The road was good and level, and though it was flooded by the continuous downpour, it was not muddy, the soil being sandy. At the end of eighteen miles we dined at Buffalora, and then crossed the river Naviglio, a narrow stream, but deep enough to allow the passage of large barges to Milan. Shortly afterwards we crossed the Ticino by boat, and twelve miles farther on reached Novara in time for bed. This is a small town standing on a level plain in the midst of woods and vineyards and fertile fields. We left it next morning, and after going ten miles we halted a little to feed our cattle at Vercelli, a town under the Duke of Savoy, situated on level ground beside the Zeza,[128] which we crossed in a boat. The aforesaid duke, by employing a vast number of men, has built a fort in a very short space of time—a fine strong place, as far as I could judge from seeing only the outside—and has thereby raised the suspicion of his Spanish neighbours. From this place we went through S. German and S. Giaco, small villages, and, travelling all the way over a lovely plain, which is especially fertile in walnuts—for here they have no olives but use only walnut oil—we came, after a journey of twenty miles, to Livorno, a small town with a good many houses, and there stayed the night.
We started early on Monday morning, and travelling over a level road reached Chivas, ten miles distant, in time for dinner, and then onward for ten miles more, crossing on the journey a great number of streams by boat or by a ford, to Turin, whither we might easily have come in time for dinner. This is a small city with much water round about it. It is not very well built or agreeable, though, to be sure, rills of water run through all the streets to keep them free from dirt. I here hired horses at five crowns and a half each to take me as far as Lyons in six days, the cost of the horses on the road to be included in this charge. They speak French here usually, and were very friendly towards us. The common language here has little else of Italian about it except the pronunciation, most of the words used being French. We left Turin on Tuesday, the last day of October, and dined at S. Ambrogio, two posts farther on; and, after going the same distance over a narrow level space between the mountains, we reached Susa, where we slept.
Susa is a large, populous town. I was here taken with a violent pain in the right knee, a pain which I had felt for several days, and which went on from bad to worse. The inns are better than in other parts of Italy; good wine, bad bread, plenty to eat, such is the rule everywhere in Savoy. After hearing mass on All Saints’ Day, I travelled one post, as far as Novalese, where I hired eight marroni[129] to carry me in a litter up to the top of Mont Senis and down on the other side.
Here French is spoken, wherefore I quit the use of the foreign language, which I can employ easily enough, albeit somewhat incorrectly, not having had the opportunity of giving due diligence thereto through being always in the company of Frenchmen. I crossed Mont Senis partly on horseback and partly in a litter borne by four men, having others ready to relieve them. They carry the litters on their shoulders. The ascent takes two hours, and is stony and difficult for horses which are not accustomed to it, but otherwise without difficulty or danger, for as the road is constructed on the mass of the mountain, there are no precipices and no danger except of stumbling. Below may be seen a plain two leagues long, and on it divers cottages, lakes, and springs, and the post-house. There are no trees, but plenty of grass and meadows to give pasturage in mild weather. At this season snow lay over all. The descent is about a league, cut out of the rock in a direct line, and I had myself carried down it by the marrons, to whom I gave two crowns amongst the eight of them. The charge for the descent is only one teston. It was a pleasant bit of sport, but not one needing great courage. We dined at Lanebourg,[130] two posts onward, a Savoyard village at the foot of the mountains, and slept in a small place two leagues farther on. Everywhere we found abundance of trout and excellent wine, both new and old. We started and travelled five leagues over a rough, mountainous road, and dined at S. Michel, where there is a post-house. Five leagues more brought us, late in the day and wet through, to La Chambre, a little town which gives the title of Marquis to a certain family, and there we slept.
On Friday, November the 3rd, we dined at Aiguebelle, a well-built town, four leagues, and slept at Montmelian, another four leagues farther on. This is a town and fortress which stands on the top of a little ridge rising out of a level plain between two lofty mountains. The town stands at the base of the fort on the river Isère, which passes by Grenoble, seven leagues distant. Here I began to appreciate the excellence of the Italian oil, of which I was never conscious after eating, but I found that the oil of these parts upset my stomach. Two leagues on our road we halted to dine at Chamberi, the chief town of Savoy, a fair busy little place situated at the foot of the mountains at a spot where they recede and leave a fine level stretch of country. Passing on we crossed the Mont du Chat, which is high, steep, and rocky, but in no way dangerous or difficult, and in descending came upon a large lake on which stands a castle called Bordeau, where they make swords which enjoy a great reputation. After a journey of four leagues we rested for the night at a little town called Hyene.
On Sunday morning we crossed the Rosne, which ran on our right-hand side, after we passed the spot where the Duke of Savoy has built a small fort in a narrow gorge of the rocks. Along one of these is a narrow path at the end of which stands the fort aforesaid, not unlike the one which the Venetians have built at Chiusa in a pass of the Tirolese mountains. We rode seven leagues along the mountain valley, and without halting came to S. Rambert, a small town in the valley aforesaid.
In most of the Savoyard towns a brook runs through the centre, and in the streets, facing either bank of the same, wide penthouses are set in front of the houses, so that passengers are always protected from the rain, albeit the shops are darkened by this usage. On Monday, November the 6th, we left S. Rambert early in the morning. During my stay there M. Francesco Cenami, a banker of Lyons, who had come there on account of the plague, sent his nephew to convey to me his polite greetings, and a present of some of his own wine. We were soon quite clear of the mountains and began to enter the level French country. I crossed the river Ain in a boat near the bridge of Chesai and rode six leagues in one stretch to Monloel, a little town where there is much going and coming. It is the last of the Duke of Savoy’s dominions. On Tuesday, after dinner, I took horses and went on in two posts to Lyons, where I slept. I was greatly pleased with the town, and on Friday I bought of Joseph de la Sone three strong service horses, with fresh cut tails, for two hundred crowns, having purchased on the previous day of Malesieu a pacing horse for fifty crowns and another curtal nag for thirty-three. On Saturday, Saint Martin’s Day, I had a sharp pain in the stomach and kept my bed till midday. I felt disordered all day and took no dinner and a very light supper. On Sunday, November the 10th, Signor Alberto Giachinotti, a Florentine gentleman, who had already shown divers courtesies to me, entertained me at dinner in his house, and offered to lend me any money I might want, though he had never seen me till now.
On Wednesday, November the 15th, I left Lyons after dinner, and, after a journey of five leagues over a hilly road, arrived in time for bed at Bordeliere, a village of one or two houses. Quitting this on Thursday morning we traversed a fine level road, and, close to Fur, a little town; we crossed the Loire in a boat, and passed the night at L’Hôpital, a small walled town, after riding eight leagues. We left this place on Friday morning, and went over a hilly road to Tiers, six leagues distant, the day being rough and snowy, with a cruel wind full in our faces. Tiers is a small town on the Allier, busy, well-built, and populous, the chief industry being in paper-knives and playing-cards. It stands equidistant from Lyons, St. Flour, Moulins, and Puy. The nearer I got to my home the more tedious the journey seemed; indeed, as far as concerned the reckoning of the days, the distance from Chamberi to my home seemed a good half of the whole journey from Rome. Tiers is a possession of the Bourbon family and is now held by M. de Montpensier.[131] While I was there I went to see cards made at the factory of one Palmier, a process which seems to require as many workmen as any other fine handicraft. The common cards cost only one sou, but the fine ones are sold for two caroli.[132] On Saturday we crossed the rich plain of the Limaigne, and after passing in a boat the Douze and the Allier, we arrived at Pont du Château, having ridden four leagues.
The plague has been very bad in these parts, and I heard some remarkable accounts thereof. The dwelling of the Seigneur of the town, the manor-house of the Canillacs, was burnt so as to destroy the pestilence with fire. The Seigneur aforesaid sent one of his men to me with divers offers of service, and begged me to write to M. de Foix on behalf of his son, who is going to Rome. On Sunday, November the 19th, I reached Clermont, two leagues distant, in time for dinner, and I tarried there for the sake of my young horses. On Monday the 20th I started in the morning, and on the heights of Pui de Dôme I passed a stone, somewhat broad and flat. I had felt it all the morning and even the day before with a slight pain in the kidneys. It was neither very hard nor very soft.