few englishmen or englishwomen are intimately acquainted with the little town of le puy. it is the capital of the old province of le velay, which also is now but little known, even to french ears, for it is in these days called by the imperial name of the department of the haute loire. it is to the south-east of auvergne, and is nearly in the centre of the southern half of france.
but few towns, merely as towns, can be better worth visiting. in the first place, the volcanic formation of the ground on which it stands is not only singular in the extreme, so as to be interesting to the geologist, but it is so picturesque as to be equally gratifying to the general tourist. within a narrow valley there stand several rocks, rising up from the ground with absolute abruptness. round two of these the town clusters, and a third stands but a mile distant, forming the centre of a faubourg, or suburb. these rocks appear to be, and i believe are, the harder particles of volcanic matter, which have not been carried away through successive ages by the joint agency of water and air.
when the tide of lava ran down between the hills the surface left was no doubt on a level with the heads of these rocks; but here and there the deposit became harder than elsewhere, and these harder points have remained, lifting up their steep heads in a line through the valley.
the highest of these is called the rocher de corneille. round this and up its steep sides the town stands. on its highest summit there was an old castle; and there now is, or will be before these pages are printed, a colossal figure in bronze of the virgin mary, made from the cannon taken at sebastopol. half-way down the hill the cathedral is built, a singularly gloomy edifice,—romanesque, as it is called, in its style, but extremely similar in its mode of architecture to what we know of byzantine structures. but there has been no surface on the rock side large enough to form a resting-place for the church, which has therefore been built out on huge supporting piles, which form a porch below the west front; so that the approach is by numerous steps laid along the side of the wall below the church, forming a wondrous flight of stairs. let all men who may find themselves stopping at le puy visit the top of these stairs at the time of the setting sun, and look down from thence through the framework of the porch on the town beneath, and at the hill-side beyond.
behind the church is the seminary of the priests, with its beautiful walks stretching round the rocher de corneille, and overlooking the town and valley below.
next to this rock, and within a quarter of a mile of it, is the second peak, called the rock of the needle. it rises narrow, sharp, and abrupt from the valley, allowing of no buildings on its sides. but on its very point has been erected a church sacred to st. michael, that lover of rock summits, accessible by stairs cut from the stone. this, perhaps—this rock, i mean—is the most wonderful of the wonders which nature has formed at la puy.
above this, at a mile’s distance, is the rock of espailly, formed in the same way, and almost equally precipitous. on its summit is a castle, having its own legend, and professing to have been the residence of charles vii., when little of france belonged to its kings but the provinces of berry, auvergne, and le velay. some three miles farther up there is another volcanic rock, larger, indeed, but equally sudden in its spring,—equally remarkable as rising abruptly from the valley,—on which stands the castle and old family residence of the house of polignac. it was lost by them at the revolution, but was repurchased by the minister of charles x., and is still the property of the head of the race.
le puy itself is a small, moderate, pleasant french town, in which the language of the people has not the pure parisian aroma, nor is the glory of the boulevards of the capital emulated in its streets. these are crooked, narrow, steep, and intricate, forming here and there excellent sketches for a lover of street picturesque beauty; but hurtful to the feet with their small, round-topped paving stones, and not always as clean as pedestrian ladies might desire.
and now i would ask my readers to join me at the morning table d’h?te at the hotel des ambassadeurs. it will of course be understood that this does not mean a breakfast in the ordinary fashion of england, consisting of tea or coffee, bread and butter, and perhaps a boiled egg. it comprises all the requisites for a composite dinner, excepting soup; and as one gets farther south in france, this meal is called dinner. it is, however, eaten without any prejudice to another similar and somewhat longer meal at six or seven o’clock, which, when the above name is taken up by the earlier enterprise, is styled supper.
the déje?ner, or dinner, at the h?tel des ambassadeurs, on the morning in question, though very elaborate, was not a very gay affair. there were some fourteen persons present, of whom half were residents in the town, men employed in some official capacity, who found this to be the cheapest, the most luxurious, and to them the most comfortable mode of living. they clustered together at the head of the table, and as they were customary guests at the house, they talked their little talk together—it was very little—and made the most of the good things before them. then there were two or three commis-voyageurs, a chance traveller or two, and an english lady with a young daughter. the english lady sat next to one of the accustomed guests; but he, unlike the others, held converse with her rather than with them. our story at present has reference only to that lady and to that gentleman.
place aux dames. we will speak first of the lady, whose name was mrs. thompson. she was, shall i say, a young woman of about thirty-six. in so saying, i am perhaps creating a prejudice against her in the minds of some readers, as they will, not unnaturally, suppose her, after such an announcement, to be in truth over forty. any such prejudice will be unjust. i would have it believed that thirty-six was the outside, not the inside of her age. she was good-looking, lady-like, and considering that she was an englishwoman, fairly well dressed. she was inclined to be rather full in her person, but perhaps not more so than is becoming to ladies at her time of life. she had rings on her fingers and a brooch on her bosom which were of some value, and on the back of her head she wore a jaunty small lace cap, which seemed to tell, in conjunction with her other appointments, that her circumstances were comfortable.
the little girl who sat next to her was the youngest of her two daughters, and might be about thirteen years of age. her name was matilda, but infantine circumstances had invested her with the nickname of mimmy, by which her mother always called her. a nice, pretty, playful little girl was mimmy thompson, wearing two long tails of plaited hair hanging, behind her head, and inclined occasionally to be rather loud in her sport.
mrs. thompson had another and an elder daughter, now some fifteen years old, who was at school in le puy; and it was with reference to her tuition that mrs. thompson had taken up a temporary residence at the h?tel des ambassadeurs in that town. lilian thompson was occasionally invited down to dine or breakfast at the inn, and was visited daily at her school by her mother.
“when i’m sure that she’ll do, i shall leave her there, and go back to england,” mrs. thompson had said, not in the purest french, to the neighbour who always sat next to her at the table d’h?te, the gentleman, namely, to whom we have above alluded. but still she had remained at le puy a month, and did not go; a circumstance which was considered singular, but by no means unpleasant, both by the innkeeper and by the gentleman in question.
the facts, as regarded mrs. thompson, were as follows:—she was the widow of a gentleman who had served for many years in the civil service of the east indies, and who, on dying, had left her a comfortable income of—it matters not how many pounds, but constituting quite a sufficiency to enable her to live at her ease and educate her daughters.
her children had been sent home to england before her husband’s death, and after that event she had followed them; but there, though she was possessed of moderate wealth, she had no friends and few acquaintances, and after a little while she had found life to be rather dull. her customs were not those of england, nor were her propensities english; therefore she had gone abroad, and having received some recommendation of this school at le puy, had made her way thither. as it appeared to her that she really enjoyed more consideration at le puy than had been accorded to her either at torquay or leamington, there she remained from day to day. the total payment required at the h?tel des ambassadeurs was but six francs daily for herself and three and a half for her little girl; and where else could she live with a better junction of economy and comfort? and then the gentleman who always sat next to her was so exceedingly civil!
the gentleman’s name was m. lacordaire. so much she knew, and had learned to call him by his name very frequently. mimmy, too, was quite intimate with m. lacordaire; but nothing more than his name was known of him. but m. lacordaire carried a general letter of recommendation in his face, manner, gait, dress, and tone of voice. in all these respects there was nothing left to be desired; and, in addition to this, he was decorated, and wore the little red ribbon of the legion of honour, ingeniously twisted into the shape of a small flower.
m. lacordaire might be senior in age to mrs. thompson by about ten years, nor had he about him any of the airs or graces of a would-be young man. his hair, which he wore very short, was grizzled, as was also the small pretence of a whisker which came down about as far as the middle of his ear; but the tuft on his chin was still brown, without a gray hair. his eyes were bright and tender, his voice was low and soft, his hands were very white, his clothes were always new and well fitting, and a better-brushed hat could not be seen out of paris, nor perhaps in it.
now, during the weeks which mrs. thompson had passed at la puy, the acquaintance which she had formed with m. lacordaire had progressed beyond the prolonged meals in the salle à manger. he had occasionally sat beside her evening table as she took her english cup of tea in her own room, her bed being duly screened off in its distant niche by becoming curtains; and then he had occasionally walked beside her, as he civilly escorted her to the lions of the place; and he had once accompanied her, sitting on the back seat of a french voiture, when she had gone forth to see something of the surrounding country.
on all such occasions she had been accompanied by one of her daughters, and the world of le puy had had nothing material to say against her. but still the world of le puy had whispered a little, suggesting that m. lacordaire knew very well what he was about. but might not mrs. thompson also know as well what she was about? at any rate, everything had gone on very pleasantly since the acquaintance had been made. and now, so much having been explained, we will go back to the elaborate breakfast at the h?tel des ambassadeurs.
mrs. thompson, holding mimmy by the hand, walked into the room some few minutes after the last bell had been rung, and took the place which was now hers by custom. the gentlemen who constantly frequented the house all bowed to her, but m. lacordaire rose from his seat and offered her his hand.
“and how is mees meemy this morning?” said he; for ’twas thus he always pronounced her name.
miss mimmy, answering for herself, declared that she was very well, and suggested that m. lacordaire should give her a fig from off a dish that was placed immediately before him on the table. this m. lacordaire did, presenting it very elegantly between his two fingers, and making a little bow to the little lady as he did so.
“fie, mimmy!” said her mother; “why do you ask for the things before the waiter brings them round?”
“but, mamma,” said mimmy, speaking english, “m. lacordaire always gives me a fig every morning.”
“m. lacordaire always spoils you, i think,” answered mrs. thompson, in french. and then they went thoroughly to work at their breakfast. during the whole meal m. lacordaire attended assiduously to his neighbour; and did so without any evil result, except that one frenchman with a black moustache, at the head of the table, trod on the toe of another frenchman with another black moustache—winking as he made the sign—just as m. lacordaire, having selected a bunch of grapes, put it on mrs. thompson’s plate with infinite grace. but who among us all is free from such impertinences as these?
“but madame really must see the chateau of prince polignac before she leaves le puy,” said m. lacordaire.
“the chateau of who?” asked mimmy, to whose young ears the french words were already becoming familiar.
“prince polignac, my dear. well, i really don’t know, m. lacordaire;—i have seen a great deal of the place already, and i shall be going now very soon; probably in a day or two,” said mrs. thompson.
“but madame must positively see the chateau,” said m. lacordaire, very impressively; and then after a pause he added, “if madame will have the complaisance to commission me to procure a carriage for this afternoon, and will allow me the honour to be her guide, i shall consider myself one of the most fortunate of men.”
“oh, yes, mamma, do go,” said mimmy, clapping her hands. “and it is thursday, and lilian can go with us.”
“be quiet, mimmy, do. thank you, no, m. lacordaire. i could not go to-day; but i am extremely obliged by your politeness.”
m. lacordaire still pressed the matter, and mrs. thompson still declined till it was time to rise from the table. she then declared that she did not think it possible that she should visit the chateau before she left le puy; but that she would give him an answer at dinner.
the most tedious time in the day to mrs. thompson were the two hours after breakfast. at one o’clock she daily went to the school, taking mimmy, who for an hour or two shared her sister’s lessons. this and her little excursions about the place, and her shopping, managed to make away with her afternoon. then in the evening, she generally saw something of m. lacordaire. but those two hours after breakfast were hard of killing.
on this occasion, when she gained her own room, she as usual placed mimmy on the sofa with a needle. her custom then was to take up a novel; but on this morning she sat herself down in her arm-chair, and resting her head upon her hand and elbow, began to turn over certain circumstances in her mind.
“mamma,” said mimmy, “why won’t you go with m. lacordaire to that place belonging to the prince? prince—polly something, wasn’t it?”
“mind your work, my dear,” said mrs. thompson.
“but i do so wish you’d go, mamma. what was the prince’s name?”
“polignac.”
“mamma, ain’t princes very great people?”
“yes, my dear; sometimes.”
“is prince polly-nac like our prince alfred?”
“no, my dear; not at all. at least, i suppose not.”
“is his mother a queen?”
“no, my dear.”
“then his father must be a king?”
“no, my dear. it is quite a different thing here. here in france they have a great many princes.”
“well, at any rate i should like to see a prince’s chateau; so i do hope you’ll go.” and then there was a pause. “mamma, could it come to pass, here in france, that m. lacordaire should ever be a prince?”
“m. lacordaire a prince! no; don’t talk such nonsense, but mind your work.”
“isn’t m. lacordaire a very nice man? ain’t you very fond of him?”
to this question mrs. thompson made no answer.
“mamma,” continued mimmy, after a moment’s pause, “won’t you tell me whether you are fond of m. lacordaire? i’m quite sure of this,—that he’s very fond of you.”
“what makes you think that?” asked mrs. thompson, who could not bring herself to refrain from the question.
