Along France's river of romance: . nothing that need delay the tourist. Below Cosne, the next little town is Myennes, asmoky place chiefly consisting of brick-fields, whosehouses stand back from the highway. It is within theconfines of La Puisaye, a district as distinct in its wayas the Velay or the Morvan—country of clays andpotters. At Myennes only bricks and tiles are made,but in the north and west of La Puisaye the making ofpottery is the principal industry. Neuvy-sur-Loire,eight miles below Cosne, is a recognised centre for thewhole industry. Here the pottery manufactured inthe other town
Along France's river of romance: . nothing that need delay the tourist. Below Cosne, the next little town is Myennes, asmoky place chiefly consisting of brick-fields, whosehouses stand back from the highway. It is within theconfines of La Puisaye, a district as distinct in its wayas the Velay or the Morvan—country of clays andpotters. At Myennes only bricks and tiles are made,but in the north and west of La Puisaye the making ofpottery is the principal industry. Neuvy-sur-Loire,eight miles below Cosne, is a recognised centre for thewhole industry. Here the pottery manufactured inthe other towns and villages is brought and town is situated at the point where the little riverVrille joins the Loire. All along by the banks of theLoire at Neuvy is a long line of yards in which thepottery from the whole of the district is stored. Thispottery is sold to dealers or hawkers who own the long, 138 THE LOIRE narrow boats peculiar to the province of Berry, whichare called Montluyons. The dealer, when he has filled. ^?^m^^^^-^^j^Mi \i^} Neuvy his boat with goods, sets off on the Loire or on thecanals, stopping at all the ports to sell his wares. When COSNE AND BRIARE 139 the boat is empty, he brings it back to Neuvy to load upa fresh cargo. There is a very fine view of the Loire valley, to theright, at Neuvy ; and in the pastures of the surroundingdistricts are to be seen a famous breed of white cattlepeculiar to the Nivernais. From below Neuvy bothbanks of the Loire are studded with ancient fortifiedtowns, very few of which contain now any trace of awarlike past. Many are now mere villages withoutany sign of bygone importance ; and the old housesmade of timber and mud that once filled them havedisappeared as a result of sieges, fires, or simple old age,to be replaced by more solid but characterless struc-tures. You would hardly think, for instance, passingthrough the town of Bonny-sur-Loire, that it had itsplace in the great epic of the Maid of Orleans. Behindit
Size: 1432px × 1744px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidalongfrances, bookyear1913
