New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-17
THE LAND OF ROMANCE
rwo Books About Old France.

Tn wander In beautiful Provence IN the /
,,o.som.haunted Spring, 10 trace there !
-. glorious remains Of ancient Roman |
s.rs "a call 70 life within the hoary
-.,rs of castle. abbey and church the !
,-.ric and romantic legends Of the Mid |
-. Ages and the Renaissance, To do all |
,,,. with imagination and knowledge !
,or sopirment is inevitably TO yield to |
,ren never 70 he forgotten. What she !
Va. herself felt Mrs. Mason has known |
b,v 10 make her readers feel Her book !
!, in many respects charming; it is vi !
.,s,t with enjoyment and vivid in its I
,,satnent Of the personages and the |
stories Of the past. To those Nho can |
,srsr hope TO follow in her footsteps /
enough the Midi in the Pyrenees and ,
slong the Mediterranean it offers mar
-s,iy,. consoling in picturesque detail; 10 !
those who plan a futare journey she
rves inspiring suggestion and zest !
TbosA no already know the regions she ,
,raverses will renew their pleasure in !
these pages.
The GAdDLtI Oh III rf~-'''4IAft tAttAN
vondrous relic of the Middle Ages. IS an
excellent example Of the authors more
ambitious method Alone in moonlight
On the ramparts she evokes rut cf the
mast Of those stories a dramatic process |
sion OF pope inquisitor and prince; OF
uoubadour knight and fair women, and. !
with as little sentimentalitv as may he.
she really clothes on with flesh the dry
bones OF history. CarCassonne is indeed
vision Of tower and bastion calculated !
10 stir the most prosaic modern, and the
memory Of that vision is precious pos
session. The old world charm of the /
fortified city IS iHsistent not only in its |
tremendous walls but in its narrow, hud- t,
ding streets, its massive cathedral its /,
chateau, still, alas, occupied ~ modern |
troops and inaccessible to the visitor. The /,
travelled reader will sympathize. too, with 1
the authors liking for Mines. that clean /.
and cheerful town OF to-day clustering /
round the Roman amphitheatre-so beau !
titul IN its softly shaded pallor as OF old |
!vory-and the MaisOn Carree, that eX- !!
ous!te little jewel Of ancient architect
ure. She lays due stress also on the !
Roman bath, with its swift. cold waters |
sworling and rushing round the sculpt-
ured stones as they did in the days when
the stately Roman danes trod It's Wei
white steps with whittier feet.
OF Toulouse and Aries and AviSnon,
Of the towns OF the French Riviera
some Of them less we'll known and even
more picturesque than Cannes ana
Monte Carlo and Mentoue-Mrs. Mason
writes with intelligence and ardor she /
is particularly entertaining in her chap
ters on Vernet, IN the Pyrenees, near the
spanlsh border. a place of magnificent
scenery and the seat OF the ancient
Psnedictire monastery Of 50. Marun'
lately restored Another historic bulla-
Ing Of that region is the 10Th century
Chateau Of Castellnon. a stronghold
which. rnarvellously preserved as II u.s.
ras needed little restoration. That II
has had ~ the hands Of its present own
ers, a Young married pair from America
who have made its rose gardens ana
terraces beautiful and furnished In the
fashion Of the past It's vast rooms. Fas-
chatting as life may he IN teudal castle
Il may not mean unalloyed delight
How do you keep warm in winter
asked our author. mindful Of the great
rooms with their stone walls and prodig-
ious chimney openings. We sit In the
FIRE" ans wered the young hostess. we
dress In corduroy and furs and-we
don't keep warm"
Avignon, clinging 10 her great rock De-
side the hurrying Rhone IS little city
but strange and often thrilling is her
history. Mr.. Oakley tells It with consci-
entious devotion 10 detail in volume
which is one Of the most valuable or us
series There are only stray glimpses OF
The c.5y IN the days when, under CasaT'
she frst became Roman colony, and IN
The succeeding wears when she success
fully resisted Clovis and later passed
under the rule Of the invading Saracen'
IN the Middle Ages, when her chronicles
wax fuller, she was one OF the ireest'
most prosperous and enlightened OF the
fovencal cities, and was. in truth, prac-
ucally republic. When, abandoning
distracted Rome. the Papal court estab-
nshed itself within her walls she made
history rapidly Seventy years the Popes
remained in Avignon; in 1913 IT became
'ner property through the purchase OF 1t
" Clement VI from its heress, the
~auti:ul bad mad Queen Joan or
naples. Already in 1886 had been be-
Gun the building Of that splendid palace
which still dominates the city. Would
maj II might have remained intact with
al Inc glories and beauties which Pope
sHu architect and artist had given 70 1t!
was pillaged at the opening of the
-.eFoiution, and until recently has served
~'nef as prison or Darrack, like so many
ue architectural monuments OF Old
rance Now, however. the great struct-
'e being restored. and we may hope
zee Its halls and chambers wearing
.Omething OF their original stately per-
fiction. % $780,
sad thing for modern French
~" mat the men OF the Revolution
80 100 busy and too furious 20 take
10y thought for the pockets OF their
,.hoants. and had no provision Of the
q nsent tourists who were 10 descend
TT, ~e twentieth century I'm auto and
o. upon their fair land. 1t is griey-
g. mink Of the unnecessary destruc-
s,h u palace and castle and church
ST Ieit ~ peace, would to-day be