lf fortress, and went our way through the stunted
forest that straggled downward to the Vienne. Between these narrow
strips of woodland, through which the path wound, rose ragged knolls
clad in short, dark green juniper, and here and there were bright
splashes of colour, where flowering wild weeds clustered at the bases
of the brown ribs of rock that stood up starkly over all. We crossed
the river by the ferry between Auche and Riviere, where the little
Veude falls into the Vienne, and halted for a space on a bluff to
survey the landscape. At this hour of the morning, with the air so
gay, the sky so blue, and the sun so bright, the lights were still soft
enough to allow the whole beauty of the scene to be strongly felt. At
our feet the river went dancing along in a sweeping blue curve, its
left bank clothed with rich vineland, and on its right a belt of
forest--the outskirts of the forest of Chinon--which stretched, a sea
of green, grey, and dim, mysterious purples, to the far-distant Loire.
There, on its wooded height, the pentice roofs glistening in the
sunlight, stood Chinon, with its triple castle, so full of the memories
of history; and all around spread the wide Tourangeais.

"Tourangeaux, Angevins
Bons esprits et bons vins,"

sang Capus, grizzled old war-dog though he was, and, the spirit of the
morning seizing us, we urged our horses down the slope, and scurried
through the forest towards Chinon.

After a little we slackened pace and went on slowly, until, towards
midday, when about half a league--or perhaps less--from Chinon, we came
upon a roadside inn, all covered with climbing roses in bloom, whilst
the air was full of the cooing of numberless pigeons that circled
around and perched upon a dovecote that looked like a tower. Here
mademoiselle stopped, declaring that she would travel no farther that
day; and accordingly, having made arrangements for our accommodation, I
walked out with Diane into a long, straggling garden that lay at the
back of the house. At the extreme end of the garden was a
summer-house, and on entering this we found it occupied by an old man,
who sat reading therein. We were about to draw back, but he rose,
leaning upon a stout stick, and very courteously invited us to be
seated. His hooded black cassock, and the tonsure which was visible,
as he had removed his cap, marked the priest. He was very feeble, as
we could see, though his eyes, bright and piercing, contrasted