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Presented by
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fr VI E W . • '
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SOCIETY AND MANNERS
1 N
FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, AND GERMANY:
WITH ANECDOTES relating to fomc EMINENT CHARACTERS.
BY JOHN MOORE, M.D.
IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I.
Strenua nos exercet inertia : navibus atque Qaadrigis petimus bene vivere.. Quod petis, hie eft.
HOR.
The SIXTH EDITION, Correfted.
LONDON:
Printed for A. STR.AHAN ; and T. CADELL, in the Strand. MDCCLXXXVI.
URL
V- ADVE RTISEMENT.
FROM a diffidence of his own abilities, and from other motives not fo well founded, the Author of the following Let- ters thought it expedient, in the Firft Edition, to throw a flight veil over the real fituation in which they were written: he imagined alfo, that by this means fome reflections, particularly thofe on gaming, might be in- troduced more naturally, and with a flronger effect. But having been aflured by thofe of whofe friendship and judgment he is equal- ly convinced, that the aflumed character and feigned fituation in the two firft letters gave an air of fiction to the real incidents in the reft of the work, he has now reftored thofe two letters to their original form.
Jufl Publijhed,
Written by the fame Author, A NEW EDITION of
A VIEW of SOCIETY and MANNERS in ITALY: With ANECDOTES relat- ing to fome Eminent CHARACTERS. 2 Vols. 8vo, Price 143.
TO HIS GRACE
D O U G L A S,
Duke of HAMILTON and BRANDON, Marquis of DOUGLAS, &c.
LORD DUKE,
ALTHOUGH eftabliflied praftice might, on this occafion, juftify my holding a language to your Grace which I never before ufed, yet you have nothing of that kind to fear; it is as inconfiftent with my difpo- fition to offer adulation, as it is con- trary to yours to defire it.— Nor does VOL. I. a this
ii DEDICATION.
this addrefs proceed from a vain be- lief that the luftre of your name will difpofe the Public to wink at the ble- mifhes of my performance. The higheft titks do not fcreen even thofe to whom they belong from contempt, when their perfonal characters are contemptible; far lefs can they flicker the dulnefs or folly of others.
I am prompted to offer this View of Society and Manners to your Grace, by fentiments of the mofl fincere efteern and attachment j and, exclufive of all confiderations of that nature, it is pre- fented with peculiar propriety to you, as no other perfon has had equal op- portunities of knowing how far the objects it comprehends are jufl, and faithfully drawn from nature.
Some
DEDICATION.
111
Some perhaps may imagine, that I fhould have difplayed more prudence in offering this work to a lefs com- petent judge; but I am encouraged in my defire of prefixing your Name to thefe imperfedl Sketches, by the fond perfuafion, that nobody can be more inclined to afford them the in- dulgence of which I am fenfible they fland in fo much need.
I have the honour to be, with the moil refpectful and cordial regard,
YOUR GRACE'S Moll obedient, and obliged Servant*
THE AUTHOR.
vi CONTENTS..
LETTER IV. p. 24.
French manners.
".A Ef Ti R'.V. p. 30.
Paris. — London. — French opinions. — Mir» quis de F — *-' Aid Ixrd M ,
LETTER VI. p. 35.
Loyalty^ Englijh, German, Titrkijh, French, — Le Roi. — Princes oj the blood,— Ideas, cf government. .
LETTER VII. p. 44,
Sentiments of. Frenchmen concerning the Rri- tifi conftit.ution,
LETTER VIII. p. 50.
Rte-ncb Kings have peculiar reafons to true tfyeir Jubjefts. — The three fons of Catherine
of
CONTENTS, yii
of Media's.— Henry IF.— Natural effefls of exertion and ofjloth on tie bodyriinder- ftanding, heart.
LETTER IX. p. 58-
A French lover.
LETTER X. p. 63."
Groundlefs accufations. — Friendjhip. — Eng^
lift travellers, j
LETTER XL p. 71.
Englijh prejudices.— Converfation with Mr. B , -. — ReJtetfionSi
LETTER XII. p. 80,
Tragedy of Siege of Calais.— Bw mot of Due d'Aym. — Ruffia. — Pruffia.— France.— Statue of Lewis XF.—Efigrams.
4
vlii CONTENTS,
LETTER XIII. p, 89.
Chevalier B and his lady. — Madame de
M — -~-, her character; — her misfortune.
LETTER XIV. p. 96.
Condition of the common people in Frame.—., U nwiilingnefs to cenfure the King, — French parliaments, r- Lawyers indifcriminatefy ridiculed on the French Jlage. — Oppofition in England.
LETTER XV. p. 106.,
JDulois and Fanchon^
LETTER XVI. p. 118.
Mankind do not always aft from motives of felf-intereft.—Afine gentleman and a pine- apple.— Supper at the Marquis de F -V,
Generofity of Mr. B . — Men ivh*
calculate. — Men who do not.
CONTENTS. g
LETTER XVII. p. 128.
Different tafle of French and Englifh 'With refpecl to tragedy.- — Le Kain. — Garrick.— French comedy. — Comedie Italienne^ Car~ lin.-~-Repartee of Le Kain.
LETTER XVIII. p, 140.
Pleafure and bufinefs. — Lyons. — Geneva.
i.
LETTER XIXf p. 146.
Situation of Geneva. — Manners, — Govern- ment. — The clergy. — Peculiar cufloms. — Circles. — Amufements.
LETTER XX. p.
Englijh families at Co!ogny.—-Le jour de PEfcalade. — Military ejlablijhment.— Po- litical fquabbks. — Sentiments of an sr— Of a gentleman of Geneva.
CONTENTS*
LETTER XXI. p. 166. of Arquebufers. — A ProceJjion<—A Battle.
LETTER XXII. p. 174, JL Feaft.
LETTER XXIII. p. 179.
*£he gtrrifon and fort ifications+of Geneva not ufelefs.— Standing armies in other coun- tries*—¥he freedom and independence of Geneva of Jervlce to the King of Sardi^ nia*
LETTER XXIV. p. 18*.
Journey to the Glaciers of Savoy. — Mole. — Clufe.—'Tbi' Rhone and the Arve—Sal- lencbe. — Mules. — A church. — Converfa- tion with a young peafont in the valley of Cbamouni.
CONTENT s. *i
LETTER XXV. p. 19$.
Mount arwertt — 'The Chamois. — Mount Bre- men. — Mont Blanc. — The Needles. — The Valley of Ice. — Avalanches.
LETTER XXVI. p. 211.
Account of Glaciers continued. — Theories*
LETTER XXVII. p.
.^-Thc fentlments, of an old Soldier. ~> Guatres.— Journey from Chamounl to the de Vallals. — Martlgny. — Sion.
LETTER XXVIII. p. 228.
Road to St. 'Maurice. — "Reflexions on the filia- tion of the Pays de Vallals. — Bex. — Algle. — • St. Gingo. — Meillerle. — Evian. — Re- faille.
CONTENTS, LETTER XXIX. p.5 241?
LETTER XXX. p. 253.
Voltaire*
BETTER XXXI. p. 265. Ike education f roper for an Engtijb gentle* man,
LETTER XXXII. p. $79.
Suicide frequent at Geneva. — Two remark* able inftancss*
BETTER XXXIII. p. 287.
Tbe Pays de Vaud.—Laufannt.'—F<vay.>--
Ludlow,
LETTER XXXIV. p. 295.
. — Sivifi peasants*
CONTENTS.
LETTER XXXV. p. 301. fern.
L E T T E R XXXVL pi 310,
Religion. — Government. — Troops*
LETTER XXXVIL p. 319.
foleurre—Bafil. — Judicious remark on tbi itfe of language* by a Dutchman.
LETTER XXXVIIL p. 325.
Manners. — Reflexions onformality. — The Z,/- Jtrary.^Holbens. — Arfenal. — Council-faJI. ^JTbe clock in the Tower. — A bead*
LETTER XXXIX. p. 33^.
MarecbalContadts.——Tbeatrt.'—-Frencl troops.
i.
CONTENTS.
LETTER XL. p. 342. Gothic architecture.— Cathedral of Strajlourg, — Afermon. — A Jewijh plot.
LETTER XLI. p. 35i. Karlfcrutch.—The Margrave of Baden Dur* lach.
LETTER XLIL p. 360. Manheim. — The Eieftor. — The Court.— A buffoon.
LETTER XLIII. p. 366. 'Heidelberg. — The fame church for the Pro* teftant and Roman Catholic worjhip.— Parade devotion.
LETTER XLIV. p.. 370*
Refactions on the liberty of the prefs. — Com* parifons of inconveniencies arifing from.
that
>C 0 N T £ -N T ^ £r
that caufe^ with thofe felt under defpoti* rejlraint.
LETTER XLV. p. 375.
Mentz.
LETTER XLVI. p. 381.
Frankfort. — Lutherans unkind to Cahiniftst —Pfalmody> — Burials. — Jews.
LETTER XLVII, p. 392.
Manners. — Diftinftlon of ranks. — Theatrical entertainments* — The German language.—* Traineaus*
LETTER XLVIII. p. 403.
Nobility and citizens — The revenge of a Tobacconift.— The fold of Bergen.
*pi CONTENTS.
LETTER XLIX. p. 4r2;
The Prince of He/e Darmftadt.—DifcipHne* —The family of Prince George.
A VIEW
VIEW
O ,F
SOCIETY AND MANNERS
I N
France, Switzerland, and Germany.
C^C^C^C^C^C^C$3^9$3C^
LETTER I.
Paris.
I ffi
A
W A S greatly difappointed by your
not coming to town, as you m- tended, having been for fome time impatient to inform you of what pafled between your young friend - and me ; I relied till the moment of our departure on having an opportunity of doing this perfonally. Since our arrival at Paris my time has been taken up with certain in- VOL. I. B difpenfable
2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
difpenfable arrangements for the Duke o£ Hamilton, and I now feize the firft occa- fion of communicating the whole to you, in the only manner at prefent in my power.
You will remember the uneafinefs you once expreffed to me on account of that gentleman's propenfity to gaming, and of the inconveniences to which he had been put by fome recent lofTes ; you will alfo remember the refolutioris which, in confe- quence of your requeft, he formed againft play ; but you have yet to learn, that he refumed the dice before the month was ended in which he had determined never to touch them more, and concluded one unfortunate night, by throwing away a fum far exceeding any of his former lofles.
Afhamed of his weaknefs, he carefully concealed his misfortune from you, and thereby has been fubjecled to fome diftrefTes of a more mortifying nature than any he had formerly felt.
What
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 3
What (hocked him moft, was a circum- fiance which will not greatly aftonifh you — the indifference which many, who call themfelves his friends, fhewed at his fitua- tion, and the ccldnefs with which they excufed themfelves from making any at- tempts to relieve him from his difficulties. Several to whom he had advanced con- fiderable fums in the days of his good for- tune, declared a perfedt inability of repay- ing any part of their debt ; they told fome fad tale of an unforefeen accident, which had put that entirely out of their power for the prefent ; yet one of thofe unfor- tunate gentlemen, the fame evening that he refufed to repay our friend, loft double the fum, every farthing of which he actu- ally paid in ready money.
Mr. 's expectations from thofe re-
fources having in a great meafure failed, he applied to Mr. P— in the City, who fupplied him with money, at legal intereff, fufficient to clear all his debts, for which B 2 he
4 - VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
he has granted him a mortgage on his eftate. — While our young friend informed me of all this, he declared, that the re- morfe he felt on the recollection of his folly was infinitely greater than any pleafure he had ever experienced from winning, or could enjoy from the utmoft fuccefs. He exprefled, at the fame time, a ilrong fenfe of obligation to you and to me, for our endeavours to wean him from the habit of gaming, regretted that they had not been fooner fuccefsful, but was happy to find, that he ftill had enough left to enable him to live in a decent manner, agreeable to a plan of oeconomy which he has laid down, and to which he is refolved to adhere till the mortgage is relieved. " I/have now (added " he in a folemn manner) formed an ulti- <f mate refolution againft gaming for the reft " of my life ; if I ever deviate from this, " you have a right to confider me as devoid " of manly firmnefs and truth, unworthy <c of your friendship, and the weakefl of
"mortals."
Not-
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 5
Notwithstanding the young gentleman's failure on a former occafion, yet the" juft reflections he made on his part conduct, and the determined manner in which he fpoke, give me great hopes that he will keep his prefent refolution. — To him I feemed fully perfuaded of this, and ventured to fay, that I could fcarcely regret his laft run of bad luck, which had operated fo blefled an effect ; for he who has the vigour to difen- tangle himfelf from the (hares of deep play, at the expence of half his fortune, and with his character entire, may on the whole be efteemed a fortunate man. I therefore infifted ftrongly on the wifdom of his plan, which I contrafted with the ufual deter- mination of thofe who have been unlucky at play. Without fortitude to retrench their expences, or bear their firft misfortunes, they can only bring themfelves the length of refolving to renounce gaming as foon as they /kail regain what they have loft ; and imagining they have ftill a claim to the B 3 money
6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
money which is now in the pockets of others, becaufc it was once in their own, they throw away their whole fortune in fearch of an inconfiderable part, and finifh by being completely ruined, becaufe they could not fupport a finall inconvenience. I pointed out, how infinitely more honour- able it was to depend for repairing his for- tune on his own good fenfe and perfeve- rance, than on the revolutions of chance ; which, even if they mould be favourable, could only re-eftablifh him at the expence of others, moft probably of thofe who had no hand in occafioning his lofTes. His
infeparable companion entered
while I was in the middle of my harangue. Our friend, who had previously acquainted him with his determination of renouncing gaming, endeavoured to prevail on that gentleman to adopt the fame meafure, but
in vain. laughed at his propofal,
faid, <c he was too eafily terrified ; that
" one tolerable run of good fortune would
6 " retrieve
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 7
*c retrieve his affairs ; that my fears about ** ruin were mere bugbears ; that the word 44 ruin, like cannon charged with powder, 44 had an alarming found, but was attended <c with no danger ; that if the worft mould 44 happen, I could but be ruined ; which *' was only being in the fame fituation " with fome of the moft fafhionable people 48 in the nation."
He then enumerated many inftances of thofe who lived as well as the wealthieft mea in England, and yet every body pro- nounced them ruined. " There is Charles ct Fox, added he, a man completely ruined; " yet beloved by his friends, and admired *' by his country as much as ever."
To this fine reafoning I replied, " That «' the lofs of fortune could not ruin Mr. 44 Fox ; that if nobody had been influenced 64 by that gentleman's example, except 44 thofe who pofleflfed his genius, his turn *c for play would never have hurt one man " in the -kingdom ; but that thofe who B 4 " owed
8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
" owed their importance folely to their for- " tune, ought not to rifle it fo wantonly as ** he might do, whofe fortune had always " been of little importance, when com- " pared with his abilities ; and fmce they " could not imitate Mr. Fox in the things " for which he was fo juftly applauded, l< they ought not to follow his example in <c thofe for which he was as juftly con- " demned ; for the fame fire which burns a " piece of wood to afhes, can only melt a <c guinea, which ftill retains its intrinfic *' value, though his Majeftys countenance n? *' longer jhines on it.91
— — did not feem to relifh my ar- gument, and foon after left us ; but our young friend feemed confirmed in his re- iblutions, and gave me frelh aflurances, the day on which I left London, that he never would vary.
Knowing the intereft you take in his wel- fare, and the high efteem he has for you, I have thought it right to give you this
piece
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 9
piece of information, which I know will afford you pleafure. His greateft difficulty in adhering to the new adopted plan will be at firft; in his prefent (late of mind, the foothings and fupport of friendship may be of the greateft fervice.
When your affairs permit you to go to London, I dare fay you will take the earlieft opportunity of throwing yourfelf in his way: You will find no difficulty in perfuad- ing him to accompany you to the country. Removed for fome months from his pre- fent companions and ufual lounging-places, the influence of his old habits will gra- dually diminim ; and, confirmed by your converfation, fmall chance will remain of his being lucked into the old fyftem, and again whirled round in the vortex of difli- pation and gaming.
10 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER II.
Paris.
XTOUR fetting out for London imme- diately on the receipt of my letter, is what might have been . expected. — No- thing renders a man fo active as an eager defire of doing good; and I might have forefeen that you would catch at the op- portunity with which I furnimed you to indulge a ruling paflion.
It gives me great fatisfaction to know, that our young friend and you are upon fuch a confidential footing ; and I heartily hope that nothing will interrupt a connec- tion which muft be a fource of pleafing re- flection to you, and in every way advan- tageous to him. — I had no doubt that he would readily agree to accompany you to the
country}
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. «
countryj but I was not fo certain that he might not have found it neceflary to accept of your other very friendly propofal. — His refufal is a proof, that he has reconciled his mind to his circumftances; and, with thofe fentiments, I am convinced that he will be able to live within his remaining yearly in- come with more fads faction than he enjoyed when he fpent; five times that fum.
You infift fo much on my writing to you regularly, from the different places where I may refide during my abfence from England, that I begin to believe you are in earneft, and (hall certainly obey your com- mands.
I know you do not expert from me a minute account of churches and palaces. However agreeable thefe may be to the fpedator, they generally afford but a (len- der entertainment when ferved up in de- fcription.
There
12 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
There are countries, fome of which I may again vifit before my return to Eng- land, whofe appearance always (hikes the eye with delight; but it is difficult to convey a precife idea of their beauties in words. The pencil is a more powerful vehicle than the pen for that purpofe; for the landfcape is apt to vanifh from the mind before the defcription can be read.
The manners, cuftoms, and characters of the people may probably furnifh the chief materials in the correfpondence you exact, with fuch reflections as may arife from the fubject. In thefe, I ap- prife you before-hand, I (hall take what latitude I pleafe: And though the com- plexion of my letters may moft probably receive fome tint or {hade of colouring from the country where they may be wrote; yet if I take it into my head to infift on the little tricks of an attorney, when you expect to hear of the politics
of
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. Ij
of a prime minifter; or, if I tell you a tale about an old woman, when you are impatient for anecdotes of a great general, you muft not fret or fall into a paffion ; for if you do not permit me to write on what fubjects I pleafe, and treat them in my own way, the correfpondence you require would become a fad flavery to me, and of confequence no amufement to you. Whereas, if you leave me free and unreftrained, it will at leaft form fome occupation to myfelf, may wean me from the habit of lounging, and will afford an excufe, in my own mind, for my leaving thofe parties of pleafure where people are apt to continue, for- cing fmiles, and yawning fpontaneoufly for two or three hours after all relifh is fled.
Yet in this difmal condition many re- main night after night, becaufe the hour of fleep is not yet arrived; — and what elfe can they do ?
Have
14 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Have you never found yourfelf in this liftlefs fituation? Without any pleafure where you are, without any motive to be gone, you regain in a kind of paffive, gaping oyfter-ftate, till the tide of the company moves you to your carriage. And when you recover your reflection in your bed-chamber, you find you have paffed the two laft hours in a kind of hum- ming buzzing ftupor, without fatisfaction, or ideas of any kind.
I thank you for your offer of Dupont. Knowing your regard for him, and his dexterity and intelligence in the fcience of valet- de-chambreftiip, I fee the full force of the facrifice you are willing to make. If I could be fo felfifh on ano- ther occafion as to accept your offer, the good-will I bear to your old friend John would prevent me at prefent. Dupont, to be fure, is worth twenty of John for that employment; but I can never forget
his
RiAKNERS IN FRANCE, #c. i$
his long attachment, and I am now fo habituated to him, that one generally efteemed a more perfe£t fervant would not fuit me fo well. I think myfelf benefited even by his deficiencies, which have obliged me to do many things for myfelf that other people perform by the hands of their fervants. Many of our ac- quaintances feem abfolutely incapable of motion, tiJl they have been wound up by their valets. They have no more ufe of their hands for any office about their awn perfons, than if they were paralytic. At night they muft wait for their fervarxtSr, be- fore they can undrefs, themfelves, and go to bed: In the morning, if the valet hap- pen to be out of the way, the matter muft remain helplefs and fprawling in bed, like a turtle on its back upon the kitchen-table of an alderman.
, . • ••,• .- <T
I remain, &c. ,,-
, l-lvj.'i f:.;
VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER III.
Paris.
T Went a' few nights fince to the Italian Comedy ; while I enjoyed the exquifite naivete of my old friend Carlin, the Mar- quis de F , whom you have feen at
London, entered the box: — He flew tome with all the vivacity of a Frenchman, and with every mark' of pleasure and regard. He had ten thoufand queftions to afk about his friends in England all in one breath, and without waiting for an anfwer. Mon cher ami this, ma chere amie t'other; la belle fuch a one, la charmante fuch another.
Perceiving we difturbed the company,
and having no hopes that the Marquis
would be more quiet for fome time, I pro-
5 pofed
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. if
pofed leaving the Comedy. He aflentecj immediately: — Vous avez raifon: il n'y a perfonne ici ; c'eft un defert — (by the way, the houfe was very much crowded)-— Je fuis venu comme vous voyez en po- liflbn; — tout le monde eft au Colifee— Allons. — We ftepped into his vis-a-vis: He ordered the coachman to drive vite comme tous les diables. The horfes went as faft as they could, and the Marquis's tongue flill fafter than they.
When we arrived, I propofed going up to the gallery, where we might fee the company below, and converfe without in- terruption. Bon, fays he, nous nous nicherons dans un coin pour critiquer tout le monde, comme deux diables boi- teux.
A lady of a fine fhape ^and majeftic air drew my attention: I alked the Marquis if he did not think her remarkably hand- fome? — La, la, faid he, coldly. — Nous fommes heureufement place's pour elle.
VOL. I. C C'eft
i8 VIEW OF SOCIETY
C'eft un tableau fait pour etre vu de loin* — I then took notice of the exceflive white-
nefs of her fkin. C'eft apparemment le
gout de fon amant d'aujourd'hui, faid he; et quand un autre fe prefenteroit qui prefe— reroit la couleur de puce, a Taide d'un peu d'eau chaude, elle feroit auffi fon affaire.
I next remarked tvro ladies drefTed a little beyond the extravagance of the mode. Their features betrayed the ap- proach of fifty, in fpite of all the art which had evidently been ufed to conceal that hated age.
At fight of them the Marquis ftarted up. Ah! parblieu, faid he, ces deux raor- ceaux d'antiquite font de mes parentes. — Excufez moi pour deux minutes: il faut que je m'approche d'elles, pour les feli- citer de leurs appas. Old ladies, conti- nued he, who have the rage to be thought young, are of all animals the moft vin- dictive when neglected, and I have par- ticular reafons for wifhing to remain in
their
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c» 1$
their good graces. He then left me, and having walked round the circle with the ladies, returned and took his feat. I have got myfelf well out of the fcrape, faid he; I told them I was engaged with a Milord, whom I fhould have the honour of pre- fenting at their houfe, and I fixed a young officer with them, whofe beft hopes of pro- motion depend upon their influence at court, and who dares as foon quit his co- lours in battle, as forfake thefe two pieces of old tapeftry till they chufe to retire.
A young man very magnificently drefTed entered the room: He announced his im- portance by his airs, his buftle, the loud and decifive tone of his voice. The Mar- quis told me, it was Monf. le Due de ;
that it was indifpenfably neceflary that I ftiould be prefented to him; there was no living at Paris without that advantage; adding, — II eft un peu fat, infiniment bete d'ailleurs le meilleur enfant du monde.
C 3 A fine
20 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
A fine lady next appeared who feemed to command the admiration of the whole aflembly. She floated round the circle of the Colifee, furrounded by a clufter of Petits Maitres, whofe eyes were fixed on her, and who feemed moved by her motion, like fatellites under the influence of their planet. She, on her part, was perfectly ferene, and unembarrafied by the attention and the eyes of the fpedators. She fmiled to one, nodded to another, {hrugged to a third, ftruck a fourth with her fan, burft into a fit of laughter to a fifth, and whif- pered in the ear of a fixth. All thefe, and a thoufand tricks more, fhe ran through with the eafe of an actrefs and the rapidity of a juggler. She feemed fully perfuaded that fhe was the only perfon prefent worthy of attention; that it belonged to her to deve- lop her charms, difplay her graces and airs, and that it was the part of the reft of the company to remain attentive and ad- miring fpeclators.
Ccttc
-.-MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 29
Cette droleiTe la, faid the Marquis, eft jolie, et pour cette raifon on croit qu'elle a de Tefprit: On a meme tache de repeter fes bons mots; mais ils ne font fails que pour fa bouche. Elle eft beaucoup plus vaine que fenfible, grand foutien pour fa vertu ! au refte, elle eft dame de qualite, a la faveur de quoi elle poflede un gout de hardiefie fi heureux, qu'elle jouit du benefice de PefFronterie fans etre effron- tee.
I was furprifed to find all this fatire di- reded againft fo beautiful a woman, and fufpeded that the edge of F — — 's re- marks was fharpened by fome refent pique.
I was going to rally him on that fuppofition, when he fuddenly ftarted up, faying, Voila Monf. de , le meilleurde mes amis. —
II eft aimable; on ne peut pas plus. — II a de 1'efprit comme un demon. — II faut que vous le connoiifiez. Aliens : — Defcendons. So faying, he hurried me down ftairs, pre- fented me to Monf. de — — as un philofophe
C 3 Anglois,
22 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Anglois, who underftood race-horfes better than the great Newton himfelf, and who had no averlion to the game of Whift.
MonC de received me with open arms,
and we were intimate friends in ten mi- nutes. He carried the Marquis and me to fup at his houfe, where he found a nu^ xnerous company.
The converfation was cheerful and ani- mated. There were fome very ingenious men prefent, with an admirable mixture of agreeable women, who remained to the laft, and joined in the converfation even when it turned on fubjects of literature; upon which occafions Englifh ladies gene- rally imagine it becomes them to remain filent. But here they took their fhare without fcruple or hefitation. Thofe who underftood any thing of the fubject deli- vered their fentiments with great precifion, and more grace than the men; thofe who knew nothing of the matter rallied their own ignorance in fuch a fprightly manner,
as
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c, $3
as convinced every body, that knowledge is not necefiary to render a woman exceed- ingly agreeable in fociety.
After paffing a moft delightful evening, I returned to my lodgings, my head un- difturbed with wine, and my fpirits un- jaded by play.
24 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER IV.
Paris.
TIT E have been a month at Paris; a longer time than was intended at our arrival : yet our departure appears to me at a greater diftance now than it did then. F has been my moft conftant com- panion ; he is univerfally liked, lives in the very beft company, and whoever is in- troduced by him is fure of a favourable re- ception. I found little or no difficulty in excufmg myfelf from play. The Marquis undertook to make this matter eafy; and nothing can be a greater proof of his in- fluence in Tome of the moft famionable circles, than his being able to introduce a man without a title, and who never games.
He is alfo intimately acquainted with fome of the moft eminent men of letters, to whom he has made me known. Many
of
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. , 25
of thofe, whofe works you admire, are re- ceived at the houfes of the firft nobility on the moft liberal footing.
You can fcarcely believe the influence •which this body of men have in the gay and diffipated city of Paris. Their opinions not only determine the merit of works of tafte and fcience, but they have confider- able weight on the manners and fentiments of people of rank, of the public in general, and confequently are not without effed: on the meafures of government.
The fame thing takes place in fome de- gree in moft countries of Europe ; but, if I am not miftaken, more at Paris than any where elfe ; becaufe men of letters are here at once united to each other by the various academies, and diffufed among private fo- cieties, by the manners and general tafte of the nation.
As the fentiments and converfation of men of letters influence, to a certain de- gree, the opinions and the conduct of the 6 fafhionable
26 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fafliionable world ; the manners of thefe laft have a more obvious effecl: upon the air, the behaviour, and the converfation of the former, which in general is polite and eafy; equally purified from the awkward timidity contracted in retirement, and the difgufling arrogance infpired by univerfity honours, or church dignities. At Paris, the pedants of Moliere are to be feen on the ftage only.
In this country, at prefent, there are many men diftinguifhed by their learning, who at the fame time are cheerful and eafy in mixed company, unprefuming in argu- ment, and in every refpecl: as well bred as thofe who have no other pretenfion.
Politenefs and good manners, indeed, may be traced, though in different propor- tions, through every rank, from the great- eft of the nobility to the loweft mechanic. This forms a more remarkable and diftin- guiming feature in the French national chara&er, than the vivacity, impetuofity,
and
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 27
and ficklenefs, for which the ancient as well as the modern inhabitants of this country have been noted. — It certainly is a very fingular phenomenon, that politenefs, which in every other country is confined to people of a certain rank in life, fhould here per- vade every fituation and profeffion. The man in power is courteous to his dependant, the profperous to the unfortunate, the very beggar who folicits charity, does it * en ' homme comme il faut;' and if his requeft be not granted, he is fure, at leaft, that it will be refufed with an appearance of hu- manity, and not with harfhnefs or infult.
A ftranger, quite new and unverfed in their language, whofe accent is uncouth and ridiculous in the ears of the French, and who can fcarcely open his mouth without making a blunder in grammar or idiom, is heard with the moft ferious at- tention, and never laughed at, even when he utters the oddeft folecifm or equivocal expreffion.
I am
28 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
I am afraid, faid I, ^efterday, to a French gentleman, the phrafe which I ufed juft now is not French. Monfieur, replied he, cette exprefiion effe&ivement n'eft pas Franc.oife, mais elle merite bien de 1'etre.
The moft daring deviation from fafhion, in the important article of drefs, cannot make them forget the laws of good-breed- ing. When a perfon appears at the public walks, in clothes made againft every law of the mode, upon which the French are fuppofed to lay fuch ftrefs, they do not gaze or fneer at him ; they allow him firft to pafs, as it were, unobferved, and do not till then turn round to indulge the curio- fity which his uncommon figure may have excited. I have remarked this inftance of delicacy often in the ftreets in the loweft of the vulgar, or rather of the common people; for there are really very few of the natives of Paris, who can be called vulgar.
There
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 21
There are exceptions to thefe, as to all general remarks on the manners and cha- racter of any nation.
I have heard inftances of the military- treating poftillions and inn-keepers with injuftice ; and the feigneur or intendant oppreffing the peafant. Examples of the abufe of power, and infolence of office, are to be met with every where. If they are tolerated, the fault lies in the government.
I have not been fpeaking of the French government. Their national character is one thing ; the nature of their government is a very different matter. But I am con- vinced there is no country in Europe where royal favour, high birth, and the military profeflion, could be allowed fuch privileges as they have in France, and where there would be fo few inftances of their pro- ducing rough and brutal behaviour to in- feriors.
30 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER V.
Paris.
A Candid Englifhman, of whatever rank in life he may be, mull fee with in- dignation, that every thing in this kingdom is arranged for the accommodation of the rich and the powerful ; and that little or no regard is paid to the comfort of citizens of an inferior ftation. This appears in a thoufand inflances, and ftrikes the eye im- mediately on entering Paris.
I think I have feen it fomewhere re- marked, that the regular and effectual man- ner in which the city of London is lighted at night, and the raifed pavements on the fides of every ftreer,for the fecurity and con- veniency of foot pa{Tengers» feem to indi- cate, that the body of the people, as well as the rich and great, are counted of fome importance in the eye of government.
Whereas
MANNERS IN FRANCE^ <&c. 3*
Whereas Paris is poorly and partially light- ed ; and except on the Pont Neuf and Pont Royal, and the keys between them, is not provided with foot-ways for the accom- modation and fafety of thofe who cannot afford carriages. They muft therefore grope their way as they beft cad, and fkulk behind pillars, or run into (hops, to avoid being cru(hed by the coaches, which are driven as near the wall as the coachman pleafes ; difperfing the people on foot at their approach, like chaff before the wind.
It muft be acknowledged, that monarchy (for the French do not love to hear it called defpotifm, and it is needlefs to quarrel with them about a word) is raifed in this coun- try fo very high, that it quite lofes fight of the bulk of the nation, and pays attention only to a few, who, being in exalted ftations, come within the Court's fphere of vifion.
Le peuple, in France, is a term of re- proach,— Un homme du peuple, implies
a want
$r VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
a want of both education and manners. Un homme com me il faut, on the other hand, does not imply a man of fexnfe or principle, but fimply a man of birth or fafhionj for a man may be homme comme il faut, and yet be devoid of every qua- lity which adorns human nature. There is no queftion that government leaves the middle and inferior ranks of life in fome degree unprotected, and expofed to the in- juftice and infolence of the great ; who are confidered in this country, as fomewhat above the Law, though greatly below the Monarch.
But the polifhed mildnefs of French manners, the gay and fociable turn of the nation, the affable and eafy conduct of matters to their fervants, fupply the defi- ciencies, and correct the errors, of the government, and render the condition of the common people in France, but par- ticularly at Paris, better than in feveral other countries of Europe; and much more
tolerable
BANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. $$
tolerable than it would be, if the national 'character refembled that of thofe countries.
I was interrupted by Lord M. who ar- rived laft night. He agreed to dine with us. F * called foon after: he was
difengaged alfo, and promifed to be of the party.
You know-how laborious a thing it is to keep alive a dialogue with my Lord M. The converfation either degenerates into a foliloquy on your part, or expires altoge* ther. I was therefore exceedingly happy with the thoughts of the Marquis's com- pany. He was uncommonly lively ; ad- drefled much of his converfation to his Lordfhip ; tried him upon every fubject, wine, women, horfes, politics, and religion, He then fung Chanfons a boire, and en- deavoured in vain to get my Lord to join in the chorus. Nothing would do. — He admired his clothes, praifed his dog, and VOL. I. D faid
34 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
faid a thoufand obliging things of the Eng- lifli nation. To no purpofe; his Lordfhip kept up his filence and referve to the laft, and then drove away to the opera.
Ma foi, faid the Marquis, as foon as he went out of the room, il a de grands talens pour le filence, ee Milord la.
HANKERS IN FRANCE, &c*. 35
LETTER VI,
taris..
TN a former letter, I mentioned good breeding as a ftriking part of the French national character. Loyalty, or an uncom- mon fondnefs for* and attachment to, the perfons of their princes, is another*
An Englifliman, though he views the virtues of his king with a jealous eye during his reign, yet he will do them all juftice in the reign of his fuccefibn,
A German, while he is filent with re*- fpe£t to the foibles of his prince, admires all his talents, much more than he would the fame qualities in any other perfon*
A Turk, or Perfiart, contemplates his Emperor with fear and reverence, as a fu- perior being, to whofe pleafure it is his duty* D 3 * to
36 VIEW OF SOCIETY AN0
to fubmit, as to the laws of Nature, and the will of Providence.
But a Frenchman while he knows that his king is of the fame nature, and liable . to all the weaknefles of other men 5 while he. enumerates his follies, and laughs as he laments them, is neverthelefs attached to hin> by a fentimeht of equal refpecT: and tendernefs ; a kind of affectionate prejudice, independent of his real character.
Rot * is a word which conveys to the minds of Frenchmen the ideas of bene- volence, gratitude, and love ; as well as thofe of power, grandeur, and happinefs.
They flock to Verfailles every Sunday, behold him with unfated curiofity, and gaze on him with as much fatisfa&ion the twentieth time as the firft.
They confider him as their friend, though he does not know their perfons ; as their
* We tranflate le Roi, by « the King,' which is by BO means equivalent. Le Roi does himfelf, and makes others do, what he pleafes. The King cannot do what he pleafes, but does what others pleafe.
prote&or,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 37
protedor, though their greateft danger is from an Exempt or Lettre de Cachet ; and as their benefador, while they are opprefled •with taxes.
They magnify into importance his moft indifferent adions ; they palliate and excufe • all his weakneffes ; and they impute his errors or crimes, to his minifters or other evil counfellors ; who (as they fondly afiert) have, fpr fome hafe purpofe, impofed upon his judgment, and perverted the undeviat^ ing reditude qf his intentions.
They repeat, with fond applaufe, every faying of his which feems to indicate the fmalleft approach to wit, or even bears the mark of ordinary fagacity.
The moft inconfiderable circumftance •which relates to the Monarch is of import- ance : whether he eat much or little at din- ner ; the coat he wears, the horfe on which he rides, all afford matter of cbnverfation in the various focieties at Paris, and are the Oioft. agreeable fubjects of epiftolary cor- D 3 refponcjence
3* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
refpondence with their friends in the pro* vinces.
If he happens to be a little indifpofed, all Paris, all France, is alarmed, as if a real calamity was threatened : and to feem interefted, and to converfe upon any other fubjed till this has been difcufled, would be confidered as a proof of unpardonable indifference.
At a review, the troops perform their manoeuvres unheeded by fuch of the fpec- tators as are within fight of the King. They are all engrofTed in contemplation of the Prince.— *Avez-vous vu le roi ?— » Tenez — ah! — voila le roi — Le roi rit.— *• Apparemment il eft content. — Je fuis char-» ine, — ah, U toulTe ! — A-t-il toufle? — • Oui, parbleu ! el bien fort, — Je fuis au defefpoir-
At mafs, it h the King, not the Prieft, who is the object of attention,. The Hoft U elevated ; but the people's eyes remain
iked
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. jg
fixed upon the face of their beloved Mo- narch.
Even the moft applauded pieces of the theatre, which in Paris create more emo- tion than the ceremonies of religion, can with difficulty divide their attention. A fmile from the King makes them forget the forrow of Andromache, and the wrongs of the Cid.
This exceffive attachment is not confined to the perfon of the Monarch, but extends to every branch of the royal family ; all of whom, it is imagined in this country, have an hereditary right to every gratification and enjoyment that human nature is capable of receiving, And if any caufe, moral or phyfical, impede or obftruft this, they meet with univerfal fympathy. The moft trivial difappointment or chagrin which befals them, is confidered as more ferious and affecting, than the moft dreadful calamity* which can happen to a private family. It is lamented as if the natural order of things D 4 were
4p VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
were counteracted, and the amiable Prince, or Princefs, deprived, by a cruel pheno- menon, of that fupreme degree of happi- nefs, to which their rank in life gives them, an undeniable title.
All this regard feems real, and not af- fected from any motive of mtereft j at leaft it muft be fo. with refpecl to the bulk of the people, who can have no hopes of ever being known to their princes, far lefs of ever receiving any pcrfonal favour from, them.
The philofophical idea, that Kings have (/' been appointed for public conveniency;
that they are accountable to their fubjecls for mal-adminiftration, or for continued ads of injuftice and oppreffion ; is a doc- U'ine very oppofite.to. the general prejudices of this nation. If any of their kings were to behave in fuch an imprudent and outra- geous manner as to occafion a revolt, and if the infurgents actually got the better, I if they would think of new- mo- de 11 ing
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 4^
delling the government, and limiting the power of the crown, as was done in Britain at the Revolution, foas to prevent the like abufes for the future. They never would think of going further, I imagine, than placing another prince of the Bourbon family on the throne, with the fame power that his predeceflbr had, and then quietly lay down their arms, fatisfied with his royal word or declaration to govern with ijiore equity.
The French feem fo delighted and dazzled with the luftre of Monarchy, that they cannot bear the thoughts of any qua- lifying mixture, which might abate its vio- lence, and render its ardour more benign. They chufe to give the fplendid machine full play, though it often fcorches and threatens to confute, themfelves and their cffeds.
They coniider the power of the king, from which their fervitude proceeds, as if it were their own power. You will
hardly
4* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
hardly believe it; but I am fure of the fact : They are proud of it ; they are proud that there is no check or limitation to his authority.
They tell you with exultation, that the king has an army of near two hundred thoufand men in the time of peace. A Frenchman is as vain of the palaces, fine gardens, number of horfes, and all the pa- rapharnalia belonging to the court of the Monarch, as an Englifhman can be of his own houfe, gardens, and equipage.
When they are told of the diffufion of •wealth in England, the immenfe fortunes made by many individuals, the affluence of thofe of middle rank, the fecurity and eafy fituation of the common people; inftead of being mortified by the comparifon which might naturally occur to their imaginations, they comfort themfelves with the reflection, that the court of France is more brilliant than the court of Great Britain, and that the Duke of Orleans and the Prince of
Conde
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 43
Conde have greater revenues than any of the Englifh nobility. ,
When they hear of the freedom of de- bate in parliament, of the liberties taken in writing or fpeaking of the conduct of the king, or meafures of government, and the forms to be obferved, before thofe who venture on the moft daring abufe of either can be brought to punifhment, they feem filled with indignation, and fay with an air of triumph, C'eft bien autrement chez nous; Si le Roi de France avoit affaire a ce$ Meflieurs la, il leur apprendroit a vivre* And then they would proceed to inform, you, that, parbleu! their minifter would give himfelf no trouble about forms or proofs; that fufpicion was fufficient for him, and without more ado he would {hut up fudi impertipent people in the Baftille for many years. And then raifing their voices, as if what they faid were a proof of the courage or magnanimity of the minifter — Ou peut- etre il feroit condamner ces droles la aux galeres pour la vie.
VIEW OF SOCIETY ANQ
LETTER VII.
Paris,
TT would be almoft fuperfluous to obferve, that there are a great many people in France, who think in a very different man- ner from that which I have mentioned in my laft, and who have juft and liberal ideas of the defign and nature of government, and proper and manly fentiments of the na- tural rights of mankind. The writings of Montefquieu are greatly admired: This alone is fufficient to prove it. Many later authors, and the converfation of the philo- fophical and reafoning people, difplay the fame fpirit.
What is mentioned in my laft letter, however, comprehends the general turn or manner of thinking of the French na-
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 45
tfon, and evinces how very oppofite their fentiments upon the fubjeft of civil govern- ment are, to thofe of our countrymen.
I have heard an Englifliman enumerate the advantages of the Britifh conftitutiou to a circle of French Bourgeois, and explain to them in what manner the people of their rank of life were protected from the infolence of the courtiers and nobility ; that the pooreft fliop-keeper, and loweft traded man in England, could have immediate redrefs for any injury done hiru by the greateft nobleman in the kingdom.
Well, what impreffion do you think this declamation had upon the French auditory ? You will naturally imagine they would ad- mire fuch a conftitution, and wifli for the fame in France: — Not at all. They fym- pathized with the great: They feemed to feel for their want of importance. One obferved, C'eft peu de chofe d'etre noble
chez
46 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
chez vous: and another, fhaking his head* added, Ce n'eft pas naturel tout cela.
When mention was made that the king of Great Britain could not impofe a tax by his own authority ; that the confent of par- liament, particularly of the houfe of com- mons, was neceflary, to which aflembl/ people of their rank of life were admitted; they faid with forae degree of fatisfaclion, Cependant, c'eft aflez beau cela. But when the Englifti patriot, expecting their complete approbation, continued informing1 them, that the king himfelf had not the power to encroach upon the liberty of the meaneft of his fubjects ; that if he or the minifter did, damages were recoverable at a court of law, a loud and prolonged D i ABLE iffued from every mouth. They forgot their own fituation, and the fecurity of the people, and turned to their natural bias of fympathy with the King, who they
all
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 47
all feemed to think muft be the rnoft op- prefled and injured of mankind.
One of them at laft, addreffing himfelf to the Englifh politician, faid, Tout ce que je puis vous dire, MonGeur, c'eft quc votre pauvre Roi eft bieii 2t plaindre.
This folicitude of theirs for the happi- nefs and glory of royalty extends in fomc degree to all crowned heads whatever: But with regard to their own monarch, it feems the reigning and darling paffion of their fouls, which they carry with them to the grave.
A French foldier, who lay covered with vrounds on the field of Dettingen, demand- ed* a little before he expired, of an Englifh officer, how the battle was likely to termi- nate; and being anfwered, that the Britifh troops had obtained a gre^t viclory j Mon pauvre Roi, faid the dying man, que fera- t-il?
For my part, my friend, although I
heartily wi(h his Majefty all public and do-
5 meftic
T$ VIEW OF SOCIETY
meftic happinefs, yet if the fmalleft folicU tude about either fhould difturb my dying moments, it will be the ftrongeft proof that my own affairs, fpiritual and temporal i your concerns^as well as thofe of my other private. friends, are in a mbft comfortable iituation.
Adieu.
P. S. I have not feen the Marquis for feveral days. He had informed me, at our very firft meeting, that he was paying his court to a young lady of family, at his mother's defire, who was impatient to fee him married. He faid, he could refufe his mother nothing, parcequ'elle etoit le meilleur enfant du monde: Befides, he faid, the young lady was very pretty and agreeable, and he was over head and ears in love with her. He has told me fince, that every thing was arranged, and he expected to be in a Ihort time the happieft man ia the world, and would have the
honour
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 4$
honour of preferring me to his bride very foon. I (hall let you know my opinion of the lady when I fee her— But let her be what flie will, I am forry that F thinks of marrying fo early in life ; for a Frenchman of five-and-twenty, is not quite fo fedate an animal as an Englimman of fifteen.
VOL. I.
50 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER VIII.
Paris.
TTHERE is an abfolute penury of pub- lic news. I have nothing particular to inform you of concerning myfelf; but you hold me to my engagement : So here I am feated to write to you, and fhall re- fume the fubjed of my laft letter, in hopes, however, that my pen may gather ma- terials as it moves.
In whatever light this prejudice in fa- vour of monarchy may appear to the eye of philofophy ; and though of all paffions the love of a King, merely becaufe he is a King, is perhaps the fillieft 5 yet it furely ought to be confidered as meritorious by thofe who are the objects of it.
3 No
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 5t
No people exifting, or who did ever exift, have had fo juft a claim to the gratitude and affections of their fovereign, as the French. They rejoice in his joy, are grieved at his grief, proud of his power, vain of his accomplifhments, indulgent to his failings. They cheerfully yield their own conve- niences tohis fuperfl uities, and are at all times willing to facrifice their lives for his glory.
A King, one would imagine, muft be a perfect monfter of felfiftinefs and infenfi- bility, who did not love fuch fubjects, and who did not beftow fome time and atten- tion to promote their happinefs: Yet the French nation has not had a Monarch wor- thy of all this regard fince the days of Henry IV. and of all their kings they ufed him the worft.
Of the three brothers who immediately preceded him, the firft was a fickly crea- ture, as feeble in mind as in body; the fe*. cond, a monfter of fuperflition and cruelty; and the third, after a dawn of fome bright- E 3 neft,
52 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
nefs, allowed his meridian to be obfcured by the grofieft clouds of effeminacy and voluptuoufnefs. Their Italian mother, who governed all the three, feems to have been perfectly unreftrained by any feelings of humanity or of confcience, and folely guided by motives of intereft, and the moft perfidious policy.
The princes who have fucceeded, as well as thofe who reigned before the fourth Henry, ferve as foils which difplay his bright qualities with double luftre.
Notwithftanding all the inducements which the French Kings have to promote the happinefs of their fubje&s, it may be many centuries before they are blefled with one who fhall have that paflion in fuch a high degree.
A character in which the great and ami- able virtues are fo finely blended, is very rarely produced in any nation. How fmall then muft be the chance that this prize fhall fall to the individual who is def-
tined
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 53
tined for the throne? Henry received an education very different from that which is generally beftowed on Kings. His cha- racter was formed in the hardy fchool of adverfity: his mind was ftrengthened by continual exertions of courage and pru- dence. He was taught humanity by fuf- fering under the rod of tyranny, and expe- riencing the pangs of the unfortunate. Having frequently flood in need of friends, he knew the value of their attachment, and his heart became capable of friendship.
Difficulties and dangers often ftrike out particles of genius which otherwife might remain latent and ufelefs, and contribute to the formation of a vigorous character, by animating thofe fparks of virtue which a life of indolence would have completely extinguifhed.
Thofe people who, from their earlieft in- fancy, have found every thing provided for therp, who have not much ambition, and E 3 con-
54 VIEW OF SOCIETY AN£>
confequently are feldom excited to any great exertion of their faculties, generally feel thefe faculties dwindle and grow weak, for the fame reafon that a man's arms would become gradually feeble, and at length perfectly ufelefs, if he were to wear them in a fcarf for any confiderable time.
That the faculties of the underftanding, like the finews of the body, are relaxed by (loth and ftrengthened by exercife, no- body will- doubt. I imagine the fame ana- logy holds in fome degree between the body and the qualities of the heart. Bene- volence, pity, gratitude, are, I fufpect,, ex- ceedingly apt to ftagnate into a calm, flug- gifh infenfibility in that breaft which has not been agitated from real misfortunes.
People do not fully enter into diftrefles which they never have felt, and which they think they run but a fmall rifk of feeling, Accordingly it 4ias been remarked,
that
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 55
that thofe who have been favoured through life with the fmiles of fortune, and whofe time has been fpent in the amufements of courts and luxurious indulgences, very often acquire an aftoniftring infenfibility to the misfortunes of others. The character the moft perfectly cold of all I ever knew, de* void of friendship, gratitude, and in fome inftances dead to natural affection, belongs to a woman of elevated rank, whofe life hitherto has been a continued feries of fortunate events.
Yet while all their cares are contra&ed9 and all their feelings abforbed, within the compafs of their, own {kin, fuch people feem often convinced, that they themfelves are of the moft humane difpofitions,, and the moft extenfive benevolence, upon no better foundation, than becaufe they have felt themfelves affected by the artful dif- trefles of a romance, and becaufe they could fhed a few barren tears at a tragedy.
E 4 If
56 VIEW OF SOCETY AND
If to thefe fymptoms of fenfibility, they can add, that of having occafionally given a guinea when the contribution has been fet a-going, or have parted with a little fu- perfluous money to free themfelves from importunity, they have then carried bene- volence to the utmoft length of their idea of that virtue.
They have no notion of any thing be- yond this ; nor would they make one ac- tive exertion poftpone a (ingle party of pleafure, or in any fhape interrupt the tranquillity of their own indolence, to per- form the moft efiential fervice (I will not fay to a friend, fuch people can have none) to any of the human race.
There are many exceptions, but in ge- neral thofe perfons who are expofed to the Jlings and arrows of outrageous fortune, who have experienced the bafe indifference of mankind, and have in fome degree felt 'what •wretches feel, are endued with the trueft fympathy, and enter, with the moft
lively
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 57
lively fenfibility, into the fituadon of the unfortunate.
Non ignara mali, miferis fuccurrere difco*,
faid Dido, who had been obliged to fly from her country, to JEneas, who had been witnefs to the deftruction of his.
Dido and .JEneas! — How in the name of wandering have we got into their com- pany ? I could no more have guefled at this, than at the fubjec~t of one of Mon- taigne's Eflays from the title. We fet out, I believe, with fomething about France ;^- but you cannot expect that I fhould attempt to take up a thread which is left fo far be- hind.
Adieu.
* Like you, an alien in a land unknown, I learn to pity woes, fo like my own, DRYD.
58 VIEW OF SOCIETY ANI>
LETTER IX.
7 Mentioned in a former letter, that my
friend F was on the point of
being married. He called at my lodgings a little while ago. His air was fo very gay, that I imagined he had fome agreeable news to communicate. Me voila au defefpoir, mon cher ami, faid he, with a loud laugh. — You are the merrieft man I ever faw in that fituation, faid I.— He then informed me, that the old Marquis de P. his miftrefs's father, had waited on his mo- ther, and, after ten thoufand apologies and circumlocutions, had given her to under- Hand, that certain things had intervened, which rendered it impoffible that he fliould ever have the honour of being father-in- law to her fon; and requeiled her to in- form
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 5^
form him, how infinitely uneafy he and all his family were, at an incident which de- prived them of the pleafure they had pro- pofed to themfelves from that connection. His mother, he faid, had endeavoured to difcover the incident which has produced this fudden alteration; — but to no pur- pofe. — The old gentleman contented him- felf with affuring her, that the particulars would be equally difagreeable and fuper- fluous, — and then took his leave^ in the moft polite and affectionate terms that the French language could furnifh him with.
f — . told me all this with an air
fo eafy and contented, that I did not well know what to make of it. My dear Mar- quis, faid I, it is fortunate that I have been miftaken ; for you muft know, I had taken it into my head that you were fond of the lady.— You were in the right, my friend, faid he, je I'aimois infiniment. Com- ment infmiment, faid I, and yet be fo merry when you are juft going to lofe
her]
fco VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
her! Mais vous autres Anglois, faid
he, vous avez des idees (i bizarres ! aimer infiniment, cela veut dire aimer comme on aime, — tout le monde s'aime
ainfi quand il ne fe hait pas. Mais je
vous conterai toute Phiftoire.
My mother, added he, who is the beft creature in the world, and whom I love with all my foul, told me this marriage would make her quite happy.' All my uncles and aunts, and coufins, for ten ge- nerations, told me the fame. I was in- formed over and above, that the lady, her father, and all her relations, wifhed this alliance with the moft obliging ear- neftnefs. The girl herfelf is tolerably pretty. They will perfuade me to marry fome time or other, thought I; why not now, as well as at another time? Why fliould I refufe to do a thing which will pleafe fo many people, without being in the fmalleft degree difpleafing to myfelf ?— To be fure, faid I, that would have been
ill-
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 61
ill-natured. It was lucky, however, that you happened to be perfectly difengaged, and did not prefer any other woman.
You are miftaken, my friend, faid he; I preferred many to the lady in queftion, and one in particular, whofe name I will not mention, but whom I love— whom I do love.— — Comme on aime, faid I, in- terrupting him. Non, parbleu! added
he, with warmth, comme on n'aime
pas. Good Heaven ! then, cried I, how
could you think of marrying another?—- Cela n'empeche rien! faid the Marquis,
coolly for I could not marry the other.
She had the ftart of me, and had under- gone the ceremony already; and therefore {he had no objection to my obliging my mother and relations in this particular, for (he is the beft-natured woman in the world.
So {he appears to be, faid 1. O,
pour cela oui, mon cher, added he, elle eft la borne meme. However, I am very well
pleafcd,
62 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
pleafed, upon the whole, that the affair has gone off without any fault of mine; and though it is poffible that it may be brought on at fome future period, I lhall Hill be a gainer, parceque un manage recule eft tojours autant de gagne fur le repentir. So faying, he wheeled on his heel, humming,
Non, tu ne le mettra pas, Colin, &c.
There's the pifture of a French lover for you. I fet down the whole fcene, as foon as F— left me, and fo I leave you to make your own reflections.
Adieu,
•
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 63
E T T E R X.
Paris.
XTOU have often heard the French ao cufed of infmcerity, and of being warm in profeflions, but devoid of real friendihip.
Our countrymen, in particular, are led into this opinion, from the manners in ge- neral being more obfequious here, than in England. What Frenchmen confider as common good manners, many Englifhmen would call flattery, perhaps fawning.
Their language abounds in complimental phrafes, which they diftribute with won- derful profufion and volubility; but they intend no more by them, than an Englifh- man means when he fubfcribes himfelf
your
64 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
your moft obedient humble fervant, at the conclufion of a letter.
A Frenchman not only means nothing beyond common civility, by the plentiful fhower of compliments which he pours on every ftranger ; but alfo, he takes it for granted, that the ftranger knows that no- thing more is meant. Thefe exprefiibns are fully underftood by his own country- men : he imagines all the world are as well informed ; and he has not the fmalleft in- tention to deceive. But if any man takes thefe expreflions in a literal fenfe, and be- lieves that people are in reality infpired with friendfhip, or have fallen in love with him at firft fight, he will be very much difappointed ; efpecially if he expeds ftrong proofs of either.
Yet he has no right to accufe the French
of infincerity, or breach of friendfhip.
Friendfhip is intirely out of the queftion. never intend to convey any other
idea*
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 6j
idea, than that they were willing to receive him on the footing of an acquaintance J
and it was the bufinefs of his Ian*
guage-mafter to have informed him of the real import of their expreffions.
If the fame words indeed were literally tranfiated into Engiifh, and ufed by one Englimman to another, the perfon to whom they were addreffed, would have good rea- fon to imagine that the other had a partU cular regard for him, or meant to deceive him; becaufe the eftablifhed modes of civility and politenefs in England do not require fuch language.
The not making a proper allowance for; different modes and ufages which accident has eftablifhed, is one great caufe of the unfavourable and harfh fentiments, which the people of the different countries of the world too often harbour againft each other,
VOL, I. F You
66 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
You may fay, perhaps, that this fuper- fluity of compliments which the French make ufe of, is a proof of the matter in queftion; that the French have lefs fincerity than their neighbours. By the fame rule we muft conclude, that the common peo- ple of every nation, who ufe few compli- mental phrafes in their difcourfe, have a greater regard to truth, and ftronger fenti- ments of friendmip, than thofe in the middle and higher ranks. But this is what I ima- gine it would be difficult to prove.
Thefe complimental phrafes, which have crept into all modern languages, may, per- haps, be fuperfluous; or, if you pleafe, abfurd: but they are fo fully eftablifhed, that people of the greateft integrity muft ufe them, both in England and in France; with this difference, that a fmaller propor- tion will do in the language of the one country, than in that of the other; but they are indications of friendship in neither.
Friendfhip
MANNERS IN FRANCE, ttc. 67
Friend/hip is a plant of flow growth, in every climate. Happy the man who can rear a few, even where he has the mofl fettled refidence. Travellers, pafling through foreign countries, feldom take time to cul- tivate them; if they be prefented with fome flowers, although of a flimfy texture and quicker growth, they ought to accept of them with thankfulnefs, and not quar- rel with the natives, for choofmg to re- tain the other more valuable plant for their own ufe.
Of all travellers, the young Englifh no- bility and gentry have the leaft right to find fault with their entertainment while on their tours abroad; for fuch of them as fhow a defire of forming a connection with the inhabitants, by even a moderate degree of attention, are received upon eafier terms than the travellers from any other country. But a very confiderable number of our countrymen have not the fmalleft defire of F 2 that
68 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
that nature : they feem rather to avoid their fociety, and accept with reluctance every offer of hofpitality. This happens partly from a prejudice againft foreigners of every kind ; partly from timidity or natural referve ; and in a. great meafure from indolence, and an abfolute deteftation of ceremony and reftraint. Befides, they hate to be obliged to fpeak a language of which they feldom acquire a perfect com- mand.
They frequently, therefore, form focie- ttes or clubs of their own, where all cere- mony is difmifled, and the greateft eafe and latitude allowed in behaviour, drefs, and converfation. There they confirm each other in all their prejudices, and with united voice condemn and ridicule the cuf- toms and manners of every country but their own.
By this conduct the true purpofe of tra- velling is loft or perverted; and many Eng-
lifh
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 69.
lifh travellers remain four or five years abroad, and have feldom, during all this fpace, been in any company but that of their own countrymen.
To go to France and Italy, and there converfe with none but Englifh people, and merely that you may have it to fay that you have been in thofe countries, is cer- tainly abfurd : Nothing can be more fo, ex- cept to adopt.with enthufiafm the fafhions, fopperies, tafte, and manners of thofe countries, and tranfplant them to England, where they never will thrive, and where they always appear awkward and unnatural. For after all his efforts of imitation, a tra- velled Englifhman, is as different from a Frenchman or an Italian, as an Englifh maftifF is from a monkey or a fox : And if ever that fedate and plain meaning dog fhould pretend to the gay frifkinefs of the one, or to the fubtilty of the other, we fhould certainly value him much lefs than we do.
F.a But
7o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Cut I do not imagine that this extreme is by any means fo common as the former. It is much more natural to the Englifh character to defpife foreigners, than to imi- tate them. A few tawdry examples to the contrary, who return every winter from the continent, are hardly worth mentioning as exceptions.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 71
LETTER XL
Paris.
OUR acquaintance B has been in
Paris for thefe three weeks paft. I cannot conceive how he has remained fo long; for he has a very bad opinion of this nation, and is fraught with the ftrongeft prejudice againft French man- ners in general : He confiders all their politefle as impertinence, and receives their civilities as a prelude to the picking of his pocket.
He and I went this forenoon to a review of the foot-guards, by Marfhal Biron. There was a crowd ; and we could with difficulty get within the circle fo as to fee conveniently. An old officer of high rank touched fome people who flood before us, F 4 faying,—
•72 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
faying,—- Ces deux Meffieurs font des etran- gers ; upon which they immediately made way, and allowed us to pafs.- — -Don't you think that was very obliging? faid I. — Yes, anfwered he ; but, by heavens, it was very unjuft.
We returned by the Boulevards, where crowds of citizens, in their holiday drefles, were making merry ; the young dancing cotillons, the old beating time to the mu~ fic, and applauding the dancers, all in a carelefs oblivion of the paft, thoughtlefs of the future, and totally occupied with the prefent. — Thefe people feem very happy, faid I. — Happy ! exclaimed B — • — ; if they had common fenfe or reflection, they would be miferable. Why fo ? — Could not the minifter, anfwered he, pick out half a dozen of them, if he pleafed, and clap them into the Bicetre ?-^— That is true indeed, faid I ; that is a cataftrophe which, to be fure, may very probably happen, and yet I thought no more of it than they.
We
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c, 73
We met, a few days after he arrived, at a French houfe where we had both been invited to dinner. There was an old lady of quality prefent, next to whom a young officer was feated, who paid her the utmoft attention. — He helped her to the dimes {he liked, filled her glafs with wine or water, and addrefTed his difcourfe particu- larly to her. — What a fool, fays B ,
does that young fellow make of the poor old woman 1 If me were my mother, d — a me, if I would not call him to an account for it.
Though B underftands French, and
fpeaks it better than moft Englishmen, he had no relifh for the converfation, foon left the company, and has refufed all invita- tions to dinner ever fince. He generally finds fome of our countrymen who dine and pafs the evening with him at the Pare Royal.
After the review this day, we continued together, and being both difengaged, I pro*
pofed,
74 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
pofed, by way of variety, to dine at the public ordinary of the Hotel de Bourbon. He did not like this much at firft. — I fhall be teafed, fays he, with their con- founded ceremony :— But on my obferving, that we could not expect much ceremony or politenefs at a public ordinary, he agreed to go.
Our entertainment turned out different, however, from my expectations and his wiflies: A marked attention was paid us the moment we entered ; every body feemed inclined to accommodate us with the beft places. They helped us firft, and all the company feemed ready to facrifice every little conveniency and diftin&ion to the Grangers : For, next to that of a lady, the moft refpedted character at Paris is that of a ftranger.
After dinner, B and I walked into
the gardens of the Palais Royal.
There was nothing real in all the fufs thofe people made about us, fays he.
I can't
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 75
I can't help thinking it fometbing, faid I, to be treated with civility and apparent kindnefs in a foreign country — by ftrangers who know nothing about us, but that we are Englifhmen, and often their enemies.
But their politenefs confifts in trifles, faid he. — In what confifts any body's po- litenefs ? rejoined I. "The utmoft a Frenchman will do for you, added he, is to endeavour to amufe you, and make your time pafs agreeably while you remain in his country. — And I think that no trifle, anfwered I. — There are fo many fources of uneafmefs.and vexation in this life, that I cannot help having a good will, and even gratitude, to all thofe who enable me to forget them:— For fuch people alleviate my pain, and contribute to my happinefs.
But thefe Frenchmen, rejoined he, do not care a farthing for you in their hearts. — And why fliould I care a farthing for that ? faid I, — We have nothing to do with their hearts— You do not expert a friend in
every agreeable acquaintance,
But
76 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
But they are an interefted fet of people ; and even thofe among them who pretend to be your friends, — do it only for fome feififh end.
This is only an afiertion, faid I, but no proof. — rlf you flood in need of pecuniary affiftance, -they would not advance you a louis to fave you from a jail, continued he. I hope never to be perfectly convinced, of that, faid I ;— -but if we were to culti- vate friendfhip from the idea of affiftance of that nature, it would be doing exactly what you accufe; them of: Befides, conti- nued I, the power and opportunity of ob- liging our acquaintances and friends by great, and, what are called, eflential fer- Tices, feldom occur; but thofe attentions and courtefies, which fmooth the commerce between man and man, and fweeten focial life, are in every body's power, and there are daily and hourly occafions of difplaying
them, — particularly to ftrangers. Gurfe
their courtefies, faid he, — they are the great- eft Bore in nature. — I hate the French. —
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 77
They are the enemies of England/and a* falfe, deceitful, perfidious — But as we did not come over, interrupted I, to fight them at prefent, we fhall fufpend hoftilities till a more convenient feafon ; and in the mean time, if you have no objedion, let us go to the play.
He agreed to this propofal, and here our converfation ended.
You know B — — is as worthy a fel- low as lives ; and, under a rough addrefs, conceals the beft difpofition in the world. His manner, I imagine, was originally af- fumed from a notion, which he has in com- mon with many people, that great polite- nefs, and apparent gentlenefs of behaviour, are generally accompanied with falfehood and real coldnefs ; — even inhumanity of character, — as if human nature, like mar- Iple, took a polifh proportionable to its hardnefs.
This idea is certainly formed without an accurate examination, and from a fuper-
ficial
78 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ficial view of mankind. As a boorifh ad- drefs is no proof of honefty, fo is politenefs no indication of the reverfe ; — and if they are once reduced to an equality in this par- ticular, it is evident that the latter is pre- ferable in every other refpect.
But to return to the French ; I am clear- ly of opinion, that a ftranger may fairly avail himfelf of every conveniency arifmg from their obliging manners, although he ftiould be convinced that all their affiduity and attention are unconnected with any re- gard to him, and flow entirely from vanity and felf-love. He may perceive that his Parifian friend, while he loads him with civilities, is making a difplay of his own proficiency in the fcience of politenefs, and endeavouring to thruft himfelf forward in the good opinion of the company, by yield- ing the preference on a thoufand trifling occafions. — Though he plainly fees, that all his (looping is with a view to conquer, why fliould he repine at a victory which is accompanied with fo many conveniencies
to
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 79
to himfelf ? why quarrel with the motive while he feels the benefit of the effed ?
If writers or preachers of morality could, by the force of eloquence, eradicate felfifh- nefs from the hearts of men, and make them in reality love their neighbours as themfelves, it would be a change devoutly to be wifhed. But until that blefled event, let us not find fault with thofe forms and attentions which create a kind of artificial friendfhip and benevolence, which for many of the purpofes of fociety produce the fame effe&s as the true.
People who love to amufe themfelves with play, and have not ready money, are obliged to ufe counters. You and I, my friend, as long as we cut and fhuffle to- gether, fhali never have occafion for fuch a fuccedaneum ; — I am fully perfuaded we are provided, on both fides, with a fufficient quantity of pure gold.
8o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XII.
Paris.
1JC7HEN B and I went to the play-
houfe, as was mentioned in my laft, we found a prodigious crowd of people be- fore the door : We could not get a place till after a confiderable ftruggle. The play was the fiege of Calais, founded on a po- pular ftory, which muft needs be interefting and flattering to the French nation.
You cannot conceive what preffing and crowding there is every night to fee this favourite piece, which has had the fame fuccefs at Verfailles as at Paris.
There are fome few critics, however, who aflert that it is entirely devoid of me- rit, and owes its run to tke popular nature of the fubjeft, more than to any intrinfic
beauty
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. f*
beauty in the verfes, which fome declare are not even good French.
When it was laft acted before the King, it is faid, his Majefty, obferving that the Due d'Ayen did not join in applauding, but that he rather fhewed fome marks of difguft, turned to the Duke and faid, Vous n'applaudiflez pas? Vous n'etes pas bon Francis, Monfieur le Due: — To this the Duke replied, — a Dieu ne plaife que je ne fufle pas meilleur que les vers de la piece. i , Obedient to the court in every other particular, the French difregard the deci- fions pronounced at Verfailles in matters of tafte. It very often happens that a drama- tic piece, which has been acted before the royal family and the court, with the high- eft applaufe, is afterwards damned with every circumftance of ignominy at Paris. la all works of genius the Parifians lead the judgment of the courtiers, and dictate to their monarch. VOL. I. G
s VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
In other countries of Europe, it has hap- pened, that fome Prince of fuperior talents has, by the brightnefs of his own genius, enlightened the minds of his fubjects, and difpelled the clouds of barbarifm from his dominions.
Since the commencement of this century a great empire has been improved from a ftate of grofs ignorance, refined by the arts of peace, and inftru&ed in the arts of war, by the vaft genius and induftry of one of its Princes, who laid the foundation of its pre- fent power and grandeur.
Another inconfiderable ftate, with fewer refources, has, at a later period, been created a powerful monarchy, by the afto- nifhing efforts, perfeverance, and magna- nimity of its prefent king ; whofe love of knowledge and the arts has drawn fome of the greateft geniufes in Europe to his capital ; whence fcience and tafte muft gra- dually flow through his whole dominions, o< where
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 83
where they were formerly but little che- rifhed.
In thefe inftances, and others which might be enumerated, the princes have been fuperior in genius to any of their fub- jecls. The throne has been the fource whence knowledge and refinement have flowed to the extremities of the nation.
But this has never been the cafe in France, where it is not the king who po- lifhes the people ; — but the people who re- fine the manners, humanize the heart, and, if it be not perfectly opaque, enlighten the underftanding of the king.
Telemaque, and many other works, have been compofed with this intention. In many addrefles and remonftrances to the throne, excellent precepts and hints are infmuated in an indirect and delicate manner.
By the emphatic applaufe they beftow
on particular paflages of the pieces repre-
fented at the theatre, they convey to the
G 9 monarch
84. VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
monarch the fentiments of the nation refpe&ing the meafures of his govern- ment.
By afcribing qualities to him which he does not poflefs, they endeavour to excite within his bread a defire to attain them : they try to cajole him into virtue. Confi- dered in this point of view, the defign of the equeftrian ftatue which the city of Paris has erected in honour of Lewis XV. may have been fuggefted from a more generous motive than flattery, to which it is generally imputed. This was begun by Bouchardon; who died when the work was well advanced, and has fincebeen committed to Pigal to be finished.
The horfe is placed on a very high pe- deftal. At the angles are four figures, {landing in the manner of Caryatides, who reprefent the four virtues, Fortitude, Juf- tice, Prudence, and the love of Peace. All the ornaments are of Bronze.
The
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 85
The two (mail fides of the pedeftal are ornamented with gilded laurels and infcrip- tions. On the front, towards the Thuil- leries, is the following :
LUDOVICO xv.
OPTIMO PRINCIPI
QJJOD AD SCALDUM, MOSAM, RHENUM,
VICTOR PACEM ARMIS
PACE
SUORUM ET EUROPE FELICITATEM QJJ^ESIVIT.
The large fides of the pedeftal are adorn- ed with trophies and has reliefs. One re- prefents Lewis giving peace to Europe; the other .reprefents him in a triumphal chariot, crowned by Victory, and conducted by Renown to a people who fubmit.
When we recoiled that the infcription
and emblems allude to the conclufion of
the war before the laft, and what kind of
infcriptions are ufually put under the ftatues
G3 of
06 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
of kings, we {hall not find any thing out* rageoufly flattering in the above ; the mo- ral of which is, that the love of peace is one of the greateft virtues a king can pof-
fefs The beft moral that can be in*
fmuated into the breaft of a monarch.
In this work the horfe is infinitely more admired, by fculptors and fatirifts, than the king. But the greateft overfight is, that the whole group, though all the figures are larger than life, have a diminutive ap- pearance in the centre of the vaft area ia which they are placed.
The wits of Paris could not allow fuch an opportunity of indulging their vein to efcape unimproved. Many epigrams are handed about. — Here are two :
Bouchardon eft un animal, Et fon ouvrage fait pitie ; II place les vices a cheval, Et met les vertus a pied.
Veil*
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. $7
Voila notre Roi comme il eft a Verfailles, Sans foi, fans loi, et fans entrailles.
Both are too fevere ; giving the idea of wicked difpofitions, and cruelty of temper, which do not belong to Lewis the Fif- teenth ; whofe real character, in three words, is that of a good-natured, eafy- tempered man, funk in floth and fen- fuality.
I have feen another infcription for the flatue handed about; it is in Latin, and very fhort.
STATUA STATUS*.
You may imagine that the authors of thefe would meet with a dreadful punifli- ment, if they were difcovered. No danger of that kind is fufEcient to reftrain the in- habitants of this city from writing and fpreading fuch pafquinades, which are greatly relifhed by the whole nation.
• The Statue of a Statue.
G 4 Indeed,
88 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Indeed, I imagine there is more of the fpirit of revenge, than of good policy, in attempting to repel fuch humours ; which, if they did not get vent in this manner, might break out in a more dangerous lhape.
Adieu.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. $9
LETTER XIII,
Paris.
T Dined yefterday with an equal number of both fexes, at the Chevalier B — 's.
He is F 's very intimate friend, and
has a charming houfe within a few leagues of Paris, which the Marquis makes full as much ufe of as the owner.
The Chevalier has a confiderable revenue, which he fpends with equal magnificence and ceconomy. He has been married many years to his prefent lady, a moft agreeable woman, with whom he poflefles every thing which can make their union happy, except children. They endeavour to forget this difagreeable circumftance, by a con- ftant fucceflion of company ; and, which is very fmgular here, the fociety entertain- ed by the huiband and wife are the fame.
90 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
F , though much younger than
either, is a great favourite of both j and they are always pleafed when he invites a fmall company of his friends to dine at their houfe.
The prefent party was propofed by Ma- dame de M MI , a rich young widow, much admired here ; of whom I lhall give
you a glimpfe, en paflant for do not
imagine I undertake to defcribe the moft
undeicribable of all human beings,-- a
fine French lady.
Madame de M has fome wit, more
beauty, and vivacity in the greateft mea- fure: — if there were a fourth degree of companion, I fhould place her vanity there, She laughs a great deal, and me is in the right; for her teeth are remarkably fine. She talks very much, and in a loud and de- cifive tone of voicei— This is not fo judici- ous, becaufe her fentiments are not fo bril- liant as her teeth, and her voice is rather harfti. — She is received with attention and
refped
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. gr
refpect every where ;— that fhe owes to her rank. — She is liked and followed by the men j this fhe owes to her beauty. She is not difliked by the women, which is pro- bably owing to her foibles.
This lady is thought to be fond of F »; fo, to prevent fcandal, fhe de-
fired me to call at her houfe, and attend her to the Chevalier's.
I found her at her toilette, in confulta- tion with a general officer and two abbes, concerning a new head-drefs which fhe had juft invented. — It was fmart and fanciful ; and, after a few corrections, received the fanclion of all thofe critics. They declared it to be a valuable difcovery, and foretold that it would immediately become the general mode of Paris, and do immortal honour to the genius of Madame de M
She wheeled from before the glafs, with an air of exultation. — Aliens, done, mes
enfans a la gloire, — cried fhe ; and
was
$* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
was proceeding to give orders for her equi- page, when a fervant entered, and informed her, that Madame la Comtefle had accepted her invitation, and would certainly do her- felf the honour of dining with her.
I defpair of giving you an idea of the fudden change which this meflage occa- fioned in the features of Madame de M— . Had ihe heard of the death of her father, or her only child, fhe could not have been more confounded. — Eft-il poffible (faid fhe, with an accent of defpair) qu'on puifle etre fi bete !— The fervant was called, and exa- mined regarding the import of the anfwer he had brought from Madame la Comtefle.
— It was even fo (he was afluredly to
come. — Frefti exclamations on the part of Madame de M Did you fend to in-
vite her for this day ? faid I— Undoubtedly
I did, replied Madame de M . That
could be delayed no longer. She came to
town laft Sunday. — I therefore fent her the politeft meflage in the world, begging to
have
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 93
have the honour of her company for this day, at dinner; and behold, the horrid woman (with a rudenefs, or ignorance of life without example) fends me word fhe will come.
It is very fhocking, indeed, faid I, that fhe ftiould have mifunderftood your kind- nefs fo prodigiouily. — Is it not ? faid fhe. Could any mortal have expeded fo barba- rous a return of civility ? She is con- nected with fome of my relations in the country: — when fhe came to town, I im- mediately left my name with her porter. — She called next day on me — I had informed my Swifs, that I was always to be out when fhe came. I v:as denied according- ly— Cela eft tout fimple, et felon les regies. The woman is twenty years older than I, and we muft be infupportable to each other —She ought to have feen, that my invita- tion was dictated by politenefs only : — the fame politenefs on her part mould have prompted her to fend a refufal. In this
manner
94 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
manner we might have vifited each other, dined and flipped together, and remained on the moft agreeable footing imaginable through the whole courfe of our lives : — but this inftance of groffierete muft put an end
to all connection. Well — there is no
remedy : — I muft fuffer purgatory for this one day. Adieu. — Prefent my compliments to Madame B— . Inform her of this horrid accident.
Having condoled with Madame de M — on her unmerited misfortune, I took my leave and joined F , to whom I re- counted the fad chance which had deprived us of that lady's company.
He did not appear quite fo unhappy as jQbie had on the occafion ; but he fwore he was convinced that the Countefs had ac- cepted the invitation to dinner par pure malice; for, to his knowledge, fhe was acquainted with their party to the Cheva- lier B *s, and had certainly feized that opportunity of plaguing Madame de M— , 4 whom
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 95
whom (he hated. Without that douceur, he imagined, the dinner would be as great a- purgatory to the Countefs, as it could
pofiibly be to Madame de M . How
thefe affectionate friends contrived to pafs their time together I know not, but we had a moft agreeable party at the Chevalier's — the Marquis entertaining the company with the hiftory of Madame M — 's mif- fortune, and the loving tete-a-tcte which it had occafioned.— — This he related with fuch fprightlinefs, and defcribed his own grief and difappointment with fuch a flow of good humour, as in fome degree indem- nified the company for the lady's abfence.
96 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XIV.
id
Paris.
the gentlencfs of French manners qualifies in fome degree the feverity of the government; as I obferved in a former letter, ftill the condition of the common people is by no means com- fortable.
When we confider the prodigious re- fources of this kingdom ; the advantages it enjoys above almoft every other country in point of foil, climate, and fituation; the in- duftry and ingenuity of the inhabitants, attached by affection to their Kings, and fubmiffive to the laws ; we naturally expect that the bulk of the nation fhould be at their eafe, and that poverty fhould be as little known here as in any country of
Europe,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 97
Europe. I do not fpeak of that ideal or comparative poverty, the child of envy and covetoufnefs, which may be felt by the richeft citizens of London or Amfterdam; or of the poverty produced in capitals by gaming, luxury, and diffipation; but of that actual poverty, which arifes when the laborious part of a nation cannot acquire a competent fhare of the neceflaries of life by their induftry.
The two firft flow from the vices and ex- travagance of individuals:— The other from a bad government.
Much of the firft may be found in Lon- don, where more riches circulate than in any city of Europe ; of the laft there is little to be feen in the country of England.
The reverfe of this is the cafe in France, where the poorer! inhabitants of the capi- tal are often in a better fituation than the laborious peafant. The former, by admi- niftering to the luxuries, or by taking ad- vantage of the follies of the great and the
VOL. J. H wealthy,
98 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
wealthy, may procure a tolerable livelihood, and fometimes make a fortune; while the peafant cannot, without much difficulty, earn a fcanty and precarious fubfiftence.
To have an adequate idea of the wealth of England, we muft vifit the provinces, and fee how the nobility, the gentry, and efpecially the farmers and country people in general live. The magnificence of the former, and the abundance which prevails among the latter clafles, muft aftonifh the natives of any other country in Europe.
To retain a favourable notion of the wealth of France, we muft remain in the capital, or vifit a few trading or manufac- turing towns; but muft feldom enter the chateau of the Seigneur, or the hut of the peafant. In the one, we mail find nothing but tawdry furniture, and from the other we mall be feared by penury.
A failure of crops, or a carelefs admini- ftration, may occafion diftrefs and fcarcity of bread among the common people at a
particular
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 99
particular time: But when there is a per- manent poverty through various reigns, and for a long tradl of years, among the pea- fantry of fuch a country as France; this feems to me the fureft proof of a carelefs, and confequently an oppreffive government. Yet the French very feldom complain of their government, though often of their governors ; and never of the King, but al- ways of the minifter.
Although theenthufiaftic affection which the people of this nation once felt for their prefent monarch be greatly abated, it is not annihilated. Some of the courtiers indeed, who are fuppofed to adminifter to the King's pleafures, are detefted. The impru- dent oftentatious luxury of the miftrefs, is publicly execrated ; but their cenfure of the King, even where they think themfelves quite fafe, never burfts out as it would in fome other nations, in violent expreflions, fuch as, Curfe his folly, — his weaknefs, or — his obftinacy. No : Even their cenfure of H 2 him
ioo VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
him is intermingled with a kind of affec- tionate regret. — Naturellement il eft bon, they fay. — And when they obferve the de- plorable anxiety and difguft in his counte- nance, which are the concomitants of a conftitution jaded by pleafure, and of a mind incapable of application, they cry, Mon Dieu, qu'il eft trifte! — II eft mal-
heureux lui-meme; comment peut-ii
penfer a nous autres?
I am perfuaded, that, in jpite of the dif- content which really fubfifts at prefect in France, the King might recover the efteem and affection of his fubjecls at once by the fimple manoeuvre of difmiffing his minifter, and a few other unpopular cha- raders. A Lettre de cachet, ordering them to banifhment, or fhutting them up in the Baftille, would be confidered as a complete revolution of government, and the nation would require no other Bill of Rights than what proceeded from this dreadful inftru- xnent of tyranny.
As
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 101
As matters are at prefent, in my opinion, no body of men in France has, properly fpeaking, any rights. The Princes, the noblefle, and the clergy, have indeed cer- tain privileges which diftinguifh them in different degrees from their fellow-fubje&s : but as for rights, they have none; or, which amounts to the fame thing, none which can defend them, or which they can defend againft the Monarch, whenever he in his royal wifdom choofes to invade or annihi- late them.
A Frenchman will tell you, that their parliaments have the right of remonftrating to the throne upon certain occafions. — This is a precious privilege indeed! the common-council of London are in poflef- fion of this glorious right alfo, and we all know what it avails. It is like the power
of which Owen Glendower boafted •
" calling fpirits from the vafty deep."-— But the misfortune was, that none came in confequence of his call.
H 3 The
102 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The parliaments of Paris can indeed re- monftrate; and have done it with fuch flrength of reafoning and energy of expref- fion, that if eloquence were able to prevail over unlimited power, every grievance would have been redrefled.
Some of thefe remonftrances difplay not only examples of the moft fublime and pa- thetic eloquence, but alfo breathe a fpirit of freedom which would do honour to a Britifh Houfe of Commons.
The refiftance which the members of the parliament of Paris made to the will of the King, does them the greateft honour. Indeed the lawyers in France have dif- play ed more juft and manly fentiments of government,and have made a nobler ftruggle againft defpotic power, than any fet of mep in the kingdom. It has therefore often affected me with furprife and indignation, to obferve the attempts that are made here to turn this body of men into ridicuk.
One
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 103
One of this profeflion is never introduced on the ftage but in a ridiculous character. This may give fatisfadtion to the prince, whofe power they have endeavoured to. limit, or to thoughtlefs flavilh courtiers; but ought to be viewed with horror by the nation, for whofe good the gentlemen of the long-robe have hazarded fo much ; for in their oppofition to the court, much per- fonal danger was to be feared, and no lu- crative advantage to be reaped.
Thofe who oppofe the court meafures in our ifland incur, I thank Heaven, no per-
fonal rifkon that account. A member of
the Britifh parliament may launch his pa- triotic bark in the moft perfect fecurity: •—He may glide down the current of in- vective, fpread all his canvas, catch every gale, and fail for an hour or two upon the edge of treafon, without any rifk of being fucked into its whirlpool. But though he has nothing to fear, it is equally evident that
H 4 be
104 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
he has nothing to hope from fuch a voyage. Oppofition was formerly confidered as a means of getting into power : Mais nous avons change tout cela. Let any one re- colled: the numbers who, with very mo- derate abilities, have crawled on their knees into office, and compare them with the numbers and fuccefs of thofe who, armed with genius and the artillery of eloquence, attempt the places by ftorm; if, after this, he joins the aflailants, he muft either aft from other motives than thofe of felf-inte- reft, or betray his ignorance in the calcula- tion of chances*
The fecurity, and even the exiftence, of the Parliament of Paris, depending entirely on the pleafure of the King, and having no other weapons, ofTenfive or defenfive, but juftice, argument, and reafon, their fate might have been forefeen — the ufual fate of thofe who have no other artillery to oppofe to power: — The members were difgraced, and the parliament aboliihed.
The
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c, 10$
The meafure was confidered as violent ; the exiles were regarded as martyrs ; the people were aftonifhed and grieved. At length, recovering from their furprife, they difli^ pated their forrow, as they do on all occa-
fions of great calamity, by fome very
merry fongs.
VIEW OF SOCIETY
LETTER XV.
Paris.
TV/fY friend F called on me a few
days fince, and as foon as he under- ftood that I had no particular engagement, he infifted that I fhould drive fomewhere into the country, dine tete-a-tete with him, and return in time for the play.
When we had drove a few miles I per-* ceived a genteel-looking young fellow, drefled in an old uniform. He fat Under a tree, on the grafs, at a little diftance from the road, and amufed himfelf by playing on the violin. As we came nearer we per- ceived he had a wooden leg, part of which lay in fragments by his fide.
What
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 107
What do you there, foldier? faid the Marquis. — I am on my way home to my own village, mon officier, faid the foldier. — But, my poor friend, refumed the Mar- quis, you will be a furious long time be- fore you arrive at your journey's end, if you have no other carriage beiides thefe, point- ing at the fragments of his wooden leg. — I wait for my equipage and all my fuite, faid the foldier; and I am greatly miftaken if I do not fee them this moment coming down the hill.
We faw a kind of cart, drawn by one horfe, in which was a woman, and a pea- fan t who drove the horfe. — While they drew near, the foldier told us he had been wounded in Corfica — that his leg had been cut off — that before fetting out on that ex- pedition, he had been contracted to a young woman in the neighbourhood — that the marriage had been poftponed till his re- turn;- but when he appeared with a
wooden leg, that all the girl's relations had
oppofed
io8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
oppofed the match. — The girl's mother, who was her only furviving parent, when he began his courtihip, had always been his friend; but me had died while he was abroad. — The young woman herfelf, how- ever, remained conftant in her affections, received him with open arms, and bad agreed to leave her relations, and accom^ pany him to Paris, from whence they in- tended to fet out in the diligence to the town where he wa.s born, and where his father ftill lived: — ^-That on the way to Paris his wooden leg had fnapped; which had obliged his miitrefs to leave him, and go to the next village in queft of a cart to carry him thither, where he would remain till fuch time as the carpenter mould renew his leg, — C'eft un malheur, mon officier, concluded the foldier, qui fera bientot re- pare-^-et voici mon amie! — s—
The girl fprang before the cart, feized the outftretched hand of her lover, and
told him with a fmile full of affection, »
that
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 109
that (he had feen an admirable carpenter, who had promifed to make a leg that would not break, that it would be ready by the morrow, and they might refume their journey as foon after as they pleafed.
The foldier received his miftrefs's com- pliment as it deferved.
She feemed about twenty years of age, a
beautiful, fine-fhaped girl a Brunette,
whofe countenance indicated fentiment and vivacity.
You muft be much fatigued, my dear,
faid the Marquis. On ne fe fatigue pas,
Monfieur, quand on travaille pour ce qu'on aime, replied the girl. — The foldier kifled her hand with a gallant and tender air. — When a woman has fixed her heart upon a man, you fee, faid the Marquis, turning to me, it is not a leg more or lefs that will make her change her fentiments — Nor was it his legs, faid Fanchon, which made any impreflion on my heart. If they had made a little, however, faid the Marquis,
you
no VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
you would not have been fingular in your way of thinking; but allons, continued he, addrefling himfelf to me — This girl is quite charming — her lover has the appear- ance of a brave fellow; they have but
three legs betwixt them, and we have four; —if you have no objection, they (hall have the carriage, and we will follow on foot to the next village, and fee what can be done for thefe lovers. — I never agreed to a pro- pofal with more pleafure in my life.
The foldier began to make difficulties about entering into the vis-a-vis — Come, come, friend, faid the Marquis, I am a Co- lonel, and it is your duty to obey: Get in without much ado, and your miftrefs fhall follow.
Entrons, mon bon ami, faid the girl, fmce thefe gentlemen infift upon doing us fo much honour.
A girl like you would do honour to the fineft coach ia France. Nothing could pleafe me more than to have it in my
power
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. nt,
power to make you happy, faid the Mar* quis. — Laiflez moi faire, mon Colonel, faid the foldier. Je fuis hereufe comme une reine, faid Fanchon.—- Away moved the chaife, and the Marquis and I followed.
Voyez vous, combien nous fommes heu- reux nous autres Fran9ois a bon marche, faid the Marquis to me, adding with a fmile, le bonheur, a ce qu'on m'a dit, eft plus cher en Angleterre. But, anfwered I* how long will this laft with thefe poof people ? — Ah, pour le coup, faid he, voila. une reflexion bien Angloife — that, indeed, is what I cannot tell; neither do I know how long you or I may live; but I fancy- it would be great folly to be forrowful through life, becaufe we do not know how foon misfortunes may come, and becaufe we are quite certain that death is- to come at laft.
When we arrived at the inn to which
we had ordered the poftilion to drive, we
found the foldier and Fanchon. Afrer hav-
6 ing
m VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ing ordered fome victuals and wine— Pray, faid I to the fcldier, how do you propofe to maintain^your wife and yourfelf ? — One who has contrived to live for five years on foldier's pay, replied he, can have little dif- ficulty for the reft of his life. 1 can play
tolerably well on the fiddle, added he, and perhaps there is not a village in all France of the fize, where there are fo many mar- riages as in that in which we are going to
fettle 1 mail never want employment.
And I, faid Fanchon, can weave hair
nets and filk purfes, and mend (lockings. Befides, my uncle has two hundred livres of mine in his hands, and although he is brother-in-law to the Bailiff, and volonfiers brutal, yet I will make him pay it every fous. — And I, faid the foldier, have fifteen livres in my pocket; befides two louis that I lent to a poor farmer to enable him to pay the taxes, and which he will repay me when he is able.
You
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 113
You fee, Sir, faid Fanchon to me, that
we are not objects of compaffion. May
We not be happy, ray good friend (turning to her lover with a look of exquifite ten- dernefs), if it be not our own fault? — —If you are not, ma douce a-mie ! faid the fol- dier with great warmth, je ferai bien a
plaindre. 1 never felt a more charming
fenfation. — The tear trembled in the Mar- quis's eye. Ma foi, faid he to me, c'eft
une comedie larmoyante -Then, turning
to Fanchon, Come hither, my dear, faid he, till fuch time as you can get payment of the two hundred livre?, and my friend here recovers his two louis, accept of this from me, putting a purfe of louis into her hand — I hope you will continue to love your hufband, and to be loved by him. — Let me know from time to time how your affairs go on, and how I can ferve you. This will inform you of my name, and where I live. But if ever you do me the pleafure of calling at my houfe at Paris,— VOL. I. I be
n4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
be fure to bring your hufband with you; for I would not wim to efteem you lefs or Jove you more than I do this moment. Let me fee you fometimes; but always bring your hufband along with you.— ——I {hall never be afraid to truft her with you, faid the foldier: — She mall fee you as often as flie pleafes, without my going with her.
It was by too much venturing (as your ferjeant told me) that you loft your leg, my beft friend, faid Fanchon, with a fmile, to her lover. Monfieur le Colonel n'eft que trop aimable. I mail follow his ad- vice literally, and when I have the honour of waiting on him, you fhall always at- tend me.
Heaven blefs you both, my good friends, faid the Marquis; may he never know what happjnefs is who attempts to inter- rupt your felicity! It mail be my bufi-
nefs to find out fome employment for you, my fellow-foldier, more profitable than playing on the fiddle. In the mean time,
ftay
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 115
ftay here till a coach cbtries, which fhall bring you both this night to Paris ; my fervant (hall provide lodgings for you, and the heft furgeon for wooden legs that can be found. When you are properly equipped, let me fee you before you go home. Adieu, my honeft fellow; be kind to Fanchoii: She feems to deferve your love. Adieu, Fanchon; I fhall be happy to hear that you are as foncJ of Dubois two years hence as you are at prefent. So faying, he- (hook Dubois by the hand, faluted Fanchon, pufh- ed me into the carriage before him, and away we drove.
As we returned to town, he broke out feveral times into warm praifes of Fan- chon's beauty, which infpired me with fome fufpicion that he might have further views upon her.
I was fufEciently acquainted with his
free manner of life, and I had a little
before feen him on the point of being
married to one woman, after he had ar-
I 3 ranged
ii6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ranged every thing, as he called it, with another.
To fatisfy myfelf in this particular, I queftioned him in a jocular ftyle on this fubject.
No, my friend, faid he, Fanchon fhall never be attempted by me.— — Though I think her exceedingly pretty, and of that kind of beauty too that is mdft to my tafte; yet I am more charmed with her con- ftancy to honeft Dubois, than with any other thing about her: If ihe lofes that, fhe will lofe her greateft beauty in my eyes. Had fhe been fhackled to a morofe, exhaufted, jealous fellow, and deiired a re- drefs of grievances, the cafe would have been different} but her heart is fixed upon her old lover Dubois, who feems to be a worthy man, and I dare fay will make her happy. If I were inclined to try her, very probably it would be in vain:— The con- fiancy which has flood firm againft abfence, and a cannon-ball, would not be overturned 8 by
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 117
by the airs, the tinfel, and the jargon of a
petit-maitre. It gives me pleafure to
believe it would not, and I am determined never to make the trial.
f — never appeared fo perfe&ly
amiable.
B called and fupped with me the
fame evening. I was too full of the ad- venture of Fanchon and Dubois not to mention it to him, with all the particu- lars of the Marquis's behaviour. This
F- of yours, faid he, is an honeft fel-
low. Do — contrive to let us dine with
him to-morrow. By the bye, continued
he after a little paufe, are not thofe F— «'s originally from England? — I think I have heard of fuch a name in York- Ihire.
Adieu.
,i8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND-
LETTER XVI.
Paris.
T Atn uneafy when I hear people affert, that mankind always ad from motives of felf-intereft. It creates a fufpicion that thofe who maintain this fyftem, judge of others by their own feelings. This con- clufion, however, may be as erroneous as the general aflertion; for I have heard it maintained (perhaps from affectation) by very difmterefted people, who, when pufh- ed, could not fupport their argument with- out perverting the received meaning of language. — Thofe who perform generous or apparently difinterefted actions, fay they,
are prompted by felfifh motives by the
pleafure which they themfelves feel.
There are people who have this feeling fo ilrong, that they cannot pafs a miferable
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 119
object without endeavouring to aflift him. — Such people really relieve themfelves when the relieve the wretched.
All this is very true: but is it not a flrange aflertion, that people are not bene- volent, becaufe they cannot be other- wife ?
Two men are {landing near a fruit-fhop in St. James's-ftreet. There are fome pine- apples within the window, and a poor wo- man, with an infant crying at her empty breafl, without. One of the gentlemen walks in, pays a guinea for a pine-apple, which he calmly devours ; while the wo- man implores him for a penny, to buy her a mcrfel of bread — and implores in vain : not that this fine gentleman values a penny ; but to put his hand in his pocket would
give him fome trouble ; the diftrefs of
the woman gives him none. The other
man happens to have a guinea in his pocket
alfo; he gives it to the woman, walks
I 4 home*
120 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
home, and dines on beef-ftakes, with his wife and children.
Without doing injuftice to the tafte of the former, we may believe that the latter received the greater gratification for his
guinea. -You will never convince me,
however, that his motive in beftowing it was as felfifti as the other's.
Some few days after the adventure I
mentioned in my laft letter, I met F
and B: • at the opera. They had be- come acquainted with each other at my lodgings two days before, according to
B Js defire. — It gave me pleafure to fee
them on fo good a footing.
F invited us to go home and fit
an hour with him before we went to bed ; — to which we aflented.
The Marquis then told us, we fhould have the pleafure of feeing Fanchon in her beftgown, and Dubois with his new leg — for he had ordered his valet to invite them,
with,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 121
with two or three of his companions, to a little fupper.
While the Marquis was fpeaking, his coach drove up to the door of the opera— where a well-known lady was at that mo- ment waiting for her carriage.
B feemed to recoiled himfelf of a
fudden, faying, he muft be excufed from going with us, having an affair of fome importance to tranfact at home.
The Marquis fmiled {hook B—
by the hand — faying, c'eft apparemment quelque affaire qui regarde la conftitu- tion ; vivent les Anglois pour 1'amour patriotique !
When we arrived at the Marquis's, the fervants and their guefts were affembled in the Kttle garden behind the hotel, and dancing, by moon-light, to Dubois's mufic.
He and Fanchon were invited to a glafs of wine in the Marquis's parlour. — The
poor
122 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
poor fellow's heart fwelled at the fight of
his benefador. Ke attempted to exprefs
his gratitude; but his voice failed, and he could net articulate a word.
Vous n'avez pas a faire a des ingrats, Monfieur le Colonel, faid Fanchon. My hufband, continued fhe, is more affected with your goodnefs, than he was by the lofs of his leg, or the cruelty of my rela- tions. She then, in a ferious manner,
with the voice of gratitude, and in the lan- guage of Nature, expreffed her own and her hufband's obligations to the Marquis ; and, amongft others, £he alluded to twenty louis •which her hufband had received de fa part
that very afternoon. You intend to
make a faint of a finner, my dear, faid the Marquis, and to fucceed the better, you invent falfe miracles. I know nothing of
the twenty louis you mention. But I
know a great deal ; for here they are in my pocket, fays Dubpis. — The Marquis ft ill infifted they had not come from him. »
The
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. i2?
The foldier then declared, that he had called about one o'clock, to pay his duty
to Mcnfieur de F -— ; but not finding
him at home, he was returning to hi§ lodgings, when, in the ftreet, he obferved a gentleman looking at him with attention, who foon accofted him, demanding if his name was not Dubois ? If he had not loft hip leg at Corfica ? and feveral other quef- tions : which being anfwered in the affirm- ative, he flipped twenty louis into his hand, telling him that it would help to
furniih his houfe. —Dubois in aftonifh-
ment had exclaimed — Mon Pieu! voila encore Monfieur de F Upon which
the ftranger had replied :— Yes, he fends you that by me: and immediately he turn- ed into another ftreet, and Dubois faw no more of him.
We were all equally furprifed at the fmgularity of this little adventure. On enquiring more particularly about the ap- pearance
124 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
pearance of the ftranger, I was convinced he could be no other than B .
I remembered he had been affected with the ftory of Dubois when I told it him.
You know B is not one of thofe, who
allow any emotions of that nature to pafs unimproved, or to evaporate in fentiment. He generally puts them to fome practical ufe. — So having met Dubois accidentally in the ftreet, he had made him this ftnall prefent, in the manner above re- lated; and on his underftanding that
Dubois and Fanchon were at F 's,
he had declined going, to avoid any expla- nation on the fubject.
Had our friend B been a man of
fyftem, or much reflection, in his charity, he would have confidered, that as the fol- dier had already been taken good care of, and was under the protection of a generous man, there was no call for his interfering in the bufinefs; and he would probably
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 125
have kept his twenty guineas for fome more preffing occafion.
There are men in the world (and very ufeful and moft refpe&able men no doubt they are), who examine the pro's and the con's before they decide upon the moft indifferent occafion; who are directed in all their actions by propriety, and by the general received notions of duty. They weigh, in the niceft fcales, every claim, that an acquaintance, a relation, or a friend may have on them; and they en- deavour to pay them on demand, as they would a bill of exchange. They calcu- late their income, and proportion every expence; and hearing it aflerted every week from the pulpit, that there is ex- ceeding good intereft to be paid one time or other, for the money that is given to the poor, they rifk a little every year upon that venture. Their paffions and their affairs are always in excellent order; they walk through life undiflurbed by the mif-
fortunes
i26 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fortunes of others. And when they come to the end of their journey, they are de- cently interred in a church-yard.
There is another fet of men, who never: calculate; for they are generally guided by the heart, which never was taught arithmetic, and knows nothing of ac- counts. Their heads have fcarcely a vote in the choice of their acquaintances ; and without the confent of the heart, mofl: certainly none in their friendfhips. They perform acts oif benevolence (without re- collecting that this is a duty) merely for the pleafure they afford ; and perhaps for- get them, as they do their own pleafures, when paft.
As for little occafional charities, thefe are as natural to fuch characters as breath- ing ; and they claim as little merit for the one as for the other, the whole feem- ing an affair of inftinct rather than of re-
fiedion.
i
That
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 127
That the firft of thefe two claffes of men is the moft ufeful in fociety; that their affairs will be conduced with moft circumfpeclion ; that they will keep out of many fcrapes and difficulties that the others may fall into; and that they are (if you infift upon it very violently) the moft virtuous of the two, I fhall not difpute: Yet for the foul of me I cannot help preferring the other; for almoft all the friends I have ever had in my life, are of the fecond clafs.
128 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XVil,
Paris.
/^Onfidering the natural gaiety and vo- latility of the French nation, I have often been furprifed at their fondnefs for tragedy, efpecially as their tragedies are barren of incident, full of long dialogues, and declamatory fpeeches ; — and modelled according to the ftricteft code of critical legiflation.
The moft fprightly and fashionable peo- ple of both fexes flock to thefe entertain*- ments in preference to all others, and liften with unrelaxed gravity and attention. One would imagine that fuch a* ferious, corrects and uniform amufement, would be more congenial with the phlegm, and faturnine diipofitions of the English, than
with
MANNERS IN FRANCE-, £c. 129
*with the gay, volatile temper of the French.
An Englifh audience loves (how, buftle, .and incident, in their tragedies ; and have a mortal averfion to long dialogues and, fpeeches, however fine the fendments, and however beautiful the language may be.
In this, it would feem that the two na- tions had changed characters. Perhaps it would be difficult to account for it in a fatisfa&ory manner. I fhall not attempt it. A Frenchman would cut the matter fhort, by faying, that the Paris audience has a more correct and juft tafte than that of Lon- don ; that the one could be amufed and de- lighted with poetry and fentiment, while the other could not be kept awake without buftle, guards, proceffions, trumpets, fight- ing, and murder.
For my own part, I admire the French Melpomene more in the clofet than on the ftage. I cannot be reconciled to the French actors of tragedy. Their pompous manner
VOL. I. K of
1 3o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
of declaiming feems to me very unnatural. The ftrut, and fuperb geftures, and what they call a maniere noble, of their boafted Le Kain, appear, in my eyes, a little outre.
The juftnefs, the dignified fimplicity, the energy of Garrick's action, have de- ftroyed my relifh for any manner different from his. That exquifite, but concealed art, that magic power, by which he could melt, freeze, terrify the - foul, and com- mand the obedient paffions as he pleafed, we look for in vain, upon our own, or any other ftage.
What Horace faid of Nature may be applied with equal juftice to that unri- valled actor.
— Juvat, aut impellit ad iram, Aut ad humum mcerore gravi deducit, $t angit *,
* Tranfports to rage : dilates the heart with mirth, Wrings the fad foul, and bends it-down to earth.
FRANCIS.
One
MANNERS 1'tf FRANCE, &c. 131
One of the moft difficult things in acting is the player's concealing himfelf behind the character he aflumes : The inftant the fpec- tator gets a peep of him, the whole illufion vanifhes, and the pleafure is fucceeded by difguft. In Oedipus, Mahomet, and Orof- mane, I have always detected Le Kain ; but I have feen the Englifh Rofcius repre- fent Hamlet, Lear, Richard, without recol- lecting that there was fuch a perfon as David Garrick in the world.
The French tragedians are apt in my opinion to over ft ep the modefty of nature. Nature is not the criterion by which their merit is to be tried. — The audience mea- fures them by a more fublime ftandard, and if they come not up to that, they can- not pafs mufler.
Natural action, and a natural elocution, they feem to think incompatible with dig- nity, and imagine that the hero muft an- nounce the greatnefs of his foul by fuper- cilious looks, haughty geftures, and a hol- K 2 low
j32 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
low founding voice. Such eafy familiar dialogue as Hamlet holds with his old fchool-fellow Horatio, appears to them low, vulgar, and inconfiftent with the dignity of tragedy.
But if fimplicity of manners be not in- confiftent in real life, with genius, and the moft exalted greatnefs of mind, I do not fee why the actor who reprefents a hero, ihould affume geftures which we have no reafon to think were ever in ufe in any age, or among any rank of men.
Simplicity of manners, however, is fo far from being inconfiftent with magnanimity, that the one for the moft part accompanies the other. The French have fome reafon to lean to this opinion ; for two of the greateft men their nation ever produced were remarkable for the fimplicity of their manners. Henry IV. and Mare'chal Tu- renne were diftinguiftied by that, as well as by their magnanimity and other heroic virtues.
How
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 133
How infinitely fuperior in real greatnefs and intrinfic merit, were thofe men to the iirutting oftentatious Lewis, who was al- ways affecting a greatnefs he never poflefled, — till misfortune humbled his mind to the ftandard of humanity ? Then indeed, throw- ing away his pageantry and blufter, he af- fumed true dignity, and for the firft time obtained the admiration of the judicious. In the correfpondence with de Torcy, Lewis's letters, which it is now certain were written and compofed by himfelf, prove this, and difplay a foundnefs of judg- ment and real greatnefs of mind which fel- dom appeared in the meridian of what they call his glory,
What Lewis was (in the height of his profperity) to Henry in the effential quali- ties of a King and Hero, fuch is Le Kain to Garrick as an ador.
The French ftage can boaft at prefent of
more than one adrefs who may difpute
K 3 ^
334 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the laurel of tragedy with Mrs. Yates, o? Mrs. Barry *.
In comedy, the French adors excel, and can produce at all times a greater number far above mediocrity, than are to be found on the Englifli ftage.
The national character and manners of the French give them perhaps advantages in this line ; and befides, they have more numerous refources to fupply them with actors of every kind. In all the large trading and manufacturing towns, of which there are a great number in France, there are playhoufes eftablifhed. The fame thing takes place in moft of the frontier towns, and wherever there is a garrifon of two or three regiments.
* When thefe letters were firft publifhed, Mrs. Siddons,
At whofe command our paffions rife or fall, Obedient to the magic of her call,
had not appeared on the London ftage. The juftnefs, dignity, a*d energy of this charming woman's action certainly never ?vas furpafled, if it ever was equalled, on the French, or any other ftage.
There
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 135
There are companies of French come- dians alfo at the northern courts, in all the large towns of Germany, and at fome of the courts of Italy. All of thefe are aca- demies which educate actors for the Paris ftage.
In genteel comedy particularly, I ima- gine the French actors excel ours. They have in general more the appearance of people of fafliion.
There is not fuch a difference between the manners and behaviour of the people of the firft rank, and thofe of the middle' and lower ranks, in France as in England. Players, therefore, who wifh. to catch the manners of people of high rank and fafhion, do not undertake fo great a tafk in the one country as in the other.
You very feldom meet with an Englifh fervant who could pafs for a man of quality or fafhion'; and accordingly very few peo- ple who have been in that fituation ever ap- K 4 pear
136 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
pear on the Englifh ftage : But there are many valets de place in Paris fo very polite, fo completely pofieffed of all the little eti- quettes, fafhionable phrafes, and ufual airs of the beau monde^ that if they were fet off by the ornaments of drefs and equipage, they would pafs in many of the courts of Europe for men of fafhion, tres polis, — bien aimable, — {out-a-fait Comme il faut, et avec infiniment d'efprit ; and could be detected only at the court of France, or by fuch foreigners as have had opportunities of obferving, and penetration to diftinguim, the genuine eafe> and natural politenefs, which prevail among the people of rank in this country.
In the character of a lively, petulant, genteel petit- maitre of faOiion, Molle ex- cels any actor in London.
The fuperiority of the French in genteel ccrnedy is ftill more evident- with regard to the aftreffes. Very few Englifh a&reffes have appeared equal to the parts of Lady
Betty
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 137
Betty Modiih, in The Carelefs Hufband* or of Millamant, in The Way of the World. Grofs abfurdity, extravagant folly and affectation are eafily imitated ; but the ele- gant coquetry, the lively, playful, agree- able affectation of thefe two finely imagined characters, require greater powers. I ima- gine, however, from the execution I have obferved in fimilar parts, that there are fe- veral adreffes on the French ftage at prefent who could do them ample juftice. Except Mrs, Barry and Mrs. Abington, I know no actrefs in England who could give an ade- quate idea of all that Congreve meant in Millamant.
It is remarkable, that the latter alfo ex- eels in a character the qnoft perfectly oppo<- fite to this, that of an ill-taught, awkward, country girl. Perhaps there is no fuch young lady in France as Congreve's Mifs Prue : but if there were many fuch origi- nals, no actrefs in that kingdom could give £ copy more exquifite than Mrs. Abington'*.
In
j38 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
In low comedy the French are delightful. I can form no notion of any thing fuperior to Preville in many of his parts.
The little French operas which are given at the Comedie Italienne, are executed in a much more agreeable manner than any thing of the fame kind at London. Their ballettes alfo are more beautiful : — There is a gentileffe and legerete in their manner of reprefentingthefe little fanciful pieces, which make our fingers and dancers appear fome- vyhat awkward and clumfy in the comparifon.
As for the Italian pieces, they are now- performed only thrice a week, and the French feem to have loft, in a great meafure, their relifh for them. Carlin, the celebrated Harlequin, is the only flipport of thefe pieces. You are acquainted with the won- derful naivete and comic powers of this man, which makes us forget the extrava- gance of the Italian drama, and which can create objects of unbounded mirth, from a chaos of {he moft incoherent and abfurd Materials.
Aa
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 139.
An advantageous figure, a graceful man- ner, a good voice, a ftrong memory, an ac- curate judgment, are all required in a play- er : Senfibility, and the power of exprefP- ing the emotions of the heart by the voice and features, are indifpenfable. It feems therefore unreafonable, not to confider that profeffion as creditable, in which we ex^ peel: fo many qualities united : while many others are thought refpedable, in which we daily fee people arrive at eminence with- out common fenfe.
This prejudice is flill ftronger in France than in England. In a company where Monf. le Kain was, mention happened to be made, that the King of France had juft granted a penfion to a certain fuperannuated actor. An officer prefent, fixing his eyes on Le Kain, exprefled his indignation at fo much being beftowed on a rafcally player, while he himfelf had got nothing. Eh, Monfieur ! retorted the actor, comptez-vous pour rien la liberte de me parser ainfi f
J4o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XVIIL
Geneva.
.:..^!-V ..• "V-mi: j •"-
T Pound myfelf fo much hurried during the
laft week of my flay at Paris, that it was j not in my power to write to you.
Ten thoufand little affairs, which might have been arranged much better, and per- formed with more eafe, had they been tranfa&ed as they occurred, were all crowd- ed, by the flqthful demon of procraftina- tion, into the laft buttling week, and exe- cuted in an imperfect manner.
I have often admired, without being able perfectly to imitate, thofe who have the happy talent of intermingling bufmefs with amufement.
Pleafure and bufmefs contraft and give 8. relifti to each other, like day and night,
the
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 141
the conftant vicifiitudes of which are far more delightful than an uninterrupted half year of either would be.
To pafs life in the moft agreeable man- ner, one ought not to be fo much a man of pleafure as to poftpone any neceflary bufi- nefs ; nor fo much a man of bufmefs as to defpife elegant amufement. A proper mix- ture of both forms a more infallible fpeci- fic againft tedium and fatigue, than a cen- ftant regimen of the moft pleafant of the two.
As foon as I found the Duke of Hamil- ton difpofed to leave Paris, I made the ne- ceflary arrangements for our departure, and a few days after we began our journey.
Faffing through Dijon, Chalons, M^on, and a country delightful to behold, but tedi- ous to defcnbe, we arrived on the fourth day at Lyons.
After Paris, Lyons is the moft magnifi- cent town in France, enlivened by induftry, enriched by commerce, beautified by wealth,
14* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
and by its fituation, in the middle of a fer- tile country, and at the confluence of the Saone and the Rhone. The numbers of in- habitants are eftimated at 200,000. The theatre is accounted the fineft in France ; and all the luxuries in Paris are to be found at Lyons, though not in equal perfection.
The manners and converfation of mer- chants and manufacturers have been gene- rally confidered as peculiar to themfelves, It is very certain, that there is a ftriking difference in thefe particulars between the inhabitants of all the manufacturing and commercial towns of Britain, and thofe of Weftminfter. I could not remark the fame difference between the manners and addrefs of the people of Lyons and the courtiers of Versailles itfelf.
There appeared to me a wonderful fimi- litude between the two. It is probable, however, that a Frenchman would perceive a difference where I could not. A foreigner does not obferve the different accents in I which
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. ,43
which an Englimman, a Scotchman, and an Irifhman fpeak Englifh; neither per- haps does he obferve any difference between the manners and addreis of the inhabitants of Briftol, and thofe of Grofvenor-fquare, though all thefe are obvious to a native of England.
After a fhort flay at Lyons, we pro- ceeded to Geneva, and here we have re- mained thefe three weeks, without feeling the fmalleft inclination to drift the fcene. That I fhould wifh to remain here is no way furprifmg, but it was hardly to be expected that the Duke of Hamilton would have been of the fame mind. — Fortunately, however, this is the cafe. — I know no place on the continent to which we could go with any probability of gaining by the change : The opportunities of improvement here are many, the amufements are few in number, and of a moderate kind: The hours glide along very fmoothly, and though they are not always quickened by
pleafure,
144 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
pleafure, they are unretarded by languor^ and unruffled by remorfe.
As for myfelf, I have been fo very often and fo miferably difappointed in my hopes of happinefs by change, that I fhall not, without fome powerful motive, incline to forego my prefent ftate of content, for the ehance of more exquifite enjoyments in a different place or fituation.
I have at length learnt by my own ex- perience (for not one in twenty profits by the experience of others), that one great fource of vexation proceeds from our in- dulging too fanguine hopes of enjoyment from the bleflings we expect, and too much indifference for thofe we poffefs. We fcorn a thoufand fources of fatisfadtion •which we might have had in the interim, and permit our comfort to be difturbed, and our time to pafs unenjoyed, from im- patience for fome imagined pleafure at a diftance, which we may perhaps never ob- tain, or which, when obtained, may change
its
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 14$
its nature, and be no longer pleafure. Young fays,
The prefent moment, like a wife, we fhurij And ne'er enjoy, becaufe it is our own.
The devil thus cheats meri both out of the enjoyment of this life and of that which is to come, making us* in the firft place, prefer the pleafures of this life to thofe of a future ftate, and then continually prefer future pleafures in this life to thofe which are prefent.
The fum of all thefe apophthegms amounts to this :— We fhall certainly re- main at Geneva till we become more tired of it than at prefent.
VOL. 1.
J46 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XIX.
Genera,
HP H E fituation of Geneva is in many re* fpe&s as happy as the heart of man could defire, or his imagination conceive. The Rhone, nulling out of the nobleft lake in Europe, flows through the middle of the city, which is encircled by fertile fields, cul- tivated by the induftry, and adorned by the riches and tafte, of the inhabitants.
The long ridge of mountains called Mount Jura on the one fide, with the Alps, the Glaciers of Savoy, and the fnowy head of Mont Blanc on the other, ferve as boun- daries to the moft charmingly variegated landfcape that ever delighted the eye.
With thefe advantages in point of fitua- tion, the citizens of Geneva enjoy freedom
untainted
MANNERS IN FRANCE* See. 147
untainted by licentioufnefs, and fecurity unbought by the horrors of war.
The great number of men of letters, who either are natives of the place, or have chofen it for their refidence, the decent manners, the eafy circumftances, and hu- mane difpofitions of the Genevois in gene- ral, render this city and its environs a very defirable retreatfor people of a philofbphic turn of mind, who are contented with mo- derate and calm enjoyments* have no local attachments or domeftic reafons for pre- ferring another country, and who wifh in a certain degree to retire from the buftle of the world to a narrower and calmer fcene, and there, for the reft of their days — •
Ducere folicitx jucunda oblivia vitfc *.
As education here is equally cheap and liberal, the 'citizens of Geneva of both fexes
* In fweet oblivion, blifsful balm,
The bufy cares of life becalm. FRANCIS.
L 3 are
J48 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
are remarkably well inftrucled. I do not imagine that any country in the world can produce an equal number of perfons (taken without election from all degrees and pro- feflions) with minds fo much cultivated as the inhabitants of Geneva poflefs.
It is not uncommon to find mechanics in the intervals of their labour amufing themfelves with the works of Locke, Mon- tefquieu, Newton, and other productions of the fame kind.
When I fpeak of the cheapnefs of a li- beral education, I mean for the natives and citizens only j for flrangers now find every thing dear at Geneva. Wherever Englim- men refort, this is the cafe. If they do not find things dear, they foon make them fo.
The democratical nature of their govern- ment infpires every citizen with an idea of his own importance : He perceives that no man in the republic can infult, or even neglect him, with impunity.
It
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 149
It is an excellent circumftance in any government, when the moft powerful mart in the ftate has fomething to fear from the jnoft feeble. This is the cafe here : The meaneft citizen of Geneva is poflefled of certain rights, which render him an object deferving the attention of the greateft. Be- fides, a confcioufnefs of this makes him re- fpect himfelf ; a fentiment, which, within proper bounds, has a tendency to render a man refpectable to others.
The general character of human nature forbids us to expect that men will always act from motives of public fpirit, without an eye to private intereft. The beft form of government, therefore, is that in which the intereft of individuals is moft intimate- ly blended with the public good. — This may be more perfectly accompli fhed in a fmall republic than in a great monarchy. — In the firft, men of genius and virtue are difcovered and called to offices of truft by k the impartial admiration of their fellow- L 3 citizens-^
I5o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
citizens — in the other, the higheft places are difpofed of by the caprice of the prince, or of his miftrefs, or of thofe courtiers male or female, who are neareft his perfon, watch the variations of his humour, an4 know how to feize the fmiling moments, and turn them to their own advantage, or that of their dependents. Montefquieu; fays, that a fenfe of honour produces the fame effects in a monarchy, that public fpi- rit or patriotifm does in a republic: It muft be remembered, however, that the firft, ac-r cording to the modern acceptation of the word, is generally confined to the nobility and gentry ; whereas public fpirit is a more univerfal principle, and fpreads through all the members of the commonwealth.
As far as I can judge, a fpirit of inde- pendency and freedom, tempered by fenti- ments of decency and the love order, in- fluence, in a moft remarkable manner, the minds of the fubje&s of thi§ happy re- public.
Before
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 151
Before I knew them, I had formed an opinion, that the people of this place were fanatical, gloomy-minded, and unfociable as the puritans in England, and the prefby- terians in Scotland were, during the civil wars, and the reigns of Charles II. and his brother. In this, however, I find I had conceived a very erroneous notion.
There is not, I may venture to aflert, a city in Europe where the minds of the people are lefs under the influence of fuper- ftition or fanatical enthufiafm than at Ge- neva. Servetus, were he now alive, would not run the fmalleft rife of perfecution. The prefent clergy have, I am perfuaded, as little the inclination as the power of mo- letting any perfon for fpeculative opinions. Should the Pope himfelf chufe this city for a retreat, it would be his own fault if he did not live in as much fecurity as at the Vatican,
The clergy of Geneva in general are men
cf fenfe, learning, and moderation, impreff-
L 4 ing
I52 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ing upon the minds of their hearers the tenets of Chriftianity with all the gracea of pulpit eloquence, and illuftrating the efficacy of the doctrine by their conduct in life.
The people of every ftation in this place attend fermons and the public worfhipwith remarkable punctuality. The Sunday is honoured with the mod refpectful deco- rum during the hours of divine fervice j but as foon as that is over, all the ufual arnufc- ments commence.
The public walks are crowded by all de- grees of people in their beft drefles. — The different focieties, and what they call circles, affemble in the houfes and gardens of indi- viduals.—They play at cards and at bowls, and have parties upon the lake with mtific.
There is one cuftom, univerfal here, and, as far as I know, peculiar to this place: The parents form focieties for their chil- dren at a very early period of their lives. Thefe focieties cqnfift of ten^ a dozen, or
more
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 153
more children of the fame fex, and nearly of the fame age and fituation in life. They affemble once a week in the houfes of the different parents, who entertain the com-* pany by turns with tea, coffee? bifcuits and fruit; and then leave the young affembly to the freedom of their own converfation.
This connection is ftrictly kept up through life, whatever alterations may take place in the fituations or circumftances of the individuals. And although they fhould afterwards form new or preferable intima- cies, they never entirely abandon this fo- ciety ; but, to the lateft period of their lives, continue to pafs a few evenings every year with the companions of their youth and their earlieft friends.
The richer clafs of the citizens have country houfes adjacent to the town, where they pafs one half of the year. Thefe houfes are all of them neat, and fome of them fplendid. One piece of magnificence they
poffefs
I54 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
poflefs in greatef perfection than the moil iuperb villa of the greateft lord in any other part of the world can boaft, I mean theprofpecT: which almoft all of them com- mand.— The gardens and vineyards of t,he republic ;— • the Pai'a de Vauxj — Geneva with its lake j-*— innumerable country-feats; r-caftles, and little towns around the lake: •— the vallies of Savoy, and the loftier}: mountains of the Alps, all within one fweep of the eye,
Thofe whofe fortunes or employments do not permit them to pafs the fummer in the country, make frequent parties of plea- fure upon the lake, arid dine and fpend the evening, at fome of the villages in the envi- rons, where they amufe them Tel ves with mufic and dancing.
Sometimes they form themfelves into circles confiding of forty or fifty perfons, and purchafe or hire a houfe and garden near the town, where they afTemble every
afternoon
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. j5|
afternoon during the fummer, drink coffee, lemonade, and other refreshing liquors ; and amufe themfelyes with cards, conver- fatjon, and playing at bo.wls ; a game very different from that which goes by the fame name in England j for here, inftead of a fmooth level green, they often chufe the rougheft and mod unequal piece of ground. The player, inftead of rolling the bowl, throws it in fuch a manner, that it refls in the place where it firft touches the ground ; and if that be a fortunate fituation, the next player pitches his bowl direclly on Jiis adyerfary's, fo as to make that fpring away, while his own fixes itfelf in the fpot from which the other has been diflodged.— Some of the citizens are aftonifhingly dex- terous at this game, which is more com- plicated and interefting than the Englifh manner of playing.
They generally continue thefe circles till the du{k of the evening, and the found of
the
I56 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the drum from the ramparts call them to the town ; and at that time the gates are fhut, after which no perfon can enter or go out, the officer of the guard not having the power to open them, without an order from the Syndics, which is not to be ob- tained but on fome great emergency.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 157
LETTER XX.
Geneva.
HP HE mildnefs of the climate, the fublime beauties of the country, and the agreeable manners of the inhabitants, are not, in my opinion, the greateft attrac- tions of this place.
Upon the fame hill, in the neighbour- hood of Geneva, three Englifli families at prefent refide, whofe fociety would render any country agreeable.
The houfe of Mr. Neville is a temple of hofpitality, good humour, and friendfliip.
Near to him lives your acquaintance Mr. Upton. He perfectly anfwers your de- fcription, lively, fenfible, and obliging; and, I imagine, happier than ever you
faw
t58 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
faw him, having fince that time drawn a great prize in the matrimonial lottery.
Their neareft neighbours are the family of Mr. Locke. This gentleman, his lady and children, form one of the mod pleafing pictures of domeftic felicity I ever beheld. He himfelf is a man of refined tafte, a be- nevolent mind, and elegant manners.
Thefe three families, who live in the .greateft cordiality with the citizens of Ge- neva, their own countrymen, and one another, render the hill of Cologny the moft delightful place perhaps at this mo- ment in the world.
The Englifh gentlemen who refide in the town often refort hither, and mix with parties of the beft company of Geneva.
I am told, that our young countrymen never were on fo friendly and fociablea foot- ing with the citizens of this republic as at prefent, owing in a great degree to the con- 6 ciliatory
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. i#
dilatory manners of thefe three Families, and to the great popularity of an Englifh nobleman, who has lived with his lady and (on in this ftate for feveral years.
I formerly mentioned, that all who live in town, muft return from their vifits in the country at fun-fet, otherwife they are certain of being (hut out; — the Genevois being wonderfully jealous of the external, as well as the internal enemies of their in- dependency. This jealoufy has been tranf- mitted from one generation to another, ever fince the attempt made by the Duke of Savoy, in the year 1602, to feize upon the town.
He marched an army, in the middle of a dark night, in the time of peace, to the gates, applied fcaling ladders to the rani- parts and walls, and having furprifed the centinels, feveral hundreds of the Sa- voyard foldiers had actually got into the town, and the reft were following, when
they
*6o VIEW OF SOCIETY ANlS
they were at length difcovered by a woman, who gave the alarm.
The Genevois ftarted from their fleep, feized the readied arms they could find, attacked the affailants with fpirit and energy, killed numbers in the flreet, drove others out of the gate, or tumbled them over the ramparts, and the few who were taken prifoners, they beheaded next morning, without further procefs or cere- mony.
The Genevois annually diftinguifh the day on which this memorable exploit was performed, as a day of public thankf- giving and rejoicing.
It is called le Jour de PEfcalade. There is divine worfhip in all the churches. • The clergymen, on this occaiion, after fermon, recapitulate all the circumftances of this interefting event; put the audience in mind of the gratitude they owe to Di- vine Providence, and to the valour of their anceftors, which faved them in fo remark- able
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 161
able a manner from civil and religious bondage; enumerate the peculiar bleffings which they enjoy; and exhort them, in the moft pathetic ftrain, to watch over their liberties, remain fleady in their religion, and tranfmit thefe, and all their other ad- vantages, unimpaired to their pofterity.
The evening of the Jour de TEfcalade is fpent in vifiting, feafling, dancing, and all kinds of diverfions; for the Genevois fel- dom venture on great feftivity, till they have previoufly performed their religious
duties In this, obferving the maxim
of the Pfalmift,— to join trembling with their mirth.
The State keeps in pay a garrifon of fix hundred mercenaries, who mount guard and do duty every day. But they do not truft the fafety of the republic to thefe alone. All citizens of Geneva are foldiers. They are exercifed feveral hours, daily, for two months, every fummer; during which time they wear their uni-
VOL. I. M forms,
162 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
forms, and at the end of that period are reviewed by the Syndics.
As they receive no pay, and as the offi- cers are their fellow-citizens, it cannot be imagined that thefe troops will perform, the manual exercife and military evolutions, with the exadnefs of foldiers who -have no other occupation, and who are under all the rigour of military difcipline.
Neverthelefs they make a very refped- able figure in the eyes even of difmterefted fpectators; who are, however, but few in number, the greater part confifting of their own parents, wives, and children. So, I dare fwear, there are no troops in the world, who, at a review, are beheld with more approbation than thofe of Geneva.
Even a ftranger of a moderate {hare of fenfibility, who recollects the connection between the troops and the beholders, who obferves the anxiety, the tendernefs, the exultation, and various movements of the
heart,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 163
heart, which appear in the countenances of the fpectators, will find it difficult to re- main unconcerned :— But fympathifmg with all around him, he will naturally yield to the pleafmg emotions, and at length behold the militia of Geneva with the eyes of a citizen of the republic.
Geneva, like all free dates, is expofed to party- rage, and the public harmony is fre- quently interrupted by political fquabbles. Without entering into a detail of the par- ticular difputes which agitate them at pre- fent, I {hall tell you in general, that one part of the citizens are accufed of a defign of throwing all the power into the hands of a few families, and of eftablifhing a complete ariftocracy. The other oppofes every meafure which is fuppofed to have that tendency, and by their adverfaries are accufed of feditious defigns.
It is difficult for ftrangers who refide
here any confiderable time, to obferve a
ftricl neutrality. The Engliih in particu-
M 2 lar
164 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
lar are exceedingly difpofed to take part with one fide or other : and as the govern- ment has not hitherto attempted to bribe them, they generally attach themfelves to the oppofition.
Walking one afternoon with a young nobleman, who, to a ftrong tafte for natu- ral philofophy, unites the moft paffionate zeal for civil liberty, we pafled near the garden, in which one of thofe circles which fupport the pretenfions of the magiftracy aflemble. I propofed joining them. No, faid my Lord, with indignation; I will not go for a moment into fuch a fociety : I confider thefe men as the enemies of their country, and that place as a focus for con- fuming freedom.
Among the citizens themfelves, political altercations are carried on with great fire and fpirit. A very worthy old gentleman, in whofe houfe I have been often entertained with great hofpitality, declaiming warmly againft certain meafures of the council,
aflerted,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 165
aflerted, that all thofe who had promoted them deferved death; and if it depended on him, they fliould all be hanged with- out lofs of time. His brother, who was in that predicament, interrupted him, and faid, with a tone of voice which feemed to beg for mercy, Good God ! brother ! furely you would not pufh your refentment fo far : you would not actually hang them ? Oui aflurement, replied the patriot, with a de- termined countenance, et vous, mon tres cher frere, vous feriez le premier pendu pour montrer mon impartialite.
166 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXL
Geneva.
A LTHOUGH this republic has long continued in a profound peace, and there is no great probability of its being foon engaged in bloody conflict, yet the citizens of Geneva are not the lefs fond of the pomp of war.
This appears in what they call their mi- litary feafts, which are their moft favourite amufements, and which they take every opportunity of enjoying.
I was prefent lately at a very grand en- tertainment of this kind, which was given by the King of the Arquebufiers upon his acceffion to the royal dignity.
7 This
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 167
This envied rank is neither tranfmitted by hereditary right, nor obtained by elec- tion; but gained by (kill and real merit.
A war with this ftate, like the war of Troy, muft necefiarily confift of a fiege. The fkilful ufe of the cannon and arquebufe is therefore thought to be of the greateft importance. During feveral months every year, a confiderable number of the citizens are almoft conftantly employed in firing at a mark, which is placed at a proper di- fiance.
Any citizen has a right, at a fmall ex- pence, to make trial of his (kill in this way ; and after a due number of trials, the moft expert markfman is declared King.
There has not been a coronation of this kind thefe ten years, his late Majefty hav- ing kept peaceable pofleffion of the throne during that period. But this fummer, Mr. Mofes Maudrier was found to excel in (kill every competitor ; and was raifed to M 4 the
168 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the throne by the unanimous voice of the judges.
He was attended to his own houfe from the field of conteft by the Syndics, amidft the acclamations of the people. Some time after this, on the day of his feaft, a camp was formed on a plain, without the gates of the city.
Here the whole forces of the republic, both horfe and foot, were aflembled, and divided into two diftinct armies. They were to perform a battle in honour of his Majefty, all the combatants having previ- oufly ftudied their parts.
This very ingenious, warlike drama had been compofed by one of the reverend ministers, who is faid to poflefs a very ex- tenfive military genius.
That the ladies and people of diftinc- tion, who were not to be actually engaged, might view the adion with the greater eafe fafety, a large amphitheatre of feats
was
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 16*
was prepared for them at a convenient diftance from the field of battle.
Every thing being in readinefs, the Syn- dics, the Council, ftrangers of diftinction, and the relations and favourites of the King, aflembled at his Majefty's palace, which is a little fnug houfe, fituated in a narrow lane in the lower part of the city. From the palace, the proceffion fet out in the follow- ing order:
His Majefty walked firft, fupported by the two eldeft Syndics.
In the next rank was the Duke of H — , with the youngeft.
After thefe, walked Lord Stanhope, the Prince Gallitzen, — Mr. Clive, fon to Lord Clive; Mr. Grenville, fon to the late Mi- nifterj Mr. St. Leger, and many other Englilh gentlemen, who had been invited to the feaft.
Next to theni came the Council of twen- ty-five ; and the proceffion was cloied by the King's particular friends and relations.
In
j7* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
In this order they marched through the city, preceded by a band of mufic, who played, as you may believe, the moft martial tunes they poffibly could think of.
When this company came to the field where the troops were drawn up, they were faluted by the officers; and having made a complete circuit of both armies, the King and all his attendants took their feats at the amphitheatre, which -had been prepared for that purpofe.
The impatience of the troops had been very vifible for fome time. When the King was feated, their ardour could be no longer reftrained. They called loudly to their officers to lead them to glory. The fignal was given. — They advanced to the attack in the moil undaunted man- ner. Confcious that they fought under
the eyes of their King, the Syndics, of their wives, children, mothers, and grand- mothers, they difdained the thoughts of
retreat.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 171
retreat. They flood undifturbed by
the thickeft fire. They fmiled at the roaring of the cannon, and, like the horfe in Job, they cried among the trumpets, ha, ha!
The ingenious author of the battle had taken care to diverfify it with feveral en- tertaining incidents.
An ambufcade was placed by one of the armies, behind fome trees, to furprife the enemy. This fucceeded to a miracle, although the ambufcade was pofted in the fight of both armies, and all the fpe&a- tors.
A convoy with provifions, advancing towards one of the armies, was attacked by a detachment from the other; and after a fmart fkirmim, one half of the waggons were carried away by the aflailants : — The; other remained with the troops for whom they feemed to have been originally in- tended.
A wooden
I72 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
A wooden bridge was briikly attacked, and as refolutely defended; but at length was trod to pieces by both armies; for, in the fury of the fight, the combatants for- got whether this poor bridge was their friend or their foe. By what means it got into the midft of the battle, I never could conceive; for there was neither riveri brook, nor ditch in the whole field.
The cavalry on both fides performed
wonders.-- It was difficult to determine
which of the generals diflinguifhed him- felf moft. They were both drefled in clothes exuberantly covered with lace ; for the fumptuary laws were fufpended for this day, that the battle might be as mag- nificent as poffible,
As neither of thefe gallant commanders would confent to the being defeated, the reverend author of the engagement could not make the cataftrophe fo decifive and affecting as he intended.
While
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 173
While Victory, with equipoifed wings, hovered over both armies, a mefienger ar- rived from the town-hall with intelligence that dinner was ready. This news quickly fpread among the combatants, and had an effect fimilar to that which the Sabine wo- men produced when they ru(hed between their ravifliers and their relations. — The warriors of Geneva relented at once ; and both armies fufpended their animofity, in the contemplation of that which they both
loved. They threw down their arms,
{hook hands,' and were friends.
Thus ended the battle. 1 don't know
how it will affect; you; but it has fatigued me fo completely, that I have loft all appe- tite for the feaft, which muft therefore be delayed till another poft.
174 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXIL
Geneva.
'"pHE fame company which had attended the King to the field of battle, marched with him in proceffion from that to the Maifon de Ville, where a fumptuous en- tertainment was prepared.
This was exactly the reverfe of a fete- champetre, being held in the town-houfe, and in the middle of the ftreets adjacent; where tables were covered, and dinner pro- vided, for feveral hundreds of the officers and foldiers.
The King, the Syndics, moft of the members of the Council, and all the ftran- gers, dined in the town-hall. The other rooms, as well as the outer court, were
likewife full of company.
There
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 1-5
There was much greater havoc at din- ner than had been at the battle, and the entertainment in other refpe&s was nearly as warlike.
A kettle-drum was placed in the middle of the hall, upon which a martial flourifh was performed at every toaft. This was immediately anfwered by the drums and trumpets without the hall, and the cannon of the baftion.
Profperity to the republic is a favourite toaft: — When this was announced by the firft Syndic, all the company flood up with their fwords drawn in one hand, and glaffes filled with wine in the other.
Having drank the toaft, they claftied their fwords, a ceremony always performed in every circle or club where there is a pub- lic dinner, as often as this particular toaft is named. It is an old cuftom, and im- plies that every man is ready to fight in defence of the republic.
After
i?6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
After we had been about two hours aC table, a new ceremony took place, which I expected as little in the middle of a feafL An hundred grenadiers, with their fwords" drawn, marched with great folemnity into the middle of the hall, for the tables being placed in the form of a horfe-fhoe, there was vacant fpace in the middle fufficient to admit them.
They defired permiflion to give a toaft : This being granted, each of the grenadiers, by a well timed movement, like a motion in the exercife, pulled from his pocket a large water glafs, which being immediately filled with wine, one of the foldiers, in the name of all, drank a health to King Mofes the firft. His example was followed by his companions and all the company, and was inftantly honoured by the found of the drums, trumpets, and artillery.
When the grenadiers had drank this, and a toaft or two more, they wheeled about, and marched out of the hall with
: the
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. J77
the fame folemnity with which they had entered, refuming their places at the tables in the ftreet.
Soon after this a man fantaftically drefled entered the hall, and distributed among the company fome printed (heets which feemed to have come directly from the prefs.
This proved to be a fong made for the occafion, replete with gaiety, wit, and good fenfe, pointing out, in a humorous ftrain, the advantages which the citizens of Geneva poffeffed, and exhorting them to un- animity, induftry, and public fpirit. — This ditty was fung by the man who brought it, while many of the company joined in the chorus.
When we defcerfded from the town-hall* we found the foldiers intermingled with their officers, ftill feated at the tabks in the ftreets, and encircled by their wives and children.
They all arofe foon after, and dividing into different companies, repaired to the
VOL. L N ramparts,
1*8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ramparts, the fields, and the gardens, where, with mufic and dancing, they con- tinued in high glee during the reft of the evening.
The whole exhibition of the day, though no very juftreprefentation of the manoeuvres of war, or |he elegance of a court enter- tainment, formed the moil lively picture of jollity, mirth, good-humour and cordi- ality, that I had ever feen.
The inhabitants of a whole city, — of a whole ftate if you pleafe, united in one fcene of good fellowfliip, like a fmgle fa- mily, is furely no common fight.
If this fketch conveys one half of the fatisfadion to your mind, which the fcene itfelf afforded mine, you will not think thefe two long letters tedious.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 179
LETTER XXIII.
Geneva*
*"pHERE are fome of the citizens of Geneva themfelves who deride the little military eftablifhment of the repub- lic, and declare it to be highly ridiculous in fuch a feeble Hate to prefume that they could defend themfelves. The very idea of refiftance againft Savoy or France, they hold as abfiird.
They feem to take pleafure in mortify- ing their countrymen, afluring them, that in cafe of an attack all their efforts would be fruitlefs, and their garrifon unable to ftand a fiege of ten days.
Thefe politicians declaim againft the needlefs expence of keeping the fortifica- tions in repair, and they calculate the mo- N 2 ney
180 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ney loft, by fo many manufacturers being employed in wielding ufelefs firelocks, inftead of the tools of their refpedive pro- feffions.
Were I a member of this republic, I ihould have no patience with thefe difcou- raging malcontents, who endeavour to de- prefs the minds of their countrymen, and embitter a fource of real enjoyment.
I am convinced that the garrifon, fmall as it is, aided by the zeal of the inhabitants, and regulated by that (hare of difcipline which their fituation admits, would be fuf- ficient to fecure them from a coup-de-main, or any immediate infult, and might enable them to defend the town from the attempts of any one of the neighbouring ftates, till they fhquld receive fuccour from fome of the others.
Independent of thefe confrderations, the ramparts are mod agreeable walks, conve- nient for the inhabitants, and ornamental to the city.
The
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 181
The exercifing and reviewing the militia form an innocent and agreeable fpeclacle to the women and children, contribute to the health and amufement of the troops them- felves, and infpire the inhabitants in general with the pleafing ideas of fecurity and of their own importance.
Upon the whole, I am convinced that the fortifications, and the militia of Geneva, produce more happinefs, in thefe various ways taken together, than could be pur- chafed by all the money they coft, expended in any other manner.
This I imagine is more than can be faid in favour of the greater part of the ftand- ing armies on the continent of Europe, •whofe numbers fecure. the defpotifm of the prince, whofe maintenance is a mod fevere burden upon the countries which fupport them, and whofe difcipline, inftead of ex- citing pleafing emotions, imprefles the mind with horror*
N 3
iSi VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The individuals who compofe thofe ar- mies are miferable, by the tyranny exercifed on them, and are themfelves the caufe of mifery to their fellow-citizens by the ty- ranny they exercife.
But it will be faid they defend the na- tion from foreign enemies. — Alas ! could a foreign conqueror occafion more wretched-
nefs than fuch defenders? When he
who calls himfelf my protector has dripped me of my property, and deprived me of my freedom, I cannot return him very cordial thanks, when he tells me, that he will de- fend me from every other robber.
The moft folid fecurity which this littte lepublic has for its independency, is found- ed on the mutual jealoufy of its neigh-* bours. •
There is no danger of its meeting with the misfortune which has fo lately befallen Poland. — Geneva is fuch an atom of a ftate as not to be divifible.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 183
It ferves, however, as a kind of barrier or alarm-poft to the Swifs Cantons, particu- larly that of Bern, which certainly would not like to fee it in the hands either of the King of France or of Sardinia.
The acquifition is not worth the atten- tion of the firft; and it is better for the fecond, that the republic fhould re- main in its prefent free and independ- ent fituation, than that it fhould revert to his pofleflion, and be fubjefted to the fame government with his other domi- nions.
For no fooner would Geneva be in the pofleflion of Sardinia, than the wealthieft of the citizens would abandon it, and carry their families and riches to Switzerland^ Holland, or England. *"~
Trade and manufactures would dwindle •with the fpirit and independence of the in- habitants; and the flourifliing, enlightened, happy city of Geneva, like other towns of Piedmont and Savoy, would become the N 4 refidence
184 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
refidence of oppreffion, fuperftition, and poverty.
In this fituation it could add but little to the King's revenue; whereas, at prefent, the peafants of his dominions refort in great numbers to Geneva every market-day, where they find a ready (ale for all the pro- dudions of their farms. The land is, on this account, more valuable, and the pea- fants are more at their eafe, though the taxes are very high, than in any other part of Savoy,
This republic, therefore, in its prefent independent ftate, is of more ufe to the King of Sardinia, than if it were his property.
If a wealthy merchant {hould purchafe 3, piece of ground from a poor Lord, build a large houfe, and form beautiful gardens upon it, keep a number of fervants, fpend a great part of his revenue in good houfe- keeping aud hofpitality, the confumpr tion of his table, and many other articles, purchafed frojn this Lord's tenants,
it
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. i8|
it is evident that they would become rich, and be able to pay a larger rent to their landlord. This Lord would certainly a£t againft his own intereft, if he attempted, by law, chicane, or force, to difpoffefs the proprietor of the houfe and gardens.
The free republic of Geneva is to the King of Sardinia, exactly what the fup- pofed rich man would be to the poor Lord. It affords me fatisfaftion to perceive, that the {lability of this little fabric of freedom, raifed by my friends the citizens of Ge- neva, does not depend on the juftice and moderation of the neighbouring powers, or any equivocal fupport; but is founded on the folid, lafting pillars of their mutual in- fereft.
i86 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXIV.
Geneva.
T Returned a few days fmce from a jour- ney to the Glaciers of Savoy, the Pays de Vallais, and other places among the Alps.
The wonderful accounts I had heard of the Glaciers had excited my curiofity a good deal, while the air of fuperiority af- fumed by fome who had made this boafted tour, piqued my pride ftill more.
One could hardly mention any thing curious or fingular, without being told by fome of thofe travellers, with an air of cool contempt — Dear Sir, — that is pretty well 5 but, take my word for it, it is nothing to the Glaciers of Savoy.
I determined at laft not to take their word for it, and I found fome gentlemen
of
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. ^7
of the fame way of thinking. The party eon- fifted of the Duke of Hamilton, Mr. Upton, Mr. Grenviile, Mr. Kennedy, and myfelf. We left Geneva early in the morning of the third of Auguft, and breakfafted at Bonneville, a fmall town in the duchy of Savoy, fituated at the foot of Mole, and on. the banks of the river Arve.
The fummit of Mole, as we were told, is about 4600 Englifti feet above the lake of Geneva, at the lower paflage of the Rhone, which laft is about 1200 feet above the level of the Mediterranean. For thefe particulars, I lhall take the word of my in- former, whatever airs of fuperiority he may affume on the difcovery.
From Bonneville we proceeded to Clufe by a road tolerably good, and highly en- tertaining on account of the fingularity and variety of landfcape to be feen from it. The objects change their appearance every moment as you advance, for the path is continually winding) to humour the pofition,
of
x88 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
of the mountains, and to gain an accefs be- tween the rocks, which in fome places hang over it in a very threatening manner. The mountains overlook and prefs fo clofely upon this little town of Clufe, that when I flood in the principal ftreet, each end of it feemed to be perfectly fhut up; and •wherever any of the houfes had fallen down, the vacancy appeared to the eye, at a mo- derate diftance, to be plugged up in the fame manner by a green mountain. .
On leaving Clufe, however, we found a well-made road running along the banks of the Arve, and flanked on each fide by very high hills, whofe oppofite fides tally fo ex- actly, as to lead one to imagine they have been torn from each other by fome violent convulfion of nature.
In other places one fide of this defile ^ a high perpendicular rock, fo very fmooth that it feems not to have been torn by na- ture, but chifelled by art, from top to bot- tom.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 189
torn, while the whole of the fide directly oppofite is of the moft fmiling verdure.
The paflage between the mountains gra- dually opens as you advance, and the fcene diverfifies with a fine luxuriancy of wild landfcape.
Before you enter the town of Sallenche, you muft crofs the Arve, which at this fea- fon is much larger than in winter, being fwoln by the diflblving fnows of the Alps.
This river has its fource at the parifh of Argentiere, in the valley of Chamouni, is immediately augmented by torrents from the neighbouring Glaciers, and pours its chill turbid ftream into the Rhone, foon after that river iflues from the lake of Geneva.
The contrafl between thofe two rivers is very ftriking, the one being as pure and limpid as the other is foul and muddy. The Rhone feems to fcorn the alliance, and keeps as long as poflible unmingled with his dirty fpoufe. Two miles below the
place
190 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
place of their junction, a difference and oppofition between this ill-forted couple is ftill obfervable ; thefe, however, gra- dually abate by long habit, till at laft, yield- ing to necefiity, and to thofe unrelenting laws which joined them together, they mix in perfect union, and flow in a common ftream to the end of their couiTe.
We pafied the night at Sallenche, and the remaining part of our journey not ad- mitting of chaifes, they were fent back to Geneva, with orders to the drivers, to go round by the other fide of the lake> and meet us at the village of Martigny, in the Pays de Vallais.
We agreed with a muleteer at Sallenche, who provided mules to carry us over the mountains to Martigny. It is a good day's journey from Sallenche to Chamouni, not on account of the diftance, but from the difficulty and perplexity of the road, and the fteep afcents and defcents with which you are teafed alternately the whole way.
Some
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 191
Some of the mountains are covered with pine, oak, beech, and walnut trees. Thefe are interfperfed with apple, plum, cherry, and other fruit trees, fo that we rode a great part of the forenoon in (hade.
Befides the refrefhing coolnefs this occa- fioned, it was moft agreeable to me on an- other account. The road was in fome places fo exceedingly fteep, that I never doubted but fome of us were to fall; I therefore reflected with fatisfaction, that thofe trees would probably arreft our courfe, and hinder us from rolling a great way.
But many pathlefs craggy mountains re- mained to be traverfed after we had loft the protection of the trees. We then had nothing but the fagacity of our mules to truft to. For my own part, I was very foon convinced that it was much fafer on all dubious occafions to depend on their's than on my own : For as often as I was prefented with a choice of difficulties, and the mule and I were of different opinions,
5 if.
*91 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
if, becoming more obftinate than he, I in- fitted on his taking my track, I never failed to repent it, and often was obliged to re- turn to the place where the controverfy had begun, and follow the path to which he had pointed at firft.
It is entertaining to obferve the prudence of thefe animals in making their way down fuch dangerous rocks. They fometime* put their heads over the edge of the preci* pice, and examine with anxious circum- fpection every poflible way by which they can defcend, and at length are fure to fix on that which upon the whole is the beft. Having obferved this in feveral inftances, I laid the bridle on the neck of my mule, and allowed him to take his own way, without prefuming to controul him in the fmalleft degree.
This is doubtlefs the beft method, and what I recommend to all my friends in their journey through life, when they have mules for their companions.
We
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 193
We refted fome time, during the fultry heat of the day, at a very pleafingly fituated village called Serve; and afcending thence along the fleepeft and roughed road we had yet feen, we pafled by a mountain, wherein, they told us, there is a rich vein of copper, but that the proprietors have left off work- ing it for many years.
As we pafled through one little village, I faw many peafants going into a church.
—It was fome Saint's day. The poor
people muft have half-ruined thetnfelves by purchafing gold-leaf. — Every thing was gilded.-— The virgin was drefled in a new gown of gold paper ; the infant in her arms was equally brilliant, all but the peri- wig on his head, which was milk-white, and had certainly been frefh powdered that very morning.
I could fcarcely refrain from fmiling at this ridiculous fight, which the people be- held with as much veneration as they could have {hewn, had the originals been prefent.
VOL. I. O Upon
194 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Upon cafting up my eyes to the creling, I faw fomething more extraordinary ftfll : This was a portrait of God the Father, fit- ting on a cloud, and drefled like a Pope, with the tiara on his head. Any one muft naturally be mocked at this, if he be not at the fame inftant moved to laughter at the infinite abfurdity of the idea.
About fix in the evening we arrived at the valley of Chamouni, and found lodg- ings in a fmall village called Prieure. The valley of Chamouni is about fix leagues in length, and an Englifh mile in breadth. It is bounded on all fides by Very high moun- tains. Between the intervals of thefe mountains, on one fide of the valley, the raft bodies of fnow and ice, which are called Glaciers, defcend from Mont Blanc* which is their fource.
On one fide of the valley, oppofite to the Glaciers, ftands Breven, a mountain whofe jidge is 5300 Englifh feet higher than the yallcy. Many travellers, who have more
euriofity,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 195
curiofity, and who think lefs of fatigue than we, take their firft view of the Glaciers from the top of Mount Breven. As there is only the narrow valley between that and the Glaciers, all of which it overlooks, and every other object around, except Mont Blanc, the view from it muft be very ad- vantageous and magnificent.
We determined to begin with Montan- vert, from which we could walk to the Glaciers, referving Mount Breven for ano- other day's work, if we fhould find ourfelves fo inclined. After an hour's refreshment at our quarters, Mr. Kennedy and I took a walk through the valley.
The chapter of Priefts and Canons of Sallenche have the Lordfhip of Chamouni, and draw a revenue from the poor inhabit- ants ; the higheft mountains of the Alps, with all their ice and fnow, not being fuffi- cient to defend them from rapacity and extortion.
O 2 The
196 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The prieft's houfe is beyond companion the beft in the whole valley. Looking at it, I afked a young man who flood near me, if the prieft was rich ?
Oui, Monfieur, horriblement, — replied he, — et auffi il mange prefque tout notre ble.
I then afked, if the people of Chamouni wifhed to get rid of him ?
Oui, bien de celui ci — mais il faut avoir un autre.
I do not fee the abfolute neceffi ty of that,
faid I. Confider, if you had no prieft,
you would have more to eat.
The lad flared then anfwered with great naivete* — Ah, Monfieur, dans ce pays- ci les pretres font tout auffi neceflaries que le manger.
It is plain, that this clergyman inftrucls his parifhioners very carefully in the prin- ciples of religion. 1 perceive, that your
foul
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 197
foul is in very fafe hands, faid Kennedy, giving the boy a crown ; but here is fome- thing to enable you to take care of your body.
In my next I fhall endeavour to give you fome account of the Glaciers : — At prefent, J muft wifti you good night.
VIEW OF SOCIETY ANI>
LETTER XXV.
Geneva.
\\7 E began pretty early in the morning to afcend Montanvert, from the top of which, there is eafy accefs to the Gla- cier of that name, and to the Valley of Ice.
Our mules carried us from the inn acrofs the valley, and even for a confiderable way up the mountain ; which at length became fo exceedingly fteep, that we were obliged to difmount and fend them back. Mr, Upton only, who had been here before, and was accuftomed to fuch expeditions, con- tinued without compunction on his mule till he got to the top, riding fearlefs over rocks, which a goat or a chamois would fcave paffed with caution.
la
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 199
In this laft animal, which is to be found on thefe mountains only, are blended the different qualities of the goat and the
deer. It is faid to have , more agility
than any other quadruped pofleffed of the fame degree of ftrength.
After afcending four hours, we gained the fummit of Montanvert. The day was remarkably fine, the objecls around noble and majeflic, but in fome refpecls different from what I had expected.
The valley of Chamouni had difappear- cd : — Mount Breven feemed to have crept wonderfully near; and if I had not juft croffed the plain which feparates the two mountains, and is a mile in breadth, J. -fliould have concluded that their bafes were in contact, and that their diftance above was folely owing to the diminution in the fize of all mountains towards the fummit. Judging from the eye alone, I fhould have thought it poflible to have thrown a ftone O 4 from
200 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
from the place where I flood to Mount Breven.
There is a chain of mountains behind Montanvert, all covered with fnow, which terminate in four diftind rocks, of a great height, having the appearance of narrow pyramids or fpires. They are called the Needles ; and each has a diftindt name. — Mont Blanc, furrounded by Mon- tanvert, Mount Breven, the Needles, and other fnowy mountains, appears like a giant among pigmies.
The height which we had now attained, was fo far on our way up this mountain. I was therefore equally furprifed and mor- tified to find, after an afcent of three thou- fand feet, that Mont Blanc feemed as high here as when we were in the valley.
Having afcended Montanvert from Chamouni, on defcending a little on the other fide, we found ourfelves on a plain, ^vhofe appearance has been aptly compared
tp
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 201
to that which a ftormy Tea would have, if it were fuddenly arrefted and fixed by a ftrong froft. This is called the Valley of Ice. It flretches feveral leagues behind Montanvert, and is reckoned 2300 feet higher than the valley of Chamouni.
From the higheft part of Montanvert we had all the following objects under our eye, fome of which feemed to obftrucl: the view of others equally interefting; — the Valley of Ice, the Needles, Mont Blanc, with the fnowy mountains below, finely contrafted with Breven, and the green hills on the oppofite fide of Chamouni, and the fun in full fplendor mowing all of them to the greateft advantage. — The whole forms a fcene equally fublime and beautiful* far above my power of defcription, and worthy of the eloquence of that very inge- nious gentleman, who has fo finely illuf- trated thefe fubje&s, in a particular treatife, and given fo many examples of both in his parliamentary fjpeeches.
202 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
While we remained in contemplation of this fcene, fome of the company obferved, that from the top of one of the Needles the profpect would be ftill more magnificent, as the eye could ftretch over Breven, be- yond Geneva, all the way to Mount Jura, and comprehend the Pays de Vallais, and many other mountains and vallies.
This excited the ambition of the Duke of Hamilton. He fprung up, and made to- wards the Aiguille du Dru, which is the higheft of the four Needles. Though he bounded over the ice with the elafticity of a young chamois, it was a confiderable time before he could arrive at the foot of the Needle : — for people are greatly deceived as to diftances in thofe fnowy regions.
Should he get near the top, faid Mr. Grenville, looking after him with eager- nefs, he will fwear we have feen nothing— But I will try to mount as high as he can ; I am not fond of feeing people above me. So faying, he fprung after him.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 203
In a fhort time we faw them both fcram-
bling up the rock : The Duke had
gained a confiderable height, when he was fuddenly flopped by a part of the rock which was perfectly impracticable (for his impetuofity had prevented him from choo- fing the eafieft way); fo Mr. Grenvill^ overtook him,
Here they had time to breathe and cool a little. The one being determined not to be furpafied, the other thought the ex- ploit not worth his while, fince the honour muft be divided. So like two rival powers, who have exhaufted their flrength by a fruitlefs conteft, they returned, fatigued and difappointed, to the place from which they had fet out.
After a very agreeable repaft, on the provifions and wine which our guides had brought from the Prieure, we pafled, by an eafy defcent, from the green part of Mon- tanvert to the Valley of Ice. A walk upon this frozen fea is attended with inconve*
niencies,
204 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
niencies. In fome places, the fwellings, which have been compared to waves, are forty or fifty feet high : yet, as they are rough, and the ice intermingled with fnow, one may walk over them. In other parts, thofe waves are of a very moderate fize, and in fome places the furface is quite level.
What renders a paflage over this valley Hill more difficult and dangerous is, the rents in the ice, which are to be met with, whatever direction you follow. Thefe rents are from two to fix feet wide, and of an amazing depth; reaching from the fur- face of the valley, through a body of ice many hundred fathoms thick. On throw- ing down a itone, or any other folid fub- ftance, we could hear the hollow murmur of its defcent for a very long time, found- ing like far diftant waves breaking upon, rocks.
Our guides, emboldened by habit, fkipped over thefe rents without any fign of fear, though they informed us, that they had
often
MANNERS IN FRANCE. &c. 205
often feen frefh clefts formed, while they walked on the valley. They added, in- deed, for our encouragement, that this was always preceded by a loud continued noife, which gave warning of what was to happen. It is evident, however, that this warning, though it fhould always precede the rent, could be of little ufe to thofe who had ad- vanced to the middle of the valley; for they neither could know certainly in what di- rection to run, nor could they have time to get off : and in cafe the ice fhould yawn directly under their feet, they muft inevi- tably perifh. — But probably few accidents of that kind happen ; and this has greater influence, than any reafoning upon the fubject.
It is fuppofed, that the fnow and ice at the bottom, melting by the warmth of the earth, leave great vacancies, in the form of vaults. Thefe natural arches fupport for a long time an amazing weight of ice and fnow j — for there is a vaft diftance from the S bottom
4o6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
bottom to the furfaceof this valley. But
the ice beneath continuing to diffolve, and the fnow above to increafe, the arches muft at laft give way, which occafions the noife and rents above mentioned. Water alfo, which may have fallen from the furface into the clefts, or is lodged by any means in this great mafs of fnow, will, by its fudden ex- panfion in the act of freezing, occafion new rents at the furface.
We had heard a great deal of the havoc made by avalanches. Thefe are formed of fnow driven by the winds againft the higheft and moft protuberant parts of rocks and mountains, where it hardens and ad- heres fometimes till a prodigious mafs is ac- cumulated. But when thefe fupporters are able to fuftain the increafing weight no longer, the avalanche falls at once, hurry- ing large portions of the loofened rock or mountain along with it; and rolling from a vaft height, with a thundering noife, to the valley, involves in certain deftru&ion
all
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 207
all the trees, houfes, cattle, and men, which lie in its way *.
The greater part of thofe who have made a journey to the Glaciers have feen one or more of thefe avalanches in the very a£t of falling, and have themfelves always efcaped by miracle.— = — Juft as moft people who have made a fmgle voyage by fea, if it were only between Dover and Calais, have met with a ftorm, and very narrowly efcaped fhipwreck.
All that any of our party can boaft is, that during the nights we lay at Chamouni, we frequently heard a noife like diftant
* Ac velutl mentis faxum de vertice przceps Cum ruit avulfum vento, feu turbidos imber Proluit, aut annis folvit fublapfa vetuftas : Fertur in abruptum magno mons improbus aftu, Exultatque folo, iilvas, armenta, virofque Involvens fecum. ViRG,
As when, by age, or rains, or tempefts torn, A rock from fome high precipice is borne ; Trees, herds, and fwains involving in the fweep^ The mafs flies furious from th' aerial fteep, Leaps down the mountain's fide, with many a bound, In fiery whirls, and fmokes along the ground. PITT;'
thunder^
K58 VIEW Of SOCIETY AND
thunder, which we were ' told was occa- fioned by the falling of fome of thefe fame avalanches at a few miles diftance. And during our excurfions, we faw trees de- ftroyed, and traces of foil torn from the fides of the mountains, over which the avalanches were faid to have rolled, two or three years before we pafled. Thefe were the narroweft efcapes we made.— — * I heartily wifh the fame good luck to all travellers, whatever account they themfelves may choofe to give to their friends when they return.
The Valley of Ice is feveral leagues in length, and not above a quarter of a league in breadth. It divides into branches, which run behind the chain of mountains formerly taken notice of. It appears like a frozen amphitheatre, and is bounded by moun- tains, in whofe clefts columns of cryftal, as we were informed, are to be found. — The hoary majefty of Mont Blanc ***** * * I was in danger of rifing into poetry,
when
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 209
when recollecting the ftory of Icarus, I thought it beft not to truft to my own waxen wings. — I beg leave rather to bor- row the following lines, which will pleafe you better than any flight of mine, and prevent me from a fall :
So Zembla's rocks (the beauteous work of*
froft)
Rife white in air, and glitter o'er the coaftj Pale funs, unfelt, at diftance roll away, And on th' impaflive ice the lightnings play; Eternal fnows the growing mafs fupply, Fill the bright mountains, prop th' incumbent
fcyj
As Atlas fix'd, each hoary pile appears, The gather'd winter of a thoufand years.
Having walked a confiderable time on the valley* and being fufficiently regaled with ice, we at length thought of return- ing to our cottage at Prieure. Our guides led us down by a fhorter and fteeper way than that by which we had afcended ; and in about two hours after we had begun our defcent, we found ourfelves at the bottom
VOL, I. P of
«o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
of the mountain. This rapid manner of defending, moft people find more fevere upon the mufcles of the legs and thighs, than even the afcent. For my own part, I was very near exhaufted ; and as we were ftill a couple of miles diftant from our lodgings, it was with the greateft fatisfac- tion that I faw our obfequious mules in waiting to carry us to our cottage; where having at laft arrived, and being afTembled in a fmall room, excluded from the view of icy valleys, cryftal hills, and fnowy moun- tainSj with nothing before us but humble objects, as cold meat, coarfe bread, and poor wine, we contrived to pafs an hour before going to bed, in talking over the exploits of the day, and the wonders we had feen.— Whether there is greater plea- fure in this, or in viewing the fcenes them- felves, is a queftion not yet decided by the cafuifts.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 211
LETTER XXVI.
Geneva.
f~r* H ER E are five or fix different Gla- ciers, which all terminate upon one fide of the Valley of Chamouni, within the fpace of about five leagues.
Thefe are prodigious collections of fnow and ice, formed in the intervals or hollows, between the mountains that bound the fide of the valley near which Mont Blanc ftands.
The fnow in thofe hollows being fcreened front the influence of the fun, the heat of fummer can diflblve only a certain portion of it. Thefe magazines of Iceland fnow are not formed by what falls directly from the heavens into the intervals. They are fupplied by the fnow which falls during winter on the lofneft parts of Mont Blanc ; P 2 large
212 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
large beds or ftrata of which flide down imperceptibly by their own gravity, and finding no refiftance at thefe intervals, they form long irregular roots around all the adjacent mountains.
Five of thefe enter, by five different em- bouchures, into the valley of Chamouni, and are called Glaciers, on one of which we had been.
At prefent their furface is from a thou- fand, or two thoufand feet high, above the valley.
Their breadth depends on the widenefs of the interval between the mountains in which they are formed.
Viewed from the valley, they have* in my opinion, a much finer effect than from their fummit.
The rays of the fun finking with various
force on the different parts, according as
they are more or lefs expofed, occafion an
unequal diflblution of the ice ; and, with
4 the
MANNERS IN FRANCE, .&c. 213
the help of a little imagination, give the appearances of columns, arches, and tur- rets, which are in fome places tranfparent. A fabric of ice in this tafte, two thou- fand feet high, and three times as broad, with the fun fhining full upon it, youmuft acknowledge to be a very fingular piece of architecture.
Our company afcended only the Glacier of Montanvert, which is not the higheft, and were contented with a view of the others from the valley 5 but more curious travellers will furely think it worth their labour to examine each of them more par- ticularly.
Some people are fo fond of Glaciers, that not fatisfied with their prefent fize, they infift pofitively, that they muft neceffarily grow larger every year ; and they argue the matter thus :
The prefent exiftence of the Glaciers is
a fufficient proof that there has, at fome
period or other, been a greater quantity of
P 3 fnow
2T4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fnow formed during the winter, than the heat of the fummer has been able to diflblve. But this difproportion muft neceffarily in- creafe very year, and, of confequence, the Glaciers muft augment : becaufe, any givea quantity of fnow and ice remaining through the courfe of one fummer, muft increafe the cold of the atmofphere around it in fome degree ; which being reinforced by the fnows of the fucceeding winter, will refift the diflblving power of the fun more the fecond fummer than the firft, and ftill more the third than the fecond, and fo on. The conclufion of this reafoning is, that the Glaciers muft grow larger by an in- creafmg ratio every year, till the end of time. For this reafon, the authors of this theory regret, that they themfelves have been fent into the world fo foon; becaufe, if their birth had been delayed for nine or ten thoufand years, they fhould have feen the Glaciers in much greater glory, Mont
Blanc
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 215
Blanc being but a Lilliputian at prefent, in companion of what it will be then.
However rational this may appear, ob- jections have neverthelefs been fuggefted, which I am forry for; becaufe, when a theory is tolerably confident, well fabri- cated, and goodly to behold, nothing cart be more vexatious, than to fee a plodding officious fellow overthrow the whole ftruc- ture at once by a dafli of his pen, as Har- lequin does a houfe with a touch of his fvvord, in a pantomime entertainment.
Such cavillers fay, that as the Glaciers augment in fize, there muft be a greater extent of furface for the fun- beams to act upon, and, of confequence, the diffolution will be greater, which muft effectually pre-* vent the continual increafe contended for.
But the other party extricate themfelves from this difficulty by roundly afferting, that the additional cold occafioned by the fnow and ice already depofited, has a much greater influence in retarding their diflblu- P 4 lion,
216 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
tion, than the increafed furface can have in haftening it : and, in confirmation of their fyftem, they tell you, that the oldeft inha- bitants of Chamouni remember the Gla- ciers when they were much fmaller than at prefent ; and alfo remember the time when they could walk, from the Valley of Ice, to places behind the mountains, by paflages which are now quite choked up with hills of fnow, not above fifty years old.
Whether the inhabitants of Chamouni aflert this from a laudable partiality to the Glaciers, whom they may now confider (on account of their drawing ftrangers t« vifit the Valley) as their beft neighbours; — or from politenefs to the fupporters of the above-mentioned opinion j — or from real obfervation, I (hall not prefume to fay,— But I myfelf have heard feveral of the old people in Chamouni aflert the fact.
The cavillers being thus obliged to re- linquifh their former objection, attempt, in the next place, to {how, that the above
theory
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 217
theory leads to an abfurdity ; becaufe, fay they, If the Glaciers go on increafing in bulk ad infinitum, the globe itfelf would be- come in procefs of time a mere appendage to Mount Blanc.
The advocates for the continual aug- mentation of the Glaciers reply, that as this inconveniency has not already hap- pened, there needs no other refutation of the impious do£trine of certain philofophers, who aflert that the world has exifted from eternity ; and as to the globe's becoming an appendage to the mountain, they aflure us, that the world will be at an end long before that event can happen. So that thofe of the moft timid natures, and moft delicate conftitutions, may difmifs their fears on that fubjecT:.
For my own part, though I wifh well to the Glaciers, and all the inhabitants of Cha- mouni, having pafled fome days very plea- fan tly in their company; I will take no part in this controverfy, the merits of which I leave to your own judgment,
VIE\V OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXVII.
Genera,
fr|r* H E morning of the day on which we departed from Prieure, I obferved a girl of a very fingular appearance fitting before the door of one of the houfes. When I fpoke to her, fhe made no anfwer : But an elderly man, who had been a foldier in the King of Sardinia's fervice, and my ac- quaintance fmce the moment of our arrival, informed me, that this girl was an ideot, and had been fo from her birth.
Ke took me to two other houfes in the village, in each of which there was one per- fon in the fame melancholy fituation ; and he allured me, that all over the valley of Chamouni, in a family confiding of five or fix children, one of them, generally fpeak-
ing, was a perfect natural.
8 This
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 219
This was confirmed by fome others, to \vhom I afterwards mentioned it. J was told at the fame time, that the parents, fo far from confidering this as a misfortune, looked upon it as an indication of good luck to the reft of the family, and no un- happinefs to the individual, whom they always cherifh and protect with the utmofl tendernefs.
I afked my foldier, if any of his own family were in that fituation ? Non, Mon- fieur, anfwered he ; et aufli j*ai pafle une vie bien dure.
Don't you think thefe poor creatures very unhappy?
Demande pardon, Monfieur ; — Us font tres heureux-
But you would not like to have been born in that ftate yourfelf ?
Vous croyez done, Moniieur, que j'aurois etc bien attrape ?
Attrape ! — certainly : — don't you think
fo too ?
Pour
220 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Pour cela, non, Monfieur; je n'aurois jamais travaille.
To one who has through life been ob- liged to work hard for a bare fubfiftence, labour appears the greateft evil, and perfect idlenefs the greateft bleffing. If this foldier had been brought up in idlenefs, and had experienced all the horrors and deje&ion which attend indolent luxury, very poffibly he would be of a different opinion.
During this journey, I remarked, that in fome particular villages, and for a confi- derable tract of country, fcarcely was there any body to be feen who had that fwelling of the throat and neck, which is thought fo general among all the inhabitants of the Alps. In particular, I did not obferve any body at Prieure with this complaint ; and, upon enquiry, was informed that there are many parifhes in which not a fingle perfon is troubled with ir, and that in other places at no great diftance, it is almoft univerfaL
la
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c, 221
In the valley of Chamouni there is only one hamlet where it is common; but in the Pays de Vallais, I was told, it is more frequent than in any other place.
As this difeafe feems to be endemical, it cannot, as has been imagined, proceed from the drinking of water impregnated with fnow or ice ; for this beverage is common to all the inhabitants of the Alps, and of other mountains.
If the water be in reality the vehicle of this difeafe, we muft fuppofe it impregnated, not only with difiblved ice and fnow, but alfo with fome fait, or other fubftance, pof- fefled of the noxious quality of obftructing the glands of the throat ; and we muft alfo fuppofe, that this noxious fubftance is to be found in no other inhabited place but the Alps.
After one of the inhabitants of Cha- mouni had enumerated many parifhes where there were, and others where there were no Goitres (which is the name they give this
fwelling),
222 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fwelling), he concluded by telling me, I fhould fee them in great abundance among the Vallaifans, to whofe country we were going. — When I told the man, I thought his country people very happy, in being quite free from fuch an odious difeafe, which afflicted their poor neighbours En revanche, faid the peafant, nous fommes accables des impots ; — et dans le pays de Vallais on ne paye rien.
The d 1 is in the fellow, exclaimed
I.- — Were it in your choice, would you ac- cept of Goitres, to get free of taxes ?
Tres volontiers, Monfieur ; — 1'un vaut bien Tautre.
Quid caufae eft, merito quin illis Jupiter
ambas, Iratas buccas infiet *.
You fee, my friend, that it is not in courts and capitals alone that men are dif-
* -And (hall not Jove,
With cheeks inflam'd, and angry brow, fcr^ear His weak indulgence to their future prayer ?
FRANCIS.
contented
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 223
contented with their fortunes. The caufes of repining are different in different places ; but the effect is the fame every where.
On the morning of the fixth day, we bid adieu to Prieure ; and having afcended the mountains which fliut up the valley of Chamouni at the end oppoiite to that by which we had entered, after various wind- ings on a very rugged road, we gradually defcended into a hollow of the moft difnial appearance.
It is furrounded with high, bare, rugged rocks, without trees or verdure of any kind, the bottom being as barren and craggy as the fides, and the whole forming a moft hideous landfcape. This dreary valley is of a confiderable length, but very narrow^ I imagine it would have pleafed the fancy of Salvator, who might have been tempted to fteal a corner of it for one of his pieces * which, when he had enlivened with a mur- der or two, would have been a mafter-piece of the Horrible.
Having
A24> VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Having traverfed this, we continued our journey, fometimes afcending, then de- fcending into other vallies whofe names I have forgot. — We had a long continued afcent over Mount Noir, a very high hill, covered with pine-trees, many of which are above a hundred feet in height. I was obliged to walk on foot moft of this road, which is full as fteep as any part of that by which we had afcended Montanvert.
We came at length to the pafs which feparates the King of Sardinia's country from the little republic, called the Pays de Vallais. Acrofs this there is an old thick wall, and a gate, without any guard. This narrow pafs continues for feveral miles.— A few peafants arranged along the upper part of the mountains could, by rolling down ftones, deftroy a whole army, if it fhould attempt to enter into the country by this road.
When you have palled through this long defile, the road runs along the fide of a
high
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 225
high and fteep mountain ; but is Hill fo very narrow, that two perfons cannot with fafety go abreaft, and all paflengers are en- tirely at the mercy of thofe who may be pofted on the higher parts of the mountain.
From the fide of the mountain on which we pafled, we could have fpoken to the people who inhabited the fide of the moun- tain oppofite. But I am convinced it would have taken three or four hours walking, to have gone to them : Becaufe we muft, by a long, oblique tour, have firft reached the bottom of ,the cleft between us, and then have afcended to them, by another long, fa- tiguing path, which could not be done in lefs time than I have mentioned.
Wherever there is a fpot of the mountain, tolerably fertile, and the flope lefs formi- dable than ufual, you are almoft certain to find a peafant's houfe. All the houfes are built of the fine red pine, which grows near at hand. The carriage of this,, even for a fhort way, upon thofe very fteep moun-
VOL. I. Q_ tains,
226 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
tains, muft have been attended with no fmall difficulty and danger. Thefe dwell- ings are raifed on wooden props, or pillars, two or three feet above the ground. On the top of each pillar a large flag or broad {lone is placed, to obftruft the entrance of rats. — Indeed the fituation of thefe abodes is fo very aerial, that they feem almoft in- acceffible to every animal that has not wings, as well as to rats.
The road led us at length to the fummit, •which is level, and covered with pines for feveral miles. Having traverfed this, and defcended a little on the other fide, the lower Vallais opened to our view. No- thing can be imagined more fingularly pic- turefque: — It is of an oval form, about feven leagues in length, and one in breadth, fur- rounded on all fides by mountains of a ftu- pendous height, the lower parts of which are covered with very rich pafture. — The valley itfelf is fertile in the higheft degree : finely cultivated, and divided into meadows,
gardens,
MANNERS IN FRANCE; &c. 227
gardens, and vineyards. The Rhone flows in beautiful mazes from the one end to the other. — Sion, the capital of the Vallais, is fituated on the upper extremity, and the town of MaTtigny on the lower, many vil- lages and detached houfes appearing all over the valley between them. The pro- fpect we had now under our eye formed a ftriking and agreeable contraft with the fcenes we had juft left. The diftance from this point to Martigny, which ftands near the bottom of the mountain, is about fix miles. There is one continued defcent the whole way, which is rendered eafy by the roads being thrown into a zig-zag direction. After the rugged paths we had been ac- cuftomed to, it was, comparatively fpeaking, reft, to walk down this mountain. — We ar- rived at Martigny refrefhed, and in high fpiritSi
0.2 ^
228 VIEW OF SOCIETY ANI>
LETTER XXVIII.
Geneva.
TOURING our journey over the moun- tains which encircle the lower Vallais, I had often felt an inclination to enter fome of the peafants* houfes, that I might be a witnefs of the domeftic ceconomy of a peo- ple which RoufTeau has fo delightfully de- fcribed.
Had I been alone, or with a fingle com- panion, I fhould have pledged them libe- rally, and made a temporary facrifice of my reafon to the Penates of thofe happy moun- taineers ; for, according to him, this is the only payment they will receive for their entertainment: But our company was by
far
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 229
far too numerous, and would have put their hofpitality to too fevere a trial.
After a night's refreftiment at Martigny, we looked with fome degree of impatience for the cabriolets, which had been ordered to meet us there. We all talked with rap* ture of the fublime fcenes from which we had defcended ; yet nobody regretted that the reft of the journey was to be performed! on plain ground. The cabriolets arriving the fame forenoon, we fet out by the em- bouchure* which leads to St. Maurice.
That immenfe rampart of mountains which furrounds the Vallais at every other part, is cut through here, which renders that country accefllble to the inhabitants of the canton of Bern. This opening has the appearance G£ a vaft and magnifi- cent avenue, on each fide of which a row of lofty mountains are placed, in- ftead of trees. It is fome leagues in length. The ground is exceedingly fertile, and per- fcdly level; Yet if an attack were fufpeft-
?3o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ed, this pafs could be eafily defended by batteries at the bottom of the mountains on each fide. Befides, a river of confider- able depth flows along, fometimes on the one fide, and fometimes on the other, and> by continually croffing the plain, feems to forbid all hoftile incroachments.
This little fpot, the country of the Val- laifans, which comprehends the valley above defcribed, the mountains that furround it, and ftretch on one fide all the way to the lake, including three or four towns and jnany villages, is a diftriO:, governed by its own laws and magiftrates, in alliance with, but independent of, the Swifs cantons, or any other power. The religion is popery, and the form of government democratic. — • It feems to have been imagined by Nature as a laft afylum for that divinity, without whofe influence all her other gifts are of fmall value. Should the rapacious hand of defpotifm ever crufh the rights of man- kind, and overturn the altars of FREEDOM,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 231
in every other country in Europe, a chofen people may here preferve the true worfhip, and {hare her regard with the provinces beyond the Atlantic.
In the middle of the opening above men- tioned, about four leagues from Martigny, between two high mountains, and at the fide of the Rhone, is fituated the little town of St. Maurice, which guards this entrance into the lower Vallais,
Having pafled a bridge at this town, which divides the country of the Vallaifans from the canton of Bern, we proceeded to Bex, a village remarkable for its delight- ful fituation, and for the fait- works which are near it. After dinner, we vifited thefe. We entered the largeft faline by a paflage cut out of the folid rock, of a fufficient height and breadth to allow a man to walk with eafe.
Travellers who have the curiofity to ex- plore thefe gloomy abodes, are previoufly iurnifred with lighted lamps or torches,
232 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
and drefled in a coarfe habit, to defend them from the flimfy drippings which fall from the roof and fides of the pafiage.
Upon arriving at the refervoir of fait water, which is about three quarters of a mile from the entrance, I was feized with a naufea, from the difagreeable fmell of the place, and returned with all poffible expe- dition to the open air, leaving my compa- nions to pufh their refearches as far as they pleafed. They remained a confiderable time after me. What fatisfa&ion they re- ceived within, I fhall not take upon me to determine; but I never faw a fet of people makea more melancholy exit; — with their greafy frocks, their torches, their fmoky, woe-begone countenances, they put me in mind of a proceffion of con- demned heretics, walking to the flames, at an Auto de Fe at Lifbon.
Having recovered their looks and fpirits at the inn at Bex, they allured me, that the curiofities they had feen during their fub-
terraneous
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 233
terraneous progrefs, particularly after my feceffion, were more worthy of obfervation than any thing we had met with fince we had left Geneva; and they all advifed me, with affected ferioufnefs, to return and com- plete the interefting vifit which I had left unfinimed.
Next morning our company divided, the Duke of Hamilton and Mr. Grenville chu-< fing to return by Vevay and Laufanne. Mr. Upton, Mr. Kennedy, and myfelf, went-by the other fide of the lake of Geneva. They took with them the two chaifes, and we proceeded on horfeback, our road not ad- mitting of wheel carriages.
We left Bex early in the morning, pafT-- ing through Aigle, a thriving little town, whofe houfes are built of a white marble found in the neighbourhood. — 'The ideas of gloom and wretchednefs, as well as of magnificence, had fomehow been linked in my mind with this fubftance. — I don't fcnow whether this is owing to its be- ing
234 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ing ufed in tombs and monuments;- to my having obferved, that the houfes moft profufely ornamented by it are fo often the manfions of dulnefs and difcontent. — Whatever gave rife to this connection of ideas, the appearance of the inhabit- ants of Aigle was well calculated to cure me of the prejudice j for although the jneaneft houfes in this poor little town are buiit of marble, yet in the courfe of my life I never beheld lefs care and more fatif- faclion in the countenances of any fet of people. An appearance of eafe and con- tent prevails not only here, but all over Switzerland.
A little beyond Aigle, we crofled the Rhone in boats. It is broader at this ferry, than where it flows from the lake of Ge- neva. As foon as we arrived on the other fide, we were again in the dominions of the Vallaifans, which extend on this fide all the way to the lake.
We
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 335
We had a delightful ride to St. Gingo, where we dined, and remained feveral hours to refrefh our horfes. Though it was Sunday, there was a fair at this town, to which fuch a concourfe of people had reforted from the Pays de Vallais, the canton of Bern, and from Savoy, that we could not without difficulty find a room to dine in.
The drefs of the young Vallaifannes is remarkably pi&urefque. A little iilk hat, fixed on one fide of the head, from which a bunch of ribbons hangs negligently, with a jacket very advantageous to the (hape, gives them a fmart air, and is upon the whole more becoming than the drefs of the common people in any country I have yet feen.
A little beyond St. Gingo, we entered the dukedom of Savoy. The road is here cut out of the lofty rocks which rife from the lake of Geneva. It muft be paffed with faution, being exceedingly narrow, and no
fence
236 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fence to prevent the traveller from falling over a very high precipice into the lake, in cafe his horfe fhould ftart to one fide.
At Come places this narrow road is ren- dered ftill more dangerous by fragments •which have fallen from the mountains above, and have impaired and almoft de- flroyed the path. At thofe places we were obliged to difmount, and lead our horfes, with great attention, over rubbifh and broken rocks, till we gained thofe parts of the road whicrj were intire.
The fight of Meillerie brought to my remembrance the charming letters of Rouf- feau's two lovers. This recollection filled me with a pleafing enthufiafm. I fought with my eyes, and imagined I discovered the identical place where St. Preux fat with his telefcope to view the habitation of his beloved Julia. — I traced in my imagination his route, when he fprung from rock to rock after one of her letters, which a ftid- den guft of wind had fnatched from his * hands,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 237
hands. — I marked the point at which the two lovers embarked to return to Clarence, after an evening vifit to thofe very rocks,—— when St. Preux, agonized with tender re- collections, anddiftracted with defpair, was tempted to feize his miftrefs, then the wife of another, and precipitate himfelf along with her, from the boat headlong into the middle of the lake.
Every circumftance of that pathetic ftory came frefh into my mind. I felt myfelf on a kind of claffic ground, and experienced that the eloquence of that inimitable writer had given me an intereft in the landfcape before my eyes, beyond that which its own natural beauties could have effected.
Having left the romantic rocks of Meil- lerie behind, we defcended to a fertile plain, almoft on a level with the lake, along which the road runs, flanked with rows of fine tall trees all the way to Evian, an agreeable little town, renowned for its mineral waters. Here we met with many
of
23« VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
of our Geneva acquaintances of both fexes, who had come, under pretence of drinking the waters, to amufe themfelves in this de - lightful retreat.
We next proceeded to Tonon, a moft re- ligious city, if we may judge by the num- ber of churches and monafteries which it contains. The number of inhabitants are calculated at fix or feven thoufand, and every feventh perfon 1 faw wore the uni- form of fome religious order. After this, I was not greatly furprifed to perceive every fymptom of poverty among the lay inhabitants.
Having befpoke fupper and beds at this place, we went and vifited the convent of Carthufians at Ripaille, which is at a little diftance.
It was here that a Duke of Savoy, after a fortunate reign, aflumed the character of a hermit, and lived with the fathers a life of piety and mortification, according to fome; of voluptuoufnefs and policy, ac- cording
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 239
cording to others. What we are well af- fured of is, that he was in a {hort time eleded Pope, by the council of Bafil, which dignity he was obliged to relinquifh nine years after, having firfl made very honour- able conditions for himfelf. After this, he fpent the remainder of his life with the re- putation of great fan&ity at Ripaille.
Had he been allowed to chufe any part of Europe for his retreat, he could not have found one more agreeable than this which his own dominions furnifhed.
The fathers with great politenefs mowed us their foreft, their gardens, their apart- ments, and a very elegant new chapel, which is juft finished. They then conducted us into the chamber where their Sovereign had lived and died. They talked much of his genius, his benevolence, and his fan&ity. We heard them with every mark of acqui- efcence, and returned to our inn, where tho' •we certainly did notfaire Ripaille, I'm. convinced the fleas did ; As Shakefpeare's
carrie?
*40 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
carrier fays, there was never a King in Chriftendom better bit than we were, through the whole night. We paid for our entertainment, fuch as it was, a very extravagant bill in the morning, and with- out grudging ; for we confidered, that we were to leave our hoft and his family amongft a fwarm of blood-fuckers, ftill more intolerable than fleas.
We arrived the fame forenoon at Geneva, having fmifhed a tour in which a greater variety of fublime and interefting objects offer themfelves to the contemplation of the traveller, than can be found in any other part of the globe of the fame extent,
I am, &c.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, fcc, 34!
LETTER XXIX.
Geneva*
T AM not furprifed that your inquiries of late entirely regard the philofopher of Ferney. This extraordinary perfon has contrived to excite more curiofity, and to retain the attention of Europe for a longer fpace of time, than any other man this age has produced, monarchs and heroes in- cluded. Even the moft trivial anecdote
relating to him feems, in fome degree, to intereft the Public.
Since I have been in this country, I have had frequent opportunities of con- verfmg with him, and ftill more with thofe who have lived in intimacy with him for many years : fo that, whatever remarks I
VOL. I. R may
34* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
may fend you on this fubjecl, are founded either on my own obfervation, or on that of the moft candid and intelligent of his acquaintance.
He has enemies and admirers here, as he has every where elfe; and not unfre- quently both united in the fame perfon.
The firft idea which has prefented itfelf to all who have attempted a defcription of his perfon, is that of a fkeleton. In as far as this implies exceflive leannefs, it is juft; but it muft be remembered, that this fke- leton, this mere compofition of fkin and bone, has a look of more fpirit and viva- city, than is generally produced by flefli and blood, however blooming and youth- ful.
The moft piercing eyes I ever beheld are thofe of Voltaire, now in his eightieth year. His whole countenance is expref- five of genius, obfervation, and extreme fenfiblity.
In
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 243
In the morning he has a look of anxiety and difcontent; but this gradually wears off, and after dinner he feems cheerful : — > yet an air of irony never entirely forfakes his face, but may always be obferved lurking in his features, .whether he frowns or fmiles.
When the weather is favourable, he takes an airing in his coach, with his niece, or with fome of his guefts, of whom there is always a fufficient number at Ferney. Sometimes he faunters in his garden; or, if the weather does not permit him to go abroad, he employs his leifure hours in playing at chefs with Pere Adam; or in receiving the vifits of Grangers, a continual fucceffion of whom attend at Ferney to catch an opportunity of feeing him; or in dictating and reading letters; for he ftill retains correfpondents in all the countries of Europe, who inform him of every re- markable occurrence, and fend him every new literary production as fbon as it ap- pears.
R s By
244 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
By far the greater part of his time is fpent in his ftudy; and whether he reads himfelf, or liftens to another, he always has a pen in his hand, to take notes, or make remarks.
Compofition is his principal amufement. No author who writes for daily bread, no young poet ardent for diftinction, is more afliduous with his pen, or more anxious for frefti fame, than the wealthy and applauded Seigneur of Ferney.
He lives in a very hofpitable manner, and takes care always to keep a good cook. He has generally two or three vifitors from Paris, who flay with him a month or fix weeks at a time. When they go, their places are foon fupplied; fo that there is a conftant rotation of fociety at Ferney. Thefe, with Voltaire's own family, and his vifitors from Geneva, compofe a company of twelve or fourteen people, who dine daily at his table, whether he appears or not. For when en- gaged in preparing fome new production for
the
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 245
the prefs, indifpofed or in bad fpirits, he does not dine with the company; but fatif- fies himfelf with feeing them for a few minutes, either before or after dinner.
All who bring recommendations from his friends, may depend upon being received, if he be not really indifpofed. — He often prefents himfelf to the ftrangers, who af- femble almoft every afternoon in his anti- chamber, although they bring no particular recommendation. But fometimes they are obliged to retire without having their cu- riofity gratified.
As often as this happens, he is fure of being accufed of peevifhnefs; and a thou- fand ill-natured (lories are related, perhaps invented, out of revenge, becaufe he is not in the humour of being exhibited like a dancing bear on a holiday. It is much lefs furprifing that he fometimes refufes, than that he fhould comply fo often. In him, this complairance muft proceed folely from a defire to oblige; for Voltaire has been R 3 fo
246 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fo long accuftomed to admiration, that the ftare of a few ftrangers cannot be fuppofed to afford him much pleafure.
His niece, Madame Denis, does the honours of the table, and entertains the company, when her uncle is riot able, or does not choofe to appear. She is a well- difpofed woman, who behaves with good- humour to every body, and with unremit- ting attention and tendernefs to her -uncle.
The forenoon is not a proper time to vifit Voltaire. He cannot bear to have his hours of fludy interrupted. This alone is fufficient to put him out of humour; be- fides, he is then apt to be querulous, whether he fuffers by the infirmities of age, or from fome accidental caufe of chagrin. Whatever is the reafon, he is lefs an opti- mift at that part of the day than at any
Other. It was in the morning, probably,
that he remarked, que c'e'toit doiiiage
que le quinquina fe trouyoit en Ameriqije, Ct la fie'vreen nos ciimats.
Thofe
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 347-.
Thofe who are invited to (upper, have an opportunity of feeing him in the moft advantageous point of view. He then ex- erts himfelf to entertain the company, and feems as fond of faying, what are called
good things, as ever: and when any
lively remark or bon mot comes from another, he is equally delighted, and pays
the fulleft tribute of applaufe. The
fpirit of mirth gains upon him by indul- gence.—When furrounded by his friends, and animated by the prefence of women, he feems to enjoy life with all the fenfibi- lity of youth. His genius then furmounts the reftraints of age and infirmity, and flows along in a fine {train of pleafmg, fpi- rited obfervation, and delicate irony.
He has an excellent talent of adapting his converfa lion to his company. — The firft time the Duke of Hamilton waited on him, he turned the difcourfe on the ancient alliance between the French and Scotch nations.-r Reciting the circumftance of one of hii R 4
24$ VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Grace's predeceflbrs having accompanied Mary Queen of Scots, whofe heir he at that time was, to the court of France, — he fpoke of the heroic characters of his anceftors, the ancient Earls of Douglas— of the great literary reputation of fome of his countrymen, then living; and men- tioned the names of Hume and Robertfon in terms of high approbation.
A fhort time afterwards, he was vifited by two Ruffian Noblemen, who are now at Geneva. Voltaire talked to them a great deal of their Emprefs, and the flourifhing
ftate of their country. Formerly, faid
he, your countrymen were guided by ig- norant priefts, — the arts were unknown, and your lands lay wafte; — but now the arts flourifh, and the lands are cultivated. — One of the young men replied, That there was flill a great proportion of barren land in Ruffia.— At leaft, faid Voltaire, you muft admit, that of late your country has been very fertile in laurels.
His
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 249
His diflike to the clergy is well known. — . This leads him to join in a very trite topic of abufe with people .who have no preten- fion to that degree of wit which alone could make their railings tolerable. — The converfation' happening to turn into this channel, one perfon faid, If you fubtract pride from priefts nothing will remain.— Vous comptez done, Monfieur, la gour- mandife pour Hen, faid Voltaire.
He approves much more of Marmontel's Art of Poetry, than of any poems of that author's compofition. Speaking of thefe, he faid that Marmontel, like Mofes, could guide bthers to the Holy Land, though he was not allowed to enter it himfelf *.
* The fame allufion, though probably Voltaire did not know it, was long fince made by Cowley— — * Bacon like Mofes led us forth at laft, The barren wildernefs he paft, Did on the very border ftand Of the bleft promifed land, And from the mountain top of his exalted wit Saw it himfelf, and Ihew'd us it.
Voltaire's
25o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Voltaire's unbecoming allufions to the Sacred Writings, and his attempts to turn into ridicule fome of the mod venerable characters mentioned in them, are no- torious.
A certain perfon, who Hammered very much, found means to get himfelf intro- duced at Ferney. He had no other re- commendation than the praifes he very
liberally beftowed on himfelf. When
he left the room Voltaire faid, he fuppofed him to be an avanturier, un impofteur. — Madame Denis faid, Importers never ftam- mer: — To which Voltaire replied — Moife, ne begayoit-il pas ?
You muft have heard of the animofity which has long fubfifted between VoltairQ and Freron the Journalift at Paris. The former was walking one day in his garden with a gentleman from Geneva. A toad crawled acrofs the road before them:— ^The gentleman, to pleafe Voltaire, faid, point- ing at the toad, — There is a Freron. What
can.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c.
can that poor animal have done to replied the Wit, to deferve fuch a name?
He compared the Britifh. nation to a- hogfhead of their own ftrong beer; the top of which is froth, the bottom dregs, the middle excellent.
A friend of Voltaire's having recom- mended to his perufal, a particular fyftem of metaphyfics, fupported by a train o£ reafonings, by which the author difplayed his own ingenuity and addrefs, without convincing the mind of the reader, or proving any ihing befides his own elo- quence and fophiftry, a{ked, fome time after, the critic's opinion of this per- formance.
Metaphyfical writers, replied Voltaire, are like minuet-dancers; who being drefT- ed to the greateft advantage, make a couple of bows, move through the room in the fined attitudes, difplay all their graces, are in continual motion without advancing a ftep, and finifh at the identical point from which
they
*52 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
they fet out. Perhaps he borrowed this thought from the following lines in Pope's Dunciad :
Or fet on metaphyfic ground to prance, Shew all his paces, not a ftep advance.
This, I hope, will fatisfy you for the prefent ; in my next, I (hall fend you what farther particulars I think worth your no- tice concerning this fingular man. — Mean while, I am, &c.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, 3cc. 353
LETTER XXX.
Geneva.
/^Onfidered as a mafter, Voltaire appears in a very amiable light. He is affable, humane, and generous to his tenants and dependants; He loves to fee them profper; and takes part in their private and domeftic concerns with the attention of a patri- arch.— He promores induftry and manufac- tures amqng them, by every means he can devife : by his care and patronage alone, Ferney, from a wretched village, whofe inhabitants were funk in (loth and poverty, is become a flourifhing and commodious little town.
That acrimony, which appears in fome of Voltaire's works, feems to be excited only againft rival wits, and contemporary
writers,
254 VIEW- OF SOCIETY AND
writers, who refufe him that diftinguifhed place on Parnaflus, to which his talents en- title him.
If he has been the author of fevere fatire, he has alfo been the object of a great deal. Who has been the aggreffor, it would be difficult to determine; but it muft be con- feffed, that where he has not been irritated as a writer, he appears a good-humoured man; and, in particular inftances, difplays
a true philanthropy. The whole of his
conduct refpecting the Galas family; — his protection of the Sirvens, his patronage of the young lady defcended from Cor- neille, and many examples, which might be mentioned, are all of this nature.
Some people will tell you, that all the buftle he made, on thefe, and fimilar oc- cafions, proceeded from vanity; but in my mind, the man who takes pains to juftify opprefled innocence, to roufe the indigna- tion of mankind againft cruelty, and to re- lieve indigent merit, is in reality benevo- lent,
MANNERS IN FRANCE* &c. 25$
lent, however vain he may be of fuch actions.— Such a man is unqueftionably a more^ ufeful member of fociety, than the humbleft monk, who has no other plan in life, than the working out his own falvation in a corner.
Voltaire's criticifms on the writings of Shakefpear do him no honour; they be- tray an ignorance of the author, whofe works he fo rafhly condemns. Shakefpear's irregularities, and his difregard for the uni- ties of the drama, are obvious to the dulleft of modern critics; but Voltaire's national prejudices, and his imperfect knowledge of the language, render him blind to fome of the moft mining beauties of the Englifh Poet; his remarks, however, though not always candid nor delicate, are for the mod part lively.
One evening, at Ferney, the converfa- tion happening to turn on the genius of Shakefpear, Voltaire expatiated on the impropriety and abfurdity of introducing
low
256 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
low charaders and vulgar dialogue into Tragedy ; and gave many inftances of the Englifh bard's having offended in that par- ticular, even in his moft pathetic plays. A gentleman of the company, who is a great admirer of Shakefpear, obferved, by way of palliation, that though thofe charac- ters were low, yet they were natural (dans la nature, was his expreflion). Avec per- miffion, Monfieur, replied Voltaire, tnon cul eft bien dans la nature, et cependant je porte des coulottes.
Voltaire had formerly a little theatre at his own houfe, where dramatic pieces were reprefented by fome of the fociety who vifited there, he himfelf generally taking fome important character; but by all ac- counts this was not his fort, nature having fitted him for conceiving the fentiments, but not reprefenting the actions of a hero.
Mr. Cramer of Geneva fometirnes affifted
upon thefe occafions. I have often feen
t that
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 257
that gentleman act at a private theatre in that city with deferved applaufe. Very few of thofe who have made acting the ftudy and bufmefs of their lives, could have reprefented the characters, in which he appeared, with more judgment and en- ergy.
The celebrated Clairon herfelf has been proud to tread Voltaire's domeftic theatre, and to difplay at once his genius and her own.
Thefe dramatic entertainments at Fer- ney, to which many of the inhabitants of Geneva were, from time to time, invited, in all probability increafed their defire for fuch amufements, and gave the hint to a company of French comedians, to come every fummer to the neighbourhood.
As the Syndics and Council did not judge it proper to licenfe their acting, this company have erected a theatre at Chate- laine, which is on the French fide of the ideal line which feparates that kingdom from
VOL. I. S the
258 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the territories of the Republic, and about three miles from the ramparts of Geneva, People come occafionally from Savoy and Switzerland to attend thefe reprefenta- tions; but the company on which the actors chiefly depend, are the citizens of Geneva* The play begins at three or four in the afternoon, that the fpectators may have time to return before the fhutting of the gates.
I have been frequency at this theatre. The performers are moderately good. The admired Le Kain, who is now at Fer- ney on a vifit to Voltaire, fometimes ex- hibits:— but when I go, my chief induce- ment is to fee Voltaire, who generally attends when Le Kain acts, and when one of his own tragedies is to be repre- fented.
He fits on the ftage, and behind the fcenes; but fo as to be feen by a great part of the audience. He takes as much in- tereft in the reprefentation, as if his own
character
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 259
character depended on the performance. He feems perfectly chagrined and difgufted when any of the actors commit a miftake ; and when he thinks they perform well, never fails to mark his approbation with all the violence of voice and gefture.
He enters into the feigned diftrefTes of the piece with every fymptom of real emotion, and even fheds tears with the profufion of a girl prefent for the firft time at a tragedy.
I have fometimes fat near him during the whole entertainment, obferving with aftonifhment fuch a degree of fenfibility in a man of eighty. This great age, one wfruld naturally believe, might have con- fiderably blunted every fenfation, particu- larly thofe occafioned by the fictitious diP trefles of the drama, to which he has been habituated from his youth.
The pieces reprefented having been
written by himferf, is another circumftance
•which, in my opinion, ihould naturally
S 2
6o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
tend to prevent their effect on him. Some people indeed affert that this, fo far from, diminifhing, is the real caufe of all his fenfibility; and they urge, as a proof of this afTertion, that he attends the theatre only when fome of his own pieces are to be afted.
That he (houkl be better pleafed to fee his own tragedies reprefented than any others, is natural; but I do not readily com- prehend, how he can be more eafily moved and deceived, by diftreffes which he him- felf invented. Yet this degree of decep- tion feems neceflary to make a man fhed tears. While thefe tears are flowing, he muft believe ther woes he weeps are real: he muft have been fo far deceived by the cunning of the fcene, as to have forgot that he was in a playhoufe. The moment he recollects that the whole is fiction, his fym- pathy and tears muft ceafe.
I fhould
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 261
I mould be glad, however, to fee Vol- taire prefent at the reprefentation of fome of Corneille or Racine's tragedies, that I might obferve whether he would difcover more or lefs fenfibility than he has done at his own. We mould then be able to afcertain this curious, difputed point, whe- ther his fympathy regarded the piece or the author.
Happy, if this extraordinary man had confined his genius to its native home, to the walks which the mufes love, and where he has always been received with diftin- guiihed honour, and that he had never de- viated from thefe, into the thorny paths of controverfy ! For while he attacked the ty- rants and opprefibrs of mankind, and thofe who have perverted the benevolent nature of Chriftianity to the moft felfiih and ma- lignant purpofes, it is for ever to be regret- ted, that he allowed the {hafts of his ridi- cule to glance upon the Chriftian religion, fofelf.
262 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
By perfevering in this, he has not only fhocked the pious, but even difgufted infi- dels, who aceufe him of borrowing from himfelf, and repeating the fame argument in various publications; and feem as tired of the (tale fneer againft the Chriftian doc- trines, as of the dulleft and moft tedious /ermons in fupport of them.
Voltaire's behaviour during ficknefs has been reprefented in very oppofite lights. I have heard much of his great contrition and repentance, when he had reafon to be- lieve his end approaching. Thefe ftories, had they been true, would have proved, that his infidelity was affectation, and that he was a believer and Chriftian in his heart.
I own I could never give any credit to fuch reports ; for though I have frequently met with vain young men, who have given themfelves airs of free-thinking, while in reality they were even fuperftitious, yet I never could underftand what a man like Voltaire, or any man of common under-
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 263
landing, could propofe to himfelf by fuch abfurd affectation. To pretend to defpife what we really revere, and to treat as hu- man, what we believe to be divine, is cer- tainly, of all kinds of hypocrify, the moft unpardonable.
I was at fome pains to afcertain this mat- ter ; and I have been aflured, by thofe who have lived during many years in familiarity with him, that all thefe (lories are without foundation. They declared, that although he was unwilling to quit the enjoyment of life, and ufed the means of preferving health, he feemed no way afraid of the confequences of dying. That he never dif- covered, either in health or ficknefs, any remorfe for the works imputed to him againft the Chriftiau religion.— — That, on, the contrary, he was blinded to fuch a de- gree, as toexprefs uneafmefs at the thoughts of dying before fome of them, in which he was at that time engaged, were finifhed.
S 4 Though
264, VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Though this conduct is not to be juftified upon any fuppofition, yet there is more con- fiftency, and, in my opinion, lefs wicked- nefs in it, if we admit the account which his friends give, than there would be in his writing at once againft the eftablifhed opi- nions of mankind, the conviction of his own confcience, and the infpirations of thq Deity, merely to acquire the applaufe of a few miftaken infidels.
However erroneous he may have been, I cannot fufpect him of fuch abfurdity. On the contrary, I imagine, that as foon as he is convinced of the truths of Chrift-? ianity, he will openly avow his opinion, in health as in ficknefs, uniformly, to. hi§ laft mpment.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c.
LETTER XXXI.
Geneva.
T N obedience to your requeft, I fhall give you my opinion freely with regard to Lord *s fcheme of fending his two
fons to be educated at Geneva.
The eldeft, if I remember right, is not more than nine years of age ; and they have advanced no farther in their education than being able to read Englifh tolerably well. His Lordfhip's idea is, that when they fhall have acquired a perfect knowledge of the French Language, they may be taught Latin through the medium of that language, and purfue any other ftudy that may be thought proper,
I have attended to his Lordfhip's objeo tipris againft the public fchools ia England,
and
266 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
and after due confideration, and weighing every circumftance, I remain of opinion, that no country but Great Britain is proper for the education of a Britifh fubject, who propofes to pafs his life in his own country. The moft important point, in my mind, to be fecured in the education of a young man of rank of our country, is to make him an Englimman; and this can be done no where fo effectually as in England.
He will there acquire thofe fentiments, that particular tafte and turn of mind, which will make him prefer the govern- ment, and relifh the manners, the diver- fions, and general way of living, which prevail in England.
He will there acquire that character, which diftinguifhes Engliftimen from the natives of all the other countries of Europe, and which, once attained, however it may be afterwards embellifhed or deformed, can sever be entirely effaced.
If
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 267
If it could be proved, that this character is not the mod amiable, it does not follow that it is not the moft expedient. It is fufficient, that it is upon the whole moft approved of in England. For I hold it as indifputable, that the good opinion of a man's countrymen is of more importance to him than that of all the reft of man- kind: Indeed, without the firft, he very rarely can enjoy the fecond.
It is thought, that, by an early foreign education, all ridiculous Englifh prejudices will be avoided. This may be true; — but other prejudices, perhaps as ridiculous, and much more detrimental, will be formed. The firft cannot be attended with many in^ conveniencies ; the fecond may render the young people unhappy in their own coun- try when they return, and difagreeable to their countrymen all the reft of their lives.
It is true, that the French manners are adopted in alraoft every country of Europe : they prevail all over Germany and the
northern
268 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
northern courts. They are gaming ground, though with a flower pace, in Spain, and in the Italian ftates.— This is not the cafe in England. — The Englifh manners are uni- verfal in the provinces, prevail in the capi- tal, and are to be found uncontaminated even at court.
*
In all the countries above mentioned, the body of the people behold this preference to foreign manners with difguft. But in all thofe countries, the fentiments of the people are difregarded ; whereas, in Eng- land, popularity is of real importance ; and the higher a man's rank is, the more he will feel the lofs of it.
Befides, a prejudice againft French man- ners is not confined to the lower ranks in England: — It is diffufed over the whole nation. Even thofe who have none of the pfual prejudices ;— who do all manner of juftice to the talents and ingenuity of their neighbours ; — who approve of French man- ners in French people 5 yet cannot fuffer
them
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 269
them when grafted on their countrymen. Should an Englifh gentleman think this kind of grafting at all admiffible, it will be in fome of the loweft clafies with whom he is conne&ed, as his tailor, barber, valet- de-chambre, or cook; — but never in his friend.
t can fcarcely remember an inftance of an Englifhman of faftrion, who has evinced in his drefs or flyle of living a preference to French manners, who did not lofe by it in the opinion of his countrymen.
What I have faid of French manners is applicable to foreign manners in general, which are all in fome degree French, and the particular differences are not diftin- guifhed by the Englifh.
The fentimentsof the citizens of Geneva are more analogous in many refpeds to the turn of thinking in England, than to the general opinions in France. Yet a Gene- vois in London will univerfally pafs for a
Frenchman,
An
270
VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
An Englifh boy, fent to Geneva at an early period of life, and remaining there fix or feven years, if his parents be not along with him, will probably, in the eyes of the Englifh, appear a kind of French- man all his life after. This is an inconve- nience which ought to be avoided with the greateft attention.
With regard to the objections againft public fchools, they are, in many refpects, applicable to thofe of every country. But I freely own, they never appeared to me fufficient to overbalance the advantages which attend that method of education ; particularly as it is conducted in Englifh public fchools.
I have perceived a certain hardihood and manlinefs of character in boys who have had a public education, fuperior to what appears in thofe of the fame age educated privately.
At a public fchool, though a general at- tention is paid to the whole, in many par- ticulars
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 271
ticulars each boy is necefiitated to decide and act for himfelf. His reputation among his companions depends folely on his own conduct. This gradually ftrengthens the mind, infpires firmnefs and decifion, and prevents that wavering imbecility obfervable in thofe who have been long accuftomed to rely upon the affiftance and opinion of others.
The original impreffions which fink into the heart and mind, and form the charac- ter, never change. — The objects of our at- tention vary in the different periods of life. — This is fometimes miftakenfor a change of character, which in reality remains ef- fentially the fame.— He who is referved, deceitful, cruel, or avaricious, when a boy, will not, in any future period of life, be- come open, faithful, compaflionate, or generous.
The young mind has, at a public fchool, the beft chance of receiving thofe fenti- inents which incline the heart to friend-
ihip,
c72 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fhip, and correct felfimnefs. They are drawn in by obfervation, which is infinitely more powerful than precept.
A boy perceives, that courage, genero- fity, gratitude, command the efteem and applaufe of all his companions. He che- rifhes thefe qualities in his own breaft, and endeavours to connect himfelf in friendmip with thofe who pofiefs them. — He fees that xneannefs of fpirit, ingratitude, and per- fidy, are the objects of deteftation. — He fhuns the boys who difplay any indications of thefe odious qualities. What is the ob- ject of applaufe or contempt to his fchool- fellows, he will endeavour to graft into, or eradicate from, his own character, with ten thoufand times more eagernefs than that which was applauded and cenfured by his tutor or parents.
The admonitions of thefe laft have pr6* bably loft their effect by frequent repeti- tion ; or he may imagine their maxims are only applicable to a former age, and to £ manners
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 273
manners which are obfolete. — But he feels the fentiments of his companions affecT: his reputation and fame in the moil fenfible manner.
In all the countries of Europe, England excepted, fuch a deference is paid to boys of rank at the public fchools, that emula- tion, the chief fpur to diligence, is greatly blunted. — The boys in the middle rank of life are deprefled by the infolence of their titled companions, which they are not al- lowed to correct or retaliate. This has
the worft effed on the minds of both, by rendering thefe more infolent, and thofe more abject.
The public fchools in England difdain this mean partiality ; and are, on that ac- count, peculiarly ufeful to boys of high rank and great fortune. Thefe young peo- ple are exceedingly apt to imbibe falfe ideas of their own importance, which in thofe impartial feminaries will be perfectly afcer- tained, and the real merit of the youths
VOL. I, T weighed
474 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
weighed in jufter fcales than are generally to be found in a parent's houfe.
The young peer will be taught by the maflers, and (till more effectually by hre comrades, this moft ufeful of all leflbns, — to expect diftindion and efteem from per- fonal qualities only; becaufe no other can make him eftimable, or even fave him from
contempt. He will fee a dunce of high
rank flogged with as little ceremony as the fon of a tailor ; and the richeft coward kicked about by his companions equally with the poorefl poltroon. — He will find that diligence, genius, and fpirit, are the true fources of fuperiority and applaufe, both withia and without the fchool.
The a&ive principle of emulation, when allowed full play, as in the chief fchools in England, operates in various ways, and al- ways with a good effect. If a boy finds
that he falls beneath his companions in literary merit, he will endeavour to excel them ia intrepidity, or fome other accom-
plifhment.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 27$
plimment. If he be brought to difgrace
for neglecting his exercife, he will try to fave himfelf from contempt by the firmnefs with which he bears his punimment.
The liftleffhefs and indolence to be found fo frequently among our young people of rank, are not to be imputed to their educa* tion at a public fchool, which in reality has the greateft tendency to counteract thefe habits, and often does fo, and gives an energy to the mind which remains through life.
Thofe wretched qualities creep on after- wards, when the youths become their own. matters, and have enfeebled their minds by indulging in all the pleafures which fortune puts in their power, and luxury prefents.
Upon the whole, I am clearly of opinion, that the earlieft period of every Englifh- man's education, during which the mind receives the moft lading impreflions, ought to be in England.
T a If,
476 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
If, however, the opinion of relations, or any peculiarity in fituation, prevents his being educated at home, Geneva fhould be preferred to any other place. Or if, by fome neglect, either of his own or his parents, a young Englifh gentleman of for- tune has allowed the firft years of youth to fly unimproved, and has attained the age of feventeen or eighteen with little literary knowledge, I know no place where he may have a better chance of recovering what he has loft than in this city. He may have a choice of men of eminence, in every branch of literature, to affift him in his ftudies, a great proportion of whom are men of ge- nius, and as amiable in their manners as they are eminent in their particular pro- feffions.
He will have conftant opportunities of being in company with very ingenious people, whofe thoughts and converfation turn upon literary fubje&s. In fuch fo- ciety, a young man will feel the neceflity of
fome
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 277
ibme degree of ftudy. This will gradually form a tafte for knowledge, which may re- main through life.
It may alfo be numbered among the ad* vantages of this place, that there are few objects of diffipation, and hardly any fources ofamufement, befides thofe derived from the natural beauties of the country, and from an intimacy with a people by whofe converfation a young man can fcarce fail to improve.
P. S. An Englifti nobleman and his lady having taken the refolution of educating their fon at Geneva, attended him hither, and have effectually prevented the incon- veniencies above mentioned, by remaining with him for feven or eight years.
The hofpitality, generofity, and bene- volent difpofitions of this family had ac- quired them the higheft degree of popula- rity. I faw them leave the place. Their carriage could with difficulty move through T 3 the
278 "VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the multitude, who were aflembled in the
ftreets. Numbers of the poorer fort,
who had been relieved by their fecret cha- rity, unable longer to obey the injunctions of their benefactors, proclaimed their gra- titude aloud.
The young gentleman was obliged to come out again and again to his old friends and companions, who prefled around the coach to bid him farewel, and exprefs their forrow for his departure, and their wifhes for his profperity. The eyes of the parents overflowed with tears of happinefs ; and the whole family carried along with them the affedions of the greater part, and the efteem, of all the citizens,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 279
LETTER XXXIL
Geneva.
CU 1C IDE is very frequent at Geneva. I am told this has been the cafe ever fince the oldeft people in the republic can re- member; and there is reafon to believe, that it happens oftener here, in proportion to the number of inhabitants, than in Eng- land, or any other country of Europe.
The multiplicity of inftances which has occurred fince I have been here is aftonifh- ing. Two that have happened very lately are remarkable for the peculiar eireum- flances which accompanied them.
The firft was occafioned by a fudden and
unaccountable fit of defpair, which feized
the fon of one of the wealthieft and mod
y rentable citizens of the republic. This
T 4 young
*8o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
young gentleman had, in appearance, every reafon to be fatisfied with his lot He was handfome, and in the vigour of youth, married to a woman of an excellent cha- racter, who had brought him a great for- tune, and by whom he was the father of a fine child. In the midft of all thefe bleflings, furrounded by every thing which could in- fpire a man with an attachment to life, he felt it infupportable, and without any obvious caufe of chagrin, determined to deftroy himfelf.
Having pafled fome hours with his mo» ther, a moft valuable woman, and with his wife and child, he left them in apparent good humour, went into another room, ap- plied the muzzle of a mufket to his fore- head, thruft back the trigger with his toe, and blew out his brains, in the hearing of the unfufpedting company he had juft quitted.
The fecond inftance, is that of a black- fmith, who, taking the fame fatal refolu-
tion,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 281
tion, and not having any convenient inftru- ment at hand, charged an old gun-barrel with a brace of bullets, and putting one end into the fire of his forge, tied a firing to the handle of the bellows, by pulling of which he could make them play, while he was at a convenient diftance. Kneeling down, he then placed his head near the mouth of the barrel, and moving the bel- lows by means of the firing, they blew up the fire, he keeping his head with aftonifh- ing firmnefs, and horrible deliberation, in that pofition, till the farther end of the barrel was fo heated as to kindle the pow- der, whofe explofion inftantly drove the bullets through his brains.
Though I know that this happened li- terally as I have related, yet there i§ fomething fo extraordinary, and almoft in- credible, in the circumftances, that perhaps I ftiould not have mentioned it, had it not been well attefted, and known to the inha- bitants
282 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
bitants of Geneva, and all the Englifh who are at prefent here.
Why filicide is more frequent in Great Britain and Geneva than elfewhere, would be a matter of curious inveftigation. For it appears very extraordinary, that men fhould be moft inclined to kill themfelves in coun- tries where the bleffings of life are beft fecured. There muft be fome ftrong and peculiar caufe for an effect fo prepofterous.
Before coming here, I was of opinion, that the frequency of fuicide in England, was occafioned in a great meafure by the ftormy and unequal climate, which, while it clouds the fky, throws alfo a gloom over the minds of the natives. — To this caufe, foreigners generally add, that of the ufe of coal, inftead of wood for fuel.
I refted fatisfied with fome vague theory, built on thefe taken together : — But nei- ther can account for the fame effect at Ge- neva, where coal is not ufed, and where
the
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 283
the climate is the fame with that in Swit- zerland, Savoy, and the neighbouring parts of France, where inftances of filicide are certainly much more rare.
Without prefuming to decide what are the remote caufes of this fatal propenfity, it appears evident to me, that no reafoning can have the fmalleft force in preventing it, but what is founded upon the foul's im- mortality and a future ftate. — What effecT: can the common arguments have on a man who does not believe that neceflary and im- portant doctrine ? — He may be told, that he did not give himfelf life, therefore he has no right to take it away: — that he is a centinel on a poft, and ought to remain till he is relieved; — what is all this to the man who thinks he is never to be quef- tjoned for his violence and defertion ?
If you attempt to pique this man's pride, ^y afierting, that it is a greater proof of courage to bear the ills of life, than to flee jfrpm them ; he will anfwer you from the
Roman
^4, VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Roman hiftory, and aik, Whether Cato, Caffius, and Marcus Brutus, were cowards ? The great legiflator of the Jews feems to have been convinced, that no law or argument againft iuicide could have any influence on the minds of people who were ignorant of the foul's immortality; and therefore, as be did not think it neceflary to inftruct them in the one (for reafons which the Bifliop of Gloucefter has un- folded in his treatife on the Divine Legation of Mofes), he alfo thought it fuperfluous to give them any exprefs law againft the other.
Thofe philofophers, therefore, who have endeavoured to {hake this great and im- portant conviction from the minds of men, have thereby opened a door to fuicide as well as to other crimes. — For, whoever rea- fons againft that, without founding upon the doctrine of a future ftate, will foon fee all his arguments overturned.
it
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 285
It muft be acknowledged, indeed, that in many cafes this queftion is decided by men's feelings, independent of reafonings of any kind.
Nature has not trufted a matter of fo great importance entirely to the fallible reafon of man ; but has planted in the human breaft fuch a love of life, and horror of death, as feldom can be overcome even by the greateft misfortunes.
But there is a difeafe which fometimes affects the body, and afterwards communi- cates its baneful influence to the mind, over which it hangs fuch a cloud of horrors as renders life abfolutely infupportable. In this dreadful ftate, every pleafing idea is banifhed, and all the fources of comfort
in life are poifoned. Neither fortune,
honours, friends, nor family, can afford the fmalleft fatisfaction. Hope, the laft pil- lar of the wretched, falls to the ground — Defpair lays hold of the abandoned fufferer —Then all reafoning becomes vain—- Even
286 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Even arguments of religion have no weight, and the poor creature embraces death as his only friend, which, as he thinks, may terminate, but cannot augment, his mifery.
lam, &c.
P. S. You need not write till you hear from me again, as I think it is probable that we (hall have left this place before your letter could arrive.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 287
LETTER XXXIII.
Laufanne.
H E Duke of Hamilton having a defire to vifit fome of the German Courts, we bade adieu to our friends at Geneva, and are thus far on our intended journey. It is of peculiar advantage in Germany, above all other countries, to be in company with a man of rank and high title, becaufe it facilitates your reception every where, and fuperfedes the neceffity of recommen- datory letters.
I have met here with my friend Brydone, whofe company and converfation have re- tarded our journey, by fupplying the chief objecls of travelling, if amufement and in- ftrudtion are to be ranked among them. He is here with the Marquis of Lindfay, a lively, fpirited young man ;— one of thofe
eafy,
288 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
eafy, carelefs characters, fo much beloved by their intimates, and fo regardlefs of the opinion of the reft of mankind.
Since you hold me to my promife of •writing fo very regularly, you muft fome- times expect to receive a letter dated from three or four different places, when either my (hort ftay in one place deprives me of the leifure, or meeting with nothing un- common in another, deprives me of mate- rials for fo long a letter as you require.
The road from Geneva to this town is along the fide of the lake, through a de- lightful country, abounding in vineyards, •which produce the via de la cote, fo much efteemed. All the little towns on the way, Nyon, Rolle, and Morges, are finely fitu- ated, neatly builtj and inhabited by a thriv- ing and contented people.
Laufanne is the capital of this charm- ing country, which formerly belonged to the Duke of Savoy, but is now under the dominion of the canton of Bern.
However
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 289
However mortifying this may be to the former poffeflbr, it has certainly been a happy difpenfation to the inhabitants of the Pays de Vaud, who are in every refpect more at their eafe, and in a better fituation, than any of the fubjects of his Sardinian Majefty.
This city is fituated near the lake, and at the diftance of about thirty miles from. Geneva, As the nobility, from the coun- try, and from fome parts of Switzerland, and the families of feveral officers who have retired from fervice, refide here, there is an air of more eafe and gaiety (perhaps alfo more politenefs) in the focieties at Laufanne, than in thofe of Geneva; at leaft this is firmly believed and afferted by all the nobles of this place, who confider themfelves as greatly fuperior to the citi- zens of Geneva. Thefe, on the other hand, talk a good deal of the poverty, fri- voloufnefs, and ignorance of thofe fame nobility, and make no fcruple of ranking
VOL. I. U their
29o VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
their own enlightened mechanics above them in every eflential quality.
Vevay.
The road between Laufanne and Vevay is very mountainous ; but the mountains are cultivated to the fummits, and covered with
vines. This would have been impra&i-
cable on account of the fleepnefs, had not the proprietors built ftrong flone- walls at proper intervals, one above the other, which fupport the foil, and form little terraces from the bottom to the top of the mountains.
The peafants afcend by narrow flairs, and, before they arrive at the ground they are to cultivate, have frequently to mount higher than a mafon who is employed in repairing the top of a fteeple.
The mountainous nature of this country fubjeds it to frequent torrents, which,
when
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 291
when violent, fvveep away vines, foil, and walls in one common deftrucTion. The inhabitants behold the havoc with a Heady concern, and, without giving way to the clamorous rage of the French, or finking into the gloomy defpair of the Englifh, think only of the moft effectual means of repairing the lofs.^ — As foon as the ftorm has abated, they begin, with admirable pa- tience and perfeverance, to rebuild the walls, to carry frefh earth on hurdles to the top of the mountain, and to fpread a new foil wherever the old has been wafhed away.
Where property is perfectly fecure, and men allowed to enjoy the fruits of their own labour, they are capable of efforts unknown in thofe countries where defpotifm renders every thing precarious, and where a tyrant reaps what flaves have fown.
This part of the Pays de Vaud is inha- bited by the defendants of thofe unhappy U 2 people,
292 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
people, who were driven by the moft ab- furd and cruel perfecution from the vallies of Piedmont and Savoy.
I will not affert, that the iniquity of the perfecutors has been vifited upon their children ; but the fufferings and ftedfaft- nefs of the perfecuted feem to be recom- penfed by the happy fituation in which their children of the third and fourth gene- rations are now placed.
Vevay is a pretty little town, containing between three and four thoufand inhabit- ants. It is fweetly fituated on a plain, near the head of the lake of Geneva, where the Rhone enters. The mountains behind the town, though exceedingly high, are entirely cultivated, like thofe on the road from Laufanne.
There is a large village about half-way up the mountain, in a direct line above Vevay, which, viewed from below, feems adhering to the fide of the precipice, and has a very fingular and romantic appearance.
The
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 293
The principal church is detached from the town, and fituated on a hill which overlooks it. From the terrace, or church- yard, there is a view of the Alps, the Rhone, the lake, with towns and villages
on its margin. Within this church the
body of General Ludlow is depofited. That fteady republican withdrew from Laufanne to this place, after the aflaffination of his friend Lifle, who was {hot through the heart, as he was going to church, by a ruffian, who had come acrofs the lake for that purpofe, and who, amidft the confu- fion occafioned by the murder, got fafe to the boat, and efcaped to the Duke of Savoy's territories on the other fide, where he was openly protected. — This was a pitiful way of avenging the death of a monarch, wao, whether juftly or not, had been publicly condemned and executed.'
There is a long Latin epitaph on Lud-
low's monument, enumerating many cir-
cumftances of his life, but omitting the
U 3 raoft
294 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
moft remarkable of them all. He is called, Patrise libertatis defenfor, et poteftatis arbi- trarise propugnator acerrimus *, &c. — But no nearer hint is given of his having been one ot King Charles the Firft's judges, and of his having figned the fentence againft that ill-faced Prince.
However fond th£ Swifs in general may be of liberty, and however partial to its aflertors, it is prefumable that thofe who protected Ludlow did not approve of this part of his ftory, and on that account a particular mention of it was not made on his tomb.
There is no travelling by poft through Switzerland ; we therefore hired horfes at Geneva, to carry us to Bafil ; from whence we can proceed by poft to Strasbourg, which is the route we defign to take. We leave Laufanne the day after to-morrow.
* A defender of the liberty of his native country, and 3 Determined oppofer of arbitrary power, &c.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 295
LETTER XXXIV.
Bern.
f~\ N my return from Vevay to Laufanne, I found our friend Mr. Harvey, at the inn, with the Duke of Hamilton. His Grace inclines to remain fome time longer at that city 3 but defired that I might pro- ceed with the carriages and all the fervants, except his valet-de-chambre and one foot- man, at Strafbourg, which I readily agreed to, on his promifing to join me there within a few days. Harvey, at the fame time, made the very agreeable propofal of accom- panying me to Strafbourg, where he will remain till our departure from thence, leav- ing his chaife for the Duke.
We began our journey the following.,
day, and were efcorted as far as Payerne by
U 4 Meflrs.
296 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Meflrs. Brydone and Humberfton, where we paffed a gay evening, and proceeded next morning to the town of Avanche, the ca- pital of Switzerland in Tacitus's. time -f- .
No country in the world can be more agreeable to travellers during the fummer than Switzerland : For, befides the com- jhodious roads and comfortable inns, fome of the mpft beautiful objects of nature, woods, mountains, lakes intermingled with fertile fields, vineyards, and fcenes of the inoft perfed cultivation, are here prefented to the eye in greater variety, and on a larger fcale, than in any other country.
t Near this town, the Helvetians were defeated by Cas-
cina, oneof Vkellius's Lieutenants. — Multa hominum mil-
lia csefa, multa fub corona venumdata. Cumque direpcis
omnibus, Aventicum gentis caput jufto agraine peteretur.
Taciti Hiftoria, lib. i. cap. 68.
—Many thoufands were flain, and many thoufands fold as flaves ; and, after committing great ravage, the army inarched in order of batcle to Aventicum the capital of the Country,
From
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 297
From Avanche we advanced to Murten, or Murat, as it is pronounced by the French, a neat little town, fituated upon a riling ground, on the fide of the lake of the fame name.
The army of Charles Duke of Burgundy, befieging this town, was defeated, with great flaughter, by the Swifs, in the year 1476. Near the road,' within a mile of Murat, there is a little building full of hu- man bones, which are faid to be thofe of the Burgundiaris (lain in that battle. As this curious cabinet was creeled many years afier the battle, it may be fuppofed, that fome of the bones of the vidlors are here packed up along with thofe of the van- quiihed, in order to fwell the collection.
There are feveral infcriptions on the chapel.
DEO OPTIM. MAX.
CAROLI INCLITI ET FORTISSIMI BURGUNDLE DUCIS
EXERCITUS MURATUM OBSIDENS AB HELVETIIS
C^SUS HOC SHI MONUMENTUM RELIQUIT, 1476.
On
298 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND On another fide is the following :
SACELLUM
QUO RELIQUIAS
EXERCITUS BURGUNDICI
AB HELVETUS, A. 1476, PIA ANTIQUITAS CONDIDIT.
RENOVARI VIISQUE PUBLICIS MUNIRI
JUSSERUNT RERUM NUNC DOMINIE
REIPUBLIC^E
BERNENSIS ET FRIBURGENSIS ANNO 1755.
The borders of the lake of Murat are enriched with gentlemen's houfes, and vil- lages in great abundance.
The drefs, manners, and perfons of the inhabitants of this country indicate a differ- ent people from the Genevois, Savoyards, or the inhabitants of the Pays de Vaud.
We dined at Murat, and remained feve- ral hours in the town. There was a fair, and a great concourfe of people.— —The Swifs peafants are the talleft and moft ro-
buft
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 2g9
buft I have ever feen. Their drefs is very particular. — Thc->y have little round hats, like thofe worn by the Dutch fkippers. — • Their coats and waiftcbats are all of a kind of coarfe black cloth. — Their breeches are made of coarfe linen, fomething like failors trowfers ; but drawn together in plaits be- low the knees, and the ftockings are of the fame fluff with the breeches.
The women wear ftiort jackets, with a great fuperfluity of buttons. The unmar- ried women value themfelves on the length of their hair, which they feparate into two divifions, and allow to hang at its full length, braided with ribands in the Ra- millie fafliion. - After marriage, thefe treffes are no longer permitted to hang down ; but, being twifted round the head in fpiral lines, are fixed at the crown with large filver pins. This is the only differ- ence, in point of drefs, which matrimony
Married
3oo VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Married and unmarried wear ftraw hats, ornamented with black ribands. So far the women's drefs is becoming enough; but they have an awkward manner of fix- ing their petticoats fo high as to leave hardly any waift. This encroachment of the petticoats upon the waift, with the amazing number they wear, gives a fize and importance to the lower and hind part of the body to which it is by no means en- titled, and mightily deforms the appear- ance of the whole peifon.
The elegant figure of the Venus de Medicis, or of the Duchefs of Devonftiire, would be impaired, or annihilated, under
fuch a prepofterous load of drefs. As
we arrived only this afternoon, I can fay nothing of Bern. You ihall hear more in my next. Meanwhile, I am, &c.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 301
LETTER XXXV.
Bern.
3 ERN is a regular well-built town, with fome air of magnificence. The houfes are of a fine white free-ftone, and pretty uniform, particularly in the principal ftreet, where they are all exactly of the fame height. There are piazzas on each fide, with a walk, raifed four feet above the level of the ftreet, very commodious in wet weather.
A fmall branch of the Aar has been turned into this ftreet, and being confined to a narrow channel in the middle, which has a confiderable flope, it runs with great rapidity; and, without being a difagreeablc object of itfelf, is of great fervice in keep- ing the ftreet clean.
9 Another
3<3i VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Another circumftance contributes to ren- der this one of the moft cleanly towns in Europe: — Criminals are employed in re- moving rubbifh from the ftreets and public walks. The more atrocious delinquents are chained to waggons, while thofe who are condemned for fmaller crimes, are em- ployed in fweeping the light rubbifh into the rivulet, and throwing the heavier into the carts or waggons, which their more criminal companions are obliged to pufh or draw along.
Thefe wretches have collars of iron fixed around their necks, with a projecting handle in the form of a hook to each, by which, on the flighted offence or mutiny, they may be feized, and are entirely at the com- mand of the guard, whofe duty it is to fee them perform their work.— People of both fexes are condemned to this labour for months, years, or for life, according to the nature of their crimes.
It is alleged, that over and above the de- terring from crimes, which is effe&ed by
this,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 30^
this, in common with the other methods of punifhing, there is the additional advan- tage, of obliging the criminal to repair by his labour the injury which he has done to
the community.
I fufpect, however, that this advantage is overbalanced by the bad effects of habi- tuating people to behold the mifery of their fellow-creatures, which I imagine gradu- ally hardens the hearts of the fpectators, and renders them lefs fufceptible of the emotions of companion and pity; — feel- ings, which, perhaps, of all others, have the bed influence upon, and are the moft be- coming, human nature. Juvenal fays,
— — mollifiima corda Humano generi dare fe natura fatetur, QUJB lachrymas dedit: haec noftri pars opti- ma fenfus*.
* Nature avows, that Ihe has bellowed the moft compaf- fionate hearts on the human race, by giving them tears; and this fenlibility is the befl quality of our minds.
Wherever
304 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
Wherever public executions and punifh- ments are frequent, the common people have been obferved to acquire a greater de- gree of infenfibility, and cruelty of difpofi- tion, than in places where fuch fcenes fel- dom occur. — I remember, while I was at Geneva, where executions are very rare, a young man was condemned to be hanged for murder, and there was a general gloom and uneafmefs evident in every fo- ciety for feveral days before and after the execution.
The public buildings at Bern, as the ho- fpital, the granary, the guard-houfe, the arfenal, and the churches, are magnificent. There is a very elegant building juft com- pleted, with ^accommodations for many public amufements, fuch as balls, concerts, and theatrical entertainments. There are alfo apartments for private focieties and af- femblies. It was built by a voluntary fub- fcription among the nobility; and no fo- cieties,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 305
eieties, but of the patrician order, are al- lowed there.
Theatrical entertainments are feldorn permitted at Bern; none have as yet been performed at this new theatre.
The walk by the great church was for- merly the only public walk, and much ad- mired on account of the view from it, and the peculiarity of its fituation, being on a level with the ftreets on one fide, and fome hundred feet of perpendicular height above them on the other. But there is now ano- ther public walk, at fome diftance without the town, which has been lately made upon a high bank by the fide of the Aar, and is the moft magnificent I ever faw belonging to this or any other town. From it there is a commanding view of the river, the town of Bern, the country about it, and the Glaciers of Switzerland.
I have vifited the library, where, befides
the books, there are a few antiques, and
VOL. I. X fome
306 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fome other curicfities. The fmall figure of the prieft pouring wine between the horns of a bull, is valuable only becaufe it illuf- trates a pafiage in Virgil, and has been mentioned by Addifon.
An addition was lately made to this li- brary by a collection of Englifh books, magnificently bound, which were fent as a prefent by an Englifh gentleman ; who, though he has thought proper to conceal his name, has fufficiendy difcovered his political principles by .the nature of the collection, amongft which, I diftinguimed Milton's works, particularly his profe writ- ings; Algernon Sidney on Government, Locke, Ludlow's Memoirs, Gordon's tranf- latioa of Tacitus, Addifon's works, parti- cularly The Freeholder; Marvel's works, Steel's, &c. They were the largeft and fineft editions, and might be about the value of acol. — This gentleman made a prefent of the fame nature to the public library at Geneva.
I happened
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 307
I happened to open the Glafgow edi- tion of Homer, which I faw here, on a blank page of which was an addrefs in Latin to the Corfican General, Paoli, figned James Bofwell. This very elegant book had been fent, I fuppofe, as a prefent from. Mr. Bofwell to his friend the General; and, when that unfortunate chief was obliged to abandon his country, fell, with other of his effects, into the hands of the Swifs officer in the French fervice, who made a prefent of the Homer to this library.
The arfenal I could not have omitted fee- ing had I been fo inclined, as the Bernois value themfelves on the trophies contained in it, and upon the quantity, good condi- tion, and arrangement of the arms.
Nothing interefted me fo much as the figures of the brave Switzers, who firft took arms againft tyranny, and that of William Tell, who is reprefented aiming at the apple on his fon's head. I contemplated this with an emotion which was created X 2 b/
3o8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
by the circumftances of the ftory, not by the workmanftiip; for, at that moment, I ihould have beheld with negtaSt the moft exquifite ftatue that ever was formed of Auguftus Caefar.
Surely no characters have fo juft a claim to the admiration and gratitude of pofterity, as thofe who have freed their countrymen from the capricious infolence of tyrants: And whether all the incidents of Tell's flory be true or fabulous, the men (who- ever they were) who roufed and incited their fellow-citizens to throw off the Auf- irian yoke, deferve to be regarded as pa- triots, having undoubtedly been actuated by that principle, fo dear to every generous heart, the fpirit of independence.
" Who with the gen'rous ruilics fate, " On Uri's rock, in clofe divan, " And wing'd that arrow fure as fate, *e Which afcertain'd the facred rights of " man."
Mr,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 309
Mr. Addifon obferves, that there is no great pleafure in vifitingarfenals, merely to fee a repetition of thefe magazines of war ; yet it is worth while, as it gives an idea of the force of a ftate, and ferves to fix in the mind the moft confiderable parts of its hiftory.
The arms taken from the Burgundians, in the various battles which eftabliftied the liberty of Switzerland, are difplayed here; alfo the figure of the General of Bern, who, in the year 1536, conquered the Pays de Vaud from Charles III. Duke of Savoy. — And, if they have no trophies to fhew of a later date, I am convinced it is becaufe they are too poor and too wife to aim at any extenfion of dominion: — And becaufe all the neighbouring powers are at length become fenfible, that the nature of their country, and their perfonal valour, have rendered the Swifs as unconquerable, as from political confiderations, they are averfe to attempt conquefts.
3io VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XXXVI.
Bern,
'TpHE different cantons of Switzerland, though united together by a common bond, and all of a republican form of go- vernment, differ in the nature of that form, as well as in religion.
The Roman Catholic religion being fa- vourable to monarchy, one would naturally imagine, that, when adopted by a republic, it would gradually wind up the govern* ment to the higheft pitch of ariftocracy.
The fad neverthelefs is, that thofe can- tons, which are in the ftrongeft degree de~ mocratical, are of the Popifh perfuafion ; and tlje moft perfect ariftocracy of them all is eftablifhed in this Proteftant canton of Bern, which is alfo indeed the moft pow- erful. In extent of country, and number
of
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 3n
of inhabitants, it is reckoned nearly equal to all the others taken together.
The nobility of Bern are accufed of an extraordinary degree of pride and ftateli- nefs. They affedt to keep the citizens at a great diftance; and it is with difficulty that their wives and daughters will conde- fcend to mix with the mercantile families at balls, aflemblies, and fuch public occa- fions, where numbers feem eflential to the nature of the entertainment; by which means a nobility ball lofes in cheerfulnefs what it retains in dignity, and is often, as I am told, as devoid of amufement as it is folemn.
The whole power of the government, and all the honourable offices of the ftate, are in the hands of the nobility. As it is not permitted them to trade, they would natu- rally fall into poverty without this refource: But by the number of places which the nobles enjoy, and to which very confider- X 4 able
3i2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
able penfions are annexed, the pooreft of them are enabled to fupport their families •with dignity.
The bailliages, into which the whole canton and the conquered territories are divided, form lucrative and honourable eftablifhments for the principal families of Bern. The bailiff is governor and judge in his own diftri£t, and there is a magni- ficent chateau in each for his accommoda- tion. An appeal may be made from all fubordinate courts to him; as alfo from his decifion, to the council at Bern.
The nobility of Bern, though born to be judges, are not always inftrucled in law. It has therefore been thought requifite, to appoint a certain number ofperfons,astheir afleffors, who have been bred to the pro- feffion. But in cafe the judge mould differ from thofe afleffors, and retain his own opinion in fpite of their remonftrances, as nobility has the precedency of law, the de-
difioa
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 3I3
eifion muft be given according to the will of the judge.
This office remains in the hands of the fame perfon for the term of fix years only. I have been informed, that in fome of thefe bailliages, the governor may live with pro- per magnificence, and lay up, during the period of his office, two or three thoufand pounds, without extortion, or unbecoming parfimony. There is no law againft his being afterwards named to another bailliage*
The executive power of the government, with all the lucrative and honourable of- fices, being thus in the hands of the nobi- lity, it may be imagined, that the middle and lower ranks of people are poor and op- prefled. This, however, is by no means the cafe; for the citizens, I mean the mer- chants and trades-people, feem, in general, to enjoy all the comforts and conveniencies of life. And the peafantry is uncommonly wealthy throughout the whole canton of Bern,
The
3H VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The Swifs have no obje&ion to their nobles being their judges, and to the prin- cipal offices of government remaining in their hands. They look upon the nobility as their natural fuperiors, and think, that they and their families ought to be fup- ported with a certain degree of fplendor :— But the power of direct taxation is a differ- ent queftion, and muft be managed with all poffible caution and delicacy. It is a common caufe, and the condudt of the nobles .in this particular is watched with very jealous eyes. They are fufficiently aware of this, and ufe their power with moderation. But left the nobles fhould at any time forget, a very good hint is given in a German infcription in the arfenal, im- plying, That the infolence and rapacity of high rank had brought about the liberty of Switzerland.
A people who have always arms in their hands, and form the only military force of
the
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 3I5
the country, are in no danger of being op- prefled and irritated with taxes.
It has been confidered by fome as a per- nicious policy in the Swifs, to allow fo many of their inhabitants to ferve as mer- cenaries in the different armies of Europe. There are others, who confider this mea- fure as expedient, or lefs pernicious in the Swifs cantons, than it would be in any other country.
They who fupport this opinion, aflert, that every part of Switzerland, which is ca- pable of cultivation, is already improved to the higheft degree; that, after retaining a fuffjcient number of hands to keep it al- ways in this condition, and for the fupport of every manufactory, ftill there remains a furplus of inhabitants, which forms the troops that are allowed to go into foreign fervices. They add, that thefe troops only engage for a limited number of years, after the expiration of which, many of them re- with money to their native country;
and
3i6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
and all of them, by ftipulation, may be re- called by the ftate on any emergency. — By this means, they retain a numerous and well-difciplined army on foot; which, fo far from being a burden, in reality enriches the ftate :-r-an advantage which no other people ever pofleffed.
There is ftill another motive for this meafure, which, though it be not openly avowed, yet, I fufpect, has confiderable weight: The council are perhaps afraid, that if the young nobility were kept at home, where they could have but few ob- jeds to occupy them, they might cabal and fpread diflentions in the ftate; or perhaps, through idlenefs and ambition, excite dan- gerous insurrections among the peafants. For, although the laws are fevere againft ftate crimes, and eafily put in execution againft ordinary offenders, it might be dif- ficult and dangerous to punifh a popular young nobleman.
It
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 3iy
It may on thefe accounts be thought highly prudent, to allow a large proportion of them to exhauft, in fome foreign fer- vice, the fiery and reftlefs years of youth, which at home might have been fpent in fadion and dangerous intrigues. Very probably the flates would incline to per- mit the officers to go, while they retained the private men at home; but are under a neceffity of allowing the latter alfo, becaufe without them the officers could not be raifed to thofe diftinguilhed fituations in foreign fervices which are their greateft in- ducements to leave their own country.
After having ferved a certain time, al- moft all of them return to Switzerland. Some, becaufe they are tired of diffipation; others to inherit a paternal eftate; and many with penfions from the Princes they, have ferved. — The heat of youth is then moft probably over. — They begin to afpire to thofe offices in their own country to which their birth gives them a claim, and
which
3i8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
\vhieh they now prefer to the luftre of mi- litary rank. They wifh to fupport thofc -laws, and that government, which they find fo partial to their families ; or they defire to pafs the remainder of life in eafe and re- tirement on their paternal eftates.
It is remarkable, that the Swifs officers, •who return from foreign fervices, particu- larly that of France, inftead of importing Trench manners to their native mountains, and infecting their countrymen with the luxuries and fopperies of that nation, throw off all foreign airs with their uniform, and immediately refume the plain and frugal ftyle of life which prevails in their own country.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 319
LETTER XXXVII.
Bafil.
TJTAVING, on a former occafion, made a more extenfive tour through Switzer- land, we determined not to deviate from the direct road to Strafbourg. In purfuance of this refolution, Harvey and I, when we left Bern, paded by Soleurre, the capital of the canton of the fame name.
Soleurre is an agreeable little town fitu- ated on the river Aar. The houfes arc neatly built, and not inelegant; the mean- eft of them have a cleanly appearance. The common people feem to be in ealier circumftances, and have a greater air of content, than in any Roman Catholic coun- try I have ever vifited. The inn where we £ lodged
320 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
lodged has the comfortable look of an Eng- lifli one. The French ambaflador to the cantons has his refidence in this town. One of the churches of Soleurre is the moft mag- nificent modern building in Switzerland.
The arfenal is ftored with arms, in pro- portion to the number of inhabitants in the canton ; and there are trophies, and other monuments of the valour of their anceftors, as in the arfenal of Bern. In the middle of the hall there are thirteen figures of men in complete armour, reprefenting the thir- teen Swifs cantons.
The country between Soleurre and Bafil, though very hilly, is beautiful, perhaps the more fo on that account; becaufe of the variety of furface and different views it prefents. Harvey and I had more leifure to admire thofe fine landfcapes than we wiflied, for the axle-tree of the chaife broke at fome miles diftant from Bafil.
MANNERS IN FRANCE^ &c. 321
It was the gay feafon of the vintage. — The country was crowded with peafantry of both fexes and every age, all employed in gathering and carrying home the grapes. Our walk for thefe few miles was agreeable and amufing. In all countries this is the feafon of joy and feftivity, and approaches neareft the exaggerated defcription which the ancient poets have given of rural hap- pinefs. Perhaps there is in reality not fo much exaggeration in their defcription, as alteration in our manners. — For if thepea- fants were allowed to enjoy the fruits of their own labour, would not their lives be more delightful than thofe of any other people ?— In fpite of poverty and oppreflion* a happy enthufiafm, a charming madnefs, and perfect oblivion of care, are diffufed all over France during the vintage.-— Every village is enlivened with mufic, dancing, and glee;— and were it not for their tattered clothes and emaciated countenances, one who viewed them in the vintage Jeafon,
VOL. I, Y would
S22 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
would imagine the country people of France in a fituation as enviable as that which, ac- cording to the poets, was formerly enjoyed by the Shepherds of Arcadia. — The pea- fantry of this country have not fo great a fenfibility or expreflion of joy ; and though blefled with health, freedom, and abun- dance, a compofed fatisfadion, a kind of phlegmatic good-humour, mark the boun- daries of their happinefs.
When we arrived at Bafil, we went di- re&ly to the Three Kings. This inn, in point of fituation, is the mod agreeable you can well imagine. The Rhone waflies its walls, and the windows of a large dining- room look acrofa that noble river to the fertile plains on the oppofite fide.
I am juft returned from that fame dining- room, when? Harvey and I thought pro- per to fup. — There were ten or a dozen people at table. I fat next to a genteel- looking man from Strafbourg, with whom I
converfed
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &. 3*
Cbnverfed a good deal during fupper. He had for his companion a round-faced, rofy, plump gentleman, from Amfterdam, who did not fpeak French* but the Strafburgher addreffed him from time to time in Low- Dutch, to which the other replied by nods.
When the retreat of the greatef part df the company had contracted the little circle which remained, I exprefled fome regret to my Strafbourg acquaintance, that Mir. Har- vey and I could not fpeak a little Dutch ; or that his friend could not fpeak French, that •we might enjoy the pleafure of his conver- fation. This was immediately tranflated to the Dutchman, who heard it with great compofure, and then took his pipe front his mouth, and made an anfwer, which I got our interpreter, with fome difficulty, to explain. It was to this effecT: — That we ought to confole ourfelves for the accident of our not underftanding each other ; for as we had no connection, or dealings in trade together, our converfing could not poffibly Y 2 anfwer
324. VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
anfwer any ufeful purpofe. Harvey made a low bow to this compliment, faying, that the juftnefs and good fenfe of that remark had certainly efcaped my obfervation, as he acknowledged it had hitherto done his.
A man that travels, you fee, my friend, and takes care to get into good company, is always learning fomething. — Had I not vifited the Three Kings at Bafil, I might have converfed all my lifetime without knowing the true ufe of language.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 325
LETTER XXXVIIL
Bafil.
SPHERE has been an interval of three tlays lince I had the converfation with my ingenious acquaintance from Amfter- dam. We are aflured that the chaife, which has been accommodated with a new axle-tree, will be ready this afternoon. In the interim, I fhall write you a few re- marks on this town.
Bafil is larger than any town in Swit- zerland, but not fo populous for its fize as Geneva. The inhabitants feem to be un- commonly afraid of thieves, moft of the windows being guarded by iron bars or grates, like thofe of convents or prifons.
Y 3 I obferved
326 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
I obferved at the lower end of many •windows a kind of wooden box, project- ing towards the ftreet, with a round glafs, of about half a foot diameter, in the mid- dle. I was told this was for the conve- niency of people within; who, without being feen, choofe to fit at the windows, and amufe themfelves by looking at the pafTengers; — that they were moftly occu- pied by the ladies, who are taught to think it indecent to appear at the win- dows.
The inhabitants of Bafil feem to be of a referved and faturnine difpofition; whe- ther it is natural or affeded I cannot telf, but the few I converfed with, had fome- thing uncommonly ferious and formal in their manner. How an unremitting gra- vity and folemnity of manner, in the com- mon affairs of life, comes to be confidered as an indication of wifdom, or of extraor- dinary parts, is what I never could under- .^-So many rjd^culoiis things occur
every
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 327
every day in this world, that men, who are endowed with that degree of fenfibijity which ufually accompanies genius, find it very difficult to maintain a continued gra- vity. This difficulty is abundantly felt even in the grave and learned profeffions pf law, phyfic, and divinity; and the indi- viduals who have been moft fuccefsful in furmounting it, and who never deviate from the folemnity of eftablifhed forms, have not been always the moft diftingui£Ued for real knowledge or genius; though they generally are moft admired by the multi- tude, who are very apt to miftake that gravity for wifdom, which proceeds from a literal weight of brain, and muddinefs pf underftanding. Miftakes of the fame kind are frequently made in forming a judgment of books as well as men. Thofe which profefs a formal defign to. mftruft and reform, and carry on the work me- thodically till the reader is lulled into re^ pofe, have paffed for deep and ufeful per- Y 4 formancei;
328 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
formances ; while others, replete with original obfervation and real inftrudion, have been treated as frivolous, becaufe they are written in a familiar ftyle, and the precepts conveyed in a fprightly and indi- red manner.
Works which are compofed with the laborious defire of being thought profound, have fo very often the misfortune to be dull, that fome people have confidered the two terms as fynonimous; and the men who receive it as a rule, that one fet of books are profound becaufe they are dull, may naturally conclude that others are fuperficial becaufe they are entertaining. With refpecT: to books, however, matters are foon fet to rights ; thofe of puffed and falfe pretenfions die neglected, while thofe of real merit live and flourifh. But with regard to the men, the cataftrophe is often different; we daily fee formal aftuming blockheads flourifh and enjoy the fruits of their pompous impofirions, while many
MANN-ERS IN FRANCE, &c, 34$
men of talents who difdain fuch arts, live
>n obfcurity, and die neglected.-* 1 afk
you pardon, I have juft recollected that t was giving you fome account of Bafit,
The library here is much efteemed.— ^ It is reckoned particularly rich in manu- fcripts. They mowed us one of a Greek New Teftament, with which you may be- lieve Harvey and I were greatly edified. We are told it is above a thoufand years old.
At the arfenal is fhown the armour in which Charles Duke of Burgundy was killed. That unfortunate prince has orna- mented all the arfenals in Switzerland with trophies.
We vifited the hall where the famous Council fat fo many years, and voted fo intrepidly againft the Pope. Not fatisfied with condemning his conducT:, they ac- tually damned him in effigy. A famous painting, in the town-houfe, is fuppofed
to
33d VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
to have been executed under their aufpicea. In this piece the Devil is reprefented Driving the Pope and feveral ecclefiaftics before him to hell. — Why they fliould fuppofe the Devil fhould be fo very adive againft his Holinefs, I know no reafon.
Here are many pi£bures of Hans. Hoi- ben's (who was a native of Bafil, and the favourite painter of Henry VIII. to whom he was firft recommended by Erasmus); particularly, feveral portraits of Erafmus, and one fketch of Sir Thomas More's fa- mily. Though portraits are in general the moft infipid of all kinds of paintings, yet thofe of fuch celebrated perfons, done by fuch a painter, are certainly very intereft- ing pieces.
The moft admired of all Holben*s works, is a fuit of fmall pieces in differ^ cnt compartments, reprefenting the paflion and fufferings of our Saviour. In thefc the colours remain with wonderful viva- city.
We
MANNERS IN FRANCE, Sic. 331
We were alfo concluded to the difmal gallery, upon whofe walls, what is called Holben's Death's Dance, is reprefented. The colours having been long expofed to the air, are now quite faded, which I can fcarce think is much to be regretted, fop the plan of the piece is fo wretched, that the fined execution could hardly prevent it from giving difguft,
A fkeleton, which reprefents Deatl% leads off, in a dancing attitude, people of both fexes, of all ages, an.d qf every con- dition, from the emperor to the beggar. All of them difplay the greateft unwilling- nefs to accompany their hideous partner, who, regardlefs of tears, expoftulations, and bribes, draws them along.
You will take notice, that there is a Death for each character, which occafions a naufeous repetition of the fame figure; and the reluctance marked by the different people who are forced to this hated minuet,
is
332 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
is in fome accompanied with grimaces fo very ridiculous, that one cannot refrain from fmiling; which furely is not the ef- fect the painter intended to produce. — If he did, of all the contrivances that ever were thought of to put people in good-hu- mour, his muft be allowed the moft extra- ordinary.
To this piece, fuch as it is, Prior alludes in his ode to ihe memory of Colonel ViU lers.
Nor aw'd by forefight, nor mifled by chance, Imperious Death direfts his ebon lance, Peoples great Henry's tomb, and leads up Holben's dance,
In this city all the clocks are an hour advanced. When it is but one o'clock in -all the towns and villages around, it is exactly two at Bafil. This fmgularity is of three or four hundred years ftandingj and what is as fingular as the cuftom itfelf, the origin of it is not known, This is
plain,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 333.
plain, by their giving quite different ac- counts of it.
The moft popular ftory is, that, about four hundred years ago, the city was threatened with an affault by furprife. The enemy was to begin the attack when the large clock of the tower at one end of the bridge fhould flrike one after mid- night. The artift who had the care of the clock, being informed that this was the ex- pected fignal, caufed the clock to be altered, and it ftruck two inftead of one; fo the enemy thinking they were an hour too late, gave up the attempt ; and in commemora- tion of this deliverance, all the clocks in Bafil have ever fmce ftruck two at one o'clock, and fo on.
In cafe this account of the matter fliould not be fatisfaclory, they fhow, by way of confirmation, a head, which is placed near to this patriotic clock, with the face turned to the road by which the enemy was
7 to
$34 VIEW OF SOCIETY ANI>
to have entered. This fame head lolls out its tongue every minute, in the moft inftilt- ing manner poffible* This was originally a piece of mechanical wit of the famous clockmaker's who faved the town. He framed it in derifion of the enemy, whom he had fo dexteroufly deceived. It has been repaired, renewed, and enabled to thruft out its tongue every minute, for thefe four hundred years, by the care of the magiftrates, who think fo excellent a joke cannot be too often repeated.
MANNERS IN FRANCE^ &c, 33$
LETTER XXXIX.
Strafbourg,
THING can form a finer contraft with the mountains of Switzerland, than the plains of Alface. From Bafil to Strafbourg, is a continued, well cultivated plain, as flat almoft as a bowling-green. We faw great quantities of tobacco hang- ing at the peafants doors, as we came along, this herb being plentifully cultivated in thefe fields.
We have pafled fome days vrey agreeably in this town. One can fcarcely be at a lofs for good company and amufement, in a place where there is a numerous French garrifon. Marechal Contades refides here at prefent, as commander of the troops, and governor of the province. He lives
5 iri
33& VIEW OF SOCIETY ANfc
in a magnificent manner. The Englifh who happen to pafs this way, as well as the officers of the garrifon, have great reafon to praife his hofpitality and politenefs.
After dining at his houfe with feveral Englifti gentlemen, he invited the com- pany to his box at the playhoufe. Vol- taire's Enfant Prodigue was a&ed ; and for the Petite Piece, le Francois a Londres. Our nation is a little bantered, as you know, in the laft. The eyes of the fpec- tators were frequently turned towards the Marechal's box, to obferve how we bore the raillery. We clapped heartily, and {hewed the moft perfect good-humour. There was indeed no reafon to do other- wife. The fatire is genteel, and not too feverej and reparation is made for the li- berties taken; for in the fame piece, all manner of juftice is done to the real good qualities belonging to the Englifh national character.
An
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 337
An old French officer, who was in the next box to us, feemed uneafy, and hurt at the peals of laughter which burft from the audience at fome particular paflages : he touched my fhoulder, and aflured me that no nation was more refpecled in France than the Englifli padding, { Hanc veniam damus, petimufque viciffim.'
It were to be wifhed that French cha- racters, when brought on the Englifh ftage, had been always treated with as little fe- ver ity, and with equal juftice ; and not fo often facrificed to the illiberal and abfurd prejudices of the vulgar.
I have feen the greater number of the re- giments perform their exercife feparately, and there has been one general field-day fmce I came hither. The French troops are infinitely better clothed, and in all refpects better appointed than they were during the laft war. For this reformation, I am told they are obliged to the Due de Choifeul,
VOL. I. Z who,
338 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
who, though now in difgrace, flill retains many friends in the army.
There are, befides the French, two Ger- man regiments in this garrifon. Thefe ad- mit of the difcipline of the cane upon every flight occafion, which is never permitted among the French troops. Notwithftand- ing their being fo plentifully provided with ' thofe fevere flappers to roufe their attention, I could not perceive that the German regi- ments went through their exercife with more precifion or alertnefs than the French j and any difference would, in my opinion, be dearly purchafed at the price of treating one foldier like a fpaniel.
Perhaps what improves the hardy and phlegmatic German, would have a contrary effect on the more delicate and lively French^ »an; as the fame feverity which is requifite to train a pointer, would render a greyhound good for nothing.
After
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 339
After all, I queftion very much, whether this fhocking cuftom is abfolutely neceflary in the armies of any nation; for, let out- martinets fay what they pleafe, there is furely fome difference between men and dogs.
With refpect to the French, I am con- vinced that great feverity would break their fpirit, and impair that fire and impetuofity in attack, for which they have been dif- tinguifhed, and which makes French troops more formidable than any other quality they pofiefs;
I muft own I was highly pleafed with the eafy, familiar air, and appearance of good will, with which the French officers in ge- neral fpeak to rhe common foldiers. — This, I am told, does not diminifh the refpect and obedience which foldiers owe to their fupe- riors, or that degree of fubordination which military difcipline exacts. On the con- trary, it is aflerted, that to thefe properties, Z 2 which
340 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
which the French poflefs in common with other foldiers, they join a kind of grateful attachment and affection.
In fome fervices, the behaviour of the officers to the private foldiers is fo morofe, fevere, and unrelenting, that a man might be led to believe that one of their principal enjoyments was to render the lives of the common men as miferable as poffible.
If a certain degree of gentlenefs does no harm in the great articles of obedience and fubordination, it is furely worth while to pay fome attention to the feelings of fo large a proportion of mankind, as are by modern policy neceflitated to follow a military life. To put their happinefs entirely out of the queftion, in the government of the armies of which they form infinitely the major part, is rather hard treatment of creatures who are of the fame fpecies, employed in the fame caufe,and expofed to the fame dangers with their officers.
When
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 341
When I began this, I intended to have told you a few things about Strafbourg, in- ftead of which I have been led out of my way by French and German foldiers. — Di- greffing is a trick to which I am very fub- je£t, and rather than not be indulged in it, I would throw away my pen altogether.
The Duke of Hamilton arrived here ex» at the time he propofed.
342 VIE^T OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XL.
Strafbourg.
HP HE cathedral of Strafbourg is a very fine building, and never fails to at- trad the attention of ftrangers.
Our Gothic anceftors, like the Greeks and Romans, built for pofterity. Their ideas in architecture, though different from thofe of the Grecian artifts, were vaft, fublime, and generous, far fuperior to the felfifli fnugnefs of modern tafte, which is generally con- fined to one or two generations ; the plans of our anceftors with a more extenfive bene- volence embrace diftant ages. Many Go- thic buildings ftill habitable evince this, and ought to infpire fentiments of gratitude to thofe who have not grudged fuch labour and expence for the accommodation of their remote pofterity.
3 The
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 343
The number and magnitude of Gothic churches, in the different countries of Eu- rope, form a prefumption, that the clergy were not devoid of public fpirit in thofe days ; for if the powerful ecclefiaftics had then been entirely actuated by motives of felf-intereft, they would have turned the exceffive influence which they had acquired over the minds of their fellow-citizens, to purpofes more immediately advantageous to themfelves ; inftead of encouraging them to raife magnificent churches for the ufe of the public, they might have preached it up as ftill more meritorious to build fine houfes and palaces for the immediate fervants and ambafladors of God. — But we find very few ccclefiaftical palaces, in comparifon with the number of churches which ftill remain for the public conveniency. This fufficiently (hows the injuftice of thofe indifcriminating fatirifts, who aflert that the clergy, in all ages and countries, have difplayed a fpirit equally proud and interefled.
Z 4 No
344 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
No fpecies of architecture is better con- trived for the dwelling of heavenly penfivs contemplation, than the Gothic ; it has a powerful tendency to fill the mind with fub- lime, folemn, and religious fentiments ; the antiquity of the Gothic churches con- tributes to increafe that veneration which their form and fize infpirc. We naturally feel a refpeft for a fabric into which we know that our forefathers have entered with reverence, and which has ftood the af- faults of many centuries, and of a thoufand ilorms. That religious melancholy which ufually poflefles the mind in large Gothie churches, is however confiderably coun- teracted by certain fatirical has reliefs, with which the pillars and cornices of this church of Strasbourg was originally ornamented.—- The vices of monks are here expofed under the allegorical figure of hogs, afles, monkies, and foxes, which being dreffed in monkifh habits, perform the moft venerable functions of religion* And for the edification of thofe 6 wha
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 345
xvho do not comprehend allegory, a monk, in the robes of his order, is engraved on the pulpit in a moft indecent pofture, with a nun lying by him.
Upon the whole, the cathedral of Straf- bourg is confidered by Ibme people as the moft impious, and by others as the merrieft Gothic church in Chriftendom. I leave you to folve the problem as you pleafe.-^- As for me, I am a very unconcerned paf- fenger.
I fay nothing of the great clock and its various movements. Though it was an object of admiration when firft conftru&ed, it is beheld with indifference by modern artifts.
I had the curiofity to afcend the fteeple of this cathedral, which is reckoned one of the higheft in Europe, its height being 574 feet. You may eafily form an idea of the view from it, when I tell you it compre- hends the townofStrafoourg, theextenfive plains of Alface, with the Pvhine flowing
through
•346 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
through them. Such views are not uncom- mon : They are always agreeable, but do not aftonifh and elevate the mind, like the wild, irregular, and fublime fcenes in Switzerland.
One forenoon as I was fauntering through the ftreets with fome of our countrymen, we were informed that the mufic of fome of the regiments had been ordered to a par- ticular church, where the Count de ,
fon of Lewis the XVth by Madame de Pompadour, was expected to be at mafs. — We all immediately went for the fake of the military mufic, and found a very numerous and genteel company attending. After having waited a confiderable time, it ftruck twelve, upon which the whole company retired, without hearing the mufic or mafs. — After mid-day the ceremony could not have been performed, although the Count had come. Something very important muft have intervened to prevent a Frenchman, and one of his character for politenefs, from
attending
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 347
attending on fuch an occafion. There was however a murmur of difapprobation for this want of attention, and the prieft was not applauded, who had hazarded the fouls of a whole churchful of people, out of cora- plaifance to one man ; for thofe who ima- gine that a mafs can fave fouls, muft admit that the want of it may be the <aufe of damnation. Mr. Harvey whifpered me, " In England they would not have had " half the complaifance for -the king him- " felf, accompanied by all his legitimate <c children, that thefe people have fhewn " to this fonof a w — e v
To indemnify myfelf for .this difappoint- ment, I went the fame afternoon with a French officer to hear a celebrated preacher. The fubject of his difcoiirfe was the mife- rable iituation of men who are under the dominion of their pafiions. — Do you wifh fora fa'.iiple of his difcourfe ?- — Here it is;
• " A_ fiave Jn the galleys (cried the
" preacher) is happier, and more free, than
" a man
348 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
" a man under the tyranny of his paffions ; " for though the body of the flave is in <c chains, his mind may be free. — Whereas " the wretch who is under the government *' of his paffions, has his mind, his very *( foul, in chains. — -Is his paffion luft ?— " He will facrifice a faithful fervant to gra- <c tify it; — David did fo.; — Is it avarice ? — '* he will betray his matter ;— Judas did fo. *' — Is he attached to a miftrefs ? — he will " murder a faint to pleafe her ; — Herod " did fo."
As we returned from the church, the French officer, who had been for fome time in a reverie, faid, Ma foi, cet homme parle avec beaucoup d'onGion ; je vais profiler de fon fermon. — Ou eft ce que vous allez? faid I. — Je m'en vais chez Nanette, replied he, pour me de'barrafier de ma paffion do-
minante. ^—~-
Among the curiofities of the cathedral, I
ought to have mentioned two large bells, which they fhow to ftrangers. One is of
brafs,
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 345
brafs, and weighs ten tons ; the other* of iilver, which they fay weighs above two.—* They alfo (how a large French horn, whofe hiflory is as follows : — About four hundred years ago, the Jews formed a confpiracy to betray the city, and with this identical horn, they intended to give the enemy no- tice when to begin the attack.
Is it not amazing that fuch a number of ftrange (lories have been circulated concern- ing thefe fame Jews ?
The plot, however, was difcovered; many of the Jews were burnt alive, the reft were plundered of their money and effects, and banifhed the town. And this horn is founded twice every night from the battle- ments of the fteeple, in gratitude for the deliverance.
The Jews, as you would expect, deny every circumftance of this ftory, except the murdering and pillaging their countrymen. TKey fay the whole ftory was fabricated to
furnifh
350 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
furnifti a pretext for thefe robberies and murders, and aflert that the fteeple of Straf- bourg, as has been faid of the monument of London,
cc Like a tall bully lifts the head and lies."
MANNERS. IN FRANCE, &c. 3Sl
LETTER XLL
Manheim.
A LL the advantages I might propofe from
the Duke of Hamilton's company, did
not prevent my regret at parting from my
friend Harvey, who fet out for Lyons the
fame morning on which we left Strasbourg.
Upon crofling the Rhine we entered into
the territories of the Margrave of Baden
Durlach, which lie along the banks of that
river immediately oppofite to Alface.
At Raftade we were informed that the Margrave and his family were at Karlfcruch. Raftade is the capital of this prince's domi- nions.— The town is but fmall, and not very populous : — The Margrave's palace, how- ever, is fuffieiently large. — We made only a
fliort
35* VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fhort ftay to examine it, being impatient to get 09 to Karlfcruch.
There is another very magnificent palace at Karlfcruch, built in good tafte. It was begun many years ago, and has been lately finifhed by the reigning prince.
The town of Karl fcruch is built on a regu- lar plan. It confifts of one principal ftreet of above an Englifh mile in length. This ftreet is at a confiderable diftance in front of the palace,>nd in a parallel direction with it. All the other ftreets go off at different angles from the principal one, in fuch a man- ner as that whichsoever of them you enter, walking from it, the view is terminated by the front of the palace. The length of thefe fmaller ftreets is afcertained, none of them being allowed to encroach on the fpacious area, which is kept clear before the palace.
The principal ftreet may be extended to any length, and as many additional ftreets
as
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 353
as they pleafe may be built from it, all of which, according to this plan, will have the palace for a termination.
The houfesof this towri are all as uniform as the ftreets, being of an equal fize and height ; fo that one would be led to ima- gine that none of the inhabitants are in any confiderable degree richer or poorer than, their neighbours. There are indeed a few new houfes, more elegant than the others, belonging to fome of the officers of the court, built at one fide of the palace ; but they are not, properly fpeaking, in the town.
Having announced in the ufual form, that we wiihed to have the honour of pay- ing our court to the Margrave, an officer waited on the Duke of Hamilton, and con- ducted us to the palace.
There were at dinner the reigning Prince andPrincefs ; — three of their fons, the eldeft of whom is married to a Princefs of Heffe Darrnftadt— She, with one of her fifters,
VOL. I. A a was
354 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
tvas prefent, alfo the Princefs Dowager of Bareith, daughter to the Duke of Brunf- wick ; two general officers in the imperial fervice, and other ladies and gentlemen ; making in all a company of above thirty at table.
The entertainment was fplendid — The Margrave behaved with the politeft atten- tion to the Duke of Hamilton, and with af- fability to every body.
The Princefs of Bareith is of a gaj, >ively, agreeable character. After dinner the Duke took a view of the different apart- ments of the palace, and afterwards walked with the Margrave in the gardens till the evening.
The fame company were at fupper ; a band of mufic played daring the repaft, and the day went off in a more eafy, agreeable manner than I could have expected, con- fidering the number of Princes and Prio- eeffes*
The
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 355
The Margrave of Baden Durlach is be- tween forty and fifty years of age. He is a man of learning, good fenfe, and benevolent difpofition. I had heard much, long be- fore I faw him, of his humanity and atten- tion to the well-being of his fubjeds. This made me view him with a cordial regard, which his rank alone could not have com- manded.
He fpeaks theEnglifh language with con- fiderable facility, and is well acquainted with our beft authors. Solicitous that his fon fhould enjoy the fame advantages, he has engaged Mr.. Cramer, a young gentleman from Scotland, of an excellent character, who has been for fevcral years at this court, as tutor and companion to the young Prince.^
The German Princes are minute obfer- vers of form. The fame eftablimment for their houfehold, the fame officers in the palace, are to ;be found here, as in the court of the moft powerful monarch in Eu- rope.— The difference lies more in the fa- A a 2 laries
356 VIEW OF. SOCIETY AND
laries than in the talents requifite for thcfe places; one Paymafter for the forces has greater emoluments in England, than a Grand Marechal, a Grand Chamberlain, two Secretaries of State, and half a dozen more of the chief officers of a German court, all taken together.
The Margrave of Baden has body guards who do duty in the palace, foot guards who parade before it ; alfo horfe guards and huf- fars, all of whom are perfectly well equipped, and exactly difciplined ; — a piece of mag- nificence which feems to be adopted by this prince, merely in conformity with the cuftom long eftabliihed in this country.
He keeps on foot no other troops befides the few which are neceffary for this duty at the palace, though his revenue is more confiderable, and his finances are in much better order than fome Princes in Germany who have little {landing armies in conftant pay. He has too juft an understanding not to perceive that the greateft army he could
poflibly
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 357
pofTibly maintain, could be no defence to his dominions, fituated as they are between the powerful (rates of France and Auftria , and probably his principles and dtfpofition pre- vent him from thinking of filling his cof- fers by hiring his fubjects to foreign powers.
If he were fo inclined, there is no man- ner of doubt that he might fell the perfons of his fubje£ts as foldiers, or employ them in any other way he mould think proper ; for he, as well as the other fovereign Prin- ces in Germany, has an unlimited power over his people. If you afk the queftion, in dired terms of a German, he will anfwer in the negative ; and will talk of certain rights which the fubjefts enjoy ; and that they can appeal to the great council or general diet of the empire for relief. But after all his ingenuity and diftinclions, you find that the barriers which proted the pea- fant from the power of the prince, are fo very weak, that they are hardly worth keeping up, and that the only fecurity the A a 3 peafant
358 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
peafant has for his perfon or property, muft proceed from the moderation, good fenfe, and juftice of his fovereign.
Happy would it be for mankind if this unlimited power were always placed in as equitable hands as thofe of the Margrave of Baden, who employs it entirely for the good of his fubjecls, by whom he is adored !
This Prince endeavours, by every means he can devife, to introduce induftryand ma- nufactures among his people. — There is a confiderable number of Englifh tradefmen here, who make Birmingham work, and inftruft the inhabitants in that bufmefs. He has alfo engaged many watch-makers from Geneva to fettle here, by granting them encouragements and privileges of every kind, and allows no opportunity to flip un- improved, by which he can promote the comfort and happinefs of his people : A prince of fuch a character is certainly a public bleffing, and the people are fortu- jiate who are born under his government ;
But
MANNERS IN" FRANCE, &c. 3S9
But far more fortunate they who are born under a government which can protect them, independent of the virtues, and in fpite of the vices, of their fovereign.
When we left Karlfcruch, the Margrave gave orders that we might be allowed to pafs by a road lately finiflied, through a noble fbreft, feveral leagues in length. After having traverfed this, we fell in with the common porting road, entered the bifhop of Spires's territories, pafled by the town of that name, proceeded to the Electorate of Palatine, and arrived the fame night at Manheim.
All the countries I have mentioned form one rich fertile plain ; there are few or no gentlemen's houfes to vary the fcene ; no- thing but the palace of the prince and the cottages of the peafants, the gentry living in dependance at court, and the merchants and manufacturers in the towns.
A a 4
360 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XLII.
Manhcim.
'T^HIS is generally reckoned one of the moft beautiful cities in Germany. The ftreets are all as ftraight as arrows, being what they call tirees au cordeau, and interfed each other at right angles. This never fails to pleafe at firft, but becomes fooner tirefome than a town built with lefs regularity, When a man has walked through the town for half a forenoon, his eyes fearch in vain for variety : the fame objects feem to move along with him, as if he had been all the while a fhip-board.
They calculate the number of inhabit- ants at 24,000, including the garrifon, which confifts of 5000 men. This town has three jioble gates, adorned with baflb relievos very
beautifully
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 361
beautifully executed. The Duke and I walked round the ramparts with eafe in the fpace of an hour. The fortifications are well contrived and in good order, and the town acquires great additional ftrength from being almoft entirely furrounded by the Neckar and the Rhine, and fituated in a flat, not commanded by any rifmg ground. Yet perhaps it would be better that this city were quite open, and without any fortifica- tion. An attempt to defend it might prove the deftruction of the citizens' houfes, and •the electoral palace. A palace is injudi- cioufly fituated when built within a forti- fied town, becaufe a threat from the enemy to bombard it, might induce the garrifon to furrender.
The Electoral palace is a moft magnificent ftrudture, fituated at the junction of the Rhine and the Neckar. — The cabinet of na- tural ciiriofities, and the collection of pic- tures, are much vaunted, Tp examine them
was
36a VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
was amufing enough : — To defcribe them would, I fear, be a little tedious.
The Ele&or himfelf is a man of tafte and magnificence, circumftances in his cha- ra&er, which probably afford more pleafure to himfelf, and the ftrangers who pafs this way, than to his own fubjecls.
I accompanied the Duke to one of the offi- cers of the court, whofe bufmefs it is to prefent ftrangers. This gentleman is re- markable for his amazing knowledge in all the myfteries of etiquette. He entertained his Grace with much erudition on this fub- je£t. — I never obferved the Duke yawn fo very much. — When our vifit was over, he aflerted that it had lafted two hours. — Upon examining his watch, he difcovered that he had made a miftake of one hour and forty minutes only.
We were prefented the following day to
the Ele&or and the Ele&refs. He was
drefled in the uniform of his guards, feems
S to
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 363
to be on the borders of fifty, and has a fen^ fible manly countenance, which I am told is the true index of his character.
The Hereditary Prince is a young man of knowledge and good fenfe.- He furprifed me by talking of the party difputes and ad-* ventures which have happened of late years in England, of which I found him minutely informed. — —-Many people in Germany have the Englifh news papers and political pamphlets regularly tranfmitted to them, The acrimony and freedom with which the -higheft characters are treated, aftonifh and amufe them, and from thefe they often form very falfe and extraordinary conclufions wjtfy regard to the ftate of the nation.
As the Eleclor intends foon to vifit Italy, great numbers of officers have come hither- to pay their duty to their fovereign before he depart for that country. He is much efteemed by his officers, with whom he Jives in 3 very affable manner, There are generally thirty covers every day at his table
for
364 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
for them, and the ftrangers who happen to be at the court of Manheim.
One day at dinner, a kind of buffoon came into the room. He walked round the table and converfed in a familiar manner with every body prefent, the princes not ex- cepted. His obfervations were followed by- loud burfts of applaufe from all whom he addrefled. As he fpoke in German, I could not judge of his wit, butftared around with the anxiety of countenance natural to a man who fees a whole company ready to die with laughter at a jeft which he cannot comprehend. An old officer, who fat near me, was touched with compaflion for my {ituation, and explained in French fome of the moft brilliant repartees for my pri- vate ufe.
As this good-natured officer did not feem to have a great command of the French lan- guage, the whole fpirit of the jeft was al- lowed to evaporate during the tranflation :— At leaft I could not fmell a particle when
the
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 365
the procefs was over. However, as thefe tranflations evidently coft him a good deal of trouble, I thought myfelf obliged to feem delighted with his performance ; fo I joined in the mirth of the company, and endeavoured to laugh as much as any per- fon at the table.
My interpreter afterwards informed me that this genius was from the Tyrol, that he fpoke the German with fo peculiar an accent, that whatever he faid never failed to fet the whole table in a roar ; c'eft pourquoi, added he, il eft en pofieffion d'entrer tou-
iours avec le deflert.
J •.•^te/p-noi'
This is the only example that I know remaining of a court fool or licenfed jefter ; an office formerly in all the courts of Europe.
dbr.
VIEW OF SOCIETY AND*
LETTER XLIIL
Manheim«
made a fliort jaunt to Heidelberg a few days fince. That town is about four leagues from Manheim.
Heidelberg is fituated in a hollow on the banks of the Neckar, and is furrounded by charming hills perfectly cultivated.
More cheerful fcenes of exuberant ferti- lity are to be feen no where than along the fine chain of hills which begin near this town. The fummits of thefe hills are crowned with trees, and their fides and bottoms are clothed with vines.
The Elector's caftle is placed on an emi- nence, which commands the town, and a view of the valley below; but the caftle it-
felf
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 367
felf unfortunately is commanded by another eminence too near it, from which this noble building was cannonaded when the whole Palatinate was pillaged and burnt, in confe- quence of that cruel order of Lewis XIV. too literally executed by Turenne.
The particulars of that difmal fcene have been tranfmitted from father tofon, and are ftill fpoken of with horror by the peafantry of this country, among whom the French nation is held in deteftation to this day.
While we were in the caftle we did not omit vifiting the renowned Heidelberg tun; but as it was perfectly empty, it made but a dull and uninterefting appearance.
The inhabitants of the Palatinate are partly Proteftants,and partly Roman Catho- lics, who live here in harmony with each other. The great church at Heidelberg is divided into two apartments, in one of which the Proteftants, and in the other, the Papifts, perform public wor&ip :— A fmgu-
lar
368 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
lar proof of the moderation and coolnefs of people's minds with regard to a fubjed that inflamed them fo violently in the days of their anceftors.
We remained only one day at Heidelberg* and returned in the evening to this place* The lives and manners of the inhabitants of this city feem to be as uniform and formal as the ftreets and buildings. No noife, mobs or buftle ; at mid-day every thing is as calm and quiet as the ftreets of London at mid-night. This gives one the notion that the citizens are under the fame reftraint and difcipline with the troops.
I have feen thefe laft perform their exer- cife every morning on the parade. I was a good deal furprifed to obferve, that not only the movements of the foldiers mulkets, and the attitudes of their bodies, but alfo their devotions, were under the direction of the major's cane. The following motions are performed as part of the military ma- noeuvres
BANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 369
hoeuvres every day before the troops are marched to their different guards.
The major flourifhes his cane ; — the drum gives a fmgle tap, and every man underarms railes his hand to his hat;- — at a fecond ftroke on the drum, they take off their hats and are fuppofed to pray ; — at a third, they £mm their petitions, and put their hats on their heads.— If any man has the affurance to prolong his prayer a minute longer than the drum indicates, he is punifhed on the fpot, and taught to be lefs devout for the future.
The ingenious inventor of drums certainly never dreamt of their becoming the regula- tors of people's piety.— But the modern im- provements in the military art are truly won- derful ! — and toe need not defpair, after this, of feeing a whole regiment^ by the progrefs of difcipline, fo modelled as to eat, drink, and perform other animal functions, uniformly together, at the word of com- mand, as they poife their firelocks. VOL. I. B b
370 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XLIV.
Manheim,
TTAVING left orders at Geneva to for- ward all our letters of a certain date to Manheim* and to direct thofe which fhould come afterwards, to Frankfort oa the Maine, I had the good fortune to re- ceive yours laft night.
I feel as much indignation as you poflibly can, againft thofe who endeavour to hurt the peace of families by malignant publica- tions, and I enter fully into Lord 's on
fo unmerited an attack. Yet I fhould be heartily forry to fee thefe evils remedied by any reftriction on the freedom of the prefs ; becaufe I am every day more and more con- vinced that its unreftrained productions, the licentious news-papers themfelves not ex-
cepted.
MANNERS IN fr&ANCE, &c. 3?j
tepted, have conveyed to every corner of Great Britain, along with much imper- tinence and fcurrility, fuch a regard for the confutation, fuch a fenfe of the rights of the fubjed, and fuch a degree of general knowledge, as never were fo univerfally dif- fufed over any other nation. Such a law as your friend propofes might, no doubt, pro- tect individuals from unjuft attacks in print ! but it would at the fame time remove one great means of clearing their innocence, and making known their wrongs, when injured in a more eflential manner. It would limit the right which every Briton has of publicly addreffing his countrymen, when he finds himfelf injured or opprefled by the perver* fion of law, or the infolence of office.
Examples might be given of men of great integrity being attacked in the mod cruel and ungenerous manner by people high in office, and guarded by power. Such men had no other means of redrefs than that of appealing to the candour and good fenfe of B b 2 the
372 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
the public, which they ufed with fuccefs. Every man's obfervation may fuggeft to him many kinds of injuftice and oppreffion, which the rich, the infidious, or the power- ful, can commit in fpite of law, or perhaps by the aid of law, againft the poor, the un- fufpecting, and the friendlefs. — Many, who can filence confcience and evade law, trem- ble at the thoughts of their injuftice being publifhed ; and nothing is, nothing can be, a greater check to the wantonnefs of power, than the privilege of unfolding private grie- vances at the bar of the public. For thus the caufe of individuals is made a public con- cern, and the general indignation which their wrongs excite, forms at once one of the fevereft punifhments which can be in- flicted on the oppreflbr, and one of the ftrongeft bulwarks that can be raifed in de- fence of the unprotected.
By this means alfo the moft fpeedy and effectual alarm is given all over the nation when any great public mifconduct happens,
or
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 37-3
or upon any appearance of a defign againft the conftitution ; and many evils are detect - ed and prevented, which othervvife might have been unobferved, till they had become too ftrong for remedy. And though this liberty produces much filly advice, and ma- lignant cenfors without number, it like- wife opens the door to fome of a different character, who give ufeful hints to minifters, which would have been loft without the freedom of anonymous publication.
The temporary and partial diforders, which are the confequences of public free- dom, have been greatly exaggerated by fome people, and reprefented as more than equi- valent to all the advantages refulting from a free government. But if fuch perfons had opportunities of obferving the nature of thofe evils which fpriag up in abfolute govern- ments, they would" foon be convinced of their error.
The greateft evil that can arife from the
licentioufnefs which accompanies civil li-
B b 3 berty
374 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
berty is, that people may raflily take a diflike to liberty herfelf, from the teafing imperti- nence and abfurdity of fome of her real or affected well-wiihers ; as a man might be- come lefs fond of the company of his beft friend, if he found him always attended by a fnappifh cur, which without provocation \vas always growling and barking.
But to prove the weaknefs of fuch con- duct, we have only to call to mind, that the {tream of licentioufnefs perhaps never rofe higher than it did fome years fince in Eng- land.— And what were the mighty evils, that followed ? — Many refpectable charac- ters were grofsly mifreprefented in printed publications. — Certain daring fcribblers evaded the punimment they deferved: — Many windows were broken, and the chariots of a few members of parliament were befpat-
tered with dirt by the mob. What are
thefe frivolous diforders when compared; to the gloomy regularity produced by de- ijpotifm ; in which men are obliged to the
IXioft
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 37S
moft painful circumfpeclion in all their a&ions ; are afraid to fpeak their fenti- ments on the moft common occurrences ; fufpicious of cherifhing government fpies ia their houfehold fervants; diftruftful of their own relations and moft intimate companions, and at all times expofed to the oppreflion of men in power, and to the infolence of their favourites ? — No confufion, in my mind, can be more terrible than the ftern difci- plined regularity and vaunted police of ar- bitrary governments, where every heart is depreffed by fear, where mankind dare not aflume their natural characters, where the free fpirit muft crouch to the flave in office, where genius muft reprefs her effufions, or, like the Egyptian worfhippcrs, offer them in facrifice to the calves of power; and where the human mind, always in {hackles, fhrinks from every generous effort.
B b 4
376 .VIEW QF SOCIETY AND:
LETTER XLV,
Mentz,
kft Manheim five or fix days ago. It is very eal'y travelling through this part of Germany, the roads being perfectly good, and the country a continued plain. From Bafil, to within a few miles of Mentz, the pofting road does not make even the moft gentle afcentj a vaft length of coun- try to be all along a perfect level.
By the great numbers of Monks and Friars, of all colours and conditions, that are to be met near this city, we were ap- prifed of our entrance into an ecclefiaftical ftate, while the plump perfons and rofy complexions of thefe Fathers fufficiently proved, that they did not live in the fertile land of Rhenl/h for nptjyng.
flpweye?
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 377
However good Chriftians they might be, many of them had much the appearance of paying occafional homage to the ancient heathen deity Bacchus, without being re- firained in their worfhip like the foldiers on the parade at Manheim. — One of them in particular appeared to have juft arifen from his devotion. — ?He moved along in the moft unconcerned manner imaginable, without obferving any direct courfe, or re- garding whether he went to the right hand or to the left. He muttered to himfelf as lie went. — Does he repeat his pater nofter?, faid I.— I rather imagine he prays from Horace, replied the Duke,
Quo me, Bacche, rapis tui Plenum? Quae nemora, aut quos agor in
fpecus Yelox mente nova*? -
* O Bacchus, when by thee pofleft,
What facred fpirit fills my raving breaft?
How am I rapt to dreary glades, -
To gloomy caverns, unfrequented fhades !
FRANCIS.
Pa
378 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
On both fides of the Rhine the ground here begins to become hilly and irregular, forming banks finely expofed to the fun. Here the beft Rhenifh wine is produced, and even a very fmall portion of thefe exuberant banks is of confiderable value. A chain of well-inhabited villages runs along from Mentz, by Bacharach, all the way to Co- blentz, where the Rhine is joined by the Mofelle.
Bacharach is faid to derive its name from an altar of Bacchus (Bacchi Ara) fuppofed to have been erected by the Romans in gratitude for the quantity and quality of the wine produced in the neighbourhood. A little before we entered Mentz, we paffed by the Favorita, a beautiful palace belonging to the Elector, fituated where the Rhine is joined by the Maine.
Mentz is finely fituated, built in an irregular manner, and moft plentifully pro- Tided with churches. The cathedral is but a gloomy fabric. In this there is what
they
ANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 379
they call a treafury, which contains a number of clurafy jewels, fome relics, and a mighty rich wardrobe of priefts veft- ments.
There are fome troops in this capital, but I do not think the officers have that fmart prefumptuous air which generally accompanies men of their profeffion. They feem confcious that the clergy are their mafters ; and, I have a notion, are a little out of countenance on that account.
The ftreets fwarm with ecclefiaftics, fome of them in fine coaches> and attended by a great number of fervants. I remarked alfo many genteel airy abbes; who, one could eafily fee, were the moft fafhionable people, and give the ton at this place.
Though it is moft evident that in this electorate the clergy have taken exceeding good care of themfelves; yet, in juftice to them, it muft be acknowledged, that the people aliQ feem to be in an eafy fituation.
The
580 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
The peafantry appear to be in a ftate of far greater abundance than thofe of France, or even thofe in the Elector of Manheim's dominions.
I have fome defire to fee an ecclefiaftical court, and would willingly vifit this of Mentz; but the Duke of Hamilton, who feerns to have no esceffive fondnefs for any court, fays, a court of clergymen muft be more difrnal and tedious than any other, and I fear will not be prevailed on the appear at this ; in which cafe we (hall leave th'is place to-morrow morning early, without further qeremopy.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 381
LETTER XL VI.
Frankfort on the Maine.
1A/E have been here two weeks.— To form a proper judgment of the ge- nius and manners of any nation, it is ne- ceflary to live familiarly with the inhabitants for aconfiderable time; but a fmaller degree of obfervation will fuffice to give a pretty juft idea of the nature of its government. The chilling effe&s of defpotic oppreffion, or the benign influence of freedom and commerce, flrike the eye of the moft care- lefs traveller.
The ftreets of Frankfort are fpacious and well-paved; the houfes ftately, clean, and convenient; the (hops well furnimed; the drefs, the numbers, the air, and general
manners
3$z VlfcW Ofr SOCIETY AND
manners of the inhabitants, fufficientty fliow, without other information, that there is no little defpot within their walls, to impoverifli them in fupport of his gran- deur, and to put every action of their lives, every movement of their bodies, under re- flraint by his caprice.
The houfes are of brick, but have a better appearance than brick houfes in ge- neral, owing chiefly to their being covered with a kind of reddifli ftucco, which is come into ufe here of late, and, it is be- lieved, will render the buildings more durable. The fronts of many of the fineft are alfo adorned with has reliefs of white ftucco, in imitation of marble. Thefe white ornaments, on the red ground, form too ftrong a contraft, and do not pleafe an eye fond of fimplicity. But the Germans, in general, have a tafte for fhowy orna* ment, in their drefs, furniture, and houfes. Frankfort is a free imperial city, having a
fmall
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 383
fraall territory belonging to it, and is go- verned by its own magiftracy.
All religions are tolerated here, under certain reftrictions; but Lutheranifm is the eftablifhed faith, as the magiftrates are of that communion.
The principal church is In the pofTeflioti of the Roman Catholics, but no public procefiion of the hoft is permitted through the ftreets. All the ceremonies of their religion are confined to the houfes of indi- viduals, or performed within the walls of this church. In it there is a chapel, to which the emperor is conducted immedi- ately after his election, in order to be crowned by the Elector of Mentz.
The Jews have a fynagogue in this city, where they perform their religious rites ; but the Calvinifts have never been allowed any public houfe of worfhip within the ter- ritory of Frankfort. They attend divine fervice at a place sailed Bockenheim in the
county
3% VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
county of Hanau, where they have built a church*
This is but unkind treatment; and it feems, at firft fight, a little extraordinary* that Maryn Luther fhould fhow more in- dulgence to his old enemy Lord Peter, and even to Judas Ifcariot himfelf, than to his fellow-reformer John Calvin*
Though Frankfort is thought a fine town, and the effect produced by the whole is magnificent, yjst there are no buildings in particular worthy of attention. It is expected, however, .that all ftrangers fhould vifit the town-houfe, and fee the chamber where the Emperor is elected. And it would be reckoned a great want of curiofity, not to fee the famous golden bull which is kept there with the utmoft care. A fight of this coils a golden ducat; a fuf- fkient price for a glance of an old manu- fcript, which not one perfon in a hundred can read, and ftill fewer can underfland.
A coun-
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 385
A countryman of ours, who expedited more amufement for his money, com- plained loudly of this as an impofition j. and on hearing a German talk of the high price which every thing bore in England, he re- torted on him in thefe words:— II n'y a rien en Angleterre fi cher que votre taureau d'or a Frankfort.
There is a cuftom obferved here, which I mail mention on account of its fingularity, though I enquired in vain for its origin. Two women appear every day at noon on the battlements of the principal fteeple, and yl:.y fome very folemn airs with trum- pets This mufic is accompanied by vocal pfalmodv performed by four or five men, who ^ys attend the female trumpeters Tor that purpofe.
The people here have a violent tafte for pfalm-fmging. There are a confiderable number of men and boys, who have this for their only proteflion. They are engaged
VOL. I. C c by
386 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
by fome families to officiate two or three times a week in the morning, before the matter and miftrefs of the family get out of bed.
When any perfon in tolerable circum- ftances dies, a band of thefe fweet fingers aflemble in the ftreets before the houfe, and chant an hour every day to the corpfe, till it is interred. The fame band accom- panies the funeral, finging hymns all the way.
Funerals are conducted with an uncom- mon degree of folemnity in this town : — A man clothed in a black cloak, and car- rying a crucifix, at the end of a long pole, leads the proceffion:— A great number of hired mourners in the fame drefs, and each with a lemon in his hand, march after him: — Then come the fingers, followed by the corpfe in a hearfe; and laftly, the relations in mourning coaches.
The
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 387
The crucifix is carried in this manner at all funerals, whether the deceafed has died a Roman Catholic, a Lutheran, or a Cal- vinift. That this cuftom fliould be fol- lowed by the two latter, furprifed me a good deal. 1 fhould have imagined that the Calvinifts in particular, whatever they did with the lemons, would never have been able to digeft the crucifix.
There is a very confiderable number of Calvinifts in this place; it is generally thought they are the moft induftrious, They unqueftonably are the richeft part of the inhabitants. This may be partly owing to a circumftance that fome of them confider as a hardfhip their being ex- cluded from any mare in the government of the city. — Many of the Calvinift fami- lies are defcendants of French Proteftants* who left their country at the revocation of the edi£t of Nantz.
Cc 2 There
388 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
There are fome villages near Frankfort confifting entirely of French refugees ; who, deferting their country at the fame time, have fettled here in a clufter. Their de- fcendents fpeak French in their common converfation, and retain many of their ori- ginal cuftoms to this hour.
Two or three families now living at Frankfort are of Englifli origin. Their predeceffors fled firft to Holland, during the perfecutions in the reign of Mary, and being afterwards driven out of that country by the cruelty of the Duke of Alva, they at length found an afylum for themfelves, and their pofterity, in this free imperial city.
The number of Jews in Frankfort is prodigious, confidering one difmal incon- venience they are fubjecled to, being obliged to live all together in a fingle ftreet built up at one end : — There is a large gate at the other, which is regularly fhut at a
certain
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 389
certain hour of the night, after which no Jews dare appear in the ftreets; but the whole herd muft remain cooped and crowded together, like fo many black cat- tle, till morning. As this ftreet is nar- row, the room allotted for each family fmall, and as the children of Ifrael were never remarkable for their cleanliriefs, and always noted for breeding, the Jews' quar- ter, you will believe, is not the fweeteft part of the town. I fcarce think they could have been worfe lodged in the land of Egypt.
They have feveral times made offer of confiderable fums to the magiftrates of Frankfort for liberty to build or purchafe another ftreet for their accommodation; but all fuch propofals have hitherto been rejected.
The Jews in Frankfort are obliged to
fetch water when a fire happens in any
part of the cityj and the magiftrates, in re-
C c 3 turn,
390 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
turn, permit them to choofe judges out of their own body for deciding difputes among themfelves ; but if either party refufes to fubmit to this, an appeal is open to the magiftrates.
They muft unqueftionably enjoy fome great advantages by the trade they carry on, to compenfate for fuch inconveniencies. During the day-time they are allowed the liberty of walking all over the town; a privilege which they improve with equal affiduity and addrefs. They attack you in the ftreet, ply at the gate of your lodgings, and even glide into your apartments, offer- ing to fupply you with every commodity you can have occafion for: And if you happen to pafs by the entrance of their ftreet, they intreat your cuftom with the violence and vociferation of fo many Thames watermen.
I was twice at their fynagogue. There
is nothing magnificent in their worfhip;
2 but
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 391
but much apparent zeal and fervour. I faw one of their moft important rites per- formed on two children. It was impoffible not to feel compaflion for the poor infants, thus cruelly initiated into a community, who had formerly the misfortune of being defpifed by the Heathens, and now are execrated by all pious Chriftians.
Cc
392 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
LETTER XLVII.
Frankfort on the Maine.
will be furprifed at our remaining fo long at a place where there is no court, and few of thofe entertainments which allure and retain travellers. The truth is, the Duke of Hamilton feems fond of this place; and as for my own part, I have formed an acquaintance with fome very worthy people here, whofe friendfhip I {hall take every occafion to cultivate.
Society here is divided into Noblefle and the Bourgeois. The firft confifts of fome noble families from various parts of Ger- many, who have chofen Frankfort for their refidence, and a few original citizens of Frankfort, but who have now obtained the rank of nobility. The citizens who con- ned
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 393
nec~t themselves with ftrangers, have made their fortunes by cbmmerce, which fome of them ftill follow.
There is a public aflembly for the nobi- lity once a week, at which they drink tea, converfe, or play at cards from fix to ten. On the other nights, the fame company meet alternately at each other's houfes, and pafs the evening in the fame manner. None of the Bourgeois families are invited to thefe parties ; but they have afTemblies of the fame kind among themfelves, and often entertain their friends, and the ftrangers with whom they are acquainted, in a very hofpitable manner at their tables. The noblemen who refide in Frankfort, and the nobility of all degrees, and of every nation, who acci- dentally pafs through it, cheerfully accept of thefe invitations to dine with the citizens, but none of the German ladies of quality conde- fcend fo far. While their fathers, hufbands, and brothers, are entertained at a Bourgeois
table,
394 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
table, they chufe rather to dine at home by themfelves; and they certainly judge wifely, if they prefer a fpare diet to good cheer.
The diftinction of ranks is obferved in Germany, with all the fcrupulous precifion that a matter of that importance deferves. There is a public concert in this place fup- ported by fubfcription. One would imagine that the fubfcribers would take their feats as they entered the room, that thofe who came earlieft would have their choice. — No fuch matter. — The two firft rows are kept for the ladies of quality, and the wives and daugh- ters of the citizens muft be contented to fit behind, let them come at what hour, and pay what money they pleafe. — After all, this is not fo bad as in an aflembly of no- bility, where commons are not permitted to fit, even in the lobby, whatever price they may have paid for their feat in par- liament.
Since
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 395
Since we arrived, the theatre has been opened for the winter, by a troop of Ger- man comedians. I was there the firft night ; previous to the play, there was a kind of allegorical prologue, intended as a compli- ment to the magiftrates of Frankfort. This was performed by Juftice, Wifdom, and Plenty, each of whom appeared in perfon, with the ufual attributes. The laft was very properly perfonated by a large fat woman, big with child. As to the two former, I hope, for the fake of the good people of Frankfort, that they are better reprefented in the town-council, than they were on the ftage. This prologue was concluded by a long harangue, pronounced by the plumped Apollo, I dare venture ^to fay, that ever ap- peared in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath.
After this the play began, which was a German tranflation of the Engliih play of George Barnwell, with confiderable altera- tions.
396 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
tions. Barnwell is reprefented as an impru- dent young man; but he does not murder his uncle, as in the Englifti play ; or com- mit any grofs crime; the German tranflator, therefore, inftead of hanging, only marries him at the end of the piece.
Moft of the plays reprefented on the Ger- man ftage, aretranflations from the Englifti or French; for Germany, fo fertile in wri- ters in divinity, jurifprudence, medicine, chymiftry, and other parts of natural philo- fophy, has produced few poets till of late.
Jam nova progenies ccelo deinittitur alto*,
and the German mufe is now admired all over Europe. Her beauties are felt and ap- plauded by men of genius, even through the medium of a tranfla'ion, which is a ftrong proof of her original energy. It muft, how- ever, be a great difcouragement to German poetry in general, and to the dramatic in particular, that the French language prevails
* Now a new progeny from heaven defcend.
in
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 397
in all the courts, and that French plays arc repreiented there in preference to German. The native language of the country is treated like a vulgar and provincial diale&, while the French is cultivated as the only proper language for people of famion.— Children of the firft families are inftruded in French, before they acquire their mother- tongue, and pains are taken to keep them ignorant of this, that it may not hurt their pronunciation of the other. I have met with people who confidered it as an accomplifh- ment to be unable to exprefs themfelves in the language of their country, and who have pretended to be more ignorant, in this particular, than they were in reality.
I have been aflured by many, who under- ftand the German language well, that it is nervous, copious, moft expreflive, and ca- pable of all the graces of poetry. The truth of this appears by the works of feveral late writers, who have endeavoured to check this
unnatural
398 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
unnatural prejudice in their countrymen, and to reftore the language of their anceftors to its native honours. — But what are the efforts of good fenfe, tafte, and genius, in oppofition to fafhion, and the iufluence of courts ?
Among the winter amufements of this place, traineau parties may be reckoned. Thefe can take place in the time of froft only, and when there is a confiderable quan- tity of fnow upon the ground. I had an opportunity of feeing a very fplendid enter- tainment of this kind lately, which was given by fome young gentlemen to an equal number of ladies,
A traineau is a machine in the fhape of a horfe, lion, fwan; or in that of a griffin, unicorn, or fome other fanciful form, with- out wheels; but made below like a fledge, for theconveniency of Hiding over the fnow. Some are gilded, and otherwife ornamented according to the whim of the proprietor. —
A pole
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 399
A pole ftands up from one fide, to which an enfign or flag is fattened, which waves over the heads of thofe placed on the machine. The lady, wrapped in fur, fits before, and the gentleman ftands behind on a board made for that purpofe.
The whole is drawn by two horfes, which are either condu&ed by a poftillion,or driven by the gentleman.— The horfes are gaudily ornamented, and have bells hanging from the trappings which cover them.
This party confided of about thirty traineaus, each attended by two or three fervants on horfeback with flambeaux ; for this amufement was taken when it began to grow dark. — One traineau took the lead; — the reft followed at a convenient diftance in a line, and drove for two or three hours through the principal ftreets and fquares of Frankfort.— The horfes go at a brifk trot or canter ; the motion of the traineau is eafy and agreeable; the bells, enfigns, and
torches,
400 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
torches, make a very gay stad fhowy ap- pearance, which fcemed to be much reliQied by the parties immediately concerned, and admired by the fpedators.
A few days after 'this exhibition, as we were preparing to fet out for Hanau in a traineau, Mr. Stanley, brother to Lord Stanley, arrived at the inn. Though he had travelled for two days and nights, with- out having been in bed, he was fo little fatigued, that he went along with us. Ha- nau is fome leagues diftant from Frankfort. We had a full proof of the fmooth move- ment of the traineau, which, in the time of froft, and when there is a proper quan- tity of fnow on the ground, is certainly the moft delightful way of travelling that can poflibly be imagined.
Hanau is the refidence of the Hereditary Prince of Hefle Caflel. As we entered the town we met the Princefs, who is fifter-in- law to the King of Denmark. She, with
fome
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c> 40J
fbme .of the ladies of the court, was taking the air alfo in a traineau.
Befides the troops of Hanau, two regi- ments of Hanoverians are there at prefent. The Hereditary Prince k not oil the beft terms with his father. He lives here, hofo- ever, in a ftate of independency, poflefled of the revenues of this country, which is guaranteed to him by the Kings of Britain, Denmark, and Pruffia: but there is no in- tercourfe between this little court and that of Heffe Caffel.
.After dinner we returned to Frankfort. The Duke prevailed with Mr. Stanley to re- main a longer time at Frankfort than he had intended. He is a fenfible young man of fpi- rit and ambition. His grandfather, the old Earl of Derby, endeavours to feduce him into holyorders, promifmg him a living of 2000!. a year, which is in the gift of the family. This you will acknowledge to be a tempta- tion which few younger brothers could with-
VOL, I; D d ftand.
402 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
ftand. Nature, however, feems to have deftined this young gentleman for another line in life. My own opinion is, he would rather have the command of a troop of dra- goons, than be promoted to the See of Canterbury.
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 403
LETTER XLVIII.
Frankfort.
COME of the nobility who refide in this city, take every opportunity of pointing out the eflential difference that there is, and the diftinctions that ought to be made, be- tween their families and thofe of the Bour- geois; who, though they have, by com- merce, or fome profeflion equally ignoble, attained great wealth, which enables them to live in a ftyle of magnificence unbecom- ing their rank ; yet their noble neighbours infmuate, that they always retain a vulga- rity of fentiment and manners, unknown to thofe whofe blood has flowed pure through feveral generations, unmixed with that puddle which ftagnates in the vekis of plebeians.
D d a The
404 VIEXV OF SOCIETY AND
The Duke of Hamilton does not feem to> have ftudied natural philofophy with accu- racy fufficient to enable him to obferve this diftinction. He mingles in the focieties of the citizens, with as much eafe and alacrityr as in thofe of the nobility ; dining with the one, and drinking coffee with the other, in the moft impartial manner ; and between the two, he contrives to amufe himfelf tolerably well.
The two families with which we are in the greateft degree of intimacy, are thofe of Monf. de Barkhaufe, and Monf. P. Gogle. The former is a principal perfon in the ma- giftracy, a man of learning and worth. His lady is of a noble family in the dukedom of Brunfwick, a woman of admirable good fenfe and many accomplishments. She is well acquainted with Englifh and French literature. The French language flie fpeaks like a native, and though fhe cannot con- Terfe in Englifh without difficulty, flie un- 6 clerftands
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 405
der ftands and relifhes the works of Tome of our beft authors.
Mr. Gogle has travelled over the greateft part of Europe, and is equally acquainted with men and books. He has made a plen- tiful fortune by commerce, and lives in a very agreeable and hofpitable manner.
In thefe two houfes we occafionally meet with the beft company of both the claffes of fociety in this place, and in one or other, when there is no public affembly, we gene- rally pafs the afternoon. — The former part of the day (a thaw having lately diflblved the fnow) we often pafs in jaunts to the en- virons of this place, which are very beau- tiful.
As the Duke of Hamilton and I were riding one day along the banks of the Maine, near the village of Heix, which is in the territories of the Elector of Mentz, we obferved a building, which feemed to be the refidence of fome prince, or biihop at D d J leaft.
4o6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
leaft. We were furprifed we never had heard it fpoken of, as it had a more magni- ficent appearance than any modern build- ing we had fsen fince our arrival in Ger- many. We rode up, and upon entering it, found that the apartments within, though not laid out in the heft tafte, feemed to correfpond, in point of expence, with the external appearance.
We were informed by the workmen, who were employed in finifhing thefe apart- ments, that this palace belonged to a to- bacconift in Frankfort, where he ftill kept fhop, and had accumulated a prodigious fortune by making and felling fnuff.
Near to the principal houfe, there is
another great building, intended for a work-
houfe, in which tobacco is to be taanu-
fa&ured, with many apartments for the
• workmen, and vaulted cellars, in which the
various kinds of fnufF are to be kept moift,
till fent for inland fale to Frankfort, or
{hipped on the Maine for foreign markets.
5
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &«, 4Q7
The owner informed us, there were ex* a<31y three hundred rooms in both build-* ings, and the greater number of thefe be* longed to the dwelling-houfe. We did not chufe to puzzle the man by difficult quef- tions, and therefore refrained from enquir- ing, what ufe he intended to make of fuch an amazing number of rooms, which feem- ed rather contrived as barracks for two or three thoufand foldiers, than any other purpofe.
On our return to town, we were informed that this perfon, who is not a native of Frankfort, though he has been many years eftablifhed there, had applied to the magi- flrates for liberty to purchafe a certain fpot of ground, on which he propofed to build a dwelling-houfe, &c. which cannot be done by any but citizens, without the confent of the council. This being refufed, he bought a little piece of land in the territory of Mentz, immediately beyond that of Frank* fpr{, and on the banks of the Maine ; and D d 4 being
408 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
being highly piqued by the refufal he had met with from the magiftrates, he had reared a building greatly larger and more extenflve than was necefTary, or than he at firft had intended, in the full perfuafion that the remorfe of the magiftrates would be in proportion to the fize of this fabric.
The tobacconift has already expended fifty thoufand pounds on this temple of vengeance, and his wrath againft the ma- giftrates feems to be yet unappeafed — for he ftill lavifhes his money with a rancour againft thefe unfortunate men, that is very unbecoming a Chriftian. The inhabitants of Frankfort, while they acknowledge the imprudence of the magiftrates, do not ap- plaud the wifdom of their antagonift, in whofe brain they aflert there muft be fome apartments as empty as any in the vaft ftructure he is building.
Another day his Grace and I rode to Bergen, a fmallvillage which has been ren- dered eminent by the attempt made there
by
MANNERS IN FRANCE, fcc. 403
by Prince Ferdinand on the French army in the year 1759.
We were accompanied by the MefTrs. de Leflener, two gentlemen, now retired from the fervice, and living at Frankfort, who had been in the a&ion, one a Captain in the Hanoverian army, the other of the fame rank in the French.
During the winter of that memorable year, you may remember that the French, with more policy than juftice, had feized upon this neutral city, and eftablifhed their head- quarters here. This was attended by great advantages, fecuring to them the courfe of the Maine and Upper Rhine, by which they received fupplies from Strafbourg, and all the intermediate cities.
Prince Ferdinand having formed the de- fign of driving them from this advantage- ous fituation, before they could be rein- forced, fuddenly aflembled his army, which was cantoned about Munfter, and after three
days
4io VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
days of forced marches, came in fight of the French army, at that time commanded by the Duke de Broglio, who, having received intelligence of the Prince's fcheme, had made a very judicious difpofition.
On the afternoon of the 1 3th of April, the Prince began his attack on the right wing of the French army, which occupied the vuV lage of Bergen. — This was renewed with great vivacity three feveral times. The Prince of Ifembourg, and about 1500 of the Allies, fell in the adion, which was prolonged till the evening; Prince Ferdi- nand then determining to draw off his troops, made fuch a difpofition as perfuaded the enemy he intended a general attack next morning — and by this means he accom- plifhed his retreat in the night, without being harafled by the French.
I have heard officers of great merit aflert, that nothing could be more judicioufly planned and executed, than this enterprife 5 the only one of importance, however, in
wfcicl*
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c, 4U
which that great General failed during the whole war.
By this misfortune the allied army were reduced to great difficulties, and the progrefs of the French, with the continued retreat of the Allies, fpread fuch an alarm over the Electorate of Hanover, that many indivi- duals fent their moft valuable effects toStade, from whence they might be conveyed to England. — The affairs of the Allies were ibon after re-eftablifhed by the decifive vic- tory of Minden, which raifed the military character of Prince Ferdinand higher than ever ; though officers of penetration, who were at both actions, are ftill of opinion, that his talents were to the full as confpicu- ous at Bergen, where he was repulled, as at the glorious field of Minden, by which Hanover and Brunfwick were preferved, and the French obliged to abandon almoft £ll Weftphalia.
VIEW OF SOCIETY ANI>
LETTER XLIX.
Frankfort,
T Returned a few days fince from Darm- ftadt, having accompanied the Duke of Hamilton on a vifit which he made to that court.
The reigning Prince of Hefle Darmftadt not being there, we were directed to pay our firft vifit to the Princefs Maximilian, his aunt. — She invited us the fame evening to play at cards and fup with her. — There were about ten people at table. — The Prin- cefs was gay, affable, and talkative. — The Duke confefled he never had pafled an evening fo agreeably with an old woman
in his life.
Next
MANNERS 'IN FRANCE, &c. 413
Next morning we went to the parade, which is an object of great attention at this place. The Prince has a moft enthufiaftic paffion for military manoeuvres and evolu- tions.—-Drilling and exercifing his foldiers are his chief amufements, and almoft hisr fole employment. That he may enjoy this in all kinds of weather, and at every fea- fon of the year, he has built a room fuffi- ciently capacious to admit 1500 men, to perform their exercife in it all together.
This room is accommodated with fixteen ftoves, by which it may be kept at the exacl: degrees of temperature which fuits his Hignefs's conftitution. — On the morning that we were prefent, there was only the or- dinary guard, confifting of three hundred men, who having performed their exereifes, and marched for an hour up and down this fpacious Gymnafium, were divided into parties and detached to their refpe&ive pofts.
The Darmftadt foldiers are tall, tolerably clothed, and above all things remarkably
well
4H VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
well powdered. They go through their manoeuvres with that dexterity which may be expected of men who are continually employed in the fame a&ion, under the eye of their prince, who is an admirable judge, and fevere critic in this part of the military art.
There is no regular fortification round this town; but a very high ftone-wall, which is not intended to prevent an enemy from entering, being by no means adequate to fuch a purpofe ; but merely defigned to hinder the garrifon from deferting, to which they are exceedingly inclined ; thefe poor men taking no delight in the warlike amufe- ments which conftitute the fupreme joy of their fovereign.
Centinels are placed at fmall diftances all round the wall, who are obliged to be ex- ceedingly alert. One foldier gives the words all is well in German, to his neighbour on the right, who immediately calls the fame to the centinel beyond him, and fo it goes
round
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 415
round till the firft foldier receives the words from the left, which he tranfmits to the right as formerly, and fo the call cir- culates, without any intermiflion, through the whole night.
Every other part of garrifon duty is per- formed with equal exaclnefs, and all ne- glects as feverely punifhed as if an enemy were at the gates.
The men are feldom more than two nights out of three in bed. This, with the attention requifite to keep their clothes and accoutrements clean, is very hard duty, efpecially at prefent, when the froft is un- commonly keen, and the ground covered with fnow.
There is a fmall body of cavalry at Darmftadt juft now. They are drefled in buff coats, and magnificently accoutred.— Thefe are the horfe-guards of the Prince.— Few as they are, I never faw fo many men together of fuch a height in my life, none of them being under fix Englifh feet three
inches
416 VIEXV* OF SOCIETY
inches high, and feveral of them confidei4- ably above that enormous ftature.
The Prince of Hefle Darmfladt former!/ kept a greater number of troops : At pre- fent his whole army does not exceed five thoufand men. But as the condud of princes, however judicious it may be, fel- dom pafles uncenfured, there are people who blame him for entertaining even this number. They declare, that this prince's finances, being in very great diforder, can- not fupport this eftablifhment ; which, though fmall, may be counted high, con- fidering the extent of his dominions. They infift alfo upon the lofs, which agriculture and manufactures muft fuftain, by having the ftouteft men taken away from thefe necefiary employments, and their ftrength exhaufted in ufelefs parade. For thefe rigid cenfors have the aflurance to affert, that an army of five thoufand men, though bur* denfome to the country, is not fufficient to
defend
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 4,7
defend it ; that the number is by far too great for amufement, and infinitely too fmall for any manner of ufe.
The fame day, we dined with the Prin- cefs Maximilian, and in the afternoon were prefented to Prince George's family. He is brother to the reigning Prince. He happened to be indifpofed ; but his Princefs received the Duke with the utmoft polite - nefs.
Their two youngeft fons and three daughters were at fupper. The former are ftill very young ; the latter are well- looking, remarkably accomplilhed, and do much credit to the great pains their mother hasbeftowed on their education.
Next morning we were invited to break- faft, by the Baron Riedefal, at a pleafant country-houfe he has near Darmftadt.-*- His Grace went with him, in a carriage of a very particular conftrudion, The Baron
VQL. I, E e fat
4i8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND
fat on a low feat next the horfes, and drove; the Duke in a higher place behind him. Each of thefe is made for one perfon only ; but behind all, there was a wooden feat, in the fhape of a little horfe, on which two fervants were mounted. The ufual pofting- chaifes in this country hold fix perfons with eafe; and people even of the firft rank generally have two or three fervants in the chaife with them. In point of ceconomy, thefe carriages are well imagined ; and, in the time of froft, not inconvenient ; for here travellers take fpecial care to fortify themfelves againft cold by cloaks lined with fur. But when it rains hard, two of the company at leaft muft be drenched ; for the German chaifes are never intirely co- vered above.
I went with Count Cullemberg in his coach. We palled the forenoon very agree- ably at this houfe, which feems to be ad- vantageoufly fituated; but in its prefent 6 fnowy
MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 4I9
fnowy drefs, one can no more judge of the natural complexion of the country, than of that of an a&refs new-painted for the ftage.
We dined with Prince George, who was fufficiently recovered to be at table. He is a handfome man, of a foldier-like appear- ance, and has all the eafe and opennefs of the military character.
His fecond fon, who had been abfent for fome weeks, arrived while we were at table. He is a fine young man, about eighteen years of age. It was pleafing to obferve the fatisfadion which this fmall incident diffufed over the faces of father, mother, and the whole family, which formed a groupe worthy the pencil of Greufe.
Do not fufpect that I am prejudiced in favour of this family, merely becaufe they
belong to a prince. An appearance of
domeftic happinefs is always agreeable,
whether
420 VIEW OF SOCIETY, &c.
whether we find it in a palace or a cottage 5 and the fame fymptoms of good humour, though they would not have furprifed me fo much, would have delighted me equally in the family of a peafant.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME,
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