The whole course
of this fine river, as the eye sweeps and ranges over its banks,
presents at almost every bend the view of villas enriched with
gardens, orchards, and vineyards; castles, convents, and villages in
ruins! bearing innumerable evidences of the desolating war that has
destroyed them.
The religious communities, whose love of scenery and retirement in
general led them to prefer the most sequestered valleys, have in these
provinces chosen the most elevated and picturesque spots for the
erection of their monasteries; and these, notwithstanding their
deserted and decaying state, prove the good taste of their ancient
possessors, and the skill and industry with which they embellished
them. No situations could have been selected more abounding in
picturesque combinations of magnificent landscapes.
The pleasure of the traveller in surveying such scenes, cannot but be
frequently interrupted, by the recollection of the various atrocities
which the inhabitants of these fine provinces committed against each
other, and of the immense number of innocent victims that were driven
from their abode to perish by famine or the sword.
CHAP. VIII.
SAUMUR TO TOURS--TOURS--TOURS TO BLOIS--ORLEANS--AND ORLEANS TO
PARIS.
I hired a small carriage, called a _patache_, to convey me to Saumur
and Tours; it is driven by a postillion with two horses, and is open
in front, giving the traveller a better opportunity of viewing the
country than in a close vehicle.
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