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I could Stride over; but it was then a dry
season. This brook is used for washing,
and affords but a scanty supply for that
purpose. Water of a good quality is
brought by aqueducts from Royal, about
two miles distant, at tbe foot of the volcanic
mountains, and is distributed to
several public fountains in the city. One
of these fountains is in the centre of the
Grand P la c e ; it is built in the richly
ornamented Gothic style, and is extremely
light and beautiful. There are twenty-four
Jets d ’eau in constant activity. It was
erected in 1511.
The plain in which Clermont is situated,
called the Limagne d ’Auvergne, is the
richest soil in France : provisions are good
and plentiful. The seasons are later than
at Lyons, but the beans were in flower on
the 30th of April, and the sheep are generally
shorn the beginning of May. Many
of the families in the lower or middle
rank of life have small vineyards, and
make wine for their own consumption ;
these vineyards are in the immediate vicinity
of Clermont. A freehold vineyard,
which cost two hundred francs, or about
eight pounds sterling, produced wine more
341
than sufficient for a family of five persons,
as we were informed by one of these little
proprietors. They cultivate the vineyards
themselves. The wine made here is red ;
some o f it is of a very good quality.
The Soleil d’Or, in Clermont, was the only
place in France where we had a dish of
fried frogs sent to the ta b le ; but it was
not for want of provisions, for they were
served up as a bonne bouche, after a great
number of other dishes. The table was
always well supplied, and our host and
family were obliging; but there was less attention
to comfort in the apartments, than
is agreeable to an Englishman’s habits.
One English family has resided at Clermont
several years, and the younger
branches have intermarried with the natives.
I had little opportunity of judging
of the state of society, my time being
almost entirely occupied in excursing
among the mountains. A French nobleman,
Le Baron de Sonnatte, hearing that
there was an Englishman engaged in examining
the country, politely sent to inform
me, that he was confined to his room
by indisposition, and could not call upon
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