Our Linnen Is Washed In The River Paglion; And
When That Is Dry, In The Brook Called Limpia, Which Runs Into The
Harbour.
In mentioning the water of this neighbourhood, I ought not to
omit the baths of Rocabiliare, a small town among the mountains,
about five and twenty miles from Nice.
There are three sources,
each warmer than the other; the warmest being nearly equal to the
heat of the king's bath at Bath in Somersetshire, as far as I can
judge from information. I have perused a Latin manuscript, which
treats of these baths at Rocabiliare, written by the duke of
Savoy's first physician about sixty years ago. He talks much of
the sulphur and the nitre which they contain; but I apprehend
their efficacy is owing to the same volatile vitriolic principle,
which characterises the waters at Bath. They are attenuating and
deobstruent, consequently of service in disorders arising from a
languid circulation, a viscidity of the juices, a lax fibre, and
obstructed viscera. The road from hence to Rocabiliare is in some
parts very dangerous, lying along the brink of precipices,
impassable to any other carriage but a mule. The town itself
affords bad lodging and accommodation, and little or no society.
The waters are at the distance of a mile and a half from the
town: there are no baths nor shelter, nor any sort of convenience
for those that drink them; and the best part of their efficacy is
lost, unless they are drank at the fountain-head. If these
objections were in some measure removed, I would advise
valetudinarians, who come hither for the benefit of this climate,
to pass the heats of summer at Rocabiliare, which being situated
among mountains, enjoys a cool temperate air all the summer. This
would be a salutary respite from the salt air of Nice, to those
who labour under scorbutical complaints; and they would return
with fresh vigour and spirits, to pass the winter in this place,
where no severity of weather is known. Last June, when I found
myself so ill at my cassine, I had determined to go to
Rocabiliare, and even to erect a hut at the spring, for my own
convenience. A gentleman of Nice undertook to procure me a
tolerable lodging in the house of the cure, who was his relation.
He assured me, there was no want of fresh butter, good poultry,
excellent veal, and delicate trout; and that the articles of
living might be had at Rocabiliare for half the price we paid at
Nice: but finding myself grow better immediately on my return
from the cassine to my own house, I would not put myself to the
trouble and expence of a further removal.
I think I have now communicated all the particulars relating to
Nice, that are worth knowing; and perhaps many more than you
desired to know: but, in such cases, I would rather be thought
prolix and unentertaining, than deficient in that regard and
attention with which I am very sincerely, - Your friend and
servant.
LETTER XXV
NICE, January 1, 1765.
DEAR SIR, - It was in deference to your opinion, reinforced by my
own inclination, and the repeated advice of other friends, that I
resolved upon my late excursion to Italy. I could plainly
perceive from the anxious solicitude, and pressing exhortations
contained in all the letters I had lately received from my
correspondents in Britain, that you had all despaired of my
recovery. You advised me to make a pilgrimage among the Alps, and
the advice was good. In scrambling among those mountains, I
should have benefited by the exercise, and at the same time have
breathed a cool, pure, salubrious air, which, in all probability,
would have expelled the slow fever arising in a great measure
from the heat of this climate. But, I wanted a companion and
fellow traveller, whose conversation and society could alleviate
the horrors of solitude. Besides, I was not strong enough to
encounter the want of conveniences, and even of necessaries to
which I must have been exposed in the course of such an
expedition. My worthy friend Dr. A - earnestly intreated me to
try the effect of a sea-voyage, which you know has been found of
wonderful efficacy in consumptive cases. After some deliberation,
I resolved upon the scheme, which I have now happily executed. I
had a most eager curiosity to see the antiquities of Florence and
Rome: I longed impatiently to view those wonderful edifices,
statues, and pictures, which I had so often admired in prints and
descriptions. I felt an enthusiastic ardor to tread that very
classical ground which had been the scene of so many great
atchievements; and I could not bear the thought of returning to
England from the very skirts of Italy, without having penetrated
to the capital of that renowned country. With regard to my
health, I knew I could manage matters so as to enjoy all the
benefits that could be expected from the united energy of a
voyage by sea, a journey by land, and a change of climate.
Rome is betwixt four and five hundred miles distant from Nice,
and one half of the way I was resolved to travel by water. Indeed
there is no other way of going from hence to Genoa, unless you
take a mule, and clamber along the mountains at the rate of two
miles an hour, and at the risque of breaking your neck every
minute. The Apennine mountains, which are no other than a
continuation of the maritime Alps, form an almost continued
precipice from Villefranche to Lerici, which is almost forty-five
miles on the other side of Genoa; and as they are generally
washed by the sea, there is no beach or shore, consequently the
road is carried along the face of the rocks, except at certain
small intervals, which are occupied by towns and villages. But,
as there is a road for mules and foot passengers, it might
certainly be enlarged and improved so as to render it practicable
by chaises and other wheel-carriages, and a toll might be
exacted, which in a little time would defray the expence:
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 89 of 141
Words from 89609 to 90642
of 143308
