CHAPTER I.

Route from Paris to Mortagne.—­Excursion to La Trappe.—­State of the Order since the restoration in 1814.—­Its foundation and rules under the Abbe de Rance.

Chap.  II.

Ruins of the Convent of the Chartreux.—­Forests of Le
Perche.—­Mortagne.

Chap.  III.

From Mortagne to Rennes.—­Soeurs de la Charite.—­Alencon.—­Laval.—­Vitre, the celebrated residence of Mad. de Sevigne.

Chap.  IV.

Rennes.—­Route from Rennes to Nantes.—­City of Nantes.—­Historical anecdotes.

Chap.  V.

Country south of the Loire.—­Le Bocage.—­Clisson.—­Historical anecdotes.—­The Garenne, and River Sevres.

Chap.  VI.

General appearance and limits of Le Bocage.—­Nature of the mode of warfare of the Vendeans.

Chap.  VII.

The River Loire, from Nantes to Angers.

Chap.  VIII.

Saumur to Tours.—­Tours to Blois.—­Orleans—­and Orleans to Paris.

Chap.  IX.

Environs of Paris.—­Pere la Chaise.—­Castle of Vincennes, and Chateau of Saint Germain.—­The Forest, and Vicinity.—­Conclusion.

A VISIT

TO THE

MONASTERY OF LA TRAPPE

CHAP.  I.

Route from Paris to Mortagne.—­Excursion to la Trappe.—­State of the order since the restoration in 1814.—­Its foundation and rules under the Abbe de Rance.

I performed this journey during the months of June, July, August, and September, a distance of near one thousand miles, and had the singular good fortune to enjoy the finest weather possible.  The perusal of Madame de La Roche-Jaquelin’s interesting work on the Vendean war, first gave me the idea of visiting the country called le Bocage, the theatre of so many events, and sufferings of the brave royalists; and, as the province of le Perche, in which is situated the ancient convent of La Trappe, was in my route to Bretagne, I resolved to make an excursion there, in order to satisfy myself of the truth of those austerities which I had read of in the Memoirs of the Count de Comminge.

The route from Paris to Mortagne, in le Perche, leads through Marly, Versailles, Saint Cyr, Pont Chartrain, La Queue, Houdon, Marrolles, Dreux, Nonancourt, Tillieres, Verneuil, and Saint Maurice.  The roads are excellent, and the country beautiful.  The first post out of Paris is Nanterre.  Two leagues and a half from the barriere, the village of Ruel, and the park of Malmaison, form a continuation of neat buildings.  At Nanterre, in the campaign of 1815, the Prussians,