He Was Incessantly
Scolding Either At Landlords, Landladies, Waiters, Hostlers, Or
Postilions.
We had bad horses, and bad chaises; set out from
every stage with the curses of the people; and at this expence I
saved about ten shillings in the whole journey.
For such a paltry
consideration, he was contented to be miserable himself, and to
make every other person unhappy with whom he had any concern.
When I came last from Bath it rained so hard, that the postilion
who drove the chaise was wet to the skin before we had gone a
couple of miles. When we arrived at the Devises, I gave him two
shillings instead of one, out of pure compassion. The consequence
of this liberality was, that in the next stage we seemed rather
to fly than to travel upon solid ground. I continued my bounty to
the second driver, and indeed through the whole journey, and
found myself accommodated in a very different manner from what I
had experienced before. I had elegant chaises, with excellent
horses; and the postilions of their own accord used such
diligence, that although the roads were broken by the rain, I
travelled at the rate of twelve miles an hour; and my
extraordinary expence from Bath to London, amounted precisely to
six shillings.
The river Var falls into the Mediterranean a little below St.
Laurent, about four miles to the westward of Nice. Within the
memory of persons now living, there have been three wooden
bridges thrown over it, and as often destroyed in consequence of
the jealousy subsisting between the kings of France and Sardinia;
this river being the boundary of their dominions on the side of
Provence. However, this is a consideration that ought not to
interfere with the other advantages that would accrue to both
kingdoms from such a convenience. If there was a bridge over the
Var, and a post-road made from Nice to Genoa, I am very confident
that all those strangers who now pass the Alps in their way to
and from Italy, would choose this road as infinitely more safe,
commodious, and agreeable. This would also be the case with all
those who hire felucas from Marseilles or Antibes, and expose
themselves to the dangers and inconveniences of travelling by sea
in an open boat.
In the afternoon we arrived at Nice, where we found Mr. M - e, the
English gentleman whom I had seen at Boulogne, and advised to
come hither. He had followed my advice, and reached Nice about a
month before my arrival, with his lady, child, and an old
gouvernante. He had travelled with his own post-chaise and
horses, and is now lodged just without one of the gates of the
city, in the house of the count de V - n, for which he pays five
loui'dores a month. I could hire one much better in the
neighbourhood of London, for the same money. Unless you will
submit to this extortion, and hire a whole house for a length of
time, you will find no ready-furnished lodgings at Nice.
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