My Landlord, Mr. C - , A Man Of Fashion, With Whose Family We Had
Always Lived In Friendship, Was So Reasonable
As to expect I
should give him up the house and garden, though they were to be
paid for till
Michaelmas, and peremptorily declared I should not
be permitted to sub-let them to any other person. He had of his
own accord assured me more than once that he would take my
furniture off my hands, and trusting to this assurance, I had
lost the opportunity, of disposing it to advantage: but, when the
time of my departure drew near, he refused to take it, at the
same time insisting upon having the key of the house and garden,
as well as on being paid the whole rent directly, though it would
not be due till the middle of September. I was so exasperated at
this treatment from a man whom I had cultivated with particular
respect, that I determined to contest it at law: but the affair
was accommodated by the mediation of a father of the Minims, a
friend to both, and a merchant of Nice, who charged himself with
the care of the house and furniture. A stranger must conduct
himself with the utmost circumspection to be able to live among
these people without being the dupe of imposition.
I had sent to Aix for a coach and four horses, which I hired at
the rate of eighteen French livres a day, being equal to fifteen
shillings and nine-pence sterling. The river Var was so swelled
by the melting of the snow on the mountains, as to be impassable
by any wheel-carriage; and, therefore, the coach remained at
Antibes, to which we went by water, the distance being about nine
or ten miles. This is the Antipolis of the antients, said to have
been built like Nice, by a colony from Marseilles. In all
probability, however, it was later than the foundation of Nice,
and took its name from its being situated directly opposite to
that city. Pliny says it was famous for its tunny-fishery; and to
this circumstance Martial alludes in the following lines
Antipolitani, fateor, sum filia thynni.
Essem si Scombri non tibi missa forem.
I'm spawned from Tunny of Antibes, 'tis true.
Right Scomber had I been, I ne'er had come to you.
The famous pickle Garum was made from the Thynnus or Tunny as
well as from the Scomber, but that from the Scomber was counted
the most delicate. Commentators, however, are not agreed about
the Scomber or Scombrus. Some suppose it was the Herring or
Sprat; others believe it was the mackarel; after all, perhaps it
was the Anchovy, which I do not find distinguished by any other
Latin name: for the Encrasicolus is a Greek appellation
altogether generical. Those who would be further informed about
the Garum and the Scomber may consult Caelius Apicius de
recogninaria, cum notis, variorum.
At present, Antibes is the frontier of France towards Italy,
pretty strongly fortified, and garrisoned by a battalion of
soldiers.
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