thermometer in Fahrenheit and Centigrade
The Riviera is a strip of land extending 323 miles along the coast of the Mediterranean at the foot of the Maritime Alps and their off-shoots. It is usually divided into two portions—the Riviera from Hyères to Genoa, 203 miles long; and the Riviera from Genoa to Leghorn, 112 miles long. Temperature. The milder and more frequented of the two is the former—the Western Riviera—which has been subjected to most careful and minute meteorological observations, and the various stations classified according to their supposed degree of temperature. Yet in the whole 203 miles the difference may be said to be imperceptible. No one station in all its parts is alike, the parts of each station differing more from each other than the stations themselves. Yet each station has some peculiarity which suits some people more than others; this peculiarity being more often accidental and social—such as the people met with, the lodgings, the general surroundings, and many other little things which exercise a more powerful influence upon the health and well-being of the mind and body than the mere fractional difference of temperature. None of the protecting mountains of any of the stations are sufficiently high, precipitous, and united to ward off the cold winds when the higher mountains behind are covered with snow. All the ridges have deep indentations through which the cold air, as well as the streams, descends to the plain. Hence no station is exempt from cold winds, and all delicate persons must ever be on their guard against them—the more sunny and beautiful the day, especially in early spring, the greater is the danger. All the stations suffer also, more or less, from the famous Mistral, a north-west wind, which in winter on the Riviera feels like a north-west wind on a sunny summer day in Scotland. The mean winter temperature (November, December, and January) of Hyères, considered the coolest of the winter stations, is 47°.4 Fahr., and of San Remo, considered the mildest, 48°.89 Fahr. The coldest months are December and January. With February the temperature commences to rise progressively. Throughout the entire region bright and dusty weather is the rule, cloudy and wet weather the exception. Vegetation. “In December wild flowers are rare till after Christmas, when the long-bracted orchid, the purple anemone, and the violet make their appearance. These by the end of January have become abundant, and are quickly followed in February by crocuses, primroses, and pretty blue hepaticas. Meanwhile the star-anemones are springing up in the olive-woods, with periwinkles and rich red anemones. In March the hillsides are fragrant with thyme, lavender, and the Mediterranean heath, to which April adds cistuses, helianthemums, convolvuli, serapiases, and gladioli.” —H. S. Roberton. There is a much less quantity of wild flowers now than formerly. The date-palm flourishes in the open air. Capital walking-sticks are made of the midrib of the leaf. Among the trees which fructify freely are the orange, lemon, and citron trees, the pepper tree (Schinus molle), the camphor tree (Ligustrum ovalifolium), the locust tree (Ceratona siliqua), the Tree Veronica, the magnolia, and different species of the Eucalyptus or gum tree and of the true Acacia. In marshy places the common bamboo (Arundo donax) attains a great height; while the Sedum dasyphyllum, the aloe, and the Opuntium or prickly-pear, clothe the dry rocky banks with verdure. The most important tree commercially is the olive, which occupies the lower part of the mountains and immense tracts in the valleys. The higher elevations are divided among the cork tree (Quercus suber), the Maritime, Aleppo, and umbrella pines, and the chestnut tree. The Japanese medlar (Eriobotrya japonica) is common in the orchards, flowers in December, and ripens its fruit in May. With the exception of the orange, lemon, and cherry, all the other orchard trees ripen their fruit too late for the winter resident.
On the Riviera generally, but especially in Hyères, St. Raphael, Grasse, and Menton, board and lodging in good hotels can be had for 8s. or 9s. per day, which includes coffee or tea in the morning, and a substantial meat breakfast and dinner, with country wine (vin ordinaire) to both. In some boarding-houses (Pensions) the price per day is as low as 6s. If two are together, especially two ladies or a gentleman and his wife, an excellent plan is to take a furnished room, which, with a south exposure and good furniture, ought to cost about £2 per month. They can easily prepare their own breakfast, and they can get their dinner sent to them. If the party be numerous, apartments should be taken, which vary from £2 to £30 per month. For the season, from October to May, furnished apartments are let at prices varying from £18 to £100. As a general rule it is best to alight at some hotel, and, while on the spot, to select either the pension or apartments, as no description can give an adequate idea of the state of the drains nor of the people of the house. A maid-servant costs nearly £1 per month, a cook about one-half more, but they are not easily managed. Fluids are sold by the litre, equal to nearly a quart of four (not six) to the gallon. Solids are sold by the kilogramme, or, as it is generally called, the kilo, equal to 2 lbs. 3¼ oz.
Bread is about the same price as in England. The best beef and mutton
cost from 1s. 10d. to 2s. the kilo. A good chicken 2s. 6d. Eggs
when at their dearest cost 1½d. each. Excellent milk costs 4d. the
litre. The best butter 3s. 2d. to 3s. 6d. the kilo. Of French cheese
there are a great many kinds, all very good. Among the best are the
Roquefort and the fromage bleu, both resembling Stilton, and cost from
2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. the kilo.
The Riviera: Fish.
Vegetables.
Fish are dearer than in England. The best caught off the coast are: the
Rouget or Red Mullet, the Dorade or Bream, the Loup or Bass, the
Sardine, and the Anchovy. The Gray Mullet, the Gurnard (Grondin), the
John Dory (Dorée Commune), the Whiting (Merlan), and the Conger are very
fair. The sole, turbot, tunny, and mackerel are inferior to those caught
in the ocean. The cuttle-fish is also eaten. Good vegetables can
be had all through the winter, such as carrots, leeks, celery, cabbage,
cauliflower, peas, lettuce, spinage, sorrel, and artichokes. The cardon
(Cynara cardunculus) and salsifis (Tragopogon porrifolius)
are often served up at dinner in the hotels. The cardon tastes like
celery, but the salsifis has a bitter flavour. The potatoes are of good
quality, but often spoilt in the cooking. In all the stations are
English clergymen, physicians, apothecaries, bankers, bakers, and
grocers.
Before commencing to treat in detail the different stations of the Riviera, “some of the general advantages of the invalid’s life in this region must be noticed. The chief of these is the amount of sunshine which he enjoys for weeks and even months together, when the sun often rises in a cloudless sky, shines for several hours with a brightness and warmth surpassing that of the British summer, and then sinks without a cloud behind the secondary ranges of the Maritime Alps, displaying in his setting the beautiful and varied succession of tints which characterise that glorious phenomenon of the refraction of light, a southern sunset; when he imparts to the rugged mountains a softness of outline and a brilliancy of colouring which defy description. In the early stages of phthisis, and especially when the patient is young and active-minded, struck down by overwork or sudden exposure, this cheering influence is most beneficial. It is of great importance that, while taking the needful care of himself, he should not degenerate at an early age into a hopeless valetudinarian, especially as an every-day increasing mass of evidence warrants us in believing that under the influence of medicine and climate a large number of these patients gradually recover their health and lead useful lives, and, with due care, lives of no inconsiderable duration. Patients should never neglect to consult a doctor on their first arrival, as his experience and advice with regard to lodgings, food, etc., are of great value, and may often prevent them from falling into bad hands, or settling in unhealthy localities.” To these remarks of Dr. Williams may be added, that patients should bring with them a letter from their physician describing their case and the treatment he thinks should be adopted.
The best time for walking and driving is between 9 and 12, as then there is rarely either wind or dust. For invalids requiring quiet sunny walks there are no stations on the whole coast so suitable as Hyères and Bordighera.
The Riviera: Sea-bathing. Doctors’ Fees.
Sea-bathing on the Riviera may be continued with advantage by many during the greater part of the winter season. As the rise and fall of the tide are so trifling, the beach is always in a fit state for the bather. The water of the Mediterranean is more highly mineralised than that of the ocean. It contains about 41 per cent of common salt.
Doctors’ Fees.—French doctors charge their countrymen generally 10 frs. for each visit. English doctors charge for each visit 5, 10, or 20 frs., according to what they suppose to be the means of their patients. An extra charge is made for night work.
Tourists may find it convenient to take with them a little brandy, tea, arrowroot, Liebig’s extract, Gregory’s mixture, opium pills, and a little of whatever medicine they are in the habit of using. The ordinary wine at the hotels is neither so good nor so safe as formerly, and should always be watered.
Marseilles.
MARSEILLES, pop. 319,000, 15 hrs. 25 min. from Paris, and 6 hrs. 37 min. from Lyons. From Cannes it is 4 hrs. 31 min., and from Nice 5 hrs. 27 min. 536½ m. S. from Paris, 190¼ m. S. from Lyons, 120½ m. W. from Cannes, and 140 m. W. from Nice. On the departure side of the railway station is the Terminus Hotel (dear). The hotel omnibuses await passengers. Call out loudly the name of the hotel desired, to which the driver of its omnibus will respond.
A plentiful supply of Cabs is both at the railway and the custom-house station of the Bassin de la Joliette. Each coachman is furnished with an official tariff, which, though constantly changing, may be stated to be—Between 6 A.M. and midnight, for a cab with one horse, the course, 1 fr.; the hour, 2 frs. With 2 horses, the course, 1¼ fr.; the hour, 2¼ frs. From midnight to 6 A.M. 75 c. extra. Portmanteaus not above 30 kilo., or 68⅘ lbs., 25 c. each. The hotel omnibuses charge each passenger 1 fr.
Hotels.—In the Rue Cannebière, ascending from the Port, are very fine Cafés, and in the eastern continuation of it, the Rue Noailles, the best Hotels. The Hôtel du Louvre et de la Paix; the Hôtel Noailles; and the Hôtel Marseilles; all near each other, and charging from 12 to 20 frs. per day.
Less luxurious and expensive are: the Petit Louvre, No. 16 R. Cannebière, over the office of Messageries Maritimes steamboats; between the Port and the Bourse, the Hôtel de Genève, a comfortable house; on the opposite side of the Rue Cannebière and near the opera house, the Hôtel Beauveau; near it, in the R. Vacon, the *Hôtel des Colonies.
In and about the Cours Belsunce, where there are a large cab-stand and an important tramway terminus, are some good second-class hotels, of which the best is the Hotel des Phocéens, 28 R. des Récolettes. Rooms, 2½ frs.; Dinner, 3½ frs. with wine. Next it, at No. 26, is the Hôtel de l’Europe, a “maison meublée,” in which good rooms, including service, cost 2 frs. Breakfast and dinner can be had in the neighbouring restaurants. Of them, one of the most comfortable is G. Restaurant des Gourmets, adjoining the hotel. Near it is the Restaurant Bouches du Rhône, a cheap house. The other second-class houses in the Cours Belsunce which can be recommended are—the Californie; Deux Mondes; Hotel St. Marie; Négociants; Alger. The Hôtel du Cours is good also, but it is only a “maison meublée.” The continuation of the Cours Belsunce is called the Cours St. Louis, where a flower-market is held. Just off this Cours, in the Rue d’Aubagne, is a cheap, good, and clean house, the hotel and restaurant St. Louis; rooms from 1½ to 3 frs.; dinner, à la carte. At No. 8 Place de Rome is a good and cheap house, the Hôtel Forer, well situated, but it is one of those for which either a cab or the general omnibus must be taken at the station.
Marseilles: Steamboats. Custom-House.
Steamboats.—The steamers of the Messageries Maritimes, of Morelli et Cie, of Fraissinet et Cie, of the P. and O. Navigation Co., etc., arrive and depart from the Dock or Bassin Joliette. The custom-house is at the north end of the dock, and just outside the dock-gates are porters and a large cab-stand. The custom-house contains one waiting-room for the first and second class, and another for the third. Passengers before they can have their baggage examined have to pay 6 sous at the end of the baggage-room for each box, for which they receive an acknowledgment. A tramway runs from No. 1 Quai Joliette to Longchamps, entering the Port and the Rue Cannebière by the R. de la République. There are no hotels near the steamboat station.
Small boats’ station at the head of the Port. Boats to and from the Château d’If, 8 frs. from 3 to 3½ hrs. On feast days small steamers make the round of the islands, starting from nearly the same place, but do not land the passengers, fare ½ fr., time 1 hr. At this part of the quay the feluccas from Spain discharge their cargoes of oranges and other fruits. From the Hôtel de Ville (1 in plan) on the port, the Bateaux Mouches cross over to the Place aux Huiles opposite, 1 sou. At the mouth of the port, from between La Consigne and the Fort St. Jean, other Bateaux Mouches cross over to the Bassin Carénage, by the side of Fort St. Nicholas, and just below the interesting old church of St. Victor, 1 sou. From this a road leads up to Notre Dame.
The principal Temple Protestant is in the R. Vincent, No. 2. There is another in the R. Grignan, No. 15, near the General Post Office at No. 53. Poste-Restante, “guichet,” on the ground-floor, opposite the entrance door. Telegraph office, No. 10 Rue Pavé d’Amour. Anglican chapel, No. 100 Rue Sylvabelle, south from the Rue Grignan and parallel to it. The public library is in the Boulevard du Musée, in the École des Beaux Arts. Open daily except Sunday.
Best money-changers by the west side of the Bourse, 10 in plan.
The Opera is near the Port; the other theatres are around the Rue Noailles.
Marseilles: Sights. Trams.
Sights.—Palais Longchamp, an artistic edifice, containing the Picture Gallery and the Natural History Museum; free. Closed on Mondays and every day between 12 and 2 (see p. 114). Near the Palais is the Zoological Garden, free on Sundays. Notre Dame de la Garde (p. 116). The shops and cafés in the Rues Cannebière and Noailles. A drive on the Corniche road.
Of all the Trams the most important starts from the left of the statue in the Cours Belsunce, and runs by the Château des Fleurs and the Prado to its Bonneveine terminus, a little beyond the racecourse. Just behind the Bonneveine terminus is the Château Borély, containing the Musée d’Archéologie, including a collection of Phoenician relics found in the neighbourhood, which support the hypothesis of the Phoenician origin of Marseilles. Open on Sundays and Thursdays. On the ground-floor are Roman mosaics, busts, altars, tombstones, jewellery, mummies; and in the end room is a stone with a Phoenician inscription, regulating the tariff of the prices to be paid to the priests for sacrifices in the temple of Baal. Upstairs are collections of antique glass, necklaces, fayence from Provence and Marseilles, bronzes, gold jewellery, lamps, vases, weapons, and an octagonal plan of Marseilles 18 ft. in diameter.
Marseilles: Corniche. Bouillabaisse.
Return from the Bonneveine terminus by the tram for the Place de Rome, near 12 in plan. On its way it follows the Corniche road, considered the most beautiful drive about Marseilles, fare ½ fr. The gardens and pleasure-grounds in the whole of this neighbourhood are due to the irrigation afforded by the canal. Of the bathing establishments on the Corniche road the best is the Roucas Blanc; and of the restaurants the best is the Hotel Roubion, a first-class house, charging 15 frs. per day, and for vin ordinaire, lights, and service, 5 frs. additional. The house is situated on an eminence rising from the Corniche road, at the entrance into the Vallon de l’Oriol, commands a splendid sea view, has handsome dining-rooms, and is famed for its fish dinners and Bouillabaisse. Trams and omnibuses are constantly passing it. This establishment, as well as most of the other restaurants along the Corniche road, has tanks in the rocks on the beach, in which is kept a supply of live fish to make the Provence dish called Bouillabaisse, a kind of fish soup, which, like most national dishes—plum-pudding, puchero, haggis, etc.—admits of considerable latitude in the preparation. The essentials are—whole rascasses and chapons (scorpion fishes), and rock lobsters stewed in a liquor mixed with a little of the best olive oil, and flavoured with tender savoury herbs. An extra good Bouillabaisse should include also crayfish, a few mussels, and some pieces of any first-class fish, such as the bass.
Marseilles: Palais de Longchamp.
Those having little time to devote to Marseilles should, after taking a short stroll about the Port and in the Rues Cannebière and Noailles, enter the Joliette tram on its way up to the Palais de Longchamp, fare 2 sous. The Palais de Longchamp, which cost £165,000, consists of two rectangular wings, united by a semicircular colonnade of Ionic volute-fluted columns. In the centre, under a richly-sculptured massive archway, an inscription records that the great undertaking of bringing the water of the Durance to Marseilles was begun on the 15th November 1839, and was accomplished on the 8th July 1847, in the reign of Louis Philippe I. Another records that the palace was commenced in the reign of Napoleon III., on the 7th April 1862, and finished on the 15th August 1869. From a group of colossal bulls under the colonnade gushes a copious stream of water, which in its descent makes a cascade of 90 ft. in three stages. The wing to the right, standing with the face to the palace, contains the Natural History Museum; and the other, the picture and sculpture galleries.
All the pictures are labelled. On the first floor are some large pictures by French artists and a few statues. In the second small room left hand is a collection of sketches by famous painters. Among the best pictures in the large centre hall of the upper story are:—F. Bol, d. 1681, portrait of woman and of King of Poland; Bourdon, d. 1671, portrait of P. de Champaigne; Cesari, d. 1640, Noah inebriated; Fontenay, d. 1715, Fruit; Girodet, d. 1824, Fruit; Gongo, d. 1764, Sacrifice to Venus and Jupiter; Greuze, d. 1805, portrait; Holbein, d. 1554, portrait; Loo, d. 1745, portrait of lady; Maratta, d. 1713, Cardinal Cibo; Mignard, d. 1695, Ninon de Lenclos; Nattier, d. 1766, Mme. de Pompadour as Aurora; Peeters, d. 1652, marine scene; Pellegrino, d. 1525, Holy Family; Perugino, d. 1524, Holy Family; F. Porbus, d. 1584, portrait; Raphael, d. 1520, St. John; Rembrandt, d. 1669, A Prophetess (sibyl); Reni, d. 1642, The Protectors of Milan; Ribera, d. 1656, Juan de Porcida; Rigaud, d. 1745, Duc de Villars; Rubens, d. 1640, Wild-boar Hunt; Salvator Rosa, d. 1675, Hermit; Veronese, d. 1588, Venetian princess; Zurbaran, d. 1662, St. Francis. In the room to the right is the “École Provençal,” containing, among other paintings—Barry, The Bosphorus; Duparc, d. 1778, The Milkmaid, and portraits of old man, woman, and girl knitting; Papety, d. 1849, “La Vierge Consolatrice”; P. Puget, Madonna. In the left room are, among others, J. F. Millet, b. 1815, Woman feeding Child.
The most important parts of the Museum of Natural History are the conchological division and the collection of ammonites.
From the Palace gardens is a good view of Marseilles. Behind the palace, on the top of the hill, is the great reservoir 242 ft. above the sea, supplied with water from the main channel by a branch canal. (See under Roquefavour, p. 77.) At this part of the hill is one of the entrances to the Zoological Gardens; free on Sundays, when they are crowded with people. Near the entrance is the Observatory, one of the most important in France.
Marseilles: Hôtel de Ville. La Consigne.
The port of Marseilles has in all an area of 422 acres, and is
protected on the E. by Cape Croisette, and on the W. by Cape Couronne.
Its approaches are lighted by 6 lighthouses, of which the most distant
is on the Planier rock, 130 ft. above the sea, and 8 m. S.W. from
Marseilles. The large steam vessels lie in the dock La Joliette,
covering 55 acres, and finished in 1853; while the old-fashioned
trading-vessels, with their lateen sails, crowd together in the harbour
called emphatically the “Port,” containing 75½ acres. From the end of
the “Port” extends eastwards the handsome and greatly-frequented street
La Cannebière, so called from the rope-walks, whose site it now
occupies. At nearly the middle of the N. side of the “Port” is the
Hôtel
de Ville (1 in plan), built in the 17th cent., and adorned
with sculpture by Puget, born at Marseilles; while at the western
extremity of the same side, next Fort St. Jean, is a low building called
La Consigne, or Health Office. Over the chimney-piece in the
council-room of the Consigne is a beautiful relief in white marble
by Puget, representing the plague at Milan. To the right is a picture by
Gerard, representing Bishop Belsunce administering the sacrament to the
plague-stricken inhabitants of Marseilles in 1720. To the left, St. Roch
before the Virgin, by David. Fronting the windows, “The frigate Justice
returning from Constantinople with the plague on board,” “l’an 4 de la
République.” Opposite the fireplace, “The cholera on board the
Melpomene,” by Horace Vernet. Next it, by Guerin, “The Chevalier Rose
assisting to bury those who had died of the plague.” Between them is a
Crucifixion by Auber. Between the two windows is a portrait of Bishop
Belsunce. (Fee, ½ fr.) Near the Consigne is the pier of the ferry-boats.
Above the Hôtel de Ville is the town infirmary, and beyond it, on a
terrace 30 ft. above the quay of Joliette,
Marseilles: Cathedral.
Arc de Triomphe.
the Cathedral, a Byzantine basilica, 460 ft. from S. to N.,
and 165 ft. from E. to W. at the transept; built of gray Florentine
stone alternating with a whitish sandstone from the neighbourhood of
Arles. The nave is 52 ft. wide, and the roof 82 ft. high. The great dome
is 196 ft. high. Behind the cathedral are the Episcopal palace
(5 in plan), the Seminary (4), and the Hospice de la Charité (7).
Eastwards, in the Place d’Aix, is the Arc de
Triomphe, an imitation of the arch of Titus at Rome, commenced
on the 4th November 1825, to commemorate the prowess of the Duc
d’Angoulême in the Spanish campaign of 1823. It is 58 ft. high and 58
ft. wide, has on the south side statuary by Ramey emblematic of the
battles of Fleurus and Heliopolis, and on the north side similar
statuary by David, representing the battles of Marengo and Austerlitz.
Over the arch is the inscription— “A la République.” From
the arch a steep street, the R. d’Aix, descends to the Cours Belsunce,
with at the N. end a statue of Bishop Belsunce, “pour perpetuer le
souvenir de sa charité et de son dévouement durant la peste; qui desola
Marseille” in 1720. By the side of it are the terminus of the Bonneveine tram (p. 113) and the Alcazar
Lyrique, a kind of superior café chantant.
Marseilles: Bourse.
The continuation southwards of the Cours is the Rue de Rome, and farther S. the spacious Promenade du Prado. At the S. end of the Cours are, to the right the R. Cannebière, and to the left the R. Noailles, the two best streets in Marseilles. At the W. or Port end of the former is the Bourse (marked 10 in the plan), a parallelogramic building, 154 feet broad by 223 long, erected between 1858 and 1860. The principal hall, 60 feet by 94, is ornamented with mural paintings. In the vestibule are allegorical statues of Marseilles and France, and a bas-relief representing Marseilles receiving productions from all parts of the world. On the opposite side of the street, by the R. de Paradis, are the Opera-house, the Palais de Justice, and the Préfecture (12 in plan). The Palais de Justice, built in 1862 in the Greek style, has on the pediment and peristyle bas-reliefs by Guillaume, representing Justice, Force, Prudence, etc. The outer hall, the “Salle des Pas-Perdus,” is surrounded by 16 columns of red marble. The Préfecture is a splendid edifice in the Renaissance style, 300 ft. long by 260 ft. wide, adorned with statues and bas-reliefs, and furnished with a grand staircase, escalier d’honneur, communicating with handsome reception-room ornamented with mural paintings.
From the Bourse a pleasant road leads up to the church of Notre Dame de la Garde, one of the principal sights, and the most prominent object in Marseilles. From the Rue Paradis turn to the right by the Cours Pierre-Puget, traverse the pretty promenade, the Jardin de Colline, and then ascend the narrow road, the Montée des Oblats. On descending be careful to take the path to the left of the stone altar under a canopy on 4 columns. A small omnibus drives up the length of the Plateau de la Croix, whence a series of 178 steps has to be ascended to attain to the terrace on which the church stands, 535 ft. above the sea. The church is shut between 12 and 2, but the tower, ascended by 154 steps, can always be visited. Fee, ½ fr. It is 148 ft. high, crowned with a gilded image of Mary 30 ft. high, ascended by steps in the interior to the head. The view, which is just as good from the terrace, commands the whole of Marseilles. To the N.E. the culminating peak is Le Taoume, 2166 ft.; to the S.E. is the Montagne de Carpiagne, 1873 ft.; and S. from it Mont Puget, 1798 ft. In front of Marseilles are the islands Ratonneau and Pomègue, connected by a breakwater. Between them and the mainland is the little island of If (p. 118). Off Cape Croisette are the islands of Maïre and Peirot. The road down the little ravine (the Valon de l’Oriol) leads to the Corniche.
Marseilles: Notre Dame de la Garde.
Notre Dame, an edifice in the Roman-Byzantine style, consists of an upper and a lower church. The dome over the apse is 48 ft. high. The interior of the church is lined with Carrara marble, but the pilasters and columns are of marble from Africa and the Alps. Over the high altar in the low church is the miracle-working image of Notre Dame. It is about 6 ft. high, stands on a pedestal of olive wood, is hollow, and made of a kind of stucco (carton-pierre) silvered over, excepting the face and hands of both it and the child. It weighs 1 cwt. 1 qr. and 14 lbs. On the high altar in the high church is a replica, nearly all of silver. The walls are covered with expressions of gratitude to it, and with pictures illustrating the manner in which its miraculous interposition was displayed.
Marseilles: Lycée. Saint Victor.
From the streets Cannebière and Noailles other handsome streets ramify, such as the Rue de Rome and the Cours Liautaud. Just where the Cours Liautaud leaves the Rue Noailles is the Lycée or head grammar-school, and in the neighbourhood (marked 11) La Bibliothèque et l’École des Beaux Arts, forming together a palatial edifice off the Boulevard du Musée, 177 ft. long by 164 ft. wide. On the ground-floor are the class-rooms, and on the first story, the library, the collection of medals, and the reading-room, 131 ft. long by 19½ wide. Among the medals are 2600 belonging to Provence. The library contains 95,000 vols. and 1300 manuscripts.
At the mouth of the Port, on an eminence above Fort St. Nicolas and the Bassin de Carenage (graving dock), is the oldest church in Marseilles, Saint Victor, all that remains of one of the most famous monasteries in Christendom, founded in 420 by St. Cassien, ordained deacon of the church in Constantinople by Chrysostom. The exterior of St. Victor resembles a badly-built small fort surrounded by 7 unequal and uncouth square towers, the two largest at the N. side having been added by Pope Urban V., a former abbot of the monastery. Over the entrance door under these towers is a rude representation of St. George and the dragon. The upper church dates only from the beginning of the 13th cent. Near the sacristy in the S. side a stair of 32 steps leads down to the original church, a large and spacious crypt. Of this crypt the most ancient part is the small chapel shut off from the rest, with several tombs hewn in the rock. Among those buried here were St. Victor, and, according to the tradition of the place, Lazarus also, who is said to have died at Marseilles. The ancient appearance of this chapel is marred by a modern altar with a stone reredos, sculptured, it is said, by Puget. The shaft of one of the columns has a sculptured rope coiled round it. Pieces of ornamental sculpture are seen at different parts of the crypt, and remnants of a fresco painting. This also is the sanctuary of a miraculous wooden image of Mary and Child, said to have been carved by Luke. It is of a dark colour, is 3½ ft. high, and is called Notre Dame de Confession, whose intercession is sought by crowds of votaries from the 2d till the 9th of February. The best of the sarcophagi have been removed to the museum in the Château Borély (p. 113). At the foot of the eminence on which the church stands are Fort St. Nicolas and the Bassin de Carénage, whence a sou ferry steamboat crosses every four minutes to the other side. Among the modern churches perhaps the best is Saint Vincent de Paul, built in the style of the 13th cent.
Island of If.
Excursions.—The principal excursion from Marseilles is to the Island of If, with its old château built by Francis I., long used as a state prison. Boats for the excursion lie at the Cannebière end of the Port. They charge from 5 to 9 frs.; but it is necessary to arrange the price before starting. The landing-place is at some low shelving rocks, whence a stair ascends to the terrace, on which are, to the right the entrance to the Château, and a little to the left a restaurant. A man conducts visitors over the castle, of which the most interesting parts are the cell of Monte Christo, and the place where he was thrown over into the sea.
Marseilles to Martigues, 24 m. N.W. by rail (see map on p. 66). At Martigues station omnibus for Port Bouc, 3¾ m. W.; fare, ½ fr. From Port Bouc rail to Miramas, or steamboat by the canal to Arles (see p. 76). After leaving Marseilles the first station of importance is L’Estaque (see p. 80), 7 m. W., with large brick and tile works, at the foot of a wooded hill. 4¼ m. farther is Pas-des-Lanciers, with an inn close to the station. Here the Martigues branch separates from the main line, and the Martigues passengers change carriages. Here also an omnibus awaits passengers for Marignane, 3¾ m. W. on Lake Marignane, pop. 7000. Remains of castle which Mirabeau inhabited. Lake Marignane is separated from Lake Berre by a narrow strip of land. The train after passing Marignane station arrives at the station for Châteauneuf, a village S. towards the hills.
Martigues.
Les Martigues, pop. 10,000. At station, omnibus for the inn, Hôtel du Cours, and omnibus for Port Bouc. Martigues is situated on both sides of the outlet from Lake Berre, and on the islets within this outlet, all connected by bridges. The railway station, the hotel, and a large part of the town are on the E. or Jonquière side. On the first or smallest of the 3 islets are the Tribunal de la Pèche and the fish-market; on the middle one is the Hôtel de Ville; and on the third and largest are the hospital and the parish church with sculptured portals. On the N. side of the canal is the part of the town called Ferrières, containing the harbour and the reservoirs for the manufacture of salt. Fishing is the principal industry of the inhabitants.
There are in Marseilles numerous charitable institutions. The infirmary (Hôtel Dieu), founded in 1188 and rebuilt in 1593, can accommodate 750 patients. The workhouse (Hospice de la Charité) contains generally from 600 to 680 orphan children and aged men and women. Near the Prado is the Hôpital de la Concepcion, with 800 beds.
Marseilles: Industries. Commerce.
The leading industry is soap-making, which occupies sixty factories, with 1200 artisans, and produces annually 65,000 tons, valued at £2,000,000 sterling. With this manufacture are connected oil and chemical works; in the former, which employ 2000 to 2500 workmen, 55,000 tons of different oils are produced yearly. The chemical works employ 2000 operatives in the manufacture of the salts of soda and concentrated acids, the value of whose annual production may be estimated at £320,000. Metallurgy is another great industry; a large quantity of ore, imported from Elba, Spain, and Algeria, is smelted in the blast furnaces of St. Louis in the suburbs. The Mediterranean ironworks and yards, together with other private companies, have large workshops for the construction or repair of marine steam-engines, and for every branch of iron shipbuilding, employing several thousand workmen. Marseilles is a great centre for the extraction of silver from lead ore; 16,000 tons of lead and 25 tons of fine silver are separated annually.
Commerce.—The chief imports in point of bulk are cereals from the Black Sea, Turkey, and Algeria; but the one of greatest value, raw silk, £4,000,000 yearly, comes from Italy, Spain, the Levant, China, and Japan. Then follow metals, ores, timber, sugar, wool, cotton, and rice. The principal exports in respect of value are silk, woollen and cotton fabrics, refined sugars, wines and spirits; those of greatest bulk are cereals in the form of flour, building materials, oil-cakes, manufactures in metal, oils, glass and crystal.
Marseilles: History.
History.—The Greek colony of Massalia (in Latin, Massilia) was founded by the enterprising mariners of Phocæa in Asia Minor, about 600 B.C. After the ravages of successive streams of invaders it was repeopled in the 10th century under the protection of its viscounts. In 1112 the town bought up their rights, and was formed into a republic, governed by a podestat, appointed for life. In the remainder of the Middle Ages, however, this arrangement was modified, the higher town was governed by the bishop, and had its harbour at the creek of La Joliette. The southern suburb was governed by the abbot of St. Victor, and owned the Port des Catalans. The republic or lower town, situated between the two, retained the old harbour, and was the most powerful of the three divisions. The period of the Crusades brought great prosperity to Marseilles. King René made it his winter residence. Louis XIV. came in person to Marseilles to quell the disturbances under the Fronde. He took the town by storm, and had Fort St. Nicolas constructed. Marseilles repeatedly suffered from the plague, and an epidemic raged from May 1720 to May 1721 with a severity for which it is almost impossible to find a parallel; Bishop Belsunce, Chevalier Rose, and others immortalised themselves by their courage and devotion.
During the Revolution of 1793 the people rose against the aristocracy, who up to that time had governed the commune. In the Terror they rebelled against the Convention, but were promptly subdued by General Carteux. The wars of the empire, by dealing a severe blow to their maritime commerce, excited the hatred of the inhabitants against Napoleon. Since 1815 the prosperity of the city has received a considerable impulse from the conquest of Algeria and the opening of the Suez Canal.
The Marseillaise.
The Marseillaise.—The famous anthem called “The Marseillaise” was composed by Joseph Rouget de l’Isle, born at Lons-le-Saulnier on the 10th May 1760, and died (it is said in poverty) at Choisy-le-Roi, 6¼ m. S. from Paris by rail, on the 27th June 1836. On the 24th April 1792, the day before the departure of a detachment of volunteers, Dietrich, the Mayor of Strasburg, gave a banquet to their officers, and during dinner requested Rouget, then an officer in the engineers, to compose a war-song for them. Although it was late before Rouget retired to his room, he had both the music and the words ready before going to bed. In the morning he handed the paper to his host, saying: “Tenez, voilá ce que vous m’avez demandé, mais j’ai peur que cela ne soit pas trop bon.” “Que dites vous mon ami?” said Dietrich, after casting his eye over the MS.; “vous avez fait un chef-d’œuvre.” The mayor’s wife having tried it on the piano, the orchestra of the theatre were engaged to perform it in the principal square of Strasburg, when such was the enthusiasm it created that the detachment marched off with nearly 1000 instead of 600 volunteers. For them Rouget called the air “Le Chant de guerre de l’armée du Rhin.” In July of the same year a detachment of volunteers was sent to Paris from Marseilles by order of Barbaroux, and as they were in the habit of singing this song both on their march and in the capital it received the name of the “Hymne des Marseillais.” Charles Barbaroux, born at Marseilles in 1767, died on the scaffold June 1794, was one of the deputies who contributed most to the fall of the monarchy. He belonged to the party called the Girondins.
By Hyères, Cannes, Nice, and Monaco. 155 Miles.
See Maps, pages 113, 155, and 185.
MENTON
155
MARSEILLES. See under “Marseilles, Toulon, Nice et Menton” in the
“Indicateur.” The train, after leaving Marseilles on its way to Toulon,
traverses beautiful fertile valleys opening to the sea, and bounded by
mountains mostly with whitish calcareous tops. Having crossed the stream
Huveaune and traversed several tunnels and the Durance and Marseilles
canal, the slow trains halt at the villages of St. Marcel, with the
chapel of N. D. de Nazareth, and St. Menet, and La Penne, all
situated at the foot of Mont Carpiagne. During the season, from May to
October, a coach at the St. Menet station awaits passengers for the
cold mineral baths of Camoins, 2 m. distant, or 5 m. by
omnibus from Marseilles. The bathing establishment is about ¼ m.
from the village, in an undulating hollow, among plane trees, olives,
and vines. The water is cold, and contains iron and iodine, with a great
deal of sulphur. It is very effective as a tonic, and in diseases of the
liver. The establishment is quiet but comfortable. Pension 8 to
9 frs. per day.
10½ m. from Marseilles is Aubagne, pop. 8100. H. Notre Dame. Omnibus daily to Marseilles, stopping at H. St. Louis. Every train halts at Aubagne. Junction with loop-line to Valdonne, 10½ m. N., with coal-mines and potteries. Coach from Valdonne to Aix by Fuveau, where take rail.
After Aubagne the train passes through the tunnel of Mussaguet, and, if a slow train, halts at the next station, Cassis, a pleasant fishing village in an oasis at the head of a small bay, between Mont Gardiole (to the west), culminating point 1800 ft., and Mont de Canaille (to the east), culminating point 1365 ft. Inn: Hotel and Pension Liautaud. An omnibus awaits passengers at the station, 30 cents. A very pretty path, passing by the Grotte de Regagne and through a forest of pines on the sides of Mont Canaille, leads to La Ciotat, 6½ m. east by this road, and 23 m. from Marseilles by rail. The station for La Ciotat is 2½ m. from the town, but an omnibus awaits passengers. Inn: H. de l’Univers, at the head of a well-protected harbour, nearly encircled by two strong stone jetties. At the western side of the little bay is a curious promontory, the Bec de l’Aigle (well seen from the station), composed of three lofty rocks in a row, perpendicular on the W. side. Beyond the point is the small island Ile Vert. A little quarrying and coral fishing is carried on in La Ciotat; but the main business of the place is derived from the great shipbuilding yards of the Messageries Maritimes, which may be said to employ directly and indirectly the whole town.
4¼ m. beyond La Ciotat, or 27¼ from Marseilles, is the pretty village of St. Cyr, close to the station. 4¼ m. farther is the station for Bandol, a fishing village at the head of a shallow bay with small islands. The industries are cooperage and the culture of immortelles in fields on the plain and on terraces on the sides of the hills.
36 m. E. from Marseilles is the station Ollioules-St.-Nazaire, where omnibuses await passengers for St. Nazaire, pop. 2500, a port on the Mediterranean, and for Ollioules, pop. 3900, Inn: Trotobas; situated a short way inland on the Reppe, in a deep hollow surrounded by limestone cliffs, which, about 2 m. up the river, are so close to each other as to form a gloomy ravine, at one time the haunt of the brigand Gaspard de Besse. The great industry of Ollioules, Nazaire, and Bandol is the culture of immortelles, which, when made up into wreaths, are sent all over France. The largest and best cost 24 frs. the dozen. Yellow is the natural colour of the flower, but they are variously dyed or bleached. They are cultivated on terraces among olive trees. Oranges and lemons grow freely here. The coach for Beausset halts in the Place of Ollioules, and then runs up the right bank of the Reppe to Beausset, pop. 3000. Inn: France.
La Seyne. Six Fours.
38½ m. E. from Marseilles, and 6 m. W. from Toulon, is La Seyne station. An omnibus awaits passengers for the town, pop. 11,000, H. de la Méditerranée, situated on the roads opposite Toulon, between which two ports there is constant communication by steamers. Near the hotel is the office of the omnibus for Tamaris, a village 1¼ m. S.E., at the foot of Fort Napoleon, and on the Rade (roads) du Lazaret. The omnibus returns by Balaguier. The Toulon omnibus for Reynier passes through La Seyne, from which Reynier is 3 m. W. On the hill above Reynier are the new fort and what remains of the ancient village of Six Fours, once a town of importance. The greater part of the crumbling walls has been cleared away, and in their stead a strong fort has been built, which occupies the entire summit of the hill. The old church still remains, of which the earliest part, 6th cent., is at the entrance extending east and west, and was originally the whole building. To the right hand are two stone altars (6th cent.), with windows behind them to give light to the officiating priest, who at that time said mass with his face to the audience. The nave, extending N. and S., was added in the 15th cent. It contains a Madonna by Puget, and some pictures on wood of the 15th cent. Under the church is a large cistern, formerly, according to the “Annales de Six Fours,” the chapel or house where Mary, sent by her brother Lazarus, told the inhabitants about Jesus. She was buried in the crypt of St. Maximin (p. 143).