Brest was
Nantes. This is a popular and ancient city, famous for the edict of
Nantes, and more famous still, perhaps, because of the revocation of
that edict by Louis XIV, which led to disastrous religious wars.
Nantes is also famous as the birthplace of Jules Verne, whose "Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," became an actuality during the world
war. It is a city of about 150,000 and is an important industrial
center, having extensive shipyards, factories, wharves, etc. It is on
the right bank of the Loire River, about thirty-five miles from its
mouth and is one of the chief ports of entry of France.

Nantes has a very interesting history and it contains many ancient and
famous edifices. It was not our privilege, however, to see any more of
the city than the views afforded from the train, for we stopped here
but a short time. It was there that we got our first taste of French
coffee, which is very different from that made and served in America.
It was furnished to us by the French Government. At first it was
distasteful to us, but after drinking it a few times we became used to
it and later on we really liked it.

We were now in the rich valley of the Loire, one of the most
productive and one of the most famous in France. It is not nearly so
large as the Sacramento Valley, in California, nor as fertile, yet its
fame extends around the world. It is drained by the Loire River, which
is the longest river in France, being more than 600 miles in length,
and being navigable for ships as far as Nantes and for river boats
for more than five hundred miles of its length.

In the valley of the Loire we began to see the beautiful vineyards of
France. In this district the farms as a rule were a little larger than
those we saw on our way from Brest to Nantes, and consequently the
hedges were less numerous. It was an exceedingly picturesque scene
that met our eyes as we rolled along in the slow train. One noticeable
fact was that each little vineyard was of a different shade of green
from that of its nearest neighbors, due perhaps, to a different
variety of plant, or to a variation of soil. There seemed to be no two
of just the same shade. It was also in the Valley of the Loire that we
saw considerable fruit production. Orchards were more numerous here
than on the coast. They were planted to most of the deciduous trees
with which we of California are familiar, although prunes seemed to
predominate.

While we were traveling t