Moulins is the capital of the Bourbonnais--the name given to the province and the people alike. The derivation of the word Bourbon is more legendary than historical, if one is to give any weight to the discovery of a tablet at _Bourbonne-les-Bains,_ in 1830, which bore the following dedication: DEO, APOL LINI BORVONI ET DAMONAE C DAMINIUS FEROX CIVIS LINGONUS EX VOTO Its later application to the land which sheltered the race is elucidated by a French writer, thus: "Considering that the names of all the cities and towns known as _des sources d'eaux thermales_ commence with either the prefix _Bour_ or _Bor_, indicates a common origin of the word ... from the name of the divinity which protects the waters." This is so plausible and picturesque a conjecture that it would seem to be true. Archæologists have singled out from among the most beautiful _chapelles seigneuriales_ the one formerly contained in the ducal palace of the Bourbons at Moulins. This formed, of course, a part of that gaunt, time-worn fabric which faces the westerly end of the cathedral. Little there is to-day to suggest this splendour, and for such one has to look to those examples yet to be seen at Chambord or Chenonceaux, or that of the Maison de Jacques Coeur at Bourges, with which, in its former state, this private chapel of the Bourbons was a contemporary. The other chief attraction of Moulins is the theatrical Mausolée de Henri de Montmorency, a seventeenth-century work which is certainly gorgeous and splendid in its magnificence, if not in its æsthetic value as an art treasure. The fresh, modern-looking cathedral of Notre Dame de Moulins is a more ancient work than it really looks, though in its completed form it dates only from the late nineteenth century, when the indefatigable Viollet-le-Duc erected the fine twin towers and completed the western front. The whole effect of this fresh-looking edifice is of a certain elegance, though in reality of no great luxuriousness. The portal is deep but unornamented, and the rose window above is of generous design, though not actually so great in size as at first appears. Taken _tout ensemble_ this west front--of modern design and workmanship--is far more expressive of the excellent and true proportions of the mediæval workers than is usually the case. The spires are lofty (312 feet) and are decidedly the most beautiful feature of the entire design.