In descending the mountain, they carry the
poles on their shoulders, and in that case, four men are
employed, one at each end.
At Coni, you may have a chaise to go with the same horses to
Turin, for which you pay fifteen livres, and are a day and a half
on the way. You may post it, however, in one day, and then the
price is seven livres ten sols per post, and ten sols to the
postilion. The method we took was that of cambiatura. This is a
chaise with horses shifted at the same stages that are used in
posting: but as it is supposed to move slower, we pay but five
livres per post, and ten sols to the postilion. In order to
quicken its pace, we gave ten sols extraordinary to each
postilion, and for this gratification, he drove us even faster
than the post. The chaises are like those of Italy, and will take
on near two hundred weight of baggage.
Coni is situated between two small streams, and though neither
very large nor populous, is considerable for the strength of its
fortifications. It is honoured with the title of the Maiden-Fortress,
because though several times besieged, it was never
taken. The prince of Conti invested it in the war of 1744; but he
was obliged to raise the siege, after having given battle to the
king of Sardinia. The place was gallantly defended by the baron
Leutrum, a German protestant, the best general in the Sardinian
service: but what contributed most to the miscarriage of the
enemy, was a long tract of heavy rains, which destroyed all their
works, and rendered their advances impracticable.
I need not tell you that Piedmont is one of the most fertile and
agreeable countries in Europe, and this the most agreeable part
of all Piedmont, though it now appeared to disadvantage from the
rigorous season of the year: I shall only observe that we passed
through Sabellian, which is a considerable town, and arrived in
the evening at Turin. We entered this fine city by the gate of
Nice, and passing through the elegant Piazza di San Carlo, took
up our quarters at the Bona Fama, which stands at one corner of
the great square, called La Piazza Castel.
Were I even disposed to give a description of Turin, I should be
obliged to postpone it till another opportunity, having no room
at present to say any thing more, but that I am always - Yours.
LETTER XXXIX
AIX EN PROVENCE, May 10, 1765.
DEAR SIR, - I am thus far on my way to England. I had resolved to
leave Nice, without having the least dispute with any one native
of the place; but I found it impossible to keep this resolution.
