Travels Through France And Italy by Tobias Smollett (fastest ebook reader .txt) 📕

Militia, Which Is Exercised Once A Year. But Of All These

Particulars, I Shall Speak More Fully On Another Occasion.

When I Stand Upon The Rampart, And Look Round Me, I Can Scarce

Help Thinking Myself Inchanted. The Small Extent Of Country Which

I See, Is All Cultivated Like A Garden. Indeed, The Plain

Presents Nothing But Gardens, Full Of Green Trees, Loaded With

Oranges, Lemons, Citrons, And Bergamots, Which Make A Delightful

Appearance. If You Examine Them More Nearly, You Will Find

Plantations Of Green Pease Ready To Gather; All Sorts Of

Sallading, And Pot-Herbs, In Perfection; And Plats Of Roses,

Carnations, Ranunculas, Anemonies, And Daffodils, Blowing In Full

Glory, With Such Beauty, Vigour, And Perfume, As No Flower In

England Ever Exhibited.

I Must Tell You, That Presents Of Carnations Are Sent From Hence,

In The Winter, To Turin And Paris; Nay, Sometimes As Far As

London, By The Post. They Are Packed Up In A Wooden Box, Without

Any Sort Of Preparation, One Pressed Upon Another: The Person Who 

Receives Them, Cuts Off A Little Bit Of The Stalk, And Steeps

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 Screened From The Severities Of The

Weather; And They Will Continue Fresh And Unfaded The Best Part

Of A Month.

Amidst The Plantations In The Neighbourhood Of Nice, Appear A

Vast Number Of White Bastides, Or Country-Houses, Which Make A

Dazzling Shew. Some Few Of These Are Good Villas, Belonging To

The Noblesse Of This County; And Even Some Of The Bourgeois Are

Provided With Pretty Lodgeable Cassines; But In General, They Are

The Habitations Of The Peasants, And Contain Nothing But Misery

And Vermin. They Are All Built Square; And, Being Whitened With

Lime Or Plaister, Contribute Greatly To The Richness Of The View.

The Hills Are Shaded To The Tops With Olive-Trees, Which Are

Always Green; And Those Hills Are Over-Topped By More Distant

Mountains, Covered With Snow. When I Turn Myself Towards The Sea,

The View Is Bounded By The Horizon; Yet In A Clear Morning, One

Can Perceive The High Lands Of Corsica. On The Right Hand, It Is

Terminated By Antibes, And The Mountain Of Esterelles, Which I

Described In My Last. As For The Weather, You Will Conclude, From

What I Have Said Of The Oranges, Flowers, Etc. That It Must Be

Wonderfully Mild And Serene: But Of The Climate, I Shall Speak

Hereafter. Let Me Only Observe, En Passant, That The Houses In

General Have No Chimnies, But In Their Kitchens; And That Many

People, Even Of Condition, At Nice, Have No Fire In Their

Chambers, During The Whole Winter. When The Weather Happens To Be

A Little More Sharp Than Usual, They Warm Their Apartments With A

Brasiere Or Pan Of Charcoal.

Though Nice Itself Retains Few Marks Of Antient Splendor, There

Are Considerable Monuments Of Antiquity In Its Neighbourhood.

About Two Short Miles From The Town, Upon The Summit Of A Pretty

High Hill, We Find The Ruins Of The Antient City Cemenelion, Now

Called Cimia, Which Was Once The Metropolis Of The Maritime Alps,

And The Scat Of A Roman President. With Respect To Situation,

Nothing Could Be More Agreeable Or Salubrious. It Stood Upon The

Gentle Ascent And Summit Of A Hill, Fronting The Mediterranean;

From The Shore Of Which, It Is Distant About Half A League; And,

On The Other Side, It Overlooked A Bottom, Or Narrow Vale,

Through Which The Paglion (Antiently Called Paulo) Runs Towards

The Walls Of Nice. It Was Inhabited By A People, Whom Ptolomy And

Pliny Call The Vedantij: But These Were Undoubtedly Mixed With A

Roman Colony, As Appears By The Monuments Which Still Remain; I

Mean The Ruins Of An Amphitheatre, A Temple Of Apollo, Baths,

Aqueducts, Sepulchral, And Other Stones, With Inscriptions, And A

Great Number Of Medals Which The Peasants Have Found By Accident,

In Digging And Labouring The Vineyards And Cornfields, Which Now

Cover The Ground Where The City Stood.

Touching This City, Very Little Is To Be Learned From The Antient

Historians: But That It Was The Seat Of A Roman Praeses, Is

Proved By The Two Following Inscriptions, Which Are Still Extant.

P. Aelio. Severino.

V. E. P.

Praesidi. Optimo.

Ordo. Cemen.

Patrono.

By The Senate Of Cemenelion, Dedicated To His Excellency P.

Aelius Severinus, The Best Of Governors And Patrons.

This Is Now In The Possession Of The Count De Gubernatis, Who Has

A Country-House Upon The Spot. The Other, Found Near The Same

Place, Is In Praise Of The Praeses Marcus Aurelius Masculus.

M. Avrelio. Mascvlo.

V. E.

Ob. Eximiam. Praesidatvs

Eivs. Integritatem. Et

Egregiam. Ad Omnes Homines

Mansvetvdinem. Et. Vrgentis

Annonae. Sinceram. Praebitionem.

Ac. Mvnificentiam. Et. Qvod. Aqvae

Vsvm. Vetvstate. Lapsvm. Reqvi-

Sitvm. Ac. Repertvm. Saecvli

Felicitate. Cvrsvi. Pristino

Reddiderit.

Colleg. Iii.

Qvib. Ex. Scc. P. Est

Patrono. Digniss.

Inscribed By The Three Corporations Under The Authority Of The

Senate, To Their Most Worthy Patron, His Excellency M. Aurelius

Masculus, In Testimony Of Their Gratitude For The Blessings Of

His Incorruptible Administration, His Wonderful Affability To All

Without Distinction, His Generous Distribution Of Corn In Time Of

Dearth, His Munificence In Repairing The Ruinous Aqueduct, In

Searching For, Discovering And Restoring The Water To Its Former

Course For The Benefit Of The Community.

This President Well Deserved Such A Mark Of Respect From A People

Whom He Had Assisted In Two Such Essential Articles, As Their

Corn And Their Water. You Know The Praeses Of A Roman Province

Had The Jus Sigendi Clavi, The Right To Drive A Nail In The

Kalendar, The Privilege Of Wearing The Latus Clavus, Or Broad

Studs On His Garment, The Gladius, Infula, Praetexta, Purpura &

Annulus Aureus, The Sword, Diadem, Purple Robe, And Gold Ring, He

Had His Vasa, Vehicula, Apparitores, Scipio Eburneus, & Sella

Curulis, Kettledrums, [I Know The Kettledrum Is A Modern

Invention; But The Vasa Militari Modo Conclamata Was Something

Analogous.] Chariots, Pursuivants, Ivory Staff, And Chair Of

State.

I Shall Give You One More Sepulchral Inscription On A Marble,

Which Is Now Placed Over The Gate Of The Church Belonging To The

Convent Of St. Pont, A Venerable Building, Which Stands At The

Bottom Of The Hill, Fronting The North Side Of The Town Of Nice.

This St. Pont, Or Pontius, Was A Roman Convert To Christianity,

Who Suffered Martyrdom At Cemenelion In The Year 261, During The

Reigns Of The Emperors Valerian And Gallienus. The Legends

Recount Some Ridiculous Miracles Wrought In Favour Of This Saint,

Both Before And After His Death. Charles V. Emperor Of Germany

And King Of Spain, Caused This Monastery To Be Built On The Spot

Where Pontius Suffered Decapitation. But To Return To The

Inscription: It Appears In These Words.

M. M. A.

Flaviae. Basillae. Conivg. Carissim.

Dom. Roma. Mirae. Erga. Maritum. Amoris.

Adq. Castitat. Faeminae. Qvae. Vixit

Ann. Xxxv. M. Iii. Dieb. Xii. Avrelivs

Rhodismanvs. Avg. Lib. Commem. Alp.

Mart. Et. Avrelia, Romvla. Filii.

Impatientissim. Dolor. Eivs. Adflicti

Adq. Desolati. Carissim. Ac Merent. Feret.

Fec. Et. Ded,

Freely Consecrated By Aurelius Rhodismanus, The Emperor's

Freedman, To The Much Honoured Memory Of His Dear Consort Flavia

Aurelia Of Rome, A Woman Equally Distinguished By Her Unblemished

Virtue And Conjugal Affection. His Children Martial And Aurelia

Romula Deeply Affected And Distressed By The Violence Of His

Grief, Erected And Dedicated A Monument To Their Dear Deserving

Parent.  [I Don't Pretend To Translate These Inscriptions

Literally, Because I Am Doubtful About The Meaning Of Some 

Abbreviations.]

The Amphitheatre Of Cemenelion Is But Very Small, Compared To

That Of Nismes. The Arena Is Ploughed Up, And Bears Corn: Some Of

The Seats Remain, And Part Of Two Opposite Porticos; But All The

Columns, And The External Facade Of The Building, Are Taken Away

So That It Is Impossible To Judge Of The Architecture, All We Can

Perceive Is, That It Was Built In An Oval Form. About One Hundred

Paces From The Amphitheatre Stood An Antient Temple, Supposed To

Have Been Dedicated To Apollo. The Original Roof Is Demolished,

As Well As The Portico; The Vestiges Of Which May Still Be

Traced. The Part Called The Basilica, And About One Half Of The

Cella Sanctior, Remain, And Are Converted Into The Dwelling-House

And Stable Of The Peasant Who Takes Care Of The Count De

Gubernatis's Garden, In Which This Monument Stands. In The Cella

Sanctior, I Found A Lean Cow, A He-Goat, And A Jack-Ass; The Very

Same Conjunction Of Animals Which I Had Seen Drawing A Plough In

Burgundy. Several Mutilated Statues 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 Space Upon

Which Stood The Antient City Of Cemenelion. These Were Of Gold,

Silver, And Brass. Many Of Them Were Presented To Charles Emanuel

I. Duke Of Savoy. The Prince Of Monaco Has A Good Number Of Them

In His Collection; And The Rest Are In Private Hands. The

Peasants, In Digging, Have Likewise Found Many Urns,

Lachrymatories, And Sepulchral Stones, With Epitaphs, Which Are

Now Dispersed Among Different Convents And Private Houses. All

This Ground Is A Rich Mine Of Antiquities, Which, If Properly

Worked, Would Produce A Great Number Of Valuable Curiosities.

Just By The Temple Of Apollo Were The Ruins Of A Bath, Composed

Of Great Blocks Of Marble, Which Have Been Taken Away For The

Purposes Of Modern Building. In All Probability, Many Other Noble

Monuments Of This City Have Been Dilapidated By The Same

Barbarous Oeconomy. There Are Some Subterranean Vaults, Through

Which The Water Was Conducted To This Bath, Still Extant In The

Garden Of The Count De Gubernatis.