took us to the railway station at
Chateaulin, celebrated for its slate quarries, a drive of three quarters
of an hour. From here we proceeded by rail to Quimper, capital of
Cornouaille. The district of Cornouaille--Cornu-Galliae, expressing its
position at the horn or extremity of France--is most varied in character.
The part on the north is enclosed between the two chains of mountains,
which, running nearly parallel with each other, traverse the department of
Finistere, the Mene-Arre, and the Montagnes Noires. A single chain passes
through the Cotes-du-Nord, and forks off, at the edge of the department,
near Callac, whence the northern range, the Mene-Arre, runs westwards to
Faou harbour; while the Montagnes Noires incline to the south-west, and
reach the sea near Crozon. The country between these chains is dreary and
bare--barren plains and black mountains; to the south it is cultivated and
productive. The stormy rock-bound coast is wild and desolate. One-third of
the department consists of landes, marshes, and sandy shores (_greves_).
The people are the Irish of Brittany. Their wants are restricted to a tub
of salted pork and a provision of cider, with rye, or black corn, to make
their "galette." They are simple in their manners, kind to the poor, and
enduring of suffering. Respect for the misfortunes of others, and patience
under their own, is one of the Breton characteristics.

In the days of Conan Meriadec there lived a holy man, called Corentin, who
retired to a solitude for prayer and meditation, near a fountain in a
forest. Every morning a little fish came to him from the fountain; he cut
a piece off it for his daily pittance and threw it again into the water,
and in an instant the fish became whole. The miracle was repeated every
morning. One day King Gradlon, who held his court at "Kemper," was in the
forest near the hermitage of St. Corentin, with some of his suite, and
asked him if he could give him something to eat. The saint immediately ran
to his fountain and called his little fish, cut off a piece, which he gave
to the maitre d'hotel to prepare for the king and his attendants. The chef
laughed when he took the slice; but, to the surprise of everybody, the
fish multiplied so as to completely satisfy the hunger of the king and his
party. Gradlon threw himself on his knees at the feet of St. Corentin, and
gave him the forest, with a "maison de plaisance," which St. Corentin
converted into a monastery. The k