The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1880-03-09

| WO0uefIul pOlutn bub JObllle WAS CHlm,
and at the end of ten minutes the giant,
covered with wounds, his shirt cut into
ribbons, his mouth foamlng, his eyes
blinded, fell heavily upon his knees.
Don't give In ~ cried some voices still;
but the effort to rise was vain. Josille,
apparently incapable of pity, like true
Breton peasant, again blew his nose,
and prepared to give the falling man his
coup de grace.
A shiver ran through the crowd; put
Josille was better than he seemed, for
instead of cutting the poor flesh, he
dextrously drew the whip out of the
hands of the victim, and folded his arms
upon his breast. Kaer shut his eyes,
and laid his burning head upon the
sand. The whites were proclaimed the
victors. Each subaltern had pocket
handkerchief worth slxpence, and Josille
the pound of tobacco. l know not
whether any of these scenes are enacted
now, but this account is so recent that 1t
throws light upon the Breton peasant as
1 find him.
AS to the dress of the agricultural
people, 1t Is picturesque-so picturesque,
indeed, that when some foolish servant
is penetrated with the Partisan mode,
and adopts it, she looks like crow
among birds of plumage. Yet l am
sorry to say that the dress is changing.
The old men wear sabots, gaiters, large,
loose, baggy breeches fastened under the
knee, with jacket and vest; the hair is
long like that of woman, and a broad,
felt hat completes the costume. The
young men have taken to trousers, but
still retain the vest embroidered round
the neck, and the loose, flowing jacket,
mostly made of cloth of dark blue
color, and embroidered behind with
representation of the Holy Sacrament;
this back embroidery is dying out, as
also the custom of wearing flowing
locks. The women wear short skirts,
made of very thick material, pleated
round the waist, more like Scotch kilt
than anything else; over the skirt they
wear an embroidered cloth jacket, or
vest with sleeves, cut square and low in
front to display their white, nicely
starched chemisette; to the chemisette
is attached an enormous collar which
reaches beyond the shoulders, and is a
marvel of the arts of stGrching and iron
ing. This, with the great Golf of the
country, differing in each commune,
completes the costume. OF course there
are varieties of head-dress, some loose
and flowing, Others close-fiting, some in
colors, some embroidered, and this gives
to any assemblage very varied and
pleasing appearance; but the description
of these matters is beyond the reach of
my pen.
The home of the Breton peasant is
quite peculiar, and differs from any
thing have seen elsewhere. An old
stable, cow-shed, any old out-house,
does as well as any other building for
his purposes, and is always used when
it may be had; but whether the house
be built of stone, or wood, or mud, its
exterior is almost always the same. 1t
has central door, and two little win
dows about eighteen inches square;
within, the floor is of mud-literally
mud; for as Brittany is very wet
place, the mud floors are almost always
damp, and often contain miniature lakes
OF pools of water.
I recollect one day, when out fishing,
calling in at one of these shanties where
they kept an au5erye, and finding it
difficult to place my feet on dry land.
Being inclined for chat, asked mine
host how he, who, from the valuable
furniture he possessed, took to be
man decently well off, could bear to live
in such pig-sty. He replied that he
always wore sabots, which could not be
wet through, and as to sleeping in such
a place, what did it matter to him;
when once safely shut up in his lit clos
Tor wonderful Breton cupboard arranged
as bed), he did not care if the sea were
to come in to the floor. The poorest
shanties have their bedstead and drnaoire,
mostly of ine-grained wood, and beauti-
fully carved. This particular anberge
had its whole side filled up with the
family sleeping arrangements, all con-
structed in one single piece of furniture.
A sort of tall, beautifully carved cup
board extended the whole length of the
wall, which contained bed at either
end, and an upright clock in the middle
"a clock like the kitchen clock of our
ancestors. During the daytime the
bedding is invisible, as also, / suppose,
during the night, for it is reached