While at Nismes, my ancle proved extremely painful, and I felt otherwise indisposed, so as to be incapable for a time of taking my usual walks; I was, in consequence, induced to consult a French apothecary, who had talked me into a favourable opinion of his skill, by expatiating, in what I considered a philosophical way, upon the virtues of his medicines. I was, consequently, placed upon a course of _ptisan refraichissant_, without which French practice would be at a loss, but which, begging the pardon of this French Æsculapius, although it might do very well in mild cases, I should be loath to intrust my safety to in a desperate one, where nature might possibly want urging forward, or severe correction, rather than treating with such a complaisance; so much for my smattering of physic: but, notwithstanding, I must do my _apoticaire_ the justice to admit, that with the aid of his ptisan, and other means, I was in a few days sufficiently improved to be able to resume, in some measure, my customary walks. Nismes, originally the Nemausum of the Romans, is a city of considerable antiquity, of which sufficient remains are still to be found, to attest its former grandeur. I visited some of these august remains, particularly the celebrated amphitheatre, built in the Tuscan order, of such size as to have been capable of containing twenty thousand spectators. It is considered one of the finest monuments of antiquity, and has survived the ravages of nearly twenty centuries. I had also that exquisite piece of Corinthian architecture described to me, now termed the _Maison Quarrée_, which exhibits some of the most beautiful specimens of architecture still existing, and which had been supposed by many to have been built by the Emperor Hadrian, a great benefactor to this city, but by an inscription, discoverable to that effect, is now proved to have been erected by the good people of Nismes in honour of the two young princes, Caius and Lucius Cæsar, grandsons of Augustus, by his daughter Julia, the wife of Agrippa. A number of peculiar large square basins, which the common people use to bathe in, are to be seen at Nismes, near the public walk named the _Coursè_; they are placed at equal distances from each other, and formed by enlargements of a canal that runs through them, the water supplying which, issues from under the rock on which the castle stands; after passing through these reservoirs, the stream is conducted, by pipes and smaller canals, throughout the town, and converted to different purposes of economy and manufacture.