Memoranda on Tours and Touraine Part 2

This city was become so important by its central position and the resources of its environs, that in the s.p.a.ce of less than a century, from 1470 to 1506, the states general a.s.sembled in it three times. Henry 3rd, pressed by the League, transferred the parliament to it in 1587.

If we believe the ancient chroniclers whom Froissart and Monstrelet copied, the city of Tours had a much more ancient origin. It is to a great prince named Turnus, who after the siege of Troy came into Gaul and died not far from this city, where, say these chroniclers, his tomb has long been seen, that Tours owes its origin and its name.

Tours and its neighbourhood afford many resources for the active and agreeable employment of the mind. It has long been pre-eminently distinguished for the _agremens_ of its society. Elegance and urbanity characterize the demeanour of the native n.o.blesse; the British residents and visitants are composed of the most respectable grades, amongst whom, a reciprocation of friendly intercourse is cherished with perhaps more than the ordinary a.s.siduity so generally productive of affable a.s.sociation among the English abroad.

The French language is considered to be spoken in its greatest purity in Touraine, a desideratum of much consequence to persons who resort to France for the education of their children, and it may also be proper to remark that there is a cla.s.sical establishment for young gentlemen in the immediate vicinity of the city. Tours also possesses a library containing some valuable MSS., some of which are of the sixth century, a museum of painting and natural history, a college, a society of agriculture, science, art, and belles-lettres, a theatre, excellent baths, and extensive umbrageous promenades. There are two English episcopal chapels, one in Tours, and the other but recently opened is situated on the Tranchee; an English club has long been established; which is now supported with great spirit and liberality, affording all the usual attractions of such inst.i.tutions, and where many of the English newspapers are daily received.

The theatre is frequently open, and b.a.l.l.s and routs prevail during the winter season. The hotels are replete with every comfort and accommodation.

Tours also possesses an excellent English boarding house; and elegant houses, villas and chateaux, well furnished, are to be readily obtained in the town and its environs. All kinds of provisions are exceedingly plentiful, which with the numerous fruits and wines are to be obtained at very moderate prices.

SPORTING.

The lovers of rural sports and pastimes, may find much to interest them in this and the neighbouring departments. The Loire and the Cher afford excellent diversion to the angler, and occasionally to the fowler, being during the autumnal and winter months sometimes frequented by large flocks of aquatic birds. The wild boar and the _chevreuil_, a small but elegant species of deer, are to be found in the forest; the vast intermediate tracts of arable land are however for the most part but thinly stocked with game.

CHATEAUX.

The ancient chateaux within an easy distance of Tours merit the attention of the antiquarian, some of them possessing historical a.s.sociations of a highly interesting character. The princ.i.p.al are the chateaux of Loches, Chenonceaux, Chinon, and Amboise; of which respectively, for the gratification of those who feel a pleasure in journeying to gaze upon these sombre and for the most part dilapidated monitors of the instability of all sublunary things, we will proceed to enter upon a brief description.

LOCHES.

The vast fortress of Loches,--which is twenty five miles from Tours,--has been the residence of many of the kings of France, since it was occupied by Philip Augustus.

Within the range of its former precincts the Tomb of the famous Agnes Sorel in black marble may still be seen. As may also the dungeon in which Ludovico Sforce duke of Milan was confined in 1500.

The castle, or rather prison, which it is said was founded during the Roman domination in this part of the country, presents some striking specimens of its pristine magnificence.

We are informed that in this abode of terror, there were dungeons under dungeons, some of them unknown even to the keepers themselves; men were frequently doomed to pa.s.s the remainder of their lives here, breathing impure air and subsisting on bread and water. At this formidable castle were also those horrible places of confinement called _cages_, in which the wretched prisoner could neither stand upright nor stretch himself at length.

The celebrated cardinal Balue was confined here by order of Louis 11th, for many years in one of these cages. The Duke of Alencon, Charles de Melun and Philippe de Commines were also imprisoned in this fortress. It was successively occupied by Charles 7th, Louis 11th, Charles 8th, Louis 12th, Francis 1st, Henry 2nd and Charles 9th.

CHINON.

THE CHATEAU OF CHINON, which in ancient times was a place of great strength, it is said was once composed of three distinct castles, erected at three different epochs. Ten kings of France had occasionally made it their place of residence. Henry the second, and Richard the First died here. Joan of Arc had an interview with Charles the 7th at this place; the remains of the room in which it occurred are still shewn. But a few dismantled towers and dilapidated walls now alone remain to mark the elevated site of the magnificent superstructure, which in days of yore proudly towered above the lovely sylvan scenery of the fertile vale of the Vienne.

Chinon is about thirty miles from Tours.

AMBOISE.

THE CASTLE OF AMBOISE is a n.o.ble structure of great antiquity; and from the beauty of its elevated situation on the southern banks of the Loire, and the drive to it from Tours, of about twelve miles, being of a romantic and very interesting character, it is an object of much attraction to the general Tourist.

Constantine rebuilt the fort soon after its destruction by Diocletian.

Charles the 8th, resided at this his birth place many years prior to his ascending the French throne; and in 1498 he here expired.

The two large towers which form a protected communication between the castle and the town below, were built by this monarch. One of the towers is remarkable for its internal spiral roadway, up which cavalry may ascend four abreast.

Louis 12th, Francis 1st, Henry 2nd, and Francis 2nd respectively contributed towards the improvement and adornment of the castle, and which by an act of Louis 16th, became the property of the Orleans family.

The small detached chapel dedicated to St.-Hubert is much admired for its sculptural embellishments in alto-relievo.

The pleasure grounds attached to the castle which are partially laid out in the English fashion, are extensive and diversified, and the view of the adjacent country from the terraces is remarkable for its picturesque beauty.

The glittering waters of the princely Loire studded with its numerous little green Isles, and white sails of commerce, are seen rapidly coursing in intricate windings through the broad, rich plain of corn-fields, for many miles in extent, both to the east and west, and which is bordered by bold elevations, and cliffs of chalk and calcareous sandstone, surmounted by a succession of beautiful vineyards. And perhaps the most singular feature in this varied landscape, is the vast chain of human habitations, which, like a whitened irregular stratum may be seen stretching out as far as the eye can reach in opposite directions, along the whole slope of the southern elevations just adverted to. They contain a large population, princ.i.p.ally const.i.tuted of the cultivators of the adjacent plain and hills, the slopes being chiefly occupied by pretty white villas belonging to the better cla.s.ses, while in the abrupt intermediate precipices of rock, the poor have scooped out their indestructible dwellings. And which, certainly possess some considerable advantages over those of their more pretending neighbours, being warm in winter, cool in summer, and dry in all seasons. These subterranean abodes, together present an exceedingly curious and novel spectacle. Sometimes the excavations are continued a considerable height up the cliff, and the numerous doors and windows in the face of it, apprize the spectator that, his species here literally live and have their being in the foundations of the earth! A kind of fret work or fantastically wrought sculpture not unfrequently over-arches the entrance, or hangs like an ornamental frieze above entire dwellings, which on a close inspection we discover to be the mystical workings and embellishments of nature herself, being actually const.i.tuted of a bed of fossil zoophytes, which in the very spot they now occupy, vegetated at the bottom of the antediluvian Ocean! How strange the transformation! How astounding the physical revolutions time has here effected!--The identical _bed of coral_, over which the turbulent waves of the Ocean rolled for centuries, and amid which the finny tribe disported, now, in its pristine position, forms a roof for the permanent dwellings of man! Which, with their fruitful vines flourishing around the doors, and the smoke from the domestic hearth rising in graceful curls through the submarine production, or as sometimes seen, peering through some verdant knoll, present a singular, but pleasing picture of humble contentment security and peace.

Near the western visible extremity of these thickly peopled hills, the lofty turrets of Tours cathedral are distinctly visible in the horison.

But in our enumeration of the more striking features of this interesting panorama, we must not omit to mention the long island in the middle of the river, immediately below the castle, and which communicates with the town by a stone bridge of ten arches, and with the opposite bank by a curiously constructed wooden bridge of eleven arches.

The portion of the island above the bridges, being covered with a verdant turf, and tall trees, affords a very agreeable and favourite promenade, while the part contiguous to the bridges being entirely occupied by houses, presents the curious appearance of a small town floating as it were on the hurrying current.

Visitors from Tours to this place sometimes extend their drive on the same day to Chenonceaux, a distance of ten miles through the extensive forest of Amboise, and return from thence to the city, a drive of twenty miles, along the interesting banks of the river Cher.

CASTLE OF CHENONCEAUX.

This a large and majestic structure, and being built upon arches constructed across the Cher exhibits a singular appearance, and its approach through a n.o.ble avenue of trees is one of striking beauty.

This beautiful chateau, supposed to have been erected in the thirteenth century, became crown property in 1535.

It was greatly improved and embellished by Diana of Poitiers, mistress of Henry 2nd who however was afterwards compelled by Catherine de Medicis to exchange this splendid gift of her munificent lord, for Chaumont-sur-Loire.

Its extensive picture gallery contains a considerable variety of interesting paintings and ancient portraits. In short the general character and internal decorations of this s.p.a.cious and antique building, its neat and extensive pleasure grounds, with the pretty sylvan park attached thereto, together render the place an object of very general interest.

PLESSIS-LES-TOURS.

In the plain, about a mile to the west-ward of Tours, a few comparatively inconsiderable remains of the royal Castle and appendages of Plessis-les-Tours, are still to be seen; they consist of an extensive wall about 15 feet high enclosing about 60 acres of arable land, an uninteresting habitable portion of the ancient structure, and a remnant of the once famous and beautiful Saint Hubert's Chapel. These solitary relics in fact barely suffice to attest the spot where high in the air, arose the n.o.ble and ma.s.sive pile, which during the feudal times of darkness and of danger, was watched and defended with the most extreme and jealous care.

This castle was the favourite residence of Louis XI, and many were the strange and plotting scenes enacted here during the period it was dignified by the presence of his mysterious court. He is said to have been excessively superst.i.tious, crafty, vindictive and cruel, and the vigilance and surveillance he caused to be exercised in the vicinity of his palace, by his not over scrupulous agents, continually filled the surrounding neighbourhood with awe and apprehension.

A vast enclosed chase, termed in latin of the middle ages, _Plexitium_, encircled the external enclosures surrounding the open esplanade which sloped up to the castle walls, rendering the precincts of the Royal domain as sombre and portentous in aspect, as were the dark and multiplied battlements which frowned above the monarchs of the surrounding forests.

The cruel and treacherous cardinal La Balue was a great favourite at this court, and for a considerable period basked in the smiles of royalty at Plessis-les-Tours, but Louis having strong grounds for suspecting that he had been mainly instrumental in betraying him to the duke of Burgundy,--his feuds with whom were highest about 1460--he ultimately caused him to be immured in one of the iron cages, we have referred to in our notice of Loches. In this horrid den, the invention of which some ascribe to Balue himself, he was confined eleven years, princ.i.p.ally it is said at Plessis-les-Tours, nor did Louis permit him to be liberated till his last illness.

Such are a few of the historical facts a.s.sociated with the crumbling memento which as yet remain of this favourite and beautiful demesne of a great and powerful monarch. All its proud bulwarks have long since fallen beneath the ruthless hand of time, and its n.o.ble and extensive forests been laid prostrate by the active axe of the cultivator, while the march of rural improvement which has entirely renewed the face of the plain, will ere long have swept every ancient vestige away leaving the antiquary to search for the locality of Plessis-les-Tours, alone in the page of History.

But what reasonable and enlightened mind will regret even such a consummation, for, as moral improvement advances towards the climax of perfection, we every day see the face of nature rejoicing in its progress, and her children enjoying the fruits of their industry in the fullness of freedom and of unrestricted liberty.

The cl.u.s.tering vine and the golden waving corn, now deck the place of the arbitrary halls, and the dismal dungeons of the castle, the peaceful hamlet with its neat and a.s.siduously cultivated gardens, covers no inconsiderable portion of the once exclusive and lordly precincts, while its unsophisticated population pursue their daily avocations in fearlessness and in peace.