of his rudeness, _Mons. Saigny_ so far forgot himself as to speak
equally rude to me: this occasioned some warm words, and so much
ungovernable passion in him, that I was obliged to tell him I must fetch
down my pistols; this he construed into a direct challenge, and
therefore retired to his apartments, wrote a card, and sent it to me
while I was walking before the door with a priest, his friend and
visitor, and in sight of the _little female captain his second_, and all
the servants of the house; on this card was wrote, "_Sir, I accept your
proposition_;" and before I could even read it, he followed his man, who
brought it in the true stile of a butler, rather than a butcher, with a
white napkin under his arm. You may be sure, I was no more disposed to
fight than _Mons. Saigny_; indeed, I told him I would not; but if any
man attacked me on my way to or from the town, where I went every day, I
would certainly defend myself: and fortunately I never met _Mons.
Saigny_ in the fortnight I staid after in his house; for I could not
bear to leave a town where I had two or three very agreeable
acquaintance, and one (_Mons. Seguier_) whose house was filled as full
of natural and artificial curiosities, as his head is with learning and
knowledge. Here too I had an opportunity of often visiting the
Amphitheatre, _the Maison Carree_, (so Mons. Seguier writes it) and the
many remains of Roman monuments so common in and about _Nismes_. I
measured some of the stones under which I passed to make the _tout au
tour_ of the Amphitheatre, they were seventeen feet in length, and two
in thickness; and most of the stones on which the spectators sat within
the area, were twelve feet long, two feet ten inches wide, and one foot
five inches deep; except only those of the sixth row of seats from the
top, and they alone are one foot ten inches deep; probably it was on
that range the people of the highest rank took their seats, not only for
the elevation, but the best situation for sight and security; yet one of
these great stones cannot be considered more, in comparison to the