The Roof of France

The Roof of France, by Matilda
Betham-Edwards

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Title: The Roof of France
Author: Matilda Betham-Edwards

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THE ROOF OF FRANCE
OR
THE CAUSSES OF THE LOZÈRE
BY
M. BETHAM-EDWARDS

To M. SADI CARNOT.
THIS VOLUME, THE THIRD OF MY PUBLISHED TRAVELS IN
FRANCE, IS INSCRIBED WITH ALL RESPECT TO HER
HONOURED PRESIDENT.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTORY

PART I.
MY FIRST JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF THE CAUSSES.
CHAP.
I. FROM LE PUY TO MENDE II. MENDE III. A GLIMPSE OF THE
CAUSSES IV. ON THE TOP OF THE ROOF V. RODEZ AND
AURILLAC VI. THE LAND OF THE BURON

PART II.
MY SECOND JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF THE CAUSSES.
I. THROUGH THE MORVAN II. THROUGH THE MORVAN
(continued) III. FROM LYONS TO AVIGNON BY THE RHÔNE IV.
AVIGNON AND ORANGE V. LE VIGAN VI. NANT (AVEYRON)
VII. MILLAU (AVEYRON) VIII. FROM MENDE TO ST. ÉNIMIE
IX. ST. ÉNIMIE X. THE CAÑON OF THE TARN XI. SHOOTING
THE RAPIDS XII. LE ROZIER XIII. MONTPELLIER-LE-VIEUX
XIV. MONTPELLIER-LE-VIEUX (continued) XV. LE ROZIER TO
MILLAU AND RODEZ XVI. RODEZ, VIC-SUR-CÈRE
REVISITED.--A BREAKFAST ON THE BANKS OF THE SAÔNE

INTRODUCTORY.
It is upon this occasion my rare and happy privilege to introduce the
reader to something absolutely new. How many English-speaking
tourists have found their way to the Roof of France--in other words, the
ancient Gévaudan, the romantic department of the Lozère? How many

English--or for the matter of that French travellers either--have so much
as heard of the Causses, [Footnote: From calx, lime] those lofty
tablelands of limestone, groups of a veritable archipelago, once an
integral whole, now cleft asunder, forming the most picturesque gorges
and magnificent defiles; offering contrasts of scenery as striking as they
are sublime, and a phenomenon unique in geological history? On the
plateau of the typical Causse, wide in extent as Dartmoor, lofty as
Helvellyn, we realize all the sombreness and solitude of the Russian
steppe. These stony wastes, aridity itself, yet a carpet of wild-flowers in
spring, are sparsely peopled by a race having a peculiar language, a
characteristic physique, and primitive customs. Here are laboriously
cultivated oats, rye, potatoes--not a blade of wheat, not an apple-tree is
to be discerned; no spring or rivulet freshens the parched soil. The
length and severity of the winter are betokened by the trees and poles
seen at intervals on either side of the road. But for such precautions,
even the native wayfarer would be lost when six feet of snow cover the
ground. Winter lasts eight months, and the short summer is tropical.
But descend these grandiose passes, dividing one limestone
promontory from another--go down into the valleys, each watered by
lovely rivers, and we are, as if by magic, transported into the South!
The peach, the almond, the grape ripen out of doors; all is smilingness,
fertility, and grace. The scenery of the Causses may be described as a
series of exhilarating surprises, whilst many minor attractions
contribute to the stranger's enjoyment.
The affability, dignity, and uprightness of these mountaineers, their
freedom from vulgarity, subservience, or habits of extortion, their
splendid physique and great personal beauty, form novel experiences of
travel. The general character of the people--here I do not allude to the
'Caussenard,' or dweller on the Causse alone, but to the Lozérien as a
type--may be gathered from one isolated fact. The summer sessions of
1888 were what is called assizes blanches, there being not a single
cause to try. Such an occurrence is not unusual in this department.
The