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PROMENADES DE ST. SAUVEUR.

The church of St. Malo has a fine choir and is a curious antique edifice, but the interior is without interest beyond its venerable arches, and the solemn gloom which reigns within its walls: there are some remains of painted glass in the windows.

Behind the church of St. Sauveur, the exterior of which is undergoing extensive repairs, and where a variety of beautiful architecture of different ages may be observed, is situated the cemetery, too close to the town, but flanked by the high rampart walls, on which are the promenades called "de St. Sauveur," perhaps the most picturesque, and presenting the most extensive views of any numerous gardens, suspended as it were on terraces, give a joyousness to the scene which the vicinity of the cimetière might otherwise injure; seats are placed here and there, and from every point a delicious prospect can be obtained. From a fine tower at the extremity, you overlook the port of Dinan and the course of the river Rance, with its flocks of wild ducks and occasional sails, its lovely banks and fantastic windings, the antique bridge and the gigantic mountains beyond.

It is impossible, however, to decide as to what part of the ramparts which surround this magnificent town is the most to be admired: every

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where the views are unbounded; at one side you can, on a clear day, see rising from the sea, the shadowy form of Mont St. Michel, and from another elevation appears Mont Dol, springing as suddenly from the earth. Here you observe the rich country and cultivated fields that lead to the Mont du Saint Esprit - there glitters the stream which bathes the walls of the exquisite little village of Lehon, whose ruined abbey and the towers of whose castle appear amongst the foliage. Private houses, handsome and wellbuilt, appear on every height; fine public buildings, hospitals, manufactories, gleam on the summit of hills of various elevation, and the enormous towers and walls of the town form picturesque objects wherever you turn.

The enormous donjon of St. Louis is in good preservation and rises majestically above the others; it is now used as a prison, and the sight of the strongly-barred windows with haggard faces peeping through, keeps up the gloomy character of the venerable pile; though unfortunately it is close to the promenade, and the voices of the prisoners can be distinctly heard ; a circumstance somewhat annoying, as these worthies are perfectly unceremonious in their addresses to the passers by. This tremendous tower communicates by a gallery with the tour

172 FAUTEUIL DE LA DUCHESSE ANNE.

de Coëtquen, another splendid pile, which now serves as a powder depôt. It appears that these are the remains of the ancient château of the Dukes of Bretagne, whose favourite residence was Dinan. A stone seat is shown, called le fauteuil de la Duchesse Anne; and in these walls all the chivalry and beauty of the court were accustomed to assemble.

CHAPTER XI.

History of Dinan.-Jean de Montfort.-Legends of Bretagne. Fontenelle le Ligueur.

INAN was, from very early times, the scene of contentions between rival chiefs, and frequently a prey to one party or another. Its com

manding position made it a

desirable acquisition and a dangerous possession, and ceaseless were the attacks it had to suffer. William the Conqueror besieged the town, whither he followed Conan, second Duke of Brittany, who had fled before him from Dol, and Dinan, unable to resist his victorious arms, and who was obliged to yield after a few days. The tapestry of Bayeux records this historical fact. Several of the Breton barons formed a friendship with William and accompanied him to England; among others was the Vicomte de Dinan.

Under Henry II, the bourg of Lehon was desolated, and all the houses burnt except those

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JEAN DE MONTFORT.

that belonged to the priory. After this it was agreed between Henry and Louis le Jeune that the castle of Lehon should be destroyed; the beautiful ruins that still remain are, however, those of a later time, as the castle was rebuilt, and existed in 1402.

During the contentions between the houses of Blois and Montfort, supported by England and France, Dinan was reduced to ashes. Scarcely recovered from its ruins, it was again attacked by Edward III. whose fury was excited by the resolute refusal of the Bretons to agree to the disadvantageous terms on which King John of France was to be ransomed. Du Guesclin at the head of six hundred men, lent the Dinannais his aid, and it was at this period that several of his romantic adventures took place.

The heroic Countess of Montfort saw her son, Jean IV, in possession of this persecuted town after a long and sanguinary struggle: his vacillating conduct, however, drawing upon him the vengeance of Charles V, the Constable de Clisson, ever unmindful of his Breton birth, was sent to ravage his native province, and to complete his reverses Du Guesclin himself arrived before Dinan, and besieged the town he had before gained so much honour in defending. Jean de Montfort, forced to fly, escaped to his ally the King of England.