CHAPTER II.
ARLES.
We stopped but a short time at Beaucaire, where we saw the largo plain on the banks of the Rhone, on which are erected the wooden houses for the annual fair which takes place in July, when the scene is said to present a very striking effect.
These wooden houses are filled with articles of every description, and are inhabited by the venders who bring their goods to be disposed of to the crowds of buyers who flock here from all parts, offering, in the variety of their costumes and habits, a very animated and showy picture.
The public walk, which edges the grassy plain allotted to the fair, is bordered by large elm-trees, and the vicinity to the river insures that freshness always so desirable in summer, and more especially in a climate so warm as this.
The town of Beaucaire has little worthy of notice, except its Hotel-de-Ville and church, both of which are handsome buildings.

We crossed the Rhone over the bridge of boats, from which we had a good view, and arrived at Tarascon.
The chateau called the Castle of King Rene, but which was erected by Louis II, count of Provence, is an object of interest to all who love to ponder on the olden time, when gallant knights and lovely dames assembled here for those tournaments in which the good Rene delighted.
Alas for the change! In those apartments in which the generous monarch loved to indulge the effusions of his gentle muse, and where fair ladies smiled, and belted knights quaffed ruby wine to their healths, now dwell reckless felons and hopeless debtors; for the chateau is converted into a prison.
In the Church of St.Martha we saw a relic of the barbarism of the dark ages, in the shape of a grotesque representation of a dragon, called the Tarasque.

This image is formed of wood, rudely painted in gandy colours.
Twice a-year it is borne through the streets of Tarascon, in commemoration of the destruction of a fabulous monster that long frequented the Rhone, and devoured many of the inhabitants of the surrounding country, but was at length vanquished by St.Martha; who, having secured it round the neck by her veil, delivered it to the just vengeance of the Tarascons.

This legend is received as truth by common people, and our guide informed us that they warmly resent any _doubt_ of its authenticity.
The monument of St.Martha is shown in the church dedicated to her, and her memory is held in great reverence at Tarascon.
The country between this place and Tarascon is fertile and well cultivated, and the cheerfulness of its aspect presents a striking contrast to the silence and solitude of the town.

The streets, however, are as clean as those of Holland, and the inhabitants are neat and tidy in their attire.
The houses are for the most part old and dilapidated, looking in nearly as ruined a condition as the fragments of antiquity which date so many centuries before them.