New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-11-29
CHALUS AND ITS FAME.
p1cu,pD CUrR DE LIONS FOLLY.


pypox AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBuNEl
CuAIUs-HAUrE VIENNE, Nov. 13.-Here is little
antique village of 5000 people nesting among the
I,imousin Hills, counting obscurity from which
A. ought never TO have emerged. But one fine
day nearly 700 years ago Richard CGur dc
Lion took it into his head 70 lay siege to the
Chateau of Chaus, and, as luck would have II, was
killed in the attempt. The event. however, made
poor little Chalus famous forever After looking
over the ground historically and topographlcallN.
have come to the conclusion that Richard with
ali due respect To his memory might have staid nj
home and been about better business than caVori-
ing around France squabbmg VIVA the country
barons Served him right" is about the Verdic'
New-Jersey jury would render in the case IL
may seem triAe presumptuous Tor lHibVN,
CORRESPONDENT 70 GO for the military strategy ana
Judgment of the bold Crusader VINO mauc u"
Europe quake; but this is an iconocastic age ana
,be calcum light of modern times flashes IN many
seorcling raw upon the hitherto unquestioned sto-
ries of the past.
Far he il from me 10 insnuate that Richard was
fraud His exploits i'm the Holy Land and his pa
fence and courage in adversely serve to mark nm
ANYTHING but that. Yet when we contemplate nm
coming 70 take this little place with his band OF
veteran Crusaders il must be confessed that he
drops 90 the level of n very commonplace ana VIM
dictive guerilla warrior Even had he lived, the
game was not worth the candle. He would have
captured a castle with twoscore of gentry, archers
and women. who had shut themselves M in the
towers on his approach and would have mus grail
fled his revenge upon the Lord of Chalus VINO had
deserted his cause TO 20 over 10 that OF Plhhp OF
France-but that would have been all. Prompted
by these motives of malice alone, he camc-and per-
ished miserably. One invOluntarly eNclaims,
"What pitiful ending of a heroic life "
One reaches here by railroad ride of an hour
\ 70 ct AZ called Busslcre-
Galand on the PeIigueux Railway, and thence 10y
another hour of tedious stage ride which Is
uphill nearly all the way and through country
covered with scrub-brush. and neglected and un-
inhabited as to recall scenes from the heart of
Yazoo County Miss. l tired to get the driver into
conversation on the way up by asking him various
questions after first printing hIs good nature with
cigar He said the people are lazy. the soil Is par
rem and 10 business Is going on but soldering and
politics. Presently 10 hill about two
miles long and lie relapsed into silence. The
horses with the reins flung loose their backs,
logged leisurely along at funeral pace, stopping
short now and then TO brush away fly. turned,
rs we neared the top of the long ascent, to see
what made my friend the driver so quiet lie was
fast asleep the rens lying loose at his side, and the
stump of the cigar still grasped tight between his
teeth. He gave a convulsive snore. woke mp, adj
mnistered a humping lash to the horses yelled
"Aillcz at them in "a stercoiyped voice. and then
went TO sleep again. Next year there VIII be n
branch railroad running TO Chalus. and advise my
American friends 10 defer their visit until travel
thither by stage has become thing of the past.
We dashed into the village, however in spanking
style and drew up before the hostelry and stage
house at a gait which made the sleepy steeds rear
up on their launches when brought to a Sudden
stop The tavern is at the village crossroads and
has look of good cheer about il you enter.
pointer dog sits nOdding by the blazing logs in the
huge fireplace. couple of haTes, proofs OF his
proves, hang from the ceiling. guns and game
bags are in the corners the furniture of the plain
est and most ancient description and the whole
scene recalls od-time picture of a country
hostelry. From the crossroads the Rue de Salardine
lined with cafes and shops leads down to the thicky-
built portion of the town. One might lmaglne
himself in some remote quarter of Paris, so ctyke
are the dozen or more of solid blocks of buildings
that form ChGlus proper. At a certain street cor
ner YOU turn TO the left and not fifty feet distant,
see the tower of the Chateau of Lower Cnalus, from
which was aimed the arrow that cost Richard his
life | should state here that there are Lower and
an Upper Chaus-the latter and by far the more
important castle of the two standing on sharp
eminence which rises in The midst of the town.
Tradition SAYS that the two castles which are no:
more than an eighth of mile apart, connected
by subtcuanean passages.
Lower Chalus the weaker Of the two and
against il Richard directed his attack. There were
two towers then. but only one remains to-day. and
nearly as solid as when as il finished 1t is 9s
feet high 80 feet in diameter, and has walls nearly
< feet IN thickness. There is entrance TO it from
the level Of the street, but access is had through
little Outbuildng now occupied by a blacksmith.
whence one ascends by stairs to the doorway on the
first floor. The tower contains four octagonal
chambers one above the other, each Of which Is Int
aud ventilated by little narrow oross-Shaped win
dows. through which the archers stationed within
could command every approach. SPIRAL stone
staircase OF 1919 steps leads to the summit which is
still rooted over The remainder of the lower castle
is in ruins DULY traceable by the lines of squahd
little buildings which have sprung up on ITS iOun-
datons. with here and there a part OF the ancient
wall incorporated with the modern.
Turning to the left Of tie tower, and passing
along "A street which leads by a two minutes walk
10 the OUTLYING meadows one reaches the place
where Richard received his mortal wound. great
l,owlder rising out of the gieensward. marks the
spot and is known as Richards stone" blue
blouSed cOuntryman, who rs tending cows lew
wards of steps up as he sees yOu enter the
meadow and with a Bon jour, Monsieur"
lets YOU know lie is the proprietor. You ask
him If this Is where King Richard was Killed,
and that starts him, for by this time he has
had so many vsltors-mOstly English tOurlsts-that
his story il steTcotypcd. He shows you the point
from which the sped, aud he puts ms LETT
foot on the rock, leans forward with his elbow on
his knee cocks ms upat the castle and tells you
that was Richard CUur de Lions attitude when the
arrow struck him. You Will perceive on a second
glance that the rock is already aud scratched,
hard az it is where he has put has sabotted loot up
ION il "a hundred times already foI previous VsitOIs
Sfijl his story is pleasantly told and interesting.
Tue proximity OF the spot 10 the castle walls Is what
most strikes one In those days there were no Arm
strong guns. rtemen to puck OF recommending
ROYALTY. Besiegcr and besieged could have talked
together without uncOmfortably elevatine their
The rustic who owns this Richards Stone 'were
he an American would fence 1t IN and charge a
quarter for admission. bnt no 5ue1 "uslhes. view