drop Cap T
THE department of Haute Loire is made up mainly, but not wholly, of the ancient province of Le Velay. It is situated3 at the limit of the Langue d'Oc, on the confines of the region of the Langue d'O?l. Le Velay forms a rude triangle of which the bounds are the mountains of the Vivarais on the east, those of the Velay on the west, and the broad basis of the triangle is to the north towards Auvergne and Forez, fringed there by lower heights. It consists of an uplifted plateau with an average elevation4 above the sea of 2,700 feet, and is the least rainy portion of France. The summers there are never oppressively hot; but, on the other hand, in winter it is a Southern Siberia. Originally composed of granite5, it has been pierced by volcanic6 cones8, and covered with igneous9 dejections. As many as a hundred craters10 have been counted in it, and through the rents in the granite and schist opened during the throes of eruption11, dykes of trap have been [Pg 16] thrust, forming spires12 and truncated13 columns. The heat of the molten matter so altered and disintegrated14 the rocks through which it was driven, that in many places these rocks have crumbled15 away, and have left the dykes erect16 in black nakedness high above the surrounding level. Such is the Aiguilhe by Le Puy, 210 feet high, to reach the summit of which a flight of steps has been hewn in the side, and on the top, in 962, Truan, Dean of Le Puy, erected17 a church in honour of S. Michael, and called it Seguret, The Secure Refuge; the church was consecrated18 in 980. Another of these obelisks19 is at Fay le Froid, another basaltic monolith is La Roche Rouge20 on the banks of the Gagne.
But sometimes the eruptive dykes are more massive, and form stone tables with precipitous sides, as at Polignac, the cradle of an illustrious family, and at Arlempdes on the Loire.
There are few crags of basalt or tufa in the Velay that are not crowned by a ruined castle, and to enumerate21 these would be a tedious and unprofitable task.
The last of all the volcanoes to explode was the Denise, near Le Puy, and that erupted when man was on the earth, for under the lava22, in a bed of breccia or volcanic ash, was found in 1884 the skeleton of a man; another was discovered shortly after, and a third is reported to have been recently disinterred. In the case of the first of these, the man seems to have been overtaken by the shower of falling ash, to have sat down, placed his head between his knees, and held his hands over his skull23 to protect it, and so perished, and the rain of cinders24 finally enveloped25 and buried him. No weapons or ornaments26 have been found with these [Pg 17] bodies. The relics27 of plants and animals in the same bed belong to species still existing in the neighbourhood.
Of the craters the most perfect is that of Bar, thus described by Georges Sand:—
"This ancient volcano rises isolated28 above a vast plateau that is as bare as it is sad. It stands there as if planted as a boundary mark between the old Velay and Auvergne. From the summit of its truncated cone7 a superb view is obtained extending to the Cévennes. A vast forest of beech29 crowns the mountain and clothes its sides, which are much rifted towards the base. The crater is a mighty30 bowl full of verdure, perfectly31 circular, and with the bottom covered with a turfy sward in which grow pale birch trees thinly scattered32. Here was at one time a lake, dried up in the times of Roman occupation. The tradition of the country is strange. It was said that this tarn33 bred storms; and the inhabitants of Forez accordingly came hither, sword in hand, and forcibly drained it." [3]
The Lac de Bouchet is not a sheet of water filling an ancient crater, but occupies a hollow produced by the bursting of a great bubble of air in the molten lava. It is almost circular, and the ground around it is very slightly raised. Curiously34 enough, Roman substructures have been traced in the lake. Probably some Gallo-Roman noble had his summer villa35 there, overhanging the water, as at Bai?.
"Nullus in orbe sinus Baiis pr?lucet am?nis,
Si dixit dives—lacus et mare36 sentit amorem
Festinantis heri."
This originated a tale told by the peasantry to the [Pg 18] effect that a city lay submerged under the crystal water. The story is this: Our Lord visited Le Velay to see what way the Gospel was making there. He lodged37 with an aged38 widow, who nourished herself on the milk of a single goat. The people received Christ badly, and pelted39 Him with stones. Then He laid hold of the widow by the hand and drew her away; and she, leading the goat, followed. They had not proceeded far before she turned and looked back. And lo! where the town had been was now a lake. Three stones mark the spot where the widow took up her final residence, and on one of these she is said to have sat to milk her goat. The same story is told of another of these lakes, that of Arconne, near Fay le Froid, and there also are found three blocks ranged in a line.
That these lakes were held sacred admits of no dispute.
Gregory of Tours, in the sixth century, says that in the land of the Gabali (the adjoining Gévaudan) was a Mount Helanus, where was a lake. Every year the inhabitants of the country flocked thither40 and cast oblations into the water—linen41, weaving-materials, cheese, wax, bread, and coins. They arrived in wagons42, bringing their food with them, and feasted by the lakeside during three days. On the last day a storm of thunder, lightning, and hail was wont43 to break over the sheet of water. This usage lasted till a bishop44 of Clermont went thither, and preached to the people; but as he found it impossible to dissuade45 the natives from the practice, he built there a chapel46 to S. Hilary, and exhorted47 them to leave their gifts there instead of throwing them into the tarn. This lake is now called Lac S. Andéol, on the mountains of Aubrac, and [Pg 19] the ruined chapel of S. Hilary remains48. The people still reverence49 the pool, which they call the Father of Hail Storms, and till last century continued to cast offerings into the water. The visible result of the efforts of the good bishop so many centuries ago was no more than the construction of a chapel now in ruins.
It is probable enough that were the Lac de Bouchet drained, it would yield a rich spoil of coins. The lake is 2,800 feet across and 98 feet deep. In the morass50 occupying the bowl of Bar have been found a great many early coins, a necklace, and bracelets51 of bronze.
The loftiest of the Cévennes is Mézenc, on the frontier of Haute Loire. It is 5,750 feet high, and was at one time the central point of violent Plutonic eruptions52. Several craters poured forth53 trachyte, phonolith, and basalt, which overflowed54 the granite, gneiss, clay deposits, and limestone55 to a great distance.
One of the craters, La Croix-des-Boutières, remains very distinct.
"The phonolith of which Mézenc is composed," says Elisée Reclus, "appears to have issued from the crater in a state of high fluidity, and to have spread very rapidly over the slopes of the crystalline plateau. The result is that the volcanic cones have, relatively56 to the anterior57 formations that support them, but a feeble elevation. The lavas58 which issued from the crater of Mézenc, of very unequal texture59, have been attacked by storms, so as to represent a range of distinct cones on which grow forests of oak and pine."
If the map be studied, it will be seen that there are two features in the water system of this region that merit notice.
In the first place, we have the Allier on the west, and [Pg 20] the Loire in the midst of this tableland flowing due north to shed their waters ultimately into the Atlantic. Parallel with them, divided from the Loire only by the chain just described, distant from it from forty to fifty miles, is the Rh?ne, running in a precisely60 opposite direction, due south, to discharge into the Mediterranean61.
Then, again, going west, we have the Lot, the Tarn, the Jonte, the Truyère, and the Dordogne, all in their early youth streaming from east to west, their sources, or those of some of them, twenty miles from the Allier, which is racing62 as hard as it can run to the north. The explanation of this last feature is easy. When the granite was upheaved it lifted a crust of Dolomite on its back like a huge shell, and in lifting split the shell in many places.
The rivers, rising in the granite of the Margeride, the Mont d'Aubrac, the Aigoual, the Monts de Lozère, and slipping off their impervious63 sides looking for outlets65, found these fissures66, took possession of them, and rushed down them on their way to the plains in the west.
The average depth of these chasms67 is from 1,300 to 1,500 feet, and their width at the bottom varies from 160 to 1,500 feet. Their rocky walls are carved by rain and frost into the most fantastic forms. At one time I held, with M. Martel, that these ca?ons were originally subterranean68 watercourses, and that the caverns69 formed by the underground waters became open valleys by the falling in of their roofs. But this idea is untenable, as I now see. The rivers descending70 from the granitic71 range must have found a passage, and they found it in the already cleft72 masses of the Causses. They rise outside [Pg 21] the limestone area, and cut right through it, separating one Causse from another. [4]
A second feature in the river system of Haute Loire is that a certain number of the affluents73 of the Loire run into it from the direction in which it is flowing, and their mouths are more or less against the stream they are about to feed. A river usually affects the form of a deciduous74 tree, of which the branches represent the tributaries75. The branches are attached to the trunk at an obtuse76 angle, as seen from below. With pines it is different; with them the limbs are attached in the reverse fashion, at an acute angle as seen from below. Some of the affluents of the Loire come into it in the way in which a fir branch grows out of the main trunk. This is notably77 the case with the Arzon and the Borne. The reason for this is that the basin of Le Velay has a rim78 to the north, and the drainage from the north naturally runs down to the lowest point in the basin. But on reaching this spot the streams come on the Loire, which has cut for itself a huge gap through the northern lip of the bowl, and is able to discharge its waters through that.
How this was done demands some explanation. The Rh?ne is the mightiest79 of the rivers of France, but its sources are in the Swiss Alps, and it does not enter France till after it has passed through the Lake of Geneva. But the Loire is next in size and importance, and it flows through French soil only. The source is under the Gerbier de Jonc, in the department of Ardèche, but flows in it for a short course only. It is still a feeble stream when it enters the department of [Pg 22] Haute Loire, through which it makes its way till it leaves it for Forez. The Loire rises 4,500 feet above the sea, and when it quits the department it has fallen to 1,450 feet. When the volcanoes of Le Velay were in eruption and the tableland was overflowed with molten lava, the Loire must have been arrested and have mounted to heaven in a column of steam. In time the lava cooled, and the stream groped for beds of scoria and fallen dust through which it could nibble80 its way with ease. But when it encountered a barrier of basalt the case was altered. This blocked its course as with rows of iron piles rammed81 into the ground and running far back. But the crystallisation of the lava into basaltic prisms helped the river to break through.
The molten matter, of the consistency82 of treacle83, flowing over the country followed its undulations, filling hollows here and rounding obstructions84 there. When it cooled it began to crystallise, and form hexagonal columns that are upright. But when the surface of the original soil would not allow of regular crystallisation, there the columns shaped themselves in all directions and in great confusion; the result being that in many places the basalt was fractured, fissured85, and ruinous from the very first. The water speedily detected these weak points, worked at them, tumbled the columns down, overleaped them, bored further, and did not rest till it had cut its way completely through the barrier.
Hercules in his cradle strangled a couple of serpents, and the infant Loire, a ridiculously small stream for the work it effected, on entering the department laid hold of and split the bed of Plutonic deposit, and held on its way between basaltic escarpments. It is, however, below Le Puy, after the Sumène has entered it, under [Pg 23] the mighty rocks of Peyredeyre that begin its finest achievements. The eruptions that took place in this part were later than those which had obstructed86 it in its infancy87. They entirely88 blocked the exit, and the Loire was dammed back in the basin of Le Puy, where it spread into an extensive lake. In time, however, it succeeded in sawing a way through. The railway from Le Puy to St. Etienne runs through the furrow89 that it formed. The barrier had been thrown up from both sides by the meeting and overlapping90 of lava floods from the volcanoes of Velay in the west, and those of the Vivarais in the east, and the beds were piled one upon another. It is marvellous to see the passage which the river forced for itself through these superincumbent beds, from Peyredeyre to La Voute. The rock at this latter place sustains a restored castle belonging to the Duke of Polignac.
Castle of La Voute-sur-Loire
Cascade91 des Estreys
Below this point the gorge92 ceases for a while, till another barricade93 was reached below Vorey, where the Arzon enters the Loire.
There the river struggles between the Miaune and the Gerbizon, in the defiles94 of Chambon and Chamalières. The beds of phonolith of these mountains, which formerly95 corresponded unbrokenly, are now separated by a gash96 1,500 feet deep, which the waters of the Loire have achieved, cutting through the lava to the granite beneath.
The Borne, on which is Le Puy, also traverses gorges97, notably that of Estreys, and passes the well-preserved castle of the Leaguer Baron98 de S. Vidal. Then it sweeps under the pillared rocks of Espaly and slides beneath l'Aiguilhe. Perhaps as interesting an example as any of the way in which an insignificant99 stream has [Pg 24] overmastered all difficulties may be seen in the Valley of Ceyssac. The rill flows into the Borne at an acute angle against the current. The valley was choked with a mass of tufa ejected from La Denise, and the current was arrested in its downward course. The stream then formed a lake that rose till it overflowed the dam in two places, leaving between them a prong of somewhat harder rock. When the water had poured for a considerable time over the left-hand lip, and it had worn this down to the depth of about seventy feet, it all at once abandoned this mode of outlet64 and concentrated its efforts on the right-hand portion of the barrier, where it found that the tufa was less compact, and it sawed this down till it reached its present level, leaving the prong of rock in the middle rising precipitously out of the valley with the water flowing below it, but attached to the mountain-side by the neck it had abandoned. The Polignacs seized on the fang101 of tufa and built a castle on the top, only to be reached by steps cut in the face of the rock; and the villagers covered the neck with their houses. They then proceeded to scoop102 out a great vault103 in the body of the living rock, blocked the entrance with a wall in which is inserted a pretty Romanesque doorway104, and so provided themselves with a parish church at very little expense. On a saddle overhead they constructed a belfry for three bells.
In no part of Europe can be studied with greater facility the process of valley formation, for here that process is comparatively recent. That which has been accomplished105 elsewhere in hundreds of thousands of years, has here been achieved in thousands only. The great elevation of the valley, and the fact that it lies open to the north cause it to be a cold country. The [Pg 25] high tableland is swept by the winds, of which the most dreaded106 is that of the south, le vent100 blanc, bringing with it tempest that devastates107 the harvest.
"In these quasi-Alpine regions," says M. Malegue, "snow, scourged108 by the blasts, flies in clouds, heaps itself up in drifts, encumbers109 the roads that have to be marked out with poles to guide the traveller, buries the cottages of the poor mountaineers, holding them prisoners for months at a time in their dwellings110, and by its long stay, as by the intensity111 of the cold, makes administrative112 and commercial relations often impossible and sometimes perilous113."
To this fact is due the creation of the great industry of the land—lacemaking.
A LACEMAKER, LE PUY
In feudal114 times Le Velay was a small province inaccessible115 for half the year, obliged accordingly to depend on itself for its existence. Auvergne, Forez, the Vivarais circumscribed116 it; these were rich provinces. Moreover, the Velaviens had to pay tax and tithe117 and toll118 to the barons119, the clergy120, the king. Such burdens might be borne elsewhere with a grumble121, but here they ate into the sinews of life, unless the culture of the soil were supplemented from some other source. And it was precisely this that created the industry of Le Velay—lacemaking.
So soon as the first snows appeared, the men abandoned their farms and cottages, and went, some to Le Puy, where they occupied an entire quarter, and gained their livelihood122 as tapsters, farriers, weavers123, carpenters, pin-makers, etc., or else departed for Lyons, N?mes, Montpellier, and Toulouse, to work as masons. All the women of the country pressed into Le Puy. There they formed congregations under the name and patronage124 [Pg 26] of some saint. Each of these congregations had its hall, and in this gathered the wives and daughters of the absent men, and spent their days and evenings in making pillow-lace, in singing, telling tales, and in gossip. There they remained working at their little squares with flying bobbins, till the spring sun brought back fathers and husbands and brothers, when the women put aside their bobbins and returned to their several farms.
Lacemaking was a flourishing business till the year 1547, when a sumptuary law was promulgated125 by the Parliament of Toulouse and sanctioned by the King, forbidding the wearing of lace by any save nobles, for the odd reason that there was no means of obtaining domestic servants in Le Velay, as every girl was a lacemaker.
Great consternation126 was caused by this edict. That same year a late frost smote127 the vines, corn was dear, and a pestilence128 broke out. In the midst of this discontent, Huguenot preachers appeared in the land, and they did their utmost to direct the disaffection of the people against the Church. Happily, S. Francis Regis arrived in Le Velay on a preaching mission, and speedily saw that the limitations imposed on the production of lace was the real grievance129 angering the people and inducing them to hit out blindly at all authority. He hurried to Toulouse and obtained the withdrawal130 of the law. He did more: his brethren of the Jesuit Order, incited131 by him, spread abroad the passion for lace in the New World, became in fact commis voyageurs for the industry, and thus opened out fresh fields for the produce. It is due to this that the memory of S. Francis Regis is still fragrant132 in the [Pg 27] land, and that his figure so often adorns133 the pillows on which the lace is made, and that his tomb at Lalouvesc, where he died on December 31st, 1640, receives such streams of pilgrims.
La Béate
The paralysis134 of the industry had hit more than the women of Le Velay. It had affected135 the colporteurs who brought to the market of Le Puy the linen thread out of which the lace was made. It is remarkable136 that at a time when roads were execrable, and means of communication faulty, the lacemakers were dependent on Holland for the material with which they worked. The linen of the district was too coarse to serve, and all that was used by them was derived137 from the Low Countries.
Lacemaking continues to be the main industry of the country. In fact, Haute Loire is the most important centre in the world. In the report on the lace at the Exhibition at Chicago, it is stated that the number of women there engaged on this dainty and beautiful art was 92,000, whereas in Belgium but 65,000 are thus employed.
In the most remote hamlets, in the most solitary138 cottages among the mountains, the societies of lace workers still gather, in summer before their doors, in winter in the cottage of la béate. The house of this woman is surmounted139 by a little bell-cott. One such is to be found in the smallest cluster of cottages. The house consists uniformly, on the ground floor, of one large room that serves as chapel, refuge, school, and place of assembly. In the upper story lives la Béate. This woman, whose official title is Dame140 de l'Instruction, fulfils many duties. In a land where the children are occupied in the fields throughout the summer, they can attend school only in winter, precisely when communications [Pg 28] are difficult and are often impossible. It is then that they flock to the house of the Béate, who gives them the first elements of instruction. She also teaches the young girls how to use the bobbins. During the summer she has a crêche, and attends to the infants whilst their mothers are in the fields; she nurses the sick, lays out the dead, and exerts her influence, which is second only to that of the curé, to counsel those who are in perplexity, to console the sorrowful, and to reconcile those who have quarrelled. She is the peace-maker in every little agglomeration141 of cottages. As a return for her services she obtains her lodging142 gratis143, corn and wood sufficient for her needs. Every well-to-do peasant also contributes fifty centimes per month for her maintenance. In her house in the winter evenings the women gather to work together, and each meeting is begun and concluded with prayer. How valuable are the services of these women may be judged by the fact that in Haute Loire there are 265 parishes, but made up of 3,300 widely-scattered hamlets.
The peasant of the uplands of Le Velay and Le Vivarais is of medium height, is strongly built, and of a vigorous constitution. Accustomed from childhood to follow his sheep and oxen in their leisurely144 movements, he also becomes a being of slow habit of body and even slower of mind. He is shy, timorous145, and cautious of compromising himself in any way with his neighbours, above all with the officials.
A writer in 1829 says:—
"His broad-brimmed hat shades a face that when calm seems to be incapable146 of expression. Chestnut147 hair flows over his shoulders. His eye is calm and assured. In speech he is curt148, to the point; but he is often figurative in his expressions. [Pg 29] He makes no distinction in his address to any one to whatever rank he may belong, and however wealthy he may be. Communicative when on terms of familiarity with him, an expression of goodwill149 steals out on and overspreads his usually rugged150 and harsh features, like the flowers that open on the face of a rock. But should one inadvertently offend his pride, at once wrath151, prompt and fierce, flames forth, an oath breaks from his lips, and in a moment the weapon, hidden but never quitted, is drawn152 and raised, and often blood flows to efface153 a quite trivial offence."
Cevenol Peasant
Descriptions of character of a people are never satisfactory. I shall give in a subsequent chapter the story of the Tavern154 of Peyrabeille, that shows what the character of this people is in a way unmistakable.
Robert Louis Stevenson's account of the people of Le Velay is peculiarly unpleasant. He speaks of their discourtesy, and accentuates155 their brutality156 of manner and speech. I venture, with all due deference157, to differ from him. The peasant in Languedoc is much towards you as you are to him. If you meet him with courtesy and kindliness158 it is cordially reciprocated159, and my experience is altogether the reverse of his. I do not think that R. L. Stevenson treated the French peasant quite as he expects to be treated. Here is one instance:—
"At the bridge of Langogne a lassie of some seven or eight addressed me in the sacramental phrase, 'D'où 'st que vous venez?' She did it with so high an air that she set me laughing; and this cut her to the quick. She was evidently one who reckoned on respect, and stood looking after me in silent dudgeon as I crossed the bridge."
[Pg 30]
But I will quote again, and this time from Georges Sand:—
"I find here a race very marked in its characteristics, altogether in harmony with the soil that supports it; meagre, gloomy, rough, and angular in its forms and in its instincts. At the tavern every one has his knife in his belt, and he drives the point into the lower face of the table, between his legs; after that they talk, they drink, they contradict one another, they become excited, and they fight. The houses are of an incredible dirtiness. The ceiling, made up of a number of strips of wood, serves as a receptacle for all their food and for all their rags. Alongside with their faults I cannot but recognise some great qualities. They are honest and proud. There is nothing servile in the manner in which they receive you, with an air of frankness and genuine hospitality. In their innermost soul they partake of the beauties and the asperities160 of their climate and their soil. The women have all an air of cordiality and daring. I hold them to be good at heart, but violent in character. They do not lack beauty so much as charm. Their heads capped with a little hat of black felt, decked out with jet and feathers, give to them, when young, a certain fascination161, and in old age a look of dignified162 austerity. But it is all too masculine, and the lack of cleanliness makes their toilette disagreeable. It is an exhibition of discoloured rags above legs long and stained with mud, that makes one totally disregard their jewellery of gold and even the rock crystals about their necks."
The elder women alone preserve a distinctive163 costume, and that is confined to the head-dress. Its main feature consists in a white frilled cap with a highly coloured broad ribbon forming a bow in front; the ends are carried back over the ears, and a little peculiarly shaped black felt hat, fit only for a child, is perched on the [Pg 31] front of the head. It is not becoming, therefore the young women will have none of it. But in flying the smoke they fall into the smother164, for in place of this they adopt the most tawdry modern hats, a congeries of feathers and cheap sham165 flowers.
The history of Le Velay is involved in that of the bishops166 of Le Puy, who were counts under the sovereignty of the King of France. They were either under the domination of the Polignacs, or were fighting with them over the rights to coin money. This right had been conceded to the bishops in 924. But the viscounts of Polignac also had their mint, and neither could debase his coinage lest his rival should obtain a predominant circulation for his currency. In the twelfth century Pons de Polignac fought the bishop on this question. Louis VII. had to intervene. He carried off the viscount and his son Heracleus prisoners to Paris, and the strife167 was only concluded four years later, in 1173, by a compact, by virtue168 of which the bishop and the viscount were to share equally the profits of a mint held in common.
The Polignacs were a thorn in the side of the Bishop and Chapter of Le Puy. Sometimes by menace with the sword they determined169 the elections to the see, and when it suited them they appointed one of the family to the throne. At the close of the eleventh century, one of these Polignac prelates, Stephen Taillefer, surnamed "The Ravager," brought down on his head the anathema170 of Pope Gregory VII. He had been Bishop of Clermont, but in 1073, when the see of Le Puy was vacant, transferred himself to it as the wealthier of the two. Another Stephen had been elected by the Chapter, and there was fighting in the streets. [Pg 32] Taillefer summoned his kinsman171 of Polignac to his aid, and drove the rival candidate out of the city. But as the canonicity of his election was disputed, he deemed it advisable to visit Rome with a valise stuffed with gold, and establish his claim by the most cogent172 of all arguments. He persuaded the Pope to consent to his retaining the see, but the case was so gross, and his hands were so steeped in blood, that Gregory imposed the condition that he should not exercise episcopal functions, which were to be delegated to a suffragan, and that he should revisit Rome with another load of gold somewhat later. This was in 1074, but in 1076 the Pope excommunicated him because he had not fulfilled his promise of again visiting Rome. Gregory was in the midst of his strife with the Emperor Henry IV., whom he deposed173 in that year, and he was sorely in need of money wherewith to support William of Utrecht, whom he had set up in opposition174.
It is remarkable how sensitive Rome was to simony when practised anywhere else save in Rome itself.
At a council held at Clermont in 1077, Stephen was deposed by order of Gregory. Nevertheless, he managed to retain the see till 1078.
After a while open oppression of the Church by the Polignacs came to an end; cadets of the family quietly appropriated to themselves the canonries and best benefices; and the last bishop of the name, William de Chalen?on, has left a memory that was even savoury.
But if the Polignacs were meddlesome175 neighbours of the see, they lent lustre176 to Le Velay. These masters of the rock were brave nobles. They fought in the Crusades; they fought the English. They espoused177 the faith, the passions, the fervour of their native land. In [Pg 33] every generation illustrious marriages added to the splendour of their escutcheon. As the feudal towers of Polignac dominated, and dominate still, the green and flowery land that lies spread below it, so does the name of Polignac dominate the history of Velay. The race was one that abounded178 in energy, was robust179 and patriotic180.
Velay was ravaged181 by the Free Companies, and summoned Du Guesclin to its aid against them. Of its troubles in the Wars of Religion I shall have to speak in the next chapter. Le Puy was occupied by the Leaguers, who made themselves masters of nearly every stronghold in Velay, and it was not till some years after Henry IV. had come to the throne that it submitted to his authority.
The Revolution brought the same results in Velay as elsewhere; the cathedral of Le Puy was pillaged182, the monasteries183 destroyed, and a certain amount of blood was shed; sixty priests were hung or shot, and many nobles guillotined. Since then it has enjoyed tranquillity184, only recently ruffled185 by the taking of the Inventories186, leading to the breaking open of the church doors.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] Jean de la Roche, Paris, Calmann-Lévy.
[4] See "The Ca?ons of Southern France," by A. T. Jukes-Browne, in Natural Science, vol. vi., 1895.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
dykes
|
|
| abbr.diagonal wire cutters 斜线切割机n.堤( dyke的名词复数 )；坝；堰；沟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
crater
|
|
| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
elevation
|
|
| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
granite
|
|
| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
volcanic
|
|
| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
cone
|
|
| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
cones
|
|
| n.（人眼）圆锥细胞；圆锥体( cone的名词复数 )；球果；圆锥形东西；（盛冰淇淋的）锥形蛋卷筒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
igneous
|
|
| adj.火的，火绒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
craters
|
|
| n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
eruption
|
|
| n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
spires
|
|
| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
truncated
|
|
| adj.切去顶端的，缩短了的，被删节的v.截面的( truncate的过去式和过去分词 )；截头的；缩短了的；截去顶端或末端 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
disintegrated
|
|
| v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
crumbled
|
|
| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
erect
|
|
| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
ERECTED
|
|
| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
consecrated
|
|
| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
obelisks
|
|
| n.方尖石塔，短剑号，疑问记号( obelisk的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
rouge
|
|
| n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
enumerate
|
|
| v.列举，计算，枚举，数 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
lava
|
|
| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
skull
|
|
| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
cinders
|
|
| n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
enveloped
|
|
| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
ornaments
|
|
| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
relics
|
|
| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
isolated
|
|
| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
beech
|
|
| n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
tarn
|
|
| n.山中的小湖或小潭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
curiously
|
|
| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
villa
|
|
| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
mare
|
|
| n.母马，母驴 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
lodged
|
|
| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
aged
|
|
| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
pelted
|
|
| （连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
thither
|
|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
linen
|
|
| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
wagons
|
|
| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
wont
|
|
| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
bishop
|
|
| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
dissuade
|
|
| v.劝阻，阻止 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
chapel
|
|
| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
exhorted
|
|
| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
reverence
|
|
| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
morass
|
|
| n.沼泽，困境 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
bracelets
|
|
| n.手镯，臂镯( bracelet的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
eruptions
|
|
| n.喷发，爆发( eruption的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
overflowed
|
|
| 溢出的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
limestone
|
|
| n.石灰石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
relatively
|
|
| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
anterior
|
|
| adj.较早的；在前的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
lavas
|
|
| n.（火山喷发的）熔岩( lava的名词复数 )；（熔岩冷凝后的）火山岩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
texture
|
|
| n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
Mediterranean
|
|
| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
racing
|
|
| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
impervious
|
|
| adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
outlet
|
|
| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
outlets
|
|
| n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
fissures
|
|
| n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
chasms
|
|
| 裂缝( chasm的名词复数 )； 裂口； 分歧； 差别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
subterranean
|
|
| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
caverns
|
|
| 大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
descending
|
|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
granitic
|
|
| 花岗石的，由花岗岩形成的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
cleft
|
|
| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
affluents
|
|
| n.富裕的，富足的( affluent的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
74
deciduous
|
|
| adj.非永久的；短暂的；脱落的；落叶的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
tributaries
|
|
| n. 支流 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
obtuse
|
|
| adj.钝的；愚钝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
notably
|
|
| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
rim
|
|
| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
mightiest
|
|
| adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
nibble
|
|
| n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
rammed
|
|
| v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
consistency
|
|
| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
treacle
|
|
| n.糖蜜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
obstructions
|
|
| n.障碍物( obstruction的名词复数 )；阻碍物；阻碍；阻挠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
fissured
|
|
| adj.裂缝的v.裂开( fissure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
obstructed
|
|
| 阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
infancy
|
|
| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
furrow
|
|
| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
overlapping
|
|
| adj./n.交迭（的） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
cascade
|
|
| n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
gorge
|
|
| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
barricade
|
|
| n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
defiles
|
|
| v.玷污( defile的第三人称单数 )；污染；弄脏；纵列行进 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
formerly
|
|
| adv.从前，以前 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
gash
|
|
| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
gorges
|
|
| n.山峡，峡谷( gorge的名词复数 )；咽喉v.（用食物把自己）塞饱，填饱( gorge的第三人称单数 )；作呕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
baron
|
|
| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
insignificant
|
|
| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
vent
|
|
| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
fang
|
|
| n.尖牙，犬牙 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
scoop
|
|
| n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
vault
|
|
| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
dreaded
|
|
| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
devastates
|
|
| v.彻底破坏( devastate的第三人称单数 )；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
scourged
|
|
| 鞭打( scourge的过去式和过去分词 )； 惩罚，压迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
encumbers
|
|
| v.妨碍，阻碍，拖累( encumber的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
110
dwellings
|
|
| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
intensity
|
|
| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
administrative
|
|
| adj.行政的，管理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
perilous
|
|
| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
feudal
|
|
| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
inaccessible
|
|
| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
circumscribed
|
|
| adj.[医]局限的：受限制或限于有限空间的v.在…周围划线( circumscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；划定…范围；限制；限定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
tithe
|
|
| n.十分之一税；v.课什一税，缴什一税 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
toll
|
|
| n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
barons
|
|
| 男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
clergy
|
|
| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
grumble
|
|
| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
livelihood
|
|
| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
weavers
|
|
| 织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
patronage
|
|
| n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
promulgated
|
|
| v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
consternation
|
|
| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
smote
|
|
| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
pestilence
|
|
| n.瘟疫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
grievance
|
|
| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
withdrawal
|
|
| n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
incited
|
|
| 刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
fragrant
|
|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
adorns
|
|
| 装饰，佩带( adorn的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
paralysis
|
|
| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
derived
|
|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
solitary
|
|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
surmounted
|
|
| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
dame
|
|
| n.女士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
agglomeration
|
|
| n.结聚，一堆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
lodging
|
|
| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
gratis
|
|
| adj.免费的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
leisurely
|
|
| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
timorous
|
|
| adj.胆怯的，胆小的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
incapable
|
|
| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
chestnut
|
|
| n.栗树，栗子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
curt
|
|
| adj.简短的，草率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
goodwill
|
|
| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
rugged
|
|
| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
wrath
|
|
| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
efface
|
|
| v.擦掉，抹去 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
tavern
|
|
| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
accentuates
|
|
| v.重读( accentuate的第三人称单数 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
brutality
|
|
| n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
deference
|
|
| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
kindliness
|
|
| n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
reciprocated
|
|
| v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
asperities
|
|
| n.粗暴( asperity的名词复数 )；（表面的）粗糙；（环境的）艰苦；严寒的天气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
fascination
|
|
| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
dignified
|
|
| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
distinctive
|
|
| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
smother
|
|
| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
sham
|
|
| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
bishops
|
|
| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
strife
|
|
| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
anathema
|
|
| n.诅咒；被诅咒的人(物)，十分讨厌的人(物) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
kinsman
|
|
| n.男亲属 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
cogent
|
|
| adj.强有力的，有说服力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
deposed
|
|
| v.罢免( depose的过去式和过去分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
opposition
|
|
| n.反对，敌对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
meddlesome
|
|
| adj.爱管闲事的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
lustre
|
|
| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
espoused
|
|
| v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
abounded
|
|
| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
robust
|
|
| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
patriotic
|
|
| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
ravaged
|
|
| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
pillaged
|
|
| v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
monasteries
|
|
| 修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
tranquillity
|
|
| n. 平静, 安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
ruffled
|
|
| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
inventories
|
|
| n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |