Travels Through France And Italy - Tobias Smollett (diy ebook reader .TXT) 📗

From Nice By A Single Mountain, On The Top Of

Which There Is A Small Fort, Called The Castle Of Montalban.

Immediately After Our Arrival We Were Visited By One Mr. De

Martines, A Most Agreeable Young Fellow, A Lieutenant In The

Swiss Regiment, Which Is Here In Garrison. He Is A Protestant,

Extremely Fond Of Our Nation, And Understands Our Language

Tolerably Well. He Was Particularly Recommended To Our

Acquaintance By General P-- And His Lady; We Are Happy In His

Conversation; Find Him Wonderfully Obliging, And Extremely

Serviceable On Many Occasions. We Have Likewise Made Acquaintance

With Some Other Individuals, Particularly With Mr. St. Pierre,

Junior, Who Is A Considerable Merchant, And Consul For Naples. He

Is A Well-Bred, Sensible Young Man, Speaks English, Is An

Excellent Performer On The Lute And Mandolin, And Has A Pretty

Collection Of Books. In A Word, I Hope We Shall Pass The Winter

Agreeably Enough, Especially If Mr. M--E Should Hold Out; But I Am

Afraid He Is Too Far Gone In A Consumption To Recover. He Spent

The Last Winter At Nismes, And Consulted F-- At Montpellier. I

Was Impatient To See The Prescription, And Found It Almost

Verbatim The Same He Had Sent To Me; Although I Am Persuaded

There Is A Very Essential Difference Between Our Disorders. Mr.

M--E Has Been Long Afflicted With Violent Spasms, Colliquative

Sweats, Prostration Of Appetite, And A Disorder In His Bowels. He

Is Likewise Jaundiced All Over, And I Am Confident His Liver Is

Unsound. He Tried The Tortoise Soup, Which He Said In A Fortnight

Stuffed Him Up With Phlegm. This Gentleman Has Got A Smattering

Of Physic, And I Am Afraid Tampers With His Own Constitution, By

Means Of Brookes's Practice Of Physic, And Some Dispensatories,

Which He Is Continually Poring Over. I Beg Pardon For This

Tedious Epistle, And Am--Very Sincerely, Dear Sir, Your 

Part 7 Letter 12 ( Nice, December 6, 1763.) Pg 135

Affectionate, Humble Servant.

Part 7 Letter 13 (Nice, January 15, 1764.) Pg 136

 

 

Dear Sir,--I Am At Last Settled At Nice, And Have Leisure To Give

You Some Account Of This Very Remarkable Place. The County Of

Nice Extends About Fourscore Miles In Length, And In Some Places

It Is Thirty Miles Broad. It Contains Several Small Towns, And A

Great Number Of Villages; All Of Which, This Capital Excepted,

Are Situated Among Mountains, The Most Extensive 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 Bounded By The

Mediterranean On The South. From The Sea-Shore, The Maritime Alps

Begin With Hills Of A Gentle Ascent, Rising Into Mountains That

Form A Sweep Or Amphitheatre Ending At Montalban, Which Overhangs

The Town Of Villa Franca. On The West Side Of This Mountain, And

In The Eastern Extremity Of The Amphitheatre, Stands The City Of

Nice, Wedged In Between A Steep Rock And The Little River

Paglion, Which Descends From The Mountains, And Washing The Town-Walls

On The West Side, Falls Into The Sea, After Having Filled

Some Canals For The Use Of The Inhabitants. There Is A Stone-Bridge

Of Three Arches Over It, By Which Those 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) Dividing

Itself Into Several Small Streams. The Paglion Being Fed By

Melted Snow And Rain In The Mountains, Is Quite Dry In Summer;

But It Is Sometimes Swelled By Sudden Rains To A Very Formidable

Torrent. This Was The Case In The Year 1744, When The French And

Spanish Armies Attacked Eighteen Piedmontese Battalions, Which

Were Posted On The Side Of Montalban. The Assailants Were

Repulsed With The Loss Of Four Thousand Men, Some Hundreds Of

Whom Perished In Repassing The Paglion, Which Had Swelled To A

Surprising Degree During The Battle, In Consequence Of A Heavy

Continued Rain. This Rain Was Of Great Service To The

Piedmontese, As It Prevented One Half Of The Enemy From Passing

The River To Sustain The Other. Five Hundred Were Taken

Prisoners: But The Piedmontese, Foreseeing They Should Be

Surrounded Next Day By The French, Who Had Penetrated Behind

Them, By A Pass In The Mountains, Retired In The Night. Being

Received On Board The English Fleet, Which Lay At Villa Franca,

They Were Conveyed To Oneglia. In Examining The Bodies Of Those

That Were Killed In The Battle, The Inhabitants Of Nice

Perceived, That A Great Number Of The Spanish Soldiers Were

Circumcised; A Circumstance, From Which They Concluded, That A

Great Many Jews Engage In The Service Of His Catholic Majesty. I 

Part 7 Letter 13 (Nice, January 15, 1764.) Pg 137

Am Of A Different Opinion. The Jews Are The Least Of Any People

That I Know, Addicted To A Military Life. I Rather Imagine They

Were Of The Moorish Race, Who Have Subsisted In Spain, Since The

Expulsion Of Their Brethren; And Though They Conform Externally

To The Rites Of The Catholic Religion, Still Retain In Private

Their Attachment To The Law Of Mahomet.

 

 

 

The City Of Nice Is Built In Form Of An Irregular Isosceles

Triangle, The Base Of Which Fronts The Sea.  On The West Side It

Is Surrounded By A Wall And Rampart; On The East, It Is Over-Hung

By A Rock, On Which We See The Ruins Of An Old Castle, Which,

Before The Invention Of Artillery, Was Counted Impregnable. It

Was Taken And Dismantled By Marechal Catinat, In The Time Of

Victor Amadaeus, The Father Of His Sardinian Majesty. 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

Unnecessary Expence, As It Is Commanded By Montalban, And Several

Other Eminences.

 

 

 

The Town Of Nice Is Altogether Indefensible, And Therefore

Without Fortifications. There Are Only Two Iron Guns Upon A

Bastion That Fronts The Beach; And Here The French Had Formed A

Considerable Battery Against The English Cruisers, In The War Of

1744, When The Mareschal Duke De Belleisle Had His Headquarters

At Nice. This Little Town, Situated In The Bay Of Antibes, Is

Almost Equidistant From Marseilles, Turin, And Genoa, The First

And Last Being About Thirty Leagues From Hence By Sea; And The

Capital Of Piedmont At The Same Distance To The Northward, Over

The Mountains. It Lies Exactly Opposite To Capo Di Ferro, On The

Coast Of Barbary; And, The Islands Of Sardinia And Corsica Are

Laid Down About Two Degrees To The Eastward, Almost Exactly In A

Line With Genoa. This Little Town, Hardly A Mile In

Circumference, Is Said To Contain Twelve Thousand Inhabitants.

The Streets Are Narrow; The Houses Are Built Of Stone, And The

Windows In General Are Fitted With Paper Instead Of Glass. This

Expedient Would Not Answer In A Country Subject To Rain And

Storms; But Here, Where There Is Very Little Of Either, The Paper

Lozenges Answer Tolerably Well. The Bourgeois, However, Begin To

Have Their Houses Sashed With Glass. Between The Town-Wall And

The Sea, The Fishermen Haul Up Their Boats Upon The Open Beach;

But On The Other Side Of The Rock, Where The Castle Stood, Is The

Port Or Harbour Of Nice, Upon Which Some Money Has Been Expended.

It Is A Small Basin, Defended To Seaward By A Mole Of Free-Stone,

Which Is Much Better Contrived Than Executed: For The Sea Has

Already Made Three Breaches In It; And In All Probability, In

Another Winter, The Extremity Of It Will Be Carried Quite Away.

It Would Require The Talents Of A Very Skilful Architect To Lay

The Foundation Of A Good Mole, On An Open Beach Like This;

Exposed To The Swell Of The Whole Mediterranean, Without Any

Island Or Rock In The Offing, To Break The Force Of The Waves. 

Part 7 Letter 13 (Nice, January 15, 1764.) Pg 138

Besides, The Shore Is Bold, And The Bottom Foul. There Are

Seventeen Feet Of Water In The Basin, Sufficient To Float Vessels

Of One Hundred And Fifty Ton; And This Is Chiefly Supplied By A

Small Stream Of Very Fine Water; Another Great Convenience For

Shipping. On The Side Of The Mole, There Is A Constant Guard Of

Soldiers, And A Battery Of Seven Cannon, Pointing To The Sea. On

The Other Side, There Is A Curious Manufacture For Twisting Or

Reeling Silk; A Tavern, A Coffee-House, And Several Other

Buildings, For The Convenience Of The Sea-Faring People. Without

The Harbour, Is A Lazarette, Where Persons Coming From Infected

Places, Are Obliged To Perform Quarantine. The Harbour Has Been

Declared A Free-Port, And It Is Generally Full Of Tartans,

Polacres, And Other Small Vessels, That Come From Sardinia,

Ivica, Italy, And Spain, Loaded With Salt, Wine, And Other

Commodities; But Here Is No Trade Of Any Great Consequence.

 

 

 

The City Of Nice Is Provided With A Senate, Which Administers

Justice Under The Auspices Of An Avocat-General, Sent Hither By

The King. The Internal Oeconomy Of The Town Is Managed By Four

Consuls; One For The Noblesse. Another For The Merchants, A Third

For The Bourgeois, And A Fourth For The Peasants. These Are

Chosen Annually From The Town-Council. They Keep The Streets And

Markets In Order, And Superintend The Public Works. There Is Also

An Intendant, Who Takes Care Of His Majesty's Revenue: But There

Is A Discretionary Power Lodged In The Person Of The Commandant,

Who Is Always An Officer Of Rank In The Service, And Has Under

His Immediate Command The Regiment Which Is Here In Garrison.

That Which Is Here Now Is A Swiss Battalion, Of Which The King

Has Five Or Six In His Service. There Is Likewise A Regiment