Chalais (10 miles) was taken by Charles VII. from the English, 1472. Some traces remain of the castle of the Counts of Périgord, whose motto in provincial patois was Ré qué Diou (rien que Dieu). Coach to Barbezieux. remains, on the hill above it, of a castle of the bishops | large enough for 300-tons ships. Libourne succeeded of Angoulême. Its Romanesque church has been a place called Condat and Fozera, and as one of the restored by Abbadie. chief places in Gascony, was rebuilt and fortified by Edward I. of England. The old machicolated tower styled Tour de l'horloge (with a peaked top added) remains at the Port; it was formerly called Tour da Richard, after the Black Prince's son (Richard II.), born at Bordeaux. The church of St. Jean was rebuilt 1856. The walks are beautiful. It has also a public library of 3,000 vols., a botanic garden, large cavalry barracks, glass factory, &c.; and a good trade in eaux-de-vie, oil, timber, iron, salt. [At 29 kil. west-north-west is BARBEZIEUX, a souspréfecture of 3,500 population (departmant Charente), and a pretty place on the Dronne, in the Cognac brandy country. There are remains of a castle, and it has a good mineral water. Hotels.-De la Poste; de l'Écu de France. AUBETERRE (12 kil. east), on the Dronne, a pretty little place under a hill, in which the church is scooped out, just below the top, where the ruined castle stands. Méré château is near. RIBERAC, an unimportant sous-préfecture, is 18 kil. further.] Laroche-Chalais (8 miles), in department Dordogne, on a hill. Montlieu, on the high road, is 28 kil. west-north-west. Coaches to Jonzac. [JONZAC (58 kil. north-west), is another sous-préfec ture (department Charente Infèrieure), with a fine old castle over the Seigne. A good trade in wine, brandy, cheese, and poultry. Pop., 2,000.] Les Eiglisottes (43 miles). Coutras (5 miles), in department Gironde, at the junction of the L'Isle and Dronne (two suspension bridges), is near the site of Corterate. Pop., 3,370. Here the junction rail from Limoges and Périgueux falls in castle remains. Only the gate of its once large It belonged to the family of de Foix. Here Henry of Navarre slept after the Battle of Coutras, 1587, in which he defeated the Leaguers, under the Duc de Joyeuse, who was killed. This was the first victory gained by the Protestants, and was announced to Henry by the victor in these words, "Sire, mon seigneur et frère, remerciez Dieu, jái battu, vos ennemis et votre armée," Henry III. being secretly favourable to the Protestant leaders. After crossing the L'Isle, on a bridge of six arches, each 49 feet span, you come to St.Denis-de-Pile (5) miles), and itsRomanesque church, shaped like a Greek cross. The Château of Grave belongs to the Duc Decazes. Follow the L'Isle to Libourne (4 miles), a fine well-built town and sous-préfecture (in department Gironde) of 12,000 pop., on the Dordogne, where the Isle joins it, under a handsome suspension bridge. Another of nine arches crosses the main stream, which has a Port K Hotels.-De France; Des Princes. in the neighbourhood, was built by Eleanor of The old pilgrims' chapel of Notre Dame de-Condat Guienne, through whom Henry II. acquired this its red and white wines. It stands under the Tertre territory. Fronsac, across the Dordogne, is known for de Fronsac, a hill about 230 feet above, commanding a good panoramic view. Its ancient castle is gone. [At 7 miles east, up the Dordogne, in a gorge among vineyards, is the decayed fortified town of ST. ÉMILION, having many antiquities to show: as, a parish church of the 12th cent., with handsome slender spire; the façade of Cardinal de Cauterai's palace; remains of the Convents of the Dominicans and Cordeliers; the hermitage of the Saint, near the Place, cut in the rock, clot to a fountain, where they show his stone bed and chair; his monolithic temple or church, in the rock, 85 feet by 53, with a vault resting on eight great pillars, and various carvings, and what is called the Rotonde or round chapel, in a light Gothic style, of the 12th cent. There are also remains of the castle, built by Louis VIII., which has a square tower, &c. Guadet, the Girondist, was born here, and was beheaded at Bordeaux, with Barbaroux, &c., after their proscription by the Jacobins. Pétion and Buzot were found starved to death in a corn field, since called "Champ des Emigrés." The wines of St. Émilion are of good quality. Pop., 3,000. CASTILLON, 20 kil. higher up the river, (pop., 2,900), is celebrated for the battle of 1453, in which the English, under the great Talbot (who, with his son, was killed) were defeated by the French, and finally driven out of France.-About 5 kil. to the north-east (in department Dordogne) is St. Michel Montaigne, the old feudal château of Montaigne, who wrote his "Essais" here. They show his room, in which are sentences from the Bible and the classics, a portrait of his daughter Eléonore, also his writing table, book and bed, and the clock which he refers to.-To the north is Villefranche de Longchapt, a very old place on a rock, walled round by the English, and taken by assault, 1577, by the Huguenots, Sully being among them.] Leaving Libourne, you cross the Dordogne, by a bridge on nine arches, the Tertre de Fronsac being in view; then succeeds a long viaduct of 3,870 feet on 100 arches, to Ships are built at Blaye, and there is a good trade in corn, wine, brandy, oil, fruit, and timber. Hotels.-De l'Union; de France. Coaches to Rochelle, &c.; steamers to Bordeaux, Pauillac, and Royan.] After La Grave, the line bends to the south, past hills covered with vineyards and country seats, and three short viaducts on eighteen, four, and seven arches, succeeded by three short tunnels, to Lormont (1 miles), a place of 3,000 souls, the Arveyres (3 miles), a pleasant spot on a hill. ancient Mons Laurens. on the Dordogne. Here was Coach to Branne. Vayres (2 miles), anciently Varatedum, has the old castle of its marquises, to the west; partly dating from the 13th cent. They show Henry IV.'s bed. Pop. 2,000. St. Sulpice (32 miles). St. Loubes (2 miles). The plain between the Dordogne and Garonne is called Entre Deux Mers, a sort of Mesopotamia, on a small scale. La Grave d' Ambares (6 miles), a village of 2,700 inhab. Coaches to Cubzac and Blaye. a country seat of the Archbishops of Bordeaux. A fourth tunnel, of 1,312 feet, is followed by a fifth of 919 feet, which brings you out in sight of Bordeaux, and to the embarcadère at la Bastide, opposite the town, close to the bridge, a building 984 feet long. BORDEAUX, 283 miles from Paris, 1234 from Bayonne, 1601 from Toulouse. The stations from the latter are on the south-west Flacé de la Comédie, &c. (CUBZAC (6 kil.), on the Dordogne, here crossed by aide of the town. Omnibuses run between, past splendid wire Suspension Bridge, in five bends, 1,788 feet long between the river's banks, or 5,079 ft., including the viaducts which approach it on each side, 24 feet wide, and 92 feet above the water. It was built 1835-9, by Fortuné-deVergey, for £120,000. The Bordeaux merchants have large warehouses at this spot, where the high road from Paris falls in. SLAYE (37 kil. further on), a sous-préfecture of 4,300 souls, in department Gironde, and a pilot station, on the east bank of the Garonne. It was the ancient Blavia, and had a strong castle, taken by the Huguenots, 1568, and then by the Leaguers. This now makes part of the citadel, on a rock in Upper Town, commanding the river (about 4 kil. bread), in conjunction with the fort of le Paté (or the Pie), on an island in the midst, and Fort Médoc on the opposite side. In the old Gothic tower of this castle the Duchesse de Berri was confined, 1833. HOTELS.-Hotel des Princes et de la Paix, kept Mr. Gremailly; newly furnished; admirably stated. De Nantes.-A first-class hotel; splendidly situated. Good cuisine. Hotel de Paris.-First-class hotel; very well situated on the Promenade des Quinconces. A good mairie, hospital, theatre, &c., are in the "Thy mirror'd wave, Garonne, Marine et des Colonies, Americains, Commerce, voyageurs, Quatre Soeurs; Des Ambassadeurs, in Rue Cours l' Intendence; Hotel des Sept Soeurs, opposite the Post Office. Cafés. De la Comédie, near the Theatre; de la Préfecture Fossés-du-Chapeau Rouge; Helvetius, &c. Restaurants.-De Richelieu; de la Préfecture. &c. Breakfasts and dejeûners a la fourchette, 75c. to 1 franc at the cafés, or 1 to 2 francs at the hotels; a good dinner for 3 francs at the hotels. English Consul, T. B. G. Scott, Esq., No. 7, Place du Champ de Mars. Chaplain, at British Chapel, Quai de Chartrons, Rev. E. S. Froward. The Revs. MM. Villaret, P. Durand, and Pellissier, are French Protestant pastors here. Bankers.-Barton and Guestie, Cours Pavé, 35, near Quai des Chartrons; Johnston and Sons, Rue Foy, 21. Library and reading room at M. Chaumas-Gayet, opposite the préfecture. Post Office, 5, Rue-Porte-Dijeaux. Conveyances, by Malle-poste, daily, to Nantes (23 hours), Lyons (38 hours). Diligences to these and other places, as Rochefort, La Rochelle, BourbonVendée, &c. Steamboats to Mortagne, Blaye, and Pauillac, daily; to Royan, twice a week; to Nantes, twice a week, Sailing packets to Havre every five days; a steamer also runs, 1 R OBJECTS OF NOTICE.-The Chartrons-Bridge the archbishops, and was built, 1780-1, by Prince de -Bourse - Theatre-Hôtel de Ville-Palais de Jus- Rohan, then primate of Aquitaine; it is a large tice-Museum-Churches of St. Michael, St. Croix, square pile, with a court in the midst, and a picture &c. - Tour de l'Horloge - Cathedral - Effigies of gallery. Here they show Napoleon's own Cross of the Montaigne-Palais Gallien-Place des Quinconces Legion of Honour, a History of his Battles, with his Wine Cellars. MS. notes, and other curiosities. presented by General Bertrand; also a collection of antique arms. The pictures number 466, including Lesueur's Urania, Rubens' Martyrdom of St. Just, &c., but they are ill arranged. Catalogue 14 fr. An older Gothic town hall is in the street leading to the bridge. The Palais de Justice (law courts), near the Hôtel de Ville, is a large and rather elegant building, 480 feet long, built 1839-46, and has Maggesi's statues of Malesherbes, d'Aguesseau, l'Hôpital, and Montesque, (who lived at Château de Brède, 10 miles off); behind it are the prisons; and opposite, the Hótel Dieu, or public hospital of St. André, with 650 beds. It was rebuilt 1825-9, but founded as far back as 1390. In Rue St. Dominique, is the Museum, comprising the public library of 120,000 vols., and 300 MSS., among which is Montaigne's annotated Copy of his Essais; also the museums of antiquity and natural history, and the Observatory, open daily to strangers. Hospice des Enfans Trouvés, where 700 foundlings are provided for, is on the Quai de la Paludatte. Pop., 130,000. Bordeaux is the third commercial port in France, the centre of the vin de Bordeaux, or Claret trade, chief town of the department Gironde (formerly of the province of Guienne or Aquitaine), head of a military division, seat of an archbishop, &c. It stands on the west bank of the Garonne, à borddes-eaux, 70 miles from the sea, where the river is 500 to 800 yards broad (the Thames at London Bridge is 350 yards); and it is from the water that you see to advantage its noble range of quays and buildings, stretching like a crescent, three miles long, from the ship-yards at the south end to the fine streets and houses at the north extremity, towards the Chartrons and Chapeau Rogue quarters, where the merchants live. A fine, nearly level, stone Bridge, of seventeen arches, 531 yards long, 50 feet broad, was built 1811-21, by Deschamps, from the Porte de Bourgogne to the village of La Bastide opposite. This will soon be accompanied by a railway bridge uniting the termini of the lines which centre here. The river below forms the Port, where as many as 1,000 sail may lie; but the larger vessels anchor at Pauillac, which is the real port. High water at full and change, 3 o'clock. The Houses are large and well-built; the higher classes are wealthy and luxurious in their habits, and particularly well disposed towards the English, to whom Bordeaux and the province belonged for three centuries, down to 1451. Its climate, however, is damp. The principal buildings are as follows: The St. Andre's Cathedral, built by the English in the 13th century, the foundation having been laid by Henry II. and his Queen, is a large but irregular structure, with buttresses, &c.; it is 413 feet long, and has two spires, 150 feet high, in the north transept, a good rose window, a fine altar, and an arched roof, 56 feet broad, of the 16th century. It contains pictures, by Veronese and Jordaens. Its detached clock tower, called Pey Berland, 156 feet high, was built, 1440, by Archbishop Pierre Berland, and is a fine piece of Gothic work, with buttresses at the corners, and a circular turret at the top. St. Michael's Gothic church, near the Quai de la Grave, was also built by the English, but has a north front of later date. Length 243 feet. It was restored 1855. Its clock-tower, 180 feet high, is also detached and buttressed at the angles. The vault below the church is laid out with bones brought from a neighbouring cemetery. The Bourse (exchange) in Place Royale, near the bridge, is 98 feet by 65, and 78 feet high to the middle of the glazed dome. The Chamber of Commerce occupies a place here, with a library of 6,000 vols., which includes a good collection of voyages. The Douane, or custom house, is near the Bourse: both buildings are by Gabriel. In the Rue Chapeau Rouge (a fine street like Portland Street), is the principal Theatre, a large and noble structure, built by Louis XIV., and opened 1780; it has a Corinthian portico St. Croix, near Quai St. Croix, though quite irreguof twelve columns, with a great vestibule and stair-lar within and without, is a most curious and interestcase, and will hold 4,000 persons. It is usually reckoned the best out of Paris. The Theatre de Gymnase is new. Another, called les Variétés in Rue Fossés de l'Intendance, was burnt down in 1855. The Préfecture, in Rue de la Comédie, is the work of Louis, 1775, and has been restored. Hôtel de Ville (or town hall), near the Cathedral, was the palace of ing church, and the oldest here. It is Romanesque, of the 10th and 11th cent., and was founded by William the Good, Duke of Aquitaine. The curious carvings on the front, the wall paintings, and old carved font, all deserve notice. St. Seurin (or Severin) in Place de Prado, though modern in the front, is worth visiting for its ancient There are at Bordeaux, a college or university (as old as 1441), schools of architecture and medicine, deaf and dumb institution, and many benevolent societies; an abattoir, large barracks, &c. crypt of St. Fort, of the 11th cent., to which mothers | walks are laid out with avenues of trees. Fairs are take their children every 16th of May, and to which, or held the first ten days in July, at the hippodrome at rather to an earlier building on its site, the body of Gradignan (10 kil. away). Roland was brought after his death at Roncesvaux. Nôtre Dame, a modern church, was rebuilt 1701; and the Feuillant's church, attached to the Lyceum, has the mailed effigy of Montaigne, who was a judge of the Bordeaux parliament, was twice mayor, and died, 1592, in Rue des Minimes. There are, besides these, seven other Catholic churches, four Protestant churches, and a handsome synagogue, the last in Rue Causserouge. Some remains of the Chartreuse abbey church are left in the public Cemetery outside the town, where Moreau is buried. It gives name to the Quai des Chartrons, &c. The amphitheatre, or Palais Gallien, now hardly to be seen for the houses on it, is a Roman remain, near the Jardin des Plantes (botanic garden). It was 241 feet by 177, and 64 high. Tour de l'horloge, or clocktower, which was attached to the old Hotel de Ville, is an old gate built by Henry III. of England, and has three peaked turrets, with a lion on the middle one. It stands 135 feet high. Round the bell is inscribed its round of duties, viz. :-"Convoco arma, Signo dies, Noto horas, compello nubila, concino lata, Ploro rogos." Another gate, Porte du Palais, or du Cailhau, near the Custom House and Quai de Bourgogne, was built, 1495, by Charles VIII. It is 112 feet high, and known by its five or six peaked turrets. It serves as a prison. In Place d'Aquitaine is the ancient évéché or bishop's house, near a gate or porte, which served for a triumphal arch when the Bourbons returned, in 1814. The Entrepôt Réel, for colonial produce, is a large pile on the Quai des Chartrons; on Quay de Bacalan, are the Victualling Office and Viellard's (formerly Johnson's) large porcelain factory, which communicates by canals with the river. Hótel des Monnaies (mint) is in Rue de Palais Gallien; the Bank, in Rue Esprit des Lois. Joubert's spinning factory is on a large scale. Cruse's caves, or cellars, containing 30,000 barrels of wine, are worth visiting; so are Guestier's, in Pavé des Chartrons. Excellent public baths, near the Bourse, and in Place Lainé; also two swimming schools, mineral baths, &c. The best Promenades are in the Cours d'Albret de Tourny (so called after M. de Tourny, formerly Intendant, and a great benefactor to the town, whose statue is near), and du Jardin publique (which, however, is no garden, but an open space)-but especially in the large Place Quinconces, on the site of the Château Trompette. It is about a quarter of a mile long. At one end are baths, at the other, two columns, 65 feet high, with gas reflectors. All these Among the persons born here are, Ausonius, the Latin poet of the 4th cent.; Richard II. of England; Clement V.; Marcellus Empiricus, the first of quacks; Ducos, and other "Girondists," who figured in the Revolution. Another native was Girard, the rich merchant of New York, who sailed hence, 1762, as a cabin boy, and died worth two and a half millions sterling. Bordeaux was called Burdigala by Strabo, and was the chief town of the Bituriges. Ausonius praises it for its soft climate, its long spring, and short winter. He describes it as four-sided; with high towers, and broad well-planned streets, and watered by the stream called Devitia (now La Devise); "and when father ocean flows up, the whole surface is covered with fleets," i.e., fleets of boats and merchantmen. The Roman city stood between Place Royale on the Quay, and the Cathedral. It had fourteen gates, of which the last (Porte Basse) was pulled down, 1805. The Visigoths burnt it, 412, and the Saracens again about 732. Bordeaux was for a time the capital of Gascony; and through Eleanor, wife of Henry II. (of England), it came to the English crown, as head of the duchy of Guienne. Henry III., who built the old Hôtel de Ville, made Simon de Montfort governor; Edward I., when prince, lived here; and from hence the Black Prince marched to the battle of Poitiers, and brought back John of France prisoner. Charles VII. took it from the English 1451, and built Château Trompette to defend it. This was fortified by Vauban, and called Fort Louis; to build which stones were taken from a Roman Temple, Augusto sacrum, &c.," called Pilliers de Tutelle. Its altar is in the museum of antiquities. To this fortress was added Castle Ha, or Cailhau, abovementioned, forming part of L'Ombrière, the old palace of the dukes of Aquitaine, which disappeared in 1800, when this space was cleared. In the present day it is remarkable for the banquet of 9th October, 1852, given to the Prince President, Louis Napoleon, when he uttered his memorable words, "L'Empire, c'est la Paix," which served to rally so many hesitating adherents round the imperial throne. Trade. The produce brought up by the Canal du Midi, and Cette rail, and shipped to the French colonies, &c., consists of hides, flour, seeds, brandy, almonds, prunes, chesnuts, cork, resin, verdigris, honey, hams, &c. The manufactures are pefumery, liqueurs, ornamental fruit-boxes, stockings, carpets, cotton, earthenware, bottles, casks, hats, paper, vinegar, tobacco, refined sugar, rope, &c., and gloves from André's factory. Imports of all kinds from abroad. About 100,000 tons of shipping are employed, which possess one-fourth of the French colonial trade. The famous claret wine is produced below the city, on the west side of the river, in the district of the Médoc; about 50,000 tuns of the premier crus, or "first growths" (called Château Margaux, Lafitte, Latour, and Haut Brion), are made yearly, and the best of it is sent to England. [From Bordeaux down the west side of the Garonne, in the wine country of Médoc, you pass Blanquefort, which belonged to the Black Prince. Then La Barde; Château Margaux (noted for its first growth claret), opposite Blaye; Beycheville, and Château Léoville (second growths); Château Latour (first growth); Chateau Lafitte (another first growth), near which is PAUILLAC, a port on the river, 44 kil. from Bordeaux, where large ships stop, The best Clarets are produced on a most unpicturesque gravel strip about two miles broad, and 50 to 80 feet above the river. The vines are trained about two feet high in open fields; vintage takes place in September. The grape-plague appeared here, 1852. LESPARRE (68 kil. from Bordeaux), a small sous-préfecture in department Gironde (pop., 1,232), among vineyards and meadows. Passing through good pasture land, you come to SOULAC (25 kil.), at the mouth of the Garonne, opposite the bathing place of Royan, and near the Tour de Cordouan, a round, solid light-house of three stories, 234 feet high, built 1611, by Louis de Foix, having large refractors on Fresnel's system.] ROUTE 36. duchy, by Louis XIII., for his favourite Charles Albert de Luynes, who was originally his falconer. It stands in a pretty spot under the rocks (and was hence sometimes styled Rochoir-sur Loir), which are hollowed out for people to live in; above, is the old Château, with a heap of peaked turrets. Paul Courier, assassinated here, 1824, was a native. Near it are about fifty pillars of an ancient Roman aqueduct. The rail crosses the Loire by a 19-arch viaduct, to Cinq-Mars (4 miles), which stands on the cliffs, near an old Castle, and a famous antiquaries' puzzle, called the Pile de Cinq Mars, a slender solid tower of large bricks, 13 feet square, 92 high, to the corner turrets, which rise 10 above. A fifth turret over the middle was blown down, 1751. It has neither door nor window, and the builder is unknown; but it is supposed to be a mausoleum. Cinq-Mars, one of the favourites of Louis XIII., and son of Marshal d'Effiat, having conspired against Richelieu, was taken in his own castle, and beheaded. He is the hero of de Vigny's novel. Coaches to Chateau-la-Vallière, Cléré, Savigné, Rille, Chaunay, Mazières. Langeais (3 miles), on the north bank, has an old Gothic Château of the 10th cent. (now a prison), built by Foulques Nera, Count of Anjou, and enlarged by St. Louis' barber, Pierre de Labrosse. In the hall, the marriage of Charles VII, with Anne of Brittany was celebrated, 1491. Pop., 3,310. [Coach to AZAY-LE-RIDEAU (8 miles south-east, which has, on an island in the Indre, a beautiful turreted Chateau, in the Renaissance style, with a richly carved portico and staircase. The devices of Diana de Poitiers and Francis I. (the salamander), are seen, and the motto "Ung sew desir" in one part. It contains a gallery of portraits. Pop., 2,200.] St. Patrice (5 miles), near the Bois de Bismond, and Rochecotte, the handsome modern seat of Talleyrand's niece and heiress, the Duchesse de Dino. It contains his collection of pictures and objects of art. A little further is Trois-Violets, opposite the château Tours to Angers, Nantes, and St. Nazaire, Ussé, seat of Duc de Duras, formerly of Vauban, DOWN THE LOIRE. By rail.-Distance to Nantes, 196 kil., or 122 miles. Four trains a-day, in 3 to 6 hours. Tours, as in Route 35. The line runs close to the high levée road, which hems in the river, Passing Plessis-les-Tours, opposite St. Vallières, and St. Cyr (where Beranger lived), you come to Savonnieres (8 miles), on the south bank, near the Cher, and the Villandry dropping caves, and opposite to Luynes, which was called Maillé as far back as 475, and was made, in 1610, the head of a who partly built it. La Chouze-sur-Loire (4 miles), or La Chapelle-sur-Loire. A little north-east is Bourgeuil, in a charming red-wine country on the Doigt, and having remains of a Benedictine abbey of the 10th cent., founded by Edme, Duchess of Guienne. Pop., 3,190. Port-Boulet (2 miles), at the suspension bridge to Candes, which stands at the Vienne's mouth, near the picturesque ruins of Montsoreau Castle. Candes has the church in which St. Martin de Tours died. |