Hutt French Circle

Hutt News, Volume XXI, Issue 50, 9 June 1948, Page 7

Hutt French Circle

LE MONT SAINT-MICHEL The members of the Lower Hutt French Club spent a pleasant evening recently at the home of Mrs. Wingate-Patterson. Two “Englished” poems of Clement Marot were read by the translator, Mr. Arthur Barker. Mademoiselle O. Louis gave an inspiring talk on Le Mont SaintMichel. one of the world’s greatest wonders, built on a conical rocky island, 250 feet high, in the bay between St. Malo and Auranches, at the south-west of the Cotenlin Peninsula. This island is now connected by a causeway to the mainland, but when the abbey was built it was a real island surrounded by over seven miles of quicksands at low tide, and woe to the person who trespassed too far! If he did not become engulfed the tide would come in more rapidly than a horse could gallop and make escape impossible. It is believed that this remarkable monument of monastic and military architecture was built at the bidding of the Archangel Michael, who appeared to St. Aubert, a pious bishop, who used to retire to the rocky island for prayer and meditation. Mont Saint-Michel is just inside Normandy and it has luckily escaped war damage.

Some beautiful photographs illustrating the talk (lent by the French Legation) were passed around and much .admired.

Madame J. do Filippi gave a short appreciation of the author Charles Peguy, and read an extract of “Les Vignerons” (the wine-growers).