Chapter I: Part 1

A TOUR THROUGH SOME PARTS OF FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, SAVOY, GERMANY AND BELGIUM, DURING THE SUMMER AND AUTUMN OF 1814.

BY THE HON. RICHARD BOYLE BERNARD, M.P.

Majora minorane famæ! HOR. Say are they less or greater than report!

London:

PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN. PATER NOSTER-ROW;

1815.

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HARVARD AND FARLEY, Skinner Street, London

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TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE REGENT.

SIR,

Permit me to offer my most respectful thanks to Your Royal Highness, for the honor you have conferred upon me, by permitting the following pages to be inscribed to Your Royal Highness.

I beg at the same time to express my congratulations to Your Royal Highness on the late glorious events, which have distinguished Your Royal Highness's Government, which have restored to England the blessings of universal Peace, and will render the present æra ever memorable in History.

I have the Honor to be,
With the highest Respect,
Sir,
Your Royal Highness's
Obliged and most obedient Servant,

R.B. BERNARD.

* * * * *

PREFACE.

Had the following Pages required the exertion either of superior judgment, or of abstruse research, the Author is not sufficiently vain to have submitted them to the notice of the Public.

They are therefore not recommended to the perusal of the critical reader; as in fact, they contain merely the hasty observations suggested by the scenes he visited in the course of his Tour, together with a few occasional remarks, which he thought might be acceptable to the generality of readers: since notwithstanding the late increase of travellers, the numbers are still very great, who, being prevented by business, or deterred by the inconveniences of travelling, from visiting the Continent, might be disposed to pardon some inaccuracies, should they meet with a small portion either of amusement or information.

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CONTENTS.

CHAP. I. PAGE

Introduction--On the opening of the Continent--Departure from
London--Arrival in France--Different appearance of Things-Large
Bonnets--Custom House and Passports--Of Travelling in France--French
Dinners--Abbeville--Beauvais--Vines--Chantilly; its ruined
Appearance--St. Denis and its Abbey
1

CHAP. II.

Of the Approach to Paris--General Appearance of that City--Its
Bridges--Is inferior in Comfort to London--Settled at an
Hotel--Population of Paris--Its Markets--Badly supplied with
Water--Of its various Divisions and their Inhabitants--Palais
Royal--Gamblers--Police--English Papers--Rule to find one's Way
through Paris--The Tuilleries--The Louvre--Plans of Improvement
19

CHAP. III.

Visit to the Gallery of The Louvre and Museum--To the Luxemburg--To
the Royal Library--To the Palais des Beaux Arts--To the Church of
Notre Dame--To the Pantheon--Protestant Church and Congregation--Of
the Number of English in Paris--Column in the Place Vendôme--Gobelin
Manufactory--Post Office--Botanic Garden--Lady and her Dog--Story of
Dr. Moore--Of the Character of the Parisians--Their Loquacity--Of
the Legislative Body--Heat of the Weather--Champs Elysées--Quarter
of St. Antoine--Of the Revolution--Of the Boulevards--Of the
Restaurateurs--Of Ladies frequenting Coffee-houses, &c.
39

CHAP. IV.

The Invalides--Elevation of different Buildings--Buonaparte desirous of
Eclat--Champ de Mars--Place de Grenelle--Of the Plan of General Mallet
and his Execution--Visit to the Museum of French Monuments--Infidelity
of its Promoters--Of Colbert--Gardens of Tivoli--Great Numbers of
Military Officers in Public Places--Of the Capture of Paris by the
Allies--View of Paris from Montmartre--Vanity of the French--Their Love
of Novelty--The Emperor Alexander's Entry into Paris--Of the
Establishment of M. Delacroix--At the Tuilleries--Of the King--His
Regard for England--France still unsettled--Advice of Galba to
Piso--Curious Glass Stair Case--Of the French Theatres, and their
Italian Opera--Number of Bureau d'Ecrivains.
61

CHAP. V.

Visit to the Royal Palaces--St. Cloud--St.
Cyr--Malmaison--Versailles--Its Formality--Accuracy of Pope's
Description of the Old Style of Decoration--Comparison of Windsor
and Versailles--City of Versailles greatly
reduced--Trianon--Sèvres--Porcelain Manufactory--Barrier of
Passy--Of the Harvest--Castle of Vincennes--Few private Carriages at
Paris--Great Numbers of Fiacres and Cabriolets--Attend at the
Foreign Office for Passports to leave Paris--Arrive at
Fontainebleau--Memorable for the Abdication of
Buonaparte--Reflections on the Captivity and Character of the
Pope--Reflections on Buonaparte--At Montereau; Battle near the
Town--Sens--Auxerre--Description of the French Diligence--Dinners,
&c.
79

CHAP. VI.

At Avalon--Public Promenades--Number of Beggars--Villages and
Country Houses more numerous in Vine than in Corn Countries-Farming
in this District--Land Tax and Customs of Descent--Dijon--A large
and handsome City--Its Public Buildings--Company in the Diligence
increased by the Arrival of two French Officers--Their Political
Opinions--Advantage of the Diligence--Arrival at Dole--Battle near
Auxonne--Genlis--Poligny--Vin d'Arbois--Woods but without
Birds--Moray--English Breakfast--Resemblance to North
Wales--Magnificent View of the Lake of Geneva--Excellent Roads made
by Buonaparte--Visit to Ferney--Description of Geneva--View from its
Cathedral--Its Manufactures--Population--Territory--Determination to
visit the Alps; and not to go into Italy
100

CHAP. VII.

Departure for Chamouny--Bonneville--Valley of Cluse--Cascade
d'Arpennas--St. Martin--Extravagant Bill--Proceed on Mules--Their
astonishing Safety--River Arve--Pont de Chèvres--Cascade of
Chede--Extravagance of English Travellers very prejudicial--Lake of
Chede--Servoy and its Mines--Visited by the Empress Maria
Louisa--Glaciers des Bossons--Definition of Glacier--Of the Valley
and Village of Chamouny--Guides--Politics of the Savoyards--State of
Taxation--Ascent of Montanvert--Magnificent and awful Spectacle of
the Mer de Glace--Height of various Mountains, compared with Mont
Blanc--Simile from Pope--Return to Chamouny--Larch and Fir mixed on
these vast Mountains--Their Productions--The Valley continually
threatened with Avalanches
119

CHAP. VIII.

Leave Chamouny--Delightful Situation of Valorsine--Festival
there--Of the Savoyard Peasants--Anecdote from M. de
Saussure--Country difficult to travel through--Trient--Magnificent
View from the Fourcle--The French not so much disliked in the Valais
as their Cruelty deserved--Castle of la
Rathia--Martigny--Unsuccessful Attempt of two English Gentlemen to
ascend Mont Blanc--Less adventurous, we did not ascend Mount St.
Bernard--Cascade of the Pisse Vache--Number of Idiots and Goitrous
Persons in the Valais--Opinion of Mr. Coxe on the Subject--Opinion
of M. de Saussure--St. Maurice--Its strong Position--Roman Bridge
and Antiquities--Passports demanded here--Different Colour of the
Rhone here and at Geneva.
139

CHAP. IX.

Bex--Industry of the Inhabitants of this Country--Their Cottages and
Wandering Lives--Salt Springs--Aigle--Growth of
Corn--Villeneuve--Agitated State of the Lake--Labours of the
Inhabitants often destroyed by the Fall of
Rocks--Chillon--Clarens--Vevay--Magnificent View from its Church--Of
General Ludlow--Lausanne--Its singular Situation--Its Antiquity--Its
Cathedral--View from the Church-yard--Population and
Manufactures--French Manners prevail here--Gibbon--Pope Felix V. a
singular Character--Reformation--Morges--Festivity there--Rolle--Its
Spa--Country Seats--Delightful Scene from the Garden of its Castle
in the Evening--Nyon--Château de Pranqui--Joseph
Buonaparte--Vines--Swiss Artillery--Copet--Anecdote of Md^e. de
Staël--Versoi--Return to Geneva
156

CHAP. X.

On the Introduction of History into Tours--Early Government of
Geneva--Reformation--Alliance with Berne and Zurich--A few Laws
peculiar to Geneva--Theatre--Town Hall--Permission obtained to
reside at Geneva--Lodging procured in Consequence--Fortifications of
Geneva not devoid of Utility--Views from the Ramparts--Maintenance
of the Allied Troops very expensive to Geneva--Regret of the
Genevese at the Destruction of some ancient Avenues by them--Meet a
Person who gives a melancholy Account of the State of Geneva under
the French--State of Society--Fête de Navigation--Dress,
&c.--Epigram by a Prince of
Hesse--Rousseau--Voltaire--Raynal--Remarks of a Savoyard
Peasant--The College of Geneva--The Library--Of Calvin--Water
Works--Society of Arts--Corn Magazine--Churches, Service, &c. at
Geneva.
184

CHAP. XI.

Excursion to the Perte du Rhone--Magnificent Spectacle which it
affords--Rise of the Rhone--Hop Gardens--Malt Liquor badly
made--Climate of Geneva--Of Switzerland in general--Opinion of
Haller--Soil, Grain, and Population of Switzerland--Quantities of
Cattle--Various Plants--Visit to a Watchmaker's Warehouse--Its
elevated Situation--Great Ingenuity, but want of what in England
would be thought good Taste--Circles of Genevese--Introduced to a
French Gentleman who bad twice escaped the Guillotine--Walks and
Rides--Junction of the Rhone and Arve--Coligny--Carrouge--St.
Julian--Battle there--Inferiority of the Austrian Troops to the
French--French Politics--Empress Maria Louisa--Lord Castlereagh at
Geneva
193

CHAP. XII.

Regret at leaving Geneva--Lake of
Joux--Coponex--Robbers--Lassera--Curious Separation of a
Rivulet---Orbe--Face of the Country--Price of Land--Yverdun--Sea
View--Spa--School--Anecdote of a Conductor--Game--Bridge of
Serrier--Neufchâtel, said to resemble Naples--Description of its
Territory--Anecdote respecting the Religion of Landeron--David
Riri--Sketch of the History of Neufchâtel--Competitors for its
Sovereignty--Lake of Bienne--Island of St. Pierre--Singular
Government of Bienne--Great Change on passing the Pont de
Thiel--Charge of Rapacity against the Swiss--Pleasant
Travelling--Extensive View from Julemont--Agriculture--Arberg
205

CHAP. XIII.

Morat--famous for Kirschwasser--Monument commemorating the Defeat of
the Burgundians removed by the French--Its
Inscription--Seedorf--View of the Island of St. Pierre--Beauty of
the distant View of Berne--Its Interior also handsome--Its
Fortifications--Stags and Bears kept in the Trenches--Public
Library--Botanic Garden--Chemists' and Bakers' Shops--Convicts
chained in the Streets--Beautiful Public Walks--Government of
Berne--Opinion of Pope--Excursions to Hofwyl and Hindelbanck--Extent
of the Canton of Berne--Its Population, Productions, &c. &c--State
of the Clergy--Departure from Berne--Village of Worb--Saw
Mill--Bleach Greens--Care which the Swiss take of their
Horses--Sumiswald--Little Wooden Inn--Zell--Castle of
Haptalla--Irrigation--Beautiful Situation of Lucerne--Its Melancholy
Interior--General Pfiffer's Model--Beautiful Lake--Mount Pilate and
Rigi--Visit two Classic Spots--And the Small
Canton--Gersau--Intolerance--Lake and Canton of Zug--Swiss
Honey--Magnificent View of Zurich, described by
Zimmerman--Considerations on the Difference between the Swiss
Cantons, &c
222

CHAP. XIV.

Zurich--Its Interior not answerable to its distant
Appearance--Population, Buildings, &c.--Dinner at the Table
d'Hote--Excursion on the Lake--Country and Villages near
Zurich--Winter there--Cascade of Lauffen--Its magnificent
Effect--Cyder--Bad Vintage--Schaffhausen--Its
Bridge--Population--Laws--Manufactures, &c.--View of Mount
Banken--Chapsigre Cheese--Swiss Tea--Set out in the Diligence with a
Doctor of Leipzig--His uncommon Love of Smoking--Civility, Dress,
&c. of the Germans--Deutlingen--Pass the Danube--Taste of the
Germans for Music, preferable to the political Arguments of the
French--Passports--Subdivisions of Germany--Trade--Posts well
conducted--Accident at Bahlingen--House of Hohenzollern
242

CHAP. XV.

Tubingen--Its University--Different from ours--Agree to post to
Frankfort--Of German Posting, and
Dinners--Feather-beds--Stoves--Stutgard--A handsome City--Palace,
its Decorations--Industry of the Queen--Council Chamber--Royal
Stables--Garrison composed handsome Troops--Palace at
Ludwigsburg--Waggons and Traffic on the road--Heilbron--Escape from
being overturned--Sinzheim--Cossaok arrives there--Heidelberg--Its
Castle--Venerable in Ruins--The Inn--Rich Country--Quantity of
Potatoes--Manheim--Regularly built, but much deserted--The Palace in
Decay--Walks--Darmstadt--Unfurnished and ill
situated--Palace--Handsome Gardens--Frankfort a Magnificent
City--Inns--Opulence of its Merchants--Population--Jews--Gates and
Fortifications--Cassino--Villas--Orchards--Hochst--Inscription--
Hochheim--Rhiagau Wines--Mayence--Its Strength--Handsome only
at a Distance--Its Bridge--Cathedral--Population--Exportation of
Corn--Large Cabbage
258

CHAP. XVI.

Embark on the Rhine--Political Rhapsodies of two
Frenchmen--Beautiful Scenery--Gulph of Bingerlock--Blighted state of
the Vines--Most distressing to the Inhabitants--Boppart--'God Save
the King'--Bonfires--Size of Paris and London--St.
Goar--Coblentz--Royal Saxon Guards--Ruins of
Ehrenbreitstein--Andernach--The Devil's
House--Lowdersdorf--Linz--Bonn--Illuminations, Balls, &c.--End of
the Picturesque Scenery--Boat driven on Shore--Walk to Cologne--A
vast and gloomy City--Simile of Dr. Johnson's--Few Country Houses on
the Rhine--Rubens--His excellence as a Painter and his great
Modesty--Juliers--Aix la Chapelle--Its Antiquity--Waters--Pleasant
Situation--Population not equal to its
Estent--Burscheid--Manufactures of Cloth, &c.--Cathedral--Sunday ill
observed--Liege--A large and extremely dirty
City--Booksellers--Cutlery--Distress of the
Manufacturers--Thieves--Bad Money--Expeditions Public
Carriage--Axiom of Rousseau--St. Tron--Chimes--Tirlemont, its much
reduced Manufactures
278

CHAP. XVII.

Population of the Netherlands--Louvain--Its Public
Buildings--University--Character of the Belgians--By some
represented as the worst in Europe--That Statement probably
overcharged--Extortion--John Bull at Paris--French Kitchens,
&c.--Breweries--Roads--Taste in Gardening--Canals not an agreeable
mode of Travelling--Heavy Taxes--Unsettled Political State--Vast
Numbers of English at Brussels--Its Extent, Population and
Appearance--The Park--Anecdote of Peter the Great--Town
House--Churches--Collections of Paintings--Anecdote of
Bassano--Hotels--Table d'Hote, like the Tables at
Cheltenham--Expence of Living--Houses--Jurourin--Forest of
Sogne--House of Correction compared with ours--Walk round the
City--Fortified Towns--Sieges of Ostend, Valenciennes, Troy and
Azotus--Malines--Considerations on its Decline--Its
Silk--Population--Buildings--Manner of cutting the Trees near the
Roads--Antwerp, its Importance--Docks--River--Riches of
Belgium--Buildings at Antwerp--Accuracy of the Flemish
Painters--Appearance of the Country--The Inns not equally decorated
with those in Germany--Wooden Shoes
296

CHAP. XVIII.

Ghent--Its great Size--Decreased in Populalation and
Consequence--Charles
V.--D'Arteville--Canals--Trade--Buildings-Prison--Land and Water
Travelling--Ostend and Bruges--Derivation of Bourse--Noisy and
Silent Travellers--Proficiency of Foreigners in English--Taste in
Bonnets--Sportsmen without Game--Courtray--Dogs Drawing--Boundary
Stone of France--Custom House--Passports, Danger of being
without--Lille--Fortified by
Vauban--Population--Buildings--Theatre--Society--OEconomical
Residence-Remarkable View from
Cassel--Berg--Fens--Canals--Dunkirk--First Impressions--The Origin
of its Name--Buildings and Population--Flemish Language--Of the
Union of Belgium with France--Political Consideration--Dunkirk sold
by Charles II.--Lord Clarendon's House so called--Its Fortifications
demolished--Gravelines---Its strong Situation--Liberty and
Equality--Cheap Travelling--Calais the last English Possession in
France--Contrary Winds--French Officers displeased at the
Theatre--General Jealousy of England--Embark on board a French
Packet--Loquacity of the French--Arrival in England--Its Superiority
to other Countries
317

* * * * *

A TOUR THROUGH SOME PARTS OF FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, &c. &c.

* * * * *

CHAP. I.

I had long been desirous of visiting the Continent, but the long continuance of the war, and the little prospect which lately appeared of its termination, seemed to afford no chance for the accomplishment of my wish. At a period, however, when that arbitrary power, which had so long held in subjection the other nations of the Continent, sought to overthrow the only monarch who dared to oppose it, and to claim for his subjects the natural rights from which they had been excluded by the "_Continental System_," it pleased Divine Providence to destroy the fetters which enslaved the nations of Europe, as if to try, whether in the school of adversity, they had learned to merit the blessings of independence. These great and glorious changes, the reality of which it was at first _difficult_ to believe, having opened to the subjects and commerce of Britain, countries from which they had been for so many successive years proscribed, it was not long before numbers of British repaired to the continent to indulge that love of roving for which they had been always distinguished (and which a long war had suppressed but not eradicated) and to claim from all true patriots, in the countries they visited, that friendly reception to which the long perseverance and vast sacrifices of England, during a struggle unexampled in history, had so justly entitled the lowest of her subjects.

The unsettled state in which most part of the Continent necessarily remained for a little time after the entrance of the Allies into Paris, did not afford the most favourable moment for the journey of one who was not a military traveller; and I did not regret that business prevented my leaving England for a few months after the opening of the Continent, as I had the gratification of being a witness, in the British metropolis, to the exultation of all ranks of men; first, at seeing the legitimate monarch of France arrive there in company with our illustrious Regent who having long contributed to lessen the afflictions of the exiled _Count de Lille_, had first the satisfaction (to which he, amongst all the sovereigns of Europe, was best entitled, by the great part, which under his government, England had performed for the cause of European liberty) of saluting him as _King of France_, amidst the cheers of applauding thousands; and, secondly, of witnessing the arrival of the magnanimous Alexander, of that too long unfortunate monarch, Frederick William, of those chiefs, Platoff and Blucher, whose exploits have ranked them amongst the first of heroes, and, at last, of seeing, in the person of a _Wellington_, a British marshal who had successively foiled the most renowned of the generals of Buonaparte, and who, like Turenne, was accustomed "_to fight without anger, to conquer without ambition, and to triumph without vanity_."

About the middle of July I left London and proceeded to Dover, a journey which, in the improved state of our roads and of our conveyances, is easily performed in one day; and often as I had before travelled the Kent road, yet I could not see without surprise, the astonishing number of public and private carriages with which it abounds, and which must have doubtless much increased within the last few months. I became acquainted on the road with a French Abbé, who, accompanied by his sister, was returning home after an absence of twenty-two years, which he had spent mostly in England, but he could by no means express himself intelligibly in English. I therefore addressed him in his own language, which pleased him extremely, and I found him an amusing companion, as well as very grateful for some little services I rendered him in arranging with the coachman respecting his baggage and that of his sister, as they took the whole of their property to France with them, including many household articles which I should not have thought worth the expence of carriage. We supped in the same apartment at Dover, but they had brought their provisions with them, which as I afterwards found was sometimes the practice in France, either from motives of comfort or economy. Such travellers, however, would not be much wished for at an English inn.

Next morning my first business was to attend at the custom-house; and the officers, after a diligent search, finding nothing illegal amongst my baggage, permitted me to purchase a sufferance for it to be embarked for France. The rest of the passengers having likewise arranged their affairs and obtained sufferances, we proceeded on board the packet, and found that it was extremely full without this last reinforcement; but I doubt whether the captain way of that opinion. I found the charge for the passage amounted to one guinea, which is the sum paid for the passage between Dublin and Holyhead, although that is nearly three times the extent of the channel between Dover and Calais. I was informed that the seeming disproportion in those prices was to be attributed to the heavy _post dues_ at Calais, which, for so small a vessel as the packet, amounted to £14 or £15, although in the year 1793 they did not exceed eighteen shillings.

Amongst the passengers was a Swiss gentleman, who I found passed for a man of _great importance_ amongst the sailors. His carriage perhaps contributed not a little to this, as it had once been the property of the duke of Northumberland; and although the arms were defaced, yet the coronet, the garter, and the gilding with which it was still decorated, no doubt contributed to increase the expences of a journey which, from its length, is a heavy tax on the pockets of the generality of travellers, however plain may be their equipage.

We were above two hours on board before it was possible to extricate our vessel from the great number of transports (I believe not less than thirty-two) which crowded the harbour, being engaged for some time in bringing home a large portion of our cavalry, who added to the military glory they had acquired in Spain and Portugal, by their forbearance in tolerating insults to which they were but too often exposed in their passage through France, by a people whose vanity forbids them to admire valour, except in Frenchmen, but whose conduct on those occasions served only to increase the obligations which they had in so many instances experienced from the humanity which always attends on British valour.

If we had to regret the delay we experienced in getting out to sea, that sentiment soon vanished before the favourable breeze which, in about four hours, brought us to the French coast. As the day was hazy, we had not long to admire the venerable castle of Dover, and the cliff which Shakspeare has celebrated; and some time elapsed before we could distinguish the shores of France, which differ entirely from those of England, rising gradually from the water's edge, with the single exception of _Scales Cliff_, which seems to correspond with some of those bulwarks which characterize our coast from Dover to Portland, where, I think, chalk cliffs are succeeded by masses of rock and grey stone.

The tide being out on our arrival before Calais, we could not get into the harbour, and with that impatience to leave a ship, which is natural to landsmen, we were glad to accept the offers of some boats which hastened around the packet, to offer their services in landing us; this, however, they did not exactly perform, being too large to get very near the shore, to which we were each of us carried by three Frenchmen, one to each leg, and a third behind. This service I had often had performed by one of my fellow-subjects, and it seemed to verify the old saying, that '_one Englishman is equal to three Frenchmen_.'

Each Monsieur however insisted on a shilling for his services, and the boatmen five shillings from every passenger. But I had travelled enough to know, that extortion on such occasions is so general, as not to be peculiarly the characteristic of the inhabitants of any country, and if ever there is _pleasure in being cheated_, it is surely on such an occasion as that of exchanging the misery of a ship for the comforts of the most indifferent inn.

The arrival for the first time in a foreign country, of a person who has never before quitted his own, is an epoch of considerable moment in his life. Most things are different from those he has been accustomed to, and the force of first impressions is then stronger than, perhaps, at almost any other period. We are, in general, not much disposed to like any custom, or mode of dress, which is greatly at variance with what we have been long used to, and the enormous height of the bonnets in France produces, in my opinion, an effect far from pleasing; the ladies, by their strange costume, _out-top_ many of the military.

I found the town of Calais in a state of equal bustle with Dover, and from the same cause. It is regularly fortified, and contains many very good houses. The population is estimated at between seven and eight thousand. The market-place forms a spacious square. The town-house and church are handsome buildings, and altogether it must be allowed much to surpass Dover as to appearance.

The search which ray portmanteau had undergone the day before in England, was here renewed by the officers of the French _Douane_, but with no better success on the part of the officers in being able to seize any thing. They were, however, very polite, and their fees only amounted to half a crown. My next care was, to attend at the town-hall, and present my passport to the inspection of the mayor, who indorsed it with his licence for me to proceed to Paris.

I accordingly determined on setting out without further delay, and joined an acquaintance in hiring a cabriolet for the journey, to obviate the trouble of changing our luggage at every post, and to avoid any delay that might arise from not finding a carriage at every station, which is by no means certain, as in England. We found the _Cabriolet_ a very pleasant conveyance, it is nearly as light as a curricle, and has a head and windows, which exclude rain. It is drawn by two or three horses, and proceeds at a tolerably good pace. The postilions are provided with boots of a very inconvenient size, and with whips which they are perpetually cracking, not much to the comfort of the ears of their passengers.

Those who have never seen any thing but an English stage-coach, cannot but feel some surprise at the different appearance which a French _Diligence_ presents. Most of them carry nine inside passengers, and three in the cabriolet, and as much luggage behind, and in the Imperial, as would load a tolerably large waggon. They are generally drawn by four horses, which present a very different appearance from those under the English carnages, and they are driven by one postilion, who rides the wheel-horse. Occasionally, a second postilion and two more leaders are necessary from the weight of the carriage, or the heaviness of the roads. Carriages in France, in passing each other, take exactly different sides of the road from what they are obliged to do by our laws of travelling.

The country, for many leagues round Calais reminded me very strongly of Cambridgeshire in its general appearance, being flat, well cultivated, unenclosed, and abounding in wind-mills. About the villages there are some trees and enclosures; but a few more church spires are wanting to complete the resemblance. The distance from Calais to Paris is about 180 _English miles_, and may generally be considered as a flat country, occasionally diversified by a few hills of no great magnitude. Enclosures are rarely seen, but the quantity of corn is quite astonishing. Agriculture appeared to me to be in a highly improved state: there are artificial grasses and meliorating crops. The appearance of the villages in general on this road is but little inferior to those in many parts of England. But the peasants, although not for the most part badly off, have no idea of that neatness, and of those domestic comforts which form the great characteristic of the same class of people in England.

An English farmer would laugh at the great cocked hat which is usually worn by the French husbandman, and would not be disposed to change his white frock for the blue one used on the Continent. Some wood is occasionally to be seen; but Picardy is not famous either for the quantity or quality of its timber. The general fuel of the lower orders is _turf_, which, however, is not in any great quantity; and in appearance it is inferior to that used by the Irish peasants. The roads are in general kept in good repair, and near Paris and some other great towns they are paved in the centre. They are flanked in many places by avenues of trees, which are for the most part cut with great formality; but even where left to themselves, they do not add much to the ornament of the country or to the comfort of the traveller, affording but a scanty shade.

The whole of this road is without turnpikes; they were, as I understood, abolished about three years ago, and the roads are now managed by the government. The French praise Buonaparte extremely for his attention to the state of their _roads_, and it must be owned that in this particular he merits the praise bestowed on him, which cannot be said with truth of many other parts of his conduct which seem to have been also approved of by the French. Buonaparte, it is true, made excellent roads, but he made them only for his soldiers, either to awe those who had submitted to his yoke, or to afford a facility of extending still further his conquests.

The drivers in France do not tax themselves at every public-house as with us, for porter or spirits, which they do not want; they seldom stop, unless the stage is unusually long, and their horses require a little rest.

Before we were admitted within the gates of Boulogne our passports were demanded, and underwent a strict examination, probably the remains of the etiquette established by Buonaparte, this place being chiefly remarkable as the port, from whence he proposed making his threatened descent into England. We observed a vast unfinished fort, which he had ordered to be constructed; it will probably never be completed, but crumble to pieces like the vast and ill-acquired authority of its founder. The town of Boulogne is large and well fortified, but the bustle in the port was chiefly occasioned by the embarkation of the English cavalry.

We dined at Samers, and there had the first specimen of a French dinner (as at Calais we had lodged at an hotel, which is kept by an Englishman, and where every thing was _à l'Angloise_). The _general_ hour for dining is twelve o'clock; many public carriages stop to dine before that hour, however, from twelve to one o'clock, the traveller is sure at every tolerable inn of finding a very abundant and cheap repast. We found the bread excellent, as also a profusion of fruit; the wine of Picardy is bad, but good wine may be had from the southern provinces, at a reasonable price.

Their meats are so much stewed, that their real flavour can hardly be distinguished, but were they dressed by a mode of cookery that did them more justice, I do not apprehend the epicure would have to find fault with their quality.

The next place which presented any thing worthy of remark, was Abbeville, a large fortified city, which has manufactures of cloth and damask. The church which has suffered much during the anarchy of the revolution, is still a large and handsome edifice. We proceeded to breakfast at Boix, where the coffee was excellent, and the milk was served up boiled, as is generally the custom throughout France.

We also found good accommodation at Beauvais, a large and ancient city, where the architecture of the houses reminded me much of Shrewsbury. The streets are narrow and winding. The cathedral is well worthy the attention of the antiquarian, although it has, like many others in France, suffered greatly during the revolution. In the neighbourhood of Beauvais are a vast number of vineyards, and the effect produced by them is very striking to those who have never seen a vine but in a stove. But the novelty soon ceases, and a vineyard is then seen with as little astonishment as a field of corn.

We were easily persuaded to make a short deviation from the direct road, in order to visit Chantilly, the once splendid residence of the Princes of Condé, but which now affords a melancholy contrast to the scene which it exhibited in more tranquil times. The Great Château has disappeared; but a small building remains at a distance, which is to be fitted up for the reception of its venerable owner, who is expected in the course of the summer to pay a visit to the inheritance which the late happy revolution has restored to him, after having undergone a sad change in its appearance. The great stables are standing, but only serve to add to the desolation of the scene by their vacancy, and the contrast which they form to the small house which now only remains to the possessor of this great domain.--St. Denis, where we soon arrived, is a small town not far distant from Paris; it was anciently remarkable for its _abbey_, which contained the magnificent tombs of the Kings of France. These were mostly destroyed early in the revolution (but a few still remain, in the museum of monuments at Paris, as I afterwards found) when the promoters endeavoured to obliterate all traces of royalty: but when after a long series of convulsions, Buonaparte thought his dynasty had been firmly established on the throne of the Bourbons, he decreed that this abbey should be restored as the burying place of the monarchs of France; and it is probable that decree will be carried into effect, although not in the sense which its promulgator intended.

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CHAP. II.

The approach to Paris is certainly very striking, but considering the vast extent of the city, its environs do not present an appearance of any thing like that bustle and activity which marks the vicinity of the British metropolis: nor do the villas which are to the north of Paris display that aspect of opulence which distinguishes those streets of villas by which London is encompassed. The gate of St. Denis, under which we passed, is a fine piece of architecture; it stands at the end of a long and narrow street, which is but ill calculated to impress a stranger with those ideas of the magnificence of Paris of which the French are perpetually boasting, although it conducts him nearly to the centre of the city. I afterwards found that this is the most crowded quarter of the city; the houses are from six to eight stories in height, and are almost universally built of stone.--But although it must be admitted that this entrance to Paris is one of the least distinguished, yet at the same time it must be observed, that there are but very few streets in that city which have much to boast of in point of appearance; they are mostly narrow, and the height of the houses necessarily makes them gloomy. They are (except in one or two new streets at the extremity of the town) extremely incommodious for pedestrians, there being here no place set apart for them as in London; hence they traverse the streets in perpetual dread of being run over by some of those numerous carriages which are continually passing along with an _impetus_ which raises just apprehensions in the mind of the foot passenger, that he may share the fate of Doctor Slop, if nothing more serious should befall him; as in avoiding the carriages it is no easy task to keep clear of the _kennel_, which is in the centre of the street; the descent to it is rapid, and it is rarely dry even in the warmest weather.

It is when seen from one of the bridges, that Paris appears to most advantage, as many of the quays are unquestionably very handsome, and decorated with many elegant edifices. The Seine is in no part so much as half the width of the Thames, in some places not a fourth part, as it forms two islands, on one of which stands the original city of Paris. Its waters are united at the _Pont Neuf_, on which stands the statue of Henry IV. looking towards the Louvre, which he founded. The view from this bridge is without comparison the most striking in Paris, and is perhaps unequalled in any city, for the great number of royal and public edifices which are seen from it; and inconsiderable as is the Seine compared with many other rivers, yet nothing has been neglected to render its banks striking to the passenger.--Many of the bridges (of which I think there are altogether 16) are handsome, particularly those of Austerlitz and of Jena, constructed by order of Buonaparte. There is one bridge, the arches of which are of iron, opposite the gallery of the Louvre, which is open only to foot passengers, each person paying two sous for the privilege of being admitted on this promenade, which is often much crowded with company. Very soon after my arrival at Paris I came to this conclusion, that although Paris far exceeds London, Dublin, or Edinburgh, in the splendour of its public buildings, and often in the handsome appearance of many of its houses, yet those cities are far preferable in point of all essential comforts. And after spending a considerable time in Paris, I saw no reason to change the opinion which I had first formed; that opinion however cannot, I should apprehend, be questioned by a Frenchman, as it admits fully the magnificence of many parts of his favourite city, and this is sufficient for his vanity. With us cleanliness and comfort are preferred to shew, we find them in most of our own cities, but those who know most of Paris will not deny that they are rarely to be met with there.

I had been recommended to the Hotel de Pondicherry, by a gentleman who had for some time lodged there; but I found there were no vacant apartments. After making application in vain at many of the hotels in the Rue de Richelieu, I at last succeeded in meeting with good accommodation in the Hotel des Prouvaires, which was in a convenient situation, and had the advantage of having been lately painted. I found the people of the house very civil and attentive, and produced my passport from the Secretary of States' Office, signed by Lord Castlereagh, to satisfy them that I was no _avanturier_, a very numerous class here. The expence I found differed but little from, that of most of the hotels in London; but the French hotels are in fact more what we should call lodging-houses, as they do not supply dinners, &c. which must be procured from a restaurateur's, of which there are a vast number; and I have heard it stated, that there are no less than 2500 coffee-houses in Paris.

The population of Paris is stated by Marchant, in the last edition of his Guide to Paris at 580,000; the number of houses is estimated to be 29,400; this would give an average of nearly twenty persons to each house. This I do not consider as too great a proportion to allow, if we consider the vast number of hotels that can contain at least double that number of persons; and that in many parts of the town each story is occupied (as in Edinburgh) by a separate family.

The population of Paris has undoubtedly decreased since the revolution; Dutens, who published his Itinerary about thirty years ago, tells us, at that period the inhabitants of Paris amounted to 650,000: but even supposing him to have over-rated them, still there remains a great disparity in the two calculations, and it is reasonable to conclude, that the present statement by Marchant is accurate, from the facilities which the system of police affords in forming a just calculation on the subject.

Paris, including all its suburbs, is said to be about eight leagues in circumference, and, except London and Constantinople, exceeds all the other cities of Europe in extent.

The markets of Paris are remarkably well supplied with provisions of every description, and at a price which appears moderate to an Englishman. I have been told, that fuel is sometimes at a very high price in the winter; but not being there at that season, I cannot speak from my own experience. What I had most reason to complain of during my stay, was scarcity of that great essential to health and cleanliness, _good water_. The city is for the most part supplied with this first of necessaries from the river Seine. Adjoining to one of the bridges is a vast machine, which raises its waters, which are conducted to all parts of the town, and also supply several public fountains. They have, however, an extremely bad taste from the numerous establishments for washing for all Paris, which are established in boats on all parts of the river, which is thus strongly impregnated with soap-suds, and its cathartic qualities have been experienced by many strangers on their first arrival in Paris.

The French never drink this water without mixing in it a proportion of sugar, and then call it _eau sucré_, which is often called for at the coffee-houses. Most houses have reservoirs of sand for filtering the water before it is used for drinking; but those who have been accustomed to the luxury of good water, cannot be soon reconciled to that of the Seine. The water of the _Ville d'Arblay_ is sold in jars in the streets for making tea, and some of the fountains are supplied by springs. I believe the late government had a scheme in contemplation for the construction of an aqueduct, to supply purer water for the Parisians than what they now use.

Many fountains have been established within the last few years, and the site of that once formidable building the _Bastile_ is now occupied by one. None of these modern fountains (although many of them display much taste) are, however, by any means to be compared, in point of elegance, to that which stands in the market of Innocents, and which was erected in the year 1550. Its situation is too confined for so handsome a structure, and I had some difficulty in finding my way to it. It has the following inscription from the pen of M. Santeuil, (who has furnished many others, particularly that on the fountain near the Luxemburg Palace:)

FONTIUM NYMPHIS.

Quos duro cernis simulatos marmore fructus
Hujus Nympha loci credidit esse suos.

Which may be thus translated,

The fruits you see on this cold marble hewn,
This Fountain's Nymph believes to be her own.

The Guide to Paris informs us, that the city is divided into several quarters; that the vicinity of the _Palais Royal_, of the _Thuilleries_, and of the _Chaussée d'Antin_, are the most fashionable, and of course the most expensive; but that lodgings are to be met with on reasonable terms in parts of the city, which are fully as desirable, particularly in the suburb of St. Germain. There are furnished hotels to be met with on a large scale in that quarter, it having been mostly inhabited by foreign princes and ambassadors; and it was also much frequented by English families, as they considered it the most healthy and quiet part of Paris.

The Quarter du Marais was principally occupied by lawyers, financiers, annuitants; and, in short, all the Jews of the nation lodged there.

The Quarter of the Palais Royal is chiefly inhabited by sharpers, cheats, loungers, and idle people of all descriptions. Who could think that a space of ground not exceeding 150 acres, contains more heterogeneous materials blended together than are to be found in the 9910 acres (the French acre is one and a quarter, English measure) on which the city of Paris stands? It is the great mart of pleasure, of curiosity, and of corruption; and if the police wish to apprehend an offender, it is in the Palais Royal that they are sure to find him. Before the period of the revolution there were here but two public gaming houses; but at present the number is really astonishing. The police under Buonaparte did not discourage their increase; they argued that these houses were the _rendezvous_ of all sharpers, villains, and conspirators; and that they often saved an ineffectual search for them in other quarters. A government like that of Buonaparte did not reflect, that these houses, which thus abounded with desperate characters, did not fail to perpetuate their number by the corruption which they caused in the principles of the rising generation; and many of the best informed Frenchmen are well aware that it will be the work of time, to recover their country from the _demoralized_ state in which it was left after the government of Buonaparte.

On the subject of gaming a French writer has justly observed: "Quand il serait vrai que la passion du jeu ne finit pas toujours par le crime, toujours est il constant qu'elle finit par l'infortune et le deshonneur." "Granting it to be true, that the love of gaming does not always terminate in crime, yet still it invariably ends in misfortune and dishonour." But is it not rather improbable that those who have so far transgressed as to apprehend the vigilance of the police, should venture into the very places where they must be aware of immediate detection?

Perhaps the same argument holds in Paris as in London, against totally suppressing the haunts of these depredators on society, _That if there were no thieves there would be no thief-takers_; and the police are content to keep within moderate bounds, a set of men who often contribute to their emolument, and whom they fear to exterminate. It must, however, be allowed, that in all large towns, however great may be the vigilance of the police, there still must be abundance of the followers of _Macheath_. Perhaps Paris most abounds in sharpers who cheat with _finesse_, and London in the number of pick-pockets and robbers. The _nightly police_ of Paris is admirably conducted; and during my stay there I never experienced the smallest molestation in the streets.

The Palais Royal consists of six squares, the chief of which is large and handsomely built on piazzas. There are rows of trees in the centre, but they by no means contribute to its beauty.

The shops under these arcades are many of them the most shewy in Paris; and, as the owners pay a heavy rent for them, they take care to enhance the price of their goods, so as not to carry on a losing concern. The number of coffee-houses and restaurateurs for dining, in this square are very numerous, and most of them are by no means moderate in their prices, at least when we compare them with others in a different part of Paris, or even near the Palais Royal; but it is not under these piazzas that economy is to be practised. The _Café de Foi_ is one of the most celebrated for newspapers and politicians; but one is considered as having seen nothing of the _manners of the place_, if the _Café des Aveugles_ is not visited. This is situated under the Italian Coffee-house, and has its name from the large orchestra which performs here continually, being composed wholly of blind persons. I visited this place with a friend for a few moments after its opening, which is never till five o'clock in the afternoon, as its frequenters tolerate only the light of candles.

The subterranean situation of this apartment renders it difficult of ventilation; and the noise of the musicians and their audience contending for the supremacy, added to the extraordinary heat of the place and the density of the air, occasioned us to make a speedy retreat to what, after leaving such a place, might be considered as a pure atmosphere.

Often as the Palais Royal has been described, and forcibly as the scenes which it exhibits have been depicted, yet I confess I do not think the descriptions I have read of it by any means overcharged; and it may be safely affirmed that there is no place in the world where the scene varies so often in the twenty-four hours as it does here. I was attracted by a notice, that the English newspapers were taken in at the Cabinet Littéraire of M. Rosa; and, having paid my subscription, was conducted into a spacious reading room, exclusively for the English papers. The love of news is at all times natural; but at a distance from home the mind is doubly anxious for the details of what is going on there, and attaches an interest to particulars which, under other circumstances, it would consider as too trivial to be worthy of attention. During my stay on the Continent, I felt very forcibly the truth of Dr. Johnson's observation, "_that it is difficult to conceive how man can exist without a newspaper_." I was, however, for a considerable time, _forced_ to be satisfied with the French papers, the expence of the English being so great, as to cause them to be seldom taken in abroad; and after my departure from Paris, I saw no English paper until my arrival at Frankfort, an interval of above two months.

If the pedestrian is exposed to many inconveniences and dangers in the streets of Paris, yet intricate as they often are, he is seldom in danger of going far out of his way, if he attends to the manner in which the names of the streets are coloured, those leading to the river being lettered in black, and those parallel to, or not leading directly to it, in red. The quays form the most prominent feature in Paris, and when arrived there, he can experience little difficulty in finding the road he desires. The mode of numbering the houses in Paris differs from that used with us, all the odd numbers being on one aide the street, and the even numbers on the other.

After having seen the Palais Royal, my attention was next attracted by the Palace of the Tuilleries (so called from the circumstance of tiles having been formerly made on the spot where it stands). This is a vast and magnificent building, extending in front next the gardens 168 toises (about 1050 feet English measure). The gardens were laid out by _Le Nôitre_, and exhibit a specimen of the taste of that time, abounding in statues, avenues, and water-works; but it must at the same time be admitted, that the general effect produced is not devoid of magnificence, which is heightened by the communication between these gardens and the Champs Elysées, which forms a vista of great length, and when illuminated, the _coup d'oeil_ must be really superb. On the side of the gardens next the river, is a terrace considerably elevated, which commands a view well deserving the praise which has been bestowed on it. This was the usual promenade of Buonaparte, who caused a subterranean communication to be formed between it and the Palace, to avoid passing through those parts of the garden which were open to the public, who, during his promenade, were excluded from the terrace. The Parisians did not like this exclusion, and used to say, on seeing his Majesty, "_See, the lion is come out of his den_." This terrace was also the constant walk of the ex-Empress and her son. I was told, that shortly after Buonaparte's installation as Emperor, the people, to mark their disapprobation of the dignity which he had assumed, entirely deserted the gardens of this palace, which had always been their favourite walk in the evenings; and that, being hurt at this, the Emperor ordered one of his military bands to play here every evening. The scheme succeeded; the attraction being too great for the Parisians to resist, and the gardens were more frequented than ever.

The other front of the Tuilleries looks towards the Place du Carousel, from which it is separated by a lofty iron balustrade, the top of which is gilt. Opposite the centre entrance of the Palace stands a magnificent triumphal arch, erected by Buonaparte, on the top of which he has placed the four celebrated _bronze horses_, which were removed to Paris on the seizure of Venice by his army, as they had been formerly transported by conquest from Corinth to Constantinople, and thence to Venice, where they adorned for several centuries the Place of St. Mark. These horses are conducted by two figures of Victory, and Peace, executed by M. Sencot, which many admire extremely.

Buonaparte has been no bad _locumtenens_ of this palace for the Bourbons, as it bears abundant testimony to the taste with which he caused it to be decorated. He had the entire of the Louvre _scratched_, so as to give it quite a new appearance, and his crown and initials are everywhere to be seen. On the grand _façade_ was an inscription, signifying, "_that_ _Napoleon the Great had completed what Henry the Fourth had begun_;" but this inscription has disappeared, since the return of the descendants of Henry IV. to the palace which that great king had built, and which an usurper endeavoured to persuade posterity he had a share in constructing. It is worthy of remark, that this chef d'oeuvre of architecture, as if has always been considered, was not the work of a professed architect, but of M. Perrault, a physician. The word Louvre is, by some, derived from the Saxon _Louvar_, signifying a castle.

Buonaparte's plans for the further improvement of this palace were on the most extensive scale imaginable, as he intended to remove all the buildings situated between the Louvre and the Tuilleries; and some idea of the extent of the proposed area may be formed, when it is considered that, in its present state, the place _du Carousel_ is sufficiently capacious to admit of 15,000 men being drawn up there in battle array. Whilst I remained at Paris, a considerable number of workmen were engaged in carrying on these improvements, but it is probable, from the exhausted state in which the projector of these undertakings has left the finances of France, that it will be many years before it will be possible to complete them.

* * * * *

CHAP. III.

If the stranger at Paris is struck by the magnificent appearance which the exterior of the Louvre presents, he cannot fail of being delighted with an inspection of the contents of its invaluable Museum. This, like nearly all the museums and libraries in Paris, is open to _every individual_, except on the days appropriated for study, when only _artists_ are admitted; but even then, a stranger, whose stay is limited, may be admitted on producing his _passport_, a regulation which is highly commendable for its liberality; and at none of these repositories are the attendants permitted to lay any contributions on the visitants. The gallery of the Louvre was built by Henry IV. to join that palace with the Tuilleries, from which it was formerly separated, by the walls which surrounded Paris. This vast gallery is _two hundred toises_ in length (not a great deal short of a quarter of an English mile); the collection of works of art here in without any parallel, as in this place are assembled most of the finest paintings and statues in the world, which the most indifferent must survey with admiration. But at the same time, it is impossible not to feel a portion of regret at the causes which have robbed Italy of those monuments, which its inhabitants so well knew how to appreciate, and for many of which they entertained a religious veneration, as the ornaments of their churches.

The French, as far as I am able to judge, do not (in general) possess any such feeling of sensibility, and merely value these _chefs d'oeuvre_ because their merit is allowed to be _incontestable_, and because their vanity is flattered, in seeing them thus collected by their victories as an additional attraction for strangers to visit their capital.

But Italy, although thus despoiled of so many of her ornaments, will still have many and great attractions for the man of taste; her buildings exhibit the finest specimens of art that are any where remaining; and those possessed of a classic genius will always behold with delight the scenes celebrated by a Horace or a Virgil. The paintings in this gallery exceed 1200 in number; they are divided into three classes, the first contains the French school, the second the German, and the third the Italian. Catalogues and descriptions of the paintings may be had at the doors. I often visited this gallery, and always with increased admiration. I shall not attempt to enter into any details as to the respective excellence of the different paintings. Volumes have been written on the subject, and my testimony could add nothing to excellence which is acknowledged by all--by those who have not seen, on the reports of those who have visited this splendid assemblage, who, having seen, have not failed to admire, and to give currency to their admiration. The following lines on Raphael, will be readily admitted as just by those who have seen some of his sublime pictures:

Hic ille est Raphael, timuit quo sospite vinci,
Rerum magna parens, et moriente mori.

Here Raphael lies, who could with nature vie,
To him she feared to yield, with him to die.