. Wayfaring in France, from Auvergne to the Bay of Biscay. reat haste at the approachof the Normans during one of the incursions ofthese adventurers up the valley of the Dordogneand its tributary, the Isle, in the tenth is a bit of wall that speaks to us in a language x 306 IN THE VALLEY OF THE ISLE by no means common. It is not built of stonessuch as could be found anywhere in all ages, butis put together with the fragments of temples andpalaces which even now tell of the power andsplendour of Rome. The shafts of fluted columns,capitals wearing the acanthus, pieces of cornice andfr
. Wayfaring in France, from Auvergne to the Bay of Biscay. reat haste at the approachof the Normans during one of the incursions ofthese adventurers up the valley of the Dordogneand its tributary, the Isle, in the tenth is a bit of wall that speaks to us in a language x 306 IN THE VALLEY OF THE ISLE by no means common. It is not built of stonessuch as could be found anywhere in all ages, butis put together with the fragments of temples andpalaces which even now tell of the power andsplendour of Rome. The shafts of fluted columns,capitals wearing the acanthus, pieces of cornice andfrieze, all mortared together with undistinguishablerubbish, bear testimony in the quiet garden of theUrsuline convent to the vanity of human works,Vesunna, splendid city of Southern Gaul, completelyLatinised, with native poets, orators, and historiansspeaking and writing the language of Virgil andCicero, raised temples, palaces, thermae, and a vastamphitheatre to be used centuries later as materialfor building a wall to keep out the Northern bar-barians !. The Dronne at Bourdeilles. FROM PERIGUEUX TO RIBERAC (BY BRANTOME) From Perigueux I made my way to Brantome inthe neighbouring valley of the Dronne—a tributaryof the Isle, which nobody who has not stifled thelove of beauty in his soul can see without feelingthe sweet and winning charm of its gracious in-fluence. Between the two valleys are some fifteenmiles of chalky hills almost bare of trees, a drearytrack to cross at any time, but especially detestablewhen the dust lies thick upon the white road andthe summer sun is blazing overhead. But howdelightful is the contrast when, going down atlength from these cretaceous uplands, where eventhe potato plants look as if they had been white-washed, you see below the verdant valley ofthe Dronne, that seems to be blessed with eternal 307 x 2 308 FROM PEEIGUEUX TO HIBERAC spring, the gay flash of the winding stream, thegrand rocks that appear to be standing in its bed,and the cool gre
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1913
