The island of Batz was, at that time, infested by an enormous
dragon, sixty feet long; the saint, accompanied by a warrior, entered the
cavern of the monster, tied his stole round its neck, and gave him to his
companion to lead, St. Pol following, beating him with his stick, till
they arrived at the extremity of the island, when he took off the stole,
and commanded the dragon to throw itself in the sea, an order the animal
immediately obeyed. St. Pol is always represented with the dragon by his
side, the stole round its neck. We were shown a little bell, said to have
belonged to the saint. It appears he had repeatedly asked the king to give
him this bell for his new church, but had always been refused. When one
day some fishermen brought him a large fish taken off the island of Batz,
and in its mouth was the coveted bell. It is certainly very ancient in
form, a kind of square pyramid about four inches wide and nine high, of
beaten red copper mixed, we were told, with a considerable quantity of
silver. It is now rung over the heads of the faithful on pardons, as a
specific against headache and earache--a singular remedy! The cathedral has
a fine marble tomb of Bishop Visdelou, preacher to Queen Anne of Austria;
he is represented in a half reclining posture, in his pontifical garments.
In every part of the cathedral are the little boxes of skulls.

Adjacent is the Ursuline convent, where is preserved a small figure of the
Virgin in jet; brought from a church in the Iles Sainte Marguerite, taken
from the Spaniards in the seventeenth century. It is supposed to possess
miraculous powers, and is sent round to the sick as a specific.

We breakfasted at the little inn (Hotel de France), commanding a pretty
view of the coast from its windows and garden. The Leon country was
governed by Viscounts, who boasted, among several manorial rights, the
"droit de motte," which empowered them, if a vassal (they were "serfs de
motte") attempted to live out of his demesne, or to enter the service of
another lord, to bring him back to his "motte," a cord round his neck, and
inflict upon him corporal punishment. By virtue of the same right, if the
demesne of a lord was so placed that it had no natural height from which
to survey its extent, his vassals were made to bring sufficient cart-loads
of earth to raise a mound or "motte" of the requisite elevation. The other
privilege was the droit de "bris," equivalent to our flotsum and jetsum,
so lu