afford to the eye the most picturesque and agreeable views.

Briare, which consists of one tolerable street, owes its celebrity to the canal which unites the waters of the Loire and the Seine. Begun by Sully, it was the first important work of the kind ever undertaken in France: its execution was interrupted during his retreat, but was recommenced under Louis XIII.

A plain, intersected with hills, fields, and vineyards, leads us to the bourg of Boni, containing 1,200 inhabitants. Here the Loire is again seen. Having passed the post of Neuvy, a vast chateau with four towers, appears, on the left bank of the Loire, in the midst of a rich and fertile country. We next reach

Cosne, situated near the Loire, and at the mouth of the river Novain. It possesses a theatre, and a fine hall of Justice. Manufactures of hardware, cutlery, nails, and iron-work for ships. To the west, on the left bank of the Loire, are the hills of Berry. These are distinctly seen from the promenade between the forges and the river. Their highest points, as well as their greatest embellishment, is the hill and town of Sancerre, celebrated for its excellent vines, but still more for the stout defence made by its protestant inhabitants against Charles IX. who was forced to raise the siege of the place, and succeeded only by starving them into compliance.

Estates are cheap in the environs of Cosne. One which was for sale, in July 1814, within half a mile of the town, may afford an idea of

their general value: « 1000 acres arable, 500 woodland, equal to 1650 acres English; one third of the arable, poor cold clay, of little value; two thirds pretty good wheat land; part dry enough for turnips: is let on lease for nine years (which the tenant would give up on receiving a fair price for his stock and crops) at gooo francs, 3751. sterling; and landtax 1600 francs, 661. 13s. per annum; might be bought for about 22 years purchase at 8,3331. On this estate is an excellent house, and out-buildings, and a large walled garden; all in good repair. » See Mr. Birbeck's Notes on a Journey through France, p. 29.

Passing the pretty bourg of Pouilly, celebrated for its excellent wine, and containing a population of 2,500 persons, we arrive at the ill built and ugly town of La Charité, situated on the banks of the Loire. It has a fine quay and two bridges over the two arms of the river, forming an Island. Trade in iron and wood; Population, 4,000. Arrive at Pougues, known for its mineral waters, now neglected: the road gradually rises till we reach the summit of a hill, whence the eye discovers one of the richest views in France; descend to Nevers.

Nevers is situated at the confluence of the Nièvre and the Loire, and is entered by a sort of triumphal gate, which looks best at a distance. Its amphitheatrical situation on the right bank of the Loire, gives it a fine appearance, but renders the streets very steep; they are also winding and badly payed. The ob

B.

jects worthy of notice, are the fine cavalry barracks, the spire of the cathedral, and the grand square containing the ancient chateau of the dukes of Nevers. Manufactures of glass, enamel, earthenware, and a foundry of cannon for the marine, on the Nièvre, where are a great number of forges, the principal of which is that of Guérini, appropriated to anchors and balls. This establishment which has 400 men, is the the centre of the other founderies, which employ altogether 1,500 labourers. They make also mooring chains, and all sorts of iron work for ships. The mines are not far from the forges, and are the principal source of the prosperity of Nevers. The goods for Paris are sent by the canal of Briare; and those for Orleans and Nantes, by the Loire. Population, 12,000.

From Saint-Pierre-le-Moutier, a small town of 2000 inhabitants, there is no place worthy of particular remark till we reach Moulins; but nothing can be more picturesque than the country: « natural beauty and the life and activity of cultivation contribute to render it the most complete succession of landscape in France. The road is of gravel, and excellent. It is bordered by magnificent trees, but which have been so planted, as to procure shade without excluding air; the road therefore is at once shady and dry. The chesnut trees, which are numerous in this part of the Bourbonnais, exceed perhaps, in beauty the oaks, having a more rich and bossy foliage, which reminds one of the Corinthian volutes. The

French peasantry are not insensible to this beauty-for wherever there is a tree of more than common luxuriance in its foliage, a seat is made round the trunk, and the turf mowed and ornamented, to prepare it for the scene of their village sports. In the latter end of July or beginning of August, many a happy groupe may be seen, treading out their corn, which is performed in the following manner. Three or four layers of corn, wheat, barley or pease, are laid upon some dry part of the field, generally under the central tree; the horses and mules are then driven upon it and round it, in all directions, a woman being in the centre like a pivot and holding the reins: the horses are driven by little girls. The corn thrashed out, is cleared away by the men, others winnow it, others heap it, others supply fresh layers. Every one is happy and noisy, the women and girls singing, the men occasionally resting from their labours to pay their gallant attentions. *»>

On approaching 'Moulins, the sentimental traveller will naturally be reminded, that within half a league of this place, Sterne «< discovered poor Maria sitting under a poplarher elbow in her lap, and her head leaning on one side within her hand-a small brook running at the foot of the tree. She was dressed in white, except that her hair hung loose, which before was twisted within a silk net; she had anperadded likewise to her jacket, a pale green riband, which fell across her shoulder to her waist, at the end of which hung her pipe. Her (1) Pinkney's Travels, 4to. p. 217.

goat had been as faithless as her lover; and she had got a little dog in lieu of him, which she kept tied by her string to her girdle. »>

Moulins, the ci-devant capital of the Bourbonnais, on the Allier, is a much more regular and better built town than Nevers; all the houses are constructed of brick, and the fronts of most of them have a singular appearance, from the mixture of black and red bricks, in the shape of lozenges, zigzags, and other grotesque figures. The remarkable objects are, a handsome bridge of 13 arches, fine cavalry barracks, fountains, and the mausoleum raised by the Princess des Ursins, to Henry of Montmorency, her husband, who was beheaded at Toulouse, under the government of Cardinal Richelieu, situated in the Royal College. Moulins has a fine public library, some pleasant walks, and a small theatre. Trade in grain, wine, iron, wood, coal, and silk: Manufactures of earthen-ware, cotton, stockings, and thread, but particularly of all sorts of cutlery; the scissars are much esteemed. We might, perhaps, have spared the reader this information, for the moment he alights from his carriage, he will be surrounded by a score of women and girls (many of them very pretty, and of the most insinuating address,) who will soon make known to him the staple commodity of the town. There is literally no escape from these persevering girls, with their perpetually repeated «Achetez-moi quelque chose;» but by laying out a few sous with them (1). The

(1) These girls will sometimes run by the side of a ear