--'t 

 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 ^ ' - Damped below. 
 
 UNI
 
 TRAVELS 
 
 THROUGH 
 
 FRANCE AND ITALY,
 
 LETTER I, 
 
 . 
 Boulogne for mer t June 23, 1763. 
 
 DE A* SIR, 
 
 YO U laid your commands upon me at 
 parting, to communicate from time 
 to time the obfervations I fhould 
 make in the courfe of my travels, and it 
 was an injunction I received with pleafure. 
 In gratifying your curiofity, I fhall find fome 
 amufement to beguile the tedious hours, which, 
 without fome fuch employment, would be 
 rendered infupportable by diftemper and dif- 
 quiet. 
 
 You knew, and pitied my fituation, tra- 
 duced by malice, perfecuted by faction, aban- 
 doned by falfe patrons, and overwhelmed by the 
 VOL. I. B fer.fe
 
 2 L E T T E R I. 
 
 fenfe of a domeftic calamity, which it was 
 not in the power of fortune to repair. 
 
 You know with what eagernefs I fled from 
 niy country as a fcene of illiberal difpute, and 
 incredible infatuation, where a few worthlefs 
 incendiaries had, by dint of perfidious calum- 
 nies and atrocious abufe, kindled up a flame 
 which threatened all the horrors of civil dif- 
 fenfion, 
 
 I packed up my little family in a hired 
 coach, and attended by my trufty fervant,. 
 who had lived with me a dozen of years, and 
 now refufed to leave me, took the road to Do- 
 ver, in my way to the South of France, where 
 I hoped the mildnefs of the climate would 
 prove favourable to the weak ftate of my lungs. 
 
 You a<iviied rne to have recourfs again to 
 the Bath waters,, from the ufe of which I had 
 received great benefit the preceding winter : 
 but I had many inducements to leave Eng- 
 land. My wife earnerrly begged I would con- 
 vey her from a country where every object 
 ferved to noiarifh -her grief : I was in hopes that 
 a fucceffion of new fcenes would engage her 
 attention, and gradually call off her mind from 
 -iferies of painful reflections j and I imagined 
 
 ths.
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 the change of air, and a journey of near a 
 thoufand miles, would have a happy effect 
 upon my own confutation. But, as the fum- 
 mer was already advanced, and the heat too 
 exceflive for travelling in warm climates, I 
 propofed flaying at Boulogne till the begin- 
 ning of autumn, and in the mean time to 
 bathe in the fea, with a view to ftrengthen 
 and prepare my body for the fatigues of fuch 
 a long journey. 
 
 A man who travels with a family of five 
 perfons, mufl lay his account with a number 
 of mortifications; and fome of thefe I have 
 already happily overcome. Though I was 
 well acquainted with the road to Dover, and 
 made allowances accordingly, I could not help 
 being chagrined at the bad accommodation 
 and impudent impofition to which I was ex- 
 pofed. Thefe I found the more difagreeable, 
 as we were detained a day extraordinary on 
 the road, in confequence of my wife's be- 
 ing indifpofed. 
 
 I need not tell you this is die worft road in 
 England, with refpect to the conveniencies of 
 travelling, and mufl certainly imprefs foreign- 
 ers with an unfavourable opinion of the nation 
 B 2 in
 
 4 LETTER I, 
 
 in general. The chambers are in general cold 
 and comfortlds, the beds paultry, the cookery 
 execrable, the wine poifon, the attendance 
 bad, the publicans infolent, and the bills ex- 
 tortion ; there is not a drop of tolerable malt 
 liquor to be had from London to Dover. 
 
 Every landlord and every waiter harangued 
 upon the knavery of a publican in Canter- 
 bury, who had charged the French ambafTador 
 forty pounds for a fupper that was not worth 
 forty fhillings. They talked much of ho- 
 nefty and confcienee j. but when they pro- 
 duced their own bills, they appeared to be 
 all of the fame family and complexion. If 
 it was a reproach upon the Englifh nation, that 
 an innkeeper fhould pillage ftrangers at that 
 rate ; it is a greater fcandal, that the fame fel- 
 low fhould be able to keep his houfe ilill o- 
 pen. I own, I think it would be for the ho- 
 nour of the kingdom to reform the abufes of 
 this road ; and in particular to improve the 
 avenue to London by the way of Kent-Street, 
 which is a moft difgraceful entrance to fuch 
 an opulent city. A foreigner, in paffmg 
 through this beggarly and ruinous fuburb, 
 conceives fuch an idea of mifery and mean- 
 
 nefs*
 
 L E T T E H L 5 
 
 ftefs, as all the wealth and magnificence of 
 London and Weftmlnfter are aftenvards un- 
 able to deflroy. A friend of mine, who brought 
 aParifian from Dover in his own poft-chaife, 
 contrived to enter Southwark after it was dark, 
 that his friend might not perceive the naked- 
 Kefs of this quarter. The ftranger was much 
 pleafed with .the great number of fhops full of 
 merchandize, lighted up to the beft advantage. 
 Pie was aftonimed at the difplay of riches in 
 Lombard- Street and Chcapfide. The badnefs 
 of the pavement made him find the ftreets twice 
 as long as they were. They alighted in Upper 
 Brook-Street by Grofvcnor- Square ; and when 
 his conductor told him they were then about 
 the middle of London, the Frenchman de- 
 clared, with marks of infinite furprize, that 
 London was very near as long as Paris. 
 
 On my arrival at Dover. I payed off my 
 coachman, who went away with a heavy heart. 
 He wanted much to crofs the fen, and endea- 
 voured to perfu2.de me to carry the coach and 
 horfes to the other fide. If I had been re- 
 folved to fet out immediately for the South, 
 perhaps I fhould have taken his advice. If 
 1 had retained him at the rate of twenty 
 B 3 guineas
 
 6 LETTER I. 
 
 guineas per month, which was the price he 
 demanded., and begun my journey without 
 hefitation, I fhould travel more agreeably 
 than I can expect to do in the carriages of 
 this country ; and the difference of the ex- 
 pence would be a. meer trifle. I would ad- 
 vife every man who travels through France to 
 bring his own Vehicle along with him, or at 
 leaft to purchafe one at Calais or Boulogne, 
 where fecond-hand berlins and chaifes may 
 be generally had at reafonable rates. I have 
 been offered a very good berlin for thirty gui- 
 neas : but before I make the purchafe, I muft 
 be better informed touching the different me- 
 thods of travelling in this country. 
 
 Dover is commonly termed a den of thieves; 
 and I am afraid it is not altogether without 
 reafon, it has acquired this appellation. The 
 people are faid to live by piracy in time of 
 v/ar ; and by fmuggling and fleecing flrangers 
 in time of peace : but I will do them the 
 juftice to fay, they make no diftinction be- 
 tween foreigners and natives. Without all 
 doubt a man cannot be much worfe lodged 
 and worfe treated in any part of Europe j 
 nor will he in any other place meet with more 
 
 flagrant
 
 LETTER I. 7 
 
 flagrant inftances of fraud, impofition, and 
 brutality. One would imagine they had form- 
 ed a general confpiracy againft all thofe who 
 cither go to, or return from the continent. 
 About five years ago, in my paflage from 
 Pluming to Dover, the matter of the packet- 
 boat brought to all of a fudden off the South 
 Foreland, although the wind was as favour- 
 able as it could blow. He was immediately 
 boarded by a cuftom-hcufe boat, the officer 
 of which appeared to be his friend. He then 
 gave the pafFengers to underftand, that as k 
 was low water, the fhip could not go into 
 the harbour ; but that the boat would carry 
 them afhore with their baggage. 
 
 The cuftom-houfe officer demanded a gui- 
 nea for this fervice, and the bargain was made. 
 Before we quitted the fhip, we were obliged 
 to gratify the cabin-boy for his attendance, 
 and to give drink-money to the foilors. The 
 boat was run aground on the open beach ; 
 but we could not get aihore without the af- 
 fiftance of three or four fellows, who infifled 
 upon being paid for their trouble. Every 
 parcel and bundle, as it was landed, was 
 f aatched up by a feparate porter : one ran 
 J3 4 .away
 
 8 LETTER I. 
 
 away with a hat-box, another with a wig- 
 box, a third with a couple of fhirts tied up 
 in a handkerchief, and two were employed in 
 carrying a fmall portmanteau that did not 
 weigh forty pounds. All our things were 
 hurried to the cuftom-houfe to be fearched, 
 and the fearcher was paid for difordering our 
 cloaths : from thence they were removed to 
 the inn, where the porters demanded half a 
 crown each for their labour. It was in vain 
 to expoftulate j they furrounded the houfe like 
 a pack of hungry hounds, and raifed fuch 
 a clamour, that we were fain to comply. Af- 
 ter we had undergone all this impofition, we 
 v/ere vifited by the m after of the packet, who, 
 having taken our fares, and wifhed us joy of 
 our happy arrival in England, exprefied his 
 hope that we would remember the poor maf- 
 ter, whofe wages were very fmall, and who 
 chiefly depended upon the generofity of the 
 pafiengers. I own I was fhocked at his mean- 
 nefs, and could not help telling him fo. I told 
 him, I could not conceive what title he had 
 to any fuch gratification : he had fixteen paf~ 
 fengers, who paid a guinea each, on the 
 fuppolition that every perfon fhould have a 
 
 bed;
 
 L E T T E R I. 9 
 
 bed i but there were no more than eight beds 
 in the cabin, and each of thefe was occupied 
 before I came on board ; fo that if we had 
 been detained at fea a whole week by con- 
 trary winds and bad weather, one half of the 
 paiTengers muft have flept upon the boards, 
 howfoever their health might have fuffered 
 from this want of accommodation. Not- 
 withflanding this check, he was fo very ab- 
 ject and importunate, that we gave him a 
 crov/n a piece, and he retired. 
 
 The firfl thing I did when I arrived at Do- 
 ver this lail time, was to fend for the mailer 
 of a packet-boat, and agree with him to 
 carry us to Boulogne at once, by which means 
 I faved the expence of travelling by land from 
 Calais to this laft place, a journey of four- 
 and- twenty miles. The hire of a vefTel from 
 Dover to Boulogne is precifcly the fame as 
 from Dover to Calais, five guineas ; but this 
 fkipper demanded eight, and, as I did not 
 know the fare, I agreed to give him fix. 
 We embarked between fix and feven in the 
 evening, and found ourfelves in a mofh 
 wretched hovel, on board what is called a 
 Folkflone cutter. The cabin was fo fmall 
 
 that
 
 io L E T T E R L 
 
 that a dog conld hardly turn in it, and the 
 beds put me in mind of the holes defcribed 
 in fome catacombs, in which the bodies of 
 the dead were depofited, being thruft in with 
 the feet foremoft ; there was no getting into 
 them but end- ways, and indeed they feemed 
 fo dirty, that nothing but extreme neceflity 
 could have obliged me to ufe them. We fat 
 up all night in a moil uncomfortable fixati- 
 on, tofTed about by the fea, cold, and cramped 
 and weary, and languishing for want of fleep. 
 At three in the morning the matter came 
 down, and told us we were jufl off the har- 
 bour of Boulogne ; but the wind blowing 
 off fhore, he could not poffibly enter, and 
 therefore advifed us to go aihore in the 
 boat. I went upon deck to view the coaft, 
 when he pointed to the place where he faid 
 Boulogne flood, declaring at the fame time we 
 were within a fhort mile of the harbour's 
 mouth. The morning was cold and raw, 
 and I knew myfelf extremely fubjecl: to catch 
 cold ; neverthelefs we were all fo impatient 
 to be afhore, that I refblved to take his advice. 
 The boat was already hoifted out, and we 
 went on board of it, after I had paid the 
 4 captain
 
 LETTER I. n 
 
 captain and gratified his crew. We had fcarce 
 parted from the fhip, when we perceived a 
 boat coming towards us from the fhore; and 
 the matter gave us to understand, it was 
 coming to carry us into the harbour. When 
 I objected to the trouble of fhifting from one 
 boat to another in the open fea, which (by 
 the bye) was a little rough; he faid it was a 
 privilege which the watermen of Boulogne 
 had, to carry all paffengers afhore, and that 
 this privilege he durft not venture to infringe. 
 This was no time nor place to remonitrate. 
 The French boat came alongfide half filled 
 with water, and we were handed from the 
 one to the other. We were then obliged to 
 lie upon our oars, till the captain's boat 
 went on board and returned from the fhip 
 with a packet of letters. We were after- 
 wards rowed a long league, in a rough fea, 
 againfl wind and tide, before we reached the 
 harbour, where we landed, benumbed with 
 cold, and the women exceflively fick : from 
 our landing-place we were obliged to walk ve- 
 ry near a mile to the inn where we purpofed 
 to lodge, attended by fix or feven men and 
 women, bare-legged, carrying our baggage. 
 
 This
 
 1-2 L E T T E R I. 
 
 This boat coft me a guinea, befides paying 
 exorbitantly the people who carried our things ; 
 fo that the inhabitants of Dover and of Bou- 
 logne feem to be of the fame kidney, and in- 
 deed they underfland one another perfectly 
 well. It was our honeft captain who made 
 the fignal for the fhore-boat before I went 
 upon deck ; by which means he not only gra- 
 tified his friends, the watermen of Boulogne, 
 but alfo faved about fifteen {hillings portage, 
 v.'hich he mufl have paid had he gone into 
 the harbour; and thus he found himfelf at 
 liberty to return to Dover, which he reached 
 in four hours. I mention thefe circumftances 
 as a warning to other pafTengers. When a 
 man hires a packet-boat from Dover to Ca- 
 lais or Boulogne, let him remember that the 
 ftated price is five guineas ; and let him in- 
 fift upon being carried into the harbour in the 
 {hip, without paying the leafl regard to the 
 reprefentations of the mafter, who is gene- 
 rally a little dirty knave. When he tells you 
 it is low water, or the wind is in your teeth, 
 you may fay you will flay on board till it is 
 high water, or till the wind comes favourable. 
 If he fees you are refolute, he will find means 
 
 to
 
 LETTER! 13 
 
 to bring his fhip into the harbour, or at 
 leaft to convince you, without a poflibility of 
 your being deceived, that it is not in his 
 power. After all, the fellow hirafelf was a lofer 
 by his finefie ; if he had gone into the har- 
 .bour, he would have had another fare im- 
 mediately back to Dover, for there was a 
 Scotch gentleman at the inn waiting for fuch 
 an opportunity. 
 
 Knowing my own weak conftitution, I took 
 it for granted this morning's adventure would 
 coft me a fit of illnefs ; and what added to 
 my chagrin, when we arrived at the inn, all 
 the beds were occupied j fo that we were o- 
 bliged to fit in a cold kitchen above two hours, 
 until fomeof the lodgers fhould get up. This 
 was fuch a bad fpecimen of French accom- 
 modation, that my wife could not help re- 
 gretting even the inns of Rochefter, Sitting- 
 bourn, and Canterbury : bad as they are, they 
 certainly have the advantage, when compared 
 with the execrable auberges of this country, 
 where one finds nothing but dirt and impo- 
 fition. One would imagine the French were 
 ftill at war with the Englifh, for they pillage ; 
 them without mercy. 
 
 Among
 
 14 LETTER!. 
 
 Among the Grangers at this inn where we 
 lodged, there was a gentleman of the faculty, 
 jufl returned from Italy. Underftanding that 
 I intended to winter in the South of France, 
 on account of a pulmonic diforder, he ftrongly 
 recommended the climate of Nice in Pro- 
 vence, which, indeed, I had often heard ex- 
 tolled ; and I am almoft refolved to go thither, 
 not only for the fake of the air, but alfo for 
 its fituation on the Mediterranean, where I 
 can have the benefit of bathing ; and from 
 whence there is a fhort cut by fea to Italy, 
 fhould I find it neceflary to try the air of 
 Naples* 
 
 After having been ill accommodated three 
 days at our inn, we have at lad found com- 
 modious lodgings, by means of Mrs. B , a 
 very agreeable French lady, to whom we were 
 recommended by her hufband, who is my 
 countryman, and at prefent refident in Lon- 
 don. For three guineas a month we have the 
 greateir, part of a houfe tolerably furnifhed ; 
 four bed-chambers on the firft floor, a large 
 parlour below, a kitchen, and the ufe of a 
 cellar. 
 
 Thefe,
 
 L E T T E R II. 15 
 
 Thefe, I own, are frivolous incidents, fcarce 
 worth committing to paper; but they may 
 ferve to introduce obfervations of more con- 
 fequence ; and in the mean time I know no- 
 thing will be indifferent to you, that concerns 
 Your humble fervant. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Boulogne fur nur, July 15, 1765. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 THE cuftom-houfe officers at Boulogne, 
 though as alert, are rather more civil 
 than thofe on your fide of the water. I brought 
 no plate along with me, but a dozen and a half 
 r >f fpoons, and a dozen teafpoons : the firft 
 being found in one of our portmanteaus, when 
 they were examined at the bureau, coft me 
 feventeen livres entree: the others being luckily 
 in my fervant's pocket, efcaped duty free. All 
 wrought filver imported into France, pays at 
 the rate of fo much per mark : therefore 
 thofe who have any quantity of plate, will 
 do well to leave it behind them, unlefs they 
 
 can
 
 i6 LETTER II. 
 
 can confide in the dexterity of the fliip- 
 mailers ; fome of whom will undertake to 
 land it without the ceremony of examination. 
 The ordonnances of France are fo unfavour- 
 able to ftrangers, that they oblige them to 
 pay at the rate of five per cent, for all the 
 bed and table linen which they bring into 
 the kingdom, even though it has been ufed. 
 When my trunks arrived in a fhip from the 
 river Thames, I underwent this ordeal : but 
 what gives me more vexation, my books have 
 been flopped at the bureau 5 and will be fent 
 to Amiens at my expence, to be examined by 
 the chambre jyndicale > left they fhould con- 
 tain fomething prejudicial to the ftate, or to 
 the religion of the country. This is a fpecies 
 of oppreffion which one would not expeft 
 to meet with in France, which piques itfelf 
 on ' its politenefs and hofpitality : but the 
 truth is, I know no country in which ftran- 
 gers are worfe treated, with refpecl to their 
 effential concerns. If a foreigner dies in 
 France, the king feizes all his effecls, even 
 though his heir fhould be upon the fpot j and 
 this tyranny is called the droit danbainc y 
 founded at firft upon the fuppofition, that. 
 
 all
 
 LETTER II. 17 
 
 all the eftate of foreigners refiding in France 
 Was acquired in that kingdom, and that, 
 therefore, it would be unjuft to convey it 
 to another country. If an Englifli proteftant 
 goes to France for the benefit of his health, 
 attended by his wife or his fon, or both, and 
 dies with effects in the houfe to the amcjunt 
 of a thoufand guineas, the king feizes the 
 whole, the family is left deftitute, and the 
 body of thedeceafed is denied chriftian burial. 
 The Swifs, by capitulation, are exempted 
 from this defpotifm, and fo are the Scots, in 
 confequence of an ancient alliance between 
 the two nations. The fame droit daubaine is 
 exacted by fome of the princes in Germany : 
 but it is a great difcouragement to commerce, 
 and prejudices every country where it is ex- 
 ercifed, to ten times the value of what it 
 brings into the coffers of the fovereign. 
 
 I am exceedingly mortified at the detention 
 of my books, which not only deprives me of 
 an amufement which I can very ill difpenfe 
 with ; but, in all probability, will expofe me 
 to fundry other inconveniencies. I mufl be 
 at the expence of fending them fixty miles 
 to be examined, and run the rifque of their 
 VOL. I. C being
 
 jg LETTER II. 1 
 
 being condemned ; and, in the mean time, 
 I may lofe the opportunity of fending them 
 with my heavy baggage by fea to Bourdeaux, 
 to be fent up the Garonne to Tholoufe, and 
 from thence tranfmitted through the canal 
 of Languedoc to Cette, which is afea-port oil 
 the^Mediterranean, about three or four leagues 
 from Montpelier. 
 
 For the recovery of my books, I had recourfs 
 
 to the advice of my landlord, Monf. B 
 
 He is a handfome young fellow, about twenty- 
 five years of age, and keeps houfe with two 
 maiden fifters, who are profefTed devotees. 
 The brother is a little libertine, good na- 
 tured and obliging; but a true Frenchman 
 in vanity, which is undoubtedly the ruling 
 paffion of this volatile people. He has an 
 inconfiderable place under the government, 
 in confequence of which he is permitted to 
 wear a fword, a privilege which he does not 
 fail to ufe. He is likevvife receiver of the 
 tythes of the clergy in this diftrift, an office 
 that gives him a command of money, and he, 
 moreover, deals in the wine trade. When I 
 came to his houfe, he made a parade of all 
 thefe advantages ; he difplayed his bags of 
 
 money*
 
 LETTER II. 15 
 
 money, and fome old gold which his father 
 had left him. He defcribed his chateau in 
 the country; dropped hints of the fortunes 
 that were fettled upon mademoifelles his fif- 
 tcrs ; boafted of his connexions at court ; and 
 afTured me it was not for my money that he 
 let his lodgings, but altogether with a view 
 to enjoy the pleafure of my company. The 
 truth, when ftript of all embellifhments, is 
 this : the fieur B is the fon of an honeft 
 bourgeois lately dead, who left him the houfe, 
 with fome flock in trade, a little money, and 
 a paltry farm : his fitters have about three 
 thoufand livres (not quite 140!.) a-piece$ 
 the brother's places are worth about fifty 
 pounds a year, and his connexions at court 
 are confined to a commis or clerk in the 
 fecretary's office, with whom he correfponds 
 by virtue of his employment. My landlord 
 piques himfelf upon his gallantry and fuc- 
 cefs with the fair-fex : he keeps & file dejoyc, 
 and makes no fecret of his amours. He 
 told mifs C the other day, in broken Eng- 
 lifh, that, in the courfe of the laft year, he 
 had made fix baftards. Fie owned, at the fame 
 time, he had fent them all to the hofpital ; 
 C 2 but,
 
 20 LETTER IT- 
 
 but, now his father is dead, he would him* 
 felf take care of his future productions. This, 
 however, was no better than a gafconade. 
 Yefterday the houfe was in a hot alarm, on 
 account of a new windfall of this kind : the 
 Mers were in tears ; the brother was vifited 
 by the cure of the parifh j the lady in the 
 ftraw (a fempftrefs) fent him the bantling 
 in a bafket, and he tranfmitted it by the 
 carriers to the Enfam troiwes at Paris. 
 
 But to return from this digreflion : Mr* 
 B advifed me to fend a requete or petition 
 to the chancellor of France, that I might ob- 
 tain an order to have my books examined 
 on the fpot, by the prefident of Boulogne,, 
 or the procureur du roy, or the fubdelegate 
 of the intendance. He recommended an 
 avocat of his acquaintance to draw up the 
 memoirs, and introduced him accordingly^ 
 telling me at the fame time, in private, that 
 if he was not a drunkard, he would be at the 
 head of his profeflion. He had indeed all 
 the outward figns of a fot ; a fleepy eye, a 
 rubicund face, and carbuncled nofe. He 
 feemed to be a little out at elbows, had mar- 
 vellous foul linen, and his breeches were 
 
 not
 
 LETTER II. 2i 
 
 siot very found : but he affumed an air of 
 importance, was very courteous, and very 
 folemn. I afked him if he did not fome- 
 times divert himfelf with the mufe: hefmiled, 
 and promifed, in a whifper, to (hew me 
 fome chanfonettes de fa faqon. Meanwhile he 
 compofed the reqiiete in my name, which was 
 very pompous, very tedious, and very abject. 
 -Such a ftile might perhaps be necefTary in a 
 native of France j but I did not think it was 
 at all fuitable to a fubject of Great- Britain, 
 I thanked him for tlje trouble he had taken, 
 as he would receive no other gratification ; 
 but when my landlord propofed to fend the 
 memoire to his correfpondent at Paris, to be 
 delivered to the chancellor, I told him I had 
 changed my mind, and would apply to the 
 English ambaflador. I have accordingly taken 
 the liberty to addrefs myfelf to the earl of 
 
 H ; and at the fame time I have pre- 
 
 fumed to write to the duchefs of D , who 
 is now at Paris, to entreat her grace's advice 
 and interpofition. What effect thefe appli- 
 cations may have, I know not : but the fieur 
 B (hakes his head, and has told my fer- 
 rant, in confidence, that I am mistaken if I 
 C 3 think
 
 22 LETTER III. 
 
 think the Englifh ambafTador is as great a 
 man at Paris as the chancellor of France. 
 
 I ought to make an apology for troubling 
 you with fuch an unentertaining detail, and 
 confider that the detention of my books muft 
 be a matter of very little confequence to any 
 body, but to 
 
 Your affectionate humble fervant. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Augitfl 15, 1763. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Am much obliged to you for your kind 
 enquiries after my health, which has 
 been lately in a very declining condition. 
 In confequence of a cold, caught a few days 
 after my arrival in France, I was feized with 
 a violent cough, attended with a fever, and 
 flitches in my breaft, which tormented me all 
 night long without ceafing. At the fame time 
 I had a great difcharge by expectoration, and 
 fuch a dejection of fpirits as I never felt be- 
 fore, In this fituation I took a ftep which
 
 LETTER III. 23 
 
 may appear to have been defperate. I knew there 
 was no impofthume m my lungs, and I fuppofed 
 the Hitches were fpafmodical. I was fenfible 
 that all my complaints were originally derived 
 from relaxation. I therefore hired a chaife, 
 and going to the beach, about a league from 
 the town, plunged into the fea without hefi- 
 tation. By this defperate remedy, I got a 
 frefh cold in my head : but my flitches and 
 fever vanifhed the very firft day ; and by a 
 daily repetition of the bath, I have dimi- 
 niflied my cough, ftrengthened my body, and 
 recovered my fpirits. I believe I fhould have 
 tried the fame experiment, even if there had 
 been an abfcefs in my lungs, though fuch 
 practice would have been contrary to all the 
 rules of medicine : but I am not one of 
 thofe who implicitly believe in all the dog- 
 mata of phyfic. I faw one of the guides at 
 Bath, the itouteft fellow among them, who 
 recovered from the laft ftage of a confump- 
 tion, by going into the king's bath, contrary 
 to the exprefs injunction of his doctor. He 
 faid, if he muft die, the fooner the better., 
 as he had nothing left for his fubfiftenc 
 Inftead of immediate death, he found inftar 
 C 4 eafe s
 
 *4 LETTER III. 
 
 eafe, and continued mending every day, till 
 his health was entirely re-eftablifhed. I my- 
 felf drank the waters at Bath, and bathed, 
 in diametrical oppofition to the opinion of 
 fome phyficians there fettled, and found myfelf 
 better every day, notwithstanding their un- 
 favourable prognoftic. Jf I had been of the 
 rigid fibre, full of blood, fubjecl: to inflam- 
 mation, I fhould have followed a different 
 
 courfe. Our acquaintance, doctor C- , 
 
 while he actually fpit up matter, and rode 
 out every day for his life, led his horfe to 
 water, at the pond in Hyde-Park, one cold 
 frofty morning, and the beafl, which hap- 
 pened to be of a hot conftitution, plunged 
 himfelf and his matter over head and ears in, 
 the water. The poor doctor haftened home, 
 half dead with fear, and was put to bed in 
 the apprehenfion of a new impofthume ; in- 
 ftead of which, he found himfelf exceedingly 
 recruited in his fpirits, and his appetite much 
 mended. I advifed him to take the hint, 
 and go into the cold bath every morning ; 
 but he did not chufe to run any rifque. How 
 cold water comes to be fuch a bugbear, I know 
 not ; if I am not miftaken, Hippocrates re- 
 
 eommendg
 
 LETTER III. 25 
 
 commends immerfion in cold water for the 
 gout j and Celfus exprefsly fays, In omnl tujjl 
 utilis eft natatlo. 
 
 I have converfed with a phyfician of this 
 place, a fenfible man, who affured me he was 
 reduced to meer ikin and bone by a cough 
 and heclic fever, when he ordered a bath to 
 be made in his own houfe, and dipped him- 
 felf in cold water every morning. He at the 
 fame time left off drinking and fwallowing 
 any liquid that was warm. He is now ftrong 
 and lufty, and even in winter has no other 
 cover than a fmgle fheet. His notions about 
 the warm drink were a little whimiical : he 
 imagined it relaxed the tone of the ftomach ; 
 and this would undoubtedly be the cafe if it 
 was drank in large quantities, warmer than 
 the natural temperature of the blood. He 
 alledged the example of the inhabitants of 
 the Ladrone iflands, who never tafte any 
 thing that is not cold, and are remarkably 
 healthy. But to balance this argument I 
 mentioned the Chinefe, who fcarce drink 
 any thing but warm tea; and the Lap- 
 landers, who drink nothing but warm water ; 
 yet the people of both thefe nations 
 4 are
 
 24 LETTER III. 
 
 re remarkably ftrong, healthy, and long- 
 lived. 
 
 You defire to know the fate of my books. 
 My lord H d is not yet come to France ; 
 but my letter was tranfmitted to him from 
 Paris ; and his lordfhip, with that generous 
 humanity which is peculiar to his charac- 
 ter, has done me the honour to allure me, 
 -under his own hand, that he has directed 
 Mr. N He, our refident at Paris, to apply 
 for an order that my books may be reftored. 
 
 I have met with another piece of good 
 fortune, in being introduced to general Pa- 
 terfon and his lady, in their way to Eng- 
 land from Nice, where the general has been 
 many years commandant for the king of Sar- 
 dinia. You muft have heard of this gentle- 
 man, who has not only eminently diftin- 
 guifhed himfelf, by his courage and conduct 
 as an officer ; but alfo by his probity and 
 humanity in the cxercife of his office, and 
 by his remarkable hofpitality to all ftrangers, 
 efpecially the fiibjecls of Great-Britain, whofe 
 occafions called them to the place where he 
 commanded. Being pretty far advanced in 
 years, he begged leave to refign, that he 
 
 might
 
 LETTER III. 27 
 
 might fpend the evening of his days in his 
 own country; and his Sardinian majefty 
 granted his requeft with regret, after having 
 honoured him with very particular marks of 
 approbation and efteem. The general talks 
 fo favourably of the climate of Nice, with 
 refpect to diforders of the breaft, that I am 
 now determined to go thither. It would 
 have been happy for me had he continued in 
 his government. I think myfelf flill very 
 fortunate, in having obtained of him a let- 
 ter of recommendation to the Engiifh conful 
 at Nice, together with directions how to tra- 
 vel through the South of France. I propofe 
 to begin my journey fome time next month, 
 \vhen the weather will be temperate to the 
 fouthward ; and in the wine countries I mail 
 have the pleafure of feeing the vintage, which 
 is always a feafon of feftivity among all ranks 
 of people. 
 
 You have been very much mif-in formed, 
 by the perfon who compared Boulogne to 
 Wapping: he did amanifeft injuftice to this 
 place, which is a large agreeable town, with 
 broad open ftreets, excellently paved ; and 
 the houfes are of flone, well built and com- 
 modious.
 
 28 LETTER III. 
 
 modious. The number of inhabitants may 
 amount to fixteen thoufand. You know this 
 was generally fuppofed to be the portus Ititts, 
 and Geffbriacum of the antients : though it 
 is now believed that the per f us Itius, from 
 whence Caefar failed to Britain, is a place 
 called Whitfcnd, about half way between this 
 place and Calais. Boulogne is the capital of the 
 Boulonnois, a diflri6l extending about twelve 
 leagues, ruled by a governor independent of 
 the governor of Picardy; of which province, 
 however, this country forms a part. The 
 prefent governor is the due d'Aumont. The 
 town of Boulogne is the fee of a bifhop fuf- 
 fragan of Rheims, whofe revenue amounts 
 to about four-and-twenty thoufand livres, or 
 one thoufand pounds flerling. It is alfo the 
 feat of a fenefchai's court, from whence an 
 appeal lies to the parliament of Paris ; and 
 thither all condemned criminals are fent, to 
 have their fen fence confirmed or reverfed. 
 Here is likevvife a bailiwick, and a court of 
 admiralty. The military jurifdicbion of the 
 city belongs to a commandant appointed by 
 the king, a fort of finecure beflowed upon 
 fome old officer. His appointments are very 
 
 incon-
 
 LETTER III. 29 
 
 inconflderable : he refides in the Upper Tower, 
 and his garrifon at prefent confifts of a few- 
 hundreds of invalids. 
 
 Boulogne is divided into the Upper and 
 Lower Towns. The former is a kind of ci- 
 tadel, about a fhort mile in circumference,, 
 fitnated on a rifmg ground, furrounded by a 
 high wall and rampart, planted with rows 
 of trees, which form a delightful walk. It 
 commands a fine view of the country and 
 Lower Town j and in clear weather the coaft 
 of England, from Dover to Foikftone, ap- 
 pears fo plain, that one would imagine it 
 was within four or five leagues of the French 
 fhore. The Upper Town was formerly for- 
 tified with outworks, which are now in ru- 
 ins. Here is a fquare, a town-houfe, the 
 cathedral, and two or three convents of nuns ; 
 in one of which there are feveral Englifh 
 girls, fent hither for their education. The 
 fmallnefs of the expence encourages parents 
 to fend their children abroad to thefe femina- 
 ries, where they learn fcarce any thing that 
 is ufeful, but the French language ; but they 
 never fail to imbibe prejudices againft the 
 proteftant religion, and generally return en- 
 
 thufiaftic
 
 3d- LETTER Hi; 
 
 thufiaftic converts to the religion of Rome; 
 This converfion always generates a contempt 
 for, and often an averfion to, their own 
 count'-py. Indeed it cannot reafonably be ex- 
 pected, that people of weak minds, addict- 
 ed to fuperftition, fhould either love or efteem 
 thofe whom they are taught to confider as 
 reprobated heretics. Ten pounds a year is 
 the ufual penfion in thefe convents ; but I 
 have been informed by a French lady, who 
 had her education in one of them, that no- 
 thing can be more wretched than their en- 
 tertainment. 
 
 The civil magiftracy of Boulogne confifts 
 of a mayor and echevins; and this is the 
 cafe in almoft all the towns of France. 
 
 The Lower Town is continued from the gate 
 of the Upper Town, down the flope of a hill, 
 as far as the harbour, ftretching on both 
 fides to a large extent, and is much more 
 confiderable than the Upper, with refpecl to 
 the beauty of the ftreets, the convenience of 
 the houfes, and the number and wealth of 
 the inhabitants. Thefe, however, are all 
 merchants, or bourgeois; for the nobleffe or 
 gentry live all together in the Upper Town, 
 
 and
 
 LETTER III. 31 
 
 and never mix with the others. The har- 
 bour of Boulogne is at the mouth of the 
 fmall river, or rather rivulet Liane, which is 
 fo fhailow, that the children wade through 
 it at low water. As the tide makes, the fea 
 flows in, and forms a pretty extenfive har- 
 bour, which, however, admits nothing but 
 fmall veffels. It is contracted at the mouth by 
 two ftone jetties or piers, which feem to have 
 been conftru6led by fome engineer, very little 
 acquainted with this branch of his profeflion j 
 for they are carried out in fuch a manner, as 
 to collect a bank of fand juft at the entrance 
 of the harbour. The road is very open and 
 unfafe, and the furf very high when the 
 wind blows from the fea. There is no forti- 
 fication near the harbour, except a paltry fort 
 mounting about twenty guns, built in the 
 laft war by the prince de Cruy, upon a rock 
 about a league to the eaftward of Boulogne. 
 It appears to be fituated in fuch a manner, 
 that it can neither offend, nor be offended. 
 If the depth of water would admit a forty 
 or fifty gun fhip to lie within cannon- fhot of 
 it, I apprehend it might be filenced in half 
 an hour; but, in all probability, there will 
 
 ta
 
 3 2 LETTER III. 
 
 be no veftiges of it at the next rupture be- 
 tween the two crowns. It is furrounded every 
 day by the fea, at high water - y and when it 
 blows a frefh gale towards the fhore, the waves 
 break over the top of it, to the terror and 
 aftonifhment of 'the garrifon, who have been 
 often heard crying piteoufly for affiflance. I 
 am perfuaded, that it will one day difappear 
 in the twinkling of an eye. The neighbour- 
 hood of this fort, which is a fmooth fandy 
 beach, I have chofen for my bathing place. 
 The road to it is agreeable and romantic, 
 lying through pleafant corn-fields, ikirted by 
 open downs, where there is a rabbit warren, 
 and great plenty of the birds fo much ad- 
 mired at Tunbridge under the name of wheat' 
 ears. By the bye, this is a pleafant corrup- 
 tion of ivhite-a -fe t the tranflation of their 
 French name cul-blanc, taken from their co- 
 lour ; for they are actually white towards 
 the tail. 
 
 Upon the top of .a high rock, which over- 
 looks the harbour, are the remains of an old 
 fortification, which is indifcriminately called, 
 *our d'ordre, and Julius Cafar's fort. Th 
 original tower was a light-hcufe built by 
 
 Claudius
 
 LETTER IIL 33 
 
 Claudius Ctefar, denominated Turris ardens> 
 from the fire burned in it j and this the French 
 have corrupted into 'J'our dordre : but no vef- 
 tiges of this Roman work remain ; what we 
 now fee, are the ruins of a caftle built by 
 Charlemagne. I know of no other anti- 
 quity at Boulogne, except an old vault in 
 the Upper Town, now ufed as a magazine^ 
 which is faid to be part of an antient temple 
 dedicated to Ifis. 
 
 On the other fide of the harbour, oppo- 
 fite to the Lower Town, there is a houfe built, 
 at a confiderable expence, by a general offi- 
 cer, who loft his life in the late war. Never 
 was fituation more inconvenient, unpleafant, 
 and unhealthy. It Hands on the edge of an 
 ugly morafs formed by the flagnant water 
 left by the tide in its retreat : the very walks 
 of the garden are fo moirt, that, in the dried 
 weather, no perfon can make a tour of it, 
 without danger of the rheumatifm. Befides, 
 the houfe is altogether inacceffible, except at 
 low water, and even then the carriage muft 
 crofs the harbour, the wheels up to the axle- 
 tree in mud : nay, the tide rufhes in fo fail, 
 that unlefs you feize the time ID a minute, 
 VOL. L D vou
 
 34 LETTER III. 
 
 you will be in danger of periming. The 
 apartments of this houfe are elegantly fitted 
 up, but very fmall -, and the garden, not- 
 withftanding its unfavourable fituation, af- 
 fords a great quantity of good fruit. The 
 ooze, impregnated with fea fait, produces, on 
 this fide of the harbour, an incredible quan- 
 tity of the fineft famphire I ever faw. The 
 French call it- pafle-pierre ; and I fufpec~l its 
 Englifh name is a corruption of fang-pierre. 
 It is generally found on the faces of bare 
 rocks that overhang the fea, by the fpray of 
 which it is nourifhed. As it grew upon a 
 naked rock, without any appearance of foil, 
 it might be naturally enough called fang du 
 pierre, or fang-pierre, blood of the rock ; 
 and hence the name famf fare* On the fame 
 fide of the harbour there is another new houfe, 
 neatly built, belonging to a gentleman who 
 has obtained a grant from the king of fome 
 ground which was always overflowed at high 
 water. He has raifed dykes at a confider- 
 able expence, to exclude the tide, and if he 
 can bring his project to bear, he will not only 
 gain a good eftate for himfelf, but alfo im- 
 prove the harbour, by increafing the depth at 
 high-water. In
 
 LETTER III, 3$ 
 
 In the Lower Town of Boulogne there are 
 feveral religious houfes, particularly a femi- 
 nary, a convent of Cordeliers, and another 
 of Capuchins. This laft, having fallen to de- 
 cay, was fome years ago repaired, chiefly by 
 the charity of Britifh travellers, collected by 
 father Graeme, a native of North-Britain, 
 who had been an officer in the army of king 
 James II. and is faid to have turned monk 
 of this mendicant order, by way of volun- 
 tary penance, for having killed his friend in 
 a duel. Be that as it may, he was a well-bred, 
 fenfible man 4 , of a very exemplary life and 
 converfation ; and his memory is much re- 
 vered in this place. Being fuperior of the 
 convent, he caufed the Britifh arms to be 
 put up in the church, as a mark of gratitude 
 for the benefactions received from our na- 
 tion. I often walk in the garden of the 
 convent, the walls of which are wafhed by 
 the fea at high-water. At the bottom of the 
 garden is a little private grove, feparated from, 
 it by a high wall, with a door of communica- 
 tion ; and hither the Capuchins retire, when 
 they are difpofed for contemplation. About 
 two years ago, this place was faid to be con- 
 D 2 verted
 
 5 6 LETTER III. 
 
 verted to a very different ufe. There was among 
 the monks one fere Charles^ a lufty friar, of 
 whom the people tell ftrange ftories. Some 
 young women of the town were feen mount- 
 ing over the wall, by a ladder of ropes, in. 
 the dufk of the evening ; and there was an 
 unufual crop of baftards that feafon. In 
 fhort, fere Charles and his companions gave 
 fuch fcandal, that the whole fraternity was 
 changed \ and now the neft is occupied by 
 another flight of thefe birds of pafTage. If 
 one of our privateers had kidnapped a Ca- 
 puchin during the war, and exhibited him, in 
 his habit, as a fhew in London, he would 
 have proved a good prize to the captors ; for 
 I know not a more uncouth and grotefque a- 
 nimal, than an old Capuchin in the habit of 
 his order. A friend of mine (a Swifs offi- 
 cer) told me, that a peafant in his country 
 ufed to weep bitterly, whenever a certain 
 Capuchin mounted the pulpit to hold forth to 
 the people. The good father took notice of 
 this man, and believed he was touched by the 
 finger of the Lord. He exhorted him to en- 
 courage thefe acceffions of grace, and at the 
 fame time to be of good comfort, as having 
 
 received
 
 LETTER III. 37 
 
 received fuch marks of the divine favour. 
 The man frill continued to weep, as before, 
 every time the monk preached j and at laft 
 the Capuchin infifted upon knowing what it 
 was, in his difcourfe or appearance, that 
 made fuch an impreffion upon his heart. 
 " Ah, father ! (cried the peafant) I never 
 fee you but I think of a venerable goat, 
 which I loft at Eafter. We were bred up to- 
 gether in the fame family. He was the very 
 picture of your reverence one would fwear 
 you were brothers. Poor Eaudoulnl he died 
 of a fall reft his foul ! I would willingly 
 pay for a couple of mafles to pray him out 
 of purgatory." 
 
 Among other public edifices at Boulogne, 
 there is an hofpital, or workhoufe, which 
 feems to be eftablifhed upon a very good foun- 
 dation. It maintains feveral hundreds of poor 
 people, who are kept conftantly at work, ac- 
 cording to their age and abilities, in making 
 thread, all forts of lace, a kind of catgut, 
 and in knitting (lockings. It is under the 
 direction of the bifhop -, and the fee is at 
 prefent filled by a prelate of great piety and 
 benevolence, though a little inclining to bi- 
 D 3 gotry
 
 r 3 8 LETTER IV. 
 
 gotry and fanaticifm. The churches in this 
 town are but indifferently built, and poorly 
 ornamented. There is not one pifture in 
 the place worth looking at, nor indeed does 
 there feem to be the leaft tafte for the liberal 
 arts. 
 
 In my next, I fhall endeavour to fatisfy you 
 in the other articles you defire to know. 
 Mean-while, I am ever 
 
 Yours. 
 
 S IR, 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Boulogne, Seplembfr i, 17 63. 
 
 I Am infinitely obliged to D. H- r for the 
 favourable manner in which he has men-? 
 tioned me to the earl of H- . I have at laft 
 recovered my books, by virtue of a particular 
 order to the director of the douane, procured 
 by the application of the Englifh refident to 
 the French miniflrv. I am now preparing 
 
 for
 
 LETTER IV. 39 
 
 for my long journey j but, before I leave 
 this place, I fhall fend you the packet I men- 
 tioned, by Meriton. Mean-while I muft 
 fulfil my promife in communicating the ob- 
 fervations I have had occafion to make upon 
 this town and country. 
 
 The air of Boulogne is cold and moift, and, I 
 believe, of confequence unhealthy. Laft win- 
 ter the froft, which continued fix weeks in 
 London, lafted here eight weeks without in- 
 termiffion ; and the cold was fo intenfe, that, 
 in the garden of the Capuchins, it fplit the 
 bark of feveral elms from top to bottom. On 
 our arrival here we found all kinds of fruit 
 more backward than in England. The frofr, 
 in its progrefs to Britain, is much weakened 
 in croffing the fea. The atmofphere, impreg- 
 nated with faline particles, refifts the opera- 
 tion of freezing. Hence, in fevere winters, 
 all places near the fea-fide are lefs cold than 
 more inland diftrifts. This is the reafon 
 why the winter is often more mild at Edin- 
 burgh than at London. A very great degree 
 of cold is required to freeze fait water. In- 
 deed it will not freeze at all, until it has de- 
 pofited all its fait. It is now generally al- 
 D 4 lowed
 
 40 LETTER IV. 
 
 lowed among philofophers, that water is no 
 more than ice thawed by heat, either folar, 
 or fubterranean, or both ; and that this heat 
 being expelled, it would return to its natur 
 ral confidence. This being the cafe, nothing 
 elfe is required for the freezing of water, than 
 a certain degree of cold, which may be ge- 
 nerated by the help of fait, or fpirit of nitre, 
 jeven under the line. I would proppfe, therefore, 
 that an apparatus of this fort fhould be pro- 
 vided in every ihip that goes to fea ; and in 
 cafe there fhould be a deficiency of frefh 
 water on board, the fea-water may be ren- 
 dered potable, by being firft converted into 
 ice. 
 
 The air of Boulogne is not only loaded with 
 a great evaporation from the fea, increaf- 
 ed by ftrong gales of wind from the Weft and 
 South-Weft, which blow almofl continually 
 during the greater! part of the year ; but it 
 is alfo fubjecl to putrid vapours, arifing from 
 the low marfhy ground in the neighbourhood 
 pf the harbour, which is every tide over- 
 flowed with fea-water. This may be one caufe 
 of the fcrofula and rickets, which are two 
 prevailing diforders among the children in 
 
 Boulogne,
 
 LETTER IV. 41 
 
 Boulogne. But I believe the former is 
 more owing to the water ufed in the Lower 
 Town, which is very hard and unwholfome. 
 It curdles with foap, gives a red colour to the 
 meat that is boiled in it, and, when drank 
 by flrangers, never fails to occafion pains in 
 the flomach and bowels j nay, fometimes 
 produces dyfenteries. In all appearance it is 
 impregnated with nitre, if not with fome- 
 thing more mifchievous : we know that 
 mundic, or pyrites, very often contains a 
 proportion of arfenic, mixed with fulphur, 
 vitriol, and mercury. Perhaps it partakes of 
 the acid of fome coal mine ; for there are coal 
 works in this diftricl:. There is a well of 
 purging water within a quarter of a mile of 
 the Upper Town, to which the inhabitants 
 refort in the morning, as the people of Lon- 
 don go to the Dog-and-duck, in St. George's 
 fields. There is likewife a fountain of ex- 
 cellent water, hard by the cathedral, in the 
 Upper Town, from whence I am daily fup- 
 plied at a fmall expence. Some modern 
 ehemifts affirm, that no faline chalybeate wa- 
 ters can exift, except in the neighbourhood of 
 pal damps; and that nothing can be more 
 
 mild,
 
 43 L E T T E R IV. 
 
 mild, and gentle, and friendly to the con- 
 flitution, than the faid damps : but I 
 know that the place where I was bred ftands 
 upon a zonic of coal ; that the water which 
 the inhabitants generally ufe is hard and 
 brackifh ; and that the people are remarka- 
 bly fubject to the king's evil and confumpti- 
 on. Thefe I would impute to the bad water, 
 impregnated with the vitriol and brine of coal, 
 as there is nothing in the constitution of the 
 air that fhould render fuch diftempers en- 
 demial. That the air of Boulogne encou- 
 rages putrefaction, appears from the efFe6l 
 it has upon butcher's meat, which, though 
 the feafon is remarkably cold, we can hardly 
 keep four-and-twenty hours in the cooleft 
 part of the ho ufe. 
 
 Living here is pretty reafonable ; and the 
 markets are tolerably fupplied. The beef is 
 neither fat nor firm j but very good for foup, 
 which is the only ufe the French make of it. 
 The veal is not fo white, nor fo well fed, as 
 the Englifh veal ; but it is more juicy, and 
 better tailed. The mutton and pork are very 
 good. We buy our poultry alive, and fatten 
 them at home. Here are excellent turkies, 
 
 and
 
 L E T T E R IV. 43 
 
 no want of game : the hares, in parti- 
 cular, are very large, juicy, and high-flavour- 
 ed. The beft part of the fifh caught on this 
 coaft is fent poft to Paris, in chafie- marines, 
 by a company of contractors, like thofe of 
 Haftings in SufTex. Neverthelefs, we have 
 excellent foles, fkaite, flounders and whit- 
 ings, and fometimes mackarel. The oyfters 
 are very large, coarfe, and rank. There is 
 very little fifh caught on the French coaft, 
 becaufe the fhallows run a great way from 
 the fhore ; and the fifh live chiefly in deep 
 water : for this reafon the fifhermen go a 
 great way out to fea, fometimes even as far as 
 the coaft of England. Notwithftanding all the 
 hafte the contractors can make, their fifh in the 
 fummer is very often fpoiled before it arrives 
 at Paris ; and this is not to be wondered at, 
 confidering the length of the way, which is 
 near one hundred and fifty miles. At beft it 
 muft be in fuch a mortified condition, that 
 no other people, except the negroes on the 
 coaft of Guinea, would feed upon it. 
 
 The wine commonly drank at Boulogne 
 comes from Auxerre, is very fmall and mea- 
 gre, and may be had from five to eight fols a 
 4 bottle 5 -
 
 44 L E T T E R IV. 
 
 bottle ; that is, from two-pence halfpenny to 
 four-pence. The French inhabitants drink 
 no good wine -, nor is there any to be had, 
 unlefs you have recourfe to the Britifh wine- 
 merchants here eftablifned, who deal in Bonr- 
 deaux wines, brought hither by fea for the 
 London market. I have very good claret 
 from a friend, at the rate of fifteen- pence 
 fterling a bottle ; and excellent fmall beer as 
 reafonable as in England. I don't believe there 
 is a drop of generous Burgundy in the place 
 and the aubergiftes impofe upon us fhameful- 
 ly, when they charge it at two livres a bot- 
 tle. There is a fmall white wine, called prs- 
 mac, which is very agreeable and very cheap. 
 All the brandy which I have feen in Boulogne 
 is new, fiery, and ftill-burnt. This is the trafh 
 which the fmugglers import into England : 
 they have it for about ten-pence a gallon. 
 Butchers meat is fold for five fols, or two- 
 pence halfpenny a pound, and the pound here 
 confifts of eighteen ounces. I have a young tur- 
 key for thirty fols j a hare for four-and-twenty j 
 a couple of chickens for twenty fols, and a 
 couple of good foles for the fame price. Be- 
 fore we left England, we were told that there 
 
 was
 
 L E T T E R IV. 45 
 
 was no fruit in Boulogne ; but we have 
 found ourfelves agreeably difappointed in 
 this particular. The place is well fupplied 
 with ftrawberries, cherries, goofeberries, co- 
 rinths, peaches, apricots, and excellent pears. 
 I have eaten more fruit this feafon, than I 
 have done for feveral years. There are ma- 
 ny well-cultivated gardens in the fkirts of the 
 town; particularly one belonging to our friend 
 Mrs. B , where we often drink tea in a 
 charming fummer-houfe built on a rifing 
 ground, which commands a delightful prof- 
 peel: of the fea. We have many obligations 
 to this good lady, who is a kind neighbour, 
 an obliging friend, and a moft agreeable com- 
 panion : flie fpeaks Englifh prettily, and is 
 greatly attached to the people and the cuftoms 
 of our nation. They ufe wood for their 
 common fewel, though, if I were to live at 
 Boulogne, I would mix it with coal, which 
 this country affords. Both the wood and the 
 coal are reafonable enough. I am certain that 
 a man may keep houfe in Boulogne for about 
 one half of what it will coft him in Lon- 
 don j and this is faid to be one of the deareft 
 places in France. 
 
 The
 
 46 L E T T E R IV. 
 
 The adjacent country is very agreeable*" 
 diverfified with hill and dale, corn-fields, 
 woods, and meadows. There is a foreft of a 
 confiderable extent, that begins about a fhort 
 league from the Upper Town : it belongs to 
 the king, and the wood is farmed to diffe- 
 rent individuals. 
 
 Iri point of agriculture, the people in this 
 neighbourhood feem to have profited by the 
 example of the- Englifh. Since I was laft in 
 France, fifteen years ago, a good number of 
 inclofures and plantations have been made irt 
 the Englifh fafhion. There is a good many 
 tolerable country-houfes, within a few miles 
 of Boulogne ; but moftly empty. I was of- 
 fered a compleat houfe, with a garden of 
 four acres well laid out, and two fields for 
 grafs or hay, about a mile from the town, 
 for four hundred livres, about feventeen pounds 
 a year : it is partly furniihed, {lands in an 
 agreeable fituation, with a fine profpect of 
 the fea, and was lately occupied by a Scotch 
 nobleman, who is in the fervice of France. 
 
 To judge from appearance, the people of 
 Boulogne are defcended from the Flemings, 
 who formerly pofTelTed this country 5 for, a 
 
 great
 
 L E T T E R IV. 47 
 
 great many of the prefent inhabitants have 
 fine fkins, fair hair, and florid complexions ; 
 very different from the natives of France in 
 general, who are diftinguifhed by black hair, 
 brown fkins, and fwarthy faces. The people 
 of the Boulonnois enjoy fome extraordinary 
 privileges, and, in particular, are exempted" 
 from the gabelle or duties upon fait : how 
 they deferved this mark of favour, I do not 
 know j but they feem to have a ipirit of in- 
 dependence among them, are very ferocious, 
 and much addicted to revenge. Many bar- 
 barous murders are committed, both in the 
 town and country ; and the peafants, from 
 motives of envy and refentment, frequently 
 fet their neighbours houfes on fire. Several 
 inftances of this kind have happened in the 
 courfe of the lafl year. The interruption 
 which is given, in arbitrary governments, to 
 the adminiftration of juftice, by the interpo- 
 fition of the great, has always a bad effect 
 upon the morals of the common people. The 
 peafants too are often rendered defperate and 
 favage, by the mifery they fuffer from the 
 oppreflion and tyranny of their landlords. 
 In this neighbourhood the labouring people 
 
 are
 
 48 L E T T E R IV, 
 
 are ill lodged and wretchedly fed ; and they 
 have no idea of cleanlinefs. There is a fub- 
 flantial burgher in the High Town, who was 
 fome years ago convicted of a moft barba- 
 rous murder. He received fentence to be 
 broke alive upon the wheel j but was par- 
 doned by the interpofition of the governor 
 of the county, and carries on his bufmefs 
 as ufual in the face of the whole commu- 
 nity. A furious abbe, being refufed orders 
 by the bifhop, on account of his irregular 
 life, took an opportunity to flab the prelate 
 with a knife, one Sunday, as he walked out 
 of the cathedral. The good bifhop defired 
 he might be permitted to efcape ; but it was 
 thought proper to punifli, with the utmofl 
 feverity, fuch an atrocious attempt. He was 
 accordingly apprehended, and, though the 
 wound was not mortal, condemned to be 
 broke. When this dreadful fentence was ex- 
 ecuted, he cried out, that it was* hard he 
 fhould undergo fuch torments, for having 
 wounded a worthiefs priefl', by whom he had 
 been injured, while fuch-a-one (naming the 
 burgher mentioned above) lived in eafe and 
 fecurity, after having brutally murdered a poor 
 
 man,
 
 L E T T E R IV. 49 
 
 man, and a helplefs woman big with child, 
 who had not given him the leafl provoca- 
 tion. 
 
 The inhabitants of Boulogne may be di- 
 vided into three clafles the nobleffe or gen- 
 try, the burghers, and the canaille. I don't 
 mention the clergy, and the people belonging 
 to the law, becaufe I fhall occafionally trou- 
 ble you with my thoughts upon the religion 
 and ecclefiaftics of this country ; and as for 
 the lawyers, exclulive of their profeflion, they 
 may be confidered as belonging to one or o- 
 fher of thefe divifions. The noblefle are 
 vain, proud, poor, and flothful. Very few 
 6f them have above fix thoufand livres a year, 
 which may amount to about two hundred 
 2nd fifty pounds fterling ; and many of them 
 have not half this revenue. I think there is 
 one heirefs, faid to be worth one hundred 
 thoufand livres, about four thoufand two 
 hundred pounds; but then her jewels, her 
 cloaths, and even her linen, are reckoned part 
 of this fortune. The noblefle have not the 
 common fenfe to refide at their houfes in the 
 Country, where, by farming their own grounds, 
 they might live at a fmall expence, and im- 
 
 VOL. I. E prove
 
 5 o L E T T E R IV. 
 
 prove their eftates at the fame time. They 
 allow their country-houfes to go to decay, 
 and their gardens and fields to wafte ; and re- 
 fide in dark holes in the Upper Town of Bou- 
 logne, without light, air, or convenience. 
 There they ftarve within doors, that they 
 may have wherewithal to purchafe fine cloaths, 
 and appear drefTed once a day in the church, 
 or on the rampart. They have no education, 
 no tafle for reading, no houfewifery, nor in- 
 deed any earthly occupation, but that of dref- 
 fing their hair, and adorning their bodies. 
 They hate walking, and would never go a- 
 broad, if they were not ftimulated by the va- 
 nity of being feen. I ought to except indeed 
 thofe who turn devotees, and fpend the great- 
 eft part of their time with the prieft, either 
 at church, or in their own houfes. Other 
 amufements they have none in this place, ex- 
 cept private parties of card- play ing, which 
 are far from being expenfive. Nothing can 
 be more parfimonious than the ceconomy of 
 thefe people : they live upon foupe and bou- 
 ille, fifh and fallad : they never think of giv- 
 ing dinners, or entertaining their friends; 
 they even lave the expence of coffee and tea, 
 
 though
 
 L E T T E R IV. 5I 
 
 though both are very cheap at Boulogne. They 
 prefume that every perfon drinks coffee at 
 home, immediately after dinner, which . is. 
 always over by one o'clock; and, in lieu of 
 tea in the afternoon, they treat with a glafs 
 of fherbet, or capillaire. In a word, I know 
 not a more infignificant fet of mortals than 
 the nobleffe of Boulogne; helplefs in them- 
 felves, and ufelefs to the community ; with- 
 out dignity, lenfe, or fcntiment j contempti- 
 ble from pride, and ridiculous from vanity^ 
 They pretend to be jealous of their rank, 
 and will entertain no correfpondence with. 
 the merchants, whom they term plebeians. 
 They likewife keep at a great diftance frorri 
 grangers, on pretence of a delicacy in the 
 article of punctilio : but, as I am informed* 
 this ftatelienefs is in a great meafure affected, 
 in order to conceal their poverty,which would 
 appear to greater difadvantage, if they ad- 
 mitted of a more familiar communication. 
 Confidering the vivacity of the French peo-* 
 pie, one would imagine they could not pof- 
 fibly lead fuch an infipid life, altogether un- 
 animated by fociety, or diverfion. True it 
 is, the only profane diverfions of this place 
 E 2 are
 
 52 L E T T E R IV. 
 
 are a puppet-fhow and a mountebank ; but 
 then their religion affords a perpetual come- 
 dy. Their high mattes, their feafts, their 
 proceflions, their pilgrimages, confeflions, 
 images, tapers, robes, incenfe, benedictions, 
 fpe6lacles, reprefentations, and innumerable 
 ceremonies, which revolve almoil incefTantly, 
 furnifli a variety of entertainment from one 
 end of the year to the other. If fuperftition 
 implies fear, never was a word more rnifap- 
 plied than it is to the mummery of the re- 
 ligion of Rome. The people are fo far from 
 being imprerTed with awe and religious terror 
 by this fort of machinery, that it amufes their 
 imaginations in the nioft agreeable manner, 
 and keeps them always in good humour. 
 A Roman catholic longs as impatiently for the 
 feftival of St. Suaire, or St. Croix, or St. Ve- 
 rontque, as a fchool-boy in England for the 
 reprefentation of punch and the devil ; and 
 there is generally as much laughing at one 
 farce as at the other. Even when the defcent 
 from the crofs is acted, in the holy week, with 
 all the circumftances that ought naturally to 
 infpire the graveft fentiments, if you caft your 
 eyes among the multitude that croud the 
 
 place >
 
 L E T T E R IV, 53 
 
 place, you will not difcover one melancholy 
 face : all is prattling, tittering, or laughing ; 
 and ten to one but you perceive a number of 
 them employed in hifling the female who 
 perforates the Virgin Mary. And here it 
 may not be amifs to obferve, that the Ro- 
 man catholics, not content with the infinite 
 number of faints who really exifted, have 
 not only pedbnified the crofs, but made two 
 female faints out of a piece of linen. Ve- 
 roniqii y or Veronica^ is no other than a cor- 
 ruption of vera icon, or vera effigies, faid to 
 be the exact reprefentation of our Saviour's 
 face, impreffed upon a piece of linen, with 
 which he wiped the fweat from his forehead 
 in his way to the place of crucifixion. The 
 fame is worfhipped under the name of St. 
 Suaire, from the Latin word fudariiim. This 
 fame handkerchief is faid to have had three 
 folds, on every one of which was the impreffion: 
 one of thefe remains at Jerufalem, a fecond 
 was brought to Rome, and a third was con- 
 veyed to Spain. Baronius fays, there is a very 
 antient hiftory of the fantta fades in the Va- 
 tican. Tillemont, however, looks upon the 
 whole as a fable. Some fuppofe Veronica to 
 
 E 3 te
 
 54 L E T T E R IV. 
 
 be the fame with St. HasmorrhoifTa, the pa- 
 tronefs of thofe who are afflicted with the piles, 
 who make their joint invocations to her and St. 
 Fiacre, the fon of a Scotch king, who lived and 
 died a hermit in France. The troops of Henry V. 
 of England are faid to have pillaged the cha- 
 pel of this Highland Xaint ; who, in revenge, 
 affifted his countrymen, in the French fer- 
 vice, to defeat the English at Bauge, and af- 
 terwards afflicted Henry with the piles, of 
 which he died. This prince complained, that 
 he was not only plagued by the living Scots, 
 but even perfecuted by thofe who were dead. 
 I know aot whether I may be allowed to 
 compare the Romifl} religion to comedy, and 
 Calvinifm to tragedy. The firfl amufes the 
 fenfes, and excites ideas of mirth and good- 
 humour ; the other, like tragedy, deals in 
 the paflions of terror and pity. Step into a 
 conventicle of diffenters, you will, ten to 
 one, hear the minifter holding forth upon 
 the {offerings of Chrift, or the torments of 
 hell, and fee many marks of religious hpr- 
 sror in the faces of the hearers. This is per- 
 Jiaps one reafon why the reformation did not 
 Succeed in France, among a volatile, giddy, 
 
 ynthinking
 
 L E T T E R IV. 55 
 
 unthinking people, fhocked at the mortified 
 appearances of the Calvinifts 5 and accounts 
 for its rapid progrefs among nations of a 
 more melancholy turn of character and com- 
 plexion : for, in the converfion of the mul- 
 titude, reafon is generally out of the quefli- 
 on. Even the penance impofed upon the 
 catholics is little more than mock mortifica- 
 tion : a murderer is often quit with his con- 
 feflbr for faying three prayers extraordinary; 
 and thefe eafy terms, on which abfolution is 
 obtained, certainly encourage the repetition 
 of the moft enormous crimes. The pomp 
 and ceremonies of this religion, together with 
 the great number of holidays they obferve, 
 howfoever they may keep up the fpirits of 
 the commonalty, and help to diminifh the 
 fenfe of their own mifery, muft certainly, at 
 the fame time, produce a frivolous tafte for 
 frippery and fliew, and encourage a habit of 
 idlenefs, to which I, in a great meafure, 
 afcribe the extreme poverty of the lower 
 people. Very near half of their time, 
 which might be profitably employed, in the 
 exercife of induilry, is loft to themielves 
 and the community, in attendance upon 
 E 4 the
 
 5 6 L E T T E R V, 
 
 the different exhibitions of religious mum- 
 mery. 
 
 But as this letter has already run to an 
 unconfcionable length, I mail defer, till ano.- 
 ther occafion, what I have further to fay on 
 the people of this place, and in the mean 
 time allure you, that I am always 
 
 Yours affectionately. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Boulogne , September l^ ) 1763. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 MY flay in this place now draws to- 
 wards a period. 'Till within thefe 
 few days I have continued bathing, with fomp 
 advantage to my health, though the feafon 
 has been cold and wet, and difagreeable. 
 There was a fine profpecl: of a plentiful har- 
 yeft in this neighbourhood. I ufed to have 
 great pleafure in driving between the fields of 
 wheat, oats, and barley -, but the crop has 
 J^een entirely ruined by the rain, and nothing 
 {s npw to be fcen on the ground but the 
 
 farnifhed
 
 L E T T E .R V. 57 
 
 iarnifhed ftraw, and the rotten fpoils of the 
 hufbandman's labour. The ground fcarce 
 affords fubfiflence to a few flocks of meagre 
 fheep, that crop the flubble, and the inter- 
 vening grafs ; each flock under the pro- 
 tection of its fhepherd, with his crook 
 and dogs, who lies every night in the midft 
 .of the fold, in a little thatched travelling 
 lodge, mounted on a wheel-carriage. Here 
 he pafies the night, in order to defend his 
 Hock from the wolves, which are fometimes, 
 efpecially in winter, very bold and defper- 
 rate. 
 
 Two days ago we made an excurfion with 
 Mrs. B- - and Capt. L- to the village of 
 Samers, on the Paris road, about three leagues 
 from Boulogne. Here is a venerable abbey 
 of Benedictines, well endowed, with large 
 agreeable gardens prettily laid out. The monks 
 are well lodged, and well entertained. Tho' 
 reftricled from flefli meals by the rules of 
 their order, they are allowed to eat wild duck 
 and teal, as a fpecies of fim j and when they 
 long for a good bouillon^ or a partridge, or 
 pullet, they have nothing to do but to fay 
 jhey are out of prder, In that cafe the apper 
 
 tite
 
 58 L E T T E R V. 
 
 tite of the patient is indulged in his own a- 
 partment. Their church is elegantly con- 
 trived, but kept in a very dirty condition. 
 The greateft curiofiry I faw in this place was 
 an Englifh boy, about eight or nine years old, 
 from Dover, whom his father had fent hither 
 to learn the French language. In lefs than 
 eight weeks, he was become captain of the 
 boys of the place, fpoke French perfectly 
 well, and had almofl forgot his mother 
 tongue. But to return to the people of Bou- 
 logne. 
 
 The burghers here, as in other places, con- 
 fift of merchants, fhop- keepers, and artifans. 
 Some of the merchants have got fortunes, by 
 fitting out privateers during the war. A 
 great many fingle (hips were taken from the 
 Englifh, notwithstanding the good look-out 
 of our cruifers, who were fo alert, that the 
 privateers from this coaft were often taken 
 in four hours after they failed from the French 
 harbour ; and there is hardly a captain of 
 an armateur in Boulogne, who has not been 
 prifoner in England five or fix times in the 
 courfe of the war. They were fitted out at 
 a very fmall expence, and ufed to run over 
 
 in
 
 L E T T E R Y. 59 
 
 in the night to the coaft of England, where 
 they hovered as Englifh fifhing fmacks, until 
 they kidnapped fome coafler, with which they 
 made the beft of their way acrofs the Chan- 
 nel. If they fell in with a Britilli cruizer, 
 they furrendered without refinance : the cap- 
 tain was foon exchanged, and the lofs of the 
 proprietor was not great : if they brought 
 their prize fafe into harbour, the advan^ 
 tage was confiderable. In time of peace the 
 merchants of Boulogne deal in wine, bran- 
 dies, and oil, imported from the South, and 
 export fifli, with the manufactures of France, 
 to Portugal, and other countries j but the 
 trade is not great. Here are two or three 
 confiderable houfes of wine merchants from 
 Britain, who deal in Bourdeaux wine, with 
 which they fupply London and other parts of 
 England, Scotland, and Ireland. The fifhery 
 of mackarel and herring is fo confiderable on 
 this coaft, that it is faid to yield annually eight 
 or nine hundred thoufand livres, about thir- 
 ty-five thoufand pounds flerling. 
 
 The (hop-keepers here drive a confiderable 
 traffic with the Englifh fmr.gglers, whofe cutters 
 fire almoft the only veiTels one fees in the har- 
 
 bour
 
 60 L E T T E R V. 
 
 hour of Boulogne, if we except about a do- 
 zen of thofe flat-bottomed boats, which raifed 
 fuch alarms in England, in the courfe of the 
 war. Indeed they feem to be good for no- 
 thing elfe, and perhaps they were built for this 
 purpofe only. The fmugglers from the coafl 
 of Kent and SufTex pay Englith gold for great 
 quantities of French brandy, tea, coffee, and 
 fmall wine, which they run from this coun- 
 try. They likewife buy glafs trinkets, toys, 
 and coloured prints, which fell in England, 
 for no other reafon, but that they come from 
 France, as they may be had as cheap, and 
 much better finifhed, of our own manufacture. 
 They likewife take off ribbons, laces, linen, 
 and cambrics ; though this branch of trade 
 is chiefly in the hands of traders that come 
 from London, and make their purchafes at 
 Dunkirk, where they pay no duties. It is 
 certainly worth while for any traveller to lay 
 in a flock of linen either at Dunkirk or Bou- 
 logne ; the difference of the price at thefe 
 two places is not great. Even here I have 
 made a provifion of fhirts for one half of the 
 money they would have coft in London. Un- 
 doubtedly the practice of fmuggling is very 
 
 detrU
 
 L E T T E R V. 61 
 
 detrimental to the fair trader, and carries con- 
 fiderable fums of money out of the kingdom, 
 to enrich our rivals and enemies. The cuf- 
 tom-houfe officers are very watchful, and 
 make a great number of feizures : never- 
 thelefs, the fmugglers find their account in 
 continuing this contraband commerce ; and 
 are faid to indemnify themfelves, if they fave 
 one cargo out of three. After all, the beft 
 way to prevent fmuggling, is to lower the 
 duties upon the commodities which are thus 
 introduced. I have been told, that the reve- 
 nue upon tea has encreafed ever fince the 
 duty upon it was diminished. By the bye, 
 the tea fmuggled on the coaft of Suffex is 
 mod execrable fluff. While I ftayed at Raf- 
 tings, for the conveniency of bathing, I muft 
 have changed my breakfaft, if I had not lucki- 
 ly brought tea with me from London : yet 
 we have as good tea at Boulogne for nine 
 livres a pound, as that which fells at four- 
 teen fhillings at London. 
 
 The bourgeois of this place feem to live at 
 their eafe, probably in confequence of their 
 trade with the Englifh. Their houfes confifl 
 of the ground-floor, one ftory above t and 
 
 garrets.
 
 62 LETTER V. 
 
 garrets. In thofe which are well furnifhed, 
 you fee pier-glaffes and marble flabs ; but 
 the chairs are either paultry things, made 
 with ftraw bottoms, which cod about a fhil- 
 ling a-piece, or old-faihioned, high-backed 
 feats of needle- work, fluffed, very clumfy 
 and incommodious. The tables are fquare 
 fir boards, that ftand on edge in a corner, ex- 
 cept when they are ufed, and then they are 
 fet upon crofs legs that open and fhut occa- 
 fionally. The king of France dines off a 
 board of this kind. Here is plenty of table-" 
 linen however. The poorer! tradefman in 
 Boulogne has a napkin on every cover, and 
 filver forks with four prongs, which are ufed 
 with, the right hand, there being very little 
 occafion for knives > for the meat is boiled or 
 roafted to rags. The French beds are fohigh, 
 that fpmetimes one is obliged to mount them 
 by the help of ileps ; and this is alfo the cafe 
 in Flanders. They very feldom ufe feather- 
 beds ; but they lie upon a paillafle, or bag 
 of ftraw, over which are laid two, and fome- 
 times three mattrafies. Their tetters are high 
 and old-fafhioned, and their curtains ge- 
 nerally of thin bays, red, or green, laced with 
 
 tawdry
 
 L E T T E R V. 63 
 
 taudry yellow, in imitation of gold. In Tome 
 houfes, however, one meets with furniture of 
 ftamped linen ; but there is no fuch thing as 
 a carpet to be feen, and the floors are in a 
 very dirty condition. They have not even the 
 implements of cleanlinefs in this country. 
 Every chamber is furnifhed with an armoirc, 
 or clothes-prefs, and a cheft of drawers, of 
 very clumfy workmanfhip. Every thing 
 (hews a deficiency in the mechanic arts. 
 There is not a door, nor a window, that fhuts 
 clofe. The hinges, locks, and latches, are of 
 iron, coarfely made, and ill contrived. The 
 very chimnies are built fo open, that they ad- 
 mit both rain and fun, and all of them fmoke 
 intolerably. If there is no cleanlinefs among 
 thefe people, much lefs (hall we find delicacy, 
 which is tiie cleanlinefs of the mind. Indeed 
 they are utter firangers to what we call common 
 decency; and I could give you fome high-fla- 
 voured inftances, at which even a native of 
 Edinburgh would flop his nofe. There are 
 certain mortifying views of human nature, 
 which undoubtedly ought to be concealed as 
 much as poffible, in order to prevent giving 
 offence : and nothing can be more abfurd, 
 
 than
 
 64 L E T T E R V. 
 
 than to plead the difference of cuftom in dif- 
 ferent countries, in defence of thofe ufages 
 which cannot fail giving difguft to the organs 
 and fenfes of all mankind, Will cuftom ex- 
 empt from the imputation of grofs indecency 
 a French lady, who fhifts her frowfy fmock 
 in prefence of a male vifitant, and talks to 
 him of her lavement, her medicine, and her 
 bidet ! An Italian Jignora makes no fcruple of 
 telling you, fhe is fitch a day to begin a .courfe 
 of phyfic, for the pox. The celebrated re- 
 former of the Italian comedy introduces a 
 child befouling itfelf on the flage, OE, NOT 
 
 TI SENTI ? BISOGNA DESFASSARLO, (fa CennO 
 
 che fentefi mat vdore). I have. known a lady 
 handed to the houfe of office by her admirer, 
 who flood at the door, and entertained her 
 with bom mots all the time fhe was within^ 
 But I fhould be glad to know, whether it is 
 poflible for a fine lady to fpeak and aft in this 
 manner, without exciting ideas to her owri 
 difadvantage in the mind of every man whci 
 has any imagination left, and enjoys the in-; 
 tire ufe of his fenfes, howfoever fhe may be 
 authorifed by the cuftoms of her country ? 
 There is nothing fo vile or repugnant to na^ 
 
 ture.
 
 L E T T E R V. 65 
 
 tore, but you may plead prefcription for it, 
 in the cuftoms of fome nation or other. A 
 Parifian likes mortified flefli : a native of 
 Legiboli will not tafte his fifh till it is quite 
 putrefied : the civilized inhabitants of Kam- 
 fchatka get drunk with the urine of their 
 guefts, whom they have already intoxicated : 
 the Nova Zemblans make merry on train- 
 oil : the Groenlanders eat in the fame difh 
 with their dogs : the CafFres, at the Cape of 
 Good Hope, pifs upon thofe whom they de- 
 light to honour, and feaft upon a fiieep's in- 
 teftines with their contents, as the greatefl 
 dainty that can be prefented. A true-bred 
 Frenchman dips his fingers, imbrowned with 
 fnuff, into his plate filled with ragout : 
 between every three mouthfuls, he produces 
 his muff-box, and takes a frefh pinch, with. 
 the moft graceful gefticulations ? then he 
 difplays his handkerchief, which may be 
 termed the fag of abomination^ and, in the 
 ufe of both, fcatters his favours among thofe 
 who have the happinefs to fit near him. It 
 muft be owned, however, that a Frenchman 
 will not drink out of a tankard, in which, 
 perhaps, a dozen of filthy mouths have flab- 
 VOL. I. F
 
 66 L E T T E R V. 
 
 bered, as is the cuftom in England. Here 
 every individual has his own gobelet, which 
 {lands before him, and he helps himfelf oc- 
 cafionally with wine, or water, or both, 
 which likewife ftand upon the table. But I 
 know no cuftom more beaftly than that of 
 ufing water-glafies, in which polite company 
 fpirt, and fquirt, and fpue the filthy fcour- 
 ings of their gums, under the eyes of each 
 other. I knew a lover cured of his paffion, 
 by feeing this nafty cafcade difcharged from 
 the mouth of his miftrefs. I don't doubt but 
 I fhall live to fee the day, when the hofpita- 
 ble cuflom of the antient ./Egyptians will be 
 revived ; then a conveniency will be placed 
 behind every chair in company, with a pro- 
 per provifion of wafle paper, that individu- 
 als may make themfelves eafy without part- 
 ing company. I infifl upon it, that this 
 practice would not be more indelicate than 
 that which is now in ufe. What then, you 
 will fay, muft a man fit with his chops and 
 fingers up to the ears and knuckles in 
 gre-afe ? No ; let thofe who cannot eat with- 
 out defiling themfelves, ftep into another 
 room, provided with bafons and towels : but 
 4 I think
 
 L E T T E R V. 67 
 
 I think it would be better to inftitute fchools, 
 where youth may learn to eat their victuals, 
 without daubing themfelves, or giving of- 
 fence to the eyes of one another. 
 
 The bourgeois of Boulogne have commonly 
 foup and bouille at noon, and a roaft, with 
 a fallad, for fupper ; and at all their meals 
 there is a defert of fruit. This indeed is the 
 practice all over France. On meagre days 
 they eat fHh, omelettes, fried beans, fricaf- 
 fees of eggs and onions, and burnt cream- 
 The tea which they drink in the afternoon is 
 rather boiled than infufed ; it is fweetened all 
 together with coarfe fugar, and drank with 
 an equal quantity of boiled milk. 
 
 We had the honour to be entertained the 
 other day by our landlord, Mr. B- , who 
 fpared no coft on this banquet, exhibited for 
 the glory of France. He had invited a new- 
 married couple, together with the hufband's 
 mother, and the lady's father, who was one 
 of the noblefleof Montreuil, his nameMonf. 
 L y. There were likewife fome merchants 
 of the town, and Monf. B -'s uncle, a fa- 
 cetious little man, who had ferved in the Eng- 
 Jifh navy, and was as big and as round as a 
 F 2 hogfhead }
 
 63 L E T T E R V, 
 
 hogfliead j we were likewife favoured with rhdr 
 company of father K , a native of Ireland,. 
 who is vicaire, or curate of the parifh ; and 
 among the guefts was Monf. L y's fon, a 
 pretty boy, about thirteen or fourteen years 
 of age. The repas ferved up in three fer- 
 vices, or courfes, with entrees and hors 
 d&uvresy exclufive of the fruit, confifted of 
 above twenty dilhes, extremely well drefled 
 by the rotiffeur, who is the beft cook I ever 
 knew^ in France, or elfe where 5, but the/>/rfte 
 were not prefented with much order. Our 
 young ladies did not feem to be much ufed 
 to do the honours of the table. The moft 
 extraordinary circumftance that I obferved 
 on- this occafion was, that all the French who 
 were prefent ate of every difh that appear- 
 ed ; and I am told, that if there had been ait- 
 hundred articles more, they would have had 
 a trial of each. This is what they call doing, 
 juftice to tlie founder. Mont L y was- 
 pkced at the head of the table ; and indeed 
 he was the oracle and orator of the compa- 
 ny ; tall, thin, and weather-beaten, not un- 
 like the picture of Don Quixote after he had 
 loft his teeth. He had been garde du carps,, 
 
 or
 
 L E T T E R V. 69 
 
 or life-guardman at Verfaillcs; and by virtue 
 of this office he was perfectly well acquaint- 
 ed with the perfons of the king and the dau- 
 phin, with the characters of the miniflers 
 and grandees, and, in a word, with all the 
 fecrets of ftate, on which he held forth with 
 equal folemnity and elocution. He exclaim- 
 ed againft the jefuits, and the farmers of the 
 revenue, who, he faid, had mined France. 
 Then, addreffing himfelf to me, afked, if 
 the Englifh did not every day drink to the 
 health of madame la marqulfe? I did not at 
 firft comprehend his meaning j but anfwered 
 in general, that the Englifti were not defici- 
 ent in complaifance for the ladies. " Ah ! 
 (cried he) (he is the beft friend they have in 
 the world. If it had not been for her, they 
 would not have fuch reafon to boaft of the 
 advantages of the war." I told him the on- 
 ly conqueft which the French had made in 
 the war, was atchieved by one of her gene- 
 rals : I meant the taking of Mahon. But I 
 did not choofe to profecute the difcourfe, re- 
 membering that in the year 1749, I had like 
 to have had an affair with a Frenchman at 
 , who affirmed, that all the battles 
 F 3 gained
 
 7 o L E T T E R V. 
 
 gained by the great duke of Marlborough 
 were purpofely loft by the French generals, 
 in order to bring the fchemes of madame de 
 Maintenon into difgrace. This is no bad 
 refource for the national vanity of thefe peo- 
 ple : though, in general, they are really per- 
 fuaded, that theirs is the richeft, the braveft, 
 the happieft, and the moft powerful nation 
 under the ran j and therefore, without fome 
 fuch caufe, they muft be invincible. By the 
 bye, the common people here ftill frighten 
 their wayward children with the name of 
 Marlborough. Mr. EU^'s fon, who was 
 nurfed at a peafant's houfe, happening one 
 day, after he was brought home, to be in 
 difgrace with his father, who threatened to 
 correcl him, the child ran for protection to 
 his mother, crying, c faites fortir ce vilaine 
 Malbroug" It is amazing to hear a fenfible 
 Frenchman afTert, that the revenues of France 
 amount to four hundred -millions of livres, 
 ^bout twenty millions fterling, clear of all 
 incumbrances, when in fact their clear reve- 
 nue is not much above ten. Without all 
 doubt they have reafon to inveigh againfl the 
 gcncranx^ who opprcfs the people in 
 
 raifing
 
 L E T T E R V. 71 
 
 raifing the taxes, not above two thirds of 
 which are brought into the king's coffers : 
 the reft enriches themfelves, and enables them 
 to bribe high for the protection of the great, 
 which is the only fupport they have againft 
 the remonftrances of the ftates and parlia- 
 ments, and the fuggeftions of common fenfe ; 
 which will ever demonftrate this to be, of 
 all others, the moft pernicious method of 
 fupplying the neceffities of government. 
 
 Monf. L y feafoned the feverity of his 
 
 political apothegms with intermediate fallies 
 of mirth and gallantry. He ogled the ve- 
 nerable gentlewoman his commere^ who fat by 
 him. He looked, fighed, and languifhed, 
 fung tender fongs, and kified the old lady's 
 hand with all the ardour of a youthful ad- 
 mirer. I unfortunately congratulated him 
 on having fuch a pretty young gentleman to 
 his fon. He anfvvered, fighing, that the 
 boy had talents, but did not put them to a 
 proper ufe cc long before I attained his age 
 (faid he) I had finifhed my rhetoric." Cap- 
 tain B , who had eaten himfelf black in 
 
 the face, and, with the napkin under his 
 
 chin, was no bad reprefentation of Sancho 
 
 F 4 Panza
 
 7 2 L E T T E R V. 
 
 Panza in the fuJs, with the difliclout about 
 his neck, when the duke's fcullions infilled 
 upon fhaving him -, this lea-wit, turning to 
 the boy, with a wagguh leer, " I fuppofe 
 (faid he) you don't underftand the figure of 
 amplification fo well as Monfieur your father.?' 
 At that inftant, one of the nieces, who 
 knew her uncle to be very ticklifh, touched 
 him under the ihort ribg, on which the little 
 man attempted to fpring up, but loft the 
 centre of gravity. He overturned his own 
 plate in the lap of the perfon that fat next t& 
 him, and falling obliquely upon his own 
 chair, both tumbled down upon the floor tp r 
 gether, to the great difcompofure of the 
 whole company 3 for the poor man wouic} 
 have been actually ftrangled, had not his 
 nephew loofed his flock with great expedi- 
 tion. Matters being once more ad jaded, and 
 the captain condoled on his difafter, Manf. 
 L r j toojt it in his head to read his fon a 
 lefture upon filial obedience. This was min- 
 gled with fome fharp reproof, which the boy 
 took fo ill that he retired. The old lady ob- 
 jferved that he had been too fevere : her daugh- 
 f.er-ia : -Jaw.^ who was very pr^ty, faid her brp- 
 
 the?
 
 L 3 ' T T E R V. 73 
 
 ther had given him too much reafon ; hint- 
 ing, at the fame time, that he was addicted 
 to fome terrible vices ; upon which feveral 
 individuals repeated the interjection, ah ! 
 ah ! " Yes (faid Monf. L y, with a rue- 
 ful afpec~l) the boy has a pernicious turn for 
 gaming ; in one afternoon lie loft, at billi- 
 ards, fuch a fum as gives me horror to think 
 of it." " Fifty fols in one afternoon," (cri- 
 ed the fifter). " Fifty fols ! (exclaimed the 
 jnother-in-law, with marks of aftonifhment) 
 that's too much that's too much I. rhe's to 
 blame he's to blame ! but youth, you know 
 JVIonf. L y ah ! vive la jeunefle !" " et 
 i amour I" cried the father, wiping his eyes, 
 fqueezing her hand, and looking tenderly 
 upon her. Mr. B - took this opportunity 
 to bring in the young gentleman, who was 
 admitted into favour, and received a fecond 
 exhortation. Thus harmony was reftored, 
 2nd the entertainment concluded with fruit, 
 coffee, and liqueurs. 
 
 When a bourgeois of Boulogne takes the 
 air, he goes in a one horfe-chaife, which is here 
 palled cabriolet, and hires it for half-a-crowri 
 j day, Th>re are alfo travelling chaifes, which 
 
 hold
 
 74 L E T T E Re V. 
 
 hold four perfons, two feated with their faces 
 to the horfes, and two behind their backs ; 
 but thofe vehicles are all very ill made, and 
 extremely inconvenient. The way of riding 
 molt ufed in this place is on afsback. You 
 will fee every day, in the Ikirts of the town, 
 a great number of females thus mounted, 
 with the feet on either fide occafionally, ac- 
 cording as the wind blows, fo that fometimes 
 the right and fometimes the left hand guides 
 the bead : but in other parts of France, as 
 well as in Italy, the ladies fit on horfeback 
 with their legs aftride, and are provided with 
 drawers for that purpofe. 
 
 When I faid the French people were kept 
 in good humour by the fopperies of their re- 
 ligion, I did not mean that there were no 
 gloomy fpirits among them. There will be 
 fanatics in religion, while there are people 
 of a faturnine difpofition, and melancholy 
 turn of mind. The character of a devotee* 
 which is hardly known in England, is very 
 common here. You fee them walking to 
 and from church at all hours, in their hoods 
 and long camblet cloaks, with a flow pace, 
 demure afpect, and downcafl eye. Thofe who 
 
 are
 
 L E T T E R V. 75 
 
 are poor become very troublefome to the 
 monks, with their fcruples and cafes of con- 
 fcience : you may fee them on their knees, 
 at the confeflional, every hour in the day. 
 The rich devotee has her favourite confeffor, 
 whom Ihe confults and regales in private, at 
 her own houfe j and this fpiritual director 
 generally governs the whole family. For 
 my part, I never knew a fanatic that was 
 jiot an hypocrite at bottom. Their preten- 
 fions to fuperior fanctity, and an abfolute 
 conquefl over all the paffions, which human 
 reafon was never yet able to fubdue, intro- 
 duce a habit . of diflimulation, which, like 
 all other habits, is confirmed by ufe, till at 
 length they become adepts in the art and 
 fcience of hypocrify. Enthufiafm and hy- 
 pocrify are by no means incompatible. The 
 wildeft fanatics I ever knew, were real fenfu- 
 alifts in their way of living, and cunning 
 cheats in their dealings with mankind. 
 
 Among the lower clafs of people at Bou- 
 logne, thofe who take the lead, are the fea- 
 faring men, who live in one quarter, divided 
 into clafles, and regiftered for the fervice of 
 {be king. They are hardy and raw-boned, 
 
 exercife
 
 7 6 L -E T T E R V. 
 
 exercife the trade of fifhermen and boatmen, 
 and propagate like rabbits. They have put 
 themfelves under the protection of a mira- 
 culous image of the Virgin Mary, which is 
 kept in one of their churches, and every 
 year carried in proceffion. According to the 
 legend, this image was carried off, with o- 
 ther pillage, by the Englifh, when they took 
 Boulogne, in the reign of Henry VIII. The 
 lady, rather than refide in England, where 
 fhe found a great many heretics, trufted her- 
 felf alone in an open boat, and croiTed the 
 fea to the road of Boulogne, where fhe was 
 feen waiting for a pilot. Accordingly a boat 
 put off to her affiftance, and brought her 
 fafe into the harbour : fince which time fhe 
 has continued to patronize the watermen of 
 Boulogne. At prefent fhe is very black and 
 very ugly, befides being cruelly mutilated in 
 ^different parts of her body, which I fuppofe 
 have been amputated, and converted into to- 
 bacco-ftoppers ; but once a year fhe is drefied 
 in very rich attire, and carried in proceffion, 
 with a filver boat, provided at the ex pence of 
 jthe failors. That vanity which characlerifes 
 }ie French extends even to the canaille.
 
 L E T T E R V. 77 
 
 The loweft creature among them is fare to 
 have her ear-rings and golden crofs hanging 
 about her neck. Indeed this-laft is an imple- 
 ment of fuperftition as well as of drefs, with- 
 out which no female appears. The common 
 people here, as in all countries where they 
 live poorly and dirtily, are hard-featured, 
 and of very brown, or rather tawny com- 
 plexions. As they feldom eat meat, their 
 juices are deftitute of that animal oil which 
 gives a plumpnefs and fmoothnefs to the fkin, 
 and defends thofe fine capillaries from the 
 injuries of the weather, which would other- 
 wife coalefce, or be Ihrunk up, fo as to im- 
 pede the circulation on the external furface of 
 the body. As for the dirt, it undoubtedly 
 blocks up the pores of the fkin, and difor- 
 ders the perfpiration ; confequently muft con- 
 tribute to the fcurvy, itch, and other cuta- 
 neous diflempers. 
 
 In the quarter of the matehts at Boulogne, 
 there is a number of poor Canadians, who 
 were removed from the ifland of St. John, 
 in the gulph of St. Laurence, when it was 
 reduced by the Englilh. Thefe people are 
 maintained at the expence of the king, who 
 
 allows
 
 7 S L E T T E R V. 
 
 allows them foldier's pay, that is five fols, 
 or two-pence halfpenny a day j or rather 
 three fols and ammunition bread. How the 
 foldiers contrive to fubfift upon this wretched 
 allowance, I cannot comprehend : but, it 
 mufl be owned, that thofe invalids who do 
 duty at Boulogne betray no marks of want. 
 They are hale and itout, neatly and de- 
 cently cloathed, and on the whole look bet- 
 ter than the penfioners of Chelfea. 
 
 About three weeks ago I was favoured with a 
 vifit by one Mr. M , an Englifh gentleman, 
 who feems far gone in a confumption. He pafled 
 the laft winter at Nifmes in Languedoc, and 
 found himfelf much better in the beginning 
 of fummer, when he embarked at Cette, and 
 returned by fea to England. He foou re- 
 lapfed, however, and (as he imagines) in 
 confequence of a cold caught at fea. He told 
 me, his intention was to try the South again, 
 and even to go as far as Italy. I advifed him 
 to make trial of the air of Nice, where I 
 myfelf propofed to refide. He feemed to re- 
 lifh my advice, and proceeded towards Paris 
 in his own carriage. 
 
 I (hall
 
 L E T T E R V. 79 
 
 I mall to-morrow (hip my great chefts on 
 board of a fliip bound to Bourdeaux ; they 
 are directed, and recommended to the care of 
 a merchant of that place, who will forward 
 them by Thouloufe, and the canal of Lan- 
 guedoc, to his correfpondent at Cette, which 
 is the fea-port of Montpellier. The charge 
 of their conveyance to Bourdeaux does not 
 exceed one guinea. They confifl of two very 
 large chefts and a trunk, about a thoufand 
 pounds weight; and the expence of tranf- 
 porting them from Bourdeaux to Cette, will 
 not exceed thirty livres. They are already 
 fealed with lead at the cuftom-houfe, that 
 they may be exempted from further vifitation. 
 This is a precaution which every traveller 
 takes, both by fea and land : he muft like- 
 wife provide himfelf with a paffe-avant at the 
 bureau, otherwife he may be flopped, and 
 rummaged at every town through which he 
 pafles. I have hired a berline and four horfes 
 to Paris, for fourteen lourdores , two of 
 which the wi tuner is obliged to pay for a 
 permifiion from the farmers of the pofte 5 
 for every thing is farmed in this country ; 
 and if you hire a carriage, as I have done, 
 
 you
 
 So L E T T E R V. 
 
 you muft pay twelve livres, or half a guinea, 
 for every perfon that travels in it. The com- 
 mon coach between Calais and Paris, is fuch 
 a vehicle as no man would ufe, who has any 
 regard to his own eafe and convenience -, and 
 it travels at the pace of an Englifo waggon. 
 In ten days I fhall fet out on my journey ; 
 and I fhall leave Boulogne with regret. I have 
 been happy in the acquaintance of Mrs. B -, 
 and a few Britifh families in the place ; and 
 it was my good fortune to meet here with two 
 honeft gentlemen, whom I had formerly 
 known in Paris, as well as with fome of my 
 countrymen, officers in the fervice of France. 
 My next will be from Paris. Remember me 
 to our friends at A 's. I am a little hea- 
 vy-hearted at the profpecl of removing to 
 fuch a, diftance from you. It is a moot point 
 whether I fliall ever return. My health is 
 very precarious. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 LETTER
 
 t 81 ] 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Paris, -OSober la, 17634 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 OF our journey from Boulogne I have 
 little to fay. The weather was favour*- 
 able, and the roads were in tolerable order. We 
 found good accommodation at Montreuil and 
 Amiens ; but in every other place where we 
 flopped, we met with abundance of dirt, 
 and the moft flagrant impofition. I (hall not 
 pretend to defcribe the cities of Abbeville and 
 Amiens, which we faw only en paffant ; nor 
 take up your time with an account of the 
 ftables and palace of Chantilly, belonging 
 to the prince of Conde, which we vifited the 
 laft day of our journey ; nor fhall I detain 
 you with a detail of the Trefors de Sf. De- 
 ms, which, together with the tombs in the 
 abbey church, afforded us fome amufement 
 while our dinner was getting ready. All 
 thefe particulars are mentioned in twenty dif- 
 ferent books of tours, travels, and direcli- 
 VOL. I. G ons,
 
 82 LETTER VI. 
 
 ons, which you have often perufed. J fhall 
 only obferve, that the abbey church is the 
 lighten: piece of Gothic architecture I have 
 feen, and the air within feems perfectly free 
 from that damp and moifhire, fo perceivable 
 in all our old cathedrals. This rnufl be ow- 
 ing to the nature of its fituation. There are 
 fome fine marble ftatues that adorn the tombs 
 of certain individuals here interred , but they 
 are moflly in the French tafle, which is quite 
 contrary to the fimplicity of the antients. 
 Their attitudes are affefted, unnatural, and 
 defultory ; and- their draperies fantaftic ; or, 
 as one of our Englifh artifts exprefled him- 
 felf, they are all of a futter. As for the trea- 
 fures, which are fhewn on certain days to the 
 populace gratis, they are contained in a num- 
 ber of preiTes, or armoires, and, if the ftones 
 are genuine, they muft be ineftimable : but 
 this I cannot believe. Indeed I have been 
 told, that what they (hew as diamonds are 
 no more than compofition : neveithelefs, ex- 
 clufive of thefe, there are fome rough flones 
 of great value, and many curiofities worth 
 feeing. The monk that {hewed them was 
 
 the
 
 L E T T E R VI. 83 
 
 the very image of our friend Hamilton, both 
 in his looks and manner. 
 
 I have one thing very extraordinary to 
 obferve of the French auberges, which feems 
 to be a remarkable deviation from the gene- 
 ral character of the nation. The landlords, 
 hoflefles, and fervants of the inns upon the 
 road, have not the leaft dafh of complaifance 
 in their behaviour to ftrangers. Inftead of 
 coming to the door, to receive you as in Eng- 
 land, they take no manner of notice of you ; 
 but leave you to find or enquire your way 
 into the kitchen, and there you muft alk 
 feveral times for a chamber, before they feem 
 willing to conduct you up flairs. In gene- 
 ral, you are ferved with the appearance of 
 the moft mortifying indifference, at the very 
 time they are laying fchemes for fleecing you 
 of your money. It is a very odd contraft 
 between France and England j in the former 
 all the people are complaifant but the publi- 
 cans j in the latter there is hardly any com- 
 plaifance but among the publicans. When 
 I faid all the people in France, I ought alfo 
 to except thole vermin who examine the bag- 
 gage of travellers in different parts of the 
 G 2 kingdom.
 
 g 4 L E T T E R VI 
 
 kingdom. Although our portmanteaus were 
 fealed with lead, and we were provided with 
 a palfe-avant from the douane, our coach 
 was fearched at the gate of Paris by which 
 we entered > and the women were obliged to 
 get out, and fland in the open ftreet, till this 
 operation was performed. 
 
 I had defired a friend to provide lodg- 
 ings for me at Paris, in the Faux- 
 bourg St. Germain ; and accordingly we 
 found ourfelves accommodated at the Hotel 
 de Montmorency, with a firfl floor, which 
 coils me ten livres a day. I mould have put 
 up with it had it been lefs polite j but as I 
 have only a few days to flay in this place, 
 and fome vifits to receive, I am not forry 
 that my friend has exceeded his commiflion. 
 I have been guilty of another piece of extra- 
 vagance in hiring a carojfe de remife, for which 
 I pay twelve livres a day. Befides the arti- 
 cle of vifiting, I could not leave Paris, with- 
 out carrying my wife and. the girls to fee the 
 mod remarkable places in and about this 
 capital, fuch as the Luxemburg, the Palais- 
 Royal, the Thuilleries, the Louvre, the In- 
 valids, the Gobelins, &c. together with Ver-
 
 L E T T E R VI. S 5 
 
 fellies, Trianon, Marli, Meudon, and Choifli; 
 and therefore, I thought the difference in 
 point of expence would not be great, be- 
 tween a caroffe de remife and a hackney 
 coach. The firft are extremely elegant, if 
 not too much ornamented, the lafl are very 
 fhabby and difagreeable. Nothing gives me 
 fiich chagrin, as the neceffity I am under 
 to hire a valet de place, as my own fervant 
 does not fpeak the language. You cannot 
 conceive with what eagernefs and dexterity 
 thofe rafcally valets exert themfelves in pillag- 
 ing ftrangers. There is always one ready in 
 waiting on your arrival, who begins by afiift- 
 ing your own fervant to unload your bag- 
 gage, and interefts himfelf in your affairs 
 with fuch artful officioufnefs, that you will 
 find it difficult to (hake him off, even though 
 you are determined beforehand againft hiring 
 any fuch domeflic. He produces recommen- 
 dations from his former matters, and the 
 people of the houfe vouch for his honefty. 
 The truth is, thofe fellows are very handy, 
 ufeful, and obliging ; and fo far honeft, that 
 they will not (teal in the ufual way. You 
 G 3 may
 
 86 L E T T E R VI. 
 
 may fafely truft one of them to bring you 
 a hundred loui'dores from your banker; but 
 they fleece you without mercy in every other 
 article of expence. They lay all your tradef- 
 men under contribution j your taylor, bar- 
 ber, mantua-maker, milliner, perfumer, fhoe- 
 maker, mercer, jeweller, hatter, traiteur, 
 and wine-merchant : even the bourgeois who 
 owns your coach pays him twenty fols per 
 day. His wages amount to twice as much, 
 fo that I imagine the fellow that ferves me, 
 makes above ten {hillings a day, befides his 
 victuals, which, by the bye, he has no right 
 to demand. Living at Paris, to the beft of 
 my recollection, is very near twice as dear 
 as it was fifteen years ago; and, indeed, this 
 is the cafe in London ; a circumftance that 
 rnuft be undoubtedly owing to an increafe of 
 taxes ; for I don't find that in the articles of 
 .eating and drinking, the French people are 
 more luxurious than they were heretofore. I 
 am told the entree^ or duties, payed upon 
 provifion imported into Paris, are very hea- 
 vy. All manner of butchers meat and poul- 
 try are extremely good in this place. The 
 beef is excellent. The wine, which is gene- 
 rally
 
 L E T T E R VI. 87 
 
 rally drank, is a veiy thin kind of Burgun- 
 dy. I can by no means relifh their cookery ; 
 but one breakfafts delicioufly upon thoirpefif 
 pains and their path of butter, which laft is 
 exquifite. 
 
 The common people, and even the bour- 
 geois of Paris live, at this feafon, chiefly on 
 bread and grapes, which is undoubtedly very 
 wholfome fare. If the fame fimplicity of diet 
 prevailed in England, we fhould certainly 
 underfel the French at all foreign markets : 
 for they are very flothful with all their viva- 
 city j and the great number of their holidays 
 not only encourages this lazy difpofition, but 
 actually robs them of one half of what their 
 labour would otherwife produce ; fo that, if 
 our common people were not fo expenfive in 
 their living, that is, in their eating and drink- 
 ing, labour might be afforded cheaper in 
 England than in France. There are three 
 young lufty huffies, nieces or daughters of 
 a blackfmith, that lives juft oppofite to my 
 windows, who do nothing from morning till 
 night. They eat grapes and bread from fe- 
 ven till nine, from nine till twelve they drefs 
 their hair, and are all the afternoon gaping 
 04 at
 
 88 LETTER VI. 
 
 at the window to view pafiengers. I don't 
 perceive that they give themfelves the trouble 
 either to make their beds, or clean their apart- 
 ment. The fame fpirit of idlenefs and dim"- 
 pation I have obferved in every part of France, 
 and among every clafs of people. 
 
 Every object feems to have fhrunk in its 
 dimenfions fince I was lafl in Paris. The 
 Louvre, the Palais- Royal, the bridges, and 
 the river Seine, by no means anfwer the i- 
 deas I had formed of them from my former 
 obfervation. When the memory is not very 
 correct, the imagination always betrays her 
 into fuch extravagances. When I firft re^ 
 vifited my own country, after an abience of 
 fourteen years, I found every thing diminiih- 
 ed in the fame manner, and I could fcarce 
 believe my own eyes. 
 
 Notwithstanding the gay difpofition of the 
 French, their houfes are all gloomy. In fpite 
 of all the ornaments that have been laviihed 
 on Verfailles, it is a difmal habitation. The 
 apartments are dark, ill-furnifhed, dirty, and 
 unprincely. Take the caftle, chapel, and 
 garden all together, they make a moft fan- 
 compofuion of magnificence and little^ 
 
 fiefs,
 
 LETTER VI. S 9 
 
 nefs, tafte, and foppery. After all, it is 
 in England only, where we muft look for 
 cheerful apartments, gay furniture, neatnefs, 
 and convenience. There is a ftrange incon- 
 gruity in the French genius. With all their 
 volatility, prattle, and fondnefs for bons mots, 
 they delight in a fpecies of drawling, me- 
 lancholy, church mufic. Their moft fa- 
 vourite dramatic pieces are almoft without 
 incident ; and the dialogue of their come- 
 dies confifts of moral, infipid apophthegms, 
 intirely deftitute of wit, or repartee. J know 
 what I hazard by this opinion among the 
 implicit admirers of Lully, Racine, and Mo- 
 liere. 
 
 I don't talk of the bufts, the ftatues, and 
 pictures which abound at Verfailles, and o- 
 ther places, in and about Paris, particularly 
 the great collection of capital pieces in the 
 Palais-royal, belonging to the duke of Or- 
 leans. I have neither capacity, nor inclina- 
 tion, to give a critique on thefe chef d'oeuvres, 
 which indeed would take up a whole vo- 
 lume. I have feen this great magazine of 
 painting three times, with aftoniflimentj but 
 I ftiould have been better pleafed, if there 
 
 had
 
 90 LETTER. VI. 
 
 had not been half the number : one is 
 bewildered in fuch a profufion, as not to 
 know where to begin, and hurried a- 
 way before there is tine to confider one 
 piece with any fort of deliberation. Befides, 
 the rooms are all dark, and a great many of 
 the pictures hang in a bad light. As for 
 Trianon, Marli, and Choiffi, they are no 
 more than pigeon-houfes, in refpect to pa- 
 laces ; and, notwithstanding the extravagant 
 eulogiums which you have heard of the 
 French king's houfes, I will venture to affirm, 
 that the king of England is better, I mean 
 more comfortably, lodged. 1 ought, > how- 
 ever, to except Fontainebleau, which I have 
 not feen. 
 
 The city of Paris is faid to be five leagues, 
 or fifteen miles, in circumference ; and if it 
 is really fo, it muft be much more populous 
 than London ; for the ftreets are very nar- 
 row, and the houfes very high, with a diffe- 
 rent family on every floor. But I have mea- 
 fured the befl plans of thefe two royal cities, 
 and am certain that Paris does not take up 
 near fo much ground as London and Weft- 
 ininfter occupy; and I fufpecl the number 
 4 of
 
 L E T T E R VI. 91 
 
 of its inhabitants is alfo exaggerated by thofe 
 who fay it amounts to eight hundred thou- 
 fand, that is two hundred thoufand more 
 than are contained in the bills of mortality. 
 The hotels of the French noblefle, at Paris, 
 take up a great deal of room, with their 
 court-yards and gardens ; and fo do their 
 convents and churches. It muft be owned, 
 indeed, that their ftreets are wonderfully 
 crouded with people and carriages. 
 
 The French begin to imitate the Englifh, 
 but only in fuch particulars as render them 
 worthy of imitation. When I was laft at 
 Paris, no perfon of any condition, male or 
 female, appeared, but in full drefs, even 
 when obliged to come out early in the morn- 
 ing, and there was not fuch a thing to be 
 feen as a peruque ronde ; but at prefent I fee 
 a number of frocks and fcratches in a morn- 
 ing, in the ftreets of this metropolis: They 
 have fct up a petite pofte, on the plan of our 
 penny-poll, with fome improvements ; and 
 I am told there is a fcheme on foot for fup- 
 plying every houfe with water, by leaden 
 pipes, from the river Seine. They have even 
 adopted our practice of the cold bath, which 
 
 is
 
 92 L E T T E R VI. 
 
 I-s taken very conveniently, in wooden houfes, 
 creeled on the fide of the river, the water of 
 which is let in and out occafionally, by cocks 
 fixed in the fides of the bath. There are 
 different rooms for the different fexes : the 
 accommodations are good, and the expence 
 is a trifle. The tapeftry of the Gobelins is 
 brought to an amazing degree of perfection ; 
 and I am furprifed that this furniture is not 
 more in faihion among the great, who alone 
 are able to purchafe it. It would be a moft 
 elegant and magnificent ornament, which 
 would always nobly difHnguifh their apart- 
 ments from thofe of an inferior rank ; and 
 in this they would run no rifque of being ri- 
 valled by the bourgeois. At the village of 
 Chaillot, in the neighbourhood of Paris, they 
 make beautiful carpets and fcreen-work ; and 
 this is the more extraordinary, as there are 
 hardly any carpet? ufed in this kingdom. In 
 almoft all the lodging- houfes, the floors are 
 of brick, and have no other kmd of clean- 
 ing, than that of being fprinkled with wa- 
 ter, and fwept once a day. Thefe brick 
 floors, the ftone ftairs, the want of wain- 
 fcotting in the rooms, and the thick party- 
 walls
 
 L E T T E R VI. $ 5 
 
 walls of (tone, are, however, good prefer- 
 vatives againft fire, which feldom does any 
 damage in this city. Inflead of wainfcot- 
 ting, the walls are covered with tapeftry or 
 damafk. The beds in general are very good, 
 and well ornamented, with tefters and cur- 
 tains. 
 
 Fifteen years ago the river Seine, within a 
 mile of Paris, was as folitary as if it had run 
 through a defert. At prefent the banks of 
 it are adorned with a number of elegant 
 houfes and plantations, as far as Marli. I 
 need not mention the machine at this place 
 for raifing water, becaufe I know you are well 
 acquainted with its conftruclion ; nor fhall I 
 fay any thing more of the city of Paris, but 
 that there is a new fquare, built upon an ele- 
 gant plan, at the end of the garden of the 
 ^huilleries : it is called Place de Louis XV, 
 and, in the middle of it, there is a good e- 
 queftrian ftatue of the reigning king. 
 
 You have often heard that Louis XIV. fre- 
 quently regretted, that his country did not 
 afford gravel for the walks of his gardens, 
 which are covered with a white, loofe fand, 
 very difagreeable both to the eyes and feet of 
 
 thofc
 
 94 t E T T E R VI. 
 
 thofe who walk upon it j but this is a vul- 
 gar miftake. There is plenty of gravel on 
 the road between Paris and Verfailles, as 
 well as in many other parts of this king- 
 dom ; but the French, who are all for glare 
 and glitter, think the other is more gay and 
 agreeable : one would imagine they did not 
 feel the burning reflexion from the white 
 fand, which in fummer is almoft intole- 
 rable. 
 
 In the character of the French, co'nfidered 
 as a people, there are undoubtedly many cir- 
 cumftances truly ridiculous. You know the 
 fafhionable people, who go a hunting, are 
 equipped with their jack boots, bag wigs, 
 fwordp and piftols : but I faw the other day 
 a fcene flill more grotefque. On the road 'to 
 Choiffi, a. fiacre, or hackney-coach, flopped, 
 and out came five or fix men, armed with 
 mufquets, who took poft, each behind a fe- 
 parate tree. I afked our fervant who they 
 were, imagining they might be archers, or 
 footpads of juflice, in purfuit of Ibme male- 
 factor. But guefs my furprife, when the fel- 
 low told me, they were gentlemen a la chajfi. 
 They were in fact come out from Paris, in 
 
 this
 
 L E T T E R VI. 95 
 
 this equipage, to take the diverfion of hare- 
 hunting j that is, of fhooting from behin4 
 a tree at the hares that chanced to pafs. In- 
 deed, if they had nothing more in view, but 
 to deftroy the game, this was a very effectual 
 method j for the hares are in fuch plenty in 
 this neighbourhood, that I have feen a dozen 
 together, in the fame field. I think this way 
 of hunting, in a coach or chariot, might be 
 properly adopted at London, in favour of 
 thofe aldermen of the city, who are too un- 
 wieldy to follow the hounds a horfeback. 
 
 The French, however, with all their ab- 
 furdities, prefer ve a certain afcendancy over 
 us, which is very difgraceful to our nation > 
 and trnV appears in nothing more than in 
 the article of drefs. We are contented to be 
 thought their apes in fafhion - 9 but, in fact, 
 we are flaves to their taylors, mantua- mak- 
 ers, barbers, and other tradefmen. One would 
 be apt to imagine that our own tradefmen 
 had joined them in a combination againfl us. 
 When the natives of France come to Lon- 
 don, they appear in all public places, with 
 cloaths made according to the fafhion of their 
 own country, and this fafjiign is generally 
 
 admired.
 
 96 L E T T E R VI. 
 
 admired by the Englifh. Why, therefore, 
 don't we follow it implicitly ? No, we pique 
 ourfelves upon a moft ridiculous deviation 
 from the very modes we admire, and pleafe 
 ourfelves with thinking this deviation is a 
 mark of our fpirit and liberty. But, we 
 have not fpirit enough to perfift in this de- 
 viation, when we vifit their country : other- 
 wife, perhaps, they would come to admire 
 and follow our example : for, certainly, in 
 point of true tafte, the fafhions of both 
 countries are equally abfurd. At prefent, 
 the fkirts of the Englifh defcend from the 
 fifth rib to the calf of the leg, and give the 
 coat the form of a Jewifh gaberdine j and 
 our hats feem to be modelled after that which 
 Piftol wears upon the ftage. In France, the 
 haunch buttons and pocket-holes are within 
 half a foot of the coat's extremity : their 
 hats look as if they had been pared round 
 the brims, and the crown is covered with a 
 kind of cordage, which, in my opinion pro- 
 duces a very beggarly effect. In every other 
 circumftance of drefs, male and female, the 
 contraft between the two nations, appears e- 
 qually glaring. What is the confequence? 
 
 when
 
 L E T T E R VI. 97 
 
 when an Englifhman comes to Paris, he can- 
 not appear until he has undergone a total 
 metamorphofis. At his firft arrival he finds 
 it neceflary to fend for the taylor, peruquier, 
 hatter, /hoemaker, and every other tradef- 
 man concerned in the equipment of the hu- 
 man body. He muft even change his buckles, 
 and the form of his ruffles j and, though at 
 the rifque of his life, fuit his cloaths to the 
 mode of the feafon. For example, though 
 the weather fhould be never fo cold, he muft 
 wear his habit <fet t or de mi-faifon, without 
 prefuming to put on a warm drefs before the 
 day which fafhion has fixed for that purpofe j 
 and neither old age nor infirmity will excufe 
 a man for wearing his hat upon his head, 
 cither at home or abroad. Females are (if 
 poflible) ftill more fubjecT: to the caprices of 
 fafhion ; and as the articles of their drefs are 
 more manifold, it is enough to make a man's 
 heart ake to fee his wife furrounded by a 
 multitude of cotfurieres, milliners, and tire- 
 women. All her facks and negligees muft be 
 altered and new trimmed. She muft have 
 new caps, new laces, new fhoes, and her hair 
 new cut. She muft have her taffaties for the 
 Voi. L H fummer,
 
 98 L E T T E R VI. 
 
 fummer, her flowered filks for the fpring and 
 autumn, her fattins and damafks for winter. 
 The good man, who ufed to wear the beau 
 drap dAngleterre, quite plain all the year 
 round, with a long bob, or tye perriwig, 
 muft here provide himfelfwith a cambletfuit 
 trimmed with filver for fpring and autumn, 
 with filk eloaths for fummer, and cloth laced 
 with gold, or velvet for winter j and he muft 
 wear his bag-wig a la pigeon. This variety 
 of drefs is abfolutely indifpenfible for all thofe 
 who pretend to any rank above the meer 
 bourgeois. On his return to his own country, 
 all this frippery is ufelefs. He cannot appear 
 in London until he has undergone another 
 thorough metamorphofis j fo that he will have 
 fome reafon to think, that the tradefmen of 
 Paris and London have combined to lay him 
 pnder contribution : and they, no doubt, are 
 the directors who regulate the fafhions in 
 both capitals ; the Englifh, however, in a 
 fubordinate capacity: for the puppets of 
 their making will not pafs at Paris, nor in- 
 deed in any other part of Europe ; whereas a 
 French petit maitre is reckoned a complete 
 figure every where, London not excepted. 
 
 Since, .
 
 L E T T E R VI. 99 
 
 Since it is fo much the humour of the Eng- 
 lifh at prefent to run abroad, I wifh they 
 had antigallican fpirit enough to produce 
 themfelves in their own genuine Englifh drefs, 
 and treat the French modes with the fame 
 philofophical contempt, which was fhewn by 
 an honefl gentleman, diftinguifhed by the 
 name of Wig-Middleton. That unfhaken 
 patriot ftill appears in the fame kind of fcratch 
 perriwig, fkimming-difh hat, and flit fleeve, 
 which were worn five-and-twenty years ago, 
 and has invariably perfifted in this garb, in 
 defiance of all the revolutions of the mode. 
 I remember a ftudent in the temple, who, 
 after a long and learned invefligation of the 
 TO xx}.cv, or beautiful^ had refolution enough 
 to let his beard grow, and wore it in all pub- 
 lic places, until his heir at law applied 
 for a commiffion of lunacy againfl him ; 
 then he fubmitted to the razor, rather than 
 run any rifque of being found non compos. 
 
 Before I conclude, I mufl tell you, that 
 the moft reputable fhop-keepers and tradef- 
 men of Paris think it no difgrace to praclife 
 the moft fhameful impofition. I myfelf 
 know an inftance of one of the mofl credi- 
 H 2 table
 
 ioo L E T T E R VI. 
 
 table marchands in this capital, who demanded 
 fix francs an ell for fome luteftring, laying 
 his hand upon his bread at the fame time, 
 and declaring en confcicnce, that it had coft 
 him within three fols of the money. Yet 
 jn, lefs than three minutes, he fold it for four 
 and a half, and when the buyer upbraided 
 him with his former declaration, he ihrugged 
 up his fhoulders, faying, ilfaut marchander, 
 I don't mention this as a particular inftance. 
 The fame mean diiingenuity is univerfal all 
 over France, as I have been informed by fe- 
 veral perfons of veracity. 
 
 The next letter you have from me will 
 probably be dated at Nifmes, or Montpellien 
 Mean-while, I am ever 
 
 Yours. 
 
 LETTER
 
 ioi } 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 To Mrs. M - . 
 
 Paris, Gfiebtr la, 1763, 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 1 Shall be much pleafed if the remarks I 
 have made on the characters of the French 
 people, can afford you the fatisf action you 
 require. With refpeft to the ladies, I can 
 only judge from their exteriors : but, indeed, 
 thefe are fo characteriftic, that one can hard- 
 ly judge amifs ; unlefs we fuppofe that a wo- 
 man of tafte and fentiment may be fo over- 
 ruled by the abfurdity of what is called fami- 
 on, as to reject reafon, and difguife nature, 
 in order to become ridiculous or frightful. 
 That this may be the cafe with fome indivi- 
 duals, is very poffible. I have known it hap- 
 pen in our own country, where the follies 
 of the French are adopted, and exhibited in 
 the mod aukward imitation : but the gene- 
 ral prevalence of thofe prepofterous modes, 
 H 3 is
 
 102 LETTER VII. 
 
 is a plain proof that there is a general want 
 of tafle, and a general depravity of nature. 
 I fhall not pretend to defcribe the particulars 
 of a French lady's drefs. Thefe you are 
 much better acquainted with than I can pre- 
 tend to be : but this I will be bold to affirm, 
 that France is the general refervoir from 
 which all the abfurdities of falfe tafte, lux- 
 ury, and extravagance have overflowed the 
 different kingdoms and ftates of Europe. 
 The fprings that fill this refervoir, are no other 
 than vanity and ignorance. It would be fu- 
 perfluous to attempt proving from the nature 
 of things, from the firfl principles and ufe 
 of drefs, as well as from the confideration of 
 natural beauty, and the practice of the an- 
 cients, who certainly underftood it as well as 
 the connoifTeurs of thefe days, that nothing 
 can be more monftrous, inconvenient, and 
 contemptible, than the fafhion of modern 
 drapery. You yourfelf are well aware of all 
 its defects, and have often ridiculed them in 
 my hearing. I mall only mention one parti- 
 cular of drefs eflential to the fafhion in this 
 country, which feems to me to carry hu- 
 man affectation to the very farther! verge of 
 4 folly
 
 LETTER VII. 103 
 
 folly and extravagance 3 that is, the manner 
 in which the faces of the ladies are primed 
 and painted. When the Indian chiefs were 
 in England every body ridiculed their pre- 
 pollerous method of painting their cheeks 
 and eye-lids j but this ridicule was wrong 
 placed. Thofe critics ought to have confi- 
 dered, that the Indians do not life paint to 
 make themfelves agreeable $ but in order to 
 be the more terrible to their enemies. It is 
 generally fuppofed, I think, that your fex 
 make ufe of fard and vermillion for very 
 different purpofes ; namely, to help a bad or 
 faded complexion, to heighten the graces^ 
 or conceal the defects of nature, as well as 
 the ravages of time. I fhall not enquire at 
 prefent, whether it is juft and honed to im- 
 pofe in this manner on mankind : if it is not 
 honeft, it may be allowed to be artful and po- 
 litic, and (hews, at leaft, a defire of being 
 agreeable. But to lay it on as the fafhion 
 in France prefcribes to all the ladies of con- 
 dition, who indeed cannot appear without 
 this badge of diftinction, is to difguife them- 
 felves in fuch a manner, as to render them 
 odious and deteftable to every fpefrator, \vho 
 H 4 has
 
 io 4 LETTER VII. 
 
 has the lead relifh left for nature and propriety. 
 As for the fard> or white, with which their 
 necks and fhoulders are plaiftered, it may be 
 in fome meafure excufable, as their fkins are 
 naturally brown, or fallow j but the rouge y 
 which is daubed on their faces, from the chin 
 up to the eyes, without the leaft art or dex- 
 terity, not only deilroys all dutinction of fea- 
 tures, but renders the afpect really frightful, 
 or at bed conveys nothing but ideas of dif- 
 guft and averiion. You know, that without 
 this horrible mafque no married lady is ad- 
 mitted at court, or in any polite affembly ; 
 and that it is a mark of diftinftion which 
 no bourgeoifc dare afiume. Ladies of fafliion 
 only have the privilege of expofmg themfelves 
 in thefe ungracious colours. As their faces 
 are concealed under a falfe complexion, fo 
 their heads are covered with a vaft load of 
 falfe hair, which is frizzled on the forehead, 
 fo as exactly to referable the wooly heads of 
 the Guinea negroes. As to the natural hue 
 of it, this is a matter of no confequence, 
 for powder makes every head of hair of the 
 fame colour ; and no woman appears in this 
 country, from the moment fhe rifes till night, 
 
 without
 
 LETTER VII. 105 
 
 without being compleatly whitened. Pow- 
 der or meal was firft ufed in Europe by the 
 Poles, to conceal their fcald heads ; but the 
 prefent fafhion of ufmg it, as well as the mo- 
 difh method of drefling the hair, muft have 
 been borrowed from the Hottentots, who 
 greafe their wooly heads with mutton fnet, 
 and then pafte it over with the powder called 
 buchu. In like manner, the hair of our fine 
 ladies is frizzled into the appearance of ne- 
 groes wool, and ftiffened with an abominable 
 pafle of hog's gretif?, tallow, r.rid white pow- 
 der. The prefent fafhion, therefore, of paint- 
 ing the face, and adorning the ru-ad, adopted 
 by the beau monde in France, is takeri from 
 thofe two polite nations the Chickefaws of 
 America and the Hottentots of Afric. On 
 the whole, when I fee one of thofe fine crea- 
 tures failing along, in her taudry robes of 
 filk and gauze, frilled, and flounced, and 
 furbelowed, with her falfe locks, her falfe 
 jewels, her paint, her patches, and perfumes; 
 I cannot help looking upon her as the vil- 
 eft piece of fophiftication that art ever pro- 
 duced. 
 
 This
 
 io6 LETTER VII. 
 
 This hideous mafque of painting, thougfe 
 deftruclive of all beauty, is, however favour- 
 able to natural homelinefs and deformity, 
 It accuftoms the eyes of the other fex, and 
 in time reconciles them to frightful objects - t 
 it difables them from perceiving any diftinc- 
 tion of features between woman and woman > 
 and, by reducing all faces to a level, gives e- 
 very female an equal chance for an admirer > 
 being in this particular analagous to the prac- 
 tice of the antient Lacedemonians, who 
 were obliged to chufe their help-mates in the 
 dark. In what manner the infides of their 
 heads are furniihed, I would not prefume to 
 judge from the converfation of a very few 
 to whom I have had accefs : but from the na- 
 ture of their education, which I have heard 
 defcribed, and the natural vivacity of their 
 tempers, I fhould expect neither fenfe, fen- 
 timent, nor difcretion. From the nurfery 
 they are allowed, and even encouraged, to fay 
 every thing that comes uppermoftj by which 
 means they acquire a volubility of tongue, 
 and a fet of phrafes, which coriflitutes what 
 is called polite converfation. At the fame time 
 they obtain an abfolute conqueft over all 
 
 fenfe
 
 LETTER VII. 107 
 
 fenfe of lhame, or rather, they avoid acquir- 
 ing this troublefome fenfation j for it is cer- 
 tainly no innate idea. Thofe who have not 
 governefTes at home, are fent, for a few 
 years, to a convent, where they lay in a fund 
 of fuperftition that ferves them for life : but 
 I never heard they had the leaft opportunity 
 of cultivating the mind, of exercifing thfe 
 powers of reafon, or of imbibing a tafte for 
 letters, or any rational or ufeful accomplifh- 
 ment. After being taught to prattle, to dance 
 and play at cards, they are deemed fuffici- 
 ently qualified to appear in the grand monde y 
 and to perform all the duties of that high 
 rank and ftation in life. In mentioning cards, 
 I ought to obferve, that they learn to play 
 not barely for amufement, but alfo with a 
 view to advantage ; and, indeed, you feldom 
 meet with a native of France, whether male 
 or female, who is not a compleat gamefler, 
 well verfed in all the fubtleties and finefies of 
 the art. This is likewife the cafe all over 
 Italy. A lady of a great houfe in Piedmont, 
 having four fons, makes no fcruple to de- 
 clare, that the firft (hall reprefent the fami- 
 ly, the fecond enter into' the army, the third 
 
 into
 
 io8 LETTER VII. 
 
 into the church, and that me will breed 
 the fourth a gamefler. Thefe noble adven- 
 turers devote themfelves in a particular man- 
 ner to the entertainment of travellers from 
 our country, becaufe the Englifh. are fuppofed 
 to be full of money, rafh, incautious, and 
 utterly ignorant of play. But fuch a fhar- 
 per is mofl dangerous, when he hunts in 
 couple with a female. I have known a 
 French count and his wife, who found means 
 to lay the moil wary under contribution. 
 He was fmooth, fupple, officious, and atten- 
 tive : fhe was young, handfome, unprinci- 
 pled, and artful. If the Englifhman marked 
 for prey was found upon his guard againfl 
 the defigns of the hufband, then madam 
 plied him on the fide of gallantry. She dif- 
 played all the attractions of her perfon. She 
 fung, danced, ogled, fighed, complimented, 
 and complained. If he was infenfible to all her 
 charms, fhe flattered his vanity, and piqued 
 his pride, by extolling the wealth and gene- 
 rofity of the Englifh ; and if he proved 
 deaf to all thefe infmuations, fhe, as her laft 
 flake, endeavoured to interefl his humanity 
 and companion. She expatiated, with tears 
 
 in
 
 LETTER VII. 109 
 
 in her eyes, on the cruelty and indifference 
 of her great relations -, reprefented that her 
 hufband was no more than the cadet of a 
 noble family; that his provifion was by no 
 means fuitable, either to the dignity of his 
 rank, or the generofity of his difpofition : 
 that he had a law-fuit of great confequence 
 depending, which had drained all his fi- 
 nances ; and, finally, that they fhould be 
 both ruined, if they could not find fome ge- 
 nerous friend, who would accommodate them 
 with a fum of money to bring the caufe to 
 a determination. Thofe who are not actu- 
 ated by fuch fcandalous motives, become 
 gamefters from meer habit, and, having no- 
 thing more folid to engage their thoughts, or 
 employ their time, confume the beft part of 
 their lives, in this worft of all diflipation. 
 I am not ignorant that there are exceptions 
 from this general rule : I know that France 
 has produced a Maintenon, a Sevigne, a Scu- 
 deri, a Dacier, and a Chatelet ; but I would 
 no more deduce the general character of the 
 French ladies from thefe examples, than I 
 would call a field of hemp a flower-gar- 
 den, becaufe there might be in it a few /////_ 
 
 or
 
 no 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 or remmculas planted by the hand of acci- 
 dent. 
 
 Woman has been defined a weaker man ; 
 but in this country the men are, in my opi- 
 nion, more ridiculous and infignificant than 
 the women. They certainly are more difa- 
 greeable to a rational enquirer, becaufe they 
 arc more troublefome. Of all the coxcombs 
 on the face of the earth, a French petit mai- 
 tre is the moft impertinent : and they are all 
 fetit mazfres, from the marquis who glitters 
 in lace and embroidery, to the gar$on bar- 
 bier covered with meal, who flruts with his 
 hair in a long queue, and his hat under his 
 arm. I have already obferved, that vanity is 
 the great and univerfal mover among all ranks 
 and degrees of people in this nation ; and as 
 they take no pains to conceal or controul it, 
 they are hurried by it into the moil ridicu- 
 lous and indeed intolerable extravagance. 
 
 When I talk of the French nation, I mud 
 again except a great number of individuals, 
 from the general cenfure. Though I have a 
 hearty contempt for the ignorance, folly, and 
 preemption which characlerife the generali- 
 ty, I cannot but refpecl the talents of many 
 
 great
 
 LETTER VII. in 
 
 great men, who have eminently diftin- 
 guifhed themfelves in every art and fcience : 
 thefe I fhall always revere and efteem as crea- 
 tures of a fuperior fpecies, produced, for the 
 wife purpofes of providence, among the re- 
 fufe of mankind. It would be abfurd to con- 
 clude that the Welch or Highlanders are a 
 gigantic people, becaufe thofe mountains may 
 have produced a few individuals near feven 
 feet high. It would be equally abfurd to 
 fuppofe the French are a nation of philofo- 
 phers, becaufe France has given birth to a 
 Pes Cartes, a Maupertuis, a Reaumur, and 
 a Buffon. 
 
 I fhall not even deny, that the French are 
 by no means deficient in natural capacity j 
 but they are at the fame time remarkable 
 for a natural levity, which hinders their 
 youth from cultivating that capacity. This 
 is reinforced by the moft prepofterous educa- 
 tion, and the example of a giddy people, 
 engaged in the moft frivolous purfuits. A 
 Frenchman is by fome Jefuit, or other monk, 
 taught to read his mother tongue, and to fay 
 his prayers in a language he does not under- 
 ftand, He learns to dance and to fence, by 
 
 the
 
 ii2 LETTER VII. 
 
 the matters of thofe noble fciences. ,He be- 
 comes a com pleat connoifleur in drefling hair, 
 and in adorning his own perfon, under the 
 hands and inftruc"Hons of his barber and 
 valet de chambre. If he learns to play up- 
 on the flute or the fiddle, he is altogether ir- 
 refiftible. But he piques himfelf upon being 
 polifhed above the natives of any other coun- 
 try by his converfation with the fair fex. In 
 the courle of this communication, with which 
 he is indulged from his tender years, he learns 
 like a parrot, by rote, the whole circle of 
 French compliments, which you know are a 
 fet of phrafes, ridiculous even to a proverb $ 
 and thefe he throws out indifcriminately to 
 all women, without diftinclion, in the excr- 
 cife of that kind of addrefs, which is here 
 diftinguifhed by the name of gallantry : it 
 is no more than his making love to every wo- 
 man who will give him the hearing. It is 
 an exercife, by the repetition of which he 
 becomes very pert, very familiar, and very 
 impertinent. Modeily, or diffidence, I have 
 already faid, is utterly unknown among them, 
 and therefore I wonder there fhould be a term 
 to exprefs it in their language, 
 
 If
 
 LETTER VII. 113 
 
 If I was obliged to define politenefs, I 
 fhould call it, the art of making one's felf 
 agreeable. I think it an art that necefiarily 
 implies a fenfe of decorum, and a delicacy 
 of fentiment. Thefe are qualities, of which 
 (as far as I have been able to obferve) a 
 Frenchman ha? no idea ; therefore he never 
 can be deemrd polite, except by thofe per- 
 fons among whom they are as little under- 
 ftood. His firfl aim is to adorn his own per- 
 fon with what he calls fine cloaths, that is 
 the frippery of the fafhion. It is no wonder 
 that the heart of a female, unimproved by 
 reafon, and untinctured with natural good 
 fenfe, fhould flutter at the fight of fuch a 
 gaudy thing, among the number of her ad- 
 mirers : this impreffion is enforced by fuftian 
 compliments, which her own vanity inter- 
 prets in a literal fenfe, and ftill more con- 
 firmed by. the affiduous attention of the gal- 
 lant, who, indeed, has nothing elfe to mind* 
 A Frenchman in confequence of his mingling 
 with the females from his infancy, not only 
 becomes acquainted with all their cuftoms 
 and humours ; but. grows wonderfully alert 
 in performing a thoufand little offices, which 
 
 VOL. I. J arc
 
 ii 4 LETTER VIL 
 
 are overlooked by other men, whofe time hath 
 been fpent in making more valuable acquifi- 
 tions. He enters, without ceremony, a la- 
 dy's bed-chamber, while ihe is in bed, reaches 
 her whatever (he wants, airs her fhift, and 
 helps to put it on. He attends at her toi- 
 lette, regulates the distribution of her patches, 
 and advifes where to lay on the paint. If he 
 vifits her when ihe is drefTed, and perceives 
 the leaft impropriety in her coeffitre, he infifts 
 upon adjufting it with his own hands: if 
 he fees a curl, or even a fmgle hair amifs, 
 he produces his comb, his fcuTars, and 
 pomatum, and fets it to rights with the 
 dexterity of a profefTed frifeur. He 'fquires 
 her to every place ilie vifits, either on bufi- 
 nefs, or pleafure; and, by dedicating his 
 whole time to her, renders hirnfelf necefTary 
 to her occafions. This I take to be the moil 
 agreeable fide of his character: let us view 
 him on the quarter of impertinence. A French- 
 man pries into all your fecrets with the moft 
 impudent and importunate curiofity, and then 
 difclofes them without remorfe. If 'you are 
 indifpofed, he quciVions you about the fymp 
 toms of your diforder, with more freedom 
 
 than
 
 LETTER VII. 115 
 
 than your phyfician would prefume to ufe ; 
 very often in the groffeft terms. Ke then 
 propofes his remedy (for they are all quacks) 
 he prepares it without your knowledge, and 
 worries you with folicitation to take it, with- 
 out paying the leaft regard to the opinion of 
 thofe whom you have chofen to take care of 
 your health. Let you be ever fo ill, or a- 
 verfe to company, he forces himfelf at all 
 times into your hed-chamber, and if it is ne- 
 celTary to give him a peremptory refufal, he 
 is affronted. I have known one of thofe pe- 
 tit maitres infill upon paying regular vifits 
 twice a day to a poor gentleman who was 
 delirious ; and he converfed with him on 
 different fubjecls, till he was in his laft ago- 
 nies. This attendance is not the efFecl of at-* 
 tachment, or regard, but of fheer vanityj 
 that he may afterwards boaft of his charity 
 and humane difpofition : though, of all the 
 people I have ever known, I think the French 
 are the leaft capable of feeling for the diftref- 
 fcs of their fellow creatures* 'Their hearts 
 are not fufceptible of deep impreffions ; and, 
 fuch is their levity, that the imagination has 
 not time to brood long over any difagree- 
 I 2 able
 
 ji6 LETTER VII. 
 
 able idea, or fenfation. As a Frenchman 
 piques himfelf on his gallantry, he no fooner 
 makes a conquefl of a female's heart, than 
 he expofes her chara6ler, for the gratification 
 of. his vanity. Nay, if he fliould mifcarry 
 in his fchemes, he will forge letters and fto- 
 ries, to the ruin of the lady's reputation. 
 This is a fpecies of perfidy which one would 
 think fliould render them odious and deteft- 
 able to the whole fex ; but the cafe is other- 
 wife. I beg your pardon, Madam ; but wo- 
 men are never better pleafed, than when they 
 fee one another expofed ; and every individual 
 has fuch confidence in her own fuperior 
 charms and difcretion, that fhe thinks fhe 
 can fix the rnofl volatile, and reform the moil 
 treacherous lover. 
 
 If a Frenchman is admitted into your fa- 
 mily, and diftinguimed by repeated marks 
 of your friendfhip and regard, the firft re- 
 turn he makes for your civilities is to make 
 love to your wife, if fhe is handfome; if not, 
 to your filler, or daughter, or niece. If he 
 fuffers a repulfe from your wife, or attempts 
 in vain to debauch your fifter, or your daugh- 
 ter, or your niece, he will, rather than not 
 
 play
 
 LETTER VII. 117 
 
 play the traitor with his gallantry, make his 
 addrefles to your grandmother ; and ten to 
 one, but in one fhape or another, he will 
 find means to ruin the peace of a family, in 
 which he has been fo kindly entertained. What 
 he cannot accomplifh by dint of compliment, 
 and peribnal attendance, he will endeavour 
 to effecl:, by reinforcing thefe with billets- 
 doux, fongs, and verfes, of which he always 
 makes a provifion for fuch purpofes. If he is 
 detected in thefe efforts of treachery, and re- 
 proached with his ingratitude, he impudent- 
 ly declares, that what he had done was no 
 more than fimple gallantry, confidered in 
 France as an indifpenfible duty on every man 
 who pretended to good breeding. Nay, he 
 will even affirm, that his endeavours to cor- 
 rupt your wife, or deflower your daughter, 
 were the moil genuine proofs he could give 
 of his particular regard for your family. 
 
 If a Frenchman is capable of real friend- 
 fliip, it muft certainly be the moft difagree- 
 ablc prefent he can poflibly make to a man of 
 a true Englifh character. You know, Ma- 
 dam, we are naturally taciturn, foon tired of 
 impertinence, and much fubjeft to fits of 
 I 3 difguft.
 
 n8 LETTER VII. 
 
 difguft. Your French friend intrudes upon 
 you at all hours : he ftuns you with his lo^ 
 quacity : he teafes you with impertinent 
 queftions about your domeflio and private 
 affairs : he attempts to meddle in all your 
 concerns j and forces his advice upon you 
 with the rnofl unwearied importunity : he 
 afks the price of every thing you wear, and, 
 fo fure as you tell him, undervalues it, 
 without hefitation : he affirms it is in 
 a bad tafie, ill- contrived, ill-made ; that 
 you have been impofed upon both with re- 
 fpect to the fafhion and the price j that the 
 marquife of this, or the countefs of that, 
 has one that is perfectly elegant, quite in the 
 Ion ton> and yet it cofl her little more than 
 you gave for a thing that nobody would 
 wear. 
 
 If there were five hundred difhes at table, 
 a Frenchman will eat of all of them, and 
 then complain he has no appetite. This I 
 havefeveral times remarked. A friend of mine 
 gained a confiderable wager upon an experi- 
 ment of this kind : the petit maitre ate of 
 fourteen different 'plats, bdides the defert 5 
 difparaged the cook, declaring he was 
 
 no
 
 LETTER VII. 119 
 
 he was no better than a marwjfon, or turn- 
 fpit. 
 
 The French have a moft ridiculous fond- 
 nefs for their hair, and this I believe they 
 inherit from their remote anceftors. The firft 
 race of French kings were diftinguifhed by 
 their long hair, and certainly the people of 
 this country confider it as an indifpenfible 
 ornament. A Frenchman will iboner part 
 with his religion than with his hair, which, 
 indeed, no confideration will induce him to 
 forego. I know a gentleman afflicted with a 
 continual head-ach, and a defluxion on his 
 eyes, who was told by his phyfician that the 
 beft chance he had for being cured, would be 
 to have his head clofe fhaved, and bathed e- 
 very day in cold water. " How (cried he) 
 cut my hair ? Mr. Do6lor, your mod hum- 
 ble fervant !" He difmifled his phyfician, 
 loft his eye-fight, and almoft his fenfes, and 
 is now led about with his hair in a bag, and 
 a piece of green filk hanging like a fcreen be- 
 fore his face. Count Saxe, and other mili- 
 tary writers, have demonstrated the abfurdity 
 of a foldier's wearing a long head of hair ; 
 neverthelefs, every foldier in this country wears 
 14 a long
 
 120 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 a long queue, which makes a delicate mark 
 on his white cloathing j and this ridiculous 
 foppery has descended even to the loweft clafs 
 of people. The decrotteur, who cleans your 
 fhges at the corner of the Pont Neuf, has a 
 tail of this kind hanging down to his rump, 
 and even the peafant who drives an afs loaded 
 with dung, wears his hair en queue ^ though, 
 perhaps, he has neither fhirt nor breeches. 
 This is the ornament upon which he beflows 
 much time and pains, and in the exhibition 
 of which he finds full gratification for his 
 vanity. Confidering the harih features of the 
 common people in this country, their dimi- 
 nutive ftature, their grimaces, and that long 
 appendage, they have no fmall refemblance 
 to large baboons walking upright ; and pei% 
 haps this fimilitude has helped to entail upon 
 them the ridicule of their neighbours. 
 
 A French friend tires out your patience 
 with long vifits j and, far from taking the 
 moft palpable hints to withdraw, when he 
 perceives you uncafy, he obferves you are low- 
 fpirited, and therefore declares he will keep 
 you company. This pcrfeverance fhews that 
 
 either be void of all penetration, or 
 
 4
 
 LETTER VII. 121 
 
 that his difpofition muft be truly diabolical. 
 Rather than be tormented with fuch a. fiend, 
 a man had better turn him out of doors, 
 even though at the hazard of being run thro* 
 the body. 
 
 The French are generally counted infin- 
 cere, and taxed with want of generofity. 
 But I think thefe reproaches are not well 
 founded. High-flown profeflions of friend- 
 (hip and attachment conftitute the language 
 of common compliment in this country, and 
 are never fuppofed to be underflood in the 
 literal acceptation of the words j and, if 
 their a6ls of generofity are but very rare, we 
 ought to afcribe that rarity, not fo much to 
 a deficiency of generous fentiments, as to 
 their vanity and orientation, which engrof- 
 fing all their funds, utterly difable them from 
 exerting the virtues of beneficence. Vanity, 
 indeed, predominates among all ranks, to 
 fuch a degree, that they are the greateft ego- 
 ttfls in the world j and the moft iniignificant 
 individual talks in company with the fame 
 conceit and arrogance, as a perfon of the 
 greateft importance. Neither confcious po- 
 verty nor difgrace will restrain him in the 
 
 teft
 
 122 
 
 E T T E R VII. 
 
 leafl either from afTuming his full fhare of 
 the converfation, or making his addreffes to 
 the fineft lady, whom he has the fmalleft op- 
 portunity to approach : nor is he retrained 
 by any other confideration whatfoever. It 
 is all one to him whether he himfelf has a 
 wife of his own, or the lady a huiband ; 
 whether fhe is defigned for the cloifter, or 
 pre-ingaged to his beft friend and benefac- 
 tor. He takes it for granted that his addref- 
 fes cannot but be acceptable j and, if he 
 meets with a repulfe, he condemns her tafle ; 
 but never doubts his own qualifications. 
 
 I have a great many things to fay of their 
 military character, and their punctilios of 
 honour, which laft are equally abfurd and 
 pernicious ; but as this letter has run to an 
 unccnfciorable length, I (hall defer them till 
 another opportunity. Mean- while, I have the 
 honour to be, with very particular efteem, 
 Madam, 
 
 Your mod obedient fervant. 
 
 LETTER
 
 [ 123 ] 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 To Mr. M. '. 
 
 Lyons, Ofioberiy, 1763. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 I Was favoured with yours at Paris, and 
 look upon your reproaches as the proof 
 of your fricndfhip. The truth is, I confi- 
 dered all the letters I have hitherto written 
 on the fubjeft of my travels, as written to 
 your fociety in general, though they have 
 been addrefled to one individual of it ; and 
 if they contain any thing that can either a- 
 mufe or inform, I defire that henceforth all 
 I fend may be freely perufed by all the mem- 
 bers. 
 
 With refpecl to my health, about which 
 you fo kindly enquire, I have nothing new 
 to communicate. I had reafon to think that 
 my bathing in the fea at Boulogne produced 
 a good effect, in ftrengthening my relaxed 
 fibres. You know how fubject I was to colds 
 
 in
 
 124 LETTER VIII. 
 
 in England ; that I could not ftir abroad af- 
 ter fun-fet, nor expofe myfelf to the fmalleft 
 damp, nor walk till the leaft moifture ap- 
 peared on my flan, without being laid up 
 for ten days or a fortnight. At Paris, how- 
 ever, I went out every day, with my hat un- 
 der my arm, though the weather was wet 
 and cold : I walked in the garden at Verfailles 
 even after it was dark, with my head unco- 
 vered, on a cold evening, when the ground 
 was far from being dry : nay, at Marli, I 
 iauntered above a mile through damp alleys, 
 and wet grafs : and from none of thefc 
 rifques did I feel the leafl inconvenience. 
 
 In one of our excurfions. we vifited the 
 manufacture for porcelain, which the king of 
 France has erlablifhed at the village of St. 
 Cloud, on the road to Verfailles, and which 
 is, indeed, a noble monument of his- muni- 
 ficence. It is a very large building, both 
 commodious and magnificent, where a great 
 number of artifts are employed, and where 
 this elegant fuperfluity is carried to as great 
 perfection as it ever was at Drefden. Yet, 
 after all, I know not whether the porcelain 
 made at Chelfea may not vie with the pro- 
 ductions
 
 LETTER VIII. 125 
 
 duclions either of Drefden, or St. Cloud. If 
 it falls fhort of either, it is not in the deiign, 
 painting, enamel, or other ornaments, but 
 only in the competition of the metal, and 
 the method of managing it in the furnace. 
 Our porcelain feems to be a partial vitrifica- 
 tion of levigated flint and fine pipe clay, 
 mixed together in a certain proportion; and 
 if the pieces are not removed from the fire 
 in the very critical moment, they will be ei- 
 ther too little, or too much vitrified. In the 
 firft cafe, I apprehend they will not acquire a 
 proper degree of cohefion ; they will be apt 
 to be corroded, difcoloured, and to crumble, 
 like the firft eflays that were made at Chel- 
 fea ; in the fecond cafe, they will be little 
 better than imperfect glafs. 
 
 There are three methods of travelling from 
 Paris to Lyons, which, by the fhorteft road 
 is a journey of about three hundred and 
 fixty miles.- One is by the diligence, or ftage- 
 coach, which performs it in five days; and 
 every paiTenger pays one hundred livres, in 
 confideration of which, he not only has a 
 feat in the carriage, but is maintained on the 
 road. The inconveniences attending this 
 
 way
 
 126 LETTER VIIL 
 
 way of travelling are thefe. You are croud-- 
 ed into the carnage, to the number of eight 
 perfons, fo as to fit very uneafy, and fome- 
 times run the rifque of being ftifled among 
 very indifferent company. You are hurried 
 out of bed, at four, three, nay often at 
 two o'clock in the morning. You are o-< 
 bliged to eat in the French way, which is 
 very difagreeable to an Englifh palate ; and, 
 at Chalons, you muft embark upon the Soane 
 in a boat, which conveys you to Lyons, fo 
 that the two laft days of your journey are 
 by water. All thefe were infurmountable ob- 
 jections to me, who am in fuch a bad flate 
 of health, troubled with an afthmatic cough, 
 fpitting, flow fever, and reftleffnefs, which 
 demands a continual change of place, as well 
 as free air, and room for motion. I was 
 this day vifited by two young gentlemen, fons 
 of Mr. Guaftaldi, late minifler from Genoa 
 at London. I had feen them at Paris, at the 
 houfe of the dutchefs of Douglas. They 
 came hither, with their conductor, in the 
 diligence., and allured me, that nothing could 
 be more difagreeable than their fituation in 
 that carriage. 
 
 Another
 
 LETTER VIII. 127 
 
 Another way of travelling in this country 
 is to hire a coach and four horfes ; and this 
 method I was inclined to take : but when I 
 went to the bureau, where, alone thefe voitures 
 are to be had, I was given to underftand, 
 that it would coft me fix-and-twenty guineas, 
 and travel fo flow that I fhould be ten days 
 upon the road. Thefe carriages are let by 
 the fame perfons who farm the diligence ; 
 and for this they have an exclufive privilege, 
 which makes them very faucy and infoJent. 
 When I mentioned my fervant, they gave 
 me to underftand, that I muft pay two loui'- 
 dores more for his feat upon the coach box. 
 As I could not relifh thefe terms, nor brook 
 the thoughts of being fo long upon the road, 
 I had recourfe to the third method, whidi is 
 going poft. 
 
 In England you know I fhould have had 
 nothing to do, but to hire a couple of poft- 
 chaifes from flage to flage, with two horfes 
 in each ; but here the cafe is quite othcrwife. 
 The pofl is farmed from the king, who lays 
 travellers under contribution for his own be- 
 nefit, and has publifhed a fet of opprefiive 
 ordonnances, which no ftranger nor native 
 
 dares
 
 128 LETTER VIII. 
 
 dares tranfgrefs. The poftmafter finds no- 
 thing but horfes and guides : the carriage 
 you yourfelf muft provide. If there are 
 four perfons within the carriage, you are o- 
 bliged to have fix horfes, and two poftilli- 
 ons ; and if your fervant fits on the outfide, 
 either before or behind, you muft pay for a 
 feventh. You pay double for the firft ft age 
 from Paris, and twice double for paffing 
 through Fontainbleau when the court is there, 
 as well as at coming to Lyons, and at leav- 
 ing tjiis city. Thefe are called royal pofts, 
 and are undoubtedly a fcandalous impoft- 
 tion. 
 
 There are two poft roads from Paris to 
 Lyons, one of fixty-five pofts, by the way of 
 Moulins ; the other of fifty- nine, by the way 
 of Dijon in Burgundy. This laft I chofe, 
 partly to fave fixty livres, and partly to fee 
 the wine harveft of Burgundy, which, I was 
 told, was a feafon of mirth and jollity among 
 all ranks of people. I hired a very good 
 coach for ten loui'dores to Lyons, and fet out 
 from Paris on the thirteenth inftant, with fix 
 horfes, two poftillions, and my own fervant 
 on horfeback. We made no ftop at Fontain- 
 bleau
 
 LETTER VIIL 129 
 
 bleau, though the court was there ; but lay 
 at Moret, which is one flage further, a very 
 paltry little town j where, however, we found 
 good accommodation. 
 
 I fhall not pretend to defcribe the caftle or 
 palace of Fountainbleau, of which I had 
 only a glimpfe in paffing ; but the foreft, in 
 the middle of which it flands, is a noble 
 chace of great extent, beautifully wild and 
 romantic, well ftored with game of all forts, 
 and abounding with excellent timber. It put 
 me in mind of the New Forefl in Hamp- 
 (hire ; but the hills, rocks, and mountains, 
 with which it is diverfified, render it more 
 agreeable. 
 
 The people of this country dine at noon, 
 and travellers always find an ordinary pre- 
 pared at every auberge, or public-houfe, on 
 the road* Here they lit down promifcuoufly, 
 and dine at fo much a head. The ufual price 
 is thirty fols for dinner, and forty for fup- 
 per, including lodging ; for this moderate 
 expence they have two courfes and a defert. 
 If you eat in your own apartment, you pay, 
 inftead of forty fols, three, and in fome 
 places, four livres a head. I and my family 
 
 VOL. I. K could
 
 i 3 o LETTER VIII. 
 
 could not well difpenfe with our tea and toaft 
 in the morning, and had no flomach to eat 
 at noon. For my own part, I hate the French 
 cookery, and abominate garlick, with which 
 all their ragouts, in this part of the coun- 
 try, are highly feafoned : we therefore formed 
 a different plan of living upon the road. Be- 
 fore we left Paris, we laid in a flock of tea, 
 chocolate, cured neats tongues, andfauciflbns, 
 or Bologna faufages, both of which we found 
 in great perfection in that capital, where, in- 
 deed, there are excellent provifions of all 
 forts. About ten in the morning we flop- 
 ped to breakfafl at fome auberge, where we 
 always found bread, butter, and milk. In 
 the mean time, we ordered a poulard or two to 
 be roafled, and thefe, wrapped in a napkin, 
 were put into the boot of the coach, toge- 
 ther with bread, wine, and water. About 
 two or three in tha afternoon, while the 
 horfes were changing, we laid a cloth upon 
 our knees, and producing our flore, with a 
 few earthen plates, difcufled our fhort meal 
 without further ceremony. This was followed 
 by a defert of grapes and other fruit, which 
 we had alfo provided. I mufl own I found 
 
 thefe
 
 LETTER VIIl. 131 
 
 thefe tranfient refrefhments much more a- 
 greeable than any regular meal I ate upon the 
 road. The wine commonly ufed in Burgun- 
 dy is fo weak and thin, that you would not 
 drink it in England. The very bed which 
 they fell at Dijon, the capital of the province, 
 for three livres a bottle, is in ftrength, and 
 even in flavour, greatly inferior to what I have 
 drank in London. I believe all the firft 
 growth is either confumed in the houfes of 
 the noblefTe, or fent abroad to foreign mar- 
 kets. I have drank excellent Burgundy at 
 BrufTels for a florin a bottle ; that is, little 
 more than twenty pence fterling. 
 
 The country from the foreft of Fountain- 
 bleau to the Lyonnois,' through which we 
 parTed, is rather agreeable than fertile, being 
 part of Champagne and the dutchy of Bur- 
 gundy, watered by three pleafant paftoral ri- 
 vers, the Seine, the Yonne, and the Soane. 
 The flat country is laid out chiefly for corn ; 
 but produces more rye than wheat. Almoft 
 all the ground feems to be ploughed up, fo 
 that there is little or nothing lying fallow. 
 There are very few inclofures, fcarce any 
 meadow ground, and, fo far as I could ob- 
 it 2 ferve,
 
 132 LETTER VIII. 
 
 ferve, a great fcarcity of cattle. We fome- 
 times found it very difficult to procure half 
 a pint of milk for our tea. In Burgundy I 
 faw a peafant ploughing the ground with a 
 jack-afs, a lean cow, and a he-goat, yoked 
 together. It is generally obferved, that a 
 great number of black cattle are bred and 
 fed on the mountains of Burgundy, which 
 are the higheft lands in France j but I faw 
 very few. The peafants in France are fo 
 wretchedly poor, and fo much opprefTed by 
 their landlords, that they cannot afford to 
 inclofe their grounds, or give a proper re- 
 fpite to their lands -, or to flock their farms 
 with a fufficient number of black cattle to 
 produce the necefTary manure, without which 
 agriculture can never be carried to any de- 
 gree of perfection. Indeed, whatever efforts 
 a few individuals may make for the benefit 
 of their own eftates, husbandry in France 
 will never be generally improved, until the 
 farmer is free and independent. 
 
 From the frequency of towns and villages, 
 I fhould imagine this country is very popu- 
 lous ; yet it muft be owned, that the towns 
 are in general thinly inhabited. I faw a good 
 
 number
 
 LETTER VIII. 133 
 
 number of country feats and plantations 
 near the banks of the rivers, on each fide j 
 and a great many convents, fweetly fituated, 
 on rifmg grounds, where the air is moil 
 pure, and the profpec~l moft agreeable. It 
 is furprifmg to fee how happy the founders 
 of thofe religious houfes have been in their 
 choice of fituations, all the world over. 
 
 In pafling through this country, I was very 
 much ftruck with the fight of large ripe 
 clufters of grapes, entwined with the briars 
 and thorns of common hedges on the way- 
 fide. The mountains of Burgundy are co- 
 vered with vines from the bottom to the top, 
 and feem to be raifed by nature on purpofe 
 to extend the furface, and to expofe it the 
 more advantageoufly to the rays of the fun. 
 The 'vandange was but juft begun, and the 
 people were employed in gathering the 
 grapes ; but I faw no figns of feftivity among 
 them. Perhaps their joy was a little damped 
 by the bad profpecl of their harvefl ; for 
 they complained that the weather had been fo 
 unfavourable as to hinder the grapes from 
 ripening. I thought, indeed, there was fome- 
 thing uncomfortable in feeing the vintage 
 K 3 thus
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 thus retarded till the beginning of winter : 
 for, in fome parts, I found the weather ex- 
 tremely cold ; particularly at a place called 
 Maifon-neuve, where we lay, there was a hard 
 froftj and in the morning the pools were co- 
 vered with a thick cruft of ice. My perfo- 
 nal adventures on the road were fuch as 
 will not bear a recital. They confided of 
 petty difputes with landladies, poft-mafters, 
 and poftilions. The highways feem to be 
 perfectly fafe. We did not find that any 
 robberies were ever committed, although we 
 did not fee one of the marechauffe from Paris 
 to Lyons. You know the marechaujfe are a 
 body of troopers well mounted, maintained 
 in France as fafe-guards to the public roads. 
 Jt is a reproach upon England that fome fuch 
 patrol is not appointed for the protection qf 
 travellers, 
 
 At Sens in Champagne, my fervant, who 
 had rode on before to 'befpeak frefh horfes, 
 told me, that the domeftic of another com r 
 pany had been provided before him, altho' 
 it was not his turn, as he had arrived later at 
 the poft. Provoked at this partiality, I re T 
 i"p}ve<J to chide the pofl-jriafter, ancj accord r
 
 LETTER VIII. 135 
 
 ingly addrefTed myfelf to a perfon who flood 
 at the door of the auberge. He was a jolly 
 figure, fat and fair, drefTed in an odd kind 
 of garb, with a gold laced cap on his head, 
 and a cambric handkerchief pinned to his 
 middle. The fight of fuch a fantaftic petit 
 maitre, in the character of a poft-mafter, in- 
 creafed my fpleen. I called to him with an 
 air of authority, mixed with indignation, 
 and when he came up to the coach, afked in 
 a peremptory tone, if he did not under- 
 hand the king's ordonnance concerning the 
 regulation of the pofls ? He laid his hand 
 upon his bread; but before he could make 
 any anfwer, I pulled out the port-book, and 
 began to read, with great vociferation, the 
 article which orders, that the traveller who 
 comes firft fhall be firfl ferved. By this time 
 the frem horfes being put to the carnage, 
 and the poftilions mounted, the coach fet 
 off all of a fudden, with uncommon fpeed. 
 I imagined the poft-mafler had given the fel- 
 lows a fignal to be gone, and, in this perfua- 
 fion, thrufting my head out at the window, 
 I beftowed fome epithets upon him, which 
 mutt have founded very harfh in the ears of 
 K 4 a French-
 
 136 LETTER VIII. 
 
 a Frenchman. We (lopped for a refrefh- 
 ment at a little town called Joigne-ville, where 
 (by the bye) I was fcandaloufly impofed up- 
 on, and even abufed by a virago of a land- 
 lady j then proceeding to the next ft age, I 
 was given to underftand we could not be fup- 
 plied with frefh horfes. Here I perceived at the 
 door of the inn, the fame perfon whom I had 
 reproached at Sens. He came up to the coach, 
 and told me, that notwithflanding what the 
 guides had faid, I fhould have frefh horfes 
 in a few minutes. I imagined he was maf- 
 ter both of this houfe and the auberge at 
 Sens, between which he pafled and repafled 
 occasionally - 3 and that he was now defirous 
 of making me amends for the affront he 
 had put upon me at the other place. Ob-r 
 ferving that one of the trunks behind was 
 a little difplaced, he aflifted my fervant in 
 adjufting it : then he entered into converfar 
 tion with me, and gave me to underftand, 
 that in a poft>chaife, which we had paired ? 
 vvas an Engliih gentleman on his return from 
 Italy. I wanted to know who he was, and 
 when he faid he could not tell, I afked 
 him, in a very abrupt manner, why he 
 
 had
 
 LETTER VIII. 137 
 
 had not enquired of his fervant. He fhrug- 
 ged up his fhoulders, and retired to the 
 inn door. Having waited about half an hour, 
 I beckoned to him, and when he approach- 
 ed, upbraided him with having told me that 
 I (hould be fupplied with frefh horfes in a 
 few minutes : he feemed fhocked, and an- 
 fwered, that he thought he had reafon for 
 what he faid, obferving, that it was as dif- 
 agreeable to him as to me to wait for a relay. 
 As it began to rain, I pulled up the glafs in 
 his face, and he withdrew again to the door, 
 feemingly ruffled at my deportment. In a 
 little time the horfes arrived, and three of 
 them were immediately put to a very hand- 
 fome poft-chaife, into which he ftepped, and 
 fet out, accompanied by a man in a rich li- 
 very on horfeback. Aftonifhed at this cir- 
 cumflance, I afked the hoftler who he was, 
 and he replied, that he was a man of fafhi- 
 on (un feigneur) who lived in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Auxerre. I was much morti-r- . 
 fied to find that I had treated a nobleman fo 
 fcurvily, and fcolded my own people for not 
 having more penetration than myfelf. I 
 4are fay. he did not fail tp defcant upon the 
 4 brutal
 
 i 3 8 LETTER VIII. 
 
 brutal behaviour of the Englishman ; and 
 that my miftake ferved with him to confirm 
 the national reproach of blunt nefs, and ill 
 breeding, under which we lie in this coun- 
 try. The truth is, I was that day more than 
 ufually peevifh, from the bad weather, as 
 well as from the dread of a fit of the afth- 
 ina, with which I was threatened : and I 
 dare fay my appearance feemed as uncouth 
 to him, as his travelling drefs appeared to 
 me. I had a grey mourning frock under a 
 wide great coat, a bob wig without powder, 
 a very large laced hat, and a meagre, wrin- 
 kled, difcontented countenance. 
 
 The fourth night of our journey we lay 
 at Macon, and the next day paffed through 
 the Lyonnois, which is a fine country, full 
 of towns, villages, and gentlemen's houfes. 
 In pafling through the Maconnois, we faw a 
 great many fields of Indian corn, which 
 grows to the height of fix or feven feet : it 
 is made into flour for the ufe of the com- 
 mon people, and goes by the name of Turkey 
 wheat. Here like wife, as well as in Dau- 
 phine, they raife a vaft quantity of very large 
 
 pojiipions,
 
 LETTER VIII. 139 
 
 pompions, with the contents of which they 
 thicken their foup and ragouts. 
 
 As we travelled only while the fun was 
 up, on account of my ill health, and the 
 poft horfes in France are in bad order, we 
 feldom exceeded twenty leagues a day. 
 
 I was directed to a lodging-houfe at Ly- 
 ons, which being full they fhewed us to a 
 tavern, where I was led up three pair of 
 flairs, to an apartment confifting of three 
 paltry chambers, for which the people de- 
 manded twelve livres a day : for dinner and 
 fupper they afked thirty-two, befides three 
 livres for my fervant j fo that my daily ex- 
 pence would have amounted to about forty- 
 feven livres, exclufive of breakfaft and coffee 
 in the afternoon. I was fo provoked at this 
 extortion, that, without anfwering one word, 
 I drove to another auberge, where I now am, 
 and pay at the rate of two-and-thirty livres 
 a day, for which I am very badly lodged, and 
 but very indifferently entertained. I men- 
 tion thefe circumflances to give you an idea 
 of the impofition to which Grangers are fub- 
 jecl in this country. It rnuft be owned, 
 however, that in the article of eating, I 
 
 might
 
 140 LETTER VIII. 
 
 might fave half the money by going to the 
 public ordinary; but this is a fcheme of 
 ceconomy, which (exclufive of other difa- 
 greeable circumftances) neither my own 
 health, nor that of my wife permits me to 
 embrace. My journey from Paris to Lyons, 
 including the hire of the coach, and all ex- 
 pences on the road, has coil me, within a 
 few fhillings, forty loui'dores. From Paris 
 our baggage (though not plombe) was not 
 once examined till we arrived in this city, at 
 the gate of which we were queftioned by one 
 of the fearchers, who, being tipt with half a 
 crown, allowed us to proceed without fur- 
 ther enquiry. 
 
 I purpofed to flay in Lyons until I fhould 
 receive fome letters I expected from London, 
 to be forwarded by my banker at Paris : but 
 the enormous expence of living in this man- 
 ner has determined me to fet out in a day or 
 two for Montpellier, although that place is a 
 good way out of the road to Nice. My rea- 
 fons for taking that route I (hall communi- 
 cate in my next. Mean-while, I am ever, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your affe<5tionate and obliged humble fervant. 
 
 LETTER
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 MwlpeOier t Ntfufmber 5, 1763. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 TH E city of Lyons has been fo often 
 and fo circumftantialiy defcribed, that 
 I cannot pretend to fay any thing new on the 
 fubjecl:. Indeed, I know very little of it, but 
 what I have read in books ; as I had but one 
 day to make a tour of the ftreets, fquares, and 
 other remarkable places. The bridge over 
 the Rhone feems to be fo flightly built, that I 
 ftiould imagine it would be one day carried 
 away by that rapid river -, efpecially as the 
 arches are fo fmall, that, after great rains 
 they are fometimes bouchees, or flopped up ; 
 that is, they do not admit a fufficient paf- 
 fage for the encreafed body of the water. In 
 order to remedy this dangerous defecl, in 
 fome meafure, they found an artiil fome 
 years ago, who has removed a middle pier, 
 and thrown two arches into one. This al- 
 teration they looked upon as a mafter-piece 
 
 in
 
 r 4 2 L E T T E R IX. 
 
 in architecture, though there is many a com- 
 mon mafon in England, who would have ufi- 
 dertaken and performed the work, without 
 valuing himfelf much upon the cnterprize. 
 This bridge, no more than that of St. Efprit, 
 is built, not in a flrait line acrofs the river,* 
 but with a curve, which forms a convexity to 
 oppofe the current. Such a bend is certainly 
 calculated for the better refifling the general 
 impetuofity of the ftream, and has no bad 
 effect to the eye. 
 
 Lyons is a great, populous, and flouriming 
 city; but I am furprifed to find it is counted a 
 healthy place, and that the air of it is efteemed 
 favourable to pulmonic diforders. It is fitu- 
 ated on the confluence of two large rivers, 
 from which there mufl be a great epavoration, 
 as well as from the low marfhy grounds, 
 which thefe rivers often overflow. This mufl 
 render the airmoifl, frouzy, and even putrid, 
 if it was not well ventilated by winds from 
 the mountains of SwhTerland ; and in the lat- 
 ter end of autumn, it mufl be fubject to 
 fogs. The morning we fet out from thence, 
 the whole city and adjacent plains were cover- 
 ed with fo thick a fog, that we could not 
 
 diflinguifh
 
 L E T T E R IX. 143 
 
 diftinguifh from the coach the head of 
 the foremofl mule that drew it. Lyons is 
 laid to be very hot in fummer, and very cold 
 in winter > therefore I imagine muft abound 
 with inflammatory and intermittent diforders 
 in the fpring and fall of the year. 
 
 My reafons for going to Montpellier, which 
 is out of the ftrait road to Nice, were 
 thefe. Having no acquaintance nor corre- 
 fpondents in the South of France, I had de- 
 fired my credit might be fent to the fame 
 houfe to which my heavy baggage was con- 
 iigned. I expected to find my baggage at 
 Cette, which is the fea-port of Montpellier ; 
 and there I alfo hoped to find a veflel, ir* 
 which I might be tranfported by fea to Nice, 
 without further trouble. I longed to try 
 what effect the boafted air of Montpellier 
 would have upon my constitution j and I had 
 a great defire to fee the famous monuments 
 of antiquity in and about the ancient city of 
 Nifmes, which is about eight leagues fhort 
 of Montpellier. 
 
 At the inn where we lodged, I found a 
 return berime, belonging to Avignon, with, 
 thiree mules, which are the animals com- 
 monly
 
 144 LETTER IX. 
 
 monly ufed for carriages in this country* 
 This I hired for five loui'dores. The coach 
 was large, commodious, and well-fitted - y the 
 mules were flrong and in good order j and 
 the driver, whofe name was Jofeph, appeared 
 to be a fober, fagacious, intelligent fellow, 
 perfectly well acquainted with every place in 
 the South of France. He told me he was 
 owner of the coach : but I afterwards learn- 
 ed, he was no other than a hired fervant. 
 I likewife detected him in fome knavery, 
 in the courfe of our journey ; and plainly per- 
 ceived he had a fellow-feeling with the inn- 
 keepers on the road j but, in other refpects, 
 he was very obliging, ferviceable, and even 
 entertaining. There are fome knaviih 
 practices of this kind, at which a traveller 
 will do well to fhut his eyes, for his own 
 cafe and convenience. He will be lucky if 
 he has to do with a fenfible knave, like Jo- 
 feph, who underftood his intereft too well 
 to be guilty of very flagrant pieces of impo- 
 fition. 
 
 A man impatient to be at his journey's 
 end, will find this a moft difagreeable way 
 of travelling. In fummer it muft be quite 
 
 intolerable.
 
 L E T T E R IX. 145 
 
 intolerable. The mules are very fure, but 
 very flow. The journey feldom exceeds eight 
 leagues, about four and twenty miles a day : 
 and as thofe people have certain fixed flages, 
 you are fometimes obliged to rife in a morn- 
 ing before day ; a circumftance very grievous 
 to perfons in ill health. Thefe inconveniences, 
 however, were over-balanced by other agree- 
 mens. We no fooner quitted Lyons, than we got 
 into fummer weather, and travelling through a 
 moft romantic country, along the banks of the 
 Rhone, had opportunities (from the flownefs of 
 our pace) to contemplate its beauties at leifure. 
 
 The rapidity of the Rhone is, in a great 
 meafure, owing to its being confined within 
 ileep banks on each fide. Thefe are formed 
 almoft through its whole courfe, by a double 
 chain of mountains, which rife with an abrupt 
 afcent from both banks of the river. The 
 mountains are covered with vineyards, Jnter- 
 fperfed with fmall fummer-houfes, and in 
 many places they are crowned with churches, 
 chapels, and convents, which add greatly to the 
 romantic beauty of the profpecl. The high- 
 road, as far as Avignon, lies along the fide of 
 the river, which runs almofl in a ftraight line, 
 
 VOL. I. L and
 
 146 LETTER IX. 
 
 and affords great convenience for inland 
 commerce. Travellers, bound to the foiithern 
 parts of France, generally embark in the 
 coche d'eau at Lyons, and glide down this river 
 with great velocity, palling a great number 
 of towns and villages on each fide, where 
 they find ordinaries every day at dinner and 
 fupper. In good weather, there is no danger 
 in this method of travelling, 'till you come 
 to the Pont St. Efprit, where the ftream runs 
 through the arches with fuch rapidity, that 
 the boat is fometimes overfet. But thofe 
 paffengers who are under any apprehenlion 
 are landed above-bridge, and taken in again, 
 after the boat has pafTed, juft in the fame 
 manner as at London Bridge. The boats that 
 go up the river are drawn againfr. the ftream 
 by oxen, which fwim through one of the 
 arches of this bridge, the driver fitting be- 
 tween the horns of the foremoft bead. We 
 fet out from Lyons early on Monday morn- 
 ing, and as a robbery had been a few days 
 before committed in that neighbourhood, I 
 ordered my fervant to load my mufquetoon 
 with a charge of eight balls. By the bye, 
 this piece did not fail to attract the curiofity 
 
 and
 
 LETTER IX. 147 
 
 and admiration of the people in every place 
 through which we paffed. The carriage no 
 fooner halted, than a crowd immediately fur- 
 rounded the man to view the blunderbufs, 
 which they dignified with the title of petit 
 canon. At Nuys in Burgundy, he fired it in 
 the air, and the whole mob difperfed, and 
 fcampered off like a flock of fheep. In our 
 journey hither, we generally fet out in a 
 morning at eight o'clock, and travelled 'till 
 noon, when the mules were put up and refled 
 a couple of hours. During this halt, Jofeph 
 went to dinner, and we went to breakfaft, 
 after which we ordered provifion for our 
 refrefhment in the coach, which we took 
 about three or four in the afternoon, halting 
 for that purpofe, by the fide of fome tranfpa- 
 rent brook, which afforded excellent water 
 to mix with our wine. In this country I was 
 almoft poifoned with garlic, which they mix 
 in their ragouts, and all their fauces ; nay, 
 the fmell of it perfumes the very chambers, 
 as well as every perfon you approach. I was 
 alfo very fick of beca ficas, grieves, and other 
 little birds, which are ferved up twice a day 
 at all ordinaries on the road. They make 
 L 2 thur
 
 i 4 S LETTER IX. 
 
 their appearance in vine-leaves, and arc al- 
 ways half raw, in which condition the French 
 choofe to eat them, rather than run the rifque 
 of lofmg the juice by over-roafting. 
 
 The peafants on the South of France are 
 poorly clad, and look as if they were half 
 flarved, diminutive, fwarthy, and meagre; 
 and yet the common people who travel, live 
 luxurioufly on the road. Every carrier and 
 mule-driver has two meals a day, confifting 
 each of a couple of courfes and a defert, with 
 tolerable frnall wine. That which is called 
 hermitage, and grows in this province of 
 Dauphine, is fold on the fpot for three livres 
 a bottle. The common draught, which you 
 have at meals in this country, is remarkably 
 flrong, though in flavour much inferior to 
 that of Burgundy. The accommodation is 
 tolerable, though they demand (even in 
 this cheap country) the exorbitant price of 
 four livres a head for every meal, of thofe 
 who choofe to eat in their own apart- 
 ments. I infilled, however, upon paying 
 them with three, which they received, though 
 not without murmuring and feeming difcon- 
 tented. In this journey, we found plenty of 
 
 good
 
 L E T T E R IX. 149 
 
 good mutton, pork, poultry, and game, in- 
 cluding the red partridge, which is near twice 
 as big as the partridge of England. Their 
 hares are likewile furprifmgly large and juicy. 
 We faw great flocks of black turkeys feeding 
 in the fields, but no black cattle j and milk 
 was fo fcarce, that fometimes we were obliged 
 to drink our tea without it. 
 
 One day perceiving a meadow on the fide 
 of the road, full of a flower which I took to 
 be the crocus, I defired my fervant to alight 
 and pull fome of them. He delivered the 
 mufquetoon to Jofeph, who began to tamper 
 with it, and off it went with a prodigious 
 report, augmented by an eccho from the 
 mountains that fkirted the road. The mules 
 were fo frightened, that they went off at the 
 gallop j and Jofeph, for fome minutes, could 
 neither manage the reins, nor open his mouth. 
 At length he recollected himfelf, and the cattle 
 were ftopt, by the afliflance of the fervant, 
 to whom he delivered the mufquetoon, with 
 a fignificant (hake of the head. Then alight- 
 ing from the box, he examined the heads of 
 his three mules, and kiiTed each of them in 
 his turn. Finding they had received no da- 
 L 3 mage,
 
 i 5 o L E T T E R IX. 
 
 mage, be came up to the coach, with a pale 
 vifage and ftaring eyes, and faid it was God's 
 mercy he had not killed his beafts. I an- 
 fwered, that it was a greater mercy he had 
 tiot killed his pafiengers ; for the muzzle of 
 the piece might have been directed our way 
 as well as any other, and in that cafe Jofeph 
 might have been hanged for murder. <{ I had 
 as good be hanged (faid he) for murder, as 
 be ruined by the lofs of my cattle." This 
 adventure made fuch an impreflion upon hinij 
 that he recounted it to every perfon we met > 
 nor would he ever touch the blunderbufs 
 from that day. I was often diverted with the 
 converfation of this fellow, who was very 
 arch and very communicative. Every af- 
 ternoon, he ufed to ftand upon the foot- 
 board, at the fide of the coach, and difcourfe 
 with us an hour together. Faffing by the 
 gibbet of Valencia, which ftands very near 
 the high-road, we faw one body hanging 
 quite naked, and another lying broken on 
 the wheel. I recollected, that Mandrin had 
 fulfered in this place, and calling to Jofeph 
 to mount the foot-board, afked if he had ever 
 Itcn that famous adventurer. At mention of 
 
 the
 
 LETTER IX. 151 
 
 the name of Mandrin, the tear ftarted in 
 Jofeph's eye, he difcharged a deep figh, or 
 rather groan, and told me he was his dear 
 friend. I was a little ftartled at this declarar 
 tion ; however, I concealed my thoughts, and 
 began to afk queftions about the character 
 and exploits of a man who had made fuch 
 noife in the world. 
 
 He told me, Mandrin was a native of Va- 
 lencia, of mean extraction : that he had ferved 
 as a foldier in the army, and afterwards acted 
 as maltctier, or tax-gatherer : that at length 
 he turned contrebandier, or fmuggler, and by 
 his fuperior qualities, raifcd himfelf to the 
 command of a formidable gang, confifling 
 of five hundred perfons well armed with car- 
 bines and piftols. He had fifty horfe for his 
 troopers, and three hundred mules for the 
 carriage of his merchandize. His head- 
 quarters were in Savoy: but he made incur- 
 fions into Dauphine, and fet the marechaujfee 
 at defiance. He maintained feveral bloody 
 (kirmifhes with thefe troopers, as well as 
 with other regular detachments, and in all 
 thofe actions fignalized himfelf by his cou- 
 rage and conduct. Coming up at one time 
 L 4 with
 
 i 5 2 L E T T E R IX. 
 
 with fifty of the marechaujjee, who were in 
 queft of him, he told them very calmly, he 
 had occafion for their horfes and acoutre- 
 ments, and defired them to difmount. At 
 that inftant his gang appeared, and the 
 troopers complied with his requeft, without 
 making the leafl opposition. Jofeph laid he 
 was as generous as he was brave, and never 
 molefted travellers, nor did the leaft injury 
 to the poor ; but, on the contrary, relieved 
 them very often. He ufed to oblige the gen- 
 tlemen in the country to take his merchan- 
 dize, his tobacco, brandy, and muflins, at 
 his own price ; and, in the fame manner, 
 he laid the open towns under contribution. 
 When he had no merchandize, he borrowed 
 money of them upon the credit of what he 
 fhould bring when he was better provided. 
 He was at laft betrayed, by his wench, to the 
 colonel of a French regiment, who went 
 with a detachment in the night to the place 
 where he lay in Savoy, and furprized him in 
 a wood-houfe, while his people were abfent 
 in different parts of the country. For this 
 intrufion, the court of France made an apo- 
 logy to the king of Sardinia, in whole ter- 
 ritories
 
 L E T T E R IX. 153 
 
 ritories he was taken. Mandrin being con- 
 veyed to Valencia, hi-s native place, was for 
 fome time permitted to go abroad, under a 
 flrong guard, with chains upon his legs ; 
 and here he converfed freely with all forts of 
 people, flattering himfelf with the hopes of 
 a pardon, in which, however, he was difap- 
 pointed. An order came from court to bring 
 him to his trial, when he was found guilty, 
 and condemned to be broke on the wheel. 
 Jofeph faid he drank a bottle of wine with 
 him the night before his execution. He bore 
 his fate with great refoluticn, obferving that 
 if the letter which he had written to the King, 
 had been delivered, he certainly fhould have 
 obtained his Majefty's pardon. His execu- 
 tioner was one of his own gang, who was 
 pardoned on condition of performing this 
 office. You know, that criminals broke up- 
 on the wheel are firft flrangled, unlefs the 
 fentence imports, that they fhall be broke 
 alive. As Mandrin had not been guilty of 
 cruelty in the courfe of his delinquency, he 
 was indulged with this favour. Speaking 
 to the executioner, whom he had formerly 
 commanded, " Jofeph (dit il) je ne veux 
 
 pas
 
 i 5 4 LETTER IX. 
 
 pas que tu me touche, jufqu'i ce que je fois 
 roid mort." Jofeph, faid he, thou flialt not 
 touch me till I am quite dead. Our driver 
 had no (boner pronounced thefe words, than 
 I was ftruck with a fufpicicn, that he him- 
 felf was the executioner of his friend Man- 
 drin. On that fufpicion, I exclaimed, " ah ! ah ! 
 Jofeph !" The feilow blufhed up to the eyes, 
 and faid, out,- fon ncm etoit yofeph aujji blen que 
 k mien. I did not think proper to profecute 
 the inquiry ; but did not much relifh the 
 nature of Jofeph's connexions. The truth 
 is, he had very much the looks of a ruffian* 
 though, I muft own, his behaviour was very 
 obliging and fubmiflive. 
 
 On the fifth day of our journey, in the 
 morning, we pafTed the famous bridge at 
 St. Efprit, which to be fure is a great curio- 
 fity, from its length, and the number of its 
 arches : but thefe arches are too fmall : the 
 paffage above is too narrow ; and the whole 
 appears to be too flight, confidering the force 
 and impetuofity of the river. It is not com- 
 parable to the bridge at Weftminfter, either 
 for beauty or folidity. Here we entered Lan- 
 guedoc, and were (lopped to have our baggage 
 
 examined :
 
 LETTER X. 155 
 
 examined : but the fearcher being tipped 
 with a three-livre piece, allowed it to pafs. 
 - Before we leave Dauphine, I muft obferve, 
 that I was not a little furprized to fee figs 
 and ciiefnuts growing in the open fields, at 
 the difcretion of every paflenger. It was this 
 day I faw the famous Pont du Garde ; but 
 as I cannot poflibly include, in this letter, a 
 defcription of that beautiful bridge, and of 
 the other antiquities belonging to Nifmes, I 
 will defer it till the next opportunity, being, 
 in the mean time, with equal truth and 
 affection, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your obliged humble Servant. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 MonlpeUier, November 10, 1763. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 BY the Pont St. Efprit we entered the 
 province of Languedoc, and breakfafted 
 at Bagnole, which is a little paltry town j 
 from whence, however, there is an excellent 
 
 road
 
 156 L E T T E R X. 
 
 road through a mountain, made at a great 
 expence, and extending about four leagues. 
 About five in the afternoon, I had the firft 
 glimpfe of the famous Pont du Garde, which 
 Hands on the right hand, about the diflance 
 of a league from the poft-road to Nifmes, 
 and about three leagues from that city. I 
 would not willingly pafs for a falfe enthufiaft 
 in tafte j but I cannot help obferving, that 
 from the firfl diftant view of this noble mo- 
 nument, till we came near enough to fee it 
 perfectly, I felt the ftrongeft emotions of 
 impatience that I had ever known ; and 
 obliged our driver to put his mules to the 
 full gallop, in the apprehenfion that it would 
 be dark before we reached the place. I ex- 
 pected to find the building, in fome meafure, 
 ruinous ; but was agreeably difappointed, to 
 fee it look as frefh as the bridge at Weflmin- 
 fter. The climate is either fo pure and dry, 
 or the free-flone, with which it is built, fo 
 hard, that the very angles of them remain as 
 acute as if they had been cut laft year. In- 
 deed, fome large ftones have dropped out of 
 the arches ; but the whole is admirably pre- 
 fervcd, and prefents the eye with a piece of 
 
 archi-
 
 L E T T E R X. 157 
 
 architecture, fo unaffectedly elegant, fo fimplc, 
 and majeftic, that I will defy the moft phleg- 
 matic and ftupid fpectator to behold it with- 
 out admiration. It was raifed in the Au- 
 guftan age, by the Roman colony of Nifmes, 
 to convey a dream of water between two 
 mountains, for the ufe of that city. It (lands 
 over the river Garden, which is a beautiful 
 paftoral ftream, brawling among rocks,which 
 form a number of pretty natural cafcades, 
 and overfhadowed on each fide with trees and 
 flirubs, which greatly add to the rural beau- 
 ties of the fcene. It rifes in the Cevennes, 
 and the fand of it produces gold, as we learn 
 from Mr. Reaumur, in his effay on this fub- 
 je<5l, inferred in the French Memoirs, for the 
 year 1718. If I lived at Nifmes, or Avig- 
 non (which laft city is within four (hort 
 leagues of it) I (liquid take plcafure in form- 
 ing parties to come hither, in Cummer, to 
 dine under one of the arches of the Pont 
 du Garde, on a cold collation. 
 
 This work confifts of three bridges, or tire 
 of arches, one above another; the firft of 
 fix, the fecond of eleven, and the third of 
 thirty- fix. The height, comprehending the 
 
 aqueduct
 
 I 5 g LETTER X. 
 
 aqueduft 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 Tufcan : but 
 the fymmetry of it, is inconceivable. By 
 fcooping the bafes of the pilafters, of the fe- 
 cond tire of arches, they had made a paffage 
 for foot- travellers : but though the antients 
 far excelled us in beauty, they certainly fell 
 fliort of the moderns in point of conveniency. 
 The citizens of Avignon have, in this parti- 
 cular, improved the Roman work with a new 
 bridge by appofition, conftrucled on the fame 
 plan with that of the lower tire of arches, of 
 which indeed it feems to be a part, affording 
 a broad and commodious paiTage over the 
 river, to horfes and carriages of all kinds. 
 The aqueduct, for the continuance of which 
 this fuperb work was raifed, conveyed a ftream 
 of fweet water from the fountain of Eure, 
 near the city of Uzes, and extended near fix 
 leagues in length. 
 
 In approaching Nifmes, you fee the ruins 
 of a Roman tower, built on the fummit of 
 a hill, which over-looks the city. It feems 
 to have been intended, at firll, as a watch, 
 
 or
 
 L E T T E R X. 159 
 
 or fignal-tower, though, in the fequel, it was 
 ufcd as a fortrsfs : what remains of it, is 
 about ninety feet high ; the architecture of 
 the Doric order. I no fooner alighted at the 
 inn, than I was prefented with a pamphlet, 
 containing ar* account of Nifmes and its an- 
 tiquities, which every firanger buys. There 
 are perfons too who attend in order to fhew 
 the town, and you will always be accofled by 
 fome fhabby antiquarian, who prefents you 
 with medals for fale, alluring you they are 
 genuine antiques, and were dug out of the 
 ruins of the Roman temple and baths. All 
 thofe fellows are cheats ; and they have of- 
 ten laid under contribution raw Englifli tra- 
 vellers, who had more money than difcre* 
 tion. To fuch they fell the vileft and moft 
 common trafh : but when they meet with a 
 connoiifeur, they produce fome medals which 
 are really valuable and curious. 
 
 Nifmes, antiently called Nemaufis, was 
 originally a colony of Romans, fettled by 
 Auguftus Caefar, after the battle of Actium. 
 It is ftill of coniiderable extent, and faid to 
 contain twelve thoufand families ; but the 
 number fcems, by this account, to be greatly
 
 j6o L E T T E R X. 
 
 exaggerated. Certain it is, the city muft 
 have been formerly very extenfive, as appears 
 from the circuit of the antient walls, the re- 
 mains of whieh are flill to be feen. Its pre- 
 fent lize is not one third of its former extent. 
 Its temples, baths, ftatues, towers, bafilica, 
 and amphitheatre, prove it to have been a 
 city of great opulence and magnificence. At 
 prefent, the remains of thefe antiquities are 
 all that make it refpeftable or remarkable ; 
 though here are manufactures of filk and 
 wool, carried on with good fuccefs. The 
 water necefTary for thefe works is fupplied 
 by a fource at the foot of the rock, upon 
 which the tower is placed ; and here were 
 difcovered the ruins of Roman baths, which 
 had been formed and adorned with equal 
 tafte and magnificence. Among the rubbifh 
 they found a vaft profufion of columns, 
 vafes, capitals, cornices, infcriptions, medals, 
 ftatues, and among other things, the finger 
 of a coloflal ftatue in bronze, which, ac- 
 cording to the rules of proportion, mutt 
 have been fifteen feet high. From thefe 
 particulars, it appears that the edifices muft 
 have been fpacious and magnificent. Part of 
 
 a teflelated
 
 L E T T E R X. 161 
 
 a tefTelated pavement frill remains. The an- 
 tient pavement of the bath is ftill intire ; all 
 the rubbifh has been cleared away ; and the 
 baths, in a great mcafvire, reftored on the 
 old plan, though they are not at prefent 
 ufed for any thing but ornament. The wa- 
 ter is collected into two vafl refervoirs, and 
 a canal built and lined with hewn (lone. 
 There are three handfome bridges thrown 
 over this vaft canal. It contains a great body 
 of excellent water, which by pipes and other 
 fmall branching canals, traverfes the town, 
 and is converted to many different pur- 
 pofes of oeccnomy and manufacture. Be- 
 tween the Roman bath and thefe great canals, 
 the ground is agreeably laid out in pleafure* 
 walks, for the recreation of the inhabitants. 
 Here are likewife ornaments of architecture, 
 which favour much more of French foppery, 
 than of the fimplicity and greatnefs of the 
 antients. It is very furprizing, that this' 
 fountain fhouid produce fuch a great body 
 of water, as fills the bafm of the fourcc, the 
 Roman bann, two large deep canals three 
 hundred feet in length, two vafl bafms that 
 make part of the great canal, which is 
 VOL. I, M eighteen
 
 i62 L E T T E R X. 
 
 eighteen hundred feet long, eighteen feet 
 deep, and forty-eight feet broad. When I 
 faw it, there was in it about eight or nine 
 feet of water, tranfparent as cryftal. It muft 
 be obferved, however, for the honour of 
 French cleanlinefs, that in the Roman bafm, 
 through which this noble ftream of water 
 palfes, I perceived two wafhermen at work 
 upon children's clouts and dirty linnen. Sur- 
 prized, and much difgufled at this filthy 
 phenomenon, I afked by what means, and 
 by whofe permiflion, thofe dirty hags had got 
 down into the bafin, in order to contaminate 
 the water at its fountain-head ; and under- 
 flood they belonged to the commandant of 
 the place, who had the keys of the fubterra- 
 nean parTage. 
 
 Fronting the Roman baths are the ruins 
 of an antient temple, which, according to 
 tradition, was dedicated to Diana : but it has 
 been obferved by connoifieurs, th^t all the 
 antient temples of this goddefs were of the 
 Ionic order ; whereas, this is partly Corin- 
 thian, and partly compofite. It is about 
 ievcnty foot long, and fix and thirty in 
 breadth, arched above, and built of large 
 3 blocks
 
 L E T T E R X. 163 
 
 blocks of (lone, exaclly joined together with- 
 out any cement. The walls are ftill Hand- 
 ing, with three great tabernacles at the fur- 
 ther end, fronting the entrance. On each 
 fide, there are niches in the intercolumnia- 
 tion of the walls, together with pedeftals 
 and fhafts of pillars, cornices, and an enta- 
 blature, which indicate the former magnifi- 
 cence of the building. It was deftroyed 
 during the civil war that raged in the reign 
 of Henry III. of France. 
 
 It is amazing, that the fucceflive irruptions 
 of barbarous nations, of Goths, Vandals, 
 and Moors ; of fanatic croifards, ftill more 
 fanguinary and illiberal than thofe Barbarians, 
 ihould have fpared this temple, as well as 
 two other ftill more noble monuments of 
 architecture, that to this day adorn the city 
 of Nifmes : I mean the amphitheatre and 
 the edifice, called Maifm Carrie. The for- 
 mer of thefe is counted the fmeft monu- 
 ment of the kind, now extant ; and was 
 built in the reign of Antoninus Pius, who 
 contributed a large fum of money towards 
 its erection. It is of an oval figure, one 
 thoufand and eighty feet in circumference, 
 M 2 caps-
 
 1 64 L E T T E R X. 
 
 capacious enough to hold twenty thoufand 
 fpectators. The architecture is of theTufcan 
 order, fixty feet high, compofed of two open 
 galleries, built one over another, confifting 
 each of threefcore arcades. The entrance 
 into the arena was by four great gates, with 
 porticos ; and the feats, of which there were 
 thirty, rifing one above another, confifted of 
 great blocks of ftone, many of which flill 
 remain. Over the north gate, appear two 
 bulls, in alto relievo, extremely well executed, 
 emblems which, according to the cuftom of 
 the Romans, fignified that the amphitheatre 
 was erected at the expence of the people. 
 There are in other parts of it fome work in 
 bas rekif y and heads or bufts but indifferent- 
 ly carved. It {lands in the lower part of the 
 town, and ftrikes the fpectator with awe and 
 veneration. The external architecture is al- 
 moft intire in its whole circuit; but the arena 
 is filled up with houfes. This amphithea- 
 tre was fortified as a citadel by the Vifigoths, 
 in the beginning of the fixth century. They 
 raifed within it a caitle, two towers of which 
 are ftiil extant; and they furrounded it with 
 a broad and deep foflee, which was filled up 
 
 in
 
 L E T T E R X. 165 
 
 in the thirteenth century. In all the fubfe- 
 quent wars to which this. city was expofed, 
 it ferved as the laft refort of the citizens, and 
 fuftained a great number of fucceflive attacks ; 
 fo that its . prefervation is almoft miraculous. 
 It is likely, however, to fuffer much more 
 from the Gothic avarice of its own citizens, 
 fome of whom are mutilating it every day, 
 for the fake of the flones, which they employ 
 in their own private buildings. It is furpriz- 
 ing, that the King's authority has not been 
 exerted to put an end to fuch facrilegious vio- 
 lation. 
 
 If the amphitheatre ftrikes you with an 
 idea of greatnefs, the Maifon Carrie enchants 
 you with the moft exquifite beauties of archi- 
 tecture and fculpture. This is an edifice, 
 fuppofed formerly to have been creeled by 
 Adrian, who actually built a bafilica in this 
 city, though no veftiges of it remain : but 
 the following infcription, which was difco- 
 vered on the front of it, plainly proves, that 
 it was built by the inhabitants of Nifmes, in 
 honour of Caius and Lucius Casfar, the 
 grand-children of Auguflus, by his daughter 
 Julia, the wife of Agrippa, 
 
 M 3 c. CEA-
 
 i66 L E T T E R X. 
 
 C. CAESARI. AVGVSTI. F. COS. 
 L. CAESARI. AVGVSTI. F.' COS. 
 
 DESIGNATO. 
 PRINCIPIBVS IVVENTVTIS. 
 
 This beautiful edifice, which ftands upon a 
 pediment fix feet high, is eighty-two feet 
 long, thirty-five broad, and thirty-feven 
 high, without reckoning the pediment. The 
 body of it is adorned with twenty columns 
 engaged in the wall, and the periftyle, which 
 is open, with ten detached pillars that fup- 
 port the entablature. They are all of the 
 Corinthian order, fluted and embellifhed 
 with capitals of the moft exquifite fculpture ; 
 the frize and cornice are much admired, and 
 the foliage is efteemed inimitable. The pro- 
 portions of the building are fo happily united, 
 as to give it an air of majefty and grandeur, 
 which the moft indifferent fpe&ator cannot 
 behold without emotion. A man needs not 
 be a ccnnoifTeur in architecture, to enjoy thefe 
 beauties. They are indeed fo exquifite that 
 you may return to them every day with a 
 frefh appetite for feven years together. What 
 
 renders
 
 LETTER X. 167 
 
 renders them the more curious, they are ftill 
 entire, and very little affefted, either by the 
 ravages of time, or the havoc of war. Car- 
 dinal Alberoni declared, that it was a jewel 
 that deferved a cover of gold to prcferve it 
 from external injuries. An Italian painter, 
 perceiving a fmall part of the roof repaired 
 by modern French mafonry, tore his hair, 
 and exclaimed in a rage, " Zounds ! what 
 do I fee ? harlequin's hat on the head of Au- 
 guftus !" 
 
 Without all doubt it is ravifhingly befcu- 
 tiful. The whole world cannot parallel it ; 
 and I am aftoniflied to fee it flanding entire, 
 like the effects of inchantment, after fuch a. 
 fucceffion of ages, every one more barbarous 
 than another. The hiftory of the antiqui- 
 ties of Nifmes takes notice of a grotefque 
 ftatue, reprefenting 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 fee it. 
 
 The whole country of Languedoc is 
 
 (haded with olive trees, the fruit of which 
 
 begins to ripen, and appears as black as floes ; 
 
 thofe they pickle are pulled green, and ftccped 
 
 M 4 for
 
 i68 L E T T E R X. 
 
 for fome time in a lye made of quick lime or 
 wood afhes, which extracts the bitter tafte, 
 and makes the fruit tender. Without this 
 preparation it is not eatable. Under the 
 olive and fig trees, they plant corn and vines, 
 fo that there is not an inch of ground unla- 
 boured: but here are no open fields, mea- 
 dows, or cattle to be feen. The ground is 
 overloaded j and the produce of it crowded to 
 fuch a degree, as to have a bad effect upon 
 the eye, impreffingthe traveller with the ideas 
 of indigence and rapacity. The heat in fum- 
 mer is fo excefiive, that cattle would find no 
 green forage, every blade of grafs being parched 
 up and deflroyed. The weather was extremely 
 hot when we entered Montpellier, and put up 
 at the Cheval Elanc^ counted the beft auberge 
 in the place, tho' in fact it is a moil wretched 
 hovel, the habitation ofdarknefs, dirt, and 
 impofition. Here I was obliged to pay four 
 livres a meal for every perfon in my family, 
 and two livres at night for every bed, though 
 all in the fame room : one would imagine that 
 the further we advance to the fouthward the 
 living is the dearer, though in fact every ar- 
 ticle of hpufekeeping is cheaper inLanguedoq 
 
 than
 
 L E T T E R X. 169 
 
 than many other provinces of France. This 
 impofition is owing to the concourfe of En- 
 glifh who come hither, and, like fimple birds 
 of paffage, allow themfelves to be plucked by 
 the people of the country, who know their 
 weak fide, and make their attacks accord- 
 ingly. They affe<5t to believe, that all the 
 travellers of our country are grand feigneurs, 
 immenfely rich and incredibly generous j and 
 we are filly enough to encourage this opinion, 
 by fubmitting quietly to the moft ridiculous 
 extortion, as well as by committing a6ls of 
 the moil abfurd extravagance. This folly 
 of the Englifh, together with a concourfe of 
 people from different quarters, who come hi- 
 ther for the re-eftablifhment of their health, 
 has rendered Montpellier one of the dearefl 
 places in the South of France. The city, which 
 is but fmall, (lands upon a riling ground front- 
 ing the Mediterranean, which is about three 
 leagues to the fouthward : on the other fide 
 is an agreeable plain, extending about the 
 fame diftance towards the mountains of the 
 Cevennes. The town is reckoned well built, 
 and what the French call bien fercee j yet the 
 ftreets are in general narrow, and the houfes 
 
 dark,
 
 j 7 o LETTER X. 
 
 dark. The air is counted falutary in catarrhous 
 confumptions, from its drynefs and elafticity : 
 but too fharp in cafes of pulmonary impoft- 
 humes. 
 
 It was at Montpellier that we faw for the 
 firft time any figns of that gaiety and mirth 
 for which the people of this country are cele- 
 brated. In all other places through which we 
 patted fince our departure from Lyons, we faw 
 nothing but marks of poverty and chagrin. 
 We entered Montpellier on a Sunday, when 
 the people were all drefled in their befl appa- 
 rel. The ftreets were crowded - t and a great 
 number of the better fort of both fexes fat up- 
 on Hone feats at their doors, converfmg with 
 great mirth and familiarity. Thefe conver- 
 iations lafted the greater! part of the night ; 
 and many of them were improved with mu- 
 fick both vocal and inflrumental : next day 
 we were vifited by the Englifh refiding in the 
 place, who always pay this mark of refpecl 
 to new comers. They confifl of four or five 
 families, among whom I could pafs the win- 
 ter very agreeably, if the ftate of my health 
 and other reafons did not call me away. 
 
 Mr,
 
 L E T T E R X. 171 
 
 Mr. L had arrived two days before me, 
 troubled with the fame afthmatic diforder, 
 under which I have laboured fo long. He 
 told me he had been in quefl of me ever 
 iince he left England. Upon comparing notes, 
 I found he had flopped at the door of a 
 country inn in Picardy, and drank a glafs 
 of wine and water, while I was at dinner 
 up flairs ; nay, he had even fpoke to my 
 fervant, and afked who was his mafler, 
 and the man, not knowing him, replied, he 
 was a gentleman fromChelfea. He had walk- 
 ed by the door of the houfe where I lodged at 
 Paris, twenty times, while I was in that city ; 
 and the very day before he arrived at Mcnt- 
 pellier, he had pafTed our coach on the road. 
 
 The garriibn of this city confiils of two 
 battalions, one of which is the Irifli regi- 
 ment of Berwick, commanded by lieutenant 
 colonel Tents, a gentleman with whom we 
 contracted an acquaintance at Boulogne. He 
 treats us with great politenefs, 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 tollable con- 
 cert
 
 17 2 L E T T E R X. 
 
 cert twice a week ; there will be a comedy 
 in the winter ; and the ftates of Provence 
 aflemble in January, fb that Montpellier will 
 be extremely gay and brilliant. Thefe very 
 circumflances would determine me to leave 
 it. I have not health to enjoy thefe plea- 
 fures : I cannot bear a croud of company, 
 fuch as pours in upon us unexpectedly at all 
 hours j and I forefee, that in flaying at Mont- 
 pellier, I fhould 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 conful at Nice, fignifying my 
 intention of , going thither, and explaining 
 the kind of accommodation I would chufe 
 to have at that place. 
 
 The day after our arrival, I procured to- 
 lerable lodgings in the High Street, for which 
 I pay fifty fols, fomething more than two 
 {hillings per day; and I am furnifhed with 
 two meals a day by a traiteur for ten livres : 
 but he finds neither the wine nor the defert ; 
 and indeed we are but indifferently ferved. 
 Thofe families who refide here find their ac- 
 count in keeping houfe. Every traveller 
 who comes to this, or any other, town in 
 
 France
 
 L E T T E R X. 173 
 
 France with a defign to ftay longer than a 
 day or two, ought to write beforehand to his 
 correfpondent to procure furnifhed lodgings, 
 to which he may be driven immediately, with- 
 out being under the neceffity of lying in an 
 execrable inn -, for all the inns of this coun- 
 try are execrable. 
 
 My baggage is not yet arrived by the ca- 
 nal of Languedoc j but that gives me no 
 difturbance, as it is configned to the care of 
 Mr. Ray, an Englifh merchant and banker of 
 this place ; a gentleman of great probity and 
 worth, from whom I have received repeated 
 marks of uncommon friendfhip and hofpi- 
 tality. 
 
 The next time you hear of me will be from 
 Nice : mean-while, I remain always, 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your affectionate humble fervant. 
 
 LETTER
 
 t 174 ] 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 Moalptllier t No-vernier 12* 
 
 DEAR DOCTOR, 
 
 1 Flattered myfelf with the hope of much 
 amufement during my fhort flay at Mont- 
 pellier. TheUniverfity, the Botanical Gar- 
 den, the State of Phyfic in this part of the 
 world, and the information I received of a 
 curious collection of manufcripts, among 
 which I hoped to find fomething for our 
 friend Dr. H - r j all thefe particulars pro- 
 mi fed a rich fund of entertainment, which, 
 however, I cannot enjoy. 
 
 A few days after my arrival, it began to 
 rain with a foutherly wind, and continued 
 without ceafing the befl part of a week, leav- 
 ing the air fo loaded with vapours, that there 
 was no walking after fun-fet j without being 
 wetted by the dew almofl to the fkin. I have 
 always found a cold and damp atmofpherc 
 the moil unfavourable of any to my confli- 
 tuticn. My aflhmatical diforder, which had 
 
 not
 
 175 LETTER XL 
 
 not given me much difturbance fince 1 left 
 Boulogne, became now very troubleforne, at- 
 tended with fever, cough, fpitting, and low- 
 ncfs of fpirits ; and I wafted vifibly every 
 day. I was favoured with the advice of Dr. 
 Fitz-maurice, a very worthy fenfible phyficiaii 
 fettled in this place : but I had the curiofity 
 to know the opinion of the celebrated profef- 
 
 for F- , who is the Boerhaave of Mont- 
 
 pellicr. The account I had of his private 
 character, and perfonal deportment, from fome 
 Englifh people to whom he was well known, 
 left me no defire to converfe with him : but 
 I refolved to confult with him on paper. This 
 great lanthorn of medicine is become very 
 rich and very infolent; and in proportion a* 
 his wealth increafes, he is faid to grow the 
 more rapacious. He piques himfelf upon be- 
 ing very flovenly, very blunt, and very unman- 
 nerly ; and perhaps to thefe qualifications he 
 owes his reputation rather than to any fupe- 
 rior fkill in medicine. I have known them 
 fuccced in our own country; and feen a doc- 
 tor's parts efti mated by his brutality and pre- 
 fumption. 
 
 F ,
 
 176 L E T T E R XL 
 
 F is in his perfon and addrefs not 
 unlike our old acquaintance Dr. Sm ie ; he 
 iloops much, dodges along, and affects to 
 fpeak the Patois, which is a corruption of 
 the old Provencial tongue, fpoken by the vul- 
 gar in Languedoc and Provence. Notwith- 
 flanding his great age and great wealth, he 
 will ftill fcramble up two pair of flairs for a 
 fee of fix livres ; and without a fee he will 
 give his advice to no perfon whatfoever. He 
 is faid to have great practice in the venereal 
 branch, and to be frequented by perfons of 
 both fexes infected with this diftemper, not 
 only from every part of France, but alfofrom 
 Spain, Italy, Germany, and England. I need 
 fay nothing of the Montpellier method of cure, 
 which is well known at London -, but I have 
 fome reafon to think the great profefTor F , 
 has, like the famous Mrs. Mapp, the bone- 
 fetter, cured many patients that were never 
 difeafed. 
 
 Be that as it may, I fent my valet de place, 
 who was his townfman and acquaintance, 
 to his houfe, with the following cafe, and 
 a loui'dore. 
 
 Annum
 
 L E T T E R XL 177 
 
 Annum eetatis, pofl quadragejimiim^ tertium. 
 temper amentum humidum^ crajjum, pi/uitdreple- 
 tum, catarrhis fapijfime profligatum. Cafarrbus, 
 febre, anxietate et dyfyntza, nunquam non comita~ 
 tiis. Irritatio membrane? pituitaria trachaea- 
 lis, tujjim initio aridam, jiliquofam, deinde vero 
 excreationem copiofam excitat : fputum albumi* 
 ni ovijimillimum. 
 
 Accedente febre^ urlna paltida, limpida : ad 
 Hx.fj.YjV Jlagrante^ colorem rubrum> fubfla*vum 
 induit : cottione perattd^fedimentum later it ium 
 deponlt. 
 
 Appetitus raro deefl : digeftio fegnior fed 
 fecura^ non autem fine. RuElu perfeffia. Al* 
 <uus plerumque jlipata : excrctio intejlinalis mi- 
 nima, ratione ingeftorum habit d. Pulfus fre- 
 quens y vacillans, exilis, quandoquidem etiam 
 inter mitt em. 
 
 Febre una extinttd> non deficit altera. Alia- 
 que et eadem Jlatim nafcitur. Aer paulo fri- 
 gidior^ ^el humidior, veftimentum imifitatum 
 indutum ; exercitatio paulnllum nimia j ambu- 
 latio, equitatio, in quovis vehiculojaftatio ; hac 
 cmnia ncvos motusfufcitant. Syfiema nervcfum 
 maxime irritabile, crganm patitur. Oftiola 
 in cute hiantia, materiei perfpirabili , sxiturn 
 VOL. I. N prcebcntia
 
 i 7 8 L E T T E R XI. 
 
 prabentia^ clauduntur. Materies objlrutta cu~ 
 mulatur ; fangulne aliifgue hmnoribus circum- 
 agitur : jit plethora. Natura cpprimi 71 c lens, 
 excejjus bujus expulfionem conatur. Febris nova 
 accenditur. Pars oneris, in membranam ira- 
 ch&alem laxatam ac debllltatam t? ansfertur. 
 Glandule pituitarite turgentes bronchia ccmpri- 
 munt. Liberum aerl tranjitum negatur : hinc 
 refpiratio dijjiciUs. Hac vero tranjlatione febris 
 minuitur : interdiu remittitur. Dyfpneea au- 
 tern aliaque fymptomata vere bypochondriaca, 
 recedere nolunf. Vefpere febris exacerbatur. 
 Calor y inquietudoy anxietas et ajlhma^ per no- 
 dem grajjantur. Ita quotidie res agitur, donee. 
 Vis vitte paulatim crifim efficit. Seminis jac- 
 tura, Jive infomniis effufi, feu in gremio veneris 
 ejaculati, inter caufas horum malorum ncc ncn 
 numeretur. 
 
 ti^uibufdam abhine annis^ exercitationibus ju~ 
 
 venilibus fubito remiffis, in vitam fedentariam 
 
 lapfum. Animo in jludia fever tor a converfo % 
 
 jibra gradatim laxabantur. Inter legendum et 
 
 fcribendum indinato cor pore in petfus malum 
 
 riiebat. Morbo ingruenti ajfeclio fcorbutica 
 
 auxilium tulit. Invajio prima nimium afper- 
 
 nata. Venientibui hoftibus non occurfum. Cur.c- 
 
 tandt
 
 LETTER XL 179 
 
 tando res non rejlituta. Remedla convenient} a 
 Jlomachus perhorrefcebat. Gravefcenfe dyfpntea 
 phlebotomia fruftra tentata. Sanguinis mijjione 
 i)is vitce dimlnuta : fiebat pulfus debilior, re- 
 fpiratio difficilior. In pejus ruunt omnia. Fe- 
 bris anomala in febriculam continuum wutata. 
 Dyfpn&a confirm at a. Fibrarum compages foluta* 
 Valetudo penitus everfa. 
 
 His agitatus furiis, czger ad mare provolat : 
 in fluttus fe precipitem dat : periculum fattum 
 fpem non fefellit : decies iteratum, felix fauf- 
 tumque evafit. Elater novus Jibris conciliatur. 
 Febricula fugatur. Acris dyfpnaa folvitur. 
 Beneficium dextra ripa partum, fmiftrd perdi- 
 tum. Super/id e corporis, aquce marines frigore 
 et pondere, comprejjd et contracid> interftitia 
 Jibrarum occluduntur : particulis increment! no- 
 vis partes abrafas reficientibus^ locus non datur. 
 Nutritio corportSy 'via prijlina claufd^ qua data 
 porta ruit : in mcmbranam pulmonum minus fir- 
 mat am facile fertur^ et glandulis per fputum 
 rejicitur. 
 
 Hieme pluviofd regnant e dolor es renovantur ; 
 
 tametfi tcmpore fereno cquitatio profuit. JEfiaiz 
 
 morbus *uix ulhim progrediebatur. Auiumnv, 
 
 "jaletitdine plus declinatd, thertnis Bathonienf.- 
 
 N 2 bus
 
 iSo L E T T E R XL 
 
 bits folatium baud fruftra qu&fitum. Aqua iftd 
 mire medlcata, ex feme aque ac interne adbl- 
 bita, malls kvamen attulit. Hiems altera, 
 friglda^ borrlda^ diuturna, Innocua tamen fuc- 
 cejjit. Vere novo cafus atrox diras procellas a- 
 nimo immifit : toto ccrpore y tot a mente tumultn- 
 atur. P atria reliSla^ triflltla^ follccitudo^ In- 
 dignatlO) et favijfima recordatlo feqiiuntur. L:~ 
 imlcl priores furore inveterato revcrtuntur. 
 Rediit fcbrls bcftlca : rcdiit ajibma cum anxie- 
 tafe, tuffe ct dokrc latfris lanciixwti. 
 
 Defperatis denlque rebus, iterum ad mare, 
 veluti ad anceps remcdiiim rccurritur. Balneum 
 hoc femper bcnignum. Dolor ftatim avolat. 
 ferfio die febrls rctrccejjit. Immerfio quotidi- 
 fina antcmcridlana^ ad wees qmnqiiaginta repc* 
 tit a, fymptomata graviora fubjugavit. Manet 
 i-ero tabes pituliarla : manet temper amentum in 
 catarrbos pro dive. Corpus m acre fdt. Vires 
 delabantur. 
 
 The profefTor's eyes fparkled at fight 
 of the fee j and he defired the fervant to call 
 next morning for his opinion of the cafe, 
 which accordingly I received in thefe words : 
 
 " On voit par cette relation cue monfieur 
 le confuliant dont on n'a pas juge a propos dc 
 
 dire
 
 L E T T E R XI. 181 
 
 dire 1'age, mais qui nous paroit etre adultc 
 et ci'un age pafTablement avance, a ete fujet 
 cy devant a des rhumes frequens accoin- 
 pagnes dc fievre j on ne detaille point (au- 
 cune epoque), on parle dans la relation 
 d'afthme auquel il'a ete fujet, de fcorbut ou 
 affection fcorbutique dont on ne dit pas les 
 fymptomes. On nous fait favoir qu'il s'efl 
 bien trouve de I'immerfion dans 1'eau de la 
 mer, et des eaux de Bath. 
 
 " On dit a prefent qu'il a unejievre pi- 
 tuitaire fans dire depuis combien de temps. 
 Qu'il lui refte toujours fon temperament en- 
 clin aux catharres. Que le corps maigrit, et 
 que les forces fe perdent. On ne dit point 
 fii y a des exacerbations dans cette fievre ou 
 non, fi le malade a appetit ou non, s'il toufle 
 ou non, s'il crache ou non, en un mot on 
 n'entre dans aucun detail fur ces objets, fur 
 quoi le confeil fouffigne eflime que monfieur 
 le confultant eft en fievre lente, et que vrai- 
 femblable le poumon fouffre de quelque 
 tubercules qui peut-etre font en fonte, ce que 
 nous aurions determine fi dans la relation on 
 avoit marque les qualites de crachats. 
 
 N ^ "La
 
 182 LETTER XI. 
 
 " La caufe fonchere de cette maladie doit 
 etre imputee a une lymphe epaiffe et acri- 
 monieufe, qui donne occafion a des tuber- 
 cules au pomon, qui etant mis en fonte four- 
 nifTent au fang des particules acres et le ren- 
 dent tout acrimonieux. 
 
 " Les viics que Ton doit avoir dans cecas 
 font de procurer des bonnes digejftions (quoi- 
 que dans la relation on ne dit pas un mot fur 
 les digeftions) de jetter un douce detrempe 
 dans la marie du fang, d'en chaffer 1'acrimonie 
 et de 1'adoucir, de divifer fort doucement la 
 lymphe, et de deterger.le poumon, lui pro- 
 curant meme du calme fuppofe que la toux 
 1'inquiete, quoique cependant on ne dit pas 
 un mot fur la toux dans la relation. C'efl 
 pourquoi on le purgera avec 3 onces de man- 
 ne, diffoutes dans un verre de decoction de 3 
 dragmes de polypode de chefne, on paffera 
 enfuite a des bouillons qui feront faits avec 
 un petit poulet, la chair, le fang, le cceur 
 et le foye d'une tortue de grandeur mediocre 
 c'eft adire du poid de 8 a 12 onces avec fa 
 coquifle, une poignee de chicoree amere de 
 jardin, et une pincee de feuilles de lierre ter- 
 reftre vertes ou feches. Ayant pris ces bou- 
 illons
 
 L E T T E R XL 183 
 
 Hlons 1 5 matins on fe purgera comme aupa- 
 ravant, pour en venir a des bouillons qui fe- 
 ront faits avec la moitie d'un moii de veau, 
 line poignee de pimprenelle de jardin, et une 
 dragme de racine d'angelique concaflee. 
 
 Ayant pris ces bouillons 1 5 matins, on fe 
 purgera comme auparavant pour en venir au 
 lait d'anefle que Ton prendra le matin a jeun, 
 a la dofe de 12 a 16 onces y ajoutant un cuil- 
 leree de fucre rape, on prendra ce lait le ma- 
 tin a jeun obfervant de prendre pendant foil 
 ufage de deux jours Tun un moment avant 
 le lait un bolus fait avec 1 5 grains de craye 
 de Brain9on en poudre fine, 20 grains de co- 
 rail prepare, 8 grains d'antiheftique de pote- 
 rius, et ce qu'il faut de fyrop de lierre terreftre, 
 mais les jour ou on ne prendra pas le bolus on 
 prendra un moment avant le lait 3 ou 4 gout- 
 tes de bon baume de Canada detrempees 
 dans un demi cuillerie de fyrop de lierre 
 ten eftre. Si le corps maigrit de plus en plus, 
 je fuis d'avis que pendant 1'ufage du lait 
 d'anefle on foupe tous les foirs avec une foupe 
 au lait de vache. 
 
 " On continuera 1'ufage du lait d'anefle 
 
 tant, que le malade pourra le fupporter, ne 
 
 N 4 le
 
 184 L E T T E R XL 
 
 le purgeant que par necefiite ct toujours avec 
 la medicine ordonnee. 
 
 " Au refte, fi monfieur le confultant ne 
 pafle pas les nuits bien calmes, il prendra 
 chaque foir a 1'heure de fommeil fix grains 
 des pilules de cynoglofTe, dont il augmentera 
 la dofe d'un grain de plus toutes les fois que 
 la dofe du jour precedent, n'aura pas etc fuf- 
 fuffifante pour lui faire pafler la nuit bien 
 calme. 
 
 " Si les malade toufle il ufera foit de jour 
 foit de nuit par petites cuilleries a caffe d'un 
 looch, qui fera fait avec un once de fyrop de 
 violat et une dragme de blanc de baleine. 
 
 fc Si les crachats font epais et qu'il crache 
 difficilemerit, en ce cas il prendra une ou 
 deux fois le jour, demi dragme de blanc de 
 baleine reduit en poudre avec un peu de fucre 
 candit qu'il avalera avec une cuillerie d'eau. 
 
 " Enfin il doit obferver un bon regime de 
 vivre, c'eft pourquoi il fera toujours gras et 
 feulement en foupes, bouilli et roti, il ne 
 mangera pas les herbes des foupes, et on falera 
 peu fon pot, il fe privera du beuf, cochon, 
 chair noir, oifeaux d'eau, ragouts, fritures, 
 patiiTeries, alimens fajes, epices, vinagres, 
 
 falades,
 
 L E T T E R XI. 185 
 
 falades, fruits, cruds, et autres crudites, ali- 
 mens grofiiers, ou de difHcille digeftion, la 
 boiflbn fera de 1'eau tant foit peu rougee de 
 bon vin au diner feulement, et il ne prendra 
 a fouper qu'une foupe. 
 
 Delibere a Montpc llicr F -- , 
 
 le i, Norembrc. p ro fe{Teur en I'univerfite honoraire. 
 
 U vint et quatre livres. 
 
 I thought it was a little extraordinary that 
 a learned profefibr fhould reply in his mo- 
 ther tongue, to a cafe put in Latin : but I 
 was much more furprifed, as you will alfo 
 be, at reading his anfwer, from which I was 
 obliged to conclude, either that he did not 
 underfland Latin ; or that he had not taken 
 the trouble to read my memoir e. I mail not 
 make any remarks upon the ftile of his pre- 
 icription, replete as it is with a difgufting 
 repetition of low expreffions : but I could 
 not but, in juflice to myfelf, point out to him 
 the parTages in my cafe which he had over- 
 looked. Accordingly, having marked them 
 with letters, I fent it back, with the follow- 
 ing billet. 
 
 " Ap-
 
 1 86 LETTER Xf. 
 
 ". Apparement Monf. F n'a pas donne 
 beaucoup d'attention an memoire de ma 
 fante que j'ai eu 1'honneur de lui prefenter 
 4 Monfieur le confultant (dit il) dont on 
 ' n'a pas juge a propos de dire 1'age.' Mais 
 on voit dans le memoire a No. i . ' Annum 
 * <ztath pojl quadragejlmum tertium! 
 
 " Mr. F dit que * je n'ai pas mar- 
 
 ' que aucune epoque.' Mais a No. 2. du 
 memoire il trouvera ces mots. ' Quibufdam 
 ' abhinc annul J'ai meme detaille le pro- 
 gres de la maladie pour trois ans confecutifs. 
 
 " Monf. F obferve, * On ne dit point 
 ' s'il y a des exacerbations dans cette fievre 
 c ou non.' Qu'il regarde la lettre B, il verra, 
 ' Vefpere febris exacerbatur. Cator, inquietu- 
 ' do, anxietas et afthma per no5lem grajjan- 
 ' tur: 
 
 <c Monf. F remarque, * On ne dit 
 f point fi le malade a appetit ou non, s'il 
 ' toufle ou non, s'il crache ou non, en un 
 ' mot on n'entre dans aucun detail fur ces 
 c objets.' Mais on voit toutes ces circon- 
 ftances detaillees dans le memoire a lettre A, 
 c Irriiatio membrana tracbaalh tufllm, inltio 
 ' aridam, Jiliqitofam> dcinde vero excreationcm 
 
 * ccpiofam
 
 L E T T E R XL 187 
 
 * copiofam excitat. Sputum albumini ovifimil- 
 ' /i mum. Appetitus r aro deeft. Digejiio fcgnior 
 ' fed fecura' 
 
 " Monf. F obferve encore, qu'on nc 
 ' dit pas un mot fur la toux dans la rela- 
 
 * tion.' Mais j'ai dit encore a No. 3. de 
 memoire, < rcdiit Jebris hettica; rediit afthma 
 
 * <:z//# anxietate, tufle # dokre laterls land- 
 
 * nante: 
 
 " Au refte, je nc puis pas me perfuader 
 qu'il y ait des tubercules au poumon, parce 
 que j'ai ne jamais crache de pus, ni autre 
 chofe que de la pituite qui a beaucoup de ref- 
 femblance au blanc des oeufs. Sputum al- 
 bumini ovi fimillimum. II me paroit done 
 que ma maladie doit fon origine a la fufpen- 
 fion de 1'exercice du corps, au grand attache- 
 ment d'efprit, et a une vie fedentaire qui a 
 relache le fifleme, fibreux ; et qu'a prefent on 
 peut Tappeller tabes pituitaria y non tabes pu- 
 
 rulenta. J'efpere que Monf. F aura la 
 
 bonte de faire revifion du memoire, et de 
 m'en dire encore fon fentiment." 
 
 Confidering the nature of the cafe, you 
 fee I could not treat him more civilly. I de- 
 fired the fervant to afk when he fhould re- 
 turn
 
 i88 LETTER XL 
 
 turn for an anfwer, and whether he expected 
 another fee. He defired him to come next 
 morning, and, as the fellow afiured me, 
 gave him to underftand, that whatever mon- 
 fieur might fend, fhould be for his (the fer- 
 vant's) advantage. In all probability he did 
 not expect another gratification, to which, 
 
 indeed, he had no title. Monf. F was 
 
 undoubtedly much mortified to find himfelf 
 detected in fuch flagrant inftances of unjufti- 
 iiable negligence, and like all other perfons 
 in the fame ungracious dilemma, inflead of 
 juftifying himfelf by reafon or argument, had 
 recourfe to recrimination. In the paper which 
 he fent me next day, he infifted in general 
 that he had carefully perufed the cafe (which 
 you will perceive was a felf-evident untruth) 
 he faid the theory it contained was idle ; that 
 he was fure it could not be written by a phy- 
 fician ; that, with refpect to the diforder, he 
 was ftill of the fame opinion j and adhered 
 to his former prefcription ; but if I had any 
 doubts I might come to his houfe, and he 
 would refolve them. 
 
 I wrapt up twelve livres in the following 
 note, and fent it to his houfe. 
 
 4 " C'cft
 
 L E T T E R XL 289 
 
 " C'eft ne pas fans raifon que monfteur 
 F jouit d'un fi grande reputation. Je n'ai 
 
 plus de doutes, graces a Dieu et a monfieur ' 
 p_; c> " 
 
 To this I received for anfwer. " Mon- 
 fieur n'a plus de doutes : j'en fuis charme. 
 Receu douze livres. F , &c." 
 
 Inftead of keeping his promife to the valet, 
 he put the money in his pocket ; and the 
 fellow returned in a rage, exclaiming that he 
 was un grcs cbei'al de carcffe. 
 
 1 fhall make no other comment upon the 
 medicines, and the regimen which this great 
 Doctor prefer! bed ; but that he certainly 
 miflook the cafe : that upon the fuppoiitioa 
 I actually laboured under a purulent difcharge 
 from the lungs, his remedies favour ftrongly 
 of the old woman ; and that there is a total 
 blank with refpect to the article of exercife, 
 which you know is fo efiential in all pulmo- 
 nary diforders. But after having perufed my 
 remarks upon his firft prescription, he could 
 not poffibly fuppofe that I had turbercules, and 
 was fpitting up pus -, therefore his perilfring 
 in recommending the fame medicines he had 
 prefcribed on that fuppofition, was a flagrant 
 
 abfurditv.
 
 i 9 o L E T T E R XL 
 
 abfurdity. If, for example, there was no 
 wmica in the lungs ; and the bufmefs was to 
 'attenuate the lymph, what could be more 
 prepofterous than to advifethe chalk of Brian- 
 on, coral, antihefticum poterii, and the 
 balm of Canada ? As for the turtle-foupe, it 
 it is a good reflorative and balfamic ; but, I 
 apprehend, will tend to thicken rather than 
 attenuate the phlegm. He mentions not a 
 fyllable of the air, though it is univerfally 
 allowed, that the climate of Montpellier is 
 pernicious to ulcerated lungs ; and here I 
 cannot help recounting a fmall adventure 
 which our do6lor had with a fon of Mr. 
 O d, merchant in the city of London. I 
 had it from Mrs. St e who was on the fpot. 
 The young gentleman, being confumptive, 
 confulted Mr. F , who continued vifiting 
 and prefcribing for him a whole month. At 
 length, perceiving that he grew daily worfe, 
 " Doctor (faid he) 1 take your prefcriptions 
 punctually ; but, inftead of being the better 
 for them, I have now not an hour's remif- 
 fion from the fever in the four-and-twenty. 
 I cannot conceive the meaning of it." 
 F , who perceived he had not long to live, 
 
 told
 
 L E T T E R XL 191 
 
 told him the reafon was very plain : the air of 
 Montpellier was too fharp for his lungs, 
 which required a fofter climate. " Then 
 you're a fordid villain (cried the young man) 
 for allowing me to flay here till my conftitu- 
 tion is irretrievable." He fet out immediately 
 for Tholoufe, and in a few weeks died in the 
 neighbourhood of that city. 
 
 I obferve that the phyficians in this coun- 
 try pay no regard to the ftate of the folids 
 in chronical diforders : that exercife and the 
 cold bath are never prefcribed : that they 
 feem to think the fcurvy is entirely an Eng- 
 lifh diieafe ; and that, in all appearance, they 
 often confound the fymptoms of it, with 
 thofe of the venereal diftemper. Perhaps I 
 may be more particular on this fubject in a 
 fubfequent letter. In the mean time, I am 
 ever, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Yours fincerely. 
 
 LETTER
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 Nice, De f ember 6, 1763. 
 
 DE AR SIR, 
 
 TH E inhabitants of Montpellier are fo- 
 ciable, gay, and good tempered. They 
 have a fpirit of commerce, and have creeled 
 feveral confiderable manufactures in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the city. People aflemble every 
 day to take the air on the efplanade, where 
 there is a very good walk, juft without the 
 gate of the citadel : but, on the other fide of 
 the town, there is another flill more agreea- 
 ble, called the peirou, from whence there is 
 a prpfpect of the Mediterranean on one fide, 
 and of the Cevennes on the other. Here is a 
 good equeftrian ftatue of Louis XIV. front- 
 ing one gate of the city, which is built in 
 form of a triumphal arch, in honour of the 
 fame monarch. Immediately under the pierou 
 is the phyfic garden, and near it an arcade juft 
 finished for an aqueduct, to convey a flream 
 of water to the upper parts of the city. Per- 
 haps
 
 LETTER XII. 193 
 
 haps I fhould have thought this a neat piece 
 of work, if I had not feen the Pont du Garde i 
 but, after having viewed the Roman arches, I 
 could not look upon this but with pity and 
 contempt. It is a wonder how the architect 
 could be fo fantaftically modern, having fuch 
 a noble model, as it were, before his eyes. 
 
 There are many proteftants at this place, 
 as well as at Nifmes, and they are no longer 
 molefted on the fcore of religion. They 
 have their conventicles in the country, where 
 they afTemble privately for worfhip. Thefe 
 are well known ; and detachments are fent 
 out every Sunday to intercept them 5 but 
 the officer has always private directions to 
 take another route. Whether this indulgence 
 comes from the wifdom and lenity of the 
 government, or is purchafed with money 
 of the commanding officer, I cannot deter- 
 mine : but certain it is, the laws of France 
 punifh capitally every proteftant minhter 
 convicted of having performed the functions 
 of his miniftry in this kingdom; and one 
 was hanged about two years ago, in the 
 neighbourhood of Montauban. 
 
 VOL. I. O The
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 The markets in Montpellier are well 
 fupplied with fifh, poultry, butcher's 
 meat, and game, at reafonable rates. The 
 wine of the country is ftrong and harih, 
 and never drank, but when mixed with wa- 
 ter. Burgundy is dear, and fo is the fweet 
 wine of Frontignan, though made in the 
 neighbourhood of Cette. You know it is 
 famous all over Europe, and fo are the 
 liqueur 's, or drams of various forts, com- 
 pounded and diililled at Montpellier. Cette 
 is the fea-port, about four leagues from that 
 city : but the canal of Languedoc comes up 
 within a mile of itj and is indeed a great 
 curiofity : a work in all refpects worthy of 
 a Colbert, under whofe aufpices it was 
 finifhed. When I find fuch a general tri- 
 bute of refpeft and veneration paid to the 
 memory of that great man, I am aflonifhed 
 to fee fo few monuments of public utility 
 left by other miniflers. One would imagine, 
 that even the defire of praife would prompt 
 a much greater number to exert themfelves 
 for the glory and advantage of their coun- 
 try; yet, in my opinion, the French have 
 
 been
 
 LETTER XII. 195 
 
 been ungrateful to Colbert, in the fame pro- 
 portion as they have over-rated the character 
 of his matter. Through all France one 
 meets with ftatues and triumphal arches 
 creeled to Louis XIV. in confequence of his 
 victories; by which, likewife, he acquired 
 the title of Louis le Grand. But how were 
 thofe victories obtained ? Not by any perfonal 
 merit of Louis. It was Colbert who im- 
 proved his finances, and enabled him to pay 
 his army. It was Louvois that provided all 
 the necefTaries of war. It was a Conde, a 
 Turenne, a Luxemburg, a Vendome, who 
 fought his battles j and his firft conquefls, 
 for which he was deified by the pen of adu- 
 lation, were obtained almofl without blood- 
 fhed, over weak, difpirited, divided, and 
 defencelefs nations. It was Colbert that im- 
 proved the marine, inilituted manufactures, 
 encouraged commerce, undertook works of 
 public utility, and patronized the arts and 
 fciences. But Louis (you will fay) had the 
 merit of choofing and fupporting thole mi- 
 niftcrs, and thofe generals. I anfwer, no. 
 He found Colbert and Louvois Already 
 O 2 chofen:
 
 196 LETTER XII. 
 
 chofen : he found Conde and Turenne in 
 the very zenith of military reputation. Lux- 
 emburg was Conde's pupil ; and Vendome, 
 a prince of the blood, who at nrft obtained 
 the command of armies in confequence of 
 his high birth, and happened to turn out a 
 man of genius. The fame Louis had the 
 fagacity to revoke the edicl: of Nantz ; to 
 entruft his armies to a Tallard, a Villeroy, 
 and a Marfin. He had the humanity to 
 'ravage the country, burn the towns, and 
 maflacre the people of the Palatinate. He 
 had the patriotifm to impoveriih and depo- 
 pulate his own kingdom, in order to profe- 
 cute fchemes of the moft lawlefs ambition. 
 He had the confolation to beg a peace from 
 thofe he had provoked to war by the moft 
 outrageous infolence; and he had the glory 
 to efpoufe Mrs. Maintenon in her old age, 
 the widow of the buffoon Scarron. Without 
 all doubt, it was from irony he acquired the 
 title k Grand. 
 
 Having received a favourable anfwer from 
 
 Mr. B , the Englifh coniul at Nice, and 
 
 recommended the care of my heavy baggage 
 
 to
 
 LETTER XII. 197 
 
 to Mr. Ray, who undertook to fend it by fea 
 from Cette to Villefranche, I hired a coach 
 and mules for feven loui'dores, and fet out 
 from Montpellier on the i3th of November, 
 the weather being agreeable, though the air 
 was cold and frofly. In other refpefts there 
 were no figns of winter : the olives were now 
 ripe, and appeared on each fide of the road 
 as black as floes ; and the corn was already 
 half a foot high. On the fecond day of our 
 journey, we pafled the Rhone on a bridge of 
 boats at Buccaire, and lay on the other fide 
 at Tarrafcone. Next day we, put up at a 
 wretched place called Orgon, where, how- 
 ever, we were regaled with an excellent fup- 
 per j and among other delicacies, with a difn 
 of green peafe. Provence is a pleafant coun- 
 try, well cultivated ; but the inns are not fo 
 good here as in Languedoc, and few of them 
 are provided with a certain convenience which 
 an Englifh traveller can very ill. difpenfe with. 
 Thofe you find are generally on the tops of 
 houfes, exceedingly naftyi and fo much 
 expofed to the weather, that a valetudina- 
 rian cannot ufe them without hazard of his 
 O 3 life.
 
 198 LETTER XII. 
 
 life. At Nifmes in Languedoc, where we 
 found the temple of Cloacina in a mod 
 fhocking condition, the feivant-maid told 
 me her mitlrefs had caufed it to be made on 
 purpofe for the Englifh travellers ; but now 
 fhe was very forry for what ihe had done, 
 as all the French who frequented her houfe, 
 inilead of ufmg the feat, left their offerings 
 on the floor, which fne was obliged to have 
 cleaned three or four times a day. This is 
 a degree of beaftlinefs, which would appear 
 deteflable even in the capital of North-Bri- 
 tain. On the fourth day of our pilgrimage, 
 we lay in the fuburbs of Aix, but did not 
 enter the city, which I had a great curiofity 
 to fee. The villainous afthma baulked me of 
 that fatisfacliion. I was pinched with the 
 cold, and impatient to reach a warmer cli- 
 mate. Our next ftage was at a paltry vil- 
 lage, where we were poorly entertained. I 
 looked fo ill in the morning, that the good 
 woman of the houfe, who was big with 
 child, took me by the hand at parting, and 
 even ftied tears, praying fervently that God 
 would refiore me to my health. This was 
 
 the
 
 LETTER XII. 199 
 
 the only inftance of fympathy, companion, 
 or goodnefs of heart, that I had met with 
 among the publicans of France. Indeed, at 
 Valencia, our landlady underflanding I was 
 travelling to Montpellier for my health, 
 would have difTuaded me from going thither ; 
 and exhorted me, in particular, to beware 
 of the phyficians, who were all a pack of 
 afTaflms. She advifed me to eat fricaflees of 
 chickens, and white meat, and to take a 
 good bouillon every morning. 
 
 A bouillon is an univerfal remedy among 
 the good people of France j infomuch, that 
 they have no idea of any perfon's dying, 
 after having fwallowed un bon bouillon. One 
 of the Englifh gentlemen, who were robbed 
 and murdered about thirty years ago between 
 Calais and Boulogne, being brought to the 
 poft-houfe of Boulogne with fome figns of 
 life, this remedy was immediately adminif- 
 tred. " What furprifes me greatly, (faid the 
 poft-mafter, fpcaking of this melancholy 
 flory to a friend of mine, two years after 
 it happened) I made an excellent bouillon ', 
 and poured it down his throat with my own 
 O 4 hands,
 
 2OO 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 hands, and yet he did not recover." Now, 
 in all probability, this bouillon it was that 
 flopped his breath. When I was a very 
 young man, I remember to have feen a per- 
 ibn fu located by fuch impertinent officiouf- 
 nefs. A young man of uncommon parts 
 and erudition, very well efleemed at the 
 
 univerfity of G ovv, was found early 
 
 one morning in a fubterranean vault among 
 the ruins of an old archiepifcopal palace, 
 with his throat cut from ear to ear. Being 
 conveyed to a public-houfe in the neighbour- 
 hood, he made figns for pen, ink, and pa- 
 per, and in all probability would have ex- 
 plained the caufe of this terrible cataftrophe, 
 when an old woman, feeing the windpipe 
 which was cut, flicking out of the wound, 
 and miftaking it for the gullet, by way of 
 giving him a cordial to fupport his fpirits, 
 poured into it, through a fmall funnel, a 
 glafs of burnt brandy, which ftrangled him 
 in the tenth part of a minute. The gafh 
 was fo hideous, and formed by fo many re- 
 peated flrokes of a razor, that the furgeons 
 Relieved he could not poffibly be the perpe- 
 trator
 
 LETTER XII. 201 
 
 trator himfelf \ neverthelefs, this was certainly 
 the cafe. 
 
 At Brignolles, where we dined, I was 
 obliged to quarrel with the landlady, and 
 threaten to leave her houfe, before fhe would 
 indulge us with any fort of flefh-meat. It 
 was meagre day, and fhe had made her pro- 
 vifion accordingly. She even hinted fome 
 difTatisfaclion at having heretics in her houfe : 
 but, as I was not difpofed to eat {linking 
 fifh, with ragouts of eggs and onions, I in- 
 filled upon a leg of mutton, and a brace of 
 fine partridges, which I found in the larder. 
 Next day, when we fet out in the morning 
 from Luc, it blew a north-wefterly wind fo 
 .extremely cold and biting, that even a flan- 
 nel wrapper could not keep me tolerably 
 warm in the coach. Whether the cold had 
 put our coachman in a bad humour, or he 
 had fome other caufe of refentment againft 
 himfelf, I know not - y but we had not gone 
 above a quarter of a mile, when he drove 
 the carriage full againft the corner of a gar- 
 den wall, and broke the axle-tree, fo that 
 we were obliged to return to the inn on foot, 
 
 and
 
 202 LETTER XII. 
 
 and wait a whole day, until a new piece 
 could be made and adjufted. The v.ind 
 that blew, is called Maeftral, in the Provin- 
 cial dialect, and indeed is the fevered that 
 ever I felt. At this inn, we met with a 
 young French officer who had been a prifoner 
 in England, and fpoke our language pretty 
 well. He told me, that fuch a wind did not 
 blow above twice or three times in a winter, 
 and was never of long continuance : that in 
 general, the weather was very mild and 
 agreeable during the winter months ; that 
 living was very cheap in this part of Pro- 
 vence, which afforded great plenty of game. 
 Here, too, I found a young Irifh recollet, in 
 his way from Rome to his own country. He 
 complained, that he was almoft ftarved by 
 the inhofpitable difpofition of the French 
 people; and that the regular clergy, in par- 
 ticular, had treated him with the moft cruel 
 difdain. I relieved his neceffities, and gave 
 him a letter to a gentleman of his own coun- 
 try at Montpellier. 
 
 When I rofe in the morning, and opened 
 a window that looked into the garden, I 
 thought myftlf cither in a dream, or be- 
 witched.
 
 LETTER XII. 203 
 
 witched. All the trees were cloathed with 
 fnow, and all the country covered at leaft a 
 foot thick. " This cannot be the fouth of 
 " France, (faid I to myfelf ) it muft be the 
 " Highlands of Scotland!" At a wretched 
 town called Muy, where we dined, I had a 
 warm difpute with our landlord, which, 
 however, did not terminate to my fatisfac- 
 tion. I fent on the mules before, to the next 
 ftage, refolving to take poft-horfes, and be- 
 fpoke them accordingly of the aubergifte, 
 who was, at the fame time, inn-keeper and 
 pofl- matter. We were ufhered into the 
 common eating-room, and had a very indif- 
 ferent dinner j after which, I fent a loui'dore 
 to be changed, in order to pay the reckoning. 
 The landlord, inftead of giving the full 
 change, deducted three livres a head for din- 
 ner, and fent in the reft of the money by 
 my fervant. Provoked more at his ill man- 
 ners, than at his extortion, I ferretted him 
 out of a bed-chamber, where he had con- 
 cealed himfelf, and obliged him to reftore 
 the full change, from which I paid him at 
 the rate of two livres a head. He refufed 
 to tflke the money, which I threw down on 
 
 the
 
 204 LETTER XII. 
 
 the table; and the horfes being ready, 
 flepped into the coach, ordering the poftili- 
 ons to drive on. Here I had certainly reck- 
 oned without my hoft. The fellows declared 
 they would not budge, until I ihould pay 
 their m after j and as I threatened them with 
 manual chaftifement, they alighted, and 
 difappeared in a twinkling. I was now fo 
 incenfed, that though I could hardly breathe ; 
 though the afternoon was far advanced, and 
 the ftreet covered with wet fnow, I walked 
 to the conful of the town, and made my 
 complaint in form. This magiflrate, who 
 feemed to be a taylor, accompanied me to 
 the inn, where by this time the whole town 
 was afiembled, and endeavoured to perfuade 
 me to compromife the affair. I faid, as he 
 was the magiftrate, I would ftand to his 
 award. He anfwered, " that he would not 
 " prefume to determine what I was to pay." 
 I have already paid him a reafonable price for 
 his dinner, (faid I) and now I demand poft- 
 horfes according to the king's ordonnance. 
 The aubergifte faid the horfes were ready, 
 but the guides were run away ; and he could 
 not find others to go in their place. I argued 
 
 with
 
 LETTER XII. 205 
 
 with great vehemence, offering to leave a 
 loui'dore for the poor of the parifh, pro- 
 vided the conful would oblige the raf- 
 cal to do his duty. The conful fhrugged 
 up his ihoulders, and declared it was not in 
 -his power. This was a lie, but I perceived 
 he had no mind to difoblige the publican. 
 If the mules had not been fent away, I 
 Ihould certainly have not only payed whatl 
 thought proper, but corrected the landlord 
 into the bargain, for his infolence and ex- 
 tortion ; but now I was entirely at his 
 mercy, and as the conful continued to ex- 
 hort me in very humble terms, to comply 
 with his demands, I thought proper to ac- 
 quiefce. Then the poftilions immediately 
 appeared : the crowd feemed to exult in the 
 triumph of the aubergiftej and I was 
 obliged to travel in the night, in very fevere 
 weather, after all the fatigue and mortifica- 
 tion I had undergone. 
 
 We lay at Frejus, which was the Forum 
 yulianum of the antients, and ftill boafts of 
 fome remains of antiquity j particularly the 
 ruins of an amphitheatre, and an aqueduct. 
 The firft we pafled in the dark, and next 
 
 morning
 
 206 LETTER XII. 
 
 morning the weather was fo cold that I could 
 not walk abroad to fee it. The town is at 
 prefent very inconliderable, and indeed in a 
 ruinous condition. Neverthelefs, we were 
 very well lodged at the poft-houfe, and treated 
 with more politenefs than we had met with 
 in any other part of France. 
 
 As we had a very high mountain to 
 afcend in the morning, I ordered the mules 
 on before to the next poft, and hired fix 
 horfes for the coach. At the eaft end of 
 Frejus, we faw clofe to the road on our left- 
 hand, the arcades of the antient aqueduct, 
 and the ruins of fome Roman edifices, which 
 feemed to have been temples. There was 
 nothing finking in the architecture of the 
 aqueduct. The arches are fmall and low, 
 without either grace or ornament, and feem 
 to have been calculated for mere utility. 
 
 The mountain of Efterelles, which is 
 eight miles over, was formerly frequent- 
 ed by a gang of deiperate banditti, who are 
 now happily exterminated : the road is very 
 good, but in feme places very fteep and 
 bordered by precipices. The mountain is 
 covered with pines, and the hunts cervfas, 
 
 the
 
 LETTER XII. 207 
 
 the frait of which being now ripe, made a 
 mofl romantic appearance through the fnovv 
 that lay -upon the branches. The cherries 
 were fo large that I at firft miftook them for 
 dwarf oranges. I think they are counted 
 poifonous in England, but here the people 
 eat them without hefitation. In the middle 
 of the mountain is the poft-houfe, where 
 we dined in a room fo cold, that the bare 
 remembrance of it makes my teeth chatter. 
 After dinner I chanced to look into another 
 chamber that fronted the fouth, where the 
 fun ihone - y and opening a window perceiv- 
 ed, within a yard of my hand, a large tree 
 loaded with oranges, many of which were 
 ripe. You may judge what my aftonifh- 
 ment was to find Winter in all his rigour 
 reigning on one fide of the houfe, and Sum- 
 mer in all her glory on the other. Certain 
 it is, the middle of this mountain feemed to 
 be the boundary of the cold weather. As 
 we proceeded flowly in the afternoon we 
 were quite enchanted. This fide of the hill 
 is a natural plantation of the mod agreeable 
 ever- greens, pines, firs, laurel, cyprefs, 
 fweet myrtle, tamarifc, box, and juniper, 
 
 inter fper fed
 
 208 LETTER XII, 
 
 interfperfed with fweet marjoram, lavender,, 
 thyme, wild thyme, and fage. On the right- 1 
 hand the ground moots up into agreeable 
 cones, between which you have delightful 
 viftas of the Mediterranean, which wafhes 
 the foot of the rock ; and between two di- 
 vifions of the mountains, there is a bottom 
 watered by a charming ftream, which greatly 
 adds to the rural beauties of the fcene. 
 
 This night we pafled at Cannes, a little 
 fifhing town, agreeably fituated on the beach 
 of the fea, and in the fame place lodged 
 Monfieur Nadeau d'Etrueil, the unfortunate 
 French governor of Guadeloupe, condemn- 
 ed to be imprifoned for life in one of the 
 ifles Muaguerite, which lie within a mile of 
 this coaft. 
 
 Next day we journeyed by the way of 
 Antibes, a fmall maritime town, tolerably 
 well fortified ; and paffing the little river 
 Loup, over a ilone-bridge, arrived about 
 noon at the village of St. Laurent, the extre- 
 mity of France, where we pa fled the Vav, 
 after our baggage had undergone examina- 
 tion. From Cannes to this village the road 
 lies along the fea- fide ; and fure nothing can 
 
 be
 
 LETTER XII. 209 
 
 be more delightful. Though in the morning 
 there was a froft upon the ground, the fun 
 was as warm as it is in May in England. The 
 fea was quite fmooth, and the beach formed 
 of white polifhed pebbles ; on the left-hand 
 the country was covered with green olives, and 
 the fide of the road planted with large trees 
 of fweet myrtle growing wild like the haw- 
 thorns in England. From Antibes we had 
 the firft view of Nice, lying on the oppofite 
 fide of the bay, and making a very agree- 
 able appearance. The author of the Grand 
 Tour fays, that from Antibes to Nice the 
 roads are very bad, through rugged moun- 
 tains bordered with precipices on the left, and 
 by the fea to the right j whereas, in faft, 
 there is neither precipice nor mountain near 
 it. 
 
 The Var, which divides the county of 
 Nice from Provence, is no other than a tor- 
 rent fed chiefly by the fnow that melts on 
 the maritime Alps, from which it takes its 
 origin. In the fummer it is fwelled to a 
 dangerous height, and this is alfo the cafe 
 after heavy rains : but at prefent the middle 
 of it is quite dry, and the water divided into 
 
 VOL. I. P two
 
 2io LETTER XII. 
 
 two or three narrow dreams, which, however, 
 are both deep and rapid. This river has 
 been abfurdly enough by fome fuppofed the 
 Rubicon, in all probability from the defcrip- 
 tion of that river in the Pharfalia of Lucan, 
 who makes it the boundary betwixt Gaul and 
 Italy 
 
 et Gallica certus 
 Limes ab Aufonih dijlerminat arva colonis ; 
 
 whereas, in fact, the Rubicon, now called 
 Pifatello, runs between Ravenna and Ri- 
 mini. But to return to the Var. At the 
 village of St. Laurent, famous for its Muf- 
 cadine wines, there is a fet of guides always 
 in attendance to conduct you in your paflage 
 over the river. Six of thofe fellows, tucked 
 op above the middle, with long poles in 
 their hands, took charge of our coach, and 
 by many windings guided it fafe to the op- 
 pofire fhore. Indeed there was nooccafion for 
 any ; but it is a fort of a perquifite, and I did not 
 choofe to run any rifque, how fmall foever 
 it might be, for the fake of faving half a 
 crown, with which they were fatisried. If 
 you do not gratify the fearchers at St. Lau- 
 rent
 
 L E T T E R XII. 2ii 
 
 rent with the fame fum, they will rummage 
 your trunks, and turn all your cloaths 
 topfy turvy. And here, once for all, I would 
 advife every traveller who confults his own 
 eafe and convenience, to. be liberal of his mo- 
 ney to all that fort of people ; and even to 
 wink at the impofition of aubergiftes on the 
 road, unlefs it be very flagrant. So fure as 
 you enter into difputes with them, you will 
 be put to a great deal of trouble, and fret 
 yourfelf to no manner of purpofe. I have 
 travelled with ceconomifts in England, who 
 declared they would rather give away a crown 
 than allow themfelves to be cheated -of a 
 farthing. This is a good maxim, but requires 
 a great (hare of refolution and felf-denial to 
 put in practice in one excurfion. My fellow- 
 traveller was in a paflion, and of confequence 
 very bad company from one end of the 
 journey to the other. He was inceflantly 
 fcolding either at landlords, landladies, 
 waiters, hofllers, or poftilions. We had 
 bad horfes, and bad chaifes j fet out from 
 every ftage with the curfes of the people ; 
 and at this expence I faved about ten fhil- 
 lings in a journey of a hundred and fifty 
 P 2 miles.
 
 212 LETTER XII. 
 
 miles. For fuch a paltry confideration, he 
 was contented to be miferable himfelf, and 
 to make every other perfon unhappy with 
 whom he had any concern. When I came 
 laft from Bath it rained fo hard, that the 
 poftilion who drove the chaife was- wet to 
 the fkin before we had gone a- couple of 
 miles. When we arrived at the Devizes, I 
 gave him two Shillings inftead of one, out 
 of pure companion. The confequence of 
 this liberality was, that in the next flage we 
 feemed rather to fly than to travel upon folid 
 ground. I continued my bounty to the fe- 
 cond driver, and indeed through the whole 
 journey, and found myfelf accommodated 
 in a very different manner from what I had 
 experienced before. I had elegant chaifes, 
 with excellent hofies ; and the poftilions of 
 their own accord ufed fuch 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 precifely to fix 
 (hillings; 
 
 The river Var falls into the Mediterranean 
 
 a little below St. Laurent, about four miles 
 
 4 to-
 
 LETTER XII. 213 
 
 to the weftward of Nice. Within the me- 
 mory of perfons now living, there have been, 
 three wooden bridges thrown over it, and as 
 often deftroyed in confequence of the jea- 
 loufy fubfifting between the kings of France 
 and Sardinia ; this river being the boundary 
 of their dominions on the fide of Provence. 
 However, this is a confideration that ought 
 not to interfere with the other advantages 
 that would accrue to both kingdoms from 
 fuch a convenience. If there was a bridge 
 over the Var, and a poft-road made from 
 Nice to Genoa, I am very confident that all 
 thofe ftrangers who now pafs the Alps in 
 their way to and from Italy, would choofe 
 this road as infinitely more fafe, commodious, 
 and agreeable. This would alfo be the cafe 
 with all thofe who hire felucas from Mar- 
 feilles or Antibes, and expofe themfelves to 
 the dangers and inconveniences of travelling 
 by fea in an open boat. 
 
 In the afternoon we arrived at Nice, where 
 we found Mr. M e, the Englifh gen- 
 tleman whom I had feen at Boulogne, and 
 advifed to come hither. He had followed 
 iny advice, and reached Nice about a month 
 P 3 before
 
 214 LETTER XII. 
 
 before my arrival^ with his lady, child, and 
 an old gouvernante. He had travelled with 
 his own poft-chaife and horfes, and is now 
 lodged juft without one of the gates of the 
 city, in the houfe of the count de V n, 
 for which he pays five loui'dores a month. 
 I could hire one much better in the neighbour- 
 hood of London, for the fame money. Un- 
 lefs you will fubmit to this extortion, and 
 hire a whole houfe for a length of time, you 
 will find no ready-furnifhed lodgings at Nice. 
 After having fie wed a week in a paltry inn, 
 I have taken a ground floor for ten months 
 at the rate of four hundred livres a year, 
 that is precifely twenty pounds flerling, for 
 the Piedmontefe livre is exactly an Englilh 
 fhilling. The apartments are large, lofty, 
 and commodious enough, with two fmall 
 gardens, in which there is plenty of fallad, 
 and a great number of oranges and lemons ; 
 but as it required fome time to provide fur- 
 niture, our conful Mr. B d, one of the 
 
 beft natured and moft friendly men in the 
 world, has lent me his lodgings, which are 
 charmingly fituated by the fea-fide, and open 
 upon a terrace, that runs parallel to the 
 
 beach,
 
 LETTER XII. 215 
 
 beach, forming part of the town walL 
 
 Mr. B d himfelf lives at Villa Franca, 
 
 which is divided from Nice by a fingle moun- 
 tain, on the" top of which there is fmall 
 fort, called the caftle of Montalban. Im- 
 mediately after our arrival we were vifited 
 by one Mr. de Martines, a moft agreeable 
 young fellow,, a lieutenant in the Swifs regi- 
 ment, which is here in garrifon. He is a 
 Proteftant, extremely fond of our nation, 
 and underftands cur language tolerably well. 
 He was particularly recommended to our 
 
 acquaintance by general P and his lady ; 
 
 we are happy in his converfation ; find him 
 wonderfully obliging, and extremely fervice- 
 able on many occafions. We have likewife 
 made acquaintance with fome other indivi- 
 duals, particularly with Mr. St. Pierre, junior, 
 who is a confidcrable merchant, and conful 
 for Naples. He is a well-bred, fenfible 
 young man, fpeaks Englifh, is an excellent 
 performer on the lute and mandolin, and has 
 a pretty collection of books. In a word, I 
 hope we fhall pafs the winter agreeably 
 
 enough, efpecially if Mr. M e fhould 
 
 hold out ; but I am afraid he is too far gone, 
 P 4 in
 
 216 LETTER XII. 
 
 in a confumption to recover. He fpent the 
 
 laft winter at Nifmes, and confulted F - 
 
 at Montpellier. I was impatient to fee the 
 prefcription, and found it almoft verbatim 
 the fame he had fent to me j although I am 
 perfuaded there is a very efTential difference 
 
 between our diforders. Mr. M e has 
 
 been long afflicted with violent fpafms, 
 colliquative fweats, proflration of appetite, 
 and a diforder in his bowels. He is likewife 
 jaundiced all over, and I am confident his 
 liver is unfound. He tried the tortoife foup, 
 which he faid in a fortnight fluffed him up 
 with phlegm. This gentleman has got a 
 {mattering of phyfic, and I am afraid tampers 
 with his own conftitution, by means of 
 Brookes's Practice of Phyfic, and fome dif- 
 penfatories, which he is continually poring 
 over. I beg pardon for this tedious epiftle, 
 am, 
 
 Very fmcerely, dear Sir, 
 
 Your affectionate, 
 Humble fervant.
 
 [ 2I 7 ] 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 Niff, January 15, 1764, 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 T Am at laft fettled at Nice, and have leifure 
 * to give you fome account of this very 
 remarkable place. The county of Nice ex- 
 tends about fourfcore miles in length, and 
 in fome places it is thirty miles broad. It 
 contains feveral fmall towns, and a great 
 number of villages; all of which, this ca- 
 pital excepted, are fituated among moun- 
 tains, the moft extenfive plain of the whole 
 country being this where I now am, in the 
 neighbourhood of Nice. The length of it 
 does not exceed two miles, nor is the breadth 
 of it, in any part, above one. It is bound- 
 ed by the Mediterranean on the fouth. From 
 the fea-fhore, the maritime Alps begin with 
 hills of a gentle afcent, rifmg into moun- 
 tains that form a fweep or amphitheatre 
 ending at Montalban, which over-hangs the 
 town of Villa Franca. On the weft fide 
 of this mountain, and in the eaflern extre- 
 mity of the amphitheatre, frauds the city of 
 
 Nice,
 
 218 LETTER XII. 
 
 Nice, wedged in between a fteep rock and 
 the little river Paglion, which defcends from 
 the mountains, and warning the town-walls 
 on the weft fide, falls into the fea, after 
 having filled fome canals for the ufe of the 
 inhabitants. There is a flone-bridge of three 
 arches over it, by which thofe who come 
 from Provence enter the city. The channel 
 of it is very broad, but generally dry in 
 many places ; the water (as in the Var) di- 
 viding itfelf into feveral fmall flreams. The 
 Paglion being fed by melted mow and rain 
 in the mountains, is quite dry in fummer ; 
 but it is fometimes fwelled by fudden rains 
 to a very formidable torrent. This was the 
 cafe in the year 1 744, when the French and 
 Spanifh armies attacked eighteen Piedmon- 
 tefe battalions, which were ported on the 
 fide of Montalban. The afiailants were rc- 
 pulfed with the lofs of four thoufand men, 
 fome hundreds of whom perifhed in repaying 
 the Paglion, which had fwelled to a furprifing 
 degree during the battle, in confequence of 
 a heavy continued rain. This rain was of 
 great fervice to the Piedmontefe, as it pre- 
 vented one half of the enemy from paffing 
 
 the
 
 LETTER XIII. 219 
 
 the river to fuftain the other. Five hundred 
 were taken prifoners : but the Piedmontefe, 
 forefeeing they fhould be furrounded next 
 day by the French, who had penetrated be- 
 hind them, by a pafs in the mountains, re- 
 tired in the night. Being received on board 
 the Englifh fleet, which lay at Villa Franca, 
 they were conveyed to Oneglia. In examin- 
 ing the bodies of thofe that were killed in 
 the battle, the inhabitants of Nice perceived, 
 that a great number of the Spanifh foldiers 
 were circumcifed; a circumftance, from 
 which they concluded, that a great many 
 Jews engage in the fervice of his Catholic 
 majefty. I am of a different opinion. The 
 Jews are the leaft of any people that I know, 
 addicted to a military life. I rather imagine 
 they were of the Moorifh race, who have 
 fubfifted in Spain, fmce the expulfio"n of their 
 brethren j and though they conform exter- 
 nally to the rites of the Catholic religion, 
 ftili retain in private their attachment to the 
 law of Mahomet. 
 
 The city of Nice is built in form of an 
 irregular iibfceles triangle, the bafe of which 
 fronts the fea. On the weft fide it is fur- 
 rounded
 
 220 LETTER XIII. 
 
 rounded by a wall and rampart ; on the 
 eaft, it is over-hung by a rock, on which 
 we fee the ruins of an old caftle, which, be- 
 fore the invention of artillery, was counted 
 impregnable. It was taken and difmantled 
 by marechal Catinat, in the time of Victor 
 Amadaeus, the father of his Sardinian ma- 
 jefty. It was afterwards finally demolished 
 by the duke of Berwick towards the latter 
 end of queen Anne's war. To repair it 
 would be a very unnecefiary expence, as it 
 is commanded by Montalban, and feveral 
 other eminences. 
 
 The town of Nice is altogether indefenfible, 
 and therefore without fortifications. There 
 are only two iron guns upon a baftion that 
 fronts the beach ; and here the French had 
 formed a confiderable battery againft the 
 Englifh cruifers, in the war of 1744, when 
 the Marefchal Duke de Belleifle had his head 
 quarters at Nice. This little town, fituated 
 in the bay of Antibes, is almoft equidiftant 
 from Marfeilles, Turin, and Genoa, the 
 firft and iaft being about thirty leagues from 
 hence by feaj and the capital of Piedmont 
 at the fame diftance to the northward, over 
 
 the
 
 LETTER XIIL 121 
 
 the mountains. It lies exactly oppofite to 
 Capo di Ferro, on the coaft of Barbary ; and 
 the iflands of Sardinia and Corfica are laid 
 down about two degrees to the eaftward, al- 
 inofl exactly in a line with Genoa. This little 
 town, hardly a mile in circumference, is faid to 
 contain twelve thoufand inhabitants. The 
 flreets are narrow -, the houfes are built of 
 ftone, and the windows in general are fitted 
 with paper inftead of glafs. This expedient 
 would not anfwer in a country fubjec~l to rain 
 and florms j but here, where there is very little 
 of either, the paper lozenges anfwer tolera- 
 bly well. The bourgeois, however, begin to 
 have their houfes fafhed with glafs. Between 
 the town-wall and the fea, the fifhermen 
 haul up their boats upon the open beach; 
 but on the other fide of the rock, where the 
 caflle flood, is the port or harbour of Nice, 
 upon which fome money has been expended. 
 It is a fmall bafin, defended to fea ward by 
 a mole of free-flone, which is much better 
 contrived than executed : for the fea has al- 
 ready made three breaches in it ; and in all 
 probability, in another winter, the extremity 
 of it will be carried quite away. It would 
 
 require
 
 222 LETTER XIII. 
 
 require the talents of a very fkilful architect 
 to lay the foundation of a good mole, on an 
 open beach like this ; expofed to the fvvell of 
 the whole Mediterranean, without any ifland 
 or rock in the offing, to break the force of 
 the waves. Befides, the fhore is bold, and 
 the bottom foul. There are feventeen feet of 
 water in the bafin, fufficient to float veflels 
 of one hundred and fifty ton; and this is 
 chiefly fupplied by a fmall ftream of very fine 
 water; another great convenience for {hip- 
 ping. On the fide of the mole, there is a 
 conftant guard of foldiers, and a battery of 
 feven cannon, pointing to the fea. On the 
 other fide, there is a curious manufacture 
 for twilling or reeling filk 3 a tavern, a 
 coffee-houfe, and feveral other buildings, 
 for the convenience of the fea-faring people. 
 Without the harbour, is a lazarette, where 
 perfons coming from infected places, are 
 obliged to perform quarantine. The har- 
 bour has been declared a free-port, and it is 
 generally full of tartanes, polacres, and other 
 fmall veflels, that come from Sardinia, Ivica, 
 Italy, and Spain, loaded with fait, wine, 
 and other commodities ; but here is no trade 
 of any great confequence.
 
 LETTER XIII. 223 
 
 The city of Nice is provided with a fenate, 
 which adminifters juftice under the aufpices 
 of an avocat- general, fent hither by the king. 
 The internal ccconomy of the town is ma- 
 naged by four confuls ; one for the noblefle, 
 another for the merchants, a third for the 
 bourgeois, and a fourth for the peafants. 
 Thefe are chofen annually from the town- 
 council. They keep the ftreets and markets in 
 order, and fuperintend the public works. 
 There is alfo an intendant, who takes care 
 of his majefty's revenue : but there is a dif- 
 cretionary power lodged in the perfon of the 
 commandant, who is always an officer of 
 rank in the fervice, and has under his imme- 
 diate command the regiment which is here 
 in garrifon. That which is here now is a 
 Swifs battalion, of which the king has five 
 or fix in his fervice. There is likewife a re- 
 giment of militia, which is exercifed once a 
 year. But of all thefe particulars, 1 fliall 
 fpeak more fully on another occafion. 
 
 When I ftand upon the rampart, and look 
 round me, I can fcarce help thinking myfelf 
 inchanted. The fmall extent of country 
 which I fee, is all cultivated like a garden. 
 
 Indeed,
 
 .224 LETTER XIII. 
 
 Indeed, the plain prefents nothing but gar- 
 dens, full of green trees, loaded with oran- 
 ges, lemons, citrons, and bergamots, which 
 make a delightful appearance. If you exa- 
 mine them more nearly, you will find plan- 
 tations of green peafe ready to gather; all 
 forts of fallading, and pot-herbs, in perfec- 
 tion ; and plats of rofes, carnations, ranun- 
 culas, anemonies, and daffodils, blowing in 
 full glory, with fuch beauty, vigour, and 
 perfume, as no flower in England ever exhi- 
 bited. 
 
 I muft tell you, that prefents of carna- 
 tions are fent from hence, in the winter, to 
 Turin and Paris; nay, fometimes as far as 
 London, by the pofl. They are packed up 
 in a wooden box, without any fort of prepa- 
 ration, one prefTed upon another : the per- 
 fon who receives them, cuts off a little bit 
 of the ftalk, and fteeps them for two hours 
 in vinegar and water, when they recover 
 their full bloom and beauty. Then he places 
 them in water-bottles, in an apartment where 
 they are fcreened from the feverities of the 
 weather ; and they will continue frem and 
 unfaded, the bed part of a month. 
 
 Amidft
 
 LETTER XIII. 225 
 
 Amidft the plantations in the neighbour- 
 hood of Nice, appear a vafl number of white 
 baftide^ or country-houfes, which make a 
 dazzling fhew. Some few of thefe are good 
 villas, belonging to the noblefle of this coun- 
 ty i and even fome of the bourgeois are pro- 
 vided with pretty lodgeable caffines; but in 
 general, they are the habitations of the pea- 
 fants, and contain nothing but mifery and 
 vermin. They are all built fquare j and, be- 
 ing whitened with lime or plaifter, contri- 
 fcute greatly to the richnefs of the view. 
 The hills are fhaded to the tops with olive- 
 trees, which are always gree.n; and thofe 
 hills are over-topped by more diftant moun- 
 tains, covered with fnow. When I turn my- 
 felf towards the fea, the view is bounded by 
 .the horizon j yet, in a clear morning, one 
 can perceive the high lands of Corfica. On 
 the right hand, it is terminated by Antibes, 
 and the mountain of Efterelles, which I de- 
 fcribed in my laft. As for the weather, you 
 will conclude, from what I have faid of the 
 oranges, flowers, &c. that it muft be won- 
 derfully mild and ferene; but of the cli- 
 mate, I fhall fpeak hereafter. Let me only 
 Voi. L Q obferve,
 
 22 6 LETTER XIII. 
 
 obferve, en paffant, that the houfes in gene- 
 ral have no chimnies, but in their kitchens ; 
 and that many people, even 'of condition, 
 at Nice, have no fire in their chambers, du- 
 ring the whole winter. When the weather 
 happens to be a little more fharp than ufual, 
 they warm their apartments with a brafiere 
 of charcoal. 
 
 Though Nice itfelf retains few marks of 
 antient fplendor, there are confiderable mo- 
 numents of antiquity in its neighbourhood. 
 About two fhort miles from the town, upon 
 the fummit of a pretty high hill, we find 
 the ruins of the antient city Cemenelion, 
 now called Cimia, which was once the me- 
 tropolis of the Maritime Alps, and the feat 
 of a Roman prefident. With refpe6l to fitu- 
 ation, nothing could be more agreeable or 
 falubrious. It flood upon the gentle afcent 
 and fummit of a hill, fronting the Mediter- 
 ranean 5 from the fhore of which, it is dif- 
 tant about half a league ; and, en the other 
 fide, it overlooked a bottom, or narrow vale, 
 through which the Paglion (antiently called 
 Paulo) runs towards the walls of Nice. It 
 
 s inhabited by a people, whom Ptolomy
 
 LETTER XIII. 227 
 
 a d Pliny call the Pedant ij : but thefe were 
 undoubtedly mixed with a Roman colony, 
 as appears by the monuments which ftill re- 
 main ; I mean the ruins of an amphitheatre, 
 a temple of Apollo, baths, aqueducls, fe- 
 pulchral, and other flones, with infcrip- 
 tions, and a great number of medals, which 
 the peafants have found by accident, in dig- 
 ging and labouring the vineyards and corn- 
 fields, which now cover the ground where 
 the city flood. Touching this city, very 
 little is to be learned from the antient hiflo- 
 rians : but that it was the feat of a Roman 
 praefes, is proved by the two following in- 
 fcriptions, which are ilill extant, 
 
 P. AELIO. SEVERING. 
 
 V. E. P. 
 
 PRAESIDI. OPTIMO. 
 
 ORDO. CEMEN. 
 
 PATRONO. 
 
 This is now in the pofleflion of the count 
 de Gubernatis, who has a country-houfe 
 upon the fpot. The other, found near the 
 fame place, is in praife of the praefes 
 Marcus Aurelius Mafculus. 
 
 M,
 
 228 LETTER XIII. 
 
 M. AVRELIO. MASCVLO. 
 
 V. E. 
 
 OB. EXIMIAM. PRAESIDATVS 
 
 EIVS. INTEGRITATEM. ET 
 
 EGREGIAM. AD OMN Y ES HOMINES 
 
 MANSVETVDINEM. ET. VRGENTIS 
 
 ANNONAE. SINCERAM. PRAEBITIONEM. 
 
 AC. MVNIFICENTIAM. ET. QVOD. AQVAE 
 
 VSVM. VETVSTATE. LAPSVM. REQVI- 
 
 -SITVM. AC. REPERTVM. SAECVH 
 
 FELICITATE. CVRSVI. PRISTINO 
 
 REDDIDERIT. 
 
 COLLEG. III. 
 
 QVIB. EX. SCC. P. EST 
 
 PATRONO. DIGNISS. 
 
 This prefident well deferred fuch a mark 
 of refpeft from a people whom he had 
 aflifted in two fuch efTential articles, as their 
 corn and their water. You know, the pras- 
 fes of a Roman province had \hsjus fgendi 
 clavi, the privilege of wearing the latus cla- 
 ws, the gladius, infula, prtftexta, purpura 
 & annulus aureus : he had his vafa, vehicula, 
 apparitores, Scipio eburneus, & fella curulis. 
 
 I fliali give you one more fepulchral in- 
 fcription on a marble, which is now placed 
 over the gate of the church belonging to the 
 convent of St. Pont, a venerable building, 
 which flands at the bottom of the hill, front* 
 ing the north fide of the town of Nice, This 
 
 St,
 
 LETTER XIII. 22 9 
 
 St. Pont, or Pontius, was a Roman convert 
 to Chriftianity, who fuffered martyrdom at 
 Cemenelion in the year 261, during the 
 reigns of the emperors Valerian and Galii- 
 enus. The legends recount fome ridiculous 
 miracles wrought in favour of this faint, 
 both before and after his death. Charles V. 
 emperor of Germany and king of Spain, 
 caufed this monaftery to be built on the fpot 
 where Pontius fuffered decapitation. But to 
 return to the infcription : it appears in thefe 
 words. 
 
 M. M. A. 
 
 FLAVIAE. BASILLAE. CONIVG. CARISSIM. 
 
 DOM. ROMA. MIRAE. ERGA. MARITVM. AMORIS. 
 
 ADQ^ CASTITAT. FAEMINAE. QVAE VIXIT 
 
 ANN. XXXV. M. III. DIEB. XII. AVRELIVS 
 RHODISMANVS. AVG. LIB. COMMEM. ALP. 
 
 MART. ET. AVRELIA. ROMVLA. FILIA. 
 
 IMPATIENTISSIM. DOLOR. EIVS. ADFLICTI 
 
 ADO^ DESOLATI. CARISSIM. AC MERENT. FERET. 
 
 FEC. ET. DED. 
 
 The amphitheatre of Cemenelion is but 
 very fmall, compared to that of Nifmes. The 
 arena is ploughed up, and bears corn : fome 
 of the feats remain, and part of two oppo* 
 fite porticos ; but all the columns, and the 
 external fa?ade of the building, are taken 
 0. 3 away ;
 
 230 LETTER XIII. 
 
 away; fo that it is impofiible to judge of 
 the architecture : all that we can perceive 
 is, that it was built in an oval form. About 
 one hundred paces from the amphitheatre 
 flood an antient temple, fuppofed to have 
 been dedicated to Apollo. The original roof 
 is demoliihed, as well as the portico; the 
 vefliges of which may flill be traced. The 
 part called the BafiUca, and about one half 
 of the Cdla Sanctior, remain, and are con- 
 verted into the dvvelling-houfe and flable of 
 the peafant who takes care of the count de 
 Gubernatis's garden, in which this monu- 
 ment flands. In the Cella Sanclior, I found 
 a lean cow, a he-goat, and a jack-afs j the 
 very fame conjunction of animals which I 
 had feen drawing a plough in Burgundy. 
 Several mutilated flatues have been dug up 
 from the ruins of this temple ; and a great 
 number of medals have been found in the 
 different vineyards which now occupy the 
 fpace upon which flood the antient city of 
 Cemenelion. Thefe were of gold, filver, 
 and brafs. Many of them were prefented 
 to Charles Emanuel I. duke of Savoy. The 
 prince of Monaco has a good number of 
 
 them
 
 LETTER XIII. 231 
 
 them in his collection; and the reft are ia 
 private hands. The peafants, in digging, 
 have like wife found many urns, lachrymato- 
 ries, and fepulchral ftones, with epitaphs, 
 which are now difperfed among different 
 convents and private houfes. All this ground 
 is a rich mine of antiquities, which, if pro- 
 perly worked, would produce a great num- 
 ber of valuable curiofities. Juft by the tem- 
 ple of Apollo were the ruins of a bath, 
 compofed of great blocks of marble, which 
 have been taken away for the purpofes of 
 modern building. In all probability, many 
 other noble monuments of this city have 
 been dilapidated by the fame barbarous ceco- 
 nomy. There are fome fubterranean vaults, 
 through which the water was conducted to 
 this bath, flill extant in the garden of the 
 count de Gubernatis. Of the aqueduct that 
 conveyed water to the town, I can fay very 
 little, but that it was fcooped through a 
 mountain : that this fubterranean paflage was 
 difcovered fome years ago, by removing the 
 rubbiih which choaked it up : that the peo- 
 ple penetrating a confiderable way, by the 
 help of lighted torches, found a very plenri- 
 Q 4 fui
 
 232 LETTER XIIL 
 
 ful ftream of water flowing in an aqueduct,' 
 as high as an ordinary man, arched over 
 head, and lined with a fort of cement. They 
 could not, however, trace this fire am to its 
 fource ; and it is again flopped up with earth 
 and rubbifh. There is not a foul in this 
 country, who has either fpirit or underfland- 
 ing to conduct an inquiry of this kind. 
 Hard by the amphitheatre is a convent of 
 Recollets, built in a very romantic fituation, 
 on the brink of a precipice. On one fide of 
 their garden, they afcend to a kind of elpla- 
 nade, which they fay was part of the citadel 
 of Cemenelion. They have planted it with 
 cyprefs-trees, and flowering-fhrubs. One of 
 the monks told me, that it is vaulted below, 
 as they can plainly perceive by the found of 
 their inflruments ufed in houghing the 
 ground. A very fmall expence would bring 
 the fecrets of this cavern to light. They, 
 have nothing to do, but to make a breach 
 in the wall, which appears uncovered to- 
 wards the garden. 
 
 The city of Cemenelion was firft facked 
 by the Longobards, who made an irruption 
 into Provence, under their king Alboinus, 
 
 about
 
 LETTER XIII. 233 
 
 about the middle of the fixth century. It 
 was afterwards totally deftroyed by the Sara- 
 cens, who, at different times, ravaged this 
 whole coaft. The remains of the people are 
 fuppofed to have changed their habitation, 
 and formed a coalition with the inhabitants 
 of Nice. 
 
 What further I have to fay o~f Nice, you 
 fhall know in good time ; at prefent, I have 
 nothing to add, but what you very well 
 know, that I am always your affectionate 
 humble fervant. 
 
 LETTER
 
 234 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Nice, January zo, 1764. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 LAST Sunday I crofted Montalban on 
 horfeback, with fome Swifs officers, on 
 
 a vifit to our conful, Mr. B d, who 
 
 lives at Ville Franche, about half a league 
 from Nice. It is a fmall town, built upon 
 the fide of a rock, at the bottom of the 
 harbour, which is a fine bafin, furrounded 
 with hills on every fide, except to the fouth, 
 where it lies open to the fea. If there was a 
 fmall iiland in the mouth of it, to break off 
 the force of the waves, when the wind is 
 foutherly, it would be one of the fineft har- 
 bours in the world ; for the ground is ex- 
 ceeding good for anchorage : there is a fuffi- 
 cient depth of water, and room enough for 
 the whole navy of England. On the right 
 hand, as you enter the port, there is an ele- 
 gant fanal, or light-houfe, kept in good re- 
 pair : but in all the charts of this coail which 
 
 I
 
 LETTER XIV. 235 
 
 I have feen, this lanthorn is laid down to the 
 weftward of the harbour ; an error equally 
 .abfurd and dangerous, as it may mifiead the 
 navigator, and induce him to run his fhip 
 among the rocks, to the eaflward of the 
 light-houfe, where it would undoubtedly pe- 
 rifli. Oppofite to the mouth of the harbour 
 is the fort, which can be of no fervice, but 
 in defending the fhipping and the town by 
 fea ; for, by land, it is commanded by 
 Montalban, and all the hills in the neigh- 
 bourhood. In the war of 1744, it was taken 
 and re-taken. At prefcnt, it is in tolerable 
 good repair. On the left of the fort, is the 
 bafin for the gallies, with a kind of dock, in 
 which they are built, and occafionally laid 
 up to be refitted. This bafin is formed by a 
 pretty ftone molej and here his Sardinian 
 majefty's two gallies lie perfectly fecure, 
 moored with their fterns clofe to the jette. I 
 went on board one of thefe vefiels, and faw 
 about two hundred miferable wretches, chain- 
 ed to the banks on which they fit and row, 
 when the galley is at fea. This is a fight 
 which a Britifh fubject, fenfible of the blef- 
 fmg he enjoys, cannot behold without hor- 
 ror
 
 236 LETTER XIV. 
 
 ror and companion. Not but that if we con- 
 fider the nature of the cafe, with coolnefs 
 and deliberation, we muft acknowledge the 
 juftice, and even fagacity, of employing for 
 the fervice of the public, thofe malefactors 
 who have forfeited their title to the privi- 
 leges of the community. Among the flaves 
 at Ville Franche is a Piedmontefe count, 
 condemned to the gallies for life, in confe- 
 quence of having been convicted of forgery. 
 He is permitted to live on Ihore ; and gets 
 money by employing the other flaves to knit 
 (lockings for fale. He appears always in the 
 Turkifh habit, and is in a fair way of rai- 
 (ing a better fortune than that which he has 
 forfeited. It is a great pity, however, and a 
 manifeft outrage againft the law of nations, 
 as well as of humanity, to mix with thofe 
 banditti, the Moorifh and Turkifh prifoners 
 who are taken in the profccution of open 
 war. It is certainly no juflification of this 
 barbarous practice, that the Chriftian prifo- 
 ners are treated as cruelly at Tunis and Al- 
 giers. It would be for the honour of Chrif- 
 tendom, to fet an example of generofity to 
 the Turks ; and, if they would not follow 
 
 it,
 
 LETTER XIV. 237 
 
 it, to join their naval forces, and extirpate 
 at once thofe nefts of pirates, who have fo 
 long infefted the Mediterranean. Certainly, 
 nothing can be more fhameful, than the 
 treaties which France and the Maritime 
 Powers have concluded with thofe barbarians. 
 They fupply them with artillery, arms, and 
 ammunition, to diflurb their neighbours. 
 They even pay them a fort of tribute, under 
 the denomination of prefents ; and often put 
 up with infults tamely, for the fordid confide- 
 ration of a little gain in the way of commerce. 
 They know that Spain, Sardinia, and almoil 
 all the Catholic powers in the Mediterranean, 
 Adriatic, and Levant, are at perpetual war 
 with thofe Mahometans ; that while Algiers, 
 Tunis, and Sallee, maintain armed cruifers 
 at fea, thofe Chriilian powers will not run 
 the rifque of trading in their own bottoms, 
 but rather employ as carriers the maritime 
 nations, who are at peace with the infidels. 
 It is for our fhare of this advantage, that we 
 cultivate the piratical States of Barbary, and 
 meanly purchafe paflports of them, thus ac- 
 knowledging them mailers of the Mediterra- 
 nean. 
 
 i The
 
 2 3 S LETTER XIV. 
 
 The Sardinian gallies are mounted each 
 with five-and- twenty oars, and fix guns, fix- 
 pounders, of a fide, and a large piece of ar- 
 tillery a midfhips, pointing a-head, which 
 (fo far as I am able to judge) can never be 
 ufed point-blank, without demolifhing the 
 head or prow of the galley. The accommo- 
 dation on board for the officers is wretched. 
 There is a paltry cabin in the poop for the 
 commander ; but all the other officers lie be- 
 low the flaves, in a dungeon, where they 
 have neither light, air, nor any degree of 
 quiet; half fuffocated by the heat of the 
 place -, tormented by fleas, bugs, and lice ; 
 and difturbcd by the incefTant noife over 
 head. The {laves lie upon the naked banks, 
 without any other covering than a tilt. This, 
 however, is no great hardfhip, in a climate 
 where there is fcarce any winter. They are 
 fed with a very fcanty allowance of bread, 
 and about fourteen beans a day ; and twice 
 a week they have a little rice, or cheefe : but 
 molt of them, while they are in harbour, 
 knit ftockings, or do fome other kind of 
 work, which enables them to make fome ad- 
 dition to this wretched allowance. When. 
 
 they
 
 LETTER XIV. 239 
 
 they happen to be at fea in bad weather, 
 their fituation is truly deplorable. Every 
 wave breaks over the vefTel, and not only 
 keeps them continually wet, but comes with 
 fuch force, that they are dafhed againft the 
 banks with furprifmg violence : fometimes 
 their limbs are broke, and fometimes their 
 brains dafhed out. It is impoffible (they fay) 
 to keep fuch a number of defperate people 
 under any regular command, without exer- 
 cifing fuch feverities as mult fhock humanity. 
 It is almoft equally impoflible to maintain 
 any tolerable degree of cleanlinefs, where 
 fuch a number of wretches are crouded to- 
 gether without conveniences, or even.the ne- 
 ceiTaries of life. They are ordered twice a 
 week to ft rip, clean, and bathe themfelves in 
 the fea : but, notwithftanding all the precau- 
 tions of difcipline, they fwarm with vermin, 
 and the vefTel fmells like an hofpital, or 
 crouded jail. They feem, neverthelefs, quite 
 infenfible of their mifery, like fo many con- 
 victs in Newgate : they laugh and ling, and 
 'fwear, and get drunk when they can. When 
 you enter by the ftern, you are welcomed by 
 *t band of mufick feleeled from the flaves; 
 
 and
 
 24 o LETTER XIV. 
 
 and thefe expect a gratification. If you waUc 
 forwards, you mufl take care of your pock- 
 ets. You will be accofted by one or other of 
 the flaves, with a brufh and blacking-ball for 
 cleaning your fhoes ; and if you undergo 
 this operation, it is ten to one but your pocket 
 is picked. If you decline his fervice, and 
 keep aloof, you will find it almofl impoflible 
 to avoid a colony of vermin, which thefe fel- 
 lows have a very dextrous method of convey- 
 ing to ftrangers. Some of the Turkifh pri- 
 foners, whofe ranfom or exchange is expected, 
 are allowed to go afhore, under proper in- 
 fpeftion ; and thofe formats, who have ferved 
 the beft part of the time for which they were 
 condemned, are employed in public works, 
 under a guard of foldiers. At the harbour 
 of Nice, they are hired by fhip-maflers to 
 bring ballaft, and have a fmall proportion of 
 what they earn, for their own ufe : the reft 
 belongs to the king. They are diftinguifhed 
 by an iron {hackle about one of their legs. 
 The road from Nice to Ville Franche is 
 Scarce pafTable on horfeback : a circumftance 
 the more extraordinary, as thofe flaves, in 
 the fpa.ce of two or three months, might 
 
 even
 
 LETTER XIV. 241 
 
 even make it fit for a carriage, and the king 
 Would not be one farthing out of pocket, 
 for they are quite idle the greateft part of 
 the year. 
 
 The gallies go to fea only in the fummer. 
 In ternpeftuous Weather, they could not live 
 out of port. Indeed, they are good for no- 
 thing but in fmooth water, during a calm ; 
 when, by dint of revving, they make good 
 way. The king of Sardinia is fo fenfible of 
 their inutility, that he intends to let his gal- 
 lies rot ; and, in lieu of them, has purchafed 
 two large frigates in England, one of fifty, 
 and another of thirty guns, which are now 
 in the harbour of Ville Tranche. He has 
 alfo procured an Englifh officer, one Mr. 
 A -, who is fecond in command on 
 board of one of them, and has the title of 
 captain confukeur, that is, inftruftor -to the 
 
 firfl captain, the marquis de M i, who 
 
 knows as little of feamaiifhip as I do of 
 Arabic. 
 
 The king, it is faid, intends to have two 
 or three more frigates, and then he will be 
 more than a match for the Barbary cor fairs, 
 provided care be taken to man his fleet in a 
 
 VOL. I. R proper
 
 242 LETTER XIV. 
 
 proper manner : but this will never be done, 
 unlefs he invites foreigners into his fervice, 
 officers as well as feamen j for his own do- 
 minions produce neither at prefent. If he is 
 really determined to make the mofl of the 
 maritime fituation of his dominions, as well 
 as of his alliance with Great- Britain, he 
 ought to fupply his mips with Englim mari- 
 ners, and put a Britifii commander at the 
 head of his fleet. He ought to ereft maga- 
 zines and docks at Villa Franca ; or if there 
 is not conveniency for building, he may at 
 leaft have pits and wharfs for heaving down 
 and careening j and thefe ought to be under 
 the direction of Englifhmen, who beft un- 
 derfland all the particulars of marine ceco- 
 nomy. Without all doubt, he will not be 
 able to engage foreigners, without giving 
 them liberal appointments ; and their being 
 engaged in his fervice will give umbrage to 
 his own fubjecls : but, when the bufmefs is 
 to eftablim a maritime power, thefe confide- 
 rations ought to be facrificed to reafons of 
 public utility. Nothing can be more abfurd 
 and unreafonable, than the murmurs of the 
 Piedmontefe officers at the preferment of fo- 
 reigners,
 
 LETTER XIV. 243 
 
 Feigners^ who execute thofe things for the 
 advantage of their country, of which they 
 know themfelves incapable. When Mr. 
 
 p n was fi r ft promoted in the fervice of 
 
 his Sardinian majefty, he met with great op- 
 pofition, and numberlefs mortifications, from 
 the jealoufy of the Piedmontefe officers, and 
 was obliged to hazard his life in many ren- 
 counters with them, before they would be 
 quiet. Being a man of uncommon fpirit, 
 he never fuffered the leaft infult or affront to 
 pafs unchaftifed. He had repeated opportu- 
 nities of fignalizing his valour againft the 
 Turks j and by dint of extraordinary merit, 
 and long fervices, not only attained the chief 
 command of the gallies, with the rank of 
 lieutenant-general, but alfo acquired a very 
 confiderable fliare of the king's favour, and 
 was appointed commandant of Nice. His 
 Sardinian majefly found his account more 
 ways than one, in thus promoting Mr. 
 p n. He made the acquilition of an ex- 
 cellent officer, of tried courage and fidelity, 
 by whofe advice he conducted his marine af- 
 fairs. This gentleman was perfectly well 
 efreemed at the court of London. In the 
 R 2 war
 
 244. LETTER XIV. 
 
 war of 1744, he lived in the utmoft harmo- 
 ny with the Britifh admirals who commanded 
 our fleet in the Mediterranean. In confe- 
 quence of this good understanding, a thou- 
 fand occafional fervices were performed by 
 the Englifh (hips, for the benefit of his maf- 
 ter, which otherwife could not have been 
 done, without a formal application to our 
 miniftry; in which cafe, the opportunities 
 would have been loft. I know our admirals 
 had general orders and inftruftions, to co- 
 operate in all things with his Sardinian ma- 
 jefty ; but I know, alfo, by experience, how 
 little thefe general inftruftions avail, when 
 the admiral is not cordially interefled in the 
 fervice. Were the king of Sardinia at pre- 
 fent engaged with England in a new war 
 againft France, and a Britifh fquadron fta- 
 tioned upon this coaft, as formerly, he would 
 find a great difference in this particular. He 
 fhould therefore carefully avoid having at 
 Nice a Savoyard commandant,, utterly igno- 
 rant of fea affairs; unacquainted with the 
 true intereft of his mafter; proud, and ar- 
 bitrary; referved to Grangers, from a pre- 
 judice of national jealoufy ; and particularly 
 averfe to the Englifh.
 
 LETTER XIV. 245 
 
 With refpeft to the antient name of Villa 
 Franca, there is a difpute among antiquarians. 
 It is not at all mentioned in the Itlnerarium of 
 Antoninus, unlefs it is meant as the port of 
 Nice. But it is more furprifing, that the ac- 
 curate Strabo, in defcribing this coaft, men- 
 tions no fuch harbour. Some people ima- 
 gine it is the Portus Herculis Monaeci. But 
 this is undoubtedly what is now called Mona- 
 co 5 the harbour of which exactly tallies with 
 what Strabo fays of the Portus Monaeci . 
 neque magnas, neque mult as caplt naves. Pto^ 
 lomy, indeed, feems to mention it under the 
 name of Herculis Portus, different from the 
 Portus Monaeci. His words are thefe : poft 
 vari oftium ad Liguflrlum mare, majfilienfium 
 font Nicaea, Herculis For (us, frofbaa Augufti* 
 Monceci Portus. In that cafe, Hercules was 
 worfhipped both here and at Monaco, and 
 gave his name to both places. But on this 
 fubjecl, I mail perhaps fpeak more fully in 
 another letter, after I have feen the Trophxa 
 AuguJti-> now called Tourbia, and the town 
 of Monaco, which laft is about three leagues 
 from Nice. Here I cannot help taking notice 
 of the following elegant defcription from the 
 R 3 Pharfalia,
 
 246 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Pharfalia, which feems to have been in- 
 tended for this very harbour. 
 
 finis et Hefyeria promoto milite varus, 
 Quaque fub Herculeo facratus numine Port us 
 Urget rupe cava Pelagus^ non Corus in ilium 
 Jus habet, ant Zephirus, folusfua Vittora turbat 
 Circius, et tuta probibet ftatione 
 
 The prefent town of Villa Frarfca was 
 built and fettled in the thirteenth century, 
 by order of Charles II. king of the Sicilies, 
 and count of Provence, in order to defend 
 the harbour from the defcents of the Sara- 
 cens, who at that time infefled the coaft. 
 The inhabitants were removed hither from 
 another town, fituated on the top of a 
 mountain in the neighbourhood, which thofe 
 pirates had deftroyed. Some ruins of the 
 old town are ftill extant. In order to fe- 
 cure the harbour flill more effectually, Ema- 
 nuel Philibert, duke of Savoy, built the fort 
 in the beginning of the laft century, toge~ 
 ther with the mole where the gallies are 
 rnoored. As I faid before, Ville Tranche is 
 
 built
 
 y LETTER xv. 247 
 
 built on the face of a barren rock, wafhed 
 by the fea j and there is not an acre of plain 
 ground within a mile of it. In fummer, the 
 reflexion of the fun from the rocks muft 
 make it intolerably hot ; for even at this 
 time of the year, I walked myfelf into a pro- 
 fufe fweat, by going about a quarter of a 
 mile to fee the gallies. 
 
 Pray remember me to our friends at 
 A -- 's, and believe me to be ever yours. 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 > 
 
 Nice, Januarys, 17*4.. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 IN your favour which I received by Mr. 
 M - 1, you remind me of my promife, 
 to communicate the remarks I have ftill to 
 make on the French nation ; and at the fame 
 time you fignify your opinion, that I am too 
 fevere in my former obfervations. You even 
 hint a fufpicion, that this feverity is owing 
 R 4 to
 
 * 4 8- LETTER XV. 
 
 to fome perfonal caufe of refentment j but, 
 I proteft, I have no particular caufe of 
 animofity againft any individual of that 
 country. I have neither obligation to, nor 
 quarrel with, any fubjeft of France j and 
 'when I meet with a Frenchman worthy of 
 my efteem, I can receive him into my friend- 
 fliip with as much cordiality, as I could feel 
 for any fellow citizen of the fame merit. I 
 even refpeft. the nation, for the number of 
 great me,n it has produced in all arts and 
 fciences. I refpeft the French officers, in 
 particular, for their gallantry and valour; 
 and efpecially for that generous humanity 
 which they e^ercife towards their enemies, 
 even amidft the horrors of war. This libe- 
 ral fpirit is the only eircumftance of antient 
 chivalry, which I think was worth preferving. 
 It had formerly flourifhed in England, but 
 was almoft extinguifhed in a fucceffion of 
 civil wars, which are always productive of 
 cruelty and rancour. It was Henry IV. of 
 France, (a real knight errant) who revived 
 it in Europe. He poffeffed that greatnefs of 
 mind, which can forgive injuries of the 
 deepcft dye : and as he had alfo the faculty 
 
 Of
 
 LETTER XV. ? 49 
 
 of diflinguifhing characters, he found his 
 account, in favouring with his friend/hip and 
 confidence, fome of thofe who had oppofed 
 him in the field with the moft inveterate per- 
 feverance. I know not whether he did more 
 fervice to mankind in general, by reviving 
 the practice of treating his prifoners with ge- 
 nerofity, than he prejudiced his own country 
 by patronizing the abfurd and pernicious 
 cuftom of duelling, and eftablifhing a punto> 
 founded in diametrical oppofition to common 
 fenfe and humanity. 
 
 I have often heard it obferved, that a 
 French officer is generally an agreeable com- 
 panion when he is turned of fifty. Without 
 all doubt, by that time, the fire of his viva- 
 city, which makes him fo troublefome in his 
 youth, will be confiderably abated, and io. 
 other refpefts, he muft be improved by his 
 experience. But there is a fundamental error 
 in the firft principles of his education, which 
 time rather confirms than removes. Early 
 prejudices are for the moft part converted into 
 habits of thinking ; and accordingly you will 
 find the old officers in the French fervice 
 
 raorq
 
 250 LETTER XV. 
 
 more bigotted than their juniors, to the 
 punctilios of falfe honour. 
 
 A lad of a good family no fooner enters 
 into the fervke, than he thinks it incumbent 
 upon him to {hew his courage in a rencon- 
 tre. His natural vivacity prompts him to 
 hazard in company every thing that comes 
 uppermoft, without any refpect to his fe- 
 niors or betters -, and ten to one but he fays 
 fomething, which he finds it necefiary to 
 maintain with his fword. The old officer, 
 inflead of checking his petulance, either by 
 rebuke or filent difapprobation, feems to be 
 pleafed with his impertinence, and encou- 
 rages every fally of his prefumption. Should 
 a quarfel enfue, and the parties go out, he 
 makes no efforts to compromife the difpute ; 
 but fits with a pleafing expectation to learn 
 the uTue of the rencontre. If the young 
 man is wounded, he kifles him with tranf- 
 port, extols his bravery, puts him into the 
 hands of the furgeon, and vifits him with 
 great tendernefs every day, until he is cured. 
 If he is killed on the fpot, he fhrugs up his 
 moulders fays, quelle dommage! cctcit un 
 almable enfant! ab, patience! and in three 
 
 hours
 
 LETTER XV. 251 
 
 hours the defun& is forgotten. You know, 
 in France, duels are forbid, on pain of 
 death: but this law is eafily evaded. The 
 perfon infulted walks out ; the antagonift un- 
 derftands the hint, and follows him into the 
 ftreet, where they juftle as if by accident, 
 draw their fwords, and one of them is either 
 killed or difabled, before any effectual means 
 can be ufed to part them. Whatever may 
 be the iflue of the combat, the magiflrate 
 takes no cognizance of it j at leaft, it is in^ 
 terpreted into an accidental rencounter, and 
 no penalty is incurred on either fide, Thus 
 the purpofe of the law is entirely defeated, 
 by a mofl ridiculous and cruel connivance. 
 The meereft trifles in converfation, a rafh 
 word, a diftant hint, even a look or fmile of 
 contempt, is fufficient to produce one of 
 thefe combats ; but injuries of a deeper dye, 
 fuch as terms of reproach, the lie direct:, a 
 blow, or even the menace of a blow, muft 
 be difcuffed with more formality. In any of 
 thefe cafes, the parties agree to meet in the 
 dominions of another prince, where they 
 can murder each other, without fear of pu- 
 nifhrnent. An officer who is ftrnck, or even 
 
 threatened
 
 25* L E T T E R XV. 
 
 threatened with a blow, muft not be quiet, 
 until he either kills his antagonift, or lofes 
 his own life. A friend of mine, (a Niflard) 
 who was in the fervice of France, told me, 
 that fome years ago, one of their captains, 
 in the heat of paffion, flruck his lieutenant. 
 They fought immediately : the lieutenant 
 was wounded and difarmed. As it was an 
 affront that could not be made up, he no 
 fooner recovered of his wounds, than he 
 called out the captain a fecond time. In a 
 word, they fought five times before the com- 
 bat proved decifive; at laft, the lieutenant 
 was left dead on the fpot. This was an 
 event which Efficiently proved the abfurdity 
 of the punctilio that gave rife to it. The 
 poor gentleman who was infulted, and out- 
 raged by the brutality of the aggreflbr, found 
 himfelf under the neceflity of giving him a 
 further occafion to take away his life. Ano^ 
 ther adventure of the fame kind happened 
 a few years ago in this place. A French 
 officer having threatened to flrike another, a 
 formal challenge enfuedj and it being agreed 
 that they fhould fight until one of them 
 dropped, each provided himfelf with a cou-, 
 
 pie
 
 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 f>le of pioneers to dig his grave on the fpot. 
 They engaged juft without one of the gates 
 of Nice, in prefence of a great number of 
 fpe<5tators, and fought with furprifmg fury, 
 until the ground was drenched with their 
 blood. At length one of them {tumbled, and 
 fell j upon which the other, who found him- 
 felf mortally wounded, advancing, and drop- 
 ping his point, faid, <c Je te donne ce que tu 
 masote." c< I give thee that which thou 
 haft taken from 'me.'' So faying, he dropped 
 dead upon the field. The other, who had 
 been the perfon infulted, was fo dangeroufly 
 wounded, that he could not rife. Some of 
 the fpectators carried him forthwith to the 
 beach, and putting him into a boat, con- 
 veyed him by fea to Antibes. The body of 
 his antagonift was denied Chriftian burial, 
 as he died without abfolution, and every 
 body allowed that his foul went to hell : but 
 the gentlemen of the army declared, that he 
 died like a man of honour. Should a man 
 be never fo well inclined to make atonement 
 in a peaceable manner, for an infult given in 
 the heat of paflion, or in the fury of intoxi- 
 cation, it cannot be received. Even an in- 
 i voluntary
 
 254 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 voluntary trefpafs from ignorance, or ab- 
 fence of mind, muft be cleanfed with blood. 
 A certain noble lord, of our country, when 
 he was yet a commoner, on his travels, in- 
 volved himfelf in a dilemma of this fort, at 
 the court of Lorrain. He had been riding 
 out, and ftrolling along a public walk, in a 
 brown fludy, with his horfe-whip in his 
 hand, perceived a caterpillar crawling on the 
 back of a marquis, who chanced to be be- 
 fore him. He never thought of the petit 
 maltre ; but lifting up his whip, in order to 
 kill the infecl, laid it acrofs his fhoulders 
 with a crack, that alarmed all the company 
 in the walk. The marquis's fword was pro- 
 duced in a moment, and the aggrefTor in 
 great hazard of his life, as he had no wea- 
 pon of defence. He was no fooner waked 
 from his reverie, than he begged pardon, 
 and offered to make all proper conceflions 
 for what he had done through mere inad- 
 vertency. The marquis would have admitted 
 his excufes, had there been any precedent of 
 fuch an affront wafhed away without blood. 
 A conclave of honour was immediately af- 
 fembled ; and after long difputes, they agreed, 
 
 that
 
 L E T T E R XV. 255 
 
 that an involuntary offence, efpecially from 
 fuck a kind of man, (Tun tel horame^ might be 
 attoned by conceflions. That you may have 
 fome idea of the fmall beginning, from 
 which many gigantic quarrels arife, I fhall 
 recount one that lately happened at Lyons, 
 as I had it from the mouth of a perfon who 
 was an ear and eye-witnefs of the tranfaction. 
 Two Frenchmen, at a public ordinary, 
 ftunned the reft of the company with their 
 loquacity. At length one of them, with a 
 fupercilious air, afked the other's name. " I 
 never tell my name, (faid he) but in a whif- 
 per." f< You may have very good reafons 
 for keeping it fecret," replied the firft. " I 
 will tell you," (refumed the other) : with 
 thefe words, he rofe ; and going round to 
 him, pronounced, loud enough to be heard 
 by the whole company, " Je mappelle Pierre 
 Payfan j et wits efes un impertinent" So fay* 
 ing, he walked out : the interrogator fol- 
 lowed him into the ftreet, where they juftled, 
 drew their fwords, and engaged. He who 
 sfked the queftion was run through the 
 body; but his relations were fo powerful, 
 that the victor was obliged to fly his country. 
 
 He
 
 256 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 He was tried and condemned in his abfence j 
 his goods were confifcated; his wife broke 
 her heart ; his children were reduced to beg- 
 gary ; and he himfelf is now flarving in ex- 
 ile. In England, we have not yet adopted 
 all the implacability of the punctilio. A gen- 
 tleman may be infulted even with a blow, 
 and furvive, after having once hazarded his 
 life agamfr, the aggrefibr. The laws of ho- 
 nour in our country do not oblige him ei- 
 ther to (lay the perfon from whom he re- 
 ceived the injury, or even to fight to the laft 
 drop of his own blood. One finds no exam- 
 ples of duels among the Romans, who were 
 certainly as brave and as delicate in their no- 
 tions of honour, as the French. Cornelius 
 Nepos tells us, that a famous Athenian ge- 
 neral, having a difpute with his colleague, 
 who was of Sparta, a man of a fiery difpo- 
 iition, this laft lifted up his cane to flrike 
 him. Had this happened to a French petit 
 maitre, death muft have enfued : but mark 
 what followed. The Athenian, far from 
 refenting the outrage, in what is now called 
 a gentleman-like manner, faid, <f do, flrike 
 if you pleafej but hear me." He never 
 
 dreamed
 
 LETTER XV. 257 
 
 dreamed of cutting the Lacedemonian's throat; 
 but bore with his paffionate temper, as the 
 infirmity of a friend who had a thoufand 
 good qualities to overbalance that defeft. 
 
 I need not expatiate upon the folly and the 
 mifchief which are countenanced and pro- 
 moted by the modern practice of duelling. 
 I need not give examples of friends who have 
 murdered each other, in obedience to this fa- 
 vage cuftom, even while their hearts were melt* 
 ing with mutual tendernefs ; nor will I par- 
 ticularize the inftances which I myfelf know, 
 of whole families ruined, of women and chil- 
 dren made widows and orphans, of parents de- 
 prived of only fons, and of valuable lives loft to 
 the community, by duels,'which had been pro- 
 duced by one unguarded expreflion, uttered 
 without intention of offence, in the heat of 
 difpute and altercation. I fliall not infift upon 
 the hardfhip of a worthy man's being oblig- 
 ed to devote himfelf to death, becaufe it is his 
 misfortune to be infulted by a brute, a bully, 
 a drunkard, or a madman : neither will I 
 enlarge upon this fide of the abfurdity, which 
 indeed amounts to a contradiction in terms ; 
 I mean the dilemma to which a gent 1 
 
 VOL. I. S 'in
 
 258 LETTER XV. 
 
 in the army is reduced, when he receives an 
 affront : if he does not challenge and fight his 
 antagonist, he is broke with infamy by a 
 court-martial; if he fights and kills him, he 
 is tried by the civil power, convicted of mur- 
 der, and, if the royal mercy does not inter- 
 .pofe, he is infallibly hanged : all this, ex- 
 clufive of the rilque of his own life in the 
 duel, and his confcience being burthened 
 with the blood of a man, whom perhaps he 
 has facrifked to a falfe punctilio, even con- 
 trary to his own judgment. Thefe are reflec- 
 tions which I know your own good fenfe 
 will fuggeft, but I will make bold to propofe 
 
 ^a remedy for this gigantic evil, which feems 
 to gain ground every day : let a court be in- 
 
 ^flituted for taking cognizance of all breaches 
 of honour, with power to punifh by fine, 
 pillory, fentence of infamy, outlawry, and 
 exile, by virtue of an act of parliament made 
 for this purpofe; and all perfons infulted, 
 fliall have recourfe to this tribunal : let every 
 man who feeks perfonal reparation with, 
 fword, piflol, or other mflrument of death, 
 be declared infamous, and banifhed the king- 
 dom : let every man, convicted of having ufed
 
 LETTER XV. 259 
 
 a fword or piftol, or other mortal weapon, 
 againft another, either in duel or rencountre, 
 occafioned by any previous quarrel, be fubjeft 
 to the feme penalties : if any man is killed 
 in a duel, let his body be hanged upon a 
 public gibbet, for a certain time, and then 
 given to the furgeons : let his antagonift be 
 hanged as a murderer, and differed alfoj 
 and fome mark of infamy be fet on the me- 
 mory of both. I apprehend fuch regulations 
 would put an effectual ftop to the practice of 
 duelling, which nothing but the fear of in- 
 famy can fupport; for I am perfuaded, that 
 no being, capable of reflection, would pro- 
 fecute the trade of aflaffination at the rifque 
 of his own life, if this hazard was at the 
 fame time reinforced by the certain profpSct: 
 of infamy and ruin. Every perfon of fenti- 
 ment would in that cafe allow, that an offi- 
 cer, who- in a duel robs a deferving woman 
 of her hufband, a number of children of their 
 father, a family of its fupport, and the com- 
 munity of a fellow citizen, has as little me- 
 rit to plead from expofing his own perfon, 
 as a highwayman, or houfebreaker, who every 
 day rifques his life to rob or plunder that 
 S 2 which
 
 2 6o L E T T E R XV, 
 
 which is not of half the importance to fociety, 
 I think it was from the Buccaneers of Ame- 
 rica, that the Englifh have learned to abolifh 
 one folecifm in the practice of duelling : thofe 
 adventurers decided their perfonal quarrels 
 with piftols 5 and this improvement has been 
 adopted in Great Britain with good fuccefs ; 
 though in France, and other parts of the con- 
 tinent, it is looked upon as a proof of their 
 barbarity. It is, however, the only circum- 
 ftance of duelling, which favours of common 
 fenfe, as it puts all mankind upon a level, 
 the old with the young, the weak with the 
 ftrong, the unwieldy with the nimble, and 
 the man who knows not how to hold a fword 
 with the fyadajjin, who has praclifed fenc- 
 ing from the cradle. What glory is there 
 in a man's vanquifhing an adverfary over 
 whom he has a manifeft advantage ? To 
 abide the ifiue of a combat in this cafe, does 
 not even require that moderate fhare of refo- 
 lution which nature has indulged to her com- 
 mon children. Accordingly, we have feen 
 many inftances of a coward's provoking a 
 man of honour to battle. In the reign of 
 our fecond Charles, when duds flourifhed in 
 
 all
 
 L E T T E R XV. 261 
 
 all their abfurdity, and the feconds fought 
 while their principals were engaged, Villiers, 
 Duke of Buckingham, not content with hav- 
 ing debauched the countefs of Shrewfbury, 
 and publifhing her fhame, took all opportu- 
 nities of provoking the earl to fingle combat, 
 hoping he fnould have an eafy conqueft, his 
 lordfhip being a puny little creature, quiet, 
 inoffenfive, and every way unfit for fuch per- 
 fonal contefts. He ridiculed him on all oc- 
 cafions 5 and at laft declared in public com- 
 pany, that there was no glory in cuckolding 
 Shrewfbury, who had not fpirit to refent the 
 injury. This was an infult which could not 
 be overlooked. The earl fent him a chal- 
 lenge j and they agreed to fight, at Barns- 
 Elms, in prefence of two gentlemen, whom 
 they chofe for their feconds. All the four 
 engaged at the fame time : the firfl thruft 
 was fatal to the earl of Shrewfbury ; and his 
 friend killed the duke's fecond at the fame 
 inftant. Buckingham, elated with his ex- 
 ploit, fet out immediately for the earl's feat 
 at Cliefden, where he lay with his wife, after 
 having, boafted of the murder of her hufband, 
 whofe blood he fhewed her upon his fword, 
 S 3 as
 
 262 LETTER XV. 
 
 as a trophy of his prowefs. But this very 
 duke of Buckingham was little better than 
 a poltroon at bottom. When the gallant earl 
 of Offer y challenged him to fight in Chelfea 
 fields, he crofTed the water to Batterfea, where 
 he pretended to wait for his lordfhip j and 
 then complained to the houfe of lords, that 
 Offory had given him the rendezvous, and 
 did not keep his appointment. He knew the 
 houfe would interpofe in the quarrel, and he 
 xvas not difappointed. Their lordfhips obliged 
 them both to give their word of honour, that 
 their quarrel fhould have no other confe~ 
 quences. 
 
 I ought to make an apology for having 
 troubled a lady with fo many obfervations 
 on a fubjecl: fo unfuitable to the foftnefs of 
 - the fair fex j but I know you cannot be in- 
 different to any thing that fo nearly affects 
 the interests of humanity, which I can fafely 
 aver have alone fuggefled every thing which 
 has been faid, by 
 
 j 
 Madam, 
 
 Your very humble fervanti 
 LET-
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 Nke, 
 
 DEAR DOCTOR, 
 
 A Few days ago, I rode out with two gen- 
 tlemen of this country, to fee a ftream 
 of water which was formerly conveyed in an 
 aqueduft to the antient city of Cemenelion, 
 from whence this place is diftant about a 
 mile, though feparated by abrupt rocks and 
 deep hollows, which lafl are here honoured 
 with the name of vallies. The water, which 
 is exquifitely cool, and light and pure, gu flies 
 from the middle of a rock by a hole which 
 leads to a fubterranean aqueduct carried 
 through the middle of the mountain. This 
 is a Roman work, and the more I confidered 
 it, appeared the more flupendous. A pea- 
 fant who lives upon the fpot told us, he had 
 entered by this hole at eight in the morning, 
 and advanced fo far, that it was four in the 
 afternoon before he came out. He faid he 
 walked in the water, through a regular ca- 
 S 4 nal
 
 264 LETTER XVI. 
 
 nal formed of a hard flone, lined with a kind 
 of cement, and vaulted over- head ; but fo 
 high in moil parts he could fland upright, 
 yet in others, the bed of the canal was fo 
 filled with earth and ftones, that he was 
 obliged to floop in paffinsj. He faid that 
 there were air-holes at certain diftances (and 
 
 indeed I faw one of thefe not far from the 
 
 * 
 
 prefent iflue) that there were fome openings 
 and ftone feats on the fides, and here and 
 there figures of men formed of flone, with 
 hammers and working tools in their hands. 
 I arn apt to believe the fellow romanced a lit- 
 tle, in order to render his adventure the more 
 marvellous : but I am certainly informed, that 
 feveral perfons have entered this paflage, and 
 proceeded a confiderable way by the light of 
 torches, without arriving at the fonrce, which 
 (if we may believe the tradition of the coun- 
 try) is at the diftance of eight leagues from 
 this opening j but this is altogether incredi- 
 ble. The ftream is now called la fcntaine ds 
 wurailk) and is carefully conducted by diffe- 
 rent branches into the adjacent vineyards and 
 gardens, for watering the ground. On the 
 ficlp cf the fame mountain, more foutherly,
 
 LETTER XVI. 265 
 
 at the diftance of half a mile, there is ano- 
 ther ftill more copious difcharge of the fame 
 kind of water, called la fource du temple. It 
 was conveyed through the fame kind of paf- 
 fage, and put to the fame ufe as the other; 
 and I fliould imagine they are both from the 
 fame fource, which, though hitherto undif- 
 
 covered, muft be at a confiderable diftance, 
 
 4. ' 
 
 as the mountain is continued for feveral 
 leagues to the weft ward, without exhibiting 
 the leaft figns of water in any other part. 
 But, exclufive of the fubterraneaii conduits, 
 both thefe ftreams muft have been conveyed 
 through aqueducts extending from hence to 
 Gemenelion over fteep rocks and deep ravines, 
 at a prodigious expence. The water from 
 this four ce du temple , iflues from a ftone build- 
 ing which covers the paffage in the rock. It 
 ferves to turn feveral olive, corn, and paper 
 mills, being conveyed through a modern 
 aqueduct raifed upon a paultry arcade at 
 the expence of the public, and afterwards is 
 branched off in very fmall ftreams, for the be- 
 nefit of this parched and barren country. 
 The Romans were fo ufed to bathing, that 
 {hey could not exift without a great quan- 
 tity
 
 266 L E T T E R XV. 
 
 tity of water -, and this, I imagine, is one 
 reafon that induced them to fpare no labour 
 and expence in bringing it from a diftance, 
 when they had not plenty of it at home. 
 But, befides this motive, they had ano- 
 ther : they were fo nice and delicate in their 
 tafte of water, that they took great pains to 
 fupply themfelves with the pureft and lighteft 
 from afar, for drinking and culinary ufes, 
 even while they had plenty of an inferior fort 
 for their baths, and other domeftic purpofes. 
 There are fprings of good water On the fpot 
 where Cemenelion flood : but there is a hard- 
 nefs in all well-water, which quality is de- 
 pofited in running a long courfe, efpecially 
 if expofed to the influence of the fun and 
 air. The Romans, therefore, had good rea- 
 fon to foften and meliorate this element, by 
 conveying it a good length of way in open 
 aqueducts. What was ufed in the baths of 
 Cemenelion, they probably brought in leaden 
 pipes, fome of which have been dug up very 
 lately by accident. You muft know, I made 
 a fecond excurfion to thefe antient ruins, and 
 meafured the arena of the amphitheatre with 
 packthread. It is an oval figure 5 the longefl 
 
 diameter
 
 L E T T E R XV. 267 
 
 diameter extending to about one hundred and 
 thirteen feet, and the fhorteft to eighty-eight ; 
 but I will not anfwer for the exaftnefs of the 
 meafurement. In the center of it, there was 
 a fquare Hone, with an iron ring, to which 
 I fuppofe the wild beafls were tied, to pre- 
 vent their fpringing upon the fpeclators. Some 
 of the feats remain, with two oppofite en- 
 trances, confiding each of one large gate, 
 and two lateral fmaller doors, arched : there 
 is alib a confiderable portion of the external 
 wall; but no columns, or other ornaments 
 of architecture. Hard by, in the garden of 
 the count de Gubernatis, I faw the remains 
 of a bath, fronting the portal of the temple, 
 which I have defcribed in a former letter j 
 and here were fome fhafts of marble pillars, 
 particularly a capital of the Corinthian order, 
 beautifully cut, of white alabafter. Here the 
 count. found a large quantity of fine marble, 
 which he has converted to various ufes ; and 
 fome mutilated ftatues, bronze as well as 
 marble. The peafant fhewed me fome brafs 
 and filver medals, which he has picked up at 
 different times in labouring the ground ; to~ 
 gether with feveral oblong beads of coloured 
 
 glafs,
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 glafs, which were ufed as ear-rings by the 
 Pvoman ladies ; and a fmall feal of agate, 
 very much defaced. Two of the medals were 
 of Maximian and Gallienus; the reft were 
 fb confumed, that I could not read the le- 
 gend. You know, that on public occafions, 
 fnch as games, and certain facrifices, hand- 
 fuls of medals were thrown among the peo~ 
 pie 5 a practice, which accounts for the great 
 number which have been already found in 
 this difrricl:. I faw fome fubterranean pafla- 
 ges, which feemed to have been common- 
 fewers j and a great number of old walls flill 
 {landing along the brink of a precipice, 
 which overhangs the Paglion. The peafants 
 tell me, that they never dig above a yard in 
 depth, without finding vaults or cavities. 
 All the vineyards and garden-grounds, for a 
 considerable extent, are vaulted underneath ; 
 and all the ground that produces their grapes, 
 fruit, and garden-fluff, is no more than the 
 crumbled lime and rubbifh of old Roman 
 buildings, mixed with manure brought from 
 Nice. This antient town commanded a moft 
 noble profpe6l of the fea ; but is altogether 
 jnacceflibie by any kind of wheel carriage. 
 
 It
 
 LETTER XVL 
 
 If you make fhift to climb to it on horfeback, 
 you cannot defcend to the plain again, with- 
 out running the rifk of breaking your neck. 
 About feven or eight miles on the other 
 fide of Nice, are the remains of another 
 Roman monument, which has greatly fuf- 
 fered from the barbarity of fucceflive ages. 
 It was a trophy erected by the fenate of 
 Rome, in honour of Auguftus Caefar, when 
 he had totally fubdued all the ferocious na- 
 tions of thefe Maritime Alps ; fuch as the 
 Trumpiiini Camuni, Vennonetes, Ifnarci, 
 Breuni, &c. It flands upon the top of a 
 mountain which overlooks the town of Mo- 
 naco, and now exhibits the appearance of an 
 old ruined tower. There is a defcription of 
 what it was, in an Italian manufcript, by 
 which it appears to have been a beautiful 
 edifice of two ftories, adorned with columns 
 and trophies in alto relievo, with a ftatue of 
 Auguftus Caefar on the top. On one of the 
 fides was an infcription, fome words of which 
 are ftill legible, upon the fragment of a mar- 
 ble found clofe to the old building : but the 
 whole is preferved in Pliny, who gives it in 
 thefe words, lib, iii. cap. 20. 
 
 IMPE-
 
 570 LETTER XV. 
 
 IMPERATORI CAESARI DJVI. F. AVG. PONT. 
 
 MAX. IMP. XIV. TRIBVNIC. POTEST. XVIII. 
 S. P. Q^R. 
 
 QVODEIVS DVCTV, AVSPICIISQ^ GENTES ALPINE 
 OMNES, QVJE A MARI SVPERO AD INFERVM PERTI- 
 -NEBANT, SVB IMPERIVM PO. RO. SVNT REDAC. 
 GENTES ALPINE DEVICT-E. TRVMPILINI CAMV- 
 -NI, VENNONETES, ISNARCI, BREVNI, NAVNES, 
 FOCVNATES, VINDELICORVM GENTES QVATVOR, 
 CONSVANETES, VIRVCINATES, LICATES, GATE- 
 -NATES, ABISONTES, RVGVSCI, SVANETES, CA- 
 -LVCONES, BRIXENTES, LEPONTII, VIBERI, NAN. 
 TVATES, SEDVNI,VERAGRI,SALASSI, ACITAVONES 
 MEDVLLI, VCINI, CATVRIGES, ERIGIANI, SOGI- 
 -VNTII, EBRODVNTII, NEMALONES, EDENETES, 
 ESVBIANI, VEAMINI, GALLITJE, TRIVLLATI, 
 ECTINI, VERGVNNI, EGVITVRI. NEMENTVRI, 
 ORATELLI, NERVSCI, VELAVNI, SVETRI. 
 
 Pliny, however, is miflaken in placing 
 this infcription on a trophy near the Augufla 
 frtztoriai now called Aojla* in Piedmont : 
 where, indeed, there is a triumphal arch, 
 but no infcription. This noble monument 
 of antiquity was firft of all deftroyed by 
 fire ; and afterwards, in Gothic times, con- 
 verted into a kind of fortification. The 
 marbles belonging to it were either employed 
 in adorning the church of the adjoining 
 
 village,
 
 L E T T E R XV. 271 
 
 village *, which is ftill called Turbia, a cor- 
 ruption of Trophsea j or converted into 
 tomb-Hones, or carried off to be preferved 
 in one or two churches of Nice. At prefent, 
 the work has the appearance of a ruinous 
 watch-tower, with Gothic battlements; and as 
 fuch {lands undiftinguifhed by thofe who tra- 
 vel by by fea from hence to Genoa, and other 
 ports of Italy. I think I have now defcribed all 
 the antiquities in the neighbourhood of Nice, 
 except fome catacombs or caverns, dug in a 
 rock at St. Hofpice, which Bufching, in his 
 geography, has defcribed as a ftrong town and 
 lea-port, though in fact, there is not the 
 leaft veftige either of town or village. It is 
 
 * This was formerly a confiderable town called Villa 
 Martis, and pretends to the honour of having given birth 
 to Aulus Helvius, who fucceeded Commodus as emperor 
 of Rome, by the name of Pertinax, which he acquired from 
 his obftinate refufal of that dignity, when it was forced upon 
 him by the fenate. You know this man, though of very 
 low birth, poflefied many excellent qualities, and was bafely 
 murdered by the praetorian guards, at the inftigation of 
 Didius Julianus. For my part, I could never read without 
 emotion, that celebrated elogium of the fenate who ex- 
 claimed after his death, Pertinace imperante, fecurl viximus 9 
 neminem timuimus^ patre plo t pairs f<natus t patre omnium 
 bworurn.
 
 272 LETTER XVI. 
 
 a point of land almoft oppofite to the tower 
 of Turbia, with the mountains of which it 
 forms a bay, where there is a great and cu- 
 rious fifhery of the tunny fifh, farmed of the 
 king of Sardinia. Upon this point there is 
 a watch-tower frill kept in repair, to give 
 notice to the people in the neighbourhood, iri 
 cafe any Barbary corfairs ihould appear on 
 the coaft. The catacombs were in all pro- 
 bability dug, in former times, as places of 
 retreat for the inhabitants upon fudden de- 
 fcents of the Saracens, who greatly infefted 
 thefe feas for feveral fucceiTive centuries. 
 Many curious perfons have entered them 
 and proceeded a confiderable way by torch- 
 light, without arriving at the further extre- 
 mity ; and the tradition of the country is, 
 that they reach as far as the ancient city of 
 Cemenelion j but this is an idle fuppofition, 
 almofl: as ridiculous as that whjch afcribes 
 them to the labour and ingenuity of the 
 fairies : they con fill of narrow fubterranean 
 pafTages, vaulted with flone and lined with 
 cement. Here and there one finds detached 
 apartments like ffnall chambers, where I fup- 
 pofe the people remairied concealed till the 
 
 danger
 
 LETTER XVI. 273 
 
 danger was over. Diodorus Siculus tells us, 
 that the antient inhabitants of this country 
 ufually lived under ground. " Ligures in 
 terra cub ant lit plurlmum j f lures ad cava faxa 
 fpeluncafque ab nature, fact as , ubl tegantur cor- 
 pora y diverfttnt" This was likewife the cuf- 
 torn of the Troglodyte, a people bordering 
 upon ^Ethiopia, who, according to ./Elian, 
 lived in fubterranean caverns ; from whence, 
 indeed, they took their name r^u-yX^ figni- 
 fying a cavern j and Virgil, in his Georgics, 
 describes them thus : 
 
 " J$fi in defv/is fpecubus> fecurafub alt a 
 " Ocia agunt terra'* 
 
 Thefe are dry fubjecls ; but fuch as the 
 country affords. If we have not white pa- 
 per, we muft fnow with brown. Even that 
 which I am now fcrawling may be ufeful, 
 if not entertaining : it is therefore the more 
 confidently offered by, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Yours affe&ionately. 
 
 VOL. I. T LET-
 
 I 2 74 ] 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 Nice, July z, 1764, 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 NICE was originally a colony from 
 Marfeilles. You know the Phocians 
 (if we may believe Juftin and Polybius) fet- 
 tled in Gaul, and built Marfeilles, during 
 the reign of Tarquinius Prifcus at Rome. 
 This city flourished to fuch a degree, that 
 long before the Romans were in a condition 
 to extend their dominion, it fent forth colo- 
 nies, and errablifhed them along the coaft of 
 Liguria. Of thefe, Nice, or Nicaea, was one 
 of the mofl remarkable; fo called, in all 
 probability, from the Greek word Nf, fig- 
 nifying Viftoria, in confequence of fome im- 
 portant viclory obtained over the Salij and 
 Ligures, who were the antient inhabitants of 
 this country. Nice, with its mother city, 
 being in the -fequel fubdued by the Romans, 
 fell afterwards fucceflively under the domi- 
 nion of the Goths, Burgundians, and Fr? nks, 
 
 the
 
 LETTER XVII. 275 
 
 .the kings of Aries, and the kings of Naples, as 
 counts of Provence. In the year one thou- 
 fand three hundred and eighty-eight, the 
 city and county of Nice being but ill pro- 
 tected by the family of Durazzo, voluntarily 
 furrendered themfelves to Amadseus, fur- 
 named the Red, duke of Savoy ; and fince 
 that period, they have continued as part of 
 that potentate's dominions, except at fuch 
 times as they have been overrun and pof- 
 feffed by the power of France, which hath 
 always been a troublefome neighbour to this 
 country. The caftle was begun by the Arra- 
 gonian counts of Provence, and afterwards 
 enlarged by feveral fucceffive dukes of Savoy, 
 fo as to be deemed impregnable, until the 
 modern method of befieging began to take 
 place. A fruitlefs attempt was made upon 
 it in the year one thoufand five hundred and 
 forty-three, by the French and Turks in 
 conjunction : but it was reduced feveral times 
 after that period, and is now in ruins. The 
 celebrated engineer Vauban, being command- 
 ed by Louis XIV. to give in a plan for forti- 
 fying Nice, propofed, that the river Paglion 
 fhould be turned into a new channel, fo as 
 T 2 to
 
 276 LETTER XVII. 
 
 to furround the town to the north, and fall 
 into the harbour ; that where the Paglion 
 now runs to the weft ward of the city walls, 
 there fliould be a deep ditch to be filled with 
 fea- water; and that a fortrefs iliould be built 
 to the weftward of this fofle. Thefe particu- 
 lars might be executed at no very great ex- 
 pence; but, I apprehend, they would be in- 
 effectual, as the town is commanded by eve- 
 ry hill in the neighbourhood ; and the exha- 
 lations from flagnating fea-water would in- 
 fallibly render the air unwholefome. Not- 
 withftanding the undoubted antiquity of 
 Nice, very few monuments of that antiquity 
 now remain. The inhabitants fay, they 
 were either deftroyed by the Saracens in their 
 fucceflive defcents upon the coaft, by the bar- 
 barous nations in their repeated incurfions, 
 or ufed in fortifying the caftle, as well .as in 
 building other edifices. The city of Ceme- 
 nelion, however, was fubject to the fame dif- 
 afters, and even entirely ruined; neverthe- 
 kfs, we ftill find remains of its antient fplen- 
 dor. There have been likewife a few ftones 
 found at Nice, with antient infcriptions ; but 
 there is nothing of this kind ftanding, un- 
 
 lefs
 
 LETTER XVII. 277 
 
 lefs we give the name of antiquity to a mar- 
 ble crofs on the road to Provence, about half 
 a mile from the city. It ftands upon a 
 pretty high pedeflal with fteps, under a pretty 
 ftone cupola or dome, fupportcd by four Ionic 
 pillars, on the fpot where Charles V. empe- 
 ror of Germany, Francis I. of France, and 
 pope Paul II. agreed to have a conference, 
 in order to determine all their difputes. The 
 emperor came hither by fea, with a power^ 
 ful fleet, and the French king by land, at 
 the head of a numerous army. All the en- 
 deavours of his holinefs, however, could not 
 effect a peace j but they agreed to a truce 
 of ten years. Mezerai affirms, that thefe 
 two great princes never faw one another on 
 this occafion j and that this fhynefs was ow- 
 ing to the management of the pope, whofe 
 private defigns might have been fruftrated, 
 had they come to a perfonal interview. In 
 the front of the colonade, there is a fmall 
 ftone, with an infcription in Latin, which 
 is fo high, and fo much defaced, that I caiir- 
 not read it. 
 
 In the fixteenth century there was a col- 
 lege erected at Nice, by Emanuel Phjlibert, 
 T 3 duke
 
 278 LETTER XVII. 
 
 duke of Savoy, for granting degrees to ftu- 
 dents of law j and in the year one thoufand 
 fix hundred and fourteen, Charles Emanuel 
 I. inftituted the fenate of Nice j confirming 
 of a prefident, and a certain number of fe- 
 nators, who are diftinguifhed by their pur- 
 ple robes, and other enfigns of authority. 
 They adminifter juftice, having the power of 
 life and death, not only through the whole 
 county of Nice, but caufes are evoked from 
 Oneglla, and fome other places, to their tri- 
 bunal, which is the dernier refort, from 
 whence there is no appeal. The command- 
 ant, however, by virtue of his military power 
 and unreflricled authority, takes upon him 
 to punifh individuals by imprifonment, cor- 
 poral pains, and baniihment, without confult- 
 ing the fenate, or indeed, obferving any 
 form of trial. The only redrefs againfl any 
 tmjufr. exercife of this abfolute power, is by 
 complaint to the king; and you know, what 
 chance a poor man has for being redrefled in 
 this manner. 
 
 With refpect to religion, I may fafely fay, 
 that here fuperftition reigns under the darkefl 
 /hades of ignorance and prejudice. I think 
 
 there
 
 LETTER XVII. 279 
 
 there are ten convents and three nunneries 
 within and without the walls of Nice ; and 
 among them all, I never could hear of one 
 man who had made any tolerable advances 
 in any kind of human learning. All eccle- 
 fiaflics are exempted from any exertion of 
 civil power, being under the immediate pro- 
 tection and authority of the bifhop, or his 
 vicar. The bilhop of Nice is fuffragan of 
 the archbifhop of Ambrun in France; and 
 the revenues of the fee amount to between 
 five and fix hundred pounds flerling. We 
 have likewife an office of the inquiiition, 
 though I do not hear that it prefumes to 
 execute any acts of jurifdiftion, without the 
 king's fpecial permiffion. All the churches 
 are fancluaries for all kinds of criminals, ex- 
 cept thofe guilty of high treafon ; and the 
 prieils are extremely jealous of their privi- 
 leges in this particular. They receive, with 
 open arms, murderers, robbers, fmugglers, 
 fraudulent bankrupts, and felons of every 
 denomination ; and never give them up, until 
 after having flipulated for their lives and li- 
 berty. I need not enlarge upon the perni- 
 cious confequences of this infamous prero- 
 T 4 gative,
 
 2 8o LETTER XVII. 
 
 gative, calculated to raife and extend the 
 power and influence of the Roman church, 
 on the ruins of morality and good order. I 
 favv a fellow, who had three days before mur- 
 dered his wife in the laft month of preg- 
 nancy, taking the air with great compofure 
 and fercnity, on the fleps of a church in 
 Florence 5 and nothing is more common, 
 than to fee the mofl execrable villains divert- 
 ing themfelves in the cloyfters of fome con- 
 vents at Rome. 
 
 Nice abounds with noblefTe, marquifles, 
 counts, and barons. Of thefe, three or four 
 families are really refpeclable : the reft are 
 novi homines, fprung from Bourgeois, who 
 have faved a little money by their different 
 occupations, and raifed themfelves to the 
 rank of noblefle by purchafe. One is de- 
 fended from an avocatj another from an 
 apothecary j a third from a retailer of wine, 
 a fourth from a dealer in anchovies ; and I 
 am told, there is actually a count at Ville- 
 franche, whofe father fold macaroni in the 
 flreets. A man in this country may buy a 
 marquifate, or a county, for the value of 
 three or four hundred pounds flerling, and 
 
 the
 
 LETTER XVII. 281 
 
 the title follows the fief : but he may pur- 
 chafe lettres de nobleffe for about thirty or forty 
 guineas. In Savoy, there are fix hundred fa- 
 milies of noblefle ; the greater part of which 
 have not above one hundred crowns a year to 
 maintain their dignity. In the mountains of 
 Piedmont, and even in this county of Nice, 
 there are fome reprefentatives of very antient 
 and noble families, reduced to the condition 
 of common peafants , but they frill retain the 
 antient pride of their houfes, and boafl of 
 the noble blood that runs in their veins. A 
 gentleman told me, that in travelling through 
 the mountains, he was obliged to pafs a 
 night in the cottage of one of thefe rufticated 
 nobles, who called to his fon in the evening, 
 " Chevalier ', as tu donnj a manger aux cochons" 
 This, however, is not the cafe with the no- 
 bleffe of Nice. Two or three of them have 
 about four or five hundred a year : the reft, 
 in general, may have about one hundred 
 piftoles, arifing from the filk, oil, wine, 
 and oranges, produced in their fmall planta- 
 tions, where they have alfo country houfes. 
 Some few of thefe are well built, commodi- 
 ous, and agreeably fituated 5 but, for the 
 
 moft
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 mod part, they are miferable enough. Our 
 noblefle, notwithstanding their origin, and 
 the cheap rate at which their titles have been 
 obtained, are neverthelefs extremely tenacious 
 of their privilege?, very delicate in maintain- 
 ing the etiquette, and keep at a very ftately 
 diftance from the Bourgeoifie. How they 
 live in their families, I do not choofe to en- 
 quire; but, in public, Madame appears in 
 her robe of gold, or filver fluff, with her 
 powder and frifure, her perfumes, her paint 
 and her patches ; while Moniieur Le Comte 
 jftruts about in his lace and embroidery. 
 Rouge and fard are more peculiarly neceilary 
 in this country, where the complexion and 
 Ikin are naturally fwarthy and yellow. I 
 have like wife obferved, that mofl of the fe- 
 males are pot-bellied ; 3 circumftance ow- 
 ing, I believe, to the great quantity of ve- 
 getable trafli which they eat. All the horfes, 
 rnuks, afies, and cattle, which feed upon 
 grafg, have the farae diftenfion. This kind 
 of food produces fuch acid juices in the #o- 
 mach, as excite a perpetual fenfe of hunger. 
 I have been often amazed at the voracious 
 appetites of thefe people. You muil not 
 
 expect
 
 LETTER XVII. 283 
 
 expect that I fhould defcribe the tables and 
 the hofpitality of our NhTard gentry. Our 
 conful, who is a very honeft man, told me, 
 he had lived four and thirty years in the 
 country, without having once eat or drank 
 in any of their houfes. 
 
 The noblefle of Nice cannot leave tlie 
 country without exprefs leave from the king ; 
 and this leave, when obtained, is for a li- 
 mited time, which they dare not exceed, on 
 pain of incurring his majefty's difpleafure. 
 They inuft, therefore, endeavour to find 
 amufements at home ; and this, I appre- 
 hend, would be no eafy talk for people of 
 an active fpirit or reftlefs difpofition. True 
 it is, the religion of the country fupplies a 
 never failing fund of paftime to thofe who 
 have any reliih for devotion j and this is 
 here a prevailing tafte. We have had tran- 
 fient vifits of a puppet-fhew, flrolling mufi- 
 cians, and rope-dancers j but they did not 
 like their quarters, and decamped without 
 beat of drum. In the fummer, about eight 
 or nine at night, part of the noblefle may be 
 feen aflembled in a place called the Pare ; 
 which is, indeed, a fort of a flreet formed 
 4 b Y
 
 284 LETTER XVII. 
 
 by a row of very paltry houfes on one fide, 
 and on the other, by part of the town-wall, 
 which fcreens it from a profpec"l of the fea, 
 the only object that could render it agreeable. 
 Here you may perceive the noblefle ftretched 
 in pairs upon logs of wood, like fo many 
 feals upon the rocks by moon-light, each 
 dame with her cicijbeo : for, you muft un- 
 tlerftand, this Italian fafhion prevails at 
 Nice among all ranks of people ; and there 
 is not fuch a paflion as jealoufy known. The 
 huiband and the cicijbeo live together as 
 fworn brothers j and the wife and the mif- 
 trefs embrace each other with marks of the 
 warmeft affection. I do not choofe to enter 
 into particulars. I cannot open the fcanda- 
 lous chronicle of Nice, without hazard of 
 contamination. With refpecl: to delicacy and 
 decorum, you may perufe dean Swift's de- 
 fcription of the Yahoos, and then you will 
 have fome idea of thefporcberie, that diftin- 
 guifhes the gallantry of Nice. But the Pare 
 is^not the only place of public refort for our 
 nobleffe in a fummer's evening. Jufl without 
 one of our gates, you will find them feated 
 in ditches on the highway fide, ferenaded 
 
 with
 
 LETTER XVII. 285 
 
 Vith the croaking of frogs, and the bells and 
 braying of mules and afles continually paffing 
 in a perpetual cloud of duft. Befides thefe 
 amufements, there is a public convcrfazione 
 every evening at the commandant's houfe 
 called the Government, where thofe noble 
 perfonages play at cards for farthings. In 
 carnival time, there is alfo, at this fame go- 
 vernment, a ball twice or thrice a week, car- 
 ried on by fubfcription. At this aflembly 
 every perfon, without diftinction, is per- 
 mitted to dance in mafquerade : but, after 
 dancing, they are obliged to unmalk, and if 
 Bourgeois, to retire. No individual can give 
 a ball, without obtaining a permiflion and 
 guard of the commandant j and then his 
 houfe is open to all mafques, without di- 
 fKnftion, who are provided with tickets, 
 which tickets are fold by the commandant's 
 fecretary, at five fols a-piece, and delivered 
 to the guard at the door. If I have a mind 
 to entertain my particular friends, I cannot 
 have more than a couple of violins j and, in 
 that cafe, it is called a ccnverfaztone. 
 
 Though the king of Sardinia takes all op- 
 portunities to diftinguifh the fubjecls of 
 i Great-
 
 286 LETTER XVII. 
 
 Great-Britain with particular marks of re- 
 fpecl, I have feen enough to be convinced, 
 that our nation is looked upon with an evil 
 eye by the people of Nice ; and this arifes 
 partly from religious prejudices, and partly 
 from envy, occafioned by a ridiculous no- 
 tion of our fuperior wealth. For my own 
 part, I owe them nothing on the fcore of 
 civilities j and therefore, I mall fay nothing 
 more on the fubje<5t, left I mould be tempted 
 
 /to deviate from that temperance and impar- 
 tiality which I would fain hope have hi- 
 
 \ therto chara&erifed the remarks of, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Your faithful humble fervant. 
 
 LETTE'R
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 Nice, May 2, 1764* 
 
 DEAR DOCTOR, 
 
 T Wrote in May to Mr. B at Geneva, 
 
 " and gave him what information he defi- 
 red to have, touching the conveniences of 
 Nice. I {hall now enter into the fame de- 
 tail, for the benefit of fuch of your friends 
 or patients, as may have occafion to try this 
 climate. 
 
 The journey from Calais to Nice, of four 
 perfons in a coach, or two poft-chaifes, with 
 a fervant on horfeback, travelling poft, may 
 be performed with cafe, for about one hun- 
 dred and twenty pounds, including every 
 expence. Either at Calais or at Paris, you 
 will always find a travelling coach or bcrline, 
 which you may buy for thirty or forty gui- 
 neas, and this will ferve very well to re- 
 convey you to your own country. 
 
 In the town of Nice, you will find no 
 Teady-fiirnifhed lodgings for a whole family. 
 
 Juft
 
 288 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 Juft without one of the gates, there are two 
 houfes to be let, ready-furnifhed, for about 
 five loui'dores per month. As for the coun- 
 try houfes in this neighbourhood, they are 
 damp in winter, and generally without chim- 
 nies ; and in fummer they are rendered unin- 
 habitable by the heat and the vermin. If 
 you hire a tenement in Nice, you muft take 
 it for a year certain -, and this will cod you 
 about twenty pounds flerling. For this price, 
 I have a ground floor paved with brick, 
 confuting of a kitchen, two large halls, a 
 couple of good rooms with chimnies, three 
 large clofets that ferve for bed-chambers, 
 and drefling-rooms, a butler's room, and 
 three apartments for fervants lumber or 
 flores, to which we afcend by narrow wooden 
 flairs. I have likewife two miall gardens, 
 well flocked with oranges, lemons, peaches, 
 figs, grapes, corinths, fallad, and pot-herbs. 
 It is fupplied with a draw-well of good wa- 
 ter, and there is another in the veflibule of 
 the houfe, which is cool, large, and magni- 
 ficent. You may hire furniture for fuch a 
 tenement, for about two guineas a month : 
 but I chfe rather to buy what was neceflary ; 
 
 and
 
 LETTER XVIII. 2*9 
 
 and this coft me about fixty pounds. I fup- 
 pofe it will fetch me about half the money 
 when I leave the place. It is very difficult 
 to find a tolerable cook at Nice. A common 
 maid, \vho ferves the people of the country, 
 for three or four livres a month, will not 
 live with an Englifh family under eight or 
 ten. They are all flovenly, flothful, and 
 unconfcionable cheats. The markets at Nice 
 are tolerably well fupplied. Their beef, 
 which comes from Piedmont, is pretty good, 
 and we have it all the year. In the winter, 
 we have likewife excellent pork, and delicate 
 lamb j but the mutton is indifferent. Pied- 
 mont, alfo, affords us delicious capons, fed 
 with maiz ; and this country produces excel- 
 lent turkeys, but very few geefe. Chickens^ 
 and pullets are extremely meagre. I have 
 tried to fatten them, without fuccefs. In 
 fummer they are fubjeft to the pip, and die 
 in great numbers. Autumn and winter are 
 the feafons for game ; hares, partridges, 
 quails, wild-pigeons, woodcocks, fnipes, 
 thrufhes, beccaficas, and ortolans. Wild- 
 boar is fometimes found in the mountains : 
 VOL. I. U it
 
 29Q LETTER XVIII. 
 
 it has a delicious tafle, not unlike that of 
 the wild hog in Jamaica -, and would make 
 an excellent barbecue, about the beginning 
 of winter, when it is in good cafe: but, 
 when meagre, the head only is prefented at 
 tables. Pheafants are very fcarce. As for 
 the heath-game, I never faw but one cock, 
 which my fervant bought in the market, and 
 brought home ; but the commandant's cook 
 came into my kitchen, and carried it off, af- 
 ter it was half plucked, faying, his mailer 
 had company to dinner. The hares are large, 
 plump, and juicy. The partridges are gene- 
 rally of the red fort ; large as pullets, and of 
 a good flavour : there are alfo fome grey par- 
 tridges in the mountains ; and another fort 
 of a white colour, that weigh four or five 
 pounds each, Beccaficas are fmaller than 
 fparrovvs, but very fat, and they are generally 
 eaten half raw. The befl way of dreffing 
 them, is to fluff them into a roll, fcooped 
 of it's crum ; to bafle them well with butter, 
 and roafr. them, until they are brown and 
 crifp. The ortolans are kept in cages, and 
 crammed, until they die of fat, then eaten 
 
 as
 
 LETTER XVIII. 291 
 
 as dainties. The thrum, is prefented with 
 the trail, becaufe the bird feeds on olives. 
 They may as well eat the trail of a fheep, 
 becaufe it feeds on the aromatic herbs of the 
 mountain, In the fummer, we have beef, 
 veal, and mutton, chicken, and ducks ; 
 which laft are very fat, and very flabby. All 
 the meat is tough in this feafon, becaufe the 
 exceffive heat, and great number of flies, will 
 not admit of its being kept any time after it 
 is killed. Butter and milk, though not very 
 delicate, we have all the year. Our tea and 
 fine fugar come from Marfeilles, at a very 
 reafonable price. 
 
 Nice is not without variety of fifhi though 
 they are not counted fo good in their kinds 
 as thofe of the ocean. Soals, and flat-fifh 
 in general, are fcarce. Here are fome mul- 
 lets, both grey and red. We fometimes fee 
 the dory, which is called St. Pietro; with 
 rock-fifh, bonita, and mackarel. The gur- 
 nard appears pretty often ; and there is 
 plenty of a kind of large whiting, which eats 
 pretty well ; but has not the delicacy of that 
 which is caught on our coaft. One of the 
 beft filh of this country, is called Le Loup, 
 U 2 about
 
 292 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 about two or three pounds in weight ; white, 
 firm, and well-flavoured. Another, no- way 
 inferior to it, is the Mouftel, about the fame 
 fize; of a dark-grey colour, and fhort, blunt 
 fnoutj growing thinner and flatter from the 
 fhoulders downwards, fo as to refemble a 
 foal at the tail. This cannot be the muftela 
 of the antients, which is fuppofed to be the 
 fea lamprey. Here too are found the vyvre, 
 or, as we call it, weaver j remarkable for its 
 long, fharp fpines, fo dangerous to the fin- 
 gers of the fifhermen. We have abundance 
 of the fepie> or cuttle- fifh, of which the 
 people in this country make a delicate ragout j 
 as alfo of the polype de mer, which is an ugly 
 animal, with long feelers, like tails, which 
 they often wind about the legs of the fifher- 
 men. They are flewed with onions, and eat 
 fomething like cow-heel. The market fome- 
 tiraes affords the ecrivijfe de mer, which is a 
 lobfler without claws, of a fweetifh tafte ; 
 and there are a few rock oyfters, very fmall 
 and very rank. Sometimes the fifhermen find 
 under water, pieces of a very hard cement, 
 like plaifter of Paris, which contain a kind 
 of mufcle, called la dotte* from its refem- 
 
 blancc
 
 LETTER XVIII. 293 
 
 blance to a date. Thefe petrefaclions are 
 commonly of a triangular form, and may 
 weigh about twelve or fifteen pounds each ; 
 and one of them may contain a dozen of 
 thefe mufcles, which have nothing extraor- 
 dinary in the tafte or flavour, though ex- 
 tremely curious, as found alive and juicy, 
 in the heart of a rock, almoft as hard as 
 marble, without any vifible communication 
 with the air or water. I take it for granted, 
 however, that the inclofing cement is po- 
 rous, and admits the finer parts of the fur- 
 rounding fluid. In order to reach the muf- 
 cels, this cement muft be broke with large 
 hammers ; and it may be truly faid, the ker- 
 nel is not worth the trouble of cracking the 
 fhell. Among the fifli of this country, there 
 is a very ugly animal of the eel fpecies, 
 which might pafs for a ferpent : it is of a 
 dufky, black colour, marked with fpots of 
 yellow, about eighteen inches, or two feet 
 long. The Italians call it murena ; but whe- 
 ther it is the fifh which had the fame name 
 among the antient Romans, I cannot pre- 
 tend to determine. The antient murena was 
 counted a great delicacy, and was kept in 
 U 3 ponds
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 ponds for extraordinary occafions. Julius 
 Csefar borrowed fix thoufand for one enter- 
 tainment : but I imagined this was the river 
 lamprey. The murena of this country is in 
 no efteem, and only eaten by the poor peo- 
 ple. Craw-fifli and trout are rarely found in 
 the rivers among the mountains. The fword- 
 fifh is much efteemed in Nice, and called 
 fempererir, about fix or feven feet long : but 
 I have never feen it. * They are very fcarce ; 
 and when taken, are generally concealed, 
 becaufe the head belongs to the commandant, 
 who has likewife the privilege of buying the 
 beft fifh at a very low price. For which 
 reafon, the choice pieces are concealed by 
 the fifhermen, and fent privately to Pied- 
 mont or Genoa. But, the chief fifheries on 
 this coaft, are of the fardines, anchovies, 
 and tunny. Thefe are taken in fmall quan- 
 tities all the year : but fpring and fummer 
 is the feafon when they inertly abound. In 
 June and July, a fleet of about fifty fifliing- 
 
 * Since I wrote the above letter, I have eaten feveral 
 times of this fifli, which is as white as the fineft veal, 
 and extremely delicate. The emperor aflbciates with the 
 tunny fifh, and is always taken in their company. 
 
 I boats,
 
 LETTER XVIII. 295 
 
 boats, puts to fea every evening about eight 
 o'clock, and catch anchovies in immenfe 
 quantities. One fmall boat fcmetimes takes 
 in one night twenty-five rup, amounting to 
 fix hundred weight ; but it muft be obferved, 
 that the pound here, as well as in other 
 parts of Italy, confifts but of twelve ounces. 
 Anchovies, befides their making a confidera- 
 ble article in the commerce of Nice, are a 
 great refource in all families. The nobleffe 
 and bourgeois fup on fallad and anchovies, 
 which are eaten on all their meagre days. 
 The fifhermen and mariners all along this 
 coaft have fcarce any other food but dry 
 bread, with a few pickled anchovies j and 
 when the fifli is eaten, they rub their crufts 
 with the brine. Nothing can be more deli- 
 cious than freih anchovies fried in oil : I 
 prefer them to the fmelts of the Thames. I 
 need not mention, that the fardines and an- 
 chovies are caught in nets ; falted, barrelled, 
 and exported into all the different kingdoms 
 and ftates of Europe. The fardines, how- 
 ever, are largcft and fatteft in the month of 
 September. A company of adventurers have 
 farmed the tunny-fifhery of the king, for 
 U 4 fix
 
 296 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 fix years ; a monopoly, for which they pay 
 about three thoufand pounds fterling. They 
 are at a very confiderable expence for nets, 
 boats, and attendance. Their nets are dif- 
 pofed in a very curious manner acrofs the 
 fmall bay of St. Hofpice, in this neighbour- 
 hood, where the fifh chiefly refort. They 
 are never removed, except in the winter, 
 and when they want repair : but there are 
 avenues for the fifh to enter, and pafs, from 
 one inclofure to another. There is a man 
 in a boat, who conftantly keeps watch. 
 When he perceives they are fairly entered, 
 he has a method for fhutting all the paries, 
 and confining the fifh to one apartment of 
 the net, which is lifted up into the boat, 
 until the prifoners are taken and fecured. 
 The tunny-fifh generally runs from fifty to 
 one hundred weight ; but fome of them are 
 much larger. They are immediately gutted, 
 boiled, and cut in flices. The guts and head 
 afford oil : the flices are partly dried, to be 
 eaten occafionally with oil and vinegar, or 
 barrelled up in oil, to be exported. It is 
 counted a delicacy in Italy and Piedmont, 
 and tafles not unlike flurgeon. The famous 
 
 pickle
 
 LETTER XVIII. 297 
 
 pickle of the ancients, called garum, was 
 made of the gills and blood of the tunny, 
 or thynnus. There is a much more confide- 
 rable filhery of it in Sardinia, where it is 
 faid to employ four hundred perfonsj but 
 this belongs to the due de St. Pierre. In the 
 neighbourhood of Villa Franca, there are 
 people always employed in fifhing for coral 
 and fponge, which grow adhering to the 
 rocks under water. Their methods do not 
 favour much of ingenuity. For the coral, 
 they lower down a fwab, compofed of what 
 is called fpunyarn on board our Ihips of war, 
 hangin^fcn diftincl: threads, and funk by 
 means of a great weight, which flriking 
 againft the coral in its defcent, difengages it 
 from the rocks , and fome of the pieces be- 
 ing intangled among the threads of the 
 fwab, are brought up with it above water. 
 The fponge is got by means of a crofs-ftick, 
 fitted with hooks, which being lowered 
 down, fattens upon it, and tears it from the 
 rocks. In fome parts of the Adriatic and 
 Archipelago, thefe fubflances are gathered 
 by divers, who can remain five minutes be- 
 low water. But I will not detain you one 
 
 minute
 
 298 LETTER XIX. 
 
 minute longer -, though I muft obferve, that 
 there is plenty of fine famphire growing 
 along all thefe rocks, neglected and un- 
 known. Adieu. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 Nice, Oftoler 10, 1764. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 T3 EFORE I tell you the price of provi- 
 ^-* fions at Nice, it will be neceflQy to fay 
 fomething of the money. The gold coin of 
 Sardinia confifts of the doppia di favoia, 
 value twenty-four livres Piedmontefe, about 
 the iize of a loui'dore j and the mezzo dop- 
 pia, or piece of twelve livres. In filver, 
 there is the fcudo of fix livres, the mezzo 
 fcudo of three ; and the quarto, or pezza di 
 trenta foldi : but all thefe are very fcarce. 
 We feldom fee any gold and filver coin, but 
 the loui'dore, and the fix, and three-livre 
 pieces of France; a fare fign that the 
 French fuffer by their contraband commerce 
 
 with
 
 LETTER XIX. 299 
 
 with the Niflards. The coin chiefly ufed at 
 market is a piece of copper filvered, that 
 pafles for feven fols and a half; another of 
 the fame fort, value two fols and a half. 
 They have on one fide the impreflion of 
 the king's head; and on the other, the 
 arms of Savoy, with a ducal crown, infcribed 
 with his name and titles. There are of ge- 
 nuine copper, pieces of one fol, ftamped on 
 one fide with a crofs fleuree ; and on the re- 
 verfe, with the king's cypher and crown, 
 infcribed as the others : finally, there is ano- 
 ther fmall copper piece, called piccalon, thd 
 fixth paff of a fol, with a plain crofs, and 
 on the reverfe, a flip-knot furmounted with 
 a crown; the legend as above. The im- 
 preflion and legend on the gold and filver 
 coins, are the fame as thofe on the pieces of 
 feven fols and a half. The livre of Piedmont 
 eonfifts of twenty fols, and is very near of 
 the fame value as an Englifh fhilling : ten 
 fols, therefore, are equal to fix-pence flerling. 
 Butcher's meat in general fells at Nice for 
 three fols a pound; and veal is fomething 
 dearer : but then there are but twelve ounces 
 in the pound, which being allowed for, fix- 
 teen
 
 3 oo LETTER XIX. 
 
 teen ounces, come for fomething lefs thsn 
 twopence halfpenny Englifh. Fifli commonly 
 fells for four fols the twelve ounces, or five 
 for the Englifh pound j and thefe five are 
 equivalent to three-pence of our money 5 but 
 fometimes we are obliged to pay five, and 
 even fix fols for the Piedmontefe pound of 
 fifli. A turkey that would fell for five or fix 
 (hillings at the London market, cofts me but 
 three at Nice. I can buy a good capon for 
 thirty fols, or eighteen-pence - y and the fame 
 price I pay for a brace of partridges, or a 
 good hare. I can have a woodcock for 
 twenty-four fols ; but the pigeons are dearer 
 than in London. Rabbits are very rare ; 
 and there is fcarce a goofe to be feen in the 
 whole county of Nice. Wild-ducks and teal 
 are fometimes to be had in the winter ; and 
 now I am fpeaking of fea-fowl, it may not 
 be amifs to tell you what I know of the hal- 
 cyon, or king's-fifher. It is a bird, though 
 very rare in this country, about the fize of a 
 pigeon; the body brown, and the belly 
 white : by a wonderful inftin6l, it makes its 
 neft upon the furface of the fea, and lays it's 
 eggs in the month of November, when the 
 
 Mediterranean
 
 LETTER XIX. 301 
 
 Mediterranean is always calm and fmooth as 
 a mill-pond. The people here call them 
 martinets, becaufe they begin to hatch about 
 Martinmafs. Their nefts are fometimes feen 
 floating near the fhore, and generally become 
 the prize of the boys, who are very alert in 
 catching them. 
 
 You know all fea -birds are allowed by the 
 church of Rome to be eaten on meagre days, 
 as a kind of fifh ; and the monks efpecially 
 do not fail to make ufe of this permiflion. 
 Sea turtle, or tortoifes, are often found at 
 fea by the mariners, in thefe latitudes : but 
 they are not the green fort, fo much in re- 
 queft among the aldermen of London. All 
 the Mediterranean turtle are of the kind cal- 
 led loggerhead, which in the Weft-Indies are 
 eaten by none but hungry feamen, negroes, 
 and the loweft clafs of people. One of thefe, 
 weighing about two hundred pounds, was 
 lately brought ; on fhore by the fifhermeri of 
 Nice, who found it floating afleep on the fug- 
 face of the fea. The whole town was alarm- 
 ed at fight of fuch a monfter, the nature of 
 which they could not comprehend. How- 
 ever, the monks, called minims, of St, 
 
 Francifco
 
 302 LETTER XIX. 
 
 Francefco di Paolo, guided by a fure inftincl:, 
 marked it as their prey, and furrounded it 
 accordingly. The friars of other convents, 
 not quite fo hungry, crowding down to the 
 beach, declared it fhould not be eaten j 
 dropped fome hints about the poflibility of 
 its being fomething preternatural and diabo- 
 lical, and even propofed exorcifms and afper- 
 fions with holy water. The populace were 
 divided according to their attachment to this, 
 or that convent : a mighty clamour arofe ; 
 and the police, in order to remove the caufe 
 of their contention, ordered the tortoife to 
 be re-committed to the waves -, a fentence 
 which the Francifcans faw executed, not 
 without fighs and lamentation. The land- 
 turtle, or terrapin, is much better known at 
 Nice, ast>eing a native of this county; yet 
 the beft are brought from the ifland of Sar- 
 dinia, The foup or bouillon of this animal 
 is always prefcribed here as a great reftorative 
 to confumptive patients. The bread of Nice 
 is very indifferent, and I am. perfuaded very 
 unwholfome. The flour is generally mufty, 
 and not quite free of fand. This is either 
 owing to the particles of the mill-flone rub- 
 bed
 
 LETTER XIX. 303 
 
 bed off in grinding, or to what adheres to 
 the corn itfelf, in being threfhed upon the 
 common ground ; for there are no threfhing- 
 floors in this country. I fhall now take no- 
 tice of the vegetables of Nice. In the win- 
 ter, we have green peafe, afparagus, arti- 
 ehoaks, cauliflower, beans, French beans, 
 celery, and endive; cabbage, coleworts, ra- 
 difhes, turnips, carrots, betteraves, forrel, 
 lettuce, onions, garlic, and cbalot. We 
 have potatoes from the mountains, mufh- 
 rooms, champignons, and truffles. Piedmont 
 affords white truffles, counted the moil deli- 
 cious in the world : they fell for about three 
 livres the pound. The fruits of this feafon, 
 are pickled olives, oranges, lemons, citrons, 
 citronelles, dried figs, grapes, apples, pears, 
 almonds, chefnuts, walnuts, filberts, med- 
 lars, pomegranates, and a fruit called aze- 
 rolles, about the fize of a nutmeg, of an 
 oblong fhape, red colour, and agreeable acid 
 tafte. I might likewife add the cherry of 
 the laurus cerafus, which is fold in the mar- 
 ket; very beautiful to the eye, but infipid 
 to the palate. In fummer we have all thofe 
 vegetables in perfe&ion. There is alfo a kind 
 
 of
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 of fmall courge, or gourd, of which the 
 people of the country make a very favoury 
 ragout, with the help of eggs, cheefe, and 
 frefh anchovies. Another is made of the 
 badenjean, which the Spaniards call beren- 
 gena : it is much eaten in Spain and the 
 Levant, as well as by the Moors in Barbary. 
 It is about the fize and fhape of a hen's egg, 
 inclofed in a cup like an acorn j when ripe, 
 of a faint purple colour. It grows on a 
 {talk about a foot high, with long fpines or 
 prickles. The people here have different 
 ways of dicing and dreffing it, by broiling, 
 boiling, and flewing, with other ingredients : 
 but it is at beft an infipid difh. There are 
 fome caper-bufhes in this neighbourhood, 
 which grow wild in holes of garden walls, 
 and require no fort of cultivation : in one 
 or two gardens, there are palm-trees; but 
 the dates never ripen. In my regifler of the 
 weather, I have marked the feafons of the 
 principal fruits in this country. In May we 
 have flrawberries, which continue in feafon 
 two or three months. Thefe are of the wood 
 kind ; very grateful, and of a good flavour j 
 but the fcarlets and hautboys are not known 
 
 at
 
 LETTER XIX. 305 
 
 at Nice. In the beginning of June, and 
 even fooner, the cherries begin to be ripe. 
 They are a kind of bleeding hearts j large, 
 flefhy, and high flavoured, though rather 
 too lufcious. I have likewife ' feen a few of 
 thofe we call Kentifli cherries, which art 
 much more cool, acid, and agreeable, efpe- 
 cially in this hot climate. The cherries are 
 fucceeded by the apricots and peaches, which 
 are all ftandards, and of confequence better 
 flavoured than what we call wall- fruit. The 
 trees, as well as almonds, grow and bear 
 without care and cultivation, and may be 
 feen in the open fields about Nice : but 
 without proper culture, the fruit degenerates * 
 The beft peaches I have feen at Nice are 
 the almberges, of a yellow hue, and oblong 
 lhape, about the fize of a fmall lemon. 
 Their confiftence is much more folid than 
 that of our Engiifh peaches, and their tafte 
 more delicious. Several trees of this kind I 
 have in my own garden. Here is like wife 
 plenty of other forts ; but no nectarines. 
 We have little choice of plumbs. Neither 
 do I admire the pears or apples of this 
 country: but the mod agreeable apples I 
 VOL. I. X ever
 
 3 o6 LETTER XIX. 
 
 ever tafted, come from Final, and are called 
 pomi carli. The greatefl fault I find with 
 mod fruits in this climate, is, that they are 
 too fweet and luicious, and want that agree- 
 able acid which is fo cooling and fo grate- 
 ful in a hot country. This, too, is the cafe 
 with our grapes, of which there is great 
 plenty and variety, plump and juicy, and 
 large as plumbs. Nature, however, has not 
 neglected to provide other agreeable vegetable 
 juices to cool the human body. During the 
 whole fummer, we have plenty of mufk me- 
 lons. I can buy one as large as my head for 
 the value of an Englifh penny : but one of 
 the beft and largeft, weighing ten or twelve 
 pounds, I can have for twelve fols, or about 
 eight-pence fterling. From Antibes and 
 Sardinia, we have another fruit called a 
 water-melon, which is well known in Ja- 
 maica, and feme of our other colonies. 
 Thofe from Antibes are about the fize of an 
 ordinary bomb-fhell : but the Sardinian and 
 Jamaica water-melons are four times as large. 
 The fkin is green, fmooth, and thin. The 
 infide is a purple pulp, fludded with broad, 
 flat, black feeds, and impregnated with a juice 
 
 the
 
 L E T T E R XIX. 30? 
 
 the mofl cool, delicate, and refrefhing, that 
 can well be conceived. One would imagine 
 the pulp itfelf diflblvcd in the flcmach ; for 
 you may eat of it until you are filled up to 
 the tongue, without feeling the lead incon- 
 venience. It is ib friendly to the conflitu- 
 tion, that in ardent inflammatory fevers, it 
 is drank as the belt emulfion. At Genoa, 
 Florence, and Rome, it is fold in the flreets, 
 ready cut in llices j and the porters, fweating 
 under their burthens, buy and eat them as 
 they pafs. A porter of London quenches his 
 third with a draught of ftrong beer : a por- 
 ter of Rome, or Naples, refrefhes himfelf 
 with a flice of water-melon, or a glafs of 
 iced- water. The one cofts three half-pence -, 
 the laft, half a farthing which of them is 
 moft effectual ? I am fure the men are equally 
 pleafed. It is commonly remarked, that beer 
 ftrengthens as well as refrefhes. But the 
 potters of Constantinople, who never drink 
 any thing flronger than water, and eat very 
 little animal food, will lift and carry heavier 
 burthens than any other porters in the 
 known world. If we may believe the mofl 
 refpedable travellers, a Turk will carry a 
 X 2 load
 
 308 LETTER XIX. 
 
 load of feven hundred weight, which is more 
 (I believe) than any Englifh porter ever at- 
 tempted to raife. 
 
 Among the refrefhments of thefe warm 
 countries, I ought not to forget mentioning 
 the forbettes, which are fold in coffee-houfes, 
 and places of public refort. They are iced 
 froth, made with juice of oranges, apricots, 
 or peaches , very agreeable to the palate, and 
 fo extremely cold, that I was afraid to fwal- 
 low them in this hot country, until I found 
 from information and experience, that they 
 may be taken in moderation, without any 
 bad confequence. 
 
 Another conliderable article in houfe-keep- 
 ing is wine, which we have here good and 
 reafonable. The wine of Tavelle in Lan- 
 guedoc is very near as good as Burgundy, 
 and may be had at Nice, at the rate of fix- 
 pence a bottle. The fweet wine of St. Lau- 
 rent, counted equal to that of Frontignan, 
 cofts about eight or nine-pence a quart : 
 pretty good Malaga may be had for half the 
 money. Thofe who make their own wine 
 choofe the grapes from different vineyards, 
 and have them picked, prefTed, and fer- 
 mented
 
 LETTER XIX. 3 c 9 
 
 merited at home. That which is made by 
 the peafants, both red and white, is generally 
 genuine : but the wine-merchants of Nice 
 brew and balderdafh, and even mix it with 
 pigeons dung and quick-lime. It cannot 
 be fuppofed, that a flranger and fojourner 
 ihould buy his own grapes, and make his 
 own provifion of wine : but he may buy it 
 by recommendation from the peafants, for 
 about eighteen or twenty livres the charge, 
 confiding of eleven rup five pounds , in 
 other words, of two hundred and eighty 
 pounds of this country, fo as to bring it for 
 fomething lefs than three-pence a quart. The 
 Nice wine, when mixed with water, makes 
 an agreeable beverage. There is an inferior 
 fort for fervants, drank by the common peo- 
 ple, which in the cabaret does not coft above 
 a penny a bottle. The people here are not 
 fo nice as the Engiifh, in the management 
 of their wine. It is kept in flacons, or large 
 flaiks, without corks, having a little oil at 
 top. It is not deemed the worfe for having 
 been opened a day or two before ; and they 
 expofe it to the hot fun, and .all kinds of 
 weather, without hefitation. Certain it is, 
 X 3 this
 
 3;o LETTER XIX. 
 
 this treatment has little or no effect upon its 
 tafte, flavour, and tranfparency. 
 
 The brandy of Nice is very indifferent ; 
 and the liqueurs are fo fweetened with coarfe 
 fugar, that they fcarce retain the tafte or 
 flavour of any other ingredient. 
 
 The laft article of domeftic ceconomy 
 which I fhall mention is fuel, or wood for 
 firing, which I buy for eleven fols (a little 
 more than fix-pence halfpenny) a quintal, 
 confirming of one hundred and fifty pound 
 Nice weight. The beft, which is of oak, 
 comes from Sardinia. The common fort is 
 live, which being cut with the fap in it, 
 eught to be laid in during the fumrner; 
 etherwife, it will make a very uncomfortable 
 #re. In my kitchen and two chambers, I 
 burned fifteen thoufand weight of wood in 
 four weeks, exclufive of charcoal for the kit-* 
 chen ftoves, and of pine-tops for lighting 
 the fires. Thefe lafl are as large as pine- 
 apples, which they greatly refemble in fhape, 
 and to which, indeed, they give their name ; 
 and being full of turpentine, make a won- 
 derful blaze. For the fame purpofe, the peo- 
 ple of thefe countries ufe the farments, or 
 
 cuttings
 
 LETTER XIX. ?II 
 
 cuttings of th vines, which they fell made 
 up in fmall fafcines. This great confumption 
 of wood is owing to the large fires ufed in 
 roafting pieces of beef, and joints, in the 
 Engiifh manner. The roafts of this country 
 feldom exceed two or three pounds of meat ; 
 and their other plats are made over ftove- 
 holes. But it is now high time to conduct 
 you from the kitchen, where you have been 
 too long detained by 
 
 Your humble fervant. 
 
 P. S. I have mentioned the prices of al- 
 moft all the articles in houfe- keeping, as 
 they are paid by the Englifh : but exclufive 
 of butcher's meat, I am certain the natives 
 do not pay fo much by thirty per cent. Their 
 impofition on us, is not only a proof af 
 their own villany and hatred, but a fcandal 
 n their government; which ought to inter- 
 fere in favour of the fubjects of a nation, 
 to which they are fo much bound in point ef 
 policy, as well as gratitude. 
 
 X 4 1* $ - T-
 
 BETTER XX. 
 
 ffae, Ofiol-er zz, 1764. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 AS I have nothing elfe to do, but to fa- 
 tisfy my own curiofity, and that of 
 jny friends, I obey your injunctions with 
 pleafure j though not without fome appre- 
 henfion that my inquiries will afford you 
 very little entertainment. The place where 
 I am is of very little importance or confe- 
 quence as a ilate or community ; neither 
 is there any thing curious or interefling in the 
 character or ceconomy of its inhabitants. 
 
 There are fome few merchants in Nice, 
 faid to be in good circumftances. I know 
 one of them, who deals to a confiderable ex- 
 tent, and goes twice a year to London to at- 
 tend the fales of the Eaft-India company. 
 He buys up a very large quantity of muflins, 
 and other India goods, and freights a fhip in 
 the river to tranfport them to Villa Franca. 
 gome of thefe are fent to SwHTerland ; but, 
 
 I be-
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 I believe, the greater part is fmuggled into 
 France, by virtue of counterfeit flamps, 
 which are here ufed without any ceremony. 
 Indeed, the chief commerce of this place is 
 a contraband traffick carried on to the difad van- 
 tage of France ; and I am told, that the far- 
 mers of the Levant company in that kingdom 
 find their account in conniving at it. Certain it 
 is, a great quantity of merchandize is brought 
 hither every week by mules from Turin and 
 other parts in Piedmont, and afterwards con- 
 veyed to the other fide of the Var, either by- 
 land or water. The mules of Piedmont are 
 exceeding ftrong and hardy. One of them 
 will carry a burthen of near fix hundred 
 weight. They are eafily nourifhed, and re- 
 quire no other refpite from their labour, but 
 the night's repofe. They are the only car- 
 riage that can be ufed in eroding the moun- 
 tains, being very fure-footed : and it is ob- 
 ferved, that in choofing their fleps, they al- 
 ways march upon the brink of the precipice. 
 You mufl ' let them take their own way, 
 otherwife you will bein danger of lofing 
 your life; for they are obftinate, even to 
 defperation. It is very dangerous to meet 
 
 thofe
 
 314 LETTER XX. 
 
 thofe animals on horfeback : they have fuch 
 an averfion to horfes, that they will attack 
 them with incredible fury, fo as even to tear 
 them and their riders in pieces ; and the heft 
 method for avoiding this fate, is to clap 
 fpurs to your bead, and feek your fafety in 
 flight. I have been more than once obliged 
 to fly before them. They always give you 
 warning, by raiting a hideous braying as 
 foon as they perceive the horfe at a diftance. 
 The mules of Provence arc not fo mifchie- 
 vous, becaufe they are more ufed to the fight 
 and fociety of horfes : but thofe of Pied- 
 mont are by far the largeft and the ftrongeft 
 1 have feen. 
 
 Some very feafible fchemes for improving 
 the commerce of Nice have been prefented 
 to the miniftry of Turin; but hitherto with- 
 out fuccefs. The Englifh import annually 
 between two and three thoufand bales of 
 raw filk, the growth of Piedmont; and this 
 is embarked either at Genoa or Leghorn. 
 We likewife take a confiderable quantity of 
 fruit and oil at Oneglia, St. Remo, and 
 other places in this neighbourhood. All thefe 
 commodities might be embarked at a fmaller 
 3 expencc
 
 L E T T E R XX. 315 
 
 expence at Nice, which is a free port, where 
 no duties are paid by the exporter. Befides, 
 the county of Nice itfelf produces a confide- 
 rable quantity of hemp, oranges, lemons, 
 and very good oil and anchovies, with fome 
 filk and wine, which laft is better than that of 
 Languedoc, and far excels the port drank in 
 England. This wine is of a ftrong body, a 
 good flavour, keeps very well, and improves 
 by fea-carriage. I am told, that fome of the 
 wine- merchants here tranfport fyench wine 
 from Languedoc and Provence, and enter it 
 in England as the produce of Nice or Italy. 
 If the merchants of Nice would eilablifli 
 magazines of raw filk, oil, wine, &c. at 
 Nice ; and their correfpondents at London 
 fend hither fhips at flated periods, laden 
 with India goods, hard-ware, and other 
 manufactures of England, which would find 
 a vent in this country, in Piedmont, Savoy, 
 SwhTerland, and Provence, then the com- 
 merce of this town would flourish, more 
 efpecially if the king would lay out the ne- 
 ceftary expence for rendering the harbour 
 more commodious and fecure. But this is 
 not a matter of very great confequence, as 
 
 there
 
 316 L E T T E R XX. 
 
 there is an excellent harbour at Ville Fran- 
 cbe, which is not more than a mile and a 
 half from that of Nice. But the great ob- 
 jection to the improvement of commerce at 
 Nice, is the want of money, induflry, and 
 character. The natives themfelves are in ge- 
 neral fuch dirty knaves, that no foreigners 
 will truft them in the way of trade. They 
 have been known to fill their oil-cafks half 
 full of water, and their anchovy-barrels with 
 it in king hc?.ds of that fim, in order to cheat 
 their correfpondents. 
 
 The fliopkeepers of this place are generally 
 poor, greedy, and over- reaching. Many of 
 them are bankrupts of Marfeilles, Genoa, 
 and other countries, who have fled from 
 their creditors to Nice j which, being a free- 
 port, affords an afylum to foreign cheats and 
 (harpers of every denomination. Here is like- 
 wife a pretty confiderable number of Jews, 
 who live together in a ftreet appropriated 
 for their ufe, which is fliut up every night. 
 They a6l as brokers j but are generally poor, 
 and deal in frippery, remnants, old cloaths, 
 and old houfhold furniture. There is ano- 
 ther branch of traffkk engrofTed by the 
 
 monks,
 
 L E T T E R XX. 317 
 
 monks. Some convents have fuch a number 
 of mafles bequeathed to them, that they find 
 it impoffible to execute the will of the donors. 
 In this cafe, they agree by the lump with tke 
 friars of poorer convents, who fay the mafles 
 for lefs money than has been allowed by the 
 defunct, and their employers pocket the dif- 
 ference: for example; my grandfather be r 
 queaths a fum of money to a certain con- 
 vent, to have fuch a number of mafles faid 
 for the repofe of his foul, at the price of 
 ten fols each ; and this convent, not having 
 time to perform them, bargains with the fri- 
 ars of another to fay them for fix fols a-piece, 
 fo that they gain four fols upon every mafs ; 
 for it matters not to the foul of the deceafed 
 where they are faid, fo they be properly au- 
 thenticated. A poor gentleman of Nice, 
 who piques himfelf much on the noble blood 
 that runs in his veins, though he has not a 
 pair of whole breeches to wear, complained 
 to me, that his great grandmother had foun- 
 ded a perpetual mafs for the repofe of her 
 own foul, at the rate of fifteen fols (nine- 
 pence Englifh) a day ; which indeed was all 
 that now remained of the family eft ate. He 
 
 {aid,
 
 3 i$ LETTER XX. 
 
 faid, what made the hardfhip the greater on 
 him, fhe had been dead above fifty years, 
 and in all probability her foul had got out 
 of purgatory long ago ; therefore the con- 
 tinuance of the mafs was an unnecefiary ex- 
 pence. I told him, I thought in fuch a cafe, 
 the defunct fhould appear before the civil 
 magiftrate, and make affidavit of her being 
 at peace, for the advantage of the family. 
 He mufed a little, and fhrugging up his 
 ftioulders, replied, that where the intereft 
 of the church was at flake, he did not be- 
 lieve a fpirit's declaration would be held legal 
 evidence. In fome parts of France, the cure 
 of the parifh, on All Soul's day, which is 
 called le jour des worts, fays a libera domine 
 for two fols, at every grave in the bury ing- 
 ground, for the releafe of the foul whofc 
 body is there interred. 
 
 The artifans of Nice are very lazy, very 
 needy, very aukward, and void of all inge- 
 nuity. The price of their labour is very 
 near as high as at London or Paris. Rather 
 than work for moderate profit, arifing from 
 conftant employment, which would comfort- 
 ably maintain them and their families, they 
 
 choofe
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 choofe to ftarve at home, to lounge about 
 the ramparts, bafk themfelves in the fun, or 
 play at bowls in the ftreets from morning 
 'till night. 
 
 The lowed clafs of people confifts of 
 fimermen, day labourers, porters, and pea- 
 fants : thefe laft are diftributed chiefly in the 
 fmall caflines in the neighbourhood of the 
 city, and are faid to amount to twelve thou- 
 fand. They are employed in labouring the 
 ground, and have all the outward figns of 
 extreme mifery. They are all diminutive, 
 meagre, withered, dirty, and half naked ; 
 in their complexions, not barely fwarthy, 
 but as black as Moors ; and I believe, in my 
 confcience, many of them are defendants 
 of that people. They are very hard favoured ; 
 and their women in general have the coarfeft 
 features I have ever feen : it mu-ft be owned, 
 however, they have the fined teeth in the 
 world. The nourifliment of thofe poor crea- 
 tures confifts of the refufe of the garden, 
 very coarfe bread, a kind of meal called 
 polenta, made of Indiaa com, which is 
 very nouriming and agreeable, and a little 
 oil : but even in thefe particulars, th?y feern 
 
 to
 
 320 LETTER XX. 
 
 to be ftinted to very fcanty meals. I have 
 known a peafant feed his family with the 
 fkins of boiled beans* Their hogs are much 
 better fed than their children. 'Tis pity they 
 have no cows, which would yield milk, but- 
 ter, and cheefe, for the fuftenance of their 
 families. With all this wretchednefs, one of 
 thefe peafants will not work in your garden 
 for lefs than eighteen fols, about^ eleven-pence 
 flerling, per diem ; and then he does not half 
 the work of an Englifh labourer. If there 
 is fruit in it, or any thing he can convey, 
 he will infallibly fteal it, if you do not keep 
 a very watchful eye over him. All the com- 
 mon people are thieves and beggars ; and I 
 believe this is always the cafe with people 
 who are extremely indigent and miferable. 
 In other refpefts, they are feldom guilty of 
 excefles. They are remarkably refpeclful and 
 fubmiilive to their fuperiors. The populace 
 of Nice are very quiet and orderly. They 
 are little addicted to drunkennefs. I have 
 never heard of one riot fince I lived among 
 them ; and murder and robbery are alto- 
 gether unknown. A man may walk alone 
 over the county of Nice, at midnight, with- 
 out
 
 LETTER XX. 321 
 
 out danger of infult. The police is very 
 well regulated. No man is permitted to 
 wear a piftol or dagger, on pain of being 
 fent to the gallies. I am informed, that 
 both murder and robbery are very frequent 
 in fome parts of Piedmont. Even here, 
 when the peafants quarrel in their cups, 
 (which very feldom happens) they draw 
 their knives, and the one infallibly (labs the 
 other. To fuch extremities, however, they 
 never proceed, except when there is a wo- 
 man in the cafe; and mutual jealoufy co- 
 operates with the liquor they have drank, 
 to inflame their paflions. In Nice, the com- 
 mon people retire to their lodgings at eight 
 o'clock in winter, and nine in fummer. 
 Every perfon found in the ftreets after thefe 
 hours, is apprehended by the patrolej and, 
 if he cannot give a good account of himfelf, 
 fent to prifon. At nine in, winter, and ten 
 in fummer, there is a curfew-bell rung, 
 warning the people to put out their lights, 
 and go to bed. This is a very necefiary 
 precaution in towns fubjedt to conflagrations ; 
 but of fmall ufe in Nice, where there is very 
 little combuftible in the houfes. 
 
 VOL. I. Y The
 
 322 L E T T E R XX. 
 
 The punimments inflicted upon malefac- 
 tors and delinquents at Nice are hanging 
 for capital crimes j flavery on board the gal- 
 lies for a limited term, or for life, according 
 to the nature of the tranfgreflion j flagella- 
 tion, and the flrappado. This laft is per- 
 formed, by hoifting up the criminal by his 
 hands tied behind his back, on a pulley 
 about two ftories high; from whence, the 
 rope being fuddenly flackened, he f-tlls to 
 within a yard or two of the ground, where 
 he is flopped with a violent fliock, arifing 
 from the weight of his body, and the velo- 
 city of his defcent, which generally diflocates 
 his moulders, with incredible pain. This 
 dreadful execution is fometimes repeated in a 
 few minutes on the fame delinquent ; fo that 
 the very ligaments are tore from his joints, 
 and his arms are rendered ufelefs for life. 
 
 The poverty of the people in this country, 
 as well as in the South of France, may be 
 conjectured from the appearance f their do- 
 meftic animals. The draught-horfes, mules, 
 and afles, of the peafants, are fo meagre, 
 as to excite compaflion. There is not a dog 
 *> be feen in tolerable cafe; and the cats 
 
 are
 
 LETTER XX. 323 
 
 are fo many emblems of famine, frightfully 
 thin, and.dangeroufly rapacious. I wonder 
 the dogs and they do not devour young 
 children. Another proof of that indigence 
 which reigns among the common people, is 
 this: you may pafs through the whole 
 South of France, as well as the county of 
 Nice, where there is no want of groves, 
 vvoods, and plantations, without hearing the 
 fong of black-bird, thrufli, linnet, gold- 
 finch, or any other bird whatfoever. All is 
 filent and folitary. The poor birds are de- 
 ftroyed, or driven for refuge, into other 
 countries) by the favage perlecution of the 
 people, who fpare no pains to kill, and catch 
 them for their own fubfiftence. Scarce a 
 fparrow, red-breaft, torn-tit, or wren, can 
 Tcape the guns and fnares of thofe indefati- 
 gable fowlers. Even the nobleffe make par- 
 ties to go a la chaff'e ; that is, to kill thofs 
 little birds, which they eat as glbier. 
 
 The great poverty of the people here, is 
 owing to their religion. Half of their time 
 is loft in obferving the great number of fefti- 
 vals ; and half of their fubftance is given to 
 mendicant friars and parifh priefts. But if 
 Y 2 the
 
 324 L E T T E II XX. 
 
 the church occafions their indigence, it like- 
 wife, in fome meafure, alleviates the horrors 
 of it, by amufing them with (hows, pro- 
 ceflions, and even thofe very feafts, which 
 afford a recefs from labour, in a country 
 where the climate difpofes them to idlenefs. 
 If the peafants in the neighbourhood of any 
 chapel dedicated to a faint, whofe day is to 
 be celebrated, have a mind to make a feflin, 
 in other words, a fair, they apply to the 
 commandant of Nice for a licence, which 
 cofls them about a French crown. This 
 being obtained, they aflemble after fervice, 
 men and women, in their beft apparel, and 
 dance to the mufick of riddles, and pipe and 
 tabor, or rather pipe and drum. There are 
 huckfters ftands, with pedlary ware and 
 knick-knacks for prefents ; cakes and bread, 
 liqueurs and wine; and thither generally re- 
 fort all the company of Nice. I have leen 
 our whole noblefie at one of thefe f eft ins, 
 kept on the highway in fummer, mingled 
 with an immenfe crowd of peafants, mules, 
 and afles, covered with dud, and fweating 
 at every pore with the exceflive heat of the 
 weather. I (hould be much puzzled to teil 
 
 whence
 
 LETTER XX. 325 
 
 whence their enjoyment arifes on fuch occa- 
 fions ; or to explain their motives for going 
 thither, unlefs they are prefcribed it for pen- 
 nance, as a fore-tafte of purgatory. 
 
 Now I am fpeaking of religious inflitu- 
 tions, I cannot help obferving, that the an- 
 tient Romans were flill more fuperftitious 
 than the modern Italians ; and that the 
 number of their religious feafts, facrifices, 
 fafts, and holidays, was even greater than 
 thofe of the Chriftian church of Rome. 
 They had their fefti and profefti -, their feria 
 Jlativtfy and concept face, their fixed and 
 moveable feafts 5 their efuriales, or fafting 
 days, and their precidanea^ or vigils. The 
 agonales were celebrated in January ; the car- 
 mentalesy in January and February ; the Jit- 
 percales and matronales, in March j the f.o- 
 ralia^ in May ; the faturnalia, robigalia* 
 ^ejialia, vertumnalia , fornacalia^ palilia t and 
 laralia. They had their latiruz, their pa- 
 ganales, their fementin<& t their compitalcs, 
 and their imperatives ; fuch as the iwcemda- 
 lia, inftituted by the fenate, on account of 
 a fuppofed fhower of flones. Befides, eve- 
 ry private family had a number of fcria* 
 Y 3 kept
 
 326 I, E T T E R XX. 
 
 kept either by way of rejoicing for fome bene^ 
 
 fit, or mourning for fome calamity. Every 
 
 time it thundered, the day was kept holy. 
 
 - Every ninth day was a holiday, thence called 
 
 nundince quafi novendince. There was the 
 
 dies dencminalis, which was the fourth of 
 
 the kalends j nones and ides of every month, 
 
 over and above the anniverfary of every 
 
 great defeat which the republic had fuftained, 
 
 particularly the dies allienfis, or fifteenth of 
 
 the kalends of December, on which the 
 
 Romans were totally defeated by the Gauls; 
 
 and Veientes j as Lucan fays -.et damnala 
 
 diu Rom am s alii a fajli s. The vaft variety of 
 
 their deities, faid to amount to thirty thou- 
 
 fandj with their refpeclive rites of adoration, 
 
 could not fail to introduce fuch a number of 
 
 ceremonies, {hews, facrifices, luftrations, and 
 
 public 'prcceifions, as muft have employed 
 
 the people almpil conftantly from one end of 
 
 the year to the other. This continual difli- 
 
 pation rnuft have been a ^reat enemy to in- 
 
 duilry; and the, people mutt have been idle 
 
 .ind effemiiiatt:. J think it would.be no dif 
 
 ficnlt matter to prove, that there is very little 
 
 iJiflcrer T ce ; in point of character, between the 
 
 antient
 
 LETTER XX. 327 
 
 antient and modern inhabitants of Rome ; 
 and that the great figure which this empire 
 made of old, was not fo much owing to the 
 intrinfic virtue of its citizens, as to the bar- 
 barifm, ignorance, and imbecility of the na- 
 tions they fubdued. Inftances of public and 
 private virtue I find as frequent and as 
 Striking in the hiflory of other nations, as in 
 the annals of antient Rome; and now that 
 the kingdoms and flates of Europe are pretty 
 equally enlightened, and ballanced in the 
 fcale of political power, I am of opinion^ 
 that if the moft fortunate generals of the 
 Roman commonwealth were again placed at 
 the head of the very armies they once com- 
 manded, inftead of extending their conquefts 
 over all Europe and Afia, they would hardly 
 be able to fubdue, and retain under their 
 dominion, all the petty republics that fubfift 
 in Italy. 
 
 But I am tired with writing ; and I believe 
 you will be tired with reading this long letter, 
 notwithftanding all your prepofTeflion in fa- 
 vour of 
 
 Your very humble fervant. 
 
 Y 4 LET-
 
 [ 3*8 ] 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 Niee, No-vernier i, 1764. 
 
 DEAR DOCTOR, 
 
 IN my enquiries about the revenues of 
 Nice, I am obliged to truft to the infor- 
 mation of the inhabitants, who are much 
 given to exaggerate. They tell me, the reve- 
 nues of this town amount to one hundred 
 thoufand livres, or five thoufand pounds 
 ilerling -, of which I would ftrike off at leafl 
 one fourth, as an addition of their own va- 
 nity : perhaps, if we deducl a third, it will 
 be nearer the truth. For, I cannot find out 
 any other funds tkey have, but the butchery 
 and the bakery, which they farm at fo much 
 a year to the beft bidder ; and the droits 
 dentrte, or duties upon provifion brought in- 
 to the city ; but thefe are very fmall. The 
 }dng is faid to draw from Nice one hundred 
 thoufand livres annually, arifing from a free- 
 gift, amounting to feven hundred pounds 
 
 flerling,
 
 LETTER XXI. 329 
 
 fterling, in lieu of the taille, from which this 
 town and county are exempted ; an inconfi- 
 derable duty upon wine fold in public-houfes - f 
 and the drotts du port. Thefe laft confift of 
 anehorage, paid by all veflels in proportion 
 to their tonnage, when they enter the har- 
 bours of Nice and Villa Franca. Befides, 
 all foreign vefTels, under a certain ftipulated 
 burthen, that pafs between the ifland of 
 Sardinia and this coaft, are obliged, in going 
 to the eaftward, to enter and pay a certain 
 regulated impofition, on pain of being ta- 
 ken and made prize. The prince of Monaco 
 exacts a talliage of the fame kind - y and both 
 he and the king of Sardinia maintain armed 
 cruifers to affert this prerogative ; from 
 which, however, the Englifli and French are 
 exempted by treaty, in confequence of ha- 
 ving paid a fum of money at once. In all 
 probability, it was originally given as a con- 
 fideration for maintaining lights on the 
 fhore, for the benefit of navigators, like the 
 toll paid for paffing the Sound in the Baltic. 
 The fanal, or lanthorn, to the eaftward of 
 Villa Franca, is kept in good repair, and ftill 
 lighted in the winter. The toll, however, 
 
 is
 
 33 o LETTER XXI. 
 
 is a very troublefome tax upon feluccas, and 
 other fmali craft, which are greatly retarded 
 in their voyages, and often lofe the benefit of 
 a fair wind, by being obliged to run in fhore, 
 and enter thofe harbours. The tobacco, 
 which is moftly from the JLevant, the king 
 manufactures at his own expence, and fells 
 for his own profit, at a very high price ; and 
 every perfon convicled of felling this commo- 
 dity in fecret, is fent to the gallies for life. 
 The fait comes chiefly from Sardinia, and is 
 ftored up in the king's magazine ; from 
 whence it is exported to Piedmont, and other 
 parts of his inland dominions. And here it 
 may not be amifs to obferve, that Sardinia 
 produces very good horfes, well-fhaped, 
 though fmall , ftrong, hardy, full of mettle, 
 and eafily fed. The whole county of Nice 
 is faid to yield the king half a million of 
 livres, about twenty-five thoufand pounds 
 iteiiing, arifmg from a fmall donative made 
 by every town and village : for the lands pay 
 no tax, or impofition, but the tithes to the 
 church. His revenue then flows from the 
 gabelle on fait and wine, and thefe free- gifts ; 
 fo that we may (hike off one fifth of the fum 
 
 at
 
 LETTER XXL 331 
 
 at which the whole is eft i mated j and con- 
 clude, that the king draws from the county 
 of Nice, about four hundred thoufand livres, 
 or twenty thoufand pounds flerling. That 
 his revenues from Nice are not great, appears 
 from the fmallnefs of the appointments al- 
 lowed to his officers. The prefident has about 
 three hundred pounds per annum ; and the 
 intendant about two. The pay of the com- 
 mandant does not exceed three hundred and 
 fifty pounds^; but he has certain privileges 1 
 called the tour du laton> fome of which a man 
 of fpirit would not infill upon. He who 
 commands at prefent, having no eftate of 
 his own, enjoys a fmall commandery, which 
 being added to his appointments at Nice, 
 make the whole amount to about five hun- 
 dred pounds fterling. 
 
 If we may believe the politicians of Nice, 
 the king of Sardinia's whole revenue does 
 not fall fhort of twenty millions of Pied- 
 montefe livres, being about one million of 
 our money. It muft be owned, that there 
 is no country in Chriftendom lefs taxed than 
 that of Nice ; and as the foil produces the 
 necefianes of life, the inhabitants, with 3. 
 
 little
 
 332 LETTER XXI. 
 
 little induftry, might renew the golden age 
 in this happy climate, among their groves, 
 woods, and mountains, beautified with foun- 
 tains, brooks, rivers, torrents, and cafcades. 
 In the midfl of thefe paftoral advantages, 
 the peafants are poor and miferable. They 
 have no flock to begin the world with. 
 They have no leafes of the lands they culti- 
 vate ; but entirely depend, from year to year, 
 on the pleafure of the arbitrary landholder, 
 who may turn them out at a minute's warn- 
 ing j and they are opprefTed by the mendi- 
 cant friars and panih priefls, who rob them 
 of the befl fruits of their labour : after all, 
 the ground is too fcanty for the number of 
 families which are crouded on it. 
 
 You defire to know the flate of the arts 
 and fciences at Nice ; which, indeed, is al- 
 moft: a total blank. I know not what men of 
 talents this place may have formerly produ- 
 ced; but at prcfcnt, it feems to be confecrated 
 to the reign of dulnefs and fuperflition. It 
 is very furprifing, to fee a people eftablifhed 
 between two enlightened nations, fo devoid 
 of tafte and literature. Here are no tolera- 
 ble pictures, bufts, ftatues, nor edifices : the 
 
 very
 
 LETTER XXI. 333 
 
 very ornaments of the churches are wretch- 
 edly conceived, and worfe executed. They 
 have no public, nor private libraries, that 
 afford any thing worth perufmg. There is 
 not even a bookfeller in Nice. Though they 
 value themfelves upon their being natives of 
 Italy, they are unacquainted with mufic. The 
 few that play upon inftruments, attend only 
 to the execution. They have no genius nor 
 tafte, nor any knowledge of harmony and 
 compofition. Among the French, a NifTard 
 piques himfelf on being Provencal; but in 
 Florence, Milan, or Rome, he claims the 
 honour of being born a native of Italy. 
 The people of condition here fpeak both 
 languages equally well; or, rather, equally 
 ill j for they ufe a low, uncouth phrafeology j 
 and their pronunciation is extremely vitious. 
 Their vernacular tongue is what they call 
 Patois j though in fo calling it, they do it in- 
 juftice. Patois t from the Latin word pata- 
 vinitas, means no more than a provincial 
 accent, or dialect. It takes its name from 
 PatavtuM, or Padua, which was the birth- 
 pjace of Livy, who, with all his merit as a 
 writer, has admitted into his hiftory, fome 
 
 provincial
 
 334 LETTER XXI. 
 
 provincial exprcffions of his own country. 
 The Patois, or native tongue of Nice, is no 
 other than the ancient Provencal, from 
 which the Italian, Spanifh, and French lan- 
 guages, have been formed. This is the lan- 
 guage that rofe upon the ruins of the Latin 
 tongue, after the irruptions of the Goths, 
 Vandals, Huns, and Burgundians, by whom 
 the Roman empire was deftroyed. It was" 
 fpoke all over Italy, Spain, and the fouthern 
 parts of France, until the thirteenth century, 
 when the Italians began to polifh it into the 
 language which they now call their own. 
 .The -Spaniards and French, llkewife, im- 
 proved it into their refpective tongues. From 
 its great affinity to the Latin, it was called 
 Romance, a name which the Spaniards frill 
 give to their own language. As the firrl le- 
 gends of knight-errantry were written in Pro- 
 ven9al, all fubfequent performances of .the 
 fame kind, have derived from it the name of 
 romance ; and a thofe annals of chivalry- 
 contained extravagant adventures of knights, 
 giants, and necromancers, every improbable 
 fiery or ficlion is to this day called a romance. 
 Mr, Walpole, in his Catalogue of royal and 
 
 noble
 
 L E T T E R XXI. 335 
 
 noble Authors, has produced two fonnets in 
 the antient Provencal, written by our king 
 Richard I. furnamed Caiur de Lion; and 
 Voltaire, in his Hiftorical Tracts, has fa- 
 voured the world with fome fpecimens of 
 the fame language. The Patois of Nice, 
 muft, without doubt, have undergone chan- 
 ges and corruptions in the courfe of fo ma- 
 ny ages, efpecially as no pains have been 
 taken to preferve its original purity, either 
 in orthography or pronunciation. It is ne- 
 glecled, as the language of the vulgar j and 
 fcarce any-body here knows either its origin 
 or conftitution. I have in vain endeavoured 
 to procure fome pieces in the antient Pro- 
 ven $al, that I might compare them with the 
 modern Patois : but I can find no perfon to 
 give rrie the leaft information on the fubjecl. 
 The fhades of ignorance, (loth, and ftupi- 
 dity, are impenetrable. Almoft every word 
 of the Patois may flill be found in the Ita- 
 lian, Spanifh, and French languages, with 
 a fmall change in the pronunciation. Cavallo, 
 fignifying a horfe in Italian and Spanifh, is 
 called cavao i maijbn, the French word for a 
 kcufc, is changed into maion ; agua^ which 
 4 means
 
 336 LETTER XXL 
 
 means water in Spaniih, the NifTards call dai- 
 gua. To exprefs, what a flop is here ! they fay 
 acco fa lac aqui^ which is a fentence com- 
 pofed of two Italian words, one French, 
 and one Spanifh. This is nearly the pro- 
 portion in which thefe three languages will 
 be found mingled in the Patois of Nice ; 
 which, with fome variation, extends over all 
 Provence, Languedoc, and Gafcony. I will 
 now treat you with two or three ftanzas of 
 a canzon, or hymn, in this language, to the 
 Virgin Mary, which was lately printed at 
 Nice. 
 
 Vierge, maire de Dieu, Virgin, mother of God, 
 
 Nuoftro buono avocado, Our good advocate, 
 
 Embel car uvoftre fieu, With your dear fon, 
 
 En Feneftro * adourado, In Feneftro adored, 
 
 Jeu vous faludi, I falutc you, 
 
 E demandi en focours ; And aflc his afliftance ; 
 
 E fenfo autre preludi, And without further prelude, 
 
 Canti lous uvoftre honouri. I fmg your honouri. 
 
 Qu' ario de Paradis ! What air of Paradife ! 
 
 Qne maefta divino ! What majefty divine ! 
 
 SaTamon es d' advis, Solomon is of opinion, 
 
 Giugiar de uvoftro mino ; To judge of your appearance j 
 
 Vous dis plus bello : Says you are the faireft : 
 
 E lou dis ben foven And it is often faid 
 
 De toutoi lei femello, Of all females, 
 
 non s'engano ren. And we are not at all deceived. 
 
 * Feneftro is the name of a place in this neighbourhood, 
 where there is a fuppofed miraculous fan&uary, or chapel, 
 f the Virgin Mary. 
 
 ario
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 337 
 
 3- 3- 
 
 Qn" ario de Paradis I What air of Paradife ! 
 
 Que maefta divino ! What majefty divine '. 
 
 La bellezzo cblovis ; The beauty dazzles j 
 
 La bonta 1'ueigl raffino. The goodnefs purifies the eye i 
 
 Sias courcnado : You are crowned : 
 
 Tenes lou monde en man : You hold the world in your band : 
 
 Sus del trono affettado, Seated on the throne, 
 
 Rigcs lou uvoftre enfan. You fupport your child. 
 
 You fee I have not chofen this canzon for 
 the beauty and elegance of thought and ex- 
 preffion j but give it you as the only printed 
 fpecimen I could find of the modern Proven- 
 90!. If you have any curiofity to be further 
 acquainted with the Patois , I will endeavour 
 to procure you fatisfaction. Mean while, I 
 am, in plain Englifh, 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Ever yours, 
 
 VOL. I. Z LETTER.
 
 [ 338 ] 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Nlte, November 10, 1764, 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 ^W T Had once thoughts of writing a comple-te 
 JL natural hiftory of this town and county : 
 but I found myfelf altogether unequal to the 
 tafk. I have neither health, ftrength, nor 
 opportunity, to make proper collections of 
 the mineral, vegetable, and animal produc- 
 tions. I am not much converfant with thefe 
 branches of natural philofophy. I have no 
 books to direct my inquiries. I can find no 
 perfon capable of giving me the leafl infor- 
 mation or afliftance ; and I am ftrangely puz- 
 zled by the barbarous names they give to 
 many different fpecies, the defcriptions of 
 which I have read under other appellations > 
 and which, as I have never feen them be- 
 fore, I cannot pretend to dulinguifh by the 
 eye. You mull therefore be contented with 
 fuch imperfect intelligence as my opportuni- 
 ties can afford. 
 
 The
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 The ufeful arts praclifed at Nice, are thefe, 
 gardening and agriculture, with their confe- 
 quences, the making of wine, oil, and cor- 
 dage j the rearing of filk- worms, with the 
 fubfequent management and manufacture of 
 that production ; and the fiihing, which I 
 have already defcribed. 
 
 Nothing can be more unpromifing than the 
 natural foil of this territory, except in a very 
 few narrow bottoms, where there is a ftifF 
 clay, which when carefully watered, yields 
 tolerable pafturage. In every other part, the 
 foil confifts of a light fand mingled with peb- 
 bles, which ferves well enough for the cul- 
 ture of vines and olives : but the ground 
 laid out for kitchen herbs, as well as for 
 other fruit, muft be manured with great care 
 and attention. They have no black cattle to 
 afford fuch compoft as our farmers ufe in 
 England. The dung of mules and afTes, 
 which are their only beafts of burthen, is of 
 very little value for this purpofe ; and the 
 natural fterility of their ground requires 
 fomething highly impregnated with nitre and 
 volatile falts. They have recourfe therefore 
 to pigeon's dung and ordure, which fully 
 Z 2 anfwer
 
 34 o LETTER XXII. 
 
 anfwer their expectations. Every peafant 
 opens, at one corner of his wall, a public 
 houfe of office for the reception of paflen- 
 gers -, and in the town of Nice, every tene- 
 ment is provided with one of thefe receptacles, 
 the contents of which are carefully preferved 
 for fale. The peafant comes with his afTes 
 and calks to carry it off before day, and pays 
 for it according to its quality, which he exa- 
 mines and investigates, by the tafte and fla- 
 vour. The jakes of a proteftant family, who 
 eat gras every day, bears a much higher price 
 than the privy of a good catholic who lives 
 maigre one half of the year. The vaults be- 
 longing to the convent of Minims are not 
 worth emptying. 
 
 The ground here is not delved with fpades 
 as in England, but laboured with a broad, 
 (liarp hough, with a fhort horizontal handle; 
 and the climate is fo hot and dry in the Cum- 
 mer, that the plants muft be watered every 
 morning and evening, efpecially where it is 
 not (haded by trees. It is furprifing to fee 
 how the productions of the earth are crouded 
 together. One would imagine they would 
 rob one another of nourifhment j and more- 
 2 over
 
 LETTER XXII. 341 
 
 over be {lifted for want of air j and doubt- 
 lefs this is the cafe. Olive and other fruit- 
 trees are planted in rows very clofe to each 
 other. Thefe are connected by vines, and 
 the interfaces, between the rows, are filled 
 with corn. The gardens that fupply the 
 town with fallad and pot-herbs, lye all on 
 the fide of Provence, by the highway. They 
 are furrounded with high ftone-walls, or 
 ditches, planted with a kind of cane or large 
 reed, which anfwers many purpofes in this 
 country. The leaves of it afford fuflenance 
 to the afTes, and the canes not only ferve as 
 fences to the inclofures j but are ufed to prop 
 the vines and peafe: they are formed into ar- 
 bours, and wore as walking- ftaves. All thefe 
 gardens are watered by little rills that come 
 from the mountains, particularly, by the fmall 
 branches of the two fources which I have de- 
 fcribed in a former letter, as nTuing from the 
 two fides of a mountain, under the names of 
 Fontaine de Muraille, and Fontaine du c Teniple\ 
 In the neighbourhood of Nice, they raiie 
 a confiderable quantity of hemp, the larger! 
 and ftrongeft I ever faw. Part of this, when 
 d relied, is exported to other countries ; and 
 Z 3 part
 
 342 LETTER XXII. 
 
 part is manufactured into cordage. How- 
 ever profitable it may be to the grower, it is 
 certainly a great nufance in the fummer. 
 When taken out of the pits, where it has 
 been put to rot, the ftrench it raifes is quite 
 infupportable ; and muft undoubtedly be un- 
 wholefome. 
 
 There is fuch a want of land in this neigh- 
 bourhood, that terraces are built over one 
 another with loofe ftones, on the faces of 
 bare rocks, and thefe being covered with 
 earth and manured, are planted with olives, 
 vines, and corn. The fame fhift was prac- 
 tifed all over Paleftine, which was rocky and 
 barren, and much more populous than the 
 county of Nice. 
 
 Notwithstanding the fmall extent of this 
 territory, there are fome pleafant meadows in 
 the fkirts of Nice, that produce excellent 
 clover -, and the corn which is fown in open 
 fields, where it has the full benefit of the 
 foil, fun, and air, grows to a furprizing 
 height. I have feen rye feven or eight feet 
 high. All vegetables have a wonderful growth 
 in this climate. Befides wheat, rye, barley, 
 and oats, this country produces a good deal 
 
 of
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 of Meliga, or Turkifli wheat, which is what 
 we call Indian corn. I have, in a former let- 
 ter, obferved that the meal of this grain goes 
 by the name polenta, and makes excellent 
 hafty-pudding, being very nourifhing, and 
 counted an admirable pectoral. The pods 
 and flalks are ufed for fuel ; and the leaves 
 are much preferable to common ftraw, for 
 making paillaffes. 
 
 The peafe and beans in the garden appear 
 in the winter like beautiful plantations of 
 young trees in bloflbm ; and perfume the air. 
 Myrtle, fweet- briar, fweet-marjoram, fage, 
 thyme, lavender, rofemary, with many other 
 aromatic herbs and flowers, which with us 
 require the moft careful cultivation, are here 
 found wild in the mountains. 
 
 It is not many years fmce the NifTards 
 learned the culture of filk- worms, of their 
 neighbours the Piedmonteze ; and hitherto 
 the progrefs they have made is not very con- 
 fiderable : the whole county of Nice pro- 
 duces about one hundred and thirty-three 
 bales of three hundred pounds each, amount- 
 ing in value to four hundred thoufand livres. 
 
 Z 4 In
 
 344 LETTER XXII. 
 
 In the beginning of April, when the mul- 
 berry-leaves begin to put forth, the eggs or 
 grains that produce the filk-worm, are hatch- 
 ed. The grains are wafhed in wine, and 
 thofe that fwim on the top, are thrown a- 
 way as good for nothing. The reft being 
 depofited in fmall bags of linen, are worn 
 by women in their bofoms, until the worms 
 begin to appear : then they are placed in 
 {hallow wooden boxes, covered with a piece 
 of white paper, cut into littls holes, through 
 which the worms afcend as they are hatched, 
 to feed on the young mulberry-leaves, of 
 which there is a layer above the paper. 
 Thefe boxes are kept for warmth between two 
 mattrafTes, and viiited every day. Frefli 
 leaves are laid in, and the worms that feed 
 are removed fucceffively to the other place pre- 
 pared for their reception. This is an habi- 
 tation, confuting of two or three ftories, about 
 twenty inches from each other, raifcd upon 
 four wooden ports. The floors are made of 
 canes, and ftrewed with frefh mulberry-leaves : 
 the corner pofts, and other occafional props, 
 for fuftaining the different floors, are covered 
 with a coat of loofe heath, which is twifted 
 
 round
 
 LETTER XXII. 345 
 
 round the wood. The worms when hatched 
 are laid upon the floors ; and here you may 
 fee them in all the different ftages of moult- 
 ing or cafting the flough, a change which 
 they undergo three times fucceflively before 
 they begin to work. The filk-worm is an 
 animal of fuch acute and delicate fenfations, 
 that too much care cannot be taken to keep 
 its habitation clean, and to refrefli it from 
 time to time with pure air. I have feen 
 them languifh and die in fcores, in confe- 
 quence of an accidental bad fmell. The 
 foiled leaves, and the filth which they necel- 
 farily produce, (hould be carefully fhifted 
 every day; and it would not be amifs to 
 purify the air fometimes with fumes of vine- 
 gar, rofe, or orange -flower water, Thefe 
 niceties, however, are but little obferved. 
 They commonly lie in heaps as thick as 
 fhrimps in a plate, fome feeding on the 
 leaves, fome new hatched, fome intranced in 
 the agonies of cafting their fkin, fome Ian- 
 guifhing, and fome actually dead, with a lit- 
 ter of half eaten faded leaves about them, in 
 a clofe room, crouded with women and chil- 
 dren, not at all remarkable for their cieanli- 
 
 nets.
 
 34 6 LETTER XXII. 
 
 nefs. I am allured by fome perfons of credit, 
 that if they are touched, or even approached, 
 by a woman in her catamenia, they infallibly 
 expire. This, however, muft be underflood 
 of thofe females whofe (kins have naturally a 
 very rank flavour, which is generally height- 
 ened at fuch periods. The mulberry-leaves 
 ufcd in this country are of the tree which 
 bears a fmall white fruit, not larger than a 
 damafcene. They are planted on purpofe, 
 and the leaves are fold at fo much a pound. 
 By the middle of June all the mulberry- trees 
 are dripped ; but new leaves fucceed, and in 
 a few weeks, they are cloathed again with 
 frefh verdure. In about ten days after the 
 lafl moulting, the filk-worm climbs upon the 
 props of his houfe, and choofing a fituation 
 among the heath, begins to fpin in a mod 
 curious manner, until he is quite inclofed, 
 and the cocon or pod of filk, about the fize 
 of a pigeon's egg, which he has produced, 
 remains fufpended by feveral filaments. It is 
 not unufual to fee double cocons, fpun by 
 two worms included under a common cover. 
 There mufl be an infinite number of worms 
 to yield any confiderable quantity of filk. 
 
 One
 
 LETTER XXII. 347 
 
 One ounce of eggs or grains produces four 
 rup, or one hundred Nice pounds of cocons ; 
 and one rup, or twenty-five pounds of cocons, 
 if they are rich, gives three pounds of raw 
 filk ; that is, twelve pounds of filk are got 
 from one ounce of grains, which ounce of 
 grains is produced by as many worms as are 
 inclofed in one pound, or twelve ounces of 
 cocons. In preferving the cocons for breed, 
 you muft choofe an equal number of males 
 and females ; and thefe are very eafily diftin- 
 guimed by the fhape of the cocons j that 
 which contains the male is fharp, and the 
 other obtufe, at the two ends. In ten or 
 twelve days after the cocon is finifhed, the 
 worm makes its way through it, in the form 
 of a very ugly, unwieldy, aukward butter- 
 fly, and as the different fexes are placed by 
 one another on paper or linen, they imme- 
 diately engender. The female lays her eggs, 
 which are carefully preferved ; but neither 
 flie nor her mate takes any nourishment, and 
 in eight or ten days after they quit the cocons, 
 they generally die. The filk of thefe cocons 
 cannot be wound, becaufe the animals in 
 piercing through them, have deftroyed the 
 
 continuity
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 continuity of the filaments. It is therefore, 
 firfl boiled, and then picked and carded like 
 wool, and being afterwards fpun, is ufed in 
 the coarfer fluffs of the fiik manufacture. 
 The other cocons, which yield the befl filk, 
 are managed in a different manner. Before 
 the inclofed worm has time to penetrate, the 
 filk is reeled off with equal care and inge- 
 nuity. A handful of the cocons are thrown 
 into a kettle of boiling water, which not only 
 kills the animal, but diffblves the glutinous 
 fubflance by which the fine filaments of the 
 filk cohere or flick together, fo that they are 
 eafily wound off, without breaking. Six or 
 feven of thefe fmall filaments being joined to- 
 gether are pafled over a kind of twilling iron, 
 and fixed to the wheel, which one girl turns, 
 while another, with her hands in the boiling 
 water, difentangles the threads, joins them 
 when they chance to break, and fupplies frefh 
 cocons with admirable dexterity and difpatch. 
 There is a manufacture of this kind juft with- 
 out one of the gates of Nice, where forty or 
 fifty of thefe wheels are worked together, and 
 give employment for fome weeks to double the 
 number of young women. Thofe who ma- 
 nage
 
 LETTER XXII. 349 
 
 nage the pods that float in the boiling water 
 muft be very alert, other wife they will fcald 
 their fingers. The fmell that comes from the 
 boiling cocons is extremely offenfive. Hard 
 by the harbour, there is a very curious mill 
 for twilling the filk, which goes by water. 
 There is in the town of Nice, a well regu- 
 lated hofpital for poor orphans of both fexes, 
 where above one hundred of them are em- 
 ployed in drefling, dying, fpinning and weav- 
 ing the filk. In the villages of Provence, you 
 fee the poor women in the ftreets fpinning 
 raw filk upon diflaves : but here the fame 
 inftrument is only ufed for fpinning hemp 
 and flax -, which laft, however, is not of the 
 growth of Nice. But left I fhould fpin this 
 letter to a tedious length, I will now wind 
 up my bottom, and bid you heartily fare- 
 well. ' 
 
 LET-
 
 [ 35 1 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 Nice, December 19, 1764, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 IN may laft, I gave you a fuccincl: account 
 of the filk-worm, and the management 
 of that curious infect in this country. I fhall 
 now proceed to defcribe the methods of mak- 
 ing wine and oil. 
 
 The vintage begins in September. The 
 grapes being chofen and carefully picked, are 
 put into a large vat, where they are preffed 
 by a man's naked feet, and the juices drawn 
 off by a cock below. When no more is pro- 
 cured by this operation, the bruifed grapes 
 are put into the prefs, and yield ftill more 
 liquor. The juice obtained by this double 
 preflure, being put in caiks, with their bungs 
 open, begins to ferment and difcharge its 
 impurities at the openings. The wafle occa- 
 fioned by this difcharge, is conflantly fup- 
 plied with freih wine ; fo that the calks are 
 always full. The fermentation continues 
 
 for
 
 L E T T E R XXIII. 351 
 
 for twelve, fifteen, or twenty days, according 
 to the fbrength and vigour of the grape. In 
 about a month, the wine is fit for drinking. 
 When the grapes are of a bad, meagre kind, 
 the wine dealers mix the juice with pigeons- 
 dung or quick-lime, in order to give it a 
 fpirit which nature has denied : but this is a 
 very mifchievous adulteration. 
 
 The procefs for oil-making is equally fim- 
 ple. The beft olives are thofe that grow wild ; 
 but the quantity of them is very inconfidera- 
 ble. Olives begin to ripen and drop in the 
 beginning of November : but fome remain 
 on the trees till February, and even till April, 
 and thefe are counted the moft valuable. 
 When the olives are gathered, they mufl. be 
 manufactured immediately, before they fade 
 and grow wrinkled, otherwise they will pro- 
 duce bad oil. They are firft of all ground 
 into a pafte by a mill-ftone fet edge-ways in 
 a circular Hone-trough, and turned by water. 
 This pafte is put into circular cafes made of 
 grafs woven, having a round hole at top and 
 bottom 5 when filled they refemble in fhape 
 our Che fi lire cheefes. A number of thefe 
 placed one upon another, are put in a prefs, 
 
 and
 
 352 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 and being fqueezed, the oil with all its im- 
 purities, runs into a receptacle below fixed 
 in the ground. From hence it is laded into a 
 wooden vat, half filled with water. The 
 fordes or dirt falls to the bottom ; the oil 
 fwims a-top ; and being fkimmed off, is bar- 
 relled up in fmall oblong cafks. What re- 
 mains in the vat, is thrown into a large flone 
 ciftern with water, and after being often fUrred, 
 and {landing twelve or fourteen days, yields 
 a coarfer oil ufed for lamps and manufac- 
 tures. After thefe proceffes, they extract an 
 oil flill more coarfe and fetid from the refufe 
 of the whole. Sometimes, in order to make 
 the olives grind the more eafily into a pafte, 
 and part with more oil, they are mixed with a 
 little hot water : but the oil thus procured is 
 apt to grow rancid. The very finelt, called 
 virgin oil, is made chiefly of green olives, 
 and fold at a very high price, becaufe a great 
 quantity is required to produce a very little 
 oil. Even the fluff that is left after all thefe 
 operations, confiding of the dried pulp, is 
 fold for fuel, and ufed in br after es for warm- 
 ing apartments which have no chimney. 
 
 I have
 
 L E T T.E R XXIII. 353 
 
 I have now fpecified all the manuf aclures 
 of Nice which are worth mentioning. True 
 it is, there is fome coarfe paper made in this 
 neighbourhood j there are alfo people here 
 who drefs fkins and make leather for the ufe 
 of the inhabitants : but this bufmefs is very 
 ill performed : the gloves and fhoes are gene- 
 rally rotten as they come from the hands of 
 the maker. Carpenter's, joiner's, and black- 
 fmith's work is very coarfely and clumfily 
 done. There are no chairs to be had at 
 Nice, but crazy things made of a few flicks, 
 with ruih bottoms, which are fold for twelve 
 livres a dozen. Nothing can be more con- 
 temptible than the hard-ware made in this 
 place, fuch as knives, fcirTars, and candle- 
 fnufFers. All utenfils in brafs and copper are 
 very ill made and finiflied, The filver-fmiths 
 make nothing but fpoons, forks, paultry 
 rings, and crofTes for the necks of the wo- 
 men. 
 
 The houfes are built of a ragged ftone 
 dug from the mountains, and the interfaces 
 are filled with rubble j fo that the walls would 
 appear very ugly, if they were not covere4 
 with plaifter, which has a good effect. They 
 
 VOL. I. A a generally
 
 354 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 generally confift of three ftories, and are co- 
 vered with tiles. The apartments of the 
 better fort are large and lofty, the floors 
 paved with brick, the roofs covered with a 
 thick coat of ftucco, and the walls white- 
 wafhed. People of diftinclion hang their 
 chambers with damafk, ftriped filk, painted 
 cloths, tnpeftry, or printed linnen. All the 
 doors, as well as the windows, confift of 
 folding leaves. As there is no wainfcot in 
 the rooms, which are divided by ftone parti- 
 tions and the floors and cieling are covered 
 with brick and ftucco, fires are of much 
 lefs dreadful confequences here than in our 
 country, Wainfcot would afford harbour 
 for bugs : betides, white walls have a better 
 dfecl in this hot climate. The beds com- 
 monly nfed in this place, and all over Italy, 
 confift of a paillaffe^ with one or two mat- 
 trafles, laid upon planks, fupported by two 
 wooden benches. Inftead of*, curtains there 
 is a couzinicre or mofquito net, made of a 
 kind of gauze, that opens and contracts oc- 
 caiionally, and inclofes the place where you 
 lie : perfons of condition, however, have alfo 
 
 bedfteads
 
 LETTER XXIII. 355 
 
 bedfteads and curtains ; but thefe laft are 
 never ufed in the fummer. 
 
 In thefe countries, people of all ranks 
 dine exactly at noon ; and this is the time I 
 feize in winter, for making my daily tour of 
 the flreets and ramparts, which at all other 
 hours of the day are crowded with men, wo- 
 men, children and beafts of burthen. The 
 rampart is the common road for carriages of 
 all kinds. I think there are two private 
 coaches in Nice, befides that of the com- 
 mandant : but there are fedan chairs, which 
 may be had at a reafonable rate. When I 
 bathed in the fummer, I paid thirty fols, 
 equal to eighteen-pence, for being carried to 
 and from the bathing .place, which was a 
 mile from my own houfe. Now I am fpeak- 
 ing of bathing, it may not be amifs to in- 
 form you that though there is a fine open 
 beach, extending feveral miles to the weft- 
 ward of Nice, thofe who cannot fwim ought 
 to bathe with great precaution, as the fea is 
 very deep, and the defcent very abrupt from 
 within a yard or two of the water's edge. 
 The people here were much furprifed when I 
 began to bathe in the beginning of May. 
 A a 2 They
 
 35 6 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 They thought it very flrange, that a man 
 feemingly confumptive fhould plunge into 
 the fea, efpecially when the weather was fo 
 cold j and fome of the doftors prognoilicated 
 immediate death. But, when it was perceived 
 that I grew better in confequence of the bath, 
 forne of the Swifs officers tried the fame ex- 
 periment, and in a few days, our example 
 was followed by feveral inhabitants of Nice. 
 There is, however, no convenience for this 
 operation, from the benefit of which the fair 
 fex muft be intirely excluded, unlefs they lay 
 afide all regard to decorum ; for the fhore is 
 always lined with fifhing-boats, and crouded 
 with people. If a lady fhould be at the ex- 
 pence of having a tent pitched on the beach 
 where (he might put on and off her bathing- 
 drefs, flie could not pretend to go into the fea 
 without proper attendants j nor could fhe 
 poffibly plunge headlong into the water, 
 which is the mod effectual, and leafl dan- 
 gerous way of bathing. All that fhe can do 
 is to have the fea- water brought into her 
 houfe, and make ufe of a bathing-tub, which 
 may be made according to her own, or phy- 
 fician's direction r 
 
 What
 
 LETTER XXIII. 357 
 
 What further I have to fay of this climate 
 and country, you fhall have in my next j 
 and then you will be releafed from a fubjecl, 
 which I am afraid has been but too circura- 
 ftantially handled by, 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your very humble fervant. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Nifty Januaiy*, 1765. 
 
 DEAR SIR, 
 
 THE conftitution of this climate may 
 be pretty well afcertained, from the 
 inclofed regifter of the weather, which I kept 
 with all poflible care and attention. From a 
 perufal of it, you will fee that there is lefs 
 rain and wind at Nice, than in any other 
 part of the world that I know 5 and fuch is 
 the ferenity of the air, that you fee nothing 
 above your head for feveral months together, 
 but a charming blue expanfe, without cloud 
 or fpeck. Whatever clouds may be formed 
 A a 3 >y
 
 358 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 by evaporation from the fea, they feldom 
 or never hover over this fmall territory j but, 
 in all probability, are attracted by the moun- 
 tains that furround it, and there fall in rain 
 or fnow : as for thofe that gather from other 
 quarters, I fuppofe their progrefs hitherward 
 is obflructed by thofe very Alps which rife 
 one over another, to an extent of many 
 leagues. This air being dry, pure, heavy, 
 and elaftic, mud be agreeable to the confli- 
 tution of thofe who labour under diforders 
 anting from weak nerves, obftru&ed perfpi- 
 ration, relaxed fibres, a vifcidity of lymph, 
 and a languid circulation. In other refpefls, 
 it encourages the fcurvy, the atmofphere be- 
 ing undoubtedly impregnated with fea-falt. 
 Ever fince my arrival at Nice, I have had a 
 fcorbutical eruption on my right hand, 
 which diminimes and increafes according to 
 the ftate of my health. One day laft fum- 
 mer, when there was a ftrong breeze from 
 the fea, the furface of our bodies was co- 
 vered with a fait brine, very perceptible to 
 the tafte j my gums, as well as thofe of 
 another perfon in my family, began to fwell, 
 
 and
 
 LETTER XXIV. 359 
 
 and grow painful, though this had never 
 happened before ; and I was feized with vio- 
 lent pains in the joints of my knees. I was 
 then at a country- ho ufe fronting the fea, 
 and particularly expofed to the marine air. 
 The fwelling of our gums fubfided as the 
 wind fell: but what was very remarkable, 
 the fcurvy-fpot on my hand difappeared, and 
 did not return for a whole month. It is af- 
 firmed, that fea-falt will difTolve, and ren- 
 der the blood fo fluid, that it will exude 
 through the coats of the vefTels. Perhaps 
 the fea-fcurvy is a partial difTolution of it, 
 by that mineral abforbed from the air by the 
 lymphatics on the furface of the body, and 
 by thofe of the lungs in refpiration. Certain 
 it is, in the laft ftages of the fea-fcurvy, the 
 blood often burfts from the pores; and this 
 phenomenon is imputed to a high degree of 
 putrefaction : fure enough it is attended with 
 putrefaction. We know that a certain quan- 
 tity of fait is required to preferve the animal 
 juices from growing putrid : but, how a 
 greater quantity fhould produce putrefaction, 
 I leave to wifer heads to explain. Many peo- 
 A a 4 pie
 
 3 6o LETTER XXIV. 
 
 pie here have fcorbutical complaints, though 
 their teeth are not affected. They are fub- 
 ject to eruptions on the ikin, putrid gums, 
 pains in the bones, laffitude, indigeftion, and 
 low fpirits ; but the reigning diftemper is a 
 marafmus, or confumption, which proceeds 
 gradually, without any pulmonary complaint, 
 the complexion growing more and more flo- 
 rid, 'till the very laft fcene of the tragedy. 
 This I would impute to the effects of a very 
 dry, faline atmofphere, upon a thin habit, 
 in which there is an extraordinary wafte by 
 perfpiration. The air is remarkably fait in 
 this diftricl:, becaufe the mountains that hem 
 it in, prevent its communication with the cir- 
 cumambient atmofphere, in which the faline 
 particles would otherwife be diffufed ; and 
 there is no rain, nor dew, to precipitate or 
 difTolve them. Such an air as I have de- 
 fcribed, fhould have no bad effect upon a 
 moift, phlegmatic conftitution, fuch as mine ; 
 and yet it muft be owned, I have been vifi- 
 bly wailing fmce I came hither, though this 
 decay I confidered as the progrefs of the tabes 
 which began in England. But the air of 
 Nice has had a flill more fenfible effect upon 
 
 Mr.
 
 LETTER XXIV. 361 
 
 ^f r . Sch z, who laboured under nervous 
 complaints to fuch a degree, that life was a 
 burthen to him. He had alfo a fixed pain in 
 his bread, for which complaint he had for- 
 merly tried the air of Naples, where he red- 
 ded fome confiderable time, and in a great 
 meafure recovered : but, this returning with 
 weaknefs, faintnefs, low fpirits, and entire 
 lofs of appetite, he was advifed to come hi- 
 ther; and the fuccefs of his journey has 
 greatly exceeded his expectation. Though 
 the weather has been remarkably bad for this 
 climate, he has enjoyed perfect health. Sinc4 
 he arrived at Nice, the pain in his breaft va- 
 nifhed; he eats heartily, fleeps well, is in 
 high fpirits, and fo ftrong, that he is never 
 off his legs in the day-time. He can walk 
 to the Var, and back again, before dinner ; 
 and he has climbed to the tops of all the 
 mountains in this neighbourhood. I never 
 faw before fuch fudden and happy effects from 
 the change of air. I muft alfo acknowledge, 
 that ever mice my arrival at Nice, I have! 
 breathed more freely than I had done for forne 
 years, and my fpirits have been more alert. 1 
 The father of my #c4notne> who was a dan- 
 cing.
 
 362 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 cing-mafter, had been fo afflicted with an 
 afthmatic diforder, that he could not live in 
 France, Spain, or Italy ; but found the air 
 of Nice fo agreeable to his lungs, that he 
 was enabled to exerciie his profeffion for 
 above twenty years, and died laft fpring 
 turned of feventy. Another advantage I have 
 reaped from this climate is my being, in a 
 great meafure, delivered from a flow fever 
 ivhich ufed to hang about me, and render 
 life a burthen. Neither am I fo apt to catch 
 cold as I ufed to be in England and France ; 
 and the colds I do catch are not of the fame 
 continuance and confequence, as thofe to 
 which I was formerly fubject. The air of 
 Nice is fo dry, that in fummer, and even in 
 winter, (except in wet weather) you may 
 pafs the evening, and indeed the whole 
 night, fub Dio } without feeling the leaft 
 dew or moifture j and as for fogs, they are 
 never feen in this diftri<5r. In fummer, the 
 ^ir is cooled by a regular fea-breeze blowing 
 from the call, like that of the Weft-Indies. 
 It begins in the forenoon, and increafes with 
 the heat of the day. It dies away about fix 
 or feven; and immediately after fun-fet, is 
 
 fucceeded
 
 LETTER XXIV. 363 
 
 fucceeded by an agreeable land-breeze from 
 the mountains. The fea-breeze from the 
 eaftward, however, is not fo conftant here, 
 as in the Weft-Indies between the tropicks, 
 becaufe the fun, which produces it, is not fo 
 powerful. This country lies nearer the re- 
 gion of variable winds, and is furrounded 
 by mountains, capes, and flraights, which 
 often influence the conftitution and current 
 of the air. About the winter folflice, the 
 people of Nice expect wind and rain, which 
 generally lafts, with intervals, 'till the begin- 
 ning of February : but even during this, 
 their worft weather, the fun breaks out occa- 
 fionally, and you may take the air either 
 a-foot or on horfeback every day ; for the 
 moifture is immediately abforbed by the 
 earth, which is naturally dry. They like- 
 wife lay their account with being vifited by 
 ihowers of rain and gufts of wind in April. 
 A week's rain in the middle of Auguft 
 makes them happy. It not only refrefhqs 
 the parched ground, and plumps up tj 
 grapes and other fruit, but it cools the 
 and afTuages the heats, which then begin to 
 grow very troublefome j but the rainy feftfon
 
 364 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 is about the autumnal equinox, or rather 
 fomething later. It continues about twelve 
 days or a fortnight, and is extremely wel- 
 come to the natives of this country. This 
 rainy feafon is often delayed 'till the latter 
 end of November, and fometimes 'till the 
 month of December ; in which cafe, the reft 
 of the winter is generally dry. The heavy 
 rains in this country generally come with a 
 fouth-weft wind, which was the creberque 
 froccllis Africus of the antients. It is here 
 called Lebecbe, a corruption of Lybicus : it 
 generally blows high for a day or two, and 
 rolls the Mediterranean before it in huge 
 waves, that often enter the town of Nice. 
 It likewife drives before it all the clouds 
 which had been formed above the furface of 
 the Mediterranean. Thefe being expended 
 in rain, fair weather naturally enfues. For 
 this reafon, the Niffards obferve le lebeche 
 raccommode le terns. During the rains of this 
 Ceafon, however, the winds have been varia- 
 ble. From the fixteenth of November, 'till 
 the fourth of January, we have had two 
 and twenty days of heavy rain : a very ex- 
 traordinary vifitation in this country: but 
 3 the
 
 LETTER XXIV. 365 
 
 the feafons feem to be more irregular than 
 formerly, all over Europe. In the month of 
 July, the mercury in Fahrenheit's thermo- 
 meter, rofe to eighty -four at Rome; the 
 higheft degree at which it was ever known in 
 that country; and the very next day, the 
 Sabine mountains were covered with mow. 
 The fame phenomenon happened on the ele- 
 venth of Auguft, and the thirtieth of Sep- 
 tember. The confequence of thefe fudden 
 variations of weather, was this : putrid fe- 
 vers were lefs frequent than ufual ; but the 
 fudden check of perfpi ration from the cold, 
 produced colds, inflammatory fore throats, 
 and the rheumatifm. I know inftances of 
 fome F^xiui valetudinailans, who have 
 parTed the winter at Aix, on the fuppofition 
 that there was little or no difference between 
 that air and the climate of Nice : but this is 
 a very great miftake, which may be attended 
 with fatal confequences. Aix is altogether 
 expofed to the north and north-weft winds, 
 which blow as cold in Provence, as ever I 
 felt them on the mountains of Scotland : 
 whereas Nice is entirely fcreened "from thefe 
 winds by the Maritime Alps> which form an 
 
 amphi-
 
 366 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 amphitheatre, to the land-fide, around thlg 
 little territory : but another inconteftible proof 
 of the mildnefs of this climate, is deduced 
 from the oranges, lemons, citrons, rofes* 
 narcifTus's, july-flowers, and jonquils, which 
 ripen and blow in the middle of winter. I 
 have defcribed the agreeable fide of this cli^ 
 mate ; and now I will point out its inconve- 
 niences. In the winter, but efpecially in the 
 fpring, the fun is fo hot, that one can hardly 
 take exercife of any fort abroad, without be- 
 ing thrown into a breathing fweat j and the 
 wind at this feafon is fo cold and piercing, 
 that it often produces a mifchievous effect on 
 the pores thus opened. If the heat rarifies 
 the blood an* 1 juices, while the cold air con- 
 fringes the fibres, and obflrucls the perfpi- 
 ration, inflammatory diforders muft enfue. 
 Accordingly, the people are then fubject to 
 colds, pleurifies, peripneumonies, and ardent 
 fevers. An old count advifed me to flay 
 within doors in March, car alors les bumeyrs 
 commencent a fe rcmucr. During the heats of 
 fummer, fome few perfons of grofs habits 
 have, in confequence of violent exercife and 
 excefs, been fcized with putrid fevers, at- 
 tended
 
 LETTER XXIV. 367 
 
 tended with exanthemata, erifipelatous, and 
 miliary eruptions, which commonly prove 
 fatal : but the people in general are healthy, 
 even thofe that take very little exercife: a 
 ftrong prefumption in favour of the climate ! 
 As to medicine, I know nothing of the prac- 
 tice of the Nice phyficians. Here are eleven 
 in all ; but four or five make fhift to live by 
 the profeflion. They receive, by way of fee, 
 ten fols (an Englifh fix-pence) a vilit, and 
 this but ill paid ; fo you may guefs whether 
 they are in a condition to fupport the dignity 
 of phyfic ; and whether any man, of a libe- 
 ral education, would bury himfelf at Nice 
 on fuch terms. I am acquainted with an 
 Italian phyfician fettled at Villa Franca, a 
 very good fort of a man, who practifes for a 
 certain falary, raifed by annual contribution 
 among the better fort of people j and an al- 
 lowance from the king, for vifiting the fick 
 belonging to the garrifon and the gallies. 
 The. whole may amount to near thirty 
 pounds. 
 
 Among the inconveniences of this climate, 
 the vermin form no inconfiderable article. 
 Vipers and fnakes are found in the moun- 
 tains.
 
 368 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 tains. Our gardens fwarm with lizzards > 
 and there are fome few fcorpions , but as yet 
 I have fee n but one of this fpecies. In fum- 
 mer, notwithstanding all the care and pre- 
 cautions we can take, we are peftered with 
 incredible fwarms of flies, fleas, and bugs ; 
 but the gnats, or couzins, are more intole- 
 rable than all the reft. In the day-time, it 
 is impoflible to keep the flies out of your 
 mouth, noftrils, eyes, and ears. They croud 
 into your milk, tea, chocolate, foup, wine, 
 and water: they foil your fugar, contami- 
 nate your victuals, and devour your fruit ; 
 they cover and defile your furniture, floors, 
 cielings, and indeed your whole body. As 
 ibon as candles are lighted, the couzins begin 
 to buz about your ear* in myriacU *nd tor- 
 ment you with their flings, fo that you have 
 no reft nor refpite 'till you get into bed, 
 where you are fecured by your mufquito-net. 
 This inclofure is very difagreeable in hot 
 weather j and very inconvenient to thofe, 
 who, like me, are fubjeft to a cough and 
 fpitting. It is moreover ineffectual ; for 
 fome of thofe curfed infects infmuate them- 
 (elves within it, almoft every night 5 and half 
 
 a dozen
 
 L E T t E R XXIV. 369 
 
 a dozen of them are fuffi&ent to difturb you 
 'till morning. This is a plague that conti- 
 nues all the year; but in fummer it is into- 
 lerable. During this feafon, likewife, the 
 moths are fo mifchievous, that it requires 
 the utmoft care to preferve woollen cloths 
 from being deftroyed. From the month of 
 May, 'till the beginning of October, the 
 heat is fo violent, that you cannot ftir abroad 
 after fix in the morning 'till eight at night, 
 fo that you are entirely deprived of the bene- 
 fit of exercife. There is no fhaded walk in, 
 or near the town -, and there is neither coach 
 nor chaife to hire, unlefs you travel poft. In- 
 deed, there is no road fit for any wheel carri- 
 age, but the common highway to the Var, in 
 which you are fcorched by the reflexion of 
 the fun from the fand and flones, and at the 
 fame time half ftifled with duft. If you ride 
 out in the cool of the evening, you will have 
 the difadvantage of returning in the dark. 
 
 Among the dements of Nice, I muft alfo 
 mention the water which is ufed in the city, 
 It is drawn from wells j and for the moft part 
 foi hard, that it curdles with foap. There 
 are many fountains and flreams in the neigh- 
 
 VOL. I. B b bourhood,
 
 37 o LETTER XXIV. 
 
 bourhood, that afford excellent water, which, 
 at no great charge, might be conveyed into 
 the town, fo as to form conduits in all the 
 public flreets : but the inhabitants are either 
 deflitute of public fpirit, or cannot afford 
 the expence. I have a draw-well in my 
 porch, and another in my garden, which 
 fupply tolerable water for culinary ufes ; but 
 what we drink, is fetched from a well belong- 
 ing to a convent of Dominicans in this neigh- 
 bourhood. Our linnen is wafhed in the river 
 Paglion j and when that is dry, in the brook 
 called Limpia, which runs into the harbour. 
 
 In mentioning the water of this neigh- 
 bourhood, I ought not to omit the baths of 
 Rocabiliare, a fmall town among the moun- 
 tains, about five and twenty miles from 
 Nice. There are three fources, each warmer 
 than the other j the warmefl being nearly 
 equal to the heat of the king's bath at Bath 
 in Somerfetfhire, as far as I can judge from 
 information. I have perufed a Latin manu- 
 fcript, which treats of thefe baths at Rocabi- 
 liare, written by the duke of Savoy's firll: 
 phyfician about fixty years ago. He talks 
 much of the fulphur and the nitie which they 
 
 contain ;
 
 LETTER XXIV. 37* 
 
 contain: but I apprehend their efficacy is 
 owing to the fame volatile vitriolic principle, 
 which charafterifes the waters at Bath. They 
 are attenuating and deobftruent, confequently 
 of fervice in diforders arifing from a languid 
 circulation, a vifcidity of the juices, a lax 
 fibre, and obftructed vifcera. The road from 
 hence to Rocabiliare is in fome parts very- 
 dangerous, lying along the brink of preci- 
 pices, impaflable to any other carriage but a 
 mule. The town itfelf affords bad lodging 
 and accommodation, and little or no fociety. 
 The waters are at the diftance of a mile and 
 a half from the town: there are no baths 
 nor fhelter, nor any fort of convenience for 
 thofe that drink them j and the beft part of 
 their efficacy is loft, unlefs they are drank at 
 the fountain-head. If thefe objections were 
 in fome meafure removed, I would advife 
 valetudinarians, who come hither for the 
 benefit of this climate, to pafs the heats of 
 fnmmer at Rocabiliare, which being fituated 
 among mountains, enjoys a cool temperate 
 air all the fummer. This would be a falu- 
 tary refpite from the fait air of Nice, to thofe 
 who labour under fcorbutical complaints ; 
 
 and
 
 37 2 LETTER XXIV, 
 
 and they would return with frefh vigour and 
 fpirits, to pafs the winter in this place, where 
 no feverity of weather is known. Laft June, 
 when I found myfelf fo ill at my cafftne, I 
 had determined to go to Rocabiliare, and 
 even to erect a hut at the fpring, for my 
 own convenience. A gentleman of Nice un- 
 dertook to procure me a tolerable lodging in 
 the houfe of the cure, who was his relation. 
 He aflfured me, there was no want of frefh 
 butter, good poultry, excellent veal, and deli- 
 cate trout; and that the articles of living might 
 be had at Rocabiliare for half the price we 
 paid at Nice : but finding myfelf grow better 
 immediately on my return from the caj/ine to 
 my own houfe, I would not put myfelf 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 yot* 
 defired to know : but, in fuch cafes, I would 
 rather be thought prolix and unentertaining, 
 than deficient in that regard and attention; 
 with which I am very fincerely, 
 
 Your friend and fervan-t/ 
 
 END OF VOLUME I.
 
 A 000 006 873 4 
 
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 LOS
 
 
 
 M