1890-Ul.] CELTIC, ROMAN AND GREEK TYPES. 199 



favored the town. Tiberius, Titus, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus and 

 Diocletian were all pleased to embellish the city, and much of their 

 work can still be seen. It was called the second Rome, and was 

 noted for its rich libraries, its magnificent public and private edifices. 

 The monuments left are so remarkable that I will briefly allude to 

 them : — 



First one must mention the grand amphitheatre — on a smaller scale 

 indeed than the Coliseum at Rome, but nevertheless calculated to seat 

 24,252 spectators. At a recent visit of President Carnot, over 20,ooo 

 were thought to be assembled within it — filling the arena, and swarming 

 as they best might over the dilapidated seats. 



Misfortune came to this as to the city at large, when Crocus the Van- 

 dal took the city in 407. He knocked off the heads of all the sculptured 

 eagles, destroyed the baths, broke the aqueduct, and played havoc gener- 

 ally, until one Marius beat him and had him carried about on exhibition 

 in an iron cage. Then the Visigoths took possession of the region, but 

 the Franks, following on their heels, made it bad for Nimes, for the 

 Goths had to fortify themselves in the Amphitheatre, and were not over 

 solicitous about injuring its remaining beauty. The Moors, too, after- 

 wards held the district, and the people of Septimania were not unfriendly 

 to them, which brought renewed misery, for Charles Martel came thun- 

 dering down, had the gates of Nimes destroyed by fire, broke down the 

 walls, and tried to burn the Amphitheatre, the traces of the fire being 

 yet plainly visible. During the Crusades Nimes somewhat revived, but 

 thereafter came the wars of the Hungarians, Spaniards, Burgundians 

 Normans, and the English ; the plague ravaged it thirty-three times, and 

 leprosy made it a home. Religious strife was bitter there, and by 

 turns both parties suffered. To day the Huguenots claim to have the 

 upper hand — le haut du pave. If the amphitheatre had not been built 

 of the most enormous stones, fitted to their places without mortar, they 

 would have been removed during all this hurly burly, but still it stands. 

 It owes much to Napoleon I., who, finding that some 2,000 people were 

 living in it, having streets in the arena and dwellings in the noble arches, 

 said, " Clear it out," and it was cleared. Now it is well kept as a national 

 monument — and again there are shows in the great oval, but they are 

 only of trapeze performers or of so-called bull-fighters, on a Sunday. 



The next important Roman relic is the well-known Maison Carree. 

 If the arena symbolizes strength, this lovely temple is typical of grace. 

 It seems to be ascertained with reasonable certainty that it was completed 

 in the year i, as a temple to Caius and Lucius Caesar, previously men- 

 tioned. Its vicissitudes have been as striking as those of the amphi- 



