part of
which was laid down from measurement, in the reign of Louis XIV., this
mountain is the Mont St. Victoire, near which Marius gained his
celebrated victory over the Cimbri. The field of battle is fixed by
history as near Aquae Sextiae.--(_Aix_.)]

Arles and its environs, it seems, are a sort of French Lancashire in
point of brutal ferocity, and are celebrated for murders as much as for
pork sausages; not that I mean to connect the two things together, as in
the well-known nursery tale.

The Hotel des Princes at Aix is justly to be praised for cleanliness
and excellent accommodations; but Madame Alary is too well aware of its
merits to lose by them. It is somewhat ridiculous to pay, in this fine
fruit country, three francs for a small coffee-saucer of marmalade, with
which we were charged as a separate item in the breakfast; and those
therefore who intend staying a couple of days at this inn, should make
their bargain first.

Mons. Gibelin, a physician residing in the Rue Italienne at Aix,
possesses, and obligingly allows to be shown, some good pictures,
including original portraits of Mad. de Sevigne and her daughter.
Finding him from home, and the house shut up, we extended our walk
further into the town, which, in point of airy streets and cleanliness,
deserves to hold a very high rank indeed among French cities. The houses
are generally stately, regular, and well built, and give you the idea
both of former and of present gentility and opulence. It is in some
degree cooled by several fine fountains, a circumstance of no small
importance at this season of the year, for the effects of the "beau
soleil de Provence" began to exceed even my recollections of Naples.
Speaking merely at hazard on the subject, I should doubt whether any
place in the south of France is better adapted for the cure of pulmonary
complaints than Aix. It stands on the side of a rising ground, facing a
delightfully well-watered and fertile valley to the south-west, and
sheltered from the piercing winds, so prevalent in Provence at some
seasons, by a mountainous barrier which rises to the north and
north-east. Its situation is thus at once sheltered, airy, and cheerful,
and does the greatest honour to the taste of King Rene[49] in selecting
it for his capital.

[Footnote 49: For an account of the curious ceremonies and processions
instituted by this monarch, see Miss Plumptre, under the heads of "Leis
Razcassetos," "Lou Juec des Diables," &