270 Mr Arnott's Tour to the South of France 



both splendid remains of Roman magnificence, are sure to give 

 high pleasure to all who see them. 



The materials for building both these at Nismes, and the: 

 Pont de Gai'd, must have been brought from a considerable dis- 

 tance (probably to the south), at least no stones can possibly be 

 procured at this day any where in the neighbourhood, of so du- 

 rable a nature. 



Leaving Nismes at 11 p. m. we arrived at Montpellier at half-: 

 past 6 the next morning, and in a few hours set off for the 

 Chateau de Restinclieres, the seat of Sir S. Bentham. 



When I left Paris, it was my intention to remain only a fort-, 

 night at Montpellier, and then to proceed to Switzerland. But 

 1 was induced to alter my plans, and to go to the Pyrenees in 

 the summer, by the persuasions of my friend Mr Bentham, and 

 of two other gentlemen MM. Regnier and Audibert, who were 

 to accompany us for six weeks. 



A northern botanist had no leisure to feel ennui in the 

 south of France, such is the variety of almost new objects that 

 meets his eye. A few hours were devoted before breakfast to 

 the gathering of specimens, which, in the heat of the day, we 

 laid out to be pressed and dried, or changed the paper of such 

 as were in progress. By this I was enabled to collect, not only 

 for myself, but for such British and foreign botanists as might 

 desire the productions of Montpellier, without going to look for 

 them. But we were not contented with what we found on Sir 

 S. Bentham's property, one of the richest in wild plants in the 

 neighbourhood of Montpellier. We sometimes, with M. Delile, 

 Professor of Botany, and M. Duval, the author of the mono- 

 graphs on the Annonaceae and the genus Solanum, made more 

 distant excursions. One of these took place a few days after 

 my arrival. 



" 7th April. — We set off on Tuesday (the 5th) at 5 in the 

 morning for the Pic St Loup, an arid rocky hill of considerable 

 elevation, about sixteen or twenty miles north of Montpellier. 

 There is an old chateau on the right, to which we directed our 

 steps, for the purpose of procuring there the Arahis verna. It 

 was not in flower, but we found a few of Orobanche epithymum 

 (O. rvhra^ Sm.) ; and on the other side of the hill we met with 

 Draba muralis, and several other interesting plants. We now 



