Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1869-12-28


century art, and its massive castle and
donjon, standing proudly ON the heights
behind, redeem its aspect from monotony.
The view from the terraces of the fortress
is grand. spent an hour or two in the
mere enjoyment of gazing upon the SPLEEN
did expanse Of wood and water and Guilt
waited fields stretching out before me, and
so clear was the view that almost fancied
| could discern the twinkle of the ocean
in the far distant line of horison toward
the west.
Among the many drives / took while at
Saumur was one to the famous abbey OF
Fontevrault. The road reveals features of
the country which the ordinary traveller
would never even suspect. The general
character of the district is that of Italy
with all its rich and tangled and pictur-
esque luxuriance Old walls and old ruins
meet you at every turn of the road. All
are thickiy overhung with creeping plants,
while vineyards and wide fields of corn
cover the adjacent fields in the richest
confusion. At one point the massive front
of the old castle of Montsoreau, which for
merl y stood on the very brink of the river,
comes into view with imposing effect, and
crowns a series of pictures of unexampied
beauty and interest. A long line of clus-
tering villages stretches away to the right
and curious villages they are. The houses
are mere excavations on the face of the
chalk or tufa rock, frOnted with masonry
and with holes cut above for chimneys, SC
that as an old writer says, you know not
where the hearth is from whence the smoke
comes. These cavern houses are in some
places in tiers one above another, and
some with scraps of gardens before them
have very pretty effect.
At Fontervrault | saw fine statue Of
Richard C@ur de Lion, supposed to be {
portrait Ii odeled from life, and fine bevy
of healthy girls who needed no modelling o
art to make them a most acceptable sight
Next to Nantes, with its broad streets
and fine quays, and old castle; then to st
Nazaire, the old and the new; the forme
with its old tumble-downc church surround
ed by little fishing cottages walled from thu
sea the latter a real American town will
its fine docks, its clean streets, its railroad
its noise-and within a few miles oft, a
Brest, the great cable endowed with speed
and ready at moments notice to tax
your message across the sea three thousan'
miles and deliver it fresh from your hear
before it is sent!
Then to Croisie, the Newport of tn
fashionable people of Nantes, and the plac
where the music of "On the Beach at Lon
Branch" was born Here they max
enough salt by evaporation to pickle hal
the herring in the ocean; and the glisten
ing piles of saline wealth which are throw
up in thousands in the district look lik
great encampments Of troops in winte
quarters. It's at Croisie they fish for SAL
dimes, and it Is there they pickle and pac
them. Many people think that sardine
always swim in oil and vinegar, but that
an error, only dead sardines are given tina
| amusement.
Croisie is delightful, because, as be
lieve the wind blows there from all qual
tiers at one and the same time Natur
thus affords a system of compensate
which is wise in the highest degree. TIL
heat of the south wind is tempered by tn
cold of that which comes from the nortl
The breeze from the west is neutralized ,
rendered harmless by the zephyrs frol
sunrise, so that such a thing as havin
your hat blown off at Croisie has nevt
been heard of; that is have heard notl
ing on the subject.
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