Tongue and throat it makes to tingle, Beats the blood from heart to vein, And ascending to the brain, Bids the spirit forth and mingle With a world no longer grim, But serene and sweet and spacious, Where the girls are fair and gracious, And the Cupids light of limb.
Soul and sense are all untethered! Who would be an angel when, Clement king of gods and men, He can soar so grandly, feathered With thy plumage, O Champagne? Bottled gladness! thou magician! Silver-bearded! mist Elysian! Ecstasy of sun and rain!
Swift and subtle, glad and glorious, O the wildfire wine of France! How its atoms frisk and dance, Over Fate and Time victorious!'
_Reduced, by permission, from the larger Map_.
The figures indicate the altitudes in metres above the level of the sea.
(_2000 Metres are equal to 1-1/4 Miles._)]
[Illustration: THE VINEYARDS AND ABBEY OF HAUTVILLERS.]
/The Champagne Vinelands--The Vineyards of the River./
The vinelands in the neighbourhood of Epernay--Viticultural area of the Champagne--A visit to the vineyards of 'golden plants'--The Dizy vineyards--Antiquity of the Ay vineyards--St. Tresain and the wine-growers of Ay--The Ay vintage of 1871--The Mareuil vineyards and their produce--Avernay; its vineyards, wines, and ancient abbey--The vineyards of Mutigny and Cumières--Damery and 'la belle hôtesse' of Henri Quatre--Adrienne Lecouvreur and the Maréchal de Saxe's matrimonial schemes--Pilgrimage to Hautvillers--Remains of the Royal Abbey of St. Peter--The ancient church--Its quaint decorations and monuments--The view from the heights of Hautvillers--The abbey vineyards and wine-cellars in the days of Dom Perignon--The vinelands of the Côte d'Epernay--Pierry and its vineyard cellars--The Moussy, Vinay, and Ablois St. Martin vineyards--The Côte d'Avize--Chavot, Monthelon, Grauves, and Cuis--The vineyards of Cramant and Avize, and their light delicate white wines--The Oger and Le Mesnil vineyards--Vertus and its picturesque ancient remains--Its vineyards planted with Burgundy grapes from Beaune--The red wine of Vertus a favourite beverage of William III. of England.
With the exception of certain famous vineyards of the Rhône, the vinelands of the Champagne may, perhaps, be classed among the most picturesque of the more notable vine-districts of France. Between Paris and Epernay, even, the banks of the Marne present a series of scenes of quiet beauty. The undulating ground is everywhere cultivated like a garden. Handsome châteaux and charming country houses peep out from amid luxuriant foliage. Picturesque antiquated villages line the river's bank or climb the hill-sides, and after leaving La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, the cradle of the Condés, all the more favoured situations commence to be covered with vines.