The valley is thus closed on all sides, and offers a picture of which the calm, the freshness, and the isolation penetrate the soul.
The ruins of the abbey stand with their back against the forest.

What remains of the abbey proper is not a great deal.

At the entrance of the court-yard, a monumental gateway; a wing of the building, dating from the twelfth century, in which dwell the family of the miller of whom I am the guest; the chapter-hall, remarkable for some elegant arches and a few remnants of mural painting; finally, two or three cells, one of which seems to have been used for the purposes of correction, if I may judge from the solidity of the door and the strength of the bolts.

The rest has been torn down, and may be found in fragments among the cottages of the neighborhood.

The church, which has almost the proportions of a cathedral, is finely preserved, and produces a marvelous effect.