Benignant.”
Provincial Names.
Urban Names.
Village Patriotism.
They have a full and fair appreciation of the beauty of their own country, and the more cultivated take an intelligent interest in the still numerous architectural remnants of the past. They have not forgotten the old provincial names, nor suffered them to fall into disuse; the Burgundian is still a Burgundian, though not the less a Frenchman too. Even the towns have an adjective for their inhabitants which strengthens the local tie. The inhabitant of Sens is a Senonais, of Poitiers a Pictovien, of Gap a Gavot. In this way a Frenchman is the son of his native town, as an Oxonian of the University. The local feeling descends even to the villages—
“Rien n’est plus beau que mon village
En vérité je vous le dis.”
This provincial feeling is not so strong in England. In the United Kingdom we have the four different nationalities, but in England only the counties, which answer to the French departments. England has no living tradition of historical provinces. We learn about ancient divisions in history, and that is all.
The Word Pays.
The Sacred Word Patrie.