The Last Vendée or the She-Wolves of Machecoul: Two Volumes in One (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Last Vendée or the She-Wolves of Machecoul: Two Volumes in One<br><br>IF you ever chanced dear reader to go from Nantes to Bourgneuf you must before reaching saint-philbert have skirted the southern corner of the lake of grand-lieu and then continuing your way you arrived at the end Of one hour or two hours according to whether you were on foot or in.a carriage at the first trees Of the forest of Machecoul.<br><br>There to left of the road among a fine clump Of trees belonging apparently to the forest from which it is sepa rated only by the main road you must have seen the sharp points of two slender turrets and the gray roof Of a little castle hidden among the foliage.<br><br>The cracked walls Of this manor-house its broken win dows and its damp roofs covered with wild iris and para site mosses gave it in spite of its feudal pretensions and ?anking turrets so forlorn an appearance that no one at a passing glance would envy its possessor were it not for its exquisite situation Opposite to the noble trees of the forest of Machecoul the verdant billows Of which rose on the horizon as far as the eye could reach.<br><br>In 1831 this little castle was the property Of an Old nobleman named the Marquis de Souday and was called after its owner the chateau Of Souday.<br><br>Let us now make known the owner having described the chateau.<br><br>The Marquis de Souday was the sole representative and last descendant of an old and illustrious Breton family; for the lake of grand-lieu the forest of Machecoul the town Of Bourgneuf situated in that part of France now called the department of the loire-inférieure was then part of the province Of Brittany before the division of France into departments. The family of the Marquis de Souday had been in former times one Of those feudal trees with endless branches which extended themselves over the whole depart ment; but the ancestors Of the marquis in consequence of Spending all their substance to appear with Splendor in the coaches of the king had little by little become SO reduced and shorn of their branches that the convulsions of 1789 happened just in time to prevent the rotten trunk from falling into the hands Of the sheriff; in fact they pre served it for an end more in keeping With its former glory.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases an imperfection in the original such as a blemish or missing page may be replicated in our edition. We do however repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.