The South of France-East Half Part 11

[Headnote: MONTCHANIN.]

73 m. E. from Moulins, 86 m. E. from Nevers, 18 m. W. from Chagny, is +Montchanin+, pop. 2500. _Inn:_ H. des Minis; its omnibus awaits pa.s.sengers. The town, nearly a mile from the station, consists chiefly of the houses of the workmen employed in the surrounding coalpits, foundries, and large artistic brick and tile works. Outside the town is the etang Berthaud, the reservoir of the Ca.n.a.l du Centre, which connects the Saone with the Loire, between Chalon and Digoin.

[Headnote: LE CREUSOT.]

78 m. E. from Nevers, 7 m. W. from Montchanin, and 26 m. W. from Chagny, is +Le Creusot+, pop. 25,000, of whom 6300 are employed in the ironworks. _Hotels:_ Commerce; Rodrigue, near each other in the princ.i.p.al street, the Rue d'Autun. Their coaches await pa.s.sengers.

Le Creusot is on the southern slope of one of the wooded hills which enclose this valley, 1 mile long and mile wide, occupied by the coal-pits, forges, and foundries of Schneider et Cie, bought by them from the former owners, Manby, Wilson, and Co. Detached straggling suburbs occupy the other slopes of the hills. In all the general feature is the same, rather untidy streets and houses, with parks, shops, and cafes to suit. The streets are full of children, but few priests, policemen, and beggars. In the princ.i.p.al square, near the two hotels, is a statue by H. Chapu of Eugene Schneider, erected in 1878 by the workmen and inhabitants. The view of the works from the road is imposing, and, although they contain a forest of chimneys and all manner of powerful machinery, there is no noise.

West from Le Creusot, and 65 m. E. from Nevers, is +Etang+, with an ancient castle. 51 m. E. from Nevers is Luzy, pop. 3000, on the Alene. _Inn:_ H. Delaigue, close to station. Coach 12 m. to St.

Honore-Les-Bains, with alkaline sulphureous springs, 90 Fahr. 33 m.

E. from Nevers is Cercy-la-Tour, on the Aron, 53 m. south from Clamecy by the rail, skirting the Ca.n.a.l Nivernais. _Inn:_ H. de la Croix, close to station. 23 m. E. from Nevers is Decize, pop. 4800. _Inns:_ Paris; Commerce. Omnibus awaits pa.s.sengers. Situated on an island in the Loire, at its junction with the Aron and the Ca.n.a.l Nivernais, which commences here and flows into the Yonne at Auxerre. The parish church has a choir of the 11th, nave of the 16th, and crypt of the 10th cent., containing the tomb of St. Are. Foundries, gla.s.s bottle works, and coal-mines. Coach from Decize to La Machine 80 minutes.

[Headnote: CHALON-SUR-SAoNE.]

miles from PARIS miles to Ma.r.s.eILLES

{235}{302} +CHALON-SUR-SAoNE+, pop. 21,000. _Hotels:_ at the station, Hotel Bourgogne; in the town, Chevreuil; Commerce; Trois Faissans. Steamer to Macon and Lyons. Chalon is a quiet town situated on an extensive plain on the Saone, at the mouth of the Ca.n.a.l du Centre, both lined with good quays. The chief structures are--St. Vincent, a Gothic edifice of the latter part of the 13th cent., occupying the site of a church founded in 532; St. Peter, 1713, with two lofty steeples; and the hospitals of St.

Laurent and St. Louis. Chalon has two stations--one in the town, and another at St. Come, where the express trains halt. 2 miles from Chalon is St. Marcel, where Abelard died 1142. The church still remains, but the monastery has disappeared. A few miles west by coach is Givry, pop.

3200, with first-cla.s.s vineyards. Rail to

{243}{294} +VARENNES.+ South from this station the train pa.s.ses before the abbey of St. Ambreuil.

{254}{283} +TOURNUS+, on the Saone, pop. 6200. _Inn:_ Hotel Sauvage, not clean. An untidy town on the Saone, with remains of Roman fortifications. In the Place de l'Hotel de Ville is a marble statue of Greuze, erected by the citizens in 1868. Jean Baptiste Greuze, some of whose works are among the finest paintings of the French school in the Louvre, was born here on August 21, 1725. The parish church, St. Philibert, is an interesting Gothic monument, of which the earliest portions belong to the 9th and the latest to the 16th cent. The interior is ornamented with mosaics.

The Hotel Dieu was founded in 1674, the Hospice de la Charite in 1718, and the Hotel de Ville more recently. The vineyards of Tournus produce good wines.

[Map: The Rhone & Savoy with the pa.s.ses from France into Italy.]

[Headnote: MACON.]

{274}{263} +MACON+, pop. 20,000. At station, large refreshment-rooms. Junction with line to Bourg, 41 m. E. _Hotels._--Near the station, H. etrangers. In town the Europe, on the Quai du Nord, near the landing-place from the steamers, which sail daily up and down the Saone, between Chalons, Macon, and Lyons. In the centre of the town are the hotels Champs Elysees and Sauvage. Macon is the great depot of the Macon wines, an inferior Burgundy. The finest part of the town extends along the quays which line the right side of the Saone, crossed by a stone bridge of 12 arches, uniting Macon with its suburb Saint Laurent on the left side of the river. The oldest edifice is the +Cathedral+ of St. Vincent, built in the 12th cent. The arches are stilted, the columns Romanesque, and the porch arcaded. Next to it is the Prefecture, formerly the Episcopal palace. In this neighbourhood, at No. 21 Rue des Ursulines, is the house where Lamartine was born. On a black marble slab over the door are the words:--Ici est ne Alphonse-Marie-Louis De Lamartine, le 21 Octobre 1790.

In the Rue Dombey is an old timber house, and towards the station, the beautiful church of St. Pierre, built in 1865, in the Romanesque style, and decorated with frescoes. Opposite is the Hotel de Ville.

From Macon a branch line extends 48 miles westward to Paray-le-Monial, pa.s.sing Cluny, 15 miles from Macon. From Macon a line extends to Geneva 74 m. E., by Bourg 13 m. E., Nantua and Bellegards 39 m. E. (See Black's _France_, North Half, and map page 1.)

[Headnote: CLUNY.]

+Cluny+, pop. 5000. In the valley of the Grosne. _Hotels:_ Bourgogne; Pavilions--both near each other. This is the place where Guillaume-le-Pieux founded in the 10th cent, the famous abbey of Cluny. The abbey buildings are now used as a school. Of the abbey church an insignificant portion alone remains, and of it the most interesting part is the spire. In the Chapelle des Bourbons (15th cent.) are enormous corbels under the empty niches. About 300 yards distant is the Maison Abbatiale, 15th cent., with flattened elliptical-headed windows and ogee arches over the doors. At the entrance is a collection of columns, capitals, etc., from the first church founded in the 10th cent. Upstairs there is a small museum; entrance, -franc each.

[Headnote: PARAY-LE-MONIAL.]

41 m. E. from Moulins and 33 m. from Montchanin is Paray-le-Monial, pop. 3700, on the Bourbince. _Inns:_ The Poste, the best; across the bridge, the Lion d'Or; at the head of the princ.i.p.al street, near the Palais de Justice, the Trois Pigeons and the Commerce; opposite the Chapelle de la Visitation, the Inn H. des Pelerins. The Palais de Justice, with the clock tower, occupies the remains of an edifice built in the 16th cent., to which date belongs also the house close to it, occupied by the Mairie and the Post Office.

A little way down the Bourbince is the formerly abbey, now the parish church, founded in the llth cent., but nearly rebuilt in the 12th cent. Over the facade rise two elegant square towers with pyramidal roofs, llth cent.; while from the centre of the transepts rises an octagonal tower in 2 stages, surmounted by a tapering 8-sided slated spire. From the apse radiate chapels adorned with dental friezes and short attached columns.

From this church, the narrow street, the Rue de la Visitation, leads up to the nunnery of the Visitation, an order inst.i.tuted in 1620, and established in Paray on the 4th September 1626 by 8 nuns from the monastery of Bellecour at Lyons. In 1633 they commenced to build their chapel, which was repaired in 1823, and restored and beautified in 1854. To this chapel the order attach great importance, as it was in this building that Marguerite-Marie Alacoque had most of her interviews with J. C. In the interior the walls and roof are painted light brown, with frescoes and marguerites or daisies, but so hung with banners and votive offerings, chiefly hearts, that little of them is seen. The first picture, right hand, represents J. C. and 3 angels before Marguerite. The 2d, J. C., with flowing yellow hair and dressed in white, stoops to touch with his heart (which is very red and outside his garment) the head of the kneeling Marguerite, who holds her hands up near to her neck. The 3d is a full-length portrait of her. To the left of entrance the pictures are--1st, a Vision; 2d, Mary, sitting on a cloud, has put the child Jesus into the arms of Marguerite; 3d, life-size statues of J. C. and Marguerite. The picture over the high altar represents the interview in this place, when J. C.

is said to have declared to Margaret: "I have chosen and sanctified this chapel, that my eyes and my heart may remain here for ever." On the 2d July 1688 Mary, in great pomp and majesty, accompanied by numerous angels, appeared to Marguerite, and told her that the orders of the "Visitation" and of "Jesus" (the Jesuits) were to have the special charge of the wors.h.i.+p of the sacred heart. For this wors.h.i.+p there is a regular litany, containing 31 invocations to the heart of J. C. In many of the Romanist churches is a picture representing one of the above incidents.

The bones of Marguerite, covered with flesh-like wax, and attired in the habit of the order, recline on a silver embroidered cloth in a coffin-like shrine of richly-gilt, tiny glazed arches set with rock-crystal. The face and hands are uncovered. The body is 5 ft.

long. On her feast day the shrine is placed beside the Communion rail; at other times it is kept within the very beautiful altar-table, made of one piece of pure white marble. Marguerite-Marie Alacoque was born 22d July 1647, in the village of Versovres, near Autun, entered the convent of the Visitation in Paray on the 25th May 1671, and took the vows on the 6th November 1672. On the day when J. C. told her she had been chosen by him to propagate the wors.h.i.+p of his heart, she was seized with a pain in her own heart, which continued throughout her life. She met at first with great opposition in her endeavours to inst.i.tute the wors.h.i.+p of the heart, and her sister nuns treated her as a visionary till 1675, when the R. P. de la Colombiere, superior of the Jesuit establishment at Paray, became her convert. In her last illness she said: "I shall die in peace, because the heart of my Saviour commences to be known." She died in October 1690, and was canonised by Pio IX. on the 14th October 1864. Since the inst.i.tution of N. D. de Lourdes and de la Salette the number of pilgrims has decreased. In Paray there are 3 nunneries and a vast building belonging to the Jesuits.

From Macon the railway continues its course by the side of the Saone, whose banks become now more picturesque. From Macon use map on page 26.

[Headnote: ROMANECHE.]

miles from PARIS miles to Ma.r.s.eILLES

{283}{254} +ROMANECHE+, pop. 3000. _Inn:_ Commerce. Produces a delicate light wine, with a pleasant flavour and bouquet, called Moulin-a-Vent, which should be drunk in the second year from the vintage.

[Headnote: BELLEVILLE.]

{288}{248} +BELLEVILLE+, pop. 4000. The first part of the town is St. Jean, and the next Belleville, 1 m. from the station, with a comfortable little inn, the H. Jambon. Omnibus at station. The church, 12th cent., has small round-headed and pointed windows, with some good gla.s.s, especially in those of the square towers at the end of the transept, and the small circular window over the west portal. This is the headquarters of the Beaujolais wines. From Belleville a branch line extends 10 m. W. to Beaujeu, pop. 4000, on the Ardiere. Church, 13th cent., and some curious houses. (Map, page 26.)

{297}{240} +VILLEFRANCHE-SUR-SAoNE+, pop. 12,600, on the river Morgan, near the Saone. _Hotels:_ Provence; Europe. Containing important linen manufactories, and vineyards producing a good white wine. The parish church, N. D. des Marais, was commenced in the 14th cent. 5 m. S. is Trevoux station, 1 m. from the town, pop. 3000, on the E. bank of the Saone. _Inns:_ Terra.s.se; France. The Jesuits compiled and printed in this town the _Journal de Trevoux_ in 1701, and the _Dictionnaire de Trevoux_ in 1704.

{306}{231} +ST. GERMAIN AU-MONT-D'OR+, junction with line from Paris to Lyons, by Roanne and Tarare.

[Headnote: LYONS.]

{318}{219} +LYONS+, pop. 343,000. The Perrache railway station is 218 m. from Paris, 219 m. from Ma.r.s.eilles, 78 m. from Aix-les-Bains, 36 m. from Bourg, 104 m. from Geneva, 36 m. from St. Etienne, 56 m. from Roanne, 100 from Vichy, and 214 m. from Turin.

_Hotels (first-cla.s.s)._--H. de l'Europe, admirably situated, with one side to the Saone and the Tilsit bridge, and the other to the Place Bellecour, the terminus of some of the best trams. In the Rue de la Republique are the H. Collet and the H. de Lyon. H. Bellecour in the Place Bellecour. H. des Beaux Arts in the R. de l'Hotel de Ville, also well situated. In the Place Perrache, below the station, are the hotels Univers, Angleterre, Bordeaux et du Parc.

_Less expensive Hotels._--The H. du Globe; and the Havre et du Luxemburg--both near the Place Bellecour. Near the Place des Terreaux in the R. Platiere, the H. de Paris et du Nord. Near the Bourse, the H. des Negociants, a large house frequented chiefly by commercial men. Near the Negociants, at No. 47 Rue de l'Hotel de Ville, the H. Bayard. Hotel des etrangers, Place de la Republique. Hotel de Toulouse et de Strasbourg, 8 frs., in the Place Perrache, opposite the station. Hotel National, opposite the theatre. On the Quai do la Charite, near the General Hospital, the H. Bourne. A great many diligences start from this neighbourhood. Hotel de France et des 4 Nations, 9 Rue St. Catherine, close to the Place des Terreaux, one of the cheapest. Among the best cafes are the Cafe Anglais, opposite the Bourse; Casati, No. 8; Cafe Neuf, No. 7; and Maderni, No. 19 R. de la Republique; Cafe du Rhone, Place Bellecour. They have English newspapers. In Lyons the term Comptoir is applied to bars where wines, cordials, and brandies are sold.

_Post Office._--Head Post Office in the Place de la Charite, at the south end of the Place Bellecour. Branch Post Offices in the arcade of the Place des Terreaux and 39 Cours Morand.

_Telegraph._--Head office, No. 53 Place de la Republique. Branch offices--Perrache station, St. Paul station, and No. 38 Cours Morand.

[Headnote: RAILWAY STATIONS. CAB FARES.]

_Railway Stations._--The great and central station is the +Gare de Perrache+, in the centre of the tongue of land between the Rhone and the Saone. From it pa.s.sengers can reach any place, excepting those on the railway to Bourg. The +Bourg or Satonay+ railway station is at the top of the Rue Terme, a street commencing near the N.E. corner of the Place des Terreaux. From the Rue Terme the train is pulled up the hill by a rope in the same way as at Fourviere. The gradient is 16 per 100, and the distance 547 yards. At the top station, in the Boulevard de la Croix Rousse, pa.s.sengers for Bourg enter the ordinary railway carriages. The rope railway runs every 5 minutes, fare 1d., and forms a convenient way of escaping from the damp foggy atmosphere of Lyons. The Dombes or +St.

Paul's+ railway station is for Montbrison, 40 m. S.W. The Vaise and Brotteaux stations are auxiliaries of the Perrache station. The Brotteaux station, situated on the confines of the Parc de la Tete d'Or, is the terminus of the best of the trams.

CAB FARES +-------------------------+-----------------------+----------------+ DE 7 H. DU MATIN DE MINUIT a Minuit. a 7 H. du Mat. KIND OF CAB. +-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+ La La 1re. Les H. La course. heure. suiv. course. l'heure. +-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+ A 2 places (coupes) 1 25 1 50 1 25 1 65 2 50 A 4 places (berlines) 1 50 2 1 50 2 3 Voitures decouvertes a 2 places 1 75 2 1 75 2 15 3 a 4 places 2 2 50 2 2 50 3 50 +-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------+

The "coupes" are cabs with a seat for two. The "berlines" are cabs with 2 seats for four. Each portmanteau 25 c. At the railway stations the omnibuses from the hotels await pa.s.sengers.

[Map: Lyons]