d drawn castor oil, and has a greenish tinge; and this
the good lady assured us was the only true thing.

No more, when ignorance is bliss,
'Tis folly to be wise;

more particularly in matters relating to the palate. We walked to see
the house where the Count de Grignan resided in state, during his
official visits to Lambese: like many other dilapidated mansions in the
place, it bears the marks of fallen greatness. There is a handsome stone
gateway belonging to it, decorated with a carved coat of arms supported
by lions; but the house, like the poor Palazzo Foscari at Venice, is
tenanted only by a nest of squalid families. The Hotel du Bras d'Or is a
plain, comfortable country inn, civil and reasonable.

CHAP. X.

AIX--MARSEILLES.

MAY 22.--To Aix sixteen miles. Though the country during the first part
of the stage is hilly without any romantic character, and rather
unpromising, the difference of climate was already apparent from the
strong and brilliant colours of the very hedge flowers, of which we
observed an endless variety. After passing St. Canat, the first post,
the country improves a little, and the [48]mountain under which Aix is
situated begins to thrust its lofty head above the intervening line of
hills. In proceeding a little further, we caught a distant glimpse of
the Etang de Berre to the west, and presently distinguished Aix in a
deep vale under our feet, into which the descent is long and steep. A
cart escorted by five gens d'armes, in which we saw a priest and another
person quietly ensconced, and exposed to a burning sun, was toiling up
the hill on a very different errand from ours. We were surprised to see
a grave character in so equivocal a situation, but found on inquiry that
he had benevolently offered his assistance in escorting a woman on her
journey to Arles, where she was to be executed for a murder. The
circumstances under which it had been committed, struck us as more
atrocious than common. About seven years before, this person, in concert
with her husband, who was since dead, invited an old lady, their friend
and patroness, and godmother to one of their children, to walk and eat
grapes in their vineyard. Watching their opportunity, they cut her
throat, buried her on the spot, and possessed themselves of her
property, with which they removed from the neighbourhood of Arles, where
the murder was committed.

[Footnote 48: According to Sanson's excellent Atlas, the French