234 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



of Sancerre, in which we ate, has not quite forty inhabitants 

 per 100 hectares. There are only the Landes, the Lozcre, and 

 the Alpes which have leas. 



We set out from Aubigny, to visit another property, 

 called " Boucard." We saw again, in passing, other heaths, 

 treate), like that of Ivoy, with charcoal. At this time, JI. de 

 Vo.^uc has the iatentiou of establishing an entirely new 

 dJtaain ; or, at least, of annexing these cleared heaths to an 

 "^xfsting domain. He has selected for this purpose what they 

 call here a manceuvrerie (local) — that is to say, one of those 

 small domains elsewhere termed locatures, borderages, or 

 closeries, which are originally only dwellings almost without 

 land, let to workmen on condition of a certain number of days' 

 labour. This manceuvrerie will become, by the annexation of 

 the heaths, an important domain, and they are in course of 

 adding to it new buildings. But what drew our attention more 

 than these structures was, a provisional grange erected in the 

 midst of those ancient heaths, with some beams, brooms, and 

 branches, to thrash there the corn collected upon the clearings. 

 M. de Vogue calls it his squatter's house, and he has fixed 

 there a Pinet machine, which works with three horses and 

 thrashes 40 hectolitres per day. All around is a desert, and 

 one might fancy oneself really in America. 



Until now we have remained in the canton of La Chapelle 

 d'Anguillon, very near the Sologne, and one of the most 

 barren in the department. We climbed a hill which 

 separated us from the valley of the Sauldre, when appeared 

 before us another horizon, that of the canton of Vaill}% one 

 of the most fertile and best cultivated. To the siliceous suc- 

 ceeded the argillo- calcareous soil. The summits are still 

 crowned with woods, but the slopes and bottoms are covered 

 with cultivation. The estate of Boucard, which M. de 

 Vogue owns in this valley, was left him by his grandfather' 

 M. de Langeron. The arable land is divided into twenty 

 domains, of which half are let out. 



Whilst the lands of IvoyandAubigny have great difficulty 

 to realize 15 francs per hectare of net profit, in spite of the 

 eflforts of the proprietor, here we find them let at ."lO and 

 even 40 francs per hectare, so superior is the nature of the 

 soil. Twenty years ago the whole of this country was with- 

 out means of communication : M. de Vogue ;has largely 

 contributed towards the opening of roads— one entirely at 

 his own expense, and of others he has paid a part of the 

 outlay. 



We passed on to Jars, an ancient castellany, erected into 

 a farm in 1760 by M. de Langeron. This fief belonged 

 formerly to the Rochechourart family, and has given its 

 name to one of its branches. One of its possessors, the 

 Chevalier de Jars, an intelligent, amiable, and brave 

 man, was one of the adversaries of Richelieu. After having 

 passed eleven months in the Bastille, he was condemned to 

 death, and went to execution, but was reprieved on the 

 scaffold. An exile successively in England and Italj', he 

 returned into France only after the death of the Cardinal, 

 where he again played a part in the Fronde. Less than 

 100 years after his death his fief became a farm. It is 

 true that the magnificent chateau built by Richelieu has 

 not lasted much longer : cultivation alone survives every- 

 thing. 



We arrived towards evening at Bouchard. Here is 

 another chateau : inhabited for more than 100 years past, it 

 has remained such as it was at the commencement of the 

 eighteenth century. It is here that the Duchess of 

 Navailles, to whom it belonged, was exiled by Louis XIV. 

 for having caused the windows of the Maids of Honour of 



tlie Queen to be grated. The poor lady had time to reflect 

 there on the danger of misplaced severity. 



We dined in the gallery of the chateau, ornamented 

 throughout with very large pictures of hunting, copies after 

 the original of Oudry, which are, I think, at Fontainebleau. 

 These pictures are admirable, of a species adapted to 

 France, and the best possible decoration for the chateau. 

 A portrait of the Duke of Navailles, in the costume of a 

 Marshal of France, ornaments the chimney, from whence he 

 looked down upon us with an air of sufficiently bad humour. 

 At his feet is written the following inscription, half effaced : 



C'est ici que cherche le sage 

 Liberie sans libertinage, 

 Doux repos sansoisivete, 

 Et qu'aft'ranchi de Tesclavage 

 II trouve lafelicite'.* 



What slavery does he refer to .' Is it that of a court life ? 

 Must we see in these verses an allusion to the exile of 

 ^ladame de Navailles ? Be this as it may, if the verses are 

 poor the sentiment is good. j\I. de Langeron, who had 

 succeeded the Navailles, occupied himself with the manage- 

 ment of his estate ; he had his accounts, accompanied with 

 annotations, bound in red morocco, gilt edged ; these 

 volumes must contain curious details on the rural economy 

 of that age. 



They lodged me in the same room of the Uuchess 

 of Navailles, the furniture and wainscoting of which are 

 all of that period. The bed of the Duchess, as wide as it is 

 long ; the arm chairs with armorial bearings ; the walls, 

 hung with old tapestries, representing the history of Joseph ; 

 the high chimneypieces, the large fire-dogs, the remem- 

 brance of that noble victim of duty — all these presented 

 more than was required to excite and occupy the imagina- 

 tion. It seemed to me that I saw her there, seated in one 

 of those great arm chairs, with costume and looks equally 

 severe. 



3rd June. — I have occupied as small a space as I was 

 able in the immense bed, in which six persons might sleep 

 at their ease, and hare had no uneasy dreams. I passed my 

 morning in a walk round the chateau •, the ditches are half 

 filled up ; but they are about to take away the mud which 

 fills them, to throw it as mauure upon the lands. The old 

 wych elms are no longer cut in shapes — the garden no 

 longer cultivated. We see only, near the flight of steps, a 

 few Provence roses and forgotten peonies, which flower 

 again every spring. On the exterior walls of the chateau 

 are engraved on all sides these two inscriptions, which were 

 doubtless the devices of the ancient seigneurs de Boucard — 

 " Viclrex patienlia fali," and " Sal cito si sat 6pMe."t The 

 old manor has need enough of the reminiscence, but I fear 



much that its destiny will well prove stronger than its 

 patience. 



This property was formerly managed by farmers-general, 

 an institution convenient enough for the proprietors, but 

 very unprofitable for husbandry. M. de Vogu^, who has 

 undertaken the defence of this kind of farmers, in his letter 

 to General Canrobert in 18o2, has, nevertheless, suppressed 

 them himself in order to assume the direction. Besides the 

 farmed domains, he still occupies round Boucard 600 hec- 

 tares on the metayer system. We have visited many of 

 these metairies, and found within all the signs of improve- 

 ment evident. Sainfoin covers the soil everywhere with its 



• Here the wi<c man seeks liberty wiiliout liberlinisra, sweet re- 

 dose without idleness ; and freed from slavery, he finds happiness. 



t " She conquers who bears fate patiently," and " Quick 

 enough, if happy enough." 



