THE BY-WAYS OF FRANCE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 547, 30 June 1909, Page 5

THE BY-WAYS OF FRANCE.

A NEW ZEALANDER'S IMPRESSION. I INTENSE AGRICULTURE. , » .VILLAGE LIFE. j (By H. T. B. Debw.) 1 .-;.;■ . "Tout droit 1 • Monsieur; . tout droitl" | • •("Straight aheadli; ,Straight, aheadl"), , 1 This; invariably is' the - cheery - answer. of tho villager or labourer; accompanied by a .'•a.-.wave of'the hand,..which sends you peddling , . merrily., ahead again-, southward., r But, ; really, • asking- tho '.route in France, ; or that 1 portion' of it •so • far travelled — ■..'ir/- -:, ( ward' : of' Paris, .on route to Marseilles—is , 3 -, " superfluous, if you . are, riding as a member - ofthe:English CychßtsV'Touring Club., .. From Paris to- Fontalnbloau. .- Belle' Paris. is -ieft behind—Paris- clothed '■■■■:. in the brown mantle of a lato .winter, her -• I sparkhngMnhabitants half-blossoming forth • into gaiety; in;tho boulevards and jardms as ■ : ■ the weather '.momentarily ,c\ears \ up, .but -. -.-.-j again- being: reluctantly, forced to enfold their . peeps •of colour m sombre; clothing, and pettishly ■ to-, await'.the., lifting r of the ; . clouds. <;The -.boulevards, with the .rushing cars>.and. silent-wheeled taxi-cabs, we aban«'! don-.tor tho. lonely country; road, tho open ; :; 'cafes.;and..brasseries—arid the merry, souls ' regaling 'themsolves: at v - the : little , round .; v .. ■;•:>,*.-wine-tables—for ,the homely: village -restaur-. . ; . ant; the,long, brilliaritly-illuminated, ,the-:;:;:'atr^going'>;eyeriings'^'-arid:;the r -noisy ""street | prominadmgs, for 'the quiet; chacibre and an I ■ • early, couch, and a-night of deep, hardearned restfulncss. . Paris is .boautiful; Paris . .- with , us.-, infinite, treasures—its Louvrc, andother- great;storehouses• that regalo-the:soul , —is,/.belle, and .gay, :but thoro 'is a still : . greater.charm, and a soul-communion in'the: . unaffected fields, and m the vernal, j ■ •..: untainted air, and so, again,- "tout droit!"; 1 ~, ~.-The...walls .of.-Paris, ..so- familiar .to :thc 1 -.- readers of history and romance, are hnge.-sub-.i .. .. stantial stnictures composed of. earth that : has been thrown up from a tronch or .moAt on tho 'outside. The wall is, in -fact, a . circuitous hill, thirty, feet high, and very wide, --.- encircling tho city, on which -aro built -ill somo places houses and military depots, and : ,on .which also are walks and promenades; In ■ /, one part. of. the moat, wo, obsorve a small ■ .cyclo: will, give some,idea of the quantity of .earth that has been thrown up. : In reply-to a natural question wo learn that :' the 'real forts of the city : are new some, disVV. T' -' tanoe '. outside"; the ■>walls,places .near which ~ 1. . the camera-man must not be 1 seen, unless he desires a little excitement.. Through the Daumensuil: gate the -road- runs southward, .traversing the;Bois do Vmcennes, ons of tho 1 many beautiful, pleut'.fully-shpded promen-:-ih'at ; -.orn9meiit'-; 'the'Vo^itsKirtfl-. of- ,. . ... the:, city.', -Another such -,place - : I's. 1 . Longf champs,', tho famous racecourse, which is also . practically joined to Autueil, the steeplechase , course,, both -,places many; acrojV in extent, with up-tordate tracks and appointments and -r , multitudinous dnves through tho surround..v i«g parks and artificially constructed nooks ,of .-beauty,and interest. - .Racing, l by- the way, has gained a great hold of the Parisian, who . . . pays. teni and fifteen francs' for"; admissiori 'to minor privileges. ' ■ TT 'i\^ er 'a. run.of ,a few miles Charenton and ' , ' Villeneuvo—typical Parisian .suburbs,'. .with •" the sapqo stonp.payed .streets, so'.b.bjection- ■: •- able ■ to.. cyclists . and- motorists,-."ns m ' thp '.. . .' larger'citiM •\vith' t-heif: stone .'hbiisfis arid ' . ;; ; Sf?™ - jhuMered. 'windows-' and'';over-lapping ■j: . • roofs—aro. threaded, . .and .now tho: intense . agriculture of Pans already comes under* reiis..^essgn:fi^ily..,;an T J'qgiicpTtural " : . al }d .-grape-growing country.- -''vH'er' gardons are pushed up almost under,the walls of tho c 11 e a f e no,v among tho people' who : enabled France, so quickly .to'recover from ..'•..'^i^d'vai?.,,disasters, and to Lquidato lier , .-:• Juration of, the world. But it is only the ferf agricultural Frapcri that wo see •Neyertholess it is ii)teresting. . Here 1 afo*'the' market gardens of Parnj—no .Chinese ,aro visible, by the way—and tho'plants and vege»r G „ at.; present';;firotect'ed' • frqiri tho : , col(< by,bell-shaped coverings ot glass. vAci-es tffj - .:f>'-.TPgetables -seein .to. bQ'th'u's.'.prbte?t'cdf Speeding South. ■■! .-,. '? 8 .- not until Melun;. tho'ancient little : . / city, onco hold by. the IJfitishV^js'pass ed, however, that. the. .most interesting part of the journey commences It is a few kilo-;from-'horo? that ;the forcigt' \fßich's'ur- . . sounds-Fountambleau, ;post; beautiful of all forests of France, is-reachwl.. Tho road traverses -it foi;. mord than twelve ipdes by 'the ; 9}'eiometer, and to ;New Zealahders "-there is ni l 4 V iul<?t cha ™ "> tb «o fine stately iL- r r teech, and others, ivitii a thick, carpet of. dried brown loaves, at the • • feet stretcliinij away -betiocn mottlcil' truiiks into the darkness ot the glades, but it is • not so potent ■ a ?harm as -is found :-in', those _ rank dark uqdergrowths, and mor? for- . mitlablo giaiita of eyorgrcen in tho bushe-3 of : - . ■-. his own Island home. The-trees rnect overk head, and tho road is ono long, leafy avenue Several/times a plump hare or fine cock ~.... , phoasant. will trespass on the way to tempt v'i -^SSest.what this huge 'area,of- forest l .. contains.- for- ; the . weAlthy—ah,' for . t-lie " ; ■ ■ Ff.rfte brit such an area, a forest preservo t»W.™les;'m:;cirromfOTmol. , 1 cross-road, or' carrefdnr, '.in the . i 'teTest stand quauit; stouo tables surrounded : ! .i ■;-j? iV ' after ttHe;, pursuit of .: V.'W- or;'boar;, ; as; thj)huntsmen; ofold wero ■ ; . - irtnt.to m.eot and .crack a bottle In im- ■ ■ agination: bno.can-.rqcali, the;merry'scene,■ the ■j: Jovous shout, and call of tho huntsmen, the : i;: I old trees,.which :still. view the spot, sending' ...... along the echoes down tho;silent glades', tho plentooijs quaffing, and tho neighing and ...■ .champing of tho restltss steeds in tho hands of liveried grooms. ,-And, as if to link up tho ;'. Present-,;With .the, past, v.'o seo around the table a conglomeration of broken bottles, ::v;Which also : suggests, that, the sports ' of: the '■;•" good old days aro not yet extinct. ' ' ' In one of theso carrefours, in tho densest ~ part ot tho forest, a peasant ; woman' in' rough -garments of, black,-is. observed.-to pause: be- -. ;^ e »%'i'y^e^We : .tiw,;g^.;ijM)irißi;-:and' : then : ". - -make the. Sign, of the Cross upon her breast. , - Curious to learn tho reason, we also pausfc aiilnle, and seo, soino distance up the baro /-tree trunk, a little receptacle, inside of ' -': ~n, ' iich'is:,a:..cha'ste''represeritation' of-'a'. Virgin and. Child. Beneath, hung. down, tho tree .y t-nink, aro .numerous; once-beautiful -wreaths.' ;-. Evidently, they havo been placed there by the villagers in. pursuance oF'somo old pretty, .... custom, customs such ,as make theso lovely , r parts' 'of prance so:interesting nnd-remiiiis--•'.:.':';Cent,-.pf:jt'he.'paßt. - ;;•;■-'- -ir '; Emerging, at .lorigth from, the. forest, tho honse3 of .Fontninbleau' appear. ;Wo ask a French ;'cavalry ofiicer tne shortest way ;'. . through tho city, to .'regain our ; route south- . ward. ~Ho. ignores .our poor French. "What! You will pass.on and not seo tho Chateau?" he-asks in excellent English. ■;<"Oh! but you cannot offer such an insult to . .. France!" It is a'bright Sunday morning, . and the officer is exorcismg a showy horse in ; the Foutevinbloau boulevards. He personally conducts us, with much show of courtesy, to the ' old castle of Fontaiiibkau, ' and we. vv traverse its still,beautiful grounds, then ■ enter its ancient walls,, and for the moments ' we hve in tho past. ,' ■■ 1 ■ '... ',- .Pon.would fail to d6,:iustioe-,'f<i,this firie old . .building ■ and its treasures;,"-. It iis a - r place-of ' • imaginings arid reoollections. Built in. the twelfth-xentury: by.Louis'; tho Pious,^' . ' been the re'sidenco .;of French Royalty for;!;f centuries, botng restored: at, various periods.. Napoleon I is most largely, identified with vr': ''y';!: tj l ? place at present; .Ho.wasitho last to rc- .; .:■ (,MTc it. • .'rhe' ,rastle, i lil;o ; many other, erst- ; ;; u .irtiile rosidenocs of tlie aristocracy of France, ,IS-: preserved ih -perfect.,order',, being,^''indeed; in miiclr tho same .condition as when vacated ; -by, its; regal ..tenants. ;,Iho curious;. "triTns--:V . '.verse, mlaid-fioors-are brightly polished; the rooms and their 'quaint, iuxurious, 'and -rich ..furnishings,-the brilliant bal,salon,- are-all as thoy , were; in .the past; and tlie profligacy of • . ornamentation,of .a -remote-age has boon wondcrfully preserved. .. Tho walls and ceilings *:have been the canyivssos-for tho brushes of ; noted artists whoso portrayals of ' symbols i ~ and_ scones arc -huge m sizo and extremely : valuable. A feature also; of somo of tho ■ rooms« is pncoloss'-Flemish tapestry," which ■;: decorate, walls. ■' .

-Tho chambers of Napoloon, wrtlrone of his Cockades—somo hairs taken ■ off -which aro carefully preserved—of his Austrran wife, of tho Duo: d' Orleans, the cradle of L'Aigloa near . tlhe bed of -his.- mother,; the beautiful shadowed chapel, are all! places of great-interest.': Among the books in Bonaparte's hbraxy are several English authors, printed in the English language. <- Equally rnafjnificent as the castle within is : the ..prospect* :.from-.,tho : . - windows. Lawns, drives; gardens, : a; lake 'with, cascade and fountains and swans, quiet promenades ;is ■ almost incomprehensible" that here-in tie midst' of' such ; lavis/h beauty and charm, and'peacefulness the mind of Napoleon could tuin to.no-other thoughts than-tho'so of lust of conquest and of empire! Into Village Life. ' From Fontambleau tho road south takes you again through tho forest. Roads branch to hamlets, and villogeß. At lengtih onco more we emergo into open fields and' agnoalturo. Just ahead is Morot,. an ancient town on the Loiug, a tributary of the Some, noted for -its . church of - the 12th century, a wellrpreserved pile, whose exterior architectural decorations are gradually fading away ,with" : the years, , but whose quaint, old-'fashionM-internal appointments are as they must have' -been .'centuriesago. The' old clock in .the face of the square tower still lustily booms'' out .the. ■ hour.- to the villagers.At .Motet, also, wo.iobtaih 'our firstVglimpse, of the Bourgoyne - Canal, a ■ water highway whjob; running from many "miles inland, with frequent locks, • and with villages: along its coarse .depending "-upon' its commerce for their :existence; - at ; length empties ;<iutd ; the Seine,,/lown whose swift, swirling current the barges'eventually rcacli Paris. ~;At ' ' another ' small town with an .equally old■ church, wo find lodgings v for.-the.-night- with the proprietor .of. a cafe, whos^'ineat' little rooms- are: up a; winding stair. ' A . hearty meal off potato /soup, a spinach omelette,someexcellently: : ' cooked: rabbit,' potatoes as a separate and -later dish, tlio tender leaves; of the: young dandelion as a salad—a favourite.'delicacy, here—an : apple pasty by/cheese, • with a bottle, of, good', red' wine,to wash' it, down —a'first-rate reward for;, the; day's hard ; work.".' :To , our :host : andl'.hostess's bow's and' kindly good wishes;-for',the French- villagers are ' (he ' courtesy, .wo; seek early and comfortable reposo : , on. .old-fashioned, . .square)' . woodetfbeds ,'that own no blankets, but havo mountainous' feather counterpanes. - Quaint Scenes on tho Road. >Aiid a few .notes generally ,on . the country.'vwhich. isv passed'; tho . hext: day.' or :twp.,Dijon; .is .the' immediate '-.'destination; Tho course lies through .Central' and Eastern France, welHolftho general route of tourists, though, . indeed, frequently iscurry past .on .their; way .from lUarseilles to: Paris, or,_ vicev versa, Motor-cars are ill-maiiner.ed things to meet on the road en tour. v ( The through is almost entirely dovotod to agriculture."- It is undulating, w some places' hilly, gradually ascending as. wo go-inland. :Hore and. there it ißj;.barrenV;a.nd; rocky;..copses : are; plentiful; .Every • possible • ineh- 'isV- under.. cultivation'; There aro practically no fonccs of any sort, not- even, along*'the road-sides. It does:- not seem ,to bo .the. custom ..to plough up hugo areas at once and sow. them, • such -'as • is" done ih ' : New Zealand, ;for , instance.Thin;, long strips are turned over: and ; sown. in ; turn— mostly in wheat, : but : here;, and. there in other; cereals-f-and- each strip ripens at diffprepf ;periods:. The scenic-effects, of. these long: strips of varying colour is very quaint: Generally, .of : course, the divided-ownorship accounts.: for • the smallness and - variety of 'tKe'.stripsJ.',:.'- U-':v >- ;V -- This land has , been worked iand cropped by the' forefathers of these - people for centuries, iii mapy casea ■ .husband,', wife','. sons, arid, daughters all lend a are -seen,.togetHer.'io .the fields. Oxen-' toil''laboriously along .with tho ploughs, following a lad--who walks before them. .Manure is- laid over theearth and ploufxhed in.. This -is' how. a country's total- jield goos up—individual small holdings, .7each, small ..holder- determined -to' get the\most out of his plot. .-.. : No old-fashioned- agricultural implements are- usodj- but .the 'latest. ahd r best 1 American ploughs,-cbiofly of, singlo furrow and light in draught.-. ...-It is tho back-blocks of-France, but t]io- colonial farmer cannot claim ;to tqual theso peoplo *m, Ill's methods or results— thes'o:, diligent penny-saving peasants who plod: so steadily-over tho fields in toouptiirned wooden clogs; . The' .soil is dark, rich,< and' fnable; '.-Npt a single paddock ; '6f grass js seen.. There'is 110 winter-grazing iji''these-'jiairts,; every, inch is required ; .for better, yields. : for milking, or the sheep for slaughter, > aro kept, indoor?,, and fed ,byj hand; and .sleek 'and fat > they are! '..t . ..' v a ''section .and you. .build ,a hoijs'e '.upon'jiti;you diminish the. productive area of that section.;'',, peasants -.'here live.; in. -yillagos,proceeding,:to work ■■ :therefrom in'thehorning;.topis on shoulder, and roturhing,vmoreVwearilv,. at nightfnll; - You' pass.,.them, on .'-the'roads, .Their villages aro never '_ more ■ than, a; few kilometres - apart. Somgtfnjfs from at hei'sht. you can' see, a .doieu. ofVthemvClnsterinß over'a nlainr-little commiipities ->>f; dark;. stflPA buildinps;,- thpir prominently unraised. .It:i?; a sight, arid; lives'."pictrired' in tho memory. ; The Villages. t: For centuries they have clustered thuo, -ifitbout\>-': single '• - and without ; a' Single; loss/ .-Sons arid •. fathers' have" l been called away to wars,, battles-have been fought near; them,;-invaders havo' swept over, them. ! ■THeir roofs of slabbed stone, painted 'brown or'light :grMri'' with. ,moss, "form; against ;the. dark; stone avails,,' a colour, scheme that must i'avißh'\the eiie:of every:laridscapo artist. The walls'ap'pear ready to fallj-and 1 ori .closer contact ' tottering r and - untidy. ago-; is-, imprinted!. on tho village, in some cases even -to repulsivenew when, the' exteriors' are viewed from, a: .habitation point of vieiv;. but'.:peep inside and.behold how,neat and cleanvare .the in-. ;teriorsl-.r \ /; \ : That historic' institution, - tho village pump -—sometimes two—io in the foreground. The pond ia near by and a handy spot is the wash-ing-shed,. wliere on slabs of .stones the dames of the: village carry on their. washing. Sido by-' side ,in . p row .they, industriously;-kneel. over the water in tank, pool, or. creek, nnso and soap the'clothes, gossip away .and belabour tie linen .with fiat sticks by way , of frequent-emphasis. ' i In 'tho .main thoroughfare of, tho yillago stand the'large square heaps of stable manure.; None is wasted. It accumulates in the summer, and autumn', and then, as-the time comes;' is 'carted. away to the fields. Her© also the village poultry congregate. _, ' - Approach one of theso little communities. ' First wo come-to a notice, warning "nowlio live jn-wa'gon-h6iises, pulled, by-a scuryy hoTse, arid who earn their bread ways—that they must; v not camp'any rieaier the village than'this. Scores of . these gipsy-folk ,are' passed in a day's ride, 'hitsbandvand Airi walking beside the. -horso, tlie motier' inside, visible through the front squaro window, knitting and preparing * the meal; -Nearer ;tho village stilltwe pass the usual tall iron' cross." But. long before this the church has become The church is tho principal building, tho others havo gathered iround it. , :It is the bulwarks of the community, the object and motive of the-village life; In the colonies the pub.knd the shops; hero the church, tho houses, and tho cafe. Usually the church dates back to the 13th or 14th century, and seldom is it loss, iri-sizo.and architecture those that grace . our , own .Now. Zealand . cities—riot merely our towns! . In places of 4000, 6000; and -12,000 people the churches are far. and away.;larger • and, niore magnificent' than tho best cathedrals that.New Zealand.can'show. At Mclu'n,vat Lournes, Bourg,; : tho edifices vie - with the. Notre Damo of Paris. ' Dozens of villages and their churches: may bo passed 011 a day's . ride—and jot wo ; say . atheistic France! But tho villages aro not.Paris, and the people, modest, religious, .courteous, kindly and sober,- arc -.not Parisians. Theso aro the ■'•people''who constitute Franco, and were they, and not the city-dwellers, known we colonial English would, hesitate before wo spoke of our ."natural enemies.'' •' Thej-. aro ever ready to welcome the Britisher with open hand and heart.