little green Isles, and white sails of commerce, are seen rapidly
coursing in intricate windings through the broad, rich plain of
corn-fields, for many miles in extent, both to the east and west, and
which is bordered by bold elevations, and cliffs of chalk and calcareous
sandstone, surmounted by a succession of beautiful vineyards. And
perhaps the most singular feature in this varied landscape, is the vast
chain of human habitations, which, like a whitened irregular stratum may
be seen stretching out as far as the eye can reach in opposite
directions, along the whole slope of the southern elevations just
adverted to. They contain a large population, principally constituted of
the cultivators of the adjacent plain and hills, the slopes being
chiefly occupied by pretty white villas belonging to the better classes,
while in the abrupt intermediate precipices of rock, the poor have
scooped out their indestructible dwellings. And which, certainly possess
some considerable advantages over those of their more pretending
neighbours, being warm in winter, cool in summer, and dry in all
seasons. These subterranean abodes, together present an exceedingly
curious and novel spectacle. Sometimes the excavations are continued a
considerable height up the cliff, and the numerous doors and windows in
the face of it, apprize the spectator that, his species here literally
"live and have their being" in the foundations of the earth! A kind of
fret work or fantastically wrought sculpture not unfrequently
over-arches the entrance, or hangs like an ornamental frieze above
entire dwellings, which on a close inspection we discover to be the
mystical workings and embellishments of nature herself, being actually
constituted of a bed of fossil zoophytes, which in the very spot they
now occupy, vegetated at the bottom of the antediluvian Ocean! How
strange the transformation! How astounding the physical revolutions
time has here effected!--The identical _bed of coral_, over which the
turbulent waves of the Ocean rolled for centuries, and amid which the
finny tribe disported, now, in its pristine position, forms a roof for
the permanent dwellings of man! Which, with their fruitful vines
flourishing around the doors, and the smoke from the domestic hearth
rising in graceful curls through the submarine production, or as
sometimes seen, peering through some verdant knoll, present a singular,
but pleasing picture of humble contentment security and peace.
Near the western visible extremity of these thickly peopled hills, the
lofty turrets of Tours cathedral are distinctly visible in the horison.
But in our enumeration of the more striking features of this
interesting panorama, we must not omit to mention the long island in the
middle of the river, immediately below the castle, and which
communicates with the town by a stone bridge of ten arches, and with the
opposite bank by a curiously constructed wooden bridge of eleven arches.
The portion of the island above the bridges, being covered with a
verdant turf, and tall trees, affords a very agreeable and favourite
promenade, while the part contiguous to the bridges being entirely
occupied by houses, presents the curious appearance of a small town
floating as it were on the hurrying current.
Visitors from Tours to this place sometimes extend their drive on the
same day to Chenonceaux, a distance of ten miles through the extensive
forest of Amboise, and return from thence to the city, a drive of twenty
miles, along the interesting banks of the river Cher.
CASTLE OF CHENONCEAUX.
This a large and majestic structure, and being built upon arches
constructed across the Cher exhibits a singular appearance, and its
approach through a noble avenue of trees is one of striking beauty.
This beautiful chateau, supposed to have been erected in the thirteenth
century, became crown property in 1535.
It was greatly improved and embellished by Diana of Poitiers, mistress
of Henry 2nd who however was afterwards compelled by Catherine de
Medicis to exchange this splendid gift of her munificent lord, for
Chaumont-sur-Loire.
Its extensive picture gallery contains a considerable variety of
interesting paintings and ancient portraits. In short the general
character and internal decorations of this spacious and antique
building, its neat and extensive pleasure grounds, with the pretty
sylvan park attached thereto, together render the place an object of
very general interest.
PLESSIS-LES-TOURS.
In the plain, about a mile to the west-ward of Tours, a few
comparatively inconsiderable remains of the royal Castle and appendages
of Plessis-les-Tours, are still to be seen; they consist of an
extensive wall about 15 feet high enclosing about 60 acres of arable
land, an uninteresting habitable portion of the ancient structure, and a
remnant of the once famous and beautiful Saint Hubert's Chapel. These
solitary relics in fact barely suffice to attest the spot where high in
the air, arose the noble and massive pile, which during the feudal times
of darkness and of danger, was watched and defended with the most
extreme and jealous care.
This castle was the favourite residence of Louis XI, and many were the
strange and plotting scenes enacted here during the period it was
dignified by the presence of his mysterious court. He is said to have
been excessively superstitious, crafty, vindictive and cruel, and the
vigilance and surveillance he caused to be exercised in the vicinity of
his palace, by his not over scrupulous agents, continually filled the
surrounding neighbourhood with awe and apprehension.
A vast enclosed chase, termed in latin of the middle ages, _Plexitium_,
encircled the external enclosures surrounding the open esplanade which
sloped up to the castle walls, rendering the precincts of the Royal
domain as sombre and portentous in aspect, as were the dark and
multiplied battlements which frowned above the monarchs of the
surrounding forests.
The cruel and treacherous cardinal La Balue was a great favourite at
this court, and for a considerable period basked in the smiles of
royalty at Plessis-les-Tours, but Louis having strong grounds for
suspecting that he had been mainly instrumental in betraying him to the
duke of Burgundy,--his feuds with whom were highest about 1460--he
ultimately caused him to be immured in one of the iron cages, we have
referred to in our notice of Loches. In this horrid den, the invention
of which some ascribe to Balue himself, he was confined eleven years,
principally it is said at Plessis-les-Tours, nor did Louis permit him to
be liberated till his last illness.
Such are a few of the historical facts associated with the crumbling
memento which as yet remain of this favourite and beautiful demesne of a
great and powerful monarch. All its proud bulwarks have long since
fallen beneath the ruthless hand of time, and its noble and extensive
forests been laid prostrate by the active axe of the cultivator, while
the march of rural improvement which has entirely renewed the face of
the plain, will ere long have swept every ancient vestige away leaving
the antiquary to search for the locality of Plessis-les-Tours, alone in
the page of History.
But what reasonable and enlightened mind will regret even such a
consummation, for, as moral improvement advances towards the climax of
perfection, we every day see the face of nature rejoicing in its
progress, and her children enjoying the fruits of their industry in the
fullness of freedom and of unrestricted liberty.
The clustering vine and the golden waving corn, now deck the place of
the arbitrary halls, and the dismal dungeons of the castle, the peaceful
hamlet with its neat and assiduously cultivated gardens, covers no
inconsiderable portion of the once exclusive and lordly precincts, while
its unsophisticated population pursue their daily avocations in
fearlessness and in peace.
Old tottering ruins and dismantled Towers may of themselves under many
circumstances be justly deemed very picturesque objects, and merit to be
valued accordingly, but to preserve and venerate _all_ solely for their
historical associations, which at best, are but too frequently the dark
and ignominious doings of a clandestine and barbarous age, would seem to
argue a morbid sensibility, more befitting the devoted and infatuated
antiquarian, than the true and enlightened philosopher who sees
"language in stones and God in everything."
There are a few other ancient Chateaux and some inconsiderable
architectural remains in the arrondisement, but as they present few or
no features of general interest, it would be a work of supererogation to
particularize them; we cannot however close these brief notices without
particularly adverting to a very laudable and attractive modern
institution, situated at the pretty sequestered village of Mettray,
about three miles from Tours. And this we shall do with the more
pleasure, as its philanthropic object, judicious development of its
practical plans, moral and religious administration, would do honor to
any nation in the world.
The purport of this Institution, which is denominated an "Agricultural
Colony", is to reform juvenile delinquents; and by the inculcation of
moral and religious principles, aided by sober methodical and
industrious habits, to effect the great work of penitentiary reform. The
founders and devoted benefactors of the colony are Mr de Metz and
viscount de Bretigneres. These benevolent gentlemen took the sublime
idea of such a project from the reform colony founded by the worthy and
excellent Hickerr, at Horn near Hambourg in 1834. And they have so
zealously and skilfully executed their designs, as to have already
realized in all essential particulars, a beautiful model of their
admirable prototype.
The colony is composed of a certain number of uniformly built
houses;--Each house contains forty children, divided into two sections,
and forming one family, headed by a chief, who has subject to his orders
two under teachers.
The first Sunday of each month, a colonist is elected in the respective
sections, who takes the title of elder Brother; and serves as mediator
between the masters and the pupils. The houses are erected (30 feet)
distant from each other, and are united by sheds. The ground floor of
the "Maison de la Ville de Paris" occupied by the family A,--is
organized like the work shops at Horn, it contains work rooms of
tailors, shoemakers, saddlers, etc., and the rest are arranged in
nearly the same manner. The house of Count d'Aurches on the ground floor
contains six prison cells on the first story, the director's room, and
that of the agent of the agricultural works. On the second story, the
office and the lodging room of the accountable agent,--a forge and a
braziers work shop for the service of the house, are established under
the fourth shed. The adjacent large building is intended for a class of
300 scholars; the chaplain and the professor of gymnastics occupy the
house opposite those of the colonists. A handsome chapel has recently
been added to the establishment.
The instruction given to the colonists is regulated by the station they
are likely to fill in the world.
For the suppression of vice, a tribunal composed of the colonists
inscribed on the honourable list, is deputed to try serious offences,
the directors reserving to themselves the right of softening those
judgments which may be too severe.
The heads of each family (young men of irreproachable conduct, selected
on the formation of the colony from poor but respectable familyies)
conduct their children to the fields, and the work rooms, which are
separated into several divisions by a partition of a yard in height; by
the manner of which distribution a single chief can at the same time
overlook the works of the whole. After the ordinary occupations of the
day, the children return to their respective families, where it is
sought to instil in their hardened minds those affections and good
feelings which the carelessness or depravity of their parents had
blighted.
When a fresh pupil arrives at the establishment, he is placed under the
peculiar care of an intelligent person who studies his disposition, and
who each day gives to the director an account of the results of his
observations; after a certain period of trial, the child is admitted in
a family, where is performed a religious ceremony, and a sermon preached
to prove the blessing of finding a safe asylum after many
temptations;--it is then the new comer is reinstated in the eyes of the
colony and its directors; who take it on themselves, if he conducts
himself well, to place him, and to appoint him a zealous patron who
enjoys public esteem.
Such is the philanthropic nature of the system adopted in this admirable
institution, already productive of the happiest results; and so
judiciously and efficaciously have the economical and industrial
departments been conducted, that it is confidently expected, the colony
will in two years support itself.
The visitor will he highly gratified by a trip to this establishment,
the _tout ensemble_ of which on a fine summer's day, particularly, is
one of surpassing loveliness. Its pretty white Swisslike buildings are
completely environed by woods, groves, vineyards, and tastefully
decorated pleasure grounds, which, viewed as the hallowed precincts of
practical humanity and piety, are highly calculated to inspire the
reflective mind with the most pleasing thoughts and emotions.
Peaceful abode! with rural beauty rife,
And charms that smooth the rugged paths of life;
Here human aid assumes a power divine,
And _Virtue's_ fix'd her gentle, hallowed shrine;
Erring, untutor'd youth, enraptur'd pause
Mid wild career, to recognize her laws.
_Vice_ with her direful train abash'd retires,
Nor dares to light her soul-consuming fires;
_Industry_ with her sober, powerful arm,
Guards the young mind, and keeps the passions calm:
While benign _religion_, with sweet controul,
Gently compels, the wild and wayward soul
To taste the various joys her truths impart,
And kiss the rod that rectifies the heart.
The customary paved roads having in this department as in many other
provinces of France been broken up, and superseded by well formed
macadamized ones, trips into the surrounding country can be performed
with as much ease and facility as is afforded by the unequalled highways
of England.
The steam packets which navigate the river as far down as Nantes, and up
to Orleans, offer every facility for agreeable excursions.
SOCIETY.
It is presumed that in closing these multifarious notices, a few words
touching the social habits and condition of the little _coterie_ of
English located at Tours, may prove acceptable to the general reader, as
well as to persons who contemplate an abode within its interesting
precincts.
The established etiquette is, for those who have resolved on a period of
residence, _first_ to call upon such of the British residents as they
may feel disposed to visit, which acts of courtesy, are, generally
speaking, the prelude to a reciprocity of agreeable and social
intercourse.
An air of high respectability, and elegance, is characteristic of the
Anglo-French circle of acquaintance pervading Tours and its environs;
the newly arrived man of social habits and fashion, may if he chooses,
soon possess the happy consciousness of feeling, that, though distant
from friends and native land, he has his customary social comforts, and
habitual pleasures and refinements of life, completely at his command.
It is true, these enjoyments exist in a limited and circumscribed form,
but for this very reason, facility of intercourse and goodfellowship,
are distinguished by an acuteness of character, rarely to be found in
the far more expansive arrondisements of English society at home.
The warm, generous heart of the Englishman, like the concentrated rays
of the genial orb of day, here, glows with the greater intensity on all
who come within the sphere of its vivifying influence.
Behold him seated at his hospitable board, which groans beneath the
cheapened luxuries and substantial fare, alike of his native and his
adopted land, and gladdened by the presence of his selected countrymen,
who perhaps like himself, have quitted their native shores, to seek for
renewed pleasure, wonted repose, health, or it may be economy, abroad.
The sparkling champagne speedily thaws the icy formula which too often
envelopes and conceals the best, inherent feelings of his nature, and in
the exuberance of his zeal for the universal cultivation of the _social
principle_, and his lively sense of national toleration and liberality,
he rises to toast, with equal sincerity, the beloved Queen of old
England, or the citizen King of France.
And in what a pretty sylvan retreat has he snugly domiciled
himself!--his white freestone villa, which presents a pleasing display
of architectural elegance, is replete with every internal comfort; a
smiling _parterre_, decked with many a fine specimen of the stately
cypress, a garden stored with rare and luscious fruits, and the generous
vine every where hanging in graceful festoons, are the most prominent
adjuncts of his sequestered retirement.
There is in short, an exclusiveness, a completeness, spaciousness and
peacefulness, about this his foreign abode, which comports well with his
native feelings, and closely assimilates with the home of his childhood.
Such are the brighter parts of a pleasing picture, and it would hardly
appear fair, were we to recount them without a glance at its darker
shades, which, circumscribed like some of the former; are also of an
intense character, and in the busy workings of the ill disposed
curiosity monger, often appear, as the concentrated essence of bold
conjecture. In plain terms, here, as in other small communities, the
condition, and character of individuals, are constantly subjected to the
microscopic investigations of the vigilant, and not over scrupulous
retailers of flying news, and _interesting on dits_.
The good feeling of the well-bred, and liberal minded Frenchman, is ever
here, manifested towards the English, in a variety of pleasing
demonstrations, constituting a series of practical illustrations of that
native politeness, for which he is pre-eminently distinguished.
And no one can, we think, be a spectator of these mutual good offices,
and growing interchange of kindly feeling, between the subjects of two
nations which have so long been led to regard each other as inveterate
foes,--without rejoicing at the liberal and peaceful policy which
maintains inviolate the present order of things. Beneath its fostering
and genial sway, the acceleration of the respective national interests
and energies, the reciprocal cultivation of the arts and sciences, the
advancement of true religion and benevolence, and the consolidation of
domestic happiness, though amongst the most prominent, are but a meagre
catalogue of the mutual benefits, which the two neighbouring nations,
cannot fail to realize, as the blessings of a _permanent peace_.
BOTANY OF TOURAINE.
In this rapid enumeration of the more prominently interesting features
of Indre-et-Loire, it would appear unpardonable were we to pass over
wholly unnoticed, the Botanical productions of the department, the great
variety and successful culture of which, have long since obtained for it
the enviable _sobriquet_ of the _garden of France_. And perhaps it
behoves us the more especially to glance at it in an essay of this
character, as the study of Botany has become so favorite and fashionable
a pursuit, that scarcely a person of any pretensions to elegant taste,
or to refined intellectual occupations, traverses a new or distant
region without endeavouring to increase the interesting riches of his
_Hortus siccus_: or at least to bestow some attention to its natural
floral and arborescent productions.
It is justly observed that a Botanical taste, of all sources of
amusement, is, to an invalid, perhaps the most desirable. When exercise
is the only object it becomes irksome even in the loveliest scenery; the
Botanist is however beguiled onwards with a never ceasing fascination,
yet so leisurely as not to induce fatigue; and when his strength is
unequal to excursions of higher attainment, he can find beauties in the
humblest paths.
Frenchmen take much delight in their gardens, which are often very
extensive and characterized by great neatness and uniformity, indeed in
the majority of instances regularity is carried to excess;--clipped
hedges, alleys laid out in straight lines, flower beds tortured into
fantastic shapes, trees cut in the form of pyramids, birds, animals,
etc., are the order of the day. The principles of good taste are however
beginning to manifest themselves in the adoption of a more natural and
elaborate style in the laying out of grounds which surround many of the
more modern mansions, etc. And they are frequently enriched by choice
and rare collections of exotic plants. Among the most conspicuous of the
arborescent kinds, which adorn the pleasure grounds of such
establishments, may be named the cypress de la Louisiane, the Pinus
Silvestris, the graceful Weeping-willow, and Acacia, which here grow to
great perfection; the Arbutus, Bay tree, Laurel, Fig tree, Chesnut, and
Majestic Cedar of Lebanon. They also frequently contain some fine
specimens of the beautiful family of mimosas, a variety of Pelargoniums,
with the elegant Coronille, and Annas.
Between four hundred and five hundred plants are said to be cultivated
in the gardens. And upwards of twelve hundred wild plants have been
enumerated as belonging to Touraine, besides the _cryptogamia_, such as
the mosses, ferns, liverworts, and mushrooms.
In the woods and forests are found from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred plants; amongst which may be mentioned the genera _Amentaceae_,
which flower and blossom. In the month of April the woods are bespangled
with the violet. _Viola._ Ficaria. Wind-flower. _Anemone nemorosa._
Lung-wort. _Pulmonaria Officinalis._ etc. In May and June we there also
find the _Orchis. Mellitis._ Periwinkle. _Vinca Major._ Hyacinth or Blue
Bell. _Hyacinthus non-scriptus._ Hare Bell. _Campanula rotundifolia._
St. John's Wort. _Hypericum-pulchrum._ Crane's Bill. _Geranium Molle._
Bitter vetch. _Orobus tuberosus._ Strawberry leaved cinque-foil.
_Potentilla Frargariastrum._ Wood Angelica. _Angelica Sylvestris._ The
star of Bethlehem. _Ornithogalum pyrenaicum._ Black centaury. _Centaurea
Nigra._ Forget me not. _Myosotis palustris._ The above are to be found
in the Woods of Chatenay, etc. in the immediate neighbourhood of Tours.
On the commons and higher arid tracts, are seen the cross leaved Heath.
_Erica Tetralix._ Fine leaved Heath. _Erica cineria._ Male Fern.
_Aspidium Felix Mas._ Common Broom. _Sparticum scoparium._ And the
Furze. _Ulex Europaeus._ When these hardy natives of the wold and the
waste, happen to be grouped together, which is very commonly the case,
the varied and vivid hues of their blossoms, present a striking
contrast, and a very pleasing appearance.
Between two hundred and three hundred plants are common to the
cultivated fields, of which, may be named, the Corn Blue Bottle.
_Centaurea cyanus._ Red Poppy. _Papaver Rhoea._ Venus's Mirror.
_Campanula speculum._ Corn Cockle. _Agrostemma Githago._ Corn Spurrey.
_Spergula Arvensis._ Common yellow Rattle. _Rhinanthus Crista-Galli._
Great White Ox Eye. _Chrysanthemum_ _Leucanthemum._ All flowering in
July and August.
In the meadows which occupy the vales, subject to occasional
inundations, a very great variety of plants luxuriate, consisting for
the most part of the Family _Graminaceae_ amongst them may be seen
shining the Pile-wort. _Ranunculus Ficaria._ Crow-foot. _Ranunculus
sceleratus._ And many others of this genus. The Cuckoo flower.
_Cardamime Pratensis._ Ragged Robin. _Lychnis Floscuculi._ White
Campion. _Lichnis vespertina._ Tale Red Rattle. _Pedicularis palustris._
Queen of the Meadows. _Spiraea Ulmaria._ _Upatoria Cannabinum._ Common
Loosestrife. _Lysimachia vulgaris._ Also the _Parnassia Palustris._,
_Gentiana cruciata_, and _Colchicum Autumnale._
On the surface of the Pools and Brooks, many beautiful specimens of the
_Nymphaea_ are to be seen reposing, as those of the white water Lilly.
_Nymphaea Alba_, and yellow water Lilly. _Nymphaea Lutea._ On their banks
may also be found the Water Iris, or Flower de Luce. _Iris
Pseudacorus._--The emblem of France. The Flowering Rush. _Butomus
umbellatus._ Arrow Head. _Sagittaria sagittifolia_, and Water
ranunculus. _Ranunculus aquatilis._
Our limits will not admit of a further enumeration, but perhaps
sufficient has been stated to signify the interesting character of the
Botanical productions of the Province, and to induce the scientific
visitor, or the lover of nature, to prosecute his researches through its
sequestered glades and rural retreats; where in fact, he may on every
hand, behold prolific nature displaying her exquisite charms, in
elaborate perfections, rich profusion, and endless diversities.