moat, followed by a troop of barefooted children eager to act as guides. Above the gateway is a lion bearing on a shield the arms of Brittany; his right paw holds a lance; on each side is a stag couchant. There have been three gates, one within another, and the marks of the hinges and the grooves for the portcullis are easily seen. We were surprised to find so large an area within, for though the exterior of the castle looks imposing, it loses in size because there is nothing by which to measure it—it stands in such complete isolation on the flat seashore. The lofty north-west tower is the most perfect, and by the staircase in this we mounted to the battlements, and walked some way along them. The view is splendid. South-east are the church towers of Le Croisic and Le Bourg de Batz, and the mouth of the Loire, with the isles of Hoedic and Houath. Farther still, a long low line in the horizon is Belle Ile. West is the peninsula of Quiberon, and nearer the abbey of St. Gildas; beyond all, the vast Atlantic.

There is something indescribably sad in this huge dismantled fortress standing thus alone on the shores of the ocean, without any of the foliage which usually surrounds and clothes the walls of an ancient castle. It is literally ' the Castle by the sea." There is a tradition that Sucinio was anciently inhabited by Raymondin and his wife, the fairy Mélusine. "He was called Count of Forêt, now called Ile de Rhuis," says Jean la Haye, "and they built a monastery in honour of the Trinity, where they are honourable buried."

Our barefooted retinue did not give us much time for contemplation; girls as well as boys clambered about like goats, perching themselves on crumbling corners of the bat

tlements and then on the edge of loopholes in the staircase, till their antics became really alarming. As soon as we began to descend the ruined staircase they ran on in front, and when we reached the landing they showed us a communication with a long gallery, which seems to extend within the wall as far as the chapel; down in the vaults, at the foot of the towers, are loopholes made for the use of cannon.

In the civil wars of Brittany Sucinio often changed masters. It was taken by Charles of Blois, by John of Montfort, and by Du Guesclin. The Duchess or Joan of Navarre, third wife of John IV., afterwards the wife of our Henry IV., gave birth at Sucinio, the 24th August, 1393, to the famous Arthur of Richemont, the companion in arms of Joan of Arc, and the famous successor as Constable of France to Du Guesclin and Clisson. Finally, he succeeded his nephew, Peter II., as Duke of Brittany, but he only reigned fifteen months. In 1532 Francis I. presented Sucinio to the beautiful Françoise de Foix, Countess of Chateaubriand. Later on it came into the possession of Catherine de Médicis. Henry IV. gave it up to Marshal Schomberg. During the wars of the League it fell to the Leaguers under the Duke de Mercoeur, and in the reign of Louis XIV. it belonged to the Princess de Conti, the daughter of the Duchess de Lavallière. Finally; in 1795, at the fatal expedition to Quiberon, the Chevalier de Tinteniac landed a division of the Royalist army before Sucinio, and took possession of it. This is the last time that Sucinio appears in history. The Royalist troops did it much damage, and destroyed all the remaining woodwork, but it will take more than one century to crumble the firmly cemented old stones that still remain in lonely grandeur by the seashore.

BUTTE DE TUMIAC.

115

It is perhaps better to see Sucinio and St. Gildas, and then return and sleep at Sarzeau, but we had feared to risk this; and the distance from Vannes is so trifling that it is easy to make another expedition from thence, breakfasting at Sarzeau.

It is not a long drive on to Tumiac, but the road is wretched. The butte or tumulus is now closed; since the excavations made in 1853 earth has fallen in and choked the opening.

There is said to be a very curious dolmen within the tumulus; and at the museum of Vannes we saw thirty celtæ, three necklaces of callaïs or green turquoise, and a bit of human bone which had not been burned, all which treasures were found in excavating this tumulus, in 1853, by Monsieur L. Galles and Dr. Fouquet.

But though one cannot see the interior, it is worth while to visit the butte for the magnificent view from its summit. It is a great mound, about fifty feet high and nearly three hundred feet in diameter, covered with grass, and from it one commands the whole of the Morbihan. To the south and east one gets about the same view as from the battlements of Sucinio; but to the west one sees Locmariaker, and the strangely jagged and rugged shores of the little sea.

About two kilomètres farther on we come to Arzon, but at low tide it is better to go on foot down a narrow lane, past the chapel of Le Croisy to Le Petit Mont. There is a remarkable dolmen here in a large barrow, about thirty feet high. This was explored in 1856, and in it was found one chamber with sculptures on the supporting stones. On one of these two human feet are distinctly traced in outline. This is the only example of human presentment in any

Breton celtic stones. It is a very little way from Arzon to Port Navalo, and not far off there are menhirs and dolmens worth seeing, at Pencastel and Bernon. The Pointe St. Nicholas is also to be noticed. Veneti, Romans, and Templars have all occupied it in turn.

Port Navalo itself is a very ancient seaport, and is now a pleasant little bathing-place, with quaint, simple inhabitants. The steamer which plies between Auray and Belle Ile stops at Port Navalo. It takes two hours and a half to reach Belle Ile, and for those who like sailing the journey is very pleasant, and the fortifications on the island are very remarkable. They were begun by Marshal de Retz, continued by Fouquet, and much increased from the designs of Napoleon, who meant to complete them, but left them unfinished. However, they are now supposed to be perfect.

The coast scenery is very fine in Belle Ile, but it must be seen from a boat to be thoroughly enjoyed. It is a large island, eighteen kilomètres long and ten wide, but the ancient monuments mentioned by old travellers have all disappeared. It is very fertile, and has a breed of good horses. The caps of the women are remarkably pretty— a long sugar-loaf crown, not upright, but almost horizontal, and fluted from end to end with fine goffering. We thought some of the girls quite as pretty as their caps.

THE longest excursion to be made from Vannes is that

to Ploërmel and Josselin, and this requires two or three days.

It is possible to go by rail from Vannes to Questembert, and thence by the correspondence to Ploërmel, passing through Rochefort and Malestroit, and then on from Ploërmel to Josselin by an omnibus which runs between the two towns, only six kilomètres apart. But it saves time to take a carriage direct from Vannes to Ploërmel, although the distance is considerable (forty-five kilomètres), by way of Elven. We were advised not to pass through Elven, but to make a détour from the main road to Malestroit, which is about eighteen kilomètres from Ploërmel. This lengthens the journey. But Malestroit is a very quaint little town, which till the wars of the League was walled; then Mercœur so effectually destroyed its fortifications that only faint traces of them remain.

There is a most remarkable old window in the little ivy