_'
At length I reached a plateau, where I saw not far off, in a hollow
surrounded by cornfields and fruit-trees, such a number of red roofs that
I concluded I must have come to the little town of Montagrier. A young
peasant soon undeceived me: I was near the village of Grand-Brassac. It was
clear that I had gone much farther from the Dronne than I had intended,
but, after all, it mattered little where I wandered. I now said that I
would see Grand-Brassac, and that I might find something there worth the
walk. I was rewarded beyond aught that I had expected or hoped for.
Here I found a very remarkable Byzantine-Gothic church of the thirteenth
century, with a richly decorated front in strong contrast to the defensive
motive so clearly expressed by the solidity of the structure, the smallness
of the windows, and especially by the height of the entrance--some ten feet
above the level of the ground. It is reached by steps. Over the doorway,
which has a pointed arch ornamented with a star moulding, is a semicircular
compartment containing several figures in high relief, the central one of
which represents the Virgin enthroned. No satisfactory explanation of
the others has yet been found.
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