CHAP. VII.NISMES.
A short time before my departure from Montpellier, I had the misfortune to sprain my ancle, which abridged materially my usual pleasure of walking, but did not prevent me pursuing my original intention of proceeding to Aix.
M. de C⸺ was kind enough to accompany me to the coach, and, with the best possible motives, recommended me to the care of the passengers and conducteur, but which I must admit I would rather have declined, as it disarmed me of that independence I wished to feel; I fancied it was placing me in the light of a school-boy; or perhaps of a package of “Glass.—Keep this side uppermost.” I would prefer being treated with the little ceremony of a woolpack, which by its accommodating elasticity, not only avoids injury from slighter contact, but under more decided and ruder pressure, becomes so solid, so confirmed, so compact, as effectually to oppose additional restraint, and probably at length by its innate powers, to throw off the superincumbent weight, and immediately regain its original state; in short, I find less difficulty, and inconvenience, in travellingamongst strangers, than people imagine, and prefer being left to my own resources; habit has given me the power of acquiring, by a kind of undefinable tact, as correct ideas of objects as the most accurate descriptions would give; and unbiassed by the opinions of others, I feel more facility in forming my estimates of human nature.
After an unpleasant journey, owing to the heat of the weather and fulness of the coach, and passing through the neat town of Lunelle, famous for its wines, we arrived about noon at Nismes, where I took up my residence at a traiteur’s, in a particularly airy situation near the esplanade; this situation I felt of importance, as from its position on an extensive plain, this city suffers intolerably from the heats of summer.
On the following day, being Sunday, I attended divine service at one of the Protestant churches, in company with Mrs. and Miss L⸺, with whom I had previously been acquainted at Toulouse and Montpellier; we were shewn into the corporation seat, and I am afraid gave much trouble to its proper occupiers, who, with great politeness, incommoded themselves to accommodate us. We were much pleased with the discourse of the preacher, as well as the indications of devotion on the part of the congregation.
Nismes abounds with Protestants, who indeedconstitute a large proportion of its more industrious and opulent population; a circumstance to which the sanguinary political scenes, of which it has so frequently been the theatre, are to be attributed. The Roman religion has undoubtedly a tendency to check the energetic industry of its professors, by the encouragement which its numerous fêtes give to habits of amusement, idleness, and dissipation; and, alas! it is too correspondent with the dispositions of fallen human nature, for rapine and fraud to spring out of such vitiated soil, and avail themselves of the advantages attained by honest industry.
But far be it from me, to decry the importance of religious observances, and rational relaxation from the toils of suffering humanity; or to throw the least censure on that admirable and divine institution, which, according to our admired Spectator, rubs off the rust of the preceding week, and leads the poor man to a close acquaintance with his best friend. The institutions of catholicism, or rather papalism, are in this respect essentially contradictory to the divine command, which has solemnly declared, amidst the awful denunciations of Mount Sinai,—“Six days shalt thou labour; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God;” for who of its more strict professors does not pay as much religious observanceto the fifth day, as to the one indicated by the merciful Creator.
While at Nismes, my ancle proved extremely painful, and I felt otherwise indisposed, so as to be incapable for a time of taking my usual walks; I was, in consequence, induced to consult a French apothecary, who had talked me into a favourable opinion of his skill, by expatiating, in what I considered a philosophical way, upon the virtues of his medicines. I was, consequently, placed upon a course ofptisan refraichissant, without which French practice would be at a loss, but which, begging the pardon of this French Æsculapius, although it might do very well in mild cases, I should be loath to intrust my safety to in a desperate one, where nature might possibly want urging forward, or severe correction, rather than treating with such a complaisance; so much for my smattering of physic: but, notwithstanding, I must do myapoticairethe justice to admit, that with the aid of his ptisan, and other means, I was in a few days sufficiently improved to be able to resume, in some measure, my customary walks.
Nismes, originally the Nemausum of the Romans, is a city of considerable antiquity, of which sufficient remains are still to be found, to attest its former grandeur.
I visited some of these august remains, particularly the celebrated amphitheatre, built in the Tuscan order, of such size as to have been capable of containing twenty thousand spectators. It is considered one of the finest monuments of antiquity, and has survived the ravages of nearly twenty centuries. I had also that exquisite piece of Corinthian architecture described to me, now termed theMaison Quarrée, which exhibits some of the most beautiful specimens of architecture still existing, and which had been supposed by many to have been built by the Emperor Hadrian, a great benefactor to this city, but by an inscription, discoverable to that effect, is now proved to have been erected by the good people of Nismes in honour of the two young princes, Caius and Lucius Cæsar, grandsons of Augustus, by his daughter Julia, the wife of Agrippa.
A number of peculiar large square basins, which the common people use to bathe in, are to be seen at Nismes, near the public walk named theCoursè; they are placed at equal distances from each other, and formed by enlargements of a canal that runs through them, the water supplying which, issues from under the rock on which the castle stands; after passing through these reservoirs, the stream is conducted, by pipes and smaller canals, throughoutthe town, and converted to different purposes of economy and manufacture.
Anxious for the benefit I expected to derive from the waters of Aix, I hastened my departure from Nismes on the 11th of July. I had only a single companion in the diligence, an interesting young student of seventeen or eighteen years of age, on his way from college to meet some friends at Beaucaire, and as highly delighted with his emancipation from scholastic trammels, as a young midshipman at going on shore after a long cruise. At one place we took a glass of liqueur together, and on my offering to pay for it, he laughed at me, and said I was joking. At eight o’clock we reached Beaucaire, where he left me. At this place great preparations were making for the annual fair, which lasts about three weeks, and is of much importance, as merchants attend it from all parts of Europe.
We here crossed the Rhone on a bridge of boats, and proceeded through Tarrascon. At midnight we stopped for supper, when a cold chicken being produced, the conducteur contrived to dispose, with great celerity, of the larger part of it, leaving only a leg and wing for my share; after this, a most exorbitant demand was made upon me, being charged with the whole fowl, and the bottle of wine, although I had onlyshared a couple of glasses of the latter; but following the example of my young friend the student, I joked them into reason, and offering half the money, they thought proper to be contented with it. I am convinced, from experience, that this is a better mode, than arguing a point of charge passionately with a French innkeeper; hear with patience his torrent of explanation, and then putting on your gloves coolly, reply with a smile, “I dare say you are right, my good friend, but I make it a rule never to pay so much, and cannot do it now.” Above all, take care that you do not, like Smollet, give a louis to change, and then ask them what you have to pay; first, get your change, and then only part with your gold. But the best way of all to prevent disputes, is to make a bargain beforehand.
About seven in the evening I arrived at Aix, and had the pleasure of meeting my friend Mr. W⸺, with a brother of his, lately arrived from England, and also some of my fair countrywomen, with whom I had been acquainted at Toulouse, and who had passed me at Montpellier.