LEGENDS OF ST. MALO

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 27 July 1929, Page 9

LEGENDS OF ST. MALO

OLI> PIRATE STRONGHOLD NOW A FISHING PORT PERIWINKLE CASTLE St. Mala, Brittany, ouco a pirate stronghold, is the point of doparturo fortlic Breton cod fishers, who sail every S pving for the Grniul Dunks und tho lee* land seas. Banner and pageantry ‘murk the celebration which accompanies the annual sailing of tho vessels. Iho Aichbishop of Rennes blesses tho fleet with solemn riles. Rennes was the capital of Old Brittany, and its Archbishop visits St. Malo annually to perform this serV *Tho city is built on an island of cranito in tho-Boy of St. Malo, and is joined to the mainland by a causeway. 'Despite its age, its appellation of a medieval town" cannot exactly describe St- Malo. Parts of it dato from tho twelfth century, but the majority of its buildings are monuments of sevcntcentn century industry. The town proper ..s entirely enclosed by a wall of medicyd construction. Inside its ramparts the houses are packed together like sardines, while spaeo and modern sanitation mo lacking. Some-of the so-called btieoU are ouaint and picturesque thoubh they barely allow tho passing of two hca\y persons with any degree of comfort. A DUCHESS WITH A WILL Some four hundred years ago Brit tanv had a Duchess Anno, a s>p nlt ° a •Mer who wished ,a residence in St Malo’ Thg Bishop of St. Malo dylikec tho idea of tho Duchess I,vln S, J and probably interfering with his egime. so lie forbade the work. Undaunted. Anno built tho Chateau wine is to-day a capital attraction m St. Malo, and inserted in the masonry of its tower an inscription, which read: “Whosocv;er -shall grumble at it, so shall it be, it is my pleasure. Anne s retort to the doughty bishop became a bveword among tho inhabitants, and tourists still flock fo read tho partly erased inscription. . , Another interesting place is Periwinkle Castle, an ancient structure, so named because local legend has it that the facade is covered with periwinkles, shining and artistically arranged, during the midnight Mass of Christmas. This supernatural adornment, the natives say, is only apparent to those who have never committed mortal sin. BIRTHPLACE OF FAMOUS MEN ■ St. Malo is kind to her great men and commemorates their deeds with monuments. Chateaubriand, the famous philosopher, who was born there, is honoured by a statue, while a public square and hotel are named after him. Lamonais, the religious writer, and Jacques Cartier, the Canadian explorer, are memorialised by statues, which adorn tho city. However, the real hero of St. Malo is none of these, but the famous corsair, Duguay-Trouin, who, in his forty years of,piracy, captured Rio de Janeiro, and contributed much to the glory of St. Malo during the regime of its supremacy as a pirate stronghold.