fancy it is not wise to sit out too late after
the hot bath and fatigue of the day.

It is a splendid automobiling country, and every afternoon there is a
goodly show of motors of all sizes and makes waiting to take their
owners on some of the many interesting excursions which abound in this
neighbourhood. We have an English friend who has brought over his
automobile, a capital one--English make--and we have been out several
times with him. The other day we went to Domfront--a lovely road, almost
all the way through woods, the forest of Audaine with its fine old trees
making splendid shade. We passed through the Etoile--well known to all
the hunting men, as it is a favourite rendezvous de chasse. It is a
lovely part of the forest, a great green space with alleys running off
into the woods in all directions. Some of them, where the ground was a
little hilly, looked like beautiful green paths going straight up to the
clouds.

We kept in the forest almost all the way--as we got near Domfront the
road rising all the time, quite steep at the end, which, however, made
no perceptible difference in our speed. The big auto galloped up all the
hills quite smoothly and with no effort. It was a divine view as we
finally emerged from the woods--miles of beautiful green meadows and
hedges stretching away on each side and a blue line of hills in the
distance. We had been told that we could see Mont St. Michel and the sea
with our glasses, but we didn't, though the day was very clear. Domfront
is a very old walled town, with round towers and a great square donjon,
perched on the top of a mountain. A long stretch of solid wall is still
there, and some of the old towers are converted into modern dwellings.
It looked out of place to see ordinary lace curtains tied back with a
ribbon and pots of red geraniums in the high narrow windows, when one
thought of the rough grim soldiers armed to the teeth who have stood for
hours in those same windows watching anxiously for the first glimpse of
an armed band appearing at the edge of the meadows. The chateau must
have been a fine feudal fortress in its time and has sheltered many
great personages. William the Conqueror, of course--he has apparently
lived in every chateau and sailed from every harbour in this part of
Normandy--Charles IX, Catherine de Medicis, and the Montgomery who
killed Henri II in tournament.

[Illustration: In Domfront some of the old towers are converted into
modern dwelli