BRITTANY: THE LAND OF THE SARDINE 567 



A GIGANTIC MENHIR 



Photo from Mrs Fairchild 



feature of the religion of the aboriginal 

 inhabitants some students have seen a 

 strong and suggestive analogy to the an- 

 cestor-worship of the Chinese. 



These wonderful remains of an extinct 

 civilization occur in all parts of the 

 country. Hundreds of thousands must 

 have been destroyed, but they still con- 

 stitute the characteristic feature of the 

 landscape. As we stand among them we 

 can sympathize with the ignorant and 

 superstitious peasants, who have weaved 

 curious romances around, and who still 

 perform strange rites among, these relics 

 that, in their judgment, could have been 

 erected only by supernatural powers. 



The Bretons are a serious people, and 

 their temperament, their environment, 

 and their vicissitudes have produced just 

 such a soberness of demeanor as we 

 should expect. Most of their diversions 

 are connected with their religion, but 

 they have some pastimes in which they 

 engage with great spirit. 



The day following a religious fete is 

 often dedicated to fun and sports and 

 mild dissipation. There may be barrel 

 races for boys, wrestling matches for 

 men, dancing for men and women, and 

 hard cider for all. The Brittany dances 

 are among the most interesting institu- 

 tions of the country. They are held in 

 the open air — on a town street, in a vil- 

 lage square, on a roadside, or in a field 

 in the country. 



A dance that I attended in a little vil- 

 lage in the interior of Finistere was typi- 

 cal, and was participated in by about 

 forty men and women, all clad in the 

 peculiar garb of the district : the men 

 with a flat, haircloth hat with rolling 

 brim and a black velvet band continued 

 down the back as two long streamers, 

 and with the black jacket and vest 

 trimmed with black velvet ; the women 

 with long, beautifully embroidered 

 aprons and elaborate white bonnets. 

 The most celebrated and characteristic 



