may ride abreast on them. In the time of Charles | taire began the Henriade when staying here with his VII., it belonged to the famous Jacques Coeur literary patron, the third duke. (his jeweller), and bore this inscription over the gate:

LION (10 kil.) on the south side of the river, opposite Ouzouer and Dampierre.

GIEN (12 kil.) on the north side of the Loire, at the old twelve-arched stone bridge, in a pleasant spot, is on a gentle slant, at the top of which are the old spire church of St. Louis (where King Jean-sans-Peur was married, 1410), and the château (now Hôtel de

Roanne, on the Loire, and the St. Etienne rail- Ville), built or begun in Charlemagne's time. There

are pretty gardens and baths on the river. Steamers from Orléans, Nevers, &c., touch at the quay. Flannel goods and pottery are made.

At 1 kil. north-east is VIEUX (or Old) GIEN, where Roman stones, medals, &c., have been found; whence some think this was the ancient Genabum. At 18 kil south-west is the old castle of Argent. BRIARE (9 kil.), on the high road to Nevers, Route 45, viâ Cosne, Pouilly, La

COMBLEAUX (8 kil), where the canal d'Orléans turns Charité, &c., a distance of 84 kil., or 52 miles.

(opposite St. Denis), at the bridge, has a pop. of 2,450, Bourges to Neris-les-Bains and Clermontand was held by the English, under Suffolk, 1421, when taken by the Duc d'Alençon and Joan of Arc. A few years before, Charles, Duc d'Orleans, and his brother, formed a league here, to revenge the death of their father by the Duke of Burgundy; whose death they accomplished at Monterau.

visitors but are also supplied to the houses for cooking, | in ruins, Charles VII. staid when in pursuit of his &c. A large bath-room was began 1834; and there is rebellious son, Louis XI. The streets are narrow, and

a hospital with 100 beds for the poor, gratis. The Jardin des Bains is on the site of a Roman amphitheatre, which can be plainly traced; columns, statues, coins, &c., have been found here. The old Norman church is of the 11th cent.

Hotels-Grand Hôtel; Léopold.

MONTAIGUT (17 kil.), in the hilly department of Puy de Dôme, has a castle on a pointed rock (aigu). Hotel.-De l'Écu.

the buildings of little note. Parts of its old walls remain. It has a library of 4,500 vols., with a lunatic asylum and a pepinière (nursery) for the department, A group of stones in the neighbourhood is called La Peyras. Trade in wool, cattle, butter, &c.

Aldebert, the first count (about 993) of this province of Marche, of which Guéret was the capital, having given himself the title, and captured Tours, in spite of the threats of the king, Hugh Capet, was asked

MENAT (15 kil.) is the next place, with its tripoli by him, "Who made you a Count?" to which the

quarries, on the Sioule.

ST. PARDOUX (12 kil.);
RIOM (23 kil.); and

bold vassal answered, "Who made you King?"-a difficult question for this usurper, whom Dante has placed in his Purgatorio. His descendant, Aldebert,

Clermont (15 kil.) on the railway, as in Route 45. sold it to Henry II. of England, who sold it again to

ROUTE 49.

Hugh of Lusignan. After some further changes, it was united to the French crown by Francis I. The

Chateauroux to Gueret, Aubusson, and vine is not cultivated, but other fruits are plentiful;

Clermont-Ferrand.

Distance, 212 kil., or 132 miles.

Chateauroux stat. as in Route -.

LA CHÂTRE (37 kil.), a town of 4,700 souls, in department Indre, and a sous-préfecture, in a pretty spot on the Indre, with remains of a castle, of which a tower serves as the prison. There are some good points of view around.

[CHÂTEAUMEILLANT, about 15 kil. to the left, is
a curious mixture of various styles, surrounded
by a moat.]

GÉNOUILLAC (27 kil.)
[BOUSSAC (12 kil. east-north-east), in department

Creuse, is a small sous-préfecture, finely seated
on a rock, over the little Creuse (where the
Veron joins it), among precipitous hills. Above
the village are the large remains of its ancient
castle. Pop. 879. Coach to Châteauroux stat.
(75 kil.)]

chesnuts are a common article of food. The people of the department speak a kind of Limousin patois. It is the custom for many of them to emigrate in March every year, in search of employment, returning home in December.

[From Guéret, on the road to Limoges, you pass BOURGANEUF (29 kil., or 47 from La Souterraine

stat.), a sous-préfecture of 3,200 souls, on the
Thorion, or Taurion, where, they say, Zizim, a
Turkish prince, flying from his brother, Bajazet
II., and placed here under the protection of the
grand master, D'Aubusson, built a curious
tower of great solidity, which still remains. Paper
and porcelain are made.

Hotels.-Le Soleil d'Or (Golden Sun, i.e., Louis
XIV.); de la Poste.

ST. LÉONARD (28 kil,), an old place on the Vienne,
(which a bridge crosses), with manufactures of
paper, &c. Pop., 6,100.

At 22 kil. further is Limoges, on the rail.] From Guéret, on the road to Clermont-Ferrand, you pass

LE MOUTIER (20 kil).

AUBUSSON (16 kil.), a sous-préfecture of 5,300 souls. in department Creuse, with manufactures of tapestry, coarse cloth, &c., 75 kil. from La Souterraine stat. It stands in a rocky gap, on the Creuse, in a poor country, and has the ruins of a château belonging to the grand master, D'Aubusson, who received Prince Zizim at Rhodes, and sheltered him at Bourganeuf (as above); it was dilapidated in 1646.

Hotels-De la Boule d'Or (Golden Ball); du Lion d'Or.

[At 8 kil. to the south is FELLETIN, where paper and carpets are made. It stands over the Creuse,

on the slant of a hill, above which was a castle! in feudal times. An old building here, called Beaumont, which served as the parish church and an Austrian prison, but now pulled down, was said to be part of a pagan temple. About 16 kil. to the east is CROCQ, a little village on a rock, which, in the troubled reign of Henry IV., gave name to a gang of brigands, called Croquans,]

LA VILLENEUVE (23 kil.);

PONT-AU-MUR (22 kil.), on a branch of the Sioule;

then

Pop. 11,000. Chief town of department Corrèze (for merly the province of Bas-Limousin), seat of a bishop, a government factory for fire-arms, &c., in a narrow valley on the Corrèze (where the Solane meets it), the rocky sides of which are terraced with houses in the Gothic and Renaissance styles, surrounded by picturesque hills. Sarrasin, or maize, is grown. There are pretty walks on the quays and bridges. An old square tower, said to be Roman, stands above the town, near the cemetery.

The half-Gothic Cathedral, marked by a fine slender spire, is in the Grand Place, where, also, is the Maison Sage, a turreted house of the 14th cent,, ornamented with arabesque and other carvings. The public library contains 2,500 vols.; a district prison, a college, good

PONT-GIBAUD (18 kil.), on the Sioule, in the lava foil of Auvergne, whose dauphins built a chateau here, with walls of great thickness, and corner towers. In the neighbourhood are the scat of Comte de Pont-hospital, &c., are also here. Gibaud (or Gibault), the mineral water of Javelle, nines of lead, copper, antimony, &c., and many volcanic peaks.

At 22 kil. further is

Clermont stat., as in Route 45.

ROUTE 50.

Clermont-Ferrand to Bordeaux, by way of

Ussel, Tulle, Brives, and Perigueux.

The small-arms factory is at Souillac (2 kil.) on the Solane, a river bordered by fine granite rocks. Many remains of the Roman Tintiniacum, destroyed by the Vandals, exist on a plain 6 kil. north, near which you get a view of the Cantal chain. In a valley below is the Cordino fall.

Distance 224 kil., or 139 miles. A railway is pro-louse, &c. jected in this direction, to intersect that from Montauban.

Clermont-Ferrand stat., as in Route 45. Rochefort (29 kil.), as in Route 51, where a road turns off to Mont Dore Baths.

BOURGLASTIC (25 kil.) Pop. 2,420, employed in the forges, &c.

CHALONS (13 kil.), in department Corrèze.
USSEL (15 kil.). Pop., 4,320.

Hotels.-Du Dauphin; Nôtre Dame.

An old town and sous-préfecture, among bare hills,

TULLE,

[At 8 kil. north-east, near GIMEL (which has a finely carved Gothic cross and a feudal château), on the Montane, is one of the grandest Waterfalls in France. The river tumbles over the broken limestone rocks in a succession of five or six leaps, (though not visible all together), one of which is 138 feet down and 15 wide; another is 85 feet down.

ARGENTAT (31 kil.), is on the Dordogne, at the new

wire suspension bridge, built 1828, by Vilat, 328 feet long, and 49 feet above the stream. It belonged to Turenne's family, and had an abbey of the 12th cent.

AURILLAC, in department Cantal, is 54 kil. further, in Route 51.]

LA GARDE (15 kil.)

BRIVES (30 kil.), a sous-préfecture, department Corrèze, of 8,400 souls, in a fine wooded valley of the Corrèze (near its junction with the Vezère), among vineyards, &c., having a well-built college, near the church, and an old carved house, built by the English. It is sometimes called Brives-la-Gaillarde, i.e. the

Which is 89 kil. from Limoges station, by way of lively, but more for its neighbourhood than for what

Uzerche, and 102 kil. from Périgueux station.

HOTEL.-De Lyon.

Cardinal Dubois and Marshal Brune
Trade in wine, truffles, cattle, &o.
De Bordeaux:

it is in itself.
were natives.

Hotel

The castles of Noailles and Turenne are a little to | Then Puy de Pessade, de l'Aiguille, often covered the south-east, off the road.

Here the junction rail from the south, from Toulouse and Montauban, by way of Villefranche and Figeac, will fall in.

From Brives, past Larche, to

TERRASSON (20 kil), in Dordogne department, an ancient town on the Vezère, here crossed by a large new bridge. It was called Terracina. About 18 kil. south-west of it is MONTIGNAC, on the Vezère, above which is the ruined castle of the Comtes de Périgord. Pop., 3,850. The remains of Olivoux, once a Roman town, are at hand.

ARZERAC (13 kil.) Then

with snow in summer, Puy Baladoù near a wild and marshy spot, Puy de la Croix Morand, and Puy de Tache, the highest around here, and close to MontDore-les-Bains.

2. From Clermont, by the second route, passing under Puy de Dôme and Mont Serre, you come to Chamalière and its old church, near the valley of Royat.

ROCHEFORT (29 kil. from Clermont), is in a deep valley on the Sioule, under Puý d'Angére, with an old castle on the top, which belonged to the Counts of Auvergne. To the south of it is Murat-le-Quaire, near the Bourboule spa, in a pretty spot on the Dor

ST. CRÉPIN-D'AU-BEROCHE (21 kil.), where there dogne. Then past Laquaille and Queureille (24 kil.), to is a marble quarry. Pop. 900. MONT-DORE-LES-BAINS,

[At 12 kil. south-east is

the ancient Mons Durianus, a watering place in a MIREMONT, with some of the largest caves in picturesque valley, about 3,400 feet above sea, at the France; altogether, 4,600 yards long, and in-head of the Dordogne, betwen Pic du Capucin and eluding 8,000 rooms and galleries, one of which Puy de l'Augle, one of the highest (5,610 feet) of the is like the Thames Tunnel. Near this is the Mont Dore range. It is a region of extinct volcanic so-called volcano of Meyssandrie, which they say peaks, fine woods, valleys, and waterfalls; a sort of miburst out, 1783. A little to the south-east, at niature Switzerland; and one of the most curious and Bugue, is the pit called Trou de Pomaissac, inviting in France, both for tourists and invalids. It whence flames, or at least, sulphur vapours, have should be examined by the aid of Desmarest's geological issued; and into which robbers used to throw map of Auvergne. As the village stands high, the temtheir victims in old times.] perature is sharp and somewhat variable. There are 10 or 12 Hotels, where living costs 5 to 10 fr. daily; besides attendance, which is paid for in the lump (10 to 20 fr.) The season lasts from 15th June to 15!1 Sept., after which snow lodges on the peaks. Tourists flock hither in July. A large Thermal Establishment, built of trachyte, or lava stone, contains about sixty baths. There is a separate hospital for the poor.

And 17 kil. further is
Perigueux stat. in Route 44.

ROUTE 51.

Clermont-Ferrand to Mont Dore-les-Bains, Mauriac, Aurillac, Cahors, Villefranche, and Montauban.

Distance about 320 kil., or 206 miles.

Clermont-Ferrand stat., as in Route 45. From this there are two ways to Mont Dore; the first, and most direct, by way of Randanne, 40 kil.; the other, by way of Rochefort, the most usual, though longer route, 53 kil.

1. This route passes Puy de Gravenoire and its lava beds, 2,723 feet high, one of a range of Puys, varying from 2,790 to 3,350 feet in height, as Puy de Charade, de Thedde, de Barzet, de Chaptrat, de Duret, de Pasredon, and the village of that name, de la Meye, and de la Vache, near

Randanne, a spot brought into cultivation by Count Montloisir, who died, 1838, and lies buried in his park here. He was a member of the Constituent Assembly. Then follows a succession of higher peaks, from 3,600 to 5,400 feet high, all, like the first, evidently of volcanic origin: these are Puy de Mouchal, de la Toupe, d'Enfer, near Cabanne:

The Springs are eight-two, Ste. Marguerite and Tambour, being cold, and the rest hot, at a temperature of 42° to 45° centigrade. One hot spring is called Bain de César; another, Source Caroline, after tho Duchess of Berry, another, Ramond, &c. They are useful in cases of rheumatism, consumption, nervous and inflammatory complaints, scrofula, &c.; the chief constituents being bicarbonate of soda, and chloride of sodium (salt), with a little iron.

From traces of a Roman temple and baths observed here, this spot appears to have been known to that people. It afterwards came to the family of La Tour d'Auvergne, &c. Among the numerous attractions and points of view, are the following, to which

Excursions may be made. 1. Up the valley of Mont Dore to Pic du Capucin (3 kil.), across the little wire bridge on the river, and so called from a rock near the summit, which gives it a likeness to a monk's hood; and the wild Gorge de la Cour, or d'Enfer, 2 kil. further. 4. To Salon de Mirabeau, named from the

orator's father, who visited here, 1787; la Vernière fall; the Plat à Barbe, a pool in a ravine; and the Grande Scierie sawpits; 6 kil. in all. 3. Along the Dordogne to La Bourboule (5 kil.) a pretty viilage under a scarped rock. Here is a little bathing place; the water is not and purgative, and useful in scrofula, tumours, &c. Then to Roche Vendeix (2 kil.) which is 3,875 feet high. On this mountain stood La Tour d'Auvergne, which, as Froissart relates, was Occupied in Charles VI.'s reign by Mérigot, a robber chief, who was hunted down and executed. 4. Queureillh and Rossignolet falls (one is 49 feet down), on the Randanne road; Guéry lake, deep and wellstocked with fish; the peak of Sanadoire (4,265 feet), a soiltary mountain, once guarded by a fort; Roche Tuilière, composed of lamellar basalt, which splits into tiles for building; 8 kil. in all. From this it is 7 kil. to Orcival church, a fine Romanesque structure, of the 10th or 11th century, in a deep valley. 5. To St. Nectaire, by Diane, the highest village (4,376 feet) in Lower Auvergne; then the ruins of Murol castle (15 kil.), and its pretty village, in a forest under Puy Tartaret; Lake Chambon, on the Couze, with its little islands of verdure; and then St. Nectaire (5 kil.) Its ancient Romanesque church is perched high up on the rugged granite cliffs, which are piled one over the other; while the mineral waters, for which it is known, are in the green meadows below. Here Cornador cheese is produced, so called from one of the cliffs over the village. A fine waterfall in the valley of Chaudefour. 6. To VASSIVIÈRRES, (12 kil.), noted for its cutlets and a statue of Nôtre Dame; the desolate Lake Pavin, in the crater of a volcano (3 kil.), and the old church and village belfry of BESSE, which, like other places here, is built on beds of lava. 7. Grande Cascade (2 kil.), which winds 108 feet down a slope of Puy de l'Augle, and runs to the Dordogne; the Cascade of the Serpent, near the head of the Dogne; and Gorge des Enfers, with its heaps of broken columns of basalt. Pass over Puy de Cicadogne, to the head of the Dore, which gives to, or takes, name from the district, and unites with the Dogne to make the Dordogne, which flows across France to the Gironde, near Bordeaux.

Leaving this interesting place, you come to

MAURIAC (about 30 kil.) a sous.préfecture (depart ment Cantal), under a volcanic peak, near the Dordogne. Pop. 3,600. Nôtre Dame des Miracles is a curious church, of the 11th and 12th cents., with ancient carvings about it, and an image which draws a great crowd on the 9th May. The old ruined chapel of St. Mary commands a fine prospect. A fountain to the meniory of Montyon has an inscription by Marmontel, who here went to school. Several falls, ruined castles, and points of view, are round about. One fall is that of the Auze, 108 feet down, a little out of the Aurillac road; it is worth seeing, and is not far from the fine château of Mazerolles. DRUJEAC (8 kil.), in a fine valley, has an old château, and a church, sheltered by immense poplars. At 27 kil. further is

AURILLAC.

HOTELS.-Des Voyageurs (Travellers); des Trois Frères. Population, 10,500.

A small town, the capital of department Cantal, in Auvergne, in a pretty valley, by the Jordane, on lava deposits, which in past times ran from the extinct volcanoes of the Cantal range, which are in sight. Houses built of slate; the streets are broad, and refreshed by running brooks from a reservoir in the upper part of the town. A promenade, called Le Gravier, lies along the river from the Cours Montyon, so called after a benefactor whose column is here, and who bequeathed the fund for the Montyon prize, which is at the disposal of the French Academy. The country outside is beautiful. In faubourg St. Etienne is a tower of St. Stephen's castle, which belonged to the Comtes d'Auvergne. Some remains of a Benedictine abbey or convent, and two nunneries, are left in the faubourg de Buis, or des Frères. The churches of St. Gerard and Nôtre Dame have pictures, and the latter has a good vault.

Among the public buildings there are a Hôtel de la Préfecture, Hotel de Ville, with a public library of 7,000 vols. and a cabinet of minerals; a college; corn hall; theatre; also stables for hunters, of Arab, English, Norman, and other breeds; and the Hippodrome (1 kil. off), or race-course, where races, attended by great numbers from all quarters, take place the first fortnight in June.

Pope Sylvester II., Marshal Noailles, and General Dor-D'Estaing were natives. Manufactures of lace, jewellery, copper and brass goods, paper, leather; and a good trade in horses, mules, cattle, cheese, &c.

BORT (about 30 kil.) in a fine valley of the dogne, under Orgues de Bort or Sancy, a rugged basaltic peak, with a pyramid at top (left in the French trigonometrical survey), whence there is a noble view of great extent; but the place is most remarkable as the birthplace of Marmontel, who has described the course of his early life here, in his entertaining Memoirs.

Conveyances: daily, to Paris, Toulouse, Clermont, Limoges, Tulle, Rodez, Montauban, St. Flour, &c.

Within a few miles are the old castles of Carlat, Valduces, Misilliac, Espinassol, and Sedaignes-Vouté; the pretty valleys of Raulhac and Marnagnac, the