being the topmost of the three western stories of the Merveille. Here
was the recreation ground of the monks, and nothing could be more
exquisite than the elegant proportions of the slender pillars that
support the vaulted roofs of the double arcade. From the Cloister we
visit the Refectory, where many a strange gathering of monks has taken
place in days of old, for it is one of the interesting things in the
history of Mont St. Michel that, while in its earlier ages it was a
centre of learning and genuine religion, it became corrupt and
scandalous under the commendatory abbots, who were men neither of
morals nor religion, and who allowed all sorts of abuses within these
sacred walls. At one time, indeed, the Abbot of Mont St. Michel was
the five-year-old son of Louis the Just. In the south-west corner of
the Refectory is the pit that formerly contained a lift whereby
provisions could be hauled up from the bottom story, and the leavings
of the monks sent down to the Almonry for distribution among the poor.
The Salle des Chevaliers, which will next be visited, is described by
a learned writer as "perhaps the finest Gothic chamber in the world,"
and is believed to have been built as a great workroom for the monks,
but received its present name either from the fact that the first
investitures of the Order of St. Michael were made herein, or that it
was the lodging of the 190 knights who came to the Mount to defend it
against the English. In this beautiful apartment, lighted and
ventilated in a way that is a model to present-day builders, the monks
wrote and illuminated the manuscripts which earned for the abbey the
title of "The City of Books." Reached from this room is the Salle des
Hôtes, wherein the grand visitors were entertained by the abbot in a
style befitting their rank, as under the rule of St. Benedict it was
forbidden for laymen to enter the apartments reserved for the monks.
Like all the other buildings, however, it has served many another
purpose than that for which it was originally designed, and at one
time was actually used as a _Plomberie_ where the lead was worked for
roofing and other purposes connected with the Abbey.
The Cellar is, in its way, as beautiful as any of the other
apartments, although nothing was attempted by its builders but to
provide a capacious storeroom for the inhabitants of the Mount, and to
secure, in its strong pillars, strength to support the buildings
rising above it. The provisions were hauled up from the sands by means
of a great wheel and a rope, the latter being carried out on a little
drawbridge to enable it to drop clear of the rocks. This arrangement,
by the way, is associated with one of the most audacious attempts to
secure the Abbey during the wars of the Huguenots. A traitor within
arranged with two Huguenot leaders that on the day of St. Michael, in
September, at eight o'clock in the evening, in the year 1591, he would
haul up their men by means of this rope, and introduce them to the
Cellar, while the monks were engaged in devotions, so placing the
Mount at their mercy. But he proved a double traitor, for after
seventy-eight men had been so hauled up, and, with one exception,
quietly killed by the soldiers of the garrison as they arrived, the
leaders below became suspicious of a trap, and asked that a monk
should be thrown down as evidence that the plot was successful. The
Governor immediately had one of the murdered Huguenots dressed in the
gown of a monk and thrown down, but the Sieur Montgomery was not
satisfied with this, and he called up that one of his men should come
out on the drawbridge and assure them below that all was well. So the
Governor sent the one man he had spared and instructed him to answer
down that the Huguenots were masters of the Abbey. He was faithful to
death, however, and called down that they were betrayed. Instead of
being immediately killed, the Governor was so impressed with his
courage, that he spared him, and the Huguenots hastily rode away.
The Almonry is the last of the great apartments which are contained in
the Merveille, and it is from this that visitors make their exit into
the courtyard of the Abbey; but many other interesting chambers are
shown, such as the Crypte de l'Aquilon, the Charnier, the Promenoir or
ancient cloister, and the famous Crypte des Gros-Piliers, which is
also known as l'Eglise Basse, its pillars, of enormous girth, being
designed to support the heavy masonry of the Abbey above. The Cachots,
or prisons, are also an important feature of the sights described by
the guide, and many harrowing tales are told of famous prisoners who
went mad during their incarceration in these dread dungeons. But it is
a pity that this part is shown at all, as the recollection of these
hideous holes is likely to confuse many visitors' impressions of the
place.
VII.
Here, then, is a very brief and a sadly-imperfect sketch of this rare
legacy which the Middle Ages have left to lucky France. It need only
be added that not one visit, nor two, is sufficient to an adequate
appreciation of the beauties of Mont St. Michel; several days,
instead of several hours, as is too often the custom of the breathless
tourist, should be spent on the Mount. There is accommodation in
plenty, for the three hotels, all kept by members of the same family
(and each at daggers drawn with the others), give splendid
entertainment at moderate rates; and practically all the houses are
annexes to one or other of these establishments, so that except during
August and September accommodation is never difficult to obtain. Nor
are the buildings of the Abbey and the Merveille the only things of
interest on the Mount to-day, for though it is a strangely-different
scene from that in the olden days of pilgrimage, it is, perhaps, as
interesting if we choose to regard as pilgrims the countless tourists
who swarm here from all the ends of the earth, and we shall find among
them even more material for study than was afforded to the monks in
ages past. Then if rain should keep us prisoner for an hour or two at
times, we need not weary sitting at our window, watching the carriages
and bicycles arriving at the entrance to the Cour de l'Avancée, where
they are immediately besieged by representatives of each of the
hotels, and probably a simple Briton, innocent of French or the ways
of this curious community, will find himself divided into three, his
luggage being captured by the representative of Poulard _aîné_, his
bicycle being taken by the tout for Poulard _jeune_, and he himself
led captive by the buxom female who canvasses for _veuve_ Poulard.
[Illustration: _The Merveille_
_Interior of the Abbey_
MONT ST. MICHEL]
We remember one occasion when, at a high tide, which necessitated the
use of a boat for debarking visitors, a solitary English female, of
the type so properly satirised by French caricaturists, arrived by the
diligence, and was rowed in lonely state through the entrance to the
outer court. As the boat grounded she stood up, an angular vision in
drab, with dark blue spectacles and a straw hat. In answer to the
inquiring shouts of the hotel representatives, she innocently replied
in the one word she knew, "Poulard," and there was a rush for her, in
which the elder Poulard, thanks to exceptional height and strength,
was able to dispose of his rivals, and lift this representative of
British womanhood bodily into the kitchen of his hotel. She would
probably be as much surprised as most of us are on visiting the place
for the first time, to discover that after leaving this kitchen and
ascending two stairs in the hope of arriving immediately at our
bedroom, the maid calmly opens a door, and we find ourselves in
another street, that rises step after step for one hundred yards or
so, and brings us to one of the dependencies of the hotel, where
probably we may have two or three stories to climb. You have a
feeling all the time you are on the Mount that, somehow, you are
living on the top of slates, as the houses look down upon each other,
and in many cases you can walk from the top flat out on to a street at
the back.
In a word, Mont St. Michel is unique. A stay here is an experience
unlike any to be had elsewhere in Europe. "Not worth visiting"
forsooth!
PRINTING OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER
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Transcriber's note:
Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.