THE WILD BOAES OF THE OCEAN. 135 



tlie bottom by anchors and stones, so that nothing 

 can escape through its meshes.* 



"■" Such of my readers as Avould like to examine these nets without 

 going to the United States, need proceed no farther than Marseilles, 

 which (thanks to the railroad) is not very far off ; in that corner of 

 the Mediterranean which you come upon after quitting the admirable 

 tunnel of the Montague de la Nerthe — a work worthy of the Romans, 

 and which crowns the fine railway which connects Lyons with Mar- 

 seilles. When the traveller opens his eyes after emerging from this, 

 and the Mediterranean first meets his view, he is dazzled and fascinated 

 by the spectacle of that vast sheet of water sparkling in the sun. The 

 liquid plain bathes the bases of lofty mountains, whose sides are covered 

 with pine forests, and fields in which the branches of the olive and the 

 vine are intertwined, all flourishing with the most vigorous vegetable 

 health, and in spite of the natural aridness of a soil which the agri- 

 culturist has rescued from whins, sage, and wild thyme. 



You arrive at Marseilles, and after a few more turns of the wheel 

 you are at the station. Already you i^erceive the hill of Notre Dame 

 de la Garde, and beneath it the Imperial chateau, protected by the 

 batteries of Fort St. Jean. Towards the v,-est lies the sea, bordered 

 on the horizon by the Chateau d'L'', towering over the islands of 

 Pomegue and Ratonneau. 



But before quitting the station of St. Charles, over the walls of the 

 Marseilles country-houses you will see the hill on which stands the 

 chateau of M. Foresta, bordering on the sea, and a few cables' length 

 from the Chateau Vert — the first restaurant in France — and Marseilles. 

 Here is the great system of nets which has been constructed by the 

 powerful and venerated Fishermen's Company of this great City on the 

 Sea. It is no small matter to keep in good repair those immense nets 

 which are exposed to all the damage of the weather, to the attacks of 

 sharks and other sea-monsters, whose proceedings are the reverse of 

 pacific as soon as they find themselves entrapped within the treach- 

 erous meshes, but break through every obstacle that opposes them. 

 Nothing but the wealth of a great nobleman or the joint-stock purse of a 

 company could sufiice to meet" the accidental expenses which arise, not 

 to mention the capital required for the ordinary working. The muni- 

 cipality of Marseilles grants the site for the manclrague (as it is called) 

 for ten, fifteen, and even twenty years. This privilege, which is of 

 great value, has been withdrawn since 1851 from a great number of 

 concessionaires, on the pretext that the nets interfered with the navi- 



