Narbonne

“ NARBONNE, a city of France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Aude, situated in a vine-growing plain 5 m. from the Mediterranean, on the railway from Toulouse to Cette, 37 m. E. of Carcassonne. Pop. (1906) 23,289. The Robine canal, a branch of the Canal du Midi, divides Narbonne into two distinct portions, the bourg and the cité. The latter is one of the oldest and most interesting of French towns. The former cathedral (St Just) , which consists only of a choir 130 ft. high and transept, was begun in 1272, and the transept was still unfinished at the end of the 15th century. ”

“ To-day one walks its dust-white streets with a strange sensation of loneliness. Narbonne is a dead city.
When in the latter part of the XIII century the great Gothic cathedral of St. Just was begun, there seemed no reason why so flourishing a trading center could not succeed in the enterprise. Unlike Beauvais, where the chief church was from its inception out of all proportion to the population, Narbonne could easily have erected a nave to complete its mighty choir. ”

“ It is true I have been sketching in Narbonne, and along the whole coast. Would you like to see my drawings? Here is the result of my studies in Narbonne: the very remarkable profile of a Narbonnaise girl, the face of a lady carved in the cathedral, of another in the museum, some sketches of children's clay toys found in Roman tombs, and sundry Gaulish and Merovingian bronzes; also! ”

“ Incapacity, misrule, is everywhere. Narbonne has been made War Minister! At this crisis, when the allied armies are gathering on the frontier, when war is imminent against two hundred and fifty thousand of the finest soldiers in Europe, a trifler like Narbonne is placed in power! But if others were no worse than he! 'Tis incredible the villains who have pushed themselves into the high places. Can you believe it, boy?—your servant, that scoundrel Bertrand, that soldier of the ranks, that waiter of the Café de l'École, is a great man in Paris these days. ”

“ Innumerable rusty men, scattered all over the place, were buying and selling wine, straddling about in pairs, in groups, with their hands in their pockets, and packed together at the doors of the cafes. They were mostly fat and brown and unshaven; they ground their teeth as they talked; they were very meridionaux.
The only two lions at Narbonne are the cathedral and the museum, the latter of which is quartered in the hotel de ville. The cathedral, closely shut in by houses, and with the west front undergoing repairs, is singular in two respects. ”

“ Not only so, but in the museum of the town is a Classic bust, found among the remains of Roman Narbona, and the same type is there.
[Illustration: Types of faces, Narbonne. Modern. Sixteenth-century tomb in
Cathedral. Classic bust in museum.]
Narbonne was once a great capital. It stood on a lagoon, and did a large trade in the Mediterranean. It was a Roman colony, founded at the same time as Arles, and had its forum, capitol, baths, amphitheatre, theatre, and temples. But, alas! ”

“ Even during the siege his prestige was yet such that, December 18, 1217, the powerful Jourdain de I'Isle-Jourdain made submission to him as Duke of Narbonne and Count of Toulouse and furnished as securities Geraud, Count of Armagnac and Fezenzac, Roger, Viscount of Fezenzaquet, and other nobles; and in February, 1218, the citizens of Narbonne abandoned their rebellious attitude. His death was regarded as the signal of liberation, and wherever the French garrisons were not too strong, the people arose, massacred the invaders, and gave themselves back to their ancient lords. ”

“ A scarlet flush covered the bishop’s face, and Mademoiselle Baptistine turned the colour of chalk.
[48]
‘I met the old Countess de Narbonne in Paris; she is doubtless a cousin. I told her I was acquainted with your lordship, but she did not seem to know you; probably her memory fails.’
‘The De Narbonne and the De Narbonne-Lara families, though remotely connected, are not the same,’ answered the bishop, wiping his hot face; ‘the branches separated in the reign of Saint Louis, and therefore the connection between them is distant. ”

“ With old material, other people make a new stock; with the new, England often makes the old."
"Do you see in this why Baroness de Stael proposes De Narbonne to us?"
[Pg 22]
"Hem! This time, madame, two likings are combined: that for the aristocracy and the aristocrat."
"Do you imagine that she loves Louis de Narbonne on account of his descent?"
(Louis de Narbonne was supposed to be an incestuous son of King Louis XV.)
"It is not on account of any ability, I reckon?"
"But nobody is less well-born than Louis de Narbonne; his father is not even known." ”

“ I had left Narbonne in the afternoon, and by the time I reached Cette the darkness had descended. I therefore missed the sight of the glistening houses, and had to console myself with that of the beacon in the bay, as well as with a bouillon of which I partook at the buffet aforesaid; for, since the morning, I had not ventured to return to the table d'hôte at Narbonne. The Hôtel Nevet at Montpellier, which I reached an hour later, has an ancient renown all over the south of France—advertises itself, I believe, as [171] le plus vastedu midi. It seemed to me the model of a good provincial inn ”

“ King Theodoric to Ida, Vir Sublimis and Dux. [Cf. the name of our own Northumbrian King.]
Possessions of the Church of Narbonne to be restored to it.
'We do not wish to disturb anything that has been well settled by a preceding King. Certain possessions of the Church of Narbonne, which were secured to it by grant of the late King Alaric of exalted memory, have been wrongfully wrested from it. Do you now restore these. As you are illustrious in war, so be also excellent in "civilitas." ”

“ There is one other, Mademoiselle Narbonne, who is the richest person in the Marquesas, for she, too, is fit neither for native life nor for white. The nuns have spoiled her, as her mother spoiled the Peyral girl. ”

“ Whites blackguarded other whites so commonly in the South Seas that one discounted or denied every judgment. I was to understand his implication later. Mademoiselle Narbonne had no part in the life of our valley of Atuona, nor did she come to it other times than when she attended the services at the Catholic church or visited the nuns with whom she had been from childhood until the death of her father a few months before. ”

“ In a few minutes, madame cloaked and bonneted, came up to wish us bon voyage, with a hope that we should again visit Narbonne. Nothing is certain in this world or we should have told her it was a very forlorn hope.
"I have to go to market," she said, "and the sooner I am there the better my choice of provisions. To-day, too, I have my diner de noce, and must be back early. Vraiment, c'est une charge! Ah! they amused themselves last night! What headaches to-day, je parie, in spite of the excellence of the wines. Enfin! Il faut payer pour ses plaisirs." ”

“ At Narbonne we had the good fortune to find a Chef de Gare civil and obliging as he of Bordeaux, who declared it impossible to reach Gerona that day as there was no railway communication. We should have to spend the night at Portbou, the Spanish frontier, where our quarters would be wretched, and all our sweet turn to bitter against those who had misled us.
We decided at once. "Better remain where there is a good inn, than go on to the miseries of Portbou, Monsieur le Chef." ”

“ ST. PAUL, BISHOP OF NARBONNE, C. ST. GREGORY of Tours informs us, [1] that he was sent with other preachers from Rome to plant the faith in Gaul. St. Saturninus of Thoulouse, and St. Dionysius of Paris, were crowned with martyrdom: but St. Paul of Narbonne, St. Trophimus of Arles, St. Martial of Limoges, and St. Gatian of Tours, after having founded those churches, amidst many dangers, departed in peace. Prudentius says, [2] that the name of Paul had rendered the city of Narbonne illustrious.
Footnotes: 1. Hist. Franc. l. 1, c. 30. 2. Hymn. 4.
ST. LEA. WIDOW. SHE was a rich Roman lady ”

“ Soon after leaving Montélimar with its frowning citadel, in which there are some ancient Romanesque details, and a great tower of the fourteenth century called the “Tour de Narbonne,” we observe on the opposite side of the Rhone the picturesque town of Viviers, clustering on a pyramidal rock, and appropriately crowned with the cathedral and spire. The church is of the fourteenth century, a single nave without aisles. It is said that the crowded and narrow streets contain some old houses, but the place is apparently more picturesque than architectural. ”

“ M. de Narbonne had heard nothing new from France, but mentioned, with great concern, the indiscretion of the king, in having kept all his letters since the Revolution; that the papers lately discovered in the Tuileries would bring ruin and death on hundreds of his friends ; and that almost every one in that number "s'y trouvoient compliqus" (51) some way or other. ”

“ But the winds from the mountains made Narbonne and Carcassonne cold, the few trains from Nîmes were unseasonable, my wife declared she had so many cathedrals mixed up in her head that she could not endure another, and so, leaving Narbonne in early morning, we reached Cette ten minutes after the express train for Paris had left, and we came on in omnibus train in unbroken journey, through Montpellier, Nîmes, and Avignon (which we had visited, in former years) , and via Lyons to Paris. And here we are. ”

“ There are healthy regions still, however, and the vintners find plenty to do at Narbonne. The traffic in wine appeared to be the sole thought of the Narbonnais; every one I spoke to had something to say about the harvest of gold that bloomed under its influence. "C'est inoui, monsieur, l'argent qu'il y a dans ce pays. Des gens a qui la vente de leur vin rapporte jusqu'a 500,000 francs par an." That little speech, addressed to me by a gentleman at the inn, gives the note of these revelations. ”

“ From thence it is three days to Narbonne, eminent for its university, from which the study of the law spreads over all countries. The city contains many wise and noble men, especially R. Calonymos, son of the great and noble R. Theodoros of blessed memory, a descendant of the house of David, as proved by his pedigree. This man holds landed property from the sovereigns of the country, and nobody can deprive him of it by force. ”

“ I wrote to my brother at Paris, telling him I had had a fortunate escape from the dagger of the assassin. I begged him to direct his answer to Aix, where I intended to spend a fortnight, in the hope of seeing the Marquis d'Argens. I left Perpignan the day after my arrival, and slept at Narbonne, and the day after at Beziers.
The distance from Narbonne to Beziers is only five leagues, and I had not intended to stop; but the good cheer which the kindest of landladies gave me at dinner made me stop with her to supper.
Beziers is a town which looks pleasant even at the worst time of the year. ”

“ Agen, Rouergue, Quercy, except Cahors, and part of Albi were likewise granted to Raymond, with reversion to his daughter in default of lawful heirs; but the king retained the extensive territories comprised within the duchy of Narbonne and the counties of Velay, Gévaudan, Viviers, and Lodève. The marquisate of Provence, beyond the Rhone, a dependency of the empire, was given to the Church. ”

“ Letters of Peter archbishop of Narbonne:—Hermengard viscountess of Narbonne:—“commune consilium urbis Tolosæ et suburbii”— Epp. xxxiii., xxxiv., ccccxiv., Duchesne, Hist. Franc. Scriptt., vol. iv. pp. 574, 575, 713. The archbishop curiously describes the threatening invader as “Dux Normanniæ.” The citizens make a pitiful appeal; the viscountess makes a spirited one, and wishes the king “Karoli regis magnanimitatem.” ”

“ Then, of Rome’s emperors, Trajan was born in Spain, and Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius were of Spanish blood.
Perhaps even more completely Latinized was Narbonensis, commonly called Provincia. Its official name was drawn from the ancient town of Narbo (Narbonne) , which in 118 B.C. was refounded as a Roman colony in partial accomplishment of the plans of Caius Gracchus. The boundaries of this colony touched those of the Greek city-state Massilia (Marseilles) , whose rights were respected until it sided against Caesar in the Civil War. ”

“ He also forced the Count of La Marche to send back to Raymond his young daughter Jeanne, betrothed to La Marche's son, and reserved, as we shall see, for loftier nuptials. To Bourges likewise flocked many of the nobles of Narbonne, eager to show their loyalty by doing homage to the king and to advise him not to advance through their district, which was devastated by war, but to march by way of the Rhone to Avignon — disinterested counsel which he adopted. ”

“ NARBONNE-LARA, LOUIS MARIE JACQUES AMALRIC, Comte de (1755–1813) , French soldier and diplomatist, was born at Colorno, in the duchy of Parma, on the 24th of August 1755. He was the son of one of the ladies-in-waiting of Elizabeth, duchess of Parma, and his father was either a Spanish nobleman or—as has been alleged—Louis XV. himself. He was brought up at Versailles with the princesses of France, and was made colonel at the age of twenty-five. He became maréchal-de-camp in 1791, and, through the influence of Madame de Stael, was appointed minister of war. ”