Brittany Its Byways | Page 7

Fanny Bury Palliser
linen
practised in many places throughout Normandy and Brittany. Being
first roughly washed in the river, the clothes are placed in layers in a
large cask, with a bunghole at the bottom, alternately with wood-ashes,
and on the top is laid a piece of coarse sacking. Boiling water is poured
over the top, which, as it passes through the linen, absorbs the soda of
the ashes, escaping at the bottom and carrying away with it all

impurities. This process is repeated several times till the clothes are
perfectly white.
Throughout this part of the country the mistletoe hangs as the sign of a
cabaret; and if cider is sold, some apples are fastened to the bush. On
the road to Périers we crossed a "lande" or common, where we met
numerous carts carrying sea sand, here used to mix with the heavy soil
as manure.
At Périers we slept at the little inn "La Croix Blanche," kept by
Madame Casimir, the widow of a Polish officer, well known for her
eccentricity and good cuisine. The entrance to the apartments in the
inns is generally through the kitchen; in many the box bedstead (lit clos)
stands in the corner near the fire, Breton fashion. On a barber's shop we
saw painted up "Içi l'on rajeunit." The church has a tall spire, and is one
of the finest religious edifices in this part of Normandy--painted
windows, the capitals of the columns of varied foliage, and fine groined
clustered arches.
We had a most perilous drive to Coutances, the coachman, "en ribote,"
drove us at a fearful pace, and we were thankful when we arrived in
safety. The Norman cathedral is beautiful--so simple, so pure, and
elegant; its tall towers terminating in spires; and the chapels being
separated by open mullioned arches, great lightness is given to the
interior. The Bishop of Coutances was officiating at the consecration of
some stones for a new pavement; each flag was rubbed over and
anointed with oil.
[Illustration: 6. Coutances Cathedral.]
The church of St. Pierre has a handsome square tower, pierced gallery,
and apse with a double row of columns. In the church of St. Nicholas
we particularly noticed the fine bosses of the groined arches in the
chancel. The fonts hereabouts have the serpent with the apple, and the
cross carved upon the cover. The church was filled with pots of flowers
they were employed in removing, for the day before had been the Fête
of St. Fiacre, the patron of gardeners. St. Fiacre, or Fiaker, was an Irish
monk of the seventh century, who, according to tradition, obtained

from the Bishop of Meaux a grant of as much ground out of the forest
as he could dig a trench round in one day's labour, for the purpose of
making a garden and cultivating vegetables for travellers. Long time
after, the peasants would show the ditch ten times longer than was
expected, and relate how, when the Irishman took his stick to trace a
line upon the soil, the earth dug itself under the point of the stick, while
the forest trees fell right and left to save him the trouble of cutting them
down. Outside the town are the remains of an aqueduct, with
ivy-covered arches, said to be the work of the middle ages. It is a good
point of view for sketching the cathedral, and the public gardens also
command a fine prospect.
The approach to Granville is by a sharp descent. The town is built at
the foot of a rocky promontory, the streets rising in terraces cut in the
rock, on the top of which are the citadel and the church on the
culminating point. It has been styled a Gibraltar in miniature. A fort
was built here by Lord Scales, who commanded the English forces in
the Cotentin in the time of Henry VI., and it was taken by surprise by
Estouteville, the hero of Saint Michel. The church is cruciform in plan,
the arms of the cross being equal. The axis of the nave is inclined to the
left, as we afterwards observed that of the Creizker at St. Pol de Léon.
It has been lately restored, and the painted windows are offerings of the
different families of the town. The view from the top of the "Roc" is
very extensive, including the Chausey islands and Jersey. A steamer
runs twice a week to St. Helier. A deep cutting in the rocks opens on
the beach, where the bathing-machines are stationed--curious little
canvas huts carried upon poles, like sedan chairs. The tide here rises 45
feet. It was to Granville the Vendean army, commanded by La
Rochejacquelin, appointed generalissimo at twenty-two, marched after
their fatal step of crossing the Loire, expecting to make a junction with
the English; but
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