PREFACE:: THE Country which the following pages are intended to portray is not large in extent, or very important by position. And it may be thought, therefore, that two octavo volumes were hardly needed for its adequate description. But it must be remembered that the inhabitants of this remote province, though certainly not the only remaining lineal descendants of the ancient Celtic race, yet are by far the most perfectly preserved specimen of it. To the student of man, and his history, the Breton peasantry present an object of observation, as interesting and as suggestive as the fossilized remains of extinct races of organized beings can to the physiologist. VOL. I. A When, therefore, I determined to attempt a description of the country which had so much interested me, I allowed myself what then appeared to me the ample space of two octayo. volumes, in the hope of being able to present to my reader a full-length portrait of the. Breton peasant, in all his different varieties, and marked by all those peculiarities of habits, manners, modes of thinking, dress, &c., which distinguish him from the peasants of any other race. But I cannot flatter myself that I have done this completely. As I advanced in the composition of my picture, I found that the canvass I had deemed so ample was far from sufficient for my purpose. I have been compelled to hurry over many districts, which I wished to describe more completely, and to omit many details which I should have preferred giving to the reader at length. I trust, nevertheless, that the following pages will not altogether fail in their intention. If the picture is not so finished as I could wish, the more strongly marked linea PREFACE. ments are at least given-and with fidelity. And I shall not be disappointed if I shall be found to have awakened a curiosity, which my volumes are not sufficient fully to satisfy. Among the variety of books which have assisted me in conceiving and in describing the Breton character and peculiarities, I would particularize that of M. Souvestre "Les Derniers Bretons." Without some clue, such as that which his work afforded me, I should frequently have been at a loss to find my way so to speak to many interesting but hidden recesses of Breton character, or to understand rightly much of that which every traveller must see. The reader will perceive that I have not scrupled to avail myself of his assistance in many instances; and, at the same time that I acknowledge my obligations to him, I would bear testimony to his intimate knowledge of the people he describes. But I would warn those who read "Les Derniers Bretons" as an accurate account of Britanny and its inhabitants, that they should remember that the tone of that work has been adapted by its author to the Parisian taste; and that the couleur-de-rose hue of a poetic temperament has reflected its tints on facts and circumstances, which to a more matter-of-fact observer might not appear to stand out in so romantically strong relief from the ordinary monotony of every-day life as it exists in other countries. |
