The Portland daily press., 1893-02-10
CITY OF oEERINa.
Mr.. Edward III. E1well. Jr., Delivers an
Entertaining Address About What He
Saw on a Bicycle Tour Through France.

Saw on Bicycle Tour Through France.
The Ladies' Circle of the Congrega-
tional church at Woodfords gave very
interesting entertainment in the church
chapel at Woodfords last evening. The
leading feature was very, entertaining
address by Mr.. Edward H. Elwell, Jr.,
who related something of what he and
his companions saw and experienced dur
ing their bicycle trip through France last
summer. In the course of his remarks
he said:
We were ten days in making the jour
new from Amien to Paris, distance OF
over 200 miles, and during that time we
visited several of the most famous old
feudal chateaux in the country. | shall
make mention of but one of these, which,
with its surroundings, impressed me
more forcibly than any other ruins that
we saw.
AS group of six of our party, of which
was one, emerged from an immense
forest upon high plateau, just before
noon. one scorching day, we all fairly
shouted with admiration and delight.
Possibly the fact that we had been lost
in the forest and had just ''got out of the
woods" had some connection with the
iervor of our delight; but, nevertheless,
the spectacle before us was grand and
beautiful in the extreme. On the point
of high promontory extending into the
yo11 law boil nc W. n ri of yn
round, white towers, so immense in size
that they appeared to dominate the en-
tire landscape.
We FASTENED to reach this gigantic
ruin and the road led us to the gate of
the battle fortified that spreads out be-
hind it.
The wall at that point was sixty feet
thick and trees were growing on top of
it. The gate was veritable tunnel. If
on emerging from the forest we seemed
to be gazing at a vision from the fairy
land of history, we actually left the pres
emit behi d us when we entered the quiet,
narrow streets. 1t seemed as if the little
town must have died when the feudalism
that created it was crushed by the iron
hand of Richelieu. :
There were few signs of life in the
houses, fewer in the streets and not even
cat was stirring in the large open square
when we pedalled into it. AS we dis
mounted in front of the tiny Hotel of
the Golden Apple, it seemed as if we
must have been the first guests to arrive
during the past century at least. There
were but three rooms on the ground floor,
an office, dining room and kitchen. The
hostess met us, all smiles and trepida-
ton. especially the latter, when we re-
quested the necessaries for removing the
dust from our hands and faces. 1t had
evidently not occurred to her that we
were more particular in regard to ablu-
lions before eating than the av rage
Frenchman. She led us in the kitchen,
where our dinner was preparing, and be-
meath the tiny faucet of a small tank,
hanging on the wall. we held our hands
and then washed them and our faces, all
20 of us using the same towel. But we
could not complain of the dinner. It
was delicious banquet of no less than
nine courses.
The chateau consists of four huge
round towers forming the corners of a
trapezoid. These are connected
by walls SO thick that in them were the
living apartments of the former occu-
pants.
The enclosed open court is perhaps
the donion. the large round tower, the
last resort in case Of siege. 1t is 108
feet i'll height and 100 feet in diameter,
and the walls in places are over 20 feet
thick. Imagine this great tower. over
twice as high as White Head is above
the water and early as great in bulk, to
bean enormous hollow cylinder, for the
flooring of the different stories has long
since disappeared. 1t is the biggest
chimney in the world.
One ascends to the top by a spiral
stairway in the wall. To gaze down into
the awful gulf of the interior is even
more impressive than the magnificent
view of the surrounding country.
There is well underneath as deep as
the town is high. 1t is about ten feet in
diameter. The guide wrapped a news
paper around stone, set it on fire and
dropped it. 1t circled far downwards
into the black abyss till it looked like
tiny star. Finally it disappeared, but
the.roar of its flaming came rushing up
was ''thump'' and the dry bottom had
been reached. When that was full of
water the defenders might well defy be-
siegers.
/ The feudal chieftian who built this
mighty stronghold over 500 years ago
was apparently justified in choosing the
proud motto, II recognize no king. I
am the sire of Courcy.'
While one of the boys was walking in
the inner court he heard loud cries and
groans coming from some rumbling
cavern beneath him.. Close at hand was
hole on the ground about one foot in
diameter and going down he saw in the
distant gloom the white and agonized
face of one of the party-our funny man
Rastus.
ssFor Gods sake. Johnnie" he cried,
s'help me out of this. Invent down some
stairs somewhere and got into laby-
rinth of dark passages till saw the
light of this hole. don tsdare to move
for fear of falling into some dark hole"
Of .course Johnnie rushed wildly for
assistance, and meeting the rest of us,
breathlessly related the catastrophe and
demanded volunteers to brave the laby-
rinth and rescue the unhappy Rastus.
We all rushed toward the hole in the
ground There was Rastus seated on
the Grass coolly smoking cigarette. He
replied to us that he hadn't been any
,,,.>,r.r tho centre of the earth than he