Travels Through France And Italy by Tobias Smollett (beautiful books to read .txt) 📖

Part 7 Letter 8 ( To Mr. M-- Lyons, October 19, 1763.) Pg 101

Sounded Very Harsh In The Ears Of A Frenchman. We Stopped For A

Refreshment At A Little Town Called Joigne-Ville, Where (By The

Bye) I Was Scandalously Imposed Upon, And Even Abused By A Virago

Of A Landlady; Then Proceeding To The Next Stage, I Was Given To

Understand We Could Not Be Supplied With Fresh Horses. Here I

Perceived At The Door Of The Inn, The Same Person Whom I Had

Reproached At Sens. He Came Up To The Coach, And Told Me, That

Notwithstanding What The Guides Had Said, I Should Have Fresh

Horses In A Few Minutes. I Imagined He Was Master Both Of This

House And The Auberge At Sens, Between Which He Passed And

Repassed Occasionally; And That He Was Now Desirous Of Making Me

Amends For The Affront He Had Put Upon Me At The Other Place.

Observing That One Of The Trunks Behind Was A Little Displaced,

He Assisted My Servant In Adjusting It: Then He Entered Into

Conversation With Me, And Gave Me To Understand, That In A Post-Chaise,

Which We Had Passed, Was An English Gentleman On His

Return From Italy. I Wanted To Know Who He Was, And When He Said

He Could Not Tell, I Asked Him, In A Very Abrupt Manner, Why He

Had Not Enquired Of His Servant. He Shrugged

Up His Shoulders, And Retired To The Inn Door. Having Waited

About Half An Hour, I Beckoned To Him, And When He Approached,

Upbraided Him With Having Told Me That I Should Be Supplied With

Fresh Horses In A Few Minutes: He Seemed Shocked, And Answered,

That He Thought He Had Reason For What He Said, Observing, That

It Was As Disagreeable To Him As To Me To Wait For A Relay. As It

Began To Rain, I Pulled Up The Glass In His Face, And He Withdrew

Again To The Door, Seemingly Ruffled At My Deportment. In A

Little Time The Horses Arrived, And Three Of Them Were

Immediately Put To A Very Handsome Post-Chaise, Into Which He

Stepped, And Set Out, Accompanied By A Man In A Rich Livery On

Horseback. Astonished At This Circumstance, I Asked The Hostler

Who He Was, And He Replied, That He Was A Man Of Fashion (Un

Seigneur) Who Lived In The Neighbourhood Of Auxerre. I Was Much

Mortified To Find That I Had Treated A Nobleman So Scurvily, And

Scolded My Own People For Not Having More Penetration Than

Myself. I Dare Say He Did Not Fail To Descant Upon The Brutal

Behaviour Of The Englishman; And That My Mistake Served With Him

To Confirm The National Reproach Of Bluntness, And Ill Breeding,

Under Which We Lie In This Country. The Truth Is, I Was That Day

More Than Usually Peevish, From The Bad Weather, As Well As From

The Dread Of A Fit Of The Asthma, With Which I Was Threatened:

And I Dare Say My Appearance Seemed As Uncouth To Him, As His

Travelling Dress Appeared To Me. I Had A Grey Mourning Frock

Under A Wide Great Coat, A Bob Wig Without Powder, A Very Large

Laced Hat, And A Meagre, Wrinkled, Discontented Countenance.

 

 

 

The Fourth Night Of Our Journey We Lay At Macon, And The Next Day

Passed Through The Lyonnois, Which Is A Fine Country, Full Of

Towns, Villages, And Gentlemen's Houses. In Passing Through The

Maconnois, We Saw A Great Many Fields Of Indian Corn, Which Grows

To The Height Of Six Or Seven Feet: It Is Made Into Flour For The

Use Of The Common People, And Goes By The Name Of Turkey Wheat. 

Part 7 Letter 8 ( To Mr. M-- Lyons, October 19, 1763.) Pg 102

Here Likewise, As Well As In Dauphine, They Raise A Vast Quantity

Of Very Large Pompions, With The Contents Of Which They Thicken

Their Soup And Ragouts.

 

 

 

As We Travelled Only While The Sun Was Up, On Account Of My Ill

Health, And The Post Horses In France Are In Bad Order, We Seldom

Exceeded Twenty Leagues A Day.

 

 

 

I Was Directed To A Lodging-House At Lyons, Which Being Full They

Shewed Us To A Tavern, Where I Was Led Up Three Pair Of Stairs,

To An Apartment Consisting Of Three Paltry Chambers, For Which

The People Demanded Twelve Livres A Day: For Dinner And Supper

They Asked Thirty-Two, Besides Three Livres For My Servant; So

That My Daily Expence Would Have Amounted To About Forty-Seven

Livres, Exclusive Of Breakfast And Coffee In The Afternoon. I Was

So Provoked At This Extortion, That, Without Answering One Word,

I Drove To Another Auberge, Where I Now Am, And Pay At The Rate

Of Two-And-Thirty Livres A Day, For Which I Am Very Badly Lodged,

And But Very Indifferently Entertained. I Mention These

Circumstances To Give You An Idea Of The Imposition To Which

Strangers Are Subject In This Country. It Must Be Owned, However,

That In The Article Of Eating, I Might Save Half The Money By

Going To The Public Ordinary; But This Is A Scheme Of Oeconomy,

Which (Exclusive Of Other Disagreeable Circumstances) Neither My

Own Health, Nor That Of My Wife Permits Me To Embrace. My Journey

From Paris To Lyons, Including The Hire Of The Coach, And All

Expences On The Road, Has Cost Me, Within A Few Shillings, Forty

Loui'dores. From Paris Our Baggage (Though Not Plombe) Was Not

Once Examined Till We Arrived In This City, At The Gate Of Which

We Were Questioned By One Of The Searchers, Who, Being Tipt With

Half A Crown, Allowed Us To Proceed Without Further Enquiry,

 

 

 

I Purposed To Stay In Lyons Until I Should Receive Some Letters I

Expected From London, To Be Forwarded By My Banker At Paris: But

The Enormous Expence Of Living In This Manner Has Determined Me

To Set Out In A Day Or Two For Montpellier, Although That Place

Is A Good Way Out Of The Road To Nice. My Reasons For Taking That

Route I Shall Communicate In My Next. Mean-While, I Am Ever,--

Dear Sir, Your Affectionate And Obliged Humble Servant.

 

 

Part 7 Letter 9 ( Montpellier, November 5, 1763.) Pg 103

 

 

Dear Sir,--The City Of Lyons Has Been So Often And So

Circumstantially Described, That I Cannot Pretend To Say Any

Thing New On The Subject. Indeed, I Know Very Little Of It, But

What I Have Read In Books; As I Had But One Day To Make A Tour Of

The Streets, Squares, And Other Remarkable Places. The Bridge

Over The Rhone Seems To Be So Slightly Built, That I Should

Imagine It Would Be One Day Carried Away By That Rapid River;

Especially As The Arches Are So Small, That, After Great Rains

They Are Sometimes Bouchees, Or Stopped Up; That Is, They Do Not

Admit A Sufficient Passage For The Encreased Body Of The Water.

In Order To Remedy This Dangerous Defect, In Some Measure, They

Found An Artist Some Years Ago, Who Has Removed A Middle Pier,

And Thrown Two Arches Into One. This Alteration They Looked Upon

As A Masterpiece In Architecture, Though There Is Many A Common

Mason In England, Who Would Have Undertaken And Performed The

Work, Without Valuing Himself Much Upon The Enterprize. This

Bridge, As Well As That Of St. Esprit, Is Built, Not In A Strait

Line Across The River, But With A Curve, Which Forms A Convexity

To Oppose The Current. Such A Bend Is Certainly Calculated For

The Better Resisting The General Impetuosity Of The Stream, And

Has No Bad Effect To The Eye.

 

 

 

Lyons Is A Great, Populous, And Flourishing City But I Am

Surprised To Find It Is Counted A Healthy Place, And That The Air

Of It Is Esteemed Favourable To Pulmonic Disorders. It Is

Situated On The Confluence Of Two Large Rivers, From Which There

Must Be A Great Evaporation, As Well As From The Low Marshy

Grounds, Which These Rivers Often Overflow. This Must Render The

Air Moist, Frouzy, And Even Putrid, If It Was Not Well Ventilated

By Winds From The Mountains Of Swisserland; And In The Latter End

Of Autumn, It Must Be Subject To Fogs. The Morning We Set Out

From Thence, The Whole City And Adjacent Plains Were Covered With

So Thick A Fog, That We Could Not Distinguish From The Coach The

Head Of The Foremost Mule That Drew It. Lyons Is Said To Be Very

Hot In Summer, And Very Cold In Winter; Therefore I Imagine Must

Abound With Inflammatory And Intermittent Disorders In The Spring

And Fall Of The Year.

 

 

 

My Reasons For Going To Montpellier, Which Is Out Of The Strait

Road To Nice, Were These. Having No Acquaintance Nor

Correspondents In The South Of France, I Had Desired My Credit

Might Be Sent To The Same House To Which My Heavy Baggage Was

Consigned. I Expected To Find My Baggage At Cette, Which Is The

Sea-Port Of Montpellier; And There I Also Hoped To Find A Vessel,

In Which I Might Be Transported By Sea To Nice, Without Further

Trouble. I Longed To Try What Effect The Boasted Air Of

Montpellier Would Have Upon My Constitution; And I Had A Great

Desire To See The Famous Monuments Of Antiquity In And About The 

Part 7 Letter 9 ( Montpellier, November 5, 1763.) Pg 104

Ancient City Of Nismes, Which Is About Eight Leagues Short Of

Montpellier.

 

 

 

At The Inn Where We Lodged, I Found A Return Berline, Belonging

To Avignon, With Three Mules, Which Are The Animals Commonly Used

For Carriages In This Country. This I Hired For Five Loui'dores.

The Coach Was Large, Commodious, And Well-Fitted; The Mules Were

Strong And In Good Order; And The Driver, Whose Name Was Joseph,

Appeared To Be A Sober, Sagacious, Intelligent Fellow, Perfectly

Well Acquainted With Every Place In The South Of France. He Told

Me He Was Owner Of The Coach, But I Afterwards Learned, He Was No

Other Than A Hired Servant. I Likewise Detected Him In Some

Knavery, In The Course Of Our Journey; And Plainly Perceived He

Had A Fellow-Feeling With The Inn-Keepers On The Road; But, In

Other Respects, He Was Very Obliging, Serviceable,