parted not without a hope of meeting again upon our native shores. Be that as it may, gratitude on our part for such unaffected kindness, and a cherished remembrance of those social nights, can perish only with life.

LETTER XLIV.

EXCURSION TO LANGUEDOC-RIDE TO NISMES-AMPHITHEATRE-MAISON CARREE-FOUNTAIN--ROUTE TO MONTPELLIER-SKETCH OF THE CITY.

March, 1826.-On the afternoon of the 2d, we left Marseilles in the Diligence, to make an excursion to Nismes and Montpellier. For about half the distance to the former place, it was necessary to tread back the same road, which had been once traversed in coming from Avignon. But the advances of spring and the rapid changes in vegetation rendered a second view of the country by no means unpleasant, especially as the weather was now delightful. Abundant resources were found in the conversation of our three fellow travellers. Two of them were Spanish gentlemen, intelligent, friendly, polite, and extremely agreeable in their manners. Our sympathies were warmly excited in their favour, on learning that they had been driven from their country, in consequence of the active part they had taken on the side of the Constitutionalists and against the legitimates, during the late troubles; and that they are still the enthusiastic advocates of free principles, entertaining a hope of the future emancipation of Spain. They spoke in terms of admiration of the liberty, greatness, and glory of the United States, with the political history of which they seemed well acquainted. Finding their country overrun by the legions of France, and the cause of the patriots hopeless, they took refuge at Marseilles, where they are now respectably established in business. I hardly thought it possible for me to entertain so much respect and esteem for the Spanish character, as a passing acquaintance with these gentlemen inspired.

But the most original and amusing of our coach companions was a Swiss Corporal, who was returning from Marseilles, to join his regiment stationed at Nismes.

His

cheeks were as red as his coat, and his hair almost as white as the cotton epaulettes, which danced upon his shoulders. From motives of economy and patriotism, he had taken with him, by way of rations, a bottle of light wine from his native hills, together with a plentiful supply of bread and sausages, converting one of the pockets of the Diligence into a knapsack. He was a great talker, and delighted to dwell on the romantic scenery of his own country-its mountains, lakes, and cataracts, with which he appeared to be familiar. Learning that we were from the United States, he made very particular inquiries respecting the Swiss colony at Vevay, in the State of Indiana, whither one of his relatives had emigrated, and was now a leading man in the settlement. It created in us not a little surprise, that this mercenary subaltern from the solitudes of Switzerland should be far better versed in the geography of the United States, than are many of the editors, reviewers, and public functionaries of Europe. There was in his mind no confusion of states and cities-that ass's bridge of English topographers.

A gentleman at the table of the hotel, in a small village beyond Aix where we dined, related a local anecdote of Napoleon, which was new to me. The emperor, on his return from Elba to Paris, was apprised that the people in this vicinity were hostile, and had formed a determination to take his life as he passed. As it was impracticable for him to change his route, and he was not at this time prepared to encounter opposition, however feeble, he had recourse to stratagem. Assuming the dress of a postillion, and mounting the forward horse, whip in hand, he drove through the village in safety, leaving its inhabitants to await in vain the arrival of the imperial exile.

Nothing occurred to disturb the repose of our ride during the night. Day dawned upon us at St. Remi, and at 6 o'clock we reached Tarascon, a considerable town situated upon the left bank of the Rhone, fifteen or twenty miles from its mouth. The only place of importance below this is Arles, the ancient capital of Provence, but now in the last stages of decline. A handbill signed by its mayor, and inviting strangers to visit its antiquities, was observed posted up in the hotels at Marseilles. But even the novelty of this official invitation did not divert us from our route; and after examining the immense Gothic Castle of good King René, together with a few other curiosities at Taras

con, we continued our journey to Nismes. The Rhone is here crossed on a bridge of boats, some fifty or sixty in number, and moored by strong cables. A desolate island of sand divides the river into two channels of nearly equal breadth. The current though unbroken by rocks, is so rapid as to foam and roar like a cataract, bringing to mind the animated picture which Livy has drawn of Hannibal's passage of the same stream, some miles above.*

On the right bank of the Rhone opposite Tarascon, stands Beaucaire, a place of great antiquity, with narrow, dirty streets, and old-fashioned houses. An arch in the wall, beneath which the road leads, is inscribed to Louis XIV.; and the rocky eminence overlooking the town is crowned with the massive ruins of a Castle, which once belonged to the same family. The country between Beaucaire and Nismes is rich and beautiful. On the right of the road rises a long range of picturesque hills, and towards the left stretches a broad sunny plain, watered by pure streams, and smiling with tillage. In some places, orchards of olives extend as far as the eye can reach, clothing the hills in perpetual verdure. The olive however cannot be called a very beautiful tree. In form, size, and foliage, it bears a strong resemblance to the willow. Its lanceolate leaves are of a pale or whitish green, giving a peculiar aspect to the landscape. Intermingled with these verdant orchards are the mulberry, almond, and vine, together with patches of grass and grain. Both the fertility of the soil and the neatness of cultivation gave us a favourable opinion of the Province of Languedoc.

At nine in the morning we entered Nismes, and at once commenced a survey of the town. In passing from the hotel to the Amphitheatre, our attention was arrested by a military parade, on a beautiful area surrounded by a terrace. Nismes is full of troops, owing to suspicions entertained of the loyalty and orthodoxy of its inhabitants. It has long been the seat of protestantism and ecclesiastical feuds. times, the most horrid atrocities have here been perpetrated ; and the reigning dynasty entertain fears of the leven of he

At

*"Galli occursant in ripam cum variis ululatibus, cantuque moris sui, quatientes scuta super capita, vibrantesque dextris tela: quanquam et ex adverso terrebat tanta vis navium cum ingenti sono fluminis, et clamore vario nautarum et militum, qui nitebantur perrumpere impetum fluminis, et qui ex altera ripa trajicientes suos hortabantur."-Vide Liv. Dec. Ter. Lib. I. Cap. X.

resy mingled in the religious sentiments of the people. Hence the town at present resembles a fortified camp. Every fifth man is a soldier.

The great object of attraction at Nismes is the Amphitheatre, which next to the Coliseum itself is said to be the most stupendous and the most interesting of Roman antiquities. In point of preservation, it claims a superiority even over its rival upon the banks of the Tiber. Its situation is on an open area, with no obstructions to prevent its colossal proportions from meeting fully the eye and striking the beholder with astonishment. The inhabitants of the town certainly deserve much credit for the pains they have taken to preserve this gigantic ruin; for clearing away the foreign rubbish with which is was formerly encumbered; and for removing the buildings about it, so as to present a perfect view. Its arena once contained a little village, consisting of something like fifty dwellings, and a population of two thousand- —a fact which will give some idea of its dimensions. In the year 1809, all these houses and shops with their tenants were removed by the public authorities, and the arena has been restored to the condition in which it was left by the Romans. Within a few years the falling pillars and arches have been repaired with so much taste and judgment, that it is difficult for the eye to distinguish the portions that have been added.

The form of this immense pile is an exact oval, the longest diameter of which, extending from east to west, is about 450 feet, the transverse something like 350, and the height of its walls 70 feet, consisting of two stories besides an attic. It is built of large blocks of stone, admirably adjusted together without mortar, and originally bound by iron clamps, which have been pillaged by its barbarous assailants. Round the parapet masts were erected to support an awning for protecting the audience from the inclemencies of the weather. Its four entrances correspond with the cardinal points of the compass; and over the portals are some remains of Roman sculpture, such as the wolf nursing her regal boys. It was sufficiently spacious to accommodate seventeen thousand spectators, nearly half the present population of Nismes. Its size furnishes a strong argument, to prove the extent of the ancient town, which in the day of its glory was called a second Rome.

Having walked round and examined this astonishing fa

bric from the ground, we climbed to its top, and standing upon its battlements indulged in that train of associations, which the ruin readily awakens. What scenes of gaiety and pleasure were here exhibited some sixteen or eighteen hundred years ago, when the benches were thronged with the beauty and fashion of the provincial capital; and when the arena was enlivened by the combats of gladiators, the spectacle of human beings condemned to encounter ferocious beasts, or the more polished amusements of dramatic representations, intermingled with the song and dance! How had these crumbling arches once rung with applausethese dark recesses once blazed with the splendours of the fete! What a contrast with the silence and desolation which now reign through the dreary habitations of the owl and the bat!

Other reflections not less interesting are suggested by this splendid monument of other ages. For a period of near two thousand years, during which other edifices and even empires have risen and fallen to decay, these solid ramparts, like the works of nature herself, have withstood the shock of war, the assaults of barbarians, and the silent devastations of time. In the fifth and sixth centuries, the Amphitheatre became a citadel, which was frequently taken and retaken by the Francs, the Visigoths, and Saracens ; and in the year 737, the celebrated Charles Martel made a formal attempt to demolish its walls by fire, the traces of which are yet visible. But the fury of its savage conquerors spent itself in vain against the durable monument of a nation, whose legions, whose fortresses and works of art in other cases proved less impregnable; and the traveller here finds an image of Rome herself, prostrate in the dust, yet great even

in ruins.

From the Amphitheatre at Nismes, we went to another relic of Roman taste and magnificence, called the Maison Carrée, or square house-an appellation not justified by its form, as it is a parallelogram about 80 feet in length, 40 in width, and upwards of 60 in height. The only entrance is at one end, where there is a splendid porch supported by ten fluted Corinthian columns, thirty feet high, and three feet in diameter. A lofty flight of steps leads to the portico, and the whole edifice stands upon elevated substructions, so as to appear to the best advantage. Rows of pillars and pilasters, about thirty in number, extend on all sides; and the