diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10864-0.txt | 3470 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 10864-h/10864-h.htm | 3490 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/10864-8.txt | 3901 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/10864-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 84650 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/10864-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 86542 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/10864-h/10864-h.htm | 3948 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/10864.txt | 3901 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/10864.zip | bin | 0 -> 84155 bytes |
11 files changed, 18726 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/10864-0.txt b/10864-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1fa3a41 --- /dev/null +++ b/10864-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3470 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10864 *** + +[Illustration: VIEW of the MONASTERY of LA TRAPPE] + + A VISIT TO THE MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE + + IN 1817. + + WITH NOTES + + _TAKEN DURING A TOUR THROUGH_ + LE PERCHE, NORMANDY, BRETAGNE, POITOU, ANJOU, + LE BOCAGE, TOURAINE, ORLEANOIS, AND + THE ENVIRONS OF PARIS. + + BY + + W.D. FELLOWES, ESQ. + + ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS COLOURED ENGRAVINGS, + FROM DRAWINGS MADE ON THE SPOT. + + + + + +LIST OF THE PLATES. + + +View of the Monastery of La Trappe + +Ruins of the Ancient Church of ditto + +Ruins of the Gateway of the ancient Chartreuse + +Les Noyades (_vignette_) + +Grotto of Héloïse at Clisson + +Tomb of Abélard and Héloïse + +Ruins of Abélard's House + +Granite Rock in the Garenne + +Le Connétable de Clisson (_outline_) + +Ruins of Clisson + +Tour des Pélerins + +Moulin aux chêvres + +Tour d'Oudon on the River Loire + +View of St. Florent + +Tomb (_etching_) + + + + +PREFACE. + + +In justice to the public and to myself, I must disavow for the +following pages any higher literary pretension than what is conveyed +by the simple title of "Notes," under which I have ventured to give +them to the world. I had no other aim in writing but to occupy as +rationally as I could the hours of travel, and no other object in +publishing but to impart to others as plainly as I could a portion of +the pleasure I myself experienced. It has somewhere been remarked to +this effect, that if every man of common understanding were to put +down the daily thoughts and occurrences of his life, candidly and +unaffectedly as he experienced them, he must necessarily produce +something of interest to his fellow men, and make a book, which, +though not enlivened by wit, dignified by profundity of reasoning, nor +valuable by extent of research, yet no man perhaps should throw aside +with either weariness or disgust. + +Whether I shall prove fortunate enough not to excite these sensations +in such readers as may honour my book with a perusal, I fear to +conjecture. But it was my good fortune, during a season of uncommon +beauty, to make a tour through some of the most interesting parts of +France, and to meet with persons who, from situation and talents, +were highly calculated to give my journey every charm of society and +information. The natural face of the country through which I passed +was peculiarly beautiful: I could scarcely move a step without +some novelty of picturesque enchantment, and had the most perfect +opportunities of contemplating Nature in all her varied poetry, from +the grand and terrible graces of savage sublimity, to the soft and +playful loveliness of cultivated luxuriance. There was scarcely a +town or village where I arrived which romance or history, religion or +politics, had not invested and adorned with every interest of mental +association. Under such impressions, and with such opportunities, it +was scarcely possible to resist recording something of what I saw and +felt; and if the publication of my hasty record be an error, it +will be deemed by my friends, I hope, a pardonable one. My book +can scarcely demand the serious attention of the critic; nor could +criticism well expect a better style from one whose profession is +seldom supposed to allow much leisure to acquire nicety in the arts of +composition. I claim no other merit for my Notes than having followed +the advice (of Gray, I believe) that ten words put down at the moment +upon the spot, are worth a whole cart load of recollections. I have +not sought to add to their attraction (if they should possess any) by +the embellishments of my invention, or the graces of my periods--the +decorative artifices of execution can never give value to falsehood, +and truth needs them not. A simple landscape, simply described from +nature, has always a charm above the most high-finished compositions +of mere fancy; and, like a moderate painting from the same source, +still imparts a feeling of reality. I hope, therefore, I shall be +excused for attempting some description, slight and unskilful as it +may be, of places and scenery where the human mind has exhibited +some of its most curious and powerful features, and which awaken +reflections of the deepest interest--I allude particularly to the +monastery of _La Trappe_, and to the country of _La Vendée_. The +former had dwelt among the earliest impressions of youth, with +something like the wild and wonderful force of a romantic tale; and I +was anxious to become an eye-witness of what had so long been one of +the most powerful objects of my imagination. The gloomy and almost +inaccessible situation chosen by this strange fraternity for +their convent--their rigid separation from human intercourse--the +infringible taciturnity imposed upon themselves--and the terrible +severity of their penances, are certainly circumstances more +resembling the visionary indulgence of fantasy and fiction, than +actual realities to be met with among living men, and in the present +day. + +With regard to the department of _La Vendée_, whatever serves, trivial +as it may be, to recall or illustrate the history of its wars and the +character of its inhabitants, must ever possess a charm for those who +delight to sympathize with the noble struggles of a gallant people, +conscientiously devoting themselves to the cause of a fallen and +persecuted monarchy, and resisting the cruel and destructive ferocity +of a licentious enemy, who had broken down the most sacred fences of +society, and trampled upon the dearest ties of human nature. + +In these Notes, slight as they are, I can truly promise the reader +that he will find nothing wilfully misrepresented, nor advanced +without just authority; and if the rapid and cursory character of the +observations, allusions, and anecdotes, shall enable an hour to pass +agreeably that has no better employment, I am content, and gratified +with the attainment of all I ever hoped or designed by an unpretending +publication, which I cheerfully dedicate to all who love to unbend +their minds from a critical attitude, and can lounge goodnaturedly +over leaves written by a traveller as idle and careless as themselves, +and who assures them that no one can think more humbly of his +production than himself. + +MARCH 1818. + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. + +Route from Paris to Mortagne.--Excursion to La Trappe.--State of the +Order since the restoration in 1814.--Its foundation and rules under +the Abbé de Rancé. + +CHAP. II. + +Ruins of the Convent of the Chartreux.--Forests of Le +Perche.--Mortagne. + +CHAP. III. + +From Mortagne to Rennes.--Soeurs de la Charité.--Alençon.--Laval.--Vitré, +the celebrated residence of Mad. de Sévigné. + +CHAP. IV. + +Rennes.--Route from Rennes to Nantes.--City of Nantes.--Historical +anecdotes. + +CHAP. V. + +Country south of the Loire.--Le Bocage.--Clisson.--Historical +anecdotes.--The Garenne, and River Sèvres. + +CHAP. VI. + +General appearance and limits of Le Bocage.--Nature of the mode of +warfare of the Vendeans. + +CHAP. VII. + +The River Loire, from Nantes to Angers. + +CHAP. VIII. + +Saumur to Tours.--Tours to Blois.--Orléans--and Orléans to Paris. + +CHAP. IX. + +Environs of Paris.--Père la Chaise.--Castle of Vincennes, and Château +of Saint Germain.--The Forest, and Vicinity.--Conclusion. + + + + +A VISIT + +TO THE + +MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE + + + + + + +CHAP. I. + +ROUTE FROM PARIS TO MORTAGNE.--EXCURSION TO LA TRAPPE.--STATE OF THE +ORDER SINCE THE RESTORATION IN 1814.--ITS FOUNDATION AND RULES UNDER +THE ABBE DE RANCE. + + +I performed this journey during the months of June, July, August, and +September, a distance of near one thousand miles, and had the singular +good fortune to enjoy the finest weather possible. The perusal of +Madame de La Roche-Jaquelin's interesting work on the Vendean war, +first gave me the idea of visiting the country called le Bocage, the +theatre of so many events, and sufferings of the brave royalists; and, +as the province of le Perche, in which is situated the ancient convent +of La Trappe, was in my route to Bretagne, I resolved to make an +excursion there, in order to satisfy myself of the truth of those +austerities which I had read of in the Memoirs of the Count de +Comminge. + +The route from Paris to Mortagne, in le Perche, leads through Marly, +Versailles, Saint Cyr, Pont Chartrain, La Queue, Houdon, Marrolles, +Dreux, Nonancourt, Tillières, Verneuil, and Saint Maurice. The roads +are excellent, and the country beautiful. The first post out of Paris +is Nanterre. Two leagues and a half from the barriere, the village +of Ruel, and the park of Malmaison, form a continuation of neat +buildings. At Nanterre, in the campaign of 1815, the Prussians, after +a severe engagement with the retreating troops of the French, had one +regiment of cavalry cut to pieces. At Ruel, the celebrated Cardinal +Richelieu had a palace, which at the Revolution became national +property, and was purchased by Massena, Duc de Rivoli, Prince +D'Essling, lately deceased. The Duchess still resides there. It was +taken possession of by the allies in 1815, and, like Malmaison, +plundered by the troops. There are extensive barracks for cavalry at +this place, at present occupied by the Swiss guards. + +A little farther, between Malmaison and Marly, is a beautiful château, +formerly belonging to General Count Bertrand, who accompanied Napoleon +to Saint Helena; it is now the property of M. Ouverard, the banker: +nearly opposite is the residence of the celebrated Abbé Sieyès, who +lives in great retirement. Whatever may have been the political +transgressions of Bertrand, there is something so noble in his +devotion to the fallen fortunes of his master, that it is impossible +not to respect his character. + +At Marly, the water-works and aqueduct for conveying the water from +the river Seine to the palace and gardens of Versailles, are very +curious. The palace of Marly is destroyed; but the basins, which were +constructed by order of Louis XIV. are still to be seen, though in +ruins. Delille, the poet, in his description of the château and +beautiful grounds of Marly, says: + + C'est là que tout est grand, que l'art n'est point timide; + Là tout est enchanté: c'est le Palais d'Armide; + C'est le jardin d'Alcine, ou plutôt d'un Héros, + Noble dans sa retraite et grand dans son repos. + Qui cherche encore à vaincre, à dompter des obstacles, + Et ne marche jamais qu'entouré de miracles. + +On quitting Paris, I had procured a letter of introduction from Count +La Cou to Madame de Bellou, at Mortagne, a charming old lady of an +ancient and noble family in that province, who had never quitted the +seat of her ancestors, but remained quiet and respected during all the +storms of the revolution. She received me with kindness, and politely +introduced me to the Sub-Prefect, Monsieur Lamorelie, who gave me a +letter of introduction to the Père Don Augustin, Grand Prior of La +Trappe. The mayor of the commune of Solignié, who happened to be at +the inn, and learned from the _Aubergiste_, that a stranger intended +visiting La Trappe, very civilly introduced himself to me, and gave me +every necessary direction how to proceed through the forest; at the +same time expressing his surprise that an Englishman should take +the trouble, and undergo the fatigue of penetrating through such a +country, an attempt which few of his own countrymen had ever ventured +to make. It was singular enough that only one person in the town could +be found to accompany me as a guide, or who knew any thing of +the track through the forest, although the abbey is distant only +twenty-five miles. + +I set out with the guide just at day-break, mounted on a small Norman +horse, and armed with pistols and a sword-cane, in case of meeting +with wolves, which the mayor of Solignié had cautioned me against, as +abounding throughout the country. We travelled, after leaving the +main road, at the distance of a league, through a country scarcely +appearing to be inhabited. Here and there a lone cot, a mere speck, +met the eye amidst a landscape composed of nothing but barren wastes +and thick forests, nearly impervious to the light. We had penetrated +about half a mile through one of the latter, my attention occupied +with the romantic wildness of the scene, when we were alarmed by the +howling of a wolf. My guide crossed himself, and began cracking his +whip with the noise and singular dexterity peculiar to the French +postillions; and as we entered a part of the forest, impenetrable but +for traces known only to those who are accustomed to them, he related +(by way of consolation, I suppose,) several stories of the peasantry +having been recently attacked, and some destroyed, by wolves; and one +instance of a woman having had her infant torn from her arms, only a +short time since, in the neighbourhood. + +On quitting the forest the track was now and then diversified by the +ruins of a solitary cottage, or the mouldering remains of a crucifix, +raised by pious hands to mark some event, or to guide the traveller; +and after traversing a rocky plain, covered with heath and wild thyme, +where some herds of sheep and goats were browsing, attended by the +shepherd, we entered the Forest of Bellegarde. This forest spreads +over a large extent of country, and is so dark and intricate, that +those best acquainted with it frequently lose their way. No vestige of +human footsteps or of the track of animals appeared; a mark, here and +there, on some of the trees, was the only direction! Pursuing our way +through turnings and windings the most perplexing, we found ourselves +to be on the overhanging brow of a hill, the descent of which was so +precipitous, that we were under the necessity of dismounting; and by +a winding path, hollowed out in its side, descended through a sort +of labyrinth towards the valley, whose sides were clothed with lofty +woods, rising one above the other. The valley itself is interspersed +with three lakes, connected with each other, and forming a sort of +moat around the ground; in the centre of which appears the venerable +abbey of La Trappe, with its dark gray towers, the deep tone of whose +bell had previously announced to us, that we had nearly reached our +journey's end. + +The situation of this monastery was well adapted to the founder's +views, and to suggest the name it originally received of La Trappe, +from the intricacy of the road which descends to it, and the +difficulty of access or egress, which exists even to this day, though +the woods have been very much thinned since the revolution. Perhaps +there never was any thing in the whole universe better calculated to +inspire religious awe than the first view of this monastery. It was +imposing even to breathlessness. The total solitude--the undisturbed +and chilling silence, which seem to have ever slept over the dark and +ancient woods--the still lakes, reflecting the deep solemnity of the +objects around them--all impress a powerful image of utter seclusion +and hopeless separation from living man, and appear formed at once to +court and gratify the sternest austerities of devotion--to nurse +the fanaticism of diseased imaginations--to humour the wildest +fancies--and promote the gloomiest schemes of penance and privation! + +In descending the steep and intricate path the traveller frequently +loses sight of the abbey, until he has actually reached the bottom; +then emerging from the wood, the following inscription is seen carved +on a wooden cross: + + C'est ici que la mort et que la vérité + Elèvent leurs flambeaux terribles; + C'est de cette demeure, au monde inaccessible, + Que l'on passe à l'éternité. + +A venerable grove of oak trees, which formerly surrounded the +monastery, was cut down in the revolution. In the gateway of the outer +court is a statue of Saint Bernard, which has been mutilated by the +republicans: he is holding in one hand a church, and in the other a +spade--the emblems of devotion and labour. This gateway leads into a +court, which opens into a second enclosure, and around that are the +granaries, stables, bakehouse, and other offices necessary to the +abbey, which have all been happily preserved. + +Owing to the fatigue of the journey, the heat of the weather, and +having frequently been obliged to retrace our steps, from losing our +way in the woods, it was late before we arrived at the abbey. To the +west, under the glow of the setting sun, the forests were still tinged +with the warmest yet softest colours that faded fast away; and as we +descended towards the Convent, quickening our pace to reach it before +the last gleams of evening departed, there was a silence around us, +which at such a moment, and in such a spot, sunk sorrowfully upon the +heart! Just as I reached the gate the bell tolled in so solemn and +melancholy a tone that it vibrated through my whole frame, and called +strongly to mind the beautiful lines in "Parisina": + + The Convent bells are ringing, + But mournfully and slow; + In the gray square turret swinging, + With a deep sound, to and fro, + Heavily to the heart they go! + +On entering the gate, a lay-brother received me on his knees; and in +a low and whispering voice informed me they were at vespers. The +stillness and gloom of the building--the last rays of the sun scarcely +penetrating through its windows--the deep tones of the monks chanting +the responses, which occasionally broke the silence, filled me with +reverential emotions which I felt unwilling to disturb: it was +necessary however to present my letter of introduction, and Frère +Charle, the secrétaire, soon after came out, and received me with +great civility. He appeared a young man about five-and-twenty, with a +handsome and prepossessing countenance. He informed me that the Père +Abbé was then absent, visiting a convent of Female Trappistes, a +few leagues distant, but that he should be happy to show me every +attention; and requested that in going over the Convent, I would +neither speak nor ask him any questions in those places where I saw +him kneel, or in the presence of any of the Monks. I followed him to +the chapel, where, as soon as the service was over, the bell rung +to summon them to supper. Ranged in double rows, with their heads +enveloped in a large cowl, and bent down to the earth, they chanted +the grace, and then seated themselves. During the repast one of them, +standing, read passages from scripture, reminding them of death, and +of the shortness of human existence; another went round the whole +community, and on his knees kissed their feet in succession, throwing +himself prostrate on the floor at intervals before the image of our +Saviour; a third remained on his knees the whole time, and in that +attitude took his repast. These penitents had committed some fault, +or neglected their religious duties, of which, according to the +regulations, they had accused themselves, and were in consequence +doomed to the above modes of penance. + +The refectory was furnished with long wooden tables and benches; each +person was provided with a trencher, a jug of water, and a cup, having +on it the name of the brother to whom it is appropriated, as Frère +Paul, Frère François, &c. which name they assume on taking the vow. +Their supper consisted of bread soaked in water, a little salt, and +two raw carrots, placed by each; water alone is their beverage. The +dinner is varied with a little cabbage or other vegetables: they very +rarely have cheese, and never meat, fish, or eggs. The bread is of the +coarsest kind possible. + +Their bed is a small truckle, boarded, with a single covering, +generally a blanket, no mattress nor pillow; and, as in the former +time, no fire is allowed but one in the great hall, which they never +approach. + +Within these three years a small cabaret has been built near the +Convent for the accommodation of those who may occasionally visit it, +the buildings that remain being but barely sufficient for their own +members, which have been rapidly increasing since its restoration. In +this cabaret I took up my abode for the night, in preference to the +accommodation very kindly offered me by Frère Charle, and retired to +rest, wearied with the day's excursion, and fully satisfied, that all +I had heard, all I had imagined of La Trappe, was infinitely short of +the reality, and that no adequate description could be given of its +awful and dreary solitude; + +Monsieur Elzéar de Sabran, in a poem called Le Repentir, lately +published, describing this Monastery, says very justly; + + Témoins d'une commune et secrète souffrance, + Ces frères de douleur, martyrs de l'espérance, + D'une lente torture épuisant les degrés, + Constamment réunis, constamment séparés, + L'un à l'autre étrangers, à côté l'un de l'autre, + Joignent tout ce malheur encore à tout le nôtre, + Jamais, dans ses pareils cherchant un tendre appui, + Un coeur ne s'ouvre aux coeurs qui souffrent comme lui. + +The following morning the matin bell summoned me to the Convent, +and Frère Charle attended me to the burial ground; here have been +deposited the remains of two of the brothers, deceased since the +restoration of their order in 1814. Another grave was ready prepared; +as soon as an interment takes place, one being always opened for the +next that may die. The two graves were marked with simple wooden +crosses, bearing the following inscriptions: + + F. Nicolas. Frère DONNÉ + Décédé. le 24 Février 1816. + + * * * * * + +On the other: + + F. AUGUSTINUS. NOVITIUS + die 26 mensis novembris + ANNO. 1816 DECESSIT. + REQUIESCAT IN PACE + AMEN. + + * * * * * + +In the centre of the cemetery is the grave of M. De Rancé. His +monument, with his figure carved at full length in a recumbent +posture, was removed when the destruction of the old church took +place; it is now a complete ruin, and a few stones alone mark the spot +of its ancient founder's grave, which is kept free from weeds with +pious reverence and care. The revolution, which like a torrent swept +all before it, did not even spare the dead. + +[Illustration: RUINS of the ANCIENT CHURCH of LA TRAPPE.] + +While I was contemplating the ruins around me, and watching the +motions of a venerable figure in silent prayer at one of the angles, +the bell tolled, when both Frère Charle and the Monk dropped instantly +on their knees. How forcibly were the following lines of Pope recalled +to my mind! + + Lo, the struck deer, in some sequester'd part, + Lies down to die, (the arrow in his heart;) + There, hid in shades, and wasting day by day, + Inly he bleeds, and pants his soul away. + +The number of Monks who have taken the vow are not in proportion to +the others, who are lay brothers, and _Frères Donnés_; in all there +are about one hundred, besides novices, who are principally composed +of boys, and who do not wear the same habit. The Trappistes, who +compose the first order, are clothed in dark brown, with brown mantle +and hood; the others are in white, with brown mantle and hood. +I occasionally caught a glimpse of their faces, but it was only +momentarily; and I can easily believe, with their perpetual silence, +that two people well known to each other, might inhabit the same spot, +without ever being aware of it, so completely are their faces hidden +by their large cowl. The Trappistes, or first order, are distinguished +by the appellation of _Frères Convers_, the others by that of +_Religieux de Coeur_. + +The hardships undergone by these monks appear almost insupportable +to human nature, and notwithstanding the immense number of deaths +occasioned by their rigorous austerities, the Cénobites of La Trappe, +at the suppression of their order, amounted to one hundred monks, +sixty-nine lay brothers, and fifty-six _Frères Donnés_. The inmates +are classed under these three heads; but the lay brothers, who take +the same vows, and follow the same rules, are principally employed as +servants, and in transacting the temporal concerns of the abbey. The +_Frères Donnés_ are brothers given for a time; these last are not +properly belonging to the order, they are rather, religious persons, +whose business or connexions prevent their joining the order +absolutely, but, who wishing to renew serious impressions, or to +retire from the world for a given period, come here and conform +strictly to the regulations while they remain, without wishing to join +the order for life. Many persons on their first conversion, or after +some peculiar dispensations of Providence, retire here for a season. + +In the refectory I observed a board hung up, with "_Table pour +l'Office Divin_," written over it, and under it the regulations or +order of service to be performed for that week, which are occasionally +varied, but never diminished in their rigour. Frère Charle said, +that the whole were strictly observed, and were frequently much more +severe; for the Père Abbé had instituted more austere regulations +than formerly, with the only one exception, of the sick being allowed +medicines; and, in cases of great debility, a small quantity of meat. + +The Table "_pour l'Office Divin_," was as follows. + + Dimanche....12 Leçons et Communion. + Lundi....... 3 Leçons. + Mardi.......12 Leçons--à jeun--Travail. + Mercredi....12 Leçons. + Jeudi....... 3 Leçons. + Vendredi....12 Leçons--à jeun--Travail. + Samedi......12 Leçons--à jeun--Travail. + +Their mode of life and regulations exist nearly in the same state +as established by the founder; in reciting them, such horrible +perversions of human nature and reason make it almost difficult to +believe the existence of so severe an order, and lead us to wonder +at the artificial miseries, which the ingenuity of pious but morbid +enthusiasm can inflict upon itself. The abstinence practised at La +Trappe allows not the use of meat, fish, eggs, or butter; and a very +limited quantity of bread and vegetables. They only eat twice a +day; which meals consist of a slender repast at about eleven in the +morning, and two ounces of bread and two raw carrots in the evening: +both together do not at any time exceed twelve ounces. The same spirit +of mortification is observable in their cells, which are very small, +and have no other furniture than a bed of boards, a human skull, and a +few religious books. + +Silence is at all times rigidly maintained; conversation is never +permitted: should two of them even be seen standing near each other, +though pursuing their daily labour, and preserving the strictest +silence, it is considered as a violation of their vow, and highly +criminal; each member is therefore as completely insulated as if he +alone existed in the Monastery. None but the Père Abbé knows the name, +age, rank, or even the native country of any member of the community: +every one, at his first entrance, assumes another name, as I before +observed, and with his former appellation, each is supposed to abjure, +not only the world, but every recollection and memorial of himself and +connexions: no word ever escapes from his lips by which the others can +possibly guess who he is, or where he comes from; and persons of the +same name, family, and neighbourhood, have often lived together in the +Convent for years, unknown to each other, without having suspected +their proximity. + +The abstraction of mind practised at La Trappe, and the prevention of +all external communication with the world is such, that few but the +superior know any thing of what is passing in it. It has been related, +that so little information of the affairs of mankind did these people +receive, that the death of Louis XIV. was not known there for years, +except by the Father Abbé; and such was their state of seclusion, that +a Nobleman having taken a journey of five hundred miles, purposely to +see the Monastery, could scarcely find in the neighbouring villages +one person who knew where it was situated. Indeed, at the present day, +it is quite astonishing how little is known of this place, and how +very few, even among those in its immediate vicinity, have ever +visited it.[1] + +On the great festivals they rise at midnight; otherwise they are not +called until three quarters past one: at two they assemble in the +Chapel, where they perform different services, public and private, +until seven in the morning, according to the regulations of the week, +as exemplified in the "_Table pour l'Office Divin_". At this hour they +go out to labour in the open air. Their work is of the most fatiguing +kind, is never intermitted, winter or summer, and admits of no +relaxation from the state of the weather. + +[Footnote 1: Among the most frequent visitors of La Trappe, was +the unfortunate James the Second. His first visit was on the 20th +November, 1690, where he was received by M. de Rancé, whose account of +it is very interesting.] + +When their labour is over, they go into Chapel for a short time, until +eleven o'clock, the hour of repast; at a quarter after eleven they +read till noon; and afterwards lie down to rest for an hour: they are +then summoned into the garden, where they again work until three; +then read again for three quarters of an hour, and retire for another +quarter to their private meditations, by way of preparation for +vespers, which begin at four, and end at six; at seven they again +enter the Chapel, and at eight they leave it, and retire to rest. + +At the hour of their first repast, I again attended Frère Charle to +the eating-room, where nearly the same forms were observed as at their +evening-meal; a small basin of boiled cabbage, two raw carrots, and +a small piece of black bread, with a jug of water, constituted their +solitary meal. A Monk, during the whole time, read sentences from +Scripture; and a small hand-bell filled up the intervals of his +silence, and proclaimed a cessation from eating, or movement of +any sort. Over the door of the Refectory I observed the following +inscription in Latin:--"Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, +than a stalled ox, and hatred therewith". + +Frère Charle invited me to partake of the frugal fare of his order. He +said, "You will forgive my laying before you a vegetable repast; it +is all that I have in my power to offer you, but you will confer a +pleasure by accepting it". It was impossible to refuse, for I felt I +should appear ungrateful after the attentions that had been shown me, +if I had. Frère Charle conducted me into an apartment, in which I was +gratified to observe a well executed portrait of the Abbé de Rancé, +which, at the destruction of the Monastery, had been preserved by the +surgeon of the ancient fraternity, who continued to reside there until +the period of his death, four or five years since. This person was +greatly respected by all the people round the country, and resorted +to by all who sought relief either from sickness or misery!--Had the +other brothers followed his example of remaining, in all probability +their Convent might have been spared, for the accumulation of wealth +could not be laid to their charge; and as their monastic vows obliged +them to remain within the Monastery, they were most unlikely to incur +the suspicion of any political intrigues.--How indeed could men, whose +whole existence was passed in solitude and penance, and who never +conversed even among themselves, have been dangerous to those +turbulent spirits who had overturned the government and all the +religious institutions of their country! + +In the portrait, the Abbé is dressed in the habit of the order, a +white gown and hood, and sitting with a book before him, in which he +appears to be writing; on the same table, before him, are a crucifix +and a skull. The following inscription is painted in one corner by the +artist: + + "ARM'D. LE BOUTTHILLIER DE RANCE. S'R + SCAUANT. et célèbre Abbé Réformateur De La Trappe. + Mort en 1700. à près de 77 ans, et de 40 ans de la plus + austère pénitence". + +The Monastery of La Trappe is one of the most ancient Abbeys of the +order of Benedictins: it was established under the pontificate of +Innocent the Second, during the reign of Louis VII. in the year 1140, +by Rotrou, the second Count of Perche, and is said to have been built +to accomplish a vow, made in the peril of shipwreck. In commemoration +of this circumstance, the roof was made in the shape of the bottom of +a ship inverted. It was founded under the auspices of Saint Bernard, +the first Abbot of Clairvaux, the celebrated preacher in favour of +the Crusades. Many ages, however, had elapsed, since its first +institution, when the Father Abbot de Rancé, the celebrated reformer +of his time, determined to become a member, whose singular history and +conversion was the subject of a poem by Monsieur Barthe. + +The Abbé de Rancé became a Monk of the Benedictin order of La Trappe, +in 1660, and his conversion was attributed to a lady whom he tenderly +loved. They had been separated for some time by her parents; she +having written to him to remove her for the purpose of becoming united +in marriage, he set off, but, during his journey, she was seized with +a fever and died. Totally ignorant of the circumstance, he approached +the house under cover of the night, and got into her apartment through +the window. The first object he beheld was the coffin which contained +the body of his beloved mistress! It had been made of lead, but being +found to be too short, they had, with unheard of brutality; severed +her head from her body! Horror-struck with the shocking spectacle, he, +from that hour, renounced all connexion with the world, and imposed +upon himself the most rigid austerities, which he continued until his +death, forty years after. + +When M. de Rancé undertook the superintendance of the Monastery, it +exhibited a melancholy picture, of the greatest declension, and it +is curious to peruse the steps by which he effected so wonderful a +change;[2] and how men could ever feel it either an inclination or a +duty to enter upon a mode of life so different from the common ways of +thinking or feeling. + +[Footnote 2: Règlements de L'Abbaye, La Maison-Dieu Notre Dame de La +Trappe, par Dom. Armand de Rancé.] + +The Monks of La Trappe were not only immersed in luxury and sloth, but +were abandoned to the most scandalous excesses; most of them lived by +robbery, and several had committed assassinations on the travellers +who had occasion to traverse the woods. The neighbourhood shrunk with +terror from the approach of men who never went abroad unarmed, and +whose excursions were marked with bloodshed and violence. The Banditti +of La Trappe was the appellation by which they were most generally +distinguished. Such were the men amongst whom M. de Rancé resolved to +fix his abode; all his friends endeavouring to dissuade him from an +undertaking, they deemed alike hopeless and dangerous. + +"Unarmed, and unassisted," [3] says his historian, "but in the panoply +of God, and by his Spirit, he went alone amidst this company of +ruffians, every one of whom was bent on his destruction. With +undaunted boldness, he began by proposing the strictest reform, and +not counting his life dear to him, he described the full intent of his +purpose, and left them no choice but obedience or Expulsion". + +[Footnote 3: The work from which I have taken this, is a translation +by Mrs. Schimmelpenninck of Dom. Claude Lancelot's Narrative, +published in 1667. The present regulations not differing from the +former, I have extracted some of the most important.] + +"Many were the dangers M. de Rancé underwent; plans were laid, at +various times, to poison him, to waylay and assassinate him, and even +once one of his monks shot at him; but the pistol, which was applied +close to his head, flashed in the pan, and missed fire. By the good +providence of God all these plans were frustrated, and M. de Rancé +not only brought his reform to bear, but several of his most violent +persecutors became his most stedfast adherents; many were, after a +short time, won over by his piety--the rest left the Monastery. +He especially, who had shot at M. de Rancé, became eminently +distinguished for his piety and learning, and was afterwards Sub-Prior +of La Trappe". + +M. de Rancé lived forty years at the head of this singular society, +and the same ardor and piety continued to distinguish him to the last. +The excess of self-denial and discipline, exercised by this order, +which might readily be doubted, became more known, especially to this +country, at the time of the French Revolution, when they shared the +fate of dissolution with the various religious orders in France. On +that occasion many of them sought an asylum in England, and were +settled in Dorsetshire, where they received the kind protection and +benevolent assistance of Mr. Weld, until the restoration enabled most +of them to return; and, surprising as it may appear in the present +age, notwithstanding the perpetual violence imposed by their +regulations on every human feeling, many are found anxious to enter +the establishment. + +When I was about to take my leave of Frère Charle, he said, "he hoped +I was pleased with my humble fare: to such as it was I had been truly +welcome". Indeed he had treated me with the kindest, most unaffected +hospitality; he had laid the table, spread the dishes before me, stood +the whole time by the side of my chair, and pressed me to eat: How +could I not be thankful? I requested he would be seated, but he +observed that it was not proper for him to be so. His manners and +general deportment bespoke him a well-bred gentleman; and when I +ventured to ask if I might make a memorandum of his name, he bowed his +head with meekness and resignation, and said, "I have now no other but +that which was bestowed on me when I took the vow, which severs me +from the world for ever!" It was impossible not to be affected at the +manner and tone of voice in which he uttered this. When I said that +perhaps he would like that I should leave an acknowledgment in +writing, expressive of the gratitude I felt at my kind and hospitable +reception, he appeared much pleased, and instantly procured me paper. +I left with him the following lines: + + "Convent of La Trappe, July 20, 1817. + + "I have this day visited the Convent of La Trappe, + and in the absence of the Grand Prior, to whom I + brought a letter of introduction from Monsieur Lamorelie, + Sub-Prefect of Mortagne, I was received and + have been entertained by Frère Charle Marie, his Secretary. + + "It is quite impossible that I can do justice to the + kind, polite, and hospitable reception I have met with + from him, by any expressions in writing. I can only + observe, that it has made an impression on my mind + never to be effaced! If these worthy and pious people + have abandoned the world for the solitude and austerities + of La Trappe, they have not forgotten, in their own self-denial, + the benevolence and benignity due to strangers. + May their self-devotion meet with its reward!" + +I now took my leave of the Convent with feelings which I will not +pretend to describe, but which, together with the impressions I +received when I first entered it, and the whole circumstances of my +visit, I am conscious of retaining while "Memory holds her seat". The +following lines, by P. Mandard, on quitting La Trappe, convey a very +faithful and poetical picture of this extraordinary solitude: + + --Saint désert, séjour pur et paisible, + Solitude profonde, au vice inaccessible; + Impétueux torrens, et vous sombres forêts, + Recevez mes adieux, comme aussi mes regrets! + Toujours épris de vous, respectable retraite, + Puissé-je, dans le cours d'une vie inquiète, + Dans ce flux éternel de folie et d'erreur, + Où flotte tristement notre malheureux coeur; + Puissé-je, pour charmer mes ennuis et mes peines, + Souvent fuir en esprit au bord de vos fontaines, + Egarer ma pensée au milieu de vos bois, + Par un doux souvenir rappeler mille fois + De vos Saints habitans les touchantes images, + Pénétrer, sur leurs pas, dans vos grottes sauvages, + Me placer sur vos monts, et là, prennant l'essort, + Aller chercher en Dieu ma joie, et mon trésor! + + + + +CHAP. II. + +VAL-DIEU.--RUINS OF THE CONVENT OF THE CHARTREUSE.--FORESTS OF LE +PERCHE, MORTAGNE. + + +I quitted _La Trappe_ in the afternoon of the third day after my +arrival there, for the Val-Dieu, which lies three leagues to the east +of Mortagne, taking the villages of Rinrolles and Prepotin in my way; +the latter stands in the midst of a forest. By this road, so bad that +it scarcely deserves the name, a great distance is saved, but the +romantic scenery of the approach to La Trappe is lost. The one we took +through the forest of Bellegarde more than doubles the distance; +but the Abbey is seen as in the centre of a lake beneath, and +the continual beauty and wildness of the landscape render it far +preferable. Until the Revolution this was the only road, the other +having been made when the lands became national property, and were +sold to the peasantry. + +After passing through the above villages, we came round by Tourouvre, +a village on a height, which has a manufactory for glass. I did +not stop to view it, having several leagues to go through a wooded +country. Soon after crossing the main road leading into Bretagne, +we rode by the side of cultivated lands and orchards resembling the +western parts of Devonshire, of which the narrow lanes and high hedges +reminded me very much, until we entered the forest leading to the +Val-Dieu. Between eight and nine in the evening we came to the edge +bounding that part of the Vale by which it is approached, in the +direction we had taken. It was very considerably out of our way, owing +to the guide having mistaken his road and turned to the left instead +of the right. After resting a few minutes on the brow of the hill, we +began our descent by a steep and narrow pathway. When we were midway +down the glen, the ruins of the ancient Chartreuse suddenly burst upon +the view! At this moment all the terrors of the declivity, and the +momentary expectation of meeting some of the wolves with which the +forest abounds, vanished from my mind before the feelings of delight +which the enchanting scene called forth. The almost perpendicular view +of the Vale beneath, had an effect tremendous yet pleasing: on the +left was a lake, seeming to encircle an ancient convent embosomed in +a wood; a thick forest covered the surrounding heights, and before me +stood the remains of the ancient Priory, with its gateway and lodge so +perfect as to create no suspicion of the destruction within. + +[Illustration: RUINS of the GATEWAY of the ANCIENT CHARTREUSE.] + +This had been the hottest day and finest weather I had experienced +during my journey. It was a sweet evening, and the rich tints of the +departing sun-beams among the woods, with the solitary calmness of the +scenery around, were circumstances that made a strong impression on my +feelings. Those who have never traversed the forests of this country +can form but a very imperfect idea of what they are, or of the +death-like awful stillness that reigns within them; for many miles +together they form a dense shade, which, like a dark awning, +completely conceals the sun from the view: even on the brightest day +the sun's rays are only visible as from the bottom of a deep well! The +forests in Le Perche are reckoned the most extensive in France, and +every where abound with vast quantities of game. + +I was received on alighting from my horse by a M. Boderie, a +good humoured hospitable man, who, with his family, are the only +inhabitants of this lonesome spot. I found afterwards that he had seen +better days: he informed me the Val-Dieu property was purchased at the +dissolution of the Monastery by the present proprietor, who resided at +Paris, and allowed him, being his friend, to occupy that part of the +building which had not been destroyed. He made many apologies for the +badness of the accommodations and the homeliness of the fare he had to +offer me, which I considered as unnecessary, as what he possessed was +tendered with unaffected cheerfulness. + +The Prussians in 1815 occupied this country, and notwithstanding M. +Boderie was absent at that time serving in the body guard of Louis +XVIII, whom he had accompanied in his retreat to Ghent, they plundered +him of every article, not even leaving his wife a change of linen. +The numerous accounts I have heard from people of respectability and +loyalty, of the treatment experienced from the Prussians, excites the +greatest regret that they were not able to distinguish the innocent +from the guilty. Many families have been ruined, or greatly distressed +in their circumstances who were devoted to the cause of their +Sovereign. Such are the inevitable consequences of war! + +The Val-Dieu extends upwards of three miles in length, surrounded by +almost impenetrable woods, except where paths have been cut. It has +three lakes, one communicating with the other, containing great +quantities of fish. The Monastery, it is evident from the remains of +its ruins, and from the boundary wall, still entire, must have been of +prodigious extent. M. Boderie informed me, that the plan, of which +he had seen an engraving, showed it to have been one of the most +considerable in the kingdom: some idea may be formed of its former +celebrity and extent by the remains of six hundred fire-places being +still traceable. A colonnade surrounded the whole, forming an oblong +square, in the centre of which was a jet d'eau, with several smaller +ones, the basins of which are still to be seen; the space within +formed a garden, with delicious walks, resembling those in the Palais +Royal. + +The gate-way remains perfect, excepting only that the images over the +side doors have been mutilated. The one in the centre (over the great +entrance) is still in excellent preservation, and appears to be finely +executed: it is the figure of the Virgin Mary in gray marble, the +size of life, seated, with the infant Jesus in her arms. On a scroll +beneath are these letters:-- + + ECCE MATER + TVA. + 1760. + +Several old chesnut trees and elms still remain, which once formed +a fine avenue in front of the building, from whence the prospect is +strikingly beautiful. The eye passes over rocks, rugged, broken, and +abrupt towards their summits, crowned and darkened with wood; and the +narrow road winding between the trees, until it loses itself in the +forest, forms a feature very gratifying to the traveller. The solitude +of the place, as I viewed it at the close of day, occasioned mingled +sensations of pleasure and pain. It was impossible to resist the +imposing power of a situation, where every natural object was deeply +tinged with the poetical character, and every remnant of architecture +associated with the romance of religious feeling. I recalled and dwelt +upon various passages of the poets inspired by similar scenes, and +thought of the holy and enthusiastic minds which had here devoted +themselves to the sublimest duties and severest sacrifices of the +altar; and felt, that had I lived in those days, I, perhaps, could +have become an inmate of walls which seem to have been erected +to exclude the evils of life, and to nurture only the enchanting +abstractions of unpolluted virtue and happiness: but the present +day has brought with it a general philosophy and knowledge of human +nature, which lessen the delight of contemplating the calm repose of +such a seclusion, and have taught that these retreats from the world +were not always retreats from vice; that the sacrifices of monkish +privacy were not always those of selfish feelings; and that the +austerities once practised here, as now at La Trappe, might perhaps +arise more frequently from disappointed pride and ambition, than +from the pure feelings of pious resignation. In the overthrow of the +monarchy and that of the priesthood, this venerable pile became the +object of popular vengeance; and had the Revolution done no more than +effected the dissolution of the different orders of monks and nuns, +every reflecting mind must have been pleased: the removal of those +abuses, like the division of landed property into smaller portions, +(whereby the country in general became more cultivated and +productive,) was serviceable to France; and, if any circumstance can +restore permanent tranquillity, it will be the interest which the +different landholders have in the soil and the representative system, +which will serve to check the ambition of its future governors. +Already the good effects of these are to be perceived; and the +excessive abuses, insolence, and profligacy, of ancient ministerial +oppression, which paved the way for the downfall of the monarchy, and, +like a pestilence, destroyed that which was good with that which was +evil, will be prevented in future. + +It is, nevertheless, melancholy to observe the traces of devastation +visible in all directions: the people themselves appear not to regard +it, but this may arise partly from the long and habitual feelings +generated by the scenes to which the Revolution daily gave rise, and +partly from the constitutional cheerfulness of the natives, who seldom +view objects through the same dark medium that ours are supposed to +do, and who, though they are not celebrated for patience, are of all +mankind the least liable to despondency. When I spoke to M. Boderie of +my regret at the destruction of an ancient structure like the one in +question, his answer was, immediately, "oui c'est bien malheureux; +mais enfin que voulez-vous?" He was "desolé" or had "le coeur très +sensible à tout cela;" but finished by "il faut se consoler". With +this sort of philosophy they are always ready to view the past, and +accept of consolation, and in amusement, seek to bear or dissipate +the calamities inseparable from such a state of events, without even +appearing to repine. None of them will ever enter into conversation on +the subject if it can be avoided. + +The following day, having taken leave of my hospitable host, who +refused any compensation, I returned to Mortagne by another route, +through the Forest of Val-Dieu, more dark and difficult to penetrate +than the other; but the guide was better acquainted with it, and took +the road by Saint Maure and Saint Eloi, through a fine country, highly +cultivated, and abounding in beautiful scenery and distant landscapes. +It was late at night before I reached Mortagne, greatly fatigued from +the excessive heat of the weather. + +I dined the following day with Madame de Bellou, whose kind attention +and elegant hospitality, during the time I remained at Mortagne, I +must ever remember with sentiments of sincere gratitude. This lady had +invited Monsieur Lamorelie, the Sub-Prefect, one of the most elegant +men I had met with in France, with several other gentlemen and ladies, +to meet me. Among the party were Madame de Fontenay, Monsieur and +Mademoiselle Claire de Vanssay--very agreeable people: the latter +possessed, without great beauty, all the charms and vivacity of her +countrywomen. In the evening we went to an assembly, where I had an +opportunity of seeing, and being presented to, all the respectable +families that yet remained in town; for at this season many were at +their country-seats. The ease, elegance, and good manners of the +company composing this society, I never saw excelled in any country. +It is but common justice to observe, that in Mortagne, which is the +residence of all the best families in the province, there is to be +found all the characteristic good breeding for which the French were +so long, and so deservedly celebrated. + +The town of Mortagne stands on the declivity of a hill, in the +province of Le Perche, bordering on Normandy. The high road to +Bretagne passes through it. It has only one church remaining out +of seven, six having been destroyed at the Revolution. It has some +manufactories for serges and coarse cloths, and contains between five +and six thousand inhabitants, in the department of L'Orne. From its +elevated position and chalky soil, the air is pure and the situation +healthy. The inhabitants are under the necessity of supplying +themselves with water from the valley, as there are no wells on +account of the rocky height it stands on, which is attended with +inconvenience and expense; otherwise it would be a desirable residence +for those who wish to unite economy with a change of climate. + +During the Vendean war, this town became, at different periods, the +victim of either party as they were successful; and it suffered +severely. The hotel kept by Gautier (Les trois Lions), which is +likewise la Poste, and le Bureau des Diligences, is the best, and +the people are very obliging; but it partakes of the same want +of cleanliness, that so invariably distinguishes all similar +establishments in this country. + + + + +CHAP. III. + +FROM MORTAGNE TO RENNES, SOEURS DE LA CHARITÉ. ALENÇON, LAVAL, VITRÉ, +THE RESIDENCE OF THE CELEBRATED MADAME DE SÉVIGNÉ. RENNES. + + +I travelled by the diligence from Mortagne to Alençon and Laval: we +arrived at the former place to dinner, and at the latter to remain all +night. The carriage was filled with _Soeurs de la Charité_, + + "Qui, pour le malheur seul connoissant la tendresse, + Aux besoins du vieil-age immollent leur jeunesse," + +on their way to different places in Bretagne, on charitable missions, +by the order of the Superior at Paris. Four of these were young and +beautiful women, none of whom could have attained the age of twenty; +yet these females had already devoted themselves to attend on the sick +and poor wherever their services might be required, for which purpose +they receive a suitable education, in an Hospital at Paris, in such +branches of medicine and surgery as may render them useful. They +are distributed throughout the kingdom to attend the hospitals and +prisons, which they do with the delicacy and attention peculiar to +their sex. Of all the classes of females who thus devote themselves to +a religious life, and to acts of charity, none are more respected, or +more truly serviceable to their fellow-creatures. Their dress consists +of a coarse brown jacket and gown, with a high linen cap, sloping down +over the shoulders, and a rosary hanging round their waist. + +Quitting Beauregard we crossed the river Sart: here the Province of +Le Perche terminates, and we enter that of Normandy. For many miles, +travelling close to the Forest of Bourse, the roads are excellent, +though hilly, and the country highly cultivated in all directions. The +peasantry were getting in the hay and rye harvest, and large tracts of +wheat and barley were nearly ready for cutting. + +The town of Alençon is the capital of L'Orne-sur-Sart. It stands in +the middle of a fertile plain. The lace made here is the most valuable +of any manufactured in France. The Hotel of the Prefecture is a +fine building. After dinner I went to the theatre, (formerly an old +manufactory), to see the _Hotel Garni_ and _Les deux Suisses_: both +performances were of a very moderate cast. The audience consisted +principally of the military in garrison. + +On the road from Alençon to Laval, we were guarded the whole day by +two troopers of the Gendarmerie, who are quartered along the whole +line of road from the capital; they are well armed and mounted, and +keep a very vigilant guard. At every place we stopped our passports +were examined. The police of this country is observed with greater +rigor than at any former period of its history, with regard to +passports. The circumstances under which the restoration took place, +the political state of France, in regard to other powers, the +conflicting interests and opinions of various parties, probably render +it highly expedient. On the arrival of a stranger at Paris, his +passport must be presented, and inscribed in the police book. +The revision of the one under which the person has travelled is +indispensably necessary. It is then carried to the British Ambassador, +(if the stranger be of that nation), or to the minister of that +country to which he belongs, where it must obtain the Ambassador's +signature. It is next taken to the office of the Minister of Foreign +Affairs, where it is deposited until the following day, for which ten +livres are charged, and afterwards to the Préfecture of the Police, to +be signed there in its turn: and when all this is done no one can quit +the capital for the interior without its being again signed at the +Préfecture of the police. + +From Alençon, we passed the Briante, a small river, at Ville Neuve, +where the road begins to skirt the Forest of Moultonue. At Mayenne, +the river of that name divides the provinces. The whole of this +country is singularly beautiful. I observed vast quantities of buck +wheat, which the French call _bled noir_ or _sarazin_. The country was +very much enclosed, producing a great contrast to the vast tracts of +land through which I had passed without a single division. + +At two leagues from Mayenne we crossed the river Aisne, winding +through a beautiful valley, between Martigné and Louverné. On the left +the river forms a small lake, surrounded by a wood at the foot of a +very long and steep hill. + +The town of Mayenne is ancient and irregularly built, the river +Mayenne running through it. The ruins of an old wall and some decayed +towers remain of the fortifications which were taken by assault, after +several bloody attempts, during the siege by the English, in 1424. + +At Laval, where I stopped, after again crossing the Mayenne, I +entered the province of Bretagne: it is an old dirty town, completely +intersected by the river, and has a manufactory for coarse cloths and +cottons. The _Tête Noire_ is one of the worst inns I have met with in +the country. The department of the Isle-et-Vilaine commences here. + +This place is celebrated in the history of the Vendean war by the +refuge Madame de Laroche-Jaquelin sought there, after the deplorable +defeat of the royalist army at the battle of Mans, where it received +its death-blow. The wreck of that army, under M. de Laroche-Jaquelin, +were driven from it again on the following day, and from that +hour never rallied so as to make any stand against the victorious +republicans. + +Quitting Laval the day after my arrival, I ascended a long and steep +hill, travelled by the side of the forest of Petre, and came to Vitré, +where I remained all night for the purpose of visiting the château of +the celebrated Madame de Sévigné,[4] whose estate has descended to a +distant branch of her family, who had the good fortune to save it from +destruction during the revolution. The grounds are kept in excellent +order. Her picture hangs in the apartment in which she composed her +interesting and elegant letters, and every article of furniture +carefully preserved is shown to strangers. The distance from Vitré to +Rennes is seven leagues, over a road which becomes gradually less and +less Interesting. + +[Footnote 4: Marie de Rabutin, Marchioness de Sevigné, was the +daughter of the Baron de Chantal, and born in 1626: she espoused at +the age of eighteen the Marquis de Sévigné, who fell in a duel in +1651, leaving her with one son and a daughter, to whose education +she paid strict attention: the daughter married in 1669 the Count de +Grignan, Commandant in Provence, and it was on a visit to her that the +Marchioness caught a fever and died in 1696. Her son Charles, Marquis +de Sevigné, was one of the admirers of Ninon de L'Enclos, and had +a dispute with Madame Dacier respecting the sense of a passage in +Horace. He died in 1713. (Moreri.)] + + +Rennes is the chief city of the Isle-et-Vilaine, and in former times +was the capital of Bretagne. It is a large ancient built town, +standing on a vast plain, between the rivers Isle and Vilaine. It has +a hall of justice, (Cour Royale,) an episcopal palace, and a foundry +for cannon. A more dismal dirty looking city, or a more uninteresting +one to a stranger, is seldom to be seen. Few traces remain of its +ancient splendor; the old rampart, which once encompassed it, now +forms a promenade. + +Its commerce is considerable, being the entrepôt for grain and cattle, +with which it supplies Paris and the Southern Provinces, not so +abundant in their produce. Jane of Flanders, Countess of Montfort, +the most extraordinary woman of her time, resided here, during the +imprisonment of her husband in the palace of the Louvre, by Philippe +de Valois,[5] when Edward the Third of England invaded France. +Hennebon, when attacked by Charles of Blois, was defended by the +Countess, and relieved by Sir Walter Manny, whom Edward had sent with +a body of 6,000 archers to her succour. The garrison, encouraged by +so rare an example of female valour, defended themselves against an +immense army, composed of French, Spaniards, Genoese, and Bretons, +who frequently assaulted it, and were as vigorously repulsed. On one +occasion, Froissart mentions her sallying out at the head of a body of +two hundred cavalry, throwing the enemy into great confusion, doing +great execution among them, and setting fire to the tents and +magazines, which were entirely destroyed. + +[Footnote 5: Among the brave knights who engaged in so many battles +and perilous adventures, and other feats of arms, Froissart mentions +Philip, as opposed to those heroes of high renown, Edward of England, +the Prince of Wales his son, the Duke of Lancaster, Sir Reginald Lord +Cobham, Sir Walter Manny of Hainault, Sir John Chandos, Sir Fulk +Harley, and many others recorded in his book for worth and prowess. +"In France also was found good chivalry, strong of limb and stout of +heart, and in great abundance, for the kingdom of France was never +brought so low as to want men ever ready for combat. Such was King +Philipe de Valois, a bold and hardy knight, and his son King John, +also John king of Bohemia, and Charles Count of Alençon his son".] + +The population of Rennes is 27,000. It is at present garrisoned by one +thousand troops, and people are of opinion that government finds it no +easy task to keep down the spirit of the Vendeans, who are said to +be, "plus Royalistes que le Roi". There appears every where a strong +spirit of dissatisfaction on the part of the Royalists, at the general +preference given to those who were employed under the late ruler in +places of public trust, and who were avowed enemies to the restoration +of Louis XVIII. + + + + +CHAP. IV. + +ROUTE FROM RENNES TO NANTES. CITY OF NANTES. HISTORICAL ANECDOTES. + + +Arriving at the first post, we crossed the river Vilaine, and between +this and Rondun passed the river Bruck, and ascended a high mountain +between Rondun and La Bréharaye. At this place we quitted the +department of the Isle-et-Vilaine. Crossing the Cher, we arrived at +Derval, and from thence at Nozai, passing several large lakes, +and then over the river Don. The whole of this distance, with the +exception of the hill already mentioned, is composed of flat sandy +plains, mostly uncultivated, and the road is very rough. + +From Nozai to Ancenis we crossed the river Isac; from thence to Redon, +Herié, to La Croix Blanche, along the bank of the river; and after +mounting another steep hill, we descended into an extensive plain, +leading to Gesvres and Nantes. + +The whole of this country north of the Loire, from Rennes to Nantes, +the triangular point resting upon Angers, is the country of the +Chouans, which it is necessary, in reference to the Vendean war, to +distinguish from the country south of the Loire, in the department of +the Loire Inférieure, called le Bocage, or la Vendée. Although the +latter was the scene of the more desperate warfare between the +republicans and the royalists, yet the former had its share of +bloodshed and misery. The whole country on both banks of the Loire, as +far as Angers, is classic ground to those who revere the efforts by +which the Vendeans so long resisted the republicans. + +The city of Nantes is the chief seat of the Préfecture of the +department of the Loire Inférieure, standing on the right bank of the +river, surrounded by its ancient rampart, of a circular form, and in +good preservation: on the opposite bank stand the ruined tower +and mouldering bastions of Permil. This spot is interesting to an +Englishman, from the memorable events to which the fatal pretensions +of Edward the Third gave rise, and which occupy the pages of French +and English history, during a period of more than a century[6]. + +[Footnote 6: In 1343, Edward the Third laid siege to this place. +Froissart mentions the English army being drawn out on a hill, in +battle array, near the town. The ground rises a little in this +direction, but, I should suppose, it must have been on the right bank, +as the country there is hilly, and this ancient fortress must have +defended the passage of the river. "The king himself," says the +Chronicle, "with the rest of his army, advanced towards Rennes, +burning and ruining the country on all sides, and was most joyfully +received by the whole army who lay before it, and had been there for +a considerable time. When he had tarried there five days, he learned +that the Lord Charles of Blois was at Nantes, collecting a large force +of men at arms. He set out, therefore, leaving those whom he had found +at Rennes, and came before Nantes, which he besieged as closely as he +could, but was unable to surround it, such was its size and extent. +The marshals, therefore, and their people, overran the country and +destroyed it. The king of England, one day, drew out his army in +battle array on a hill near Nantes, in expectation that the Lord +Charles would come forth and offer him an opportunity of fighting with +him: but, having waited from morning until noon in vain, they returned +to their quarters: the light horse, however, in their retreat, +galloped up to the barriers, and set fire to the suburbs". + +"The king of England, during the siege, made frequent skirmishes, but +without success, always losing some of his men; when, therefore, he +found he could gain nothing by his assaults, and that the Lord Charles +would not come out into the plains to fight him, he established there +the Earl of Oxford, Sir Henry Beaumont, the Lord Percy, the Lord Roos, +the Lord Mowbray, the Lord Delawar, Sir Reginald Cobham, Sir John +Lisle, with six hundred men armed, and two hundred archers". + +The king himself advanced into the country of Bretagne, wasting it +wherever he went, until he came to the town of Dinant, of which Sir +Peter Porteboeuf was governor. He immediately laid siege to it all +round, and ordered it to be vigorously assaulted. Those within made a +valiant resistance. Thus did the king of England in one season, and +in one day, make an assault by himself, or those ordered by him, upon +three cities in Bretagne, and a good town, viz. Rennes, Vannes, and +Nantes. The brave Sir Walter Manny was left before Vannes, with five +hundred men at arms, and six thousand archers, while the king with +the rest of his army advanced towards Rennes and Nantes. This gallant +soldier, at the battle of Calais, had this singular honour conferred +on him by his sovereign, who, with his valiant son the Prince of +Wales, both served under his banner.--Edward said to Sir Walter Manny, +"Sir Walter, I will that you be the chief of this enterprise, and I +and my son will fight under your banner". + +The lively and picturesque historian then gives a very interesting +account of the above action, which was fought the last day of December +1348, and of the gallantry of Edward's conduct to his prisoner, Sir +Eustace de Ribeaumont. + +"We will now speak of the King of England, who was there incognito, +under Sir Walter Manny's banner. He advanced with his men on foot, +to meet the enemy, who were formed in close order, with their pikes +shortened to five feet, planted out before them. The first attack was +very sharp and severe. The King singled out Sir Eustace de Ribeaumont, +who was a strong and hardy knight: he fought a long time marvellously +well with the King, so that it was a pleasure to see them; but, by the +confusion of the engagement, they were separated; for two large bodies +met where they were fighting, and forced them to break off the combat. + +"On the side of the French there was excellent fighting, by Sir +Geoffrey de Chargny, Sir John de Landas, Sir Hector, and Sir Gavin de +Ballieul, and others; but they were all surpassed by Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont, who that day struck the King twice down on his knees: +at last, however, he was obliged to present his sword to the King, +saying, 'Sir Knight, I surrender myself your prisoner, for the honour +of the day must fall to the English.' + +"All that belonged to Sir Geoffry de Chargny were either slain or +captured: among the first was Sir Henry du Bois, and Sir Peppin de +Werré; Sir Geoffry and the rest were taken prisoners. The last that +was taken, and who in that day had excelled all, was Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont. + +"When the engagement was over, the King returned to the Castle at +Calais, and ordered all the prisoners to be brought before him. The +French taken, knew for the first time, that the King of England had +been there in person, under the banner of Sir Walter de Manny. + +"The King said he would this evening of the new year entertain them +all at supper in the Castle. When the hour for supper was come, the +tables spread, and the King and his Knights dressed in new robes, as +well as the French, who, notwithstanding they were prisoners, made +good cheer (for the King wished it should be so), the King seated +himself at table, and made those Knights do the same around him in a +most honourable manner. The gallant Prince of Wales, and the Knights +of England, served up the first course, and waited on their guests. At +the second course, they went and seated themselves at another table, +where they were served, and attended on very quietly. + +"When supper was over, and the tables removed, the King remained in +the Hall among the English and French Knights, bare-headed, except a +chaplet of fine pearls, which was round his head. He conversed +with all of them; but when he came to Sir Geoffry de Chargny, his +countenance altered, and looking at him askance, he said, 'Sir +Geoffry, I have but little reason to love you, when you wished to +seize upon me by stealth last night, what had given me so much +trouble to acquire, and cost me such sums of money' (Sir Geoffry had +endeavoured to bribe the garrison to put him in possession of it in +the night previous to the battle): 'I am, however, rejoiced to have +caught you thus in attempting it.'--When he came to Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont, he assumed a cheerful look, and said with a smile, 'Sir +Eustace, you are the most valiant knight in Christendom that I ever +saw attack his enemy, or defend himself. I never yet found any one in +battle, who, body to body, had given me so much to do as you have done +this day. I adjudge to you the prize of valour, above all the knights +of my Court, as what is justly due to you.'--The King then took off +his chaplet, which was very rich and handsome, and placing it on the +head of Sir Eustace, said, 'Sir Eustace, I present you with this +chaplet, as being the best combatant this day, either within or +without doors; and I beg of you to wear it this year for the love of +me. I know that you are lively and amorous, and love the company of +ladies and damsels; therefore say, wherever you go, that I gave it to +you. I also give you your liberty, free of ransom; and you may set out +to-morrow, and go whither you will.'"] + +The river Loire, which is crossed by seven bridges, winds through the +town. They are the Pont Rousseau, De Permil, D'Aiguillon, Feydeau, De +la Belle Croix, Brisebois, and Toussaint. The houses are regular and +handsome, having in some places a very singular appearance, from the +ground having sunk, and the foundations given way, causing them to +lean in various directions from the perpendicular line. In point of +commerce, at one period antecedent to the Revolution, Nantes was the +most considerable sea-port in France: since the loss of its West India +trade, especially with Saint Domingo, it has been greatly reduced. +The rich plains which surround it on three sides, in the form of an +amphitheatre, and the river covered with vessels and boats, give it +a most lively appearance. It has a large Theatre, a Royal College +(lately the Lyceum), a Commercial Tribunal, a handsome Exchange, a +Bishop's Palace, Hall of the Préfecture, Public Library, Anatomical +and Surgical Academies, Botanical Garden, Museum of Natural History, +and a foundry for cannon. + +The latter is in the old and decaying Château on the bank of the +river, called Goulemme. One of its bastions was blown up a few years +since by accident, which has shaken and destroyed the whole fabric; +but it is still capable of holding a garrison, and is a fine monument +of ancient fortification. It was once the residence of Henry IV. of +France, at the time he signed the celebrated edict, (1598,) in favour +of the reformed religion, afterwards revoked by Louis XIV. in 1685, +and which occasioned such deplorable consequences to the French +nation. + +M. de Sainte Foix, in his historical Essays upon Paris, vol. i. +p. 113, speaking of the Rue de Grenelle, in the quarter of Saint +Eustache, gives the following curious account of the birth of this +great King, whose memory is revered in France, beyond that of all the +other monarchs who have swayed the Gallic sceptre. + +"Jeanne d'Albret, being desirous of following her husband to the wars +of Picardy, the King her father told her, that in case she proved with +child, he wanted her to come and lie-in at his house; and that he +would bring up the child himself, whether a boy or a girl. This +Princess finding herself pregnant, and in her ninth month, set out +from Compiègne, passed through all France as far as the Pyrenees, and +arrived in fifteen days at Pau in Béarn. She was very desirous to see +her father's will. It was contained in a thick gold box, on which was +a gold chain, that would have gone twenty-five or thirty times round +her neck. She asked it of him:--'It shall be yours,' said he, 'as soon +as you have shown me the child that you now carry; and that you may +not bring into the world a crying or a pouting child, I promise you +the whole, provided that whilst you are in labour, you sing the +Bearnese song _Notre Dame du bout du Pont aidez-moi en cette heure_". +No sooner was the Princess safely delivered, than her father, placing +the gold chain on her neck, and giving her the gold box wherein was +his will, said to her: 'These are for you, daughter, but this is for +me;' and took the child in his gown, without waiting for its being +dressed in form, and carried it into his chamber. The little Prince +was brought up in such a manner as to be able to undergo fatigue and +hardship; frequently eating nothing but common bread. The good King +his grandfather ordered it thus, and would not let him be delicately +pampered, in order that from his infancy he might be inured to +privation. He has often been seen, according to the custom of the +country, amongst the other children of the Castle and village of +Coirazze, bare-footed and bare-headed, as well in winter as in summer. +Who was this Prince?--Henry IV. + +"Being descended from the Kings of France, he became the heir to that +Kingdom; but as he was educated a Protestant, his claim was resisted. +He early distinguished himself by feats of arms. After the peace of +Saint Germain, in 1570, he was taken to the French Court, and two +years afterwards married Margaret, sister of Charles IX. (At the +rejoicings on this occasion the infamous massacre of _La Saint +Barthélémy_ took place.) In 1589 he succeeded to the throne of France; +but his religion proving an obstacle to his coronation, he consented +to abjure it in 1593. In 1598 he issued the edict of Nantes, granting +toleration to the Protestants". + +Mezeray, speaking of the marriage of the King of Navarre (afterwards +Henry IV.) with Margaret de Valois, says, "There were many diversions, +tournaments, and ballets at Court; and amongst others, one which +seemed to presage the calamity that was so near bursting out upon the +Huguenots--the King and his brothers defending Paradise against the +King of Navarre and his brothers, who were repulsed and banished to +Hell;" and Sainte Foix, in his relation of the horrible massacre, +gives a detail, which in the present age appears almost incredible. + +Catherine of Medicis, whose abominable politics had corrupted the +disposition of her son, was at the head of the cabinet council who +agreed to the murder of more than one hundred thousand Protestants; +and the miserable bigot Charles IX. stationed during the massacre at +the window of a house then belonging to the Constable of Bourbon, +fired with his own hands upon the Huguenots with a long blunderbuss, +whilst they were trying to escape across the river. + +The River Erdré runs northward of the city, and forms a beautiful +feature, winding for many miles among cultivated fields and woodlands, +through a country agreeably diversified with villas, to which the +wealthier inhabitants retire during the summer months. The river +resembles a lake for the greater part of its course, and is called the +Barban. + +The Gothic church of Saint Pierre, built by the English in 1434, is +a fine old structure: having been much neglected for many years, and +greatly defaced during the Revolution, it was at this time restoring. +Among the monuments about to be replaced, was an excellent one of Anne +de Bretagne, whose effigy, and that of her husband, are as large as +life. The allegorical figures of Justice, Temperance, Prudence, and +Fortitude, the twelve Apostles, and the supporters to the Arms (a +greyhound and a lion), are all executed in the finest white marble. +They were hidden during the Revolution, and have only very lately been +discovered, as have also some capital paintings piously preserved +for the Church. Anne was first married to Charles VIII. in 1499, and +afterwards to Louis XII. She died at the Château de Blois in 1514, and +Louis in 1515. + +The climate of Nantes is mild, and reckoned remarkably healthy: every +article of life is cheap, and from its mild temperature it abounds +in the finest fruits and most excellent wines. Its population is +estimated at 60,000 inhabitants. The numbers that were destroyed +during the Revolution, or, as the French emphatically term it, "Le +régne de la Terreur," were never ascertained; but the frightful +history of that bloody period would probably justify the computation +at half the number of its present population, many having fallen +victims to the murders that were termed "_Noyades_," independent of +those who perished in the Vendean war. + +The spot where the gallant Charette was shot, with several other +leaders of the Vendean army, is shown; and in the cemetery, a large +mound of earth marks the place where the bodies were thrown in, at the +time of the "_Fuzillades_" when the infamous Carrier presided at the +execution of the brave Royalists.[7] The print beneath represents this +monster on the banks of the Loire directing the Noyades. + +[Illustration] + +[Footnote 7: Chaque nuit on venait en prendre par centaines, pour les +mettre sur les bateaux. Là on liait les malheureux deux à deux, et +on les poussait dans l'eau à coups de baïonette. On saisissait +indistinctement tout ce qui se trouvait à l'entrepôt, tellement +qu'on noya un jour l'état major d'une corvette Anglaise, qui était +prisonnier de guerre. Une autre fois, Carrier, voulant donner un +exemple de l'austérité des moeurs républicaines, fit enfermer trois +cent filles publiques de la ville, et les malheureuses créatures +furent noyées. Enfin, l'on estime qu'il a péri à l'entrepôt quinze +mille personnes en un mois.--_Mémoires de Madame la Marquise de +Laroche-Jaquelin_.] + +At the end of a fine avenue of trees, on the Boulevard, is a large +and splendid mansion built by that Deputy, and which is at present +inhabited by a merchant. Carrier's mistress (to whom he left it, +together with a very considerable fortune, amassed from the spoils +of his plunder, and the murder of the innocent inhabitants) was very +lately sentenced to two years' hard labour for some crime she had +committed: and it is no less remarkable, that, of the remaining +inhabitants known to have participated in the atrocities of that +frightful period, there is not one but is reduced to poverty, and most +of them in the extreme of wretchedness, shunned by all, and suffering +the ignominy they have so justly merited! + + + + +CHAP. V. + +COUNTRY SOUTH OF THE LOIRE.--LE BOCAGE.--CLISSON.--HISTORICAL +ANECDOTES.--THE GARENNE, AND RIVER SÈVRES. + + +The best method of travelling in this country is on horseback: in +fact, it is impossible to proceed in any other way, after quitting the +main road. Having procured a guide and horses, I set out early in the +morning, crossing the Loire by the Pont Rosseau, to Verton, keeping +along the banks of the River Sèvres. Verton is a romantic village +standing on a hill: most of the houses are in ruins, from the effect +of the destructive war of La Vendée. From thence to Le Palet, most +intricate narrow roads, or more properly speaking, pathways, darkened +by the overhanging branches of trees, and in many parts deep with +mire, from the sun's rays not being able to dry the ground, make it +difficult to proceed, and we several times lost our way. It was late +before we reached Le Palet, and though I had not tasted food for many +hours, I could not resist stopping to view so interesting a spot, and +making a hasty sketch of the ruins of the house in which Abélard +was born, and in which Héloïse resided with him before their final +separation. The ruins of the House of Bérenger, the father of Abélard, +are close to the church of Palet, on the left of the high road, three +miles distant from Clisson. Le Palet is thus described by a French +author, in the history of the Province. + +"Cet homme si célèbre par son savoir, ses amours, et ses infortunes, +amena Héloïse au Palet lorsqu'il l'eût enlevée de chez le Chanoine +Fulbert, pour la soustraire au ressentiment de cet oncle jaloux +et barbare; mais, obligé de quitter cette retraite paisible pour +retourner à Paris, où l'appelaient ses nombreux disciples, le soin de +sa gloire et de sa fortune, Abélard confia à sa soeur sa chère Héloïse +et le gage précieux qu'elle portait dans son sein. Elle accoucha au +Palet d'un fils d'une si rare beauté, qu'elle le nomma Astralabe, +c'est-à-dire, astre brillant; mais l'absence de celui qu'elle adorait +rendait moins vifs pour elle les doux plaisirs de la maternité; son +âme expansive et brûlante était livrée sans cesse à une inquiète et +sombre mélancholie qu'elle ne parvenait sans doute à dissiper qu'en +venant sur les bords de la Sèvres rêver à l'objet de sa tendresse, et +soupirer après son retour. Sept siècles se sont écoulés depuis cette +époque, et les noms d'Abélard et d'Héloïse embellissent toujours ce +délicieux ravage. On interroge avec une curiosité avide ces roches +éternelles et ces grottes mystérieuses qui furent les témoins discrets +de leurs peines et de leurs plaisirs. On se reporte à ces temps +reculés où ces amants venaient dans cette solitude enchanteresse, se +confier mutuellement leur vifs inquiétudes; on croit les voir s'égarer +sous ces riants ombrages, et s'abandonner à toutes les inspirations de +l'éloquence, à toutes les illusions de l'amour". + +I arrived at Clisson just as the sun was disappearing, and its rays +were only sufficiently strong to reflect the ruined towers of the +Castle in the river which runs at its foot. It will be much easier +to imagine, than for me to convey the sensations I felt when I first +caught a glimpse of it, with the story of La Roche-Jaquelin full in +my recollection! I alighted at a small cabaret, dignified by the +appellation of the Hotel de la Providence, which seemed preferable to +another recommended to me by my guide,--such an one, indeed, as might +be expected in a remote place like this: part of the roof was off, +and, like most of the houses in the place, bore evident marks of the +desolating war that had been carried on here: many are still in ruins. +The descent into the town is very steep and rugged, the road being +formed out of the solid rock. The master of the cabaret was sitting +with his family at the door, but the appearance of his mansion was so +unpromising, that I thought it best to make some agreement, and a few +inquiries before dismounting;--these preliminaries being settled, and +having consented to pay him fifty sous for supper and my bed, and +thirty for breakfast, I entered the house: and never recollect having +a keener relish for a meal, or enjoying one more heartily, for I had +been sixteen hours on horseback. + +Fatigued and exhausted as I was, I rambled after dinner towards the +delightful grounds of La Garenne, belonging to Monsieur La Motte, who +has embellished them in a most interesting and romantic manner. + +The river Sèvres runs along the side, and separates them from the fine +old Castle of Clisson, whose high and decaying towers and battlements +give the beholder a noble idea of its ancient grandeur. The evening +was a very fine one,--one of those delightful soft, clear skies usual +at this season, the latter end of July. I sat myself down in the +grotto of Héloïse,--a spot of the deepest seclusion, formed, by the +hand of Nature, of large masses of granite. The nightingales were +singing in the lofty trees at the back; on the sides were shrubs of +every description intermingled with fruit trees, and the river having +several falls and little rocky islets, gave an air of delightful +enchantment to this most romantic scene. + + Héloïse! à ce nom, qui ne doit s'attendrir? + Comme elle sut aimer! comme elle sut souffrir! + +At the entrance of the grotto are engraved these lines, nearly effaced +by the hand of time. + + Héloïse peut-être erra sur ce rivage, + Quand, aux yeux des jaloux dérobant son séjour, + Dans les murs du Palet elle vint mettre au jour + Un fils, cher et malheureux gage + De ses plaisirs furtifs et de son tendre amour. + Peut-être en ce réduit sauvage, + Seule, plus d'une fois, elle vint soupirer, + Et goûter librement la douceur de pleurer; + Peut-être sur ce roc assise + Elle rêvait à son malheur. + J'y veux rêver aussi; j'y veux remplir mon coeur + Du doux souvenir d'Héloïse. + +I had but a few weeks before seen the tomb of Abélard and Héloïse in +the Cemetery of Père la Chaise at Paris, whither it had been recently +removed from the Convent of the Augustins, at which latter place I +had formerly made the annexed drawing of it. I had likewise been very +lately at Argenteuil, once the place of her asylum described by Pope: + + In these deep solitudes and awful cells-- + +and had the same day witnessed the ruins of the house in which Abélard +was born, and in which Héloïse resided and became a mother, and from +whence she used to make frequent visits to this spot: all these +circumstances combined, gave the scene before me a most powerful +interest. I rose early the next day, anxious to revisit a place which +had afforded me such delight the previous evening. Wandering by the +beautiful banks of the river, along its green meadows, in a woody +recess, I observed the following lines beneath an urn, cut in the rock +on which it rested: + + Consacrer dans l'obscurité, + Ses loisirs à l'étude, à l'amitié sa vie, + Sont des plaisirs dignes d'envie; + Etre chéri vaut mieux qu'être vanté! + +[Illustration: RUINS OF ABÉLARD'S HOUSE.] + +A little further on, is a stone pillar, with a venerable accacia tree +spreading its leaves over it. It has the following Latin inscription: + + VII + + IM CAESAR + AVGVSTVS + PONTIFEX MAX + VIAM. OLIM + A CONIVINCO + AD LIMONEM + + IMP. CAESAR. TRAJ. + ADRIANVS AVG + PM. TRIB. POT. + VIAM AB AVGVSTO + STATAM REFICIT.[8] + + +[Footnote 8: Auguste étendit jusqu'à La Loire La Gaule Aquitanique, +autrefois bornée par la Garonne, et comprit L'Armorique dans la +Province Celtique ou Lyonnaise. L'Empereur Adrian, ayant fait depuis +une nouvelle distribution des Gaules, divisa La Lyonnaise en deux, et +mit L'Armorique dans la seconde; enfin cette Lyonnaise ou Celtique +ayant été encore divisée en deux, Tours devint la Métropole de la +troisième, qui comprenait la Touraine, le Maine, l'Anjou, et la +Bretagne.--_Histoire de Bret_.] + +[Illustration: GROTTO of HÉLOÏSE at CLISSON.] + +[Illustration: TOMB of ABÉLARD and HÉLOÏSE.] + +Farther on several large blocks of granite are piled together in so +strange and curious a manner, that it must have been the work of +Nature alone:--one of them has these beautiful lines carved on it: + + O! Limpide Rivière! O Rivière chérie! + Puisse la sotte vanité + Ne jamais dédaigner ta rive humble et fleurie! + Que ton simple sentier ne soit point fréquenté + Par aucun tourment de la vie + Tels que l'ambition, l'envie, + L'avarice, et la fausseté! + Un bocage si frais, un séjour si tranquille, + Aux tendres sentiments doit seul servir d'azile. + Ces rameaux amoureux entrelassés exprès + Aux Muses, aux Amours, offrent leur voile épais; + Et ce cristal d'une onde pure + A jamais ne doit réfléchir + Que les grâces de la nature + Et les images du plaisir. + +Close to the brink of the river stands a prodigiously large granite +rock, immediately facing the waterfall called le Bassin de Diane: on +it are these words: + + SA MASSE INDESTRVCTIBLE + A FATIGVÉ LE TEMS. + a quotation from Delille. + +[Illustration: GRANITE ROCK in the GARENNE.] + +The French writers, speaking of this interesting place, observe: +"Comment soupçonner en effet qu'au milieu de cette _terrible Vendée_, +qu'au centre de cet impénétrable et sombre Bocage, il existe un pays +délicieux et fertile, couvert de mines séculaires qui rappelent tous +les souvenirs historiques de notre ancienne France, comme le caractère +de ses habitans en rappele les moeurs, le courage, et la loyauté". + +On the opposite side of the river, a little to the right, stands the +ancient Château de Clisson, celebrated in the modern as well as the +ancient history of Bretagne. Its lofty turrets, and decaying bastions, +extend a considerable distance along the shore of the Sèvres, +recalling to mind the ancient days of chivalry, when bravery, love, +and religion, were so singularly blended together, and gave a romantic +half-polished manner to the greatest barbarians. In later times it +became the scene of events which no one can contemplate without the +deepest interest. In viewing this magnificent ruin, it is impossible +not to regret that a place so frequently the theatre of noble +achievements, inhabited by one of the greatest men that France has +produced, François I. Connétable de Clisson,[9] father to Anne of +Bretagne, should have been so recently the scene of such savage +horrors and bloodshed! Now, all is silence and solitude: and amidst +the noble ruins which were once decorated with banners, and the +hard-earned trophies of victory,--where high-born knights and splendid +dames mingled in mirth and festivity to the echoes of the minstrels, +singing lays of love or battle,--are now only to be seen and heard the +birds of prey, hovering over a solitary tree, planted to mark the spot +where a deed was committed which has not often its parallel in the +darkest histories of the most ferocious nations. + +[Footnote 9: In the "Histoire Généalogique de France", tom. vi. is an +account of the Constable's death. "The Duke of Orleans, brother to the +king, was very fond of a Jewess, whom he privately visited. Having +some reason to suspect that Peter de Craon, Lord of Sablé and de la +Ferté-Bernard, his chamberlain and favourite, had joked with the +Duchess of Orleans upon his intrigue, he turned him out of his house +with infamy. Craon imputed his disgrace partly to the Constable of +Clisson. On the night of the 13th June, having waited for him at the +corner of the street _Coulture Ste. Catherine_, and finding he had but +little company with him, he fell upon him at the head of a score of +ruffians. Clisson defended himself for some time without any other +weapon than a small cutlass; but after receiving three wounds, fell +from his horse, and pitched against a door, which flew open. The +report of this assassination reached the king's ears just as he was +stepping into bed. He put on a great coat and his shoes, and repaired +to the place where he was informed his constable had been killed. He +found him in a baker's shop, wallowing in his blood. After his wounds +were examined, "Constable, (said he to him), nothing was or ever will +he so severely punished". It was given out that Clisson made his will +the next day, and there was a mighty outcry about the sum of 1,700,000 +livres, which it amounted to. It should be observed, that during +twenty-five years that he was in the service of France, he had sought +for and beaten the English every where; that he gained the famous +battle of Robeck, and chastised the Flemish; that he enjoyed for +twelve years the salary and appointments of Constable; and that, +moreover, his landed estate, (which included many castles inherited +from his ancestors, in Bretagne and Poitou,) was very considerable."] + +During the Vendean war, the royalists had been driven out of Clisson +by the republicans, under the command of a ferocious jacobin. The town +was pillaged and burnt before they quitted it. Twenty-seven females +had, during the battle, concealed themselves among the ruins: when +information of it was given to the troops, who had already quitted the +place, they were ordered to return, and the whole of these unhappy +women were thrown alive into a well, where they perished!!! It has +since been filled up, and the lonely tree, just mentioned, now records +the bloody and inhuman deed. + +In the account of Clisson, by a late French author, no notice is +taken of this circumstance. He merely observes, when mentioning the +destruction of the place, after the de la Roche-Jaquelin had quitted +it, "Les Rives ombragées de la Sèvres, si séduisante par ses belles +cascades et l'ensemble de ce paysage poétique, feroient de cette +contrée un séjour délicieux, si de tristes débris, qui heureusement +disparoissent tous les jours, ne rappelaient encore le souvenir +affligeant de nos discordes civiles. Les armées Révolutionnaires qui +combattirent les Vendéens, en 1793 et en 1794, employèrent inutilement +pour les réduire le fer et le feu; la flamme atteignit les villes, les +villages, les métairies, et jusqu'aux humbles chaumières; et, dans ce +vaste et épouvantable incendie, Clisson ne put échapper à une ruine +complète. Jamais peut-être cette petite ville ne se seroit entièrement +réédifié, sans une circonstance particulière qui contribua puissamment +à la faire renoître de ces cendres". + +In the town of Clisson was born the celebrated Barin de la +Galissonniere, Admiral of France, who fought the well-known action +off Mahon, in the month of June, 1756, with Admiral Byng, who, in +consequence of his conduct on that occasion, was brought to a court +martial and shot. The French writers make the following absurd remark, +as to the _cause_ of his fate: "Les Anglais, furieux d'avoir été +vaincus par un Amiral François, firent fusiller l'Amiral Byng". It is +now well known that he was sacrificed to an unprincipled ministerial +faction. + +The ancient Château de Clisson is built on a rock, on the bank of the +Sèvres, facing the mouth of the river, called Le Moine, which empties +itself into the Sèvres at this place, so that the town of Clisson +stands between the two rivers at their junction. An ancient bridge, +from whence this view is taken, joins one part of the town to the +other, and leads to the castle, which was once considered the barrier +of Bretagne. The two rivers run over a bed of granite rock, which, in +some places, forming a cataract, adds considerably to the surrounding +scenery: large masses of this rock in many parts seem as if piled up +by nature for the purpose of giving it a more romantic effect. The +whole forms a most picturesque object, when viewed from the opposite +shore, from whence the sketch of the temple erected on the ruin of St. +Gilles is taken; and the remembrance of its recent fate throws over +the scene a strong and melancholy interest. + +[Illustration: RUINS OF CLISSON.] + +The castle is supposed to have been first erected by the Romans, +as the Province formed a part of the Gaule Aquitanique, under the +Emperors Augustus and Adrian. + +The French repaired it during the reign of Louis VIII. in 1223, under +Olivier I. Sire de Clisson, as he is styled; and it was made a regular +fortification, and surrounded by a wall a century after, by the +Connétable: in 1464 the Duc de Bretagne, Francis II. entirely finished +it. + +The Sire de Clisson, Olivier I. who had served during one of the +Crusades in Palestine, was knighted with several others, in 1218. "Un +nombre prodigieux de Seigneurs Anglais, Normands, Angevins, Manceaux, +Tourangeaux, et Bretons, prirent la Croix; Le Pape, Innocent III. +envoya en Bretagne, en 1197, Helvain, Moine de St. Denis, pour y +prêcher une croisade. Une grande quantité de Bretons se laissèrent +conduire en Syrie par ce Moine; et, en 1218, plusieurs Seigneurs +Bretons suivirent leur exemple, entre autres, Hervé de Léon, Morvau, +Vicomte du Fou, et le Sire de Clisson". + +From the construction of the towers and bastions, it is supposed that +at his return from the Holy Land, he had copied the Syrian style of +building; and one of the towers, which is represented in the sketch +of the gateway of the Château de Clisson, is still called La Tour des +Pélerins. + +This tower, which has been used as a dungeon, is the most perfect of +any remaining. In it are subterranean galleries, anciently used as a +prison, and appropriated by the republicans to the same purpose. It is +dreadful to think of the horrors that have been practised within its +walls, in our own time. + +[Illustration: TOUR des PÉLERINS.] + +From the top of this tower the prospect is very extensive, and, during +the year 1793, when the republican army quartered themselves in it, a +sentinel was placed there to give notice in case of the approach of an +enemy. The historian of that period, speaking of the entrance to this +tower, observes, in reference to the cruelties committed there in the +Vendean war: + +"Il existait au milieu de la dernière cour un très beau puits, taillé +dans le roc et extrêmement profond: il est actuellement comblé, et +ma plume se refuse à tracer les scènes horribles qui ensanglantèrent +ce lieu en 1793 et en 1795, tristes et épouvantables effets des +guerres civiles!" + +This passage alludes, I imagine, to the circumstance related in +page 90. Within its walls are various inscriptions, many of them in +characters so difficult to decypher, that they remain unknown. The +following has been rendered into more modern French by Cerutti. + + J'ai gravi, mesuré ces ruines sublimes; + Mon coeur s'en est ému! De nos vaillants aïeux + Tout y représentait les tournois magnanimes, + Ils semblaient reparôitre et combattre à mes yeux; + J'entendois sous leurs coups retentir les abîmes; + Juge de leurs combats, idole de leur coeur, + Du haut des tours, la dame admiroit le vainqueur. + Casques et boucliers, cuirasses gigantesques, + Cris d'armes, mot d'amour, devises de l'honneur, + Carlets pour l'infidèle ou pour le suborneur, + Tout garde sur ces murs vraiment chevaleresques. + La mémoire d'un siècle où l'épée, où la foi, + Où la galanterie étaient la seule loi. + +Louis IX. and Blanche of Castille, his queen, retired to Clisson, at +the time the English, under Henry III. penetrated into Poitou, and +were received by Olivier de Clisson, who then garrisoned it. + +In the war of the League, which convulsed the kingdom of France, +Clisson remained faithful to Henry III. and during the early part +of the reign of his successor Henry IV. The Protestants were there +protected, and established themselves in the fauxbourg. From the +period at which Henry IV. signed the edict at Nantes, 15th April, +1598, until the war of La Vendée, this celebrated fortress is no where +mentioned by any of the French historians: it became neglected when +the feudal system declined, and the republican army completed its +ruin. The sad events of this period, and the destruction and carnage +which followed, can never be effaced from the page of history. The +ruined towns and villages prove the melancholy truth, that the general +corruption of a nation prepares the way for general anarchy, and that +the blindness of political rage is always more vindictive than even +private hatred. + +I can never sufficiently lament the absence, at this time, of Madame +de La Roche-Jaquelin from the country, as she occasionally resides in +the neighbourhood, since the restoration of her property, (although +her once noble residence is now in a state of ruin,) occupying a small +château at some small distance, which had partly escaped the fire and +destruction that had been fatal to most houses in the district. Who +can read the interesting memoirs of this Lady, and not sympathize in +the sufferings of herself, and of those brave and loyal people whose +heroic struggle against their republican oppressors lasted with little +intermission from the overthrow of the monarchy until its final +restoration? Among the number of heroic females who, like Madame de +la Roche-Jaquelin, thus distinguished themselves, was Madame de La +Rochefoucault who, like her admirer Charette, was put to death at +Nantes. This lady, of an ancient and noble family, and of great +beauty, signalized herself on various occasions, but being taken +prisoner at the battle of the Moulin aux Chêvres, she was immediately +shot! + +[Illustration: MILL AUX CHÊVRES.] + +The whole history of this terrible war is filled with the noble +devotion of heroic females. The chiefs were attended in the most +sanguinary battles by ladies, who had themselves ornamented their +standards with loyal and chivalrous emblems of the cause for which +they were prepared to sacrifice themselves, and who were frequently +seen rallying the broken troops, and falling, covered with wounds, by +the hands of their enemies! + +The annexed view of the Moulin aux Chêvres, which is rendered +interesting from the account given by Madame de la Roche-Jaquelin of +the battle fought near it, will convey a tolerable idea of the scenery +of the country. + +The prodigious growth of the willow tree in Bretagne, is such as to +claim the peculiar notice of travellers: here they attain a gigantic +height, no where else to be seen. Batard, in his "_Notices sur +les Végétaux_" mentions one in the commune of Pommeraie in the +arrondissement de Beaupréau, whose age was supposed to be nearly two +thousand years. Within the Château at Clisson are some very old ones, +but the finest I observed were at the Moulin aux Chêvres. + + + + +CHAP. VI. + +LIMITS AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OF LE BOCAGE. MODE OF WARFARE PRACTISED +BY THE VENDEANS. + + +My opportunity of becoming acquainted with that singular district +called Le Bocage, will be best understood by very briefly sketching my +route through it. I traversed it, and the district called Le Loroux, +by the route of Montaigne and Lege, and on my return I passed through +Clisson, Vallet, and Loroux, along the banks of the Loire. By pursuing +this route, I had every where the interesting opportunity of exploring +the scene of that destructive warfare which had ravaged the towns and +villages of this part of France. + +At one period, the war of La Vendée extended to the north of the +Loire, as far as Rennes, forming a triangle, the eastern point of +which rested on the town of Angers. To the south of the Loire it +spread nearly as far as la Rochelle; and as in this part also it +extended nearly to Angers, the tract over which it spread its ravages +formed nearly a square. The district called Loroux runs parallel with +the Loire: Le Bocage, which occupies both districts, and the whole +country south of that river, is comprehended under the general +appellation of La Vendée. Under the old divisions of France Le Bocage +formed part of the province of Poitou, and Le Loroux part of the +provinces of Anjou and Bretagne: but when, at the revolution, France +was divided into departments, these two districts were denominated La +Vendée, Les deux Sèvres, La Loire Inférieure, and Mayenne and Loire. + +La Vendée is an extremely interesting district, not merely on account +of the singular and heroic warfare that was carried on there so +long, but also from the appearance of the country, and the manners, +opinions, and general character of its inhabitants; and Le Bocage is, +in all these respects, the most interesting part of La Vendée. In +Le Bocage, the war was carried on with most wonderful vigour and +pertinacity, as well as with almost unparalleled destruction and +cruelty. Those who are acquainted only with the other parts of France, +can form no idea of the aspect of this district, or of the manners of +its inhabitants; they differ so widely and essentially, that they seem +to belong to another portion of the globe. It has always been regarded +as the most fertile country in France; and, before the revolution, it +was undoubtedly one of the most populous. + +There are only two roads in the whole country: one of them runs from +Nantes to la Rochelle, and the other from Bordeaux to Tours, through +Poitou: all the rest of this district is a complete labyrinth: there +are indeed numerous pathways, so very winding and narrow, that they +are much more calculated to harass and mislead, than to assist a +traveller in his journey: these pathways are flanked by wide and deep +ditches, and almost rendered completely dark by lofty hedges on each +side of them, the trees of which meet at top, and thus form an arch: +hence they are rough and uneven in summer, besides being intolerably +hot, and deep and miry in winter. To add to these inconveniences, the +bed of a rivulet flowing along them frequently constitutes the only +passage. Even when the traveller, after toiling along these dreadful +pathways, comes near a town or village, he generally finds that the +approach to it is practicable only by ascending irregular steps, +cut out of the solid rock, on which they are built. The inhabitants +themselves even are frequently puzzled by these pathways; and, after +wandering for a considerable length of time, at last find out that +they have been travelling in a wrong direction. + +The whole country bears the appearance of an extensive and thick +forest: this arises from the nature of the enclosures; they are +extremely small, often not more than fifty or sixty perches, +surrounded with strong hedges planted in the banks. These +circumstances alone would give the appearance just noticed; but the +effect is much increased from other causes. On each side of the banks, +on which the trees are planted, there are ditches and drains, and the +moisture which they constantly supply to their roots, renders their +growth very rapid and luxuriant; so that when we consider the number +of the trees and their great size, we shall not be surprised that +the country looks like an immense forest. Sometimes the trees are so +disposed as to answer the purpose of a palisade; and this purpose they +answer most effectually, not only from the great size and strength of +the trees themselves, but also from the intervening spaces between +them being filled up with strong and impassable underwood [10]. + +[Footnote 10: A tract of about 150 miles square, at the mouth and +on the southern bank of the Loire, comprehends the scene of those +deplorable hostilities. The most inland part of the district, and that +in which the insurrection first broke out, is called _Le Bocage_; and +seems to have been almost as singular in its physical conformation, +as in the state and condition of its population. A series of detached +eminences, of no great elevation, rose over the whole face of the +country, with little rills trickling in the hollows and occasional +cliffs by their sides. The whole space was divided into small +enclosures, each surrounded with tall wild hedges, and rows of pollard +trees; so that though there were few large woods, the whole region +had a sylvan and impenetrable appearance. The ground was mostly in +pasturage; and the landscape had, for the most part, an aspect of +wild verdure, except that in the autumn some patches of yellow corn +appeared here and there athwart their green enclosures. Only two great +roads traversed this sequestered region, running nearly parallel, at +a distance of more than seventy miles from each other. In the +intermediate space, there was nothing but a labyrinth of wild and +devious paths, crossing each other at the extremity of almost every +field--often serving, at the same time, as channels for the winter +torrents, and winding so capriciously among the innumerable hillocks, +and beneath the meeting hedge-rows, that the natives themselves were +always in danger of losing their way when they went a league or +two from their own habitations. The country, though rather thickly +peopled, contained, as may be supposed, few large towns; and the +inhabitants, devoted almost entirely to rural occupations, enjoyed a +great deal of leisure. The noblesse or gentry of the country were very +generally resident on their estates, where they lived in a style of +simplicity and homeliness which had long disappeared from every other +part of the kingdom. No grand parks, fine gardens, or ornamented +villas; but spacious clumsy chateaux, surrounded with farm offices +and cottages for the labourers. Their manners and way of life, too, +partook of the same primitive rusticity. There was great cordiality, +and even much familiarity, in the intercourse of the seigneurs with +their dependants. They were followed by large trains of them in their +hunting expeditions, which occupied so great a part of their time. +Every man had his fowling-piece, and was a marksman of fame or +pretensions. They were posted in various quarters, to intercept or +drive back the game; and were thus trained, by anticipation, to that +sort of discipline and concert, in which their whole art of war was +afterwards found to consist. Nor was their intimacy confined to their +sports. The peasants resorted familiarly to their landlords for +advice, both legal and medical; and they repaid the visits in their +daily rambles, and entered with interest into all the details of their +agricultural operations. They came to the weddings of their children, +drank with their guests, and made little presents to the young people. +On Sundays and holidays, all the retainers of the family assembled at +the château, and danced in the barn or the court-yard, according to +the season. The ladies of the house joined in the festivity, and that +without any airs of condescension or of mockery; for, in their own +life, there was little splendour or luxurious refinement. They +travelled on horseback, or in heavy carriages drawn by oxen; and had +little other amusement than in the care of their dependants, and the +familiar intercourse of neighbours among whom there was no rivalry or +principle of ostentation. + +From all this there resulted, as Madame de L. assures us, a certain +innocence and kindliness of character, joined with great hardihood and +gaiety,--which reminds us of Henry IV. and his Béarnois,--and carries +with it, perhaps on account of that association, an idea of something +more chivalrous and romantic--more honest and unsophisticated, than +any thing we expect to meet with in this modern world of artifice and +derision. There was great purity of morals accordingly, Mad. de +L. informs us, and general cheerfulness and content in all this +district;--crimes were never heard of, and lawsuits almost unknown. +Though not very well educated, the population was exceedingly +devout;--though theirs was a kind of superstitious and traditional +devotion, it must he owned, rather than an enlightened or rational +faith. They had the greatest veneration for crucifixes and images of +their saints, and had no idea of any duty more imperious than that of +attending on all the solemnities of religion. They were singularly +attached also to their curés, who were almost all born and bred in the +country, spoke their _patois_, and shared in all their pastimes and +occupations. When a hunting-match was to take place, the clergyman +announced it from the pulpit after prayers,--and then took his +fowling-piece, and accompanied his congregation to the thicket. It was +on behalf of these curés, in fact, that the first disturbances were +excited.--_Edin. Rev. for Feb._ 1816.] + +This luxuriance of growth does not proceed entirely from the moisture +supplied by the ditches and drains; the soil naturally is uncommonly +fertile: and whatever springs from it, whether planted by the hand of +man, and nourished, while growing, by his attention and skill, or its +spontaneous production, bears witness to this uncommon fertility. +The country abounds in corn and vineyards; the produce of the latter +consists principally in white vines. At the season of the year when I +passed through it, the intermixture of the rich and soft yellow of the +wheat nearly ripe, with the light green foliage of the vines, produced +a most pleasing effect. In Poitou and Anjou, the harvest generally +begins about the latter end of June: this year it was late every +where, but very abundant. The vineyards had mostly failed. + +Le Marais, which is also comprehended within the limits of Le Bocage, +is that part of Lower Poitou, adjacent to the sea. There the country +is open and flat, and the passes are impracticable during the winter, +and very difficult at other seasons of the year. The inhabitants of Le +Marais formed a division of the army of the celebrated chief Charette. +La Vendée was divided into two circuits; each army had its own, until +the junction of the whole under La Roche-Jaquelin, &c; that of +Charette occupied the district of Chalans, Machecoul, la Roche Sur +Yon, les Sables, a part of the districts of St. Florent, Vehiers, +Chollet, Châtillon, la Châtaigneraie, a great part of the districts +of Clisson, Montaigne, Thouars, Parthenay, and Fontenay-le-peuple. +Although the locality of Le Bocage is a perfect contrast to that of le +Marais, nature seems to have exerted all her power in forming these +two districts into one extensive fortress, capable of opposing every +thing to an attack, and presenting so many means of defence, that it +was rarely possible for the enemy to lead a column, or to regulate +its movements so as to preserve union in its marches or manoeuvres, +dispositions for an attack, or retreat. The positions of the Vendeans +could never be understood, or their projects foreseen, in a country +where the frequent undulations of land, hedges, trees, and bushes, +obstructing the surface, would not admit of seeing fifty paces round; +and one of the republican generals, writing to the Convention, +thus speaks of Charette's movements. "It is no easy matter to find +Charette, particularly to bring him to action. To-day at the head of +ten thousand men, the next day wandering with a score of horsemen, it +is very rare that one can come up with him. When we believed him to be +in our front, he was in our rear. Yesterday he threatened such a post, +to-day he is ten leagues from it; more able to avoid than fight us, +he almost always disconcerts, and often, without knowing it, all our +combinations. He endeavours to surprise us, to carry off our patroles, +and to kill our stragglers". + +The inhabitants of le Marais and le Bocage for a long period confined +themselves to defensive warfare, for which nature seems to have formed +their country. The situation of le Marais enabled the brave royalists +to receive succours from the English, and to facilitate and protect +the debarkation of such as they wished to procure from the North side +of the Loire, the coast being flat and easy of access by sea. + +The Vendeans, favoured by every natural advantage, had a peculiar +tactic which they knew perfectly well how to apply to their position +and local circumstances, and adopted a mode of fighting hitherto +unknown, and practicable in that country alone. Confident in the +superiority which their mode of attack gave them, they never suffered +themselves to be anticipated, they never engaged but when and +where they pleased. Their dexterity in the use of fire arms was such, +that no people, however well skilled in manoeuvring, could make such +good use of a gun; the huntsman of Loroux, and the poacher of le +Bocage, having been always proverbial as excellent marksmen. It was no +unusual thing for the Vendeans when at the plough, to carry with them +a musket; and whenever they observed "a blue coat," (as they called +the republican soldiers) they stopt their plough, took up their +musket, and fired at him; it seldom happened that they missed the +object of their vengeance. A melancholy circumstance, connected with +this mode of warfare, took place: the son of one of the Vendean +farmers, or ploughmen, had been compelled to join the republican army; +but having succeeded in escaping, he was hastening, in his republican +uniform, to rejoin his relations, when being observed by his father, +while at the plough, the latter, unable from the distance to recognize +his son, and seeing only the uniform of an enemy, fired and shot him. + +Their attacks were always dreadful, sudden, and almost unforeseen, +because it was very difficult to reconnoitre or obtain information so +as to guard against surprise. Their order of battle was generally in +the form of a crescent, their wings being composed of the most expert +marksmen, who never fired without taking aim, and seldom ever missed. +Their retreat was so precipitate that it was difficult to come up +with them, as they dispersed themselves through rough fields, hedges, +woods, and bushes, knew all the bye-roads, secret escapes and defiles, +and were acquainted with all the obstacles which could obstruct their +flight, and the means of avoiding them. Their mode of warfare was +according to the locality of the country, well calculated to prolong +the struggle and waste the strength of the forces sent to oppose them. +In the district of les Sables, intersected by canals, rivulets, and +salt marshes, where there were scarcely carriage roads, but chiefly +bye-ways, and raised paths, a species of natural fortification was +every where formed: this rendered any attack against them dangerous, +and consequently it was most favourable for defence, particularly to +the inhabitants. The canals are in general from thirty to forty feet +wide on the upper extremity of the banks. The Vendean, carrying his +musket in a bandoleer, and leaning upon a long pole, leaped from one +bank to the other with amazing facility. When the pressure of the +enemy would not admit of his doing this, without exposing himself to +their fire, he threw himself into a niole, (a kind of small boat,) +very flat, and light, and crossed the canal with great rapidity, being +always sufficiently shut up to hide himself from his pursuers: but he +soon appeared again, and firing at his enemy, again disappeared. The +republican soldier to whom this mode of fighting was unknown, was +obliged to be continually upon his guard, to march along the shores of +the canals, and to follow slowly their circuitous track, supporting at +the same time frequent skirmishes, while it took him several hours +to traverse a space which the Vendean commonly accomplished in a few +minutes. + +Among the difficulties which the execution of all military plans met +with in La Vendée, the nature and degree of which may be judged of +from the local dispositions and the kind of warfare carried on by the +royalists, there was one which was invincible, and which singularly +retarded the operations of the republicans. Whenever they were +desirous of sending an order from head quarters to a division at the +distance of twelve or fifteen leagues, the messenger was often obliged +to travel fifty or sixty in order to avoid passing through the +revolted country. Hence the impossibility of attempting any +expedition, however necessary or desirable, which required to be +executed without delay. The Vendeans would appear one day at a certain +point to the number of several thousand men; measures were concerted +for attacking them the next day, but before that arrived they were +eight or ten leagues distant from the place where they had showed +themselves the day before. + +Thus were the republicans exposed to fruitless victories or disastrous +checks, which exhausted their men and resources. Masters of the field +of battle, they found, says one of their generals, nothing but wooden +shoes and some slain, never any arms or ammunition. The Vendean when +perceived, would either hide or break his gun, and in surrendering his +life, seldom left his weapon. Being well acquainted with the country, +and more dexterous than the republicans, they carried scarcely any +artillery with them, four or five pieces sufficed for an army of +thirty or forty thousand men; these were generally light field pieces. +Equally sparing of ammunition, they took but few waggons, one alone +served the pieces, as they well knew it was not artillery that would +procure them the victory; thence, when the republicans met with any +disastrous affair, they lost from twenty to thirty pieces of cannon, +and waggons in proportion; whereas when they gained a victory they +acquired only two or three pieces of cannon, with scarcely any +ammunition. + +From this slight sketch of the nature of the country, so +disadvantageous to the invaders, and of the mode in which the Vendeans +carried on this unfortunate war, our surprise will cease at the +determined and protracted resistance made to the republicans by this +loyal and brave people. For many years they defended their beloved +country, and endured privations, and accumulated miseries, such +as human nature has seldom been exposed to. To use the words of a +republican general, "A girdle of fire enveloped the revolted country; +fire, terror, and death, preceded the march". + +But the principal cause of the long resistance of the Vendeans must +be sought for in their moral character; they were most honourably +distinguished by an inviolable attachment to their party, and +unlimited and unshaken confidence in their chiefs; and an earnest, +warm, but steady zeal, which supplied the place of discipline. Their +invincible courage, both active and passive, was proof against every +kind of danger, fatigue, and want. It has been well observed that +"irregular and undisciplined wars are naturally far more prolific of +extraordinary incidents, unexpected turns of fortune, and striking +displays of individual talent, of vice and virtue, than the more +solemn movements of national hostility, where every thing is in +a great measure provided and foreseen; and where the inflexible +subordination of rank, and the severe exactions of a limited duty +not only take away the inducement, but the opportunity for those +exaltations of personal feeling and adventure which produce the most +lively interest, and lead to the most animating results. In the +unconcerted proceedings of an insurgent population, all is experiment +and all is passion. The heroic daring of a simple peasant lifts him +at once to the rank of a leader, and kindles a general enthusiasm to +which all things become possible". + +From the operation of these causes the Vendeans were enabled to send +forth formidable armies: and such was the confidence of the chiefs in +the troops, that they never would have been subdued if they had +not lost their leaders in the various hard fought actions, or +been deprived of their services by their mutual jealousy. Another +circumstance proved equally fatal to them; after the fall of the +gallant Lescure, they most imprudently quitted the strong country for +the open plains on the left bank of the Loire. + + + + +CHAP. VII. + +RIVER LOIRE, FROM NANTES TO ANGERS. + + +The Loire is one of the finest rivers in France; and perhaps there is +no river in the world, that equals that part of it, which flows from +Angers to Nantes: the breadth of the stream; the islands of wood; the +boldness, culture, and richness of its banks, all conspire to +render it worthy of this character. As a useful river it is equally +celebrated: its banks being bordered by rich and populous cities; and +the benefits it renders to industry and commerce being incalculable. + +Its stream is so rapid and strong, that in ascending it is generally +necessary from Nantes to Angers, to track the barge: this mode of +proceeding, though slow, has its advantages; as it gives greater time +and opportunity for observing all the various beauties of scenery +which present themselves at every turn of the river. + +I embarked early in the morning with a favourable breeze from the +west: we soon began to be interested, and almost enchanted, with the +rich and beautiful scenery, which almost every moment opened to our +view in endless variety. This scenery not only pleased the eye and +imagination by its beauty, but also excited high and deep interest +by the fertility which it displayed. The banks were lined with corn +fields, vineyards, or orchards. Occasionally the nature and interest +of the prospect were agreeably diversified by the spire of a convent +or the turrets of a chateau, rising above gardens or groves, or rich +woodlands. At other places there were still more decided marks of +population, for villages, country-houses, and farms, caught the eye, +and added to the charms by which it was so willingly and powerfully +detained. + +The whole country on each side is well cultivated. But even this part +of France, interesting and beautiful as it is, cannot be traversed +without the recollection of the horrors of the revolution breaking in +upon, and greatly damping the interest and pleasure derived from the +view of the scenery. As we approached the ruined tower of Oudon, +it was impossible not to feel a melancholy regret at the scenes of +unparalleled bloodshed that took place on the rich and delightful +banks of this river during the phrenzy of the revolution. These +dreadful recollections assailed us most powerfully as we came in view +of Ancenis on the left, and of Saint Florent le Viel to the right. +At the latter place we stopped for the night. It was a fine serene +evening, the wind had left us, and we were forced to track the shore +for some distance before we reached it: just as the sun was setting I +made a sketch of its ruined convent on the hill. + +[Illustration: TOUR D'OUDON on the RIVER LOIRE.] + +[Illustration] + +After the defeat of the Vendean army, and their retreat across the +Loire at this place, says a French writer, "There were seen upon +the right bank, following the army, which increased prodigiously, +a multitude of bishops, priests, monks, religious persons, old +countesses, baronesses, &c. &c. who were carried off by cart-loads, +and which did nothing but embarrass the army.[11] There were a great +many of them killed at the battle of Mans". + +[Footnote 11: On gaining the heights of St. Florent, one of the most +mournful, and at the same time most magnificent spectacles, burst upon +the eye. These heights form a vast semicircle; at the bottom of which +a broad bare plain extends to the edge of the water. Near an hundred +thousand unhappy souls now blackened over that dreary expanse,--old +men, infants and women, mingled, with the half-armed soldiery, +caravans, crowded baggage waggons and teams of oxen, all full of +despair, impatience, anxiety and terror:--Behind, were the smoke +of their burning villages, and the thunder of the hostile +artillery;--before, the broad stream of the Loire, divided by a long +low island, also covered with the fugitives,--twenty frail barks +plying in the stream--and, on the far banks, the disorderly movements +of those who had effected the passage, and were waiting there to be +rejoined by their companions. Such, Mad. de L. assures us, was the +tumult and terror of the scene, and so awful the recollections it +inspired, that it can never be effaced from the memory of any of +those who beheld it; and that many of its awe-struck spectators have +concurred in stating, that it brought forcibly to their imaginations +the unspeakable terrors of the great day of judgment.--_Edinb. Rev. +No. LI. p. 24._] + +It is said that when the Prince Talmont, with the royalists, crossed +over from Saint Florent, under the fire of the republican troops who +had taken possession of the heights, they consisted of thirty thousand +individuals, but that there were not twenty thousand warriors; among +them were five thousand women: arrived in the open country, without +warlike stores, they soon wanted provisions. This multitude created +a famine wherever it went, and suffered a famine itself. The first +unsuccessful enterprize produced discouragement, and necessarily the +desertion of the army: it diminished two-thirds when it was repulsed +at Angers; and when the chiefs, despairing (after the battle of Mans) +of not being able to recross the Loire at Ancenis, led back the wrecks +of the army to Savenay, it consisted only of fifteen thousand men, +half dead with hunger and misery: the major part of these were +exterminated by the republicans; the rest dispersed themselves, and +from that time all efforts ceased. Prince de Talmont was arrested near +Erne, tried at Rennes, and executed at Laval: of the fate of Lescure +and the other chiefs, a melancholy catalogue is furnished by Madame de +la Roche-Jaquelin. + +The wind favoring us the day following, we sailed at break of day, and +arrived at Angers at the close of a beautiful evening. The approach to +this town, in sailing up the river Mayenne, is highly picturesque; its +ancient castle is situated on a high rock overhanging the river; its +walls and antique towers, built by the English, have an imposing +effect. The town stands in a plain, which, in the distance, being +fringed with wood, together with the corn and meadow ground, give it +that richness and beauty that characterizes the whole country between +Nantes and Angers. The river Mayenne, and a small branch of the +Loire, divide the town. It is the chief seat of the province of +Maine-et-Loire, formerly the capital of Anjou. It is a large ancient +city, with a fine cathedral, a botanical garden, museum, and +several manufactories of cottons; one of them in imitation of India +handkerchiefs. Here the last effort was made by the Vendeans, whose +flight from it was immediately followed by the bloody and disastrous +affair of Mans. + +I had now passed the provinces of Bretagne and Poitou, as they border +the Loire; and, in point of beautiful and romantic scenery, this +district can scarcely be surpassed. The left bank of the river, +running along the country of Le Bocage, from Nantes to Angers, a +distance of seventy-two miles, is a continued range of lofty hills, +agreeably diversified with corn lands, and studded with vineyards. The +opposite bank is a more flat and variegated country, with pleasant +eminences and broad plains, watered by branches of the Loire, which in +many parts contains small islands covered with trees. The whole course +of this fine river, as the eye sweeps and ranges over its banks, +presents at almost every bend the view of villas enriched with +gardens, orchards, and vineyards; castles, convents, and villages in +ruins! bearing innumerable evidences of the desolating war that has +destroyed them. + +The religious communities, whose love of scenery and retirement in +general led them to prefer the most sequestered valleys, have in these +provinces chosen the most elevated and picturesque spots for the +erection of their monasteries; and these, notwithstanding their +deserted and decaying state, prove the good taste of their ancient +possessors, and the skill and industry with which they embellished +them. No situations could have been selected more abounding in +picturesque combinations of magnificent landscapes. + +The pleasure of the traveller in surveying such scenes, cannot but be +frequently interrupted, by the recollection of the various atrocities +which the inhabitants of these fine provinces committed against each +other, and of the immense number of innocent victims that were driven +from their abode to perish by famine or the sword. + + + + +CHAP. VIII. + +SAUMUR TO TOURS--TOURS--TOURS TO BLOIS--ORLEANS--AND ORLEANS TO +PARIS. + + +I hired a small carriage, called a _patache_, to convey me to Saumur +and Tours; it is driven by a postillion with two horses, and is open +in front, giving the traveller a better opportunity of viewing the +country than in a close vehicle. + +The town of Saumur is built on both banks of the Loire, with a +handsome stone bridge over it; an ancient castle, built on a high +rock, commands the whole town. The road from Angers to this place is a +high raised causeway, paved, and runs parallel to the river, within +a few paces of its banks, the whole distance. Here we entered into +Touraine from the province of Anjou. From Saumur to Tours, the road +is like the former. The river Loire is on the right hand, and a flat +level country on the left, covered with orchards, groves, and meadows. +The road is every where raised so high, that it forms a very steep +declivity, with narrow pathways down to the entrance of the cottages +and villages, which are most romantically situated,--some in orchards, +some amidst vineyards, some in gardens, and others in recesses peeping +from between the trees. The fences are fantastically interwoven with +wreaths of the vines, which frequently creep up the trunk of a pear or +a cherry-tree, and cover the slated roofs of the houses, thereby, from +the natural luxuriance and wildness of their spreading branches in the +fruit season, answering at once the purposes of utility and ornament; +for the slates, retaining the heat, ripen the grape sooner than any +other mode of training. The corn was now ripe, and added to the +interest and beauty of the scenes; in many of the fields the reapers +were at work, and the harvest (which happily for France had not been +so abundant for many years) was going on with the assistance of the +female peasantry, who on all occasions partake and cheer the labours +of the field. + +Approaching nearer to Tours, I had a fine view of the bridge, which is +esteemed the handsomest in France. Between the branches of the trees, +I now and then caught a glimpse of the spires of the church and +buildings, encompassed by extensive orchards and groves, and open +vales between, varied by vineyards. It was a _jour de fête_, and as I +drove through the town the streets were gay with holyday people, and +crowded in some places with groups of women and girls, whose cheerful +countenances proved the admiration with which they viewed the +performances of some mountebanks.[12] Tours is the chief seat of the +préfecture of the Indre-et-Loire, formerly the capital of the province +of Touraine, and is built on a plain on the bank of the Loire. The +houses are of a white stone, and in the principal streets well built +and lofty: it is altogether one of the handsomest towns in France. The +main street, the rue Royale, can boast of a foot pavement, which is +seldom to be met with in this country. The environs of the town are +also very beautiful; the luxuriance of the soil, abounding in vines, +fruits, and every article of life, has attracted such numbers of +English to its vicinity, that Tours may be almost considered an +English colony. + +[Footnote 12: There is no city in Europe where there are more of +these sort of people to be seen than at Paris, on the boulevards and +different carrefours. The fondness of the Parisians for shows has +existed for ages. In a tariff of Saint Lewis for regulating the duties +upon the different articles brought into Paris by the gate of the +little Châtelet, it is ordained, (Hist. LVIII. cxxxiii.) that +whosoever fetches a monkey into the city for sale, shall pay four +deniers; but if the monkey belongs to a merry-andrew, the merry-andrew +shall be exempted from paying the duty, as well upon the said monkey +as on every thing else he carries along with him, by causing his +monkey to play and dance before the collector! Hence is derived the +proverb "Payer en monnoie de singe," i.e. to laugh at a man instead of +paying him. By another article, it is specified, that jugglers shall +likewise be exempt from all imposts, provided they sing a couplet of a +song before the toll-gatherer.] + + +Its ancient cathedral is in good preservation, notwithstanding it +became a prey to the licentious fanaticism of the republicans. + +The hotel Saint Julien, where I resided during my stay, stands upon +the cloisters of an ancient abbey; and the church, with its fine +Gothic pillars, and chapels, remains a monument of those destructive +and desolating times! The side aisles are stalls for horses and +cattle, and the centre is a _remise_ for carriages and the public +diligences which run to this inn! The best hotel is the hotel du +Faisan. The vast number of English who keep pouring into all the +western provinces of this country, by degrees has affected the +markets, and will continue to do so, as long as the rage for +emigration lasts. At Tours, every article is one third dearer than at +Nantes, and in proportion as the capital is approached every thing +becomes more expensive; yet notwithstanding this, living is, and must +ever be, infinitely cheaper than in England. + +It certainly is no exaggeration to say, that France is richer in the +production of fruits and vegetables than any country in Europe, for in +no other can be found so many productions of the same climates of the +earth, or a soil more naturally abundant. With the exception of some +of the northern provinces, every part of France has wine, and the +culture of that delicious fruit which produces it is mentioned in its +earliest records. By a happy distribution, those provinces which do +not bear the vine, are abundantly supplied with other productions. +Normandy and Bretagne abound in the finest fruits; Picardy, and the +adjoining provinces, in corn. The riches of Lorraine are in its woods; +Touraine has ever been famous for its plums and its pears. The banks +of the Loire, and the valleys of Dauphiné, are celebrated for the +richness of their verdure and vegetation; and the more southern +provinces of Languedoc and Provence, partake of the climate and +productions of Italy and Spain. + +Between Tours and Amboise, I passed the once celebrated Château of +Chanteloup, formerly the property of the Duc de Choiseuil, now the +residence of the Comte de Chaptal, who became the purchaser when it +was sold as national property. + +At the distance of six miles from Blois, the road leads near enough to +Valençay to have a good view of its magnificent palace and grounds; +this place, now belonging to M. de Talleyrand, Prince et Duc de +Benevento, (one of the most extraordinary characters who have figured +so conspicuously during the present age,) is the more interesting, +from having been so long the place of confinement of Ferdinand the +present King of Spain; and from whence our government tried to +extricate him through the agency of Baron de Kolly, who lost his life +in the attempt. This singular transaction has appeared in all the +public papers, but having had an opportunity of collecting the +particulars through a channel of undoubted authority, I consider it an +anecdote of too interesting a nature, as connected with the subject +before me, not to insert it here. + +In 1810, our government laid a plan to liberate King Ferdinand VII. of +Spain, similar to the one which had already effected the escape of +the Marquis de la Romana. The person entrusted with this commission, +assumed the name of Baron de Kolly, and besides the necessary credit +and credentials, he was furnished with the original letter, written by +Charles IV. to George III. in 1802, notifying the marriage of his son, +the Prince of the Asturias, and containing a marginal note from the +Marquis W.... in corroboration of his mission. A small squadron was +also sent to cruize off that part of the coast most contiguous to +Valençay, under the orders of Commodore C.... to be in readiness to +receive the royal fugitive. On a sudden the Baron de Kolly was seized, +and the plan frustrated, but the real particulars were never known +until after the events of the campaign of 1815. + +In the course of the passage to St. Helena, Admiral C.... (who +had been entrusted with the project) expressed a wish to know of +Buonaparte, by what means de Kolly had been discovered and arrested, +and the true circumstances of the affair so totally unknown in +England, adding, that if no motive of state policy intervened, he was +anxious to hear the whole disclosure. Buonaparte readily consented, +and told him that de Kolly arrived at Paris and lived in the greatest +obscurity, dressed shabbily, and eating his meals only at cheap +traiteurs in the Fauxbourg St. Antoine. However, he was not satisfied +with the common wine served up, and would ask for the best Bordeaux, +for which he paid five francs per bottle. This contrast of poverty and +luxury excited suspicions in the waiters of the two houses he thus +frequented, who being in the pay of the police, immediately sent in a +report. De Kolly was watched, and soon afterwards seized with all +his papers. Buonaparte said he then procured a person, as nearly +resembling de Kolly as could be found, to carry on the English +stratagem, under a hope that Ferdinand would have fallen into the +trap; and with all the original credentials, this agent of the French +police went into the castle of Valençay, under a pretext of selling +some trinkets. Ferdinand however, said Buonaparte, was too great a +coward to enter into the views proposed to him, but instantly gave +information of what had been communicated, to his first chamberlain, +Amazada, in a letter written to the governor of the castle!--By this +means Ferdinand escaped being placed at the mercy of Buonaparte, whose +intention was to intercept him in his flight. + +Although the conduct of Ferdinand was in this instance pusillanimous +and cruel, it was next to an impossibility that he could have +effected his escape. He was surrounded by guards and spies of every +description, under the superintendence of M. Darberg, Auditor of the +Council of State, and without whose leave no admittance could be +obtained. Twenty-five horse gendarmes regularly mounted guard about +the castle, and every person found in its vicinity without a regular +passport, was confined and strictly examined. + +At a small distance, is the residence of Marshal Victor, Duc de +Belluno, whom I met walking in the grounds. I was very civilly +permitted to enter, on sending a message desiring permission, as a +traveller, to see it. It stands at the entrance of the village of +Ménard, and was once the favourite residence of Madame de Pompadour, +the mistress of Louis XV. The river Loire winds beautifully beneath +the terrace. The grounds are of a vast extent, and tastefully laid +out. Over the entrance, the workmen were then placing the arms of the +Marshal, finely executed in stone. + +The country is thickly enclosed on each side of the river, varied with +hill and dale, clothed with vineyards. The villages and small towns +along the banks, as far as Orléans, are numerous and invariably +picturesque. Nothing can be more beautiful than the natural festoons +which are formed by the long shoots of the vines as they project over +the road. The peasants and the vignerons live in the midst of their +vineyards; their dwellings are excavations in chalky strata of the +solid rock, which afford them warm and dry habitations; some of them +were so covered with the vines that the entrance was scarcely visible, +and the comparison of them to so many birds nests is not badly +imagined. The hedges were covered with wild thyme and rosemary; and +the clematis interwoven with honeysuckles and other fragrant flowers, +richly perfumed the air. The grapes in Touraine and Orléanois are not +abundant this year, but the wine that is expected to be made, will, +it is supposed, from the dryness of the summer, be of an excellent +quality. + +The town of Orléans is memorable for the siege it sustained against +the English in 1428, when the maid of Orléans acquired so much renown, +and whose barbarous execution at Rouen, cannot be remembered without +feelings of horror and indignation, and must ever remain a stain on +the memory of that brave soldier the Duke of Bedford. The transactions +subsequent to that event, led to the almost entire expulsion of the +English from France; and those glittering conquests which were an +object of more glory than interest, and had been purchased at such an +expense of blood and treasure, were from that time lost to the English +nation. + +During the Revolution, the ancient statue of this celebrated female +was taken down and unfortunately destroyed, and one more modern, but +less interesting, finely executed in bronze, has been since erected. +She is habited in armour, with a lance and shield, supposed to +be leading on the victorious troops. At the four angles, are the +emblematical figures in relief, of the principal events of her +singular career. On a marble pedestal, is inscribed: + + A JEANNE D'ARC. + +Orléans is the chief seat of the department of the Loiret, formerly +the capital of Orléanais, on the river Loire, over which it has a +handsome bridge like the one at Tours, though not of such extent, as +the river here is not so wide, and very shallow. The communication by +water with Paris is carried on by means of a canal. + +The church is one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture I +have seen in France. The towers are of open fretwork, and in excellent +preservation. More cheerful scenes of exuberant fertility are nowhere +to be met with than along the banks of the river, and in the country +surrounding the town. + +From Orléans to Etampes, there is a plain of eighteen leagues in +extent, the whole of which was covered with one entire tract of corn +and vines; not an intervening hill or hillock; and the scene was +doubly interesting from the harvest carrying on in every direction as +I traversed it. + +Leaving Etampes, I passed through the beautiful villages of Sceaux, +Bourg-la-Reine, and Fontenay-aux-Roses; the latter still contains the +ruins of the Palace of Colbert, the celebrated minister of Louis XIV. + +The village of Fontenay-aux-Roses, is situated in a valley six miles +from Paris, and takes its name from the culture of roses, which cover +large tracts of ground. The proprietors sell the flowers to the +distillers for making rose water and essences, and the flower market +is supplied with the choicest bouquets; it is likewise celebrated for +its produce of the finest strawberries and peaches. + +The beauty of its situation, and the association of its name with the +sweetest of flowers, has attracted many of the wealthy inhabitants +of the metropolis to reside in its vicinity, where they have summer +houses; among them is the Maire de Fontenay, Monsieur Ledru, whose +history is singular and interesting. + +His father, who was very wealthy, and a great miser, sent for him one +morning, at the time he had just attained his eighteenth year, and +said to him: "I began life at your age with half a crown; there is one +for you--go, and be as fortunate as I have been;"--saying which, he +turned him out of the house, and shut the door in his face. + +Undismayed at such unexpected and unnatural conduct on the part of his +parent, whom he had never offended, the youth sought the advice and +assistance of a friend, by whose opinion he applied himself to the +study of medicine. After an indefatigable study at the Hotel Dieu, he +became celebrated in his profession, and had the good fortune to +be employed by a lady of great wealth, whose life he saved. Out of +gratitude, she proposed to become his wife, and to settle upon him an +income of fifty thousand livres, that he might give up his medical +pursuits; which, having accepted, he rewarded her by an attention and +kindness suitable to the noble generosity of her conduct. + +The revolution soon after occurred, and in the general wreck of +property she lost all her fortune, it having been invested, either +in the funds, or public securities. It then became the turn of Mons. +Ledru to support his wife, by renewing the practice of his profession, +which soon placed them again in affluent circumstances. + +At the death of his father, who left an immense fortune to be divided +between Mons. Ledru and his two maiden sisters, he took possession +of the estate at Fontenay-aux-Roses, from whence he had been cruelly +banished when a boy, and which the unkindness of his parent had never +after permitted him to enter. Fortune, which had hitherto played a +wayward and capricious game with him, had not yet ceased her freaks. +In removing a mirror from over a chimney-piece which required an +alteration, he discovered a prodigious treasure that had been +concealed there by his father! With that generosity and nobleness +of character, which make him esteemed and beloved by all his +acquaintance, and adored by the whole commune over which he presides, +he instantly sent for his sisters and divided it with them. His wife +did not long survive this last event, and since her death he has +continued to reside at Fontenay-aux-Roses with his sisters, where +he exercises his authority with mildness; and by constant acts of +beneficence and charity, is justly styled, "Le Père de Fontenay!" + +Between Fontenay-aux-Roses and Paris, to the right of the road, is the +village of Gentilly, whose numerous guinguettes are much frequented +by the Parisians in fine weather. It being a holyday we met crowds of +well dressed citizens, in all sorts of vehicles, driving towards it. +An interesting circumstance had been related to me of the curé of this +village, M. Détruissart; and on asking permission to visit his rural +habitation, I found the story to be true. His garden, which is not +above half an acre, has been laid out with such art and ingenuity, as +to give an idea of considerable extent, and to add to the charms of +this little spot, which he calls his "bonheur," there are a variety of +inscriptions of his own composition; over an arbour of vines is the +following:-- + + + MA SOLITUDE. + + Loin des méchans, du bruit, des tempêtes du monde, + Sous un simple berceau dont la treille est féconde, + Sous un modeste toît, dans de rians jardins, + Dessinés, élevés, cultivés par mes mains.... + C'est dans ces lieux chéris que s'écoule ma vie + Dans une paix profonde, une tranquillité + Qui sans cesse rappele à mon ame ravie + Le temps de l'âge d'or et ma félicité: + Mais, quelque doux qu'il soit, mon sort est peu de chose; + Car enfin, après tout, je dois mourir bientôt! + Ne ressemblons-nous pas à la feuille de rose + Qui paroît un instant et qui sèche aussitôt! + +It was in the practice of the moral conveyed by these lines, and in +the pursuit of literature, and constant acts of charity, that Mons. +Détruissart passed his life, which was rewarded by the esteem and +affection of all his parishioners, of which they gave a remarkable +proof on the 4th of July, 1815, when the Prussian troops took post at +Gentilly, from whence they had driven the French the preceding evening +into Paris. + +The poor curé, with many other of the inhabitants, sought refuge +in the capital, leaving his house at the mercy of the enemy, who +commenced plundering in all directions; the humble and modest +appearance of M. Détruissart's cottage not attracting their notice, +it remained untouched, when a single word from any of the inhabitants +would have devoted it to ruin; but such was their esteem for him, that +at his return he found every thing as he had left it. + +I entered Paris, leaving Bicêtre to my right, by the barrière d'Enfer, +after one of the most agreeable and interesting journeys I ever +performed. + + + + +CHAP. IX. + +ENVIRONS OF PARIS--PERE LA CHAISE--CASTLE OF VINCENNES--AND CHATEAU OF +ST. GERMAIN--ITS FOREST AND VICINITY. + + +Prior to the revolution, the French, like most other European nations, +were in the practice of depositing their dead in churches and +cemeteries within the most populous towns, in compliance with those +precepts of evangelical doctrine which recommend us unceasingly to +reflect on death; and hence originated a custom which cannot but be +attended with most pernicious consequences to health, when we reflect +that the decomposition of human bodies is productive of putrid +exhalations, and consequently pregnant with the causes of contagious +disorders. It is indeed surprising that some regulations have not +hitherto been adopted in England regarding the interment of the dead, +from the example of other countries. + +In the year 1793, a decree was passed by the National Assembly, to +prevent burying in churches, or in church-yards, within the city of +Paris. Since which period, there have been three places selected in +its immediate neighbourhood for that purpose--Montmartre, called "Le +Champ du Repos"--Vaugirard, and Père La Chaise. + +Quitting the Boulevards, at the extremity of the Boulevards Neufs, +eastward of the city, and passing through the Barrière d'Aulnay, I +arrived at the Père La Chaise. At the entrance, through large folding +gates, is a spacious court-yard, having at one angle the dwelling +of the Concierge, or Keeper. The enclosure contains one hundred and +twenty acres, on a gently rising ground, in the centre of which stands +the ancient mansion constructed by Louis XIV. for his confessor, Père +la Chaise, the celebrated Jesuit, who, with Madame de Maintenon, +governed France. Rising above the thousands of tombs which surround +it, it displays itself a wrecked and mouldering monument of ancient +splendour, and the mutability of human affairs! This spot became +afterwards a place of public promenade and great resort, from the +beauty of its position overlooking all Paris; and though so often +the scene of festivity and pleasure, now presents to the eye of the +beholder a mournfully interesting sight of tombs and sarcophagi, +intermixed with various fruit trees, cypress groves, the choicest +flowers, and rarest shrubs. + +From the rising ground, above the building of Père La Chaise, a most +delightful view displays itself. The city of Paris appears to stand +in the centre of a vast amphitheatre. The heights of Belleville, +Montmartre, and Ménilmontant, in the west. To the east, the beautiful +plain of Saint-Mandé, Montreuil, and Vincennes, with the lofty towers +of its fortress.--The fertile banks of the river Marne, are on the +North, and in the South, the horizon encircles Bicêtre and Meudon. + +The various tombs are placed without order or regularity: they are +mostly enclosed with trellis work of wood, sometimes by iron railing; +and consist of a small marble column, a pyramid, a sarcophagus, or a +single slab, just as may have suited the fancy or the taste of the +friends of the departed.--Some surrounded with cypress, some with +roses, myrtles, and the choicest exotics; others with evergreens, and +not unfrequently a single weeping willow, with the addition of a rose +tree! + +This intermixture of the sweetest scented flowers and fruit trees, in +a burying ground, among the finest pieces of sculptured marble, with +evergreens growing over them, in the form of arbours, and furnished +with seats, cannot fail to produce in the mind of the person who views +it for the first time, peculiar and uncommon feelings of domestic +melancholy, mingled with pleasing tenderness. + +Who could be otherwise than powerfully affected, as I was, by the +first objects that presented themselves to me on entering the +place?--A mother and her two sons, kneeling in pious devotion at the +foot of the husband's and the father's grave! At a short distance, a +female of elegant form, watering and dressing the earth around some +plants at her lover's tomb!--not a day, and seldom an hour, passes, +but some one is seen either weeping over the remains of a departed +relative, or watching with pious solicitude the flowers that spring up +around it. + +Among the many interesting objects that presented themselves at my +first visit, was the tomb of Abélard and Héloïse, which had not long +since been removed from the convent of the Augustins, where I had seen +it in 1815. + +At a little distance, to the left of the former, was the burial place +of Labédoyère. The fate of this brave and unfortunate officer is well +known; his youth, and misled zeal, have procured him a sympathy which +his fellow sufferer Marshal Ney did not find, and did not merit. + +In the centre of a square plot of ground enclosed with lattice work, +is erected a wooden cross, painted black. Neither marble, nor stone, +nor letters, indicate his name. Two pots of roses, and a tuft of +violets, alone marked the spot, which is carefully weeded. There is +something more affecting in all this simplicity, something, in my +mind, that goes more directly home to the heart, than in the most +splendid monument or the most studied eulogium. As we came suddenly up +we saw two females clad in deep mourning, weeping over it; at each +arm of the cross was suspended a garland of flowers; we were about to +retire again immediately, from the fear of disturbing their melancholy +devotions, when the concierge, with a brutality indescribable, rushed +forward, and removing the garlands, threw them among the shrubs at a +considerable distance. The friend who accompanied me, after searching, +recovered one of the garlands, and with more gallantry perhaps than +policy, immediately replaced it, and reproaching the keeper with his +unmanly conduct, vowed vengeance if he dared to interrupt the ladies, +again, when bowing to them we retired. + +As we were about to quit the place some time after, we were arrested +by two gendarmes, and it was not till after a detention of some +hours, and a long discussion between the police officers who had +been summoned to attend, and being threatened to be sent to the +Conciergerie prison, that we were allowed to depart. + +The following words were engraved on a plain marble slab that covered +the remains of Marshal Ney. + + CI GIT + LE MARÉCHAL NEY + DUC D'ECHLINGEN + PRINCE DE MOSCOWA + DÉCÉDÉ le 7, Decembre, 1815. + +The grave of the Marshal, as well as that of Labédoyère, when I again +visited the spot, had been stripped of every thing, and the railing +around them removed so as to prevent any one from discovering the +place of their interment. + +The monument of Madame Cottin, the author of Elizabeth and of +Mathilde, is, like her writings, simple and affecting!-Surrounded by a +trellis work in the form of an arbour, planted with rose trees, stands +a pillar of the whitest marble, highly polished, inclining forwards, +and engraved with: + + ICI REPOSE + Marie-Sophie Risteav + Veuve de J.M. Cottin + Décédée le 25 Août. + 1815. + +Near this is the tomb of the esteemed and celebrated poet Delille, the +"Songster of the Gardens," as the French term him. The monument is +enclosed in a small garden, planted with the choicest flowers and +shrubs: it is of white marble, of large dimensions, and approached +by an _allée verte_. The door leading to the vault is of brass, with +emblematical figures in relief: above the entrance is inscribed in +letters of gold. + +JACQVES-DELILLE. + +The linden tree, intermixed with various evergreens, form an +interesting and beautiful bouquet around it. + +Beyond this, to the right, are the tombs of Grétry the composer, +Fourcroy the great chemist, Fontenelle, Boileau, Racine, and of +Mademoiselle Raucourt, the celebrated actress, to whom the bigotry +of the clergy refused burial in consecrated ground in 1815! a +circumstance which gave rise to much clamour and dissatisfaction. It +is surprising, that after such events as have been experienced in +France, the folly of denying the right of consecrated ground to a +comedian should have been persevered in, _after the restoration_ of +Louis XVIII! + +Close to the tomb of Mad'lle Raucourt, is one, which for its affecting +simplicity and modesty, struck me very forcibly: in a little garden of +roses and lilies, and amidst some tufts of mignonette which appeared +to have been newly watered, stood a plain marble column, with the +words as represented in the annexed sketch--an accacia shaded it from +the sun's rays. In 1814, when the Allies approached Paris, this +height, like the others commanding the capital, was fortified, +and occupied by the students of the Polytechnical School, +who defended it with great gallantry. The walls were perforated with +holes for the musketry: the marks are still visible where they have +been since filled up. On the 30th of March, 1814, this position +was vigorously attacked, with great slaughter on both sides: the +assailants and the assailed fell in heaps, and it was not until +the chief part of a Prussian corps, (that afterwards carried it by +assault) had been annihilated, that the brave youths gave way. + +[Illustration] + +The tomb of my early friend and brother officer, the brave and +unfortunate Captain Wright, who was murdered in the Temple, is in +the cemetery of Vaugirard. I had searched for it in vain at Père la +Chaise, where it was reported he had been buried. It has on it the +following inscription, written to his memory by his companion in arms, +and in imprisonment, the gallant Sir Sidney Smith: + + HERE LIES INHUMED + JOHN WESLEY WRIGHT, + BY BIRTH AN ENGLISHMAN, + CAPTAIN IN THE BRITISH NAVY + + Distinguished both among his own Countrymen and Foreigners + For skill and courage; + + To whom, + Of those things which lead to the summit of glory, + Nothing was wanting but opportunity: + + His ancestors, whose virtues he inherited, + He honoured by his deeds. + + Quick in apprehending his orders, + Active and bold in the execution of them; + + In success modest, + In adverse circumstances firm, + In doubtful enterprises, wise and prudent. + + Awhile successful in his career; + At length assailed by adverse winds, and on an hostile shore, + He was captured; + + And being soon after brought to Paris, + Was confined in the prison called the Temple, + _Infamous for midnight murders_, + And placed in the most rigid custody: + + But in bonds, + And suffering severities still more oppressive, + His fortitude of mind and fidelity to his country + Remained unshaken. + + A short time after, + He was found in the morning with his throat cut. + And dead in his bed: + + He died the 28th October, 1805, aged 36. + To be lamented by his Country, + Avenged by his God! + + +THE DONJON, OR CASTLE OF VINCENNES. + + +This ancient fortress is situate at the entrance of the forest of +Vincennes, (now reduced to a wood of small trees, the large timber +having been cut down during the revolution) and surrounded by a deep +ditch of great width, about two miles from the Barrière du Trône. +During many ages, it had been the casual residence of the sovereigns +of France. Philip de Valois added considerably to its dimensions in +1337. John continued the works, and during his captivity in England, +Charles his son, then regent of the kingdom, finished it. + +During the reign of Charles VII. in 1422, Henry VI. of England died in +this castle. From this time Vincennes became a royal residence, until +the reign of Louis XIV. when that monarch fixed himself at Versailles, +from which period it has never been used but as a prison[13]. + +[Footnote 13: Monstrelet relates a curious anecdote, during the +residence at the Castle of Vincennes of Isabeau de Bavière, strongly +illustrative of the barbarous manners of those times. "Lewis de +Bourbon, who was handsome and well made, and had signalized himself +upon various occasions, and amongst others at the battle of Agincourt, +going one night, as was customary, to visit the Queen, Isabeau de +Bavière, at the Castle of Vincennes, met the King (Charles VI.); he +saluted him, without either stopping or alighting from his horse, +but continued galloping on. The King having recollected him, ordered +Tangui du Chatel, prévost of Paris, to pursue, and to confine him in +prison. At night the _question_ was applied, and he was afterwards +tied up in a sack and cast into the Seine, with this inscription upon +the sack, 'Let the King's justice take place.'"] + +Dulaure, a French writer, in speaking of the persons who were confined +here, observes, it would be difficult to enumerate the number of +individuals that have been shut up in this prison within these few +years. "We will merely notice," he says, "the celebrated Count +Mirabeau, who was confined from 1777 to 1780; here it was that he +translated his Tibulle, and Joannes Secundus, and wrote his 'Lettres +originales' to his mistress, Madame Lemonnier, which abound with +passages as affecting as the letters of Héloïse". + +This prison was thrown open during the reign of the unfortunate Louis +XVI. by the Baron de Breteuil, Minister of the Department of Paris +in 1784. In going over it, every one was penetrated with horror; and +feelings of the most melancholy interest were excited by reading the +various inscriptions on the walls, indicative of the hopeless misery +that had been experienced within them! Many were expressive of piety +and resignation at the approach of death!--others complaining of the +cruel oppression which had immured them! On one wall was written, "Il +faut mourir, mon frere; mon frere il faut mourir, quand il plaira à +Dieu". On the door of another prison were, "Beati qui persecutionem +patiuntur propter justitiam, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum". On +the same spot were, "Carcer Socratis, templum honoris". + +This Donjon remained unoccupied until 1791. At this period, the +prisons of the capital being filled with criminals, Government ordered +it to be prepared for the reception of that class of prisoners; but on +the massacres that followed, the mob either murdered or released them +all, after a bloody contest, and it remained again without prisoners +until the Imperial Government under Buonaparte. It was then garrisoned +by a detachment of the Imperial Guard, and multitudes of victims were +transferred there whose fate remains, and probably ever will remain, +unknown. + +It was to this place that the Duke D'Enghien, who was arrested the +15th March, 1804, at Ettenheim, in the Electorate of Baden, was +conducted the 20th of the same month, at five in the evening, and +condemned to death the night following, by a military commission, at +which Murat presided. He was accordingly shot on the 21st, at half +past four in the evening, in the ditch of the castle which looks +towards the forest, on the north side, and his body thrown into a +grave, ready dug to receive it, where he fell. The details of this +cruel and wanton act of barbarity are too well known to need any +repetition here. + +This spot is now marked by a wooden cross, enclosed by an iron +railing. The remains of the Prince were dug out on the 20th March, +1816, by order of Louis XVIII. and deposited with solemn funeral +ceremony in a coffin which is placed in the same apartment where the +council of war condemned him to suffer! since transformed info a +chapel. Under a cenotaph, covered with a cloth of gold, is placed the +coffin, with a prodigious large stone lying on it, the same that was +found lying on his head, and which from its weight had crushed his +skull! + +The apartment is hung with black cloth, and remains continually +lighted, with a guard placed over it. Mass is daily performed for the +repose of his soul, agreeable to the Catholic religion. + +On the lid of the coffin is the following inscription: + + Ici est Le Corps + De Très-Haut, Très-Puissant Prince + Louis-Antoine-Henri De Bourbon + Duc D'Enghien, Prince du Sang + Pair de France + Mort A Vincennes, Le 21 Mars 1804 + A L'age de XXXI Ans VII mois XVIII Jours. + +A marble bust of the Prince, by Bosio, is placed at the entrance. + +During the periods of 1814 and 1815, when Paris was in possession +of the Allies, Vincennes continued under the command of General +Daumesnil, who declared that he held it for his country until the +Government was settled, and would not open its gates to a foreign +army. It was not attacked either of the times. + +It is approached by two gates, with drawbridges, and defended by +cannon on all sides. The fossé is of great depth, and dry, extending, +I should suppose, nearly a quarter of a mile. It has nine towers, of +prodigious height and solidity: the largest, at the south western +angle, called the Donjon, is considerably more elevated than the +others. The principal entrance is fronting the forest, on the north +side, in the form of a triumphal arch, with six pillars, ornamented +in bas-reliefs, and was decorated with marble statues, which were +destroyed when it was seized by the mob. + +The Donjon is surrounded by a separate ditch, within the other, of +forty feet depth, and is approached by two draw-bridges; one for +carriages, the other for foot passengers; and the main tower is +flanked by four other angular ones, each having a high turret. The +windows are treble barred within and without, so as to admit but a +faint glimmering light! Three gates of great solidity are to be passed +at the entrance; that which communicates with the draw-bridge of the +castle is secured both within and without. After passing the three +gates, there is a court, in the middle of which stands the Donjon. +Three other immense gates guard its entrance! + +The form of the Donjon is a square. The towers at the four angles are +divided into five floors, each having a separate stair-case, and +each floor is vaulted, with an apartment in the centre, sustained +by pillars, which are chimneys. At each of the four corners of the +apartment in the centre is a cell thirteen feet square. The towers are +encompassed on the third story by a large gallery on the outside, and +on the top of each there is a small circular terrace. Such is the +strength and prodigious solidity of this building, that it is said to +be capable of resisting the heaviest cannon, and is bomb proof. The +hand of time appears not to have made any impression on its outward +surface. + +The first hall is called "La chambre de la question:" its name +indicates sufficiently the horrid purposes to which it was +appropriated! So late as the year 1790 were to be seen chairs formed +of stone, where the unhappy victims were seated, with iron collars +fixed to the wall by heavy chains, that confined them to the spot +while undergoing the torture! In these prisons, deprived of air and +light, were beds of timber, on which they were allowed to repose +during the interval of their sufferings. + +The upper floor, named "La salle du conseil," from the Kings holding +their council there, while it was a royal residence, is secured by a +door of great solidity, and each prison at the angles had three doors +covered with iron plates, with double locks and treble bolts. The +doors were so contrived as to open crossways, each serving as a +security to the other. The first acted as a bar to the second, and +this to the third, so that it was necessary to close one before the +other could be opened.--Such was the mode of confinement in this +prison, the walls of which are sixteen feet thick, and the arches +thirty feet high. + +The other eight towers were also prisons. The one called "La tour de +la surintendance" contains cells six feet square; the bed places are +of stone. There is a square hole to descend into the vaults beneath, +where, like a tomb, the miserable prisoner was immured for ever!!! +Often, alas! for imaginary crimes, or for causes which make us shudder +at their wantonness and barbarity, an unfortunate victim has been torn +from the bosom of his family, to perish unheard of and unknown! + +The French Government have, I understand, issued an order to prevent +any one from entering this place from motives of curiosity; and let us +hope that the humane and enlightened policy of the restored Monarch +will close its cells for ever! + +The following beautiful lines, with which I close an account of the +most horribly interesting spot I ever visited, are from the pen of +Delille: + + ".......................... + Voyez gémir en proie à sa longue torture, + Ce mortel confiné dans sa noire clôture. + Pour unique plaisir et pour seul passe-temps, + De sa lente journée il compte les instans, + Ou de son noir cachot mesure l'étendue, + Ou médite en secret sa fuite inattendue; + Ou, de ceux qu'avant lui renferma la prison, + Lit, sur ces tristes murs, la complainte et le nom: + Et lui-même y traçant sa douloureuse histoire, + A ceux qui le suivront en transmet la mémoire. + C'est peu d'être enchaîné dans ces tristes tombeaux, + Combien de souvenirs viennent aigrir ses maux! + Hélas! tandis qu'auprès de leurs jeunes compagnes; + Dans les riches cités, dans les vastes campagnes; + Ses amis d'autrefois errent en liberté, + Lorsque l'heure propice à la société, + Reconduit chaque soir la jeunesse folâtre + Aux entretiens joyeux, à la danse, au théâtre, + Ou, d'un plaisir plus doux annonçant le retour, + Du moment fortuné vient avertir l'amour, + Il est seul; ... en un long et lugubre silence, + Pour lui le jour s'achêve, et le jour recommence; + Il n'entend point l'accent de la tendre amitié, + Il ne voit point les pleurs de la douce pitié: + N'ayant de mouvement que pour traîner des chânes, + Un coeur que pour l'ennui, des sens que pour les peines, + Pour lui, plus de beaux jours, de ruisseau, de gazon; + Cette vôute est son ciel, ces murs son horizon, + Son regard, élevé vers les flambeaux célestes, + Vient mourir dans la nuit de ses cachots funestes; + Rien n'égaie à ses yeux leur morne obscurité; + Ou si, par des barreaux avares de clarté, + Un faible jour se glisse en ces antres funêbres, + Il redouble pour lui les horreurs des ténêbres, + Et, le coeur consumé d'un regret sans espoir, + Il cherche la lumière et gémit de la voir." + +DELILLE. CHATEAU DE SAINT GERMAIN. + +This ancient pile of building is now a barrack for the King's Gardes +du Corps, containing two troops, one of Luxembourg, and the other of +Grammont, which are relieved every three months. + +It is supposed to have been built in the reign of Robert, but there +appears to be no certainty as to the exact period. It is interesting +to the English traveller, from having been the last refuge of James +the Second of England, and the residence, at various times, of very +celebrated and distinguished characters. It was taken, and pillaged, +and partly burnt, during the reign of Philip VI, in 1346, by Edward +the Third, and again by the English in 1419, and rebuilt by Francis +the First. During the war of the League in 1574, Catherine de Medicis +retired to this Castle, but from the predictions of an astrologer, +that she would die there, quitted it shortly after, and returned to +the Tuilleries, which Palace she had founded.[14] Henry the Fourth +often frequented Saint Germain. The Château Neuf, and one of the +towers, called Le Pavilion de Gabrielle, which is still in good +preservation, were erected by him, close to the Castle, for the +residence of his favourite, La belle Gabrielle:[15] and the superb +terrace was begun in his reign. From this spot the view is very +interesting and extensive: nothing can surpass the admirable +assemblage of hills, meadows, gardens, and vineyards, which charm the +eye, and which as they are viewed from its different points on a clear +summer's evening, appear at every turn, in new beauty, and endless +variety. + +[Footnote 14: According to Mezeray, this palace had its name from the +spot whereon it is situated, which was called Les Tuilleries, because +tiles (des tuiles) were made here. Catherine de Medicis built it 1564. +It consisted of nothing but the large square pavilion in the middle, +the two wings, and the two pavilions which terminate the wings. Henry +IV. Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. afterwards extended, elevated, and +embellished it. It is said to be neither so well proportioned, so +beautiful, or so regular, as it was at first. The Tuilleries is, +nevertheless, a very splendid palace. An astrologer having predicted +to Catherine de Medicis, that she would die near St. Germain, she +immediately flew, in a most superstitious manner, from all places +and churches that bore this name; she no more resorted to St. +Germain-en-Laye, and because her palace of the Tuilleries was situated +in the parish of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, she was at the expense of +building another, which was the Hotel de Soissons, near the church +of St. Eustache. When it was known to be Laurence de Saint Germain, +Bishop of Nazareth, who had attended her upon her death-bed, people +infatuated with astrology averred that the prediction had been +accomplished.] + + +[Footnote 15: Henri IV se plaisait beaucoup à Saint-Germain, et y vint +souvent, quand son coeur fut épris des charmes de la belle Gabrielle. +Ce prince galant et libéral, qui déjà lui avait prouvé son amour par +le don d'une infinité de maisons de campagne, aux environs de Paris, +voulut encore lui donner une preuve de sa tendresse, en bâtissant pour +elle, à deux cents toises de l'ancien château, une nouvelle et belle +habitation, qu'on appela le Château Neuf. Elevé sur les dessins +de l'architecte Marchand, il était surtout remarquable par son +architecture simple, ses nombreuses devises, les chiffres amoureux +et les emblèmes allégoriques qui le décoroient, et qui faisoient une +ingénieuse allusion à la passion du monarque pour sa mâitresse. +L'une des ailes de ce château s'appelait même le Pavillon de +Gabrielle.--_Hist. Topo. des Environs de Paris_.] + +The City of Paris is seen in the distance. The fine aqueduct of Marly, +the mountain de Coeur volant, Mount Calvary,[16] and Malmaison to the +right; in front the forest of Vésinet, and beyond it the vale of Saint +Denis; on the left the hills which encompass the beautiful vale of +Montmorency; the Seine winding at the foot, and extending its course +until it loses itself in the distance--all within one sweep of the +eye!--Such is the enchanting prospect which presents itself. + +It was at different times the residence of Louis XIII.[17] of Anne of +Austria, Christiana of Sweden, and of Madame La Valière, when Madame +de Montespan rivalled her in the affections of Louis XIV. After the +former had retired to the Convent of the Carmelites at Paris, it was +assigned in 1689 to the unfortunate James the Second, whose bigotry +had driven him from the throne of England. Here, together with his +Queen, and those of his court who fled with him to seek an asylum in +France, and surrounded by those priests and monks, whose pernicious +councils had led to his fall, the unhappy James remained until his +death, the 16th Sept. 1701. The apartment in which he breathed his +last is still preserved; but the whole of the interior has been very +much neglected. It served as a quarter for a body of Prussians in +1815, and the following year was a barrack for the English troops +quartered at St. Germain. A French poet of his time wrote these lines +descriptive of the life he led in his retirement. + + "C'est ici que Jacques second, + Sans Ministres et sans maîtresse, + Le matin allait à la Messe, + Et le soir allait au sermon". + +[Footnote 16: On the top of this height is the Pavilion de Lucienne, +built by Madame Dubarry, Mistress to Louis XV. afterwards the property +of Madame La Princesse de Conti, now the residence of M. de Puy: at +the foot is the village of Lucienne, surrounded by numerous villas: +among the most remarkable is the residence of General Comte Campon.] + +[Footnote 17: Lewis XIV. would not reside here, because the steeples +of the Abbey of St. Denis, where he was to be interred, could be +seen from the Château. The amount of the immense treasure which the +consequent erection of the Palace of Versailles cost was never known, +the King Mary Stewart, daughter of James, died here in April 1712, and +his Queen, in May 1718. These were the last persons of any consequence +who inhabited this palace, which in its exterior still preserves all +its ancient appearance of grandeur. It is built of stone, with a +facing of red brick, the windows are of great height, and the whole is +surrounded by a deep ditch, forming a very striking contrast to the +buildings of the present age, having destroyed the bills with his +own hand. In the neighbourhood of Versailles stands the celebrated +Military School of St. Cyr, which was originally an establishment for +the gratuitous admission of two hundred and fifty young ladies +of rank, who were to receive an education correspondent to their +situation in life. Madame de Maintenon is buried in the Chapel of the +Convent.] + + + + + +FOREST OF SAINT GERMAIN. + +This forest is enclosed by a wall of thirty miles in circumference, +according to M. Prudhomme. It is now preserved exclusively for the Duc +de Berri, who is the Ranger. + +Of all the ancient forests with which Paris is surrounded, this is the +most extensive. It is stocked with prodigious quantities of game, with +deer, and wild boar. The pheasants and partridges are reared in an +extensive _faisanderie_, in the centre of the forest, enclosed by a +high wall, and such vigilance is exercised by the keepers, that no +person can possibly destroy the game. It is guarded by a captain and +two lieutenants, who have under them a corps of gardes de chasse. + +The royal chace is, at the commencement of the season, quite a state +ceremony, at which all the royal family and the court assemble to be +spectators. The dress of the hunt is green and gold, with gold laced +cocked hats and swords. The Duke invites his party, and gives them +permission to wear the uniform, which is considered a high honour. + +Nothing can be more delightful than the walks and rides through this +forest; the roads are kept in the best possible state. At intervals +are large open spaces called Etoiles, from whence branch off sometimes +ten and twelve roads with direction posts, each bearing a separate +name, either from some memorable event, or remarkable person; as the +croix de Poissy, croix de la Pucelle, croix de Montchevreuil, croix de +Berri, and croix de Noailles, &c. &c. + +A story is related of a lamentable occurrence which took place the 7th +June 1812, at the Etoile des Marres, and a similar one happened in +August this year, near the same spot. + +The first of these events was occasioned by the parents of a young +lady having refused their consent to her being married to her lover, +whose want of fortune was the chief obstacle. The lovers, in despair, +came to the fatal resolution of putting a period to their lives, and +this forest was fixed upon as the spot for the dreadful deed! Having +partaken of a repast which they had brought with them, and sworn +to love each other (if it were permitted them) after death, they +discharged, at the same moment, their pistols at themselves. The +unhappy girl fell dead, but the hand of her lover having missed its +aim, he was only wounded. Having no other means left of accomplishing +his dreadful purpose, he took the handkerchief from her bosom and +suspended himself by it to a tree. In this state they were discovered, +and their bodies deposited in the same grave! The other circumstance +was of the same romantic and melancholy nature.[18] This forest +supplies Paris with great quantities of wood. In 1814, and in 1815, +the palisades that were made to surround Paris for its defence against +the Allied armies, were cut in this wood, and the large timber has +consequently been greatly thinned. + +[Footnote 18: There never was known in this country so many fatal +instances of suicide as at the present period; few days pass over +without some persons throwing themselves out of their windows, or into +the river Seine; and among the disappointed partizans of the late +ruler, it has been usual to hurl themselves from the top of the column +in the Place Vendôme, which has been shut up in consequence by an +order from Government. + +Among the instances of deliberate self-destruction, the following is a +remarkable fact, inasmuch as it serves to prove the pernicious effects +of the writings of Voltaire and Rousseau in the minds of youth, when +at an age incapable of discriminating between fanaticism and real +piety! + +The person in question was a youth not turned sixteen, who destroyed +himself last summer, while at college, and who left the following +paper as his last will. The lady who gave it me copied it from the +original. + + "Testament de Villemain. + + "Samedi. July 6th, 1816. + + "Je donne mon corps aux Pédants: je lègue mon âme aux manes de + Voltaire et de J.J. Rousseau, qui m'ont appris à mépriser toutes les + vaines superstitions de ce monde, et tous les vains préjugés qu'a + enfantés la grossièreté des hommes, et surtout les subtiles noirceurs + des fourbes de Prêtres. + + "J'ai toujours reconnu un Etre suprême, et ma religion a toujours été + la religion naturelle. + + "Quant à mes biens terrestres, je donne: (Here he mentions various + articles to his favorite school-fellows). + + "A Mondésir, mon dernier soupir. + + "J'ai toujours connu, je l'ai dit plus haut, reconnu un Etre suprême, + j'ai toujours pensé que la seul religion digne de lui, etait la vertu + et la probîté! + + "J'ose dire que je m'en suis rarement écarté malgré la faiblesse, et + la fragilité humaine. + + "Je parois devant l'Etre suprême en disant avec Voltaire: 'Un Bonze, + honnête homme, un Dervis, charitable, trouveront plutôt grâce à ses + yeux, qu'un Pontife ambitieux.'" + + Then follows a Latin quotation, "All things are due to death, and + without delay, sooner or later, hasten to the same goal: Hither we all + tend: This is our last asylum". + + "De tout les Pédants qui m'ont le plus tourmenté je compte surtout + Poir, son Jeannes et Veissier, qui sont la cause du vol que je fais à + la nature en tranchant moi même le fil de mes jours; je leur pardonne, + l'équité le fait aussi: Je n'ai cessé de répéter avec Rousseau avant + de mourir. 'Tu veux cesser de vivre, sais-tu si tu as commencé.' + + "Adieu!!! Mortels et foiblesses! VILLEMAIN".] + +Here conclude my notes, and if my reader has condescended to accompany +me through my little Tour without feeling fatigue or displeasure +at his "Compagnon de Voyage," my aim and ambition as an author are +satisfied--so wishing that all the journeys he may ever take, may +prove as delightful to him as this has been to me, I sincerely thank +him for his attention, and kindly bid him Farewell! + + +FINIS. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Visit to the Monastery of La Trappe +in 1817, by W.D. Fellowes + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10864 *** diff --git a/10864-h/10864-h.htm b/10864-h/10864-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3787f2f --- /dev/null +++ b/10864-h/10864-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3490 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="content-type" + content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> + <title>MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE</title> + <meta name="author" content="W.D. FELLOWES"> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +H1 {font-size: 24pt; font-family: serif} +H2 {font-size: 18pt; font-family: serif} +H3 {font size:14pt; font-family: serif} +p {font size:12pt; font-family: serif; text-align: justify} +p.STDIT {font size:12pt; font-family: serif; font-style: italic;} +p.FTNOTE {font size:10pt; font-family: sans-serif; text-align: justify} +</STYLE> + +</head> + +<body style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10864 ***</div> + +<center><H1> A VISIT TO THE MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE<br> + + IN 1817.</H1><br><br> + +<H3> WITH NOTES<br><br> + + <i>TAKEN DURING A TOUR THROUGH</i><br> + LE PERCHE, NORMANDY, BRETAGNE, POITOU, ANJOU,<br> + LE BOCAGE, TOURAINE, ORLEANOIS, AND<br> + THE ENVIRONS OF PARIS.<br><br> + + BY<br><br> + + W.D. FELLOWES, ESQ.<br><br> + + ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS COLOURED ENGRAVINGS,<br><br> + FROM DRAWINGS MADE ON THE SPOT.</H3><br><br><br><br></center> + + +<p>*[NOTE: Suitable reproductions of the illustrations were not available at the time this document was prepared. Place holders have been included in the text for possible insertions at a later date]</p> + + +<p>LIST OF THE PLATES.<br><br> + + +View of the Monastery of La Trappe<br> +Ruins of the Ancient Church of ditto<br> +Ruins of the Gateway of the ancient Chartreuse<br> +Les Noyades (<i>vignette</i>)<br> +Grotto of Héloïse at Clisson<br> +Tomb of Abélard and Héloïse<br> +Ruins of Abélard's House<br> +Granite Rock in the Garenne<br> +Le Connétable de Clisson (<i>outline</i>)<br> +Ruins of Clisson<br> +Tour des Pélerins<br> +Moulin aux chêvres<br> +Tour d'Oudon on the River Loire<br> +View of St. Florent<br> +Tomb (<i>etching</i>)<br><br><br> + + + + +PREFACE.</p><br><br> + + +<p>In justice to the public and to myself, I must disavow for the +following pages any higher literary pretension than what is conveyed +by the simple title of "Notes," under which I have ventured to give +them to the world. I had no other aim in writing but to occupy as +rationally as I could the hours of travel, and no other object in +publishing but to impart to others as plainly as I could a portion of +the pleasure I myself experienced. It has somewhere been remarked to +this effect, that if every man of common understanding were to put +down the daily thoughts and occurrences of his life, candidly and +unaffectedly as he experienced them, he must necessarily produce +something of interest to his fellow men, and make a book, which, +though not enlivened by wit, dignified by profundity of reasoning, nor +valuable by extent of research, yet no man perhaps should throw aside +with either weariness or disgust.</p> + +<p>Whether I shall prove fortunate enough not to excite these sensations +in such readers as may honour my book with a perusal, I fear to +conjecture. But it was my good fortune, during a season of uncommon +beauty, to make a tour through some of the most interesting parts of +France, and to meet with persons who, from situation and talents, +were highly calculated to give my journey every charm of society and +information. The natural face of the country through which I passed +was peculiarly beautiful: I could scarcely move a step without +some novelty of picturesque enchantment, and had the most perfect +opportunities of contemplating Nature in all her varied poetry, from +the grand and terrible graces of savage sublimity, to the soft and +playful loveliness of cultivated luxuriance. There was scarcely a +town or village where I arrived which romance or history, religion or +politics, had not invested and adorned with every interest of mental +association. Under such impressions, and with such opportunities, it +was scarcely possible to resist recording something of what I saw and +felt; and if the publication of my hasty record be an error, it +will be deemed by my friends, I hope, a pardonable one. My book +can scarcely demand the serious attention of the critic; nor could +criticism well expect a better style from one whose profession is +seldom supposed to allow much leisure to acquire nicety in the arts of +composition. I claim no other merit for my Notes than having followed +the advice (of Gray, I believe) that ten words put down at the moment +upon the spot, are worth a whole cart load of recollections. I have +not sought to add to their attraction (if they should possess any) by +the embellishments of my invention, or the graces of my periods--the +decorative artifices of execution can never give value to falsehood, +and truth needs them not. A simple landscape, simply described from +nature, has always a charm above the most high-finished compositions +of mere fancy; and, like a moderate painting from the same source, +still imparts a feeling of reality. I hope, therefore, I shall be +excused for attempting some description, slight and unskilful as it +may be, of places and scenery where the human mind has exhibited +some of its most curious and powerful features, and which awaken +reflections of the deepest interest--I allude particularly to the +monastery of <i>La Trappe</i>, and to the country of <i>La Vendée</i>. The +former had dwelt among the earliest impressions of youth, with +something like the wild and wonderful force of a romantic tale; and I +was anxious to become an eye-witness of what had so long been one of +the most powerful objects of my imagination. The gloomy and almost +inaccessible situation chosen by this strange fraternity for +their convent--their rigid separation from human intercourse--the +infringible taciturnity imposed upon themselves--and the terrible +severity of their penances, are certainly circumstances more +resembling the visionary indulgence of fantasy and fiction, than +actual realities to be met with among living men, and in the present +day.</p> + +<p>With regard to the department of <i>La Vendée</i>, whatever serves, trivial +as it may be, to recall or illustrate the history of its wars and the +character of its inhabitants, must ever possess a charm for those who +delight to sympathize with the noble struggles of a gallant people, +conscientiously devoting themselves to the cause of a fallen and +persecuted monarchy, and resisting the cruel and destructive ferocity +of a licentious enemy, who had broken down the most sacred fences of +society, and trampled upon the dearest ties of human nature.</p> + +<p>In these Notes, slight as they are, I can truly promise the reader +that he will find nothing wilfully misrepresented, nor advanced +without just authority; and if the rapid and cursory character of the +observations, allusions, and anecdotes, shall enable an hour to pass +agreeably that has no better employment, I am content, and gratified +with the attainment of all I ever hoped or designed by an unpretending +publication, which I cheerfully dedicate to all who love to unbend +their minds from a critical attitude, and can lounge goodnaturedly +over leaves written by a traveller as idle and careless as themselves, +and who assures them that no one can think more humbly of his +production than himself.</p> + +<p>MARCH 1818.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<p><b>CONTENTS.</b></p> + + +<p>CHAPTER I.</p> + +<p>Route from Paris to Mortagne.--Excursion to La Trappe.--State of the +Order since the restoration in 1814.--Its foundation and rules under +the Abbé de Rancé.</p> + +<p>CHAP. II.</p> + +<p>Ruins of the Convent of the Chartreux.--Forests of Le +Perche.--Mortagne.</p> + +<p>CHAP. III.</p> + +<p>From Mortagne to Rennes.--Soeurs de la +Charité.--Alençon.--Laval.--Vitré, the celebrated residence of Mad. de +Sévigné.</p> + +<p>CHAP. IV.</p> + +<p>Rennes.--Route from Rennes to Nantes.--City of Nantes.--Historical +anecdotes.</p> + +<p>CHAP. V.</p> + +<p>Country south of the Loire.--Le Bocage.--Clisson.--Historical +anecdotes.--The Garenne, and River Sèvres.</p> + +<p>CHAP. VI.</p> + +<p>General appearance and limits of Le Bocage.--Nature of the mode of +warfare of the Vendeans.</p> + +<p>CHAP. VII.</p> + +<p>The River Loire, from Nantes to Angers.</p> + +<p>CHAP. VIII.</p> + +<p>Saumur to Tours.--Tours to Blois.--Orléans--and Orléans to Paris.</p> + +<p>CHAP. IX.</p> + +<p>Environs of Paris.--Père la Chaise.--Castle of Vincennes, and Château +of Saint Germain.--The Forest, and Vicinity.--Conclusion.</p> +<br><br><br><br><br> + + +<center> +<h1>A VISIT TO THE + +MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE</h1><br><br> + + + + + + +<h2>CHAP. I.</h2><br><br> +</center> + +<p>ROUTE FROM PARIS TO MORTAGNE.--EXCURSION TO LA TRAPPE.--STATE OF THE +ORDER SINCE THE RESTORATION IN 1814.--ITS FOUNDATION AND RULES UNDER +THE ABBE DE RANCE.</p><br><br> + + +<p>I performed this journey during the months of June, July, August, and +September, a distance of near one thousand miles, and had the singular +good fortune to enjoy the finest weather possible. The perusal of +Madame de La Roche-Jaquelin's interesting work on the Vendean war, +first gave me the idea of visiting the country called le Bocage, the +theatre of so many events, and sufferings of the brave royalists; and, +as the province of le Perche, in which is situated the ancient convent +of La Trappe, was in my route to Bretagne, I resolved to make an +excursion there, in order to satisfy myself of the truth of those +austerities which I had read of in the Memoirs of the Count de +Comminge.</p> + +<p>The route from Paris to Mortagne, in le Perche, leads through Marly, +Versailles, Saint Cyr, Pont Chartrain, La Queue, Houdon, Marrolles, +Dreux, Nonancourt, Tillières, Verneuil, and Saint Maurice. The roads +are excellent, and the country beautiful. The first post out of Paris +is Nanterre. Two leagues and a half from the barriere, the village +of Ruel, and the park of Malmaison, form a continuation of neat +buildings. At Nanterre, in the campaign of 1815, the Prussians, after +a severe engagement with the retreating troops of the French, had one +regiment of cavalry cut to pieces. At Ruel, the celebrated Cardinal +Richelieu had a palace, which at the Revolution became national +property, and was purchased by Massena, Duc de Rivoli, Prince +D'Essling, lately deceased. The Duchess still resides there. It was +taken possession of by the allies in 1815, and, like Malmaison, +plundered by the troops. There are extensive barracks for cavalry at +this place, at present occupied by the Swiss guards.</p> + +<p>A little farther, between Malmaison and Marly, is a beautiful château, +formerly belonging to General Count Bertrand, who accompanied Napoleon +to Saint Helena; it is now the property of M. Ouverard, the banker: +nearly opposite is the residence of the celebrated Abbé Sieyès, who +lives in great retirement. Whatever may have been the political +transgressions of Bertrand, there is something so noble in his +devotion to the fallen fortunes of his master, that it is impossible +not to respect his character.</p> + +<p>At Marly, the water-works and aqueduct for conveying the water from +the river Seine to the palace and gardens of Versailles, are very +curious. The palace of Marly is destroyed; but the basins, which were +constructed by order of Louis XIV. are still to be seen, though in +ruins. Delille, the poet, in his description of the château and +beautiful grounds of Marly, says:</p> + +<p> C'est là que tout est grand, que l'art n'est point timide;<br> + Là tout est enchanté: c'est le Palais d'Armide;<br> + C'est le jardin d'Alcine, ou plutôt d'un Héros,<br> + Noble dans sa retraite et grand dans son repos.<br> + Qui cherche encore à vaincre, à dompter des obstacles,<br> + Et ne marche jamais qu'entouré de miracles.</p> + +<p>On quitting Paris, I had procured a letter of introduction from Count La Cou to Madame de Bellou, at Mortagne, a charming old lady of an +ancient and noble family in that province, who had never quitted the +seat of her ancestors, but remained quiet and respected during all the +storms of the revolution. She received me with kindness, and politely +introduced me to the Sub-Prefect, Monsieur Lamorelie, who gave me a +letter of introduction to the Père Don Augustin, Grand Prior of La +Trappe. The mayor of the commune of Solignié, who happened to be at +the inn, and learned from the <i>Aubergiste</i>, that a stranger intended +visiting La Trappe, very civilly introduced himself to me, and gave me +every necessary direction how to proceed through the forest; at the +same time expressing his surprise that an Englishman should take +the trouble, and undergo the fatigue of penetrating through such a +country, an attempt which few of his own countrymen had ever ventured +to make. It was singular enough that only one person in the town could +be found to accompany me as a guide, or who knew any thing of +the track through the forest, although the abbey is distant only +twenty-five miles.</p> + +<p>I set out with the guide just at day-break, mounted on a small Norman +horse, and armed with pistols and a sword-cane, in case of meeting +with wolves, which the mayor of Solignié had cautioned me against, as +abounding throughout the country. We travelled, after leaving the +main road, at the distance of a league, through a country scarcely +appearing to be inhabited. Here and there a lone cot, a mere speck, +met the eye amidst a landscape composed of nothing but barren wastes +and thick forests, nearly impervious to the light. We had penetrated +about half a mile through one of the latter, my attention occupied +with the romantic wildness of the scene, when we were alarmed by the +howling of a wolf. My guide crossed himself, and began cracking his +whip with the noise and singular dexterity peculiar to the French +postillions; and as we entered a part of the forest, impenetrable but +for traces known only to those who are accustomed to them, he related +(by way of consolation, I suppose,) several stories of the peasantry +having been recently attacked, and some destroyed, by wolves; and one +instance of a woman having had her infant torn from her arms, only a +short time since, in the neighbourhood.</p> + +<p>On quitting the forest the track was now and then diversified by the +ruins of a solitary cottage, or the mouldering remains of a crucifix, +raised by pious hands to mark some event, or to guide the traveller; +and after traversing a rocky plain, covered with heath and wild thyme, +where some herds of sheep and goats were browsing, attended by the +shepherd, we entered the Forest of Bellegarde. This forest spreads +over a large extent of country, and is so dark and intricate, that +those best acquainted with it frequently lose their way. No vestige of +human footsteps or of the track of animals appeared; a mark, here and +there, on some of the trees, was the only direction! Pursuing our way +through turnings and windings the most perplexing, we found ourselves +to be on the overhanging brow of a hill, the descent of which was so +precipitous, that we were under the necessity of dismounting; and by +a winding path, hollowed out in its side, descended through a sort +of labyrinth towards the valley, whose sides were clothed with lofty +woods, rising one above the other. The valley itself is interspersed +with three lakes, connected with each other, and forming a sort of +moat around the ground; in the centre of which appears the venerable +abbey of La Trappe, with its dark gray towers, the deep tone of whose +bell had previously announced to us, that we had nearly reached our +journey's end.</p> + +<p>The situation of this monastery was well adapted to the founder's +views, and to suggest the name it originally received of La Trappe, +from the intricacy of the road which descends to it, and the +difficulty of access or egress, which exists even to this day, though +the woods have been very much thinned since the revolution. Perhaps +there never was any thing in the whole universe better calculated to +inspire religious awe than the first view of this monastery. It was +imposing even to breathlessness. The total solitude--the undisturbed +and chilling silence, which seem to have ever slept over the dark and +ancient woods--the still lakes, reflecting the deep solemnity of the +objects around them--all impress a powerful image of utter seclusion +and hopeless separation from living man, and appear formed at once to +court and gratify the sternest austerities of devotion--to nurse +the fanaticism of diseased imaginations--to humour the wildest +fancies--and promote the gloomiest schemes of penance and privation!</p> + +<p>In descending the steep and intricate path the traveller frequently +loses sight of the abbey, until he has actually reached the bottom; +then emerging from the wood, the following inscription is seen carved +on a wooden cross:</p> + +<p> C'est ici que la mort et que la vérité<br> + Elèvent leurs flambeaux terribles;<br> + C'est de cette demeure, au monde inaccessible,<br> + Que l'on passe à l'éternité.</p> + +<p>A venerable grove of oak trees, which formerly surrounded the +monastery, was cut down in the revolution. In the gateway of the outer +court is a statue of Saint Bernard, which has been mutilated by the +republicans: he is holding in one hand a church, and in the other a +spade--the emblems of devotion and labour. This gateway leads into a +court, which opens into a second enclosure, and around that are the +granaries, stables, bakehouse, and other offices necessary to the +abbey, which have all been happily preserved.</p> + +<p>Owing to the fatigue of the journey, the heat of the weather, and +having frequently been obliged to retrace our steps, from losing our +way in the woods, it was late before we arrived at the abbey. To the +west, under the glow of the setting sun, the forests were still tinged +with the warmest yet softest colours that faded fast away; and as we +descended towards the Convent, quickening our pace to reach it before +the last gleams of evening departed, there was a silence around us, +which at such a moment, and in such a spot, sunk sorrowfully upon the +heart! Just as I reached the gate the bell tolled in so solemn and +melancholy a tone that it vibrated through my whole frame, and called +strongly to mind the beautiful lines in "Parisina:</p> + +<p> The Convent bells are ringing,<br> + But mournfully and slow;<br> + In the gray square turret swinging,<br> + With a deep sound, to and fro,<br> + Heavily to the heart they go!</p> + +<p>On entering the gate, a lay-brother received me on his knees; and in +a low and whispering voice informed me they were at vespers. The +stillness and gloom of the building--the last rays of the sun scarcely +penetrating through its windows--the deep tones of the monks chanting +the responses, which occasionally broke the silence, filled me with +reverential emotions which I felt unwilling to disturb: it was +necessary however to present my letter of introduction, and Frère +Charle, the secrétaire, soon after came out, and received me with +great civility. He appeared a young man about five-and-twenty, with a +handsome and prepossessing countenance. He informed me that the Père +Abbé was then absent, visiting a convent of Female Trappistes, a +few leagues distant, but that he should be happy to show me every +attention; and requested that in going over the Convent, I would +neither speak nor ask him any questions in those places where I saw +him kneel, or in the presence of any of the Monks. I followed him to +the chapel, where, as soon as the service was over, the bell rung +to summon them to supper. Ranged in double rows, with their heads +enveloped in a large cowl, and bent down to the earth, they chanted +the grace, and then seated themselves. During the repast one of them, +standing, read passages from scripture, reminding them of death, and +of the shortness of human existence; another went round the whole +community, and on his knees kissed their feet in succession, throwing +himself prostrate on the floor at intervals before the image of our +Saviour; a third remained on his knees the whole time, and in that +attitude took his repast. These penitents had committed some fault, +or neglected their religious duties, of which, according to the +regulations, they had accused themselves, and were in consequence +doomed to the above modes of penance.</p> + +<p>The refectory was furnished with long wooden tables and benches; each +person was provided with a trencher, a jug of water, and a cup, having +on it the name of the brother to whom it is appropriated, as Frère +Paul, Frère François, etc. which name they assume on taking the vow. +Their supper consisted of bread soaked in water, a little salt, and +two raw carrots, placed by each; water alone is their beverage. The +dinner is varied with a little cabbage or other vegetables: they very +rarely have cheese, and never meat, fish, or eggs. The bread is of the +coarsest kind possible.</p> + +<p>Their bed is a small truckle, boarded, with a single covering, +generally a blanket, no mattress nor pillow; and, as in the former +time, no fire is allowed but one in the great hall, which they never +approach.</p> + +<p>Within these three years a small cabaret has been built near the +Convent for the accommodation of those who may occasionally visit it, +the buildings that remain being but barely sufficient for their own +members, which have been rapidly increasing since its restoration. In +this cabaret I took up my abode for the night, in preference to the +accommodation very kindly offered me by Frère Charle, and retired to +rest, wearied with the day's excursion, and fully satisfied, that all +I had heard, all I had imagined of La Trappe, was infinitely short of +the reality, and that no adequate description could be given of its +awful and dreary solitude;</p> + +<p>Monsieur Elzéar de Sabran, in a poem called Le Repentir, lately +published, describing this Monastery, says very justly;</p> + +<p> Témoins d'une commune et secrète souffrance,<br> + Ces frères de douleur, martyrs de l'espérance,<br> + D'une lente torture épuisant les degrés,<br> + Constamment réunis, constamment séparés,<br> + L'un à l'autre étrangers, à côté l'un de l'autre,<br> + Joignent tout ce malheur encore à tout le nôtre,<br> + Jamais, dans ses pareils cherchant un tendre appui,<br> + Un coeur ne s'ouvre aux coeurs qui souffrent comme lui.</p> + +<p>The following morning the matin bell summoned me to the Convent, +and Frère Charle attended me to the burial ground; here have been +deposited the remains of two of the brothers, deceased since the +restoration of their order in 1814. Another grave was ready prepared; +as soon as an interment takes place, one being always opened for the +next that may die. The two graves were marked with simple wooden +crosses, bearing the following inscriptions:</p> + +<p> F. Nicolas. Frère DONNÉ<br> + Décédé. le 24 Février 1816.</p> + +<pre> * * * * *</pre> + +<p>On the other:</p> + +<p> F. AUGUSTINUS. NOVITIUS<br> + die 26 mensis novembris<br> + ANNO. 1816 DECESSIT.<br> + REQUIESCAT IN PACE<br> + AMEN.<br> + +<pre> * * * * *</pre> + +<p>In the centre of the cemetery is the grave of M. De Rancé. His +monument, with his figure carved at full length in a recumbent +posture, was removed when the destruction of the old church took +place; it is now a complete ruin, and a few stones alone mark the spot +of its ancient founder's grave, which is kept free from weeds with +pious reverence and care. The revolution, which like a torrent swept +all before it, did not even spare the dead.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: RUINS of the ANCIENT CHURCH of LA TRAPPE.]</p> + +<p>While I was contemplating the ruins around me, and watching the +motions of a venerable figure in silent prayer at one of the angles, +the bell tolled, when both Frère Charle and the Monk dropped instantly +on their knees. How forcibly were the following lines of Pope recalled +to my mind!</p> + +<p> Lo, the struck deer, in some sequester'd part,<br> + Lies down to die, (the arrow in his heart;)<br> + There, hid in shades, and wasting day by day,<br> + Inly he bleeds, and pants his soul away.</p><br> + +<p>The number of Monks who have taken the vow are not in proportion to +the others, who are lay brothers, and <i>Frères Donnés</i>; in all there +are about one hundred, besides novices, who are principally composed +of boys, and who do not wear the same habit. The Trappistes, who +compose the first order, are clothed in dark brown, with brown mantle +and hood; the others are in white, with brown mantle and hood. +I occasionally caught a glimpse of their faces, but it was only +momentarily; and I can easily believe, with their perpetual silence, +that two people well known to each other, might inhabit the same spot, +without ever being aware of it, so completely are their faces hidden +by their large cowl. The Trappistes, or first order, are distinguished +by the appellation of <i>Frères Convers</i>, the others by that of +<i>Religieux de Coeur</i>.</p> + +<p>The hardships undergone by these monks appear almost insupportable +to human nature, and notwithstanding the immense number of deaths +occasioned by their rigorous austerities, the Cénobites of La Trappe, +at the suppression of their order, amounted to one hundred monks, +sixty-nine lay brothers, and fifty-six <i>Frères Donnés</i>. The inmates +are classed under these three heads; but the lay brothers, who take +the same vows, and follow the same rules, are principally employed as +servants, and in transacting the temporal concerns of the abbey. The +<i>Frères Donnés</i> are brothers given for a time; these last are not +properly belonging to the order, they are rather, religious persons, +whose business or connexions prevent their joining the order +absolutely, but, who wishing to renew serious impressions, or to +retire from the world for a given period, come here and conform +strictly to the regulations while they remain, without wishing to join +the order for life. Many persons on their first conversion, or after +some peculiar dispensations of Providence, retire here for a season.</p> + +<p>In the refectory I observed a board hung up, with "<i>Table pour +l'Office Divin</i>," written over it, and under it the regulations or +order of service to be performed for that week, which are occasionally +varied, but never diminished in their rigour. Frère Charle said, +that the whole were strictly observed, and were frequently much more +severe; for the Père Abbé had instituted more austere regulations +than formerly, with the only one exception, of the sick being allowed +medicines; and, in cases of great debility, a small quantity of meat.</p> + +<p>The Table "<i>pour l'Office Divin</i>," was as follows. +<table cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" border="0" + style="text-align: left; width: 740px;"> + <tbody> + <tr> + +<td style="text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 15%; font size:12pt; font-family: serif;"> +Dimanche<br> +Lundi<br> +Mardi<br> +Mercredi<br> +Jeudi<br> +Vendredi<br> +Samedi + </td> + +<td style="vertical-align: top; width: 5%; text-align: right; font size:12pt; font-family: serif;"> +12<br> +3<br> +12<br> +12<br> +3<br> +12<br> +12 + </td> + +<td style="text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 80%; font size:12pt; font-family: serif;"> +Leçons et Communion.<br> +Leçons.<br> +Leçons--à jeun--Travail.<br> +Leçons.<br> +Leçons.<br> +Leçons--à jeun--Travail.<br> +Leçons--à jeun--Travail. + </td> + </tr> + </tbody> +</table> + + + +<p>Their mode of life and regulations exist nearly in the same state +as established by the founder; in reciting them, such horrible +perversions of human nature and reason make it almost difficult to +believe the existence of so severe an order, and lead us to wonder +at the artificial miseries, which the ingenuity of pious but morbid +enthusiasm can inflict upon itself. The abstinence practised at La +Trappe allows not the use of meat, fish, eggs, or butter; and a very +limited quantity of bread and vegetables. They only eat twice a +day; which meals consist of a slender repast at about eleven in the +morning, and two ounces of bread and two raw carrots in the evening: +both together do not at any time exceed twelve ounces. The same spirit +of mortification is observable in their cells, which are very small, +and have no other furniture than a bed of boards, a human skull, and a +few religious books.</p> + +<p>Silence is at all times rigidly maintained; conversation is never +permitted: should two of them even be seen standing near each other, +though pursuing their daily labour, and preserving the strictest +silence, it is considered as a violation of their vow, and highly +criminal; each member is therefore as completely insulated as if he +alone existed in the Monastery. None but the Père Abbé knows the name, +age, rank, or even the native country of any member of the community: +every one, at his first entrance, assumes another name, as I before +observed, and with his former appellation, each is supposed to abjure, +not only the world, but every recollection and memorial of himself and +connexions: no word ever escapes from his lips by which the others can +possibly guess who he is, or where he comes from; and persons of the +same name, family, and neighbourhood, have often lived together in the +Convent for years, unknown to each other, without having suspected +their proximity.</p> + +<p>The abstraction of mind practised at La Trappe, and the prevention of +all external communication with the world is such, that few but the +superior know any thing of what is passing in it. It has been related, +that so little information of the affairs of mankind did these people +receive, that the death of Louis XIV. was not known there for years, +except by the Father Abbé; and such was their state of seclusion, that +a Nobleman having taken a journey of five hundred miles, purposely to +see the Monastery, could scarcely find in the neighbouring villages +one person who knew where it was situated. Indeed, at the present day, +it is quite astonishing how little is known of this place, and how +very few, even among those in its immediate vicinity, have ever +visited it.[1]</p> + +<p>On the great festivals they rise at midnight; otherwise they are not +called until three quarters past one: at two they assemble in the +Chapel, where they perform different services, public and private, +until seven in the morning, according to the regulations of the week, +as exemplified in the "<i>Table pour l'Office Divin</i>." At this hour they +go out to labour in the open air. Their work is of the most fatiguing +kind, is never intermitted, winter or summer, and admits of no +relaxation from the state of the weather.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 1: Among the most frequent visitors of La Trappe, was +the unfortunate James the Second. His first visit was on the 20th +November, 1690, where he was received by M. de Rancé, whose account of +it is very interesting.]</p> + +<p>When their labour is over, they go into Chapel for a short time, until +eleven o'clock, the hour of repast; at a quarter after eleven they +read till noon; and afterwards lie down to rest for an hour: they are +then summoned into the garden, where they again work until three; +then read again for three quarters of an hour, and retire for another +quarter to their private meditations, by way of preparation for +vespers, which begin at four, and end at six; at seven they again +enter the Chapel, and at eight they leave it, and retire to rest.</p> + +<p>At the hour of their first repast, I again attended Frère Charle to +the eating-room, where nearly the same forms were observed as at their +evening-meal; a small basin of boiled cabbage, two raw carrots, and +a small piece of black bread, with a jug of water, constituted their +solitary meal. A Monk, during the whole time, read sentences from +Scripture; and a small hand-bell filled up the intervals of his +silence, and proclaimed a cessation from eating, or movement of +any sort. Over the door of the Refectory I observed the following +inscription in Latin:--"Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, +than a stalled ox, and hatred therewith."</p> + +<p>Frère Charle invited me to partake of the frugal fare of his order. He +said, "You will forgive my laying before you a vegetable repast; it +is all that I have in my power to offer you, but you will confer a +pleasure by accepting it." It was impossible to refuse, for I felt I +should appear ungrateful after the attentions that had been shown me, +if I had. Frère Charle conducted me into an apartment, in which I was +gratified to observe a well executed portrait of the Abbé de Rancé, +which, at the destruction of the Monastery, had been preserved by the +surgeon of the ancient fraternity, who continued to reside there until +the period of his death, four or five years since. This person was +greatly respected by all the people round the country, and resorted +to by all who sought relief either from sickness or misery!--Had the +other brothers followed his example of remaining, in all probability +their Convent might have been spared, for the accumulation of wealth +could not be laid to their charge; and as their monastic vows obliged +them to remain within the Monastery, they were most unlikely to incur +the suspicion of any political intrigues.--How indeed could men, whose +whole existence was passed in solitude and penance, and who never +conversed even among themselves, have been dangerous to those +turbulent spirits who had overturned the government and all the +religious institutions of their country!</p> + +<p>In the portrait, the Abbé is dressed in the habit of the order, a +white gown and hood, and sitting with a book before him, in which he +appears to be writing; on the same table, before him, are a crucifix +and a skull. The following inscription is painted in one corner by the +artist:</p> + +<p> "ARM'D. LE BOUTTHILLIER DE RANCE. S'R<br> + SCAUANT. et célèbre Abbé Réformateur De La Trappe.<br> + Mort en 1700. à près de 77 ans, et de 40 ans de la plus<br> + austère pénitence."</p> + +<p>The Monastery of La Trappe is one of the most ancient Abbeys of the +order of Benedictins: it was established under the pontificate of +Innocent the Second, during the reign of Louis VII. in the year 1140, +by Rotrou, the second Count of Perche, and is said to have been built +to accomplish a vow, made in the peril of shipwreck. In commemoration +of this circumstance, the roof was made in the shape of the bottom of +a ship inverted. It was founded under the auspices of Saint Bernard, +the first Abbot of Clairvaux, the celebrated preacher in favour of +the Crusades. Many ages, however, had elapsed, since its first +institution, when the Father Abbot de Rancé, the celebrated reformer +of his time, determined to become a member, whose singular history and +conversion was the subject of a poem by Monsieur Barthe.</p> + +<p>The Abbé de Rancé became a Monk of the Benedictin order of La Trappe, +in 1660, and his conversion was attributed to a lady whom he tenderly +loved. They had been separated for some time by her parents; she +having written to him to remove her for the purpose of becoming united +in marriage, he set off, but, during his journey, she was seized with +a fever and died. Totally ignorant of the circumstance, he approached +the house under cover of the night, and got into her apartment through +the window. The first object he beheld was the coffin which contained +the body of his beloved mistress! It had been made of lead, but being +found to be too short, they had, with unheard of brutality; severed +her head from her body! Horror-struck with the shocking spectacle, he, +from that hour, renounced all connexion with the world, and imposed +upon himself the most rigid austerities, which he continued until his +death, forty years after.</p> + +<p>When M. de Rancé undertook the superintendance of the Monastery, it +exhibited a melancholy picture, of the greatest declension, and it +is curious to peruse the steps by which he effected so wonderful a +change;[2] and how men could ever feel it either an inclination or a +duty to enter upon a mode of life so different from the common ways of +thinking or feeling.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 2: Règlements de L'Abbaye, La Maison-Dieu Notre Dame de La +Trappe, par Dom. Armand de Rancé.]</p> + +<p>The Monks of La Trappe were not only immersed in luxury and sloth, but +were abandoned to the most scandalous excesses; most of them lived by +robbery, and several had committed assassinations on the travellers +who had occasion to traverse the woods. The neighbourhood shrunk with +terror from the approach of men who never went abroad unarmed, and +whose excursions were marked with bloodshed and violence. The Banditti +of La Trappe was the appellation by which they were most generally +distinguished. Such were the men amongst whom M. de Rancé resolved to +fix his abode; all his friends endeavouring to dissuade him from an +undertaking, they deemed alike hopeless and dangerous.</p> + +<p>"Unarmed, and unassisted," [3] says his historian, "but in the panoply +of God, and by his Spirit, he went alone amidst this company of +ruffians, every one of whom was bent on his destruction. With +undaunted boldness, he began by proposing the strictest reform, and +not counting his life dear to him, he described the full intent of his +purpose, and left them no choice but obedience or Expulsion."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 3: The work from which I have taken this, is a translation +by Mrs. Schimmelpenninck of Dom. Claude Lancelot's Narrative, +published in 1667. The present regulations not differing from the +former, I have extracted some of the most important.]</p> + +<p>"Many were the dangers M. de Rancé underwent; plans were laid, at +various times, to poison him, to waylay and assassinate him, and even +once one of his monks shot at him; but the pistol, which was applied +close to his head, flashed in the pan, and missed fire. By the good +providence of God all these plans were frustrated, and M. de Rancé +not only brought his reform to bear, but several of his most violent +persecutors became his most stedfast adherents; many were, after a +short time, won over by his piety--the rest left the Monastery. +He especially, who had shot at M. de Rancé, became eminently +distinguished for his piety and learning, and was afterwards Sub-Prior +of La Trappe."</p> + +<p>M. de Rancé lived forty years at the head of this singular society, +and the same ardor and piety continued to distinguish him to the last. +The excess of self-denial and discipline, exercised by this order, +which might readily be doubted, became more known, especially to this +country, at the time of the French Revolution, when they shared the +fate of dissolution with the various religious orders in France. On +that occasion many of them sought an asylum in England, and were +settled in Dorsetshire, where they received the kind protection and +benevolent assistance of Mr. Weld, until the restoration enabled most +of them to return; and, surprising as it may appear in the present +age, notwithstanding the perpetual violence imposed by their +regulations on every human feeling, many are found anxious to enter +the establishment.</p> + +<p>When I was about to take my leave of Frère Charle, he said, "he hoped +I was pleased with my humble fare: to such as it was I had been truly +welcome." Indeed he had treated me with the kindest, most unaffected +hospitality; he had laid the table, spread the dishes before me, stood +the whole time by the side of my chair, and pressed me to eat: How +could I not be thankful? I requested he would be seated, but he +observed that it was not proper for him to be so. His manners and +general deportment bespoke him a well-bred gentleman; and when I +ventured to ask if I might make a memorandum of his name, he bowed his +head with meekness and resignation, and said, "I have now no other but +that which was bestowed on me when I took the vow, which severs me +from the world for ever!" It was impossible not to be affected at the +manner and tone of voice in which he uttered this. When I said that +perhaps he would like that I should leave an acknowledgment in +writing, expressive of the gratitude I felt at my kind and hospitable +reception, he appeared much pleased, and instantly procured me paper. +I left with him the following lines:</p> + +<p> "Convent of La Trappe, July 20, 1817.<br><br> + + "I have this day visited the Convent of La Trappe,<br> + and in the absence of the Grand Prior, to whom I<br> + brought a letter of introduction from Monsieur Lamorelie,<br> + Sub-Prefect of Mortagne, I was received and<br> + have been entertained by Frère Charle Marie, his Secretary.<br><br> + + "It is quite impossible that I can do justice to the<br> + kind, polite, and hospitable reception I have met with<br> + from him, by any expressions in writing. I can only<br> + observe, that it has made an impression on my mind<br> + never to be effaced! If these worthy and pious people<br> + have abandoned the world for the solitude and austerities<br> + of La Trappe, they have not forgotten, in their own self-denial,<br> + the benevolence and benignity due to strangers.<br> + May their self-devotion meet with its reward!"</p> + +<p>I now took my leave of the Convent with feelings which I will not +pretend to describe, but which, together with the impressions I +received when I first entered it, and the whole circumstances of my +visit, I am conscious of retaining while "Memory holds her seat." The +following lines, by P. Mandard, on quitting La Trappe, convey a very +faithful and poetical picture of this extraordinary solitude:</p> + +<p> --Saint désert, séjour pur et paisible,<br> + Solitude profonde, au vice inaccessible;<br> + Impétueux torrens, et vous sombres forêts,<br> + Recevez mes adieux, comme aussi mes regrets!<br> + Toujours épris de vous, respectable retraite,<br> + Puissé-je, dans le cours d'une vie inquiète,<br> + Dans ce flux éternel de folie et d'erreur,<br> + Où flotte tristement notre malheureux coeur;<br> + Puissé-je, pour charmer mes ennuis et mes peines,<br> + Souvent fuir en esprit au bord de vos fontaines,<br> + Egarer ma pensée au milieu de vos bois,<br> + Par un doux souvenir rappeler mille fois<br> + De vos Saints habitans les touchantes images,<br> + Pénétrer, sur leurs pas, dans vos grottes sauvages,<br> + Me placer sur vos monts, et là, prennant l'essort,<br> + Aller chercher en Dieu ma joie, et mon trésor!</p><br><br><br> + + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. II.</H2></center><br><br> + +<p>VAL-DIEU.--RUINS OF THE CONVENT OF THE CHARTREUSE.--FORESTS OF LE +PERCHE, MORTAGNE.</p> + + +<p>I quitted <i>La Trappe</i> in the afternoon of the third day after my +arrival there, for the Val-Dieu, which lies three leagues to the east +of Mortagne, taking the villages of Rinrolles and Prepotin in my way; +the latter stands in the midst of a forest. By this road, so bad that +it scarcely deserves the name, a great distance is saved, but the +romantic scenery of the approach to La Trappe is lost. The one we took +through the forest of Bellegarde more than doubles the distance; +but the Abbey is seen as in the centre of a lake beneath, and +the continual beauty and wildness of the landscape render it far +preferable. Until the Revolution this was the only road, the other +having been made when the lands became national property, and were +sold to the peasantry.</p> + +<p>After passing through the above villages, we came round by Tourouvre, +a village on a height, which has a manufactory for glass. I did +not stop to view it, having several leagues to go through a wooded +country. Soon after crossing the main road leading into Bretagne, +we rode by the side of cultivated lands and orchards resembling the +western parts of Devonshire, of which the narrow lanes and high hedges +reminded me very much, until we entered the forest leading to the +Val-Dieu. Between eight and nine in the evening we came to the edge +bounding that part of the Vale by which it is approached, in the +direction we had taken. It was very considerably out of our way, owing +to the guide having mistaken his road and turned to the left instead +of the right. After resting a few minutes on the brow of the hill, we +began our descent by a steep and narrow pathway. When we were midway +down the glen, the ruins of the ancient Chartreuse suddenly burst upon +the view! At this moment all the terrors of the declivity, and the +momentary expectation of meeting some of the wolves with which the +forest abounds, vanished from my mind before the feelings of delight +which the enchanting scene called forth. The almost perpendicular view +of the Vale beneath, had an effect tremendous yet pleasing: on the +left was a lake, seeming to encircle an ancient convent embosomed in +a wood; a thick forest covered the surrounding heights, and before me +stood the remains of the ancient Priory, with its gateway and lodge so +perfect as to create no suspicion of the destruction within.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: RUINS of the GATEWAY of the ANCIENT CHARTREUSE.]</p> + +<p>This had been the hottest day and finest weather I had experienced +during my journey. It was a sweet evening, and the rich tints of the +departing sun-beams among the woods, with the solitary calmness of the +scenery around, were circumstances that made a strong impression on my +feelings. Those who have never traversed the forests of this country +can form but a very imperfect idea of what they are, or of the +death-like awful stillness that reigns within them; for many miles +together they form a dense shade, which, like a dark awning, +completely conceals the sun from the view: even on the brightest day +the sun's rays are only visible as from the bottom of a deep well! The +forests in Le Perche are reckoned the most extensive in France, and +every where abound with vast quantities of game.</p> + +<p>I was received on alighting from my horse by a M. Boderie, a +good humoured hospitable man, who, with his family, are the only +inhabitants of this lonesome spot. I found afterwards that he had seen +better days: he informed me the Val-Dieu property was purchased at the +dissolution of the Monastery by the present proprietor, who resided at +Paris, and allowed him, being his friend, to occupy that part of the +building which had not been destroyed. He made many apologies for the +badness of the accommodations and the homeliness of the fare he had to +offer me, which I considered as unnecessary, as what he possessed was +tendered with unaffected cheerfulness.</p> + +<p>The Prussians in 1815 occupied this country, and notwithstanding M. +Boderie was absent at that time serving in the body guard of Louis +XVIII, whom he had accompanied in his retreat to Ghent, they plundered +him of every article, not even leaving his wife a change of linen. +The numerous accounts I have heard from people of respectability and +loyalty, of the treatment experienced from the Prussians, excites the +greatest regret that they were not able to distinguish the innocent +from the guilty. Many families have been ruined, or greatly distressed +in their circumstances who were devoted to the cause of their +Sovereign. Such are the inevitable consequences of war!</p> + +<p>The Val-Dieu extends upwards of three miles in length, surrounded by +almost impenetrable woods, except where paths have been cut. It has +three lakes, one communicating with the other, containing great +quantities of fish. The Monastery, it is evident from the remains of +its ruins, and from the boundary wall, still entire, must have been of +prodigious extent. M. Boderie informed me, that the plan, of which +he had seen an engraving, showed it to have been one of the most +considerable in the kingdom: some idea may be formed of its former +celebrity and extent by the remains of six hundred fire-places being +still traceable. A colonnade surrounded the whole, forming an oblong +square, in the centre of which was a jet d'eau, with several smaller +ones, the basins of which are still to be seen; the space within +formed a garden, with delicious walks, resembling those in the Palais +Royal.</p> + +<p>The gate-way remains perfect, excepting only that the images over the +side doors have been mutilated. The one in the centre (over the great +entrance) is still in excellent preservation, and appears to be finely +executed: it is the figure of the Virgin Mary in gray marble, the +size of life, seated, with the infant Jesus in her arms. On a scroll +beneath are these letters:</p> + +<p> ECCE MATER<br> + TVA.<br> + 1760.</p> + +<p>Several old chesnut trees and elms still remain, which once formed +a fine avenue in front of the building, from whence the prospect is +strikingly beautiful. The eye passes over rocks, rugged, broken, and +abrupt towards their summits, crowned and darkened with wood; and the +narrow road winding between the trees, until it loses itself in the +forest, forms a feature very gratifying to the traveller. The solitude +of the place, as I viewed it at the close of day, occasioned mingled +sensations of pleasure and pain. It was impossible to resist the +imposing power of a situation, where every natural object was deeply +tinged with the poetical character, and every remnant of architecture +associated with the romance of religious feeling. I recalled and dwelt +upon various passages of the poets inspired by similar scenes, and +thought of the holy and enthusiastic minds which had here devoted +themselves to the sublimest duties and severest sacrifices of the +altar; and felt, that had I lived in those days, I, perhaps, could +have become an inmate of walls which seem to have been erected +to exclude the evils of life, and to nurture only the enchanting +abstractions of unpolluted virtue and happiness: but the present +day has brought with it a general philosophy and knowledge of human +nature, which lessen the delight of contemplating the calm repose of +such a seclusion, and have taught that these retreats from the world +were not always retreats from vice; that the sacrifices of monkish +privacy were not always those of selfish feelings; and that the +austerities once practised here, as now at La Trappe, might perhaps +arise more frequently from disappointed pride and ambition, than +from the pure feelings of pious resignation. In the overthrow of the +monarchy and that of the priesthood, this venerable pile became the +object of popular vengeance; and had the Revolution done no more than +effected the dissolution of the different orders of monks and nuns, +every reflecting mind must have been pleased: the removal of those +abuses, like the division of landed property into smaller portions, +(whereby the country in general became more cultivated and +productive,) was serviceable to France; and, if any circumstance can +restore permanent tranquillity, it will be the interest which the +different landholders have in the soil and the representative system, +which will serve to check the ambition of its future governors. +Already the good effects of these are to be perceived; and the +excessive abuses, insolence, and profligacy, of ancient ministerial +oppression, which paved the way for the downfall of the monarchy, and, +like a pestilence, destroyed that which was good with that which was +evil, will be prevented in future.</p> + +<p>It is, nevertheless, melancholy to observe the traces of devastation +visible in all directions: the people themselves appear not to regard +it, but this may arise partly from the long and habitual feelings +generated by the scenes to which the Revolution daily gave rise, and +partly from the constitutional cheerfulness of the natives, who seldom +view objects through the same dark medium that ours are supposed to +do, and who, though they are not celebrated for patience, are of all +mankind the least liable to despondency. When I spoke to M. Boderie of +my regret at the destruction of an ancient structure like the one in +question, his answer was, immediately, "oui c'est bien malheureux; +mais enfin que voulez-vous?" He was "desolé" or had "le coeur très +sensible à tout cela;" but finished by "il faut se consoler." With +this sort of philosophy they are always ready to view the past, and +accept of consolation, and in amusement, seek to bear or dissipate +the calamities inseparable from such a state of events, without even +appearing to repine. None of them will ever enter into conversation on +the subject if it can be avoided.</p> + +<p>The following day, having taken leave of my hospitable host, who +refused any compensation, I returned to Mortagne by another route, +through the Forest of Val-Dieu, more dark and difficult to penetrate +than the other; but the guide was better acquainted with it, and took +the road by Saint Maure and Saint Eloi, through a fine country, highly +cultivated, and abounding in beautiful scenery and distant landscapes. +It was late at night before I reached Mortagne, greatly fatigued from +the excessive heat of the weather.</p> + +<p>I dined the following day with Madame de Bellou, whose kind attention +and elegant hospitality, during the time I remained at Mortagne, I +must ever remember with sentiments of sincere gratitude. This lady had +invited Monsieur Lamorelie, the Sub-Prefect, one of the most elegant +men I had met with in France, with several other gentlemen and ladies, +to meet me. Among the party were Madame de Fontenay, Monsieur and +Mademoiselle Claire de Vanssay--very agreeable people: the latter +possessed, without great beauty, all the charms and vivacity of her +countrywomen. In the evening we went to an assembly, where I had an +opportunity of seeing, and being presented to, all the respectable +families that yet remained in town; for at this season many were at +their country-seats. The ease, elegance, and good manners of the +company composing this society, I never saw excelled in any country. +It is but common justice to observe, that in Mortagne, which is the +residence of all the best families in the province, there is to be +found all the characteristic good breeding for which the French were +so long, and so deservedly celebrated.</p> + +<p>The town of Mortagne stands on the declivity of a hill, in the +province of Le Perche, bordering on Normandy. The high road to +Bretagne passes through it. It has only one church remaining out +of seven, six having been destroyed at the Revolution. It has some +manufactories for serges and coarse cloths, and contains between five +and six thousand inhabitants, in the department of L'Orne. From its +elevated position and chalky soil, the air is pure and the situation +healthy. The inhabitants are under the necessity of supplying +themselves with water from the valley, as there are no wells on +account of the rocky height it stands on, which is attended with +inconvenience and expense; otherwise it would be a desirable residence +for those who wish to unite economy with a change of climate.</p> + +<p>During the Vendean war, this town became, at different periods, the +victim of either party as they were successful; and it suffered +severely. The hotel kept by Gautier (Les trois Lions), which is +likewise la Poste, and le Bureau des Diligences, is the best, and +the people are very obliging; but it partakes of the same want +of cleanliness, that so invariably distinguishes all similar +establishments in this country.</p><br><br><br> + + +<center><H2>CHAP. III.</H2></center><br><br> + + + +<p>FROM MORTAGNE TO RENNES, SOEURS DE LA CHARITÉ. ALENÇON, LAVAL, VITRÉ, +THE RESIDENCE OF THE CELEBRATED MADAME DE SÉVIGNÉ. RENNES.</p><br> + + +<p>I travelled by the diligence from Mortagne to Alençon and Laval: we +arrived at the former place to dinner, and at the latter to remain all +night. The carriage was filled with <i>Soeurs de la Charité</i>,</p> + +<p> "Qui, pour le malheur seul connoissant la tendresse,<br> + Aux besoins du vieil-age immollent leur jeunesse,"</p> + +<p>on their way to different places in Bretagne, on charitable missions, +by the order of the Superior at Paris. Four of these were young and +beautiful women, none of whom could have attained the age of twenty; +yet these females had already devoted themselves to attend on the sick +and poor wherever their services might be required, for which purpose +they receive a suitable education, in an Hospital at Paris, in such +branches of medicine and surgery as may render them useful. They +are distributed throughout the kingdom to attend the hospitals and +prisons, which they do with the delicacy and attention peculiar to +their sex. Of all the classes of females who thus devote themselves to +a religious life, and to acts of charity, none are more respected, or +more truly serviceable to their fellow-creatures. Their dress consists +of a coarse brown jacket and gown, with a high linen cap, sloping down +over the shoulders, and a rosary hanging round their waist.</p> + +<p>Quitting Beauregard we crossed the river Sart: here the Province of +Le Perche terminates, and we enter that of Normandy. For many miles, +travelling close to the Forest of Bourse, the roads are excellent, +though hilly, and the country highly cultivated in all directions. The +peasantry were getting in the hay and rye harvest, and large tracts of +wheat and barley were nearly ready for cutting.</p> + +<p>The town of Alençon is the capital of L'Orne-sur-Sart. It stands in +the middle of a fertile plain. The lace made here is the most valuable +of any manufactured in France. The Hotel of the Prefecture is a +fine building. After dinner I went to the theatre, (formerly an old +manufactory), to see the <i>Hotel Garni</i> and <i>Les deux Suisses</i>: both +performances were of a very moderate cast. The audience consisted +principally of the military in garrison.</p> + +<p>On the road from Alençon to Laval, we were guarded the whole day by +two troopers of the Gendarmerie, who are quartered along the whole +line of road from the capital; they are well armed and mounted, and +keep a very vigilant guard. At every place we stopped our passports +were examined. The police of this country is observed with greater +rigor than at any former period of its history, with regard to +passports. The circumstances under which the restoration took place, +the political state of France, in regard to other powers, the +conflicting interests and opinions of various parties, probably render +it highly expedient. On the arrival of a stranger at Paris, his +passport must be presented, and inscribed in the police book. +The revision of the one under which the person has travelled is +indispensably necessary. It is then carried to the British Ambassador, +(if the stranger be of that nation), or to the minister of that +country to which he belongs, where it must obtain the Ambassador's +signature. It is next taken to the office of the Minister of Foreign +Affairs, where it is deposited until the following day, for which ten +livres are charged, and afterwards to the Préfecture of the Police, to +be signed there in its turn: and when all this is done no one can quit +the capital for the interior without its being again signed at the +Préfecture of the police.</p> + +<p>From Alençon, we passed the Briante, a small river, at Ville Neuve, +where the road begins to skirt the Forest of Moultonue. At Mayenne, +the river of that name divides the provinces. The whole of this +country is singularly beautiful. I observed vast quantities of buck +wheat, which the French call <i>bled noir</i> or <i>sarazin</i>. The country was +very much enclosed, producing a great contrast to the vast tracts of +land through which I had passed without a single division.</p> + +<p>At two leagues from Mayenne we crossed the river Aisne, winding +through a beautiful valley, between Martigné and Louverné. On the left +the river forms a small lake, surrounded by a wood at the foot of a +very long and steep hill.</p> + +<p>The town of Mayenne is ancient and irregularly built, the river +Mayenne running through it. The ruins of an old wall and some decayed +towers remain of the fortifications which were taken by assault, after +several bloody attempts, during the siege by the English, in 1424.</p> + +<p>At Laval, where I stopped, after again crossing the Mayenne, I +entered the province of Bretagne: it is an old dirty town, completely +intersected by the river, and has a manufactory for coarse cloths and +cottons. The <i>Tête Noire</i> is one of the worst inns I have met with in +the country. The department of the Isle-et-Vilaine commences here.</p> + +<p>This place is celebrated in the history of the Vendean war by the +refuge Madame de Laroche-Jaquelin sought there, after the deplorable +defeat of the royalist army at the battle of Mans, where it received +its death-blow. The wreck of that army, under M. de Laroche-Jaquelin, +were driven from it again on the following day, and from that +hour never rallied so as to make any stand against the victorious +republicans.</p> + +<p>Quitting Laval the day after my arrival, I ascended a long and steep +hill, travelled by the side of the forest of Petre, and came to Vitré, +where I remained all night for the purpose of visiting the château of +the celebrated Madame de Sévigné,[4] whose estate has descended to a +distant branch of her family, who had the good fortune to save it from +destruction during the revolution. The grounds are kept in excellent +order. Her picture hangs in the apartment in which she composed her +interesting and elegant letters, and every article of furniture +carefully preserved is shown to strangers. The distance from Vitré to +Rennes is seven leagues, over a road which becomes gradually less and +less Interesting.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 4: Marie de Rabutin, Marchioness de Sevigné, was the +daughter of the Baron de Chantal, and born in 1626: she espoused at +the age of eighteen the Marquis de Sévigné, who fell in a duel in +1651, leaving her with one son and a daughter, to whose education +she paid strict attention: the daughter married in 1669 the Count de +Grignan, Commandant in Provence, and it was on a visit to her that the +Marchioness caught a fever and died in 1696. Her son Charles, Marquis +de Sevigné, was one of the admirers of Ninon de L'Enclos, and had +a dispute with Madame Dacier respecting the sense of a passage in +Horace. He died in 1713. (Moreri.)]</p> + +<p>Rennes is the chief city of the Isle-et-Vilaine, and in former times +was the capital of Bretagne. It is a large ancient built town, +standing on a vast plain, between the rivers Isle and Vilaine. It has +a hall of justice, (Cour Royale,) an episcopal palace, and a foundry +for cannon. A more dismal dirty looking city, or a more uninteresting +one to a stranger, is seldom to be seen. Few traces remain of its +ancient splendor; the old rampart, which once encompassed it, now +forms a promenade.</p> + +<p>Its commerce is considerable, being the entrepôt for grain and cattle, +with which it supplies Paris and the Southern Provinces, not so +abundant in their produce. Jane of Flanders, Countess of Montfort, +the most extraordinary woman of her time, resided here, during the +imprisonment of her husband in the palace of the Louvre, by Philippe +de Valois,[5] when Edward the Third of England invaded France. +Hennebon, when attacked by Charles of Blois, was defended by the +Countess, and relieved by Sir Walter Manny, whom Edward had sent with +a body of 6,000 archers to her succour. The garrison, encouraged by +so rare an example of female valour, defended themselves against an +immense army, composed of French, Spaniards, Genoese, and Bretons, +who frequently assaulted it, and were as vigorously repulsed. On one +occasion, Froissart mentions her sallying out at the head of a body of +two hundred cavalry, throwing the enemy into great confusion, doing +great execution among them, and setting fire to the tents and +magazines, which were entirely destroyed.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 5: Among the brave knights who engaged in so many battles +and perilous adventures, and other feats of arms, Froissart mentions +Philip, as opposed to those heroes of high renown, Edward of England, +the Prince of Wales his son, the Duke of Lancaster, Sir Reginald Lord +Cobham, Sir Walter Manny of Hainault, Sir John Chandos, Sir Fulk +Harley, and many others recorded in his book for worth and prowess. +"In France also was found good chivalry, strong of limb and stout of +heart, and in great abundance, for the kingdom of France was never +brought so low as to want men ever ready for combat. Such was King +Philipe de Valois, a bold and hardy knight, and his son King John, +also John king of Bohemia, and Charles Count of Alençon his son."]</p> + +<p>The population of Rennes is 27,000. It is at present garrisoned by one +thousand troops, and people are of opinion that government finds it no +easy task to keep down the spirit of the Vendeans, who are said to +be, "plus Royalistes que le Roi." There appears every where a strong +spirit of dissatisfaction on the part of the Royalists, at the general +preference given to those who were employed under the late ruler in +places of public trust, and who were avowed enemies to the restoration +of Louis XVIII.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. IV.</H2></center><br><br> + + +<p>ROUTE FROM RENNES TO NANTES. CITY OF NANTES. HISTORICAL ANECDOTES.</p><br> + + +<p>Arriving at the first post, we crossed the river Vilaine, and between +this and Rondun passed the river Bruck, and ascended a high mountain +between Rondun and La Bréharaye. At this place we quitted the +department of the Isle-et-Vilaine. Crossing the Cher, we arrived at +Derval, and from thence at Nozai, passing several large lakes, +and then over the river Don. The whole of this distance, with the +exception of the hill already mentioned, is composed of flat sandy +plains, mostly uncultivated, and the road is very rough.</p> + +<p>From Nozai to Ancenis we crossed the river Isac; from thence to Redon, +Herié, to La Croix Blanche, along the bank of the river; and after +mounting another steep hill, we descended into an extensive plain, +leading to Gesvres and Nantes.</p> + +<p>The whole of this country north of the Loire, from Rennes to Nantes, +the triangular point resting upon Angers, is the country of the +Chouans, which it is necessary, in reference to the Vendean war, to +distinguish from the country south of the Loire, in the department of +the Loire Inférieure, called le Bocage, or la Vendée. Although the +latter was the scene of the more desperate warfare between the +republicans and the royalists, yet the former had its share of +bloodshed and misery. The whole country on both banks of the Loire, as +far as Angers, is classic ground to those who revere the efforts by +which the Vendeans so long resisted the republicans.</p> + +<p>The city of Nantes is the chief seat of the Préfecture of the +department of the Loire Inférieure, standing on the right bank of the +river, surrounded by its ancient rampart, of a circular form, and in +good preservation: on the opposite bank stand the ruined tower +and mouldering bastions of Permil. This spot is interesting to an +Englishman, from the memorable events to which the fatal pretensions +of Edward the Third gave rise, and which occupy the pages of French +and English history, during a period of more than a century[6].</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 6: In 1343, Edward the Third laid siege to this place. +Froissart mentions the English army being drawn out on a hill, in +battle array, near the town. The ground rises a little in this +direction, but, I should suppose, it must have been on the right bank, +as the country there is hilly, and this ancient fortress must have +defended the passage of the river. "The king himself," says the +Chronicle, "with the rest of his army, advanced towards Rennes, +burning and ruining the country on all sides, and was most joyfully +received by the whole army who lay before it, and had been there for +a considerable time. When he had tarried there five days, he learned +that the Lord Charles of Blois was at Nantes, collecting a large force +of men at arms. He set out, therefore, leaving those whom he had found +at Rennes, and came before Nantes, which he besieged as closely as he +could, but was unable to surround it, such was its size and extent. +The marshals, therefore, and their people, overran the country and +destroyed it. The king of England, one day, drew out his army in +battle array on a hill near Nantes, in expectation that the Lord +Charles would come forth and offer him an opportunity of fighting with +him: but, having waited from morning until noon in vain, they returned +to their quarters: the light horse, however, in their retreat, +galloped up to the barriers, and set fire to the suburbs."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"The king of England, during the siege, made frequent skirmishes, but +without success, always losing some of his men; when, therefore, he +found he could gain nothing by his assaults, and that the Lord Charles +would not come out into the plains to fight him, he established there +the Earl of Oxford, Sir Henry Beaumont, the Lord Percy, the Lord Roos, +the Lord Mowbray, the Lord Delawar, Sir Reginald Cobham, Sir John +Lisle, with six hundred men armed, and two hundred archers."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"The king himself advanced into the country of Bretagne, wasting it +wherever he went, until he came to the town of Dinant, of which Sir +Peter Porteboeuf was governor. He immediately laid siege to it all +round, and ordered it to be vigorously assaulted. Those within made a +valiant resistance. Thus did the king of England in one season, and +in one day, make an assault by himself, or those ordered by him, upon +three cities in Bretagne, and a good town, viz. Rennes, Vannes, and +Nantes. The brave Sir Walter Manny was left before Vannes, with five +hundred men at arms, and six thousand archers, while the king with +the rest of his army advanced towards Rennes and Nantes. This gallant +soldier, at the battle of Calais, had this singular honour conferred +on him by his sovereign, who, with his valiant son the Prince of +Wales, both served under his banner.--Edward said to Sir Walter Manny, +"Sir Walter, I will that you be the chief of this enterprise, and I +and my son will fight under your banner."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>The lively and picturesque historian then gives a very interesting +account of the above action, which was fought the last day of December +1348, and of the gallantry of Edward's conduct to his prisoner, Sir +Eustace de Ribeaumont.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"We will now speak of the King of England, who was there incognito, +under Sir Walter Manny's banner. He advanced with his men on foot, +to meet the enemy, who were formed in close order, with their pikes +shortened to five feet, planted out before them. The first attack was +very sharp and severe. The King singled out Sir Eustace de Ribeaumont, +who was a strong and hardy knight: he fought a long time marvellously +well with the King, so that it was a pleasure to see them; but, by the +confusion of the engagement, they were separated; for two large bodies +met where they were fighting, and forced them to break off the combat.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"On the side of the French there was excellent fighting, by Sir +Geoffrey de Chargny, Sir John de Landas, Sir Hector, and Sir Gavin de +Ballieul, and others; but they were all surpassed by Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont, who that day struck the King twice down on his knees: +at last, however, he was obliged to present his sword to the King, +saying, 'Sir Knight, I surrender myself your prisoner, for the honour +of the day must fall to the English.'</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"All that belonged to Sir Geoffry de Chargny were either slain or +captured: among the first was Sir Henry du Bois, and Sir Peppin de +Werré; Sir Geoffry and the rest were taken prisoners. The last that +was taken, and who in that day had excelled all, was Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"When the engagement was over, the King returned to the Castle at +Calais, and ordered all the prisoners to be brought before him. The +French taken, knew for the first time, that the King of England had +been there in person, under the banner of Sir Walter de Manny.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"The King said he would this evening of the new year entertain them +all at supper in the Castle. When the hour for supper was come, the +tables spread, and the King and his Knights dressed in new robes, as +well as the French, who, notwithstanding they were prisoners, made +good cheer (for the King wished it should be so), the King seated +himself at table, and made those Knights do the same around him in a +most honourable manner. The gallant Prince of Wales, and the Knights +of England, served up the first course, and waited on their guests. At +the second course, they went and seated themselves at another table, +where they were served, and attended on very quietly.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"When supper was over, and the tables removed, the King remained in +the Hall among the English and French Knights, bare-headed, except a +chaplet of fine pearls, which was round his head. He conversed +with all of them; but when he came to Sir Geoffry de Chargny, his +countenance altered, and looking at him askance, he said, 'Sir +Geoffry, I have but little reason to love you, when you wished to +seize upon me by stealth last night, what had given me so much +trouble to acquire, and cost me such sums of money' (Sir Geoffry had +endeavoured to bribe the garrison to put him in possession of it in +the night previous to the battle): 'I am, however, rejoiced to have +caught you thus in attempting it.'--When he came to Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont, he assumed a cheerful look, and said with a smile, 'Sir +Eustace, you are the most valiant knight in Christendom that I ever +saw attack his enemy, or defend himself. I never yet found any one in +battle, who, body to body, had given me so much to do as you have done +this day. I adjudge to you the prize of valour, above all the knights +of my Court, as what is justly due to you.'--The King then took off +his chaplet, which was very rich and handsome, and placing it on the +head of Sir Eustace, said, 'Sir Eustace, I present you with this +chaplet, as being the best combatant this day, either within or +without doors; and I beg of you to wear it this year for the love of +me. I know that you are lively and amorous, and love the company of +ladies and damsels; therefore say, wherever you go, that I gave it to +you. I also give you your liberty, free of ransom; and you may set out +to-morrow, and go whither you will.'"]</p> + +<p>The river Loire, which is crossed by seven bridges, winds through the +town. They are the Pont Rousseau, De Permil, D'Aiguillon, Feydeau, De +la Belle Croix, Brisebois, and Toussaint. The houses are regular and +handsome, having in some places a very singular appearance, from the +ground having sunk, and the foundations given way, causing them to +lean in various directions from the perpendicular line. In point of +commerce, at one period antecedent to the Revolution, Nantes was the +most considerable sea-port in France: since the loss of its West India +trade, especially with Saint Domingo, it has been greatly reduced. +The rich plains which surround it on three sides, in the form of an +amphitheatre, and the river covered with vessels and boats, give it +a most lively appearance. It has a large Theatre, a Royal College +(lately the Lyceum), a Commercial Tribunal, a handsome Exchange, a +Bishop's Palace, Hall of the Préfecture, Public Library, Anatomical +and Surgical Academies, Botanical Garden, Museum of Natural History, +and a foundry for cannon.</p> + +<p>The latter is in the old and decaying Château on the bank of the +river, called Goulemme. One of its bastions was blown up a few years +since by accident, which has shaken and destroyed the whole fabric; +but it is still capable of holding a garrison, and is a fine monument +of ancient fortification. It was once the residence of Henry IV. of +France, at the time he signed the celebrated edict, (1598,) in favour +of the reformed religion, afterwards revoked by Louis XIV. in 1685, +and which occasioned such deplorable consequences to the French +nation.</p> + +<p>M. de Sainte Foix, in his historical Essays upon Paris, vol. i. +p. 113, speaking of the Rue de Grenelle, in the quarter of Saint +Eustache, gives the following curious account of the birth of this +great King, whose memory is revered in France, beyond that of all the +other monarchs who have swayed the Gallic sceptre.</p> + +<p>"Jeanne d'Albret, being desirous of following her husband to the wars +of Picardy, the King her father told her, that in case she proved with +child, he wanted her to come and lie-in at his house; and that he +would bring up the child himself, whether a boy or a girl. This +Princess finding herself pregnant, and in her ninth month, set out +from Compiègne, passed through all France as far as the Pyrenees, and +arrived in fifteen days at Pau in Béarn. She was very desirous to see +her father's will. It was contained in a thick gold box, on which was +a gold chain, that would have gone twenty-five or thirty times round +her neck. She asked it of him:--'It shall be yours,' said he, 'as soon +as you have shown me the child that you now carry; and that you may +not bring into the world a crying or a pouting child, I promise you +the whole, provided that whilst you are in labour, you sing the +Bearnese song <i>Notre Dame du bout du Pont aidez-moi en cette heure</i>." +No sooner was the Princess safely delivered, than her father, placing +the gold chain on her neck, and giving her the gold box wherein was +his will, said to her: 'These are for you, daughter, but this is for +me;' and took the child in his gown, without waiting for its being +dressed in form, and carried it into his chamber. The little Prince +was brought up in such a manner as to be able to undergo fatigue and +hardship; frequently eating nothing but common bread. The good King +his grandfather ordered it thus, and would not let him be delicately +pampered, in order that from his infancy he might be inured to +privation. He has often been seen, according to the custom of the +country, amongst the other children of the Castle and village of +Coirazze, bare-footed and bare-headed, as well in winter as in summer. +Who was this Prince?--Henry IV.</p> + +<p>"Being descended from the Kings of France, he became the heir to that +Kingdom; but as he was educated a Protestant, his claim was resisted. +He early distinguished himself by feats of arms. After the peace of +Saint Germain, in 1570, he was taken to the French Court, and two +years afterwards married Margaret, sister of Charles IX. (At the +rejoicings on this occasion the infamous massacre of <i>La Saint +Barthélémy</i> took place.) In 1589 he succeeded to the throne of France; +but his religion proving an obstacle to his coronation, he consented +to abjure it in 1593. In 1598 he issued the edict of Nantes, granting +toleration to the Protestants."</p> + +<p>Mezeray, speaking of the marriage of the King of Navarre (afterwards +Henry IV.) with Margaret de Valois, says, "There were many diversions, +tournaments, and ballets at Court; and amongst others, one which +seemed to presage the calamity that was so near bursting out upon the +Huguenots--the King and his brothers defending Paradise against the +King of Navarre and his brothers, who were repulsed and banished to +Hell;" and Sainte Foix, in his relation of the horrible massacre, +gives a detail, which in the present age appears almost incredible.</p> + +<p>Catherine of Medicis, whose abominable politics had corrupted the +disposition of her son, was at the head of the cabinet council who +agreed to the murder of more than one hundred thousand Protestants; +and the miserable bigot Charles IX. stationed during the massacre at +the window of a house then belonging to the Constable of Bourbon, +fired with his own hands upon the Huguenots with a long blunderbuss, +whilst they were trying to escape across the river.</p> + +<p>The River Erdré runs northward of the city, and forms a beautiful +feature, winding for many miles among cultivated fields and woodlands, +through a country agreeably diversified with villas, to which the +wealthier inhabitants retire during the summer months. The river +resembles a lake for the greater part of its course, and is called the +Barban.</p> + +<p>The Gothic church of Saint Pierre, built by the English in 1434, is +a fine old structure: having been much neglected for many years, and +greatly defaced during the Revolution, it was at this time restoring. +Among the monuments about to be replaced, was an excellent one of Anne +de Bretagne, whose effigy, and that of her husband, are as large as +life. The allegorical figures of Justice, Temperance, Prudence, and +Fortitude, the twelve Apostles, and the supporters to the Arms (a +greyhound and a lion), are all executed in the finest white marble. +They were hidden during the Revolution, and have only very lately been +discovered, as have also some capital paintings piously preserved +for the Church. Anne was first married to Charles VIII. in 1499, and +afterwards to Louis XII. She died at the Château de Blois in 1514, and +Louis in 1515.</p> + +<p>The climate of Nantes is mild, and reckoned remarkably healthy: every +article of life is cheap, and from its mild temperature it abounds +in the finest fruits and most excellent wines. Its population is +estimated at 60,000 inhabitants. The numbers that were destroyed +during the Revolution, or, as the French emphatically term it, "Le +régne de la Terreur," were never ascertained; but the frightful +history of that bloody period would probably justify the computation +at half the number of its present population, many having fallen +victims to the murders that were termed "<i>Noyades</i>," independent of +those who perished in the Vendean war.</p> + +<p>The spot where the gallant Charette was shot, with several other +leaders of the Vendean army, is shown; and in the cemetery, a large +mound of earth marks the place where the bodies were thrown in, at the +time of the "<i>Fuzillades</i>" when the infamous Carrier presided at the +execution of the brave Royalists.[7] The print beneath represents this +monster on the banks of the Loire directing the Noyades.</p> + +<p>[Illustration].</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 7: Chaque nuit on venait en prendre par centaines, pour les +mettre sur les bateaux. Là on liait les malheureux deux à deux, et +on les poussait dans l'eau à coups de baïonette. On saisissait +indistinctement tout ce qui se trouvait à l'entrepôt, tellement +qu'on noya un jour l'état major d'une corvette Anglaise, qui était +prisonnier de guerre. Une autre fois, Carrier, voulant donner un +exemple de l'austérité des moeurs républicaines, fit enfermer trois +cent filles publiques de la ville, et les malheureuses créatures +furent noyées. Enfin, l'on estime qu'il a péri à l'entrepôt quinze +mille personnes en un mois.--<i>Mémoires de Madame la Marquise de +Laroche-Jaquelin</i>.]</p> + +<p>At the end of a fine avenue of trees, on the Boulevard, is a large +and splendid mansion built by that Deputy, and which is at present +inhabited by a merchant. Carrier's mistress (to whom he left it, +together with a very considerable fortune, amassed from the spoils +of his plunder, and the murder of the innocent inhabitants) was very +lately sentenced to two years' hard labour for some crime she had +committed: and it is no less remarkable, that, of the remaining +inhabitants known to have participated in the atrocities of that +frightful period, there is not one but is reduced to poverty, and most +of them in the extreme of wretchedness, shunned by all, and suffering +the ignominy they have so justly merited!</p><br><br><br> + + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. V.</H2></center><br><br> + + +<p>COUNTRY SOUTH OF THE LOIRE.--LE BOCAGE.--CLISSON.--HISTORICAL +ANECDOTES.--THE GARENNE, AND RIVER SÈVRES.</p><br> + + +<p>The best method of travelling in this country is on horseback: in +fact, it is impossible to proceed in any other way, after quitting the +main road. Having procured a guide and horses, I set out early in the +morning, crossing the Loire by the Pont Rosseau, to Verton, keeping +along the banks of the River Sèvres. Verton is a romantic village +standing on a hill: most of the houses are in ruins, from the effect +of the destructive war of La Vendée. From thence to Le Palet, most +intricate narrow roads, or more properly speaking, pathways, darkened +by the overhanging branches of trees, and in many parts deep with +mire, from the sun's rays not being able to dry the ground, make it +difficult to proceed, and we several times lost our way. It was late +before we reached Le Palet, and though I had not tasted food for many +hours, I could not resist stopping to view so interesting a spot, and +making a hasty sketch of the ruins of the house in which Abélard +was born, and in which Héloïse resided with him before their final +separation. The ruins of the House of Bérenger, the father of Abélard, +are close to the church of Palet, on the left of the high road, three +miles distant from Clisson. Le Palet is thus described by a French +author, in the history of the Province.</p> + +<p>"Cet homme si célèbre par son savoir, ses amours, et ses infortunes, +amena Héloïse au Palet lorsqu'il l'eût enlevée de chez le Chanoine +Fulbert, pour la soustraire au ressentiment de cet oncle jaloux +et barbare; mais, obligé de quitter cette retraite paisible pour +retourner à Paris, où l'appelaient ses nombreux disciples, le soin de +sa gloire et de sa fortune, Abélard confia à sa soeur sa chère Héloïse +et le gage précieux qu'elle portait dans son sein. Elle accoucha au +Palet d'un fils d'une si rare beauté, qu'elle le nomma Astralabe, +c'est-à-dire, astre brillant; mais l'absence de celui qu'elle adorait +rendait moins vifs pour elle les doux plaisirs de la maternité; son +âme expansive et brûlante était livrée sans cesse à une inquiète et +sombre mélancholie qu'elle ne parvenait sans doute à dissiper qu'en +venant sur les bords de la Sèvres rêver à l'objet de sa tendresse, et +soupirer après son retour. Sept siècles se sont écoulés depuis cette +époque, et les noms d'Abélard et d'Héloïse embellissent toujours ce +délicieux ravage. On interroge avec une curiosité avide ces roches +éternelles et ces grottes mystérieuses qui furent les témoins discrets +de leurs peines et de leurs plaisirs. On se reporte à ces temps +reculés où ces amants venaient dans cette solitude enchanteresse, se +confier mutuellement leur vifs inquiétudes; on croit les voir s'égarer +sous ces riants ombrages, et s'abandonner à toutes les inspirations de +l'éloquence, à toutes les illusions de l'amour."</p> + +<p>I arrived at Clisson just as the sun was disappearing, and its rays +were only sufficiently strong to reflect the ruined towers of the +Castle in the river which runs at its foot. It will be much easier +to imagine, than for me to convey the sensations I felt when I first +caught a glimpse of it, with the story of La Roche-Jaquelin full in +my recollection! I alighted at a small cabaret, dignified by the +appellation of the Hotel de la Providence, which seemed preferable to +another recommended to me by my guide,--such an one, indeed, as might +be expected in a remote place like this: part of the roof was off, +and, like most of the houses in the place, bore evident marks of the +desolating war that had been carried on here: many are still in ruins. +The descent into the town is very steep and rugged, the road being +formed out of the solid rock. The master of the cabaret was sitting +with his family at the door, but the appearance of his mansion was so +unpromising, that I thought it best to make some agreement, and a few +inquiries before dismounting;--these preliminaries being settled, and +having consented to pay him fifty sous for supper and my bed, and +thirty for breakfast, I entered the house: and never recollect having +a keener relish for a meal, or enjoying one more heartily, for I had +been sixteen hours on horseback.</p> + +<p>Fatigued and exhausted as I was, I rambled after dinner towards the +delightful grounds of La Garenne, belonging to Monsieur La Motte, who +has embellished them in a most interesting and romantic manner.</p> + +<p>The river Sèvres runs along the side, and separates them from the fine +old Castle of Clisson, whose high and decaying towers and battlements +give the beholder a noble idea of its ancient grandeur. The evening +was a very fine one,--one of those delightful soft, clear skies usual +at this season, the latter end of July. I sat myself down in the +grotto of Héloïse,--a spot of the deepest seclusion, formed, by the +hand of Nature, of large masses of granite. The nightingales were +singing in the lofty trees at the back; on the sides were shrubs of +every description intermingled with fruit trees, and the river having +several falls and little rocky islets, gave an air of delightful +enchantment to this most romantic scene.</p> + +<p> Héloïse! à ce nom, qui ne doit s'attendrir?<br> + Comme elle sut aimer! comme elle sut souffrir!</p> + +<p>At the entrance of the grotto are engraved these lines, nearly effaced +by the hand of time.</p> + +<p> Héloïse peut-être erra sur ce rivage,<br> + Quand, aux yeux des jaloux dérobant son séjour,<br> + Dans les murs du Palet elle vint mettre au jour<br> + Un fils, cher et malheureux gage<br> + De ses plaisirs furtifs et de son tendre amour.<br> + Peut-être en ce réduit sauvage,<br> + Seule, plus d'une fois, elle vint soupirer,<br> + Et goûter librement la douceur de pleurer;<br> + Peut-être sur ce roc assise<br> + Elle rêvait à son malheur.<br> + J'y veux rêver aussi; j'y veux remplir mon coeur<br> + Du doux souvenir d'Héloïse.</p> + +<p>I had but a few weeks before seen the tomb of Abélard and Héloïse in +the Cemetery of Père la Chaise at Paris, whither it had been recently +removed from the Convent of the Augustins, at which latter place I +had formerly made the annexed drawing of it. I had likewise been very +lately at Argenteuil, once the place of her asylum described by Pope:</p> + +<p> In these deep solitudes and awful cells--</p> + +<p>and had the same day witnessed the ruins of the house in which Abélard +was born, and in which Héloïse resided and became a mother, and from +whence she used to make frequent visits to this spot: all these +circumstances combined, gave the scene before me a most powerful +interest. I rose early the next day, anxious to revisit a place which +had afforded me such delight the previous evening. Wandering by the +beautiful banks of the river, along its green meadows, in a woody +recess, I observed the following lines beneath an urn, cut in the rock +on which it rested:</p> + +<p> Consacrer dans l'obscurité,<br> + Ses loisirs à l'étude, à l'amitié sa vie,<br> + Sont des plaisirs dignes d'envie;<br> + Etre chéri vaut mieux qu'être vanté!</p> + +<p>[Illustration: RUINS OF ABÉLARD'S HOUSE.]</p> + +<p>A little further on, is a stone pillar, with a venerable accacia tree +spreading its leaves over it. It has the following Latin inscription:</p> + + +<p> + VII + IM CAESAR<br> + AVGVSTVS<br> + PONTIFEX MAX<br> + VIAM. OLIM<br> + A CONIVINCO<br> + AD LIMONEM<br><br> + + IMP. CAESAR. TRAJ.<br> + ADRIANVS AVG<br> + PM. TRIB. POT.<br> + VIAM AB AVGVSTO<br> + STATAM REFICIT.[8]</p> + + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 8: Auguste étendit jusqu'à La Loire La Gaule Aquitanique, +autrefois bornée par la Garonne, et comprit L'Armorique dans la +Province Celtique ou Lyonnaise. L'Empereur Adrian, ayant fait depuis +une nouvelle distribution des Gaules, divisa La Lyonnaise en deux, et +mit L'Armorique dans la seconde; enfin cette Lyonnaise ou Celtique +ayant été encore divisée en deux, Tours devint la Métropole de la +troisième, qui comprenait la Touraine, le Maine, l'Anjou, et la +Bretagne.--<i>Histoire de Bret</i>.]</p> + +<p>[Illustration: GROTTO of HÉLOÏSE at CLISSON].</p> + +<p>[Illustration: TOMB of ABÉLARD and HÉLOÏSE.].</p> + +<p>Farther on several large blocks of granite are piled together in so +strange and curious a manner, that it must have been the work of +Nature alone:--one of them has these beautiful lines carved on it:</p> + +<p> O! Limpide Rivière! O Rivière chérie!<br> + Puisse la sotte vanité<br> + Ne jamais dédaigner ta rive humble et fleurie!<br> + Que ton simple sentier ne soit point fréquenté<br> + Par aucun tourment de la vie<br> + Tels que l'ambition, l'envie,<br> + L'avarice, et la fausseté!<br> + Un bocage si frais, un séjour si tranquille,<br> + Aux tendres sentiments doit seul servir d'azile.<br> + Ces rameaux amoureux entrelassés exprès<br> + Aux Muses, aux Amours, offrent leur voile épais;<br> + Et ce cristal d'une onde pure<br> + A jamais ne doit réfléchir<br> + Que les grâces de la nature<br> + Et les images du plaisir.</p> + +<p>Close to the brink of the river stands a prodigiously large granite +rock, immediately facing the waterfall called le Bassin de Diane: on +it are these words:</p> + +<p> SA MASSE INDESTRVCTIBLE<br> + A FATIGVÉ LE TEMS.<br> + a quotation from Delille.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: GRANITE ROCK in the GARENNE.]</p> + +<p>The French writers, speaking of this interesting place, observe: +"Comment soupçonner en effet qu'au milieu de cette <i>terrible Vendée</i>, +qu'au centre de cet impénétrable et sombre Bocage, il existe un pays +délicieux et fertile, couvert de mines séculaires qui rappelent tous +les souvenirs historiques de notre ancienne France, comme le caractère +de ses habitans en rappele les moeurs, le courage, et la loyauté."</p> + +<p>On the opposite side of the river, a little to the right, stands the +ancient Château de Clisson, celebrated in the modern as well as the +ancient history of Bretagne. Its lofty turrets, and decaying bastions, +extend a considerable distance along the shore of the Sèvres, +recalling to mind the ancient days of chivalry, when bravery, love, +and religion, were so singularly blended together, and gave a romantic +half-polished manner to the greatest barbarians. In later times it +became the scene of events which no one can contemplate without the +deepest interest. In viewing this magnificent ruin, it is impossible +not to regret that a place so frequently the theatre of noble +achievements, inhabited by one of the greatest men that France has +produced, François I. Connétable de Clisson,[9] father to Anne of +Bretagne, should have been so recently the scene of such savage +horrors and bloodshed! Now, all is silence and solitude: and amidst +the noble ruins which were once decorated with banners, and the +hard-earned trophies of victory,--where high-born knights and splendid +dames mingled in mirth and festivity to the echoes of the minstrels, +singing lays of love or battle,--are now only to be seen and heard the +birds of prey, hovering over a solitary tree, planted to mark the spot +where a deed was committed which has not often its parallel in the +darkest histories of the most ferocious nations.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 9: In the "Histoire Généalogique de France," tom. vi. is an +account of the Constable's death. "The Duke of Orleans, brother to the +king, was very fond of a Jewess, whom he privately visited. Having +some reason to suspect that Peter de Craon, Lord of Sablé and de la +Ferté-Bernard, his chamberlain and favourite, had joked with the +Duchess of Orleans upon his intrigue, he turned him out of his house +with infamy. Craon imputed his disgrace partly to the Constable of +Clisson. On the night of the 13th June, having waited for him at the +corner of the street <i>Coulture Ste. Catherine</i>, and finding he had but +little company with him, he fell upon him at the head of a score of +ruffians. Clisson defended himself for some time without any other +weapon than a small cutlass; but after receiving three wounds, fell +from his horse, and pitched against a door, which flew open. The +report of this assassination reached the king's ears just as he was +stepping into bed. He put on a great coat and his shoes, and repaired +to the place where he was informed his constable had been killed. He +found him in a baker's shop, wallowing in his blood. After his wounds +were examined, "Constable, (said he to him), nothing was or ever will +he so severely punished." It was given out that Clisson made his will +the next day, and there was a mighty outcry about the sum of 1,700,000 +livres, which it amounted to. It should be observed, that during +twenty-five years that he was in the service of France, he had sought +for and beaten the English every where; that he gained the famous +battle of Robeck, and chastised the Flemish; that he enjoyed for +twelve years the salary and appointments of Constable; and that, +moreover, his landed estate, (which included many castles inherited +from his ancestors, in Bretagne and Poitou,) was very considerable."]</p> + +<p>During the Vendean war, the royalists had been driven out of Clisson +by the republicans, under the command of a ferocious jacobin. The town +was pillaged and burnt before they quitted it. Twenty-seven females +had, during the battle, concealed themselves among the ruins: when +information of it was given to the troops, who had already quitted the +place, they were ordered to return, and the whole of these unhappy +women were thrown alive into a well, where they perished!!! It has +since been filled up, and the lonely tree, just mentioned, now records +the bloody and inhuman deed.</p> + +<p>In the account of Clisson, by a late French author, no notice is +taken of this circumstance. He merely observes, when mentioning the +destruction of the place, after the de la Roche-Jaquelin had quitted +it, "Les Rives ombragées de la Sèvres, si séduisante par ses belles +cascades et l'ensemble de ce paysage poétique, feroient de cette +contrée un séjour délicieux, si de tristes débris, qui heureusement +disparoissent tous les jours, ne rappelaient encore le souvenir +affligeant de nos discordes civiles. Les armées Révolutionnaires qui +combattirent les Vendéens, en 1793 et en 1794, employèrent inutilement +pour les réduire le fer et le feu; la flamme atteignit les villes, les +villages, les métairies, et jusqu'aux humbles chaumières; et, dans ce +vaste et épouvantable incendie, Clisson ne put échapper à une ruine +complète. Jamais peut-être cette petite ville ne se seroit entièrement +réédifié, sans une circonstance particulière qui contribua puissamment +à la faire renoître de ces cendres."</p> + +<p>In the town of Clisson was born the celebrated Barin de la +Galissonniere, Admiral of France, who fought the well-known action +off Mahon, in the month of June, 1756, with Admiral Byng, who, in +consequence of his conduct on that occasion, was brought to a court +martial and shot. The French writers make the following absurd remark, +as to the <i>cause</i> of his fate: "Les Anglais, furieux d'avoir été +vaincus par un Amiral François, firent fusiller l'Amiral Byng." It is +now well known that he was sacrificed to an unprincipled ministerial +faction.</p> + +<p>The ancient Château de Clisson is built on a rock, on the bank of the +Sèvres, facing the mouth of the river, called Le Moine, which empties +itself into the Sèvres at this place, so that the town of Clisson +stands between the two rivers at their junction. An ancient bridge, +from whence this view is taken, joins one part of the town to the +other, and leads to the castle, which was once considered the barrier +of Bretagne. The two rivers run over a bed of granite rock, which, in +some places, forming a cataract, adds considerably to the surrounding +scenery: large masses of this rock in many parts seem as if piled up +by nature for the purpose of giving it a more romantic effect. The +whole forms a most picturesque object, when viewed from the opposite +shore, from whence the sketch of the temple erected on the ruin of St. +Gilles is taken; and the remembrance of its recent fate throws over +the scene a strong and melancholy interest.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: RUINS OF CLISSON.]</p> + +<p>The castle is supposed to have been first erected by the Romans, +as the Province formed a part of the Gaule Aquitanique, under the +Emperors Augustus and Adrian.</p> + +<p>The French repaired it during the reign of Louis VIII. in 1223, under +Olivier I. Sire de Clisson, as he is styled; and it was made a regular +fortification, and surrounded by a wall a century after, by the +Connétable: in 1464 the Duc de Bretagne, Francis II. entirely finished +it.</p> + +<p>The Sire de Clisson, Olivier I. who had served during one of the +Crusades in Palestine, was knighted with several others, in 1218. "Un +nombre prodigieux de Seigneurs Anglais, Normands, Angevins, Manceaux, +Tourangeaux, et Bretons, prirent la Croix; Le Pape, Innocent III. +envoya en Bretagne, en 1197, Helvain, Moine de St. Denis, pour y +prêcher une croisade. Une grande quantité de Bretons se laissèrent +conduire en Syrie par ce Moine; et, en 1218, plusieurs Seigneurs +Bretons suivirent leur exemple, entre autres, Hervé de Léon, Morvau, +Vicomte du Fou, et le Sire de Clisson."</p> + +<p>From the construction of the towers and bastions, it is supposed that +at his return from the Holy Land, he had copied the Syrian style of +building; and one of the towers, which is represented in the sketch +of the gateway of the Château de Clisson, is still called La Tour des +Pélerins.</p> + +<p>This tower, which has been used as a dungeon, is the most perfect of +any remaining. In it are subterranean galleries, anciently used as a +prison, and appropriated by the republicans to the same purpose. It is +dreadful to think of the horrors that have been practised within its +walls, in our own time.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: TOUR des PÉLERINS.]</p> + +<p>From the top of this tower the prospect is very extensive, and, during +the year 1793, when the republican army quartered themselves in it, a +sentinel was placed there to give notice in case of the approach of an +enemy. The historian of that period, speaking of the entrance to this +tower, observes, in reference to the cruelties committed there in the +Vendean war:</p> + +<p>"Il existait au milieu de la dernière cour un très beau puits, taillé +dans le roc et extrêmement profond: il est actuellement comblé..., et +ma plume se refuse à tracer les scènes horribles qui ensanglantèrent +ce lieu en 1793 et en 1795, tristes et épouvantables effets des +guerres civiles!"</p> + +<p>This passage alludes, I imagine, to the circumstance related in +page 90. Within its walls are various inscriptions, many of them in +characters so difficult to decypher, that they remain unknown. The +following has been rendered into more modern French by Cerutti.</p> + +<p> J'ai gravi, mesuré ces ruines sublimes;<br> + Mon coeur s'en est ému! De nos vaillants aïeux<br> + Tout y représentait les tournois magnanimes,<br> + Ils semblaient reparôitre et combattre à mes yeux;<br> + J'entendois sous leurs coups retentir les abîmes;<br> + Juge de leurs combats, idole de leur coeur,<br> + Du haut des tours, la dame admiroit le vainqueur.<br> + Casques et boucliers, cuirasses gigantesques,<br> + Cris d'armes, mot d'amour, devises de l'honneur,<br> + Carlets pour l'infidèle ou pour le suborneur,<br> + Tout garde sur ces murs vraiment chevaleresques.<br> + La mémoire d'un siècle où l'épée, où la foi,<br> + Où la galanterie étaient la seule loi.</p> + +<p>Louis IX. and Blanche of Castille, his queen, retired to Clisson, at +the time the English, under Henry III. penetrated into Poitou, and +were received by Olivier de Clisson, who then garrisoned it.</p> + +<p>In the war of the League, which convulsed the kingdom of France, +Clisson remained faithful to Henry III. and during the early part +of the reign of his successor Henry IV. The Protestants were there +protected, and established themselves in the fauxbourg. From the +period at which Henry IV. signed the edict at Nantes, 15th April, +1598, until the war of La Vendée, this celebrated fortress is no where +mentioned by any of the French historians: it became neglected when +the feudal system declined, and the republican army completed its +ruin. The sad events of this period, and the destruction and carnage +which followed, can never be effaced from the page of history. The +ruined towns and villages prove the melancholy truth, that the general +corruption of a nation prepares the way for general anarchy, and that +the blindness of political rage is always more vindictive than even +private hatred.</p> + +<p>I can never sufficiently lament the absence, at this time, of Madame +de La Roche-Jaquelin from the country, as she occasionally resides in +the neighbourhood, since the restoration of her property, (although +her once noble residence is now in a state of ruin,) occupying a small +château at some small distance, which had partly escaped the fire and +destruction that had been fatal to most houses in the district. Who +can read the interesting memoirs of this Lady, and not sympathize in +the sufferings of herself, and of those brave and loyal people whose +heroic struggle against their republican oppressors lasted with little +intermission from the overthrow of the monarchy until its final +restoration? Among the number of heroic females who, like Madame de +la Roche-Jaquelin, thus distinguished themselves, was Madame de La +Rochefoucault who, like her admirer Charette, was put to death at +Nantes. This lady, of an ancient and noble family, and of great +beauty, signalized herself on various occasions, but being taken +prisoner at the battle of the Moulin aux Chêvres, she was immediately +shot!</p> + +<p>[Illustration: MILL AUX CHÊVRES.]</p> + +<p>The whole history of this terrible war is filled with the noble +devotion of heroic females. The chiefs were attended in the most +sanguinary battles by ladies, who had themselves ornamented their +standards with loyal and chivalrous emblems of the cause for which +they were prepared to sacrifice themselves, and who were frequently +seen rallying the broken troops, and falling, covered with wounds, by +the hands of their enemies!</p> + +<p>The annexed view of the Moulin aux Chêvres, which is rendered +interesting from the account given by Madame de la Roche-Jaquelin of +the battle fought near it, will convey a tolerable idea of the scenery +of the country.</p> + +<p>The prodigious growth of the willow tree in Bretagne, is such as to +claim the peculiar notice of travellers: here they attain a gigantic +height, no where else to be seen. Batard, in his "<i>Notices sur +les Végétaux</i>" mentions one in the commune of Pommeraie in the +arrondissement de Beaupréau, whose age was supposed to be nearly two +thousand years. Within the Château at Clisson are some very old ones, +but the finest I observed were at the Moulin aux Chêvres.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. VI.</H2></center><br><br> + +<p>LIMITS AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OF LE BOCAGE. MODE OF WARFARE PRACTISED +BY THE VENDEANS.</p><br> + + +<p>My opportunity of becoming acquainted with that singular district +called Le Bocage, will be best understood by very briefly sketching my +route through it. I traversed it, and the district called Le Loroux, +by the route of Montaigne and Lege, and on my return I passed through +Clisson, Vallet, and Loroux, along the banks of the Loire. By pursuing +this route, I had every where the interesting opportunity of exploring +the scene of that destructive warfare which had ravaged the towns and +villages of this part of France.</p> + +<p>At one period, the war of La Vendée extended to the north of the +Loire, as far as Rennes, forming a triangle, the eastern point of +which rested on the town of Angers. To the south of the Loire it +spread nearly as far as la Rochelle; and as in this part also it +extended nearly to Angers, the tract over which it spread its ravages +formed nearly a square. The district called Loroux runs parallel with +the Loire: Le Bocage, which occupies both districts, and the whole +country south of that river, is comprehended under the general +appellation of La Vendée. Under the old divisions of France Le Bocage +formed part of the province of Poitou, and Le Loroux part of the +provinces of Anjou and Bretagne: but when, at the revolution, France +was divided into departments, these two districts were denominated La +Vendée, Les deux Sèvres, La Loire Inférieure, and Mayenne and Loire.</p> + +<p>La Vendée is an extremely interesting district, not merely on account +of the singular and heroic warfare that was carried on there so +long, but also from the appearance of the country, and the manners, +opinions, and general character of its inhabitants; and Le Bocage is, +in all these respects, the most interesting part of La Vendée. In +Le Bocage, the war was carried on with most wonderful vigour and +pertinacity, as well as with almost unparalleled destruction and +cruelty. Those who are acquainted only with the other parts of France, +can form no idea of the aspect of this district, or of the manners of +its inhabitants; they differ so widely and essentially, that they seem +to belong to another portion of the globe. It has always been regarded +as the most fertile country in France; and, before the revolution, it +was undoubtedly one of the most populous.</p> + +<p>There are only two roads in the whole country: one of them runs from +Nantes to la Rochelle, and the other from Bordeaux to Tours, through +Poitou: all the rest of this district is a complete labyrinth: there +are indeed numerous pathways, so very winding and narrow, that they +are much more calculated to harass and mislead, than to assist a +traveller in his journey: these pathways are flanked by wide and deep +ditches, and almost rendered completely dark by lofty hedges on each +side of them, the trees of which meet at top, and thus form an arch: +hence they are rough and uneven in summer, besides being intolerably +hot, and deep and miry in winter. To add to these inconveniences, the +bed of a rivulet flowing along them frequently constitutes the only +passage. Even when the traveller, after toiling along these dreadful +pathways, comes near a town or village, he generally finds that the +approach to it is practicable only by ascending irregular steps, +cut out of the solid rock, on which they are built. The inhabitants +themselves even are frequently puzzled by these pathways; and, after +wandering for a considerable length of time, at last find out that +they have been travelling in a wrong direction.</p> + +<p>The whole country bears the appearance of an extensive and thick +forest: this arises from the nature of the enclosures; they are +extremely small, often not more than fifty or sixty perches, +surrounded with strong hedges planted in the banks. These +circumstances alone would give the appearance just noticed; but the +effect is much increased from other causes. On each side of the banks, +on which the trees are planted, there are ditches and drains, and the +moisture which they constantly supply to their roots, renders their +growth very rapid and luxuriant; so that when we consider the number +of the trees and their great size, we shall not be surprised that +the country looks like an immense forest. Sometimes the trees are so +disposed as to answer the purpose of a palisade; and this purpose they +answer most effectually, not only from the great size and strength of +the trees themselves, but also from the intervening spaces between +them being filled up with strong and impassable underwood [10].</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 10: A tract of about 150 miles square, at the mouth and +on the southern bank of the Loire, comprehends the scene of those +deplorable hostilities. The most inland part of the district, and that +in which the insurrection first broke out, is called <i>Le Bocage</i>; and +seems to have been almost as singular in its physical conformation, +as in the state and condition of its population. A series of detached +eminences, of no great elevation, rose over the whole face of the +country, with little rills trickling in the hollows and occasional +cliffs by their sides. The whole space was divided into small +enclosures, each surrounded with tall wild hedges, and rows of pollard +trees; so that though there were few large woods, the whole region +had a sylvan and impenetrable appearance. The ground was mostly in +pasturage; and the landscape had, for the most part, an aspect of +wild verdure, except that in the autumn some patches of yellow corn +appeared here and there athwart their green enclosures. Only two great +roads traversed this sequestered region, running nearly parallel, at +a distance of more than seventy miles from each other. In the +intermediate space, there was nothing but a labyrinth of wild and +devious paths, crossing each other at the extremity of almost every +field--often serving, at the same time, as channels for the winter +torrents, and winding so capriciously among the innumerable hillocks, +and beneath the meeting hedge-rows, that the natives themselves were +always in danger of losing their way when they went a league or +two from their own habitations. The country, though rather thickly +peopled, contained, as may be supposed, few large towns; and the +inhabitants, devoted almost entirely to rural occupations, enjoyed a +great deal of leisure. The noblesse or gentry of the country were very +generally resident on their estates, where they lived in a style of +simplicity and homeliness which had long disappeared from every other +part of the kingdom. No grand parks, fine gardens, or ornamented +villas; but spacious clumsy chateaux, surrounded with farm offices +and cottages for the labourers. Their manners and way of life, too, +partook of the same primitive rusticity. There was great cordiality, +and even much familiarity, in the intercourse of the seigneurs with +their dependants. They were followed by large trains of them in their +hunting expeditions, which occupied so great a part of their time. +Every man had his fowling-piece, and was a marksman of fame or +pretensions. They were posted in various quarters, to intercept or +drive back the game; and were thus trained, by anticipation, to that +sort of discipline and concert, in which their whole art of war was +afterwards found to consist. Nor was their intimacy confined to their +sports. The peasants resorted familiarly to their landlords for +advice, both legal and medical; and they repaid the visits in their +daily rambles, and entered with interest into all the details of their +agricultural operations. They came to the weddings of their children, +drank with their guests, and made little presents to the young people. +On Sundays and holidays, all the retainers of the family assembled at +the château, and danced in the barn or the court-yard, according to +the season. The ladies of the house joined in the festivity, and that +without any airs of condescension or of mockery; for, in their own +life, there was little splendour or luxurious refinement. They +travelled on horseback, or in heavy carriages drawn by oxen; and had +little other amusement than in the care of their dependants, and the +familiar intercourse of neighbours among whom there was no rivalry or +principle of ostentation.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>From all this there resulted, as Madame de L. assures us, a certain +innocence and kindliness of character, joined with great hardihood and +gaiety,--which reminds us of Henry IV. and his Béarnois,--and carries +with it, perhaps on account of that association, an idea of something +more chivalrous and romantic--more honest and unsophisticated, than +any thing we expect to meet with in this modern world of artifice and +derision. There was great purity of morals accordingly, Mad. de +L. informs us, and general cheerfulness and content in all this +district;--crimes were never heard of, and lawsuits almost unknown. +Though not very well educated, the population was exceedingly +devout;--though theirs was a kind of superstitious and traditional +devotion, it must he owned, rather than an enlightened or rational +faith. They had the greatest veneration for crucifixes and images of +their saints, and had no idea of any duty more imperious than that of +attending on all the solemnities of religion. They were singularly +attached also to their curés, who were almost all born and bred in the +country, spoke their <i>patois</i>, and shared in all their pastimes and +occupations. When a hunting-match was to take place, the clergyman +announced it from the pulpit after prayers,--and then took his +fowling-piece, and accompanied his congregation to the thicket. It was +on behalf of these curés, in fact, that the first disturbances were +excited.--<i>Edin. Rev. for Feb.</i> 1816.]</p> + +<p>This luxuriance of growth does not proceed entirely from the moisture +supplied by the ditches and drains; the soil naturally is uncommonly +fertile: and whatever springs from it, whether planted by the hand of +man, and nourished, while growing, by his attention and skill, or its +spontaneous production, bears witness to this uncommon fertility. +The country abounds in corn and vineyards; the produce of the latter +consists principally in white vines. At the season of the year when I +passed through it, the intermixture of the rich and soft yellow of the +wheat nearly ripe, with the light green foliage of the vines, produced +a most pleasing effect. In Poitou and Anjou, the harvest generally +begins about the latter end of June: this year it was late every +where, but very abundant. The vineyards had mostly failed.</p> + +<p>Le Marais, which is also comprehended within the limits of Le Bocage, +is that part of Lower Poitou, adjacent to the sea. There the country +is open and flat, and the passes are impracticable during the winter, +and very difficult at other seasons of the year. The inhabitants of Le +Marais formed a division of the army of the celebrated chief Charette. +La Vendée was divided into two circuits; each army had its own, until +the junction of the whole under La Roche-Jaquelin, etc; that of +Charette occupied the district of Chalans, Machecoul, la Roche Sur +Yon, les Sables, a part of the districts of St. Florent, Vehiers, +Chollet, Châtillon, la Châtaigneraie, a great part of the districts +of Clisson, Montaigne, Thouars, Parthenay, and Fontenay-le-peuple. +Although the locality of Le Bocage is a perfect contrast to that of le +Marais, nature seems to have exerted all her power in forming these +two districts into one extensive fortress, capable of opposing every +thing to an attack, and presenting so many means of defence, that it +was rarely possible for the enemy to lead a column, or to regulate +its movements so as to preserve union in its marches or manoeuvres, +dispositions for an attack, or retreat. The positions of the Vendeans +could never be understood, or their projects foreseen, in a country +where the frequent undulations of land, hedges, trees, and bushes, +obstructing the surface, would not admit of seeing fifty paces round; +and one of the republican generals, writing to the Convention, +thus speaks of Charette's movements. "It is no easy matter to find +Charette, particularly to bring him to action. To-day at the head of +ten thousand men, the next day wandering with a score of horsemen, it +is very rare that one can come up with him. When we believed him to be +in our front, he was in our rear. Yesterday he threatened such a post, +to-day he is ten leagues from it; more able to avoid than fight us, +he almost always disconcerts, and often, without knowing it, all our +combinations. He endeavours to surprise us, to carry off our patroles, +and to kill our stragglers."</p> + +<p>The inhabitants of le Marais and le Bocage for a long period confined +themselves to defensive warfare, for which nature seems to have formed +their country. The situation of le Marais enabled the brave royalists +to receive succours from the English, and to facilitate and protect +the debarkation of such as they wished to procure from the North side +of the Loire, the coast being flat and easy of access by sea.</p> + +<p>The Vendeans, favoured by every natural advantage, had a peculiar +tactic which they knew perfectly well how to apply to their position +and local circumstances, and adopted a mode of fighting hitherto +unknown, and practicable in that country alone. Confident in the +superiority which their mode of attack gave them, they never suffered +themselves to be anticipated, they never engaged but when and +where they pleased. Their dexterity in the use of fire arms was such, +that no people, however well skilled in manoeuvring, could make such +good use of a gun; the huntsman of Loroux, and the poacher of le +Bocage, having been always proverbial as excellent marksmen. It was no +unusual thing for the Vendeans when at the plough, to carry with them +a musket; and whenever they observed "a blue coat," (as they called +the republican soldiers) they stopt their plough, took up their +musket, and fired at him; it seldom happened that they missed the +object of their vengeance. A melancholy circumstance, connected with +this mode of warfare, took place: the son of one of the Vendean +farmers, or ploughmen, had been compelled to join the republican army; +but having succeeded in escaping, he was hastening, in his republican +uniform, to rejoin his relations, when being observed by his father, +while at the plough, the latter, unable from the distance to recognize +his son, and seeing only the uniform of an enemy, fired and shot him.</p> + +<p>Their attacks were always dreadful, sudden, and almost unforeseen, +because it was very difficult to reconnoitre or obtain information so +as to guard against surprise. Their order of battle was generally in +the form of a crescent, their wings being composed of the most expert +marksmen, who never fired without taking aim, and seldom ever missed. +Their retreat was so precipitate that it was difficult to come up +with them, as they dispersed themselves through rough fields, hedges, +woods, and bushes, knew all the bye-roads, secret escapes and defiles, +and were acquainted with all the obstacles which could obstruct their +flight, and the means of avoiding them. Their mode of warfare was +according to the locality of the country, well calculated to prolong +the struggle and waste the strength of the forces sent to oppose them. +In the district of les Sables, intersected by canals, rivulets, and +salt marshes, where there were scarcely carriage roads, but chiefly +bye-ways, and raised paths, a species of natural fortification was +every where formed: this rendered any attack against them dangerous, +and consequently it was most favourable for defence, particularly to +the inhabitants. The canals are in general from thirty to forty feet +wide on the upper extremity of the banks. The Vendean, carrying his +musket in a bandoleer, and leaning upon a long pole, leaped from one +bank to the other with amazing facility. When the pressure of the +enemy would not admit of his doing this, without exposing himself to +their fire, he threw himself into a niole, (a kind of small boat,) +very flat, and light, and crossed the canal with great rapidity, being +always sufficiently shut up to hide himself from his pursuers: but he +soon appeared again, and firing at his enemy, again disappeared. The +republican soldier to whom this mode of fighting was unknown, was +obliged to be continually upon his guard, to march along the shores of +the canals, and to follow slowly their circuitous track, supporting at +the same time frequent skirmishes, while it took him several hours +to traverse a space which the Vendean commonly accomplished in a few +minutes.</p> + +<p>Among the difficulties which the execution of all military plans met +with in La Vendée, the nature and degree of which may be judged of +from the local dispositions and the kind of warfare carried on by the +royalists, there was one which was invincible, and which singularly +retarded the operations of the republicans. Whenever they were +desirous of sending an order from head quarters to a division at the +distance of twelve or fifteen leagues, the messenger was often obliged +to travel fifty or sixty in order to avoid passing through the +revolted country. Hence the impossibility of attempting any +expedition, however necessary or desirable, which required to be +executed without delay. The Vendeans would appear one day at a certain +point to the number of several thousand men; measures were concerted +for attacking them the next day, but before that arrived they were +eight or ten leagues distant from the place where they had showed +themselves the day before.</p> + +<p>Thus were the republicans exposed to fruitless victories or disastrous +checks, which exhausted their men and resources. Masters of the field +of battle, they found, says one of their generals, nothing but wooden +shoes and some slain, never any arms or ammunition. The Vendean when +perceived, would either hide or break his gun, and in surrendering his +life, seldom left his weapon. Being well acquainted with the country, +and more dexterous than the republicans, they carried scarcely any +artillery with them, four or five pieces sufficed for an army of +thirty or forty thousand men; these were generally light field pieces. +Equally sparing of ammunition, they took but few waggons, one alone +served the pieces, as they well knew it was not artillery that would +procure them the victory; thence, when the republicans met with any +disastrous affair, they lost from twenty to thirty pieces of cannon, +and waggons in proportion; whereas when they gained a victory they +acquired only two or three pieces of cannon, with scarcely any +ammunition.</p> + +<p>From this slight sketch of the nature of the country, so +disadvantageous to the invaders, and of the mode in which the Vendeans +carried on this unfortunate war, our surprise will cease at the +determined and protracted resistance made to the republicans by this +loyal and brave people. For many years they defended their beloved +country, and endured privations, and accumulated miseries, such +as human nature has seldom been exposed to. To use the words of a +republican general, "A girdle of fire enveloped the revolted country; +fire, terror, and death, preceded the march."</p> + +<p>But the principal cause of the long resistance of the Vendeans must +be sought for in their moral character; they were most honourably +distinguished by an inviolable attachment to their party, and +unlimited and unshaken confidence in their chiefs; and an earnest, +warm, but steady zeal, which supplied the place of discipline. Their +invincible courage, both active and passive, was proof against every +kind of danger, fatigue, and want. It has been well observed that +"irregular and undisciplined wars are naturally far more prolific of +extraordinary incidents, unexpected turns of fortune, and striking +displays of individual talent, of vice and virtue, than the more +solemn movements of national hostility, where every thing is in +a great measure provided and foreseen; and where the inflexible +subordination of rank, and the severe exactions of a limited duty +not only take away the inducement, but the opportunity for those +exaltations of personal feeling and adventure which produce the most +lively interest, and lead to the most animating results. In the +unconcerted proceedings of an insurgent population, all is experiment +and all is passion. The heroic daring of a simple peasant lifts him +at once to the rank of a leader, and kindles a general enthusiasm to +which all things become possible."</p> + +<p>From the operation of these causes the Vendeans were enabled to send +forth formidable armies: and such was the confidence of the chiefs in +the troops, that they never would have been subdued if they had +not lost their leaders in the various hard fought actions, or +been deprived of their services by their mutual jealousy. Another +circumstance proved equally fatal to them; after the fall of the +gallant Lescure, they most imprudently quitted the strong country for +the open plains on the left bank of the Loire.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. VII.</H2></center><br><br> + +<p>RIVER LOIRE, FROM NANTES TO ANGERS.</p><br> + + +<p>The Loire is one of the finest rivers in France; and perhaps there is +no river in the world, that equals that part of it, which flows from +Angers to Nantes: the breadth of the stream; the islands of wood; the +boldness, culture, and richness of its banks, all conspire to +render it worthy of this character. As a useful river it is equally +celebrated: its banks being bordered by rich and populous cities; and +the benefits it renders to industry and commerce being incalculable.</p> + +<p>Its stream is so rapid and strong, that in ascending it is generally +necessary from Nantes to Angers, to track the barge: this mode of +proceeding, though slow, has its advantages; as it gives greater time +and opportunity for observing all the various beauties of scenery +which present themselves at every turn of the river.</p> + +<p>I embarked early in the morning with a favourable breeze from the +west: we soon began to be interested, and almost enchanted, with the +rich and beautiful scenery, which almost every moment opened to our +view in endless variety. This scenery not only pleased the eye and +imagination by its beauty, but also excited high and deep interest +by the fertility which it displayed. The banks were lined with corn +fields, vineyards, or orchards. Occasionally the nature and interest +of the prospect were agreeably diversified by the spire of a convent +or the turrets of a chateau, rising above gardens or groves, or rich +woodlands. At other places there were still more decided marks of +population, for villages, country-houses, and farms, caught the eye, +and added to the charms by which it was so willingly and powerfully +detained.</p> + +<p>The whole country on each side is well cultivated. But even this part +of France, interesting and beautiful as it is, cannot be traversed +without the recollection of the horrors of the revolution breaking in +upon, and greatly damping the interest and pleasure derived from the +view of the scenery. As we approached the ruined tower of Oudon, +it was impossible not to feel a melancholy regret at the scenes of +unparalleled bloodshed that took place on the rich and delightful +banks of this river during the phrenzy of the revolution. These +dreadful recollections assailed us most powerfully as we came in view +of Ancenis on the left, and of Saint Florent le Viel to the right. +At the latter place we stopped for the night. It was a fine serene +evening, the wind had left us, and we were forced to track the shore +for some distance before we reached it: just as the sun was setting I +made a sketch of its ruined convent on the hill.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: TOUR D'OUDON on the RIVER LOIRE.] [Illustration]</p> + +<p>After the defeat of the Vendean army, and their retreat across the +Loire at this place, says a French writer, "There were seen upon +the right bank, following the army, which increased prodigiously, +a multitude of bishops, priests, monks, religious persons, old +countesses, baronesses, etc. etc. who were carried off by cart-loads, +and which did nothing but embarrass the army.[11] There were a great +many of them killed at the battle of Mans."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 11: On gaining the heights of St. Florent, one of the most +mournful, and at the same time most magnificent spectacles, burst upon +the eye. These heights form a vast semicircle; at the bottom of which +a broad bare plain extends to the edge of the water. Near an hundred +thousand unhappy souls now blackened over that dreary expanse,--old +men, infants and women, mingled, with the half-armed soldiery, +caravans, crowded baggage waggons and teams of oxen, all full of +despair, impatience, anxiety and terror:--Behind, were the smoke +of their burning villages, and the thunder of the hostile +artillery;--before, the broad stream of the Loire, divided by a long +low island, also covered with the fugitives,--twenty frail barks +plying in the stream--and, on the far banks, the disorderly movements +of those who had effected the passage, and were waiting there to be +rejoined by their companions. Such, Mad. de L. assures us, was the +tumult and terror of the scene, and so awful the recollections it +inspired, that it can never be effaced from the memory of any of +those who beheld it; and that many of its awe-struck spectators have +concurred in stating, that it brought forcibly to their imaginations +the unspeakable terrors of the great day of judgment.--<i>Edinb. Rev. +No. LI. p. 24.</i>]</p> + +<p>It is said that when the Prince Talmont, with the royalists, crossed +over from Saint Florent, under the fire of the republican troops who +had taken possession of the heights, they consisted of thirty thousand +individuals, but that there were not twenty thousand warriors; among +them were five thousand women: arrived in the open country, without +warlike stores, they soon wanted provisions. This multitude created +a famine wherever it went, and suffered a famine itself. The first +unsuccessful enterprize produced discouragement, and necessarily the +desertion of the army: it diminished two-thirds when it was repulsed +at Angers; and when the chiefs, despairing (after the battle of Mans) +of not being able to recross the Loire at Ancenis, led back the wrecks +of the army to Savenay, it consisted only of fifteen thousand men, +half dead with hunger and misery: the major part of these were +exterminated by the republicans; the rest dispersed themselves, and +from that time all efforts ceased. Prince de Talmont was arrested near +Erne, tried at Rennes, and executed at Laval: of the fate of Lescure +and the other chiefs, a melancholy catalogue is furnished by Madame de +la Roche-Jaquelin.</p> + +<p>The wind favoring us the day following, we sailed at break of day, and +arrived at Angers at the close of a beautiful evening. The approach to +this town, in sailing up the river Mayenne, is highly picturesque; its +ancient castle is situated on a high rock overhanging the river; its +walls and antique towers, built by the English, have an imposing +effect. The town stands in a plain, which, in the distance, being +fringed with wood, together with the corn and meadow ground, give it +that richness and beauty that characterizes the whole country between +Nantes and Angers. The river Mayenne, and a small branch of the +Loire, divide the town. It is the chief seat of the province of +Maine-et-Loire, formerly the capital of Anjou. It is a large ancient +city, with a fine cathedral, a botanical garden, museum, and +several manufactories of cottons; one of them in imitation of India +handkerchiefs. Here the last effort was made by the Vendeans, whose +flight from it was immediately followed by the bloody and disastrous +affair of Mans.</p> + +<p>I had now passed the provinces of Bretagne and Poitou, as they border +the Loire; and, in point of beautiful and romantic scenery, this +district can scarcely be surpassed. The left bank of the river, +running along the country of Le Bocage, from Nantes to Angers, a +distance of seventy-two miles, is a continued range of lofty hills, +agreeably diversified with corn lands, and studded with vineyards. The +opposite bank is a more flat and variegated country, with pleasant +eminences and broad plains, watered by branches of the Loire, which in +many parts contains small islands covered with trees. The whole course +of this fine river, as the eye sweeps and ranges over its banks, +presents at almost every bend the view of villas enriched with +gardens, orchards, and vineyards; castles, convents, and villages in +ruins! bearing innumerable evidences of the desolating war that has +destroyed them.</p> + +<p>The religious communities, whose love of scenery and retirement in +general led them to prefer the most sequestered valleys, have in these +provinces chosen the most elevated and picturesque spots for the +erection of their monasteries; and these, notwithstanding their +deserted and decaying state, prove the good taste of their ancient +possessors, and the skill and industry with which they embellished +them. No situations could have been selected more abounding in +picturesque combinations of magnificent landscapes.</p> + +<p>The pleasure of the traveller in surveying such scenes, cannot but be +frequently interrupted, by the recollection of the various atrocities +which the inhabitants of these fine provinces committed against each +other, and of the immense number of innocent victims that were driven +from their abode to perish by famine or the sword.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. VIII.</H2></center><br><br> + +<p>SAUMUR TO TOURS--TOURS--TOURS TO BLOIS--ORLEANS--AND ORLEANS TO +PARIS.</p><br> + + +<p>I hired a small carriage, called a <i>patache</i>, to convey me to Saumur +and Tours; it is driven by a postillion with two horses, and is open +in front, giving the traveller a better opportunity of viewing the +country than in a close vehicle.</p> + +<p>The town of Saumur is built on both banks of the Loire, with a +handsome stone bridge over it; an ancient castle, built on a high +rock, commands the whole town. The road from Angers to this place is a +high raised causeway, paved, and runs parallel to the river, within +a few paces of its banks, the whole distance. Here we entered into +Touraine from the province of Anjou. From Saumur to Tours, the road +is like the former. The river Loire is on the right hand, and a flat +level country on the left, covered with orchards, groves, and meadows. +The road is every where raised so high, that it forms a very steep +declivity, with narrow pathways down to the entrance of the cottages +and villages, which are most romantically situated,--some in orchards, +some amidst vineyards, some in gardens, and others in recesses peeping +from between the trees. The fences are fantastically interwoven with +wreaths of the vines, which frequently creep up the trunk of a pear or +a cherry-tree, and cover the slated roofs of the houses, thereby, from +the natural luxuriance and wildness of their spreading branches in the +fruit season, answering at once the purposes of utility and ornament; +for the slates, retaining the heat, ripen the grape sooner than any +other mode of training. The corn was now ripe, and added to the +interest and beauty of the scenes; in many of the fields the reapers +were at work, and the harvest (which happily for France had not been +so abundant for many years) was going on with the assistance of the +female peasantry, who on all occasions partake and cheer the labours +of the field.</p> + +<p>Approaching nearer to Tours, I had a fine view of the bridge, which is +esteemed the handsomest in France. Between the branches of the trees, +I now and then caught a glimpse of the spires of the church and +buildings, encompassed by extensive orchards and groves, and open +vales between, varied by vineyards. It was a <i>jour de fête</i>, and as I +drove through the town the streets were gay with holyday people, and +crowded in some places with groups of women and girls, whose cheerful +countenances proved the admiration with which they viewed the +performances of some mountebanks.[12] Tours is the chief seat of the +préfecture of the Indre-et-Loire, formerly the capital of the province +of Touraine, and is built on a plain on the bank of the Loire. The +houses are of a white stone, and in the principal streets well built +and lofty: it is altogether one of the handsomest towns in France. The +main street, the rue Royale, can boast of a foot pavement, which is +seldom to be met with in this country. The environs of the town are +also very beautiful; the luxuriance of the soil, abounding in vines, +fruits, and every article of life, has attracted such numbers of +English to its vicinity, that Tours may be almost considered an +English colony.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 12: There is no city in Europe where there are more of +these sort of people to be seen than at Paris, on the boulevards and +different carrefours. The fondness of the Parisians for shows has +existed for ages. In a tariff of Saint Lewis for regulating the duties +upon the different articles brought into Paris by the gate of the +little Châtelet, it is ordained, (Hist. LVIII. cxxxiii.) that +whosoever fetches a monkey into the city for sale, shall pay four +deniers; but if the monkey belongs to a merry-andrew, the merry-andrew +shall be exempted from paying the duty, as well upon the said monkey +as on every thing else he carries along with him, by causing his +monkey to play and dance before the collector! Hence is derived the +proverb "Payer en monnoie de singe," i.e. to laugh at a man instead of +paying him. By another article, it is specified, that jugglers shall +likewise be exempt from all imposts, provided they sing a couplet of a +song before the toll-gatherer.]</p> + + +<p>Its ancient cathedral is in good preservation, notwithstanding it +became a prey to the licentious fanaticism of the republicans.</p> + +<p>The hotel Saint Julien, where I resided during my stay, stands upon +the cloisters of an ancient abbey; and the church, with its fine +Gothic pillars, and chapels, remains a monument of those destructive +and desolating times! The side aisles are stalls for horses and +cattle, and the centre is a <i>remise</i> for carriages and the public +diligences which run to this inn! The best hotel is the hotel du +Faisan. The vast number of English who keep pouring into all the +western provinces of this country, by degrees has affected the +markets, and will continue to do so, as long as the rage for +emigration lasts. At Tours, every article is one third dearer than at +Nantes, and in proportion as the capital is approached every thing +becomes more expensive; yet notwithstanding this, living is, and must +ever be, infinitely cheaper than in England.</p> + +<p>It certainly is no exaggeration to say, that France is richer in the +production of fruits and vegetables than any country in Europe, for in +no other can be found so many productions of the same climates of the +earth, or a soil more naturally abundant. With the exception of some +of the northern provinces, every part of France has wine, and the +culture of that delicious fruit which produces it is mentioned in its +earliest records. By a happy distribution, those provinces which do +not bear the vine, are abundantly supplied with other productions. +Normandy and Bretagne abound in the finest fruits; Picardy, and the +adjoining provinces, in corn. The riches of Lorraine are in its woods; +Touraine has ever been famous for its plums and its pears. The banks +of the Loire, and the valleys of Dauphiné, are celebrated for the +richness of their verdure and vegetation; and the more southern +provinces of Languedoc and Provence, partake of the climate and +productions of Italy and Spain.</p> + +<p>Between Tours and Amboise, I passed the once celebrated Château of +Chanteloup, formerly the property of the Duc de Choiseuil, now the +residence of the Comte de Chaptal, who became the purchaser when it +was sold as national property.</p> + +<p>At the distance of six miles from Blois, the road leads near enough to +Valençay to have a good view of its magnificent palace and grounds; +this place, now belonging to M. de Talleyrand, Prince et Duc de +Benevento, (one of the most extraordinary characters who have figured +so conspicuously during the present age,) is the more interesting, +from having been so long the place of confinement of Ferdinand the +present King of Spain; and from whence our government tried to +extricate him through the agency of Baron de Kolly, who lost his life +in the attempt. This singular transaction has appeared in all the +public papers, but having had an opportunity of collecting the +particulars through a channel of undoubted authority, I consider it an +anecdote of too interesting a nature, as connected with the subject +before me, not to insert it here.</p> + +<p>In 1810, our government laid a plan to liberate King Ferdinand VII. of +Spain, similar to the one which had already effected the escape of +the Marquis de la Romana. The person entrusted with this commission, +assumed the name of Baron de Kolly, and besides the necessary credit +and credentials, he was furnished with the original letter, written by +Charles IV. to George III. in 1802, notifying the marriage of his son, +the Prince of the Asturias, and containing a marginal note from the +Marquis W.... in corroboration of his mission. A small squadron was +also sent to cruize off that part of the coast most contiguous to +Valençay, under the orders of Commodore C.... to be in readiness to +receive the royal fugitive. On a sudden the Baron de Kolly was seized, +and the plan frustrated, but the real particulars were never known +until after the events of the campaign of 1815.</p> + +<p>In the course of the passage to St. Helena, Admiral C.... (who +had been entrusted with the project) expressed a wish to know of +Buonaparte, by what means de Kolly had been discovered and arrested, +and the true circumstances of the affair so totally unknown in +England, adding, that if no motive of state policy intervened, he was +anxious to hear the whole disclosure. Buonaparte readily consented, +and told him that de Kolly arrived at Paris and lived in the greatest +obscurity, dressed shabbily, and eating his meals only at cheap +traiteurs in the Fauxbourg St. Antoine. However, he was not satisfied +with the common wine served up, and would ask for the best Bordeaux, +for which he paid five francs per bottle. This contrast of poverty and +luxury excited suspicions in the waiters of the two houses he thus +frequented, who being in the pay of the police, immediately sent in a +report. De Kolly was watched, and soon afterwards seized with all +his papers. Buonaparte said he then procured a person, as nearly +resembling de Kolly as could be found, to carry on the English +stratagem, under a hope that Ferdinand would have fallen into the +trap; and with all the original credentials, this agent of the French +police went into the castle of Valençay, under a pretext of selling +some trinkets. Ferdinand however, said Buonaparte, was too great a +coward to enter into the views proposed to him, but instantly gave +information of what had been communicated, to his first chamberlain, +Amazada, in a letter written to the governor of the castle!--By this +means Ferdinand escaped being placed at the mercy of Buonaparte, whose +intention was to intercept him in his flight.</p> + +<p>Although the conduct of Ferdinand was in this instance pusillanimous +and cruel, it was next to an impossibility that he could have +effected his escape. He was surrounded by guards and spies of every +description, under the superintendence of M. Darberg, Auditor of the +Council of State, and without whose leave no admittance could be +obtained. Twenty-five horse gendarmes regularly mounted guard about +the castle, and every person found in its vicinity without a regular +passport, was confined and strictly examined.</p> + +<p>At a small distance, is the residence of Marshal Victor, Duc de +Belluno, whom I met walking in the grounds. I was very civilly +permitted to enter, on sending a message desiring permission, as a +traveller, to see it. It stands at the entrance of the village of +Ménard, and was once the favourite residence of Madame de Pompadour, +the mistress of Louis XV. The river Loire winds beautifully beneath +the terrace. The grounds are of a vast extent, and tastefully laid +out. Over the entrance, the workmen were then placing the arms of the +Marshal, finely executed in stone.</p> + +<p>The country is thickly enclosed on each side of the river, varied with +hill and dale, clothed with vineyards. The villages and small towns +along the banks, as far as Orléans, are numerous and invariably +picturesque. Nothing can be more beautiful than the natural festoons +which are formed by the long shoots of the vines as they project over +the road. The peasants and the vignerons live in the midst of their +vineyards; their dwellings are excavations in chalky strata of the +solid rock, which afford them warm and dry habitations; some of them +were so covered with the vines that the entrance was scarcely visible, +and the comparison of them to so many birds nests is not badly +imagined. The hedges were covered with wild thyme and rosemary; and +the clematis interwoven with honeysuckles and other fragrant flowers, +richly perfumed the air. The grapes in Touraine and Orléanois are not +abundant this year, but the wine that is expected to be made, will, +it is supposed, from the dryness of the summer, be of an excellent +quality.</p> + +<p>The town of Orléans is memorable for the siege it sustained against +the English in 1428, when the maid of Orléans acquired so much renown, +and whose barbarous execution at Rouen, cannot be remembered without +feelings of horror and indignation, and must ever remain a stain on +the memory of that brave soldier the Duke of Bedford. The transactions +subsequent to that event, led to the almost entire expulsion of the +English from France; and those glittering conquests which were an +object of more glory than interest, and had been purchased at such an +expense of blood and treasure, were from that time lost to the English +nation.</p> + +<p>During the Revolution, the ancient statue of this celebrated female +was taken down and unfortunately destroyed, and one more modern, but +less interesting, finely executed in bronze, has been since erected. +She is habited in armour, with a lance and shield, supposed to +be leading on the victorious troops. At the four angles, are the +emblematical figures in relief, of the principal events of her +singular career. On a marble pedestal, is inscribed:</p> + +<p> A JEANNE D'ARC.</p> + +<p>Orléans is the chief seat of the department of the Loiret, formerly +the capital of Orléanais, on the river Loire, over which it has a +handsome bridge like the one at Tours, though not of such extent, as +the river here is not so wide, and very shallow. The communication by +water with Paris is carried on by means of a canal.</p> + +<p>The church is one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture I +have seen in France. The towers are of open fretwork, and in excellent +preservation. More cheerful scenes of exuberant fertility are nowhere +to be met with than along the banks of the river, and in the country +surrounding the town.</p> + +<p>From Orléans to Etampes, there is a plain of eighteen leagues in +extent, the whole of which was covered with one entire tract of corn +and vines; not an intervening hill or hillock; and the scene was +doubly interesting from the harvest carrying on in every direction as +I traversed it.</p> + +<p>Leaving Etampes, I passed through the beautiful villages of Sceaux, +Bourg-la-Reine, and Fontenay-aux-Roses; the latter still contains the +ruins of the Palace of Colbert, the celebrated minister of Louis XIV.</p> + +<p>The village of Fontenay-aux-Roses, is situated in a valley six miles +from Paris, and takes its name from the culture of roses, which cover +large tracts of ground. The proprietors sell the flowers to the +distillers for making rose water and essences, and the flower market +is supplied with the choicest bouquets; it is likewise celebrated for +its produce of the finest strawberries and peaches.</p> + +<p>The beauty of its situation, and the association of its name with the +sweetest of flowers, has attracted many of the wealthy inhabitants +of the metropolis to reside in its vicinity, where they have summer +houses; among them is the Maire de Fontenay, Monsieur Ledru, whose +history is singular and interesting.</p> + +<p>His father, who was very wealthy, and a great miser, sent for him one +morning, at the time he had just attained his eighteenth year, and +said to him: "I began life at your age with half a crown; there is one +for you--go, and be as fortunate as I have been;"--saying which, he +turned him out of the house, and shut the door in his face.</p> + +<p>Undismayed at such unexpected and unnatural conduct on the part of his +parent, whom he had never offended, the youth sought the advice and +assistance of a friend, by whose opinion he applied himself to the +study of medicine. After an indefatigable study at the Hotel Dieu, he +became celebrated in his profession, and had the good fortune to +be employed by a lady of great wealth, whose life he saved. Out of +gratitude, she proposed to become his wife, and to settle upon him an +income of fifty thousand livres, that he might give up his medical +pursuits; which, having accepted, he rewarded her by an attention and +kindness suitable to the noble generosity of her conduct.</p> + +<p>The revolution soon after occurred, and in the general wreck of +property she lost all her fortune, it having been invested, either +in the funds, or public securities. It then became the turn of Mons. +Ledru to support his wife, by renewing the practice of his profession, +which soon placed them again in affluent circumstances.</p> + +<p>At the death of his father, who left an immense fortune to be divided +between Mons. Ledru and his two maiden sisters, he took possession +of the estate at Fontenay-aux-Roses, from whence he had been cruelly +banished when a boy, and which the unkindness of his parent had never +after permitted him to enter. Fortune, which had hitherto played a +wayward and capricious game with him, had not yet ceased her freaks. +In removing a mirror from over a chimney-piece which required an +alteration, he discovered a prodigious treasure that had been +concealed there by his father! With that generosity and nobleness +of character, which make him esteemed and beloved by all his +acquaintance, and adored by the whole commune over which he presides, +he instantly sent for his sisters and divided it with them. His wife +did not long survive this last event, and since her death he has +continued to reside at Fontenay-aux-Roses with his sisters, where +he exercises his authority with mildness; and by constant acts of +beneficence and charity, is justly styled, "Le Père de Fontenay!"</p> + +<p>Between Fontenay-aux-Roses and Paris, to the right of the road, is the +village of Gentilly, whose numerous guinguettes are much frequented +by the Parisians in fine weather. It being a holyday we met crowds of +well dressed citizens, in all sorts of vehicles, driving towards it. +An interesting circumstance had been related to me of the curé of this +village, M. Détruissart; and on asking permission to visit his rural +habitation, I found the story to be true. His garden, which is not +above half an acre, has been laid out with such art and ingenuity, as +to give an idea of considerable extent, and to add to the charms of +this little spot, which he calls his "bonheur," there are a variety of +inscriptions of his own composition; over an arbour of vines is the +following:</p> + + +<p> MA SOLITUDE.<br><br> + + Loin des méchans, du bruit, des tempêtes du monde,<br> + Sous un simple berceau dont la treille est féconde,<br> + Sous un modeste toît, dans de rians jardins,<br> + Dessinés, élevés, cultivés par mes mains;....<br> + C'est dans ces lieux chéris que s'écoule ma vie<br> + Dans une paix profonde, une tranquillité<br> + Qui sans cesse rappele à mon ame ravie<br> + Le temps de l'âge d'or et ma félicité:<br> + Mais, quelque doux qu'il soit, mon sort est peu de chose;<br> + Car enfin, après tout, je dois mourir bientôt!<br> + Ne ressemblons-nous pas à la feuille de rose<br> + Qui paroît un instant et qui sèche aussitôt!</p> + +<p>It was in the practice of the moral conveyed by these lines, and in +the pursuit of literature, and constant acts of charity, that Mons. +Détruissart passed his life, which was rewarded by the esteem and +affection of all his parishioners, of which they gave a remarkable +proof on the 4th of July, 1815, when the Prussian troops took post at +Gentilly, from whence they had driven the French the preceding evening +into Paris.</p> + +<p>The poor curé, with many other of the inhabitants, sought refuge +in the capital, leaving his house at the mercy of the enemy, who +commenced plundering in all directions; the humble and modest +appearance of M. Détruissart's cottage not attracting their notice, +it remained untouched, when a single word from any of the inhabitants +would have devoted it to ruin; but such was their esteem for him, that +at his return he found every thing as he had left it.</p> + +<p>I entered Paris, leaving Bicêtre to my right, by the barrière d'Enfer, +after one of the most agreeable and interesting journeys I ever +performed.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. IX.</H2></center><br><br> + +<p>ENVIRONS OF PARIS--PERE LA CHAISE--CASTLE OF VINCENNES--AND CHATEAU OF +ST. GERMAIN--ITS FOREST AND VICINITY.</p><br> + + +<p>Prior to the revolution, the French, like most other European nations, +were in the practice of depositing their dead in churches and +cemeteries within the most populous towns, in compliance with those +precepts of evangelical doctrine which recommend us unceasingly to +reflect on death; and hence originated a custom which cannot but be +attended with most pernicious consequences to health, when we reflect +that the decomposition of human bodies is productive of putrid +exhalations, and consequently pregnant with the causes of contagious +disorders. It is indeed surprising that some regulations have not +hitherto been adopted in England regarding the interment of the dead, +from the example of other countries.</p> + +<p>In the year 1793, a decree was passed by the National Assembly, to +prevent burying in churches, or in church-yards, within the city of +Paris. Since which period, there have been three places selected in +its immediate neighbourhood for that purpose--Montmartre, called "Le +Champ du Repos"--Vaugirard, and Père La Chaise.</p> + +<p>Quitting the Boulevards, at the extremity of the Boulevards Neufs, +eastward of the city, and passing through the Barrière d'Aulnay, I +arrived at the Père La Chaise. At the entrance, through large folding +gates, is a spacious court-yard, having at one angle the dwelling +of the Concierge, or Keeper. The enclosure contains one hundred and +twenty acres, on a gently rising ground, in the centre of which stands +the ancient mansion constructed by Louis XIV. for his confessor, Père +la Chaise, the celebrated Jesuit, who, with Madame de Maintenon, +governed France. Rising above the thousands of tombs which surround +it, it displays itself a wrecked and mouldering monument of ancient +splendour, and the mutability of human affairs! This spot became +afterwards a place of public promenade and great resort, from the +beauty of its position overlooking all Paris; and though so often +the scene of festivity and pleasure, now presents to the eye of the +beholder a mournfully interesting sight of tombs and sarcophagi, +intermixed with various fruit trees, cypress groves, the choicest +flowers, and rarest shrubs.</p> + +<p>From the rising ground, above the building of Père La Chaise, a most +delightful view displays itself. The city of Paris appears to stand +in the centre of a vast amphitheatre. The heights of Belleville, +Montmartre, and Ménilmontant, in the west. To the east, the beautiful +plain of Saint-Mandé, Montreuil, and Vincennes, with the lofty towers +of its fortress.--The fertile banks of the river Marne, are on the +North, and in the South, the horizon encircles Bicêtre and Meudon.</p> + +<p>The various tombs are placed without order or regularity: they are +mostly enclosed with trellis work of wood, sometimes by iron railing; +and consist of a small marble column, a pyramid, a sarcophagus, or a +single slab, just as may have suited the fancy or the taste of the +friends of the departed.--Some surrounded with cypress, some with +roses, myrtles, and the choicest exotics; others with evergreens, and +not unfrequently a single weeping willow, with the addition of a rose +tree!</p> + +<p>This intermixture of the sweetest scented flowers and fruit trees, in +a burying ground, among the finest pieces of sculptured marble, with +evergreens growing over them, in the form of arbours, and furnished +with seats, cannot fail to produce in the mind of the person who views +it for the first time, peculiar and uncommon feelings of domestic +melancholy, mingled with pleasing tenderness.</p> + +<p>Who could be otherwise than powerfully affected, as I was, by the +first objects that presented themselves to me on entering the +place?--A mother and her two sons, kneeling in pious devotion at the +foot of the husband's and the father's grave! At a short distance, a +female of elegant form, watering and dressing the earth around some +plants at her lover's tomb!--not a day, and seldom an hour, passes, +but some one is seen either weeping over the remains of a departed +relative, or watching with pious solicitude the flowers that spring up +around it.</p> + +<p>Among the many interesting objects that presented themselves at my +first visit, was the tomb of Abélard and Héloïse, which had not long +since been removed from the convent of the Augustins, where I had seen +it in 1815.</p> + +<p>At a little distance, to the left of the former, was the burial place +of Labédoyère. The fate of this brave and unfortunate officer is well +known; his youth, and misled zeal, have procured him a sympathy which +his fellow sufferer Marshal Ney did not find, and did not merit.</p> + +<p>In the centre of a square plot of ground enclosed with lattice work, +is erected a wooden cross, painted black. Neither marble, nor stone, +nor letters, indicate his name. Two pots of roses, and a tuft of +violets, alone marked the spot, which is carefully weeded. There is +something more affecting in all this simplicity, something, in my +mind, that goes more directly home to the heart, than in the most +splendid monument or the most studied eulogium. As we came suddenly up +we saw two females clad in deep mourning, weeping over it; at each +arm of the cross was suspended a garland of flowers; we were about to +retire again immediately, from the fear of disturbing their melancholy +devotions, when the concierge, with a brutality indescribable, rushed +forward, and removing the garlands, threw them among the shrubs at a +considerable distance. The friend who accompanied me, after searching, +recovered one of the garlands, and with more gallantry perhaps than +policy, immediately replaced it, and reproaching the keeper with his +unmanly conduct, vowed vengeance if he dared to interrupt the ladies, +again, when bowing to them we retired.</p> + +<p>As we were about to quit the place some time after, we were arrested +by two gendarmes, and it was not till after a detention of some +hours, and a long discussion between the police officers who had +been summoned to attend, and being threatened to be sent to the +Conciergerie prison, that we were allowed to depart.</p> + +<p>The following words were engraved on a plain marble slab that covered +the remains of Marshal Ney.</p> + +<p> CI GIT<br> + LE MARÉCHAL NEY<br> + DUC D'ECHLINGEN<br> + PRINCE DE MOSCOWA<br> + DÉCÉDÉ le 7, Decembre, 1815.</p> + +<p>The grave of the Marshal, as well as that of Labédoyère, when I again +visited the spot, had been stripped of every thing, and the railing +around them removed so as to prevent any one from discovering the +place of their interment.</p> + +<p>The monument of Madame Cottin, the author of Elizabeth and of +Mathilde, is, like her writings, simple and affecting!-Surrounded by a +trellis work in the form of an arbour, planted with rose trees, stands +a pillar of the whitest marble, highly polished, inclining +forwards, and engraved with:</p> + +<p> ICI REPOSE<br> + Marie-Sophie Risteav<br> + Veuve de J.M. Cottin<br> + Décédée le 25 Août.<br> + 1815.</p> + +<p>Near this is the tomb of the esteemed and celebrated poet Delille, the +"Songster of the Gardens," as the French term him. The monument is +enclosed in a small garden, planted with the choicest flowers and +shrubs: it is of white marble, of large dimensions, and approached +by an <i>allée verte</i>. The door leading to the vault is of brass, with +emblematical figures in relief: above the entrance is inscribed in +letters of gold.</p> + +<p>JACQVES-DELILLE.</p> + +<p>The linden tree, intermixed with various evergreens, form an +interesting and beautiful bouquet around it.</p> + +<p>Beyond this, to the right, are the tombs of Grétry the composer, +Fourcroy the great chemist, Fontenelle, Boileau, Racine, and of +Mademoiselle Raucourt, the celebrated actress, to whom the bigotry +of the clergy refused burial in consecrated ground in 1815! a +circumstance which gave rise to much clamour and dissatisfaction. It +is surprising, that after such events as have been experienced in +France, the folly of denying the right of consecrated ground to a +comedian should have been persevered in, <i>after the restoration</i> of +Louis XVIII!</p> + +<p>Close to the tomb of Mad'lle Raucourt, is one, which for its affecting +simplicity and modesty, struck me very forcibly: in a little garden of +roses and lilies, and amidst some tufts of mignonette which appeared +to have been newly watered, stood a plain marble column, with the +words as represented in the annexed sketch--an accacia shaded it from +the sun's rays. In 1814, when the Allies approached +Paris, this height, like the others commanding the capital, was +fortified, and occupied by the students of the Polytechnical School, +who defended it with great gallantry. The walls were perforated with +holes for the musketry: the marks are still visible where they have +been since filled up. On the 30th of March, 1814, this position +was vigorously attacked, with great slaughter on both sides: the +assailants and the assailed fell in heaps, and it was not until +the chief part of a Prussian corps, (that afterwards carried it by +assault) had been annihilated, that the brave youths gave way.</p> + +<p>[Illustration]</p> + +<p>The tomb of my early friend and brother officer, the brave and +unfortunate Captain Wright, who was murdered in the Temple, is in +the cemetery of Vaugirard. I had searched for it in vain at Père la +Chaise, where it was reported he had been buried. It has on it the +following inscription, written to his memory by his companion in arms, +and in imprisonment, the gallant Sir Sidney Smith:</p> + +<p> HERE LIES INHUMED<br> + JOHN WESLEY WRIGHT,<br> + BY BIRTH AN ENGLISHMAN,<br> + CAPTAIN IN THE BRITISH NAVY<br><br> + + Distinguished both among his own Countrymen and Foreigners<br> + For skill and courage;<br><br> + + To whom,<br> + Of those things which lead to the summit of glory,<br> + Nothing was wanting but opportunity:<br><br> + + His ancestors, whose virtues he inherited,<br> + He honoured by his deeds.<br><br> + + Quick in apprehending his orders,<br> + Active and bold in the execution of them;<br><br> + + In success modest,<br> + In adverse circumstances firm,<br> + In doubtful enterprises, wise and prudent.<br><br> + + Awhile successful in his career;<br> + At length assailed by adverse winds, and on an hostile shore,<br> + He was captured;<br><br> + + And being soon after brought to Paris,<br> + Was confined in the prison called the Temple,<br> + <i>Infamous for midnight murders</i>,<br> + And placed in the most rigid custody:<br><br> + + But in bonds,<br> + And suffering severities still more oppressive,<br> + His fortitude of mind and fidelity to his country<br> + Remained unshaken.<br><br> + + A short time after,<br> + He was found in the morning with his throat cut.<br> + And dead in his bed:<br><br> + + He died the 28th October, 1805, aged 36.<br> + To be lamented by his Country,<br> + Avenged by his God!</p> + + +<p>THE DONJON, OR CASTLE OF VINCENNES.</p> + + +<p>This ancient fortress is situate at the entrance of the forest of +Vincennes, (now reduced to a wood of small trees, the large timber +having been cut down during the revolution) and surrounded by a deep +ditch of great width, about two miles from the Barrière du Trône. +During many ages, it had been the casual residence of the sovereigns +of France. Philip de Valois added considerably to its dimensions in +1337. John continued the works, and during his captivity in England, +Charles his son, then regent of the kingdom, finished it.</p> + +<p>During the reign of Charles VII. in 1422, Henry VI. of England died in +this castle. From this time Vincennes became a royal residence, until +the reign of Louis XIV. when that monarch fixed himself at Versailles, +from which period it has never been used but as a prison[13]. + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 13: Monstrelet relates a curious anecdote, during the +residence at the Castle of Vincennes of Isabeau de Bavière, strongly +illustrative of the barbarous manners of those times. "Lewis de +Bourbon, who was handsome and well made, and had signalized himself +upon various occasions, and amongst others at the battle of Agincourt, +going one night, as was customary, to visit the Queen, Isabeau de +Bavière, at the Castle of Vincennes, met the King (Charles VI.); he +saluted him, without either stopping or alighting from his horse, +but continued galloping on. The King having recollected him, ordered +Tangui du Chatel, prévost of Paris, to pursue, and to confine him in +prison. At night the <i>question</i> was applied, and he was afterwards +tied up in a sack and cast into the Seine, with this inscription upon +the sack, 'Let the King's justice take place.'"]</p> + +<p>Dulaure, a French writer, in speaking of the persons who were confined +here, observes, it would be difficult to enumerate the number of +individuals that have been shut up in this prison within these few +years. "We will merely notice," he says, "the celebrated Count +Mirabeau, who was confined from 1777 to 1780; here it was that he +translated his Tibulle, and Joannes Secundus, and wrote his 'Lettres +originales' to his mistress, Madame Lemonnier, which abound with +passages as affecting as the letters of Héloïse."</p> + +<p>This prison was thrown open during the reign of the unfortunate Louis +XVI. by the Baron de Breteuil, Minister of the Department of Paris +in 1784. In going over it, every one was penetrated with horror; and +feelings of the most melancholy interest were excited by reading the +various inscriptions on the walls, indicative of the hopeless misery +that had been experienced within them! Many were expressive of piety +and resignation at the approach of death!--others complaining of the +cruel oppression which had immured them! On one wall was written, "Il +faut mourir, mon frere; mon frere il faut mourir, quand il plaira à +Dieu." On the door of another prison were, "Beati qui persecutionem +patiuntur propter justitiam, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum." On +the same spot were, "Carcer Socratis, templum honoris."</p> + +<p>This Donjon remained unoccupied until 1791. At this period, the +prisons of the capital being filled with criminals, Government ordered +it to be prepared for the reception of that class of prisoners; but on +the massacres that followed, the mob either murdered or released them +all, after a bloody contest, and it remained again without prisoners +until the Imperial Government under Buonaparte. It was then garrisoned +by a detachment of the Imperial Guard, and multitudes of victims were +transferred there whose fate remains, and probably ever will remain, +unknown.</p> + +<p>It was to this place that the Duke D'Enghien, who was arrested the +15th March, 1804, at Ettenheim, in the Electorate of Baden, was +conducted the 20th of the same month, at five in the evening, and +condemned to death the night following, by a military commission, at +which Murat presided. He was accordingly shot on the 21st, at half +past four in the evening, in the ditch of the castle which looks +towards the forest, on the north side, and his body thrown into a +grave, ready dug to receive it, where he fell. The details of this +cruel and wanton act of barbarity are too well known to need any +repetition here.</p> + +<p>This spot is now marked by a wooden cross, enclosed by an iron +railing. The remains of the Prince were dug out on the 20th March, +1816, by order of Louis XVIII. and deposited with solemn funeral +ceremony in a coffin which is placed in the same apartment where the +council of war condemned him to suffer! since transformed info a +chapel. Under a cenotaph, covered with a cloth of gold, is placed the +coffin, with a prodigious large stone lying on it, the same that was +found lying on his head, and which from its weight had crushed his +skull!</p> + +<p>The apartment is hung with black cloth, and remains continually +lighted, with a guard placed over it. Mass is daily performed for the +repose of his soul, agreeable to the Catholic religion.</p> + +<p>On the lid of the coffin is the following inscription:</p> + +<p> Ici est Le Corps<br> + De Très-Haut, Très-Puissant Prince<br> + Louis-Antoine-Henri De Bourbon<br> + Duc D'Enghien, Prince du Sang<br> + Pair de France<br> + Mort A Vincennes, Le 21 Mars 1804<br> + A L'age de XXXI Ans VII mois XVIII Jours.</p> + +<p>A marble bust of the Prince, by Bosio, is placed at the entrance.</p> + +<p>During the periods of 1814 and 1815, when Paris was in possession +of the Allies, Vincennes continued under the command of General +Daumesnil, who declared that he held it for his country until the +Government was settled, and would not open its gates to a foreign +army. It was not attacked either of the times.</p> + +<p>It is approached by two gates, with drawbridges, and defended by +cannon on all sides. The fossé is of great depth, and dry, extending, +I should suppose, nearly a quarter of a mile. It has nine towers, of +prodigious height and solidity: the largest, at the south western +angle, called the Donjon, is considerably more elevated than the +others. The principal entrance is fronting the forest, on the north +side, in the form of a triumphal arch, with six pillars, ornamented +in bas-reliefs, and was decorated with marble statues, which were +destroyed when it was seized by the mob.</p> + +<p>The Donjon is surrounded by a separate ditch, within the other, of +forty feet depth, and is approached by two draw-bridges; one for +carriages, the other for foot passengers; and the main tower is +flanked by four other angular ones, each having a high turret. The +windows are treble barred within and without, so as to admit but a +faint glimmering light! Three gates of great solidity are to be passed +at the entrance; that which communicates with the draw-bridge of the +castle is secured both within and without. After passing the three +gates, there is a court, in the middle of which stands the Donjon. +Three other immense gates guard its entrance!</p> + +<p>The form of the Donjon is a square. The towers at the four angles are +divided into five floors, each having a separate stair-case, and +each floor is vaulted, with an apartment in the centre, sustained +by pillars, which are chimneys. At each of the four corners of the +apartment in the centre is a cell thirteen feet square. The towers are +encompassed on the third story by a large gallery on the outside, and +on the top of each there is a small circular terrace. Such is the +strength and prodigious solidity of this building, that it is said to +be capable of resisting the heaviest cannon, and is bomb proof. The +hand of time appears not to have made any impression on its outward +surface.</p> + +<p>The first hall is called "La chambre de la question:" its name +indicates sufficiently the horrid purposes to which it was +appropriated! So late as the year 1790 were to be seen chairs formed +of stone, where the unhappy victims were seated, with iron collars +fixed to the wall by heavy chains, that confined them to the spot +while undergoing the torture! In these prisons, deprived of air and +light, were beds of timber, on which they were allowed to repose +during the interval of their sufferings.</p> + +<p>The upper floor, named "La salle du conseil," from the Kings holding +their council there, while it was a royal residence, is secured by a +door of great solidity, and each prison at the angles had three doors +covered with iron plates, with double locks and treble bolts. The +doors were so contrived as to open crossways, each serving as a +security to the other. The first acted as a bar to the second, and +this to the third, so that it was necessary to close one before the +other could be opened.--Such was the mode of confinement in this +prison, the walls of which are sixteen feet thick, and the arches +thirty feet high.</p> + +<p>The other eight towers were also prisons. The one called "La tour de +la surintendance" contains cells six feet square; the bed places are +of stone. There is a square hole to descend into the vaults beneath, +where, like a tomb, the miserable prisoner was immured for ever!!! +Often, alas! for imaginary crimes, or for causes which make us shudder +at their wantonness and barbarity, an unfortunate victim has been torn +from the bosom of his family, to perish unheard of and unknown!</p> + +<p>The French Government have, I understand, issued an order to prevent +any one from entering this place from motives of curiosity; and let us +hope that the humane and enlightened policy of the restored Monarch +will close its cells for ever!</p> + +<p>The following beautiful lines, with which I close an account of the +most horribly interesting spot I ever visited, are from the pen of +Delille:</p> + +<p> ".......................... + Voyez gémir en proie à sa longue torture,<br> + Ce mortel confiné dans sa noire clôture.<br> + Pour unique plaisir et pour seul passe-temps,<br> + De sa lente journée il compte les instans,<br> + Ou de son noir cachot mesure l'étendue,<br> + Ou médite en secret sa fuite inattendue;<br> + Ou, de ceux qu'avant lui renferma la prison,<br> + Lit, sur ces tristes murs, la complainte et le nom:<br> + Et lui-même y traçant sa douloureuse histoire,<br> + A ceux qui le suivront en transmet la mémoire.<br> + C'est peu d'être enchaîné dans ces tristes tombeaux,<br> + Combien de souvenirs viennent aigrir ses maux!<br> + Hélas! tandis qu'auprès de leurs jeunes compagnes;<br> + Dans les riches cités, dans les vastes campagnes;<br> + Ses amis d'autrefois errent en liberté,<br> + Lorsque l'heure propice à la société,<br> + Reconduit chaque soir la jeunesse folâtre<br> + Aux entretiens joyeux, à la danse, au théâtre,<br> + Ou, d'un plaisir plus doux annonçant le retour,<br> + Du moment fortuné vient avertir l'amour,<br> + Il est seul; ... en un long et lugubre silence,<br> + Pour lui le jour s'achêve, et le jour recommence;<br> + Il n'entend point l'accent de la tendre amitié,<br> + Il ne voit point les pleurs de la douce pitié:<br> + N'ayant de mouvement que pour traîner des chaînes,<br> + Un coeur que pour l'ennui, des sens que pour les peines,<br> + Pour lui, plus de beaux jours, de ruisseau, de gazon;<br> + Cette vôute est son ciel, ces murs son horizon,<br> + Son regard, élevé vers les flambeaux célestes,<br> + Vient mourir dans la nuit de ses cachots funestes;<br> + Rien n'égaie à ses yeux leur morne obscurité;<br> + Ou si, par des barreaux avares de clarté,<br> + Un faible jour se glisse en ces antres funêbres,<br> + Il redouble pour lui les horreurs des ténêbres,<br> + Et, le coeur consumé d'un regret sans espoir,<br> + Il cherche la lumière et gémit de la voir."</p> + +<p>DELILLE. CHATEAU DE SAINT GERMAIN.</p> + +<p>This ancient pile of building is now a barrack for the King's Gardes +du Corps, containing two troops, one of Luxembourg, and the other of +Grammont, which are relieved every three months.</p> + +<p>It is supposed to have been built in the reign of Robert, but there +appears to be no certainty as to the exact period. It is interesting +to the English traveller, from having been the last refuge of James +the Second of England, and the residence, at various times, of very +celebrated and distinguished characters. It was taken, and pillaged, +and partly burnt, during the reign of Philip VI, in 1346, by Edward +the Third, and again by the English in 1419, and rebuilt by Francis +the First. During the war of the League in 1574, Catherine de Medicis +retired to this Castle, but from the predictions of an astrologer, +that she would die there, quitted it shortly after, and returned to +the Tuilleries, which Palace she had founded.[14] Henry the Fourth +often frequented Saint Germain. The Château Neuf, and one of the +towers, called Le Pavilion de Gabrielle, which is still in good +preservation, were erected by him, close to the Castle, for the +residence of his favourite, La belle Gabrielle:[15] and the superb +terrace was begun in his reign. From this spot the view is very +interesting and extensive: nothing can surpass the admirable +assemblage of hills, meadows, gardens, and vineyards, which charm the +eye, and which as they are viewed from its different points on a clear +summer's evening, appear at every turn, in new beauty, and endless +variety.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 14: According to Mezeray, this palace had its name from the +spot whereon it is situated, which was called Les Tuilleries, because +tiles (des tuiles) were made here. Catherine de Medicis built it 1564. +It consisted of nothing but the large square pavilion in the middle, +the two wings, and the two pavilions which terminate the wings. Henry +IV. Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. afterwards extended, elevated, and +embellished it. It is said to be neither so well proportioned, so +beautiful, or so regular, as it was at first. The Tuilleries is, +nevertheless, a very splendid palace. An astrologer having predicted +to Catherine de Medicis, that she would die near St. Germain, she +immediately flew, in a most superstitious manner, from all places +and churches that bore this name; she no more resorted to St. +Germain-en-Laye, and because her palace of the Tuilleries was situated +in the parish of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, she was at the expense of +building another, which was the Hotel de Soissons, near the church +of St. Eustache. When it was known to be Laurence de Saint Germain, +Bishop of Nazareth, who had attended her upon her death-bed, people +infatuated with astrology averred that the prediction had been +accomplished.]</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 15: Henri IV se plaisait beaucoup à Saint-Germain, et y vint +souvent, quand son coeur fut épris des charmes de la belle Gabrielle. +Ce prince galant et libéral, qui déjà lui avait prouvé son amour par +le don d'une infinité de maisons de campagne, aux environs de Paris, +voulut encore lui donner une preuve de sa tendresse, en bâtissant pour +elle, à deux cents toises de l'ancien château, une nouvelle et belle +habitation, qu'on appela le Château Neuf. Elevé sur les dessins +de l'architecte Marchand, il était surtout remarquable par son +architecture simple, ses nombreuses devises, les chiffres amoureux +et les emblèmes allégoriques qui le décoroient, et qui faisoient une +ingénieuse allusion à la passion du monarque pour sa mâitresse. +L'une des ailes de ce château s'appelait même le Pavillon de +Gabrielle.--<i>Hist. Topo. des Environs de Paris</i>.]</p> + +<p>The City of Paris is seen in the distance. The fine aqueduct of Marly, +the mountain de Coeur volant, Mount Calvary,[16] and Malmaison to the +right; in front the forest of Vésinet, and beyond it the vale of Saint +Denis; on the left the hills which encompass the beautiful vale of +Montmorency; the Seine winding at the foot, and extending its course +until it loses itself in the distance--all within one sweep of the +eye!--Such is the enchanting prospect which presents itself.</p> + +<p>It was at different times the residence of Louis XIII.[17] of Anne of +Austria, Christiana of Sweden, and of Madame La Valière, when Madame +de Montespan rivalled her in the affections of Louis XIV. After the +former had retired to the Convent of the Carmelites at Paris, it was +assigned in 1689 to the unfortunate James the Second, whose bigotry +had driven him from the throne of England. Here, together with his +Queen, and those of his court who fled with him to seek an asylum in +France, and surrounded by those priests and monks, whose pernicious +councils had led to his fall, the unhappy James remained until his +death, the 16th Sept. 1701. The apartment in which he breathed his +last is still preserved; but the whole of the interior has been very +much neglected. It served as a quarter for a body of Prussians in +1815, and the following year was a barrack for the English troops +quartered at St. Germain. A French poet of his time wrote these lines +descriptive of the life he led in his retirement.</p> + +<p> "C'est ici que Jacques second,<br> + Sans Ministres et sans maîtresse,<br> + Le matin allait à la Messe,<br> + Et le soir allait au sermon."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 16: On the top of this height is the Pavilion de Lucienne, +built by Madame Dubarry, Mistress to Louis XV. afterwards the property +of Madame La Princesse de Conti, now the residence of M. de Puy: at +the foot is the village of Lucienne, surrounded by numerous villas: +among the most remarkable is the residence of General Comte Campon.]</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 17: Lewis XIV. would not reside here, because the steeples +of the Abbey of St. Denis, where he was to be interred, could be +seen from the Château. The amount of the immense treasure which the +consequent erection of the Palace of Versailles cost was never known, +the King Mary Stewart, daughter of James, died here in April 1712, and +his Queen, in May 1718. These were the last persons of any consequence +who inhabited this palace, which in its exterior still preserves all +its ancient appearance of grandeur. It is built of stone, with a +facing of red brick, the windows are of great height, and the whole is +surrounded by a deep ditch, forming a very striking contrast to the +buildings of the present age, having destroyed the bills with his +own hand. In the neighbourhood of Versailles stands the celebrated +Military School of St. Cyr, which was originally an establishment for +the gratuitous admission of two hundred and fifty young ladies +of rank, who were to receive an education correspondent to their +situation in life. Madame de Maintenon is buried in the Chapel of the +Convent.]</p> + + +<p>FOREST OF SAINT GERMAIN.</p> + +<p>This forest is enclosed by a wall of thirty miles in circumference, +according to M. Prudhomme. It is now preserved exclusively for the Duc +de Berri, who is the Ranger.</p> + +<p>Of all the ancient forests with which Paris is surrounded, this is the +most extensive. It is stocked with prodigious quantities of game, with +deer, and wild boar. The pheasants and partridges are reared in an +extensive <i>faisanderie</i>, in the centre of the forest, enclosed by a +high wall, and such vigilance is exercised by the keepers, that no +person can possibly destroy the game. It is guarded by a captain and +two lieutenants, who have under them a corps of gardes de chasse.</p> + +<p>The royal chace is, at the commencement of the season, quite a state +ceremony, at which all the royal family and the court assemble to be +spectators. The dress of the hunt is green and gold, with gold laced +cocked hats and swords. The Duke invites his party, and gives them +permission to wear the uniform, which is considered a high honour.</p> + +<p>Nothing can be more delightful than the walks and rides through this +forest; the roads are kept in the best possible state. At intervals +are large open spaces called Etoiles, from whence branch off sometimes +ten and twelve roads with direction posts, each bearing a separate +name, either from some memorable event, or remarkable person; as the +croix de Poissy, croix de la Pucelle, croix de Montchevreuil, croix de +Berri, and croix de Noailles, etc. etc.</p> + +<p>A story is related of a lamentable occurrence which took place the 7th +June 1812, at the Etoile des Marres, and a similar one happened in +August this year, near the same spot.</p> + +<p>The first of these events was occasioned by the parents of a young +lady having refused their consent to her being married to her lover, +whose want of fortune was the chief obstacle. The lovers, in despair, +came to the fatal resolution of putting a period to their lives, and +this forest was fixed upon as the spot for the dreadful deed! Having +partaken of a repast which they had brought with them, and sworn +to love each other (if it were permitted them) after death, they +discharged, at the same moment, their pistols at themselves. The +unhappy girl fell dead, but the hand of her lover having missed its +aim, he was only wounded. Having no other means left of accomplishing +his dreadful purpose, he took the handkerchief from her bosom and +suspended himself by it to a tree. In this state they were discovered, +and their bodies deposited in the same grave! The other circumstance +was of the same romantic and melancholy nature.[18] This forest +supplies Paris with great quantities of wood. In 1814, and in 1815, +the palisades that were made to surround Paris for its defence against +the Allied armies, were cut in this wood, and the large timber has +consequently been greatly thinned.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 18: There never was known in this country so many fatal +instances of suicide as at the present period; few days. pass over +without some persons throwing themselves out of their windows, or into +the river Seine; and among the disappointed partizans of the late +ruler, it has been usual to hurl themselves from the top of the column +in the Place Vendôme, which has been shut up in consequence by an +order from Government.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE >Among the instances of deliberate self-destruction, the following is a +remarkable fact, inasmuch as it serves to prove the pernicious effects +of the writings of Voltaire and Rousseau in the minds of youth, when +at an age incapable of discriminating between fanaticism and real +piety!</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>The person in question was a youth not turned sixteen, who destroyed +himself last summer, while at college, and who left the following +paper as his last will. The lady who gave it me copied it from the +original.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE> "Testament de Villemain.<br><br> + + "Samedi. July 6th, 1816.<br><br> + + "Je donne mon corps aux Pédants: je lègue mon âme aux manes de<br> + Voltaire et de J.J. Rousseau, qui m'ont appris à mépriser toutes les<br> + vaines superstitions de ce monde, et tous les vains préjugés qu'a<br> + enfantés la grossièreté des hommes, et surtout les subtiles noirceurs<br> + des fourbes de Prêtres.<br><br> + + "J'ai toujours reconnu un Etre suprême, et ma religion a toujours été<br> + la religion naturelle.<br><br> + + "Quant à mes biens terrestres, je donne. (Here he mentions various<br> + articles to his favorite school-fellows.)<br><br> + + A Mondésir, mon dernier soupir.<br><br> + + "J'ai toujours connu, je l'ai dit plus haut, reconnu un Etre suprême,<br> + j'ai toujours pensé que la seul religion digne de lui, etait la vertu<br> + et la probîté!<br><br> + + "J'ose dire que je m'en suis rarement écarté malgré la faiblesse, et<br> + la fragilité humaine.<br><br> + + "Je parois devant l'Etre suprême en disant avec Voltaire: 'Un Bonze,<br> + honnête homme, un Dervis, charitable, trouveront plutôt grâce à ses<br> + yeux, qu'un Pontife ambitieux.'"<br><br> + + Then follows a Latin quotation, "All things are due to death, and<br> + without delay, sooner or later, hasten to the same goal: Hither we all<br> + tend: This is our last asylum."<br><br> + + "De tout les Pédants qui m'ont le plus tourmenté je compte surtout<br> + Poir, son Jeannes et Veissier, qui sont la cause du vol que je fais à<br> + la nature en tranchant moi même le fil de mes jours; je leur pardonne,<br> + l'équité le fait aussi: Je n'ai cessé de répéter avec Rousseau avant<br> + de mourir. 'Tu veux cesser de vivre, sais-tu si tu as commencé.'<br><br> + + "Adieu!!! Mortels et foiblesses! "VILLEMAIN."]</p> + +<p>Here conclude my notes, and if my reader has condescended to accompany +me through my little Tour without feeling fatigue or displeasure +at his "Compagnon de Voyage," my aim and ambition as an author are +satisfied--so wishing that all the journeys he may ever take, may +prove as delightful to him as this has been to me, I sincerely thank +him for his attention, and kindly bid him Farewell!</p> + + +<p>FINIS. + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10864 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c23a2ed --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #10864 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10864) diff --git a/old/10864-8.txt b/old/10864-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ea1ca78 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10864-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3901 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Visit to the Monastery of La Trappe in +1817, by W.D. Fellowes + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Visit to the Monastery of La Trappe in 1817 + With Notes Taken During a Tour Through Le Perche, Normandy, + Bretagne, Poitou, Anjou, Le Bocage, Touraine, Orleanois, + and the Environs of Paris. Illustrated with Numerous Coloured + Engravings, from Drawings Made on the Spot + +Author: W.D. Fellowes + +Release Date: January 29, 2004 [EBook #10864] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Connal, Renald Levesque and PG Distributed +Proofreaders. This file was produced from images generously made +available by gallica (Bibliotheque nationale de France) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + + + + +[Illustration: VIEW of the MONASTERY of LA TRAPPE] + + A VISIT TO THE MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE + + IN 1817. + + WITH NOTES + + _TAKEN DURING A TOUR THROUGH_ + LE PERCHE, NORMANDY, BRETAGNE, POITOU, ANJOU, + LE BOCAGE, TOURAINE, ORLEANOIS, AND + THE ENVIRONS OF PARIS. + + BY + + W.D. FELLOWES, ESQ. + + ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS COLOURED ENGRAVINGS, + FROM DRAWINGS MADE ON THE SPOT. + + + + + +LIST OF THE PLATES. + + +View of the Monastery of La Trappe + +Ruins of the Ancient Church of ditto + +Ruins of the Gateway of the ancient Chartreuse + +Les Noyades (_vignette_) + +Grotto of Hlose at Clisson + +Tomb of Ablard and Hlose + +Ruins of Ablard's House + +Granite Rock in the Garenne + +Le Conntable de Clisson (_outline_) + +Ruins of Clisson + +Tour des Plerins + +Moulin aux chvres + +Tour d'Oudon on the River Loire + +View of St. Florent + +Tomb (_etching_) + + + + +PREFACE. + + +In justice to the public and to myself, I must disavow for the +following pages any higher literary pretension than what is conveyed +by the simple title of "Notes," under which I have ventured to give +them to the world. I had no other aim in writing but to occupy as +rationally as I could the hours of travel, and no other object in +publishing but to impart to others as plainly as I could a portion of +the pleasure I myself experienced. It has somewhere been remarked to +this effect, that if every man of common understanding were to put +down the daily thoughts and occurrences of his life, candidly and +unaffectedly as he experienced them, he must necessarily produce +something of interest to his fellow men, and make a book, which, +though not enlivened by wit, dignified by profundity of reasoning, nor +valuable by extent of research, yet no man perhaps should throw aside +with either weariness or disgust. + +Whether I shall prove fortunate enough not to excite these sensations +in such readers as may honour my book with a perusal, I fear to +conjecture. But it was my good fortune, during a season of uncommon +beauty, to make a tour through some of the most interesting parts of +France, and to meet with persons who, from situation and talents, +were highly calculated to give my journey every charm of society and +information. The natural face of the country through which I passed +was peculiarly beautiful: I could scarcely move a step without +some novelty of picturesque enchantment, and had the most perfect +opportunities of contemplating Nature in all her varied poetry, from +the grand and terrible graces of savage sublimity, to the soft and +playful loveliness of cultivated luxuriance. There was scarcely a +town or village where I arrived which romance or history, religion or +politics, had not invested and adorned with every interest of mental +association. Under such impressions, and with such opportunities, it +was scarcely possible to resist recording something of what I saw and +felt; and if the publication of my hasty record be an error, it +will be deemed by my friends, I hope, a pardonable one. My book +can scarcely demand the serious attention of the critic; nor could +criticism well expect a better style from one whose profession is +seldom supposed to allow much leisure to acquire nicety in the arts of +composition. I claim no other merit for my Notes than having followed +the advice (of Gray, I believe) that ten words put down at the moment +upon the spot, are worth a whole cart load of recollections. I have +not sought to add to their attraction (if they should possess any) by +the embellishments of my invention, or the graces of my periods--the +decorative artifices of execution can never give value to falsehood, +and truth needs them not. A simple landscape, simply described from +nature, has always a charm above the most high-finished compositions +of mere fancy; and, like a moderate painting from the same source, +still imparts a feeling of reality. I hope, therefore, I shall be +excused for attempting some description, slight and unskilful as it +may be, of places and scenery where the human mind has exhibited +some of its most curious and powerful features, and which awaken +reflections of the deepest interest--I allude particularly to the +monastery of _La Trappe_, and to the country of _La Vende_. The +former had dwelt among the earliest impressions of youth, with +something like the wild and wonderful force of a romantic tale; and I +was anxious to become an eye-witness of what had so long been one of +the most powerful objects of my imagination. The gloomy and almost +inaccessible situation chosen by this strange fraternity for +their convent--their rigid separation from human intercourse--the +infringible taciturnity imposed upon themselves--and the terrible +severity of their penances, are certainly circumstances more +resembling the visionary indulgence of fantasy and fiction, than +actual realities to be met with among living men, and in the present +day. + +With regard to the department of _La Vende_, whatever serves, trivial +as it may be, to recall or illustrate the history of its wars and the +character of its inhabitants, must ever possess a charm for those who +delight to sympathize with the noble struggles of a gallant people, +conscientiously devoting themselves to the cause of a fallen and +persecuted monarchy, and resisting the cruel and destructive ferocity +of a licentious enemy, who had broken down the most sacred fences of +society, and trampled upon the dearest ties of human nature. + +In these Notes, slight as they are, I can truly promise the reader +that he will find nothing wilfully misrepresented, nor advanced +without just authority; and if the rapid and cursory character of the +observations, allusions, and anecdotes, shall enable an hour to pass +agreeably that has no better employment, I am content, and gratified +with the attainment of all I ever hoped or designed by an unpretending +publication, which I cheerfully dedicate to all who love to unbend +their minds from a critical attitude, and can lounge goodnaturedly +over leaves written by a traveller as idle and careless as themselves, +and who assures them that no one can think more humbly of his +production than himself. + +MARCH 1818. + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. + +Route from Paris to Mortagne.--Excursion to La Trappe.--State of the +Order since the restoration in 1814.--Its foundation and rules under +the Abb de Ranc. + +CHAP. II. + +Ruins of the Convent of the Chartreux.--Forests of Le +Perche.--Mortagne. + +CHAP. III. + +From Mortagne to Rennes.--Soeurs de la Charit.--Alenon.--Laval.--Vitr, +the celebrated residence of Mad. de Svign. + +CHAP. IV. + +Rennes.--Route from Rennes to Nantes.--City of Nantes.--Historical +anecdotes. + +CHAP. V. + +Country south of the Loire.--Le Bocage.--Clisson.--Historical +anecdotes.--The Garenne, and River Svres. + +CHAP. VI. + +General appearance and limits of Le Bocage.--Nature of the mode of +warfare of the Vendeans. + +CHAP. VII. + +The River Loire, from Nantes to Angers. + +CHAP. VIII. + +Saumur to Tours.--Tours to Blois.--Orlans--and Orlans to Paris. + +CHAP. IX. + +Environs of Paris.--Pre la Chaise.--Castle of Vincennes, and Chteau +of Saint Germain.--The Forest, and Vicinity.--Conclusion. + + + + +A VISIT + +TO THE + +MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE + + + + + + +CHAP. I. + +ROUTE FROM PARIS TO MORTAGNE.--EXCURSION TO LA TRAPPE.--STATE OF THE +ORDER SINCE THE RESTORATION IN 1814.--ITS FOUNDATION AND RULES UNDER +THE ABBE DE RANCE. + + +I performed this journey during the months of June, July, August, and +September, a distance of near one thousand miles, and had the singular +good fortune to enjoy the finest weather possible. The perusal of +Madame de La Roche-Jaquelin's interesting work on the Vendean war, +first gave me the idea of visiting the country called le Bocage, the +theatre of so many events, and sufferings of the brave royalists; and, +as the province of le Perche, in which is situated the ancient convent +of La Trappe, was in my route to Bretagne, I resolved to make an +excursion there, in order to satisfy myself of the truth of those +austerities which I had read of in the Memoirs of the Count de +Comminge. + +The route from Paris to Mortagne, in le Perche, leads through Marly, +Versailles, Saint Cyr, Pont Chartrain, La Queue, Houdon, Marrolles, +Dreux, Nonancourt, Tillires, Verneuil, and Saint Maurice. The roads +are excellent, and the country beautiful. The first post out of Paris +is Nanterre. Two leagues and a half from the barriere, the village +of Ruel, and the park of Malmaison, form a continuation of neat +buildings. At Nanterre, in the campaign of 1815, the Prussians, after +a severe engagement with the retreating troops of the French, had one +regiment of cavalry cut to pieces. At Ruel, the celebrated Cardinal +Richelieu had a palace, which at the Revolution became national +property, and was purchased by Massena, Duc de Rivoli, Prince +D'Essling, lately deceased. The Duchess still resides there. It was +taken possession of by the allies in 1815, and, like Malmaison, +plundered by the troops. There are extensive barracks for cavalry at +this place, at present occupied by the Swiss guards. + +A little farther, between Malmaison and Marly, is a beautiful chteau, +formerly belonging to General Count Bertrand, who accompanied Napoleon +to Saint Helena; it is now the property of M. Ouverard, the banker: +nearly opposite is the residence of the celebrated Abb Sieys, who +lives in great retirement. Whatever may have been the political +transgressions of Bertrand, there is something so noble in his +devotion to the fallen fortunes of his master, that it is impossible +not to respect his character. + +At Marly, the water-works and aqueduct for conveying the water from +the river Seine to the palace and gardens of Versailles, are very +curious. The palace of Marly is destroyed; but the basins, which were +constructed by order of Louis XIV. are still to be seen, though in +ruins. Delille, the poet, in his description of the chteau and +beautiful grounds of Marly, says: + + C'est l que tout est grand, que l'art n'est point timide; + L tout est enchant: c'est le Palais d'Armide; + C'est le jardin d'Alcine, ou plutt d'un Hros, + Noble dans sa retraite et grand dans son repos. + Qui cherche encore vaincre, dompter des obstacles, + Et ne marche jamais qu'entour de miracles. + +On quitting Paris, I had procured a letter of introduction from Count +La Cou to Madame de Bellou, at Mortagne, a charming old lady of an +ancient and noble family in that province, who had never quitted the +seat of her ancestors, but remained quiet and respected during all the +storms of the revolution. She received me with kindness, and politely +introduced me to the Sub-Prefect, Monsieur Lamorelie, who gave me a +letter of introduction to the Pre Don Augustin, Grand Prior of La +Trappe. The mayor of the commune of Soligni, who happened to be at +the inn, and learned from the _Aubergiste_, that a stranger intended +visiting La Trappe, very civilly introduced himself to me, and gave me +every necessary direction how to proceed through the forest; at the +same time expressing his surprise that an Englishman should take +the trouble, and undergo the fatigue of penetrating through such a +country, an attempt which few of his own countrymen had ever ventured +to make. It was singular enough that only one person in the town could +be found to accompany me as a guide, or who knew any thing of +the track through the forest, although the abbey is distant only +twenty-five miles. + +I set out with the guide just at day-break, mounted on a small Norman +horse, and armed with pistols and a sword-cane, in case of meeting +with wolves, which the mayor of Soligni had cautioned me against, as +abounding throughout the country. We travelled, after leaving the +main road, at the distance of a league, through a country scarcely +appearing to be inhabited. Here and there a lone cot, a mere speck, +met the eye amidst a landscape composed of nothing but barren wastes +and thick forests, nearly impervious to the light. We had penetrated +about half a mile through one of the latter, my attention occupied +with the romantic wildness of the scene, when we were alarmed by the +howling of a wolf. My guide crossed himself, and began cracking his +whip with the noise and singular dexterity peculiar to the French +postillions; and as we entered a part of the forest, impenetrable but +for traces known only to those who are accustomed to them, he related +(by way of consolation, I suppose,) several stories of the peasantry +having been recently attacked, and some destroyed, by wolves; and one +instance of a woman having had her infant torn from her arms, only a +short time since, in the neighbourhood. + +On quitting the forest the track was now and then diversified by the +ruins of a solitary cottage, or the mouldering remains of a crucifix, +raised by pious hands to mark some event, or to guide the traveller; +and after traversing a rocky plain, covered with heath and wild thyme, +where some herds of sheep and goats were browsing, attended by the +shepherd, we entered the Forest of Bellegarde. This forest spreads +over a large extent of country, and is so dark and intricate, that +those best acquainted with it frequently lose their way. No vestige of +human footsteps or of the track of animals appeared; a mark, here and +there, on some of the trees, was the only direction! Pursuing our way +through turnings and windings the most perplexing, we found ourselves +to be on the overhanging brow of a hill, the descent of which was so +precipitous, that we were under the necessity of dismounting; and by +a winding path, hollowed out in its side, descended through a sort +of labyrinth towards the valley, whose sides were clothed with lofty +woods, rising one above the other. The valley itself is interspersed +with three lakes, connected with each other, and forming a sort of +moat around the ground; in the centre of which appears the venerable +abbey of La Trappe, with its dark gray towers, the deep tone of whose +bell had previously announced to us, that we had nearly reached our +journey's end. + +The situation of this monastery was well adapted to the founder's +views, and to suggest the name it originally received of La Trappe, +from the intricacy of the road which descends to it, and the +difficulty of access or egress, which exists even to this day, though +the woods have been very much thinned since the revolution. Perhaps +there never was any thing in the whole universe better calculated to +inspire religious awe than the first view of this monastery. It was +imposing even to breathlessness. The total solitude--the undisturbed +and chilling silence, which seem to have ever slept over the dark and +ancient woods--the still lakes, reflecting the deep solemnity of the +objects around them--all impress a powerful image of utter seclusion +and hopeless separation from living man, and appear formed at once to +court and gratify the sternest austerities of devotion--to nurse +the fanaticism of diseased imaginations--to humour the wildest +fancies--and promote the gloomiest schemes of penance and privation! + +In descending the steep and intricate path the traveller frequently +loses sight of the abbey, until he has actually reached the bottom; +then emerging from the wood, the following inscription is seen carved +on a wooden cross: + + C'est ici que la mort et que la vrit + Elvent leurs flambeaux terribles; + C'est de cette demeure, au monde inaccessible, + Que l'on passe l'ternit. + +A venerable grove of oak trees, which formerly surrounded the +monastery, was cut down in the revolution. In the gateway of the outer +court is a statue of Saint Bernard, which has been mutilated by the +republicans: he is holding in one hand a church, and in the other a +spade--the emblems of devotion and labour. This gateway leads into a +court, which opens into a second enclosure, and around that are the +granaries, stables, bakehouse, and other offices necessary to the +abbey, which have all been happily preserved. + +Owing to the fatigue of the journey, the heat of the weather, and +having frequently been obliged to retrace our steps, from losing our +way in the woods, it was late before we arrived at the abbey. To the +west, under the glow of the setting sun, the forests were still tinged +with the warmest yet softest colours that faded fast away; and as we +descended towards the Convent, quickening our pace to reach it before +the last gleams of evening departed, there was a silence around us, +which at such a moment, and in such a spot, sunk sorrowfully upon the +heart! Just as I reached the gate the bell tolled in so solemn and +melancholy a tone that it vibrated through my whole frame, and called +strongly to mind the beautiful lines in "Parisina": + + The Convent bells are ringing, + But mournfully and slow; + In the gray square turret swinging, + With a deep sound, to and fro, + Heavily to the heart they go! + +On entering the gate, a lay-brother received me on his knees; and in +a low and whispering voice informed me they were at vespers. The +stillness and gloom of the building--the last rays of the sun scarcely +penetrating through its windows--the deep tones of the monks chanting +the responses, which occasionally broke the silence, filled me with +reverential emotions which I felt unwilling to disturb: it was +necessary however to present my letter of introduction, and Frre +Charle, the secrtaire, soon after came out, and received me with +great civility. He appeared a young man about five-and-twenty, with a +handsome and prepossessing countenance. He informed me that the Pre +Abb was then absent, visiting a convent of Female Trappistes, a +few leagues distant, but that he should be happy to show me every +attention; and requested that in going over the Convent, I would +neither speak nor ask him any questions in those places where I saw +him kneel, or in the presence of any of the Monks. I followed him to +the chapel, where, as soon as the service was over, the bell rung +to summon them to supper. Ranged in double rows, with their heads +enveloped in a large cowl, and bent down to the earth, they chanted +the grace, and then seated themselves. During the repast one of them, +standing, read passages from scripture, reminding them of death, and +of the shortness of human existence; another went round the whole +community, and on his knees kissed their feet in succession, throwing +himself prostrate on the floor at intervals before the image of our +Saviour; a third remained on his knees the whole time, and in that +attitude took his repast. These penitents had committed some fault, +or neglected their religious duties, of which, according to the +regulations, they had accused themselves, and were in consequence +doomed to the above modes of penance. + +The refectory was furnished with long wooden tables and benches; each +person was provided with a trencher, a jug of water, and a cup, having +on it the name of the brother to whom it is appropriated, as Frre +Paul, Frre Franois, &c. which name they assume on taking the vow. +Their supper consisted of bread soaked in water, a little salt, and +two raw carrots, placed by each; water alone is their beverage. The +dinner is varied with a little cabbage or other vegetables: they very +rarely have cheese, and never meat, fish, or eggs. The bread is of the +coarsest kind possible. + +Their bed is a small truckle, boarded, with a single covering, +generally a blanket, no mattress nor pillow; and, as in the former +time, no fire is allowed but one in the great hall, which they never +approach. + +Within these three years a small cabaret has been built near the +Convent for the accommodation of those who may occasionally visit it, +the buildings that remain being but barely sufficient for their own +members, which have been rapidly increasing since its restoration. In +this cabaret I took up my abode for the night, in preference to the +accommodation very kindly offered me by Frre Charle, and retired to +rest, wearied with the day's excursion, and fully satisfied, that all +I had heard, all I had imagined of La Trappe, was infinitely short of +the reality, and that no adequate description could be given of its +awful and dreary solitude; + +Monsieur Elzar de Sabran, in a poem called Le Repentir, lately +published, describing this Monastery, says very justly; + + Tmoins d'une commune et secrte souffrance, + Ces frres de douleur, martyrs de l'esprance, + D'une lente torture puisant les degrs, + Constamment runis, constamment spars, + L'un l'autre trangers, ct l'un de l'autre, + Joignent tout ce malheur encore tout le ntre, + Jamais, dans ses pareils cherchant un tendre appui, + Un coeur ne s'ouvre aux coeurs qui souffrent comme lui. + +The following morning the matin bell summoned me to the Convent, +and Frre Charle attended me to the burial ground; here have been +deposited the remains of two of the brothers, deceased since the +restoration of their order in 1814. Another grave was ready prepared; +as soon as an interment takes place, one being always opened for the +next that may die. The two graves were marked with simple wooden +crosses, bearing the following inscriptions: + + F. Nicolas. Frre DONN + Dcd. le 24 Fvrier 1816. + + * * * * * + +On the other: + + F. AUGUSTINUS. NOVITIUS + die 26 mensis novembris + ANNO. 1816 DECESSIT. + REQUIESCAT IN PACE + AMEN. + + * * * * * + +In the centre of the cemetery is the grave of M. De Ranc. His +monument, with his figure carved at full length in a recumbent +posture, was removed when the destruction of the old church took +place; it is now a complete ruin, and a few stones alone mark the spot +of its ancient founder's grave, which is kept free from weeds with +pious reverence and care. The revolution, which like a torrent swept +all before it, did not even spare the dead. + +[Illustration: RUINS of the ANCIENT CHURCH of LA TRAPPE.] + +While I was contemplating the ruins around me, and watching the +motions of a venerable figure in silent prayer at one of the angles, +the bell tolled, when both Frre Charle and the Monk dropped instantly +on their knees. How forcibly were the following lines of Pope recalled +to my mind! + + Lo, the struck deer, in some sequester'd part, + Lies down to die, (the arrow in his heart;) + There, hid in shades, and wasting day by day, + Inly he bleeds, and pants his soul away. + +The number of Monks who have taken the vow are not in proportion to +the others, who are lay brothers, and _Frres Donns_; in all there +are about one hundred, besides novices, who are principally composed +of boys, and who do not wear the same habit. The Trappistes, who +compose the first order, are clothed in dark brown, with brown mantle +and hood; the others are in white, with brown mantle and hood. +I occasionally caught a glimpse of their faces, but it was only +momentarily; and I can easily believe, with their perpetual silence, +that two people well known to each other, might inhabit the same spot, +without ever being aware of it, so completely are their faces hidden +by their large cowl. The Trappistes, or first order, are distinguished +by the appellation of _Frres Convers_, the others by that of +_Religieux de Coeur_. + +The hardships undergone by these monks appear almost insupportable +to human nature, and notwithstanding the immense number of deaths +occasioned by their rigorous austerities, the Cnobites of La Trappe, +at the suppression of their order, amounted to one hundred monks, +sixty-nine lay brothers, and fifty-six _Frres Donns_. The inmates +are classed under these three heads; but the lay brothers, who take +the same vows, and follow the same rules, are principally employed as +servants, and in transacting the temporal concerns of the abbey. The +_Frres Donns_ are brothers given for a time; these last are not +properly belonging to the order, they are rather, religious persons, +whose business or connexions prevent their joining the order +absolutely, but, who wishing to renew serious impressions, or to +retire from the world for a given period, come here and conform +strictly to the regulations while they remain, without wishing to join +the order for life. Many persons on their first conversion, or after +some peculiar dispensations of Providence, retire here for a season. + +In the refectory I observed a board hung up, with "_Table pour +l'Office Divin_," written over it, and under it the regulations or +order of service to be performed for that week, which are occasionally +varied, but never diminished in their rigour. Frre Charle said, +that the whole were strictly observed, and were frequently much more +severe; for the Pre Abb had instituted more austere regulations +than formerly, with the only one exception, of the sick being allowed +medicines; and, in cases of great debility, a small quantity of meat. + +The Table "_pour l'Office Divin_," was as follows. + + Dimanche....12 Leons et Communion. + Lundi....... 3 Leons. + Mardi.......12 Leons-- jeun--Travail. + Mercredi....12 Leons. + Jeudi....... 3 Leons. + Vendredi....12 Leons-- jeun--Travail. + Samedi......12 Leons-- jeun--Travail. + +Their mode of life and regulations exist nearly in the same state +as established by the founder; in reciting them, such horrible +perversions of human nature and reason make it almost difficult to +believe the existence of so severe an order, and lead us to wonder +at the artificial miseries, which the ingenuity of pious but morbid +enthusiasm can inflict upon itself. The abstinence practised at La +Trappe allows not the use of meat, fish, eggs, or butter; and a very +limited quantity of bread and vegetables. They only eat twice a +day; which meals consist of a slender repast at about eleven in the +morning, and two ounces of bread and two raw carrots in the evening: +both together do not at any time exceed twelve ounces. The same spirit +of mortification is observable in their cells, which are very small, +and have no other furniture than a bed of boards, a human skull, and a +few religious books. + +Silence is at all times rigidly maintained; conversation is never +permitted: should two of them even be seen standing near each other, +though pursuing their daily labour, and preserving the strictest +silence, it is considered as a violation of their vow, and highly +criminal; each member is therefore as completely insulated as if he +alone existed in the Monastery. None but the Pre Abb knows the name, +age, rank, or even the native country of any member of the community: +every one, at his first entrance, assumes another name, as I before +observed, and with his former appellation, each is supposed to abjure, +not only the world, but every recollection and memorial of himself and +connexions: no word ever escapes from his lips by which the others can +possibly guess who he is, or where he comes from; and persons of the +same name, family, and neighbourhood, have often lived together in the +Convent for years, unknown to each other, without having suspected +their proximity. + +The abstraction of mind practised at La Trappe, and the prevention of +all external communication with the world is such, that few but the +superior know any thing of what is passing in it. It has been related, +that so little information of the affairs of mankind did these people +receive, that the death of Louis XIV. was not known there for years, +except by the Father Abb; and such was their state of seclusion, that +a Nobleman having taken a journey of five hundred miles, purposely to +see the Monastery, could scarcely find in the neighbouring villages +one person who knew where it was situated. Indeed, at the present day, +it is quite astonishing how little is known of this place, and how +very few, even among those in its immediate vicinity, have ever +visited it.[1] + +On the great festivals they rise at midnight; otherwise they are not +called until three quarters past one: at two they assemble in the +Chapel, where they perform different services, public and private, +until seven in the morning, according to the regulations of the week, +as exemplified in the "_Table pour l'Office Divin_". At this hour they +go out to labour in the open air. Their work is of the most fatiguing +kind, is never intermitted, winter or summer, and admits of no +relaxation from the state of the weather. + +[Footnote 1: Among the most frequent visitors of La Trappe, was +the unfortunate James the Second. His first visit was on the 20th +November, 1690, where he was received by M. de Ranc, whose account of +it is very interesting.] + +When their labour is over, they go into Chapel for a short time, until +eleven o'clock, the hour of repast; at a quarter after eleven they +read till noon; and afterwards lie down to rest for an hour: they are +then summoned into the garden, where they again work until three; +then read again for three quarters of an hour, and retire for another +quarter to their private meditations, by way of preparation for +vespers, which begin at four, and end at six; at seven they again +enter the Chapel, and at eight they leave it, and retire to rest. + +At the hour of their first repast, I again attended Frre Charle to +the eating-room, where nearly the same forms were observed as at their +evening-meal; a small basin of boiled cabbage, two raw carrots, and +a small piece of black bread, with a jug of water, constituted their +solitary meal. A Monk, during the whole time, read sentences from +Scripture; and a small hand-bell filled up the intervals of his +silence, and proclaimed a cessation from eating, or movement of +any sort. Over the door of the Refectory I observed the following +inscription in Latin:--"Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, +than a stalled ox, and hatred therewith". + +Frre Charle invited me to partake of the frugal fare of his order. He +said, "You will forgive my laying before you a vegetable repast; it +is all that I have in my power to offer you, but you will confer a +pleasure by accepting it". It was impossible to refuse, for I felt I +should appear ungrateful after the attentions that had been shown me, +if I had. Frre Charle conducted me into an apartment, in which I was +gratified to observe a well executed portrait of the Abb de Ranc, +which, at the destruction of the Monastery, had been preserved by the +surgeon of the ancient fraternity, who continued to reside there until +the period of his death, four or five years since. This person was +greatly respected by all the people round the country, and resorted +to by all who sought relief either from sickness or misery!--Had the +other brothers followed his example of remaining, in all probability +their Convent might have been spared, for the accumulation of wealth +could not be laid to their charge; and as their monastic vows obliged +them to remain within the Monastery, they were most unlikely to incur +the suspicion of any political intrigues.--How indeed could men, whose +whole existence was passed in solitude and penance, and who never +conversed even among themselves, have been dangerous to those +turbulent spirits who had overturned the government and all the +religious institutions of their country! + +In the portrait, the Abb is dressed in the habit of the order, a +white gown and hood, and sitting with a book before him, in which he +appears to be writing; on the same table, before him, are a crucifix +and a skull. The following inscription is painted in one corner by the +artist: + + "ARM'D. LE BOUTTHILLIER DE RANCE. S'R + SCAUANT. et clbre Abb Rformateur De La Trappe. + Mort en 1700. prs de 77 ans, et de 40 ans de la plus + austre pnitence". + +The Monastery of La Trappe is one of the most ancient Abbeys of the +order of Benedictins: it was established under the pontificate of +Innocent the Second, during the reign of Louis VII. in the year 1140, +by Rotrou, the second Count of Perche, and is said to have been built +to accomplish a vow, made in the peril of shipwreck. In commemoration +of this circumstance, the roof was made in the shape of the bottom of +a ship inverted. It was founded under the auspices of Saint Bernard, +the first Abbot of Clairvaux, the celebrated preacher in favour of +the Crusades. Many ages, however, had elapsed, since its first +institution, when the Father Abbot de Ranc, the celebrated reformer +of his time, determined to become a member, whose singular history and +conversion was the subject of a poem by Monsieur Barthe. + +The Abb de Ranc became a Monk of the Benedictin order of La Trappe, +in 1660, and his conversion was attributed to a lady whom he tenderly +loved. They had been separated for some time by her parents; she +having written to him to remove her for the purpose of becoming united +in marriage, he set off, but, during his journey, she was seized with +a fever and died. Totally ignorant of the circumstance, he approached +the house under cover of the night, and got into her apartment through +the window. The first object he beheld was the coffin which contained +the body of his beloved mistress! It had been made of lead, but being +found to be too short, they had, with unheard of brutality; severed +her head from her body! Horror-struck with the shocking spectacle, he, +from that hour, renounced all connexion with the world, and imposed +upon himself the most rigid austerities, which he continued until his +death, forty years after. + +When M. de Ranc undertook the superintendance of the Monastery, it +exhibited a melancholy picture, of the greatest declension, and it +is curious to peruse the steps by which he effected so wonderful a +change;[2] and how men could ever feel it either an inclination or a +duty to enter upon a mode of life so different from the common ways of +thinking or feeling. + +[Footnote 2: Rglements de L'Abbaye, La Maison-Dieu Notre Dame de La +Trappe, par Dom. Armand de Ranc.] + +The Monks of La Trappe were not only immersed in luxury and sloth, but +were abandoned to the most scandalous excesses; most of them lived by +robbery, and several had committed assassinations on the travellers +who had occasion to traverse the woods. The neighbourhood shrunk with +terror from the approach of men who never went abroad unarmed, and +whose excursions were marked with bloodshed and violence. The Banditti +of La Trappe was the appellation by which they were most generally +distinguished. Such were the men amongst whom M. de Ranc resolved to +fix his abode; all his friends endeavouring to dissuade him from an +undertaking, they deemed alike hopeless and dangerous. + +"Unarmed, and unassisted," [3] says his historian, "but in the panoply +of God, and by his Spirit, he went alone amidst this company of +ruffians, every one of whom was bent on his destruction. With +undaunted boldness, he began by proposing the strictest reform, and +not counting his life dear to him, he described the full intent of his +purpose, and left them no choice but obedience or Expulsion". + +[Footnote 3: The work from which I have taken this, is a translation +by Mrs. Schimmelpenninck of Dom. Claude Lancelot's Narrative, +published in 1667. The present regulations not differing from the +former, I have extracted some of the most important.] + +"Many were the dangers M. de Ranc underwent; plans were laid, at +various times, to poison him, to waylay and assassinate him, and even +once one of his monks shot at him; but the pistol, which was applied +close to his head, flashed in the pan, and missed fire. By the good +providence of God all these plans were frustrated, and M. de Ranc +not only brought his reform to bear, but several of his most violent +persecutors became his most stedfast adherents; many were, after a +short time, won over by his piety--the rest left the Monastery. +He especially, who had shot at M. de Ranc, became eminently +distinguished for his piety and learning, and was afterwards Sub-Prior +of La Trappe". + +M. de Ranc lived forty years at the head of this singular society, +and the same ardor and piety continued to distinguish him to the last. +The excess of self-denial and discipline, exercised by this order, +which might readily be doubted, became more known, especially to this +country, at the time of the French Revolution, when they shared the +fate of dissolution with the various religious orders in France. On +that occasion many of them sought an asylum in England, and were +settled in Dorsetshire, where they received the kind protection and +benevolent assistance of Mr. Weld, until the restoration enabled most +of them to return; and, surprising as it may appear in the present +age, notwithstanding the perpetual violence imposed by their +regulations on every human feeling, many are found anxious to enter +the establishment. + +When I was about to take my leave of Frre Charle, he said, "he hoped +I was pleased with my humble fare: to such as it was I had been truly +welcome". Indeed he had treated me with the kindest, most unaffected +hospitality; he had laid the table, spread the dishes before me, stood +the whole time by the side of my chair, and pressed me to eat: How +could I not be thankful? I requested he would be seated, but he +observed that it was not proper for him to be so. His manners and +general deportment bespoke him a well-bred gentleman; and when I +ventured to ask if I might make a memorandum of his name, he bowed his +head with meekness and resignation, and said, "I have now no other but +that which was bestowed on me when I took the vow, which severs me +from the world for ever!" It was impossible not to be affected at the +manner and tone of voice in which he uttered this. When I said that +perhaps he would like that I should leave an acknowledgment in +writing, expressive of the gratitude I felt at my kind and hospitable +reception, he appeared much pleased, and instantly procured me paper. +I left with him the following lines: + + "Convent of La Trappe, July 20, 1817. + + "I have this day visited the Convent of La Trappe, + and in the absence of the Grand Prior, to whom I + brought a letter of introduction from Monsieur Lamorelie, + Sub-Prefect of Mortagne, I was received and + have been entertained by Frre Charle Marie, his Secretary. + + "It is quite impossible that I can do justice to the + kind, polite, and hospitable reception I have met with + from him, by any expressions in writing. I can only + observe, that it has made an impression on my mind + never to be effaced! If these worthy and pious people + have abandoned the world for the solitude and austerities + of La Trappe, they have not forgotten, in their own self-denial, + the benevolence and benignity due to strangers. + May their self-devotion meet with its reward!" + +I now took my leave of the Convent with feelings which I will not +pretend to describe, but which, together with the impressions I +received when I first entered it, and the whole circumstances of my +visit, I am conscious of retaining while "Memory holds her seat". The +following lines, by P. Mandard, on quitting La Trappe, convey a very +faithful and poetical picture of this extraordinary solitude: + + --Saint dsert, sjour pur et paisible, + Solitude profonde, au vice inaccessible; + Imptueux torrens, et vous sombres forts, + Recevez mes adieux, comme aussi mes regrets! + Toujours pris de vous, respectable retraite, + Puiss-je, dans le cours d'une vie inquite, + Dans ce flux ternel de folie et d'erreur, + O flotte tristement notre malheureux coeur; + Puiss-je, pour charmer mes ennuis et mes peines, + Souvent fuir en esprit au bord de vos fontaines, + Egarer ma pense au milieu de vos bois, + Par un doux souvenir rappeler mille fois + De vos Saints habitans les touchantes images, + Pntrer, sur leurs pas, dans vos grottes sauvages, + Me placer sur vos monts, et l, prennant l'essort, + Aller chercher en Dieu ma joie, et mon trsor! + + + + +CHAP. II. + +VAL-DIEU.--RUINS OF THE CONVENT OF THE CHARTREUSE.--FORESTS OF LE +PERCHE, MORTAGNE. + + +I quitted _La Trappe_ in the afternoon of the third day after my +arrival there, for the Val-Dieu, which lies three leagues to the east +of Mortagne, taking the villages of Rinrolles and Prepotin in my way; +the latter stands in the midst of a forest. By this road, so bad that +it scarcely deserves the name, a great distance is saved, but the +romantic scenery of the approach to La Trappe is lost. The one we took +through the forest of Bellegarde more than doubles the distance; +but the Abbey is seen as in the centre of a lake beneath, and +the continual beauty and wildness of the landscape render it far +preferable. Until the Revolution this was the only road, the other +having been made when the lands became national property, and were +sold to the peasantry. + +After passing through the above villages, we came round by Tourouvre, +a village on a height, which has a manufactory for glass. I did +not stop to view it, having several leagues to go through a wooded +country. Soon after crossing the main road leading into Bretagne, +we rode by the side of cultivated lands and orchards resembling the +western parts of Devonshire, of which the narrow lanes and high hedges +reminded me very much, until we entered the forest leading to the +Val-Dieu. Between eight and nine in the evening we came to the edge +bounding that part of the Vale by which it is approached, in the +direction we had taken. It was very considerably out of our way, owing +to the guide having mistaken his road and turned to the left instead +of the right. After resting a few minutes on the brow of the hill, we +began our descent by a steep and narrow pathway. When we were midway +down the glen, the ruins of the ancient Chartreuse suddenly burst upon +the view! At this moment all the terrors of the declivity, and the +momentary expectation of meeting some of the wolves with which the +forest abounds, vanished from my mind before the feelings of delight +which the enchanting scene called forth. The almost perpendicular view +of the Vale beneath, had an effect tremendous yet pleasing: on the +left was a lake, seeming to encircle an ancient convent embosomed in +a wood; a thick forest covered the surrounding heights, and before me +stood the remains of the ancient Priory, with its gateway and lodge so +perfect as to create no suspicion of the destruction within. + +[Illustration: RUINS of the GATEWAY of the ANCIENT CHARTREUSE.] + +This had been the hottest day and finest weather I had experienced +during my journey. It was a sweet evening, and the rich tints of the +departing sun-beams among the woods, with the solitary calmness of the +scenery around, were circumstances that made a strong impression on my +feelings. Those who have never traversed the forests of this country +can form but a very imperfect idea of what they are, or of the +death-like awful stillness that reigns within them; for many miles +together they form a dense shade, which, like a dark awning, +completely conceals the sun from the view: even on the brightest day +the sun's rays are only visible as from the bottom of a deep well! The +forests in Le Perche are reckoned the most extensive in France, and +every where abound with vast quantities of game. + +I was received on alighting from my horse by a M. Boderie, a +good humoured hospitable man, who, with his family, are the only +inhabitants of this lonesome spot. I found afterwards that he had seen +better days: he informed me the Val-Dieu property was purchased at the +dissolution of the Monastery by the present proprietor, who resided at +Paris, and allowed him, being his friend, to occupy that part of the +building which had not been destroyed. He made many apologies for the +badness of the accommodations and the homeliness of the fare he had to +offer me, which I considered as unnecessary, as what he possessed was +tendered with unaffected cheerfulness. + +The Prussians in 1815 occupied this country, and notwithstanding M. +Boderie was absent at that time serving in the body guard of Louis +XVIII, whom he had accompanied in his retreat to Ghent, they plundered +him of every article, not even leaving his wife a change of linen. +The numerous accounts I have heard from people of respectability and +loyalty, of the treatment experienced from the Prussians, excites the +greatest regret that they were not able to distinguish the innocent +from the guilty. Many families have been ruined, or greatly distressed +in their circumstances who were devoted to the cause of their +Sovereign. Such are the inevitable consequences of war! + +The Val-Dieu extends upwards of three miles in length, surrounded by +almost impenetrable woods, except where paths have been cut. It has +three lakes, one communicating with the other, containing great +quantities of fish. The Monastery, it is evident from the remains of +its ruins, and from the boundary wall, still entire, must have been of +prodigious extent. M. Boderie informed me, that the plan, of which +he had seen an engraving, showed it to have been one of the most +considerable in the kingdom: some idea may be formed of its former +celebrity and extent by the remains of six hundred fire-places being +still traceable. A colonnade surrounded the whole, forming an oblong +square, in the centre of which was a jet d'eau, with several smaller +ones, the basins of which are still to be seen; the space within +formed a garden, with delicious walks, resembling those in the Palais +Royal. + +The gate-way remains perfect, excepting only that the images over the +side doors have been mutilated. The one in the centre (over the great +entrance) is still in excellent preservation, and appears to be finely +executed: it is the figure of the Virgin Mary in gray marble, the +size of life, seated, with the infant Jesus in her arms. On a scroll +beneath are these letters:-- + + ECCE MATER + TVA. + 1760. + +Several old chesnut trees and elms still remain, which once formed +a fine avenue in front of the building, from whence the prospect is +strikingly beautiful. The eye passes over rocks, rugged, broken, and +abrupt towards their summits, crowned and darkened with wood; and the +narrow road winding between the trees, until it loses itself in the +forest, forms a feature very gratifying to the traveller. The solitude +of the place, as I viewed it at the close of day, occasioned mingled +sensations of pleasure and pain. It was impossible to resist the +imposing power of a situation, where every natural object was deeply +tinged with the poetical character, and every remnant of architecture +associated with the romance of religious feeling. I recalled and dwelt +upon various passages of the poets inspired by similar scenes, and +thought of the holy and enthusiastic minds which had here devoted +themselves to the sublimest duties and severest sacrifices of the +altar; and felt, that had I lived in those days, I, perhaps, could +have become an inmate of walls which seem to have been erected +to exclude the evils of life, and to nurture only the enchanting +abstractions of unpolluted virtue and happiness: but the present +day has brought with it a general philosophy and knowledge of human +nature, which lessen the delight of contemplating the calm repose of +such a seclusion, and have taught that these retreats from the world +were not always retreats from vice; that the sacrifices of monkish +privacy were not always those of selfish feelings; and that the +austerities once practised here, as now at La Trappe, might perhaps +arise more frequently from disappointed pride and ambition, than +from the pure feelings of pious resignation. In the overthrow of the +monarchy and that of the priesthood, this venerable pile became the +object of popular vengeance; and had the Revolution done no more than +effected the dissolution of the different orders of monks and nuns, +every reflecting mind must have been pleased: the removal of those +abuses, like the division of landed property into smaller portions, +(whereby the country in general became more cultivated and +productive,) was serviceable to France; and, if any circumstance can +restore permanent tranquillity, it will be the interest which the +different landholders have in the soil and the representative system, +which will serve to check the ambition of its future governors. +Already the good effects of these are to be perceived; and the +excessive abuses, insolence, and profligacy, of ancient ministerial +oppression, which paved the way for the downfall of the monarchy, and, +like a pestilence, destroyed that which was good with that which was +evil, will be prevented in future. + +It is, nevertheless, melancholy to observe the traces of devastation +visible in all directions: the people themselves appear not to regard +it, but this may arise partly from the long and habitual feelings +generated by the scenes to which the Revolution daily gave rise, and +partly from the constitutional cheerfulness of the natives, who seldom +view objects through the same dark medium that ours are supposed to +do, and who, though they are not celebrated for patience, are of all +mankind the least liable to despondency. When I spoke to M. Boderie of +my regret at the destruction of an ancient structure like the one in +question, his answer was, immediately, "oui c'est bien malheureux; +mais enfin que voulez-vous?" He was "desol" or had "le coeur trs +sensible tout cela;" but finished by "il faut se consoler". With +this sort of philosophy they are always ready to view the past, and +accept of consolation, and in amusement, seek to bear or dissipate +the calamities inseparable from such a state of events, without even +appearing to repine. None of them will ever enter into conversation on +the subject if it can be avoided. + +The following day, having taken leave of my hospitable host, who +refused any compensation, I returned to Mortagne by another route, +through the Forest of Val-Dieu, more dark and difficult to penetrate +than the other; but the guide was better acquainted with it, and took +the road by Saint Maure and Saint Eloi, through a fine country, highly +cultivated, and abounding in beautiful scenery and distant landscapes. +It was late at night before I reached Mortagne, greatly fatigued from +the excessive heat of the weather. + +I dined the following day with Madame de Bellou, whose kind attention +and elegant hospitality, during the time I remained at Mortagne, I +must ever remember with sentiments of sincere gratitude. This lady had +invited Monsieur Lamorelie, the Sub-Prefect, one of the most elegant +men I had met with in France, with several other gentlemen and ladies, +to meet me. Among the party were Madame de Fontenay, Monsieur and +Mademoiselle Claire de Vanssay--very agreeable people: the latter +possessed, without great beauty, all the charms and vivacity of her +countrywomen. In the evening we went to an assembly, where I had an +opportunity of seeing, and being presented to, all the respectable +families that yet remained in town; for at this season many were at +their country-seats. The ease, elegance, and good manners of the +company composing this society, I never saw excelled in any country. +It is but common justice to observe, that in Mortagne, which is the +residence of all the best families in the province, there is to be +found all the characteristic good breeding for which the French were +so long, and so deservedly celebrated. + +The town of Mortagne stands on the declivity of a hill, in the +province of Le Perche, bordering on Normandy. The high road to +Bretagne passes through it. It has only one church remaining out +of seven, six having been destroyed at the Revolution. It has some +manufactories for serges and coarse cloths, and contains between five +and six thousand inhabitants, in the department of L'Orne. From its +elevated position and chalky soil, the air is pure and the situation +healthy. The inhabitants are under the necessity of supplying +themselves with water from the valley, as there are no wells on +account of the rocky height it stands on, which is attended with +inconvenience and expense; otherwise it would be a desirable residence +for those who wish to unite economy with a change of climate. + +During the Vendean war, this town became, at different periods, the +victim of either party as they were successful; and it suffered +severely. The hotel kept by Gautier (Les trois Lions), which is +likewise la Poste, and le Bureau des Diligences, is the best, and +the people are very obliging; but it partakes of the same want +of cleanliness, that so invariably distinguishes all similar +establishments in this country. + + + + +CHAP. III. + +FROM MORTAGNE TO RENNES, SOEURS DE LA CHARIT. ALENON, LAVAL, VITR, +THE RESIDENCE OF THE CELEBRATED MADAME DE SVIGN. RENNES. + + +I travelled by the diligence from Mortagne to Alenon and Laval: we +arrived at the former place to dinner, and at the latter to remain all +night. The carriage was filled with _Soeurs de la Charit_, + + "Qui, pour le malheur seul connoissant la tendresse, + Aux besoins du vieil-age immollent leur jeunesse," + +on their way to different places in Bretagne, on charitable missions, +by the order of the Superior at Paris. Four of these were young and +beautiful women, none of whom could have attained the age of twenty; +yet these females had already devoted themselves to attend on the sick +and poor wherever their services might be required, for which purpose +they receive a suitable education, in an Hospital at Paris, in such +branches of medicine and surgery as may render them useful. They +are distributed throughout the kingdom to attend the hospitals and +prisons, which they do with the delicacy and attention peculiar to +their sex. Of all the classes of females who thus devote themselves to +a religious life, and to acts of charity, none are more respected, or +more truly serviceable to their fellow-creatures. Their dress consists +of a coarse brown jacket and gown, with a high linen cap, sloping down +over the shoulders, and a rosary hanging round their waist. + +Quitting Beauregard we crossed the river Sart: here the Province of +Le Perche terminates, and we enter that of Normandy. For many miles, +travelling close to the Forest of Bourse, the roads are excellent, +though hilly, and the country highly cultivated in all directions. The +peasantry were getting in the hay and rye harvest, and large tracts of +wheat and barley were nearly ready for cutting. + +The town of Alenon is the capital of L'Orne-sur-Sart. It stands in +the middle of a fertile plain. The lace made here is the most valuable +of any manufactured in France. The Hotel of the Prefecture is a +fine building. After dinner I went to the theatre, (formerly an old +manufactory), to see the _Hotel Garni_ and _Les deux Suisses_: both +performances were of a very moderate cast. The audience consisted +principally of the military in garrison. + +On the road from Alenon to Laval, we were guarded the whole day by +two troopers of the Gendarmerie, who are quartered along the whole +line of road from the capital; they are well armed and mounted, and +keep a very vigilant guard. At every place we stopped our passports +were examined. The police of this country is observed with greater +rigor than at any former period of its history, with regard to +passports. The circumstances under which the restoration took place, +the political state of France, in regard to other powers, the +conflicting interests and opinions of various parties, probably render +it highly expedient. On the arrival of a stranger at Paris, his +passport must be presented, and inscribed in the police book. +The revision of the one under which the person has travelled is +indispensably necessary. It is then carried to the British Ambassador, +(if the stranger be of that nation), or to the minister of that +country to which he belongs, where it must obtain the Ambassador's +signature. It is next taken to the office of the Minister of Foreign +Affairs, where it is deposited until the following day, for which ten +livres are charged, and afterwards to the Prfecture of the Police, to +be signed there in its turn: and when all this is done no one can quit +the capital for the interior without its being again signed at the +Prfecture of the police. + +From Alenon, we passed the Briante, a small river, at Ville Neuve, +where the road begins to skirt the Forest of Moultonue. At Mayenne, +the river of that name divides the provinces. The whole of this +country is singularly beautiful. I observed vast quantities of buck +wheat, which the French call _bled noir_ or _sarazin_. The country was +very much enclosed, producing a great contrast to the vast tracts of +land through which I had passed without a single division. + +At two leagues from Mayenne we crossed the river Aisne, winding +through a beautiful valley, between Martign and Louvern. On the left +the river forms a small lake, surrounded by a wood at the foot of a +very long and steep hill. + +The town of Mayenne is ancient and irregularly built, the river +Mayenne running through it. The ruins of an old wall and some decayed +towers remain of the fortifications which were taken by assault, after +several bloody attempts, during the siege by the English, in 1424. + +At Laval, where I stopped, after again crossing the Mayenne, I +entered the province of Bretagne: it is an old dirty town, completely +intersected by the river, and has a manufactory for coarse cloths and +cottons. The _Tte Noire_ is one of the worst inns I have met with in +the country. The department of the Isle-et-Vilaine commences here. + +This place is celebrated in the history of the Vendean war by the +refuge Madame de Laroche-Jaquelin sought there, after the deplorable +defeat of the royalist army at the battle of Mans, where it received +its death-blow. The wreck of that army, under M. de Laroche-Jaquelin, +were driven from it again on the following day, and from that +hour never rallied so as to make any stand against the victorious +republicans. + +Quitting Laval the day after my arrival, I ascended a long and steep +hill, travelled by the side of the forest of Petre, and came to Vitr, +where I remained all night for the purpose of visiting the chteau of +the celebrated Madame de Svign,[4] whose estate has descended to a +distant branch of her family, who had the good fortune to save it from +destruction during the revolution. The grounds are kept in excellent +order. Her picture hangs in the apartment in which she composed her +interesting and elegant letters, and every article of furniture +carefully preserved is shown to strangers. The distance from Vitr to +Rennes is seven leagues, over a road which becomes gradually less and +less Interesting. + +[Footnote 4: Marie de Rabutin, Marchioness de Sevign, was the +daughter of the Baron de Chantal, and born in 1626: she espoused at +the age of eighteen the Marquis de Svign, who fell in a duel in +1651, leaving her with one son and a daughter, to whose education +she paid strict attention: the daughter married in 1669 the Count de +Grignan, Commandant in Provence, and it was on a visit to her that the +Marchioness caught a fever and died in 1696. Her son Charles, Marquis +de Sevign, was one of the admirers of Ninon de L'Enclos, and had +a dispute with Madame Dacier respecting the sense of a passage in +Horace. He died in 1713. (Moreri.)] + + +Rennes is the chief city of the Isle-et-Vilaine, and in former times +was the capital of Bretagne. It is a large ancient built town, +standing on a vast plain, between the rivers Isle and Vilaine. It has +a hall of justice, (Cour Royale,) an episcopal palace, and a foundry +for cannon. A more dismal dirty looking city, or a more uninteresting +one to a stranger, is seldom to be seen. Few traces remain of its +ancient splendor; the old rampart, which once encompassed it, now +forms a promenade. + +Its commerce is considerable, being the entrept for grain and cattle, +with which it supplies Paris and the Southern Provinces, not so +abundant in their produce. Jane of Flanders, Countess of Montfort, +the most extraordinary woman of her time, resided here, during the +imprisonment of her husband in the palace of the Louvre, by Philippe +de Valois,[5] when Edward the Third of England invaded France. +Hennebon, when attacked by Charles of Blois, was defended by the +Countess, and relieved by Sir Walter Manny, whom Edward had sent with +a body of 6,000 archers to her succour. The garrison, encouraged by +so rare an example of female valour, defended themselves against an +immense army, composed of French, Spaniards, Genoese, and Bretons, +who frequently assaulted it, and were as vigorously repulsed. On one +occasion, Froissart mentions her sallying out at the head of a body of +two hundred cavalry, throwing the enemy into great confusion, doing +great execution among them, and setting fire to the tents and +magazines, which were entirely destroyed. + +[Footnote 5: Among the brave knights who engaged in so many battles +and perilous adventures, and other feats of arms, Froissart mentions +Philip, as opposed to those heroes of high renown, Edward of England, +the Prince of Wales his son, the Duke of Lancaster, Sir Reginald Lord +Cobham, Sir Walter Manny of Hainault, Sir John Chandos, Sir Fulk +Harley, and many others recorded in his book for worth and prowess. +"In France also was found good chivalry, strong of limb and stout of +heart, and in great abundance, for the kingdom of France was never +brought so low as to want men ever ready for combat. Such was King +Philipe de Valois, a bold and hardy knight, and his son King John, +also John king of Bohemia, and Charles Count of Alenon his son".] + +The population of Rennes is 27,000. It is at present garrisoned by one +thousand troops, and people are of opinion that government finds it no +easy task to keep down the spirit of the Vendeans, who are said to +be, "plus Royalistes que le Roi". There appears every where a strong +spirit of dissatisfaction on the part of the Royalists, at the general +preference given to those who were employed under the late ruler in +places of public trust, and who were avowed enemies to the restoration +of Louis XVIII. + + + + +CHAP. IV. + +ROUTE FROM RENNES TO NANTES. CITY OF NANTES. HISTORICAL ANECDOTES. + + +Arriving at the first post, we crossed the river Vilaine, and between +this and Rondun passed the river Bruck, and ascended a high mountain +between Rondun and La Brharaye. At this place we quitted the +department of the Isle-et-Vilaine. Crossing the Cher, we arrived at +Derval, and from thence at Nozai, passing several large lakes, +and then over the river Don. The whole of this distance, with the +exception of the hill already mentioned, is composed of flat sandy +plains, mostly uncultivated, and the road is very rough. + +From Nozai to Ancenis we crossed the river Isac; from thence to Redon, +Heri, to La Croix Blanche, along the bank of the river; and after +mounting another steep hill, we descended into an extensive plain, +leading to Gesvres and Nantes. + +The whole of this country north of the Loire, from Rennes to Nantes, +the triangular point resting upon Angers, is the country of the +Chouans, which it is necessary, in reference to the Vendean war, to +distinguish from the country south of the Loire, in the department of +the Loire Infrieure, called le Bocage, or la Vende. Although the +latter was the scene of the more desperate warfare between the +republicans and the royalists, yet the former had its share of +bloodshed and misery. The whole country on both banks of the Loire, as +far as Angers, is classic ground to those who revere the efforts by +which the Vendeans so long resisted the republicans. + +The city of Nantes is the chief seat of the Prfecture of the +department of the Loire Infrieure, standing on the right bank of the +river, surrounded by its ancient rampart, of a circular form, and in +good preservation: on the opposite bank stand the ruined tower +and mouldering bastions of Permil. This spot is interesting to an +Englishman, from the memorable events to which the fatal pretensions +of Edward the Third gave rise, and which occupy the pages of French +and English history, during a period of more than a century[6]. + +[Footnote 6: In 1343, Edward the Third laid siege to this place. +Froissart mentions the English army being drawn out on a hill, in +battle array, near the town. The ground rises a little in this +direction, but, I should suppose, it must have been on the right bank, +as the country there is hilly, and this ancient fortress must have +defended the passage of the river. "The king himself," says the +Chronicle, "with the rest of his army, advanced towards Rennes, +burning and ruining the country on all sides, and was most joyfully +received by the whole army who lay before it, and had been there for +a considerable time. When he had tarried there five days, he learned +that the Lord Charles of Blois was at Nantes, collecting a large force +of men at arms. He set out, therefore, leaving those whom he had found +at Rennes, and came before Nantes, which he besieged as closely as he +could, but was unable to surround it, such was its size and extent. +The marshals, therefore, and their people, overran the country and +destroyed it. The king of England, one day, drew out his army in +battle array on a hill near Nantes, in expectation that the Lord +Charles would come forth and offer him an opportunity of fighting with +him: but, having waited from morning until noon in vain, they returned +to their quarters: the light horse, however, in their retreat, +galloped up to the barriers, and set fire to the suburbs". + +"The king of England, during the siege, made frequent skirmishes, but +without success, always losing some of his men; when, therefore, he +found he could gain nothing by his assaults, and that the Lord Charles +would not come out into the plains to fight him, he established there +the Earl of Oxford, Sir Henry Beaumont, the Lord Percy, the Lord Roos, +the Lord Mowbray, the Lord Delawar, Sir Reginald Cobham, Sir John +Lisle, with six hundred men armed, and two hundred archers". + +The king himself advanced into the country of Bretagne, wasting it +wherever he went, until he came to the town of Dinant, of which Sir +Peter Porteboeuf was governor. He immediately laid siege to it all +round, and ordered it to be vigorously assaulted. Those within made a +valiant resistance. Thus did the king of England in one season, and +in one day, make an assault by himself, or those ordered by him, upon +three cities in Bretagne, and a good town, viz. Rennes, Vannes, and +Nantes. The brave Sir Walter Manny was left before Vannes, with five +hundred men at arms, and six thousand archers, while the king with +the rest of his army advanced towards Rennes and Nantes. This gallant +soldier, at the battle of Calais, had this singular honour conferred +on him by his sovereign, who, with his valiant son the Prince of +Wales, both served under his banner.--Edward said to Sir Walter Manny, +"Sir Walter, I will that you be the chief of this enterprise, and I +and my son will fight under your banner". + +The lively and picturesque historian then gives a very interesting +account of the above action, which was fought the last day of December +1348, and of the gallantry of Edward's conduct to his prisoner, Sir +Eustace de Ribeaumont. + +"We will now speak of the King of England, who was there incognito, +under Sir Walter Manny's banner. He advanced with his men on foot, +to meet the enemy, who were formed in close order, with their pikes +shortened to five feet, planted out before them. The first attack was +very sharp and severe. The King singled out Sir Eustace de Ribeaumont, +who was a strong and hardy knight: he fought a long time marvellously +well with the King, so that it was a pleasure to see them; but, by the +confusion of the engagement, they were separated; for two large bodies +met where they were fighting, and forced them to break off the combat. + +"On the side of the French there was excellent fighting, by Sir +Geoffrey de Chargny, Sir John de Landas, Sir Hector, and Sir Gavin de +Ballieul, and others; but they were all surpassed by Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont, who that day struck the King twice down on his knees: +at last, however, he was obliged to present his sword to the King, +saying, 'Sir Knight, I surrender myself your prisoner, for the honour +of the day must fall to the English.' + +"All that belonged to Sir Geoffry de Chargny were either slain or +captured: among the first was Sir Henry du Bois, and Sir Peppin de +Werr; Sir Geoffry and the rest were taken prisoners. The last that +was taken, and who in that day had excelled all, was Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont. + +"When the engagement was over, the King returned to the Castle at +Calais, and ordered all the prisoners to be brought before him. The +French taken, knew for the first time, that the King of England had +been there in person, under the banner of Sir Walter de Manny. + +"The King said he would this evening of the new year entertain them +all at supper in the Castle. When the hour for supper was come, the +tables spread, and the King and his Knights dressed in new robes, as +well as the French, who, notwithstanding they were prisoners, made +good cheer (for the King wished it should be so), the King seated +himself at table, and made those Knights do the same around him in a +most honourable manner. The gallant Prince of Wales, and the Knights +of England, served up the first course, and waited on their guests. At +the second course, they went and seated themselves at another table, +where they were served, and attended on very quietly. + +"When supper was over, and the tables removed, the King remained in +the Hall among the English and French Knights, bare-headed, except a +chaplet of fine pearls, which was round his head. He conversed +with all of them; but when he came to Sir Geoffry de Chargny, his +countenance altered, and looking at him askance, he said, 'Sir +Geoffry, I have but little reason to love you, when you wished to +seize upon me by stealth last night, what had given me so much +trouble to acquire, and cost me such sums of money' (Sir Geoffry had +endeavoured to bribe the garrison to put him in possession of it in +the night previous to the battle): 'I am, however, rejoiced to have +caught you thus in attempting it.'--When he came to Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont, he assumed a cheerful look, and said with a smile, 'Sir +Eustace, you are the most valiant knight in Christendom that I ever +saw attack his enemy, or defend himself. I never yet found any one in +battle, who, body to body, had given me so much to do as you have done +this day. I adjudge to you the prize of valour, above all the knights +of my Court, as what is justly due to you.'--The King then took off +his chaplet, which was very rich and handsome, and placing it on the +head of Sir Eustace, said, 'Sir Eustace, I present you with this +chaplet, as being the best combatant this day, either within or +without doors; and I beg of you to wear it this year for the love of +me. I know that you are lively and amorous, and love the company of +ladies and damsels; therefore say, wherever you go, that I gave it to +you. I also give you your liberty, free of ransom; and you may set out +to-morrow, and go whither you will.'"] + +The river Loire, which is crossed by seven bridges, winds through the +town. They are the Pont Rousseau, De Permil, D'Aiguillon, Feydeau, De +la Belle Croix, Brisebois, and Toussaint. The houses are regular and +handsome, having in some places a very singular appearance, from the +ground having sunk, and the foundations given way, causing them to +lean in various directions from the perpendicular line. In point of +commerce, at one period antecedent to the Revolution, Nantes was the +most considerable sea-port in France: since the loss of its West India +trade, especially with Saint Domingo, it has been greatly reduced. +The rich plains which surround it on three sides, in the form of an +amphitheatre, and the river covered with vessels and boats, give it +a most lively appearance. It has a large Theatre, a Royal College +(lately the Lyceum), a Commercial Tribunal, a handsome Exchange, a +Bishop's Palace, Hall of the Prfecture, Public Library, Anatomical +and Surgical Academies, Botanical Garden, Museum of Natural History, +and a foundry for cannon. + +The latter is in the old and decaying Chteau on the bank of the +river, called Goulemme. One of its bastions was blown up a few years +since by accident, which has shaken and destroyed the whole fabric; +but it is still capable of holding a garrison, and is a fine monument +of ancient fortification. It was once the residence of Henry IV. of +France, at the time he signed the celebrated edict, (1598,) in favour +of the reformed religion, afterwards revoked by Louis XIV. in 1685, +and which occasioned such deplorable consequences to the French +nation. + +M. de Sainte Foix, in his historical Essays upon Paris, vol. i. +p. 113, speaking of the Rue de Grenelle, in the quarter of Saint +Eustache, gives the following curious account of the birth of this +great King, whose memory is revered in France, beyond that of all the +other monarchs who have swayed the Gallic sceptre. + +"Jeanne d'Albret, being desirous of following her husband to the wars +of Picardy, the King her father told her, that in case she proved with +child, he wanted her to come and lie-in at his house; and that he +would bring up the child himself, whether a boy or a girl. This +Princess finding herself pregnant, and in her ninth month, set out +from Compigne, passed through all France as far as the Pyrenees, and +arrived in fifteen days at Pau in Barn. She was very desirous to see +her father's will. It was contained in a thick gold box, on which was +a gold chain, that would have gone twenty-five or thirty times round +her neck. She asked it of him:--'It shall be yours,' said he, 'as soon +as you have shown me the child that you now carry; and that you may +not bring into the world a crying or a pouting child, I promise you +the whole, provided that whilst you are in labour, you sing the +Bearnese song _Notre Dame du bout du Pont aidez-moi en cette heure_". +No sooner was the Princess safely delivered, than her father, placing +the gold chain on her neck, and giving her the gold box wherein was +his will, said to her: 'These are for you, daughter, but this is for +me;' and took the child in his gown, without waiting for its being +dressed in form, and carried it into his chamber. The little Prince +was brought up in such a manner as to be able to undergo fatigue and +hardship; frequently eating nothing but common bread. The good King +his grandfather ordered it thus, and would not let him be delicately +pampered, in order that from his infancy he might be inured to +privation. He has often been seen, according to the custom of the +country, amongst the other children of the Castle and village of +Coirazze, bare-footed and bare-headed, as well in winter as in summer. +Who was this Prince?--Henry IV. + +"Being descended from the Kings of France, he became the heir to that +Kingdom; but as he was educated a Protestant, his claim was resisted. +He early distinguished himself by feats of arms. After the peace of +Saint Germain, in 1570, he was taken to the French Court, and two +years afterwards married Margaret, sister of Charles IX. (At the +rejoicings on this occasion the infamous massacre of _La Saint +Barthlmy_ took place.) In 1589 he succeeded to the throne of France; +but his religion proving an obstacle to his coronation, he consented +to abjure it in 1593. In 1598 he issued the edict of Nantes, granting +toleration to the Protestants". + +Mezeray, speaking of the marriage of the King of Navarre (afterwards +Henry IV.) with Margaret de Valois, says, "There were many diversions, +tournaments, and ballets at Court; and amongst others, one which +seemed to presage the calamity that was so near bursting out upon the +Huguenots--the King and his brothers defending Paradise against the +King of Navarre and his brothers, who were repulsed and banished to +Hell;" and Sainte Foix, in his relation of the horrible massacre, +gives a detail, which in the present age appears almost incredible. + +Catherine of Medicis, whose abominable politics had corrupted the +disposition of her son, was at the head of the cabinet council who +agreed to the murder of more than one hundred thousand Protestants; +and the miserable bigot Charles IX. stationed during the massacre at +the window of a house then belonging to the Constable of Bourbon, +fired with his own hands upon the Huguenots with a long blunderbuss, +whilst they were trying to escape across the river. + +The River Erdr runs northward of the city, and forms a beautiful +feature, winding for many miles among cultivated fields and woodlands, +through a country agreeably diversified with villas, to which the +wealthier inhabitants retire during the summer months. The river +resembles a lake for the greater part of its course, and is called the +Barban. + +The Gothic church of Saint Pierre, built by the English in 1434, is +a fine old structure: having been much neglected for many years, and +greatly defaced during the Revolution, it was at this time restoring. +Among the monuments about to be replaced, was an excellent one of Anne +de Bretagne, whose effigy, and that of her husband, are as large as +life. The allegorical figures of Justice, Temperance, Prudence, and +Fortitude, the twelve Apostles, and the supporters to the Arms (a +greyhound and a lion), are all executed in the finest white marble. +They were hidden during the Revolution, and have only very lately been +discovered, as have also some capital paintings piously preserved +for the Church. Anne was first married to Charles VIII. in 1499, and +afterwards to Louis XII. She died at the Chteau de Blois in 1514, and +Louis in 1515. + +The climate of Nantes is mild, and reckoned remarkably healthy: every +article of life is cheap, and from its mild temperature it abounds +in the finest fruits and most excellent wines. Its population is +estimated at 60,000 inhabitants. The numbers that were destroyed +during the Revolution, or, as the French emphatically term it, "Le +rgne de la Terreur," were never ascertained; but the frightful +history of that bloody period would probably justify the computation +at half the number of its present population, many having fallen +victims to the murders that were termed "_Noyades_," independent of +those who perished in the Vendean war. + +The spot where the gallant Charette was shot, with several other +leaders of the Vendean army, is shown; and in the cemetery, a large +mound of earth marks the place where the bodies were thrown in, at the +time of the "_Fuzillades_" when the infamous Carrier presided at the +execution of the brave Royalists.[7] The print beneath represents this +monster on the banks of the Loire directing the Noyades. + +[Illustration] + +[Footnote 7: Chaque nuit on venait en prendre par centaines, pour les +mettre sur les bateaux. L on liait les malheureux deux deux, et +on les poussait dans l'eau coups de baonette. On saisissait +indistinctement tout ce qui se trouvait l'entrept, tellement +qu'on noya un jour l'tat major d'une corvette Anglaise, qui tait +prisonnier de guerre. Une autre fois, Carrier, voulant donner un +exemple de l'austrit des moeurs rpublicaines, fit enfermer trois +cent filles publiques de la ville, et les malheureuses cratures +furent noyes. Enfin, l'on estime qu'il a pri l'entrept quinze +mille personnes en un mois.--_Mmoires de Madame la Marquise de +Laroche-Jaquelin_.] + +At the end of a fine avenue of trees, on the Boulevard, is a large +and splendid mansion built by that Deputy, and which is at present +inhabited by a merchant. Carrier's mistress (to whom he left it, +together with a very considerable fortune, amassed from the spoils +of his plunder, and the murder of the innocent inhabitants) was very +lately sentenced to two years' hard labour for some crime she had +committed: and it is no less remarkable, that, of the remaining +inhabitants known to have participated in the atrocities of that +frightful period, there is not one but is reduced to poverty, and most +of them in the extreme of wretchedness, shunned by all, and suffering +the ignominy they have so justly merited! + + + + +CHAP. V. + +COUNTRY SOUTH OF THE LOIRE.--LE BOCAGE.--CLISSON.--HISTORICAL +ANECDOTES.--THE GARENNE, AND RIVER SVRES. + + +The best method of travelling in this country is on horseback: in +fact, it is impossible to proceed in any other way, after quitting the +main road. Having procured a guide and horses, I set out early in the +morning, crossing the Loire by the Pont Rosseau, to Verton, keeping +along the banks of the River Svres. Verton is a romantic village +standing on a hill: most of the houses are in ruins, from the effect +of the destructive war of La Vende. From thence to Le Palet, most +intricate narrow roads, or more properly speaking, pathways, darkened +by the overhanging branches of trees, and in many parts deep with +mire, from the sun's rays not being able to dry the ground, make it +difficult to proceed, and we several times lost our way. It was late +before we reached Le Palet, and though I had not tasted food for many +hours, I could not resist stopping to view so interesting a spot, and +making a hasty sketch of the ruins of the house in which Ablard +was born, and in which Hlose resided with him before their final +separation. The ruins of the House of Brenger, the father of Ablard, +are close to the church of Palet, on the left of the high road, three +miles distant from Clisson. Le Palet is thus described by a French +author, in the history of the Province. + +"Cet homme si clbre par son savoir, ses amours, et ses infortunes, +amena Hlose au Palet lorsqu'il l'et enleve de chez le Chanoine +Fulbert, pour la soustraire au ressentiment de cet oncle jaloux +et barbare; mais, oblig de quitter cette retraite paisible pour +retourner Paris, o l'appelaient ses nombreux disciples, le soin de +sa gloire et de sa fortune, Ablard confia sa soeur sa chre Hlose +et le gage prcieux qu'elle portait dans son sein. Elle accoucha au +Palet d'un fils d'une si rare beaut, qu'elle le nomma Astralabe, +c'est--dire, astre brillant; mais l'absence de celui qu'elle adorait +rendait moins vifs pour elle les doux plaisirs de la maternit; son +me expansive et brlante tait livre sans cesse une inquite et +sombre mlancholie qu'elle ne parvenait sans doute dissiper qu'en +venant sur les bords de la Svres rver l'objet de sa tendresse, et +soupirer aprs son retour. Sept sicles se sont couls depuis cette +poque, et les noms d'Ablard et d'Hlose embellissent toujours ce +dlicieux ravage. On interroge avec une curiosit avide ces roches +ternelles et ces grottes mystrieuses qui furent les tmoins discrets +de leurs peines et de leurs plaisirs. On se reporte ces temps +reculs o ces amants venaient dans cette solitude enchanteresse, se +confier mutuellement leur vifs inquitudes; on croit les voir s'garer +sous ces riants ombrages, et s'abandonner toutes les inspirations de +l'loquence, toutes les illusions de l'amour". + +I arrived at Clisson just as the sun was disappearing, and its rays +were only sufficiently strong to reflect the ruined towers of the +Castle in the river which runs at its foot. It will be much easier +to imagine, than for me to convey the sensations I felt when I first +caught a glimpse of it, with the story of La Roche-Jaquelin full in +my recollection! I alighted at a small cabaret, dignified by the +appellation of the Hotel de la Providence, which seemed preferable to +another recommended to me by my guide,--such an one, indeed, as might +be expected in a remote place like this: part of the roof was off, +and, like most of the houses in the place, bore evident marks of the +desolating war that had been carried on here: many are still in ruins. +The descent into the town is very steep and rugged, the road being +formed out of the solid rock. The master of the cabaret was sitting +with his family at the door, but the appearance of his mansion was so +unpromising, that I thought it best to make some agreement, and a few +inquiries before dismounting;--these preliminaries being settled, and +having consented to pay him fifty sous for supper and my bed, and +thirty for breakfast, I entered the house: and never recollect having +a keener relish for a meal, or enjoying one more heartily, for I had +been sixteen hours on horseback. + +Fatigued and exhausted as I was, I rambled after dinner towards the +delightful grounds of La Garenne, belonging to Monsieur La Motte, who +has embellished them in a most interesting and romantic manner. + +The river Svres runs along the side, and separates them from the fine +old Castle of Clisson, whose high and decaying towers and battlements +give the beholder a noble idea of its ancient grandeur. The evening +was a very fine one,--one of those delightful soft, clear skies usual +at this season, the latter end of July. I sat myself down in the +grotto of Hlose,--a spot of the deepest seclusion, formed, by the +hand of Nature, of large masses of granite. The nightingales were +singing in the lofty trees at the back; on the sides were shrubs of +every description intermingled with fruit trees, and the river having +several falls and little rocky islets, gave an air of delightful +enchantment to this most romantic scene. + + Hlose! ce nom, qui ne doit s'attendrir? + Comme elle sut aimer! comme elle sut souffrir! + +At the entrance of the grotto are engraved these lines, nearly effaced +by the hand of time. + + Hlose peut-tre erra sur ce rivage, + Quand, aux yeux des jaloux drobant son sjour, + Dans les murs du Palet elle vint mettre au jour + Un fils, cher et malheureux gage + De ses plaisirs furtifs et de son tendre amour. + Peut-tre en ce rduit sauvage, + Seule, plus d'une fois, elle vint soupirer, + Et goter librement la douceur de pleurer; + Peut-tre sur ce roc assise + Elle rvait son malheur. + J'y veux rver aussi; j'y veux remplir mon coeur + Du doux souvenir d'Hlose. + +I had but a few weeks before seen the tomb of Ablard and Hlose in +the Cemetery of Pre la Chaise at Paris, whither it had been recently +removed from the Convent of the Augustins, at which latter place I +had formerly made the annexed drawing of it. I had likewise been very +lately at Argenteuil, once the place of her asylum described by Pope: + + In these deep solitudes and awful cells-- + +and had the same day witnessed the ruins of the house in which Ablard +was born, and in which Hlose resided and became a mother, and from +whence she used to make frequent visits to this spot: all these +circumstances combined, gave the scene before me a most powerful +interest. I rose early the next day, anxious to revisit a place which +had afforded me such delight the previous evening. Wandering by the +beautiful banks of the river, along its green meadows, in a woody +recess, I observed the following lines beneath an urn, cut in the rock +on which it rested: + + Consacrer dans l'obscurit, + Ses loisirs l'tude, l'amiti sa vie, + Sont des plaisirs dignes d'envie; + Etre chri vaut mieux qu'tre vant! + +[Illustration: RUINS OF ABLARD'S HOUSE.] + +A little further on, is a stone pillar, with a venerable accacia tree +spreading its leaves over it. It has the following Latin inscription: + + VII + + IM CAESAR + AVGVSTVS + PONTIFEX MAX + VIAM. OLIM + A CONIVINCO + AD LIMONEM + + IMP. CAESAR. TRAJ. + ADRIANVS AVG + PM. TRIB. POT. + VIAM AB AVGVSTO + STATAM REFICIT.[8] + + +[Footnote 8: Auguste tendit jusqu' La Loire La Gaule Aquitanique, +autrefois borne par la Garonne, et comprit L'Armorique dans la +Province Celtique ou Lyonnaise. L'Empereur Adrian, ayant fait depuis +une nouvelle distribution des Gaules, divisa La Lyonnaise en deux, et +mit L'Armorique dans la seconde; enfin cette Lyonnaise ou Celtique +ayant t encore divise en deux, Tours devint la Mtropole de la +troisime, qui comprenait la Touraine, le Maine, l'Anjou, et la +Bretagne.--_Histoire de Bret_.] + +[Illustration: GROTTO of HLOSE at CLISSON.] + +[Illustration: TOMB of ABLARD and HLOSE.] + +Farther on several large blocks of granite are piled together in so +strange and curious a manner, that it must have been the work of +Nature alone:--one of them has these beautiful lines carved on it: + + O! Limpide Rivire! O Rivire chrie! + Puisse la sotte vanit + Ne jamais ddaigner ta rive humble et fleurie! + Que ton simple sentier ne soit point frquent + Par aucun tourment de la vie + Tels que l'ambition, l'envie, + L'avarice, et la fausset! + Un bocage si frais, un sjour si tranquille, + Aux tendres sentiments doit seul servir d'azile. + Ces rameaux amoureux entrelasss exprs + Aux Muses, aux Amours, offrent leur voile pais; + Et ce cristal d'une onde pure + A jamais ne doit rflchir + Que les grces de la nature + Et les images du plaisir. + +Close to the brink of the river stands a prodigiously large granite +rock, immediately facing the waterfall called le Bassin de Diane: on +it are these words: + + SA MASSE INDESTRVCTIBLE + A FATIGV LE TEMS. + a quotation from Delille. + +[Illustration: GRANITE ROCK in the GARENNE.] + +The French writers, speaking of this interesting place, observe: +"Comment souponner en effet qu'au milieu de cette _terrible Vende_, +qu'au centre de cet impntrable et sombre Bocage, il existe un pays +dlicieux et fertile, couvert de mines sculaires qui rappelent tous +les souvenirs historiques de notre ancienne France, comme le caractre +de ses habitans en rappele les moeurs, le courage, et la loyaut". + +On the opposite side of the river, a little to the right, stands the +ancient Chteau de Clisson, celebrated in the modern as well as the +ancient history of Bretagne. Its lofty turrets, and decaying bastions, +extend a considerable distance along the shore of the Svres, +recalling to mind the ancient days of chivalry, when bravery, love, +and religion, were so singularly blended together, and gave a romantic +half-polished manner to the greatest barbarians. In later times it +became the scene of events which no one can contemplate without the +deepest interest. In viewing this magnificent ruin, it is impossible +not to regret that a place so frequently the theatre of noble +achievements, inhabited by one of the greatest men that France has +produced, Franois I. Conntable de Clisson,[9] father to Anne of +Bretagne, should have been so recently the scene of such savage +horrors and bloodshed! Now, all is silence and solitude: and amidst +the noble ruins which were once decorated with banners, and the +hard-earned trophies of victory,--where high-born knights and splendid +dames mingled in mirth and festivity to the echoes of the minstrels, +singing lays of love or battle,--are now only to be seen and heard the +birds of prey, hovering over a solitary tree, planted to mark the spot +where a deed was committed which has not often its parallel in the +darkest histories of the most ferocious nations. + +[Footnote 9: In the "Histoire Gnalogique de France", tom. vi. is an +account of the Constable's death. "The Duke of Orleans, brother to the +king, was very fond of a Jewess, whom he privately visited. Having +some reason to suspect that Peter de Craon, Lord of Sabl and de la +Fert-Bernard, his chamberlain and favourite, had joked with the +Duchess of Orleans upon his intrigue, he turned him out of his house +with infamy. Craon imputed his disgrace partly to the Constable of +Clisson. On the night of the 13th June, having waited for him at the +corner of the street _Coulture Ste. Catherine_, and finding he had but +little company with him, he fell upon him at the head of a score of +ruffians. Clisson defended himself for some time without any other +weapon than a small cutlass; but after receiving three wounds, fell +from his horse, and pitched against a door, which flew open. The +report of this assassination reached the king's ears just as he was +stepping into bed. He put on a great coat and his shoes, and repaired +to the place where he was informed his constable had been killed. He +found him in a baker's shop, wallowing in his blood. After his wounds +were examined, "Constable, (said he to him), nothing was or ever will +he so severely punished". It was given out that Clisson made his will +the next day, and there was a mighty outcry about the sum of 1,700,000 +livres, which it amounted to. It should be observed, that during +twenty-five years that he was in the service of France, he had sought +for and beaten the English every where; that he gained the famous +battle of Robeck, and chastised the Flemish; that he enjoyed for +twelve years the salary and appointments of Constable; and that, +moreover, his landed estate, (which included many castles inherited +from his ancestors, in Bretagne and Poitou,) was very considerable."] + +During the Vendean war, the royalists had been driven out of Clisson +by the republicans, under the command of a ferocious jacobin. The town +was pillaged and burnt before they quitted it. Twenty-seven females +had, during the battle, concealed themselves among the ruins: when +information of it was given to the troops, who had already quitted the +place, they were ordered to return, and the whole of these unhappy +women were thrown alive into a well, where they perished!!! It has +since been filled up, and the lonely tree, just mentioned, now records +the bloody and inhuman deed. + +In the account of Clisson, by a late French author, no notice is +taken of this circumstance. He merely observes, when mentioning the +destruction of the place, after the de la Roche-Jaquelin had quitted +it, "Les Rives ombrages de la Svres, si sduisante par ses belles +cascades et l'ensemble de ce paysage potique, feroient de cette +contre un sjour dlicieux, si de tristes dbris, qui heureusement +disparoissent tous les jours, ne rappelaient encore le souvenir +affligeant de nos discordes civiles. Les armes Rvolutionnaires qui +combattirent les Vendens, en 1793 et en 1794, employrent inutilement +pour les rduire le fer et le feu; la flamme atteignit les villes, les +villages, les mtairies, et jusqu'aux humbles chaumires; et, dans ce +vaste et pouvantable incendie, Clisson ne put chapper une ruine +complte. Jamais peut-tre cette petite ville ne se seroit entirement +rdifi, sans une circonstance particulire qui contribua puissamment + la faire renotre de ces cendres". + +In the town of Clisson was born the celebrated Barin de la +Galissonniere, Admiral of France, who fought the well-known action +off Mahon, in the month of June, 1756, with Admiral Byng, who, in +consequence of his conduct on that occasion, was brought to a court +martial and shot. The French writers make the following absurd remark, +as to the _cause_ of his fate: "Les Anglais, furieux d'avoir t +vaincus par un Amiral Franois, firent fusiller l'Amiral Byng". It is +now well known that he was sacrificed to an unprincipled ministerial +faction. + +The ancient Chteau de Clisson is built on a rock, on the bank of the +Svres, facing the mouth of the river, called Le Moine, which empties +itself into the Svres at this place, so that the town of Clisson +stands between the two rivers at their junction. An ancient bridge, +from whence this view is taken, joins one part of the town to the +other, and leads to the castle, which was once considered the barrier +of Bretagne. The two rivers run over a bed of granite rock, which, in +some places, forming a cataract, adds considerably to the surrounding +scenery: large masses of this rock in many parts seem as if piled up +by nature for the purpose of giving it a more romantic effect. The +whole forms a most picturesque object, when viewed from the opposite +shore, from whence the sketch of the temple erected on the ruin of St. +Gilles is taken; and the remembrance of its recent fate throws over +the scene a strong and melancholy interest. + +[Illustration: RUINS OF CLISSON.] + +The castle is supposed to have been first erected by the Romans, +as the Province formed a part of the Gaule Aquitanique, under the +Emperors Augustus and Adrian. + +The French repaired it during the reign of Louis VIII. in 1223, under +Olivier I. Sire de Clisson, as he is styled; and it was made a regular +fortification, and surrounded by a wall a century after, by the +Conntable: in 1464 the Duc de Bretagne, Francis II. entirely finished +it. + +The Sire de Clisson, Olivier I. who had served during one of the +Crusades in Palestine, was knighted with several others, in 1218. "Un +nombre prodigieux de Seigneurs Anglais, Normands, Angevins, Manceaux, +Tourangeaux, et Bretons, prirent la Croix; Le Pape, Innocent III. +envoya en Bretagne, en 1197, Helvain, Moine de St. Denis, pour y +prcher une croisade. Une grande quantit de Bretons se laissrent +conduire en Syrie par ce Moine; et, en 1218, plusieurs Seigneurs +Bretons suivirent leur exemple, entre autres, Herv de Lon, Morvau, +Vicomte du Fou, et le Sire de Clisson". + +From the construction of the towers and bastions, it is supposed that +at his return from the Holy Land, he had copied the Syrian style of +building; and one of the towers, which is represented in the sketch +of the gateway of the Chteau de Clisson, is still called La Tour des +Plerins. + +This tower, which has been used as a dungeon, is the most perfect of +any remaining. In it are subterranean galleries, anciently used as a +prison, and appropriated by the republicans to the same purpose. It is +dreadful to think of the horrors that have been practised within its +walls, in our own time. + +[Illustration: TOUR des PLERINS.] + +From the top of this tower the prospect is very extensive, and, during +the year 1793, when the republican army quartered themselves in it, a +sentinel was placed there to give notice in case of the approach of an +enemy. The historian of that period, speaking of the entrance to this +tower, observes, in reference to the cruelties committed there in the +Vendean war: + +"Il existait au milieu de la dernire cour un trs beau puits, taill +dans le roc et extrmement profond: il est actuellement combl, et +ma plume se refuse tracer les scnes horribles qui ensanglantrent +ce lieu en 1793 et en 1795, tristes et pouvantables effets des +guerres civiles!" + +This passage alludes, I imagine, to the circumstance related in +page 90. Within its walls are various inscriptions, many of them in +characters so difficult to decypher, that they remain unknown. The +following has been rendered into more modern French by Cerutti. + + J'ai gravi, mesur ces ruines sublimes; + Mon coeur s'en est mu! De nos vaillants aeux + Tout y reprsentait les tournois magnanimes, + Ils semblaient reparitre et combattre mes yeux; + J'entendois sous leurs coups retentir les abmes; + Juge de leurs combats, idole de leur coeur, + Du haut des tours, la dame admiroit le vainqueur. + Casques et boucliers, cuirasses gigantesques, + Cris d'armes, mot d'amour, devises de l'honneur, + Carlets pour l'infidle ou pour le suborneur, + Tout garde sur ces murs vraiment chevaleresques. + La mmoire d'un sicle o l'pe, o la foi, + O la galanterie taient la seule loi. + +Louis IX. and Blanche of Castille, his queen, retired to Clisson, at +the time the English, under Henry III. penetrated into Poitou, and +were received by Olivier de Clisson, who then garrisoned it. + +In the war of the League, which convulsed the kingdom of France, +Clisson remained faithful to Henry III. and during the early part +of the reign of his successor Henry IV. The Protestants were there +protected, and established themselves in the fauxbourg. From the +period at which Henry IV. signed the edict at Nantes, 15th April, +1598, until the war of La Vende, this celebrated fortress is no where +mentioned by any of the French historians: it became neglected when +the feudal system declined, and the republican army completed its +ruin. The sad events of this period, and the destruction and carnage +which followed, can never be effaced from the page of history. The +ruined towns and villages prove the melancholy truth, that the general +corruption of a nation prepares the way for general anarchy, and that +the blindness of political rage is always more vindictive than even +private hatred. + +I can never sufficiently lament the absence, at this time, of Madame +de La Roche-Jaquelin from the country, as she occasionally resides in +the neighbourhood, since the restoration of her property, (although +her once noble residence is now in a state of ruin,) occupying a small +chteau at some small distance, which had partly escaped the fire and +destruction that had been fatal to most houses in the district. Who +can read the interesting memoirs of this Lady, and not sympathize in +the sufferings of herself, and of those brave and loyal people whose +heroic struggle against their republican oppressors lasted with little +intermission from the overthrow of the monarchy until its final +restoration? Among the number of heroic females who, like Madame de +la Roche-Jaquelin, thus distinguished themselves, was Madame de La +Rochefoucault who, like her admirer Charette, was put to death at +Nantes. This lady, of an ancient and noble family, and of great +beauty, signalized herself on various occasions, but being taken +prisoner at the battle of the Moulin aux Chvres, she was immediately +shot! + +[Illustration: MILL AUX CHVRES.] + +The whole history of this terrible war is filled with the noble +devotion of heroic females. The chiefs were attended in the most +sanguinary battles by ladies, who had themselves ornamented their +standards with loyal and chivalrous emblems of the cause for which +they were prepared to sacrifice themselves, and who were frequently +seen rallying the broken troops, and falling, covered with wounds, by +the hands of their enemies! + +The annexed view of the Moulin aux Chvres, which is rendered +interesting from the account given by Madame de la Roche-Jaquelin of +the battle fought near it, will convey a tolerable idea of the scenery +of the country. + +The prodigious growth of the willow tree in Bretagne, is such as to +claim the peculiar notice of travellers: here they attain a gigantic +height, no where else to be seen. Batard, in his "_Notices sur +les Vgtaux_" mentions one in the commune of Pommeraie in the +arrondissement de Beauprau, whose age was supposed to be nearly two +thousand years. Within the Chteau at Clisson are some very old ones, +but the finest I observed were at the Moulin aux Chvres. + + + + +CHAP. VI. + +LIMITS AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OF LE BOCAGE. MODE OF WARFARE PRACTISED +BY THE VENDEANS. + + +My opportunity of becoming acquainted with that singular district +called Le Bocage, will be best understood by very briefly sketching my +route through it. I traversed it, and the district called Le Loroux, +by the route of Montaigne and Lege, and on my return I passed through +Clisson, Vallet, and Loroux, along the banks of the Loire. By pursuing +this route, I had every where the interesting opportunity of exploring +the scene of that destructive warfare which had ravaged the towns and +villages of this part of France. + +At one period, the war of La Vende extended to the north of the +Loire, as far as Rennes, forming a triangle, the eastern point of +which rested on the town of Angers. To the south of the Loire it +spread nearly as far as la Rochelle; and as in this part also it +extended nearly to Angers, the tract over which it spread its ravages +formed nearly a square. The district called Loroux runs parallel with +the Loire: Le Bocage, which occupies both districts, and the whole +country south of that river, is comprehended under the general +appellation of La Vende. Under the old divisions of France Le Bocage +formed part of the province of Poitou, and Le Loroux part of the +provinces of Anjou and Bretagne: but when, at the revolution, France +was divided into departments, these two districts were denominated La +Vende, Les deux Svres, La Loire Infrieure, and Mayenne and Loire. + +La Vende is an extremely interesting district, not merely on account +of the singular and heroic warfare that was carried on there so +long, but also from the appearance of the country, and the manners, +opinions, and general character of its inhabitants; and Le Bocage is, +in all these respects, the most interesting part of La Vende. In +Le Bocage, the war was carried on with most wonderful vigour and +pertinacity, as well as with almost unparalleled destruction and +cruelty. Those who are acquainted only with the other parts of France, +can form no idea of the aspect of this district, or of the manners of +its inhabitants; they differ so widely and essentially, that they seem +to belong to another portion of the globe. It has always been regarded +as the most fertile country in France; and, before the revolution, it +was undoubtedly one of the most populous. + +There are only two roads in the whole country: one of them runs from +Nantes to la Rochelle, and the other from Bordeaux to Tours, through +Poitou: all the rest of this district is a complete labyrinth: there +are indeed numerous pathways, so very winding and narrow, that they +are much more calculated to harass and mislead, than to assist a +traveller in his journey: these pathways are flanked by wide and deep +ditches, and almost rendered completely dark by lofty hedges on each +side of them, the trees of which meet at top, and thus form an arch: +hence they are rough and uneven in summer, besides being intolerably +hot, and deep and miry in winter. To add to these inconveniences, the +bed of a rivulet flowing along them frequently constitutes the only +passage. Even when the traveller, after toiling along these dreadful +pathways, comes near a town or village, he generally finds that the +approach to it is practicable only by ascending irregular steps, +cut out of the solid rock, on which they are built. The inhabitants +themselves even are frequently puzzled by these pathways; and, after +wandering for a considerable length of time, at last find out that +they have been travelling in a wrong direction. + +The whole country bears the appearance of an extensive and thick +forest: this arises from the nature of the enclosures; they are +extremely small, often not more than fifty or sixty perches, +surrounded with strong hedges planted in the banks. These +circumstances alone would give the appearance just noticed; but the +effect is much increased from other causes. On each side of the banks, +on which the trees are planted, there are ditches and drains, and the +moisture which they constantly supply to their roots, renders their +growth very rapid and luxuriant; so that when we consider the number +of the trees and their great size, we shall not be surprised that +the country looks like an immense forest. Sometimes the trees are so +disposed as to answer the purpose of a palisade; and this purpose they +answer most effectually, not only from the great size and strength of +the trees themselves, but also from the intervening spaces between +them being filled up with strong and impassable underwood [10]. + +[Footnote 10: A tract of about 150 miles square, at the mouth and +on the southern bank of the Loire, comprehends the scene of those +deplorable hostilities. The most inland part of the district, and that +in which the insurrection first broke out, is called _Le Bocage_; and +seems to have been almost as singular in its physical conformation, +as in the state and condition of its population. A series of detached +eminences, of no great elevation, rose over the whole face of the +country, with little rills trickling in the hollows and occasional +cliffs by their sides. The whole space was divided into small +enclosures, each surrounded with tall wild hedges, and rows of pollard +trees; so that though there were few large woods, the whole region +had a sylvan and impenetrable appearance. The ground was mostly in +pasturage; and the landscape had, for the most part, an aspect of +wild verdure, except that in the autumn some patches of yellow corn +appeared here and there athwart their green enclosures. Only two great +roads traversed this sequestered region, running nearly parallel, at +a distance of more than seventy miles from each other. In the +intermediate space, there was nothing but a labyrinth of wild and +devious paths, crossing each other at the extremity of almost every +field--often serving, at the same time, as channels for the winter +torrents, and winding so capriciously among the innumerable hillocks, +and beneath the meeting hedge-rows, that the natives themselves were +always in danger of losing their way when they went a league or +two from their own habitations. The country, though rather thickly +peopled, contained, as may be supposed, few large towns; and the +inhabitants, devoted almost entirely to rural occupations, enjoyed a +great deal of leisure. The noblesse or gentry of the country were very +generally resident on their estates, where they lived in a style of +simplicity and homeliness which had long disappeared from every other +part of the kingdom. No grand parks, fine gardens, or ornamented +villas; but spacious clumsy chateaux, surrounded with farm offices +and cottages for the labourers. Their manners and way of life, too, +partook of the same primitive rusticity. There was great cordiality, +and even much familiarity, in the intercourse of the seigneurs with +their dependants. They were followed by large trains of them in their +hunting expeditions, which occupied so great a part of their time. +Every man had his fowling-piece, and was a marksman of fame or +pretensions. They were posted in various quarters, to intercept or +drive back the game; and were thus trained, by anticipation, to that +sort of discipline and concert, in which their whole art of war was +afterwards found to consist. Nor was their intimacy confined to their +sports. The peasants resorted familiarly to their landlords for +advice, both legal and medical; and they repaid the visits in their +daily rambles, and entered with interest into all the details of their +agricultural operations. They came to the weddings of their children, +drank with their guests, and made little presents to the young people. +On Sundays and holidays, all the retainers of the family assembled at +the chteau, and danced in the barn or the court-yard, according to +the season. The ladies of the house joined in the festivity, and that +without any airs of condescension or of mockery; for, in their own +life, there was little splendour or luxurious refinement. They +travelled on horseback, or in heavy carriages drawn by oxen; and had +little other amusement than in the care of their dependants, and the +familiar intercourse of neighbours among whom there was no rivalry or +principle of ostentation. + +From all this there resulted, as Madame de L. assures us, a certain +innocence and kindliness of character, joined with great hardihood and +gaiety,--which reminds us of Henry IV. and his Barnois,--and carries +with it, perhaps on account of that association, an idea of something +more chivalrous and romantic--more honest and unsophisticated, than +any thing we expect to meet with in this modern world of artifice and +derision. There was great purity of morals accordingly, Mad. de +L. informs us, and general cheerfulness and content in all this +district;--crimes were never heard of, and lawsuits almost unknown. +Though not very well educated, the population was exceedingly +devout;--though theirs was a kind of superstitious and traditional +devotion, it must he owned, rather than an enlightened or rational +faith. They had the greatest veneration for crucifixes and images of +their saints, and had no idea of any duty more imperious than that of +attending on all the solemnities of religion. They were singularly +attached also to their curs, who were almost all born and bred in the +country, spoke their _patois_, and shared in all their pastimes and +occupations. When a hunting-match was to take place, the clergyman +announced it from the pulpit after prayers,--and then took his +fowling-piece, and accompanied his congregation to the thicket. It was +on behalf of these curs, in fact, that the first disturbances were +excited.--_Edin. Rev. for Feb._ 1816.] + +This luxuriance of growth does not proceed entirely from the moisture +supplied by the ditches and drains; the soil naturally is uncommonly +fertile: and whatever springs from it, whether planted by the hand of +man, and nourished, while growing, by his attention and skill, or its +spontaneous production, bears witness to this uncommon fertility. +The country abounds in corn and vineyards; the produce of the latter +consists principally in white vines. At the season of the year when I +passed through it, the intermixture of the rich and soft yellow of the +wheat nearly ripe, with the light green foliage of the vines, produced +a most pleasing effect. In Poitou and Anjou, the harvest generally +begins about the latter end of June: this year it was late every +where, but very abundant. The vineyards had mostly failed. + +Le Marais, which is also comprehended within the limits of Le Bocage, +is that part of Lower Poitou, adjacent to the sea. There the country +is open and flat, and the passes are impracticable during the winter, +and very difficult at other seasons of the year. The inhabitants of Le +Marais formed a division of the army of the celebrated chief Charette. +La Vende was divided into two circuits; each army had its own, until +the junction of the whole under La Roche-Jaquelin, &c; that of +Charette occupied the district of Chalans, Machecoul, la Roche Sur +Yon, les Sables, a part of the districts of St. Florent, Vehiers, +Chollet, Chtillon, la Chtaigneraie, a great part of the districts +of Clisson, Montaigne, Thouars, Parthenay, and Fontenay-le-peuple. +Although the locality of Le Bocage is a perfect contrast to that of le +Marais, nature seems to have exerted all her power in forming these +two districts into one extensive fortress, capable of opposing every +thing to an attack, and presenting so many means of defence, that it +was rarely possible for the enemy to lead a column, or to regulate +its movements so as to preserve union in its marches or manoeuvres, +dispositions for an attack, or retreat. The positions of the Vendeans +could never be understood, or their projects foreseen, in a country +where the frequent undulations of land, hedges, trees, and bushes, +obstructing the surface, would not admit of seeing fifty paces round; +and one of the republican generals, writing to the Convention, +thus speaks of Charette's movements. "It is no easy matter to find +Charette, particularly to bring him to action. To-day at the head of +ten thousand men, the next day wandering with a score of horsemen, it +is very rare that one can come up with him. When we believed him to be +in our front, he was in our rear. Yesterday he threatened such a post, +to-day he is ten leagues from it; more able to avoid than fight us, +he almost always disconcerts, and often, without knowing it, all our +combinations. He endeavours to surprise us, to carry off our patroles, +and to kill our stragglers". + +The inhabitants of le Marais and le Bocage for a long period confined +themselves to defensive warfare, for which nature seems to have formed +their country. The situation of le Marais enabled the brave royalists +to receive succours from the English, and to facilitate and protect +the debarkation of such as they wished to procure from the North side +of the Loire, the coast being flat and easy of access by sea. + +The Vendeans, favoured by every natural advantage, had a peculiar +tactic which they knew perfectly well how to apply to their position +and local circumstances, and adopted a mode of fighting hitherto +unknown, and practicable in that country alone. Confident in the +superiority which their mode of attack gave them, they never suffered +themselves to be anticipated, they never engaged but when and +where they pleased. Their dexterity in the use of fire arms was such, +that no people, however well skilled in manoeuvring, could make such +good use of a gun; the huntsman of Loroux, and the poacher of le +Bocage, having been always proverbial as excellent marksmen. It was no +unusual thing for the Vendeans when at the plough, to carry with them +a musket; and whenever they observed "a blue coat," (as they called +the republican soldiers) they stopt their plough, took up their +musket, and fired at him; it seldom happened that they missed the +object of their vengeance. A melancholy circumstance, connected with +this mode of warfare, took place: the son of one of the Vendean +farmers, or ploughmen, had been compelled to join the republican army; +but having succeeded in escaping, he was hastening, in his republican +uniform, to rejoin his relations, when being observed by his father, +while at the plough, the latter, unable from the distance to recognize +his son, and seeing only the uniform of an enemy, fired and shot him. + +Their attacks were always dreadful, sudden, and almost unforeseen, +because it was very difficult to reconnoitre or obtain information so +as to guard against surprise. Their order of battle was generally in +the form of a crescent, their wings being composed of the most expert +marksmen, who never fired without taking aim, and seldom ever missed. +Their retreat was so precipitate that it was difficult to come up +with them, as they dispersed themselves through rough fields, hedges, +woods, and bushes, knew all the bye-roads, secret escapes and defiles, +and were acquainted with all the obstacles which could obstruct their +flight, and the means of avoiding them. Their mode of warfare was +according to the locality of the country, well calculated to prolong +the struggle and waste the strength of the forces sent to oppose them. +In the district of les Sables, intersected by canals, rivulets, and +salt marshes, where there were scarcely carriage roads, but chiefly +bye-ways, and raised paths, a species of natural fortification was +every where formed: this rendered any attack against them dangerous, +and consequently it was most favourable for defence, particularly to +the inhabitants. The canals are in general from thirty to forty feet +wide on the upper extremity of the banks. The Vendean, carrying his +musket in a bandoleer, and leaning upon a long pole, leaped from one +bank to the other with amazing facility. When the pressure of the +enemy would not admit of his doing this, without exposing himself to +their fire, he threw himself into a niole, (a kind of small boat,) +very flat, and light, and crossed the canal with great rapidity, being +always sufficiently shut up to hide himself from his pursuers: but he +soon appeared again, and firing at his enemy, again disappeared. The +republican soldier to whom this mode of fighting was unknown, was +obliged to be continually upon his guard, to march along the shores of +the canals, and to follow slowly their circuitous track, supporting at +the same time frequent skirmishes, while it took him several hours +to traverse a space which the Vendean commonly accomplished in a few +minutes. + +Among the difficulties which the execution of all military plans met +with in La Vende, the nature and degree of which may be judged of +from the local dispositions and the kind of warfare carried on by the +royalists, there was one which was invincible, and which singularly +retarded the operations of the republicans. Whenever they were +desirous of sending an order from head quarters to a division at the +distance of twelve or fifteen leagues, the messenger was often obliged +to travel fifty or sixty in order to avoid passing through the +revolted country. Hence the impossibility of attempting any +expedition, however necessary or desirable, which required to be +executed without delay. The Vendeans would appear one day at a certain +point to the number of several thousand men; measures were concerted +for attacking them the next day, but before that arrived they were +eight or ten leagues distant from the place where they had showed +themselves the day before. + +Thus were the republicans exposed to fruitless victories or disastrous +checks, which exhausted their men and resources. Masters of the field +of battle, they found, says one of their generals, nothing but wooden +shoes and some slain, never any arms or ammunition. The Vendean when +perceived, would either hide or break his gun, and in surrendering his +life, seldom left his weapon. Being well acquainted with the country, +and more dexterous than the republicans, they carried scarcely any +artillery with them, four or five pieces sufficed for an army of +thirty or forty thousand men; these were generally light field pieces. +Equally sparing of ammunition, they took but few waggons, one alone +served the pieces, as they well knew it was not artillery that would +procure them the victory; thence, when the republicans met with any +disastrous affair, they lost from twenty to thirty pieces of cannon, +and waggons in proportion; whereas when they gained a victory they +acquired only two or three pieces of cannon, with scarcely any +ammunition. + +From this slight sketch of the nature of the country, so +disadvantageous to the invaders, and of the mode in which the Vendeans +carried on this unfortunate war, our surprise will cease at the +determined and protracted resistance made to the republicans by this +loyal and brave people. For many years they defended their beloved +country, and endured privations, and accumulated miseries, such +as human nature has seldom been exposed to. To use the words of a +republican general, "A girdle of fire enveloped the revolted country; +fire, terror, and death, preceded the march". + +But the principal cause of the long resistance of the Vendeans must +be sought for in their moral character; they were most honourably +distinguished by an inviolable attachment to their party, and +unlimited and unshaken confidence in their chiefs; and an earnest, +warm, but steady zeal, which supplied the place of discipline. Their +invincible courage, both active and passive, was proof against every +kind of danger, fatigue, and want. It has been well observed that +"irregular and undisciplined wars are naturally far more prolific of +extraordinary incidents, unexpected turns of fortune, and striking +displays of individual talent, of vice and virtue, than the more +solemn movements of national hostility, where every thing is in +a great measure provided and foreseen; and where the inflexible +subordination of rank, and the severe exactions of a limited duty +not only take away the inducement, but the opportunity for those +exaltations of personal feeling and adventure which produce the most +lively interest, and lead to the most animating results. In the +unconcerted proceedings of an insurgent population, all is experiment +and all is passion. The heroic daring of a simple peasant lifts him +at once to the rank of a leader, and kindles a general enthusiasm to +which all things become possible". + +From the operation of these causes the Vendeans were enabled to send +forth formidable armies: and such was the confidence of the chiefs in +the troops, that they never would have been subdued if they had +not lost their leaders in the various hard fought actions, or +been deprived of their services by their mutual jealousy. Another +circumstance proved equally fatal to them; after the fall of the +gallant Lescure, they most imprudently quitted the strong country for +the open plains on the left bank of the Loire. + + + + +CHAP. VII. + +RIVER LOIRE, FROM NANTES TO ANGERS. + + +The Loire is one of the finest rivers in France; and perhaps there is +no river in the world, that equals that part of it, which flows from +Angers to Nantes: the breadth of the stream; the islands of wood; the +boldness, culture, and richness of its banks, all conspire to +render it worthy of this character. As a useful river it is equally +celebrated: its banks being bordered by rich and populous cities; and +the benefits it renders to industry and commerce being incalculable. + +Its stream is so rapid and strong, that in ascending it is generally +necessary from Nantes to Angers, to track the barge: this mode of +proceeding, though slow, has its advantages; as it gives greater time +and opportunity for observing all the various beauties of scenery +which present themselves at every turn of the river. + +I embarked early in the morning with a favourable breeze from the +west: we soon began to be interested, and almost enchanted, with the +rich and beautiful scenery, which almost every moment opened to our +view in endless variety. This scenery not only pleased the eye and +imagination by its beauty, but also excited high and deep interest +by the fertility which it displayed. The banks were lined with corn +fields, vineyards, or orchards. Occasionally the nature and interest +of the prospect were agreeably diversified by the spire of a convent +or the turrets of a chateau, rising above gardens or groves, or rich +woodlands. At other places there were still more decided marks of +population, for villages, country-houses, and farms, caught the eye, +and added to the charms by which it was so willingly and powerfully +detained. + +The whole country on each side is well cultivated. But even this part +of France, interesting and beautiful as it is, cannot be traversed +without the recollection of the horrors of the revolution breaking in +upon, and greatly damping the interest and pleasure derived from the +view of the scenery. As we approached the ruined tower of Oudon, +it was impossible not to feel a melancholy regret at the scenes of +unparalleled bloodshed that took place on the rich and delightful +banks of this river during the phrenzy of the revolution. These +dreadful recollections assailed us most powerfully as we came in view +of Ancenis on the left, and of Saint Florent le Viel to the right. +At the latter place we stopped for the night. It was a fine serene +evening, the wind had left us, and we were forced to track the shore +for some distance before we reached it: just as the sun was setting I +made a sketch of its ruined convent on the hill. + +[Illustration: TOUR D'OUDON on the RIVER LOIRE.] + +[Illustration] + +After the defeat of the Vendean army, and their retreat across the +Loire at this place, says a French writer, "There were seen upon +the right bank, following the army, which increased prodigiously, +a multitude of bishops, priests, monks, religious persons, old +countesses, baronesses, &c. &c. who were carried off by cart-loads, +and which did nothing but embarrass the army.[11] There were a great +many of them killed at the battle of Mans". + +[Footnote 11: On gaining the heights of St. Florent, one of the most +mournful, and at the same time most magnificent spectacles, burst upon +the eye. These heights form a vast semicircle; at the bottom of which +a broad bare plain extends to the edge of the water. Near an hundred +thousand unhappy souls now blackened over that dreary expanse,--old +men, infants and women, mingled, with the half-armed soldiery, +caravans, crowded baggage waggons and teams of oxen, all full of +despair, impatience, anxiety and terror:--Behind, were the smoke +of their burning villages, and the thunder of the hostile +artillery;--before, the broad stream of the Loire, divided by a long +low island, also covered with the fugitives,--twenty frail barks +plying in the stream--and, on the far banks, the disorderly movements +of those who had effected the passage, and were waiting there to be +rejoined by their companions. Such, Mad. de L. assures us, was the +tumult and terror of the scene, and so awful the recollections it +inspired, that it can never be effaced from the memory of any of +those who beheld it; and that many of its awe-struck spectators have +concurred in stating, that it brought forcibly to their imaginations +the unspeakable terrors of the great day of judgment.--_Edinb. Rev. +No. LI. p. 24._] + +It is said that when the Prince Talmont, with the royalists, crossed +over from Saint Florent, under the fire of the republican troops who +had taken possession of the heights, they consisted of thirty thousand +individuals, but that there were not twenty thousand warriors; among +them were five thousand women: arrived in the open country, without +warlike stores, they soon wanted provisions. This multitude created +a famine wherever it went, and suffered a famine itself. The first +unsuccessful enterprize produced discouragement, and necessarily the +desertion of the army: it diminished two-thirds when it was repulsed +at Angers; and when the chiefs, despairing (after the battle of Mans) +of not being able to recross the Loire at Ancenis, led back the wrecks +of the army to Savenay, it consisted only of fifteen thousand men, +half dead with hunger and misery: the major part of these were +exterminated by the republicans; the rest dispersed themselves, and +from that time all efforts ceased. Prince de Talmont was arrested near +Erne, tried at Rennes, and executed at Laval: of the fate of Lescure +and the other chiefs, a melancholy catalogue is furnished by Madame de +la Roche-Jaquelin. + +The wind favoring us the day following, we sailed at break of day, and +arrived at Angers at the close of a beautiful evening. The approach to +this town, in sailing up the river Mayenne, is highly picturesque; its +ancient castle is situated on a high rock overhanging the river; its +walls and antique towers, built by the English, have an imposing +effect. The town stands in a plain, which, in the distance, being +fringed with wood, together with the corn and meadow ground, give it +that richness and beauty that characterizes the whole country between +Nantes and Angers. The river Mayenne, and a small branch of the +Loire, divide the town. It is the chief seat of the province of +Maine-et-Loire, formerly the capital of Anjou. It is a large ancient +city, with a fine cathedral, a botanical garden, museum, and +several manufactories of cottons; one of them in imitation of India +handkerchiefs. Here the last effort was made by the Vendeans, whose +flight from it was immediately followed by the bloody and disastrous +affair of Mans. + +I had now passed the provinces of Bretagne and Poitou, as they border +the Loire; and, in point of beautiful and romantic scenery, this +district can scarcely be surpassed. The left bank of the river, +running along the country of Le Bocage, from Nantes to Angers, a +distance of seventy-two miles, is a continued range of lofty hills, +agreeably diversified with corn lands, and studded with vineyards. The +opposite bank is a more flat and variegated country, with pleasant +eminences and broad plains, watered by branches of the Loire, which in +many parts contains small islands covered with trees. The whole course +of this fine river, as the eye sweeps and ranges over its banks, +presents at almost every bend the view of villas enriched with +gardens, orchards, and vineyards; castles, convents, and villages in +ruins! bearing innumerable evidences of the desolating war that has +destroyed them. + +The religious communities, whose love of scenery and retirement in +general led them to prefer the most sequestered valleys, have in these +provinces chosen the most elevated and picturesque spots for the +erection of their monasteries; and these, notwithstanding their +deserted and decaying state, prove the good taste of their ancient +possessors, and the skill and industry with which they embellished +them. No situations could have been selected more abounding in +picturesque combinations of magnificent landscapes. + +The pleasure of the traveller in surveying such scenes, cannot but be +frequently interrupted, by the recollection of the various atrocities +which the inhabitants of these fine provinces committed against each +other, and of the immense number of innocent victims that were driven +from their abode to perish by famine or the sword. + + + + +CHAP. VIII. + +SAUMUR TO TOURS--TOURS--TOURS TO BLOIS--ORLEANS--AND ORLEANS TO +PARIS. + + +I hired a small carriage, called a _patache_, to convey me to Saumur +and Tours; it is driven by a postillion with two horses, and is open +in front, giving the traveller a better opportunity of viewing the +country than in a close vehicle. + +The town of Saumur is built on both banks of the Loire, with a +handsome stone bridge over it; an ancient castle, built on a high +rock, commands the whole town. The road from Angers to this place is a +high raised causeway, paved, and runs parallel to the river, within +a few paces of its banks, the whole distance. Here we entered into +Touraine from the province of Anjou. From Saumur to Tours, the road +is like the former. The river Loire is on the right hand, and a flat +level country on the left, covered with orchards, groves, and meadows. +The road is every where raised so high, that it forms a very steep +declivity, with narrow pathways down to the entrance of the cottages +and villages, which are most romantically situated,--some in orchards, +some amidst vineyards, some in gardens, and others in recesses peeping +from between the trees. The fences are fantastically interwoven with +wreaths of the vines, which frequently creep up the trunk of a pear or +a cherry-tree, and cover the slated roofs of the houses, thereby, from +the natural luxuriance and wildness of their spreading branches in the +fruit season, answering at once the purposes of utility and ornament; +for the slates, retaining the heat, ripen the grape sooner than any +other mode of training. The corn was now ripe, and added to the +interest and beauty of the scenes; in many of the fields the reapers +were at work, and the harvest (which happily for France had not been +so abundant for many years) was going on with the assistance of the +female peasantry, who on all occasions partake and cheer the labours +of the field. + +Approaching nearer to Tours, I had a fine view of the bridge, which is +esteemed the handsomest in France. Between the branches of the trees, +I now and then caught a glimpse of the spires of the church and +buildings, encompassed by extensive orchards and groves, and open +vales between, varied by vineyards. It was a _jour de fte_, and as I +drove through the town the streets were gay with holyday people, and +crowded in some places with groups of women and girls, whose cheerful +countenances proved the admiration with which they viewed the +performances of some mountebanks.[12] Tours is the chief seat of the +prfecture of the Indre-et-Loire, formerly the capital of the province +of Touraine, and is built on a plain on the bank of the Loire. The +houses are of a white stone, and in the principal streets well built +and lofty: it is altogether one of the handsomest towns in France. The +main street, the rue Royale, can boast of a foot pavement, which is +seldom to be met with in this country. The environs of the town are +also very beautiful; the luxuriance of the soil, abounding in vines, +fruits, and every article of life, has attracted such numbers of +English to its vicinity, that Tours may be almost considered an +English colony. + +[Footnote 12: There is no city in Europe where there are more of +these sort of people to be seen than at Paris, on the boulevards and +different carrefours. The fondness of the Parisians for shows has +existed for ages. In a tariff of Saint Lewis for regulating the duties +upon the different articles brought into Paris by the gate of the +little Chtelet, it is ordained, (Hist. LVIII. cxxxiii.) that +whosoever fetches a monkey into the city for sale, shall pay four +deniers; but if the monkey belongs to a merry-andrew, the merry-andrew +shall be exempted from paying the duty, as well upon the said monkey +as on every thing else he carries along with him, by causing his +monkey to play and dance before the collector! Hence is derived the +proverb "Payer en monnoie de singe," i.e. to laugh at a man instead of +paying him. By another article, it is specified, that jugglers shall +likewise be exempt from all imposts, provided they sing a couplet of a +song before the toll-gatherer.] + + +Its ancient cathedral is in good preservation, notwithstanding it +became a prey to the licentious fanaticism of the republicans. + +The hotel Saint Julien, where I resided during my stay, stands upon +the cloisters of an ancient abbey; and the church, with its fine +Gothic pillars, and chapels, remains a monument of those destructive +and desolating times! The side aisles are stalls for horses and +cattle, and the centre is a _remise_ for carriages and the public +diligences which run to this inn! The best hotel is the hotel du +Faisan. The vast number of English who keep pouring into all the +western provinces of this country, by degrees has affected the +markets, and will continue to do so, as long as the rage for +emigration lasts. At Tours, every article is one third dearer than at +Nantes, and in proportion as the capital is approached every thing +becomes more expensive; yet notwithstanding this, living is, and must +ever be, infinitely cheaper than in England. + +It certainly is no exaggeration to say, that France is richer in the +production of fruits and vegetables than any country in Europe, for in +no other can be found so many productions of the same climates of the +earth, or a soil more naturally abundant. With the exception of some +of the northern provinces, every part of France has wine, and the +culture of that delicious fruit which produces it is mentioned in its +earliest records. By a happy distribution, those provinces which do +not bear the vine, are abundantly supplied with other productions. +Normandy and Bretagne abound in the finest fruits; Picardy, and the +adjoining provinces, in corn. The riches of Lorraine are in its woods; +Touraine has ever been famous for its plums and its pears. The banks +of the Loire, and the valleys of Dauphin, are celebrated for the +richness of their verdure and vegetation; and the more southern +provinces of Languedoc and Provence, partake of the climate and +productions of Italy and Spain. + +Between Tours and Amboise, I passed the once celebrated Chteau of +Chanteloup, formerly the property of the Duc de Choiseuil, now the +residence of the Comte de Chaptal, who became the purchaser when it +was sold as national property. + +At the distance of six miles from Blois, the road leads near enough to +Valenay to have a good view of its magnificent palace and grounds; +this place, now belonging to M. de Talleyrand, Prince et Duc de +Benevento, (one of the most extraordinary characters who have figured +so conspicuously during the present age,) is the more interesting, +from having been so long the place of confinement of Ferdinand the +present King of Spain; and from whence our government tried to +extricate him through the agency of Baron de Kolly, who lost his life +in the attempt. This singular transaction has appeared in all the +public papers, but having had an opportunity of collecting the +particulars through a channel of undoubted authority, I consider it an +anecdote of too interesting a nature, as connected with the subject +before me, not to insert it here. + +In 1810, our government laid a plan to liberate King Ferdinand VII. of +Spain, similar to the one which had already effected the escape of +the Marquis de la Romana. The person entrusted with this commission, +assumed the name of Baron de Kolly, and besides the necessary credit +and credentials, he was furnished with the original letter, written by +Charles IV. to George III. in 1802, notifying the marriage of his son, +the Prince of the Asturias, and containing a marginal note from the +Marquis W.... in corroboration of his mission. A small squadron was +also sent to cruize off that part of the coast most contiguous to +Valenay, under the orders of Commodore C.... to be in readiness to +receive the royal fugitive. On a sudden the Baron de Kolly was seized, +and the plan frustrated, but the real particulars were never known +until after the events of the campaign of 1815. + +In the course of the passage to St. Helena, Admiral C.... (who +had been entrusted with the project) expressed a wish to know of +Buonaparte, by what means de Kolly had been discovered and arrested, +and the true circumstances of the affair so totally unknown in +England, adding, that if no motive of state policy intervened, he was +anxious to hear the whole disclosure. Buonaparte readily consented, +and told him that de Kolly arrived at Paris and lived in the greatest +obscurity, dressed shabbily, and eating his meals only at cheap +traiteurs in the Fauxbourg St. Antoine. However, he was not satisfied +with the common wine served up, and would ask for the best Bordeaux, +for which he paid five francs per bottle. This contrast of poverty and +luxury excited suspicions in the waiters of the two houses he thus +frequented, who being in the pay of the police, immediately sent in a +report. De Kolly was watched, and soon afterwards seized with all +his papers. Buonaparte said he then procured a person, as nearly +resembling de Kolly as could be found, to carry on the English +stratagem, under a hope that Ferdinand would have fallen into the +trap; and with all the original credentials, this agent of the French +police went into the castle of Valenay, under a pretext of selling +some trinkets. Ferdinand however, said Buonaparte, was too great a +coward to enter into the views proposed to him, but instantly gave +information of what had been communicated, to his first chamberlain, +Amazada, in a letter written to the governor of the castle!--By this +means Ferdinand escaped being placed at the mercy of Buonaparte, whose +intention was to intercept him in his flight. + +Although the conduct of Ferdinand was in this instance pusillanimous +and cruel, it was next to an impossibility that he could have +effected his escape. He was surrounded by guards and spies of every +description, under the superintendence of M. Darberg, Auditor of the +Council of State, and without whose leave no admittance could be +obtained. Twenty-five horse gendarmes regularly mounted guard about +the castle, and every person found in its vicinity without a regular +passport, was confined and strictly examined. + +At a small distance, is the residence of Marshal Victor, Duc de +Belluno, whom I met walking in the grounds. I was very civilly +permitted to enter, on sending a message desiring permission, as a +traveller, to see it. It stands at the entrance of the village of +Mnard, and was once the favourite residence of Madame de Pompadour, +the mistress of Louis XV. The river Loire winds beautifully beneath +the terrace. The grounds are of a vast extent, and tastefully laid +out. Over the entrance, the workmen were then placing the arms of the +Marshal, finely executed in stone. + +The country is thickly enclosed on each side of the river, varied with +hill and dale, clothed with vineyards. The villages and small towns +along the banks, as far as Orlans, are numerous and invariably +picturesque. Nothing can be more beautiful than the natural festoons +which are formed by the long shoots of the vines as they project over +the road. The peasants and the vignerons live in the midst of their +vineyards; their dwellings are excavations in chalky strata of the +solid rock, which afford them warm and dry habitations; some of them +were so covered with the vines that the entrance was scarcely visible, +and the comparison of them to so many birds nests is not badly +imagined. The hedges were covered with wild thyme and rosemary; and +the clematis interwoven with honeysuckles and other fragrant flowers, +richly perfumed the air. The grapes in Touraine and Orlanois are not +abundant this year, but the wine that is expected to be made, will, +it is supposed, from the dryness of the summer, be of an excellent +quality. + +The town of Orlans is memorable for the siege it sustained against +the English in 1428, when the maid of Orlans acquired so much renown, +and whose barbarous execution at Rouen, cannot be remembered without +feelings of horror and indignation, and must ever remain a stain on +the memory of that brave soldier the Duke of Bedford. The transactions +subsequent to that event, led to the almost entire expulsion of the +English from France; and those glittering conquests which were an +object of more glory than interest, and had been purchased at such an +expense of blood and treasure, were from that time lost to the English +nation. + +During the Revolution, the ancient statue of this celebrated female +was taken down and unfortunately destroyed, and one more modern, but +less interesting, finely executed in bronze, has been since erected. +She is habited in armour, with a lance and shield, supposed to +be leading on the victorious troops. At the four angles, are the +emblematical figures in relief, of the principal events of her +singular career. On a marble pedestal, is inscribed: + + A JEANNE D'ARC. + +Orlans is the chief seat of the department of the Loiret, formerly +the capital of Orlanais, on the river Loire, over which it has a +handsome bridge like the one at Tours, though not of such extent, as +the river here is not so wide, and very shallow. The communication by +water with Paris is carried on by means of a canal. + +The church is one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture I +have seen in France. The towers are of open fretwork, and in excellent +preservation. More cheerful scenes of exuberant fertility are nowhere +to be met with than along the banks of the river, and in the country +surrounding the town. + +From Orlans to Etampes, there is a plain of eighteen leagues in +extent, the whole of which was covered with one entire tract of corn +and vines; not an intervening hill or hillock; and the scene was +doubly interesting from the harvest carrying on in every direction as +I traversed it. + +Leaving Etampes, I passed through the beautiful villages of Sceaux, +Bourg-la-Reine, and Fontenay-aux-Roses; the latter still contains the +ruins of the Palace of Colbert, the celebrated minister of Louis XIV. + +The village of Fontenay-aux-Roses, is situated in a valley six miles +from Paris, and takes its name from the culture of roses, which cover +large tracts of ground. The proprietors sell the flowers to the +distillers for making rose water and essences, and the flower market +is supplied with the choicest bouquets; it is likewise celebrated for +its produce of the finest strawberries and peaches. + +The beauty of its situation, and the association of its name with the +sweetest of flowers, has attracted many of the wealthy inhabitants +of the metropolis to reside in its vicinity, where they have summer +houses; among them is the Maire de Fontenay, Monsieur Ledru, whose +history is singular and interesting. + +His father, who was very wealthy, and a great miser, sent for him one +morning, at the time he had just attained his eighteenth year, and +said to him: "I began life at your age with half a crown; there is one +for you--go, and be as fortunate as I have been;"--saying which, he +turned him out of the house, and shut the door in his face. + +Undismayed at such unexpected and unnatural conduct on the part of his +parent, whom he had never offended, the youth sought the advice and +assistance of a friend, by whose opinion he applied himself to the +study of medicine. After an indefatigable study at the Hotel Dieu, he +became celebrated in his profession, and had the good fortune to +be employed by a lady of great wealth, whose life he saved. Out of +gratitude, she proposed to become his wife, and to settle upon him an +income of fifty thousand livres, that he might give up his medical +pursuits; which, having accepted, he rewarded her by an attention and +kindness suitable to the noble generosity of her conduct. + +The revolution soon after occurred, and in the general wreck of +property she lost all her fortune, it having been invested, either +in the funds, or public securities. It then became the turn of Mons. +Ledru to support his wife, by renewing the practice of his profession, +which soon placed them again in affluent circumstances. + +At the death of his father, who left an immense fortune to be divided +between Mons. Ledru and his two maiden sisters, he took possession +of the estate at Fontenay-aux-Roses, from whence he had been cruelly +banished when a boy, and which the unkindness of his parent had never +after permitted him to enter. Fortune, which had hitherto played a +wayward and capricious game with him, had not yet ceased her freaks. +In removing a mirror from over a chimney-piece which required an +alteration, he discovered a prodigious treasure that had been +concealed there by his father! With that generosity and nobleness +of character, which make him esteemed and beloved by all his +acquaintance, and adored by the whole commune over which he presides, +he instantly sent for his sisters and divided it with them. His wife +did not long survive this last event, and since her death he has +continued to reside at Fontenay-aux-Roses with his sisters, where +he exercises his authority with mildness; and by constant acts of +beneficence and charity, is justly styled, "Le Pre de Fontenay!" + +Between Fontenay-aux-Roses and Paris, to the right of the road, is the +village of Gentilly, whose numerous guinguettes are much frequented +by the Parisians in fine weather. It being a holyday we met crowds of +well dressed citizens, in all sorts of vehicles, driving towards it. +An interesting circumstance had been related to me of the cur of this +village, M. Dtruissart; and on asking permission to visit his rural +habitation, I found the story to be true. His garden, which is not +above half an acre, has been laid out with such art and ingenuity, as +to give an idea of considerable extent, and to add to the charms of +this little spot, which he calls his "bonheur," there are a variety of +inscriptions of his own composition; over an arbour of vines is the +following:-- + + + MA SOLITUDE. + + Loin des mchans, du bruit, des temptes du monde, + Sous un simple berceau dont la treille est fconde, + Sous un modeste tot, dans de rians jardins, + Dessins, levs, cultivs par mes mains.... + C'est dans ces lieux chris que s'coule ma vie + Dans une paix profonde, une tranquillit + Qui sans cesse rappele mon ame ravie + Le temps de l'ge d'or et ma flicit: + Mais, quelque doux qu'il soit, mon sort est peu de chose; + Car enfin, aprs tout, je dois mourir bientt! + Ne ressemblons-nous pas la feuille de rose + Qui parot un instant et qui sche aussitt! + +It was in the practice of the moral conveyed by these lines, and in +the pursuit of literature, and constant acts of charity, that Mons. +Dtruissart passed his life, which was rewarded by the esteem and +affection of all his parishioners, of which they gave a remarkable +proof on the 4th of July, 1815, when the Prussian troops took post at +Gentilly, from whence they had driven the French the preceding evening +into Paris. + +The poor cur, with many other of the inhabitants, sought refuge +in the capital, leaving his house at the mercy of the enemy, who +commenced plundering in all directions; the humble and modest +appearance of M. Dtruissart's cottage not attracting their notice, +it remained untouched, when a single word from any of the inhabitants +would have devoted it to ruin; but such was their esteem for him, that +at his return he found every thing as he had left it. + +I entered Paris, leaving Bictre to my right, by the barrire d'Enfer, +after one of the most agreeable and interesting journeys I ever +performed. + + + + +CHAP. IX. + +ENVIRONS OF PARIS--PERE LA CHAISE--CASTLE OF VINCENNES--AND CHATEAU OF +ST. GERMAIN--ITS FOREST AND VICINITY. + + +Prior to the revolution, the French, like most other European nations, +were in the practice of depositing their dead in churches and +cemeteries within the most populous towns, in compliance with those +precepts of evangelical doctrine which recommend us unceasingly to +reflect on death; and hence originated a custom which cannot but be +attended with most pernicious consequences to health, when we reflect +that the decomposition of human bodies is productive of putrid +exhalations, and consequently pregnant with the causes of contagious +disorders. It is indeed surprising that some regulations have not +hitherto been adopted in England regarding the interment of the dead, +from the example of other countries. + +In the year 1793, a decree was passed by the National Assembly, to +prevent burying in churches, or in church-yards, within the city of +Paris. Since which period, there have been three places selected in +its immediate neighbourhood for that purpose--Montmartre, called "Le +Champ du Repos"--Vaugirard, and Pre La Chaise. + +Quitting the Boulevards, at the extremity of the Boulevards Neufs, +eastward of the city, and passing through the Barrire d'Aulnay, I +arrived at the Pre La Chaise. At the entrance, through large folding +gates, is a spacious court-yard, having at one angle the dwelling +of the Concierge, or Keeper. The enclosure contains one hundred and +twenty acres, on a gently rising ground, in the centre of which stands +the ancient mansion constructed by Louis XIV. for his confessor, Pre +la Chaise, the celebrated Jesuit, who, with Madame de Maintenon, +governed France. Rising above the thousands of tombs which surround +it, it displays itself a wrecked and mouldering monument of ancient +splendour, and the mutability of human affairs! This spot became +afterwards a place of public promenade and great resort, from the +beauty of its position overlooking all Paris; and though so often +the scene of festivity and pleasure, now presents to the eye of the +beholder a mournfully interesting sight of tombs and sarcophagi, +intermixed with various fruit trees, cypress groves, the choicest +flowers, and rarest shrubs. + +From the rising ground, above the building of Pre La Chaise, a most +delightful view displays itself. The city of Paris appears to stand +in the centre of a vast amphitheatre. The heights of Belleville, +Montmartre, and Mnilmontant, in the west. To the east, the beautiful +plain of Saint-Mand, Montreuil, and Vincennes, with the lofty towers +of its fortress.--The fertile banks of the river Marne, are on the +North, and in the South, the horizon encircles Bictre and Meudon. + +The various tombs are placed without order or regularity: they are +mostly enclosed with trellis work of wood, sometimes by iron railing; +and consist of a small marble column, a pyramid, a sarcophagus, or a +single slab, just as may have suited the fancy or the taste of the +friends of the departed.--Some surrounded with cypress, some with +roses, myrtles, and the choicest exotics; others with evergreens, and +not unfrequently a single weeping willow, with the addition of a rose +tree! + +This intermixture of the sweetest scented flowers and fruit trees, in +a burying ground, among the finest pieces of sculptured marble, with +evergreens growing over them, in the form of arbours, and furnished +with seats, cannot fail to produce in the mind of the person who views +it for the first time, peculiar and uncommon feelings of domestic +melancholy, mingled with pleasing tenderness. + +Who could be otherwise than powerfully affected, as I was, by the +first objects that presented themselves to me on entering the +place?--A mother and her two sons, kneeling in pious devotion at the +foot of the husband's and the father's grave! At a short distance, a +female of elegant form, watering and dressing the earth around some +plants at her lover's tomb!--not a day, and seldom an hour, passes, +but some one is seen either weeping over the remains of a departed +relative, or watching with pious solicitude the flowers that spring up +around it. + +Among the many interesting objects that presented themselves at my +first visit, was the tomb of Ablard and Hlose, which had not long +since been removed from the convent of the Augustins, where I had seen +it in 1815. + +At a little distance, to the left of the former, was the burial place +of Labdoyre. The fate of this brave and unfortunate officer is well +known; his youth, and misled zeal, have procured him a sympathy which +his fellow sufferer Marshal Ney did not find, and did not merit. + +In the centre of a square plot of ground enclosed with lattice work, +is erected a wooden cross, painted black. Neither marble, nor stone, +nor letters, indicate his name. Two pots of roses, and a tuft of +violets, alone marked the spot, which is carefully weeded. There is +something more affecting in all this simplicity, something, in my +mind, that goes more directly home to the heart, than in the most +splendid monument or the most studied eulogium. As we came suddenly up +we saw two females clad in deep mourning, weeping over it; at each +arm of the cross was suspended a garland of flowers; we were about to +retire again immediately, from the fear of disturbing their melancholy +devotions, when the concierge, with a brutality indescribable, rushed +forward, and removing the garlands, threw them among the shrubs at a +considerable distance. The friend who accompanied me, after searching, +recovered one of the garlands, and with more gallantry perhaps than +policy, immediately replaced it, and reproaching the keeper with his +unmanly conduct, vowed vengeance if he dared to interrupt the ladies, +again, when bowing to them we retired. + +As we were about to quit the place some time after, we were arrested +by two gendarmes, and it was not till after a detention of some +hours, and a long discussion between the police officers who had +been summoned to attend, and being threatened to be sent to the +Conciergerie prison, that we were allowed to depart. + +The following words were engraved on a plain marble slab that covered +the remains of Marshal Ney. + + CI GIT + LE MARCHAL NEY + DUC D'ECHLINGEN + PRINCE DE MOSCOWA + DCD le 7, Decembre, 1815. + +The grave of the Marshal, as well as that of Labdoyre, when I again +visited the spot, had been stripped of every thing, and the railing +around them removed so as to prevent any one from discovering the +place of their interment. + +The monument of Madame Cottin, the author of Elizabeth and of +Mathilde, is, like her writings, simple and affecting!-Surrounded by a +trellis work in the form of an arbour, planted with rose trees, stands +a pillar of the whitest marble, highly polished, inclining forwards, +and engraved with: + + ICI REPOSE + Marie-Sophie Risteav + Veuve de J.M. Cottin + Dcde le 25 Aot. + 1815. + +Near this is the tomb of the esteemed and celebrated poet Delille, the +"Songster of the Gardens," as the French term him. The monument is +enclosed in a small garden, planted with the choicest flowers and +shrubs: it is of white marble, of large dimensions, and approached +by an _alle verte_. The door leading to the vault is of brass, with +emblematical figures in relief: above the entrance is inscribed in +letters of gold. + +JACQVES-DELILLE. + +The linden tree, intermixed with various evergreens, form an +interesting and beautiful bouquet around it. + +Beyond this, to the right, are the tombs of Grtry the composer, +Fourcroy the great chemist, Fontenelle, Boileau, Racine, and of +Mademoiselle Raucourt, the celebrated actress, to whom the bigotry +of the clergy refused burial in consecrated ground in 1815! a +circumstance which gave rise to much clamour and dissatisfaction. It +is surprising, that after such events as have been experienced in +France, the folly of denying the right of consecrated ground to a +comedian should have been persevered in, _after the restoration_ of +Louis XVIII! + +Close to the tomb of Mad'lle Raucourt, is one, which for its affecting +simplicity and modesty, struck me very forcibly: in a little garden of +roses and lilies, and amidst some tufts of mignonette which appeared +to have been newly watered, stood a plain marble column, with the +words as represented in the annexed sketch--an accacia shaded it from +the sun's rays. In 1814, when the Allies approached Paris, this +height, like the others commanding the capital, was fortified, +and occupied by the students of the Polytechnical School, +who defended it with great gallantry. The walls were perforated with +holes for the musketry: the marks are still visible where they have +been since filled up. On the 30th of March, 1814, this position +was vigorously attacked, with great slaughter on both sides: the +assailants and the assailed fell in heaps, and it was not until +the chief part of a Prussian corps, (that afterwards carried it by +assault) had been annihilated, that the brave youths gave way. + +[Illustration] + +The tomb of my early friend and brother officer, the brave and +unfortunate Captain Wright, who was murdered in the Temple, is in +the cemetery of Vaugirard. I had searched for it in vain at Pre la +Chaise, where it was reported he had been buried. It has on it the +following inscription, written to his memory by his companion in arms, +and in imprisonment, the gallant Sir Sidney Smith: + + HERE LIES INHUMED + JOHN WESLEY WRIGHT, + BY BIRTH AN ENGLISHMAN, + CAPTAIN IN THE BRITISH NAVY + + Distinguished both among his own Countrymen and Foreigners + For skill and courage; + + To whom, + Of those things which lead to the summit of glory, + Nothing was wanting but opportunity: + + His ancestors, whose virtues he inherited, + He honoured by his deeds. + + Quick in apprehending his orders, + Active and bold in the execution of them; + + In success modest, + In adverse circumstances firm, + In doubtful enterprises, wise and prudent. + + Awhile successful in his career; + At length assailed by adverse winds, and on an hostile shore, + He was captured; + + And being soon after brought to Paris, + Was confined in the prison called the Temple, + _Infamous for midnight murders_, + And placed in the most rigid custody: + + But in bonds, + And suffering severities still more oppressive, + His fortitude of mind and fidelity to his country + Remained unshaken. + + A short time after, + He was found in the morning with his throat cut. + And dead in his bed: + + He died the 28th October, 1805, aged 36. + To be lamented by his Country, + Avenged by his God! + + +THE DONJON, OR CASTLE OF VINCENNES. + + +This ancient fortress is situate at the entrance of the forest of +Vincennes, (now reduced to a wood of small trees, the large timber +having been cut down during the revolution) and surrounded by a deep +ditch of great width, about two miles from the Barrire du Trne. +During many ages, it had been the casual residence of the sovereigns +of France. Philip de Valois added considerably to its dimensions in +1337. John continued the works, and during his captivity in England, +Charles his son, then regent of the kingdom, finished it. + +During the reign of Charles VII. in 1422, Henry VI. of England died in +this castle. From this time Vincennes became a royal residence, until +the reign of Louis XIV. when that monarch fixed himself at Versailles, +from which period it has never been used but as a prison[13]. + +[Footnote 13: Monstrelet relates a curious anecdote, during the +residence at the Castle of Vincennes of Isabeau de Bavire, strongly +illustrative of the barbarous manners of those times. "Lewis de +Bourbon, who was handsome and well made, and had signalized himself +upon various occasions, and amongst others at the battle of Agincourt, +going one night, as was customary, to visit the Queen, Isabeau de +Bavire, at the Castle of Vincennes, met the King (Charles VI.); he +saluted him, without either stopping or alighting from his horse, +but continued galloping on. The King having recollected him, ordered +Tangui du Chatel, prvost of Paris, to pursue, and to confine him in +prison. At night the _question_ was applied, and he was afterwards +tied up in a sack and cast into the Seine, with this inscription upon +the sack, 'Let the King's justice take place.'"] + +Dulaure, a French writer, in speaking of the persons who were confined +here, observes, it would be difficult to enumerate the number of +individuals that have been shut up in this prison within these few +years. "We will merely notice," he says, "the celebrated Count +Mirabeau, who was confined from 1777 to 1780; here it was that he +translated his Tibulle, and Joannes Secundus, and wrote his 'Lettres +originales' to his mistress, Madame Lemonnier, which abound with +passages as affecting as the letters of Hlose". + +This prison was thrown open during the reign of the unfortunate Louis +XVI. by the Baron de Breteuil, Minister of the Department of Paris +in 1784. In going over it, every one was penetrated with horror; and +feelings of the most melancholy interest were excited by reading the +various inscriptions on the walls, indicative of the hopeless misery +that had been experienced within them! Many were expressive of piety +and resignation at the approach of death!--others complaining of the +cruel oppression which had immured them! On one wall was written, "Il +faut mourir, mon frere; mon frere il faut mourir, quand il plaira +Dieu". On the door of another prison were, "Beati qui persecutionem +patiuntur propter justitiam, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum". On +the same spot were, "Carcer Socratis, templum honoris". + +This Donjon remained unoccupied until 1791. At this period, the +prisons of the capital being filled with criminals, Government ordered +it to be prepared for the reception of that class of prisoners; but on +the massacres that followed, the mob either murdered or released them +all, after a bloody contest, and it remained again without prisoners +until the Imperial Government under Buonaparte. It was then garrisoned +by a detachment of the Imperial Guard, and multitudes of victims were +transferred there whose fate remains, and probably ever will remain, +unknown. + +It was to this place that the Duke D'Enghien, who was arrested the +15th March, 1804, at Ettenheim, in the Electorate of Baden, was +conducted the 20th of the same month, at five in the evening, and +condemned to death the night following, by a military commission, at +which Murat presided. He was accordingly shot on the 21st, at half +past four in the evening, in the ditch of the castle which looks +towards the forest, on the north side, and his body thrown into a +grave, ready dug to receive it, where he fell. The details of this +cruel and wanton act of barbarity are too well known to need any +repetition here. + +This spot is now marked by a wooden cross, enclosed by an iron +railing. The remains of the Prince were dug out on the 20th March, +1816, by order of Louis XVIII. and deposited with solemn funeral +ceremony in a coffin which is placed in the same apartment where the +council of war condemned him to suffer! since transformed info a +chapel. Under a cenotaph, covered with a cloth of gold, is placed the +coffin, with a prodigious large stone lying on it, the same that was +found lying on his head, and which from its weight had crushed his +skull! + +The apartment is hung with black cloth, and remains continually +lighted, with a guard placed over it. Mass is daily performed for the +repose of his soul, agreeable to the Catholic religion. + +On the lid of the coffin is the following inscription: + + Ici est Le Corps + De Trs-Haut, Trs-Puissant Prince + Louis-Antoine-Henri De Bourbon + Duc D'Enghien, Prince du Sang + Pair de France + Mort A Vincennes, Le 21 Mars 1804 + A L'age de XXXI Ans VII mois XVIII Jours. + +A marble bust of the Prince, by Bosio, is placed at the entrance. + +During the periods of 1814 and 1815, when Paris was in possession +of the Allies, Vincennes continued under the command of General +Daumesnil, who declared that he held it for his country until the +Government was settled, and would not open its gates to a foreign +army. It was not attacked either of the times. + +It is approached by two gates, with drawbridges, and defended by +cannon on all sides. The foss is of great depth, and dry, extending, +I should suppose, nearly a quarter of a mile. It has nine towers, of +prodigious height and solidity: the largest, at the south western +angle, called the Donjon, is considerably more elevated than the +others. The principal entrance is fronting the forest, on the north +side, in the form of a triumphal arch, with six pillars, ornamented +in bas-reliefs, and was decorated with marble statues, which were +destroyed when it was seized by the mob. + +The Donjon is surrounded by a separate ditch, within the other, of +forty feet depth, and is approached by two draw-bridges; one for +carriages, the other for foot passengers; and the main tower is +flanked by four other angular ones, each having a high turret. The +windows are treble barred within and without, so as to admit but a +faint glimmering light! Three gates of great solidity are to be passed +at the entrance; that which communicates with the draw-bridge of the +castle is secured both within and without. After passing the three +gates, there is a court, in the middle of which stands the Donjon. +Three other immense gates guard its entrance! + +The form of the Donjon is a square. The towers at the four angles are +divided into five floors, each having a separate stair-case, and +each floor is vaulted, with an apartment in the centre, sustained +by pillars, which are chimneys. At each of the four corners of the +apartment in the centre is a cell thirteen feet square. The towers are +encompassed on the third story by a large gallery on the outside, and +on the top of each there is a small circular terrace. Such is the +strength and prodigious solidity of this building, that it is said to +be capable of resisting the heaviest cannon, and is bomb proof. The +hand of time appears not to have made any impression on its outward +surface. + +The first hall is called "La chambre de la question:" its name +indicates sufficiently the horrid purposes to which it was +appropriated! So late as the year 1790 were to be seen chairs formed +of stone, where the unhappy victims were seated, with iron collars +fixed to the wall by heavy chains, that confined them to the spot +while undergoing the torture! In these prisons, deprived of air and +light, were beds of timber, on which they were allowed to repose +during the interval of their sufferings. + +The upper floor, named "La salle du conseil," from the Kings holding +their council there, while it was a royal residence, is secured by a +door of great solidity, and each prison at the angles had three doors +covered with iron plates, with double locks and treble bolts. The +doors were so contrived as to open crossways, each serving as a +security to the other. The first acted as a bar to the second, and +this to the third, so that it was necessary to close one before the +other could be opened.--Such was the mode of confinement in this +prison, the walls of which are sixteen feet thick, and the arches +thirty feet high. + +The other eight towers were also prisons. The one called "La tour de +la surintendance" contains cells six feet square; the bed places are +of stone. There is a square hole to descend into the vaults beneath, +where, like a tomb, the miserable prisoner was immured for ever!!! +Often, alas! for imaginary crimes, or for causes which make us shudder +at their wantonness and barbarity, an unfortunate victim has been torn +from the bosom of his family, to perish unheard of and unknown! + +The French Government have, I understand, issued an order to prevent +any one from entering this place from motives of curiosity; and let us +hope that the humane and enlightened policy of the restored Monarch +will close its cells for ever! + +The following beautiful lines, with which I close an account of the +most horribly interesting spot I ever visited, are from the pen of +Delille: + + ".......................... + Voyez gmir en proie sa longue torture, + Ce mortel confin dans sa noire clture. + Pour unique plaisir et pour seul passe-temps, + De sa lente journe il compte les instans, + Ou de son noir cachot mesure l'tendue, + Ou mdite en secret sa fuite inattendue; + Ou, de ceux qu'avant lui renferma la prison, + Lit, sur ces tristes murs, la complainte et le nom: + Et lui-mme y traant sa douloureuse histoire, + A ceux qui le suivront en transmet la mmoire. + C'est peu d'tre enchan dans ces tristes tombeaux, + Combien de souvenirs viennent aigrir ses maux! + Hlas! tandis qu'auprs de leurs jeunes compagnes; + Dans les riches cits, dans les vastes campagnes; + Ses amis d'autrefois errent en libert, + Lorsque l'heure propice la socit, + Reconduit chaque soir la jeunesse foltre + Aux entretiens joyeux, la danse, au thtre, + Ou, d'un plaisir plus doux annonant le retour, + Du moment fortun vient avertir l'amour, + Il est seul; ... en un long et lugubre silence, + Pour lui le jour s'achve, et le jour recommence; + Il n'entend point l'accent de la tendre amiti, + Il ne voit point les pleurs de la douce piti: + N'ayant de mouvement que pour traner des chnes, + Un coeur que pour l'ennui, des sens que pour les peines, + Pour lui, plus de beaux jours, de ruisseau, de gazon; + Cette vute est son ciel, ces murs son horizon, + Son regard, lev vers les flambeaux clestes, + Vient mourir dans la nuit de ses cachots funestes; + Rien n'gaie ses yeux leur morne obscurit; + Ou si, par des barreaux avares de clart, + Un faible jour se glisse en ces antres funbres, + Il redouble pour lui les horreurs des tnbres, + Et, le coeur consum d'un regret sans espoir, + Il cherche la lumire et gmit de la voir." + +DELILLE. CHATEAU DE SAINT GERMAIN. + +This ancient pile of building is now a barrack for the King's Gardes +du Corps, containing two troops, one of Luxembourg, and the other of +Grammont, which are relieved every three months. + +It is supposed to have been built in the reign of Robert, but there +appears to be no certainty as to the exact period. It is interesting +to the English traveller, from having been the last refuge of James +the Second of England, and the residence, at various times, of very +celebrated and distinguished characters. It was taken, and pillaged, +and partly burnt, during the reign of Philip VI, in 1346, by Edward +the Third, and again by the English in 1419, and rebuilt by Francis +the First. During the war of the League in 1574, Catherine de Medicis +retired to this Castle, but from the predictions of an astrologer, +that she would die there, quitted it shortly after, and returned to +the Tuilleries, which Palace she had founded.[14] Henry the Fourth +often frequented Saint Germain. The Chteau Neuf, and one of the +towers, called Le Pavilion de Gabrielle, which is still in good +preservation, were erected by him, close to the Castle, for the +residence of his favourite, La belle Gabrielle:[15] and the superb +terrace was begun in his reign. From this spot the view is very +interesting and extensive: nothing can surpass the admirable +assemblage of hills, meadows, gardens, and vineyards, which charm the +eye, and which as they are viewed from its different points on a clear +summer's evening, appear at every turn, in new beauty, and endless +variety. + +[Footnote 14: According to Mezeray, this palace had its name from the +spot whereon it is situated, which was called Les Tuilleries, because +tiles (des tuiles) were made here. Catherine de Medicis built it 1564. +It consisted of nothing but the large square pavilion in the middle, +the two wings, and the two pavilions which terminate the wings. Henry +IV. Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. afterwards extended, elevated, and +embellished it. It is said to be neither so well proportioned, so +beautiful, or so regular, as it was at first. The Tuilleries is, +nevertheless, a very splendid palace. An astrologer having predicted +to Catherine de Medicis, that she would die near St. Germain, she +immediately flew, in a most superstitious manner, from all places +and churches that bore this name; she no more resorted to St. +Germain-en-Laye, and because her palace of the Tuilleries was situated +in the parish of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, she was at the expense of +building another, which was the Hotel de Soissons, near the church +of St. Eustache. When it was known to be Laurence de Saint Germain, +Bishop of Nazareth, who had attended her upon her death-bed, people +infatuated with astrology averred that the prediction had been +accomplished.] + + +[Footnote 15: Henri IV se plaisait beaucoup Saint-Germain, et y vint +souvent, quand son coeur fut pris des charmes de la belle Gabrielle. +Ce prince galant et libral, qui dj lui avait prouv son amour par +le don d'une infinit de maisons de campagne, aux environs de Paris, +voulut encore lui donner une preuve de sa tendresse, en btissant pour +elle, deux cents toises de l'ancien chteau, une nouvelle et belle +habitation, qu'on appela le Chteau Neuf. Elev sur les dessins +de l'architecte Marchand, il tait surtout remarquable par son +architecture simple, ses nombreuses devises, les chiffres amoureux +et les emblmes allgoriques qui le dcoroient, et qui faisoient une +ingnieuse allusion la passion du monarque pour sa mitresse. +L'une des ailes de ce chteau s'appelait mme le Pavillon de +Gabrielle.--_Hist. Topo. des Environs de Paris_.] + +The City of Paris is seen in the distance. The fine aqueduct of Marly, +the mountain de Coeur volant, Mount Calvary,[16] and Malmaison to the +right; in front the forest of Vsinet, and beyond it the vale of Saint +Denis; on the left the hills which encompass the beautiful vale of +Montmorency; the Seine winding at the foot, and extending its course +until it loses itself in the distance--all within one sweep of the +eye!--Such is the enchanting prospect which presents itself. + +It was at different times the residence of Louis XIII.[17] of Anne of +Austria, Christiana of Sweden, and of Madame La Valire, when Madame +de Montespan rivalled her in the affections of Louis XIV. After the +former had retired to the Convent of the Carmelites at Paris, it was +assigned in 1689 to the unfortunate James the Second, whose bigotry +had driven him from the throne of England. Here, together with his +Queen, and those of his court who fled with him to seek an asylum in +France, and surrounded by those priests and monks, whose pernicious +councils had led to his fall, the unhappy James remained until his +death, the 16th Sept. 1701. The apartment in which he breathed his +last is still preserved; but the whole of the interior has been very +much neglected. It served as a quarter for a body of Prussians in +1815, and the following year was a barrack for the English troops +quartered at St. Germain. A French poet of his time wrote these lines +descriptive of the life he led in his retirement. + + "C'est ici que Jacques second, + Sans Ministres et sans matresse, + Le matin allait la Messe, + Et le soir allait au sermon". + +[Footnote 16: On the top of this height is the Pavilion de Lucienne, +built by Madame Dubarry, Mistress to Louis XV. afterwards the property +of Madame La Princesse de Conti, now the residence of M. de Puy: at +the foot is the village of Lucienne, surrounded by numerous villas: +among the most remarkable is the residence of General Comte Campon.] + +[Footnote 17: Lewis XIV. would not reside here, because the steeples +of the Abbey of St. Denis, where he was to be interred, could be +seen from the Chteau. The amount of the immense treasure which the +consequent erection of the Palace of Versailles cost was never known, +the King Mary Stewart, daughter of James, died here in April 1712, and +his Queen, in May 1718. These were the last persons of any consequence +who inhabited this palace, which in its exterior still preserves all +its ancient appearance of grandeur. It is built of stone, with a +facing of red brick, the windows are of great height, and the whole is +surrounded by a deep ditch, forming a very striking contrast to the +buildings of the present age, having destroyed the bills with his +own hand. In the neighbourhood of Versailles stands the celebrated +Military School of St. Cyr, which was originally an establishment for +the gratuitous admission of two hundred and fifty young ladies +of rank, who were to receive an education correspondent to their +situation in life. Madame de Maintenon is buried in the Chapel of the +Convent.] + + + + + +FOREST OF SAINT GERMAIN. + +This forest is enclosed by a wall of thirty miles in circumference, +according to M. Prudhomme. It is now preserved exclusively for the Duc +de Berri, who is the Ranger. + +Of all the ancient forests with which Paris is surrounded, this is the +most extensive. It is stocked with prodigious quantities of game, with +deer, and wild boar. The pheasants and partridges are reared in an +extensive _faisanderie_, in the centre of the forest, enclosed by a +high wall, and such vigilance is exercised by the keepers, that no +person can possibly destroy the game. It is guarded by a captain and +two lieutenants, who have under them a corps of gardes de chasse. + +The royal chace is, at the commencement of the season, quite a state +ceremony, at which all the royal family and the court assemble to be +spectators. The dress of the hunt is green and gold, with gold laced +cocked hats and swords. The Duke invites his party, and gives them +permission to wear the uniform, which is considered a high honour. + +Nothing can be more delightful than the walks and rides through this +forest; the roads are kept in the best possible state. At intervals +are large open spaces called Etoiles, from whence branch off sometimes +ten and twelve roads with direction posts, each bearing a separate +name, either from some memorable event, or remarkable person; as the +croix de Poissy, croix de la Pucelle, croix de Montchevreuil, croix de +Berri, and croix de Noailles, &c. &c. + +A story is related of a lamentable occurrence which took place the 7th +June 1812, at the Etoile des Marres, and a similar one happened in +August this year, near the same spot. + +The first of these events was occasioned by the parents of a young +lady having refused their consent to her being married to her lover, +whose want of fortune was the chief obstacle. The lovers, in despair, +came to the fatal resolution of putting a period to their lives, and +this forest was fixed upon as the spot for the dreadful deed! Having +partaken of a repast which they had brought with them, and sworn +to love each other (if it were permitted them) after death, they +discharged, at the same moment, their pistols at themselves. The +unhappy girl fell dead, but the hand of her lover having missed its +aim, he was only wounded. Having no other means left of accomplishing +his dreadful purpose, he took the handkerchief from her bosom and +suspended himself by it to a tree. In this state they were discovered, +and their bodies deposited in the same grave! The other circumstance +was of the same romantic and melancholy nature.[18] This forest +supplies Paris with great quantities of wood. In 1814, and in 1815, +the palisades that were made to surround Paris for its defence against +the Allied armies, were cut in this wood, and the large timber has +consequently been greatly thinned. + +[Footnote 18: There never was known in this country so many fatal +instances of suicide as at the present period; few days pass over +without some persons throwing themselves out of their windows, or into +the river Seine; and among the disappointed partizans of the late +ruler, it has been usual to hurl themselves from the top of the column +in the Place Vendme, which has been shut up in consequence by an +order from Government. + +Among the instances of deliberate self-destruction, the following is a +remarkable fact, inasmuch as it serves to prove the pernicious effects +of the writings of Voltaire and Rousseau in the minds of youth, when +at an age incapable of discriminating between fanaticism and real +piety! + +The person in question was a youth not turned sixteen, who destroyed +himself last summer, while at college, and who left the following +paper as his last will. The lady who gave it me copied it from the +original. + + "Testament de Villemain. + + "Samedi. July 6th, 1816. + + "Je donne mon corps aux Pdants: je lgue mon me aux manes de + Voltaire et de J.J. Rousseau, qui m'ont appris mpriser toutes les + vaines superstitions de ce monde, et tous les vains prjugs qu'a + enfants la grossiret des hommes, et surtout les subtiles noirceurs + des fourbes de Prtres. + + "J'ai toujours reconnu un Etre suprme, et ma religion a toujours t + la religion naturelle. + + "Quant mes biens terrestres, je donne: (Here he mentions various + articles to his favorite school-fellows). + + "A Mondsir, mon dernier soupir. + + "J'ai toujours connu, je l'ai dit plus haut, reconnu un Etre suprme, + j'ai toujours pens que la seul religion digne de lui, etait la vertu + et la probt! + + "J'ose dire que je m'en suis rarement cart malgr la faiblesse, et + la fragilit humaine. + + "Je parois devant l'Etre suprme en disant avec Voltaire: 'Un Bonze, + honnte homme, un Dervis, charitable, trouveront plutt grce ses + yeux, qu'un Pontife ambitieux.'" + + Then follows a Latin quotation, "All things are due to death, and + without delay, sooner or later, hasten to the same goal: Hither we all + tend: This is our last asylum". + + "De tout les Pdants qui m'ont le plus tourment je compte surtout + Poir, son Jeannes et Veissier, qui sont la cause du vol que je fais + la nature en tranchant moi mme le fil de mes jours; je leur pardonne, + l'quit le fait aussi: Je n'ai cess de rpter avec Rousseau avant + de mourir. 'Tu veux cesser de vivre, sais-tu si tu as commenc.' + + "Adieu!!! Mortels et foiblesses! VILLEMAIN".] + +Here conclude my notes, and if my reader has condescended to accompany +me through my little Tour without feeling fatigue or displeasure +at his "Compagnon de Voyage," my aim and ambition as an author are +satisfied--so wishing that all the journeys he may ever take, may +prove as delightful to him as this has been to me, I sincerely thank +him for his attention, and kindly bid him Farewell! + + +FINIS. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Visit to the Monastery of La Trappe +in 1817, by W.D. Fellowes + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE *** + +***** This file should be named 10864-8.txt or 10864-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/8/6/10864/ + +Produced by Robert Connal, Renald Levesque and PG Distributed +Proofreaders. This file was produced from images generously made +available by gallica (Biblioth que nationale de France) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's +eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, +compressed (zipped), HTML and others. + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over +the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. +VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving +new filenames and etext numbers. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000, +are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + + https://www.gutenberg.org/etext06 + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: + https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL + + diff --git a/old/10864-8.zip b/old/10864-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..16a730f --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10864-8.zip diff --git a/old/10864-h.zip b/old/10864-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..bbd4577 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10864-h.zip diff --git a/old/10864-h/10864-h.htm b/old/10864-h/10864-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3fc77ce --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10864-h/10864-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3948 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="content-type" + content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> + <title>MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE</title> + <meta name="author" content="W.D. FELLOWES"> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +H1 {font-size: 24pt; font-family: serif} +H2 {font-size: 18pt; font-family: serif} +H3 {font size:14pt; font-family: serif} +p {font size:12pt; font-family: serif; text-align: justify} +p.STDIT {font size:12pt; font-family: serif; font-style: italic;} +p.FTNOTE {font size:10pt; font-family: sans-serif; text-align: justify} +</STYLE> + +</head> + +<body style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Visit to the Monastery of La Trappe in +1817, by W.D. Fellowes + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Visit to the Monastery of La Trappe in 1817 + With Notes Taken During a Tour Through Le Perche, Normandy, Bretagne, + Poitou, Anjou, Le Bocage, Touraine, Orleanois, and the Environs of Paris. + Illustrated with Numerous Coloured Engravings, from Drawings Made on the Spot + +Author: W.D. Fellowes + +Release Date: January 29, 2004 [EBook #10864] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Connal, Renald Levesque and PG Distributed +Proofreaders. This file was produced from images generously made +available by gallica (Bibliotheque nationale de France) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + + + + + +</pre> + + + +<center><H1> A VISIT TO THE MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE<br> + + IN 1817.</H1><br><br> + +<H3> WITH NOTES<br><br> + + <i>TAKEN DURING A TOUR THROUGH</i><br> + LE PERCHE, NORMANDY, BRETAGNE, POITOU, ANJOU,<br> + LE BOCAGE, TOURAINE, ORLEANOIS, AND<br> + THE ENVIRONS OF PARIS.<br><br> + + BY<br><br> + + W.D. FELLOWES, ESQ.<br><br> + + ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS COLOURED ENGRAVINGS,<br><br> + FROM DRAWINGS MADE ON THE SPOT.</H3><br><br><br><br></center> + + +<p>*[NOTE: Suitable reproductions of the illustrations were not available at the time this document was prepared. Place holders have been included in the text for possible insertions at a later date]</p> + + +<p>LIST OF THE PLATES.<br><br> + + +View of the Monastery of La Trappe<br> +Ruins of the Ancient Church of ditto<br> +Ruins of the Gateway of the ancient Chartreuse<br> +Les Noyades (<i>vignette</i>)<br> +Grotto of Hlose at Clisson<br> +Tomb of Ablard and Hlose<br> +Ruins of Ablard's House<br> +Granite Rock in the Garenne<br> +Le Conntable de Clisson (<i>outline</i>)<br> +Ruins of Clisson<br> +Tour des Plerins<br> +Moulin aux chvres<br> +Tour d'Oudon on the River Loire<br> +View of St. Florent<br> +Tomb (<i>etching</i>)<br><br><br> + + + + +PREFACE.</p><br><br> + + +<p>In justice to the public and to myself, I must disavow for the +following pages any higher literary pretension than what is conveyed +by the simple title of "Notes," under which I have ventured to give +them to the world. I had no other aim in writing but to occupy as +rationally as I could the hours of travel, and no other object in +publishing but to impart to others as plainly as I could a portion of +the pleasure I myself experienced. It has somewhere been remarked to +this effect, that if every man of common understanding were to put +down the daily thoughts and occurrences of his life, candidly and +unaffectedly as he experienced them, he must necessarily produce +something of interest to his fellow men, and make a book, which, +though not enlivened by wit, dignified by profundity of reasoning, nor +valuable by extent of research, yet no man perhaps should throw aside +with either weariness or disgust.</p> + +<p>Whether I shall prove fortunate enough not to excite these sensations +in such readers as may honour my book with a perusal, I fear to +conjecture. But it was my good fortune, during a season of uncommon +beauty, to make a tour through some of the most interesting parts of +France, and to meet with persons who, from situation and talents, +were highly calculated to give my journey every charm of society and +information. The natural face of the country through which I passed +was peculiarly beautiful: I could scarcely move a step without +some novelty of picturesque enchantment, and had the most perfect +opportunities of contemplating Nature in all her varied poetry, from +the grand and terrible graces of savage sublimity, to the soft and +playful loveliness of cultivated luxuriance. There was scarcely a +town or village where I arrived which romance or history, religion or +politics, had not invested and adorned with every interest of mental +association. Under such impressions, and with such opportunities, it +was scarcely possible to resist recording something of what I saw and +felt; and if the publication of my hasty record be an error, it +will be deemed by my friends, I hope, a pardonable one. My book +can scarcely demand the serious attention of the critic; nor could +criticism well expect a better style from one whose profession is +seldom supposed to allow much leisure to acquire nicety in the arts of +composition. I claim no other merit for my Notes than having followed +the advice (of Gray, I believe) that ten words put down at the moment +upon the spot, are worth a whole cart load of recollections. I have +not sought to add to their attraction (if they should possess any) by +the embellishments of my invention, or the graces of my periods--the +decorative artifices of execution can never give value to falsehood, +and truth needs them not. A simple landscape, simply described from +nature, has always a charm above the most high-finished compositions +of mere fancy; and, like a moderate painting from the same source, +still imparts a feeling of reality. I hope, therefore, I shall be +excused for attempting some description, slight and unskilful as it +may be, of places and scenery where the human mind has exhibited +some of its most curious and powerful features, and which awaken +reflections of the deepest interest--I allude particularly to the +monastery of <i>La Trappe</i>, and to the country of <i>La Vende</i>. The +former had dwelt among the earliest impressions of youth, with +something like the wild and wonderful force of a romantic tale; and I +was anxious to become an eye-witness of what had so long been one of +the most powerful objects of my imagination. The gloomy and almost +inaccessible situation chosen by this strange fraternity for +their convent--their rigid separation from human intercourse--the +infringible taciturnity imposed upon themselves--and the terrible +severity of their penances, are certainly circumstances more +resembling the visionary indulgence of fantasy and fiction, than +actual realities to be met with among living men, and in the present +day.</p> + +<p>With regard to the department of <i>La Vende</i>, whatever serves, trivial +as it may be, to recall or illustrate the history of its wars and the +character of its inhabitants, must ever possess a charm for those who +delight to sympathize with the noble struggles of a gallant people, +conscientiously devoting themselves to the cause of a fallen and +persecuted monarchy, and resisting the cruel and destructive ferocity +of a licentious enemy, who had broken down the most sacred fences of +society, and trampled upon the dearest ties of human nature.</p> + +<p>In these Notes, slight as they are, I can truly promise the reader +that he will find nothing wilfully misrepresented, nor advanced +without just authority; and if the rapid and cursory character of the +observations, allusions, and anecdotes, shall enable an hour to pass +agreeably that has no better employment, I am content, and gratified +with the attainment of all I ever hoped or designed by an unpretending +publication, which I cheerfully dedicate to all who love to unbend +their minds from a critical attitude, and can lounge goodnaturedly +over leaves written by a traveller as idle and careless as themselves, +and who assures them that no one can think more humbly of his +production than himself.</p> + +<p>MARCH 1818.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<p><b>CONTENTS.</b></p> + + +<p>CHAPTER I.</p> + +<p>Route from Paris to Mortagne.--Excursion to La Trappe.--State of the +Order since the restoration in 1814.--Its foundation and rules under +the Abb de Ranc.</p> + +<p>CHAP. II.</p> + +<p>Ruins of the Convent of the Chartreux.--Forests of Le +Perche.--Mortagne.</p> + +<p>CHAP. III.</p> + +<p>From Mortagne to Rennes.--Soeurs de la +Charit.--Alenon.--Laval.--Vitr, the celebrated residence of Mad. de +Svign.</p> + +<p>CHAP. IV.</p> + +<p>Rennes.--Route from Rennes to Nantes.--City of Nantes.--Historical +anecdotes.</p> + +<p>CHAP. V.</p> + +<p>Country south of the Loire.--Le Bocage.--Clisson.--Historical +anecdotes.--The Garenne, and River Svres.</p> + +<p>CHAP. VI.</p> + +<p>General appearance and limits of Le Bocage.--Nature of the mode of +warfare of the Vendeans.</p> + +<p>CHAP. VII.</p> + +<p>The River Loire, from Nantes to Angers.</p> + +<p>CHAP. VIII.</p> + +<p>Saumur to Tours.--Tours to Blois.--Orlans--and Orlans to Paris.</p> + +<p>CHAP. IX.</p> + +<p>Environs of Paris.--Pre la Chaise.--Castle of Vincennes, and Chteau +of Saint Germain.--The Forest, and Vicinity.--Conclusion.</p> +<br><br><br><br><br> + + +<center> +<h1>A VISIT TO THE + +MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE</h1><br><br> + + + + + + +<h2>CHAP. I.</h2><br><br> +</center> + +<p>ROUTE FROM PARIS TO MORTAGNE.--EXCURSION TO LA TRAPPE.--STATE OF THE +ORDER SINCE THE RESTORATION IN 1814.--ITS FOUNDATION AND RULES UNDER +THE ABBE DE RANCE.</p><br><br> + + +<p>I performed this journey during the months of June, July, August, and +September, a distance of near one thousand miles, and had the singular +good fortune to enjoy the finest weather possible. The perusal of +Madame de La Roche-Jaquelin's interesting work on the Vendean war, +first gave me the idea of visiting the country called le Bocage, the +theatre of so many events, and sufferings of the brave royalists; and, +as the province of le Perche, in which is situated the ancient convent +of La Trappe, was in my route to Bretagne, I resolved to make an +excursion there, in order to satisfy myself of the truth of those +austerities which I had read of in the Memoirs of the Count de +Comminge.</p> + +<p>The route from Paris to Mortagne, in le Perche, leads through Marly, +Versailles, Saint Cyr, Pont Chartrain, La Queue, Houdon, Marrolles, +Dreux, Nonancourt, Tillires, Verneuil, and Saint Maurice. The roads +are excellent, and the country beautiful. The first post out of Paris +is Nanterre. Two leagues and a half from the barriere, the village +of Ruel, and the park of Malmaison, form a continuation of neat +buildings. At Nanterre, in the campaign of 1815, the Prussians, after +a severe engagement with the retreating troops of the French, had one +regiment of cavalry cut to pieces. At Ruel, the celebrated Cardinal +Richelieu had a palace, which at the Revolution became national +property, and was purchased by Massena, Duc de Rivoli, Prince +D'Essling, lately deceased. The Duchess still resides there. It was +taken possession of by the allies in 1815, and, like Malmaison, +plundered by the troops. There are extensive barracks for cavalry at +this place, at present occupied by the Swiss guards.</p> + +<p>A little farther, between Malmaison and Marly, is a beautiful chteau, +formerly belonging to General Count Bertrand, who accompanied Napoleon +to Saint Helena; it is now the property of M. Ouverard, the banker: +nearly opposite is the residence of the celebrated Abb Sieys, who +lives in great retirement. Whatever may have been the political +transgressions of Bertrand, there is something so noble in his +devotion to the fallen fortunes of his master, that it is impossible +not to respect his character.</p> + +<p>At Marly, the water-works and aqueduct for conveying the water from +the river Seine to the palace and gardens of Versailles, are very +curious. The palace of Marly is destroyed; but the basins, which were +constructed by order of Louis XIV. are still to be seen, though in +ruins. Delille, the poet, in his description of the chteau and +beautiful grounds of Marly, says:</p> + +<p> C'est l que tout est grand, que l'art n'est point timide;<br> + L tout est enchant: c'est le Palais d'Armide;<br> + C'est le jardin d'Alcine, ou plutt d'un Hros,<br> + Noble dans sa retraite et grand dans son repos.<br> + Qui cherche encore vaincre, dompter des obstacles,<br> + Et ne marche jamais qu'entour de miracles.</p> + +<p>On quitting Paris, I had procured a letter of introduction from Count La Cou to Madame de Bellou, at Mortagne, a charming old lady of an +ancient and noble family in that province, who had never quitted the +seat of her ancestors, but remained quiet and respected during all the +storms of the revolution. She received me with kindness, and politely +introduced me to the Sub-Prefect, Monsieur Lamorelie, who gave me a +letter of introduction to the Pre Don Augustin, Grand Prior of La +Trappe. The mayor of the commune of Soligni, who happened to be at +the inn, and learned from the <i>Aubergiste</i>, that a stranger intended +visiting La Trappe, very civilly introduced himself to me, and gave me +every necessary direction how to proceed through the forest; at the +same time expressing his surprise that an Englishman should take +the trouble, and undergo the fatigue of penetrating through such a +country, an attempt which few of his own countrymen had ever ventured +to make. It was singular enough that only one person in the town could +be found to accompany me as a guide, or who knew any thing of +the track through the forest, although the abbey is distant only +twenty-five miles.</p> + +<p>I set out with the guide just at day-break, mounted on a small Norman +horse, and armed with pistols and a sword-cane, in case of meeting +with wolves, which the mayor of Soligni had cautioned me against, as +abounding throughout the country. We travelled, after leaving the +main road, at the distance of a league, through a country scarcely +appearing to be inhabited. Here and there a lone cot, a mere speck, +met the eye amidst a landscape composed of nothing but barren wastes +and thick forests, nearly impervious to the light. We had penetrated +about half a mile through one of the latter, my attention occupied +with the romantic wildness of the scene, when we were alarmed by the +howling of a wolf. My guide crossed himself, and began cracking his +whip with the noise and singular dexterity peculiar to the French +postillions; and as we entered a part of the forest, impenetrable but +for traces known only to those who are accustomed to them, he related +(by way of consolation, I suppose,) several stories of the peasantry +having been recently attacked, and some destroyed, by wolves; and one +instance of a woman having had her infant torn from her arms, only a +short time since, in the neighbourhood.</p> + +<p>On quitting the forest the track was now and then diversified by the +ruins of a solitary cottage, or the mouldering remains of a crucifix, +raised by pious hands to mark some event, or to guide the traveller; +and after traversing a rocky plain, covered with heath and wild thyme, +where some herds of sheep and goats were browsing, attended by the +shepherd, we entered the Forest of Bellegarde. This forest spreads +over a large extent of country, and is so dark and intricate, that +those best acquainted with it frequently lose their way. No vestige of +human footsteps or of the track of animals appeared; a mark, here and +there, on some of the trees, was the only direction! Pursuing our way +through turnings and windings the most perplexing, we found ourselves +to be on the overhanging brow of a hill, the descent of which was so +precipitous, that we were under the necessity of dismounting; and by +a winding path, hollowed out in its side, descended through a sort +of labyrinth towards the valley, whose sides were clothed with lofty +woods, rising one above the other. The valley itself is interspersed +with three lakes, connected with each other, and forming a sort of +moat around the ground; in the centre of which appears the venerable +abbey of La Trappe, with its dark gray towers, the deep tone of whose +bell had previously announced to us, that we had nearly reached our +journey's end.</p> + +<p>The situation of this monastery was well adapted to the founder's +views, and to suggest the name it originally received of La Trappe, +from the intricacy of the road which descends to it, and the +difficulty of access or egress, which exists even to this day, though +the woods have been very much thinned since the revolution. Perhaps +there never was any thing in the whole universe better calculated to +inspire religious awe than the first view of this monastery. It was +imposing even to breathlessness. The total solitude--the undisturbed +and chilling silence, which seem to have ever slept over the dark and +ancient woods--the still lakes, reflecting the deep solemnity of the +objects around them--all impress a powerful image of utter seclusion +and hopeless separation from living man, and appear formed at once to +court and gratify the sternest austerities of devotion--to nurse +the fanaticism of diseased imaginations--to humour the wildest +fancies--and promote the gloomiest schemes of penance and privation!</p> + +<p>In descending the steep and intricate path the traveller frequently +loses sight of the abbey, until he has actually reached the bottom; +then emerging from the wood, the following inscription is seen carved +on a wooden cross:</p> + +<p> C'est ici que la mort et que la vrit<br> + Elvent leurs flambeaux terribles;<br> + C'est de cette demeure, au monde inaccessible,<br> + Que l'on passe l'ternit.</p> + +<p>A venerable grove of oak trees, which formerly surrounded the +monastery, was cut down in the revolution. In the gateway of the outer +court is a statue of Saint Bernard, which has been mutilated by the +republicans: he is holding in one hand a church, and in the other a +spade--the emblems of devotion and labour. This gateway leads into a +court, which opens into a second enclosure, and around that are the +granaries, stables, bakehouse, and other offices necessary to the +abbey, which have all been happily preserved.</p> + +<p>Owing to the fatigue of the journey, the heat of the weather, and +having frequently been obliged to retrace our steps, from losing our +way in the woods, it was late before we arrived at the abbey. To the +west, under the glow of the setting sun, the forests were still tinged +with the warmest yet softest colours that faded fast away; and as we +descended towards the Convent, quickening our pace to reach it before +the last gleams of evening departed, there was a silence around us, +which at such a moment, and in such a spot, sunk sorrowfully upon the +heart! Just as I reached the gate the bell tolled in so solemn and +melancholy a tone that it vibrated through my whole frame, and called +strongly to mind the beautiful lines in "Parisina:</p> + +<p> The Convent bells are ringing,<br> + But mournfully and slow;<br> + In the gray square turret swinging,<br> + With a deep sound, to and fro,<br> + Heavily to the heart they go!</p> + +<p>On entering the gate, a lay-brother received me on his knees; and in +a low and whispering voice informed me they were at vespers. The +stillness and gloom of the building--the last rays of the sun scarcely +penetrating through its windows--the deep tones of the monks chanting +the responses, which occasionally broke the silence, filled me with +reverential emotions which I felt unwilling to disturb: it was +necessary however to present my letter of introduction, and Frre +Charle, the secrtaire, soon after came out, and received me with +great civility. He appeared a young man about five-and-twenty, with a +handsome and prepossessing countenance. He informed me that the Pre +Abb was then absent, visiting a convent of Female Trappistes, a +few leagues distant, but that he should be happy to show me every +attention; and requested that in going over the Convent, I would +neither speak nor ask him any questions in those places where I saw +him kneel, or in the presence of any of the Monks. I followed him to +the chapel, where, as soon as the service was over, the bell rung +to summon them to supper. Ranged in double rows, with their heads +enveloped in a large cowl, and bent down to the earth, they chanted +the grace, and then seated themselves. During the repast one of them, +standing, read passages from scripture, reminding them of death, and +of the shortness of human existence; another went round the whole +community, and on his knees kissed their feet in succession, throwing +himself prostrate on the floor at intervals before the image of our +Saviour; a third remained on his knees the whole time, and in that +attitude took his repast. These penitents had committed some fault, +or neglected their religious duties, of which, according to the +regulations, they had accused themselves, and were in consequence +doomed to the above modes of penance.</p> + +<p>The refectory was furnished with long wooden tables and benches; each +person was provided with a trencher, a jug of water, and a cup, having +on it the name of the brother to whom it is appropriated, as Frre +Paul, Frre Franois, etc. which name they assume on taking the vow. +Their supper consisted of bread soaked in water, a little salt, and +two raw carrots, placed by each; water alone is their beverage. The +dinner is varied with a little cabbage or other vegetables: they very +rarely have cheese, and never meat, fish, or eggs. The bread is of the +coarsest kind possible.</p> + +<p>Their bed is a small truckle, boarded, with a single covering, +generally a blanket, no mattress nor pillow; and, as in the former +time, no fire is allowed but one in the great hall, which they never +approach.</p> + +<p>Within these three years a small cabaret has been built near the +Convent for the accommodation of those who may occasionally visit it, +the buildings that remain being but barely sufficient for their own +members, which have been rapidly increasing since its restoration. In +this cabaret I took up my abode for the night, in preference to the +accommodation very kindly offered me by Frre Charle, and retired to +rest, wearied with the day's excursion, and fully satisfied, that all +I had heard, all I had imagined of La Trappe, was infinitely short of +the reality, and that no adequate description could be given of its +awful and dreary solitude;</p> + +<p>Monsieur Elzar de Sabran, in a poem called Le Repentir, lately +published, describing this Monastery, says very justly;</p> + +<p> Tmoins d'une commune et secrte souffrance,<br> + Ces frres de douleur, martyrs de l'esprance,<br> + D'une lente torture puisant les degrs,<br> + Constamment runis, constamment spars,<br> + L'un l'autre trangers, ct l'un de l'autre,<br> + Joignent tout ce malheur encore tout le ntre,<br> + Jamais, dans ses pareils cherchant un tendre appui,<br> + Un coeur ne s'ouvre aux coeurs qui souffrent comme lui.</p> + +<p>The following morning the matin bell summoned me to the Convent, +and Frre Charle attended me to the burial ground; here have been +deposited the remains of two of the brothers, deceased since the +restoration of their order in 1814. Another grave was ready prepared; +as soon as an interment takes place, one being always opened for the +next that may die. The two graves were marked with simple wooden +crosses, bearing the following inscriptions:</p> + +<p> F. Nicolas. Frre DONN<br> + Dcd. le 24 Fvrier 1816.</p> + +<pre> * * * * *</pre> + +<p>On the other:</p> + +<p> F. AUGUSTINUS. NOVITIUS<br> + die 26 mensis novembris<br> + ANNO. 1816 DECESSIT.<br> + REQUIESCAT IN PACE<br> + AMEN.<br> + +<pre> * * * * *</pre> + +<p>In the centre of the cemetery is the grave of M. De Ranc. His +monument, with his figure carved at full length in a recumbent +posture, was removed when the destruction of the old church took +place; it is now a complete ruin, and a few stones alone mark the spot +of its ancient founder's grave, which is kept free from weeds with +pious reverence and care. The revolution, which like a torrent swept +all before it, did not even spare the dead.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: RUINS of the ANCIENT CHURCH of LA TRAPPE.]</p> + +<p>While I was contemplating the ruins around me, and watching the +motions of a venerable figure in silent prayer at one of the angles, +the bell tolled, when both Frre Charle and the Monk dropped instantly +on their knees. How forcibly were the following lines of Pope recalled +to my mind!</p> + +<p> Lo, the struck deer, in some sequester'd part,<br> + Lies down to die, (the arrow in his heart;)<br> + There, hid in shades, and wasting day by day,<br> + Inly he bleeds, and pants his soul away.</p><br> + +<p>The number of Monks who have taken the vow are not in proportion to +the others, who are lay brothers, and <i>Frres Donns</i>; in all there +are about one hundred, besides novices, who are principally composed +of boys, and who do not wear the same habit. The Trappistes, who +compose the first order, are clothed in dark brown, with brown mantle +and hood; the others are in white, with brown mantle and hood. +I occasionally caught a glimpse of their faces, but it was only +momentarily; and I can easily believe, with their perpetual silence, +that two people well known to each other, might inhabit the same spot, +without ever being aware of it, so completely are their faces hidden +by their large cowl. The Trappistes, or first order, are distinguished +by the appellation of <i>Frres Convers</i>, the others by that of +<i>Religieux de Coeur</i>.</p> + +<p>The hardships undergone by these monks appear almost insupportable +to human nature, and notwithstanding the immense number of deaths +occasioned by their rigorous austerities, the Cnobites of La Trappe, +at the suppression of their order, amounted to one hundred monks, +sixty-nine lay brothers, and fifty-six <i>Frres Donns</i>. The inmates +are classed under these three heads; but the lay brothers, who take +the same vows, and follow the same rules, are principally employed as +servants, and in transacting the temporal concerns of the abbey. The +<i>Frres Donns</i> are brothers given for a time; these last are not +properly belonging to the order, they are rather, religious persons, +whose business or connexions prevent their joining the order +absolutely, but, who wishing to renew serious impressions, or to +retire from the world for a given period, come here and conform +strictly to the regulations while they remain, without wishing to join +the order for life. Many persons on their first conversion, or after +some peculiar dispensations of Providence, retire here for a season.</p> + +<p>In the refectory I observed a board hung up, with "<i>Table pour +l'Office Divin</i>," written over it, and under it the regulations or +order of service to be performed for that week, which are occasionally +varied, but never diminished in their rigour. Frre Charle said, +that the whole were strictly observed, and were frequently much more +severe; for the Pre Abb had instituted more austere regulations +than formerly, with the only one exception, of the sick being allowed +medicines; and, in cases of great debility, a small quantity of meat.</p> + +<p>The Table "<i>pour l'Office Divin</i>," was as follows. +<table cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" border="0" + style="text-align: left; width: 740px;"> + <tbody> + <tr> + +<td style="text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 15%; font size:12pt; font-family: serif;"> +Dimanche<br> +Lundi<br> +Mardi<br> +Mercredi<br> +Jeudi<br> +Vendredi<br> +Samedi + </td> + +<td style="vertical-align: top; width: 5%; text-align: right; font size:12pt; font-family: serif;"> +12<br> +3<br> +12<br> +12<br> +3<br> +12<br> +12 + </td> + +<td style="text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 80%; font size:12pt; font-family: serif;"> +Leons et Communion.<br> +Leons.<br> +Leons-- jeun--Travail.<br> +Leons.<br> +Leons.<br> +Leons-- jeun--Travail.<br> +Leons-- jeun--Travail. + </td> + </tr> + </tbody> +</table> + + + +<p>Their mode of life and regulations exist nearly in the same state +as established by the founder; in reciting them, such horrible +perversions of human nature and reason make it almost difficult to +believe the existence of so severe an order, and lead us to wonder +at the artificial miseries, which the ingenuity of pious but morbid +enthusiasm can inflict upon itself. The abstinence practised at La +Trappe allows not the use of meat, fish, eggs, or butter; and a very +limited quantity of bread and vegetables. They only eat twice a +day; which meals consist of a slender repast at about eleven in the +morning, and two ounces of bread and two raw carrots in the evening: +both together do not at any time exceed twelve ounces. The same spirit +of mortification is observable in their cells, which are very small, +and have no other furniture than a bed of boards, a human skull, and a +few religious books.</p> + +<p>Silence is at all times rigidly maintained; conversation is never +permitted: should two of them even be seen standing near each other, +though pursuing their daily labour, and preserving the strictest +silence, it is considered as a violation of their vow, and highly +criminal; each member is therefore as completely insulated as if he +alone existed in the Monastery. None but the Pre Abb knows the name, +age, rank, or even the native country of any member of the community: +every one, at his first entrance, assumes another name, as I before +observed, and with his former appellation, each is supposed to abjure, +not only the world, but every recollection and memorial of himself and +connexions: no word ever escapes from his lips by which the others can +possibly guess who he is, or where he comes from; and persons of the +same name, family, and neighbourhood, have often lived together in the +Convent for years, unknown to each other, without having suspected +their proximity.</p> + +<p>The abstraction of mind practised at La Trappe, and the prevention of +all external communication with the world is such, that few but the +superior know any thing of what is passing in it. It has been related, +that so little information of the affairs of mankind did these people +receive, that the death of Louis XIV. was not known there for years, +except by the Father Abb; and such was their state of seclusion, that +a Nobleman having taken a journey of five hundred miles, purposely to +see the Monastery, could scarcely find in the neighbouring villages +one person who knew where it was situated. Indeed, at the present day, +it is quite astonishing how little is known of this place, and how +very few, even among those in its immediate vicinity, have ever +visited it.[1]</p> + +<p>On the great festivals they rise at midnight; otherwise they are not +called until three quarters past one: at two they assemble in the +Chapel, where they perform different services, public and private, +until seven in the morning, according to the regulations of the week, +as exemplified in the "<i>Table pour l'Office Divin</i>." At this hour they +go out to labour in the open air. Their work is of the most fatiguing +kind, is never intermitted, winter or summer, and admits of no +relaxation from the state of the weather.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 1: Among the most frequent visitors of La Trappe, was +the unfortunate James the Second. His first visit was on the 20th +November, 1690, where he was received by M. de Ranc, whose account of +it is very interesting.]</p> + +<p>When their labour is over, they go into Chapel for a short time, until +eleven o'clock, the hour of repast; at a quarter after eleven they +read till noon; and afterwards lie down to rest for an hour: they are +then summoned into the garden, where they again work until three; +then read again for three quarters of an hour, and retire for another +quarter to their private meditations, by way of preparation for +vespers, which begin at four, and end at six; at seven they again +enter the Chapel, and at eight they leave it, and retire to rest.</p> + +<p>At the hour of their first repast, I again attended Frre Charle to +the eating-room, where nearly the same forms were observed as at their +evening-meal; a small basin of boiled cabbage, two raw carrots, and +a small piece of black bread, with a jug of water, constituted their +solitary meal. A Monk, during the whole time, read sentences from +Scripture; and a small hand-bell filled up the intervals of his +silence, and proclaimed a cessation from eating, or movement of +any sort. Over the door of the Refectory I observed the following +inscription in Latin:--"Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, +than a stalled ox, and hatred therewith."</p> + +<p>Frre Charle invited me to partake of the frugal fare of his order. He +said, "You will forgive my laying before you a vegetable repast; it +is all that I have in my power to offer you, but you will confer a +pleasure by accepting it." It was impossible to refuse, for I felt I +should appear ungrateful after the attentions that had been shown me, +if I had. Frre Charle conducted me into an apartment, in which I was +gratified to observe a well executed portrait of the Abb de Ranc, +which, at the destruction of the Monastery, had been preserved by the +surgeon of the ancient fraternity, who continued to reside there until +the period of his death, four or five years since. This person was +greatly respected by all the people round the country, and resorted +to by all who sought relief either from sickness or misery!--Had the +other brothers followed his example of remaining, in all probability +their Convent might have been spared, for the accumulation of wealth +could not be laid to their charge; and as their monastic vows obliged +them to remain within the Monastery, they were most unlikely to incur +the suspicion of any political intrigues.--How indeed could men, whose +whole existence was passed in solitude and penance, and who never +conversed even among themselves, have been dangerous to those +turbulent spirits who had overturned the government and all the +religious institutions of their country!</p> + +<p>In the portrait, the Abb is dressed in the habit of the order, a +white gown and hood, and sitting with a book before him, in which he +appears to be writing; on the same table, before him, are a crucifix +and a skull. The following inscription is painted in one corner by the +artist:</p> + +<p> "ARM'D. LE BOUTTHILLIER DE RANCE. S'R<br> + SCAUANT. et clbre Abb Rformateur De La Trappe.<br> + Mort en 1700. prs de 77 ans, et de 40 ans de la plus<br> + austre pnitence."</p> + +<p>The Monastery of La Trappe is one of the most ancient Abbeys of the +order of Benedictins: it was established under the pontificate of +Innocent the Second, during the reign of Louis VII. in the year 1140, +by Rotrou, the second Count of Perche, and is said to have been built +to accomplish a vow, made in the peril of shipwreck. In commemoration +of this circumstance, the roof was made in the shape of the bottom of +a ship inverted. It was founded under the auspices of Saint Bernard, +the first Abbot of Clairvaux, the celebrated preacher in favour of +the Crusades. Many ages, however, had elapsed, since its first +institution, when the Father Abbot de Ranc, the celebrated reformer +of his time, determined to become a member, whose singular history and +conversion was the subject of a poem by Monsieur Barthe.</p> + +<p>The Abb de Ranc became a Monk of the Benedictin order of La Trappe, +in 1660, and his conversion was attributed to a lady whom he tenderly +loved. They had been separated for some time by her parents; she +having written to him to remove her for the purpose of becoming united +in marriage, he set off, but, during his journey, she was seized with +a fever and died. Totally ignorant of the circumstance, he approached +the house under cover of the night, and got into her apartment through +the window. The first object he beheld was the coffin which contained +the body of his beloved mistress! It had been made of lead, but being +found to be too short, they had, with unheard of brutality; severed +her head from her body! Horror-struck with the shocking spectacle, he, +from that hour, renounced all connexion with the world, and imposed +upon himself the most rigid austerities, which he continued until his +death, forty years after.</p> + +<p>When M. de Ranc undertook the superintendance of the Monastery, it +exhibited a melancholy picture, of the greatest declension, and it +is curious to peruse the steps by which he effected so wonderful a +change;[2] and how men could ever feel it either an inclination or a +duty to enter upon a mode of life so different from the common ways of +thinking or feeling.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 2: Rglements de L'Abbaye, La Maison-Dieu Notre Dame de La +Trappe, par Dom. Armand de Ranc.]</p> + +<p>The Monks of La Trappe were not only immersed in luxury and sloth, but +were abandoned to the most scandalous excesses; most of them lived by +robbery, and several had committed assassinations on the travellers +who had occasion to traverse the woods. The neighbourhood shrunk with +terror from the approach of men who never went abroad unarmed, and +whose excursions were marked with bloodshed and violence. The Banditti +of La Trappe was the appellation by which they were most generally +distinguished. Such were the men amongst whom M. de Ranc resolved to +fix his abode; all his friends endeavouring to dissuade him from an +undertaking, they deemed alike hopeless and dangerous.</p> + +<p>"Unarmed, and unassisted," [3] says his historian, "but in the panoply +of God, and by his Spirit, he went alone amidst this company of +ruffians, every one of whom was bent on his destruction. With +undaunted boldness, he began by proposing the strictest reform, and +not counting his life dear to him, he described the full intent of his +purpose, and left them no choice but obedience or Expulsion."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 3: The work from which I have taken this, is a translation +by Mrs. Schimmelpenninck of Dom. Claude Lancelot's Narrative, +published in 1667. The present regulations not differing from the +former, I have extracted some of the most important.]</p> + +<p>"Many were the dangers M. de Ranc underwent; plans were laid, at +various times, to poison him, to waylay and assassinate him, and even +once one of his monks shot at him; but the pistol, which was applied +close to his head, flashed in the pan, and missed fire. By the good +providence of God all these plans were frustrated, and M. de Ranc +not only brought his reform to bear, but several of his most violent +persecutors became his most stedfast adherents; many were, after a +short time, won over by his piety--the rest left the Monastery. +He especially, who had shot at M. de Ranc, became eminently +distinguished for his piety and learning, and was afterwards Sub-Prior +of La Trappe."</p> + +<p>M. de Ranc lived forty years at the head of this singular society, +and the same ardor and piety continued to distinguish him to the last. +The excess of self-denial and discipline, exercised by this order, +which might readily be doubted, became more known, especially to this +country, at the time of the French Revolution, when they shared the +fate of dissolution with the various religious orders in France. On +that occasion many of them sought an asylum in England, and were +settled in Dorsetshire, where they received the kind protection and +benevolent assistance of Mr. Weld, until the restoration enabled most +of them to return; and, surprising as it may appear in the present +age, notwithstanding the perpetual violence imposed by their +regulations on every human feeling, many are found anxious to enter +the establishment.</p> + +<p>When I was about to take my leave of Frre Charle, he said, "he hoped +I was pleased with my humble fare: to such as it was I had been truly +welcome." Indeed he had treated me with the kindest, most unaffected +hospitality; he had laid the table, spread the dishes before me, stood +the whole time by the side of my chair, and pressed me to eat: How +could I not be thankful? I requested he would be seated, but he +observed that it was not proper for him to be so. His manners and +general deportment bespoke him a well-bred gentleman; and when I +ventured to ask if I might make a memorandum of his name, he bowed his +head with meekness and resignation, and said, "I have now no other but +that which was bestowed on me when I took the vow, which severs me +from the world for ever!" It was impossible not to be affected at the +manner and tone of voice in which he uttered this. When I said that +perhaps he would like that I should leave an acknowledgment in +writing, expressive of the gratitude I felt at my kind and hospitable +reception, he appeared much pleased, and instantly procured me paper. +I left with him the following lines:</p> + +<p> "Convent of La Trappe, July 20, 1817.<br><br> + + "I have this day visited the Convent of La Trappe,<br> + and in the absence of the Grand Prior, to whom I<br> + brought a letter of introduction from Monsieur Lamorelie,<br> + Sub-Prefect of Mortagne, I was received and<br> + have been entertained by Frre Charle Marie, his Secretary.<br><br> + + "It is quite impossible that I can do justice to the<br> + kind, polite, and hospitable reception I have met with<br> + from him, by any expressions in writing. I can only<br> + observe, that it has made an impression on my mind<br> + never to be effaced! If these worthy and pious people<br> + have abandoned the world for the solitude and austerities<br> + of La Trappe, they have not forgotten, in their own self-denial,<br> + the benevolence and benignity due to strangers.<br> + May their self-devotion meet with its reward!"</p> + +<p>I now took my leave of the Convent with feelings which I will not +pretend to describe, but which, together with the impressions I +received when I first entered it, and the whole circumstances of my +visit, I am conscious of retaining while "Memory holds her seat." The +following lines, by P. Mandard, on quitting La Trappe, convey a very +faithful and poetical picture of this extraordinary solitude:</p> + +<p> --Saint dsert, sjour pur et paisible,<br> + Solitude profonde, au vice inaccessible;<br> + Imptueux torrens, et vous sombres forts,<br> + Recevez mes adieux, comme aussi mes regrets!<br> + Toujours pris de vous, respectable retraite,<br> + Puiss-je, dans le cours d'une vie inquite,<br> + Dans ce flux ternel de folie et d'erreur,<br> + O flotte tristement notre malheureux coeur;<br> + Puiss-je, pour charmer mes ennuis et mes peines,<br> + Souvent fuir en esprit au bord de vos fontaines,<br> + Egarer ma pense au milieu de vos bois,<br> + Par un doux souvenir rappeler mille fois<br> + De vos Saints habitans les touchantes images,<br> + Pntrer, sur leurs pas, dans vos grottes sauvages,<br> + Me placer sur vos monts, et l, prennant l'essort,<br> + Aller chercher en Dieu ma joie, et mon trsor!</p><br><br><br> + + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. II.</H2></center><br><br> + +<p>VAL-DIEU.--RUINS OF THE CONVENT OF THE CHARTREUSE.--FORESTS OF LE +PERCHE, MORTAGNE.</p> + + +<p>I quitted <i>La Trappe</i> in the afternoon of the third day after my +arrival there, for the Val-Dieu, which lies three leagues to the east +of Mortagne, taking the villages of Rinrolles and Prepotin in my way; +the latter stands in the midst of a forest. By this road, so bad that +it scarcely deserves the name, a great distance is saved, but the +romantic scenery of the approach to La Trappe is lost. The one we took +through the forest of Bellegarde more than doubles the distance; +but the Abbey is seen as in the centre of a lake beneath, and +the continual beauty and wildness of the landscape render it far +preferable. Until the Revolution this was the only road, the other +having been made when the lands became national property, and were +sold to the peasantry.</p> + +<p>After passing through the above villages, we came round by Tourouvre, +a village on a height, which has a manufactory for glass. I did +not stop to view it, having several leagues to go through a wooded +country. Soon after crossing the main road leading into Bretagne, +we rode by the side of cultivated lands and orchards resembling the +western parts of Devonshire, of which the narrow lanes and high hedges +reminded me very much, until we entered the forest leading to the +Val-Dieu. Between eight and nine in the evening we came to the edge +bounding that part of the Vale by which it is approached, in the +direction we had taken. It was very considerably out of our way, owing +to the guide having mistaken his road and turned to the left instead +of the right. After resting a few minutes on the brow of the hill, we +began our descent by a steep and narrow pathway. When we were midway +down the glen, the ruins of the ancient Chartreuse suddenly burst upon +the view! At this moment all the terrors of the declivity, and the +momentary expectation of meeting some of the wolves with which the +forest abounds, vanished from my mind before the feelings of delight +which the enchanting scene called forth. The almost perpendicular view +of the Vale beneath, had an effect tremendous yet pleasing: on the +left was a lake, seeming to encircle an ancient convent embosomed in +a wood; a thick forest covered the surrounding heights, and before me +stood the remains of the ancient Priory, with its gateway and lodge so +perfect as to create no suspicion of the destruction within.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: RUINS of the GATEWAY of the ANCIENT CHARTREUSE.]</p> + +<p>This had been the hottest day and finest weather I had experienced +during my journey. It was a sweet evening, and the rich tints of the +departing sun-beams among the woods, with the solitary calmness of the +scenery around, were circumstances that made a strong impression on my +feelings. Those who have never traversed the forests of this country +can form but a very imperfect idea of what they are, or of the +death-like awful stillness that reigns within them; for many miles +together they form a dense shade, which, like a dark awning, +completely conceals the sun from the view: even on the brightest day +the sun's rays are only visible as from the bottom of a deep well! The +forests in Le Perche are reckoned the most extensive in France, and +every where abound with vast quantities of game.</p> + +<p>I was received on alighting from my horse by a M. Boderie, a +good humoured hospitable man, who, with his family, are the only +inhabitants of this lonesome spot. I found afterwards that he had seen +better days: he informed me the Val-Dieu property was purchased at the +dissolution of the Monastery by the present proprietor, who resided at +Paris, and allowed him, being his friend, to occupy that part of the +building which had not been destroyed. He made many apologies for the +badness of the accommodations and the homeliness of the fare he had to +offer me, which I considered as unnecessary, as what he possessed was +tendered with unaffected cheerfulness.</p> + +<p>The Prussians in 1815 occupied this country, and notwithstanding M. +Boderie was absent at that time serving in the body guard of Louis +XVIII, whom he had accompanied in his retreat to Ghent, they plundered +him of every article, not even leaving his wife a change of linen. +The numerous accounts I have heard from people of respectability and +loyalty, of the treatment experienced from the Prussians, excites the +greatest regret that they were not able to distinguish the innocent +from the guilty. Many families have been ruined, or greatly distressed +in their circumstances who were devoted to the cause of their +Sovereign. Such are the inevitable consequences of war!</p> + +<p>The Val-Dieu extends upwards of three miles in length, surrounded by +almost impenetrable woods, except where paths have been cut. It has +three lakes, one communicating with the other, containing great +quantities of fish. The Monastery, it is evident from the remains of +its ruins, and from the boundary wall, still entire, must have been of +prodigious extent. M. Boderie informed me, that the plan, of which +he had seen an engraving, showed it to have been one of the most +considerable in the kingdom: some idea may be formed of its former +celebrity and extent by the remains of six hundred fire-places being +still traceable. A colonnade surrounded the whole, forming an oblong +square, in the centre of which was a jet d'eau, with several smaller +ones, the basins of which are still to be seen; the space within +formed a garden, with delicious walks, resembling those in the Palais +Royal.</p> + +<p>The gate-way remains perfect, excepting only that the images over the +side doors have been mutilated. The one in the centre (over the great +entrance) is still in excellent preservation, and appears to be finely +executed: it is the figure of the Virgin Mary in gray marble, the +size of life, seated, with the infant Jesus in her arms. On a scroll +beneath are these letters:</p> + +<p> ECCE MATER<br> + TVA.<br> + 1760.</p> + +<p>Several old chesnut trees and elms still remain, which once formed +a fine avenue in front of the building, from whence the prospect is +strikingly beautiful. The eye passes over rocks, rugged, broken, and +abrupt towards their summits, crowned and darkened with wood; and the +narrow road winding between the trees, until it loses itself in the +forest, forms a feature very gratifying to the traveller. The solitude +of the place, as I viewed it at the close of day, occasioned mingled +sensations of pleasure and pain. It was impossible to resist the +imposing power of a situation, where every natural object was deeply +tinged with the poetical character, and every remnant of architecture +associated with the romance of religious feeling. I recalled and dwelt +upon various passages of the poets inspired by similar scenes, and +thought of the holy and enthusiastic minds which had here devoted +themselves to the sublimest duties and severest sacrifices of the +altar; and felt, that had I lived in those days, I, perhaps, could +have become an inmate of walls which seem to have been erected +to exclude the evils of life, and to nurture only the enchanting +abstractions of unpolluted virtue and happiness: but the present +day has brought with it a general philosophy and knowledge of human +nature, which lessen the delight of contemplating the calm repose of +such a seclusion, and have taught that these retreats from the world +were not always retreats from vice; that the sacrifices of monkish +privacy were not always those of selfish feelings; and that the +austerities once practised here, as now at La Trappe, might perhaps +arise more frequently from disappointed pride and ambition, than +from the pure feelings of pious resignation. In the overthrow of the +monarchy and that of the priesthood, this venerable pile became the +object of popular vengeance; and had the Revolution done no more than +effected the dissolution of the different orders of monks and nuns, +every reflecting mind must have been pleased: the removal of those +abuses, like the division of landed property into smaller portions, +(whereby the country in general became more cultivated and +productive,) was serviceable to France; and, if any circumstance can +restore permanent tranquillity, it will be the interest which the +different landholders have in the soil and the representative system, +which will serve to check the ambition of its future governors. +Already the good effects of these are to be perceived; and the +excessive abuses, insolence, and profligacy, of ancient ministerial +oppression, which paved the way for the downfall of the monarchy, and, +like a pestilence, destroyed that which was good with that which was +evil, will be prevented in future.</p> + +<p>It is, nevertheless, melancholy to observe the traces of devastation +visible in all directions: the people themselves appear not to regard +it, but this may arise partly from the long and habitual feelings +generated by the scenes to which the Revolution daily gave rise, and +partly from the constitutional cheerfulness of the natives, who seldom +view objects through the same dark medium that ours are supposed to +do, and who, though they are not celebrated for patience, are of all +mankind the least liable to despondency. When I spoke to M. Boderie of +my regret at the destruction of an ancient structure like the one in +question, his answer was, immediately, "oui c'est bien malheureux; +mais enfin que voulez-vous?" He was "desol" or had "le coeur trs +sensible tout cela;" but finished by "il faut se consoler." With +this sort of philosophy they are always ready to view the past, and +accept of consolation, and in amusement, seek to bear or dissipate +the calamities inseparable from such a state of events, without even +appearing to repine. None of them will ever enter into conversation on +the subject if it can be avoided.</p> + +<p>The following day, having taken leave of my hospitable host, who +refused any compensation, I returned to Mortagne by another route, +through the Forest of Val-Dieu, more dark and difficult to penetrate +than the other; but the guide was better acquainted with it, and took +the road by Saint Maure and Saint Eloi, through a fine country, highly +cultivated, and abounding in beautiful scenery and distant landscapes. +It was late at night before I reached Mortagne, greatly fatigued from +the excessive heat of the weather.</p> + +<p>I dined the following day with Madame de Bellou, whose kind attention +and elegant hospitality, during the time I remained at Mortagne, I +must ever remember with sentiments of sincere gratitude. This lady had +invited Monsieur Lamorelie, the Sub-Prefect, one of the most elegant +men I had met with in France, with several other gentlemen and ladies, +to meet me. Among the party were Madame de Fontenay, Monsieur and +Mademoiselle Claire de Vanssay--very agreeable people: the latter +possessed, without great beauty, all the charms and vivacity of her +countrywomen. In the evening we went to an assembly, where I had an +opportunity of seeing, and being presented to, all the respectable +families that yet remained in town; for at this season many were at +their country-seats. The ease, elegance, and good manners of the +company composing this society, I never saw excelled in any country. +It is but common justice to observe, that in Mortagne, which is the +residence of all the best families in the province, there is to be +found all the characteristic good breeding for which the French were +so long, and so deservedly celebrated.</p> + +<p>The town of Mortagne stands on the declivity of a hill, in the +province of Le Perche, bordering on Normandy. The high road to +Bretagne passes through it. It has only one church remaining out +of seven, six having been destroyed at the Revolution. It has some +manufactories for serges and coarse cloths, and contains between five +and six thousand inhabitants, in the department of L'Orne. From its +elevated position and chalky soil, the air is pure and the situation +healthy. The inhabitants are under the necessity of supplying +themselves with water from the valley, as there are no wells on +account of the rocky height it stands on, which is attended with +inconvenience and expense; otherwise it would be a desirable residence +for those who wish to unite economy with a change of climate.</p> + +<p>During the Vendean war, this town became, at different periods, the +victim of either party as they were successful; and it suffered +severely. The hotel kept by Gautier (Les trois Lions), which is +likewise la Poste, and le Bureau des Diligences, is the best, and +the people are very obliging; but it partakes of the same want +of cleanliness, that so invariably distinguishes all similar +establishments in this country.</p><br><br><br> + + +<center><H2>CHAP. III.</H2></center><br><br> + + + +<p>FROM MORTAGNE TO RENNES, SOEURS DE LA CHARIT. ALENON, LAVAL, VITR, +THE RESIDENCE OF THE CELEBRATED MADAME DE SVIGN. RENNES.</p><br> + + +<p>I travelled by the diligence from Mortagne to Alenon and Laval: we +arrived at the former place to dinner, and at the latter to remain all +night. The carriage was filled with <i>Soeurs de la Charit</i>,</p> + +<p> "Qui, pour le malheur seul connoissant la tendresse,<br> + Aux besoins du vieil-age immollent leur jeunesse,"</p> + +<p>on their way to different places in Bretagne, on charitable missions, +by the order of the Superior at Paris. Four of these were young and +beautiful women, none of whom could have attained the age of twenty; +yet these females had already devoted themselves to attend on the sick +and poor wherever their services might be required, for which purpose +they receive a suitable education, in an Hospital at Paris, in such +branches of medicine and surgery as may render them useful. They +are distributed throughout the kingdom to attend the hospitals and +prisons, which they do with the delicacy and attention peculiar to +their sex. Of all the classes of females who thus devote themselves to +a religious life, and to acts of charity, none are more respected, or +more truly serviceable to their fellow-creatures. Their dress consists +of a coarse brown jacket and gown, with a high linen cap, sloping down +over the shoulders, and a rosary hanging round their waist.</p> + +<p>Quitting Beauregard we crossed the river Sart: here the Province of +Le Perche terminates, and we enter that of Normandy. For many miles, +travelling close to the Forest of Bourse, the roads are excellent, +though hilly, and the country highly cultivated in all directions. The +peasantry were getting in the hay and rye harvest, and large tracts of +wheat and barley were nearly ready for cutting.</p> + +<p>The town of Alenon is the capital of L'Orne-sur-Sart. It stands in +the middle of a fertile plain. The lace made here is the most valuable +of any manufactured in France. The Hotel of the Prefecture is a +fine building. After dinner I went to the theatre, (formerly an old +manufactory), to see the <i>Hotel Garni</i> and <i>Les deux Suisses</i>: both +performances were of a very moderate cast. The audience consisted +principally of the military in garrison.</p> + +<p>On the road from Alenon to Laval, we were guarded the whole day by +two troopers of the Gendarmerie, who are quartered along the whole +line of road from the capital; they are well armed and mounted, and +keep a very vigilant guard. At every place we stopped our passports +were examined. The police of this country is observed with greater +rigor than at any former period of its history, with regard to +passports. The circumstances under which the restoration took place, +the political state of France, in regard to other powers, the +conflicting interests and opinions of various parties, probably render +it highly expedient. On the arrival of a stranger at Paris, his +passport must be presented, and inscribed in the police book. +The revision of the one under which the person has travelled is +indispensably necessary. It is then carried to the British Ambassador, +(if the stranger be of that nation), or to the minister of that +country to which he belongs, where it must obtain the Ambassador's +signature. It is next taken to the office of the Minister of Foreign +Affairs, where it is deposited until the following day, for which ten +livres are charged, and afterwards to the Prfecture of the Police, to +be signed there in its turn: and when all this is done no one can quit +the capital for the interior without its being again signed at the +Prfecture of the police.</p> + +<p>From Alenon, we passed the Briante, a small river, at Ville Neuve, +where the road begins to skirt the Forest of Moultonue. At Mayenne, +the river of that name divides the provinces. The whole of this +country is singularly beautiful. I observed vast quantities of buck +wheat, which the French call <i>bled noir</i> or <i>sarazin</i>. The country was +very much enclosed, producing a great contrast to the vast tracts of +land through which I had passed without a single division.</p> + +<p>At two leagues from Mayenne we crossed the river Aisne, winding +through a beautiful valley, between Martign and Louvern. On the left +the river forms a small lake, surrounded by a wood at the foot of a +very long and steep hill.</p> + +<p>The town of Mayenne is ancient and irregularly built, the river +Mayenne running through it. The ruins of an old wall and some decayed +towers remain of the fortifications which were taken by assault, after +several bloody attempts, during the siege by the English, in 1424.</p> + +<p>At Laval, where I stopped, after again crossing the Mayenne, I +entered the province of Bretagne: it is an old dirty town, completely +intersected by the river, and has a manufactory for coarse cloths and +cottons. The <i>Tte Noire</i> is one of the worst inns I have met with in +the country. The department of the Isle-et-Vilaine commences here.</p> + +<p>This place is celebrated in the history of the Vendean war by the +refuge Madame de Laroche-Jaquelin sought there, after the deplorable +defeat of the royalist army at the battle of Mans, where it received +its death-blow. The wreck of that army, under M. de Laroche-Jaquelin, +were driven from it again on the following day, and from that +hour never rallied so as to make any stand against the victorious +republicans.</p> + +<p>Quitting Laval the day after my arrival, I ascended a long and steep +hill, travelled by the side of the forest of Petre, and came to Vitr, +where I remained all night for the purpose of visiting the chteau of +the celebrated Madame de Svign,[4] whose estate has descended to a +distant branch of her family, who had the good fortune to save it from +destruction during the revolution. The grounds are kept in excellent +order. Her picture hangs in the apartment in which she composed her +interesting and elegant letters, and every article of furniture +carefully preserved is shown to strangers. The distance from Vitr to +Rennes is seven leagues, over a road which becomes gradually less and +less Interesting.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 4: Marie de Rabutin, Marchioness de Sevign, was the +daughter of the Baron de Chantal, and born in 1626: she espoused at +the age of eighteen the Marquis de Svign, who fell in a duel in +1651, leaving her with one son and a daughter, to whose education +she paid strict attention: the daughter married in 1669 the Count de +Grignan, Commandant in Provence, and it was on a visit to her that the +Marchioness caught a fever and died in 1696. Her son Charles, Marquis +de Sevign, was one of the admirers of Ninon de L'Enclos, and had +a dispute with Madame Dacier respecting the sense of a passage in +Horace. He died in 1713. (Moreri.)]</p> + +<p>Rennes is the chief city of the Isle-et-Vilaine, and in former times +was the capital of Bretagne. It is a large ancient built town, +standing on a vast plain, between the rivers Isle and Vilaine. It has +a hall of justice, (Cour Royale,) an episcopal palace, and a foundry +for cannon. A more dismal dirty looking city, or a more uninteresting +one to a stranger, is seldom to be seen. Few traces remain of its +ancient splendor; the old rampart, which once encompassed it, now +forms a promenade.</p> + +<p>Its commerce is considerable, being the entrept for grain and cattle, +with which it supplies Paris and the Southern Provinces, not so +abundant in their produce. Jane of Flanders, Countess of Montfort, +the most extraordinary woman of her time, resided here, during the +imprisonment of her husband in the palace of the Louvre, by Philippe +de Valois,[5] when Edward the Third of England invaded France. +Hennebon, when attacked by Charles of Blois, was defended by the +Countess, and relieved by Sir Walter Manny, whom Edward had sent with +a body of 6,000 archers to her succour. The garrison, encouraged by +so rare an example of female valour, defended themselves against an +immense army, composed of French, Spaniards, Genoese, and Bretons, +who frequently assaulted it, and were as vigorously repulsed. On one +occasion, Froissart mentions her sallying out at the head of a body of +two hundred cavalry, throwing the enemy into great confusion, doing +great execution among them, and setting fire to the tents and +magazines, which were entirely destroyed.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 5: Among the brave knights who engaged in so many battles +and perilous adventures, and other feats of arms, Froissart mentions +Philip, as opposed to those heroes of high renown, Edward of England, +the Prince of Wales his son, the Duke of Lancaster, Sir Reginald Lord +Cobham, Sir Walter Manny of Hainault, Sir John Chandos, Sir Fulk +Harley, and many others recorded in his book for worth and prowess. +"In France also was found good chivalry, strong of limb and stout of +heart, and in great abundance, for the kingdom of France was never +brought so low as to want men ever ready for combat. Such was King +Philipe de Valois, a bold and hardy knight, and his son King John, +also John king of Bohemia, and Charles Count of Alenon his son."]</p> + +<p>The population of Rennes is 27,000. It is at present garrisoned by one +thousand troops, and people are of opinion that government finds it no +easy task to keep down the spirit of the Vendeans, who are said to +be, "plus Royalistes que le Roi." There appears every where a strong +spirit of dissatisfaction on the part of the Royalists, at the general +preference given to those who were employed under the late ruler in +places of public trust, and who were avowed enemies to the restoration +of Louis XVIII.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. IV.</H2></center><br><br> + + +<p>ROUTE FROM RENNES TO NANTES. CITY OF NANTES. HISTORICAL ANECDOTES.</p><br> + + +<p>Arriving at the first post, we crossed the river Vilaine, and between +this and Rondun passed the river Bruck, and ascended a high mountain +between Rondun and La Brharaye. At this place we quitted the +department of the Isle-et-Vilaine. Crossing the Cher, we arrived at +Derval, and from thence at Nozai, passing several large lakes, +and then over the river Don. The whole of this distance, with the +exception of the hill already mentioned, is composed of flat sandy +plains, mostly uncultivated, and the road is very rough.</p> + +<p>From Nozai to Ancenis we crossed the river Isac; from thence to Redon, +Heri, to La Croix Blanche, along the bank of the river; and after +mounting another steep hill, we descended into an extensive plain, +leading to Gesvres and Nantes.</p> + +<p>The whole of this country north of the Loire, from Rennes to Nantes, +the triangular point resting upon Angers, is the country of the +Chouans, which it is necessary, in reference to the Vendean war, to +distinguish from the country south of the Loire, in the department of +the Loire Infrieure, called le Bocage, or la Vende. Although the +latter was the scene of the more desperate warfare between the +republicans and the royalists, yet the former had its share of +bloodshed and misery. The whole country on both banks of the Loire, as +far as Angers, is classic ground to those who revere the efforts by +which the Vendeans so long resisted the republicans.</p> + +<p>The city of Nantes is the chief seat of the Prfecture of the +department of the Loire Infrieure, standing on the right bank of the +river, surrounded by its ancient rampart, of a circular form, and in +good preservation: on the opposite bank stand the ruined tower +and mouldering bastions of Permil. This spot is interesting to an +Englishman, from the memorable events to which the fatal pretensions +of Edward the Third gave rise, and which occupy the pages of French +and English history, during a period of more than a century[6].</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 6: In 1343, Edward the Third laid siege to this place. +Froissart mentions the English army being drawn out on a hill, in +battle array, near the town. The ground rises a little in this +direction, but, I should suppose, it must have been on the right bank, +as the country there is hilly, and this ancient fortress must have +defended the passage of the river. "The king himself," says the +Chronicle, "with the rest of his army, advanced towards Rennes, +burning and ruining the country on all sides, and was most joyfully +received by the whole army who lay before it, and had been there for +a considerable time. When he had tarried there five days, he learned +that the Lord Charles of Blois was at Nantes, collecting a large force +of men at arms. He set out, therefore, leaving those whom he had found +at Rennes, and came before Nantes, which he besieged as closely as he +could, but was unable to surround it, such was its size and extent. +The marshals, therefore, and their people, overran the country and +destroyed it. The king of England, one day, drew out his army in +battle array on a hill near Nantes, in expectation that the Lord +Charles would come forth and offer him an opportunity of fighting with +him: but, having waited from morning until noon in vain, they returned +to their quarters: the light horse, however, in their retreat, +galloped up to the barriers, and set fire to the suburbs."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"The king of England, during the siege, made frequent skirmishes, but +without success, always losing some of his men; when, therefore, he +found he could gain nothing by his assaults, and that the Lord Charles +would not come out into the plains to fight him, he established there +the Earl of Oxford, Sir Henry Beaumont, the Lord Percy, the Lord Roos, +the Lord Mowbray, the Lord Delawar, Sir Reginald Cobham, Sir John +Lisle, with six hundred men armed, and two hundred archers."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"The king himself advanced into the country of Bretagne, wasting it +wherever he went, until he came to the town of Dinant, of which Sir +Peter Porteboeuf was governor. He immediately laid siege to it all +round, and ordered it to be vigorously assaulted. Those within made a +valiant resistance. Thus did the king of England in one season, and +in one day, make an assault by himself, or those ordered by him, upon +three cities in Bretagne, and a good town, viz. Rennes, Vannes, and +Nantes. The brave Sir Walter Manny was left before Vannes, with five +hundred men at arms, and six thousand archers, while the king with +the rest of his army advanced towards Rennes and Nantes. This gallant +soldier, at the battle of Calais, had this singular honour conferred +on him by his sovereign, who, with his valiant son the Prince of +Wales, both served under his banner.--Edward said to Sir Walter Manny, +"Sir Walter, I will that you be the chief of this enterprise, and I +and my son will fight under your banner."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>The lively and picturesque historian then gives a very interesting +account of the above action, which was fought the last day of December +1348, and of the gallantry of Edward's conduct to his prisoner, Sir +Eustace de Ribeaumont.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"We will now speak of the King of England, who was there incognito, +under Sir Walter Manny's banner. He advanced with his men on foot, +to meet the enemy, who were formed in close order, with their pikes +shortened to five feet, planted out before them. The first attack was +very sharp and severe. The King singled out Sir Eustace de Ribeaumont, +who was a strong and hardy knight: he fought a long time marvellously +well with the King, so that it was a pleasure to see them; but, by the +confusion of the engagement, they were separated; for two large bodies +met where they were fighting, and forced them to break off the combat.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"On the side of the French there was excellent fighting, by Sir +Geoffrey de Chargny, Sir John de Landas, Sir Hector, and Sir Gavin de +Ballieul, and others; but they were all surpassed by Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont, who that day struck the King twice down on his knees: +at last, however, he was obliged to present his sword to the King, +saying, 'Sir Knight, I surrender myself your prisoner, for the honour +of the day must fall to the English.'</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"All that belonged to Sir Geoffry de Chargny were either slain or +captured: among the first was Sir Henry du Bois, and Sir Peppin de +Werr; Sir Geoffry and the rest were taken prisoners. The last that +was taken, and who in that day had excelled all, was Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"When the engagement was over, the King returned to the Castle at +Calais, and ordered all the prisoners to be brought before him. The +French taken, knew for the first time, that the King of England had +been there in person, under the banner of Sir Walter de Manny.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"The King said he would this evening of the new year entertain them +all at supper in the Castle. When the hour for supper was come, the +tables spread, and the King and his Knights dressed in new robes, as +well as the French, who, notwithstanding they were prisoners, made +good cheer (for the King wished it should be so), the King seated +himself at table, and made those Knights do the same around him in a +most honourable manner. The gallant Prince of Wales, and the Knights +of England, served up the first course, and waited on their guests. At +the second course, they went and seated themselves at another table, +where they were served, and attended on very quietly.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>"When supper was over, and the tables removed, the King remained in +the Hall among the English and French Knights, bare-headed, except a +chaplet of fine pearls, which was round his head. He conversed +with all of them; but when he came to Sir Geoffry de Chargny, his +countenance altered, and looking at him askance, he said, 'Sir +Geoffry, I have but little reason to love you, when you wished to +seize upon me by stealth last night, what had given me so much +trouble to acquire, and cost me such sums of money' (Sir Geoffry had +endeavoured to bribe the garrison to put him in possession of it in +the night previous to the battle): 'I am, however, rejoiced to have +caught you thus in attempting it.'--When he came to Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont, he assumed a cheerful look, and said with a smile, 'Sir +Eustace, you are the most valiant knight in Christendom that I ever +saw attack his enemy, or defend himself. I never yet found any one in +battle, who, body to body, had given me so much to do as you have done +this day. I adjudge to you the prize of valour, above all the knights +of my Court, as what is justly due to you.'--The King then took off +his chaplet, which was very rich and handsome, and placing it on the +head of Sir Eustace, said, 'Sir Eustace, I present you with this +chaplet, as being the best combatant this day, either within or +without doors; and I beg of you to wear it this year for the love of +me. I know that you are lively and amorous, and love the company of +ladies and damsels; therefore say, wherever you go, that I gave it to +you. I also give you your liberty, free of ransom; and you may set out +to-morrow, and go whither you will.'"]</p> + +<p>The river Loire, which is crossed by seven bridges, winds through the +town. They are the Pont Rousseau, De Permil, D'Aiguillon, Feydeau, De +la Belle Croix, Brisebois, and Toussaint. The houses are regular and +handsome, having in some places a very singular appearance, from the +ground having sunk, and the foundations given way, causing them to +lean in various directions from the perpendicular line. In point of +commerce, at one period antecedent to the Revolution, Nantes was the +most considerable sea-port in France: since the loss of its West India +trade, especially with Saint Domingo, it has been greatly reduced. +The rich plains which surround it on three sides, in the form of an +amphitheatre, and the river covered with vessels and boats, give it +a most lively appearance. It has a large Theatre, a Royal College +(lately the Lyceum), a Commercial Tribunal, a handsome Exchange, a +Bishop's Palace, Hall of the Prfecture, Public Library, Anatomical +and Surgical Academies, Botanical Garden, Museum of Natural History, +and a foundry for cannon.</p> + +<p>The latter is in the old and decaying Chteau on the bank of the +river, called Goulemme. One of its bastions was blown up a few years +since by accident, which has shaken and destroyed the whole fabric; +but it is still capable of holding a garrison, and is a fine monument +of ancient fortification. It was once the residence of Henry IV. of +France, at the time he signed the celebrated edict, (1598,) in favour +of the reformed religion, afterwards revoked by Louis XIV. in 1685, +and which occasioned such deplorable consequences to the French +nation.</p> + +<p>M. de Sainte Foix, in his historical Essays upon Paris, vol. i. +p. 113, speaking of the Rue de Grenelle, in the quarter of Saint +Eustache, gives the following curious account of the birth of this +great King, whose memory is revered in France, beyond that of all the +other monarchs who have swayed the Gallic sceptre.</p> + +<p>"Jeanne d'Albret, being desirous of following her husband to the wars +of Picardy, the King her father told her, that in case she proved with +child, he wanted her to come and lie-in at his house; and that he +would bring up the child himself, whether a boy or a girl. This +Princess finding herself pregnant, and in her ninth month, set out +from Compigne, passed through all France as far as the Pyrenees, and +arrived in fifteen days at Pau in Barn. She was very desirous to see +her father's will. It was contained in a thick gold box, on which was +a gold chain, that would have gone twenty-five or thirty times round +her neck. She asked it of him:--'It shall be yours,' said he, 'as soon +as you have shown me the child that you now carry; and that you may +not bring into the world a crying or a pouting child, I promise you +the whole, provided that whilst you are in labour, you sing the +Bearnese song <i>Notre Dame du bout du Pont aidez-moi en cette heure</i>." +No sooner was the Princess safely delivered, than her father, placing +the gold chain on her neck, and giving her the gold box wherein was +his will, said to her: 'These are for you, daughter, but this is for +me;' and took the child in his gown, without waiting for its being +dressed in form, and carried it into his chamber. The little Prince +was brought up in such a manner as to be able to undergo fatigue and +hardship; frequently eating nothing but common bread. The good King +his grandfather ordered it thus, and would not let him be delicately +pampered, in order that from his infancy he might be inured to +privation. He has often been seen, according to the custom of the +country, amongst the other children of the Castle and village of +Coirazze, bare-footed and bare-headed, as well in winter as in summer. +Who was this Prince?--Henry IV.</p> + +<p>"Being descended from the Kings of France, he became the heir to that +Kingdom; but as he was educated a Protestant, his claim was resisted. +He early distinguished himself by feats of arms. After the peace of +Saint Germain, in 1570, he was taken to the French Court, and two +years afterwards married Margaret, sister of Charles IX. (At the +rejoicings on this occasion the infamous massacre of <i>La Saint +Barthlmy</i> took place.) In 1589 he succeeded to the throne of France; +but his religion proving an obstacle to his coronation, he consented +to abjure it in 1593. In 1598 he issued the edict of Nantes, granting +toleration to the Protestants."</p> + +<p>Mezeray, speaking of the marriage of the King of Navarre (afterwards +Henry IV.) with Margaret de Valois, says, "There were many diversions, +tournaments, and ballets at Court; and amongst others, one which +seemed to presage the calamity that was so near bursting out upon the +Huguenots--the King and his brothers defending Paradise against the +King of Navarre and his brothers, who were repulsed and banished to +Hell;" and Sainte Foix, in his relation of the horrible massacre, +gives a detail, which in the present age appears almost incredible.</p> + +<p>Catherine of Medicis, whose abominable politics had corrupted the +disposition of her son, was at the head of the cabinet council who +agreed to the murder of more than one hundred thousand Protestants; +and the miserable bigot Charles IX. stationed during the massacre at +the window of a house then belonging to the Constable of Bourbon, +fired with his own hands upon the Huguenots with a long blunderbuss, +whilst they were trying to escape across the river.</p> + +<p>The River Erdr runs northward of the city, and forms a beautiful +feature, winding for many miles among cultivated fields and woodlands, +through a country agreeably diversified with villas, to which the +wealthier inhabitants retire during the summer months. The river +resembles a lake for the greater part of its course, and is called the +Barban.</p> + +<p>The Gothic church of Saint Pierre, built by the English in 1434, is +a fine old structure: having been much neglected for many years, and +greatly defaced during the Revolution, it was at this time restoring. +Among the monuments about to be replaced, was an excellent one of Anne +de Bretagne, whose effigy, and that of her husband, are as large as +life. The allegorical figures of Justice, Temperance, Prudence, and +Fortitude, the twelve Apostles, and the supporters to the Arms (a +greyhound and a lion), are all executed in the finest white marble. +They were hidden during the Revolution, and have only very lately been +discovered, as have also some capital paintings piously preserved +for the Church. Anne was first married to Charles VIII. in 1499, and +afterwards to Louis XII. She died at the Chteau de Blois in 1514, and +Louis in 1515.</p> + +<p>The climate of Nantes is mild, and reckoned remarkably healthy: every +article of life is cheap, and from its mild temperature it abounds +in the finest fruits and most excellent wines. Its population is +estimated at 60,000 inhabitants. The numbers that were destroyed +during the Revolution, or, as the French emphatically term it, "Le +rgne de la Terreur," were never ascertained; but the frightful +history of that bloody period would probably justify the computation +at half the number of its present population, many having fallen +victims to the murders that were termed "<i>Noyades</i>," independent of +those who perished in the Vendean war.</p> + +<p>The spot where the gallant Charette was shot, with several other +leaders of the Vendean army, is shown; and in the cemetery, a large +mound of earth marks the place where the bodies were thrown in, at the +time of the "<i>Fuzillades</i>" when the infamous Carrier presided at the +execution of the brave Royalists.[7] The print beneath represents this +monster on the banks of the Loire directing the Noyades.</p> + +<p>[Illustration].</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 7: Chaque nuit on venait en prendre par centaines, pour les +mettre sur les bateaux. L on liait les malheureux deux deux, et +on les poussait dans l'eau coups de baonette. On saisissait +indistinctement tout ce qui se trouvait l'entrept, tellement +qu'on noya un jour l'tat major d'une corvette Anglaise, qui tait +prisonnier de guerre. Une autre fois, Carrier, voulant donner un +exemple de l'austrit des moeurs rpublicaines, fit enfermer trois +cent filles publiques de la ville, et les malheureuses cratures +furent noyes. Enfin, l'on estime qu'il a pri l'entrept quinze +mille personnes en un mois.--<i>Mmoires de Madame la Marquise de +Laroche-Jaquelin</i>.]</p> + +<p>At the end of a fine avenue of trees, on the Boulevard, is a large +and splendid mansion built by that Deputy, and which is at present +inhabited by a merchant. Carrier's mistress (to whom he left it, +together with a very considerable fortune, amassed from the spoils +of his plunder, and the murder of the innocent inhabitants) was very +lately sentenced to two years' hard labour for some crime she had +committed: and it is no less remarkable, that, of the remaining +inhabitants known to have participated in the atrocities of that +frightful period, there is not one but is reduced to poverty, and most +of them in the extreme of wretchedness, shunned by all, and suffering +the ignominy they have so justly merited!</p><br><br><br> + + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. V.</H2></center><br><br> + + +<p>COUNTRY SOUTH OF THE LOIRE.--LE BOCAGE.--CLISSON.--HISTORICAL +ANECDOTES.--THE GARENNE, AND RIVER SVRES.</p><br> + + +<p>The best method of travelling in this country is on horseback: in +fact, it is impossible to proceed in any other way, after quitting the +main road. Having procured a guide and horses, I set out early in the +morning, crossing the Loire by the Pont Rosseau, to Verton, keeping +along the banks of the River Svres. Verton is a romantic village +standing on a hill: most of the houses are in ruins, from the effect +of the destructive war of La Vende. From thence to Le Palet, most +intricate narrow roads, or more properly speaking, pathways, darkened +by the overhanging branches of trees, and in many parts deep with +mire, from the sun's rays not being able to dry the ground, make it +difficult to proceed, and we several times lost our way. It was late +before we reached Le Palet, and though I had not tasted food for many +hours, I could not resist stopping to view so interesting a spot, and +making a hasty sketch of the ruins of the house in which Ablard +was born, and in which Hlose resided with him before their final +separation. The ruins of the House of Brenger, the father of Ablard, +are close to the church of Palet, on the left of the high road, three +miles distant from Clisson. Le Palet is thus described by a French +author, in the history of the Province.</p> + +<p>"Cet homme si clbre par son savoir, ses amours, et ses infortunes, +amena Hlose au Palet lorsqu'il l'et enleve de chez le Chanoine +Fulbert, pour la soustraire au ressentiment de cet oncle jaloux +et barbare; mais, oblig de quitter cette retraite paisible pour +retourner Paris, o l'appelaient ses nombreux disciples, le soin de +sa gloire et de sa fortune, Ablard confia sa soeur sa chre Hlose +et le gage prcieux qu'elle portait dans son sein. Elle accoucha au +Palet d'un fils d'une si rare beaut, qu'elle le nomma Astralabe, +c'est--dire, astre brillant; mais l'absence de celui qu'elle adorait +rendait moins vifs pour elle les doux plaisirs de la maternit; son +me expansive et brlante tait livre sans cesse une inquite et +sombre mlancholie qu'elle ne parvenait sans doute dissiper qu'en +venant sur les bords de la Svres rver l'objet de sa tendresse, et +soupirer aprs son retour. Sept sicles se sont couls depuis cette +poque, et les noms d'Ablard et d'Hlose embellissent toujours ce +dlicieux ravage. On interroge avec une curiosit avide ces roches +ternelles et ces grottes mystrieuses qui furent les tmoins discrets +de leurs peines et de leurs plaisirs. On se reporte ces temps +reculs o ces amants venaient dans cette solitude enchanteresse, se +confier mutuellement leur vifs inquitudes; on croit les voir s'garer +sous ces riants ombrages, et s'abandonner toutes les inspirations de +l'loquence, toutes les illusions de l'amour."</p> + +<p>I arrived at Clisson just as the sun was disappearing, and its rays +were only sufficiently strong to reflect the ruined towers of the +Castle in the river which runs at its foot. It will be much easier +to imagine, than for me to convey the sensations I felt when I first +caught a glimpse of it, with the story of La Roche-Jaquelin full in +my recollection! I alighted at a small cabaret, dignified by the +appellation of the Hotel de la Providence, which seemed preferable to +another recommended to me by my guide,--such an one, indeed, as might +be expected in a remote place like this: part of the roof was off, +and, like most of the houses in the place, bore evident marks of the +desolating war that had been carried on here: many are still in ruins. +The descent into the town is very steep and rugged, the road being +formed out of the solid rock. The master of the cabaret was sitting +with his family at the door, but the appearance of his mansion was so +unpromising, that I thought it best to make some agreement, and a few +inquiries before dismounting;--these preliminaries being settled, and +having consented to pay him fifty sous for supper and my bed, and +thirty for breakfast, I entered the house: and never recollect having +a keener relish for a meal, or enjoying one more heartily, for I had +been sixteen hours on horseback.</p> + +<p>Fatigued and exhausted as I was, I rambled after dinner towards the +delightful grounds of La Garenne, belonging to Monsieur La Motte, who +has embellished them in a most interesting and romantic manner.</p> + +<p>The river Svres runs along the side, and separates them from the fine +old Castle of Clisson, whose high and decaying towers and battlements +give the beholder a noble idea of its ancient grandeur. The evening +was a very fine one,--one of those delightful soft, clear skies usual +at this season, the latter end of July. I sat myself down in the +grotto of Hlose,--a spot of the deepest seclusion, formed, by the +hand of Nature, of large masses of granite. The nightingales were +singing in the lofty trees at the back; on the sides were shrubs of +every description intermingled with fruit trees, and the river having +several falls and little rocky islets, gave an air of delightful +enchantment to this most romantic scene.</p> + +<p> Hlose! ce nom, qui ne doit s'attendrir?<br> + Comme elle sut aimer! comme elle sut souffrir!</p> + +<p>At the entrance of the grotto are engraved these lines, nearly effaced +by the hand of time.</p> + +<p> Hlose peut-tre erra sur ce rivage,<br> + Quand, aux yeux des jaloux drobant son sjour,<br> + Dans les murs du Palet elle vint mettre au jour<br> + Un fils, cher et malheureux gage<br> + De ses plaisirs furtifs et de son tendre amour.<br> + Peut-tre en ce rduit sauvage,<br> + Seule, plus d'une fois, elle vint soupirer,<br> + Et goter librement la douceur de pleurer;<br> + Peut-tre sur ce roc assise<br> + Elle rvait son malheur.<br> + J'y veux rver aussi; j'y veux remplir mon coeur<br> + Du doux souvenir d'Hlose.</p> + +<p>I had but a few weeks before seen the tomb of Ablard and Hlose in +the Cemetery of Pre la Chaise at Paris, whither it had been recently +removed from the Convent of the Augustins, at which latter place I +had formerly made the annexed drawing of it. I had likewise been very +lately at Argenteuil, once the place of her asylum described by Pope:</p> + +<p> In these deep solitudes and awful cells--</p> + +<p>and had the same day witnessed the ruins of the house in which Ablard +was born, and in which Hlose resided and became a mother, and from +whence she used to make frequent visits to this spot: all these +circumstances combined, gave the scene before me a most powerful +interest. I rose early the next day, anxious to revisit a place which +had afforded me such delight the previous evening. Wandering by the +beautiful banks of the river, along its green meadows, in a woody +recess, I observed the following lines beneath an urn, cut in the rock +on which it rested:</p> + +<p> Consacrer dans l'obscurit,<br> + Ses loisirs l'tude, l'amiti sa vie,<br> + Sont des plaisirs dignes d'envie;<br> + Etre chri vaut mieux qu'tre vant!</p> + +<p>[Illustration: RUINS OF ABLARD'S HOUSE.]</p> + +<p>A little further on, is a stone pillar, with a venerable accacia tree +spreading its leaves over it. It has the following Latin inscription:</p> + + +<p> + VII + IM CAESAR<br> + AVGVSTVS<br> + PONTIFEX MAX<br> + VIAM. OLIM<br> + A CONIVINCO<br> + AD LIMONEM<br><br> + + IMP. CAESAR. TRAJ.<br> + ADRIANVS AVG<br> + PM. TRIB. POT.<br> + VIAM AB AVGVSTO<br> + STATAM REFICIT.[8]</p> + + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 8: Auguste tendit jusqu' La Loire La Gaule Aquitanique, +autrefois borne par la Garonne, et comprit L'Armorique dans la +Province Celtique ou Lyonnaise. L'Empereur Adrian, ayant fait depuis +une nouvelle distribution des Gaules, divisa La Lyonnaise en deux, et +mit L'Armorique dans la seconde; enfin cette Lyonnaise ou Celtique +ayant t encore divise en deux, Tours devint la Mtropole de la +troisime, qui comprenait la Touraine, le Maine, l'Anjou, et la +Bretagne.--<i>Histoire de Bret</i>.]</p> + +<p>[Illustration: GROTTO of HLOSE at CLISSON].</p> + +<p>[Illustration: TOMB of ABLARD and HLOSE.].</p> + +<p>Farther on several large blocks of granite are piled together in so +strange and curious a manner, that it must have been the work of +Nature alone:--one of them has these beautiful lines carved on it:</p> + +<p> O! Limpide Rivire! O Rivire chrie!<br> + Puisse la sotte vanit<br> + Ne jamais ddaigner ta rive humble et fleurie!<br> + Que ton simple sentier ne soit point frquent<br> + Par aucun tourment de la vie<br> + Tels que l'ambition, l'envie,<br> + L'avarice, et la fausset!<br> + Un bocage si frais, un sjour si tranquille,<br> + Aux tendres sentiments doit seul servir d'azile.<br> + Ces rameaux amoureux entrelasss exprs<br> + Aux Muses, aux Amours, offrent leur voile pais;<br> + Et ce cristal d'une onde pure<br> + A jamais ne doit rflchir<br> + Que les grces de la nature<br> + Et les images du plaisir.</p> + +<p>Close to the brink of the river stands a prodigiously large granite +rock, immediately facing the waterfall called le Bassin de Diane: on +it are these words:</p> + +<p> SA MASSE INDESTRVCTIBLE<br> + A FATIGV LE TEMS.<br> + a quotation from Delille.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: GRANITE ROCK in the GARENNE.]</p> + +<p>The French writers, speaking of this interesting place, observe: +"Comment souponner en effet qu'au milieu de cette <i>terrible Vende</i>, +qu'au centre de cet impntrable et sombre Bocage, il existe un pays +dlicieux et fertile, couvert de mines sculaires qui rappelent tous +les souvenirs historiques de notre ancienne France, comme le caractre +de ses habitans en rappele les moeurs, le courage, et la loyaut."</p> + +<p>On the opposite side of the river, a little to the right, stands the +ancient Chteau de Clisson, celebrated in the modern as well as the +ancient history of Bretagne. Its lofty turrets, and decaying bastions, +extend a considerable distance along the shore of the Svres, +recalling to mind the ancient days of chivalry, when bravery, love, +and religion, were so singularly blended together, and gave a romantic +half-polished manner to the greatest barbarians. In later times it +became the scene of events which no one can contemplate without the +deepest interest. In viewing this magnificent ruin, it is impossible +not to regret that a place so frequently the theatre of noble +achievements, inhabited by one of the greatest men that France has +produced, Franois I. Conntable de Clisson,[9] father to Anne of +Bretagne, should have been so recently the scene of such savage +horrors and bloodshed! Now, all is silence and solitude: and amidst +the noble ruins which were once decorated with banners, and the +hard-earned trophies of victory,--where high-born knights and splendid +dames mingled in mirth and festivity to the echoes of the minstrels, +singing lays of love or battle,--are now only to be seen and heard the +birds of prey, hovering over a solitary tree, planted to mark the spot +where a deed was committed which has not often its parallel in the +darkest histories of the most ferocious nations.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 9: In the "Histoire Gnalogique de France," tom. vi. is an +account of the Constable's death. "The Duke of Orleans, brother to the +king, was very fond of a Jewess, whom he privately visited. Having +some reason to suspect that Peter de Craon, Lord of Sabl and de la +Fert-Bernard, his chamberlain and favourite, had joked with the +Duchess of Orleans upon his intrigue, he turned him out of his house +with infamy. Craon imputed his disgrace partly to the Constable of +Clisson. On the night of the 13th June, having waited for him at the +corner of the street <i>Coulture Ste. Catherine</i>, and finding he had but +little company with him, he fell upon him at the head of a score of +ruffians. Clisson defended himself for some time without any other +weapon than a small cutlass; but after receiving three wounds, fell +from his horse, and pitched against a door, which flew open. The +report of this assassination reached the king's ears just as he was +stepping into bed. He put on a great coat and his shoes, and repaired +to the place where he was informed his constable had been killed. He +found him in a baker's shop, wallowing in his blood. After his wounds +were examined, "Constable, (said he to him), nothing was or ever will +he so severely punished." It was given out that Clisson made his will +the next day, and there was a mighty outcry about the sum of 1,700,000 +livres, which it amounted to. It should be observed, that during +twenty-five years that he was in the service of France, he had sought +for and beaten the English every where; that he gained the famous +battle of Robeck, and chastised the Flemish; that he enjoyed for +twelve years the salary and appointments of Constable; and that, +moreover, his landed estate, (which included many castles inherited +from his ancestors, in Bretagne and Poitou,) was very considerable."]</p> + +<p>During the Vendean war, the royalists had been driven out of Clisson +by the republicans, under the command of a ferocious jacobin. The town +was pillaged and burnt before they quitted it. Twenty-seven females +had, during the battle, concealed themselves among the ruins: when +information of it was given to the troops, who had already quitted the +place, they were ordered to return, and the whole of these unhappy +women were thrown alive into a well, where they perished!!! It has +since been filled up, and the lonely tree, just mentioned, now records +the bloody and inhuman deed.</p> + +<p>In the account of Clisson, by a late French author, no notice is +taken of this circumstance. He merely observes, when mentioning the +destruction of the place, after the de la Roche-Jaquelin had quitted +it, "Les Rives ombrages de la Svres, si sduisante par ses belles +cascades et l'ensemble de ce paysage potique, feroient de cette +contre un sjour dlicieux, si de tristes dbris, qui heureusement +disparoissent tous les jours, ne rappelaient encore le souvenir +affligeant de nos discordes civiles. Les armes Rvolutionnaires qui +combattirent les Vendens, en 1793 et en 1794, employrent inutilement +pour les rduire le fer et le feu; la flamme atteignit les villes, les +villages, les mtairies, et jusqu'aux humbles chaumires; et, dans ce +vaste et pouvantable incendie, Clisson ne put chapper une ruine +complte. Jamais peut-tre cette petite ville ne se seroit entirement +rdifi, sans une circonstance particulire qui contribua puissamment + la faire renotre de ces cendres."</p> + +<p>In the town of Clisson was born the celebrated Barin de la +Galissonniere, Admiral of France, who fought the well-known action +off Mahon, in the month of June, 1756, with Admiral Byng, who, in +consequence of his conduct on that occasion, was brought to a court +martial and shot. The French writers make the following absurd remark, +as to the <i>cause</i> of his fate: "Les Anglais, furieux d'avoir t +vaincus par un Amiral Franois, firent fusiller l'Amiral Byng." It is +now well known that he was sacrificed to an unprincipled ministerial +faction.</p> + +<p>The ancient Chteau de Clisson is built on a rock, on the bank of the +Svres, facing the mouth of the river, called Le Moine, which empties +itself into the Svres at this place, so that the town of Clisson +stands between the two rivers at their junction. An ancient bridge, +from whence this view is taken, joins one part of the town to the +other, and leads to the castle, which was once considered the barrier +of Bretagne. The two rivers run over a bed of granite rock, which, in +some places, forming a cataract, adds considerably to the surrounding +scenery: large masses of this rock in many parts seem as if piled up +by nature for the purpose of giving it a more romantic effect. The +whole forms a most picturesque object, when viewed from the opposite +shore, from whence the sketch of the temple erected on the ruin of St. +Gilles is taken; and the remembrance of its recent fate throws over +the scene a strong and melancholy interest.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: RUINS OF CLISSON.]</p> + +<p>The castle is supposed to have been first erected by the Romans, +as the Province formed a part of the Gaule Aquitanique, under the +Emperors Augustus and Adrian.</p> + +<p>The French repaired it during the reign of Louis VIII. in 1223, under +Olivier I. Sire de Clisson, as he is styled; and it was made a regular +fortification, and surrounded by a wall a century after, by the +Conntable: in 1464 the Duc de Bretagne, Francis II. entirely finished +it.</p> + +<p>The Sire de Clisson, Olivier I. who had served during one of the +Crusades in Palestine, was knighted with several others, in 1218. "Un +nombre prodigieux de Seigneurs Anglais, Normands, Angevins, Manceaux, +Tourangeaux, et Bretons, prirent la Croix; Le Pape, Innocent III. +envoya en Bretagne, en 1197, Helvain, Moine de St. Denis, pour y +prcher une croisade. Une grande quantit de Bretons se laissrent +conduire en Syrie par ce Moine; et, en 1218, plusieurs Seigneurs +Bretons suivirent leur exemple, entre autres, Herv de Lon, Morvau, +Vicomte du Fou, et le Sire de Clisson."</p> + +<p>From the construction of the towers and bastions, it is supposed that +at his return from the Holy Land, he had copied the Syrian style of +building; and one of the towers, which is represented in the sketch +of the gateway of the Chteau de Clisson, is still called La Tour des +Plerins.</p> + +<p>This tower, which has been used as a dungeon, is the most perfect of +any remaining. In it are subterranean galleries, anciently used as a +prison, and appropriated by the republicans to the same purpose. It is +dreadful to think of the horrors that have been practised within its +walls, in our own time.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: TOUR des PLERINS.]</p> + +<p>From the top of this tower the prospect is very extensive, and, during +the year 1793, when the republican army quartered themselves in it, a +sentinel was placed there to give notice in case of the approach of an +enemy. The historian of that period, speaking of the entrance to this +tower, observes, in reference to the cruelties committed there in the +Vendean war:</p> + +<p>"Il existait au milieu de la dernire cour un trs beau puits, taill +dans le roc et extrmement profond: il est actuellement combl..., et +ma plume se refuse tracer les scnes horribles qui ensanglantrent +ce lieu en 1793 et en 1795, tristes et pouvantables effets des +guerres civiles!"</p> + +<p>This passage alludes, I imagine, to the circumstance related in +page 90. Within its walls are various inscriptions, many of them in +characters so difficult to decypher, that they remain unknown. The +following has been rendered into more modern French by Cerutti.</p> + +<p> J'ai gravi, mesur ces ruines sublimes;<br> + Mon coeur s'en est mu! De nos vaillants aeux<br> + Tout y reprsentait les tournois magnanimes,<br> + Ils semblaient reparitre et combattre mes yeux;<br> + J'entendois sous leurs coups retentir les abmes;<br> + Juge de leurs combats, idole de leur coeur,<br> + Du haut des tours, la dame admiroit le vainqueur.<br> + Casques et boucliers, cuirasses gigantesques,<br> + Cris d'armes, mot d'amour, devises de l'honneur,<br> + Carlets pour l'infidle ou pour le suborneur,<br> + Tout garde sur ces murs vraiment chevaleresques.<br> + La mmoire d'un sicle o l'pe, o la foi,<br> + O la galanterie taient la seule loi.</p> + +<p>Louis IX. and Blanche of Castille, his queen, retired to Clisson, at +the time the English, under Henry III. penetrated into Poitou, and +were received by Olivier de Clisson, who then garrisoned it.</p> + +<p>In the war of the League, which convulsed the kingdom of France, +Clisson remained faithful to Henry III. and during the early part +of the reign of his successor Henry IV. The Protestants were there +protected, and established themselves in the fauxbourg. From the +period at which Henry IV. signed the edict at Nantes, 15th April, +1598, until the war of La Vende, this celebrated fortress is no where +mentioned by any of the French historians: it became neglected when +the feudal system declined, and the republican army completed its +ruin. The sad events of this period, and the destruction and carnage +which followed, can never be effaced from the page of history. The +ruined towns and villages prove the melancholy truth, that the general +corruption of a nation prepares the way for general anarchy, and that +the blindness of political rage is always more vindictive than even +private hatred.</p> + +<p>I can never sufficiently lament the absence, at this time, of Madame +de La Roche-Jaquelin from the country, as she occasionally resides in +the neighbourhood, since the restoration of her property, (although +her once noble residence is now in a state of ruin,) occupying a small +chteau at some small distance, which had partly escaped the fire and +destruction that had been fatal to most houses in the district. Who +can read the interesting memoirs of this Lady, and not sympathize in +the sufferings of herself, and of those brave and loyal people whose +heroic struggle against their republican oppressors lasted with little +intermission from the overthrow of the monarchy until its final +restoration? Among the number of heroic females who, like Madame de +la Roche-Jaquelin, thus distinguished themselves, was Madame de La +Rochefoucault who, like her admirer Charette, was put to death at +Nantes. This lady, of an ancient and noble family, and of great +beauty, signalized herself on various occasions, but being taken +prisoner at the battle of the Moulin aux Chvres, she was immediately +shot!</p> + +<p>[Illustration: MILL AUX CHVRES.]</p> + +<p>The whole history of this terrible war is filled with the noble +devotion of heroic females. The chiefs were attended in the most +sanguinary battles by ladies, who had themselves ornamented their +standards with loyal and chivalrous emblems of the cause for which +they were prepared to sacrifice themselves, and who were frequently +seen rallying the broken troops, and falling, covered with wounds, by +the hands of their enemies!</p> + +<p>The annexed view of the Moulin aux Chvres, which is rendered +interesting from the account given by Madame de la Roche-Jaquelin of +the battle fought near it, will convey a tolerable idea of the scenery +of the country.</p> + +<p>The prodigious growth of the willow tree in Bretagne, is such as to +claim the peculiar notice of travellers: here they attain a gigantic +height, no where else to be seen. Batard, in his "<i>Notices sur +les Vgtaux</i>" mentions one in the commune of Pommeraie in the +arrondissement de Beauprau, whose age was supposed to be nearly two +thousand years. Within the Chteau at Clisson are some very old ones, +but the finest I observed were at the Moulin aux Chvres.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. VI.</H2></center><br><br> + +<p>LIMITS AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OF LE BOCAGE. MODE OF WARFARE PRACTISED +BY THE VENDEANS.</p><br> + + +<p>My opportunity of becoming acquainted with that singular district +called Le Bocage, will be best understood by very briefly sketching my +route through it. I traversed it, and the district called Le Loroux, +by the route of Montaigne and Lege, and on my return I passed through +Clisson, Vallet, and Loroux, along the banks of the Loire. By pursuing +this route, I had every where the interesting opportunity of exploring +the scene of that destructive warfare which had ravaged the towns and +villages of this part of France.</p> + +<p>At one period, the war of La Vende extended to the north of the +Loire, as far as Rennes, forming a triangle, the eastern point of +which rested on the town of Angers. To the south of the Loire it +spread nearly as far as la Rochelle; and as in this part also it +extended nearly to Angers, the tract over which it spread its ravages +formed nearly a square. The district called Loroux runs parallel with +the Loire: Le Bocage, which occupies both districts, and the whole +country south of that river, is comprehended under the general +appellation of La Vende. Under the old divisions of France Le Bocage +formed part of the province of Poitou, and Le Loroux part of the +provinces of Anjou and Bretagne: but when, at the revolution, France +was divided into departments, these two districts were denominated La +Vende, Les deux Svres, La Loire Infrieure, and Mayenne and Loire.</p> + +<p>La Vende is an extremely interesting district, not merely on account +of the singular and heroic warfare that was carried on there so +long, but also from the appearance of the country, and the manners, +opinions, and general character of its inhabitants; and Le Bocage is, +in all these respects, the most interesting part of La Vende. In +Le Bocage, the war was carried on with most wonderful vigour and +pertinacity, as well as with almost unparalleled destruction and +cruelty. Those who are acquainted only with the other parts of France, +can form no idea of the aspect of this district, or of the manners of +its inhabitants; they differ so widely and essentially, that they seem +to belong to another portion of the globe. It has always been regarded +as the most fertile country in France; and, before the revolution, it +was undoubtedly one of the most populous.</p> + +<p>There are only two roads in the whole country: one of them runs from +Nantes to la Rochelle, and the other from Bordeaux to Tours, through +Poitou: all the rest of this district is a complete labyrinth: there +are indeed numerous pathways, so very winding and narrow, that they +are much more calculated to harass and mislead, than to assist a +traveller in his journey: these pathways are flanked by wide and deep +ditches, and almost rendered completely dark by lofty hedges on each +side of them, the trees of which meet at top, and thus form an arch: +hence they are rough and uneven in summer, besides being intolerably +hot, and deep and miry in winter. To add to these inconveniences, the +bed of a rivulet flowing along them frequently constitutes the only +passage. Even when the traveller, after toiling along these dreadful +pathways, comes near a town or village, he generally finds that the +approach to it is practicable only by ascending irregular steps, +cut out of the solid rock, on which they are built. The inhabitants +themselves even are frequently puzzled by these pathways; and, after +wandering for a considerable length of time, at last find out that +they have been travelling in a wrong direction.</p> + +<p>The whole country bears the appearance of an extensive and thick +forest: this arises from the nature of the enclosures; they are +extremely small, often not more than fifty or sixty perches, +surrounded with strong hedges planted in the banks. These +circumstances alone would give the appearance just noticed; but the +effect is much increased from other causes. On each side of the banks, +on which the trees are planted, there are ditches and drains, and the +moisture which they constantly supply to their roots, renders their +growth very rapid and luxuriant; so that when we consider the number +of the trees and their great size, we shall not be surprised that +the country looks like an immense forest. Sometimes the trees are so +disposed as to answer the purpose of a palisade; and this purpose they +answer most effectually, not only from the great size and strength of +the trees themselves, but also from the intervening spaces between +them being filled up with strong and impassable underwood [10].</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 10: A tract of about 150 miles square, at the mouth and +on the southern bank of the Loire, comprehends the scene of those +deplorable hostilities. The most inland part of the district, and that +in which the insurrection first broke out, is called <i>Le Bocage</i>; and +seems to have been almost as singular in its physical conformation, +as in the state and condition of its population. A series of detached +eminences, of no great elevation, rose over the whole face of the +country, with little rills trickling in the hollows and occasional +cliffs by their sides. The whole space was divided into small +enclosures, each surrounded with tall wild hedges, and rows of pollard +trees; so that though there were few large woods, the whole region +had a sylvan and impenetrable appearance. The ground was mostly in +pasturage; and the landscape had, for the most part, an aspect of +wild verdure, except that in the autumn some patches of yellow corn +appeared here and there athwart their green enclosures. Only two great +roads traversed this sequestered region, running nearly parallel, at +a distance of more than seventy miles from each other. In the +intermediate space, there was nothing but a labyrinth of wild and +devious paths, crossing each other at the extremity of almost every +field--often serving, at the same time, as channels for the winter +torrents, and winding so capriciously among the innumerable hillocks, +and beneath the meeting hedge-rows, that the natives themselves were +always in danger of losing their way when they went a league or +two from their own habitations. The country, though rather thickly +peopled, contained, as may be supposed, few large towns; and the +inhabitants, devoted almost entirely to rural occupations, enjoyed a +great deal of leisure. The noblesse or gentry of the country were very +generally resident on their estates, where they lived in a style of +simplicity and homeliness which had long disappeared from every other +part of the kingdom. No grand parks, fine gardens, or ornamented +villas; but spacious clumsy chateaux, surrounded with farm offices +and cottages for the labourers. Their manners and way of life, too, +partook of the same primitive rusticity. There was great cordiality, +and even much familiarity, in the intercourse of the seigneurs with +their dependants. They were followed by large trains of them in their +hunting expeditions, which occupied so great a part of their time. +Every man had his fowling-piece, and was a marksman of fame or +pretensions. They were posted in various quarters, to intercept or +drive back the game; and were thus trained, by anticipation, to that +sort of discipline and concert, in which their whole art of war was +afterwards found to consist. Nor was their intimacy confined to their +sports. The peasants resorted familiarly to their landlords for +advice, both legal and medical; and they repaid the visits in their +daily rambles, and entered with interest into all the details of their +agricultural operations. They came to the weddings of their children, +drank with their guests, and made little presents to the young people. +On Sundays and holidays, all the retainers of the family assembled at +the chteau, and danced in the barn or the court-yard, according to +the season. The ladies of the house joined in the festivity, and that +without any airs of condescension or of mockery; for, in their own +life, there was little splendour or luxurious refinement. They +travelled on horseback, or in heavy carriages drawn by oxen; and had +little other amusement than in the care of their dependants, and the +familiar intercourse of neighbours among whom there was no rivalry or +principle of ostentation.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>From all this there resulted, as Madame de L. assures us, a certain +innocence and kindliness of character, joined with great hardihood and +gaiety,--which reminds us of Henry IV. and his Barnois,--and carries +with it, perhaps on account of that association, an idea of something +more chivalrous and romantic--more honest and unsophisticated, than +any thing we expect to meet with in this modern world of artifice and +derision. There was great purity of morals accordingly, Mad. de +L. informs us, and general cheerfulness and content in all this +district;--crimes were never heard of, and lawsuits almost unknown. +Though not very well educated, the population was exceedingly +devout;--though theirs was a kind of superstitious and traditional +devotion, it must he owned, rather than an enlightened or rational +faith. They had the greatest veneration for crucifixes and images of +their saints, and had no idea of any duty more imperious than that of +attending on all the solemnities of religion. They were singularly +attached also to their curs, who were almost all born and bred in the +country, spoke their <i>patois</i>, and shared in all their pastimes and +occupations. When a hunting-match was to take place, the clergyman +announced it from the pulpit after prayers,--and then took his +fowling-piece, and accompanied his congregation to the thicket. It was +on behalf of these curs, in fact, that the first disturbances were +excited.--<i>Edin. Rev. for Feb.</i> 1816.]</p> + +<p>This luxuriance of growth does not proceed entirely from the moisture +supplied by the ditches and drains; the soil naturally is uncommonly +fertile: and whatever springs from it, whether planted by the hand of +man, and nourished, while growing, by his attention and skill, or its +spontaneous production, bears witness to this uncommon fertility. +The country abounds in corn and vineyards; the produce of the latter +consists principally in white vines. At the season of the year when I +passed through it, the intermixture of the rich and soft yellow of the +wheat nearly ripe, with the light green foliage of the vines, produced +a most pleasing effect. In Poitou and Anjou, the harvest generally +begins about the latter end of June: this year it was late every +where, but very abundant. The vineyards had mostly failed.</p> + +<p>Le Marais, which is also comprehended within the limits of Le Bocage, +is that part of Lower Poitou, adjacent to the sea. There the country +is open and flat, and the passes are impracticable during the winter, +and very difficult at other seasons of the year. The inhabitants of Le +Marais formed a division of the army of the celebrated chief Charette. +La Vende was divided into two circuits; each army had its own, until +the junction of the whole under La Roche-Jaquelin, etc; that of +Charette occupied the district of Chalans, Machecoul, la Roche Sur +Yon, les Sables, a part of the districts of St. Florent, Vehiers, +Chollet, Chtillon, la Chtaigneraie, a great part of the districts +of Clisson, Montaigne, Thouars, Parthenay, and Fontenay-le-peuple. +Although the locality of Le Bocage is a perfect contrast to that of le +Marais, nature seems to have exerted all her power in forming these +two districts into one extensive fortress, capable of opposing every +thing to an attack, and presenting so many means of defence, that it +was rarely possible for the enemy to lead a column, or to regulate +its movements so as to preserve union in its marches or manoeuvres, +dispositions for an attack, or retreat. The positions of the Vendeans +could never be understood, or their projects foreseen, in a country +where the frequent undulations of land, hedges, trees, and bushes, +obstructing the surface, would not admit of seeing fifty paces round; +and one of the republican generals, writing to the Convention, +thus speaks of Charette's movements. "It is no easy matter to find +Charette, particularly to bring him to action. To-day at the head of +ten thousand men, the next day wandering with a score of horsemen, it +is very rare that one can come up with him. When we believed him to be +in our front, he was in our rear. Yesterday he threatened such a post, +to-day he is ten leagues from it; more able to avoid than fight us, +he almost always disconcerts, and often, without knowing it, all our +combinations. He endeavours to surprise us, to carry off our patroles, +and to kill our stragglers."</p> + +<p>The inhabitants of le Marais and le Bocage for a long period confined +themselves to defensive warfare, for which nature seems to have formed +their country. The situation of le Marais enabled the brave royalists +to receive succours from the English, and to facilitate and protect +the debarkation of such as they wished to procure from the North side +of the Loire, the coast being flat and easy of access by sea.</p> + +<p>The Vendeans, favoured by every natural advantage, had a peculiar +tactic which they knew perfectly well how to apply to their position +and local circumstances, and adopted a mode of fighting hitherto +unknown, and practicable in that country alone. Confident in the +superiority which their mode of attack gave them, they never suffered +themselves to be anticipated, they never engaged but when and +where they pleased. Their dexterity in the use of fire arms was such, +that no people, however well skilled in manoeuvring, could make such +good use of a gun; the huntsman of Loroux, and the poacher of le +Bocage, having been always proverbial as excellent marksmen. It was no +unusual thing for the Vendeans when at the plough, to carry with them +a musket; and whenever they observed "a blue coat," (as they called +the republican soldiers) they stopt their plough, took up their +musket, and fired at him; it seldom happened that they missed the +object of their vengeance. A melancholy circumstance, connected with +this mode of warfare, took place: the son of one of the Vendean +farmers, or ploughmen, had been compelled to join the republican army; +but having succeeded in escaping, he was hastening, in his republican +uniform, to rejoin his relations, when being observed by his father, +while at the plough, the latter, unable from the distance to recognize +his son, and seeing only the uniform of an enemy, fired and shot him.</p> + +<p>Their attacks were always dreadful, sudden, and almost unforeseen, +because it was very difficult to reconnoitre or obtain information so +as to guard against surprise. Their order of battle was generally in +the form of a crescent, their wings being composed of the most expert +marksmen, who never fired without taking aim, and seldom ever missed. +Their retreat was so precipitate that it was difficult to come up +with them, as they dispersed themselves through rough fields, hedges, +woods, and bushes, knew all the bye-roads, secret escapes and defiles, +and were acquainted with all the obstacles which could obstruct their +flight, and the means of avoiding them. Their mode of warfare was +according to the locality of the country, well calculated to prolong +the struggle and waste the strength of the forces sent to oppose them. +In the district of les Sables, intersected by canals, rivulets, and +salt marshes, where there were scarcely carriage roads, but chiefly +bye-ways, and raised paths, a species of natural fortification was +every where formed: this rendered any attack against them dangerous, +and consequently it was most favourable for defence, particularly to +the inhabitants. The canals are in general from thirty to forty feet +wide on the upper extremity of the banks. The Vendean, carrying his +musket in a bandoleer, and leaning upon a long pole, leaped from one +bank to the other with amazing facility. When the pressure of the +enemy would not admit of his doing this, without exposing himself to +their fire, he threw himself into a niole, (a kind of small boat,) +very flat, and light, and crossed the canal with great rapidity, being +always sufficiently shut up to hide himself from his pursuers: but he +soon appeared again, and firing at his enemy, again disappeared. The +republican soldier to whom this mode of fighting was unknown, was +obliged to be continually upon his guard, to march along the shores of +the canals, and to follow slowly their circuitous track, supporting at +the same time frequent skirmishes, while it took him several hours +to traverse a space which the Vendean commonly accomplished in a few +minutes.</p> + +<p>Among the difficulties which the execution of all military plans met +with in La Vende, the nature and degree of which may be judged of +from the local dispositions and the kind of warfare carried on by the +royalists, there was one which was invincible, and which singularly +retarded the operations of the republicans. Whenever they were +desirous of sending an order from head quarters to a division at the +distance of twelve or fifteen leagues, the messenger was often obliged +to travel fifty or sixty in order to avoid passing through the +revolted country. Hence the impossibility of attempting any +expedition, however necessary or desirable, which required to be +executed without delay. The Vendeans would appear one day at a certain +point to the number of several thousand men; measures were concerted +for attacking them the next day, but before that arrived they were +eight or ten leagues distant from the place where they had showed +themselves the day before.</p> + +<p>Thus were the republicans exposed to fruitless victories or disastrous +checks, which exhausted their men and resources. Masters of the field +of battle, they found, says one of their generals, nothing but wooden +shoes and some slain, never any arms or ammunition. The Vendean when +perceived, would either hide or break his gun, and in surrendering his +life, seldom left his weapon. Being well acquainted with the country, +and more dexterous than the republicans, they carried scarcely any +artillery with them, four or five pieces sufficed for an army of +thirty or forty thousand men; these were generally light field pieces. +Equally sparing of ammunition, they took but few waggons, one alone +served the pieces, as they well knew it was not artillery that would +procure them the victory; thence, when the republicans met with any +disastrous affair, they lost from twenty to thirty pieces of cannon, +and waggons in proportion; whereas when they gained a victory they +acquired only two or three pieces of cannon, with scarcely any +ammunition.</p> + +<p>From this slight sketch of the nature of the country, so +disadvantageous to the invaders, and of the mode in which the Vendeans +carried on this unfortunate war, our surprise will cease at the +determined and protracted resistance made to the republicans by this +loyal and brave people. For many years they defended their beloved +country, and endured privations, and accumulated miseries, such +as human nature has seldom been exposed to. To use the words of a +republican general, "A girdle of fire enveloped the revolted country; +fire, terror, and death, preceded the march."</p> + +<p>But the principal cause of the long resistance of the Vendeans must +be sought for in their moral character; they were most honourably +distinguished by an inviolable attachment to their party, and +unlimited and unshaken confidence in their chiefs; and an earnest, +warm, but steady zeal, which supplied the place of discipline. Their +invincible courage, both active and passive, was proof against every +kind of danger, fatigue, and want. It has been well observed that +"irregular and undisciplined wars are naturally far more prolific of +extraordinary incidents, unexpected turns of fortune, and striking +displays of individual talent, of vice and virtue, than the more +solemn movements of national hostility, where every thing is in +a great measure provided and foreseen; and where the inflexible +subordination of rank, and the severe exactions of a limited duty +not only take away the inducement, but the opportunity for those +exaltations of personal feeling and adventure which produce the most +lively interest, and lead to the most animating results. In the +unconcerted proceedings of an insurgent population, all is experiment +and all is passion. The heroic daring of a simple peasant lifts him +at once to the rank of a leader, and kindles a general enthusiasm to +which all things become possible."</p> + +<p>From the operation of these causes the Vendeans were enabled to send +forth formidable armies: and such was the confidence of the chiefs in +the troops, that they never would have been subdued if they had +not lost their leaders in the various hard fought actions, or +been deprived of their services by their mutual jealousy. Another +circumstance proved equally fatal to them; after the fall of the +gallant Lescure, they most imprudently quitted the strong country for +the open plains on the left bank of the Loire.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. VII.</H2></center><br><br> + +<p>RIVER LOIRE, FROM NANTES TO ANGERS.</p><br> + + +<p>The Loire is one of the finest rivers in France; and perhaps there is +no river in the world, that equals that part of it, which flows from +Angers to Nantes: the breadth of the stream; the islands of wood; the +boldness, culture, and richness of its banks, all conspire to +render it worthy of this character. As a useful river it is equally +celebrated: its banks being bordered by rich and populous cities; and +the benefits it renders to industry and commerce being incalculable.</p> + +<p>Its stream is so rapid and strong, that in ascending it is generally +necessary from Nantes to Angers, to track the barge: this mode of +proceeding, though slow, has its advantages; as it gives greater time +and opportunity for observing all the various beauties of scenery +which present themselves at every turn of the river.</p> + +<p>I embarked early in the morning with a favourable breeze from the +west: we soon began to be interested, and almost enchanted, with the +rich and beautiful scenery, which almost every moment opened to our +view in endless variety. This scenery not only pleased the eye and +imagination by its beauty, but also excited high and deep interest +by the fertility which it displayed. The banks were lined with corn +fields, vineyards, or orchards. Occasionally the nature and interest +of the prospect were agreeably diversified by the spire of a convent +or the turrets of a chateau, rising above gardens or groves, or rich +woodlands. At other places there were still more decided marks of +population, for villages, country-houses, and farms, caught the eye, +and added to the charms by which it was so willingly and powerfully +detained.</p> + +<p>The whole country on each side is well cultivated. But even this part +of France, interesting and beautiful as it is, cannot be traversed +without the recollection of the horrors of the revolution breaking in +upon, and greatly damping the interest and pleasure derived from the +view of the scenery. As we approached the ruined tower of Oudon, +it was impossible not to feel a melancholy regret at the scenes of +unparalleled bloodshed that took place on the rich and delightful +banks of this river during the phrenzy of the revolution. These +dreadful recollections assailed us most powerfully as we came in view +of Ancenis on the left, and of Saint Florent le Viel to the right. +At the latter place we stopped for the night. It was a fine serene +evening, the wind had left us, and we were forced to track the shore +for some distance before we reached it: just as the sun was setting I +made a sketch of its ruined convent on the hill.</p> + +<p>[Illustration: TOUR D'OUDON on the RIVER LOIRE.] [Illustration]</p> + +<p>After the defeat of the Vendean army, and their retreat across the +Loire at this place, says a French writer, "There were seen upon +the right bank, following the army, which increased prodigiously, +a multitude of bishops, priests, monks, religious persons, old +countesses, baronesses, etc. etc. who were carried off by cart-loads, +and which did nothing but embarrass the army.[11] There were a great +many of them killed at the battle of Mans."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 11: On gaining the heights of St. Florent, one of the most +mournful, and at the same time most magnificent spectacles, burst upon +the eye. These heights form a vast semicircle; at the bottom of which +a broad bare plain extends to the edge of the water. Near an hundred +thousand unhappy souls now blackened over that dreary expanse,--old +men, infants and women, mingled, with the half-armed soldiery, +caravans, crowded baggage waggons and teams of oxen, all full of +despair, impatience, anxiety and terror:--Behind, were the smoke +of their burning villages, and the thunder of the hostile +artillery;--before, the broad stream of the Loire, divided by a long +low island, also covered with the fugitives,--twenty frail barks +plying in the stream--and, on the far banks, the disorderly movements +of those who had effected the passage, and were waiting there to be +rejoined by their companions. Such, Mad. de L. assures us, was the +tumult and terror of the scene, and so awful the recollections it +inspired, that it can never be effaced from the memory of any of +those who beheld it; and that many of its awe-struck spectators have +concurred in stating, that it brought forcibly to their imaginations +the unspeakable terrors of the great day of judgment.--<i>Edinb. Rev. +No. LI. p. 24.</i>]</p> + +<p>It is said that when the Prince Talmont, with the royalists, crossed +over from Saint Florent, under the fire of the republican troops who +had taken possession of the heights, they consisted of thirty thousand +individuals, but that there were not twenty thousand warriors; among +them were five thousand women: arrived in the open country, without +warlike stores, they soon wanted provisions. This multitude created +a famine wherever it went, and suffered a famine itself. The first +unsuccessful enterprize produced discouragement, and necessarily the +desertion of the army: it diminished two-thirds when it was repulsed +at Angers; and when the chiefs, despairing (after the battle of Mans) +of not being able to recross the Loire at Ancenis, led back the wrecks +of the army to Savenay, it consisted only of fifteen thousand men, +half dead with hunger and misery: the major part of these were +exterminated by the republicans; the rest dispersed themselves, and +from that time all efforts ceased. Prince de Talmont was arrested near +Erne, tried at Rennes, and executed at Laval: of the fate of Lescure +and the other chiefs, a melancholy catalogue is furnished by Madame de +la Roche-Jaquelin.</p> + +<p>The wind favoring us the day following, we sailed at break of day, and +arrived at Angers at the close of a beautiful evening. The approach to +this town, in sailing up the river Mayenne, is highly picturesque; its +ancient castle is situated on a high rock overhanging the river; its +walls and antique towers, built by the English, have an imposing +effect. The town stands in a plain, which, in the distance, being +fringed with wood, together with the corn and meadow ground, give it +that richness and beauty that characterizes the whole country between +Nantes and Angers. The river Mayenne, and a small branch of the +Loire, divide the town. It is the chief seat of the province of +Maine-et-Loire, formerly the capital of Anjou. It is a large ancient +city, with a fine cathedral, a botanical garden, museum, and +several manufactories of cottons; one of them in imitation of India +handkerchiefs. Here the last effort was made by the Vendeans, whose +flight from it was immediately followed by the bloody and disastrous +affair of Mans.</p> + +<p>I had now passed the provinces of Bretagne and Poitou, as they border +the Loire; and, in point of beautiful and romantic scenery, this +district can scarcely be surpassed. The left bank of the river, +running along the country of Le Bocage, from Nantes to Angers, a +distance of seventy-two miles, is a continued range of lofty hills, +agreeably diversified with corn lands, and studded with vineyards. The +opposite bank is a more flat and variegated country, with pleasant +eminences and broad plains, watered by branches of the Loire, which in +many parts contains small islands covered with trees. The whole course +of this fine river, as the eye sweeps and ranges over its banks, +presents at almost every bend the view of villas enriched with +gardens, orchards, and vineyards; castles, convents, and villages in +ruins! bearing innumerable evidences of the desolating war that has +destroyed them.</p> + +<p>The religious communities, whose love of scenery and retirement in +general led them to prefer the most sequestered valleys, have in these +provinces chosen the most elevated and picturesque spots for the +erection of their monasteries; and these, notwithstanding their +deserted and decaying state, prove the good taste of their ancient +possessors, and the skill and industry with which they embellished +them. No situations could have been selected more abounding in +picturesque combinations of magnificent landscapes.</p> + +<p>The pleasure of the traveller in surveying such scenes, cannot but be +frequently interrupted, by the recollection of the various atrocities +which the inhabitants of these fine provinces committed against each +other, and of the immense number of innocent victims that were driven +from their abode to perish by famine or the sword.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. VIII.</H2></center><br><br> + +<p>SAUMUR TO TOURS--TOURS--TOURS TO BLOIS--ORLEANS--AND ORLEANS TO +PARIS.</p><br> + + +<p>I hired a small carriage, called a <i>patache</i>, to convey me to Saumur +and Tours; it is driven by a postillion with two horses, and is open +in front, giving the traveller a better opportunity of viewing the +country than in a close vehicle.</p> + +<p>The town of Saumur is built on both banks of the Loire, with a +handsome stone bridge over it; an ancient castle, built on a high +rock, commands the whole town. The road from Angers to this place is a +high raised causeway, paved, and runs parallel to the river, within +a few paces of its banks, the whole distance. Here we entered into +Touraine from the province of Anjou. From Saumur to Tours, the road +is like the former. The river Loire is on the right hand, and a flat +level country on the left, covered with orchards, groves, and meadows. +The road is every where raised so high, that it forms a very steep +declivity, with narrow pathways down to the entrance of the cottages +and villages, which are most romantically situated,--some in orchards, +some amidst vineyards, some in gardens, and others in recesses peeping +from between the trees. The fences are fantastically interwoven with +wreaths of the vines, which frequently creep up the trunk of a pear or +a cherry-tree, and cover the slated roofs of the houses, thereby, from +the natural luxuriance and wildness of their spreading branches in the +fruit season, answering at once the purposes of utility and ornament; +for the slates, retaining the heat, ripen the grape sooner than any +other mode of training. The corn was now ripe, and added to the +interest and beauty of the scenes; in many of the fields the reapers +were at work, and the harvest (which happily for France had not been +so abundant for many years) was going on with the assistance of the +female peasantry, who on all occasions partake and cheer the labours +of the field.</p> + +<p>Approaching nearer to Tours, I had a fine view of the bridge, which is +esteemed the handsomest in France. Between the branches of the trees, +I now and then caught a glimpse of the spires of the church and +buildings, encompassed by extensive orchards and groves, and open +vales between, varied by vineyards. It was a <i>jour de fte</i>, and as I +drove through the town the streets were gay with holyday people, and +crowded in some places with groups of women and girls, whose cheerful +countenances proved the admiration with which they viewed the +performances of some mountebanks.[12] Tours is the chief seat of the +prfecture of the Indre-et-Loire, formerly the capital of the province +of Touraine, and is built on a plain on the bank of the Loire. The +houses are of a white stone, and in the principal streets well built +and lofty: it is altogether one of the handsomest towns in France. The +main street, the rue Royale, can boast of a foot pavement, which is +seldom to be met with in this country. The environs of the town are +also very beautiful; the luxuriance of the soil, abounding in vines, +fruits, and every article of life, has attracted such numbers of +English to its vicinity, that Tours may be almost considered an +English colony.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 12: There is no city in Europe where there are more of +these sort of people to be seen than at Paris, on the boulevards and +different carrefours. The fondness of the Parisians for shows has +existed for ages. In a tariff of Saint Lewis for regulating the duties +upon the different articles brought into Paris by the gate of the +little Chtelet, it is ordained, (Hist. LVIII. cxxxiii.) that +whosoever fetches a monkey into the city for sale, shall pay four +deniers; but if the monkey belongs to a merry-andrew, the merry-andrew +shall be exempted from paying the duty, as well upon the said monkey +as on every thing else he carries along with him, by causing his +monkey to play and dance before the collector! Hence is derived the +proverb "Payer en monnoie de singe," i.e. to laugh at a man instead of +paying him. By another article, it is specified, that jugglers shall +likewise be exempt from all imposts, provided they sing a couplet of a +song before the toll-gatherer.]</p> + + +<p>Its ancient cathedral is in good preservation, notwithstanding it +became a prey to the licentious fanaticism of the republicans.</p> + +<p>The hotel Saint Julien, where I resided during my stay, stands upon +the cloisters of an ancient abbey; and the church, with its fine +Gothic pillars, and chapels, remains a monument of those destructive +and desolating times! The side aisles are stalls for horses and +cattle, and the centre is a <i>remise</i> for carriages and the public +diligences which run to this inn! The best hotel is the hotel du +Faisan. The vast number of English who keep pouring into all the +western provinces of this country, by degrees has affected the +markets, and will continue to do so, as long as the rage for +emigration lasts. At Tours, every article is one third dearer than at +Nantes, and in proportion as the capital is approached every thing +becomes more expensive; yet notwithstanding this, living is, and must +ever be, infinitely cheaper than in England.</p> + +<p>It certainly is no exaggeration to say, that France is richer in the +production of fruits and vegetables than any country in Europe, for in +no other can be found so many productions of the same climates of the +earth, or a soil more naturally abundant. With the exception of some +of the northern provinces, every part of France has wine, and the +culture of that delicious fruit which produces it is mentioned in its +earliest records. By a happy distribution, those provinces which do +not bear the vine, are abundantly supplied with other productions. +Normandy and Bretagne abound in the finest fruits; Picardy, and the +adjoining provinces, in corn. The riches of Lorraine are in its woods; +Touraine has ever been famous for its plums and its pears. The banks +of the Loire, and the valleys of Dauphin, are celebrated for the +richness of their verdure and vegetation; and the more southern +provinces of Languedoc and Provence, partake of the climate and +productions of Italy and Spain.</p> + +<p>Between Tours and Amboise, I passed the once celebrated Chteau of +Chanteloup, formerly the property of the Duc de Choiseuil, now the +residence of the Comte de Chaptal, who became the purchaser when it +was sold as national property.</p> + +<p>At the distance of six miles from Blois, the road leads near enough to +Valenay to have a good view of its magnificent palace and grounds; +this place, now belonging to M. de Talleyrand, Prince et Duc de +Benevento, (one of the most extraordinary characters who have figured +so conspicuously during the present age,) is the more interesting, +from having been so long the place of confinement of Ferdinand the +present King of Spain; and from whence our government tried to +extricate him through the agency of Baron de Kolly, who lost his life +in the attempt. This singular transaction has appeared in all the +public papers, but having had an opportunity of collecting the +particulars through a channel of undoubted authority, I consider it an +anecdote of too interesting a nature, as connected with the subject +before me, not to insert it here.</p> + +<p>In 1810, our government laid a plan to liberate King Ferdinand VII. of +Spain, similar to the one which had already effected the escape of +the Marquis de la Romana. The person entrusted with this commission, +assumed the name of Baron de Kolly, and besides the necessary credit +and credentials, he was furnished with the original letter, written by +Charles IV. to George III. in 1802, notifying the marriage of his son, +the Prince of the Asturias, and containing a marginal note from the +Marquis W.... in corroboration of his mission. A small squadron was +also sent to cruize off that part of the coast most contiguous to +Valenay, under the orders of Commodore C.... to be in readiness to +receive the royal fugitive. On a sudden the Baron de Kolly was seized, +and the plan frustrated, but the real particulars were never known +until after the events of the campaign of 1815.</p> + +<p>In the course of the passage to St. Helena, Admiral C.... (who +had been entrusted with the project) expressed a wish to know of +Buonaparte, by what means de Kolly had been discovered and arrested, +and the true circumstances of the affair so totally unknown in +England, adding, that if no motive of state policy intervened, he was +anxious to hear the whole disclosure. Buonaparte readily consented, +and told him that de Kolly arrived at Paris and lived in the greatest +obscurity, dressed shabbily, and eating his meals only at cheap +traiteurs in the Fauxbourg St. Antoine. However, he was not satisfied +with the common wine served up, and would ask for the best Bordeaux, +for which he paid five francs per bottle. This contrast of poverty and +luxury excited suspicions in the waiters of the two houses he thus +frequented, who being in the pay of the police, immediately sent in a +report. De Kolly was watched, and soon afterwards seized with all +his papers. Buonaparte said he then procured a person, as nearly +resembling de Kolly as could be found, to carry on the English +stratagem, under a hope that Ferdinand would have fallen into the +trap; and with all the original credentials, this agent of the French +police went into the castle of Valenay, under a pretext of selling +some trinkets. Ferdinand however, said Buonaparte, was too great a +coward to enter into the views proposed to him, but instantly gave +information of what had been communicated, to his first chamberlain, +Amazada, in a letter written to the governor of the castle!--By this +means Ferdinand escaped being placed at the mercy of Buonaparte, whose +intention was to intercept him in his flight.</p> + +<p>Although the conduct of Ferdinand was in this instance pusillanimous +and cruel, it was next to an impossibility that he could have +effected his escape. He was surrounded by guards and spies of every +description, under the superintendence of M. Darberg, Auditor of the +Council of State, and without whose leave no admittance could be +obtained. Twenty-five horse gendarmes regularly mounted guard about +the castle, and every person found in its vicinity without a regular +passport, was confined and strictly examined.</p> + +<p>At a small distance, is the residence of Marshal Victor, Duc de +Belluno, whom I met walking in the grounds. I was very civilly +permitted to enter, on sending a message desiring permission, as a +traveller, to see it. It stands at the entrance of the village of +Mnard, and was once the favourite residence of Madame de Pompadour, +the mistress of Louis XV. The river Loire winds beautifully beneath +the terrace. The grounds are of a vast extent, and tastefully laid +out. Over the entrance, the workmen were then placing the arms of the +Marshal, finely executed in stone.</p> + +<p>The country is thickly enclosed on each side of the river, varied with +hill and dale, clothed with vineyards. The villages and small towns +along the banks, as far as Orlans, are numerous and invariably +picturesque. Nothing can be more beautiful than the natural festoons +which are formed by the long shoots of the vines as they project over +the road. The peasants and the vignerons live in the midst of their +vineyards; their dwellings are excavations in chalky strata of the +solid rock, which afford them warm and dry habitations; some of them +were so covered with the vines that the entrance was scarcely visible, +and the comparison of them to so many birds nests is not badly +imagined. The hedges were covered with wild thyme and rosemary; and +the clematis interwoven with honeysuckles and other fragrant flowers, +richly perfumed the air. The grapes in Touraine and Orlanois are not +abundant this year, but the wine that is expected to be made, will, +it is supposed, from the dryness of the summer, be of an excellent +quality.</p> + +<p>The town of Orlans is memorable for the siege it sustained against +the English in 1428, when the maid of Orlans acquired so much renown, +and whose barbarous execution at Rouen, cannot be remembered without +feelings of horror and indignation, and must ever remain a stain on +the memory of that brave soldier the Duke of Bedford. The transactions +subsequent to that event, led to the almost entire expulsion of the +English from France; and those glittering conquests which were an +object of more glory than interest, and had been purchased at such an +expense of blood and treasure, were from that time lost to the English +nation.</p> + +<p>During the Revolution, the ancient statue of this celebrated female +was taken down and unfortunately destroyed, and one more modern, but +less interesting, finely executed in bronze, has been since erected. +She is habited in armour, with a lance and shield, supposed to +be leading on the victorious troops. At the four angles, are the +emblematical figures in relief, of the principal events of her +singular career. On a marble pedestal, is inscribed:</p> + +<p> A JEANNE D'ARC.</p> + +<p>Orlans is the chief seat of the department of the Loiret, formerly +the capital of Orlanais, on the river Loire, over which it has a +handsome bridge like the one at Tours, though not of such extent, as +the river here is not so wide, and very shallow. The communication by +water with Paris is carried on by means of a canal.</p> + +<p>The church is one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture I +have seen in France. The towers are of open fretwork, and in excellent +preservation. More cheerful scenes of exuberant fertility are nowhere +to be met with than along the banks of the river, and in the country +surrounding the town.</p> + +<p>From Orlans to Etampes, there is a plain of eighteen leagues in +extent, the whole of which was covered with one entire tract of corn +and vines; not an intervening hill or hillock; and the scene was +doubly interesting from the harvest carrying on in every direction as +I traversed it.</p> + +<p>Leaving Etampes, I passed through the beautiful villages of Sceaux, +Bourg-la-Reine, and Fontenay-aux-Roses; the latter still contains the +ruins of the Palace of Colbert, the celebrated minister of Louis XIV.</p> + +<p>The village of Fontenay-aux-Roses, is situated in a valley six miles +from Paris, and takes its name from the culture of roses, which cover +large tracts of ground. The proprietors sell the flowers to the +distillers for making rose water and essences, and the flower market +is supplied with the choicest bouquets; it is likewise celebrated for +its produce of the finest strawberries and peaches.</p> + +<p>The beauty of its situation, and the association of its name with the +sweetest of flowers, has attracted many of the wealthy inhabitants +of the metropolis to reside in its vicinity, where they have summer +houses; among them is the Maire de Fontenay, Monsieur Ledru, whose +history is singular and interesting.</p> + +<p>His father, who was very wealthy, and a great miser, sent for him one +morning, at the time he had just attained his eighteenth year, and +said to him: "I began life at your age with half a crown; there is one +for you--go, and be as fortunate as I have been;"--saying which, he +turned him out of the house, and shut the door in his face.</p> + +<p>Undismayed at such unexpected and unnatural conduct on the part of his +parent, whom he had never offended, the youth sought the advice and +assistance of a friend, by whose opinion he applied himself to the +study of medicine. After an indefatigable study at the Hotel Dieu, he +became celebrated in his profession, and had the good fortune to +be employed by a lady of great wealth, whose life he saved. Out of +gratitude, she proposed to become his wife, and to settle upon him an +income of fifty thousand livres, that he might give up his medical +pursuits; which, having accepted, he rewarded her by an attention and +kindness suitable to the noble generosity of her conduct.</p> + +<p>The revolution soon after occurred, and in the general wreck of +property she lost all her fortune, it having been invested, either +in the funds, or public securities. It then became the turn of Mons. +Ledru to support his wife, by renewing the practice of his profession, +which soon placed them again in affluent circumstances.</p> + +<p>At the death of his father, who left an immense fortune to be divided +between Mons. Ledru and his two maiden sisters, he took possession +of the estate at Fontenay-aux-Roses, from whence he had been cruelly +banished when a boy, and which the unkindness of his parent had never +after permitted him to enter. Fortune, which had hitherto played a +wayward and capricious game with him, had not yet ceased her freaks. +In removing a mirror from over a chimney-piece which required an +alteration, he discovered a prodigious treasure that had been +concealed there by his father! With that generosity and nobleness +of character, which make him esteemed and beloved by all his +acquaintance, and adored by the whole commune over which he presides, +he instantly sent for his sisters and divided it with them. His wife +did not long survive this last event, and since her death he has +continued to reside at Fontenay-aux-Roses with his sisters, where +he exercises his authority with mildness; and by constant acts of +beneficence and charity, is justly styled, "Le Pre de Fontenay!"</p> + +<p>Between Fontenay-aux-Roses and Paris, to the right of the road, is the +village of Gentilly, whose numerous guinguettes are much frequented +by the Parisians in fine weather. It being a holyday we met crowds of +well dressed citizens, in all sorts of vehicles, driving towards it. +An interesting circumstance had been related to me of the cur of this +village, M. Dtruissart; and on asking permission to visit his rural +habitation, I found the story to be true. His garden, which is not +above half an acre, has been laid out with such art and ingenuity, as +to give an idea of considerable extent, and to add to the charms of +this little spot, which he calls his "bonheur," there are a variety of +inscriptions of his own composition; over an arbour of vines is the +following:</p> + + +<p> MA SOLITUDE.<br><br> + + Loin des mchans, du bruit, des temptes du monde,<br> + Sous un simple berceau dont la treille est fconde,<br> + Sous un modeste tot, dans de rians jardins,<br> + Dessins, levs, cultivs par mes mains;....<br> + C'est dans ces lieux chris que s'coule ma vie<br> + Dans une paix profonde, une tranquillit<br> + Qui sans cesse rappele mon ame ravie<br> + Le temps de l'ge d'or et ma flicit:<br> + Mais, quelque doux qu'il soit, mon sort est peu de chose;<br> + Car enfin, aprs tout, je dois mourir bientt!<br> + Ne ressemblons-nous pas la feuille de rose<br> + Qui parot un instant et qui sche aussitt!</p> + +<p>It was in the practice of the moral conveyed by these lines, and in +the pursuit of literature, and constant acts of charity, that Mons. +Dtruissart passed his life, which was rewarded by the esteem and +affection of all his parishioners, of which they gave a remarkable +proof on the 4th of July, 1815, when the Prussian troops took post at +Gentilly, from whence they had driven the French the preceding evening +into Paris.</p> + +<p>The poor cur, with many other of the inhabitants, sought refuge +in the capital, leaving his house at the mercy of the enemy, who +commenced plundering in all directions; the humble and modest +appearance of M. Dtruissart's cottage not attracting their notice, +it remained untouched, when a single word from any of the inhabitants +would have devoted it to ruin; but such was their esteem for him, that +at his return he found every thing as he had left it.</p> + +<p>I entered Paris, leaving Bictre to my right, by the barrire d'Enfer, +after one of the most agreeable and interesting journeys I ever +performed.</p><br><br><br> + + + +<center><H2>CHAP. IX.</H2></center><br><br> + +<p>ENVIRONS OF PARIS--PERE LA CHAISE--CASTLE OF VINCENNES--AND CHATEAU OF +ST. GERMAIN--ITS FOREST AND VICINITY.</p><br> + + +<p>Prior to the revolution, the French, like most other European nations, +were in the practice of depositing their dead in churches and +cemeteries within the most populous towns, in compliance with those +precepts of evangelical doctrine which recommend us unceasingly to +reflect on death; and hence originated a custom which cannot but be +attended with most pernicious consequences to health, when we reflect +that the decomposition of human bodies is productive of putrid +exhalations, and consequently pregnant with the causes of contagious +disorders. It is indeed surprising that some regulations have not +hitherto been adopted in England regarding the interment of the dead, +from the example of other countries.</p> + +<p>In the year 1793, a decree was passed by the National Assembly, to +prevent burying in churches, or in church-yards, within the city of +Paris. Since which period, there have been three places selected in +its immediate neighbourhood for that purpose--Montmartre, called "Le +Champ du Repos"--Vaugirard, and Pre La Chaise.</p> + +<p>Quitting the Boulevards, at the extremity of the Boulevards Neufs, +eastward of the city, and passing through the Barrire d'Aulnay, I +arrived at the Pre La Chaise. At the entrance, through large folding +gates, is a spacious court-yard, having at one angle the dwelling +of the Concierge, or Keeper. The enclosure contains one hundred and +twenty acres, on a gently rising ground, in the centre of which stands +the ancient mansion constructed by Louis XIV. for his confessor, Pre +la Chaise, the celebrated Jesuit, who, with Madame de Maintenon, +governed France. Rising above the thousands of tombs which surround +it, it displays itself a wrecked and mouldering monument of ancient +splendour, and the mutability of human affairs! This spot became +afterwards a place of public promenade and great resort, from the +beauty of its position overlooking all Paris; and though so often +the scene of festivity and pleasure, now presents to the eye of the +beholder a mournfully interesting sight of tombs and sarcophagi, +intermixed with various fruit trees, cypress groves, the choicest +flowers, and rarest shrubs.</p> + +<p>From the rising ground, above the building of Pre La Chaise, a most +delightful view displays itself. The city of Paris appears to stand +in the centre of a vast amphitheatre. The heights of Belleville, +Montmartre, and Mnilmontant, in the west. To the east, the beautiful +plain of Saint-Mand, Montreuil, and Vincennes, with the lofty towers +of its fortress.--The fertile banks of the river Marne, are on the +North, and in the South, the horizon encircles Bictre and Meudon.</p> + +<p>The various tombs are placed without order or regularity: they are +mostly enclosed with trellis work of wood, sometimes by iron railing; +and consist of a small marble column, a pyramid, a sarcophagus, or a +single slab, just as may have suited the fancy or the taste of the +friends of the departed.--Some surrounded with cypress, some with +roses, myrtles, and the choicest exotics; others with evergreens, and +not unfrequently a single weeping willow, with the addition of a rose +tree!</p> + +<p>This intermixture of the sweetest scented flowers and fruit trees, in +a burying ground, among the finest pieces of sculptured marble, with +evergreens growing over them, in the form of arbours, and furnished +with seats, cannot fail to produce in the mind of the person who views +it for the first time, peculiar and uncommon feelings of domestic +melancholy, mingled with pleasing tenderness.</p> + +<p>Who could be otherwise than powerfully affected, as I was, by the +first objects that presented themselves to me on entering the +place?--A mother and her two sons, kneeling in pious devotion at the +foot of the husband's and the father's grave! At a short distance, a +female of elegant form, watering and dressing the earth around some +plants at her lover's tomb!--not a day, and seldom an hour, passes, +but some one is seen either weeping over the remains of a departed +relative, or watching with pious solicitude the flowers that spring up +around it.</p> + +<p>Among the many interesting objects that presented themselves at my +first visit, was the tomb of Ablard and Hlose, which had not long +since been removed from the convent of the Augustins, where I had seen +it in 1815.</p> + +<p>At a little distance, to the left of the former, was the burial place +of Labdoyre. The fate of this brave and unfortunate officer is well +known; his youth, and misled zeal, have procured him a sympathy which +his fellow sufferer Marshal Ney did not find, and did not merit.</p> + +<p>In the centre of a square plot of ground enclosed with lattice work, +is erected a wooden cross, painted black. Neither marble, nor stone, +nor letters, indicate his name. Two pots of roses, and a tuft of +violets, alone marked the spot, which is carefully weeded. There is +something more affecting in all this simplicity, something, in my +mind, that goes more directly home to the heart, than in the most +splendid monument or the most studied eulogium. As we came suddenly up +we saw two females clad in deep mourning, weeping over it; at each +arm of the cross was suspended a garland of flowers; we were about to +retire again immediately, from the fear of disturbing their melancholy +devotions, when the concierge, with a brutality indescribable, rushed +forward, and removing the garlands, threw them among the shrubs at a +considerable distance. The friend who accompanied me, after searching, +recovered one of the garlands, and with more gallantry perhaps than +policy, immediately replaced it, and reproaching the keeper with his +unmanly conduct, vowed vengeance if he dared to interrupt the ladies, +again, when bowing to them we retired.</p> + +<p>As we were about to quit the place some time after, we were arrested +by two gendarmes, and it was not till after a detention of some +hours, and a long discussion between the police officers who had +been summoned to attend, and being threatened to be sent to the +Conciergerie prison, that we were allowed to depart.</p> + +<p>The following words were engraved on a plain marble slab that covered +the remains of Marshal Ney.</p> + +<p> CI GIT<br> + LE MARCHAL NEY<br> + DUC D'ECHLINGEN<br> + PRINCE DE MOSCOWA<br> + DCD le 7, Decembre, 1815.</p> + +<p>The grave of the Marshal, as well as that of Labdoyre, when I again +visited the spot, had been stripped of every thing, and the railing +around them removed so as to prevent any one from discovering the +place of their interment.</p> + +<p>The monument of Madame Cottin, the author of Elizabeth and of +Mathilde, is, like her writings, simple and affecting!-Surrounded by a +trellis work in the form of an arbour, planted with rose trees, stands +a pillar of the whitest marble, highly polished, inclining +forwards, and engraved with:</p> + +<p> ICI REPOSE<br> + Marie-Sophie Risteav<br> + Veuve de J.M. Cottin<br> + Dcde le 25 Aot.<br> + 1815.</p> + +<p>Near this is the tomb of the esteemed and celebrated poet Delille, the +"Songster of the Gardens," as the French term him. The monument is +enclosed in a small garden, planted with the choicest flowers and +shrubs: it is of white marble, of large dimensions, and approached +by an <i>alle verte</i>. The door leading to the vault is of brass, with +emblematical figures in relief: above the entrance is inscribed in +letters of gold.</p> + +<p>JACQVES-DELILLE.</p> + +<p>The linden tree, intermixed with various evergreens, form an +interesting and beautiful bouquet around it.</p> + +<p>Beyond this, to the right, are the tombs of Grtry the composer, +Fourcroy the great chemist, Fontenelle, Boileau, Racine, and of +Mademoiselle Raucourt, the celebrated actress, to whom the bigotry +of the clergy refused burial in consecrated ground in 1815! a +circumstance which gave rise to much clamour and dissatisfaction. It +is surprising, that after such events as have been experienced in +France, the folly of denying the right of consecrated ground to a +comedian should have been persevered in, <i>after the restoration</i> of +Louis XVIII!</p> + +<p>Close to the tomb of Mad'lle Raucourt, is one, which for its affecting +simplicity and modesty, struck me very forcibly: in a little garden of +roses and lilies, and amidst some tufts of mignonette which appeared +to have been newly watered, stood a plain marble column, with the +words as represented in the annexed sketch--an accacia shaded it from +the sun's rays. In 1814, when the Allies approached +Paris, this height, like the others commanding the capital, was +fortified, and occupied by the students of the Polytechnical School, +who defended it with great gallantry. The walls were perforated with +holes for the musketry: the marks are still visible where they have +been since filled up. On the 30th of March, 1814, this position +was vigorously attacked, with great slaughter on both sides: the +assailants and the assailed fell in heaps, and it was not until +the chief part of a Prussian corps, (that afterwards carried it by +assault) had been annihilated, that the brave youths gave way.</p> + +<p>[Illustration]</p> + +<p>The tomb of my early friend and brother officer, the brave and +unfortunate Captain Wright, who was murdered in the Temple, is in +the cemetery of Vaugirard. I had searched for it in vain at Pre la +Chaise, where it was reported he had been buried. It has on it the +following inscription, written to his memory by his companion in arms, +and in imprisonment, the gallant Sir Sidney Smith:</p> + +<p> HERE LIES INHUMED<br> + JOHN WESLEY WRIGHT,<br> + BY BIRTH AN ENGLISHMAN,<br> + CAPTAIN IN THE BRITISH NAVY<br><br> + + Distinguished both among his own Countrymen and Foreigners<br> + For skill and courage;<br><br> + + To whom,<br> + Of those things which lead to the summit of glory,<br> + Nothing was wanting but opportunity:<br><br> + + His ancestors, whose virtues he inherited,<br> + He honoured by his deeds.<br><br> + + Quick in apprehending his orders,<br> + Active and bold in the execution of them;<br><br> + + In success modest,<br> + In adverse circumstances firm,<br> + In doubtful enterprises, wise and prudent.<br><br> + + Awhile successful in his career;<br> + At length assailed by adverse winds, and on an hostile shore,<br> + He was captured;<br><br> + + And being soon after brought to Paris,<br> + Was confined in the prison called the Temple,<br> + <i>Infamous for midnight murders</i>,<br> + And placed in the most rigid custody:<br><br> + + But in bonds,<br> + And suffering severities still more oppressive,<br> + His fortitude of mind and fidelity to his country<br> + Remained unshaken.<br><br> + + A short time after,<br> + He was found in the morning with his throat cut.<br> + And dead in his bed:<br><br> + + He died the 28th October, 1805, aged 36.<br> + To be lamented by his Country,<br> + Avenged by his God!</p> + + +<p>THE DONJON, OR CASTLE OF VINCENNES.</p> + + +<p>This ancient fortress is situate at the entrance of the forest of +Vincennes, (now reduced to a wood of small trees, the large timber +having been cut down during the revolution) and surrounded by a deep +ditch of great width, about two miles from the Barrire du Trne. +During many ages, it had been the casual residence of the sovereigns +of France. Philip de Valois added considerably to its dimensions in +1337. John continued the works, and during his captivity in England, +Charles his son, then regent of the kingdom, finished it.</p> + +<p>During the reign of Charles VII. in 1422, Henry VI. of England died in +this castle. From this time Vincennes became a royal residence, until +the reign of Louis XIV. when that monarch fixed himself at Versailles, +from which period it has never been used but as a prison[13]. + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 13: Monstrelet relates a curious anecdote, during the +residence at the Castle of Vincennes of Isabeau de Bavire, strongly +illustrative of the barbarous manners of those times. "Lewis de +Bourbon, who was handsome and well made, and had signalized himself +upon various occasions, and amongst others at the battle of Agincourt, +going one night, as was customary, to visit the Queen, Isabeau de +Bavire, at the Castle of Vincennes, met the King (Charles VI.); he +saluted him, without either stopping or alighting from his horse, +but continued galloping on. The King having recollected him, ordered +Tangui du Chatel, prvost of Paris, to pursue, and to confine him in +prison. At night the <i>question</i> was applied, and he was afterwards +tied up in a sack and cast into the Seine, with this inscription upon +the sack, 'Let the King's justice take place.'"]</p> + +<p>Dulaure, a French writer, in speaking of the persons who were confined +here, observes, it would be difficult to enumerate the number of +individuals that have been shut up in this prison within these few +years. "We will merely notice," he says, "the celebrated Count +Mirabeau, who was confined from 1777 to 1780; here it was that he +translated his Tibulle, and Joannes Secundus, and wrote his 'Lettres +originales' to his mistress, Madame Lemonnier, which abound with +passages as affecting as the letters of Hlose."</p> + +<p>This prison was thrown open during the reign of the unfortunate Louis +XVI. by the Baron de Breteuil, Minister of the Department of Paris +in 1784. In going over it, every one was penetrated with horror; and +feelings of the most melancholy interest were excited by reading the +various inscriptions on the walls, indicative of the hopeless misery +that had been experienced within them! Many were expressive of piety +and resignation at the approach of death!--others complaining of the +cruel oppression which had immured them! On one wall was written, "Il +faut mourir, mon frere; mon frere il faut mourir, quand il plaira +Dieu." On the door of another prison were, "Beati qui persecutionem +patiuntur propter justitiam, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum." On +the same spot were, "Carcer Socratis, templum honoris."</p> + +<p>This Donjon remained unoccupied until 1791. At this period, the +prisons of the capital being filled with criminals, Government ordered +it to be prepared for the reception of that class of prisoners; but on +the massacres that followed, the mob either murdered or released them +all, after a bloody contest, and it remained again without prisoners +until the Imperial Government under Buonaparte. It was then garrisoned +by a detachment of the Imperial Guard, and multitudes of victims were +transferred there whose fate remains, and probably ever will remain, +unknown.</p> + +<p>It was to this place that the Duke D'Enghien, who was arrested the +15th March, 1804, at Ettenheim, in the Electorate of Baden, was +conducted the 20th of the same month, at five in the evening, and +condemned to death the night following, by a military commission, at +which Murat presided. He was accordingly shot on the 21st, at half +past four in the evening, in the ditch of the castle which looks +towards the forest, on the north side, and his body thrown into a +grave, ready dug to receive it, where he fell. The details of this +cruel and wanton act of barbarity are too well known to need any +repetition here.</p> + +<p>This spot is now marked by a wooden cross, enclosed by an iron +railing. The remains of the Prince were dug out on the 20th March, +1816, by order of Louis XVIII. and deposited with solemn funeral +ceremony in a coffin which is placed in the same apartment where the +council of war condemned him to suffer! since transformed info a +chapel. Under a cenotaph, covered with a cloth of gold, is placed the +coffin, with a prodigious large stone lying on it, the same that was +found lying on his head, and which from its weight had crushed his +skull!</p> + +<p>The apartment is hung with black cloth, and remains continually +lighted, with a guard placed over it. Mass is daily performed for the +repose of his soul, agreeable to the Catholic religion.</p> + +<p>On the lid of the coffin is the following inscription:</p> + +<p> Ici est Le Corps<br> + De Trs-Haut, Trs-Puissant Prince<br> + Louis-Antoine-Henri De Bourbon<br> + Duc D'Enghien, Prince du Sang<br> + Pair de France<br> + Mort A Vincennes, Le 21 Mars 1804<br> + A L'age de XXXI Ans VII mois XVIII Jours.</p> + +<p>A marble bust of the Prince, by Bosio, is placed at the entrance.</p> + +<p>During the periods of 1814 and 1815, when Paris was in possession +of the Allies, Vincennes continued under the command of General +Daumesnil, who declared that he held it for his country until the +Government was settled, and would not open its gates to a foreign +army. It was not attacked either of the times.</p> + +<p>It is approached by two gates, with drawbridges, and defended by +cannon on all sides. The foss is of great depth, and dry, extending, +I should suppose, nearly a quarter of a mile. It has nine towers, of +prodigious height and solidity: the largest, at the south western +angle, called the Donjon, is considerably more elevated than the +others. The principal entrance is fronting the forest, on the north +side, in the form of a triumphal arch, with six pillars, ornamented +in bas-reliefs, and was decorated with marble statues, which were +destroyed when it was seized by the mob.</p> + +<p>The Donjon is surrounded by a separate ditch, within the other, of +forty feet depth, and is approached by two draw-bridges; one for +carriages, the other for foot passengers; and the main tower is +flanked by four other angular ones, each having a high turret. The +windows are treble barred within and without, so as to admit but a +faint glimmering light! Three gates of great solidity are to be passed +at the entrance; that which communicates with the draw-bridge of the +castle is secured both within and without. After passing the three +gates, there is a court, in the middle of which stands the Donjon. +Three other immense gates guard its entrance!</p> + +<p>The form of the Donjon is a square. The towers at the four angles are +divided into five floors, each having a separate stair-case, and +each floor is vaulted, with an apartment in the centre, sustained +by pillars, which are chimneys. At each of the four corners of the +apartment in the centre is a cell thirteen feet square. The towers are +encompassed on the third story by a large gallery on the outside, and +on the top of each there is a small circular terrace. Such is the +strength and prodigious solidity of this building, that it is said to +be capable of resisting the heaviest cannon, and is bomb proof. The +hand of time appears not to have made any impression on its outward +surface.</p> + +<p>The first hall is called "La chambre de la question:" its name +indicates sufficiently the horrid purposes to which it was +appropriated! So late as the year 1790 were to be seen chairs formed +of stone, where the unhappy victims were seated, with iron collars +fixed to the wall by heavy chains, that confined them to the spot +while undergoing the torture! In these prisons, deprived of air and +light, were beds of timber, on which they were allowed to repose +during the interval of their sufferings.</p> + +<p>The upper floor, named "La salle du conseil," from the Kings holding +their council there, while it was a royal residence, is secured by a +door of great solidity, and each prison at the angles had three doors +covered with iron plates, with double locks and treble bolts. The +doors were so contrived as to open crossways, each serving as a +security to the other. The first acted as a bar to the second, and +this to the third, so that it was necessary to close one before the +other could be opened.--Such was the mode of confinement in this +prison, the walls of which are sixteen feet thick, and the arches +thirty feet high.</p> + +<p>The other eight towers were also prisons. The one called "La tour de +la surintendance" contains cells six feet square; the bed places are +of stone. There is a square hole to descend into the vaults beneath, +where, like a tomb, the miserable prisoner was immured for ever!!! +Often, alas! for imaginary crimes, or for causes which make us shudder +at their wantonness and barbarity, an unfortunate victim has been torn +from the bosom of his family, to perish unheard of and unknown!</p> + +<p>The French Government have, I understand, issued an order to prevent +any one from entering this place from motives of curiosity; and let us +hope that the humane and enlightened policy of the restored Monarch +will close its cells for ever!</p> + +<p>The following beautiful lines, with which I close an account of the +most horribly interesting spot I ever visited, are from the pen of +Delille:</p> + +<p> ".......................... + Voyez gmir en proie sa longue torture,<br> + Ce mortel confin dans sa noire clture.<br> + Pour unique plaisir et pour seul passe-temps,<br> + De sa lente journe il compte les instans,<br> + Ou de son noir cachot mesure l'tendue,<br> + Ou mdite en secret sa fuite inattendue;<br> + Ou, de ceux qu'avant lui renferma la prison,<br> + Lit, sur ces tristes murs, la complainte et le nom:<br> + Et lui-mme y traant sa douloureuse histoire,<br> + A ceux qui le suivront en transmet la mmoire.<br> + C'est peu d'tre enchan dans ces tristes tombeaux,<br> + Combien de souvenirs viennent aigrir ses maux!<br> + Hlas! tandis qu'auprs de leurs jeunes compagnes;<br> + Dans les riches cits, dans les vastes campagnes;<br> + Ses amis d'autrefois errent en libert,<br> + Lorsque l'heure propice la socit,<br> + Reconduit chaque soir la jeunesse foltre<br> + Aux entretiens joyeux, la danse, au thtre,<br> + Ou, d'un plaisir plus doux annonant le retour,<br> + Du moment fortun vient avertir l'amour,<br> + Il est seul; ... en un long et lugubre silence,<br> + Pour lui le jour s'achve, et le jour recommence;<br> + Il n'entend point l'accent de la tendre amiti,<br> + Il ne voit point les pleurs de la douce piti:<br> + N'ayant de mouvement que pour traner des chanes,<br> + Un coeur que pour l'ennui, des sens que pour les peines,<br> + Pour lui, plus de beaux jours, de ruisseau, de gazon;<br> + Cette vute est son ciel, ces murs son horizon,<br> + Son regard, lev vers les flambeaux clestes,<br> + Vient mourir dans la nuit de ses cachots funestes;<br> + Rien n'gaie ses yeux leur morne obscurit;<br> + Ou si, par des barreaux avares de clart,<br> + Un faible jour se glisse en ces antres funbres,<br> + Il redouble pour lui les horreurs des tnbres,<br> + Et, le coeur consum d'un regret sans espoir,<br> + Il cherche la lumire et gmit de la voir."</p> + +<p>DELILLE. CHATEAU DE SAINT GERMAIN.</p> + +<p>This ancient pile of building is now a barrack for the King's Gardes +du Corps, containing two troops, one of Luxembourg, and the other of +Grammont, which are relieved every three months.</p> + +<p>It is supposed to have been built in the reign of Robert, but there +appears to be no certainty as to the exact period. It is interesting +to the English traveller, from having been the last refuge of James +the Second of England, and the residence, at various times, of very +celebrated and distinguished characters. It was taken, and pillaged, +and partly burnt, during the reign of Philip VI, in 1346, by Edward +the Third, and again by the English in 1419, and rebuilt by Francis +the First. During the war of the League in 1574, Catherine de Medicis +retired to this Castle, but from the predictions of an astrologer, +that she would die there, quitted it shortly after, and returned to +the Tuilleries, which Palace she had founded.[14] Henry the Fourth +often frequented Saint Germain. The Chteau Neuf, and one of the +towers, called Le Pavilion de Gabrielle, which is still in good +preservation, were erected by him, close to the Castle, for the +residence of his favourite, La belle Gabrielle:[15] and the superb +terrace was begun in his reign. From this spot the view is very +interesting and extensive: nothing can surpass the admirable +assemblage of hills, meadows, gardens, and vineyards, which charm the +eye, and which as they are viewed from its different points on a clear +summer's evening, appear at every turn, in new beauty, and endless +variety.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 14: According to Mezeray, this palace had its name from the +spot whereon it is situated, which was called Les Tuilleries, because +tiles (des tuiles) were made here. Catherine de Medicis built it 1564. +It consisted of nothing but the large square pavilion in the middle, +the two wings, and the two pavilions which terminate the wings. Henry +IV. Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. afterwards extended, elevated, and +embellished it. It is said to be neither so well proportioned, so +beautiful, or so regular, as it was at first. The Tuilleries is, +nevertheless, a very splendid palace. An astrologer having predicted +to Catherine de Medicis, that she would die near St. Germain, she +immediately flew, in a most superstitious manner, from all places +and churches that bore this name; she no more resorted to St. +Germain-en-Laye, and because her palace of the Tuilleries was situated +in the parish of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, she was at the expense of +building another, which was the Hotel de Soissons, near the church +of St. Eustache. When it was known to be Laurence de Saint Germain, +Bishop of Nazareth, who had attended her upon her death-bed, people +infatuated with astrology averred that the prediction had been +accomplished.]</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 15: Henri IV se plaisait beaucoup Saint-Germain, et y vint +souvent, quand son coeur fut pris des charmes de la belle Gabrielle. +Ce prince galant et libral, qui dj lui avait prouv son amour par +le don d'une infinit de maisons de campagne, aux environs de Paris, +voulut encore lui donner une preuve de sa tendresse, en btissant pour +elle, deux cents toises de l'ancien chteau, une nouvelle et belle +habitation, qu'on appela le Chteau Neuf. Elev sur les dessins +de l'architecte Marchand, il tait surtout remarquable par son +architecture simple, ses nombreuses devises, les chiffres amoureux +et les emblmes allgoriques qui le dcoroient, et qui faisoient une +ingnieuse allusion la passion du monarque pour sa mitresse. +L'une des ailes de ce chteau s'appelait mme le Pavillon de +Gabrielle.--<i>Hist. Topo. des Environs de Paris</i>.]</p> + +<p>The City of Paris is seen in the distance. The fine aqueduct of Marly, +the mountain de Coeur volant, Mount Calvary,[16] and Malmaison to the +right; in front the forest of Vsinet, and beyond it the vale of Saint +Denis; on the left the hills which encompass the beautiful vale of +Montmorency; the Seine winding at the foot, and extending its course +until it loses itself in the distance--all within one sweep of the +eye!--Such is the enchanting prospect which presents itself.</p> + +<p>It was at different times the residence of Louis XIII.[17] of Anne of +Austria, Christiana of Sweden, and of Madame La Valire, when Madame +de Montespan rivalled her in the affections of Louis XIV. After the +former had retired to the Convent of the Carmelites at Paris, it was +assigned in 1689 to the unfortunate James the Second, whose bigotry +had driven him from the throne of England. Here, together with his +Queen, and those of his court who fled with him to seek an asylum in +France, and surrounded by those priests and monks, whose pernicious +councils had led to his fall, the unhappy James remained until his +death, the 16th Sept. 1701. The apartment in which he breathed his +last is still preserved; but the whole of the interior has been very +much neglected. It served as a quarter for a body of Prussians in +1815, and the following year was a barrack for the English troops +quartered at St. Germain. A French poet of his time wrote these lines +descriptive of the life he led in his retirement.</p> + +<p> "C'est ici que Jacques second,<br> + Sans Ministres et sans matresse,<br> + Le matin allait la Messe,<br> + Et le soir allait au sermon."</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 16: On the top of this height is the Pavilion de Lucienne, +built by Madame Dubarry, Mistress to Louis XV. afterwards the property +of Madame La Princesse de Conti, now the residence of M. de Puy: at +the foot is the village of Lucienne, surrounded by numerous villas: +among the most remarkable is the residence of General Comte Campon.]</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 17: Lewis XIV. would not reside here, because the steeples +of the Abbey of St. Denis, where he was to be interred, could be +seen from the Chteau. The amount of the immense treasure which the +consequent erection of the Palace of Versailles cost was never known, +the King Mary Stewart, daughter of James, died here in April 1712, and +his Queen, in May 1718. These were the last persons of any consequence +who inhabited this palace, which in its exterior still preserves all +its ancient appearance of grandeur. It is built of stone, with a +facing of red brick, the windows are of great height, and the whole is +surrounded by a deep ditch, forming a very striking contrast to the +buildings of the present age, having destroyed the bills with his +own hand. In the neighbourhood of Versailles stands the celebrated +Military School of St. Cyr, which was originally an establishment for +the gratuitous admission of two hundred and fifty young ladies +of rank, who were to receive an education correspondent to their +situation in life. Madame de Maintenon is buried in the Chapel of the +Convent.]</p> + + +<p>FOREST OF SAINT GERMAIN.</p> + +<p>This forest is enclosed by a wall of thirty miles in circumference, +according to M. Prudhomme. It is now preserved exclusively for the Duc +de Berri, who is the Ranger.</p> + +<p>Of all the ancient forests with which Paris is surrounded, this is the +most extensive. It is stocked with prodigious quantities of game, with +deer, and wild boar. The pheasants and partridges are reared in an +extensive <i>faisanderie</i>, in the centre of the forest, enclosed by a +high wall, and such vigilance is exercised by the keepers, that no +person can possibly destroy the game. It is guarded by a captain and +two lieutenants, who have under them a corps of gardes de chasse.</p> + +<p>The royal chace is, at the commencement of the season, quite a state +ceremony, at which all the royal family and the court assemble to be +spectators. The dress of the hunt is green and gold, with gold laced +cocked hats and swords. The Duke invites his party, and gives them +permission to wear the uniform, which is considered a high honour.</p> + +<p>Nothing can be more delightful than the walks and rides through this +forest; the roads are kept in the best possible state. At intervals +are large open spaces called Etoiles, from whence branch off sometimes +ten and twelve roads with direction posts, each bearing a separate +name, either from some memorable event, or remarkable person; as the +croix de Poissy, croix de la Pucelle, croix de Montchevreuil, croix de +Berri, and croix de Noailles, etc. etc.</p> + +<p>A story is related of a lamentable occurrence which took place the 7th +June 1812, at the Etoile des Marres, and a similar one happened in +August this year, near the same spot.</p> + +<p>The first of these events was occasioned by the parents of a young +lady having refused their consent to her being married to her lover, +whose want of fortune was the chief obstacle. The lovers, in despair, +came to the fatal resolution of putting a period to their lives, and +this forest was fixed upon as the spot for the dreadful deed! Having +partaken of a repast which they had brought with them, and sworn +to love each other (if it were permitted them) after death, they +discharged, at the same moment, their pistols at themselves. The +unhappy girl fell dead, but the hand of her lover having missed its +aim, he was only wounded. Having no other means left of accomplishing +his dreadful purpose, he took the handkerchief from her bosom and +suspended himself by it to a tree. In this state they were discovered, +and their bodies deposited in the same grave! The other circumstance +was of the same romantic and melancholy nature.[18] This forest +supplies Paris with great quantities of wood. In 1814, and in 1815, +the palisades that were made to surround Paris for its defence against +the Allied armies, were cut in this wood, and the large timber has +consequently been greatly thinned.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>[Footnote 18: There never was known in this country so many fatal +instances of suicide as at the present period; few days. pass over +without some persons throwing themselves out of their windows, or into +the river Seine; and among the disappointed partizans of the late +ruler, it has been usual to hurl themselves from the top of the column +in the Place Vendme, which has been shut up in consequence by an +order from Government.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE >Among the instances of deliberate self-destruction, the following is a +remarkable fact, inasmuch as it serves to prove the pernicious effects +of the writings of Voltaire and Rousseau in the minds of youth, when +at an age incapable of discriminating between fanaticism and real +piety!</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE>The person in question was a youth not turned sixteen, who destroyed +himself last summer, while at college, and who left the following +paper as his last will. The lady who gave it me copied it from the +original.</p> + +<p CLASS=FTNOTE> "Testament de Villemain.<br><br> + + "Samedi. July 6th, 1816.<br><br> + + "Je donne mon corps aux Pdants: je lgue mon me aux manes de<br> + Voltaire et de J.J. Rousseau, qui m'ont appris mpriser toutes les<br> + vaines superstitions de ce monde, et tous les vains prjugs qu'a<br> + enfants la grossiret des hommes, et surtout les subtiles noirceurs<br> + des fourbes de Prtres.<br><br> + + "J'ai toujours reconnu un Etre suprme, et ma religion a toujours t<br> + la religion naturelle.<br><br> + + "Quant mes biens terrestres, je donne. (Here he mentions various<br> + articles to his favorite school-fellows.)<br><br> + + A Mondsir, mon dernier soupir.<br><br> + + "J'ai toujours connu, je l'ai dit plus haut, reconnu un Etre suprme,<br> + j'ai toujours pens que la seul religion digne de lui, etait la vertu<br> + et la probt!<br><br> + + "J'ose dire que je m'en suis rarement cart malgr la faiblesse, et<br> + la fragilit humaine.<br><br> + + "Je parois devant l'Etre suprme en disant avec Voltaire: 'Un Bonze,<br> + honnte homme, un Dervis, charitable, trouveront plutt grce ses<br> + yeux, qu'un Pontife ambitieux.'"<br><br> + + Then follows a Latin quotation, "All things are due to death, and<br> + without delay, sooner or later, hasten to the same goal: Hither we all<br> + tend: This is our last asylum."<br><br> + + "De tout les Pdants qui m'ont le plus tourment je compte surtout<br> + Poir, son Jeannes et Veissier, qui sont la cause du vol que je fais <br> + la nature en tranchant moi mme le fil de mes jours; je leur pardonne,<br> + l'quit le fait aussi: Je n'ai cess de rpter avec Rousseau avant<br> + de mourir. 'Tu veux cesser de vivre, sais-tu si tu as commenc.'<br><br> + + "Adieu!!! Mortels et foiblesses! "VILLEMAIN."]</p> + +<p>Here conclude my notes, and if my reader has condescended to accompany +me through my little Tour without feeling fatigue or displeasure +at his "Compagnon de Voyage," my aim and ambition as an author are +satisfied--so wishing that all the journeys he may ever take, may +prove as delightful to him as this has been to me, I sincerely thank +him for his attention, and kindly bid him Farewell!</p> + + +<p>FINIS. + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Visit to the Monastery of La Trappe +in 1817, by W.D. Fellowes + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE *** + +***** This file should be named 10864-h.htm or 10864-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/8/6/10864/ + +Produced by Robert Connal, Renald Levesque and PG Distributed +Proofreaders. This file was produced from images generously made +available by gallica (Biblioth que nationale de France) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's +eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, +compressed (zipped), HTML and others. + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over +the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. +VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving +new filenames and etext numbers. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000, +are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + + https://www.gutenberg.org/etext06 + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: + https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL + + + + +</pre> + +</body> +</html> diff --git a/old/10864.txt b/old/10864.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f11f45b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10864.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3901 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Visit to the Monastery of La Trappe in +1817, by W.D. Fellowes + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Visit to the Monastery of La Trappe in 1817 + With Notes Taken During a Tour Through Le Perche, Normandy, + Bretagne, Poitou, Anjou, Le Bocage, Touraine, Orleanois, + and the Environs of Paris. Illustrated with Numerous Coloured + Engravings, from Drawings Made on the Spot + +Author: W.D. Fellowes + +Release Date: January 29, 2004 [EBook #10864] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Connal, Renald Levesque and PG Distributed +Proofreaders. This file was produced from images generously made +available by gallica (Bibliotheque nationale de France) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + + + + +[Illustration: VIEW of the MONASTERY of LA TRAPPE] + + A VISIT TO THE MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE + + IN 1817. + + WITH NOTES + + _TAKEN DURING A TOUR THROUGH_ + LE PERCHE, NORMANDY, BRETAGNE, POITOU, ANJOU, + LE BOCAGE, TOURAINE, ORLEANOIS, AND + THE ENVIRONS OF PARIS. + + BY + + W.D. FELLOWES, ESQ. + + ILLUSTRATED WITH NUMEROUS COLOURED ENGRAVINGS, + FROM DRAWINGS MADE ON THE SPOT. + + + + + +LIST OF THE PLATES. + + +View of the Monastery of La Trappe + +Ruins of the Ancient Church of ditto + +Ruins of the Gateway of the ancient Chartreuse + +Les Noyades (_vignette_) + +Grotto of Heloise at Clisson + +Tomb of Abelard and Heloise + +Ruins of Abelard's House + +Granite Rock in the Garenne + +Le Connetable de Clisson (_outline_) + +Ruins of Clisson + +Tour des Pelerins + +Moulin aux chevres + +Tour d'Oudon on the River Loire + +View of St. Florent + +Tomb (_etching_) + + + + +PREFACE. + + +In justice to the public and to myself, I must disavow for the +following pages any higher literary pretension than what is conveyed +by the simple title of "Notes," under which I have ventured to give +them to the world. I had no other aim in writing but to occupy as +rationally as I could the hours of travel, and no other object in +publishing but to impart to others as plainly as I could a portion of +the pleasure I myself experienced. It has somewhere been remarked to +this effect, that if every man of common understanding were to put +down the daily thoughts and occurrences of his life, candidly and +unaffectedly as he experienced them, he must necessarily produce +something of interest to his fellow men, and make a book, which, +though not enlivened by wit, dignified by profundity of reasoning, nor +valuable by extent of research, yet no man perhaps should throw aside +with either weariness or disgust. + +Whether I shall prove fortunate enough not to excite these sensations +in such readers as may honour my book with a perusal, I fear to +conjecture. But it was my good fortune, during a season of uncommon +beauty, to make a tour through some of the most interesting parts of +France, and to meet with persons who, from situation and talents, +were highly calculated to give my journey every charm of society and +information. The natural face of the country through which I passed +was peculiarly beautiful: I could scarcely move a step without +some novelty of picturesque enchantment, and had the most perfect +opportunities of contemplating Nature in all her varied poetry, from +the grand and terrible graces of savage sublimity, to the soft and +playful loveliness of cultivated luxuriance. There was scarcely a +town or village where I arrived which romance or history, religion or +politics, had not invested and adorned with every interest of mental +association. Under such impressions, and with such opportunities, it +was scarcely possible to resist recording something of what I saw and +felt; and if the publication of my hasty record be an error, it +will be deemed by my friends, I hope, a pardonable one. My book +can scarcely demand the serious attention of the critic; nor could +criticism well expect a better style from one whose profession is +seldom supposed to allow much leisure to acquire nicety in the arts of +composition. I claim no other merit for my Notes than having followed +the advice (of Gray, I believe) that ten words put down at the moment +upon the spot, are worth a whole cart load of recollections. I have +not sought to add to their attraction (if they should possess any) by +the embellishments of my invention, or the graces of my periods--the +decorative artifices of execution can never give value to falsehood, +and truth needs them not. A simple landscape, simply described from +nature, has always a charm above the most high-finished compositions +of mere fancy; and, like a moderate painting from the same source, +still imparts a feeling of reality. I hope, therefore, I shall be +excused for attempting some description, slight and unskilful as it +may be, of places and scenery where the human mind has exhibited +some of its most curious and powerful features, and which awaken +reflections of the deepest interest--I allude particularly to the +monastery of _La Trappe_, and to the country of _La Vendee_. The +former had dwelt among the earliest impressions of youth, with +something like the wild and wonderful force of a romantic tale; and I +was anxious to become an eye-witness of what had so long been one of +the most powerful objects of my imagination. The gloomy and almost +inaccessible situation chosen by this strange fraternity for +their convent--their rigid separation from human intercourse--the +infringible taciturnity imposed upon themselves--and the terrible +severity of their penances, are certainly circumstances more +resembling the visionary indulgence of fantasy and fiction, than +actual realities to be met with among living men, and in the present +day. + +With regard to the department of _La Vendee_, whatever serves, trivial +as it may be, to recall or illustrate the history of its wars and the +character of its inhabitants, must ever possess a charm for those who +delight to sympathize with the noble struggles of a gallant people, +conscientiously devoting themselves to the cause of a fallen and +persecuted monarchy, and resisting the cruel and destructive ferocity +of a licentious enemy, who had broken down the most sacred fences of +society, and trampled upon the dearest ties of human nature. + +In these Notes, slight as they are, I can truly promise the reader +that he will find nothing wilfully misrepresented, nor advanced +without just authority; and if the rapid and cursory character of the +observations, allusions, and anecdotes, shall enable an hour to pass +agreeably that has no better employment, I am content, and gratified +with the attainment of all I ever hoped or designed by an unpretending +publication, which I cheerfully dedicate to all who love to unbend +their minds from a critical attitude, and can lounge goodnaturedly +over leaves written by a traveller as idle and careless as themselves, +and who assures them that no one can think more humbly of his +production than himself. + +MARCH 1818. + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. + +Route from Paris to Mortagne.--Excursion to La Trappe.--State of the +Order since the restoration in 1814.--Its foundation and rules under +the Abbe de Rance. + +CHAP. II. + +Ruins of the Convent of the Chartreux.--Forests of Le +Perche.--Mortagne. + +CHAP. III. + +From Mortagne to Rennes.--Soeurs de la Charite.--Alencon.--Laval.--Vitre, +the celebrated residence of Mad. de Sevigne. + +CHAP. IV. + +Rennes.--Route from Rennes to Nantes.--City of Nantes.--Historical +anecdotes. + +CHAP. V. + +Country south of the Loire.--Le Bocage.--Clisson.--Historical +anecdotes.--The Garenne, and River Sevres. + +CHAP. VI. + +General appearance and limits of Le Bocage.--Nature of the mode of +warfare of the Vendeans. + +CHAP. VII. + +The River Loire, from Nantes to Angers. + +CHAP. VIII. + +Saumur to Tours.--Tours to Blois.--Orleans--and Orleans to Paris. + +CHAP. IX. + +Environs of Paris.--Pere la Chaise.--Castle of Vincennes, and Chateau +of Saint Germain.--The Forest, and Vicinity.--Conclusion. + + + + +A VISIT + +TO THE + +MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE + + + + + + +CHAP. I. + +ROUTE FROM PARIS TO MORTAGNE.--EXCURSION TO LA TRAPPE.--STATE OF THE +ORDER SINCE THE RESTORATION IN 1814.--ITS FOUNDATION AND RULES UNDER +THE ABBE DE RANCE. + + +I performed this journey during the months of June, July, August, and +September, a distance of near one thousand miles, and had the singular +good fortune to enjoy the finest weather possible. The perusal of +Madame de La Roche-Jaquelin's interesting work on the Vendean war, +first gave me the idea of visiting the country called le Bocage, the +theatre of so many events, and sufferings of the brave royalists; and, +as the province of le Perche, in which is situated the ancient convent +of La Trappe, was in my route to Bretagne, I resolved to make an +excursion there, in order to satisfy myself of the truth of those +austerities which I had read of in the Memoirs of the Count de +Comminge. + +The route from Paris to Mortagne, in le Perche, leads through Marly, +Versailles, Saint Cyr, Pont Chartrain, La Queue, Houdon, Marrolles, +Dreux, Nonancourt, Tillieres, Verneuil, and Saint Maurice. The roads +are excellent, and the country beautiful. The first post out of Paris +is Nanterre. Two leagues and a half from the barriere, the village +of Ruel, and the park of Malmaison, form a continuation of neat +buildings. At Nanterre, in the campaign of 1815, the Prussians, after +a severe engagement with the retreating troops of the French, had one +regiment of cavalry cut to pieces. At Ruel, the celebrated Cardinal +Richelieu had a palace, which at the Revolution became national +property, and was purchased by Massena, Duc de Rivoli, Prince +D'Essling, lately deceased. The Duchess still resides there. It was +taken possession of by the allies in 1815, and, like Malmaison, +plundered by the troops. There are extensive barracks for cavalry at +this place, at present occupied by the Swiss guards. + +A little farther, between Malmaison and Marly, is a beautiful chateau, +formerly belonging to General Count Bertrand, who accompanied Napoleon +to Saint Helena; it is now the property of M. Ouverard, the banker: +nearly opposite is the residence of the celebrated Abbe Sieyes, who +lives in great retirement. Whatever may have been the political +transgressions of Bertrand, there is something so noble in his +devotion to the fallen fortunes of his master, that it is impossible +not to respect his character. + +At Marly, the water-works and aqueduct for conveying the water from +the river Seine to the palace and gardens of Versailles, are very +curious. The palace of Marly is destroyed; but the basins, which were +constructed by order of Louis XIV. are still to be seen, though in +ruins. Delille, the poet, in his description of the chateau and +beautiful grounds of Marly, says: + + C'est la que tout est grand, que l'art n'est point timide; + La tout est enchante: c'est le Palais d'Armide; + C'est le jardin d'Alcine, ou plutot d'un Heros, + Noble dans sa retraite et grand dans son repos. + Qui cherche encore a vaincre, a dompter des obstacles, + Et ne marche jamais qu'entoure de miracles. + +On quitting Paris, I had procured a letter of introduction from Count +La Cou to Madame de Bellou, at Mortagne, a charming old lady of an +ancient and noble family in that province, who had never quitted the +seat of her ancestors, but remained quiet and respected during all the +storms of the revolution. She received me with kindness, and politely +introduced me to the Sub-Prefect, Monsieur Lamorelie, who gave me a +letter of introduction to the Pere Don Augustin, Grand Prior of La +Trappe. The mayor of the commune of Solignie, who happened to be at +the inn, and learned from the _Aubergiste_, that a stranger intended +visiting La Trappe, very civilly introduced himself to me, and gave me +every necessary direction how to proceed through the forest; at the +same time expressing his surprise that an Englishman should take +the trouble, and undergo the fatigue of penetrating through such a +country, an attempt which few of his own countrymen had ever ventured +to make. It was singular enough that only one person in the town could +be found to accompany me as a guide, or who knew any thing of +the track through the forest, although the abbey is distant only +twenty-five miles. + +I set out with the guide just at day-break, mounted on a small Norman +horse, and armed with pistols and a sword-cane, in case of meeting +with wolves, which the mayor of Solignie had cautioned me against, as +abounding throughout the country. We travelled, after leaving the +main road, at the distance of a league, through a country scarcely +appearing to be inhabited. Here and there a lone cot, a mere speck, +met the eye amidst a landscape composed of nothing but barren wastes +and thick forests, nearly impervious to the light. We had penetrated +about half a mile through one of the latter, my attention occupied +with the romantic wildness of the scene, when we were alarmed by the +howling of a wolf. My guide crossed himself, and began cracking his +whip with the noise and singular dexterity peculiar to the French +postillions; and as we entered a part of the forest, impenetrable but +for traces known only to those who are accustomed to them, he related +(by way of consolation, I suppose,) several stories of the peasantry +having been recently attacked, and some destroyed, by wolves; and one +instance of a woman having had her infant torn from her arms, only a +short time since, in the neighbourhood. + +On quitting the forest the track was now and then diversified by the +ruins of a solitary cottage, or the mouldering remains of a crucifix, +raised by pious hands to mark some event, or to guide the traveller; +and after traversing a rocky plain, covered with heath and wild thyme, +where some herds of sheep and goats were browsing, attended by the +shepherd, we entered the Forest of Bellegarde. This forest spreads +over a large extent of country, and is so dark and intricate, that +those best acquainted with it frequently lose their way. No vestige of +human footsteps or of the track of animals appeared; a mark, here and +there, on some of the trees, was the only direction! Pursuing our way +through turnings and windings the most perplexing, we found ourselves +to be on the overhanging brow of a hill, the descent of which was so +precipitous, that we were under the necessity of dismounting; and by +a winding path, hollowed out in its side, descended through a sort +of labyrinth towards the valley, whose sides were clothed with lofty +woods, rising one above the other. The valley itself is interspersed +with three lakes, connected with each other, and forming a sort of +moat around the ground; in the centre of which appears the venerable +abbey of La Trappe, with its dark gray towers, the deep tone of whose +bell had previously announced to us, that we had nearly reached our +journey's end. + +The situation of this monastery was well adapted to the founder's +views, and to suggest the name it originally received of La Trappe, +from the intricacy of the road which descends to it, and the +difficulty of access or egress, which exists even to this day, though +the woods have been very much thinned since the revolution. Perhaps +there never was any thing in the whole universe better calculated to +inspire religious awe than the first view of this monastery. It was +imposing even to breathlessness. The total solitude--the undisturbed +and chilling silence, which seem to have ever slept over the dark and +ancient woods--the still lakes, reflecting the deep solemnity of the +objects around them--all impress a powerful image of utter seclusion +and hopeless separation from living man, and appear formed at once to +court and gratify the sternest austerities of devotion--to nurse +the fanaticism of diseased imaginations--to humour the wildest +fancies--and promote the gloomiest schemes of penance and privation! + +In descending the steep and intricate path the traveller frequently +loses sight of the abbey, until he has actually reached the bottom; +then emerging from the wood, the following inscription is seen carved +on a wooden cross: + + C'est ici que la mort et que la verite + Elevent leurs flambeaux terribles; + C'est de cette demeure, au monde inaccessible, + Que l'on passe a l'eternite. + +A venerable grove of oak trees, which formerly surrounded the +monastery, was cut down in the revolution. In the gateway of the outer +court is a statue of Saint Bernard, which has been mutilated by the +republicans: he is holding in one hand a church, and in the other a +spade--the emblems of devotion and labour. This gateway leads into a +court, which opens into a second enclosure, and around that are the +granaries, stables, bakehouse, and other offices necessary to the +abbey, which have all been happily preserved. + +Owing to the fatigue of the journey, the heat of the weather, and +having frequently been obliged to retrace our steps, from losing our +way in the woods, it was late before we arrived at the abbey. To the +west, under the glow of the setting sun, the forests were still tinged +with the warmest yet softest colours that faded fast away; and as we +descended towards the Convent, quickening our pace to reach it before +the last gleams of evening departed, there was a silence around us, +which at such a moment, and in such a spot, sunk sorrowfully upon the +heart! Just as I reached the gate the bell tolled in so solemn and +melancholy a tone that it vibrated through my whole frame, and called +strongly to mind the beautiful lines in "Parisina": + + The Convent bells are ringing, + But mournfully and slow; + In the gray square turret swinging, + With a deep sound, to and fro, + Heavily to the heart they go! + +On entering the gate, a lay-brother received me on his knees; and in +a low and whispering voice informed me they were at vespers. The +stillness and gloom of the building--the last rays of the sun scarcely +penetrating through its windows--the deep tones of the monks chanting +the responses, which occasionally broke the silence, filled me with +reverential emotions which I felt unwilling to disturb: it was +necessary however to present my letter of introduction, and Frere +Charle, the secretaire, soon after came out, and received me with +great civility. He appeared a young man about five-and-twenty, with a +handsome and prepossessing countenance. He informed me that the Pere +Abbe was then absent, visiting a convent of Female Trappistes, a +few leagues distant, but that he should be happy to show me every +attention; and requested that in going over the Convent, I would +neither speak nor ask him any questions in those places where I saw +him kneel, or in the presence of any of the Monks. I followed him to +the chapel, where, as soon as the service was over, the bell rung +to summon them to supper. Ranged in double rows, with their heads +enveloped in a large cowl, and bent down to the earth, they chanted +the grace, and then seated themselves. During the repast one of them, +standing, read passages from scripture, reminding them of death, and +of the shortness of human existence; another went round the whole +community, and on his knees kissed their feet in succession, throwing +himself prostrate on the floor at intervals before the image of our +Saviour; a third remained on his knees the whole time, and in that +attitude took his repast. These penitents had committed some fault, +or neglected their religious duties, of which, according to the +regulations, they had accused themselves, and were in consequence +doomed to the above modes of penance. + +The refectory was furnished with long wooden tables and benches; each +person was provided with a trencher, a jug of water, and a cup, having +on it the name of the brother to whom it is appropriated, as Frere +Paul, Frere Francois, &c. which name they assume on taking the vow. +Their supper consisted of bread soaked in water, a little salt, and +two raw carrots, placed by each; water alone is their beverage. The +dinner is varied with a little cabbage or other vegetables: they very +rarely have cheese, and never meat, fish, or eggs. The bread is of the +coarsest kind possible. + +Their bed is a small truckle, boarded, with a single covering, +generally a blanket, no mattress nor pillow; and, as in the former +time, no fire is allowed but one in the great hall, which they never +approach. + +Within these three years a small cabaret has been built near the +Convent for the accommodation of those who may occasionally visit it, +the buildings that remain being but barely sufficient for their own +members, which have been rapidly increasing since its restoration. In +this cabaret I took up my abode for the night, in preference to the +accommodation very kindly offered me by Frere Charle, and retired to +rest, wearied with the day's excursion, and fully satisfied, that all +I had heard, all I had imagined of La Trappe, was infinitely short of +the reality, and that no adequate description could be given of its +awful and dreary solitude; + +Monsieur Elzear de Sabran, in a poem called Le Repentir, lately +published, describing this Monastery, says very justly; + + Temoins d'une commune et secrete souffrance, + Ces freres de douleur, martyrs de l'esperance, + D'une lente torture epuisant les degres, + Constamment reunis, constamment separes, + L'un a l'autre etrangers, a cote l'un de l'autre, + Joignent tout ce malheur encore a tout le notre, + Jamais, dans ses pareils cherchant un tendre appui, + Un coeur ne s'ouvre aux coeurs qui souffrent comme lui. + +The following morning the matin bell summoned me to the Convent, +and Frere Charle attended me to the burial ground; here have been +deposited the remains of two of the brothers, deceased since the +restoration of their order in 1814. Another grave was ready prepared; +as soon as an interment takes place, one being always opened for the +next that may die. The two graves were marked with simple wooden +crosses, bearing the following inscriptions: + + F. Nicolas. Frere DONNE + Decede. le 24 Fevrier 1816. + + * * * * * + +On the other: + + F. AUGUSTINUS. NOVITIUS + die 26 mensis novembris + ANNO. 1816 DECESSIT. + REQUIESCAT IN PACE + AMEN. + + * * * * * + +In the centre of the cemetery is the grave of M. De Rance. His +monument, with his figure carved at full length in a recumbent +posture, was removed when the destruction of the old church took +place; it is now a complete ruin, and a few stones alone mark the spot +of its ancient founder's grave, which is kept free from weeds with +pious reverence and care. The revolution, which like a torrent swept +all before it, did not even spare the dead. + +[Illustration: RUINS of the ANCIENT CHURCH of LA TRAPPE.] + +While I was contemplating the ruins around me, and watching the +motions of a venerable figure in silent prayer at one of the angles, +the bell tolled, when both Frere Charle and the Monk dropped instantly +on their knees. How forcibly were the following lines of Pope recalled +to my mind! + + Lo, the struck deer, in some sequester'd part, + Lies down to die, (the arrow in his heart;) + There, hid in shades, and wasting day by day, + Inly he bleeds, and pants his soul away. + +The number of Monks who have taken the vow are not in proportion to +the others, who are lay brothers, and _Freres Donnes_; in all there +are about one hundred, besides novices, who are principally composed +of boys, and who do not wear the same habit. The Trappistes, who +compose the first order, are clothed in dark brown, with brown mantle +and hood; the others are in white, with brown mantle and hood. +I occasionally caught a glimpse of their faces, but it was only +momentarily; and I can easily believe, with their perpetual silence, +that two people well known to each other, might inhabit the same spot, +without ever being aware of it, so completely are their faces hidden +by their large cowl. The Trappistes, or first order, are distinguished +by the appellation of _Freres Convers_, the others by that of +_Religieux de Coeur_. + +The hardships undergone by these monks appear almost insupportable +to human nature, and notwithstanding the immense number of deaths +occasioned by their rigorous austerities, the Cenobites of La Trappe, +at the suppression of their order, amounted to one hundred monks, +sixty-nine lay brothers, and fifty-six _Freres Donnes_. The inmates +are classed under these three heads; but the lay brothers, who take +the same vows, and follow the same rules, are principally employed as +servants, and in transacting the temporal concerns of the abbey. The +_Freres Donnes_ are brothers given for a time; these last are not +properly belonging to the order, they are rather, religious persons, +whose business or connexions prevent their joining the order +absolutely, but, who wishing to renew serious impressions, or to +retire from the world for a given period, come here and conform +strictly to the regulations while they remain, without wishing to join +the order for life. Many persons on their first conversion, or after +some peculiar dispensations of Providence, retire here for a season. + +In the refectory I observed a board hung up, with "_Table pour +l'Office Divin_," written over it, and under it the regulations or +order of service to be performed for that week, which are occasionally +varied, but never diminished in their rigour. Frere Charle said, +that the whole were strictly observed, and were frequently much more +severe; for the Pere Abbe had instituted more austere regulations +than formerly, with the only one exception, of the sick being allowed +medicines; and, in cases of great debility, a small quantity of meat. + +The Table "_pour l'Office Divin_," was as follows. + + Dimanche....12 Lecons et Communion. + Lundi....... 3 Lecons. + Mardi.......12 Lecons--a jeun--Travail. + Mercredi....12 Lecons. + Jeudi....... 3 Lecons. + Vendredi....12 Lecons--a jeun--Travail. + Samedi......12 Lecons--a jeun--Travail. + +Their mode of life and regulations exist nearly in the same state +as established by the founder; in reciting them, such horrible +perversions of human nature and reason make it almost difficult to +believe the existence of so severe an order, and lead us to wonder +at the artificial miseries, which the ingenuity of pious but morbid +enthusiasm can inflict upon itself. The abstinence practised at La +Trappe allows not the use of meat, fish, eggs, or butter; and a very +limited quantity of bread and vegetables. They only eat twice a +day; which meals consist of a slender repast at about eleven in the +morning, and two ounces of bread and two raw carrots in the evening: +both together do not at any time exceed twelve ounces. The same spirit +of mortification is observable in their cells, which are very small, +and have no other furniture than a bed of boards, a human skull, and a +few religious books. + +Silence is at all times rigidly maintained; conversation is never +permitted: should two of them even be seen standing near each other, +though pursuing their daily labour, and preserving the strictest +silence, it is considered as a violation of their vow, and highly +criminal; each member is therefore as completely insulated as if he +alone existed in the Monastery. None but the Pere Abbe knows the name, +age, rank, or even the native country of any member of the community: +every one, at his first entrance, assumes another name, as I before +observed, and with his former appellation, each is supposed to abjure, +not only the world, but every recollection and memorial of himself and +connexions: no word ever escapes from his lips by which the others can +possibly guess who he is, or where he comes from; and persons of the +same name, family, and neighbourhood, have often lived together in the +Convent for years, unknown to each other, without having suspected +their proximity. + +The abstraction of mind practised at La Trappe, and the prevention of +all external communication with the world is such, that few but the +superior know any thing of what is passing in it. It has been related, +that so little information of the affairs of mankind did these people +receive, that the death of Louis XIV. was not known there for years, +except by the Father Abbe; and such was their state of seclusion, that +a Nobleman having taken a journey of five hundred miles, purposely to +see the Monastery, could scarcely find in the neighbouring villages +one person who knew where it was situated. Indeed, at the present day, +it is quite astonishing how little is known of this place, and how +very few, even among those in its immediate vicinity, have ever +visited it.[1] + +On the great festivals they rise at midnight; otherwise they are not +called until three quarters past one: at two they assemble in the +Chapel, where they perform different services, public and private, +until seven in the morning, according to the regulations of the week, +as exemplified in the "_Table pour l'Office Divin_". At this hour they +go out to labour in the open air. Their work is of the most fatiguing +kind, is never intermitted, winter or summer, and admits of no +relaxation from the state of the weather. + +[Footnote 1: Among the most frequent visitors of La Trappe, was +the unfortunate James the Second. His first visit was on the 20th +November, 1690, where he was received by M. de Rance, whose account of +it is very interesting.] + +When their labour is over, they go into Chapel for a short time, until +eleven o'clock, the hour of repast; at a quarter after eleven they +read till noon; and afterwards lie down to rest for an hour: they are +then summoned into the garden, where they again work until three; +then read again for three quarters of an hour, and retire for another +quarter to their private meditations, by way of preparation for +vespers, which begin at four, and end at six; at seven they again +enter the Chapel, and at eight they leave it, and retire to rest. + +At the hour of their first repast, I again attended Frere Charle to +the eating-room, where nearly the same forms were observed as at their +evening-meal; a small basin of boiled cabbage, two raw carrots, and +a small piece of black bread, with a jug of water, constituted their +solitary meal. A Monk, during the whole time, read sentences from +Scripture; and a small hand-bell filled up the intervals of his +silence, and proclaimed a cessation from eating, or movement of +any sort. Over the door of the Refectory I observed the following +inscription in Latin:--"Better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, +than a stalled ox, and hatred therewith". + +Frere Charle invited me to partake of the frugal fare of his order. He +said, "You will forgive my laying before you a vegetable repast; it +is all that I have in my power to offer you, but you will confer a +pleasure by accepting it". It was impossible to refuse, for I felt I +should appear ungrateful after the attentions that had been shown me, +if I had. Frere Charle conducted me into an apartment, in which I was +gratified to observe a well executed portrait of the Abbe de Rance, +which, at the destruction of the Monastery, had been preserved by the +surgeon of the ancient fraternity, who continued to reside there until +the period of his death, four or five years since. This person was +greatly respected by all the people round the country, and resorted +to by all who sought relief either from sickness or misery!--Had the +other brothers followed his example of remaining, in all probability +their Convent might have been spared, for the accumulation of wealth +could not be laid to their charge; and as their monastic vows obliged +them to remain within the Monastery, they were most unlikely to incur +the suspicion of any political intrigues.--How indeed could men, whose +whole existence was passed in solitude and penance, and who never +conversed even among themselves, have been dangerous to those +turbulent spirits who had overturned the government and all the +religious institutions of their country! + +In the portrait, the Abbe is dressed in the habit of the order, a +white gown and hood, and sitting with a book before him, in which he +appears to be writing; on the same table, before him, are a crucifix +and a skull. The following inscription is painted in one corner by the +artist: + + "ARM'D. LE BOUTTHILLIER DE RANCE. S'R + SCAUANT. et celebre Abbe Reformateur De La Trappe. + Mort en 1700. a pres de 77 ans, et de 40 ans de la plus + austere penitence". + +The Monastery of La Trappe is one of the most ancient Abbeys of the +order of Benedictins: it was established under the pontificate of +Innocent the Second, during the reign of Louis VII. in the year 1140, +by Rotrou, the second Count of Perche, and is said to have been built +to accomplish a vow, made in the peril of shipwreck. In commemoration +of this circumstance, the roof was made in the shape of the bottom of +a ship inverted. It was founded under the auspices of Saint Bernard, +the first Abbot of Clairvaux, the celebrated preacher in favour of +the Crusades. Many ages, however, had elapsed, since its first +institution, when the Father Abbot de Rance, the celebrated reformer +of his time, determined to become a member, whose singular history and +conversion was the subject of a poem by Monsieur Barthe. + +The Abbe de Rance became a Monk of the Benedictin order of La Trappe, +in 1660, and his conversion was attributed to a lady whom he tenderly +loved. They had been separated for some time by her parents; she +having written to him to remove her for the purpose of becoming united +in marriage, he set off, but, during his journey, she was seized with +a fever and died. Totally ignorant of the circumstance, he approached +the house under cover of the night, and got into her apartment through +the window. The first object he beheld was the coffin which contained +the body of his beloved mistress! It had been made of lead, but being +found to be too short, they had, with unheard of brutality; severed +her head from her body! Horror-struck with the shocking spectacle, he, +from that hour, renounced all connexion with the world, and imposed +upon himself the most rigid austerities, which he continued until his +death, forty years after. + +When M. de Rance undertook the superintendance of the Monastery, it +exhibited a melancholy picture, of the greatest declension, and it +is curious to peruse the steps by which he effected so wonderful a +change;[2] and how men could ever feel it either an inclination or a +duty to enter upon a mode of life so different from the common ways of +thinking or feeling. + +[Footnote 2: Reglements de L'Abbaye, La Maison-Dieu Notre Dame de La +Trappe, par Dom. Armand de Rance.] + +The Monks of La Trappe were not only immersed in luxury and sloth, but +were abandoned to the most scandalous excesses; most of them lived by +robbery, and several had committed assassinations on the travellers +who had occasion to traverse the woods. The neighbourhood shrunk with +terror from the approach of men who never went abroad unarmed, and +whose excursions were marked with bloodshed and violence. The Banditti +of La Trappe was the appellation by which they were most generally +distinguished. Such were the men amongst whom M. de Rance resolved to +fix his abode; all his friends endeavouring to dissuade him from an +undertaking, they deemed alike hopeless and dangerous. + +"Unarmed, and unassisted," [3] says his historian, "but in the panoply +of God, and by his Spirit, he went alone amidst this company of +ruffians, every one of whom was bent on his destruction. With +undaunted boldness, he began by proposing the strictest reform, and +not counting his life dear to him, he described the full intent of his +purpose, and left them no choice but obedience or Expulsion". + +[Footnote 3: The work from which I have taken this, is a translation +by Mrs. Schimmelpenninck of Dom. Claude Lancelot's Narrative, +published in 1667. The present regulations not differing from the +former, I have extracted some of the most important.] + +"Many were the dangers M. de Rance underwent; plans were laid, at +various times, to poison him, to waylay and assassinate him, and even +once one of his monks shot at him; but the pistol, which was applied +close to his head, flashed in the pan, and missed fire. By the good +providence of God all these plans were frustrated, and M. de Rance +not only brought his reform to bear, but several of his most violent +persecutors became his most stedfast adherents; many were, after a +short time, won over by his piety--the rest left the Monastery. +He especially, who had shot at M. de Rance, became eminently +distinguished for his piety and learning, and was afterwards Sub-Prior +of La Trappe". + +M. de Rance lived forty years at the head of this singular society, +and the same ardor and piety continued to distinguish him to the last. +The excess of self-denial and discipline, exercised by this order, +which might readily be doubted, became more known, especially to this +country, at the time of the French Revolution, when they shared the +fate of dissolution with the various religious orders in France. On +that occasion many of them sought an asylum in England, and were +settled in Dorsetshire, where they received the kind protection and +benevolent assistance of Mr. Weld, until the restoration enabled most +of them to return; and, surprising as it may appear in the present +age, notwithstanding the perpetual violence imposed by their +regulations on every human feeling, many are found anxious to enter +the establishment. + +When I was about to take my leave of Frere Charle, he said, "he hoped +I was pleased with my humble fare: to such as it was I had been truly +welcome". Indeed he had treated me with the kindest, most unaffected +hospitality; he had laid the table, spread the dishes before me, stood +the whole time by the side of my chair, and pressed me to eat: How +could I not be thankful? I requested he would be seated, but he +observed that it was not proper for him to be so. His manners and +general deportment bespoke him a well-bred gentleman; and when I +ventured to ask if I might make a memorandum of his name, he bowed his +head with meekness and resignation, and said, "I have now no other but +that which was bestowed on me when I took the vow, which severs me +from the world for ever!" It was impossible not to be affected at the +manner and tone of voice in which he uttered this. When I said that +perhaps he would like that I should leave an acknowledgment in +writing, expressive of the gratitude I felt at my kind and hospitable +reception, he appeared much pleased, and instantly procured me paper. +I left with him the following lines: + + "Convent of La Trappe, July 20, 1817. + + "I have this day visited the Convent of La Trappe, + and in the absence of the Grand Prior, to whom I + brought a letter of introduction from Monsieur Lamorelie, + Sub-Prefect of Mortagne, I was received and + have been entertained by Frere Charle Marie, his Secretary. + + "It is quite impossible that I can do justice to the + kind, polite, and hospitable reception I have met with + from him, by any expressions in writing. I can only + observe, that it has made an impression on my mind + never to be effaced! If these worthy and pious people + have abandoned the world for the solitude and austerities + of La Trappe, they have not forgotten, in their own self-denial, + the benevolence and benignity due to strangers. + May their self-devotion meet with its reward!" + +I now took my leave of the Convent with feelings which I will not +pretend to describe, but which, together with the impressions I +received when I first entered it, and the whole circumstances of my +visit, I am conscious of retaining while "Memory holds her seat". The +following lines, by P. Mandard, on quitting La Trappe, convey a very +faithful and poetical picture of this extraordinary solitude: + + --Saint desert, sejour pur et paisible, + Solitude profonde, au vice inaccessible; + Impetueux torrens, et vous sombres forets, + Recevez mes adieux, comme aussi mes regrets! + Toujours epris de vous, respectable retraite, + Puisse-je, dans le cours d'une vie inquiete, + Dans ce flux eternel de folie et d'erreur, + Ou flotte tristement notre malheureux coeur; + Puisse-je, pour charmer mes ennuis et mes peines, + Souvent fuir en esprit au bord de vos fontaines, + Egarer ma pensee au milieu de vos bois, + Par un doux souvenir rappeler mille fois + De vos Saints habitans les touchantes images, + Penetrer, sur leurs pas, dans vos grottes sauvages, + Me placer sur vos monts, et la, prennant l'essort, + Aller chercher en Dieu ma joie, et mon tresor! + + + + +CHAP. II. + +VAL-DIEU.--RUINS OF THE CONVENT OF THE CHARTREUSE.--FORESTS OF LE +PERCHE, MORTAGNE. + + +I quitted _La Trappe_ in the afternoon of the third day after my +arrival there, for the Val-Dieu, which lies three leagues to the east +of Mortagne, taking the villages of Rinrolles and Prepotin in my way; +the latter stands in the midst of a forest. By this road, so bad that +it scarcely deserves the name, a great distance is saved, but the +romantic scenery of the approach to La Trappe is lost. The one we took +through the forest of Bellegarde more than doubles the distance; +but the Abbey is seen as in the centre of a lake beneath, and +the continual beauty and wildness of the landscape render it far +preferable. Until the Revolution this was the only road, the other +having been made when the lands became national property, and were +sold to the peasantry. + +After passing through the above villages, we came round by Tourouvre, +a village on a height, which has a manufactory for glass. I did +not stop to view it, having several leagues to go through a wooded +country. Soon after crossing the main road leading into Bretagne, +we rode by the side of cultivated lands and orchards resembling the +western parts of Devonshire, of which the narrow lanes and high hedges +reminded me very much, until we entered the forest leading to the +Val-Dieu. Between eight and nine in the evening we came to the edge +bounding that part of the Vale by which it is approached, in the +direction we had taken. It was very considerably out of our way, owing +to the guide having mistaken his road and turned to the left instead +of the right. After resting a few minutes on the brow of the hill, we +began our descent by a steep and narrow pathway. When we were midway +down the glen, the ruins of the ancient Chartreuse suddenly burst upon +the view! At this moment all the terrors of the declivity, and the +momentary expectation of meeting some of the wolves with which the +forest abounds, vanished from my mind before the feelings of delight +which the enchanting scene called forth. The almost perpendicular view +of the Vale beneath, had an effect tremendous yet pleasing: on the +left was a lake, seeming to encircle an ancient convent embosomed in +a wood; a thick forest covered the surrounding heights, and before me +stood the remains of the ancient Priory, with its gateway and lodge so +perfect as to create no suspicion of the destruction within. + +[Illustration: RUINS of the GATEWAY of the ANCIENT CHARTREUSE.] + +This had been the hottest day and finest weather I had experienced +during my journey. It was a sweet evening, and the rich tints of the +departing sun-beams among the woods, with the solitary calmness of the +scenery around, were circumstances that made a strong impression on my +feelings. Those who have never traversed the forests of this country +can form but a very imperfect idea of what they are, or of the +death-like awful stillness that reigns within them; for many miles +together they form a dense shade, which, like a dark awning, +completely conceals the sun from the view: even on the brightest day +the sun's rays are only visible as from the bottom of a deep well! The +forests in Le Perche are reckoned the most extensive in France, and +every where abound with vast quantities of game. + +I was received on alighting from my horse by a M. Boderie, a +good humoured hospitable man, who, with his family, are the only +inhabitants of this lonesome spot. I found afterwards that he had seen +better days: he informed me the Val-Dieu property was purchased at the +dissolution of the Monastery by the present proprietor, who resided at +Paris, and allowed him, being his friend, to occupy that part of the +building which had not been destroyed. He made many apologies for the +badness of the accommodations and the homeliness of the fare he had to +offer me, which I considered as unnecessary, as what he possessed was +tendered with unaffected cheerfulness. + +The Prussians in 1815 occupied this country, and notwithstanding M. +Boderie was absent at that time serving in the body guard of Louis +XVIII, whom he had accompanied in his retreat to Ghent, they plundered +him of every article, not even leaving his wife a change of linen. +The numerous accounts I have heard from people of respectability and +loyalty, of the treatment experienced from the Prussians, excites the +greatest regret that they were not able to distinguish the innocent +from the guilty. Many families have been ruined, or greatly distressed +in their circumstances who were devoted to the cause of their +Sovereign. Such are the inevitable consequences of war! + +The Val-Dieu extends upwards of three miles in length, surrounded by +almost impenetrable woods, except where paths have been cut. It has +three lakes, one communicating with the other, containing great +quantities of fish. The Monastery, it is evident from the remains of +its ruins, and from the boundary wall, still entire, must have been of +prodigious extent. M. Boderie informed me, that the plan, of which +he had seen an engraving, showed it to have been one of the most +considerable in the kingdom: some idea may be formed of its former +celebrity and extent by the remains of six hundred fire-places being +still traceable. A colonnade surrounded the whole, forming an oblong +square, in the centre of which was a jet d'eau, with several smaller +ones, the basins of which are still to be seen; the space within +formed a garden, with delicious walks, resembling those in the Palais +Royal. + +The gate-way remains perfect, excepting only that the images over the +side doors have been mutilated. The one in the centre (over the great +entrance) is still in excellent preservation, and appears to be finely +executed: it is the figure of the Virgin Mary in gray marble, the +size of life, seated, with the infant Jesus in her arms. On a scroll +beneath are these letters:-- + + ECCE MATER + TVA. + 1760. + +Several old chesnut trees and elms still remain, which once formed +a fine avenue in front of the building, from whence the prospect is +strikingly beautiful. The eye passes over rocks, rugged, broken, and +abrupt towards their summits, crowned and darkened with wood; and the +narrow road winding between the trees, until it loses itself in the +forest, forms a feature very gratifying to the traveller. The solitude +of the place, as I viewed it at the close of day, occasioned mingled +sensations of pleasure and pain. It was impossible to resist the +imposing power of a situation, where every natural object was deeply +tinged with the poetical character, and every remnant of architecture +associated with the romance of religious feeling. I recalled and dwelt +upon various passages of the poets inspired by similar scenes, and +thought of the holy and enthusiastic minds which had here devoted +themselves to the sublimest duties and severest sacrifices of the +altar; and felt, that had I lived in those days, I, perhaps, could +have become an inmate of walls which seem to have been erected +to exclude the evils of life, and to nurture only the enchanting +abstractions of unpolluted virtue and happiness: but the present +day has brought with it a general philosophy and knowledge of human +nature, which lessen the delight of contemplating the calm repose of +such a seclusion, and have taught that these retreats from the world +were not always retreats from vice; that the sacrifices of monkish +privacy were not always those of selfish feelings; and that the +austerities once practised here, as now at La Trappe, might perhaps +arise more frequently from disappointed pride and ambition, than +from the pure feelings of pious resignation. In the overthrow of the +monarchy and that of the priesthood, this venerable pile became the +object of popular vengeance; and had the Revolution done no more than +effected the dissolution of the different orders of monks and nuns, +every reflecting mind must have been pleased: the removal of those +abuses, like the division of landed property into smaller portions, +(whereby the country in general became more cultivated and +productive,) was serviceable to France; and, if any circumstance can +restore permanent tranquillity, it will be the interest which the +different landholders have in the soil and the representative system, +which will serve to check the ambition of its future governors. +Already the good effects of these are to be perceived; and the +excessive abuses, insolence, and profligacy, of ancient ministerial +oppression, which paved the way for the downfall of the monarchy, and, +like a pestilence, destroyed that which was good with that which was +evil, will be prevented in future. + +It is, nevertheless, melancholy to observe the traces of devastation +visible in all directions: the people themselves appear not to regard +it, but this may arise partly from the long and habitual feelings +generated by the scenes to which the Revolution daily gave rise, and +partly from the constitutional cheerfulness of the natives, who seldom +view objects through the same dark medium that ours are supposed to +do, and who, though they are not celebrated for patience, are of all +mankind the least liable to despondency. When I spoke to M. Boderie of +my regret at the destruction of an ancient structure like the one in +question, his answer was, immediately, "oui c'est bien malheureux; +mais enfin que voulez-vous?" He was "desole" or had "le coeur tres +sensible a tout cela;" but finished by "il faut se consoler". With +this sort of philosophy they are always ready to view the past, and +accept of consolation, and in amusement, seek to bear or dissipate +the calamities inseparable from such a state of events, without even +appearing to repine. None of them will ever enter into conversation on +the subject if it can be avoided. + +The following day, having taken leave of my hospitable host, who +refused any compensation, I returned to Mortagne by another route, +through the Forest of Val-Dieu, more dark and difficult to penetrate +than the other; but the guide was better acquainted with it, and took +the road by Saint Maure and Saint Eloi, through a fine country, highly +cultivated, and abounding in beautiful scenery and distant landscapes. +It was late at night before I reached Mortagne, greatly fatigued from +the excessive heat of the weather. + +I dined the following day with Madame de Bellou, whose kind attention +and elegant hospitality, during the time I remained at Mortagne, I +must ever remember with sentiments of sincere gratitude. This lady had +invited Monsieur Lamorelie, the Sub-Prefect, one of the most elegant +men I had met with in France, with several other gentlemen and ladies, +to meet me. Among the party were Madame de Fontenay, Monsieur and +Mademoiselle Claire de Vanssay--very agreeable people: the latter +possessed, without great beauty, all the charms and vivacity of her +countrywomen. In the evening we went to an assembly, where I had an +opportunity of seeing, and being presented to, all the respectable +families that yet remained in town; for at this season many were at +their country-seats. The ease, elegance, and good manners of the +company composing this society, I never saw excelled in any country. +It is but common justice to observe, that in Mortagne, which is the +residence of all the best families in the province, there is to be +found all the characteristic good breeding for which the French were +so long, and so deservedly celebrated. + +The town of Mortagne stands on the declivity of a hill, in the +province of Le Perche, bordering on Normandy. The high road to +Bretagne passes through it. It has only one church remaining out +of seven, six having been destroyed at the Revolution. It has some +manufactories for serges and coarse cloths, and contains between five +and six thousand inhabitants, in the department of L'Orne. From its +elevated position and chalky soil, the air is pure and the situation +healthy. The inhabitants are under the necessity of supplying +themselves with water from the valley, as there are no wells on +account of the rocky height it stands on, which is attended with +inconvenience and expense; otherwise it would be a desirable residence +for those who wish to unite economy with a change of climate. + +During the Vendean war, this town became, at different periods, the +victim of either party as they were successful; and it suffered +severely. The hotel kept by Gautier (Les trois Lions), which is +likewise la Poste, and le Bureau des Diligences, is the best, and +the people are very obliging; but it partakes of the same want +of cleanliness, that so invariably distinguishes all similar +establishments in this country. + + + + +CHAP. III. + +FROM MORTAGNE TO RENNES, SOEURS DE LA CHARITE. ALENCON, LAVAL, VITRE, +THE RESIDENCE OF THE CELEBRATED MADAME DE SEVIGNE. RENNES. + + +I travelled by the diligence from Mortagne to Alencon and Laval: we +arrived at the former place to dinner, and at the latter to remain all +night. The carriage was filled with _Soeurs de la Charite_, + + "Qui, pour le malheur seul connoissant la tendresse, + Aux besoins du vieil-age immollent leur jeunesse," + +on their way to different places in Bretagne, on charitable missions, +by the order of the Superior at Paris. Four of these were young and +beautiful women, none of whom could have attained the age of twenty; +yet these females had already devoted themselves to attend on the sick +and poor wherever their services might be required, for which purpose +they receive a suitable education, in an Hospital at Paris, in such +branches of medicine and surgery as may render them useful. They +are distributed throughout the kingdom to attend the hospitals and +prisons, which they do with the delicacy and attention peculiar to +their sex. Of all the classes of females who thus devote themselves to +a religious life, and to acts of charity, none are more respected, or +more truly serviceable to their fellow-creatures. Their dress consists +of a coarse brown jacket and gown, with a high linen cap, sloping down +over the shoulders, and a rosary hanging round their waist. + +Quitting Beauregard we crossed the river Sart: here the Province of +Le Perche terminates, and we enter that of Normandy. For many miles, +travelling close to the Forest of Bourse, the roads are excellent, +though hilly, and the country highly cultivated in all directions. The +peasantry were getting in the hay and rye harvest, and large tracts of +wheat and barley were nearly ready for cutting. + +The town of Alencon is the capital of L'Orne-sur-Sart. It stands in +the middle of a fertile plain. The lace made here is the most valuable +of any manufactured in France. The Hotel of the Prefecture is a +fine building. After dinner I went to the theatre, (formerly an old +manufactory), to see the _Hotel Garni_ and _Les deux Suisses_: both +performances were of a very moderate cast. The audience consisted +principally of the military in garrison. + +On the road from Alencon to Laval, we were guarded the whole day by +two troopers of the Gendarmerie, who are quartered along the whole +line of road from the capital; they are well armed and mounted, and +keep a very vigilant guard. At every place we stopped our passports +were examined. The police of this country is observed with greater +rigor than at any former period of its history, with regard to +passports. The circumstances under which the restoration took place, +the political state of France, in regard to other powers, the +conflicting interests and opinions of various parties, probably render +it highly expedient. On the arrival of a stranger at Paris, his +passport must be presented, and inscribed in the police book. +The revision of the one under which the person has travelled is +indispensably necessary. It is then carried to the British Ambassador, +(if the stranger be of that nation), or to the minister of that +country to which he belongs, where it must obtain the Ambassador's +signature. It is next taken to the office of the Minister of Foreign +Affairs, where it is deposited until the following day, for which ten +livres are charged, and afterwards to the Prefecture of the Police, to +be signed there in its turn: and when all this is done no one can quit +the capital for the interior without its being again signed at the +Prefecture of the police. + +From Alencon, we passed the Briante, a small river, at Ville Neuve, +where the road begins to skirt the Forest of Moultonue. At Mayenne, +the river of that name divides the provinces. The whole of this +country is singularly beautiful. I observed vast quantities of buck +wheat, which the French call _bled noir_ or _sarazin_. The country was +very much enclosed, producing a great contrast to the vast tracts of +land through which I had passed without a single division. + +At two leagues from Mayenne we crossed the river Aisne, winding +through a beautiful valley, between Martigne and Louverne. On the left +the river forms a small lake, surrounded by a wood at the foot of a +very long and steep hill. + +The town of Mayenne is ancient and irregularly built, the river +Mayenne running through it. The ruins of an old wall and some decayed +towers remain of the fortifications which were taken by assault, after +several bloody attempts, during the siege by the English, in 1424. + +At Laval, where I stopped, after again crossing the Mayenne, I +entered the province of Bretagne: it is an old dirty town, completely +intersected by the river, and has a manufactory for coarse cloths and +cottons. The _Tete Noire_ is one of the worst inns I have met with in +the country. The department of the Isle-et-Vilaine commences here. + +This place is celebrated in the history of the Vendean war by the +refuge Madame de Laroche-Jaquelin sought there, after the deplorable +defeat of the royalist army at the battle of Mans, where it received +its death-blow. The wreck of that army, under M. de Laroche-Jaquelin, +were driven from it again on the following day, and from that +hour never rallied so as to make any stand against the victorious +republicans. + +Quitting Laval the day after my arrival, I ascended a long and steep +hill, travelled by the side of the forest of Petre, and came to Vitre, +where I remained all night for the purpose of visiting the chateau of +the celebrated Madame de Sevigne,[4] whose estate has descended to a +distant branch of her family, who had the good fortune to save it from +destruction during the revolution. The grounds are kept in excellent +order. Her picture hangs in the apartment in which she composed her +interesting and elegant letters, and every article of furniture +carefully preserved is shown to strangers. The distance from Vitre to +Rennes is seven leagues, over a road which becomes gradually less and +less Interesting. + +[Footnote 4: Marie de Rabutin, Marchioness de Sevigne, was the +daughter of the Baron de Chantal, and born in 1626: she espoused at +the age of eighteen the Marquis de Sevigne, who fell in a duel in +1651, leaving her with one son and a daughter, to whose education +she paid strict attention: the daughter married in 1669 the Count de +Grignan, Commandant in Provence, and it was on a visit to her that the +Marchioness caught a fever and died in 1696. Her son Charles, Marquis +de Sevigne, was one of the admirers of Ninon de L'Enclos, and had +a dispute with Madame Dacier respecting the sense of a passage in +Horace. He died in 1713. (Moreri.)] + + +Rennes is the chief city of the Isle-et-Vilaine, and in former times +was the capital of Bretagne. It is a large ancient built town, +standing on a vast plain, between the rivers Isle and Vilaine. It has +a hall of justice, (Cour Royale,) an episcopal palace, and a foundry +for cannon. A more dismal dirty looking city, or a more uninteresting +one to a stranger, is seldom to be seen. Few traces remain of its +ancient splendor; the old rampart, which once encompassed it, now +forms a promenade. + +Its commerce is considerable, being the entrepot for grain and cattle, +with which it supplies Paris and the Southern Provinces, not so +abundant in their produce. Jane of Flanders, Countess of Montfort, +the most extraordinary woman of her time, resided here, during the +imprisonment of her husband in the palace of the Louvre, by Philippe +de Valois,[5] when Edward the Third of England invaded France. +Hennebon, when attacked by Charles of Blois, was defended by the +Countess, and relieved by Sir Walter Manny, whom Edward had sent with +a body of 6,000 archers to her succour. The garrison, encouraged by +so rare an example of female valour, defended themselves against an +immense army, composed of French, Spaniards, Genoese, and Bretons, +who frequently assaulted it, and were as vigorously repulsed. On one +occasion, Froissart mentions her sallying out at the head of a body of +two hundred cavalry, throwing the enemy into great confusion, doing +great execution among them, and setting fire to the tents and +magazines, which were entirely destroyed. + +[Footnote 5: Among the brave knights who engaged in so many battles +and perilous adventures, and other feats of arms, Froissart mentions +Philip, as opposed to those heroes of high renown, Edward of England, +the Prince of Wales his son, the Duke of Lancaster, Sir Reginald Lord +Cobham, Sir Walter Manny of Hainault, Sir John Chandos, Sir Fulk +Harley, and many others recorded in his book for worth and prowess. +"In France also was found good chivalry, strong of limb and stout of +heart, and in great abundance, for the kingdom of France was never +brought so low as to want men ever ready for combat. Such was King +Philipe de Valois, a bold and hardy knight, and his son King John, +also John king of Bohemia, and Charles Count of Alencon his son".] + +The population of Rennes is 27,000. It is at present garrisoned by one +thousand troops, and people are of opinion that government finds it no +easy task to keep down the spirit of the Vendeans, who are said to +be, "plus Royalistes que le Roi". There appears every where a strong +spirit of dissatisfaction on the part of the Royalists, at the general +preference given to those who were employed under the late ruler in +places of public trust, and who were avowed enemies to the restoration +of Louis XVIII. + + + + +CHAP. IV. + +ROUTE FROM RENNES TO NANTES. CITY OF NANTES. HISTORICAL ANECDOTES. + + +Arriving at the first post, we crossed the river Vilaine, and between +this and Rondun passed the river Bruck, and ascended a high mountain +between Rondun and La Breharaye. At this place we quitted the +department of the Isle-et-Vilaine. Crossing the Cher, we arrived at +Derval, and from thence at Nozai, passing several large lakes, +and then over the river Don. The whole of this distance, with the +exception of the hill already mentioned, is composed of flat sandy +plains, mostly uncultivated, and the road is very rough. + +From Nozai to Ancenis we crossed the river Isac; from thence to Redon, +Herie, to La Croix Blanche, along the bank of the river; and after +mounting another steep hill, we descended into an extensive plain, +leading to Gesvres and Nantes. + +The whole of this country north of the Loire, from Rennes to Nantes, +the triangular point resting upon Angers, is the country of the +Chouans, which it is necessary, in reference to the Vendean war, to +distinguish from the country south of the Loire, in the department of +the Loire Inferieure, called le Bocage, or la Vendee. Although the +latter was the scene of the more desperate warfare between the +republicans and the royalists, yet the former had its share of +bloodshed and misery. The whole country on both banks of the Loire, as +far as Angers, is classic ground to those who revere the efforts by +which the Vendeans so long resisted the republicans. + +The city of Nantes is the chief seat of the Prefecture of the +department of the Loire Inferieure, standing on the right bank of the +river, surrounded by its ancient rampart, of a circular form, and in +good preservation: on the opposite bank stand the ruined tower +and mouldering bastions of Permil. This spot is interesting to an +Englishman, from the memorable events to which the fatal pretensions +of Edward the Third gave rise, and which occupy the pages of French +and English history, during a period of more than a century[6]. + +[Footnote 6: In 1343, Edward the Third laid siege to this place. +Froissart mentions the English army being drawn out on a hill, in +battle array, near the town. The ground rises a little in this +direction, but, I should suppose, it must have been on the right bank, +as the country there is hilly, and this ancient fortress must have +defended the passage of the river. "The king himself," says the +Chronicle, "with the rest of his army, advanced towards Rennes, +burning and ruining the country on all sides, and was most joyfully +received by the whole army who lay before it, and had been there for +a considerable time. When he had tarried there five days, he learned +that the Lord Charles of Blois was at Nantes, collecting a large force +of men at arms. He set out, therefore, leaving those whom he had found +at Rennes, and came before Nantes, which he besieged as closely as he +could, but was unable to surround it, such was its size and extent. +The marshals, therefore, and their people, overran the country and +destroyed it. The king of England, one day, drew out his army in +battle array on a hill near Nantes, in expectation that the Lord +Charles would come forth and offer him an opportunity of fighting with +him: but, having waited from morning until noon in vain, they returned +to their quarters: the light horse, however, in their retreat, +galloped up to the barriers, and set fire to the suburbs". + +"The king of England, during the siege, made frequent skirmishes, but +without success, always losing some of his men; when, therefore, he +found he could gain nothing by his assaults, and that the Lord Charles +would not come out into the plains to fight him, he established there +the Earl of Oxford, Sir Henry Beaumont, the Lord Percy, the Lord Roos, +the Lord Mowbray, the Lord Delawar, Sir Reginald Cobham, Sir John +Lisle, with six hundred men armed, and two hundred archers". + +The king himself advanced into the country of Bretagne, wasting it +wherever he went, until he came to the town of Dinant, of which Sir +Peter Porteboeuf was governor. He immediately laid siege to it all +round, and ordered it to be vigorously assaulted. Those within made a +valiant resistance. Thus did the king of England in one season, and +in one day, make an assault by himself, or those ordered by him, upon +three cities in Bretagne, and a good town, viz. Rennes, Vannes, and +Nantes. The brave Sir Walter Manny was left before Vannes, with five +hundred men at arms, and six thousand archers, while the king with +the rest of his army advanced towards Rennes and Nantes. This gallant +soldier, at the battle of Calais, had this singular honour conferred +on him by his sovereign, who, with his valiant son the Prince of +Wales, both served under his banner.--Edward said to Sir Walter Manny, +"Sir Walter, I will that you be the chief of this enterprise, and I +and my son will fight under your banner". + +The lively and picturesque historian then gives a very interesting +account of the above action, which was fought the last day of December +1348, and of the gallantry of Edward's conduct to his prisoner, Sir +Eustace de Ribeaumont. + +"We will now speak of the King of England, who was there incognito, +under Sir Walter Manny's banner. He advanced with his men on foot, +to meet the enemy, who were formed in close order, with their pikes +shortened to five feet, planted out before them. The first attack was +very sharp and severe. The King singled out Sir Eustace de Ribeaumont, +who was a strong and hardy knight: he fought a long time marvellously +well with the King, so that it was a pleasure to see them; but, by the +confusion of the engagement, they were separated; for two large bodies +met where they were fighting, and forced them to break off the combat. + +"On the side of the French there was excellent fighting, by Sir +Geoffrey de Chargny, Sir John de Landas, Sir Hector, and Sir Gavin de +Ballieul, and others; but they were all surpassed by Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont, who that day struck the King twice down on his knees: +at last, however, he was obliged to present his sword to the King, +saying, 'Sir Knight, I surrender myself your prisoner, for the honour +of the day must fall to the English.' + +"All that belonged to Sir Geoffry de Chargny were either slain or +captured: among the first was Sir Henry du Bois, and Sir Peppin de +Werre; Sir Geoffry and the rest were taken prisoners. The last that +was taken, and who in that day had excelled all, was Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont. + +"When the engagement was over, the King returned to the Castle at +Calais, and ordered all the prisoners to be brought before him. The +French taken, knew for the first time, that the King of England had +been there in person, under the banner of Sir Walter de Manny. + +"The King said he would this evening of the new year entertain them +all at supper in the Castle. When the hour for supper was come, the +tables spread, and the King and his Knights dressed in new robes, as +well as the French, who, notwithstanding they were prisoners, made +good cheer (for the King wished it should be so), the King seated +himself at table, and made those Knights do the same around him in a +most honourable manner. The gallant Prince of Wales, and the Knights +of England, served up the first course, and waited on their guests. At +the second course, they went and seated themselves at another table, +where they were served, and attended on very quietly. + +"When supper was over, and the tables removed, the King remained in +the Hall among the English and French Knights, bare-headed, except a +chaplet of fine pearls, which was round his head. He conversed +with all of them; but when he came to Sir Geoffry de Chargny, his +countenance altered, and looking at him askance, he said, 'Sir +Geoffry, I have but little reason to love you, when you wished to +seize upon me by stealth last night, what had given me so much +trouble to acquire, and cost me such sums of money' (Sir Geoffry had +endeavoured to bribe the garrison to put him in possession of it in +the night previous to the battle): 'I am, however, rejoiced to have +caught you thus in attempting it.'--When he came to Sir Eustace de +Ribeaumont, he assumed a cheerful look, and said with a smile, 'Sir +Eustace, you are the most valiant knight in Christendom that I ever +saw attack his enemy, or defend himself. I never yet found any one in +battle, who, body to body, had given me so much to do as you have done +this day. I adjudge to you the prize of valour, above all the knights +of my Court, as what is justly due to you.'--The King then took off +his chaplet, which was very rich and handsome, and placing it on the +head of Sir Eustace, said, 'Sir Eustace, I present you with this +chaplet, as being the best combatant this day, either within or +without doors; and I beg of you to wear it this year for the love of +me. I know that you are lively and amorous, and love the company of +ladies and damsels; therefore say, wherever you go, that I gave it to +you. I also give you your liberty, free of ransom; and you may set out +to-morrow, and go whither you will.'"] + +The river Loire, which is crossed by seven bridges, winds through the +town. They are the Pont Rousseau, De Permil, D'Aiguillon, Feydeau, De +la Belle Croix, Brisebois, and Toussaint. The houses are regular and +handsome, having in some places a very singular appearance, from the +ground having sunk, and the foundations given way, causing them to +lean in various directions from the perpendicular line. In point of +commerce, at one period antecedent to the Revolution, Nantes was the +most considerable sea-port in France: since the loss of its West India +trade, especially with Saint Domingo, it has been greatly reduced. +The rich plains which surround it on three sides, in the form of an +amphitheatre, and the river covered with vessels and boats, give it +a most lively appearance. It has a large Theatre, a Royal College +(lately the Lyceum), a Commercial Tribunal, a handsome Exchange, a +Bishop's Palace, Hall of the Prefecture, Public Library, Anatomical +and Surgical Academies, Botanical Garden, Museum of Natural History, +and a foundry for cannon. + +The latter is in the old and decaying Chateau on the bank of the +river, called Goulemme. One of its bastions was blown up a few years +since by accident, which has shaken and destroyed the whole fabric; +but it is still capable of holding a garrison, and is a fine monument +of ancient fortification. It was once the residence of Henry IV. of +France, at the time he signed the celebrated edict, (1598,) in favour +of the reformed religion, afterwards revoked by Louis XIV. in 1685, +and which occasioned such deplorable consequences to the French +nation. + +M. de Sainte Foix, in his historical Essays upon Paris, vol. i. +p. 113, speaking of the Rue de Grenelle, in the quarter of Saint +Eustache, gives the following curious account of the birth of this +great King, whose memory is revered in France, beyond that of all the +other monarchs who have swayed the Gallic sceptre. + +"Jeanne d'Albret, being desirous of following her husband to the wars +of Picardy, the King her father told her, that in case she proved with +child, he wanted her to come and lie-in at his house; and that he +would bring up the child himself, whether a boy or a girl. This +Princess finding herself pregnant, and in her ninth month, set out +from Compiegne, passed through all France as far as the Pyrenees, and +arrived in fifteen days at Pau in Bearn. She was very desirous to see +her father's will. It was contained in a thick gold box, on which was +a gold chain, that would have gone twenty-five or thirty times round +her neck. She asked it of him:--'It shall be yours,' said he, 'as soon +as you have shown me the child that you now carry; and that you may +not bring into the world a crying or a pouting child, I promise you +the whole, provided that whilst you are in labour, you sing the +Bearnese song _Notre Dame du bout du Pont aidez-moi en cette heure_". +No sooner was the Princess safely delivered, than her father, placing +the gold chain on her neck, and giving her the gold box wherein was +his will, said to her: 'These are for you, daughter, but this is for +me;' and took the child in his gown, without waiting for its being +dressed in form, and carried it into his chamber. The little Prince +was brought up in such a manner as to be able to undergo fatigue and +hardship; frequently eating nothing but common bread. The good King +his grandfather ordered it thus, and would not let him be delicately +pampered, in order that from his infancy he might be inured to +privation. He has often been seen, according to the custom of the +country, amongst the other children of the Castle and village of +Coirazze, bare-footed and bare-headed, as well in winter as in summer. +Who was this Prince?--Henry IV. + +"Being descended from the Kings of France, he became the heir to that +Kingdom; but as he was educated a Protestant, his claim was resisted. +He early distinguished himself by feats of arms. After the peace of +Saint Germain, in 1570, he was taken to the French Court, and two +years afterwards married Margaret, sister of Charles IX. (At the +rejoicings on this occasion the infamous massacre of _La Saint +Barthelemy_ took place.) In 1589 he succeeded to the throne of France; +but his religion proving an obstacle to his coronation, he consented +to abjure it in 1593. In 1598 he issued the edict of Nantes, granting +toleration to the Protestants". + +Mezeray, speaking of the marriage of the King of Navarre (afterwards +Henry IV.) with Margaret de Valois, says, "There were many diversions, +tournaments, and ballets at Court; and amongst others, one which +seemed to presage the calamity that was so near bursting out upon the +Huguenots--the King and his brothers defending Paradise against the +King of Navarre and his brothers, who were repulsed and banished to +Hell;" and Sainte Foix, in his relation of the horrible massacre, +gives a detail, which in the present age appears almost incredible. + +Catherine of Medicis, whose abominable politics had corrupted the +disposition of her son, was at the head of the cabinet council who +agreed to the murder of more than one hundred thousand Protestants; +and the miserable bigot Charles IX. stationed during the massacre at +the window of a house then belonging to the Constable of Bourbon, +fired with his own hands upon the Huguenots with a long blunderbuss, +whilst they were trying to escape across the river. + +The River Erdre runs northward of the city, and forms a beautiful +feature, winding for many miles among cultivated fields and woodlands, +through a country agreeably diversified with villas, to which the +wealthier inhabitants retire during the summer months. The river +resembles a lake for the greater part of its course, and is called the +Barban. + +The Gothic church of Saint Pierre, built by the English in 1434, is +a fine old structure: having been much neglected for many years, and +greatly defaced during the Revolution, it was at this time restoring. +Among the monuments about to be replaced, was an excellent one of Anne +de Bretagne, whose effigy, and that of her husband, are as large as +life. The allegorical figures of Justice, Temperance, Prudence, and +Fortitude, the twelve Apostles, and the supporters to the Arms (a +greyhound and a lion), are all executed in the finest white marble. +They were hidden during the Revolution, and have only very lately been +discovered, as have also some capital paintings piously preserved +for the Church. Anne was first married to Charles VIII. in 1499, and +afterwards to Louis XII. She died at the Chateau de Blois in 1514, and +Louis in 1515. + +The climate of Nantes is mild, and reckoned remarkably healthy: every +article of life is cheap, and from its mild temperature it abounds +in the finest fruits and most excellent wines. Its population is +estimated at 60,000 inhabitants. The numbers that were destroyed +during the Revolution, or, as the French emphatically term it, "Le +regne de la Terreur," were never ascertained; but the frightful +history of that bloody period would probably justify the computation +at half the number of its present population, many having fallen +victims to the murders that were termed "_Noyades_," independent of +those who perished in the Vendean war. + +The spot where the gallant Charette was shot, with several other +leaders of the Vendean army, is shown; and in the cemetery, a large +mound of earth marks the place where the bodies were thrown in, at the +time of the "_Fuzillades_" when the infamous Carrier presided at the +execution of the brave Royalists.[7] The print beneath represents this +monster on the banks of the Loire directing the Noyades. + +[Illustration] + +[Footnote 7: Chaque nuit on venait en prendre par centaines, pour les +mettre sur les bateaux. La on liait les malheureux deux a deux, et +on les poussait dans l'eau a coups de baionette. On saisissait +indistinctement tout ce qui se trouvait a l'entrepot, tellement +qu'on noya un jour l'etat major d'une corvette Anglaise, qui etait +prisonnier de guerre. Une autre fois, Carrier, voulant donner un +exemple de l'austerite des moeurs republicaines, fit enfermer trois +cent filles publiques de la ville, et les malheureuses creatures +furent noyees. Enfin, l'on estime qu'il a peri a l'entrepot quinze +mille personnes en un mois.--_Memoires de Madame la Marquise de +Laroche-Jaquelin_.] + +At the end of a fine avenue of trees, on the Boulevard, is a large +and splendid mansion built by that Deputy, and which is at present +inhabited by a merchant. Carrier's mistress (to whom he left it, +together with a very considerable fortune, amassed from the spoils +of his plunder, and the murder of the innocent inhabitants) was very +lately sentenced to two years' hard labour for some crime she had +committed: and it is no less remarkable, that, of the remaining +inhabitants known to have participated in the atrocities of that +frightful period, there is not one but is reduced to poverty, and most +of them in the extreme of wretchedness, shunned by all, and suffering +the ignominy they have so justly merited! + + + + +CHAP. V. + +COUNTRY SOUTH OF THE LOIRE.--LE BOCAGE.--CLISSON.--HISTORICAL +ANECDOTES.--THE GARENNE, AND RIVER SEVRES. + + +The best method of travelling in this country is on horseback: in +fact, it is impossible to proceed in any other way, after quitting the +main road. Having procured a guide and horses, I set out early in the +morning, crossing the Loire by the Pont Rosseau, to Verton, keeping +along the banks of the River Sevres. Verton is a romantic village +standing on a hill: most of the houses are in ruins, from the effect +of the destructive war of La Vendee. From thence to Le Palet, most +intricate narrow roads, or more properly speaking, pathways, darkened +by the overhanging branches of trees, and in many parts deep with +mire, from the sun's rays not being able to dry the ground, make it +difficult to proceed, and we several times lost our way. It was late +before we reached Le Palet, and though I had not tasted food for many +hours, I could not resist stopping to view so interesting a spot, and +making a hasty sketch of the ruins of the house in which Abelard +was born, and in which Heloise resided with him before their final +separation. The ruins of the House of Berenger, the father of Abelard, +are close to the church of Palet, on the left of the high road, three +miles distant from Clisson. Le Palet is thus described by a French +author, in the history of the Province. + +"Cet homme si celebre par son savoir, ses amours, et ses infortunes, +amena Heloise au Palet lorsqu'il l'eut enlevee de chez le Chanoine +Fulbert, pour la soustraire au ressentiment de cet oncle jaloux +et barbare; mais, oblige de quitter cette retraite paisible pour +retourner a Paris, ou l'appelaient ses nombreux disciples, le soin de +sa gloire et de sa fortune, Abelard confia a sa soeur sa chere Heloise +et le gage precieux qu'elle portait dans son sein. Elle accoucha au +Palet d'un fils d'une si rare beaute, qu'elle le nomma Astralabe, +c'est-a-dire, astre brillant; mais l'absence de celui qu'elle adorait +rendait moins vifs pour elle les doux plaisirs de la maternite; son +ame expansive et brulante etait livree sans cesse a une inquiete et +sombre melancholie qu'elle ne parvenait sans doute a dissiper qu'en +venant sur les bords de la Sevres rever a l'objet de sa tendresse, et +soupirer apres son retour. Sept siecles se sont ecoules depuis cette +epoque, et les noms d'Abelard et d'Heloise embellissent toujours ce +delicieux ravage. On interroge avec une curiosite avide ces roches +eternelles et ces grottes mysterieuses qui furent les temoins discrets +de leurs peines et de leurs plaisirs. On se reporte a ces temps +recules ou ces amants venaient dans cette solitude enchanteresse, se +confier mutuellement leur vifs inquietudes; on croit les voir s'egarer +sous ces riants ombrages, et s'abandonner a toutes les inspirations de +l'eloquence, a toutes les illusions de l'amour". + +I arrived at Clisson just as the sun was disappearing, and its rays +were only sufficiently strong to reflect the ruined towers of the +Castle in the river which runs at its foot. It will be much easier +to imagine, than for me to convey the sensations I felt when I first +caught a glimpse of it, with the story of La Roche-Jaquelin full in +my recollection! I alighted at a small cabaret, dignified by the +appellation of the Hotel de la Providence, which seemed preferable to +another recommended to me by my guide,--such an one, indeed, as might +be expected in a remote place like this: part of the roof was off, +and, like most of the houses in the place, bore evident marks of the +desolating war that had been carried on here: many are still in ruins. +The descent into the town is very steep and rugged, the road being +formed out of the solid rock. The master of the cabaret was sitting +with his family at the door, but the appearance of his mansion was so +unpromising, that I thought it best to make some agreement, and a few +inquiries before dismounting;--these preliminaries being settled, and +having consented to pay him fifty sous for supper and my bed, and +thirty for breakfast, I entered the house: and never recollect having +a keener relish for a meal, or enjoying one more heartily, for I had +been sixteen hours on horseback. + +Fatigued and exhausted as I was, I rambled after dinner towards the +delightful grounds of La Garenne, belonging to Monsieur La Motte, who +has embellished them in a most interesting and romantic manner. + +The river Sevres runs along the side, and separates them from the fine +old Castle of Clisson, whose high and decaying towers and battlements +give the beholder a noble idea of its ancient grandeur. The evening +was a very fine one,--one of those delightful soft, clear skies usual +at this season, the latter end of July. I sat myself down in the +grotto of Heloise,--a spot of the deepest seclusion, formed, by the +hand of Nature, of large masses of granite. The nightingales were +singing in the lofty trees at the back; on the sides were shrubs of +every description intermingled with fruit trees, and the river having +several falls and little rocky islets, gave an air of delightful +enchantment to this most romantic scene. + + Heloise! a ce nom, qui ne doit s'attendrir? + Comme elle sut aimer! comme elle sut souffrir! + +At the entrance of the grotto are engraved these lines, nearly effaced +by the hand of time. + + Heloise peut-etre erra sur ce rivage, + Quand, aux yeux des jaloux derobant son sejour, + Dans les murs du Palet elle vint mettre au jour + Un fils, cher et malheureux gage + De ses plaisirs furtifs et de son tendre amour. + Peut-etre en ce reduit sauvage, + Seule, plus d'une fois, elle vint soupirer, + Et gouter librement la douceur de pleurer; + Peut-etre sur ce roc assise + Elle revait a son malheur. + J'y veux rever aussi; j'y veux remplir mon coeur + Du doux souvenir d'Heloise. + +I had but a few weeks before seen the tomb of Abelard and Heloise in +the Cemetery of Pere la Chaise at Paris, whither it had been recently +removed from the Convent of the Augustins, at which latter place I +had formerly made the annexed drawing of it. I had likewise been very +lately at Argenteuil, once the place of her asylum described by Pope: + + In these deep solitudes and awful cells-- + +and had the same day witnessed the ruins of the house in which Abelard +was born, and in which Heloise resided and became a mother, and from +whence she used to make frequent visits to this spot: all these +circumstances combined, gave the scene before me a most powerful +interest. I rose early the next day, anxious to revisit a place which +had afforded me such delight the previous evening. Wandering by the +beautiful banks of the river, along its green meadows, in a woody +recess, I observed the following lines beneath an urn, cut in the rock +on which it rested: + + Consacrer dans l'obscurite, + Ses loisirs a l'etude, a l'amitie sa vie, + Sont des plaisirs dignes d'envie; + Etre cheri vaut mieux qu'etre vante! + +[Illustration: RUINS OF ABELARD'S HOUSE.] + +A little further on, is a stone pillar, with a venerable accacia tree +spreading its leaves over it. It has the following Latin inscription: + + VII + + IM CAESAR + AVGVSTVS + PONTIFEX MAX + VIAM. OLIM + A CONIVINCO + AD LIMONEM + + IMP. CAESAR. TRAJ. + ADRIANVS AVG + PM. TRIB. POT. + VIAM AB AVGVSTO + STATAM REFICIT.[8] + + +[Footnote 8: Auguste etendit jusqu'a La Loire La Gaule Aquitanique, +autrefois bornee par la Garonne, et comprit L'Armorique dans la +Province Celtique ou Lyonnaise. L'Empereur Adrian, ayant fait depuis +une nouvelle distribution des Gaules, divisa La Lyonnaise en deux, et +mit L'Armorique dans la seconde; enfin cette Lyonnaise ou Celtique +ayant ete encore divisee en deux, Tours devint la Metropole de la +troisieme, qui comprenait la Touraine, le Maine, l'Anjou, et la +Bretagne.--_Histoire de Bret_.] + +[Illustration: GROTTO of HELOISE at CLISSON.] + +[Illustration: TOMB of ABELARD and HELOISE.] + +Farther on several large blocks of granite are piled together in so +strange and curious a manner, that it must have been the work of +Nature alone:--one of them has these beautiful lines carved on it: + + O! Limpide Riviere! O Riviere cherie! + Puisse la sotte vanite + Ne jamais dedaigner ta rive humble et fleurie! + Que ton simple sentier ne soit point frequente + Par aucun tourment de la vie + Tels que l'ambition, l'envie, + L'avarice, et la faussete! + Un bocage si frais, un sejour si tranquille, + Aux tendres sentiments doit seul servir d'azile. + Ces rameaux amoureux entrelasses expres + Aux Muses, aux Amours, offrent leur voile epais; + Et ce cristal d'une onde pure + A jamais ne doit reflechir + Que les graces de la nature + Et les images du plaisir. + +Close to the brink of the river stands a prodigiously large granite +rock, immediately facing the waterfall called le Bassin de Diane: on +it are these words: + + SA MASSE INDESTRVCTIBLE + A FATIGVE LE TEMS. + a quotation from Delille. + +[Illustration: GRANITE ROCK in the GARENNE.] + +The French writers, speaking of this interesting place, observe: +"Comment soupconner en effet qu'au milieu de cette _terrible Vendee_, +qu'au centre de cet impenetrable et sombre Bocage, il existe un pays +delicieux et fertile, couvert de mines seculaires qui rappelent tous +les souvenirs historiques de notre ancienne France, comme le caractere +de ses habitans en rappele les moeurs, le courage, et la loyaute". + +On the opposite side of the river, a little to the right, stands the +ancient Chateau de Clisson, celebrated in the modern as well as the +ancient history of Bretagne. Its lofty turrets, and decaying bastions, +extend a considerable distance along the shore of the Sevres, +recalling to mind the ancient days of chivalry, when bravery, love, +and religion, were so singularly blended together, and gave a romantic +half-polished manner to the greatest barbarians. In later times it +became the scene of events which no one can contemplate without the +deepest interest. In viewing this magnificent ruin, it is impossible +not to regret that a place so frequently the theatre of noble +achievements, inhabited by one of the greatest men that France has +produced, Francois I. Connetable de Clisson,[9] father to Anne of +Bretagne, should have been so recently the scene of such savage +horrors and bloodshed! Now, all is silence and solitude: and amidst +the noble ruins which were once decorated with banners, and the +hard-earned trophies of victory,--where high-born knights and splendid +dames mingled in mirth and festivity to the echoes of the minstrels, +singing lays of love or battle,--are now only to be seen and heard the +birds of prey, hovering over a solitary tree, planted to mark the spot +where a deed was committed which has not often its parallel in the +darkest histories of the most ferocious nations. + +[Footnote 9: In the "Histoire Genealogique de France", tom. vi. is an +account of the Constable's death. "The Duke of Orleans, brother to the +king, was very fond of a Jewess, whom he privately visited. Having +some reason to suspect that Peter de Craon, Lord of Sable and de la +Ferte-Bernard, his chamberlain and favourite, had joked with the +Duchess of Orleans upon his intrigue, he turned him out of his house +with infamy. Craon imputed his disgrace partly to the Constable of +Clisson. On the night of the 13th June, having waited for him at the +corner of the street _Coulture Ste. Catherine_, and finding he had but +little company with him, he fell upon him at the head of a score of +ruffians. Clisson defended himself for some time without any other +weapon than a small cutlass; but after receiving three wounds, fell +from his horse, and pitched against a door, which flew open. The +report of this assassination reached the king's ears just as he was +stepping into bed. He put on a great coat and his shoes, and repaired +to the place where he was informed his constable had been killed. He +found him in a baker's shop, wallowing in his blood. After his wounds +were examined, "Constable, (said he to him), nothing was or ever will +he so severely punished". It was given out that Clisson made his will +the next day, and there was a mighty outcry about the sum of 1,700,000 +livres, which it amounted to. It should be observed, that during +twenty-five years that he was in the service of France, he had sought +for and beaten the English every where; that he gained the famous +battle of Robeck, and chastised the Flemish; that he enjoyed for +twelve years the salary and appointments of Constable; and that, +moreover, his landed estate, (which included many castles inherited +from his ancestors, in Bretagne and Poitou,) was very considerable."] + +During the Vendean war, the royalists had been driven out of Clisson +by the republicans, under the command of a ferocious jacobin. The town +was pillaged and burnt before they quitted it. Twenty-seven females +had, during the battle, concealed themselves among the ruins: when +information of it was given to the troops, who had already quitted the +place, they were ordered to return, and the whole of these unhappy +women were thrown alive into a well, where they perished!!! It has +since been filled up, and the lonely tree, just mentioned, now records +the bloody and inhuman deed. + +In the account of Clisson, by a late French author, no notice is +taken of this circumstance. He merely observes, when mentioning the +destruction of the place, after the de la Roche-Jaquelin had quitted +it, "Les Rives ombragees de la Sevres, si seduisante par ses belles +cascades et l'ensemble de ce paysage poetique, feroient de cette +contree un sejour delicieux, si de tristes debris, qui heureusement +disparoissent tous les jours, ne rappelaient encore le souvenir +affligeant de nos discordes civiles. Les armees Revolutionnaires qui +combattirent les Vendeens, en 1793 et en 1794, employerent inutilement +pour les reduire le fer et le feu; la flamme atteignit les villes, les +villages, les metairies, et jusqu'aux humbles chaumieres; et, dans ce +vaste et epouvantable incendie, Clisson ne put echapper a une ruine +complete. Jamais peut-etre cette petite ville ne se seroit entierement +reedifie, sans une circonstance particuliere qui contribua puissamment +a la faire renoitre de ces cendres". + +In the town of Clisson was born the celebrated Barin de la +Galissonniere, Admiral of France, who fought the well-known action +off Mahon, in the month of June, 1756, with Admiral Byng, who, in +consequence of his conduct on that occasion, was brought to a court +martial and shot. The French writers make the following absurd remark, +as to the _cause_ of his fate: "Les Anglais, furieux d'avoir ete +vaincus par un Amiral Francois, firent fusiller l'Amiral Byng". It is +now well known that he was sacrificed to an unprincipled ministerial +faction. + +The ancient Chateau de Clisson is built on a rock, on the bank of the +Sevres, facing the mouth of the river, called Le Moine, which empties +itself into the Sevres at this place, so that the town of Clisson +stands between the two rivers at their junction. An ancient bridge, +from whence this view is taken, joins one part of the town to the +other, and leads to the castle, which was once considered the barrier +of Bretagne. The two rivers run over a bed of granite rock, which, in +some places, forming a cataract, adds considerably to the surrounding +scenery: large masses of this rock in many parts seem as if piled up +by nature for the purpose of giving it a more romantic effect. The +whole forms a most picturesque object, when viewed from the opposite +shore, from whence the sketch of the temple erected on the ruin of St. +Gilles is taken; and the remembrance of its recent fate throws over +the scene a strong and melancholy interest. + +[Illustration: RUINS OF CLISSON.] + +The castle is supposed to have been first erected by the Romans, +as the Province formed a part of the Gaule Aquitanique, under the +Emperors Augustus and Adrian. + +The French repaired it during the reign of Louis VIII. in 1223, under +Olivier I. Sire de Clisson, as he is styled; and it was made a regular +fortification, and surrounded by a wall a century after, by the +Connetable: in 1464 the Duc de Bretagne, Francis II. entirely finished +it. + +The Sire de Clisson, Olivier I. who had served during one of the +Crusades in Palestine, was knighted with several others, in 1218. "Un +nombre prodigieux de Seigneurs Anglais, Normands, Angevins, Manceaux, +Tourangeaux, et Bretons, prirent la Croix; Le Pape, Innocent III. +envoya en Bretagne, en 1197, Helvain, Moine de St. Denis, pour y +precher une croisade. Une grande quantite de Bretons se laisserent +conduire en Syrie par ce Moine; et, en 1218, plusieurs Seigneurs +Bretons suivirent leur exemple, entre autres, Herve de Leon, Morvau, +Vicomte du Fou, et le Sire de Clisson". + +From the construction of the towers and bastions, it is supposed that +at his return from the Holy Land, he had copied the Syrian style of +building; and one of the towers, which is represented in the sketch +of the gateway of the Chateau de Clisson, is still called La Tour des +Pelerins. + +This tower, which has been used as a dungeon, is the most perfect of +any remaining. In it are subterranean galleries, anciently used as a +prison, and appropriated by the republicans to the same purpose. It is +dreadful to think of the horrors that have been practised within its +walls, in our own time. + +[Illustration: TOUR des PELERINS.] + +From the top of this tower the prospect is very extensive, and, during +the year 1793, when the republican army quartered themselves in it, a +sentinel was placed there to give notice in case of the approach of an +enemy. The historian of that period, speaking of the entrance to this +tower, observes, in reference to the cruelties committed there in the +Vendean war: + +"Il existait au milieu de la derniere cour un tres beau puits, taille +dans le roc et extremement profond: il est actuellement comble, et +ma plume se refuse a tracer les scenes horribles qui ensanglanterent +ce lieu en 1793 et en 1795, tristes et epouvantables effets des +guerres civiles!" + +This passage alludes, I imagine, to the circumstance related in +page 90. Within its walls are various inscriptions, many of them in +characters so difficult to decypher, that they remain unknown. The +following has been rendered into more modern French by Cerutti. + + J'ai gravi, mesure ces ruines sublimes; + Mon coeur s'en est emu! De nos vaillants aieux + Tout y representait les tournois magnanimes, + Ils semblaient reparoitre et combattre a mes yeux; + J'entendois sous leurs coups retentir les abimes; + Juge de leurs combats, idole de leur coeur, + Du haut des tours, la dame admiroit le vainqueur. + Casques et boucliers, cuirasses gigantesques, + Cris d'armes, mot d'amour, devises de l'honneur, + Carlets pour l'infidele ou pour le suborneur, + Tout garde sur ces murs vraiment chevaleresques. + La memoire d'un siecle ou l'epee, ou la foi, + Ou la galanterie etaient la seule loi. + +Louis IX. and Blanche of Castille, his queen, retired to Clisson, at +the time the English, under Henry III. penetrated into Poitou, and +were received by Olivier de Clisson, who then garrisoned it. + +In the war of the League, which convulsed the kingdom of France, +Clisson remained faithful to Henry III. and during the early part +of the reign of his successor Henry IV. The Protestants were there +protected, and established themselves in the fauxbourg. From the +period at which Henry IV. signed the edict at Nantes, 15th April, +1598, until the war of La Vendee, this celebrated fortress is no where +mentioned by any of the French historians: it became neglected when +the feudal system declined, and the republican army completed its +ruin. The sad events of this period, and the destruction and carnage +which followed, can never be effaced from the page of history. The +ruined towns and villages prove the melancholy truth, that the general +corruption of a nation prepares the way for general anarchy, and that +the blindness of political rage is always more vindictive than even +private hatred. + +I can never sufficiently lament the absence, at this time, of Madame +de La Roche-Jaquelin from the country, as she occasionally resides in +the neighbourhood, since the restoration of her property, (although +her once noble residence is now in a state of ruin,) occupying a small +chateau at some small distance, which had partly escaped the fire and +destruction that had been fatal to most houses in the district. Who +can read the interesting memoirs of this Lady, and not sympathize in +the sufferings of herself, and of those brave and loyal people whose +heroic struggle against their republican oppressors lasted with little +intermission from the overthrow of the monarchy until its final +restoration? Among the number of heroic females who, like Madame de +la Roche-Jaquelin, thus distinguished themselves, was Madame de La +Rochefoucault who, like her admirer Charette, was put to death at +Nantes. This lady, of an ancient and noble family, and of great +beauty, signalized herself on various occasions, but being taken +prisoner at the battle of the Moulin aux Chevres, she was immediately +shot! + +[Illustration: MILL AUX CHEVRES.] + +The whole history of this terrible war is filled with the noble +devotion of heroic females. The chiefs were attended in the most +sanguinary battles by ladies, who had themselves ornamented their +standards with loyal and chivalrous emblems of the cause for which +they were prepared to sacrifice themselves, and who were frequently +seen rallying the broken troops, and falling, covered with wounds, by +the hands of their enemies! + +The annexed view of the Moulin aux Chevres, which is rendered +interesting from the account given by Madame de la Roche-Jaquelin of +the battle fought near it, will convey a tolerable idea of the scenery +of the country. + +The prodigious growth of the willow tree in Bretagne, is such as to +claim the peculiar notice of travellers: here they attain a gigantic +height, no where else to be seen. Batard, in his "_Notices sur +les Vegetaux_" mentions one in the commune of Pommeraie in the +arrondissement de Beaupreau, whose age was supposed to be nearly two +thousand years. Within the Chateau at Clisson are some very old ones, +but the finest I observed were at the Moulin aux Chevres. + + + + +CHAP. VI. + +LIMITS AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OF LE BOCAGE. MODE OF WARFARE PRACTISED +BY THE VENDEANS. + + +My opportunity of becoming acquainted with that singular district +called Le Bocage, will be best understood by very briefly sketching my +route through it. I traversed it, and the district called Le Loroux, +by the route of Montaigne and Lege, and on my return I passed through +Clisson, Vallet, and Loroux, along the banks of the Loire. By pursuing +this route, I had every where the interesting opportunity of exploring +the scene of that destructive warfare which had ravaged the towns and +villages of this part of France. + +At one period, the war of La Vendee extended to the north of the +Loire, as far as Rennes, forming a triangle, the eastern point of +which rested on the town of Angers. To the south of the Loire it +spread nearly as far as la Rochelle; and as in this part also it +extended nearly to Angers, the tract over which it spread its ravages +formed nearly a square. The district called Loroux runs parallel with +the Loire: Le Bocage, which occupies both districts, and the whole +country south of that river, is comprehended under the general +appellation of La Vendee. Under the old divisions of France Le Bocage +formed part of the province of Poitou, and Le Loroux part of the +provinces of Anjou and Bretagne: but when, at the revolution, France +was divided into departments, these two districts were denominated La +Vendee, Les deux Sevres, La Loire Inferieure, and Mayenne and Loire. + +La Vendee is an extremely interesting district, not merely on account +of the singular and heroic warfare that was carried on there so +long, but also from the appearance of the country, and the manners, +opinions, and general character of its inhabitants; and Le Bocage is, +in all these respects, the most interesting part of La Vendee. In +Le Bocage, the war was carried on with most wonderful vigour and +pertinacity, as well as with almost unparalleled destruction and +cruelty. Those who are acquainted only with the other parts of France, +can form no idea of the aspect of this district, or of the manners of +its inhabitants; they differ so widely and essentially, that they seem +to belong to another portion of the globe. It has always been regarded +as the most fertile country in France; and, before the revolution, it +was undoubtedly one of the most populous. + +There are only two roads in the whole country: one of them runs from +Nantes to la Rochelle, and the other from Bordeaux to Tours, through +Poitou: all the rest of this district is a complete labyrinth: there +are indeed numerous pathways, so very winding and narrow, that they +are much more calculated to harass and mislead, than to assist a +traveller in his journey: these pathways are flanked by wide and deep +ditches, and almost rendered completely dark by lofty hedges on each +side of them, the trees of which meet at top, and thus form an arch: +hence they are rough and uneven in summer, besides being intolerably +hot, and deep and miry in winter. To add to these inconveniences, the +bed of a rivulet flowing along them frequently constitutes the only +passage. Even when the traveller, after toiling along these dreadful +pathways, comes near a town or village, he generally finds that the +approach to it is practicable only by ascending irregular steps, +cut out of the solid rock, on which they are built. The inhabitants +themselves even are frequently puzzled by these pathways; and, after +wandering for a considerable length of time, at last find out that +they have been travelling in a wrong direction. + +The whole country bears the appearance of an extensive and thick +forest: this arises from the nature of the enclosures; they are +extremely small, often not more than fifty or sixty perches, +surrounded with strong hedges planted in the banks. These +circumstances alone would give the appearance just noticed; but the +effect is much increased from other causes. On each side of the banks, +on which the trees are planted, there are ditches and drains, and the +moisture which they constantly supply to their roots, renders their +growth very rapid and luxuriant; so that when we consider the number +of the trees and their great size, we shall not be surprised that +the country looks like an immense forest. Sometimes the trees are so +disposed as to answer the purpose of a palisade; and this purpose they +answer most effectually, not only from the great size and strength of +the trees themselves, but also from the intervening spaces between +them being filled up with strong and impassable underwood [10]. + +[Footnote 10: A tract of about 150 miles square, at the mouth and +on the southern bank of the Loire, comprehends the scene of those +deplorable hostilities. The most inland part of the district, and that +in which the insurrection first broke out, is called _Le Bocage_; and +seems to have been almost as singular in its physical conformation, +as in the state and condition of its population. A series of detached +eminences, of no great elevation, rose over the whole face of the +country, with little rills trickling in the hollows and occasional +cliffs by their sides. The whole space was divided into small +enclosures, each surrounded with tall wild hedges, and rows of pollard +trees; so that though there were few large woods, the whole region +had a sylvan and impenetrable appearance. The ground was mostly in +pasturage; and the landscape had, for the most part, an aspect of +wild verdure, except that in the autumn some patches of yellow corn +appeared here and there athwart their green enclosures. Only two great +roads traversed this sequestered region, running nearly parallel, at +a distance of more than seventy miles from each other. In the +intermediate space, there was nothing but a labyrinth of wild and +devious paths, crossing each other at the extremity of almost every +field--often serving, at the same time, as channels for the winter +torrents, and winding so capriciously among the innumerable hillocks, +and beneath the meeting hedge-rows, that the natives themselves were +always in danger of losing their way when they went a league or +two from their own habitations. The country, though rather thickly +peopled, contained, as may be supposed, few large towns; and the +inhabitants, devoted almost entirely to rural occupations, enjoyed a +great deal of leisure. The noblesse or gentry of the country were very +generally resident on their estates, where they lived in a style of +simplicity and homeliness which had long disappeared from every other +part of the kingdom. No grand parks, fine gardens, or ornamented +villas; but spacious clumsy chateaux, surrounded with farm offices +and cottages for the labourers. Their manners and way of life, too, +partook of the same primitive rusticity. There was great cordiality, +and even much familiarity, in the intercourse of the seigneurs with +their dependants. They were followed by large trains of them in their +hunting expeditions, which occupied so great a part of their time. +Every man had his fowling-piece, and was a marksman of fame or +pretensions. They were posted in various quarters, to intercept or +drive back the game; and were thus trained, by anticipation, to that +sort of discipline and concert, in which their whole art of war was +afterwards found to consist. Nor was their intimacy confined to their +sports. The peasants resorted familiarly to their landlords for +advice, both legal and medical; and they repaid the visits in their +daily rambles, and entered with interest into all the details of their +agricultural operations. They came to the weddings of their children, +drank with their guests, and made little presents to the young people. +On Sundays and holidays, all the retainers of the family assembled at +the chateau, and danced in the barn or the court-yard, according to +the season. The ladies of the house joined in the festivity, and that +without any airs of condescension or of mockery; for, in their own +life, there was little splendour or luxurious refinement. They +travelled on horseback, or in heavy carriages drawn by oxen; and had +little other amusement than in the care of their dependants, and the +familiar intercourse of neighbours among whom there was no rivalry or +principle of ostentation. + +From all this there resulted, as Madame de L. assures us, a certain +innocence and kindliness of character, joined with great hardihood and +gaiety,--which reminds us of Henry IV. and his Bearnois,--and carries +with it, perhaps on account of that association, an idea of something +more chivalrous and romantic--more honest and unsophisticated, than +any thing we expect to meet with in this modern world of artifice and +derision. There was great purity of morals accordingly, Mad. de +L. informs us, and general cheerfulness and content in all this +district;--crimes were never heard of, and lawsuits almost unknown. +Though not very well educated, the population was exceedingly +devout;--though theirs was a kind of superstitious and traditional +devotion, it must he owned, rather than an enlightened or rational +faith. They had the greatest veneration for crucifixes and images of +their saints, and had no idea of any duty more imperious than that of +attending on all the solemnities of religion. They were singularly +attached also to their cures, who were almost all born and bred in the +country, spoke their _patois_, and shared in all their pastimes and +occupations. When a hunting-match was to take place, the clergyman +announced it from the pulpit after prayers,--and then took his +fowling-piece, and accompanied his congregation to the thicket. It was +on behalf of these cures, in fact, that the first disturbances were +excited.--_Edin. Rev. for Feb._ 1816.] + +This luxuriance of growth does not proceed entirely from the moisture +supplied by the ditches and drains; the soil naturally is uncommonly +fertile: and whatever springs from it, whether planted by the hand of +man, and nourished, while growing, by his attention and skill, or its +spontaneous production, bears witness to this uncommon fertility. +The country abounds in corn and vineyards; the produce of the latter +consists principally in white vines. At the season of the year when I +passed through it, the intermixture of the rich and soft yellow of the +wheat nearly ripe, with the light green foliage of the vines, produced +a most pleasing effect. In Poitou and Anjou, the harvest generally +begins about the latter end of June: this year it was late every +where, but very abundant. The vineyards had mostly failed. + +Le Marais, which is also comprehended within the limits of Le Bocage, +is that part of Lower Poitou, adjacent to the sea. There the country +is open and flat, and the passes are impracticable during the winter, +and very difficult at other seasons of the year. The inhabitants of Le +Marais formed a division of the army of the celebrated chief Charette. +La Vendee was divided into two circuits; each army had its own, until +the junction of the whole under La Roche-Jaquelin, &c; that of +Charette occupied the district of Chalans, Machecoul, la Roche Sur +Yon, les Sables, a part of the districts of St. Florent, Vehiers, +Chollet, Chatillon, la Chataigneraie, a great part of the districts +of Clisson, Montaigne, Thouars, Parthenay, and Fontenay-le-peuple. +Although the locality of Le Bocage is a perfect contrast to that of le +Marais, nature seems to have exerted all her power in forming these +two districts into one extensive fortress, capable of opposing every +thing to an attack, and presenting so many means of defence, that it +was rarely possible for the enemy to lead a column, or to regulate +its movements so as to preserve union in its marches or manoeuvres, +dispositions for an attack, or retreat. The positions of the Vendeans +could never be understood, or their projects foreseen, in a country +where the frequent undulations of land, hedges, trees, and bushes, +obstructing the surface, would not admit of seeing fifty paces round; +and one of the republican generals, writing to the Convention, +thus speaks of Charette's movements. "It is no easy matter to find +Charette, particularly to bring him to action. To-day at the head of +ten thousand men, the next day wandering with a score of horsemen, it +is very rare that one can come up with him. When we believed him to be +in our front, he was in our rear. Yesterday he threatened such a post, +to-day he is ten leagues from it; more able to avoid than fight us, +he almost always disconcerts, and often, without knowing it, all our +combinations. He endeavours to surprise us, to carry off our patroles, +and to kill our stragglers". + +The inhabitants of le Marais and le Bocage for a long period confined +themselves to defensive warfare, for which nature seems to have formed +their country. The situation of le Marais enabled the brave royalists +to receive succours from the English, and to facilitate and protect +the debarkation of such as they wished to procure from the North side +of the Loire, the coast being flat and easy of access by sea. + +The Vendeans, favoured by every natural advantage, had a peculiar +tactic which they knew perfectly well how to apply to their position +and local circumstances, and adopted a mode of fighting hitherto +unknown, and practicable in that country alone. Confident in the +superiority which their mode of attack gave them, they never suffered +themselves to be anticipated, they never engaged but when and +where they pleased. Their dexterity in the use of fire arms was such, +that no people, however well skilled in manoeuvring, could make such +good use of a gun; the huntsman of Loroux, and the poacher of le +Bocage, having been always proverbial as excellent marksmen. It was no +unusual thing for the Vendeans when at the plough, to carry with them +a musket; and whenever they observed "a blue coat," (as they called +the republican soldiers) they stopt their plough, took up their +musket, and fired at him; it seldom happened that they missed the +object of their vengeance. A melancholy circumstance, connected with +this mode of warfare, took place: the son of one of the Vendean +farmers, or ploughmen, had been compelled to join the republican army; +but having succeeded in escaping, he was hastening, in his republican +uniform, to rejoin his relations, when being observed by his father, +while at the plough, the latter, unable from the distance to recognize +his son, and seeing only the uniform of an enemy, fired and shot him. + +Their attacks were always dreadful, sudden, and almost unforeseen, +because it was very difficult to reconnoitre or obtain information so +as to guard against surprise. Their order of battle was generally in +the form of a crescent, their wings being composed of the most expert +marksmen, who never fired without taking aim, and seldom ever missed. +Their retreat was so precipitate that it was difficult to come up +with them, as they dispersed themselves through rough fields, hedges, +woods, and bushes, knew all the bye-roads, secret escapes and defiles, +and were acquainted with all the obstacles which could obstruct their +flight, and the means of avoiding them. Their mode of warfare was +according to the locality of the country, well calculated to prolong +the struggle and waste the strength of the forces sent to oppose them. +In the district of les Sables, intersected by canals, rivulets, and +salt marshes, where there were scarcely carriage roads, but chiefly +bye-ways, and raised paths, a species of natural fortification was +every where formed: this rendered any attack against them dangerous, +and consequently it was most favourable for defence, particularly to +the inhabitants. The canals are in general from thirty to forty feet +wide on the upper extremity of the banks. The Vendean, carrying his +musket in a bandoleer, and leaning upon a long pole, leaped from one +bank to the other with amazing facility. When the pressure of the +enemy would not admit of his doing this, without exposing himself to +their fire, he threw himself into a niole, (a kind of small boat,) +very flat, and light, and crossed the canal with great rapidity, being +always sufficiently shut up to hide himself from his pursuers: but he +soon appeared again, and firing at his enemy, again disappeared. The +republican soldier to whom this mode of fighting was unknown, was +obliged to be continually upon his guard, to march along the shores of +the canals, and to follow slowly their circuitous track, supporting at +the same time frequent skirmishes, while it took him several hours +to traverse a space which the Vendean commonly accomplished in a few +minutes. + +Among the difficulties which the execution of all military plans met +with in La Vendee, the nature and degree of which may be judged of +from the local dispositions and the kind of warfare carried on by the +royalists, there was one which was invincible, and which singularly +retarded the operations of the republicans. Whenever they were +desirous of sending an order from head quarters to a division at the +distance of twelve or fifteen leagues, the messenger was often obliged +to travel fifty or sixty in order to avoid passing through the +revolted country. Hence the impossibility of attempting any +expedition, however necessary or desirable, which required to be +executed without delay. The Vendeans would appear one day at a certain +point to the number of several thousand men; measures were concerted +for attacking them the next day, but before that arrived they were +eight or ten leagues distant from the place where they had showed +themselves the day before. + +Thus were the republicans exposed to fruitless victories or disastrous +checks, which exhausted their men and resources. Masters of the field +of battle, they found, says one of their generals, nothing but wooden +shoes and some slain, never any arms or ammunition. The Vendean when +perceived, would either hide or break his gun, and in surrendering his +life, seldom left his weapon. Being well acquainted with the country, +and more dexterous than the republicans, they carried scarcely any +artillery with them, four or five pieces sufficed for an army of +thirty or forty thousand men; these were generally light field pieces. +Equally sparing of ammunition, they took but few waggons, one alone +served the pieces, as they well knew it was not artillery that would +procure them the victory; thence, when the republicans met with any +disastrous affair, they lost from twenty to thirty pieces of cannon, +and waggons in proportion; whereas when they gained a victory they +acquired only two or three pieces of cannon, with scarcely any +ammunition. + +From this slight sketch of the nature of the country, so +disadvantageous to the invaders, and of the mode in which the Vendeans +carried on this unfortunate war, our surprise will cease at the +determined and protracted resistance made to the republicans by this +loyal and brave people. For many years they defended their beloved +country, and endured privations, and accumulated miseries, such +as human nature has seldom been exposed to. To use the words of a +republican general, "A girdle of fire enveloped the revolted country; +fire, terror, and death, preceded the march". + +But the principal cause of the long resistance of the Vendeans must +be sought for in their moral character; they were most honourably +distinguished by an inviolable attachment to their party, and +unlimited and unshaken confidence in their chiefs; and an earnest, +warm, but steady zeal, which supplied the place of discipline. Their +invincible courage, both active and passive, was proof against every +kind of danger, fatigue, and want. It has been well observed that +"irregular and undisciplined wars are naturally far more prolific of +extraordinary incidents, unexpected turns of fortune, and striking +displays of individual talent, of vice and virtue, than the more +solemn movements of national hostility, where every thing is in +a great measure provided and foreseen; and where the inflexible +subordination of rank, and the severe exactions of a limited duty +not only take away the inducement, but the opportunity for those +exaltations of personal feeling and adventure which produce the most +lively interest, and lead to the most animating results. In the +unconcerted proceedings of an insurgent population, all is experiment +and all is passion. The heroic daring of a simple peasant lifts him +at once to the rank of a leader, and kindles a general enthusiasm to +which all things become possible". + +From the operation of these causes the Vendeans were enabled to send +forth formidable armies: and such was the confidence of the chiefs in +the troops, that they never would have been subdued if they had +not lost their leaders in the various hard fought actions, or +been deprived of their services by their mutual jealousy. Another +circumstance proved equally fatal to them; after the fall of the +gallant Lescure, they most imprudently quitted the strong country for +the open plains on the left bank of the Loire. + + + + +CHAP. VII. + +RIVER LOIRE, FROM NANTES TO ANGERS. + + +The Loire is one of the finest rivers in France; and perhaps there is +no river in the world, that equals that part of it, which flows from +Angers to Nantes: the breadth of the stream; the islands of wood; the +boldness, culture, and richness of its banks, all conspire to +render it worthy of this character. As a useful river it is equally +celebrated: its banks being bordered by rich and populous cities; and +the benefits it renders to industry and commerce being incalculable. + +Its stream is so rapid and strong, that in ascending it is generally +necessary from Nantes to Angers, to track the barge: this mode of +proceeding, though slow, has its advantages; as it gives greater time +and opportunity for observing all the various beauties of scenery +which present themselves at every turn of the river. + +I embarked early in the morning with a favourable breeze from the +west: we soon began to be interested, and almost enchanted, with the +rich and beautiful scenery, which almost every moment opened to our +view in endless variety. This scenery not only pleased the eye and +imagination by its beauty, but also excited high and deep interest +by the fertility which it displayed. The banks were lined with corn +fields, vineyards, or orchards. Occasionally the nature and interest +of the prospect were agreeably diversified by the spire of a convent +or the turrets of a chateau, rising above gardens or groves, or rich +woodlands. At other places there were still more decided marks of +population, for villages, country-houses, and farms, caught the eye, +and added to the charms by which it was so willingly and powerfully +detained. + +The whole country on each side is well cultivated. But even this part +of France, interesting and beautiful as it is, cannot be traversed +without the recollection of the horrors of the revolution breaking in +upon, and greatly damping the interest and pleasure derived from the +view of the scenery. As we approached the ruined tower of Oudon, +it was impossible not to feel a melancholy regret at the scenes of +unparalleled bloodshed that took place on the rich and delightful +banks of this river during the phrenzy of the revolution. These +dreadful recollections assailed us most powerfully as we came in view +of Ancenis on the left, and of Saint Florent le Viel to the right. +At the latter place we stopped for the night. It was a fine serene +evening, the wind had left us, and we were forced to track the shore +for some distance before we reached it: just as the sun was setting I +made a sketch of its ruined convent on the hill. + +[Illustration: TOUR D'OUDON on the RIVER LOIRE.] + +[Illustration] + +After the defeat of the Vendean army, and their retreat across the +Loire at this place, says a French writer, "There were seen upon +the right bank, following the army, which increased prodigiously, +a multitude of bishops, priests, monks, religious persons, old +countesses, baronesses, &c. &c. who were carried off by cart-loads, +and which did nothing but embarrass the army.[11] There were a great +many of them killed at the battle of Mans". + +[Footnote 11: On gaining the heights of St. Florent, one of the most +mournful, and at the same time most magnificent spectacles, burst upon +the eye. These heights form a vast semicircle; at the bottom of which +a broad bare plain extends to the edge of the water. Near an hundred +thousand unhappy souls now blackened over that dreary expanse,--old +men, infants and women, mingled, with the half-armed soldiery, +caravans, crowded baggage waggons and teams of oxen, all full of +despair, impatience, anxiety and terror:--Behind, were the smoke +of their burning villages, and the thunder of the hostile +artillery;--before, the broad stream of the Loire, divided by a long +low island, also covered with the fugitives,--twenty frail barks +plying in the stream--and, on the far banks, the disorderly movements +of those who had effected the passage, and were waiting there to be +rejoined by their companions. Such, Mad. de L. assures us, was the +tumult and terror of the scene, and so awful the recollections it +inspired, that it can never be effaced from the memory of any of +those who beheld it; and that many of its awe-struck spectators have +concurred in stating, that it brought forcibly to their imaginations +the unspeakable terrors of the great day of judgment.--_Edinb. Rev. +No. LI. p. 24._] + +It is said that when the Prince Talmont, with the royalists, crossed +over from Saint Florent, under the fire of the republican troops who +had taken possession of the heights, they consisted of thirty thousand +individuals, but that there were not twenty thousand warriors; among +them were five thousand women: arrived in the open country, without +warlike stores, they soon wanted provisions. This multitude created +a famine wherever it went, and suffered a famine itself. The first +unsuccessful enterprize produced discouragement, and necessarily the +desertion of the army: it diminished two-thirds when it was repulsed +at Angers; and when the chiefs, despairing (after the battle of Mans) +of not being able to recross the Loire at Ancenis, led back the wrecks +of the army to Savenay, it consisted only of fifteen thousand men, +half dead with hunger and misery: the major part of these were +exterminated by the republicans; the rest dispersed themselves, and +from that time all efforts ceased. Prince de Talmont was arrested near +Erne, tried at Rennes, and executed at Laval: of the fate of Lescure +and the other chiefs, a melancholy catalogue is furnished by Madame de +la Roche-Jaquelin. + +The wind favoring us the day following, we sailed at break of day, and +arrived at Angers at the close of a beautiful evening. The approach to +this town, in sailing up the river Mayenne, is highly picturesque; its +ancient castle is situated on a high rock overhanging the river; its +walls and antique towers, built by the English, have an imposing +effect. The town stands in a plain, which, in the distance, being +fringed with wood, together with the corn and meadow ground, give it +that richness and beauty that characterizes the whole country between +Nantes and Angers. The river Mayenne, and a small branch of the +Loire, divide the town. It is the chief seat of the province of +Maine-et-Loire, formerly the capital of Anjou. It is a large ancient +city, with a fine cathedral, a botanical garden, museum, and +several manufactories of cottons; one of them in imitation of India +handkerchiefs. Here the last effort was made by the Vendeans, whose +flight from it was immediately followed by the bloody and disastrous +affair of Mans. + +I had now passed the provinces of Bretagne and Poitou, as they border +the Loire; and, in point of beautiful and romantic scenery, this +district can scarcely be surpassed. The left bank of the river, +running along the country of Le Bocage, from Nantes to Angers, a +distance of seventy-two miles, is a continued range of lofty hills, +agreeably diversified with corn lands, and studded with vineyards. The +opposite bank is a more flat and variegated country, with pleasant +eminences and broad plains, watered by branches of the Loire, which in +many parts contains small islands covered with trees. The whole course +of this fine river, as the eye sweeps and ranges over its banks, +presents at almost every bend the view of villas enriched with +gardens, orchards, and vineyards; castles, convents, and villages in +ruins! bearing innumerable evidences of the desolating war that has +destroyed them. + +The religious communities, whose love of scenery and retirement in +general led them to prefer the most sequestered valleys, have in these +provinces chosen the most elevated and picturesque spots for the +erection of their monasteries; and these, notwithstanding their +deserted and decaying state, prove the good taste of their ancient +possessors, and the skill and industry with which they embellished +them. No situations could have been selected more abounding in +picturesque combinations of magnificent landscapes. + +The pleasure of the traveller in surveying such scenes, cannot but be +frequently interrupted, by the recollection of the various atrocities +which the inhabitants of these fine provinces committed against each +other, and of the immense number of innocent victims that were driven +from their abode to perish by famine or the sword. + + + + +CHAP. VIII. + +SAUMUR TO TOURS--TOURS--TOURS TO BLOIS--ORLEANS--AND ORLEANS TO +PARIS. + + +I hired a small carriage, called a _patache_, to convey me to Saumur +and Tours; it is driven by a postillion with two horses, and is open +in front, giving the traveller a better opportunity of viewing the +country than in a close vehicle. + +The town of Saumur is built on both banks of the Loire, with a +handsome stone bridge over it; an ancient castle, built on a high +rock, commands the whole town. The road from Angers to this place is a +high raised causeway, paved, and runs parallel to the river, within +a few paces of its banks, the whole distance. Here we entered into +Touraine from the province of Anjou. From Saumur to Tours, the road +is like the former. The river Loire is on the right hand, and a flat +level country on the left, covered with orchards, groves, and meadows. +The road is every where raised so high, that it forms a very steep +declivity, with narrow pathways down to the entrance of the cottages +and villages, which are most romantically situated,--some in orchards, +some amidst vineyards, some in gardens, and others in recesses peeping +from between the trees. The fences are fantastically interwoven with +wreaths of the vines, which frequently creep up the trunk of a pear or +a cherry-tree, and cover the slated roofs of the houses, thereby, from +the natural luxuriance and wildness of their spreading branches in the +fruit season, answering at once the purposes of utility and ornament; +for the slates, retaining the heat, ripen the grape sooner than any +other mode of training. The corn was now ripe, and added to the +interest and beauty of the scenes; in many of the fields the reapers +were at work, and the harvest (which happily for France had not been +so abundant for many years) was going on with the assistance of the +female peasantry, who on all occasions partake and cheer the labours +of the field. + +Approaching nearer to Tours, I had a fine view of the bridge, which is +esteemed the handsomest in France. Between the branches of the trees, +I now and then caught a glimpse of the spires of the church and +buildings, encompassed by extensive orchards and groves, and open +vales between, varied by vineyards. It was a _jour de fete_, and as I +drove through the town the streets were gay with holyday people, and +crowded in some places with groups of women and girls, whose cheerful +countenances proved the admiration with which they viewed the +performances of some mountebanks.[12] Tours is the chief seat of the +prefecture of the Indre-et-Loire, formerly the capital of the province +of Touraine, and is built on a plain on the bank of the Loire. The +houses are of a white stone, and in the principal streets well built +and lofty: it is altogether one of the handsomest towns in France. The +main street, the rue Royale, can boast of a foot pavement, which is +seldom to be met with in this country. The environs of the town are +also very beautiful; the luxuriance of the soil, abounding in vines, +fruits, and every article of life, has attracted such numbers of +English to its vicinity, that Tours may be almost considered an +English colony. + +[Footnote 12: There is no city in Europe where there are more of +these sort of people to be seen than at Paris, on the boulevards and +different carrefours. The fondness of the Parisians for shows has +existed for ages. In a tariff of Saint Lewis for regulating the duties +upon the different articles brought into Paris by the gate of the +little Chatelet, it is ordained, (Hist. LVIII. cxxxiii.) that +whosoever fetches a monkey into the city for sale, shall pay four +deniers; but if the monkey belongs to a merry-andrew, the merry-andrew +shall be exempted from paying the duty, as well upon the said monkey +as on every thing else he carries along with him, by causing his +monkey to play and dance before the collector! Hence is derived the +proverb "Payer en monnoie de singe," i.e. to laugh at a man instead of +paying him. By another article, it is specified, that jugglers shall +likewise be exempt from all imposts, provided they sing a couplet of a +song before the toll-gatherer.] + + +Its ancient cathedral is in good preservation, notwithstanding it +became a prey to the licentious fanaticism of the republicans. + +The hotel Saint Julien, where I resided during my stay, stands upon +the cloisters of an ancient abbey; and the church, with its fine +Gothic pillars, and chapels, remains a monument of those destructive +and desolating times! The side aisles are stalls for horses and +cattle, and the centre is a _remise_ for carriages and the public +diligences which run to this inn! The best hotel is the hotel du +Faisan. The vast number of English who keep pouring into all the +western provinces of this country, by degrees has affected the +markets, and will continue to do so, as long as the rage for +emigration lasts. At Tours, every article is one third dearer than at +Nantes, and in proportion as the capital is approached every thing +becomes more expensive; yet notwithstanding this, living is, and must +ever be, infinitely cheaper than in England. + +It certainly is no exaggeration to say, that France is richer in the +production of fruits and vegetables than any country in Europe, for in +no other can be found so many productions of the same climates of the +earth, or a soil more naturally abundant. With the exception of some +of the northern provinces, every part of France has wine, and the +culture of that delicious fruit which produces it is mentioned in its +earliest records. By a happy distribution, those provinces which do +not bear the vine, are abundantly supplied with other productions. +Normandy and Bretagne abound in the finest fruits; Picardy, and the +adjoining provinces, in corn. The riches of Lorraine are in its woods; +Touraine has ever been famous for its plums and its pears. The banks +of the Loire, and the valleys of Dauphine, are celebrated for the +richness of their verdure and vegetation; and the more southern +provinces of Languedoc and Provence, partake of the climate and +productions of Italy and Spain. + +Between Tours and Amboise, I passed the once celebrated Chateau of +Chanteloup, formerly the property of the Duc de Choiseuil, now the +residence of the Comte de Chaptal, who became the purchaser when it +was sold as national property. + +At the distance of six miles from Blois, the road leads near enough to +Valencay to have a good view of its magnificent palace and grounds; +this place, now belonging to M. de Talleyrand, Prince et Duc de +Benevento, (one of the most extraordinary characters who have figured +so conspicuously during the present age,) is the more interesting, +from having been so long the place of confinement of Ferdinand the +present King of Spain; and from whence our government tried to +extricate him through the agency of Baron de Kolly, who lost his life +in the attempt. This singular transaction has appeared in all the +public papers, but having had an opportunity of collecting the +particulars through a channel of undoubted authority, I consider it an +anecdote of too interesting a nature, as connected with the subject +before me, not to insert it here. + +In 1810, our government laid a plan to liberate King Ferdinand VII. of +Spain, similar to the one which had already effected the escape of +the Marquis de la Romana. The person entrusted with this commission, +assumed the name of Baron de Kolly, and besides the necessary credit +and credentials, he was furnished with the original letter, written by +Charles IV. to George III. in 1802, notifying the marriage of his son, +the Prince of the Asturias, and containing a marginal note from the +Marquis W.... in corroboration of his mission. A small squadron was +also sent to cruize off that part of the coast most contiguous to +Valencay, under the orders of Commodore C.... to be in readiness to +receive the royal fugitive. On a sudden the Baron de Kolly was seized, +and the plan frustrated, but the real particulars were never known +until after the events of the campaign of 1815. + +In the course of the passage to St. Helena, Admiral C.... (who +had been entrusted with the project) expressed a wish to know of +Buonaparte, by what means de Kolly had been discovered and arrested, +and the true circumstances of the affair so totally unknown in +England, adding, that if no motive of state policy intervened, he was +anxious to hear the whole disclosure. Buonaparte readily consented, +and told him that de Kolly arrived at Paris and lived in the greatest +obscurity, dressed shabbily, and eating his meals only at cheap +traiteurs in the Fauxbourg St. Antoine. However, he was not satisfied +with the common wine served up, and would ask for the best Bordeaux, +for which he paid five francs per bottle. This contrast of poverty and +luxury excited suspicions in the waiters of the two houses he thus +frequented, who being in the pay of the police, immediately sent in a +report. De Kolly was watched, and soon afterwards seized with all +his papers. Buonaparte said he then procured a person, as nearly +resembling de Kolly as could be found, to carry on the English +stratagem, under a hope that Ferdinand would have fallen into the +trap; and with all the original credentials, this agent of the French +police went into the castle of Valencay, under a pretext of selling +some trinkets. Ferdinand however, said Buonaparte, was too great a +coward to enter into the views proposed to him, but instantly gave +information of what had been communicated, to his first chamberlain, +Amazada, in a letter written to the governor of the castle!--By this +means Ferdinand escaped being placed at the mercy of Buonaparte, whose +intention was to intercept him in his flight. + +Although the conduct of Ferdinand was in this instance pusillanimous +and cruel, it was next to an impossibility that he could have +effected his escape. He was surrounded by guards and spies of every +description, under the superintendence of M. Darberg, Auditor of the +Council of State, and without whose leave no admittance could be +obtained. Twenty-five horse gendarmes regularly mounted guard about +the castle, and every person found in its vicinity without a regular +passport, was confined and strictly examined. + +At a small distance, is the residence of Marshal Victor, Duc de +Belluno, whom I met walking in the grounds. I was very civilly +permitted to enter, on sending a message desiring permission, as a +traveller, to see it. It stands at the entrance of the village of +Menard, and was once the favourite residence of Madame de Pompadour, +the mistress of Louis XV. The river Loire winds beautifully beneath +the terrace. The grounds are of a vast extent, and tastefully laid +out. Over the entrance, the workmen were then placing the arms of the +Marshal, finely executed in stone. + +The country is thickly enclosed on each side of the river, varied with +hill and dale, clothed with vineyards. The villages and small towns +along the banks, as far as Orleans, are numerous and invariably +picturesque. Nothing can be more beautiful than the natural festoons +which are formed by the long shoots of the vines as they project over +the road. The peasants and the vignerons live in the midst of their +vineyards; their dwellings are excavations in chalky strata of the +solid rock, which afford them warm and dry habitations; some of them +were so covered with the vines that the entrance was scarcely visible, +and the comparison of them to so many birds nests is not badly +imagined. The hedges were covered with wild thyme and rosemary; and +the clematis interwoven with honeysuckles and other fragrant flowers, +richly perfumed the air. The grapes in Touraine and Orleanois are not +abundant this year, but the wine that is expected to be made, will, +it is supposed, from the dryness of the summer, be of an excellent +quality. + +The town of Orleans is memorable for the siege it sustained against +the English in 1428, when the maid of Orleans acquired so much renown, +and whose barbarous execution at Rouen, cannot be remembered without +feelings of horror and indignation, and must ever remain a stain on +the memory of that brave soldier the Duke of Bedford. The transactions +subsequent to that event, led to the almost entire expulsion of the +English from France; and those glittering conquests which were an +object of more glory than interest, and had been purchased at such an +expense of blood and treasure, were from that time lost to the English +nation. + +During the Revolution, the ancient statue of this celebrated female +was taken down and unfortunately destroyed, and one more modern, but +less interesting, finely executed in bronze, has been since erected. +She is habited in armour, with a lance and shield, supposed to +be leading on the victorious troops. At the four angles, are the +emblematical figures in relief, of the principal events of her +singular career. On a marble pedestal, is inscribed: + + A JEANNE D'ARC. + +Orleans is the chief seat of the department of the Loiret, formerly +the capital of Orleanais, on the river Loire, over which it has a +handsome bridge like the one at Tours, though not of such extent, as +the river here is not so wide, and very shallow. The communication by +water with Paris is carried on by means of a canal. + +The church is one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture I +have seen in France. The towers are of open fretwork, and in excellent +preservation. More cheerful scenes of exuberant fertility are nowhere +to be met with than along the banks of the river, and in the country +surrounding the town. + +From Orleans to Etampes, there is a plain of eighteen leagues in +extent, the whole of which was covered with one entire tract of corn +and vines; not an intervening hill or hillock; and the scene was +doubly interesting from the harvest carrying on in every direction as +I traversed it. + +Leaving Etampes, I passed through the beautiful villages of Sceaux, +Bourg-la-Reine, and Fontenay-aux-Roses; the latter still contains the +ruins of the Palace of Colbert, the celebrated minister of Louis XIV. + +The village of Fontenay-aux-Roses, is situated in a valley six miles +from Paris, and takes its name from the culture of roses, which cover +large tracts of ground. The proprietors sell the flowers to the +distillers for making rose water and essences, and the flower market +is supplied with the choicest bouquets; it is likewise celebrated for +its produce of the finest strawberries and peaches. + +The beauty of its situation, and the association of its name with the +sweetest of flowers, has attracted many of the wealthy inhabitants +of the metropolis to reside in its vicinity, where they have summer +houses; among them is the Maire de Fontenay, Monsieur Ledru, whose +history is singular and interesting. + +His father, who was very wealthy, and a great miser, sent for him one +morning, at the time he had just attained his eighteenth year, and +said to him: "I began life at your age with half a crown; there is one +for you--go, and be as fortunate as I have been;"--saying which, he +turned him out of the house, and shut the door in his face. + +Undismayed at such unexpected and unnatural conduct on the part of his +parent, whom he had never offended, the youth sought the advice and +assistance of a friend, by whose opinion he applied himself to the +study of medicine. After an indefatigable study at the Hotel Dieu, he +became celebrated in his profession, and had the good fortune to +be employed by a lady of great wealth, whose life he saved. Out of +gratitude, she proposed to become his wife, and to settle upon him an +income of fifty thousand livres, that he might give up his medical +pursuits; which, having accepted, he rewarded her by an attention and +kindness suitable to the noble generosity of her conduct. + +The revolution soon after occurred, and in the general wreck of +property she lost all her fortune, it having been invested, either +in the funds, or public securities. It then became the turn of Mons. +Ledru to support his wife, by renewing the practice of his profession, +which soon placed them again in affluent circumstances. + +At the death of his father, who left an immense fortune to be divided +between Mons. Ledru and his two maiden sisters, he took possession +of the estate at Fontenay-aux-Roses, from whence he had been cruelly +banished when a boy, and which the unkindness of his parent had never +after permitted him to enter. Fortune, which had hitherto played a +wayward and capricious game with him, had not yet ceased her freaks. +In removing a mirror from over a chimney-piece which required an +alteration, he discovered a prodigious treasure that had been +concealed there by his father! With that generosity and nobleness +of character, which make him esteemed and beloved by all his +acquaintance, and adored by the whole commune over which he presides, +he instantly sent for his sisters and divided it with them. His wife +did not long survive this last event, and since her death he has +continued to reside at Fontenay-aux-Roses with his sisters, where +he exercises his authority with mildness; and by constant acts of +beneficence and charity, is justly styled, "Le Pere de Fontenay!" + +Between Fontenay-aux-Roses and Paris, to the right of the road, is the +village of Gentilly, whose numerous guinguettes are much frequented +by the Parisians in fine weather. It being a holyday we met crowds of +well dressed citizens, in all sorts of vehicles, driving towards it. +An interesting circumstance had been related to me of the cure of this +village, M. Detruissart; and on asking permission to visit his rural +habitation, I found the story to be true. His garden, which is not +above half an acre, has been laid out with such art and ingenuity, as +to give an idea of considerable extent, and to add to the charms of +this little spot, which he calls his "bonheur," there are a variety of +inscriptions of his own composition; over an arbour of vines is the +following:-- + + + MA SOLITUDE. + + Loin des mechans, du bruit, des tempetes du monde, + Sous un simple berceau dont la treille est feconde, + Sous un modeste toit, dans de rians jardins, + Dessines, eleves, cultives par mes mains.... + C'est dans ces lieux cheris que s'ecoule ma vie + Dans une paix profonde, une tranquillite + Qui sans cesse rappele a mon ame ravie + Le temps de l'age d'or et ma felicite: + Mais, quelque doux qu'il soit, mon sort est peu de chose; + Car enfin, apres tout, je dois mourir bientot! + Ne ressemblons-nous pas a la feuille de rose + Qui paroit un instant et qui seche aussitot! + +It was in the practice of the moral conveyed by these lines, and in +the pursuit of literature, and constant acts of charity, that Mons. +Detruissart passed his life, which was rewarded by the esteem and +affection of all his parishioners, of which they gave a remarkable +proof on the 4th of July, 1815, when the Prussian troops took post at +Gentilly, from whence they had driven the French the preceding evening +into Paris. + +The poor cure, with many other of the inhabitants, sought refuge +in the capital, leaving his house at the mercy of the enemy, who +commenced plundering in all directions; the humble and modest +appearance of M. Detruissart's cottage not attracting their notice, +it remained untouched, when a single word from any of the inhabitants +would have devoted it to ruin; but such was their esteem for him, that +at his return he found every thing as he had left it. + +I entered Paris, leaving Bicetre to my right, by the barriere d'Enfer, +after one of the most agreeable and interesting journeys I ever +performed. + + + + +CHAP. IX. + +ENVIRONS OF PARIS--PERE LA CHAISE--CASTLE OF VINCENNES--AND CHATEAU OF +ST. GERMAIN--ITS FOREST AND VICINITY. + + +Prior to the revolution, the French, like most other European nations, +were in the practice of depositing their dead in churches and +cemeteries within the most populous towns, in compliance with those +precepts of evangelical doctrine which recommend us unceasingly to +reflect on death; and hence originated a custom which cannot but be +attended with most pernicious consequences to health, when we reflect +that the decomposition of human bodies is productive of putrid +exhalations, and consequently pregnant with the causes of contagious +disorders. It is indeed surprising that some regulations have not +hitherto been adopted in England regarding the interment of the dead, +from the example of other countries. + +In the year 1793, a decree was passed by the National Assembly, to +prevent burying in churches, or in church-yards, within the city of +Paris. Since which period, there have been three places selected in +its immediate neighbourhood for that purpose--Montmartre, called "Le +Champ du Repos"--Vaugirard, and Pere La Chaise. + +Quitting the Boulevards, at the extremity of the Boulevards Neufs, +eastward of the city, and passing through the Barriere d'Aulnay, I +arrived at the Pere La Chaise. At the entrance, through large folding +gates, is a spacious court-yard, having at one angle the dwelling +of the Concierge, or Keeper. The enclosure contains one hundred and +twenty acres, on a gently rising ground, in the centre of which stands +the ancient mansion constructed by Louis XIV. for his confessor, Pere +la Chaise, the celebrated Jesuit, who, with Madame de Maintenon, +governed France. Rising above the thousands of tombs which surround +it, it displays itself a wrecked and mouldering monument of ancient +splendour, and the mutability of human affairs! This spot became +afterwards a place of public promenade and great resort, from the +beauty of its position overlooking all Paris; and though so often +the scene of festivity and pleasure, now presents to the eye of the +beholder a mournfully interesting sight of tombs and sarcophagi, +intermixed with various fruit trees, cypress groves, the choicest +flowers, and rarest shrubs. + +From the rising ground, above the building of Pere La Chaise, a most +delightful view displays itself. The city of Paris appears to stand +in the centre of a vast amphitheatre. The heights of Belleville, +Montmartre, and Menilmontant, in the west. To the east, the beautiful +plain of Saint-Mande, Montreuil, and Vincennes, with the lofty towers +of its fortress.--The fertile banks of the river Marne, are on the +North, and in the South, the horizon encircles Bicetre and Meudon. + +The various tombs are placed without order or regularity: they are +mostly enclosed with trellis work of wood, sometimes by iron railing; +and consist of a small marble column, a pyramid, a sarcophagus, or a +single slab, just as may have suited the fancy or the taste of the +friends of the departed.--Some surrounded with cypress, some with +roses, myrtles, and the choicest exotics; others with evergreens, and +not unfrequently a single weeping willow, with the addition of a rose +tree! + +This intermixture of the sweetest scented flowers and fruit trees, in +a burying ground, among the finest pieces of sculptured marble, with +evergreens growing over them, in the form of arbours, and furnished +with seats, cannot fail to produce in the mind of the person who views +it for the first time, peculiar and uncommon feelings of domestic +melancholy, mingled with pleasing tenderness. + +Who could be otherwise than powerfully affected, as I was, by the +first objects that presented themselves to me on entering the +place?--A mother and her two sons, kneeling in pious devotion at the +foot of the husband's and the father's grave! At a short distance, a +female of elegant form, watering and dressing the earth around some +plants at her lover's tomb!--not a day, and seldom an hour, passes, +but some one is seen either weeping over the remains of a departed +relative, or watching with pious solicitude the flowers that spring up +around it. + +Among the many interesting objects that presented themselves at my +first visit, was the tomb of Abelard and Heloise, which had not long +since been removed from the convent of the Augustins, where I had seen +it in 1815. + +At a little distance, to the left of the former, was the burial place +of Labedoyere. The fate of this brave and unfortunate officer is well +known; his youth, and misled zeal, have procured him a sympathy which +his fellow sufferer Marshal Ney did not find, and did not merit. + +In the centre of a square plot of ground enclosed with lattice work, +is erected a wooden cross, painted black. Neither marble, nor stone, +nor letters, indicate his name. Two pots of roses, and a tuft of +violets, alone marked the spot, which is carefully weeded. There is +something more affecting in all this simplicity, something, in my +mind, that goes more directly home to the heart, than in the most +splendid monument or the most studied eulogium. As we came suddenly up +we saw two females clad in deep mourning, weeping over it; at each +arm of the cross was suspended a garland of flowers; we were about to +retire again immediately, from the fear of disturbing their melancholy +devotions, when the concierge, with a brutality indescribable, rushed +forward, and removing the garlands, threw them among the shrubs at a +considerable distance. The friend who accompanied me, after searching, +recovered one of the garlands, and with more gallantry perhaps than +policy, immediately replaced it, and reproaching the keeper with his +unmanly conduct, vowed vengeance if he dared to interrupt the ladies, +again, when bowing to them we retired. + +As we were about to quit the place some time after, we were arrested +by two gendarmes, and it was not till after a detention of some +hours, and a long discussion between the police officers who had +been summoned to attend, and being threatened to be sent to the +Conciergerie prison, that we were allowed to depart. + +The following words were engraved on a plain marble slab that covered +the remains of Marshal Ney. + + CI GIT + LE MARECHAL NEY + DUC D'ECHLINGEN + PRINCE DE MOSCOWA + DECEDE le 7, Decembre, 1815. + +The grave of the Marshal, as well as that of Labedoyere, when I again +visited the spot, had been stripped of every thing, and the railing +around them removed so as to prevent any one from discovering the +place of their interment. + +The monument of Madame Cottin, the author of Elizabeth and of +Mathilde, is, like her writings, simple and affecting!-Surrounded by a +trellis work in the form of an arbour, planted with rose trees, stands +a pillar of the whitest marble, highly polished, inclining forwards, +and engraved with: + + ICI REPOSE + Marie-Sophie Risteav + Veuve de J.M. Cottin + Decedee le 25 Aout. + 1815. + +Near this is the tomb of the esteemed and celebrated poet Delille, the +"Songster of the Gardens," as the French term him. The monument is +enclosed in a small garden, planted with the choicest flowers and +shrubs: it is of white marble, of large dimensions, and approached +by an _allee verte_. The door leading to the vault is of brass, with +emblematical figures in relief: above the entrance is inscribed in +letters of gold. + +JACQVES-DELILLE. + +The linden tree, intermixed with various evergreens, form an +interesting and beautiful bouquet around it. + +Beyond this, to the right, are the tombs of Gretry the composer, +Fourcroy the great chemist, Fontenelle, Boileau, Racine, and of +Mademoiselle Raucourt, the celebrated actress, to whom the bigotry +of the clergy refused burial in consecrated ground in 1815! a +circumstance which gave rise to much clamour and dissatisfaction. It +is surprising, that after such events as have been experienced in +France, the folly of denying the right of consecrated ground to a +comedian should have been persevered in, _after the restoration_ of +Louis XVIII! + +Close to the tomb of Mad'lle Raucourt, is one, which for its affecting +simplicity and modesty, struck me very forcibly: in a little garden of +roses and lilies, and amidst some tufts of mignonette which appeared +to have been newly watered, stood a plain marble column, with the +words as represented in the annexed sketch--an accacia shaded it from +the sun's rays. In 1814, when the Allies approached Paris, this +height, like the others commanding the capital, was fortified, +and occupied by the students of the Polytechnical School, +who defended it with great gallantry. The walls were perforated with +holes for the musketry: the marks are still visible where they have +been since filled up. On the 30th of March, 1814, this position +was vigorously attacked, with great slaughter on both sides: the +assailants and the assailed fell in heaps, and it was not until +the chief part of a Prussian corps, (that afterwards carried it by +assault) had been annihilated, that the brave youths gave way. + +[Illustration] + +The tomb of my early friend and brother officer, the brave and +unfortunate Captain Wright, who was murdered in the Temple, is in +the cemetery of Vaugirard. I had searched for it in vain at Pere la +Chaise, where it was reported he had been buried. It has on it the +following inscription, written to his memory by his companion in arms, +and in imprisonment, the gallant Sir Sidney Smith: + + HERE LIES INHUMED + JOHN WESLEY WRIGHT, + BY BIRTH AN ENGLISHMAN, + CAPTAIN IN THE BRITISH NAVY + + Distinguished both among his own Countrymen and Foreigners + For skill and courage; + + To whom, + Of those things which lead to the summit of glory, + Nothing was wanting but opportunity: + + His ancestors, whose virtues he inherited, + He honoured by his deeds. + + Quick in apprehending his orders, + Active and bold in the execution of them; + + In success modest, + In adverse circumstances firm, + In doubtful enterprises, wise and prudent. + + Awhile successful in his career; + At length assailed by adverse winds, and on an hostile shore, + He was captured; + + And being soon after brought to Paris, + Was confined in the prison called the Temple, + _Infamous for midnight murders_, + And placed in the most rigid custody: + + But in bonds, + And suffering severities still more oppressive, + His fortitude of mind and fidelity to his country + Remained unshaken. + + A short time after, + He was found in the morning with his throat cut. + And dead in his bed: + + He died the 28th October, 1805, aged 36. + To be lamented by his Country, + Avenged by his God! + + +THE DONJON, OR CASTLE OF VINCENNES. + + +This ancient fortress is situate at the entrance of the forest of +Vincennes, (now reduced to a wood of small trees, the large timber +having been cut down during the revolution) and surrounded by a deep +ditch of great width, about two miles from the Barriere du Trone. +During many ages, it had been the casual residence of the sovereigns +of France. Philip de Valois added considerably to its dimensions in +1337. John continued the works, and during his captivity in England, +Charles his son, then regent of the kingdom, finished it. + +During the reign of Charles VII. in 1422, Henry VI. of England died in +this castle. From this time Vincennes became a royal residence, until +the reign of Louis XIV. when that monarch fixed himself at Versailles, +from which period it has never been used but as a prison[13]. + +[Footnote 13: Monstrelet relates a curious anecdote, during the +residence at the Castle of Vincennes of Isabeau de Baviere, strongly +illustrative of the barbarous manners of those times. "Lewis de +Bourbon, who was handsome and well made, and had signalized himself +upon various occasions, and amongst others at the battle of Agincourt, +going one night, as was customary, to visit the Queen, Isabeau de +Baviere, at the Castle of Vincennes, met the King (Charles VI.); he +saluted him, without either stopping or alighting from his horse, +but continued galloping on. The King having recollected him, ordered +Tangui du Chatel, prevost of Paris, to pursue, and to confine him in +prison. At night the _question_ was applied, and he was afterwards +tied up in a sack and cast into the Seine, with this inscription upon +the sack, 'Let the King's justice take place.'"] + +Dulaure, a French writer, in speaking of the persons who were confined +here, observes, it would be difficult to enumerate the number of +individuals that have been shut up in this prison within these few +years. "We will merely notice," he says, "the celebrated Count +Mirabeau, who was confined from 1777 to 1780; here it was that he +translated his Tibulle, and Joannes Secundus, and wrote his 'Lettres +originales' to his mistress, Madame Lemonnier, which abound with +passages as affecting as the letters of Heloise". + +This prison was thrown open during the reign of the unfortunate Louis +XVI. by the Baron de Breteuil, Minister of the Department of Paris +in 1784. In going over it, every one was penetrated with horror; and +feelings of the most melancholy interest were excited by reading the +various inscriptions on the walls, indicative of the hopeless misery +that had been experienced within them! Many were expressive of piety +and resignation at the approach of death!--others complaining of the +cruel oppression which had immured them! On one wall was written, "Il +faut mourir, mon frere; mon frere il faut mourir, quand il plaira a +Dieu". On the door of another prison were, "Beati qui persecutionem +patiuntur propter justitiam, quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum". On +the same spot were, "Carcer Socratis, templum honoris". + +This Donjon remained unoccupied until 1791. At this period, the +prisons of the capital being filled with criminals, Government ordered +it to be prepared for the reception of that class of prisoners; but on +the massacres that followed, the mob either murdered or released them +all, after a bloody contest, and it remained again without prisoners +until the Imperial Government under Buonaparte. It was then garrisoned +by a detachment of the Imperial Guard, and multitudes of victims were +transferred there whose fate remains, and probably ever will remain, +unknown. + +It was to this place that the Duke D'Enghien, who was arrested the +15th March, 1804, at Ettenheim, in the Electorate of Baden, was +conducted the 20th of the same month, at five in the evening, and +condemned to death the night following, by a military commission, at +which Murat presided. He was accordingly shot on the 21st, at half +past four in the evening, in the ditch of the castle which looks +towards the forest, on the north side, and his body thrown into a +grave, ready dug to receive it, where he fell. The details of this +cruel and wanton act of barbarity are too well known to need any +repetition here. + +This spot is now marked by a wooden cross, enclosed by an iron +railing. The remains of the Prince were dug out on the 20th March, +1816, by order of Louis XVIII. and deposited with solemn funeral +ceremony in a coffin which is placed in the same apartment where the +council of war condemned him to suffer! since transformed info a +chapel. Under a cenotaph, covered with a cloth of gold, is placed the +coffin, with a prodigious large stone lying on it, the same that was +found lying on his head, and which from its weight had crushed his +skull! + +The apartment is hung with black cloth, and remains continually +lighted, with a guard placed over it. Mass is daily performed for the +repose of his soul, agreeable to the Catholic religion. + +On the lid of the coffin is the following inscription: + + Ici est Le Corps + De Tres-Haut, Tres-Puissant Prince + Louis-Antoine-Henri De Bourbon + Duc D'Enghien, Prince du Sang + Pair de France + Mort A Vincennes, Le 21 Mars 1804 + A L'age de XXXI Ans VII mois XVIII Jours. + +A marble bust of the Prince, by Bosio, is placed at the entrance. + +During the periods of 1814 and 1815, when Paris was in possession +of the Allies, Vincennes continued under the command of General +Daumesnil, who declared that he held it for his country until the +Government was settled, and would not open its gates to a foreign +army. It was not attacked either of the times. + +It is approached by two gates, with drawbridges, and defended by +cannon on all sides. The fosse is of great depth, and dry, extending, +I should suppose, nearly a quarter of a mile. It has nine towers, of +prodigious height and solidity: the largest, at the south western +angle, called the Donjon, is considerably more elevated than the +others. The principal entrance is fronting the forest, on the north +side, in the form of a triumphal arch, with six pillars, ornamented +in bas-reliefs, and was decorated with marble statues, which were +destroyed when it was seized by the mob. + +The Donjon is surrounded by a separate ditch, within the other, of +forty feet depth, and is approached by two draw-bridges; one for +carriages, the other for foot passengers; and the main tower is +flanked by four other angular ones, each having a high turret. The +windows are treble barred within and without, so as to admit but a +faint glimmering light! Three gates of great solidity are to be passed +at the entrance; that which communicates with the draw-bridge of the +castle is secured both within and without. After passing the three +gates, there is a court, in the middle of which stands the Donjon. +Three other immense gates guard its entrance! + +The form of the Donjon is a square. The towers at the four angles are +divided into five floors, each having a separate stair-case, and +each floor is vaulted, with an apartment in the centre, sustained +by pillars, which are chimneys. At each of the four corners of the +apartment in the centre is a cell thirteen feet square. The towers are +encompassed on the third story by a large gallery on the outside, and +on the top of each there is a small circular terrace. Such is the +strength and prodigious solidity of this building, that it is said to +be capable of resisting the heaviest cannon, and is bomb proof. The +hand of time appears not to have made any impression on its outward +surface. + +The first hall is called "La chambre de la question:" its name +indicates sufficiently the horrid purposes to which it was +appropriated! So late as the year 1790 were to be seen chairs formed +of stone, where the unhappy victims were seated, with iron collars +fixed to the wall by heavy chains, that confined them to the spot +while undergoing the torture! In these prisons, deprived of air and +light, were beds of timber, on which they were allowed to repose +during the interval of their sufferings. + +The upper floor, named "La salle du conseil," from the Kings holding +their council there, while it was a royal residence, is secured by a +door of great solidity, and each prison at the angles had three doors +covered with iron plates, with double locks and treble bolts. The +doors were so contrived as to open crossways, each serving as a +security to the other. The first acted as a bar to the second, and +this to the third, so that it was necessary to close one before the +other could be opened.--Such was the mode of confinement in this +prison, the walls of which are sixteen feet thick, and the arches +thirty feet high. + +The other eight towers were also prisons. The one called "La tour de +la surintendance" contains cells six feet square; the bed places are +of stone. There is a square hole to descend into the vaults beneath, +where, like a tomb, the miserable prisoner was immured for ever!!! +Often, alas! for imaginary crimes, or for causes which make us shudder +at their wantonness and barbarity, an unfortunate victim has been torn +from the bosom of his family, to perish unheard of and unknown! + +The French Government have, I understand, issued an order to prevent +any one from entering this place from motives of curiosity; and let us +hope that the humane and enlightened policy of the restored Monarch +will close its cells for ever! + +The following beautiful lines, with which I close an account of the +most horribly interesting spot I ever visited, are from the pen of +Delille: + + ".......................... + Voyez gemir en proie a sa longue torture, + Ce mortel confine dans sa noire cloture. + Pour unique plaisir et pour seul passe-temps, + De sa lente journee il compte les instans, + Ou de son noir cachot mesure l'etendue, + Ou medite en secret sa fuite inattendue; + Ou, de ceux qu'avant lui renferma la prison, + Lit, sur ces tristes murs, la complainte et le nom: + Et lui-meme y tracant sa douloureuse histoire, + A ceux qui le suivront en transmet la memoire. + C'est peu d'etre enchaine dans ces tristes tombeaux, + Combien de souvenirs viennent aigrir ses maux! + Helas! tandis qu'aupres de leurs jeunes compagnes; + Dans les riches cites, dans les vastes campagnes; + Ses amis d'autrefois errent en liberte, + Lorsque l'heure propice a la societe, + Reconduit chaque soir la jeunesse folatre + Aux entretiens joyeux, a la danse, au theatre, + Ou, d'un plaisir plus doux annoncant le retour, + Du moment fortune vient avertir l'amour, + Il est seul; ... en un long et lugubre silence, + Pour lui le jour s'acheve, et le jour recommence; + Il n'entend point l'accent de la tendre amitie, + Il ne voit point les pleurs de la douce pitie: + N'ayant de mouvement que pour trainer des chanes, + Un coeur que pour l'ennui, des sens que pour les peines, + Pour lui, plus de beaux jours, de ruisseau, de gazon; + Cette voute est son ciel, ces murs son horizon, + Son regard, eleve vers les flambeaux celestes, + Vient mourir dans la nuit de ses cachots funestes; + Rien n'egaie a ses yeux leur morne obscurite; + Ou si, par des barreaux avares de clarte, + Un faible jour se glisse en ces antres funebres, + Il redouble pour lui les horreurs des tenebres, + Et, le coeur consume d'un regret sans espoir, + Il cherche la lumiere et gemit de la voir." + +DELILLE. CHATEAU DE SAINT GERMAIN. + +This ancient pile of building is now a barrack for the King's Gardes +du Corps, containing two troops, one of Luxembourg, and the other of +Grammont, which are relieved every three months. + +It is supposed to have been built in the reign of Robert, but there +appears to be no certainty as to the exact period. It is interesting +to the English traveller, from having been the last refuge of James +the Second of England, and the residence, at various times, of very +celebrated and distinguished characters. It was taken, and pillaged, +and partly burnt, during the reign of Philip VI, in 1346, by Edward +the Third, and again by the English in 1419, and rebuilt by Francis +the First. During the war of the League in 1574, Catherine de Medicis +retired to this Castle, but from the predictions of an astrologer, +that she would die there, quitted it shortly after, and returned to +the Tuilleries, which Palace she had founded.[14] Henry the Fourth +often frequented Saint Germain. The Chateau Neuf, and one of the +towers, called Le Pavilion de Gabrielle, which is still in good +preservation, were erected by him, close to the Castle, for the +residence of his favourite, La belle Gabrielle:[15] and the superb +terrace was begun in his reign. From this spot the view is very +interesting and extensive: nothing can surpass the admirable +assemblage of hills, meadows, gardens, and vineyards, which charm the +eye, and which as they are viewed from its different points on a clear +summer's evening, appear at every turn, in new beauty, and endless +variety. + +[Footnote 14: According to Mezeray, this palace had its name from the +spot whereon it is situated, which was called Les Tuilleries, because +tiles (des tuiles) were made here. Catherine de Medicis built it 1564. +It consisted of nothing but the large square pavilion in the middle, +the two wings, and the two pavilions which terminate the wings. Henry +IV. Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. afterwards extended, elevated, and +embellished it. It is said to be neither so well proportioned, so +beautiful, or so regular, as it was at first. The Tuilleries is, +nevertheless, a very splendid palace. An astrologer having predicted +to Catherine de Medicis, that she would die near St. Germain, she +immediately flew, in a most superstitious manner, from all places +and churches that bore this name; she no more resorted to St. +Germain-en-Laye, and because her palace of the Tuilleries was situated +in the parish of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, she was at the expense of +building another, which was the Hotel de Soissons, near the church +of St. Eustache. When it was known to be Laurence de Saint Germain, +Bishop of Nazareth, who had attended her upon her death-bed, people +infatuated with astrology averred that the prediction had been +accomplished.] + + +[Footnote 15: Henri IV se plaisait beaucoup a Saint-Germain, et y vint +souvent, quand son coeur fut epris des charmes de la belle Gabrielle. +Ce prince galant et liberal, qui deja lui avait prouve son amour par +le don d'une infinite de maisons de campagne, aux environs de Paris, +voulut encore lui donner une preuve de sa tendresse, en batissant pour +elle, a deux cents toises de l'ancien chateau, une nouvelle et belle +habitation, qu'on appela le Chateau Neuf. Eleve sur les dessins +de l'architecte Marchand, il etait surtout remarquable par son +architecture simple, ses nombreuses devises, les chiffres amoureux +et les emblemes allegoriques qui le decoroient, et qui faisoient une +ingenieuse allusion a la passion du monarque pour sa maitresse. +L'une des ailes de ce chateau s'appelait meme le Pavillon de +Gabrielle.--_Hist. Topo. des Environs de Paris_.] + +The City of Paris is seen in the distance. The fine aqueduct of Marly, +the mountain de Coeur volant, Mount Calvary,[16] and Malmaison to the +right; in front the forest of Vesinet, and beyond it the vale of Saint +Denis; on the left the hills which encompass the beautiful vale of +Montmorency; the Seine winding at the foot, and extending its course +until it loses itself in the distance--all within one sweep of the +eye!--Such is the enchanting prospect which presents itself. + +It was at different times the residence of Louis XIII.[17] of Anne of +Austria, Christiana of Sweden, and of Madame La Valiere, when Madame +de Montespan rivalled her in the affections of Louis XIV. After the +former had retired to the Convent of the Carmelites at Paris, it was +assigned in 1689 to the unfortunate James the Second, whose bigotry +had driven him from the throne of England. Here, together with his +Queen, and those of his court who fled with him to seek an asylum in +France, and surrounded by those priests and monks, whose pernicious +councils had led to his fall, the unhappy James remained until his +death, the 16th Sept. 1701. The apartment in which he breathed his +last is still preserved; but the whole of the interior has been very +much neglected. It served as a quarter for a body of Prussians in +1815, and the following year was a barrack for the English troops +quartered at St. Germain. A French poet of his time wrote these lines +descriptive of the life he led in his retirement. + + "C'est ici que Jacques second, + Sans Ministres et sans maitresse, + Le matin allait a la Messe, + Et le soir allait au sermon". + +[Footnote 16: On the top of this height is the Pavilion de Lucienne, +built by Madame Dubarry, Mistress to Louis XV. afterwards the property +of Madame La Princesse de Conti, now the residence of M. de Puy: at +the foot is the village of Lucienne, surrounded by numerous villas: +among the most remarkable is the residence of General Comte Campon.] + +[Footnote 17: Lewis XIV. would not reside here, because the steeples +of the Abbey of St. Denis, where he was to be interred, could be +seen from the Chateau. The amount of the immense treasure which the +consequent erection of the Palace of Versailles cost was never known, +the King Mary Stewart, daughter of James, died here in April 1712, and +his Queen, in May 1718. These were the last persons of any consequence +who inhabited this palace, which in its exterior still preserves all +its ancient appearance of grandeur. It is built of stone, with a +facing of red brick, the windows are of great height, and the whole is +surrounded by a deep ditch, forming a very striking contrast to the +buildings of the present age, having destroyed the bills with his +own hand. In the neighbourhood of Versailles stands the celebrated +Military School of St. Cyr, which was originally an establishment for +the gratuitous admission of two hundred and fifty young ladies +of rank, who were to receive an education correspondent to their +situation in life. Madame de Maintenon is buried in the Chapel of the +Convent.] + + + + + +FOREST OF SAINT GERMAIN. + +This forest is enclosed by a wall of thirty miles in circumference, +according to M. Prudhomme. It is now preserved exclusively for the Duc +de Berri, who is the Ranger. + +Of all the ancient forests with which Paris is surrounded, this is the +most extensive. It is stocked with prodigious quantities of game, with +deer, and wild boar. The pheasants and partridges are reared in an +extensive _faisanderie_, in the centre of the forest, enclosed by a +high wall, and such vigilance is exercised by the keepers, that no +person can possibly destroy the game. It is guarded by a captain and +two lieutenants, who have under them a corps of gardes de chasse. + +The royal chace is, at the commencement of the season, quite a state +ceremony, at which all the royal family and the court assemble to be +spectators. The dress of the hunt is green and gold, with gold laced +cocked hats and swords. The Duke invites his party, and gives them +permission to wear the uniform, which is considered a high honour. + +Nothing can be more delightful than the walks and rides through this +forest; the roads are kept in the best possible state. At intervals +are large open spaces called Etoiles, from whence branch off sometimes +ten and twelve roads with direction posts, each bearing a separate +name, either from some memorable event, or remarkable person; as the +croix de Poissy, croix de la Pucelle, croix de Montchevreuil, croix de +Berri, and croix de Noailles, &c. &c. + +A story is related of a lamentable occurrence which took place the 7th +June 1812, at the Etoile des Marres, and a similar one happened in +August this year, near the same spot. + +The first of these events was occasioned by the parents of a young +lady having refused their consent to her being married to her lover, +whose want of fortune was the chief obstacle. The lovers, in despair, +came to the fatal resolution of putting a period to their lives, and +this forest was fixed upon as the spot for the dreadful deed! Having +partaken of a repast which they had brought with them, and sworn +to love each other (if it were permitted them) after death, they +discharged, at the same moment, their pistols at themselves. The +unhappy girl fell dead, but the hand of her lover having missed its +aim, he was only wounded. Having no other means left of accomplishing +his dreadful purpose, he took the handkerchief from her bosom and +suspended himself by it to a tree. In this state they were discovered, +and their bodies deposited in the same grave! The other circumstance +was of the same romantic and melancholy nature.[18] This forest +supplies Paris with great quantities of wood. In 1814, and in 1815, +the palisades that were made to surround Paris for its defence against +the Allied armies, were cut in this wood, and the large timber has +consequently been greatly thinned. + +[Footnote 18: There never was known in this country so many fatal +instances of suicide as at the present period; few days pass over +without some persons throwing themselves out of their windows, or into +the river Seine; and among the disappointed partizans of the late +ruler, it has been usual to hurl themselves from the top of the column +in the Place Vendome, which has been shut up in consequence by an +order from Government. + +Among the instances of deliberate self-destruction, the following is a +remarkable fact, inasmuch as it serves to prove the pernicious effects +of the writings of Voltaire and Rousseau in the minds of youth, when +at an age incapable of discriminating between fanaticism and real +piety! + +The person in question was a youth not turned sixteen, who destroyed +himself last summer, while at college, and who left the following +paper as his last will. The lady who gave it me copied it from the +original. + + "Testament de Villemain. + + "Samedi. July 6th, 1816. + + "Je donne mon corps aux Pedants: je legue mon ame aux manes de + Voltaire et de J.J. Rousseau, qui m'ont appris a mepriser toutes les + vaines superstitions de ce monde, et tous les vains prejuges qu'a + enfantes la grossierete des hommes, et surtout les subtiles noirceurs + des fourbes de Pretres. + + "J'ai toujours reconnu un Etre supreme, et ma religion a toujours ete + la religion naturelle. + + "Quant a mes biens terrestres, je donne: (Here he mentions various + articles to his favorite school-fellows). + + "A Mondesir, mon dernier soupir. + + "J'ai toujours connu, je l'ai dit plus haut, reconnu un Etre supreme, + j'ai toujours pense que la seul religion digne de lui, etait la vertu + et la probite! + + "J'ose dire que je m'en suis rarement ecarte malgre la faiblesse, et + la fragilite humaine. + + "Je parois devant l'Etre supreme en disant avec Voltaire: 'Un Bonze, + honnete homme, un Dervis, charitable, trouveront plutot grace a ses + yeux, qu'un Pontife ambitieux.'" + + Then follows a Latin quotation, "All things are due to death, and + without delay, sooner or later, hasten to the same goal: Hither we all + tend: This is our last asylum". + + "De tout les Pedants qui m'ont le plus tourmente je compte surtout + Poir, son Jeannes et Veissier, qui sont la cause du vol que je fais a + la nature en tranchant moi meme le fil de mes jours; je leur pardonne, + l'equite le fait aussi: Je n'ai cesse de repeter avec Rousseau avant + de mourir. 'Tu veux cesser de vivre, sais-tu si tu as commence.' + + "Adieu!!! Mortels et foiblesses! VILLEMAIN".] + +Here conclude my notes, and if my reader has condescended to accompany +me through my little Tour without feeling fatigue or displeasure +at his "Compagnon de Voyage," my aim and ambition as an author are +satisfied--so wishing that all the journeys he may ever take, may +prove as delightful to him as this has been to me, I sincerely thank +him for his attention, and kindly bid him Farewell! + + +FINIS. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Visit to the Monastery of La Trappe +in 1817, by W.D. Fellowes + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE *** + +***** This file should be named 10864.txt or 10864.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/8/6/10864/ + +Produced by Robert Connal, Renald Levesque and PG Distributed +Proofreaders. This file was produced from images generously made +available by gallica (Biblioth que nationale de France) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's +eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, +compressed (zipped), HTML and others. + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over +the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. +VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving +new filenames and etext numbers. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000, +are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + + https://www.gutenberg.org/etext06 + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: + https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL + + diff --git a/old/10864.zip b/old/10864.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d0b2a26 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10864.zip |