MONTPELLIER, November 10, 1763.
DEAR SIR,--By the Pont St. Esprit we entered the province of Languedoc,
and breakfasted at Bagniole, which is a little paltry town; from
whence, however, there is an excellent road through a mountain, made at
a great expence, and extending about four leagues. About five in the
afternoon, I had the first glimpse of the famous Pont du Garde, which
stands on the right hand, about the distance of a league from the
post-road to Nismes, and about three leagues from that city. I would
not willingly pass for a false enthusiast in taste; but I cannot help
observing, that from the first distant view of this noble monument,
till we came near enough to see it perfectly, I felt the strongest
emotions of impatience that I had ever known; and obliged our driver to
put his mules to the full gallop, in the apprehension that it would be
dark before we reached the place. I expected to find the building, in
some measure, ruinous; but was agreeably disappointed, to see it look
as fresh as the bridge at Westminster. The climate is either so pure
and dry, or the free-stone, with which it is built, so hard, that the
very angles of them remain as acute as if they had been cut last year.
Indeed, some large stones have dropped out of the arches; but the whole
is admirably preserved, and presents the eye with a piece of
architecture, so unaffectedly elegant, so simple, and majestic, that I
will defy the most phlegmatic and stupid spectator to behold it without
admiration. It was raised in the Augustan age, by the Roman colony of
Nismes, to convey a stream of water between two mountains, for the use
of that city. It stands over the river Gardon, which is a beautiful
pastoral stream, brawling among rocks, which form a number of pretty
natural cascades, and overshadowed on each side with trees and shrubs,
which greatly add to the rural beauties of the scene. It rises in the
Cevennes, and the sand of it produces gold, as we learn from Mr.
Reaumur, in his essay on this subject, inserted in the French Memoirs,
for the year 1718. If I lived at Nismes, or Avignon (which last city is
within four short leagues of it) I should take pleasure in forming
parties to come hither, in summer, to dine under one of the arches of
the Pont du Garde, on a cold collation.
This work consists of three bridges, or tire of arches, one above
another; the first of six, the second of eleven, and the third of
thirty-six. The height, comprehending the aqueduct on the top, amounts
to 174 feet three inches: the length between the two mountains, which
it unites, extends to 723. The order of architecture is the Tuscan, but
the symmetry of it is inconceivable. By scooping the bases of the
pilasters, of the second tire of arches, they had made a passage for
foot-travellers: but though the antients far excelled us in beauty,
they certainly fell short of the moderns in point of conveniency. The
citizens of Avignon have, in this particular, improved the Roman work
with a new bridge, by apposition, constructed on the same plan with
that of the lower tire of arches, of which indeed it seems to be a
part, affording a broad and commodious passage over the river, to
horses and carriages of all kinds. The aqueduct, for the continuance of
which this superb work was raised, conveyed a stream of sweet water
from the fountain of Eure, near the city of Uzes, and extended near six
leagues in length.
In approaching Nismes, you see the ruins of a Roman tower, built on the
summit of a hill, which over-looks the city. It seems to have been
intended, at first, as a watch, or signal-tower, though, in the sequel,
it was used as a fortress: what remains of it, is about ninety feet
high; the architecture of the Doric order. I no sooner alighted at the
inn, than I was presented with a pamphlet, containing an account of
Nismes and its antiquities, which every stranger buys. There are
persons too who attend in order to shew the town, and you will always
be accosted by some shabby antiquarian, who presents you with medals
for sale, assuring you they are genuine antiques, and were dug out of
the ruins of the Roman temple and baths. All those fellows are cheats;
and they have often laid under contribution raw English travellers, who
had more money than discretion. To such they sell the vilest and most
common trash: but when they meet with a connoisseur, they produce some
medals which are really valuable and curious.
Nismes, antiently called Nemausis, was originally a colony of Romans,
settled by Augustus Caesar, after the battle of Actium. It is still of
considerable extent, and said to contain twelve thousand families; but
the number seems, by this account, to be greatly exaggerated. Certain
it is, the city must have been formerly very extensive, as appears from
the circuit of the antient walls, the remains of which are still to be
seen. Its present size is not one third of its former extent. Its
temples, baths, statues, towers, basilica, and amphitheatre, prove it
to have been a city of great opulence and magnificence. At present, the
remains of these antiquities are all that make it respectable or
remarkable; though here are manufactures of silk and wool, carried on
with good success. The water necessary for these works is supplied by a
source at the foot of the rock, upon which the tower is placed; and
here were discovered the ruins of Roman baths, which had been formed
and adorned with equal taste and magnificence. Among the rubbish they
found a vast profusion of columns, vases, capitals, cornices,
inscriptions, medals, statues, and among other things, the finger of a
colossal statue in bronze, which, according to the rules of proportion,
must have been fifteen feet high. From these particulars, it appears
that the edifices must have been spacious and magnificent. Part of a
tesselated pavement still remains. The antient pavement of the bath is
still intire; all the rubbish has been cleared away; and the baths, in
a great measure, restored on the old plan, though they are not at
present used for any thing but ornament. The water is collected into
two vast reservoirs, and a canal built and lined with hewn stone. There
are three handsome bridges thrown over this vast canal. It contains a
great body of excellent water, which by pipes and other small branching
canals, traverses the town, and is converted to many different purposes
of oeconomy and manufacture. Between the Roman bath and these great
canals, the ground is agreeably laid out in pleasure-walks. for the
recreation of the inhabitants. Here are likewise ornaments of
architecture, which savour much more of French foppery, than of the
simplicity and greatness of the antients. It is very surprizing, that
this fountain should produce such a great body of water, as fills the
basin of the source, the Roman basin, two large deep canals three
hundred feet in length, two vast basins that make part of the great
canal, which is eighteen hundred feet long, eighteen feet deep, and
forty-eight feet broad. When I saw it, there was in it about eight or
nine feet of water, transparent as crystal. It must be observed,
however, for the honour of French cleanliness, that in the Roman basin,
through which this noble stream of water passes, I perceived two
washerwomen at work upon children's clouts and dirty linnen. Surprized,
and much disgusted at this filthy phaenomenon, I asked by what means,
and by whose permission, those dirty hags had got down into the basin,
in order to contaminate the water at its fountain-head; and understood
they belonged to the commandant of the place, who had keys of the
subterranean passage.
Fronting the Roman baths are the ruins of an antient temple, which,
according to tradition, was dedicated to Diana: but it has been
observed by connoisseurs, that all the antient temples of this goddess
were of the Ionic order; whereas, this is partly Corinthian, and partly
composite. It is about seventy foot long, and six and thirty in
breadth, arched above, and built of large blocks of stone, exactly
joined together without any cement. The walls are still standing, with
three great tabernacles at the further end, fronting the entrance. On
each side, there are niches in the intercolumniation of the walls,
together with pedestals and shafts of pillars, cornices, and an
entablature, which indicate the former magnificence of the building. It
was destroyed during the civil war that raged in the reign of Henry
III. of France.
It is amazing, that the successive irruptions of barbarous nations, of
Goths, Vandals, and Moors; of fanatic croisards, still more sanguinary
and illiberal than those Barbarians, should have spared this temple, as
well as two other still more noble monuments of architecture, that to
this day adorn the city of Nismes: I mean the amphitheatre and the
edifice, called Maison Carree--The former of these is counted the
finest monument of the kind, now extant; and was built in the reign of
Antoninus Pius, who contributed a large sum of money towards its
erection. It is of an oval figure, one thousand and eighty feet in
circumference, capacious enough to hold twenty thousand spectators. The
architecture is of the Tuscan order, sixty feet high, composed of two
open galleries, built one over another, consisting each of threescore
arcades. The entrance into the arena was by four great gates, with
porticos; and the seats, of which there were thirty, rising one above
another, consisted of great blocks of stone, many of which still
remain. Over the north gate, appear two bulls, in alto-relievo,
extremely well executed, emblems which, according to the custom of the
Romans, signified that the amphitheatre was erected at the expence of
the people. There are in other parts of it some work in bas-relief, and
heads or busts but indifferently carved. It stands in the lower part of
the town, and strikes the spectator with awe and veneration. The
external architecture is almost intire in its whole circuit; but the
arena is filled up with houses--This amphitheatre was fortified as a
citadel by the Visigoths, in the beginning of the sixth century. They
raised within it a castle, two towers of which are still extant; and
they surrounded it with a broad and deep fossee, which was filled up in
the thirteenth century. In all the subsequent wars to which this city
was exposed, it served as the last resort of the citizens, and
sustained a great number of successive attacks; so that its
preservation is almost miraculous. It is likely, however, to suffer
much more from the Gothic avarice of its own citizens, some of whom are
mutilating it every day, for the sake of the stones, which they employ
in their own private buildings. It is surprizing, that the King's
authority has not been exerted to put an end to such sacrilegious
violation.
If the amphitheatre strikes you with an idea of greatness, the Maison
Carree enchants you with the most exquisite beauties of architecture
and sculpture. This is an edifice, supposed formerly to have been
erected by Adrian, who actually built a basilica in this city, though
no vestiges of it remain: but the following inscription, which was
discovered on the front of it, plainly proves, that it was built by the
inhabitants of Nismes, in honour of Caius and Lucius Caesar, the
grandchildren of Augustus by his daughter Julia, the wife of Agrippa.
C. CAESARI. AVGVSTI. F. COS.
L CAESARI. AVGMI. F. COS.
DESIGNATO.
PRINCIPIBVS IVVENTUTIS.
To Caius and Lucius Caesar, sons of Augustus, consuls elect, Princes of
the Roman youth.
This beautiful edifice, which stands upon a pediment six feet high, is
eighty-two feet long, thirty-five broad, and thirty-seven high, without
reckoning the pediment. The body of it is adorned with twenty columns
engaged in the wall, and the peristyle, which is open, with ten
detached pillars that support the entablature. They are all of the
Corinthian order, fluted and embellished with capitals of the most
exquisite sculpture, the frize and cornice are much admired, and the
foliage is esteemed inimitable. The proportions of the building are so
happily united, as to give it an air of majesty and grandeur, which the
most indifferent spectator cannot behold without emotion. A man needs
not be a connoisseur in architecture, to enjoy these beauties. They are
indeed so exquisite that you may return to them every day with a fresh
appetite for seven years together. What renders them the more curious,
they are still entire, and very little affected, either by the ravages
of time, or the havoc of war. Cardinal Alberoni declared, that it was a
jewel that deserved a cover of gold to preserve it from external
injuries. An Italian painter, perceiving a small part of the roof
repaired by modern French masonry, tore his hair, and exclaimed in a
rage, "Zounds! what do I see? harlequin's hat on the head of Augustus!"
Without all doubt it is ravishingly beautiful. The whole world cannot
parallel it; and I am astonished to see it standing entire, like the
effects of inchantment, after such a succession of ages, every one more
barbarous than another. The history of the antiquities of Nismes takes
notice of a grotesque statue, representing two female bodies and legs,
united under the head of an old man; but, as it does not inform us
where it is kept, I did not see it.
The whole country of Languedoc is shaded with olive trees, the fruit of
which begins to ripen, and appears as black as sloes; those they pickle
are pulled green, and steeped for some time in a lye made of quick lime
or wood ashes, which extracts the bitter taste, and makes the fruit
tender. Without this preparation it is not eatable. Under the olive and
fig trees, they plant corn and vines, so that there is not an inch of
ground unlaboured: but here are no open fields, meadows, or cattle to
be seen. The ground is overloaded; and the produce of it crowded to
such a degree, as to have a bad effect upon the eye, impressing the
traveller with the ideas of indigence and rapacity. The heat in summer
is so excessive, that cattle would find no green forage, every blade of
grass being parched up and destroyed. The weather was extremely hot
when we entered Montpellier, and put up at the Cheval Blanc, counted
the best auberge in the place, tho' in fact it is a most wretched
hovel, the habitation of darkness, dirt, and imposition. Here I was
obliged to pay four livres a meal for every person in my family, and
two livres at night for every bed, though all in the same room: one
would imagine that the further we advance to the southward the living
is the dearer, though in fact every article of housekeeping is cheaper
in Languedoc than many other provinces of France. This imposition is
owing to the concourse of English who come hither, and, like simple
birds of passage, allow themselves to be plucked by the people of the
country, who know their weak side, and make their attacks accordingly.
They affect to believe, that all the travellers of our country are
grand seigneurs, immensely rich and incredibly generous; and we are
silly enough to encourage this opinion, by submitting quietly to the
most ridiculous extortion, as well as by committing acts of the most
absurd extravagance. This folly of the English, together with a
concourse of people from different quarters, who come hither for the
re-establishment of their health, has rendered Montpellier one of the
dearest places in the South of France. The city, which is but small,
stands upon a rising ground fronting the Mediterranean, which is about
three leagues to the southward: on the other side is an agreeable
plain, extending about the same distance towards the mountains of the
Cevennes. The town is reckoned well built, and what the French call
bien percee; yet the streets are in general narrow, and the houses
dark. The air is counted salutary in catarrhous consumptions, from its
dryness and elasticity: but too sharp in cases of pulmonary imposthumes.
It was at Montpellier that we saw for the first time any signs of that
gaiety and mirth for which the people of this country are celebrated.
In all other places through which we passed since our departure from
Lyons, we saw nothing but marks of poverty and chagrin. We entered
Montpellier on a Sunday, when the people were all dressed in their best
apparel. The streets were crowded; and a great number of the better
sort of both sexes sat upon stone seats at their doors, conversing with
great mirth and familiarity. These conversations lasted the greatest
part of the night; and many of them were improved with musick both
vocal and instrumental: next day we were visited by the English
residing in the place, who always pay this mark of respect to new
comers. They consist of four or five families, among whom I could pass
the winter very agreeably, if the state of my health and other reasons
did not call me away.
Mr. L-- had arrived two days before me, troubled with the same
asthmatic disorder, under which I have laboured so long. He told me he
had been in quest of me ever since he left England. Upon comparing
notes, I found he had stopped at the door of a country inn in Picardy,
and drank a glass of wine and water, while I was at dinner up stairs;
nay, he had even spoke to my servant, and asked who was his master, and
the man, not knowing him, replied, he was a gentleman from Chelsea. He
had walked by the door of the house where I lodged at Paris, twenty
times, while I was in that city; and the very day before he arrived at
Montpellier, he had passed our coach on the road.
The garrison of this city consists of two battalions, one of which is
the Irish regiment of Berwick, commanded by lieutenant colonel Tents, a
gentleman with whom we contracted an acquaintance at Boulogne. He
treats us with great politeness, and indeed does every thing in his
power to make the place agreeable to us. The duke of Fitz-James, the
governor, is expected here in a little time. We have already a
tolerable concert twice a week; there will be a comedy in the winter;
and the states of Provence assemble in January, so that Montpellier
will be extremely gay and brilliant. These very circumstances would
determine me to leave it. I have not health to enjoy these pleasures: I
cannot bear a croud of company such as pours in upon us unexpectedly at
all hours; and I foresee, that in staying at Montpellier, I should be
led into an expence, which I can ill afford. I have therefore forwarded
the letter I received from general P--n, to Mr. B--d, our consul at
Nice, signifying my intention of going thither, and explaining the kind
of accommodation I would choose to have at that place.
The day after our arrival, I procured tolerable lodgings in the High
Street, for which I pay fifty sols, something more than two shillings
per day; and I am furnished with two meals a day by a traiteur for ten
livres: but he finds neither the wine nor the dessert; and indeed we
are but indifferently served. Those families who reside here find their
account in keeping house. Every traveller who comes to this, or any
other, town in France with a design to stay longer than a day or two,
ought to write beforehand to his correspondent to procure furnished
lodgings, to which he may be driven immediately, without being under
the necessity of lying in an execrable inn; for all the inns of this
country are execrable.
My baggage is not yet arrived by the canal of Languedoc; but that gives
me no disturbance, as it is consigned to the care of Mr. Ray, an
English merchant and banker of this place; a gentleman of great probity
and worth, from whom I have received repeated marks of uncommon
friendship and hospitality.
The next time you hear of me will be from Nice: mean-while, I remain
always,--Dear Sir, Your affectionate humble servant.