possesses 
 a stone pulpit and splendid wood-carving. A curious 
 sculpture of the Sacrifice of Isaac is below the W. 
 tribune. 
 
 One must turn 1. from the station to reach La 
 Chartreuse, which is on the opposite side of the Aveyron 
 from the town. It is now converted into a hospital, but 
 its immense buildings are well worth visiting. The 
 Church, a single nave ending in a seven-sided apse, 
 contains very fine xv. c. wood-carving. On the 1. is 
 the entrance of the Little Cloister, a masterpiece of late 
 gothic, with four arcades divided by mullions on either 
 side. In the corner is a renaissance fountain. From 
 the smaller, we enter the Great Cloister, where the simple 
 gothic arcades are divided by buttresses. The refectory, 
 of three bays, preserves its beautiful pulpit. A service 
 
VILLEFRANCHE-DE-ROUERGUE. 
 
 421 
 
 in the church is well worth attending. The writer was 
 at the hospital on the festival of Corpus Domini, when 
 the strange procession of maimed, blind, halt, and dwarfs 
 was very touching, as, carefully conducted by the sisters 
 
 IN THE LITTLE CLOISTER, VILLEFRANCHE-DE-ROUERGUE. 
 
 of charity, it passed chanting through the cloisters, or 
 knelt in the open air before altars of flowers under the 
 old lime trees full of the delicious scent of their June 
 bloom. 
 
 The plateaux of Le Rouergue, too poor to produce 
 
422 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 wheat, are occupied by segales, or rye-fields ; but they 
 are very rich in mineral treasures— coal, anthracite, iron, 
 lead, and zinc. 
 
 Excursions may be made from Viliefranche to (2 k. N.W.) the 
 ruins of Notre-Dame-de-Treize-Pierres, with a church used as a 
 barn. 2 k. N. is the Chateau de Graves, flanked by round 
 towers, taken in 1562 by Montluc, who put all its defenders to 
 the sword. 
 
 The railway passes the plain of Mespoul, said to have 
 been the site of the Gaulish city of Carentomagus. Then 
 crossing the Aveyron, the ruined Church of La Madeleine 
 is seen (1.) under a rock. Then (1.) Morlhon, with the 
 ruins of a castle which Du Guesclin took from the 
 English. On the river (r.) is the Chateau d ' Orlhouac, 
 xiii. c. to xvi. c. 
 
 638 k. Monteils. The Aveyron now enters a deep 
 rocky gorge, from which it and the railway emerge under 
 the castle of Najac. Few lines in France have such 
 a singular and beautiful course as this through the deep 
 winding defiles of the Aveyron. 
 
 644 k. Najac, a place of exquisite beauty (there is no 
 carriage at the station unless a letter has been previously 
 sent to the Hotel du Midi). 
 
 From the Pont de la Fregeaire, over the Aveyron, built 
 in 1288, it is a steep and fatiguing walk up into the town, 
 which stands on a great height, and with its old gates, the 
 pavements of its streets formed of the natural rock, and its 
 houses of xiii. c.j xiv. c, and xv. c, is very picturesque. 
 On the highest point of the hill is the Castle, originally 
 built in 1 1 10 by Bertrand, son of Raymond IV., comte de 
 
NAJAC. 
 
 423 
 
 Toulouse, and rebuilt by Alphonse de Poitiers in 1252. 
 Occupied successively by the English (xiv. c. and xv. a), 
 by the Ligueurs (1590), and by the Croquants (c. 1643), ft 
 was sold for t 2 fr. at the Revolution, and, after being used 
 as a quarry, was resold for 1,500 fr. to the present proprietor ! 
 
 NAJAC. 
 
 The castle has two lines of fortifications ; the first, 
 flanked by square towers, surrounds three sides of the 
 second, a vast rectangle formed by thick ramparts and 
 flanked by four round towers, a square tower, probably 
 older than the others, and a magnificent cylindrical 
 keep. 
 
424 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 A little below the castle, on a rocky platform, is the 
 contemporaneous Church, with a straight E. end and two 
 lateral chapels of xin. c. The W. porch is approached by 
 a staircase and surmounted by a rose-window The xm. c. 
 lancet windows have the singularity of being closed by slabs 
 of stone, which are pierced with quatrefeuilles. 
 
 ABBEY OF BELLOC. 
 
 An artist will do well to spend a few days at Najac. 
 
 654 k. La Gtieftte, at the confluence of the Aveyron and 
 Viaur, a river which rises in the Levezon and has a course 
 of 162 k., much of which is through rocky gorges. 
 
 ' Sa vallee, — on pourrait presque dire son tortueux precipice, — 
 est une des merveilles de la France.'— Joanne, ' Geographic de 
 r Aveyron! 
 
LEXOS. 
 
 425 
 
 On the r. bank of the Viaur is S. Martin- la- Gutpie^ 
 with an old bridge and ruined castle of xvi. c. After 
 emerging from a rocky defile, we see (r.) the Chateau de 
 Belpechy xv. c, and further on (r.) the church and chateau 
 of Varen. 
 
 663 k. Lexos (Hotel : Nationale). This is only a village 
 
 CHATEAU DE CORNISSON. 
 
 of eight houses, all cafes or hotels ; but the situation, as a 
 junction station, is so central, that the traveller, who is not 
 very particular, may do much worse than sleep here for a 
 few nights and make excursions from hence. 
 
 3 k. N.E. is the romanesque church of Varen, where the choir 
 terminates in a straight wall, but has apsidal chapels. The first 
 
426 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 storey of the tower, which alone is xi. c. or xn. c., has three 
 buttresses on each side. S. of the church is a chateau of xiv. c. 
 or xv. c. 
 
 nk. (carriage, 5 fr.) is a rich wooded valley, overflowing with 
 corn and wine, and close to the road is the ruined Cistercian 
 
 HOTEL DE VILLE, S. ANTONIN. 
 
 Abbaye de Belloc (Beaulieu), founded 1141, but for the most part 
 rebuilt xm. c, xiv. c, and xvn. c. The church (now used as a 
 store for wine) is a single nave of five bays, with a transept and 
 apse lighted by unusually long lancet windows. The rose- 
 windows of the W. end and transepts are strikingly beautiful and 
 well preserved. 
 
 2 k. further up the valley is the beautifully situated and still 
 
5. ANTONIN. 
 
 427 
 
 inhabited Chateau de Cornisson — partly fortress, manor, and 
 farmhouse. A winding path leads to it through the vines and 
 clematis of the hill-side. It is approached by a very picturesque 
 little gateway, which had its portcullis. 
 
 [A line connects Lexos with Montauban, passing — 
 13k. 6*. Antonin (Hotel: Albouy — very clean and good. No 
 omnibus at station), a very pretty place, with lovely views of 
 river, rocks, and woods, but with thoroughly French poplar 
 scenery. The town, which owes its origin to a monastery 
 founded by Pepin le Bref in 763, had its own Vicomtes, one of 
 whom, Raymond-Jourdain, was famous as a troubadour. The 
 church is modern, but S. Antonin possesses a precious and 
 unique building in its romanesque Hotel de Ville of the middle 
 of XII. c. 
 
 ' II est certainement Tun des plus curieux edifices civils de la 
 France. II servait de halle a rez-de-chausee. Le premier et le 
 second etage contenaient chacun une salle et un cabinet. Une 
 tour servant de beffroi couronnait un des cotes de la facade. . . . 
 La construction de tout le monument est traitee avec soin, faite 
 de pierre tres-dure du pays ; la sculpture est d'une finesse et 
 d'une purete remarquables ; tous les profils sont d'un excellent 
 style et tailles en perfection. De cuvettes de faience emaillee, 
 incrustees dans la pierre, ornaient certaines parties de la facade. 
 Sur l'un des deux piliers qui coupent la claire-voie en trois 
 travees, on remarque une statue d'un personnage couronne, tenant 
 un livre a la main droite et de la gauche un long sceptre termine 
 par un oiseau ; sur l'autre, un groupe d'Adam et Eve tentes par 
 le serpent. Ces figures en ronde bosse, petite nature, sont d'un 
 beau caractere et sculptees avec une extreme delicatesse de 
 details. La figure du personnage couronne a ete l'occasion de 
 quelques discussions. Quelques-uns out voulu voir la Moi'se, 
 d'autres Charlemagne, d'autres un roi contemporain du monu- 
 ment. . . . Nous verrons dans cette statue le Christ dominateur.' 
 — Viollet le Dttc, vi. 89. 
 
 On leaving S. Antonin, the railway passes through a mag- 
 nificent defile in the limestone cliffs above the Aveyron. 
 
428 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 26 k. Penne. The caverned rock on the 1. is crowned by the 
 battered ruins of a famous Chateau, which has stood many sieges 
 from Simon de Montfort, the English, the Routiers, and the 
 Protestants. 
 
 33 k. Bruniquel. High upon a cliff on I. rises the magnificent 
 Chateau, the older parts of which date from the XI. c. The 
 chapel is of xn. c, the later part, with the beautiful gallery 
 towards the Aveyron, of the Renaissance. The device Rien sans 
 
 CHATEAU DE BRUNIQUEL. 
 
 peine (Penne) is to be seen, in allusion to the longing which the 
 Vicomtes de Bruniquel had to possess the neighbouring chateau 
 of Penne, which, however, they never obtained. The town has 
 its old gate and houses of xiii. c, xiv. c, xv. c. Scarcely any 
 artistic subject in France is finer than that formed by the noble 
 chateau on its perpendicular precipices above the river, with its 
 clear water and deep green shadows. 
 
 [An excursion of 10 k. S.E. may be made to Puycelci, a very 
 
PUYCELCI, CORDES. 
 
 429 
 
 curious little fortified town, preserving its ancient walls and their 
 ten towers of xiv. c. and xv. c. The church, of the same date, 
 has a lofty xviii. c. tower. In the Maison Feral is a fine xv. c. 
 chimney-piece.] 
 
 39 k. Montr icoux } with a castle of xiii. c, and a Templar 
 church of xiv. c. 
 
 STREET OF CORDES. 
 
 46 k. Negrepelisse. The gothic churdi has a stone spire on 
 an octagonal tower. 
 
 59k. Montauban, see ch. v.] 
 
 674 k. Vindrac-Alaynac, a desolate station. 
 
 An omnibus meets the trains for (6 k. Cordes — Cordua (Hotel : 
 du Nord— good rooms, bad food), which rises conspicuous on 
 an isolated hill, and is well worth a visit. The town was founded 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 in 1222 by Raymond VII., Count of Toulouse, and probably 
 more than any other in France retains the characteristics of the 
 xin. c. It is a long ascent on foot from the point where the 
 omnibus stops, as the hill is excessively steep. The town is 
 entered on each side by its ancient gates, the Fortes des Houmets, 
 du Fourmilier, and de la Jeanne, and the main street is full of 
 magnificent houses of the xm. c. and xiv. c, most of them built 
 so as to have shops on the ground floor, whilst the upper floors 
 are lighted by splendidly decorated gothic windows. In front 
 of several are old stone benches for the repose of wayfarers. 
 The Maison du Grand-Ecuyer is now used as a Hotel de Ville; 
 the Maisons du Grand-Veneur and du Grand- Fauconnier are 
 perhaps the most remarkable of the other houses. Unfortu- 
 nately most of the houses are modernised internally, though they 
 retain their facades unaltered. On the facade of the Maison du 
 Grand-Veneur, as on many other buildings in Cordes, is an iron 
 bar with rings for an awning. 
 
 ' Quatre grandes arcades ogivales, bouchees aujobrd'hui, ont 
 leur base au niveau de la rue. Je ne pense pas qu'elles servissent 
 de portes. . . . Les fenetres du second etage sont plus ornees 
 que les autres. II y en a quatre, contenant chacune deux petites 
 ogives geminees, surmontees d'une rose et separees par une 
 colonnette. Les archivoltes tres-saillantes, retombent sur des 
 colonnes engagees. Des tetes humaines, des animaux sont 
 sculptes au sommet des arcs aigus, et une frise representant une 
 chasse surmonte cette rangee de fenetres. . . . L'attique presente 
 deux fenetres geminees a cintre trilobe, entre lesquelles sont 
 deux autres baies carrees. Des modillons sculptes soutiennent 
 la toiture.' — Prosper Merimee. 
 
 The church of 5. Michel is of the xn. c. and xiv. c. In the 
 Halles, in the centre of the town, is a well iooft. deep. Near 
 the church of Campes, a little to the N., is a beautifully sculptured 
 xvi. c. cross. 
 
 Several excursions may be made from Cordes, especially 
 that (12 k.) westwards by Tounac, which has a good xv. c. 
 church, to Vaour, with very fine ruins of a castle which 
 belonged to the Knights Templars, and afterwards to the 
 
LE CAYLA, ALB I. 
 
 43i 
 
 knights of S. John of Jerusalem : the machicolated keep is of 
 xiii. c. or xiv. c. 
 
 686 k. Cahuzac. 
 
 3 k. N. is Le Cayla, the manor-house of Maurice and Eugenie 
 de Guerin, who are buried in the neighbouring cemetery of 
 Andillac. It was from hence that the sister wrote to her 
 idolised brother, ' Arrive, viens ; Fair du Cayla, le lait d'anesse, 
 le repos vont te guerir.' It was from hence that, after the 
 brother's death (July 1839), Eugenie, who survived him for nine 
 years, continued to write her Journal ' encore a lui, a Maurice 
 mort, a Maurice au ciel.' 
 
 Passing r. the Chateau de Mauriac (xvi. a), besieged, 
 1595, by the Uuc de Joyeuse (1 k. N.W. is the Chateau de 
 Sallettes, xvi. c), and (1.) the towered Chateau de la Bonnette, 
 we reach — 
 
 693 k. Tessonnferes. 
 
 [A branch line runs E. to Albi, passing — 
 
 6 k. Marssac, on the Tarn. On 1. we see Castelnaic-de-Levis, 
 with its tower, built 1234, by Secard Alaman, minister of 
 Raymond VII. 
 
 16 k. Albi (Hotel: Cassagnes — very dirty; du Nord ; des 
 Ambassadeurs). At the Roman period this was the capital of 
 the Albigenses. S. Clair preached Christianity at Albi, was its first 
 bishop, and suffered martyrdom here under the Emperor Decian. 
 From the ix. c. to the xiii. c. this was the capital of the Albigeois, 
 whose viscounts belonged to the powerful family of Trencavel. 
 When they and the counts of Toulouse embraced Protestantism 
 in the xn. c, they drew down upon themselves the terrible Albi- 
 gensian crusade. Raymond Roger Trencavel lost his capital, 
 which was given to Simon de Montfort, and united, in 1249, to 
 the French crown. The king of France, however, had only the 
 suzerainty ; the bishops of Albi were the immediate lords. The 
 bishopric was made an archbishopric in 1678. 
 
432 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 1 Albi, la capitale de la contree, la patrie de Lapeyrouse, est 
 une ville tres-curieuse pour l'archeologue. Cette vieille cite, qui 
 donna son nom aux cathares du Midi, et sur laquelle la colere 
 des Croises du Nord tomba d'un si terrible poids, n'a garde que 
 de faibles restes de lepoque anterieure aux Albigeois, mais elle 
 a de beaux monuments des siecles qui suivirent, un pont tres 
 remarquable sur le Tarn, des maisons fortifiees, le donjon carre 
 du palais archiepiscopal, et surtout la cathedrale de Sainte- 
 Cecile, batie en briques, comme toutes les constructions de 
 Toulousain, mais pourvue d'un magnifique porche du seizieme 
 siecle dont la pierre blanche contraste avec le ton rouge de la 
 facade : a l'interieur, on admire un jube aux sculptures ouvragees, 
 la plus vaste monument de ce genre qui existe en France, et des 
 fresques Italiennes de la Renaissance.' — Elisee Rechis. 
 
 In a shabby grass-grown square rises the magnificent 
 Cathedral of S. Cecile, built of pink brick, near the site of an 
 earlier cathedral dedicated to S. Croix, begun by Bishop Bernard 
 de Castenet in 1282, only consecrated in 1480, and not entirely 
 finished till 1 5 12. 
 
 1 Sainte Cecile n'est qu'une salle immense terminee par une 
 abside et completement entouree de chapelles, polygonales au 
 chevet, carrees dans la nef. Ces chapelles sont prises entre les 
 contre-forts qui contre-butent la grande voute ; a deux etages, ces 
 chapelles communiquent toutes entre elles au premier etage par 
 des portes percees dans les contre-forts, et forment ainsi une 
 galerie. Les chapelles du rez-de-chaussee sont, les unes voutees 
 en berceau ogival, les autres en arc d'ogive, irregulierement. Les 
 voutes du premier etage des chapelles sont toutes en arcs d'ogive. 
 Les contre-forts, on separation des chapelles, au-dessus du 
 soubassement continu, se degagent en tourelles flanquantes 
 dont la section horizontale donne un arc de cercle, dont la fleche 
 est courte. Des fenetres etroites et longues, percees seulement 
 au premier etage, dans les murs, entre les contre-forts, eclairent 
 le vaisseau. 
 
 1 La construction de cette eglise fut interrompue vers le 
 commencement du xv e siecle ; les couronnements projetes, et qui 
 certainement ne devaient etre qu'un crenelage, ne furent pas 
 montes. Au commencement du xvi e siecle, on se contenta de 
 
ALBL 
 
 433 
 
 placer des balustrades aux differents etages de la tour, de faire 
 quelques travaux interieurs, le porche sud, et la cloture du choeur, 
 avec un jube qui occupe la moitie du vaisseau et forme ainsi 
 comme au bas cote autour du sanctuaire, Ce grand edifice, 
 
 PORCH OF ALBI. 
 
 entierement bati de briques, excepte les meneaux des fenetres, 
 les balustrades et la cloture du choeur, qui sont en pierre, fut 
 enduit a l'interieur et completement couvert de peintures a la fin 
 
 du xv e siecle et du xvi e .' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The cathedral was defended like a fortress. The huge tower 
 
 28 
 
434 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 which flanks the W. facade had formerly machicolations, and is 
 protected by circular tourelles. On the S. side is a fortified 
 portal like that of a castle, built by the Florentine Bishop 
 Dominique in 1380, whence a flight of steps 1 leads to the 
 glorious xvi. c. Porch, which is like a veil of lace wrought in 
 stone. It bears on every face the arms of its builders — Cardinal 
 Louis d'Amboise and his sucsessors, Bishops Joffroi and Aymar 
 Gouffier. 
 
 ' Un escalier d'une quarantaine de marches conduit a une 
 plate-forme sur laquelle s'elevent a une grande hauteur des arcs 
 gothiques travailles a jour avec un fini admirable ; cela forme une 
 enceinte a ciel ouvert, et tient lieu de porche. L'imagination ne 
 peut rien concevoir de plus elegant, de plus gracieux que ces 
 ogives flamboyantes, ces trefles, ces meneaux d'une legerete 
 inouie, veritable dentelle de pierre. C'est un ouvrage de la fin 
 du xiv e siecle : on le doit a Dominique de Florence, et je ne 
 crois pas qu'il existe ailleurs une construction aussi considerable 
 et en meme temps plus delicate. C'est un miracle que sa par- 
 faite conservation.' — Prosper Merimee. 
 
 Equally splendid is the Jube, a harmonious mass of laby- 
 rinthine stonework, upon which the eye can always rest without 
 being fatigued, and can always discover something new to admire. 
 It is said to be like lacework, but is rather like the thousand 
 interlacing tendrils of a mossy bank, so boundless and intricate is 
 the variety of its designs, of which each, perfect in itself, is yet 
 subservient to the unity and harmony of the whole. Five deep 
 recesses, with two arches over each, form the centre for all the 
 converging lines. 
 
 1 De tous les jubes en France, celui de la cathedrale d'Albi est 
 certainement le plus vaste, le plus complet, et le plus precieux ; 
 charge d'une multitude infinie de sculptures, de tailles dedicates, 
 il presente un des specimens les plus extraordinaires de l'art 
 gothique arrive aux dernieres limites de la delicatesse et de la 
 complication des formes.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The inconvenience of a church without side aisles, with no 
 1 The level of the street being 30 feet below that of the pavement- 
 
ALBI. 
 
 435 
 
 especial place for the faithful or clergy, led to the erection of the 
 wonderful choir screen (cloture) forming a church within a church, 
 and while detaching the choir like an exquisite gothic casket, 
 creating a space like side aisles between the choir and its seven 
 radiating chapels. Between every arch of this screen is a pillar 
 supporting a statue under a gloriously wrought canopy. The 
 figures are coloured and full of character. Those on the outside 
 are the apostles and the sibyls — represented like queens. In the 
 
 ALBI. 
 
 interior the apostles occupy the E. end, whilst round all the other 
 walls are a multitude of statuettes of angels, all entirely different, 
 singing and playing on instruments, the multitude of the heavenly 
 host praising God. The stallwork is admirable, especially the 
 accotidoirs between the seats, upon which the clergy could lean 
 when the misereres were raised. The altar is a fine modern 
 work of Robelin. The whole church, which might otherwise 
 have seemed bare from its uniformity of plan, is covered with 
 frescoes, those on the wall at the W, end, the Last Judgment, 
 
436 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 etc., being of the end of the xiv. c, those in the nave chapels 
 of xv. c. The vault, painted by Italian artists, summoned by 
 Louis d'Amboise (nephew of Cardinal Georges) was only 
 finished in 15 13. Two paintings in the chapels are signed — 
 ' Joia Franciscus Donela, pictor italus, de Carpa, fecit,' and 
 1 Lucrezia Cantora, Bolognesa.' 
 
 ' Rien en France ne peut etre compare a cette magnifique 
 decoration ; dans toute sa longueur, cette voute n'offre qu'un 
 tableau immense ; que les nervures divisent en brillants com- 
 partiments. Tout ce vaste champ est peint en azur ; et sur ce 
 fond d'outremer une riche imagination a fait courir avec line 
 grace infinie d'elegants rinceaux d'acanthe, dont les enroulements 
 sont remplis de sujets tires des livres saints. Des images 
 allegoriques y sont representees avec un sentiment profond du 
 sujet et toujours heureusement inventees dans l'interet bien 
 entendu del'unite des decorations du temple.' — ' Vnes pittoresques 
 et romantiqties de rancienne France' 
 
 The admirable organ, of 1736, is by Christophe Moucherel. 
 The Sacristy, two noble vaulted halls, contains some valuable 
 church plate of the xn. c. and xiv. c. In the formerly massive 
 base of the tower, a vast chapel was excavated by Archbishop 
 Charles de la Berchiere. 
 
 In the street leading to the cathedral is the Church of S. 
 Salvi, of xv. c. and xvi. c, with a very fine tower of xm. c. 
 Beneath the high-altar is a circular crypt, and on the S. of the 
 church a xm. c. cloister. It contains a very interesting tomb of 
 the same date. 
 
 1 La niche sous laquelle est place le sarcophage est divisee par 
 une pilette contre laquelle est adossee une statue de S. Paul, 
 patron du defunt probablerrient. Deux petites voutes d'arete 
 couvrent cet enfoncement. Au-dessus de l'arcature sont placees 
 trois statues : la Vierge, et deux figures agenouillees, un homme 
 et une femme, qui ne peuvent etre que les personnages pour 
 lesquels le tombeau a ete fait. Ces trois statues sont abritees 
 sous une triple arcature couronnee par un gable tres-obtus. On 
 retrouve encore des traces des peintures qui recouvraient entiere- 
 ment l'architecture et la statuaire.' — Viollet le Due, 
 
LESCURE. 
 
 437 
 
 Beneath the cathedral, on the bank of the Tarn, stands the 
 Evcche, an immense feudal fortress of the xiv. c. From the 
 Bridge below the palace is one of the best views of it and the 
 cathedral. In the town are many curious houses, especially in 
 the Rue dtt Timbal and the Rue S. Eticnne. 
 
 [The country around Albi is exceedingly ugly and flat. 
 Perhaps the best short drive is that to Lescure and the Saut 
 des Sabots (carriage, 12 fr.) 
 
 LESCURE. 
 
 Lescure (5 k. N.E.) is a miserable little fortified town, with 
 filthy narrow streets. Outside the gate (xiv. c.) is the Church 
 of S. Michel, of xn. c, said to have been built by the Cathans, on 
 account of its symbolic sculptures 1 ; striking from its simplicity 
 and admirable proportions, and with a very richly sculptured W. 
 portal. In the rich shades of red and brown colour in this church, 
 an artist will find much to admire. The little town of Lescure 
 gave a title to the famous Marquis de Lescure (1766-93), the 
 hero of the Vendeen war. 
 
 1 Elisee Reclus. 
 
433 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 A little further on, the river Tarn rushes through a chaos of 
 rocks in a succession of rapids. A little cascade between two 
 of them is called the Sant des Sabots, from a peasant, who, in 
 trying to jump across to meet his love, was checked by the 
 weight of his sabots, fell into the water, and was drowned. 
 The main body of the river is diverted for the use of a factory, 
 and, except in the grandeur of winter storms, the ' Saut ' is not 
 the least worth seeing.] 
 
 [18 k. from Albi, on the road to Toulouse by Lavaur, is the 
 xvi. c. Chateau de Castela, with encircling towers, and fine 
 sculptured chimney-pieces. The road thither passes near 
 Carlus, where the modern church contains a fine xvi.c. 
 reliquary.] 
 
 [A great deal of fine scenery is to be found in the little- 
 known district beyond Villefranche on the E. of Albi, especially 
 where the xi. c. castle of Paulin rises on a precipice above the 
 brook Oulas, and at the ruined castle of Larroque, near Le 
 Travet. At 27 k. to the S.E. is the xvn. c. Chateau de Grandval, 
 full of fine old tapestry and furniture, built above the Dadou, 
 by Samuel Bernard, fermier-general de finances under 
 Louis XV.] 
 
 [A road leads N.E. from Albi to Rodez, passing — 
 16 k. Carmaux. 1 8 k. N.W. of this is Monesties, a small 
 manufacturing town. The Church of S. Pierre, of 1550, has a 
 polygonal choir, with six chapels, of which one is romanesque, 
 and a handsome retable of 1666. The (rebuilt) chapel of the 
 Hospital of S. Jacques contains handsome stalls and a magnificent 
 Saint Sepulcre of 1490, with eight statues of life size, brought 
 from the Chateau de Combefa. The little gothic Church of S. 
 Hippolyte has a rich retable of gilt wood and a good statue of 
 the Virgin, which also comes from Combefa. This castle, now a 
 mass of ruins, is situated 3 k. S. of the town. A little to the W. 
 are the xiv. c. church of Salles and the great xm. c. Chateau de 
 Prade. 
 
 32 k. Ta?ius, on the Viaur, has a very fine ruined castle on a 
 precipice above the river. The church of Notre Dame de Las 
 
 1 The railway extends as far as this, 1890. 
 
SAUVETERRE, A MB I A LET. 
 
 439 
 
 Planqites has good xiv. c. mural paintings in its choir. Near 
 Pampelonnc, a little N., is the castle of Thuries, on a precipitous 
 rock. 
 
 42 k. We cross a road which descends the valley of the Viaur 
 to (8 k.) Sauveterre, a very curious little town dating from 1281, 
 in the style of Montpazier. 
 
 ' C'est un carre long dont deux cotes, le levant et le couchant, 
 mesurent chacun 225 met, ceux du nord et du midi 175 met. 
 chacun. Au milieu de cette petite ville se trouve une place 
 rectangulaire ayant 60 met. sur 40 de cote, et presentant, par 
 consequent, une superficie de 2,400 met. carres. Quatre rues 
 paralleles viennent y aboutir, apres avoir partage la ville en 
 quatre parties parfaitement symetriques. C'est autour de cette 
 place que regnent des halles remarquables. Ces galleries ont 
 cinq metres de large sur autant de haut ; les piliers sont en belle 
 pierre de taille, ainsi que les arceaux, dont les uns sont a plein 
 cintre et les autres a ogive, selon 1 epoque a laquelle se rattache 
 leur construction.' — LAbbe Bousquet. 
 
 Much of the fortifications of xiv. c. remains, and a church of 
 the same date, made collegiate in 15 14. 
 
 50 k. 2 k. E. is Cambouzalet, with two interesting churches — 
 the romanesque 6*. Jea?i de Paujol, a Latin cross with a cupola at 
 the intersection of the transepts ; and 61 Georges, rising like a 
 fortress from the banks of the Viaur, consisting of a vast nave, 
 a choir, and two gothic chapels. A little gothic Oratory stands 
 close to the church. 
 
 78 k. Rodez.] 
 
 [19 k. from Albi on the road to S. Affrique (see ch. viii.) is 
 Ambialet, on a very curious rocky promontory almost entirely 
 encircled by the Tarn. The summit of the hill is occupied by 
 the Monastery of Notre Dame de VOder and its calvary. Its 
 church, of xi. c, is interesting. Near the parish church, in the 
 cemetery, is a sculptured xiv. c. cross.] 
 
 Continuing the line from Tessonnieres, we pass — 
 
 698 k. Gaillac (Hotel : Jalabert—vQxy poor), which rose 
 
\ 
 
 440 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 to importance, through its abbey, in xm. c. It is a dull 
 town, having an arcaded market-place in the centre, with a 
 sunken fountain in the midst. This, with a xv. c. house 
 {Mai son de Pierre de Br ens) behind, is rather a good subject 
 artistically. Both the churches, S. Michel and S. Pierre, 
 are fortified, but have no especial interest. The Tarn, 
 fringed with tanneries, flows through a gorge below the 
 town, and is crossed by a suspension bridge. 
 
 9 k. S. are Cadalen, with an interesting church of xn. c. 
 and xiii. c, the little xm. c. and xiv. c. church of Gabriac, and 
 the old fortified house of Bouillon. Labressiere-Candeil, a little 
 S. of Cadalen, has ancient ramparts, and in the church a fine 
 pulpit from the abbey of Candeil, founded 1 1 50. 
 
 12 k. N. is Casielnau-de-Montmiral, an old fortified town of 
 xiv. c, with a fine gateway, the ruined castle of Montmiral, and 
 many houses of xiv. c. and xv. c. In the church is a magnificent 
 silver-gilt cross, given by Charles d'Armagnac in the xv. c. At 
 the Chateau de Mazieres is a beautiful sculptured stone cross of 
 xvi. c. 
 
 29 k. W., on the road to Montauban, is Bcauvais, a bastide 
 founded by Jean de Marigny, bishop of Beauvais, in 1342. It 
 has an old chateau flanked by four tourelles, and, in its courtyard, 
 the Orme de Sully. 
 
 707 k. L Isle- d' AIM, a ' bastide ' of xm. c. The xiv. c. 
 church has a low octagonal tower, with a brick spire. The 
 Fontaine du Griffon, on the place, is of xvi. c, with reliefs 
 reproduced from xn. c. or xm. c. On r. we pass near the 
 Chateau de S. Gery. 
 
 714 k. Rabastens. The brick church (xm. c. and xiv. c.) 
 has a fagade flanked by two tourelles enclosing the belfry. 
 The romanesque portal has curious sculptured capitals. The 
 choir is loftier than the nave. The interior is covered with 
 
5. SULPICE-LA-POINTE. 
 
 441 
 
 (restored) paintings of xiv. and xv. c. In S. Pierre is the 
 monumental slab of the knight Pierre de Cung, T331. 
 Near the bridge over the Tarn is the Chateau de la 
 Castagne (xvi. c. and xvm. a), where Duke Henri de 
 Montmorenci was ill for a month in 1621. 
 
 721 k. S. Sulpice-la- Point l e, has a xiv. c. church, with 
 a machicolated fagade flanked by narrow towers and 
 crowned by another tower in the middle. In the interior 
 is a tabernacle of gilt wood, with xiv. c. ivory panels of 
 Italian workmanship. On the bank of the Agout, near 
 its meeting with the Tarn, is a curious xiv. c. chapel, 
 over caves cut in the rock, with arches in masonry. 
 
 751 k. Toulouse, see ch. v. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 BORDEAUX TO TOULOUSE AND NARBONNE—LANGON 
 {BAZAS), LA REOLE, MARMANDE (NERAC AND 
 CONDOM), AGEN (AUCH AND LECTOURE), 
 MOISSAC, TOULOUSE, CARCASSONNE (A LET), NAR- 
 BONNE. IN GIRONDE, LOT ET GARONNE, GERS, 
 AND TARN ET GARONNE). 
 
 r I ^HIS line of railway runs through the rich wine 
 
 -L country — radiant and lovely in summer, dreary in 
 winter. It passes — 
 
 14 k. S. Medard-d' Eyrans, the ancient Stomates. 
 
 5 k. S. (omnibus) is La Brede, the chateau where Montes- 
 quieu was born in 1689. It has a rectangular keep of xiii. c, a 
 chapel of xv. c, part of the walls of xv. and xvi. c, and is ap- 
 proached by a drawbridge, over a moat filled with running water. 
 The Cabinet de Montesquieu retains its furniture of his time, and 
 in the library are the unfinished MSS. of his Lettres Persanes, 
 and many books annotated by him. The greater part of the 
 Esprit des Lois and the Grandeur et Decadence des Romains 
 was written here. In the village is an old building which be- 
 longed to the Templars. The Church, principally romanesque, 
 is very interesting. 
 
 ' It has a polygonal apsidal chancel, transepts with eastern 
 apses, central tower, the upper part of which is late gothic, a 
 nave and aisles of flamboyant, and a romanesque W. front. 
 The tower arches are round, of two square orders, the inner one 
 resting on an engaged shaft. The sculpture of the capital is 
 
LA BREDE, CADILLAC. 
 
 443 
 
 carried round the square parts of the pier as well as the cylin- 
 drical. The roof of the tower compartment is somewhat domed, 
 and has ribs of a square section. The transept vault and that 
 of the intermediate compartment of the chancel are cylindrical, 
 that of the apse is semi-domical. The massive external shaft 
 supporting strings or cornices, occurs here, as in other examples. 
 The W. end has a fine specimen of a projecting doorway in three 
 stages, the whole being nearly the height of the gabled front to 
 which it is attached. The lower stage comprises a wide semi- 
 circular arch, corresponding with the main entrance door ; above 
 it is a bracketed horizontal string. Over this is a gable between 
 two round-headed shafted arches, and the upper part consists of 
 a gable between two slopes (like that of the end of a church with 
 clerestory and aisles) containing a shafted round arch pierced as a 
 window. On each side of this projection, in the main wall of 
 the front, are round arches flanking the principal one ; all this is 
 comprehended in the width of the central aisle of the nave, which 
 was in all probability single before the flamboyant additions. A 
 few gothic windows are inserted in the romanesque portions of 
 the building.' — /. L. Petit. 
 
 19 k. Beautiran. The church is romanesque and gothic 
 with later additions. 
 
 21k. Portets. On the 1. bank of the Garonne are the 
 ruins of the Chateau de Langoiran. 
 
 24 k. Arbanats. On the 1. of the river is the ruined 
 castle of Castelmoron. On the r. bank we see Rions^ the 
 ancient Aquita, with an old castle. 
 
 30 k. Cerons, the ancient Sirione. The church has a 
 handsome romanesque portal. 
 
 2 k. E. by a suspension bridge is Cadillac, built by Pierre 
 de Grailly in the xiv. c. It is a curious town, retaining its 
 ancient walls and gates. The moat is turned into a promenade. 
 In the xv. c. church is an old chapel of the Dues d'Epernon. 
 Opposite the church is the Chateau dEftemon, begun by the 
 architect Langlois for the famous Nogaret de la Valette, in 1598, 
 and tastelessly restored to be used as a prison in 1 816. Some 
 
444 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 beautiful chimney-pieces remain, attributed to Girardon. The 
 Salles des Gardes is now the chapel. 
 
 6 k. N.E. is the fine ruined xm. c. Chateau de Benauge. 
 
 2 k. higher up the river than Cadillac is Loupiac-de-Cadillac, 
 where there is a very pretty little romanesque church of the XII. c, 
 which has an admirable facade and portal. The tower has been 
 recently rebuilt. 
 
 [A road leads S.W. from Cerons into the Landes, to (6 k.) 
 Illats, with an interesting church, partly romanesque, and houses 
 of xiv. c, and (5 k. further) Landiras, with a romanesque church 
 and the ruins of a castle built by the family of Clement V.] 
 
 34 k. Barsac, famous for its wines, especially Chateau 
 Contet and Climens. 
 
 37 k. Preignac. In the vineyards are the ruins of the 
 Chateau de Lauvignac. In the hill above S. Croix-du- 
 Mont is the cavern chapel of Loubens. In this neighbour- 
 hood are Sauternes and Chateau Yquem, famous for their 
 wines, also (near the road to Villandraut) Budos, with a 
 romanesque church and ruins of a xm. c. chateau ; Fargues, 
 with a ruined xv. c. chateau ; and Leogats, with ruins of a 
 stronghold of xiv. c. 
 
 42 k. Langon (Hotel : du Lion a" Or; du Cheval Blanc), 
 the ancient Alingo, is a handsomely-built town. The 
 church is xiv. c. and xv. c, with a modern steeple. 
 
 [A branch line runs S.E. from Langon to — 
 
 12 k. Nizan (whence a branch turns aside by Uzeste and 
 Villandraut (see later) to (30 k.) 5*. Symfthorien, where there is a 
 handsome xvi. c. church, and (43 k.) Sore, a considerable place 
 in the wine country). 
 
 20 k. Bazas (Hotel : Cheval Blanc — very good and clean), a 
 very interesting place, well worth a visit. Before the Roman 
 invasion it was the Gaulish capital of the Vasates, and during the 
 Roman occupation became one of the most important towns of 
 Novempopulania. The names of the suburbs of Paillas (Pallas) 
 
BAZAS. 
 
 445 
 
 and Font des Pans recall the ancient divinities. The bishopric 
 was established in iv. c. or v. c. Repeatedly taken by the 
 Protestants, the cathedral was ravaged by them on Christmas 
 Eve, 1 561. 
 
 The former Cathedral of S. Jean is conspicuous from a great 
 distance, from its beautiful spire of xv. c. and xvi. c, rising from 
 a tower gallery of rich open work. The three portals are equally 
 rich in sculpture of the xiii. c, but the W. front is rather spoilt by 
 its upper storey of xvn. c. On the tympanum of the central door 
 are the Birth of S. John, Feast of Herod, Resurrection of the 
 Dead, Last Judgment, and Glory of Paradise ; over that on the 
 r. the History of the Virgin ; over that on the 1. the Calling of 
 S. Peter, his Walking on the Sea, and his Crucifixion. The 
 interior, which has a triple nave, and a choir with five radiating 
 chapels, is exceedingly effective and beautiful. 
 
 1 The cathedral of Bazas is one of the most perfect specimens 
 of the pure gothic style in the south of France. Its noble triple 
 portal, filled with exquisite sculpture, and its extensive chevet, 
 make it one of the most beautiful of its class. It shows no trace 
 of a transept — a peculiarity by no means uncommon in the south. 
 This, though a defect as far as external effect is concerned, gives 
 great value to the internal dimensions, the appearance of length 
 being far greater than when the view is broken by the intersection 
 of the transept.' — Fergusson. 
 
 [A very easy, delightful and beautiful day's excursion may be 
 made from Bazas (carriage, 12 fr.) through the lovely forest-clad 
 country connected with the history of Clement V. A sandy road 
 through woods of broom and pines, which are bled for their 
 resin, leads to Uzeste (Hotel : Clement V.), which possesses a 
 glorious collegiate gothic church (of La Bienheureuse Marie 
 d'Uzeste) rebuilt by the famous Pope, on the ruins of a roman- 
 esque building. 
 
 The tower and its crocketed spire are models of grace and 
 elegance, and the exceedingly tall pillars and arches of the 
 interior are no less beautiful. Near the N. portal is the battered 
 tomb of the Pope, who died at Carpentras in 13 14, bearing his 
 faceless and footless statue. Opposite, is the tomb of a knight. 
 
446 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Clement V., as Bertrand de Goth, had risen to the bishopric of 
 Comminges and archbishopric of Bordeaux, through the protection 
 of Boniface VIII., but he was raised to the papal throne by King 
 Philippe de Valois, who had previously, at a secret interview in the 
 forest of S. Jean d'Angely, exacted various promises as his price, 
 of which the cruel destruction of the Knights Templar, their 
 
 exile, tortures, executions, and confiscations, with which the 
 memory of the Pope is principally connected, is supposed to have 
 been the chief. At his death, on a fiery scaffold in the island on 
 the Seine at Paris, the Grand Master, Du Molay, protesting the 
 innocence of his ' blameless, holy, and orthodox brotherhood ' to 
 the last, cited the fierce king, and Clement, the ' iniquitous and 
 cruel judge,' to meet him 'before the throne of the Most High,' 
 and, in the following year, they both passed to their account. 
 
UZESTE. 
 
 447 
 
 1 Clement left behind him evil fame. He. died shamefully 
 rich. To his nephew he bequeathed not less than 300,000 golden 
 florins, under the pretext of succour to the Holy Land. He had 
 died still more wealthy, but that his wealth was drained by 
 more disgraceful prodigality. It was generally believed that the 
 beautiful Brunisand de Foix, Countess of Talleyrand-Perigord, 
 
 PORCH OF UZESTE. 
 
 was the Pope's mistress ; to her he was boundlessly lavish, and 
 her influence was irresistible even in ecclesiastical matters. 
 Rumours ran that her petitions to the pontiff were placed upon 
 her otherwise unveiled bosom. Italian hatred of a Transalpine 
 Pope, Guelfic hatred of a Ghibelline Pope, may have lent too 
 greedy ears to these reports ; but the large mass of authorities 
 is against the Pope ; in his favour hardly more than suspicious 
 silence.' — Milman, 1 Hist, of Latin Christici7iity '.' 
 
448 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 5 k. beyond Uzeste is Villandraut (Hotel : Castaing — good), 
 a little town on the Ciron, with the magnificent ruins of the 
 castle of Clement V., sacked by the Ligueurs in 1593. It was 
 built by the Pope on the site of an earlier edifice, is sur- 
 rounded by towers and a moat, and entered by a narrow gateway 
 between huge towers. The remains of the apartments of 
 Clement are pointed out, in the turfy interior. 
 
 Crossing the railway at Nizan, a short drive brings us to 
 Roquetaillade, with its magnificent chateau, built early in xiv. c. 
 
 VILLANDRAUT. 
 
 by Cardinal de la Mothe, and recently restored into newness. 
 It consists of a huge formal moated parallelogram, with four 
 towers at the corners and two flanking the entrance. From the 
 midst rises a huge dungeon tower. The Chapel, which stands 
 some distance E. of the main building, dates from xm. c, but has 
 lost all appearance of antiquity. There are several towers and 
 walls of a more ancient castle in the gardens, which are laid out 
 in the French taste. 
 
 At 8 k. from Bazas, in the direction of La Reole, is Cajac, 
 with a fortified church and a chateau of the bishops of Bazas 
 
5. MAC AIRE. 
 
 449 
 
 At 1 6 k. is Ai/las, with a remarkable romanesque church altered 
 at the Renaissance, and a ruined chateau.] 
 
 45 k. S. Macaire, the ancient Ligena, had three lines 
 of fortification, yet was constantly taken both by French 
 and English. The walls and towers are of xiii. c. and 
 xv. c. The Porte de Cadillac is the only one of the six 
 gates entirely preserved. The Church of S. Sauveur, 
 partly romanesque, partly gothic, is very curious. Founded 
 in xi. c, it was altered in xn. c. The richly sculptured 
 portal is of xiii. c. ; the rose-window of xv. c. ; the doors 
 (xiii. c.) have curious ironwork. The apse and transepts 
 are circular, without side aisles ; and against the N. wall 
 rises the hexagonal belfry of xiii. c, in four stages. In 
 the interior are xiii. c. paintings, spoilt in restoration. The 
 church belonged to a monastery, of which a fragment of 
 the xii. c. cloister remains. 
 
 S. Macaire contains several houses of the xiv. c. ; the 
 best in the Rue du Rendesse. The Place du Marche, 
 surrounded by porticoes, is entirely xiii. c. to xvi. c. 
 
 4 k. N.W. (by omnibus) is Verdelais (Viridis lucus), with a 
 much frequented pilgrimage chapel. At the neighbouring hamlet 
 of Aiibiac is an interesting romanesque church. 
 
 48 k. S. Pierre-d 'Aurillac. On the 1. are the ruins of 
 the fortress of Enguillon, and on the r, bank of the 
 Garonne is Castets-en-Dorthe. Its chateau was erected on 
 the site of a fortress built 1306, by Jehan de Goth, brother 
 of Clement V. 
 
 52 k. Caudrot, Between this and S. Pierre-d' Aurillac, 
 on the r. of the Garonne, is the curious romanesque church 
 
 29 
 
45o SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 of S. Martin des Sescas, which has a splendid portal and 
 two ancient towers, of which one bears an inscription. 
 
 56 k. Gironde. Close to the station are the ruins of 
 the Chateau des Quatre Fils Aymon. Montluc hung 
 seventy-seven Protestants here to the pillars of the Halle. 
 
 61 k. La Reole (Hotels: Gra?id ; Zafont), was the 
 ancient Squirs, and took its present name from a monastery 
 under the rule of S. Benedict. The town was constantly 
 taken and retaken in the French and English wars, as 
 well as in those of religion. It stands most pictu- 
 resquely on its old fortifications facing the river. The 
 sous-prefecture and other public offices occupy the xvn. c. 
 buildings of the ancient abbey. The Hotel de Ville is 
 xii. c. and xiv. c, the ground-floor being divided by six 
 romanesque columns. The Church of S. Pierre has a 
 single nave and apse of xn. c, with two side chapels, with 
 apses, added in xiv. c. The N. door is xv. c. ; the tower 
 and glass of the choir modern. 
 
 5 k. S.E., on the 1. of the Garonne, is Hure t the ancient 
 Ussubium, the substructions of which may be discovered under 
 the church and cemetery. 11 k. S.E. is the ruined xin. c. castle 
 of Meilhan. 
 
 72 k. S. Bazeille. The xv. c. church has a renaissance 
 belfry. 
 
 79 k. Marmande (Hotels : du Centre — good ; des Messa- 
 geries), dates from vi. c, was destroyed by the Saracens, 
 and rebuilt by Coeur de Lion. The church, of the xn. c. 
 and xiv. c, has a fine W. rose-window. The interior has 
 a nave with lofty windows, a triforium, an apse (xm. a), 
 and a xvm, c. retable representing part of the story of 
 
MARMANDE, TONNEINS. 
 
 45 1 
 
 S. Benedict. The pretty and peculiar little renaissance 
 cloister opens upon a small public garden. 
 
 [A line in progress from Marmande to (look.) Mont-de- 
 Marsau, will pass (24 k.) Casteljaloux, which has remains of a 
 castle, and several curious houses. The mairie was a Com- 
 manderie des Temp Hers. At 40 k. is Houellles, from which an 
 excursion may be made to (13 k.) Durance, which has one 
 tower of an ancient hunting-castle of the Dues d'Albret, and 
 the beautiful gothic chapel of La Grange de Durance. ~\ 
 
 89 k. Fauguerolles. 
 
 6 k. S.W. is Le Mas dAgenais, where the Church of S. Vincent 
 is mostly of xn. c. A number of Roman antiquities have been 
 found in this neighbourhood. 
 
 90 k. Tonneins (Hotel : de V Europe), said to have 
 been founded in v. c. by Tonnantius Ferreolus. In the 
 middle-ages it had two distinct towns, destroyed by 
 Louis XIII. for their devotion to the reform, and rebuilt 
 on the same site, in spite of the royal prohibition. They 
 are still only united by a promenade. 
 
 [A road leads N.E. from Tonneins to (34 k.) Villeneuve-sur- 
 Lot, by — 
 
 6 k. Clairac, which owes its origin to a monastery founded 
 767, in spite of which the place became the cradle of Calvinism 
 in the country, and has ever remained a great centre of 
 Protestantism. Gerard Roussel, after having been Abbot of 
 Clairac, became a Protestant minister there in 1527. 
 
 12 k. Rotissanes. On 1. is the rock-built xiii. c. bastide of La 
 Parade. 
 
 24 k. S. Livrade, has two ruined castles, a xv. c. chateau, and 
 a romanesque church, with symbolic sculpture. At Casseneuil 
 (7 k. N.E.) is a fine xii. c. church.] 
 
 108 k. Aiguillon, the ancient Acilio, was vainly besieged 
 
452 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 by the Duke of Normandy in 1346. It was made a duchy 
 in 1600. The last duke but one, the well-known minister 
 of Louis XV., began a magnificent chateau here, now used 
 as a tobacco warehouse. 1 k. S. are the remains of a little 
 Roman tower, Peyrelongue. 
 
 1 1 6 k. Porte- S.- Marie, a filthy old town with many 
 xv. c. and xvi. c. houses. Its two churches are xiv. c. 
 
 [From Porte-S. -Marie a line diverges S. through a very 
 beautiless country to — 
 
 10 k. Vianne, a bastide built in 1284 on the site of the village 
 of Villelongue, of which the romanesque church remains, and 
 named after Vianne de Gontant-Biron, aunt of the founder. Its 
 tvalls and four gates are perfect. 6 k. W. is the interesting xv. c. 
 Chateau de Xaintrailles ; the apse and side portal of the church 
 are of the same date. 
 
 13 k. Lavardac. On the opposite side of the Bayse is the 
 fortified mill of Barbaste, which was also used as a chateau. 
 Henri IV. liked to call himself the ' Miller of Barbaste.' 
 
 19k. Nerac (Hotels: Tertre — good; dn Commerce), on the 
 Bayse, founded on the site of a Roman town of unknown name, 
 became the capital of a kingdom. The house of Albret became 
 possessed of it in 1306, and upon the site of an xi. c. fortress 
 Amanieu d'Albret began the chateau, which was continued by 
 Jean and Alain, and finished by Jeanne d'Albret. In the xvi. c. 
 Marguerite of Valois, sister of Francois I., Jeanne d'Albret, and 
 the second Marguerite of Valois, first wife of Henri IV., succes- 
 sively held their court here, and Nerac became the central point 
 for the early wars as well as for the early loves of Henri IV., 
 who established the ' Chambre de l'Edit de Guienne ' at his 
 favourite home, after he ascended the French throne. But the 
 old Protestant city, being compelled to capitulate to the troops 
 of Louis XIII. after a siege of four days, was dismantled by the 
 Catholics and its works of art carried off. After the Edict of 
 Nantes it lost most of its trade and inhabitants, though, owing 
 to the fertility of the valley and its trade in wine and brandy of 
 Armagnac, it has revived a little in the present century. 
 
NERAC. 
 
 453 
 
 Nothing now remains of the palace of the house of Albret 
 but a wing at the head of some steps leading to the bridge. 
 It is of the time of Louis XII., and has an open gallery with 
 arches and pillars of Spanish character. In a square, which 
 was once the palace court, is a statue of Henri IV. by 
 
 PALACE OF THE HOUSE OF ALBRET, NERAC. 
 
 Raggi. The classical church is by the architect Louis. Crossing 
 the bridge we reach (r.) the Pro7nenade de la Garenne, the 
 ancient pleasure ground of the palace, now the property of the 
 town. These beautiful old groves by the river side, 2 k. in length, 
 will recall Magdalen Walks at Oxford on a much larger scale. 
 Near the entrance is (1.) a little Roman mosaic pavement, 
 discovered 1832. Two little fountains are called after the 
 
454 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Dauphin (1602) and S. Jean, the latter having been erected by 
 Knights of S. John of Jerusalem. In a tank near this, Fleurette, 
 a gardener's daughter, seduced by Henri IV., is said to have 
 drowned herself after being abandoned by him. Near the end of 
 the promenade are the ruins of the Chateau de Nazareth. These 
 delightful walks still make Nerac attractive. Henri IV. 1 and his 
 sister went every morning to the Protestant church here, whilst 
 Queen Marguerite attended mass. Then they joined company 
 and walked in the Garenne by the river-side ; the rest of the 
 day was passed in blameless (honnetes) pleasures. The auto- 
 biographic memoirs of Marguerite de Valois describe Nerac in 
 the time of Henri IV. 
 
 ' Dans l'espace de quatre ou cinque ans que je fus en 
 Gascongne avec lui, faisant la pluspart de ce temps-la nostre 
 sejour a Nerac, nostre cour estoit si belle, et si plaisante, que 
 nous n'enviions point celle de France, y ayant madame la princesse 
 de Navarre, sa soeur, qui depuis a este mariee a M. le due de 
 Bar, mon nepveu, et moy, avec bon nombre de dames et de 
 filles ; et le roy mon mary estant suivy d'une belle trouppe de 
 seigneurs et gentilshommes, aussi honestes gens que les plus 
 galans que j'aye veu a la cour ; et n'y avoit rien a regretter en 
 eux, sinon qu'ils estoient hugenots. Mais de cette diversite de 
 religion il ne sen oyoit point parler ; le roy mon mary et madame 
 la princesse sa soeur allans d'un coste au presche, et moy et mon 
 train a la messe, en une chapelle qui est dans le pare ; d'ou, 
 comme je sortois, nous nous rassemblions pour nous aller 
 promener ensemble, ou en un tres beau jardin, qui a des allees 
 de lauriers et de cyprez fort longues, ou dans le pare que j'avois 
 fait faire, en des allees de trois mille pas qui sont au long de la 
 riviere, et le reste de la journee se passoit en toutes sortes 
 d'honnestes plaisirs, le bal se tenant d'ordinaire l'apres-disnee et 
 le soir.' — Mai'guerite de Valois, 1 Memoir es.' 
 
 [A road leads E. from Nerac to (86 k.) Mont-de-Marsan, 
 by (14 k.) Mezin, which has a curious (xi.e. and xm. c.) church ; 
 (25 k.) Sos, the capital of the Sotiates, conquered by Crassus ; 
 
 1 Henri had to be flogged in his infancy to make him attend mass 
 (Bordenhave). 
 
CONDOM. 
 
 455 
 
 and (39 k.) Gabarret, the capital of the little Vicomte de Gabardan, 
 which has the remains of a house inhabited by Jeanne d'Albret, 
 and a xn. c. church, which was the refectory of an abbey.] 
 
 32 k. Mo?icrabeau, the most Gascon of cities — ' le chef-lieu 
 des menteurs, hableurs et croqueurs.' 
 
 40k. Condom (Hotel: du Lion d'Or), founded in vm. c, 
 destroyed by the Normans, rebuilt in xi. c, was the place where 
 Edward of England held his court in 1289. In 1317 its abbey 
 was made a bishopric by John XXII. Most of its religious 
 buildings were destroyed by the Protestants, but the Cathedral 
 of S. Pierre, on the hill beyond the Bayse, still exists, owing to 
 the devotion of the inhabitants, who ransomed it from the 
 Protestant leader Montgomery for 30,000 livres. The tower is 
 over the W. portal, which bears a sculpture of S. Peter between 
 the apocalyptic emblems. The great feature of the interior is the 
 rich modern gothic cloture of the choir. In the chapels are many 
 rich gothic niches. On the N. of the church is a gothic Cloister 
 of xvi. c, double on two sides, and, adjoining it, the gothic and 
 renaissance chapel of the Eveche. On the little square near the 
 church is a xin. c. house. 
 
 [A road leads S.E. from Condom to (81 k.) Mont-de-Marsan, 
 by (15 k.) Montreal, a bastide founded in 1256 by Gerard V., 
 Comte d'Armagnac ; (38 k.) Barbotan, with mineral baths, ruined 
 castle, and a Templars' church of xn. c. ; and (52 k.) La Bastide 
 d'Armagnac, of the xin. c] 
 
 [A road leads S.E. from Condom to (60 k.) Riscle, also on the 
 line to Tarbes, by (16 k.) Gondrin, with the ruined chateau which 
 was the cradle of the Seigneurs de Pardaillan-Gondrin, one of 
 whom was the husband of Mme. de Montespan : a monastery 
 founded by them is now the inn ; (28 k.) Eauze (Hotel : Sotcbeyran), 
 near the site of the ancient Elusa (now Cieutat-Cite), which has a 
 magnificent gothic church of the xvi. c. built by Jean de la Marre, 
 architect of the cathedral of Condom : Eauze was a cathedral 
 city, till the see was transferred to Audi in the ix. c. ; (38 k.) 
 Manciet, which has a fine xiv. c. tower with a crocketed brick 
 spire ; and (45 k.) Nogaro, which has a romanesque collegiate 
 church with a tower and porch added xvi. c. The canonical 
 
456 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 houses are partly xn. c. 15 k. S.E. of Nogaro is Aignan, the 
 capital of the Comte d'Armagnac, with a church of xn. c. 
 and xv. c] 
 
 [About 16 k. N.W. of Coudom (7 k. to the r. of the road to 
 Agen) is Larroumieii, an interesting place founded by a pilgrim 
 (roumiou) in the xi. c, and once an important town, where Arnaud 
 d'Aux, bishop of Poitiers, founded a collegiate church in 131 8. 
 This church is still standing, with its two fine towers, 
 of which one, which is octagonal, has been used as a fortress. 
 In the interior are the tombs of the founder and his three 
 nephews, restored under Louis XVIII., by M. de Lally-Tollendal, 
 a member of the family of Aux. The beautiful xiv. c. cloister is 
 used as a market. The palace of Arnaud is a ruin. On the W. 
 of the town is a ruined (xv. c.) chapel of a convent of Cor- 
 deliers.] 
 
 136 k. Agen (Hotels : de France — good ; des Ambassa- 
 deurs), the ancient Aginnum, constantly the scene of battles 
 between the French and English, situated at the foot 
 of a hill covered with gardens and villas, is now, for the 
 most part, a modern town, with handsome avenues of trees. 
 In the interior, however, are old streets lined with arcades, 
 containing shops. Not far from the station is the Cathedral 
 of S. Caprais^ founded xi. c, spoilt internally by gaudy modern 
 painting, though its architectural features are interesting. 
 
 ' S. Caprais is a cross church of great width. It has no 
 central tower, but one of flamboyant character, of which at least 
 the upper part has been very lately built, occupies the angle 
 between the nave and S. transept. There are no aisles either to 
 nave, chancel, or transepts. The E. end is semicircular, and 
 has radiating chapels like those we usually see round an apsidal 
 aisle. The transepts also have E. apses. The arches of the 
 intersections are pointed, like those at Perigueux, which rest 
 on massive square piers, ornamented by engaged columns and 
 shafts, and a round blank arch in the face. The roof of the 
 
AG EN. 457 
 
 apse is semi-domical, with ribs, which rest on shafts supported on 
 the capitals of others bearing round blank arches. These divide 
 the apse into compartments, which have alternately a window 
 and a radiating apse, also lighted. 
 
 4 The nave is cross-vaulted with ribs ; the vaulting compart- 
 ments are oblong. The width of the nave is about forty feet. 
 The arches of construction are mostly pointed. The central 
 compartment has a cross-vaulting. The N. transept has a 
 triforial gallery, apparently of 14th century work; the arches are 
 subdivided and enriched with knobs.' — J. L. Petit. 
 
 From the cloister opens the Chapelle des Innocents, with 
 a good romanesque portal. 
 
 The Church of S. Hilaire has a rich modern flamboyant 
 front. There are some ruins of La Chapelle des Penitents 
 Blancs. On the Promenade le Gravier (so called from the 
 galleys which once plied on the Garonne) is a statue of 
 the poet Jasmin, whose house is pointed out on the Cours 
 S. Antoine, and who was one of the poets of the south who 
 endeavoured to revive the expiring idiom of his country by 
 the beauty of his verse. The Coteau de VErmitage has a 
 caverned chapel and hermitage, near which a Carmelite 
 monastery was established. There is a wide view from the 
 terrace in front of it. 
 
 The fairs of Agen are celebrated from their sales of the 
 Agenaise cattle, remarkable for their beautiful forms, and 
 much appreciated by farmers for the facility with which 
 they are fattened ; also of the famous plums of the district, 
 sent in boxes to all parts of the world. 
 
 The country round Agen is very uninteresting. The little 
 romanesque church of Serignac has a central tower, octagonal 
 externally, with an octagon cupola within. 8 k. S., on a promon- 
 tory above the 1. bank of the Garonne, is the very curious fortified 
 
458 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Church of Moirax, which belonged to Cluny, and was founded in 
 1049 and consecrated in 1063. 
 
 1 C'est Tun des beaux echantillons de Fart du xi e s. II y a six 
 travees de nef, dont la voute est en berceau brise, divise par des 
 arcs doubleaux, et epaule par des pieces d'arretes qui forment des 
 bas-cotes. Les piliers sont, les uns ronds, les autres octagones, 
 garnis sur leurs faces de quatre colonnes engagees. Apres le 
 transept s'ouvre le choeur, consistant en une piece carree, sur- 
 monte d'une coupole. Celle-ci est ronde et posee sur des 
 trompes, au-dessus d'un etage de fenetres richement decorees. 
 Le sanctuaire est un abside spacieuse et elegante, ou la lumiere 
 entre a profusion par cinq fenetres. II n'y a de remarquable a 
 l'exterieur que la grande porte ouverte sur la nef par plusieurs 
 retraites de voussures que supportent les chapiteaux histories. 
 C'est la seule decoration de la facade.' — M. J. Quicherat. 
 
 [A road leads S. W. from Agen to (106 k.) Aire (see ch. ii.), by — 
 
 7 k. Estzllac, where the chateau was the residence of Montluc, 
 who is buried in the garden. 
 
 9k. Atibiac, which has a most interesting church of the 
 beginning of xi. c. At the entrance of the nave is a cupola under 
 a tower. The nave, without aisles, has romanesque vaulting. 
 The sanctuary is square, with low romanesque arches on each 
 side, one communicating with the nave, the others with apsides 
 singularly arranged in trefoil form. Over the square is a cupola 
 of most singular form, supporting a tower. 
 
 14 k. La Plume ^ formerly the capital of the district of Brulhois. 
 
 19 k. Lamontjoie. A curious reliquary in the church is said 
 to contain a hand of S. Louis. 
 
 25 k. Ligardes. On a height to the N.W. is Erancescas, with 
 a ruined castle of La Hire. 
 
 30 k. 1 k. E. is Gazanpouy, with ruined walls and a gateway. 
 6 k. is Larroumieu (see p. 456).] 
 
 [The line from Paris to Tarbes and the Pyrenees goes through 
 Agen. For the earlier part of this route see ch. iv. After leaving 
 Agen, it passes — 
 
 11k. Layrac, a. town which has risen around a monastery 
 founded in 1071, now a Maison des Soeurs. The curious church 
 
LECTOURE. 
 
 459 
 
 was consecrated by Urban II. in 1096. The apse has been 
 decorated internally with paintings by Francheschini. There is 
 a fine view from the terrace in front of the church. 
 
 19 k. Astaffort. E. of the town the Croix des Huguenots 
 marks a battlefield where the Protestants, under the Prince de 
 
 FONTAINE D'HOUNDE*LIE, LECTOURE, 
 
 Conde, were cut to pieces. After leaving the station we see, on 
 the bank of the sluggish river Gers, the Chateau de las Martres, 
 so called from the destruction of some girls bathing, by the fall 
 of a rock. On the opposite bank is the Chateau de Mauleche, 
 built by Clement V. for his niece Regine de Goth. 
 
 36 k. Lectoure (Hotel : de V Europe — a tolerable country inn), 
 rises high above the railway on the 1. Before the occupation by 
 
460 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the Romans, it was the capital of the Lectorates. It was com- 
 pletely destroyed by the Normans. Rising from its ruins, it was 
 annexed to the domains of the house of Armagnac in 13 12, and 
 became the capital of their Vicomte de Lomagne and one of the 
 strongest ramparts of the south. In 1469 it stood two long sieges 
 from Louis XL, under Jean Armagnac V., who was killed, and 
 the inhabitants of the town massacred, when the French army 
 entered for the second time. 
 
 The battered and storm-beaten Church of SS. Gervais and 
 Protais, a cathedral till 1790, has a fine tower, which has lost the 
 lofty spire that formerly adorned it. The nave is xv. c. Round 
 the choir are nine beautiful chapels, with renaissance decorations. 
 Close to the W. front is the Evechc, given to Marshal Lannes, 
 and by his widow to the town, since which it has been used as 
 mairie, etc. A statue of Marshal Lannes, Due de Montebello, 
 born at Lectoure, 1769, adorns the public promenade. 
 
 Close to the former eveche, the Rue Fontelie leads down the 
 hill to the curious gothic Fontaine d ' Hozmdelie (or Font Elie), 
 supposed by some to have been dedicated to Diana of Delos 
 (Delia), by others to the Sun (fjXios). It is approached by 
 a flight of steps. The brook still bears the Greek name of 
 Hydrone. 
 
 8 k. W.S.W. of Lectoure, surrounded by its old ramparts, is 
 Terraube, taken by Peyrot, son of Montluc, in 1562, when all the 
 garrison was put to the sword. The chateau is xvi. c. 
 
 After leaving Lectoure, the railway passes r. a building of 
 xv. c, which belonged to the abbey of ►S. Geny. 
 
 46 k. Fleuraiice, of monastic foundation, has a handsome 
 church of xv. c, with a triple nave, flanked by an octagonal 
 tower. The choir has three windows, of the school of Arnaud 
 de Moles. 
 
 57 k. .S. Christie, has a ruined xvi. c. chateau (14 k. E. is 
 Puycasquier, which has a xiv. c. church with a tall spire). On 
 the other side of the Gers is Roquefort, with its old chateau. 
 
 62 k. Rambert-Preignan. 3 k. W. are the ruins of the 
 Chateau de Roquelaure. 
 
 70k. Auch (Hotel: de France — good, with horrors), capital of 
 the Departement of Gers, on a hill above the muddy river. Its 
 original name was Elimberri (in Basque, the New Town), when 
 
AUCH. 
 
 461 
 
 it was the capital of the Ausci. It was decorated under the 
 Roman rule with handsome buildings, of which many remains 
 have been discovered. S. Taurinus, in the end of ill. c, esta- 
 blished a bishopric here, which was raised to an archbishopric by 
 John VIII. 
 
 Very steep streets lead up to the principal square of the town, 
 in front of the W. end of the Cathedral of S. Marie (closed from 
 
 AUCH. 
 
 12 to 3). The first humble basilica on this site was founded by 
 S. Taurinus. bishop of Eauze, when he took refuge here from an 
 invasion of barbarians : it was rebuilt by the Bishop Taurinus II. 
 in 845, but the second cathedral was burnt by Bernard IV., 
 Comte d'Armagnac. Its rebuilding was again begun by Arnaud 
 d'Albret, nephew of Pope Innocent VI., in 137 1, and continued 
 under his successors, till the third cathedral was totally 
 destroyed by fire in 1483. From this time the present building 
 begins to date. It was recommenced in the very year of its 
 
462 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 destruction, and was consecrated in 1548, though the vaulting 
 and windows of the choir and nave were not completed till 
 afterwards. The miserable W. front, with its towers, the balus- 
 trades of the chapels, the organ and its tribune, were added by 
 Archbishop Lamothe-Houdancourt in the xvn. c. 
 
 Passing through the ugly porch (where the statues of (r.) 
 S. Austinde and (1.) S. Roch were ex-votos during the cholera of 
 1832), visitors will be struck with the extreme beauty and stateli- 
 ness of the interior. The plan is a Latin cross ; the nave has 
 side aisles, the choir a grand semicircular apse. The stalls of 
 the choir are intensely rich, and the variety of scriptural and 
 allegorical subjects they represent is infinite. 
 
 ' La serie la plus complete des stalles du commencement du 
 xvi e siecle que nous possedions garnit entierement le choeur de la 
 cathedrale d'Auch. Ces stalles sont de beaucoup les mieux con- 
 servees. Taillees dans un bois de chene d'une qualite tout excep- 
 tionelle, et qui a pris par le frottement l'aspect de la cornaline, 
 elles fournissent une serie d'ornements de la renaissance du plus 
 charmant caractere. De grandes figures bas-reliefs decorent les 
 dorsals, et les arabesques delicatement coupees couvrent les 
 accoudoirs, les entres, les montants. Les dais sont merveilleux 
 de delicatesse et de combinaisons. Les stalles de la cathedrale 
 d'Auch ont ete commences vers 1520 et terminees vers 1546.' — 
 Viollet le Due. 
 
 The stained glass, by Arnaud de Moles, is considered the 
 best of the Renaissance ; indeed, his work is scarcely inferior 
 to that of the Italian painters. He has left his signature to the 
 representation of Adam and Eve turned out of Paradise. 
 
 1 Les sujets representees sont empruntes a l'histoire biblique 
 et a l'histoire du Nouveau Testament. La plupart des prophetes 
 y sont representees, et au milieu d'eux on voit les figures des 
 sibylles. Tous les personnages sont en pied, d'une dimension 
 plus grande que nature, entoures de decorations architecturales. 
 Pour donner une idee exacte de la maniere dont ces peintures 
 sont executes, on pourrait dire que ce sont des tableaux en verre, 
 te des tableaux tels qu'on les comprenait a cette 6poque ou la 
 
AUCH, MIRANDE. 
 
 463 
 
 science du dessin avait fait de grands progres.' — Abbe de 
 Bourasse. 
 
 In the chapel on S. of the choir is the handsome tomb of 
 Archbishop de Salinis, 1869. For admission to the chapter of 
 Auch it was necessary to prove either nobility or learning : 
 1 Nobilis sanguine, vel Uteris. ' 
 
 On the N. of the cathedral is the Archbishop's Palace, on the 
 S. a tower of the xiii. c, which is very effective in distant views 
 of the town. Hence a grand staircase of 1864 (232 steps), stately 
 and twisted like the great staircase of the Trinita at Rome, leads 
 to the lower town. The promenade called Cours d'Eligny has 
 a statue of M. d'Etigny, to whom Auch owed much of its 
 prosperity in the last century. 
 
 ' Vue du faubourg industriel qui setend au bord de la riviere, 
 Auch parait vraiment fort imposante avec son escalier monu- 
 mental, orne de fontaines, qui gravit la pente rapide de la colline, 
 sa tour dite de Cesar quoique elevee au quinzieme siecle, sa 
 majestueuse cathedrale, ou Ton admire les stalles si gracieusement 
 sculptees du choeur et des vitraux, considere comme les plus 
 beaux de la derniere periode ogivale.' — Elisee Rectus. 
 
 [For the line from Auch to (89 k.) Toulouse, and the road from 
 Auch to Montauban, see later.] 
 
 91 k. LIsle-de-Noe, at the meeting of the Grande and Petite 
 Boyse, has a handsome chateau of the family of Noe. 
 
 98 k. Mirande, founded in 1285 under its original name of 
 Lezian. The Church of Notre Dame is of xv. c, and is entered 
 through a porch in its massive tower supported by flying 
 buttresses. There are considerable remains of the old walls. 
 
 128 k Rabaste/is-de-Bigorre, the scene of a frightful massacre 
 of the Protestants, after the town was taken by Montluc in 1570. 
 The church is xiv. c. 
 
 6 k. S. are the remains of the famous Benedictine abbey of 
 ►S. Sever de Rustan, scene of a fearful massacre of the Catholics 
 by the Protestants in 1573. The abbey was established for 
 Carmelites three years later. The church, now parochial, is xi. c. 
 
464 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The cloister (xiv. c.) has curious capitals portraying the history of 
 Elijah and Elisha, the presumed founders of the Carmelites. The 
 monastic buildings are xvm. c. 
 135 k. Tarbes, see ch. ix.] 
 
 Continuing the main line to Toulouse, we pass — 
 
 141k. (from Bordeaux) Bon- Rencontre. The modern 
 church (2 k. 1.) contains a much venerated image of the 
 Virgin. Near the village is the romanesque Church of 
 S. Radegonde, partly built of Roman materials, and around 
 which many Roman antiquities have been found. On the r. 
 of the line is the Chateau de Lafaux, xv. c. ; with a square 
 donjon of earlier date; its chapel contains the tombs of 
 the dukes of Durfort. 
 
 150 k. S. Nicolas-dela-Balerme. Here we enter the 
 department of Tarn et Garonne. 
 
 156 k. La Magistere. 2 k. 1. is Donzac, with a square 
 belfry of xiv. c. 
 
 162k. Valence-d > Agen . 
 
 5 k. S. is Auvillars. The church dates from xn. c. to xv. c, 
 and there are ruins of a fortress. Near the port is a chapel, 
 with a beautiful portal built by Bertrand de Goth, afterwards 
 Clement V. 
 
 [A road leads N.E. from Valence-d'Agen to (62 k.) Cahors, 
 passing (at 1 1 k.) 4 k. to r. of Brassac, with a great chateau of 
 xiv. c. and church ofxni.c. ; (12 k.) Bourg-de-Visa, with a ruined 
 castle, and 7 k. N.W. of this the ruined castle of Beauville 
 (2J k. from the cross-roads is a side road leading to (5 k.) 
 Castctsalgrat, a bastide of xiii. c, with a xiv. c. church; and 
 (19 k.) Puyinirol, a bastide of 1246) ; (23 k.) Lauzerte, where the 
 Chateau du Roi is used as a prison ; and (36 k.) Montcuq, once a 
 very important fortress, often besieged in the Albigensian wars, 
 A great square keep of its castle remains.] 
 
MOISSAC. 
 
 465 
 
 After leaving Valence, the old chateau and church 
 (xn. c. to xv. c.) of Goudourville are seen on the hill on 1. 
 
 178 k. Moissac (Hotels : du Nord — close to the church, 
 tolerable ; du Midi), a town which rose to importance in the 
 
 IN THE CLOISTER OF MOISSAC. 
 
 middle-ages through the celebrity of its abbey, founded by 
 S. Amand, the friend of Dagobert, 630-40. It was affiliated 
 to Cluny in 1053, and secularised by Paul V. in 16 18, when 
 the monks of Cluny were replaced by a chapter of Augustine 
 canons : this chapter was suppressed at the Revolution. 
 
 30 
 
466 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The magnificent Church of S. Pierre was in great part 
 rebuilt in the xv. c. upon the site of a church consecrated 
 by Durand de Bredon in 1060. It was fortified during the 
 Albigensian wars, and had its own walls, separated from 
 those of the town by a common street. Its rude and 
 mythical sculptures have given it a world-wide celebrity. 
 The most interesting portions are the porch, tower, and 
 cloister. The porch dates from the middle of xn. c, and 
 has open arches on either side. That on the S. is the most 
 magnificent — ' un veritable musee de sculptures romanes.' 1 
 
 1 Elle est elevee sous un large berceau qui forme lui-meme 
 avant-porche et qui est richement decore de sculptures en marbre 
 gris. Son trumeau est couvert de lions entrelaces qui forment 
 une ornementation des plus originales et d'un grand effet. Les 
 pieds-droits se decoupent en larges dentelures sur le vide des 
 baies, et le linteau presente une suite de rosaces circulates d'un 
 excellent style. Dans le tympan, est assise unegrande figure du 
 Christ benissant, couronne ; autour de lui sont les quatre signes 
 des evangelistes, deux anges colossaux, et les vingt-quatre 
 vieillards de l'Apocalypse. Les voussures ne sont remplis que 
 par les ornements. Mais, sur les jambages du berceau formant 
 porche, sont sculptes, a la droite du Christ, les Vices punis ; a 
 la gauche, l'Annonciation, la Visitation, FAdoration des Mages, et 
 la Fuite en Egypte.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The capitals in the porch are covered with grotesque 
 animals, treated with marvellous power. 
 
 ' In the porch of the main portal there are some rrieze-like 
 arranged scenes from the youth of Christ ; beneath them, on one 
 side, the four Cardinal Virtues, and on the other the two fatal sins 
 of Avarice and Sensuality ; besides forcible delineations of the 
 Punishment of Sin and the Torments of Hell. In the portal side- 
 posts the chief apostles, S. Peter and S. Paul, appear ; and two 
 
 Elisee Reclus. 
 
MOISSAC. 
 
 467 
 
 prophets, attended by several lionesses, advancing. All these 
 works are full of freshness and vigour. Ruder and inferior in 
 style is Christ enthroned between the four Evangelists and the 
 four-and-twenty Elders of the Apocalypse, which occupies the 
 tympanum.' — Liibke. 
 
 ' Les articulations, les mouvements de ces lions fantastiques 
 ayant une seule tete pour deux corps, sont vrais, bien compris 
 dans le sens de la decoration monumentale ; la sculpture est peu 
 saillante, afin de ne pas deranger la silhouette du chapiteau, dont 
 la forme est trapue comme celle de tous .les chapiteaux de grosses 
 colonnes.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The bell in the tower, inscribed ' Salve Regina Miseri- 
 cordiae,' dated from 1273, and was one of the most ancient 
 bells known, but was recast in 1845. 
 
 Behind the high-altar of the church is a Merovingian 
 sarcophagus, used in the xin. c. for the sepulture of the 
 Abbot S. Raymond. A renaissance cloture separates the 
 sanctuary from the apse. The organ was given by Mazarin. 
 The glorious Cloister, which is entered by a door on the 1. of 
 the W. front, was built by the Abbot Anquetil, 1100 — 1108. 
 The round arches rest on columns alternately simple and 
 double, with capitals of astounding richness and variety. 
 At the angles are represented eleven of the apostles, and the 
 Abbot Durand (who dedicated the church, 1063), who takes 
 the place of S. Simon. 
 
 9 k. S.W. of Moissac is 6*. Nicolas- de-la-Grave, with a 
 romanesque church and a castle built by Richard Coeur de Lion. 
 
 [A road leads N.E. from Moissac to (59 k.) Cahors by (36 k.) 
 Caste Inati-de-Montratier, once an important fortress. ] 
 
 187 k. Castelsarrasin (Hotel : de V Europe), The transi- 
 tional Church of S. Sauveur has a triple nave of two 
 bays, two slightly projecting transepts and a triple apse. 
 
468 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Over the first bay of the nave rises an octagonal tower of 
 two storeys, of which the lower forms a lanthorn to the 
 interior. In the choir are richly sculptured stalls. The 
 Church of S. Jean is xv. c. The ruined church of Les 
 Cannes has a little octagonal tower with a brick spire of 
 XIII. c. 
 
 206 k. Montauban (Hotels: de F Europe ; da Midi; du 
 Commerce), the Mons Albanus of the Romans, a large 
 smoky town in a flat situation on the Tarn. In the sixteenth 
 century it became one of the strongholds of Protestantism, 
 which was even embraced by its bishop, Jean de Lette, 
 and it was one of the four cities of refuge accorded to the 
 Calvinists by the treaty of S. Germain. In 1821 it was 
 defended by the Due de Rohan against the Catholic army, 
 commanded by Louis XIII. in person, and successfully 
 endured a siege of 86 days, in which the Due de Mayenne 
 was killed. It was given up to Richelieu in 1629, and its 
 ministers were exiled and its most zealous Protestants sent 
 to the galleys by Louis XIV. 
 
 The magnificent romanesque cathedral of S. Theodard 
 was entirely destroyed by the Protestants in 1561. The 
 present Cathedral of Notre .Dame was finished in 1739 by 
 the architect Larroque. It is a Greek cross, with the altar 
 in the centre. In the sacristy is a picture of Le Voeu de 
 Louis XIII., by Ingres. The Church of S. Jacques has an 
 octagonal brick tower of the Toulousan style. At the end 
 of the Allees des Cannes is a monument (erected 187 1) to 
 Ingres, who bequeathed to his native town of Montauban a 
 collection of pictures and antique vases, which is preserved 
 in the Hotel de Ville. It is not of great importance. The 
 town has woollen and silk as well as china factories. • 
 
TOULOUSE. 
 
 469 
 
 [A road leads S.W. to (87 k.) Auch (see p. 460), by — 
 18 k. Mo?itech, which was the centre of Catholic defence when 
 the Catholics were driven out of Montauban by the Protestants, 
 and successfully endured a siege by the Huguenots in 1569. 
 
 41 k. Beaumont-de-Loviagne \ a town built on a regular plan 
 at the end of the xm. c. The exterior of the xiv. c. church is 
 fortified by machicolations : it has a lead font of 1583.] 
 
 [For the line from Montauban to the N., see ch. iv.] 
 
 225 k. Dieupentale. 
 
 Omnibus to (9 k.) Verdun, with a xiv. c. church, whence an 
 excursion may be made to Bouillac, where the church contains 
 magnificent xm. c. reliquaries from the Cistercian abbey of 
 Grandselve, of which some ruins remain. At Mas-Grenier, near 
 the Garonne, is the Fontaine S. Jean, a place of pilgrimage. 
 
 235 k. Castelnau-d ' Estretefonds. 2 k. further on the 1. is 
 the Chateau de Pompignan, where J. J. Lefranc, Marquis 
 de Pompignan, author of Poesies Sacrees, died in 1784: he 
 is buried in the parish church. 
 
 5 k. W. of Castelnau is Grenade-sur-Garonne, an ancient 
 bastide, built 1290 by an abbot of Grandselve on a regular plan. 
 Its Church is xiv. c. and xv. c. The picturesque wooden Halles 
 are xvi. c. and xvn. c. 
 
 257 k. Toulouse. 
 
 Hotels: Tivollier, 31, Rue d'Alsace-Lorraine ; de V Europe, 
 6, Place Lafayette ; Souville, 20, Place du Capitole ; du Midi, 
 1, Place du Capitole; Capoul, 13, Place Lafayette. Most of the 
 hotels have excellent but rather expensive restaurants attached 
 to them, the hotels themselves being only used for lodging. 
 
 Post-office, 15, Rue S. Ursule. 
 
 Telegraph. 28, Rue d'Alsace-Lorraine. 
 
 Voitures de Place. The course, 1 fr. 10 c. ; the hour, 1 fr. 80 c. 
 Outside the octroi, the course, 2 fr. ; the hour, 2fr. 25 c. From 
 
47o SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 12 p.m. to 5 a.m. the prices are increased. Luggage, 20 c. the 
 piece. 
 
 Theatres : Grand Theatre, Place du Capitole ; des Varietes, 
 Allee Lafayette ; Casino Musical, Place Lafayette , Pre Catelan 
 and Folies Toulonsaines, Allee Lafayette. 
 
 Toulouse, the ancient capital of Languedoc, now 
 the capital of the Departement de la Haute Garonne, and 
 metropolis of southern France, is dull, hot, expensive, 
 and beautiless as a residence, but contains many objects of 
 interest. In the third century before Christ, it was the chief 
 town of the Volkes Tectosages, the people who plundered 
 the temple of Delphi, and on their return threw its treasures 
 into a port near their town, whence they were fished 
 up by Scipio, who was conquered by the Kimri in the 
 following year. The Romans attributed his misfortune to 
 his sacrilege, whence Habet aurum To!osa?ium became a 
 proverb applied to people pursued by fate. Some years 
 later the territory of the Tectosages was conquered by 
 Marius. In the 111. c. S. Saturnin preached Christianity 
 at Toulouse, and was martyred there. 
 
 In 419 Toulouse became the capital of the Visigoth 
 kingdom. It was conquered by Clovis in 508, and remained 
 (with short intervals) under the Franks till the Counts of 
 Toulouse were sufficiently powerful to become almost inde- 
 pendent of their nominal sovereign. The town suffered 
 terribly in the crusades against the heretics, from x. c. 
 to xii. c, and in the religious wars of the xvi. c. 
 many thousand Protestants perished here. In 18 14 
 Toulouse was the scene of the last battle between the 
 French and the allies, which was easily gained by the 
 latter, owing to the tardy action of Marshal Soult, when a 
 
TOULOUSE. 
 
 47 1 
 
 sudden rising of the Garonne, by separating the forces of 
 the enemy, had almost ensured him the victory. 
 
 Almost all visitors to Toulouse will choose a hotel in or 
 near the Place Lafayette, which is reached from the station 
 by the broad, dusty Alice Lafayette, and is only separated 
 from the Place du Capitole by the Cap Hole or Hotel de Ville, 
 of xvi. c. and xvn. c. Its first court has a handsome portal 
 by Bachelier, surmounted by a statue of Henri IV. It was 
 in this court that Henri II., Due de Montmorenci (buried 
 at Moulins), condemned by the Parliament of Toulouse for 
 treason against Louis XIIL, was beheaded, Oct. 30, 1632. 
 
 ' Le crime etait flagrant ; la condamnation n'avait pu etre 
 un instant donteuse ; les courtisans, toutefois, habitues qu'ils 
 fussent a dissimuler leurs emotions, pleurerent devant le roi en 
 l'apprenant: les jnges avaient pleure en la prononcant. Henri de 
 Montmorenci fut decapite le meme jour, non sur la place publique, 
 comme le portait l'arret, mais dans la cour de la Maison-de-Ville. 
 Ce fut la seule grace que lui accorda Louis XIII. II avait montre 
 un peu de faiblesse durant son proces ; la religion le releva ; il 
 mourut avec une douceur et une resignation chretiennes qui 
 redoublerent lemotion publique. Sur l'echafaud de Toulouse 
 finit la posterite directe des grands Montmorencis.' — Henri 
 Martin, i Hist, de France: 
 
 The Salle des Lllustres contains the busts of forty-four 
 eminent natives of Languedoc. In the Salle des Archives is 
 the cutlass with which Montmorenci was beheaded, and the 
 portrait of the poet Goudelin, born at Toulouse in 1578. 
 The Salle de Clhnence Lsaure is used for the meetings of 
 the Academie des Jeux-Floraux, founded c. 1323, as the Col- 
 lege du gay ' SQavoir,' ' la tres-gaye compagnie des sept trou- 
 badours de Tolose et mainteneurs du gay sgavoir,' which 
 changed its name when greatly consolidated and endowed 
 
472 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 in the xv. c. by the noble lady Clemence Isaure, and was 
 raised to an academy by Louis XIV. Every third year, on 
 May 3, flowers are still given as poetical prizes — a golden 
 amaranth, and a silver violet, wild rose, and marigold. 
 Victorin Fabre took the surname of Eglantine, after receiving 
 that flower as a prize. 
 
 Turning S. down the Rue a 1 ' Alsace-Lorraine, we reach, 
 on I,, the Musee, enclosed within the high walls of the 
 ancient Augustin convent, which makes it the most appro- 
 priate museum of mediaeval sculptures in the world Unlike 
 most provincial museums, it is well worth seeing ; it is open, 
 for a small fee, from 12 to 4 daily, and is free on Sundays. 
 
 The Little Cloister, which is first entered, is very 
 attractive, with a splashing fountain in the centre. A 
 renaissance portal leads hence to the Great Cloister, of 
 xiv. c. 
 
 An important collection of mediaeval tombs from dis- 
 used churches is preserved in the cloistered arcades ; and 
 here, when all is ready for them, a valuable collection of 
 works of sculpture, both classical and mediaeval, will be 
 placed. Of the former a beautiful head of Venus, found at 
 Martres, on the way to Tarbes, is the most remarkable. 
 The reliefs which come from Nerac are very curious, 
 having on one side portraits of the two tyrants Tetricus, 
 of Nera Pivesusia, and of Claude the Goth • on the other, 
 an inscription relating to the history of the ruler Tetricus. 
 But the entire history of art, from the Gallo-Roman period 
 to the latest fancies of the renaissance, may be studied in 
 this museum, which is one of the most complete in France. 
 
 The Collection of Pictures, in the fine halls on the first 
 floor, includes — ■ 
 
TOULOUSE. 
 
 473 
 
 23. Guercino. Martyrdom of SS. Giovanni and Paolo. 
 
 24. Guercino. The Patron Saints of Modena. 
 
 36. Perugino. S. John the Evangelist and S. Augustine. 
 
 37. Procaccini. Marriage of S. Catherine. 
 67. Murillo. S. Diego and his Companions. 
 
 105. A. F. Meulen. Siege of Cambrai. 
 
 106. Mirevelt. Portrait. 
 *II2. Rtibens. The Crucifixion. 
 
 *I49. Philippe dc Champa gne, Fontainebleau, 1633. Louis XIII. 
 giving the Order of S. Esprit. 
 180. Rigaud . Portrait of Racine. 
 320. Duveau. Abdication of Doge Foscari. 
 351. F. Pils. Death of an Abbess. 
 
 A little beyond the musee, the Rue S. Etienne leads 
 1. from the Rue Alsace-Lorraine to the Cathedral of 
 S. Etienne. This cathedral is greatly abused for its want of 
 regularity, which is carried out even in details, the rose- 
 window (xm. c.) of its W. front not being in a line with 
 the portal (xv. c.) below it ; but the artist will find a great 
 picturesqueness in the conflicting lines of the interior. 
 The steeple is of 1531. The nave, built early in the 
 xm. c. by Raymond VI., is of vast width, but only three 
 bays in length. A huge pillar — le pilier d 1 Orleans — 
 separates it from the choir, a second church, on an alto- 
 gether different line. The choir was originally begun in 
 1272, but, being partially burnt in 1609, was revaulted in 
 the xvii. c. : around it are seventeen chapels. The stained 
 glass is of xv. c, xvi. c, and xvii. c. On one side of the 
 N. door of the choir, which opens into the ambulatory, is 
 a kneeling figure of Antoine de Lestang (161 7), president 
 of parliament ; opposite to him is S. John the Evangelist. 
 
 1 Dans les baies de la cloture de la cathedrale de Toulouse, 
 on remarque des grilles dormantes, tres-simples d'ailleurs, 
 
474 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN TRANCE. 
 
 fabriquees au xv c siecle, et dont les couronnements remplissent 
 les trilobes d'une arcature de pierre.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 At the angle of the Rue du Vieux Raisin and the Place 
 des Carmes we find the Hotel Lasbordes, which is regarded 
 as the chef-d'oeuvre of Bachelier. The court is full of 
 sculpture : a figure of an old woman is especially admired. 
 Over the entrance to the staircase is inscribed, ' Vivitvr 
 ingenio, coetera mortis ervnt.' No. 30 in the Rue du 
 Vieux Raisin has a magnificent iron balustrade of 1770 to 
 its staircase. The Palais de Justice, near the end of the 
 Allee S. Michel, occupies the site of the Chateau Narbon- 
 nais, the residence of the Visigoth kings and afterwards of 
 the counts of Toulouse. 
 
 Turning to the river, we find the only bridge of stone, 
 the Pont Neuf, built under Nicholas Bachelier, 1543 — 1626 ; 
 beyond is the Chateau d'Eau, 1821-24. 
 
 Near the bridge, a little behind the quay, stands the 
 Church of La Dalbade, a single nave, rebuilt in the xv. c. 
 by the knights of S. John of Jerusalem. It contains two 
 statues by Bachelier. The portal, designed by the same 
 master, is a beautiful work of the Renaissance : the Coro- 
 nation of the Virgin, in terra cotta above it, only dates from 
 1879. The Rue de la Dalbade contains several old houses 
 of importance. On the same side with the church is the 
 Hotel S. Jean, built from designs of Rivalz. Then No. 22 
 is the Hotel Felzins, a remarkable work of Bachelier. The 
 portal is flanked by corinthian columns sustaining an en- 
 tablature and frieze with ornaments in coloured marbles. 
 In the second court is a tourelle supported by cherubs of 
 exquisite beauty. On the opposite side of the street is the 
 Maison de Pierre, built early in the xvn. c. with materials 
 
TOULOUSE. 
 
 475 
 
 supposed to come from a temple of Minerva. A little 
 behind the bridge, on the other side of the Rue de Metz, 
 is the Hotel d'Assezat, adorned externally with garlands, 
 and enclosing a beautiful xvi. c. courtyard, adorned with 
 three stages of columns — ionic, doric, and corinthian. 
 
 Beyond the entrance to the bridge, following the quay, 
 we reach the Church of La Daurade, built in 1764 on the 
 site of a Benedictine abbey of the ix. c. In a chapel on 
 the r. is the tomb of the poet Goudelin ; in a chapel on 
 the 1. the statue of Notre Dame la Noire, formerly carried 
 through the streets in time of danger. A little behind the 
 Port de la Daurade are the buildings of the Lycee, including 
 the Hotel Bernay, of the time of Louis XII., with an 
 admirable renaissance courtyard, and the ancient Church of 
 the Jacobins (xiii. c, with chapels added xiv. c. and xv. a), 
 which has a fine octagonal brick tower, erected in 1294, 
 the earliest of its kind. Part of the cloisters of the Jacobin 
 convent remain. Architects will be interested in the 
 gallery, lighted from without, which makes the circuit of 
 the church just under the eaves. The University of 
 Toulouse — the third in France in importance — was founded 
 in 1 2 15. Giordano Bruno was a professor here for two 
 years, before he moved to Paris in 1579. 
 
 ' Un des plus beaux exemples de construction du moyen age, 
 en brique, est certainement l'ancien couvent des Jacobins, qui 
 date de la fin du xiii 0 siecle. . . . Cette partie de Languedoc 
 etant a peu pres la seule contree de la France ou la pierre fasse 
 completement defaut, les architectes des xiir 3 et xiv G siecles 
 prirent franchement le parti d'elever leurs edifices en brique, 
 n'employant la pierre que pour les meneaux des fenetres, les 
 colonnes, et quelques points d'appui isoles et d'un faible 
 diametre.' — Viotlet le Due, 
 
476 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Following the quay as far as the Port S. Pierre, we find 
 a little street leading to the church of S. Pierre des Cuisines. 
 Here, by asking at the humble door of No. 4, one may 
 obtain access to a little court which once belonged to the 
 Chartreuse, and contains an exquisite romanesque tomb, 
 
 TOMB AT THE CHARTREUSE, TOULOUSE. 
 
 supposed to be that of a Comtesse de Toulouse, foundress 
 of the church in the beginning of the xil. c. Garlanded 
 with vines, and with their delicate shadows falling upon its 
 rich colour, it is as attractive a subject as an artist could 
 wish for. In a brick wall, under a deeply recessed arch, 
 is a graceful romanesque arcade, with three arches and 
 
TOULOUSE. 
 
 Ml 
 
 pillars of stone, within which a marble sarcophagus rests 
 on little marble columns. 
 
 1 Ce tombeau etait entierement peint. On ne sait pour quel 
 personnage il fut eleve, mais il est bien certain qu'icile corps etait 
 depose dans le sarcophage meme, place sur cinq colonnettes 
 au-dessus du soubassement, conformement a l'usage admis 
 encore an xn c siecle dans les provinces meridionales, et qui 
 semble deriver de traditions fort anciennes, etrangeres a l'anti- 
 quite chretienne gallo-romaine.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 Turning N. from hence, we speedily reach the grand 
 church of S. Saturnin, or, as it is called at Toulouse 
 S. Serm'n, which is probably the finest brick building in 
 the world. In spite of its general air of uniformity, it was 
 erected at three dates. The most ancient existing portions 
 are of the xi. c. (though the church was founded in the 
 v. c, and rebuilt by Charlemagne in the vm. c.) The 
 sanctuary was consecrated by Pope Urban II. in 1096. 
 The nave is of the xn. c, but was partly reconstructed in 
 its old style in the xm. c, when the two last stages of the 
 tower were completed, and though differing in form and 
 detail, their general form and outline are such as to accord 
 most happily with the older structure on which they are 
 placed. 1 Few architectural efforts are more graceful and 
 harmonious than the way in which the many chapels of 
 the apse and transepts group around the E. end of the 
 church, and seem to lead up to the glorious tower at the 
 cross, constructed in five storeys, decreasing in size as they 
 rise higher. In front of the S. portal, the Porte Miegeville, 
 which bears a relief of the Ascension on its tympanum, is 
 a graceful renaissance arch of approach by Bachelier. The 
 
 1 Fergusson, Handbook of Architecture. 
 
478 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Fortes des Comtes, at the end of the S. transept, have 
 sculptures of the twelve capital sins. Avarice, with an 
 enormous money bag, is represented as tormented by 
 devils. In an arcade to the 1. of this portal are some 
 sarcophagi of iv. c. and v. c, appropriated in xn. c. as 
 tombs by five counts of Toulouse. Some of the corbels 
 deserve especial notice for their vigour and boldness. 
 
 The interior is a Latin cross, ending at the E. in nine 
 semicircular chapels, of which five are attached to the apse 
 and four to the transepts. The vast nave has two side 
 aisles on either side : it has a circular cradle roof. Against 
 the N. wall is an altar, which an inscription of the xi. c. 
 affirms to have been used by S. Sernin. The variety of 
 capitals and corbels is astonishing ; the strange sculptured 
 animals i seem to cling to the architecture with a kind of 
 frenzy ' ; 1 some of the others are as remarkable for their 
 delicacy of detail. In the choir the sculptures (xn. c.) may 
 be considered as coarse copies of Byzantine ivories. 2 The 
 stalls are of the xvi. c. The first on the r., representing a 
 pig in a pulpit, has the inscription, ' Calvin el pore pV 
 On the 1. of the choir, before the chapel of S. George, is 
 a wooden representation of the basilica surrounded by its 
 original towers and fortifications, being an ex-voto to S. 
 Sernin for deliverance from the pestilence of 1520. The 
 stained windows representing Henri de Montmorenci and 
 his wife, in a chapel of the N. transept, commemorate the 
 fact that his body rested there after his execution. 
 
 The xv. c. crypt, which contains beautiful grilles of 
 ironwork, is full of reliquaries containing bones of saints 
 and martyrs, greatly reverenced by the faithful. An in- 
 
 1 Viollet le Due. 2 Id. 
 
TOULOUSE. 
 
 479 
 
 scription announces that all who visit the seven principal 
 altars of this church obtain the same indulgences as 
 are granted to pilgrims to the seven altars of S. Peter 
 at Rome. Towards the end of May, all the reliquaries 
 are exposed, forming a grand avenue down the nave of 
 the church, with very strange and rich effect. The head of 
 S. Thomas Aquinas, and the relics of Pope Pius V. and 
 of S. Edward, king of England, will be found amongst 
 them. In the sacristy are two important crosses, one of 
 the xin. c, the other earlier, with an Arabic inscription. 
 
 The presbytery of S. Sernin is the ancient College S. 
 Ray77iond, with buildings of the xv. c. 
 
 From S. Sernin we may return to the Place du Capitole 
 by the Rue du Taur^ with the xv. c. Church of that name 
 (which has a picturesque steeple), commemorating the 
 legend that the bull, which was dragging the body of 
 S. Sernin, halted there. 
 
 It is at Toulouse that the Canal du Midi (formerly 
 called Canal du Languedoc or Canal des Deux-Mers) 
 has its commencement, forming a means of commu- 
 nication between the Garonne and the Mediterranean. 
 Projected in the time of Henri IV. (1598), it was carried 
 out under Louis XIV. by Riquet, a native of Beziers. 
 
 1 Riquet n'eut pas la joie d'inaugurer lui-meme son glorieux 
 ouvrage : il mourut le i re Oct., 1680, et la jonction des deux mers 
 fut accomplie au printemps de 1681. Le canal de Languedoc a 
 environ cinquante-six lieues (de vingt-cinq au degre) de Toulouse 
 a Cette, et soixante-quinze ecluses y remedient a la double incli 
 naison des deux bassins traverses. Sa profondeur est de neuf 
 pieds ; sa largeur de quarante. II couta environ dix-sept 
 millions (a peu pres le double en monnaie d'aujourd'hui). 
 L'admiration temoignee par Vauban, lorsqu'il inspecta les 
 
480 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 travaux apres la mort de Riquet, est la mesure du respect 
 que merite cette creation superieure aux plus imposants travaux 
 des Romains. Le resultat materiel ne fut pas aussi magnifique 
 qu'on l'avait espere : les inconvenients des transbordements de 
 marchandises et les incertitudes de la navigation de la Garonne 
 empecherent le commerce exterieur d'abandonner le detroit de 
 Gibraltar pour le chemin nouveau qu'on lui offrait ; mais le canal 
 n'en fit pas moins un bienfait inestimable pour les communica- 
 tions interieures des diverses parties du Midi, et surtout pour 
 les echanges entre la region agricole de Toulouse et d'Agen et la 
 region industrielle du Bas-Languedoc. Le canal, suivant l'ex- 
 pression de l'Aguesseau, devint lame et la vie du Languedoc' 
 Martin, Hist, de France' 
 
 The environs of Toulouse have little beauty. 
 
 [A short excursion may be made to Blagnac, where the church 
 (xv. c.) has a good octagonal spire. On the L bank of the river, 
 between this and Toulouse, are some remains of a Roman amphi- 
 theatre. The hills S. of Toulouse are known as Pech-David. The 
 height of Vleille Toulouse, occupied by the ancient Tolosates, is 
 an inexhaustible mine for the discovery of ancient vases, medals, 
 etc.] 
 
 [A line leads W. from Toulouse to (89 k.) Audi, by — 
 
 22 k. Pibrac, much frequented from pilgrimages made to the 
 tomb of the sainted shepherdess, Germaine Cousin, canonized in 
 1867. Her house exists. The chateau is xvi. c. 
 
 27 k. Brax, where the brick xvi. c. chateau was a hunting- 
 lodge of Henri IV. 
 
 42 k. L Isle-Jo tirdain, confiscated to the crown after the 
 execution of Jourdain de l'lsle, who had married a niece of 
 Pope John XXII.] 
 
 After leaving Toulouse, the line has little interest till it 
 reaches Carcassonne ; it passes — 
 
 276 k. (from Bordeaux) Montlaur. 2 k. S. is Mont- 
 giscard, with a fortified tower of xiv. c. 
 
 280 k. Baziege, with a fortified tower of xiv. c. 
 
& PAPOUL. 
 
 481 
 
 284 k. Villenouvelle. A church of xv. c. has a curious 
 tower with angular openings. Beyond the canal, on a 
 hill, is Montesquieu, with an old chateau and xiv. c. 
 tower. 
 
 290 k. Villefranchede-Lauraguais, founded by Alphonse 
 de Poitiers, 127 1, has a church with a curious fortified 
 facade of xiv. c. 
 
 297 k. Avignonet. The xiv. c. church has an octagonal 
 tower with a spire. After passing this station, we see on 1. 
 Montferrand, and, nearer the railway, the rocks called 
 Pierres de Naur 0 use, surmounted by an obelisk (1827) in 
 honour of Riquet. It is said that Nostradamus declared 
 that the end of the world would take place when the fissures 
 of these rocks were closed. 
 
 312 k. Castelnaudary, is so called from its fortress, which 
 was captured (121 1) by Simon de Montfort, retaken from 
 his son by the Count of Toulouse, burnt by the Black 
 Prince (1355), and the place where the rebel Henri de 
 Montmorenci was defeated and captured in 1632. The 
 church, chiefly xiv. c, has handsome portals. 
 
 7 k. N.E. is 6*. Papoul, which takes its name from a pupil of 
 S. Sernin, by whom the district was evangelised. An abbey, 
 founded by Charlemagne, was replaced by a bishopric in 13 17. 
 The Cathedral has a beautiful romanesque choir, a xiv. c. nave 
 without aisles, and a cloister with romanesque arches resting 
 on gothic pillars — rebuilt in the xiv. c, with fragments of the 
 beginning of the xiii. c. 1 
 
 [A line leads from Castelnaudary to (103 k.) Albi, by — 
 20 k. S. Fetix-de-Caraman, which has a church of xiv. c. and 
 xv. c, with an octagonal tower, and a chateau (restored) of xiv. c, 
 which belonged to the Dues de Montmorenci. At the chateau of 
 
 1 Viollet le Due, iii. 436. 
 
 3 1 
 
482 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 S. Paulet, in this neighbourhood, which belonged to the family of 
 La Tour d'Auvergne, the heart of Turenne is preserved. 
 
 26 k. Revel, founded 1332, gave its name to a battle in which 
 Jean, Due de Berry, was conquered by Gaston Phoebus. 6 k. 
 distant, at the foot of the Montagne Noire, is Soreze, where 
 a curious polygonal belfry remains from an abbey founded by 
 Pepin le Bref in 764. In the xvi c. the Benedictines founded 
 a college here, which passed into the hands of the third order 
 of Dominican teachers n 1834, its last superior being the famous 
 Lacordaire, by whom the Order was restored in France. He died 
 and was buried here in 1 861. A statue of this great champion of 
 liberal Christianity against ultramontane absolutism was erected 
 here in 1888. In the picturesque neighbourhood of Soreze are 
 the ruined castles of Puivert and de Roquefort. 
 
 32 k. Blan. On r. is the Chateau de las Cazas, where the 
 author of the Memorial de Sainte-Helene was born. 
 
 37 k. Lempaut, r. is the Chateau de Roquefort. On r. the 
 Chdteati de la Rode, and on 1. the Chateaux du Gal and de la 
 Deveze (xv. a), are seen before reaching — 
 
 42 k. Soual. The church has an octagonal tower of xm. c. 
 10 k. W. is Puylaurens, the seat of a famous Protestant 
 academy in the xvn. c. Guillaume de Puylaurens, historian of 
 the crusade against the Albigenses, was a native of this place. 
 In a gorge to the S. of this is the pilgrimage Chapel of S, 
 Stapin. 
 
 55k. Castres — Castra (Hotels: Sabatie ; du Nord; de 
 V Europe). The town occupies the site of a Roman camp, near 
 which an abbey was founded in 617. John XXII. raised it to 
 an episcopal see in 13 17. Castres embraced Calvinism, and 
 though frequently taken by the Catholics, it possessed, till 1679, 
 the tribunal called Chambre de VEdit, for the trial of Protestant 
 causes. The Place Nationale is a handsome square with a 
 fountain. 61 Benoit, once the cathedral, built 1678 — 17 18, has a 
 romanesque tower, separated from the church, and surrounded 
 by the buildings of the old Eveche, now Hotel de Ville. There 
 are some remains of the chateau, and many houses of xvi. c. and 
 xvii. c. The Jardin de I Eveche was laid out by Le Notre. An 
 excursion may be made to (9 k.) Burlats, which possesses the 
 ruins of a collegiate church of xn. c, altered in the gothic period, 
 
CASTRES, LAVAUR. 
 
 483 
 
 and burnt by the Calvinists in 1570. A manufactory occupies 
 the remains of the chateau where Constance, wife of Raymond V. 
 of Toulouse, and sister of Louis VII., and Adelaide, wife of 
 Raymond Roger Taillifer, Vicomte d'Albi, held their Court of 
 Love, frequented by the most famous troubadours of the xn. c. 
 On the granite upland of Sidobre, is the rocking stone of La 
 Rouquette, and near it the fine Grotte de S. Dominique. Brassac 
 (24 k.) is overlooked by two castles of xni. c. and xiv. c. 
 
 28 k. W. is Lavaur, the ancient Vaurum, with a Cathedral of 
 xni. c, consisting of a nave encircled by chapels, and preceded 
 by an octagonal tower, with a square upper storey. The church 
 of >S. Francois is xiv. c. From Lavaur the xni. c. and xiv. c. 
 castle of Roquevidal may be visited. 
 
 10 k. N.E. of Castres is Roquecourbe, which has fine ruins of 
 an xi. c. and xn. c. castle, and a bridge built by Eleonore de 
 Montfort in 1527. 
 
 [An excursion may be made to the N.E. by Montredon, with 
 an xi. c. castle, to the wild, rocky district of Monlcouyoid, where 
 there are five ruined castles. The castle of Mo?itfa, a little W. 
 of the road to Montredon, has a chapel of 1525.] 
 
 [An unfinished railway and a road of great beauty and 
 interest lead E. from Castres to (99 k.) Bedarieux (see ch. viii.), 
 passing — 
 
 8 k. Labruguiere, with a xni. c. castle turned into a hospital, 
 and a xni. c. church, altered 161 3, with a beautiful octagonal 
 romanesque tower. 
 
 19 k. Mazamet, a manufacturing town, overlooked by the ruined 
 Chateau de Hatitpoul. 2 k. E. is Aussillo7i, with remains of its 
 old fortifications and a romanesque gateway. At Aiguefonde, a 
 little N.E., is a fine xiv. c. chateau. An excursion may be made 
 (4J hrs.) to the Pic de Nore, the highest point of the Montagne 
 Noire, whence there is a fine view over land and sea. 
 
 29 k. 6". A?nans-Soult. The church contains the tomb of 
 Marshal Soult, who was born at S. Amans in 1769, and died at 
 the neighbouring chateau of Soult-Berg in 185 1. 
 
 38 k. Lacabarede, whence an excursion may be made to (33 k.) 
 Cannes, which has the remains of a Benedictine abbey. 
 
4§4 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 55 k. 6*. Pons-de-Thomieres (Hotel : 5*. Denis), a manufacturing 
 town which has its origin in an abbey founded by Raymond Pons, 
 Comte de Toulouse, in 936. The former Cathedral of the xn. c. 
 has an xvin. c. facade. An interesting excursion may be made 
 from hence by taking a carriage as far as (22 k.) La Caimette, and 
 walking thence (an ascent of 1 hr.) to the exceedingly curious 
 mountain village of Minerve, which gave a name to the Minervis. 
 Near this the little river Cesse flows through a natural tunnel in 
 the rock, emerging close to the walls of the little town, where an 
 inscription records the consecration of a church by S. Rusticus 
 in 460, but where 160 of the inhabitants were burnt as heretics 
 after the place was taken (1260) by Simon de Montfort in the 
 Albigensian wars. Now, the worship of Minerva is replaced by 
 that of S. Rustique. There is a fine view into the gorges of the 
 Brian and Cesse, from the ruined castle. Several curious caverns 
 may be visited from hence, especially that (8 k. distant) known as 
 Baume de la Coqirille or La Grotte d'Aldene. 
 
 ' Les stalactites, en plusieurs endroits, semblent des flots 
 congeles qui ont coule par des trous aux parois verticales de la 
 grotte. A un lieu petit, mais le plus remarquable de la grotte, au 
 pied de concretions variees de forme, de dimension, et de site, se 
 trouve une espece de grande coquille a bords contournes syme- 
 triquement, contenant de l'eau. Cette partie de la grotte est de la 
 plus grande beaute. II y a l'apparence que c'est cette coquille 
 qui a fait donner le nom a la grotte. 
 
 ' Le reste de la grotte est en galeries, quelquefois spacieuses, 
 souvent etroites ; on y trouve tres peu de stalactites, mais en 
 general elles sont d'un bel albatre. En prenant a droite apres 
 etre revenu au point ou Ton setait engage pour aller a la coquille, 
 on trouve une espece d'autel creux a sa partie superieure, et 
 contenant de l'eau, les marches pour y parvenir sont des especes 
 de coquilles, et contenant aussi de l'eau. Cette disposition en 
 coquilles est generale dans toutes les parties de cette grotte ; 
 presque toutes ont de l'eau. Cette grotte est la troisieme du 
 departement pour letendue, la beaute, et les concretions.' — 
 J. M. Amelin. 
 
 The road from S. Pons to Bedarieux passes (56 k.) Prentian, 
 
CARCASSONNE. 
 
 485 
 
 near which is the fine waterfall called Le Saut de Vesoules ; and 
 (85 k.) Cotombieres, near which, close to the hamlet of Les 
 Coclasses, is the very picturesque and lofty Pont du Verdier, with 
 the torrent Arle falling in a cascade beneath. The beautiful 
 Gorge d'Herie may be visited from hence.] 
 
 Continuing the line from Castelnaudary, N., we pass — 
 62 k. Mandonl, with an old chateau. 
 
 82 k. Labontarie. 18 k. is Realmo?it } fortified in the xin. c. 
 
 84 k. Lombers, has a chateau where the council met in 1 165 
 at which the heresy of the Albigenses was condemned. 
 
 97 k. Ranteils. On r. is Labastide-Denat, of which the church 
 contains a reliquary of 1 5 5 1, and a beautiful cross of xv. c. 
 
 103 k. Albi.] 
 
 Continuing the main-line to Narbonne, we reach — 
 
 328 k. Bram, with a chateau of xvn. c. On 1. of line 
 are S. Eulalie, the Chateau d'Alzan, and Villeseque, with a 
 xiv. c. church. 
 
 340 k. Pezens or Voisins. The church is xiv. c, with a 
 stone spire. On 1. is Pennautier, with a chateau famous in 
 troubadour annals. 
 
 348 k. Carcassonne (Omnibus, 25 c. Hotels : Bernard 
 — best and good ; Bonnet ; S. Jean-Baptiste. Poste, Rue de 
 la Cathedrale). Carcassonne, the capital of the Departement 
 de PAude, consists of two entirely distinct towns — La Cite 
 and Le Bourg Neuf 'or La Ville Basse, on opposite sides of 
 the river. Founded by the Voices, Carcassonne (La Cite) 
 was only a castrum when it fell into the hands of the Visi- 
 goths in the v. c. They held it till 713, when the town 
 was seized by the Saracens, who were driven out by Pepin 
 le Bref. In 1096, Bernard Atton, successor of the early 
 counts, founded here the dynasty of the Vicomtes Trencavel. 
 Raymond Roger, the fourth vicomte, having embraced the 
 
486 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Albigensian doctrines, was besieged by the crusading army, 
 and being induced to come out of his stronghold to arrange 
 the terms of an honourable capitulation, was treacherously 
 seized by its leaders, when his knights were hung, and the 
 whole population, robbed of all but their shirts and breeches, 
 driven into exile. Simon de Montfort, being proclaimed 
 Vicomte of Beziers, Carcassonne, and Razes, rid himself of 
 his captive Raymond-Roger by poison, but his son was 
 unable to maintain his authority, and ceded it (1223) to the 
 king of France. The vicomte was reunited to the crown of 
 France by S. Louis, from whom the Vicomte de Trencavel, 
 son of Raymond-Roger, vainly attempted to regain it. His 
 futile attempt led S. Louis to demolish the suburbs of the 
 town on the N. bank of the Aude, and this brought about 
 the establishment of La Ville Basse (1247), burnt fifty 
 years later by the Black Prince. Continually falling 
 into the hands of the Protestants, Catholicism was 
 only finally re-established at Carcassonne by Napoleon I. 
 The troubadour Raymond de Miraval was a native of 
 Carcassonne. 
 
 In the Ville Basse (where the hotels are) is the Church 
 of S. Michel, of the end of xm. c, used as the cathedral 
 since 1803. It is a single nave with three apses. On 
 the W. are a beautiful rose-window, and a massive tower, 
 square below, octagonal above. The neighbouring Church 
 of S. Vincent is larger and handsomer, and has a fine W. 
 portal with statues of saints. The tower, like that of 
 S. Michel, is unfinished. The choir has beautiful windows 
 of xv. c. and xvi. c. The Musee contains a picture gallery 
 (open free from 12 to 4 on Sundays and Thursdays) of 
 the usual insipid character. 
 
CARCASSONNE. 
 
 487 
 
 The Pont Vieux was built in 11 84. At the entrance 
 is a pretty xv. c. Chapel. The arches of the bridge 
 are round-headed, its spurs pointed. Formerly it was 
 defended by a strong fortress on the bank, and on the r. 
 was connected with the bulwarks of La Cite by a line of 
 curtain walls. From the bridge we have one of the most 
 striking views of La Cite itself, with its coronet of towers 
 and walls, begun by the Romans, rebuilt by the Visi- 
 
 LA CITE, CARCASSONNE. 
 
 goths, altered and completed from the xi. c. to the 
 xiii. c. They surround two enclosures, one within the 
 other. The outer was the line of the Visigoth fortifications, 
 the inner that of Philippe le Hardi, in the xiii. c. The 
 great projecting round tower — La Barbacane — which com- 
 manded the river and bridge, was built by S. Louis. 
 Behind it is the castle, defended on the side towards the 
 town by a moat and barbican. 
 
 1 Cinq tours de l'enceinte ihterieure et la courtine qui les unit 
 
488 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 sont baties a petit appareil, de pierres carrees, entremeles avec 
 des assises de larges briques. Quelques-uns les regardent comme 
 une construction romaine ; d'autres comme unouvrage des derniers 
 rois visigoths : cette opinion me parait la plus probable, bien que 
 le parement de ces tours ait les plus grands rapports avec l'appareil 
 romain, surtout pour les dimensions et la coupe des pierres.' — 
 Prosper Merimee. 
 
 i Les tours de l'enceinte exterieure, ou premiere enceinte, sont 
 ouvertes du cote de laville, afin de rendre leur possession inutile 
 pour l'assiegeant, et les chemins de ronde des courtines sont au 
 niveau du sol des lices, de sorte qu 'etant pris ils ne pouvaient 
 servir de rempart contre l'assiege, qui, etant en force, restait le 
 maitre de se jeter sur les assaillants de les culbuter dans les 
 fosses.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 It will be best to keep the 1. after crossing the bridge, 
 and then ascend to the Porte Narbonnaise, on the E. side 
 of La Cite, built by Philippe le Hardi, c. 1285, when he 
 was at war with the king of Arragon. 
 
 ' Lorsqu'on visite cette porte dans tous ses details, outre la 
 beaute de la construction, la grandeur des dispositions interieures> 
 on est emerveille du soin apporte par l'architecte dans chaque 
 partie de la defense. Rien de superllu, aucune forme qui ne soit 
 prescrite par les besoins ; tout est raisonne, etudie, applique a 
 l'objet. Nous ne connaissons aucune edifice qui ait un aspect 
 plus grandiose que cette large facade plate donnant du cote 
 de la ville. Ce n'est qu'un mur perce de fenetres et de meur- 
 trieres ; mais cela est si bien construit, cela prend un si grand 
 air, qu'on ne peut se lasser d'admirer, et qu'on se demande si 
 la scrupuleuse observation des necessites en architecture n'est 
 pas un des moyens les plus puissants de produire de TeHet.' — 
 Viollet le Due, 
 
 Near this gate is the bust known as Dame C areas, 
 supposed to represent an old Saracen woman, who deigned 
 
CARCASSONNE. 489 
 
 to surrender the town to Charlemagne, when she was the 
 only inhabitant remaining after a siege of five years. 
 
 1 Voici ce qu'on raconte. Charlemagne assiegeait inutilement 
 Carcassonne depuis plusieurs annees. Vainement ses preux 
 
 PORTE NARBONNAISE, CARCASSONNE. 
 
 avaient essaye d'y planter leurs bannieres. Pourtant toute la 
 garnison se composait d'nne seule femme sarrazine, nominee 
 Carcas ; mais elle courait d'une tour a l'autre avec line agilite 
 surprenante. decochait nne fleche d'un cote, lancait un javelot 
 d'un autre ; il semblait qu'une armee nombreuse defendit les 
 remparts. L'espoir restait de prendre la place par famine, mais 
 
49o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Carcas avait devine le projet des assiegans. Elle jeta dans le 
 fosse un cochon gorge de mais, et les Francais, concluant que 
 la garnison avait des vivres en abondance, se disposerent a lever 
 le siege. lis auraient abandonne la ville en effet, si par miracle 
 une tour ne se fut inclinee devant Charlemagne, le saluant 
 comme pour rendre hommage al'empereur d'Occident.' — Prosper 
 Mcrimee. 
 
 Turning r. (after entering the Porte Narbonnaise) by 
 the winding alley called Petite Rue du Grand Puits, we 
 reach the town well, into which the Visigoths are said 
 to have thrown their treasures, and at the bottom of 
 which the natives believe that the entrance of fairy-land 
 is to be found. 
 
 The Chateau is a great square building flanked by 
 round towers of the xn. c, and formerly defended by a 
 barbican, built by S. Louis. Two square towers of the 
 xii. c. overlook it on the side towards the Aude. 
 
 ' Le chateau pouvait tenir longtemps encore, la ville et ses 
 abords etant au pouvoir de l'ennemi ; sa garnison, defendant 
 facilement la barbacane et ses rampes, restait maitresse de 
 l'Aude, dont le lit etait alors plus rapproche de la cite qu'il ne 
 Test aujourd'hui, s'approvisionnait par la riviere et empechait le 
 blocus de cote, car il n'etait guere possible a un corps de troupes 
 de se poster entre cette barbacane et l'Aude sans danger, n'ayant 
 aucun moyen de se couvrir, et le terrain plat et marecageux 
 etant domine de toutes parts.' — Violletle Due. 
 
 Entering the gate, of c. 1120, which is protected by 
 a drawbridge, surmounted by great machicolations, and 
 defended by two portcullises, we find ourselves in a 
 courtyard, where many of the round-headed xii. c. windows 
 of two lights are sustained by marble columns with rich 
 capitals. The custode will show the kitchen, a prison 
 
CARCASSONNE. 
 
 49 1 
 
 with sculptures left by the prisoners in the soft stone, 
 the ruins of the presence-chamber, and an oubliette, only 
 approached by a hidden stair, with the rings and chains 
 for torture still remaining. A walk on the walls leads to 
 la Tour Peinte, where Roger Trencavel is said to have 
 been poisoned by Simon de Montfort. 
 
 From the chateau an alley leads (passing the pleasant 
 Cafe du Jardin, where the traveller may drink Blanquette de 
 Limoux) to the former Cathedral of S. Nazaire, one of the 
 most exquisitely beautiful churches in the south of France. 
 It is of two distinct periods. The nave and its aisles, as 
 far as the transepts, belong to a church of the end of the 
 xi. c. As soon as Carcassonne was united to the kingdom 
 of France under S. Louis, Bishop Radulphe built, at the 
 end of the (then romanesque) S. transept, a chapel and 
 hall adjoining it. In the beginning of the xiv. c. Bishop 
 Pierre de Roquefort pulled down the romanesque choir 
 and transepts, and built all the E. part of the cathedral 
 in pure French gothic as it is now seen, but preserved the 
 peculiar outline of plan which existed before, and adopted 
 the peculiar design of the columns in the nave for the six 
 principal pillars of the new edifice. 
 
 1 L'eveque Pierre de Roquefort sembla vouloir, du moins, 
 faire de sa petite cathedrale de S. Nazaire, si modeste comme 
 etendue, un chef-d'oeuvre d'elegance et de richesse. Les 
 verrieres immenses et nombreuses (car ce chevet et ces transepts 
 sont une veritable lanterne) sont de la plus grande magnificence 
 comme composition et couleur.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The strong S.E. and W. winds which prevail here have 
 caused the principal entrance to be on the N. There is 
 
492 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 another door at the end of the N. transept. The transepts 
 have grand rose-windows. The chapels at the angles of the 
 nave and transept were probably added after the death of 
 Bishop Pierre de Roquefort in 132 1 ; for that on the N., 
 dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, contains their statues and 
 his tomb. His grave was only an incised slab in the pave- 
 ment, but his figure is represented standing erect with a 
 canon and a deacon at his sides. In the corresponding 
 chapel is a curious relief representing the siege of Toulouse 
 in 1 2 18 and other events in the life of Simon de Montfort. 
 A gravestone against the L wall of the S. transept is pointed 
 out as having been that of Simon himself ; his body, buried 
 in the earlier part of the church in 12 18, was removed to 
 l'lle de France. On the N. of the choir is the beautiful 
 tomb of Simon Vigorce, archbishop of Narbonne, 1575. 
 In the sacristy is the tomb of Bishop Radulphe, of the 
 middle of the xm. c. 
 
 ' Le simulacre du sarcophage, qui persiste tard dans les 
 provinces meridionales de la France, est pose sur trois colonnettes, 
 et parait engage dans la muraille. Des chanoines, sous une 
 arcature, assistent aux obseques. Sur le sarcophage se dresse 
 debout, en bas-relief, la figure de leveque benissant. Un gable 
 orne de fleurons et de crochets couronne le tout.' — Viollet le 
 Due. 
 
 Under the choir is a crypt of xi. c. The tower, 
 which overhung the city wall and served for defence, is 
 also xi. c. 
 
 La Cite may be left by the Porte de PAude, whence a 
 winding path leads down the hill. 
 
 [A road leads S.W. to (73 k.) Pamiers (see ch. ix.) by 
 
MIREPOIX. 
 
 493 
 
 (49 k.) Mirepoix (Mirapiscis), made by John XXII. the seat of a 
 bishopric, which was suppressed at the Revolution. The former 
 cathedral of 5. Maurice is chiefly early xv. c. To the N, of the 
 town is the Chateau de la Terride.~] 
 
 PORTE DE L'AUDE, CARCASSONNE. 
 
 [A line leads S. to — 
 
 10 k. Couffoulens. 5 k. S. are the remains of the once 
 famous abbey of 5*. Hilaire, founded in Merovingian times. 
 The church and a beautiful cloister and chapter-house are xiv. c 
 The former contains the tomb of the founder (S. Hilaire), with 
 curious sculpture of the XI. c. In the refectory is a beautiful 
 
494 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 xv. c. pulpit. There are considerable remains of the abbatial 
 buildings and their fortifications. 
 
 17 k. Pomas, which has a xiv. c. church, and, in the cemetery, 
 a xv. c. cross, with statuettes. 
 
 21 k. Cepie. On the r. are seen the village of Piesse and the 
 sanctuary of Notre Dame de Marceille. 
 
 27 k. Limoux, stands well on a ridge above the vineyards of 
 the Aude, which produce the celebrated bla7iquette de Limoux. 
 In 1 3 1 7 it became the seat of a bishopric, afterwards transferred 
 
 ALET. 
 
 to Alet. It is a short walk to the pilgrimage church of Notre 
 Dame de Marceille, originally built by the abbots of S. Hilaire 
 in xiii. c. Fabre d'Eglantine was a native of Limoux. The 
 railway enters the mountains, and passes through gorges before 
 reaching — 
 
 36k. Alet (Hotel: de V Etablisse?nent), the ancient Electa, a 
 pretty and attractive little place, frequented from Roman times 
 on account of its mineral baths. A famous Benedictine abbey 
 was founded here c. 813 by Bera, Count of Barcelona ; its church 
 was consecrated in 873, and in 13 18 was made a bishopric 
 (instead of Limoux) by John XXII. The episcopal palace 
 
ALET, QUILL AN. 
 
 495 
 
 (xvil c.) still exists, and behind the church are the very 
 beautiful, though fragmentary, ruins of the old cathedral, which 
 was. once a three-aisled basilica, the most remarkable portion 
 being the apse, very richly decorated on the exterior with 
 sculptured pillars and frieze. The dust of the tomb of Pavilion 
 is said to cure fever, 
 
 APSE OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL, ALET. 
 
 43 k. Coniza. 9 k. distant is Rennes-les- Bains (Hotel : de 
 V Etablissemenf), a good centre for many mountain excursions. 
 
 49 k. Campagne-STir-Ajide, a small mineral bathing-place. 
 
 55 k. QuillaUy a little manufacturing town, whence many 
 mountain excursions may be made. A diligence runs to (84 k.) 
 Perpignan, through mountain gorges. A more interesting and 
 wilder route is that (74 k.) by the Col de S. Lotris, passing (34 k.) 
 
 Paul-de-Fenonillet, which has remains of a x. c. monastery, 
 
496 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 and near which (5 k.) is the beautifully situated hermitage of 
 kS. Antoine de Calamus •.] 
 
 [The road from Carcassonne to (68 k.) Narbonne by Peyriac, 
 passes (at 25 k.) the curious xi. c. church of Rieux-Minervois. 
 It is a circular building with a circle of inner columns and apsides, 
 evidently built, like the church at Neuvy, in imitation of the Holy 
 Sepulchre at Jerusalem. 
 
 1 Son plan interieur est un polygone de quatorze cotes, inscrit 
 dans un cercle, mais dont les angles ne sont pas sensibles a 
 l'exterieur. Son diametre est de cinquante-quatre pieds. Au 
 milieu s'eleve une coupole I6gerement ovoide, soutenue par sept 
 arcades cintrees ; disposees circulairement, et formant une 
 enceinte interieure ou un choeur, dont la diametre egale la 
 moitie du diametre total de 1 eglise. L'espace compris entre la 
 premiere et la seconde enceinte, que Ton pent considerer comme 
 la nef ou les bas-cotes du choeur, est couvert d'une voute decrite 
 par un quart de cercle, qui sert d'arc-boutant aux murs du 
 choeur.' — Prosper Merimee.'] 
 
 After leaving Carcassonne, we find the country thinly 
 sprinkled with olives. On the 1. is the Montague d'Alaric, 
 an isolated mass, where legend asserts that the famous 
 Visigoth king built a castle. 
 
 384 k. Zesignan, has a large abbey-church — a single 
 xiv. c. nave, with a wide apse. 
 
 406 k. Narbonne (Hotels : La Dorade — good, with 
 horrors ; de France). 
 
 Narbonne was a flourishing town long before the 
 Romans invaded Gaul, but their first colony in this 
 part of the world was established there 118 a. a, 
 when they gave the town an admirable harbour by 
 turning aside a branch of the Aude from its bed. The 
 Visigoth rule at Narbonne began 413. The Saracens 
 
NARBONNE. 
 
 497 
 
 took it in 717. Charlemagne made it the capital of 
 a duchy. In 1320 the branch of the Aude which 
 the Romans had turned aside became filled up by the 
 bursting of a dyke, and the town was ruined. In 1507 
 it was united to the kingdom of France. The famous 
 conspiracy of Cinq Mars was unfolded here in 1642. 
 
 AT NARBONNE, RUE DU PONT. 
 
 The three Roman emperors, Cams, Carinus, and 
 Numerian were born at Narbonne, with the Latin 
 orators Votienus Montanus and Fronto ; also S. Sebas- 
 tian, martyred at Rome in 258. 
 
 Narbonne is a dull place. In the dusty public garden 
 near the railway, the croaking of the frogs almost anni- 
 hilates the whistle of the trains. The Canal de la Robine, 
 
49 8 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN TRANCE. 
 
 which divides the town, is crossed by the Rue du Pont, 
 in feeble imitation of the Ponte Vecchio at Florence. 
 
 The Cathedral of S. Just — so striking at a distance, 
 with its flying buttresses, especially when seen from the 
 railway to Perpignan — consists merely of the grand gothic 
 choir (begun in 1272) 1 of a church designed with great 
 intentions, and the unfinished fragments of a continuation, 
 as far as the first transept, begun in the last century. 2 
 
 ' La construction de ce vaste choeur est admirablement traitee 
 par un homme savant et connaissant parfaitement toutes les 
 ressources de son art. II semble qu'on ait voulu, avant tout, a 
 Narbonne, faire preuve de savoir. Les chapiteaux des piles 
 sont completement depourvus de sculpture ; le triforium est 
 d'une simplicite rare ; mais, en revanche, l'agencement des 
 arcs, les penetrations des moulures, les profils, sont executes 
 avec une perfection qui ne le cede a aucun des edifices du 
 Nord. . . . L'architecte, afin de ne pas affaiblir ses points d'appui 
 principaux par les passages des galeries, a fait tourner le raur 
 exterieur du triforium autour des piles. Mais outre la grandeur 
 de son plan, ce qui donne a la cathedrale de Narbonne un aspect 
 particulier, c'est la double ceinture de crenaux qui remplace les 
 balustrades sur les chapelles, et qui reunit les culees des arcs- 
 boutants terminees en forme de tourelles.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The sanctuary preserves its screen formed of tombs. 
 The most important of these is part of the magnificent white 
 marble monument of Bishop Pierre de la Jugie, 1376, 
 between two pillars on the S. side, but the statue of the 
 bishop and the charming reliefs of the tomb have been 
 removed to the museum at Toulouse. Were it complete, 
 
 1 The entrails of Philippe le Hardi were placed here in 1285. 
 
 2 There is no perfect specimen of a great religious edifice of the xiv. c. in 
 France. It finished some already commenced, but did not complete any 
 which it began. 
 
NARBONNE. 
 
 499 
 
 this tomb would be a model of xin. c. art, especially in its 
 little figures of bishops, perfect in their attitudes and 
 draperies. 1 The other tombs commemorate Bernard de 
 Fargis, 1341 ; Cardinal de Briconnet (in alabaster) ; General 
 de Lasbordes, of the time of Henri IV. ; and Rene-Frangois 
 de Beauvau. The handsome organ is by Christophe 
 Moucherel. The sacristy and treasury are two of the 
 S. chapels, and contain a number of ecclesiastical relics. 
 There is little coloured glass, but the early xv. c. windows 
 present some of the best specimens of grisailles in France. 
 A xiv. c. statue of the Virgin in oriental alabaster is a 
 masterpiece. 
 
 It was for this cathedral that the most celebrated 
 picture in the world, the ' Transfiguration ' of Raffaelle, 
 was ordered by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, afterwards 
 Clement VII. The death of the artist before the 
 picture was finished, gave it an unwonted value to 
 Rome, and the Cardinal was induced to consent that 
 it should remain there in the church of S. Pietro in 
 Montorio, and sent the rival painting of the ' Raising 
 of Lazarus' by Sebastian del Piombo — painted at the 
 same time — to Narbonne instead. This picture was 
 bought from hence in the last century by the Regent 
 Due d'Orleans, at whose sale it was purchased by 
 Mr. Angerstein, from whom it came to the National 
 Gallery in London. 
 
 The chapter-house, with a vaulted roof supported by 
 four columns, is of the xv. c. In the mutilated cloister, 
 of the early years of xv. c, the arches have no mullions, 
 and are separated by heavy buttresses. There is a fine 
 
 1 See Merimee. 
 
500 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 view from the top of the towers. The cloister separates 
 the cathedral from the tremendously-fortified archbishop's 
 palace — a grand feudal residence — part of which has 
 recently been arranged under Viollet le Due as the Hotel 
 de Ville, and part is used as the Museum. The former 
 occupies a portion of the principal fagade, towards the Place, 
 reached from the cloister by the Passage de PAncre, which 
 takes its name from the anchor suspended over the 
 entrance, in sign of the rights of the archbishops over 
 the port of Narbonne. The huge square tower at the 
 corner of the facade, built with embossed masonry 
 and crowned by four turrets at the angles, was erected 
 by Archbishop Gilles Ascelin in 131 8. 
 
 1 Cet ouvrage est un reduit, en meme temps qu'il commande 
 la place de la ville, les quais de l'ancien port, les rues princi- 
 pals, et tous les alentours. Bati a Tangle aigu forme par les 
 batiments d'habitation, il peut etre isole, puisqu'il n'avait avec 
 ces corps de logis aucune communication directe. Cette tour 
 renferme quatre etages et une plate-forme ou place d'armes, en 
 contre-bas, du crenelage, bien abritee du vent, terrible en ce pays, 
 et pouvant contenir une masse considerable de projectiles.' — 
 Viollet le Due. 
 
 The central tower (towards the place) of S. Martial, 
 was built in 1375 by Bishop Pierre de la Jugie. On 
 the side towards the archiepiscopal (now public) gardens 
 are the Tour de la Madeleine ', so called from the chapel 
 to which it is attached, dating from 1273, and the 
 great hall on the first floor, built by Archbishop Pierre 
 de la Jugie, in the middle of the xiv. c. 
 
 ' Cet edifice se compose d'un rez-de-chaussee avec epine de 
 
NARBONNE. 
 
 501 
 
 piliers supportant un plancher, et d'une grand'salle dont le 
 plafond est soutenu par des arcs de maconnerie. Cette salle 
 etait crenelee dans ses oeuvres hautes sur le dehors et snr la cour. 
 Des murs d'une forte epaisseur l'epaulaient entre les baies, mais 
 l'etage superieur au-dessous de la grand'salle n'etait plus maintenu 
 que par des murs peu epais, avec petits contre-forts destines 
 a contre-buter les murs de refend qui supportaient les pannes 
 fenetres. C'est un des rares exemples d'une grand'salle sur- 
 montee de logements.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The Musee, reached by the same handsome staircase 
 of 1620 which leads to the gardens, is open to the 
 public from 2 to 4 on Sundays, and every day to 
 strangers. It is much superior to the average of local 
 museums. On the second floor, the door of the library 
 is on the 1., of the picture-gallery on the r. Amongst 
 the pictures we may notice — 
 
 125. Pierre Mignard. S. Carlo Borromeo administering the 
 
 Sacrament during the Plague at Milan — -painted in 
 competition with Pietro de Cortona. Before the 
 Revolution this picture stood on the high altar of the 
 Grand Seminaire at Narbonne (the rival picture is at 
 S. Carlo ai Catinari at Rome). 
 
 126. Mignard. Portrait of Madame de Sevigne\ 
 225. Palma Vecchio. Marriage of S. Catherine. 
 261. Sebastian del Pio?nbo. Portrait. 
 
 *264. Titian. Portrait of Admiral Vincenzo Capello. 
 
 301. Mirevelt {?). 1 La Dame a la CoUerette.' 
 
 302. Morcelse. Portrait of a lady. 
 316. Van Eyck (?). Triptych. 
 
 S. Marie Majeure, which had a romanesque polygonal 
 apse, and almost all the other old churches of Narbonne, 
 have been demolished of late years ; but beyond the canal 
 is S. Paul Serge, a very fine church, built in honour of the 
 first bishop of Narbonne in 1229. The romanesque nave 
 
502 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 of the xii. c, altered in the xm. c. and xiv. c, is flanked 
 by two towers. On the pillar which faces the principal 
 entrance, the Last Judgment is sculptured. Two early 
 Christian sarcophagi are built into the wall. The choir, of 
 the first half of the xm. c, is gothic : it has side aisles, 
 and is surrounded by chapels with a triforium above them ; 
 the disposition is unique. 
 
 The Carmelite Church of S. Sebastian commemorates 
 the birthplace of the Catholic Antinous. It contains a 
 S. Teresa by Mignard. 
 
 The buildings (partly of xm. c. and xiv. c.) called 
 Lamourquier, belonging formerly to a Benedictine convent, 
 with its church, are used to contain the masses of Roman 
 inscriptions and sculptures from the walls of the city, 
 recently destroyed, of which Prosper Merimee wrote — 
 
 'Les murailles de Narbonne sont comme un musee en plein 
 air, car, dans toute leur etendue, elles presentent une suite de 
 bas-reliefs, d'inscriptions, et de fragments antiques, meles aux 
 pierres de taille, et disposes avec une espece de symetrie. On 
 est tout etonne d'apprendre que c'est Francois I., ce protecteur 
 des arts, qui a fait elever les fortifications de la ville avec les 
 debris de ses edifices romains ; et Ton peut juger par ce, qui 
 s'est conserve, des richesses dont on pouvait disposer alors.' 
 
 [It is necessary to spend two nights at Narbonne to make in 
 comfort the excursion to Fontfroide — a most remarkable and 
 beautiful place (carriage for day, 12 fr.) A white dusty road 
 leads us through an arid stony country, planted, where anything 
 will grow, with vines and almonds. 2 k. before reaching our 
 destination, we turn to the 1. by a by-road through vineyards 
 under hills covered with cork and cistus — white, pink, and rose- 
 coloured. The convent cross on a rock marks the point beneath 
 which it may be expected, but nothing is seen of it till you reach 
 the gate of its vast buildings. It is an attractive and poetical 
 
FONTFR OWE. 
 
 spot. The monastery was spared by President Grevy, at the 
 suppression, on account of its usefulness, and in concession to the 
 wish of the whole country; and its monks are still as remarkable 
 for their simplicity and goodness, as for their true liberality of 
 spirit and their admirable agricultural works. The abbey vineyards 
 are celebrated, especially those for white wine. All travelling 
 poor persons are received and fed, which in a more populous 
 
 CLOISTER OF FONTFROIDE. 
 
 country would be ruin. There is a glorious cloister of the xiii. c. 
 full of roses and oleanders, which has five bays on two sides, 
 and four on the others, with gothic vaulting ; but the galleries 
 are composed by pillars between which open three or four 
 arcades sustained by little twin columns of white-veined marble. 
 The capitals are of almost unrivalled freedom and boldness. 
 The rest of the building is of stone. A stone bench, cleverly uniting 
 with the leading columns of the cloister, runs round the galleries. 
 Separated by open arches from the cloister, is the chapter- 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 house, to which the fifty white-cowled Bernardines, who still 
 inhabit the abbey, go in picturesque procession. The church, of 
 the end of the xn. c, has much grandeur, and perhaps, better than 
 any other example, shows the Provencal style in its complete- 
 ness. Its nave, with side aisles, has gothic cradle vaulting. 
 
 ' Not only the roof is pointed, but all the constructive openings 
 have assumed the same forms. The windows and doorways, it 
 is true, still retain their circular heads, and did retain them as 
 long as the native style flourished, the pointed-headed opening 
 being only introduced by the Franks under Simon de Montfort.' 
 — Fergusson. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 NARBONNE TO THE SPANISH FRONTIER— PERPIGNAN 
 (TRADES, AMELIE-LES-BAINS), ELNE. IN AUDE 
 AND PYRENEES-ORIENTATES). 
 
 AFTER passing the wild Etang de Bages and Etang de 
 Leucate, near Narbonne, the line to Perpignan 
 becomes exceedingly beautiful, with its exquisitely soft dis- 
 tances of faint blue or snowy peaks of grand outline, seen 
 across the sandy flats or rugged plains covered with white 
 stones. There are frequent foregrounds of aloes and 
 tamarisk. About 3 k. beyond Fitou, following the road, 
 are perhaps the best artistic subjects. 
 
 46 k. Sa/ses, has a fortress built by Charles V., which has 
 withstood frequent sieges from the French. 
 
 14 k. S.E. is the sea-bathing place of Barcares. 
 
 64 k. Perpignan (Hotels : de Perpignan — best, but hor- 
 rors ; de la Paix ; du Nord ; de /Europe— all filthy), is the 
 chief town of the Pyrenees-Orientales. It is situated in a 
 flat, is ill-drained, and has little beauty. The earliest mention 
 of the site is in deeds of the vm. c, but it was only known 
 then as Alode de Perperiani. Gradually the town rose to 
 be the capital of Roussillon, over which sovereign counts 
 were established by Charlemagne. The last of these, dying 
 
506 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 childless in 1172, bequeathed Roussillon to the king of 
 Arragon, under the suzerainty of P'rance. At the end of 
 the xiii. c. Philippe le Hardi attacked Arragon, but died at 
 Perpignan in 1285. S. Louis renounced all claims to Rous- 
 sillon in favour of the kings of Majorca, and Perpignan 
 then became the residence of those sovereigns : but in 1344 
 it fell again to its former masters, the kings of Arragon. 
 France, which had frequently seized upon Roussillon, only 
 became finally assured of its possession, in 1659, by the 
 treaty of the Pyrenees. 
 
 The great feature of Perpignan is the Place de la Loge 
 (from the Spanish lonja — a market), which contains the pic- 
 turesque gothic edifice, rich in flamboyant ornaments, built 
 in 1396 as a Bourse, and now occupied as a Hotel de Ville. 
 This and several private houses in Perpignan have the 
 Saracenic character which is frequently seen in Arragonese 
 architecture. 
 
 1 A Perpignan, l'architectnre civile, qui est l'expression des 
 habitudes ordinaires de la vie, presente une forte analogie avec 
 celle de la Peninsule. On y retrouve des maisons sombres, mal 
 eclairees de quelques fenetres grillees ; des portes surmontees 
 d'armoiries, des cours interieures {patios), de ces grands vestibules 
 qui precedent l'escalier et qu'on nomme en espagnol zaguanes. 
 Quant aux edifices publics, presque tous datent du temps ou Le 
 Roussillon appartenait aux rois de Majorque on a ceux d'Espagne.' 
 — Prosper Merimee. 
 
 The University was founded by Pedro IV. of Arragon 
 in 1349. Its buildings contain the library, museum, and a 
 fourth-rate picture gallery. 
 
 Not far from the Loge is the little brick (restored) castle 
 called Castillet, built, close to the Porte de Narbonne, by 
 Ferdinand the Catholic. 
 
PERPIGNAN, 
 
 507 
 
 The Cathedral of S. Jean was begun in 1324 by 
 Beranger-Batille, bishop of Elne, and the arms of France 
 upon the sanctuary commemorate its having been finished 
 whilst Louis XI. was momentarily master of Roussillon. 
 The exterior is bare and featureless, but the tower is crowned 
 by good xviii. c. ironwork. 
 
 ' Son appareil est dans les parties inferieures de cailloux dis- 
 poses en aretes, et c'est, je crois, un des derniers exemples de cette 
 mode de construction, employe en grand.' — Prosper Merimee, 
 
 Beneath the tower is the little romanesque church of 
 S.Jean le Vieux, consecrated 1025, but restored in xn. c. 
 and xiii. c. The interior of the cathedral is a vast single 
 nave. The white marble altar-piece, of 1620, is by Soler 
 of Barcelona. In the N. transept is the noble tomb of 
 Louis de Montmor, under whom (1602) the see of Elne 
 was transferred to Perpignan. The figure of the bishop, 
 which has been much mutilated, is vigorously designed. In 
 the polygonal chapel of this transept is a painted wooden 
 altar-piece of early xvi. c. The organ is worth notice. 
 
 ' Le buffet est bien execute, de beau bois de chene ; et sa 
 construction, comme on peut le voir, etablie sur un seul plan, est 
 fort simple ; elle ne se compose que de montants et de traverses 
 avec panneaux a jour. Presque tous les tuyaux de montre sont 
 utilises. L'organiste, place derriere la balustrade, au centre, 
 touchait les claviers disposes dans le renforcement inferieur ; la 
 soufflerie est etablie par derriere, dans un reduit.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The church of S. Mathieu, of 1639, nas a curious benitier. 
 The church of S. Jacques, which belonged to the lepers' 
 hospital, has a magnificent xv. c. retable. The Dominican 
 Convent (xiii. a), where S. Dominic lived when he came 
 
508 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 into France at the time of the Albigensian war, is in ruins. 
 There are a good many other remains of old convents in 
 Perpignan, where La Grande Mademoiselle describes the 
 nuns as ' coquettes et fardees.' 1 
 
 The Citadel, on the S. of the town, is a vast fortress, 
 constructed — its inner lines by Charles V , its outer by 
 Vauban — around the old palace of the kings of Majorca, a 
 vast square tower, with a xn. c. chapel, of Saracenic-gothic, 
 but much modernised. The portal of the chapel, of red 
 and white marble, is interesting. A stone arm projecting 
 from a parapet of the ramparts till recently marked the spot 
 where Charles V. is said to have found a sentinel asleep at 
 night on his post, and, pushing him over into the moat, to 
 have taken his place and duty himself. 
 
 The tow r er, called Castell-Rossello, or Castel-Roussillon, 
 on the way to the sea-bathing place of Canet, with a chapel 
 and some foundations, is all that remains of Castrum 
 Ruscinonense or Rossolionense, which was built on the 
 site of the ancient Ruscino, and which was still inhabited 
 in the xiv. c. 
 
 ' Ruscino passe pour avoir ete la capitale des Sondes ou 
 Sardons. C'est la que, suivant Tite-Live, se reunirent les chefs 
 gaulois de ces contrees, pour deliberer sur la permission qu'avait 
 fait demander Annibal, deja campe sous les murs d'lliberis (Elne), 
 de traverser librement leur pays. Favorablement disposes 
 d'avance par les presents qu'avait eu soin de leur faire distribuer 
 l'adroit Africain, ces chefs consentirent a recevoir Annibal en ami. 
 
 4 Sous le regne de Louis le Debonnaire, Ruscino etait designee 
 par le nom Rosciliona. Elle fut completement detruite par les 
 Normands, apres avoir ete incendiee par les Maures. A la suite 
 du sac de la ville, les habitants construisirent vraisemblement la 
 
 1 Me'moires de Mile, de Montpensier, 
 
SERRABONA. 509 
 
 tour que Ton voit encore, afin de surveiller la mer et de se preserver 
 d'une nouvelle surprise.' — Lenthcric. 
 
 [A branch railway leads in 2 hrs. from Perpignan to Prades. 
 It passes — 
 
 13 k. S. Fclin-d Avail. r. is 6*. Fclin-dAmont, with a 
 fortified church. 
 
 17 k. Millas, formerly fortified, r. is the mountain of Forca- 
 
 S. MICHEL DE CUXA. 
 
 Real, on the summit ot which is a hermitage of 1693, much 
 frequented by pilgrims. The ruined castle of For fa- Real dates 
 from the xiii. c. 
 
 23 k. Ille, surrounded by its old ramparts and towers. The 
 church is xiv. c. 
 
 27 k. Bouleternere, with an old castle. 8 k. S. is the desolate 
 ruined abbey of Serrabona, with an interesting romanesque 
 basilica church in a very wild situation. 
 
 32k . Viuca, has a church containing very curious ecclesiastical 
 
5io 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 vestments. 2 k. N.E. are the sulphurous Baths of Vinca. 3 k. S. 
 is the ruined castle of Joch. 
 
 41 k. Prades (Hotel : Januari — very good). This little 
 town rose as a dependency of the abbey of Lagrasse, of 
 which it threw off the yoke in 1588. Its straight, dull, noisy 
 street is much frequented during the bathing season. The 
 handsome Church has a romanesque tower and a magnificent 
 
 CHURCH OF S. MICHEL DE CUXA. 
 
 altar-piece brought from S. Michel de Cuxa. To reach the ruins 
 of this famous abbey, one must turn to the 1. beyond the last 
 house of the town, by the village of Codalet, up the valley of the 
 Taurinya, till the Abbey of S. Michel de Cuxa is seen rising 
 against a magnificent mountain background. Passing the forge 
 at the foot of the hill, we come to a red marble gate decorated 
 with figures of saints, which now only leads to a farmyard. Here 
 is a fragment of the cloister, having beautiful romanesque arches of 
 red marble with richly sculptured capitals. Behind rises the stately 
 
VILLEFRANCHE-LE-CONFLENT, PLANES. 511 
 
 ruin of the church, a nave of five bays, transepts terminating in 
 square towers, of which one fell in 1839, an< ^ a cn °i r with red- 
 marble vaulting. The choir is gothic, but all the rest is roraan- 
 esque. The whole ruin is very striking and perfectly in keeping 
 with the beautiful scenery which surrounds it. 
 
 6 k. from Prades is the town of Villefranche-le-Conflent % 
 chiefly built of red marble, at the confluence of the Fillols and 
 Tet, founded by Guillem-Raymond, Comte de Cerdagne, in 1095. 
 Its fortifications were designed by Vauban. The mountain of 
 S. Jacques, which overlooks it, is crowned by a ruined tower, and 
 pierced by vast caverns used as magazines. The church has two 
 aisles, each with a romanesque portal, and the tower is fortified. 
 In the principal street are two old towers, and there are several 
 romanesque houses in the town. 5 k. further is Serdinya, where 
 the church has a beautiful gothic reliquary and a xiv. c. picture 
 of SS. Cosmo and Damian. Following the Tet from hence, by 
 Olette and the baths of Graus-d 'Olette (on the site of the ancient 
 convent of S. Andre-d'Exalada or des Vapeurs, founded 840 by the 
 monks who afterwards built S. Michel de Cuxa), we reach (37 k. 
 from Prades) the town of Montlouis (Hotel : de France), on a lofty 
 platform above the Tet, fortified by Vauban, and commanding 
 one of the approaches to Spain. Hence by the Col de la Perche 
 one may reach the plain of La Cerdagne and Saillagousse (10 k.), 
 with its romanesque church, whence excursions are made to the 
 Picde Fenestrelles and to the summit of the Puigmal. A carriage 
 road leads from Saillagousse, by Estavar, Llivia, and Bourg- 
 Madame to Puycerda (59 k. from Prades), in Spain. 
 
 5 k. S.E. of Montlouis is the curious little church of Planes, 
 called by the natives LaMesquita, and supposed by them to have 
 been built by the Saracens. It is an equilateral triangle enclosing 
 a circle of which the diameter is that of the cupola. Upon each 
 face of the triangle is described a semicircle, so that externally 
 the building presents a perimeter composed of three semicircular 
 apses, alternating with three angular niches. Above the cupola 
 is a modern campanile. Formerly the entrance was placed in the 
 midst of the W. apse ; now it is in the S. angle. In the interior, 
 two of the apses have tribunes. 
 
 • La chapelle de Planes peut passer pour un de ces caprices 
 
512 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 de construction que Ton rencontre en recueillant ces monuments 
 eleves au milieu des deserts. Elle se compose d'une coupole 
 posee sur une base triangulaire et sur trois grandes niches ou 
 culs-de-four. Construite grossierement en moellons, il serait 
 assez difficile de lui assigner une date precise. Cependant le 
 systeme de la batisse et la forme du plan ne nous permettent 
 pas de la regarder comme anterieure au xin c siecle.' — Viollct 
 le Due. 
 
 [An excursion may be made from Montlouis to the Baths of 
 Les Escaldas byroad (30k.), or partly by road and partly by 
 footpath (4 hrs.), passing the pilgrimage Chapel of Fo7it-Romeu } 
 which has a festa on Sept. 8.] 
 
 [A diligence meets all the trains to connect Prades with the 
 Baths of Vcrnet, 1 1 k. distant. The road passes through Ville- 
 franche (see p. 511) and (9 k.) Cornella-de-Conflent, which has a 
 romanesque church with a XII. c. tower and a beautiful white 
 marble portal. Close by are the remains of an Augustinian priory 
 enclosing those of the castle of the Comtes de Cerdagne. In the 
 place is a round tower, with a fountain beneath it. The village 
 has several good renaissance houses. 
 
 Vernet (Pension at the baths, 6 fr. a day. Table d'hote at 
 10 and 5), is beautifully situated on one of the lower buttresses 
 of the Canigou, overlooked by a church and ruined tower. The 
 church has some small remains of the chapel given to S. Michel 
 de Cuxa by the Countess Ermessinde in 898. On the place is an 
 old elm, round which the peasants dance the Ballas, which some 
 say is of Greek, some of Saracenic origin. The sulphuric springs 
 belonged to the Abbey of S. Martin du Canigou, to which a rocky 
 mule-path (45 min.) leads from the baths. The abbey, which is 
 most picturesquely situated, on the edge of a gorge, is said to 
 have been built in the x. c. by Count Guiffred, who had hoped 
 to inveigle an invading band of Saracens into a mountain defile, 
 and when he had secured them, to overwhelm and annihilate 
 them from above. The Saracens fell into the trap ; but the son 
 of the Count, as he saw them advancing, could not resist falling 
 upon them too soon, contrary to the orders he had received, and 
 put them to flight, thus preventing their total destruction. On 
 
5. MARTIN DU CANIGOU. 
 
 513 
 
 seeing why his plan had failed, Guiffred killed his son in his fury. 
 For this Pope Sergius IV. commanded him to build a monastery 
 in penance. He founded S. Martin in 1007, bequeathed his 
 property to the abbey, and died there himself as a monk in 1049. 
 
 The material of the ruins has been used in all the neighbour- 
 hood for churches, and in the houses of the village of Castell. 
 
 4 Leglise, ruinee, est d'un style roman fort bizarre. La nef 
 presente de larges travees dont les voutes en berceau portent 
 sur des colonnes monolithes, en marbre blanc, renflees vers le 
 milieu, etranglees au sommet, sous le chapiteau. Les chapiteaux 
 sont byzantins, au type de S. Marc de Venise. Le doge Orseolo, 
 le fondateur meme de la basilique de S. Marc, qui vint prendre 
 l'habit monastique dans l'abbaye de S. Michel de Cuxa, voisine du 
 Canigou, n'aurait-il pas amehe avec lui des ouvriers ? Ou bien 
 ces influences byzantines seraient-elles venues par les Arabes ? 
 Cette question merite d'etre recommandee vivement aux archeo- 
 logues que le gout des etudes ou des ascensions conduit dans 
 les montagnes orientales des Pyrenees. Quelques fragments, a 
 S. Martin du Canigou, ne datent que du xn e siecle ; ceux-la se 
 rapprochent davantage de l'art roman des autres contrees 
 meridionales de la France.' — Anthyme S. Paul. 
 
 Beneath the entrance of the abbey is a caverned tomb in the 
 rock, where Guiffred and his wife were buried ; but the monument 
 of Guiffred (with a modern inscription) is to be found in the church 
 of Castell, between the abbey and Vernet.] 
 
 [A diligence runs (7 k.) between Prades and the Baths of 
 Molitg, in the gorge of the Castellane (Hotels: Marty ; Auier ; 
 Laguerre), near the ruined castle of Paracols. An excursion may 
 be made from Molitg by the rock-built Mosset and Coimozouls to 
 (8hrs.) the Baths of Carcanieres. Another excursion (iohrs. to 
 go and return) may be made to the pools called Les Gourgs de 
 Nohedes. Tradition says that if any one throws a stone into Le 
 Gourg Noir, a thick mist will arise, which will be followed, three 
 hours after, by a terrible storm.] 
 
 [An excursion may be made from Perpignan by diligence 
 
 33 
 
5H 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 (most fatiguing — a railway is in progress) to Amelie-les-Bains 
 39 k. distant. The road is intensely ugly. The Bridge of Cerei 
 (31 k.) over the Tech is a magnificent single arch, exceedingly 
 lofty and narrow, attributed to the Visigoth kings. 
 
 The church of Ceret, a little to the S. of the road, has a good 
 gothic portal. Turning along the r. bank of the Tech, into the 
 valley of Vallesftir (Vallis aspera), and passing r. the ancient 
 brown village of Palalda, we soon reach A?nelie-les-Bains 
 (Hotels : des Thermes ; Romains ; Pujade), a dull little place, 
 shaded with planes and clustering along the banks of the stream. 
 With other baths, it has one admirably arranged bath for soldiers, 
 much frequented for cutaneous diseases and rheumatism, and of 
 great benefit. The place was formerly called Arles-les-Bains, as 
 it belonged to the neighbouring Benedictine abbey of Aries, and 
 the name was only changed in 1840 in honour of the queen of 
 Louis-Philippe. Life is indescribably dull here, the same limited 
 society necessarily meeting all day long. 
 
 4 k. up the valley (carriage for day, 6 fr.) is Arles-snr-Tech 
 (Hotel: Rousseau — decent), the Roman Arulae, on the site of 
 which the abbey of Notre Dame was built in 821. Twice ruined, 
 the present church dates from 1 157. The old brown town has its 
 little place, whence steps lead to a platform at the end of the 
 church, where, railed off, is a tomb bearing the monogram of Christ 
 — with a cover en dos d'dne, filled with marvellous water, never 
 dry, though completely isolated. In ancient times, it is said, when 
 the country was ravaged by dragons and other evil beasts, the holy 
 Arnulph went to search at Rome for relics which might drive them 
 away. Here, in sleep, the Persian martyrs, Abdon and Sennen, 
 revealed to him where their bodies were buried, and that they 
 would carry out his desire. On the following day Arnulph found 
 the bodies of the saints at the spot indicated, but fearing that they 
 would be stolen from him during his long return journey, he put 
 them in a barrel, enclosed in another much larger, which he filled 
 with water. On landing at Reuss, Arnulph heard all the bells ring 
 of their own accord to welcome him, but would not explain the 
 reason. The way from Reuss was difficult ; the barrel was carried 
 on a mule. At a narrow pass the muleteer swore, and the mule 
 instantly disappeared over the precipice. Arnulph was in despair 
 but on arriving at Aries found mule safe, bells ringing as before, 
 
ARLES-SUR- TECH. 
 
 515 
 
 and people already cured of their diseases. Then Arnulph drew 
 forth his relics, and as for the water, emptied it into a vacant 
 sarcophagus, where a leper washed and was instantly cured. 
 Then others speedily sought the same blessing. A relief in the 
 wall still represents a certain Chevalier d'Homs, who died a monk 
 
 TOMB OF SS. ABDON AND SENNEN, ARLES-SUR-TECH. 
 
 in 1200, being cured of a cancer in the nose 1 by the relics. The 
 monks took possession of so valuable a source of income, and the 
 water is still sold by the clergy at 1 fr. the bottle, though only to 
 those who ask for it in Catalan. 
 
 Let into the wall above the tomb are a figure and two praying 
 
 See Prosper Merimee. 
 
5 i6 
 
 SOUTH WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 angels, from destroyed monuments. The church consists of a 
 nave with aisles. Over the W. door a cross is let into the wall, 
 containing the Saviour throned between the emblems of the 
 evangelists. On the N. is a chapel, where an immense wooden 
 altar-piece of the xvn. c. portrays the lives of SS. Abdon and 
 
 CLOISTER, ARLES-SUR-TECH. 
 
 Sennen. On the 1. is the lovely Cloister, of xiii. c, of white marble, 
 golden tinted from age, but still in great perfection. Very miserable 
 houses are built around and open into it. In the village are many 
 ajimez windows, and the whole place has a Spanish character, 
 enjoying its bull-fights in the summer, when the peasants dance 
 the contrepas to perfection in the little square. 
 
 An ascent of hr. will take the pedestrian from Aries to 
 
ELNE. 
 
 517 
 
 La Caxa de Roland (the coffin of Roland), a very perfect dolmen, 
 near a chaos of granite rocks, above which is the Tour de Batere, 
 with a fine view. 
 
 Continuing the valley of the Tech (23 k. from Amelie-les-Bains), 
 one may visit Prats-de-Mollo, with a church connected by a vaulted 
 subterranean passage with the Fort la Garde, a work of Vauban, 
 and (at 31k.) the baths of La Preste. In the valley of the Caldares, 
 which opens S.W. from that of the Tech, is the hermitage of Notre 
 Dame del Coral. 
 
 [22 k. S. of Aries by a carriage road, passing (17 k.) 6*. Laurent- 
 de-Cerdans, is Coustouges, or Coslujas, the ancient Custodia, on the 
 frontier of Spain. Here Pope Damasus founded (370), in honour 
 of the Virgin, a church, which was ruined by the Saracens and 
 rebuilt by Charlemagne in the ix. c. Prosper Merimee describes 
 this church —a rectangular parallelogram ending in an apse— as 
 little altered and most interesting.] 
 
 After leaving Perpignan, the mountains of the Canigou 
 rise grandly to the r. of the railway, their pale grey tints 
 contrasting with the vigorous lines of the plains. 
 
 77 k. Elne (no hotel of any description). The town, on 
 its dusty hillock, with its brown cathedral, its mouldering 
 walls and towers, its men in sandals, its vegetation of aloes, 
 prickly pear, canes, and henbane, and its fine background 
 of purple mountains or deep blue sea, each seen across a 
 sandy plain, is more thoroughly Spanish in character than 
 most places in Spain itself. 
 
 The ancient Illiberis was the first halting-place of 
 Hannibal in Gaul. The Carthaginian general encamped 
 beneath it, and held a conference there with the chiefs 
 of the Voices Tectosages. Constantine called the place 
 Castrum Helenae in honour of his mother, and is said 
 to have founded a bishopric there, to which Caesar Borgia 
 was nominated as bishop by his father Alexander VI. 
 
518 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Repeatedly devastated and burnt by Saracens, Normans, 
 and French, Elne became almost deserted when its bishopric 
 was removed to Perpignan in 1602, and has since presented 
 no more than a ghost of its ancient magnificence. 
 
 Rugged alleys between the close-set houses lead to the 
 platform occupied by the Church of S. Eulalie, the former 
 cathedral, founded in the citadel (in the place of an 
 ancient basilica) by Bishop Beranger in 1019, and finished 
 c. 1060. 
 
 'La facade assez elevee, et qui se termine par un gable 
 
 ELNE. 
 
 crenele, est encadree par deux tours carrees qui selevent un peu 
 plus haut que celui-ci. Cinq fenetres etroites sont percees dans 
 le gable, et leur sommet s'aligne sur ses corniches rampantes. 
 On observe leurs archivoltes dessinees par des pierres noires qui 
 tranchent avec la couleur des autres materiaux. D'autres 
 incrustations semblables, disposees ca et la sur la facade, 
 rappellent un style d'ornementation tout oriental, qui parait 
 s'etre introduit de bonne heure dans le midi de la France.' — 
 Prosper Merimee. 
 
 The church has a nave of five bays, the two first of 
 which were renewed in the xiv. c. The facade, of extreme 
 simplicity, is flanked by two square towers, that on the r. of 
 
ELNE. 
 
 519 
 
 stone, that on the 1. of brick : both are fortified. The 
 principal nave has cradle vaulting. The chapels on the r. 
 were added in the xv. c. There is a rich retable in Spanish 
 taste. Outside the three apses are the beginnings of a 
 
 IN THE CLOISTER, ELNE. 
 
 larger choir, abandoned soon after its commencement. In 
 the sacristy is a white marble sarcophagus of the Lower 
 Empire. 
 
 A gothic portal of the xm. c. leads into the beautiful 
 Cloister, which is the glory of the place : its enclosure is 
 
520 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 now a lovely garden of roses and lilies. It was evidently 
 reconstructed and vaulted in the xiv. c, when the pillars 
 and many of the capitals of the xn. c. were used again, 
 and others added ; indeed, the capitals of this cloister 
 present a perfect series of the ornamentation from the 
 xn. c. to the xv. a, during which period sculptors were 
 constantly employed here. 
 
 ' Les formerets des youtes du xiv c siecle ne traversent pas 
 le mur de la galerie, comme a Fontenay et a Fonfroide. Les 
 architectes se contenterent de placer de trois en trois arcades 
 une pile cubique, soit prise parmi les piles du cloitre primitif, 
 soit taillee pour cette nouvelle disposition ; car il faut remarquer 
 qu'a Elne comme a Moissac, outre les colonnettes jumelles, il 
 devait exister, au xn G siecle, les piles rectangulaires de distance 
 en distance pour donner plus de resistance a ces longues 
 galeries.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The shafts of the pillars are covered with exquisite 
 ornamentation. 
 
 ' The capitals at Elne are more curious than those of any 
 other cloister in France — some of them showing so distinct an 
 imitation of Egyptian work as to strike any one at all familiar 
 with that style. Yet they are treated with a lightness and 
 freedom so wholly mediaeval as to show that it is possible to 
 copy the spirit without a servile adherence to the form. Here 
 every capital is different.' — Fergusson. 
 
 A number of reliefs are let into the wall of the cloister : 
 one of them, bearing the Christian monogram, is pointed 
 out as part of the tomb of Constans, youngest son of 
 Constantine, killed near this. Another relief represents a 
 bishop between two angels with censers. 
 
 ' Quelques vieillards se rappellent que dans leur jeunesse, tous 
 les ans, apres la Toussaint, on chantait une absoute devant ce 
 
PORT VEND RES. 
 
 521 
 
 bas-relief, et qu'on l'aspergeait ensuite avec du vin blanc. 
 Leveque qu'il representait avait, dit-on, donne une vigne aux 
 chanoines d'Elne, qui, par reconnaisance, ou par une clause de 
 la donation, s'acquittaient regulierement de cette ceremonie.' — 
 
 Prosper M crime e. 
 
 80 k. Palau-del- Vidre, has an ancient church of the 
 Templars, with fine wooden altar-pieces of the xiv. c. and a 
 cope embroidered with pearls of 1554. 
 
 86 k. Argeles-sur-Mer, is a frequented bathing-place. 
 
 91k. Collioure, is the ancient Cauco Illiberis. In the 
 centre of the town is an old castle. A little to the S.W. is 
 the Hermitage of Notre Dame de Consolation. 2 j k. beyond 
 are the ruins of the abbey of Va/bonne, abandoned since 
 the xv. c. 
 
 93 k. Port Vendres, is the ancient Portus Veneris. The 
 port is decorated with fountains and an obelisk. Steamers 
 from Marseilles to Barcelona and Alicante touch here. 
 Cap Bear was the site of a temple of Venus. 
 
 98 k. Banyuls-sur-Mer, has a good romanesque portal, 
 the only remnant of the church of S. Jean d'Amont. 
 
 105 k. Cerbere. Beyond this, the railway enters Spain. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 NARBONNE TO MONTPELLIER — BEZIERS, MONTPELLIER 
 ( MA G UEL ONE, AIGUES-MORTES, LUNEL). 
 
 r I A HE railway runs through the plain of the Aude, 
 
 7 k. Coursan, which has a fortified gothic church. This 
 is the station for the sea-bathing place of S. Pierre. Soon 
 after leaving the station, the old town of Capestang is seen 
 under the hills on the 1. It has a gothic church and 
 remains of a Roman bridge. 
 
 1 6 k. Nissan. After passing this, the town of Montady, 
 with a very lofty square tower, is seen on the 1. 
 
 26 k. Beziers (Hotels : des Postes — good ; de la Bourse ; 
 de France ; de la Paix). The first sight of Beziers from the 
 railway does not give a false impression that it is one of the 
 most picturesque towns in the south of France and well 
 worth halting at. High beyond the old gothic xn. c. bridge of 
 unequal arches over the Orb, and raised on stately terraces 
 above the clambering houses, rises the grand brown mass 
 of the fortified cathedral, while the bright green of avenues 
 and gardens gives the colour which is wanting in most 
 views of southern towns in France. 
 
 The ancient Beterris was colonised from the seventh 
 Roman legion under the title of Colonia Septimanorum, 
 
 to— 
 
BEZIERS. 
 
 523 
 
 but soon returned to its old name. In the 111. c. it was 
 converted by S. Aphrodise, who became the first of a line 
 of bishops which came to an end in 1790. No place 
 suffered more terribly for its Protestantism than Beziers in 
 the wars of the xn. c. 
 
 BEZIERS. 
 
 ' Les chefs des croises depecherent Feveque de la cite vers ses 
 ouailles. " L eveque assembla les habitants et autres dans leglise 
 cathedrale de S. Nazaire, et, leur representant le grand peril ou 
 ils etoient, il leur conseilla de rendre la ville au legat et de livrer 
 entre ses mains les heretiques, que lui eveque connoissoit bien 
 et avoit couches par ecrit ; mais ils refuserent, et dirent qu'ils 
 mangeroient ftlutot leurs enfants que de faire telle chose. Le 
 legat, sur cette reponse, jura qu'en Beziers il ne laisseroit pas 
 pierre sur pierre, qu'il feroit tout mettre a feu et a sang, tant 
 hommes que femmes et petits enfants, et que pas un seul ne 
 
524 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 sera pris a merci." L'armee planta autour de Beziers ses tentes 
 et ses pavilions innombrables. . . . " Ceux de Beziers, qui avoient 
 pense jusque-la que ce que leur eveque leur etoit venu dire 
 netoit que fables, commencerent de se grandement ebahir. 
 Toutefois, quand ils virent que force leur etoit de se defendre ou 
 de mourir, ils prirent courage entre eux et s'armerent du mieux 
 que chacun put ; puis ils sortirent pour charger les assiegants. 
 Adonc, Yhost assiegante commenca de semouvoir, en telle sorte, 
 qu'elle faisoit trembler et fremir la terre." Les chevaliers croises 
 n'eurent pas le temps de prendre part au combat ; la multitude des 
 arlots et gens de pied se precipita si furieusement sur les bourgeois, 
 qu'elle les rejeta dans la ville et y penetra pele-mele avec eux. 
 En peu d'instants la cite fut inondee par des milliers d'ennemis 
 furieux. " La eut lieu la plusgrande massacre que jamais on eut 
 fait dans tout le monde ; car on n epargna ni vieux ni jeunes, pas 
 meme les enfants qui tetoient ! " Les vainqueurs avaient demande 
 a l'abbe de Citeaux comment ils distingueraient les heretiques 
 des fideles : " Tuez-les tous ! " repondit Arnaud Amauri ; " tuez- 
 les tous ! Dieu connaitra les siens." 
 
 ' Ceux de la ville se retirerent, autant qu'ils purent, dans la 
 grande eglise de S. Nazaire ; les capelci7is de cette eglise firent 
 tinter les cloches jusqu'd ce que tout le monde fut mort ; il n'y eut 
 glas ni cloches, ni capelans revetus de leurs habits sacerdotaux, 
 qui pussent empecher que tout fut passe au tranchant de lepee, 
 et il ne s'en sauva point un seul ; ce fut la plus grande pitie, que 
 jamais on eut crue ni ouie. La ville pillee, ils mirent le feu de 
 partout, et tout fut devaste et brule, de sorte qu'il n'y demeure 
 chose vivante. . . . Le chroniqueur Aubri ou Alberic de Trois- 
 Fontaines pretend que la population egorgee s'elevait a soixante 
 mille personnes, dont sept mille au moins dans la seule eglise 
 de la Madeleine ! Le contemporain Bernard Ithier de Limoges 
 porte le nombre des morts a trente-huit mille. Arnaud Amauri 
 en avoue vingt mille dans la lettre ou il rend compte au pape de 
 sa victoire. Tel fut le debut des champions de la foi, 22 juillet, 
 1209.' — Henri Martin, 1 Hist, de France 1 iv. 32. 
 
 A succession of pretty gardens and fine avenues of 
 planes (in which the principal hotels are situated) lead 
 the foot-passenger up into the town, beyond the older part 
 
BEZIERS. 
 
 525 
 
 of which, on the very point of the promontory, he will 
 find the grand Church of S. Nazaire, formerly the 
 cathedral. The later portions, of the xm. c. and xiv. c, 
 were fortified and battlemented to correspond with the 
 transepts and rectangular portion of the choir, which date 
 from the xn. c, and which were machicolated at the 
 later date. 
 
 ' On etablit quelquefois des machicoulis sur le couronnement 
 des eglises lorsqu'on jugeait que celles-ci pouvaient etre in- 
 vesties ; c'est ainsi que sur l'abside de la cathedrale de Beziers, 
 entre les contre-forts, et pour defendre les fe'netres contre une 
 escalade, on a construit, vers le commencement du xiv e siecle, 
 des machicoulis termines par un parapet avec crenelages a jour 
 en forme de balustrade.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The W. front has two small towers, between which 
 is a magnificent rose-window. Above the gothic portal 
 are statues representing the Old and the New Law. The 
 stained xiv. c. windows of the choir are protected by web- 
 like grilles of wrought iron. The nave has only two bays, 
 and is without side-aisles, but has chapels at the sides. 
 The triforium has square openings, continuing the mullions 
 of the windows above. From the S. transept, through the 
 chapter-house, is the entrance to a beautiful cloister of 
 the xiv. c, with a fountain in the centre. Its galleries 
 are surrounded by a balustrade of open work : they 
 contain a number of ancient altars and sarcophagi. 
 
 Turning to the 1. (in returning to the station), beyond 
 a market-place, is the Church of La Madeleine, much 
 altered, but preserving romanesque wundows and cornices- 
 This was one of the principal scenes of the terrible massacre 
 of 1209. 
 
526 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Proceeding from hence in a straight line to L, we reach 
 through a court, the Church of S. Aphrodise, the burial- 
 place of that saint, the first apostle of Beziers. The 
 building is xm. c. and xiv. c. At the W. end is an 
 ancient sarcophagus, now used as an altar, formerly as a 
 font. 
 
 Old chroniclers relate that after the martyrdom of 
 S. Aphrodise, first bishop of Beziers, in the third year 
 of Domitian, Count Bernard instituted a fief for the 
 nourishment of a camel which had belonged to the saint, 
 and paid the income for its maintenance. After the death 
 of the camel, the fief was appropriated to a kind of charity 
 in honour of S. Aphrodise, which accounts for the appear- 
 ance of a camel and the distribution of alms in the strange 
 festival which annually took place here, till recent times, 
 on the fete of the Ascension. 
 
 ' Le jour de la fete, un chameau de toile, peinte, ouvre la 
 marche ; suivent des especes de sauvages, puis les agriculteurs 
 portant des especes de houlettes ornees de rubans, dont ils se 
 servent fort adroitement pour parer ou porter des coups ; ils 
 dausent avec beaucoup d'adresse et de legerete : on porte des 
 paniers remplis de pain, qu'on distribue aux pauvres. D'autres 
 conduisent une bergere et l'eventent de temps a l'autre. On 
 jette aussi de bonbons, des oranges, des confitures: ce n'est pas 
 le moins bon de la fete. Les autorites marchent en tete ; cette 
 fete est presumee une fete d'agriculture.' — J. M. Amelin. 
 
 Besides the churches already mentioned, we may notice 
 S. Jacques ; of xn. c, with a beautiful apse. The Hotel de 
 Ville has an indifferent collection of pictures. Near this, 
 outside No. 5, Rue Francaise, is an ancient statue, known 
 by the inhabitants as Pepezuc. On the Place de la Cita- 
 delle, a statue by David d'Angers commemorates Riquet 
 
PUISSALICON, PEZENAS. 
 
 527 
 
 (1604-80), the author of the Canal du Midi, and the most 
 distinguished of the Biterrois, as the natives of Beziers 
 call themselves, from the old name of the town, 
 
 [A line leads N.W. from Beziers to S. Chinian, by — ■ 
 23 k. Cessenon. 5 k. S. is the ruined abbey of Fo7itcaude. 
 34 k. kS*. Chinian, a little manufacturing town in a picturesque 
 rocky district] 
 
 [A line leads from Beziers to (43 k.) Bedarieux (see ch. viii.), 
 and so to Millau and Arvant. At Esp07tdeilhan (15 k.) is a 
 romanesque church of ix. c. and x. c. Near (19 k.) the station 
 of Magalas is the grand solitary tower of the ruined church 
 of S. Etienne of Puissalicon, now standing in the cemetery. It 
 recalls the campaniles of Italy, though the single circular opening 
 in its highest storey is a mistake in a building growing gradually 
 lighter towards its summit.] 
 
 44 k. Vias, which has a great fortified church of the 
 xiv. c, with a stone spire, and a grand W. rose-window. 
 
 [A branch line leads N. from Vias to (59 k.) Lodeve, by — 
 
 12 k. kS'. Thibery, with a very remarkable Roman bridge over 
 the Herault, and an ancient abbey. 
 
 1 8 k. Pezenas, the Piscennae or Pissenacum of the Romans, 
 and the place where Moliere exhibited his first dramatic efforts 
 during the sitting (1655-56) of the Etats de Languedoc. The 
 wooden horse called the Poulain, made when Louis VIII. visited 
 the place in 1226, covered with a blue robe embroidered with 
 gold fleurs-de-lis, is made to dance here to the sound of music at 
 the fetes. Its leaps, and its pretence of biting those who come 
 too near it, are a great amusement to the people. The town is 
 famous for its woollen factories. The surrounding plain is called 
 from its richness 'le jardin de l'Herault.' 
 
 29 k. PaulhaU) on the upper line from Narbonne to Mont- 
 pellier, see ch. viii.] 
 
 47k. Agde (Hotels: du Cheval Blanc; La Poste). 
 
528 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The 'AyaOrj 7rdXtg of the Greeks, Agatha of the Latins, 
 which was said to be founded in the year of Rome 163. 
 In the latter part of the xm. c, the place was taken by 
 Andrea Doria, who destroyed every building except the 
 cathedral and bishop's palace, and all the inhabitants 
 
 AGDE. 
 
 between the age of five and sixty. The city recovered 
 some importance after the construction of its port in the 
 xv. c. 
 
 The little town, called Agde-la-Noire, from the lava 
 with which it is built, is connected with the railway by 
 a suspension bridge over the Canal du Midi, The noble 
 
AGDE. 
 
 529 
 
 fortified Cathedral of S. Andre, built of black lava, is the 
 earliest and finest specimen of a fortified church. Its 
 massive tower with heavy tourelles, and its battlemented 
 and machicolated walls, would make one believe it was 
 a castle. On the 1. are some fragments of a xm. c. cloister. 
 Under the remains of the town walls is a pretty little 
 promenade with a fountain ; all the women here wear 
 the large hats of the south. Agde was the birthplace of 
 S. Maixent, who founded the famous monastery in Deux- 
 Sevres in the v. c. 
 
 To the S.E., between the town and the sea, are five 
 volcanic cones, of which the highest, Le Pic S. Loup, 
 supports a lighthouse. The volcanic crater is now full 
 of vineyards. The Island of Brescou, formerly Blascon, is 
 volcanic ; it was fortified in the xv'i. c, and has a light- 
 house. The mouth of the Herault, a little further to the 
 W., is defended by the Fort de Grau. 
 
 53 k. Les Onglous. Beyond this is the entrance, 
 between two piers, to the Canal du Midi, begun 1666, 
 finished 1681. 
 
 1 La Garonne et le Tarn, en leurs grottes profondes, 
 Soupiraient des longtemps pour marier leurs ondes. 
 Et faire ainsi couler par un heureux penchant 
 Les tresors de l'aurore aux rives du couchant. 
 Mais a des voeux si doux, a des flammes si belles, 
 La nature, attachee a des lois eternelles, 
 Pour obstacle invincible opposait fierement 
 Des monts et des rochers raffreux enchainement. 
 France, ton grand roi parle, et ces rochers se fendent, 
 La terre ouvre son sein, les plus hauts monts descendent. 
 Tout cede, et l'eau qui suit les passages ouverts 
 Le fait voir tout puissant sur la terre et les mers.' 
 
 Comeille. 
 
 34 
 
53o 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The Isthmus of Onglous is a curious narrow strip of 
 land between the storm-beaten salt lake called Etang de 
 Thau and the sea. 
 
 70 k. Cette (476 k. from Bordeaux, 219 k. from Tou- 
 louse. Hotels : Grand ; Barillon ; du Grand Gallon ; 
 all on the Quai de Rose), more properly Sette, the Seta of 
 the middle-ages, owes all its importance to its port, which 
 sprung from the will of Henri IV. and the brain of Riquet. 
 The first stone was laid in 1666. Since then the history of 
 Cette has been only that of its commerce and industry. 
 There is nothing to see in the town ; the view from the 
 railway — of the vast inland lake, P Etang de Thau, backed 
 by low mountains — is often exceedingly beautiful when 
 glorified by the hues of sunset. 
 
 ' The sandy spits, the shore-lock'd lakes, 
 Melt into open, moonlit sea ; 
 The soft Mediterranean breaks 
 At my' feet, free. 
 
 ' Dotting the fields of corn and wine, 
 Like ghosts, the huge, gnarFd olives stand. 
 Behind, that lovely mountain-line ! 
 While, by the strand, 
 
 ' Cette, with its glistening houses white, 
 Curves with the curving beach away 
 To where the lighthouse beacons bright 
 Far in the bay.' 
 
 Matthew Arnold. 
 
 1 L'eau de 1 etang de Thau est salee comme celle de la mer, 
 mais, apres les grandes pluies et dans le voisinage des ruisseaux 
 tributaires, elle devient saumatre, a cause de la faible profondeur 
 de son lit. Un de ces ruisseaux, peut-etre le plus abondant, 
 jaillit dans le lac meme en une enorme source, a laquelle on a 
 donne le nom de fontaine de l'Abisse (Avisse) ou de FAbime: 
 
M ONTPELLIER. 
 
 53i 
 
 peut-etre est-ce une des branches souterraines de l'Herault. 
 Vers l'extremite orientale de l'etang, une autre source d'eau 
 douce alimente le bassin ; vers la fin d'avril, la fontaine est tarie, 
 et, par un mouvement inverse, l'eau salee descend en tournoyant 
 dans les galeries profondes : il y a done la, du moins temporaire- 
 ment, un phenomene analogue a celui des ruisseaux marins 
 d'Argostoli, dans Tile de Cephalonie ; e'est l'eau de la mer qui 
 coule vers le continent. Cette fontaine, alternativement douce 
 et salee, a recu le nom fort juste de gouffre d'Enversac. 
 D'ailleurs les forces souterraines ont ete certainement a l'oeuvre 
 au bord de l'etang, car pres de la rive du nord se voit des bancs 
 d'huitres et de moules, d'origine recente, a 400 metres de la plage 
 actuelle. L'etang de Thau fait partie du domain public ; affranchi 
 de toute servitude de propriete et de peche, il livre annuellement 
 au commerce pour une valeur d'un million de francs en poissons 
 et en coquillages, produit fort considerable, d'environ 140 francs 
 par hectare. On dit que les huitres ' pied de cheval ' etaient 
 jadis fort abondantes dans l'etang de Thau. Elles disparurent 
 par une cause inexpliquee, et celles qu'on a deposees en 1865 et 
 en 1866 sur le fond, dans l'esperance de le repeupler, n'ont 
 jamais pu se reproduire ; elles sont devenues d'une grosseur 
 enorme.' — Elisee Reclus. 
 
 The promontory of Mont S. Clair, the ancient Mons 
 Setius, rising 180 met. above the sea, marks the position of 
 Cette from a great distance. 
 
 Continuing the line to Tarascon, we pass — 
 
 77 k. (from Narbonne) Frontignan^ with an old bridge 
 and a xiv. c. church with a fortified tower. 
 
 84 k. Vic-Mireval. To the 1. is Mireval, with a fortified 
 church of the xn. c. N. of the station (1 k.) is an ancient 
 residence of the kings of Arragon. 
 
 98 k. Montpellier (Hotels : Nevet — best and most excel- 
 lent ; du Midi; Cheval Blanc. Poste : Boulevard du Jeu 
 de Paume). 
 
 Montpellier, one of the principal towns in Languedoc. 
 
532 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 capital of the Departement de l'Herault, rose from a village 
 to a town in the xn. c. through the fame of its School 
 of Medicine, the rival of that of Salerno. The see of 
 Maguelone was transferred hither in 1536. The town 
 boasts a number of eminent natives, including S. Roch, 
 Auguste Comte (the founder of Positivism), and Daru, the 
 historian of Venice. Montpellier was formerly celebrated 
 for its verdigris (distilled on copper plates from acid from 
 the stalks of grapes), and is still remarkable for its per- 
 fumeries. The discovery of eau de vie is attributed to 
 Arnaud de Villeneuve, who made a perfumery in this 
 town. 
 
 The handsome new streets are a good but dull imitation 
 of modern Paris. The Rue de la Loge and Rue Nationale 
 lead (r.) from Hotel Nevet to the Palais de Justice, of 1846, 
 and the triumphal arch called Porte de Peyrou, built, 17 12, 
 in honour of Louis XIV. This forms an approach to the 
 Promenade de Peyrou (pierreux), a handsome balustraded 
 platform, constructed 1689 — 1785, with a statue of 
 Louis XIV. by Debay and Carbonneaux in the centre, and 
 with fine views over the country and to the mountains of 
 the Cevennes. The magnolias in the neighbouring gardens 
 are magnificent. At the end of the terrace is a handsome 
 Chateau d^Eau, beyond which opens the aqueduct built 
 (1753-66) from plans of Pitot to bring the waters of 
 S. Clement (9 k. distant) to Montpellier. Wraxall found 
 the landscapes of Montpellier worthy of the pencil of a 
 RafTaelle or a Claude Lorraine, and they do recall the 
 pictures of the latter. 
 
 A little below the promenade is the entrance of the 
 Jar din des Plantes, founded by Henri IV. in 1593. A 
 
MONTPELLIER. 
 
 533 
 
 grave in the garden where a skeleton of a young girl was 
 found, inscribed ' Placandis Narissae manibus,' is pointed 
 out as that of Elisa Temple, adopted daughter of Arthur 
 Young (of the Night Thoughts) : she was, however, buried 
 in the now destroyed cemetery at Lyon, in Oct. 1736. 
 To the r. of the Jardin des Plantes is the Cathedral of 
 S. Pierre, which is chiefly remarkable for its porch, rising, 
 between the two W. towers, to the whole height of the 
 building — a singular piece of architecture, which is not 
 without picturesqueness, though Merimee says, ' II est im- 
 possible de rien voir de plus lourd et de moins gracieux.' 
 
 ' Deux piliers cylindriques et massifs, offrant l'aspect de deux 
 tourelles elancees, terminees en pyramide, soutiennent a la 
 hauteur de la nef une voute a quatre pendehtifs ; les arceaux 
 reposent d'un cote immediatement au-dessous de la partie conique 
 des piliers, et s'appuient de l'autre cote sur la facade elle-meme 
 de l'eglise.' — Bourasse, ' Cathedrales de France' 
 
 The building was much mutilated by the Protestants, 
 by whom many other churches at Montpellier were entirely 
 destroyed. The choir, apse, and transepts have been 
 almost rebuilt in the last few years, and the interior is 
 now very handsome. The body of S. Roch, who died in 
 prison at Montpellier in 1327, and who became the patron 
 saint of the plague-stricken, was carried off from hence by 
 a raid of the Venetians in 1485. Before 1536, when it 
 became a cathedral, this church was the chapel of a 
 Benedictine monastery, founded by Urban V. in 1364. 
 Its buildings are now occupied by the School of Medicine, 
 a Public Library, Anatomical Museum, etc. 
 
 Behind the cathedral is the Tour des Pins, a remnant 
 of the ancient fortifications. Lower down the Boulevard 
 
534 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Henri IV. is the xvm. c. gate called Porte de la Blcm- 
 querie. On the Avenue de P Esplanade is the Musee Fabre, 
 containing a small collection of pictures, open to the public 
 on Sundays, Mondays, and festivals. It includes a fine 
 portrait by Poussin (No. 639) of Cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi, 
 afterwards Clement IX. 
 
 Montpellier was much frequented in the last century by 
 our countrymen as a winter residence, especially by young 
 Englishmen wishing to perfect themselves in French. 
 But no words can express the dulness of the place, or the 
 savage ferocity of the mistral which blows there : as a 
 winter resort it possesses no advantages whatever. Some 
 of the least dreary walks are those on the banks of the 
 little river Lez. 
 
 ' II rappelle les fleuves de la Grece. II y a sur ses bords 
 tantot le paysage sel et aride, tantot et tout a coup le frais 
 bosquet et l'ombrage comme pour l'Eurotas ; et c'est le meme 
 ciel bleu.' — Sainte-Benve, 1 Nouveaux Ltindis' 
 
 The Patois of Montpellier is full of interest, and has a 
 literature of its own, as may be seen in the poetry of David 
 Sage, ' Les Noels ' of the Abbe Plumet, the poems of the 
 Abbe Fabre, and the fables of Auguste Tandon. As a speci- 
 men we may give these couplets in patois of Montpellier by 
 Mme. Belmont : — 
 
 ' Se savies quinte es ton tourmen, 
 Qu'esprouva ta douea mestressa ; 
 Doutaries-pa d'un seul moumen 
 De moun cor et de ma tendressa ; 
 Tircis, jusqu'a moun dergne jour 
 Serai fidela aou Diou d'amour, 
 Aou Diou d'amour, aou Diou d'amour. 
 
MAGUELONE. 
 
 535 
 
 ' Tant que veyrai lous aosselous 
 Se bequeta su la coudreta ; 
 Tant que veyrai lous parpaious 
 Diu lou prat, cerca la floureta ; 
 Tircis, jusqua moun dergne jour 
 Serai fidela, etc. 
 
 ' A quinze ans chacun deou aima, 
 Tircis, paguen a la Natura 
 Lou dous tribut de s'enflama, 
 Pioi qu es la jouissenca pura : 
 Tircis, jusqu'a,' etc. 
 
 The people will sing, even in speaking, and pronounce 
 words beginning with s, followed by a consonant, as if they 
 began with e : ' esquelette,' ' especulation,' etc. An artist 
 will soon have a crowd round him, shouting — 
 
 ' Que fay aquel aqui ? 
 Tfra lou plan de la gleysa. 
 Tira lou plan daou douche. 
 Tira lou plan de la porta,' etc. 
 
 It is always 'tirer le plan,' whatever sketch you are 
 making. 
 
 No lover of antiquities should visit Montpellier without 
 making the excursion to Maguelone (carriage for day, 15 fr., 
 or railway as far as Palavas). The first part of the road is dull, 
 but passes near the site of Sextantia, a Roman town of some 
 importance, from which many inscriptions have been taken. 
 
 ' On rapporte, sur les mines de Sextantis, une tradition digne 
 des Mille-et-une Nirits. La colline sur laquelle la ville etait batie 
 seleve abruptement sur les bords du Lez, presentant comme 
 une muraille de rochers. Tous les ans, le jour des morts, 
 suivant les uns, a Noel suivant les autres, le diable apparait a 
 minuit sur le haut du rocher, et invite les gens assez hardis pour 
 s'en approcher a venir prendre possession d'un tresor. Le roc 
 
536 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE 
 
 s'ouvre alors et laisse apercevoir l'ouverture d'une caverne, ou le 
 tresor est depose. Le diable accorde la permission d'y entrer 
 et d'y prendre ce que bon semblera, mais il faut se depecher, 
 car, pour cette operation, il ne laisse qu'un certain nombre de 
 minutes. Des Tentree de la caverne, on voit des tonneaux 
 remplis de liards, un peu plus loin, sont des pieces de dix sous, 
 puis des pieces de cinq francs, enfin, dans l'eloignement, on voit 
 luire des napoleons. Les liards, on les meprise d'abord ; les 
 pieces de cinq francs sont bien lourdes ; on court aux napoleons. 
 On en remplit ses poches, ce n'est point assez, on en jette dans 
 son chapeau, puis on essaie de faire de ses habits comme un sac 
 qu'on pretend charger sur son dos. Entraine par la convoitise, 
 on oublie le terme fatal. Soudain, le roc se ferme avec fracas, 
 et le malheureux avare y est enfoui pour toujours au milieu des 
 monceaux d'or.' — Prosper Merimee. 
 
 The latter part of the road runs across the marshes with their 
 canes and tamarisks. Delicate mountain distances rise on the r., 
 and the watery flats, the nets and boats, and the canals with their 
 life, recall Mestre and the neighbourhood of Venice. The little 
 town of Palavas-les-Flots has all the picturesqueness which red 
 balconies and green shutters give, and possesses every kind of 
 cafe, from the best to the humblest, and two little stone piers 
 jutting out into the blue Mediterranean at the mouth of the Lez. 
 
 From Palavas we follow a sandy road lined with tamarisks, 
 between vineyards, where the vines — growing in sea-sand — do 
 not suffer from phylloxera, and so reach the hillock where the 
 mass of Maguelone rises in shadow against the soft mountains. 
 Quantities of pink stocks and convolvulus give colour to the 
 foregrounds in summer, and flocks of quails run in and out of 
 the vines. 
 
 The half-isle of Maguelone is the Mesna described by 
 Pomponius Mela. After the fall of the Roman empire, the Visi- 
 goths took possession of it. Then, in the vin. c, it was fortified 
 by the Saracens, who made a port whence their corsairs set forth 
 to ravage the coast. Charles Martel drove them out in 737, and 
 in his vengeance destroyed, not only the port, but the ancient 
 Christian church which the Mussulmen had respected. Then, 
 for three hundred years, the site was deserted. But in 1048 its 
 
MAGUELONE. 
 
 537 
 
 bishop, Arnaud, began to rebuild the church, which was continued 
 by his successor Gaulthier, but not completed till the end of the 
 xii. c. Then the place became again prosperous under its power- 
 ful bishops, who were counts of Melgueil, and coined their own 
 money, being reproved in 1266 by S. Louis for producing coins 
 upon which the name of Mahomet appeared in Arabic characters, 
 which ' aroused the indignation of all Christians and Catholics.' 
 Maguelone was finally destroyed by Louis XIII. in 1633. 
 
 A hollow road, lined with old unearthed fragments, leads up 
 the volcanic hillock of Maguelone to the desolate site of the 
 once prosperous town, which was the native place of Bernard de 
 
 MAGUELONE. 
 
 Treviers, author of The Loves of Pierre de Provence and La 
 Belle Maguelonne. Now nothing remains but the curious Church 
 of S. Pierre, the ancient cathedral. It must always have looked 
 externally more like a castle than a church : now it rather 
 resembles the stranded hulk of a ship. It has only been restored 
 to worship since 1875, when its owner, Mme. Fabrege, trans- 
 ported hither the remains of her husband's family and her own — 
 Moutaud. The portal, in coloured marbles, surmounted by an 
 exquisite frieze and a relief of Christ throned between the 
 emblems of the evangelists, ' shows a mixture of classical, sara- 
 cenic, and gothic taste, which could only be found here ; and as it 
 bears a date ( 1 178) it marks an epoch in the style to which it 
 
538 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 belongs.' 1 The interior presents two churches, that of Charles 
 Martel ending in an apse, marked in the pavement beyond the 
 third bay of the nave, up to which point a heavy low roof divides 
 the building into two storeys ; and the apse of Bishop Arnaud 
 (1037-54), encircled by a romanesque arcade, beneath which are 
 three windows. Of the later date are the two short transepts 
 and the two chapels at the end of the nave. The whole, till 
 recently, was half filled with sand ; but now the lower part of the 
 pillars 1 manges par les vents de mer ' is laid bare, though, with 
 perfect taste, nothing ancient has been altered. Beneath the 
 sand were found four glorious tombs with well-preserved figures 
 of bishops of xv. c, and many other monuments — either 
 sarcophagi or mere inscriptions in the pavement. 
 
 In the S. transept is the picture, restored to the church in 
 1878, which the canons of Maguelone gave as a bribe to the 
 deputy of Louis XIII. sent to destroy the castle and fortifications 
 of the place in 1638. In a case near this are six skulls of early 
 bishops. The upper church, over the first two bays of the nave, 
 is reached by a stair in the thickness of the wall. The holes 
 where the stalls were fixed remain here, and in the roof those for 
 lamps. Amongst the relics preserved here in the church is the 
 cross of the bishops of Maguelone. Temporary galleries lead to 
 the upper storey of the two chapels, full of beautiful fragments 
 of ancient Roman sculpture and marbles. A second stair in the 
 thickness of the wall leads to the (stone) roof, whence you can 
 look down into the ruins of a vast chamber attached to the 
 church, probably the chapter-house. 
 
 Beautiful shrubberies of palms, yuccas, and pink and white 
 oleander now surround the remains of Maguelone, and it is a 
 most peaceful spot, with an exquisite view across the bay to 
 Mont Clair, rising behind Cette. 
 
 [Another excursion to be made from Montpellier is that to 
 Vallemagne (see ch. viii.)] 
 
 [A carriage road leads N.W. from Montpellier to Le Vigan, 
 passing — 
 
 16 k. Les Matelies, a picturesque spot, dear to artists, whence 
 
 - Fergus son. 
 
5. GUILHEM-LE-D&SERT. 
 
 539 
 
 an excursion may be made for the ascent of the very steep moun- 
 tain called Le Pic S. Loup, whence there is a magnificent view. 
 One may descend by the ruins of the Chateau de Montferrand, 
 which belonged to the bishops of Maguelone, afterwards to those 
 of Montpellier. 
 
 26 k. 6*. Martin-de-Londrcs, a very picturesque place, with 
 fortifications, an old tower, a romanesque church of the XI. c, a 
 fountain, and rocks. Hence an excursion may be made to Ania?ie 
 (Hotel: Blaquieres. 21k.), which owes its origin to a famous 
 abbey founded in 780 by 6*. Benoit d'Aniane, which, under 
 Louis le Debonnaire, became the principal house of the Order in 
 the Carlovingian empire. The abbey was rebuilt in the xviii. c, 
 and is used as a prison. Its church is now that of the town. 
 8 k. from Aniane, by the Pont du Diable (xi. c.) over the Herault, 
 is £*. Guilhem-le-Desert, one of the most picturesque places in 
 the south of France, with a romanesque church and houses, and 
 remains of a cloister of a once famous abbey. 
 
 ' Un rocher a pic qui domine le village, sur le sommet duquel 
 se voient les mines d'un ancien chateau, connu sous le nom du 
 Chateau-Geant, les montagnes plus elevees qui circonscrivent le 
 village, les restes du couvent des Benedictins et 1 eglise, une belle 
 chute de Verdus, apres avoir passe sous une voute, chute ornee 
 de tout le pittoresque imaginable, forment un tableau ravissant.' 
 — J. M. Amelin. 
 
 In the church is a picture of the giant of the castle thrown 
 from his horse and pierced by the lance of S. Guilhem, the saint 
 from whom the two great houses of Poitiers and Barcelona 
 claimed descent. 1 By an old custom here, on the Mardi gras, the 
 married men to the sound of a drum pursue the bachelors, and 
 duck all those they can catch over and over again in the 
 fountain. 
 
 41k. 5*. Bauzile-de-Putois, situated opposite a natural portal 
 of rock formed by the mountains of Thaurac on the E. and Agones 
 on the W., between which the Herault forces its way. 3 k. N.E. 
 is the famous Grotte des Demoiselles (of the fairies). It is situated 
 in a chestnut-wood on the Roc de Thaurac. A visit to this ex- 
 
 1 Michelet. 
 
540 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 ceedingly curious cavern occupies at least 4 hrs. A tax of 5 fr. 
 is levied on each visitor by the Commune of S. Bauzile, and the 
 expense of lighting is very great. 
 
 ' On circule beaucoup dans les profondeurs de ces grottes 
 immenses, et Ton ne peut se faire d'idee de la majeste, de la 
 richesse, de la quantite, et de la variete de toutes les choses qui 
 se rencontrent dans ce lieu. Ici la voute est herissee de pointes 
 enormes, revetues des formes les plus belles ; la, les concretions 
 pendent en draperies festonnees, brodees, relevees avec tout l'art 
 qui pourraient employer les hommes les plus habiles, plus loin, 
 les stalagmites semblables a des ondes ecumantes lancees avec 
 force vers le ciel ; d'un autre cote, des colonnes dont la base et 
 le pied se perdent dans la vague des tenebres ; enfin, des aiguilles, 
 des pyramides, des concretions de toutes les formes, des choux- 
 fleurs, etc., se detachent sur le noir absolu.' — A. M. Amelin. 
 
 The village crosses throughout this district are frequently in- 
 scribed, ' Passans, souvenez-vous que Christ est mort pour toi.' 
 
 47 k. Ganges. The railway may be joined here, but the 
 scenery by road is very fine beyond this. 
 
 65 k. Le Vigan, see South-Eastern France. 
 
 [A road leads N.W. from Montpellier to (56 k.) Lodeve (see 
 ch. viii.), by — 
 
 5 k. Juvignac, with a fortified church and the Chateau de la 
 Piscine. 
 
 7^k. Courpouran. A road leads S.W. from hence to (6 k.) 
 Mttrveil-les-Montpellier, the ancient Altimurium, destroyed in 
 737 by Charles Martel. There are considerable remains of an 
 oppidum anterior to the Roman conquest. The walls are com- 
 posed of huge blocks of stone. In the village is a Roman 
 fountain. 
 
 32 k. Gignac, whence it is only 5 k. N. to Aniane (see p. 539). 
 On a hill to the S. is the Chnrch of Notre Dame de la Grace, 
 supposed to occupy the site of a temple of Vesta.] 
 
 [It is very easy to visit Aigues-Mortes in the day from Mont- 
 pellier. Trains are changed at (30 k.) Aimargties. Soon after 
 passing the next station, 6*. Laurent-dAigouze, a. square yellow 
 
A IG UES-MOR TES. 
 
 54r 
 
 tower is seen rising above the marsh on the 1. This is the Tour 
 Carbonnierc, built in the xm. c. over the course of the Vistre, the 
 waters of which are now absorbed by a canal : it was defended 
 by a portcullis and moucharabi. A tuft of trees indicates Le Mas 
 de Psalmodi, a farm built on the site of a Benedictine abbey. 
 
 ' Isolee au milieu d'une plaine marecageuse toute sillonnee de 
 canaux, Aigues-Mortes ne possede en fait de route, qu'une longue 
 chaussee elevee sur des etangs profonds. Une sorte de tour, 
 appelee la Carbonnierc, qui faisait partie des fortifications de la 
 ville, s'eleve au milieu de la chaussee, a un quart d'heure de 
 marche d'Aigues-Mortes. C'est en quelque sorte la porte du terri- 
 toire de cette ancienne cite. Cernee de tous cotes par des 
 marecages saumatres, par des lacs sales et des canaux de navi- 
 gation qui, comme les fils d'un echeveau embrouille, s'enche- 
 vetrent sous ses murs, Aigues-Mortes, avec l'immense tour qui la 
 domine et les remparts epais qui la protegent, semble avoir arrete 
 la marche du temps sous ses creneaux. 
 
 ' Comme l'indique son nom, Aigues-Mortes a toujours ete, 
 raeme au temps de sa splendeur, un triste sejour. La plaine 
 qui l'entoure n'a jamais ete ni saine ni fertile. Les habitants 
 supplierent plusieurs fois saint Louis d'appeler leur ville Bonne 
 par force ; mais ce fut en vain, ils durent se resigner a accepter 
 le bapteme sinistre qu'elle avait recu des sa naissance. 
 
 4 Comme si leur origine les eut frappees d'un stigmate sepul- 
 cral, les demeures y presentent la tristesse des tombeaux. Des 
 rues droites et alignees decoupent les maisons en pates reguliers. 
 Ces carres noiratres tranchant sur les lignes de lumiere qui 
 traversent les rues, donnent a la ville l'air d'un immense damier. 
 Unejolie place symetrique en marque le milieu. Ainsi batie et 
 enclavee dans ses remparts, Aigues-Mortes ressemble a ces villes 
 formees de maisons de bois que les enfants s'amusent a disposer 
 sur les tables. Vue du sommet de la tour de Constance, elle parait 
 si mignonne et si portative, qu'on croirait pouvoir la pousser ici ou 
 la, comme un jouet, sur le desert verdatre qui lui sert de tapis. 
 
 ' Oubliee du temps et du monde, Aigues-Mortes presente done 
 le rare et curieux tableau d'une ville francaise restee en arriere 
 de quelques siecles. Comme au moyen age, des pelerins viennent 
 y offrir aux devotes des chapelets et des missels, des colporteurs 
 
542 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 y vendre aux jeunes filles des etoffes et des bijoux. Les blanches 
 cavales de la Camargue servent encore de palefrois aux femmes, 
 et la tradition de l'heure du couvre-feu est conservee si religieuse- 
 ment que, sans l'entendre sonner, tout le monde s'empresse, des 
 qu'arrive le soir, de rentrer au logis. 
 
 ' Pales, melancholiques, et ravages par les fievres, les habitants 
 d'Aigues-Mortes semblent porter sur leurs traits le triste reflet 
 
 NORTHERN GATE, AIGUES-MORTES. 
 
 des marais verdatres et monotones qui les entourent. Un seul 
 divertissement a le privilege de les arracher a leur torpeur 
 habituelle ; la physionomie attristee de la ville change tout a coup 
 quand revient avec l'ete lepoque des courses de taureaux. 
 
 1 II y a du sang romain dans cette ardeur ; les courses de 
 taureaux sont restes dans le pays comme un souvenir du grand 
 peuple. Mais par une etrange anomalie du sort, c'est dans une 
 savane triste et monotone, au milieu d'une population inerte et 
 maladive, que s'est perpetuee dans toute son energie, la tradition 
 
AIG UES-MOR TES. 
 
 543 
 
 de ce male divertissement.' — Figiticr, 1 Le Gardien de la 
 Camargue. ' 
 
 Aigues-Mortes owes its celebrity to S. Louis, who, when 
 meditating the seventh crusade, possessed no port upon the 
 Mediterranean, and bought from the monks of Psalmodi, near 
 the tow T er called Matafere, a site then only occupied by fisher- 
 men's cottages. The quay of the canal, where the king embarked 
 for Palestine (July 28, 1248), is still to be seen. But the town 
 itself is due to Philippe le Hardi, who, on his return from Egypt, 
 
 EASTERN GATE, AIGUES-MORTES. 
 
 built it at some distance from the sea on the plan of Damietta, 
 erected the Tour de Constance, and excavated a port, which he 
 connected with the sea by a canal 9 k. in length, with a mouth at 
 the Grau Louis, on the W. of the town. In the xiv. c. and xv. c. 
 another basin was made on the N. of the town, connected with 
 the sea by a canal opening at the Grau de la Croisette. Under 
 Louis XV. another canal, 5 \ k. in length, was made, with a mouth 
 at the Grau du Roi. 
 
 In 142 1, when Aigues-Mortes was in the hands of the Bur- 
 gundians, it was taken by the royalist troops, who made such a 
 fearful massacre of the garrison that the corpses had to be buried 
 
544 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 beneath heaps of salt in the tower at the S. W. angle of the town, 
 thenceforward called La Tour des Bourguignons. In 1538 a 
 meeting took place here between Charles V. and Francois I., in a 
 house which still exists. 
 
 Aignes-Mortes possesses the most perfect circle of mediaeval 
 fortifications in existence ; its noble walls, built by Philippe le 
 Hardi, bearing still the stamp of the xiv. c, and unaltered since, 
 
 RAMPARTS, AIGUES-MORTES. 
 
 except that in places the upper part of the walls has been 
 repaired. Their height exceeds 30 ft. ; they have throughout their 
 crown of battlements, pierced with loopholes. In the lower part 
 of the walls also are loopholes corresponding with the embrasures, 
 which are furnished with stone seats, where the soldiers employed 
 in the defence could rest. The masonry is regular, of embossed 
 stones, such as are never found of this date in the north : they 
 bear often masons' marks on the projecting portion. 
 
AIG UES-MOR TES. 
 
 545 
 
 The enclosure of Aigues-Mortes presents a rectangular 
 parallelogram, with towers for the most part circular externally 
 and square within, so as to form a line with the walls. 
 
 ' Construits de grosses pierres taillees en bossage, ils sont 
 flanques de distance en distance de tours carrees on rondes, les 
 unes ouvertes a la gorge sans plateformes, les autres fermees et ne 
 communiquant avec la courtine que par des portes etroites. La 
 
 RAMPART STAIRS, AIGUES-MORTES. 
 
 hauteur moyenne des murailles est de trente pieds environ. 
 Partout le parement est vertical. Les portes, du moins les 
 anciennes, s'ouvrent entre deux grosses tours fort rapprochees : 
 un passage voute, oblique, conduit a Line espece de cour interieure 
 d'ou Ton ne peut penetrer dans la ville que par une autre porte 
 qui n'est pas percee sur le meme alignement. D'apres les regies 
 de l'art militaire a cette epoque, les portes etant un point particu- 
 lierement expose aux attaques de l'assiegeant, ont ete fortifiees 
 avec un soin extraordinaire, et l'ouvrage qui les defend peut etre 
 
 35 
 
546 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 considere comme une espece de citadelle independante. Les 
 creneaux sont carres, en general fort eleves, la plupart perces 
 d'une longne meurtriere evidemment destinee au tir de l'arc. Dans 
 la partie inferieure des ramparts on voit d'autres meurtrieres, 
 mais celles-ci ont ete pratiquees, oudn moins reparees complete- 
 ment apres l'invention des armes a feu.' — Prosper Merimee. 
 
 Handsome staircases, vaulted beneath, ascend to the ramparts 
 on either side of the gates. The doors of the towers which open 
 
 TOUR DE CONSTANCE, AIGUES-MORTES. 
 
 to the ramparts are defended by the machicolations which 
 Merimee calls moucharabis. Hitherto no house has been built 
 against the walls, so that their interest is complete. 
 
 1 Nulle ville de France presente une physionomie moins en 
 accord avec les moeurs de notre temps.' — Elisee Reclus. 
 
 Opposite the N. angle of the wall, which has been rounded, is 
 a great round tower, surmounted by a tourelle, which has served 
 as a lighthouse — La Tour de Constance — proved, by a letter of 
 
LUNEL. 
 
 Clement IV. to S. Louis in 1267, to have been built for the pro- 
 tection of pilgrims. After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 
 this tower served as a prison for Protestants who refused to 
 abjure their faith. 
 
 It has been falsely asserted that the sea once reached Aigues- 
 Mortes, where S. Louis embarked in the port, and that it has 
 since retired ; but it is certain that the port of Aigues-Mortes was 
 only connected with the sea by cuttings through the marshes, one 
 of which, La Grande Roubine, could bring vessels of considerable 
 size to the town in the beginning of the xiv. c. The rings still 
 remain in the city walls by which the vessels in LEtang de la 
 Ville are said to have been fastened, and part of the shore still 
 preserves the name of Grau Louis. Part of the intersecting canal, 
 known as Le Canal Vieil, is still perceptible, as well as the ruins 
 of a building called Les Tombes, which, according to tradition, 
 was a hospital for sick pilgrims at the time of the embarkation of 
 S. Louis on the canal. A lease of 1300 is still preserved for the 
 meadows near the sea-shore, along the Grande Roubine, between 
 the coast and the town, contradicting the assertion of the sea 
 being there at that time. Though the pools between Aigues- 
 Mortes and the sea have become much altered in form, the shore 
 is less changed here than in any other part of the delta of the 
 Rhone.] 
 
 [A line leads from Montpellier to (49 k.) Nimes (see South- 
 Eastcm Fraiice), by (23 k.) Lime I (Hotel : du Palais Royal), an 
 unhealthy place, which once produced admirable sweet wine, but 
 its vines have all been destroyed by phylloxera. At the bridge 
 there was once an inn, celebrated by Rousseau. Lunel is famous 
 for its Courses de Taureau. The chateau of Marsillargues (3 k. 
 on the line to Aries by S. Gilles) is of 1623. Amelin says it is in 
 the style of the Tuileries, and bears the emblems of Diane de 
 Poitiers.] 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE CEVENNES. MONTPELLIER TO LODEVE {THE 
 CAUSSES, CANON DU TARN), MENDE, AND RODEZ 
 (CONQUES). A VERY INTERESTING TOUR IN 
 HERAULT, LOzErE, AVEYRON, AND TARN. 
 
 r | S HE circle described in this chapter embraces jour- 
 
 X neys on several railways, but is one which may be 
 much recommended to English travellers, who are unlikely 
 to come across any of the places described, on other routes 
 more usually taken. 
 
 The line from Montpellicr to Paulhan passes — 
 12 k. Fabregues. 3 k. N. is Pignan^ a fortified town of 
 the middle-ages. 2 k. N.E. of this is the Church of Vigno- 
 goul, of 1220, half romanesque and half gothic, belonging 
 to a Benedictine abbey. 
 
 20 k. Montbazin, the ancient Forum Domitii, on the 
 Domitian way. 
 
 [A line branches off W. to Beziers by — 
 
 6 k. Balaruc. 3 k. distant is the bath of Balaruc-les-Bains. 
 In the church is the grave of the famous Montgolfier, with a 
 monument erected 'par les amis des arts, 1810.' 
 
 16 k. Mezc, near which (3 k. N.) are some ruins supposed to 
 belong to a temple of Pallas. 
 
 48 k. Servian, has a large xiv. c. church. 
 
VALMAGNE. 549 
 
 5 1 k. Bassan, retains its xiv. c. gates, and has a machicolated 
 church of the xn. c. 
 
 60 k. Beziers, see ch. vii.] 
 
 22 k. Villeveyrac (no carriage), a desolate station 2 k. 
 
 THE FOUNTAIN OF VALMAGNE. 
 
 from the little town (Hotel : Chevcu Blanc — most wretched). 
 2 k. further is the very curious Abbey of Valmagne (a per- 
 mission to enter is necessary), founded for Cistercians in 
 1 138, and rebuilt in the next century by the abbot 
 Bertrand d'Auriac. The dismantled church is of great 
 
550 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 interest. The first bay forms a porch, flanked by two 
 unfinished square fortified towers. The nave is seven 
 bays long, and both it and the transepts have rose-windows. 
 Round the choir are seven chapels, lighted by long double 
 windows. To the S. of the nave is the beautiful Cloister, 
 with vaulted galleries five bays in length. Their arcades 
 recall those of Fontfroide, consisting of successions of four 
 rornanesque arches together, framed in a gothic arch. 
 From the S. gallery, opposite the church, opens an ex- 
 quisite stone octagon. Resting on eight pillars, supported 
 by buttresses, are eight aerial open gothic arches, meeting 
 and falling to a point, like a lovely stone trellis-work, over 
 a beautiful fountain which has a pyramidal top. The 
 splash from the eight jets of water, and the beauty of the 
 ceanothus and orange trees with which the central space of 
 the cloister is filled, make this a much-to-be-remembered 
 spot. The other buildings of the abbey date from the 
 xv. c. to the xviii. c. 
 
 42 k. Paulhan, see ch. vii. 
 
 The branch railway from Paulhan to Lodeve, a con- 
 tinuation of the line from Agde and Vias (see ch. vii.), 
 passes — 
 
 12 k. Clermont-de-r Herault (Hotels : du Commerce ; de la 
 Renaissance), a manufacturing town on the Rhone, be- 
 tween two hills, one of them crowned by the ruins of a 
 castle. The Church of S. Paul (xm. c. and xiv. c.) has a 
 magnificent rose-window. An excursion of 4 hrs. on foot 
 (going and returning) may be made to the exceedingly 
 curious village of Moureze, surrounded by dolomite rocks 
 
LCD EVE. 
 
 551 
 
 of very strange and picturesque forms — trunks of trees, 
 columns, pyramids, etc. A carriage may be taken to 
 within a short distance of this place, which is well worth 
 seeing. 
 
 30 k. Lodeve (Hotel : du Nord— good). The ancient 
 Luteva, afterwards Forum Neronis, was converted to 
 
 CATHEDRAL OF LODEVE. 
 
 Christianity, c. 323, by S. Flour, who became its first 
 bishop. It suffered terribly from the Protestants in the 
 wars of the xvi. c, but has attained some importance of 
 late years from its manufactories of woollen cloth on the 
 Lergue and the Souloudres, which meet here. The former 
 Cathedral is dedicated to S. Fulcran, by whom it was 
 begun in 950 ; it was rebuilt in the xni. c, and much 
 changed in the xvi. c, after Protestant injuries. The 
 
552 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 tower is fortified. The choir, which is lighted by nine 
 gothic windows, has side aisles shut off through their 
 whole length. In the chancel are marble lions. In a 
 chapel on the r. of the nave is the fine tomb of the learned 
 Bishop Plantavit de la Pause. There is a good view of the 
 cathedral from the pretty Cemetery, 
 
 [For the carriage road from Montpellier to (56 k.) Lodeve, 
 see p. 540.] 
 
 [A road of 5 1 k. leads from Lodeve to Le Vigan, through a 
 very wild and rocky country. The best halting-places are Mont- 
 dardier (good inn), at the E. extremity of the Larzac, with a 
 handsome restored chateau ; or Aveze, at the meeting of several 
 of the wild valleys of the Cevennes.] 
 
 [A carriage with two horses (20 fr. per day — the return journey 
 not to be paid) should be engaged at Lodeve by the tourist who 
 wishes to visit the wild district of the Causses (from the Latin 
 calx), plateaux unique in France, as regards configuration, aspect, 
 and climate. There are scarcely any springs of water or trees, 
 and in many communes the inhabitants are not ten to a kilo- 
 metre. But the short crisp pasture is excellent, and nourishes 
 immense herds of sheep — brebis de Larzac — whose milk is used 
 to make the famous Roquefort cheese. The sheep of Larzac 
 exist perfectly without water, with which their shepherds do 
 not attempt to supply them, saying that it is injurious both to 
 their wool and their flesh. 1 The peasants of the causses — 
 caoussenaous — living on barley bread and drinking nothing but 
 water, contrast advantageously with their neighbours — segalains, 
 who cultivate the segalas or rye-fields on a granite soil, and who 
 live more luxuriously. Very fine weather is necessary in this 
 bleak region, which is covered with snow during a great part 
 of the year, and few Englishmen will think it worth while to 
 see more than the gorge of the Tarn, which may be visited 
 from Mende. The excursion may be arranged by : 1st day — halt 
 at Le Caylar, sleep at Nant ; 2nd day — halt at Treves, sleep at 
 
 1 Jules Charton, Tour du Monde, 1875. 
 
LES CAUSSES. 
 
 553 
 
 Meyrueis ; 3rd day — halt at Florae, sleep at S. Enimie ; 4th day — 
 visit the Gorge of the Tarn ; 5th day — to Mende by the Causse 
 de Sauveterre. 
 
 After ascending behind Lodeve into the arid hills, of which 
 the lower slopes are hoary with olives, we reach the strange wall 
 of great limestone rocks which forms a semicircle at the head ol 
 the valley, and after driving beneath the precipices for some 
 distance, find (17 k.) a gap — Le Pas d' Escalette— which is, as it 
 were, the portal of a wild district of snow and winter. The 
 whole country seems a chaos of grey limestone rocks, perforated 
 
 LE CAYLAR. 
 
 with holes, and of the most fantastic forms, and is well described 
 by Elisee Reclus as ' nne region tourmentee.' Between the rocks, 
 in summer, the loveliest ixias, daphnes, and other rare flowers 
 are found in abundance. 
 
 20k. Le Caylar (Hotel: de la Paix — just bearable), is a 
 strange conglommeration of houses and rocks. Some of the houses 
 stride across from one rock to another, the rest of the foundation 
 being supplied by an arch. 
 
 25 k. La Couvertoirade, a curious desolate town, strongly 
 fortified by high walls built in the xiv. c. by knights of S. John 
 of Jerusalem. The church is reached by a stair cut in the rock. 
 
554 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 All is black, dismal, and desolate, as a place buried half the year 
 in snow. A dreary plain, and then a long descent into more 
 civilised regions, leads to — 
 
 Nani (good country inn), rather a pretty little town on the 
 Dourblie, which is crossed by a bridge with very lofty arches. 
 The church, which belonged to a monastery founded by S. 
 
 CHURCH OF LA COUVERTOIRADE. 
 
 Amand in 679, is of the xn. c. It has narrow side aisles, three 
 apses, and richly sculptured capitals. 2 k. distant is a hamlet 
 picturesquely situated on a perpendicular rock. 
 
 [An excellent road (carriage, 15 fr.) leads from Nant to Millau, 
 30 k. distant. There is a long ascent to the dismal plain of the 
 Larzac, the largest of the causses, occupying all the S.E. of the 
 
LE LARZAC. 
 
 555 
 
 department of Aveyron with its vast solitudes, strewn here and 
 there with dolmens, sepulchral grottoes, and vestiges of Roman 
 roads. In the midst of the dismal waste is the fortified village of 
 La Cavalerie, a famous stronghold of the Protestants during the 
 persecution of the Cevennes. Amongst those who saved their 
 lives by taking refuge here was Jean Francois de Portal, ancestor 
 of the English family of the name. He eventually escaped hence 
 to Holland, and, by the fidelity of nurses, his eight children were 
 
 NANT. 
 
 shipped off from Bordeaux to England, concealed in barrels. The 
 eldest of these became tutor to George III. ; the second,. Henri, 
 obtained the monopoly of the manufacture of banknotes, which 
 is still held by the family. 
 
 2 k. N.W. of La Cavalerie is a remarkable dolmen, and 6 k. 
 S.W. 6*. Eulalie-du-Larzac } a fortified village of the Knights 
 Templar, with a good xv. c. statue of the Virgin in its church. 
 The descent upon the valley of the Tarn and Millau is striking. 
 The flowers in spring — the masses of white asphodels, narcissus, 
 saponaria, columbines, etc., are most lovely.] 
 
556 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The road from Nant to Mende passes — 
 
 7 k. 6*. Jcan-du-Bmel, a small manufacturing town. 
 
 1 8 k. Treves, after which the road crosses part of the dismal 
 plateau of the Causse Noir. 
 
 37 k. Meymeis (Hotel : Levezac), on the Jonte, overlooked by 
 the remains of an old castle of the Armagnac, which afterwards 
 belonged to Henri of Navarre and Jeanne d'Albret. The old Tour 
 de FHorloge, the six-sided Protestant ' temple,' and the 4 Ormes 
 de Sully' in the square, deserve notice. Hence, skirting the 
 S.W. side of the vast Causse Mejan, but passing nothing of 
 interest except a chateau of Cardinal de Bernis at Saigas, we 
 reach — 
 
 72 k. Florae (Hotels : Molquion ; Sevanief), in a green hollow 
 at the foot of the lofty rampart of the Causse Mejan, on the banks 
 of the Tarnon, near its union with the Tarn. The town is said to 
 derive its name from the Fontaine du Pecker, called by the Romans 
 Flos Aquarum, the clear mountain stream of which rushes through 
 the town, after rising behind it at the foot of the limestone heights 
 of the Rocher de Rochefort. This town was one of the chief 
 Protestant centres in the Camisard wars. In a narrow street is 
 the Convent de la Presentation (1583), with a heavy square tower. 
 There are two ways of reaching Mende from Florae : one is by 
 the Col de Montmirat (40 k.) which passes at Roitffiac, within 8 k. 
 of Lanuejols, where there are remains of a Roman Tomb of the 
 children of Bassianus, called by the people Lou Mazelet ; the 
 other road (36 k.), which is far more interesting, follows the 
 windings of the Tarn, with fine views of the rocky buttresses 
 which support the Causse Mejan, and then of those supporting 
 the Causse de Sauveterre, to — 
 
 10 k. Ispagnac, on the r. bank of the Tarn, with a romanesque 
 church, said to occupy the site of an ancient temple. The rocks 
 of Chaumette overlook the town. 
 
 [It is from Ispagnac that the famous Cafion (pronounced Cagnon) 
 du Tarn must be visited. The road, passing the xvi. c. Chateau 
 de Rocheblave, soon enters a narrow gorge between walls of rock 
 formed by the natural buttresses of the Causse de Sauveterre on 
 the r., and the Causse Mejan on the 1., and through these the river 
 Tarn winds for 50 k. from Ispagnac to Rozier. The whole gorge 
 
5. ENIMIE. 
 
 557 
 
 is very fine, and is one of the great natural curiosities of France. 
 We pass — 
 
 17 k. Montbrim, picturesquely situated at the entrance of a 
 ravine in the wall of the Causse Mejan. Passing Poujols and 
 Blajoux, and the rock which supports the ruined castle of 
 Charbonnicres, then the spring of Castelbotcc, we come to — 
 
 22 k. Prades, with an old castle. The rocks now draw closer 
 to the river, and through a defile with perpendicular walls, we 
 reach — 
 
 27 k. 5*. Enimie (Hotels : Jean ; du Commerce), most 
 picturesquely wedged amongst the limestone rocks at a sudden 
 bend of the Tarn, which turns abruptly to the S.W. between the 
 walls of the Causse Mejan and Causse de Sauveterre. The 
 abundant Fontaine de Burle here bursts forth from the latter. 
 The town derives its name from the Merovingian princess 
 Enimie, daughter of Clotaire II. (?), who was cured of leprosy 
 by the waters of this fountain, and founded a monastery 
 here in the vi. c. or vn. c. In 951 l?tienne, bishop of Mende, 
 gave it to the abbey of S. Chaffre in Velay, and it became one 
 of the richest priories of the Gevaudan. It was suppressed in 
 1790, and nothing now remains of it except the refectory, 
 probably of the XI. c, two mutilated towers, and some of the 
 outer walls. The Hermitage of S. Enimie exists in a cave of the 
 natural wall of the Causse de Sauveterre. Numbers of dolmens, 
 and the only cromlech in the department of Lozere, are to be seen 
 near this. Many excursions may be made from S. Enimie amid 
 the curious scenery of the Tarn. I. On foot, on the r. bank of 
 the Tarn, by Teissonniere, Cabrunas, Laval-de-Tarn f and Chateau 
 de la Caze } to La Malene, 4hrs. 2. On foot, on the 1. bank of 
 the Tarn, by 6*. Chely-du-Tarn (where there is a cave containing 
 a chapel of the Virgin), and hence, crossing the river by the 
 miller's boat, by Pougnadoires y 10 min. from which are the 
 Bamnes de Pougnadoires — inhabited caverns, the rock staircase 
 called Pas dEscalette, and Chateau de la Caze to La Malene, 
 3^hrs. 3. 1. bank of the Tarn to the Signal de S. Che'ly, whence 
 there is a wild dreary view of the causses (but this is not 
 recommended), 3 hrs. to go and return. 
 
 But the excursion most worth making is the descent of the 
 Tarn in a boat. If the descent is made from S. Enimie to La 
 
558 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Malene, it is necessary to write for a boat to Bernard, the miller 
 at S. Chely-du-Tarn ; if from Malene to Pas de Soucis, to Casimir 
 Gitstave or Justin Montginoux at La Malene ; if also from Les 
 Vignes (close to Pas de Soucis) to Rozier, to Solanet, V aubergiste 
 des Vignes. The right prices of boats are (for from one to four 
 persons) — 
 
 S. Enimie to La Malene, 25 fr. 
 
 S. Enimie to Pas de. Soucis, 40 fr. 
 
 From La Malene to Pas de Soucis, 1 5 fr. 
 
 From Les Vignes to Rozier (exclusive of the dejeuner of the 
 boatmen), 30 fr. It takes about 9 hrs. from S. Enimie to Rozier. 
 
 ' Aucune expression ne peut rendre l'impression forte de 
 grandeur et de calme eprouvee par le voyageur, lorsque le matin 
 sa barque glisse sur la " plaine " d'eau du Tarn, entre les talus, 
 couverts d'un epais manteau de verdure, domines par les immenses 
 murailles des deux causses, la toutes decoupees, ici grandes 
 parois a pic, dont le faite crenele se dessine nettement sur le 
 bleu du ciel.' — A. Lequeutre. 
 
 At each turn of the river, the way seems utterly barred by the 
 huge rock walls, sometimes advancing by perpendicular pro- 
 montories into the river and reflected in its green waters, 
 occasionally leaving terraces filled with verdure by the water 
 side. Sometimes the sand-banks in the river oblige the boatmen 
 to jump into the water to push on the boat. A great feature is 
 the xv. c. inhabited Chateau, de la Caze, then the ruins of the 
 Chateau d'Hauterive, near the Barrage d : Hatiterive, where the 
 boat usually has to be changed. Beyond this the precipices 
 occasionally open, giving glimpses of the country beyond, and 
 they widen altogether, before — in sight of the bridge — travellers 
 have to change their boat at La Malene, a very lovely spot. 
 There is a restored chateau here ; on the 1. bank a cave with 
 a chapel of the Virgin, and, near the bridge, the abundant spring 
 of Galene. 
 
 The fresh boat is taken in front of the ravine on the 1. bank. 
 Soon the gorge seems blocked by the Rocher de Planiol, bearing 
 the ruins of an old chateau. Beyond this is the grandest part 
 of the Canon. The precipices are from 1,000 to 1,200 metres 
 
LE CANON DU TARN 
 
 559 
 
 high, and the windings of the Tarn become more extraordinary, 
 passing the ruins of the Chdieati de Montesquieu, the Grotte de 
 la Momic, the two high precipices of Le Detroit, and then 
 reaching the Cirque des Baumes, a marvellous assemblage of 
 promontories, precipices, caves, turrets, and needles of rock, in 
 strange tones of black, blue, red, and even white. Beyond the 
 hamlet of Baumes- Basses, the Tarn enters another gorge, as fine 
 but wider than the Detroit, through which it reaches the Pas de 
 Soucis (where the voyager disembarks on the r. bank) — a chaos 
 of rocks overlooked by La Sourde on the r. and V Aiguille on the 
 1. bank. 
 
 Embarking at Les Vignes (in a fresh boat, for the boatmen of 
 Vignes alone know the rapids of the river : one can reach 
 Rozier on foot in 3^ hrs. by the r. bank of the Tarn), w T e now 
 find cultivated terraces between the strange precipices and the 
 river. Then we see the ruins of the Chateau de Blanqueforl, 
 and, on the 1. bank, the Cavern and Fountain of Ironselle. 
 Passing the houses and trees of La Sabliere, overhung by the Pic 
 de Cinglegros, and a very dangerous rapid, we reach Le Rozier 
 (Hotel: Dieudonne ; des Voyageurs ; du Commerce), at the union 
 of the Tarn and the Jonte, and disembark after passing the 
 bridge. Le Rozier is 21 k. from Meyrueis. The Hotel Dieudonne 
 may be made a centre whilst making an excursion (which no one 
 should miss) on the Causse Noir to Montpellicr-le-Vieux, a 
 strange city of dolomite rocks, girt with battlemented walls and 
 towers, and known as ' La Cite du Diable ' — where the devil is 
 supposed to have demolished a pre-existing town. The scenery 
 is most remarkable, and the town itself most wildly picturesque.] 
 
 The railway from Paulhan to Bedarieux passes — 
 56 k. (from Montpellier) Roujan-Neffih, a station between 
 Neffih, which has a church of xn. c, and Rotijan, 2\ k. S., 
 with a church, surmounted by a high square tower, dating 
 from xii. c. and xiv. c, and a chateau of xv. c. and xvi. c. 
 60 k. Gabian, surmounted by the ruined castle of S. 
 
560 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Marthe, at the foot of which is the Chateau de Cassan, 
 replacing a monastery of the xi. c. The church is of the 
 xii. c. and xv. c. 
 
 70 k. Faugeres, under the Pic des Trois Tours. 
 
 80 k. Bedarieux (Hotels : du Nord ; du Midi), on the 
 Orb, near its junction with the Courbezon. The church 
 of S. Alexandre is xvi. c. S. Louis is in the buildings 
 of the Hotel de Ville. 
 
 5 k. N.W. is BoitssagueS) a very curious fortified town full of 
 interesting old houses, and possessing two chateaux, and two 
 churches, one xiii. c, the other xv. c. and xvi. c. A precipice 
 above the Condoure is pointed out as a spot whence Huguenots 
 were hurled down. 
 
 [A line of 12 k. leads N.W. to Graissessac, a coal-mining 
 village.] 
 
 [For the road and unfinished line of railway to (99 k.) Castres 
 by S. Pons, see ch. v.] 
 
 [A road of much beauty and interest leads from Bedarieux to 
 (54 k.) Lacaune and (100 k.) Castres, by (16 k.) 6*. Gervais. 
 Near this road, at about 21k. from Bedarieux, is (2 k. N.) the 
 village of 6*. Genies de Vare?tsat. Close to this, are the enormous 
 limestone rocks called Rockers de V Olque, like the pipes of an 
 organ, in a circle, with cascades falling over them in wet weather. 
 It is a most picturesque scene.] 
 
 Bedarieux is on the line from Beziers to Arvant (on 
 which see Puissalicon). Continuing the line northwards, 
 we pass — 
 
 89 k. Le Bousquet-d 'Orb. 
 
 14 k. from hence (an omnibus in summer) are the Baths of 
 Avcne, much frequented for cutaneous disorders. The neigh- 
 bourhood is pretty and wooded, 
 
BAINS DE SYLVAN ES ET CAM ARES. 561 
 
 94 k. Lunas (Hotel : Riviere), on the Gravezon, with a 
 ruined castle. 
 
 97 k. Joncels, with a ruined Benedictine abbey (xn. c. 
 and xiii. c.) 
 
 106 k. Roqueredonde. 
 
 It is 22 k. (diligence in summer) to the Baths of Sylvanes. 
 Here there is an interesting church of xn. c, with a square apse 
 and square chapels opening on the transepts. The facade has 
 two romanesque portals, surmounted by a window with xiii. c. 
 mouldings. Above the three windows of the apse and in the N. 
 transept are beautiful rose-windows. The stately high-altar is 
 of the xvii. c. Attached to the S. transept is the refectory of the 
 Cistercian abbey to which the church belonged. 4J k. further 
 are the Baths of Audabre, and 2 k. further than this the Baths 
 of Le Cayla, both establishments being collectively known 
 as the Baths of Camares, a name belonging to a village 4 k. 
 further. 
 
 There is a road of 15 k. from Roqueredonde to the Bains 
 d'Avene, through a picturesque country. 
 
 114 k. Montpaoti) with a ruined castle. 
 
 An excursion (4jhrs. going and returning) may be made 
 from hence by Moulin-Ferrand to La Source de la Sorgues. 
 The river bursts from a high wall of rock in a picturesque spot. 
 
 124 k. S. Jean-et-S. Paul. 3 k. r., in a deep glen, are the 
 picturesque ruins of the Cistercian Abbaye de Nonenque, 
 xii. c. to xv. c. 
 
 130 k. Tour?iemire. 
 
 This is the station for (3 k. N.W.) Roquefort, celebrated for 
 the cheeses of goats' and sheep's milk, manufactured in the farms 
 of the village and its neighbourhood. 
 
 Situated on a lofty terrace above the valley of the Soulsou, an 
 affluent of the Tarn, the village shows a long line of irregular 
 
 36 
 
562 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 buildings at the foot of the lofty precipices of Cambalon. When 
 crumbling away, the limestone has left, between its original 
 surface and the portion of the rock which has remained solid, 
 a number of caverns evidently inhabited in pre-historic times. 
 In thirty-four of these caves, of which twenty-three are natural, 
 the cheeses are fermented, being kept well apart that the air 
 may circulate freely around them. From the xi. c, as chro- 
 niclers tell us, the villagers of Roquefort have used these 
 caves for the manufacture of cheese, and towards the middle 
 of the xvi. c. they were invested with a monopoly of this 
 product by an edict of the parliament of Toulouse. The suita- 
 bility of the caves is due to the ' fleurines ' or currents of fresh 
 air, which maintain in them an equable temperature, varying 
 from five to ten degrees. As the natural caves are no longer 
 sufficient to contain the cheese made at Roquefort, it has 
 become necessary to excavate new ones, and to try to keep 
 them supplied with refreshing ' fleurines.' The manufacture of 
 cheese in Roquefort itself has increased twenty-fold in the present 
 century. 1 
 
 [A branch line leads to (15 k.) 6". Affrique (Hotel : du Cheval 
 Vert), a manufacturing town under the curious Rocher de Caylus, 
 which was formerly crowned by a castle. It owes its name to 
 S. Africain, bishop of Comminges in the vi. c, who, when driven 
 from his diocese by the Visigoths, died and was buried here. 
 The church is a mixture of gothic and renaissance, and has great 
 astronomical dials on its external walls. The Jesuit college has 
 a rich modern chapel.] 
 
 144 k. S. Georges-de-Cernon. After passing this the 
 ruined castle of Creyssels is seen above the further bank 
 of the Tarn. 
 
 155 k. Millaii (Hotels \du Commerce — very good; Maymou; 
 du Louvre), a large town in a valley at the meeting of the 
 Tarn and Dourbie, which had its own vicomtes in the x. c. 
 
 1 See Elisee Reclus. 
 
MILL A U, MA RJE VOLS. 
 
 563 
 
 It was one of the principal strongholds of Protestantism in 
 the south, and was a very prosperous place till the Revoca- 
 tion of the Edict of Nantes. Many of its streets have 
 boulevards, and the rich green of its gardens contrasts 
 strikingly with the sterile heights around. The Church of 
 Notre Dame has an octagonal tower of xvi. c. In the Rue 
 Peyrolerie are several good examples of domestic architecture 
 from xii. c. to xvii. c. A broken bridge has houses upon it. 
 But there is nothing worth halting for. 
 
 185 k. Severable- Chateau, with a ruined castle, besieged 
 and taken in 12 14 by Simon de Montfort. 
 
 [Here a line branches off on the W. to Rodez (see later). 
 
 221 k. Le Monastier. The church, consecrated in 
 presence of Urban II. in 1095, anc ^ partially rebuilt in 
 xvi. c.j belonged to a Benedictine monastery. 
 
 [Here a line branches off E. to Mende (see later). 
 
 226 k. Marjevols (Hotels : de la Paix ; Flourou\ in the 
 valley of the Colagne, became, in 1306, the capital of 
 Gevaudan, and was then surrounded by fortifications. 
 Charles VI. established a mint here in 1384. In 1582 the 
 place was occupied by the Protestant leader Mathieu de 
 Merle, the great pillager of churches and monasteries ; and 
 it was besieged in 1586 by the Due de Joyeuse and the 
 Ligueurs, taken after a two months' siege, and almost en- 
 tirely destroyed. The town has still a mediaeval aspect, 
 and its three picturesque gates remain. In the church 
 (xvn.c.) is the much revered image of Notre Dame de la 
 Carce. 
 
564 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 [There is a road from Marjevols to Mende (23 k.) over the 
 dreary Caussede Changefeges. Another road (27 k.) passes near 
 the village of Grezes, which has been successively a Gaulish 
 oppidum, a Roman camp, and a feudal fortress.] 
 
 [A road leads from Marjevols to (40 k.) La Chaldette (see 
 later), by (22 k.) Marchastel, with a ruined castle, and leaving, 
 17 k. to the r., S. Urcize, with a remarkable xn. c. church and 
 ruined fortress.] 
 
 The railway crosses the splendid Viaduc de la Crueize, 
 65 met. high, before reaching — 
 
 248 k. Aumont. 7 k. S.E. is Javols (1,000 met.), on the 
 site of Gabales, the seat of a bishopric which was the 
 predecessor of Mende. Many remains of an ancient city 
 of the Gabales have been found here. 
 
 ' Quoique dechue completement, cette antique cite fut le 
 berceau de la religion de toute la contree. ... La basilique 
 episcopale fut detruite dans les guerres. Les Barbares, les uns 
 apres les autres, promenerent dans les campagnes et les cites, 
 l'incendie et la mort. Les Vandales, au cinquieme siecle, et les 
 Sarrasins, au septieme, laisserent un monceau de mines a la 
 place ou florissait Gabalum : maintenant une bourgade pit- 
 toresque, mais peu etendue, seleve sur ses debris.' — LAbbe 
 Bonrasse. 
 
 259 k. S. Chely-d'Apcher, a place which successfully 
 resisted a siege by the English in 1362, commemorated by 
 Le Croix des Anglais, on the N. of the town. The old 
 church of the Cordeliers is a stable. 
 
 The line is continued by the wonderfully constructed 
 Pont de Garrabit (see South-Eastern France), to — ■ 
 
 286 k. S. Flour (Hotel : de la Foste), a grandly situated 
 ancient episcopal city. For all this wild district see South- 
 
MENDE. 
 
 565 
 
 Eastern France. The line, when complete, will join that 
 from Clermont to Aurillac, at Neussargues. 
 
 A line of 24 k. leads from Le Monastier up the valley 
 of the Lot, where the rocks assume the strangest forms, 
 to — 
 
 245 k. (from Montpellier) Mende (Hotels : Manse — a good 
 country inn, tolerably clean ; de Paris). The capital of the 
 Departement de la Lozere, situated between the Lot and the 
 Causse de Mende, at a height of 750 met., blocked by snow 
 in winter, is not only a picturesque, but a very beautiful 
 place. Its splendid avenues of trees, sparkling river, 
 picturesque houses with high-slated roofs, and glorious 
 cathedral with its lovely spires, are backed by the steep 
 mountains which support the savage causse. A boulevard 
 surrounds the old town with its narrow streets, centering in 
 a market-place with a fountain. The Cathedral of Notre 
 Dame was rebuilt in xiv. c. by Urban V., who transferred its 
 bishop to another see, and himself administered the diocese 
 by a vicar, consecrating its revenues to his new building, 
 which, in a district where gothic architecture is rare, gives 
 an idea of what it is at its best in the north of Europe. 
 During the wars of the xvi. c, in the space of thirty 
 years, Mende was seven times taken and retaken by 
 Protestants and Catholics, and was cruelly sacked by the 
 former. The cathedral suffered terribly, but its injuries 
 were restored on the old plans by Bishop Adam Heurteloup 
 de Maine, 1600-20. The towers, built by Bishop Frangois 
 de la Rovere, 1508-12, had escaped the spoilers: they 
 
566 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 are surmounted by spires of marvellous grace. The taller, 
 on the tower which is surrounded by a beautiful open gallery, 
 attains the height of 84 met., the shorter has 65. Their 
 
 MARKET-PLACE, MENDE. 
 
 glorious bells were destroyed by the Protestants. The 
 clapper of the great bell Non Pareille is still to be seen 
 near the N. door of the cathedral : the present peal of 
 bells only dates from 1846. The interior of the cathedral is 
 
MENDE. 
 
 567 
 
 exceedingly simple — the side aisles are very low, and the 
 pillars which separate them from their ten chapels, spread 
 out in fan-like vaulting over both equally. There is a 
 fine rose-window at the unfinished W. end. The stall- 
 work of the choir is good. The N. and S. portals are 
 handsome, but that at the W, is miserable : in front of it 
 
 I 
 
 MENDE. 
 
 stands a Statue of Pope Urban V., the great benefactor of 
 Mende. 
 
 The ancient Evechc is now the prefecture. Part of the 
 old Church of the Cordeliers is the chapel of the prison. A 
 tower which serves as a belfry to the Church of the 
 Penitents, is the only remnant of the Citadel built by the 
 governor, Francois de Montmorency, in 1595, and destroyed 
 two years after, 
 
568 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 A steep ascent, with a Chemin de la Croix, leads from 
 the town to the Hermitage of S. Private on the bare rugged 
 mountain side. It was the fact that this holy bishop of 
 
 HERMITAGE OF S. PRIVAT, MENDE. 
 
 Gabalum (Javols) took refuge here, and was martyred here 
 by the Vandals, and buried in the village of Mimate below, 
 which led to the foundation of the town of Mende around his 
 tomb. The chapel and dwelling of the saint remain, scooped 
 out of the rock, and litanies are recited here to ' S. Privat, 
 
LE PLATEAU UAUBRAC 
 
 569 
 
 apotre du Gevaudan, Pontife et Martyr, Garde Vigilante de 
 la Vigne du Seigneur.' 
 
 No one should visit Mende without making the excursion to 
 S. Enimie (25 k. ) and the Canon du Tarn (see p. 556). 
 
 [A road leads E. from Mende to (59 k.) Villefort, by (21 k.) 
 Bagnols-les-Bains, whence excursions may be made to the valley 
 of Houltel (3 hrs. with return) ; to Le Roc de VAigle, whence there 
 is a fine view over the Causses (2J hrs. with return) ; to the pic- 
 turesque valley of Villaret (2 hrs. with return) ; and to Allelic and 
 Chadenet (4 hrs.) Beyond Bagnols, the road passes 6*. Julien-du- 
 Tournel, with a romancsque church ; the ruins of the Chateau de 
 Tournel; S. Jcan-de-B *ley?7iard, with a little church of the xin. c. 
 belonging to a Benedictine priory ; the Chateau de Champ, 
 flanked by round towers ; and Altier, with an old bridge of three 
 arches.] 
 
 [A road leads from Mende to La Chaldette, through a wild 
 country, crossing the Plateau d'Aubrac, the most southern group 
 of the volcanoes of Auvergne. The country, too high for culture, 
 forms an immense pasturage which nourishes about 30,000 cows 
 and 40,000 sheep through the summer months. Numerous 
 dolmens called ' grottes des fees,' or 4 clapas de magiciens ' are 
 scattered over the plateau, but except in the valleys there are no 
 villages except the groups of ' burons ' where the cheese is made. 
 In this desolate district, the inhabitants have preserved their old 
 customs and even something of pagan worship. Still, as in the 
 time of Gregory of Tours, the mountaineers celebrate the feast of 
 the lake by the mysterious pool of S. Andeol, the waters of which 
 have been an object of worship from very early times, the relics 
 of S. Andeol having been brought there in vain under Lothaire, 
 in the hope of turning the popular veneration to a Christian 
 object. On the second Sunday in July, the peasants resort in 
 crowds to bathe in the lake as a cure for their ailments, and dip 
 the clothes of the sick, and throw in their offerings. 1 Beyond is 
 (80 k.) Nasbinals, with a little xiv. c. church, having an octagonal 
 
 1 Prunieres, Me'moires de la Socicte d 'Anthropologies iii., 382. 
 
57o SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 spire. 9 k. from hence is Aubrac, with the ruins of a famous 
 Hospital of Notre Da?ne des Panvres, founded in 11 20, and 
 destroyed during the Revolution. At 86 k. the road passes 
 within sight of £\ Urcize, with its old castle, waterfalls, and 
 xii. c. church, and at 93 k. reaches the Baths of La Chaldette, 
 surrounded by vast woods, and frequented for cases of gout, 
 rheumatism, etc.] 
 
 [A road leads from Mende to (88 k.) Espalion by the valley of 
 the Lot, passing (66 k.) 6*. Geniez-d 'Olt, a little manufacturing 
 town, the capital of a district known as the Pays-cTOlt. Here 
 the church contains the tomb of M. de Frayssinous, minister of 
 Charles X. At 84 k. is 6*. Cd?ne, with an old chateau and church 
 with a fine spire containing the mausoleum of the heart of M. de 
 Frayssinous.] 
 
 Returning to Severac-le-Chateau, travellers for Rodez 
 change trains. The railway passes no point of importance 
 before reaching — 
 
 45 k. (from Severac) Rodez (Hotels : Binney — well 
 situated ; de France — good food, but filthy). The capital of 
 the Departement de 1'Aveyron, known as Segodunum under 
 the Gauls and Ruthena under the Romans, Rodez was 
 converted to Christianity in the iv. c, and S. Amans was 
 chosen (in 401) as its first bishop. Like Limoges, the town 
 was divided in the middle-ages into two fiefs, the Bourg, 
 which belonged to the count, 1 and the Cite, which belonged 
 to the bishop. In 1302 Cecile, daughter of Henri II. 
 Comte de Rodez, by her marriage with Bernard, Comte 
 d'Armagnac, bestowed Rodez upon that powerful house. 
 
 1 The earliest coins of Rodez were struck between 11 19 and 1132, and bear 
 the name of ' Ricard Comes.' 
 
RODEZ. 
 
 571 
 
 The English occupied the town from 1360 to 1368, and 
 soon after their expulsion the inhabitants banished their 
 bishop, Bertrand de Cardaillac, former chancellor of the 
 Black Prince, whom they suspected of wishing to give the 
 town up to him again. After all the property of Jean V. 
 d'Armagnac was confiscated in 1473, Rodez belonged 
 to the Dues d'Alencon, then to Henri d'Albret, and was 
 united to the crown by Henri IV. 
 
 Rodez is 2 k. from its station, and the steepness of the 
 hill to be ascended is indicated at once by the four horses 
 to the omnibus. The town occupies the platform of a 
 promontory above the Aveyron, a sluggish stream which 
 here receives the more sluggish waters of EEau Terne. 
 From the terraces and boulevards, which surround the city, 
 there are fine views, over the gulfs of verdure below, to the 
 distant hills. Few towns of the size have more interesting 
 old houses of the xiv. c. and xv. c, though they are mostly 
 hidden away in dark corners and narrow streets. Some of 
 the best specimens are to be found in the little Place du 
 Capitole, on the S. of the cathedral, and in a tiny square 
 behind the Place de POlmet, whilst at the corner of that 
 square itself is the Hotel d'Armagnac, a very fine specimen 
 of the Renaissance, richly adorned with pilasters, arabesques, 
 and medallions : a relief of the Annunciation decorates 
 one of its angles. 
 
 At the summit of the hill, rising above the Place d'Armes 
 and a little garden with a statue of Samson by Gayrard of 
 Rodez in its centre, stands the Cathedral of Notre Dame, 
 built of red sandstone. The original cathedral was a 
 basilica erected by S. Amans, early in the v. c, but this was 
 demolished and rebuilt on a larger scale by S. Dalmas, a 
 
572 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 hundred years later. The second cathedral fell into ruin in 
 the xiii. c. Its rebuilding was at once begun in 1274 under 
 Bishop Raymond de Calmont, and continued under his 
 immediate successors ; but as, during the papal residence at 
 Avignon, the bishops of Rodez passed all their time at the 
 pontifical court, leaving their diocese to take care of itself, 
 only the choir was finished, and it was not till the middle of 
 the xv. c. that Bishop Guillaume de la Tour d'Oliergues 
 completed four bays of the nave. His nephew and suc- 
 cessor, Bertrand de Chalengon, added the wood carving 
 and rood-loft : Bishop Frangois d'Estaing finished the 
 nave and built the towers ; and the final touches — very 
 bad final touches — were given to the building by Georges 
 d'Armagnac, c. 1535, whose secretary Philandrier had 
 studied Vitruvius at Rome, and was full of the theories of 
 the Renaissance. 
 
 It is to Philandrier that we owe the W. front of 1530, 
 which has its grand flamboyant rose -window surmounted 
 by a renaissance gallery. Two square towers at the sides, 
 only connected with the upper part of the main building by 
 flying buttresses, are surrounded by inscriptions extolling 
 them as amongst the wonders of the world. These formerly 
 were joined to the ramparts of the town, whence the fact 
 that there is no W. portal. 1 
 
 The transepts have beautiful gothic portals, very rich in 
 elegant details of the end of the xiv. c. ; but the great 
 feature of the exterior is the Tower, built by ' Le Bien- 
 heureux Francois d'Estaing,' between 15 10 and 1531, under 
 the architect Salvanh. It is 73 met high. On a simple mas- 
 sive base rise three storeys of the richest gothic decoration 
 
 Merimee. 
 
RODEZ. 
 
 of niches, statuettes, and pinnacles. The last storey, which is 
 octagonal, is surmounted by a statue of the Virgin surrounded 
 by the four evangelists. Many architects find this tower too 
 heavy below, and too frittered by richness of detail above, 
 but the general effect is noble. The arms of Bishop 
 d'Estaing are frequently repeated amongst its ornaments. 
 
 The stately interior of the cathedral shows the different 
 periods of its construction. The nave and the two first 
 bays of the choir, in which, as in the nave, the surrounding 
 chapels have a square form, are of the xv. c. and xvi. c. 
 The rest of the choir and its surrounding chapels, which 
 are hexagonal, are of the xiv. c. (There are twenty-seven 
 chapels altogether.) The heavy tribune and the W. galleries 
 are of the Renaissance. The whole forms a Latin cross, 
 the transepts being so short that their external walls do not 
 project beyond the side chapels. There are two principal 
 altars — that at the E. reserved to the canons, that at the 
 W. for the parish. Formerly the choir was approached 
 through the splendid rood-loft of 1500, which the ignorant 
 folly of Bishop Delalle, who died 187 1, has removed to the 
 S. transept. 
 
 ' Malgre de nombreuses mutilations, le jube etonne encore 
 par l'adresse surprenante avec laquelle on a refouille dans la 
 masse une profusion de feuillages tourmentes, d'une extraor- 
 dinaire legerete, et suspendus pour ainsi dire a de fragiles 
 tenons de pierre.' — Prosper Merimee. 
 
 The stalls are amongst the best specimens of xv. c. 
 woodcarving in France, but the character and costumes of 
 the figures indicate Flemish workmen. The episcopal 
 throne has a lofty canopy of marvellous grace. The admir- 
 able woodwork of the organ is of the xvn. c. 
 
574 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 The third chapel r. — La Chapelle des Sept Douleurs — 
 has a magnificent gothic screen decorated internally with 
 statuettes of the Saviour and the four Sibyls. This is a 
 fragment of the splendid screen by which Bishop d'Estaing 
 proposed to surround the whole of the choir, uniting it to 
 the rood-loft of De Chalengon, and which was left unfinished 
 at his death. The portion transported hither has a poetical 
 inscription with the date M531. 
 
 1 L'ornementation, d'une richesse extreme, presente un 
 melange assez gracieux du style gothic et de celui de la Renais- 
 sance, mais qui tient cependant beaucoup plus du second que du 
 premier. On admirera surtout des arabesques d'une tres belle 
 composition et parfaitement sculptees ; de petites tetes fort 
 gracieuses et line foule de menus details qu'il serait trop long 
 denumerer. Je ne puis appro uver pourtant des rinceaux 
 entremeles de figurines, et decoupes a jour de maniere a former 
 une espece de grille en pierre.' — Prosper Merimee. 
 
 The same chapel contains a great Saint Sepulcre, with 
 a representation of the Resurrection above : all once 
 coloured and still encircled by rich arabesques and other 
 ornaments— probably another fragment of the choir screen. 
 The fourth chapel, of 1 Le Jardin d'Oliviers, 7 has a splendid 
 gothic niche containing a curious representation of the 
 Agony in the Garden. The chapels around the choir con- 
 tain a number of fine tombs much mutilated. In that at 
 the E. end is the tomb of a bishop, £ Gilbert de Cantobre,' 
 1349, and, above it, an interesting altar-table, attributed to 
 the time of Bishop Deusdedit in the vi.c, but more 
 probably of another bishop of the same name in the x. c. : 
 the paintings of angels adoring the Virgin and Child 
 appear to have been added in the xvn. c. In the next 
 chapel is the tomb of Bishop Raymond d'Aigrefeuil, 1361 ; 
 
RODEZ. 
 
 575 
 
 then the tomb of Bishop Galhard de Cardailhac, 1359, and 
 that of Bishop Croizier, 1855. A Christian sarcophagus 
 has reliefs of the v. c. or vi. c. 
 
 The xi. c. Church of S. Amand has been rebuilt in 1754, 
 but the sculptured capitals and other materials of the old 
 church have been used in the interior. The Eveche is of 
 
 GORGE OF SALLES-LA-SOURCE. 
 
 various dates, from xv. c. to xix. c, and contains an inter- 
 esting collection of episcopal portraits. On the S. of the 
 cathedral are picturesque renaissance buildings belonging 
 to the Lycee. On the Place de la Cite is a statue of Mgr. 
 Affre, archbishop of Paris, given by his family. Some re- 
 mains of a Roman amphitheatre are to be seen. The town 
 was greatly in want of water till the archaeologist Bois- 
 sonade found some remains of a Roman aqueduct in 1856 : 
 
576 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 these were followed up, and the result was the discovery of 
 the ancient course by which the water of the little river 
 Eure and the fountain of Vors were brought to Segodunum. 
 Now, the aqueduct, being re-established, serves the town. 
 
 [A charming drive may be taken from Rodez (iok.) to the 
 lovely valley of Salle s -la-Source. A most beautiful gorge, where 
 a brook rushes through a wooded ravine hemmed in by grand 
 masses of limestone rock, forms the approach. On turning a 
 
 S. LAURENT, SALLES-LA-SOURCE. 
 
 corner of the rock three villages come in sight. That oppo- 
 site, with an old tower, is Le Bourg. The highest, Salles, has a 
 chateau, the waterfall of Le Craynanx, and a grove of trees 
 shading a statue of the Virgin, and is overhung by strange 
 caverned rocks, which give it a look of Tivoli. In the depth 
 below is the third village, of £*. Laurent, which contains a very 
 curious tiny cruciform romanesque church with an octagonal 
 tower, beneath which the arches of the interior meet at a circular 
 opening through which the bells are rung. 6*. Loup is another 
 romanesque church. 6". Paul is of xv. c. Some ruins remain of 
 the Chateau d Armanhac.'] 
 
BOZOULS. 
 
 S77 
 
 [13 k. from Rodez, on the road to Albi by Requista, is the 
 Cistercian Abbey of Bonnccombe, founded 1162, and re-established 
 in 1875 f° r tne Trappists, who were driven out in 1880. The 
 entrance tower is of xiv. c, the bridge which leads to it of xni. c. 
 There are remains of the original church.] 
 
 [A longer excursion which it is well worth while to make from 
 Rodez is that to (21 k.) Bozotds (in the same valley as Conques — 
 see later — only higher), 1 k. W. of the road to Espalion, at La 
 Rotonde, where the little river Dourdon, forcing its way through 
 a rocky gorge, falls in two cascades, the larger of which is called 
 Le Gour dEnfer. The houses of the village of Bozouls over- 
 hang the edge of the abyss on one side, and on the other is the 
 Convent of S. Catherine, with a promontory over the Dourdon, 
 crowned by a venerable romanesque church, reached by a path 
 which passes a curious cavern. 5 k. E. of La Rotonde is the 
 ruined Chateait de Tholet, a little beyond which is Gabriac, on 
 the r. bank of the Dourdon, overhung by a lofty hill bearing the 
 pilgrimage church of Le Calvaire, built in 1684.] 
 
 The line from Rodez to Capdenac passes — 
 10 k. Salles-la- Source, see above. There is no carriage. 
 The station is 3 k. from the villages, which are reached by 
 turning r. under the railway viaduct. 
 
 23 k. Marcillac (Hotels : des Voyageurs ; de France), 
 There is a little omnibus at the station for the steep descent 
 through vineyards to the town. The church, of xv. c. and 
 xvii. c, has an octagonal tower. The town is connected 
 by a private railway with the ironworks of Decazeville. 
 
 [A carriage (a sort of long van, 10 fr. per day) may be 
 obtained at Marcillac for an excursion to Conques, one of the 
 most interesting and beautiful places in this part of France. The 
 valley of the Dourdon is rocky but covered with wood. We pass 
 the castle of Beaucaire, 'then the large village of 6". Cyprien 
 
 .37 
 
57B 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE, 
 
 (Hotel : Molenat), after which the road enters lovely chestnut 
 forests and passes the Ruisseau du Chevreatc, a streamlet falling 
 down a wooded gorge into a chaos of moss-covered rocks. 
 
 Suddenly, at the most exquisite spot in the glen, where the 
 stream is buried in walnut woods, we come upon the little inn of 
 Conques (Conchae), close to a bridge. Here a footpath (i k.) 
 turns off up the ravine, a wooden bridge is crossed, and then 
 there is a steep ascent to the fortified xn. c. gate of the town, 
 
 CONQUES. 
 
 which clings to the edge of the cliff with its picturesque moulder- 
 ing houses, and beyond which rises the grand church of the 
 Benedictine Abbaye de S. Foy. 
 
 This, one of the richest monasteries of the Order, is said to 
 have been founded as early as the end of the in. c. Repeatedly 
 ruined by Arians, Saracens, etc., the church was rebuilt as we 
 now see it in the XI. c. by Abbot Odalric. As it served as a 
 model to many of the great buildings in the country, it deserves 
 especial study as a type. 
 
CONQUES. 
 
 579 
 
 The plan is a Latin cross, terminated at the E. by three semi- 
 circular apsides. The transepts are the same width as the nave, 
 and, like it and the choir, are divided into three parts longi- 
 tudinally by arcades surmounted by vast galleries of the whole 
 width of the side aisles, and lighted from outside by windows 
 pierced in the side walls. These walls are of immense thickness 
 and irregular masonry, and are strengthened by somewhat flat 
 buttresses. The windows of the apsides are flanked by pretty 
 little byzantine columns, and round the upper part is a band ot 
 fantastic corbels representing horses' heads. Beneath are a 
 number of tombs — stone sarcophagi, probably of abbots. One 
 of the tombs — against the wall of the nave, near the door of the 
 S. transept — is that of the abbot Begon, who built the cloister of 
 the xi. c, of which some fragments remain on this side of the 
 church. 
 
 The facade is of great simplicity, but very lofty for a roman- 
 esque building. A vast round-headed tympanum above the 
 double portal is framed in a gable. Above are two long narrow 
 windows, with a little rose-window above them, the wide space 
 between the billet-moulding upon which these windows rest and 
 the top of the porch having been evidently once covered with 
 a decoration, now destroyed. The upper storey of the square 
 towers which flank the facade is a recent restoration, the original 
 work having been destroyed by fire. The narrow windows of 
 these towers seem more intended for defence than ornament. 
 On either side of the windows, above the W. door, are traces of 
 mosaic decoration. At the intersection of the transepts is an 
 octagonal tower o\ T er a cupola. 
 
 The tympanum of the grand entrance is surrounded by a 
 band sustained by heads and hands, passing above and 
 below. It frames a vast relief of the Last Judgment, divided 
 into three horizontal zones, which comprise distinct subjects. 
 In the centre is a noble figure of Christ throned in a Vesica 
 fiiscis, a figure much larger than the rest, with the saved 
 souls on his r., the damned on his 1., and above them angels 
 sounding trumpets or bearing the cross and instruments of 
 the passion. To the r. of the Saviour we may distinguish 
 S. Foy and S. Peter amongst the group of saints. Several 
 inscriptions remain, in letters which have been partly cut and 
 
580 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 partly painted, the latter now illegible. On the lintel of the 
 door is — 
 
 O PECCATORES TRANSMVTETIS NISI MORES 
 JVDICIVM DVRVM VOBIS SCITOTE FVTVRVM. 
 
 ' Si je ne me trompe, dans cette variete immense de person- 
 nages accumules sur ce bas-relief, il y a plus d'imagination que 
 n'en montrent d'ordinaire les compositions de cette epoque ; et 
 les amants strangles de la meme corde, l'abbe protecteur d'un roi, 
 le chanteur et le gourmand punis par ou ils ont peche, annoncent 
 une certaine recherche d'idees qu'on ne s'attend pas a rencontrer 
 dans les ouvrages d'une epoque de barbarie. Je remarque 
 encore, malgre l'incorrection du travail, une tentative constante 
 pour arriver a l'expression, tentative quelquefois suivie de 
 succes.' — Prosper Merimee. 
 
 1 It is worth remarking, that in these western provinces, 
 where the influence of the antique was little felt, the distinctness 
 and harmony shown in the monuments of Provence has given 
 way to more fantastic and wilder character. This is especially 
 the case in the portal of the church at Souillac, and, where it is 
 combined with much grandeur of conception, in the main portal 
 of the abbey church at Conques, which contains one of the most 
 extensive representations of the Last Judgment.' — Liibke. 
 
 Besides the great portal, there are entrances in the W. wall 
 of the transept. The interior of the church, like the exterior, is 
 entirely romanesque — there is nothing gothic. The nave has six 
 bays. Its pillars are squares flanked alternately by columns and 
 pilasters on each face, the pillars which support the beautiful 
 vaulted octagonal cupola being much more massive than the 
 others. The nave and choir have cradle vaulting, but the side 
 aisles are herring-boned. The vaulting of the galleries, which 
 describes a quarter of a circle, serves like flying buttresses as an 
 additional support to the vaults of the central building. The 
 galleries open to the church by great double arcades. The 
 central tower has two ranges of windows, one above the other ; 
 but the upper range, and the spire above, are additions of the 
 xiv. c. The transepts have each two chapels towards the E. 
 
CONQUES. 
 
 581 
 
 Those near the choir are very large, the others, towards the end 
 of the transepts, half the size. The choir is surrounded by 
 narrow horseshoe arches, outside which passes the ambulatory 
 with its three chapels. The exquisite wrought-iron choir screens 
 — 1 les grilles de Conques ' 1 — are of great celebrity. The throne 
 of the abbot and the stalls are painted as well as carved. In 
 the angles of the cupola are painted angels. There are very 
 curious remains of fresco on the front of a chapel at the end 
 of the S. transept, which the ludicrous taste of existing French 
 archaeologists proposes to destroy because ' it is not contem- 
 porary with the rest of the church.' 
 
 The remote situation of Conques, hidden and almost for- 
 gotten amongst its forests and mountains, is the reason why 
 its Tresor is probably the most magnificent in France. Over 
 the altar of the chapel in the presbytery are the three great 
 relics. 1. The silver statue of S. Foy, of 1035, earlier than the 
 church, incrusted with precious stones, including many intaglios, 
 and with earrings which shake. 2. Old embroideries, which 
 are said to have been worn by S. Foy. 3. A leather chest, 
 discovered in the wall of the church in 1875, gloriously inlaid 
 with silver and set with plaques of enamel. It contained the 
 bones of S. Foy, except the head, which is enshrined in the silver 
 statue. It had been enclosed in a wooden box, of which nothing 
 but the dust and hinges remained when it was found. 
 
 A second set of relics includes — I. The magnificent cross of 
 S. Foy, set with statuettes and jewels. 2. The reliquary called 
 ' L'A de Charlemagne,' supposed to have been given by him to 
 the abbey and to resemble the letter A in its form. It is a 
 triangle, of which the point is surmounted by a crystal ball, the 
 sides being incrusted with precious intaglios. 3. An exquisite 
 reliquary containing bones of S. Paul, given by Pope Paschal II. 
 4. A plaque of red porphyry incrusted with silver enamel work 
 and bearing a long inscription of the xn. c. 5. The beautiful 
 ' Lanterne de S. Vincent.' There are endless other treasures, 
 besides a precious collection of censers of the xin. c, and (in a 
 cabinet with a pistol-lock) a magnificent cope with embroideries 
 of the Betrayal, Flagellation, and Crucifixion. 
 
 1 Engraved in the Annales Arche'ologiques of 1857. 
 
582 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 A beautiful old cross is seen on the mountain side opposite 
 the abbey.] 
 
 44 k. Cr ansae, where there are mineral waters of some 
 repute. 
 
 47 k. Aubin, which gives its name to an important coal- 
 district. The curious church, of xn. c. and xv. a, has an 
 octagonal belfry. Under a triumphal arch is a beam 
 sustaining a great xv. c. crucifix. A bronze benitier with 
 reliefs is of xm. c. Besides coal-mines there are important 
 iron-mines in this neighbourhood. 
 
 66 k. Capdenac, see ch. iv. Here the main line 
 from Paris to Toulouse is joined. Travellers will do well, 
 instead of sleeping at Capdenac, to take the train N. (6 k.) 
 to Figeac, see ch. iv. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IN THE CENTRAL PYRENEES- PAMIERS, FOIX, S. 
 GIRONS, S. GAUDENS, LUCHON, TARBES (BAGNERES, 
 DE-BIG ORRE) . IN ARIEGE, HAUTE-GARONNE, AND 
 HA UTES-P YRENEES. 
 
 r I ^HE line from Toulouse to Tarbes soon reaches — 
 
 12 k. Portet-S. Simon. 
 
 The line to Foix and Tarascon diverging S.E. passes — 
 
 23 k. Venerque-le-Vernet. The little romanesque church 
 of Venerque is the last remnant of the abbey of S. Pierre, 
 which was already in existence in ix. c. It contains a 
 bronze reliquary enclosing remains of S. Phebade, first 
 bishop of Agen. ■ 
 
 28 k. Miremont. 3 k. S.W. the Church of La Grace 
 Dieu^ belonging to a Premonstratensian abbey, has a 
 tomb with the statue of a Chevalier de Miremont. 
 
 40 k. Cintegabelle, on the Ariege, has a church with 
 xvi. c. spire, romanesque portal, and gothic interior. The 
 pictures, organ, and altars come from the second Abbey 
 of Boulbonne, 5 k. S.W., which dates from the x. c. and 
 absorbed an earlier abbey of the same name founded by 
 the Comtes de Foix near Mazeres. The cloister and its 
 
5 8 4 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 surrounding buildings are now occupied as a farm. The 
 wood carvings of the choir, the marble pulpit, and some 
 pictures by Despex^ have been moved to the neighbouring 
 church of Tr antes digues. Near this are remains of the 
 chateau of Terraqueuse, where the Count Paolo Donna gave 
 the signal of a swiftly repressed royalist insurrection in 
 1799. 
 
 4.9 k. Saverdun (Sabardunum), the birthplace of Jacques 
 Fournier, son of a miller, who became pope (1334-42) as 
 Benedict XII. This was one of the strongholds of 
 Protestantism in xvi. c. 
 
 57 k. Maze? -es-le-Vernet-d'Ariege. 8 k. N.E. is Mazeres, 
 the ancient residence of the Comtes de Foix. Only a 
 single tourelle remains of the chateau where Gaston 
 Phoebus received Charles VI. in 1390. In 1493 the 
 chateau was burnt through the carelessness of a nurse, and 
 it was necessary to break down a wall to save the two 
 children — Gaston de Foix, and Germaine, who became the 
 second wife of Ferdinand the Catholic. 3 k. S.E. was 
 the First Abbey of Boulbonne (founded 11 29), where 
 the sword of Simon de Montfort was blessed before the 
 battle of Muret. The abbey was entirely destroyed by 
 the Protestants in 1567. 
 
 65 k. Panders (Hotel : du Grand-Soleil — tolerable), a 
 town built originally around a castle erected c. 11 11 by 
 Roger II., Comte de Foix. Becoming Protestant, during 
 the Wars of Religion, it underwent many sieges, and in 1628 
 was cruelly handled by the Protestants under the Prince 
 de Conde. It is rather a dreary little town, centering in 
 the fortified Church of Notre Dame du Camp. In a kind 
 of close stands the Cathedral of S. Antonin, chiefly rebuilt 
 
PAMIERS, FOIX. 
 
 535 
 
 in the reign of Louis XIV. It retains a romanesque W. 
 portal from the earlier church of Notre Dame du Mercadal, 
 enclosed in the porch. The octagonal steeple is feeble in 
 effect. Close by are a dismal Eveche, and rather a pretty 
 little public garden. A little S. of the town are some 
 obscure remains of the Abbey of S. Antonin de Fredelas, 
 whose abbot, Bernard de Saisset, was made the first bishop 
 of Pamiers by Boniface VIII. in 1295. The abbey was 
 destroyed by the Protestant bands of the Casaques noires 
 under the Sire d'Audon. 
 
 31 k. W. of Pamiers, in the direction of S. Girons, is Le-Mas- 
 dAzil, see later. 
 
 13 k. E., in the direction of Carcassonne, is the curious 
 pilgrimage church of Vals, for the most part cut out of the 
 rock. At 24 k. is Mirepoix, see p. 493. 
 
 74 k. Varilhes, in besieging which (1228) Guy, brother 
 of Simon de Montfort, was killed by an arrow. On the 
 further bank of the Ariege is the Chateau de Crampagna, 
 chiefly modern, with a xn. c. tower. 
 
 83 k. Foix (Hotels : La Coste — very good and com- 
 fortable ; Grand), the ancient Fuxum, erected into a 
 countship for Bernard, one of the sons of Roger de 
 Carcassonne, at the end of xi. c. Foix is a beautiful place 
 in a mountain valley, where .the rushing Ariege is lined 
 by picturesque old houses with overhanging roofs and 
 pergolas of vines. 
 
 The narrow winding streets of the old town lead to 
 the Church of S. Volusien, rebuilt by Count Roger II. 
 in xii. c. It has a single nave, and a choir of Toulousan 
 gothic, surrounded by chapels. Upon the famous Rocher 
 de Foix, which Simon de Montfort vainly swore that he 
 
586 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 would 6 melt like gravy and roast its master,' and of which 
 Philippe le Hardi was successful in destroying a portion, 
 rise the remains of the Chateau, consisting of three ancient 
 towers, united by modern buildings. The low square 
 tower on the N. is the most ancient, and dates, in its 
 lower portion, from xn. c. The round tower, at the 
 
 extremity of the rock, is at once the latest and the most 
 graceful portion of the building : it was built or repaired 
 by Gaston Phoebus in 1361. Above the town, on the N., 
 is the Hermitage of S. Sauveur, whence there is a fine view. 
 9 k. E. is the Grotte de PHerm, where human bones and 
 implements of industry have been discovered. All around 
 Foix are charming walks along the ridges of the hills : an 
 
TARASCON. 
 
 587 
 
 artist may pass several days here with advantage and — in 
 comfort ! 
 
 98 k. Tarascon (Hotel : Gabacli), near the confluence 
 of the Oriege and Ariege, cut into two distinct quarters 
 by their united waters. It was the ancient Tascodenitari. 
 
 LE ROCHER DE FOIX. 
 
 E. of the town is the hill of Castella, surmounted by the 
 deserted fortress of Tarascon-le- Vteux, ruined by order of 
 Louis XIII. In the xvi. c. religious war of reprisals, 
 sixty-six Protestants were hurled from its tower, to avenge 
 their having murdered Baron, recteur d'Ornolac, in the 
 same way. 
 
 102k. Ussat-les-Bains (Hotels: du Pare; Chaumont ; 
 
5 88 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Modele), a bathing-place on the Ariege, with a large cavern 
 called Grotte de Lombrive, in which a number of persons, 
 taking refuge from the terrors of the Inquisition, were 
 walled up alive, and in which their remains have been 
 found. 
 
 109 k. Les Cabannes. A little further the Chateau de 
 Lordat, a ruined castle of the Comtes de Foix, is seen. 
 
 124 k. Ax (Hotels : Boyer ; Sure). The name of Ax 
 (Aquae) proves that the sulphuric baths here were known in 
 Roman times. The neighbourhood abounds in picturesque 
 excursions to the peaks and little lakes of the district. 
 Several mountain routes lead in a long day's walk or ride 
 (11 to i3hrs.) to the curious little republic of the Val 
 d 1 Andorre, on the S. side of the Pyrenees. When Louis 
 le Debonnaire, acting for his father Charlemagne, was 
 going to besiege the Moors in the Spanish town of Urgel, 
 the Andorrans, under their chieftain Marc Almugaver, gave 
 him valuable assistance, and in return received a charter 
 allowing them to govern themselves by their own laws and 
 customs. After his accession to the throne, Louis ceded 
 part of his tithes as suzerain to the bishop of Urgel, and 
 the Andorrans,' about twelve thousand in number, now pay 
 a tribute of 950 fr. to France and 450 fr. to the bishop of 
 Urgel ; otherwise Andorre is a free state governed by an 
 elected council of twenty-four under a Syndic chosen by 
 themselves — and, in official acts, the tiny state is entitled 
 'Vallees et Souverainete d'Andorre.' The little capital, 
 Andorra, has a humble church dating from the x. c. The 
 'palace' (xvi. c.) is inscribed ' Domus consilii, sedes 
 justithV Here the council, chosen for four years by four 
 heads of families in each of the six parishes— Canillo, 
 
ANDORRA, MURET. 
 
 589 
 
 Encamp, Ordino, Massana, Andorra, San Julia — holds its 
 meetings, its members dressed alike in grey knee-breeches, 
 red woollen waistcoats, light blue stockings, shoes with 
 silver buckles, black silk cravats and cocked hats, and 
 wearing over all long black mantles lined with crimson. 
 The Procureurs-General are dressed in black velvet, and, 
 alone of all subjects of the Republic, wear swords. The 
 schools are free. Crime is almost unknown in the republic, 
 and the capital punishment of pushing an offender over a 
 precipice on the Spanish border has only once been necessary 
 within the last hundred years. In February 1889, however, 
 it became necessary for the Spanish and French governments 
 to refuse to ratify a promise made by the Syndic to grant 
 a concession for the setting up of a gaming establishment 
 at Andorra. 
 
 Continuing the line from Toulouse to Tarbes, we pass- — 
 21 k. Muret, which, founded in xi. c, became the capital 
 of the countship of Comminges in the xm. c. In the sur- 
 rounding plain (Sept. 12, 12 13) forty thousand Albigenses 
 and Spaniards, under the orders of Pedro of Arragon and 
 the Comte de Toulouse, were completely conquered by 
 Simon de Montfort, who thus became master of the 
 Toulousain. 
 
 1 Les champions du Crucifie, dit Guillaume de Puy-Laurens, 
 choisirent pour la bataille le jour de l'Exaltation de la Sainte- 
 Croix : ils confesserent leurs peches, se fortifierent par le pain 
 salutaire de l'autel, et se ceignirent pour le combat. Simon se 
 dirigea sur Muret avec un millier d'hommes d'armes ; sept 
 eveques et un assez grand nombre de missionnaires, de pretres, 
 et de moines marchaient entre les chevaliers croises. Tout le 
 
SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 monde n'avait pas l'inebranlable confiance de Simon ; durant 
 la chevauchee, un clerc essaya de detourner le comte de tenter 
 le eombat "avec peu de monde contre une si copieuse multitude . 
 d'ennemis." Mais le comte, tirant une lettre de son aumoniere — 
 " Lisez," dit-il, " ceci qui m'est tombe entre les mains." Le 
 pretre vit que la lettre etoit adressee par le roi d'Arragon a une 
 noble dame, epouse d'un gentilhomme du diocese toulousain : 
 le roi disoit a cette dame qu'il venait, pour l'amour d'elle seule, 
 chasser les Francois de son pays, et lui debitoit mille autres 
 choses de ce genre. " Eh bien," repliqua le pretre, apres avoir 
 lu, " que voulez-vous dire par la?" — "Ce que je veux dire!" 
 secria Simon; " c'est que je ne dois guere craindre un roi qui 
 marche contre Dieu pour une femme perdue." 
 
 ' Les princes ligues, au bruit de la marche de Simon, avaient 
 suspendu l'assaut de Muret : ils laisserent les Franeais entrer sans 
 obstacle dans la place, afin de " finir le jeu d'un seul coup. 
 Simon passa la nuit a reflechir sur les moyens de vaincre : le roi 
 Pierre passa la nuit dans les bras d'une de ses maitresses. Le 
 lendemain l'eveque de Comminges prit la croix, monta sur un 
 tertre, benit l'armee, et promit, au nom de Jesus-Christ, que 
 quiconque mourrait en cette journee irait droit en paradis, sans 
 passer par le Purgatoire. Puis les gens d'armes se formerent en 
 trois corps, " en honneur de la Sainte Trinite," et donnerent de 
 l'eperon, tandis que le clerge rentrait en ville. Pendant que la 
 lutte s'engageait, les eveques et les clercs, parmi lesquels £tait 
 Saint Dominique, retires dans leglise de Muret, "crioient vers le 
 Seigneur et poussoient au ciel de si grands mugissements, qu'ils 
 sembloient plutot hurler que prier." 
 
 ' Les croises etaient sortis par la porte orientale du chateau, 
 comme s'ils eussent voulu fuir du cote du Carcassez ; mais, tout 
 a coup, d'un mouvement rapide, ils tournerent bride, et revinrent 
 fondre sur le camp ennemi. " Les Provencaux buvaient et 
 mangeoient sans gardes ni sentinelles." Les hommes de Toulouse 
 coururent aux armes et s'elancerent hors du camp u sans ecouter 
 roi ni comte," et les croises n'eurent devarit eux qu'une masse 
 confuse au lieu d'une armee en bataille. " Les hommes du comte 
 Simon arriverent, disposes en trois rangs, selon l'ordre et l'usage 
 de la discipline militaire : les derniers corps, hatant leur course, 
 chargerent en meme temps que les premiers, sachant bien que de 
 
MURET. 
 
 591 
 
 l'ensemble du choc depend la victoire, et ils culbuterent tellement 
 a la premiere rencontre les cavaliers du comte de Foix, qu'ils les 
 chasserent devant eux comme le vent fait la poussiere ; puis, se 
 tournant du cote ou etoit le roi d'Arragon, dont ils avoient 
 reconnu la banniere, ils se ruerent sur lui d'une telle violence, que 
 le heurt des armes et le bruit des coups retentirent au loin comme 
 si une foret entiere fut tombee sous la hache." Tout leffort des 
 croises etait dirige contre la personne du roi Pierre : le comte 
 Alain de Rouci, le sire Florent de Ville, et plusieurs autres cheva- 
 liers francais etaient convenus de ne s'attacher qu'a lui seul jusqu'a 
 ce qu'ils l'eussent mis a mort. Pierre d'Arragon avait pressenti 
 cette manoeuvre et change d'armes et de couleurs avec un de ses 
 gens. Alain et Florent se ruerent a la fois sur le chevalier qui 
 portait l'armure royale, et le desareonnerent au premier choc de 
 leurs lances. - — " Ce n'est pas le roi ! " s'ecria le Comte de Rouci ; 
 " ce n'est pas le roi, car il est meilleur chevalier." — " Non," repondit 
 Pierre, " ce n'est pas le roi, mais le voici ! " Et il s'elanca sur ses 
 adversaires en poussant son cri d'armes, — Arragon / Arragon / 
 Enveloppe a l'instant, il tomba perce de mille coups. lt Les autres, 
 qui le virent, s'estimerent pour perdus ; " un cri lamentable fit 
 retentir toute la plaine — " Le roi Peyre est mort ! " Le combat 
 ne fut plus qu'une deroute : nobles et bourgeois se precipiterent 
 pele-mele vers la Garonne. Plus de quinze mille, dit-on, perirent 
 dans les eaux ou sous le fer des vainqueurs. 
 
 ' " Moult fut grand le dommage et le deuil," s'ecrie le poete 
 provencal, u quand le roi d'Arragon resta mort et sanglant avec 
 moult d'autres barons : le monde entier en valut moins, et toute 
 ]a chretiente en fut abaissee et honnie." Pierre cle Vaux-Cernai 
 avoue que le coeur farouche de son heros Simon s'attendrit devant 
 le cadavre nu et sanglant du brave roi Pierre. " Simon descendit 
 de cheval et gemit sur le corps du defunt." II oublia bientot le 
 vaincu pour ne songer qu'aux fruits de la victoire. II n'eut pas 
 besoin de livrer de nouveaux combats ; la fatale journee de Muret 
 sembla aux meridionaux le jugement de Dieu, et les armes tom- 
 berent quasi de toutes les mains.' — Martin, 1 Hist, de France] 
 iv., 50. 
 
 The Church of Muret has a good xv. c. tower, with a 
 crocketed spire. A statue commemorates Marechal Niel, who 
 was born here. 
 
592 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 [A road leads from Muret to (72 k.) Foix, by (11 k.) Beaumont, 
 where the church has a good brick xiv. c. tower, and contains the 
 epitaph of Jean le Carriere — ' l'avocat miracle ; ' (18 k.) 6". Sulpice- 
 dc-Lezat, a bastide founded xiii. c. by the monks of Lezat, with 
 a beautiful xv. c. church tower; and (25 k.) Lezat, where only 
 xviii. c. buildings remain of a famous abbey, founded 840.] 
 
 42 k. Carbonne^ founded 1256. Beyond this the Chateau 
 de la Terr as se, now a factory, is seen on 1. 
 
 [A carriage road (diligence, 3 fr. and 2 fr. 25 c, ; for railway 
 travellers only 1 fr. and 50 c.) leads in 3 hrs. from Carbonne 
 to the Mas-d'Azil. It passes — 
 
 6 k. Rieux (the Roman Rivi), a very curious place. 
 
 ' L'ancienne cathedrale (xiv. s.) occupe l'extremite de la 
 presqu'ile et contribuait a la defendre ; ses murailles de brique, 
 ses contre-forts, que le lierre envahit par la base, plongent dans 
 la riviere et se relient aux derniers vestiges des remparts. La 
 hardiesse et la legerete de la tour octagonale, dont les quatre 
 etages de fenetres geminees marient agreablement leurs tons de 
 brique fauve aux nuances grises des filets et des colonnettes de 
 pierre, sont celebres dans la contree. 
 
 4 Le palais episcopal, defigure et en grande partie detruit, 
 dresse encore sa tourelle crenelle que surmonte une double 
 pyramide, et laisse voir, dans une cour, une petite tour d'angle et 
 une facade du xvi. s. a decoration bicolore de pierre et de brique.' 
 — M. E. Rorschach. 
 
 The old bridge over the Arize is preceded by an arcade 
 with a long inscription in honour of Bishop Jean de Berthier 
 (xvn. c.) 
 
 13 k. Montesqtiieu-Volvestre, has an old tower and xiv. c. 
 church. 
 
 35 k. Le Mas-d'Azil (Hotels: du Cheval Blanc ; Lio?i d'Or), 
 partly Protestant still, was bravely defended by the Protestants 
 in 1625. It is situated in a circle like a crater, surrounded by 
 lofty hills on all sides. It possessed an abbey, which existed in 
 the time of Charlemagne, The road to S. Girons passes at the 
 
MARTRES- TOE OSANE. 
 
 593 
 
 foot of the magnificent Roche de Mas, pierced by a cavern, 
 through which the river Arize finds its way and falls in a cascade 
 towards the valley. In the centre, the vault of this strange 
 cavern is sustained by a huge natural pillar of rock. There is a 
 vast dark upper cavern, which, with several side grottoes, was 
 inhabited by the men of the stone age. 
 
 4 k. E. of Le Mas-d'Azil is the ruined Chateau of Marveille, 
 and near it a cave, where the Protestants held their meetings 
 during the persecutions.] 
 
 49 k. S. Julien. 4 k. N.E. is the Chateau de S. Elix, an 
 admirable specimen of the architecture of Frangois I., with 
 old furniture and pictures, and a park laid out by Le Notre. 
 An obelisk marks the ancient limits of Gascony and 
 Languedoc. 
 
 56 k. Cazeres-sur- Garonne. The church (xiv. c.) has 
 a singular twisted spire. 9 k. N. is Edusseret, a bastide of 
 xiii. c. Beyond Cazeres, on the 1., is seen the renaissance 
 Chateau de Palaminy, then, on a high hill, the ruined Chateau 
 de S. Michel. 
 
 62 k. Martres-Tolosane, probably the ancient Angonia, 
 takes its name from the massacre by the Saracens of its 
 Christian inhabitants, together with their traditional chief- 
 tain Vidian, who, having previously been sold as a slave, 
 was ransomed by an Anglo-Saxon lady. The fountain of 
 Vidian, on the S. of the town, where he is said to have 
 washed his wounds before his death, is still resorted to by 
 the sick and crippled ; and once a year the peasantry cele- 
 brate a fete there in his honour, which ends in an imaginary 
 battle between the Moors and Christians. The xiv. c. 
 church contains a sarcophagus of vi. c, which is used as a 
 font. A little chapel of xiii. c. is dedicated to S. Vidian. 
 A number of Roman relics have been found at Martres, 
 
 38 
 
594 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 including the beautiful head of Venus, now in the museum 
 at Toulouse. 
 
 8 k. W. is Alan, with a curious xm. c. church, and some 
 remains (partly xv. c.) of a palace of the bishops of Comminges. 
 Aurignac (14 k.) has remains of xiv. c. walls and castle. 
 
 66 k. Boussens. On the mountain side to the S. are 
 seen the stately ruins of the xn. c. Chateau de Roquefort, 
 besieged and taken by Amaury de Montfort in 12 13. On 
 the opposite bank of the Garonne is seen the xv. c. 
 chateau of Mauran. 
 
 [A branch line leads from Boussens to S. Girons, along the 
 valley of the Salat, passing — 
 
 76 k. Salies- du-Salat, with salt springs, overlooked by an old 
 castle which the counts of Comminges used as their mint. It 
 was partly rebuilt in 1308, and new fortifications were added to 
 it in xv. c. and xvi. c. The square dungeon is of the xiil c, the 
 chapel of the xiv. c. Its tower still serves as the belfry of the 
 parish. In the middle of the town is a little Halle, of xiv. c. 
 
 79k. His-Mane-Touille, a station named from three villages. 
 A carriage road leads hence (12 k.) along the banks of the stream 
 Arbas to the village of Arbas (good inn), in a lofty mountain 
 basin surrounded on three sides, where the torrents of Gourgue, 
 Planque, and Fougaron unite to form that of Arbas. This is an 
 admirable centre for excursions in the wild scenery of Le Massif 
 d' Arbas, especially that to the Pic d* Aouer ados (1,539 met.), which 
 is reached in 2 J hrs. ; to the Pic de Paloumere (1,610 met., 
 3 hrs.) ; and to the Grotte de Pene-Blanque, which is 2 hrs. on 
 foot from Arbas, but, from its vast size, takes about 3 hrs. to 
 visit. 
 
 13 k. S.W. of the station are the ruins of the Chdteatt de 
 Montespan, built in the xm. c. by the family of Espagne, and 
 called from their name. A large square donjon occupies the 
 centre of a double circuit of walls. 
 
 81 k. Castagnede. A little beyond this, the railway leaves 
 
5. GIRONS, s. lizier. 
 
 595 
 
 the department of Haute-Garonne for that of Ariege. It passes 
 beneath the xv. c. Chateau de Noailhan before reaching — 
 
 87 k. Prat, named from its rich prairies. Several curious 
 caverns may be visited near this, especially the Grotte de Lestelas. 
 The railway passes 1. the Chateau de Taurignan-Castet (xvn. c.) 
 before reaching — 
 
 91 k. Caumont, which has a ruined castle. 
 
 99 k. 61 Girons (Hotels : Ferriere ; de France ; Cabiros), 
 formerly called Bourg-sous-Vic, has gradually taken the name of 
 the northern missionary by whom it was converted to Christianity 
 in v. c. It was taken by the Protestants under Audon. The old 
 town on the r. bank of the river, which contains the chateau, is 
 still called the Bourg; the quarter on the 1., founded in xm. c, is 
 known as Villefranche. The Church of S. Girons was rebuilt 
 in 1857, except the xiv. c. tower, which is square below, 
 octagonal above, and surmounted by a brick spire. The Church 
 of S. Vallier has a battlemented wall on one side of the nave as 
 its belfry. 
 
 S. Girons only rose to importance after the revolution and 
 the suppression of the bishopric at 6. Lizier, which occupies the 
 N. side of a hill, 2 k. distant from the later town. This very 
 interesting place was the capital of Couserans (the district 
 between the Ariege and Garonne), and once bore the name of 
 Lugdunum Consoranorum, and had a citadel called Austria. 
 The present name is derived from a bishop of Portuguese origin, 
 who, in 708, is said to have defended it by his prayers against 
 a countless host of Spanish Visigoths. Twenty-eight years later, 
 however, the town was sacked by the Saracens. After being 
 rebuilt, it was again burnt in 1120, or 1130, by Bernard I., Comte 
 de Comminges. 
 
 The former Cathedral is a Latin cross, with a single nave, 
 and an apse constructed of Roman fragments. The lower part 
 of the nave and the transept with its E. chapels are of xn. c. ; the 
 windows and vaulting of the nave, the principal portal and the 
 belfry, of the xiv. c. At the cross is an octagonal brick tower, 
 with two stages lighted by triangular openings in the Toulousan 
 style, crowned by a battlemented platform. In the sacristy is 
 a cross said to have belonged to S. Lizier. To the S. is the 
 interesting romanesque Cloister, of xn. c. and xm. c, in one 
 
596 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 corner of which are the tomb and statue of Bishop Auger de 
 Chatillon, 1303. 
 
 ' La construction du cloitre est d'une extreme simplicite. II 
 se compose de deux etages de galeries, l'une au rez-de-chaussee, 
 de maconnerie, l'autre au premier etage, de charpente. On ne 
 saurait batir deux etages de portiques avec plus deconomie. 
 Les colonnettes et bases sont de marbre ; elles posent sur 
 une seule assise continue et si basse, qu'on ne peut guere la 
 considerer comme un bahut. Les chapiteaux, tres-evases, sont 
 de pierre ainsi que les archivoltes ; les murs au-dessus, en 
 maconnerie. Un plancher couvre cette galerie. Au-dessus, le 
 mur forme un appui sur lequel sont posees des piles de brique 
 dans les angles et sur les milieux de deux des cotes du cloitre ; 
 puis des poteaux a huit pans, de bois, avec base et chapiteau 
 pris dans la masse, portant de longs poitrails poses de champ, 
 sur lesquels sont fixes les chevrons dont la saillie abrite toute 
 la construction. On n'oserait aujourd'hui executer une batisse 
 aussi legere, qui doit sa solidite a l'extreme simplicite des moyens 
 employes.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 The Episcopal Palace, built by Bishop Bernard de Marmiesse, 
 1655-80, is now used as a lunatic asylum. The chapel of Notre 
 Dame (S. Marie de la Sede) formerly shared with S. Lizier the 
 title of cathedral, and had its own chapter. It is of the xiv. c. 
 and has good xvm. c. wood carvings in its choir. 
 
 The Roman Walls of Austria are flanked by twelve towers, 
 six semicircular to the S., and six square to the N. Three of 
 these and their intervening curtain-walls support the episcopal 
 palace and Notre Dame. Part of the fortification on the N. 
 has fallen. The Tour de THorlogc, of xn. c, is the single gate 
 of the city. Various Roman remains are to be seen in the 
 neighbourhood. The Chapelle du Marsan (N.E.) replaces a 
 temple of Mars, and the village of Montjoie — Mons Joins (2 k. E.), 
 a temple of Jupiter. The church of this village, surrounded by 
 walls of xiv. c. and houses of xv. c, has a facade crowned by 
 a curious arcaded tower, flanked by two tourelles. 
 
 ' Ce qui rend ce frontispice curieux, e'est le melange du style 
 roman et du style ogival du xiv. s. commun au reste dans tout 
 
6*. GAUD ENS. 
 
 597 
 
 le Midi, depuis Bordeaux inclusivement jusqua Perpignan et 
 Eine.'— A St Paul.] 
 
 Leaving Boussens, on S.E. we see the old tower of 
 Ausseing. Crossing the Garonne, the Chateau de Roquefort 
 is well seen on the 1. On the opposite bank is Mancioux 
 (the ancient Mancipium), then the well-preserved Chateau 
 de Mo?ttfiezat, of the xm. c. 
 
 72 k. S. Martory. The church has a romanesque 
 portal brought from the abbey of Bonnefont (founded 1136), 
 the ruins of which still exist (5 k. S.), and comprise the 
 principal gateway (xv. c.) under a square tower, and some 
 fragments of the church and claustral buildings. The 
 counts of Comminges had their burial-place here. After 
 leaving S. Martory, the Chateau de S. Martory (xvi. c.) is 
 seen on the r. above the Garonne. 
 
 91k. S. Gaudens (Hotels: Fern 'ere '—very good; de 
 France). The town, prettily situated on a high bank to the 
 r. of the railway, was the ancient capital of the Nebouzan. 
 Its first church was built by S. Saturnin, the apostle of 
 Toulouse, and after the martyrdom of Gaudens, a little 
 child, in the v. c, the place was called by his name. The 
 Vicomtes de Nebouzan owed suzerainty to the Comtes de 
 Comminges till the end of the xn. c, after which Nebouzan 
 passed, by a succession of marriages, to Bigorre, Beam, 
 and Foix. But through all these changes S. Gaudens 
 continued to be administered by its own consuls, chosen 
 every year on the festival of S. John-Baptist, by a council 
 of twenty-four elders, themselves elected by the people. 
 The wise and free rule of the town made it one of the 
 richest in the country, but it suffered much both in the 
 Wars of Religion and in those between the counts of Foix 
 
598 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 and Comminges. It was taken by the English, and finally 
 was sacked by Montgomery in 1569, since which time it 
 has declined in importance. 
 
 The magnificent collegiate Church, dating chiefly from 
 the xi. c. and xn. c, has recently been 'restored ' out of all 
 appearance of antiquity, and its tower rebuilt. It has a 
 triple nave terminating in three E. apsides. 
 
 ' The cylindrical roof of the nave abuts a quadrantal one. 
 The chancel has a triforium, the aisle below being cross-vaulted, 
 without diagonal ribs. The eastern face shows the section of the 
 cylindrical and quadrantal roofs : the space between the former 
 and the roof of the apse is occupied by three round-headed 
 windows. The round, arch prevails.' — J. L. Petit. 
 
 The sculpture of some of the exquisite capitals recalls 
 the most delicate Venetian work. On the S. are three 
 arches on marble columns (leading to the sacristy), which 
 are remnants of a chapter-house of xm. c. 
 
 27 k. N. is Boulogne-sur-Gesse (Hotels: Azerna ; de France), 
 where the church (xiv. c. and xv. c.) has a xv. c. stone pulpit. 
 38 k. hence, in the direction of Toulouse, is Lombez, which, from 
 13 1 7 to 1790, was the seat of a bishopric. The xiv. c. church of 
 ►S. Marie was the cathedral. 
 
 Leaving S. Gaudens, the hermitage on the hill of Bout 
 du Puy is seen on the 1. ; then, 00 the r., Valentine (so 
 called from one of the emperors Valentinian), where 
 numerous Roman remains have been found. To 1. is 
 Labarthe de Riviere, with a small Roman Tower, believed 
 to have been a shrine of Mercury, at the entrance of the 
 village. 
 
 98 k. Martres-de- Riviere. The district is full of Roman 
 remains, 
 
5. BER TRA ND- DE- CO MM INGES. 
 
 599 
 
 104 k. Montrejeau (Buffet; Hotels: Pouget ; Leclair), 
 beautifully situated on a hill, with a fine view of the Pyrenean 
 range. This was the scene of a great battle between the 
 royalists and republicans in 1799, in which the former were 
 defeated with great slaughter. The Church of S. Jean is 
 
 xv. c. and xvi. c, with an octagonal belfry. The Halle, with 
 
 xvi. c. pillars, supports the Hotel de Ville. On the adjoining 
 place is a bronze statue of S. John-Baptist, patron of the 
 town, which is commercial and prosperous. At Tourreilles 
 (3 k. N.) are some small Roman remains, and a mound 
 with entrenchments. 
 
 A branch line leads from Montrejeau to Bagneres-de- 
 Luchon, passing— 
 
 112k. (from Toulouse) Loures (Hotel : Verdier — good 
 country inn), where a carriage (6 fr. for the day) may be 
 obtained for S. Bertrand-de-Comminges (4 k.) The road 
 passes a number of Roman walls and other ruins. As we 
 approach S. Bertrand, some remains of an amphitheatre 
 are visible at the foot of the hill. The name of the neigh- 
 bouring village of Tibiran is a relic of Tiberianum, that 
 of faunae probably comes from Janua. 
 
 From the rich- fruit-laden plain, a winding road leads 
 up to the walls of S. Bertrand-de-Comminges (Hotel : de 
 Comminges — good), which is entered by the Porte de 
 Cabiroles : in front is a little belvidere, with a lovely view. 
 The Roman inscription over the arch recalls the name of 
 the ancient inhabitants, the ['Convenes, who occupied the 
 town, called Lugdunum under the early emperors, when it 
 
6oo 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 prospered exceedingly. But in 585, Gondowald, son of 
 Clotaire I., took refuge there with the Gallo-Roman 
 general Mummolus, and drew down a siege from Leovi- 
 gilde, general of Gontran, king of Burgundy. Gondowald 
 was vainly hurled from the rock on the W. side of the 
 town (still called Malacan — kill-dog) to appease the assail- 
 ants ; the whole town was burnt, and all its inhabitants 
 
 S. BERTRAND-DE-COMMINGES. 
 
 massacred. The place rose again with a new name when 
 S. Bertrand, made bishop in 1073, built its cathedral and 
 cloister, drawing crowds around him by the reputation of 
 his sanctity, and through the whole of the middle-ages the 
 same influence attracted troops of pilgrims to its walls. 
 The town was three times besieged and taken by the 
 Huguenots. In 1793 its bishopric was suppressed. 
 
 Just inside the gate (r.) is the Episcopal Palace, with 
 
5. BERTRAND-DE CO MM INGES. 601 
 
 renaissance sculptures and a portal of 1549. On the 1. 
 is a house of xv. c, with a marble portal. Another 
 house, a little further, has an octagonal tower, and a portal 
 with the arms of the family of Bridaut. 
 
 The former Cathedral occupies the summit of the hill, 
 and rises grandly above its surrounding buildings. The 
 W. fagade, pillars of tower, and part of the walls, date from 
 the time of S. Bertrand, 1082. The nave and apse were 
 built, 1304-52, by Clement V., who had been bishop of 
 Comminges. The top of the tower is surrounded by 
 wooden galleries. On the tympanum of the portal is the 
 Adoration of the Magi. Several Roman fragments are 
 built into the surrounding walls. 
 
 The Interior is very striking and beautiful. It is a 
 single nave with eleven radiating chapels. At the W. end 
 is the curious xvi. c. organ, with a pulpit enclosed in its 
 winding stair, and strange pagan sculptures, including the 
 Labours of Hercules. The choir stands detached in the 
 middle of the church, and is surrounded by exquisite wood 
 carving, given by Bishop Jean de Mauleon, 1536. Its 
 exterior is encircled by a chain of heads taken from 
 pagan story; in the interior, endless quaint figures and 
 arabesques, and the genealogy of Christ, are represented. 
 On the high-altar is the history of the Virgin and Christ. 
 Behind this is the tomb, erected in 1432, for S. Bertrand. 
 A little coffer of wood is preserved here, which the saint is 
 said to have always carried about with him. It is inscribed, 
 with probable reference to the Virgin — For Pamor de ma 
 dona combat ab aquesta libra (' Pour Pamour de ma dame 
 je combats avec cette livree '). 
 
 Between the choir and a chapel on N. is the magnificent 
 
6o2 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 and picturesque xv. c. marble tomb of Bishop Hugues de 
 Castellone ; its reliefs represent a mourning procession of 
 monks and nuns. In the sacristy are two copes given by 
 Clement V., and the mitre and ring of S. Bertrand, with 
 his pastoral staff, known as Palicorne de S. Bertrand, which 
 was celebrated in the middle-ages through the whole of 
 the south, and was several times stolen from the church. 
 Against the W. wall hangs a crocodile, supposed to have 
 been killed in Egypt by a Crusader, and left here as an 
 ex-voto. There are similar crocodiles in Seville cathedral, 
 and at Abbeville. 
 
 The xii. c. Cloister, perfect except the vaulting of its 
 arcades, is on the S. of the church. Its round-headed 
 arches rest on double columns. To one of the pillars 
 statues of the four Evangelists are attached, each carrying 
 his symbolical animal. In the N. gallery are seven ancient 
 tombs, mostly sarcophagi, of warriors and bishops from the 
 xii. c. to xiv. c. 
 
 The Porte Majou, on the W. of the town, below the 
 cathedral, is surmounted externally by the arms of Foix. 
 In the interior is the Roman tomb of Andossus, son of 
 Primulus, erected by his wife Sabina, daughter of Fronto. 
 Two four-wheeled chariots and the head of a man are 
 represented. 
 
 i k. N.E. of S. Bertrand is Valcabrere, once part of the 
 great Gallo-Roman town called Vallis Caprera, and the 
 capital of La Barousse in the middle-ages. Only a single 
 tower remains of the fortress of Castelbert, erected in 1080. 
 Outside the village is the Church of S. Just, which served 
 as the cathedral of Comminges in the interval between the 
 ruin and re-establishment of the city on the hill, and was 
 
LA GROTTE DE GARGAS. 
 
 603 
 
 afterwards made collegiate. The churchyard is entered by 
 a romanesque portal of xiii. c. The choir is supposed to 
 have been built immediately after the destruction of Lug- 
 dunum. The nave, less ancient, is nevertheless built with 
 ancient materials. The side-door (added xn. c.) has life- 
 size statues, rich capitals and tympanum, and preserves its 
 old iron-work. Behind the altar is a very ancient sarco- 
 phagus enclosed in a xiii. c. shrine, but it is not known 
 what saint it contains. 
 
 ' Le plan de l'abside de cette eglise, l'elevation et la coupe de 
 l'autel, indiquent nettement la petite crypte placee sous le reli- 
 quaire contenant la chasse. Un escalier conduit snr la voute qui 
 recoit la chasse et les fideles peuvent circuler derriere l'autel, sous 
 cette voute, pour se placer directement sous la protection du 
 saint.' — Viollet le Due. 
 
 La Grotte de Gargas may be visited either from 
 Montrejeau (8 k.) or from Loures. It is a beautiful cavern, 
 bristling with stalagmites, which are frequently united to 
 the stalactites which hang from the roof. A clear spring 
 bubbles up at the end of the cave. (The guardian lives at 
 the Loures side of the village of Aventignan. 1 fr. 50 c. is 
 paid by visitors to that commune, besides the heavy expense 
 of lights, guide, etc.) It is not known w T hether the name of 
 the cave comes from the legend of Gargantua, or from the 
 popular story that one Gargas used it as a prison for his 
 enemies. 
 
 ' Quoiqu'il en soit, des crimes affreux ont donne au xvm. s. 
 une nouvelle celebrite a ces grottes. Un macon, Blaise Ferrage, 
 homme de petite taille, mais de force herculeenne, s'etait choisi 
 un repaire dans la caverne de Gargas. II enlevait les femmes et 
 les filles de Tibiran et des environs, et souvent tuait a coups de 
 
604 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 fusil celles qui fuyaieut. Ce monstre les coupait ensuite par 
 morceaux et les devorait. Deja plus de trente malheureuses 
 femmes avaient ete victimes de ce cannibale, lorsqu'on parvint 
 a l'arreter. II fut condamne par le parlemeut de Toulouse, et 
 execute le 13 decembre, 1782.' — Justin Jourdan. 
 
 The baths of Barbazan, 2 k. N.E. of Loures, are 
 frequented during the season. 
 
 The railway comes in sight of the glaciers at the end of 
 the valley, before reaching — 
 
 125 k. MarignaCy which has a church of xn. c, and a 
 ruined castle. The (xi. c.) Chapelle S. Martin is now a barn. 
 
 [There is a diligence from Marignac to Viella, in Spain (4 fr. 
 for all trains coming from Luchon), passing — 
 
 4 k. 6*. Beat (Hotel : Burgalat — good), situated at the entrance 
 of a narrow gorge, called by the Romans Passus Lupi, where the 
 Garonne rushes between the Cap del Mount and the Cap d'Arie, 
 both used as marble-quarries. The church, of xi. c, has a triple 
 nave. The symbols of the evangelists adorn the tympanum of 
 the portal. A winding staircase leads to the castle. The xv. c. 
 Tour S. Louis, at the end of the quay on the right bank, is a 
 remnant of the old city walls. 3 k. N. is the seven-pointed Pic 
 de Gar. 
 
 19 k. from S. Beat, by a road which passes through Fos, Pont 
 du Roi, and Les, is Bosost, in Spain.] 
 
 The scenery of the valley becomes very beautiful before 
 reaching — 
 
 140 k. Bagneres-de- Luchon (Hotels : Angleterre — excel- 
 lent, open all the year round; pension, 12 fr., all included; 
 Sacaron ; des Bains ; Richelieu — well situated, but dear ; 
 Londres). All the principal hotels, except the Richelieu, 
 with the better cafes and shops, are situated in the pretty 
 little double avenue called Le Cours d'Etigny, which leads 
 from the principal village to the baths, its trees framing a 
 
BAGNERES-DE-LUCHON. 
 
 605 
 
 lovely view of the mountains of Venasque. Opposite the 
 baths, is a square planted with catalpas and paulownias, and, 
 beyond this, pretty gardens with a pool and winding walks. 
 The baths, chiefly resorted to for rheumatic affections, cost 
 from 60 c. to 2 fr. 50 c, much according to the hour at which 
 they are taken. There are multitudes of guides, who are 
 
 VALLEY OF LUCHON. 
 
 seldom of the slightest use, as there is scarcely ever more 
 than one possible path to the different points. Carriages are 
 exorbitantly dear, and prices vary with the season. Many 
 short walks may be taken to little waterfalls, etc. The 
 artist will find his best points of view on the farther side of 
 the valley between S. Mamet and Castel-Vieil. The most 
 interesting of the longer excursions are — 
 
606 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 1. Lac d'Oo (carriage, 12 fr. to 15 fr.) Luchon is left by the 
 Allee des Soupirs. At 4 k. a chapel is passed on L, dedicated to 
 S. Aventin, who is said to have been imprisoned by the Saracens 
 in Castelblancat, on the other side of the valley, and to have pre- 
 cipitated himself from its walls, and, sustained by angels, to have 
 alighted here, where his footprints are shown in the rock in proof 
 of the fact. Afterwards, when S. Aventin was again taken by 
 the Moors, and beheaded, he was buried here, where his grave, 
 long forgotten, was discovered by oxen perpetually pawing the 
 ground upon the spot. Their continuing to do this, without 
 eating, yet growing no thinner, drew crowds to watch them, when 
 a voice in the air exclaimed, ' It is because the body of S. 
 Aventin is buried here ' ; and his relics were exhumed. A little 
 higher, is the very curious Church of S. Aventin, with two towers, 
 of the xi. c. or beginning of xn. c. On one side of the S. portal 
 the Virgin and Child are represented ; in the tympanum is the 
 Saviour in glory with Angels. Near the E. end of the church a 
 group of tiny Roman altars, and a relief with two heads, are built 
 into the wall. In the interior are a very curious benitier and a 
 beautiful wrought-iron screen. The shrine of the saint is a 
 modern coffer. 
 
 At 7 k. the road passes by Cazeaux-d' Arbonst, where it is 
 again worth while alighting to look at the village church, the apse 
 and great part of the walls being xn. c, and the vault adorned 
 with curious xv. c. paintings. There is a magnificent tree in the 
 churchyard. 
 
 Ascending by the torrent of Arboust, the carriage must be left 
 in the meadow by the chalets called Les Granges d'Astau. 
 Here a number of idlers importune the traveller to take them as 
 guide, but he should decline them all, for the path up the valley 
 is straight, and he cannot miss it. After ascending a number of 
 zigzags, beautiful with mountain flowers — rhododendron, colum- 
 bine, auricula — in early summer, he will cross the torrent by a 
 bridge. Here a tax of 30 c. is demanded by the occupying farmer 
 for entering the hill-side meadow, whence alone there is a view 
 of the lake. 
 
 The Lac d'Oo, or Lac de Seculejo, is a basin of blue-green 
 water surrounded by rather featureless mountains. Down the 
 opposite cliffs tumbles a cascade, reflected by a long line of light 
 
LE PORT DE VENASQUE. 
 
 607 
 
 in the water. Three snowy peaks are visible — Quairat, de M071- 
 tarque, and de Spijoles. Each passenger pays 1 fr. 25 c. for crossing 
 in a boat to the waterfall. 
 
 2. To the Hospice (carriage for day, 15 fr.) and the Port de 
 Venasque. This is the king of the excursions. It is a very lovely 
 drive, passing by the ruined signal-tower called Castelvieil, and 
 ascending into the beech-woods, which open to afford exquisite 
 glimpses of purple hill and snowy mountain, till we reach (10 k.) 
 the Hospice de France, a miserable house, where a tax of 50 c. is 
 paid for leaving the carriage in the open. In front of the house a 
 path crosses the stream, and ascends the opposite mountains in 
 zigzags. A guide is wholly unnecessary except in time of snow ; 
 but the path is seldom practicable before July, and it is often very 
 disappointing, after a fatiguing climb, to find the last bit of ascent 
 blocked by a snowy avalanche impassable to ordinary pedestrians. 
 If the ascent can be surmounted, after passing (r.) several moun- 
 tain tarns, the cleft in the mountain called the Port de Veitasque 
 is reached after a walk of 6 k., and the magnificent view of the 
 sublime and desolate Spanish Maladetta (Monts-Maudits, 3,312 
 met.) bursts at once upon the traveller. 
 
 Should the ascent to the Port de Venasque be impracticable, 
 travellers may often ride or walk from the Hospice to the Ente- 
 cade (10 k.), whence there is a magnificent view— on the S., of 
 the Maladetta ; to the W., of the Mont Perdu and the Pic du 
 Midi de Bigorre ; on the E., of the Pays d'Aran and the valley of 
 Barrados, to the peak of Los Armeros ; and on the N., over the 
 plains of France. 
 
 Another grand view of the Maladetta may be obtained from 
 the Port de la Picade, which may be combined — in very fine 
 weather — with the Port de Venasque. 
 
 3. To Bosost by the Port de Portillon (carriage, 25 fr., or 
 35 fr. if the return be made by S. Beat). It is a walk of only 13 k. 
 to the Port de Portillon. Following the opposite side of the valley, 
 from S. Mamet to Castelvieil, a road, excessively steep in places, 
 leads to a plateau of meadow land, from which it ascends again 
 steeply through beautiful beech woods, exchanged for firs on the 
 higher part of the pass. On the summit an inscribed stone marks 
 
6o8 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the division between France and Spain. From this point (passing 
 a gambling casino) the road descends rapidly to Bosost (Hotel : 
 d'Esftagne), a tolerably picturesque specimen of a small Spanish 
 town, with a curious and interesting church. From Bosost it is 
 19 k. to S. Beat (p. 604), and 39 k. by that route to Luchon. 
 
 4. Val-du-Lis (carriage, 12 fr. to 15 fr. for day). The route 
 follows the road to the Hospice for some distance, and then turns 
 
 PASS OF PORTILLON. 
 
 off through the mountain woods to 1. The driver will linger to 
 show the waterfall in the Tron de Bouneou. The Vallee du Lis 
 is a vast meadow, covered with loveliest flowers, especially white 
 lilies, in early summer. The carriage stops at a little inn at the 
 end of the valley, whence an easy winding w T alk leads to the best 
 points of view on and of the fine waterfalls, known as Cascade 
 dEnfer and Cascade du Gouffre Infernal. The mountain gorge 
 above the falls is very striking. The descent may be varied by 
 visiting the Cascade du Coeur 
 
BA GNERES-DE-L UCHON. 
 
 These are the ordinary excursions from Luchon, and 
 the traveller who does not look for Alpine grandeur will 
 find much to delight him. In summer, however, the plague 
 of flies, especially horse-flies, which draw blood at every 
 bite, is a great drawback to enjoyment. Travellers should 
 endeavour to witness the curious rites which here (and in 
 many Pyrenean villages) attend the eve and the Fete de 
 S.Jean. A great steeple of bars, wreathed with shavings, 
 has for some days been erected at the' end of the village. 
 About 8 p.m., on the vigil of S. John, this is blessed by the 
 priest in full canonicals, who afterwards sets fire to it, sur- 
 rounded by the whole population. A number of serpents 
 (in memory of the legendary serpent which rose from the 
 poisoned chalice when exorcised by S. John) have been 
 caught during the day and placed in the Arbre de S. Jean, 
 whence they leap out when they feel the flames, and are 
 killed by the people. Every woman bears a bouquet, often 
 what in Italy would be termed a ' trionfo,' of flowers. But 
 every boy has a great torch, which he lights at the sacred 
 fire, and then whirls round and round. After this, the scene 
 becomes most extraordinary : hundreds of dancing demons 
 seem to be yelling and leaping around the blazing ' tree ' in 
 wildest pandemonium. At length the tree breaks up and 
 topples over, which is followed by a universal struggle to 
 seize a blazing bar, which is extinguished and carried off, to 
 be preserved as a porte bonheur till the next fete of S. Jean. 
 On the following morning, the clergy, maire, and people, 
 with crucifix, relics, and a band of music, go in procession 
 to visit the spot where the ' tree ' has stood. 
 
 The torchlight procession of guides, on the evening 
 after the civil and before the religious marriage of one of 
 
 39 
 
610 SOUTH WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 their number, is another Pyrenean custom well seen at 
 Luchon. 
 
 Leaving Montrejeau, the railway enters the department 
 of Hautes-Pyrenees. It passes 1. the picturesque Church of 
 S. Paul, which has a curious castle tower for its belfry, 
 before reaching — 
 
 ink. S. Laurent-S. Paul. L. are the fine ruins of the 
 Chateau de Montousse. We now have a view of the moun- 
 tains all the way, and the line often passes through beautiful 
 oak-woods. 
 
 121 k. Lannemezan, on a lofty plateau, from which the 
 Gers and Baysole have their source, 
 
 [A road leads from Lannemezan to Arreau. It passes r. near 
 the Baths of Labarthe, then (5 k. ) by a ruined castle of xi. c. 
 at Labarthe-de-Neste. After passing Lortet, numerous fortified 
 caverns, defended by loopholes, are seen in the rocks. Opposite 
 Heches (13 k.) is a xn. c. tower on a rock above the Neste. 
 Sarran co tin (21 k.) has a xn. c. church, a gothic gateway in a 
 square tower, and remains of a fortified priory, which its monks 
 defended bravely in 1280 against the bishop of Comminges. 
 Opposite Sarrancolin is llhet, at the entrance of a valley contain- 
 ing five of the largest caverns of this district : one of them takes 
 three hours to explore. 
 
 28 k. Arreau (Hotel : de France — clean and good. Carriages 
 to Lannemezan, 2 fr. 75 c), at the confluence of three streams — 
 the Neste d'Aure, the Neste de Louron, and the Lastie. The 
 church (xv. c. and xvi.c.) is built on the ruins of a romanesque 
 xii. c. church, of which a side portal remains. The Chapel of 
 S. Exupere was built in ix. c. or x. c, but so much altered since 
 that little of the original edifice remains. The entrance has 
 curious sculptures. 
 
 [A road of 22 k. leads from Arreau to Aragnouet through the 
 
LA VALLEE UAURE. 
 
 611 
 
 Vallee d'Aure, which runs round the S. and E. base of the peaks 
 de Neouvielle, d'Aygues-Cluses, Bastanet, and d'Arbizon. It 
 abounds in hot springs, much frequented during the bathing 
 season. The Aurois were governed by their own viscounts, the 
 last of whom, in 1398, bequeathed the valleys to the counts of 
 Armagnac. But after the death of Count Jean V., in 1445, the 
 valleys (Aure, Magnoac, Barousse, and Neste) gave themselves 
 to the king of France, on condition that all their ancient privileges, 
 customs, and prerogatives were respected. The road passes 
 (2 k.) Cadeac, surmounted by a feudal tower. The modern church 
 retains (on N.) a portal of ix. c. The town is left by an ancient 
 gate, which serves at the same time as a chapel. From Guchen 
 (5 k.) mountaineers make the ascent of the Pic d'Arbizon 
 (iohrs.). Opposite Guchen, the road passes before the ruined 
 XII. c. chapel of Agos, built by the Templars. Another church of 
 the same date and character, also built by the Templars, is seen 
 at (9 k.) Vielle-Aure. In this neighbourhood, at the entrance 
 of the Vallee d'Azet, is the xv. c. church of Bourisp, with quaint 
 xi. c. frescoes representing the Seven deadly Sins in costumes of 
 the reign of Henri III. 6\ Lary (11 k.) has a romanesque church, 
 modernised except the crypt. Tramesa'igues (14 k.) is situated 
 at the foot of the peak of that name. Hence a path leads in 
 1 1 hrs. to Bielsa, in Spain, by the Port d'Ourdissette. Leaving 
 Tramesai'gues, the road passes under the gate of Garelvielle, built 
 in the War of Succession to defend the lower valley against the 
 Spaniards. The gorge, called Ruadet (le Pas Rude), now 
 becomes very narrow, till it reaches Aragnouet. There is a path 
 from Aragnouet to Gedre (between Luz and Gavarnie) by the 
 Col de Cambielle in 6 hrs.] 
 
 [A carriage road (36 k.) leads from Arreau to Bagneres-de- 
 Bigorre by the Col d'Aspin, and (33 k.) to Bagneres-de-Luchon, 
 by Borderes, with the ruined manor, where Jean V., last Comte 
 d^ Armagnac, took refuge, when excommunicated after the public 
 celebration of his marriage with his sister Isabelle.] 
 
 127 k. Capvern (Hotels : des Pyrenees ; de la Paix ; de 
 France), with mineral baths (3 k. N.) of very ancient fame. 
 
6l2 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 [Several roads lead hence to Bagneres-de-Bigorre (19 k.). 
 The most direct passes Cieidat, supposed to occupy the site 
 of the ancient metropolis of Bigorre, destroyed either by the 
 Vandals (v. c.) or Saracens (viii. c.) The romanesque chapel 
 retains its guichet d cagots — an opening in the wall secured by an 
 iron grille, which allowed the cagot to reach a holy-water basin 
 through the bars. Another route leads by Mauvezin (4 k.), which 
 has the ruins of a xiv. c. chateau, where over a portal the arms 
 of Beam remain with the device of the son of Gaston Phoebus 
 — / 'ay belle dame : then (7 k.) by / Escaledieu ) which has the 
 ruins of a once famous abbey, founded 1142, and destroyed by 
 the Huguenots. A path leads hence to (11 k.) Lomne, with 
 a xvii. c. chateau.] 
 
 157k. Tarbes (Hotels: de la Paix ; du Commerce; de 
 France ; de Londres. Excellent buffet at station), capital 
 of the Departement des Hautes-Pyrenees. After the de- 
 struction of the ancient city of Bigorre (Cieutat), it was 
 here that the States of Bigorre held their councils. Tarbes 
 was repeatedly burnt by the Protestants in xvi. a, but has 
 latterly become mercantile and prosperous. 
 
 ' Qui veut voir toutes les races et tous les costumes des 
 Pyrenees, c'est aux foires de Tarbes qu'il doit aller. II y vient 
 pres de dix mille ames ; on s'y rend de plus de vingt lieues. La 
 voustrouvez souvent a la fois le bonnet blanc de Bigorre, le brun 
 de Foix, le rouge de Roussillon, quelquefois meme le grand 
 chapeau plat d'Arragon, le chapeau rond de Navarre, le bonnet 
 pointu de Biscaye. Le voiturier basque y viendra sur son ane 
 avec sa longue voiture a trois chevaux ; il porte le berret du 
 Beam ; mais vous distinguerez bien vite le Bearnais et le 
 Basque ; le joli petit homme semillant de la plaine, qui a la 
 langue si prompte, la main aussi, et le fils de la montagne, qui 
 la mesure rapidement de ses grandes jambes, agriculteur habile 
 et fier de sa maison dont il porte le nom. Si vous voulez 
 trouver quelque analogue au Basque, c'est chez les Celtes de 
 Bretagne, d'Ecosse, ou d'Irlande qu'il faut le chercher. Le 
 Basque, aine des races d'Occident, immuable au coin des Pyrenees, 
 
TARBES, BA GNERES-DE-BIGORRE. 613 
 
 a vu toutes les nations passer devant lui : Carthaginois, Celtes, 
 Romains, Goths et Sarrassins. Nos jeunes antiquites lui font 
 pitie. Un Montmorency disait a un d'eux : Savez-vous que nous 
 datons de mille ans ? Et nous, dit le Basque, nous ne datons 
 plus. ' — Michelet. 
 
 Tarbes is an ugly scattered town in a flat country. The 
 bishopric was founded v. a, but the Cathedral is of no 
 beauty. It is a cross church with apsidal chancel, transepts 
 having the E. apse, and a massive central octagon. This 
 latter has pointed windows of two lights, and forms a 
 fine lantern to the interior. The squinches are of the 
 romanesque kind. The bearing arches are all pointed, 
 but the choir windows are round-headed and enriched with 
 numerous mouldings. The N. transept front has a curious 
 circular window with early tracery. 1 The high-altar is 
 surmounted by a handsome baldacchino. 
 
 A long street leads from the cathedral to the Church of 
 S . The'rese, with a tower square below and octagonal above. 
 The Church of S. Jean (xiv. c.) has a square tower pierced 
 with loopholes, of xii. c. The Jardin Massey is a large 
 flat public garden near the railway. 
 
 [For the line from Tarbes to (165 k.) Bayonne see ch. ii.] 
 
 [A railway leads in less than an hour, passing (19 k.) Paitzac, 
 with a fortified xv. c. church, to (22 k.) Bagneres-de-Bigorre 
 (Hotels: de France; de Paris; Beausejour ; de Londres), 
 celebrated for its hot springs from the time of the Romans. 
 Without remarkable beauty, this is a pretty place. 
 
 ' L'aspect de la ville est charmant. Des grandes allees de vieux 
 arbres la traversent en tous sens. Des jardinets fleurissent sur 
 les terrasses. Des ruisseaux d'eau limpide accourent de toutes 
 
 1 See J. L. Petit. 
 
614 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 les places et de toutes les rues ; ils se croisent, s'enfoncent sous 
 terre, reparaissent, et la ville est remplie de leurs murmures, de 
 leur fraicheur et de leur gaite. Cinquante fontaines fournissent 
 a Bagneres une eau pure comme le cristal.' — Taine. 
 
 The chief feature of the town is a graceful octagonal xv. c. 
 tower belonging to the destroyed Church of the Jacobiiis. S. 
 Vincent has a nave and apse of xiv. c. and xv. c. On the S. of 
 the nave is a renaissance porch added 1557, and supposed to 
 have been given by Jeanne d'Albret, who took the waters here 
 four years before that date, living in a house which still exists 
 in the Rue du Vieux-Moulin. There are many pretty walks near 
 Bagneres, especially that to Medous (2jk.) The church of Aste 
 contains a curious ex-voto picture of 1653 from the convent of 
 Medous, representing Bernard d'Aspe, intendant of the province 
 of Bretagne, and all his family. At Aste also are the xv. c. ruins 
 of the chateau of Corisande d'Audoins, wife of the Vicomte d'Aste 
 and mistress of Henri IV. Longer excursions are the ascent 
 of the Monne or Mont-Ne (2J hrs. ; guide unnecessary), of the 
 Mont Aigit (9 hrs.), and of La Pene de Lheris (2f hrs.) A drive 
 may be taken by Baudean (which has a feudal tower and a 
 church with wooden vaulting) and Camftan, named from its 
 ancient inhabitants the Campani (with a xvi. c. church, also with 
 wooden vaulting) to the Auberge de Gripp (16 k.). Of the 
 excursion to the Lac Bleu or Lheou, the first two hours (as far 
 as Lcsponne) may be accomplished by carriage ; there remain 
 three hours of ascent on foot or horseback (guide unnecessary) 
 to the lake, which is only worth visiting when the water is not 
 drawn off in time of drought by a canal, which was completed 
 in 1 86i/) 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 IN THE CENTRAL PYRENEES — PA U, EAUX-BONNES, 
 EAUX-CHAUDES, LUZ, BAREGES, AND CAUTERETS. 
 
 THE line of railway to Pau branches off from that 
 to Bayonne at Dax (ch. ii.), and goes through an 
 uninteresting country, passing — ■ 
 31k. Puyoo. 
 
 [The line to (51 k.) Bayonne diverges W. by (17 k.) Peyre- 
 horade, near which are the xv. c. ruins of the Chateau d'Aspi'emont. 
 The road from Peyrehorade to Dax passes the remains of the 
 Benedictine abbey of Cagnotte, founded ix. c] 
 
 [A branch line from Puyoo leads to — 
 
 8 k. Salies-du-Bearn (Hotels : du Cheval Bla?ic ; dc France), 
 with mineral waters popular from the xi. c. 
 
 1 5 k. Escos, with a church fortified by order of Catherine de 
 Navarre. 
 
 20 k. Autevielle. Hence there is a branch line of 10 k. to 
 vS. Palais (Hotel : de la Poste), in Basque Donapalena, whence a 
 road of 30 k. leads to £*. Jean- Pied- de- Port (Hotel : de France) in 
 Basque Donajoima, under the Port de Roncevaux, with a strong 
 citadel. 
 
 [A railway is in progress from S. Palais to Oleron by Navarrenx, 
 fortified by Henri dAlbret, who destroyed the earlier walls, only 
 sparing the Tour Herrere, of xv. c. 
 
 24 k. Sauveterre de Beam, whither artists will penetrate to 
 
6i6 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 sketch the picturesque ruin of a bridge with a fortified tower in 
 the middle of the Gave. There are also ruins of the Chateau de 
 Montreal. The church is a romanesque building of xin. a, with 
 a richly-sculptured portal. 
 
 46 k. Manleon-Licharre. A town which arose around the 
 Chateau du Mauvais Lion, which still remains. The bridge over 
 the Saison is picturesque. It was here that the Protestant 
 bishop of Oleron tried to preach the doctrines of the Reforma- 
 tion in 1555, when the pulpit was cut away under him and he 
 died of the fright he received. 13 k. from hence, near Tardets, 
 on the road to Oleron, is the pilgrimage Chapelle de la Madeleine, 
 of great local celebrity.] 
 
 On the r. bank of the Gave is the ruined Chateau de 
 Bellocq, with six round towers and a square keep. 
 
 45 k. Orthez (Hotel : a la Belle Hotesse). The ancient 
 capital of Beam, which had previously belonged to the 
 Vicorntes d'Acqs (Dax). Gaston VI. (le Bon) united it 
 to his domains. Gaston VII. built the Chateau de 
 Moncade and fixed his residence there. Under Gaston 
 Phoebus, the town had a brief splendour, but began to 
 decline as soon as Pau became the favourite residence 
 of the sovereign. In 1549 the first Marguerite de Valois, 
 daughter of Charles d'Orleans, Due d'Angouleme and wife 
 first of the Due d'Alencon and then of Henri d'Albret, king 
 of Navarre (by whom she was grandmother of Henri IV.), 
 died at Orthez, where she had been extolled for her poems 
 as the ' dixieme muse ' and ' quatrieme grace,' and by 
 Frangois I. as 1 La Marguerite des Marguerites.' During 
 the Wars of Religion, Orthez recovered part of its ancient 
 consequence, as Jeanne d'Albret founded a university there, 
 in which Theodore Beza was professor. The town continued 
 obstinately Protestant till 1684, when Louis XIV. sent his 
 intendant Foucault, who allowed the inhabitants twenty 
 
ORTHEZ. 
 
 617 
 
 days in which to conform. They did so in appearance, but 
 there are still more Protestants in Orthez than in any other 
 town of Beam. 
 
 On Feb. 27, 18 14, the Duke of Wellington gained a 
 great battle at Orthez over Marshal Soult, in which ten 
 thousand men were killed. 
 
 BRIDGE OF ORTHEZ. 
 
 The famous Bridge oj Orthez strides from rock to rock 
 in the Gave by four lofty unequal gothic arches, and is 
 surmounted by a central gateway, which is terribly injured 
 by a so-called restoration in 1873. Before that time it was 
 one of the most picturesque artistic subjects in France. At 
 the S.W. of the tower is the opening called frinesto dons 
 caperans — ' la fenetre des pretres/ through which the 
 
6i8 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Calvinists are said to have thrown into the Gave the 
 priests who fell into their hands. 
 
 Only one tower remains of the Chateau de Moncade, 
 built, 1242, by Gaston VII., and the scene of terrible 
 crimes. It was here that Gaston Phoebus stabbed Pierre 
 de Beam (his brother or cousin), governor of Lourdes, 
 who would not give that place up to him, with his own 
 hand ; here he was the murderer of his own son, falsely 
 accused of wishing to poison him ; and here Blanche of 
 Navarre was poisoned by her sister and brother-in-law. 
 Froissart has left a curious account of the customs under 
 Gaston Phoebus during his visit to the castle in 1338 : — 
 
 ' Je avois ete en moult de cours de rois, de dues, de princes, 
 de comtes, et de hautes dames, mais je n'en fus oncques en nulle 
 qui mieux me plut ni qui fut sur le fait d'armes plus rejouie que 
 celle du Comte de Foix etoit. . . . L'usage du Comte de Foix est 
 tel ou etoit alors, et l'avoit toujours tenu d'enfance, que il se 
 couchoit et levoit a haute none et soupait a mie nuit, et quand de 
 sa chambre a mie nuit venoit pour souper en la salle, devant lui 
 avoit douze torches allumees que douze varlets portoient, et icelles 
 douze torches etoient tenues devant sa table qui donnoient grande 
 clarte a la salle ; laquelle salle etoit pleine de chevaliers et de 
 ecuyers, et toujours etoient a foison tables dressees pour souper 
 qui vouloit souper.' 
 
 At the neighbouring village of S. Boes are a sulphuric 
 spring and remains of a chateau destroyed xm. c. 
 
 78 k. Lescar, the ancient Beneharnum^ destroyed by the 
 Normans in 841 and rebuilt under its present name in 980. 
 Its bishop was President of the States of Beam. The 
 bishopric was suppressed 1790. 
 
 ' This large church makes no show externally ; as the same 
 roof covers nave and aisles, and there is no tower, a small wooden 
 
LESCAR, PAU. 
 
 619 
 
 belfry marking the intersection of the transepts. Internally the 
 church presents fine romanesque work of an early period. The 
 roof of the nave is cylindrical, and that of the aisles consists of a 
 series of transverse cylindrical vaults, their partitions resting upon 
 a round arch. The four shafts, therefore, that surround each pier 
 are of three different heights — the vaulting shaft of the nave being 
 the highest ; next, the shafts supporting the archivolts of the pier 
 arches ; and lower than these are the shafts sustaining the trans- 
 verse arch on each side. The pier rests on a cylindrical base. 
 The east end of the church is triapsal.'— /. L. Petit. 
 
 85 k. Pau (Hotels : Gassion ; de France — excellent ; 
 Beausejour ; Grand ; de V Europe ; de la Poste). The 
 ancient capital of Beam, now the chief town of the 
 Departement des Basses-Pyrenees, is famous for its equable, 
 still, soft climate, but is without any of the sunny charms 
 which characterise the Riviera. It owes its principal 
 attraction to its too often clouded but glorious view of 
 the Pyrenean range, over which the Pic du Midi d'Ossau 
 rises conspicuous. The town is supposed to derive its 
 name from the pau or wooden palisade by which its earliest 
 chateau was surrounded, probably in the x. c. In 1363 
 Gaston Phoebus, Comte de Foix, 'fit faire et edifier un 
 moult bel chastel.' Gaston XL in xv. c. turned this chateau 
 into a palace, and planted the promenade called the Pare ; 
 and from this time the States of Beam held their assemblies 
 at Pau. Gaston was succeeded by his grandson Francois 
 Phoebus, who became King of Navarre in 1479. His 
 sister, Catherine de Foix, who succeeded him in 1483, 
 married Jean d'Albret in the following year. They reigned 
 happily till Jean was driven from his throne by Ferdinand 
 the Catholic, in 15 12. Henri d'Albret, son of Jean, was 
 the companion of Francois I. in battle and captivity. He 
 
620 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 recovered the territory of his father, and in 1527 he married 
 Marguerite de Valois (the charming sister of Frangois I.), 
 who added the renaissance decorations of the chateau and 
 created ' les plus beaux jardinages qui fussent pour lors en 
 Europe.' Henceforth the Court of Henri and Marguerite 
 became the intellectual centre of Southern Europe. Wisdom 
 and Goodness were made welcome without distinction of 
 Creed, and Calvin and Clement Marot both sought refuge 
 at Pau. The only daughter of Henri, Jeanne, heiress of 
 Beam and Navarre, was educated by Francois I. at Plessis- 
 les-Tours and married by him, contrary to the will of her 
 parents, to the Duke of Cleves, though three years after, 
 when the Duke of Cleves made an alliance with Charles V., 
 Francois himself obtained a dissolution of this marriage. 
 In 1548 Jeanne d'Albret married a second time with 
 Antoine de Bourbon, Due de Vendome, by whom, in 1553, 
 she became the mother of Henri IV. The marriage of 
 Antoine and Jeanne was unhappy, and his follies con- 
 tributed to disgust her with the Catholic religion, which she 
 publicly abjured after the death of her husband, from a 
 wound received at the siege of Rouen. After this, with 
 the aid of Elizabeth of England and the Prince de 
 Conde, she was able to drive out the Catholic armies 
 which invaded Beam. Reprisals followed reprisals on 
 both sides ; and, unhappily for the reputation of Jeanne, 
 her general, Montgomery, after promising their lives to the 
 Catholic nobles of Beam who had taken refuge in Orthez 
 if they would capitulate, broke his word and delivered 
 them up to her. Jeanne ordered them all to be beheaded 
 as rebels in the chateau at Pau. She reigned from this 
 time in peace, but with Calvinistic severity. In 1572 she 
 
PAU. 
 
 621 
 
 died at Paris, whither she had gone to marry her son Henri 
 to the second Marguerite de Valois, sister of Charles IX. 
 
 When the famous Henri ascended to the crown of 
 Navarre he was a prisoner in the Louvre, and compelled to 
 abjure his religion to obtain his liberty. He was further 
 induced to publish an edict re-establishing Catholicism 
 throughout his dominions ; but the States of Beam, meeting 
 at Pau, refused to obey religious compulsion, and civil war 
 recommenced, in which the Protestants successfully defended 
 themselves against the Due de Gramont, who headed an 
 army against them. As soon as he was set free, the King 
 of Navarre himself gladly rescinded the edict which had 
 been forced from him. When he became King of France, 
 Henri left the government of Beam in the hands of his 
 sister Catherine, and Pau remained a capital city till 1620. 
 But the States-General of France continued to demand the 
 union of Beam and the Basse-Navarre with that country, 
 clerical bigotry urged it, and in 1620 Louis XIII. replaced 
 the Catholic bishops and clergy, re-established a Catholic 
 government in Navarreux, the strongest place in the 
 country, and finally forced upon the parliament of Pau 
 the edict which re-united Beam and Basse-Navarre to the 
 French crown. 
 
 The Chateau of Pau (shown daily, except Monday, from 
 10 to 12 and 2 to 4) has been so much restored that it has 
 lost all appearance of antiquity. It is flanked by six towers — 
 de Gaston Phoebus, S.E. ; de Montaiisset, N.E. ; Neuve, E. ; 
 de Billeres, N.W., and the two tours de Mazeres, W. A 
 ruined tower above the Gave, below a little garden, is called 
 de la Monnaie, because it was there that the Bearnese mint 
 was established. The castle is approached by a bridge 
 
622 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 across the moat, constructed by order of Louis XV. Of the 
 apartments shown, the Salle des Etats is hung with some 
 of the tapestries ordered by Francois I. for the Chateau de 
 Madrid in the Bois de Boulogne. A statue of Francois I. 
 is by Francheville. The initials of Henri IV. and Mar- 
 guerite de Valois appear in the friezes of the great stair- 
 case. It was in the Salle de Reception de He7iri II. that the 
 Catholic nobles who had taken refuge, with their leader 
 
 PAU. 
 
 Terride, at Orthez, were massacred. There is little to 
 observe in the other rooms, except magnificent Gobelins 
 tapestries, till we reach the Chambre de Henri IV., where 
 that king was born, Dec. 13, 1553, containing a cradle 
 made of the shell of a tortoise. It is said that Henri 
 d'Albret promised his daughter Jeanne that he would 
 encircle her neck twenty-five times with a gold chain, and 
 show her his will, if she would sing during the pains of 
 childbirth so as to prevent the child from crying. The 
 
PAU. 
 
 623 
 
 courageous woman, as the moment approached, sang aloud 
 the hymn of Notre Dame du Bout-du-Pont, used by 
 women who pray for happy delivery. Then Henri, filled 
 with joy, put the chain upon her neck and the will into 
 her hand, saying, ' See what is yours, my daughter ; but 
 this is mine : ' and he took the new-born babe in his robe 
 to his chamber, where he rubbed its little lips with garlic, 
 the special pride of Gascony, and then placed a drop of 
 wine in its mouth, and when the babe swallowed it with 
 pleasure, exclaimed, ' Tu seras un vray Bearnois.' When 
 Louis XVI. despatched the Due de Guiche, a person of 
 influence in the Pyrenean valleys, to establish order there 
 in 1788, the Bearnais, both nobles and plebeians, went 
 out to meet him, bearing the cradle of Henri IV. as a 
 palladium, and demanding, by that enseigne sacree, the 
 fulfilment of the contract which the king had made with 
 them as Seigneur de Beam. 
 
 The churches and other buildings of Pau are of no 
 interest (Bernadotte, afterwards Charles John XIV. of 
 Sweden, was born at 6, Rue de Tran), but the Place 
 Royale, decorated with a statue of Henri IV., by Raggi, 
 looks out upon a mountain panorama of untiring beauty. 
 Hence by the Boulevard du Midi, the Castle Garden, and 
 the Basse Plante, one may reach the Pare, a charming 
 wooded terrace, 1 k. in length. 
 
 Those who expect to find Pau in the Pyrenees are often 
 greatly disappointed with the place. The real mountains 
 are 26 miles distant, and one may often pass many weeks 
 at Pau without once seeing them through the thick 
 atmosphere. The vegetation also is that of the north — 
 leafless trees and hedges of dry sticks in winter, which 
 
624 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 suddenly burst into life with the first heats of spring. But 
 when the weather is clear the mountain views make up for 
 much, and there are some rather pleasant drives among 
 the coteaux, the low wooded hills to the S. of Pau. 
 Architects will visit Lescar (see above) and Morlaas (10 k. 
 on the road to Maubourguet), which at one time was the 
 capital of Beam. Here the church of S. Foi, till recently 
 
 FROM THE PLACE ROYALE, PAU. 
 
 very picturesque, was consecrated in 1089 by Centulle IV. 
 The ancient money of Beam, celebrated through the south 
 of France as mor -lanes, was all struck at Morlaas. 
 
 [A railway leads in 1 hr. 10 min. from Pau to Oloron (Hotel : 
 de la Poste), situated on a hill beneath which the Gave d'Aspe and 
 the Gave d'Ossau unite to form the Gave d'Oloron. This was 
 the Catholic centre during the reign of Jeanne dAlbret. It is now 
 a prosperous manufacturing town. Its only object of interest is 
 
OLORON, VALLAE HOSSAU. 
 
 625 
 
 the Church of S. Croix, built, 1080, on the site of an earlier 
 church burnt by the Normans. It was founded by Centulle IV., 
 Vicomte de Beam, and the Bishop Amatus, whose name is sculp- 
 tured on a capital r. of the entrance. The last bay of the N. aisle 
 is occupied by a portal of xm. c. In the interior the sculptures 
 of the capitals are curious. The huge altar of S. Croix in the 
 N. transept is in the Spanish taste of xvn. c. 
 
 Separated from Oloron by the river, is 6*. Marie, of which the 
 church, formerly the cathedral of Oloron, is of various dates 
 from XT. c. to xv. c. The porch is a square tower pierced with 
 gothic arches sustained by columns, with capitals decorated with 
 asses and other animals (xn. c. and xm. c.) Within is a roman- 
 esque portal of three arches, the larger of these enclosing two 
 smaller arches. The sculptures of the tympanum represent 
 Christ on the Cross ; those on the upper archivolt the 24 Elders 
 of the Apocalypse with the Spotless Lamb ; those of the lower 
 archivolt a head of a monster and the labours of the four seasons. 
 The door is divided by a marble column sustaining a basket of 
 palms and resting on a group of caryatids representing chained 
 captives. Above the portal, are statues of armed men, and frag- 
 ments of a high relief apparently later than the rest. The in- 
 terior of the church consists of a short nave, an unfinished 
 transept, and a xiv. c. choir with flying buttresses and radiating 
 chapels.] 
 
 It is 44 k. by road from Pail to the Eaux-Bonnes and 
 Eaux-Chaudes. A railway goes as far as (39 k.) Laruns, 
 where omnibuses meet the trains. 
 
 26 k. on the road is Louvie-Juzon (Hotel : des Pyrenees), 
 where the gothic church (xv. c. and xvi. c.) has the only 
 stone spire in Beam. 
 
 Here is the entrance of the Vallec d'Ossau, 16 k. in length, 
 watered by the Gave. This, like the Val d'Aspe, was in the 
 middle- ages a kind of little republic, which only professed fealty to 
 the Vicomte de Beam after he had promised to respect all their 
 privileges. The ' Ossaloises ' still, as in old days, wear little 
 hoods of scarlet cloth, lined with scarlet silk, beneath which a 
 
 40 
 
626 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 round muslin cap lets long tresses of hair fall over the shoulders 
 behind. They have also a black bodice ornamented with crimson 
 silk or velvet in front, short black stuff petticoats edged with 
 blue, and white stockings, without feet. The young men wear 
 scarlet jackets, white waistcoats with large collars showing a 
 plaited white shirt, short breeches of brown cloth, with brilliant 
 silk cords for garters, white stockings like those of the women, 
 and their shoes are often replaced by sandals, with black or 
 scarlet bands crossed over the foot. Their hair, cropped close 
 in front, floats over the neck, and is capped by a brown beret. 
 
 The railway passes — 
 
 20 k. Buzy, where the line to Oloron branches off. 
 
 26 k. Arudy, where the xv. c. church has a carved 
 retable and the tomb of a bishop. 
 
 28 k. Izeste, which has a cavern, often visited, in which 
 a number of wooden and flint implements have been 
 found. 
 
 32 k. Bielle, the ancient capital of Ossau. Its ancient 
 archives are preserved in a coffer with three locks and three 
 keys, which can only be opened with the consent of the 
 three mayors of Bielle, Laruns, and Sainte-Colomme, in 
 presence of the president of the council of the valley. The 
 gothic Church of S. Vivien is built with fragments of a 
 Roman building. Henri IV. is said to have vainly asked 
 for many of its sculptures from the inhabitants of Bielle. 
 Near the church are remains of an abbey founded, 1088, 
 as a hospice for the pilgrims to S. James of Compostella : 
 it was ruined by the Protestants in 1569. In the village 
 are houses of xv. c. and xvi. c. There are numerous 
 cromlechs and stone circles in the hills above Bielle. 
 
 39 k. Laruns (Hotel : des Touristes). The neighbouring 
 church of B'eost is romanesque, of xu. c, partly altered in 
 
LES EAUX-BONNES. 
 
 627 
 
 xv. c. and xvi. c. Beyond Laruns, the road divides. The 
 branch on the 1. leads to — 
 
 44 k. Les Eaux-Bonnes (Hotels : des Princes ; de France ; 
 de la Paix ; Bernis ; Richelieu), a pretty, but modern and 
 unpicturesque place at the entrance of the narrow gorge 
 of the Sourde or Soude, which, afterwards formed into a 
 canal, waters the little Jar din Anglais or Darralde. The box, 
 which abounds on the hillsides, varies the colour of the 
 verdure very advantageously. There is no especial beauty 
 in the immediate surroundings of Eaux-Bonnes, but many 
 excursions may be made from it, including — • 
 
 1. The Lakes Anglas and Uzious (along day's excursion; 
 guide necessary). 2. The ascent of the Pic de Goupey, whence 
 there is a good view (4 hrs. ascent, 3 hrs. descent ; a guide). 
 3. Ascent of the Pic de Gabizos (a long and fatiguing day ; guide 
 and provisions) — a very fine view. 4. Ascent of the Pic de 
 S. Mont (5 hrs. ascent, 4 hrs. descent ; guide unnecessary). 
 5. Ascent of the Pic de 6^(9 hrs. going and returning; guide, 
 20 fr.), an exceedingly fine view. 6. Ascent of the Pic Moitlle 
 de Jaotit (6 hrs. ; guide). 
 
 None of these excursions are likely to be undertaken 
 by an Englishman, unless he is spending a whole season 
 at the Eaux-Bonnes, nor, in a land where there is so 
 much else to be seen, would they, in any other case, be 
 worth his while. 
 
 Taking the road to the r. after leaving Laruns, we may 
 ascend by a steep road, formed in 1779 by the Intendant 
 d'Etigny (the great benefactor of the district), above the 
 narrow Hour at , or gulf through which the Gave forces itself 
 between the rocks ; or we may take an easier road made in 
 1849 to — 
 
 44k. (from Pau) Les Eaux-Chaudes (Hotels: Baudot; 
 
628 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 de France; dAngleterre — prices vary according to the 
 season; omnibus to Eaux-Bonnes, i fr. ioc), in the narrow 
 gorge of the Gave, which became celebrated for its medicinal 
 waters under the kings of Navarre. The place has little 
 attraction for healthy tourists, except from its neighbourhood 
 to Gabas(i$ k. by the carriage road), where the grand and 
 beautiful views of the Pic du Midi (2,885 m et.) are 
 amongst the most beautiful of the Pyrenees. Perhaps the 
 finest view is that from the saw-mills of Bious Artigues, ii hr. 
 S. of Gabas, ascending from thence the narrow wooded 
 valley of the Gave de Bious. 
 
 1 Comme si un voile fut subitement tombe, la masse entiere du 
 pic du Midi s'offre a nous a la fois . . . C'est une de ces scenes 
 de la jeunesse de la terre, telle que Timagination aime a se la 
 representee ou la grace s'unit a la fraicheur, ou le grandiose des 
 formes n'exclut point l'agrement des details, et ou la suavite 
 s'allie partout avec la hardiesse. . . . Une vnste pelouse, partout 
 ondoyant et du vert le plus frais, que nuancent des fleurs alpines, 
 s'etend en demi-cercle sur l'autre rive du Gave, qui, maintenant 
 ruisseau paisible, roule ses eaux pures sur un lit de roche borde 
 de gazon. Qnelques bouquets d'arbres rompent l'uniformite de 
 cette prairie alpestre et varient ses aspects, tandis qu'une zone 
 de hetres seculaires laceint de toutes parts. Lesflancs redresses 
 de la montagne se revetent ensuite d'une foret de sapins de plus 
 en plus eclaircie, jusqu'a des mamelons isoles, que ces enfants 
 des monts couronnent de leurs noires pyramides. Enfin, par- 
 dessus ce sombre amphitheatre s'elance, fier et majestueux dans 
 sa nudite, le cone entier du Pic. Ce colosse de granit, le dernier 
 de la chaine, divise en deux parties, parait d'autant plus imposant 
 qu'il est isole des cimes voisines.' — De Chatisenque. 
 
 There is a railway from Pau to Tarbes via Lourdes, 
 continued from Lourdes into the mountains as far as 
 Pierrefitte. This route passes— 
 
&&THARRAM, S. PE. 
 
 629 
 
 17 k. Coarraze-JVay, with a fortified church and a modern 
 chateau on the site of that in which Henri IV was brought 
 up. Of the old chateau, described by Froissart, a single 
 tower remains near the railway. On its portal is the Spanish 
 inscription, Lo que ha de ser no ftuede f altar : ' Right cannot 
 fail' On the other side of the Gave is Igon, with a church 
 of romanesque choir and gothic nave. The manufacturing 
 town of JVay, with a xv. c. church, has (on the S. of its 
 Place de l'Hotel de Ville) a renaissance house with three 
 galleries supported by doric, ionic, and corinthian columns, 
 known as the Maison Carree^ or Maison de Jeanne de Navarre. 
 
 22 k. Montaut-Betharr -am. On the other side of the 
 Gave is Lestelle (good hotel), whence a road, lined with 
 relic-booths in fine weather, leads to the xvn. c. seminary 
 and pilgrimage church of Betharravi, now deserted by its 
 votaries for Lourdes. Behind rises a Calvary y with chapels 
 erected by Gaston IV. in memory of his expedition to the 
 Holy Land, as he fancied a resemblance between the hill 
 of Betharram and the Calvary of Jerusalem. Here a bridge, 
 of a single arch overhung with ivy, has been often painted. 
 3 k. S. of Betharram is one of the finest caverns in the 
 Pyrenees. 
 
 28 k. S. Pe (S. Pierre), called Geyres till 1032, when 
 Sauche-Guillaume, Due de Gascogne, founded a monastery 
 here in honour of S. Peter, to commemorate his victory 
 over the Norman pirates. In 1569 the monastery and its 
 church were burnt by the Protestants under Montgomery. 
 Only the apsides, the end of the S. aisle, and a S.W. tower, 
 remain of the latter. In the church is preserved ' La clef 
 de S. Pierre/ supposed to be a specific against hydrophobia, 
 and much venerated. 
 
630 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 39 k. Lourdes (Hotels : des Pyrenees — excellent ; de 
 France ; de la Poste ; de la Paix ; des Princes ; de la Grotte), 
 situated where a valley opens towards snow mountains, with 
 a (modernised) castle standing nobly on a rock. It was, 
 however, only a small village before a girl named Bernadette 
 Soubirous related (in 1858) that the Virgin had appeared 
 to her ; and it may be quoted as a striking evidence of the 
 
 BETIIARRAM. 
 
 power of the Catholic religion in France, that the voice 
 of a child spoke then, and since that time 100,000 persons 
 have annually answered. Within six months of the girl's 
 supposed vision, 150,000 persons had visited the cave where 
 she narrated that it had taken place, and since her vision 
 has been declared authentic by the bishop of Tarbes, the 
 multitude of pilgrims has been such as to involve the 
 making of a railway, the building of innumerable restaurants 
 
LOURDES. 
 
 631 
 
 and hotels, and the erection of whole streets of shops for 
 the sale of rosaries and religious ornaments. 
 
 In 1876 thirty-five archbishops and bishops, presided 
 over by the Archbishop of Paris and the Apostolic Nuncio, 
 gave their seal to the story of Bernadette by assisting at the 
 
 LOURDES. 
 
 dedication of the magnificent basilica (style of xm. c.) which 
 was erected over the cave. This was only a short time 
 before Bernadette, who had become a nun, died in a convent 
 in the N. of France. The many chapels and corridors 
 below the church are lined with votive offerings, generals 
 leaving their orders at the shrine, brides their wreaths, 
 etc. The upper church is also entirely covered with 
 
632 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 ex-votos, the first chapel on the 1. recording the eighteen 
 appearances of the Virgin, and the singular words which 
 Bernadette described her to have spoken — 'Go to the 
 fountain, eat of the grass beside it, pray for mankind, tell 
 
 BERNADETTE. 
 
 the priests to build me a chapel ; I am the Immaculate 
 Conception ' ! 
 
 Walks lead down from the upper church through 
 shrubberies to the Grotto beneath, facing the river. Here 
 the rock is already covered with the crutches of cured 
 
LOURDES. 
 
 633 
 
 cripples. On one side is the famous fountain, on the other 
 a pulpit from which a priest directs the devotions of the 
 pilgrims. 
 
 Apart from the religious excitement which has made 
 Lourdes one of the most prosperous towns in the south of 
 France, it is a picturesque and beautiful place : its castle 
 stands grandly, and its old church, with a lofty choir and 
 low nave, is attractive. The Hotel des Pyrenees is a most 
 
 PILGRIMAGE CHURCH, LOURDES. 
 
 comfortable centre for artists. To the N.W. of the town is 
 the little Lake of Lourdes. Excursions may be made to the 
 Pic d Allan (2^ hrs. ascent, 2 hrs. descent) and the Vallee 
 de Ferrieres (7 hrs.) 
 
 [The railway from Lourdes to Tarbes (see ch. ix.), which has a 
 view of snow mountains all the way, passes by (49 k. from Pau) 
 Ossun, where the men wear white berets and crimson sashes. 
 Just beyond this the great brick xiv. c. church of Ibos is seen on the 
 L The square tower in its W. front served as a fortress to the 
 
634 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Protestants in the religious wars. The nave, of three bays, has 
 side chapels, and is lighted by two ranges of little round-headed 
 windows. The apse is lighted by seven beautiful windows, and 
 is of the same width as the nave and its chapels, and nearly 
 equal to the tower in height.] 
 
 After leaving Lourdes, the railway to Pierrefitte enters 
 the Vallee de Lavedan. 
 
 CHURCH OF LOURDES. 
 
 45 k. (from Pau) Lugagnan. On the 1. is seen the 
 village of Gers, then Geu, overlooked by the ruined chateau 
 Gelos. On the r. are Agos, and a square tower near the 
 Gave built by Centulle III., Comte de Bigorre. 
 
 51k. Boo- Silken. The railway crosses the Gave close 
 to its junction with the B ergons, which has watered the 
 wooded valley of Estrem de Salles } containing three 
 
ARGELES. 
 
 635 
 
 villages, of which Salles has a xv. c. and Sere-Argeles a 
 xii. c. tower, with a church of the same date. The line 
 now enters the richly wooded valley of Argeles. 
 
 54 k. Argeles- Vieuzac (Hotel : de France — most comfort- 
 able), a charming and picturesque village in a beautiful 
 situation, one of the best resting-places in the Pyrenees, 
 abounding in pleasant walks, especially that through the 
 hilly forest to S. Savin. Here the saint, who was son of 
 a count of Barcelona, and nephew of a count of Poitiers, 
 made a hermitage for himself amongst the Roman ruins 
 of the Palatium Aemilianum. On the site of his cell, 
 Charlemagne built a monastery, where the famous paladin 
 Roland, to reward the hospitality which he received from 
 the monks, slew their enemies, the wicked giants Alabastre 
 and Passamont, forcing their brother Morgan to receive 
 baptism. The abbey was burnt by the Normans in 843, 
 but re-established in 945 by Raymond L, Comte de 
 Bigorre, who endowed it with the vale of Cauterets. The 
 valley or 'paschal' of S. Savin was a federal republic 
 under the guidance of the abbot. The heads of houses or 
 ' voisins,' as well women as men, had a voice in its council, 
 and history tells us that a ' voisine ' called Gualhardine de 
 Frechou opposed her single veto to the unanimous decision 
 of all the ' voisins.' 
 
 The village of S. Savin is very quaint and picturesque, 
 its houses resting on heavy wooden pillars forming arcades. 
 The rude church, pierced with rare windows like a fortress, 
 has a single nave of three bays, with deep transepts 
 and three apses of the xi. c. or early xn. c. At the cross 
 is an octagonal tower of xiv. c, forming a lanthorn inter- 
 nally, and sustained by the remains of a cupola and by 
 
6 3 6 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 ribs of xii. c. In the interior is stall-work of xv. c. Two 
 large xv. c. pictures tell the story of S. Savin, with a descrip- 
 tion in patois, and above the altar rises a tabernacle 1 (xv. c.) 
 over the tomb of S. Savin, a sarcophagus adorned with arcades, 
 probably earlier than xi. c. At the end of the S. transept 
 is the sacristy, which joins the chapter-house, of xii. c. 
 
 S. SAVIN. 
 
 A little S. of S. Savin, is the rock-built chapel of Pietad. 
 A little further, in the direction of Pierrefitte, is the 
 Chdteaic of Miramont, and, by the wayside, a monument 
 erected to that poet in 1867. 
 
 On the E. of the valley of Argeles is the Chateau de 
 Beaucens, which was the residence of the Vicomtes de 
 
 1 The tabernacle did not originally belong to the tomb, and was probably 
 used for the exposure of the Sacrament. 
 
ARRENS, PIERRE FITTE. 
 
 637 
 
 Lavedan. The situation is picturesque. The buildings 
 are chiefly of xiv. c. and xvi. c. with a dungeon of xn. c. 
 
 [A pleasant drive may be taken from Argeles to (12 k.) 
 Arrens, on the way to (42 k.) Eaux-Bonnes, a pretty village in 
 the Val d Azun ) where a little hill is crowned by the Chapelle de 
 Poey-la-Houn, in which a fountain has its source.] 
 
 70 k. Pierrefitte-Nestalas. The village of Pierrefitte is 
 
 VALE OF ARGELES. 
 
 i k. N.E. (Hotels : de France — at the railway ; de la Poste ; 
 des Pyrenees). The church, with its fortified tower and old 
 lych-gate with steps, is very picturesque. 
 
 An omnibus for Luz meets the trains at Pierrefitte and 
 occupies i\ hr. (3 fr. 30 c. ; 2 fr. 75 c. Carriages, 15 fr.). 
 
 We ascend a magnificent gorge, where the green waters 
 of the Gave foam at a great depth between precipices, amid 
 which the road has been skilfully engineered. 
 
638 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 1 Cette gorge est la partie la plus austere et la plus carac- 
 terisee des Pyrenees.' — George Sand. 
 
 Passing near Sazos (romanesque church with wood 
 tribunes of xvi. c.) and Sassis (church xn. a), we enter the 
 
 CHATEAU DE BEAUCENS. 
 
 basin of Luz near Sere, where the church has a romanesque 
 portal, and a Roman relief let into its S. wall. 
 
 82 k. (from Pau, 12 k. from Pierrefitte) is Luz (Hotels : 
 de PUnivers ; des Pyrenees). The Templars' church has the 
 appearance of a fortress, with battlemented and loopholed 
 outer walls, and a chevet between towers, of which one 
 
LUZ. 
 
 639 
 
 (N.) is battlemented and pierced with loopholes. The 
 two principal entrances are both on N. ; one, at the end of 
 the nave (xn. a), has the symbols of the Evangelists in its 
 tympanum. There is also a low door by which alone the 
 accursed cagots were permitted to pass. 
 
 On the first floor of the N. tower, reached by an external 
 
 PIERREFITTE. 
 
 staircase, four xvi. c. guns may still be seen in place, as 
 they were prepared to fire upon the Huguenots, and other 
 weapons are suspended to the walls. A little Museum 
 contains the xin. c. tomb of a child in grey marble. 
 
 The hill above the town bears the ruined Chateau de 
 S. Marie, built by the English at the end of xiv. c. On a 
 hill at the S. of the valley the Chafelle de Solferi?w replaces 
 
640 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 the hermitage of S. Pierre. The last hermit (xvni. c.) is 
 buried in the rock at the end of the platform. 
 
 1 k. from Luz is S. Sauveur (Hotels : du Pare ; de 
 France; des Princes de Paris ; des Pains), a picturesquely 
 situated village, above the gorge of the Gave, which is here 
 crossed by the single arch of the Pont Napoleon (i860). 
 
 templars' church, luz. 
 
 The principal excursion from Luz and S. Sauveur is 
 that to. Gavarnie (carriage, 12 fr. to 20 fr. ; horse, 6 fr. ; 
 guide — wholly unnecessary, 6 fr.) Reaching the bridge of 
 S. Sauveur, we turn 1. without crossing, and ascend the 
 r. bank of the Gave. The ravine is very wild and striking. 
 We come in sight of the Breche de Roland, the cleft in the 
 mountains which Roland, in pursuit of the Moors, is said 
 to have hewn with his sword Durandel, before reaching — 
 
VAL UHEAS. 
 
 641 
 
 12k. Gedre (Hotel: des Voyageurs), with an insignifi- 
 cant 'grotte.' From hence mountaineers ascend the Pic 
 Mene or du Pim'ene (ascent, 4 J hrs.) 
 
 Behind Gedre opens the Val dHeas, with a village situated 
 in a granite chaos formed by a landslip of 1650, and the cruciform 
 and domed Chapelle de Notre Dame d'Heas. Legend asserts 
 that this chapel was built by three masons, whom three goats, 
 followed by three kids, came every day to nourish with their 
 milk. At the end of three months, when the building was nearly 
 finished, the masons resolved to kill and roast one of the kids. 
 But the goats, who were really fairies, divined their intentions, 
 and never reappeared, so that the masons were obliged to descend 
 to the valley, to avoid starvation. On Aug. 15 and Sept. 8 there 
 are great pilgrimages hither. An excursion may be made (2 J hrs.) 
 from Heas to the Cirque de Tronmouse — a strange natural moun- 
 tain amphitheatre. Another excursion from Heas is that to the 
 Pic de la Munia (9 hrs. ; guide — 20 fr. — necessary). A mountain 
 path leads in 3 hrs. from Heas to Gavarnie, and another (8J hrs.) 
 by the Val d'Estaube and its 1 cirque.' 
 
 Leaving Gedre, the carriage road ascends by zigzags to 
 the foot of the Coumelie to le Chaos. 
 
 ' La, au bout d'un quart d'heure, les arbres disparaissent, puis 
 les genevriers et les buis ; on ne voit plus le Gave, tous les bruits 
 cessent. Cest la solitude morte et peuplee de debris. 
 
 ' Cent pas plus loin, l'aspect de la vallee devient formidable. 
 Des troupeaux de mammoths et de mastodontes de pierre gisent 
 accroupis sur le versant oriental, echelonnes et amonceles dans 
 toute la pente. Ces croupes colossales reluisent d'une fauve 
 couleur ferrugineuse ; les plus enormes boivent au bas de l'eau 
 de fleuve. lis semblent chauffer au soleil leur peau bronzee, et 
 dormir, renverses, etales sur le flanc, couches dans toutes les 
 attitudes, tous gigantesques et effrayants. Leurs pattes difformes 
 sont reployees, leurs corps demi enfonces dans la terre ; leurs dos 
 monstrueux s'appuient les uns sur les autres.' — -Taine, 1 Voyage 
 cux Eaux.' 
 
 41 
 
642 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 Through a valley increasingly sterile and gloomy, we 
 reach — 
 
 19k. Gavarnie — 1,109 met. (Hotel: des Voyageurs. 
 Horse, 3 fr. ; ass, 2 fr. ; guide, 2 fr. to the Cirque). We take 
 the 1. route beyond the church (founded by the Templars), 
 and follow at first the 1. bank of the Gave, which is 
 crossed in iomin., to ascend the r. bank to the little inn 
 (tolerable) at the entrance of — 
 
 24 k. Le Cirque de Gavarnie^ a vast circle of dark 
 precipices, surmounted by eternal snows and threaded by 
 little waterfalls, the largest of which is called the Cascade de 
 Gavarnie, falling from the glaciers above. The impression 
 which the Cirque makes upon visitors always varies accord- 
 ing to the season and the light in which it is visited. 
 
 ' La gloire de ces montagnes est l'admirable cirque de 
 Gavarnie. D'un cote, les parois qui l'entourent sont presque 
 perpendiculaires, et selevent d'un subit elan a 1,700 metres ; de 
 l'autre, elles forment des etages en retrait aux gradins inegaux. 
 Lors de la fonte des neiges, une cascade de 422 metres, origine 
 du grand gave bearnais, plonge en un seul jet des glaciers dans 
 les eboulis du cirque ; moins puissant a toute autre saison, elle 
 se rompt dans sa chute sur une saillie de rocher, et ne deploie son 
 voile transparent qu'au voisinage immediat des parois. A cote 
 de la grande cascade, d'autres filets d'eau selancent des roches 
 ou glissent de corniche en corniche ; en hiver, elles ornent tout 
 le pourtour de l'amphitheatre comme d'une immense colonnade 
 de marbre blanc' — Elisee Reclus. 
 
 The difficult ascent of the Breche de Roland, 2,804 met. 
 (7 hrs. ; guide necessary), is often made from Gavarnie, and 
 various other difficult and fatiguing ascents are undertaken 
 from thence by hardy mountaineers, including that of Mont 
 Perdu (the Maladetta), for which two days are required. 
 
LE PORT DE GA VARNIE, CAUTERE TS. 643 
 
 Spain is entered by the Port de Gavarnie, 2 hrs. distant, 
 one of the most frequented routes of the Hautes-Pyrenees. 
 
 ' Ici finit la France. Le port de Gavarnie que vous voyez 
 la-haut, ce passage tempestueux, ou, comme ils disent, le fils 
 n'attend pas le pere ; c'est la porte d'Espagne. Unc immense 
 poesie historiqne plane sur cette limite des deux mondes, ou 
 vous pourriez voir a votre choix, si ie regard etait assez percant, 
 Toulouse ou Saragosse. Cette embrasure de trois cents pieds 
 dans les montagnes, Roland 1'ouvrit en deux coups de sa 
 durandel. C'est le symbole du combat eternel de la France et 
 de l'Espagne, qui n'est autre que celui de l'Europe et de l'Afrique. 
 Roland perit, mais la France a vaincu.' — Michelet, * Hist, de 
 France: 
 
 An ugly ascent through a dreary valley leads from 
 Luz to — 
 
 6 k. Bareges (Hotels: Richelieu; de P Europe ; de 
 France; des Pyrenees), a dismal, ugly place, with baths 
 much frequented for the cure of rheumatic and skin 
 affections. A number of pics may be ascended from hence, 
 including the Pic du Midi de Bigorre (3 J hrs. \ guide, 5 fr. ; 
 horse, 5 fr.), whence there is a magnificent view. 
 
 An omnibus for Cauterets meets all the trains at Pierre- 
 fitte, and makes the ascent in two hours (2 fr. 50 c. ; 
 carriages, 15 to 20 fr.) The road ascends by well-contrived 
 zigzags till it reaches — 
 
 10 k. Cauterets (Hotels : Continental ; de France ; d'Angle- 
 terre ; des Promenades ; du Pare ; de la Paix ; des Bains , etc.), 
 celebrated as a bathing-place since Queen Marguerite, with 
 her court of savants and troubadours, used to resort thither 
 in the xv. c. It is a modern over-built place, in a fine posi- 
 
644 
 
 SOUTH-WESTERN FRANCE. 
 
 tion, but only interesting to tourists as a resting place for the 
 excursion to the Pont d'Espagne and Lac de Gaube (horse, 
 6 fr. ; ass, 5 fr. ; guide — unnecessary — 6 fr.) An ascent of 
 an hour through the forest leads to the fine Cascade de 
 Cerisey ; 3 1 hrs. beyond which is the Pont d^Espagne, a 
 log-bridge over the Gave de Marcadau, in a beautiful 
 situation. Hence, leaving the bridge to the r., and turning 
 to the 1. by the path which follows the 1. bank of the Gave 
 de Gaube, the traveller, after another half-hour's ascent, 
 reaches the exceedingly picturesque and beautiful moun- 
 tain tarn called the Lac de Gaube, surrounded by bare 
 mountains — on the E., the Monts Labassa and Meya ; on 
 the W., the Pics de Gaube; in front, the vast Vignemale, 
 with its glacier. On a rock near the little inn is a monu- 
 ment to the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Pattison, drowned 
 here a month after their marriage. The lake should be 
 seen early or late ; to see it only at midday is injustice to 
 its beauty, which is very real. 
 
 Many other excursions may be made from Cauterets, 
 but they are less worth while than this easy one. They in- 
 clude : 1. The Lakes of Estom and Estom Soubiran (5^ hrs. 
 going, 4! hrs. returning; guide, 12 fr.) 2. The ascent 
 of Le Monne (4 hrs. ascent, 2\ hrs. descent; guide, 10 fr.) 
 3. Ascent of Le Cabaliros (4 hrs. ascent, 2 hrs. descent; 
 guide, 10 fr. ; horse, 6 fr. ; ass, 5 fr.) 4. Ascent of the 
 Pic d'Ardiden (whole day; guide, 10 fr.) 5. The Lac Bleu 
 or dLlleou (4 hrs. going and returning ; guide, 8 fr. ; horse, 
 6 fr. ; ass, 5 fr.) 6. The Baths of Panticosa (in Spain) by 
 the Pont d'Espagne (guide to the frontier, 10 fr.) 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Abbaretz. 171 
 Abilly, 181 
 Agde, 527 
 Agen, 456 
 Agonac, 353 
 Agos, 634 
 
 Aiguefonde, chateau d\ 483 
 Aigues-Mortes, 541 
 Aiguesvives, 84 
 Aiguillon, 451 
 
 -sur-Mer, 274 
 Aillas, 449 
 Aimargues, 540 
 Aire, 240 
 Airvault, 291 
 Aix, ile d', 263 
 Aixe, 341 
 Aizenay, 279 
 Alan, 594 
 Albi, 431 
 Alet, 494 
 Allan, pic d', 633 
 Allassac, 392 
 Alles, 230 
 
 Alluyes, chateau d', 7 
 Alvignac, 414 
 Amailloux, 290 
 Ambazac, 329 
 Ambialet, 439 
 Ambleville, 217 
 Amboise, 59 
 Amelie-les-Bains, 514 
 
 Ancenis, 158 
 Anche-Voulon, 210 
 Andabre, bains d', 561 
 Andilly-les-Marais, 269 
 
 -S. Ouen, 269 
 Andorra, 588 
 Angers, 133 
 Anglas, lac d', 627 
 Angles, 274 
 Angouleme, 213 
 Angoulins, 263 
 Angueville, chateau d', 217 
 Aniane, 539 
 Antigny, 208 
 Antony, gouffre de 1', 418 
 
 Apremont, chateau d', 280 
 Aragnouet, 611 
 Arbanats, 443 
 Arbas, le massif d', 594 
 Arcambal, chateau d', 386 
 Arcachon, 239 
 Arcay, 101, 203 
 Ardelay, 271 
 Ardiden, pic d', 644 
 Areines, 13 
 Arengosse, 239 
 Argeles-sur-Mer, 521 
 -Vieuzac, 635 
 Argenson, chateau d', 180 
 Argentat, 401 
 Argenton, 306 
 
 -Chateau, 279 
 Arles-sur-Tech, 5 r 4 
 Arnac, 391 
 
646 
 
 Arreau, 610 
 Arrens, 637 
 Ars, chateau d', 305 
 Artannes, 127 
 Artron, chateau d', 208 
 Arudy, 626 
 Arveyres, 230 
 Arville, 10 
 
 .Asnieres, abbaye d', 128 
 Aspin, col d', 611 
 Aspremont, chateau d', 244 
 Assier, chateau d', 414 
 Astaffort, 459 
 Aste, 614 
 
 Aubeterre, 220, 221 
 Aubiac, 458 
 
 Aubignac, abbaye d', 317 
 Aubin, 582 
 
 Aubrac, plateau d", 569 
 Aubrais, Les, 22 
 Aubusson, 328 
 Auchj 460 
 Aulnay, 212, 282 
 Aumont, 564 
 Auneau, 6 
 Aure, vallee d', 611 
 Aurignac, 594 
 Aussillon, 483 
 Autevielle, 615 
 Avene, bains d', 560 
 Aveze, 552 
 Avignonet, 481 
 Avon, 112 
 Avrille, 145 
 
 Avrille, prieure d', 133 
 Ax, 588 
 Ayen, 392 
 Aytre, L', 285 
 Azay, 14 
 
 -le-Ferron, 96 
 
 -Rideau, 97 
 Azun, val d', 637 
 
 B. 
 
 Bages, etang de, 505 
 Bagneres-de-Bigorre, 613 
 -de-Luchon, 604 
 Bagneux, dolmen de, 118 
 Bagnols-les-Bains 569 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Baisempe, 241 
 
 Baisse, chateau de la, 404 
 
 Bajamont, chateau de, 389 
 
 Balaguier, chateau de, 419 
 
 Balaruc, 548 
 
 Ballan, 97 
 
 Bampierre-sur-Boutonne, 283 
 Banyuls-sur-Mer, 521 
 Barbazan, bains de, 604 
 Barbezieux, 217 
 Barbotan, 455 
 Barcares, 505 
 Bardys-S. Priest, Les, 330 
 Bareges, 643 
 Baron, 230 
 
 Barre-de-Monts, La, 280 
 Barres, Les, 183 
 Bassac, 217 
 Bassan, 549 
 
 Basses-Fontaines, chateau de, 152 
 Bastide-dArmagnac, 4^5 
 
 -Murat, La, 386 
 Batz, 168 
 Bauge, 125 
 
 Baume-de-la-Coquille, 484 
 Bayonne, 242 
 Bazas, 444 
 Baziege, 480 
 Bazouges-sur-Loir, 150 
 Bear, Cap, 521 
 Beauce, La, 21 
 Beaucens, chateau de, 636 
 Beau fort-la- Val lee, 132 
 Beaugency, 36 
 Beaulieu, 405 
 
 -les-Loches, 95 
 Beaumont-de-Lomagne, 469 
 -Perigord, 230 
 Beaupinay, chateau de, 279 
 Beaupreau, 177 
 Beauregard, chateau de, 54 
 Beausejour, chateau de, 223 
 Beautiran, 443 
 Beauvais, 440 
 Beauville, 389 
 
 chateau de,'464 
 Beauvoir, chateau de, 10 
 Bedarieux, 560 
 Bede, le gouffre de, 414 
 Begrolles, 177 
 
INDEX. 
 
 647 
 
 Behobie, 246 
 Beillant, 254 
 Belleville, 279 
 Belloc, abba3^e de, 426 
 Bellocq, chateau de, 616 
 Belpech, chateau de, 425 
 Belves, 376 
 Benassais, 196 
 Benauge, chateau de, 444 
 Benet, 284 
 
 Benevent-l'Abbaye, 328 
 Bergerac, 229 
 Besse, 132 
 Besse, 380 
 Betharram, 629 
 Beuxes, 101 
 
 Beynac, chateau de, 367 
 Beynat, dolmen de, 400 
 Beyssac, 392 
 Beziers, 522 
 Biarritz, 243 
 Bidart, 244 
 Bielle, 626 
 
 Biron, chateau de, 377 
 
 Blagnac, 480 
 
 Blain, chateau de, 170 
 
 Blan, 482 
 
 Blanc, Le, 317 
 
 Blanche-Couronne, abbaye de, 163 
 Blanquefort, 236 
 Blaville, chateau de, 6 
 Blaye, 248 
 Blenac, 263 
 
 chateau de, 252 
 Blere, 79 
 
 Bleu, Lac, 614, 644 
 
 Bliniere, chateau de la, 133 
 
 Blois, 39 
 
 Blou, 126 
 
 Bocage, Le, 275 
 
 Bohaire, 14 
 
 Bohalle, La, 133 
 
 Boiffe, 125 
 
 Bois-de-Cene, 280 
 
 -Charente, chateau de, 217 
 -de-Saumoussay, chateau de, 
 127 
 
 Boismorand, chateau de, 208 
 Boisonniere, chateau de la, 129 
 Boissiere, abbaye de la, 126 
 
 Bonaguil, 381 
 Bonlieu, abbaye de, 329 
 Bonnaventure, chateau dc, 14 
 Bonnecombe, abbaye de, 577 
 Bonnefont, abbaye de, 597 
 Bonneval, 6 
 
 chateau de, 390 
 Bonneviolle, 406 
 Bon-Rencontre, 464 
 Bo©-Silhen, 634 
 Bordeaux, 230 
 Borderes, 61 1 
 Bordes, Lcs, 33 
 Bords, 261 
 Bosost, 608 
 Bouaye, 177 
 
 Bouchet, chateau de, 317 
 Bouge-lcs-Verchers, 152 
 Bouillac, 469 
 
 Boulbonne, abbaye de, 583, 584 
 Bouliac, 237 
 
 Boulogne-sur-Gessc, 598 
 Bouleternere, 509 
 Bourdaisiere, La, chateau dc, 79 
 Bourdeilles, 361 
 Bourdiels, 389 
 Bourganeuf, 328 
 Bourg-de-Batz, 168 
 
 -Charente, 218 
 
 -de-Visa, 464 
 Bourgeuil, 1 10 
 Bourgneuf-en-Retz, 177 
 Bourisp, 611 
 Bousquet-d'Orb, Le, 560 
 Boussac, 305 
 Boussagues, 560 
 Boussens, 594 
 Bouteville, chateau de, 217 
 Boutiers-S. Trojean, 254 
 Bozouls, 577 
 Brain, 133 
 Bram, 485 
 Brantome, 358 
 Brassac, chateau de, 464 
 Braulen, chateau de, 371 
 Brax, 480 
 
 Brede, La, chateau de, 442 
 Brescou, ile de, 529 
 Bressuire, 278 
 Breth, 320 
 
648 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bretonniere, La, 274 
 Bretonoux, 405 
 Breuil, chateau de, 217 
 
 -sous-Argenton, 279 
 
 -Barret, 284 
 Breuillet, 6 
 
 Breze, chateau de, 127 
 
 -S. Cyr, 127 
 Bricy, 6 
 B rid ore, 96 
 Brioux, 212 
 
 Brissac, chateau de, 15 1 
 Brive, 392 
 
 Brosse-Guilgault, chateau de, 107 
 
 Brosses, chateau de, 321 
 
 Brouage, 262 
 
 Broue, chateau de, 263 
 
 Bruniquel, 428 
 
 Bruzac, chateau de, 352 
 
 Bud os, 444 
 
 Buisson, Le, 364 
 
 Burg, Le, 392 
 
 Bury, chateau de, 48 
 
 Busseau-d'Ahun, 328 
 
 Bussiere-Badil, 351 
 
 -Galant, 348 
 Butigny, 5 
 
 Butte-de-Montcoue, La, 293 
 Buzy, 626 
 
 C. 
 
 CabaliroSj Le, 644 
 
 Cabannes, Les, 588 
 
 Cadalen, 440 
 
 Cadeac, 611 
 
 Cadillac, 443 
 
 Cadouin, abbaye de, 364 
 
 Cagnotte, abbaye de, 244, 615 
 
 Cahors, 382 
 
 Cahuzac, 431 
 
 Caiola, 277 
 
 Cajac, chateau de, 448 
 Calviac, 371 
 Calvignac, 418 
 Camares, bains de, 561 
 Cambielle, col de, 61 1 
 Cambo, 244 
 
 Camboulit, chateau de, 417 
 Cambouzalet, 439 
 
 Cande, 145 
 Candes, 125 
 Canet, 508 
 
 Cange, chateau de, 76 
 Caniac, 386 
 Canon du Tarn, 558 
 Cap Breton, 242 
 Capdenac, 418 
 Capestang, 522 
 Capvern, 611 
 
 Carcanieres, bains de, 513 
 
 Carcassonne, 485 
 
 Careil, chateau de, 164 
 
 Carennac, 405 
 
 Carheil, chateau de, 171 
 
 Carjac, 418 
 
 Carlus, 438 
 
 Carmaux, 438 
 
 Cars, 248 
 
 Les, 348 
 Carsac, 371 
 
 Carte, chateau de la, 97 
 Casseneuil, 451 
 Castagnede, 594 
 Castela, chateau de, 438 
 Castelfranc, 381 
 Castel-Gaillard, 389 
 Casteljaloux, 240, 451 
 Castelmoron, chateau de, 443 
 Castelnau, 367 
 
 -de-Bretonoux, 406 
 -d'Estretefonds, 469 
 -de-Levis, 431 
 -de-Montratier, 467 
 -de-Montmiral, 440 
 Castelnau dry, 481 
 Caslelsalgrat, 464 
 Castelsarrasin, 467 
 Castets, 241 
 
 -en-Dorthe, 449 
 Castillon, 228 
 
 chateau de, 239 
 Castillonnes, 237 
 Castres, 482 
 Caudrot, 449 
 
 Caumont, chateau de, 565 
 Caunes, abbaye de, 483 
 Caussade, 388 
 Causses, Les, 552 
 Cauterets, 643 
 
INDEX. 
 
 649 
 
 Cavagnac, chateau de, 404 
 Cavalerie, La, 555 
 Caxa de Roland, La, 517 
 Cayla, Le, 431 
 
 bains de, 561 
 Caylar, Le, 553 
 Caylux, 388 
 
 Cazas, chateau de las, 482 
 Cazeres-sur-Garonne, 593 
 Cazillac, chateau de, 404 
 Cazoules, 374 
 Ceaux, 210 
 
 Ceint-d'Eau, chateau de, 417 
 Celle, La, 341 
 Cellefrouin, 344 
 Celles-sur-Belle, 285 
 Cenac, 371 
 Cepie, 494 
 Cerbere, 521 
 Ceret, 514 
 
 Cerisey, cascade de, 644 
 Cerizay, 277 
 Cerons, 443 
 Cette, 530 
 Chabanais, 344 
 Chabenet, 306 
 
 Chaboterie, chateau de la, 279 
 Chabris-Gievres, 90 
 Chace-Varrains, 127 
 Chadenac, 252 
 Chaize-Giraud, La, 277 
 Chalais, 221 
 Chaldette, La, 570 
 Chalonnes, 153 
 Chalus-Chabrol, 348 
 Chalusset, chateau de, 338 
 Chamarande, 17 
 Chambord, chateau de, 48 
 Champagne-S. Hilaire, 210 
 Champdeniers, 286 
 Champigny-sur-Veude, 1 1 1 
 Champ-S. Pere, 274 
 Champtoce, 155 
 Chanceaux, 17 
 Chancelade, La, 362 
 Changefeges, causse de, 564 
 Chantonnay, 277 
 Chaos, Le, 641 
 Chapelle-sur-Erdre, La, 171 
 -Glain, La, 145 
 
 Chapelle-la-Reine, La, 28 
 
 -S. Mesmin, La, 33 
 -Vendomoise, La, 14 
 
 Charmant, 220 
 
 Charras, 263 
 
 Charroux, 212 
 
 Chartrene, 125 
 
 Chasseneuil, 344 
 
 Chasteau, 403 
 
 Chataigneraie, 290 
 
 Chateau-Bernard, 218 
 -Larcher, 210 
 -la-Valliere, 127 
 
 Chateaubrun, 312 
 
 Chateaudun, 7 
 
 Chateaumeillant, 306 
 
 Chateauneuf-sur-Charente, 216 
 -Loire, 29 
 -Sarthc, 147 
 
 Chateaupanne, 155 
 
 Chateauponsac, 321 
 
 Chateauroux, 299 
 
 Chatellerault, 182 
 
 Chatillon, camp de, 210 
 -S. Aubin, 154 
 -sur-Sevre, 154 
 Chatre, La, 304 
 Chatres, 255 
 
 Chaume, abbaye de la, 281 
 Chaumont, chateau de, 56 
 Chauvigny, 204 
 Checy, 29 
 
 Chef-Boutonne, 212 
 Cheffes, 146 
 Chemille, 153 
 
 -sur-Deme, 78 
 Chenehutte, 130 
 Chenerailles, 329 
 Chenonceaux, 80 
 Cherves, 255 
 Chery-Lury, 297 
 Chesnel, chateau de, 255 
 Cheverny, chateau de, 54 
 Chevigne, chateau de, 155 
 Chevilly, 22 
 Chillac, 222 
 Chinon, 98 
 
 Chissay, chateau de, 84 
 Chitray, 316 
 Choisy-le-Roi, 
 
650 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cholet, 154 
 Chouzy, 55 
 Cieutat, 612 
 Cinq-Mars-la-Pile, 108 
 Cintegabelle, 583 
 Ciron, 316 
 Civrai, 21 1 
 Clairac, 451 
 Clairvaux-le-Haut, 182 
 Clan, 183 
 
 Clermont-de-l'Herault, 550 
 Clery, 34 
 Clisson, 173 
 
 chateau de, 279 
 Cloyes, 10 
 Coarraze-Nay, 629 
 Cognac, 254 
 
 chateau de, 342 
 Collioure, 5 21 
 Collonges, 404 
 Colmiers, 6 
 
 Comarque, chateau de, 364 
 Comborn, 392 
 Commequiers, 280 
 Condeon, 222 
 Condom, 455 
 
 Conduchet, chateau de, 419 
 Confolens, 208 
 Conques, 578 
 
 Contrie, chateau de la, 153 
 Coquille, La, 351 
 Cordes, 429 
 Corduan, tour de, 237 
 Cormes, chateau de, 294 
 Cormery, 91 
 Corgnac, 352 
 Cornelia de Conflent, 512 
 Cornil, chateau de, 400 
 Cornisson, chateau de, 427 
 Coron, 129 
 
 Coudray-Macouard, 128 
 
 -Montbault, chateau de, 
 129 
 
 -Montpensier, chateau 
 de, 101 
 Coueron, 163 
 Couhe-Verac, 210 
 Couffoulens, 493 
 Couiza, 495 
 
 Could ray-Salbart, chateau de, 286 
 
 Coulonges-sur-Autise, 284 
 -Thouarsais, 107 
 Coulombiers, 196 
 Courdreaux, chateau de, 10 
 Couronne, La, 219 
 Coursan, 522 
 Courtineau, 180 
 Coussac-Bonneval, 390 
 Coustouges, 517 
 Coutras, 222 
 Couture, 16 
 Couvertoirade, La, 553 
 Couzage, chateau de, 393, 404 
 Couze, 230 
 
 Couzieres, chateau de, 91 
 Coyroux, abbaye de, 400 
 Cransac, 582 
 
 Crazannes, chateau de, 261 
 Cressat, 329 
 
 Crevesac, cascade de, 401 
 Creysse-Mouleydier, 230 
 Croisement, 240 
 Croisic, Le, 170 
 Croix-Crocion, menhir de, 284 
 Crouzille, 112 
 Crozant, Le, 314 
 Culan, 306 
 Cunault, 131 
 Curcay, 105 
 
 Curton, chateau de, 230 
 Cuzorn, 381 
 
 D. 
 
 Daignac, 230 
 Dampierre, 119 
 
 chateau de, 251 
 
 Dax, 241 
 
 Demoiselles, grotte des, 539 
 Deneze, 152 
 Deols, 300 
 
 Deveze, chateau de la, 482 
 Dierre, 79 
 Dieupentale, 469 
 Dissais, 183 
 
 Dissay-sur-Courcillon, 79 
 Diziers, chateau de, 38 
 Doemont, chateau de, 202 
 Domme, 371 
 Donapalena, 615 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Donzac, 464 
 Donzenac, 392 
 Dorat, Le, 321 
 Douhet, 260 
 Doue-la-Fontaine, 152 
 Dourdan, 6 
 Dournazac, 350 
 Durance, 240, 451 
 Duras, 237 
 Duravel, 381 
 
 Durbelliere, chateau de la, 154 
 Durtal, 150 
 
 E. 
 
 Eaux-Bonnes, Les, 627 
 
 -Chaudes, Les, 627 
 Eauze, 455 
 Echebrune, 252 
 Echillais, 263 
 Echire, 286 
 Ecouflant, 146 
 Ecoyeux, 260 
 Egletons, 403 
 Elne, 517 
 
 Epinay-sur-Orge, 2 
 Escaldas, Les, 512 
 Escaledieu, abbaye de 1', 612 
 Escalette, pas d', 553 
 Escos, 615 
 
 Escoublac-la-Bole, 164 
 Esnandes, 269 
 Espagne, pont d', 644 
 Estillac, 458 
 Estom, lacs d', 644 
 Estrees, 96 
 
 Estrem-de-Salles, 634 
 Esvres, 91 
 
 Etampes, 18 
 
 Etrechy, 17 
 
 Etriche-Chateauneuf, 147 
 Eugenie-les-Bains, 240 
 Eveque, chateau 1', 358 
 Evrunes-Mortagne, 176 
 Excideuil, 352 
 Eymet, 237 
 Eymoutiers, 341 
 Eysses, abbaye d', 389 
 Eyzies, Les, 363 
 
 F. 
 
 Fabregues, 548 
 Faisans, ile des, 246 
 Fargues, chateau de, 444 
 Faugeres, 560 
 Faugerolles, 451 
 Faye, chateau de, 366 
 
 chateau de la, 393 
 Fayolle, abbaye de, 283 
 Felletin, 328 
 Fenelon, chateau de, 371 
 Fenestrelles, pic de, 511 
 Fenioux, 281 
 
 Ferrieres, chateau de, 218 
 Ferte-Beauharnais, chateau de, 
 295 
 
 -Reuilly, chateau de, 297 
 
 -S. Aubin, La, 294 
 Figeac, 415 
 Fleac, 216 
 
 Fleix, Le, chateau de, 229 
 Fleurac, chateau de, 216 
 Fleurance, 460 
 Floiriac, chateau de, 406 
 Florae, 556 
 Foix, 585 
 Fondettes, 17 
 Fontaine, 249 
 Fontcaude, abbaye de, 527 
 Fontcouverte, 260 
 Fonteclause, chateau de, 280 
 Fontenay-le-Comte, 270 
 Fontfroide, abbaye de, 502 
 Fontevrault, 121 
 Fontgombault, 181 
 Font-Romeu, 512 
 Foret-sur-Sevre, chateau de, 278 
 Forges, Les, 152 
 
 chateau de, 317 
 Forge vieille, 317 
 Fort-la-Garde, 517 
 Fosse-Bellay, chateau de, 128 
 
 -Marolles, 14 
 Fougeres, chateau de, 54 
 Fougerolles, 316 
 Fouras, 263 
 Fousseret, 593 
 Francescas, chateau de, 458 
 Frechines, chateau de, 14 
 
652 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Fresnay, chateau de, 281 
 Freteval, 10 
 Fronsac, 223 
 Frontenac, 418 
 
 Frontenay-Rohan-Rohan, 284 
 Frontignan, 531 
 Fuenterabia, 247 
 Fume), 381 
 
 G. 
 
 Gabarret, 455 
 Gabas, 628 
 Gabian, 559 
 Gabizos, pic de, 627 
 Gabriac, 577 
 Gaillac, 439 
 
 Gamarde, bains de, 240 
 
 Ganges, 540 
 
 Gargas, grotte de, 603 
 
 Gargilesse, 308 
 
 Garrabit, pont de, 564 
 
 Gaube, lac de, 644 
 
 Gavarnie, 641 
 
 Gavaudun, chateau de, 381 
 
 Gazanpouy, 458 
 
 Gedre, 641 
 
 Gencai, 208 
 
 Genevieres, chateau de, 418 
 Genille, 96 
 Gennes, 130 
 Genneteil, 126 
 Genovefains, abbaye de, 285 
 Gensac, 229 
 
 -la-Pallue, 218 
 Ger, pic de, 627 
 Germigny-des-Pres, 32 
 Gignac, 540 
 Gimel, cascade de, 401 
 Gironde, 450 
 Giseux, 126 
 
 Glandior, chartreuse de, 392 
 Gluge, 407 
 Gondrin, 455 
 Got, Le, 376 
 Goudourvl \e, 465 
 Gourdon, 37 1 
 
 Gourgs de Nohedes, Les, 513 
 Gourville, chateau de, 218 
 
 Grace-Dieu, La, 583 
 Grainetiere, abbaye de, 271 
 Graissessac, 560 
 Gramat, 414 
 
 la causse de, 407 
 Grand-Brassac, 362 
 
 -Lieu, lac de, 177 
 Grandmont, abbaye de, 330 
 Grandval, chateau de, 438 
 Graus-d'Olette, 511 
 Graves, chateau de, 422 
 Grenade, 240 
 
 -sur-Garonne, 469 
 Grignols, chateau de, 223 
 Grillon, 6 
 Griperie, La, 263 
 Guepie, La, 424 
 Guerande, 164 
 Guerche-sur-Creuse, 181 
 Gueret, 328 
 Guibert, 7 
 
 Guiche, abbaye de la, 55 
 Guitinieres, 251 
 Guitres, 249 
 Gurcon, chateau de, 222 
 
 H. 
 
 Hagetmau, 240 
 
 Haie-aux-Bons-Hommes, La, 145 
 Haut-Brion, chateau de, 237 
 Hautefage, 389 
 Hautefort, chateau de, 352 
 Haute-Perche, chateau de, 79 
 Hautpoul, chateau de, 483 
 Haye-Descartes, La, 180 
 H6as, val d', 641 
 Heches, 610 
 Hendaye, 246 
 
 Herbergement-l'Entier, 279 
 Herbiers, Les, 271 
 Hinx, 241 
 
 His-Mane-Touille, 594 
 Houeilles, 240, 451 
 Houltel, 569 
 Huismes, 98 
 Hure, 450 
 Huriel, 329 
 
INDEX. 
 
 653 
 
 I. 
 
 Ibos 633 
 Igon, 629 
 
 tle-Behuard, 152 
 
 -Bouchard, 1 1 1 
 
 -Jourdain, 480 
 
 -de-Noe, 463 
 
 -de-Noirmoutier, 177 
 
 -d'Oleron, 262, 268 
 
 -de-Re, 267 
 
 -d'Yeu, 280 
 Uhet, 610 
 Illats, 444 
 Ille, 509 
 Ingrandes, 208 
 Irun, 247 
 Issigeac, 230 
 Isle-d'Albi, 440 
 Islette, chateau de 1', 98 
 Ispagnac, 556 
 Issoudun, 297 
 Itsatsou, 244 
 Izeste, 626 
 
 j- 
 
 Jalesne3, chateau de, 126 
 Jard, La, 254 
 Jardres, 204 
 Jarnac, 217 
 Jarne, La, 285 
 Jarze, chateau de, 126 
 Javerlhac, 219 
 Javols, 564 
 Jazeneuil, 197 
 Joncels, 561 
 Jonchere, La, 329 
 Jonzac, 249 
 Joue-sur-Erdre, 171 
 Journet, 326 
 Juigne-sur-Sarthe, 150 
 Jumilhac-le-Grand, 351 
 Juvignac, 540 
 Juvisy-sur-Orge, 2 
 
 L. 
 
 Labarthe, bains de, 610 
 -de-Riviere, 598 
 
 Labastide-Denat, 485 
 Labenne, 242 
 Labouheyre, 239 
 Laboutarie, 485 
 Labressiere-Candcil, 440 
 Labrit, 239 
 Labruguiere, 483 
 Lacabarede, 483 
 Lafarge, 347 
 Lafaux, chateau de, 464 
 Laguennc, 401 
 Lalande, chateau de, 305 
 Lalinde, 230 
 Laluque, 241 
 Lamontjoie, 458 
 Landes, Les, 238 
 Landifer, chateau de, 125 
 Landiras, 444 
 Langeais, 1 08 
 Langon, 444 
 
 -Mouzeuil, 272 
 Lannemezan, 610 
 Lanuejols, 556 
 Larchant, 28 
 Larche, 403 
 Lardy, 17 
 Larroumieu r 456 
 Laruns, 626 
 Larzac, Le, 554 
 Lastours, chateau de, 348 
 Lausel, chateau de, 364 
 Lauzun, 237 
 Lauzerte, 464 
 Lavardac, 452 
 Lavardin, 15 
 Lavaud-Franche, 329 
 Lavauguyon, chateau de, 351 
 Lavaur, 483 
 
 Lavaveix-les-Mines, 328 
 Layrac, 458 
 Lectoure, 459 
 Lempaut, 482 
 Lencloitre, 183 
 Leogats, chateau de, 444 
 Lepaud, chateau de, 329 
 Lerac, 346 
 Lescar, 618 
 Lescure, 437 
 Lesignan, 496 
 Lesparre, 237 
 
654 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Lestelle, 629 
 
 Leucate, etang de, 505 
 
 Levroux, 302 
 
 Lexos, 425 
 
 Lezat, 592 
 
 Lezigne, 150 
 
 Lheris, la pene de, 614 
 
 Lhommaize, 327 
 
 Libourne, 223 
 
 Lieuteret, chateau de, 403 
 
 Ligardes, 458 
 
 Liget, chartreuse de, 96 
 
 Ligne-Riviere, 11 1 
 
 Lignieres, 98 
 
 chateau de, 217 
 Ligeuil, 180 
 Liguge, 210 
 Limoges, 330 
 Limogne, causse de, 418 
 Limoux, 494 
 Linars, 216 
 Linieres-Bouton, 126 
 Lion-d'Angers, Le, 145 
 Lire, 158 
 Lis, val de, 608 
 Lisle, 220 
 
 Livernon, dolmen de, 415 
 Loches, 91 
 Lodeve, 550 
 
 Lombers, chateau de, 485 
 Longefont, prieure de, 316 
 Longpont, 3 
 Lordat, chateau de, 588 
 Loreux-Bottereau, Le, 177 
 Lorris, 33 
 Loudun, 101 
 Loulay, 283 
 
 Loupiac-de-Cadillac, 444 
 Lourdes, 630 
 Loures, 599 
 
 Louroux, abbaye de, 126 
 Louvie-Juzon, 625 
 Lowendal, chateau de, 294 
 Lucay-le-Male, chateau de, 86 
 Luchet, chateau de, 217 
 Luchon, 604 
 
 Luciniere, chateau de, 171 
 Lucon, 273 
 Lunas, 561 
 Lunel, 547 
 
 Lugagnan, 634 
 Lury, 297 
 Lusignan, 196 
 Lussac-les-Chateaux, 326 
 Luynes, chateau de, 77 
 Luz, 638 
 Luzech, 381 
 Lys-S. Georges, 316 
 
 M. 
 
 Machecoul, 281 
 
 Madeleine, grotte de la, 363 
 
 chateau de la, 222 
 Magalas, 527 
 Magistere, La, 464 
 Magnac-Laval, 324 
 Maguelone, 535 
 Maillezais, 271 
 Mainfonds, 220 
 Maissonnisses, 328 
 Maladetta, Le, 607 
 Malene, La, 558 
 Malesherhes, 28 
 Mamazet, 483 
 Manciet, 455 
 Mancioux, 597 
 Mandoul, chateau de, 485 
 Marans, 269 
 Marboue, 10 
 Marcillac, 418, 577 
 Marchastel, 564 
 Marchecourt, 28 
 Marconnay, chateau de, 197 
 Marcoussis, 5 
 Mardelle-Sainte, La, 299 
 Marennes, 262 
 Mareuil-sur-Belle, 219 
 
 -le-Lay, 274 
 Margaux, 236 
 Marignac, 604 
 Maris, 183 
 Marjevols, 563 
 Marmande, 450 
 
 chateau de la, 182 
 Marmoutier, abbaye de, 73 
 Marnes, 202 
 
 Maronatte, chateau de, 362 
 Marsac, 218 
 
 Marsillargues, chateau de, 547 
 
INDEX. 
 
 655 
 
 Marssac, 431 
 Martaize, 202 
 Martel-en-Quercy, 405 
 Marthon, 218, 347 
 Martigne-Briand, 152 
 Martres-de-Riviere, 598 
 
 -Tolosane, 593 
 Martrou, 263 
 
 Marveille, chateau de, 593 
 Mas-d'Aire, 241 
 
 -d'Agenais, 451 
 
 -d'Azil, Le, 592 
 
 -Grenier, 469 
 Matelles, Les, 538 
 Mauleche, chateau de, 459 
 Mauleon-Licharre, 616 
 Maumont, chateau de, 402 
 Maumusson, Le, 268 
 Mauran, chateau de, 594 
 Mauriac, chateau de, 431 
 Mauves, 159 
 
 Mauvezin, chateau de, 612 
 Mauze-sur-le-Mignon, 268 
 May, Le, 177 
 Mayet, 79 
 
 Maynardie, chateau de la, 351 
 Mazeray, 281 
 
 Mazeres-le-Vernet-d'Ariege, 584 
 
 Mazeul, chateau de, 329 
 
 Mazieres, chateau de, 440 
 -en-Gatine, 286 
 -S. Romans, 212 
 
 Meilhan, chateau de, 450 
 
 Meilleraie, La, abbaye de, 171 
 
 Mejan, Causse, 556 
 
 Melle, 285 
 
 Mellet, chateau de, 223 
 Melzeard, tour de, 212 
 Membrolle, La, 145 
 Menars, 39 
 Mende, 565 
 Menitre, Le, 132 
 Mennetou-sur-Cher. 90 
 Mer, 38 
 
 -Rouge, lac de, 317 
 Mercues, chateau de, 382 
 Mereau, 297 
 
 Mereville, chateau de, 21 
 Meslay, 17 
 
 Mesnil-Voisin, chateau de, 17 
 
 Mespoul, 422 
 Mettray, 78 
 Meung, 34 
 Meymac, 403 
 Meyrueis, 556 
 Meze, 548 
 Mezin, 454 
 Micy, abbaye de, 34 
 Midi, canal du, 479 
 
 pic du, 628 
 Miers, 414 
 
 Mignaloux-Nouaille, 203 
 Migne, 199 
 
 Milhac-d'Auberoche, 404 
 Millas, 509 
 Millau, 562 
 Mimizan, 239 
 Minerve, 484 
 
 Miramont, chateau de, 636 
 Mirande, 463 
 
 Mirandol, chateau de, 406 
 Mirebeau, 199 
 
 chateau de, 249 
 Miremont, 583 
 
 grotte de, 363 
 Mirepoix, 493 
 Mireval, 531 
 Moeze, 262 
 Moirax, 458 
 Moissac, 465 
 Molitg, bains de, 513 
 Monastier, Le, 563 
 Moncade, chateau de, 618 
 Moncrabeau, 455 
 Mondoubleau, 10 
 Monnaie, 17 
 Monne, Le, 644 
 Monnerville, 21 
 Monsempron-Libos, 381 
 Mont-des-Alouettes, 271 
 
 -de-Marsan, 239 
 Montady, 522 
 Montagne-d'Alaric, 496 
 Montaigu, 279 
 Montalzat, 388 
 Montaner, 241 
 Montastruc, chateau de, 230 
 Montat, Le, 386 
 Montauban, 468 
 Montaut-Betharram, 629 
 
656 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Montbazin, 548 
 Montbazon, 90 
 Montbron, 218 
 Montbrun, chateau de, 350 
 Montcarret, 229 
 Montcontour, 200 
 Montcouyoul, 483 
 Montcuq, 464 
 Montdardier, 552 
 Montech, 469 
 Monteils, 422 
 Montendre, 249 
 Montfa, chateau de, 483 
 Montferrand, chateau de, 539 
 Montfort, 128 
 
 -en-Chalosse, 241 
 Montespan, chateau de, 594 
 Montesquieu, 481 
 
 -Volvestre, 592 
 Montguyon, 222 
 Montignac, 371 
 
 chateau de, 213 
 Montigny-le-Gannelon, 10 
 Montils, Les, 54 
 
 -Colombiers, 254 
 Montgiscard, 480 
 Montjoie, 596 
 Montlaur, 480 
 Montlhery, 4 
 Montlouis, 511 
 Montmoreau, 220 
 Montmorillon, 324 
 Montoir, 164 
 Montoire, 15 
 
 Montousse, chateau de, 610 
 Montpaon, 561 
 Montpazier, 376 
 Montpellier, 531 
 
 -le-Vieux, 559 
 Montpezat, 387 
 Montpezat, chateau de, 597 
 Montpont, 222 
 Montreal, 455, 616 
 Montredon, 483 
 Montrejeau, 599 
 Montresor, 96 
 Montricoux, 429 
 Montreuil-Bellay, 127 
 ' -Bonnin, 196 
 Montrevault, 177 
 
 Montrichard, 84 
 Monts, 392 
 
 chateau de, 210 
 Montsoreau, chateau de, 120 
 Montvalent, 407 
 Morains, chateau de, 119 
 Morannes, 147 
 Morceaux, 239 
 Moree-S. Hilaire, 10 
 Morlaas, 624 
 Morlhon, 422 
 
 Mortagne, chateau de, 176 
 
 Mortemer, chateau de, 327 
 
 Mosnac, 251 
 
 Mothe, La, 238 
 
 -Achard, La, 277 
 -Montravel, La, 229 
 -S. Heraye, La, 197 
 
 Motte-Beuvron, chateau de, 295 
 -Glain, chateau de la, 145 
 -Souzay, chateau de, 78 
 
 Mouleydier, 230 
 
 Mouliherne, 126 
 
 Moulin, chateau de, 55 
 
 Moulis, 236 
 
 Moulle-de-Jaout, pic de, 627 
 Moureze, 550 
 Moussais-la-Bataille, 183 
 Moussetiere, chateau de la, 90 
 Moustier, grotte du, 363 
 Mouthier-d'Ahun, 328 
 Mouthiers, 220 
 Mouzeuil, 272 
 Mugron, 241 
 Munia, pic de la, 641 
 Mur, 55 
 Murcens, 418 
 Muret, 589 
 
 Mursay, chateau de, 286 
 Murveil-les-Montpellier, 540 
 Mussidan, 222 
 
 N. 
 
 Najac, 422 
 Nalliers, 273 
 Nant, 554 
 Nantes, 159 
 
 Nanteuil-en-Vallee,abbaye de, 21 2 
 Narbonne, 496 
 
INDEX. 
 
 657 
 
 Nasbinals, 569 
 Naussac, 419 
 Navarrenx, 615 
 Naves, 401 
 Nay, 629 
 Negrepelisse, 429 
 Nerac, 452 
 Nerbis, 241 
 Nerigean, 230 
 Nersae, 216 
 
 Neuillac, chateau de, 218 
 Neuille-Pont-Pierre, 78 
 Neuvic, 223 
 Neuvy-Pailloux, 299 
 
 -le-Roi, 78 
 
 -S. Sepulcre, 315 
 Nexon, 347 
 Nieul-sur-Autise, 272 
 Niort, 283 
 Nissan, 522 
 Nizan, 444 
 
 Noailhan, chateau de, 595 
 Nogaro, 455 
 Nohant, 303 
 Noirmoutier, ile de, 177 
 Nonenque, abbaye de, 561 
 Nontron, 219, 347 
 Nort, 171 
 
 Notre-Dame-d'Alencon, 152 
 -de-Clery, 34 
 -del-Coral, 517 
 -de-Livron, 388 
 -d'Oe, 17 
 
 -de - Treize - Pierres, 
 422 
 
 Nouan-le-Fuzelier, 295 
 Nouatre, 112 
 Nouaille, 203 
 Noyant, 126 
 Nuaille, 129 
 
 Nueil-sous-Passavant, 129 
 O. 
 
 Obazine, 397 
 Objat, 392 
 
 Olbreuze, chateau d', 268 
 Oleron, ile d', 262, 268 
 Olette, 511 
 Oloron, 624 
 
 Onglous, Les, 529 
 Onzain, 55 
 Oo, lac d', 606 
 Orbestier, abbaye d', 277 
 Orleans, 22 
 
 Orlhouac, chateau d', 422 
 
 Ormes, Les, 182 
 
 Orthez, 616 
 
 Ossau, vallee d', 625 
 
 Ossun, 633 
 
 Oudon, 158 
 
 Oyron, chateau d', 101, 102 
 Ozillac, 249 
 
 P. 
 
 Paimboeuf, 178 
 Paizay-le-Sec, 205 
 Palaminy, chateau de, 593 
 Palau-del-Vidre, 521 
 Pallet, Le, 172 
 Palluau-S. Genou, 96 
 Palud, La, 215 
 Paluel, chateau de, 371 
 Pamiers, 584 
 Panassou, 366 
 Paracols, chateau de, 513 
 Parade, La, 451 
 Parigne, les arcs de, 195 
 Parnac, 382 
 Parnay, 120 
 Parthenay, 286 
 
 -le-Vieux, 289 
 Pas-de-Jeu, 10 1 
 
 -Roland, 244 
 Patay, 6 
 Pau, 619 
 Pauillac, 236 
 Paulhan, 527 
 Paulin, chateau de, 438 
 Paul nay, 96 
 Paunat, 230 
 Paussac, 362 
 Pauzac, 613 
 Pays-d'Olt, 570 
 Pelvesis, chateau de, 371 
 Pennautier, chateau de, 485 
 Penne, chateau de, 428 
 
 -d'Agenais, 388 
 Perignac, 220 
 
 42 
 
658 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Perigueux, 353 
 
 Perouse, abbaye de la, 351 
 
 Perpignan, 505 
 
 Perray-Jouannet, Le, 152 
 
 Pertuis-d'Antioche, 267 
 
 Peyrehorade, 244, 615 
 
 Peyriere, chateau de la, 324 
 
 Peyrusse, 419 
 
 Pezenas, 527 
 
 Pezens, 485 
 
 Pezou, 1 1 
 
 Pibrae, 480 
 
 Picade, port de la, 607 
 
 Piegut, 351 
 
 Pierre-Couverte, La, 1 18 
 
 -Folle, allee couverte de, 
 125 
 
 Pierrefitte, 295, 637 
 Pignan, 548 
 Pille-Brive, 403 
 Pince-Precigne, 147 
 Pithiviers, 28 
 Planes, 511 
 Plassac, 220 
 
 Plessis-Bourre, chateau de, 146 
 -Chivre, chateau de, 147 
 -Fortias, chateau de, 17 
 -Mace, 145 
 -les-Tours, 7 1 
 
 Plume, La, 458 
 
 Poey-la-Houn, 637 
 
 Poissoniere, La, 153 
 
 manoir de la, 16 
 
 Poitiers, 184 
 Pomas, 493 
 Pommeraye, La, 155 
 Pompadour, 391 
 Pompignan, chateau de, 469 
 Pons, 251 
 Pont-l'Abbe, 261 
 
 -de-Tremont, 129 
 Pontarion, 328 
 Pontigne, 1 26 
 Pontoux, 240 
 Ponts-de-Ce, Les, 150 
 Porchaire, 261 
 Pornic, 177 
 
 Pornichet-les-Bains, 164 
 Port-Breton, 280 
 -Boulet, lip 
 
 Porr-de-Files, 112, 180 
 
 -Vend res, 521 
 Porte-S. Marie, 452 
 Portets, 443 
 Portillon, port de, 607 
 Pouligny-S. Pierre, 317 
 Pouille, chateau de, 183 
 Pouzauges, 277 
 Prades, 510 
 
 (Lozere), 557 
 Pranzac, 347 
 Prat, 595 
 
 Prats-de-Mollo, 517 
 
 Pre-S. Yrieux, chateau de, 335 
 
 Prechacq, bains de, 240 
 
 Prefailles, 178 
 
 Preignac, 444 
 
 Premian, 484 
 
 Prepatour, chateau de, 17 
 
 Pressac, 208 
 
 Preste, La, 517 
 
 Preuilly, 181 
 
 Puissalicon, 527 
 
 Pujols,, 389 
 
 Puy-l'Eveque, 381 
 
 -Ferrat, chateau de, 223 
 -d'Issolud, 406 
 -Notre-Dame, Le, 152 
 -S.-Astier, chateau de, 223 
 
 Puycasquier, 460 
 
 Puycelci, 428 
 
 Puycharnaud, chateau de, 35 1 
 Puyfond, chateau de, 14 
 Puyguilhem, chateau de, 237, 
 361 
 
 Puylaurens, 482 
 Puyoo, 244, 615 
 Puymirol, 464 
 Puyperoux, 220 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quatre-Fils-Aymon, chateau des, 
 450 
 -Routes, 404 
 Queroy, Le, 347 
 Quillan, 495 
 Ouince-Brissac, 151 
 
INDEX. 
 
 659 
 
 R. 
 
 Rabastens, 440 
 
 -de-Bigorre, 463 
 Ramefort, chateau de, 361 
 Ramoulu, 28 
 Ranteils, 485 
 Ranton, chateau de, 101 
 Rastignac, chateau de, 404 
 Re, ile de, 267 
 Realmont, 485 
 Reignac, 91, 366 
 Remezin, chateau de, 290 
 Rennes-les-Bains, 495 
 Reole, La, 450 
 Repentie, La, 267 
 Reugny, 17 
 Revel, 482 
 Riberac, 220 
 Rieux, 592 
 
 -Minervois, 496 
 Rigalet, lande de, 79 
 Rioux-Martin, 221 
 Rivarennes, 98 
 Riviere, in 
 
 chateau de la, 392 
 Rocamadour, 407 
 Rochambeau, chateau de, 15 
 Roche, chateau de la, 208 
 
 -l'Abeille, 390 
 
 -des-Aubiers, chateau de, 
 129 
 
 -Bellusson, chateau de, 
 317 
 
 -Carillac, chateau de, 401 
 -Chalais, La, 222 
 -Chevreux, chateau de, 317 
 -Clermault, La, 10 1 
 -Courbon, chateau de, 261 
 -le-Peyroux, 403 
 -Posay, La, 183 
 -Racan, chateau de, 78 
 -sur-Yon, La, 274 
 
 Rocheblave, chateau de, 556 
 
 Rochechandry, 220 
 
 Rochechouart, 350 
 
 Rochecotte, chateau de, 109 
 
 Rochecourbon, 76 
 
 Rochefort, 262 
 
 Rochefoucauld, La, 344 
 
 Rochelle, La, 263 
 
 Rocherolles, chateau de, 316 
 
 Roches, Les, 208 
 
 -Baritaud, chateau de, 277 
 -Tranchelion, 1 12 
 
 Rodez, 570 
 
 Roland, breche de, 640, 642 
 Romefort, chateau de, 316 
 Romorantin, 55 
 Roque, chateau de la, 419 
 -Timbaut, La, 389 
 Roquefort, 561 
 
 chateau de, 460 
 Roquelaure, chateau de, 460 
 Roqueredonde, 561 
 Roquetaillade, chateau de, 448 . 
 Roquevidal, chateau de. 483 
 Rosay, 170 
 Rosiers, 402 
 
 Les, 130 
 Rougemont, chateau d , 10 
 Ron iliac, 218 
 Roujan-Neffies, 559 
 Roullet, 219 
 Roussanes, 451 
 Rousset, chateau de, 419 
 Royan, 254 
 Ruffec, 212 
 Ruscino, 508 
 
 S. 
 
 Sable, 147 
 
 Sables-d'Olonne, Les, 277 
 
 Sablonceau, abbaye de, 260 
 
 Sabots, saut des, 438 
 
 Saillagousse, 511 
 
 Saillant, Le, 393 
 
 Saillat-Chassenon, 344 
 
 Sailleraye, chateau de la, 159 
 
 S. Affrique, 562 
 
 S. Agil, chateau de, 10 
 
 S. Agnaut-de-Versillat, 317 
 
 S. Aignan, 85 
 
 -S. BenoH, 29 
 S. Amans-Soult, 483 
 S. Amant-de-Boixe, 213 
 -Graves, 217 
 S. Andeol, 569 
 S. Angel, 403 
 
66o 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 S. Antoine-de-Calamus, 496 
 
 -du-Rocher, 78 
 S. Antonin, 427 
 S. Arnoult, 6 
 S. Astier, 223 
 S. Aubin, 241 
 
 -de-Luigne, 152 
 S. Aulnaye, 220 
 S. Aventin, 606 
 S. Avertin, 76 
 S. Bauzile-de-Putois, 539 
 S. Bazeille, 450 
 S. Beat, 604 
 S. Benoit-d'Aniane, 539 
 
 -sur-Loire, 29 
 
 -de-Quincai, 208 
 
 -du-Sault, 321 
 S. Bertrand-de-Comminges, 599 
 S. Boes, 618 
 S. Brice, 254 
 
 S. Catherine-de-Fierbois, 179 
 
 S. Chartres, chateau de, 202 
 
 S. Chely-dApcher, 564 
 
 S. Cheron, 6 
 
 S. Chinian, 527 
 
 S. Christie, 460 
 
 S. Christophe, chateau de, 78 
 
 S. Cirq-la-Popie, 418 
 
 S. Clair, Mont, 531 
 
 S. Claud, 344 
 
 chateau de, 370 
 S. Colomb, 237 
 S. Come, 570 
 S. Croix-du-Mont, 444 
 S. Cybardeaux, 218 
 S. Cyprien, 366 
 S. Cyr, 17 
 
 -la-Roche, 392 
 
 -en-Val, 294 
 S. Denis, 404 
 
 -Jargeau, 29 
 -du-Pin, 283 
 S. Elix, chateau de, 593 
 S. Emilion, 223 
 
 S. Enimie, 557 
 S. Estephe, 236 
 
 S. Etienne-de-Lisse, 228 
 S. Eulalie-du-Larzac, 555 
 S. Fauste, 299 
 
 S. Felin-d'Amont, 509 
 S. Felix, 283 
 
 -de-Caraman, 481 
 S. Florent-le-Vieil, 155 
 S. Flour, 564 
 S. Fort, 255 
 
 -sur-Gironde, 249 
 S. Foy-la-Grande, 229 
 S. Frion, 329 
 S. Front, 381 
 S. Gaudens, 597 
 S. Gaultier, 316 
 S. Gemme, prieure de, 263 
 
 -la-Plaine, 273 
 S. Generoux, 106 
 S. Genies, 370 
 S. Genies-de-Varensal, 560 
 S. Geniez-d'Olt, 570 
 S. Genis-d'Hiersac, 218 
 S. Georges-les-Baillargeaux, 18 
 -de-Cernon, 562 
 -sur-Loire, 154 
 S. Gery, 419 
 
 chateau de, 440 
 S. Gildas, pointe de, 178 
 S. Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, 280 
 
 -sur-Vie, 280 
 S. Girons, 241, 595 
 S. Guilhem-le-Desert, 539 
 S. Hilaire, abbaye de, 493 
 -S. Florent, 118 
 -de-Villefranche, 260 
 S. Jacques-des-Guerets, 16 
 S. Jean-dAngely, 281 
 
 -de-Bleymard, 569 
 -du-Bruel, 556 
 -de-Cole, 219, 352 
 -Froidmentel, 10 
 -des-Gres, abbaye de, 91 
 -de-Luz, 244 
 -et-Paul, 561 
 -Pied-de-Port, 615 
 -de-Sauves, 200 
 S. Jouin-de-Marnes, 200 
 S. Julien, 236, 593 
 -Lars, 204 
 -du-Tournel, 569 
 -le-Vendonnois, 391 
 -de-Vouvantes, 145 
 S. Junien, 342 
 
INDEX. 
 
 66 1 
 
 S. Laurent, 236 
 
 -d'Aigouze, 540 
 -de-Cerdans, 517 
 -en-Gatine, 17 
 -S. Paul, 610 
 S. Leomer, 326 
 S. Leonard, 340 
 S. Livrade, 451 
 S. Lizier, 595 
 S. Louant, 101 
 S. Louis, 222 
 S. Loup-sur-Thouet, 290 
 S. Macaire, 449 
 S. Maixent, 197 
 
 -sur-Vie, 280 
 S. Marie, 625 
 S. Mariens, 248 
 S. Martin (tle-de-Re), 268 
 -d'Ary, 222 
 -de-Bello, 79 
 -de-Canigou, abbaye de, 
 512 
 
 -la-Guepie, 425 
 -Labouval, 418 
 -Lars, 208 
 -de-Londres, 539 
 -la-Meanne, 401 
 -de-la-Place, 130 
 -des-Sescas, 450 
 
 S. Martory, chateau de, 597 
 
 S. Mathieu, 351 
 
 S. Mathurin, 133 
 
 S. Maur, 132 
 
 S. Maure, 180 
 
 S. Maurice, 208 
 
 S. Meard-de-Dronne, 220 
 
 S. Medard-d'Eyrans, 442 
 
 S. Meme, 217 
 
 S. Michel (Seine-et-Oise), 4 
 -Bonnefare, 229 
 -de-Cuxa, 510 
 -d'Entraigues, 216 
 
 S. Mondane, 371 
 
 S. Mont, pic de, 627 
 
 S. Nazaire, 164 
 
 S. Nicolas-de-la-Balerme, 464 
 -Grave, 467 
 
 S. Oustrille, 299 
 
 S. Outrille, 90 
 
 S. Palais, 615 
 
 S. Papoul, 481 
 S. Paterne, 78 
 S. Patrice, 109 
 S. Paul, 610 
 
 -de-Fenouillet, 495 
 S. Pazanne, 177, 281 
 S. Pe, 629 
 
 S. Pey-d'Armans, 228 
 S. Pierre, 522 
 
 -d'Aurillac, 449 
 
 -Chateau, 341 
 
 -les-Corps, 64 
 
 -les-Eglises, 205 
 S. Pons-de-Thomieres, 484 
 S. Priest-sous-Aixe, 341 
 
 -la-Feuille, 321 
 
 -Taurion, 330 
 S. Quentin, 230, 328 
 S. Radegonde-de-Marconnay, 200 
 S. Remi-la-Varenne, 133 
 S. Remy, 329 
 S. Rimay, 15 
 S. Robert, 392 
 S. Romain-de-Benet, 260 
 S. Saturnin, 216 
 S. Sauveur, 640 
 
 S. Savin (Hautes-Pyrenees), 635 
 
 (Vienne), 205 
 S. Savinien-sur-Charente, 261 
 S. Saviol, 211 
 S. Sebastien, 317 
 S. Sever, 240 
 
 -de-Rustan, 463 
 S. Severe, 305 
 S. Severin, 220 
 
 S. Sigismond-de-Clermont, 251 
 
 S. Sornin, 260 
 
 S. Sulpice-de-Cognac, 260 
 
 -de-Favieres, 6 
 
 -d'Izon, 230 
 
 -Lauriere, 321 
 
 -de-Lezat, 592 
 
 -la-Pointe, 441 
 S. Symphorien (Gironde), 444 
 
 (Maine-et-Loire ), 
 125 
 
 -les-Bois, 263 
 
 S Thibery, 527 
 S. Urcize, 564 
 S. Varent, 293 
 
662 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 S. Venant, camp de, 78 
 
 S. Viance, 392 
 
 S. Viatre, 295 
 
 S. VicLurnien, 341 
 
 S. Yrieix, 390 
 
 Saintes, 255 
 
 Salbris, 296 
 
 Salies-du-Salat, 594 
 -Beam, 615 
 
 Salignac, 370 
 
 Sallee, La, chateau de, 15 
 
 Salles (Hautes-Pyrenees), 635 
 -Lavauguyon, 351 
 -la-Source, 576, 577 
 
 Sallettes, chateau de, 431 
 
 Salses, 505 
 
 Salvie, La, 371 
 
 Sarceau, chateau de, 79 
 
 Sarlat, 367 
 
 Sarrancolin, 610 
 
 Sarzay, chateau de, 305 
 
 Sassis, 638 
 
 Saujon, 252 
 
 Saumur, 112 
 
 Sauternes, 444 
 
 Sauvagnac, 329 
 
 Sauve, La, 237 
 
 Sauveterre (Aveyron), 439 
 -de-Bearn, 615 
 -de-Fumel, 380 
 -de-Guienne, 237 
 
 Saveille, chateau de, 212 
 
 Savenay, 163 
 
 Savennieres, 153 
 
 Saverdun, 584 
 
 Savigny-l'Evescault, 204 
 -sur-Orge, 2 
 
 Savonnieres (Loire-et-Cher), 54 
 (Indre-et-Loire), 46 
 
 Sazos, 638 
 
 Scorbe-Clairvaux, 182 
 Secondigny, 290 
 Seculejo, lac de, 606 
 Segry, 299 
 Segur, 391 
 
 chateau de, 229 
 Selles-sur-Cher, 86 
 Selommes, 14 
 Semblancay, 78 
 Senille-S. Sauveur, 183 
 
 Sequigny, lb ret de, 2 
 Serdinya, 5 1 1 
 * Sere, 638 
 
 -Argeles, 635 
 Sereillac, 341 
 Serignac, 457 
 Sermet, chateau de, 380 
 Serrabona, abbaye de, 509 
 Serrant, chateau de, 154 
 Servian, 548 
 Severac-le-Chateau, 563 
 Siorac-de-Belves, 376 
 Sireuil, 216 
 Solesmes, 147 
 Solignac, abbaye de, 335 
 Sologne, La, 295 
 Sommieres, chateau de, 211 
 Sore, 444 
 Soreze, 482 
 
 Sorgues, source de la, 561 
 Sos, 454 
 Soual, 482 
 Soubie, 222 
 Soudeilles, 403 
 Souillac, abbaye de, 374 
 Soulac-les-Bains, 237 
 Soult-Berg, chateau de, 483 
 Sourzac, 222 
 Sousmoulins, 249 
 Souterraine, La, 318 
 Souzay, 1 20 
 Sublaines, 80 
 Suevres, 38 
 Surgeres, 268, 285 
 Suze, La, 150 
 Sylvanes, bains de, 561 
 
 T. 
 
 Taillebourg, 261 
 Taillifer, chateau de, 405 
 Talmont, chateau de, 274 
 Tanus, 438 
 
 Tarascon (Ariege). 587 
 Tarbes, 612 
 Tardoire, Le, 346 
 Tartas, 240 
 Taulnay, 183 
 Temple, 218 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Terraqueuse, chateau de, 584 
 Terrasse, chateau de la, 592 
 Terrasson, 404 
 Terroube, 460 
 Tessonniercs, 431 
 Teste-de-Buch, La, 238 
 Thau, etang de, 530 
 Thauron, 328 
 Thesee, 84 
 Thezac, 252 
 Thiviers, 351 
 Thore, 14 
 Thouars, 101 
 Thure, 182 
 
 Thuries, chateau de, 439 
 Tibiran, 599 
 Tierce, 146 
 Tiffauges, 176 
 Toirac, 418 
 
 Tonnay-Charente, 262 
 Tonneins, 451 
 Torfou, 176 
 
 Touffou, chateau de, 205 
 Toulouse, 469 
 Toulx-S. Croix, 306 
 Toureil, Le, 132 
 Tournel, chateau de, 569 
 Tournemire, 561 
 Tournon, 181 
 Tours, 65 
 Tourtcline, 16 
 Tourtenay, 105 
 Toury, 22 
 Touvre, 347 
 Tramesai'gues, 61 1 
 Tramousse, cirque de, 641 
 Treignac, 341 
 Treillieres, 170 
 Tremblade, La, 253 
 Trementines, 1 54 
 Tremolat, 230 
 Trentels-Ladignac, 388 
 Treves, 556 
 Trois-Palis, Les, 216 
 Troo, 16 
 Truyes, 91 
 Tulle, 400 
 Turenne, 404 
 Turpenay, camp de, 98 
 Tustal, 419 
 
 U. 
 
 Ussat-lcs-Bains, 587 
 Usse, chateau de, 1 10 
 Ussel, 341 
 Uzerche, 394 
 Uzeste, 445 
 
 V. 
 
 Val, 126 
 
 Valbonne, abbaye de, 521 
 Valcabrere, 602 
 Valencay, chateau de, 87 
 Valence-d'Agen, 464 
 Valentine, 598 
 Valette, La, 220 
 Vallee, La, 261 
 Valleres, 97 
 
 Valliere, chateau de la, 17 
 
 Valmagne, abbaye de, 549 
 
 Vals, 585 
 
 Varades, 155 
 
 Varaignes, 218 
 
 Varen, 425 
 
 Varilhes, 585 
 
 Vassiac, 222 
 
 Vatan, 90, 299 
 
 Vauclaire, chateau de, 222 
 
 Vaudelenay-Rille, La, 152 
 
 Vaux-en-Cormi, 210 
 
 Vayrac, 405 
 
 Vayres, 230 
 
 Veillon, abbaye de, 277 
 
 Velluire, 269 
 
 Venasque, port de. 607 
 
 Vendadour, chateau de, 403 
 
 Vendome, 1 1 
 
 Venerque-le-Vernet, 583 
 
 Verdelais, 449 
 
 Verdon, Le, 237 
 
 Verdun (Tarn-et-Garonne), 469 
 
 Veretz, 79 
 
 Verger, chateau du, 150 
 Vernet, 512 
 
 Verneuil-S. Germain, 96 
 Vernode, 220 
 Vernoil-le-Fourrier, 126 
 Vernou, 64 
 
 Verrines-sous-Celles, 285 
 
66 4 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Verteuil, 237 
 
 chateau de, 212 
 
 Vertou, 171 
 
 Vesoules, saut de, 485 
 
 Veyrines, tour de, 236 
 
 Vianne, 452 
 
 Vias, 527 
 
 Vibrac, 217 
 
 Vic-Bigorre, 241 
 -Fezenzac, 241 
 
 Vieille-Toulouse, 480 
 
 Vieilleville, 328 
 
 Vierzon, 296 
 
 Vigeois, 392 
 
 Vignemale, Le, 644 
 
 Vignes, Les, 559 
 
 Vignogoul, 548 
 
 Vilhonneur, 346 
 
 Villandraut, chateau de, 448 
 
 Villandry, chateau de, 107 
 
 Villebois, chateau de, 220 
 
 Villedieu, 96, 208 
 
 Villefranche-de-Belves, 380 
 -sur-Cher, 90 
 -la-Conflent, 511 
 -en-Lauraguais, 481 
 -de-Longchapt, 222 
 
 Villefranche-de-Rouergue, 419 
 
 Villefrancoeur, 14 
 
 Villejoubert, 213 
 
 Villeneuve, 419 
 
 -la-Comtesse, 283 
 -sur-Lot, 389 
 
 Villenouvelle, 481 
 
 Villeperdue, 179 
 
 Villeveque, 150 
 
 Villeveyrac, 549 
 
 Vinca, 509 
 
 Vindrac-Alaynac, 429 
 Virolle, saut de la, 341 
 Vivonne, 210 
 Vouvent, 290 
 Voves, 6 
 
 X. 
 
 Xaintrailles, chateau de, 452 
 Y. 
 
 Yeu, ile d', 280 
 Yevres-le-Chatel, 28 
 Yquem, Chateau, 444 
 Yssandon, chateau de, 392 
 
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