CHAPTER XVI.

THE UPPER LOIRE

The gateway to the upper valley may be said to be through the Nivernais, and the capital city of the old province, at the juncture of the Allier and the Loire.

After leaving Gien and Briare, the Loire passes through quite the most truly picturesque landscape of its whole course, the great height of Sancerre dominating the view for thirty miles or more in any direction.

Cosne is the first of the towns of note of the Nivernais, and is a gay little bourg of eight or nine thousand souls who live much the same life that their grandfathers lived before them. As a place of residence it might prove dull to the outsider, but as a house of call for the wearied and famished traveller, Cosne, with its charming situation, its tree-bordered quays, and its Hotel du Grand Cerf, is most attractive.

Pouilly-sur-Loire is next, with three thousand or more inhabitants wholly devoted to wine-growing, Pouilly being to the upper river what Vouvray is to Touraine. It is not a tourist point in any sense, nor is it very picturesque or attractive.

Some one has said that the pleasure of contemplation is never so great as when one views a noble monument, a great work of art, or a charming French town for the first time. Never was it more true indeed than of the two dissimilar towns of the upper Loire, Nevers, and La Charite-sur-Loire. The old towers of La Charite rise up in the sunlight and give that touch to the view which marks it at once as of the Nivernais, which all archaeologists tell one is Italian and not French, in motive as well as sentiment.

It is remarkable, perhaps, that the name La Charite is so seldom met with in the accounts of English travellers in France, for in France it is invariably considered to be one of the most picturesque and famous spots in all mid-France.

It is an unprogressive, sleepy old place, with streets mostly unpaved, whose five thousand odd souls, known roundabout as Les Caritates, live apparently in the past.

Below, a stone's throw from the windows of your inn, lies the Loire, its broad, blue bosom scarcely ruffled, except where it slowly eddies around the piers of the two-century-old _dos d'ane_ bridge; a lovely old structure, built, it is recorded, by the regiment known as the "Royal Marine" in the early years of the eighteenth century.

The town is terraced upon the very edge of the river, with views up and down which are unusually lovely for even these parts. Below, almost within sight, is Nevers, while above are the heights of Sancerre, still visible in the glowing western twilight.

Beyond the bridge rises a giant column of blackened stone, festooned by four ranges of arcades, the sole remaining relic of the ancient church standing alone before the present structure which now serves the purposes of the church in La Charite.

The walls which surrounded the ancient town have disappeared or have been built into house walls, but the effect is still of a self-contained old burg.

In the fourteenth century, during the Hundred Years' War, the town was frequently besieged. In 1429 Jeanne d'Arc, coming from her success at St. Pierre-le-Moutier, here met with practically a defeat, as she was able to sustain the siege for only but a month, when she withdrew.

La Charite played an important part in the religious wars of the sixteenth century, and Protestants and Catholics became its occupants in turn. Virtually La Charite-sur-Loire became a Protestant stronghold in spite of its Catholic foundation.

In 1577 it bade defiance to the royal arms of the Duc d'Alencon, as is recounted by the following lines:

"Ou allez-vous, helas! furieux insenses Cherchant de Charite la proie et la ruine, Qui sans l'ombre de Foy abbatre la pensez!

* * * * *

Le canon ne peut rien contre la Charite, Plus tot vous detruira la peste et la famine, Car jamais sans Foy n'aurez la Charite."

In spite of this defiance it capitulated, and, on the 15th of May, at the chateau of Plessis-les-Tours on the Loire, Henri III. celebrated the victory of his brother by a fete "_ultra-galante_," where, in place of the usual pages, there were employed "_des dames vestues en habits d'hommes...._" Surely a fantastic and immodest manner of celebrating a victory against religious opponents; but, like many of the customs of the time, the fete was simply a fanatical debauch.

At Nevers one meets the Canal du Nivernais, which recalls Daudet's "La Belle Nivernaise" to all readers of fiction, who may accept it without question as a true and correct guide to the region, its manners, and customs.

The chief characteristic of Nevers is that it is Italian in nearly, if not quite all, its aspects; its monuments and its history. Its ancient ducal chateau, part of which dates from the feudal epoch, was the abode of the Italian dukes who came in the train of Mazarin, the last of whom was the nephew of the cardinal, "who himself was French if his speech was not."

Nevers has also a charming Gothic cathedral (St. Cyr) with a double Romanesque apse (in itself a curiosity seldom, if ever, seen out of Germany), and, in addition to the cathedral, can boast of St. Etienne, one of the most precious of all the Romanesque churches of France.

The old walls at Nevers are not very complete, but what remain are wonderfully expressive. The Tour Gouguin and the Tour St. Eloi are notable examples, but they are completely overshadowed by the Porte du Croux, which is one of the best examples of the city gates which were so plentiful in the France of another day.

Above Nevers, Decize, Bourbon-Lancy, Gilly, and Digoin are mere names which mean nothing to the traveller by rail. They are busy towns of central France, where the bustle of their daily lives is of quite a different variety from that of the Ile de France, of Normandy, or of the Pas de Calais.

From Digoin to Roanne the Loire is followed by the Canal Lateral. Roanne is a not very pleasing, overgrown town which has become a veritable _ville des ouvriers_, all of whom are engaged in cloth manufacture.

Virtually, then, Roanne is not much more than a guide-post on the route to Le Puy--"the most picturesque place in the world"--and the wonderfully impressive region of the Cevennes and the Vivaris, where shepherds guard their flocks amid the solitudes.

Far above Le Puy, in a rocky gorge known as the Gerbier-de-Jonc, near Ste. Eulalie, in the Ardeche, rises the tiny Liger, which is the real source of the mighty Loire, that natural boundary which divides the north from the south and forms what the French geographers call "_la bassin centrale de France_."

THE END.

INDEX

Abbeville, 107.

_Abd-el-Kader, Emir_, 165.

_Abelard_, 293.

_Absalom_, 281.

Acheneau, The, 298.

_Adams, John_, 124.

_Alaric_, 149.

_Alcuin, Abbe_, 206.

_Alencon, Ducs d'_, 195, 334.

_Alencon, Marguerite d'_, 97, 150, 151-152.

Allier, The, 330.

Amboise and Its Chateau, 3, 20, 82, 96, 100, 123, 130-131, 137, 140, 148-169, 172, 181, 186, 194, 249.

_Amboise, Family of_, 118, 120-122.

Amboise, Foret d', 169.

Amiens, 210.

Ancenis and Its Chateau, 11, 21-23, 291.

_Andrelini, Fausto_, 66.

Anet, Chateau d', 107, 177, 322.

_Ange, Michel_, 208, 249.

Angers and Its Chateau, 7, 10-13, 15, 21-23, 40, 84, 275, 278, 280, 283-284, 286-290, 304, 308.

Angouleme, 194, 304.

_Angouleme, Isabeau d'_, 267.

_Angouleme, Jean d'_, 89.

_Angouleme, Louise de Savoie, Duchesse d'_ (See _Savoie, Louise de_).

Anjou, 15, 26, 142, 161, 273, 274, 284, 289-290, 292, 306, 322.

_Anjou, Counts of_, 150, 193, 208, 232, 239, 267, 288.

_Anjou, Foulques Nerra, Comte d'_ (See _Foulques Nerra_).

_Anjou, Margaret of_, 280.

_Anne of Austria_, 301-302, 319.

Aquitaine, 18, 193.

_Arbrissel, Robert d'_, 263.

_Arc, Jeanne d'_, 202, 254-256, 258-260.

_Ardier, Paul_, 115.

Arques, Chateau d', 9.

_Aumale, Duc d'_, 165.

_Aussigny, Thibaut d'_, 48.

Authion, The, 13.

Autun, 321.

Auvergne, 15.

Auvers, 251.

Auxerre, 17, 119.

Avignon, 51, 260.

Azay-le-Rideau and Its Chateau, 10, 63, 140, 226, 238, 240-247.

Bacon, 40.

Ballon, 215.

_Balue, Cardinal_, 194, 196.

_Balzac, Honore de_, 3, 6, 20, 128-129, 137-138, 143, 207-209, 234, 239, 329.

_Bardi, Comte de_, 108.

_Barre, De la_, 144, 240.

_Barry, Madame du_, 169, 215.

_Beaudoin, Jean_, 200.

_Beaufort, A._, 138.

Beaugency and Its Chateau, 9, 41, 48-53.

_Beaujeau, Anne de_, 319.

Beaulieu, 201-202.

Beauregard, Chateau de, 114-116.

Beauvron, The, 114.

_Becket_, 190.

_Belier, Guillaume_, 258.

_Bellanger, Stanislas_, 135.

_Bellay Family, Du_, 5, 128, 234.

_Belleau, Remy_, 128.

_Beringhem, Henri de_, 245.

Bernay, 306.

_Bernier_, 57.

Berry, 7, 15, 56, 123, 313-314, 318, 320, 326-329.

_Berry, Counts of_, 150.

_Berry, Duchesse de_, 295.

_Berthelot, Gilles_, 244, 246.

_Berthier, Marechal_, 108.

Beuvron, 87-88.

_Biencourt, Marquis de_, 246.

_Blacas, Comte de_, 247.

Blaisois, The, 52, 54, 56-84, 102, 123-124, 136, 148, 193, 322.

Bleneau, 319.

Blesois, The (_See_ Blaisois, The).

Blois and Its Chateau, 3, 9, 11, 20, 40, 52-54, 56-84, 88, 94-95, 98, 100, 107, 110-112, 116-117, 119, 123, 125-126, 136, 139, 149, 156, 160, 164, 167, 174, 184, 186, 194, 260, 284.

_Blois, Comtes de_, 57-59, 62, 84, 87, 98, 118.

Blois, Foret de, 54.

_Blondel_, 99.

Bocage, The, 304-305.

_Bohier, Thomas_, 174, 182, 184-186.

Bois-Tillac, 298.

_Bolingbroke_, 42, 183.

_Bonchamps_, 306-307.

_Bonheur, Rosa_, 306.

Bonneventure, Chateau de, 250.

_Bontemps, Pierre_, 105.

Bordeaux, 133, 171, 203, 292.

_Bordeaux, Duc de_, 108.

_Bosseboeuf, Abbe_, 233.

Bouaye, 312.

Bouin, 311.

Boulogne, The, 312.

_Bourbon, Cardinal de_, 164.

_Bourbon, Renee de_, 264.

Bourbon-Lancy, 336.

Bourbonnais, 15.

Bourdaisiere, Chateau de la, 169.

Bourg de Batz, 300.

Bourges, 15, 314, 316.

Bourgneuf-en-Retz, 309, 311.

Bourgogne, 4, 15, 142.

Bourgueil, 267.

_Bourre, Jean_, 233.

_Boyer_, 111.

Bracieux, 110.

Brain-sur-Allonnes, 269.

_Brantome_, 101, 155, 157, 158.

Brenne, 135.

Bretagne, 15, 26, 35-36, 57, 192, 218, 284, 291-293, 301.

_Bretagne, Anne de_, 63, 97, 120, 168, 196, 209, 234, 236-238, 293, 296.

_Bretagne, Conan, Duc de_, 295.

_Bretagne, Francois II., Duc de_, 291, 294-296.

_Breze, Pierre de_, 195.

Briare, 320, 330.

_Briconnet, Cardinal_, 42.

_Brinvilliers_, 144.

Brittany (_See_ Bretagne).

_Broglie, Princesse de_, 120.

_Brosse, Pierre de_, 234.

Bruges, 282.

_Brunyer, Abel_, 80, 81.

_Buffon_, 61, 183.

_Bullion_, 119.

_Bussy d'Amboise, De_, 269.

Buzay, Abbey of, 299.

_Byron_, 138.

_Caesar_, 18, 290.

Cahors, 260.

_Cail, M._, 270-272.

_Cain_, 251.

_Calixtus II._, 264.

Canal de Brest a Nantes, 24.

Canal de Buzay, 298.

Canal d'Orleans, 36-37.

Canal du Nivernaise, 17, 335.

Canal Lateral, 12, 17, 318, 336.

Canal Maritime, 298.

Candes, 268-270, 276.

_Castellane Family_, 250.

_Caumont, De_, 195.

_Cellini_, 152.

Chalonnes, 24, 304.

Chambord and Its Chateau, 2-3, 20, 53, 79, 82, 84, 86, 94-110, 123, 139, 174, 186, 243, 247-248.

_Chambord, Comte de_, 109.

Chambris, 10.

_Champagne, Counts of_, 316.

Champeigne, 135.

Champtoce, 24.

Chanteloup, 154, 169.

_Charlemagne_, 206.

_Charles I. (the Bald)_, 18, 193.

_Charles II. of England_, 82.

_Charles V., Emperor_, 130-131, 155, 194.

_Charles VI._, 257.

_Charles VII._, 150, 188-189, 194-195, 202, 233, 250, 254-256, 257-260, 268, 319, 324, 326.

_Charles VIII._, 45, 98, 130, 150, 165, 194-195, 234, 236, 238-239, 319.

_Charles IX._, 107, 122, 180.

_Charles X._, 329.

_Charles Martel_, 5.

_Charles the Bold of Burgundy_, 44.

Chartres, 22, 133.

Chartreuse du Liget, 190.

_Chateaubriand, Comtesse de_, 101, 130.

Chateau Chevigne, 22.

Chateau de la Fontaine, 43.

Chateau de la Source, 42-43.

Chateaudun and Its Castle, 21-22.

_Chateaudun, Vicomtes de_, 269.

Chateau Gaillard, 259.

Chateau l'Epinay, 22.

Chateauneuf-sur-Loire, 36, 84.

Chateauroux, 327.

Chateau Serrand, 22.

Chatillon, 12, 17, 19.

_Chatillon, Cardinal de_, 160.

_Chatillon, Comtes de_, 61, 68.

Chaumont and Its Chateau, 11, 20, 107, 110, 116-126, 140.

_Chaumont, Charles de_, 120.

_Chaumont, Donatien Le Ray de_, 123-125.

Chemille, 304-305.

_Chemille, Petronille de_, 263.

Chenonceaux and Its Chateau, 10, 63, 107, 118, 140, 148, 165, 169, 171-187, 234, 243, 247, 251.

Cher, The, 10, 21, 91, 171-173, 177-178, 180, 183, 191, 215, 275, 313, 320, 324, 326-327.

_Chevalier, Abbe_, 243.

Cheverny and Its Chateau, 82, 110-114, 133.

_Cheverny, Philippe Hurault, Comte de_, 111.

_Chicot_, 201.

Chinon and Its Chateaux, 10, 92, 140, 171, 193, 202, 239, 241, 247, 250-261, 268.

Chinon, Foret de, 241, 247.

Chiron-Tardiveau, 310.

_Choiseul, Duc de_, 164, 169.

Cholet, 275, 304-307.

_Cholet, Comte de_, 115.

Cinq-Mars and Its Ruins, 7, 21, 137, 220, 227-232, 238, 274.

_Cinq-Mars, Henri, Marquis de_, 228, 229-231, 234.

_Cinq-Mars, Marquise de_, 230, 231.

_Claude of France_, 72, 80, 97, 155.

_Clement, Jacques_, 78.

Clermont-Ferrand, 15.

Clery, 32, 41, 44-46, 214.

Clisson and Its Chateau, 8, 303, 307.

_Clisson_, 293.

_Clopinel, Jehan_ (See _Jean de Meung_).

_Clouet_, 112.

_Clovis_, 43, 149, 253.

Coeuvres, 170.

_Coligny_, 160-161.

Colletis, 309.

_Colombe, Michel_, 207-208, 295.

_Commines, De_, 45.

_Conde, Prince de_, 119, 160-161, 168, 319.

_Conti, Princesse de_, 234.

_Cormeri, Citizen_, 215.

Cormery, 133.

Cosne, 18, 314, 330.

Cosson, The, 2, 97-98, 101.

Coteau de Guignes, 52.

Coueron, 298.

_Coulanges, M. de_, 18.

Coulmiers, 40.

Cour-Cheverny, 110, 114, 133.

_Cousin, Jean_, 105.

Coutanciere, Chateau of, 269.

_Coxe, Miss_, 125.

_Crequy, Marquise de_, 183.

Croix de Monteuse, 16.

_Cromwell_, 301.

_Crussol, Mlle. de_, 318.

_Dalahaide_, 77.

Dampierre, 280.

_Dante_, 203.

_Danton_, 144.

_Daudet_, 17, 335.

Decize, 336.

_Delavigne, Casimir_, 34.

_Delorme, Marion_, 230-231.

_Delorme, Philibert_, 321.

_Deneux, Mlle._, 215.

_Descartes_, 3, 208.

Digoin, 336.

Dijon, 15.

_Dino, Duc de_, 115.

Dive, The, 13.

Domfront, Chateau de, 9.

_Dore_, 207, 320.

_Duban_, 73.

_Ducos, Roger_, 164-165.

_Dudevant, Madame_ (See _Sand, George_).

_Duguesclin_, 49.

_Dumas_, 3, 6, 47, 82, 201, 268-269, 294-295.

Dunois, The, 56.

_Dupin, M. and Mme._, 183, 187.

_Duplessis-Mornay_, 281.

_Eckmuehl, Prince_, 42.

_Effiats Family, D'_ (See _Cinq-Mars_).

_Elbee, D'_, 307.

_Eleanor of Portugal_, 155.

_Eleanore of Guienne_, 267.

Embrun, 44, 45.

_Epernon, Duc d'_, 194.

_Este, Cardinal d'_, 180.

_Estrees, Gabrielle d'_, 164, 169-170.

_Etampes, Duchesse d'_, 101, 130-131, 155.

_Etampes, Jacques d'_, 321.

Etretat, 251.

Eure et Loir, Department of, 35.

Falaise, Chateau de, 9.

_Ferdinand VII. of Spain_, 323.

Finistere, 35.

_Flaubert_, 6.

_Foix, Marguerite de_, 295-296.

Folie-Siffait, 26.

Fontainebleau, 97.

Fontaine des Sables Mouvants, 52.

_Fontenelle_, 183.

Fontenoy, 107.

Fontevrault, Abbey of, 3, 263-267, 282.

_Force, Piganiol de la_, 106.

Forez, Plain of, 17.

_Fouche_, 298.

_Foulques Nerra_, 93, 201, 232, 234.

_Foulques V._, 238.

_Fouquet_, 164, 294.

_Francois I._, 60-64, 69-70, 72-73, 75, 89, 94-99, 101, 104-107, 109, 114, 118, 130, 148, 151-156, 171-172, 174-176, 189-190, 194, 196-197, 200, 244-245, 264, 322.

_Francois II._, 156-162, 168, 181, 215.

_Franklin, Benjamin_, 123-124, 125.

Freiburg, 22.

Fromentin, 311.

_Galles, Prince de_, 49.

_Gaston of Orleans_, 59-60, 62, 68-70, 79-82.

Gatanais, The, 36.

Gatine, Foret de, 324.

_George IV._, 169.

Gerbier-de-Jonc, 16, 336.

Gien and Its Chateau, 8, 18, 19, 202, 318-320, 330.

Gilly, 336.

Giverny, 251.

_Gondi, Henri de_, 293-294, 301-302.

_Goujon, Jean_, 105, 179, 244.

_Gregory of Tours_, 57.

_Grise-Gonelle, Geoffroy_, 195.

Grottoes of Ste. Radegonde, 218.

Guerande, 300.

_Guise, Henri, Duc de (Le Balafre)_, 67, 69-70, 73-78, 157, 160, 162, 164, 168, 180, 234.

Haute Loire, Department of, 11.

_Henri II._, 69, 99, 107, 109, 115, 156, 158, 171-172, 174-177, 183-184, 197, 200.

_Henri III._, 69-70, 73, 75-78, 182, 195, 201, 334.

_Henri IV. (de Navarre)_, 78, 164, 170, 201, 281, 293.

_Henry II. of England_, 190, 208, 238, 257-258, 267.

_Henry VIII. of England_, 107.

_Holbein_, 152.

_Hugo, Victor_, 37.

Huismes, 250.

_Hurault, Philippe_, 111, 112.

Ile de Yeu, 310-311.

Ile Feydeau, 298.

Ile Gloriette, 298.

Ile St. Jean, 149.

Ilot du Pilier, 310.

Indre, The, 10, 21, 191-192, 240, 243-244, 247, 275, 313, 326-327.

Indre et Loire, Departement d', 142.

_Jahel, Miss_, 125.

_James V. of Scotland_, 157.

_James, Henry_, 14, 189, 204, 251.

Jargeau, 36.

_Jean de Meung_, 46-47.

_Jean-sans-Peur_, 319.

_Jean-sans-Terre_, 193, 267.

_Jeanne d'Arc_, 33-35, 38, 49, 319, 333.

_Jeanne of France_, 209.

_John, King_, 287.

Joue, 215.

_Juvenet_, 34.

_Kleber_, 306, 307.

La Beauce, 38, 41, 53, 87, 141.

"La Briche," 270-272.

Lac de Grand Lieu, 298-299, 311-312.

Lac d'Issarles, 16.

La Chapelle, 43.

La Charite, 17-18, 314-315, 319, 332-334.

La Chatre, 327.

La Chevroliere, 312.

_Lafayette, Madame de_, 109.

_La Fontaine_, 128, 286.

La Martiniere, 298.

La Motte, 87-88.

_Landais_, 294.

_Landes, Houdon des_, 137.

Langeais and Its Chateau, 7, 21, 82, 133, 140, 165, 174, 224, 232-241, 247.

Languedoc, 15.

_Lanoue_, 293.

Lanterne de Rochecorbon, 220.

La Pointe, 13, 22-23, 284.

La Possoniere, 289.

Larcay, 10.

La Rochelle, 208, 308.

_Lauzun_, 164.

_Lavedan_, 31-32.

Layon, The, 13.

Le Croisic, 300.

Le Havre, 27.

_Lemaitre, Jules_, 34.

_Lemercier_, 261-262.

_Lenoir_, 57.

_Lenotre_, 43.

_Lepage_, 35.

Le Pellerin, 298.

Le Puy, 4-5, 10, 16, 137, 336.

_Leray, M._, 120.

Les Andelys, Chateau de, 9.

_Lescure_, 307.

_Lespine, Jean de_, 291.

Liger, The, 336.

Lille, 286.

_Lille, Abbe de_, 107.

"_Limieul, La Demoiselle de_" (See _Tour, Isabelle de la_).

Limousin, The, 109.

Lisieux, 92.

Loches and Its Chateaux, 3, 9-10, 130, 133, 140, 142, 188-202, 250, 266, 326.

Loches, Foret de, 190.

Loir, The, 13, 21.

Loir et Cher, Department of the, 35, 57.

Loire, The, 1, 3-30, 32, 34-38, 40-41, 43, 50-51, 53-54, 56, 58, 64-65, 68, 92, 95-97, 101-102, 110, 116-118, 120-122, 124, 129, 133, 134, 137, 140-142, 148-149, 156, 163, 171, 173, 177-178, 191, 196, 208, 215, 220-223, 225, 227-228, 232, 236, 240, 257, 259-260, 267, 273, 275-276, 278-279, 282-286, 288-290, 292-293, 297-302, 304, 308-309, 311, 313-314, 318-319, 324, 326-327, 330, 332-334, 336.

Loiret, The, 41-43.

Loiret, Department of the, 35-36.

_Lorraine, Cardinal de_, 157, 180.

_Lorraine, Marie de_, 157.

Lorris, 37.

_Lorris, Guillaume de_, 37, 46.

Lot, The, 260.

Louet, The, 286.

_Louis II. (Le Begue)_, 150.

_Louis IX._ (See _St. Louis_).

_Louis XI._, 5, 32, 41, 44-46, 48, 69, 130-131, 150, 154, 194, 195, 211-212, 214-218, 232-233, 253, 257-258, 268, 281, 291.

_Louis XII._, 60-61, 64, 66, 83, 97, 120, 122, 151, 167, 194-195, 209, 215, 238, 294.

_Louis XIII._, 63, 99, 107, 139, 222, 224, 228, 230-231.

_Louis XIV._, 32, 82-83, 98-99, 107, 109, 111, 164, 215, 227, 232, 245, 247, 294, 319.

_Louis XV._, 54, 84, 107, 164, 169, 215.

_Louis XVI._, 32, 123.

_Louis XVIII._, 321, 329.

_Louis Philippe_, 165.

Louvre, The, 130, 285.

_Lubin, M._, 126.

Luynes and Its Chateau, 21, 222-227.

_Luynes Family_, 222, 224, 227, 234.

Lyonnais, 15.

Lyons, 16, 203, 286.

Lyons, Foret de, 87.

Madon, 126.

_Maille, Comte de_, 227.

Maine, The, 12-13, 21-23, 284, 288-290.

_Maintenon, Madame de_, 109.

_Malines_, 77.

_Mame et Fils, Alfred_, 205.

_Mansart_ (elder), 62, 79.

Marguerites, The, 311.

_Marie Antoinette_, 328.

_Marigny, De_, 54.

Marmoutier, Abbey of, 218-220, 266.

_Marques, Family of_, 185.

_Marsay, M. de_, 190.

Marseilles, 27, 136, 203, 286, 292.

_Martel, Geoffroy_, 253.

Maulevrier, Chateau of, 303.

Mauves, Plain of, 26.

Mayenne, 21.

Mayenne, The, 21.

_Mazarin_, 6, 293, 301-302, 335.

_Medici, Catherine de_, 73-79, 107, 118-119, 122-123, 156-157, 160-162, 168, 175-182, 184-185.

_Medici, Marie de_, 194, 285.

Mehun-sur-Yevre and Its Chateau, 324-326.

_Mello, Dreux de_, 193.

Menars and Its Chateau, 53-54.

Mer, 52-53.

Metz, 40.

Meung-sur-Loire, 41, 44, 46-48.

Micy, Abbaye de, 43.

_Mignard_, 112.

Moine, The, 307-308.

_Moliere_, 108.

Montbazon, 10.

_Montespan, Madame de_, 283.

_Montesquieu_, 183.

_Montgomery_, 158, 175.

Montjean, 24.

Montlivault, 53.

_Montmorency, Connetable de_, 174.

Montpellier, Castle of, 231.

_Montpensier, Charles de_, 154-155.

Montrichard and its Donjon, 9-10, 91-93.

Montsoreau, 268-270, 276.

Moraines, Chateau de (_See_ Dampierre).

_Moreau_, 306.

Moret, 251.

_Morrison_, 81.

Mortagne, 307.

_Mosnier_, 112.

Moulins, 15.

Muides, 53.

Nahon, The, 320-321.

Nantes and Its Chateau, 3, 7-8, 12-13, 23, 25-28, 40, 59, 84, 133, 207, 278-279, 286, 288, 291-302, 308, 311-312.

_Napoleon I._, 83, 138, 164, 321-322.

_Napoleon III._, 88.

_Napoleon, Louis_, 165.

Narbonne, 231.

_Navarre, Marguerite of_ (See _Alencon, Marguerite d'_).

_Nemours, Duc de_, 157.

_Nepveu, Pierre_, 104.

Nevers, 4, 6, 11, 15, 17, 137, 319, 332-333, 335-336.

_Nini_, 125.

Nivernais, The, 15, 330, 332.

Nohant, 327-329.

Noirmoutier, 309-310.

Normandy, 85, 92, 306.

Ognon, The, 312.

Onzain, 116.

Orleannais, The, 4, 10, 15, 19, 23, 30-57, 318, 320-321.

Orleans, 7-8, 10-12, 15, 17, 19, 30-35, 37-41, 43, 52, 133, 137, 256, 258, 270, 284, 289.

_Orleans Family_, 63, 65-66, 69, 140, 165, 231, 234 (See also _Gaston of Orleans_).

Orleans, Foret d', 39-40.

Oudon, 25-26, 291.

Paimboeuf, 298.

Paris, 13, 30, 33, 42, 79, 119, 124, 136, 139-140, 229-230, 284, 302, 314.

_Parme, Duc de_, 108.

_Parmentier_, 80.

Pas de Calais, 192.

Passay, 312.

Passy-sur-Seine, 124.

Pays de Retz, 292, 301-302, 310.

_Penthievre, Duc de_, 164.

_Pepin_, 193.

_Philippe I._, 313, 326.

_Philippe II. (Auguste)_, 93, 193, 238.

_Philippe III. (Le Hardi)_, 234.

_Philippe IV. (Le Bel)_, 49.

Pierrefonds, Chateau of, 186.

Pierre-Levee, 310.

_Pilon, Germain_, 105.

Pinaizeaux, 310.

_Pius VI._, 323.

_Plantagenet, Henry_ (See _Henry II. of England_).

_Plantin, Christopher_, 205.

_Plessis, Armand du_ (See _Richelieu, Cardinal_).

Plessis-les-Tours, 7, 150, 211-218, 334.

Pointe de Chenoulin, 310.

Poitiers, 304.

_Poitiers, Diane de_, 118, 123, 130, 155, 172, 174-178, 183, 187, 197.

Poitou, 278, 292, 306.

_Pompadour, La_, 215.

_Poniatowska, Marie Therese_, 323.

Pont Aven, 251.

Ponts de Ce, 21-22, 275, 279, 284-286.

Pornic, 308, 310.

Pornichet, 300.

Port Boulet, 270.

Pouilly, 18, 330-332.

Prairie-au-Duc, 298.

_Primaticcio_, 152.

_Primatice_, 99.

Puy-de-Dome, 16.

_Rabelais, Francois_, 3, 128, 143-144, 239-240, 254-256, 260.

Rambouillet, Foret de, 87.

Reims, 319.

_Renaudie, Jean Barri de la_, 161.

_Rene, King_, 23, 281.

Rennes, 15.

_Retz, Cardinal de_ (See _Gondi, Henri de_).

_Retz, Gilles de_, 24, 293.

Rhine, The, 13, 26.

Rhone, The, 13, 23, 260.

_Richard Coeur de Lion_, 93, 193, 267.

Richelieu, 260-262.

_Richelieu, Cardinal_, 224, 228, 231-232, 260-262, 301-302.

Roanne, 12, 16-17, 336.

_Rochecotte_, 250.

Rochecotte, Chateau de, 249-250.

Romorantin and Its Chateau, 85, 88-89, 324.

_Ronsard_, 128, 157, 180, 240.

Rouen, 92, 119, 121-122, 203, 221, 299.

_Rousseau, Jean Jacques_, 172, 183-184, 187.

_Roy, Lucien_, 235.

_Royale, Madame_, 109.

_Rubens_, 285.

_Ruggieri, Cosmo_, 78-79, 122-123.

Russy, Foret de, 114.

_Saint Gelais, Guy de_, 245.

Sancerre and Its Chateaux, 18, 137, 313-318, 330, 333.

_Sancerre, Counts of_, 314-316.

_Sand, George_, 7, 321, 326-329.

San Juste, Monastery of, 131.

Saone, The, 23.

_Sardini, Scipion_, 119.

Sarthe, The, 13, 21.

Saumur and Its Chateau, 21, 119-120, 142, 171, 221-222, 259, 274-283, 292.

Sausac, Chateau of, 202.

_Sausac, Seigneur de_, 215.

Savennieres, 289.

_Savoie, Louise de_, 151.

_Savoie, Philippe de_, 195.

_Saxe, Maurice de_, 107-108.

_Scott, Sir Walter_, 166, 211, 216, 218.

Sedan, 40.

Seine, The, 4, 13, 25, 36, 121, 221.

Selles, 10, 324.

_Sertio_, 100.

_Sevigne, Madame de_, 18, 276, 295.

_Sforza, Ludovic_, 197.

_Shenstone_, 106.

_Siegfreid, Jacques_, 234.

Sologne, The, 38, 52-53, 56, 84-94, 97, 101, 110, 148, 320.

_Sorel, Agnes_, 152, 188-189, 194, 196, 201-202, 250, 326.

_Stael, Madame de_, 119-120.

St. Aignan and Its Chateau, 10, 312, 324.

_Stanislas of Poland, King_, 107-108.

St. Ay, 43-44.

St. Benoit-sur-Loire, 10, 19.

St. Claude, 54.

St. Cyr, 215.

St. Die, 53.

Ste. Eulalie, 336.

_Stendahl_, 128.

St. Etienne, 5, 16.

St. Florent, Abbey of, 282, 306.

St. Galmier, 16.

St. Georges-sur-Loire, 22.

St. Leger, 312.

_St. Liphard_, 48.

_St. Louis_, 37, 193, 288, 318.

St. Lumine, 312.

St. Mars, 312.

_St. Martin_, 5, 149, 209-211, 218, 220, 253, 268.

_St. Mesme_, 253.

St. Mesmin, 41, 43.

St. Nazaire, 23, 28, 292, 300.

_Stofflet_, 303, 306.

_St. Ours_, 193.

St. Philibert, 311-312.

_St. Philibert_, 310.

St. Pierre-le-Moutier, 333.

St. Rambert, 17.

_St. Sauveur_, 238.

Strasburg, 22.

St. Symphorien, 218.

St. Trinite, Abbey of, 266.

_Stuart, Mary_, 157-162, 168, 181.

_St. Vallier, Comte de_, 175, 197.

Suevres, 53.

Sully, 19.

_Talleyrand_, 250, 321, 323.

_Tasso_, 180.

Tavers, 52.

_Terry, Mr._, 187.

_Texier_, 22.

Thezee, 10.

_Thibaut-le-Tricheur_, 259.

_Thibaut III._, 253.

_Thiephanie, Dame_, 281.

Thouet, The, 13.

_Thoury, Comtesse_, 105.

Torfou, 307.

Toulouse, 15.

_Tour, Isabelle de la_, 119.

Touraine, 1-4, 6-9, 15, 19-21, 23, 32, 54, 56, 79, 85, 92, 102, 105, 121, 128-148, 161, 164, 169, 172-173, 176, 183, 204, 215, 220, 229-230, 233-234, 238, 243-244, 246, 251, 260, 273, 275, 284, 332.

_Touraine, Comtes de_, 253.

Tours, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10-11, 20-21, 40, 57, 84, 116-117, 120, 132-133, 137, 148-149, 166, 171-172, 200, 203-211, 215, 221-222, 224-225, 238-239, 246, 253, 266, 274, 276-277, 320-321, 327.

Treves-Cunault, 283-284.

_Turenne_, 319.

_Turner_, 12.

Usse and Its Chateau, 241, 247-249.

Valencay and Its Chateau, 320-324.

_Valentine de Milan_, 66.

_Valentinois, Duchesse de_ (See _Poitiers, Diane de_).

Vallee du Vendomois, 274.

_Valois, Marguerite de_ (_sister of Francois I._) (See _Alencon, Marguerite d'_).

_Valois, Marguerite de (de Navarre)_, 180.

_Van Eyck_, 152.

Varennes, 218, 324.

Varennes, The, 135.

_Vasari_, 153.

_Vauban_, 247.

_Vaudemont, Louise de_, 182.

Vendome, 22, 266.

_Vendome, Cesar de_, 164.

Vendomois, The, 56-57.

Veron, 135.

Versailles, 43, 60, 86, 98, 139, 261.

_Vibraye, Marquis de_, 111.

Vienne, The, 10, 21, 251, 259-260, 267-268, 275, 279.

Vierzon, 84-85, 324.

_Vigny, Alfred de_, 128-129.

Villandry, Chateau de, 238.

Villaumere, Chateau de la, 250.

_Villon, Francois_, 48.

_Vinci, Leonardo da_, 59, 72, 100, 152-153, 166, 169, 174.

_Viollet-le-Duc_, 185.

Vivarais Mountains, 16.

_Voltaire_, 42, 142, 183.

Vorey, 11, 16.

Vouvray, 222, 332.

Yonne, The, 17.

_Young, Arthur_, 86.

_Zamet, Sebastian_, 170.

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes

1. Replaced chateau(x) with chateau(x) throughout the text (title pages and pp. xi, 1, 9, 62, 72, 327).

2. P. 36: added quotes after a verse.

3. P. 67: replaced "tres" with "tres" ("tres beau et tres agreable ainsy que tous ses portraits l'ont represente...").

4. P. 83: added quotes after the phrase "magasin des subsistances militaires".

5. P. 86: added quotes after a phrase "those brilliant and ambitious gentlemen".

6. P. 94: "potions" are replaced with "portions" ("... moreover, one can drink large portions of it...").

7. P. 108: "know" is replaced with "known" ("The second floor is known as the...").

8. All instances of "Francois" are replaced with "Francois" (pp. 69, 171, 304, 338, 346).

9. P. 187: "Credit Foncier" is replaced by "Credit Foncier".

10. P. 235: Replaced "irrelevent" with "irrelevant" ("...an over-luxuriant interpolation of irrelevant things...").

11. P. 290: Replaced "Andre" with "Andre" ("Maison Andre Leroy").

12. P. 296: Added quotes after a verse "Cueur de vertus orne Dignement couronne."

13. P. 314: Replaced "Etes-vous" with "Etes-vous" ("Etes-vous alle a...").

14. P. 322: Replaced "Valencay" with "Valencay" ("Chateau de Valencay").

15. Replaced "Eglise" with "Eglise" (illustration caption: "Eglise S. Aignan, Cosne").

16. Innkeepers, manorhouse, sandbar, Bellilocus, seaside, harbourside, headwaters, stairway, and waterways are chosen to be written without a hyphen.

17. Dining-table, wine-shops, and quatre-vingzt are chosen to be written with a hyphen.

18. P. 338: Replaced "Breze" with "Breze" (Breze, Pierre de).

19. P. 269: Replaced "Chateaudun" with "Chateaudun" ("... the fief passed to the Vicomtes de Chateaudun...").

20. Pp. 12, 17, and 339: Replaced "Canal Lateral" with "Canal Lateral".

21. P. 344: Replaced "Orleans" with "Orleans".

22. P. 286: Quotes after the verse added ("... sur la Loire.").

23. P. 327: The (missing) closing quotes are added ("_petits chefs-d'oeuvre_ of sentiment and rustic poesy").

24. Added a description of a monogram on p. 177.

25. P. 120: An image description is added.