The South of France-East Half Part 25

After leaving Ma.r.s.eilles the first station of importance is L'Estaque (see p. 80), 7 m. W., with large brick and tile works, at the foot of a wooded hill. 4 m. farther is Pas-des-Lanciers, with an inn close to the station. Here the Martigues branch separates from the main line, and the Martigues pa.s.sengers change carriages. Here also an omnibus awaits pa.s.sengers for Marignane, 3 m. W. on Lake Marignane, pop. 7000. Remains of castle which Mirabeau inhabited. Lake Marignane is separated from Lake Berre by a narrow strip of land. The train after pa.s.sing Marignane station arrives at the station for Chateauneuf, a village S. towards the hills.

[Headnote: MARTIGUES. INDUSTRIES.]

+Les Martigues+, pop. 10,000. At station, omnibus for the inn, Hotel du Cours, and omnibus for Port Bouc. Martigues is situated on both sides of the outlet from Lake Berre, and on the islets within this outlet, all connected by bridges. The railway station, the hotel, and a large part of the town are on the E. or Jonquiere side. On the first or smallest of the 3 islets are the Tribunal de la Peche and the fish-market; on the middle one is the Hotel de Ville; and on the third and largest are the hospital and the parish church with sculptured portals. On the N. side of the ca.n.a.l is the part of the town called Ferrieres, containing the harbour and the reservoirs for the manufacture of salt. Fis.h.i.+ng is the princ.i.p.al industry of the inhabitants.

There are in Ma.r.s.eilles numerous charitable inst.i.tutions. The infirmary (Hotel Dieu), founded in 1188 and rebuilt in 1593, can accommodate 750 patients. The workhouse (Hospice de la Charite) contains generally from 600 to 680 orphan children and aged men and women. Near the Prado is the Hopital de la Concepcion, with 800 beds.

The leading industry is soap-making, which occupies sixty factories, with 1200 artisans, and produces annually 65,000 tons, valued at 2,000,000 sterling. With this manufacture are connected oil and chemical works; in the former, which employ 2000 to 2500 workmen, 55,000 tons of different oils are produced yearly. The chemical works employ 2000 operatives in the manufacture of the salts of soda and concentrated acids, the value of whose annual production may be estimated at 320,000. Metallurgy is another great industry; a large quant.i.ty of ore, imported from Elba, Spain, and Algeria, is smelted in the blast furnaces of St. Louis in the suburbs. The Mediterranean ironworks and yards, together with other private companies, have large workshops for the construction or repair of marine steam-engines, and for every branch of iron s.h.i.+pbuilding, employing several thousand workmen. Ma.r.s.eilles is a great centre for the extraction of silver from lead ore; 16,000 tons of lead and 25 tons of fine silver are separated annually.

[Headnote: COMMERCE. HISTORY.]

_Commerce._--The chief imports in point of bulk are cereals from the Black Sea, Turkey, and Algeria; but the one of greatest value, raw silk, 4,000,000 yearly, comes from Italy, Spain, the Levant, China, and j.a.pan. Then follow metals, ores, timber, sugar, wool, cotton, and rice.

The princ.i.p.al exports in respect of value are silk, woollen and cotton fabrics, refined sugars, wines and spirits; those of greatest bulk are cereals in the form of flour, building materials, oil-cakes, manufactures in metal, oils, gla.s.s and crystal.

_History._--The Greek colony of Ma.s.salia (in Latin, _Ma.s.silia_) was founded by the enterprising mariners of Phocaea in Asia Minor, about 600 B.C. After the ravages of successive streams of invaders it was repeopled in the 10th century under the protection of its viscounts. In 1112 the town bought up their rights, and was formed into a republic, governed by a podestat, appointed for life. In the remainder of the Middle Ages, however, this arrangement was modified, the higher town was governed by the bishop, and had its harbour at the creek of La Joliette.

The southern suburb was governed by the abbot of St. Victor, and owned the Port des Catalans. The republic or lower town, situated between the two, retained the old harbour, and was the most powerful of the three divisions. The period of the Crusades brought great prosperity to Ma.r.s.eilles. King Rene made it his winter residence. Louis XIV. came in person to Ma.r.s.eilles to quell the disturbances under the Fronde. He took the town by storm, and had Fort St. Nicolas constructed. Ma.r.s.eilles repeatedly suffered from the plague, and an epidemic raged from May 1720 to May 1721 with a severity for which it is almost impossible to find a parallel; Bishop Belsunce, Chevalier Rose, and others immortalised themselves by their courage and devotion.

During the Revolution of 1793 the people rose against the aristocracy, who up to that time had governed the commune. In the Terror they rebelled against the Convention, but were promptly subdued by General Carteux. The wars of the empire, by dealing a severe blow to their maritime commerce, excited the hatred of the inhabitants against Napoleon. Since 1815 the prosperity of the city has received a considerable impulse from the conquest of Algeria and the opening of the Suez Ca.n.a.l.

[Headnote: THE Ma.r.s.eILLAISE.]

_The Ma.r.s.eillaise._--The famous anthem called "The Ma.r.s.eillaise" was composed by Joseph Rouget de l'Isle, born at Lons-le-Saulnier on the 10th May 1760, and died (it is said in poverty) at Choisy-le-Roi, 6 m.

S. from Paris by rail, on the 27th June 1836. On the 24th April 1792, the day before the departure of a detachment of volunteers, Dietrich, the Mayor of Strasburg, gave a banquet to their officers, and during dinner requested Rouget, then an officer in the engineers, to compose a war-song for them. Although it was late before Rouget retired to his room, he had both the music and the words ready before going to bed. In the morning he handed the paper to his host, saying: "_Tenez, voila ce que vous m'avez demande, mais j'ai peur que cela ne soit pas trop bon._"

"_Que dites vous mon ami?_" said Dietrich, after casting his eye over the MS.; "_vous avez fait un chef-d'uvre._" The mayor's wife having tried it on the piano, the orchestra of the theatre were engaged to perform it in the princ.i.p.al square of Strasburg, when such was the enthusiasm it created that the detachment marched off with nearly 1000 instead of 600 volunteers. For them Rouget called the air "Le Chant de guerre de l'armee du Rhin." In July of the same year a detachment of volunteers was sent to Paris from Ma.r.s.eilles by order of Barbaroux, and as they were in the habit of singing this song both on their march and in the capital it received the name of the "Hymne des Ma.r.s.eillais."

Charles Barbaroux, born at Ma.r.s.eilles in 1767, died on the scaffold June 1794, was one of the deputies who contributed most to the fall of the monarchy. He belonged to the party called the Girondins.

Ma.r.s.eILLES TO MENTON.

BY HYeRES, CANNES, NICE, AND MONACO. 155 MILES.

See Maps, pages 113, 155, and 185.

miles from Ma.r.s.eILLES miles to MENTON

{ }{155} +Ma.r.s.eILLES.+ See under "Ma.r.s.eilles, Toulon, Nice et Menton" in the "Indicateur." The train, after leaving Ma.r.s.eilles on its way to Toulon, traverses beautiful fertile valleys opening to the sea, and bounded by mountains mostly with whitish calcareous tops. Having crossed the stream Huveaune and traversed several tunnels and the Durance and Ma.r.s.eilles ca.n.a.l, the slow trains halt at the villages of St. Marcel, with the chapel of N. D. de Nazareth, and St. Menet, and La Penne, all situated at the foot of Mont Carpiagne. During the season, from May to October, a coach at the St. Menet station awaits pa.s.sengers for the cold mineral baths of Camoins, 2 m. distant, or 5 m. by omnibus from Ma.r.s.eilles. The bathing establishment is about m. from the village, in an undulating hollow, among plane trees, olives, and vines. The water is cold, and contains iron and iodine, with a great deal of sulphur. It is very effective as a tonic, and in diseases of the liver. The establishment is quiet but comfortable. Pension 8 to 9 frs. per day.

10 m. from Ma.r.s.eilles is +Aubagne+, pop. 8100. H. Notre Dame. Omnibus daily to Ma.r.s.eilles, stopping at H. St. Louis. Every train halts at Aubagne. Junction with loop-line to Valdonne, 10 m. N., with coal-mines and potteries. Coach from Valdonne to Aix by Fuveau, where take rail.

After Aubagne the train pa.s.ses through the tunnel of Mussaguet, and, if a slow train, halts at the next station, Ca.s.sis, a pleasant fis.h.i.+ng village in an oasis at the head of a small bay, between Mont Gardiole (to the west), culminating point 1800 ft., and Mont de Canaille (to the east), culminating point 1365 ft. _Inn:_ Hotel and Pension Liautaud. An omnibus awaits pa.s.sengers at the station, 30 cents. A very pretty path, pa.s.sing by the Grotte de Regagne and through a forest of pines on the sides of Mont Canaille, leads to La Ciotat, 6 m. east by this road, and 23 m. from Ma.r.s.eilles by rail. The station for La Ciotat is 2 m. from the town, but an omnibus awaits pa.s.sengers. _Inn:_ H. de l'Univers, at the head of a well-protected harbour, nearly encircled by two strong stone jetties. At the western side of the little bay is a curious promontory, the Bec de l'Aigle (well seen from the station), composed of three lofty rocks in a row, perpendicular on the W. side. Beyond the point is the small island Ile Vert. A little quarrying and coral fis.h.i.+ng is carried on in +La Ciotat+; but the main business of the place is derived from the great s.h.i.+pbuilding yards of the Messageries Maritimes, which may be said to employ directly and indirectly the whole town.

[Map: Ma.r.s.eilles to Cannes]

4 m. beyond La Ciotat, or 27 from Ma.r.s.eilles, is the pretty village of St. Cyr, close to the station. 4 m. farther is the station for Bandol, a fis.h.i.+ng village at the head of a shallow bay with small islands. The industries are cooperage and the culture of immortelles in fields on the plain and on terraces on the sides of the hills.

36 m. E. from Ma.r.s.eilles is the station Ollioules-St.-Nazaire, where omnibuses await pa.s.sengers for St. Nazaire, pop. 2500, a port on the Mediterranean, and for Ollioules, pop. 3900, _Inn:_ Trotobas; situated a short way inland on the Reppe, in a deep hollow surrounded by limestone cliffs, which, about 2 m. up the river, are so close to each other as to form a gloomy ravine, at one time the haunt of the brigand Gaspard de Besse. The great industry of Ollioules, Nazaire, and Bandol is the culture of immortelles, which, when made up into wreaths, are sent all over France. The largest and best cost 24 frs. the dozen. Yellow is the natural colour of the flower, but they are variously dyed or bleached.

They are cultivated on terraces among olive trees. Oranges and lemons grow freely here. The coach for Beausset halts in the Place of Ollioules, and then runs up the right bank of the Reppe to Beausset, pop. 3000. _Inn:_ France.

[Headnote: LA SEYNE. SIX FOURS.]

38 m. E. from Ma.r.s.eilles, and 6 m. W. from Toulon, is +La Seyne+ station. An omnibus awaits pa.s.sengers for the town, pop. 11,000, H. de la Mediterranee, situated on the roads opposite Toulon, between which two ports there is constant communication by steamers. Near the hotel is the office of the omnibus for Tamaris, a village 1 m. S.E., at the foot of Fort Napoleon, and on the Rade (roads) du Lazaret. The omnibus returns by Balaguier. The Toulon omnibus for Reynier pa.s.ses through La Seyne, from which Reynier is 3 m. W. On the hill above Reynier are the new fort and what remains of the ancient village of +Six Fours+, once a town of importance. The greater part of the crumbling walls has been cleared away, and in their stead a strong fort has been built, which occupies the entire summit of the hill. The old church still remains, of which the earliest part, 6th cent., is at the entrance extending east and west, and was originally the whole building. To the right hand are two stone altars (6th cent.), with windows behind them to give light to the officiating priest, who at that time said ma.s.s with his face to the audience. The nave, extending N. and S., was added in the 15th cent. It contains a Madonna by Puget, and some pictures on wood of the 15th cent.

Under the church is a large cistern, formerly, according to the "Annales de Six Fours," the chapel or house where Mary, sent by her brother Lazarus, told the inhabitants about Jesus. She was buried in the crypt of St. Maximin (p. 143).

TOULON.

42 m. E. from Ma.r.s.eilles, 13 m. W. from Hyeres, 22 m. S. from Carnoulles, 59 m. S.W. from St. Raphael, 79 m. S.W. from Cannes, 98 m.

S.W. from Nice, and 113 m. S.W. from Menton, is +Toulon+, pop. 71,000 (see maps, pp. 123 and 129). _Hotels:_ near the station, the Grand Hotel, a large first-cla.s.s house; a little farther and near the post, the theatre, and Temple Protestant, are the Victoria and the Louvre; in the Place Puget is the Nord, and at No. 15 an office where carriages can be hired for Mont Faron and other excursions. From this "Place" start the omnibuses for Hyeres, 11 m. E. by the road; also omnibuses for Ollioules and Beausset. The porpoises and scallop sh.e.l.ls on the fountain in the centre of the "Place" are by Puget. In the Place d'Armes is the H. Place d'Armes, fronting the a.r.s.enal and the Promenade, where the band plays on Sundays.

The omnibuses for Cap Brun, Ste. Marguerite, Le Pradet, La Valette, La Garde, and La Crau, and the diligences for Pierrefeu, Collobrieres, Cuers, Sollies-Pont, Belgentier, Meounes, Neroules, and Brignoles, start from the Place d'Italie at the east end of Toulon. In this "Place" are the inns H. Pet.i.t, St. Jean, and H. Croix-Blanche. (For the above places see maps, pp. 123 and 129.) In the Place Puget are several cheap restaurants. The best restaurants are on the quay of the port.

[Headnote: THE QUAI DU PORT.]

+The Quai du Port.+--The bronze statue on this quay, representing Navigation, is by Daumas, by whom are also the colossal statues in front of the theatre. Near it are the berths of the steamers for Saint Mandrier, 3 m. S., and for the Iles d'Hyeres. More to the right is the berth of the large steamers for La Seyne. At the west end is the hulk of the famous _Belle Poule_, covered with a roof of sloping planks. This was the vessel in which Napoleon's body was brought from St. Helena and deposited in the Hotel des Invalides on the 15th December 1840. The Chamber of Deputies granted 40,000 to defray the expenses of the expedition, and entrusted the command to the Prince de Joinville, with whom were a.s.sociated Bertrand, Gourgaud, the younger Las Casas, and Marchand the Emperor's valet, all the latest and most devoted of Napoleon's adherents. On the 16th October the coffin was opened, when the body was found in an excellent state of preservation. On that same day the remains were embarked on board the _Belle Poule_, and on the 18th the s.h.i.+p set sail. On the 30th November it reached Cherbourg, where the body was transferred to the steamboat _Normandie_, which conveyed it up the Seine to Courbevoie, where it was placed on a most magnificent car.

[Headnote: CAB FARES. THE a.r.s.eNALS.]

_Cab fares._--The course, 1 fr.; the hour, 2 frs.

The strongly-fortified port of Toulon occupies a plain rising gradually from the sea to the lofty ridge of Mont Faron, which runs east and west, and sends out lower branches, enclosing the town and harbour on either side. On the summit, immediately behind the town, are Fort Croix and large barracks; to the east is La Platriere, 1000 ft., and immediately behind it Mt. Coudon, 2305 ft. To the west is the Cap Gros, 1735 ft, and behind it Mt. Caoume, 3268 ft. On every commanding position is a fort; while from the water's edge at the west end of the port rises Fort Malbousquet. Similarly situated on the eastern end is Fort Lamalgue, the last held by the English in 1793. The Pet.i.t Rade offers a s.p.a.cious and most secure roadstead. From it are walled off, at the east end, the Port Marchand and the Vieille Da.r.s.e, or town-docks, whence the steamers sail.

Then follow the Government docks of Vauban, Castigneau, and Missiessy, all communicating with each other by swing bridges, and surrounded by well-built quays. The most conspicuous features of Toulon are the a.r.s.enals and the establishments connected with them, which are on a scale of almost unrivalled magnificence, occupying 717 acres, and employing above 10,000 men. Near the west end of the Port a large gateway with marble columns forms the entrance into the "a.r.s.enal Maritime," covering 240 acres, and containing a general storehouse, 100 forge fires, two covered building-slips, a ropery 1050 feet long, and an armoury with at the entrance two caryatides and a colossal eagle by Puget. Adjoining is the a.r.s.enal de Castigneau, constructed on piles along the bay towards La Seyne, with the bakery, ironworks, and s.h.i.+p-equipment departments.

Although Toulon, rather a dirty town, is crowded with marines and sailors, it maintains by the constant influx of the peasantry all the characteristics of a town of Provence. Theatres of every grade abound, from the Grand Opera House down to the poor little cafe chantant, where gaudily-dressed females electrify the audience with popular ballads. The most pleasant lounge in winter is on the Quai du Port, as the wharf fronting the town-dock is called. As long as the sun is above the horizon it s.h.i.+nes there, consequently during the cold season it is crowded with all kinds of people, most of whom, unfortunately, are poisoning the air with execrable tobacco. On it are good cafes and restaurants, and booksellers' shops where plans of the town and neighbourhood are sold. This now gay sunny promenade was in November 1793 the scene of one of the most horrid butcheries of human life recorded in history, when the infuriated Republican soldiers, mad with vengeance, slaughtered above 6000 of their countrymen, not sparing even those of their own party, in their blind rage. Sir Sydney Smith, amidst the flames of burning s.h.i.+ps and dockyards, and the shrieks and imploring cries of the terrified populace, succeeded in rescuing and embarking some 1500. Napoleon, then a lad of 23, by whose military genius the discomfiture of the English had been effected, exerted himself to the utmost, but in vain, to stay the carnage.

[Headnote: TOWN HALL.]

Among the houses which border the Quai du Port is the +Town Hall+, adorned with two admirable caryatides by Pierre Puget. In front is the statue representing Navigation, and at No. 64 of the street behind is the corner house Puget built for himself. It contains four stories of nearly square windows, those in the lowest and highest rows being the smallest. The small side has three windows in each row, and the large four, the windows of the first three rows over the doorway being in couples. On the angles are shallow grooved foliated pilasters, and under the eaves a projecting dentil cornice.

The most sheltered street in winter, and the coolest in summer, is the Rue Lafayette, a broad avenue lined with shops and shaded with immense lime trees. It commences at the east end of the Port and bends round to the Place Puget. About half of the street is occupied by a fruit, flower, and vegetable market. In the second story of the narrow five-storied house, at No. 89 (the Port end), is one of the cannon-b.a.l.l.s fired by the English during the struggle of November 1793. (See above.) At the Port end of the street is the "Place," whence the omnibus starts for Mourillon; also the church of St. Francois de Paule. The interior contains pictures and statues of some merit. The reredos of the altar to the left represents one of the interviews between J. C. and Marguerite Alacoque, while that of the altar to the right represents Mary announcing herself to the girl swineherd at Lourdes to be the "conceived without sin."

[Headnote: SAINTE-MARIE-MAJEURE.]

The street ramifying from the west side of the Rue Lafayette, between houses Nos. 77 and 79, leads to the cathedral of +Sainte-Marie-Majeure+, commenced in the 11th cent., and finished in the 18th. The exterior is unattractive. The interior is better. The organ-loft over the entrance is of carved oak. The alabaster reredos of the altar in the chapel to the right of the high altar is by the sculptor Veyrier. The tabernacle and the two angels under it are by Puget, who is said to have executed also the alto-relievo on the side wall of the chapel representing the apostles looking into the empty tomb of Mary. Over the arch of the chapel on the left of the high altar is a Madonna in wood by Canova.

Several very good pictures adorn the church.

[Headnote: ST. MANDRIER. MONT FARON.]

All the steamers sail from the Quai du Port. The best and largest are those which cross to La Seyne (p. 123). The steamers for the Iles d'Hyeres and for St. Mandrier sail also from this wharf. The St.

Mandrier steamer makes the trip six times daily, calling first at Balaguier, where the landing-place is between Fort Aiguillette to the north and Fort Balaguier to the south, the latter being easily recognised by its round tower. The restaurant and houses are situated towards Fort Aiguillette. On the other side of the point of Fort Balaguier is Le Tamarin, or Tamaris, consisting chiefly of pretty villas in luxuriant gardens full of palms and orange trees. Behind Tamaris rises Fort Napoleon, commanding a splendid view. An excellent carriage-road leads up to the top. It commences near the neck of land of the peninsula of Cepet. An omnibus runs between Le Tamaris, Balaguier, and La Seyne. The steamer, after touching at Balaguier, crosses the roads or Rade du Lazaret and enters the small bay of St. Mandrier. At the landing-place is a comfortable inn, charging 8 to 10 frs. per day.

Round the point, in a warm nook among the hills, is the hospital of St.

Mandrier, with 1200 beds, one of the most important establishments of this kind in France. It occupies three sides of a parallelogram, has a handsome chapel, and a great cistern vaulted with concentric circles.

Adjoining is a large and well-sheltered garden with orange trees.

Visitors are readily admitted. In Toulon, near the Place d'Armes, is the Hopital de la Marine, exclusively for the navy. Although well ordered, it is hardly sufficiently ventilated.

One of the most interesting walks is to the top of Mont Faron, 1792 feet above the sea. From the Porte Notre Dame, at the E. end of Toulon, take the broad road or street leading northwards by the bridge across the railway. Then pa.s.sing one of the artillery establishments, leave the town by the Port of Ste. Anne--the name is on the gateway. From this the real road commences, excellent all the way, and in its gentle ascent and continuous windings ever unfolding the most lovely views of the town and the bay. When not far from the summit three roads meet. The road to the left goes to the barracks and to the top. The nearly level road to the right goes to Fort Faron, and the steep road to the left to Fort de la Croix on a rock above Fort Faron. Both are on the east or the La Valette side of the mountain. The summit consists of a stony tableland, from which rise knolls of various elevations. It can be done in a carriage.