Italy and Italian Literature Author:Charles Herbert General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1835 Original Publisher: Printed for Sherwood Subjects: Italy Italian literature Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free tri... more »al access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER II. A pleasant Sail down the Rhone in an open Boat -- A Dispute -- The Author consulted -- Disapproves of Hostilities -- National Antipathies fast declining. The enjoyment I promised myself in the society of a French acquaintance, in a sail down the Rhone, and the advantage of having its interesting scenery pointed out by a native of the place, induced me to embark in an open boat for Avignon. Without the high cultivation, and garden-like scenery that distinguishes the banks of our great rivers, -- our Clyde, our Forth, and our Thames, -- the Rhone presents views on either side, which possess more interest from the recollections of history. Ruins of castles, and toppling remains of convents, every now and then rising on the steep sides, arrest attention, carrying the mind back to' the middle ages. The Roman Circus at Vienne, the Monument to Pius VI. at Valence, the celebrated vine-producing slopes of the Cote Rotie, and Hermitage, and the dangerous rapidity of the current under the bridge of St. Esprit, are the objects most worthy of observation. The impetuosity of the Rhone is every where so remarkable, that the stream alone carries a vessel rapidly down, whereas, to ascend, requires the strong force of steam, or the power of many horses. During the voyage I was much amused wit!) a contentious broil that occurred between a Frenchman and an Englishman; and exhibited a striking indication of the antipathy which even at this time exists between the two nations. The provocation was, as often happens, slight enough; th...« less