The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-11-30
LIMOGES.

skies are grayish blue, the boar frost
bites the air, and the sun shines over all,
ideal weather for sight seeing.
Limoges has stirring history. Al
ready peopled in the far off ages it pass
ed successfully under the Roman yoke,
that of the Franks, in which the house
of Acquitaine played the most important
part, and in the reign of Henry w be-
came definitely French.
As far back as the Middle Ages Lin
oges was center of artistic production,
and was renowned for her fine enamel
work One of the first to make known
Limoges, beyond the borders of his own
land, was the good Saint Eloi. as the old
chroniclers call him. His was MASTER
hand in the fashioning of clay and in the
rarer work of enameling. He was the
counsellor and friend of King Dagobert
Francis l encouraged art, and it was
under his royal favor that Leonard Linz
osin achieved some of his greatest re-
nown. Other famous names have come
down to us, held in high esteem every
where; Guibert, Court, Laudin, Penicaud,
Noualher, Poncet and many others.
1t was reserved, however, in these
later times, to that high spirited and
noble hearted citizen Of Limoges, Adrien
Lebouche, to found the National Mu-
scum, which bears his name. Here,
specimens of the arts of pottery and
porcelaine the world over are concen-
trated. One can compare with ease and
profit the work Of the different nations,
from China and Japan, to Persia and In
dia: from Germany and France, to Eng
land and all the Americas!
France necessarily has the predomi.
nant place, and the separate styles of the
different epochs, as we'll as the stages of
their development and manufacture, are
faithfully portrayed. Attached to this
museum is school Of decorative art
where the youth of both sexes are taught
and encouraged. The work Of the school
of Limoges is easily recognized when.
ever seen. The Havilands have vast
establishments here. l asked a retired
officer, native of Limoges, who had
served in Morocco seven years, if ]
might visit mandatory. ''You are
English" mo, American. "Well
then, certainly" he replied, ''it is all
American here now. They have the
lions share of everything. There are
French Havilands, but there are the
American Havilands Also" was much
amused at his disconsolate tones and re-
proachful air.
There is a curious street called the
street of the Butchers. 1t has changed
but little since the Middle Ages. Every
shop belongs to butcher, and the wares
are placed outside on little swinging
shelves. AS the French utilize nearly
every part of every animal the display is
quite extraordinary. 1t is hardly a
promenade calculated to give one an
appetite, unless one is fortunate and
brave enough to be vegetarian. Look
ing only straight ahead one might fancy
oneself in the midst of Revolution, for
the cutters run blood, and bits of flesh
and skin lie around everywhere. In this
street, at an intersection, stands the
chapel of St. Aurelian, patron saint of
the slaughter house, save the mark. 1t
is here that the butchers celebrate their
fete days, and venerate their own espec-
ial relics, giving ex-votos for graces OBJ
tanned. A picturesque little edifce of
the XVI century.
Limoges has $4,000 inhabitants, a
monumental City Hall, or Hotel de Vile,
as they call it over here, designed by one
Alfred Leclerc, and completed in 1888;
the river Vienne, the dirtiest most coffee
colored stream l ever saw, but dear to
their French hearts; and Gothic Cathe-
dral begun in the XIII century, and only
finished twenty years ago. Things take
time in Limoges, one is never in hurry.
The river is spanned by several bridges,
but, as is often the case, the oldest is the
most interesting, that of St. Martial,
built in the XIII century, quaint, and
low and solid, with pavement of cobble
stones. Boats, like enclosed ladders, dot
this little dingy stream, and here, there,
and everywhere, smoke enwreathed
factory rears its useful brick chimneys.
The apostle st. Martial, for whom this
bridge is named, was the first Bishop of
Limoges, and is the patron Saint of the
city. He adorns the coat of arms of the
town. His was a sanity life, of broad
ening influence, in those rude days in
which he lived. His brilliant thought
swayed mems minds, while his rare in
sight gave him a splendid capacity for
judging men and things, and would have
made him marked figure in any age.
If ''the goal of life is the expression
of life," as some one has fifty said, then
indeed the Limousins have found the
home of the soul, for to create beautiful
things is to live them, and bear them
daily in ones heart.
GRACE C. D. FAvRE.
Limoges, France, Nov. 6. 1911.
STARTS Mich TR0lIHl