The creation of a pare naturel regional in 1970 did something to promote the area as a place for outdoor activities and refuge from commuterdom, but more than anything it was the election of Francois Mitterrand, local politician and mayor of Chateau-Chinon for years, as president of the Republic that rescued the Morvan from oblivion.

The Harvard man went back into the kitchen and sat down at a rickety table covered with a red-checked oil-cloth. On it were spread the spoiled ham, a dish of poke salad, a corn pone, and a pot of weak coffee.

Time is a great healer, Mr. Hythe; but the reminiscences of my early struggles with fate cannot be easily erased.[…]

We had to redeal because a mistake was made.