Venice is the only advantage which any of these baths possesses, all the surroundings being gross and unrefined. Near this spot we[30] came to the bridge over the canal which is known as the Canal of the Two Thoroughfares, which pass both below and above it. Here they have constructed causeways, which on the outside are on a level with the roads along which the traffic passes, and on the inside slope down to the level of the waterway. Here is built a stone bridge of two arches over which the canal is carried, and above this bridge is built another from one bank to the other, for the service of those who may want to cross the canal, and under it go the boats which traverse the waterway. Here also descends from the mountains a large stream, which, after flowing through the plain, crosses the course of the canal; and it was to compass this passage without any interruption to the navigation that the first-named two-arched bridge was constructed. The stream, which itself is of volume sufficient to float small boats, here passes under the canal, its sides being faced with wooden planks. So that, reckoning this stream, and the canal itself, and the bridge crossing the same, there are three routes in use one over the other. From hence onwards, the canal being left on the right hand, the road passed by a small town called Montselise which, though it lies very low, was enclosed by a wall carried almost to the top of the mountain. Within this wall stood an ancient castle belonging to the former lords of the place and now a heap of ruins. At this point, leaving the mountains to the right, we kept to the left along a fine level raised road, which at certain seasons of the year must be well shaded. On either side lay a very fertile plain, the several cornfields thereof being thickly planted with rows of trees from which hung the vines, as is the usage in this country. Hereabout so many great grey oxen are seen that their presence did not cause in us the surprise we had felt at the sight of those belonging to the Archduke Fernand.