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reigns till the thirteentli centiiryj at wliich time it was annexed to France, in the reign of
Pliilip the Bold.
The kingdom of France being greatly enlarged by this acquifition, it was then thought
neceiTary to di\'ide it in two, tlie river Loire ferving as tlie line of partition. The
northern diviñon included the provinces of Langue Fran^aife (or thofe which more properly
fpoke the French language), which were under the j'urifdiéÜon of the Parliament of
Paris : the fouthem, the provinces of Oc, which were fo called from the inliabitants
making ufe of the word Oc for Yes. From hence has been derived the woi-d Languedocj
as Provence, or Provincia, from Pro, and Vi6la for vanquiflied. They were under the
jui-ifdiéüon of the Parliament of Touloufe.
This rich and fertile province is watered by feveral large rivers, viz. the Garonne, the
Loire, the Rhone, &c. whofe. copious flieams, in a great meafure, take their rife from
the üow which perpetually covers the lofty and tremendous mountains of the Vivarais,
Cevennes, and Auvergne—coimtries fo well kno\vn by the horrid perfecutions which
took place agaiiifl the unfortunate Proteftants in the reigns of Lewis the Thirteenth,
Fourteenth, and even Fifteenth, owing to their own bigotry and religious intolerance,
and to the vindictive fpiiit of tlieii- minifters, who, in order to fatisfy their private vengeance
and ambition, facrificed what they ought to have looked on as the moli facred tie
between man and man ; fixing an indelible ftain on the memory of thofe fovereigns
who had loaded them with riches and honours.
The province of Languedoc, fo celebrated for the variety of its produdlions, abounds
with indigenous plants.
The Heiiotropium Europjemn, or Tumfole, in particular, is common in many parts
of this province ; as is alfo the Pañel, or, according to Linnaeus, the Woad or Ifatis,
formerly made ufe of in Europe, before the difcovery of Mexico, inftead of indigo, which
has fmce been fubflituted for it, in the article of dying.
In noticing its fofiil produitions he muit not forget to mention that there are a number
of filver, copper, lead, and iron mines, and quarries of moll beautiful variegated marble.
This country is alfo diftinguiihed by its works of art, efpccialiy by the beauty and extent
of its canals, and particularly by that which is called the Royal or Canal of Langiicdoc,
firft projefted under Francis the Firfl, but begun in 1666 by Louis tlic Fourteenth,
under the diredion of Peter Riquet, a celebrated hydraulic architeét, who had the fatiffaéìion
of feeing it finiihed in iSso. This canal extends weft ward nearly ninety-fix miles
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(Vide Biifchmg's Univerfal Geography), and joins the Garonne a little below Touloufe,
and the Mediterranean fea eaftward near the city of Cette, by the lake Thau.
Its width in feveral places extends to one hundred and fifty-three Engliih feet eight
inches, including the caufeways on each fide. The lluices or flood-gates are from thirty
to forty feet wide.
This wonderful canal is fufficient for the navigation of barges of ninety tons burden:
it winds its way among tremendous mountains, of upwards of fix hundred feet above the
level of the fea, as alfo over bridges and roads; whilli at other times it buries itfelf as it
were in the bowels of the earth, under mountains of more than three miles in breadth.
But for a more extenlive information concerning it, the Author begs to refer the reader
to the defcription of it, illufti-ated witli a map, publiihed at Paris by Jean Nollin.
The maritime coail of Languedoc, which does not exceed feventy-five miles in extent,
is efteemed dangei^ous; and more particularly that part of the Mediteri-anean fea called the
Gulph of Lyons. For as the harboui-s of Agde and Cette are not fufficiently adequate to
admit veiTels of confiderable Cze, fuch as men of war, &c. they muft of courfe experience
all the tremendous fury of the elements, if unfortunately overtaken by a ftomi on this
coaft.
The Autlior flatters himfelf the reader will pardon this digreffion, thinking it abfolutely
neceiTary, before he proceeds on a defcription of the various objeits worthy of particular
attention, which arc difiiifed over this extenlive province.
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