The South of France-East Half Part 10

{142}{395} +NUITS-SOUS-RAVIERES+, pop. 700. Important junction with the Paris and Bale line, by Troyes (see page 11), by a branch extending 72 miles north-east to Bricon, pa.s.sing Chatillon, 22 miles north-east from Nuits.

In the environs of Nuits-sur-Armencon are the ruins of the castle of Rochefort, 17th and 18th cents.

[Headnote: MONTBARD.]

{151}{386} +MONTBARD+, pop. 3000, on the Ca.n.a.l de Bourgogne. _Inn:_ Hotel de la Poste. Buffon, the celebrated naturalist, was born in this small village on the 7th of September 1707. His chateau, a plain large house, is entered from the extremity of the main street farthest from the station.

The grounds are extensive, and laid out in terraces. On the western front of the terrace is the small square house, with three windows and one door, into which he retired at five in the morning to pursue his studies. In another building he kept his ma.n.u.scripts. In the grounds of the chateau, on the walk below the dungeon tower of the castle of the Dukes of Bourgogne, is the small column erected to his memory by his son, who fell a victim to the tyranny of Robespierre, only fifteen days before the downfall of that monster. Situated on a terrace at the entrance of the grounds is the parish church, containing the tomb of Buffon. A black stone slab over the door bears the following inscription:--

BUFFON A ete inhume dans le Caveau de cette chapelle Le 20 Avril 1788.

There is also a bronze statue of him here. 3 miles from Montbard is the abbey of Fontenay, founded in 1118; now a paper mill.

{160}{377} +LES LAUMES.+ _Inn:_ H. Duvernet. Overlooking the station is Mount Auxois, 1370 ft. above the sea. Near the top, and about 1 mile from the station, is the ancient Alesia (Alise-Sainte-Reine, pop. 900. _Inn:_ H. du Cheval Blanc), where Caesar, B.C. 50, defeated the Gauls under Vercingetorix, whose statue by Millet, pedestal by V. le Duc, stands just above the hospital. The church of St. Thibault (14th cent.) has some curious sculpture. It is visited by pilgrims on the 7th of September. Four miles from Les Laumes is the Chateau Bussy Rabutin, in a beautiful park of 84 acres, built by Renaudin, one of the benefactors of the abbey of Fontenay, about the year 1150. It contains a valuable collection of portraits of historical personages by eminent artists.

(See page 14.)

{165}{372} +DARCEY+, pop. 850, 2 miles from its station, at the foot of steep mountains 1315 ft. high. _Inn:_ Hotel Guyot. Near the village are curious caves, and a subterranean lake, the source of the Douix. Omnibus at station for +Flavigny+, 1 mile distant, pop. 1300, on a hill 1390 ft. above the Lozerain. Remains of fine old walls. Church 13th cent., with rood-loft 16th cent. Houses of 13th, 14th, and 15th cents. Convent of the Ursulines, with splendid view.

[Headnote: SOURCE OF THE SEINE.]

{171}{365} +VERREY+, pop. 900. _Inns:_ Hotel de la Gare; Bourbogne. Station for the +Source of the Seine+, 6 miles S. by the path over the hill through the woods, but 9 by the carriage-road, which follows the railway till the village of Villotte, pop. 800, where it ascends the hill towards Bligny-le-Sec, pop. 700, 5 miles from Verrey, and after pa.s.sing the farmhouse Bonne Rencontre joins the Dijon road. Then turn to the left and follow the Dijon road to a few yards beyond the 33 kilometre (Cote d'Or) stone, where take the narrow road to the left, which pa.s.ses first the farmhouse Vergerois and then descends to the source of the Seine (1545 feet above the sea), under an artistic grotto in the midst of a little garden enclosed by a railing. The keeper lives in the house beyond. The tiny infant stream issues forth under the protection of a rec.u.mbent statue of the river divinity. Coach there and back 10 frs., or guide 5 frs. It is not necessary to return to Verrey. Those who please can go back by the Dijon road to St. Seine, on the Cressonne, 5 miles south, pop. 1000. _Inns:_ Mack; Soleil d'Or. With a 14th cent, church.

A diligence runs between it and Dijon. The railway station for St. Seine is Blaizy-Bas, 7 m. distant.

{179}{358} +BLAIZY-BAS+, situated at the commencement of the tunnel which pierces through the basin of the Seine to that of the Rhone. It is 13,440 feet long, and 1330 feet above the sea.

{190}{347} +VELARS+, pop. 1400. After the preceding station of Malain, and before reaching the next station, Plombieres-sur-Ouche, there is some bold railway engineering. The viaduct of the Combe-Bouchard is on two tiers of arches and is 492 feet long, while that of Neuvon is 774 feet long.

From Velars commences the branch to Nevers by Autun, 74 miles from Nevers. (For Autun, see page 24.)

[Map: DIJON

The princ.i.p.al street is the Rue Guillaume. To the left is the Castle built by Louis XI., now the Gendarmerie. Beyond, at No. 1, are the Place and Statue of St. Bernard. No. 2 is the Prefecture. That large building at the foot of the Rue Conde, Nos. 4 and 5, is the ancient Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, containing the Hotel de Ville, the Museums, and the Post Office. No. 3 is the Church of Notre Dame; No. 6 St. Michel; and No. 7 the Theatre. Opposite the Palace, at No. 9, is the Palais de Justice. The church near the station (No. 8) is St.

Benigne, easily recognised by its lofty needle spire. Close to it is St. Jean, the church of Bossuet.]

[Headnote: DIJON.]

{196}{341} +DIJON+, pop. 48,000. Good refreshment-rooms at the station. _Hotels:_ La Cloche, in the Rue Guillaume; and the Jura, near the station. Near the Cloche is the Galere. Just outside the arch, the Bourgogne and the Nord. In the Rue Bossuet, the Geneve. Dijon is famous for mustard, gingerbread, and the liqueur Ca.s.sis.

Cabs, 1 fr. 75 c. the first hour, and 1 fr. 50 c. every succeeding hour.

Coaches daily to Ancey, Fleury-sur-Ouche, La Cude, Cissey, and St.

Seine. The St. Seine dil. starts daily from the inn, Hotel du Commerce, 82 Rue G.o.drans, and takes about 3 hours. From St. Seine an excellent road leads to the source of the Seine, 5 m. distant. (See page 19.)

[Headnote: SALLE DES GARDES. MUSEUMS.]

The most interesting buildings in Dijon are near the palace, which was inhabited by Jean Sans Peur, Philippe le Bon, and Charles le Temeraire; but of that ancient building there remain only the Tour de Brancion, the Salle des Gardes, the kitchens and vaulted rooms on the ground-floor, and the Tour de la Terra.s.se, 152 feet high, ascended by 323 steps, and commanding a bird's-eye view of the whole town. The rest is modern, and is occupied by the Hotel de Ville, the Post Office, the ecole des Beaux Arts, the Museums, and the Protestant church. The museum is on the right side of the great court, and is open to the public on Sundays. Other days a fee of 1 fr. is expected. In the +Salle des Gardes+ are the magnificent mausoleums of Philippe le Hardi, 1342-1404, and of his son Jean Sans Peur, 1371-1419, with his consort Margaret of Bavaria. Of the two, the first is the more elaborate. It is in pure black and white marble, set round with a delicate frieze, and adorned with forty statuettes representing his most famous contemporaries. Among the articles which belonged to them in this room are three beautifully-carved folding altar-screens for private chapel service; and, under a gla.s.s case, the ducal crown, the cup of St. Bernard, and the crozier of St. Robert, first abbot of the Cistercian order, died 1098. The chimney-piece in this hall is 30 feet high and 20 wide. Two statues of mail-clad knights stand on it, apparently a yard high each, but in reality 6 feet 2 inches. The picture-gallery contains a few choice paintings, and some good statuary. No. 402, St. Jerome, is considered one of the best. Down stairs is the Musee Archeologique, and the kitchen, nearly 50 feet square, and provided with 6 chimneys.

Fronting the Palais is the Place d'Armes, with its shops and houses arranged in a kind of horse-shoe curve. Behind the palace runs the Rue des Forges. Nos. 34 and 36 is the Maison Richard, formerly the residence of the British Emba.s.sy to the Court of Burgundy. At the top of the spiral staircase is the "Homme au panier," a statue 4 feet 6 inches in height, on a pedestal at the topmost step, representing a manciple or serving-man bearing a basket on his right shoulder, out of which spring, like so many stems of wheat, nearly a score of vaulting ribs for the roof that closes in the staircase. No. 38, the Maison Milsand has a fine Renaissance facade, also some sculpture in the court. On No. 52 and 54 of this same street is exhibited a reproduction of that kind of double arch seen in the Hotel de Ville. [Headnote: NOTRE DAME.] Close to the Rue des Forges is +Notre Dame+, consecrated in 1331, a very beautiful and interesting specimen of Burgundian architecture. At the east end is the house Vogue, in the Renaissance style, and farther east, in the Rue Chaudronniere, the Maison des Cariatides. A short distance from the front of the Hotel de Ville is the Palais de Justice, formerly the palace of the Parliament of Burgundy. The ceiling of the Cour d'a.s.sises is of ma.s.sive carved chestnut, 17th cent. The crucifixion in the same room is by Belle. At the end of the Salle des Pas Perdus is the pretty little chapel which belonged to the parliament house. Near the theatre is St. Etienne, founded in the 10th cent., and partly rebuilt in the 18th, but now the corn-market. At the end of this same street, R. Vaillan, is St. Michel, rebuilt in the 16th cent., with a few curious frescoes. Standing at the Arc de Triomphe, looking down the Rue Guillaume, we have, towards the left, the chateau built by Louis XI. in 1478, or rather what remains of it, converted into the Gendarmerie; and a little to the N.E. by a wide Boulevard, the Place and statue of St.

Bernard, who was born (1091) at Fontaine Lez-Dijon, in the chateau beside the curious little church, 2 miles N.W. by the road of that name.

[Headnote: ST. BENIGNE. ST. JEAN. BOSSUET.] Towards the right is St.

Benigne, easily recognised by its slightly twisted needle spire, built in 1742, 300 feet high, and a little inclined by the tempest of 1805.

The crypt and the porch belong to the 11th cent., the remainder to the 13th. In the south aisle is the slab tomb of Ladislaus Czartoryski (1388), and adjoining the beautiful mausoleum of Joannes Berbisey. In the N. aisle, in the baptistery chapel, are deposited the remains of Jean sans Peur. Near St. Benigne is St. Philibert, 12th cent., with a narthex and a beautiful crocketed spire. It is now used as an artillery store. From this the narrow street, Rue des Novices, leads to St. Jean, founded, as the tablet in the church states, in the 2d cent., rebuilt in 1458, and restored in 1866. The vault of the roof is bold, the tracery of the windows nearly rectilinear, and the mural paintings not without merit. Bossuet was baptised in this church, and born in No. 10 of this "Place," 27th September 1627. Among the writings of this eloquent and ill.u.s.trious prelate the finest is the funeral oration on the death of Henrietta Anne, the daughter of our Charles I., and wife of the Duke of Orleans. Southwards is St. Anne, 1690. [Headnote: ASILE DES ALIeNeS.] At the Octroi gate, beside the railway, is the entrance into the +Asile des Alienes+, formerly the Chartreuse, founded by Philippe le Hardi in 1379.

Fee, 1 fr. On the portal (14th cent.) of the chapel are the kneeling effigies of Philippe and his spouse Marguerite, accompanied by Sts.

Antoine and Catherine, whose figures are portrayed in the beautiful gla.s.s (15th cent.) of the chancel windows. The visitor is next taken to the well called Le Puits de Moise, 22 feet in diameter, consisting of a hexagonal pedestal, having on each side a statue of one of the prophets, by Claux s.l.u.ter in the 14th cent., the sculptor of the ducal monuments in the Palais des Etats. The statue of Moses is the least successful, and that of Zachariah the most expressive. The house contains on an average 500 patients. Dijon is not a town for sightseers, but an admirable town for resting during a long journey. The Cloche and Jura are comfortable houses, and although La Galere is less so, its charges are more moderate, while its fare is better. There are a number of pleasant walks. Just beyond the arch is the Promenade du Chateau d'eau, and at the foot of the railway station the Botanic Gardens. Towards the extremity of the gardens is a black poplar 490 years old. The southern continuation of the Place de St. Etienne leads by the Rue Chabot Charny, the Place St. Pierre, and the Cours du Pari (1465 yards long), to the public park. From Dijon the rail runs southwards parallel to the slopes of the famous wine producing hills of the Cote d'Or, extending from N.E.

to S.W., and attaining an elevation of 324 feet. Behind them rises another range, reaching the height of 1315 feet, and sheltering the lower range from the cold winds. Between Dijon and Meursault grow the first-cla.s.s Burgundy wines; while south from Meursault follow the Macon wines. First-cla.s.s Burgundy is at its best after having been ten years in bottle. The inferior cla.s.ses can hardly stand three years.

[Headnote: GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN.]

{203}{334} +GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN+, 1 mile from station, pop. 2000. Famous for their first-cla.s.s growths, of which the best are the red and white Chambertin.

Beze, St. Jacques, Mazy, and Veroilles, in the commune of Gevrey, produce also first-cla.s.s Burgundies.

{206}{330} +VOUGEOT+, on the Vouge, pop. 500, -mile from station. _Inn:_ Groffier.

Here there are above 125 acres of vineyards producing first-cla.s.s Burgundies. Among the most distinguished are the Romanee St. Vivant, Romanee Conti, Richebourg, and La Tache.

{209}{327} +NUITS+, pop. 4000. _Inn:_ Trois Maures. Omnibus awaits pa.s.sengers. The best vineyard here is the St. George, which produces a wine of an exquisite flavour and a delicate and delicious bouquet. The church, St.

Symphorien, belongs to the 13th cent., and St. Denis to the 14th.

8 miles from Nuits is the abbey of Citeaux, now used as a house of detention for youthful criminals, who are trained here to be agricultural labourers. This abbey, founded by Robert de Molesme in 1098, had at one time 3600 dependent convents of the Cistercian order, and from it went forth four of its abbots, to a.s.sume the keys of St.

Peter. The greater part of the buildings was rebuilt in 1798.

[Headnote: BEAUNE.]

{219}{318} +BEAUNE+, pop. 12,000. _Hotels:_ Chevreuil; France. On the stream Buzoise. This town is the headquarters of the merchants who deal in Burgundy wines, as Bordeaux is that of the claret merchants. Around it are the first-cla.s.s vineyards of Beaune Pommard, Volnay, and Romanee. Of these the Volnay vineyards, extending over 532 acres, produce the most valuable wine, under the names of Bouche d'Or and Caillerets, and the Pommard under that of Commarine. The town is of poor appearance. The princ.i.p.al church, Notre Dame, founded in the 12th cent., contains semicircular and equilateral-triangled arches and cusped and Corinthian capitals.

In the Place Monge, off the street de l'Ile, is a bronze statue to Gaspard Monge, the inventor of descriptive geometry, born at Beaune in 1746. To him France is indebted for the establishment of the Polytechnic School. Contiguous to the Chevreuil Inn is the hospital, built in the 15th cent.--a curious and interesting building. The Salle de Conseil upstairs is hung with Aubusson tapestry, and contains also a painting of the Last Judgment by Roger van der Weyden. Near Beaune is Savigny, with a chateau built in 1672; in the neighbourhood are the Fontaine Froide, the ruins of the abbey of St. Marguerite, and the Roche Percee.

[Headnote: MEURSAULT.]

{223}{313} +MEURSAULT+, pop. 3000, 1 m. from the station. Omnibus awaits pa.s.sengers for the Inn. The most distinguished wines produced here are the Goutte d'Or, a golden-coloured wine, and the Perrieres, a dry white wine of a slightly sulphureous taste. In the neighbourhood is Puligny, where the delicious sparkling white wine called Montrachet is grown.

{228}{309} +CHAGNY+, pop. 4200. _Inn:_ Commerce. Junction with line to Nevers 102 m. W., pa.s.sing Nolay 5 m. W., Autun 26 m. W., Montchanin 18 m. W., and Le Creusot 22 m. W. (see page 25, and map page 1). From Chagny southwards commence the Macon wines, of which the vineyards around Chagny produce a first-cla.s.s quality.

Nolay, pop. 5000. _Inns:_ Cheval Blanc, La St. Marie. The vineyards in this neighbourhood produce a good white Macon. A few miles distant is the Vallon de Vaux-Chignon, below cliffs 200 ft. high. In a deep fissure is the source of the Cusane. 3 m. E. are the ruins of the castle Rochepot, 15th cent. In the church of the village is a remarkable echo. 8 m. beyond is Epinac, pop. 5000, with coal mines.

[Headnote: AUTUN.]

26 m. W. from Chagny is +Autun+, pop. 13,000. _Hotels:_ Poste; Cloche.

This modernised little town, the ancient Bibracte, claims with Treves the honour of having been built before the Roman invasion. Caesar spent a winter in this city with two Roman legions; and at a later period, when the Emperor Augustus went to Gaul, he made Bibracte his headquarters, and erected so many magnificent public buildings that the name of the town was changed to Augustodonum, modernised into Autun. Napoleon III., in his "History of Caesar," considers, however, that the site of Bibracte was on the summit of Mount Beauvray, 14 miles westwards, where coins of Gaul, mosaic pavements, fragments of pottery, and an enormous number of amphorae, have been discovered. The walls of Autun were 10,000 feet in circ.u.mference and 8 feet thick, and were garnished with 40 towers, and pierced with four large gates, of which two--the Porte d'Arroux, 55 feet high, and the Porte St. Andre, lately restored--still remain. The Porte d'Arroux and the temple of Ja.n.u.s (a plain square tower) are behind the railway station. But the Porte St. Andre, adjoining an ancient church, is on the town side of the line at the Faubourg St. Jean. The +Cathedral+, which commands the entire city, was completed in 1178. The architecture of the modern portions is Gothic, but the more ancient is Romanesque. The two towers have been restored and adorned with Gothic spires. The interior contains several windows of painted gla.s.s. The entrance is by a handsome open portico with sculptured arches and columns. From the Porte St. Blaise (straight up from the cathedral) a cross road leads to the Pierre Couchard (Coarre), a pyramidal monument of great antiquity.

In the College is the Public Library, with 12,000 volumes; and the Picture Gallery, containing paintings by Horace Vernet. In 1789 Talleyrand, afterwards Prince Talleyrand, was Bishop of Antun.