Velay

The Donkey, the Pack, and the Pack-Saddle

The social aspect of Le Monastier is shown through this section.
Stevenson comments on the aggressive nature of the people in Le Monastier, he says on page 7
 '...and they all hate, loathe, decry and calumniate each other.'He is saying how the citizens hate each other, which is due to their unfriendly nature and also disputes over the four major political parties; Legitimists, Orleanists, Imperialists and Republicans. There was a conflict of views between whom the political parties wanted in power. Legitimists wanted to see the restoration of the Bourbon Kings, Orleanists wanted a royal family, Imperialists wanted an emperor and Republicans supported the French Revolution.
Having these different political parties meant that people weren't at all nice to each other and didn't even converse unless it was for business.
Also he says that everything here is sealed with a drink, which may be a reason for their
'tavern brawls'.

However this was a different story for Stevenson, whom the Monastrians took an interest to because he was a stranger. On page 7 Stevenson says,
'I was looked upon with contempt, like a man who should project a journey to the moon, but yet with a respectful interest...' He says they were willing to help him, which is something we know they wouldn't do for others.

Due to Stevenson's poor health he was not capable of carrying his load; he calls himself Christian which is an allusion to John Bunyans 'Pilgram's Progress' where a man called Christian carries his sins. This is how Stevenson feels about the load he is carrying. He then chooses to obtain a
'beast of burden'to carry the load. He decides a donkey is a suitable choice, as he says on page 9 its 'cheap and small and hardy, and of a stolid and peaceful temper.'




Stevenson meets with a man named Father Adam who is known to sell calendars, almanacs etc. However he also has a 'diminutive she-ass', Stevenson enquires about the donkey wanting to use her for his travels. Father Adam tries to show the timid nature of the animal to Stevenson by showing how she reacts around children. On page 9 Stevenson says’ one child after another set upon her back to ride, and one after another went head over heels into the air', this shows that the good temper Father Adam talks of is completely untrue. 
He is allowed the donkey who he names Modestine. He buys a pack saddle off a man, which he says 
'would not say on Modestine's back for half a moment'-page 11. He then goes to the maker, which causes an argument. Stevenson says on page 11'we threw it at each other's heads...and spoke with a deal of freedom', this shows him and the maker getting into a fight
and swearing at each other over the pack saddle.



The Green Donkey- Driver

This section is important to illustrate the forming relationship between Stevenson and Modestine.
Stevenson does not know how to handle Modestine, who tries to annoy him by walking at a slow pace. This leads Stevenson to hit the donkey in order for her to quicken her pace. This causes Modestine to let out cries of distress in protest to the hits she is receiving.  However on page 12 he says
'Modestine brisked up her pace for perhaps three steps, and then relapsed into her former minuet.' This shows the Modestine does not see Stevenson as her owner yet so he must gain that respect from her.  
On page 13 Stevenson comes into contact with a peasant, who enquires about Modestine and whether she is old, Stevenson then explains the situation which leads the man to show him how to handle Modestine. The peasant says
'You must have no pity on these animals', which is something Stevenson was doing for Modestine as he said on page 12 '...it goes against my conscience to lay my hand rudely on a female'.After the peasant hits Modestine she begins to walk at a 'good round pace'and does so without 'exhibiting the least symptom of distress' .Stevenson realises that Modestine's earlier signs of distress were 'a piece of comedy', this shows she is taking advantage of the situation as Stevenson does not know what he is doing.

Stevenson reaches the village of Goudet, and now has gained some knowledge about how to tackle Modestine with
'bastinado', which means beating with a stick. However she is still proving to be a problem for him, as on page 16 she is wandering off into 'every house and every courtyard', and then she'set her heart upon the by-road, and positively refused to leave it'. This results in him striking her twice in the face, however earlier on page 15 he said 'Once, when I looked at her, she had a faint resemblance to a lady of my acquaintance who formerly loaded me with kindness; and this increased my horror of my cruelty.'This section effectively maps out the future of the relationship between Stevenson and Modestine.




I Have a Goad

  On page 19 Stevenson reaches 'the auberge of Bouchet St Nicholas', which he says it the 'least pretentious'  inn he has ever visited. He talks of the lack of privacy in the inn and says 'Modestine and I could hear each other dining'. However the people of the inn are 'friendly and considerate'. His encounters with people in this section are different to those of the first, as they appear to be friendlier to the stranger, and not as argumentative. They are also more open to the stranger such as the man he meets on page 19, who on page 21 tells him a bit about himself saying 'He told me he was a cooper of Alais travelling to St Etienne in search of work, and that in his spare moments he followed the fatal calling of a maker of matches'. This shows their friendly nature compared to people of The Donkey, The Pack and the Pack-Saddle.

The next morning- Monday, September 23rd, on page 21, he explores the neighbourhood of Bouchet, of the days he says is
'perishing cold, a grey, windy, wintry morning'. The only colour he can see is beyond Mount Mezenc.  Now that Stevenson has a goad he is able to hit Modestine expertly and make her trot a lot faster than her previous speed. However now she is bleeding and he says, on page 22, 'And what although now and then a drop of blood should appear on Modestine's mouse-colored wedge -like mane? I should have preferred it otherwise, indeed; but yesterday's exploits had purged my heart of all humanity'. This means that the trouble she caused him yesterday by walking slow on purpose affected his humanity and he doesn't feel any emotion whilst he is hitting her with the goad.
He walks along to Pradelles, which stands on a hillside, surrounded by rich meadows. From here he wishes to make his way to
'wild Gevaudan' which he says, on page 22, is 'mountainous, uncultivated and but recently disforested from terror of wolves.' He is annoyed as he hasn't seen any wolves or bandits, which would make his travels more of an adventure as it would be an exciting story to tell in the future, if he survived. He tells the story of the 'BEAST' who was feared by many, he was said to have eaten women and children. However when they shot him they found out he was 'a common wolf, and even small for that', showing that the rumours of the large size were just that- rumours.
After his lunch he begins to travel to Gevaudan, where he crosses the Allier and the bridge of Langogne just as the rain was beginning.
At page 24 he meets a
'lassie of some seven or eight'who addresses him in 'so high an air'that he begins to laugh. She was very offended by this so he quickly crosses the bridge in Gevaudan.




Upper Gevaudan

A Camp in the Dark

Picture
It is Tuesday, 24th December, where Stevenson begins to prepare for his travels. He 'sets out for Le Cheylard l'Eveque' which he was told a man should walk there in an hour and a half saying, on page 25 'A man, I was told, should walk there in an hour and a half; and I thought it scarce too ambitious to suppose that a man encumbered with a donkey might cover the same distance in four hours.' This shows that any normal man would be there in a shorter time than he would, as he will be held up my Modestine- who is a bit of a burden for him, which is one thing she wasn't designed to be, as he got her knowing she would carry his belongings. This sentence is also an unusual sentence as the subject comes before the verb, which is unlike most sentences. It is a perfect example of the way Stevenson writes.

 He discusses the awful weather he encounters whilst travelling there, as it is raining, however he is still determined to travel through these awful conditions.
He is unsure of directions so enquires about where to go for Cheylard but the people he sees, on page 26, are 
'but little disposed to counsel a wayfarer’ this means that they do not want to give directions to a stranger. A man even gives him directions on which Stevenson did not understand, this resulted in him going in the wrong direction and the man did not even make him aware of this.
Another encounter he has is on page 26 with
'a pair of impudent sly sluts' who tell him to 'follow the cows'to find his way. This makes him think of the Beast of Gevaudan whose chosen dish was children of this district, which results in Stevenson thinking of the beast with sympathy, as he ate girls such as these. Stevenson's encounters with people are an important part of his journey, as being in a different place you experience talks with various people. This is shown through the many encounters he comments on during his travels.
However on page 27 he finds
a 'delightful old man' who puts him 'safely on the road to Cheylard'. This shows a contrast to the people, as most do not want to help him but others are happy to do so. 

On page 28 he sees one of the
'sly sluts'again whose house he is at asking for help to get to Cheylard. The residents, at Fouzilhac, here do not help him again and the man of the household sends him on his way. It’s getting late so he has to choose a place to sleep, which is going to be in the woods with Modestine, even though there is dreadful weather. It is windy and he says, on page 31, 'the wind among the trees was my lullaby'.
In the morning he packs and eats, he also feeds Modestine and then they begin to travel east.
The readers become aware of Stevenson's lack of direction because at the end of this chapter he sees the
'delightful old man'again, which means he has walked round in a big circle- and has not made any progress.



Cheylard and Luc

Stevenson reaches a new inn on page 34, which is again 'unpretentious'. The people there are 'good folk'who were 'much interested'in Stevenson's 'misadventures'. The wood in which he had slept the night before belonged to these folk, and as he told them the story of the residents, in Fouzilhac that would not help him, they warm to him and call the man a 'monster'.
The lady of the house wants to make sure he is looked after, this is a big difference from the people Stevenson talks about in the last section, they are welcoming him into their home and ensuring he is well looked after.
In this section he comments on his relationship with Modestine, who he still hasn't grown close to. On page 35 he
says 'I should come to love Modestine like a dog. Three days had passed, we had shared some misadventures, and my heart was still as cold as a potato'. This shows that now he has spent an increased amount of time with Modestine he should have grown to love her. However this is not the case, and he doesn't even care that she is bleeding due to the weight she's carrying. The man of the household makes him aware of this but as he is as cold as a potato towards her he acts like he does not care and doesn't take up the man's offer of packing the load, on her back, in the proper way. 




Our Lady of the Snows

Father Apollinaris


It is Thursday, 26th September, Stevenson and Modestine are going to see the Trappist monastery of Our Lady of the Snows. Whilst travelling there he uses good descriptions to inform the reader of the beautiful things he sees. On page 38 he says, 'High rocky hills, as blue as sapphire, closed the view, and between these lay ridge upon ridge, heathery, craggy, the sun glittering on veins of rock, the underwood clambering in the hollows, as rude as God made them first.’ This is an extremely effective description that allows the reader, including myself, to picture the sights on Stevenson's trip to the monastery.
However once he gets to the monastery he is met with
'unaffected terror' at the thought of being a protestant and entering a Catholic monastery, this is due to the conflicts between the Catholic and Protestant religion. A person approaches him, who is delighted to see a Scotsman. This may suggest how isolated the monastery is, as even seeing a Scotsman excites the residents. Stevenson says 'And he looked me all over, his good, honest, brawny countenance shining with interest, as a boy might look upon a lion or an alligator'.This shows the interest he has in Stevenson, and compares it to a boy looking up at a dangerous animal. This is where he receives the news that he cannot be received at Our Lady of the Snows but can have a meal.
Father Apollinaris, the man who is showing him around the monastery, breaks his silence and speaks him on page 40 and says
'..try to see me as you go out again through the wood, where I may speak to you. I am charmed to have made your acquaintance.'This then results in Father Apollinaris running away from Stevenson shouting 'I must not speak'.  He says this revives his terror of the monastery.





The Monks

At the start of this section, Stevenson is in the pantry with Father Michael, who gives him 'a glass of liquer'until he has dinner. From here he goes into the gardens, which contain the monks who are praying etc. He says on page 41, 'Brothers in white, brothers in brown, passed silently along the sanded alleys; and when I first came out, three hooded monks were kneeling on the terrace at their prayers.'This creates good imagery and allows the reader to imagine the monks gathering around the courtyard busy with their prayers.  
After Stevenson has his dinner he is led into a separate room by Brother Ambrose, the room is designed for visitors and also people who are having a religious withdrawal from the world. This also shows the isolation of the monks and the visitors, as they have their own room in the monastery.  This is where he is led to the deacon of the church, who he does not take to saying, on page 42,
'With this, he was a man eminently sociable, greedy of news, and simple- minded like a child. If I was pleased to have a guide about the monastery, he was no less delighted to see an English face and hear an English tongue.'This suggests that the deacon is happy to see him, as is greedy for the news outside the monastery. They are extremely alienated from the modern world so news is a treat for them. The deacon shows Stevenson around and introduces him to the life of a monk, telling him of the occupations they have; doing what they choose. On page 43 he says 'For in a Trappist monastery each monk has an occupation of his own choice, apart from his religious duties and general labour of the house. Each must sing in the choir, if he has a voice and ear, and join in the haymaking if he has a hand to stir.'This shows that even though they are away from the world, they still try to have a routine and maintain a sense of normalcy by participating in the choir and doing extra activities like Father Apollinaris who likes to make roads.


Routine of Monks (page 44)
Stevenson begins talking of the routine of the monks, who are beginning their 'grand fast', which lasts from September to Easter. This means that they can eat once in a 24 hour period, this meal is normally at two in the afternoon, however this meal is still 'scanty’ and they even turn down the offer of wine. Stevenson is surprised that they can fast and even 'refrain from this indulgence', he says how normal people like to 'over-eat'and the monks turn down wine, which he cannot comprehend as he thought this indulgence would be a nice treat for them. This shows how important their religion is to them and how dedicated they are. Stevenson is surprised at the 'freshness of face and cheerfulness of manner’ of the monks, as he expected them to look very ill and miserable.
However
'death no infrequent visitor', they still seem very healthy but Stevenson calls their existence a 'solemn and cheerless isolation'. The monks wake at 2 in the morning, when the clapper rings and then go about their separate tasks until 8 where they 'receive the comfortable gift of sleep'.

On page 45 Stevenson says, 'We speak of hardships, but the true hardship is be a dull fool, and permitted to mismanage life in our own dull and foolish manner'. This means that normal people will moan about their hardships but the real hardship they have is being in a dull life without being focused on anything productive like the monks and their religion.

On page 46 Stevenson uses a complex sentence, he says
'I recall the whitewashed chapel, the hooded figures in the choir, the lights alternately occluded and revealed, the strong manly singing, the silence that ensued, the sight of cowled heads bowed in prayer, and then the clear trenchant beating of the bell, breaking in to show that the last office was over and the hour of sleep had come; and when I remember, I am not surprised that I made my escape into the court with somewhat whirling fancies, and stood like a man bewildered in the windy starry night.’ This sentence is good, as Stevenson describes both the sound and the sights. 



The Boarders

Stevenson arrives late to the monastery so is left to dine with two other guests; one a country parish priest and the other an old soldier. At this supper, on page 48, Stevenson praises an anticlericalist- Gambetta, who is a French Republican leader and patriot. The soldier says 'will you dare to justify these words', so the reader can see he is clearly offended by Stevenson's words. However this comes to an end, as Stevenson says 'and the storm came to an abrupt end, without another word.'In the morning of Friday, September 27th the men discover Stevenson is a heretic, which is an offensive word that is directed at people, from a religious person, who doesn't believe in their God. The use of this word is surprising as it is offensive to Stevenson but he uses it in his notes.
They try to convert him, on page 49, saying
'You must be a Catholic and come to heaven’; this is their way of trying to convert him by suggesting he will go to hell if he isn't a Catholic. However Stevenson makes it clear that he's not going to change and says the pair are 'bitter and upright and narrow like the worst of Scotsmen'. One of the Fathers goes into detail about why Stevenson should convert, and another monk with an Italian accent calls Stevenson 'a faddling hedonist', which is someone who has no morals and believes in having a good time. Stevenson is extremely offended at this and makes an escape. However at dinner the 'Work of the Propagation of the Faith’continues and the priest begins to ask questions, and also has a persuasive air to suggest Stevenson convert. He says‘at length I grew annoyed beyond endurance’; this shows that he does not appreciate their constant talks of his conversion. Although, he says that admires the 'zeal and faith' of this priest.




Upper Gevaudan (continued)

Across the Goulet

  Stevenson has come out of the monastery and is begin to travel through Upper Gevaudan again.
The Irish man and Pere Apollinaire help him for a couple of hundred yards on the way.
On page 53, Stevenson and Modestine
'mounted' the course of the Allier, heading back towards Gevaudan through the forest of Mercoire.
They each Chasserades where Stevenson stays at an inn, where he meets a few men that he says are
'intelligent and conversable' which highlights the contrast in characters, as he meets those that do not want to bother with him; like the residents in the house one of the 'sly sluts' live to these gentlemen in the inn kitchen where they 'decided over the future of France over hot wine'.
He is awaken at five o'clock on Saturday, September 28th, soon after he is on his way with Modestine into the valley of Chassezac. He uses a very interesting description on page 54, he says 'This stream ran among green meadows, well hidden from the world by its steep banks; the broom was in flower, and here and there was a hamlet sending up its smoke.' Stevenson effectively describes the places he goes to throughout the book to the reader.  From Chassezac he goes through the mountains of La Goulet, then travels through Lestampes where every corner brought him 'an acquaintance with some new interest'- page 54. Whilst in Lestampes he passes many interesting things that he tells the reader about; 'full of sheep, from wall to wall- black sheep and white', 'a pair of men in a tree pruning-hooks' with one of them singing and 'crowing of cocks'. He is walking through Lestampes and people are getting on with their lives and the world is passing him by while he is travelling stuck in his constant state wanting F. Osbourne. However he says he is in 'good spirits' being led into an adventure, possibly by Modestine who will not go down the short cut but will instead choose to do otherwise, he says on page 55 'she turning in my face, she backed, she reared; she whom I had hitherto imagined to be dumb, actually brayed with a loud hoarse flourish...' He called this his 'one serious conflict with Modestine'.

 

A Night among the Pines

In this section Stevenson resides in woods, which he describes in a very appreciative manner of the night he is spending amongst Mother Nature. He does this by being extremely descriptive of the place, which is a key feature of his writing as it mostly consists of lengthy descriptions of the places he visits. For example on page 56 he describes the night by saying 'Night is a dead monotonous period under a roof; but in the open world is passes lightly, with its stars and dews and perfumes, and the hours are marked by changes in the face of Nature'.This shows that night is a better experience when you are outdoors, as you get to see the cycle of the night taking place whereas when you are indoors it is very repetitive with not much to see.
In this section Stevenson mentions the issue of love, which he hasn't really done so throughout the book. On page 57 he says
'I wished a companion to lie near me in the starlight....And to live out of doors with the woman a man love is of all lives the most complete and free.’ This may suggest that he is pining for F. Osbourne, as a companion and wants her be his side as he must be feeling quite lonely with Modestine as his only companion.
He wakes on Sunday, 29th September and begins his journey again.


The Country of the Camisards

Camisards were French Protestants in Cevennes (south-central France), they raised a rebellion against the persecutions which led to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. This was the ordered destruction of their churches and Protestant schools, leading to a revolt by the Camisards in 1702. However the worst of the fighting was through 1704, which continued through to 1710 until final peace by 1715.



Across the Lozere

Stevenson is travelling across the Goulet, where he says 'Modestine herself was in high spirits and broke of her own accord, for the first time in my experience into a jolting trot that sent the oats swashing in the pocket of my coat.'This shows that Stevenson and Modestine may have formed a respectable relationship, which is why she is in high spirits and willing to move without Stevenson hitting her with his stick.
Walking upon the mountains of the Lozere, the wind makes a loud noise, which puzzles Stevenson as he does not know what it is. This is effective, as the reader can imagine Stevenson on the Lozere hearing this sound.
On page 62 Stevenson says
'For behold, instead of the gross turf rampart I had been mounting for so long, a view into the hazy air of heaven and a land of intricate blue hills below my feet.' This shows the views he can see from the mountain.
Stevenson mentions the lack of adventure he has had, and the myths of the Beast of Gevaudan and the bandits would have been more of an adventure for him, one which he desires and would give the Cevennes an emphasis and make it
'the Cevennes of the Cevennes'.Whilst walking Stevenson begins to think about the Camisards 'heroism' and suggests that there is nothing like that now so the place is, somewhat, dull, as it lacks the passion of the protestants at the time.
Stevenson ends this section at Pont de Montvert.

 


Pont de Montvert

Stevenson is surprised at this place, as the people are intelligent unlike those he has met so far and the girls are also prettier than those he has seen. One of the women, named Clarisse, he describes in detail looking at her features, this may suggest that he hasn't seen a pretty woman in ages so anyone with interesting features he feels the need to observe. On page 66 he says 'And Clarisse? What shall I say of Clarisse? She waited the table with a heavy placable nonchalance, like a performing cow, her grey eyes were steeped in amorous languor; her features, although fleshy, were of an original and accurate design; her mouth had a curl...'  He still finds a way to criticize her by calling her a performing cow; however she is better than most women he has seen so far.
Stevenson is talking of the place as
'a place memorable in the story of the Camisards’;from here he tells a story of a woman, which really interested me. On page 67 he says 'a prophetess in Vivarais was hanged as Montpellier because blood flowed from her eyes and nose, and she declared she was weeping tears for the misfortunes of the Protestants.’This shows the strong beliefs people held back then as a woman was hanged just because she felt empathy for the Protestants.

He begins to talk about a Christian martyr called Du Chayla, who lived in Pont de Montvert, and tells the readers the story of how he died.




In the Valley of the Tarn

 Stevenson is travelling to Florac, but is making 'little progress'due to Modestine's 'laggard humour'.He finds a plateau where he will camp in and conceals himself like a 'hunted Camisard',which is the main topic in this chapter. He says this place is better than the pine woods he stayed at, as it warmer but it is a lot noisier. On page 73 he says 'The shrill song of frogs, like the tremolo note of a whistle with a pea in it, rang up from the riverside before the sun was down.'He also gets a fright in the night due to a noise sounding like a finger-nail scratching something but he then realises that the chestnut gardens are infected with rats so that was what was making the frightful sound.
Stevenson wakes on Monday 30th September to the footsteps of a peasant, and then sees a pair- a father and soon he assumes that enquire why he has slept in the plateau, with the father talking to him like he is inferior.
In this section Stevenson talks about his encounters with people a lot more, as he sees many different people; a couple of peasants, father and son etc. He has been joined by an old man and they go into a hamlet, where Stevenson orders breakfast. The people in the hamlet called La Vernede, he is pleased to see, are Protestants so he would feel comfortable in their presence calling them
'upright and simple people'.At the end of this section he talks of the people he has met and says 'The valley of Tarn and the people whom I met at La Vernede not only explain to me this passage, but the twenty years of suffering with those, who were so stiff and so bloody when once they betook themselves to war, endured with the meekness of children and constancy of stains and peasants' -page 78.  He is saying that the Protestants he meets allow him to understand what happened twenty years ago with the Camisards and what they had to go through
.


Florac

Stevenson arrives in Florac, which is in the valley of Tarn, on page 78 he says it contains 'an old castle, an alley of planes, many quaint street-corners, and a live fountain welling from the hill.’This shows how beautiful it is, as the readers are able to picture a traditional village suitable to the times.
The landlord of the inn Stevenson is residing in takes him to a cafe, where he meets other Protestants. In the cafe he sees that Catholics and Protestants
'intermingled in a very easy manner'but the chosen topic that is usually discussed is the religious war. This is due to their pride in their ancestors but also because they have very little to talk about so the war is the one thing that occupies the conversations. To Stevenson they talk of stories which are a product of hearsay, which are probably untrue. He meets many Protestants who he takes a liking to, they talk of the division between Protestants and Catholics and compare it to that of the political divide.
Near the end of the section he says
'Protestant is still Protestant, Catholic still Catholic, in mutual toleration and mild amity of life',this shows that all the fighting amounted to Catholics and Protestants still having their religion but they have grown from the time they could not live among each other, now they are able to tolerate each other and live close by without a fuss about their religion.  
On page 80 he says
'we judge our ancestors from a more divine position; and the dust being laid with several centuries, we can see both sides adorned with human virtues and fighting with a show of right.’This shows that time has evolved and so have the attitudes of Protestants and Catholics, they no longer look at the situation with a bias view; they see the ancestors in a different light; understanding what they were fighting for but also understanding the other side. Their vision isn't as cloudy as they can see both sides, and this is shown through Stevenson, a Protestant, able to get on with those in the Trappist monastery who are Catholics.  


In the Valley of the Mimente

It's Tuesday, 1st October and Stevenson leaves Florac to go into the valley of Mimente, where he spends the night surrounded by the oak. On page 81 he uses a good description he says 'A grey pearly evening shadow filled the glen; objects at distance grew indistinct and melted bafflingly into each other; and the darkness was rising steadily like an exhalation. I approached a great oak which grew in the meadow..'This shows Stevenson's love for nature, which has been shown throughout his travels. When in darkness he examines the stars and says of man 'He may know all their names and distances and magnitudes, and yet be ignorant of what alone concerns mankind', this means that some men know about the stars but may not know why they are there or even appreciate their beauty.
In the night he hears the barking of a dog, which he reveals scares him more than the thought of a wolf, as he says
'If you kill a wolf, you meet with encouragement and praise; but if you kill a dog, the sacred rights of property and the domestic affections come clamouring round you for redress.' This means that dogs are more protected than wolves, as they are domesticated which proves to be a scare for him.
In the morning he is awaken by the same dog he heard barking, so he begins his journey again where he meets a dark military-looking wayfarer and asks if he is Protestant or Catholic, the man replies
'I make no shame of my religion. I am Catholic'.He admires the man's enthusiasm over his religion.
At the end of this section he reflects on how important God is to a man; shaping his experiences, staying with him even when other things change in his life.




The Heart of the Country

Stevenson is travelling in Cassagnas, where one of the five legions of Camisards held their weapons. The area is Protestant; however there is one family there that isn't Protestant.
He dines with a
'gendarme'(policeman) and a merchant, who discuss religion and say it's a bad idea for a man to change, which is the suggestion of those in Our Lady of the Snows. The merchant is very interested in Stevenson's journey, as he cannot comprehend anyone sleeping outdoors. On page 86 the man says 'The English have always long purses, and it might very well enter into someone's head to deal you an ill blow some night',he is suggesting that one night whilst sleeping outdoors someone could mug him. He leaves the men, the merchant asked for one of his cards, as he says it gives him something to talk about in the future. He begins his travels yet again using detailed descriptions of the places he encounters.
He sees an old shepherd who mistakes him for
a 'pedlar' (salesman), and continues his travels where he hears 'the voice of a woman singing some sad, old, endless balled.'He wants to answer her, as she is singing about her sweetheart, as he still pines for Fanny so he understands her want for the person she loves. It is night and he finds an inn where he spends the night.




The Last Day

Stevenson wakes on Thursday, 3rd October in St Germain de Calberte. On page 91 he says '..people turned around to have a second look, or came out of their houses, as I went by', this shows the lack of tourists so even one tourist causes the natives to become very interested.
He stays in one of the terraces, where nuts dropped from the trees around him and the hailstones falling. He says
'I have not often enjoyed a place more deeply'which is a double negative with the 'not often'.He describes his feelings as 'light and quiet and content'. He says these feelings may be down to someone thinking of him in a distant country, that someone he hopes is Fanny.
He dines with two Catholics, who condemn a local Catholic man who married a Protestant woman and changes his religion. This is another occasion where this line is said -
'It's a bad idea for a man to change'this is one of the central themes of the book.
After he has dinner and coffee he makes his way to the Gardon of Mialet through to St Jean du Gard. He talks of a man called Castanet who was a leader among the Camisards, whose wife was taken hostage by his enemy, he loved his wife very much so stole one of their own in order to trade.
On the top of St Pierre Modestine and Stevenson share their last meal, which to the reader is quite a sad event as we have seen the relationship between the two become more solid over time.




Farewell, Modestine!

This is a picture of St Jean du Gard, where Stevenson is staying at.
He wakes on October 4th, and Modestine is said to be unfit for travel and would need at least two day's rest, however he wants to sell her and be on his way by that afternoon. A driver compliments her and
'spread a favourable notion' of the donkey's 'capabilities'.
By ten she is sold for twenty five francs.
Whilst Stevenson is getting a ride he says, on page 95
'I became aware of my bereavement. I had lost Modestine. Up to that moment I had thought I hated her.. .’  This shows the he is suffering from her absence, suggesting that he had grown attached to her and misses her already. He talks of the good 12 days they have spent together but says 'Her faults were those of her race and sex', he is picking out the things that makes her inferior, which is she's a donkey and also a woman, suggesting that he is sexist.
Now he has left Modestine he must go ahead on his own, without his companion of 12 days. It seems like an end of an era for the readers, which brings us to the end of the book.





Map of Stevenson's Journey