There are little gardens, and big stables, and commodious barns; and
periodical paint with annual whitewash is not wanting. The
unstinted slates shine copiously under the sun, and over almost
every other door there is a large lettered board which indicates
that the resident within is a dealer in the linen which is produced
throughout the country. All these things together give to Granpere
an air of prosperity and comfort which is not at all checked by the
fact that there is in the place no mansion which we Englishmen would
call the gentleman's house, nothing approaching to the ascendancy of
a parish squire, no baron's castle, no manorial hall,--not even a
chateau to overshadow the modest roofs of the dealers in the linen
of the Vosges.
And the scenery round Granpere is very pleasant, though the
neighbouring hills never rise to the magnificence of mountains or
produce that grandeur which tourists desire when they travel in
search of the beauties of Nature. It is a spot to love if you know
it well, rather than to visit with hopes raised high, and to leave
with vivid impressions.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25