DEPARTURE FROM VIRE. CONDÉ. PONT OUILLY. ARRIVAL AT FALAISE. HOTEL OF THE
GRAND TURC. THE CASTLE OF FALAISE. BIBLIOMANIACAL INTERVIEW.
_Falaise_.
Here I am--or rather, here I have been--my most excellent friend, for the
last four days--and from hence you will receive probably the last despatch
from NORMANDY--- from the "land (as I told you in my first epistle) of
"castles, churches, and ancient chivalry." An old, well-situated,
respectably-inhabited, and even flourishing, town--the birth-place too of
our renowned FIRST WILLIAM:--weather, the most serene and inviting--and
hospitality, thoroughly hearty, and after the English fashion:--these have
all conspired to put me in tolerably good spirits. My health, too, thank
God, has been of late a little improved. You wish me to continue the thread
of my narrative unbroken; and I take it up therefore from the preparation
for my departure from Vire.
I breakfasted, as I told you I was about to do, with my friend and guide
Mons. de Larenaudiere; who had prepared quite a sumptuous repast for our
participation. Coffee, eggs, sweetmeats, cakes, and all the comfortable
paraphernalia of an inviting breakfast-table, convinced us that we were in
well-furnished and respectable quarters. Madame did the honours of the meal
in perfectly good taste; and one of the loveliest children I ever saw--a
lad, of about five or six years of age--with a profusion of hair of the
most delicate quality and colour, gave a sort of joyous character to our
last meal at Vire. The worthy host told me to forget him, when I reached
my own country;[166] and that, if ever business or pleasure brought me
again into Normandy, to remember that the Maire de Tallevende-le-Petit
would-be always happy to renew his assurances of hospitality. At the same
time, he entreated me to pay attention to a list of English books which he
put into my hands; and of which he stood considerably in need. We bade
farewell in the true English fashion, by a hearty shake of the hands; and,
mounting our voiture, gave the signal for departure. "Au plaisir de vous
revoir!"--'till a turning of the carriage deprived us of the sight of each
other. It is not easy--and I trust it is not natural--for me to forget the
last forty-eight hours spent in the interesting town of VIRE!
Our route to this place was equally grand and experimental; grand, as to
the width of the road, and beauty of the surrounding country--but
experimental, inasmuch as a part of the _route royale_ had been broken up,
and rendered wholly impassable for carriages of any weight. Our own, of its
kind, was sufficiently light; with a covering of close wicker-work, painted
after the fashion of some of our bettermost tilted carts. One Norman horse,
in full condition of flesh, with an equal portion of bone and muscle, was
to convey us to this place, which cannot be less than twenty-two good long
English miles from Vire. The carriage had no springs; and our seat was
merely suspended by pieces of leather fastened at each end. At _Condé_,
about one-third of the distance, we baited, to let both man and horse
breathe over their dinners; while, strolling about that prettily situated
little town, we mingled with the inhabitants, and contemplated the various
faces (it being market-day) with no ordinary degree of gratification.
Amidst the bustle and variety of the scene, our ears were greeted by the
air of an itinerant ballad-singer: nor will you be displeased if I send you
a copy of it:--since it is gratifying to find any thing like a return to
the good old times of the sixteenth century.