gathers crusts from the peasants by his rude minstrelsy, that changes
from the pious to the obscene, or from the obscene to the pious, as the
character and taste of the audience may decide. Many persons, however,
contrive to prosper by hunting for truffles in the exhilarating company
of pigs. It is not in this fertile valley that they find them, but on the
hillsides and stony table-lands, where the oak flourishes, but never grows
tall.

I passed almost at the foot of one of those darkly-wooded, precipitous
hills or cliffs which now approach the water's edge and now recede for
a mile or more in this part of the valley; widening or diminishing the
cultivated land accordingly as the rocky sides of the fissure resisted the
washing and mining of the ancient waters.

On the top of the cliff stood a high round tower--the keep of a small
feudal stronghold. It is called the Tour de Mareuil. Its position leaves
little doubt that in old times its owners, like so many other nobles whose
ruined castles crown the heights on both sides of the Dordogne, levied toll
upon the boats that came up or went down the river. Navigation must have
been always difficult on account of the strong current and the numerous
rapids and shallows; but the stream was a means of communication between
Bordeaux, Perigord, and the Haut-Quercy that was not to be despised,
and probably some care was taken to keep the channel open. According to
tradition, the English made frequent use of it. The tolls were an important
source of income to the nobles whose fortresses overlooked the river. A
sharp look-out was always kept from the towers for approaching boats.

I was on my way to the castle where Fenelon first saw the light, and in
order to reach it I had to cross the river. An old flat-bottomed boat,
built for conveying men, asses, and other animals from one side to the