KNITTING FOR FATHER AND BROTHER IN THE TRENCHES: NORTHERN FRANCE 



ment the burden and heat of the day; 

 and in Dauphine there are miniature 

 crosses, even in the fields, for the birds ; 

 but in Brittany the cross is often a great 

 Calvary, with the figure of the Christ 

 crucified between the thieves. Some- 

 times, as at Pleyben, it surmounts a 

 structure like a Roman triumphal arch. 



At Plougastel the most wonderful spec- 

 imen of all has a great pedestal covered 

 with curiously rustic figures which speak 

 the patois of the people and portray the 

 story of the Passion on the sloping 

 ground of Golgotha, while below them 

 the beautiful high-relief frieze supple- 

 ments the more striking details with its 

 quieter scenes. By cross-road and in 

 churchyard these weird monuments give 

 a bizarre touch that is unforgettable. 

 These calvaries are no mere matter of 

 architecture, either: they stand for the 

 people. The churches themselves through- 

 out the province are relatively simple and 

 austere. It is the human side of Brittany, 



the quaint, artless, undemonstrative peo- 

 ple and their customs and costumes that 

 claim attention most of all. 



QUAINT PENITENTIAL SERVICES 



The pardons, those penitential services 

 to which the people come to be purged 

 of sin, are amazing demonstrations of 

 faith and superstition — and wonderful 

 costumes. Every town or region has its 

 own variation of costume and colors, and 

 a pardon crowd is as brilliant and full of 

 contrast as a cloud of butterflies. Some 

 of the women's costumes — heirlooms, 

 every one — are exceedingly rich and 

 costly. 



Those of Pont TAbbe and Quimper are 

 of fine black broadcloth, banded heavily 

 with black velvet. The tight bodice is 

 ablaze in front with thick, heavy, brilliant 

 embroidery — all done by old men — in 

 vivid crimsons, gold, orange, salmon, 

 blues, and greens. Over the full skirt is 



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