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.