, dedicated to the Virgin, at the summit; the holy edifice is,
upon ordinary occasions, approached by a circuitous winding road, but
at Easter and other great festivals, thousands of persons flock from
all parts, for the purpose of making a pilgrimage up the steepest
portion of the ascent, in order to fulfil vows previously made, and to
pay their homage to the holy mother of God. There was a waggery in our
friend's eye, as he described the sufferings of the devout upon these
occasions, which indicated an opinion that, however meritorious the
act, and however efficacious in shortening the path to heaven, he
himself entertained no desire to try it. This man had seen something
of the world, his maritime occupation having formerly led him to
distant places; he had been a sailor all his life, was well acquainted
with Marseilles, which he described with great enthusiasm, and gave us
to understand that, having had a good offer elsewhere, this would be
one of his last voyages in the _Etoile_, since he worked hard in it,
without getting any credit.

At the town of Elboeuf, we picked up another passenger; a country
woman, with a basket or two, and a high Normandy cap, had come on
board at one of the villages; and with this small reinforcement we
proceeded, halting occasionally to mend some damage in the engine, and
putting up a sail whenever we could take advantage of the breeze.

Arriving at La Roquelle, our _cicerone_ pointed out to us the ruined
walls of what once had been a very splendid chateau; its former owner
being an inveterate gamester, having lost large sums of money, at
length staked the chateau to an Englishman, who won it. Upon arriving
to take possession, he was disappointed to find that he had only
gained the chateau, and that the large estate attached to it was
not in the bond. Being unable to keep it up without the surrounding
property, he determined that no other person should enjoy it,
and therefore, greatly to the annoyance of the people in the
neighbourhood, he pulled it down. The present proprietor now lives in
an adjacent farm-house, and the story, whether true or false,
tells greatly to the prejudice of the English, and our friend, in
particular, spoke of it as a most barbarous act.

We found the chateaux on the banks of the Seine very numerous; many
were of great magnitude, and flanked by magnificent woods, the greater
number being clipped into the appearance of walls, and cut out into
long avenues an