Great Britain -- History -- Stuarts, 1603-1714 -- Fiction
Another pleasure which we had was to follow Humphrey in his travels
by the aid of his letters and a 'Mappa Mundi,' or atlas, which the
Rector possessed. Then I remember when we heard that the boys were
about to ride together through France, from Montpellier to Leyden
in Holland, we had on the table the great map of France. There were
many drawings, coats-of-arms, and other pretty things on the map.
'It is now,' said Mr. Boscorel, finding out the place he wanted, and
keeping his forefinger upon it, 'nearly thirty years since I made
the grand tour, being then governor to the young Lord Silchester,
who afterwards died of the Plague in London. Else had I been now a
Bishop, who am forgotten in this little place. The boys will ride,
I take it, by the same road which we took: first, because it is the
high road and the safest; next, because it is the best provided with
inns and resting places; and, lastly, because it passes through the
best part of his Most Christian Majesty's dominions, and carries
the traveller through his finest and most stately cities. From
Montpellier they will ride--follow my finger, child!--to Nismes.
Before the Revocation it was a great place for those of the Reformed
Religion, and a populous town. Here they will not fail to visit the
Roman temple which still stands. It is not, indeed, such a noble
monument as one may see in Rome; but it is in good preservation, and
a fair example of the later style. They will also visit the great
amphitheatre, which should be cleared of the mean houses which are
now built up within it, and so exposed in all its vastness to the
admiration of the world. After seeing these things they will direct
their way across a desolate piece of country to Avignon, passing
on the way the ancient Roman aqueduct called the Pont de Gard. At
Avignon they will admire the many churches and the walls, and will
not fail to visit the palace of the Popes during the Great Schism.
Thence they will ride northwards, unless they wish first to see
the Roman remains at Arles. Thence will they proceed up the Valley
of the Rhone, through many stately towns, till they come to Lyons,
where, doubtless, they will sojourn for a few days. Next, they will
journey through the rich country of Burgundy, and from the ancient
town of Dijon will reach Paris through the city of Fontainebleau.
On the way they will see many noble houses and castles, with rich
towns and splendid churches. In no country are there more splendid
churches, built in the Gothic style, which we have now forgotten.
Some of them, alas! have been defaced in the wars (so-called of
Religion), where, as happened also to us, the delicate carved work,
the scrolls and flowers and statues were destroyed, and the painted
windows broken. Alas! that men should refuse to suffer Art to become
the minister and handmaid of Religion! Yet in the first and most
glorious temple, in which the glory of the Lord was visibly present,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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