and waters a country as agreeable as the town is the reverse. The old and clumsy walls were built about the tenth century, when the town and the territory attached to it, were erected into a barony, which was made over in 1218 to a branch of the house of Montmorency; it became afterwards a county during the reign of Charles the Seventh. The old castle that belonged to the dukes of Laval, rises in the middle of the town, on the banks of the river; it has been long used as a prison. The linen mart, a large and lofty edifice, was built by the dukes of La Trimouille, who succeeded those of Montmorency. The linens of Laval have been held in great repute for more than five hundred years; that branch of industry was first introduced by Guy the Eighth, count of Laval, after his marriage with Beatrice of Flanders, from which country many weavers migrated and settled in the town. The fact, however, is little known by the townspeople, who in gratitude ought to have erected a monument to the great promoter of their prosperity. The public library consists of 25,000 volumes, the town has produced several distinguished men, but none perhaps more eminent than Ambroise Paré, the father of surgery in France. BOOK CXLII. Gonthier. The Mayenne waters the three principal towns in the de- Chateau partment, and it may be necessary to remark that two of them, Chateau Gonthier and Mayenne are six leagues distant from Laval, the one on the north, the other on the south. Thus, their relative situation tends to facilitate their commerce with each other. If the streets in Chateau Gonthier were straight, it might be an agreeable residence; it is separated from the principal suburbs by the river; the great charm of the public walks consists in the view along the basin of the Mayenne; the banks are shaded with walnut trees and orchards, or covered with meadows, and commanded by heights that contribute much to the beauty of the scenery. Craon, a small town of 3000 inhabitants, about four leagues to the west of Chateau Gonthier, was the birthplace of the celebrated Volney. Although the streets of Mayenne are narrow and crooked, the cleanliness of the Mayenne. houses may convince the stranger that he is no longer in the ancient province of Brittany. It was erected into a titular dutchy by Charles the Ninth in favour of Charles of Lor BOOK CXLIII. Department of Sarthe. Mamers. Mans. raine, who became in consequence duke of Mayenne. The ancient castle inhabited by the same duke and his successors, may still be considered one of the greatest ornaments to the town. The Sarthe, which gives its name to a department contiguous on the east to that of Mayenne, crosses it from north to south, and waters very fruitful lands, until it joins the Huysne; there the soil changes, and all the space between the river and the Loire is covered with sandy and sterile heaths. Wines of an ordinary quality, grain in sufficient abundance for the wants of the inhabitants, rich pastures, numerous flocks, iron and coal mines make up the territorial wealth in the department of Sarthe. The small town of Mamers may be first mentioned, because it is situated in the most northern district of the department. It was probably founded a short time after the arrival of the Franks into Gaul; the Normans fortified it at a later period, and it was afterwards embellished with public walks, fountains and different buildings. Although Ferté Bernard contains only 2500 inhabitants, it possesses linen manufactories together with several corn and felt mills, which are moved by the Huysne and the Mene. The inhabitants have formed by subscription a public library, a proof that industry is accompanied with the desire of knowledge. The capital is advantageously situated near the centre of the department; seven high roads terminate at Mans, and the lofty trees that shade them, add to the beauty of the neighbourhood. Narrow and crooked streets paved with pebbles, and almost inaccessible to carriages, indicate the antiquity of the quarter on the right bank of the Sarthe. The upper town is more modern, the houses are built of freestone, and covered with slates; but most of the public buildings are situated in the New Quarter, the finest part of the city. The cathedral was built at irregular intervals; a period of not less than six hundred years clapsed from the time it was commenced until it was finished; it forms a combination of Roman and Gothic architecture, very interesting to those who study the history of the art. Rows of stone alternate with rows of brick; the arcades in the interior, and the ogees in the exterior produce a singular effect, which BOOK accords well with the dazzling colour of the Gothic windows. The mausoleum of William de Bellay, viceroy of CXLII. Piemont during the reign of Francis the First, a good general and an able diplomatist, may be considered the principal ornament in the interior. The house that belonged to Scarron, after he became one of the prebends in Mans, is situated at no great distance from the cathedral. The site of a Roman amphitheatre may be seen on the walk of the Jacobites, a walk shaded with lime trees, and bounded by terraces. The same town, the ancient Suindinum, was the capital of the country of the Cenomani; after the Roman conquest it was the second city in the third Lyonensis. It was one of the principal towns in France in the time of Charlemagne; the Normans by whom it was almost ruined, made themselves twice masters of it. It was several times taken and retaken by the Vendean and Republican armies; the market place was changed into a field of battle on the 13th of December 1793, when the soldiers of La Vendee yielded in the darkness of the night and after much slaughter, to the troops commanded by Westermann and Marceau, against whom they had defended themselves during the whole of the day.* The wax lights made at Mans are said to be the best in the kingdom, but that branch of industry is not confined to the capital of the department; the same articles are sent to Paris from some districts in the neighbourhood, and from Suze, a small town of 1800 inhabitants, on the banks of the Sarthe near the extremity of the landes. lais. Encompassed with forests and sandy plains, the Anille Saint Cawaters a town which bore the same name as the river until the sixth century, when a Saint-Calais founded a monastery, and gave his name to the town. An old church, a large square and two public walks are the greatest ornaments to the place. Besides the commerce arising from the linen manufactures, it carries on a considerable trade in grain. The inhabitants in the industrious burgh of Bessé, about three leagues towards the south, find employment in different manufactories, in dying cloth, in making paper and wax candles. In the same district, beyond the southern extremi BOOK CXLIII. La Fleche. ty of the landes, nature-abounding in contrasts, has embellished the rich valley of the Loire; fields covered with grain, leguminous plants and fruits, hills adorned with vineyards that yield the only good wine in the department, fruitful orchards and rich meadows are united with romantic scenery. The chalky hills, cut into terraces on the banks of the Loire, form a very singular appearance; houses of two stories are thus raised from the excavations, the chimneys pass upwards to the fields, and clouds of smoke are exhaled from them. Chateau-du-Loire rises on one of these heights; industry and commerce have enabled the inhabitants to substitute new and commodious houses for old and inconvenient habitations, the town has been gradually renewed, and although it contains at present only 3000 souls, it possesses a good classical seminary, an hospital, a theatre and public baths. Passing through the same sort of country, the Loire flows below the small but neat town of Lude; at a greater distance, La Fleche, a comparatively wealthy city, rises on the right bank; it appears however that the inhabitants might be more industrious, for they have only one manufactory of black veils for nuns, two of glue, and some leather works. It is well enough built, and the public library contains 22,000 volumes; but this chief town in a sub-prefecture has acquired additional importance from the college founded by Henry the Fourth, and changed several years ago into a school for six hundred pupils, four hundred of whom receive a military education at the expense of government. Prince Eugene, the celebrated Descartes and Picard the astronomer were educated at the college of La Fleche. Sablé at the confluence of the Erve and the Sarthe, is the last place of any consequence in the western region of France; a fine bridge of black marble obtained from the quarries in the vicinity, is without doubt the greatest ornament to the town. BOOK CXLIV. EUROPE. Europe continued.-Kingdom of France. Central Region. Third Section. THE thirteen departments which make up the central region of France, formed eight provinces in the ancient monarchy: Orleanais fruitful in corn and in vines, Touraine called the garden of France, Berri abounding in cattle, Nivernais, Bourbonnais and Marche, each of them enriched by commerce, Limousin, whose inhabitants supply by their industry the disadvantages of an ungrateful soil, and lastly, Auvergne, where the low lands are productive, and the high, although not fruitful in grain, afford good pasturage. The same region does not differ widely from the last in extent of surface, and in the means of education provided for the people, but it is far inferior to it in the number of inhabitants, for the 4,195 square leagues that compose it, are only peopled by 3,789,000 individuals, which on an average does not amount to 910 persons to every square league. Thus it appears to be even more thinly peopled than the southern region; although no very favourable opinion can be inferred from such results, still this portion of France contains within itself so many resources, so much that may contribute to the expansion of industry, that its present depressed state cannot render an account of it unin teresting. BOOK CXLIV. Depart Almost all Touraine, one of the smallest ancient pro- ment of vinces, forms at present the department of Indre and Loire, Indre and Loire. |