In Troubadour-Land A Ramble in Provence and Languedoc   By: S. Baring-Gould (1834-1924)

IN TROUBADOUR LAND.

A Ramble in

Provence and Languedoc.

by

S. Baring Gould, M.A.,

AUTHOR OF "MEHALAU," "JOHN HERRING," "OLD COUNTRY LIFE," ETC.

ILLUSTRATED BY J. E. ROGERS.

"What is this life, if it be not mixed with some delight? And what delight is more pleasing than to see the fashions and manners of unknown places? You know I am no common gadder, nor have oft troubled you with travell." Tom of Reading , 1600.

1891.

PREFACE.

With Murray, Bædeker, Guide Joanne, and half a dozen others all describing, and describing with exactness, the antiquities and scenery the writer of a little account of Provence and Languedoc is driven to give much of personal incident. When he attempts to describe what objects he has seen, he is pulled up by finding all the information he intended to give in Murray or in Bædeker or Joanne. If he was in exuberant spirits at the time, and enjoyed himself vastly, he is unable, or unwilling, to withhold from his readers some of the overflow of his good spirits. That is my apology to the reader. If he reads my little book when his liver is out of order, or in winter fogs and colds he will call me an ass, and I must bear it. If he is in a cheerful mood himself, then we shall agree very well together.

S. BARING GOULD.

LEW TRENCHARD, DEVON,

October 28, 1890.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

The Tiber in Flood Typhoid fever in Rome Florence A Jew acquaintance Drinking in Provence Buying bric à brac with the Jew the carro on Easter Eve Its real Origin My Jew friend's letters Italian dolce far niente

CHAPTER II.

THE RIVIERA.

No ill without a counterbalancing advantage An industry peculiar to Italy Italian honesty Buffalo Bill at Naples The Prince and the straw coloured gloves The Riviera A tapestry Nice Its flowers Notre Dame The château My gardener A pension of ugly women Horses and their hats Antibes Meeting of Honoré IV. and Napoleon The Grimaldis Lérins, an Isle of Saints A family jar Healed

CHAPTER III.

FRÉJUS.

The freedman of Pliny Forum Julii The Port of Agay The Port of Fréjus Roman castle Aqueduct The lantern of Augustus The cathedral Cloisters Boy and dolphin Story told by Pliny The Chains des Maures Désaugiers Dines with the porkbutchers of Paris Siéyès Sans phrase Agricola His discoveries

CHAPTER IV.

MARSEILLES.

The three islands Phoenice, Phila, Iturium Marseilles first a Phoenician colony The tariff of fees exacted by the priests of Baal The arrival of the Ionians The legend of Protis and Gyptis Second colony of Ionians The voyages of Pytheas and Euthymenes Capture of Marseilles by Trebonius Position of the Greek city The Acropolis Greek inscriptions The lady who never "jawed" her husband The tomb of the sailor boy Hôtel des Négociants Ménu Entry of the President of the Republic Entry of Francis I. The church of S. Vincent The cathedral Notre Dame de la Garde The abbey of S. Victor Catacombs The fable of S. Lazarus

CHAPTER V.

THE CRAU.

The Basin of Berre A neglected harbour The diluvium Formation of the Crau The two Craus Canal of Craponne Climate of the Crau The bise and mistral Force of the wind Cypresses A vision of kobolds

CHAPTER VI.

LES ALYSCAMPS.

Difficulty of finding one's way about in Arles The two inns The mistral The charm of Arles is in the past A dead city Situation of Arles on a nodule of limestone The Elysian Fields A burial place for the submerged neighbourhood The Alyscamp now in process of destruction Expropriation of ancient tombs Avenue of tombs Old church of S. Honoré S. Trophimus S. Virgilius Augustine, apostle of the English, consecrated by him The flying Dutchman Tomb of Ælia Of Julia Tyranna Her musical instruments Monument of Calpurnia Her probable story Mathematical versus classic studies Tombs of utriculares Christian sarcophagi Probably older than the date usually attributed to them A French author on the wreckage of the Elysian Fields