NISMES, an ancient town of France, and capital of the department of the Gard, is agreeably situated on the declivity of a hill, not far from a small river called the Vistre. The streets are irregular, narrow, and wind ing, and the houses in general ill built. In the subui bs, which are very large, the houses are of a better desciip tion. A number of neat and modern buildings are erected on the Boulevards. Among these are a new hall of justice, in the Greek style, a handsome hospital, and a large theatre. Nisrnes has been long celebrated for its Roman antiquities, which are both numerous and splendid. The 'liaison Quarree, which is in reality a parallelogram, is 76 feet long, 38 broad, and 64 high. It has six columns in front, and 11 on each side, reckoning twice those at the angles. Eight of these columns are engaged in the walls of the building, and the other three entirely insulated. Om of the 30 columns which the building contains, 10 are free, and 20 engaged. They are all of the Corinthian older, and arc 27 feet 3 inches and 3 lines high, French measure, and 2 feet 9 inches in diameter. 'Die capitals, which are decorated with the leaves a the olive-tree, are of great beam). ; and the ornaments or the entablature are equally fine. Great excavations have been lately undettaken, from which it appears that it was surrounded by a splendid colonnade, at a considerable distance all aiound, bearing a massy cornice of excellent workmanship.
Near the 11Iaison Quarie; is the ampitheatre. This superb remain of antiquity was copied from the Co liseum at Rome. It is constructed of the finest stones, which are held together by cramps of brass. They were quarried at Nismes, and some of them are 18 feet long. The amphitheatre is about 407 feet long, from east to west, including the thickness of the facade ; and its smallest diameter about 317 feet at the roue cardinal points, and at equal distances there are 15 arcades. The great al eh of this fine building is still entire ; and its arcades, columns, and porticos are in excellent pre.
servation.
The building called the Fountain, is one of the finest things of the kind in France. It contains the remains of Roman baths; and its mass of limpid waters is conveyed through the town by a canal, flanked with hewn stones, and bordered with ballustracles. The ancient temple, which is generally called the Temple of Diana, or the l'emple of the Fountain, consists of two rows of arcades. The interior displays a large and fine vaulted hall, adorn ed with 16 columns, carrying a rich cornice, on which rests the vault. There are also 12 square niches, de stined to receive statues, and the whole is surrounded with a gallery. The columns are of the composite or der, with very rich capitals, all of them different, and the ceilings are designed with great elegance.
Behind this temple is an eminence, on which is erect ed what is called the Great Tower, built of lithographic limestone, in small squares like bricks. It is about 120 feet high, and was formerly surrounded with a circle of open columns. It has been considered by some as a lighthouse, by others as a signal-post, and by others as a tomb. It is now, however, regarded as a pantheon, and within it are deposited a rich collection of ancient sta tuary, found at Nismes. There is likewise at Nismes an ancient gate, on which there is an inscription, stating that the gates and walls of the city of Nimes were built by Augustus in his eleventh consulate, i. e. in 738 or 739.
Nismes possesses a royal college, with a library con taining above 30,000 volumes ; an Academy of the Fine Arts ; and a Society of Medicine and Agriculture. The manufactures are silk stuffs, stockings, ribbons, and leather ; and it carries on an extensive trade in raw and wrought silk, corn, dried fruits, olive oil, and wine. Population about 14,000. East Long. 4° 21' 15", and North Lat. 43° 50' 8". See Alaucomble's Hist. des Antiq. de Xisnies, Nistn. 1789, and Millin's Voyage dans les Departernens du Midi de la France, tom. iv. p. 212.