He had melted down the church-bells in this
part of Burgundy and Vaud, to make cannon for the final effort which
failed so fatally at Morat; and the old chroniclers relate--without any
allusion to the sacrilege--that the artillery was wretchedly served on
that cruel[54] day. It is some comfort to Englishmen to know that their
ancestors under the Duke of Somerset displayed a marvellous courage on
the occasion.
We reached Pontarlier in time for a stroll through the quiet town; but
we searched in vain for the tempting convents and gates, which were
marked on my copy of an old plan of the place, dedicated to the Prince
d'Arenberg, in the well-known times when he governed the Franche
Comte. The convents had become for the most part breweries, and the
gates had been improved away. Our enquiries respecting the place of
our destination were fortunately more successful. The idea of a
glaciere was new to the world of Pontarlier; but the landlord of the
Hotel National had heard of Arc-sous-Cicon, and had no doubt that we
could find a carriage of some sort to take us there.
Pages:
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190