Within The
Memory Of Persons Now Living, There Have Been Three Wooden
Bridges Thrown Over It, And As Often Destroyed In Consequence Of
The Jealousy Subsisting Between The Kings Of France And Sardinia;
This River Being The Boundary Of Their Dominions On The Side Of
Provence.
However, this is a consideration that ought not to
interfere with the other advantages that would accrue to both
kingdoms from such a convenience.
If there was a bridge over the
Var, and a post-road made from Nice to Genoa, I am very confident
that all those strangers who now pass the Alps in their way to
and from Italy, would choose this road as infinitely more safe,
commodious, and agreeable. This would also be the case with all
those who hire felucas from Marseilles or Antibes, and expose
themselves to the dangers and inconveniences of travelling by sea
in an open boat.
In the afternoon we arrived at Nice, where we found Mr. M - e, the
English gentleman whom I had seen at Boulogne, and advised to
come hither. He had followed my advice, and reached Nice about a
month before my arrival, with his lady, child, and an old
gouvernante. He had travelled with his own post-chaise and
horses, and is now lodged just without one of the gates of the
city, in the house of the count de V - n, for which he pays five
loui'dores a month. I could hire one much better in the
neighbourhood of London, for the same money. Unless you will
submit to this extortion, and hire a whole house for a length of
time, you will find no ready-furnished lodgings at Nice. After
having stewed a week in a paltry inn, I have taken a ground floor
for ten months at the rate of four hundred livres a year, that is
twenty pounds sterling, for the Piedmontese livre is about an
English shilling. The apartments are large, lofty, and commodious
enough, with two small gardens, in which there is plenty of
sallad, and a great number of oranges and lemons: but as it
required some time to provide furniture, our consul Mr. B - d, one
of the best natured and most friendly men in the world, has lent
me his lodgings, which are charmingly situated by the sea-side,
and open upon a terrace, that runs parallel to the beach, forming
part of the town wall. Mr. B - d himself lives at Villa Franca,
which is divided 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
affectionate, humble servant.
LETTER XIII
NICE, January 15, 1764.
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.
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