With Respect To The Antient Name Of Villa Franca, There Is A
Dispute Among Antiquarians.
It is not at all mentioned in the
Itinerarium of Antoninus, unless it is meant as the port of Nice.
But it is more surprising, that the accurate Strabo, in
describing this coast, mentions no such harbour. Some people
imagine it is the Portus Herculis Monaeci. But this is
undoubtedly what is now called Monaco; the harbour of which
exactly tallies with what Strabo says of the Portus Monaeci -
neque magnas, neque multas capit naves, It holds but a few
vessels and those of small burthen. Ptolomy, indeed, seems to
mention it under the name of Herculis Portus, different from the
Portus Monaeci. His words are these: post vari ostium ad
Ligustrium mare, massiliensium, sunt Nicaea, Herculis Portus,
Trophaea Augusti, Monaeci Portus, Beyond the mouth of the Var
upon the Ligurian Coast, the Marsilian Colonies are Nice, Port
Hercules, Trophaea and Monaco. In that case, Hercules was
worshipped both here and at Monaco, and gave his name to both
places. But on this subject, I shall perhaps speak more fully in
another letter, after I have seen the Trophaea Augusti, now
called Tourbia, and the town of Monaco, which last is about three
leagues from Nice. Here I cannot help taking notice of the
following elegant description from the Pharsalia, which seems to
have been intended for this very harbour.
Finis et Hesperiae promoto milite varus,
Quaque sub Herculeo sacratus numine Portus
Urget rupe cava Pelagus, non Corus in illum
Jus habet, aut Zephirus, solus sua littora turbat
Circius, et tuta prohibet statione Monaeci.
The Troops advanc'd as far
As flows th' Hesperian Boundary, the Var;
And where the mountain scoop'd by nature's hands,
The spacious Port of Hercules, expands;
Here the tall ships at anchor safe remain
Tho' Zephyr blows, or Caurus sweeps the Plain;
The Southern Blast alone disturbs the Bay;
And to Monaco's safer Port obstructs the way.
The present town of Villa Franca was built and settled in the
thirteenth century, by order of Charles II. king of the Sicilies,
and count of Provence, in order to defend the harbour from the
descents of the Saracens, who at that time infested the coast.
The inhabitants were removed hither from another town, situated
on the top of a mountain in the neighbourhood, which those
pirates had destroyed. Some ruins of the old town are still
extant. In order to secure the harbour still more effectually,
Emanuel Philibert, duke of Savoy, built the fort in the beginning
of the last century, together with the mole where the gallies are
moored. As I said before, Ville Franche is built on the face of a
barren rock, washed by the sea; and there is not an acre of plain
ground within a mile of it. In summer, the reflexion of the sun
from the rocks must make it intolerably hot; for even at this
time of the year, I walked myself into a profuse sweat, by going
about a quarter of a mile to see the gallies.
Pray remember me to our friends at A - 's, and believe me to be
ever yours.
LETTER XV
NICE, January 3, 1764.
MADAM, - In your favour which I received by Mr. M - l, you remind me
of my promise, to communicate the remarks I have still to make on
the French nation; and at the same time you signify your opinion,
that I am too severe in my former observations. You even hint a
suspicion, that this severity is owing to some personal cause of
resentment; but, I protest, I have no particular cause of
animosity against any individual of that country. I have neither
obligation to, nor quarrel with, any subject of France; and when
I meet with a Frenchman worthy of my esteem, I can receive him
into my friendship with as much cordiality, as I could feel for
any fellow-citizen of the same merit. I even respect the nation,
for the number of great men it has produced in all arts and
sciences. I respect the French officers, in particular, for their
gallantry and valour; and especially for that generous humanity
which they exercise towards their enemies, even amidst the
horrors of war. This liberal spirit is the only circumstance of
antient chivalry, which I think was worth preserving. It had
formerly flourished in England, but was almost extinguished in a
succession of civil wars, which are always productive of cruelty
and rancour. It was Henry IV. of France, (a real knight errant)
who revived it in Europe. He possessed that greatness of mind,
which can forgive injuries of the deepest dye: and as he had
also the faculty of distinguishing characters, he found his
account, in favouring with his friendship and confidence, some of
those who had opposed him in the field with the most inveterate
perseverance. I know not whether he did more service to mankind
in general, by reviving the practice of treating his prisoners
with generosity, than he prejudiced his own country by
patronizing the absurd and pernicious custom of duelling, and
establishing a punto, founded in diametrical opposition to common
sense and humanity.
I have often heard it observed, that a French officer is
generally an agreeable companion when he is turned of fifty.
Without all doubt, by that time, the fire of his vivacity, which
makes him so troublesome in his youth, will be considerably
abated, and in other respects, he must be improved by his
experience. But there is a fundamental error in the first
principles of his education, which time rather confirms than
removes. Early prejudices are for the most part converted into
habits of thinking; and accordingly you will find the old
officers in the French service more bigotted than their juniors,
to the punctilios of false honour.
A lad of a good family no sooner enters into the service, than he
thinks it incumbent upon him to shew his courage in a rencontre.
His natural vivacity prompts him to hazard in company every thing
that comes uppermost, without any respect to his seniors or
betters; and ten to one but he says something, which he finds it
necessary to maintain with his sword.
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