The Coolidge examiner., 1932-05-06
prepared by the National Geographic
Society Washington, d. c.
(WNU Service.)

- celebration in May of the four
hundredth anniversary of Brit
tainy's annexation to France.
Without fancy dress" st. Malo is
a charming, picture book town of
the French north coast. Along the
city's old walls, visitors stumble
upon groups of old salts, smoking
stubby pipes as they spin yarns of
| the sea. Nearby their sturdy boats
are clustered in the harbor.
Within eyeshOt of the yarn-teli-
ers, new st. Malo reveals itself; ;
splendid beaches, with modern no.
tells and gambling casinos in the
background. Where fish nets once
were dried and repaired, aliens
vacationists from England, France,
and other parts of Europe-are
swinging tennis rackets on smooth
courts, tapping croquet balls, build
! ing castles of sand and seaweed, fly
ing kites, shivering from dips in the
chilly waters of the English chan
mel, and sitting under canvas shades
with nothing more to do than to
watch their favorite dogs dig holes
Gone are the days of the corsairs
when st. Malo's mariners ranked
among the bravest aflOat. The
| grizZled sons of the corsairs who
made England hot with rage for lost
ships who carried the name of St.
Malo around the world, through the
half century before 1925, now sail
forth to battle with the gayly-tinted
herring and the peaceful oyster. An
annual fishing cruise to the grand
banks Of Newfoundland is the
longest venture.
The stores Of merchants who
4 staked fortunes on a single priva-
teering expedition now have other
owners, whose modern show win
dows display bathing suits or high
heeled shoes. st. Malo no longer
needs to dare the waves in search
Of foreign booty. Instead of fleets
and armies, excursion boats come
with tourists. Syncopated music
and the ivory balls tinkle in the ca
sinos until dawn.
The old lure of the sea, and the
stout Breton heart persists.
Once Home of Corsairs.
In the years of it's greatness. st.
Malo flung to the winds Of every
cline the colors of France and its
own corsair flag of blue with the
white cross and sleeping ermine. No
other city in France was so well
known in the Americas and the In
dies. One of its sons gave Canada
to France, another captured Rio de
Janeiro, another blockaded the Can
ges, another took Madras. st.
MaIo's toll of English shipping was
set at 3S2 warships and 4,510 mer-
chantmen.
England and Holland sent fleets
and armies to batter down the
"scourge of the SEAS" st. Malo
fought back as blithely as it fought
with kings of France, dukes of Brit
tainy, or its own triple-headed gov
ernment. The city of corsairs loved
to fight either on the water or on
it's own rocky isle.
Today, as then. the tide rises and
falls twice in each "a hOurs-3O
feet ordinarily, more than 40 when
the sea runs full. Castles of sand
and seaweed disappear at the food
the scars of the day are smoothed
and the waves break against the
Twelfth century ramparts.
The fortified islands stand out
black against the setting sun. Clear
above the serried hills of steep roofs
the crenelated spire of old st. Vim
cents prick the sky Of mottled red
and green. Grim structures of steel
gray granite, fecked with mica
which sparkles In the sun, slope
down to the broad ramparts and the
SQUAT towers of the citadel outside.
St. Malo of the ages endures.
Blue and white enamel signs i'm
mOrtalize notable persOnageS of st.
Malo. In 1889 the names of most
of the public squares and of nearly
all the streets, except those leading
TO the principal gates, were changed
TO honor those who made the town
famous.
The list is long. Old names, sug
gestive Of vanished landmarks
Dancing Cat, Broken Drum, Glut-
tonv. Commune, Lancet, Danes OF
Light Habits, Big Steps. Little
Steps, Harp, Break of Day, Old
Butter, Soft Grass. Pilory. Street
Sweepers, Hangman-have been
changed to make a st. Malo Who's
Who. The best known are
Jacoues Cartier, discoverer of the
ST. Lawrence river; Maupertuis, the
mathematician; La Metric, exposeI
of uuacks; Doctor BrOussais, early
evolutionist; Porcon de la Barvin
ais, given a parole by the Algerian
pirates and beheaded when he re-
turned; Mahe de La Bourdonnais
captor of Madras and the 'gov'
ernor' in paul and Virginia.; Fell.