In the Ardennes (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1881 edition. Excerpt: ... between the quarry and the convent. The saint tutored the savage beast, till he did his work perfectly, always saying to him, when he reached his destination, in the patois of the country--"Stav-leu." "Stop wolf." Hence the present name--Stavelot; but the story is a repetition of the legend of Cugnon. At the station for Trois-Ponts we got out; it is very pretty and well cared for; but the stationmaster and porter looked at us and our luggage in an unpromising manner. "Where do you wish this taken?" said the porter; and when we answered, "To the Hotel des Ardennes at Trois-Ponts," he shook his head. "There is not a hotel--there is an auberge--but;"--and then he looked at me and shrugged his shoulders, as much as to say, " Madame cannot lodge there." We were very tired and very hungry, and the sun still shone hotly overhead; the road was white with dust, as we followed the porter's truck to Trois-Ponts. The scenery is charming, beside the beautiful river Ambleve, into which the Salm falls at this point, as well as another stream; there is a bridge over each river, hence the name; but when we saw the miserable little house to which our guide had brought us our hearts sank. However, we asked if we could be lodged. For answer, a man and a girl came out, and looked at us and our baggage. "No;" the girl shook her head vigorously, "we do not take in ladies; we have no rooms fit for them." We turned to the porter in despair; we had so set our minds on staying at Trois-Ponts that we had planned out no other resting-place before Remouchamps, and that we knew must be many miles away. It seemed to us that we must go back to the station and thence to Stavelot. "There...