Notes and Remarks made on Jersey, France, Italy, and the Mediterranean, in 1843 and 1844

Introduction

. It is not my purpose, in any sense of the word, to write a Book of Travels. My title-page indi cates correctly the extent of my pretensions. The localities I passed through have been already too often visited to leave any thing new to be written in the way of description ; and the period of my stay in any one place was, in general, too limited to enable me to make much observation as to men and manners. If, however, a man travel with his eyes and ears open, and choose to mix with the people among whom, for the time, his lot is cast, he cannot fail, wherever he dwells, whether it be in the Islands of Orkney, or in the Capital of France, to enlarge his own ideas, and may, possibly, at the A

INTRODUCTION.

. same time, be able to direct the attention of others to some things in many respects new to them. It is the belief that, taking advantage of the opportunities of seeing and hearing which my late excursion afforded me, I have made certain observations worth recording, which induces me now to write. I have, however, not passed so far through the world and through life, without also having made an observation (certainly not new), that men in my position are very often much mis taken in their estimate of the value or importance of what they have to communicate to the public ; — and, further, I know, that by public opinion, not my own, must my book be judged. Should that award be in my favour, I shall be gratified ; if against me, I must, like many authors who have written un readable books, submit to a decision against which there is no appeal, but which, in my conscience, I believe will be just.

Not only, as I ave observed, however, must a man who wishes to improve his opportunities of travel, use his own eyes and ears, but he must also mix with the people of the countries through which he passes. It was my constant practice to do so, on every occasion, and in every way. I once met an Englisman who had travelled through France, Italy, and Switzerland, shut up in his close carriage ;

INTRODUCTION.

. 3 a courier had done the whole business of the road, made all bargains, ordered dinner, &c, and, of course, at every inn paid both himself and the bills. He knew not a word of any of the languages of the countries through which he passed, and, consequently, never exchanged ideas with an inhabitant ; and, except the sight-seeing part of the journey, he might as well have been in London ; — certainly, such a person could have little to say or write on his return. Another class of persons go abroad to reside in some one or other of the great capitals, either Paris or Naples, or Rome or Vienna. Ge nerally such parties are of that rank and fortune which procures them admittance into the first circles. I think I speak advisedly wheii I also say, that neither are such persons, on their return, fitted to impart much information to their countrymen.

The higher classes of society, whether in London or Paris, or any other capital, present an artificial sur face ; they everywhere, moreover, exhibit a great uniformity of surface ; and, even on the other side of the Atlantic, amidst much national vulgarity and rudeness of behaviour in the mass, a well-bred gentleman of New York, and a regular fashionable dinner party in that city, differ amazingly little from the same things in London. I am far, very far, from undervaluing opportunities of acquiring

INTRODUCTION.

. that polish of manners which intercourse with the high-bred of any clime alone can give ; but I be lieve that the man who only moves in such society, who always travels in his own carriage to and from the different routs, and balls, and dinner parties, of the aristocracy of any country, as he moves and lives in an artificial atmosphere, can be no true judge of the temperature which prevails without ; and that, therefore, he cannot be expected to im part, on his return, any true observations on the general state of matters in the country he has visited. My plan was different. My family were young and active, and spoke the French language fluently ; and my rule was, to do everything, from the passport to the most important money transaction, by ourselves. If we, in every case, did not succeed without some additional trouble, I never knew trouble or labour better bestowed ; and I am sure my sons saw more of French character, in their intercourse with the officials of the different public bureaus, where such matters of business are transacted, than amply repaid the outlay of both the time and labour so occupied.

We never employed a courier ; and when residing in Paris, in a hired house, for the six weeks we lived there, we employed only French servants, who knew not a word of any language but their own ; and in all

INTRODUCTION.

. our journeys, the public modes of conveyance were chosen in preference to private ones ; and the in tercourse thus secured, and the opinions we heard expressed by all varieties of men in the middling classes of society, were, if not more instructive, at least more amusing, than sitting in one's own car riage, and studying the back of a courier's coat on the front dicky. And if, in some cases, we paid more than was just for the accommodations of the road, we had, at least, the satisfaction of knowing we were only imposed upon by one party, and not both by the innkeeper and the courier. In concluding this short Introduction, I may re mark, that as I shall avoid copying from the writ ings of others who have preceded me, I shall be prevented, in many cases, from noticing the most important features and events connected with the places through which I passed.

The reader will, therefore, neither find in my volume a chapter up on the Louvre, and its works of art, nor upon the other wonders and attractions of the capital of France, just because I do not choose to reprint Galignani's Paris Guide ; and neither may he con sult my book for an account of the sieges, and captures, and surrenders, of the fortresses of Malta and Gibraltar. Most important chapters could have easily been written upon such subjects, as well as

INTRODUCTION.

. upon the history of other celebrated places, inci dentally noticed in my pages. To do so, however, is not my intention ; — in fact, I only look upon my self as a gleaner returning with his burden of grain from a field which the farmer ancl his reapers have already cleared of its crop. The gleaner, no doubt, could arrive at his home with a much larger bundle of grain, did he pull a sheaf or two from the farmer's stacks on his way, and so augment his own slender store. So might I. I might increase the value and importance of my work by slyly taking a leaf out of another's book ; but as the gleaner, who pulled from the stack would be dishonest, so would I ; and, therefore, I prefer my own small bundle of mere gleanings, with honesty, to a richer store, copied from other authors, whose works are already before the public.

Chapter I. Jersey

Circumstances rendering a change of climate ad visable for more than one member of my family, after consulting the Faculty, and making numerous inquiries in various quarters, we finally determined upon trying the Channel Islands. Accordingly, in October 1843, we left London for Jersey. There is no place in the world where there are the same facilities for travelling as in London. Our luggage was transported in a van for the sum of four shillings, from Queen Square, Westminster, to the terminus of the Southampton Railway, and an omnibus, for a small sum, carried the most of the family to the same station. In a short time, we were at Southampton, and soon all on board the Atalanta steamer, which sailed the same evening, at seven o'clock, for Jersey. The Atalanta is a good sea-boat, with a trustworthy captain, and attentive steward, but she rolls very much ; and the voyage is just rough JERSEY. enough and long enough to make a landsman sick.

Next morning, we made Guernsey, and the appearance of that island, and adjoining ones of Sark, Herm, &c, in a clear October morning, was exceed ingly pretty. After putting ashore some passengers, and taking others on board, we again left, and a three hours' sail brought us to Jersey. There is always an interest in making a new land, and sailing along a new coast, but when such land is the destined place of our abode for months to come, it has more than the usual interest of novelty to attract our regards. The island of Jer sey, when first seen from the west, presents a wild, bare, and rocky appearance, an aspect totally at variance with the ideas of dense and luxuriant vegetation, which every description of the island had previously led us to form. The west side of the island is, in fact, very bare and sandy, and it was not until the ship entered the bay of St Aubin's, and proceeded on towards St Helier's, that the view became at all interesting.

It was fortunately high water when we arrived, so the vessel was able to enter the harbour of St Helier. At low water the harbour is quite dry, and the passengers have to land by means of small boats, which, either in wet or blowy weather, is very disagreeable. We, how ever, were premature in believing that having en- ST HELIER. tered the harbour, we should be saved the small boat nuisance. The steam-boat very deliberately cast anchor in the middle, an excellent stone pier being within a few yards of either side ; and the company were accommodated with small boats to go a distance not twice their own length. Each individual paid sixpence. This absurd custom is kept up for the sake of the boatmen — in short, a per quisite of their order. As soon, therefore, as the passengers and their luggage are landed in this way, the vessel takes up a berth at the pier, and dis charges her cargo.

We had written to Mr Bree to have accommodation ready for us, and we drove to his hotel. Our luggage, which had been conveyed from our residence in London to the terminus of the South ampton Railway for four shillings, was again carted up to the hotel, and the charge made was thirty shillings, although the distance was not one-half so great as in London. I resisted the demand, and ultimately paid twelve shillings. Bree's establishment is a boarding-house, i. e., the company dine together, and have a drawing room, in common, — a style of living admitting of few comforts, and often productive of much unpleasantness. At all events, in such establishments, the landlord should preside at the dinner-table. In his absence, the JERSEY. inmate who has been longest in the house does so ; and it often happens he is totally unfit for the situation thus accidentally assigned to him ; and may choose to conduct himself either with too great fa miliarity or superciliousness in dispensing his atten tions — assumptions on his part equally disagreeable.

Our first business was to look out for a house, and, after a late breakfast on the day we arrived, we made a three hours' tour of all the furnished houses in the place. Our family being large, con sisting of twelve individuals (young and old), and four servants, we had some difficulty in finding one large enough. However, we ultimately fixed upon Plaisance House, very agreeably situated at the 60uth end of the town, and which, although stand ing by itself in a park of about five acres, was quite in town, and close to schools, &c. Had it suited our arrangements to have taken a house in the country, at a distance from St Helier, we could easily have found one ; houses in the country being large and numerous, whilst those in town are small. As it was we were very well off. Plaisance be longs to Mr Dupre, the attorney-general of the is land ; and for it furnished, and the exclusive privi lege of walking in the shrubberies and garden, we paid L.100 for six months, from 18th October to 18th April following.

SCENERY. 11 We left Britain in the hope of enjoying a more temperate climate in Jersey ; we were, therefore, an noyed at finding the 16th and 17th of October cold and frosty ; at 7 p.m. of the latter day, Fahr. thermometer stood at 36°. Soon after that hour, however, a gale, accompanied by sheet lightning, commenced, and the thermometer rose, by eleven o'clock, to 47°. This was the coldest, indeed the only cold, weather we experienced during the whole period of our stay on the island. My stay on the island extended from the 15th Oc tober to the 11th November, when matters of busi ness rendered it necessaryfor me to return to Britain. I returned again to Jersey upon the 14th of February 1844, and remained there till the 18th of April following. During that period I made excursions to every part of the island, and examined as particularly as I was able, and the season of the year permitted, the various processes of husbandry, and every thing else judged worthy of notice.

One of the first feelings which forced themselves upon me was, that of disappointment in the scenery. Most of the books I had read give very glowing de scriptions of Jersey scenery, but which I found by no means realized. That there are very pretty val leys, and many secluded glades and groves, is true ; JERSEY. but the very contracted nature of such, diminishes their beauty, and to my taste there is a closeness and want of cheerfulness, in the whole style of the wooded part of the island, which much destroys its attractions. Much had I also read, and many beautiful litho graph views had I seen, of the different bays and coast scenery of the island. But after seeing the bays and lochs of the west coast of Scotland, they appeared tame and uninteresting. They are in fact too open, and the very great distance to which the sea recedes at low water, destroys their beauty altogether.

The tide rises about forty feet, and upon three sides of the island, E., S., and W., the shore is of the most gradual slope, so that, at low water, there is a large space of bare sand visible in the bays ; and, upon the south side, the huge black detached masses of rock, which stretch out as far as the eye can reach, give a sombre and dis mal appearance to the landscape. At one point (Le Hocq), these rocks are said to extend three miles from the shore. It is upon them, and among them, that the principal supply of sea-weed is collected at the vraic harvests. In Inglis' Channel Islands, there is, for instance, a description of Greve de Leq as " a cove truly beautiful." In point of fact, there is no cove there, it is merely an open COAST 13 sandy beach between two rocky headlands, com pletely exposed to the violence of the winds and the waves, and where no boat could be left with out the risk of being dashed to pieces.

Indeed, one of the drawbacks to the island is the impossi bility of any thing like boating being resorted to as an amusement. There is not round the whole island an anchorage in which a boat can float in safety. As already mentioned, the tide recedes on three sides of the island, to a very great distance from the shore ; and on the north side, where the shores are steep, the coast is rock-bound, and no anchorage to be found. The only way in which boating can be attempted, is by studying the tide, sailing at high-water, and, of course, returning to shore at the same state of the tide ; your boat (to be safe) lying dry on the beach during the inter mediate period. This, in an island where other wise there is positively no out-door amusement, is really a serious drawback to it as a place of residence.

This want of amusement out of doors was to me personally a source of very great discomfort. Hav ing all my life been accustomed to take exercise in the open air, such had become to me abso lutely necessary as a preservative of health. I soon found, however, that to walk in the open air, merely JERSEY. for the sake of exercise, and without any other motive in view, or, more properly speaking, without any motive to induce me to do so, neither relaxed the mind nor refreshed the body. In order to render out-door exercise beneficial to the body, I feel sa tisfied the mind must be exercised or amused at the same time. It matters not greatly what may be the object of interest — pruning gooseberry bushes or young trees — watching your drainers, evejk in a tolerably wet and cold day, with clogs on your feet, and a Macintosh on your shoulders, will do very well.

Hunting, shooting, or fishing, answer still better to circulate the blood, and keep the system in a healthy condition. But your pure constitutional walk — pacing day after day over the same ground — is a wearying of the flesh and a depressing of the spirits. I do not know what I would have done had it not been for the harbour. When the tide suited, i. e., when it was high-water any time between 12 and 5, it was my favourite resort ; and the sailing of the different vessels, of which several, of various sizes, left or arrived at the pier every tide, was a source of interest and amusement. There is a constant trade kept up between the port of St Helier and the south of England, and oppo site coast of France, by small schooner-rigged craft, many of them smart nice little ships. Large ships, also, belonging to the port, are occasionally arriving or departing.

The entrance to the harbour is very difficult in some winds, and the seamanship of the several crews of the larger vessels is tested, by the way in which, under adverse circumstances, the vessel makes her entry ; and as every individual of the crew of every ship which belongs to the port was well known to the bystanders, it was amusing to hear the opinions of the natives watching these ar rivals, as to the style in which such and such a ship would make good her entry ; and the correctness of their predictions was very generally verified by the result. I have seen vessels, apparently, in all respects, similarly circumstanced as to size and rig, make very different entries, one coming in without a single tack, another scarcely making good her entry after many fruitless attempts, so much was gained by proper steering and seamanship.

It may not be generally known that the London market is greatly supplied with oysters from Jersey, yet such is the case ; and, during the winter season, the little harbour of Gorey presents a very lively and business appearance. Gorey is distant about five or six miles from St Helier, and during the oyster fishing season, omnibuses run several times a day between these places. The oyster-beds are situated between Jersey JERSEY. and the coast of France : — certain defined portions of which are the property of Britain. Scarcely a season passes, however, in which there are not com plaints made of French interference in the fishing. There are generally two revenue cutters stationed off Jersey for the double purpose of protecting the rights of the fishermen in the oyster-beds, and keep ing some order among the fishermen themselves.

There are from 150 to 200 vessels employed in the fishing, varying from ten to forty-five tons, — all sloop rigged. These vessels go to sea upon Monday morning, and return to Gorey at any time during the week, if they succeed in getting a sufficient loading ; they, in general, however, return upon the Wednesday, and always upon the Saturdays, whether full or empty, and remain in harbour all Sunday. The large oyster-establishments of London send out agents to Jersey. These bargain with the owners of the oyster-boats for the produce, at so much a bushel, and each agent has a space upon the beach (which is here firm sand) within high-water mark, staked off, which is designated " the field." High stakes point out the precise spot, so that when the tide is full, the vessels know where to anchor.

As soon as the tide flows deep enough to admit the vessels, they run in and ground on the fields, or anchor over them, and there they throw out the oysters, each ship, of course, doing so upon its own field. The Saturday's return of the fleet was a very animating sight, especially when a stiff breeze was blowing. Till the tide flowed to a sufficient depth to admit the vessels, they tacked outside of the har bour backwards and forwards, and moved past and round each other, in numberless wheels and mazes. It was a favourite Saturday's excursion of myself and young people, to watch their arrival at Gorey. Upon Saturday the 30th March 1844, there were, at least, 150 of these vessels sailing off that harbour, waiting the rising of the tide. The wind had, during the previous night, blown a gale, and although it had somewhat calmed, there was still a stiffish breeze, and the waves were rolling in upon the shore in a very troubled manner.

The little crafts were pitching, and tossing, and heaving outside, crossing and tacking round each other in all the varieties of curves and circles. At first, some of the smaller ones attempted the entrance ; and, in due time, one after another, as the tide rose they all steered straight for the anchorage, and each vessel, when within a short distance of the spot, suddenly luffed up her mainsail, in an instant her speed was stopped, and obeying the helm, she rounded into her own place with great precision. B JERSEY. An occurrence took place upon this occasion, which gave additional interest to the scene, but which, at one time, threatened to have had a fatal termination. An open boat, containing two men, going out under full sail, and one of the oyster smacks also, under full sail, coming in, met in di rect collision ; the crash was loud, and the open boat in an instant sent to the bottom.

One of the men seized a rope hanging at the bows of the smack, and was hauled on board ; the other poor fellow was discovered struggling in the water. The smack that ran the boat clown, was carrying at the time so much sail that she was a long way off before she could be brought to, ancl could thus ren der no assistance. A boat with two men was, in a short time, lowered from another of the smacks, but it was at such a distance from tbe spot where the man was struggling, that it was very doubtful whether he could hold out till they could arrive to his rescue. The waves were high, and the wind was strong against the boat, but the man appeared to swim well, and the two sailors pulled lustily ; it is impossible to describe the feeling of intense anxiety and suspense which pervaded every one who witnessed the event, in case the poor fellow should sink before the boat reached him.

He had been in the water fully five minutes, and the waves were evidently obtaining the mastery over him, and beating him more and more under their foaming crests. Each time he appeared on their surface, was for a shorter space than when first immersed, and less of him was seen on such occasions ; and one, or, at most other two, minutes must have decided his fate, when the boat reached him. As soon as I saw the sailors get hold of him, my breathing became more free, and I exclaimed, He is safe ; but instead of joining in my feeling of delight, and much to my surprise, an expression of terror burst from the crowd of sailors by whom I was surrounded on the pier. For a moment they thought the two men in the boat, and who they knew were young and inexperienced, were about to attempt to lift the drowning man into it, in which case the '.oat must have swamped, ancl the whole three be thrown into the sea.

The men were, however, aware of their dangerous situation, and one of them went to the opposite side of the boat, while the other at tempted to lift the drowning man in. It would not however do ; and they, therefore, simply kept hold of their companion in the water, till another boat came to their assistance, when two or three men balanced the boat on one side, while the poor fellow was lifted in on the other. The rigging of the fish ing boat was separated from it by the crash, and JERSEY. floated on the surface. After the safety of the man was secured, several of the smacks tried to lay hold of it. It was amusing to see them sailing up to it, and attempting to catch it by means of hooks and tackle ; and often just as they thought they were sure of it, a huge wave would intervene, and heave the smack and floating sail at once far out of reach of each other : after several attempts, however, it was at last secured.

We left the crowd of seamen on the pier, very busy in discussing the question of which party was to blame in the collision. They appeared to be tolerably unanimous in their decision, butlreally forget in whose favour it was pronounced. But to return to the mercantile part of the fishing. When a sufficient quantity of oysters are col lected to load a vessel, they are sent to England. The loading takes place at low-water. The ships are grounded close to the oyster-fields. Upon 8th April, there were four ships loading; each of them employed about sixty individuals in putting the oysters on board. The oysters are put into baskets, and handed from one party to another, till they reach the ship. It is a very wet and dirty job handing them up, as the salt water is running out of the baskets in great quantity.

The oysters, upon being taken to England, are not for some time exposed to sale. They are judged to be too salt and rank, and are therefore again deposited in some river or estuary, where the salt water is not so strong ; and after lying there for one or two months, they become milder, and more suited to the taste of the Londoners. There is almost every season a disturbance among the oyster fishers ; some cause of complaint, real or supposed, is sure to happen. This season it was diversified by a paper war and angry discussion, in the newspapers, among the London fish-house agents, regarding the prices paid to the fishermen. The agents had agreed among themselves to give a certain price, and a certain price only, to the fishermen for the bushel. One of the agents had, notwithstanding, promised more, and had thus monopolized more than his share of the produce.

However, the fishing season of 1843 and 1844 passed more peaceably over than some of the preceding ones. In the former season there had been a general and regular fight among the fishermen themselves, which all the efforts of the constituted authorities could scarcely quell. A great deal of money is circulated in the island by the oyster-fishery. There are about 200 smacks employed, each manned by from three to six, or eight hands ; the loading of the vessels for England employs the women and older men of the district ; and the fishery, as a nursery of hardy and expe- JERSEY. rienced seamen, is valuable to Britain. The smacks are decked over, and the sea they stand is quite astonishing. They remain out almost in any wea ther, day and night, till they get a cargo. It is therefore well worth the solicitude of Britain to keep possession of her property in the oyster-beds in the channel between Jersey and the Normandy coast.

The Jersey oyster is large, and very salt and strong when newly caught. This may be caused by the water of its residence being so very strong and salt, and having no mixture of fresh in it. Oysters from beds which are situated nearer the shore or mouths of rivers, are not so strong and salt. Other causes may, however, operate to effect the difference alluded to, of wliich I am ignorant. In the Frith of Forth, at the Bass Rock, I once re member seeing the boatmen catch a number of very large and heavy crabs — the water was clear and salt — ancl the crabs were seen at a considerable depth, and pulled up by the boat-hook. The boat men, however, informed me, that these crabs were so strong and salt in taste, as to be useless as an article of food, and they used them only as bait for other fish ; while those caught near the shore were quite good to eat.