Thomas Jefferson, the Apostle of AmericanismChinard, Gilbert
History
Thomas Jefferson, the Apostle of Americanism
Chinard, Gilbert
Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826
On the other hand, he noted every detail of the fabrication of Burgundy
wine, enumerated the different vintages, the cost of casks, bottles,
methods of transportation and marketing, the price of "_vin ordinaire_",
of oil, butter, cattle, the cultivation of olive trees and fig trees and
capers. Monuments are described with a mathematical eye, many small
points noted, columns described, ornaments studied, but the only
personal impression elicited by Arles is that "The principal monument
here, is an amphitheatre, the external portico of which is tolerably
complete."
What is true of France is even more true of Italy. At Milan the
cathedral is not even mentioned, but "the salon of the Casa Belgiosa is
superior to anything I have ever seen." And he adds immediately, "The
mixture called Scaiola, of which they make their walls and floors, is so
like the finest marble as to be scarcely distinguishable from it." Pages
are given to the fabrication of Parmesan cheese. Once, however, in
walking along the shore from Louano to Alberga, he could not resist the
enchantment of the landscape. There he noted the remarkable coloration
of the Mediterranean and was puzzled by it, but he also added, let it be
marked to his credit:
If any person wished to retire from his acquaintances, to live
absolutely unknown, and yet in the midst of physical enjoyments, it
should be in some of the little villages of this coast, where air,
water and earth concur to offer what each has most precious. Here are
nightingales, beccaficas, ortolans, pheasants, partridges, quails, a
superb climate, and the power of changing it from summer to winter at
any moment, by ascending the mountains. The earth furnishes wine,
oil, figs, oranges, and every production of the garden, in every
season. The sea yields lobsters, crabs, oysters, thunny, sardines,
anchovies etc. Ortolans sell at this time at thirty sous, equal to
one shilling sterling, the dozen.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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