Couëron village, which is marked by a modern church with an aggressive spire, extends along the river bank, but since its streets run parallel with it, the river itself is seen only at certain openings, occurring at irregular intervals. In going to "La Gerbetière" by the course I have described, the Loire was not visible at any point, and was not seen until we emerged from one of the village streets at the steamer's pier. My guide had said that from the rise at the next crossroads we should see the roof of the house which we had come to visit, and his prediction was verified when I recognized immediately its cupola raised above the gray stone walls which there bound every highway and field. The old villa is rather less than a mile from the village, but owing to the rolling nature of the country, it is completely hidden until at close approach it stands suddenly revealed. It lies in a fork of the road, securely inclosed by high, massive walls of stone, now hoary with age, while on the front it is further screened by a natural growth of bushes and trees. Immediately behind and to the west rises a prominent butte which cuts off the view to Port Launay on the river; this forms the one distinctive landmark of the district, as its two windmill towers are visible from all surrounding points. In Audubon's day the house commanded a wide view of the Loire, but the river is now so completely masked by foliage as to be visible only from the upper windows; apparently it once flowed nearer to the house but has been pushed away by the construction of modern dykes. The hilltop to which I have just referred, like the roof of the villa, commands a panorama of the whole region, including Nantes and all the surrounding communes.
"La Gerbetière" is now a small estate of less than fifty ares, or one and a half acres, of land. The buildings, which form a quadrangle with enclosed court, occupy a corner next the side street, and stand about 200 feet back from the main highway leading from Couëron to Port Launay. The extent of the original property cannot now be determined, but Lieutenant Audubon, who retired at the age of fifty-seven, was never a farmer on a large scale. The original house, which probably dates from early in the eighteenth century, has an easterly wing or L, continued into a long, low section through which the court is now entered from the road at the side; this was probably added by Jean Audubon, but the westerly end and wing are a more modern accretion, built for the accommodation of additional tenants, as many as three families having occupied the place in 1857.
"La Gerbetière" was entered from the main street by a small door which pierces the high enclosing wall, and leads the visitor into what was formerly an ornamental garden, the original design of which can still be traced. At the time of my visit, however, this entrance had long ceased to be an avenue of response. Encouraged by the sight of a peddler's cart, I walked up the side street and entered the court. Here the response was prompt and vigorous enough, and from the guardians of the place, one of which was chafing at his chain close to the doorway. I crossed rather gingerly to an open hallway, opposite the main entrance, and knocked repeatedly, noting here that rooms opened to this small entrance hall on either side, and that a steep stairway led to others above. At last, during a temporary lull in the barking of dogs, the "tok-tok" of sabots was heard on the stairs, and I handed up my card with one from the director of the Natural History Museum at Nantes. After various messages had been shouted back and forth, I was led through another passage to the tenant, who was talking with the peddler in the garden. Julien Lebréton, who was a farmer on a small scale, received me kindly and answered my questions to the best of his ability; it did not surprise me that he was both puzzled and suspicious, or that his first thought was of our coming to look over the place with a view to its purchase.
The decayed villa, which stands in the midst of scattered farmhouses of a humble order, reproduces a style characteristic of many parts of France. The original house, of two stories, was built of cream-colored limestone, similar to that for which many French towns are famous. It has a swelled slated roof with beveled gables. Surmounting the roof is a cupola which suggests a third story, carried out in harmony with the lower structure. A narrow balcony, resting upon a molding of stone and protected by an iron grill, without which no such house would be considered complete, runs the length of the second story, and is accessible from every room by glass doors. From the main entrance below one passes directly through to the court, about which are now grouped various stables and other low buildings, not all of which date from Audubon's day.
"LA GERBETIÈRE" AND COUËRON, AS SEEN FROM THE WINDMILL TOWERS ON THE RIDGE OVERLOOKING PORT LAUNAY, ON THE LOIRE.
"LA GERBETIÈRE," AS SEEN WHEN APPROACHED FROM COUËRON VILLAGE BY THE ROAD TO PORT LAUNAY.
PORT LAUNAY ON THE LOIRE.
What was once a small formal garden is still marked by solid boundaries of cut limestone. This was evidently constructed by Jean Audubon, since it occupies the area in front of the original house and the easterly extension which is attributed to him. The remaining available land was devoted to fruit, vegetables, and possibly to the greenhouses which the naturalist mentioned. At one time an orangery occupied some part of the house or court. There are now no large trees on the property; the fruits are all of recent and inferior growth, while the garden I saw was planted to cabbage and running riot with weeds.
When Jean and Madame Audubon passed through the door leading from the main street, they entered upon a paved alley which ran parallel with the high wall, whence they could reach the house by any one of several walks or enter the fruit garden by another. If so inclined, they could turn to the right, ascend a flight of granite steps to a platform on a level with the top of the wall, and under a shady bower of vines and leafy shrubbery, look off on the racing waters of the Loire, scrutinize their visitors before admitting them, or observe such manifestations of life as lonely country roads of that period had to offer. As they passed up the central garden walk they could admire the beds of old-fashioned flowers, kept, we may be sure, in perfect order, for Jean was a very methodical man, and his wife, we believe, an excellent home maker. This walk led to a low terrace, flanked with a heavy wall, which ran the whole length of the house.
What little I saw of the interior of "La Gerbetière" was wholly devoid of interest, which agrees with the experience of another traveler who visited Couëron at a slightly earlier date;[118] at the time of his visit the place was unoccupied and forlorn, and the vegetation on the garden side so dense that it was utterly impossible to see any distance from the lower windows.