The town of Fougeres is partly built upon a slate rock, which seems to
have slipped from the mountains that hem in the broad valley of
Couesnon to the west and take various names according to their
localities. The town is separated from the mountains by a gorge,
through which flows a small river called the Nancon. To the east, the
view is the same as from the summit of La Pelerine; to the west, the
town looks down into the tortuous valley of the Nancon; but there is a
spot from which a section of the great valley and the picturesque
windings of the gorge can be seen at the same time. This place, chosen
by the inhabitants of the town for their Promenade, and to which the
steps of Mademoiselle de Verneuil were now turned, was destined to be
the theatre on which the drama begun at La Vivetiere was to end.
Therefore, however picturesque the other parts of Fougeres may be,
attention must be particularly given to the scenery which meets the
eye from this terrace.
To give an idea of the rock on which Fougeres stands, as seen on this
side, we may compare it to one of those immense towers circled by
Saracen architects with balconies on each story, which were reached by
spiral stairways. To add to this effect, the rock is capped by a
Gothic church, the small spires, clock-tower, and buttresses of which
make its shape almost precisely that of a sugar-loaf.
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