Young und Okey - 1915 - Travels in France and Italy during the years 1787,

Travels in France and Italy/41
is beaten, one-third rough, and one-third covered with weeds. In 36 miles,
I have met one cabriolet, half a dozen carts, and some old women with
asses. For what all this waste of treasure?—In Languedoc, it is true,
these works are not done by corvees; but there is an injustice in levying
the amount not far short of them. The money is raised by tailles, and, in
making the assessment, lands held by a noble tenure are so much eased,
and others by a base one so burthened, that 120 arpents in this
neighbourhood held by the former pay 90 livres and 400 possessed by a
plebeian right, which ought proportionally to pay 300 livres, is, instead
of that, assessed at 1400 livres. At Narbonne, the canal which joins that
of Languedoc deserves attention; it is a very fine work, and will, they
say, be finished next month.—36 miles.
24th. Women without stockings, and many without shoes; but if
their feet are poorly clad they have a superb consolation in walking
upon magnificent causeways: the new road is 50 feet wide, and 50 more
digged away or destroyed to make it.
The vintage itself can hardly be such a scene of activity and animation
as this universal one of treading out the corn, with which all the
towns and villages in Languedoc are now alive. The corn is all roughly
stacked around a dry firm spot, where great numbers of mules and horses
are driven on a trot round a centre, a woman holding the reins, and
another, or a girl or two, with whips drive; the men supply and clear the
floor; other parties are dressing, by throwing the corn into the air for the
wind to blow away the chaff. Every soul is employed, and with such an
air of cheerfulness that the people seem as well pleased with their labour
as the farmer himself with his great heaps of wheat. The scene is uncommonly
animated and joyous. I stopped and alighted often to see their
method; I was always very civilly treated, and my wishes for a good
price for the farmer, and not too good a one for the poor, well received.
This method, which entirely saves barns, depends absolutely on climate:
from my leaving Bagnere de Luchon to this moment, all through
Catalonia, Roussillon, and this part of Languedoc, there has been nothing
like rain; but one unvarying clear bright sky and burning sun, yet
not at all suffocating, or to me even unpleasant. I asked whether they
were not sometimes caught in the rain? they said, very rarely indeed; but
if rain did come, it is seldom more than a heavy shower, which a hot sun
quickly succeeds and dries everything speedily.
The canal of Languedoc is the capital feature of all this country.
The mountain through which it pierces is insulated, in the midst of an