debris below, foaming and roaring until it finds its way into the Dor
far down in the valley at its foot. A few hundred feet to the westward
of this cascade, and at the lowest part of the precipitous columnar
cliff, burst forth several copious fountains of hot mineral waters,
half-way to boiling heat when they leave their rocky cells, and ever
keeping up the same degree both of heat and quantity. These are the
springs which give celebrity to the place, and constitute the baths of
Mont Dor.

The Romans--those true "rerum domini"--knew of the spot, as they did of
most other good things within their wide empire; and they frequented
these springs so much that they erected over them a magnificent bathing
establishment, and adorned the spot with a beautiful temple. In the
midst of the present village stand the remains of one and the other of
their buildings; and thus the hydropathic system of the ancients is
allied with the practice of the modern Academie de Medecine. No records
of the destruction, nor indeed of the existence, of this Roman
watering-place have been preserved; probably, the buildings fell into
natural decay, and during the middle ages were allowed to remain
unrepaired and unheeded. Only foundations, broken shafts of columns,
cornices, capitals, and altars are now discernible; but they are enough
to add greatly to the interest of the locality.

At Saint Nectaire, two leagues further down the valley, and indeed at
other spots in it, thermal sources not much inferior to those of Mont
Dor are to be met with; the whole district bears intimate evidence of
its volcanic nature, and the rheumatic or dyspeptic invalid may here get
stewed or washed out to his full satisfaction and lasting benefit.

The village of Mont Dor-les-Bains is, however, that which has been
selected by the _beau monde_ of France as one of their choicest places
of resort; and here public money has been added to the efforts of
private speculation in order to render the baths at once ample and
commodious. Over the best sources is erected a large edifice, the lower
story of which is occupied by halls, and bathing-rooms for every variety
of medical purpose; while above are assembly-rooms, and the apartments
of the Government physician.

The distribution below is most convenient. The water, after issuing from
the rock, is conveyed by distinct channels into numerous baths contained
in small chambers on either side of a large central hall: while othe