A

T O U R

THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE OF

fimamm 3NEW TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

SKE T C H

ALL m 3 MOST'

IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING

C ITIES;TOWN S, FORTS, CA STLES, PA LACES

ISLANDS, HARBOURS, BRIDGES, RIVERS,

ANTIQUETIES, é‘c. é

fic.

INTERSPERSED WIT'

H

CURIOUS AND ILLUSTRATIVE

A N E C D O T E S

MANNERS,CUSTOMS

,DR ESS

,age . 013 THE

BY J OH N BARNE S .

EMBEL L I SH ED W I TH CO P P ERrE' LATES o

L O N D O N

P R I NTE D A N D S O LD BY W I L L I A m B A R T ON , J U N‘:

58, H O L Bo m . H I L L .

1 8 169

PREFACE.

The following pages were originally -written as A KEY

TO WA LK ER’S GEO GRAP H I C AL TO U R TH RO U GH FRA N OR ;”

this is m entioned, to accountforthe arrangem ent and succes

sion of the articles, which were placed to correspond num erically with WA LH ER

’8 large M ap of FRAN CE , upon which the

instructive and am using TO U R i s m ade . N o inconvenien e will

resultfrom this order; for, the num bers being still preserved,any particularplace sought afterm ay befound by the IN DEX ,

which refersto the num berof each article, and not to the page

of the book. Though the route supposed to have been pursued by Walkerhas been generally followed, as taking in the

whole of France , yet m any alterations have been m ade in thisedition ,

"

by leaving out som e places of m inorconsideration,and

inserting others ofgreaterimportance . In the perform ance ofthis task, the lim its set m e precluded m y giving a full description of places noticed— the readerm ust, only expect a

Sketch .

I t is perhaps unnecessary to add, that I have availed m yselfof all the best m odern inform ation within m y reach, havegleanedfrom various authorities, and concentrated into one

point of v iew all that I supposed would be interesting ,and

have spared no pains to renderthe whole correct as to dates,distances, and historicalfacts .

Though E ngland and France are very nearneighbours, yetthey are alm ost strangers to each other; which m ay be im puted

to the state of war, horrid war. in which they have been so

long engaged.

I t is hoped that a betterknowledge of the present state ofthe country and inhabitants, which i t is the obj ect of this little

work to dzfiuse, m ay tend to lessen national an im osity and

hostility, and foreverb ind togetherin the gentle bands ofpeac

git he two m ost powerful and enlightened nations in the

wort

HOMERTON TERRACE,July 1 5 , 1 815 .

Genera l D escription of France .

FR’ANCE is a coun try ofEurope, bounded on the 'N . by the

English Channel and the Netherlands , on the E . by Germ any,Switz erland and Italy , on the S . by the Mediterranean Sea andthe Pyrenees, wh i ch separate i t from Spain, and on the

the A tlanti c Ocean . I t extends from ‘4 . 48 .

‘W . to 8 .

longitude , and from 42 . 24 . to 5 1 . 24. N . latitude ; itsfrom N .

’

to S . is nearly 700 m iles, and i ts b readtheasterly part of the departm ent of the LowerRhine to

'

the "

westerly part of that of‘Finisterre is about 650 ; it' is nov

’r’divided into 83 ‘

departm ents . France has b een ‘

said to b e to‘

Europe what ‘Europe is to the otherthree quarters ofthe world";that ‘is

'

to say, the m ost‘tem perate , th‘

e m es t fertile, the best go?verned, and the m ost warlike .

rl’f

he clim ate is tem perate, and

the”

airm ore clearand settled than in England ; b ut in the

southern as well as in the north ern provinces the winters aresom etim es ‘

very severe: The soil is agreeab ly diversified, and

productiv e of all the necessari es and m any of th e luxuries of

life ; i t yields corn, wine, oil, salt, a great variety of highly :

flavoured fruits , tobacco, hem p , flax, m anna, saffron, m anydrugs, and silk in great abundance . The forests are num erousand extensive, and the m ineral productions various and im permtant. The principal rivers are the Loire , Rhone , Garanne, andSeine . The m ountains, the Alps , Pyrenees , Cevennes , and

Vosges . The anim als , wolves excepted, birds , &c . are m uch thesam e as those in England. The population is now estim ated at

twenty- eigh t m illions . A llreligious sects are tolerated, and thereis

’

nO‘

one predom inant ; i t is m elancholy to perceive the alm osttotal disregard ofreligion in m odern France ; the Rom an Ca

tholic was the established religion before the revolution. The

French are esteem ed the m ost poli te people in Europe, th oughnot the m os t sincere ; they are gay and affable

, eat less solidfood than the English , though greaterepicures in theirsaucesthey are generally well- m ade and free from bodily deform ities

,

tallerthan the Spaniards and Italians , but not so tall as the

Germ ans, Flem ish and English . H ospitality , a taste forli tera-n

ture , liveliness, national vanity , and inconstancy , are characteristles of theFrench ; the ladies are m ore celebrated forgraces

4

fulness and vivacity than forpersonal beauty . The export tradeofFrance consi sts chiefly 1n wine , brandy, v inegar, fruit, corn,

salt, hem p and flax, silk , resin, oil, soap, cork , perfum es , drugs ,&c . The m anufactures are silks in various ways , woollen and

l inen cloth , lace , paper, soap, and Ch ina- ware . The inland traffic is very great, and carried on wi th li ttle expense by m eans ofthe m any large navigable rivers and canals ; the ch ief of the

canals are those ofLo

anguedoc, Calais , and Orleans . A t the de

cline of the Roman power, th is country was called Gaul,derives its present designation, accm ding to som e

,from the

Francas, orFrancion ; b ut according to others , and

ore probability , from the Franks, a people of Germany

,leagued togetherunde1 this title, signifying free ; who

invaded Gaul , and entirely subdued the country , i n 486, undertheirleaderClovis , whom theFrench h istorians call

.

theirfirstChristian king Pharam ond being theirfirst king inthe year420. The French divide theirkings into three races, the Me

rovm g1ans, Carlovingians, and Capots . Hugh Capet ob tained”

the crown of France in 987 ; and one of,

h is descendants,Louis XVI. in the year1793 , was executed on a public scaffoldin Paris . The revolution and i ts dreadful consequences arewell known and the rise ofBuonaparte ; whose am bition aim ed

at, and in 1 804 obtained, im perial dignity . But in consequenceof the invasion of France by the Allies, and theirsuccesses,Buonaparte , in 1 814 , abdi cated the throrie , the Bourbons wererecalled, and Louis XVI“. m ade h is public entry into Paris .

In less than twelve m onths, however, the arm y and the peoplegenerally declaring forh im ,

Buonaparte left his retreat in Elba,m m hed, without opposition, toParis , againresum ed the governm ent , and com pelled the aged, unfortunate k ing once m ore to

becom e a fugitive .- The French language so polite , elegant,

and easy,that i t is m ore generally Spoken than any other11] th e

world i t is fm m ed of the Greek , Latin and Germ an, and i s so

m uch esteem ed fori ts purity and neatness , that it i s used in all

the courts ofEurope. Paris is the capital .

\f

TOUR THROUGH FRANCE ,

1 . WE com m ence ourTour, like m os t otherEnglish travellers ..who em bark at Dover, with describing CALA lS,

the nearest sea- port town to England, in the departm ent of

the Straits of Calais , about 20 m iles S . E . of Dover, and

152 alm ost N . ofParis. The harbouris too m uch obstructedw ith sand to adm it large vessels , except at h igh water. In

the year1228 i t began to b e fortified, and in 1 3 47 was so

s trong that Edward 111. of England could only take i t byfam ine . I t was the last town fin France that th e Englishkept of th e conquests of that m onarch . Calais was b omb arded by SirCloudesly Shovel in 1694, b ut without sustaining m uch dam age . I t has been com pared to Dover

,but rather

resem bles Folkestone , is strongly fortified and defended wi th a

c itadel . The s treets are irregular, th e houses“

old and lofty, andthe pavem ent the worst that can b e im agined. The Grande P lace,however, is large and handsom e , and Hogarth

’

s Gate is an ob :

j ect of curiosi ty . Dessein’s hotel , long considered the best inFrance , still supports i ts ancient reputation The m arket is veryplentifully supplied, and provisions are about one half

‘cheapert han in England . There are between 4 and 5000 inhabi tants,chiefly fish erm en and sm ugglers . Th e countryround Calais soexac tlyresem bles that ofthe opposite chasts

, as to appearalm osta counterpart, and as if the sea had worked itself a channel, andthus div ided a broad and lofty h ill . i t is not im probable, as m anyingenious m en have supposed, that Great Britainwas at one tim e

(a veryrem ote period) connected to the Continent . The agriculture about Calais appears to b e wretch ed the soi l is in generalvery good, except where the substratum of chalk orm arl risestoo nearthe surface . Vegetation seem s strong, and trees grownearth e 011611 . The revolution has m uch im proved the conditionof the farm ers , having relieved them from feudal tenures , corvées and lay

- tithes , forthe latterof wh ich a’ sm all rate forthe

officiating m inisteris substituted.

6

2 .The city of ST. OMER, in the departm ent of the Straitsof Calais, is 20 m iles of Calais , and 13 5 N . of Paris.

The approach to St . Om er, although flat, is exceedinglyw

b eantiful

and pi cturesque ; it is situated on the riverA 3 , is veryrstronglyfortified, and, before the revolution, was the see of a bishop .

The city is dull, b ut the streets are very wide and handsom elybuilt. Form erly there were a great m any m onasteries ,convents and colleges ; now there is only one convent rem aining, and the m onasteries are entirely destroyed. The

English College , at one tim e so celebrated, is now m etam ora

phosed into on hospital. The cathedral i s a nob le pile,and

was built 900 years ago ; i t was preserved during the revolutionby being turned into a granary . The church ofS t Denis i sv ery handsom e ; in the m ass the responses are m ade b y a

b assoon, wh ich has a m ost strange effect, But therain of the

ab b ey of St . Bertin is the m ost interesting object in St. Om erit b elonged to the Benedi ctines, was 13 0 years b uilding, and

was a noble and elegant pile before the revolution. In the tim e

of . the revolution i t was sold, unroofed, and dism antled of all

its interiorbeauties, except two very fine pillars ; the walls arestanding, wh ich only require the assistance of ivy to form

“the m ost b eautiful m ass ofruins im aginable . The towerisstill perfect, in wh ich one m an watches during the day and two

at nigh t, to give th e alarm in case of fire in the city . I t has3 09 steps to t he sum m it, from wh ich th ere is a lovely and

ample prospect . The nuns ofthe convent ofth e Ursulines , theconvent b eing destroyed, dispersed orwere im prisoned duringthe tim e ofterror, and th e abbess with som e of the sis terhoodem igrated

‘into Germ any, and suffered incredible hardsh ips ;

{thpy h av e now returned and occupy the only convent left inSt. Om er, in wh ich they educate the ch ildren of the poorswithout anyrem uneration , and take pensioners at a very m oder~ate rate. There are excellent and spacious gardens attached tothe convent .

3 ,From St . Om erlet us go back again to the coast, and to the

N E . of Calais we shall find DUNKIRK , a sea-

port in the

departm ent ofthe North , 22 m iles S .W . ofOstend. in the year980 i t was surrounded wi th walls by Baldwin Ill . Jonat ofFlanders. ln l3 88 i t was burned by th e English , and in 1646 i t wastaken by the French , assisted by the navy ofHolland, com m anded

by Van Trum p . In 165 8 i t was ceded tof

England by a treatym ade with O liverCrom well , but when Charles Ll . sold it toFrancein 1662, forfive m illions oflivres, Louis XIV . m ade i t one ofthe

strongest places in Europe and rendered the harbourcom m o

dions . By an article of th e treaty ofUtrech t, 1t was agreedthat all the fortifications should b e dem olish ed and the harbourfilled up.

Since th e peace of 1783 , afterth e Am erican war,the harbourhas again been cleared, and the fortifications repaired. ln 1 694 SirCloudesly Shovel bom barded Dunk irk ,b ut afterhaving thrown in above 1200 bom bs retired withouthav ing done any considerable dam age . In the year1793 theEnglish arm y, underthe Duke ofYork attem pted to besiegei t

, b ut were com pelled toretire . I t is th e m ost im portant townand harbouron th e whole coast. By m eans ofa sluice 42 feetwide, the basin within th e town will hold 40 sh ips of the linealways floating. Dunkirk is divided into 01d and New Town,and is estim ated to contain inhabitants .

4 .Nine m iles W . S .W . ofDunkirk is GRAVELINES, a s ea

port ih the departm ent ofth e North , situated at the m outhof the riverAa. It was built in the year1 160 by Th ierry,Count of Flanders, is not large , b ut well fortified with bastions,half- m oons and horn work , with large and deep ditches . The

country nearit is intersected by canals, one of wh ich goes to

Dunk irk by Bourbourg, and anotherpasses directly to Bergues.

The harb ourwas form erly m uch frequented, and i t was a placeofgreat im portance before th is part ofFlanders was annexed to

France it was ceded to France fby the peace ofthe Pyrenees .

5 .

Let us now proceed to LILLE orL ISLE,a city in the de

partm ent ofthe North,13 0 m iles N. ofParis , form erly the ca

pi tal of French Flanders . Th is is a large \and handsom e ci ty,one ofthe richest and m ost com m ercial in France , s ituated on the

riverDeule , in ari ch and m arshy soil,surrounded with walls and

strongly fortified by a citadel . The entrance to Lisle has a m ostsingularand striking appearance ; there are m ore than 200Wind- m i lls about ‘

a m ile from the city,posted in b attle array,

and they have th e m ost strange and ludicrous effec t that can b eim agined : a great quantity ofrape is cultivated in the neighb ourhood, wh i ch they thrash in the fields, and ofthe seed m akeoil in these m ills . They reckon in Lille , 170 streets, 30 publicplaces , 8000 houses and inh abi tants ; the houses arebuilt of stone , and are lofty and handsom e ; the streets areregular, wide , clean and well paved

,superiorto any in Paris.

There were here nearly 50 churches , 1 8 convents , 6 hospitalsand 3 colleges i t was div ided into 7 parishes and had '

2 gates,

som e ofwh ich are adm ired fortheirarchi tecture . The m anu

8

factures are various, ch iefly cam lets, cloth ,ratteens, silk andwoollen stuffs , linen, lace, ribbons, hats, paper, soap, See. and threadwh ich is here brough t to surprising perfection the cam lets arein great esteem all overEurope .

ri‘he citadel is considered as

one ofthe best works ofMarshalVauban (the best m ilitary arch itect that France, orperhaps any othercountry , everproduced) ,and, except Turin,

is the s trongest in Europe ; i t has sustained agreat m any very sev ere sieges . The town owes its origin to a

castle nam ed L e Bur,wh ich was the residence of the ancient

foresters, orCounts ofFlanders , andwas first buil t in 640. BaldwinV . , called Baldwin de Lille , surrounded it wi th walls , and

m ade i t his residence . in 1667 i t was besieged by Louis Xlv .

in person,‘

and, being unprovided fora siege , in seventeen daysi t surrendered. In 1708 i t was taken by the allies undertheDuke ofMarlborough and Prince Eugene, aftera siege ofthreem onths, wi th a loss ofseveral thousand m en, but was

’ restoredat, the peace ofUtrecht in 1713 . In 1792 also, Lille wits sum

m oued by the Austrians, underthe Duke ofSaxe Teschen, ' and

on refusing to surrenderit was bom barded b ut without success ;the siege began on the 29th of Septem ber, and was raised onthe 8th ofOctober, during wh ich tim e it is supposed that upwards of red- hot balls and 6000 bom bs were thrown intothe city, exclusive ofthe battering train. I t had suffered threesieges previous to any ofthose m entioned. Louis XVI I I . derivesh is title of Count de L ille from this city .

6 .Before we proceed to Valenc1ennes, let us noti ce DOUAY,

a city,and capital of the departm ent of the North , 15 m iles

N .W . of Cam bray . and ab out 1 10 N. of Paris, si tuated on the

Scarpe, wh ich is navigable forboats . I t has long been celehrated forits English college , whi therthe Rom an Catholics of

that nation were generally sent foreducation. Here th e celebrated Chillingworth resided fora short tim e after

ihis conversion

t o the Rom ish religion. Douay was taken by the allies , underthe com m and ofthe Duke ofMarlb orough and Prince Eugene ,in the year17 10. Th is siege lasted from the 5 th ofMay to the

26th ofJune the garrison ,wh ich at firs t consisted of8000 m en ,

was reduced to 4527 , and the allies los t 8000 m en . I t was retaken by the French in 1712 .

7 ,

VALENCIENNES, is a city , m the departm ent ofthe North ,

situated on the Sch eldt, wh ich runs,

through the town in

several branches , and , here becom es navigable ; about 120m iles N . N . E . of Paris . I t is supposed to have derived its

nam e from the Em perorValentini an I .‘who laid the foundation

of the town about the year3 67, endowing it with m any privileges and im m unities, and parti cularly that ofb eing an asylum ,

for deb tors and crim inals . This privilege, which extendedoverthe greaterpart of the town, was called banliea , but i thas since been lim ited, to prevent abuse from fraudulent bankrupts and assassm s .

“

l‘

he town- house is an ancient buildingoffreestone, founded in the fourteenth century the square orgrande place is handsom e, b ut th e streets are in general narrow,

dark and crooked. I t contains about inhabi tants, is a

very im portant place , strongly fortified, and was a depot forEnglish prisoners during the late War they have greatly prom oted the com fort and cleanliness ofthe place . Nearthe town isa coal - m ine. Th e form of its m uni cipal governm ent was consi

dered so good as to serve forthe m odel ofseveralrepublics . In theyear1 678 , a new and handsom e citadelwas buil t, at the expense ofthe citiz ens

, and otherfortifications added. In 1793 ,Valencienneswas invested and taken by the allies , underthe Duke ofYork ,aftera very severe siege . The m ost singularfact in the h istoryofth is siege is , that a considerable part of the warwas carriedon underground ; m ines and counterm ines innum erable , havingbeen form ed both by the besiegers and besieged. Those underthe glacis and underth e horn- work ofthe fortress , having beencom pleted and charged by the allies on the 26th ofJuly, weresprung between n ine and ten o

’clock at nigh t, with the m ostcom plete success . The English and Austrians im m ediately m ade

them selves m asters ofthe covered way the Duke again sum

m oued the place , wh ich surrendered on capitulation the suc

ceeding day, and he took possession of it in behalf ofthe Ernperora The following year, however, Valenciennes surrenderedto th e French arm s . Considerable stores of every kind, with200 pieces ofcannon ,

an im m ense sum ofm oney , 1000 head ofhorned cattle

,and great quantities of corn, Qwere found there .

The Em peroris said to have expended in repairingand im proving the fortifications . The principal m anufacturesare lace , cam bri c , woollen m its , cam lets , The lace is soldh ere as dearas in England. A ll this part ofFrance has b eencalled its iron frontier.

8 .As ourroute will not lead us nearerwe m ay next describ eCAMBRAY , a city, in the departm ent of the

m iles S . W. ofValenciennes and i d? N . N . E. ofParis. Before the revolution i t was the capi tal ofCam bresis and the seeof an archb ishop. It is a large fortified town, pleasantly

10

situated on the Scheldt, whi ch divides it into two parts, and

contained 10 parishes, 3 abbeys, a great m any m onasteries andconvents, and about 3 000 houses. The cathedral was ancientlyconsidered as one of the m ost beautiful i n Europe ; i t i s now

, poorand neglected. It has considerab le m anufactures tot lace,'

linen, leather, soap and cam bric, which last took i ts nam e

from th is city . Cam bray 1s principally defended by the citadelwhich th e Em perorCharles V. cause d to b e built at the ex

pense ofthe ci tiz ens ; i t is a regularpentagon, th e ditches of

which are hewn out ofthe rock , wh ich served toraise the wallsandram parts , and to surround i t wi th five great bastions, defended by half- m oons and otherfortifications . This place wasform erlyesteem ed the m ost opulent and com m ercial of any inthe Low Countries ; as well as one ofthe s trongest, largest andb est situated. On the 23 d of April, 1794, the French weredefeated at Cm sar’s Cam p, in the neighbourhood, by the alliedarm y underthe Duke of York , wi th the loss of1200 m en

, and

3 pieces of cannon ; and the nex t day, they left 1200 m en

dead on the field of battle, am ong whom was theirgeneralChapuy, and 3 60 officers and privates were taken, togetherwi tin22 pleces ofcannon .

9.AfterCam bray

, ARRAS deserves notice as a, fortified ci ty,and capi tal of the departm ent of the Straits of Calais ,

situated on the Scarpe , 94 m iles N. of Paris . Before the revolutien it was the capi tal ofArtois i t was takenby th e Frenchand annexed to France m 1640. Th is is one of the m ost an

cient cities in the Low Countries, and is divided by the littleriverCrinchon into the City and the Town, the latterm uch thelarges t and m ost m odern . I t has a very th ick wall strengthenedby

t

high ram parts, and a citadel wi th five s trong bastions, surrounded with double and deep fosses, in m any places cut out ofthe rock , all thework ofVauban. The great square is full offine buildings , surrounded with piaz z as . There are 10,000,

1n

habitants , 1 1 parish churches , and the cath edral ; in the latterwas carefully preserved 111 a silvershrine, em ichedwith preciousstones, a sort ofm anna whi ch ,

they say, fell from heaven ab outthe year3 69 during aa great drought, and wh ich St . Jerom e

m entions in one of h is ep1stles as having h appened 1h h is tim e .

Arras is celebrated form any popz'

sh m iracles pretended to heperform ed oy th is m anna, whenrain is m uch wanted, as well asat the tom b of St . Wast, and by a candle brough t here by theVirginMary. i t was form erly a bishop 5 see .

1 1

10.AMlENS , a city and capital of the departm ent of the

Somm e, 75 m iles N . ofParis, situated on the ri verSom m e,

three branches ofwh ich run through it, overwhich i t has threebridges . Botore the revolution, i t was the capital of Picardy,and see of a bishop . The aspect ofAm iens , as i t is approachedby th e road, resem bles Canterbury the cathedral rising ab o

’

Ve

the town, the town as i t were gath ering round i t, as its parentand protector. I t has very often been though t to resem bleSalisbury . I t is clean and lively , and 1 11 m any respects resem

sh towns of the third rate . The cathedral was builtsh in the tim e of Henry V1. and theregency ofthe

Duke of Bedford. Though stri ctly Goth ic , i t is ligh t,very tastefully ornam ented ; it infinitely exceeds any cathedralin England, with th e exception of Westm insterAbbey : the

nave i s particularly celebrated ; it i s really as supei b and elegantas the im agination can picture . There are also eleven parishchurch es , an academ y of belles lettres , and a ci tadel built byH enry lV . i ch 1 8 accounted one of the be st and m ost regularin Europe

, w1 th a population of 3 5 ,000. Though som e of the

houses are ancient, and th e streets narrow, Am iens has not that1 uinous and cluse appearance of othertowns on th e Paris road.

I t has been lately new paved, and is, in every respect, one of

the cleanest and m os t agreeable towns in France ; the frequentvisits and long residence of Englishm en , have produced a verysensible alteration in th e m anne1 of living am ongst the inhab itants The general characterofthe people ofA m iens, is, thatthey are l ively , good hum oured, and less infected by the revolutionary contagion than any town in France . There are hereinanufactories of cloth , carpets , calim ancoes and baiz es,th e three latterch iefly foi dom esti c consum ption. Every con

siderab le town in France h as its public walk , and Am iens hassom e ofsingularbeauty . The holiday- dress ofthe peasantry inthis neighbourhood has been th us described : The greaterpartof the m en were three- cocked hats

,som e of straw,

som e of

pasteboard and som e of beaver; jackets 1 ed, yellow and b lue ;and brooches of the sam e fancy colours. The wom en weredressed in a variety , both of shape and colour, wh ich defies a

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ll

description ; when seen f1 o1n a distance they had a very picturesque appearance ; the sun sh ining on th e various coloursgave them the anpearance of so m any flowers .

’A niens is a

v ery ch eap to vn forperm anent re sidence .

'

l h e towns in France ,

are cheaperforstrangers to live i n than th e villages . in 15197

this ci ty was taken by the Sipaniards, by stratagem : som e sol

diers were sent from the governorofDourlens, in disguise, as

12

peasants going to sell fruit, and gained adm ittance, Sunday,March 10th ; b eing soon followed by othertroops

, the city surrendered.

.

It was soon afterretaken by the French , assisted bysom e English , underGeneral Biron . Am iens is celebrated forthe peace with Buonaparte, in 1801 , wh i ch , unfortunately, wasof such short continuance .

1 1 We m ust nowreturn towards the coast to BOULOGNE,

‘

a city and sea-

port, in t he departm ent of the Straits of\

Calais, on the m outh of th e Lianne, 14 m iles S . S . W .

of Calais, and 1 3 0 N . N. W . of Paris .

“

I t is divided intoUpperand LowerTown, the form erof wh ich i s surroundedwith walls, and contains about 400 houses ; the latterlies nearerto the sea, is not surrounded with walls , and, from its connexion

'

with the harbour, wh i ch has a m ole, m onopoliz es alm ostthe whole of the trade . The harbouris difficult to enter, and

the anchorage not good ; there is not depth ofwaterforsh ipsof war, and trading vessels m ust take advantage of the tide .

Th is was a station for. the fiat- b ottom ed boats, intended fortheinvasion ofEngland. Boulogne is very agreeably situated, andthe views from the UpperTown are deligh tful, especially whenthere is h igh waterin the river; on the Paris side also are a

landscape and walk of exquisi te beauty ; the river, aftersom e

sm allerm eanders , takes a wide reach through a beautiful vale ,and shortly afterflows into the sea through two h ills , wh ichOpen as it were toreceive it . The beach”wh ich is a flat, firmsand, is the favourite prom enade in the sum m erevenings , whenthe tide serves ; th is is likewise the parade . The principalchurch at Boulogne is a good andrespectable structure . The

people of Boulogne execrate the revolution, and not withoutreason, as th eirenvirons have been in som e degree spoiled byits excesses. Several m iles on the road, those sad m onum entsofthe popularphrensy , ruined chateaux, and churches con

verted into stables orgranaries , force the m em ory b ack uponthose m elancholy tim es , when the property and religion of a

nation becam e th e b ut oflawless bands . The town, Upon the

whole, is clean, lively, brisk and fiourishingf

1 2 .

01nitting places of inferiornote we proceed to ABBEVlLLE , surnam ed L a Fa celt’e, b ecause itwas nevertaken,

a town in the departm ent of the Somm e, “

86 m iles N. N.

‘N. of Paris , s ituated on the riverSom m e , form erly th em etropolis of Ponth ieu in Picardy . i t was fortified in 980

by H ugh Capet. I t was the b irth-

place of Nicholas Sanson,

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14

garden in the old French style, seldom m ore or less than a

straight line ruled ; from one ‘end of the kingdom to the Other.No angles, no curvatures, no

-hedges. Im agine a road m adeover a heath, and each side of it fenced offby a railing of hurdles , and you will have no im perfect idea of a great F renchroad . .Wi thin a m ile indeed of a principal town the prospectusually varies and im proves . The road is then planted on eachSide, and becom es a beautiful avenue th rough lofty and

'

shadytrees . H owever som e of the cross roads, not only equal, butgreatly exceed English roads of this description, in naturalbeauty and scenery . The approach to ’Rouen 1s noble ; everyobj ect denotes prosperity and com fort.

{14 .

ROUEN is a large, rich, populous and stately city, < the

capital of the departm ent of the L ower Seine, 69 m ilesN .W . of P aris , situated on the S eine, and surrounded wi thm ountains. Before the revolution it was the capital of Norm andy, and an archb islm p

’

s see . : It is seven m iles i n» circuit,and is calculated to contain inhabitants . The streetsare narrow, crooked and dirty , and the houses are m ostly

cbuilt

of wood ; notwi thstanding which , it is one ofthe m ost Opulent,com m ercial, and im portant places in France . The p rincipalpublic buildings are th e great hall

i

of the palace, in which theparliam ent of Rouen form erly m et, the old castle , and the ca

thedral. The cathedral , which has three towers, is one of them ost m agnificent m onum ents of Gothic architecture in France .

Rouen contains upwards of houses and 3 6 parish churches,and is a principal seat of the cotton m anufacture ; i t is in factthe Manchester of France . Form erly there were 40 convents inRouen ; th ey are m ostly new the property of individuals and areapplied to a variety of useful purposes. That of the Benediet ines, a noble structure , is the H otel de Ville . The librariesofthe other convents have been collected and deposi ted in th isbuilding for public use . I t is open five days in

,

the '

week ;

a splendid gallery of pictures, collected in the sam e m anner, isalso open, andreally open to the public . The garden form erlybelonging to this convent, is kept in good order, and form s an

agreeab le prom enade . In the m arket- place is a statue of theMaid of Orleans who was burnt here by th e xEnglisli for a wi tch .

The suburb of St . Sever com m unicates wi th the city by a bridgeof boats, which rises and falls [with the tide , and is m ade toOpen so as to adm i t the passage of ships ; i t is paved,. and is

paces long . The two Corneilles and Fontenelle were bornin Rouen. Besides the cotton m anufacture there are others of

1 5

cloth , and one of oil of.vitriol, the only . one in France . in 1418

V. began a continued five m onths,”during

tim e the inhab itants defended the city nobly, and enduredthe - m ost severe hardships, ,

b ut .were at last com pelled to surrender

, o n condition of paying 3 45 ,000c rowns of gold to the con

queror.

1 5 LOUVIERS , is a handsom e, fortified t own, in the departm ent of the Eure, 1 2 m iles S. ofRouen, and 10N . of Evreux.

I t is seated in a fertile plain, on a beautiful clear stream , the riverEure, of which full advantage appears to be taken

‘ for workingthe m ach inery used in the fine cloth m anufacture for awhichLouviers is so fam ous .

- Here are several noble establishm entsforspinning woollen yarn, finishing the cloth , &c . ; and theshearing m achines perform their office wi th the greatest precision. The French . appear to be wide awake to m echanical im

provem ents ; indeed the qual ity of the cloth proves their skilltoo well to leave a doub t of the excellence of their im plem ents .

The work people , of whom wom en form by farthe principalpart, appear very decent and com fortable . From Rouen toLouviers is an enchanting country . The valley of the Seine,in breadth, beauty and fertility, is alm ost unequalled .

The river SElNE rises about two leagues S . ofA igny loDuo,

in the departm ent of the ? Cote ;d’

Or, and; fl owing bt hatillon

,

Bar,Troyes, Nogent, Melun, Baris, .S t. Germ ain, altouen, Cau

debec,&cc. falls into the . English Channel at Havre de Grace .

1 6 we now turn to the west to pursue ourroute along thecoast, and notice HAVRE DE GRA CE

, a sea- port,

in the departm ent of the Lower Seine , 48 m iles W .of

Rouen, situated in a flat, m arshy soil , at the m outh ofthe Seine . F rancis 1 . erected i t into a town, and calledi t Ville de Francois, w hich ‘was afterward changed to thenam e it now b ears, on account of a chapel a nd the harbour form ed by the m outh of the r iver . The harbour hasparticular advantages above , all others on this coast; thewater does not b egin to ebb till three hours after the full tide; .which gives an opportunity for a great num ber of ships todepart in the sam e tide .

“This is attr1b uted ~ to the current ofthe Seine which crosses the m outh of the harbour. The basinis reserved for ships of war, wi th sufficient room forthirty

, anddepth for vessels of 60 guns. Before the revolution i t was theseat of a governor- general, and othe r officers it contained twochurches, three convents, an hospital

,‘and town- house ; and an

arsenal, m agazines, &c. necessary forequipping ships of war.It is defended b y lofty walls, large ditches filled wi th waterandfurnished with sluices,

'

and a regular citade l 'with bastions, &c.

In 1694, i t was bom barded by the English fleet, under Lord

Berkeley and Captain Benbow, and several houses destroyed ;and in 1759 i t was again b om barded by Lord Rodney

, and se t

fire to several tim es, and a great num ber of fiat- bottom ed boatsdestroyed, that

'

were intended to bring troops over to invadeEngland .

1 7 .CAEN, a city, and capital of the departm ent of Calvados,is 65 m iles W . S .W . of Rouen, and 125 W . of Paris, on the

riversOrne and Odon. I t was once the capital of Lower Norm andy , with an universi ty founded by Henry VI . of ‘Englandandrenewed by Charles VII. and an academ y of theb ellesélettres. The castle, the wall, and four towers here , were built ' bythe English ; the P lace Rog/ale was the m ost beautiful of all

Norm andy , large , regular and well paved, “and surrounded on

three sides with fine houses. In the year 1 3 46 i t was besiegedand taken by Edward III . after a severe contest, and the loss ofa great num ber of lives. William the Conqueror lies buriedhere .

8 CHERBOURG, a sea- port, in the departm ent of the Chan

nel, is 44 m iles N . of Coutances, and 185 W . N . W . of Paris,si tuated at the bottom of a large b ay, between Cape Barfleurand Cape La Hogue, containing about 6000 inhabitants . Form erly it was the seat of a governor and adm iralty ; i t pretendsto great antiqui ty . Ship - building and the woollen—stuff m anu

facture form the principal em ploym ent of the inhabitants.

English travellers, em barking at Weym outh and otherports of

Devon and Cornwall, som etim es land here . In 1758 the townwas taken and plundered by the English , the port destroyed,and the sh ips burned in the harbour. This port i has alwaysbeen considered by the French as an obj ect of great im portance,and im m ense

'

sum s have been expended in constructi ng piers,v deepening and enlarging the harbour, and erecting fortifications,Vessels of 900 tons can be adm itted at high water, and those of250 at low. About half a m i le from the tbwri is a cliff orrockof prodigious height, from the sum m i t of which, they say, KingJohn, in a tem pestuous night, with h is own hands, threw hisnephew Prince Arthur into the sea, which then flowed at thefoot of therock.

17

]9 COUTANCES , is acity, and capital of the departm ent of theChannel , 1 85 m ilesW . of Paris, situated near the sea, once

the seat of a governor, and a bishop’

s see , with a fine cathedral,at the consecration of which William the Conqueror assisted :The population is about 5000 ; they carry on a brisk trade ingrain

,butter and cattle, and inanufacture som e woollen and

linen cloth .

20 Thirty m iles S . of Coutances, in th e departm ent of theChannel, is the city of AVRANCHES . It is situated on

a m ountain, at the foot of which flows the iri verSee, one

m ile and a half from the English Channel . Before the revolution i t was a bishop’

s see, and besides the cathedral had

three parishes, a convent, a publi c school, a college and an

hospital . The cathedral stands on a hill , which term inatesabruptly, the front of the church extending to the extrem e

verge ofit, and overhanging the precipice . It bears the m arksofhigh antiqui ty, b ut the towers are decayed in m any places,though i ts original construction has been wonderfully strong .

In this churcha

H enry I I . of England received absolution fromthe papal nuncio for the m urder of Thom as- a—Becket, a nd thestone is still shown on which he knelt during the perform ance ofthatc erem ony. The ruins of the castle of A vranches are veryextensive , and beneath lies a rich extent of country, coveredwith orchards and abounding in grain. Avranches is an ancienttown, of very m ean appearance ; before Bretagne was uni ted tothe crown, i t was called the Boulevard, or Bulwark , ofFranceyet the Bretons took it and destroyed the fortifications in 1203 :

however,in the reign of St. Louis they were rebuilt.

2 ] On this coast, in the Bay of Avranches, 7 m iles S .W . ofthe city of Avranches is the celebrated MONT ST. MI

CHEL. This extraordinary rock,fori t is no m ore , Nature has

com pletely fortified on one side , by its craggy and alm ost pependicularascent , which renders i t im pregnab le . The otherparts are surrounded by walls

,fenced with sem i lunar towers in

the Gothic m anner, sufficiently strong to resist any attack . Theroad to it is entirely across the sands , wh ich 2 re only passable atlow water. A t the foot of the m ountain begins ‘

a street or town,

which winds round its base to a considerable he igh t . A boveare cham bers in which prisoners of state are confined, and on

the sum m it is the abbey , built ln the form ofa m oss, occupyinga prodigious space of ground, and of a s trength and solidityequal to its enorm ous size. In the reign of Ch ildeb ert I I . (708,

18

there was a bishop of Avranches, nam ed St. Aubert . To t hisholy m an the

,archangel Michael was pleased to appear one

night, and order him to go to this rock, then uninhabited and

covered with wood, and there construct a church . St . A ubert,who seem s to have been a little incredulous, treated i t as a dream ;

the angel‘lcarne again, repeated h is injunction, and, not beingob eyed, the third tim e he, byway of im printing it on the bishop

’

s

m em ory , m ade a hole in his scull, by touching it with h is thum b .

H ere fable ends ; and history inform s us, that Richard the second duke of Norm andy began to bui ld the abbey . [t was com

pleted in 1070, under Wi lliam the Conqueror . I t has thirteen

pillars on each side , n ine of 25 feet in circum ference , whichstand upon th e solid rock ; and over the centre of the church isa large square tower. They all seem to be buil t as if designedto ou

’

tlive the ravages of tim e and the convulsions of nature .

The treasury of the church was crowded with innum erable relics ;the good bishop’

s scull, in a shrine of gold, with a Chrystalover the orifice

,an im m ense golden cockle - shell, and an arm of

SA I N T R ichard, king of England, are worth m entioning. Thenum ber of pilgrim s who used to resort to this plape, and that notlong ago, annually am ounted to The cham bers ‘of the ahh ey are so num erous, that troops m ight be d isposed of

there without inconvenience ; and the subterranean cham bers in them ountain are also so num erous as to b e unknown to the guidesthem selves.

There are certain . dungeons, called Oubliettes, into whichthey were accustom ed form erly to let down m alefactors guilty of

very heinous crim es ; they provided these swretch esw ith a loaf ofbread and a bottle of wine, and then they were t otally forgottenand left to perish by h ungerin the dark vaults ’

ofthe rock . Itwaslong considered as a state- prison, and there are m any tales ofcruelty, blood and horror told b f i t . There was a cage preserve d here , ih a dungeon, com posed of prodigious wooden bars ;the wicket for adm ission was 12 inches thick , the space it comprised was 12 feet square and about 20 feet high , which was theabode of m any em inent victim s, whose nam es and m iseries arenow forgotten .

The hole of Montgom em’

is another curiosity of Mont St .Michel . lu a corner of one of th e cham bers there is a kindof window between i t and the wall of the bui ld ing was a

very deep space or hollow of near a hundred feet perpendicu ~

lar, and at the bottom was another window Opening to the sea.

The Count de Montgom eri, who unintentionally killed Henry l l .

at a tournam ent, being driven from h is fortresses, retired to a

19

rock , called the Tom belaz’

ne, a m ountain sim ilar to Mont St.Michel

,in having a castl e and being accessible only at low.water,

b ut a short distance from it ; here, with his followers, he lived insecurity. Being desirous to surprise Mont St . Michel, he foundm eans to engage in h is interests one of the m onks resident in

the abbey, who prom ised to give h im the signal for his enter

prise by displaying a handkerchief. The treacherous m onk ,

having m ade the signal, betrayed h im , and arm ed all h is asso

ciates, who wai ted Montgom eri’s arrival . The Count cam e, at

tended by fifty chosen soldiers, desperate, and capable of anyattem pt . They crossed the sand, and, having placed their scaling ladders, m ounted one by one ; as they cam e to the top, theywere dispatched each in turn wi thout noise . Montgom eri,followed last, at length discovered the perfidy, and escaped againto the Tom b elaine .

In the year 1090, Robert, Duke of Norm andy, andW i lliam Rufus, King of England, sons of W illiam the Con

queror, besi eged their younger brother Henry a long tim ein Mont St . Michel . The Prince could never have beenduced to surrender by force ; b ut he was in want ofwater, and

from that necessi ty was on the point of yielding up the fortress,when it obert , with the benevolence and hum ani ty which m arkedhis character, sent him som e pipes of wine ; and this succourenabled Henry to hold out. Rufus reproach

‘

ed Robert for "

his

conduc t ; Shall w e th en , said h e , sufferourbrother to dieof thirst ?”— And what return did he m eet with from Henry ?A n im prisonm ent of twenty- eight years in a vaulted cham berofCardiff - castle , where he expired— Before the revolution the abbey was a Benedictine m onastery, and gave nam e to an orderof knights founded by Louis X I . The town itself is as greatan object of curiosity as any other part of the Mount . Thereare m any houses in it upwards of600 years old ; the populationin tim e of peace does not exceed 200. Form erly, upon enteringthe town, every body was obliged to leave all sorts of arm s at

the gate ; even a knife was not perm itted to be brough t in .

22 Let us now proceed to 8T. MALG, wh ich is a sea- port,and principal place of a distric t

,in the departm ent of llle

and V i laine, 4 2 m i les N. of Rennes , si tuated on a sm all island ,j oined to the continent by a m ole , at the head ofwh ich is a

strong fort . Before the revolution i t was a bishop’

s see . Theharbouc is large , and one of the m ost frequented in France,though at low water alm ost dry, and at all tim es difficult toenter on account of the rocks which surround it . Anne of Bre

90

tagne, who built the castle, directed the engineer to construc ti t on the planof hercoach , which was accordingly

‘

done a largesquare areawithin constitutes the body ; two sm all towers in thefore part answer to the fore wheels of the carriage , as two othersof a larger size do to the hinder ones; a proj ection in frontform s the pole, and an arched niche behind corresponds to theplace where the servant was used to stand . The place is strongby its si tuation on a peninsula, b eing connected to the land onlyby a narrow m ole or causeway of about 700 yards in length ; i thas

”

also 250 pieces of cannon m ounted on its ram parts , but noout- works, and its fortifications could not sustain a long siege ;b ut i t is strong by nature and art towards the sea. St . Malo hasalways been a port for privateers, and has, consequently, in tim e

of war, been very troublesom e to the trade of England . In 1693

i t was bom barded by Capt. Benbow, when som e dam age was

done to the towuf Som e other attem pts have been m ade, b utwithout success . In the wars of the League , the inhabitants ofSt. Male

, having surprised the castle m urdered the governor ,whom they suspected to be inthe King 3 interest, divided am ongthem his treasures, which were very great, and declared openlyforthe League .

23 .We m ust notice ST. BRIEUX , as a city, and capital of thedepartm ent oftheNorth Coast , a port, and bishop

’

s see , 50

m ilesN . W . ofRennes. It is situated am ong m ountains , which iatercept the sight of thesea,though little

‘

m ore than a,m ile distant.

24.LANNION

, a town in the departm ent of the North Coast,2 0 m iles N. E . ofMorlaix , deserves notice ' only from th e

inhabitants here , and in the neighbourhood, Speaking”

the‘Welch

language , wh ich is said'to have been brought h ither by the

Brittms in the fifth century .

25 MORi lX, a town and principal place of a district, inthe departm ent of Finisterre, is 3 0 m i les E .N .E . of Brest.

I t is situated on a navigable river,of the sam e nam e

,

with the tide of the English Channel com ing up to i t , whichrenders i t a place of trade . The harbour is defended by a fort,which stands upon an island . The church is a singularstrueture and the hospital very handsom e .

26 .

BREST, accounted one of the keys of th e kingdom ,

is a sea- port, in the departm ent of Finisterre , about 3 20

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3 11. VANNES deserves m ention as a sea-

port and capital of thedepartm ent of Morbihan, 58 m iles NJW . of

”Nantes, and255 W. by S of Paris I t stands at the union offtwo sm allrivers , which form a harbour in the lake Morbih

'

an. It has twosuburbs, one of which is larger‘than th e town i tself ; before the '

revolution it '

was the see of a b‘

ishop . The principal com m erceis in corn, b ar- iron

‘

and fish .

3 2 ° ,

We m ay . next just m ention GUERA NDE, a town,. and

princ ipal place of a distri ct, in the departm ent of the“LhwerLoire, 40 m iles W . of Nantes. I t is situated nearthe sea, and is rem arkable for its salt- works— Let us here againem bark

,and touch at

3 3 NOIRMOUTIER, an 1sland in the Bay of Biscay, on thewestern coast of France . separated from the continent ‘by a

strait of about ‘a quarter of a league in width . It lies to the

south of the m outh of the river Loire . i t has a town of the sam enam e, with a harbour and b ay on the eastern coast

, which isdefended by a fort called Fort S t . P ierre . This island being a

celebrated place of resort for the French royalists of La Vendee ,was taken on the 2nd of January, 1794, by the republicans ;when 800 royalists were killed, and 1200 m ade prisoners .

3 4 0

13 1131 1 ISLE, or IgLE BE YEU , is a sm all island in theBay of Biscay, 15 m iles 8 . of Noirm outier . This island

was taken by the English and French royal ists, on the 5 th ofOctober, 1795 .

3 5 RE,or RHE ,

ISLE DE,an island in the Bay of Biscay,

near the western coast of France , separated from the coastof Vendee by the Strait of Breton. i t li es about 7 m ilesW .

of La Rochelle, is about £6 m iles in length , and 3 in

breath . The principal town is S t . Martin - dc Re ; the chief

products are bitter wine, salt, brandy and aniseed .

2 3

3 6The next and largest of the French islands is OLERON,

an island 5 m iles ' fr 'om the western coast of France ,at the -

m outh of ;

the river Charente, 15 m iles long, and 5

broad .I t is separated fron the continent by the channel

called Pertuis de M‘aubuisson, and from the island of R é by the

Pertuis d ’

Antioch e .

‘The toWn‘of Oleron is si tuated on

'

theeastern coast, and is the chief place of a canton , in the district ofMarennes .

The population consists‘

ofnearly who aredistributed i n the‘town and

‘

several villages., The soil is fertile,

b ut the principal part“of the inhabitants are seam en. The

;

Towerof Chassiron,a light -house , 1s on the north point of

this ' island, near the coast of France , which‘

has two fires todistinguish

'

it from th e‘

Towerof‘

Cordovan . In this island K ingR ichard I . of England com posed these m ari tim e laws , whichare called '

the Laws ofOleron, and are generally acknowledgedby all the powers of Europe as the basis

"

of their m arineconstitutions .

3 7 .Having

’

landed'

at Marennes,

a sea- port with about 5000inhabitants carryingon a brlsk trade in salt, we push on to

SAINTES, a ci ty, and capital of the departm ent of the'

Lower Charente, seated on an em inence, surrounded bythe Charente, 26 m iles S . E . of Rochfort, and 262 S . S.W. ofParis.

It has a harbour for sm all vessels, and before the revola tion was the capital of Saintonge, and a bishop’

s see. I t wasa

’

R om an colony ; and those conquerors of the earth,who polishedthe nations they subdued, have left behind them the traces oftheir m agnificence . In a hollow valley , between two m ountains,and alm ost adj oining to one of the suburbs

,are the rem ains of

the am phitheatre ; though in the last stage of decay, vits appear

ance is august and venerable . i n som e parts scarcely any ofthe arches are to be seen ; b ut the east end is still in very goodpreservation. From its situation in a valley, and from the ruinsof an aqueduct which conv eyed water to the town from nearlythree leagues distance, it has been supposed thatNaum achiaewererepresented in i t . A t rium phal arch , on which is an inscriptionin Rom an letters , likewise m eri ts attention ; i t was erected to them em ory of Germ anicus, on the news of his death ,

so universally,

lam ented throughout'

the em pire . There are m any other anti

quities well worthy of inspection and exam ination . The townhas nothing interesting except its rem ains of Rom an grandeur ;i t is buil t wi th great irregularity , the streets are narrow and

winding, the houses m ean, and alm ost all of them are som e centuries old . The cathedral has been repeatedly defaced and in

jured by Norm ans and Huguonots ; one tower only escaped theirrage, which was built by Charlem agne, and is the largest

‘in all

France ; i t is of enorm ous m agnitude, both in height and circum

'

ference .

Though the river Charente, which surrounds th is city,

as the Severn does that of Shrewsbury, cannot com parewith the Loire or Rhone i n S i ze and depth , yet the actions whichhave been perform ed on its banks, in different ages, wi ll renderit im m ortal in history . A t Taillebourg, only six m iles fromhence , nearer its m outh , was fought the battle between Henrythe Third of England and St . Louis, where the latter ,was con

queror, and in which he gave proofs of undaunted prowess andintrepidity, by defending ,

alm ost alone, the passage of a bridgeagainst the whole English arm y during som e m inutes. Francisthe First, one of the m ost am iable and accom plished princes thatever reigned in France , was born in 1494 , at Cognac, onlyseven leagues higher up on the Charente . Two leagues beyond

Cognac, still nearer its source, is the fam ous plain of Jarnac,

where the Huguonots were b eaten, in 1569, by the Duke ofAnjou ; and where the great Louis, first Prince of Condé, was assassinated by Montesquion .

3 8 0Let us once m ore descend the Charente, and about 12m iles from its m onth we shall find the fam ous sea- port

of ROCHFORT,which is 2 1 m iles S . by E. of Rochelle

,

and 250 S . W . of Paris. It is in the departm ent ofthe LowerCharente, has a deep com m odious harbour, well sheltered fromall hurricanes , with vast barracks, an arm oury, excellent docks,rope -walks, well- stored naval m agazines, a m arine academ y

, andan hopital for seam en . I t was founded by Louis X IV . in

the m idst of m arshes, expressly drained for that purpose, and

was called by Colbert “ LaVille d’ Gr, from the prodigious sum s

expended there ; it was originally well fortified, b ut its distancefrom the sea rendering it sufficiently secure , the fortificationsh ave been partially neglected . The town is laid out with greatbeauty and elegance ; the streets are uniform ly broad , and instraight lines, extending through the whole place from side toside ; b ut the houses are low, though regular. Large

"

vesselscan l i e afloat in the harbourat low water, well secured from all

winds, as well as from annoyance by enem ies and it is rem arkable that the worm , so destructive to the bottom s of ships, doesnot bite here . The port is as im portant as Brest or Toulon . I tis supposed to contain inhabitants ; b ut the neighb our-aing salt- m arshes render the airunwholesom e, and the water is

of a bad quali ty . The num ber of work m en form erly em ployedat Rochfort was about 900, and to these were added 600 galleyslaves, who were occupied in the m ost painful and laboriousservice . They were chained two and two with heavy fetters,constantly guarded , and confined in a long building erected forthat purpose in the centre of the yard ; som e of these wretch eswere thus detained for a term of years, others during life . The

approach to the town up the river is well defended by severalforts one of which , on the isle of A ix, tog ether wi th the islandon which i t stands , was taken, in 1757 , by Capt;Howe, in theMagnanim e, after half an hour’s resistance, the whole garrison,consisting of nearly 6500 m en, being m ade prisoners .

3 9 ROCHELLE is a celebrated sea- port, in the departm entof Lower Charente, 90 m i les N . of Bourdeaux, and

W . S. W . of Paris . Before the revolution, i t was a bishop’

s see

and capital of Aunis . The harbour is safe and good , though itis not very deep, and its entrance is narrow. The climate hereis not very good, in consequence of the sal t m arshes . Its tradein general is very great, especially to the French colonies inA frica and Am erica. It has five gates and the houses arem ostly supported by piazzas ; the streets are in straight lines .

The population is about In t he 10th century the

inhabitants joined in the reform ation, fortified the town, and

held out a siege . in 1 622 , Louis X lll . in order to com pelthem to surrender, ordered Fort Louis to b e erected, at theentrance ofthe harbour, and in 1628, to prevent their receivingany succours by sea, a m ole was raised by Cardinal Richlieu,4482 feet in extent, which surrounded the haven, the rem ainsof which are still to be seen . Fam ine at length obliged them ,

the sam e year, to capitulate ; in consequence of which theirprivileges were taken away, and the fortifications dem olished ;b ut

,in th e reign of Louis XIV. these were againrepaired

,by

M. Vauban.

40 FONTENAY LE COMTE is a city and capital of the de

partm ent of LaVendee , si tuated in a fertile valley, on the

Vendee, m iles S . S . E . of Nantes, and 16 N . of Niort.There are about 7000 inhabitants, whose principal com m erceis in woollen cloth , stuffs and cattle , of wh ich they sell a

great num ber at their three annual fairs.

41 'W ithout further delay let us describe NANTES, a city,and capital of the departm ent of the Lower'

Loire, situatedB

26

on the Loire , 70 m iles N . of Roch elle , and 217,SJ

’V. of Paris,form erly the capital of a distric t called Nantois in Bretagne .

Before the revolution, i t was a bishop’s see, the seat of an intendancy, a collection, a cham ber of accounts, a board of finances,a m int- office , a country court , a bailiwick , a p1 evott an adm iralty, a forest- court, and a consulate . Excliisive of the cathedral,and a collegiate church , i t contained eleven parish churches ,fourteen convents, two hospitals, one college , and an university,founded about 1460, a soci ety of agricultui e and ai ts , a schoolofanatom y and surgery, and a large rope m anufacture . Thisis one of the greatest trading cities in the kingdom , chiefly tothe French colonies, Am erica, Spain , Pm tugal and other parts,though ships of burden can com e no farther up the Loirethan to Paim boeuf, a m arket town, where the cargoes are putinto sm aller vessels, and carri ed to Nantes . lt i s large , pcpulous, well s ituated , and has four suburb s is one of the m ostancient ci ties in France, the Condivunum of the Rom ans,

and the Civitas N am zetum of Caesar . I t is m entioned by several Latin writers, as a town of m ost considerable populationunder the Rom an prefects . In every respect i t is a noble city ,and is situated as beautifully as i t is advantageously, beingbuilt on the ascent and sum m i t of a hill , at the foot of which isthe Loire, the riverof love the inhalntants on whose bankshave , from tim e im m em orial , been all reputed as native poets .

The Loire i s perhaps the only river in Europe, which 18 bor

dered by hills and hillocks, and which , in so long a course, so

seldom passes th ough a dead level . Hence the rising gi oundsof the Loii e have, from the earliest periods, been selected forthe si tes of castles, m onasteries, abbeys and chateaux. Thescenery along the Loire has a character which cannot be foundin any otherkingdom , on any other 1 iver . Towns, wind- m ills,steeples, ancient castles and abbeys still entire ; others w i thnothing rem aining but their lofty walls ; hills covered wi thv ines,

t”

and alternate woods and corn- fields, altog ether form a

chain of landscapes which rem ind one of a poem , and suc

cessively refresh , delight, anim ate and exal t th e im agination.

Let him who i s oppressed with sorrow traverse the banks of theLoire ; let him appeal from m an to nature ; from the busyworld and scenes of vice , to scenes of innocence and loveliness,groves, m eads and flowers , —h is m ust be ‘

no com m on s orrowwhich would not be forgot on the banks of the Loire " In them iddle of the stream Opposi te Nantes are several islets, on

which are houses and gardens ; and which , at sun- set, whenthere are m arquées and dancing parties on them , have a m ost

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of Paris . 1 t Was form erly the m etropolis of the dukedom ofA lencon, and a generality . I t i s situated on the river Sarte,wh ich runs into the Loire . The walls are traversed with towersand surrounded wi

'

th ditches ; the greater part of the streetsare tolerably wide , and the houses well b uilt there is only one

parish church , which contains som e rem arkable tom bs of theancient dukes.

44 We m ust not leave th is neighbourhood without noti cingthe once celebrated Abbey of I A TRAPPE, situated i n a

deep and woody valley, a few m iles to the N . E . of A lencon,in

the sam e departm ent . The hills and forests which surround itseem to be disposed in such a m anner as i f th eywished to concoal it from the rest of th e world. It was founded in 1 140 byRotrou, Com te da Perche, consecrated 1 11 1214, and reform ed

in 1662 by the Abbe de Rance to the latter ( ircum stance it isindebted forits wonderful celebrity. i t was called L

’

Ahbaye

d’

e Notre Dam e de la Maison Dieu de laTrappe ; and the ch i efobject of the 01der was , that the m onks should be m utual guardsupon each other ; and forth is purpose they were never sufferedto b e alone except in their cells during their few hours of rest .

th ey ate, drank , worked, reposed and prayed all together,ih

creasing theirausterities by em ulation of pains and sufferings.They were also fam ous for keeping perpetual silence, unlesswhen spoken to by the superior, o. in theirreligious conferences, or to accuse th em selv ,e s and never tasted m eat or wine,except when sick . They fasted continually, and were in all

respects the m ost rigorous ascetics in Eui ope . 1n the apartm ents allotted for the rec epti on of visi tors, tablets were hungup on the walls, on which were W i itten som e of the regulationsof the order ; such as the keeping a p erpetual silence in thecloister, th e avoiding aa m eeting wi th any of the m onks, directing strange i s to address them selves tto the porter '

alone if theywanted any thing, forbidding their entry into the Cloisters, orhousey orwalking in th e garden at certain hours, 810. The

vestibule also was filled with passages drawn from scripture ; so

that i t has been quaintly said, Here the walls Speak , the m en

say not a word .

”

The whole building was very plain and sim ple : one end ofthe church , which was divided into two by a high balustrade,was bui lt so as to resem ble the poop of a ship ; the re were twoal tars ; the grand altar was plain, sculptured in an ancient m an

ner, having an im age of the Vi rgin over it ; on the pedestalupon which th is im age was placed

,the word ®EOTOKQ was

29

inscribed, which signifies To theflfothcrof God.

”The m ode

of life observed here am ong the religious has been alreadyglancedat ; i t was surprisingly strict and severe ; alm ost their whole tim ewas occupied inrehgious exercises, praying, fasting , andwork-

K

ing ; a very short space indeed was allotted to repose , if so it

m ay be called , which was to be sought in their clothes uponia

board ; their food consisted of very brown, coarse and brannybread, pottage m ade of herb s, peas , or lentils, sping

age, beans ,and other vegetab les , b ut no butter or oil ; the ir drink was,

water and a very sm al l quantity of cider .However we m ay condem n the practices of these

being not only useless but injurious to society , we

reverence the piety of their m otives ; they thought they were“serving God in the m ost acceptable m anner, and supposed them ore severe their b odlly afflictions and m ortifications were, the.

m ore pure their heavenly joys would be .

45 LEMANS or MANS , a city and capital of the departm ent ofthe Sarte, is 46 m iles N. of Tours, and SJN

of Paris . I t is situated on a declivity at the confluence oftheHuisne and Sarte, and contains,

about inhabitants. Ithas excellent poultry, and its wax ,

and stalls are fam ous. Before the revolution i t was the m etropolis of Maine , the see of ab ishop , the seat of a governor, an electorate, a bai liwi ck , &c.

I t contained a cathedral , two collegiate and thirteen parishchurches, and twelvereligious houses.

46 LAVAL is acity and capital ofthe departm ent of Mayenne,_40 m i les E. ofRennes , and 156

“

W. SWY. of Paris. l t is

si tuated on the river Mayenne , and contains aboutinhabitants.

Q Here , and in the neighbourhood, are severalm anufactures of linen , which form a very considerable comm erce.

47 .

The next place of note , directly 8 . of Laval , is ANGERS,

a ci ty and capital of the departm ent of Mayenne and

Loire , situated on both sides of the Mayenne , 60 m iles W . of

Tours, 50E. N. E . of Nantes , and 175 S . W . of Parts . Beforethe revolution, i t was the capital of Anj ou, and a bishopric.

The firs t walls of this city were built by John, K ing ofEngland , who was Count of A nj ou, which were destroyed

,by

Louis VII I . whose son rebuilt them in their resent form , in:

th e year 123 " An university was founde’ here in 1246,

and an academ y ofthe b elles lettres in 1685

. The Angevins

arerem arked for their love of li terature, - anhonourable distine»tion The ci ty contained 16 parish churches,

‘

and severalreliglous houses ; the cath edral is a beautiful pile of building,celebrated forits m onum ent of Margaret of Anjou, wife ofHenry VI . of England . The castle is built on a rock

,and

was originally designed as a defence against the English , afterA nj ou was surrendered to France ; it overhangs the river, and,though now in decay , h as still a very strik ing appearance ; itwas flanked with eighteen large round towers, and a very stronghalf- m oon ; the walls are lofty and the fosses deep, and cut out

of the solid rock . The streets are narrow, and the houses m ean ,

low and huddled toge ther ; they are all covered with slate furnished by the quarries in th e neighb ourhood , from which A n

gers has been called Ville N oire. The population is‘ estim atedat

Provisions are very cheap in Angers and the neighbourhoodb eef and m utton, 2d. per lb . a fowl, 5d. turkeys, l 8d. tobread, about lgd. per lb and all other things, except fuel , inproportion. The clim ate is very delightful ; the high vault ofh eaven is clad in ethereal blue

,and the sun sets with a glory

inconceivable to those who have lived only in m ore northerlyregions ; there are no fogs ; therains com e on at once, and thencease till the following season.

48 SAUMUR is a sm all but handsom e town, in th e sam e de

partm ent, form erly the capital of Saum urois, 27 m iles S . E .

ofAngers . The town is pleasantly situated on the Loire , overwhich is a long bridge, m uch celebrated and continued througha num ber of islands ; the fortifications were form erly of greatstrength, and, though now neglected, the place still m aintainsits rank as a m ilitary town, and the nam es of travellers are form ally required and registered . Saum ur was a m ost im portantpass over the river, and was frequently and fiercely disputedduring the civil wars in the sixteenth century . The castle, builton an em inence, overlooks the town and river , and h as a venerable and m agnificent appearance ; the k ings of Sicily and

dukes of Anj ou often resided. in‘the castle of Saum ur, as i t con

sti tuted a part of their Angevin dom inions. Provisi ons herealso are very cheap ; beef, not very fat, 15d . English per lbm uttonand veal, about 2d . two fowls , 8d . two ducks, 10dgeese and turkeys, from l s. 6d . to 23 . 6d . ; fuel , as m uch as

would serve three fires for the year, about house- rent inproportion ; butter, 8d. per lh . ; cheese , 4d . ; and m ilh , a hal f

p‘

enny per quart . The country round Saum ur is as l ively and

3 1

beautiful as the town i tself ; i t chiefly consists of corn fields,studded with groves or tufts of trees, and divided by greenfences interspersed with pear and apple trees.

The country between Saum urand Tours is as delightful asthe im aginationcan conceive, and exceeds all powers of description there are in rapid successi on m eadows and lawns evergreen, hills covered with vines, handsom e Chateaux, groves andtufts of trees, thick and alm ost i m penetrable forests, from the

centre of wh ich are visible steeple'

s, villas, windm ills, abbeys,and ancient castles overhanging the m aj estic and rom antic Loire ,where the deep tranquilli ty is only inter' rupted by the nigh tin

gal e s song, the j ocund notes of the swain returning from labour,the m ilkm aid’s carol, or the nightly dance beneath the beech-t

tree’s shade . This is truly a lovely country, with varied, picturesque and beautiful scenery, abounding in vines, corn, m ea

dow, wood and wa ter. Well m ight Mary Queen of Scotlandexclaim , when leaving the vines and flowers of France forherScotch kingdom , Dear, delightful land, m ust I indeed leaveth ee "Gay, lovely France, shall I never see thee m ore "”

49;A few m iles E . of Saum urwas the far- famed abbey ofFONTEVRAULD , founded in 1096 by Robert d

’

Arbrissel,where Henry the Second and Richard the First of England wereinterred ; Eleanor of A cquitaine, wife of Henry, Jane Queen ofSicily, h is daughter, and Elizabeth of A ngoulem e , widow ofJohn King of England, lie buried in the sam e tom b . Fontev

ranld, besides the respect derived from its antiquity, was con

sidered as

'

one of the m ost honourable and'

im portant b eneficesin France ; m any princesses of the blbod have b een its abbesses,with im m ense revenues, and extensive spiritual and tem poralauthority . It was si tuated in a valley, having rocky h ills b eh ind, and thick woods alm ost concealing it from the View,

giving it an airof m elancholy and silence peculiarly characteristic of the gloom y devotion of m onastic life.

50.We pass through Thouars and Partenat unnoticed, and

com e to N lORT, a city and capital of the departm ent ofthe Two Sevres, 44 m iles S W . of Poictiers, and 3 4 N . E . ofRochelle . It is situated on the river Sevre Niortoise, and had

form erly a very strong castle . There are considerable coarsewoollen m anufactures here.

5 1 .Porcrrnas or POITIERS

, a city and capital of the de

partm ent of Vienne, is large, b ut thinly inhabited . It is

3 2,

1 17 m iles N . N . E . of Bourdeaux , E7O S . S .W . of Paris, andstands upon the river Clain. The principal

,m anufactures are

s tock ings, woollen caps, gloves and com b sf Som e Rom an

antiquities are to be found here, particularly an am phitheatre,and a trium phal arch . Form erly Poi tiers was the capital o fthe province, a bishop’

s see , the residence of the governor of

Poi tou, and had a celebrated universi ty fori

tho civil ; law. In1 3 56 a battle was fough t near this town, between the English ,under Edward the Black Prince, and the French

, in whichthe latter were defeated , and the king taken prisoner . Whatrenders this battle m ore fam ous and extraordinary is, that theEnglish arm y consisted only of m en, and the French of

52 Turning once m ore to the S . and passing by m any placesof inferior note we arrive at ANGOULEME, a. city and

capital of the departm ent of Charente, 65 m iles S . E . ofRochelle ,and 250S W . of Paris. Before the revolution i t was the capitalofA ngoum ois, and the see ofa bishop . I t is si tuated on a rocknear the river Charente, contains twelve parishes, and about8000 inhabitants. The cathedral was destroyed in the civilwars, about the year 1562, and wasrebuilt in 1628.

53 A fter another long stretch, in a south -westerly direction, wereach one of the m ost im portant places in France—BOUR

DEAUX,a city, sea- port and capi tal of the departm ent of the

Gi ronde, 3 25 m iles S . S .W . of Paris. Before the revolution itwas the capital of the Bourdelois, the see of an archbishop, theseat of a lieutenant- general and a parliam ent city . It is in theform of a crescent, delightfully situated on the western coast ofthe Garonne, and cdntains about inhabitants. Bourdeaux is one of the firs t cities in France for m agni tude, richesand beauty. I t has an university , founded in 1441 an academ yofsciences and belles- lettres, established in 1712 ; a public library ; a large hospital, in which are several m anufactures, &c.

The harbouris large, and the quay grand and extensive.

Fouror five hundred m erchant ships are often found there at

one tim e , im porting woollen stuffs, tin, copper, coals, herrings,leather, salted beef, tallow,

drugs, deals , m asts forships, hem p ,pi tch and tar, and

,exporting wine and brandy , (of which

two articles alone they annually export near tuns)v inegar, fruit, resin, paper, honey, cork , &0. They havealso a great West India trade the whale and cod fishery formlikewise a considerable branch ,

of th e com m erce ofth is c ity .

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of considerab le ‘

im portance , the seat of a tribunal in the dis

trict of Ustaritz . It is strongly fortified by the celebrated Vaub an, the citadel is the strongest in France . Masts are broughth ere from the Pyrenees, by . m eans of the N ive , the Gave ofOleron, and the A dour, and shipped off to Brest and otherplaces. A com pany for the northern whale fishery was established in 1605 ; in 1784 i t was declared a free port. Beforethe revolution i t was the see of a bishop . The cathedral isrem arkable for its high nave and the delicacy of the pillarswhich support i t . Bayonne and th e Adour, are rendered fam ous in ourtim es , for being the srene of som e of the operationsof that great m ili tary genius th e Duke of Wellington, in hisinvasion ofFrance .

56 PAU , a city, and capital of the departm ent of the Lower Pyrenees, is 55 m iles E . of Bayonne , and97 S . of Bourdeaux,

situated on a river called the Gave of P au. I t was form erly thecapital of Bearn , a parliam ent ci ty, the seat of a governor, a

seneschal , and contained an university , an academ y ofences , two hospitals, a college, and several‘ convents . I t wasthe ancient residence of the kings of Navarre , and the birth

place of Henry IV. The population is estim ated at aboutchiefly em ployed in the m anufacture of cloth , linen, &c .

The ham s cured here are highly esteem ed . The environs areplanted with vineyards, wh ich produce the fam ous

“ Vin deJorencon .

” The castle stands on a m ost rom anti c and singularSpot,

~

at the west end of the town, upon a rock, which term i

h ates perpendicularly ; It com m ands very fine and extensiveviews ; the river Gave im m ediately below, the hills on one sidecovered with v ines about two m iles distant, and, beyond all

, theP yrenees stretching round the horizon from east to west andbounding the prospect. The castle, though now in a state ofdecay, is still habi table ; and the apartm ents are hung withtapestry said to be the work of Jane Queen of Navarre, them other of Henry IV. theroom is still shown in wh ich he wasb orn, and there are som la curious particulars told relating to thatevent. Jane , in com pliance wi th the desi re of her father, Henryd’Albret, K ing of Navarre, cam e from Com peigne to Fan to

lie in ; and, in obedience to his com m and, during the pains ofherlabour, had courage enough to sing a song or hym n in the

Bearnois language . The m om ent he was born the king tookthe infant into his own apartm ent, and began by m aking himswallow som e drops of wine

’

, andrubbing his lips with a root of

garlic. The m anner ofhisbringing up was Slm flar, and in a

3 5

prince alm ost unexam pled ; he was sent to the castle of Coaracein Beam , where he used to run about with the neighbouringpeasants, barefooted and bareheaded, even in the rigours ofwinter .

57 .

From Pan let us direct ourcourse northward till we reachMONT DE MARSAN ,

a city, and capital of the departm ent of the Landes, 46 m iles N . E . of Bayonne . It was foundedin the year 1 120, and was the capital of the country of Marsan ;i t contains about 4000 inhabitants, and is entitled to notice onlyfrom being the capital of the departm ent.

58 The next place of im portance we com e to, in‘

an easterlydirection, is AUCH , a city and capital of the departm ent

of Gers, 3 7 m iles W. ofToulouse , and 90 S . E . of Bourdeaux,situated on a hill near the river Gers . Before the revolution thecapital of Arm agnac , and see of an archbishop

, who had the

title of Prim ate of A quitaine , wi th a revenue of livres .

The cathedral was esteem ed one of the m ost beautiful in France .

59 We turn again to the S . to notice TARBE, a city and

capi tal of the departm ent of the Upper Pyrenees, seated onthe river A dour, 25 m iles E . of Pan, and 42 S . S .W . of Auch .

Form erly i t was a bishop’

s see, and the residence of a governor .

It is buil t on the ruins of the ancient Bigorre , consists principally of one street along the A dour, and is defended by a castle .

60 Passing by'

m any places of inferi or note , from Tarb e wem ay proceed E . to FOIX , a ci ty and capital of the depart

m ent of the Arriege , 42 m iles E. o f Toulouse . This place issupposed to have been founded by the Phocians, whence thenam e is corrupted into Foix ; i t contains about inhab i

tents , and has a m anufacture of coarse woollen cloth, and som ecopper works .

6 1 PRADES is a town fi ll the departm ent of the EasternPyrenees, on the river

“

Yet, 21 m iles‘

W. S . W . of Perpignan, containing about 1 100 inhabitants. Modern travellers,Speak highly of the cultivation of the m ountains in this district,and of the very sublim e scenery in the im m ediate neighbourhood . Cam

'

gou, the chief of the Eastern Pyrenees, m ay beascended from hence ; no description can convey to the m indthe grandeur, and vastness of this m ountain ; whose sum m it,on wh ich is fixed a sm all i ron cross, is 9000 feet above the

3 6

level of the Mediterranean. There are m any wi ld goats am ongthe rocks, and som e bears ; and the wolves frequently prowlabout the streets of Prades, i n the winter nights.

62 It is a deligh tfully rom anti c ride from Prades to PERPIGNAN, a city and capital of the departm ent of the

Eastern Pyrenees, 3 4 m iles S . of Narbonne, situat ed on the

about three m iles from the sea . Perpignan was form erly considered as one of the keys of the kingdom . Beforeth e revolution i t was the capital of Roussi llon, and see of a

b ish op . The walls are of brick and stone , very high and thick ,with several bastions ; the ci tadel is upon an em inence and

com m ands the town. In 1703 there were two battles, betweenthe French and Spaniards near this ci ty in the form er of whichthe Spaniards, in the latter the French ere defeated . Theb enefic ial effects of irrigation are very visible in this district .Th e copious and pure stream s issuing from the Pyrenees, arem ost econom ically and skilfully directed to this purpose ; they arecollected by artificial channels, and only suffered to descend as

they.

perform the office of irrigation ; and they render the little

porti ons of arable land on the sides of the m ountain, surprisinglytruitful. Where a portion of land cannot be i rrigated , i t is planred wi th vines ; as wateri ng these would 1njure th e quality of thewine , wi thout increasing the quantity suffici ently to com pensate .

(l a the contrary olives are i rrigated wi th the greatest advantage .

63 0111 course from Perpignan lies al ong the shores of theMediterranean to NARBONNE a city , in the departm ent

ofthe Aude, situated near the sea, on the canal which com m uni

cates wi th the A lida, 50 m iles S S W . of Montpell'i er, and 80

Q B. ofToulouse . Itwas form erly the see of an archbishop, theseat of an adm iralty, and residence of a governor : i t contained125 collegiate churches, besides th e cathedral, wh ich is noted forits noble choir, a college, 2 sem inaries, 13 convents and

several hospitals. Here the Em perorMarcus Aurelius wasborn . it was the capital of Gallia Narbonensis, and stronglyfortified ; b ut at present a wall, flanked with bastions, is itsonly defence . Narbonne contains a great m any antiqui ti es ; thechief are the aqueducts, the place

13

called the Capi tole, m anystatues, inscriptions, 8 m. ft i s not populous, in proportion toits extent, neitheris i t a rich or com m ercial town . The honey

of this neighbourh ood i s in great e steem . The inhabitants areestim ated at 10,000. The vi ews between this place and Perpignan, the Qevennes on the right, the Mediterranean on the

3 7

left, and the Pyrenees;towering m ajestically in front , are ex

trem ely interesting and delightful .

64 We riow turn to CARCASSONE, a city and capital of thedepartm ent of the A ude , 3 5 m iles W . of Narbonne . I t

was form erly the capital of a county ,the seat of a governor, and

a bishop’

s see . I t is situated on the Aude , and is divided intoOld and NewTown,

and defended by a castle, walls and ditches .

The New Town is regularly built .ln the form of a long square .

There is a considerable m anufacture offine cloth here, in m anyrespects excelling even that at Abbeville . The population is

estim ated at

This place bore a considerable share in the celebrated crusadeundertaken against the A lb igenses , which form s one of the m ostastonish ing instances of superstition and atrocious b arbarity tob e found in the annals of the world. The ci ty b eing investedby Sim on de Montfort, and the inhabitants, terrified at the fateof several other places where the m ost dreadful m assacres hadbeen com m i tted, dem anded leave to capitulate ; b ut this act ofm ercy was only extended to them under a condition equallycruel , unparalleled in history, and incredible i f we were not

com pelled to believe i t by' the unanim ous testim ony of all the

contem porary wri ters -all the people found in i t were obliged,without distinction of rank or sex,

to evacuate it in a s tate ofnudi ty.

6 3 On ourroad to Toulouse we m ay notice CASTELN/AUDRY, a town, in the departm ent of A ude, 54 m iles W .

of Narbonne , si tuated on an em inence , near the grand reservoirwhich supplies the canal of Languedoc . Before the revolutioni t was the capital of Lauragais ; i t contains about 5000 inhab itants.

66 TOULOUSE is a ci ty and capi tal of the departm ent of theUpper Garonne , 125 m iles S . E . of Bourdeaux,

~

and 3 50

S . by W . of Paris . I t was once the capital of Languedoc, see ofan archbishop , and second parliam ent of France ; i t is reckonedforsize next to Paris ; the streets are generally broad, and thehouses bui lt of brick . I t is not

,however, very populous ; and,

though so finely si tuated , its trade is very inconsiderable, theprincipal article b eing/

Spanish wool . Som e carpets are m adehere , though of little value, together wi th som e slight silk and

woollen stuffs . The university was founded i n the year 1228.

The town- house is a spacious building, and called- the capitolium ,

3 8

whence the alderm en are term ed capitouls ; and am ongst othercuriosi ties preserved here are 15 large parchm ent folios ,delicately written and i llum inated, being annals of the city

,

com m encing from the year 1288, and annually continued by theeldest capitoul . These were drawn up originally in Latin, but

under Francis 1. were altered to French . The three first volum esare principally filled with the portraits and nam es of the capitouls, and the following contain all the m em orable events andtransactions throughout the whole kingdom . Here is also an

academ y of the sci ences and l iberal arts . A t a short distancebelow the city , the celebrated canal of Languedoc j oins theGaronne , iwhich here becom es navigable . Toulouse was one ofthe m ost flourish ing ci ties of the old Gauls, and contains m anym onum ents of antiquity . i t is large, as before observed

, and

well built, b ut horribly filthy , contains inhabitants, and

has m uch the appearance of prosperity . How the people ofthis place , and of som e oth ers in the South of France , can

tolerate the detestable stench of their own nuisances,is m ar

vellons .

67 .

Ourroute next leads us to AGEN,a city , and capital of

the departm ent of the Lot and Garonne, 80 m i les S . E . ofBourdeaux . I t is situated on the Garonne , in a fertile country,and was form erly a bishop’

s see , and capi tal of a country calledA genois . The celebrated Joseph Scaligerwas born here .

68 A fter crossing the Garonne at Layrac, which is h ere veryrapid, running between h igh banks, and rendering the

passage som ewhat dangerous, i f we proceed about 20 m i les tothe S of Agen, we shall m eet with

x

th e strongly fortified city ofLECTOURE,wh i ch was lately an episcopal see, and is situatedon a m ountain of very difficult ascent, at the foot ofwhich flowsthe Gers . I t occupi es a level space of m ore than half a m ile incircum ference tin the sum m it of the m ountain, from which thereis a v iew of the Pyrenees , 90 m iles distant, their heads lost inclouds and covered with eternal snow. Lectoure was a Rom an

colony , and m any antiquiti es have been discovered here a beautiful fountain, which Springs from th e side of the h ill near theep iscopal palace , is declared to have been consecrated to Diana,who had a tem ple near the Spot . The history of John the fifthcount of A rm agnac, who resided here, is very curious, b ut toolong to be inserted .

The rem ains of the cas tle are still visible , in which the nobleand unfortunate Marechal de Montm orenci was confined after

3 9

the battle of Castelnaudry in 163 2 . So am iable was his cha

racter, so general was the attachm ent borne to him , and so detested was his enem y the Cardinal de R ichlieu, that the ladiesof the place attem pted by a stratagem to procure him his liberty .

They sent h im ,as a present, a large pie, in which was con

cealed a silken ladder of ropes . H e lost no tim e in endeavouring to avail him self of this instrum ent for h is escape

, and,having fixed it the sam e ‘evening to the window of h is apartm ent , ordered his valet to descend first , intending to follow ;b ut the servant, having unfortunately m issed his hold

,fell

, and

broke h is thigh . The centinels, alarm ed at his cries, ran tothe spot , and intercepted the Marechal , whowas soon after conducted to Toulouse and there put to death .

69’We againre- cross the Garonne , and proceed throughMoissacto CAHORS, a ci ty, and capital of the departm ent of the

Lot,65 m iles N. of Toulouse , and about 1 10 E . of Bourdeaux

it was once the capital of Quercy, and a bishop’s see . I t is situated on the river Lot, which nearly surrounds i t, in a countrycelebrated for its wine, which is th e principal article of com

m erce . Henry IV . took this town by assault in the year 15 80,

when m ortars were first m ade use of. The university of Cahorswas founded in l 3 3 2 by Pope John XXL , called Jacques d’Ossa,who was the son of a shoem aker of this ci ty . The sublim ityof his genius wafted h im to this first dignity of the church.

A fter a vacancy of two years in the papal see , the cardinals,being always divided in their sufl

'

rages, agreed that Cardinald’Ossa should choose the m ost worthy he im m ediately electedh im self»to the Pontificate , saying, Ego sum P apa,

”1 am Pepe ;

and this electi on m et wi th general approbation .

70 Returning to the southern coast of France, we m ust notice

the ancient city of ALBY , which is 20 m i les N . of Castres,

seated on the river Tarn, in the departm ent of the Tarn, and wasform erly the capital of A lbigeois, and see of an archbishop .

Thecathedral is a handsom e Gothic building, and the tower or steepleis one of the heights of Upper Languedoc ; the streets are verynarrow and disagreeable . There are very beautiful walks in theenvirons of the town, and the country round is surprisinglytile, producing grain, wines, flax , hem p , saffron, aniseed andcoriander ; the fine pastures afford wool of a good quality

,

which is m anufactured into stockings, ratteens and coarsewoollen goods ; the wax candles m ade here are '

m uch esteem ed.

But Alby is chiefly celebrated in history on account of the

40

A lbigenses, or A lbigcoz’s, so nam ed from m aking theirfirstappearance in this ci ty ; who, as early as the 1 1th century, dis

puted the authority of the pOpc , and claim ed the right ofthinking for them selves, for which they were excom m uni cated,and several very cruel persecutions wereraised against them .

The A lbigenses and Waldenses are considered as the forerunners and fathers of Protestantism and the reform ation . Ofsuch fearful im portance did the A lbigenses appear to the church,that Pope innocent llI . stopped the crusades in order to exterm inate these worse than infidels By the prom ise of plenaryindulgences for forty days’ warfare against them , he raised anarm y of pilgrim s

,headed first by the Pope’s legate

and afterwards by Sim on de Montfort . Rivers of blood wereshed by the savage persecutors, b ut they were not exterm inated .

The crusaders , after im m ense losses , grew w eary of the ad

venture, and theirleaderSim on was killed by a stone hurled bya wom an. The warwas abandoned and the inquisi tion was setup in its stead by the Spaniard Dom inick .

7] . Directly S . ofA lby is CASTRES , a ci ty and capital ofthe departm ent of the Tarn, 3 4 m iles E . of Toulouse. It

is situated on the Agout , in a very agreeable plain, surroundedon all sides by m ountains abounding in corn, wine and wood ,and was form erly the see of a bishop . In the reign ofLouis K i ll . the inhabitants were chiefly Protestants, and form eda kind of republic ; but since that tim e the walls have beendestroyed, and the town lai d open.

’

I t is a place of greattrade , and contains about inhabi tants. Rapinde Thoyras, the celebrated historian of England , and M .

Dacierwere born here . Turquoise stones have b een foundin the neighbourhood . There was form erly in Castres one

of the m ost m agnificent episcopal palaces in France, whichwas 3 0 years building from the designs of Mansard ; thegardens of which were am azingly spacious, running alongby the side of the river, and supported by im m ense arches,on account of the inequalities of the ground . Castres possesses som e very agreeable and extensive prom enades ; and at

the village of Saix, in the neighbourhood, there was an elegan

Chartreuse .

72 .

The next place of im portance that occurs is BEZ IERS,a ci ty, in the departm ent of Herault, si tuated on the left

bank of the Orbe , 14 m iles N E. of Narbonne, and 3 4 S W. ofMontpellier . Before therevolution itwas the seat of a gotfernor,

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4 1

and the see of a bishop . It occupies all the sides ofa very steepand lofty hill, on the highest point of which is built the cathedral ,which was sm all

, but beautiful ; there was an organ here, thepipes of which were distributed three and th ree am ong the

pillars of the church , which had tin extraordinary effect . I thad besides one collegiate church , several religious houses, twohospitals, a college, and an academ y ofsciences for3 7 m em

bers. I t is not populous in preportion to its extent, the inhab itants are estim ated at ab out E igh t sluices of the

grand canal are within sight of the town, and i t is about 6 m ilesfrom the sea . In the expedition against the A lb igenses thisplace was besieged, taken by storm ,

and of the wretched inhabitants were m assacred in cold b lood ; this was calleda religious war"

73 Before we proceed to Montpellier, we m ay notice CETT E,

14 m iles S W. of it, a sea- port, in the sam e departm ent,in the Mediterranean. The place is sm all

,and is introduced

only in connexion with the CA N A L O F LANrGU ED O C , which hie- l

gins here ; this canal, the m ost im portant in France , intendedto effect an inland com m unication between the A tlanti c and Mediterranean, was undertaken in the reign of Louis XIV

,begun

in 1666 and finished in l 682 . It is 180 m iles long, carried

over 3 7 aqueducts, and crossed by e ight bridges : from Cettei t crosses the lake of Than, and below Toulouse is conveyed bythree slui ces into the Garonne . The reservmrs of water collooted from the b ills , forthe supply of this navigation , are imm ense ; from one of these the water is conveyed by three largebrass cocks, with m onths as large as a m an

’

s b ody yet thoughthese rem ain open for m onths successively

,there is no visib le

dim inution ofwater m the great reservoir. NearOBeziers is th e

m ountaim ofMalpas, which was cut throug h to adm it its passage ; this . is considered a m ost extraordinary work ,

producinga very striking and sublim e effect. There is a descent by a

large flight of steps into the excavation, so that a person m ay

walk through the m ountain along the side of the canal . The

length of it is 720 feet, and the perpendicular height, from th e

water to the surface of th e incum bent m ountain, is 202 feet.A great part of the arch has been vaulted , and lined wi th freestone , to prevent its falling in. The canal is upwards of 20 feet:broad ; and, though the distance hollowed through the groundi s so considerable, yet the light is every where perfectly adm itted. This was the greatest obstacle to . com pleting the junction of the two seas, and its execution has im m ortal ized th

42

fam ous Riquet , whom Louis X IV . em ployed in the enterprise,and m ade Count de Carani anA t Agde, another sm all town,

nearer to Beziers, there is a

curious round sluice, lock , or cham ber, wi th three Openings,three different depths of the wateror levels m eeting here ; and

the gates are so contrived that vessels m ay pass into any one of

them by opening the sluice belonging to i t . There are 15 locksupon i t in th e fall towards the ocean, and 45 on the side of theMediterranean. R egular locks for carrying boats over em i

nences were first erected in France .

74 .

MONTPEEL IER, a ci ty and capi tal of the departm entof Herault , iii 27 m iles S .VV. of Nism es, 120E . of Toulouse

and 860 S . ofParis. This city was bui lt on a hill near theriver Lez , after Charlem agne had dem olished Maguelone , whichserved as an asylum for the S aracens in theirdepredations ;and the bishop’s see, wh i ch had been rem oved from Magueloneto Substantion, was established at Montpellier. In 1 180 an

universi ty was founded here, for the study of physi c , by som ephysicians who were driven out of Spain ; and, in 1706 , an aca

dem y of sciences. This universi ty and the schools of m edicinehave rendered Montpellier celebrated throughout Europe . Theystill preserve here the robe and bonnet of the celebrated Rabelais,with which they seven tim es clothe the new doctors, in rem embrance of his having procured the re- establishm ent of the privileges of the universi ty. To accom plish this he presentedhim self one day at the Chancellor du Prat’s in the habit of a

doctor ; at first he spoke in Latin to a Swiss, who, understanding nothing about i t, m ade an officer com e to him , to whomRabelais Spoke in Greek ; they then brought to him m anylearned m en, to whom he Spoke in Hebrew when th ey spoke toh im in Greek

, in Syriac to Hebrew,inA rabi c to Syriac ; so that

he exhausted all the science of the chancellor’s hotel th is m a

gistrate , being advised of i t, wished him self to speak to h im .

Rabelais then harangued h im wi th so m uch eloquence on th eprivileges of the universi ty. that he easily obtained h is obj ect .Montpellier contains a great num ber of good houses , b ut the

streets are narrow and crooked . I t is defended by a citadel,which com m ands the town and neighbourhood . The principalm anufacture is verdigris, in which i t carries on a considerabletrade, as also inwool , brought from the Mediterranean, wine,aqua vitae, Hungary water, cinnam on water, capillaire, essenceof bergam ot

,lem ons, 8 m. and likewise great quantities of

woollen carpets, fustians, and silk stockings. These com m on

43

dities are sent by the canal to Cette, the sea- port ofMontpel

her. The population is estim ated at i t stands fivem iles from the Mediterranean. The airand clim ate are thou

ght

so fine, that sick people are often sent there from othercountriesforthe recovery of theirhealth . The road from MontpelliertoNism es is very rich and beautiful . The olive trees are largernearMontpellier, denoting a m ore fertile soil ; som e of theirtrunks are from 18 inches to two feet in diam eter; the olive isa m iserable looking tree, m ost like a pollard willow ; and the

severe serv ice of being thrice stripped ofits leaves during summ ergives a beggarly appearance to the m ulberry tree : th e vineyards are like plantations of currant trees. Every thing in thisdistrict bears the m arks of prosp rity ; fertile fields, well- builtvillages, and a thick and happy population.

75 .

The country is like a garden, level, and every where wellcultivated, from Montpellierto NISMES, a ci ty, and capital

of the departm ent ofGard, 27 m iles N.E . ofMontpellier, and

3 45 S . S . E. ofParis . I t is large , and pleasantly situated on the

side of a hill, covered wi th vineyards and orchards offruit, at

som e distance from a sm all rivercalled the Vistre . Before therevolution i t was the seat ofa particulargovernm ent, a court ofconventions, a consularjurisdiction, a bishopric, &c . l t con

tained a sem inary, a college, an academ y of ancient history and

belles lettres, several hospitals, a citadel, and about in

habitants, a third ofthem supposed to b e Protestants . The cityis ancient, and was very large and m agnificent before it was '

taken and sacked by the Goths.

Nism es possesses m ore antiquities than any othercity inFrance . Marius, when conquered by Sylla, retired into thisplace, intending to m ake it a second Rom e ; he surrounded itwi th walls, bui lt m agnificent palaces , am phitheatres and otherSplendid edifices, the rem ains of which still exci te the adm iration of travellers ; particularly an am phitheatre , a tem ple of

Diana, an aqueduct, a grand towersupposed to have been a

m ausoleum , a public fountain, and the m aison quarrée. The

last is a tem ple ofthe Corinthian order, in exquisi te taste , raisedby the inhabitants of Nism es, in the yearof Hom e 754, to

the m em ory ofCains and Lucius , sons ofAgri ppa ; or, according to som e, this is the Basi lica, which the Em perorAdrianbuilt in honourof his wife Plotina. I t is allowed by all to b e

the m ost. elegant and the m ost perfect piece of architecture inthe world . This superb tem ple is now converted into a chapel ,dedicated to the Virgin, and ornam ented with gilding and otherholy finery suitable to such an al teration .

4

Many workm en are now (1814 ) em ployed inyrestoring

‘

the

amphitheatre to its original state . A t present, thousands of

people assem ble in,i t. every Sunday to see bull - ti ghts, as they

are im properly term ed . A bul l is turned into the arena am onga

, great num berofyoung m en, who give proofof theiractivityand courage by teazing the anim al into arage, and then m akingtheirescape between palisades, which are fixed round the arena,at 15 inches apart, forthat purpose ; b ut fatal accidents are not

very unfreqnent. Many bulls are kept expressly forthis barbarons Sport. The am phitheatre is calculated to holdspectators ; i t is an ellipsis, whose largest diam eteris about

feet, and its shortest 3 00 ; the exteriorwall is 60fee t high .

Charles.Martel , from hatred to th e Rom an nam e, had the se

vage fury to fill the corridores of this. building with wood, to.

which he set fire, with an intent to injure, though it surpassedhis powerto dem olish, so vast an edifice . Notwithstanding theattem pts ofthe barbarous nations, notwi thstanding the lapse of

so m any: ages, and the effects of tim e, its appearance at presentfl halfperfect, halfinruins, IS the m ost august and m ajesticwhich can b e presented to the m ind orsenses .

Q

A t a quarterofa m ile from the city are the ruins ofa squarebuilding called the Tem ple of D iana , b ut which antiquariesgenerally suppose to have b een sacred to the Dii lnfernales,"

as no. light was adm i tted into it ; a circum stance peculiarto the .

tem ples of the,infernal gods . W ithin the tem ple are m any

,

m utilated statues, m arbles, capitals, and inscriptions, whichhave been found from tim e to tim e . Close to i t rises a fountainwhich m ay vie wi th that ofVaucluse in beauty though not in

fam e ; i t furnishes a great quantity and a constant supply of

Water; the channel, b e ing obstructed wi th sand and gravel , wascleared a few years ago, and in the course of th e work a greatnum berofRom an coins , rings and otherantiquities were discovered, several ofwhich were equally rare and well preserved .

We cannot particularize any m ore of the stupendousrem ainsof Rom an m hgnificence in this place forwant ofroom suffice

it to say, that Nism es is the only ci ty in the world that m ayrival Rom e in antiquities , and that i t contains arich treat forthose who are fondofcontem plating the works, ofotherdays

76 Nine m iles to th e N E . ofNism es is the lofty Rom an aqueduct called the PONT DU GARD, which is the m ost beau

tiful and com plete antiqui ty inFrance . I t is built overthe Gard ,neara village nam ed Rem oulins, to convey the spring ofEuro,nearUsez, into Nism es . There are two m ountains, one on each

45

side ofth eriver, to the top ofwhich the aqueduct com m unicates.

The whole work is of the Tuscan order, form ed ofthree rows ofarches, one built overthe other, offree- stone ofnearly the sam e

consistence as that ofthe am phitheatre . Forlightness and solidity i t m ay serve as a m odel to the best architects. The firstrow is com posed of six

‘

large arches , 5 8 feet in the span, whichfrom thefirst bridge overthe Gard upon this bridge a space is leftsufficient forpassengers both on horseb ack and on foot . The

second row h as eleven arches ofthe sam e heigh t and breadth as

those of the first, b ut not so thick , and without a thoroughfare .

The thirdrow has thirty - six arches, not so high orbroad by one

third , and bears th e canal , six feet high and fourbroad; coveredwith large fiat stones, which jut over. The first row of archesis [50 paces long, the second 265 , and the third 3 00. it appears that the stones of this fam ous aqueduct are placed withoutm ortarorcem ent, being so we ll joined that i t is difficult to distinguish them ; especially these of the turning of the arches ,which are com posed in thefirst row offourstones, in the secondof three

,and in the third of only one . The grandeurand m ag

:

nificence which appearin this work are a proofthat the Rom ans

were capable ofthe m ost difficul t enterprises .

77 .

From the Pont du Gard we m ay next go to BEAUCA IRE,

a considerable town,noted for

‘

its annual fair, which lastss ix days, forits castle , and fora subterraneous vault underth eRhone ; and from thence, overa bridge of boats, to TAHASGON,

a town in the departm ent of the Mouths of the Rhone,seated on that river, 10 m iles N . ofAries . This is a largeplace , well fortified in the ancient m anner, with a large castlebuilt by René king ofSicily ; it has a brisk trade in oil

,brandy,

s tarch, and stuffs of coarse silk and wool and silk , and a popu

lation of about 7000. The passage by the bridge of boats issom etim es dangerous in consequence of violent gusts ofWind .

The View of the Rhone here is very picturesque ; on one sidestands Beaucaire , with its ruined castle overhanging arock on

this side is situated Tarascon, wi th a correspondent b ut farm ore considerable castle, washed by the waves oftherapid Rhone,which is here m uch broaderthan th e Tham es at London.

78 .Before We proceed to Av ignon, we shall describe the

large , handsom e and ancient city ofARLES , situated on

the Rhone, in the departm ent of the Mouths of th e Rhone,12 m iles S . E . of Nism es, 3 5 N W . ofMarseilles, and “43 0

S . by E. of Paris. Before the revolution i t was an archbishop’s

see ; and Constantine , the Rom an em peror, was so pleaswi th its situation, that h e m ade i t the seat of his em pire inGaul . It is in the form ofa harp, and the country round 18

very pleasant and fertile , producing excellent wine, m anna, oil,fruits in abundance, and verm ilion ; the airalso is very tem perate and healthy, yet the ci ty is not populous . I t contained 7parish es, convents and m onasteries, and a royal academ y

,

which had the sam e priv ileges as that of Paris. The cathedralwas celebrated forits very thick walls, and beautifully- sculpturedm arble portal . Arles contains .som e splendidrem ains of anti

quity ; the ch iefofwhich are the Am phitheatre and Obelisk .

The am phitheatre was built by the Rom ans, b ut the preciseperiod of i ts erection is unknown ; i t was not finished at the

upperpart ; i t contained 1 20 arcades in its circum ference, intwo rows, one above the other, and in each an equal num bereach of these arcades was 20 feet high and 1 8 wide ; i tis situated on the de

‘

clivity of a h ill , in a very uneven spotand founded upon a rock ; the foundations of the wallsare m ore th a n 12 fet t thick , and the stones which com posethem . are so large and m assive that they appearto b e sus

tained by theirown weigh t without m ortarorcem ent. It

contains a large Space , called the Arena, because i t was coveredwith sand

, where the gladiators fought with each other, andwi thwild beasts

, which were let out from caves underthe am phitheatre. The upperpart was filled wi th stone seats , like steps,and contained persons very com m odiously . This beautiful edifice is older, larger, and was m ore m agnifi cent than thatat Nism es, but i t is not so com plete : houses have been bui lt,b oth inside and out ; m any ofthe arcades have been dem olished ;the arena is filled wi th earth up to the second row ; and, of all

the seats which the spectators occupied, only tworem ain. Uh

derthe am phitheatre was found, in 165 1 , the fam ous statue ofVenus, which was transported to Versailles, and placed in the

grand gallery it is a chefd’aet wre, and will always excite the

adm iration of connoisseurs.

The obelisk ofArles i s one of the m ost superb m onum ents ofantiqui ty, and the only one of the sort to b e seen in France ; itsh istory is unknown ; but i t is supposed to b e one of

“

the fortyobelisks which were inEgypt

,and which were brought toRom e,

b ecause it is com posed of the sam e oriental grani te as those at

Rom e . I t 1s nearly covered with hieroglyphics , and rem ainedm any ages buried in the earth in a privateg arden nearthe wallsofArles ; in 1676 i t was raised on a pedestal 20feet high ; theobelisk is 52 feet high, and 7 feet thick at the base, and all ofone piece .

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betterknown as the subject ofthe elegant inv’

ective ofP etrarch .

The arsenal sti ll rem ains, containing 4000 stand ofarm s ,rhn‘

ged

according to theirreSpective eras ; and the Spectacle to ”antiquaries is interesting and instructive . Th e papal chair, from respect to its antiquity, also rem ains ; b ut the patinels of the

state room s, which were of polished cedar, have disappeared .

The m ost curious parts of the palace, ho‘

weve‘r, are the sub terraneous passage s, the entrance towhich is usually through som e

part of the pillars, and perfectly im perceptible till pointed out.

This palace is now used as barracks . The cathedral sti ll retainsm any of its ancient decorations , and am ong others the m onu‘

m ent of Pope John, who died in 13 3 4 . Fourhundred and

twenty- five years after, in 1759, the body was taken up to b e rem oved, when it was found entire , and wi th some ofthe vestm ents

retaining theiroriginal colour. ‘

The first wrapperround thebody was a robe of purple silk ,

which was then enveloped inblack velvet em broidered wi th gold and pearls ; white satin‘gloves were on the b ands

, which were crossed overthe breast .The convent ofSt. Claire, where Petrarch first m et Laura, has

surv ived the fury of the tim es, and is still entire as well as thechurch of the Cordeliers, where Laura is reputed to have reposed in peace . Francis E. caused the tom b to b e opened and

a leaden b ox was found, containing som e bones, and a copy of

verses, the subject of which was the attachm ent of the two

lovers . Petrarch was truly an original poe t in a dark age ; or,according to his own beautiful com parison, a nightingale singing through the thick foliage of a beech- tree . He has no resem blance to any English , French orI talian poet ; and he pussesses one quali ty , in com m on with the classic poets of I taly,

- that he neverhas been, and perhaps nevercan b e, sufficiently

translated .

Avignon is, however, chiefly celebrated forits hospitals,the liberal foundation and endowm ent of which have origih ated, perhaps, in the m isfortunes of the city

,which has suf

fered as m uch as Florence itself by the plague . In 1 3 3 4 it ‘was

alm ost depopulated by this pestilence , which was of the natureofa dry leprosy ; the skin peeled off in white scales, and the

body was ted till the disease reached the Vitals . In fourteen

years after, the city was again attacked , and the beautiful Laurabecam e its victim . It is stated to have swept ofi

'

upwards of

of the inhabitants . Anotherperiod of fourte en yearselapsed, and the plague again m ade its appearance , and nearly

people, including twelve cardinals and a hundred bishops,fell its victim s. I t was im puted to an extraordinary drought,

49

attended by an uncom m on heat and stillness of the air, whichbecam e putrid and pestilential.From the high ground in the ci ty nothing can b e finerthan

the prospect overthe plain and Surrounding country . The

Rhone is there seen rolling its anim ated stream through m ea

dows covered with olive trees , and at the foot of hills investedwi th vineyards . Th e ruined arches of the old bridge carry theim agination -back into the ancient history of the toWn. On the

Opposite side of the R hone are the sunny plains of Languedoc,which breathe odours and perfum es from a thousand wild herbsand flowers. Mont Ventoux , in Dauphiny, closes the prospectto th e north its high sum m i t covered with snow, wh ilst its sidesare robed in all the charm s of vegetab le nature . On the east

are the abrupt rocks and precipices ofVaucluse, distant aboutfive leagues, which com plete , as i t were, the garden- wall roundAvignon and its territory .

The clim ate ofAvignon is so very salubrious and de lightful ,that those things grow here spontaneously which require the

m ost laborious exertions in northern countries. There are certainly very rapid transitions, b ut neitherthe intensi ty of the

heat norof the cold is of sufficient duration to b e injurious tohealth orpleasure . The air, except in actual rain, is alwaysdry ; and the sky is an ethereal I talian b lue , scarcely everohscured b y a cloud . When the rains com e on, they are very

'

violent, b ut fall at once . The sun then bursts out, and the face

ofnature appears m ore gay and anim ated than before . There isone heavy detraction from the excellence ofthis clim ate, however,and that is the wind denom inated th e vent de biz e . The peculiarsi tuation ofAvignon, at th e m outh of a long avenue ofm enu

tains , gives rise to this wind, which collects in th e narrow channel of the m ountains, and bursts out as from the m outh of a

barrel ; b ut i t is considered as healthy, and very rarely does anyconsiderable dam age . Cm sardeified it, andraised an altarto i t,underthe nam e of th e Circian wind . The winters here, however, are som etim es rendered m ost distressingly cold by it ; sothat the Rhone is covered with ice sufficiently strong to supportloaded carts , and the olive trees perish to theirroots . Avignonis the capital of the departm ent of Vaucluse, the departm ent

being so nam ed ratherfrom the celebri ty of the poet than itslocal relations . There are m auy

'

Jews and a handsom e synagogue in the ci ty. In 1791 som e horrid m assacres were com

m itted here, soon afterits union with France .

80; Fifteen m iles E . ofAvignon is the fountain ofVAUCLUSE,

perhaps the finest spring, and certainly themost celebrated,c

50

in Europe , being rendered im m ortal as the scene of I’etrarch ’

s

retirem ent . The rive1 Sorgues issues from the fountain, and,afterwatering the little terri tory ofAvignon, falls into the Rhoneneai that city . Meadows ofthe m ost lively green skirt its sides ,above which rise abrupt and lofty rocks , that seem design ed toseclude i t from hum an view. The valley gradually becom es

narrow towards the extrem i ty, and, winding continually , describes the figure of a horse- shoe . The view 1s at length term inated by an enorm ous m ass ofrock , form ing a barrieracrossi t, ofa prodigious height , and absolutely perpendicular. Throughits vast recesses run the stream s which supply the fountain of

Vaucluse , and at its foot appears the basin ofwater, severalhundred feet in circum ference, stretched like an expanse, si lentand quiet . The sides are very steep, and i t is said that i n them iddle no bottom can b e discovered, though attem pts have oftenb een m ade forthat purpose . Though the fountain i s clearerthan crystal , yet the incum bent rock casts a continual shade,approaching to black , overits stirface. T he waterescapingfrom this state of inaction by a narrow passage is im m ediately

precipi tated in a cascade down arocky channe l, where it foam s

overa num berof vast, detached stones which intercept and

im pede its progress. The rock s that surrouhd this rom anticspot are worn by tim e into a thousand extraordinary and fantasticform s, to which im agination gives shape and figure . On one

of the pointed extrem ities, in a si tuation which appears alm ostinaccessible, are seen th e rem ains ofan ancient castle projecting overthe water, which th e peasants call ll castello di P etrarca ;” and they add, wi th great sim plicity , - that Laura livedupon th e Opposite side of th e river, underthe b ed ofwhich wasa subterraneous passage by which the lovers com m unicated .

The castle, however, b elonged to the lords, orseigneurs, cl

ATvignon ; the poet

’

s dwell ing was m uch lowerdown, nearerthebanks of the Sorgues, as appears from his m inute descri ptionof i t, and the relation he gives of h is quarrel wi th the Naiadsof th e stream , who encroached during the winteron his l i ttleadjoining terri tory . Norem ains of i t are now to b e d iscovered.

8 1 About 20 m i les N . ofAvignon, seated in a fine plain,

on the li ttle riverAigues , is th e ancient city ofORANGE,

form erly th e capi tal of a principality and see of a bishop . It

had an universi tyfounded m 13 65 by the Em perorCharles IV. ,

and the sovereignty of i t was lodged in th e house of Nassau,

from l 598 to l 702 ,one ofwhom , Maurice of Nassau, P i ince

of Orange, caused the castle, which stood on an em inence,

5 1

to b eavell fortified ; b ut in 1660 the fortifications, and in 1673

the castle i tself, were dem olished . Upon the death ofWilliam l lI . , king ofEngland, the principal ityreverted toFrederickW illiam ofPrussia ; and, by the treaty ofUtrecht,it was finallyceded to the house of Bourbon, The principality was about10 m iles long and 7 broad, and contained one city, two sm alltowns, and nine villages, which were . exem pt from all the usualtaxes in France . Orange was an im portant place in the tim e

of the R om ans, and is now visited by connoisseurs on accountof the antiquities i t contains ; the chief ofwhich is the triamphal arch , 200 paces from the town, b ut form erly wi thin itslim its which was m uch dam aged in 1707 and 1709. It waserected by CainsMarius and Luctatius Catulus, afterthe victorywh ich th ey obtained overthe Cim bri and the Teutones, and is

still a beautiful rem nant ofantiquity. H ere are also therem ainsof a fine am phitheatre , and som e aqueducts, which escaped thefury of the Goths and Saracens . The whole of these edifices,though defaced by the lapse of nearly two thousand years, , arestill august and m agnificent.

82 A few m iles S . of Orange is the old town ofPONT ST.

ESPR IT . The town “is sm all and ill- buil t, and is'

a m ost

unpleasant prison- like place , containing about 6000 inhabitants,Cooped into a surprisingly sm all Space ; the streets are so narrow that the people m ay alm ost shake hands from the upperwindows no carriage of com m on width can pass ; the whole issurrounded by high walls , and is defended by a ci tadel wi thfourroyal bastions . It is m entioned here chiefly forits veryfine stone bridge , 3 000 feet long , overthe Rhone , from whichthe town takes its nam e . This bridge was buil t in the m iddleof the thirteenth c entury, and consists of 19 great and 4 sm allarches ; th e extrem e ligh tness of the structure , com pared wi ththe depth , rapid i ty and width of the river, fills the m ind wi thastonishm ent . To facilitate the passage ofthe waterin tim e of

floods, apertures have been m ade through each pier, about sixfeet above the com m on level of the river; and to lessen the

extrem e rapidity ofthe Rhone, the bridge is not built in arigh tline, b ut in the form ofa curve .

83 .

CARPENTRAS isa city in the Com tatVenaissin, 14 m ilesN E ofAvignon . I t is s ituated on the riverAuson, surl

rounded with walls, and contains about 1nl1ab 1tants . I tis a bishop’s see, and has m any vestiges of Rom an m agm

ficence .

5 2

84 ,We continue ourcourse to the handsom e city of

‘

A lX,

the capital ofthe departm ent ofth e Mouths of the Rhone ,20 m iles N . ofMarseilles, and 45 S . E . ofAvignon . Beforethe revolution i t was th e capital of Provence, th e seat of

a parliam ent, and see of anfi

archbishop . I t is situated on

a plain, nearthe riverAre, and is surrounded by\ hills ,

which give i t an airof recluseness and rom antic retirem ent,

W i thout be ing so close as to prevent the due circulation of air.I t is surrounded b y a wall, which is dilapidated, and is now onlyinteresting as a ruin. The interiorofthe town corresponds withthe im portance of its first aspect ; i t is well paved, the housesare all fronted with white stone, and

, th e airbeing clear, it always looks clean and sprightly . Many of them have balconies,and

‘

som e of them are upon such a scale , both outside and in,as is seldom exceeded in England . The cathedral is an im m ense

edifice, in the oldest Gothic style ofarchitecture , and has all the

strength and substance which characterize that orderl The

front is ornam ented with figures of saints, prophets and angels,grouped togetherin the m ost absurd m anner, and wretchedlyexecuted. The grand portal is, however, very striking. The

prom enade, orpublic walk , equals, if not exceeds, any thingof th e kind in Europe . The warm baths are very m uch celebrated, and have been so since the tim e of the Rom ans, who

founded this town, calling itAquce Sextife th e baths were rediscovered not m any years ago ; they are m uch frequented byvaletudinarians ; they are chiefly recom m ended in scorbutic h ue

m ours, colds,rheum atism s, palsies and consum ptions. Provi

sions of all kinds are in the greatest plenty ; fish is in greatabundance, and of the best qual ity ; m eat is very reasonable,and tolerably good ; bread is about a penny English perpound ;and vegetables, as in otherprovincial towns, so cheap as scarcelyto b e worth selling. Upon the whole, A ix is m ost delightfullysi tuated , and the enviroii s are beyond conception rural and

b eautiful .

3 5 We now com e to one of the m ost considerable places inFrance - M

,

ARSE ILLES , a flourishing city and sea- port,in

the departm ent ofthe Mouths ofthe Rhone, 20m iles S . ofAix , 3 5N.W . ofToulon, and 3 90S . by E. ofParis . Marseilles pretends tothe m ostrem ote antiquity i t is supposed to have been buil t 63 0

years before the birth ofChrist by a colony ofPhocians ; i t was socelebrated in the tim e of the R om ans, that Cicero styled it the‘fA thens ofGaul,

”and Pliny called i t the Mistress

‘

ofEducartion before therevolution, itwas the seat ofa bailiwick and a

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54

tified, having a castle, 810. and on one ofthem is the lazaretto.

Marse1llesw as once arepublic of i tself, at which tim e t he exo

penses of a law- suit am ong the citizens neverexceeded 25d

86 Continuing ourcourse along the shores of the Mediterranean from Marseilles, we reach a place of sti ll greatercon

sideration, TOULON, a ci ty , sea- port, and capi tal ofthe depart ;

m ent of the Var, 3 5 m iles S . E . ofMarseilles, and 43 0 S . S E.

of Paris. This is a place of great im portance, strongly forti-ofled, the general m agazine ofnaval stores, and the chiefharbourforall the French fleets in the Mediterranean; Before the revolution i t was a bishop’

s see , and, besides the cathedral andotherparish churches, contained nine convents , a sem inary , anda college. The old and new harbour

“

lie contiguous, and, bym eans ofa canal , com m unicate wi th one another, both havingan outlet into the Spacious outerharb our, which is naturally alm ost of a circularfigure , being very large and surrounded wi thh ills. The entrance on both sides is defended by a fort, withstrong batteries . The new harbour, the work of Louis XIV. ,

is well defended by batteries, and round i t stands the arsenal ,where

’

every m an- of-warhas its own particularstorehouse , b utthe guns and cordage are laid up separate . In i t are spaciousworking- houses forblacksm iths, joiners, carpenters, locksm i ths,carvers, The rope- house is built wholly offree- stone, is1920 feet in length, and has three archedwalks, in which as

m any parties ofrope- m akers m ay work at the sam e tim e‘

. The

general m agazine here, which supplies whateverm ay b e wantingin the particularstore- houses forsingle ships

,contains an im

m ense quanti ty of all kinds of stores , disposed in th e greatestorderand conveniency. The cannon foundry is considerable . In

1707, theDuke ofSavoy and Prince Eugene laid siege to this city,butwithout success . In 1721 i t suffered greatly by the plague .

In 1793 the inhabitants andVice- adm iral Trugoffentered into a

negociation with the English adm iral , Lord Hood , then cruisingin the Mediterranean, and he took possession of the town and

shipping in th e nam e ofLouis XVII . General O ’

Hara was sentwith troops from Gibraltaras governorand com m anderin chief.Therepublicans , however, soonrecovered th e place ,Gen. O

’Hara

was wounded and taken prisoner, and the city and port abandoued. On the 19th of Decem ber, the town was b om bardedfrom noon till ten o

’

clock at nigh t ; when the allies , and part ofthe inhabitants, hav ing first set fire to the town and shipping ,

precipi tated theirflight . Two chaloupes, filled with the fugi -mtives, were sunk by the batteries ; and a great part of the shipsand property fell into the hands of the republicans .

DO

87 .

It is only ten m iles E . from Toulon to HIERES, a town,and form erly a sea- port, 1 11 the sam e departm ent

fwhere

pilgrim s bound to the Holy Land used to em bark ; b ut i ts harhouris now choked up, and the sea has retired to a considerabledis tance from the town. I t is situated on th e declivi tyofa hill,in a delightful country, enj oying perpetual spring ; i t IS surrounded by the m ost beautiful gardens, in which are found th ebest fruits in France ; oranges, pom egranates and ci trons grow

.

in the open air. During a great part of th e winterth e verdure‘

of the country is as fine as in the spring,and i n m any gardens

green peas m ay b e gathered . Nearthe town are large saltworks, in which th e sal t is m ade partly from the waters of the

sea and partly from a salt lake nearth e town ; th e exhalationsfrom the lake rendering the airfrequently m alignant, the ev ll

was rem edied by a canal cut from the lake to the sea. The gulfbetween the town and island following is a fam ousroad forvessels,with good anchoring ground and sufficient deph th ofwater.

88 .

HIERES ISLES, a clusterof small islands in the Mediterranean, nearth e

‘

coast of the d epartm ent of the Var,which take the irnam e from the town ofHieres . Fourof

“them ,

Porquerollos, Porteros, Bagneau, and Titon, are inhabited ; thelast is the largest, and is well cultivated . They are particularlycelebrated forthe great variety of m edicinal plants on them .

89 From Hieres we m ay sail along th e coast and land,at

ANTIBES, a sea- port in th e departm ent ofthe Var, about10 m iles S .W . of Grasse . I t was the see ofa bishop in the firstages of Christianity ,

‘

b ut the see was rem oved to Grasse by’

Innocent IV . in 1250, on account ofthe piratical Moors ofA fricaand Spain, who several tim es sacked the town and plundered theinhabi tants. The harbouris only capable ofreceiv ing sm all.vessels . The fortifications are very strong, and the citadel ish i gh and of difficul t access . In 1746 this town was besiegedon the land side by the Austrians and at sea by the English ; itwas bom barded from th e 26th of Decem bertill th e . 20th of

January, b ut wi thout success ; and, though th e town was halfreduced to ashes, i t held out till relieved by Marshal Belleisle .

Buonaparte, previous to his own landing afterh is voyage fromElba, ordered a captain of the guard wi th 25 m en to land and

secure any' b attery on this ceast

, should there b e one he enteredAntibes, intending to m ake the garrison change the ircockade,b ut the officerwho com m anded there forth e king pulled up thedrawbridge’

, shut the gates,and detained them prisoners.

90.

Next to Antibes we m ay notice GRASSE, a town in thedepartm ent of the Var, once the Sec of a bishop, situated

upon a hil l not farfrom the sea, 15 m iles W . S .W . of Nice .

There is a good trade here in dry fruit, olives, oil, perfum es, and

tanned leather.

Before we proceed to Digne, let’

us take in FREJUS , a

town in the departm ent ofthe Var, seated in a m orass‘

nearthe riverArgens, 40 m iles N . E. of Toulon. Before therevolution It was a bishop’s see, and was

“

a flourish ing place as earlyas the tim e ofJulius Caesar; i t was calledForum J uliz

'

, had thena port upon the Mediterranean, from which i t is now one m ileand a halfdistant, and is supposed to have been founded by a

colony from Marseilles. Many m onum ents of its ancient grandeurstillrem ain , such as an aqueduct, an am phitheatre , statues,inscriptions, &c. History relates that Julius Caesarestablishedhis m agazine here forthe conquest ofGaul, at which tim e thesesplendid edifices were constructed. Frejus is the birth- place ofthat great Rom an general and philosopherAgricola.

92 .

DIGNE is a city, and capital of the departm ent of theLowerAlps , si tuated on the sm allriverMirabel , at the foot

of som e m ountains, 15 m i les S . E . of Sisteron, and 3 0 S .W . of

Em brun.It contains about 3 000 inhabitants, and has som e cc

lebrated m ineral waters, used both externally and internally.

93 Pursuing ourroute to the north , we arrive at SISTERON,

a town in the departm ent of the LowerAlps, si tuated on

theDurance, wi th a sm all ci tadel on arock , which was th e prison of Casim irV . king of Poland, I5 m i les N .W . of Digne,form erly a bishop’s see .

94 Before we com e to E m brun, we m ust notice GAP , a city,and capital ofthe departm ent of

_

the HigherAlps, 50 m i les

S . of Grenoble, and 18 W. ofEm brun. Before the revolutionit was the see ofa bishop, and capital ofa country called Gapen

cois . In 1692 th e town was taken and burned by the Duke of

Savoy ; neari t is a m ineral spring.

95 EMBRUN,a ci ty, in th e departm ent of the H igherAlps,

0

seated on the Durance, 5 6 m iles S . E . of Gernob le , for

m erly the see of an archbishop , containing five parishes and

a bout inhabitants.I t was taken in 1692 by VictorAm a

deus king ofSardinia, b ut abandoned soon after. LouisXIV . ,

*

57

afterthiscircum stance, built Mont Dauphin, as a protection toth e city .

96 Seventeen m iles N .E . of Em brun is BR IANCON ; i t issituated in the departm ent of the UpperAlps, on the

Durance , overwhich there is a bridge 1 80feet high , and was

form erly th e capital ofBriancopnois’

. It is bui lt at the foot ofa rock upon which is its castle and, from its situation, is es

teem ed the highest town inEurope: Briancon is celebrated forits m anna ; i t is very rare in Europe, is a. sort of wh ite gumvery sweet and sugary, which oozes during the great heats ofsum m erfrom a sort of pines, unknown elsewhere, called Me

leses at first i truns ofitselffrom th e leaves and sm all branches,on which it rem ains attached in l i ttle globules ; afterwards incisions are m ade in the trees to cause i t to run in greaterfinanti ties. A n abundant produce ofthis is indicative ofgreat drought,b ad seasons, and b ad harvests .

This is one of the seven wonders which Dauphiny containsi t was

’

a saying ofLouis X I. , when Dauphin, that this provincehad as m any wonders as th e whole world he m ight have added,that those are still in existence, and that the wonders ofthe worldare only to b e found in history . The first ofthem is a m ountainof prodigious height, 1 5 m i les from Grenoble,

’

steep on all,

sides, separated from the neighbouring m ountains, and m uchlargerat the top than bottom , so that at a distance i t appears like a pyram id reversed . The second is a burningfountain, 8 m iles from Grenoble, fam ous in the tim e of Au

gustin, and m entioned by h im , Civ . Dei, 0. vii . l . 21 . Its

waters are naturally cold, b ut when its stream is turned to passalong

x a neighbouring field the flam es are perceived ; still thewatercontinues cold as long as i t runs, though covered wi th .

flam es ; b ut ifits c ourse is stopped-wi th s’

ods ofearth ,then i t i s

overcast, and becom es thick and hot. I t is supposed that thereare subterraneous fires underthis field , from which i t raises eX ~

halations to produce these wonderful effects ; orprobably theyare of

’

bitum inous origin. Th e‘

third is the m anna; The fourthis a grotto on the banks of the Rhone, am azingly large anddeep, called La Balm e

.

”The water, wh ich falls drop by

drop, from th e top of th e rock, crystallizes, and form s a varietyof curious figures by its congelation . There are a great m anynatural fountains in i t ; and, about a thousand paces in ,

there isa lake, a league in length, upon which Francis I . caused twoboats to b e carried . The fifth are the im m ense stone cisternsof Sassenage, called Les Cuves de Sassenage .

”The sixth is

5 8

also found at‘

the foot of the m ountains of Sassenage ; they arestones nearly of the siz e and figure of a lentil, very

'

sm ooth , of

a white colour, which , they say, have the wonderful propertyofcleansing the eye ofany dust orotherinconvenience that m ayenteri t, by putting one of them between the eye and

‘

eye- lid

,

when,runninground the eye , it drives out the cause ofth e pain,and then falls to the ground . SA SS EN A G E is a town in the

departm ent ofthe lsere , about 3 m iles E. of Grenoble , containsm any othercuriosi ties, and is also celebrated forits cheese .

The seventh is t he Toursans venin,

”about 2 -5 m iles from

Grenoble, so called because there has neverbeen seen eitherinthis tower, which is halfruined and decayed , orin the neighb ourhood, any of those venom ous insects which seek an asylumin old forsaken buildings even when brough t here, they im m e

diately disappear. This has been im puted to the air, orsom e

plants nearthe towerto which they have an aversion .

97 .We next com e to the im portant city of GRENOBLE , the

capital ofthe departm ent ofthe lsere, situated on theriverIsere, nearits confluence with the Drac, 58 m i les S . E ofLyons,and I OOjW . of Turin . Before the revolution i t was th e

‘

capitalofDauphiny, the see ofa bishop , and the seat ofa parliam ent .I t stands at the foot ofa hill , in a fruitful plain. Grenoble wasranked am ong the m ost beautiful cities ofFrance forits houses,churches, and public places and buildings . The cathedral isvery ancient ; and am ong the churches that of the Jacob ins isalso ancient, and m uch adm ired forthe architecture ofits choir,as well as fora m onum ent ofAndrew, son ofHubert, last PrinceofDauphiny, who fel l through a. Window whilst Sporting in the '

arm s of his father. There were a great m any convents, m onas

teries, chartreuses and,hOSpitals in Grenoble ; the governor

’s

palace and parliam ent- house were superb building ; there aretwo bridges overth e lsere, one of stone , th e otherofwood on

piles of stone. The bishops of Grenoble were styled princes .

W i thout the tovvn was a convent ofMinim s, where the illustriousChevalierBayard, by whom alone Francis 1. would b e knighted,was interred, whose uncle

’

was the founder.

98 .

About nine m iles from Grenoble is th e GRANDE CHARTREUSE, a celebrated m onastery, the chief of the order,

where St. Bruno, retiring from the world about 1086, form edhis retreat . I t

,is in a m ost rom antic situation at the entrance

of a rockyvale, which is about half a league long and two orthree hundred paces broad, and walled round, as it were, with

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60

are narrow, and the houses low. The inhabitants off iloh teliam art are said to have been the first in France who em braced thedoctrines of the reform ation. There are here som e m anufactures of wool, silk and leather. The road from Valence to

Montelim art especially approaching the latter, is l ined withchestnut and m ulberry trees, and plentifully intersected wi thvineyards and orchards . Form ile succeeding m ile i t is m orelike a garden than an open country ; the fields are covered wi thflowers, the hedges of the vineyards breathe forth a m ost de

l/lightful odour, and every thing tends to cheerthe heart, and to

refresh the senses . Most of the cottages are delightfullysi tuated, but are inva glass to the windows, and

the clim ate is so dry and at they sleep wi th them thusexposed .

101 Let us now cross the Rhone to m ention PRIVA S , a ci tyand capital of the departm ent of the Ardech e , 14 m iles

S W . ofValence . It is s i tuated on a sm all riverabout 5 m ilesfrom the Rhone, and contains about 1500 inhabitants .

102 .Pursuing oursouth - westerly direction , we m ust stop a

m om ent at MENDE, a ci ty and capital of'

th e departm ent ofLoz bre, 45 m iles E . of

‘

Rhodez , and 54 S W . ofPrivas .

i t is seated on an em inence nearthe Lot, and contains about5000 inhabi tants . Before the revolution it - was the see ofa

bishop .

103 0The next place worth m ention that we arrive at, is

BRODEZ , a city and capital of the departm ent,of the

A veiron, 74 m i les N . E . of Toulouse . Before the revolutionit was a bishop’

s see . H ere are fourgreat annual fairs wherem ules are ’

sold forSpain, and som e m anufactures of coarsecloth . Th e lofty steeple of the cathedral is m uch adm ired .

The town is si tuated in the m idst of m ountains, on a hill , at

the foot ofwh ich'

fiows the Aveiron.

i 041 .We again change ourcourse

, and, afterpassing throughm any sm all towns and villages,reach the city ofTULLB,

the capital of the departm ent of Correze , which is the onlyclaim i t has to ourattention . Before the revolution i t was thecapital of

}LowerLim osin and a bishop’

s see ; i t is situated at

th e confluence of the rivers Correze and Solan the cathedralwasrem arkable forits Spire.

61

I 05 To the west ofTulle, is PERIGUEUX ; a city and capitalof the departm ent *

of Dordogne , 60 m iles S .W .

~

of Lim oges, form erly the capital of Perigord, a bishop’

s see andresidence of a governor. It is situated on the riverllle , and con

tains about 6000 inhabitants . There are som e rem ains ofRo

m an antiquities here , the chief are a tem ple ofVenus and an

am phitheatre . Perigueux is fam ous forits partridge pies, whichare sent all overEurope .

106 .

LIMOGES is th e next place we m ention, a city, and capital of the departm ent of UpperVienne, 108 m i les N . E .

of Bourdeaux, and ‘200 S . ofParis . I t stands am ong hills nearthe riverVienne , a nd was form erly the capital of Lim osin and

a bishop’s see I t is a town of considerable trade , and has a

population of persons . Lim oges is situated partly in,

a

valley and partly on the top of a sm all b ill ; i t is very long, b utnot broad , contains m any churches, colleges, convents, &c. a nd

som e squares wi th fountains in them ; th e narrow and crookedstreets - of this ci ty are a proof of its antiqui ty, b ut the housesare generally built ofm ud, ora com position m ade wi th sand and

chopped hay, and the roofs advance so faroverthe street thatthe sun can scarcely

’

b e seen at m id- day. Th e fortificationsconsist in deep fosses . Caesarfound Lim oges strong, large and

populous . This place was taken from th e Visigoths, by the

French , underClovis , after‘

whose death it came to the dukes ofAqui taine, and in dowry wi th Eleonora, to Henry II . of England ; afterwhich it fell with the -rest ofthe country to the kingsof France .

107 Directly east of Lim oges is CLERMONT ,a city and

capital of the departm ent ofthe P uy de Dom e , 84 m i lesW . of Lyons, and 210 S . of Paris , form erly the capital ofA

'

u

v ergne and a bishop’

s see . It is si tuated on a sm all em inence,in one of the m ost fertile districts of France, is a well- built andpleasant town , and contains about inhabitants . Moun

tains, and hills covered with Vines, s urround this place on one

s ide in the m annerof a horse- shoe, and on, the otherside is adelightful prospect ofa rich and agreeable country . The cathedral , which has fourhandsom e towers, is rem arkable ,

foritsarchitecture and grandeur; there were three otherchurches, anabbeyrepaired by Pope Paschal II . and som e public buildingsworthy of observation. Its com m erce is - ln corn‘

, wine , wool,woollen stuffs, tam m ies,

~

serges, linen, lace , &c . There aresom e m ineral springs near; and the waterof a brook, which

62

passes through one of the fauxbourgs, so

'

thoroughly petrified awooden bridge that carriages can pass overi t . A counci l washeld here in th e year1095 , to determ ine on the crusade againstth e infidels in the Holy Land in the pontificate of UrbanI I .

108 0

The palace orcastle ofCHANTILLY, about 10 m iles

of Clerm ont, was a.m ost noble building, and noone can behold its ruins W ithout feelings of distress and regret .I t form erly belonged to the fam ily of Montm orenci , and de

volved to the house ofCondé by m arriage wi th the heiress; whenthe m ale l ine ofthat fam ous fam ily, the head of which styledhim self the ,first Christian baron, failed . Theground flooristhe only part nowrem aining perfect i t form erly served as officesand cellars. The orangery was 400fee t square, but not a vestigerem ains ; and the whole of these gardens, which were so de

lightful in th e tim e ofLouis XVI . full of canals , fountains andcascades, are a com plete ruin. Norem ains of the celebratedwater- works

,

are to b e seen ; norofthe arm oury, in wh ich werepreserved the arm ourofthe Princes of Condé and of the old

fam ily ot Montm orenci , that ofsom e ofthe kings of France, of

Joan ofArc, and ofanotherFrench am azon ofan illustrious fam ily. The tennis- court is still in good preservation,b ut the theatrewas destroyed . A sm all chateau is also standing, which waslately fitted up forth e reception of Louis XVIII . on h is way to

P aris ; he went howeverby Com peigne . Th e stables are wellknown as a vast and e legant building capable ofholding 400horses . Adjoining are several dog- k ennels as m agnificent as

the stables, and a large court surrounded with buildings and

apartm ents forth e officers and servants belonging to the stables .

Th e stables are 3 60 feet long and 200 fee t bigb ;‘and are a

noble m onum ent of th e form ersplendourof this interestingspOt . The household ofth e Prince ofCondé consisted ofabove500 persons . The forest ofChantilly is very fine , and extendedm any m iles in circum ference .

'

l h is forest, like the m anyoth ers which surround P aris , wi thin 20m i les ofthat city, is cutthrough with wide paths which m eet in one orm ore centres ;according to the size of the wood, and form stars. The pathsare forthe purpose of hunting.

I t appears that the whole of this m agnificent place had beenpurchased by a petty builder, in the revolutionary period, forthe sake of the m aterials ; who had no soonercom pleted h isinstalm ents than he began th e dem olition of the building, and

cutting down the trees . Buonaparte, however, having beenm ade first Consul, before the whole was destroyed; it was repurchased, and becam e the property of the governm ent .

6 3

109 Before we proceed toLyons, ourroute conducts us througha m ountainous district to AUR ILLAC, a town in the do

partm ent of Cantal, before the revolution th e capital ofLowerAuvergne i t is seated in a fertile valley . on the riverJordanne,3 0 m iles W . of St . Flour, and 250 S . of Paris . I t is a popu

lous trading town, and one of th e m ost thriving in France , hasm anufactures of lace and velvet, and is full of busy workshops,cutlers, copper- sm iths, curriers, shoe- m akers and tanners , all

following theiroccupations with that sort of spiri t which implies and ensures prosperity . There is

,

a Haras, orDepot deChevaux, at Aurillac, forthe supply ofthe royal stud

,I t con

tains in royal stables, form erly a convent , about 3 5 horses, se

veral of them chargers ofthe Em peror. H is fam ous white Arabian (Superbe ) is of the num ber. The airis very healthy at

Aurillac ; there is a canal in each street, which carries off all

uncleanness into the Jordanne .

1 10.The ci ty of ST .

(

FLOUR m ust b e noticed as the capitalof the departm ent of Cantal , 50 m i les S. of Clerm ont,

form erly the capital of UpperAuvergne , and see of a bishop .

I t is si tuated on a hill,by the riverLadour; and the inhab itants

carry on a considerable trade in corn, and m anufacture cloth ,carpets and cutlery:

1 1 1 .

Pursuing,

a westerly course, we reach LE PUY, a city

and capital of th e departm ent of the UpperLoire , seatedon the m ountain Anis, 67 m iles S .W . of Lyons, form erly a b i

shop’s see . The cathedral is fam ous fora prodigious quantity

ofrelics , and ourLady of Pay is celebrated in the annals of

superstition . The late canons of Pay have had kings and dan

phins of France at their~ head. i t stands on a sm allrivernearthe Loire , has a considerable trade, especially in lace

, wi th a

population of about

1 12 ST. ETlENNE is an im portant town in th e s am e departm ent, 28 m iles S . S .W . of Lyons . It was surrounded

wi th walls by Charles VII . but from‘

the ‘increased populationthey are of li ttle use ; the inhabitants . are ab out the

principal m anufactures in arm s, hardware and cutlery to b e

found in France are here ; th e ribbon m anufacture is also veryconsiderable ; and there are som erich coal m ines, and soft stonesfit forgrind- stones, in the neighbourhood . I t is seated on the

brook Eureus, the waterofwhich is excellent fortem peringm etals.

64

1 1 3 .

LYONS is the second ci ty in France in point ofsize andpopulation, and superiorto Paris in trade, com m erce and

m anufactures i t is the capital of th e departm ent of the Rhoneand Loire, and 1s si tuated, by the side of two high m ountains,at the confluence of the Rhone and Saone , about 240 m ilesS . S . E . ofParis . Nothing can b e m ore deligh tful than th e approach to, and si tuation ofLyons distributed as i t were on hillsand dales , at the confluence of two of the loveliestrivers in theworld, wi th lawns, corn- fields, woods and vine-

yai ds interposed ,and gardens, trees, Sac . interm ixed with the houses, all whichgive i t an airof livel iness, anim ation, cleanness andrural beauty, which seldom belong to a populous city . The distant Alps,too, rising in th e back gr ,ound add m agnificence to beauty. I twas founded ten years

t > ,

b efore the birth of Christ, by LuciusManutius Plancus, and peopled bya colony ofRom ans, who had

been driven from Vienne by the Allobroges. About the year145 i t was totally destroyed byfire, b ut was rebuil t by th e m u

nificence of Nero ; m any vestiges of antiqui ty still rem ainingev ince its R om an Ot igin . Before its recent calam i ties i t con

tained about inhabitants, was a generality, and the seeofan archbishop , who was prim ate

’

ofFrance , andwho had form erly great political poweroverthe Lyonnois .

The Saone runs through Lyons and divides i t into two parts,wh ich are connected by three bridges ; the longest and m ostpopulous part lies on a tongue of land , at the point ofwhichwas an im m ense abbey . Th

a

e cathedral 1s a large Gothic building, and beautifully situated nearthe river; its clock is a

great favourite wi th the inhabitants, which is oram ented by a

cock, so conti ived as to crow every hour. Before the revolution, the church ofLyons was the richest in France, orEurope .

All th e canons were counts, and were not adm issible till theyhad proved sixteen quarters ofnobili ty they wore a gold crossof e ight rays . There are m any othervery large and handsom e

churches, and the houses i n general are high and well built.'

l he town- house is esteem ed one ofthe m ost beautiful i n Europe .

i t i s in the form of a parallelogram , with wings on each side of

the front, each wing being nearly 150 yards in length . The

m iddle‘

of the wings are crowned with cupolas, andta

the gateshave all Ionic pillars . But the best praise of Lyons is in itscharitable institutions, h eapitals and schools . In no ci ty in theworld have they so great a proportion to the population and sizeof the town ; they are equal to the support of one eight of theinhabitants. The Itlotel ole D ieu is, in fact, a palace built forth e sick poor; theroom s are lofty wi th cupolas

,and all ofthem

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66

this decree was afterwards repealed . Provisions, l odgings,houses, &c. are very cheap in Lyons, and the society is selectand well inform ed

, which renderi t a very desirable place of

residence forforeigners . I t was entered by the allies, in March1 814, b ut evacuated by them on therestoration ofthe Bourbons.

Lyons has given birth to m any celebrated m en am ong themwas D e L anz y, the wel l- known m athem atician, and friend of

Maupertuis . H e l ived to such an extrem e age as to survive hism em ory and faculties ; b ut when so insensible as to know no one

about h im , Maupertuis suddenly asked him what was the squareof12, and he readily replied 144, and died , i t is said, alm ostin the sam e m om ent . This i llustrious genius was as sim ple ash e was learned, and was yet m ore distinguished by his charitiesthan h is

,learning. The celebrated Then was also a native of

this place . Lyons is connected by a stone bridgewi th the beantiful village La Guillotiere ; i t consists of20 arches, a nd is upwards of1560 fee t in length .

The best view of Lyons is from the m ountain Fourviere, op

posite the peninsula upon which the largest part of th e city isb uil t ; on the side and at the base of this m ountain the otherpart is stretched along the Saone in the form ofan am phitheatre .

The sum m i t of Fourviere is crowned with a church , which is a

striking object in the approach to Lyons"In the neighbourhood

of the city are num erous chateaux, m ost delightfully situated,with lawns, pleasure- grounds, gardens, See. in the English taste.

In the sum m erseason, public breakfasts are alm ost daily givenb y one orotherof the possessors . Marquees are then erectedon the lawn, and all the m ilitary bands in the town attend ; andthe

.

day and great part of the night is’ consum ed in dancing and

various am usem ents.

1 14 Forty-five m iles N.W. ofLyons, in the sam e departm ent,is the large town of ROANNE, seated on the Loi

'

re . I tis very ancient

,and its appearance corresponds with its anti

quity : the streets are narrow, cro‘

oked and dirty ; and the housesshabby“ Indeed Roanne deserves notice only from its situationon the Loire where i t first begins to b e navigable, which rendersit a place of great bustle , and ‘

a convenient staple forall the

m erchandize, corn, wine , 8 m . sent frrom Lyons and otherplacesdown the Loire, and by the canal of Briare into the Seine,

‘

and

thence to Paris, Orleans, Nantes, &c.

1 15 .Turning to the west from Roanne, we pass through Cusset

, Montaigu, &c . to GUERET,a ci ty and capital

‘

of

the departm ent of the Creuse, 3 5 m iles N.E . of L i m oges . I t

67

is situated nearthe source of the riverGartem pe, between twom ountains, at som e distance from the Creuse, and was form erlyth e capital of the province ofMarche . The airis thick , wh ichgives the inhabitants a heavy, m elancholy appearance ; the, pe a

pulation is about 3 000.

1 16 .

Ourroute next conducts us through Preuilly to TOURS,a city and capital of the departm ent of the Indre and

Loire, 127 m iles S . S .

“

W. of Paris ; before th erevolution i t wasthe capital of Touraine , a generality and see of an archbishop .

Nothing can b e m ore charm ing than the situation of this townin a plain between tworivers, th e Loire and the Cher, and thisplain subdivided into com partm ents ofevery variety ofcultivatedland, corn fields studded wi th fruit trees, and a range of hillsin th e distance covered with vineyards to theirsum m its, whilstevery em inence has its villa, abbey , orruined tower. The citiesin France , at least those on theLoire, have all som ewhat o f arural. character: this m ay b e im puted to theircom parative wantof trade and m anufacture . In France trade has m ore room thansh e can well fill, and there are few towns b ut have largerquaysthan the ircom m ercerequires, and still fewerbut what have m orem anufactures than they have capital to keep them em ployed.

Tours has a gay, brisk and clean appearance; There is here a

very‘noble bridge overthe Loire, of 15 arches, each 75 feet indiam eter; at one end of the bridge is the castle, com posed of

m any round towers. In th e reign of the unfortunate Louis a

great part of the town was burned down, and nearly the wholeofthe m ain street was laid out andrebuilt at the expense ofthatm onarch . What before was close and narrow was then widened,and the houses were built ofa white stone so as to give this partof the town a perfect resem blance to Bath ; the street is 2400feet long and crosses the whole city ; th e population isThe cathedral is open at all hours in the day, and with m ore

decency, than in England, at th e exhibition of public nationalbuildings, is not shown form oney

— And here I would observe ,by the way, that this practice o fextorting a pecuniary gratification from those who are curious and inquis itive enough to exa

m ine such places as the Towerof London, S t. Paul’s Cathedral ,

Westm insterAbbey , &0. &c. is a disgrace to a free and honourable nation,

and m ean and pitiful in the highest degree . Thereis nothing of the sort in any oth erkingdom in th e world and

foreigners are disgusted and indignant at finding ourm onum ents“

ofnational greatness turned into a puppet- show.- The cathedral

of Tours possesses a l ibrary of m ost valuable m anuscripts

68

am ongst these is a copy ofthe Pentateuch , Written in the alphasb et of the cofmtry upwards ofeleven h undred years ago, Thereis likewise a copy of the fourEvangelists, written in Saxon letters, in the beginning ofth e fifth century, about fifty years afterConstantine declared Christianity to b e the religion of the

Rom an em pire . St . Martin’

s Church is celebrated forbe ingthe largest in France , and forthe tom b of St. Martin, whomtraditionreports to b e buried here ; the tom b is of black m arb le, behind the great altar, and is very sim ple and striking.

The ancient kings ofFrance used to com e to this tom b previous to any of the irim portant expeditions ; and afterhavingm ade the usual prayers ofintercession, used to take away the

m antle of the saint, as the bannerunderwhich they were to

fight : this m antle still rem ains. There was form erly a silkm anufactory here , very e xtensive and celebrated, b ut at present it is in a drooping condition : there is also a ribbon m anu

factory, b ut the ribbons produced are very inferiorto those of

England . Provisions, house-rent, fuel, &c. are very cheap ;the form ervery plentiful, and th e latterm ust b e considered asan exception to the general high price of i t in France . The

nam e of the Huguonots , a party which so fatally dfvided

France during three re igns , originated in one of the gates of

this city,‘ which is called the Hugon gate, from Hugo, an

ancient count of Tours .

The provinces of Touraine and the Lim osin have been the

favouri te of painters and poets from tim e im m em orial . H erethe Troubadours have built/th eircastles, have « settled theirm a

gicians, and bound theirladies in enchanted gardens . In

Touraine and all the country onx

the banks of th e Loire , thereis scarcely a glen, a grove , ora shady recess, b ut what has itsfairy orelfin tale belonging to it . What one of the Frenchpoets has said of the Se ine m ay b e said with m ore truthof the Loire, All its wom en are queens, and all its youngm en poets.

”The clim ate

‘

exactly corresponds with.

this sin

gularbeauty of the country .

‘

In m any years there i s no“

suchthing as snow,

and frosts are not frequent, and neversevere ;the rainy weathercom es usually at once , and is confined to

the Spring ; there are no‘

fogs“

and vapours as in the nothernparts of .the kingdom : the spring is ~ a continuation of

,

such

w eatheras is seen in E ngland about the m iddle of May.

The vent dc b iz e is very rare in these provinces ; the greatb eats are from the m iddle

’

ofJuly to the m iddle of August .During this tim e the clim ate ofTouraine exceeds any thing thatis com m on in England . The heaths are covered wi th thym e ,

lavender, rosem ary, and the juniper- tree ; noth ing can be m oredelightful than the fragrance, when the wind blows overthem . Th e hedges are every where interspersed wi th flowers,and there are blossom s of som e kind orotherthroughout theyear. There are som e drawbacks, howeverfrom this excellence ofclim ate ; the countries south ofthe Loire are subject» toviolent storm s ofrain and hail

, and th e'

latteris som etim es, so

violent as to beat down all the corn and v intage on which i tm ay fall : these hail- storm s are not so frequent now as form erly they used to com e on with a v iolence which swept awayevery thing before them , destroying cattle and killing even

m en. Such storm s howeverare now considered as naturalphenom ena.

1 17 About a m ile from Tours is the cidevantt royal palace of

PLESS lS- I ES TOURS,fam ous forhaving been the sceneof the i llness and death of the supersti tious tyrant Louis X1 . in

1483 . The walls were covered wi th iron spikes, and a continual

g uard kept watch during the last sad hours ofthe guiltyand exp iring m onarch notwi thstanding h e had the precaution to b e

covered all overwi th relics, and would neverperm i t Vincent de'

Paul, who was sent forfrom Italy on purpose , to b e out of his

sight . The building is yet handsom e,and perfect in all its

parts, though built in 1450 and com posed of brick , is pleasantly situated, being surrounded wi th wood , and has som e

large apartm ents. In the chapel is a portrait of the tyrant, incom plete arm our, which is considered

_a m asterpiece , and is

m uch adm ired . The'

castle is now converted to purposes of

com m erce .

1 18 .About 20m i les S . S . E . ofTours, in the sam e departm ent,on the riverIndre, is th e town of LOCHES , chiefly

noted forits castle, wh ich stands on arock and was form erly a

very im portant fortification. The castle of Loches is veryfam ous ln the history of France , and was in form erages the

11l place ofconfinem ent forprisoners of the highest quali ty .

i ts origin rem ounts to the m ost rem ote antiquity , nori s thereany tradition which pretends to ascertain the nam e ofits foun

derorthe tim e of its construction. It has been enlarged , rebuilt and fortified by successive sovereigns, and had fourrangesofsubterraneous passagesruning overeach other. Charles VII .

frequently resided and held b ie ‘

court here ; and R ene, Duke of

Alencon, one of the princes ofthe blood, was long detained aprisonerhere, by that m onarch’s order, forh is treasonable

70

practices and introducing the English into the‘kingdom . In

a very large and ancient square tower, are two cages wi th verystrong oak grates, covered with iron, about 1 1 feet square , inone of which the cruel Louis XI . confined the Cardinal de laBalue m ore than nine years. In the upperm ost of the sub terraneous passages is th e cham berwhere the perfidious LudovicoSforza the Moor, Duke of Mi lan, was im prisoned by LouisXII . forten years, and where he died in 15 10. I t is a largevaulted apartm ent, wi th bne window secured by three gratingsofiron, though which the sun in the m idst of sum m eraboutnoon, darts its rays fora few m inutes . On the wall exactlyOpposite are distinctly to b e traced th e rem ains of a dial orm eridian, upon which th e beam s ofth e sun darted , and which ,

they say, was cht by th e hand ofSforza to am use him selfin h ishours of solitude ; the walls and roofare covered with inscriptions now illegible . The “ Oubliettes,

”orsubterranean dun

geons, are labyrinths hollowed into the earth of a vast extentand totally desti tute of ligh t ; the airitself is

“

so m oist and

unwholesom e as alm ost to extinguish the flam b eaus. Circularholes are pointed out in m any places of the incum bent rock ,

through which they let down the wretch ed v ictim s destined toperish in these caverns ; doors of m assy iron closed up th e en

trance and prevented all possibility of succourorescape . The

greaterpart of the castle is now inruins.

In the principal church of Loches is the tom b of th e. celebruted Agnes Sore ille , scream ed th e (Beautiful Agnes, because ,says Monstrelet, qu

’

entre Zea p lus defies fem m es elle etoit la

plus belle . H erm onum ent was elegant, of black m arble, and

on it are hereffigies executed in white alabaster. She is th e

heroine of this part, and a thousand fablesrespecting herbeauty,liberali ty, m agnanim i ty and poweroverth e king Charles V II.are yet preserved ; she was the lady ofBeaul ieu.

1 19 Leaving th e very delightful neighbourhood ofTours , webend ourcourse towards Evreux , b ut first notice CHA

TEAUDUN, a town in the departm ent of the Ti m e and Loire,on an em inence nearthe Loire , containing about 3 000 inhab itants, 3 0 m iles N . of Blois . There is a castl e here bui l t by thefam ous Count of Dunois . The streets are straight, the housesuniform , and the great square spacious.

120.

EVREUX isa city and capi tal of the departm ent of theEure , seated on the Iton, 20 m i les S . of Rouen, and 55

almost W . ofParis .

’

Before the revolution i t was a bishop’s see

7 1

t and contained eight parishes ; the cathedral is a handsom e strueture .

‘

Evreux has a m annfactory,of cotton velv ets, and an

otheroflich en, which is not inferiorto that ofBrussels ; these,with woollen and l inen cloth, lace, grain, wine and cider, con

stitute the chief articles of com m erce .

121 Ourroute now conducts us very nearthe capital, to

ST. GERMAIN, a town in the departm ent of the Seineand Oise, situated on the Seine, neara fine forest , 10 m i lesW . N .W . of Paris . Robert king of France built a palace here ,which was destroyed by the English in the year1 3 46 ; anotherpalace was erected by Francis I . which several succeeding kingsenlarged, particularly Louis XIV . who was born here . Herealso Jam es I I . of England found an asylum

‘

when he fled to

France

122 We next notice BRETEUIL, a town i t) the departm ent

of the Oise, 1 8 m iles S . ofAm iens, and 52 N . ofParis.

I t is a very dirty, paltry town ; th e house s are all built in the

ancient Style, and bearan unfavourable resem blance to Englishfarm - houses theirgable ends are turned to the streets, and thechim neys are nearlyas large as th e roofs .

‘

The country, howiever, in the im m ediate environs of Breteuil is very beautiful,and forfive orsix m iles beyond the town towards Clerm ont thescenery is enchanting. The vines com m ence here , the road isfringed with orchards, and even the corn-fields are hedgedroundwith apple trees .

-_In the m iddle of every field is an elm ora'

chestnut, which has a very pleasing and anim ating effect .

123 .

~BEAUVAIS is a ci ty and capital of the departm ent ofOise, situated on the Thesin , 44 m iles E . of Rouen and

40 N . of Paris . i t was form erly the capital of the prov ince of

Beauvaisis , and the see ofa bishop , who was one of the twelvepeers of France . The cathedral is m uch adm ired forits choir

“

and fine architecture ; besides this there are six collegiate, and

three“

parish churches , am ong which that ofSt . Stephen is rem arkable forits curious windows Beauvais was besieged bythe English , in the year1443 , b ut without success ; and bythe Duke ofBurgundy, in ,

14752, to as little purpose , thoughat the head of m en . In the lattersiege the wom en of

Beauvais gave great proofs of theircourage underthe conductof Jean de Hachette , whose portrai t is preserved in the townhouse ; and, in m em ory of theirbrave defence’

, the wom en

walk first j n a procession, kept annually on the 10th ofJuly .

72

124 SENLIS is a town in the sam e departm ent; form erly a

a bishop’s see , and noted forits cathedral, which has one

of the highest steeples in France . It is seated on the declivity‘

of a hill, by the riverNonette, alm ost surrounded by a largeforest, is 3 3 m i les N . N . E p of Paris, and contains about 5000inhabitants.

125 .Forty- five m iles N . E . ofParis is COMPEIGNE,

alsoin th e sam e departm ent, at the conflux of the Aisne

nd Oise, - near’ a forest containing acres. The townis irregularly built ; the principal com m erce consists in corn,wine , and wood ; the wine is m uch esteem ed, and the popalation is e stim ated at 7000. But the m ost interesting oh

j ce t at Com peigne is its palace, wh ich is a handsom e b uild

ing, superbly furnished forthe reception of Marie Louise .

H ere i t was that sh e first m et Buonaparte , and nine days aftertheirm arriage they returned to i t and passed a m onth . The

palace ofCom peigne sufiered m uch in the counters-revolution,s ince it was defended by twenty pieces o f cannon and in con

sequence was attacked . One cannon ball entered into the

cham berofMarie Louise, struck offpart of the foot from one

ofthe fine gilt figures which supported the drapery of the b ed,and lodged in th e arm ofa large velvet chair. The library Wasm uch dam aged as several balls entered, and scarcely a roomescaped , yet th e furni ture suffered less than m ight have been ex

pected : several very(

fine pierglases were broken to atom s, yet

not one person e itherin the town orpalacewas killed orwounded ,b ut about 100 of th e m ili tary fell on th e outside ofCom peigne.

Louis XV lI l . and the Duchess d’

A ngoulem e rested here severaldays on theirway to Paris. The Duchess slept in a roomwhich was form erly Marie Antoinette’s, and a very elegantcabinet belonging to that unfortunate queen was placed in thisapartm ent . Napoleon was bui lding a gallery at this palace ; i tis in an unfinish ed state : th e best of the paintings and m ost ofthe noble tapestry were rem oved to Paris on the approach ofthe

lalies . The Maid of Orleans was taken prisonerhere in143 0.

126 Continuing ourroute towards the eastern frontier, wereach SO lSSONS, a ci ty in the departm ent ofthe Aisne,

si tuated in a fertile valley, on the Aisne , 3 0 m i lesW . ofR heim s,

and 60N . E . of Paris . [t was form erly a bishop’

s see, the ,ca

ital ofthe kingdom ofSoissonnois , an e arldom and a generality .

“

he cathedral has one ofthe largest chapters in the em pire, and

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74

thiam toraise the siege . The citadel was built by Captain St'

.

P aul, one of the ch iefs of the leaguers, who called him se lfaanarshal ofFrance, and hoped to becom e king of the R etheloisand Mezieres, underthe protection of the king of Spain.

]3 OJA few m iles to the east ofMezieres, and 13 5 N . N. E. of

Paris, isS EDAN , a considerab le town, in the departm entof th e Ardennes, seated on the riverMaese . I t was form erlythe capital of a principality. sedan is considered as one of the

keys .of the kingdom , and b eing on the frontiers was a veryim portant place, strongly fortified wi th a castle , different b astions, m any b orn

'

a'

nd outworks, and large and d eep ditches,cut out ofthe solidrock . The celebrated Marshal Turenne wasborn in this castle . I t has a well-furnished arsenal, a cannon

foundry, and al

m anufacture of black cloths of a superiorquality ; the woollen m anufacture of Sedan has fora long tim e

been held, and is still held, in the greatest estim ation ; insom uchthat m any m anufacturers, not only in France , b ut in Englandand; Holland , both of which certainly as farexcel France ‘

in

she excels them in others, have had the wordm arked upon theircloths as a sort ofpassport to fam e

and excellence .

1 3 1 Altering ourcourse, and turning south- west from Sedan,the next place of

5im portance we m eet with is RHEIMS ,

one of the m ost ancient and celebrated ,ci ties of all France ,si tuated on the Ves le, in a plain surrounded by hills, in the

- departm ent of the Marne, 78 m iles E . N . E . of Paris. Beforetherevolution,

i t was the see of an archbishop , who was the

first duke and peerofFrance , and and who always crownedking since the tim e of Clovis, who was here baptized upon h is

conversion from paganism . The ab b ey of Benedictines of St.

Rem y here’

was one sof the noblest belonging to that orderinFrance ; and on t he al tarof its church , underwhich St.

‘

Rem i

ginslies buried, .

was kept the holy v ial, oram poule, in the shapeofa pear, filled with ared congealed liquorwhich

,according to

the story, in the year496 , at the baptism ofClQVlS , by bishopRem igius, was brought from heaven .by a dove, at the prayerofthat saint; the crowd hindering h im from being able to com e to

the font .with the usual oil" The euniver

‘

sity wasfounded in theyears 1547 and 1549, authorised parliam ent of Paris.

This city carries oni a considerable wine and gingerbread ,and there are m anufactures ofwoollen and silk stuffs. Thereare several rem ains of

‘

Rom an antiquities, particularly an am

75

phitheatre, a castle"

,a trium phal arch , and three gates of the

ci ty , which to this day bearthe nam es ofso m any pagan dei ties,viz ; the Sun, Mars and Ceres . The ci ty is long and narrow,

and the houses low ; the cathedral . built before the year406,is a very beautiful and curious Goth ic structure celebrated forthe delicacy and m agnificence of its portal . The population isestim ated at This city was also taken and retakenseveral tim es by the French and allied arm ies,in 1814 ; and, asm ay b e supposed, greatly

-

suffered in consequeii ce .

13 2 From Rheim s we proceed t o CHALONS SUR Ma city and

”

capital of the departm ent of the Ma

m iles E . of Paris . It is s i tuated on the riverMarne,thirteen parishes - and about inhab itants ,

‘

and was

a bishop’

s see . There are m anufactures ofcoarse wool

3 3 ; A~few m iles to the south - east of Chalons is BAR- LE

DUC, th e capital of th e departm ent of the Meuse ; i t is

3 5 m iles N .W . ofNancy, and 1 3 8 E ._ ofParis, and was form erlythe capital of the duchy ofBar. The wine of this place isexcellent, fully equal to Cham pagne. I t is a considerable town,d iv ided into Upperand Lower, the separation being form edz hya castle called Bar, which is , as i t were a

'

barrierb etweenFrance and Lorraine ; the walls and towers of this castle weredemolished by Louis XIV. The river, Ornainruns thro ugh thelowerpart of the town ; the whole place contains about 8000inhabitants . At D om rem y la P ucelle, a Village in the sam e

departm ent, nine m i les E. ofBar- le- Duc, Joan ofAre, the farfam ed Maid of Orleans, was born.

13 4 0

~We again alterb urcourse to notice VARENNES, where' Louis XVI . his ’queen,

x

with the dauphin, the princessroyal , and princess Elizabeth , were stopped in the irjourneyMontm edy, when they attem pted to escape from the Thuilleriesin th e m onth ofJune 1791 , and conducted back to Paris. I t isa ft

'

own ‘and seat of‘

a tribunal, ln the departm ent of the Meuse,K"

4O m i les S . ofMez ieres, and 50W. ofMetz.

1 3 5 .

TH IO NV1LLE is a strong‘

town in the departm ent of

the Moselle , 16 m iles N. of Metz, and 195 N . N. E. of

Paris. This town form erly belonged to the duchy of Luxembourg. Ingthe years 15581

'

and 1643 i t was taken» by‘

tli e

Wrench, and ifinally ceded to France, by the treaty of the

76

Pyrenees,"

in the year1659. I t was once theresidence of thekings ofAustrasia. In 1792 i t was besieged by an Austrianarm y ; the . com m anderwas general Felix VVim pfen, who on

being sum m oned to surrender, replied , You m ay destroy thefortress, and not leave one stone upon anotheryb ut you , cannotburn the ram parts .

” I t resisted during th e whole cam paign,and held in check a

”

force of m en, which the besieged

frequentlyh arassed and distressed in z several successful sallies .

I t was at last relieved by the generalretreat of the enem y ; andthe victorious garrison and com m anderreceived all the honoursand applause which theirvalourand perseverance m eri ted.

Thionv ille is advantageously situated on th e Moselle, overwhichi t has a bridge defended by horn- work.

1 3 6 .The city of METZ is the capital of the .departm ent lofthe Moselle, si tuated at the confluence of the Seille and

Moselle , 25 m iles N . by W ; ofNancy, and 1 86 E . of Paris“Before the revolution this was a parliam ent ci ty , and the see (ifa b ishop, who styled h im selfa prince of the Rom an Em pire,and had a diocese of 6 13 parishes, and

xa revenue of

livres. I t is divided into Old and New Town . The Old Townis large , b ut the s treets are narrow ; the houses however,t hough old fashioned, are handsom e . Th e New Town is l ikew ise large, and of m uch m ore beauty than th e form er. Thespopulation is estim ated at besides the

"

garrison and

t he Jews. Exclusive of its fortifications, i t has three Citadels ;tb esides the cathedral , which is ‘

one ofth e ’finest in Europe, and

contained a beautiful porphyry font, m ade of one piece ten feetlong, there were three chapters, sixteen parish churches, sixabbeys and a college . Metz has three gates, two to enterintothe ci ty, and one to go out of i t, wh ich had a curious title ,4“ La p orts d’

fE nfer.” There are olso a great num berofJews;

who have a synagogue in this c i ty . The Mesz iu, or. countryiround "Me tz, produces

‘

a l ittle wheat, and is oftolerable fertility ;i t was anciently a part of the kingdom of Austrasia, of whichM e tz was fora long tim e th e capital , a nd the usual residence of

th e king. In the year1552 , Metz, Verdun and T en], afterb eing forsom e tim e underthe protection of the em peror, . put

them selves underthe protection of the French ; ti ll in 1648, at

the peace ofWes tphalia, they were ab solutely transferred to

France.

1 3 7 0

‘

To the south ofMetz is NANCY, a very im portant ci ty,the capi tal of the departm ent -

of the Meurte, nearthe '

77

riverH eurte, and form erly capital of Lorraine ; it is 75 m i lesW . of Strasburg, and 175 E. of Paris. This was the ancientresidence of

‘the dukes of Lorraine . I t is situated in a beautiful

and fertile plain,colitaius inhabitants, and is divided

into Old and New Townby a canal . The first, though irregularly built , is rich and populous , and contains the palace of the

ancient dukes ofLorraine ; and theirtom bs are in a rich saloon.

which adjoins the church ofthe‘

late Cordeliers . The NewTown,’

whose streets are perfectly straight, was already one ofth e finestin Europe before the m agnifient works with which Stanislaus l .

ti tulark ing_of Poland, and duke of Lorraine

,enriched i t . Be

fore the revolution it was a bishop’

s see , and. besides the ea

thedral, a superb~

structure, contained three collegiate and threeparish churches, 17 convents, an universi ty , an aCaden iy of

sc iences, a m edical college, an hospital, and a com m anderyc fMalta. This ci ty was form erly fortified , b ut, by an article in

the treaty of R‘yswick , the fortifications of the New Town weredestroyed.

1 3 8 While in this neighbourhood we m ay notice the regularlyfortified i own '

of TOUL, in the sam e departm ent, about12 m i les ,W . ofNancy ; i t was lately a bishop’

s see , and the

cathedral and episcopal palace are handsom e structures ir' wasform erly im perial , and the b ishop was a prince of the em pire .

Toul is si tuated on th eMoselle, overwhich it has a stone bridge,in a plain alm ost surrounded by m ountains . The governm ent ofToulois, ofwhich th is town was the capital , with the two b ishoprics of

“ Metz and Verdun, in 1552 , put them selves underthe protection ofFrance , and

, by th e treaty ofWestphalia, b ecam e a part of that country .

1 3 9 LUNEVILLE‘is anothertown in this department worthy

of notice ; i t is si tuated on the Meurthe,nearits conflu

ence wi th the Vesouz e , in a m arshy country which has beendrained , and is m iles S . E . ofNancy . In the 6th century i twas a county~of itself, b ut in th e 12th it was united to Lorraine .

Its m agnificent castle , where the dukes of Lorraine form erlykept theircourt, as did afterwards k ing Stanislaus, isverted into barracks .

‘

The church of the late regularcanons is/very handsom e ; and here Stanislaus founded a m ilitaay school,a large l ibrary

"

and an hospital . L uneville is celebrated forthetreaty of peace concluded in 1 801 between France and Germ any.

78

140 From Luncville we proceed in a north- easterly direction,

t hrough Sarburgh , an inconsiderable town, to W ISSEN

BURG orWE ISSEMBURG, a town in the departm ent,

ofthe LowerRhine ; situated on the Lauter, at the foot '

of theVosges, 3 0 m iles N. of Strasburg. In this town was a princelyprovostship , united to the bishopric of Spires. I t was form erlyim perial , and was ceded to France by th e peace of RyswicklThe fortifications were destroyed by Louis XIV . ; b ut stronglines of defence are fixed from hence to the Rhine , a li ttle tothe E . ofLauterburg, on the S . side of the

'

Lauter. In 1 744the A ustrians were driven from these lines ; in 1793 they werepassed, and the town

g

itself taken, by the Prussians, b ut soonafterregained by the French .

141 STRASBURG is a ci ty and capital ofthe departm ent ofthe LowerRhine , situated at the confluence of the Ille

and Brusch , about a m ile from the left bank of the

m iles E . of Paris, and 3 96 W . ofVienna. Before therevolution i t was the

‘

capital of the circle of the UpperRh ine and of

Alsace, the see of a b ishop , who was a prince of"

the em pirje,‘

the residence ofa governor, an intendant, king'

s lieutenant, &c.

The nam e of S trasburg it received about the sixth century,which signifies th e town of the street , because i t was situatedon the high road from France to Germ any . I t is very extensive ,and is so well strengthened wi th a citadel , and otherfortifications, by Vauban, the outworks ofwhich reach alm ost to the

Rh ine, as to b e considered one ofthe strongest places in EuropeThe principal s tructures are built of ared stone

‘

dug from the

quarries along the Rhine . It has six gates, 200 streets, b ut[m ostly very narrow, 4000 houses , of m ore strength than beauty, and about inhabitants . There are eigh t bridgesacross the llle, and one of wood overthe Rhine , . feet inlength

, which, in the m iddle , is supported by an island , on

which is a strong castle . A canal is m ade from the Brusch to

the Rhine , by m eans of which the country round m ay be laidunderwaterto a great extent . The cathedral is a beautifulGothic/structure , the pyram idal steeple of wh ich is a great enriosity, and is 574 fee t high , and ascended by 654 steps i t is

wrought with a delicacy which strikes the eye with astonishm ent, because joined to solidity . The clock also -

ofthis cathedralis an adm irable piece ofm echanism ,

constructed on the plan of

Dasypodius, a celebrated m athem at ician ; besides the hours of.

the day, and days of the week , i t describes very correctly them otions of the constellations, the revolutions of the sun and

79

m oon, with theireclipses, &c. Strasburg has an um versrty‘

governed by 20 professors who are Lutherans, and anotherof Rom an Catholics.

‘

The m ili tary hospital is a handsom e

building, and the city infirm ary will receive 800 patients of

both sexes ; besides which there are two houses fororphans,a foundling hospital , anotherforvenereal com plaints, a lazaretto . forepidem ical diseases, a house of charity form en

dicants, an anatom ical hall and cabinet, a‘ botanic garden, a

public library , a m ili tary school,&c . From its situation Strasburg is a place of considerable com m erce ; it ' has also m anufac-Q

tunes of tobacco, c hina, steel, lace , carpets, cloth , leather, &cThe Lutherans have seven churches ; in one ofwh ich , < in 1777,a m ost beautiful m ausoleum ofwhite m arble was erected to them em ory of the great Marshal Saxe . Strasburg was form erlyim perial, b ut in 1 682 i t was taken by Louis XIV. and lyielded

to him by the peace of Ryswick ; b e, however, granted to theinhabitants all

,the irprivileges and im m unities ; one ofwhich

was, that they were to pay nothing to the king, b ut all the imposts were to b e a mended in the support of the city. Beforeits union with France the Lutherans only exercised public employm ents afterthat the Catholics were adm itted to

.a share.

The revenues are said to am ount annually to a m illion of livres.

The chapterof the cathedral was founded in 1019, to b e com

posed of24 nobles of the rank ofcounts.

142 .COLMAR is the next place we com e tb, a city and ca

pital of the departm ent of the Upper: Rhine , 28 m i les .

ofBaslc, and 3 5 S. of Strasburg . It is situated on the two

sm all rivers Fech t and Lauch , surrounded by a wall flanked withtowers, and contains about inhabi tants.

]43 Ourroute next directs us through several sm all towns,as Altkirk , St . Hypolite , Ornans, Salins and Poligny, to

LONS , th efirst we m eetwi th ofsufficient im portanceforinsertion,as the capi tal of the departm ent of Jura ; i t is seated on the

riverSolveu, 50 m iles S . S W. of Besaneon, and was form erlycelebrated forits sal t-works , which are now discontinued, and

had a beautiful abbey‘

ofnoble Bernardines .

144 .ST. CLAUDE is a town m the departm ent ofJura, situated, between three high m ountains, on the Lison, at the

foot of a m ountain, 17 m iles N .W . of Geneva. From MontSt. Claude there are delightful prospects of Switzerland, &cBefore the revolution i t was the see of a bishop, and contained

arich abbey; wh ichwvasi

secularised in the year1742: Thethsdral

o

is extrem ely elegant ; and there are m any public fountains ,wi thslarge basins;

From St; Claude we continue ourroute to VIENNE,

a riry. in» the departm ent“

of the Isere,17 m iles S . of

«Lyons, and 43 NW ofGrenoble. A Rom an colony was esta

b lished here: In; the fiftlrcentury i t was taken; by the Burgundians, amd the kings m ade it theirplace of residence ;in the t nintlrcentury it was the capital ”

of the kingdom ;

ofPrevencez ; it was afterwards erected . into an archbishopric,and becam e the: capital of the province ofViennois, in whichstate itrem ained “

till therevolution. I t is very pleasantly si tuatedon z the eGere and Rhene, oven the latterof; which was a stonebridge ; built in

“

1265 t but nowdestroyed ; The Ger‘e is a b eautiful stream , occasionallywery thickly wooded, and passm g in"

a

canal‘wh'

ich ; as seen from theroad, has any appearance but thateft a level .’ The sm allerrivers in France , like the by- lanes, areinfini tely m ore beautiful than the larger; the water, runningoverta. b ed ofgravel, is lim pid and transparent to a great degree ; and the grounds through which i t passes , being left intheirnatural“rudeness, have a characterof wildness , rom ance ,

and picturesque, which is not to b e found in the greaternavi :gable stream s. The Gere is anim ated by m any flourand paper

‘

m ills delightfully situated . The road from Lyons to this place,

isw b tordered by hedges , in which are flowering shrub s that per»fum ed the airvery delightfully - it is not uncom m on to find evenorange- trees in the open fields . There are m any fields plantedwi th m ulberry- trees , which appearto flourish best where no

thing else would grow, on'

stony and gravelly soils ; this indeedseem s to b e the com m on excellence ofthe m ulb erry and the vine,that they m ay both be cultivated

'

on lands which would other:wise b e barren . Vienne is surrounded by hills, and has a tolerable trade in wines, silk‘

and”

Sword- blades . There are som e

hardware m anufactories, where the steel is sai d to b e well tempered . and the sword- blades are in greatrepute. The cathedralis a handsom e Goth ic struc ture . In 13 1 1 a general council washeld here , at which Clem ent V . presided, and in,

which the suppression oft he Knights Tem plars was determ ined . The townis of?» great antiquity, and bears alt the appearance of i t ; the

streetsare ' irregular, the houses dark ; one“room in alm os t every

house is very large, and all the others m ost inconveniently sm all .Provisions are“ in great plenty and very cheap; as is every ’

thingelse, wi th the exceptien offuel NearVienne, on the banks of

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8 1

the Rhone, are produced the excellent wines ofCote Rotie and'

the fam ous Herm i tage wines.

146 .A t ANNONAY

’

, a town on the Opposi te side ofthe Rhone,‘

12 m iles from Vienne, th e two brothers, Montgolfiers,paper- m akers, m ade the discovery of air- balloons in 1782

,

They floated them with rarefied air, obtained by m eans ofa fireSuspended beneath them ; and balloons of this kind are still

called Montgolfiers, in honourofthe inventors, and to‘distinguish

them from those that are filled with gas orinflam m able air;both kinds have burst, and caused fatal accidents. Annonay is

celebrated forits very fine paperm anufacture .

147 .We now change ourc ourse, turning to the north, toreach BOURG ' EN BRESSE, a city and capital of the

departm ent of the A in, 3 5 m iles N . E. of Lyons, and 23 3

S . E . of Paris. It was form erly the capital of the province of

La Bresse, and is situated on the riverRessouze, in a countryratherm arshy, b ut fertile : its principal com m erce is in corn,horses, cattle , and white leather The population is estim atedat about 5000. In the neighbourhood is a m agnificent churchand m onastery of the Augustins.

1 48 O

~MACON is a city and capital of the departm ent of theSaone and Loire, situated on a declivity nearthe Saone,

3 5 m i les N . ofLyons, and‘188 ofParis. Before the revo

lution i t was the capital of a sm all “

country called Maconnois,which was form erly a county, and th e see of a bishop . I t contained fourchurches, a com m andery ofMalta, seven convents,a college ; and an hospital ; and has a considerable trade .

Jfilt is

built in the form ofa b ow, to which the riveris the cord , and

the bridge the arrow. The wine of this neighbourhood is m uchesteem ed. Macon has been the scene of som e m onkish im positions on the credulity ofthe people ; one especially, of the pretended supernatural possession of a

'

nun, to wh ich even the

great Robert Boyle was inclined to give som e credit. The Benedictines ofthe very spacious and m agnificent abbey ofC luny,

have dealt m ore largely in these sorts of m iracless any otherm iracle- m onger

‘

s in the R om ish ca

1490

, Taking a north-westerly direction, we continue ourrouteto NEVERS, a ci ty and capital of the departm ent of

theNievre, 3 0 m iles N. ofMoulins, and 145 S . by E . ofParis.

82

It is si tuated on the Loire , where it is joined by the Nievre’

,

overwhich is a handsom e stone bridge ;1, it was. form erlythe capital of the Nivernois, and before the revolution was abishop

’

s see, the seat ofan election,

'

,a m arechausséeg and salt

office. It contained, besides the cathedral, . l l parish churches,and several religious houses. The principal m anufactures w

atje,china, glass, and works of enam el . The ,p0pulatiou,is »estim ated

at about 8000. Nevers is a pleasant, . though an old- lookingtown, and very agreeably Situated on . the declivities,

ofga hill,at the bottom ofwhich flows the

/Loire . Orr- the sum m it ofgthe

hill is what rem ains ofthe ducal palace , in which John Casim ir,king ofPoland, died in 1672 ; i t has suffered m uch from .ti

_m e ,

b ut enough still rem ains to beartestim ony to its original m agnificence .

__ln som e of the apartm ents the tapestry, though ngarly

three centuries old, still re tains in a great ,degree’

tthe brilliancyof its colours the figures are m onstrous , but the general effectis m agnificent . The cathedral of Nevers is

,one of

,th e m ost ah

c ient in France . About one hundred years s ince , in digginga vault, a body Was discovered enveloped in a long robevery old coins were found in the coffin, and the habitthe body was wrapped was of,

.the m ost.a ncient fashion : ac

cording to antiquaries, this was the body of, one of the ancientdukes ofNevers . Nothing can b e m ore p icturesque than the

1 country between Nevers and Moulins . Natural b eauty andth elife and activity of cultivation uni te torenderi t the‘

m ost complete succession of landscape in France . Though ‘England has

m any delightful v illages and rustic greens, France is greatlysuperiorin rural scenery,The cl im ate ofthis part on rance is delightful, th e soi l won;

derfully fertile, the productions of the earth abundant, and»th ehealth of the inhabitants corresponds wi th the excellence oftheclim ate . The m ost beautiful shrubs, those that in otherplacesare only to b e found in hot- houses, are com m on in thewoodsand hedges indeed the departm ents ofthe Nievre, Allier, Cher,I

l

ndre, and those m ore to the west, which include the provincesofNivernois, Bourb onnois, Touraine, 8 m. have been - term edthe garden and granary of France . Land, proviand all therequisites and com forts ofl ife, are surprthe people, in unison with theirdelightful country , areuniversally polished in their'

m anners, a nd naturally gay,"

volent and obliginO '

.

150 From Nevers we turn to the east tothe departm ent ofthe Sa

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84

Dijon, 20 S . ofGhaum ont, and 140 S. E. of Paris. This place

is very ancient, and, in. the tim e ofJulius Caesar, was the capi talof the Lingones. In ~ the irruption ofAttila i t was taken and

burned ; and, afterbeing rebuilt, underu

’

rent the sam e fate , inth e year407, from the Vandals.

_It was very early erected into

a bislaOpric ; and, from the reign of Phili p ‘Augustus to the revolution,

‘

the prelates were dukes and peers”

of France . I t issi tuated: on a m ountain , close

'

to the Marne cutlery is the chiefarticle of trade . The cathedral «is a large , gloom y, Gothicbuilding

,filled wi th ancient tom bs besides this there are som e

otherhandsom e churches, and m anyreligious houses . The wallsorram parts ofthe ci ty are covered wi th aroof, underwhich wasthe prom enade in wet weather; the outerside was invested wi th

apet, rising up to the roof, through which the countrycould b e seen by m eans of sm all openings orem brasures .

155 In ourroad , to Besancon we notice GRAY, a town in thedepartm ent ofthe UpperSaone , 28 m i les N. E. ofDijon.

I t is si tuated on th e Saone, which is navigable forboats to Lyons,whitherthe inhabitants send grain and iron , the ch iefarticles of

theircom m erce. The fortifications have been destroyed.

156 BESANCON, is a fortified city and capi tal oft he departm ent of the Doubs, 86 m iles S W . of Colm ar, and 208

S. E . ofP aris. Before the revolution this was the capital of‘

Franche Com te, the see ofan archbishop , and a parliament ci ty .

Besancon is situated in a bottom , between m ountains, on the

Doubs, whose waters alm ost surround and divide i t into UpperandL owerTown, joined by a handsom e bridge i t has six gates,three to the Upper, and three to the Lowertown , and is strongboth by nature and art, being defended by a wall flanked witheight t owers like bastions ; th e ci tadel is a long square, buil t

.on a sharp rock . Underthe Rom ans i t was one of the m ostm agn

ificent places they had in Gaul , and the trium phal arch of

Aurelian and m any rem ains of theirsuperb buildings are yetv isible ; afterthe death ofJulian i t was nearly destroyed by theGerm ans, and a second tim e by Attila . It afterwards becam e an

im perial ci ty, ti ll the tim e ofLouis XIV. , who in the year1674m ade him selfm asterof i t, and united it to France . The uni

versity is an ancient and celebrated foundation ; and in 1752a literary and m i litary institution was form ed. Besancon con-r

tains eight parishes, and about inhabitants.

1 57 We m ust next notice VESOUL, , capital ofthe depart:m ent ofthe UpperSaone, 25 m iles N. ofBesancon. It

85

is situated at the foot ofa m ountain, nearthe riverBurgeon ;and 111 its vicini ty is a m edicinal spring.

1 58 The next place of note we m eet in this direction is

EPINAL , a city and capital of the departm ent of theVosges, 3 5 m iles S . E . ofNancy. I t 1s si tuated on the Moselle ,and

Q

uoted forits paper- m ills i t form erly belonged to the duchyof Lorrain, but 1n thereign ofLouis XIV. i t was taken by Marshal Crequi, and soon afterdism antled.

159 Ourroute next takes‘

us to CHAUMONT, a city and

c api tal ofthe departm ent ofthe UpperMarne , 13 0 m ilesE . S . E . of Paris. I t is situated On a m ountain, nearthe riverMarne ; and has a m anufactory of coarse Woollen cloth

, and a

considerable trade in deerand goat skins .

‘

160We continue in the sam e direction through Bar- sur-Aube,a sm all town, to TROYES, a ci ty and capital of the de

partm ent of the Aube , 85m iles S . E. of Paris . It 1s si tuated

on the Seine, and before the revolution Was the capital of

Cham pagne, and the see of a bishop . Am ong the objects ofcuriosity are the cathedral , the public library of the late Cordeliers, and the castle in which the ancient counts of Cham

pagne resided. It contained fourteen churches, fourabbeys,ten convents, a college and an hospital, and i s surrounded bystrong walls . As the stone in the neighbourhood is too tenderto be em ployed 1n b uilding, aalm ost all th e houses are ofwood.

The inhabitants carry on a considerable trade in linen, flax,h em p, cotton, fustians, chandle1y, wine , &c. The environs produce grain, fruit and legum es in abundance . Troyes was captared and recaptured several tim es by the allied and Frencharm ies in 18 14.

1 6 1 From Troyes we turn to the south , to AUXERRE, a

city and capital of thedepartm ent of the Yonne, situa tedon the side ofa hill, nearthe Yonne, 90 m i les S. S . E . ofParis .

Before the revolutioh it was the see of a bishop, and capital ofA uxe irois I t was anciently governed by its own counts .

cathedral has nothingrem arkable ; but the episcopal palace isconsidered as one of the m ost beautiful 1 11 France . I t containstwelve parishes, m any fountains and squai es, several religioushouses, two hospitals, 8 m. and a population ofabout 1 6“000 In

the year13 58 i t was taken by the English , b ut in 1 3 60 i t wasretaken by the French .

86

162 .

Before we go to Bourges we shall take inMONTARGIS 9a town in the departm ent of the Loiret ; seated neara fine

forest, and connected to the Se ine by a navigable canal , 60m i lesS . of Paris . I t is celebrated form ustard and cutlery

, and h ad

for‘

m erlyra very fine castle . This town was b lockade'

d’

by the

English in 14 18 , andreduced to great‘

extrem ity,till\ relieved bythe Bastard of Orleans .

163 .

BOURGES is a ci ty and capital ofthe departm ent oftheCher, si tuated in a very open plain, at th e conflux of the

A aron and Eure , 25 m iles W. of Nevers , and 125 S . of Paris .

Before th e revolution this was the see of an archbishop, and a

generali ty, with an universi ty founded orre - established byLouis XJ . the Nero ofFrance , whowas born here , and endowedthe townwi th som e considerable privileges . The cathedral churchis a beautiful piece ofGothic architecture , and ofprodigious dim ensions, farexceeding any in England ; i t contains a great

ofpainted glass . The principal‘

m anufactures are cloth,woollen

’

stuffs, and stock ings, great quantities rof which are d1sqposed

v

‘

of at the"

annual fairs . Bourges contains sixteen parishchurchesy and' above inhabi tants . I t

“

standsfnearly inthe centre oft he kingdom . In extent i t is one of the greatestci ties in France . Charles V II. usually held h is court here , and

was denom inated by the English Le peti t Roi de Bourges .

”

164 In the sam e departm ent,’

10 m iles NNV. bf Bourges, isthe aanc ient tdwn ofMEHUN- SUR- YEURE , situated on

the tY eure , and noted forthe m agnificent rem ains ofits castle .

This is rendered fam ous 11] history by the death of Charles VII .who cons tructed i t, and who died there in 1461 , by a voluntaryabstinence from food , caused by th e apprehension of beingsoned by h is own son, L

'

ouis XI . The si tuation of the cas tle isnot favoured by nature , and corresponds ill with the grandeurofthe structure. I t stands in a wide extended plain, shel tered bydeepwoods, a nd at i ts foot flows the li ttle riverYoure, which ,

dividing at the spot into several s tream s, form s a num berofm arshy islands ,

{

covered with willows ., Though the castle of

Mehun h as b een burnt by lightning, as well as greatly injuredby

,tim e and the depredations of the , nelghbouring peasants,

‘

yet

its ruins“

are even now inexpressibly august and beautiful . The

great toweris nearly perfect ; and three of the , apartm ents,which appear

‘to have been room s of state, m igh t alm ost b e in

habited at present. The’

cham berwhere they say the unhappyhing expired is in one of

l

the sm allertowers, t he entrance inte

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1 66 In ourway to Blois we noticeonly CHATEAUROUX ,

the capital of the departm ent of the Indre, 148 11111138S . S .W . of Paris. I t is situated in a fertile country on the

Indre , has a large woollen m anufa“

,cture and contains fourparishes, and about 6000 inhabitants. I t derives its nam e froma very large castle built here by Raoul , whence the ci ty wascal led Chateau- Raoul, and by corruption Chateau-Roux.

167 BLO IS i s a ci ty and capital of the departm ent of the

Loirand Cher, 28 m iles S .W . of Orleans, 3 7 N. E . of

Tours, and 100 S . .W ofParis . Befére the revolution this wasa bishop’

s see , the seat of a lieutenant - general, a grand7b ailiwick , and

“

capital of the Blaisois ; once the abode ofthe kingsofFrance . W ine and brandy constitute the chief articles of

com m erce ; the principal m anufactures are serge and‘

tickenthe population is about The si tuation of Blois is asagreeable as that ofall the otherprincipal towns on the Loirethe m ain part of i t is buil t upon a hill, Whit h descends by a

gentle declivi ty to the Loire ; the rem aining part is a sub urb on

th e opposite side oftheriver. From the h ill on which the s town

stands is a beautiful view of a rich and lovely country ; and

th ere 1 3 certainly not a town in France orin Europe, with the

exception ofTours and Toulouse , which can com m and such a

delightful landscape. The town does not correspond wi th thebeauty ofits situation ; the streets are narrow and the houseslow. There are several fountains in different parts of th e

‘ town,supplied by an aqueduct : th e waterrises from a deep subterraneous Spring, and IS conveyed i n a channel cut in a rock ; ‘thi schannel te supposed to b e of Rem an construction, and from its

characteristic boldness, and even greatness, i t m ost prob ab ly 18

so. The channel of the aqueduct em pties i tself into areservoiradjoining the ci tywalls, whence they are distributed in pipesthrough all the quarters of the city.

But the boast and ornam ent ofBlois 1s its Chateau orc astl‘

e .

It IS‘b lfiIt upon a rock wh ich overhangs theties on this riverbeing b uilt wi th an ovidetrolling and com m anding the navigation.

and d issim ilarity in the several arts of

quence of i ts b eing the work 0 severalages. The eastern

b

and southern fronts, were buil t by Louis

XII, (whowas born here) about the year1520

'and are heavy,

dark and Goth ic, with sm all room s and pointed“arches : the

north ern front was the work of Francis 1. and is a curiousspe cim en ofthe Gothic arch itecture m its progress, perhaps in

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90

effect is destroyed by cross- beam s from one side of the room to

the other. The great'

Marshal Saxe lived and died in this chateau ; the room in which h e breathed his last is still shownwith veneration He lived here in great state , and had a regim ent of horse

,whose barracks are in the im m ediate

vicinity ofthe castle. The,Sp iral staircase is a curious c on

trivance it is so m anaged as to contain two distinct staircasesin one, so that people m ay goup and down at the sam e tim e,

without see ing“

each other. Th e apartm ents are said to exceed1200; those which

.

Marshal Saxe occupied are in very goodtaste, the ceilings are arched, and the proportions are excellent.This

'

castle Was the favourite residence ofFrancis 1. and i t washere that h e so m agnificentlyreceived and entertained th e Em a

perorCharles V. Itfhas been deserted since the death of LouisXIV. who used occasionally to

"

hunt in its forests, but neverm ade i t a perm anentresidence

1‘69.

Thirty m iles SW . ofBlois, and 12 E . ofTours, is the

town of AMBOISE, in the departm ent of the Indi e and

Loire, deligh tfully si tuated near,

the confluence ofthe Loire and

Masse t. .The town itself is m ean and ill built, consis ting of

two streets and a long stone bridge , but has been renderedin h istory by th e conspiracy ofthe Protestants in 1560,

(which opened the fatal wars ofreligion in France ,) and by ,

its

castle . Before the revolution ,the town was very singularly di

vided m to tw'

o parishes ; all gentlem en, all m il itary officers, all

landed proprietors who possessed honorary fiefs, and all strangerswhoWere tem porary residents, were considered as b elonging toone parish , and the ,

people,and the bourgeois were attached to

th e other. Therevolution has annihilated l

these absurd distinotions, and every one now belongs to the parish in wh ich he resides orhas property .

The castle is built upon a lofty and craggy rock ,and over

hangs th e Loire which flows at ~ the bottom ; the side on the

Loire is perpendicularand of great heigh t so as to render’

1talm ost inaccessible . This vast ’

structure was not all th e workofonetim e orofone author; the presen t ,castle was built uponthe ruins of

gone which was des troyed by the Norm ans In 882,

but having gone into decay was repaired and enlarged by Franscis I . and CharlesV I II . The latterprince was born and d1ed

in this castle, and during the whole ofh is reign i t was th e

constant sum m erresidence of the court . The,m ostrem arkable

part ofthe structure iswhat is called the oratory of,

}Lou1s the

wicked ; i t is at a

'

great depth beneath the ,foundauon ofthe

91

castle, and the descent to i t is by a Spiral staircase. It is literally nothing m ore than a dungeon, on a platform , in which 1s a

prostrate statue representing the dead body of ourLord as takenfrom the cross, covered with streaks of blood , and the skin

'

in

welts as iffresh from the scourge . According to the traditionofthe neighbourhood this was the daily scene ofthe privatedevotions of Louis XI . and the characterofthe place ,

‘

androf

the im ages around, have certainly som e sym phony with the

known disposi tion of that “

m onarch . No one ev en in the revolution, has disturbed these relics ; i t is still exhibi ted as the

tyrant”s dungeon, and no one can enterorleave i t wi thout feeli ng arenewed idea ofthe characterof that execrable m onster,whom all agree in m entioning with detestation. Only two

detached parts ofthe ancient castle now rem ain. From the hillbehind the castle 1s seen anotherofthose enchanting landscapeswhich these parts of France contin ually exhibit, w

z3

°l1e1 e the eye

is delighted with a profusion of natural beauties, which can

not well b e described but m ust b e seen to b e enjoyedThe well- known conspiracy ofAm boise having originated in

th is e1ty, the walls and dungeons of the castle still retain som e

relics ofthe ferocious cruelties exercised by the trium phan t partyof the Guises ; Spikes, nails and short iron gibb e ts and chainsare still shewn on the walls, on which were suspended the bodiesof the prisoners who fell into theirhands . R eligious fuiy hasno lim its, and a true enthusiast com forts him selfthat he torturesthe body to save the soul . - the bloodiest and m ost crue l and de

structive wars that were everwaged , were those falsely called .

religious. Alas, how different i s the spiri t of war, even the

m ost Jus t and necessary war, from the spi1 it of Christianity "I niqu z

'

ssim am pacem j usl z ssim o belle an iefero, said Cicero, and

every pious and good m an m ust agree with him .

1 70 W e proceed to ORLEANS , a ci ty and capital of the tie- 1

partm ent of the Loiret, situated on the Loire ,68 m i les

S W . of Paris. Before the revolution th is was a b ishop’s see ,

a parliam ent city, and the capital ofOrleannois. It is now coin.

sidered as one ofthe largest and m ost agreeable cities in France ;i t has six principal gates , and twenty - two parishes, with a pupulation of about 3 5 ,000, whose chief ti ade 1s in raw sugarto a

great extent, stockings,. sheep- skins, brandy, corn and wine .

Orleans has a very nearresem blance to Tours , though the latteris certainly betterbuilt and preferab le in si tuation. Orleans,however, 1s si tuated verybeautifully ; the country is uneven and

diversified, and the fields have the airoftpleasure- O'rounds, ex-a

92

ce pt in the luxuriant wildness of the hedges, and th e frequentinterm ixture oforchard and frui t- trees : as seen from the

,road ,

it has an extrem ely picturesque aspect ..The interiorof the town does

,not at all correspond wi th the

beauty of its si tuation ; som e of th e streets are *

narrow, the

houses old and scandalously built . The principal street is“i

term inated by a nob le bridge,’ of nine arches, the centre 106 feetwide , which has been repaired from t he ruinous state in whichit was left by the Chouans. The Grand Place is spacious, and

has an airof m agnificence . The cathedral,

is Worth peculiarattention the chapels surrounding the altar‘are wainscotedwithoak,

“

and the pannels are deeply cut intorepresentations ofourSaviouron the cross and the figure of: St. John, and others ofthe apostles, are very m asterly they are the work of

,Baptiste

Tubi, an Italian sculptorwh o sought refuge in France: The

two ,towers built at the western extrem i ty by' Louis XV . are

generally known and celebrated ; the prospect from theirsum m i texceeds all powers ofdescription ; the country seem s one boundless garden covered wi th vineyards, whose richness m ust fb e seen

to b e understood. Orleans was taken . by Julius Caesara ze in theyear45 1 , i t was besieged by Attila, k ing of th e Huns and in

use, by the English but th e siege was raised by the conductof the Maid ofOrleans, whose history is too wel l knownrtorneed

detail. T here are here several vestiges of her, and herm em ory 1

is still“ held in veneration ; in the Hotel “de Ville is an excellent

portrait“

of herin herwarlike dress, and in the m ain s tree t is a

celebrated m onum ent of herand Clarles VII . both supposedp

to

b e very correct likenesses . In th e religious war, ' Orleans suf- s .

fered m uch ; in April , 1562; i t was surprised by the Prince of

Condé , c and ~ in February followihg i t was b esieged by the Dukeof Guise, Who had nearly carried his point, when he was assas"

sinated; Several counci ls have been held here, the first in thereign ofClovis.

171 0The next city in ourroute is CHARTRES, the capi tal ofthe departm ent of the Eure and Loire, 45 m iles S W . of

Paris. I t wasform erly a b isl10p’

s‘

see, and is very pleasantly situated on the Eure, which divides the town into two parts, and overwhich is a bridge, the work ofthe celebrated Vauban ; i t containsabout“ 10,000 ~ inhabitants . This is one of

‘the ~

m ost ancienttowns in France, and bears eviden t m arks ofitsantiqui ty ; the

‘

streets are in s traight lines, and the houses dark and large,b ut full ofsm all room s ; according to the French historians itwas calledAutricam by the Rom ans. It is surrounded by a»

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94

France, separated tfrom each otherby prodigious horns of deerkilled in the forest, which abounds in them . :

*It was enrichedwi th m any otherbeautiful paintings , bronze and marble statues,&c. and a grand orangery.

F ontainebleau, says Cardinal Bentivoglio, 1s f a1. vast npalace ,worthy of a great prince ; and though there are m any pilesjoined to each otherat different ti m es, wi thout orderon '

sym m

'

e

try, form ing‘

a confused m ass of buildings ofdifferent architecture, this - confusion has nevertheless an airofsurprising m ajestyand grandeur. It stands in '

a bottom , and has noth ing pleasantwhen the country and trees are deprived oft heirverdure , surrounded by a vast forest, in the m idst of

'

sm all hills crownedwith rocks; which produce noth ing to support life brplease theeye . The gardens are ne at and very extensive ; and, besidesthe grand fountain, which ,

“from the excellency of the water,gave nam e to the place , there are a great m any others to adornthischarm ing residence .

1 73 The ,only ci ty in France z thatrem ains to b e notified , before

we arrive at the MELUN, wh ich' is ‘the capital

ofthe departm ent ofthe Se ine and Marne, si tuated on t heSeine,25 m iles S . E . of Paris . Before the revolution i t contained one

collegiate; and‘

three parish c hurches ,‘ two convents, and two ab i

beys i t carries on a trade wi th Paris in corn, m eal, wine and

cheese .

‘

In'

the year1419,it wa

'

s‘besieged and . taken

‘

by‘

the

English ,b ut ten years afterthe inhab itants drove t h

'

em‘out and

In‘th e plains of Melun‘ the Bourbonl

sarm y,’

consisting of

100,000’m en,iwus drawn upto oppoée

"

then

progress of1 13 110 1121parte afterhis escape from Elba ; iand here it was that on the

2 1st of1March ,~ 1 8 15 ,1 he appeared in an open zcarriage , driving

down the hill»from Fontaineb leauwith'

the rapidity of: lightning,accom panied fonly by Bertrand and Dfouet, : and Was rece ivednot with a destru’

ctive'

showeroft

'

caunonc-balls and bullets—butwith the m ost enthusiastic shouts and acclam atio

'

ns , and by thissaine larm y was conducted in trium ph to Paris, and

‘

scated’

once

m ore ud

pon‘

an im perial throne l‘0

It m ayrhe iperm itted in this place to '

m ake'

an addl tlon to the

historical part of th e GeneralD escription ofFrance ,” p ; 4.Im m ediately afterthe desperate and sanguinary battle of.Wafer

the 1 8th ofJ u'

ne'

, 1 815 , Bunoaparte was a second tim ecom pelled to abdicate iH e endeavoured to m ake this abdicationin favourof his son, whom he proclaim ed Napoleon

'

llw'

but i t‘ s

was set aside,‘

and LouisXVI lluagain entered Paris on the 81h

95

of July . The return of Lou1s cannot b e supposed to b e veryacceptab le to the French, considering th e m eans by which i twas accom plished ; and i t is a prevalent Opinion that his powerwill expire as soon as the foreign arm ies, which uphold i t, arewithdrawn .

In the m ean tim e , Buonaparte , the wonderful Buonaparte,whoforso m any yea1s has agitated the universe , ofwhom alm os tall tongues have talked and pens have wrote , privatelyre tired ,no one

b

knewwhither; at length , on the 15 th ofJuly , he cam e out

from Rochfort i n a flag Of truce , surrendered him selfto CaptainMai tland, of the Bellerophon , and threw him selfupon the British nation foi protection. In what a pre - em inently gloriouspoint of view does this circum stance place the B1 itish nationalcharacter"

174 PAR IS , one of the nob lest cities in th e world , the ca

pital of France , is 244 m iles S . S . E. of London, 250

S IV. ofAm sterdam ,625 \V. of Vienna , and 63 0 N. E. of

Madrid . In th e tim e ofthe Rom ans; before th e birth ofC hrist,that part called th e I sland of the P alace, was a town called

Lutetia,’

orL utetia P arisiorum , orsim ply P arisii, from the

Parisii , a people of‘Celtic Gaul, who, when the Rom ans ih

vaded the country, them selves set fire to it. The conquerorsrebuilt i t, b ut i t attained to no great em inence till the tim e of

Julian the Apostate , who built a palace in i t ; i t was still fartherenlarged by the kings ofthe Franks, and Clovis m ade it his residence . About 954 Hugh Capet m ade i t the capi tal of hiskingdom and the place o

a

f his residence, in which he was followed by all h is successors . PhilipAugustus, 1n the thirteenthcentury, built a newwall round it, paved th e stree ts and dividedit into three parts , th e city, in the centre ; the v ille , to the

north ; and the university, to th e south . In the fifteenth cen

tury it was furtherenlarged and arranged into sixteen quarters,Which Louis XIV. i n 1702, increased to twenty . I t is si tuatedin an extensive plain, on theriverSeine, and, including the

suburbs, occupies a space offifteen m iles in circum ference,and has about 900 streets. Before the revolution i t was the seeofan archb ishop, and contained 5 1 parish churches, 20 not pa

rochial ; 17 collegi ate churches , am ong which were 13 chapters;40 chapels, 3 abb eys, 22 priories , and 50 convents form en,

ecclesiastical and secular; 7 abb eys, 6 priories , and 53 convents,forwom en 10 sem inaries, 16 hospitals , an university, 6 aca

dem ies ofscience, 3 academ ies forthe instruction ofyoung gentlem en, 7 public libraries ; 124 com panies ofartisans and trades

96

m en ; 4 royal palaces, upwards of 500 palaces orhouses inha~

bited by the nobility , 81C . 16 principal squares, and m ore than60 inferior; 50 public m arkets , 60 fountains, 12 bridges, 26quays, 16 gates, &c. wi th a population ofabout 800 The

ci ty is surrounded by the Seine .

A s the narrow lim its to which we are confined preclude thepossibility ofgiving a description ofthis wonderful ci ty, we m ustb e content with a brief sketch of som e of its m ost interestingobjects.

—The cathedral ofN otre D am e, a Gothic structure, isone of the largest in Eu1ope, and contains 45 chapels thereare also m any otherfine churches. The P ont- N euj ,the m ostcelebrated of the ancient bridges, crosses the two branches of

the Seine , is 1020 feet long and 72 broad, and has 12 archesi t was begun ln thereign of

a

H enry III . and finished by Henry IV.

In the centre was an equestrian statue of Henry IV. in bronze,ofa colossal size, on a pedestal ofwhite m arble, with a descript ion ofsom e ofh is principal actions . TheBridge ofAusterh tz ,b uilt by Buonaparte ln com m em oration ofh is victories, com m u

nicates from the Boulevard Bourdon to the Jardin des P lantes ;the views of the rive1 from each side m e very fine, and the

bridge itself 13 exceedingly handsom e, being com posed entirelyof 1ron, except the piers and butm ents ; the surface is qui teflat, and a light sim ple railing on each side gives a neat and

pre ttyfinish ; the arches are so light, and the bol ts sowell fitted,that i t looks as if i t were scarcely strong enough to supportthe passengers.

The grand palace , called the L ouvre, was begun 1n the reignofFranc1s I the frontwas bui lt by LouisXIV . i t is a quadrangularedifice , th e court i n the centre, form ing a square of 3 90

fee t. The front 1s one of the m ost beautiful m onum ents of

the reign of Louis XIV .

'

l he gallery is considered as the

finest piece of architecture in the wo1ld The gallery of

paintings is said to b e m ore than half a m 11e lonO'

, i t is welll ighted

, s upported by elegant pillars at the sides,vide the difi

’

erent schools, and ornam ented with lookbetween the pillars the roof 1s beautifully paintedm ore than 13 00 invaluable productions of the French , Germ an,Dutch, Flem ish , and I talian m asters . This unique collection is

one of. the m ost brilliant trophies ofNapoleon’s victories . In

‘

this palace were m odels of upwards of180 fortresses in Franceand othercountries, all perform ed with tl

so natural as torepresent the sevwith theirstreets, heuses, sqiiai es,all tlieirworks, m eats, bridges, an

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98

future. The president’s seat is‘in a recess opposite the centre ,and raised to the level of the m iddle seats . Three secretariesare seated on each side of the president ; som ething lower, andbefore him , on a level wi th the secretaries, is the tribune , fromWhich the deputiesread theirspeeches . The president is distinguished by a white sash ; and the m em bers, with theirgoldcollars and cuffs, have m ore the look of livery servants than ofthe -representatives of a free p eople. The Salle de P airs, orhouse of lords, is also a section of a sphere ; it is a Splendidroom , but the echois so great, that they are obliged to disfigureit by curtains during the s i ttings . It contains seats for158 se

nators, b ut po galleries. Nearthe throne are twelve statues ofGreek and Rom an worth ies . The approach is very noble ; a

stafi'

ease bfwhite m arb le, which occupies the whole of a long

gallery, ornam ented by statues ofm en fam ous in m odern France ;am ong them is Vergnioux as haranguing the nat ional assem bly,and Condorcet in an attitude ofthought— The Luxem bourg palace, a m agnificent structure, celebrated forits gallery ofexquisitepaintings by Rubens, has long been used as a state- prison.

TheP antheon, form erly the church ofSt. Genevieve,was builtbyLouis

'

XV . is oftheCorinthian order, and the architecture ofth edom e most beautiful ; i t is a m ost noble edifice, com posed entirelyofstone wi thout any m ixture of tim ber; th e national assem blyappointed i t as areceptacle forthe bodies ofthe princes, granddignitaries, the officers of the em pire, of the crown, of the lo

gion of honour, cardinals, senators‘and m inisters . The placeappointed forthe dead is the crypt, which is perfectly airy and

clean; the tom bs ofRousseau and Voltaire are placed at the

entrancewi th sim ple inscriptions. There is also a library b elonging to the Pantheon. In the P lace de Carousel Buonapartebuilt a.magnificent trium phal arch, and placed 011 i t those fourbéautiful bronze horses, so celebrated all overthe world as hav:ing been in the possession successively ofCorinth, Rom e, Com

sta‘

ntin‘

ople, Venice , Berlin, and now ofParis The finest squarewas that ofLouis Quinze, in which the unfortunate Louis XVIMarie Antoinette and the princess Elizabeth were executed .

The Boulevards are one ofthe greatest ornam ents ofthe citytheyare the old

’

Pom aerium ofParis , whose walls are now nearly'

1

level ;wi th the grbu’

nd, and by theirruins have form ed on the

innerside a terrace on which half- a- doz'

en carriages m ay driveabreast . 011 each ‘

side of' this road are double rows ofvery fine lltrees, through which runs a broad path forfoot- passengers : so

that the whole ofParis , onboth sides oftheriver, is surrounded »

by a m ost delightful avenue, which forutility and b eauty fi's not

99

to be m atched by any city in the world . The Boulevards arem uch frequented . The gardens of Tioolz

'

, the Vauxhall “

of

Paris, are laid out wi th great taste , and '

are well illum inatedThere is a good orchestra, and se veral bands ofm usic constantlyplaying in different partsn of‘the gardens, and the fire -works arem uch superiorto those at Vauxhall the t e is great variety in theam usem ents here , which causes Tivol i to b e m uch frequented .

But i t is the l iterary insti tutions of Paris that deserve the

greatest consideration . Every capital has its theatres,‘ public

gardens, and palaces, but Paris alone has its public libraries on

a scale of equal utili ty and m agnificence ; in Paris alone the

poorest student, the m ost ragged philosopher, has all the treasure of princes at

'

his com m and ; the National L ibrary opensat his call, and the m ost expensive books are delwered forh isuse . I t is a noble building and ofgreat exte nt, containing nearlyhalfa m illion volum es, besi des m anuscripts in the Greek ,Latin, French , Oriental and otherlanguages. On entering thereis a superb staircase which leads to the library on the first floor.It consists of a sui te of spacious and m agnificent apartm entsextendinground three si des ofa quadrangle . each division hasan attending librarian, ofwhom any one m ayrequire the bookhe wishes , which is im m ediately delivered to him ; there aretables and chairs in abundance . The librarians being them selvesgentlem en, there is no apprehension that they wi llrequire anypecuniary rem uneration,

and 1s a strict orderthat nom oney b e given to any

f

of the inferiorattendants. The m ostcom plete departm ent of the l ibrary is that, of the m anuscripts ;am ongst them are m any letters ‘

and treatises by the ancient k ingsof France . Three comes of every book published in Francem ust b e given to this library ; one to b e kept, the others to payforbinding i t. The cabinet ofantiques is stated to b e

/

veryrich ;it chiefly consists ofvases, busts, and articles of dom estic use

am ong the Rom ans ; the cam eos are exquisite ; the largest inthe collection, and indeed in the whole world, is the Apotheose

'

s

of A ugustus . The. collection in the cabinet of engravings is as

num erous as i t is m agnificent . The portfeuilles containing theprints are divided into twelve classes ; one containing th e Frenchfashions from Clovis to Louis XVI . ; anotherthe costum e of

every nation in the world a third portrai ts of em inent personsof all ages and nations ; lace. France is the only kingdom in

th e world that possesses a treasure li ke this, and knows'

how to

estim ate'

it at its prepervalue .

was founded by Charles the Fat, and consistsdivini ty, civil and canon law, physic, and the

E 2

‘t

100

sciences . The finest college in Paris is that ofthe FourNations,orMazarine .

The J ardin desP lanteswas begunby Gui de laBrosse,physiciantoLouis XIII Who engaged this prince to establish i t

, in 163 6 ,forthe cultivation ofuseful plants in m edicine . Fagon,

Chirac,Duffay and Buffon becam e success ively the superintendents , andunderthe last great m an i t was wonderfully aggrandized .

Therewas form erly here a piece ofordnance ,with a lens orburning- glass

placed overthe touch - hole , soregulated and adapted to concen

trate the rays of the sun at twelve o’

clock every day, as to”

igni te the powderand discharge the cannon . On the right is a

closewood, on the left the botanical school and the green- houses,in the m iddle an im m ense nursery ofplants . Every plant rfromevery quarterofthe globe is here cultivated those that wi ll notexist in the open airare reared in hot- houses orconservatories .

In the b otanical school you see the vegetable world in its otherstages ; first the seed, wood , 8 m. preserved ; and then, in ca

b inets, every plant dried and carefully placed between foldedpaper. The bread- frui t is here shown as i t is gathered, whensliced, and the preparation fordrying i t in cakes. Also poisonin its liquid ,

“

and solid states as collected by the Indians fromth e poison- tree . The gentlem an who presented i t to theMuseumm ade an experim ent upon a crab b it which was in one cornerofthe room in high heal th he put th e point of a fine

-

needle intoth is poison, and then

'

slightly pricked the rabbit, which boundedfrom them , b ut before i t reached the opposi te extrem ity of the

cham ber, not m ore than 20feet, i t dropped lifeless wi thout evena convulsion .

There is here thread taken from between the barkand trunk ofsom e trees, ofwhich lace is m ade , very curious andbeautiful . There was on the cieling the leafof a cocoa- tree 17feet in breadth " There are

oastonish ingrem ains of th e old world

in the galleries appropriated gforthis branch of natural history .

A ll sorts ofanim als youfind inlaid in the solid stone , which hasb een dug up from enorm ous depths, and som e unknown in the

regions whence they were excavated . But the m ost interestingand b eautiful of th e whole insti tution is the anim al branch of i t .

Every anim al is first shown al ive ; those that are least vicioushave separate paddocks, with verdure and trees, and a house

built in the centre , fortheiraccom m odation ; others are securedin ligh t airy cages . A beautiful aviary finishes the l iving partofthis branch .

Then in the Museum every anim al in the known

world is stuffed exactly toresem ble life . Birds, b utterflies, insects,

fishes, &c. wi th the m ost vivid variety of colours, stuffed9

and dried, form a wonderful collection. In the anatom ical school

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fortunate Louis XVI . and his fam ily wererem oved from i t to theThri lleries . I t now exhibits a sad wreck , a skeleton, of its

form ergrandeur. This was the favourite residence ofMarieA ntoinette, and was fitted up in a m agnificent style : 11

furni ture rem ains . The whole of the interioris com posed of

m arble, gilding, and m irrors, except the cielings,which are

beautifully painted . The balcony is pointed out where the king,queen and dauphin appeared, when the m ob of Paris

t

canie in a

body of and insisted on his return to“

the capital ; t hem ark ofa bullet is also shown on the wall, which had ,

killedt hefirst guard who resisted theirentrance, and the apartm entsthrough which the unfortunate queen saved herself from assas

sination. It is singularto observe what pl

ains they took to,de

face every em blem of the Bourbons ; even the fleurs de lis ten

the locks of the doors were ,taken off, and‘

the bonnet ' rougeplaced in theirstead. The “

S ane de l’Opera was rem arkab ly

beautiful . The cha el is very fine, Supported by Corinthiancolum ns, and is ce ebr

j

ated forits architecture andThe grand gallery is as curious a piece ofworkm anship ,

ofthatkind as any in the world ; Le Brun was both

’its architgct ,

and

painter; its length is seven tim es th e width . The painting iss till good, and the

’

gildh

ing only requires a li ttle soap and watertorenderi t as perfect as ever. i n this gallery there are seven-0

teen im m ense windows, and on the oppos i te ,side m irrors of a

correisponding siz e i t is ornam ented with verysplendid m arb lepillars and plasters .

Th e gardens are finerthan any in France ,and with the park are five m iles in circum ference ; they aresurrounded by walls , and were filled with a vast num berof statues, canals , fountai ns , doc . and the wateru works were perhapsthe m S i celebrated in the world. The new palace is built onan artificial terrace ; underi t is the . orangery , the : descent towhich is by a grand fligh t of103 steps ; i t is

‘

ofam azing extent .There is a sm all, b ut well - arranged library, containing som e cu“

riosities .

T 'rz'

arwn, about half- a- m i le from Versailles, is a lovely li ttlespot, and has been Splendidly furnished by Buonaparte . I t c

o

on- t

Sists only ofa ground floor, and th e tout e nsem ble i s light, airy,cheerful and elegant m ost ofthe room s are fitted up W i th Beau

-a

vais tapestry ; and in th e gallery , which is yery handsom e, i sa».

great num berofvery fine and perfect m odels of different- S izedsh ips, and som e good paintings. in all the palaces of Bri ana- t

parte, as well as this, there is a large bill iard- table, tn which

gam e Marie Louise took great delight.

103

To conclude— as i f just leaving Paris and going to Orleans,le t us take a peep, en passant, at the Catacom bs. They areform ed by an inclosure , separated from the vast quarries whichunderm ine Paris, and are carefully shut ; the entrance is by adeep stair- case ; they are of im m ense extent and great depthunde r ground, and every one that visits them carries a flam

beau. In 1786 the bones found in the cem etery of the Innocents, and those in other religious houses that were suppressed,were brought hither, when the

.

place was consecrated. A t thattim e the bones were m erely

,

thrown down through an aperture,without any care ; b ut, in 181 1 , the arrangem ent of them was

undertaken by M. Hericart de Thury .

You now pass through long galleries androom s in great numbers, ornam ented in a m ost singularway by bones ; in m any ofthem are altars erected ; som e consist of cross- bones and‘ jskullspi led together. Th ey are form ed into walls, som e 16 feet ,

deepand 10h igh , arranged m os t curiously in rows ofbones, laid as

neatly as M osai c , with rows of Sculls between. Bodies innum ber equal to fourtimes the populatio_n of Paris are here deposited . A s they decay, they are ‘closed up in vaults withm onum ents ; and the place is k ept very clean.

Upon the whole, Paris, though a noble ci ty, is farinferior t oLondon in m any respects . London is nearly twice as large ,as

Paris ;' the population of London, and its environs, is

that of Paris though the palaces and public buildingsare particularly noble , and are s een to advantage from having an

abundance of ground round them ; though the m useum s, libraries, &c .

_

are unrivalled, land the boulevards and quays m ost

charm ing ; yet in riches, com m erce , charitable insti tutions,noble stree ts and squares, it cannot vie wi th l ondon and the

river Seine is a pond com pared wi th the Tham es. Thogay and polite, the Parisians are very insincere, and ab

filthy ; and indeed throughout all France they do not seem te

understand the m eaning of the words, cleanliness and comfort.

104

STATE OF SOCIETY,

MANNER‘S, CUSTOMS, DRESS, é‘c. of.

H AV I N G now concluded th is im perfect Topographical SketchofFrance, 1 proceed to notice a few particulars which could not,wi th propriety, be introduced elsewhere.

A y ery lively m odern author gives nearly the following accountofa French CH ATEA U , a gentlem an

’s seat or m ansion, with the

m anners of its inhab itants and the usual m ode of living in i t :-

'

In the ordinary construction of a French chateau there i s a

greaterconsum ption of wood than brick, and no Sparing of

ground it is‘

usually a ram bling building, with a body, wings,and again wings upon those wings, and flanked on each sidewith a pigeon - house , stables , and barns ; the pigeon- house héing on the right, and both the others on the left. The de coran

tions are very contem ptible“

th e windows num erous, b ut evenbgst Chateaux there is strange neglect as to broken glass,

i t being frequently left as broken, b ut m ore frequently patchedwith paper, coloured silk, or even stuffed with linen ; the up

pertier ofwindows, even in the front of the house, is usuallyornam ented with the clothes of the fam ily hanging out to dry .

The pleasure grounds attached to the chateau very exactlycorrespond with its style the chateau i tself — is usually buil t inthe worst si te of

’ the whole estate , in som e m eadow orlawn,

and precisely in that part of i t which is the natural drain ofthe Whole

, and where , if there were no house , there wouldnecessarily b e a horse- pond . A grand avenue, planted on eachside with nob le trees, leads up to the house ; but i t is usuallyso overgrown with m oss and weeds, as to convey a m ost uncomfortab le feeling of cold

, dam pness and desolation. The grass ofthe lawn is equally foul, and all the dirt and rubbish is collectedunder the windows in front . The gardens beh ind are in the sam eneglected state ; gravel-walks over-run wi th m oss and weeds ;flower- beds ornam ented with statues of l eaden Floras, paintedMercuries, and Dians with m ilk - pai ls. Every yard alm ost salutes youwith so m e similar absurdity. The hedges are shapedinto peacocks, and not unfrequently into ladies and gentlem en

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106

1 11 the inns, they reach 111 one undivided plate from the top of

th e room to the bottom .

The French furni ture also IS infini tely m ore m agnificent thanthe Eu cu

'rtaihs, chair- covers, &c. are all of silk, and thesh toned according to th e designs ofth e artists . In a

word, a party in France i s a spectacle ,a

diSplaying much art andsom e taste in the arrangem ent . There is usually a ribb on whichdivides the room lengthwise, one side of i t being for the dancers,the other forloungers, card- tables, cite the ribb on i s supported,at proper distances , by white stoves, sim ilar to those of thecourt ushers . The1 e is no precedency in a French assem blyé iicept am ongst the m i litary this i s m anaged wi th m uch delicacy every group is th rown as m uch as possib le intoa ci rcl ethe tables are all circular ; and, in dancing, cotillons are ch ieflypreferred from having this quali tyA few wm ds on th e DRESSES of the upperranks in different

parts ofFrance m ay 8 follow these rem arks . A t aruralas sembly 1 11 th e not th of France, the ladies were m ore exposedabout th e necks and their hairwas drcst wi th m ore fancy,than in London ; the m ost elegant novel ty was a hat, whichdoubled up like a fan, so that th e ladies carried i t in thei r hands.

There Were m ore coloured than wh ite m uslins, which had a very

pretty effect am ongst the trees and flowers . The gentlem en’s

dresses were inade as in England ; b ut the pattern of th e cloth ,or. som e appendage to i t , was difie1 11nt ; one gentlem an was ha

b ited in a grass coloured si lk coat . There were som e fancyHesses a Diana, awood nym ph, a Calypso, &c. On thewhole,there was certainly m ore fancy , m ore taste, m ore elegance, thanin an English party of the som e descri ption, though not so m uch

A t a l’ai is ian assem bly th e greater part of the ladies weredressed i n tancyhabits fi om the antique ; as sphinxes, vestals,D iahas, 1v

’1 11 ervas, lunos, and Cleopatras . One gentlem an, wi th

th e exception of his linen, was dressed com pletely ln purple si lkoi satin ; and anotherin a 1 0se- coloured silk coat, with whi tesatin waistcoat and sm all- clothes, and wh i te si lk std ckings .

t he dress of the ladies at a th eatre m Paris is described by a

tourist of still m ore m odern tim es, herself a lady .—The Parisian/

sveum g costum e is agown certainly, b ut of such acom i calform thatit appears rathei as i f thrown on by m istake than m ade for thewearer. Their waists are frightfully short ; and th e back of the

gown ,

crossed lik e a half- handkerchief, leaves by fartoo m uchtapered ; their pettiroats arevery short, withfive orsix flounces11 b lood,which, added to the fulness ofthe dress, make them

107

look as ii'

they wore hoops : theirhair, d In Grecque, as theycall it, is drawn tigh t to the top of the head, and then plaited‘

,

and a large com b , ornam ented with pearls orcoral, is placedover the whole front of the hai r, wh ich is generally flat

“

on the

forehead , excepting one ringlet on each side of the face . Theirwalking costum e is still m ore absurd, as their bonnets are ofan

uncom m on height,‘

surm ounted by an im m ense bunch of artificial flowers or feathers , so as when they walk to cause an ex

pectation ofthei r be ing overbalanced , and afal l the consequence,particularly as they do not walk in the decided -John- Bull m an

ner, but seem to trem ble wi th sentim ent every step they take.

The fash ions ofthe capital im prove as they travel downwardsinto

‘

the provinces ; they lose their excess, and becom e m orem odest, sim ple and elegant. The Avignonese ladies follow the

fash ions, but have too m uch natural elegance to adopt

th em in extrem es . On the evening parade they were habited in si lk robes, whi ch in thei r form resem bled collegiategowns, and, being of the gayest colours, gave the publi c Walka resem blance to a flower- garden ; lace capsw ere the only co

varing oftheir heads ; the necks were not so exposed as atParis,b ut were open, as is usual in the English ful l dress ; the gownwas l ikewise silk , em broidered in si lver, gold, orworked flowers ;the shoes of velvet, with s i lver or gold Clasps ; the arm s werenaked alm ost up to the shoulders . There is a pretty custom at

the balls about the centre ofFrance : ifa lady accepts a partner,sh e presents him in sum m erwith a flower, in winter with arib :

b on ofthe colour she has adopted as her own ; forevery unm arried lady adopts a colour, wh i ch she always wears on som e partof her dress .

There is a great difference between the French merchant,m anufactarer, tradesm an, &c . and the English . In m ost Englishtowns th ere are m en of th is class ofgreat wealth and respectab ility ; it is not so in France . The French towns be ing com paratively poor, and their trade com paratively insignificant, theFrench tradesm en can seldom do m ore than obtain a scanty subsistence by the i r business, and have m ore the airof chandlersthan of great dealers . In som e of the principal m anufacturingtowns there m ay be one ortwo principal m en and respectablehouses , b ut they are not sufficiently. num erous to give d ignityor consequence to the class . The French ~ accordingly have acontem ptib le idea of the term m erchant , and foreigners underth is designation are specifically excluded from adm ission at

court.

108

Theagriculturists, aftertherevolution, generally b ecam e pro~

prietors ; th is class'

of society, a com paratively m ore num erousone in France than in England, has been gradually im provingsince that period , b efore wh ich very few of them were proprietors of the e states they cultivated . A m ong the gentry , also,and those who possess large dom ains, a spir i t of agricul turalim provem ent seem s to have gone abroad wh i ch prom ises to bevery beneficial in its effects to the country. Modern travellers,h owever, all agree that the husbandry and rural econom y ofFrance are s till very inferior to the English ; b ut in the cultureand m anagem ent ofthe v ine they are allowed to excel all nations.

The late occurrences and present disastrous state ofthe countrycannot b e very beneficial to agri cultural pursui ts orim provem ents. The m arch ofso m any thousands of arm ed m en, justlycom pared to a fl igh t of locusts eating up and destroying everyth ing in theircourse, m ust s have left dreadful m arks ofdevastation beh ind them ; and France, twice conquered in so short aSpace of tim e, m ust certainly feel the effects of its heavy visitation .

g The CO TTAGES in the neighbourhood ofCalais generally hada walnut or chesnut tree before them , around wh ich was a rusticseat overshadowed by itsb road b ranches and luxuriant foliage,and underwh i ch the part ially worn sod pointed out the scene ofthe nigh tly dance of the peasants afterthe labourof the day.

The cottages in general have a sm all garden, and about 100yardsof com m on land between the road and the house , on wh i chgrows the indispensable walnut orchesnut tre e ; the windowsare glaz ed, b ut the glass

'

ie usual ly taken out in sum m er ; thewalls are sea- stone, b ut clothed with grape- vines or othes shrubs,whi ch , curl ing round th e easem ents,renderthem shady and pi cturesque. Near Ancennis , on the Loire, the cottages consist ofone floor

,divided into tworoom s, and a shed beh ind ; they are

generally si tuated in orchards, and front the Loire, “

and invariablyhave one ortwo large trees, wh i ch are decorated with ribbonsat sun - set, as t he signal forthe dance.The peasantry nearAngers, theVignerons, as they are called,e in the m idst ofthei r vineyards ; the ir habitations are usually

excavated out of the rocks and sm all h i llocks on wh ich they

gow theirvines, and as these h i llocks are usually com posed of

strata of chalk , the cottages are dry and com fortable ; som e ofthem be ing covered , even over their doors , by the vine branches,have the appearance ofso m any nests, and as m any as have twos tories are extrem ely picturesque . St ill fartherin the south of

France, towards Lyons, the cottages forthe m ost part are square,

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of the south ; the bonnets difi’

ering from each ctheras m uch. as

the hats ofthe m en in shape and sit e ; som e very large, coveringthe ir shoulders , and with h igh crowns , the brim turned up b eh ind som e broad and flat, wi th crowns an inch deep ; and som efitting the head wi thout any brim at all. The com m on peopleabout Bayonne , called have a dre

ss pecul iarto themselves ; the wom en com b up theirhairon the crown of theirheads , and cover it wi th a sort ofcap exactly resem bling a l ittleturban, wh ich has no inelegant eflect. In the neighb

b

onrhoodofPrades the wom en wearlong hoods, the m enred caps, crimson sashes and sandals th ey are alm ost Spaniards in languageas well as dress . inthe m ountainous distri ct of Clerm ont bothsexes b ob b le about am ong the rocks in wretched sabots , orwooden shoes, with h igh heels ; they acknowledge they are b adthings to walk m , b ut they are cheap . The wom en wear strawbonniets, som e sm all , others very large and grotesque in shape,and brass plates like fillets round theirheads. Tails and im

m ense i ound hats two feet in diam eter are worn both by m en

and boys som e of the latter, not above four years old, have a

tai l 3 foot long. Th is 1s the only district 111 wh ich th e long lanklocks and gaunt figures of the m en give them a farnished ap

pearance.

Travellers in every part of France , in the course of thei r 1n

quiries on every topic, m eet wi th no instances of incivility, no

reserve or appearance of susp icion. The F1 ench of all classesare unwearied 1n thei r acts of kindness ; they

“ offer th eirm inorservices wi th sincerity, and you cannot oblige them m ore thanby accepting them , nord isappoint them m ore than by decliningthem . They have noth ing of the English surliness ; i t wouldbe considered as the m ost savage brutali ty to hesitate in, and

m ore parti cularly to refuse with rudeness, any possible satisfact ion to a stranger. To be a stranger is to be a visi tor, and tobe a v is i tor is to have a claim to the warm est reception, h osp itality and attentionIn every part of France the wom en em ploy them selves in of

fices wh i ch are deem ed wi th us unsuitable to the sex . Herethere i s no sexual distinction of em p loym ent ; the wom en ofall

classes undertake any task they are able to perform , withoii t

m uch noti on of fitness or unfitness, in all the departm ents of

m anufacture , m echanism and agri culture . in the corn- hal l atP at is, wom en, in their li ttle counting- houses, are perform ingth e office of factors, in the sale of grain and flour, and fromone extrem i ty of the country to the other they occupy an 1m

portant station. The great num berofwom en seen in the fields

1 1 1

etwaged 111 husbandry, and 1 11 all the duties of active life , givesa passing traveller an idea of a deficiency of th e m ale populotion ; which , however, is not correct .The com m on m ode ofTRAV EL L I N G in France is b ut indi1

fere at, though the roads are in general excellent ; nothing i1a

deed IS wanting to qpick travelling in France b ut English driversand English carniages. The French postillions, and even the

French horses, have a k ind of activity wi thout progress ; the

postillions are very ac tive in crack ing thei r whips over thei rheads , and the horses shuffl e ab out without m ending thei r pace .

Th e pwostillions never hesitate to get offtheir horses , sufierthemto go forwards , and follow them very leisurely behind ; so that,som etim es , on descendinga hill, the traces get entangled aboutthe horses’

feet, to the im m inent danger of the passengers.

Postingunites the wors t parts ofEnglishb

and French travellingEnglish expense and French accom m odation . However, ifyoutake your own voiture, or hire one forth e Journey, you escapethe m iserable cabriolets provided by the pos t- m asters, and the

trouble of changing every seven or ten m i les ; in this way alsothe Journey m ay b e perform ed m ore econom i cally.

The diligence i s a m os t unwieldy m achine ; i t i s an extremelylarge and heavy coach ‘i ody, on two wheels , carrying eight persons within and three without, and perform s th e functions ofcoach and Waggon, but neither well ; they travel too slowly forthe passengers and too rapidly forthe goods , wh ich , unless securely packed, suffer very m uch by the jum bling the descentof the hills with this weight on the axle- tree is a trem endousopei ation ; they are , however, conducted wi th 01 eat regularity,run about three m i les an hour, and on e strangely term ed ve

locg'

feres.

The French IN N S are not at all inferior to the English 1 11 prov isions, though g1 eatly inferi01 to them i n accom m odation, com

f01 t, convenience, and m inor appendages . They abound 1 11 goodeating and drink ing, pouftry, egg s, excellent wine and frui t i ngreat

b

varie ty , and all at a very m oderate 1 ate b ut as to cleanli

ness of the room s , sheets or table- cloths , chairs , tables, and

attendants, they are m iserably deficient. The b ed- room is oftenthe dining- room , the walls m erely wh i te- washed

,no curtains

neither Soap,water or towel, to cleanse in the m orning, a Frenchm an having no idea of i t before he breakfasts . Dessein ’s hotelat Calais m ust be cons idered as an exception to th is a ;ccounti t has long been, and i s still , the b est 11m in France . The fam i-vl iar im pertinence

.

ofthefiller- de- ckam bre, throughout the wholecountry, is am az ing , they enter your l oom at all tim es without

knocking ; stay as long as they l ik e , and wi llrem ain while youare undressing ; and. if th ere happen to b e two orm ore , theyvery coolly seat them selves and converse togretherthey seem to

considerthis office as a m atterof course , and do not think i t atall indelicate orim pm per. Indeed in France generally

, in all

ranks , there is a want of that fem inine delicacy , decency , and

m odesty , forwhich the British are so justly and honourablyce

lebrated a people wi thout those swee t proprieties of life , howeverexalted by m e ntal superiori ty, howeverextolled forsuavityofm anners and address , are S t ill a vulgarpeople . i t would ‘

b e

unjust, however, to close this Sketch wi th an i ll- tem peredrem ark upon th e French they certainly are the m ost lively, goodtem pered and obliging people in the world, and a person can

scarcely visi t‘

them without com ing back» m uch delighted and

im proved .

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Foix

Fontaineb leauFontenay lo Com téFontevrauldFrance

Inns, French

Macon

Manners,custom -s

,

Mans

MasseillesMehun surYenteMclun

NancyNantes

94 Narb onneNevers

No. 90 Niort

,Noii m outierh is

,Oleron IsleGrange

1 7,Orient, L

’

Orleans

Quim per

Page 47

1 5 8 Mez iexes

MontargisMontelim artMont de MarsanMontpe l l ierMont S t . Miche lMorla ixMoulins

Peasantry of FrancePerigueuxPerp ignanPlessis les ToursPoiotiersPont da GardPout S t . EspritPradesPrivasPuy, Le

S t . BrieuxS t . C laudeS t . C loudS t . EtienneS t . F lourS t . Germ ain

S t . Male

S t . OxnerS t . Quentin

Saintes

S assenage

Saum urS edanS eine

S cullsS isteronS oc iety, S tate of

S e issons

S trasburg

Ushant I sle

French

lVisseriburg

No . 1 3 8

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