corn, hemp, and cloth; population 1

1800.

As we have now passed through the depart ments of the Nievre and Allier, and are about to quit the latter, we shall pause a moment, to give the reader a general idea of the climate and productions of this favoured region, more particularly with a view of affording those who wish to settle here, the best information on the subject; and as we can bear testimony to the fidelity of Mr. Pinkney's very excellent description of these departments, we shall give it in his own words. There is nothing to add on the subject.

« The climate of the departments of the Nievre and the Allier, which include the provinces of the Nivernais and Bourbonnais, is the most delightful under heaven, being at once most healthy, and such as to animate and inspirit the senses and the imagination; it is an end. less succession of the most lovely skies, without any interruption, except by those rains which are necessary to nourish and fertilize. The winters are mild, without fogs, and with sufficient sunshine to render fires almost unnecessary. The springs answer to the ordinary weather of May in other kingdoms. The sum mer and autumn, with the exception of hail and thunder, which are certainly violent, but not frequent, are not characterized by those heavy humid heats, which are so pestilential in other parts of the world: they are light, elastic, and cheering. The windows of the bed-chambers are almost all without glass : or if they have it, it is for show rather than for

use; the universal custom is to sleep with them open. It is not uncommon to have the swallows flying into your chamber, and awakening you by early dawn with their twittering. When these windows open into gardens, nothing can be more pleasant: the purity of the air, the splendour of the stars, the singing of nightingales, and the perfume of flowers, all

concur to charm the senses. In March and April the ground is covered with flowers, and many, which are solely confined to the gardens and hot-houses in England, may be seen in the fields and hedge-rows; the colours are perhaps not altogether so brilliant as in more humid climates, but they give the country an appearance of a fairy land. Peas are in common use on every table in March, and every kind of culinary vegetable is equally forward, and reasonable in price! The meadows are covered with violets, and the gardens with roses, and the banks by the side of the road seem one continued bed of cowslips. In a word, spring here indeed seems to hold her throne, and to reign in all that vernal sweetness and loveliness which is imputed to her by the poets (1).

Every spot of ground is cultivated: if there be no natural soil, the peasants will carry some thither. As there are numerous woods and forests in these departments fuel is very cheap; coal also is found here. The most beautiful shrubs are common in the woods and hedges. An estate may be purchased here (1) Travels in France, 4to. p. 227.

for two-thirds less than in England; and those who are disposed to settle in this central part of France, will find cheerful neighbours, a people polished in their manners from the highest to the lowest, and naturally gay and

benevolent.

Roanne is a populous, commercial town, situated on the left bank of the Loire, which here becomes navigable, and continues so for more than 450 miles. All the merchandize from Lyons, from Languedoc and Provence, and from the Levant, is sent to Paris from this port, by the river and the canal of Briare. At a distance, the town appears nothing more than a large village, but it has some broad, regular streets, good houses, public baths, and a theatre. The wines of Renaison and St. André, made in the neighbourhood, are highly esteemed. Manufacture of calicoes. Population 8,000. Roanne is fifteen leagues from Clermont, twelve from Lyons, eight from Palice, and nine from Monbrisson. This town existed in the time of the Romans, and Ptolemy speaks of it under the name of Rodomna, as the second town of the Segusii: the Theodosian Table also calls it Roidumna, and several antiquities have been found in the neighbourhood.

Four leagues from Roanne are the ruins of the ancient castle of d'Urfé, on the top of a high mountain, and visible from a great distance. This castle, and the estate belonging to it, gave their name to a very ancient family, one of whom was the chevalier d'Urfé, author

of the famous romance of Astrea, which was once read with universal delight all over Europe, and may still be perused with pleasure. D'Urfé himself, under the names of Celadon and Sylvander, is the hero ; and the environs of his castle are the theatre of most of the pastoral scenes; the brook of Lignon, which runs near it, will always be famous in the annals of poetry, and its banks be celebrated as the habitation of tender and gallant swains, just as the Sylvanders and Celadons will always be the models of constant and gentle lovers. D'Urfé died in the year 1625, and his family is extinct. St.-Symphorien-deLay, the next post, is a small bourg, with some cotton manufactures and coal mines. Hence to the mountain of Tarare, the country is full of ascents, but very picturesque. There is a good road over this mountain, which is safe in summer, but dangerous in winter, on account of the snows with which it is covered. Posts, however, are placed-along the road to direct the traveller. Oxen are here used with horses to assist in drawing the carriages. Sterne passed over this mountain, and has given an interesting narrative of an adventure which occurred to him there, and one that is likely enough to happen to any traveller.

The little bourg of Tarare, situated on the Tardine, in a valley at the foot of the mountain we have just passed, has a population of 3000 persons, some manufactures of printed linens, cottons, muslins, bleaching grounds,

C.

and tan-yards. Before we arrive at Arnas, the next post, there is a very steep descent by a narrow road hedged in by rocks on one side, with a precipice on the other, which the traveller would do well to pass on foot, as it is rather dangerous for carriages. Arbréle,

or Bresle, a small town of 2000 inhabitants, is chiefly remarkable for its copper mines, about two miles distant, which will well repay the curiosity of the traveller. The situation is fine, the smelting-houses large, and the excavations immense. Those of Sainte-Bel are less considerable. Here they manufacture copperas, verdigris, and vitriol.

Leaving Arbrêle, we ascend the mountain of that name, and after passing Salvagny, the next post, see on our right the chateau of Charbonnières, celebrated, at Lyons, for the mineral waters in its park. The beauty of the country continually increasing, offers to our view some of the most delightful landscapes in France; and the numerous country seats which every where meet the eye, in the most picturesque situations, announce Our approach to a great commercial city, the ancient and celebrated LYONS, of which the reader will find a detailed account in our second chapter.