BOOK CXLII. Bazas. The towns situated on the landes are poor and thinly peopled; such is Bazas the capital of a district. Although it possesses no other antiquities than medals and mosaics, it is known to have been an important place in the time of the Romans, who called it Cossium Vasatum, because it was situated in the territory of the Vasates. The diocess, of which it was formerly the seat, must have been very ancient, since one of the bishops was present at the council of Agde in the year 506. The cathedral is a fine Gothic edifice of the fourteenth century. The ruins of the church of Ozeste, another Gothic building, erected by pope Clement the Fifth, may be seen at a short distance from the walls. Langon, surrounded by the Langon. vineyards of Grave, is better built; it rises on the left bank of the Garonne, where the tide, still perceptible, favours the trade of the town, and the conveyance of wines. late years, steam boats have sailed regularly to Bordeaux, and the communication between the two towns, has in consequence been much increased. Of Many islands are scattered in differents parts of the river, Bordeaux. and the banks are bounded by fruitful hills. On the right bank are situated the old towers and embattled walls of Cadillac, as well as the fine castle of Epernon. Rions at a greater distance from the same bank of the river, contains 1500 inhabitants. Castres, on the left bank, near the confluence of the Gué-Mort, is not so important a place as the last, but better built and more agreeably situated on the road from Toulouse to Bordeaux. The last city rises majestically on the banks of the Garonne, at the place where the river forms a large curve, and renders the harbour very imposing. The space it encloses may contain a thousand ships, it describes an arc, of which the two extremities are more than a league distant from each other. Bordeaux may be ranked from its commerce and importance among the first towns in the kingdom. A line of fine. buildings extends throughout the whole length of the city; vessels of every size and from every nation repair to the harbour. The mean breadth of the river may be more than a mile, it flows with rapidity, and a magnificent bridge, consisting of seventeen arches, erected on the narrowest BOOK CXLII. Castle of part of the Garonne, covers a space equal to 648 yards in length. The difficulties against which the architect had to contend in building such a bridge in such a situation, were apparently insurmountable. It was necessary to overcome the obstacles arising from the sandy and moving bed of the river, from the depth of twenty-five to forty feet, from the flux of the tide, which twice a-day raises the waters the height of four or five yards, from the current occasioned by the same cause, and from its velocity, exceeding sometimes three yards in a second. Old Bordeaux extends on the right of the bridge; the streets are narrow and crooked, the squares and market places are irregular. The quarter Chartrons is the most commercial part of the town, but the finest and best built is the quarter of Chapeau Rouge. Lewis the Fourteenth destroyed the remains of an ancient temple dedicated to the tutelary gods, in order to lengthen the glacis of Chateau Trompette; but the castle itself has been destroyed since the revolution, and modern buildings not unworthy of so wealthy a city are now raised on the site. All that remains of the old fortifications, now useless, are the ruins of the fortress St. Croix at the extremity of Chartrons: the dockyards extend at their base. The old dungeons in the castle of Ha are still entire, they are used as a prison. The Burgundian gate, a fine triumphal arch, rises on the harbour, opposite the bridge; it was built to commemorate the birth of the grandson of Lewis the Fourteenth. Another gate near the old trenches of Salinieres, may be remarked on account of the edifice which rises above them, it is the ancient town-house. The Royal square is more worthy of the name from the buildings which adorn it, than from its size. The place Dauphine, more regular than the last, is situated at the extremity of a much frequented walk, called the alleys of Tourney; the others worthy of notice, are the Place d'Armes, and Saint Germain. The cathedral, the largest church in the town, is a Gothic edifice, the interior, imposing from its size, is adorned with a costly altar. The large theatre, a circular building, surpasses most places of the same kind in elegance of architecture, and in the commodious arrange CXLII. ment of the boxes. A light and graceful dome towers BOOK above the exchange, the rendezvous for merchants from every part of the world. The ancient archiepiscopal palace, an edifice remarkable for its regularity, was changed into a royal palace at the restoration. Bordeaux, like Paris, has a pompous cemetery, where the wealthy accumulate marbles and inscriptions; it is situated at the extremity of the town, in the enclosure of the new Chartreuse, near a handsome modern church embellished with fresco paintings. Within the same rich city are situated several hospitals, an asylum for the deaf and dumb, different academical societies, a public library, consisting of 110,000 volumes, among others, a copy of Montaigne's essays with marginal corrections written by the author; it possesses besides, a botanical garden, one of the four established by government for the purpose of naturalizing exotic plants, a collection of natural history, schools of theology, medicine, surgery, drawing and painting, and lastly, a museum of antiquities, in which are tombs and basso-relievos collected in the town or neighbourhood. We have had occasion to mention the site of an ancient temple, now wholly destroyed; some arcades of an amphitheatre, called the palace of Gallienus, are the only remains that serve to recall the Roman domination. It is supposed that Bordeaux was a town before the conquest of Cesar, that its ancient name comes from two words of Celtic origin, Bur and Wal, signifying a Gallic fortress, and which the Romans corrupted into Burdigala. It is thus that Ausonius mentions it in his verses; it became the capital of the second Aquitania during the reign of Hadrian. It was pillaged by the Visigoths about the end of the fourth century; four hundred years afterwards, it was taken by the Saracens and Normans; it passed with the whole of Aquitaine into the power of the English in the year 1152. It was enlarged under Henry the Second and Edward the Third, but it did not become very flourishing until Charles the Seventh freed it from a foreign yoke. Although it may be doubted that it was the native town of Ausonius and Sidonius Apollinaris, it claims at least the merit of having given birth to Montesquieu, to Berquin, to Ducos and Gen BOOK CXLII. Industry and trade. Libourne. sonné, two distinguished members of the convention, lastly to the celebrated defender of Lewis the Sixteenth, whose devotedness was rewarded with the most honourable dignities. Bordeaux has its distilleries, vinegar, nitric acid and sugar works; it possesses paper, cotton, silk and woollen manufactories: the porcelain, glass, hats, carpets and stockings made in the same place are sold in different parts of France. It equips every year nearly two hundred vessels, and of these several are sent to the cod and whale fisheries. The small town of Blaye, supposed to be the ancient Blavia, is situated below the narrow strip of land, called the Bec d'Ambes, on the right bank of the Gironde, opposite Medoc. It is divided into two parts, the one rises on the acclivity of a hill, and the other on the summit, where four large bastions serve with fort Medoc to guard the entrance into the river. According to tradition, Caribert, who died in the year 574, was buried within the walls of the town, and also the brave Roland, who fell at Roncevaux in 778. Libourne, the capital of a district, is situated at the confluence of the Dordogne and the Dronne; it is encompassed with walls and agreeable walks, it was founded by Edward the First, king of England. La La Roole, Reole, the last town worthy of notice, rises near the eastern extremity of the department, on a hill which commands the right bank of the Garonne. It was the birthplace of two worthy men, the two Fauchers, twin brothers, generals in the army, and united to each other by the most devoted friendship. Their patriotism called them both to the field of battle, they served as private soldiers, distinguished themselves in the same engagements, and were made generals at the same time. They disdained to render the cause of freedom, a pretext for the ambition of a single man, as soon, therefore, as Bonaparte assumed the title of consul, and thereby announced his ambitious designs, they resigned their commissions. Their retirement was ennobled with the laurels of twenty campaigns. But the presence of foreign troops on the French territory after the battle of Waterloo, the continuance of hostilities after the departure of Napoleon, and the return of the King, announced the dangers which threatened France; the two brothers received from general Clausel, the honourable office of defending their native town, an office which they fulfilled with much zeal and ability until, informed of the state of events, they laid down their arms. Their patriotism was imputed to them as a crime; summoned before a special commission,-(Oh disgrace to the French bar!) no advocate was bold enough to defend them. The two brothers were in consequence doomed to death, they were inseparable during life-they died together. BOOK CXLII. ment of the If a traveller were to form an opinion of the soil in the Departdepartment of the Lot and Garonne from the large and fer- Lot and tile valleys that these two rivers water, he might perhaps Garonne. suppose it the most fruitful in France. But the dismal landes that have been already mentioned, extend on the west, and cover an eighth part of the surface. The hills situated on the east between the Garonne and the Lot, particularly near the banks of the Lot, are by no means unfruitful. On the north, the labourer attempts to gain some profit from a ferruginous argil, which covers some districts, it may be truly said, however, that the soil is ungrateful. But in other parts of the country, the corn crops suffice amply for the wants of the inhabitants. Trees of different kinds are loaded with fruit, and it is believed that the best prunes in France are exported from the department. The vineyards often cultivated with the plough, and suffered to grow without props, yield more than double the quantity of wine that the inhabitants consume. The most of the wines are red, thick and strong, they may be kept a long time, they are not impaired by distant voyages. Hemp grows to a great height, and judges consider it superior to any in the north; tobacco is cultivated on a great scale, and it is certainly of a better quality than any other sort in France. Iron, the most abundant mineral substance in the department, adds considerably to the wealth of the inhabitants. The climate is temperate, the sky is seldom clouded, and the air is salubrious; an exception, however, must be made to the country near the marshes, which cover part of the landes. Long successions of rains and droughts often interrupt the course of the seasons; sometimes an atmospheric phenomenon, call |