the
dukes of Normandy did homage for both provinces to the King of France. The
Bretons struggled hard against the supremacy of the Barbarians, but
eventually had to acknowledge the Duke of Normandy as their sovereign
lord.

St. Brieuc, principal town of the department of the Cotes-du-Nord, has
been described as an old town with a new face. Though one of the oldest in
Brittany, it has little of antiquity to detain the traveller. The Palais
de Justice is a handsome building, in the midst of a pretty garden,
commanding a view of the Tour de Cesson, lower down the river (the Gouet),
a large circular tower built by Duke John IV., and blown up by Henry IV.,
at the desire of the Briochins, as the inhabitants of St. Brieuc style
themselves. The mine split it in two, and the part that remains serves as
a landmark for the pilots between St. Brieuc and its port, about two miles
distant, called Legue. Notre Dame d'Esperance is a pretty church, rebuilt
about ten years since, with a calvary in front, and a series of painted
windows representing the principal saints of Brittany, and the most
celebrated pilgrimages of the Virgin in that province. At St. Brieuc,
1689, James II. of England reviewed his little army, and was received with
royal honours by the bishop of the place.

We proceeded by the railway to Guingamp, next to St. Brieuc, the principal
town of the department, capital of the duchy of Penthievre. It is situated
in the richly wooded and cultivated valley of the Trieux, a favourite
fishing river of considerable size, and affording trout, salmon, and dace,
from Guingamp to Paimpol, where it falls into the sea, a distance of
twenty miles. It runs through the centre of the town, and is here a
considerable stream.

Attached to the Cathedral is the venerated sanctuary of Notre
Dame-du-Bon-Secours, one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimage in
Brittany. The pardon takes place the Saturday before the first Sunday in
July, and owes its origin to the brotherhood called the "Frerie blanche,"
an association of which Duke Peter accepted the title of lay-abbot. The
motto embroidered on their banner was (in Breton) "A triple cord is not
easily broken." The triple cord being emblematic of the three
estates--clergy, nobles, and laity--in whose unity consisted the strength of
Brittany. The Frerie blanche no longer exists, the triple cable is broken,
the pilgrimage alone remains.

[Illustration: 19. Fountain of Duke Peter.]

La Pom