The Saône. A summer voyage ... With ... illustrations by J. Pennell, etc

Front matter

THE SAONE A Summer Voyage The Large Paper Edition of this Work consists of 275 copies, of which 25 copies are for presentation. This copy is THE SAONE A Summer Voyage BY Philip Gilbert Hamerton AUTHOR OF " A PAINTER'S CAMP," " ROUND MY HOUSE,' /\, *' THE UNKNOWN RIVER," ETC, ETC. With a hundred and forty-eight Illustrations 4*/ JOSEPH PEN NELL and the AUTHOR, and four Maps. LONDON SEELEY &> CO., 46, 47 &• 48 ESSEX STREET, STRAND 1887 All Rights Reserved1 Richard Clay and Sons, london and bungay. THIS J TO THE MEMORY OF FRANCOIS FREDERIC GINDRIEZ, FORMERLY PREFECT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE DOUBS, AND DEPUTY FOR SAONE-ET-LOIRE, ONE OF THE KINDEST, MOST UPRIGHT, AND MOST DISINTERESTED OF MEN, DESCRIPTION OF A RIVER THAT HE FIRST MADE KNOWN TO THE AUTHOR, .fs affcctionateto Jnsrriijcb, BY HIS FRIEND AND SON-IN-LAW.

Preface

. This account of a voyage on the Saone includes the whole of that river which is navigable, and the navigable Saone has been increased in length of late years by the engineering works that now make it accessible for sixty miles above the beautiful little town of Gray. A clear understanding of the fluvial character of the Saone may be gained by dividing it into three parts. The first part is from its source at Viomenil in the Vosges to the junction with the river Coney at Corre. This is the young Saone, and it is not navigable unless possibly in an interrupted manner for canoes. From the junction with the Coney to that with the Doubs at Verdun we have the Upper Saone, which is navigable naturally for very considerable distances, and yet, as a whole, only open in consequence of great engineering works.

It was, however, open from Auxonne downwards in the times of the Crusades. The addition of the waters of the Doubs at Verdun greatly increases the importance of the Saone, which is navigable from Verdun to Lyons for small sailing yachts. Here the river is broad and has a current, the extreme Preface. viii slowness of which was noticed long ago by Cæsar. What little speed it had in ancient days has been still further diminished by the five weirs between Verdun and Lyons, which convert the river into a series of very long ponds, except when the sluices are opened and the current flows naturally, according to the quantity of water. From the Coney to the Doubs the Saone is a good river for oarsmen, but the locks are too numerous for their taste. From the mouth of the Doubs to Neuville, above Lyons, it is the best river to sail upon in Europe, and probably in the world.

This quality is not owing simply to the extreme slowness of the current, but also to a general sufficiency of depth, and to the good ex posure of the surface of the water to the action of different winds. The scenery of the navigable Saone is never so hilly anywhere as it is between Trevoux and Lyons, but in the upper river the ground is pleasantly diversified by the kind of hill that the French call collines, and there are many beautiful woods. From Verdun to Ormes, a village a few miles above Tournus, the scenery is almost Dutch in its flatness, but not without a strong character and a peculiar beauty of its own. Afterwards it remains generally open, with fine distances, till the distances become more mountainous as we travel south, and finally the hills approach the borders of the river just below Trevoux, which is rather more than fourteen miles above Lyons.

Preface. IX The landscape of the SaOne is alternately beautiful or dull (the dull parts giving the voyager a renewed appetite for the beauty that is sure to follow), but it is seldom grand, except with the kind of grandeur that may be due to vastness of space. It has more the character of the sea than that of a lake district. The towns and villages by which the SaOne passes are rich in interest for the artist, and many of them also for the archæologist, but the reader ought to be warned that sketching is scarcely tolerated. The arrest of the author and of the artist who accompanied him was believed in England to have been a mistake resulting from officious zeal in combination with ridiculous ignorance ; but, in fact, the gendarmes acted according to their instructions, and the release of the sketchers was due entirely to the authority of a distinguished General, an artillery officer, who commanded the military district of Dijon.

Even after this incident efficient protection was obtained with the greatest difficulty. With regard to the kind of travelling adopted, the author preferred the river itself, as being the most beautiful of roads. For the voyage above Chalon he used a long canal-boat, temporarily converted into a house boat by the erection of a camp inside it, and for the Lower Sadne he employed a sailing-boat well adapted to those waters. The reason for this difference of navigation was that on the northern river the voyagers had often to pass the night at a great distance from any tolerable inn, whilst south of Chalon the inns are b Preface. X sufficiently frequent to make the necessity for sleeping on board a boat no more than an occasional little hardship. Besides this the Lower Saone is so favourable to sailing that the temptation was not to be resisted, and a lover of aquatic amusements finds his patience rather too severely tested by a month on a canal-boat.

The form of narrative adopted is that of familiar letters, addressed to the author's friend and publisher, Mr. Richmond Seeley. His practice was to write these letters as far as possible on board the boat, and to take ample notes for those which the work of the voyage itself did not leave him time to write at the moment. The letters were really addressed to Mr. Seeley in the first place, and written in a more especial sense for him, though it would be a false pretence to say that the writer had not, at the same time, an eye to a more numerous public. It was the author's own idea that letters of an informal kind, addressed to one who had taken from the first a most friendly interest in the expedition, would naturally permit the introduction of many not insignificant details that must have been eliminated from a more formal narrative.

What seems most desirable is to make the reader feel himself one of the party, and this object may be attained more completely by letters conveying accurately the impressions received from day to day than by a colder Hsumd written out long afterwards. For the same reason the earlier projects and impressions are retained in their own place even when later ones have subsequently corrected or superseded them. Preface. XI With regard to the freshness of the material, it is believed that no Englishman or American ever before made the voyage of the navigable Saone. Many, no doubt, have descended in the public steamer from Chalon to Lyons, but to ascend the river from Chalon to Corre (a much longer distance) is to pass through regions in which there is no accommodation for tourists. In fact, the voyage would have been impossible without an arrangement for living entirely on board the boat.

In this case the expedition was planned so as to give both author and artist every convenience for their work. The author had his private study at hand in all places and in all weathers, with books for reference and every con venience for writing ; the artist worked from nature with the knowledge that he was never more than a mile from his lodging, his luggage, and his dinner, in fact, he had not to give a thought to any material con sideration. Every member of the expedition had his appointed duties, which were performed with a very near approach to the strictest regularity, and a degree of order was maintained that would have done credit to a much more fashionable vessel. In all attempts at in dependent travel there are sure to be some causes of vexation. Those which occurred in this voyage are told quite frankly in the following pages. b Of the illustrations in the following list a hundred and two are original pen-drawings by Mr. Fennell, nineteen are original pen-drawings by Mr. Hamerton, twenty-four are drawings in ink by Mr. Pennell from originals in lead-pencil by Mr. Hamerton, and three are done in ink by Mr. Hamerton from originals in aquatint, etching, and pencil by M. Jules Chevrier and Mr. J. P. Pettilt.

Auxonne and Lyons, being fortified towns, are not illustrated. By J. Pennell, PAGE Gray from the West Title Page. The Boussemroum Moored n Above Chalon 13 The Galley Stove 17 A Sketch '9 A River Train 2° The Tents from La Cour Pennell To face page 22 St. Jean de Losne ■ 27 Gray, the Bridge and Weir 3° The Lock at Corre A~ The Boussemroum at Corre To face page 44 The Church at Corre 45 The Land Gipsies at Corre 46 Corre, the Main Street To face page 50 Franki and Zoulou S2 Ormoy in the distance 53 Ormoy from the Canal * 59 Ormoy, the Public Fountain 60 A House in Ormoy PAGE Richecourt from Ormoy • . ■ 62 Richecourt 62 A Country House near Ranzevelle 63 A Street at Cendrecourt 65 Cendrecourt from the Fields 66 A Barn at Cendrecourt 67 Ferry near Jussey 69 Wood near Jussey 72 A Curve of the Upper Saone 75 Fouchecourt 76 Conflandey, the Village 78 Conflandey, the Towing Path 79 Port-sur-Saone 81 Port-sur-Saone, the Little Bridge 82 Port-sur-Saone, the Channel between the Islands 84 The Boussemroum in the Canal at Chemilly 85 The Bridge at Chemilly 87 The River Durgeon at Chemilly 88 From the Terrace, Chemilly . 90 Canal between Scey and Chemilly , 92 The Boussemroum in the Basin at Scey To face page 92 A House in Scey To face page 94 Tunnel below Scey 97 Ovanches— the Cross 100 A House at Ovanches 101 Rupt, the Church To face page 102 Rupt, the Round Tower I0<.

The Saone near Ray l0-. Lock on the Ray Canal ,0g By P. G. Hamerton. R*y 109 By J. Pennell. The River Bank near Ray On the Canal near Savoyeux To face sage PAGE Ferry at Prantigny 1 1 9 Gray from the North East 124 Gray from the North To face page 124 Old Shop in Gray i25 Courtyard at Gray I26 A Little Bridge at Gray 129 Near Gray z3' Mantoche J32 In the Woodland 138 Pontailler, from the Second Bridge 14° Pontailler, on the Old Saone I42 Old House at Pontailler '47 A Sketch ■ 1 49 Coming down behind Steamer 154 Our Quarterdeck '59 Sunset on the Broad Saone 161 A Sketch l64 The Church at St. Jean de Losne • 166 The Main Street at St. Jean de Losne To face page 168 Steam Tug at St. Jean de Losne To face page 170 On board a Peniche J75 A House Boat '77 A Sketch :7S A Sketch '"9 Ecuelles ~7~ A Sketch, Evening lSo A Sketch, Evening lSo Verdun, the Ferry from the Island l83 Verdun, from the Island in the Doubs 184 Verdun, the Foot-bridge To face page 184 A Corner in Verdun '86 The Bridge at Verdun lS9 A Sketch "94 A Sketch '95 A Haystack '96 Gergy x97 PAGE A Village in the Plain 197 Alleriot 199 By P. G. Hamerton.

Zoulou's Farewell 2o2 Chalon, the Bridge from the North 207 By P. G, Hamerton after J. Chevrier.1 Chalon, the Bridge, a.d. 1600 212 By P. G. Hamerton. Place du Chatelet, Chalon 213 Chalon, the Deanery Tower 215 By P. G. Hamerton after J. Chevrier. Rue St. Vincent, Chalon 219 By P. G. Hamerton. Chalon, Place de l'Hotel de Ville, flooded To face page 216 Chalon, from the Little Creusot 220 Chalon, the Hospital 222 The Arar, Deck View 230 By J. Pennell. Port d'Ouroux, North End 234 Port d'Ouroux, South End 23*; 1 M. Chevrier's etching, of which the drawing is a copy, was itself done from a picture contemporary with the state of the bridge which it represents. By P. G. Hamerton. PAGE The Arar under sail 237 By J. Pennell. Tournus, the Bridge 249 On the Quay at Tournus 250 Ruelle at Tournus 251 The Market-place at Tournus 252 The Towers of Tournus To face page 256 Tournus, the Big Parasol 260 A Sketch 261 Villars 262 A Landing-stage 264 By P. G. Hamerton.

The Arar, with Tents 266 By J. Pennell after P. G. Hamerton. Island of Fleurville from the Inn 271 Macon, from St. Laurent 273 By P. G. Hamerton. Mtcon, the Hotel du Sauvage 275 By J. Pennell. The Bridge at Macon 2S1 c By P. G. Hamerton. PAGE Macon, St. Laurent 28*2 Macon, Towers of St. Vincent and Prefecture 283 By J. Pennell after P. G. Hamerton. Macon from the Railway Bridge 287 The Cliffs of Solutre 288 A House at Port d'Arciat • 291 By J. Pennell. A Sketch 293 By J. Pennell after P. G. Hamerton. The Beaujolais Hills from Thoissey 295 Where we slept at Port de Thoissey 297 Near Thoissey 298 Montmerle from Port de Belleville 302 Montmerle from the South -i0. By P. G. Hamerton. Beauregard from the South ,0g Beauregard from the West ,oq The Arar, with a fair wind ,I0 By J. Pennell after P. G. Hamerton.

Riottier from the North Riottier from the South Trevoux from the North . . j'3 PAGE The Quay at Trevoux To face page 314 Trevoux, Rue du Port 316 Trevoux, the Bridge 31S By J. Pennell after P. G. Hamerton. St. Germain au Mont d'Or 322 By P. G. Hamerton. Petite Amie in a Light Breeze 324 Petite Amie in a Gust 327 By J. Pennell after P. G. Hamerton. In the Basin above Neuville 32S Cliff of Quarry at Couzon 329 Couzon Church and Hills 330 lie Barbe, North End 333 lie Barbe, from the East To face page 336 St. Rambert, fie Barbe to the Right To face page 338 By P. G. Hamerton after J. P. Pettitt, Confluence of Saone and Rhone 343 By J. Pennell after P. G. Hamerton. The Mont d'Or from tie Bene LIST OF MAPS. PAGE I. The Saone, from the Source to the Confluence with the Rhone (in Preface) To face page viii 2.

The Saone, from the Source to the Confluence with the Ognon. To face page 42 3. The Saone, from the Confluence with the Ognon, to the Confluence with the Seille To face page 140 4. The Saone, from the Confluence with the Seille, to the Confluence with the Rhone To face page THE SAONE

Letter I

AuTUN, April 20th, 1SS6. My projected voyage on the Saone presents many practical difficulties. I am familiar with the Lower Saone from many different sailing voyages, and therefore know the peculiarities of the river travel that it affords, but the case of the Upper Saone is entirely different. It would evidently be a great error to think of sailing there, except, perhaps, for an occasional reach of river with little current, well-exposed water, and a wind that happened to be agreeable, so I propose to hire a steam-launch for the Upper Saone, and only take the Arar (my sailing-boat) from Chalon down to Lyons. I have a particular steamer in view, a new boat that has attained a high speed and excelled good rivals in the last Chalon regatta. This seems the most rational plan, as with a steamer I can run up the 150 miles from Chalon rapidly and come down again at leisure making sketches.

The steamer in question has a saloon that will hold two comfortable berths, a kitchen, and a rather commodious forecastle for the men. By setting up a small tent on the roof 1; The SaSne. I J, V-- at night an additional berth might be garheck so there would be accommodation for three gentlemen and the sailors. These last would consist of the engineer, the pilot (who is quite indispens able), and a cook. The gentlemen would be an artist (I should not have time to illustrate the river adequately myself), a military friend, and your correspondent. If I were lucky in the choice of an artist and of the crew the expedition would be pleasant and probably successful. The military friend that I have in view is to be thoroughly relied upon as a travelling companion, and I have but one anxiety about him, which is, that possibly some engagement may prevent him from joining me.

Letter II

Autun, April 26th. (An Extract.) I have applied for the steamer, but as the owner is also the builder he declines to let because he is anxious to sell, and after an excursion of this kind the boat might be considered no longer perfectly new. An application elsewhere for another steamer has met with exactly the same response. The difficulty about hiring appears to be practically insurmountable. There are a certain number of private steam-yachts on the river, but their owners are rich men who would not be tempted to deprive themselves of their vessels during the summer season, and builders only want to sell. I have not the least desire to encumber myself permanently with a steam-yacht, even if I could afford the luxury. The oily smells, the smoke, and the vibration, are to my taste insuperable objections in a machine intended for pleasure.

There is one sailing-yacht on the river with fair cabin accommodation, but she is only useful on the tranquil reaches of the Lower Saone. Just at present I hardly see what is to be done.

Letter III

(Extract.) AUTUN, May 1st. All hopes of a steamer are finally at an end, and I am devising another plan. My sailing-boat, the Arar, might be treated as a canal-boat on the Upper Saone, and drawn by a horse on the towing-path. I have a deck-tent to sleep under at night, and when a rain-storm comes on. This, of course, we should take, and though the accommodation is narrow for three it is just sufficient. The present plan would be to sleep in the inns when they were available, and in the boat tent when an inn happened to be too far from the river. The scheme is feasible, though I foresee difficulties, nevertheless it is the only plan that suggests itself at present. The greatest objection is the narrowness of the accommodation for three persons on board my boat. This is endurable in a short excursion, but would be felt as a serious inconvenience in a voyage extending over several weeks.

Letter IV

AuTUN, May 8th. (Extract.) I have found a man and horse, and asked a friend at Chalon to engage them definitively, so the manner of the voyage is quite settled. The man's charge is reasonable, and he is a perfectly respectable character, well-known to some friends of mine. We shall work up the river as quickly as possible.

Letter V. Autun

May loth. My friend at Chalon, just before engaging the man and horse, happened to meet with a contractor for water transport and mentioned my scheme to him. The contractor imme diately said, " The scheme looks attractive, but it will not work. The defect of it is, that the man with the horse will be separated from the boat every evening, when he will have to seek for a lodging for himself and his beast. He will therefore always have a good excuse, towards evening, for leaving everything and riding off in search of a village. The gentlemen will either be left with their boat and its small accommodation, having to dine as they can, or else they, too, will have to leave the boat and all it contains without any one to guard it, whilst they seek for some village inn. They may possibly find the village, but it is not certain that they will always find an inn fit to receive them, and they may have to come back to their boat late, after seeking in vain.

The practical inconveniences of this might, at times, be rather serious — meals missed, and the narrow lodging on the boat after all, besides the frequent and un avoidable absences of the man just at a time when he would be particularly useful. Ce serait un cas de force majeure. " Now what I should suggest," the contractor went on to say, "is that Mr. Hamerton should rent a berrichon1 and take its owner and a pilot for his crew. Every berrichon has a donkey on board in its own stable, which is a regular part of the boat, and although at first sight it may appear that the donkey would be slow, the fact is that the horse would only go at a walking pace, and the difference would not be so great as it might appear. The men, too, could tow the boat at times if the donkey were tired, and a considerable distance might be quietly got over each day.

Then, in descending the Saone, and especially the Upper Saone, the current would be some advantage. The men would always sleep on the berrichon and could be found when wanted at all hours of the day and night." Another suggestion has grown out of this, which is, that I should take a coursi. This kind of boat has much more beam than a berrichon, and is not so long. It has the great advantage of possessing two good permanent rooms, and there is stabling for a pair of horses on board. The coursi would cost me more, but the temptation of the permanent rooms is considerable. They look rough from the outside, but might be made sufficiently comfortable within. Here is a practicable idea ! The notion of the floating 1 An extremely long and narrow canal boat, built expressly for the canals in the Berri country, where the locks used to be very narrow.

Since the widening of the locks it is not unlikely that this curious type of boat may become extinct. habitation on the coursi has suggested a combination of camp and berrichon. I have preserved as relics of my camp life in Scotland three of my best tents. Two of these are the regular Edgington porch tent in good condition, the third is a studio tent that served me in Scotland for painting from nature at a distance from my hut. I should have nothing to do but set up this camp on the berrichon, and it might be pitched far more perfectly than a camp that has to be removed every day. A berrichon is such a very long boat— eighty feet at least — that the camp could be set up with ease, and there would be spaces between the tents, an immense convenience. The carrying power of a berrichon being about eighty tons, one is free to take luggage without limit.

Letter VI

AuTUN, May ie,th. Too busy to go to the Saone to select a berrichon myself, I have intrusted the commission to a friend. He writes that he has considerable difficulty in finding what I want, as I do not desire to have women and children on board, and almost all these boats are family residences. He .tranquilly inquires if I have any objection to a bigamist, as there is a very suitable berrichon with a man and two wives. This I suspect to be an invention of his own ; probably the man's wife has her sister with her or some other relation, as I know that whole families live together on the water. My objection to children is, that they would generally be in the way and make noise ; as for the sex that we all adore, I should like to know the woman personally before intrusting my peace to her for many weeks.

She might possibly be a talker, or even a scold, she might be dirty and slovenly in her habits, all which would spoil the pleasure of my trip completely, and there would be no remedy against a woman who was established in her own house, under the protection of her own husband. In any case I shall require what is called, on the Saone, a " marinier," in addition to the owner of the boat. I may explain here that a "marinier" is a professional river boatman, whereas the men on the berrichons are often simply canal boatmen belonging to central France, and unaccustomed to the great rivers. A " marinier " of the first rank would probably be classed as a pilot and expect high wages, but it may be necessary to take a pilot as I know nothing about the Upper Saone. The river below Chalon is familiar to me in detail, and I could take a small sailing-yacht over it without help, but I feel no desire to accept the management of an eighty-ton canal-boat even there.

The art of managing those long heavy boats is peculiar, and a profession of itself. The navigation of such a thing would not be a pleasure to me. I look upon it simply as a convenience for having the camp afloat.

Letter VII. Autun

May 20th. My friend has engaged a berrichon on the recommendation of the contractor. The owner is described as un brave homme, which in French, as you know, means a trustworthy, straightforward sort of fellow. What a good thing it is to be very strict and precise about measurements ! The exact interior measure of the berrichon is seven feet two and a half inches, and it is impossible to squeeze my studio tent, by any artifice, into that dimension on account of its pole framework. With the pyramidal tents the case is different. They can be set up with a narrower base and a steeper inclination of roof. I have decided at once to use the side walls only of the studio tent, and have light wooden ends made, so that it will be a combination of hut and tent, which is more convenient than either and combines the merits of both.

I can have a window in one end and a door in the other, with ventilating doors in the two gables. The length of the hut is determined by that of the canvas walls, a little over twelve feet. Such is the advantage of knowing exactly what you want in all its details that the mechanical drawing for this hut, complete to scale, occupied me only an hour. This comes of old experience in hutting. It was simply necessary to remember what was good in my Scotch hut and retain it, whilst remembering at the same time what was defective, to improve it.1 1 In practice this hut turned out to be exactly what I desired. Its dimensions were a little over twelve feet by six feet six. The height to the top of the walls was seven feet six, and to the top of the gable ten feet nine inches. The roof was simply com posed of a couple of rick-cloths, one upon the other. These dimensions gave space and air. Small and low huts are unendurable in hot weather.

Letter VIII

Chalon-sur- Saone, May list. At last I have seen the berrichon. It was lying in the canal (the Canal du Centre), just opposite the church of St. Come. As I was looking at the boat a little old man came along the canal bank with a basket on his arm, saluted me, and said that he was the owner of the boat and at my service. I was pleased with his appearance. He wore a straw hat, a blue summer coat, and a pair of nankeen trousers, all perfectly clean. His eyes were as blue as his coat, but much paler. We immediately went on board the odd-looking craft that is to be my home for several weeks. My first anxiety was about the state of its floor. A berrichon in good condition has a floor in thick boards of excellent oak, level from end to end, but a berrichon in bad condition is likely to have a very defective floor.

Had this boat been out of repair I should have been compelled to have a new floor for each of the tents, but it luckily happens that this is excellent and nearly new. The bottom of the boat is quite flat, the sides arc perpendicular walls of stout oak, breast high. The interior would be a long open corridor were it not divided at intervals by cross-beams, and in the middle of its length by the donkey's house, which crosses from bulwark to bulwark, as the Bridge of Sighs at Venice crosses its narrow canal. The donkey's house is a complete interruption internally, and the most awkward thing in the boat, and near it is a place for hay. At the stern is a poop cabin with two berths for the men, and at the opposite end c of the boat there is a small but very necessary forecastle deck, with a sort of cramped cabin under it that is used as a cellar.

The boat is simply blackened with coal-tar (perfectly clean and dr)-), but the prow is sparingly adorned with white and red paint, and there is some attempt at decoration at the stern. There, by diligent investigation close at hand, or with a glass at a little distance, the name of the vessel may be made out. I print it more plainly here : — BOUSSEMROUM. (pronounced Boossemmrroomm.) It was a most unpractical notion, in such a country as France where nobody can learn a strange name, to give this extraordinary one to a canal boat, but the owner tells me that he took it from a place in Algeria, where there is a sacred mosque, and which is connected with his own experience as a soldier. Vemet, the owner of the Boussemroum, showed me the inside of his private cabin, which is clean and orderly. His cooking apparatus is a stove with the conveniences of a small kitchen range, which he keeps outside in the galley.