After about half a mile
along the river-side the wall turns at nearly right angles, and still
there is a wide road, a shaded walk, a boulevard; and at short distances
are cafes, with their little round tables before the door, or small shady
nooks of shrubbery. So numerous are these retreats and pleasaunces that
I do not see how the little old town can support them all, especially as
there are a great many cafes within the walls. I do not remember seeing
any soldiers on guard at the numerous city gates, but there is an office
in the side of each gate for levying the octroi, and old women are
sometimes on guard there.
This morning, after breakfast, J----- and I crossed the suspension-bridge
close by the gate nearest our hotel, and walked to the ancient town of
Villeneuve, on the other side of the Rhone. The first bridge leads to an
island, from the farther side of which another very long one, with a
timber foundation, accomplishes the passage of the other branch of the
Rhone. There was a good breeze on the river, but after crossing it we
found the rest of the walk excessively hot.
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