The citizen., 1920-12-23

BY N. r. Vaughn, Secretary Of
Beres College and Editor Of
The Citizen

emoselles' when n friend stepped up
and asked IL had taken leave from
duty. ] told him that I had not,
whereupon he informed me that I
would miss the greatest privilege Of
lifetime II ! failed to go to St.
Malo and Mont st. Michel on the
English Channel. never like to
miss good things, so I took him at
his word and went.
Space will not permit me to tell Of
the old historic walled city of Dinan.
which ! visited on the way, nor of
the modern middle-class French city
OF st. Servan on the coast, nor of the
cosmopolitan fashionable resort OF
Dinard, nor Of the still more interest
ing fortified town Of st. Malo. These
towns are in sight of each other and
can be visited in one day by automo-
bile. have reserved this space for
Mont st. Michel, about twenty-five
miles up the Channel from st. Malo.
Mont st. Michel is one Of the wonders
OF Europe for its site, and as sample
Of Gothic, religious and military
architecture Of the different ages, and
for its history. Mont. st. Michel is
a lone round rock one fourth miles in
circumference. one mile from shore.
and rises 200 feet above the sur
round quicksands. In the year TOO.
st. Aubert, bishop of Avranches.
founded a monastery by order of the
Archangel Michael, the legend SAYS.
This abbey, or church, crowns the
top Of the little mountain, and cham
ber after chamber have been exca-
waited in the solid rock under the
building. The first part of the build
ing dating from the year 1920 is of
Norman architecture. During that
century the monks clustered here
gave six ships to William the Con-
queror for his invasion of England.
In 1903 King Philip Augustus burned
the abbey because it had fallen into
the hands of the English, but later
repaired the damages when II had
been regained by the French. St.
Michel was the only Norman fort
that held out against England in the
hundred-year war between France
and England. The story is told that
during long siege English knights
climbed up the cliffs to the foot Of
the walled abbey and demanded the
surrender Of the building. One of
the knights was offered a reward il
he would scale the wall and make a
personal attack. The Norman guards
heard him coming and secreted them
selves until he was well into the
building. They clubbed him to death.
and the largest man in the crowd took
off his armor and put on the knights
armor as a decoy. He went to the
top OF the wall and called for the
knights TO come at time that they
might storm the building He could
speak English and he whispered the
words to disguise his voice. As the
knights were lifted one at a time to
the top Of the wall. a crowd of
Frenchmen grabbed him and rushed
him 10 the interior of the building.
This was continued until more than
half the knights were killed. The
rest of the crowd at the bottom be-
came suspicious and refused to come.
At given signal the dead bodies of
the knights were, one by one, thrown
over the walls for their comrades 10
carry away. This shows what an
impregnable fortress the abbey was
before the days Of heavy guns.
II was $50 years from the time the
first wall and tower of the abbey
were built until the last one was
erected in the early part of the sew
enteenth century. There are thir-
teen chapels built in different peri
DDS, all representing different styles
of architecture, ranging from the
very plain to the highly ornate.
Some of the most heautiful lacework
stone carving TO bdfodnd in the world
decOrates the pill@ and the ceiling
of the Sale des CHevaliers, the most
ornate room in the abbey. Down
many feet below the surface are the
dungeons in which political prisoners
Of the nineteenth century were con-
fined. A noted writer by the name
Of Dubourg, who had written against
King Louis XIV. was left TO be eaten
by the rats. His skeleton remained
there many years.
Besides the abbey there is a village
Of three hundred people living on this
rock, and sticking out Of the sides of
the cliff. The Hotel Poulard has be-
come famous for its omelets. We
had a delightful meal at this hotel
that has been operated for more than
a hundred years and has served the
omelet in the same fashion from the
beginning. II is made in long
handle skillet ovar an onan fro