Béarn and the Pyrenees | Page 9

fine round towers remain of the ancient château, now a prison,
which is the only vestige of antiquity remaining. There was an
exhibition of works of industry and art going on, which we went to see,
and were much struck with the extreme beauty of some specimens of
the lace called Point d'Alençon. The patterns and delicate execution of
this manufacture are exquisite, equalling ancient point lace and
Brussels. Some very fine stuffs in wool, transparent as gossamer and of
the softest colours, attracted us, but the severity of an official prevented
our examining them as closely as we wished, and as there was no
indication of the place where they could be beheld at liberty, we were
obliged to content ourselves with the supposition that they were the
produce of the workshops of Alençon. As the large gallery in which the
exhibition took place was principally filled with peasants in blouses
and women with children, perhaps the vigilance of the attendants might
not be useless; but whether their proceeding was judicious in refusing
information to strangers or persons who might be able to purchase
goods which pleased them, is questionable.
Amongst the customary Norman caps to be seen here, we remarked one
which we recognised at once as Breton. The girl who wore it was very
pretty, and in spite of the grave demeanour peculiar to her country and
a distinguishing trait, was pleased at my wishing to sketch her
singular-shaped head-dress, en crète de coq: she was from St. Malo, as
I had no difficulty in guessing.
Through alleys of crimson-apple trees our road continued, and we were
forcibly, and not very agreeably reminded, at almost every step, that

there is a large trade carried on in this part of the country in goose
down, for flocks of these unfortunate animals were scattered along the
road, their breasts entirely despoiled of their downy beauties, offering a
frightful spectacle; the immense numbers exceed belief, and all appear
of a fine species. At every cabaret we passed, notices were stuck up
informing those whom it might concern, that accommodation for four
or five hundred oxen was to be had within; but we met no private
carriages, nor, even in the neighbourhood of large towns, horsemen or
pedestrians above the rank of peasants. This is a circumstance so
universal in every part of France, that it becomes a mystery where the
other classes of society conceal themselves--on the promenades, in the
streets and shops, to see a well-dressed person is a prodigy, and the
wonder is to whom the goods are sold, which are certainly sparingly
enough exhibited.
We had looked forward to much pleasure in a visit to the ancient town
of Le Mans, and its treasure, the tomb of Bérangère, for the discovery
of which, although a benefit unacknowledged, France and the curious
are indebted to the zeal and perseverance of the late lamented Stothard,
who sought for and found one of the most beautiful statues of the time
under a heap of corn in an old church formerly belonging to the
convent of Epau, but converted into a granary in 1820, when, by his
entreaties and resolution, the lost beauty was restored to daylight and
honour. Not a word of all this is, however, named by any French
chronicler, although Bérangère is now the heroine and the boast of Le
Mans, the object of interest to travellers, the gem of the cathedral, and
the pride of Le Maine.
Nothing can be more majestic, more imposing, or more magnificent
than the huge and massive building which towers above the town of Le
Mans, and now adorns one side of a wide handsome square, where
convents, churches, houses, and streets have been cleared away,
without remorse, to leave a free opening in front of this fine cathedral.
The place is named des Jacobins, from one of the vanished monasteries,
which a beautiful theatre now replaces, one of the most elegant I ever
saw in France, and yet unopened, at the back of which spreads out a
promenade in terraces, the site of a Roman amphitheatre. All the houses

round this square are handsome, and a broad terrace before the arcades
of the theatre completes its good effect. Numerous flying buttresses and
galleries and figures combine to give lightness to the enormous bulk of
the cathedral, which, being without spires, would otherwise be heavy;
but the want of these graceful accessories is scarcely felt, so grand is
the general character given to it by the enormous square tower, which
appears to protect it, and the smaller ones, its satellites. Statues of the
countesses of Maine, of nuns, and queens, may still be seen in niches at
different heights of the tower, and the portals are enriched with saints
and bishops, angels and foliage