servic of steamers from Southampton would have to some extent influenced the style of the place, but happily such is not the case, and St. Malo remains in every way most characteristically foreign. The fortified walls which surround the town in true mediæval fashion give it an aspect of strangeness before we enter St. Malo, and a first glance at its streets reveals a variety of white caps worn by the women, imparting a sense of picturesqueness which remains with us during all our tour in Brittany.

The rocky coast of this part abounds in romantic-looking islands, of which the chief are the Grand-Bey, la Conchée, and Cezembre. The first-named is accessible from the mainland at low water, a short stone causeway spanning the only place in which the tide remains for any length of time. This island is interesting as having been chosen by Chateaubriand for his place of burial, and close by his tomb are some ruined walls, which may have been those of some old abbey or castle. One evening while I was on the beach, and had just commenced a sketch of the old town walls, my attention was diverted from my work by seeing some thirty or more of the Sisters of Charitythe bonnes sœurs as the people always call them-returning from their walk to the Grand-Bey. The long line of figures winding across the sand, with their dark dresses and butterfly coiffures, pleased me so much that I threw aside the sketch I had just begun, and proceeded without delay to portray the scene which forms one of our illustrations. I felt that I might not have the chance of seeing the sisters again under the same circumstances, while, as Robinson said when on the Rhine," castles can wait." It is stated that some religious community formerly inhabited the island, and the fashion still exists among the Malouins of walking there on Easter Sunday, their promenade being no doubt the traditional survival of an ancient pilgrimage to a Pardon held there on that day.

Chateaubriand shares the honours of the town with its naval hero, Duguay Trouin, whose statue adorns the principal square; on the pedestal is an inscription to the effect that "he chased the English on all the seas." At the entrance to the house in which Chateaubriand was born (now the Hotel de France) are smaller statues of Duguay Trouin and Jean Bart. The latter was perhaps the most distinguished sailor that the French ever had, and though probably his name is no more familiar to most Englishmen than that of Duguay Trouin, yet it is true that he frequently beat us, and took

many of our ships as prizes. On one occasion he and his ship were taken and were being towed to an English port, but tradition says that he found the whereabouts of the powder magazine, and approaching it with a lighted match threatened to blow up the vessel unless both ships were given up to his men; and so he returned from captivity much like Hans Breitmann "wherefer he'd peen he left noding behind."

St. Malo used to be called the "City of Corsairs," and though privateering is no longer possible, the natives of this part of the coast retain much of the venturesome spirit of old, and are as bold fishermen and sailors as are to be met with anywhere. I was present at the nautical fêtes held at Dinard, and was surprised at the very great number of small sailing vessels that took

part in the regatta, and at the host of competitors in the swimming races. They had one variety of sport that was particularly interesting as a spectacle, called the joûtes (Angl. "jousts"). This species of water tournament was arranged in the following manner :---To the sterns of two ordinary-sized rowing boats were attached platforms of about a yard square, and raised by wooden supports to about eight feet from the surface of the water. On each of these platforms stood a man in bathing costume, and armed with a long tilting lance padded at the point. The charge was made by the boats rowing fast to meet, or rather to pass each other, so that at the moment of passing a combatant could, by a well-aimed thrust, push his adversary over backwards into the sea; the supports slanted backwards at such an angle as to prevent

any danger of a fall into the boat. Seen from the level of the water this fight up in the air was very dramatic, the attitudes of the combatants being picturesque in the extreme. I regret that the sketch I made on the spot was too slight to be of any use beyond being a memorandum of the subject, but hope to be able to devote more time to it another year.

The religious processions that take place on certain days in honour of the Virgin are not without an indication of the importance to the town of nautical matters, for a large model of a ship is then carried through the streets between two images of the Virgin, one gilt and the other silvered.

with medals; so I thought of Tennyson's words with regard to an ancient name, to "keep it noble, make it nobler," and saluted the poor guide-baigneur with all the respect due to a nobleman who is indeed what the word implies.

In walking along the Paramé road to St. Coulomb, one passes a quay always heaped up with great piles of deal planks from Norway, and the wholesome odour of the pine is most refreshing after the unimaginable smells of St. Malo. For a similar reason the farmsteads hereabouts are also pleasant to the wayfarer, as they abound in long sheds filled with the large pendent leaves of the tobacco-plant drying in the sun.

Dinan, which is best reached by taking the steamer up the Rance, is one of the most delightful old towns of Brittany. The precipitous Rue du Jersual, which was once its principal approach, is as good a bit of mediæval survival in the way of picturesque street architecture as is to be met with any

On the beach at St.. Malo I made the acquaintance of a gentleman of decayed fortunes who is certainly worth a passing notice. He is Edouard Choupard, Marquis de Chambery, now pursuing the humble calling of guide-baigneur a sort of male bathing-woman. The estates that would have been his were taken from the family at the time of the Revolution, but papers are in his possession, the consul told me, which clearly prove his right to the title. He has, moreover, earned the respect of all by evincing the truest of nobility. In connection with the lifeboat service, and as a courageous swimmer, he has saved many lives, for which brave deeds he has been repeatedly decorated

where. It was there that I sketched our illustration of the small child placed in a box to keep it out of harm's way, and under the eye of the old crone spinning. By the way, I may mention that I have never observed any but very old women employed with the distaff or spinning-wheel, and I fear that in a few years the spinster proper will be as extinct as the dodo.

Dinan, like the other towns of Brittany, should, if possible, be seen on market day. Indeed it has occurred to me that it would be a very valuable addition to the regular guide-book information, if the practice. obtained of always stating on what day of the week the markets were held. The vary

M

ing costumes of the neighbouring villages are all represented on these occasions, and the scene of animated bustle in what is perhaps an extremely dull town frequently makes all the difference to its general appearance. When tourists have been enthusiastic about the picturesqueness of particular towns I have often found, on inquiry, that they happened casually to have been there on market days.

The principal square in Dinan is the Place Duguesclin, the central part of which is the public promenade, planted with trees and surrounded by a low wall. To rings in this wall the cows for sale in the market are attached, while the farmers and their wives sit on the wall or stand about in lively conversation with the buyers. The little Brittany cows submit very quietly to the somewhat rough handling of the intending purchasers, who punch them about all over, and lastly take a firm grasp of the creatures' heads in order to examine

their teeth, as is done to

The market is rarely confined to a single place in the town, all the open spaces and the larger streets being generally utilised, so that in a walk through the town one is always stumbling on some odd and unexpected merchandise exposed for sale out of doors. I remember seeing in an out-of-the-way corner in Dinan a piteous lot of small calves lying on the ground with their legs tied, and close by a barrow-load of second-hand clothes, which an old woman was spreading out upon the ground in as tempting an array as she could manage, while she sternly repelled certain long-legged swine who were curious as to her stock-in-trade. On the market day at Lamballe I sketched a characteristic group of earthenware vessels thus laid out for sale on the ground, while the seller came

AT LAMBALLE.

From a Drawing by H. R. KOBERTSON.

horses in England. I often watched the bargaining going on, but found it

difficult to follow the proceedings, as the practice of violently shaking hands, which I innocently thought to be the conclusion, is only a trifling interlude, and is, I believe, a protest against the last extravagant proposal of the other party. I never saw any transfer of coin take place, but that, I learnt, was always an after business at the auberge, where the seller has to pay for the consommations

-a practice which conduces to the besetting fault of these worthy people. An American author says of the Bretons, that " they are good people when they are not drunk, but they are usually drunk."

along comically loaded with two or three pots and pans in each hand and others tucked The shapes of this common ware are almost always good and sometimes fine, and the colours are always agreeable. Since my return I met with the following remarks about the Breton pottery by Mr. Jephson, which interested me particularly when I found that it was at Lamballe that he also was so struck with the artistic character

of the common ware:-" "The pots and pans, of which there was a large display, struck me as being of very elegant shape, though of the coarsest materials. With all their wealth and appliances our potters are generally most unsuccessful in their search after the beautiful. In their anxiety to produce something new and elaborate, in order to justify placing a high price upon their articles, they have discarded the forms which the common sense and experience of ages had settled upon as the most beautiful and convenient; for in the useful arts the beautiful and the convenient always coincide. The consequence is, that, while the tables of our