eets shabby; but the Peyroue is one
of the most magnificent things I ever saw. It is a superb platform,
which forms the termination of the Grand Aqueduct built by Louis XIV.
and commands a magnificent extent of country. In front, the view is
terminated by a long and level line of the Mediterranean. To the
south-west the horizon is formed by the ridge of the Pyrenees; while, to
the north, the view is closed in by the distant, yet magnificent summits
of the Alps. Immediately below these extends, almost to the border of
the Mediterranean, a beautiful _paysage_, spotted with innumerable
country seats, which, seen at a distance, have the same air of neatness
and comfort as those in England. At the end of this fine platform, is a
Grecian temple, inclosing a basin, which receives the large body of
water conveyed by the aqueduct, and which empties itself again into a
wide basin with a bottom of golden-coloured sand. The limpid clearness
of the water is beyond all description. The air, blowing over the basin
from a plain of wheat and olives (evergreens in this climate), has a
charming freshness. The Esplanade here is also a fine promenade,
although the view which it commands is not so fine as that from the
Peyroue. The manufactures of Montpellier are, verdigris, blankets and
handkerchiefs; little trade going on. The climate is delightful, though
now too warm for my taste. Every thing is much farther advanced here
than at Aix. They have some very pretty gardens here, though nothing
equal to what we see every day in England. The botanical garden is very
small. We start to-morrow at six for Beziers, where we expect to find
water carriage to Toulouse.

* * *

_Tuesday_, 21st April.--We left Montpellier at five in the morning, and
although the country round the town is certainly more beautiful than the
greater part of Languedoc we have yet seen, it in a short time became
very uninteresting; an extended plain, covered with uninclosed fields of
wheat, and occasionally a plantation of olives. Before reaching Maize, a
small town situated within a mile of the shore of the Mediterranean, we
passed through a fine forest, the only considerable one we have seen in
Languedoc. The road winded along the shore; the day was delightful, and
as warm as with us in July; and the waters of the Mediterranean lay in a
perfect calm, clear and still, and beautiful, under the light of a
glorious sun. The general appearance of the country is certainly not