Along France's river of romance: . in his pocket. The Rocher dAiguilhe, however, is entirely charm-ing. You go through a gateway in a very humble quarter,the faubourg dAiguilhe—a commune, by the way, dis-tinct from Le Puy—and after making a donation tothe guardian of the door, ascend to the little RomanesqueChapel at the top, by a winding staircase. The chapel,which has been restored, is said to have been built Its little western fa§ade is delightful, and con-sidered one of the most charming examples of Byzanto-Roman architecture in the Department. The doorwayis richly carved, but the
Along France's river of romance: . in his pocket. The Rocher dAiguilhe, however, is entirely charm-ing. You go through a gateway in a very humble quarter,the faubourg dAiguilhe—a commune, by the way, dis-tinct from Le Puy—and after making a donation tothe guardian of the door, ascend to the little RomanesqueChapel at the top, by a winding staircase. The chapel,which has been restored, is said to have been built Its little western fa§ade is delightful, and con-sidered one of the most charming examples of Byzanto-Roman architecture in the Department. The doorwayis richly carved, but the tower of the little church is dis- 48 THE LOIRE pleasing. It would be far more effective, certainly frombelow, if it had no tower, and that seems to have beena later addition. From the doorway you mount severalsteps to get into the church proper, which is bare savefor an altar surmounted by an angel holding a banner,and flanked by two other angels with offertory over the altar, the statues, and the banner, and over. Rocher dAiguilhe, Le Puy every inch of wall, the names of innumerable Frenchtourists—pious pilgrims, no doubt—have been there is a path leading round the church throughthe ruins of some older building, from which a superbview may be obtained. Through the stillness comesthe constant splashing of the Borne, the little riverthat skirts the base of the rock, and runs through thetown to join the Loire. And in the distance on two sidesarc the green slopes of the hills, and the bright red roofs LE PUY EN VELAY 40 of isolated herons; while on the remaining sides lie thered-roofed town with its two open spots—the Place duBreuil and the Place Michelet—^the Cathedral andthe Rocher Corneille. Looking straight down the dizzyprecipice there are blue irises and bright yellow wall-flowers growing in all the crevices of the rock, increasingthe impression one has that the whole rock with its littlechurch is a jewel of an exceptional beauty, a
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidalongfrances, bookyear1913
