This Side Of The Hill Is A
Natural Plantation Of The Most Agreeable Ever-Greens, Pines,
Firs, Laurel, Cypress, Sweet Myrtle, Tamarisc, Box, And Juniper,
Interspersed With Sweet Marjoram, Lavender, Thyme, Wild Thyme,
And Sage.
On the right-hand the ground shoots up into agreeable
cones, between which you have delightful vistas of the
Mediterranean, which washes the foot of the rock; and between two
divisions of the mountains, there is a bottom watered by a
charming stream, which greatly adds to the rural beauties of the
scene.
This night we passed at Cannes, a little fishing town, agreeably
situated on the beach of the sea, and in the same place lodged
Monsieur Nadeau d'Etrueil, the
unfortunate French governor of Guadeloupe, condemned to be
imprisoned for life in one of the isles Marguerite, which lie
within a mile of this coast.
Next day we journeyed by the way of Antibes, a small maritime
town, tolerably well fortified; and passing the little river
Loup, over a stone-bridge, arrived about noon at the village of
St. Laurent, the extremity of France, where we passed the Var,
after our baggage had undergone examination. From Cannes to this
village the road lies along the sea-side; and sure nothing can be
more delightful. Though in the morning there was a frost upon the
ground, the sun was as warm as it is in May in England. The sea
was quite smooth, and the beach formed of white polished pebbles;
on the left-hand the country was covered with green olives, and
the side of the road planted with large trees of sweet myrtle
growing wild like the hawthorns in England. From Antibes we had
the first view of Nice, lying on the opposite side of the bay,
and making a very agreeable appearance. The author of the Grand
Tour says, that from Antibes to Nice the roads are very bad,
through rugged mountains bordered with precipices On the left,
and by the sea to the right; whereas, in fact, there is neither
precipice nor mountain near it.
The Var, which divides the county of Nice from Provence, is no
other than a torrent fed chiefly by the snow that melts on the
maritime Alps, from which it takes its origin. In the summer it
is swelled to a dangerous height, and this is also the case after
heavy rains: but at present the middle of it is quite dry, and
the water divided into two or three narrow streams, which,
however, are both deep and rapid. This river has been absurdly
enough by some supposed the Rubicon, in all probability from the
description of that river in the Pharsalia of Lucan, who makes it
the boundary betwixt Gaul and Italy -
- et Gallica certus
Limes ab Ausoniis disterminat arva colonis.
A sure Frontier that parts the Gallic plains
From the rich meadows of th' Ansonian swains.
whereas, in fact, the Rubicon, now called Pisatello, runs between
Ravenna and Rimini. - But to return to the Var. At the village of
St. Laurent, famous for its Muscadine wines, there is a set of
guides always in attendance to conduct you in your passage over
the river. Six of those fellows, tucked up above the middle, with
long poles in their hands, took charge of our coach, and by many
windings guided it safe to the opposite shore. Indeed there was
no occasion for any; but it is a sort of a perquisite, and I did
not choose to run any risque, how small soever it might be, for
the sake of saving half a crown, with which they were satisfied.
If you do not gratify the searchers at St. Laurent with the same
sum, they will rummage your trunks, and turn all your cloaths
topsy turvy. And here, once for all, I would advise every
traveller who consults his own case and convenience, to be
liberal of his money to all that sort of people; and even to wink
at the imposition of aubergistes on the road, unless it be very
flagrant. So sure as you enter into disputes with them, you will
be put to a great deal of trouble, and fret yourself to no manner
of purpose. I have travelled with oeconomists in England, who
declared they would rather give away a crown than allow
themselves to be cheated of a farthing. This is a good maxim, but
requires a great share of resolution and self-denial to put it in
practice. In one excursion of about two hundred miles my fellow-traveller
was in a passion, and of consequence very bad company
from one end of the journey to the other. 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.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 59 of 141
Words from 59019 to 60032
of 143308
