whitewashed over. It is well supplied with water from Royat, &c. Promenades on the boulevards, which are well planted: and on the Squares or Places. Among these are, Place du Taureau, which has a fountain in honour of General Desaix, with a prospect of the Limagne, the plateau of Gergovia, and the castle on Mont Rognon; Places de la Pôterne and d'Espagne, commanding good views also; Place des Jacobins, or Delille, which has a mixed gothic fountain of three stories, built 1515, topped by a statue of Delille the poet; and Place d'Armes or de Jaude, 860 feet long, so called after a mineral intermitting spring near it. The Cathedral, built of dark lava stone, between 1248 and 1265, is a rather imposing gothic structure, but unfinished; length, 321 feet; breadth, 139; height, 106, to the open lofty roof, which hangs on 56 light and well carved pillars. It has a good north porch, rose and other stained windows, carved work in the choir, &c.; and there is a fine view from the tower. There were five towers before the revolution. Notre Dame-du-Port Church, part of which dates from 853, is the oldest building here, and has some curious decorations, with an ancient crypt and an image of the Virgin, held in great esteem by the faithful superstitious. At the church of St. Genès are modern painted windows. Other objects of note are the préfecture, Hôtel de Ville, lyceum or college, halle au blé (corn market), linen market, theatre, hôtel Dieu and general hospital; also the library of 19,000 vols. (besides MSS.), begun by Massillon when bishop here; the cabinet of mineralogy (very good); the academy of sciences (having some roman marbles and a statue of Pascal, a native); all contained in the large botanic garden. The cattle market and priests' seminary are at Montferrand, to which a fine avenue of a mile runs. Schools of art and science exist here, where lectures on various subjects are given. In Faubourg St. Alyre, near the benedictine abbey of that name, is a curious mineral water (acid and tonic), and petrifying spring in a garden kept by M. Clémentel, which in course of time has made, by gradual deposits of carbonate of lime, a sort of dyke or wall, about 250 feet long and 13 broad, with a natural stalactite bridge at the end hanging over the Tiretaine brook. Flowers, fruit, &c., covered with this sediment are sold.-At St. 149 Mart (1 kil. off), to the west, is a third mineral water of good quality (near the baths of Cæsar), brought into use since 1843. Rev. M. Collins is protestant pastor here. Manufactures of stockings, paper, hats, leather, confitures (apricot and other sweetmeats); and a trade in cattle, wool, cheese, hemp, fruit, and wine. Conveyances to Paris, Moulins, Lyons, St Etienne,Montpellier, Le Puy, Bordeaux,Toulouse, Rodez, Aurillac, Limoges, &c. Clermont is one of the places in the Central of France railway scheme, which proposes to unite this with Rodez, Montauban, Perigueux, Limoges, &c., and ultimately with Lyons and Bordeaux. In the neighbourhood are the plain of Gergovia, Mont Rognon (a peak of basalt), and its old castle, St. Vincent mineral water, Roche Blanche and its caves, Chateaugay and its prospects, the caverns of Gravenoire, Royat and its grottoes, mills, falls, &c.; Puy de Pariou (north-west); Puy de Dôme (west), and other volcanic peaks. Royat is to the west, in a pretty valley, with the waters of Fontanat, and the Puy-Châteix near it, and under Puy de Dôme and Gravenoire (2,722 feet above the sea). [From Clermont to Puy de Dôme, to the west, you pass over a lava soil to Barraque, where the road turns off to Puy de Pariou, which is 4,000 feet above the sea, having a very regular crater, 300 feet deep and 3,000 feet round the edge. After an ascent of 10 kil. altogether, you come to Puy de Dôme, which gives name to the de partment, and overlooks all the other puys, of which about sixty may be seen from the top, stretching in a line 18 miles long (north and south), besides the peaks of Mont Dore (further south), the fertile plain of the Allier, &c. It is 4,839 feet above the sea, or 656 feet higher than the Petit Puy de Dôme ncar it; and is composed of porous, crumbling stone, here called Domite, after the mountain, which takes its own name from its dome shape. Pascal experimented on the weight of the air from this peak. Puys Chopine, Sarcoui, and de Côme, to the north, are respectively, 3,908, 3,436, and 1,273 feet high. The forests about here are great places for making Sabots, or wooden shoes, 150 ISSOIRE-BRIOUDH-PLOMB DE CANTAL-ST. FLOUR. the men working at the business in the open air. Many millions are made in this quarter, and in the forests round Valenciennes and Fougères.] From Clermont, on the road to Rodez, you pass (up the fine valley of the Allier) under Gravenoire peak, Mont Rognon, with its old castle of the Dauphins on the top, to GERGOVIA (9 kil.), a hill, where Cæsar was beaten by the Gauls under Vercingetorix, with traces of a camp on it. VAYRE (8 kil.), in a beautiful spot near Puy de Marman. COUDES (24 kil. from Clermont), on the Allier close to Mont Peyroux. Mont D'Or or Dore, and its range of peaks are on the left. ISSOIRE (11 kil.), a sous-préfecture of 5,600 people (who make copper kettles, &c.), in a hollow, on the Creuze, having an old church of the tenth century. It was the birthplace of Chancellor Duprat. Mont Dore-les-Bains, is 35 kil. to the left (see Route 57), up the valley of the Creuze; passing the volcanic peaks and basalt cliffs, near Villetour spa and lake Pavin, which was once a crater, 350 feet deep. Not far from this is another lake, called Chambron (abounding with fish), above which rises the old feudal castle of Murol. LEMPDE (20 k.), where the road to Le Puy turns off. [It passes Brioude (15 kil.), an ancient town and sous-préfecture (department HauteLoire), on the Allier. Population, 4,800. The norman style church, St. Julien's, one of the oldest in Auvergne, was rebuilt in the tenth century by William of Aquitaine, with five chapels round it. A fine view from the hill where the college stands.-At 23 kil. to the east,on the St. Etienne road is la Chaise Dieu, with the abbey church of Casa Dei, 302 feet long, built in a fine gothic style, begun by Clement VI (a native) in 1343, having a well-carved portal, 156 stalls, some old tapestry, the founder's tomb, &c., and a few remains of the abbey adjoining. La Vieille-Brioude (3 kil.) has a large singlearched lava bridge, on the Allier, 181 feet span. St. George d'Aurat (18 kil.), near Chavagnac château, where Lafayette was born. Limandre (18), in a laya region beyond which [Sec. 5 (at 13 kil.) is the ruined château de Polignac, and its old church. At 6 kil. further is Le Puy, on a volcanie peak (see Route 40).] MASSIAC (18 kil.), in a hollow on the Alag non. [Here the road turns off to Aurillac, on a series of terraces, passing (at 22 kil.) Murat, on the Alagnon, among the basalt hills round Mount Cantal, and a sous-préfecture in department Cantal. One hill, Roche Bonnavie, with a basalt cliff, in which are prismatic pillars (some 50 feet long) has the old castle of Jacques d'Armagnac on top. To avoid the steep road beyond this, the Tunnel of Lioran, about 5,000 feet long, was cut 1839-47, through the volcanic heights which divide the Alagnon and Cère: it comes out near the old road, between Puy de Griou and Plomb de Cantal, which is 6,095 feet above the sea, and the centre of a range of extinct volcanos, as Puy de Mary, Puy Chavaroche, &c., in continuation of those in Puy de Dôme. It is a smooth cone, round which twenty or thirty streams (the head waters of the Dordogne, Lot, Allier, &c.) take their rise, almost as regularly as the spokes of a wheel. After passing Thièzac (26 kil.) and Vic-sur-Cère, in the beautiful valley of the Cère, you come (27 kil. further) to Aurillac (as in Route 57).] ST. FLOUR (30 kil.), a sous-préfecture (deparment Cantal), and seat of a bishopric, on a basalt precipice 330 feet above the high road, was built about the year 1000, and has a gothic cathedral of the fifteenth century, the convent of the jacobins, a priests' seminary, and a view from the bishop's palace, as well as other points of Plomb de Cantal, &c. Population, 5,800. Hotels-De France, Amangat. The road to Mende (83 miles) and Nismes, by St. Cheley, turns off here (see Route 44). CHAUDES-AIGUES (33 kil.), i. e. Hot Springs, lies in a deep gorge of the mountains between Auvergne and Gévaudan. Five springs varying in temperature from 135 to 177° (the Par is as hot as this), are used not only for the bath and drinking, but for cooking, for hatching chickens, washing fleeces, &c. LA GUIOLE (32 kil.), in department Aveyron, is a healthy place, of 2,100 people, on a bassis Route 52] RODEZ: CATHEDRAL-ALBI: CATHEDRAL. peak nearly 3,300 feet above the sea. They make good cheese here. ESPALION (24 kil.), a small industrious souspréfecture, in the middle of a large basin, on the Lot, covered with vines, &c. Population, 4,400. A tower on the site of Benneval abbey, and Roquelaure Castle, may be visited. [St. Geniès de Riva d'Olt (21 kil. east-southeast), on the Lot, an industrious place, of 4,000 population, who make flannels, woollens, &c. It stands among vineyards and falls, in a charming valley of the Lot, here crossed by a bridge, and once called Oltis, whence the name, signifying on the 'bank of the Lot.'] At 32 kil. further is 151 friends of art thought of dedicating it to Marat! which device was the means of saving it. Another church is marked by a tall tower. The Cordeliers house is of the fourteenth century; a government stud is established at the Chartreuse convent. At the college, first built by the Jesuits, is a library of 16,000 vols., and a cabinet of natural history, &c. Other buildings are the préfecture, new Hôtel de Ville, the priests' seminary, bishop's palace, a deaf and dumb school, the pepinière or departmental nursery, &c. In 1784, Abbé Carnus, a man of science, ascended here in a balloon, 55 feet diameter, 14 miles high, staying up 35 minutes, to the great astonishment of the people in that age. There is a trade in woollens, linens, silk thread, Roquefort cheese, wax candles, cattle, mules, &c. Coaches to Montpellier, Toulon, Montau RODEZ or Rhodez. Hotels-Des Voyageurs (Travellers); des Princes; de la Ville de Paris. Population, 10,000. The chief town of depart-ban, Albi, Aurillac, Clermont, &c. ment Aveyron (formerly of the province of Rouergue), seat of a bishop, tribunal, &c., finely seated in a healthy spot, on the crest of a hill, 150 feet above the Aveyron, which winds round the bottom, and 2,170 feet above the sea. It was the ancient Legodunum, a capital of the Rateni (from whon comes the modern name), so called from their goddess Ruth or Venus. Rhodanois money was coined here by its early counts, in the Rue de Saounario (i. e. sous factory), where the mint stood till 1824. Their château is gone, except the Martelière tower, built 1264, now a prison; it was taken by the English in the fourteenth century. The town is badly built, with small dirty steep streets of wooden houses, but the neighbourhood is pleasant. The caves of Sollac are 4 kil. off; some pretty falls at Salles-Comtaux (about 12 kil. north), in the rocky and well-wooded valley of Marcillac. This is one of many charming valleys about Rodez, little known or visited. A druid stone or dolmen at Perignagols (8 kil.). The Cathedral, of reddish sandstone, is the best building, and stands on the site of one founded in the fifth century, which fell 1275, when the new one was commenced, but not finished till the 16th century. It is crossshaped, 320 feet long by 118 feet wide, and 109 to the vault. Contrary to custom, it has no west entrance, the doors being at the sides. Over one of these stands an excellent carved tower, built 1501, 265 feet high (and seen 18 leagues off),square at the bottom, but eight-sided towards the top, which is crowned by pinnacles (with the four evangelists on them), a dome, and a statue of the Virgin. It contains a good screen and other carved work, and some old-fashioned stained win. dows. When threatened at the revolution, some [Rignac is 24 kil. west-north-west, and 24 kil. beyond is Villefranche (see Route 57).] LA MOTHE (24 kil.). Then comes Les Faguelles (28 kil.). Albi is 20 kil. beyond; you pass near the Saut de Sabo, a fall of the Tarn, close to a large paper-mill. Albi, or Alby. Hotels-Des Ambassadeurs; de l'Europe; du Commerce; de France; du Nord; the last having an eating room full of fine paintings. Population 11,665. The chief town of department Tarn, seat of an archdiocese, having a tribunal, communal college, &c. It was the roman Civitas Albiensium, but is more memorable for giving name to the Albigenses or Albegeois, exterminated by the papacy in the thirteenth century. It stands over the river Tarn, in the middle of a fine plain; and like all old towns is made up chiefly of narrow irregular streets. The best promenades are in the Vigan quarter, near the public gardens; each quarter is ornamented with fountains, the best being that of Verdusse, where four springs unite, and flow thence into the river. In the Faubourg du Pont, across the latter, are remains of Castelviel fort. The Cathedral of St. Cécile, begun 1282, was 150 ISSOIRE-BRIOUDE-PLOMB DE CANTALST. FLOUR. the men working at the business in the open air. Many millions are made in this quarter, and in the forests round Valenciennes and Fougères.] From Clermont, on the road to Rodez, you pass (up the fine valley of the Allier) under Gravenoire peak, Mont Rognon, with its old castle of the Dauphins on the top, to GERGOVIA (9 kil.), a hill, where Cæsar was beaten by the Gauls under Vercingetorix, with traces of a camp on it. VAYRE (8 kil.), in a beautiful spot near Puy de Marman. COUDES (24 kil. from Clermont), on the Allier close to Mont Peyroux. Mont D'Or or Dore, and its range of peaks are on the left. ISSOIRE (11 kil.), a sous-préfecture of 5,600 people (who make copper kettles, &c.), in a hollow, on the Creuze, having an old church of the tenth century. It was the birthplace of Chancellor Duprat. Mont Dore-les-Bains, is 35 kil. to the left (see Route 57), up the valley of the Creuze; passing the volcanic peaks and basalt cliffs, near Villetour spa and lake Pavin, which was once a crater, 350 feet deep. Not far from this is another lake, called Chambron (abounding with fish), above which rises the old feudal castle of Murol. LEMPDE (20 k.), where the road to Le Puy turns off. [It passes Brioude (15 kil.), an ancient town and sous-préfecture (department HauteLoire), on the Allier. Population, 4,800. The norman style church, St. Julien's, one of the oldest in Auvergne, was rebuilt in the tenth century by William of Aquitaine, with five chapels round it. A fine view from the hill where the college stands.At 23 kil. to the east,on the St. Etienne road is la Chaise Dieu, with the abbey church of Casa Del, 302 feet long, built in a fine gothic style, begun by Clement VI (a native) in 1343, having a well-carved portal, 156 stalls, some old ta. pestry, the founder's tomb, &c., and a few remains of the abbey adjoining. La Vieille-Brioude (3 kil.) has a large singlearched lava bridge, on the Allier, 181 feet span. St. George d'Aurat (18 kil.), near Chavagnac château, where Lafayette was born. Limandre (18), in a laya region beyond which [Sec. 5 (at 13 kil.) is the ruined château de Polignac, and its old church. At 6 kil. further is Le Puy, on a volcanie peak (see Route 40).] MASSIAC (18 kil.), in a hollow on the Alag non. [Here the road turns off to Aurillac, on a series of terraces, passing (at 22 kil.) Murat, on the Alagnon, among the basalt hills round Mount Cantal, and a sous-préfecture in department Cantal. One hill, Roche Bonnavie, with a basalt cliff, in which are prismatic pillars (some 50 feet long) has the old castle of Jacques d'Armagnac on top. To avoid the steep road beyond this, the Tunnel of Lioran, about 5,000 feet long, was cut 1839-47, through the volcanic heights which divide the Alagnon and Cère: it comes out near the old road, between Puy de Griou and Plomb de Cantal, which is 6,095 feet above the sea, and the centre of a range of extinct volcanos, as Puy de Mary, Puy Chavaroche, &c., in continuation of those in Puy de Dôme. It is a smooth cone, round which twenty or thirty streams (the head waters of the Dordogne, Lot, Allier, &c.) take their rise, almost as regularly as the spokes of a wheel. After passing Thièzac (26 kil.) and Vic-sur-Cère, in the beautiful valley of the Cère, you come (27 kil. further) to Aurillac (as in Route 57).] ST. FLOUR (30 kil.), a sous-préfecture (deparment Cantal), and seat of a bishopric, on a basalt precipice 330 feet above the high road, was built about the year 1000, and has a gothic cathedral of the fifteenth century, the convent of the jacobins, a priests' seminary, and a view from the bishop's palace, as well as other points of Plomb de Cantal, &c. Population, 5,800. Hotels-De France, Amangat. The road to Mende (83 miles) and Nismes, by St. Cheley, turns off here (see Route 44). CHAUDES-AIGUES (33 kil.), i. e. Hot Springs, lies in a deep gorge of the mountains between Auvergne and Gévaudan. Five springs varying in temperature from 135 to 177° (the Par is as hot as this), are used not only for the bath and drinking, but for cooking, for hatching chickens, washing fleeces, &c. LA GUIOLE (32 kil.), in department Aveyron, is a healthy place, of 2,100 people, on a bassit Route 52] RODEZ: CATHEDRAL-ALBI: CATHEDRAL. peak nearly 3,300 feet above the sea. They make good cheese here. ESPALION (24 kil.), a small industrious souspréfecture, in the middle of a large basin, on the Lot, covered with vines, &c. Population, 4,400. A tower on the site of Benneval abbey, and Roquelaure Castle, may be visited. [St. Geniès de Riva d'Olt (21 kil. east-southeast), on the Lot, an industrious place, of 4,000 population, who make flannels, woollens, &c. It stands among vineyards and falls, in a charming valley of the Lot, here crossed by a bridge, and once called Oltis, whence the name, signifying on the 'bank of the Lot.'] At 32 kil. further is 151 friends of art thought of dedicating it to Marat! which device was the means of saving it. Another church is marked by a tall tower. The Cordeliers house is of the fourteenth century; a government stud is established at the Chartreuse convent. At the college, first built by the Jesuits, is a library of 16,000 vols., and a cabinet of natural history, &c. Other buildings are the préfecture, new Hôtel de Ville, the priests' seminary, bishop's palace, a deaf and dumb school, the pepinière or departmental nursery, &c. In 1784, Abbé Carnus, a man of science, ascended here in a balloon, 55 feet diameter, 14 miles high, staying up 35 minutes, to the great astonishment of the people in that age. There is a trade in woollens, linens, silk thread, Roquefort cheese, wax candles, cattle, mules, &c. Coaches to Montpellier, Toulon, Montau RODEZ or Rhodez. Hotels-Des Voyageurs (Travellers); des Princes; de la Ville de Paris. Population, 10,000. The chief town of depart-ban, Albi, Aurillac, Clermont, &c. ment Aveyron (formerly of the province of Rouergue), seat of a bishop, tribunal, &c., finely seated in a healthy spot, on the crest of a hill, 150 feet above the Aveyron, which winds round the bottom, and 2,170 feet above the sea. It was the ancient Legodunum, a capital of the Rateni (from whoni comes the modern name), so called from their goddess Ruth or Venus. Rhodanois money was coined here by its early counts, in the Rue de Saounario (i. e. sous factory), where the mint stood till 1824. Their château is gone, except the Martelière tower, built 1264, now a prison; it was taken by the English in the fourteenth century. The town is badly built, with small dirty steep streets of wooden houses, but the neighbourhood is pleasant. The caves of Sollac are 4 kil. off; some pretty falls at Salles-Comtaux (about 12 kil. north), in the rocky and well-wooded valley of Marcillac. This is one of many charming valleys about Rodez, little known or visited. A druid stone or dolmen at Perignagols (8 kil.). The Cathedral, of reddish sandstone, is the best building, and stands on the site of one founded in the fifth century, which fell 1275, when the new one was commenced, but not finished till the 16th century. It is crossshaped, 320 feet long by 118 feet wide, and 109 to the vault. Contrary to custom, it has no west entrance, the doors being at the sides. Over one of these stands an excellent carved tower, built 1501, 265 feet high (and seen 18 leagues off),square at the bottom, but eight-sided towards the top, which is crowned by pinnacles (with the four evangelists on them), a dome, and a statue of the Virgin. It contains a good screen and other carved work, and some old-fashioned stained win. dows. When threatened at the revolution, some [Rignac is 24 kil. west-north-west, and 24 kil. beyond is Villefranche (see Route 57).] LA MOTHE (24 kil.). Then comes Les Faguelles (28 kil.). Albi is 20 kil. beyond; you pass near the Saut de Sabo, a fall of the Tarn, close to a large paper-mill. Albi, or Alby. Hotels-Des Ambassadeurs ; de l'Europe; du Commerce; de France; du Nord; the last having an eating room full of fine paintings. Population 11,665. } The chief town of department Tarn, seat of an archdiocese, having a tribunal, communal college, &c. It was the roman Civitas Albiensium, but is more memorable for giving name to the Albigenses or Albegeois, exterminated by the papacy in the thirteenth century. It stands over the river Tarn, in the middle of a fine plain; and like all old towns is made up chiefly of narrow irregular streets. The best promenades are in the Vigan quarter, near the public gardens; each quarter is ornamented with fountains, the best being that of Verdusse, where four springs unite, and flow thence into the river. In the Faubourg du Pont, across the latter, are remains of Castelviel fort. The Cathedral of St. Cécile, begun 1282, was |