Disappointed in his search after the philosopher's stone, and in his longings for dominion over the powers of the air, Gilles de Retz sought in marriage a means of replenishing his coffers. The dowry of his wife was soon exhausted—or her charms palled upon his senses-and she disappeared. A second supplied her place—a third—even to the seventh wife! The cry of blood at length rose to heaven; and Jean V, duke of Brittany, determined to arrest this gigantic criminal. After some difficulty he was taken not in his own château, which was too well defended, but by means of an ambuscade-and thrown into the dungeons of Nantes.

The Indian was next seized, who proved to be a Florentine called Prelati. He was put to the torture, and confessed everything. Gilles himself could not stand unmoved the appearance of the rack; but, forgetting the resolution he seemed to have taken to die in silence, poured forth a declaration of his crimes which filled his judges with horror. Even in the midst of such revelations, however, he endeavoured to relieve himself of a part of the blame, by complaining of a bad education, and of the arts of Prelati and his accomplices; who, working upon his infatuated predilections for forbidden studies, led him on insensibly from horror to horror, till at length his mind became seared to the sense of guilt. It is remarkable that the audience, at this period of the trial, forgot the horror which such a monster ought to have inspired, and melted into tears of compassion.

Gilles de Retz was then condemned to be dragged in chains to the meadow of the Magdelaine, near Nantes, and there to be bound to a post, raised on a pile of faggots, and burned alive. The fathers and mothers of families who witnessed the trial, fasted for three days after, according to

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the custom of the period, in order to obtain a hearing for their prayers in behalf of his soul. They at the same time scourged their children with great severity, to impress upon their memory the awful lesson they had received.

The marshal was conducted to the place of punishment in the midst of a vast procession, formed of the monastic orders, and the clergy and secular congregation of the city. He was much cast down, and seemed to dread the sufferings he was about to undergo; but these, through the interest of his friends, were in part commuted; and when the flames rose, he was strangled, and, with comparatively little pain, yielded forth his spirit to the latter judgment.

The ruins of the château of Verrière, and the whole scene around them, have an air of melancholy and desolation that disposes the mind to reverie. A stair cut in the rock leads to a little hall tapestried with ivy; and round this are planted seven funereal trees, as monuments to the names of the seven murdered wives. At some distance from the château, there were found, in 1810, a number of slate coffins. Near the Verrière, the ruins of an old bridge are seen under the surface of the Erdre; but the date of this construction is altogether unknown. "None of those associations," says M. Richer, "which connect the epochs of history, are attached to the banks of the Erdre. This tranquil river is the image of oblivion; and on its shores, as on those of Lethe, we seem to lose the memory of the past."

Farther on, the basin of La Dénerie, with its picturesque cottages and poplar groves, presents a character of scenery more cheerful and more beautiful than any we have seen since leaving Nantes. The château is too bare to be pleasing-it wants -it wants drapery. The old château of La

Gâcherie, beyond, with its feudal belfry, is much finer; and the plain near it is terminated by a splendid mass of forest. In 1537, Marguerite de Valois, the celebrated Queen of Navarre, spent some months in this retreat; and as she was accustomed to amuse herself with writing in her journeys, the banks of the Erdre, in all probability, inspired some of her tales.

After passing several country houses, we get a glimpse of the bourg of Sucé, a place as ancient as the days of Barbe-Torte, the conqueror of the Normans. It is situated, in the manner of a sea-port, at the bottom of a creek, the sides of which are lofty, and covered with a thick foliage. On the opposite, or left bank of the Erdre, are the remains of an ancient seignorial château, which served as a country residence of the bishops. The principal gate is still preserved entire; and, standing on the summit of a conical rock, it presents a very picturesque appearance.

At Mazerolles the scene changes. The river widens, and the low banks, covered with mist, are faintly seen in the distance. In the twilight, when the shore is only half visible, or altogether escapes the eye, one might imagine himself upon the occan. The plain of waters appears illimitable; the silence is intense; and the river so black, so heavy, so stirless, that you may fancy it the Dead Sea. In the midst of this noiseless solitude, there are two islands—the only islands in the whole course of the river. One of these is thickly wooded, and covered with the vine of Saint Denis. There was found in it, below the surface of the ground, a canoe formed of the trunk of a single tree, in the manner of savages. The second island boasts of one tree-but this is an old oak, whose branches sustain an image of the Holy Virgin. Many pilgrimages are made to the spot by persons suffering from fevers produced by the miasma of

the neighbouring marshes that in summer appear above the surface of the water, which, at other seasons, covers them. This apparently limitless sea is strangely contrasted in extent, in such times of drought. The surface is then formed, in great part, of immense plains, covered with verdure.

Passing some villages and a château of little interest, the river at length narrows in earnest, and, losing the character of a lake or Dead Sea, takes that of an inconsiderable stream. The current begins to be felt, but it flows without noise, and without rapidity. The meadows, which border the canal, are no longer floating islands, but tracts of marshy ground, and we soon reach the point where the river ceases altogether to be navigable, and find ourselves at the little town of Nort.

RENNES.

CROSSING the country to the town of Nozay, we found ourselves on the high road to Rennes. This part of Brittany resembles a vast forest, although when you look closer you find corn-fields under the trees. Ten leagues from Nantes the road crosses the Don, and we enjoy a peep of this beautiful river. It is here characterised by deep and narrow valleys, offering, at every turn, delicious views; among which the most charming is that of the Fairies' Lake.

Dervel, a little town farther on, is distinguished by the ruins of a château, formerly looked upon as one of the most considerable fortresses in Brittany. It was flanked by nine towers, surrounded by ditches always full of water, and could not be entered without crossing two drawbridges. In 1373 it was besieged by the famous Bertrand Duguesclin, who, after much trouble, compelled the defenders to sue for an armistice and give hostages. When the term expired, the Duke of Anjou summoned the castle to surrender, by a herald; but the garrison, having by this time repaired their fortifications, were in no mood to comply. They were then informed, that if they held out an instant longer, their hostages would be put to death before their eyes; and this having no effect, the threat was actually executed, and six men decapitated before the castle walls. The bloody deed was immediately avenged. A scaffold was soon erected along the loftiest window; on