RAMBLES IN FRANCE

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14842, 6 December 1913, Page 3

RAMBLES IN FRANCE

A HOLIDAY IN BRITTANY. I (swruu-Y irsrrrEX goa "th* rates.")! (By R.E.8.8.) j Last August saw mc in Brittany. 11 had returned from the Midi and was spending a few days in Rouen when I Kot a letter from a college friend as&ir>K mo to join him in Finistere. A long interriew with the Sous-chef dt> la garo at Rouen ended in my buying ft third class "bain dc mer" ticket forQiiißiporle, Finistero (West Brittany). I had to travel at nif?ht in a crowded train full of soldiers and sailors for Lariont and Brest, and Paris bourgeois families who ttcio doing their holiday on tho cheap. But French people «.* pleasant travelling companions; they arc sociable, good-tempered, and with an excellent philosophic sense of humour—excellent traits for travellers! Fourteen hours, with thrco changes, larded mc at Quimpcrle, a queer little town of about 14,C00 inhabitants, uue is here in tho heart of real Brittany. In most of the other parts people have forgotten tho language, and go koi wear the lovely costumes that are to be seen hero. Not many tourists bother Quimporle; they either go on to the sea or eke visit places where there are more ancient churches to be seen. In Quimperld tho churches are both dull, but there are some beautiful 15th and 16th century houses in excellent preservation. These are still used for the most part for tho purposes for which they woie built—so that trippers do not love them much. Probably Quimpcrlo, however, will boccmo a second Chester—and ruined. Of course one always quite unfairly refers to other people as tourists or trippers without including oneself as one of that class! Market day in Quimperle is a eplendid ard moving spectacle. There is a huge influx of peasants from tho surrounding villages. they come to buy or fie!l all manner of things: pigs, cows, calvee, poultry, horses, vegotauics. meat, toys, clothing, fish—there is scarcely any commodity thnt cannot be bought. Tho men wear black vel-' vet hats and bluo overalls; the women the white head dress surmounting n black velvet-trimmed dress. All are

talking and bargaining or endeavouring to extricate- their purchases. It is a charming sight to see an old woman taking her pig' home; one so appreciates then the difficulties of the old woman in nursery rhymes who couldn't get her pig across the stile. __ But an old woman with three unruly pigs quite baffles description. One Sunday afternoon we went to a great fete, horseracing. Tho price of admission was 10

centimes, and for that you could see the heroes of the countryside etrivmg for the palm of glory. It being Sunday, the peasants wore their best, the men nearly always drese in black, so too do tho women, but over the black dress they wear, a beautifully coloured "tablier" in silk, or satin, or velvet. Red, pale green, mauve, and browr> were the most popular colours. Little Bretonnes wear the same style of dress as their mammae and look very charm-

ing in their little black dresses and tablicrs wearing tiny little wooden "sabots." Tlio whole afternoon was occupied in friendly conviviality and true appreciation of sport. From the French way of appreciating sport English people ought not to be above takings a few lessons. The bookmaker was conspicuously absent, also the drunken man, for though quarts of cider woro drunk, no one was any the worse. In the evening a great ball was held in the market hall. For 25 centimes one could enter and dance. The young people dance with great vigour, tli f e lav*,mite dancea irtjing tiie waltz (duneed at about twice . .41a J£ugiish,specd),--tao polka, and the. •'niazurkev" 'The old I'uopie sit round; Liio hali and sigh that dancing is not what it was,when they, were youug: co, at any rate, said art old lauy wno sat nuxb us, and instructed us in sumo of

the dances. Several weeks we-sj>ent on tho sea coast, about eight milts away. Wo got looms in an excellent hotel, with lull board, for 6 'francs a day—or about 33 shillings a week. Here we made fiiouds 'with a number of little-children, mostly young Parisians who wero.there for choir.holidays. There is no lahguago so beautiful or so charming as .French -.pollen by children —especially Parisian children* Their accent is so exquisitely puro and delicate. Jean, Pierre, Joseph, Charles, Antoine,-Simonc, Jacqueline, and Jeanne were our most intimate friends; and though they, at times regarded friendship with U3 in a niorcenary light—wo being couvoniently suited to provido them with bon-bons and toys—it was none the less dohghfcftil. Oho Sunday there was a groat feto at tho littlo chapel .near by. There was a groat concourse of peasants and a great tfsplay of beautiful. "tabliers"; crowds filled the church, and. an equal number watched outside- through the open doors and listened to the monotonous chant of the service and saw the heavy clouds of incense thick over the heads of the worshippers. Then a great procession was formed, first chosen peasants carrying banners, then the image of Our Lady carried by six girls in white, then the priests still chanting* theu all the congregation carrying candles. As they passed, everyone' -devoutly crossed himself, and the procession wound up through the trees and flown the white dusty read to the bot~

torn of the little valley again. After this was over, the cider drinkine and other friendly practices went on harder than ever.

We left Ppuldu (for. this was the

lame oftho Jiftle place), two on tho samn bicycle. "We stayed another week in Quimx'erl* 5 , where had tho privilege of attending a wedding ball. h\ "Twinl invitation" of the -bride. The music becfjm with a concertina,-hut the had-to givo up, the combined effects of cider, big meals, and dancing (from tho cfirly part of the morning) heincr too much for him. so we hnrl a gramophone instead, an ,l visou' aro essential characteristics of Broton ''.incing, grace is cons?r!ere<l pfFfminnte. -Tpd no one. minds if you bump into him! This was the climax of our visit, which did not List much longer: we were very sorry to go. leavinc Kehitid *o T"nnv frieT7f7«;. Ono ■Doa.s?>nt woman, bearing wo were u <?

?? wn Tind mnt hor brother in "W 1 -Jif: i<! Ms nnrnp anr? dres he "Oh. T don't .know • n-Vre lie 'iVes. but he's a !'-'rcr." THs Tras onitp n nMress. nnd b-vl to rroinJse to Tonic him up when w returned. Newness to say, "we aro still on the look out! The journey back to England is rather a forlorn one. It nearly always rains; one has the dreadful Channel to face, and the bother of landins with one's luggage nnd getting through the Customs: all these things increase the natural regret at leaving ench a beatttifnl country as Brittany, and though parts of- Encland aro, in their way. more beoutiftil than anything else in the world, ono never sees them in returninc from the Continent. Englard rilwavs s;opnis to have rather a sordid ■?£• v < , s "PPearance then, something like the Christchurch railway station, which would never lead you to i! i h *s '* » *he gateway to tho beautiful city ifc ?