being at that time highly unnecessary, for the flourishing town of Marseilles was attracting all the trade, and Toulon gradually sinking as a commercial port. The enlargement of the town, however, was not set about till 1856, and that through the extension of the war harbour, which was disproportionate to Louis Napoleon's rapidly created fleet. While the war harbour formerly could only hold 30 ships of the line, it is now spacious enough for 100. The surrounding works have been pulled down and carried farther out, by which process considerable space has been acquired for the new town.

Toulon has endured repeated sieges, which nearly all resulted unfortunately for the town. In 599 it was captured by the Goths; in 789 torn from the Saracens by Charles Martel, but thrice besieged and desolated by them in 1178, 1196, and 1211. In 1524 it was occupied by the troops of Charles V., under the Connétable de Bourbon. In the Spanish War of Succession it gloriously withstood the siege of Prince Eugène, who, after twenty-four days of heavy fighting with 30,000 men, one-fourth of whom he left beneath the walls, was compelled to retreat. The last tragic event of this nature was the siege and recapture of the city in 1793 by the Republicans, for the Convention behaved with even unusual ferocity. When Toulon surrendered to the English it had 28,000 inhabitants; a short time after our departure the number was reduced to 7000. It has been calculated that about 6000 perished either by the sword or by the wholesale executions of the republicans.

But Toulon has also suffered equally by pestilences, which raged here with unparalleled fury. Since the commencement of the fifteenth century the town has been visited no less than nine times by the plague, the worst being in 1721, the last time it made its appearance. Upwards of 13,000 persons died in Toulon alone, while sixty-three other districts of Provence also suffered from the disease.

THE ARSENAL.

The arsenal of Toulon is one of the largest in the world, for it covers about one-fourth the superficies of the entire town, and is so admirably arranged that in five years 21 screw ships of the line have been turned out from it. But this activity has always been perceptible at Toulon. In 1645, the arsenal, which had been considerably enlarged by Richelieu, equipped a fleet of 36 ships of the line, and twenty-five years later another of 42, among them being several three-deckers, and the Magnifique of guns, the largest and finest vessel of her time. In 1856, the arsenal (by which term we mean all the buildings and apparatus required for a war harbour) was very largely increased. The buildings were almost

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entirely re-erected, and two new docks formed.

A regular allée runs through the entire length of the arsenal, and the various establishments are built on either side. The eye is first caught by the Pavillon de l'Horloge, in which is the central bureau of the marine telegraph for the arrondissement of Toulon. Through this telegraph the marine prefect is at once informed of everything going on along the whole French coast, and if any vessels of war come in sight. The tower also serves for signalling the vessels in the roads, and to regulate the chronometers, indicating daily the mean time at Greenwich and Paris. From this

tower the best prospect of the arsenal can be obtained, as well as of the basin, which has now a circumference of 42,000 metres, while that of the arsenal is 4000 metres.

To the right of the allée we next notice the rope-walk, which supplies all the tackle of the ships of war. It is 1000 feet long, and covered over, while at the other end a small steam-engine is employed to twist the cordage. In front of these buildings are all the anchor chains of the ships laid up in ordinary, while behind them is the Champ de Bataille, on which stands the Marine Prefecture, and which is employed to exercise all the troops attached to the fleet.

Between the chain-ground and the rope-walk, on the square where the Ecole des Gardes-Marines, established by Louis XIV., formerly stood, a school for warrant-officers and masters (l'Ecole de la Maistrance) has lately been built, in which this important class of sailors receives a theoretical education, more extensive than in any other navy. On the second floor of this building is the library, containing more than 8000 volumes, relating to marine affairs. In a shed attached to the building is a steamengine, employed to raise the water flowing from the town through subterranean canals, and used to fill the reservoir.

To the left of the rope-walk is the great foundry, in which all modern appliances have been introduced. Passing this we reach the mast-yards, large sheds in which the masts, yards, &c., and all the woodwork of the vessels, are prepared. As it is impossible to form the masts of one piece, they are composed of several parts (usually six), fastened together by means of iron rings. The length of the mainmast of a three-decker is 120 feet, and its greatest thickness 4 feet. The length of the mainyard is 112 feet, its extreme thickness 2 feet. The mast-shed was burned by the English in 1793, and has since been rebuilt. In the second floor is the sailmakers' room, where, if you are fortunate, you may see a mainsail being made. It will, possibly, astonish you to hear 1800 yards of canvas are required for this one sail, which is 100 feet broad, 46 feet deep, and weighs 2210 lbs. The flag of a three-decker takes 1100 yards of stuff. Over these rooms are the modelling establishments, where every article employed in the construction of a vessel is previously designed and modelled.

The next object of our visit is the building-yards, of which Toulon now has four. Close to them is the old dock for the repair of vessels. As the Mediterranean is a tideless sea, all the water has to be pumped out of the dock, and this was formerly done by the galley-slaves, but now by steampumps. Behind the building-slips are two pavilions: in one being the bureau of the Direction of the Hydraulic Works; in the other, the shops for regulating the compasses.

Proceeding from the basin to the right of the allée, we pass the ballastground. The ballast is piled up in separate heaps, and is generally made of prismatic pieces of iron, weighing from 100 to 200 lbs Close by is the ground for the water-tanks, which are now always made of iron, as wood was found to occupy too much space. Each tauk, according to the size of the vessel, contains from 500 to 2000 quarts of water.

The large, handsome building we next arrive at is the general magazine, or depôt for all the smaller articles of equipment, clothing, &c. This building is admirably arranged, and the greatest cleanliness and order

prevail. The sight of it produces the most striking effect on the visitor of all the marvels he has yet seen.

Crossing a small canal, we reach the gun-park, where all the cannon, arranged according to their calibre, reach in interminable files along the quay. They are all made on the new model, and the old guns have been broken up and recast. Opposite the park are the buildings and workshops of the artillery, while to the right is the armoury, one of the handsomest in Europe. French ingenuity has been exhausted in producing pleasant combinations of arms; and you see, for instance, weeping willows, the leaves being formed of bayonets. There are some very valuable coats of mail also scattered about the room, while in the centre is a statue of Bellona, menacingly raising her sword, as if just about to rush on the foe.

From the gun-park to the mouth of the basin runs a mole, along which the disarmed vessels and those intended for the service of the port lie in regular rows. The frigates intended for the latter service are in reality only nominally disarmed, and could be got perfectly ready for sea in twenty-four hours. They lie next to the entrance of the harbour, have their guns, water, and coals aboard, and though the stripped lower masts ostensibly make them look as if disarmed, a nautical eye detects at once that everything is ready to hand. The only thing wanting to animate them is the crew, but the men are ready at a moment's notice. It is the silence of annihilation, the slumber of the lightning, which a nod can discharge. In the magazines running along this mole are all the stores of the vessels in ordinary, so perfectly arranged that ten to twelve ships might be equipped simultaneously without the slightest confusion.

Going along the mole we reach the opening of the new basin, which is closed at night by a chain, and is thence called Chaine Neuve. A ferryboat, or va-t-et-vient, served by a galley-slave, maintains the communications with the western mole, on which is the Bagne. Two howitzers are pointed at the latter from the eastern mole to defend the Chaine Neuve, in the event of a revolt among the convicts.

THE BAGNE.

The Bagne runs along the western mole. In former days, the convicts were chained in galleys, and rowed them in conjunction with the slaves captured from the Mussulmans. If there were any deficiency in slaves, the authorities were empowered to impress free men, which, though tyrannical, freed the community from all scamps. At times, too, men voluntarily entered this dismal service, and were known as buono-voyos -bonne volonté-an expression still used in Provence to indicate a mauvais sujet.

Marseilles and Toulon were the first points where galley-slaves were established; but afterwards bagnes were also erected at Rochefort, Brest, and Lorient. For some time past only the one at Toulon has been kept up, and the other convicts were transported to Cayenne, ostensibly through motives of humanity; and measures are being taken to abolish the bagne at Toulon. The average number of convicts there is 4000. Since the abolition of the galleys, in 1750, they have been employed to do all the heavy work in the arsenal.

The entrance to the bagne is by a heavy iron door, which, however, remains open by day. Close to the gate is the bazaar, where articles made by the convicts during their leisure hours are sold to visitors. Their principal productions are carvings in cocoa-nut-shell and straw mosaic. Powder-flasks made of the former, and carved in the most masterly manner, are generally for sale. A chef-d'œuvre in this class is a couple of flasks made by an engraver, condemned for bank-note forgery to twenty-five years' penal servitude, and on which the battle of Balaklava and another action are engraved in relief. On the two flasks there are one hundred and forty-five distinct figures, and it took the prisoner two and a half years to execute them. Their price is in no proportion to their artistic value. Each leisure hour's work is only estimated at 1 to 4 centimes; hence, during his six hours of liberty a prisoner can only earn from 1 to 5 sous. These flasks, whose value is at least 1000 francs, consequently cost only 125 francs. The cheapness of these little articles produces a ready sale, and hardly any visitor goes away without purchasing something.

The bagne is divided into several rooms, which serve as sleepingapartments for the convicts, who are formed into three classes. The first consists of those condemned for life; the second of the indociles, who refuse to work; and the third of the éprouvés, or convicts who have conducted themselves properly for a certain number of years. Each new arrival is chained to another man, though, we are happy to say, regard is paid to the character of the men. Every convict is, on coming in, put to heavy work (grande fatigue), and it requires a year's good conduct to be removed to lighter tasks (petite fatigue)., In the latter case, the convict is loosed from his companion, and carries his chain alone, which weighs 15lbs. Double chains, bastinado, solitary confinement, and the Salle des Indociles, are the punishments awarded for offences within the bagne.

The Salle des Indociles causes the visitor to shudder involuntarily. The convicts lie there, fastened to iron bars, and have only a space of three paces to move in. The bed, consisting of an oblique wooden surface, with a loose log for a pillow, is just behind the bar. These convicts have neither blankets nor mattresses. So long as they remain obstinate, they are kept here, and never enjoy the fresh air. They see no one with the exception of the gaoler who brings their food, and the visitor is only allowed a hurried peep at them through an iron trap in the door.

The dress of the convicts consists of a shirt of coarse linen, a long red frieze jacket without buttons or collar, a pair of trousers, linen in summer, cloth in winter, a pair of shoes, and a long woollen cap, on which the number of the prisoner, engraved on tin, is attached. The letters GAL. are also printed on various parts of all the articles of clothing. All the relapsed criminals are distinguished by having one red and one yellow sleeve. A red cap distinguishes those condemned for five to ten years; a yellow band round it, those for more than ten years; a green cap, those condemned for life. Their food consists of bread and vegetables; only the invalids receive meat daily; the éprouvés, twice a week. The latter also have a mattress, while all the rest have only a blanket. At night the convicts are chained to iron posts fastened in the ground at the foot of their beds.

The convicts à la grande fatigue are not allowed to earn anything, but only the éprouvés. Half the earnings are laid aside for the prisoner, and, on his release, transmitted to the maire of the town where he intends to settle, and carry on the trade he has learned in the bagne, for every convict is bound to learn one. What results have been caused from this system is proved by the buildings of the general magazines, the covered slips, and the hospitals, all made exclusively by the galley-slaves. The gaolers are called "gardes-chiourmes," and are armed inside with a sabre, outside with a loaded musket. There is one guard to every five couples of convicts.

Of the buildings attached to the bagne, the hospital deserves special mention. It was formerly a magazine for cables, but was handed over for its present object at the beginning of the century. It consists of a single room, 300 feet long and 25 feet wide, divided into three galleries by two rows of pillars. The central one is employed as a passage, while in either of the others are fifty iron beds. The sick convicts are attended in the most careful manner, and it is a pleasant sight to see the Sisters of Charity waiting on them, and the exquisite cleanliness everywhere visible. The repeated attempts of the convicts to break out of hospital have rendered it necessary to chain them up, even during illness, and they can only be unchained by the physician's order. Every evening a gaoler examines the iron bars of the windows by passing a knife along them, and thus convincing himself that none have been sawn through.

To the north of the hospital is the boat-builders' yard, the long boats of the vessels being constructed on the ground floor, while the lighter boats are built above. At the end of the mole are the slips for building frigates and corvettes, and to the right of them are stored the new boilers for steam-vessels.

THE FORTIFICATIONS.

We have now gone the round of the arsenal, and find ourselves once more at the entrance. There are, however, two auxiliary arsenalsCastigneau to the west, Mourillon to the east, of the town-both very extensive, and deserving a description consequently.

At Castigneau we first notice the great bakery, an establishment now being removed to make room for a new iron foundry. The ovens are on the ground floor: in one wing there are eight, in the other, twelve. The building has two stories: one for flour, the other used as a magazine for ship's biscuits. Very great alterations are being effected at Castigneau; a new boiler manufactory is being built, a coal depôt prepared, and two new docks are in construction.

Beyond Castigneau is the marine laboratory, where all the ammunition is made; and farther on may be seen the two naval powder magazines, called Millaud and La Goubran. Behind the latter, and close to the coast, is a battery, and another above it. The former is called Batterie des Sans-culottes; the latter, Batterie de la Montagne. Both were made by Napoleon in 1793, and did considerable injury to the English fleet. Close to Castigneau is the suburb Pont de Lac, so named from the mountain stream that runs through it, whose bed Vauban altered when building the arsenal.

To the east of Toulon is the Faubourg la Rode, or, as it is more commonly called, Mourillon, adjoining the old harbour, and giving its name