QUAY OF LOUIS XVIII.

QUAY OF LOUIS XVIII., BORDEAUX.

Go to the gates of Bordeaux, trumpeter;
Summon their general unto the wall.

HENRY VI.

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THE night of time enveloping the earliest history of Bordeaux, this age must be content with such municipal records as identify its site with Burdigala, the capital of the Biturges Vivisci under the Gauls, and of Aquitania Secunda in Roman history. Before the Visi-Goths withdrew to Spain, they seized and sacked this rich city, and seemed disposed to hold it, until by the gallantry of Clovis they were forcibly expelled. In turns the Saracens and Normans succeeded to the possession, each pillaging the inhabitants without mercy; this wretchedness continued down to the year 911, when the place fortunately fell under the power of the duke of Gascogny. By the marriage of Eleonora, daughter of William X., last duke of Guienne, with king Louis VII., Bordeaux was attached to the French crown; but, that princess being repudiated by her husband, and in 1151 re-marrying with Henry Plantagenet, duke of Normandy, afterwards Henry II. of England, the same territory became a part of the English dominions. Hither it was that Edward, the Black prince, conveyed his royal captive, John, king of France, after the battle of Poictiers, whom, for the space of four sad years, he did not permit to revisit his native land. After an occupancy of nearly three centuries, the English were totally dispossessed, and expelled from Bordeaux, by Charles VII., who, to guard the passage of the river, erected the Château Trompette, which Louis XIV.enlarged and strengthened, under the direction of the celebrated military engineer, Vauban. The most picturesque Roman ruin in France was removed, to make way for the Trompette, which has itself been since levelled with the ground, and succeeded by new structures, the Quartier des Chartrons. Le Palais Gallie, the supposed palace of the emperor Gallienus, who reigned in the third century, still survives, although despoiled of much of its ancient grandeur. It is circular in form, whence some antiquaries deem it to have been an amphitheatre; and, an archway of entrance, still entire, resembles those of the great circus at Nismes. The masonry, of stone and brick mixed, is of that tenacity which Roman works possess, although evidently the production of a period when the power of that great nation was on the wane.

Whatever were the glories of ancient Bordeaux, the modern city is probably superior, presenting one of the most picturesque, animated, and imposing panoramas in all France. For a length of nearly three miles, the city extends along the left bank of the Garonne, which here sweeps in one great graceful crescented bend, allowing the whole picture to be embraced at a single glance. The depth of the river being sufficient to admit vessels of a thousand tons burden, its surface is always enlivened by the presence of shipping; and, the opposite bank, a rich country, adorned with wooded

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slopes, cultivated vineyards, and handsome villas, presents a contrast both pleasing and remarkable.

The city may be distinguished into the old portion, with its narrow, dark, and crooked streets; and the modern, consisting of numerous open squares, regular avenues, and splendid public buildings. The cathedral, where Richard II. of England was baptized, and Anne of Austria married to Louis XIII., is a beautiful Gothic monument; Montaigne's tomb is in the church des Feuillans; the design of the theatre is one of the most admired specimens of modern architecture in Europe; and the glass dome of the Bourse, the oblong diameter of which is 100 feet, is an object of astonishment and grandeur. The quays form a continued promenade of the most agreeable, it may be added, salubrious description, opening down to the river, commanding a prospect of the rich and cultivated country beyond it, and sheltered from behind by a continuous row of buildings, irregular, detached, and varying in their styles, many, however, presenting good models of the Italian manner. One of the grandest areas in the improved part of the city, is the Place Louis Philippe, one entrance to which is from the Quay of Louis XVIII, between two lofty rostral columns. From this spot the noble bridge of Bordeaux, a happy specimen of the perfection of modern engineering, is seen to advantage. For years a ferry maintained the communication between the city and the suburb of Bastiade; Napoleon, whose far-seeing policy neglected no public want, actually began to erect a wooden bridge, which was discontinued soon after his deposition, and the present handsome structure of stone completed in 1821, the year of the emperor's decease. Although the quay and bridge are often called after the monarch, Louis XVIII., in whose inglorious reign they were both opened for public accommodation, their foundation is not otherwise connected with that prince, for, the bridge was built by a private company, at an expense of £250,000; and the beautiful promenade that leads to it from the columns, was not completed until the reign of Louis Philippe.

From its geographical position, navigable character of its river, security attending its distance from the sea, and large quantities of wine and brandy produced in the surrounding district, Bordeaux necessarily became a place of eminent commercial rank ; and, unless the Garonne shall one day change its course, or become choked up, it will probably continue for centuries to enjoy all these local advantages. Upwards of three thousand ships, carrying 190,000 tons, annually enter the port, and find employment in conveying thence 250,000 tuns of wine, besides nearly an equal quantity of brandy. This great trade in wine, brandy, and fruits, is not conducted altogether externally, for, by means of the canal of Languedoc, connecting Bordeaux with the Mediterranean, the south of France is supplied hence with produce and imports of every kind, as cheaply as through Marseilles. Iron-foundries, cotton-factories, sugar-refineries, and glass-works are established here; but the wine trade has so completely absorbed the attention of the merchants, who conduct most of their business on commission, and the prices of labour and living are so high, that Bordeaux is never likely to become the seat of extensive manufactures, nor to increase very rapidly in population. It now contains but 112,000 inhabitants.