It was one of the towns
that was held by Geoffrey Plantagenet in Stephen's reign, and it was burnt
by Edward III. about the same time as Valognes. Then again in the religious
wars of the sixteenth century, a most terrific attack was made on St Lo by
Matignon who overcame the resistance of the garrison after Colombieres, the
leader, had been shot dead upon the ramparts.
It is fortunate for travellers in hot weather that exactly half-way between
St Lo and Bayeux there lies the shade of the extensive forest of Cerisy
through which the main road cuts in a perfectly straight line. At Semilly
there is a picturesque calvary. The great wooden cross towers up to a
remarkable height so that the figure of our Lord is almost lost among the
overhanging trees, and down below a double flight of mossy stone steps
leads up to the little walled-in space where the wayfarer may kneel in
prayer at the foot of the cross. Onward from this point, the dust and heat
of the roadway can become excessive, so that when at last the shade of the
forest is reached, its cool glades of slender beech-trees entice you from
the glaring sunshine--for towards the middle of the day the roadway
receives no suggestion of shadows from the trees on either side.
In this part of the country, it is a common sight to meet the peasant women
riding their black donkeys with the milk cans resting in panniers on either
side. The cans are of brass with spherical bodies and small necks, and are
kept brilliantly burnished.
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