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which are fraught with danger to an invalid; nor are the houses well calculated to exclude cold. Yet, winter after winter, poor sufferers, who tremble at a breeze in their own comfortable homes, with all appliances to boot to enable them to resist it, are sent from England by the mandate of physicians, who know little of Nice except its geographical position, to fade and die afar from the home they yearn to see again.

I am filled with pity when I meet some fair English girl with the bright hectic tinge on her delicate cheek, and the lustrous eyes, which betoken the presence of that most perfidious and fatal of all diseases, consumption, mounted on a pony, led by a father, a brother, or one who hoped to stand in a still more tender relation to her. I tremble when I see the warm cloak in which she is enveloped swept by the rude wind from her shrinking shoulders, and hear that fearful cough which shakes her tortured chest. A few weeks, and such invalids (and alas! they are many) are seen no more; and the mourning parents retrace their route, with the bitter knowledge that they left their home in vain, nay, that the change of climate which they fondly anticipated would have preserved their darling had accelerated her death. Every turn here presents the sad view of some valetudinarian tottering along with feeble steps, and faces on which death has set his seal, pale shadows that alas! will soon disappear. Such sights make the heart sad; and who can turn with delight to the glowing landscapes around Nice, or the sparkling blue waters that lave its coast, when our paths are almost momentarily crossed by those who

bear about with them the visible symptoms of approaching dissolution?

6th.-Nice, though an extensive town with several streets and one large square, is more deficient in not only the elegancies but the comforts of life, than a place could be imagined to be where so great an influx of wealth is poured in from England, and by persons peculiarly requiring some portion at least of the comforts to which they have been habituated. The streets are unclean, and the large square is the most cheerless and filthy I ever saw. How different would Nice be with a colony of English tradespeople! there would not then be the disgusting discrepancy that now exists between the beautiful country around and the town that disfigures it. Comfort! homely but indispensable blessing, England is thy dwelling-place! there thou art wedded to good taste, and worshipped as the penates of happy homes: but rarely art thou encountered in other lands, where grandeur strives in vain to compensate for thine absence.

7th.-How strange it seems to us English, to be compelled to sit and take our repasts in a bed-room! This we are, bongré, malgré, obliged to do in our inn, for there is not a room in it that has not one or two beds. We have made an arrangement to-day, to pay an extra price for having the two beds that at present encumber our would-be salon removed; but this arrangement was not effected without much difficulty, and many objections on the part of the landlord, who

seemed to think us not a little fastidious for exacting such a sacrifice on his part.

"But should more travellers arrive, it will be very inconvenient to keep them waiting while the beds are putting up," said our host, who could not imagine that, although we paid for an exclusive use of the room by the week during the day, that he had not a right to turn it to his profit during the night. But a threat of our leaving the inn unless the suite of apartments which we occupied were appropriated solely to us, finally induced his entire compliance with our wishes; and, while I now write, I hear the operation of removing the beds proceeding in the adjoining chamber.

9th.-The rides about Nice are delightful, but the drives are limited to the high roads, which are much less interesting. The town is surrounded by a range of hills covered with olive and orange trees, and thickly dotted with villas encircled by gardens. The atmosphere is so peculiarly clear that distant objects are seen with a distinctness that brings them in a rich contrast with the foreground; and the sea, always beautiful, and never to be beheld without renewed admiration, looks like an azure mirror placed by Nature to reflect her works. A marble cross marks the spot at Nice where an interview took place between Francis I., Charles V., and Pope Paul III. As I stood on the spot, I could call up to my mind's eye these three remarkable men; but I found my fancy more disposed to dwell on the chivalrous sovereign of France than on the mighty warrior of Spain, who exchanged a throne for a convent, or the churchman

who established the Inquisition. I believe all women feel a stronger interest towards the memory of two French monarchs of ancient days than to any of their contemporaries. I refer to Henry IV. and Francis I. Both were distinguished by a bravery and courtesy that have a peculiar attraction for my sex; and the weaknesses of which they are accused are precisely those which women are most disposed to pardon, except in the persons of their suitors or their husbands.

10th. We have made a very agreeable acquaintance here in the Comte Andriani, an Italian, and one of the most extraordinary examples of the triumph of mind over physical suffering that I ever met with. He has been for many years a martyr to gout, and has tried the effects of all climates to gain a respite from this fearful scourge. But in vain have been his efforts; and he has now been confined to this hotel for many months, his malady being so much increased that he dare not attempt moving. He seldom knows more than a few hours cessation from acute pain, yet during such intervals he is as cheerful, and his conversation is as brilliant, as if he were totally free from disease. He has lived much in England and mixed intimately with the Whig Aristocracy, to whom he is exceedingly attached. His political bias confined him almost entirely to the society of those whom he denominated the Liberals; but he is free from prejudice, being a perfect cosmopolite. His information is as versatile as profound, his manners polished and vivacious, and his conversation pregnant with anecdote.

He is wheeled into his salon, which he has had arranged à l'anglaise, every hour that he is free from pain; and those who have the privilege of admission assemble round his easy chair, and bring him all the news of the day. He has a reception every evening, and nothing can be more agreeable than to make one of the party, which is composed of two or three ladies and as many gentlemen. Comte Andriani is a tall dignified-looking man with a clever and intellectual countenance; but his form is so attenuated by disease that he looks like an animated shadow.

11th.-Went to Villa Franca to-day. It is a beautiful spot, has a considerable harbour, and a bay bounded at three sides by a chain of hills covered with wood, the trees of which seem bending as if to lave their branches in the blue waters. This bay has the appearance of a lake, and is so sheltered that its limpid surface is scarcely rippled by the breeze. Beyond the wooded hill the ocean is seen glittering beneath the rays of the sun; and the barrier which divides the bay from the open sea being one unbroken mass of foliage has a most charming effect. harbour is strongly fortified, and the lighthouse, white as Parian marble, which stands on the highest of a mass of rocks that project into the sea, as well as the fortress, adds much to the picturesque beauty of the picture. The villa in which Lady Olivia Sparrow resided was pointed out to us, and it was pleasant to observe the high estimation in which the character of that lady was held. Her extensive charities have left an impression at Villa Franca that will not be speedily.

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