38
over looks the town of Mo n a c o , and, a c cording to St rabo and Pl iny, wa s the Trophsc Au -
gul l i of the ancients. Vide the Author ' s Hi f lor i c a l and Pi f tur e fque Tr ave l s to the Ma r i -
t ime Al p s ; a tranilation of whi ch has been publ i ihed in this count ry wi thout hi s confent ,
and whi ch t ranf lat ion wa s not iced as an original wo rk in tlie Monthl y Review for Ma r ch
1793, p a g e 3 0 8 .
T h e fol lowing i s a defcription of the T o u rma g n e whi ch is the fubj e i t of the annexed
view. It was original ly c ompo f ed of four flories. T h e pl an of the firfl wa s that of an
i r regular hept agon of two hundr ed and f ixty-one feet and three quarters in circumfei-ence ;
and as it ferved as a bafe or pediment to tlie bui lding, wa s a kind of fol id of twenty- f ive
feet hi gh, the greateft par t of whi ch is ftiO remaining, but wi thout any ornament . On the
three eaftern fecades are niches of feven feet in deptli, fix in height , and four in widtli,
whi ch was doubt lef s intended for the reception of ftaiues ana logous to tlie eredtion of the
edifice. T h e f é cond ftory i s thi i ty-one feet high, and only one himdr ed and foiurtecn in
ci rcumference. It forms a regular odtagon, and is alfo wi thout ornament , a cornice e x -
cepted, whi ch appe a r s to have or iginal ly fur rounded the bui lding, wi thout either f rieze or
architrave. T h e entrance to it is towards tlie nor th-eaf t ; par t of the door is ftill vifible
whi ch led to a flair-cafe that condu£ted to the fummi t of the edifice, but of whi ch no par t
at prefent remains . A pl an of this cur ious ornament of antiquity, Iketched out in the annexed
plate, will give the reader fome ide a of the form and variety of its cavities, whi ch
were very judi c ioui ly int roduced by the Roma n s in the walls of the bui lding, in order to
dimini ih its we i ght or preiTure. T h e f o rm or figure of tlie thi rd and fourth ftoiy was fimilar
to tliat o f the fécond, wi th only this difference, that thefe were decorated wi th a c omi c e
and pi laf ters of the Do r i c order, of whi ch there are fonie parts rema ining. T h e total height
of the bui lding, in its prefent f late, is eighty-three feet and an ha l f ; but it is a received opi -
nion, that it extended only to one hundr ed and twenty-four : thi s calculation Jiowever cannot
be known to a certainty, a l though grea t pains have been taken to t race the or igin of its
founda t ion, as al fo the oera in whi ch it was erected.
Bei ides the antiquities at Niûne s already defcribed, the Author part icularly re commends
to the attention of the cur ious the T emp l e of la Font a ine , whi ch is only hal f a mi l e f rom
the To u rma g n e . T h i s monument , i f wema y j u d g e f rom the remains which have efcaped the
cruel hand of t ime, appe a r s to have been dedicated to fome Divini ty. It is of a r t i t angul a r
f o rm, of forty-eight feet and a hal f in length, and thi rty-one in breadth, the height be ing
forty feet ; the whol e conf t ruf t ed of l a rge blocks of Hone j o ined together wi thout cement
39
a s is the roof , whi ch is a rched above, wi thout any external ornament s . T h e internal part
of the edifice contains f ragment s of columns and pi lai ler s of the Cor apof i t c order. On
ea ch fide there are niches in the inter -columniat ion of the wal l s for the different Dei t ies to
wh om the temple was dedicated. F r om the pieces of Mo f a i c wo rk whi ch ftill lie fcattered
about , it is highly probabl e tliat the f loor had been former ly ornamented wi th it, and indeed
the whole of its remains indicate the forme r magni f i c enc e of the bui lding. Diver s
have been the opinions concerning the Divini ty to wh om it was confecrated ; fome have
f u p p o f e d Vef la, and others Di ana ; bi;t as to the firft, the f onn refutes the aifertion, as the
ancient temples of that goddef s were all circular. Ag a in, thofe of Di ana were of the Tonic
order ; whereas this is partly Cor inthian and partly Compof i t e . Others aga in have ima g ined
it dedicated to the g o d Nema u f u s ; and this indeed appear s the moil: probabl e , he be ing
the titular deity o fNi fme s . T h e infcriptions and medal s f ound in the environs of the city,
feem alfo to corroborate thi s opinion. Be that however as it ma y , the t empl e wa s undoubtedly
bui l t in 7 2 9 of the Roma n oera, and ferved A. D. 9 9 0 , a s a convent to the Benc -
di6line Nu n s , who in 1502 fell a prey to the ravages whi ch at that pe r iod defolated all the
f outhem provinces of Fr anc e . Wh i l e the antiquities of Ni fme s will grat i fy the taf te of the
claflîc traveller, its inhabi tant s will not fail to intereft the feel ings o f the Phi l anthr o p i c ;
for this city, fo juf t ly ranked amo n g the mo i l capital and f lour i ihing in the S outh of Fr anc e ,
contained pr ior to tiie revolut ion of 1789, about forty-eight thoxifand fouls, one thi rd of
whi ch at leail were Proteftants. T h e profper i ty of its inhabitants wa s in a g o o d me a fur e
owing to the induf t ry and aétivity of the latter, wh o were mo i l of them at the he ad of extenfive
manu f a â o r i e s of filk and cotton.
T h i s di f ïèrence in matters o f religion had at all times produc ed a ihynef s between the
individual s of tiie two fedls into whi ch the inhabitant s arc divided : it did not however oc -
caf ion ajiy material di f lcnf ions between them for upwa rds of twenty years, thofe of ea ch
pa r ty k e e p i n g b y themfelves, be ing as it were f l rangers to the other, and di f t ingui ihing one
another only, by way of deri f ion, as the p e o p l e o f the toi and the vous, or of the tbou and
the jKSK, a l luding to tiie manner in whi ch they repeated the Lo rd' s Prayer ; one f aying,
' Nô t r e Pere qui êtes aux Cieux, que votre nom foit f ani l i f i c , &c.' and the other, ' Nô t r e
Pere qui es a u Ciel, que ton nom foit fanf t i f ie, ' &c. T h e Protci lant s be ing prolcr ibed tlie
regular wor ihip according to tlieir forai of rel igion, were under the neceflîty of conceal ing
themfelves, as well as their mini f lers , from their fellow citizens, when they per formed and
attended divine wor ihip.