En route to Arles we had noticed an old Roman theatre in the village of Orange. We noticed also, which seemed to be common in South France, that the horses wore a leather horn on the tops of their collars. This is said to be a usage handed down from the Middle Ages. In this region we passed whole train loads of grapes, which looked from a short distance like carloads of anthracite coal.
Our next destination was Marseilles, and here Henri Brenier met us. We stopped at Martique, which was the home of Ziem, the great French painter, now deceased. We visited the Ziem museum. The lake of Martique is where the new port of Marseilles is to be located. This town dates back six hundred years B. C. We met here the president, Adrien Artaud, and the vice-president, Hubert Giraud, of the Chamber of Commerce of Marseilles.
[Illustration: Old Roman Arena at Arles—Still Used For Bull Fights and Other Amusements.]
[VIII.]
ALONG THE MEDITERRANEAN
RRIVING at De Rove, the south end of the tunnel, on Saturday, September 23rd, I had my first view of the Mediterranean. It was a most beautiful sight, and the water as blue as pictured in paintings. We were rowed in a small boat across an arm of the Mediterranean to the town of Marseilles. We first visited the new part of Marseilles; then the old. Upon our arrival there was a tremendous gathering to greet us; not less than ten thousand children were shouting "Viva la Amerique". The whole city was decorated with American and French flags intertwined. The crowd lined upon the wharf so thickly we could scarcely pass through it. This reception was the greatest we had received anywhere in France. We visited the Hotel de Ville and were greeted by the mayor, with a response by Mr. Nichols, interpreted by Dr. Mailloux. We were then taken to the Hotel Regina and in the evening given a banquet by the Chamber of Commerce. This chamber was organized in 1599 and is the oldest chamber of commerce in the world.
Our invitation to this banquet read as follows: