" This classic name is a reward for
the fidelity with which they struggle to preserve the traditions of
the language and manners of their Gaelic ancestors; their lives show
to this day many remarkable and deeply embedded vestiges of the
beliefs and superstitious practices of those ancient times. Feudal
customs are still maintained. Antiquaries find Druidic monuments still
standing. The genius of modern civilization shrinks from forcing its
way through those impenetrable primordial forests. An unheard-of
ferociousness, a brutal obstinacy, but also a regard for the sanctity
of an oath; a complete ignoring of our laws, our customs, our dress,
our modern coins, our language, but withal a patriarchal simplicity
and virtues that are heroic,--unite in keeping the inhabitants of this
region more impoverished as to all intellectual knowledge than the
Redskins, but also as proud, as crafty, and as enduring as they. The
position which Brittany occupies in the centre of Europe makes it more
interesting to observe than Canada. Surrounded by light whose
beneficent warmth never reaches it, this region is like a frozen coal
left black in the middle of a glowing fire. The efforts made by
several noble minds to win this glorious part of France, so rich in
neglected treasures, to social life and to prosperity have all, even
when sustained by government, come to nought against the inflexibility
of a population given over to the habits of immemorial routine.
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