Over Strand and Field: A Record of Travel through Brittany

coating of mud and dust, which fell from our clothing upon the floor of the inn with such

ength by a broad, paved street. Its modest inhabitants cannot pos

eculiarly adapted for the exhalation of mystical desires and long, heart-broken orisons. All his heart's sensuousness, compressed by the climate and numbed by misery, is brought here by man and laid at the feet of Mary, the Divine Mother, and he is thus able to satisfy his unquenchable longing for love and enjoyment. No matter if the roof leaks and there are no benches or chairs in the rest of the church, you will always find the chapel of the Virgin bright with flowers and lights, for it seems as if all the religious tenderness of Brittany has concentrated there; it is the softest spot of its heart; it is its weakness, its passion, its treasure. Though there are no flowers in these parts, there are flowers in the church; though the people are poor, the Virgin is alwa

form again at irregular intervals. The heavy feet of the dancers struck the ground without the slightest attempt at rhythm, while the shrill notes of the music succeeded one another rapidly and with desperate monotony. The dancers who tired withdrew without interrupting the dance, and when they had rested, they re-entered it. During the whole time we watched this peculiar performance, the crowd stopped only once, while the musicians drank some cider; then, when they had finished, the lines formed anew and the dance began again. At the en

ssaire laughed, the garde grinned; when he assumed a serious expression, his shadow grew gloomy; if the frock-coat said, "This must be done," the jacket replied, "I think so, too;" if the coat added, "It is necessary;" the waistcoat affirmed: "It is indispensable." Notwithstanding this inward comprehension, their outward relations of rank and authority remained unchanged. For the garde spoke in a lower tone than the commissaire, and was a trifle

them. The street was blocked by an excited crowd, and several persons rushed up to the commissair

wh

on't

hy

are bl

with

h a

s the m

n the arm. Go in, they're waitin

ited conversation and saw a jostling, curious mob. People stepped on one an

de got angry for him and chased the crowd out, taking each individua

holding her left arm with her right hand; she did not seem to be suffering much, but the girl was crying. She was sitting on a chair with her hands spread out on her knees and her head bent low; she was trembling convulsively and shaking with low sobs. As they replied by complaints to all our questions, and as the testimony of the witnesses was conflicting

expense, we had the audacity to offer the help of our limited knowledge and rushed off for our satchels, a p

tallow candle melted and ran down the iron candle-stick in spite of the efforts of the garde, who kept trimming the wick with his fingers. We attended to the old woman first. The cut had been given conscientiously; the bare arm showed the bone, and a triangle of flesh about four inches long

of bloody threads. We parted the thick, soft, abundant locks, and found a swelling as large as a nut and pierced by an oval hole on the back of her head. We shaved the surrounding parts; and after we had washed and stanched the wound, we melted some tallow and spread it over some lint, which we adapted to the swelling with strips of diachylum. Ov

ment with which the assault was com

y so, Mo

esent, Monsieur

eur le jug

s the assailant? And did the rake belong to him or to some one else? Was it really with this that these women were hurt? Or was

ished to seek redress by law. The young girl could hardly speak, and the old woman's ideas were muddled, seeing that she was drunk,

bade us good night and thanked us for the services we had rendered the community. We put our things back into our satc