Sunday, July 1, 1838 (Partial Entry)

1838

July

Sunday 1

5 40/..

12 1/2

Rainy morning; Fahrenheit 64 1/2° at 6 a.m.  By 6 1/2, nearly fair or merely damp and small rain – Good beds and comfortable last night –

Off from Langon (hotel de la poste) at 7 1/4.  Left 5/. with the maître de poste for Pierre at Bordeaux – Langon small town – The people standing in groups as if a market day – Damp, rainy, disagreeable morning at 7 1/4 – Asleep –

At Bazas (1 3/4 poste) at 8 1/2 – Stopt au bon pasteur hotel, to breakfast – Was beginning to write, but breakfast soon ready – Rained from setting out till afternoon –

Ann and I out at 10 to see the church, formerly Cathedral, in the picturesque Italian-like, arcaded grande Place.  Le fête St. Jean – A weed or herb common here, twisted into crosses over the people’s doors –

Very handsome old gothic church – The top part of west end modern, not corresponded with the 3 richly sculpted west doorways, the history of our Saviour – in the style of Reims Cathedral –

The handsome entrance plain and clean – The people at high mass –

Organ west end of nave – One side aisle and 1 aisle of little chapels – No transepts – 5 massive round columns in the nave up to the organ, and then 6 clustered columns up to the apse, so that the nave is of 2 periods –

Very picturesque little ville – Walked about while Ann sketched the west front – We had breakfasted well and been very comfortable, but the woman charged 5/. and on my quietly observing afterwards to the man that I had never paid so much for breakfast, not even in Paris, he said it was 4/. for breakfast and 1/. for the room (Double bedded room) in which we breakfasted – Things dearer here than in Paris ! –

Road rough pavé last stage and this – The parterre quite cut up, so much rain lately – Country hedged like England – No heather – All the ground in cultivation –

At 11 40/.., the amphitheatric line of hill en face, and right and left as far as one can see, covered with wood –

at 11 43/.., cross the little Ciron brook, and enter plantations of pins à resine (Scotchy fir), the trees in great numbers cut (little more than the bark cut 3 or 4 or 5 feet in length from the bottom), the piece as it were shaved off, so as to let the sap (turpentin) gush out; and here ‘on entre dans les ‘immenses plaines des landes qui me presentent que l’image de la stérilité et de la tristesse; quelques champs dérobés à ces landes offrent seuls à l’ habitant laborieux une modique nourriture’ Midi p. page 49 Itinéraire de France –

And here all along the road-side, charcoal-rings 6 or 8 yards diameter – The charcoal burnt in a conical heap in the middle covered over with sand, and, when sufficiently burnt, raked out and placed in a circle all round so as to form the rings mentioned – The charcoal sent to Langon for the dix bateaux à vapeur that ply on the Garonne –

White sandy soil, the firs when largeish seem mossy – A little cut-leaved oak intermixed with the  firs – The commerce of Bazas is in wood and charcoal –

At 12 10/.., en sortant from the fir-forest, a little heathery common (left) the rye (right) (1st we have seen cut – Bad road – the wood pavé all in holes – At 12 25/.. very bad for 1/4 hour – accacia hedges roadside –

Captieux at 12 1/2, picturesque little white, red-tile-roofed scattered town – The blue clad men and crimson petticoated women of Bazas and here picturesque – 5 minutes from Captieux white sand and heather, and fir and oak forest all round at a little distance – Still bad wooden road –Heather and whins on the ground clear of wood – From Captieux to Trévens (Poteau

  

WYAS Finding Number SH:7/ML/E/21/0135