Within the
last few years house rent, though still cheap, has greatly increased;
and the prices of provisions, which used to be so abundant from
Granville and St. Malo, have risen, as they have, indeed, all over
France. The railway from Granville to Paris will only make matters
worse, and the resident will soon see the butter, eggs, and fowls, which
used to throng the market of Avranches, packed away in baskets for Paris
and London. The salmon and trout in the rivers, are already netted and
sold by the pound; and the larks sing no longer in the sky. Thus, like
Dinan, Tours and Pau, Avranches feels the weight of centralisation and
the effects of rapid communication with the capital; and will in a few
years be anything but a cheap place of residence.
However, from information gathered only yesterday, we learn that 'house
rent bears favourable comparison with many English provincial towns;
that servants' wages are not high, and that provisions are comparatively
cheap;' also that the climate is 'very cold sometimes in winter, but
more inclined to be damp; and that there is no good inn.'
Again,--'if any quiet family demands fine air, a lovely position, cheap
house-rent and servants, easy and cheerful society, regular church
services, and, above all, first-class education for boys, and good
governesses and masters for girls, it cannot do better than settle down
here.
Pages:
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92