The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-10-17
Among the Books
'stI,rittnny ana the Drctons.,

Written and pictured by George
Wharton Edwards. Mofrat Yard u
Co, Of New York. So not.
,rhe author or this beautiful and
most interesting work speaks ofit as
being a description OF summer travel
wanderings In the byways or Brit
tany. That these wanderings led to
an Intimate acquaintance with one or
the most romantic countries OF Europe,
"a land Of granite. or mighty oaks and
OF druidical remains; a land or calvarles,
Of dolmen, Of cromlechs, land OF
legend and superstition" Is most APP
parent to tho casual as well as the
critical reader.
The five departments of Brittany are
mentioned by Mr.. Edwards as Cotes
du Nord, Finistere. Morbihan, Ile-et-
Vilalnc and Loire Infereurc. His chap
ter text begins with saint Malo and
Saint Seryan; Saint Malo, the corsair
city of Brittany, with the houses built
b5 old East India merchants overtop-
ping the rampant and looking down
upon the moat, with its eight gates
and Chateanbriand's tomb on nearby
Grand Bey Island: Saint Servan, with
Its silent. dusty streets, It's Tour de
Sclidor, dating from the reign of Duke
John OF Brittany, Its Corpus Christi
and Assumption Day PROFESSIONS
a chapter is devoted to Oman and
Rennes. Oman Is recommended as an
ideal spot for the householder. place
where comfortably furnished houses
may be rented by the year, including
clearing, garden and plenty of fruit
trees for $3.50" Rennes, the ancient
cnpital or the Duchy of Brittany, Is
characterized as the ugl.est, stupidest
and dullest town III Brittany.
Lamballe, says Mr.. Edwards, calls
to mind vision of the lovely and
unfortunate princess. who perished
during the Revolution. About ten
miles from Lambalie, he continues, Is
the small and ancient town OF Mont
contour. perched upon walled, rocky,
noss-clad nromontory, like an Island,
and crowned nv II charming .o,.;rr and
plnnacles. An interesting bit of tradi-
tion links Sa,nt-Brieuc, capital of the
department of Cotes- du~Nord with
Brioc, driven from Wales with large
number of irish, to settle in Brittany
on the land upon which Saint-Rrieuc
now stands. In Saint Nicholas des
Faux, a picturesque little place on the
river Blavet, the trees are covered with
mistletoe, here called ia heroe de Ia
croix.' The famous fair, at which
the young girls sell their hair to the
I
the Sunday following the fair is the
celebration OF the pardon, which takes
the whole day. A notable pardon or
pilgrimage. about which Mr.. Edwards
writes, Is that OF the Bon Secours, on
the Saturday before the first Sunday
in July, inaugurated by d torchlignt
procession In the evening and strange
rites only half seen in the dark.
he tells, moreover. of the starting
of the IcelantIc fleet of fishing vessels
and their Breton crews on the twentieth
OF each February. for the fishing banks
la the polar seas and the grand banks
of Newfoundland. from PaimpaI and
other smaller towns on the Bay OF
Saint Brieuc. The birthplace of Re-
nan, Treguler, is mentioned as a pic
turesque agglomerauon OF roofs and
chimneys, and trees and walls, over
which, piercing the sky, Is the beauti-
ful spire OF the cathedral. Saint Yves
is claimed b. the Bretons of this dis
trict as the superior OF all saints, one
ablc to grant relief for all trouble ana
sorrow. Lannion Is said 10 be in the
very heart Of one OF the most interest
Ing districts OF Brittany. AND not lar
from Lannion. along by the shore. may
he seen tine blessed Isle or. Avalon.
where falls not hail nor rain nor any
=
has 1t. King Arthur Is buried.
\ waate!and. once covered with
dense forest, ON the way TO Mor!aix, is
said TO be the place where KING Arthur
slew the dragon. AT MorlaiX, tradition
has II, according To Dir Edwards, that
Drennalus, the disciple OF Joseph or
Arimathea, preacned the gospel 10 the
Bretons, and that Mary. Queen OF Scots,
VINO spent some time here soon after
her marriage, worshiped at the Church
or Notre Dame du Muir. now demol-
ished -Roscon, L found" writes AIR.
Edwards. TO be the saddest. most de-
serted and melancholy spot in Brit
tany." In the same chapter with J
Roscotf, descriptions are equally ane
o. Saint Pal and De Leon.
Otherwise interest is caught by what |
is written regarding the country Of
the calvaries. regarding the Pardon of |
St Anne, the Island Of Tristan, the
Chapel OF ST. Bernard; regarding an
rient houses. the gaiety after the Par
don, wedding feast. the history of
Chateau Neuf and much else. The
characteristics or the Breton people
and their simple, sincere hospitality
are interviewer with the mention Of
their homes on every page.
An appendix to the book contains a
list of the Pardons of Brittany, with
dates of their celebration, and some
notes of interest to the traveller. The
book contains 262 illustrations. many
Of them in color. and is handsomely got
gotten out as to type and covers.
In what 1t relates and what 1t sug-