Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

338

THE HEIRESS OF KEROULAZ.

Kerthomaz stood amidst the rest,

But when the letter they unfold,
Sad fears are in the mother's breast,
Kerthomaz' cheek is pale and cold.

"O, quick the grooms, Kerthomaz, call,
To saddle straight our swiftest steeds,
We must to-night to Kastelgall,

My daughter much our presence needs!"
When at the castle gate they rung,

The mother said, "What means this cheer?

Why is the door with mourning hung,

What heavy chance has fallen here ?"

"The heiress that two months ago

The Lord de Mesle went hence to wed,
Is cause of all these marks of woe,
That gentle dame to-night is dead."

"Oh, if that lady is no more,"

The mother cried in accents wild,
"'Tis I who crushed that lovely flower,
'Tis I have kill'd my only child !
Her tears my pride could never move,
She would not be the Marquis' bride,

But said, Kerthomaz is my love,

And I can love no man beside !'"

Kerthomaz from the world is fled,

Yon abbey walls conceal his care;
The mother, to all comfort dead,

Devotes her life to God in prayer.

CHAPTER XX.

THE LOIRE.-Pappolen. - Loroux.-Jean de Bretagne.Black Costume.-The Coiners.-La Clé de la Bretagne.Du Bellay. Anetz. -Varades. - Le Montglonne. - Ingrande.-Champtocé, and Gilles de Retz.-Prince Gilles.Emperor Joseph.-An Imperial Godfather.

-

[graphic]

ANTES, with its varied beauties and all its agrémens, was now left behind, while we followed from town to town the course of the Loire, that far-famed river, whose waters flow

through twelve departments, and bathe the walls of ten great cities; whose tide had carried on its bosom the galleys of Julius Cæsar and the navy of the Normans; which is celebrated by the poet and historian, and which it is almost heresy not to admire with enthusiasm; a river which, if its broad expanse were filled with water instead of sand, would be perhaps one of the finest in the world; but, as it is, since truth must be told, which scarcely serves to admit of the pas

340

THE LOIRE.

sage of a small steam-boat for the distance of twelve leagues without the danger of running on a sand-bank. This occurs during the whole of summer, so that when the Loire is really grand and imposing, it is in an inclement season, when it flows through meadows divested of their flowers, and past forests naked of their leaves. Whoever anticipates beauties, which depend on the glory of its capricious waves, will be indeed disappointed, though enough of lovely and of captivating is to be found on its banks to excuse the fault which its admirers so carefully endeavour to conceal, and which leads so many an eager traveller to the shores of the "majestic Loire," where he gazes round, and imagines himself, from the extent of the "winding sands,” in a branch of the Great Desert, till he beholds the woods, corn-fields, and vineyards beside, which proclaim to him that he is really in one of the most beautiful parts of La belle France.

The Loire, like most other great rivers, abounds in legends and traditions; there is scarcely an island or a site to which some tale is not attached. Soon after passing the isle de Biesse, formerly a resort of the famous pirates of the Loire, you observe the antique tower which looks over the picturesque hill of St. Sebastian, which is the country retreat of the

[blocks in formation]

bourgeois of Nantes, and where fêtes and parties of pleasure take place: here the lower orders of the people repair for amusement, the convenience of the omnibus, a Nantais invention, in the first instance not being lost sight of. This was a spot formerly held in great reverence, and the scene of much monkish mummery on occasion of presenting a gigantic candle to the patron saint, which was placed in a boat instead of a mast, and was borne with infinite ceremony to the church of St. Sebastian. Near this is the little bourg of Doulon, where is shown a place called La Papotière, the pavilion of the famous minister of Francis II, Landais, who was here surprised when at supper by his enemies, and obliged to fly for which indignity he afterwards took a fearful revenge, though a similar fate shortly overtook him.

Beyond these islands is the town of Loroux Bottereau, the scene of an event placed far back, but which possesses a romantic interest. The celebrated bishop Saint Felix, to whom Nantes was indebted for so many benefits, had a young and beautiful niece, who was tenderly attached to a man of good birth and great merit, and one of the handsomest of the Nantais youth. As their affection was mutual and no obstacle appeared, the relations on both sides had given

[blocks in formation]

their consent to the union of the lovers, who were already betrothed, and were happy in the smiling prospect before them, when their dream was dissipated by an order from the bishop that his niece should at once renounce all worldly thoughts, and take the veil without delay. At first, overpowered by so tyrannical a proceeding, the affianced pair were unable to conceive a remedy; but, finding the uncle inflexible in his resolve, the lover in despair had recourse to the only means left him; and, calling in the aid of some determined companions, Pappolen (so was he called) carried off his intended bride, and escaped with her to Loroux, where they remained concealed in the castle of St. Aubin, the ruins of which are still visible. St. Felix, meantime, enraged to find his commands, however unreasonable, disobeyed, sought everywhere for the fugitives; and, at length discovering them, the unfortunate young girl was taken from her lover, and compelled to take the vows at the abbey of Basas.

There seemed now no hope, and Pappolen gave himself up to despondency, finding his enemy as powerful as he was unreasonable; but at that very moment, the tyrannical bishop, who was not a bit the less to be made a saint, suddenly expired. Hope resumed her influence in

« AnteriorContinuar »