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Some of the mile-stones had been removed, as it is supposed, 

 by Constantius, general and father-in-law of the Emperor 

 Honorius, and formed into a monument in memory of some 

 person or persons of distinction, who fell in a victory which 

 IIP rained (A.D. 41 1) over the Franks and Allemanni, who 

 attempted to force him to raise the siege of Aries. In the 

 seventh century Ugernum was regarded as a place of great 

 strength, and was perhaps rather a castle or military post 

 than a town of anv extent. (Millin, Expilly, D'Anville, 

 &c.) 



In the eleventh century the name Ugernum gave place 

 to that of BeHi-Cadrutn or Belcadro (whence the modern 

 Beaucaire), derived either from the square form of the castle 

 or of the tiwers of the castle, or from the beauty of the dis- 

 trict in which it was placed ; for Cadre, or Ciiire, in the 

 dialect of Languedoc and Provence signifies a square, or 

 generally a space ; and Beaucaire may be translated ' hand- 

 some district' (beau qtiartier). (Millin, Malte-Brun.) The 

 n-ime Ugernum, though lost by the town, was traceable in 

 that of an island in the Rhone opposite to it, which was 

 ("tiled Gernica, a corruption seemingly of Ugemint. This 

 island, liy the drying up of the branch of the Rhone which 

 surrounded it on the east side, is now united to the town 

 of Tarascon, the lower part of which is still called Ger- 

 negue. 



In the middle ages Beaucaire was under the Counts of 

 Provence, until it was ceded in 1125 to the Count of Tou- 

 louse: and in the troubles which that illustrious family suf- 

 fered for their protection of the Albigenses it was twice the 

 scene of contest. In or ahont the year 1217 it opened its 

 gates to Raymond, son of Raymond VI., Count of Tou- 

 louse ; and the garrison placed in it by Simon Montfort 

 (leader of the Crusade against Raymond), which retired 

 into the castle, was forced to surrender. Louis VIII., King 

 of France, besieged it within ten years after, but in vain. 

 To the Counts of Toulouse Beaucaire is said to owe its cele- 

 brated fair, which constitutes at present its chief claim to 

 notice; but this is doubtful, though the fair, at any rate, 

 existed long before the year 1-163, when Louis XI. of France 

 granted certain privileges to those who frequented it. 



Beaucaire is situated in a pleasant country ; and the view 

 across the Rhone, which is here a magnificent stream, to 

 the picturesque castle and town of Tarascon, is very fine. 

 Tarascon and Beaucaire are just opposite one another, so as 

 to appear like parts of the same town. The communication 

 between them was long maintained by a bridge of boats, or 

 rather by two bridges leading from each bank to a stone 

 causeway, the remains, as it seemed, of a former bridge ; 

 but the passage by these bridges of boats was dangerous 

 when the violent mistral or south wind blew. Of late years 

 a suspension bridge of three arches, 441 metres, or 1447 

 feet, long has been erected : five of these suspension bridges 

 have been erected of late across the Rhone between Lyons 

 and Beaucaire. The situation of Beaucaire on the banks of 

 the Rhone is highly favourable to its commerce. The quay 

 is well built, and convenient for the landing of goods. A 

 canal runs from Beaucaire to Aigues Mortes, and there 

 divides into two branches: one communicating directly with 

 the Mediterranean at the village of Repauset, the other 

 passing through several of the etangs or lakes to the port 

 of Cette. This canal enables boats to avoid the mouths of 

 the Rhune, the navigation of which is uncertain and dan- 

 gerous, and sometimes impossible. 



The town of Beaucaire was, in the middle of the last cen- 

 tury, surrounded by walls, which were, however, useless for 

 defence. These walls probably still remain, for later au- 

 thorities speak of the beauty of the gate which leads towards 

 the Rhune. The streets are crooked and narrow ; but for 

 this it would be considered a handsome town. The number 

 of houses is great in proportion to the population, which in 

 1832 was only 9967. These are fully inhabited only during 

 the fair, and during the greater part of the year the closed 

 apartments and almost deserted streets form a marked con- 

 trast to the activity which prevails at the fair time. The 

 high prices then obtained for lodgings and accommodation 

 of every kind, by enabling the inhabitants to subsist during 

 the rest of the year with little exertion, have been fatal to 

 the industry of the town. There are no manufactures, nor 

 are any great commercial undertakings entered into. They 

 cultivate a fw vineyards and olive plantations. M. Millin 

 says that they have scarcely a tailor or a shoemaker in 

 the town, and that for clothing they must either wait 

 the return of the fair, or resort to Tarascon for a supply. 



( Voyage dans les Departemens du Midi de la France, Paris, 



1808.) 



There is an antient church, founded in the ninth century 

 by the Count of Narbonne the portal of which is adorned 

 with sculptures relating to the birth of Christ. Before the 

 Revolution there were two other churches, both antient : 

 two convents for men, one of Cordeliers and one of Capuchins, 

 and an establishment of priests, ' de la doctrine Chretienne,' 

 who had a college under their direction. There -were also 

 an abbey fir Benedictine nuns, two other nunneries (one of 

 Ursulines and one of Hospitalieres), and two hospitals. (Ex- 

 pilly, Diet, des Gaules et de la I'rance, 1762.) 



There are some remains of the antient castle of which 

 mention has been already made. It stood on an eminence 

 commanding the town, and was demolished in 1 632, because 

 it had fallen into the hands of some rebels against Louis 

 XIII. It appears to have been an object of contention in 

 the religious wars of the sixteenth century, between the 

 Catholics and the Huguenots, or Protestants: the latter are 

 charged with having committed great disorders here in 1562. 

 (Piganiol de la Force; Kxpilly.) 



The great fair of Beaucaire, in the number of persons 

 who resort to it, is equal to almost any in Europe. It is 

 said that the fair of 1833, confessedly the greatest for some 

 years, \vas attended by from 70,000 to 80,000 persons, and 

 that business was done to the amount of 160,000,000 francs, 

 or 6,400,000/. sterling. Mr. M'Culloch (from whose Diet, 

 of C'lmmerce we laku this statement) suspects exaggeration, 

 but Make Brun (Gmgraphie Universelle) speaks of 100,000 

 as the usual number of persons who resoy to it. They come 

 from the middle and southern parts of Europe, and from the 

 Levant. 



This fair had its origin in the middle ages, and according 

 to some, was established by Raymond VI. Count of Tou- 

 louse ; and there is no account that it has been suspended 

 since its establishment, except in 1721 and 1722, when the 

 plague devastated Provence and part of Languedoc. At 

 first the fair was held in the town, but the increasing busi- 

 ness rendered it necessary to hold it out of the town in a 

 neighbouring meadow, where tents were erected. This 

 alteration had taken place long before Martiniere published 

 his Grand Dictionnaire (vol. ii. 1730.) Its present extent 

 may be judged of by the statement given above. We take 

 the following particulars from M. Millin. ( Voyage dans les 

 Departemens du Midi de la France, Paris, 1 808.) 



Long before the fair the principal merchants hire a house, 

 or an apartment; every room is filled with beds, and the 

 owner contents himself for the time with the garret. The 

 wool merchants and the drapers occupy, in alternate years, 

 the houses in certain streets, so that the householders in 

 each street have alternately a profit by the high prices that 

 the drapers are made to pay. The linen-drapers have their 



Iuarter, the leather-sellers theirs ; the Jews occupy always 

 IB same spot. Not only are the shops filled, but stalls are 

 erected and covered with cloth ; and benches of stone serve 

 for the display and sale of small wares. The names of 

 the dealers, their residence, and their trade, are written on 

 squares of linen, &c., which are suspended by ropes across 

 the streets, and form, by the medley of the colours and the 

 variety of their inscriptions, a singular spectacle. The town 

 being insufficient for the thousands who resort to it, a new 

 town of wooden huts and of tents is run up in a meadow on 

 the borders of the river, having also its public places, its 

 streets, &c. The merchants of tlio same country, or the same 

 town, usually occupy the same street, which has the effect of 

 bringing to the same spot wares of a similar kind. One 

 street contains the drugs, spices, and soap of Marseilles ; 

 another the pomatum and wash-balls of the perfumers of 

 Grasse ; and a third the perfumes and liqueurs of Mont- 

 pellier. Goods of all sorts are exposed for sale, including 

 even cameos, medals, and other antiques. One whole street 

 contains nothing but onions and garlic. Not only are the 

 town and the meadow filled with a dense and busy popu- 

 lation, but the river is crowded with boats (arranged in regu 

 lar order according to their form, their cargo, and the place 

 from which they come), in which many persons take up 

 their habitation. Vessels of various forms from Genoa, 

 Catalonia, or Marseilles ; the boats which come from the 

 interior down the Rhone ; and those which come from the 

 coast of the ocean by the Canal du Midi (which unites tha 

 ocean with the Mediterranean), may be seen there. The 

 vessel which first arrives salutes the town with a musket or 

 pistol shot, and receives in return u sheep, the skin of which, 



