CHAP. XI.NICE.
We took up our residence at Nice, on the 17th of October in the house of M. Audoli, situated in the suburb called St. John the Baptist: opposite to us, a plank lay across the Paglion, which, when the water was low afforded a ready access to the town; the bridge leading into it, being situated at a considerable distance higher up.
Nice is far from being a large city, as I was able to make the tour of its ramparts in twenty minutes; nor is it an interesting one; the streets are narrow, and mostly on a level, with the exception of one or two which lead to a part of the town situated in a hollow, and which have a step every two or three yards to break the declivity.
In many streets you are annoyed by the thumping of machinery, employed in the manufacture of macaroni, and which is required to force it into its tubular form. The following is the process for manufacturing the ordinary kind of macaroni or vermicelli: Equal parts of fine and coarse flour are mixed together, and made into a paste with water, to which a small quantity of saffron hasbeen added to give it a yellow tinge. The whole is then kneaded into a stiff paste, by means of a beam of wood, which is worked by two or three men on the principle of the lever; after which it is put into a strong cylinder of copper, with perforations in its bottom, of such size as may be necessary to give the form of macaroni or vermicelli, which ever may be intended. It is then forced through these apertures into its tubular shape by a powerful screw, and cut of proper lengths as it comes out, after which it is hung up in the air to harden.
One street, termed Rue de Juif, is exclusively appropriated to the Jews, who are not allowed to reside in any other part of the town.
Theplaces, St. Dominico and Victoire, are respectable squares: the York hotel is situated in the former, which affords visitors superior, and at the same time equally reasonable, accommodation, with the Hotel des Etranger.
The most general residence for strangers, however, is beyond the suburb of St. John the Baptist, at a part termed the Croix de Marbre, where a number of houses, superior, in point of comfort, to the residence of the natives, are kept for the purpose of accommodating them: houses may, however, also be procured on the Cimea Hill, near the Port, in thePlaces, and by the Terrace, aswell as in other parts of the town. The prices are variable, according to the season, situations, and demand for them; and what you pay will be materially influenced by your skill in bargaining: the prudent plan is to offer only half what they ask, and from thence ascend, as they descend, until both agree, or you are satisfied that you have proposed a fair price; and then if you stick to your point, they will most probably accede to it. This is a better way of arranging the business, than through the medium of your banker, who will probably offer his services as an agent.
Nice has excellent markets, well supplied with provisions of all kinds, at reasonable prices: viz. beef, five sous per pound; mutton, six sous; veal and lamb, seven sous; but the pound consists only of twelve ounces, and not, as in France, of from sixteen to twenty-two. The price of butchers’ meat is fixed by the magistracy, and therefore invariable, whereas that of poultry and butter fluctuates, these articles being brought from the plains of Piedmont over the Col de Tende, at times impassable; which circumstance of course enhances the value. Game is scarce, and nearly as dear as in England; six francs being given for a brace of woodcocks: hares, however, are more moderate in proportion. Fish is plentiful, when the weather is favourable, and sells from six to sixteen sous perpound. Vegetables and fruits are grown abundantly in the environs.
Nice produces very fair wines, both red and white; but the most valuable kind is that namedBillit.
The accommodations for bathing are indifferent; the beach is rough and stony, and there are no machines. On summer evenings, after it is dark, the females take possession of the beach, on one side of the entrance of the harbour, and there bathe, while the men go to a distant point.
There are, however, two sets of warm baths in the town, the one constructed of marble, the other with copper; the former, situated near the Place St. Dominico, are long, narrow, and shallow; when in them, you only want a cover to make a good coffin—the latter, on the contrary, situated on the ramparts between the bridge and the Place Victoire, are so short and deep, that although you cannot lie down in them, you may sit, and have the water up to your chin; in fact they form excellent boilers, which would serve to stew you down, if required.
Among the many beautiful walks about Nice, the Terrace ranks foremost; it is crowded on a summer’s evening, but during the winter is delightful throughout the whole day, particularly on a Sunday afternoon, when a military bandoccasionally attends for an hour or two. The walks to the Port, and around the ramparts, are also very agreeable.
In the environs of the town, a great deal of beautiful scenery will be found, embellished with aqueducts, temples, and other Roman remains, particularly in the direction of the Cimea road; and that leading to Genoa, from which there is a most commanding view of the sea, Nice, and its neighbourhood, with the Paglion flowing in the valley beneath, the Turin road lying by the side of it, over which, on the opposite side of the river, stands the Cimea Hill.
Only three good carriage roads will be found at Nice, one leading to the Var, another to Turin, and the third to Genoa; there is also one to Villa Franca, but so steep, that many do not like to venture up it; the preferable way of visiting this latter place, is to row there in a boat or felucca, and return on foot.
Villa Franca is a small, but strongly fortified town, distant about two miles from Nice, built at the extremity of a fine harbour, in a situation admirably adapted for the site of a more important place. It consists of very indifferent buildings, and its streets are narrow, and wretchedly paved.
Nice and its environs do not offer a very extensive field to the naturalist. The surroundingmountains are, however, covered with a great variety of plants during the whole year; and, of course, the botanist will find ample amusement. The mineralogy of the neighbourhood is but limited, the whole of the hills around the city consisting chiefly of limestone, with some few beds of gypsum. In the beds of the mountain torrents, portions are occasionally found of granite, gneiss, clay-slate, flinty-slate, serpentine and feltspar; but these specimens so small and so much weathered, that it is often difficult to distinguish them.
The geology of Nice is more interesting; the calcareous rocks afford many specimens of what the French call thebreche osseuse, in which small fragments of bones are cemented together by argillaceous matter, which has acquired a reddish colour from the presence of iron. Near Villa Franca some of the limestone contains a great number of shells, the species of many of which still exist in the Mediterranean. The rising grounds near the Var are wholly formed of a coarse breccia, the cement of which is argillaceous, impregnated with iron; extensive excavations have here been made to procure clay for the manufacture of tiles, in which great numbers of shells are found imbedded, with occasional vegetable remains.
I believe the sea-shore produces a number of shells which would be interesting to the conchologist.
I shall now make some remarks respecting the state of society at Nice. There were English residents enough to form sufficiently large circles amongst themselves, besides numerous others who visited the place,en passant, to and from Italy. A few German, and Russian, families were also spending their winter here, who associated largely with the English. These visited each other, and gave dinner, and evening parties, and balls occasionally. The natives, however, were not excluded from this society, although the incomes of few would permit their returning the invitation in equal stile. The hospitality, however, of the governor, made amends for the deficiency. This officer, only gave dinner parties to the gentlemen; but had balls for the ladies once a week during the Carnival; and evening parties, in the same way, throughout the remainder of the winter, paying both by himself, and his aid-de-camps, the greatest possible attention to his visitors. He had, however, no regular government-house, and the one which he occupied was scarcely large enough for the accommodation of his numerous guests. The only ceremony necessary to enable a stranger to receive his attentions, was to leavehis card, which the governor always acknowledged in person.
The nobility of Nice, never think of visiting their countrymen who have not titles, notwithstanding many of them are people of great respectability, as professional men, merchants, &c.; at the same time, they have no objection to meet them at the houses of strangers. It might have been conceived that the experience of the French revolution would have taught them differently; besides, it is a matter of no difficulty to procure a title, for I am informed that it only costs sixty louis to purchase that of a count, and twenty-five to become a baron. But let me not be mistaken for a leveller of distinctions, no one has a greater respect for the Patrician order than myself, when its dignities have been the meed of talent or of virtue.
“Order is Heaven’s first law, and this confest,Some are, and must be, greater than the rest.”
“Order is Heaven’s first law, and this confest,Some are, and must be, greater than the rest.”
“Order is Heaven’s first law, and this confest,Some are, and must be, greater than the rest.”
“Order is Heaven’s first law, and this confest,
Some are, and must be, greater than the rest.”
It is, contemptible, however, to witness the pride of upstart gentility, with nothing but the mere garnish of wealth to adorn it.
But possibly I may have been led by the force of circumstances to contemplate the present subject in too strong a light; for alas! I have long been incapable of being deceived by the outward appearance of things, and habituated to estimatemen by their manners, and conversation, rather than their external and visible signs.
Now peace to the nobles: may they wisdom acquire,Should their titles have come from their fathers or sire.
Now peace to the nobles: may they wisdom acquire,Should their titles have come from their fathers or sire.
Now peace to the nobles: may they wisdom acquire,Should their titles have come from their fathers or sire.
Now peace to the nobles: may they wisdom acquire,
Should their titles have come from their fathers or sire.
I was much surprised one day by a visit from a particular friend, Mrs. R⸺, lately arrived from Paris, whom I had not seen for the last seven years, and supposed to be in the West Indies. This lady did me the favour to introduce me to Mr. and Mrs. K⸺, the friends whom she had accompanied from Paris. Soon after I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with General B⸺, Mrs. A⸺, and a number of other English residents, whose names it would be tiresome to the reader to enumerate, from whom I afterwards received a series of kind and friendly attentions, for which I feel greatly indebted to them. I cannot, however, avoid particularizing Mr. and Mrs. S⸺, whose permission to make use of their valuable collection of books, proved a source of the highest satisfaction to me.
A very pretty, but small theatre, has been erected at Nice, which was not opened for dramatic representations during my residence there. It was, however, made use of for two grand balls, given by a select party of the nobles and gentlemen of Nice, to the stranger residents; we were also entertained with a public concert in it; we had, besides this, several private amateur concerts, in a large roomappropriated for such occasions, and supported by subscription, each subscriber being allowed to introduce a certain number of persons.
Before giving a dance at a private house, it is necessary, unless you intend to break up by ten o’clock, to ask permission of the police, who charge six francs for their licence, and then a soldier is placed at the door of the house.
I accompanied a party of ladies, one Sunday, to the cathedral, to hear an eminent French preacher, which is an unusual occurrence here, for they generally preach either in Italian, or the patois of the country, which is the most harsh and barbarous dialect I ever heard, worse than the patois of Provence, which is bad enough, although somewhat similar. It is however, the common language of the natives when conversing together, notwithstanding most of the respectable inhabitants speak both French and Italian.
I shall now notice various natural and meteorological occurrences which took place during my residence in this city.
On the 3rd of January, the waters of the Paglion came down with so much force, as to carry away the embankment, raised for the protection of the workmen employed at the foundation of a new bridge, just commenced over the river, and which was expected to require two years to complete.
On the evening of the 6th of February, the shockof an earthquake was sensibly perceived in some parts of the town, more particularly on the side of the Turin gate; and on the 8th, the wind suddenly rose to a violent gale, which lasted three or four hours; at the commencement of which, Reaumur’s thermometer suddenly rose from 3° to 10°. An American vessel which had left the port the day before, for Marseilles, was upset during this gale, off Cannes, but the crew were fortunately saved.
The coldest day experienced during the season, was on the 20th of February, but even then, the lowest point at which Reaumur’s thermometer was noticed, was 1° above freezing point, or equal to 34¼° of Fahrenheit.
The following is a register of the temperature of the atmosphere, noted by Dr. S⸺, three times each day, during the first week of January.
With respect to the climate of Nice, if I might be allowed, after five months’ residence, to hazard an opinion, I conceive it the most delightful one in Europe, and, indeed, preferable to any I have yet experienced, unless the Bermuda islands are excepted. Some object to the heat during summer, but it is possible to avoid the inconvenience, by retiring for this season, amongst the mountains. At a small town, named Rochabiliare, twenty-five miles inland, are mineral springs, containing nitre and sulphur, and of different temperatures, the highest being 100° Fahrenheit. I endeavoured, but in vain, to procure a correct analysis of these waters.
My friends at Nice, with the exception of Dr. S⸺, thought me insane, when, on the approach of spring, I declared my intention of proceeding southward, to make the tour of Italy, as the whole of the country was in an agitated state, in consequence of the advance of the Austrians upon Naples, hostilities having actually commenced on the frontiers. In addition, the Milanese and Piedmont were supposed to be highly discontented, and an insurrection was anticipated throughout the whole of Italy; but when my resolution is fixed, I do not allow myself to be deterred by the anticipation, or dread of difficulties; in the event of the fears of my friends being realized, I wasdisposed to think I should have an equal, or better chance of getting safely away from Florence, than from Nice; for instance, I could, in a few hours reach Leghorn, at which place there would be every probability of my being able to embark on board an English vessel, or of getting to the neighbouring island where Lord Byron desires Bonaparte to hasten, concluding his verse with a just compliment to his own country.
“Then haste thee to thy sullen isle,And gaze upon the sea;That element may meet thy smile,It ne’er was ruled by thee.”
“Then haste thee to thy sullen isle,And gaze upon the sea;That element may meet thy smile,It ne’er was ruled by thee.”
“Then haste thee to thy sullen isle,And gaze upon the sea;That element may meet thy smile,It ne’er was ruled by thee.”
“Then haste thee to thy sullen isle,
And gaze upon the sea;
That element may meet thy smile,
It ne’er was ruled by thee.”
On the contrary, in the event of a revolution at Nice, there would be little chance of getting away, by sea or land. My ideas, in this respect, were in some degree realized; a revolution did take place there, and for three days the greatest consternation prevailed, as there was an embargo laid upon all horses at Nice, in order to facilitate the movements of the king and his government; and at the same time not an English vessel off the port.
On arriving at Florence, it was my intention to regulate my future movements according to circumstances, and the alternatives of these it was not difficult to foresee. In the event of the Austrians being successful in the first instance, thewar was certain to be of short duration; whereas, on the other hand, if the Neapolitans proved able to support the onset, there was little doubt but that the whole of Italy would be in arms, to assert its independence, and to compel a free constitution from its rulers.
Influenced by these considerations, I determined to proceed, nor have I found any reason to regret the decision.