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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Travels in France during the years 1814-1815 + Comprising a residence at Paris, during the stay of the + allied armies, and at Aix, at the period of the landing + of Bonaparte, in two volumes. + +Author: Archibald Alison + Patrick Fraser Tytler + +Release Date: December 4, 2008 [EBook #27410] +[Most recently updated: February 26, 2021] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN FRANCE *** + + + + +Produced by Carlo Traverso, Chuck Greif and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://dp.rastko.net +(Produced from images of the Bibliothèque nationale de +France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + + + + + +</pre> + +<hr class="full" /> + + + + + +<h1>TRAVELS IN FRANCE,</h1> + +<div class="bold"> +<p class="c">DURING THE YEARS</p> + +<p class="c">1814-15.</p> + +<p class="c smcap">comprising a</p> + +<p class="c">RESIDENCE AT PARIS DURING THE STAY OF THE ALLIED ARMIES,</p> + +<p class="c smcap">and</p> + +<p class="c">AT AIX,</p> + +<p class="c"><i>AT THE PERIOD OF THE LANDING OF</i></p> + +<p class="c">BONAPARTE.</p> +<p class="c">———</p> + +<p class="c">IN TWO VOLUMES.</p> + +<p class="c">SECOND EDITION, CORRECTED AND ENLARGED.</p> + +<p class="c">EDINBURGH:</p> + +<p class="c smcap">printed for macredie, skelly, and muckersy, 52. prince's street;<br /> +longman, hurst. rees, orme, and brown; black,<br /> +parry, and co. t. underwood, london;<br /> +and j. cumming, dublin.</p> +<p class="c">———</p> +<p class="c">1816.</p> +</div> + +<div class="box"> +<p class="c">Transcriber's note: The original spellings have been maintained; the +French spelling and accentuation have not been corrected, but left as they appear in the +original.</p></div> + + + +<h3>ADVERTISEMENT.</h3> + +<hr class="ten"/> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">A</span> <span class="smcap">Second Edition</span> of the following Work having been demanded by the +Booksellers, the Author has availed himself of the opportunity to +correct many verbal inaccuracies, to add some general reflections, and +to alter materially those parts of it which were most hastily prepared +for the press, particularly the Journal in the Second Volume, by +retrenching a number of particulars of partial interest, and +substituting more general observations on the state of the country, +supplied by his own recollection and that of his fellow-travellers.</p> + +<p class="sp"><span class="smcap">He</span> has only farther to repeat here, what he stated in the Advertisement +to the first Edition, that the whole materials of the Publication were +collected in France, partly by himself, during a residence which the +state of his health had made adviseable in Provence, and partly by some +friends who had preceded him in their visit to France, and were at Paris +during the time when it was first occupied by the Allied Armies;—and +that he has submitted it to the world, merely in the hope of adding +somewhat to the general stock of information regarding the situation, +character, and prospects of the French people, which it is so desirable +that the English Public should possess.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h3>CONTENTS.</h3> + +<table summary="toc1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" +style="font-weight:800;"> +<tr><td class="vol" colspan="2">VOL. I.</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></td><td>Journey to Paris</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td>Paris—The Allied Armies +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td>Paris—Its Public Buildings +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td>Environs of Paris +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td>Paris—The Louvre +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td>Paris—The French Character and Manners +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td>Paris—The Theatres +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td>Paris—The French Army and Imperial Government +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td>Journey to Flanders +</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="vol" colspan="2">VOL. II.</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_a_I">CHAPTER I.</a></td><td>Journey to Aix +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_a_II">II.</a></td><td>Residence at Aix, and Journey to Bourdeaux +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_a_III">III.</a></td><td>State of France under Napoleon—Anecdotes of him +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_a_IV">IV.</a></td><td>State of France under Napoleon—continued +</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#CHAPTER_a_V">V.</a></td><td>State of Society and Manners in France +</td></tr> + + +<tr><td colspan="2" align="center"><a href="#REGISTER">Register of the Weather</a></td></tr> +</table> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" class="top15" /> +<h2>VOLUME FIRST.</h2> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h3> + +<p class="head">JOURNEY TO PARIS.</p> + + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">W</span><span class="smcap">e</span> passed through Kent in our way to France, on Sunday the first of May +1814. This day's journey was very delightful. The whole scenery around +us,—the richness of the fields and woods, then beginning to assume the +first colours of spring; the extent and excellence of the cultivation; +the thriving condition of the towns, and the smiling aspect of the neat +and clean villages through which we passed; the luxuriant bloom of the +fruit-trees surrounding them; the number of beautiful villas adapted to +the accommodation of the middle ranks of society, the crowds of +well-dressed peasantry going to and returning from church; the frank +and cheerful countenances of the men, and beauty of the women—all +presented a most pleasing spectacle. If we had not proposed to cross the +channel, we should have compared all that we now saw with our +recollections of Scotland; and the feeling of the difference, although +it might have increased our admiration, would perhaps have made us less +willing to acknowledge it. But when we were surveying England with a +view to a comparison with France, the difference of its individual +provinces was overlooked;—we took a pride in the apparent happiness and +comfort of a people, of whom we knew nothing more, than that they were +our countrymen; and we rejoiced, that the last impression left on our +minds by the sight of our own country, was one which we already +anticipated that no other could efface.</p> + +<p>Our passage to Calais was rendered very interesting, by the number of +Frenchmen who accompanied us. Some of these were emigrants, who had +spent the best part of their lives in exile; the greater part were +prisoners of various ranks, who had been taken at different periods of +the war. There was evidently the greatest diversity of character, of +prospects, of previous habits, and of political and moral sentiments +among these men; the only bond that connected them was, the love of +their common country; and at a moment for which they had been so long +and anxiously looking, this was sufficient to repress all jealousy and +discord, and to unite them cordially and sincerely in the sentiment +which was expressed, with true French enthusiasm, by one of the party, +as we left the harbour of Dover,—"Voila notre chere France,—A present +nous sommes tous amis!"</p> + +<p>As we proceeded, the expression of their emotions, in words, looks, and +gestures, was sometimes extremely pleasing, at other times irresistibly +ludicrous, but always characteristic of a people whose natural feelings +are quick and lively, and who have no idea of there being any dignity or +manliness in repressing, or concealing them. When the boat approached +the French shore, a fine young officer, who had been one of the most +amusing of our companions, leapt from the prow, and taking up a handful +of sand, kissed it with an expression of ardent feeling and enthusiastic +joy, which it was delightful to observe.</p> + +<p>It is only on occasions of this kind, that the whole strength of the +feeling of patriotism is made known. In the ordinary routine of civil +life, this feeling is seldom awakened. In the moments of national +enthusiasm and exultation, it is often mingled with others. But in +witnessing the emotions of the French exiles and captives, on returning +to their wasted and dishonoured country, we discerned the full force of +those moral ties, by which, even in the most afflicting circumstances of +national humiliation and disaster, the hearts of men are bound to the +land of their fathers.</p> + +<p>We landed, on the evening of the 2d, about three miles from Calais, and +walked into the town. The appearance of the country about Calais does +not differ materially from that in the immediate neighbourhood of Dover, +which is much less fertile than the greater part of Kent; but the +cottages are decidedly inferior to the English. The first peculiarity +that struck us was the grotesque appearance of the <i>Douaniers</i>, who came +to examine us on the coast; and when we had passed through the numerous +guards, and been examined at the guard-houses, previously to our +admission into the town, the gates of which had been shut, we had +already observed, what subsequent observation confirmed, that the air +and manner which we call military are in very little estimation among +the French soldiers. The general appearance of the French soldiery +cannot be better described than it has been by Mr Scott: "They seemed +rather the fragments of broken-up gangs, than the remains of a force +that had been steady, controlled, and lawful." They have almost +uniformly, officers and men, much expression of intelligence, and often +of ferocity, in their countenances, and much activity in their +movements; but there are few of them whom an Englishman, judging from +his recollection of English soldiers, would recognise to belong to a +regular army.</p> + +<p>The lower orders of inhabitants in Calais hailed the arrival of the +English strangers with much pleasure, loudly proclaiming, however, the +interested motives of their joy. A number of blackguard-looking men +gathered round us, recommending their own services, and different +hotels, with much vehemence, and violent altercations among themselves; +and troops of children followed, crying, "Vivent les Anglois—Give me +one sous." In our subsequent travels, we were often much amused by the +importunities of the children, who seem to beg, in many places, without +being in want, and are very ingenious in recommending themselves to +travellers; crying first, Vive le Roi; if that does not succeed, Vive +l'Empereur; that failing, Vive le Roi d'Angleterre; and professing +loyalty to all the sovereigns of Europe, rather than give up the hopes +of a <i>sous</i>.</p> + +<p>Having reached the principal inn, we found that all the places in the +diligence for Paris were taken for the ten following days. By this time, +in consequence of the communication with France being opened, several +new coaches had been established between London and Dover, but no such +measure had been thought of on the road between Calais and Paris. There +was no want of horses, as we afterwards found, belonging to the inns on +the roads, but this seemed to indicate strongly want of ready money +among the innkeepers. However, there were at Calais a number of +"voitures" of different kinds, which had been little used for several +years; one of which we hired from a "magasin des chaises," which +reminded us of the Sentimental Journey, and set out at noon on the 3d, +for Paris, accompanied by a French officer who had been a prisoner in +Scotland, and to whose kindness and attentions we were much indebted.</p> + +<p>We were much struck with the appearance of poverty and antiquity about +Calais, which afforded a perfect contrast to the Kentish towns; and all +the country towns, through which we afterwards passed in France, +presented the same general character. The houses were larger than those +of most English country towns, but they were all old; in few places out +of repair, but nowhere newly built, or even newly embellished. There +were no newly painted houses, windows, carriages, carts, or even +sign-posts; the furniture, and all the interior arrangements of the +inns, were much inferior to those we had left; their external appearance +stately and old-fashioned; the horses in the carriages were caparisoned +with white leather, and harnessed with ropes; the men who harnessed them +were of mean appearance, and went about their work as if they had many +other kinds of work to do. There were few carts, and hardly any +four-wheeled carriages to be seen in the streets; and it was obvious +that the internal communications of this part of the country were very +limited. There appeared to be few houses fitted for the residence of +persons of moderate incomes, and hardly any villas about the town to +which they might retire after giving up business. All the lower ranks of +people, besides being much worse looking than the English, were much +more coarsely clothed, and they seemed utterly indifferent about the +appearance of their dress. Very few of the men wore beaver hats, and +hardly two had exactly the same kind of covering for their heads.</p> + +<p>The dress of the women of better condition, particularly their +high-crowned bonnets, and the ruffs about their necks, put us in mind of +the pictures of old English fashions. The lower people appeared to bear +a much stronger resemblance to some of the Highland clans, and to the +Welch, than to any other inhabitants of Britain.</p> + +<p>On the road between Calais and Boulogne, we began to perceive the +peculiarities of the husbandry of this part of France. These are just +what were described by Arthur Young; and although it is possible, as the +natives uniformly affirm, that the agriculture has improved since the +revolution, this improvement must be in the details of the operations, +and in the extent of land under tillage, not in the principles of the +art. The most striking to the eye of a stranger are the want of +enclosures, the want of pasture lands and of green crops, and the +consequent number of bare fallows, on many of which a few sheep and +long-legged lean hogs are turned out to pick up a miserable subsistence. +The common rotation appears to be a three year's one; fallow, wheat, and +oats or barley. On this part of the road, the ground is almost all under +tillage, but the soil is poor; there is very little wood, and the +general appearance of the country is therefore very bleak. In the +immediate neighbourhood of Boulogne, it is better clothed, and varied +by some pasture fields and gardens. The ploughs go with wheels. They are +drawn by only two horses, but are clumsily made, and evidently inferior +to the Scotch ploughs. They, as well as the carts, are made generally of +green unpeeled wood, like those in the Scotch Highlands, and are never +painted. This absence of all attempt to give an air of neatness or +smartness to any part of their property—this indifference as to its +appearance, is a striking characteristic of the French people over a +great part of the country.</p> + +<p>It is likewise seen, as before observed, in the dress of the lower +orders; but here it is often combined with a fantastic and ludicrous +display of finery. An English dairy-maid or chamber-maid, ploughman or +groom, shopkeeper or mechanic, has each a dress consistent in its parts, +and adapted to the situation and employment of the wearer. But a country +girl in France, whose bed-gown and petticoat are of the coarsest +materials, and scantiest dimensions, has a pair of long dangling +ear-rings, worth from 30 to 40 francs. A carter wears an opera hat, and +a ballad-singer struts about in long military boots; and a blacksmith, +whose features are obscured by the smoke and dirt which have been +gathering on them for weeks, and whose clothes hang about him in +tatters, has his hair newly frizzled and powdered, and his long queue +plaited on each side, all down his back, with the most scrupulous +nicety.</p> + +<p>Akin to this shew of finery in some parts of their dress, utterly +inconsistent with the other parts of it, and with their general +condition, is the disposition of the lower orders in France, even in +their intercourse with one another, to ape the manners of their +superiors. "An English peasant," as Mr Scott has well remarked, "appears +to spurn courtesy from him, in a bitter sense of its inapplicability to +his condition." This feeling is unknown in France. A French soldier +hands his "bien aimée" into a restaurateur's of the lowest order and +supplies her with fruits and wine, with the grace and foppery of a +Parisian "petit maitre," and with the gravity of a +"philosophe."—"Madame," says a scavenger in the streets of Paris, +laying his hand on his heart, and making a low bow to an old woman +cleaning shoes at the door of an inn, "J'espere que vous vous portez +bien."—"Monsieur," she replies, dropping a curtsey with an air of +gratitude and profound respect, "Vous me faites d'honneur; je me porte a +merveille."</p> + +<p>This peculiarity of manner in the lower orders, will generally, it is +believed, be found connected with their real degradation and +insignificance in the eyes of their superiors. It is precisely because +they are not accustomed to look with respect to those of their own +condition, and because their condition is not respected by others, that +they imitate the higher ranks. An English coachman or stable-boy is +taught to believe, that a certain demeanour befits his situation; and he +will certainly expose himself to more sneers and animadversions, by +assuming the manners of the rank next above him in society, than the +highest peer of the realm will by assuming his. But Frenchmen of the +same rank are fain to seek that respectability from manner, which is +denied to the lowness of their condition, and the vulgarity of their +occupation; and they therefore assume the manner which is associated in +their minds, and in the minds of their observers, with situations +acknowledged to be respectable.</p> + +<p>It is also to be observed, that the power of ridicule, which has so much +influence in the formation of manner, is much less in France than in +England. The French have probably more relish for true wit than any +other people; but their perception of humour is certainly not nearly so +strong as that of our countrymen. Their ridicule is seldom excited by +the awkward attempts of a stranger to speak their language, and as +seldom by the inconsistencies which appear to us ludicrous in the dress +and behaviour of their countrymen.</p> + +<p>These causes, operating gradually for a length of time, have probably +produced that remarkable politeness of manners which is so pleasing to a +stranger, in a number of the lower orders in France, and which appears +so singular at the present time, as revolutionary ideas, military +habits, and the example of a military court, have given a degree of +roughness, and even ferocity, to the manners of many of the higher +orders of Frenchmen, with which it forms a curious contrast. It is, +however, in its relation to Englishmen at least, a fawning, cringing, +interested politeness; less truly respectable than the obliging civility +of the common people in England, and in substance, if not in appearance, +still farther removed from the frank, independent, disinterested +courtesy of the Scottish Highlanders.</p> + + +<p class="sp">Our entry into Boulogne was connected with several striking +circumstances. To an Englishman, who, for many years, had heard of the +mighty preparations which were made by the French in the port of +Boulogne for the invasion of this country, the first view of this town +could not but be peculiarly interesting. We accordingly got out of our +<i>voiture</i> as quickly as possible, and walked straight to the harbour. +Here the first objects that presented themselves were, on one side, the +last remains of the grand flotilla, consisting of a few hulks, +dismantled and rotting in the harbour; on the other side, the Prussian +soldiers drawn up in regiments on the beach. Nothing could have recalled +to our minds more strongly the strength of that power which our country +had so long opposed, nor the magnificent result which had at length +attended her exertions. The forces destined for the invasion, and which +were denominated by anticipation the army of England, had been encamped +around the town. The characteristic arrogance—the undoubting +anticipation of victory—the utter thoughtlessness—the unsinking +vivacity of the French soldiery, were then at the highest pitch. Some +little idea of the gay and light-hearted sentiments with which they +contemplated the invasion of England, may be formed from the following +song, which was sung to us with unrivalled spirit and gesticulation, as +we came in sight of Boulogne, by our fellow-traveller, who had himself +served in the army of England, and who informed us it was then commonly +sung in the ranks.</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 6em;">SONG.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Français! le bal va se r'ouvrir,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Et vous aimez la danse,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">L'Allemande vient de finir,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Mais l'Anglaise commence.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">D'y figurer tous nous Français</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Seront parbleu bien aises,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Car s'ils n'aiment pas les Anglais,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ils aiment les Anglaises.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">D'abord par le pas de Calais</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Il faut entrer en danse,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Le son des instrumens Français</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Marquera la cadence;</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Et comme les Anglais ne scanroient</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Que danser les Anglaises,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Bonaparte leur montrera</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Les figures Françaises.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Allons mes amis de grand rond,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">En avant, face a face,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Français le bas, restez d'a plomb,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Anglais changez les places.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Vous Monsieur Pitt vous balancez,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Formez la chaine Anglaise,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Pas de cotè—croisez—chassez—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">C'est la danse Française!</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>The humour of this song depends on the happy application of the names of +the French dances, and the terms employed in them, to the subjects on +which it is written, the conclusion of the German campaigns, and the +meditated invasion of England.</p> + +<p>The Prussians who were quartered at Boulogne, and all the adjoining +towns and villages, belonged to the corps of General Von York. Most of +the infantry regiments were composed in part of young recruits, but the +old soldiers, and all the cavalry, had a truly military appearance; and +their swarthy weather-beaten countenances, their coarse and patched, but +strong and serviceable dresses and accoutrements, the faded embroidery +of their uniforms, and the insignia of orders of merit with which almost +all the officers, and many of the men, were decorated, bore ample +testimony to their participation in the labours and the honours of the +celebrated army of Silesia.</p> + +<p>Some of them who spoke French, when we enquired where they had been, +told us, in a tone of exultation, rather than of arrogance, that they +had entered Paris—"le sabre a la main."</p> + +<p>The appearance of the country is considerably better in Picardy than in +Artois, but the general features do not materially vary until you reach +the Oise. The peasantry seem to live chiefly in villages, through which +the road passes, and the cottages composing which resemble those of +Scotland more than of England. They are generally built in rows; many of +them are white-washed, but they are very dirty, and have generally no +gardens attached to them; and a great number of the inhabitants seem +oppressed with poverty to a degree unknown in any part of Britain. The +old and infirm men and women who assembled round our carriage, when it +stopped in any of these villages, to ask for alms, appeared in the most +abject condition; and so far from observing, as one English traveller +has done, that there are few beggars in France, it appeared to us that +there are few inhabitants of many of these country villages who are +ashamed to beg.</p> + +<p>To this unfavourable account of the aspect of this part of France, there +are, however, exceptions: We were struck with the beauty of the village +of Nouvion, between Montreuil and Abbeville, which resembles strongly +the villages in the finest counties of England: The houses here have all +gardens surrounding them, which are the property of the villagers. In +the neighbourhood of Abbeville, and of Beauvais, there are also some +neat villages; and the country around these towns is rich, and well +cultivated, and beautifully diversified with woods and vineyards; and, +in general, in advancing southwards, the country, though still +uninclosed, appears more fertile and better clothed. Many of the +villages are surrounded with orchards, and long rows of fruit-trees +extend from some of them for miles together along the sides of the +roads; long regular rows of elms and Lombardy poplars are also very +common, particularly on the road sides; and, in some places, chateaux +are to be seen, the situation of which is generally delightful; but most +of them are uninhabited, or inhabited by poor people, who do not keep +them in repair; and their deserted appearance contributes even more than +the straight avenues of trees, and gardens laid out in the Dutch taste, +which surround them, to confirm the impression of <i>antiquity</i> which is +made on the mind of an Englishman, by almost all that he sees in +travelling through France.</p> + +<p>The roads in this, as in many other parts of the country, are paved in +the middle, straight, and very broad, and appear adapted to a much more +extensive intercourse than now exists between the different provinces.</p> + +<p>The country on the banks of the Oise, (which we crossed at Beaumont), +and from thence to Paris, is one of the finest parts of France. The +road passes, almost the whole way, through a majestic avenue of elm +trees: Instead of the continual recurrence of corn fields and fallows, +the eye is here occasionally relieved by the intervention of fields of +lucerne and saintfoin, orchards and vineyards; the country is rich, well +clothed with wood, and varied with rising grounds, and studded with +chateaux; there are more carriages on the roads and bustle in the inns, +and your approach to the capital is very obvious. Yet there are strong +marks of poverty in the villages, which contain no houses adapted to the +accommodation of the middling ranks of society; the soil is richer, but +the implements of agriculture, and the system of husbandry, are very +little better than in Picardy: the cultivation, every where tolerable, +is nowhere excellent; there are no new farm-houses or farm-steadings; no +signs of recent agricultural improvements; and the chateaux, in general, +still bear the aspect of desertion and decay.</p> + +<p>This last peculiarity of French scenery is chiefly owing to the great +subdivision of property which has taken place in consequence of the +confiscation of church lands, and properties of the noblesse and +emigrants, and of the subsequent sale of the national domains, at very +low or even nominal prices, to the lower orders of the peasantry. To +such a degree has this subdivision extended, that in many parts of +France there is no proprietor of land who does not labour with his own +hands in the cultivation of his property. The influence of this state of +property on the prosperity of France, and the gradual changes which it +will undergo in the course of time, will form an interesting study for +the political economist; but in the mean time, it will almost prevent +the possibility of collecting an adequate number of independent and +enlightened men to represent the landed interest of France in any system +of national representation.</p> + +<p>In travelling from Calais to Paris, we did not observe so great a want +of men in the fields and villages as we had been led to expect. The men +whom we saw, however, were almost all above the age of the conscription. +In several places we saw women holding the plough; but in general, the +proportion of women to men employed in the fields, appeared hardly +greater than may be seen during most of the operations of husbandry in +the best cultivated districts of Scotland. On inquiry among the +peasants, we found the conscription, and the whole of Bonaparte's system +of government, held in much abhorrence, particularly among the women; +yet they did not appear to feel it so deeply as we had anticipated; and +of him, individually, they were more disposed to speak in terms of +ridicule than of indignation. "Il est parti pour l'ile d'Elbe (said +they)—bon voyage!" It was obvious that public affairs, even in those +critical moments, occupied much less of their attention than of persons +of the same rank in England: their spirits are much less easily +depressed; and it was easy to see that their domestic affections are +less powerful. The men shewed much jealousy of the allied troops: said +they were superior to the French only in numbers; and often repeated, +that one French soldier was equal to two Russians.</p> + +<p>Although the old men and women whom we saw in the villages were +generally in the most abject condition, yet the labourers employed in +the fields appeared nearly as well dressed as the corresponding class in +England; their wages were stated to be, over most of the country, from +one franc to 25 sous a-day, and in the immediate neighbourhood of Paris, +to be as high as two, or even three francs. In some places, we saw them +dining on bread, pork, and cyder; but the scarcity of live stock was +such, that it was impossible to suppose that they usually enjoyed so +good a fare. The interior of the cottages appeared, generally, to be ill +furnished.</p> + +<p>Every village and town through which we passed between Boulogne and +Paris contained a number of the allied troops. At Beauvais, a town +remarkable for its singular appearance, being almost entirely built of +wood, and likewise for the beauty of its cathedral, the choir of which +is reckoned the finest in France, we were first gratified with the sight +of some hundreds of Russians, horse and foot, under arms. These troops +were of the finest description, and belonged to the corps of the +celebrated Wigtenstein.</p> + +<p>We enquired of many of the lower people, in the towns and villages +through which we passed, concerning the conduct of the allied troops in +their quarters, and the answers were almost uniformly—from the men, +"Ils se comportent bien;" (frequently with the addition, "mais ils +mangent comme des diables:")—and from the women, "Ils sont de bons +enfans." We had very frequent opportunities of remarking the truth of +the observation, that "women have less bitterness against the enemies of +their country than men." The Parisian ladies adopted fashions from the +uniforms of almost all the allied troops whom they saw in Paris; many of +them were exceedingly anxious for opportunities of seeing the Emperor of +Russia, and the most distinguished leaders of the armies that had +conquered France; and those who were acquainted with officers of rank +belonging to these armies appeared, on all occasions, to be highly +flattered with the attentions they received from them. The same was +observable in the conduct of the lower ranks. In the suburbs of Paris, +and in the neighbouring villages, where many of the allied troops were +quartered, they appeared always on the best terms with the female +inhabitants, and were often to be seen assisting them in their work, +playing at the battledore and shuttlecock with them in the streets, or +strolling in their company along the banks of the Seine, and through the +woods of Belleville or St Cloud, evidently to the satisfaction of both +parties. Much must be allowed for the national levity of the French; yet +it may be doubted, whether the officers and soldiers of a victorious +army are ever, in the first instance, very obnoxious to the females, +even of a vanquished country.</p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h3> + +<p class="head">PARIS—THE ALLIED ARMIES.</p> +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">T</span><span class="smcap">o</span> those whose attention had been long fixed on the great political +revulsion which had brought the wandering tribes of the Wolga and the +Don into the heart of France, and whose minds had been incessantly +occupied for many months previous to the time of which we speak, (as the +minds of almost all Englishmen had been), with wishes for the success, +and admiration of the exploits, of the brave troops who then occupied +Paris, it may naturally be supposed, that even all the wonders of that +capital were, in the first instance, objects of secondary consideration. +It was not until our curiosity had been satisfied by the sight of the +Emperor Alexander, the Duke of Wellington, Marshal Blucher, Count +Platoff, and such numbers of the Russian and Prussian officers and +soldiers, as we considered a fair specimen of the whole armies, that we +could find time to appreciate the beauties even of the Apollo and the +Venus.</p> + +<p>The streets of Paris are always amusing and interesting, from the +numbers and varieties of costumes and characters which they present; but +at the time of which we speak, they might be considered as exhibiting an +epitome of the greater part of Europe. Parties of Russian cuirassiers, +Prussian lancers, and Hungarian hussars; Cossacks, old and young, from +those whose beards were grey with age, to those who were yet beardless, +cantering along after their singular fashion—their long lances poised +on their stirrups, and loosely fastened to their right arms, vibrating +over their heads; long files of Russian and Prussian foragers, and long +trains of Austrian baggage waggons, winding slowly through the crowd; +idle soldiers of all services, French as well as allied, lounging about +in their loose great coats and trowsers, with long crooked pipes hanging +from their mouths; patroles of infantry parading about under arms, +composed half of Russian grenadiers, and half of Parisian national +guards; Russian coaches and four, answering to the description of Dr +Clarke, the postillions riding on the off-horses, and dressed almost +like beggars; Russian carts drawn by four horses a-breast, and driven by +peasants in the national costume; Polish Jews, with long black beards, +dressed in black robes like the cassocks of English clergymen, with +broad leathern belts—all mingled with the Parisian multitude upon the +Boulevards: and in the midst of this indiscriminate assemblage, all the +business, and all the amusements of Paris, went on with increased +alacrity and fearless confidence. The Palais Royal was crowded, morning, +noon, and night, with Russian and Prussian officers in full uniform, +decorated with orders, whose noisy merriment, cordial manners, and +careless profusion, were strikingly contrasted with the silence and +sullenness of the French officers.</p> + +<p>It is fortunately superfluous for us to enlarge on the appearance, or on +the character of the Emperor Alexander. We were struck with the +simplicity of the style in which he lived. He inhabited only one or two +apartments in a wing of the splendid Elysee Bourbon—slept on a leather +mattress, which he had used in the campaign—rose at four in the +morning, to transact business—wore the uniform of a Russian General, +with only the medal of 1812, (the same which is worn by every soldier +who served in that campaign, with the inscription, in Russ, <i>Non nobis +sed tibi Domine</i>); had a French guard at his door—went out in a chaise +and pair, with a single servant and no guards, and was very regular in +his attendance at a small chapel, where the service of the Greek church +was performed. We had access to very good information concerning him, +and the account which we received of his character even exceeded our +anticipation. His well-known humanity was described to us as having +undergone no change from the scenes of misery inseparable from extended +warfare, to which his duties, rather than his inclinations, had so long +habituated him. He repeatedly left behind him, in marching with the +army, some of the medical men of his own staff, to dress the wounds of +French soldiers whom he passed on the way; and it was a standing order +of his to his hospital staff, to treat wounded Russians and French +exactly alike.</p> + +<p>His conduct at the battle of Fere Champenoise, a few days before the +capture of Paris, of which we had an account from eye-witnesses, may +give an idea of his conduct while with the armies. The French column, +consisting of about 5000 infantry, with some artillery, was attacked by +the advanced guard of the allies, consisting of cavalry, with some +horse-artillery, under his immediate orders. It made a desperate +resistance, and its capture being an object of great importance, he sent +away all his guards, even the Cossacks, and exposed himself to the fire +of musketry for a long time, directing the movements of the troops. When +the French squares were at length broken by the repeated charges of +cavalry and Cossacks, he threw himself into the middle of them, at a +great personal risk, that he might restrain the fury of the soldiers, +exasperated by the obstinacy of the resistance; and although he could +not prevent the whole French officers and men from being completely +pillaged, many of them owed their lives to his interference. The French +commander was brought to him, and offered him his sword, which he +refused to accept, saying, he had defended himself too well.</p> + +<p>The wife and children of a General who had been with the French army, +were brought to him, and he placed a guard over them, which was +overpowered in the confusion. The unfortunate woman was never more heard +of, but he succeeded in recovering the children, had a bed made for them +in his own tent, and kept them with him, until he reached Paris, when he +ordered enquiry to be made for some of her relations, to whose care he +committed them.</p> + +<p>He was uniformly represented to us as a man not merely of the most +amiable dispositions, but of superior understanding, of uncommon +activity, and of a firm decided turn of mind. Of the share which he +individually had in directing the operations of the allied armies, we do +not pretend to speak with absolute certainty; but we had reason to know, +that the general opinion in the Russian army was, that the principal +movements were not merely subjected to his control, but guided by his +advice; and he was certainly looked upon, by officers who had long +served under him, as one of the ablest commanders in the allied armies.</p> + +<p>He was much disconcerted, it was said, by the loss of the battle of +Austerlitz; but his subsequent experience in war had given him the true +military obstinacy, and he bore the loss of the battles of Lutzen and +Bautzen with perfect equanimity; often saying, the French can still beat +us, but they will teach us how to beat them; and we will conquer them by +our <i>pertinacity</i>. The attachment of the Russian army, and especially of +the guards, to him, almost approaches to idolatry; and the effect of his +presence on the exertions and conduct of his troops, was not more +beneficial to Europe while the struggle was yet doubtful, than to France +herself after her armies were overthrown, and her "sacred territory" +invaded.</p> + +<p>As a specimen of the general feeling in the Russian army at the time +they invaded France, we may mention the substance of a conversation +which an officer of the Russian staff told us he had held with a private +of the Russian guard on the march, soon after the invasion. The soldier +complained of the Emperor's proclamation, desiring them to consider as +enemies only those whom they met in the field. "The French," said he, +"came into our country, bringing hosts of Germans and Poles along with +them;—they plundered our properties, burnt our houses, and murdered our +families;—every Russian was their enemy. We have driven them out of +Russia, we have followed them into Poland, into Germany, and into +France; but wherever we go, we are allowed to find none but friends. +This," he added, "is very well for us guards, who know that pillage is +unworthy of us; but the common soldiers and Cossacks do not understand +it; they remember how their friends and relations have been treated by +the French, and that remembrance <i>lies at their hearts</i>."</p> + +<p class="sp">We visited with deep interest the projecting part of the heights of +Belleville, immediately overlooking the Fauxbourg St Martin, which the +Emperor Alexander reached, with the king of Prussia, the Prince +Schwartzenburg, and the whole general staff, on the evening of the 30th +of March. It was here that he received the deputation from Marshals +Marmont and Mortier, who had fought all day against a vast superiority +of force, and been fairly overpowered, recommending Paris to the +generosity of the allies. Thirty howitzers were placed on this height, +and a few shells were thrown into the town, one or two of which, we were +assured, reached as far as the Eglise de St Eustace; it is allowed on +all hands that they fell within the Boulevards. The heights of +Montmartre were at the same time stormed by the Silesian army, and +cannon were placed on it likewise,—Paris was then at his mercy. After a +year and a half of arduous contest, it was at length in his power to +take a bloody revenge for the miseries which his subjects had suffered +during the unprovoked invasion of Russia.—He ordered the firing to +cease; assured the French deputation of his intention to protect the +city; and issued orders to his army to prepare to march in, the next +morning, in parade order. He put himself at their head, in company with +the King of Prussia, and all the generals of high rank. After passing +along the Boulevards to the Champs Elysees, the sovereigns placed +themselves under a tree, in front of the palace of the Thuilleries, +within a few yards of the spot where Louis XVI. and many other victims +of the revolution had perished; and they saw the last man of their +armies defile past the town, and proceed to take a position beyond it, +before they entered it themselves.</p> + +<p>At this time, the recollection of the fate of Moscow was so strong in +the Russian army, and the desire of revenge was so generally diffused, +not merely among the soldiers, but even among the superior, officers, +that they themselves said, nothing could have restrained them but the +presence and positive commands of their Czar; nor could any other +influence have maintained that admirable discipline in the Russian army, +during its stay in France, which we have so often heard the theme of +panegyric even among their most inveterate enemies.</p> + +<p>It is not in the columns of newspapers, nor in the perishable pages of +such a Journal as this, that the invincible determination, the splendid +achievements, and the generous forbearance of the Emperor of Russia and +his brave army, during the last war, can be duly recorded; but when they +shall have passed into history, we think we shall but anticipate the +sober judgment of posterity by saying, that the foreign annals of no +other nation, ancient or modern, will present, in an equal period of +time, a spectacle of equal moral grandeur.</p> + +<p class="sp">The King of Prussia was often to be seen at the Parisian theatres, +dressed in plain clothes, and accompanied only by his son and nephew. +The first time we saw him there, he was making some enquiries of a +manager of the Theatre de l'Odeon, whom he met in the lobby; and the +modesty and embarrassment of his manner were finely contrasted with the +confident loquacity and officious courtesy of the Frenchman. He is known +to be exceedingly averse to public exhibitions, even in his own country. +He had gone through all the hardships and privations of the campaigns, +had exposed himself with a gallantry bordering on rashness in every +engagement, his son and nephew always by his side; his coolness in +action was the subject of universal admiration; and it was not without +reason that he had acquired the name of the first soldier in his army. +His brothers, who are fine looking men, took the command of brigades in +the Silesian army, and did the duty of brigadiers to the satisfaction of +the whole army.</p> + +<p class="sp">We had the good fortune of seeing the Duke of Wellington at the opera, +the first time that he appeared in public at Paris. He was received with +loud applause, and the modesty of his demeanour, while it accorded with +the impressions of his character derived from his whole conduct, and the +style of his public writings, sufficiently shewed, that his time had +been spent more in camps than in courts. We were much pleased to find, +that full justice was done to his merits as an officer by all ranks of +the allied armies. On the day that he entered Paris, the watch-word in +the whole armies in the neighbourhood was Wellington, and the +countersign Talavera. We have often heard Russian and Prussian officers +say, "he is the hero of the war:—we have conquered the French by main +force, but his triumphs are the result of superior skill."</p> + +<p class="sp">We found, as we had expected, that Marshal Blucher was held in the +highest estimation in the allied army, chiefly on account of the +promptitude and decision of his judgment, and the unconquerable +determination of his character. We were assured, that notwithstanding +the length and severity of the service in which he had been engaged +during the campaign of 1814, he expressed the greatest regret at its +abrupt termination; and was anxious to follow up his successes, until +the remains of the French army should be wholly dispersed, and their +leader unconditionally surrendered. An English gentleman who saw him at +the time of the action in which a part of his troops were engaged at +Soissons, a few days previous to the great battle at Laon, gave a +striking account of his cool collected appearance on that occasion. He +was lying in profound silence, wrapped up in his cloak, on the snow, on +the side of a hill overlooking the town, smoking his pipe, and +occasionally looking through a telescope at the scene of action. At +length he rose up, saying, it was not worth looking at, and would come +to nothing. In fact, the main body of the French army was marching on +Rheims, and he was obliged to retire and concentrate his forces, first +on Craon, and afterwards on Laon, before he could bring on a general +action.</p> + +<p>He bore the fatigues of the campaign without any inconvenience, but fell +sick on the day after he entered Paris, and resigned his command, +requesting only of General Sacken, the governor of the town, that he +would allot him lodgings from which he could look out upon Montmartre, +the scene of his last triumph. He never appeared in public at Paris; +but we had the pleasure of seeing him in a very interesting situation. +We had gone to visit the Hotel des Invalides, and on entering the church +under the great dome, we found this great commander, accompanied only by +his son and another officer, leaning on the rails which encircle the +monument of Turenne. We followed him into a small apartment off the +church, where the bodies of Marshals Bessieres and Duroc, and the hearts +of Generals Laroboissiere and Barraguay D'Hilliers, lay embalmed under a +rich canopy of black velvet, in magnificent coffins, which were strewed +with flowers every morning by the Duchess of Istria, the widow of +Bessieres, who came thither regularly after mass. This room was hung +with black, and lighted only by a small lamp, which burnt under the +canopy, and threw its light in the most striking manner on the grey +hairs and expressive countenance of the old Marshal, as he stood over +the remains of his late antagonists in arms. He heard the name of each +with a slight inclination of his head, gazed on the coffins for some +moments in silence, and then turned about, and, as if to shew that he +was not to be moved by his recollections, he strode out of the chapel +humming a tune.</p> + +<p>He had vowed to recover possession of the sword of the great Frederic, +which used to hang in the midst of the 10,000 standards of all nations +that waved under the lofty dome of this building; but on the day that +the allies entered Paris, the standards were taken down and burnt, and +the sword was broken to pieces, by an order, as was said, from Maria +Louisa.</p> + +<p>It is right to notice here, that the famous Silesian army which he +commanded, consisted originally of many more Russian troops than +Prussians,—in the proportion, we were told, of four to one, although +the proportion of the latter was afterwards increased. Indeed it was at +first the intention of the Emperor of Russia to put himself at the head +of this army; but he afterwards gave up that idea, saying, that he knew +the Russians and Prussians would fight well, and act cordially together; +but that the presence of the Sovereigns would be more useful in keeping +together the heterogeneous materials composing the army then forming in +Bohemia, which afterwards had the name of the grand army.</p> + +<p>We have heard different opinions expressed as to the share which General +Gneisenau, the chief of the staff of the Silesian army, had in directing +the operations of that army. This General is universally looked on as an +officer of first-rate merit, and many manœuvres of great importance are +believed to have been suggested by him; yet it was to the penetrating +judgment and enthusiastic spirit of the old Marshal, that the officers +whom we saw seemed most disposed to ascribe their successes.</p> + +<p class="sp">We were much struck by the courteous and dignified manners of old Count +Platoff. Even at that time, before he had experienced British +hospitality, he professed high admiration for the British character, +individual as well as national, saying, that he looked on every +Englishman as his brother; and he was equally candid in expressing his +detestation of the French, not even excepting the ladies. We, however, +saw him receive one or two Frenchmen, who were presented to him by his +friends, with his accustomed mildness. His countenance appeared to us +expressive of considerable humour, and he addressed a few words to +almost every Cossack of the guard whom he met in passing through the +court of the Elysee Bourbon, which were always answered by a hearty +laugh. During the two last campaigns of the war he had been almost +constantly at head-quarters, and his advice, we were assured, was much +respected.</p> + +<p>On the night after the battle of Borodino, Count Platoff, we were told, +bivouacked on the field, in front of the position originally occupied by +the Russians<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>, and on the next day he covered their retreat with his +Cossacks. One of the Princes of Hesse Philipsthal, an uncommonly +handsome young man, who had volunteered to act as an aid-de-camp of his, +had his leg shot away close to his side. Amputation was immediately +performed above the middle of his thigh; he was laid on a peasant's +cart, and carried 350 versts almost without stopping. However, he +recovered perfectly, and petitioned the Emperor to be allowed to wear +ever after the Cossack uniform. We saw him in it at Paris, going on +crutches, but regretting in strong terms that he was to see no more +fighting.</p> + +<p>On the day before the French entered Moscow, Count Platoff, and some +other officers, from one of whom we had this anecdote, breakfasted with +Count Rostapchin at his villa in the vicinity of the town, which it had +been the delight of his life to cultivate and adorn. After breakfast, +Count Rostapchin assembled his servants and retainers; and after saying +that he hoped his son and latest descendants would always be willing to +make a similar sacrifice for the good of their country, he took a torch, +set fire to the building with his own hands, and waited until it was +consumed. He then rode into the town to superintend the destruction of +some warehouses full of clothes, of a number of carts, and of other +things which might be useful to the enemy. But he did not, as we were +assured by his son, whom we met at Paris, order the destruction of the +town. The French, enraged at the loss of what was most valuable to them, +according to the uniform account of the Russians, set fire in a +deliberate and methodical manner to the different streets. It is but +justice to say, however, that French officers, who had been at Moscow, +denied the truth of the latter part of this statement.</p> + +<p class="sp">The Russian troops in the neighbourhood of Paris were under the +immediate command of General Count Miloradovitch, a man of large +property, and unbounded generosity, and an enthusiast in his profession. +He had been in the habit of always making the troops under his command +some kind of present on his birth-day. During the retreat of the French +from Moscow, this day came round when he was not quite prepared for it. +"I have no money here," said he to his soldiers; "but yonder," pointing +to a French column, "is a present worthy of you and of me." This address +was a prelude to one of the most successful attacks, made during the +pursuit, on the French rear-guard.</p> + +<p>The other Russian commanders, whom we heard highly spoken of by the +Russian officers whom we met, were, the Marshal commanding, Barclay de +Tolly, in whose countenance we thought we could trace the indications of +his Scotch origin;—he is an old man, and was commonly represented as +"sage, prudent, tres savant dans la guerre."—Wigtenstein, who is much +younger, and is designated as "ardent, impetueux, entreprenant," +&c.—Benigsen, who is an old man, but very active, and represented to be +as fond of fighting as Blucher himself;—Count Langeron, and Baron +Sacken, the commanders of corps in the Silesian army. The former is a +French emigrant, but has been long in the Russian service, and highly +distinguished himself. The latter is an old man, but very spirited, and +highly esteemed for his honourable character: in his capacity of +Governor of Paris, he gave very general satisfaction.—Woronzoff, who, +as is well known, was educated in England, and who distinguished +himself at Borodino, and in the army of the north of Germany, and +afterwards in France under Blucher—Winzingerode, one of the best +cavalry officers, formerly in the Austrian service—Czernicheff, the +famous partisan, a gallant gay young man, whose characteristic activity +is strongly marked in his countenance—Diebzitch, a young staff officer +of the first promise, since promoted to the important situation of Chef +de l'etat major—Lambert (of French extraction), and Yermoloff: This +last officer commanded the guards when we were at Paris, and was +represented as a man of excellent abilities, and of a most determined +character.</p> + +<p>To shew the determined spirit of some of the Russian generals, we may +mention an anecdote of one of them, which we repeatedly heard. On one +occasion, the troops under the command of this general were directed to +defile over a bridge, under a very heavy fire from the enemy. Observing +some hesitation in their movements, he said, with perfect coolness, "If +they don't go forward, I will take care they shall not come back;" and +planted a battery of 12 pounders in their rear, pointing directly at the +bridge, in view of which they forced the passage in the most gallant +style.</p> + +<p>The spirit of emulation which prevailed in all ranks of the Russian +army, during the war, was worthy of the cause in which they were +engaged. The following anecdote, we think, deserves commemoration. Two +officers of rank had aspired to the same situation in the army, and +exerted all their influence to obtain it. The successful candidate had +the command of the famous redoubt at Borodino, when it was carried by +the French. The other, who had a subordinate command just behind it, +immediately came up to him, and asked leave to retake it for him. No, +replied he; if you go there, I must be along with you. They collected +what force they could, entered the redoubt together, and regained it at +the point of the bayonet; but the officer who originally commanded in it +was killed by the side of his rival. The latter, immediately after the +battle, was promoted to the situation which he had so ardently desired; +but his enjoyment of it was long and visibly embittered by the +recollection of the event to which he owed his appointment.</p> + +<p>The number of Russian prisoners taken by the French during the war was +very trifling, and we were assured, that there was no instance in the +whole course of it, of a single Russian battalion or squadron laying +down its arms. The number of prisoners taken by the Cossacks alone, +from the time when the French left Moscow until the passage of the +Niemen, was 90,000, and the number of cannon 550. It is true that these +were for the most part stragglers, and men unable to fight; but it must +be remembered, that many of them could only have been overtaken in their +flight by these hardy and enterprising troops. To prove the value of the +service rendered by the Cossacks, it is only necessary to observe, that +many of the officers who distinguished themselves most in all the +campaigns, Platoff, Orloff Denizoff, Wasilchikoff, Czernicheff, +Tettenborn, &c. commanded Cossacks almost exclusively, and attributed +much of their success to the quality of their troops. Most of the +Cossacks whom we saw appeared to be well disciplined, and had a truly +military air; and we were told, that all the 83 regiments of Cossacks +are at present in a state of tolerable discipline. We cannot go so far +as Dr Clarke in praise of their cleanliness, but we often observed their +native easy courtesy of manner; and there can be no doubt, as he +observes, of their being a much handsomer race than the generality of +Russians. Their figures are more graceful, and their features are +higher, and approach often to the Roman style of countenance. One troop +of the Cossacks of the guards, composed of those from the Black Sea, +attracted our particular admiration; and the noble manly figures of the +men, the elegant forms of the horses, and the picturesque appearance of +the arms and uniforms of the whole body of Cossacks of the guard, were +very striking. The hereditary Prince of Georgia was at Paris as one of +the Colonels of this regiment, and his figure and countenance were such +as might have rendered him remarkable even in his native country, in +which the "human form divine" is understood to attain its highest +perfection.</p> + +<p>The Cossacks were kept in good order when under the inspection of their +officers; but during the campaigns, they were often obliged to act in +patroles, two or three together, at a distance from their officers; and +in these situations, it may be supposed that they would commit many +excesses. Immediately after a battle, they plundered all they met, and +at all times, and in all places, they looked on horses as fair game, +insomuch that it was often remarked in the allied armies, that they +believed horses to have been created for none but Cossacks. It was said, +that almost every Cossack of the corps of Czernicheff was worth from £. +300 to £. 400 in money and watches, which most of them spent much after +the manner of British sailors.</p> + +<p class="sp">Some idea of the expenditure of human life, during the campaign of 1812, +may be formed from the following facts, which we had from unquestionable +authority: The number of killed and wounded on both sides at the battle +of Borodino, which did not extend from flank to flank more than three +English miles, was ascertained to exceed 75,000 men. Eighteen thousand +wounded Russians were dressed on the field, and sent off in carts. When +the Russian army crossed the Niemen, in pursuit of the French, they left +behind them 87,000 sick and wounded in hospitals, of which number 63,000 +were wounded. The whole number of human bodies, Russian and French, men, +women, and children, which were collected and buried or burnt, after the +retreat from Moscow to the Niemen, exceeded 300,000.</p> + +<p>The officers of the Russian medical staff spoke in terms of the utmost +indignation of the conduct of the French medical staff, in deserting +their charge on the approach of the Russian armies. A great part of the +town of Wilna, and surrounding villages, had been converted into +hospitals for the French army, and when the Russians arrived, they +found these hospitals wholly deserted by the medical men. The sick (many +of them labouring under infectious fevers), and the wounded, were +huddled together, without provisions, attendants, or the slightest +regard to their situation. The first step of the Russian officers who +were entrusted with the care of these hospitals, was to employ a number +of Jews to clear out the corpses, some of which had lain there for three +weeks; and when these were collected and burnt, their number was found +to exceed 16,000; the sick were then separated from the wounded; and as +soon as order was re-established, the Emperor of Russia visited the +hospitals himself, to be assured that every possible attention was paid +to their surviving inmates.</p> + +<p>During the whole of the winter of 1812 and the year 1813, a typhus fever +was very prevalent in the French army, and in many places, particularly +on the fortresses on the Elbe, and in Frankfort and Mentz, it made +dreadful ravages; but it never extended, to any considerable degree, +among the Russians. This was partly owing, no doubt, to the influence of +exciting passions on the constitutions of the men; but much must +certainly be ascribed to the admirable arrangements of the Russian +hospital staff, which, under the superintendance of our countryman, Sir +James Wyllie, have attained, in a few years, a surprising degree of +excellence. The state of the Russian hospitals at Paris, under the +direction of another countryman, Dr Crichton, was universally admired.</p> + +<p>The Russian imperial guard is, we believe, the finest body of men in +Europe; the whole number, when the regiments are all complete, is about +30,000; but the effective men at Paris did not exceed 20,000. These are +made up from time to time, by picked men from the whole army. The charge +of one of the regiments of cuirassiers, 1000 strong, upon the Champ de +Mars, was one of the finest sights imaginable. The clattering of the +horses feet on hard ground, and the rattling of the armour, increasing +as they advanced, exceeded the sound of the loudest thunder.</p> + +<p>Their horses are not so heavy as those of the English dragoons, but they +have evidently more blood in them, and their power of bearing fatigues +and privations is quite wonderful. We were told by the officer +commanding one of these regiments, that almost all the horses we saw in +Paris, in the finest possible condition, were on the Niemen when the +French crossed it in 1812, and had borne the fatigues of the retreat to +Moscow, and of the advance during the dreadful winter which had proved +so fatal to the French army; as well as of the winter campaign of 1814 +in France, which was carried on, almost entirely, during frost and snow. +The Russian soldiers bore the extreme cold of the former winter in a +manner hardly less wonderful; we were assured that they were not more +warmly clothed than the French; but they were accustomed to the climate, +were comparatively well fed, and were animated by victory, while their +antagonists were depressed by famine and despair.</p> + +<p>The equipment of the artillery of the guard is probably the completest +in the world;—each gun of the horse artillery is followed by three +tumbrils of ammunition, and the artillerymen being all mounted and +armed, a battery of horse artillery is fitted to act in a double +capacity. One of these batteries, of 12 pieces, on the march, with all +its accompaniments, takes up fully half-a-mile of road.</p> + +<p>The regiments of infantry are of various strength; all are composed of +the finest men, in point of strength and military appearance, but they +appeared to us rather inadequately officered. Of the physical powers of +this body of men, no better proof can be given, than their having +marched, within 24 hours, on the 22d and 23d of March, a distance of 18 +leagues, or 54 miles, which they did at two marches, resting three +hours, without any straggling. The occasion on which they most highly +distinguished themselves was at Culm, where four regiments of them +(about 8000 men) stopped, for two days, in the defiles of the Riesen +Gebirge, the whole corps of Vandamme. The regiment Pavloffsky, who were +made guards for their conduct at Borodino, attracted particular +attention; they wear caps faced with brass, whence the French soldiers, +who know them well, call them the Bonnets d'Or; and many of them +preserve with much care the marks of the bullets by which these have +been pierced.</p> + +<p>The Russian soldiers, at least of the guard, have almost universally +dark complexions, their features are generally low, and their faces +broad. The officers and soldiers of the Prussian guard, which is about +8000 strong, and in an equally high state of discipline and equipment, +are, on the whole, handsomer men, having generally fair hair, blue eyes, +high features, and ruddy complexions.</p> + +<p>A great number of the Prussian officers have a fine expression of +romantic enterprise in their countenances; and it is well known, that +the whole Prussian nation, long oppressed by the presence of French +armies, entered into the war with France with a spirit of energy and +union that never was surpassed. The formation of the legion of +revenge,—the desertion of all seminaries of education, by teachers as +well as pupils,—the substitution of ornaments in iron, for gold and +jewellery, by the ladies of Berlin and other towns, are striking +instances of this popular feeling. The war-song, composed by a young +student from Konigsberg, which was sung in the heat of battle by the +regiment of volunteer hussars to which he belonged, and the author of +which was basely slain by a French prisoner whom he had neglected to +disarm,—to judge of it by a version which appeared in the newspapers, +and by the enthusiasm with which the Prussians speak of it, is worthy of +being translated by one of our noblest poets.</p> + +<p>All the nations of Germany have strong feelings of patriotism associated +with the sight, and even with the name of the Rhine. When the Austrians, +in one of the last actions of the campaign of 1813, carried the heights +of Hockheim, in the neigbourhood of Mentz, and first came in sight of +that river, they involuntarily halted, and stood for some minutes in +silence; when the Prince Marshal coming up to know the cause of the +delay, their feelings burst forth in peals of enthusiastic acclamation, +as they again advanced to the charge. The Prussian corps of the army of +Silesia, destined to force the passage of the river, assembled on the +right bank on the evening of the 31st of December 1813, determined to +begin the year with the conquest to which they had long aspired; and +just at midnight the first boats pulled off from the shore, the oars +keeping time to thousands of voices, who sung words adapted to a +favourite national air by the celebrated Schlegel, the beginning of +which is, literally translated, "The Rhine shall no longer be our +boundary,—it is the great artery of Germany, and it shall flow through +the heart of our empire."</p> + +<p>The Austrians whom we saw at Paris, were in general strong heavy looking +men. Their cavalry were universally admired; but the Russians and +Prussians complained much of the general dilatoriness of their +movements, and in particular, of the quantity of baggage waggons with +which their march was encumbered. Upon one occasion, some hundreds of +these fell into the hands of the French, to the great amusement of the +Russians. The Bavarians and Wirtembergers had the character, both in +Russia and France, of fighting very hard, and plundering freely. This +last accomplishment, as well as their military arrangements, they had +learnt from the French; and their conduct in this respect in France +itself, might be said to be actuated by a kind of poetical justice.</p> + +<p class="sp">We were highly gratified by this review of the whole Russian and +Prussian guard which we saw in the Bois de Boulogne and road to St +Germain, on the 30th of May. They were drawn up in a single line, +extending at least six miles. The allied Sovereigns, followed by the +Princes of Russia, Prussia and France, the French Marshals, and all the +leading officers of the allied armies, rode at full speed along the +line; and the loud huzzas of the soldiers, which died away among the +long avenues of elm trees, as the cloud of dust which enveloped them +receded from the view, were inexpressibly sublime.</p> + +<p>The appearance of these troops on parade was such, that but for the +traces which long exposure to all changes of weather had left on their +countenances, it never could have been supposed that they had been +engaged in long marches. They had always marched and fought in their +great coats and small blue caps, carrying their uniforms in their +knapsacks. On the night before they entered Paris, however, they put +them on, and marched into the town in as fine parade order as that in +which they had left Petersburg. The Parisians, who had been told that +the allied armies were nearly annihilated, and only a wreck left, +expressed their astonishment with their usual levity: "Au moins," said +they, "C'est un beau debris."</p> + +<p>While the uniforms, arms, and accoutrements of these troops were in the +highest order, they seemed to take a pride in displaying the worn and +faded standards, torn by the winds and pierced with bullets, under which +they had served during the whole campaigns. Their services might also be +judged of from the medals of the year 1812, which almost all the +Russians bore, and to which all without distinction of rank are +entitled, who were exposed to the enemy's fire during that campaign; and +from the insignia of various orders, which in both the services extend +to privates as well as officers. The effect of these honorary rewards on +the minds of the men is certainly very great; and it is perhaps to be +regretted that there is no institution of the same kind in the British +service. The spirit of our soldiers, as all the world knows, needs no +such stimulus; but if a measure of this kind could in any degree gratify +their military feelings, surely their country owes them the +gratification; and what can be more pleasing to a soldier than to see +his officers and his Sovereign proud to display honours which he shares +along with them? The Russians appear to set a value on these medals and +decorations, which clearly shews the wisdom of the policy by which they +were granted. Almost every wounded soldier wears them even when lying in +hospital, and in the hour which teaches the insignificance of all the +titles of kings, and all the treasures of the universe, he still +rejoices, that he can lay these testimonies of his valour and fidelity +beside the small crucifix which he brought with him from his home, and +which, with a superstition that accords better with the true military +spirit than the thoughtless infidelity of the French, he has carried in +his bosom through all the chances of war.</p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h3> + +<p class="head">PARIS—ITS PUBLIC BUILDINGS.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">W</span><span class="smcap">ith</span> whatever sentiments a stranger might enter Paris at the time we +did, his feelings must have been the same with regard to the monuments +of ancient magnificence, or of modern taste, which it contained. All +that the vanity or patriotism of a long series of Sovereigns could +effect for the embellishment of the capital in which they resided; all +that the conquests of an ambitious and unprincipled Army could +accumulate from the spoils of the nations whom they had subdued, were +there presented to the eye of the stranger with a profusion which +obliterated every former prejudice, and stifled the feelings of +national emulation in exultation at the greatness of human genius.</p> + +<p>The ordinary buildings of Paris, as every traveller has observed, and as +all the world knows, are in general mean and uncomfortable. The height +and gloomy aspect of the houses; the narrowness of the streets, and the +want of pavement for foot passengers, convey an idea of antiquity, which +ill accords with what the imagination had anticipated of the modern +capital of the French empire. This circumstance renders the admiration +of the spectator greater when he first comes in sight of its <i>public +edifices</i>; when he is conducted to the Place Louis Quinze, or the Pont +Neuf, from whence he has a general view of the principal buildings of +this celebrated capital. With the single exception of the view of London +from the terrace of the Adelphi, there is no point in our own country +where the effect of architectural design is so great as in the +situations which have now been mentioned. The view from the former of +these combines many of the most striking objects which Paris has to +present. To the east, the long front of the Thuilleries rises over the +dark mass of foliage which covers its gardens; to the south, the +picturesque aspect of the town is broken by the varied objects which the +river presents, and the fine perspective of the Bridge of Peace, +terminating in the noble front of the palace of the Legislative Body; to +the west, the long avenues of the Elysian Fields are closed by the +pillars of a triumphal arch which Napoleon had commenced; while to the +north, the beautiful façade of the Palace itself, leaves the spectator +only room to discover at a greater distance the foundation of the Temple +of Glory, which he had commenced, and in the execution of which he was +interrupted by those ambitious enterprises to which his subsequent +downfall was owing. To a painter's eye, the effect of the whole scene is +increased by the rich and varied foreground which everywhere presents +itself, composed of the shrubs with which the skirts of the square are +adorned, and the lofty poplars which rise amidst the splendour of +architectural beauty; while recent events give a greater interest to the +spot from which this beauty is surveyed, by the remembrance, that it was +here that Louis XVI. fell a martyr to the revolutionary principles, and +that it was here that the Emperor Alexander and the other princes of +Europe took their station, when their armies passed in triumph through +the walls of Paris.</p> + +<p>The view from the Pont Neuf, though not so striking upon the whole, +embraces objects of greater individual beauty. The gay and animated +quays of the city covered with foot-passengers, and with all the varied +exhibitions of industrious occupation, which, from the warmth of the +climate, are carried on in the open air;—the long and splendid front of +the Louvre and Thuilleries;—the bold projection of the Palais des Arts, +of the Hotel de la Monnaie, and other public buildings on the opposite +side of the river;—the beautiful perspective of the bridges, adorned by +the magnificent colonnade which fronts the Palace of the Legislative +Body;—and the lofty picturesque buildings of the centre of Paris +surrounding the more elevated towers of Notre Dame, form a scene, which, +though less perfect, is more striking, and more characteristic, than the +scene from the centre of the Place Louis Quinze, which has been just +described. It conveys at once a general idea of the French capital; of +that mixture of poverty and splendour by which it is so remarkably +distinguished; of that grandeur of national power, and that degradation +of individual importance, which marked the ancient dynasty of the French +nation. It marks too, in a historical view, the changes of the public +feeling which the people of this country have undergone, from the +distant period when the towers of Notre Dame rose amidst the austerity +of Gothic taste, and were loaded with the riches of Catholic +superstition, to that boasted æra, when the loyalty of the French people +exhausted the wealth and the genius of the country, to decorate with +classic taste the residence of their Sovereigns; and lastly, to those +later days, when the names of religion and of loyalty have alike been +forgotten; when the national exultation reposed only on the trophies of +military greatness, and the iron yoke of imperial power was forgotten in +the monuments which record the deeds of imperial glory.</p> + +<p>To the general observation on the inferiority of the common buildings in +Paris, there are some remarkable exceptions. The Boulevards, the remains +of the ancient ramparts of the city, are in general beautiful, from +their circular form, from their uniform breadth, from the magnificence +of the detached palaces with which they abound, and from the rows of +fine trees with which they are shaded. In the skirts of the town, and +more especially in the Fauxbourg St Germain, the beauty of the streets +is greatly increased by the detached hotels or villas, surrounded by +gardens, which are everywhere to be met with, in which the lilac, the +laburnum, the Bois de Judeé, and the acacia, grow in the most luxuriant +manner, and on the green foliage of which the eye reposes with singular +delight amidst the bright and dazzling whiteness of the stone with +which they are surrounded.</p> + +<p>The Hotel des Invalides, the Chelsea Hospital of France, is one of the +objects on which the Parisians principally pride themselves, and to +which a stranger is conducted immediately after his arrival in that +capital. The institution itself appears to be well conducted, and to +give general satisfaction to the wounded men who have there found an +asylum from the miseries of war. We were informed that these men live in +habits of perfect harmony among each other; a state of things widely +different from that of our veterans in Greenwich Hospital, and which is +probably chiefly owing to the cheerfulness and equanimity of temper +which form the best feature in the French character. There is something +in the style of the architecture of this building, which accords well +with the object to which it is devoted. The front is distinguished by a +simple manly portico, and a dome of the finest proportion rises above +its centre, which is visible from all parts of the city. This dome was +gilded by order of Bonaparte: and however much a fastidious taste may +regret the addition, it certainly gave an air of splendour to the whole, +which was in perfect unison with the feelings of exultation which the +sight of this monument of military glory was then fitted to awaken +among the French people. The exterior of this edifice was formerly +surrounded by cannon captured by the armies of France at different +periods: and ten thousand standards, the trophies of victory during the +wars of two centuries, waved under its splendid dome, and enveloped the +sword of Frederic the Great, which hung from the centre, until the 31st +of March 1814, when, as already observed, they were all burnt by order +of Maria Louisa, to prevent their falling into the victorious hands of +the allied powers.</p> + +<p>If the character of the architecture of the Hotel des Invalides accords +well with the object to which that building is destined, the character +of the Louvre is not less in unison with the spirit of the fine arts, to +which it is consecrated. It is impossible for language to convey any +adequate idea of the impression which this exquisite building awakens in +the mind of a stranger. The beautiful proportions, and the fine symmetry +of the great façade, give an air of simplicity to the distant view of +this edifice, which is not diminished, on nearer approach, by the +unrivalled beauty of its ornaments and detail; but when you cross the +threshold of the portico, and pass under its noble archway into the +inner-court, all considerations are absorbed in the throb of admiration +which is excited by the sudden display of all that is lovely and +harmonious in Grecian architecture. You find yourself in the midst of +the noblest and yet chastest display of architectural beauty, where +every ornament possesses the character by which the whole is +distinguished, and where the whole possesses the grace and elegance +which every ornament presents:—You find yourself on the spot where all +the monuments of ancient art are deposited;—where the greatest +exertions of mortal genius are preserved—and where a palace has at last +been raised worthy of being the depository of the collected genius of +the human race.—It bears a higher character than that of being the +residence of imperial power; it seems destined to loftier purposes than +to be the abode of earthly greatness; and the only forms by which its +halls would not be degraded, are those models of ideal perfection which +the genius of ancient Greece created to exalt the character of a heathen +world.</p> + +<p>Placed in a more elevated spot, and destined to a still higher object, +the Pantheon bears in its front the traces of the noble purpose for +which it was intended.—It was intended to be the cemetery of all the +great men who had deserved well of their country; and it bears the +inscription, above its entrance, <i>Aux grands Hommes La Patrie +reconnoissante</i>. The character of its architecture is well adapted to +the impression it is intended to convey, and suits the simplicity of the +inscription which its portico presents. Its situation has been selected +with singular taste, to aid the effect which was thus intended. It is +placed at the top of an eminence, which shelves in a declivity on every +side; and the immediate approach is by an immense flight of steps, which +form the base of the building, and increase the effect which its +magnitude produces. Over the entrance is placed a portico of lofty +pillars, finely proportioned, supporting a magnificent entablature of +the simplest order; and the whole terminates in a dome of vast +dimensions, forming the highest object in the whole city. The impression +which every one must feel in crossing its threshold, is that of +religious awe; the individual is lost in the greatness of the objects +with which he is surrounded, and he dreads to enter what seems the abode +of a greater Power, and to have been framed for the purposes of more +elevated worship. The Louvre might have been fitted for the gay scenes +of ancient sacrifice; it suits the brilliant conceptions of heathen +mythology; and seems the fit abode of those ideal forms, in which the +imagination of ancient times embodied their conception of divine +perfection; but the Pantheon is adapted for a holier worship, and +accords with the character of a purer belief; and the vastness and +solitude of its untrodden chambers awaken those feelings of human +weakness, and that sentiment of human immortality, which befit the +temple of a spiritual faith.</p> + +<p>We were involuntarily led, by the sight of this great monument of sacred +architecture in the Grecian style, to compare it with the Gothic +churches which we had seen, and in particular with the Cathedral of +Beauvais, the interior of which is finished with greater delicacy, and +in finer proportions, than any other edifice of a similar kind in +France. The impression which the inimitable choir of Beauvais produced, +was widely different from that which we felt on entering the lofty dome +of the Pantheon at Paris. The light pinnacles, the fretted roof, the +aspiring form of the Gothic edifice, seemed to have been framed by the +hands of aerial beings, and produced, even from a distance, that +impression of grace and airiness which it was the peculiar object of +this species of Gothic architecture to excite. On passing the high +archway which covers the western door, and entering the immense aisles +of the Cathedral, the sanctity of the place produces a deeper +impression, and the grandeur of the forms awakens profounder feelings. +The light of the day is excluded, the rays of the sun come mellowed +through the splendid colours with Which the windows are stained, and +cast a religious light over the marble pavement which covers the floor; +while the eye reposes on the harmonious forms of the lancet windows, or +is bewildered in the profusion of ornament with which the roof is +adorned. The impression which the whole produces, is that of religious +emotion, singularly suited to the genius of Christianity; if is seen in +that obscure light which fits the solemnity of religious duty, and +awakens those feelings of intense delight, which prepare the mind for +the high strain of religious praise. But it is not the deep feeling of +humility and weakness which is produced by the dark chambers and massy +pillars of the Pantheon at Paris; it is not in the mausoleum of the dead +that you seem to wander, nor on the thoughts of the great that have gone +before you that the mind revolves; it is in the scene of thanksgiving +that your admiration is fixed; it is with the emblems of Hope that your +devotion is awakened, and with the enthusiasm of gratitude that the +mind is filled. Beneath the gloomy roof of the Grecian Temple, the +spirit is concentrated within itself: it seeks the repose which solitude +affords, and meditates on the fate of the immortal soul; but it loves to +follow the multitude into the Gothic Cathedral, to join in the song of +grateful praise which peals through its lengthened aisles, and to share +in the enthusiasm which belongs to the exercise of common devotion.</p> + +<p>The Cathedral of Notre Dame is the only Gothic building of note in +Paris, and it is by no means equal to the expectations we had been led +to form of it. The style of its architecture is not that of the finest +Gothic; it has neither the exquisite lightness of ornament which +distinguishes the summit of Gloucester Cathedral, nor the fine lancet +windows which give so unrivalled a beauty to the interior of Beauvais, +nor the richness of roof which covers the tombs of Westminster Abbey. +Its character is that of massy greatness; its ornaments are rich rather +than elegant, and its interior striking more from its immense size than +the beauty of the proportion in which it is formed. In spite of all +these circumstances, however, the Cathedral of Notre Dame produces a +deep impression on the mind of the beholder; its towers rise to a +stupendous height above all the buildings which surround them; while +the stone of every other edifice is of a light colour, they alone are +black with the smoke of centuries; and exhibit a venerable aspect of +ancient greatness in the midst of the brilliancy of modern decoration +with which the city abounds. Even the crowd of ornaments with which they +are loaded, and the heavy proportion in which they are built, are +forgotten in the effect which their magnitude produces; they suit the +gloomy character of the building they adorn, and accord with the +expression of antiquated power by which its aged forms are now +distinguished.</p> + +<p>To those who have been accustomed to the form of worship which is +established in Protestant countries, there is nothing so striking in the +Catholic churches as the complete oblivion of rank, or any of the +distinctions of established society, which there universally prevails. +There are no divisions of seats, nor any places fixed for any particular +classes of society. All, of whatever rank or station, kneel alike upon +the marble pavement; and the whole extent of the church is open for the +devotion of all classes of the people. You frequently see the poorest +citizens with their children kneeling on the stone close to those of the +highest rank, or the most extensive fortunes. This custom may appear +painful to those who have been habituated to the forms of devotion in +the English churches; but it produces an impression on the mind of the +spectator which nothing in our service is capable of effecting. To see +the individual form lost in the immensity of the objects with which he +is surrounded; to see all ranks and ages blended in the exercise of +common devotion; to see all distinction forgotten in the sense of common +infirmity, suits the spirit of that religion which was addressed to the +poor as well as to the rich, and fits the presence of that Being before +whom all ranks are equal.</p> + +<p>Nor is it without a good effect upon the feelings of mankind, that this +custom has formed a part of the Catholic service. Amidst that +degradation of the great body of the people, which marks the greater +part of the Catholic countries—amidst the insolence of aristocratic +power, which the doctrines of the Catholic faith are so well suited to +support, it is fitting that there should be some occasions on which the +distinctions of the world should be forgotten; some moments in which the +rich as well as the poor should be humbled before a greater power—in +which they should be reminded of the common faith in which they have +been baptized, of the common duties to which they are called, and the +common hopes which they have been permitted to form.</p> + +<p>We had the good fortune to see high mass performed in Notre Dame, with +all the pomp of the Catholic service, for the souls of Louis XVI. Marie +Antoinette, and the Dauphin, on May 16, 1814, soon after the King's +arrival in Paris. The Cathedral was hung with black in every part; the +brilliancy of day wholly excluded, and it was lighted only by double +rows of wax tapers, which burned round the coffins, placed in the centre +of the choir. It was crowded to excess in every part; all the Marshals, +Peers, and dignitaries of France, were stationed with the Royal Family +near the centre of the Cathedral, and all the principal officers of the +allied armies attended at the celebration of the service. The King was +present, though without being perceived by the vast assembly by whom he +was surrounded; and the Duchess d'Angouleme exhibited, in this +melancholy duty, that mixture of firmness and sensibility by which her +character has always been distinguished.</p> + +<p>It was said, that there were several persons present at this solemn +service who had voted for the death of the King; and many of those +assembled must doubtless have been conscious that they had been +instrumental in the death of those for whose souls this solemn service +was now performing. The greater part, however, of those whom we had an +opportunity of observing, exhibited the symptoms of genuine sorrow, and +seemed to participate in the solemnity with unfeigned devotion. The +Catholic worship was here displayed in its utmost splendour; all the +highest prelates of France were assembled to give dignity to the +spectacle; and all that art could devise was exhausted to render the +scene impressive in the eyes of the people. To us, however, who had been +habituated to the simplicity of the English form, the variety of +unmeaning ceremony, the endless gestures and unceasing bows of the +clergy who officiated, destroyed the impression which the solemnity of +the service would otherwise have produced. But though the service itself +appeared ridiculous, the effect of the whole scene was sublime in the +greatest degree. The black tapestry hung in heavy folds round the sides +of the Cathedral, and magnified the impression which its vastness +produced. The tapers which surrounded the coffins threw a red and gloomy +light over the innumerable multitude which thronged the floor; their +receding rays faintly illuminated the farther recesses, or strained to +pierce the obscure gloom in which the summits of the pillars were lost; +while the sacred music pealed through the distant aisles, and deepened +the effect of the thousands of voices which joined in the strains of +repentant prayer.</p> + +<p>Among the exhibitions of art to which a stranger is conducted +immediately after his arrival in the French metropolis, there is none +which is more characteristic of the disposition of the people than the +<i>Musèe des Monumens François</i>, situated in the Rue des Petits Angustins. +This is a collection of all the finest sepulchral monuments from +different parts of France, particularly from the Cathedral of St Denis, +where the cemetery of the royal family had, from time immemorial, been +placed. It is said by the French, that the collection of these monuments +into one museum was the only means of preserving them from the fury of +the people during the revolution; and certainly nothing but absolute +necessity could have justified the barbarous idea of bringing them from +the graves they were intended to adorn, to one spot, where all +associations connected with them are destroyed. It is not the mere +survey of the monuments of the dead that is interesting,—not the +examination of the specimens of art by which they may be adorned;—it is +the remembrance of the deeds which they are intended to record,—of the +virtues they are destined to perpetuate,—- of the pious gratitude of +which they are now the only testimony—above all, of the dust they +actually cover. They remind us of the great men who formerly filled the +theatre of the world,—they carry us back to an age which, by a very +natural illusion, we conceive to have been both wiser and happier than +our own, and present the record of human greatness in that pleasing +distance when the great features of character alone are remembered, when +time has drawn its veil over the weaknesses of mortality, and its +virtues are sanctified by the hand of death. It is a feeling fitted to +elevate the soul; to mingle the thoughts of death with the recollection +of the virtues by which life had been dignified, and renovate in every +heart those high hopes of religion which spring from, the grave of +former virtue.</p> + +<p>All this delightful, this purifying illusion, is destroyed by the way in +which the monuments are collected in the Museum at Paris. They are there +brought together from all parts of France; severed from the ashes of the +dead they were intended to cover; and arranged in systematic order to +illustrate the history of the art whose progress they unfold. The tombs +of all the Kings of France, of the Generals by whom its glory has been +extended, of the statesmen by whom its power, and the writers by whom +its fame has been established, are crowded together in one collection, +and heaped upon each other, without any other connexion than that of the +time in which they were originally raised. The Museum accordingly +exhibits, in the most striking manner, the power of arrangement and +classification which the French possess; it is valuable, as containing +fine models of the greatest men whom France has produced, and exhibits a +curious specimen of the progress of art, from its first commencement to +the period of its greatest perfection; but it has wholly lost that deep +and peculiar interest which belongs to the monuments of the dead in +their original situation.</p> + +<p>Adjoining to the Museum, is a garden planted with trees, in which many +of the finest monuments are placed; but in which the depravity of the +French taste appears in the most striking manner. It is surrounded with +houses, and darkened by the shade of lofty buildings; yet, in this +gloomy situation, they have placed the tomb of Fenelon, and the united +monument of Abelard and Eloise: profaning thus, by the barbarous +affectation of artificial taste, and the still more shocking imitation +of ancient superstition, the remains of those whose names are enshrined +in every heart which can feel the beauty of moral excellence, or share +in the sympathy with youthful sorrow.</p> + +<p>How different are the feelings with which an Englishman surveys the +untouched monuments of English greatness!—and treads the floor of that +venerable building which shrouds the remains of all who have dignified +their native land—in which her patriots, her poets, and her +philosophers, "sleep with her kings, and dignify the scene," which the +rage of popular fury has never dared to profane, and the hand of +victorious power has never been able to violate; where the ashes of the +immortal dead still lie in undisturbed repose, under that splendid roof +which covered the tombs of her earliest kings, and witnessed, from its +first dawn, the infant glory of the English people.—Nor could the +remembrance of the national monuments we have described, ever excite in +the mind of a native of France, the same feeling of heroic devotion +which inspired the sublime expression of Nelson, as he boarded the +Spanish Admiral's ship at St Vincent's—"Westminster Abbey or Victory!"</p> + +<p>Though the streets in Paris have an aged and uncomfortable appearance, +the form of the houses is such, as, at a distance, to present a +picturesque aspect. Their height, their sharp and irregular tops, the +vast variety of forms which they assume when seen from different +quarters, all combine to render a distant view of them more striking +than the long rows of uniform houses of which London is composed. The +domes and steeples of Paris, however, are greatly inferior, both in +number and magnificence, to those of the English capital.</p> + +<p>The gardens of the Thuilleries and the Luxembourg, of which the +Parisians think so highly, and which are constantly filled with all +ranks of citizens, are laid out with a singularity of taste, of which, +in this country, we can scarcely form any conception. The straight +walks—the clipt trees—the marble fountains—are fast wearing out in +all parts of England; they are to be met with only round the mansions of +ancient families, and even there are kept rather from the influence of +ancient prejudice, or from the affection to hereditary forms, than from +their coincidence with the present taste of the English people. They are +seldom, accordingly, disagreeable, with us, to the eye of the most +cultivated taste; their singularity forms a pleasing variety to the +continued succession of lawns and shrubberies which is every where to be +met with; and they are regarded rather as the venerable marks of +ancient splendour, than as the barbarous affectation of modern +distinction. In France, the native deformity of this taste appears in +its real light, without the colouring of any such adventitious +circumstances as conceal it in this country. It does not appear there +under the softening veil of ancient manners; its avenues do not conduct +to the decaying abode of hereditary greatness—its gardens do not mark +the scenes of former festivity—its fountains are not covered with the +moss which has grown for centuries. It appears as the model of present +taste; it is considered as the indication of existing splendour; and +sought after, as the form in which the beauty of Nature is now to be +admired. All that association accordingly had blended in our minds with +the style of ancient gardening in our own country, was instantly +divested by its appearance in France; and we felt then the whole +importance of that happy change in the national taste, whereby variety +has been made to succeed to uniformity, and the imitation of nature to +come in the place of the exhibition of art.</p> + +<p>In every country, and in every department of taste, the earliest object +of art is, the display of the power of the artist; and it is in the last +period of its improvements alone, that this miserable propensity is +overcome. It is hence that the imitation of Nature is not what is at +first attempted; that the forms which she presents are uniformly +neglected, and the merit of the artist is thought to consist in such +artificial designs as bear the most unequivocal marks of his individual +dexterity. The forms of nature are every where to be met with—they are +open to the most vulgar capacity; the power of art, therefore, it is at +first thought, must be shown in the complete subjugation of natural +form, or the complete abandonment of natural beauty. It is hence that +florists uniformly take delight in double flowers and monsters, which +are the farthest removed from the forms of nature; and it is hence that +gardeners always evince so great an anxiety to conduct strangers to the +most ridiculous contortion of natural form, which their domains can +exhibit. There is nothing unnatural or vulgar in this propensity; it +pervades all branches of taste at a certain stage of its progress, and +all ranks of society, to whom a limited capacity of mind is granted. It +is hence that every society exhibits examples of individuals, who aim at +singularity of manners, merely that they may be different from the +generality of mankind; it is hence that many persons, even of a +cultivated mind, shut their eye to the charms of beauty in every +department of taste, merely that they may display their own wretched +vanity in criticising its imperfections; it is hence that painters +select the moment of passion or exertion, for no other reason than for +the display of their anatomical knowledge, or their skill in the +delineation of extraordinary emotion; and that poets have so often +neglected what is really pathetic in the scenes, either of nature or of +man, to present the artificial conceptions of their learning or fancy. +In all these instances, the degradation of taste arises from the vain +anxiety of men to display the power of the artist, and their utter +forgetfulness of the end of the Art.</p> + +<p>The remarkable characteristic of the taste of France is, that this love +of artificial beauty continues with undiminished force, at a period +when, in other nations, it has given place to a more genuine love for +the beauty of nature. In them, the natural progress of refinement has +led from the admiration of the art of imitation to the love of the +subjects imitated. In France, this early prejudice, continues in its +pristine vigour at the present moment: They never lose sight of the +effort of the artist; their admiration is fixed not on the quality or +object in nature, but on the artificial representation of it; not on the +thing signified, but the sign. It is hence that they have such exalted +ideas of the perfection of their artist David, whose paintings are +nothing more than a representation of the human figure in its most +extravagant and phrenzied attitudes; that they are insensible to the +simple display of real emotion, but dwell with delight upon the vehement +representation of it which their stage exhibits; and that, leaving the +charming heights of Belleville, or the sequestered banks of the Seine, +almost wholly deserted, they crowd to the stiff alleys of the Elysian +Fields, or the artificial beauties of the gardens of Versailles.</p> + +<p>In the midst of Paris this artificial style of gardening is not +altogether unpleasing; it is in unison, in some measure, with the +regular character of the buildings with which it is surrounded; and the +profusion of statues and marble vases continues the impression which the +character of their palaces is fitted to produce. But at Versailles, at +St Cloud, and Fountainbleau, amidst the luxuriance of vegetation, and +surrounded by the majesty of forest scenery, it destroys altogether the +effect which arises from the irregularity of natural beauty. Every one +feels straight borders, and square porticoes and broad alleys, to be in +unison with the immediate neighbourhood of an antiquated mansion; but +they become painful when extended to those remoter parts of the +grounds, when the character of the scene is determined by the rudeness +of uncultivated nature.</p> + +<p>There are some occasions, nevertheless, on which the gardens of the +Thuilleries present a beautiful spectacle, in spite of the artificial +taste in which they are formed. From the warmth of the climate, the +Parisians, of all classes, live much in the open air, and frequent the +public gardens in great numbers during the continuance of the fine +weather. In the evening especially, they are filled with citizens, who +repose themselves under the shade of the lofty trees, after the heat and +the fatigues of the day; and they then present a spectacle of more than +ordinary interest and beauty. The disposition of the French suits the +character of the scene, and harmonises with the impression which the +stillness of the evening produces on the mind. There is none of that +rioting or confusion by which an assembly of the middling classes in +England is too often disgraced; no quarrelling or intoxication even +among the poorest ranks, and little appearance of that degrading want +which destroys the pleasing idea of public happiness. The people appear +all to enjoy a certain share of individual prosperity; their intercourse +is conducted with unbroken harmony, and they seem to resign themselves +to those delightful feelings which steal over the mind during the +stillness and serenity of a summer evening.</p> + +<p>Still more beautiful perhaps, is the appearance of this scene during the +stillness of the night, when the moon throws her dubious rays over the +objects of nature. The gardens of the Thuilleries remain crowded with +people, who seem to enjoy the repose which universally prevails, and +from whom no sound is to be heard which can break the stillness or +serenity of the scene. The regularity of the forms is wholly lost in the +masses of light and shadow that are there displayed; the foliage throws +a chequered shade over the ground beneath, while the different vistas of +the Elysian Fields are seen in that soft and mellow light by which the +radiance of the moon is so peculiarly distinguished. After passing +through these favourite scenes of the French people, we frequently came +to small encampments of the allied troops in the remote parts of the +grounds. The appearance of these bivouacks, composed of Cossack +squadrons, Hungarian hussars, or Prussian artillery, in the obscurity of +moonlight, and surrounded by the gloom of forest scenery, was beyond +measure striking. The picturesque forms of the soldiers, sleeping on +their arms under the shade of the trees, or half hid by the rude huts +which they had erected for their shelter; the varied attitudes of the +horses standing amidst the waggons by which the camp was followed, or +sleeping beside the veterans whom they had borne through all the +fortunes of war; the dark masses of the artillery, dimly discerned in +the shades of night, or faintly reflecting the pale light of the moon, +presented a scene of the most beautiful description, in which the rude +features of war were softened by the tranquillity of peaceful life; and +the interest of present repose was enhanced by the remembrance of the +wintry storms and bloody fields through which these brave men had +passed, during the memorable campaigns in which they had been engaged. +The effect of the whole was increased by the perfect stillness which +everywhere prevailed, broken only at intervals by the slow step of the +sentinel, as he paced his rounds, or the sweeter sounds of those +beautiful airs, which, in a far distant country, recalled to the Russian +soldier the joys and the happiness of his native land.</p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h3> + +<p class="head">ENVIRONS OF PARIS.</p> +<hr class="ten" /> +<p class="no"><span class="lt">S</span><span class="smcap">t Cloud</span> +was the favourite residence of Bonaparte, and, from this +circumstance, possesses an interest which does not belong to the other +imperial palaces. It stands high, upon a lofty bank overhanging the +Seine, which takes a bold sweep in the plain below; and the steep +declivity which descends to its banks is clothed with magnificent woods +of aged elms. The character of the scenery is bold and rugged;—the +trees are of the wildest forms, and the most stupendous height, and the +banks, for the most part, steep and irregular. It is here, accordingly, +that the French gardening appears in all its genuine deformity; and that +its straight walks and endless fountains display a degree of formality +and art, destructive of the peculiar beauty by which the scene is +distinguished. These gardens, however, were the favourite and private +walks of the Emperor;—it was here that he meditated those schemes of +ambition which were destined to shake the established thrones of +Europe;—it was under the shade of this luxuriant foliage that he formed +the plan of all the mighty projects which he had in contemplation;—it +was in the splendid apartments of this palace that the Councils of +France assembled, to revolve on the means of permanently destroying the +English power:—It was here too, by a most remarkable coincidence, that +his destruction was finally accomplished;—that the last convention was +concluded, by which his second dethronement was completed;—and that the +victorious arms of England dictated the terms of surrender to his +conquered capital.</p> + +<p>When we visited St Cloud, it was the head-quarters of Prince +Schwartzenberg; and the Austrian grenadiers mounted guard at the gates +of the Imperial Palace. The banks of the Seine, below the Palace, were +covered by an immense bivouack of Austrian troops, and the fires of +their encampment twinkled in the obscurity of twilight amidst the low +brushwood with which the sides of the river were clothed. The +appearance of this bivouack, dimly discerned through the rugged stems of +lofty trees, or half-hid by the luxuriant branches which obscured the +view;—the picturesque and varied aspect of the plain covered with +waggons, and all the accompaniments of military service;—the columns of +smoke rising from the fires with which it was interspersed, and the +innumerable horses crowded amidst the confused multitude of men and +carriages, or resting in more sequestered spots on the sides of the +river, with their forms finely reflected in its unruffled +waters—presented a spectacle which exhibited war in its most striking +aspect, and gave a character to the scene which would have suited the +romantic strain of Salvator's mind.</p> + +<p>St Germain, though less picturesquely situated than St Cloud, presents +features, nevertheless, of more than ordinary magnificence. The Palace, +now converted into a school of military education by Napoleon, is a mean +irregular building, though it possesses a certain interest, by having +been long the residence of the exiled house of Stuart. The situation, +however, is truly fitted for an imperial dwelling; it stands on the edge +of a high bank overhanging the Seine, at the end a magnificent terrace, +a mile and a half long, built on the projecting heights which edge the +river. The walk along this terrace is the finest spectacle which the +vicinity of Paris has to present. It is backed along its whole extent by +the extensive forest of St Germain, the foliage of which overhangs the +road, and in the recesses of which you can occasionally discern those +beautiful peeps which form the peculiar characteristic of forest +scenery. The steep bank which descends to the river is clothed with +orchards and vineyards in all the luxuriance of a southern climate; and +in front, there is spread beneath your feet the wide plain in which the +Seine wanders, whose waters are descried at intervals through the woods +and gardens with which its banks are adorned; while, in the farthest +distance, the towers of St Denis, and the heights of Paris, form an +irregular outline on the verge of the horizon. It is a scene exhibiting +the most beautiful aspect of cultivated nature, and would have been the +fit residence for a Monarch who loved to survey his subjects' happiness: +but it was deserted by the miserable weakness of Louis XIV., because the +view terminated in the cemetery of the Kings of France, and his +enjoyment of it would have been destroyed by the thoughts of mortal +decay.</p> + +<p>Versailles, which that monarch chose as the ordinary abode of his +splendid Court, is less favourably situate for a royal dwelling, though +the view from the great front of the palace is beautifully clothed with +luxuriant woods. The palace itself is a magnificent building of great +extent, loaded with the riches of architectural beauty, but destitute of +that fine proportion and lightness of ornament, which spread so +indescribable a charm over the Palace of the Louvre. The interior is in +a state of lamentable decay, having been pillaged at the commencement of +the revolutionary fury, and formed into a barrack for the republican +soldiers, the marks of whose violence are still visible in the faded +splendour of its magnificent apartments. They still shew, however, the +favourite rooms of Marie Antoinette, the walls of which are covered with +the finest mirrors, and some remains of the furniture are still +preserved, which even the licentious fury of the French army seems to +have been afraid to violate. The gardens on which all the riches of +France, and all the efforts of art, were so long lavished, present a +painful monument of the depravity of taste: but the <i>Petit Trianon</i>, +which is a little palace built of marble, and surrounded by shrubberies +in the English style, exhibits the genuine beauty of which the +imitation of nature is susceptible. This palace contains a suite of +splendid apartments, fitted up with singular taste, and adorned with a +number of charming pictures; it was the favourite residence of Maria +Louisa, and we were there shewn the drawing materials which she used, +and some unfinished sketches which she left, in which, we were informed, +she much delighted, and which bore the marks of a cultivated taste.</p> + +<p>We frequently enquired concerning the character and occupations of this +Empress, at all the palaces where she usually dwelt, and uniformly +received the same answer:—She was everywhere represented as cold, +proud, and haughty in her manner, and unconciliating in her ordinary +address. Her time was much spent in private, in the exercise of +religious duty, or in needle-work and drawing; and her favourite seat at +St Cloud was between two windows, from one of which she had a view over +the beautiful woods which clothe the banks of the river, and from the +other a distant prospect of the towers and domes of Paris.</p> + +<p>Very different was the character which belonged to the former Empress, +the first wife of Bonaparte, Josephine: She passed the close of her life +at the delightful retreat of Malmaison, a villa charmingly situated on +the banks of the Seine, seven miles from Paris, on the road to St +Germain. This villa had been her favourite residence while she continued +Empress, and formed her only home after the period of her divorce;—here +she lived in obscurity and retirement, without any of the pomp of a +court, or any of the splendour which belonged to her former +rank,—occupied entirely in the employment of gardening, or in +alleviating the distresses of those around her. The shrubberies and +gardens were laid out with singular beauty, in the English taste, and +contained a vast variety of rare flowers, which she had for a long +period been collecting. These shrubberies were to her the source of +never-failing enjoyment; she spent many hours in them every day, working +herself, or superintending the occupations of others; and in these +delightful occupations seemed to return again to all the innocence and +happiness of youth. She was beloved to the greatest degree by all the +poor who inhabited the vicinity of her retreat, both for the gentleness +of her manner, and her unwearied attention to their sufferings and their +wants; and during the whole period of her retirement, she retained the +esteem and affection of all classes of French citizens. The Emperor +Alexander visited her repeatedly during the stay of the allied armies +in Paris; and her death occasioned an universal feeling of regret, +rarely to be met with amidst the corruption and selfishness of the +French metropolis.</p> + +<p>There was something singularly striking in the history and character of +this remarkable woman:—Born in a humble station, without any of the +advantages which rank or education could afford, she was early involved +in all the unspeakable miseries of the French revolution, and was +extricated from her precarious situation only by being united to that +extraordinary man, whose crimes and whose ambition have spread misery +through every country of Europe: Rising through all the gradations of +rank through which he passed, she everywhere commanded the esteem and +regard of all those who had access to admire her private virtues; and +when at length she was raised to the rank of Empress, she graced the +imperial throne with all the charities and virtues of a humbler station. +She bore, with unexampled magnanimity, the sacrifice of power and of +influence which she was compelled to make: She carried into the +obscurity of humble life all the dignity of mind which befitted the +character of an Empress of France; and exercised, in the delightful +occupations of country life, or in the alleviation of the severity of +individual distress, that firmness of mind and gentleness of +disposition, with which she had lightened the weight of imperial +dominion, and softened the rigour of despotic power.</p> + +<p>The Forest of Fontainbleau exhibits scenery of a more picturesque and +striking character than is to be met with in any other part of the north +of France. It is situated 40 miles from Paris, on the great road to +Rome, and the appearance of the country through which this road runs, is +for the most part flat and uninteresting. It runs through a continued +plain, in a straight line between tall rows of elm trees, whose lower +branches are uniformly cut off for firewood to the peasantry; and +exhibits, for the most part, no other feature than the continued riches +of agricultural produce. At the distance of seven miles from the town of +Fontainbleau, you first discern the forest, covering a vast ridge of +rocks, stretching as far as the eye can reach, from right to left, and +presenting a dark irregular outline on the surface of the horizon. The +cultivation continues, with all its uniformity, to the very foot of the +ridge; but the moment you pass the boundaries of the forest, you find +yourself surrounded at once with all the wildness and luxuriance of +natural scenery. The surface of the ground is broken and irregular, +rising at times into vast piles of shapeless rocks, and enclosing at +others small vallies, in which the wood grows in endless beauty, +unblighted by the chilling blasts of northern climates. In these +vallies, the oak, the ash, and the beech, exhibit the peculiar +magnificence of forest scenery, while, on the neighbouring hills, the +birch waves its airy foliage round the dark masses of rock which +terminate the view. Nothing can be conceived more striking than the +scenery which this variety of rock and wood produce in every part of +this romantic forest. At times you pass through an unbroken mass of aged +timber, surrounded by the native grandeur of forest scenery, and +undisturbed by any traces of human habitation, except in those rude +paths which occasionally open a passing view into the remoter parts of +the forest. At others, the path winds through great masses of rock, +piled in endless confusion upon each other, in the crevices of which the +fern and the heath grow in all the luxuriance of southern vegetation; +while their summits are covered by aged oaks of the wildest forms, whose +crossing boughs throw an eternal shade over the ravines below, and +afford room only to discern at the farthest distance the summits of +those beautiful hills, on which the light foliage of the birch trembles +in the ray of an unclouded sun, or waves on the blue of a summer +heaven.</p> + +<p>To those who have had the good fortune to see the beautiful scenery of +the Trosachs in Scotland, of Matlock in Derbyshire, or of the wooded +Fells in Cumberland, it may afford some idea of the Forest of +Fontainbleau, to say that it combines scenery of a similar description +with the aged magnificence of Windsor Forest. Over its whole extent +there are scattered many detached oaks of vast dimensions, which seem to +be of an older race in the growth of the Forest,—whose lowest boughs +stretch above the top of the wood which surrounds them,—and whose +decayed summits afford a striking contrast to the young and luxuriant +foliage with which their stems are enveloped. When we visited +Fontainbleau, it was occupied by the old imperial guard, which still +remained in that station after the abdication of Bonaparte; and we +frequently met parties, or detached stragglers of them, wandering in the +most solitary parts of the Forest. Their warlike and weather-beaten +appearance; their battered arms and worn accoutrements; the dark plumes +of their helmets, and the sallow ferocious aspect of their countenances, +suited the savage character of the scenery with which they were +surrounded, and threw over the gloom and solitude of the Forest that +wild expression with which the genius of Salvator dignified the features +of uncultivated nature.</p> + +<p>The town and palace of Fontainbleau are situate in a small plain near +the centre of the forest, and surrounded on all sides by the rocky +ridges with which it is everywhere intersected. The palace is a large +irregular building, composed of many squares, and fitted up in the +inside with the utmost splendour of imperial magnificence. We were there +shewn the apartments in which Napoleon dwelt during his stay in the +palace, after the capture of Paris by the allied troops; and the desk at +which he always wrote, and where his abdication was signed. It was +covered with white leather, scratched over in every direction, and +marked with innumerable wipings of the pen, among which we perceived his +own name, Napoleon, frequently written as in a very hurried and +irregular hand; and one sentence which began, Que Dieu, Napoleon, +Napoleon. The servants in the palace agreed in stating, that the +Emperor's gaiety and fortitude of mind never deserted him during the +ruin of his fortune; that he was engaged in his writing-chamber during +the greater part of the day, and walked for two hours on the terrace, in +close conversation with Marshal Ney. Several officers of the imperial +guard repeated the speech which he made to his troops on leaving them +after his abdication of the throne, which was precisely what appeared +in the English newspapers. So great was the enthusiasm produced by this +speech among the soldiers present, that it was received with shouts and +cries of Vive l'Empereur, A Paris, A Paris! and when he departed under +the custody of the allied Commissioners, the whole army wept; there was +not a dry eye in the multitude who were assembled to witness his +departure. Even the imperial guard, who had been trained in scenes of +suffering from their first entry into the service—who had been inured +for a long course of years to the daily sight of human misery, and had +constantly made a sport of all the afflictions which are fitted to move +the human heart, shared in the general grief; they seemed to forget the +degradation in which their commander was involved, the hardships to +which they had been exposed, and the destruction which he had brought +upon their brethren in arms; they remembered him when he stood +victorious on the field of Austerlitz, or passed in triumph through the +gates of Moscow; and shed over the fall of their Emperor those tears of +genuine sorrow which they denied to the deepest scenes of private +suffering, or the most aggravated instances of individual distress. It +is impossible not to regret that feelings so exalting to human nature +should have been awakened by one who shared so little in their +enthusiasm himself; that the sufferings of thousands should have been +forgotten in the fate of one to whom the miseries of others never +afforded a subject of regret; and that the only occasion on which +generous sentiments were manifested by the French army, should have been +the overthrow of that power by which their ambition and their wickedness +had been supported.</p> + +<p>We had the good fortune to see the infantry of the old guard drawn up in +line in the streets of Fontainbleau, and their appearance was such as +fully answered the idea we had formed of that body of veteran soldiers, +who had borne the French eagles through every capital of Europe. Their +aspect was bold and martial; there was a keenness in their eyes which +bespoke the characteristic intelligence of the French soldiers, and a +ferocity in the expression of their countenances which seemed to have +been unsubdued even by the unparalleled disasters in which their country +had been involved. The people of the town itself complained in the +bitterest terms of their licentious conduct, and repeatedly said, that +they dreaded them more as friends than the Cossacks themselves as +enemies. They seemed to harbour the most unbounded resentment against +the people of this country; their countenances bore the expression of +the strongest enmity as we walked along their line, and we frequently +heard them mutter among themselves, in the most emphatic manner, <i>Sacre +Dieu, voila des Anglois!</i>—Whatever the atrocity of their conduct, +however, might have been, to the people of their own, as well as every +other country, it was impossible not to feel the strongest emotion at +the sight of the veteran soldiers whose exploits had so long rivetted +the attention of all who felt an interest in the civilized world. These +were the men who first raised the glory of the republican armies on the +plains of Italy; who survived the burning climate of Egypt, and chained +victory to the imperial standards at Jena, at Austerlitz, and at +Friedland—who followed the career of victory to the walls of the +Kremlin, and marched undaunted through the ranks of death amid the snows +of Russia;—who witnessed the ruin of France under the walls of Leipsic, +and struggled to save her falling fortune on the heights of Laon; and +who preserved, in the midst of national humiliation, and when surrounded +by the mighty foreign Powers, that undaunted air and unshaken firmness, +which, even in the moment of defeat, commanded the respect of their +antagonists in arms.</p> + +<p>Beyond the town of Fontainbleau, there rises a ridge of steep hills, +which prevents any view in that direction into the distant parts of the +forest. The road to their summit lies through the Imperial Gardens, and +is surrounded by the artificial forms and regular walks which mark the +character of the French gardening. When you reach the summit, however, +the character of the scene instantly changes, and you pass at once into +the utmost wildness of desolated nature. The foreground is broken by +barren rock, or covered with the beautiful forms of the weeping birch; +immediately below there lies a lonely valley, strewed with masses of +grey stone, without the slightest trace of human habitation, while, in +the farthest distance, the forest is discerned, clothing the sides of +those broken ridges which rise in endless confusion on the surface of +the horizon. At the moment when we reached this spot, the sun was +setting in the west; the cold grey of the stone which covered the +ravines was dimly discerned through the obscure light which the approach +of night produced, while the rugged outline of the rocks beyond was +projected in the deepest shadow on the bright light of the departing +day.</p> + +<p>There is no scenery round Paris so striking as the forest of +Fontainbleau, but the heights of Belleville exhibit nature in a more +pleasing aspect, and are distinguished by features of a gentler +character. Montmartre, and the ridge of Belleville, form those +celebrated heights which command Paris on the northern side, and which +were so obstinately contested between the allies and the French on the +30th March 1814, previous to the capture of Paris by the allied +Sovereigns. Montmartre is covered for the most part with houses, and +presents nothing to attract the eye of the observer, except the +extensive view which is to be met with at its summit. The heights of +Belleville, however, are varied with wood, with orchards, vineyards, and +gardens, interspersed with cottages and villas, and cultivated with the +utmost care. There are few inclosures, but the whole extent of the +ground is thickly studded with walnuts, fruit-trees, and forest timber, +which, from a distance, give it the appearance of one continued wood. On +a nearer approach, however, you find it intersected in every direction +by small paths, which wind among the vineyards, or through the woods +with which the hills are covered, and present at every turn those +charming little scenes which form the peculiar characteristic of +woodland scenery. The cottages half hid by the profusion of +fruit-trees, or embosomed in the luxuriant woods with which they are +everywhere surrounded, increase the interest which the scenery itself is +fitted to produce: they combine the delightful idea of the peasant's +enjoyment with the beauty of the spot on which his dwelling is placed; +and awaken, in the midst of the boundless luxuriance of vegetable +nature, those deeper feelings of moral delight, which spring from the +contemplation of human happiness.</p> + +<p>To a northern eye, there is nothing so delightful as this luxuriance of +vegetation, which rises amidst the warmth of southern climates. The +sterile rocks and rugged mountains of northern regions exhibit nature in +her native rudeness, her features bear a harsher aspect, and her forms +are expressive of more melancholy feeling; but under the genial warmth +of a southern sun, she is arrayed in a robe of softer colours, and beams +with the expression of a gentler character. She there appears surrounded +by the luxuriance of vegetable life: she pours forth her bounty with a +profusion which the partizans of utility would call prodigality, and +covers the earth with a splendour of beauty, which serves no other +purpose than to minister to the delight of human existence. Amidst the +riches with which man is surrounded, his destiny appears happier than +in more desolate situations; we forget the sufferings of the individual +in the profusion of beauty with which he is surrounded; and impute to +the inhabitants of these delightful regions, those feelings of happiness +which spring in our own minds from the contemplation of the scenery in +which they are placed.</p> + +<p>The effect of the charming scenery on the heights of Belleville is much +increased by the distant objects which terminate some parts of the view. +To the east, the high and gloomy towers of Vincennes rise over the +beautiful woods with which the sides of the hill are adorned, and give +an air of solemnity to the scene, arising from the remembrance of the +tragic events of which it was the theatre. To the south, the domes and +spires of Paris can occasionally be discovered through the openings of +the wood with which the foreground is enriched, and present the capital +at that pleasing distance, when the minuter part of the buildings are +concealed, when its prominent features alone are displayed, and the +whole is softened by the obscure light which distance throws over the +objects of nature. To an English mind, the effect of the whole is +infinitely increased, by the animating associations with which this +scenery is connected;—by the remembrance of the mighty struggle between +freedom and slavery, which was here terminated;—of the heroic deeds +which were here performed, and the unequalled magnanimity which was here +displayed. It was here that the expiring efforts of military despotism +were overthrown—that the armies of Russia stood triumphant over the +power of France, and nobly avenged the ashes of their own capital, by +sparing that of their prostrate enemy.</p> + +<p>When we visited the heights of Belleville, the traces of the recent +struggle were visibly imprinted on the villages and woods with which the +hill is covered. The marks of blood were still to be discerned on the +chaussée which leads through the village of Pantin; the elm trees which +line the road were cut asunder, or bored through with cannon shot, and +their stems riddled in many parts with the incessant fire of the grape +shot. The houses in La Villette, Belleville and Pantin, were covered +with the marks of musket shot; the windows of many were shattered, or +wholly destroyed, and the interior of the rooms broken by the balls +which seemed to have pierced every part of the buildings. So thickly +were the houses in some places covered with these marks, that it +appeared almost incredible how any one could have escaped from so +destructive a fire. Even the beautiful gardens with which the slope of +the heights are adorned, and the inmost recesses of the wood of +Romainville, bore throughout the marks of the desperate struggles which +they had lately witnessed, and exhibited the symptoms of fracture or +destruction in the midst of the luxuriance of natural beauty; yet, +though they had so recently been the scene of mortal combat; though the +ashes of the dead yet lay in heaps on different parts of the field of +battle, the prolific powers of nature were undecayed: the vines +clustered round the broken fragments of the instruments of war,—the +corn spread a sweeter green over the fields, which were yet wet with +human blood, and the trees waved with renovated beauty over the +uncoffined remains of the departed brave; emblematic of the decay of +man, and of the immortality of nature.</p> + +<p>The French have often been accused of selfishness, and the indifference +which they often manifest to the fate of their relations, affords too +much reason to believe that the social affections have little permanent +influence on their minds. We must, however, admit, that they exhibit in +misfortunes of a different kind—in calamities which really press upon +their own enjoyments of life, the same gaiety of heart, and the same +undisturbed equanimity of disposition. That gaiety in misfortune, which +is so painful to every observer, when it is to be found in the midst of +family-distress, becomes delightful when it exists under the deprivation +of the selfish gratification to which the individual had been +accustomed. Both here, and in other parts of France, where the houses of +the peasants had been wholly destroyed by the allied armies, we had +occasion frequently to observe and admire the equanimity of mind with +which these poor people bore the loss of all their property. For an +extent of 30 miles in one direction, towards the North of Champagne, +every house near the great road had-been burnt or pillaged for the +firewood which it contained, both by the French and the allied armies, +and the people were everywhere compelled to sleep in the open air. When +we spoke to them on the subject of their losses, they answered with +smiles, "Tout est detruit: tout est brulè, tout, tout;" and seemed to +derive amusement from the completeness of the devastation. The men were +everywhere rebuilding their fallen walls, with a cheerfulness which +never would have existed in England under similar circumstances; and the +little children laboured in the gardens during the day, and slept under +the vines at night, without exhibiting any signs of distress for their +disconsolate situation. In many places, we saw groupes of these little +children in the midst of the ruined houses, or under the shattered +trees, playing with the musket shot, or trying to roll the cannon balls +by which the destruction of their dwellings had been +effected;—exhibiting a picture of youthful joy and native innocence, +while sporting with the instruments of human destruction, which the +genius of Sir Joshua Reynolds would have moulded into the expression of +pathetic feeling, or employed as the means of moral improvement.</p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h3> + +<p class="head">PARIS—THE LOUVRE.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> +<p class="no"><span class="lt">T</span><span class="smcap">o</span> +those who have had the good fortune to see the pictures and statues +which were preserved in the Louvre, all description of these works must +appear superfluous; and to those who have not had this good fortune, +such an attempt could convey no adequate idea of the objects which are +described. There is nothing more uninteresting than the catalogue of +pictures which are to be found in the works of many modern travellers; +nor any thing in general more ridiculous than the ravings of admiration +with which this catalogue is described, and with which the reader in +general is little disposed to sympathise. Without attempting, +therefore, to enumerate the great works which were there to be met with, +we shall confine ourselves to a simpler object, to the delineation of +the <i>general character</i> by which the different schools of painting are +distinguished, and the great features in which they all differ from the +sculpture of ancient times. For the justice of these observations, we +must of course appeal to those who have examined this great collection; +and in the prosecution of them, we pretend to nothing more than the +simple account of the feelings which, we are persuaded, must have +occurred to all those who have viewed it without any knowledge of the +rules which art has established, or the more despicable principles which +connoisseurs have maintained.</p> + +<p>For an attempt of this kind, the Louvre presented, singular advantages, +from the unparalleled collection of paintings of every school and +description which was there to be met with, and the facility with which +you could trace the progress of the art from its first beginning to the +period of its greatest perfection. And it is in this view that the +collection of these works into one museum, however much to be deplored +as the work of unprincipled ambition, and however much it may have +diminished the impression which particular objects, from the influence +of association, produced in their native place, was yet calculated, we +conceive, to produce the greatest of all improvements in the progress of +the art, by divesting particular schools and particular works of the +unbounded influence which the effect of early association, or the +prejudices of national feeling, have given them in their original +situation, and placing them where their real nature is to be judged of +by a more extended circle, and subjected to the examination of more +impartial sentiments.</p> + +<p>The character of every school of painting has been determined by some +peculiar circumstances under which that school first originated, which +have contributed to form its greatest excellencies, and been the real +source of its principal defects; and it has unfortunately happened, that +the unbounded admiration for the great production of these schools has +everywhere formed the national taste, and tended to perpetuate their +errors, when the progress of society would otherwise have led to their +earlier abandonment. It deserves well to be considered, therefore, +whether the restoration of these monuments of art to their original +situations, while it must unquestionably enhance the veneration with +which they will severally be regarded, may not perpetuate the defects +which particular circumstances have stamped on their school of +composition; and whether the continuance of them in one vast collection, +however fatal to the implicit veneration for the works of antiquity, was +not calculated, by the comparison of their excellencies and the +exhibition of their defects, to form a new school, possessed of a more +general character, and adapted for the admiration of a more unbiassed +public. It is in the despotic reign of arbitrary governments, if we may +be allowed, in a discussion on matters of taste, to borrow an +illustration from politics, that the influence of ancient error, and the +power of ancient prejudice, is most unbounded; but it is in the +unbiassed discussion which distinguishes a free state, that the +influence of prejudice is forgotten, and truth emerges from the +collision of opposite opinions. However this may be, it will not, it is +hoped, be deemed an useless attempt, if we now endeavour to state, in a +few words, the impression which was produced by this great collection of +the works of art, which has been felt, we doubt not, by all who have +viewed it with untutored eyes, but has not hitherto been described by +those so much better able to do justice to it than ourselves.</p> + +<p>The first hall of the Louvre in the Picture Gallery is filled with +paintings of the French school. The principal artists whose works are +here exhibited are, Le Brun, Gaspar and Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain, +Vernet, and the modern painters Gerard and David. The general character +of the school of French historical painting, is the expression of +<i>passion and violent emotion</i>. The colouring is for the most part +brilliant; the canvas crowded with figures, and the incident selected, +that in which the painter might have the best opportunity of displaying +his knowledge of the human frame, or the varied expression of the human +countenance. In the pictures of the modern school of French painting, +this peculiarity is pushed to an extravagant length, and, fortunately +for the art, displays the false principles on which the system of their +composition is founded. The moment seized is uniformly that of the +strongest and most violent passion; the principal actors in the piece +are represented in a state of phrenzied exertion, and the whole +anatomical knowledge of the artist is displayed in the endless +contortions into which the human frame is thrown. In David's celebrated +picture of the three Horatii, this peculiarity appears in the most +striking light. The works of this artist may excite admiration, but it +is the limited and artificial admiration of the schools; of those who +have forgot the end of the art in the acquisition of the technical +knowledge with which it is accompanied, or the display of the technical +powers which its execution involves.</p> + +<p>The paintings of <i>Vernet</i>, in this collection, are perhaps the finest +specimens of that beautiful master, and they entitle him to a higher +place in the estimation of mankind than he seems yet to have obtained +from the generality of observers. There is a delicacy of colouring, an +unity of design, and a harmony of expression in his works, which accord +well with the simplicity of the subjects which his taste has selected, +and the general effect which it was his object to produce. In the +representation of the sun dispelling the mists of a cloudy morning; of +his setting rays gilding the waves of a western sea; or of that +undefined beauty which moonlight throws over the objects of nature, the +works of this artist are perhaps unrivalled.</p> + +<p>The paintings of <i>Claude</i> are by no means equal to what we had expected, +from the celebrity which his name has acquired, or the matchless beauty +which the engravings from him possess. They are but eleven in number, +and cannot be in any degree compared with those which are to be found in +Mr Angerstein's collection. To those, however, who have been accustomed +to study the designs of this great master, through the medium of the +engraved copies, and above all, in the unrivalled works of Woollet, the +sight of the original pictures must, perhaps at all times, create a +feeling of disappointment. There is an unity of effect in the engravings +which can never be met with amidst the distraction of colouring in the +original pictures; and the imagination clothes the beautiful shades of +the copy with finer tints than even the pencil of Claude has been able +to supply. "I have shewn you," said Corinne to Oswald, "St Peter's for +the first time, when the brilliancy of its decorations might appear in +full splendour, in the rays of the sun: I reserve for you a finer, and a +more profound enjoyment, to behold it by the light of the moon." Perhaps +there is a distinction of the same kind between the gaudy brilliancy of +varied colours, and the chaster simplicity of uniform shadows; and it is +probably for this reason, that on the first view of a picture which you +have long admired in the simplicity of engraved effect, you +involuntarily recede from the view, and seek in the obscure light and +uncertain tint which distance produces, to recover that uniform tone and +general character, which the splendour of colouring is so apt to +destroy. It is a feeling similar to that which Lord Byron has so finely +described, as arising from the beauty of moonlight scenery:—</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">———"Mellow'd to that tender light</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Which Heaven to gaudy day denies."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>The Dutch and Flemish school, to which you next advance, possesses +merit, and is distinguished by a character of a very different +description. It was the well-known object of this school, to present an +exact and faithful <i>imitation of nature</i>; to exaggerate none of its +faults, and enhance none of its excellencies, but exhibit it as it +really appears to the eye of an ordinary spectator. Its artists +selected, in general, some scene of humour or amusement, in the +discovery of which, the most ignorant spectators might discover other +sources of pleasure than those which the merit of the art itself +afforded. They did not pretend, in general, to aim at the exhibition of +passion or powerful emotion: their paintings, therefore, are free from +that painful display of theatrical effect, which characterises the +French school; their object was not to represent those deep scenes of +sorrow or suffering, which accord with the profound feelings which it +was the object of the Italian school to awaken; they want, therefore, +the dignity and grandeur which the works of the greater Italian +painters possess: their merit consists in the faithful delineation of +those ordinary scenes and common occurrences, which are familiar to the +eye of the most careless observer. The power of the painter, therefore, +could be displayed only in the minuteness of the finishing, or the +brilliancy of the effect; and he endeavoured, by the powerful contrast +of light and shade, to give an higher character to his works, than the +nature of their subject could otherwise admit.</p> + +<p>The pictures of Teniers, Ostade, and Gerard Dow, possess these merits, +and are distinguished by this character in the highest degree; but their +qualities are so well known in this country, as to render any +observation on them superfluous. There is a very great collection here +preserved of the works of Rembrandt, and their design and effect bear, +in general, a higher character than belongs to most of the works of this +celebrated master.</p> + +<p>In one respect, the collection in the Louvre is altogether +unrivalled—in the number and beauty of the <i>Wouvermans</i> which are there +to be met with; nor is it possible, without having seen it, to +appreciate, with any degree of justice, the variety of design, the +accuracy of drawing, or delicacy of finishing, which distinguish his +works from those of any other painter of a similar description. There +are 38 of his pieces there assembled, all in the finest state of +preservation, and all displaying the same unrivalled beauty of colouring +and execution. In their design, however, they widely differ; and they +exhibit, in the most striking manner, the real object to which painting +should be applied, and the causes of the errors in which its composition +has been involved. His works, for the most part, are crowded with +figures; his subjects are in general battle-pieces, or spectacles of +military pomp, or the animated scenes which the chace presents; and he +seems to have exhausted all the efforts of his genius, in the variety of +incident and richness of execution, which these subjects are fitted to +afford. From the confused and indeterminate expression, however, which +the multitude of their objects exhibit, we turn with delight to those +simpler scenes in which his mind seems to have reposed, after the +fatigues which it had undergone: to the representation of a single +incident, or the delineation of a certain occurrence—to the rest of the +traveller after the fatigues of the day—to the repose of the horse in +the intermission of labour—to the return of the soldier after the +dangers of the campaign;—scenes, in which every thing combines for the +uniform character, and where the genius of the artist has been able to +give to the rudest occupations of men, and even to the objects of animal +life, the expression of general poetical feeling.</p> + +<p>The pictures of <i>Vandyke</i> and <i>Rubens</i> belong to a much higher school +than that which rose out of the wealth and the limited taste of the +Dutch people. There are 60 pieces of the latter of these masters in the +Louvre, and, combined with the celebrated Gallery in the Luxembourg +Palace, they form the finest assemblage of them which is to be met with +in the world. The character of his works differs essentially from that +both of the French and the Dutch schools; he was employed, not in +painting cabinet pictures for wealthy merchants, but in designing great +altar pieces for splendid churches, or commemorating the glory of +sovereigns in imperial galleries. The greatness of his genius rendered +him fit to attempt the representation of the most complicated and +difficult objects; but in the confidence of this genius, he seems to +have lost sight of the genuine object of composition in his art. He +attempts what it is impossible for painting to accomplish—he aims at +telling a whole story by the expression of a single picture; and seems +to pour forth the profusion of his fancy, by crowding his canvas with a +multiplicity of figures, which serve no other purpose than that of +shewing the endless power of creation which the author possessed. In +each figure there is great vigour of conception, and admirable power of +execution; but the whole possesses no general character, and produces no +permanent emotion. There is a mixture of allegory and truth in many of +his greatest works, which is always painful; a grossness in his +conception of the female form, which destroys the symmetry of female +beauty; and a wildness of imagination in his general design, which +violates the feelings of ordinary taste. You survey his pictures with +astonishment—at the power of thought and brilliancy of colouring which +they display; but they produce no lasting impression on the mind; they +have struck no chord of feeling or emotion, and you leave them with no +other feeling, than that of regret, that the confusion of objects +destroys the effect which each in itself might be fitted to produce. And +if one has made a deeper impression; if you dwell on it with that +delight which it should ever be the object of painting to produce, you +find that your pleasure proceeds from a single figure, or the expression +of a detached part of the picture; and that, in the contemplation of it, +you have, without being conscious of it, detached your mind from the +observation of all that might interfere with its characteristic +expression, and thus preserved that unity of emotion which is essential +to the existence of the emotion of taste, but which the confusion of +incident is so apt to destroy.</p> + +<p>A few landscapes by <i>Ruysdael</i> are to be here met with, which are +distinguished by that boldness of conception, fidelity of execution, and +coldness of colouring, which have often been remarked as the +characteristics of this powerful master.</p> + +<p>It is in the Italian school, however, that the collection in the Louvre +is most unrivalled, and it is from its character that the general +tendency of the modern school of historical painting is principally to +be determined.</p> + +<p>The general object of the Italian school appears to be the expression of +<i>passion</i>. The peculiar subjects which its painters were called on to +represent, the sufferings and death of our Saviour, the varied +misfortunes to which his disciples were exposed, or the multiplied +persecutions which the early fathers of the church had to sustain, +inevitably prescribed the object to which their genius was to be +directed, and the peculiar character which their works, were to assume. +They have all, accordingly, aimed at the expression of passion, and +endeavoured to excite the pity, or awaken the sympathy of the spectator; +though the particular species of passion which they have severally +selected, has varied with the turn of mind which the artist possessed.</p> + +<p>The works of <i>Dominichino</i> and of the <i>Caraccis</i>, of which there are a +very great number, incline, in general, to the representation of what is +dark or gloomy in character, or what is terrific and appalling in +suffering. The subjects which the first of these masters has in general +selected, are the cells of monks, the energy of martyrs, or the +sufferings of the crucifixion; and the dark-blue coldness of his +colouring, combined with the depth of his shadows, accord well with the +gloomy character which his compositions possess. The <i>Caraccis</i>, amidst +the variety of objects which their genius has embraced, have dwelt, in +general, upon the expression of sorrow—of that deep and profound sorrow +which the subjects of Sacred History were so fitted to afford, and which +was so well adapted to that religious emotion which it was their object +to excite.</p> + +<p>Guido Reni, Carlo Maratti, and Murillo, are distinguished by a gentler +character; by the expression of tenderness and sweetness of +disposition: and the subjects which they have chosen are, for the most +part, those which were fitted for the display of this predominant +expression—the Holy Family, the flight into Egypt, the youth of St +John, the penitence of the Magdalene. While, in common with all their +brethren, they have aimed at the expression of emotion, it was an +emotion of a softer kind than that which arose from the energy of +passion, or the violence of suffering; it was the emotion produced by +more permanent feelings; and less turbulent affections; and from the +character of this emotion, their execution has assumed a peculiar cast, +and their composition been governed by a peculiar principle. Their +colouring is seldom brilliant; there is a subdued tone pervading the +greater part of their pictures; and they have limited themselves, in +general, to the delineation of a single figure, or a small group, in +which a single character of mind is prevalent.</p> + +<p>Of the numerous and splendid collection of <i>Titian's</i> which are here +preserved, it is not necessary to give any description, because they +consist for the most part of portraits, and our object is not to dwell +on the richness of colouring, or powers of execution, but on the +principles of composition by which the different schools of painting +are distinguished.</p> + +<p>There are only six paintings by Salvator Rosa in this collection, but +they bear that wild and original character which is proverbially known +to belong to the works of this great artist. One of his pieces is +particularly striking, a skirmish of horse, accompanied by all the +scenery in which he so peculiarly delighted. In the foreground is the +ruins of an old temple, with its lofty pillars finely displayed in +shadow above the summits of the horizon;—in the middle distance the +battle is dimly discerned through the driving rain, which obscures the +view; while the back ground is closed by a vast ridge of gloomy rocks, +rising into a dark and tempestuous sky. The character of the whole is +that of sullen magnificence; and it affords a striking instance of the +power of great genius, to mould the most varied objects in nature into +the expression of one uniform poetical feeling.</p> + +<p>Very different is the expression which belongs to the softer pictures of +Correggio—of that great master, whose name is associated in every one's +mind with all that is gentle or delicate in the imitation of nature. +Perhaps it was from the force of this impression that his works did not +completely come up to the expectations which we had been led to form. +They are but eight in number, and do not comprehend the finest of his +compositions. Their general character is that of tenderness and +delicacy: there is a softness in his shading of the human form which is +quite unrivalled, and a harmony in the general tone of his colouring, +which is in perfect unison with the characteristic expression which it +was his object to produce. You feel a want of unity, however, in the +composition of his figures; you dwell rather on the fine expression of +individual form, than the combined tendency of the whole group, and +leave the picture with the impression of the beauty of a single +countenance, rather than the general character of the whole design. He +has represented nature in its most engaging aspect, and given to +individual figures all the charms of ideal beauty; but he wants that +high strain of spiritual feeling, which belongs only to the works of +Raphael.</p> + +<p>The only work of Carlo Dolci in the Louvre is a small cabinet picture; +but it alone is sufficient to mark the exquisite genius which its author +possessed. It is of small dimensions, and represents the Holy Family, +with the Saviour asleep. The finest character of design is here combined +with the utmost delicacy of execution; the softness of the shadows +exceeds Correggio himself; and the dark-blue colouring which prevails +over the whole, is in perfect unison with the expression of that rest +and quiet which the subject requires. The sleep of the Infant is +perfection itself—it is the deep sleep of youth and of innocence, which +no care has disturbed, and no sorrow embittered, and in the unbroken +repose of which the features have relaxed into the expression of perfect +happiness. All the features of the picture are in unison with this +expression, except in the tender anxiety of the Virgin's eye; and all is +at rest in the surrounding objects, save where her hand gently removes +the veil to contemplate the unrivalled beauty of the Saviour's +countenance.</p> + +<p>Without the softness of shading or the harmony of colour which Correggio +possessed, the works of Raphael possess a higher character, and aim at +the expression of a sublimer feeling, than those of any other artist +whom modern Europe has produced. Like all his brethren, he has often +been misled from the real object of of his art, and tried, in the energy +of passion, or the confused expression of varied figures, to multiply +the effect which his composition might produce. Like all the rest, he +has failed in effecting what the constitution of the human mind renders +impossible, and in this very failure, warned every succeeding age of the +vanity of the attempt which his transcendent genius was unable to +effect. It is this fundamental error that destroys the effect, even of +his finest pieces; it is this, combined with the unapproachable nature +of the presence which it reveals, that has rendered the Transfiguration +itself a chaos of genius rather than a model of ideal beauty; nor will +it, we hope, be deemed a presumptuous excess, if we venture to express +our sentiments in regard to this great author, since it is from his own +works alone that we have derived the means of appreciating his +imperfections.</p> + +<p>It is in his smaller pieces that the genuine character of Raphael's +paintings is to be seen—in the figure of St Michael subduing the demon; +in the beautiful tenderness of the Virgin and Child; in the unbroken +harmony of the Holy Family; in the wildness and piety of the infant St +John;—scenes, in which all the objects of the picture combine for the +preservation of one uniform character, and where the native fineness of +his mind appears undisturbed by the display of temporary passion, or the +painful distraction of varied suffering.</p> + +<p>There are no pictures of the English school in the Louvre, for the arms +of France never prevailed in our island. From the splendid character, +however, which it early assumed under the distinguished guidance of Sir +Joshua Reynolds, and from the high and philosophical principles which he +at first laid down for the government of the art, there is every reason +to believe that it ultimately will rival the celebrity of foreign +genius; And it is in this view that the continuance of the gallery of +the Louvre was principally to be wished by the English nation—that the +English artists might possess, so near their own country, so great a +school for composition and design; that the imperfections of foreign +schools might enlighten the views of English genius; and that the +conquests of the French arms, by transferring the remains of ancient +taste to these northern shores, might give greater facilities to the +progress of our art, than can exist when they are restored to their +legitimate possessors.</p> + +<p>The great object, then, of all the modern schools of historical +painting, seems to have been, the delineation of an <i>affecting scene</i> or +<i>interesting occurrence</i>; they have endeavoured to tell a story by the +variety of incidents in a single picture; and seized, for the most part, +the moment when passion was at its greatest height, or suffering +appeared in its most excruciating form. The general character, +accordingly, of the school, is the expression of passion or violent +suffering; and in the prosecution of this object, they have endeavoured +to exhibit it under all its aspects, and display all the effects which +it could possibly produce on the human form, by the different figures +which they have introduced. While this is the general character of the +whole, there are of course numerous exceptions; and many of its greatest +painters seem, in the representation of single figures, or in the +composition of smaller groups, to have had in view the expression of +less turbulent affections; to have aimed at the display of settled +emotion, or permanent feeling, and to have excluded every thing from +their composition which was not in unison with this predominant +expression.</p> + +<p>The <i>Sculpture Gallery</i>, which contains 220 remains of ancient statuary, +marks, in the most decided manner, the different objects to which this +noble art was applied in ancient times. Unlike the paintings of modern +Europe, their figures are almost uniformly at rest; they exclude passion +or violent suffering from their design; and the moment which they select +is not that in which a particular or transient emotion may be +displayed, but in which the settled character of mind may be expressed. +With the two exceptions of the Laocoon and the Fighting Gladiator, there +are none of the statues in the Louvre which are not the representation +of the human figure in a state of repose; and the expression which the +finest possess, is invariably that permanent expression which has +resulted from the habitual frame and character of mind. Their figures +seem to belong to a higher class of beings than that in which we are +placed; they indicate a state in which passion, anxiety, and emotion are +no more; and where the unruffled repose of mind has moulded the features +into the perfect expression of the mental character. Even the +countenance of the Venus de Medicis, the most beautiful which it has +ever entered into the mind of man to conceive, and of which no copy +gives the slightest idea, bears no trace of emotion, and none of the +marks of human feeling; it is the settled expression of celestial +beauty, and even the smile on her lip is not the fleeting smile of +temporary joy, but the lasting expression of that heavenly feeling which +sees in all around it the grace and loveliness which belongs to itself +alone. It approaches nearer to that character which sometimes marks the +countenance of female beauty; when death has stilled the passions of +the world; but it is not the cold expression of past character which +survives the period of mortal dissolution; it is the living expression +of present existence, radiant with the beams of immortal life, and +breathing the air of eternal happiness.</p> + +<p>The paintings of Raphael convey the most perfect idea of earthly beauty; +and they denote the expression of all that is finest and most elevated +in the character of the female mind. But there is a "human meaning in +their eye," and they bear the marks of that anxiety and tenderness which +belong to the relations of present existence. The Venus displays the +same beauty, freed from the cares which existence has produced; and her +lifeless eye-balls gaze upon the multitude which surround her, as on a +scene fraught only with the expression of universal joy.</p> + +<p>In another view, the Apollo and the Venus appear to have been intended +by the genius of antiquity, as expressive of the character of mind which +distinguishes the different sexes; and in the expression of this +character, they have exhausted all which it is possible for human +imagination to produce upon the subject. The commanding air, and +advanced step, of the Apollo, exhibit <i>Man</i> in his noblest aspect, as +triumphing over the evils of physical nature, and restraining the energy +of instinctive passion by the high dominion of moral power: the averted +eyes and retiring grace of the Venus, are expressive of the modesty, +gentleness, and submission, which form the most beautiful features of +the <i>female</i> character.</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Not equal, as their sex not equal seemed,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">For valour He, and contemplation, formed,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">For beauty She, and sweet attractive grace,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He for God only, She for God in Him.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>These words were said of our first parents by our greatest poet, after +the influence of a pure religion had developed the real nature of the +female character, and determined the place which woman was to hold in +the scale of nature; but the idea had been expressed in a still finer +manner two thousand years before, by the sculptors of antiquity; and +amidst all the degradation of ancient manners, the prophetic genius of +Grecian taste contemplated that ideal perfection in the character of the +sexes, which was destined to form the boundary of human progress in the +remotest ages of human improvement.</p> + +<p>The Apollo strikes a stranger with all its divine grandeur on the first +aspect; subsequent examination can add nothing to the force of the +impression which is then received; The Venus produces at first less +effect, but gains upon the mind at every renewal, till it rivets the +affections even more than the greatness of its unequalled +rival—emblematic of the charm of female excellence, which, if it +excites less admiration at first than the loftier features of manly +character, is destined to acquire a deeper influence, and lay the +foundation of more indelible affection.</p> + +<p>The Dying Gladiator is perhaps, after the two which we have mentioned, +the finest statue which the Louvre contains. The moment chosen is finely +adapted for that expression of ideal beauty, which may be produced even +in a subject naturally connected with feelings of pain. It is not the +moment of energy or struggling, when the frame is convulsed with the +exertion it is making, or the countenance is deformed by the tumult of +passion; it is the moment of expiring nature, when the figure is relaxed +by the weakness of decay, and the mind is softened by the approach of +death; the moment when the ferocity of combat is forgotten in the +extinction of the interest which it had excited, when every unsocial +passion is stilled by the weakness of exhausted nature, and the mind, +in the last moments of life, is fraught with finer feelings than had +belonged to the character of previous existence. It is a moment similar +to that in which Tasso has so beautifully described the change in +Clorinda's mind, after she had been mortally wounded by the hand of +Tancred, but in which he was enabled to give her the inspiration of a +greater faith, and the charity of a more gentle religion:—</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Amico h'ai vinto: io te perdon. Perdona</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Tu ancora, al corpo no che nulla pave</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">All'alma si: deh per lei prega; e dona</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Battesme a me, ch'ogni mia colpa lave;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">In queste voci languide risuona</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Un non so che di flebile e soave</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ch'al cor gli scende, ed ogni sdegno ammorza,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Egli occhi a lagrimar gl'invoglia e sforza.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>The greater statues of antiquity were addressed to the worshippers in +their temples; they were intended to awaken the devotion of all classes +of citizens—to be felt and judged by all mankind. They were intended to +express characters superior to common nature, and they still express +them. They are free, therefore, from all the peculiarities of national +taste; they are purified from all the peculiarities of local +circumstances; they have been rescued from that inevitable degradation +to which art is uniformly exposed, by taste being confined to a limited +society; they have assumed, in consequence, that general character, +which might suit the universal feelings of our nature, and that +permanent expression which might speak to the hearts of men through +every succeeding age. The admiration, accordingly, for those works of +art, has been undiminished by the lapse of time; they excite the same +feelings at the present time, as when they came fresh from the hand of +the Grecian artist, and are regarded by all nations with the same +veneration on the banks of the Seine, as when they sanctified the +temples of Athens, or adorned the gardens of Rome.</p> + +<p>Even the rudest nations seem to have felt the force of this impression. +The Hungarians and the Cossacks, as we ourselves have frequently seen, +during the stay of the allied armies in Paris, ignorant of the name or +the celebrity of those works of art, seemed yet to take a delight in the +survey of the statues of antiquity; and in passing through the long line +of marble greatness which the Louvre presents, stopt involuntarily at +the sight of the Venus, or clustered round the foot of the pedestal of +the Apollo;—indicating thus, in the expression of unaffected feeling, +the force of that genuine taste for the beauty of nature, which all the +rudeness of savage manners, and all the ferocity of war, had not been +able to destroy. The poor Russian soldier, whose knowledge of art was +limited to the crucifix which he had borne in his bosom from his native +land, still felt the power of ancient beauty, and in the spirit of the +Athenians, who erected an altar to the Unknown God, did homage in +silence to that unknown spirit which had touched a new chord in his +untutored heart.</p> + +<p class="sp">From the impression produced on our minds by the collection in the +Louvre, we were led to form some general conclusions concerning the +history and object of the arts of Painting and Sculpture, which we shall +presume to state, as what suggested themselves to us on the +contemplation of the greatest assemblage of the works of art which has +ever been formed; but which we give, at the same time, with the utmost +diffidence, and merely as the result of our own feelings and +reflections.</p> + +<p>The character of art in every country appears to have been determined by +the <i>disposition of the people</i> to whom it was addressed, and the +object of its composition to have varied with the purpose it was called +on to fulfil.—The Grecian statues were designed to excite the devotion +of a cultivated people; to embody their conceptions of divine +perfection; to realise the expression of that character of mind which +they imputed to the deities whose temples they were to adorn: It was +grace, or strength, or majesty, or the benignity of divine power, which +they were to represent by the figures of Venus, of Hercules, of Jupiter, +or of Apollo. Their artists accordingly were led to aim at the +expression of <i>general character</i>; to exclude passion, or emotion, or +suffering, from their design, and represent the figures in that state of +repose where the permanent expression of mind ought to be displayed. It +is perhaps in this circumstance that we are to discern the cause both of +the peculiarity and the excellence of the Grecian statuary.</p> + +<p>The Italian painters were early required to effect a different object. +Their pictures were destined to represent the sufferings of nature; to +display the persecution or death of our Saviour, the anguish of the Holy +Family, the heroism of martyrs, the resignation of devotion. In the +infancy of the arts, accordingly, they were led to study the expression +of passion, of suffering, and of temporary emotion; to aim at rousing +the pity, or exciting the sympathy, of the spectators; and to endeavour +to characterise their works by the representation of temporary passion, +not the expression of permanent character. Those beautiful pictures in +which a different object seems to have been followed—in which the +expression is that of permanent emotion, not transient passion, while +they captivate our admiration, seem to be exceptions from the general +design, and to have been suggested by the peculiar nature of the subject +represented, or a particular firmness of mind in the artist. In these +causes we may perhaps discern the origin of the peculiar character of +the Italian school.</p> + +<p>In the French school, the character and manners of the people seem to +have carried this peculiarity to a still greater length. Their character +led them to seek in every thing for stage effect; to admire the most +extravagant and violent representations, and to value the efforts of +art, not in proportion to their imitation of the expressions of nature, +but in proportion to their resemblance to those artificial expressions +on which their admiration was founded. The vehemence of their manner on +the most ordinary occasions, rendered the most extravagant gestures +requisite for the display of real passion; and their drama accordingly +exhibits a mixture of dignity of sentiment, with violence of gesture, +beyond measure surprising to a foreign spectator. The same disposition +of the people has influenced the character of their historical painting; +and it is to be remembered, that the French school of painting succeeded +the establishment of the French drama. It is hence that they have +generally selected the moment of theatrical effect—the moment of +phrenzied passion, of unparalleled exertion, and that their composition +is distinguished by so many striking contrasts, and so laboured a +display of momentary effect.</p> + +<p>The Flemish or Dutch school of painting was neither addressed to the +devotion nor the theatrical feelings of mankind; it was neither intended +to awaken the sympathy of religious emotion, nor excite the admiration +of artificial composition—it was addressed to wealthy men of vulgar +capacities, whose taste advanced in no proportion to their riches, and +who were capable of appreciating only the merit of minute detail, or the +faithfulness of exact imitation. It is hence that their painting +possesses excellencies and defects of so peculiar a description; that +they have carried the minuteness of finishing to so unparalleled a +degree of perfection; that the brilliancy of their lights has thrown a +splendour over the vulgarity of their subjects; and that they are in +general so utterly destitute of all the refinement and sentiment which +sprung from the devotional feelings of the Italian people.</p> + +<p>The subjects which the Dutch painters chose were subjects of low humour, +calculated to amuse a rich and uncultivated people; the subjects of the +French school were heroic adventures, suited to the theatrical taste of +a more elevated society; the subjects of the Italian school were the +incidents of Sacred History, adapted to the devotional feelings of a +religious people. In all, the subjects to which painting was applied, +and the character of the art itself, was determined by the peculiar +circumstances or disposition of the people to whom it was addressed: so +that, in these instances, there has really happened what Mr Addison +stated should ever be the case, that "the taste should not conform to +the art, but the art to the taste."</p> + +<p class="sp">We soon perceived that the statues rivetted our admiration more than any +of the other works of art which the Louvre presents; and that amongst +the pictures, those made the deepest impression which approached nearest +to the character by which the Grecian statuary is distinguished. In the +prosecution of this train of thought, we were led to the following +conclusions, relative to the separate objects to which painting and +statuary should be applied.</p> + +<p>1. That the object of Statuary should ever be the same to which it was +always confined by the ancients, viz. the representation of <span class="smcap">CHARACTER</span>. +The very materials on which the sculptor has to operate, render his art +unfit for the expression either of emotion or passion; and the figure, +when finished, can bear none of the marks by which they are to be +distinguished. It is a figure of cold, and pale, and lifeless marble, +without the varied colour which emotion produces, or the living eye +which passion animates. The eye is the feature which is expressive of +present emotion; it is it which varies with all the changes which the +mind undergoes; it is it which marks the difference between joy and +sorrow, between love and hatred, between pleasure and pain, between life +and death. But the eye, with all the endless expressions which it bears, +is lost to the sculptor; its gaze must ever be cold and lifeless to him; +its fire is quenched in the stillness of the tomb. A statue, therefore, +can never be expressive of living emotion; it can never express those +transient feelings which mark the play of the living mind. It is an +abstraction of character which has no relation to common existence; a +shadow in which all the permanent features of the mind are expressed, +but none of the temporary passions of the mind are shewn; like the +figures of snow, which the magic of Okba formed to charm the solitude of +Leila's dwelling, it bears the character of the human form, but melts at +the warmth of human feeling. The power of the sculptor is limited to the +delineation of those signs alone by which the permanent qualities of +mind are displayed: his art, therefore, should be confined to the +representation of that permanent character of which they are expressive.</p> + +<p>2. While such is the object to which statuary would appear to be +destined, Painting embraces a wider range, and is capable of more varied +expression: It is expressive of the living form; it paints the eye and +opens the view of the present mind; it imitates all the fleeting changes +which constitute the signs of present emotion. It is not, therefore, an +abstraction of character which the painter is to represent; not an ideal +form, expressive only of the qualities of permanent character; but an +actual being, alive to the impressions of present existence, and bound +by the ties of present affection. It is in the delineation of these +affections, therefore, that the powers of the painter principally +consists; in the representation, not of simple character, but of +character influenced or subdued by emotion. It is the representation of +the joy of youth, or the repose of age; of the sorrow of innocence, or +the penitence of guilt; of the tenderness of parental affection, or the +gratitude of filial love. In these, and a thousand other instances, the +expression of the emotion constitutes the beauty of the picture; it is +that which gives the tone to the character which it is to bear; it is +that which strikes the chord which vibrates in every human heart. The +object of the painter, therefore, is the expression of <span class="smcap">EMOTION</span>, of that +emotion which is blended with the character of the mind which feels, and +gives to that character the interest which belongs to the events of +present existence.</p> + +<p>3. The object of the painter, being the representation of emotion in all +the varied situations which life produces, it follows, that every thing +in his picture should be in unison with the predominant expression which +he wishes it to bear; that the composition should be as simple as is +consistent with the developement of this expression; and the colouring +such as accords with the character by which this emotion is +distinguished. It is here that the genius of the artist is principally +to be displayed, in the selection of such figures as suit the general +impression which the whole is to produce; and the choice of such a tone +of colouring, as harmonises with the feelings of mind which it is his +object to awaken. The distraction of varied colours—the confusion of +different figures—the contrast of opposite expressions, completely +destroy the effect of the composition; they fix the mind to the +observation of what is particular in the separate parts, and prevent +that uniform and general emotion which arises from the perception of one +uniform expression in all the parts of which it is composed. It is in +this very perception, however, that the source of the beauty is to be +found; it is in the undefined feeling to which it gives rise, that the +delight of the emotion of taste consists. Like the harmony of sounds in +musical composition, it produces an effect of which we are unable to +give an account; but which we feel to be instantly destroyed by the +jarring sound of a different note, or the discordant effect of a foreign +expression. It is in the neglect of this great principle that the defect +of many of the first pictures of modern times is to be found—in the +confused multitude of unnecessary figures—in the contradictory +expression of separate parts—in the distracting brilliancy of gorgeous +colours; in the laboured display, in short, of the power of the artist, +and the utter dereliction of the object of the art. The great secret, on +the other hand, of the beauty of the most exquisite specimens of modern +art, lies in the simplicity of expression which they bear, in their +production of one uniform emotion, from all the parts of one harmonious +composition. For the production of this unity of emotion, the surest +means will be found to consist in the selection of <i>as few figures</i> as +is consistent with the developement of the characteristic expression of +the composition; and it is, perhaps, to this circumstance, that we are +to impute the unequalled charm which belongs to the pictures of single +figures, or small groups, in which a single expression is alone +attempted.</p> + +<p>4. The last principle of the art appeared to be, that both painting and +sculpture are wholly unfit for the representation of <span class="smcap">PASSION</span>, as +expressed by motion; and that, to attempt to delineate it, necessarily +injures the effect of the composition. Neither, it is clear, can express +actual motion: they should not attempt, therefore, to represent those +passions of the mind which motion alone is adequate to express. The +attempt to delineate violent passion, accordingly, uniformly produces a +painful or a ridiculous effect; it does not even convey any conception +of the passion itself, because its character is not known by the +expression of any single moment, but by the rapid changes which result +from the perturbed state into which the mind is thrown. It is hence that +passion seems so ridiculous when seen at a distance, or without the +cause of its existence being known, and it is hence, that if a human +figure were petrified in any of the stages of passion, it would have so +painful or insane an appearance.—As painting, therefore, cannot exhibit +the rapid changes in which the real expression of passion consists, it +should not attempt its delineation at all. Its real object is, the +expression of <i>emotion</i>, of that more settled state of the human mind +when the changes of passion are gone—when the countenance is moulded +into the expression of permanent feeling, and the existence of this +feeling is marked by the permanent expression which the features have +assumed.</p> + +<p>The greatest artists of ancient and modern times, accordingly, have +selected, even in the representation of violent exertion, that moment of +temporary repose, when a permanent expression is given to the figure. +Even the Laocoon is not in the state of actual exertion: it is +represented in that moment when the last effort has been made; when +straining against an invincible power has given to the figure the aspect +at last of momentary repose; and when despair has placed its settled +mark on the expression of the countenance. The Fighting Gladiator is not +represented in a state of actual activity, but in that moment when he is +preparing his mind for the future and final contest, and when, in this +deep concentration of his powers, the pause which the genius of the +artist has given, expresses more distinctly to the eye of the spectator +the determined character of the combatant, than all that the struggle or +agony of the combat itself could afterwards display.</p> + +<p>The Grecian statues which were assembled in the Louvre may be considered +as the most perfect works of human genius; and after surveying the +different schools of painting which it contains, we could not but feel +those higher conceptions of human form, and of human nature, which the +taste of ancient statuary had formed. It is not in the moment of action +that it has represented man, but in the moment after action, when the +tumult of passion has ceased, and all that is great or dignified in +moral nature remains; and the greatest works of modern art are those +which approach nearest to the same principle. It is not Hercules in the +moment of earthly combat, when every muscle was swollen with the +strength he was exerting, that they represent; but Hercules in the +moment of transformation into a nobler being, when the exertion of +mortality has passed, and his powers seem to repose in the tranquillity +of Heaven: not Apollo, when straining his youthful strength in drawing +the bow; but Apollo, when the weapon was discharged, watching, with +unexulting eye, its resistless course, and serene in the enjoyment of +immortal power: not St Michael when struggling with the Demon, and +marring the beauty of angelic form by the violence of earthly passion, +but St Michael in the moment of unruffled triumph, restraining the might +of Almighty power, and radiant with the beams of eternal mercy.</p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h3> + +<p class="head">PARIS—THE FRENCH CHARACTER AND MANNERS.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">W</span><span class="smcap">e</span> +do not by any means consider ourselves as qualified to enter fully +into the interesting subject of the national character of the French; +but we shall venture to state, in this place, what appeared to us its +most striking peculiarities, particularly as it is observed at Paris. +Our stay in the capital was too short, and our opportunities of +observation too limited, to entitle us to speak with confidence; but it +is to be remembered on the other hand, that there is a surprising +uniformity of character among the French, which facilitates observation. +The habit of constant intercourse in society, which constitutes their +greatest pleasure, and has made them, in their own opinion, the most +polished nation on earth, appears not merely to have assimilated their +manners to one another, in the manner so finely illustrated by the +celebrated simile of Sterne<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>, but to have engendered a kind of +conventional standard character, by which all those we observe are more +or less modelled.</p> + +<p>The most striking and formidable part of their general character is, the +<i>contempt for religion</i> which is so frequently and openly expressed. In +all countries there are men of a selfish and abstracted turn of mind, +who are more disposed than others to religious argument and doubt; and +in all, there are a greater number, whose worldly passions lead them to +the neglect, or hurry them on to the violation of religious precepts; +but a great nation, among whom a cool selfish regard to personal comfort +and enjoyment has been deliberately substituted for religious feeling, +and where it is generally esteemed reasonable and wise to oppose and +wrestle down, by metaphysical arguments, the natural and becoming +sentiments of piety, as they arise in the human breast, is hitherto, and +it is to be hoped will long continue, an anomaly in the history of +mankind.</p> + +<p>We heard it estimated at Paris, that 40,000 out of 600,000 inhabitants +of that town attend church; one half of which number, they say, are +actuated in so doing by real sentiments of devotion; but to judge from +the very small numbers whom we have ever seen attending the regular +service in any of the churches, we should think this proportion greatly +overrated. Of those whom we have seen there, at least two-thirds have +been women above fifty, or girls under fifteen years of age. In all +Catholic countries, Sunday is a day of amusement and festivity, as well +as of religion—but it is generally, also, one of relaxation from +business: in Paris, we could see very little signs of the latter in the +forenoons, but the amusements and dissipation of the capital were +visibly increased in the evenings; and the Parisians have some reason +for their remark, that their day of rest is changed to Monday, when the +effect of their last night's dissipation wholly incapacitates them for +exertion.</p> + +<p>It is clear, that it is quite absurd to attempt altering the manner of +spending the Sundays at Paris, while the sentiments of the people, in +regard to religion, continue such as at present; but it must be +admitted, on the other hand, that their habits, as to the way of +spending Sundays, re-act powerfully on their sentiments; and that the +minds of the lower orders, in particular, are much debased by the want +of what have been emphatically called "these precious breathing times +for the labouring part of the community."</p> + +<p>Frenchmen of the higher ranks seem, at present, generally disposed to +wave the subject of religion; but those of the middling ranks, by whom +the business of the country is mainly carried on, do not scruple to +express their contempt of it;—they applaud with enthusiasm all +irreligious sentiments in the theatres, and seldom mention priests, of +any persuasion, without the epithet of <i>sacrès</i>.</p> + +<p>We were informed in Holland, that the Frenchmen who were sent to that +country in official capacities, military or civil, manifested on all +occasions the utmost contempt for religion. A French General, quartered +in the house of a respectable gentleman in Amsterdam, inquired the +reason, the first Sunday that he was there, of the family going out in +their best clothes; and being told they were going to church, he +expressed his surprise, saying,—"Now that you are a part of the great +nation, it is time for you to have done with that nonsense."</p> + +<p>To an Englishman, who has been accustomed to see the ordinances of +religion regularly observed by the great majority of his countrymen, the +neglect of them by the French people appears very singular, and even +unnatural. When we afterwards visited Flanders, and observed the +manifest respect of the people for religion—when when saw the +numberless handsome churches in the villages, and the frequent religious +processions in the streets of the towns—when we entered the Great +Cathedral at Antwerp, and found vast numbers of people, of both sexes, +and all ranks and ages, on their knees, engaged, with the appearance of +sincere devotion, in the solemn and striking service of vespers, we +could not help saying among ourselves, that this people, for better +reasons than mere political convenience, deserved to be separated from +the French.</p> + +<p>Yet, we do not mean to say that the French are wholly, or even generally +devoid of religious feeling; on the contrary, we believe it may often be +seen to break out in a very striking manner, even in the conversation of +those who are accustomed to think it wise to express contempt for it. A +Frenchman, full of enthusiasm about the glory of his country, who was +talking to us of the deeds and sufferings of the French army in Russia, +concluded his description of the latter with these emphatic words: "Ah! +Monsieur, Ce n'est pas les Russes; C'est <i>le bon Dieu</i> qui a fait cela."</p> + +<p class="sp">In point of <i>intellectual ability</i>, the French are certainly inferior to +no other nation. They have not, perhaps, so frequently as others, that +cool, sound judgment in matters of speculation, which can fit them for +unravelling with success the perplexities of metaphysics; but their +unparalleled success in mathematical pursuits is the best possible proof +of the accuracy and quickness of their reasoning powers, when confined +within due bounds. We do not refer to the astonishing efforts of such +men as d'Alembert or La Place, but to the general diffusion of +mathematical knowledge among all who receive a scientific education. It +is not, perhaps, going too far to say, that few professors in Britain +have an equally accurate and extensive knowledge of the integral and +differential calculus, with some lads of 17 or 18, who have completed +their education at the Ecole Polytechnique. Unless a man makes +discoveries of his own in mathematics, he is little thought of as a +mathematician by the men of science at Paris, even although he may be +intimately versed in all the branches of that science as it stands.</p> + +<p>Under the Imperial Government, it was not considered safe to cultivate +any sciences which relate to politics or morals; but the advancement of +the physical and mathematical sciences in France during that time, +sufficiently indicates that there has been no want of talents or +industry.</p> + +<p>It may be remarked as a striking characteristic of the French scientific +works, that they are almost always well arranged, and the meaning of the +author fully and unequivocally expressed. A Frenchman does not always +take a comprehensive view of his subject, but he seldom fails to take a +clear view of it. The same turn of mind may be observed in the +conversation of Frenchmen; even when their information is defective, +they will very generally arrest attention by the apparent order and +perspicuity of their thoughts; and they never seem to know what it is to +be at a loss for words.</p> + +<p>Considering the great ingenuity and ability of the French, it seems not +a little surprising that they should be so much behind our countrymen in +useful and profitable arts, and that Englishmen should be so much struck +with the apparent poverty of the greater part of France. This is in a +great measure owing, no doubt, to the policy of the late French +Government, which has directed all the energies of the nation towards +military affairs; and to the abuses of the former government: but we +think it must be ascribed in part to the character of the people. There +is not the same co-operation of different individuals to one end, of +private advantage and public usefulness; the same division of labour, +intellectual as well as operative; the same hearty confidence between +man and man, in France as in England. Men of talents in France are, in +general, too much tainted with the national vanity, and too much +occupied with their own fame, to join heartily in promoting the public +interest. Individual intelligence, activity, and ingenuity, go but +little way in making a nation wealthy and prosperous, if they are made +to minister only to the individual pleasures and <i>glory</i> of their +possessors.</p> + +<p class="sp">The <i>patriotism</i> of the French is certainly a very strong feeling, but +it appears to be much tainted with the same vanity and love of shew that +we have just remarked. There can be no doubt, that during the time of +Bonaparte's successes, he commanded, in a degree that no other Sovereign +ever did, the admiration and respect of the great body of the people; +and it is equally certain, that he did this without interesting himself +at all in their happiness. His hold of them was by their national vanity +alone. They assent to all that can be said of the miseries which he +brought upon France; but add, "Mais il a battu tout le monde; il a fait +des choses superbes a Paris; il a flattè notre orgeuil national. Ah! +C'est un grand homme. Notre pays n'a jamais etè si grand ni si puissant +que sous lui." The condition of the inhabitants of distant provinces was +nowise improved by his public buildings and decorations at their +capital; but every Frenchman considers a compliment to Paris, to the +Louvre, to the Palais Royal, or the Opera, as a personal compliment to +himself.</p> + +<p>At this moment, it is certainly a very general wish in France, to have +a sovereign, who, as they express it, has grown out of the revolution; +but when we enquire into their reason for this, it will often be found, +we believe, to resolve itself into their national vanity. It is not that +they think the Bourbons will break their word, or that the present +Constitution will be altered without their consent; but after five and +twenty years of confusion and bloodshed, they cannot bear the thoughts +of leaving off where they began; and they think, that taking back their +old dynasty without alteration, is practically acknowledging that they +have been in the wrong all the time of their absence. We have often +remarked (but we presume the remark is applicable to all despotic +countries) that the French political conversation, such as is heard at +caffés and tables d'hôte, relates more to men, and less to measures, and +appears to be more guided by personal attachments or antipathies, than +that to which we are accustomed in England.</p> + +<p>The character that appears to be most wanted in France, is that of +disinterested public-spirited individuals, of high honour and integrity, +and of large possessions and influence, who do not interfere in public +affairs from views of ambition, but from a sense of duty—who have no +wish to dazzle the eyes of the multitude, and do not seek for a more +extensive influence than that to which their observation and experience +entitle them. While this character continues so much more frequent in +our own country than among the French, it is perhaps in military affairs +only that we need entertain any fear of their superiority. Englishmen of +power and influence, generally speaking, have really at heart the <i>good</i> +of their country, whereas Frenchmen, in similar situations, are chiefly +interested in the <i>glory</i> of theirs.</p> + +<p>It must also be observed, that public affairs occupy much less of the +attention, and interfere much less with the happiness, of the majority +of the French than of the English. There is less anxiety about public +measures, and less gratitude for public services. We were often +surprised at the indifference of the citizens of Paris with regard to +their Marshals, whom they seldom knew by name, and did not seem to care +for knowing. The peroration of an old lady, who had delivered a long +speech to a friend of ours, then a prisoner at Verdun, lamenting the +reverses of the French arms, and the miseries of France, was +characteristic of the nation: "Mais, ce m'est egal. Je suis toujours ici."</p> + +<p>It is quite unnecessary for us to give proofs of the laxity of <i>moral +principle</i> which prevails so generally among the French. The world has +not now to learn, that notwithstanding their high professions, they have +but little regard either for truth or morality. According to Mr Scott, +"they have, in a great measure, detached words from ideas and feelings; +they can, therefore, afford to be unusually profuse of the better sort +of the first; and they experience as much internal satisfaction and +pride when they profess a virtue, as if they had practised one." Perhaps +it would be more correct to say, that they have detached ideas and +feelings from their corresponding actions. Their feelings have always +been too violent for the moment, and too short in their duration, to +influence their conduct steadily and permanently; but at present, they +seem much disposed to think, that it is quite enough to have the +feelings, and that there is no occasion for their conduct being +influenced by them at all.</p> + +<p>They appear to have a strong natural sense of the beauty and excellence +of virtue; but they are accustomed to regard it merely as a sense. It +does not regulate their conduct to others, but adds to their own selfish +enjoyments. They speak of virtue almost uniformly, not as an object of +rational approbation and imitation, and still less as a rule of moral +obligation, but as a matter of <i>feeling and taste</i>. A French officer, +who describes to you, in the liveliest manner, and with all the +appearance of unfeigned sympathy, the miseries and devastations +occasioned by his countrymen among the unoffending inhabitants of +foreign states, proceeds, in the same breath, to declaim with +enthusiastic admiration on the untarnished honour of the French arms, +and the great mind of the Emperor. A Parisian tradesman, who goes to the +theatre that he may see the representation of integrity of conduct, +conjugal affection, and domestic happiness, and applauds with enthusiasm +when he sees it, shews no symptoms of shame when detected in a barefaced +attempt to cheat his customers; spends his spare money in the Palais +Royal, and sells his wife or daughter to the highest bidder.</p> + +<p>"Among the French," says the intelligent and judicious author of the +Caractere des Armées Europeennes, "the seat of the passions is in the +head—they feel rather from the fancy than the heart—their feelings are +nothing more than thoughts."</p> + +<p>Another striking feature of the French character, connected with the +preceding, is the openness, and even eagerness, with which they +communicate all their thoughts and feelings to each other, and even to +strangers. All Frenchmen seem anxious to make the most in conversation, +not only of whatever intellectual ability they possess, but of whatever +moral feelings they experience on any occasion;—they do not seem to +understand why a man should ever be either ashamed or unwilling to +disclose any thing that passes in his mind;—they often suspect their +neighbours of expressing sentiments which they do not feel, but have no +idea of giving them credit for feelings which they do not express.</p> + +<p>The French have many <i>good qualities</i>; they are very generally obliging +to strangers, they are sober and good-tempered, and little disposed, in +the ordinary concerns of life, to quarrel among themselves, and they +have an amiable cheerfulness of disposition, which supports them in +difficulties and adversity, better than the resolutions of philosophy. +But it is clear that they have very little esteem for the most estimable +of all characters, that of firm and enduring virtue; and in fact, it is +not going too far to say, that a certain <i>propriety of external +demeanour</i> has completely taken the place of correctness of moral +conduct among them. They speak almost uniformly with much abhorrence of +drunkenness, and of all violations of the established forms of society; +and such improprieties are very seldom to be seen among them. Many +Frenchmen, as was already observed, are rough and even ferocious in +their manners; and the language and behaviour of most of them, +particularly in the presence of women, appears to us very frequently +indelicate and rude; yet there are limits to this freedom of manner +which they never allow themselves to pass. Go where you will in Paris, +you will very seldom see any disgusting instances of intoxication, or +any material difference of manner, between those who are avowedly +unprincipled and abandoned, and the most respectable part of the +community. In the caffés, which correspond not only to the +coffee-houses, but to the taverns of London, you will see modest women, +at all hours of the day, often alone, sitting in the midst of the men. +In the Palais Royal, at no hour of the night do you witness scenes of +gross indecency or riot.</p> + +<p>To an Englishman, it often serves as an excuse for vicious indulgences, +that he is led off his feet by temptation. To a Frenchman, this excuse +is the only crime; he stands in no need of an apology for vice; but it +is necessary "qu'il se menage:" he is taught "qu'un pechè cachè est la +moitie pardonnè;" he must on no account allow, that any temptation can +make him lose his recollection or presence of mind.</p> + +<p>We ought perhaps to admit likewise, that some of the vices common among +the French are not merely less foul and disgusting in appearance, but +less odious in their own nature, than those of our countrymen. We do not +say this in palliation of their conduct. It is rather to be considered +as a benevolent provision of nature, that in proportion as vice is more +generally diffused, its influence on individual character is less fatal. +This remark applies particularly to the case of women. A woman in +England, who loses one virtue, knows that she outrages the opinion of +mankind; she disobeys the precepts of her religion, and estranges +herself from the examples which she has been taught to revere; she +becomes an outcast of society; and if she has not already lost, must +soon lose all the best qualities of the female character. But a French +woman, in giving way to unlawful love, knows that she does no more than +her mother did before her; if she is of the lower ranks, she is not +necessarily debarred from honest occupation; if of the higher, she loses +little or nothing in the estimation of society; if she has been taught +to revere any religion, it is the Catholic, and she may look to +absolution. Her conduct, therefore, neither implies her having lost, nor +necessarily occasions her losing, any virtue but one; and during the +course of the revolution, we have understood there have been many +examples, proving, in the most trying circumstances, that not even the +worst corruptions of Paris had destroyed some of the finest virtues +which can adorn the sex. "Elles ont toujours des bons cœurs," is a +common expression in France, in speaking even of the lowest and most +degraded of the sex. In Paris, it is certainly much more difficult than +in London to find examples in any rank of the unsullied purity of the +female character; but neither is it commonly seen so utterly perverted +and degraded; one has not occasion to witness so frequently the painful +spectacle of youth and beauty brought by one rash step to shame and +misery; and to lament, that the fairest gifts of heaven should become +the bitterest of curses to so many of their possessors.</p> + +<p class="sp">Having mentioned the French women, we think we may remark, without +hazarding our character as impartial observers, that most of the faults +which are so well known to prevail among them, may be easily traced to +the manner in which they are treated by the other sex. It is a very +common boast in France, that there is no other country in which women +are treated with so much respect; and you can hardly gratify any +Frenchman so much, as by calling France "le paradis des femmes." Yet, +from all that we could observe ourselves, or learn from others, there +appears to be no one of the boasts of Frenchmen which is in reality less +reasonable. They exclude women from society almost entirely in their +early years; they seldom allow them any vote in the choice of their +husbands: After they have brought them into society, they seem to think +that they confer a high favour on them, by giving them a great deal of +their company, and paying them a great deal of attention, and +encouraging them to separate themselves from the society of their +husbands. In return for these obligations, they often oblige them to +listen to conversation, which, heard as it is, from those for whom they +have most respect, cannot fail to corrupt their minds as well as their +manners; and they take care to let them see that they value them for the +qualities which render them agreeable companions for the moment; not for +the usefulness of their lives, for the purity of their conduct, or the +constancy of their affections. Surely the respect with which all women +who conduct themselves with propriety are treated in England, merely on +account of their sex; the delicacy and reserve with which in their +presence conversation is uniformly conducted by all who call themselves +gentlemen, are more honourable tokens of regard for the virtues of the +female character, than the unmeaning ceremonies and officious attentions +of the French.</p> + +<p>The female inhabitants of our own country are distinguished of those of +France, and probably of every other country, by a certain native, +self-respecting, dignity of appearance and manner, which claims respect +and attention as a right, rather than solicits them as a boon; and gives +you to understand, that the man who does not give them is disgraced, +rather than the woman who does not receive them. We believe it to be +owing to the influence of the causes we have noticed, that this manner, +so often ridiculed by the French, under the name of "hauteur" and +"fiertè Anglaise," is hardly ever to be seen among women of any rank in +France. And to a similar influence of the tastes and sentiments of our +own sex, it is easy to refer the more serious faults of the female +character in that country.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, the better parts of the character of the French women +are all their own. It is not certainly from the men that they have +learnt those truly feminine qualities, that interesting humility and +gentleness of manner, that pleasing gaiety of temper, and native +kindness of disposition, to which it is very difficult, even for the +proverbial coldness of northern critics, to apply terms of ridicule or +reproach.</p> + +<p class="sp">It is not easy for a stranger, in forming his opinion of the moral +character of a people, to make allowance for the modification which +moral sentiments undergo, in consequence of long habits, and +adventitious circumstances. There is no quality which strikes a stranger +more forcibly, in the character of the French of the middling and lower +ranks, than their seeming dishonesty, particularly their uniformly +endeavouring to extract more money for their goods or their services +than they know to be their value. But we think too much stress has been +laid on this part of their character by some travellers. It is regarded +in France as a sort of professional accomplishment, without which it is +in vain to attempt exercising a trade; and it is hardly thought to +indicate immorality of any kind, more than the obviously false +expressions which are used in the ordinary intercourse of society in +England, or the license of denying oneself to visitors. That it should +be so regarded is no doubt a proof of <i>national</i> inferiority, and +perhaps immorality; but while the general sentiments of the nation +continue as at present, an instance of this kind cannot be considered as +a proof of <i>individual</i> baseness. An Englishman is apt to pronounce +every man a scoundrel, who, in making a bargain, attempts to take him +in; but he will often find, on a closer and more impartial examination, +that the judgment formed by this circumstance alone in France, is quite +erroneous. One of our party entered a small shop in the Palais Royal to +buy a travelling cap. The woman who attended in it, with perfect +effrontery, asked 16 francs for one which was certainly not worth more +than six, and which she at last gave him for seven. Being in a hurry at +the time, he inadvertently left on the counter a purse containing 20 +gold pieces of 20 francs each. He did not miss it for more than an hour: +on returning to the shop, he found the old lady gone, and concluded at +first, that she had absented herself to avoid interrogation; but to his +surprise, he was accosted immediately on entering, by a pretty young +girl, who had come in her place, with the sweetest smile +imaginable,—"Monsieur, a oubliè sa bourse—que nous sommes heureuses de +la lui rendre."</p> + +<p class="sp">It is certainly incorrect to say, that the <i>taste</i> of the French is +decidedly superior to that of other nations. Their poetry, on the whole, +will not bear a comparison with the English; their modern music is not +nearly so beautiful as their ancient songs, which have now descended to +the lower ranks; their painting is in a peculiar and not pleasing style; +their taste in gardening is antiquated and artificial; their +architecture is only fine where it is modelled on the ancient; their +theatrical tastes, if they are more correct than ours, are also more +limited. We have already taken occasion more than once to reprobate the +general taste of the French, as being partial to art, and brilliant +execution, rather than to simplicity and beautiful design.</p> + +<p>But what distinguishes the French from almost every other nation, is the +<i>general diffusion</i> of the taste for the fine arts, and for elegant +amusements, among all ranks of the people. Almost all Frenchmen take not +only a pride, but an interest, in the public buildings of Paris, and in +the collections of paintings and statues. There is a very general liking +for poetry and works of imagination among the middling and lower ranks; +they go to the theatres, not merely for relaxation and amusement, but +with a serious intention of cultivating their taste, and displaying +their critical powers. Many of them are so much in the habit of +attending the theatres when favourite plays are acted, that they know +almost every word of the principal scenes by heart. All their favourite +amusements are in some measure of a refined kind. It is not in drinking +clubs, or in sensual gratifications alone, that men of these ranks seek +for relaxation, as its too often the case with us; but it is in the +society of women, in conversation, in music and dancing, in theatres and +operas, and caffés and promenades, in seeing and being seen; in short, +in scenes resembling, as nearly as possible, those in which the higher +ranks of all nations spend their leisure hours.</p> + +<p>While the useful arts are comparatively little advanced, those which +relate to ornaments alone are very generally superior to ours; and the +persons who profess these arts speak of them with a degree of fervour +that often seems ludicrous. "Monsieur," says a peruquier in the Palais +Royal, with the look of a man who lets you into a profound secret in +science, "Notre art est un art imitatif; en effèt, c'est un des beaux +arts;" then taking up a London-made wig, and twirling it round on his +finger, with a look of ineffable contempt, "Celui ci n'est pas la belle +nature; mais voici la mienne,—c'est la nature personifiée!"</p> + +<p>One of the best proofs of the tastes of the lower ranks being, at least +in part, cultivated and refined, is to be found in the songs which are +common among the peasantry and soldiers. There are a great number of +these, and some of them, in point of beauty of sentiment, and elegance +of expression, might challenge a comparison even with the admired +productions of our own land of song. The following is part of a song +which was written in April 1814, and set to the beautiful air of Charles +VII. It was popular among the description of persons to whom it relates; +and the young man from whom we got it had himself returned home, after +serving as a private in the young guard.</p> + + +<p class="poem"><br /> +LE RETOUR DE L'AMANT FRANCAIS.<br /><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">De bon cœur je pose les armes;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Adieu le tumulte des camps,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">L'amitiè m'offre d'autres charmes,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Au sein de mes joyeux parents;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Le Dieu des Amants me rapelle,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">C'est pour m'enroler à son tour;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Et je vais aupres de ma belle,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Servir sous les lois de l'amour.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Aux noms d'honneur et de patrie,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">On m'a vu braver le trepas;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Aujourd'hui pour charmer ma vie</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">La paix fait cesser les combats.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Le Dieu des Amants, &c.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>After all that we had heard, and all that is known over the whole world, +of the unbridled licentiousness and savage ferocity of the French +soldiers, we were not a little surprised to find, that this and other +songs written in good taste, and expressing sentiments of a kind of +chivalrous elevation and refinement, were popular in their ranks.</p> + +<p class="sp">The last peculiarity in the French character which we shall notice, is +perhaps the most fundamental of the whole; it is their <i>love of mixed +society</i>; of the society of those for whom they have no regard, but whom +they meet on the footing of common acquaintances. This is the favourite +enjoyment of almost every Frenchman; to shine in such society, is the +main object of his ambition; his whole life is regulated so as to +gratify this desire. He is indifferent about comforts at home—he +dislikes domestic society—he hates the retirement of the country; but +he loves, and is taught to love, to figure in a large circle of +acquaintance, for whom he has not the least heartfelt friendship, with +whom he is on no more intimate terms than with perfect strangers, after +the first half hour. If he has acquired a reputation in science, arts, +or arms, so much the better; his <i>glory</i> will be of much service to him; +if not, he must make it up by his conversation.</p> + +<p>In consequence of the predilection of the French for social intercourse +of this kind, it is, that knowledge of such kinds, and to such an +extent, as can be easily introduced into conversation, is very general; +that the opportunities of such intercourse are carefully multiplied; +that all arts which can add to the attractions of such scenes are +assiduously improved; that liveliness of disposition is prized beyond +all other qualities, while those eccentricities of manner, which seem to +form a component part of what we call humorous characters, are excluded; +that even childish amusements are preferred to solitary occupations; +that taste is cultivated more than morality, wit esteemed more than +wisdom, and vanity encouraged more than merit.</p> + +<p>It is easy to trace the pernicious effects of a taste for society of +this kind, on individual character, when it is encouraged to such a +degree as to become a serious occupation, instead of a relaxation to the +mind. When the main object of a man's life is distinction among his +acquaintances, from his wit—his liveliness—his elegance of taste—his +powers of conversation—or even from the fame he may have earned by his +talents; he becomes careless about the love of those with whom he is on +more intimate terms, and who do not value him exclusively, or even +chiefly, for such qualities. His domestic affections are weakened; he +lives for himself and enjoys the present moment without either +reflection or foresight; with the outward appearance of an open friendly +disposition, he becomes, in reality, selfish and interested; that he may +secure general sympathy from indifferent spectators, he is under the +necessity of repressing all strong emotions, and expressions of ardent +feeling, and of confining himself to a worldly and common-place +morality; he learns to value his moral feelings, as well as his +intellectual powers, chiefly for the sake of the display which he can +make of them in society; and to reprobate vice, rather on account of its +outward deformity, than of its intrinsic guilt; gradually he becomes +impatient of restraints on the pleasure which he derives from social +intercourse; and the religious and moral principles of his nature are +sacrificed to the visionary idol to which his love of pleasure and his +love of <i>glory</i> have devoted him.</p> + +<p>Such appears to be the state of the minds of most Parisians. They have +been so much accustomed to pride themselves on the outward appearance of +their actions, that they have become regardless of their intrinsic +merits; they have lived so long for <i>effect</i>, that they have forgotten +that there is any other principle by which their lives can be regulated.</p> + +<p>Of the devotion of the French to the sort of life to which we refer, the +best possible proof is, their fondness for a town life; the small number +of chateaux in the country that are inhabited—and the still more +remarkable scarcity of villas in the neighbourhood of Paris, to which +men of business may retire. There are a few houses of this description +about Belleville and near Malmaison; but in general, you pass from the +noisy and dirty Fauxbourgs at once into the solitude of the country; and +it is quite obvious, that you have left behind you all the scenes in +which the Parisians find enjoyment. The contrast in the neighbourhood of +London, is most striking. It is easy to laugh at the dulness and +vulgarity of a London citizen, who divides his time between his +counting-house and his villa, or at the coarseness and rusticity of an +English country squire; but there is no description of men to whom the +national character of our country is more deeply indebted.</p> + +<p>It seems no difficult matter to ascribe most of the differences which we +observe between the English and French character to the differences in +the habits of the people, occasioned by form of government and various +assignable causes: and the French character, in particular, has very +much the appearance of being moulded by the artificial form of society +which prevails among the people. Yet, it is not easy to reconcile such +explanations with the instances we can often observe, of difference of +national character manifested under circumstances, or at an age, when +the causes assigned can hardly have operated. The peculiarities which +appear to us most artificial in the Parisian character and manners, may +often be seen in full perfection in very young children. Every little +French girl, almost from the time when she begins to speak, seems to +place her chief delight in attracting the regard of the other sex, +rather than in playing with her female companions. "In England," says +Chateaubriand, "girls are sent to school in their earliest years: you +sometimes see groups of these little ones, dressed in white mantles, +with straw hats tied under the chin with a ribband, and a basket on the +arm, containing fruit and a book—all with downcast eyes, blushing when +looked at. When I have seen," he continues, "our French female children, +dressed in their antiquated fashion, lifting up the trains of their +gowns, looking at every one they meet with effrontery, singing love-sick +airs, and taking lessons in declamation; I have thought with regret, of +the simplicity and modesty of the little English girls."</p> + +<p>It is the opinion of some naturalists, that the acquired habits, as well +as the natural instincts of animals, are transmitted to their progeny; +and in comparing the causes commonly assigned, and plausibly supported, +for the peculiarities of national character, with the very early age at +which these peculiarities shew themselves, one is almost tempted to +believe, that something of the same kind may take place in the human +species.</p> + +<p class="sp">In what has now been said, no reference has been made to the influence +of the revolution on the parts of the French character on which we have +touched. On this point we have of course, the means of judging with +precision; but most of the peculiarities which appeared to us most +striking certainly existed before the revolution, and we should be +disposed to doubt whether the leading features are materially altered. +The influence of the writings of the French philosophers on the +religious and moral principles of their countrymen, has certainly been +very great, and has been probably strengthened, rather than weakened, by +the events of the last twenty-five years.</p> + +<p>The general diffusion of a military spirit; the unprincipled manner in +which war has been conducted, and the encouragement which has been given +to martial qualities, to the exclusion of all pacific virtues, have +promoted the growth of the French military vices, particularly +selfishness and licentiousness, among all ranks and descriptions of the +people, and materially injured their general character, even in the +remotest parts of the country. During the revolution, and under the +Imperial Government, men have owed their success, in France, almost +exclusively to the influence of their intellectual abilities, without +any assistance from their moral character; in consequence, the contempt +for religion is more generally diffused, and more openly expressed than +it was; and although loud protestations of inviolable honour are still +necessary, integrity of conduct is much less respected. The abolition of +the old, and the formation of a new nobility, composed chiefly of men +who had risen from inferior military situations, has had a most +pernicious effect on the general manners of the nation. The chief or +sole use of a hereditary nobility in a free country, is to keep up a +standard of dignity and elegance of manner, which serves as a model of +imitation much more extensively than the middling and lower ranks are +often willing to allow, and has a more beneficial effect on the national +character, than it is easy to explain on mere speculative principles. +But the manners of the new French nobility being the very reverse of +dignified or elegant, their constitution has hitherto tended only to +confirm the changes in the general manners of a great proportion of the +French nation, which the revolutionary ideas had effected. There are +very few men to be seen now in France, who (making all allowances for +difference of previous habits) appear to Englishmen to possess either +the manners or feelings of gentlemen.</p> + +<p>The best possible proof that this is not a mere national prejudice, in +so far as the army is concerned, is, that the French <i>ladies</i> are very +generally of the same way of thinking. After the English officers left +Toulouse in the summer of 1814, the ladies of that town found the +manners of the French officers who succeeded them so much less +agreeable, that they could not be prevailed on, for a long time, to +admit them into their society. This is a triumph over the arms of +France, which we apprehend our countrymen would have found it much more +difficult to achieve in the days of the ancient monarchy.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, it must be admitted, that the revolution, has had the +effect of completely removing from the French character that silly +veneration for high rank, unaccompanied by any commanding qualities of +mind, which used to form a predominant feature in it. Yet it seems +doubtful whether the equivalent they have obtained is more likely to +promote their happiness. They have now an equally infatuated admiration +for ability and success, without integrity or virtue. Their minds have +been delivered from the dominion of rank without talents, and have +fallen under that of talents without principle.</p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h3> + +<p class="head">PARIS—THE THEATRES.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">I</span><span class="smcap">t</span> +is difficult for any person who has never quitted England to enter +into the feelings which every one must experience when he first finds it +in his power to examine those peculiarities of national manners, or +national taste, in the people of other states, which have long been the +subject of speculation in his own country, and on his imperfect +knowledge of which, much perhaps of the estimate he has formed of the +character of those nations may depend. The circumstance which perhaps, +of all others connected with the people of France, is most likely to +create this feeling of curiosity and interest, is the opportunity of +attending the French theatres. In most countries, and even in some +where dramatic representations possess much greater power over the minds +of the audience, the theatre is comparatively of much less importance to +a stranger in assisting him to judge of the character of the people; the +observations which he may collect can seldom be of any great use in +affording him means of understanding their manners and public character, +and at the most, cannot inform him of those circumstances in the +character of the people with which their happiness and prosperity are +connected;—but the theatre at Paris is an object of the greatest +interest to a stranger; every one knows how strikingly the character and +dispositions of the French people are displayed at their theatres; and +at the period when we were there, as every speech almost contained +something which was eagerly turned into an allusion to the circumstances +of their situation, and to the events which had so lately taken place, +the interest which the theatres must at any time have excited, was +greatly increased.</p> + +<p>There was another object also, less temporary in its nature, which +rendered frequent attendance at the theatre, one of the most useful and +instructive occupations of our time. The construction and character of +the French tragedies have been as generally questioned in other +countries, as they are universally and enthusiastically admired in +France; and with whatever feelings, whether of pleasure or fatigue, we +might have read these celebrated compositions, we were all naturally +most anxious to ascertain how far they were calculated for actual +representation, and what effect these plays, which possess such +influence over the French people, might produce on those who had been +accustomed to dramatic writings of so very different a description.</p> + +<p>The theatres present, at first view, a very favourable aspect of French +character. The audience uniformly conduct themselves with propriety and +decorum; they are always attentive to the piece represented, and shew +themselves, in general very good judges of theatrical merit; and the +entertainments which please their taste are certainly of a superior +order to a great part of those which are popular in England. A great +number of the performances which are loudly applauded by the pit and +boxes of the London theatres, would be esteemed low and vulgar, even by +the galleries at the Theatre Français. It must be added, likewise, that +the morality of the plays which are in request, is very generally more +strict than of favourite English plays; and often of a refined and +sentimental turn, which would be little relished in England. The +tragedies acted at the Theatre Français are generally modelled on the +Greek; those of Racine and Voltaire are common. The comedies have seldom +any low life or buffoonery, or vulgar ribaldry in them; The after +pieces, and the ballets at the Academie de Musique, and at the Opera +Comique, are often beautiful representations of rural innocence and +enjoyments.</p> + +<p>It appears at first difficult to reconcile this taste in theatrical +entertainments with the well-known immorality of the Parisians; but the +fact is, that as they are in the daily habit of speaking of virtues +which they do not practise, so it never appears to enter their heads; +that the sentiments which they delight in hearing at the theatres ought +to regulate their conduct to one another. They applaud them only for +their adaptation to the situation of the fictitious personages; whereas +in England they are applauded, for speaking home to the business and +bosoms of the audience.</p> + +<p>The conduct and style of the French tragedies, in particular, appear to +be very characteristic of a nation among whom noble and virtuous +feelings are no sooner experienced than they are proclaimed to the +world; and are there valued, rather for the selfish pleasure they +produce, in the mind, than for their influence on conduct. The French +will not admit, in their tragedies, the representation of all the +variety of character and situation that can throw an air of truth and +reality over dramatic fiction; they can admire such incidents and +characters only, as accord with the sentiments and emotions which it is +the peculiar province of tragedy to excite. They are not satisfied with +the indication, in a few energetic words,—valuable only as an index to +the state of the mind, and an earnest of the actions of the speaker,—of +feelings too strong to find vent at the moment, in words capable of +fully expressing them; they must have the full developement, the long +detailed exposition of all the thoughts which crowd into the mind of the +actor or sufferer, expanded, as it were, to prolong the enjoyment of +those who are to sympathise with them, and expressed in select and +appropriate terms, with the pomp and stateliness of heroic verse. An +English tragedy is valued as a representation of life and character; a +French tragedy as a display of eloquence and feeling: and the reason is, +that in France eloquence and feeling are valued for their own sake, and +in England they are valued for the sake of the corresponding character +and conduct.</p> + +<p>It is perhaps one of the strongest arguments in favour of the general +plan of the English drama, and one of the best proofs that dramatic +poetry ought to be judged by very different principles from those by +which other kinds of poetry are criticised, that one of the principal +merits of the French actors consists in hiding the chief peculiarities +of their own dramatic school. The personages in a French tragedy are +represented by the authors as it were a degree above human nature; but +the actors study to present themselves before the audience as simple men +and women: the speeches are generally such as appear to be delivered by +persons who are superior to the overwhelming influence of strong +passions, and who can calmly enter into an analysis of their own +feelings; but the actors labour to give you the impression, that they +are agitated by present, violent, and sudden emotions; the tragedies are +composed with as much regularity as epic poems in heroic verse, but the +best actors do all in their power, by varied intonation, by irregular +pauses, and frequent bursts of passion, to conceal the rhymes, and break +the uniformity of the measure.</p> + +<p>The effect of the rhymes and regular versification, in the mouths of the +inferior actors, who have not the art to conceal them, is, to an English +ear at least, very unpleasing, and indeed almost destructive of +theatrical illusion; and as a number of such actors must necessarily +appear in every tragedy, it may be doubted whether a tragedy is ever +acted throughout on the French stage in so pleasing a manner, at least +to an English taste, as some of our English tragedies are at present in +the London theatres—as Venice preserved, for example, is now acted at +Covent Garden. If such be our superiority, however, it must be ascribed, +not to the tragic genius of the people being greater, but to there being +fewer difficulties to be overcome on the English stage than on the +French.</p> + +<p>We think it is pretty clear, likewise, that the style of the best +English tragedies affords a better field for the display of genius in +the actors, than that of the French. Where the sentiments of the +characters introduced are fully expressed in their words—where their +whole thoughts are detailed for the edification of the audience, however +grand or touching these may be, it is obvious, that the actor who is to +represent them is in trammels; the poet has done so much, that little +remains for him; his art is confined to the display of emotions or +passions, all the variations of which are set down for him, and which he +is not permitted to alter. But when the expression of intense feeling is +confined to few words, to broken sentences, and sudden transitions of +thought, which let you, indeed, into the inmost recesses of the soul of +the sufferer, but do not lay it open before you, it is permitted for the +genius of the actor to co-operate with that of the poet in producing an +effect, for which neither was singly competent. Those who have witnessed +the representation of the heart-rendings of jealousy in Kean's Othello, +or of the agonies of "love and sorrow joined" in Miss O'Neil's +Belvidera, will, we are persuaded, acknowledge the truth of this +observation.</p> + +<p>The ideas which we had formed of the French stage, from reading their +tragedies, had prepared us to expect, in their principal actor, a +figure, countenance, and manner, resembling those of Kemble, fitted to +give full effect to the declamations in which they abound, and to the +representation of characters of heroic virtue, elevated above the +influence of earthly passions. The appearance of Talma is very different +from this, and certainly has by no means the uniform dignity and +majestic elevation of Kemble.</p> + +<p>Difficult as it must always be to convey, by any general description, a +distinct or adequate notion of the excellence of any actor, there are +some circumstances which it is common to mention, and some expressions +which must be understood wherever the theatre is an object of interest, +and the power of acting appreciated. Talma appears to us to unite more +of the advantages of figure, and countenance, and voice, than any actor +that we have ever seen: it is not that his person is large and graceful, +or even well proportioned; on the contrary, he is rather a short man, +and is certainly not without defects in the shape of his limbs. But +these disadvantages are wholly overlooked in admiration of his dignified +and imposing carriage—of his majestic head—and of his full and +finely-proportioned chest, which expresses so nobly the resolution, and +manliness, and independence of the human character.</p> + +<p>There is one circumstance in which Talma has every perfection which it +is possible to conceive—in the power, and richness, and beauty of his +<i>voice</i>. It is one of those commanding and pathetic voices which can +never, at any distance of time, be forgotten by any one who has once +heard it: every variety of tone and expression of which the human voice +is capable, is perfectly at his command, and succeed each other with a +rapidity and power which it is not possible to conceive. It makes its +way to the heart the instant it is heard, and at the moment he begins to +speak, you feel not only your attention fixed, and your admiration +excited, but the mind wholly subdued by its resistless influence, and +disposed to enter at once into every emotion which he may wish to +produce. The beauty and feeling of his under tones, the affection, +tenderness, and pity which they so exquisitely express, are so perfect, +that no one could foresee in such perfections, the fierce, hurried, and +overhearing tones of Nero—the voice of deep and exhausting suffering, +which in Hamlet shews so profound an impression of the misery he had +undergone, and of the hopelessness of the situation in which he is +placed,—or still more the shriek of agony in Orestes, when he finds the +horrors of madness again assailing him, and when, in that utter +prostration of soul which the belief of inevitable and merciless destiny +alone could produce in his mind, he abandons himself in dark despair to +the misery which seems to close around him for ever.</p> + +<p>We have heard several English people describe Talma's countenance, as by +no means powerful enough for a great actor; it appeared to us, that in +no one respect was he so decidedly superior to any <i>actor</i> on the +English stage, as in the truth and variety of expression which it +displays. There is one observation indeed regarding the acting of Talma, +which often suggested itself, and which may, in some degree, prepare us +to expect, that English people in general could not be much struck with +the expression of his countenance. On the English stage, it appears +commonly to be the object of the actors, to give to every sentiment the +whole effect of which the words of the part will admit, as fully as if +that sentiment were the only one which could occupy the mind of the +character at the time; and any person who will attend to the manner in +which Macbeth and Hamlet are performed, even by that great actor whose +genius has secured at once the pre-eminence which the reputation of +Garrick had left so long uncontested, may observe, that many of the +parts, which are applauded as the strongest proofs of the abilities of +the actor, consist in the expression given to sentiments, undoubtedly of +subordinate importance in the situation of these characters, and which +probably could never occupy so exclusively the mind of any one really +placed in the circumstances represented in the play, and under the +influence of the feelings which such circumstances are calculated to +produce. In the character of Hamlet, in particular, there are several +passages, in which it is the custom to express minor and passing +sentiments with a keenness little suitable to the profound grief in +which Hamlet ought to be absorbed at the commencement of the play, and +which can be natural only when the mind is free from other more powerful +emotions. It appears to us, that the consistency of character is much +more judiciously and naturally preserved in the acting of Talma; that he +is more careful to maintain invariably that unity of expression which +ought to be given to the character, and is more uniformly under the +influence of those predominating feelings, which the circumstances of +the situation in which the part has placed him seem fitted to excite. +Under this impression apparently of the object which an actor ought to +keep in view, Talma omits many opportunities, which would be eagerly +employed on the English stage, to display the power of the actor, though +the natural consistency of character might be violated; and never seems +to think it proper to express, on all occasions, every sentiment with +that effect which should be given to it, only when it becomes the +predominant feeling of the moment. Much, no doubt, is lost for stage +effect by this notion of acting. Many opportunities are passed over, +which might have been employed to shew the manner in which the actor can +represent a variety of feelings, which the language of the play may seem +to admit; and we lose much of the art and skill of acting, when the +talents of the actor are limited to the display of such sentiments only +as accord with the simple and decided expression of character which he +is anxious to maintain.</p> + +<p>But on the other hand, the impression which this representation of +character makes upon the mind, is on the whole much more profound, and +the interest which the spectator takes in the circumstances in which the +character is placed, is much greater when the actor is so wholly under +the influence of the feelings which the situation of the part ought to +excite, as never to betray any emotion which can weaken that general +effect which this situation would naturally produce. To those, +therefore, accustomed to the greater variety of expression which the +practice of the English stage renders necessary in the countenance of +every actor, and to the strong and often exaggerated manner in which +common sentiments and ordinary feelings are represented, there may +perhaps appear some want of expression in Talma's countenance; but no +one can attend fully to any of the more interesting characters which he +performs, without feeling an impression produced by the power and +intelligence of his countenance, which no length of time will ever +wholly efface. It is not the expression of his countenance at any +particular moment which fixes itself on the mind, or the force with +which accidental feelings are represented; but that permanent and +powerful expression which suits the character he has to sustain, and +never for an instant permits you to forget the circumstances, of +whatever kind, in which he is placed; and those who have seen him in any +of the greater parts on the French stage, can never forget that +unrivalled power of expressing deep grief, of which nothing in any +English actor at present on the stage can afford any idea.</p> + +<p>At the same time it must be admitted, that Talma has arrived at that +time of life, when the hand of age has impaired, in some degree, the +vigour and expression of the human frame, and when his countenance has +lost much of that variety and play of expression which belongs to the +period of youth alone; it has lost much of the warmth and keenness of +youthful feeling, and probably might fail in expressing that openness, +and gaiety, and enthusiasm, which time has so great a tendency to +diminish. But these qualities are not often required in the parts which +Talma has to perform in the French plays; and if his countenance has +lost some of the perfections of earlier years, it has, on the other +hand, gained much from the seriousness and dignity of age. If, for +instance, he does not express so well the ardour—the hope—the triumph +of youthful love, there is yet something irresistibly affecting in the +earnestness with which he expresses that passion; something which adds +most deeply to the interest which its expression is calculated to +excite, by reminding one of the instability of human enjoyment, and of +the many misfortunes which the course of life may bring with it to +destroy the visions of inexperienced affection. We have already +mentioned, that in the expression of profound emotion and deep +suffering, the countenance of Talma is altogether admirable; and we +doubt whether there is any thing is this respect more true and perfect, +even in the performance of that great actress who has, in the present +day, united every perfection of grace, and beauty, and genuine feeling +which the stage has ever exhibited. But the countenance of Talma, in +scenes of distress, expresses not merely suffering, but if possible, +something more, which we have never seen in any other actor. He alone +possesses the power of expressing that impatience under suffering—that +restless, constant wish for relief, which produces so strong an +impression of the truth and reality of the affliction with which you are +called upon to sympathise.</p> + +<p>His attitudes and action are uncommonly striking, seldom in the +exaggeration of the French stage, and never running into that immoderate +expression of passion in which dignity of character is necessarily +sacrificed. Talma appears to understand the use and management of action +better than any actor on the French stage; and though at times some +prominent faults, inseparable, perhaps, from the character of the plays +in which he is compelled to perform, may be observable; yet, in general, +his action appears to possess a power and expression beyond what is +attempted by any actor on the English stage.</p> + +<p>Nothing can be conceived apparently so inconsistent with the character +of the French plays, as the manner in which they are delivered. The +harangues, which are tedious to many when read, might probably be very +uninteresting to all when performed, if delivered with that unbending +and unimpassioned declamation, which seems to suit "their stately march +and long resounding lines:" to a French audience, in particular, such +representations would be intolerable, and the actors, accordingly, have +been led to perform them with a degree of energy and passion which they +do not appear intended to admit, but which was necessary, perhaps, to +awaken those emotions which it must be more or less the object of +theatrical representations to excite, wherever they are to be performed +to all classes of mankind. As might have been foreseen, the French +actors, compelled to counterfeit a degree of warmth and feeling which +was not suggested by the sentiments they utter, or the language they +employ, have fallen very naturally into the error of making the +expression of passion immoderately vehement; and thus, when not guided +by the language they are to use, have become not only indiscriminate in +the introduction of violent emotion, but often run into a degree of +warmth, totally destructive of every feeling of propriety and dignity.</p> + +<p>The striking circumstance in Talma's acting is, that he alone seems to +know how to act the French plays with all the feeling and interest which +can be necessary to produce effect; and at the same time, to avoid that +exaggerated representation of passion which represses the very emotions +it is intended to excite. The means by which the genius of this great +actor has accomplished so important an effect, and overcome the +difficulties which seem insuperable to the rest of his countrymen, +afford the best illustration that can be given of the talents and +imagination he displays. Talma appears to have thought, and most justly, +that the only manner in which the French tragedies can approach and +interest the heart, is by the impression which the character and the +moral tendency of the play may, upon the whole, be able to produce, not +by the force or pathos which can be thrown into any detached speeches, +or by the effect with which individual parts of the tragedy may be +given. The impression which might be created by the delivery of any +particular passage, or by the expression of any occasional sentiment, he +seems at all times to consider as of subordinate importance to the +preservation of that permanent character, whether of intense and +overpowering suffering, or wild desperation, by which he thinks the +feelings of the spectators may be most deeply and heartily interested. +Much as we admire the excellencies of the English stage, and none we are +persuaded can have an opportunity of comparing it with the acting of the +French theatre, without being more sensible of its perfections, we +think it may yet be observed, that many important objects are sacrificed +to the desire of producing <i>continual</i> emotion,—to the practice of +making every sentiment and every word tell upon the audience, with an +effect which could not be greater, if that sentiment were the whole +object of the tragedy. We admit, most willingly, the talent and feeling +which are often so beautifully displayed in the course of the inferior +scenes; and the impression, which is so frequently produced over the +"whole assembled multitude," by the delivery of a single passage, of no +importance in itself, attests sufficiently the merits of the actors who +can thus wield at will the passions of the spectators. What we are +anxious to observe is, that the <i>general impression</i>, from the play must +be less profound, when the mind is thus distracted by a variety of +powerful feelings succeeding each other so rapidly, and when the +interest, which would naturally increase of itself as the performance +proceeds, in the history and moral tendency of the tragedy, is thus +broken, as it were, by the influence of so many transient passions. It +is very singular to observe the difference, in this respect, between the +character of an English and a Parisian audience: To the former, every +thing, as it passes, must be given with the greatest effect; no +opportunity can safely be omitted, by any one attentive to the public +opinion, of displaying the power with which each sentiment may be +expressed; and there is no common feeling among the spectators, of the +subserviency of all the different parts of the tragedy to one great +import, or that it is only in the more important scenes, where the +events of the story are coming to a close, that great talent is to be +exerted, or profound emotion excited. The feelings of a French audience, +as might be expected, are such as better suit the character of the plays +which have been so long addressed to them; they like to have their +interest awakened, and their feelings excited, only as the story +proceeds, and the deeper scenes of the tragedy begin to open upon them; +and it is to the general impression which the progress and close of the +play leave upon the mind, that they look, as to the criterion of the +excellence of the manner, in which that play has been performed. +Nothing, therefore, can be apparently quieter than the commencement of a +French tragedy; and a person unacquainted with the language, would be +disposed to conclude what was passing before him as uninteresting in the +highest degree, if he did not observe the most profound and eager +attention to prevail in those to whom it is addressed. It would be a +subject of very curious and instructive speculation, to examine the +circumstances, in the situation and intelligence of the people in both +countries, which have occasioned this remarkable difference in their +feelings, in moments when the influence of prejudice, or the effect of +peculiar character, generally gives way, and when the genuine sentiments +of mankind, as invariably happens when the different ranks of men are +assembled indiscriminately together, assume their natural empire over +the human heart. It might unfold some interesting conclusions both as to +the great object of the drama, and the genuine style of dramatic +representation; and might place, in a more important point of view than +is within the consideration, perhaps, of many who so hastily decide on +the superiority of the English stage, the excellence they admire.</p> + +<p>Much as the French tragedies are despised in this country, and sensible +as we are of many essential defects which belong to them, when +considered as the means of exciting popular feeling, or of applying to +the duties of common life, we must yet state the very great and lasting +impression which many of them left on our minds, and which, we can truly +say, was never equalled by any effect produced by the most successful +efforts of the English stage. At our own theatres, we have been often +more deeply affected during the performance of the play,—we have often +admired, much more, the grace, or feeling, or grandeur of the acting we +witnessed, and been more highly delighted with the <i>species</i> of talent +which was displayed; but yet, we must acknowledge, that the impression +that all this <i>left upon the mind</i>, was not such as has been produced by +the powers of Talma in the French tragedies. We had many occasions, +however, to see that this effect was to be attributed chiefly to the +genius of this great actor, and that it was only when entrusted to him, +that the influence of these plays was so deeply felt.</p> + +<p>The great difference, then, between the acting of Talma, and of the +other actors on the French stage, is his constant attention to the means +by which the impression, which the general tendency of the play will +produce, may be increased. Whatever may be the character which the +nature of the tragedy seems to require, his whole powers are employed to +pursue that character inviolably during the progress of the play, and to +add to the effect it is fitted to produce: The character of profound +grief, for instance, is so completely sustained, that the very act of +speaking seems an exertion too great for a mind which suffering has +nearly exhausted, and where, in consequence, the pomp and energy of +declamation, and many of the most natural aids by which passion is wont +to express itself, are all disregarded in the intensity of mental agony. +It is not uncommon, accordingly, to see Talma perform parts of a tragedy +in a manner which might seem tame and unmeaning to one who had not been +present at the preceding parts, but which is most interesting to those +who have seen the character which he adopts from the first, and feel the +propriety and effect of the manner in which that character is sustained. +Some of the most striking effects we have ever seen produced in any +acting, are in those scenes, in many plays in which he performs, in +which, from his powerful and affecting personation of character, his +exhausted mind seems unable to enter into any events which are not +either to relieve his sufferings, or terminate an existence which +appears beset with such hopeless misery. Other actors may have succeeded +in expressing as strongly the influence of present suffering, or the +despair of intense grief. It is Talma alone who knows how to express, +what is so much more grand, the effects of long suffering; to remind you +of the misery he has endured by the spectacle of an exhausted frame and +broken spirit; and by exhibiting the overwhelming consequence of those +sufferings which the poet has not dared to describe, nor the actor +ventured to represent to interest the mind far more profoundly than any +representation of present passion could possibly effect. The influence +of the exertions of other actors is limited to the effects of the +emotions they represent, and of the suffering they exhibit: the genius +of Talma has imitated the efforts of ancient Greece in her matchless +sculpture, and, in every situation which put it within his power, +chosen, as the proper field for the display of the actor's powers, not +the mere representation of excess in suffering, but that moment of +greater interest, when the struggle of nature is past, and the mind has +sunk under the pressure of affliction, which no fortitude could sustain, +and which no ray of hope had cheered.</p> + +<p>Every one knows the peculiar manner in which, in general, the verses of +the French tragedy are repeated, and the delight which the French people +take in the uniform and balanced modulation of voice with which they are +accompanied. In an ordinary actor, this peculiar tone is often, to many +foreigners, extremely fatiguing, but it is defended in France, as +securing a pleasure in some degree independent of the merits of the +actor, and defending the audience from the harshness of tone, and +extravagancies of accent, to which otherwise, in bad actors, they would +be exposed; and certainly no one can listen, in the National Theatre, to +the beautiful and splendid declamations of the most celebrated +compositions in French literature, delivered in the manner which has +been selected as best adapted to the character of the plays and the +taste of the people, with any feeling of indifference. In the skilful +hands of Talma, who preserves the beauty of the poetry nearly unimpaired +in the very <i>abandon</i> of feeling, the French verse acquires beauties +which it never before could boast, and loses all that is harsh or +painful in the uniformity of its structure, or the monotony of +artificial taste. The description which Le Baron de Grimm has given of +Le Kain may be well applied to Talma. "Un talent plus precieux sans +doute et qu'il avait porté au plus haut degré c'etait celui de faire +sentir tout le charme des beaux vers sans nuire jamais a la verité de +l'expression. En dechirant le cœur, il enchantait toujours l'oreille, sa +voix pénétrait jusqu'au fond de l'ame, et l'impression qu'elle y +faisait, semblable a celle du burin, y laissait des traces et longs +souvenirs."</p> + +<p>The tragedy of Hamlet, in which we saw Talma perform for the first time, +is one which must be interesting to every person who has any +acquaintance with French literature; and it will not probably be +considered as any great digression in a description of Talma's +excellencies as an actor, to add some further remarks concerning that +celebrated play in which his powers are perhaps most strikingly +displayed, and which is one of the greatest compositions undoubtedly of +the French theatre. It can hardly be called a translation, as many +material alterations were made in the story of the play; and though the +general purport of the principal speeches has been sometimes preserved, +the language and sentiments are generally extremely different. The +character of Shakespeare's Hamlet was wholly unsuited to the taste of a +French audience. What is the great attraction in that mysterious being +to the feelings of the English people, the strange, wild, and +metaphysical ideas which his art or his madness seems to take such +pleasure in starting, and the uncertainty in which Shakespeare has left +the reader with regard to Hamlet's real situation, would not perhaps +have been understood—certainly not admired, by those who were +accustomed to consider the works of Racine and Voltaire as the models of +dramatic composition. In the play of Ducis, accordingly, Hamlet thinks, +talks, and acts pretty much as any other human being would do, who +should be compelled to speak only in the verse of the French tragedy, +which necessarily excludes, in a great degree, any great incoherence or +flightiness of sentiment. In some respects, however, the French Hamlet, +if a less poetical personage, is nevertheless a more interesting one, +and better adapted to excite those feelings which are most within the +command of the actor's genius. M. Ducis has represented him as more +doubtful of the reality of the vision which haunted him, or at least of +the authority which had commissioned it for such dreadful +communications; and this alteration, so important in the hands of Talma, +was required on account of other changes which had been made in the +story of the play. The paramour of the Queen is not Hamlet's uncle, nor +had the Queen either married the murderer, or discovered her criminal +connexion with him. Hamlet, therefore, has not, in the incestuous +marriage of his mother, that strong confirmation of the ghost's +communication, which, in Shakespeare, led him to suspect foul play even +before he sees his father's spirit. In the French play, therefore, +Hamlet is placed in one of the most dreadful situations in which the +genius of poetry can imagine a human being: Haunted by a spirit, which +assumes such mastery over his mind, that he cannot dispel the fearful +impression it has made, or disregard the communication it so often +repeats, while his attachment to his mother, in whom he reveres the +parent he has lost, makes him question the truth of crimes which are +thus laid to her charge, and causes him to look upon this terrific +spectre as the punishment of unknown crime, and the visitation of an +offended Deity. Ducis has most judiciously and most poetically +represented Hamlet, in the despair which his sufferings produce, as +driven to the belief of an over-ruling destiny, disposing of the fate of +its unhappy victims by the most arbitrary and revolting arrangement, and +visiting upon some, with vindictive fury, the whole crimes of the age in +which they live. There is in this introduction of ancient superstition, +something which throws a mysterious veil round the destiny of Hamlet, +that irresistibly engrosses the imagination, and which must be doubly +interesting in that country where the horrors of the revolution have +ended in producing a very prevalent, though vague belief, in the +influence of fatality upon human character and human actions, among +those who pretend to ridicule, as unmanly prejudice and childish +delusion, the religion of modern Europe.</p> + +<p>The struggle, accordingly, that appears to take place in Hamlet's mind +is most striking; and when at last he yields to the authority and the +commands of the spirit, which exercises such tyranny over his mind, it +does not seem the result of any farther evidence of the guilt which he +is enjoined to revenge, but as the triumph of superstition over the +strength of his reason. He had long resisted the influence of that +visionary being, which announced itself as his father's injured spirit, +and in assuming that sacred form, had urged him to destroy the only +parent whom fate had left; but the struggle had brought him to the brink +of the grave, and shaken the empire of reason; and when at last he +abandons himself to the guidance of a power which his firmer nature had +long resisted, the impression of the spectator is, that his mind has +yielded in the struggle, and that, in the desperate hope of obtaining +relief from present wretchedness, he is about to commit the most +horrible crimes, by obeying the suggestions of a spirit, which he more +than suspects to be employed only to tempt him on to perdition. No +description can possibly do justice to the manner in which this +situation of Hamlet is represented by Talma; indeed, on reading over the +play some time afterwards, it was very evident that the powers of the +actor had invested the character with much of the grandeur and terror +which seemed to belong to it, and that the imagination of the French +poet, which rises into excellence, even when compared with the +productions of that great master of the passions whom he has not +submitted to copy, has been surpassed by the fancy of the actor for whom +he wrote. The Hamlet of Talma is probably productive of more profound +emotion, than any representation of character on any stage ever excited.</p> + +<p>One other alteration ought to be mentioned, as it renders the +circumstances of Hamlet's situation still more distressing, and affords +Talma an opportunity of displaying the effects of one of the gentler +passions of human nature, when its influence seemed irreconcileable with +the stern and fearful duties which fate had assigned to him. The Ophelia +of the French play, so unlike that beautiful and innocent being who +alone seems to connect the Hamlet of Shakespeare with the feelings and +nature of ordinary men, has been made the daughter of the man for whose +sake the king has been poisoned, and was engaged to marry Hamlet at that +happier period when he was the ornament of his father's court, and the +hope of his father's subjects. In the first part of the play, though no +hint of the terrible revenge which he was to execute on her father has +escaped, the looks and anxiety of Talma discover to her that her fate is +in some degree connected with the emotions which so visibly oppress him, +and she makes him at last confess the insurmountable barrier which +separates them for ever. Nothing can be greater than the acting of Talma +during this difficult scene, in which he has to resist the entreaties of +the woman whom he loves, when imploring for the life of her father, and +yet so overcome with his affection, as hardly to have strength left to +adhere to his dreadful purpose.</p> + +<p>The feelings of a French audience do not permit the spirit of Hamlet's +father to appear on the stage: "L'apparition se passe, (says Madame de +Stael)<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>, en entier dans la physionomie de Talma, et certes elle n'en +est pas ainsi moins effrayante. Quand, au milieu d'un entretien calme et +melancolique, tout a coup il aperçoit le spectre, on suit tout; ses +mouvemens dans les yeux qui le contemplent, et l'on ne peut douter de la +presence du fantome quand un tel regard l'atteste." The remark is +perfectly just, nothing can be imagined more calculated to dispel at +once the effect which the countenance of a great actor, in such +circumstances, would naturally produce, than bringing any one on the +stage to personate the ghost; and whoever has seen Talma in this part, +will acknowledge that the mind is not disposed to doubt, for an instant, +the existence of that form which no eye but his has seen, and of that +voice which no ear but his has heard. We regretted much, while +witnessing the astonishing powers which Talma displayed in this very +difficult part of the play, that it was impossible to see his genius +employed in giving effect to the character of Aristodemo, (in the +Italian tragedy of that name by Monti), to which his talents alone could +do justice, and which, perhaps, affords more room for the display of the +actor's powers, than any other play with which we are acquainted.</p> + +<p>But the soliloquy on death is the part in which the astonishing +excellence and genius of Talma are most strikingly displayed. Whatever +difficulty there may often be to determine the particular manner in +which scenes, with other characters, ought to be performed, there is no +difference of opinion as to the manner in which soliloquies ought in +general to be delivered. How comes it, then, that these are the very +parts in which all feel that the powers of the actors are so much tried, +and in which, for the most part, they principally fail? No one can have +paid any attention to the English stage, without being struck with the +circumstance, that while there may be much to praise in the performance +of the other parts, many of the best actors uniformly fail in +soliloquies; and that it is only of late, since the reputation of the +English stage, has been so splendidly revived, that we have seen these +difficult and interesting parts properly performed. It is in this +circumstance, more than any other, in which the talents of Talma are +most remarkably displayed, because he is peculiarly fitted, by his +complete personation of character, and the deep interest which he seems +himself to take in the part he is sustaining, to excel in performing +what chiefly requires such interest. He is, at all times, so fully +impressed with the feelings, which, under such circumstances, must have +been really felt, that one is uniformly struck with the truth and +propriety of every thing he does; and of course, in soliloquies, which +must be perfect, when the actor appears to be seriously and deeply +interested in the subjects on which he is meditating, Talma invariably +succeeds. In this soliloquy in Hamlet, he is completely absorbed in the +awful importance of the great question which occupies his attention, and +nothing indicates the least consciousness of the multitude which +surrounds him, or even that he is giving utterance to the mighty +thoughts which crowd upon his mind. "Talma ne faisoit pas un geste, +quelquefois seulement il remuoit la tête pour questioner la terre et le +ciel sur ce que c'est que la mort! Immobile, la dignité de la meditation +absorboit tout son etre."—De l'Allemagne, 1. c. We could wish to avoid +any attempt to describe the acting of Talma in those passages which the +eloquence of M. de Stael has rendered familiar throughout Europe; yet we +feel that this account of the tragedy of Hamlet would be imperfect, if +we did not allude to that very interesting scene, which corresponds, in +the history of the play, to the closet scene in Shakespeare. Talma +appears with the urn which contains the ashes of his father, and whose +injured spirit he seems to consult, to obtain more proof of the guilt +which he is to revenge, or in the hope that the affections of human +nature may yet survive the horrors of the tomb, and that the duty of +the son will not be tried in the blood of the parent who gave him birth. +But no voice is heard to alter the sentence which he is doomed to +execute; and he is still compelled to prepare himself to meet with +sternness his guilty mother. After charging her, with the utmost +tenderness and solemnity, with the knowledge of her husband's murder, he +places the urn in her hands, and requires her to swear her innocence +over the sacred ashes which it contains. At first, the consciousness +that Hamlet could only <i>suspect</i> her crime, gives her resolution to +commence the oath with firmness; and Talma, with an expression of +countenance which cannot be described, awaits, in triumph and joy, the +confirmation of her innocence,—and seems to call upon the spirit which +had haunted him, to behold the solemn scene which proves the falsehood +of its mission. But the very tenderness which he shews destroys the +resolution of his mother, and she hesitates in the oath she had begun to +pronounce. His feelings are at once changed,—the paleness of horror, +and fury of revenge, are marked in his countenance, and his hands grasp +the steel which is to punish her guilt: But the agony of his mother +again overpowers him, at the moment he is about to strike; he appeals +for mercy to the shade of his father, in a voice, in which, as M. de +Stael has truly said, all the feelings of human nature seem at once to +burst from his heart, and, in an attitude humbled by the view of his +mother's guilt and wretchedness, he awaits the confession she seems +ready to make: and when she sinks, overcome by the remorse and agony +which she feels, he remembers only that she is his mother; the affection +which had been long repressed again returns, and he throws himself on +his knees, to assure her of the mercy of Heaven. We do not wish to be +thought so presumptuous as to compare the talents of the French author +with the genius of Shakespeare, but we must be allowed to say, that we +think this scene better managed for dramatic effect: and certainly no +part of Hamlet, on the English stage, ever produced the same impression, +or affected us so deeply. We are well aware, however, how very different +the scene would have appeared in the hands of any other actors than +Talma and Madle Duchesnois, and that a very great part of the merit +which the play seemed to possess, might be more justly attributed to the +talents which they displayed. At the conclusion of this great tragedy, +which has become so popular in France, and in which the genius of Talma +is so powerfully exhibited, the applause was universal; and after some +little time, to our surprise, instead of diminishing, became much +louder; and presently a cry of Talma burst out from the whole house. In +a few minutes the curtain drew up, and discovered Talma waiting to +receive the applause with which they honoured him, and to express his +sense of the distinction paid to him.</p> + +<p>The part of Orestes in Andromaque, is another character in which the +acting of Talma is seen to much advantage: and to a foreigner, it is +peculiarly interesting, as it displays, more than any other almost, that +uncommon power of recitation which distinguishes his acting from the +tame and monotonous declamation of the ordinary actors; and which gives +to the splendid language, and elevated sentiments of the French +tragedies, an effect which cannot easily be understood by any one who +has never seen them well performed. The part is one which is remarkably +popular at present in Paris, as there is something in the history of +that fabulous being, who has been represented as the victim of a +capricious and arbitrary Providence, and exposed during his whole life +to the most unmerited and horrible torments, which seems greatly to +interest the French people; and Talma has thus been led to bestow upon +the character a degree of reflection and preparation, which the parts +in a French tragedy do not in general require. There is a passage which +occurs in the first scene, which exhibits very strikingly the judgment +and genuine feeling which uniformly marks his acting. After mentioning +what had happened to him after his disappointment, with regard to +Hermione, and his separation from Pylades, he says, that he had hastened +to the great assembly of the Greeks, which the common interest of Greece +had called together, in the hope, that the ardour, the activity, and the +love of glory which had distinguished the period of youth, might revive +with the animating scene which was again presented to his mind.</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"En ce calme trompeur J'arrivai dans la Grece</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Et Je trouvois d'abord ces princes rassemblès,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Qu'un peril assez grand sembloit avoir troublès.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">J'y courus. Je pensai que la guerre et la gloire</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">De soins plus importants remplissoit ma memoire</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Que mes sens reprenant leur premiere vigueur</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">L'amour acheveroit de sortir de mon cœur.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Mais admire avec mois le sort, dont la pursuite</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Me fait courir alors au piege que j'evite."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>There is a similar passage in Othello, in which, when the passion of +jealousy had seized upon his mind, the Moor laments the degradation to +which he had fallen, when all the objects of his former ambition ceased +to interest his imagination, or animate his exertions. In enumerating +the occupations which formed the pomp and glorious circumstance of war, +but for which the misery of his situation had completely unmanned him, +the actors who have attempted this character, fire with the description +of the arms which he now abandons, and of the scenes in which his renown +had been acquired. In this analogous passage, Talma repeats these scenes +with much greater propriety and effect. He appeared overwhelmed by a +deep sense of the degradation to which a foolish and unmanly attachment +had reduced him; no gesture or tone of voice, expressive of the +slightest animation, escaped him, when he described the objects of his +youthful ambition; every thing denoted the shame and regret of a man who +felt that his glory and his occupation were gone, and who no longer +dared to look up with pride to the remembrance of those better days, +when his valour and his resolution were the admiration of Greece.</p> + +<p>The scene between Orestes and Hermione on their first meeting, is one in +which Talma displays very great power: with his heart full of the +passion from which he had suffered so much, he begins the declaration of +his constancy in the most ardent and impressive manner, and for a time +seems to flatter himself, that resentment at the neglect which she had +met with from Pyrrhus might have awakened some affection for himself in +the breast of Hermione. At first she is anxious to secure Orestes in +case that Pyrrhus should ultimately slight her, and is at pains to +confirm the hope which she perceives that this passion had created: But +when he urges her to take the opportunity which how offered itself, of +leaving a court where she appeared to be detained only to witness the +marriage of her rival, she betrays at once the state of her mind:—</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"Mais, seigneur, cependant s'il epouse Andromaque.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Oreste</i>. Hé, madame.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Her</i>. Songez quelle honte pour nous,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Si d'une Phrygienne il devenoit lepoux.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Oreste</i>. Et vous le haissez!"—&c.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>The indignant and bitter irony with which Talma delivers this speech, +when he finds that resentment at Pyrrhus, and not affection for himself, +has made her thus anxious to rivet the chains which her former cruelty +had hardly weakened, is most striking, and he seems at once to regain +the independence which he had lost.</p> + +<p>There is another passage of very peculiar interest, which we hope it +will not be prolonging these remarks too far to quote, as affording a +very striking instance of the effect which the powers of Talma are able +to produce, under almost any circumstances. When Pyrrhus, at one part of +the play, consents to surrender Astyanax, and by this rupture with +Andromache, resolves to marry Hermione, Orestes is thrown at once into +the utmost despair by this sudden change of plans, and by this +disappointment of his hopes. When he again appears with Pylades, he +threatens to take the most violent measures, to interrupt this marriage, +and to carry off Hermione by force from the court where she was +detained. His friend naturally feels for the wound which his fame must +suffer from such an outrage, and the dishonour which it would bring upon +a name rendered sacred throughout Greece, from the unmerited misfortunes +which he had sustained. "Voila donc le succès qu'aura votre ambassade. +Oreste ravisseur." But such considerations are of no avail in the +intemperance of his present feelings; and Orestes, after alluding to the +injury of a second rejection by Hermione, proceeds to another motive, +which urged him to any means, however violent to secure his object, and +which most powerfully interests the imagination. Every one knows the +supposed history of that mysterious character, whose destiny seemed to +have placed him at the disposal of some unrelenting enemy of the human +race, and who had suffered every misfortune which could oppress human +nature.</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"——Mais, s'il faut ne te rien deguiser</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Mon innocence enfin commence a me peser,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Je ne sais, de tout tems, quelle injuste puissence</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Laisse le crime en paix, et poursuit l'innocence,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">De quelque part sur moi que je trouve les yeux,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Je ne vois que malheurs qui condamnent lea Dieux,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Meritons leur courroux, justifions leur haine,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Et que le fruit du crime en précéde la peine."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>It is a remark of Seneca, that the most sublime spectacle in nature is +the view of a great man <i>struggling against</i> misfortune, and such a +character has ever been considered as the most appropriate subject for +dramatic representation. The extreme difficulty of succeeding, in the +very important passage which I have quoted, is obviously because the +very reverse of such a spectacle is now presented to the mind,—when +Orestes is made to abandon that distinction in <i>his fate</i> which alone +gave him any peculiar hold over the feelings of the spectators, and +because the actor must continue to engage, even more deeply than +before, their <i>interest</i> and their <i>pity</i>, at the very time when the +sentiments he utters must necessarily lower the dignity of the character +he sustains, and diminish the compassion he had previously awakened. +How, then, is that ascendency over the mind, which the singular destiny +of Orestes naturally acquires, to be preserved, when he no longer is to +be regarded as the innocent sufferer who claims our interest, and when +he is content to descend to the level of ordinary men? In this very +difficult passage Talma is eminently successful; no vehemence of manner +accompanies the desperate resolution he expresses, the recollection of +the misery he has suffered, and the dread of the greater misfortunes +which his present intentions must bring upon him, seem wholly to +overpower him, and his countenance, marked with the utmost dejection and +wretchedness, appears still to appeal for mercy to the power which +persecutes him. Everything in his appearance and voice conveys the +impression of a person overwhelmed with misfortunes, and hurried on, by +an impulse he cannot controul, into greater calamities, and more +complicated misery. The very sentiment which he avows, seems to proceed +from the over-ruling influence of a destiny which he has in vain +attempted to resist, and to be only another proof of the unceasing +persecution to which he is exposed; and though he no longer commands +admiration, or deserves esteem, he becomes more than ever the object of +the deepest commiseration. Talma appears to attach much importance to +the impression which this passage may produce, as much of the view which +he exhibits of the character of Orestes seems intended to assist its +effect; and we certainly consider it as the greatest and most successful +effort of <i>genius</i>, which we have ever seen displayed upon any stage. +After witnessing this representation of the character of Orestes at this +melancholy period of his life, it was with no ordinary interest that we +shortly after saw Talma perform the part of Orestes in Iphigénie en +Tauride, a play which represents very beautifully the only event in his +life, which ever seemed likely to secure his happiness, the discovery of +his sister; and we shall never forget the beautiful expression of +Talma's countenance, and the delightful tones of his voice, when he +described to his sister and his friend, the emotions which the feeling +of happiness so new to him had created, and the hopes of future exertion +and honour, which he now felt himself able to entertain.</p> + +<p>The last scene of this interesting tragedy is the most celebrated and +most admired part in the range of Talma's characters, and undoubtedly it +is impossible to find any acting more admirable or more affecting: After +the death of Pyrrhus, he rushes upon the stage to inform Hermione that +he had obeyed her dreadful commission, and to receive the reward of such +a proof of his attachment; the horror of the crime which he had +committed is sunk in his confidence of the claim he has now acquired to +her gratitude, and he triumphantly relates the circumstances of the +scene which had passed, as giving him such undeniable titles to the +reward which had been promised to his firmness.—Madame de Stael has +mentioned the effect he gives to the short and feeble reply which he +makes, when Hermione accuses him of cruelty, and throws all the guilt of +the murder on himself;—but it is in the subsequent part that he appears +so great: After Hermione leaves him, and he recovers in some degree of +the stupor which such an unexpected attack had produced, he repeats, in +a hurried manner, the circumstances of his situation, and dwells on the +perfidy of Hermione; but when he finds no palliation for his crime, and +sees how completely he has been degraded by his unmanly weakness, the +whole enormity of his guilt comes full upon his mind, and he acquires +even dignity in the opinion of the beholder, from the solemn and +emphatic manner in which he curses the folly and inhumanity of his +conduct. But a further blow awaits him; and it is not till Pylades +informs him of the death of Hermione, that the horrors of madness begin +to seize on his mind. At first he remains motionless and thunderstruck +with the dreadful issue of his enterprise; then, in a low and thrilling +tone of voice, he laments the bitterness and misery of that destiny by +which he is doomed to be for ever the victim of fate, (du malheur un +modêle accompli,) till the wildness of madness comes over him: In a +voice hardly heard, he seems to ask himself, "Quelle épaisse nuit tout a +coup m'environne, de quelle coté sortir? D'ou-vient que je frissonne. +Quelle horreur me saisit?"—and at once a shriek, dreadful beyond all +description, announces the destruction of reason, and the agonies of +madness. It is vain to describe the wild, desperate, and horrifying +manner in which he represents Orestes tortured by the frightful visions +with which the furies had visited his mind, till his nature, exhausted +by such intense sufferings, sinks at once into a calm, more dreadful +even than the wildness which had preceded it.</p> + +<p>These remarks have been extended so much beyond the limits which can be +interesting to those who have never seen this unrivalled actor, and to +whom they can convey so very inadequate a notion of his powers, that it +is impossible to make any further observations, which his performance in +other characters may have suggested. The most interesting character, +perhaps, in which we saw him perform after these, was Nero in +Britannicus. Every person who has been in Paris, since the collection of +statues was brought there, must have remarked the striking resemblance +of Talma's countenance to the first busts of Nero; and this singular +circumstance, along with the admirable manner in which he represents the +impatient, headstrong, and profligate tyrant, rendered his acting in +this character remarkably interesting. The opportunities Which he +enjoyed of studying the character and the manner of Bonaparte,—who +never forgot the assistance he received from Talma, when he first +entered that city, where he was afterwards to govern with such unbounded +power,—must have been present to his mind when he was preparing this +difficult character; and if it is supposed that he must have been, even +with this advantage, little able to imagine correctly the manner and +deportment of so singular a character as the Roman Emperor, none will +question the judgment, on this point, of that extraordinary person, +under whose tyranny Talma so long lived, and who, as Talma has often +declared, did actually suggest many improvements in the manner in which +he had first acted the part.</p> + +<p>Mademoiselle Georges, the great tragic actress, was reckoned at one time +the most beautiful woman in France. She is now grown very large, and her +movements are, from that cause, stiff and constrained; but she is still +a fine woman, and her countenance, though not very striking at first +sight, is capable of wonderful variety and intensity of expression; her +style of acting may be said to be intermediate between the matronly +dignity and majestic deportment of Mrs Siddons, and the enchanting +sweetness and feminine graces of Miss O'Neil. In the delineation of +strong feelings and violent passions, of grief, madness, or despair, she +will not suffer from comparison with either of these actresses; but we +should doubt whether she can ever have inspired as much moral sympathy +and admiration as the one has always commanded, by the elevation and +grandeur of her representation of characters of exalted virtue, and the +other daily wins, by the interesting tenderness of her manner, by the +truth and energy of her impassioned scenes, and the overpowering pathos +of her distress.</p> + +<p>The tragedy of Œdipe, by Voltaire, affords room for the display of the +most characteristic qualities of Talma and Mademoiselle Georges; and +when we saw them act Œdipus and Jocasta in this piece, we agreed that +there were certainly no actor and actress, of equally transcendent +merit, who act together in either of the London theatres. The distress +of the play is of too horrible and repulsive a kind, we should conceive, +to be ever admitted on the English stage; but it furnishes occasion for +the display of consummate art in the imitation of the most terrible and +overpowering emotions; and it is difficult to conceive a more powerful +representation than they exhibited of the gloomy forebodings of +suspicion, of the agonizing suspence of unsatisfied doubt, and the +"sickening pang of hope deferred"—heightened, rather than diminished, +by the consciousness of innocent intention, and the feeling of +undeserved affliction, and giving way only to the certainty of +irretrievable misery, and the phrenzy of utter despair.</p> + +<p>In concluding these remarks, upon a subject which interested us so much, +we are anxious to offer some general reflections upon the character of +the French stage, which were suggested by the observations we had an +opportunity of making. It is far from being our intention, to enter into +any discussion of the rules upon which the construction of their +tragedies is supposed to depend, or to occupy the time of our readers, +by useless remarks upon the sacrifices which it is said must be made, by +strictly observing the <i>unities</i> in dramatic compositions. Quite enough +is known of the <i>defects</i> of the French tragedy, and it is much to be +regretted, that those who have had an opportunity of attending the +French theatre, have generally carried their national prejudices along +with them, and seem to have been more desirous to confirm the +prepossessions they had previously acquired, than to form any fair and +correct estimate of the merits of that drama. We are a little aware in +general in this country, how much the composition of our own tragedies +might be improved, and how much the effect of the talents which the +stage displays might be increased, were we as candid in admitting the +very great excellencies which the French stage possesses, as we have +been desirous to discover its imperfections. Without presuming to +attempt an examination of the French theatre, in the view of correcting +what appear to us the errors in the public taste, we mean merely to +state in what respects it appeared to us, that the impression left on +the mind by the French tragedies is stronger and more lasting than any +that we have experienced from attending our own theatres. Our conviction +of the general superiority of the English stage has been already +expressed, and therefore we hope we shall not be misapprehended in the +object which we have in view in such remarks.</p> + +<p>1. In the first place, then, we would mention—what we hope is not +necessary to illustrate at any length—the very great impression which +must be made upon every thoughtful mind, by the unity of emotion which +the French tragedies are fitted to produce. The effect which may result +from this unity of emotion appears to excite much deeper interest, than +can be produced by the mere exertion of the actors' power, when it is +not uniformly directed to the expression of one general character. It is +also worthy of consideration, whether the very important purposes to +which the drama may be rendered subservient, may not be more easily +accomplished, when the whole tendency of the composition, and the +influence of acting, are employed in one general and consistent design. +No such principle seems to have been kept in view in the composition of +the greater part of the English tragedies. They resemble much, in truth, +as we have before observed, the scene of human affairs, which the +general aspect of the world presents,—full of every variety of +incident, and depending upon the actions of a number of different +characters. In the principal subject of the play, many seem to perform +parts nearly of equal importance, and to be equally concerned in the +issue of the story; each personage has his separate interest to claim +our attention, and peculiar features of character, which require nice +discrimination; and in general, no one character, or one subject, is +sufficiently presented to view. The minds of the spectators, therefore, +are oppressed and distracted by the variety of <i>feelings</i> which are +excited, and their interest interrupted and dissipated, in some degree, +from the <i>variety of objects</i> which claim it. The <i>general impression</i>, +therefore, left upon the mind, is less pointed, less profound, and must +produce less influence upon character, than when the feelings have been +steadily and powerfully interested in the consequences of one marked +and important event, or in the illustration of one great moral truth.</p> + +<p>2. We must be permitted to state, in the second place, that we think the +French theatre is decidedly superior to our own, in the propriety and +discrimination with which they keep out of view many of those +exhibitions, which, on the English stage, are studiously brought forward +with a view to effect: It would be altogether useless, to enter into any +discussion of a question which has often been the subject of much idle +controversy; nor should we be able, we know, to suggest any thing which +could have any influence with those who think, that all the murders, and +battles, and bustle, which occur in many of the grander scenes in the +English tragedies, can increase the interest which such tragedies might +produce, or contribute to the effect of theatrical illusion. We were not +fortunate enough to see Talma in Ducis' play of Macbeth, where the +difference between the French and English stage in this particular is +very strongly illustrated; but from every thing we have, understood, of +the wonderful impression which is produced, when he describes his +interview with the weird sisters—the terrors which accompanied their +appearance, and the feelings which their predictions awakened, we are +persuaded that the effect must be much finer than any thing which can +result from the feeble attempt to represent all this to the eye. +Macbeth, however, without the witches, and all the clumsy machinery +which is employed on the stage to carry through so impracticable a +scene, would appear stripped of its principal beauties to the taste of a +great part of an English audience; and yet we are perfectly convinced, +that there is no one imperfection, in the plan or composition of the +French tragedies, so deserving of censure, as the taste which can admit +such representations on the stage. We allude, of course, entirely to the +attempt to introduce this celebrated scene upon the stage; none can +admire more than we do, the powerful and creative imagination which it +displays.</p> + +<p>3. The next circumstance to which we allude, is that very remarkable +one—of the dignity of sentiment, and elevation of thought, which +uniformly characterise the compositions of the French stage. This is a +perfection which, we believe, has never been denied by any one who is in +any degree acquainted with these productions; and therefore we are +anxious, as that very excellence has sometimes been thought to unfit +them for actual representation, merely to state, from our own +experience, the very great impression which such lofty and dignified +sentiments, in the composition of the play, are fitted to produce. For +ourselves we can say, that no dramatic representation on the English +stage produced the same permanent effect with some of the greater +compositions of the French tragedy; and we cannot but consider much of +their influence to be owing to the sublime and elevating sentiments with +which they abound. We could wish to see the tone of the tragedies which +are <i>now</i> presented for the English stage, animated by the same strain +of dignified thought, and become more worthy of the approbation of a +great, and enlightened, and virtuous people.</p> + +<p>Simple as these observations may appear, they yet suggest what we must +consider as most important improvements in the composition and character +of the English drama: The only tragedies which have been written for +many years for our stage are, with a few exceptions, undeniably the +feeblest productions in any branch of the national literature, and have +in general carried, to the utmost extreme, the imperfections which +existed in the works of those earlier writers whose genius and natural +feeling they have never been able to equal. Whenever any change does +occur in the character and tone of the tragedies of the English stage, +we are persuaded that much will be gained by further acquaintance with +the dramatic representations of the French theatre; and that the defects +of our own theatre can only be avoided, by imitating some of the +perfections of that drama, which we are accustomed at present so hastily +to censure.</p> + +<p>We have only now to remark, that while the works of Corneille, of +Racine, and Voltaire, must ever remain conspicuous in the French drama, +we shall judge very erroneously of the present character of the French +stage, if we are only acquainted with these compositions of earlier +times. The consequences of the revolution have been felt in the tone of +dramatic composition, as in every other branch of literature, and in +every condition of society. The misfortunes which all classes of the +people have sustained,—the anxiety, and suspence, and terror, which +they so often felt, and the insecurity which so long seemed to attend +every enjoyment of human life, accustomed them so much to scenes of deep +interest, and to profound emotion, that it became necessary, in the +theatre, to have recourse to more powerful means of exciting their +compassion, and engaging their interest, than was always afforded by +the tragedies of the old writers. The same change, then, which is +observable in many other branches of the French literature of late +years, seems to have taken place, to a considerable extent, in +compositions for the stage; and from the serious and melancholy turn +which was often given to the public mind, it has become requisite, in +later writings, to introduce subjects of deeper interest, and more +fitted to affect the imagination in moments of strong popular feeling, +and of great national danger. Many of the reflections, therefore, which +such circumstances suggested, have been introduced into the tragedies +which have been composed during the very eventful period which has +elapsed since the commencement of the revolution; and the authors have +adapted, in a considerable degree, the interest, or the management of +their plays, to those peculiar sentiments which the character of that +period had given to the people. These sentiments may not always indicate +very sound principle, or very elevated feeling, but, in the turn which +has sometimes been given to the French plays, they are made to favour +the introduction of much poetical beauty, and much dramatic interest. We +have already mentioned, that there appears to be a vague, but general +impression of the influence of <i>fatality</i> upon human conduct, floating +in the public mind; and though such a notion, probably, is seldom +admitted in the shape of a distinct doctrine, many circumstances +indicate, that among the body of the people, and among the army in +particular, the influence of this superstition is very considerable. It +is appealed to in many of those political writings which best indicate +the feelings of those to whom they are addressed; and we have all +remarked how much and how artfully their late ruler availed himself of +this belief, to connect the ascendancy of his arms, and the prosperity +of his dynasty, with the destiny of human affairs. On several very +important occasions, the utmost possible interest has been given to the +history of particular characters, in many recent tragedies, by employing +this powerful feeling in the public mind; and it was very apparent, that +the spectators took peculiar interest in the denouement of the plays in +which this subject was introduced.</p> + +<p>In the works of Ducis, of Raynouard, and of several other recent +writers, and in many of the plays formed from tragedies of the German +school, very strong indications are to be found of the effect of the +circumstances in which the people have been placed, in giving, in some +respects, a new tone to dramatic compositions, and in calling forth +productions of deeper interest, and capable of exciting more profound +emotion, than could generally be produced by the works of the earlier +periods of French literature.</p> + +<p>It is an animating proof of the ascendancy of virtuous feeling, and a +striking illustration of the tendency of great assemblies of men, when +not actuated by particular passions, to join in what is generous and +elevated in human thought, that not only have the tragedies of the +earlier writers continued to be universally admired, and constantly +acted during the whole period of the revolution, but that the standard +of sentiment has not been lowered in those productions which have been +designed expressly for the French stage during that period, and that the +dignity of ancient virtue, and the elevation of natural feeling, still +ennoble the tone of French tragedy.</p> + +<p class="sp">The French comedies and comic acting are not less characteristic of the +people than their tragedies. They are a gay and lively, but not a +humorous people. A Frenchman enters into amusements with an eagerness +and relish, of which, in this country, we have no conception; all his +cares and sorrows are forgotten; all his serious occupations are +postponed; all his unruly passions are calmed;—he thinks neither of his +individual misfortunes, nor of his national degradation; neither of the +friends whom he has lost in the war, nor of the foreign soldiers whom it +has placed at his elbow; his whole soul is absorbed in the game, in the +dance, or in the <i>spectacle</i>. But his object is not laughter, or passive +enjoyment, or relaxation; it is the excitation of his spirits, the +occupation, and interest, and agitation of his mind, the varied +gratification of his senses, the exercise of his fancy, the display of +his wit, and taste, and politeness.</p> + +<p>The exhibitions at the theatres are accommodated to this taste. With the +exception of some of Moliere's works, such as the Bourgeois Gentilhomme, +and M. de Pourceaugnac, (which are seldom acted, at least at the Theatre +Français), there are hardly any French comedies which are characterised +by what we call humour,—which have for their main object the +representation of palpably ludicrous peculiarities of character and +manner. You never hear, in a French theatre, the same loud +uncontrollable bursts of laughter, which are so often excited by +representations of this kind in London. There are no such actors, at the +principal theatres, as Matthews, or Liston, or Bannister, or Munden, or +Emery, whose principal merit lies in mimicry and buffoonery. There are +hardly any entertainments corresponding in character to our farces; the +after-pieces are short comedies, and characters in low life are +introduced into them, not as objects of derision, but of interest and +sympathy.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, operas and genteel comedies, which are esteemed only +by the higher ranks in England, are a favourite amusement of all ranks +in France. The qualities which are most highly prized in the comedies, +are, interest and variety of incident and situation, wit and liveliness +of dialogue, and a certain elevation and elegance of character.</p> + +<p>Regarding the character of the French tragedies, there will always be +much difference of opinion; and many, probably, of those who have had +the best opportunities of studying them, as performed upon the stage at +Paris, may yet retain nearly the same judgment concerning them which +they formed in reading them in the closet. And we are willing to admit, +that admirable as they appear to us in many respects, they are not well +adapted to become popular in this country. But the excellencies and +unrivalled elegance of the French comedy, have been at all times +universally admitted, while there is this great distinction between +them and the tragedies of the French school, that however great the +pleasure we may take in reading them, no one ever saw them well +performed, without acknowledging, that until then, he had no conception +of the astonishing field which they afford for the display of the +actor's power, or of the innumerable charms which they possess as +dramatic compositions.</p> + +<p>Everything that ever was amiable and engaging in the character of the +French people; the elegance and <i>bon-hommie</i> of their manners, which +served as a passport to the French in every country in Europe, and +softened the feelings of national resentment with which their ambition +and their arrogance to other nations had taught many to regard them as a +people; their well-known superiority to other nations in those +circumstances, which render them agreeable and pleasant in society, in +their constant attention and accommodation to the wishes and pursuits of +others, in that anxiety to please, to entertain, and to promote the +interests and happiness of others, which costs so little to those who +are never subject to that unhappy irregularity of temper and spirit, so +visible to all foreigners in the character of the English people, and +which never fails to secure esteem, and to interest the affections, +while superior worth, less happily gifted for the common purposes and +intercourse of life, may be regarded with no warmer feeling than that of +distant respect; the <i>loyauté</i> and frankness once so closely associated +with the history and character of the French people; the manliness which +taught them at once to admit and to repair the wrongs which their +impetuosity of spirit, or their harshness of feeling, might have +occasioned, and the gallantry with which they were wont to defend with +their sword what their honour bound them to maintain; and above all, +that delightful and touching <i>abandon</i> of feeling, which seemed the +result of genuine simplicity, and which appeared to know no reserve, +only because it knew no guilt; all these beautiful and interesting +traits, which adorned the character of former and of later days, are +still preserved in the comedies of their greater writers; the purity of +former character seems to animate the pages which they write, and the +spirit of earlier times seems yet to retain its ascendancy, when they +wish to pourtray the manners of the present day.</p> + +<p>In the degradation of the present period, they delight to recall the +splendour and the renown of the period that is past; and, by preserving +in their works the character which adorned the French people before the +profligacy and the insidious policy of a corrupt court disarmed the +nation of its virtue, to reconcile it to slavery, they attempt to awaken +a nobler spirit, and lay the foundation of future grandeur. Whatever has +delighted us in reading the history of the earlier periods of the French +monarchy, when the elevation of chivalrous feeling, and the +disinterestedness of simple manners, distinguished the French people, +and when the character of the great Henry displayed, in a more +conspicuous station, the virtues which ennobled the duties of private +life, is yet to be found in their best comedies. Among the many +thousands who crowd to their numerous theatres, there are many, one +would hope, who can feel the sad contrast which the last century of +French history, "fertile only in crime," presents to the honour of +former times, and in whom may be reviving that lofty and generous spirit +which may yet redeem the character they have lost.</p> + +<p>It seems not a little singular, that this taste in comedy should have +survived all the disorders of the revolution, and remained unchanged +amid the general diffusion of military habits and manners. This may be +partly explained by the circumstance, that the judges by whom theatrical +exhibitions are mainly regulated, are stationary at Paris, while the +men, whose actions have stamped the French character of the present day, +have been dispersed over the world. But it must certainly be admitted, +that the <i>taste</i> of the French has not undergone an alteration +corresponding with that which is so obvious in their <i>manners</i>; and has +not degenerated to the degree that might have been expected, from the +diffusion of revolutionary ideas and licentious habits. The Theatre +Français affords perhaps the best specimen that now remains of the style +of conversation, and manners, and costume, of the old school of French +politeness.</p> + +<p>For the representation of pieces bearing the general character which we +have described, the French are certainly better fitted than any other +people,—their native gaiety and sprightliness of disposition,—the +polish which their manners so readily acquire,—their irrepressible +confidence and self-conceit,—their love of shewing off, and attracting +attention, give really a stage effect to many of their serious actions, +and to almost all their trifling conversation and amusements. Hence, a +stranger is particularly struck with the uniform excellence of the comic +acting on the French stage; all the inferior parts ate sustained with +spirit, and originality, and discriminating judgment; all the actors are +at their ease, and a regular genteel comedy is as well acted +throughout, as a farce is on the London stage.</p> + +<p>The greatest comic actor at the Theatre Français is Fleury. He is an +actor completely fitted for the French style of comedy. He gives you the +idea of a perfect gentleman, with much wit and liveliness, and +consummate confidence and self-possession; who delivers himself with +inimitable archness and pleasantry, but without the least exaggeration +or buffoonery; who has too high an opinion of himself and his powers, to +descend to broad jokes or allusions belonging to the lower kinds of +humour. Those who have an accurate recollection of the admirable acting +of Irish Johnstone, in the characters of Major O'Flaherty, or Sir Lucius +O'Trigger, will have a better conception, than any description of ours +can convey, of the style of acting in which Fleury so eminently excels.</p> + +<p>Whatever may be thought of the other performers, none can see without +pleasure the performances of that celebrated actress, who has so long +been the ornament of the national theatre, and to whom the support of +their comedy has been so long entrusted. During the greatest period of +the revolution, Mademoiselle Mars has been the favourite and the +delight of the people of Paris, and there is perhaps no feeling among +them stronger, or more national, than the pride which they take in her +incomparable acting; all the grace, and elegance, and genuine feeling +which she so beautifully displays, they consider as belonging to her +only because she is a French woman; and nothing would ever convince them +that, had she been born in any other country, it would have been +possible that she should possess half the perfections which they now +admire in her.</p> + +<p>Mademoiselle Mars is probably as perfect an actress in comedy as any +that ever appeared on any stage. She has united every advantage of +countenance, and voice, and figure, which it is possible to conceive, +and no one can ever have witnessed her incomparable acting, without +feeling that the imagination can suggest nothing more completely +lovely—more graceful, or more natural and touching than her +representation of character. Mademoiselle Mars has been most exquisitely +beautiful; and though the period is past when that beauty had all the +brilliancy and freshness of youth, time appears hardly to have dared to +lay his chilling hand on that lovely countenance, and she still acts +characters which require all the naïveté, and gaiety, and tenderness of +youthful feeling, with every appearance of the spring of human life. It +is remarked by Cibber, that a woman has hardly time to become a perfect +actress, during the continuance of her personal attractions. If there +ever was an exception to this remark, Mademoiselle Mars is one. She was +an admired actress, we were assured, before the revolution; yet she has +still, at least on the stage, a light elegant figure, and a countenance +of youthful animation and beauty, while long experience has given that +polish and perfection to her acting, which can be derived from no other +source.</p> + +<p>It were in vain to attempt describing the innumerable excellencies which +render her acting so perfectly enchanting;—the admirable manner in +which the French comedies are performed is so particular to the stage of +that country, that it would be quite fruitless to attempt to describe a +style of acting unknown to the people of Britain; and of that style +Mademoiselle Mars is the model. Every thing that can result from the +truest elegance and gracefulness of manners—from the most genuine and +lively <i>abandon</i> of feeling,—from the most winning sweetness of +expression, and the greatest imaginable gaiety and benevolence, +displayed in one of the most beautiful women ever seen, and endowed with +the most delightful and melodious voice, is united in Mademoiselle +Mars; and all words were in vain, which would pretend to describe the +bright and glittering vision which captivates the imagination. It is +impossible to conceive any thing more perfect as a specimen of art, or +more beautiful as an imitation of nature, than her representation of the +kind of heroine most commonly to be found in a French comedy; lively and +playful, yet elegant and graceful; entering with ardour into amusements, +yet capable of deep feeling and serious reflection: fond of admiration +and flattery, yet innocent and modest; full of petty artifice and +coquetry, yet natural and unaffected in affairs of importance; +capricious and giddy in appearance, but warm-hearted and affectionate in +reality. It is a character to which there is a kind of approximation +among many French women; and if it were as well supported by them in +real life, as by her on the stage, it would be difficult even for French +vanity to describe the fascination of their manner, in terms of +admiration which would not command general assent. There is much +variety, it must be added, in her powers. On one occasion, we saw her +act Henriette in Les Femmes Savantes of Moliere, and Catau La Partie de +Chasse de Henri IV, an£ it was difficult to say whether most to admire +the wit, and elegance, and police raillery of the woman of fashion, or +the innocent gaiety, and interesting naïveté of the simple peasant girl.</p> + +<p>There is no actress at present on the English stage of equal eminence in +a similar line of parts. The exhibition which can best convey to an +English reader some slight notion of her enchanting acting, is the +manner in which Miss O'Neil performs the scene in Juliet with the old +nurse; because it is probably exactly the manner in which Mademoiselle +Mars would perform that scene, but cannot afford any conception of her +excellence in scenes of higher interest and greater feeling. Mrs Jordan +may have equalled her in gaiety, and probably excelled her in humorous +expression, but we suspect she must always have been deficient in +elegance and refinement. The actress who, we think, comes nearest to her +in genteel comedy, is Mrs Henry Siddons, in her beautiful representation +of such parts as Beatrice or Viola; but she has not the same appearance +of natural light-hearted buoyancy and playfulness of disposition; you +see occasional transient indications of a serious thoughtful turn of +mind, which assumes gaiety and cheerfulness, rather than passes +naturally into it; which you admire, because it places the actress in a +more amiable light, but which takes off from the fidelity and perfection +of her art.</p> + +<p>Wherever Mademoiselle Mars has acted, in every part of France, the +enthusiasm which she inspires, and the astonishing interest which they +take in her acting, is such as could be felt only in France. We were +fortunately in Lyons when she came there, on leaving Paris during the +course of last summer; and during the few days we were there, nothing +appeared to be thought of but the merits of this unrivalled actress. The +interest which the recent visit of <i>Madame</i> had created, was altogether +lost in the delight which the performance of Mademoiselle Mars had +occasioned: She was crowned publicly in the theatre with a garland of +flowers, and a fete was celebrated in honour of her by the public bodies +and authorities of the town.</p> + +<p class="sp">Corresponding to the Opera House in London, there are three theatres in +Paris; the Odeon, the Opera Comique, and the Academie de Musique. At the +first of these there is an immense company of musicians, of all kinds; +and Italian Operas are admirably performed. It is the handsomest, and +perhaps the most genteelly attended of any of the Parisian theatres. +The music here, as well as the musicians, are all Italian; and there +can certainly be no comparison between it and the French, which is +generally feeble and insipid in pathetic expression, and extravagant and +bombastic in all attempts at grandeur. The first singer at the Odeon was +Madame Sessi, who has since been in London; but Madame Morelli, with a +voice somewhat inferior in power, appeared to us a more elegant actress. +The performance of Girard on the flute was wonderful, and met with +extravagant applause, but it was somewhat too laboured and artificial +for our untutored ears:</p> + +<p>The Opera Comique is confined almost exclusively to the sort of +entertainment which the name expresses: the scenes are generally laid in +the country, and the characters introduced are of the lower orders: the +pieces commonly represented belong to the same class, therefore, as the +English operas, Love in a Village, Rosina, &c. but the dialogue is in +general more animated, less vulgar in the lower parts, and less +sentimental in the higher. The number of performers at this theatre is +not very great; but there are some good singers and dancers, and the +acting is almost uniformly excellent. Indeed, the French character is +peculiarly well fitted for assuming the gay and lively tone that +pervades their <i>opera buffa</i>, which may be characterised as amusing and +interesting in general, rather than comic; as full of spirit and +vivacity, rather than of humour. Occasionally, however, characters and +incidents of true humour are introduced; but these are in general +considered as belonging to a lower species of amusement; and are to be +found in higher perfection, we believe, in some of the inferior +theatres, particularly the Theatre des Varietés.</p> + +<p>The acting at the Opera Comique appeared to us deserving of the same +encomiums with the comic acting at the Theatre Français: every part is +well supported, not with the elegance that characterises the latter +theatre, but with perfect adaptation to the situation of the characters. +A Mademoiselle Regnaud, of this theatre, acts with admirable liveliness +and spirit. Her quarrel and reconciliation with her lover, in "Le +Nouveau Seigneur du Village," appeared to us a chef d'œuvre of the light +and pleasing style of acting, which suits the character of the French +comic opera.</p> + +<p>The Academie de Musique, (which is celebrated for dancers, not for +musicians), is on a very different plan from the opera in London. The +performers being in part supported by government, the prices of +admission are made very low; and the company, particularly in the +parterre, or pit, is therefore of a much lower class than in London, +though perfect decorum is, as usual, uniformly observed. The +performances at this theatre are, we think, decidedly superior to those +in the London opera. This superiority consists partly in the pre-eminent +merits of the first-rate dancers; but chiefly in the uniform excellence +of the vast number of inferior performers, the beauty of the scenery, +and the complete knowledge of stage effect, which is displayed in all +the arrangements of the representations.</p> + +<p>We believe there are not at present, on the London stage, any dancers of +equal merit with Madame Gardel, or Mademoiselle Bigottini. The former of +these is said to be 45 years of age, and has long been reckoned the best +figuranté on this stage. Her face is not handsome, but her figure is +admirably formed for the display of her art, of which she is probably +the most perfect mistress to be found in Europe. The latter, an Italian +by birth, is much younger, and if she does not yet quite equal her rival +in artificial accomplishments, she at least attracts more admirers by +her youth and beauty; by the exquisite symmetry of her form, and the +natural grace and elegance of her movements. The one of these is +certainly the first dancer, and the other is perhaps the most beautiful +woman in Paris.</p> + +<p>But the same unfortunate peculiarity of taste which we formerly noticed +in the painting and in the gardening of the French, extends to their +opera dancing; indeed it may be said to be the worst feature of their +general taste. They are too fond of the exhibition of art, and too +regardless of the object, to which art should be made subservient. +Dancing should never be considered as a mere display of agility and +muscular power. It is then degraded to a level with Harlequin's tricks, +wrestling, tumbling, or such other fashionable entertainments. The main +object of the art unquestionably is, to display in full perfection the +beauty and grace of the human form and movements. In so far as perfect +command of the limbs is necessary, or may be made subservient to this +object, it cannot be too much esteemed; but when you pass this limit, it +not only ceases to be pleasing, but often becomes positively offensive. +Many of the <i>pirouettes</i>, and other difficult movements, which are +introduced into the <i>pas seuls, pas de deux</i>, &c. in which the great +dancers display their whole powers, however wonderful as specimens of +art, are certainly any thing but elegant or graceful. The applause in +the French opera seemed to us to be in direct proportion to the +difficulty, and to bear no relation whatever to the beauty of the +performances. A Frenchman regards, with perfect indifference, dances +which, to a stranger at least, appear performed with inimitable grace, +because they are only common dances, admirably well executed; but when +one of the male performers, after spinning about for a long time, with +wonderful velocity, arrests himself suddenly, and stands immoveable on +one foot; or when one of the females wheels round on the toes of one +foot, holding her other limb nearly in a horizontal position—he breaks +out into extravagant exclamations of astonishment and delight: "Quel a +plomb! Ah diable! Sacre Dieu!" &c.</p> + +<p>But although the principal dances at the Opera, and those on which the +French chiefly pride themselves, are much injured, in point of beauty, +by this artificial taste, the execution of the less laboured parts of +these dances, and of nearly the whole of their common national dances, +is quite free from this defect, and is, we should conceive, the most +beautiful exhibition of the kind that is any where to be seen. It is +only in a city where amusements of all kinds are sought for, not merely +by way of relaxation, but as matters of serious interest and national +concern, and where dancing, in particular, is an object of universal and +passionate admiration, that such numbers of first-rate dancers can be +found, as perform constantly at the Academie de Musique. The whole +strength of the company there, which often appeared on the stage at the +time we speak of, was certainly not less than 150; and there were hardly +any of these whose performance was not highly pleasing, and did not +present the appearance of animation and interest in the parts assigned +them.</p> + +<p>Many of the serious operas performed here are exceedingly beautiful; +they are got up, not perhaps at more expense, nor with more +magnificence, than the spectacles in London, but certainly with more +taste and knowledge of stage effect. Tie scenery is beautifully painted, +and is disposed upon the stage with more variety, and in such a manner +as to form a more complete illusion, than on any other stage we have +seen. The music and singing are certainly inferior to what is heard at +the Odeon, but the acting, where it is not injured by the effect of the +recitative, is very generally excellent; and the number and variety of +dances introduced, afford opportunities of displaying all the +attractions of this theatre.</p> + +<p>The pantomimes are uniformly executed with inimitable grace and effect. +We were particularly pleased with that called L'Enfant Prodigue, in +which the powers and graces of Mademoiselle Bigottini are displayed to +all possible advantage. One of the most splendid of the serious operas, +is that entitled Le Caravansera de Cairo, the scenery of which was +painted in Egypt, by one of the artists who accompanied Napoleon +thither, and is beyond comparison the most highly finished and beautiful +that we have ever seen, and gives an idea of the aspect of that country, +which no other work of art could convey. Another opera, which attracted +our attention, was called "Ossian, ou les Bardes." One of the scenes, +where the heroes and heroines of departed times are seen seated on the +clouds, displayed a degree of magnificence which made it a fit +representation of "the dream of Ossian." Some of the Highland scenery in +this opera was really like nature; and the dresses, particularly the +cambric and vandyked kilts, bore some distant analogy to the real +costume of the Highlanders; and although we could not gratify the +Parisians who sat by us, by admitting the resemblance of the female +figures, who skipped about the stage with single muslin petticoats, and +pink and white kid slippers, to the "Montagnardes Ecossaises <i>c'est a +dire demi-sauvages</i>," whom they were intended to represent, we at least +flattered their vanity, by expressing our wish that the latter had +resembled the former.</p> + +<p>But the most beautiful of all the exhibitions at the Academie de +Musique, are the ballets which represent pastoral scenes and rural +fetes, such as Colinette a la Cour, L'Epreuve Villageoise, &c. It is +singular, that in a city, the inhabitants of which have so entire a +contempt for rural enjoyments, pieces of this kind should form so +favourite a theatrical entertainment; but it must be confessed, that +such scenes as form the subject of these ballets, occur but seldom in +the course of a country life, and never in the degree of perfection in +which they are represented in Paris. The union of rustic simplicity and +innocence, with the polish and refinement which are acquired by +intercourse with the world, may be conceived by the help of these +exhibitions, but can hardly be witnessed in real life. The illusion, +however, when such scenes are exhibited, is exceedingly pleasing; and no +where certainly is this illusion so perfect as in the Academie de +Musique, where the charming scenery, the enlivening music, the number +and variety of characters, which are supported with life and spirit, the +beauty of the female performers, and the graceful movements, and lively +animated air of all;—if they do not recall to the spectator any thing +which he has really witnessed, seem to transport him into the more +delightful regions in which his fancy has occasionally wandered, and to +realize for a moment to him, those fairy scenes to which his youthful +imagination had been familiarized, by the beautiful fictions of poetry +or romance.</p> + +<p class="sp">The Parisian theatres are at all times sources of much amusement and +delight; but at the time of which we speak, they were doubly +interesting, as affording opportunities of seeing the most distinguished +characters of this eventful age; and as furnishing occasional strong +indications of the state of popular feeling in France. The interest of +occurrences of this last kind is now gone by, and it is almost +unnecessary for us to bear testimony to the strong party that uniformly +manifested itself when any sentiment was uttered expressive of a wish +for war, of admiration of martial achievements, and of indignation at +foreign influence, or domestic perfidy, (under which head the conduct of +Talleyrand and of Marmont was included); and more especially, when the +success, and glory, and <i>eternal, immutable, untarnished</i> honour of +France, were the theme of declamation. The applause at passages of this +last description seemed sometimes ludicrous enough, when the theatres +were guarded by Russian grenadiers, and nearly half filled with allied +officers, loaded with honours which had been won in combating the French +armies.</p> + +<p>The majority of the audience, however, appeared always delighted at the +change of government, and in the opera in particular, the first time +that the King appeared, the expression of loyalty was long, reiterated, +and enthusiastic, far beyond our most sanguine anticipations. It would +have been absurd to judge of the real feelings of the majority of the +Parisians, still more of the nation at large, from this scene; and it +was certainly not to be wished, that a blind and devoted loyalty to one +sovereign should take the place of infatuated attachment to another; yet +it was impossible not to sympathize with the joy of people who had been +agitated, during the best part of their lives, by political convulsions, +or oppressed by military tyranny, but who fancied themselves at length +relieved from both; and who connected the hope of spending the +remainder of their days in tranquillity and peace, with the +recollections which they had received from their fathers, of the +happiness and prosperity of their country under the long line of its +ancient kings. It was impossible to hear the national air of "Vive Henri +Quatre," and the enthusiastic acclamations which accompanied it, without +entering for the moment into the feeling of unhesitating attachment, and +unqualified loyalty, which has so long prevailed in most countries of +the world, but which the citizens of a free country should indulge only +when it has been deserved by long experience and tried virtue.</p> + +<p>It was with different, but not less interesting feelings, that we +listened to the same tune from the splendid bands of the Russian and +Prussian guards, as they passed along the Boulevards; on their return to +their own countries; It was a grand and moving spectacle of political +virtue, to see the armies which had been arrayed against France, +striving to do honour to the government which she had assumed:—instead +of breathing curses, or committing outrages on the great and guilty +city, which had provoked all their vengeance, to see them march out of +the gates of Paris with the regularity of the strictest military +discipline, to the sound of the grand national air, which spoke "peace +to her walls, and prosperity to her palaces,"—leaving, as it were, a +blessing on the capital which they had conquered and forgiven: It was a +scene that left an impression on the mind worthy of the troops who had +bravely and successfully opposed the domineering power of France,—who +had struggled with it when it was strongest, and "ruled it when 'twas +wildest," but who spared it when it was fallen;—who forgot their wrongs +when it was in their power to revenge them;—who cast the laurels from +their brows, as they passed before the rightful monarch of France, and +honoured him as the representative of a great and gallant people, long +beguiled by ambition, and abused by tyranny, but now acknowledging their +errors, and professing moderation and repentance.</p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h3> + +<p class="head">PARIS—THE FRENCH ARMY AND IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">I</span><span class="smcap">t</span> +is certainly a mistake to suppose, that the military power of France +was first created by Napoleon, or that military habits were actually +forced on the people, with the view of aiding his ambitious projects. +The French have a restless, aspiring, enterprising spirit, not +accompanied, as in England, by a feeling of individual importance, and a +desire of individual independence, but modified by habits of submission +to arbitrary power, and fitted, by the influence of despotic government, +for the subordination of military discipline. Add to this, the +encouragement which was held out by the rapid promotion of soldiers +during the wars of the revolution, when the highest military offices +were not only open to the attainment, but were generally appropriated to +the claims of men who rose from the ranks; and the general +dissemination, at that period, of an unbounded desire for violence and +rapine: And it will probably be allowed, that the spirit of the French +nation, at the time when he came to the head of it, was truly and almost +exclusively military. He was himself a great soldier; he rose to the +supreme government of a great military people, and he availed himself of +their habits and principles to gratify his ambition, and extend his +fame; but he ought not to be charged with having created the spirit, +which in fact created him; a spirit so powerful, and so extensively +diffused, that in comparison with it, even his efforts might be said to +be "dashing with his oar to hasten the cataract;" to be "waving with his +fan to give speed to the wind." The favourite saying of Napoleon, "Every +Frenchman is a soldier, and as such, at the disposal of the Emperor," +expresses a principle which was not merely enforced by arbitrary power, +but engrafted on the character and habits of the French people.</p> + +<p>The French are certainly admirably fitted for becoming soldiers: they +have a restless activity, which surmounts difficulties, a buoyancy and +elasticity of disposition, which rises superior to hardships, and +calamities, and privations, not with patient fortitude, but with ease +and cheerfulness. A Frenchman does not regard war, merely as the serious +struggle in which his patriotism and valour are to be tried; he loves it +for its own sake, for the interest and agitation it gives to his mind; +it is his "game,—his gain,—his glory,—his delight." Other nations of +Europe have become military, in consequence of threats or injuries, of +the dread of hostile invasion, of the presence of foreign armies, or the +galling influence of foreign power; but if the origin of the French +military spirit may be traced to similar sources, it must at least be +allowed, that the effect has been out of all proportion to the cause.</p> + +<p>It is probable, however, that the effervescence of military ideas and +feelings, which arose out of the revolution, would have gradually +subsided, had it not been for the fostering influence of the imperial +government. The turbulent and irregular energies of a great people let +loose from former bonds, received a fixed direction, and were devoted to +views of military ascendancy and national aggrandizement under Napoleon. +The continued gratification of the French vanity, by the fame of +victories and the conquest of nations, completed the effect on the +manner and habits of the people, which the events of the revolution had +begun. Napoleon well knew, that in flattering this ruling propensity, he +took the whole French nation on their weak side, and he had some reason +for saying, that their thirst for martial glory and political influence +ought to be a sufficient apology to them for all the wars into which he +plunged them.</p> + +<p>It is impossible to spend even a few days in France without seeing +strong indications of the prevailing love of military occupations, and +admiration of military merit. The common peasants in the fields shew, by +their conversation, that they are deeply interested in the glory of the +French arms, and competent to discuss the manner in which they are +conducted. In the parts of the country which had been the seat of war, +we found them always able to give a good general description of the +military events that had taken place; and when due allowance was made +for their invariable exaggeration of the number of the allied troops, +and concealment of that of the French, these accounts, as far as we +could judge by comparing them with the official details, and with the +information of officers who had borne a part in the campaign, were +tolerably correct. The fluency with which they talked of military +operations, of occupying positions, cutting off retreats, defiling over +bridges, debouching from woods, advancing and retreating, marching and +bivouacking, shewed the habitual current of their thoughts; and they +were always more willing to enter on the details of such operations, +than to enumerate their own losses, or dwell on their individual +sufferings.</p> + +<p>A similar eagerness to enter into conversation on military subjects, was +observable in almost all Frenchmen of the lower orders, with whom we had +any dealings. Our landlord at Paris, a quiet sickly man, who had no +connection with the army, and who had little to say for himself on most +subjects, displayed a marvellous fluency on military tactics; and seemed +to think that no time was lost which was employed in haranguing to us on +the glory and honour of the French army, and impressing on our minds its +superiority to the allies.</p> + +<p>Indeed, the whole French nation certainly take a pride in the deeds of +their brethren in arms, which absorbs almost all other feelings; and +which is the more singular, as it does not appear to us to be connected +with strong or general affection or gratitude for any particular +individual. It was not the fame of any one General but the general +honour of the French arms, about which they seemed anxious. We never met +with a Frenchman, of any rank, or of any political persuasion, who +considered the French army as fairly overcome in the campaign of 1814; +and the shifts and contrivances by which they explained all the events +of the campaign, without having recourse to that supposition, were +wonderfully ingenious. The best informed Frenchmen whom we met in Paris, +even those who did not join in the popular cry of treason and corruption +against Marmont, regarded the terms granted by Alexander to their city, +as a measure of policy rather than of magnanimity. They uniformly +maintained, that the possession of the heights of Belleville and +Montmartre did not secure the command of Paris: that if Marmont had +chosen, he might have defended the town after he had lost these +positions; and that, if the Russians had attempted to take the town by +force, they might have succeeded, but would have lost half their army. +Indeed, so confidently were these propositions maintained by all the +best informed Frenchmen, civil or military, royalist of imperialist, +whom we met, that we were at a loss whether to give credit to the +statement uniformly given us by the allied officers, that the town was +completely commanded by those heights, and might have been burnt and +destroyed, without farther risk on the part of the assailants, after +they were occupied. The English officers, with whom we had an +opportunity of conversing on this subject, seemed divided in opinion +regarding it; and we should have hesitated to which party to yield our +belief, had not the conduct of Napoleon and his officers in the campaign +of the present year, the extraordinary precautions which they took to +prevent access to the positions in question, by laying the adjacent +country under water, and fortifying the heights themselves, clearly +shewn the importance, in a military point of view, which is really +attached to them.</p> + +<p>The credulity of the French, in matters connected with the operations of +their armies, often astonished us. It appeared to arise, partly from the +scarcity of information in the country; from their having no means of +confirming, correcting, or disproving the exaggerated and garbled +statements which were laid before them; and partly from their national +vanity, which disposed them to yield a very easy assent to every thing +that exalted their national character. In no other country, we should +conceive, would such extravagant and manifestly exaggerated statements +be swallowed, as the French soldiers are continually in the habit of +dispersing among their countrymen. From the style of the conversation +which we were accustomed to hear at <i>caffés</i> and <i>tables d'hôte</i>, we +should conceive, that the French bulletins, which appeared to us such +models of gasconade, were admirably well fitted, not merely to please +the taste, but even to regulate the belief, or at least the professions +of belief, of the majority of French politicians, with regard to the +events they commemorate.</p> + +<p>The general interest of a nation in the deeds and honours of its army, +is the best possible security for its general conduct; and it must be +admitted, that in those qualities which are chiefly valued by the French +nation, the French army was never surpassed; while it is equally +obvious, that both the army and the people have at present little regard +for some of the finest virtues which can adorn the character of +soldiers.</p> + +<p>The grand characteristic of the French army, on which both the soldiers +and the people pride themselves, is what was long ago ably pointed out +by the author of the "Caractere des Armées Europeennes Actuelles"—the +individual intelligence and activity of the soldiers. They were taken +at that early age, when the influence of previous habit is small, and +when the character is easily moulded into any form that is wished; they +were accustomed to pride themselves on no qualities, but those which are +serviceable against their enemies, and they had before them the most +animating prospect of rewards and promotion, if their conduct was +distinguished. Under these circumstances, the native vigour, and +activity, and acuteness of their minds, took the very direction which +was likely, not merely to make them good soldiers, but to fit them for +becoming great officers; and this ultimate destination of his +experience, and ability, and valour, has a very manifest effect on the +mind of the French soldier. We hardly ever spoke to one of them, of any +rank, about any of the battles in which he had been engaged, without +observing, that he had in his head a general plan of the action, which +he always delivered to us with perfect fluency, in the technical +language of war, and with quite as much exaggeration as was necessary +for his purpose. What he wanted in correct information, he would +assuredly make up with lies, but he would seldom fail to give a general +consistent idea of the affair; and it was obvious, that the manœuvres +of the armies, and the conduct of the generals, on both sides, had +occupied as much of his consideration and reflection, as his own +individual dangers and adventures.</p> + +<p>When we afterwards entered into conversation with some English private +soldiers, at Brussels and Antwerp, concerning the actions they had seen, +we perceived a very marked difference. They were very ready to enter +into details concerning all that they had themselves witnessed, and very +anxious to be perfectly correct in their statements; but they did not +appear ever to have troubled their heads about the general plan of the +actions. They had abundance of technical phrases concerning their own +departments of the service; but very few words relative to the +manœuvring of large bodies of men. Their rule seemed to be, to do their +own duty, and let their officers do theirs; the principle of the +division of labour seemed to prevail in military, as well as in civil +affairs, much more extensively in England than in France.</p> + +<p>The soldiers of the French imperial guard, in particular, are remarkably +intelligent, and in general very communicative. We entered into +conversation with some of these men at La Fere, and from one of them, +who had been in the great battle at Laon, we had fully as distinct an +account of that action as we are able to collect, the next day, from +several officers who accompanied us from St Quentin to Cambray, and who +had likewise been engaged in it. When we asked him the numbers of the +two armies on that day, he replied without the least hesitation, that +the allied army was 100,000 and the French 30,000.—Another of these men +had been at Salamanca, and after we had granted his fundamental +assumption, that the English army there was 120,000 strong, and the +French 40,000, he proceeded to give us a very good account of the +battle.</p> + +<p>These men, as well as almost all the French officers and soldiers with +whom we had opportunities at different times of conversing, gave their +opinions of the allied armies without any reserve, and with considerable +discrimination. Of the Russians and Prussians they said, "Ils savent +bien faire la guerre; ils sont de bons soldats;" but of the common +soldiers of these services in particular, they said, "Ils sont tres +forts, et durs comme l'ame du diable—mais ils sont des veritables +betes; ils n'ont point d'intelligence. La puissance de l'armée +Française," they added, with an air of true French gasconade, "est dans +l'intelligence des soldats."—Of the Austrians, they said, "Ils brillent +dans leur cavalerie, mais pour leur infanterie, elle ne vaut rien."</p> + +<p>From these soldiers we could extract no more particular character of the +English troops, than "Ils se battent bien," But it is doing no more than +justice to the French officers, even such as were decidedly imperialist, +who conversed with us at Paris, and in different parts of the country, +to acknowledge that they uniformly spoke in the highest terms of the +conduct of the English troops. The expression which they very commonly +used, in speaking of the manner in which the English carried on the war +in Spain, and in France, was, "loyauté." "Les Russes, et les Prussiens," +they said, "sont des grands et beauxhommes, mais ils n'ont pas le cœur +ou la loyauté des Anglais. Les Anglais sont la nation du monde qui font +la guerre avec le plus de loyauté," &c. This referred partly to their +valour in the field, and partly to their humane treatment of prisoners +and wounded; and partly also to their honourable conduct in France, +where they preserved the strictest discipline, and paid for every thing +they took. Of the behaviour of the English army in France, they always +spoke as excellent:—"digne de leur civilization."</p> + +<p>A French officer who introduced himself to us one night in a box at the +opera, expressing his high respect for the English, against whom, he +said, he had the honour to fight for six years in Spain, described the +steadiness and determination of the English infantry in attacking the +heights on which the French army was posted at Salamanca, in terms of +enthusiastic admiration. Another who had been in the battle of Toulouse, +extolled the conduct of the Highland regiments in words highly +expressive of</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"The stern joy which warriors feel,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">In foemen worthy of their steel."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>"Il y a quelques regimens des Ecossais sans culottes," said he, "dans +l'armée de Wellington, qui se battent joliment." He then described the +conduct of one regiment in particular, (probably the 42d or 79th), who +attacked a redoubt defended with cannon, and marched up to it in perfect +order; never taking the muskets from their shoulders, till they were on +the parapet: "Si tranquillement,—sacre Dieu! c'etoit superbe."</p> + +<p>Of the military talents of the Duke of Wellington they spoke also with +much respect, though generally with strong indications of jealousy. They +were often very ingenious in devising means of explaining his +victories, without compromising, as they called it, the honour of the +French arms. At Salamanca, they said, that in consequence of the wounds +of Marmont and other generals, their army was two hours without a +commander. At Vittoria again, it was commanded by Jourdan, and any body +could beat Jourdan. At Talavera, he committed "les plus grandes sottises +du monde; il a fait une contre-marche digne d'un bete." Some of the Duke +of Wellington's victories over Soult they stoutly denied, and others +they ascribed to great superiority of numbers, and to the large drafts +of Soult's best troops for the purpose of forming skeleton battalions, +to receive the conscripts of 1813.</p> + +<p>The French pride themselves greatly on the <i>honour</i> of their soldiers, +and in this quality they uniformly maintain that they are unrivalled, at +least on the continent of Europe. To this it is easy to reply, that, +according to the common notions of honour, it has been violated more +frequently and more completely by the French army than by any other. But +this is in fact eluding the observation rather than refuting it. The +truth appears to be, that the French <i>soldiers</i> have a stronger sense of +honour than those of almost any other service; but that the <i>officers</i>, +having risen from the ranks, have brought with them to the most exalted +stations, no more refined or liberal sentiments than those by which the +private soldiers are very frequently actuated; and have, on the +contrary, acquired habits of duplicity and intrigue, from which their +brethren in inferior situations are exempt.</p> + +<p>When we say of the French soldiers that they have a strong sense of +honour, we mean merely to express, that they will encounter dangers, and +hardships, and privations, and calamities of every kind, with wonderful +fortitude, and even cheerfulness, from no other motive than an <i>esprit +du corps</i>—a regard for the character of the French arms. Without +provocation from their enemies, without the prospect of plunder, without +the hope of victory, without the conviction of the interest of their +country in their deeds, without even the consolation of expecting care +or attention in case of wounds or sickness,—they will not hesitate to +lavish their blood, and sacrifice their lives, <i>for the glory of +France</i>. Other troops go through similar scenes of suffering and danger +with equal fortitude, when under the influence of strong passions, when +fired by revenge, or animated by the hope of plunder, or cheered by the +acclamations of victory; but with the single exception of the British +army, we doubt whether there are any to whom the mere spirit of military +honour is of itself so strong a stimulus.</p> + +<p>We have already noticed the state of the French sick and wounded, left +in the hospitals at Wilna during the retreat from Russia; a state so +deplorable, as to have excited the strongest commiseration among their +indignant enemies. This, however, was but a single instance of the +system almost uniformly acted on, we have understood, by the French +medical staff in Russia, Germany, and Spain, of deserting their +hospitals on the approach of the enemy, so as to leave to him, if he did +not chuse to see the whole of the patients perish before his eyes, the +burden of maintaining them. The miseries which this system must have +occasioned, in the campaign of 1813 in particular, require no +illustration.</p> + +<p>Another regulation of the French army, during the campaign of that year, +will shew the utter carelessness of its leaders, in regard to the lives +or comforts of the soldiers. When the men who were incapacitated for +service by wounds or disease, were sent back to France, they were +directed, in the first instance, to Mentz, where their uniforms, and any +money they might have about them, were regularly taken from them, and +given to the young conscripts who were passing through to join the +armies; they were then dressed in miserable old rags, which were +collected in the adjacent provinces by Jews employed for that purpose, +and in this state they were sent to <i>beg</i> their way to their homes. +Such, as we were assured by some of our countrymen, who saw many of +these men passing through Verdun, was the reward of thousands of the +"<i>grande nation</i>" who had lost their limbs or their health in vainly +endeavouring to maintain the glory and influence of their country in +foreign states. In the campaign of 1814, which was carried on during the +continuance of a frost of almost unprecedented intensity, and in so +rapid and variable a manner, and with so large bodies of troops, as to +prevent the establishment of regular hospitals or of any thing like a +regular Commissariat, the French troops, particularly the young +conscripts and national guards, suffered dreadfully; and numbers of them +who escaped the swords of their enemies, perished miserably or were +disabled for life, in consequence of hardships, and fatigues, and +privations.</p> + +<p>All these examples were known to the French soldiers—they took place +daily before their eyes, and, in the last instance, the allies took +pains to let them know, that the only obstacle to honourable peace was +the obstinacy of their commander; yet their ardour continued unabated; +the young soldiers displayed a degree of valour in every action of both +campaigns, which drew forth the warm applause even of their enemies; and +it is not to be doubted, that the troops whom Napoleon collected at +Fontainbleau, at the end of the campaign in France, were +enthusiastically bent on carrying into effect the frantic resolution of +attacking Paris, then occupied by a triple force of the allies, from +which his officers with difficulty dissuaded him.</p> + +<p>In like manner, there is probably no general but Napoleon, who would not +have attempted to terminate the miseries of the army during the retreat +from Moscow, by entering into negotiation with the Russians; nor is +there any army but the French which would have tamely consented to be +entirely sacrificed to the obstinacy of an individual. But to have +concluded a convention with the Russians would have been <i>compromising +the honour of the French arms</i>; and this little form of words seemed to +strike more terror to the hearts of the French soldiers, than either the +swords of the Russians, or the dreary wastes and wintry storms of +Russia, which might have been apostrophised in the words of the poet,</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Alas! even your unhallowed breath</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">May spare the victim fallen low,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">But man will ask no truce to death,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">No bounds to human woe."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>"He saw, without emotion, (says Labaume), the miserable remains of an +army, lately so powerful, defile before him; yet his presence never +excited a murmur; on the contrary, it animated even the most timid, who +were always tranquil when in presence of the emperor." At the present +moment, from all the accounts that we have received, as well as from our +own observations of those French soldiers whom we have ourselves seen +after their return from Moscow, the sentiments of the survivors of that +expedition with regard to Napoleon remained unchanged; and no person who +has read any of the narratives of the campaign can ascribe their +constancy to any other cause, than that feeling of attachment to the +glory of their country, to which the French, however improperly, give +the name of military honour.</p> + +<p>If the character of the French soldiers is deserving of high admiration +for their constancy and courage, it must be observed, on the other +hand, that there is a mixture of <i>selfishness</i> in it, an utter disregard +of the feelings, and indifference as to the sufferings, not merely of +their enemies, or of the inhabitants of the countries which they +traverse, but even of their best friends and companions, which forbids +us to go farther in their praise. It is as unnecessary, as it would be +painful, to enter on an enumeration of the instances of wanton cruelty, +violence, and rapacity, which have sullied the fame of their most +brilliant deeds in arms. It will be long before the French name will +recover the disgrace which the remembrance of such scenes as Moscow, or +Saragossa, or Tarragona, has attached to it, in every country of Europe; +and it is impossible to have a more convincing proof of the tyrannical +and oppressive conduct of the French armies in foreign states, than the +universal enthusiasm with which Europe has risen against them,—the +indignant and determined spirit with which all ranks of every country +have united to rid themselves of an oppression, not less galling to +their individual feelings, than degrading to their national character. +But it is particularly worthy of remark, that the latest and most +authentic writers in France itself, who have given any account of the +French armies, have, noticed selfishness, and disregard of the feelings +of their own comrades, as well as of all other persons, as one of the +most prominent features of their character. We need only refer to +Labaume's book on the expedition to Russia, to Miot's work on the +Egyptian campaigns, or to Rocca's history of the war in Spain, for ample +proofs of the correctness of this observation. Whether this peculiarity +is to be ascribed chiefly to their national character, or to the nature +of the services in which they have been engaged, it is not very easy to +decide.</p> + +<p>The dishonourable conduct of the French officers, particularly of the +superior officers, in the present year, is much more easily explained +than excused. They had risen from the ranks—they had been engaged all +their lives in active and iniquitous services—they had been accustomed +to look to success as the best criterion of merit, and to regard +attachment to their leaders and their colours, as the only duties of +soldiers;—they had never thought seriously on morality or +religion—they had been applauded by their countrymen and +fellow-soldiers, for actions in direct violation of both—and they had +been taught to consider that applause as their highest honour and +legitimate reward. Under these circumstances, it is easy to see, that +they could have little information with regard to the true interests of +France, and that they would regard the most sacred engagements as +binding only in so far as general opinion would reprobate the violation +of them; and when a strong party shewed itself, in the nation as well as +the army, ready to support them and to extol their conduct in rising +against the government, that their oaths would have no influence to +restrain them. It is to be considered, likewise, that a large proportion +of the officers had been originally republicans. They had been engaged +in long and active military service, and been elated with military +glory; in the multiplicity of their duties, and the intoxication of +their success as soldiers, they had ceased to be citizens; but during +the repose that succeeded the establishment of the Bourbons, when they +again found themselves in the midst of their countrymen, their original +political feelings and prejudices returned, embittered and exasperated +by the influence of their military habits, and the remembrance of their +military disgraces. We have ourselves conversed with several officers, +who were strongly attached to Napoleon, but whose political views were +decidedly republican; and have heard it stated, that the officers of +artillery and engineers are supposed to be particularly democratic in +their principles.</p> + +<p>It is much easier to account for the conduct of the French army since +the dethronement of Napoleon, than to point out any means by which that +conduct could have been altered. It was stated to us at Paris, that the +number of military officers to be provided for by government, was +upwards of 60,000. These would certainly comprise a very large +proportion of the talents and enterprise of the French nation. The +number of them that can have been sincerely devoted to the Bourbons, or +that can have been otherwise disposed of since that time, cannot be +great; nor do we see by what means it will be possible to reconcile the +majority of this very important class of men, to a government which has +twice owed its elevation to the discomfiture and humiliation of the +French arms.</p> + +<p>It may be easily conceived, that in an army, the officers of which have, +for the most part, risen from the ranks, the principles of strict +military subordination cannot be enforced with the same punctilious +rigour as in services where a marked distinction is constantly kept up +between officers and soldiers. There is a more gradual transition from +the highest to the lowest situations of the French army—a more +complete amalgamation of the whole mass, than is consistent with the +views of other governments in the maintenance of their standing armies.</p> + +<p>It is true, that a change has taken place in the composition of the +French army, in this respect, under the imperial government. A number of +military schools were established and encouraged in different parts of +the country, and a great number of young men were sent to these by their +parents, under the understanding, that after being educated in them they +should become officers at once, without passing through the inferior +steps, to which they would otherwise have been devoted by the +conscription. A great number of officers, therefore, have of late years +been appointed from these schools to the army, who have never served in +the ranks; but the manners and habits which they acquire at the schools +are, we should conceive, very little superior to what they might have +learnt from the private soldiers, who would otherwise have been their +associates. A comparison of the appearance and manner of the pupils of +the Ecole Militaire, with those of the young men at the English military +colleges, would shew, as strongly as any other parallel that could be +drawn, the difference in respectability and gentlemanlike feeling +between the English and French officers.</p> + +<p>There is so little of uniformity in dress, of regard to external +appearance, or of shew of subordination, and inferiority to their +officers, in the French soldiers, that a stranger would be apt to +consider them as deficient in discipline. The fact is, that they know +perfectly, from being continually engaged in active service, what are +the essentials of military discipline, and that they are quite careless +of all superfluous forms. Whatever regulations are necessary, in any +particular circumstances, are strictly enforced; and the men submit to +them, not from any principle of slavish subjection to their officers, +but rather from deference to their superior intelligence and +information, and from a regard to the good of the service.</p> + +<p>The French army may, in fact, be said to have little of the feelings +which are truly military. The officers have not the strong feeling of +humanity, and the high and just sense of honour, not merely as members +of the army, but as individuals; the soldiers have not the habit of +implicit obedience and attachment to their peculiar duties; and the +whole have not the lively sense of responsibility to their country, and +dependence on their sovereign, which are probably essential to the +existence of an army which shall not be dangerous, even to the state +that maintains it. The French army submitted implicitly to Napoleon, +because he was their general; but we should doubt if they ever +considered themselves, even under his dominion, as the <i>servants of +France</i>. They appear, at present, at least, to think themselves an +independent body, who have a right to act according to their own +judgment, and are accountable to nobody for their actions. In this idea +of their own importance they were, of course, encouraged by Napoleon, +who, on his return from Elba, spoke of the injuries done by the Bourbons +to the <i>army and people</i>, and assigned the former the most honourable +place in his Champ de Mai. And it will appear by no means surprising, +that they should have acquired these sentiments, when we consider the +importance which has been attached to their exploits by their +countrymen, the encouragement to which they have been accustomed, the +preference to all other classes of men which was shewn them by the late +government, and the nature of the services in which they have been +engaged, and for which they have been rewarded; circumstances fitted to +assimilate them, in reality as well as appearance, rather to an immense +band of freebooters, having no principle but union among themselves, +and submission to their chiefs, than to an established and responsible +standing army.</p> + +<p>This observation applies to the feelings and principles of the soldiers +taken as a body, not to their individual habits; for, excepting in the +case of the detachment of the imperial guard, quartered at Fontainbleau, +we never understood that the French soldiers in time of peace, at least +among their own countrymen, were accused of outrage or rapine.</p> + +<p>There is considerable variety in the personal appearance of the French +soldiers. The infantry are generally little men, much inferior to the +Russians and Prussians in size and weight; but as they are almost all +young, they appear equally well fitted for bearing fatigues, and they +have an activity in their gait and demeanour, which accords well with +their general character. In travelling through the country, we could +almost always tell a French soldier from one of the allies at a +distance, by the spring of his step. They have another excellent +quality, that of being easily fed. Nothing appeared to excite more +astonishment or indignation in France, than the quantity of food +consumed by the allied troops. We found at Paris, that the Russian +convalescents, occupying the hospitals which had formerly been +appropriated to French troops, actually eat three times the rations +which the French had been allowed. Frenchmen of the middling and higher +ranks appear to have generally very keen appetites, and often surprise +Englishmen by the magnitude and variety of their meals; but the +peasantry and lower orders are accustomed to much poorer fare than the +corresponding classes, at least in the southern part of our island, and +the ordinary diet of the French soldiers is inferior to that of the +English. In garrison, they are never allowed animal food, at least when +in their own country; and the better living to which they are accustomed +in foreign countries, and on active service, is a stronger +recommendation of war to these volatile and unreflecting spirits, than +it might at first be thought.</p> + +<p>The French cavalry are almost universally fine men, much superior to the +infantry in appearance. The horses of the <i>chasseurs à cheval</i>, and +hussars, are small, but active and hardy; and even those of the +cuirassiers have not the weight or beauty of the English heavy dragoons, +though we have understood that they bear the fatigues and privations, +incident to long campaigns, much better.</p> + +<p>The imperial guard was composed, like the Russian guard, of picked men, +who had already served a certain length of time, and the pay being +higher than of the regiments of the line, and great pains being +uniformly taken to preserve them as much as possible, from the hardships +and dangers to which the other troops were exposed, and to reserve them +for great emergencies, it was at once an honour and a reward to belong +to them. We saw a review of the elite of the imperial guard on the 8th +of May 1814, in presence of the King of France; the regiments of +cavalry, of which a great number passed, were very weak in numbers, but +the men were uncommonly fine, and the horses strong and active. The +finest regiment of infantry of the old guard, with some pieces of +cannon, did not defile before the King, but passed out of the Cour de +Carousel by a back way, on account, as we understood, of its having +shewn strong symptoms of disgust on the entrance of the King into Paris. +That regiment, as well as all the rest of the infantry of the old guard, +then called the Grenadiers Français, whom we had ever occasion to see, +was composed of the finest men, not merely in point of strength, but of +activity and apparent intelligence. The few pieces of artillery of the +guard that we saw were in very bad condition, and their equipment +particularly mean; but this branch of the service had not then had time +to repair the losses it had sustained in the campaign.</p> + +<p>The cavalry of the guard appeared to have been the most fashionable +service under Napoleon. There were cuirassiers, heavy and light +dragoons, chasseurs, hussars, grenadiers à cheval, and lancers of the +guard, all of whom had different and splendid uniforms, and presented an +uncommonly varied and magnificent appearance when reviewed together. +Their magnificence and variety was evidently intended to gratify the +taste of the French people for splendid shows, and to attract young men +of fortune and expensive habits.</p> + +<p>The imperial guard had much more of the air and manner, as well as +dress, of regular soldiers, than any other part of the French army; +indeed it is impossible to conceive a more martial or imposing figure +than that of one of the old grenadiers, (commonly called the <i>vieux +moustaches</i>,) in his striking and appropriate costume, armed with his +musket and sword, the cross of the legion of honour on his breast, his +rough and weather-beaten countenance bearing the impression of the sun +of Italy and the snows of Russia, while his keen and restless eye +shows, more expressively than words, that he is still "ready, aye +ready, for the field."</p> + +<p>We thought we could discern in the countenances of the troops of +different nations, whom we saw reviewed about this time, the traces of +the difference of national character. The general expression of the +Russians, we thought, was that of stern obstinate determination; of the +Prussians, warm enthusiastic gallantry; of the French, fierce and +indignant impetuosity. This may have been fancy, but all who have seen +the troops of these different nations, will allow a very striking +difference of expression of countenance, as well as of features.</p> + +<p class="sp">No measure was omitted by Napoleon to secure, the services, in the army, +of all who could be of any use in it. The organization of the garde +d'honneur was intended to include as large a number as possible of the +young men, whose circumstances had enabled them to avoid the +conscription. No act of the Imperial Government seemed to have given +more general offence in France than the formation of this corps, the +number of which was stated to have amounted at one time to 10,000. They +were, in the first instance, invited to volunteer, under the assurance +that they were to be employed as a guard for Maria Louisa, and under no +circumstances to be sent across the Rhine. A maximum and minimum number +were fixed for each <i>arrondissement</i>, some number between which was to +be made up by voluntary enrolments; but when any deficiency was +discovered, as for example in Holland, where the young men were very +little disposed to voluntary service in the French army, a balloting +immediately took place, and a number greater than the maximum was +compelled to come forward. Exemption from this service was impossible; +immense sums were offered and refused. They were all mounted, armed, and +clothed at their own expense; those who did not chuse to march, were +sent off under an escort of gens-d'armes; and all were conducted to the +fortresses on the Rhine, were they were regularly drilled. Some of them +were induced to volunteer for extended service, by a promise, that after +serving one campaign, they should be made officers; and in the course of +the campaign of 1813, <i>all</i> of them were brought up to join the army; +and these young men, taken only a few weeks before from their families, +where many of them had been accustomed to every luxury and indulgence, +were compelled to go through all the duties and fatigues of common +hussars. Some regiments of them, which were very early brought into +action, having misconducted themselves, were immediately disbanded; +their horses, arms, and uniforms, were taken from them for the use of +the other troops, and they were dismissed, to find the best of their way +to their homes. Those who remained were distributed among the different +corps of cavalry, and suffered very severely in the campaign in France. +We spoke to some of them at Paris, who said they had bivouacked, at one +period of the campaign, <i>on snow</i>, fourteen nights successively, and +described to us the action at Rheims, one of the last that was fought, +where half of their regiment were left on the field. These men +complained loudly of the treacherous conduct of Napoleon to them and +their brethren of the same corps; yet they expressed their willingness +to undergo all their sufferings again, if they could thereby transfer +the date of the peace to the other side of the Rhine.</p> + +<p>The effect of this measure on the middling and higher ranks was not more +oppressive than that of the conscription on the lower ranks, and even on +persons in tolerably good circumstances; for we have heard of £.400 +Sterling, being twice paid to rescue an individual, whom a third +conscription had at length torn from his family. The impression produced +in France, however, by either of these measures, cannot be judged of +from a comparison with the feelings so often manifested in this country, +under circumstances of less aggravated affliction. The same careless, +unthinking, constitutional cheerfulness, which is so commendable in +those Frenchmen whose sufferings are all personal, displays itself in a +darker point of view, when they are called on to sympathise with the +sufferings of their friends. It is a disposition, allied indeed to +magnanimity on the one hand, but to selfishness on the other. The +sufferings of the French on such an occasion as the loss of a near +relation, may be acute; but they are of very short duration. In Paris, +mourning is at present hardly ever worn. At the time when we were there, +although a bloody campaign had only recently been concluded, we did not +see above five or six persons in mourning, and even these were not +certainly French. We understood it to be a principle all over France, +never to wear mourning for a son; but whether this was adopted in +compliance with the wishes of Napoleon, as was stated by some, or was +general before his time, as others maintained, we were not sufficiently +informed.</p> + +<p class="sp">It may be a question, whether the real, as well as professed motive of +the policy of Napoleon, while he directed the affairs of France, was +some ill-conceived and absurd idea of the superior happiness and +prosperity which France might enjoy, if placed indisputably at the head +of the civilized world, and especially if elevated above the rivalship +of England; but if the good of France was really his end, it is quite +certain that it engaged very little of his attention, and that he +occupied himself almost exclusively with regard to the means which he +held to be necessary to its attainment. The causes of the wars in which +he engaged were of little importance to him; but the immediate object of +all of them was the glory and aggrandizement of France; and to this +object his whole soul was devoted, and all the energies of the state +were directed.</p> + +<p>In a general view, the imperial government may be said to have rested on +the following foundations.</p> + +<p>In the first place, it rested on the principle which was universally +acted on, of giving active employment, and animating encouragement, to +all men of talents or enterprise—to all whose friendship might be +useful, or whose enmity might be dangerous. The conscription carried off +the flower of the youthful population; parents were encouraged to send +their children; if they shewed any superior abilities, to the military +schools, whence they were rapidly promoted in the army. The formation of +the garde d'honneur effectually prevented all danger from a numerous +class of men, whose circumstances might have enabled them to exert +themselves in opposing public measures. In the civil administration of +the country, it was the system of Napoleon, from the beginning of his +career, to give employment to all who might be dangerous, if their +services were not secured. The prefects of towns and <i>arrondissements</i>, +were generally men of intelligence and information regarding the +characters of the inhabitants; and the persons recommended by them to +the immense number of situations in the police, in the collection of +taxes, &c. were always men of activity, enterprise, and ability: Birth, +education, and moral character, were altogether disregarded, and +religious principle was rather considered a fault than a recommendation.</p> + +<p>The consequence was, that the young, the bold, the active, the +enterprising, the independent, were either attached to the imperial +government, or at least prevented from exerting themselves in opposition +to it; while those whom family cares, or laborious occupations, or +habits of indolence, or want of energy of mind, rendered unfit for +resistance to any government, were the only people whose interest it +was to resist that of Napoleon.</p> + +<p>In the next place, while much was done by these means to secure the +support of the most important part of the nation to the imperial +government, the most effectual precautions were taken to prevent danger +to it, from those whom either principle might lead, or injuries might +provoke to disaffection. The police was everywhere so powerful, and the +system of espionage so universally extended, that it was almost +impossible for different individuals to combine against the government. +Without including the hosts of douaniers, who were under the orders of +the collectors of taxes, the gens d'armerie, who were at the disposal of +the police, and had no other duties to perform, amounted to above 10,000 +men, cavalry and infantry, all completely armed and equipped. As soon, +therefore, as any individual excited suspicion, there was no difficulty +as to his apprehension. The number of police officers was very great, +and they were all low born, clever, unprincipled men, perfectly fitted +for their situations. The extent and accuracy of the information +possessed by them was almost incredible. Indeed, we regard the system of +espionage, by which this information was procured, as the most complete +and damning proof of the general selfishness and immorality of the +French people, of which we have received any account. It was not merely +that a number of persons were employed by the police as spies; but that +no man could put any confidence even in his best friends and nearest +relations. The very essence of the system was the destruction of all +confidence between man and man; and its success was such, that no man +could venture to express any sentiments hostile to the government, even +in the retirement of his own family circle. That sacred sanctuary was +every where invaded, not by the strong hand of power, but by the secret +machinations of bribery and intrigue.</p> + +<p>We were particularly informed, with respect to the establishment of the +police in Amsterdam, where the sentiments of the people being known to +be averse to French dominion, it was of course made stronger than in +less suspicious parts of the country. Within a week after the annexation +of Holland to France, the police was in full force, and the spies every +where in motion. No servant was allowed to engage himself who had not a +certificate from the police, implying his being a spy on his master. At +the <i>tables d'hôte</i>, persons were placed to encourage seditious +conversation, and those who expressed themselves strongly, were soon +after seized and committed to prison. No person could leave Amsterdam, +even to go three miles into the country, without a passport from the +police, which was granted only to whom they pleased. When a party went +out on such an excursion, they were sure to be met by some of the gens +d'armerie, who already knew their names and destination, and who fixed +the time of their return. From the decisions of the police there was no +appeal; and those who were imprisoned by them, (as so many of the +inhabitants of Amsterdam were, that it ceased to be any reproach,) had +no method of bringing on a trial, or even of ascertaining the crimes of +which they were accused. Frequently individuals were transported from +one part of the country to another, without any reason being assigned, +and set down among strangers, to make their bread as they best could, +under the inspection of the police, who instantly arrested them on their +attempting to escape. This system was probably more strictly enforced in +Holland than over the greater part of France, but its most essential +parts were every where the same, and the information, with respect to +the private characters and sentiments of individuals, was certainly +more easily obtained in France than in Holland.</p> + +<p>Such, according to the information of the most intelligent and best +informed persons with whom we had an opportunity of conversing, were the +principal means by which the power of Napoleon was maintained, and his +authority enforced. But it must be owned that he did more than +this,—that during the greater part of his reign, he not only commanded +the obedience, but obtained the admiration and esteem of the majority of +his subjects.</p> + +<p>In looking for the causes of this, we shall in vain attempt to discover +them in real benefits conferred on France by Napoleon. It is true, that +agriculture made some progress during his reign, but this was decidedly +owing to the transference of the landed property from nobles and +churchmen, to persons really interested in the cultivation of the soil, +which had taken place before his time, and not to the empty and +ostentatious patronage which he bestowed on it; the best proof of which +is, that the main improvement that has taken place has not been, as +already observed, in the principles or practice of agriculture, but in +the quantity of land under tillage. It is true also, that certain +manufactures have been encouraged by the exclusion of the English +goods; but this partial increase of wealth was certainly not worth the +expense of a year's war, and was heavily counterbalanced by the distress +occasioned by his tyrannical decrees in the commercial towns of France, +and of the countries which were subjected to her control.</p> + +<p>As a single instance of this distress, we may just notice the situation +of the city of Amsterdam during the time that Holland was incorporated +with France. Out of 200,000 inhabitants of that city, more than one +half, during the whole of that time, were absolutely deprived of the +means of subsistence, and lived merely on the charity of the remainder, +who were, for the most part, unable to engage in any profitable +business, all foreign commerce being at an end, and supported themselves +therefore on the capital which they had previously acquired; and, lest +that capital should escape, two-thirds of the national debt of Holland +were struck off by a single decree of Napoleon. The population of the +town fell off about 20,000 during the time of its connection with +France; the taxes, while the two countries were incorporated, were +enormous; the income-tax, which was independent of the droits reunis, or +assessed taxes, having been stated to us at one-fifth of every man's +income. It was during the pressure of these burdens that the tremendous +system of police which we have described was enforced; and to add to the +miseries of the unfortunate inhabitants of this and the other commercial +towns of Holland, they were not allowed to manifest their sufferings. +Every man who possessed or inhabited a house was compelled to keep it in +perfect repair; so that even at the time of their liberation, these +towns bore no external mark of poverty or decay. The consequence of that +decree, however, had been, that persons possessing houses at first +lowered their rents, then asked no rents at all; happy to get them off +their hands, and throw on the tenants the burden of paying taxes for +them and keeping them in repair; and lastly, in many instances, offered +sums of money to bribe others to live in their houses, or even accept +the property of them.</p> + +<p>The taxes of France, under Napoleon, it would have been supposed, were +alone sufficient to exasperate the people against them. They were +oppressive, not merely from their amount, but especially from the +arbitrary power which was granted to the prefects of towns and +<i>arrondissements</i>, and their agents, in collecting them. A certain sum +was directed to be levied in each district, and the apportioning of this +burden on the different inhabitants was left almost entirely to the +discretion of these officers.</p> + +<p>It is quite obvious, therefore, as we already hinted; that the +popularity of Napoleon in France, during at least the greater part of +his reign; can be traced to no other source than the national vanity of +the French. As they are more fond of shew than of comfort in private +life, so their public affections are more easily won by gaudy +decorations than by substantial benefits. Napoleon gave them enough of +the former; they had victories abroad and <i>spectacles</i> at home—their +capital was embellished—their country was aggrandised—their glory was +exalted; and if he had continued successful, France would still have +continued to applaud and admire him, while she had sons to swell her +armies, and daughters to drudge in her fields.</p> + +<p>As it was not Napoleon who made the French a military and ambitious +people, so it is not his fall alone that can secure the world against +the effects of their military and ambitious spirit. It is not merely the +removal of him who has so long guided it, but the extinction of the +spirit itself that is necessary. The effect of the late events on the +active part of the population of France, cannot be accurately judged of +in the present moment of irritation and disorder; but whatever +government that country may ultimately assume, it may surely be hoped +that their experience of unsuccessful and calamitous war has been +sufficient to incline them to peace; that they will learn to measure +their national glory by a better standard than mere victory or noise; +that they will reflect on the true objects, both of political and +military institutions, and acknowledge the happiness of the people they +govern to be the supreme law of kings, and the blessings of the country +they serve to be the best reward of soldiers.</p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h3> + +<p class="head">JOURNEY TO FLANDERS.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">W</span><span class="smcap">hen</span> +we left Paris, we took the road to Soissons and Laon, with a view +to see the seat of war during the previous campaign, and examine the +interesting country of Flanders. After passing the village of La +Villette, and the heights of Belleville, the country becomes flat and +uninteresting, and is distinguished by those features which characterise +almost all the level agricultural districts of France. The road, which +is of great breadth, and paved in the centre, runs through a continued +plain, in which, as far as the eye can reach, nothing is to be discerned +but a vast expanse of corn fields, varied at intervals by fallows, and +small tracts of lucerne and sainfoin. No inclosures are to be met with; +few woods are seen to vary the uniformity of the view; and the level +surface of the ground is only broken at intervals by the long rows of +fruit-trees, which intersect the country in different directions, or the +tall avenues of elms between which the <i>chaussèes</i> are placed.</p> + +<p>These elm trees would give a magnificent appearance to the roads, both +from their age and the immense length during which they fringe its +sides, were it not that they are uniformly clipt to the very top, for +firewood, by the peasantry, and that all their natural beauty is in +consequence destroyed. The elm, indeed, pushes out its shoots to replace +the branches which have been destroyed, and fringes the lofty stem with +a cluster of foliage; but as soon as these young branches have become +large, they too are in their turn sacrificed to the same purpose. When +seen from a distance, accordingly, these trees resemble tall May-poles +with tufts at their tops, and are hardly to be distinguished from the +Lombardy poplars, which, in many parts of the country, line the sides of +the principal roads.</p> + +<p>One most remarkable circumstance in the agricultural districts of +France, is here to be seen in its full extent. The people do not dwell +in detached cottages, placed in the centre of their farms or their +properties, as in all parts of England; they live together in aged +villages or boroughs, often at the distance of two or three miles from +the place of their labour, and wholly separated from the farms which +they are employed in cultivating. It is no uncommon thing accordingly, +to see a farmer leaving a little town in the morning with his ploughs +and horses, to go to his piece of ground, which lies many miles from the +place of his residence.</p> + +<p>This circumstance, which exists more or less in every part of France, is +characteristic of the state in which the people were placed in those +remote periods, when their habits of life were originally formed. It +indicates that popular degradation and public insecurity, when the poor +were compelled to unite themselves in villages or towns for protection +from the banditti, whom the government was unable to restrain, or from +the more desolating oppression of feudal power. In every country of +Europe, in which the feudal tyranny long subsisted; in Spain, in France, +in Poland, and in Hungary, this custom has prevailed to a certain +extent, and the remains of it are still to be seen in the remoter parts +of Scotland. It is in countries alone whose freedom has long subsisted; +in Switzerland, in Flanders, and in England, that no traces of its +effects are to be discerned in the manners and the condition of the +peasantry; that the enjoyment of individual security has enabled the +poor to spread themselves in fearless confidence over the country; and +that the traveller, in admiring the union of natural beauty with general +prosperity, which the appearance of the country exhibits, blesses that +government, by the influence of whose equal laws that delightful union +has been effected.</p> + +<p>In the neighbourhood of Paris, and in those situations which are +favourable for vineyard or garden cultivation, this circumstance gives a +very singular aspect to the face of the country. As far as the eye can +reach, the sloping banks, or rising swells, are cultivated with the +utmost care, and intersected by little paths, which wind through the +gardens, or among the vineyards, in the most beautiful manner; yet no +traces of human habitation are to be discerned, by whose labour, or for +whose use, this admirable cultivation has been conducted. The labourers, +or proprietors of these gardens, dwell at the distance of miles, in +antiquated villages, which resemble the old boroughs which are now +wearing out in the improved parts of Scotland. In the greater part of +France, the people dwell in this manner, in crowded villages, while the +open country, every where cultivated, is but seldom inhabited. The +superiority, accordingly, in the beauty of those districts, where the +cottages are sprinkled over the country, and surrounded by fruit-trees, +is greater than can well be imagined: and it is owing to this +circumstance that Picardy, Artois, and Normandy, exhibit so much more +pleasing an appearance, than most of the other provinces of France.</p> + +<p>In the district between Paris and Soissons, as in almost every other +part of the country, the land is now in the hands of the peasantry, who +became proprietors of it during the struggles of the revolution. We had +every where occasion to observe the extreme industry with which the +people conduct their cultivation, and perceived numerous instances of +the truth of Mr Young's observation, "that there is no such instigator +to severe and incessant labour, as the minute subdivision of landed +property." But though their industry was uniformly in the highest degree +laudable, yet we could not help deploring the ignorant and unskilful +manner in which this industry is directed. The cultivation is still +carried on after the miserable rotation which so justly excited the +indignation of Mr Young previous to the commencement of the revolution. +Wheat, barley or oats, sainfoin, lucerne or clover, and fallow, form +the universal rotation. The green crops are uniformly cut, and carried +into the house for the cattle; as there are no inclosures, there is no +such thing as pasturage in the fields; and, except once on the banks of +the Oise, we never saw cattle pasturing in those parts of France. The +small quantity of lucerne and sainfoin, moreover, shews that there are +but few herds in this part of France, and that meat, butter, or cheese, +form but a small part of the food of the peasantry. Normandy, in fact, +is the only pasture district of France, and the produce of the dairy +there is principally intended for the markets of Paris.</p> + +<p>The soil is apparently excellent the whole way, composed of a loam in +some places, mixed with clay and sand, and extremely easily worked. +Miserable fallows are often seen, on which the sheep pick up a wretched +subsistence—their lean sides and meagre limbs exhibit the effects of +the scanty food which they are able to obtain. The ploughing to us +appeared excellent; but we were unable to determine whether this was to +be imputed to the skilfulness of the labourer, or the light friable +nature of the soil.</p> + +<p>The property of the peasantry is not surrounded by any enclosures, nor +are there any visible marks whereby their separate boundaries could be +determined by the eye of a stranger. The plain exhibits one unbroken +surface of corn or vineyards, and appears as if it all formed a part of +one boundless property. The vast expanse, however, is in fact subdivided +into an infinite number of small estates, the proprietors of which dwell +in the aged boroughs through which the road occasionally passes, and the +extremities of which are marked by great stones fixed on their ends, +which are concealed from a passenger by the luxuriant corn in which they +are enveloped. This description applies to the grain districts in almost +every part of France.</p> + +<p>Although the condition of the peasantry has been greatly ameliorated, in +consequence of the division of landed property since the revolution, yet +their increased wealth has not yet had any influence on the state of +their habitations, or the general comfort of their dwellings. This rises +from the nature of the contributions to which they were subjected during +the despotic governments which succeeded the first years of the +revolution. These contributions were levied by the governors of +districts in the most arbitrary manner. The arrondissement was assessed +at a certain sum by the government, or a certain contribution for the +support of the war was imposed; and the sum was proportioned out among +the different inhabitants, according to the discretion of the collector. +Any appearance of comfort, accordingly, among the peasantry, was +immediately followed by an increased contribution, and heavier taxes; +and hence the people never ventured to make any display of their +increased wealth in their dwellings, or in any article of their +expenditure, which might attract, the notice of the collectors of the +imperial revenue. The burdens to which they were subjected, moreover, +especially during the last years of the war, were extremely severe, +arising both from the enormous sums requisite to save their sons from +the conscription, and the heavy unequal contributions to which they were +subjected.</p> + +<p>From these causes, the division of landed property has not yet produced +that striking amelioration in the habits and present comfort of the +peasantry, which generally attend this important measure; and their +wealth is rather hoarded up, after the eastern custom, for future, +emergencies or spent in the support of an early marriage; and never +lavished in the fearless enjoyment of present opulence.</p> + +<p>In some respects, however, their appearance evidently bears the mark of +the improvement in their situation. Their dress is upon the whole neat +and comfortable, covered in general by a species of smock frock of a +light blue colour, and exhibiting none of that miserable appearance +which Mr Young described as characterising the labouring classes during +his time. They evidently had the aspect of being well fed, and both in +their figures and dress, afforded a striking contrast to the wretched +and decrepid inhabitants of the towns, in whom the real poverty of the +people, under the old regime, was still perceptible. In some of these +towns, the appearance of the beggars, their extraordinary figures, and +tattered dress, exhibited a spectacle which would have been +inconceivably ludicrous, were it not for the melancholy ideas of abject +poverty which it necessarily conveyed.</p> + +<p>About twenty miles from Soissons, the road passes through the +magnificent forest of Villars Coterets, which, in the luxuriance and +extent of its woods, rivals the forest of Fontainbleau. The place on +which it stands is varied by rising grounds, and the distance exhibits +beautiful vistas of forest scenery and gentle swells, adorned by rich +and varied foliage. It wants, however, those grand and striking +features, that mixture of rock and wood, of forest gloom and savage +scenery, which give so unrivalled a charm to the forest of +Fontainbleau.</p> + +<p>From Villars Coterets, the road lies over a high plateau, covered with +grain, and exhibiting more than ordinary barrenness and desolation. +After passing over this dreary track, you arrive at the edge of a steep +declivity, which shelves down to the valley in which the Aisne wanders. +The appearance of this valley is extremely beautiful. It is sheltered by +high ridges, or sloping hills, covered with vineyards, orchards, and +luxuriant woods: the little plain is studded with villas and neat +cottages, embosomed in trees, or surrounded by green meadows, in which +the winding course of the Aisne can at intervals be discerned. When we +reached this spot, the sun had newly risen; his level rays illuminated +the white cottages with which the valley is sprinkled, or glittered on +the stream which winded through its plain; while the Gothic towers of +Soissons threw a long shadow over the green fields which surrounded its +walls. It reminded us of those lines in Thomson, in which the effect of +the morning light is so beautifully described:</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">"Lo, now apparent all,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Aslant the dew-bright earth and coloured air,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He looks in boundless majesty abroad,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And sheds the shining day, that burnished plays</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">On rocks, and hills, and towers, and wandering streams,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">High gleaming from afar."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>The descent to Soissons is through a declivity adorned by thriving +gardens and neat cottages, detached from each other, which afforded a +pleasing contrast to the solitary, uninhabited, though cultivated plains +through which our route had previously lain. The Fauxbourgs of the town +were wholly in ruins, having been totally destroyed in the three +assaults which they had sustained during the previous campaign. The town +itself is small, surrounded by decayed fortifications, and containing +nothing of note, except the Gothic spires, which bear testimony to its +antiquity.</p> + +<p>On leaving Soissons on the road to Laon, you go for two miles through +the level plain in which the town is situated; after which you begin to +ascend the steep ridge by which its eastern boundary is formed. It was +on the summit of this ridge that Marshal Blucher's army was drawn up, +80,000 strong, at the time when a detachment of his troops, under Count +Langeron, was defending Soissons against the French army. Immediately +below this position, there is placed a small village, which bore the +marks of desperate fighting; all the houses were unroofed or shattered +in every part by musket balls; and many seemed to have been burnt during +the struggles of which it was formerly the theatre. There is an old +castle a little higher up the ascent, which was garrisoned by the allied +troops; in the neighbourhood of which, we perceived numerous traces of +the immense bivouacs which had been made round its walls; particularly +the bodies of horses and oxen, which the Russians had left on the +ground, and which the peasants had taken no pains to remove.</p> + +<p>From thence the road runs over a high level plateau, covered with +miserable corn, or worse fallows, and having an aspect of sterility very +different from what we were accustomed to in the rich provinces of +France. In the midst of this dreary country, we beheld with delight +several deep ravines, formed by streams which fall into the Aisne, +sheltered from the chilling blasts that sweep along the high plains by +which they are surrounded, the steep sides of which were clothed with +luxuriant woods, and in the bottom of which are placed many little farms +and cottages, which exhibited a perfect picture of rural beauty. Even +here, however, the terrible effects of war were clearly visible; these +sequestered spots had been ravaged by the hostile armies; and the ruined +walls of the peasants dwellings presented a melancholy spectacle in the +midst of the profusion of beauty with which they were surrounded.</p> + +<p>Half way between Soissons and Laon, is placed a solitary inn, at which +Bonaparte stopt six hours, after the disastrous termination of the +battle of Laon. The people informed us, that during this time, he was in +a state of great agitation, wrote many different orders, which he +destroyed as fast as they were done, and covered the floor with the +fragments of his writing. Many Cossacks and Bashkirs had been quartered +in this inn; the people, as usual, would not allow them any good +qualities, but often repeated, with evident chagrin—"Ils mangent comme +des diables; ils ont mangé tous les poulets."</p> + +<p>The features of the country continue with little variety, till you begin +to descend from the high plateau, over which the road has passed into +the wooded valley, in the centre of which the hill and town of Laon are +placed. The dreary aspect of this plateau, which, though cultivated in +every part, exhibited few traces of human habitation, was enlivened +occasionally by herds of pigs, of a lean and meagre breed, (followed by +shepherds of the most grotesque appearance,) wandering over the bare +fallows, and seemingly reduced to the necessity of feeding on their +mother earth.</p> + +<p>At the distance of six miles from Laon, the descent begins to the plain +below, down the side of a deep ravine, beautifully clothed with woods +and vineyards. On the other side of this ravine lies the plateau on +which the battle of Craon was fought, whose level desolate surface +seemed a fit theatre for the struggle that was there maintained. At the +bottom of the ravine the road passes a long line of villages, surrounded +with wood and gardens, which had been wholly ruined by the operations of +the armies; and among the neighbouring woods we were shewn numerous +graves both of French and Russian soldiers.</p> + +<p>The approach to Laon lies through a great morass, covered in different +places with low brushwood, and intersected only by the narrow chaussèe +on which the road is laid. The appearance of the town is very striking; +standing on a hill in the centre of a plain of 10 or 12 miles in +diameter, bounded on all sides by steep and wooded ridges. It is +surrounded by an old wall, and some decayed towers, and is adorned by +some fine Gothic spires, whose apparent magnitude is much increased by +the elevated station on which they are placed.</p> + +<p>In crossing this chaussèe, we were immediately struck with the +extraordinary policy of Bonaparte, in attacking the Russian army posted +on the heights of Laon, where his only retreat was by the narrow road +we were traversing, which for several miles, ran through a morass, +impassible for carriages or artillery. This appeared the more wonderful, +as the army he was attacking was more numerous than his own, composed of +admirable troops, and posted in a position where little hopes of success +could be entertained. It was an error of the same kind as he committed +at Leipsic, when he gave battle to the allied armies with a single +bridge and a long defile in his rear. It is laid down as one of the +first maxims of war, by Frederic the Great, "never to fight an enemy +with a bridge or defile in your rear: as if you are defeated, the ruin +of the army must ensue in the confusion which the narrowness of the +retreat creates." We cannot suppose so great a general as Bonaparte to +have been ignorant of so established a principle, or a rule which common +sense appears so obviously to dictate; it is more probable, that in the +confidence which the long habit of success had occasioned, he never +contemplated the possibility of a defeat, nor took any measures whatever +for ensuring the safety of his army in the event of a retreat. Be this +as it may, it is certain that he fought at Laon with a morass, crossed +by a single chaussèe, in his rear, and that if he had been totally +defeated, instead of being repulsed in the action which then took +place, his army must have been irretrievably ruined, in the narrow line +over which their retreat was of necessity conducted.</p> + +<p>At the foot of the hill of Laon is placed a small village named Semilly, +in which a desperate conflict had evidently been maintained. The trees +were riddled with the cannon-shot; the walls were pierced for the fire +of infantry, and the houses all in ruins, from the showers of balls to +which they had been exposed. The steep declivity of the hill itself was +covered with gardens and vineyards, in which the allied army had been +posted during the continuance of the conflict; but though three months +had not elapsed since the period when they were filled with hostile +troops, no traces of desolation were to be seen, nor any thing which +could indicate the occurrence of any extraordinary events. The vines +grew in the utmost luxuriance on the spot where columns of infantry had +so recently stood, and the garden cultivation appeared in all its +neatness, on the very ground which had been lately traversed by all the +apparatus of modern warfare. It would have been impossible for any one +to have conceived, that the destruction they occasioned could so soon +have been repaired; or that the powers of Nature, in that genial +climate, could so rapidly have effaced all traces of the desolation +which marked the track of human ambition.</p> + +<p>The town of Laon itself contains little worthy of note; but the view +from its ramparts, though not extensive, was one of the most pleasing +which we had seen in France. The little plain with which the town is +surrounded, is varied with woods, corn fields, and vineyards; the view +is closed on every side by a ridge of hills, which form a circular +boundary round its farthest extremity, while the foreground is finely +marked by the decaying towers of the fortress, or the dark foliage which +shades its ramparts.</p> + +<p>We walked over the field of battle with a degree of interest, which +nothing but the memorable operations of which it had formerly been the +theatre, could possibly have excited. The accounts of the action, which +we received from the inhabitants of the town, and peasantry in its +vicinity, agreed perfectly with the official details which we had +previously read; and although we could not give an opinion with +confidence on a military question, it certainly appeared to us, that the +operations of the French army had been ill combined. Indeed, some +French officers with whom we conversed on the next day, allowed that the +battle had been ill fought, but, as usual, laid all the blame upon +Marmont. The main body of the French army, advancing by the road from +Soissons, attacked the villages of Ardon and Semilly in front of the +town, on the centre of Marshal Blucher's position, and his right wing, +which was posted in the intersected ground to the west of the town, on +the morning of the 9th of March. These parts of the position were +occupied chiefly by the corps of Woronzoff and Buloff, and as they were +very strong, no impression was made on them, and the troops who defended +them maintained themselves, without support from the reserves, during +the whole day. Late in the evening, the corps of Marmont, with a body of +cavalry under Arrighi, appeared on the road from Rheims, advancing +apparently without any communication or concert with the troops under +Napoleon in person, (who were drawn up, for the most part, in heavy +columns, in the immediate vicinity of the Soissons road), and made a +furious attack on the extreme left of Marshal Blucher's position. The +Marshal being satisfied by this time, that the troops in position about +the town were adequate to the defence of it against Napoleon's force, +was enabled to detach the whole corps of York, Kleist, and Sacken, with +the greater part of his cavalry, to oppose Marmont, who was instantly +overthrown, cut off from all communication with Napoleon, and driven +across the Aisne, with the loss of four or five thousand prisoners, and +forty pieces of cannon. The only assistance which Napoleon could give +him in his retreat, was by renewing the attack on Ardon and Semilly, +which he did next morning, and maintained the action during the whole of +the 10th, with no other effect, than preventing the pursuit of Marmont +from being followed up by the vigour which might otherwise have been +displayed by the Silesian army, notwithstanding the fatigues which they +had undergone at that time, during six weeks of continued marching and +fighting.</p> + +<p>The village of Athies, where the contest with Marmont's corps was +decided, containing about 200 houses, had been completely burnt in the +time of the action; and, when we were there, little progress had been +made in rebuilding it, but the inhabitants, then living in temporary +sheds, displayed their usual cheerfulness and equanimity; they were very +loud in reprobation of the military conduct of Marmont, and very anxious +to convince us, that the French had been overwhelmed only by great +superiority of numbers, and that the allies might have completely cut +off the retreat of Marmont towards Rheims, if they had known how to +profit by their success.</p> + +<p>June 8th, we left Laon at sunrise, and took the road to St Quentin. For +a few miles the road passes through the plain in which the town is +placed, after which it enters a pass, formed between the sloping hills, +by which its boundary is marked. These hills are, for the most part, +soft and green, like those on the banks of the Yarrow in Scotland, but +varied, in some places, by woods and orchards; and their lower +declivities are every where covered by vineyards and garden cultivation. +Near their foot is placed the village of Cressy, which struck us as the +most comfortable we had seen in France. The houses are all neat and +substantial, covered with excellent slated roofs, and lighted by large +windows, each surrounded by a little garden, and exhibiting a degree of +comfort rarely to be met with among the dwellings of the French +peasantry. On inquiry, we found that these peasants had long been +proprietors of their houses, with the gardens attached, and had each a +vineyard on the adjoining heights. The effects of long established +property were here very apparent in the habits of comfort and industry, +which, in process of time, it had ingrafted upon the dispositions and +wishes of the people.</p> + +<p>After passing the ridge of little hills, through banks clothed with +hanging woods, the road descends into a little circular valley, +surrounded on all sides by rising grounds, which presented a scene of +the most perfect rural beauty. The upper part of the hills were covered +with luxuriant woods, whose flowing outline suited the expression of +softness and repose by which the scene was distinguished; on the +declivities below the wood, the vineyards, gardens, and fruit-trees, +covered the sunny banks which descended into the plain, while the lower +part of the valley was filled with a village, embosomed in fruit-trees, +ornamented only by a simple spire. It is impossible for language to +convey an adequate idea of the beauty of this exquisite scene; it united +the interest of romantic scenery with the charm of cultivated nature, +and seemed placed in this sequestered valley, to combine all that was +delightful in rural life. When we first beheld it, the sun was newly +risen; his increasing rays threw a soft light over the wooded hills, and +illuminated the summit of the village spire; the grass and the vines +were still glittering in the morning dew, and the songs of the peasants +were heard on all sides, cheering the beginning of their early labour. +The marks of cultivation harmonized with the expression by which the +scene was characterised; they were emblematic only of human happiness, +and had a tendency to induce the momentary belief, that in this +sequestered spot the human species shared in the fulness of universal +joy.</p> + +<p>As we descended into the valley, we perceived a great chateau near the +western extremity of the village of Foudrain, which appeared still to be +inhabited, and had none of the appearance of decay by which all that we +had hitherto seen were distinguished. It belongs to the Chevalier +Brancas, who is proprietor of this and seven or eight of the adjoining +villages, and whose estates extend over a great part of the surrounding +country. On enquiry, we found that this great proprietor had, long +before the revolution, pursued a most enlightened and indulgent conduct +towards his peasantry, giving them leases of their houses and gardens of +20 or 30 years, and never removing any even at the expiration of that +period, if their conduct had been industrious during its continuance. +The good effects of this liberal policy have appeared in the most +striking manner, not only in the increased industry and enlarged wealth +of the tenants; but in the moderate, loyal conduct which they pursued, +during the eventful period of the revolution. The farmers on this estate +are some of the richest in France; many being possessed of a capital of +15,000 or 16,000 francs, (from £. 750 to £. 800 Sterling,) a very large +sum in that country, and amply sufficient for the management of the +farms which they possessed. Their houses are neat and comfortable in the +most remarkable degree, and the farm-steadings as extensive and +substantial as in the most improved districts of England. The ground is +cultivated with the utmost care, and the industry of the peasants is +conspicuous in every part of agricultural management. It was impossible, +in comparing these prosperous dwellings with the decayed villages in +most other parts of the country, not to discern, in the clearest manner, +the salutary influence of individual security upon the labouring +classes; and the tendency which the certainty of enjoying the fruits of +their labour has, not merely in increasing their present industry, but +awakening those wishes of improvement, and engendering those habits of +comfort; which are the only true foundation of public happiness.</p> + +<p>During the revolution, when the peasants of all the adjoining estates +violently dispossessed their landlords of their property; when every +adjoining chateau exhibited a scene of desolation and ruin; the peasants +of this estate were remarkable for their moderate and steady conduct; so +far from themselves pillaging their seigneur, they formed a league for +his defence "—Ils l'ont soutenùs," as they themselves expressed +it—<i>and he continued throughout, and is now in the quiet possession of +his great estate</i>. It is not perhaps going too far to say, that had the +peasants throughout the country been treated with the same indulgence, +and suffered to enjoy the same property, as in this delightful district, +France would have been spared from all the horrors and all the +sufferings of her revolution.</p> + +<p>From Foudrain to La Fere, the country is, for the most part, flat; and +the road, which is shaded by lofty trees, skirts the edge of a great +forest, which stretches as far as the eye can reach to the left; and +joins with the forest of Villars Coterets. For many miles the road is +bordered by fruit-trees, and the cottages have a most comfortable +thriving appearance. To St Quentin the face of the country is flat, +though the ridge over which you pass is high; the villages have an +appearance of progress and opulence about them, which is rarely to be +met with in other parts of France. All the peasantry carry on +manufactures in their own houses; and probably their gains are very +considerable, as their houses are much more neat and comfortable than in +districts which are solely agricultural, and their dress bears the +appearance of considerable wealth. The cultivation in the open country +still continues, in general, to be wheat, barley, clover, and fallow; +but the approach to French Flanders is very obvious, both from the +increased quantity of rye under cultivation, from the occasional fields +of beans which are to be met with, and from the numbers of potatoes and +other vegetables which are to be discerned round the immediate vicinity +of the villages. In these villages the houses are white-washed, +surrounded by gardens, and have a smiling aspect.</p> + +<p>La Fere is a small town, surrounded with trifling fortifications, +containing a considerable arsenal of artillery. We were much amused, +while there, with the spectacle which the market exhibited. A great +concourse of people had been collected from all quarters, to purchase a +number of artillery horses which the government had exposed at a low +price, to indemnify the people for the losses they had sustained during +the continuance of the war. The crowds of grotesque figures which +thronged the streets, the picturesque appearance of the horses that were +exposed to sale, and the fierce martial aspect of the grenadiers of the +old guard, a detachment of whom were quartered in the town, rendered +this scene truly characteristic of the French people.</p> + +<p>St Quentin is a neat, clean, and thriving town, resembling, both in the +forms of the houses, and the opulence of the middling classes, the +better sort of the country towns in England. It is the seat of +considerable manufactures, which throve amazingly under the imperial +government, in consequence of the exclusion of the English commodities +during the revolutionary wars. The linen manufacture is the staple +branch of industry, and affords employment to the peasantry in their own +houses, in every direction in the surrounding country, which is probably +the cause of the thriving prosperous appearance by which they are +distinguished. The great church of St Quentin, though not built in fine +proportions, is striking, from the coloured glass of its windows, and +its great dimensions.</p> + +<p>The French cultivation continues without any other change than the +increased quantity of rye in the fields, and vegetables round the +cottages, to the frontier of French Flanders. Still the country exhibits +one unbroken sheet of corn and fallow; no inclosures are to be seen, and +little wood varies the uniformity of the prospect. In crossing a high +ridge which separates St Quentin from Cambray, the road passes over the +great canal from Antwerp to Paris, which is here carried for many miles +through a tunnel under ground. This great work was commenced under the +administration of M. Turgot, but it was not completed till the time of +Bonaparte, who employed in it great numbers of the prisoners whom he had +taken in Spain. The magnitude of the undertaking may be judged of from +the immense depth of the hollow which was cut for it, previous to the +commencement of the tunnel, which is so great, that the canal, when seen +from the top, has the appearance of a little stream. The course of the +tunnel is marked on the surface of the ground by a line of chalky soil, +which is spread above its centre, and which can be seen as far as the +eye can reach, stretching over the vast ridge by which the country is +traversed.</p> + +<p>At the distance of three miles from the town of Cambray, the road +crosses the ancient frontiers of French Flanders. We had long been +looking for this transition, to discover if it still exhibited the +striking change described by Arthur Young, "between the effects of the +despotism of old France, which depressed agriculture, and the free +spirit of the Burgundian provinces, which cherished and protected it." +No sooner had we crossed the old line of demarcation between the French +and Flemish provinces, than we were immediately struck with the +difference, both in the aspect of the country, the mode of cultivation, +and the condition of the people. The features of the landscape assume a +totally different aspect; the straight roads, the clipt elms, the +boundless plains of France are no longer to be seen; and in their place +succeeds a thickly wooded soil and cultivated country. The number of +villages is infinitely increased; the village spires rise above the +woods in every direction, to mark the antiquity and the extent of the +population: the houses of the peasants are detached from each other, and +surrounded with fruit trees, or gardens kept in the neatest order, and +all the features of the landscape indicate the long established +prosperity by which the country has been distinguished.</p> + +<p>Nor is the difference less striking in the mode of cultivation which is +purified. Fallows, so common in France, almost universally disappear; +and in their place, numerous crops of beans, pease, potatoes, carrots +and endive, are to be met with. In the cultivation of these crops manual +labour is universally employed; and the mode of cultivation is precisely +that which is carried on in garden husbandry. The crops are uniformly +laid out in small patches of an acre or thereby to each species of +vegetable; which, combined with the extreme minuteness of the +cultivation, gives the country under tillage the appearance of a great +kitchen garden. This singular practice, which is universal in Flanders, +is probably owing to the great use of the manual labour in the +operations of agriculture. Rye is very much cultivated, and forms the +staple food of the peasantry. The crops of wheat, barley, oats, rye, and +clover, struck us as exceedingly heavy, but not nearly so clean as those +of a similar description in the best agricultural districts of our own +country.</p> + +<p>But it is principally in the condition, manners, and comfort of the +people, that the difference between the French and Flemish provinces +consists. Every thing connected with the lower orders, indicates the +influence of long-established prosperity, and the prevalence of habits +produced by the uninterrupted enjoyment of individual opulence. The +population of Flanders, both French and Austrian, is perfectly +astonishing; the villages form an almost uninterrupted line through the +country; the small towns are as numerous as villages in other parts of +the world, and seem to contain an extensive and comfortable population. +These small towns are particularly remarkable for the number and +opulence of the middling classes, resembling in this, as well as other +respects, the flourishing boroughs of Yorkshire and Kent, and affording +a most striking contrast to those of a very opposite description, which +we had recently passed through in France.</p> + +<p>The cottages of the peasantry, both in the villages and the open +country, are in the highest degree, neat, clean, and comfortable; built +for the most part of brick, and slated in the roof; nowhere exhibiting +the slightest symptoms of dilapidation. These houses have almost all a +garden attached to them, in the cultivation of which, the poor people +display, not only extreme industry, but a degree of taste superior to +what might be expected from their condition in life: The inside bore the +marks of great comfort, both from the cleanness which every where +prevailed, and the costly nature of the furniture with which they were +filled. Nothing could be more pleasing than the appearance of the +windows, every where in the best repair, large and capacious, and +furnished with shutters on the outside, painted green, which, together +with the bright whiteness of the walls, gave the whole the appearance of +buildings destined for ornamental purposes, rather than the abode of the +lower orders of the people.</p> + +<p>Cambray is a neat comfortable town, containing 15,000 inhabitants, and +surrounded by fortifications in tolerable repair, but which, when we +passed them, were not armed. It was once celebrated for its magnificent +cathedral, reckoned the finest in France; but a few ruins of this great +building alone have escaped the fury of the people, during the +commencement of the revolution. These trifling remains, however, were +sufficient to convey some idea of the beautiful proportions in which the +whole had been constructed; they resembled much the finest part of +Dryburgh Abbey, in Scotland. The modern cathedral, built near the site +of the old one, has a mean exterior, but possesses considerable +splendour in the inside.</p> + +<p>From Cambray to Valenciennes, the features of the country continue the +same as those we have just described. The surface of the ground is still +flat, and cultivated in every part with the utmost care, in the garden +style of husbandry. We were particularly struck, in this district, by +the quantity of drilled crops, the admirable order in which they are +kept, and the vast numbers of people, both men, women, and children, who +appeared engaged in their cultivation. Nothing, indeed, but the great +demand for labour, occasioned by the use of manual labour in husbandry, +could have produced, or could support, the great population by which +Flanders has always been distinguished.</p> + +<p>Valenciennes, situated in one of the finest districts of Flanders, is +likewise a well built, comfortable town, built entirely of brick, and +surrounded by magnificent fortifications, in admirable repair. As this +was the first well fortified town which we had seen, it was to us a +matter of no ordinary interest, which was encreased by the remembrance +of the celebrated siege which it had undergone from the English army at +the commencement of the revolutionary war. We were shewn the point at +which the English forced their entrance; and the numberless marks of +cannon-balls which their artillery had occasioned during the siege were +still uneffaced. Though the modern fortifications, built after the model +of Vauban, have not the romantic or picturesque aspect which belongs to +the aged towers of Montreuil, Abbeville, or Laon, or the more ruinous +walls of the town of Conway in Wales, yet they present a pleasing +spectacle, arising partly from the regularity of the forms themselves, +and partly from the association with which they are connected.</p> + +<p>From Valenciennes to Mons, the country is still flat, though the +cultivation and the aspect of the scene is somewhat varied from what had +been exhibited by the districts of French Flanders, through which we had +previously passed. It lies lower, and appears more subject to +inundation: Ditches appear at intervals, filled with water, and +extensive meadows are to be seen, covered with rank and luxuriant grass. +The cultivation of grain and green crops is less frequent, and in their +stead, vast tracks of rich pasture cover the face of the country. Much +wood is to be seen on all sides, often of great dimensions; and the +population appears still as great as before. The villages succeed one +another so fast, as almost to form a continued street; and the +numberless spires which rise over the woods in every direction, prove +that this number of inhabitants extends over the whole country. The +cottages still continue neat and comfortable; not picturesque to a +painter's eye, but exhibiting the more delightful appearance of +individual prosperity. Their beauty is much increased by the quantity +of wood, or the variety of fruit-trees, with which the villages are +interspersed. There are many coal-pits in this country, and a great deal +of carriage of this valuable mineral on the principal roads. They +present a scene of infinitely more bustle and activity than the richest +parts of France. We met a great number of waggons, harnessed and +equipped like those in England; and the numbers of carriages reminded +us, in some degree, of the extraordinary appearance, in this respect, +which the approach to our own capital presents; a state of things widely +different from the desolate <i>chaussèes</i> which the interior of France +exhibits. Every thing in the small towns and villages bore the marks of +activity, industry, and increasing prosperity. We passed with much +interest over the celebrated field of battle of Jemappe, where the +remains of Austrian redoubts are still visible.</p> + +<p>Mons, the frontier town of Austrian Flanders, was once a place of great +strength, and underwent a dreadful siege during the wars of the Duke of +Marlborough; but its ramparts are now dismantled, according to the +ruinous policy of Joseph II. The square in the town is large, and has a +striking appearance, owing to the picturesque and varied forms of the +houses and public buildings of which it is formed. From the summit of +the great steeple, to which you are conducted by a stair of 353 steps, +there is a magnificent view over the adjacent country to a great +distance. It is for the most part green, owing to the immense quantity +of land under pasturage, and clothed in every direction with extensive +woods. At a considerable distance we were shewn the woods and heights of +<i>Malplaquet</i>, the scene of one of the Duke of Marlborough's great +victories, of which the people still spoke, as if it had been one of the +recent occurrences of the war. This town, when we visited it, was +completely filled with Prussian and Saxon troops, whose intrepid martial +appearance bespoke that undaunted character by which they have been +distinguished in the memorable actions of which this country has since +been the theatre.</p> + +<p>On leaving Mons, on the road to Brussels, you quit the low swampy plain +in which the town is situated, and ascend a gentle hill, clothed with +wood, in the openings of which many beautiful views of the spires of the +city are to be seen. The hill itself is composed entirely of sand, and +would be reckoned a rising ground in most other countries, but it forms +a pleasing variety to the level plains of Flanders. From thence to +Brussels, a distance of 35 miles, the scenery is beautiful in the +greatest degree. Unlike the flat surface which prevails over most parts +of this country, it is charmingly varied by hills and vallies, adorned +by beautiful woods, whose disposition resembles rather that of trees in +a gentleman's park, than what usually occurs in an agricultural country. +The cottages, over the whole of this district, are particularly +pleasing; every where white-washed, clean and comfortable; half hid by a +profusion of fruit-trees, or the aged stems of elm and ash.</p> + +<p>Brain-le-Compte, Halle, and a number of smaller towns through which the +road passes, are distinguished by the neatness of the houses, and the +number and opulence of the middling classes of society. The vallies are +admirably cultivated in agricultural or garden husbandry, and +interspersed with numerous cottages; the gentle slopes are laid out in +grass or pasture, and the uplands clothed with luxuriant woods. Upon the +whole, the scenery between Mons and Brussels was the most delightful we +had ever seen of a similar description, both from the richness and +extent of the cultivation; the appearance of public and private +property, which was unceasingly exhibited; the beautiful variety of the +ground, and the charming disposition of the woods which terminate the +view. The village spires, whose summits rise above the distant woods in +every direction, increased the effect which the objects of nature were +fitted to produce, both from the beauty of their forms themselves, and +the pleasing reflections which they awaken in the mind.</p> + +<p>We passed through this beautiful country in a fine summer evening in the +middle of June. The heat of the day had passed: The shades of evening +were beginning to spread over the lowland country; the forest of +Soignies was still illuminated by the glow of the setting sun, while his +level rays shed a peaceful light over the woods which skirt the field of +<span class="smcap">Waterloo</span>. We little thought that the scene, which was now expressive +only of rest and happiness, should hereafter be the theatre of mortal +combat: that the same sun which seemed now to set amid the blessings of +a grateful world, should so soon illuminate a field of agony and death; +and that the ground which we now trod with no other feelings than +admiration for the beauty of nature, was destined to become the field of +deathless glory to the British name.</p> + +<p>The state of agriculture from Cambray to Brussels, both in French and +Austrian Flanders, is admirable. No fallows are any where to be seen, +and in their place, green crops, of which beans, peas, carrots, &c. form +the principal part. These green crops are kept very clean, and all +worked by the spade or hoe, which furnishes employment to the immense +population which is diffused over the country. Crops of rye, which, when +we passed them in the middle of June, were in full ear, are every where +very common; indeed, rye bread seems to be the staple food of the +peasantry. Much wheat, barley, and oats, are also cultivated, with a +great deal of sainfoin and clover, which is never pastured, but cut, and +carried green into the stalls of the cattle. No inclosures are to be +seen, except round the orchards and gardens which surround the villages; +and, indeed, fences would be a useless waste of ground in a country +where every corner is valuable, and no cattle are ever to be seen in the +open fields. The soil seemed to be excellent throughout the whole +country; sometimes sandy, and sometimes, a rich loam; and the crop, both +of corn, beans, and grass, heavy and luxuriant. With the exception, +however, of the grain crops, which are generally drilled, the fields are +not nearly so clean as in the best parts of England.</p> + +<p>The farm steadings and implements of husbandry in all parts of Flanders, +are greatly superior to those in France. The waggons are not only more +numerous on the roads, but greatly neater in their construction than in +France; the ploughs are of a better construction, and the farm offices +both more extensive, and in better repair. Every thing, in short, +indicated a much more improved and opulent class of agriculturists, and +a country in which the fundamental expenses of cultivation had long been +incurred.</p> + +<p>Near Cambray, the wages of labour are one franc a-day. Near +Valenciennes, and from that to Mons, they are from 1 franc to 25 sous, +that is, from 10d. to 12-1/2d. From Mons to Brussels, and round that +town, from 1 franc to 30 sous, that is, from 10d. to 15d. The rent of +land was stated in French Flanders at 20 francs, and the price 1000 +francs <i>per marcoti</i>; and from Valenciennes to Mons, from 35 to 50 +francs; but we could never accurately ascertain what proportion a +marcoti bore to the English acre.</p> + +<p>The size of the farms is exceedingly various in the districts of +Flanders which we have visited. From Cambray to Valenciennes, they were +called from 200 to 300 <i>marcotis</i>; but from Mons to Brussels, an +exceedingly well-cultivated district, they seldom exceed from 50 to 100 +<i>marcotis</i>; which, as far as we could judge, was not above from 25 to 50 +acres. That the size of the farms is in general exceedingly small, +appears obviously from the immense number of farm-houses which are every +where to be seen. The course and mode of cultivation appears to be +precisely the same on the great and the small farms.</p> + +<p>The state of the people, both in French and Austrian Flanders, was most +exceedingly comfortable. Not the smallest traces of dirt are to be seen, +either in the exterior or the interior of the peasants dwellings. Their +dress, as in France, is in general neat and substantial, covered with a +light blue smock-frock, and without any appearance of abject want. The +women in general appeared handsome, and very well clad. Every thing, in +short, bespoke a rich, prosperous, and happy population.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Brussels</span> is a large, populous, and in many respects a handsome town. It +stands upon the side of a hill, the lower part being the old town, and +the higher the fashionable quarter. Near the centre of the old town is +placed a square of considerable size, surrounded by high antiquated +buildings of a most remarkable construction; and the <i>Hotel de Ville</i>, +which occupies nearly one of its sides, is ornamented by a high Gothic +spire of the lightest form, and the most exquisite proportions. The +Cathedral is large, and has two massy towers in front; but the effect of +the interior, which would otherwise be very grand, from its immense +size, is much injured by statues affixed to the pillars, and an +intermixture of red and white colours, with which the walls are painted. +In this Cathedral, as well as in the churches throughout Flanders which +we visited, we were much struck by the numbers of people who attended +service, and the earnestness with which they seemed to participate in +religious duty;—a spectacle which was the more impressive, from the +levity or negligence with which we had been accustomed to see similar +services attended in France.</p> + +<p>The <i>Parc</i>, which is an immense square of splendid buildings, inclosing +a great space, covered with fine timber, is probably the most +magnificent square in Europe. The Royal Palace, and all the houses of +the nobility, are here situated. There is nothing of the kind, either in +Paris or London, which can be compared with this square, either in +extent, the beauty of the private houses, or the richness and variety of +the woods.</p> + +<p>At Brussels, we saw 1500 British troops on parade in the great square. +We were particularly struck with the number and brilliant appearance of +the officers. It would be going too far to say, that they understood +their duty better than those of the allied armies; but they +unquestionably have infinitely more of the appearance and manners of +gentlemen. The proportion of officers to privates appeared much greater +than in the other European armies; but the common soldiers had not +nearly so sun-burnt; weather-beaten an appearance. Among the British +troops, the Highlanders resembled most nearly the swarthy aspect of the +foreign soldiers. The discipline of these troops was admirable; they +were much beloved by the inhabitants, who recounted with delight +numerous instances of their humanity and moderation. In this respect +they formed a striking contrast to the Prussians, whose abuses and +voracity were uniformly spoken of in terms of severe reprobation.</p> + +<p>The ramparts at Brussels, especially in the upper parts of the town, are +planted with trees, and afford a delightful walk, commanding an +extensive view over the adjacent country. The favourite promenade at +Brussels, however, is the Allee Verte, situated two miles from the town, +on the road to Antwerp, which forms a drive of two miles in length, +under the shade of lofty trees. It was filled, when we saw it, with +numerous parties of officers of all nations, principally German and +British; and we could not help observing, how much more brilliant the +appearance of our own countrymen was, than that of their brethren in any +other service. Indeed they are taken from a different class of society: +in the continental states, men, from inferior situations, enter the army +with a view to obtain a subsistence; in the British service alone, men +of rank and fortune leave the enjoyment and opulence of peaceful life, +to share in the toils and the hardships of war.</p> + +<p>The Chateau of Lacken, now the royal dwelling, stands on an eminence in +the vicinity of Brussels, commanding a delightful view over the environs +of the city. There are few views in Flanders so magnificent as that from +the summit of this palace. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens and +shrubberies, laid out in the English style, and arranged with much +taste.</p> + +<p>The vicinity of Brussels is so much clothed with wood, as to resemble, +when seen from the spires of the city, a continued forest. To the +south-west, indeed, the whole country is covered with the vast forest of +<i>Soignies</i>, clothing a range of gentle hills, which stretch as far as +the field of Waterloo. The varieties of wood scenery which it exhibits, +are exceedingly beautiful; and in many places, the oaks grow to an +immense size, and present the most picturesque appearance. It was from +this forest that Bonaparte obtained the timber for his great naval +arsenal at Antwerp.</p> + +<p>To the south of Brussels, in the direction of Liege, and in the environs +of that town, the country is covered with innumerable cottages, in the +neatest order, inhabited by manufacturers, who carry on, <i>in their own +houses</i>, the fabrics for which that city is so celebrated. These +cottagers have all their gardens and houses in property; and the +appearance of prosperity, which their dwellings uniformly exhibit, as +well as the neatness of their dress, and the costly nature of their +fare, demonstrate the salutary influence, which this intermixture of +manufacturing and agricultural occupation is fitted to have on the +character and habits of the lower orders of society. It resembles, in +this particular, the state of the people in the West Riding of +Yorkshire, and in the beautiful scenes of the vale of Gloucester.</p> + +<p>In the neighbourhood of Brussels, the condition of the peasantry +appeared exceedingly comfortable. Their neat gardens, their substantial +dwellings, their comfortable dress, indicated here, as elsewhere in +Flanders, the effects of long-continued and general prosperity. Most of +these houses and gardens belong in property to the peasants; others are +hired from the proprietors of the ground; but when this is the case, +they generally have the advantage of a long lease. The peasants +complained, in the bitterest terms, of the taxes and contributions of +the French, stating that the public burdens had been more than +quadrupled since they were separated from the Austrian Government, of +which they still spoke in terms of affection and regret. The <i>impot +fonciere</i>, or land-tax, under the French, amounted to one-fifth of +the rent, or 20 <i>per cent</i>. The wages of labour were from 15 sous +to one franc a-day; but the labourer dined with the farmer, his +employer. Most of the land was laid out in garden cultivation, and +every where tilled with the utmost care. The soil appeared rich and +friable; and the crops, both of agricultural and garden produce, were +extremely heavy. The rent was stated as varying from 60 to 150 francs +<i>journatier</i>, which appeared to be about three-fourths of an +acre.</p> + +<p>One thing struck us extremely in the condition of the people, both here +and in other parts of Flanders—the sumptuous fare on which they live. +It is a common thing to see artisans and mechanics sitting down to a +dinner, at a table d'hôte, of ten or twelve dishes; such a dinner as +would be esteemed excellent living in England. The lower orders of the +people, the day labourers and peasants, seemed to live, generally +speaking, in a very comfortable manner. Vegetables form a large portion +of their food, and they are raised in large quantities, and great +perfection, in all parts of the country.</p> + +<p>On leaving Brussels, we took the road to Malines and Antwerp. The +surface of the ground the whole way is perfectly flat, and much +intersected by canals, on whose banks much rich pasture is to be seen. +For the first six miles, the road is varied by chateaus and villas, laid +out in the stiff antiquated style of French gardening. The cultivation +between Brussels and Malines is all conducted in the garden style, and +with the most incomparable neatness; but the cottages are formed of wood +and mud, and exhibited more symptoms of dilapidation, than in any other +part of the country which we had seen. Whether this was the consequence +of the materials of which they are built, or was the result of some +local institution, we were unable to determine.</p> + +<p>We saw a body of 3000 Prussian <i>landwehr</i> enter Brussels, shortly before +we left the city. The appearance of these men was very striking. They +had just terminated a march of 14 miles, under a burning sun, and were +all covered with dust and sweat. Notwithstanding the military service in +which they had been engaged, they still bore the appearance of their +country occupations; their sun-burnt faces, their rugged features, and +massy limbs, bespoke the life of laborious industry to which they had +been habituated. They wore an uniform coat or frock, a military cap, and +their arms and accoutrements were in the most admirable order; but in +other respects, their dress was no other than what they had worn at +home. The sight of these brave men told, in stronger language than words +could convey, the grievous oppression to which Prussia had been +subjected, and the unexampled valour with which her people had risen +against the iron yoke of French dominion. They were not regular +soldiers, raised for the ordinary service of the state, and arrayed in +the costume of military life; they were not men of a separate +profession, maintained by government for the purposes of defence; they +were the <i>people of the country</i>, roused from their peaceful employments +by the sense of public danger, and animated by the heroic determination +to avenge the sufferings of their native land. The young were there, +whose limbs were yet unequal to the weight of the arms which they had +to bear; the aged were there, whose strength had been weakened by a life +of labour and care; all, of whatever rank or station, marched alike in +the ranks which their valour and their patriotism had formed. Their +appearance suited the sacred cause in which they had been engaged, and +marked the magnitude of the efforts which their country had made. They +were still, in some measure, in the garb of rural life, but the +determination of their step, the soldier-like regularity of their +motions, and the enthusiastic expression of their countenances, +indicated the unconquerable spirit by which they had been animated, and +told the greatness of the sufferings which had at last awakened</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"The might that slumbers in a peasant's arm."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>There is no spectacle in the moral history of mankind more interesting +or more sublime, than that which was exhibited by the people of the +north of Germany in the last war. During the progress of the disastrous +wars which succeeded the French revolution, the states of Germany +experienced all the miseries of protracted warfare, and all the +degradation of conquered power; but amidst the sufferings and +humiliation to which they were subjected, the might of Germany was +concentrating its power; the enthusiasm of her people was animating the +soldier's courage, and the virtue of her inhabitants was sanctifying the +soldier's cause: and when at last the hour of retribution arrived, when +the sufferings of twenty years were to be revenged, and the disgrace of +twenty years was to be effaced; it was by the energy of her people that +these sufferings were revenged, and by the sacrifices of her people, +that these victories were obtained. Crushed as they had been beneath the +yoke of foreign dominion; shackled as they were by the fetters of +foreign power, and unprotected as they long continued to be from the +ravages of hostile revenge; the people of <span class="smcap">Prussia</span> boldly threw off the +yoke, and hesitated not to encounter all the fury of imperial ambition, +that they might redeem the glory which their ancestors had acquired, and +defend the land which their forefathers had preserved. While Austria yet +hung in doubt between the contending Powers; while the fate of the +civilized world was yet pending on the shores of the Vistula, the whole +body of the Prussian people flew to arms; they left their homes, their +families, and all that was dear to them, without provision, and without +defence: they trusted in God alone, and in the justice of their cause. +This holy enthusiasm supported them in many an hour of difficulty and of +danger, when they were left to its support alone; it animated them in +the bloody field of Juterbock, and overthrew their enemies on the banks +of the Katzback; it burned in the soldier's breast under the walls of +Leipsic, and sustained the soldier's fortitude in the plains of +Vauchamp: it terminated not till it had planted the Prussian eagle +victorious on the ruins of that power, which had affected to despise the +efforts of the Prussian people.</p> + +<p>The town of Malines is exceedingly neat, and ornamented by a great +tower, of heavy architecture, producing a striking effect from every +part of the adjoining country. The interior of the church, like that of +all the other Catholic churches, is impressive to an English spectator, +from the effect of its vast dimensions. The town was entirely filled by +Prussian soldiers, and landwehr of the Prussian corps d'armee of Bulow, +who went through their evolutions in the exactest discipline.</p> + +<p>From Malines to Antwerp the country is under a higher system of +management, than in any other district of Flanders which we had seen. It +is thickly planted with trees, insomuch as, from an eminence, to have +the appearance of a continued forest. The landscape scenery, seen +through the openings of the wood, and generally terminating in a village +spire, is exceedingly beautiful, and reminded us of the scenes in +Waterloo's engravings. Great quantities of potatoes and beans are to be +seen in the fields, which are kept in the highest state of cultivation. +The number of villages is extremely great; but the people, though so +numerous, had all the appearance of being in a prosperous and happy +condition.</p> + +<p>On approaching Antwerp, the trees and houses are all cut down, to give +room for the fire of the cannon-shot from the ramparts of the fortress. +We passed over this desolated space in the evening, soon after sunset, +when the spires of the city had a beautiful effect on the fading colours +of the western sky. High over all rose the spire of the cathedral, a +most beautiful piece of the lightest Gothic, of immense height, and the +most exquisite proportions. Though this building has stood for seven +centuries, the carving of the pinnacles, and the finishing of the +ornaments, are at this moment as perfect as the day they were formed; +and when seen in shadow on an evening sky, present a spectacle which +combines all that is majestic and graceful in Gothic architecture.</p> + +<p>After passing through the numerous gates, and over the multiplied +bridges which surround this fortress, we found ourselves in the interior +of Antwerp; a city of great interest, in consequence of the warlike +preparations of which it had been the theatre, and the importance which +had been attached to it by both parties in the recent contest. It is an +extensive old city, evidently formed for a much more extensive commerce +than it has now for a long period enjoyed. The form of the houses is +singular, grotesque and irregular, offering at every turn the most +picturesque forms to a painter's eye. We were soon conducted to the +famous dockyard, constructed by Bonaparte, which had been the source of +so much uneasiness to this country; and could not help being surprised +at the smallness of the means which he had been able to obtain for the +overthrow of our naval power. The docks did not appear to us at all +large; but they are very deep, and during the siege, by the English and +Prussian troops, contained 20 ships of the line, besides 14 frigates. +When we saw them they were lying in the Scheldt, and being all within +two miles of each other, presented a very magnificent spectacle.</p> + +<p>In the arsenal were 14 ships of the line on the stocks, of which seven +were of 120 guns; but these vessels were all demolished except one, +shortly after we left them, in virtue of an article in the treaty of +Paris. Bonaparte had for long been exerting himself to the utmost to +form a great naval depot at Antwerp; he had not only fortified the town +in the strongest possible manner, but collected immense quantities of +timber and other naval stores for the equipment of a powerful fleet. The +ships first built, however, had been formed of wood, which was so ill +seasoned, that, ever since their construction, above 200 carpenters had +been employed annually to repair the beams which were going to decay.</p> + +<p>In the citadel, which is a beautiful fortification in the finest order, +we conversed with various English soldiers who had been in the attack on +Bergen-op-Zoom, of which they all spoke in terms of the utmost horror. +Its failure they ascribed not to any error in the plan of attack, which +they all agreed was most skilfully combined, but to a variety of +circumstances which thwarted the attack, after its success appeared to +have been certain. Our troops, they said, went round the ramparts, and +carried every battery; but neglecting to spike the guns, the French came +behind them, and turned the guns they had recently captured against +themselves. Much also was attributed to the hesitation occasioned by the +death of the principal officers, and the unfortunate effect of the +discovery of some spirit cellars, from which the soldiers could not be +restrained. We were much gratified, by hearing the warm and enthusiastic +manner in which even the private soldiers spoke of their gallant +commander, Sir Thomas Graham; While we admired the frank, open and +independent spirit which these English soldiers in garrison at Antwerp +evinced, we could not help observing, that they did not converse on +military matters with nearly the same intelligence, or evince the same +reflection on the manœuvres of war, as those of the French imperial +guard, with whom we had spoken in a former part of our journey.</p> + +<p>Though such extensive naval preparations had been going forward for +years at Antwerp, there was not the slightest appearance of bustle at +activity in the streets, or on the quays of the city. These were as +deserted, as if Antwerp had been reduced to a fishing village, +indicating, in the strongest manner, that nothing but the habits of +commerce, and the command of the seas, can nurse that body of active +seamen, who form the only foundation of naval power.</p> + +<p>There is a fine picture, by Oels, in the church of St Paul's at Antwerp; +but the church itself is built in the most barbarous taste. The +cathedral is a most magnificent building, both in the outside and +inside; and its spire, which is 460 feet in height, is probably the +finest specimen of light Gothic in the world. Its immense aisles were +filled at every hour of the day, by numbers of people, who seemed to +join in the service with sincere devotion, and exhibited the example of +a country, in which religious feeling was generally diffused among the +people—which formed a striking contrast to the utter indifference to +these subjects which universally prevails in France.</p> + +<p>It was not a mere vain threat on the part of Napoleon, that he would +burn the English manufactures. We were informed at Antwerp by +eye-witnesses, that they had seen £. 90,000 worth of English goods +burnt at once in the great square of that city; all of which <i>had been +bought and paid for</i> by the Flemish merchants. The people then spoke in +terms of great sorrow, of the ruin which this barbarous policy had +brought upon the people of the countries in which it was carried into +effect.</p> + +<p>In the vicinity of Antwerp, we walked over the <i>Counter Dyke of +Couvestein</i>, which was the scene of such desperate conflicts between the +army of the Prince of Parma, and the troops of the United Provinces, who +were advancing to the relief of Antwerp. The interest arising from the +remembrance of this memorable struggle, was increased by the narrowness +of the ground on which the action was maintained, being a long dyke +running across the low country which borders the banks of the Scheldt +near Fort Lillo, and which alone of all the surrounding country, at the +time of the action, was not immersed in water. Every foot, therefore, of +the ground of this dyke which we trod, must have been the spot on which +a desperate struggle had been maintained. In casting our eyes back to +the distant spires of the city of Antwerp, we could not help entering +for an instant, into the feelings of the people who were then besieged; +and remembering that these spires, which now rose so beautifully on the +distant horizon, were then crowded with people, who awaited with +dreadful anxiety, in the issue of the action which was then pending, the +future fate of themselves and their children.</p> + +<p>To those who take an interest in the delightful study of political +economy, and who have examined the condition of the people in different +countries, with a view to discover the causes of their welfare or their +suffering, there is no spectacle so interesting as that which the +situation of the people in Flanders affords. The country is uniformly +populous in the extreme; go where you will, you every where meet with +the marks of a dense population; yet no where are the symptoms of +general misery to be found; no where does the principle of population +seem to press beyond the limits assigned for the comfortable maintenance +of the human species. Flanders has exhibited, for centuries, the +instance of a <i>numerous, dense, and happy population</i>. It would perhaps +not be unreasonable to conclude, from this circumstance, that the +doctrines now generally admitted in regard to the increase of the human +species have been received with too little examination. Man possesses +in himself the principles requisite for the regulation of the increase +of the numbers of mankind; and where the influence of government does +not interfere with their operation, they are sufficient to regulate the +progress of population according to the interest and welfare of all +classes of the people.</p> + + +<p class="c smcap top15">end of volume first.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h1>TRAVELS IN FRANCE,</h1> + +<div class="bold"> +<p class="c">DURING THE YEARS</p> + +<p class="c">1814-15.</p> + +<p class="c smcap">comprising a</p> + +<p class="c">RESIDENCE AT PARIS DURING THE STAY OF THE ALLIED ARMIES,</p> + +<p class="c smcap">and</p> + +<p class="c">AT AIX,</p> + +<p class="c"><i>AT THE PERIOD OF THE LANDING OF</i></p> + +<p class="c">BONAPARTE.</p> +<p class="c">———</p> + +<p class="c">IN TWO VOLUMES.</p> + +<p class="c">SECOND EDITION, CORRECTED AND ENLARGED.</p> + +<p class="c">EDINBURGH:</p> + +<p class="c smcap">printed for macredie, skelly, and muckersy, 52. prince's street;<br /> +longman, hurst. rees, orme, and brown; black,<br /> +parry, and co. t. underwood, london;<br /> +and j. cumming, dublin.</p> +<p class="c">———</p> +<p class="c">1816.</p> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<h2>VOLUME II.</h2> + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_a_I" id="CHAPTER_a_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h3> + +<p class="head">JOURNEY TO AIX.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">I</span><span class="smcap">t</span> +was thought advisable, by the gentleman who is now about to commence +his journal, to avoid making many remarks on the state of the country, +or the manners of the inhabitants, until he should have remained fixed +for a few months in France. In no country is it so difficult as there, +to obtain information regarding the most interesting points, whether +commerce, manufactures, agriculture, manners, or religion; and this +arises from the multitude of people of all descriptions, who are +willing, and who at least appear able, to afford you information. +Strange paradox. A Frenchman makes it a rule, never to refuse +information on any subject when it is demanded of him; and although he +may, in fact, never have directed his attention to the matter in +question, and may not possess the slightest information, he will yet +descant most plausibly, and then seeking some opportunity of bidding you +good day, he will fly off with the velocity of an arrow, leaving you +astonished at the talent displayed: But sit down and analyse what he has +said, and you will commonly find it the most thorough trifling—"<i>vox et +prœterea nihil</i>." This observation, however, I mean only to apply to the +information which a traveller obtains <i>en passant</i>; for there are +undoubtedly to be found in France, men of eminent talents and of solid +information; but these you can only pick out from the mass of common +acquaintances, by dint of perseverance, and by the assistance of time. +The result of the observations collected during a residence of five +months at Aix, in Provence, will be given at the end of the following +Journal.</p> + + +<h3>JOURNAL.</h3> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">A</span><span class="smcap">s</span> +our present journey was undertaken principally for the benefit of my +health, it was necessary that we should travel slowly, and take +occasional rests. After our journey from Dieppe to the capital, we +remained five days in Paris for this purpose. The first part of this +book having conducted the reader by another route to Paris, and given a +better description of that city than I am able to supply, I have not +thought it necessary to insert the details of our journey thither; I +shall content myself with remarking, that we had already gained +considerable experience in French travelling, and were pretty well +prepared to commence our journey toward the south.—On the 7th of +November, therefore, we arranged matters for our departure with the +<i>voiturier</i>, or carriage-hirer, who agrees to carry us (six in number), +with all our baggage, which weighs nearly four cwt. to Lyons, a distance +of 330 miles, for the sum of 630 francs, or, at our exchange, nearly +L.30. As this bargain was made for us by Mr B——, a French gentleman, +it may afford a good standard for this style of travelling.</p> + +<p>We travel at the rate of 10 or 12 leagues a-day; and for invalids or +persons wishing to see the country, this is by far the most pleasant, as +well as the most economical way. There are two other methods of +travelling, namely, <i>en poste</i>, which, though rapid, is very expensive; +the charge being, at least a horse, often more, for each person, and +very little baggage being taken; and the other is in a diligence, which, +as it travels night and day, would not do for us. The carriage we now +have is a large and commodious coach, very neat and clean, and we have +three good strong horses. Our journey has as yet been varied by very +little incident. The amusement derived from travelling in a foreign +country, and becoming gradually familiarised to foreign manners,—the +contrast between the style of travelling here, and that which you are +accustomed to in England,—the amusing groupes of the villagers, who +flock out of their houses, to see the English pass,—the grotesque and +ludicrous figures of the French beggars, who, in the most unbounded +variety of costume, surround the carriage the moment we stop,—and the +solemn taciturnity of Monsieur Roger, our coachman, who is an +extraordinary exception to the general vivacity of his nation; these are +the only circumstances which serve at present to exhilarate our spirits, +and to remove the tedium of French travelling.</p> + +<p>Between Paris and Montargis, as we travelled during the day, we had a +good opportunity of seeing the country. But we passed through it, to be +sure, at an unfavourable season of the year. The vines were all +withered, and their last leaves falling off. The elm, oak, and maple, +were almost bare. There is not much fine wood in that part of the +country through which we passed; and on the side of the road, there were +many wild and sad looking swamps, with nothing but willow and poplars +docked off for the twigs. The chief produce seems to be in grapes and +wheat; the wheat here is further advanced than between Dieppe and Paris. +The cows are of the same kind, the horses smaller, weaker, and yet +dearer than those of Normandy; the agricultural instruments are massy +and awkward; their ploughing is, however, very neat and regular, though +not deep; their plough here has wheels, and seems easily managed; they +harrow the land most effectually, having sometimes 10 or 12 horses in +succession, each drawing a separate harrow over the same ground. The +farm-horses, though very poor to an English eye, are fortunately much +better than the horses for travelling. The stacks of grain, though +rarely seen, are very neatly built. We left the grand road at +Fontainbleau, and took the route by Nevers to Lyons. We have found it +hitherto by no means equal to the other. No stone causeway in the +middle, and at this time of the year, I should fear it is always as we +found it, very heavy and dirty.</p> + +<p>Our journey hitherto has not allowed of our mixing much among or +conversing with the people; but still we cannot but be struck with the +dissimilarity of manners from those of our own country. The French are +not now uniformly, found the same merry, careless, polite, and sociable +people they were before the revolution; but we may trust that they are +gradually improving; and although one can easily distinguish among the +lower ranks, the fierce uncivilized ruffians, who have been raised from +their original insignificance by Napoleon to work his own ends, yet the +real peasantry of the country are generally polite.</p> + +<p>At the inns, the valets and ostlers were for the most part old soldiers +who had marched under Napoleon; they seemed happy, or at least always +expressed themselves happy, at being allowed to return to their homes: +one of them was particularly eloquent in describing the horrors of the +last few months; he concluded by saying, "that had things gone on in +this way for a few months longer, Napoleon must have made the women +march." They affirm, however, that there is a party favourable to +Bonaparte, consisting of those whose trade is war, and who have lived by +his continuance on the throne; but that this party is not strong, and +little to be feared: Would that this were true! When we were in Paris, +there were a number of caricatures ridiculing the Bourbons; but these +miserable squibs are no test of the public feeling. Napoleon certainly +has done much for Paris; the marks of his magnificence are there every +where to be seen; but the further we travel, the more are we convinced +that he has done littler for the interior of the country.</p> + +<p>There is about every town and village an air of desolation; most of the +houses seem to have wanted repairs for a long time. The inns must strike +every English traveller, as being of a kind entirely new to him. They +are like great old castles half furnished. The dirty chimneys suit but +ill with the marble chimney-pieces, and the gilded chairs and mirrors, +plundered in the revolution; the tables from which you eat are of ill +polished common wood; the linen coarse though clean. The cutlery, where +they have any, is very bad; but in many of the inns, trusting, no doubt, +to the well known expedition of French fingers, they put down only forks +to dinner.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">We</span> left Montargis at seven in the morning, and travelled very slowly +indeed. At five o'clock, after a very tedious journey, we arrived at +Briare, a distance of only 27 miles from Montargis. The landlord here +was the most talkative, and the most impudent fellow I ever saw. +Although demanding the most unreasonable terms, he would not let us +leave his house; at last he said that he would agree to our terms, +namely, 18 francs for our supper and beds: It is best to call it supper +in France, as this is their own phrase for a meal taken at night.</p> + +<p>The road between Montargis and Briare, though not of hard mettle and +without causeway, is yet level and in good condition. The country, +except in the immediate vicinity of Briare, is flat and uninteresting; +no inclosures; the soil of a gravelly nature, mixed in some parts with +chalk. It seems, from the stubble of last year and the young wheat of +this, to be very poor indeed. There is here an odd species of wheat +cultivation, in which the grain, like our potatoes, is seen growing on +the tops of high separate ridges. It struck me that the deep hollows +left between each ridge, might be intended to keep the water. The +instruments of agriculture are quite the same as we have seen all along. +Almost all of the peasants whom we saw to-day wore cocked hats, and had +splendid military tails; we supposed, at first that they had all +<i>marched</i>. There are great numbers of soldiers returning to their homes, +pale, broken down and wearied. Some of them very polite, many of them +rough and ruffian-looking enough. About Briare, there are innumerable +vineyards, and yet we had very bad grapes; but that was our landlord's +fault, not that of the vines.</p> + +<p>The rooms at this inn (Au Grand Dauphin), smoke like the devil, or +rather like his abode. It is a wretched place; the inn opposite, called +La Poste, is said to be better. The weather is now as cold here (10th of +November), as I have ever felt it in winter at home, and it is a more +piercing and searching cold.</p> + +<p>We had last night a good deal of rain. The weather is completely broken +up, and we are at least three weeks or a month later than we ought to +have been.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> +<p><span class="smcap">We</span> +have arrived at Cosne to-night, (the 11th), after a journey through a +country better wooded, more varied, and upon the whole, finer than we +have seen yet on this side of Paris, though certainly not so beautiful +as Normandy. The road is pretty good, though not paved, excepting in +small deep vallies. It lies along-side of the river Loire, and on each +side, there are well cultivated fields, chiefly of wheat, but +interspersed with vineyards.</p> + +<p>For the first time, this day we had a very severe frost in the morning, +but with the aid of the sun, which shone bright and warm, we enjoyed one +of the finest days I ever saw. I sat and chatted with the coachman, or +rather with Monsieur le Voiturier. I led the conversation to the past +and present state of France, and the character of Napoleon, and +immediately he, who till this moment appeared to be as meek and gentle +as a lamb, became the most eloquent and energetic man I have seen. It is +quite wonderful, how the feelings of the people, added to their habits +of extolling their own efforts, and those of Bonaparte, supply them with +language. They are on this subject all orators. He declared, that Paris +was sold by Marmont and others, but that we English do not understand +what the Parisians mean when they say that Paris was sold. They do not +mean that any one was paid for betraying his trust by receiving a bribe, +but that Marmont and others having become very rich under Bonaparte, +desired to spend their fortunes in peace, and had, therefore, deserted +their master. He said that Bonaparte erred only in having too many +things to do at once; but that if he had either relinquished the Spanish +war for a while, or not gone to Moscow, no human power would have <i>been +a match for him</i>, and even we in England would have felt this. He seemed +to think, that it was an easy thing for Bonaparte to have equipped as +good a navy as ours. He was quite insensible to the argument, that it +was first necessary to have commerce, which nourishes our mariners, from +among whom we have our fighting seamen. He said, that though <i>this was a +work of years for others, it would have been nothing for Napoleon</i>: In +short, he venerates the man, and says, that till the day when he left +Paris, he was the greatest of men. He says, he knows well that there is +still a strong party favourable to him among the military; yet that if +they can once be set down at their own firesides, they will never wish +to quit them, but that the danger will be, while they remain together in +great bodies.</p> + +<p>To-day we saw several soldiers wounded, and returning to their homes in +carts; they were fierce swarthy looking fellows, but very merry, and +travelled singing all the way. To-morrow we expect to be at Nevers. At +Cosne, the only objects of curiosity to the traveller are the +manufactories of cutlery and ship anchors. The cutlery seems as good as +any we have seen, but far inferior to even our inferior English cutlery: +It is also dear. Thousands of boxes, with cutlery, were, immediately on +our arrival at the inn, presented to us. Their great deficiency is in +steel, for their best goods are nearly as highly polished as in England. +We bought here some very pretty little toys for children, made of small +coloured beads. We start to-morrow at six.——Distance about 19 +miles to Cosne.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">This</span> day's journey (the 12th), was the most fatiguing and the least +interesting we have had. The country between Cosne and Nevers is, with +the exception of one or two fine views from the heights on the road, the +poorest, and, though well cultivated, has the least pretensions to +beauty of any we have seen, particularly in the vicinity of Pouilly. It +seems also to be nearly as poor as it is ugly. The soil is gravelly, +with a mixture of chalk, and there occurs what I have not yet elsewhere +seen, a great deal of fallow land, and even some common. The face of the +country is considerably diversified by old wood, but we have only seen +one plantation of young trees since we left Paris. The instruments of +agriculture and carriage the same as before mentioned. The farm horses +good. There seems a scarcity of milk, but this may be from the winter +having set in. At the inn here I met with a young officer, who although +only (to appearance) 17 or 18, had been in the Spanish war, at Moscow, +and half over the world. He struck his forehead, when he said, <a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a>"Nous +n'avons plus la guerre." There were at the inn here a number of officers +and soldiers of the cavalry. Their horses are not to be compared with +ours, either in size or beauty, and those of their officers are not so +good, by any means, as the horses of our men in the guards.—— +Distance, 34 miles—to Nevers.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">We</span> went to walk in the town this morning, the 13th. The description of +one French town on the Sunday will serve for all which we have seen. +They are every day sufficiently filthy, but on Sunday, from the +concourse of people, more than commonly so. They never have a pavement +to fly to for clean walking, and for safety from the carriages. If you +are near a shop, a lane, or entry when a carriage comes along, you may +fly in, if not, you must trust to the civility of the coachman, who, if +polite, will only splash you all over. On Sundays, their markets are +held the same as on other days, and nearly all the shops had their doors +open, but <i>their windows shut</i>. Thus they cheat the Devil, and, as they +think, render sufficient homage to him who hath said, on that day "thou +shalt do no manner of work." Yet while all this is going on, the +churches are open, and those who are inclined go in, and take a minute, +a quarter, half an hour, or an hour's devotion, as they think fit. We +entered the nearest of these churches, and saw, what is always to be +seen in them, a great deal, at least, of the outward shew of religion, +and something in a few individuals of the congregation which looked like +real devotion. After church, we went to the convent of St Mary, and were +all admitted, both ladies and gentlemen. The nuns there are not, by any +means, strictly confined; they are of that description who go abroad and +attend the sick. Their pensioners (chiefly children from four to +sixteen) are allowed to go and see their friends; and they were all +presented to us. They are taught to read, write, work, &c. and are well +fed and clothed. This convent was very neat and clean. The building +formed a complete square, and the ground in the interior was very +beautifully laid out as a garden. The cloisters were ornamented with +pots of roses and carnations in full bloom, with the care of which the +young pensioners amused themselves. They have a very pretty small +chapel, over the outer door of which is written, <a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a>"Grand silence;" and +over the inner this inscription; whose menacing promises is so ill +suited to the spirit and temper of its conclusion: "Ah, que ce maison +est terrible, c'est la maison de Dieu, et la porte du ciel." The holy +sisters were of all ages, and many of them pretty—one, the handsomest +woman I have seen in France.</p> + +<p>The ladies are just returned from a longer walk, and report the town to +be ugly, and the streets insufferably dirty. Its manufactures are china, +glass, and enamelled goods; toys of glass beads, and little trifles. The +shopkeepers are, as in every town we have been at, perfect Jews, devoid +of any thing like principle in buying and selling. We are every day +learning more and more how to overcome our scruples with regard to +<i>beating them down</i>. They always expect it, and only laugh at those who +do not practise it.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">This</span> day we left Nevers at six in the morning. It appears to be a large +town, when viewed from the bridge over which we crossed; but it is far +from being a fine town in the interior. The streets are, like all French +streets, narrow, and the houses have a look of antiquity, and a want of +all repair; nothing like comfort, neatness, or tidiness, in any one of +them. This is a melancholy desideratum in France, a want for which +nothing can compensate. The road this day conducted us through a finer +district than we have observed on this side of Paris; more especially +between Nevers and St Pierre, where we have travelled through a richer +and more beautiful country than we have yet seen. No longer the sand, +and gravel, and chalk, which we have long been accustomed to, but a dark +rich soil over a bed of freestone. Here also all the land is well +enclosed. I have not yet been able to find the reason of this sudden +change in the manner of preserving the fields: The face of the country +is also more generally wooded; but from the necessity the French are +under of cutting down whatever wood they find near the towns for their +fires, all the fine trees are ruined in appearance, by their branches +being lopped off: The effect of this on the appearance of the country is +very sad.—Still we find a want of that agreeable alternation of hill +and dale, of the enclosed meadows, and wooded vallies; of the broad and +beautiful rivers and the small winding streams, which, as the finest +features in their native landscape, have become necessary to a Scotch or +an English eye.</p> + +<p>The dress of the women is here different from what we have elsewhere +seen: the peasants' wives wearing large gipsey straw hats, very much +turned up behind and before; the men have still the immense +broad-brimmed black felt affairs, more like umbrellas than Christian +hats. At the inn here, I saw a number of wounded soldiers returning to +their homes; one of them, I observed, had his feet outside of his shoes. +On entering into conversation with him, he told me that his toes had +been nearly frozen off, but <i>that he expected to get them healed</i>: poor +fellow, he was not above twenty. He told me that all the <i>young +conscripts</i> were delighted to return to their homes, and that only the +old veterans were friends to the war.—I hope this may be true, but I +doubt it. The country here shows that the winter is not so far advanced; +many of the trees are still green; the roads had become heavy with the +rain that has fallen; we have had two days hard frost, but to-day the +weather is mild, and the air moist. We were recommended to the Hotel des +Allies here, but preferred stopping at the first good-looking inn we +found, as in great towns things are very dear at the houses of great +resort; we have had a very good supper and tolerable lodgings for 18 +francs.</p> + +<p>To-morrow, we set out at seven.—We find our way of travelling tedious; +but I think in summer it would be by far the best. Our three horses +seldom take less than 10, sometimes 13 hours to their day's journey, of +from 28 to 32 miles; but our carriage is large and roomy; and had we any +thing like comfort at our inns, as at home, we should find the +travelling very pleasant. The greatest annoyance arises from your having +always to choose from the two evils, of being either shamefully imposed +upon, or of having to bargain before-hand for the price of your +entertainment.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was near eight o'clock this morning, the 16th, before we got under +weigh, and according to our coachman's account, we had been delayed by +the horses being too much fatigued the night before. He continued to +proceed so slowly, that we only reached Varrenes at four o'clock, a +distance of 22 miles from Moulins, where we had last slept. Moulins is +the finest town we have seen since we left Paris. The streets are there +wider, and the houses, though old and black, are on a much better plan, +and in better repair than any we have passed through; there is also +somewhat of neatness and cleanliness about them. It is famous for its +cutlery, and has a small manufacture of silk stockings; we saw some of +the cutlery very neat and highly polished in some parts, but coarse and +ill finished in others. The variety of shapes which the French give +their knives is very amusing.</p> + +<p>The road between Moulins and Varrenes is through a much prettier country +than we have seen since we left Paris; there is more wood, with +occasional variety of orchards and vineyards and corn fields. The +ploughing, is here carried on by bullocks, and these are also used in +the carts. All the country is enclosed, and the lands well dressed. The +wheat is not nearly so far advanced here, which must arise from its +being more lately sowed, for the winter is only commencing; many of the +trees are still in fall leaf.</p> + +<p>We cannot well judge of any change of climate, as we have just had a +change from hard frost to thaw; but every thing has the appearance of a +milder atmosphere. I enquired into the reason of the want of hedges +hitherto, and their abundance here, and was told, that it arose from the +greater subdivision of property as well as from the number of cows: that +every man almost had his little piece of land, and his cow, pigs, hens, +&c. and that they could not afford to have herds. The yoke of the +bullocks here, is not, as in India, and in England, placed on the neck +and shoulders, but on the forehead and horns: this, though to appearance +the most irksome to the poor animals, is said here to be the way in +which they work best. The sheep are very small, and of a long-legged and +poor kind: the hogs are the poorest I have ever seen; they are as like +the sheep as possible, though with longer legs, and resembling +greyhounds in the drawn-up belly and long slender snout; they seem +content with wondrous little, and keep about the road sides, picking up +any thing but wholesome food.</p> + +<p>The cottages on the road, and in the small towns, are generally very +dirty, and inhabited by a very motley and promiscuous set of beings; the +men, women, children, indeed pigs, fowls, &c. all huddled together. The +pigs here appear so well accustomed to a cordial welcome in the houses, +that when by chance excluded, you see them impatiently rapping at the +door with their snouts.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">We</span> left Varrenes this morning, at six o'clock, and entered on a new +country, which presented to us a greater variety of scenery. The road +between Varrenes and St Martin D'Estreaux is almost all the way among +the hills, which are often covered to the top with wood. After +travelling for so long a time through a country which was almost +uniformly flat, our sensations were delightful in again approaching +something like a hilly district. The roads we found extremely bad, and +although we have had rain, I do not think that their condition is to be +ascribed to the weather. They want repair, and appear to have been +insufficient in their metal from the first. We were obliged here to have +a fourth horse, which our coachman ordered and paid for; he went with us +as far as Droiturier, and then left us. We made out 28 miles of bad +road, between six in the morning and four in the evening. The hilly +country throughout is extremely well cultivated, and the soil apparently +pretty good. France has indeed shewn a different face from what an +Englishman would expect, after such a draining of men and money.</p> + +<p>In our route to-day, the country became very interesting, the swelling +hills were beautiful, and the first clear stream we have seen in France +winded through a wooded valley, along whose side we travelled. Many +little cottages were scattered up and down in the green intervals of the +woods, or crept up the brows of the hills; and after the monotonous +plains we had passed, the whole scene was truly delightful. At the inn +at La Palisse, I met with a very pleasant French lady, who strongly +advised me to avoid Montpellier, as the winds there are very sharp in +winter; she said two friends of her's had been sent from it on account +of complaints contracted there. She recommended Nice.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p>(<i>Thursday</i>, 17th.)—The road to-day was through ranges of hills, and, +for the latter part of it, we were obliged to have a fourth horse. The +road very heavy in most places, and in some wretchedly ill-paved, with +stones of unequal size, and not squared. From the top of these hills the +view of the several vallies through which we passed was very beautiful, +though certainly not equal in beauty to Devonshire, or to some parts of +Perthshire, and other of the more fertile districts in Scotland: the +soil far from good, and the crops of wheat thin;—yet there is not an +atom of the soil lying waste, the hills being cultivated up to the +summit. The cultivation is still managed by oxen, as is the carriage of +farm produce, and all kinds of cart-work. They have had a sad mortality +among the cattle about St Germain L'Epinàsse; and all things appear to +have been affected by this disaster, for we found the milk, butter, +fowls, grain, every thing very dear indeed. In France, when a disease +seizes the cattle, parties of soldiers are sent to prevent the people +from selling their cattle, or sending them to other parts of the +country. One of these parties (a small troop of dragoons) we met on the +road.</p> + +<p>On our route to-day, we crossed the Loire at a pretty large and busy +town, called Roanne. The river here is very large, but has only a wooden +bridge over it: there are some fine arches, forming the commencement of +a most magnificent new stone bridge, the work of Napoleon; the work had +the appearance of having been some time interrupted. Alas, that the good +King cannot continue such works!</p> + +<p>Here, for the first time, we saw coals, and in great quantity; the boats +on which they are carried, are long, square flat-bottomed boxes. +Although in a mountainous country, and with a poor soil, the houses of +the peasants were here much better than any we have seen, though a good +deal out of repair; they are high and comfortable, having many of them +two flats, and all with windows. We saw a number of fields in which the +people were turning up and dressing the soil with spades: This, and +indeed many other things in this mountainous part of the country, +reminded me of parts of the Highlands of Scotland, and the island of St +Helena. But it would not be easy to conceive yourself transported to +those parts of the world, when here you every now and then encounter a +peasant in a cocked hat, with a red velvet coat, or with blue velvet +breeches: this proclaims us near Lyons, the country of silks and +velvets. The climate is very delightful at present; during a great part +of to-day, I sat on the box with <i>Monsieur le Voiturier</i>, who is now +become so attached to us, that I think he will go with us to our +journey's end. He is a most excellent, sober and discreet man, and has +given us no trouble, and ample satisfaction. To-day, we passed two very +pretty clear streams. The country seats are numerous here, but none of +those that we have yet seen are fine; they are either like the very old +English manor-houses, or if of a later date, are like large +manufactories; a mass of regular windows, and all in ruinous condition; +nothing like fine architecture have we yet met with. To-morrow we start +again at six, and hope to sleep within four leagues of Lyons.—— +Distance 34 miles—to St Simphorien de Lay.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">This</span> morning, we set off, as usual, at six, and only made out in five +hours a distance of 16 miles, arriving at the small town of Tarrare, +which is beautifully situated in the bosom of the hills. This difficulty +in travelling is occasioned by the road being extremely precipitous. It +winds, however, for several miles very beautifully through the valley, +by the banks of a clear stream; and the hills which rise on each side, +are in many places cultivated to the top, while others are richly +wooded: towards the bases they slope into meadows, which are now as +green as in the middle of summer, and where the cows are grazing by the +water-side. The air is warm and pleasant, the sky unclouded, and the +light of a glorious sun renders every object gay and beautiful. This +valley is, I think, much more beautiful than any part of France we have +yet seen. Through the passes in the hills, we have had some very fine +peeps at the country to which we are travelling. Every inch of the +ground on these mountains is turned to good account; as the grass, from +the soil and exposure, is very scanty, the peasants make use of the same +method of irrigating as at St Helena. Where there is found a spring of +water, they form large reservoirs into which it is received, and from +these reservoirs they lead off small channels, which overflow the field, +and give an artificial moisture to the soil. The houses of the peasants +are still excellent, but there appears a great want of cattle. The +fields are ploughed with oxen, very small and lean; we had two of them +to assist us on the way from St Simphorien to Pain Bouchain.</p> + +<p>At Tarrare, I am sorry to say, we found a want of almost every comfort. +It is a pretty large town, neater in exterior appearance than any we +have seen, but very dirty within; it is famous for its muslins and +calicoes.——All this day we have had nothing but constant ascending +and descending; the country occasionally very fine, and always well +cultivated. The ploughs here are very small and ill made; they have no +wheels, and are drawn by oxen. Some of the valleys in our route to-day +would be beyond any thing beautiful, if varied with a few of those fine +trees, which we are accustomed to meet with every day in England and +Scotland; but the manner in which the French trees are cut, clipped, and +hacked, renders them very disgusting to our eyes. I have not seen one +truly fine tree since we left Paris, about the environs of which there +are a few. There is also a great scarcity of gentlemen's seats, of +castles and other buildings, and of gardens of every kind. France, one +would suppose, ought to be the country of flowers; but not one flower +garden have we yet seen.——Distance about 31 miles—to the +Half-way-House, between Arras and Salvagny.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p>(<i>Saturday, 18th.</i>)—We left the inn at the half-way village, whose name +I forgot to ask, between Arras and Salvagny, at six this morning, and +arrived at Lyons at half-past ten. On the subject of to-day's route very +little can be said. The first part of it conducted over a long +succession of very steep hills, for about four miles, after which we +descended through a fine varied country to the city of Lyons.—— +Distance, 16 miles to Lyons.</p> + +<p>Lyons is certainly a fine town, although, like Paris, it has only a few +fine public buildings, among a number of very old and ruinous-looking +houses. It is chiefly owing to the ideas of riches and commerce with +which both of these towns <i>are connected</i>, that we would call them +<i>fine</i>, for they have neither fine streets nor fine ranges of houses. I +need not mention, that Lyons is the place of manufacture for all kinds +of silks, velvets, ribbons, fringes, &c. But here, as at many +manufactories, things bought by retail are as dear, or even dearer, than +at Paris. The ladies of our party had built castles in the air all the +way to Lyons; but they found every thing dearer than at Paris, and +almost as dear as in England.</p> + +<p>Now that I have seen a little of the manners and dress of the people in +the two largest towns in France, I may hazard a few observations on +these subjects. I think it is chiefly among the lower ranks that the +superior politeness of the French is apparent. Although you still find +out the ruffians and banditti who have figured on the stage under +Napoleon, yet the greater, by far the greater number, are mild, +cheerful, and obliging. A common Frenchman, in the street, if asked the +way to a place, will generally either point it out very clearly, or say, +"Allow me to accompany you, Sir." Among the higher ranks of society you +will find many obliging people; but you will also discover many whose +situation alone can sanction your calling them gentlemen. There +appears, moreover, in France, to be a sort of blending together of the +high and low ranks of society, which has a bad effect on the more +polite, without at all bettering the manners of the more uncivilized. To +discover who are gentlemen, and who are not, without previously knowing +something of them, or at least entering into conversation, is very +difficult. In England, all the middling ranks dress so well, that you +are puzzled to find out the gentleman. In France, they dress so ill in +the higher ranks, that you cannot distinguish them from the lower. One +is often induced to think, that those must be gentlemen who wear orders +and ribbons at their buttons, but, alas! almost every one in France at +the present day has one of these ribbons. In the dress of the women +there is still less to be found that points out the distinction of their +ranks. To my eye, they are all wretchedly ill dressed, for they wear the +same dark and dirty-looking calicoes which our Scotch maid-servants wear +only on week days. This gives to their dress an air of meanness; but +here the English ought to consider, that these cotton goods are in +France highly valued, and very dear, from their scarcity. Over these +dresses they wear (at present) small imitation shawls, of wool, silk, +or cotton. They have very short petticoats, and shew very neat legs and +ankles, but covered only with coarse cotton stockings, seldom very +white; often with black worsted stockings. I have not seen one +handsomely dressed woman as yet in France; the best had always an air of +shabbiness about her, which no milliner's daughter at home would shew. +They are said to dress much more gaily in the evening. When we mix a +little more in French society, we shall be able to judge of this.</p> + +<p>This want of elegance and richness in dress, is, I think, one of the +marks of poverty in France. I have mentioned before the ruinous +appearance of the villages and houses. The excessive numbers of beggars +is another. The French themselves say that there is a great want of +money in France; they affirm that there is no scarcity of men, and that +with more money the French could have fought for many years to come. +They certainly are the vainest people in the universe; they have often +told me, <i>that could Bonaparte have continued his blockade of the +Continental trade a few months more, England would have been undone</i>. +They sometimes confess, that they would have been rather at a loss for +Coffee, Sugar, and Cotton, had we continued our war with the Americans, +who were their carriers. The want of the first of these articles would +annoy any country, but in France they cannot live without it: in England +they might.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">This</span> day, <i>Monday</i> the 20th, we left Lyons at one o'clock in the +forenoon, travelling in most unfavourable weather, and through almost +impassable streets. The situation of Lyons is beautiful; the site of the +town is at the conflux of the Soane and the Rhone; a fine ridge of hills +rises behind the city; the innumerable houses which are scattered up and +down the heights, the fine variety of wood and cultivation, and the +little villages which you discern at a distance in the vallies, give it +the appearance of a romantic, yet populous and delightful neighbourhood.</p> + +<p>We were not able to see much of the interior of the town; but in passing +once or twice through the principal streets, and more particularly in +leaving the town, we had a good view of the public buildings. Many of +them are very fine, and the whole town has an appearance of wealth, the +effect of commerce. But a better idea of the wealth is given, by the +innumerable loads of goods of different kinds, which you meet with on +the roads in the vicinity of this favoured city, on the Paris and +Marseilles sides of the town. The roads are completely ploughed up at +this season of the year, and almost impassable. The waggoners are even a +more independent set of men than with us in England; they keep their +waggons in the very middle of the road, and will not move for the +highest nobleman in the land; this, however, is contrary to the police +regulations. The land carriage here is almost entirety managed by mules. +These are from 13 to 14 hands high, and surpass in figure and limb +anything I could have imagined of the sons and daughters of asses. The +price of these animals varies from L.10 to L.40, according to size and +temper. They are found of all colours; but white, grey, and bay are the +most uncommon. Our journey this day was only as far as Vienne, a pretty +large village, or it might be called a town. We entered it at night, and +the rain pouring down upon us. These are two very great evils in French +travelling; for either of them puts you into the hands of the +innkeepers, who conceive, that at night, and in such weather, you must +have lodging speedily, at any price. At the first inn we came to, we met +with a reception, (which, to those accustomed to the polite and grateful +expression, with which in arriving at an English inn, you are received +by the attentive host or hostess), was altogether singular. The landlady +declared, with the voice and action of a virago, that at this time of +night, the highest guests in the land should not enter her roof upon any +terms. The landlord, on the contrary, behaved with great politeness, +entreated not to take offence at his wife's uncommon appearance. "C'est +seulement un tête chaud, Monsieur, mais faites moi l'honeur d'y entrer." +We accordingly did so; and this was the signal for the commencement of a +scene in the interior of the inn, which was probably never equalled in +the annals of matrimonial dissension. The landlady first gave a kind of +prefatory yell, which was only a prelude of war-whoop, introductory to +that which was to follow. She then began to tear her hair in handfuls; +and kept alternately brandishing knives, forks, pots, logs of wood, in +short, whatever her hand fell upon in the course of her fury, at her +poor passive help-mate, who appeared to consider the storm with a +nonchalance, which evidently could only have been produced by very long +experience; while he kept saying to us all the time, <a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a><i>"Soyez +tranquille, Monsieur; ce n'est rien que cela."</i> At length he commenced +getting ready our supper, and I entered into conversation with a very +great man, the mayor of the village, who, <i>adorned with a splendid order +at his breast</i>, was quietly bargaining for his supper. Nothing more +completely astonishes an Englishman than this extraordinary mixture of +all ranks of society, which takes place at the kitchen fire of a French +inn. You will there see, not only sitting, but familiarly conversing +together, officers and gentlemen, coachmen, waggoners, and all classes +of people, each addressing the other as <i>Monsieur</i>. The mayor here, +being, to all appearance, a most communicative fellow, was easily got on +the politics of the day. I began by enumerating the blessings of peace, +and by extolling the character of the present King, in all of which he +seemed to join with heart and soul. He told me how Bonaparte treated the +mayors of the different towns,—how he would raise them up at all hours +of the night,—how he forced them to seize on grain wherever it was +found. In short, he abused him in the vilest terms. I put in an +observation or two in his favour, when suddenly my friend whispered +me,—"Sir, to be frank with you, he was the greatest man ever lived, and +the best ruler for France." I encouraged him a little, by assenting to +all he said, and I found him a staunch friend of Napoleon, anxious for +his return: I have no doubt, that time-serving gentlemen like these, +would wish for nothing more. It appeared to me, that his highness, the +mayor, was in very high spirits, either from wine, or that it was his +nature—however, "In vino veritas."——Distance, nineteen miles to +Vienne.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">We</span> had a miserable lodging at this vile inn, (Hotel du Parc at Vienne.) +We left it with pleasure, this morning, (<i>Tuesday</i> the 21st), although +the weather continued most unfavourable; yet any thing was better than +remaining in such a house. The day continued to rain without +intermission; and we made out with difficulty about 30 miles, to St +Vallier. The country through which we passed to-day, is the most bare +and barren we have seen, particularly when we approached St Vallier. The +soil, a deep gravel, producing nothing but grapes, and a wretched scanty +crop of wheat. The grapes, however, are here the finest for wine in +France. It is here that the famous wines of Cotè Rotie and Hermitage are +made. To the very summits of the hills, you see this wretched looking +soil enclosed with stone dykes, and laid out in vineyards. We tasted +some of the grapes here, and though out of season, we found them very +fine; they were of a small black kind called Seeràn.</p> + +<p>The woman at the inn here, was sent for from the church, to see whether +she would receive us on our terms of 18 francs, which is what we now +always pay; having asked 20, we settled with her, and she went back to +her devotions. We have now had three days of continued rain, which +renders travelling very uncomfortable, and the roads most wretched. We +still rise every morning at five, and are on the road at six. The air is +mild, but very damp. The honey of Narbonne, got at Lyons, is the finest +in France. I forgot to mention, that at Lyons we tried the experiment of +going to the <i>table d'hôte</i>. We ought not, however, to form the opinion +of a good <i>table d'hôte</i> from the one of the Hotel du Parc. It was +mostly composed of what are here called <i>Pensionaires</i>; people who dine +there constantly, paying a smaller sum than the common rate of three +francs. The company was, therefore, rather low, and the table scantily +provided; but I should think, that for gentlemen travellers, a <i>table +d'hôte</i>, where a good one is held, would be the best manner of +dining.——Distance 30 miles to St Vallier.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Wednesday</i>, the 22d.—We left St Vallier at half past six in the +morning, and only reached St Valence, a distance of 23 miles, by five +o'clock. This delay was occasioned by the heavy fall of rain during +these four last days, and by there being no bridge over the Isere, +within four or five miles of Valence. The former bridge, (a most +beautiful one, though only of wood), had been burnt down, by General +Augereau to intercept the progress of the Austrians. The French appear +to hate Augereau as much as Marmont; they say he was a traitor to +Napoleon, to whom he owed every thing. The country through which we +passed to-day, was as plain and uninteresting as yesterday's, though +still all cultivated. Nothing but vines on the hills, and the plains +almost bare—still gravelly. We found the Isere much swollen by the +rain. The contrivance for carrying over the carts and carriages, is +exceedingly simple and beautiful: Three very high trees are formed into +a triangle, such as we raise for weighing coals. One of these is placed +on each side of the river, and a rope passes over a groove at the top, +and is fixed down at each side of the river; to this rope that crosses +the river is attached a block and pulley, and to this pulley is fixed +the rope of the boat. The stream tries by its rapidity to carry the boat +down; the rope across prevents this; and it therefore slides across, +with a regular though rapid motion.</p> + +<p>It appears to me that we are getting into a poorer country in every +respect; for the inns are worse, the food worse, the roads worse, &c. +There seems a want of poultry as well as butcher meat. Mutton here is +very poor. Our inn to-night is the best we have seen since we left +Lyons; it is at the Golden Cross, outside the town of Valence, and is +neatly kept and well served. The waiter here had served in the army for +six years. He says, there are indeed many of the soldiers who wish for +war; but that he really believes there are as many who wish for peace: I +have little faith in this. We observed this morning a large party of men +returning from the galleys, having passed the time of their +imprisonment. They were all uniformly dressed in red flannel clothes and +small woollen caps, and attended by gens-d'armes.——Distance 23 +miles—to St Valence.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Thursday</i>, the 23d.—We left St Valence well enough pleased with our +lodging at the Golden Cross. It is, however, an exception to the bad set +of inns we have lately been at. In the kitchen here, which I entered +from curiosity, as the ladies went up stairs to the parlour, I found, as +usual, a most extraordinary mixture of company. I listened, without +joining at all in the conversation. The theme of discourse was a report +that had been circulated, that all the young troops were to hold +themselves in readiness again to take up arms. The only foundation I +could find for this report was, <i>that a drum had been beat for some +reason or other that evening.</i> This was a good opportunity of attending +to the state of the public feeling here;—all and every one seemed +delighted at the thoughts of war, provided it was with the Austrians. +One man (a shopkeeper to appearance), said, that his son, a trumpeter, +when he heard the drum, leapt from his seat, and, dancing about the +room, exclaimed, <a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a>"La guerre! la guerre!" On the route this morning, +we met with a small party of five or six soldiers returning to their +homes; two of them had lost their right arms, and two others were lamed +for life. They all agreed that they would never have wished for peace; +and that even in their present miserable state they would fight. They +were very fine stout fellows, about 40 years of age; but they had the +looks of ruffians when narrowly examined.</p> + +<p>In the same inn the hostler, who had only fought one year, was as +anxious for a continuation of peace as the others were for war. The wife +of one of these soldiers gave a most lamentable description of the +horrors of the last campaign, and ended by praying for a continuation of +the peace.</p> + +<p>At a little village near Montelimart (our lodging place to-night), we +were accosted in very bad English by a good-looking young Frenchman, +who, from our appearance, knew us to be English. He told us that he had +been four years a prisoner at Plymouth; he complained of bad treatment, +and abused both the English and England very liberally, saying that +France was a much finer country. Poor fellow! in a prison-ship at +Plymouth he had formed his opinion of England. He gave us some good +hints about the price of provisions in this part of the country. Wine +(the vin ordinaire) is here at six sous, or three-pence the bottle. I +had been very much astonished (on ordering some wine for the soldiers in +the morning), to find that I had only ten sous to pay for each bottle.</p> + +<p>The country through which we passed to-day is rather more interesting, +with a considerable variety of hill and dale, wood and water, but the +soil is still a miserable gravel. Both to-day and yesterday we observed +that the fields on each side of the road were planted with clumsy cropt +trees, somewhat like fruit-trees. We could not make out what these were +until to-day, when we learnt that they were mulberry trees, and that +this was a silk country. The trees are of the size of our orchard +trees; their branches, under the thickness of an inch, are all lopped +off, and from the wounds thus made, spring up the tender young branches +which produce the leaves. The trees have a most unnatural appearance +from this cause. Under these the fields here are ploughed for a most +wretched crop of wheat. The ploughs miserably constructed, but with +wheels.</p> + +<p>This part of the country abounds with mule, which are used in carriages, +carts, waggons, ploughs, &c. These animals are of a remarkable size +here. The roads, ever since we left Lyons, excepting where we met with a +hundred or two hundred yards of pavement, have been uniformly bad. +To-day, however, we made out about 33 miles between six and five +o'clock. This town of Montelimart is celebrated for one manufacture +only, viz. a sort of cake made of almonds and white sugar, called +Nagaux. This article is sent from this place all over France!—---- +Distance 33 miles—to Montelimart.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">Our</span> journey to-day (<i>Friday</i> the 24th) though rather more rapid, was not +by any means comfortable. The country hereabout has a great want of +milk and butter;—not a cow to be seen. The soil is still to appearance +wretchedly poor, yet it gives a rich produce, in grapes, figs, olives, +and mulberry leaves, for the silk worms. The wine (vin ordinaire) sells +here at six sous the bottle; it is poor in quality, yet by no means +unpalatable. The roads continue as bad as ever, rather worse indeed, for +the thin creamy mud has become thick doughy clay.</p> + +<p>We did not arrive at Orange till half past five, but were fortunate in +finding a civil reception at the Palais Royal, the first inn on entering +the town. We met with no adventures to-day of any kind. The language of +the people has now become completely unintelligible; it is a Patois of +the most horrible nature. Many of the better sort of people among the +peasants, are able to speak French with you, but where they have only +their own dialect, you are completely at a loss. I had conceived, that +there would be no more difference between French and Patois, than +between the better and the lower dialects of Scotch and English; but the +very words are here changed: A carter asked the landlord with whom we +were conversing, for a <a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a>"Peetso morcel du bosse,"—<i>"petit morceau du +bois."</i> The landlord, a respectable-looking man, gave us a good deal of +news regarding the state of the country. He says, that the people in the +south are all anxious for peace, and that those in France, who wish for +war, are those who have nothing else to live on; that nobody with a +house over his back, and a little money, desires to have war again.</p> + +<p>The people here seem to amuse themselves with a perpetual variety of +reports. The story to-day is, that Alexander has declared his intention +of sending 60,000 men to Poland, to take possession of that country for +himself; and that Talleyrand would not hear of such a thing. The +villages that we passed to-day have a greater appearance of desolation +than any we have yet seen. Scarce a house which does not seem to be +tumbling to pieces, and those which we were unlucky enough to enter, +were as dirty and uncomfortable inside as they appeared without. On +entering the town, or rather at a little distance from the town of +Orange, we saw a beautiful triumphal arch, said to have been raised to +commemorate the victories of Marius over the Cimbri. The evening was +too gloomy for us to observe in what state of preservation the sculpture +is now, but the architecture is very grand. To-morrow we breakfast at +Avignon. But alas, the weather will not permit of our visiting +Vaucluse.——Distance 39 miles—to Orange.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Saturday</i>, the 25th.—We left Orange at half past six. Our road to-day +lay through the same species of country, to which we have been condemned +for four days, producing vines, olives, and mulberries; the soil is to +all appearance a most wretched one for corn—gravel and stones. The +roads have, ever since our leaving Lyons, been very bad. After breakfast +at Avignon, we proceeded to see the ruins of the church of Notre Dame. +There are now remaining but very few vestiges of a church; the ground +formerly enclosed by the church, is now formed into a fruit garden, and +a country house has been built on the ruins. The owner of this house +wishes to let it, and hearing that a friend of ours was in need of a +house, he offered it to him for two hundred a-year. The house was such +as one could procure near London for about L.80, and such as we ought to +have in France for L.20. But the French do really think, that the +English will give any sum they ask, and that every individual is a kind +of animated bag of money.</p> + +<p>The owner of the house was, to appearance, a broken-down gentleman; he +had been ordered to Marseilles by his physician for an affection of the +lungs; yet he strongly recommended the climate of Avignon. For my own +part, I think the situation is too low and windy to be healthy. The town +is one of the cleanest we have seen, and there are some excellent houses +in it; of the rent we could not well judge from the account of this +gentleman. We went through his garden, and were by him shewn the spot +under which the tomb of Laura is now situated. A small cypress tree had +been planted by the owner of the garden to mark the spot. He had heard +the story of Laura, and recollected many particulars of it; but still he +had not been at the pains to have the spot cleared, and the tomb exposed +to view. To any one who was acquainted with the story of Petrarch, or +who had perused his impassioned effusions, the dilapidation of this +church, and the barbarous concealment of Laura's tomb, were most +mortifying circumstances. But, neither the memory of Laura, nor of the +brave Crillon, whose tomb is also here, had any effect in averting the +progress of the revolutionary barbarians. The tomb of Crillon is now +only to be distinguished by the vestiges of some warlike embellishments +in the wall opposite which it was situated. There is a large space now +empty in the midst of these ornaments, from which a large marble slab +had lately been taken out. On this slab, the owner of the garden said, +an inscription, commemorating the virtues of Crillon, had been engraved. +A small stone, with his arms very beautifully engraved, was shewn us in +the garden. I could not leave the garden without stealing a branch from +the cypress which shaded Laura's tomb.</p> + +<p>Through this garden runs the rivulet of Vaucluse. Its course is through +the town of Avignon; where we remained for three hours, and then +continued our journey; but the day was far advanced, and by the evening +we only arrived at a wretched, little inn called Bonpas. We were here +told that we could have no lodging. Luckily for us the moon was up, and +very clear; we therefore pushed on for Orgon, which, although said in +the post-book to be two posts and a half from Bonpas, we reached in +about an hour and a half. On our arrival we were fortunate enough to +find lodging; and had scarcely seated ourselves in our parlour, when the +people told us, that last night the mail had been robbed, and both the +postillion and conducteur killed on the spot,——Distance 42 miles—to +Orgon.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Sunday</i>, the 26th,—We left Orgon, as usual, at six o'clock, and +travelled before breakfast to Font Royal, a distance of 11 miles. Here +the unfortunate <i>conducteur</i> of the mail was lying desperately wounded; +the surgeon, however, expected him to live. The postmaster here was not +well satisfied with the conduct of the soldiers or gens-d'armes who +attended the mail. The robbers were only four in number, and the +attendants, viz. the postillion, conducteur and gens-d'armes, he +thought, ought to have been a match for them. The robbers were +frightened off while searching for the money, and fled without taking +any thing of consequence.</p> + +<p>It is a very bad arrangement which they have in France, of sending large +sums of money in gold and silver by the mail; for it holds out a much +stronger inducement than would otherwise be given to the robbers. The +mail, in France, is a very heavy coach, and has only three horses. The +roads to-day were worse than any we have yet passed; and the country, +for the first part of our journey, is as dull and insipid as it is +possible to conceive. The soil most wretched, but still producing great +riches in olives, grapes, figs, and mulberries. The grapes are +delightful, even now when almost out of season, and the wine made from +them is very fine. Within a mile or two of Aix, (from the top of a steep +descent over a very barren, and bleak hill), you are delighted with the +most complete change in the scene: In a moment, an extensive valley, +highly cultivated, opens on the view. It is divided into a beautiful +variety of vineyards, wheat fields, gardens, plantations of olives and +figs, and is enclosed by hedge-rows of almond and mulberry trees. Round +the valley rise a succession of romantic hills, covered with woods, and +forming a fine conclusion to the view. It was altogether an enchanting +picture. If this is the case in winter, what must it be in summer? The +town of Aix, situated in this valley, is, as far as we have seen, the +cleanest, neatest, and most comfortable-looking town in France—we are +as yet all delighted with it; but when we shall have seen it for a day +or two, I shall be better able to give an account of it.——Distance 33 +miles—to Aix.</p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_a_II" id="CHAPTER_a_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h3> + +<p class="head">RESIDENCE AT AIX, AND JOURNEY TO BOURDEAUX.</p> +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt"><i>M</i></span><span class="smcap"><i>onday</i></span>, the 27th.—Having been employed the whole day in searching for +furnished lodgings, I had no time to ride about and see the town. I +shall describe it afterwards.—I saw, however, a little of the manners +of some ranks of French society.</p> + +<p>After this, I went into the best coffeehouse in the town here, and sat +down to read the newspapers. I found in it people of all +descriptions—several of a most unprepossessing appearance, and others +really like gentlemen. One of the best dressed of these last, decorated +with the white cockade and other insignia, and having several rings of +precious stones on his fingers, a watch, with a beautiful assortment of +seals and other trinkets, was playing at Polish drafts, with an officer, +also apparently a gentleman. I entered into conversation with him; and +was surprised at his almost immediately offering me his watch, trinkets, +and rings for sale. Still I thought this might arise from French +manners: I had not a doubt he was a gentleman.—How great was my +surprise, when a gentleman from the other side of the room called him by +name, and bid him bring a cup of coffee and a glass of liqueur—My +friend was one of the waiters of the coffeehouse. Such is the mixture of +French society—such is the effect of citizenship.</p> + +<p>Our landlord, Mr A——, keeps a retail shop for toys, perfumery, +cutlery, and all manner of articles. I did not think that we had given +him any encouragement on our first arrival; but he is now become a pest +to us: he honours us with his company at all hours, and comes and seats +himself with our other acquaintances, of whatever rank they may be. I +have been forced at last to be rude to him, in never asking him to sit +down when any one is with us. <i>The physician shakes him by the hand—so +does the banker</i>. When I had purchased my horse, our banker spoke to a +little mean-looking body, a paper-maker, to buy some corn and hay for +it. I was astonished when the banker ended his speech by an +affectionate<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> "<i>Adieu, a revoir a souper</i>." I am told, however, that +this mixture of ranks, and this condescension on the part of superiors, +is only practised at times, and to serve a purpose; and that, although +the nobleman will sit down in the kitchen of an inn, and converse +familiarly with the servants there, and though he will sit down in a +shop, and prattle with the Bourgeoise, yet he keeps his place most +proudly in society, inviting and receiving only his equals and +superiors. The familiarity of all ranks with their own servants is most +disgusting; but, from their poverty, the higher classes must condescend.</p> + +<p>Yesterday evening, I had an interesting conversation with Mr L. B. an +intelligent and well informed man, of good family, eminent in his +profession, and high in the opinion of all the society here; he is a +devoted royalist. Among other interesting anecdotes which he related, I +can only recollect these:</p> + +<p>Bonaparte had got into some scrape at Toulon, where he was well known as +a bad and troublesome character; he was arrested, and put under a guard +commanded by a near relation of Mr L. B. Barras, then at the height of +his power in Paris, not knowing what to do with some of his royalist +enemies, sent for Bonaparte, and proposed to him to collect a body of +troops, and to fire on the royalists. Jourdan, and many other officers +were applied to, but refused so base an employment. Bonaparte willingly +accepted it—acquitted himself to Barras's satisfaction, and Barras then +offered him the command in Italy, provided he would marry his cast-off +mistress, Madame Beauharnois. To this Bonaparte consented. Bonaparte's +mother had been, about this time, turned out of the Marseilles Theatre, +on account of her bad character; for it was well known, that she +subsisted herself and one of her daughters on the beauty of her other +daughter. Shortly after Bonaparte's appointment to the Italian army, the +same magistrate (the Mayor of Marseilles), who had formerly turned out +Madame Bonaparte, perceived her again seated in one of the front boxes; +he went up to her, and turned her out. She immediately wrote to her son, +and the poor mayor was dismissed. This anecdote is, I find, mentioned by +Goldsmith, who refers, in proof of its truth, to the newspapers of the +time, in which the conduct, and sentence of the mayor are fully +discussed.</p> + +<p>Bonaparte, extremely dissipated himself, would yet often correct any +propensities of that kind in his relations. Pauline, the Princess +Borghese, had formed an attachment for a very handsome young Florentine; +he was one night suddenly surprised by Bonaparte's emissaries, put into +a carriage, and removed to a great distance, with orders not to return.</p> + +<p>One of Bonaparte's relations had formed an attachment to Junot, who was +one of the handsomest men in France; Junot was immediately after sent to +Portugal, and upon his defeats there, he was disgraced publicly by +Bonaparte, and killed himself, it was believed, in a fit of despair.</p> + +<p>The Princess Borghese, though vain, fond of dress, of extravagance, and +of pleasure of every sort, whether honest or otherwise, has yet a good +heart. A cousin of Mr L. B.'s was ordered to join the Garde d'Honneur: +One of the last and most cruel acts of Bonaparte, was the constitution +of this corps, which was meant to receive the young men of noble or rich +families. The mother and relations of this young man were inconsolable, +and the sum of money which would have been required as a ransom, was +more than they could give; for Bonaparte, well knowing that the better +families would rather pay than allow of their sons serving in his guard, +had made the price of ransom immense. In their distress, they applied to +Mr L. B., who had been at one time of service to the Princess Borghese +in his legal capacity, and he paid a visit to the Princess. She received +him most kindly, but told him that Bonaparte strictly forbade her +interfering in military matters; that she would willingly apply for the +situation of a prefect for Mr L. B. but could be of no service to his +relation. She was, however, at last prevailed on; she wrote most warmly +to her friends, and in three or four days the young man was sent back to +his happy family.</p> + +<p>The French here date Bonaparte's downfall from the time when he first +determined on attacking the power of the Pope. They say that this attack +and the Spanish War, were both contrary to the advice of Talleyrand. In +a conversation which took place between the Emperor Alexander and +Napoleon, Alexander represented his own power as superior to Napoleon's, +because he had no Pope to, controul him; and Bonaparte then replied, +that "he would shew him and the world that the Pope was nobody."</p> + +<p>Our conversation turned on the difference between the penal codes of +France and England. The French code, as revised, and, in many parts, +formed by Napoleon, is much more mild than ours. There are not more than +twelve crimes for which the punishment is death. In England, according +to Blackstone, there are 160 crimes punished by death; on these +subjects, I shall afterwards write more fully when I have received more +information. Mr L. B. related a curious anecdote, from which the +abolition of torture is said to have been determined.</p> + +<p>A judge, who had long represented the folly of this method of trial, +without any success, had recourse to the following stratagem:—He went +into the stable at night, and having taken away two of his own horses, +he had them removed to distance. In the morning his coachman came +trembling to inform him of the theft. He immediately had him confined. +He was put to the torture, and, unable to bear the agony, he said that +he had stolen the horses. The judge immediately wrote to the King, and +informed him, that he himself had removed the horses. The man was +pardoned, and the judge settled a large pension on him. The subject of +the torture was considered, and the result was its abolition.</p> + +<p>I found that the opinions as to some parts of their criminal +jurisprudence in France, were the same as are entertained on the same +subject in England. Mr L. B., who has had occasion professionally to +attend many criminal trials, is of opinion, that in this country, +terrible punishments ought to be avoided, or at least performed in +private. It is generally thought, that the horror of these punishments +deters the robber and murderer, and has a good effect on the multitude; +but I am afraid, said Mr L. B., that the multitude compassionate the +sufferer, and think the laws unjust: and experience shews, that +punishments, however horrid, do not deter the <i>hardened</i> criminal. My +father, said he, filled the situation of judge in his native city. A +very young man, son of his baker, was convicted before the court, and +condemned to die, for robbery with murder. After sentence, my father +visited him, and asked him how he had been led to commit such a crime? +Since I was a child, said the boy, I have always been a thief. When at +school, I stole from my school-fellows,—when brought home, I stole from +my father and mother. I have long wished to rob on the high-way; the +fear of death did not prevent me. The worst kind of death is the rack, +but by going to see every execution, I have learnt to laugh even at the +rack. When young, it alarmed me, but habit has done away its terrors.</p> + +<p>Mr L. B. is certainly a man of gentlemanly manners, and of much general +information. He is received at Aix in the first society of the old +nobility; and was, I afterwards found, reckoned a model of good +breeding, and yet, (which, in the present condition of French manners, +is by no means uncommon), I have frequently witnessed him, in general +company, introducing topics, and employing expressions, which, in our +country, would not have been tolerated for a moment, but must have been +considered an outrage to the established forms of good breeding.</p> + +<p>The day after our conversation with Mr L. B. we received a visit from +the daughter of a Scotch friend, who is married to one of the first +counsellors here. We returned home with her to hear some music. We were +received in a very neat and very handsomely furnished house. The mother +and daughter appeared to us polite and elegant women. But I was +astonished to observe, seated on a sofa near them, a young man, whose +costume, contrasted with the ease and confidence of his manners, gave me +no small surprise. He wore an old torn great coat, a Belcher +handkerchief about his neck, a pair of, worn-out military trowsers, +stockings which had once been white, and shoes down in the heel. What my +astonishment to find this shabby looking object was a brother of the +counsellor's, and a correct model of the morning costume of the French +noblemen!</p> + +<p>From Mr L. B. I learnt, that the worst land in Provence, when well +cultivated, produces only three for one. The common produce of tolerably +good ground, is from five to seven for one. The greatest produce known +in Provence is ten for one. But for this, the best soils are weeded, and +plenty of manure used. Our banker's account of the soil here is more +favourable; but I am doubtful whether he is a farmer. Mr L. B. has a +farm, and superintends it himself.</p> + +<p>I had the good fortune to attend a trial, which had excited much +interest here. In the conscription which immediately preceded the +downfall of Bonaparte, it appears, that the most horrid acts of violence +and tyranny had been committed. People of all ranks, and of all ages, +had been forced at the point of the bayonet to join the army. Near +Marseilles, the <i>gens-d'armes</i>, in one of the villages, after exercising +all kinds of cruelty, had collected together a number of the peasantry, +and were leading them to be butchered. The peasants, in Provence, are +naturally bold and free. The party contrived to escape, and all but one +man hid themselves in the woods. This poor fellow was conducted alone; +his hands in irons. His comrades lay in wait for the party who were +carrying him away, and in the attempt to deliver him, three of the +gens-d'armes were killed. The unfortunate conscript was only released to +die of his wounds. Three of his comrades were seized, and indicted to +stand trial for the murder of the gens-d'armes.</p> + +<p>I judged this a most favourable opportunity of ascertaining the public +feeling, and attended the trial accordingly. The court was a special +one, for this is one of the subjects which Bonaparte did not trust to a +jury. It was composed of five civil and three military members. The +forms of proceeding were the same as I have fully noticed in a +subsequent chapter,—the same minute interrogations were made to the +unhappy prisoners—the same contest took place between these and the +Judges. One was acquitted, and the other two found guilty of "<i>meurtre +volontaire, mais sans premeditation</i>."—Voluntary, but unpremeditated +murder. These two were condemned to labour for life, but a respite was +granted, and an appeal made to the King in their behalf. I was not +disappointed in the ebullitions of public feeling which many of the +incidents of the trial called forth. Mr L. B. and another young advocate +pleaded very well. They both touched, though rather slightly, on the +state of the country; but it was left to Mr Ayeau, the most celebrated +pleader in criminal trials, and a zealous royalist, to develope the real +condition of France, at the time of this last conscription. His speech +was short, but I think it was the most energetic, and the most eloquent +I ever heard. He began in an extraordinary manner, which at once shewed +the scope of his argument, and secured him the attention of every one +present—"Gentlemen, if that pest of society, from whom it has pleased +God to release us, was a usurper and a tyrant, it was lawful to resist +him. If Louis the XVIII. was our legitimate prince, it was lawful to +fight for him." He then shewed, in a most ingenious argument, that the +prisoners at the bar had done no more than this. Some parts of his +speech were exceedingly beautiful. He ended by saying, that "he dared +the Judges to condemn to death those who would have died for "<i>Louis le +desiré</i>."—It is generally thought here, that they will all be +pardoned.</p> + +<p>The situation of the town of Aix, and the scenery in the valley, is +truly beautiful. It is now the middle of December, yet the air is even +warmer, I think, than with us in summer. We sit with open windows, and +when we walk, the heat of the sun is even oppressive. The flowers in the +little gardens in the valley are in full bloom; and the other day we +found the blue scented violet, and observed the strawberries in blossom. +The fields are quite green, and the woods still retain their variegated +foliage. When the mistral (a species of north-west wind, peculiar to +this climate), blows, it is certainly cold; but since our arrival, we +have only twice experienced this chilling interruption to the general +beauty and serenity of our weather. The scenery in the interior of the +hills which surround the valley, is very romantic; and the little grassy +paths which lead through them, are so dry, that our party have had +several delightful expeditions into the hills. Many of our French +friends, although probably themselves no admirers of the country, +profess themselves so fond of English society, that they insist upon +accompanying us; and it is curious to witness the artificial French +manners, and the noisy volubility of French, tongues introduced into +those retired and beautiful scenes, which, in our own country, we +associate with the simplicity and innocence of rural life.</p> + +<p>Amidst these peaceful and amusing occupations, the easy tenor of our +lives gliding on from day to day, interrupted by no variety of event, +except the entertaining differences occasioned by foreign manners and a +foreign country; we were surprised one morning by the entrance of our +landlord, who came into our parlour with a face full of anxiety, and +informed us, that Napoleon had landed at Cannes from Elba, and had +already, with five hundred men, succeeded in reaching Grace. Mr L. B. +soon came in and confirmed the report. Although certainly considerably +alarmed at this event, especially as the greater portion of our party +was composed of ladies, I could not help feeling, that we were fortunate +in having an opportunity thus offered of ascertaining the state of +public opinion, and the true nature of the political sentiments of that +part of the country in which we are at present residing; for we are here +at Aix, within twenty-five miles of the small town where Napoleon has +landed.</p> + +<p>I shall first detail the circumstances under which this singular event +took place; afterwards attempt to give some idea of the effects +produced by it on the multitude. On the 1st of March 1815, Napoleon +landed near Cannes, in the gulf of Juan. His first step was, to dispatch +his Aide-de-Camp, Casabianca, with another officer and 25 men, to ask +admittance into the Fort of Antibes; admitted into the Fort, they +demanded its surrender to Bonaparte. The Governor paraded his garrison, +and having made them swear allegiance to their Sovereign, he secured the +rebels. Casabianca leaped from the wall and broke his back. In the +meantime, Napoleon, finding his first scheme fail, marched straight to +Grace, with between 700 and 800 men. He there encamped with his small +force on the plain before the town, and summoned the mayor to furnish +rations for his men; to which the mayor replied; that he acknowledged no +orders from any authority except Louis XVIII. This conduct was the more +worthy of praise, as the poor mayor had not a soldier to support him. +The Emperor then attempted to have printed a proclamation in writing, +signed by him, and counter-signed by General Bertrand, in which, among +other rhodomontades, he tells the good people of France, that he comes +at the call of the French nation, who, he knew, could not suffer +themselves to be ruled by the Prince Regent of England, in the person of +Louis XVIII.—The printer refused to print it. Napoleon proceeded from +Grace to Digne, from Digne to Sisteron, and from Sisteron to Gap, where +he slept on the 6th of March. In all the villages, he endeavoured, +apparently without success, to inflame the minds of the people, and +strengthen, by recruits, his small body of troops. He has, as yet, got +no one to join him; but, on the other hand, he has met with no +resistance. This day, the 8th, he must meet with three thousand men, +commanded by General Marchand. It is thought, that if these prove true +to their allegiance, he will make good his way to Lyons; but if, on the +contrary, they oppose him, he is ruined. The commotion excited in Aix, +by this news, is not to be conceived. The hatred and detestation in +which Bonaparte is held here, becomes, I think, more apparent as the +danger is more imminent. With a very few exceptions, all ranks of people +express these sentiments. The national guard were immediately under +arms, and entreated their commanding officer and the civil authorities, +to permit them to go in pursuit of the ex-Emperor. Unfortunately the +chiefs were not well agreed on the measures which ought to be adopted. +From the excessive <i>sang froid</i> with which Massena conducted himself, I +should not be surprised if there were some truth in the report which was +current here, that he had intelligence of the whole scheme, and kept +back, in order that he might join Bonaparte. The first and second day, +nothing was done; on the 3d, the 83d regiment was dispatched in pursuit +from Marseilles. I accompanied them for four miles, during which, they +had made two short halts. I had an opportunity of talking with a number +of the men: they were certainly liberal in their abuse of the +ex-Emperor; but several of them remarked, that it <i>was a hard thing to +make them fight against each other</i>. The French here are all of opinion, +that the troops of the line are not to be trusted. Like all other +soldiers, they long for war, and as they would be more likely to have +war Under Napoleon, than under Louis XVIII. I have little doubt they +would join him. On the first news, the whole society of Aix were in the +deepest affliction—the men agitated and disturbed—the women and +children weeping. Each hour these feelings changed, for every hour there +was some new report. The French believe every thing, and though each +report belied the other, I saw no difference in the credit attached to +them. There is no newspaper published in Aix, and the prefect, who is a +person much suspected, has taken no steps to give the public correct +information, but allows them to grope, in the dark; they have invented +accordingly the most ridiculous stories, converting hundreds into +thousands, and a few fishing boats and other small craft, into first a +squadron of Neapolitans, and then a fleet of English ships. This report +of the English ships is, I am sorry to say, still current, and the +English are looked on with an evil eye by the lower orders. Even among +our more liberal friends, there were some who asked me, what interest +the English could have in letting him escape? After some cool reasoning, +however, they acknowledged the folly of this story. The King is +universally blamed for employing, in the most responsible situations, +the Generals attached to Napoleon. The populace declare, that Soult, the +Minister of War, is at the bottom of this attempt. Now, that one can +reason on the matter, and that the impression of the magnanimity which +dictated the conduct of the allied Powers to Napoleon, is somewhat +diminished, it must be allowed, that there is some sense in the remark, +that it was folly to dismiss him to Elba, with all the appointment, +"pomp, and circumstance" of a little Sovereign, instead of confining him +in a prison, or leaving him no head to plan mischief. The people affirm +here, that this was done purposely by the English, to keep France in +continual trouble.</p> + +<p><i>15th</i>.—All possibility of continuing this little Journal is precluded +by the alarming progress of Napoleon, and the consequent necessity of +taking immediate steps for our departure from this country. The +ex-Emperor is every day making rapid strides to the capital; and we have +to-day intelligence that it is believed the troops in Lyons are +disaffected. I have now given up all hope, for I see plainly that every +thing is arranged—not a blow has been struck. The soldiers have every +where joined him, and there cannot be a doubt that he will reign in +France. He may not, indeed, reign long; for it is to be hoped that the +English will not shut their eyes, or be deceived by the fabricated +reports of the journals—It is to be hoped that the allied Powers are +better acquainted with the character of Napoleon than the too-good Louis +XVIII. In the mean time, it is high time for us to be off; and I think +we shall take the route of Bourdeaux. This unfortunate town (Aix), is +now a melancholy spectacle; for all the thinking part believe that the +cause of the Bourbons is lost. Our poor landlord, a violent royalist, +has just been with us. He affirms that he could have predicted all this; +for when he sold the white cockades to the military, they often said, +<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a>"Eh bien; c'est bon pour le moment, mais cela ne durera pas long +temps."—Poor man, he is in perfect agony, and his wife weeps all day +long. If all the people of France thought as well as those at Aix, +Napoleon would have little chance of success; but alas, I am much afraid +he will find more friends than enemies.</p> + +<p>The whole town is still in the greatest confusion. The national guard, +amongst whom were many of our friends, were not allowed to march till +the seventh day after the landing of Napoleon. By day-break, we were +awoke by the music of the military bands, and saw, from the windows, the +different companies, headed by their officers, many of whose faces were +familiar to us, march out, seemingly in great spirits. It was a +melancholy sight to us. There was something in our own situation; placed +in a country already involved in civil commotion, finding our poor +French friends, whose life seemed before this to be nothing but one +continued scene of amusement, now weeping for the loss of their sons and +husbands and brothers, who had marched to intercept Napoleon, and +involved in uncomfortable uncertainty as to our future plans, which for +some time made every thing appear gloomy and distressing. The interval +between the 8th and the 12th has been occupied by a constant succession +of favourable and unfavourable reports; gloomy conjectures and fearful +forebodings, have, however, with most people here, formed the prevailing +tone of public opinion. The report which was, a few days ago, circulated +here, that the escape of the ex-Emperor was a premeditated plan, +invented and executed by the English, gains ground every day. It is +completely credited by the lower classes here; and such is the enmity +against the English, that we are now obliged to give up our country +walks, rather than encounter the menacing looks and insulting speeches +of the lower orders. To-day is the 8th, and we are in a state of the +most extreme anxiety, waiting for the arrival of a courier. In this +unfortunate country, owing to the imperfection of the system of posts, +public news travel very slowly; and in proportion to the scarcity of +accurate information, is the perplexing variety of unfounded reports. +The prefect of Aix has just been here to tell us that as yet there +appears to be nothing decided; but that upon the whole, things look +favourably for the Bourbons. Bonaparte, he informs us, slept at Gape on +Sunday, and dispatched from that town three couriers with different +proclamations. Not a man joined him, and it is said he left Gape enraged +by the coolness of his reception. In the course of the day, another mail +from Gape has arrived, but still brings no intelligence, which looks as +if this unfortunate business would be speedily decided. Monsieur has +arrived at Lyons, and intends, we hear, to proceed to Grenoble. Last +night it was quite impossible for us to sleep. The crowds in the +streets, and the confusion of the mob who parade all night, expecting +the arrival of a new courier, creates a continual uproar. During the +night, we heard our poor landlady weeping; and we found out next morning +that her husband had been called off in the night to join the national +guard, which had marched in pursuit of the ex-Emperor.</p> + +<p><i>Friday</i>, the 10th.—Still no decisive intelligence has arrived. Every +thing, it is said, looks well, but there is a mystery and stillness +about the town to-day which alarms us.</p> + +<p><i>Saturday</i>, the 11th.—We have this day received from Mr L. B., who +marched with the national guard, a very interesting letter from +Sisteron. The crisis, which will determine the result of this last +daring adventure of the ex-Emperor, seems to be fast approaching. Our +friend tells us all as yet looks well. Bonaparte is surrounded and +hemmed in to the space of two leagues by troops marching from all sides. +These, however, how strong soever they may be, appear to maintain a +suspicious kind of inaction, and he continues his progress towards +Grenoble. Every thing depends on the conduct of the troops there, under +General Marchand. Their force is such, that if they continue firm, his +project is ruined. On the contrary, if their allegiance to the Bourbons +is but pretended, and if their attachment to their old commander should +revive, it is to be dreaded that this impulse will have an irresistible +effect upon the troops; and if Marchand's division joins him, all is +irretrievably lost: He will be at the head of a force sufficient to +enable him to dictate terms to Lyons, and the pernicious example of so +great a body of troops will poison the allegiance of the rest of the +army.</p> + +<p><i>Sunday</i>, the 12th.—Our fears have been prophetic. We have heard again +from Mr L. B. This letter is most melancholy; Marchand's corps have +joined the ex-Emperor, and he is on his march to Lyons, the second town +in the kingdom, with a force every day increasing. It is absolutely +necessary now to form some decided plan for leaving this devoted +country. Whether it will be better to embark from Marseilles or to +travel across the country to Bourdeaux, is the question upon which we +have not yet sufficient information to decide. We expect to hear +to-morrow of an engagement between the troops commanded by the Prince +D'Artois at Lyons, and the force which has joined Napoleon. Every moment +which we now remain in this kingdom is time foolishly thrown away. +Bonaparte may have friends in the sea-port towns; the organization of +this last scheme may be, and indeed every hour proves, that it has been +deeper than we at first imagined, and the possibility of escape may in a +moment be entirely precluded.</p> + +<p><i>Monday</i>, the 13th.—This has been a day of much agitation; a courier +has arrived, and the intelligence he brings is as bad as possible. Every +thing is lost. The Count d'Artois harangued his troops, and the answer +they made, was a universal shout of <i>Vive l'Empereur</i>. The Prince has +been obliged to return to Paris; Bonaparte has entered Lyons without the +slightest opposition, and is now on his march to the capital. We have +just been informed, that the Duc d'Angouleme is expected here this +evening or to-morrow. The guarde nationale has been paraded upon the +<i>Cours</i>, and a proclamation, exhorting them to continue faithful to the +King, read aloud to the soldiers. We hear them rapturously shouting Vive +le Roi; and they are now marching through the streets to the national +air of Henrie Quatre. Every house has displayed the white flag from its +windows.</p> + +<p><i>Thursday</i>, the 16th.—We have determined now to run the risk of +travelling across the country to Bourdeaux, trusting to embark from that +town for England. I have visited Marseilles, and find that there are no +vessels in that port; and in the present uncertain state of Italy, it +would be hazardous attempting to reach Nice. Bonaparte, we hear, is near +Paris, and is expected to enter that capital without opposition; but we +now receive no intelligence whose accuracy can be relied on, as the +couriers have been stopt, and all regular intercourse discontinued. The +preparations, for the arrival of the Duc d'Angouleme, continued till +this morning; and in the evening we witnessed his entry into Aix: It was +an affecting sight. At the gate of the town, he got out of his carriage, +mounted on horseback, and rode twice along the Cours, followed by his +suite. The common people, who were assembled on each side of the street, +shouted Vive le Roi, Vivent les Bourbons, apparently with enthusiasm. +The attention of the Duke seemed to be chiefly directed to the regiments +of the line, which were drawn up on the Cours. As he rode along, he +leant down and seemed to speak familiarly to the common soldiers; but +the troops remained sullen and silent. No cries of loyalty were heard +amongst them—not a single murmur of applause. They did not even salute +the Duke as he past, but continued perfectly still and silent. In the +midst of this, we could hear the sobs of the women in the crowd, and of +the ladies, who waved their handkerchiefs from the windows. As he came +near the balcony where we and our English friends were assembled, we +strained our voices with repeated cries of Vive le Roi. He heard us, +looked up, and bowed; and afterwards, with that grateful politeness, the +characteristic of the older school of French manners, he sent one of his +attendants to say, that he had distinguished the English, and felt +flattered by the interest they took in his affairs. Although it was +positively asserted by our French friends here, that Marseilles was in +the greatest confusion; and that on account of the prevalence of the +report of the English having favoured the escape of Bonaparte, all our +countrymen were liable to be insulted; I yet found the town perfectly +tranquil. Massena, I heard, had sent for some troops from Toulon; and +the 3000 national guards employ themselves night and day, in shouting +<i>Vive le Roi</i>. We shall leave Aix to-morrow morning, taking the route to +Bourdeaux.</p> + +<p><i>Friday</i>, the 17th of April.—Our leaving Aix this morning was really +melancholy. French friends, hearing of our approaching departure, +flocked in to bid us farewell. They were in miserably low spirits, +deploring the state of their unhappy country, weeping over the fate of +their sons and husbands, who had marched with the national guard in +pursuit of the ex-Emperor; and full of fears as to the calamities this +might bring upon them. You are happy English, said they, and are +returning to a loyal and secure country, and you leave us exposed to all +the calamities of a civil war.</p> + +<p>After a long day's journey, we have at last arrived at Orgon, at seven +in the evening. There has been little travelling on the road to-day. The +country has nearly the same aspect as in November last. The only +difference is, that the almond trees are in full blossom, and some few +other trees, such as willows, &c. in leaf; the wheat is about half a +foot to a foot high: The day was delightfully mild; and as we drove +along, we met numberless groups of peasants who lined the road, and were +anxiously waiting for their Prince passing by. The road was strewed with +lilies, and the young girls had their laps filled with flowers as we +passed. As we past, they knew us to be English, and shouted Vive le Roi.</p> + +<p>We are now in Languedoc, but as yet I cannot say that it equals, or at +all justifies Mrs Radcliffe's description: Flat and insipid plains of +<i>vignoble</i> or wheat. However, there is here, as every where in France, +no want of cultivation. Napoleon had commenced, and nearly finished, a +very fine quay and buttresses between the two bridges of boats. That man +had always grand, though seldom good views. The walls of the inn here +were covered with a mixture of "Vive le Roi!" and "Vive Napoleon!" this +last mostly scratched out. National guards in every town demanded our +passport. These men and the gens-d'armes are running about in every +direction. No courier from Paris arrived here these three days. This +looks ill. The houses are better in appearance than in Provence. The +country very productive: Potatoes the finest I have seen in +France.——Distance 34 miles.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> +<p><i>Sunday</i>, 19th.—We left Nismes at six o'clock this morning, and +breakfasted at Lunel, where they appear to be full of loyalty. It was a +subject to us of much regret, that more time was not allowed us to +examine a magnificent Roman amphitheatre, half of which is nearly +entire, although the remaining part is quite ruinous. The troops in the +town were drawn up on the parade, expecting the Duke d'Angouleme. We +received a small printed paper from an officer on the road, containing +the information last received from Paris, which secured us a good +reception at the inn. The people were delighted to procure a piece of +authentic intelligence, (a thing they seldom have); they flocked round +us, and upon their entreaty, I gave them the paper to carry to the +caffèe. In the inn we found a number of recruits for the army forming by +the Duke d'Angouleme; it is said that he has already collected at Nismes +nineteen hundred men, all volunteers. The country does not improve in +romantic beauty as we advance in Languedoc; but what is better, the +cultivation is very superior; large fields of fine wheat. There seems to +be all over the south the same want of horned cattle; horses also are +very scarce and very bad:—milk never to be had unless very early, and +then in small quantity. No land wasted here. All the houses about +Montpellier are better than near Aix, and we even saw some neat country +seats, a circumstance almost unknown in all the parts of France where we +have hitherto been. The olive trees are here much larger and finer than +in Provence; but the country, although covered with olives, vines, and +wheat, is flat, ugly, and insipid. The instruments of agriculture are +even inferior to those in Provence, which last are at least a century +behind England. The plough here is as rude as in Bengal, and is formed +of a crooked branch of a tree shod with iron. As we approached near +Montpellier, the appearance of the country began to display more +beautiful features. The ground is more varied, the fields and meadows of +a richer green, a distant range of hills closes in the view, and the +olive groves are composed of larger and more luxuriant trees. Nearer to +the town, the country is divided into small nursery gardens, which, +although inferior to those in the environs of London, give an unusual +richness to the landscape. We arrived at Montpellier at six o'clock, and +from the crowd in the town, found much difficulty in procuring an hotel.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Monday</i>, 20th April.—We have better news to-day; letters from the Duke +d'Angouleme announce that the whole conspiracy has been discovered, and +that Soult (Ministre de Guerre) and several other generals have been +arrested. In consequence of which, it is expected that the plans of the +conspirators will be in a great measure defeated. The French change in a +moment from the extreme of grief to the opposite, that of the most +extravagant joy. To-day they are in the highest spirits;—but things +still look very ill. No courier from Paris for these last four days. The +ex-Emperor still marching uninterruptedly towards that city, yet no one +can conceive that he will succeed, now that the King's eyes are +open;—his clemency alone has occasioned all this—he would not consent +to remove the declared friends of Napoleon.</p> + +<p>We passed this day at Montpellier; but were prevented by the intense +heat of the sun from seeing as much of the environs as we could have +wished. The town is old and the streets shabby; but the Peyroue is one +of the most magnificent things I ever saw. It is a superb platform, +which forms the termination of the Grand Aqueduct built by Louis XIV. +and commands a magnificent extent of country. In front, the view is +terminated by a long and level line of the Mediterranean. To the +south-west the horizon is formed by the ridge of the Pyrenees; while, to +the north, the view is closed in by the distant, yet magnificent summits +of the Alps. Immediately below these extends, almost to the border of +the Mediterranean, a beautiful <i>paysage</i>, spotted with innumerable +country seats, which, seen at a distance, have the same air of neatness +and comfort as those in England. At the end of this fine platform, is a +Grecian temple, inclosing a basin, which receives the large body of +water conveyed by the aqueduct, and which empties itself again into a +wide basin with a bottom of golden-coloured sand. The limpid clearness +of the water is beyond all description. The air, blowing over the basin +from a plain of wheat and olives (evergreens in this climate), has a +charming freshness. The Esplanade here is also a fine promenade, +although the view which it commands is not so fine as that from the +Peyroue. The manufactures of Montpellier are, verdigris, blankets and +handkerchiefs; little trade going on. The climate is delightful, though +now too warm for my taste. Every thing is much farther advanced here +than at Aix. They have some very pretty gardens here, though nothing +equal to what we see every day in England. The botanical garden is very +small. We start to-morrow at six for Beziers, where we expect to find +water carriage to Toulouse.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Tuesday</i>, 21st April.—We left Montpellier at five in the morning, and +although the country round the town is certainly more beautiful than the +greater part of Languedoc we have yet seen, it in a short time became +very uninteresting; an extended plain, covered with uninclosed fields of +wheat, and occasionally a plantation of olives. Before reaching Maize, a +small town situated within a mile of the shore of the Mediterranean, we +passed through a fine forest, the only considerable one we have seen in +Languedoc. The road winded along the shore; the day was delightful, and +as warm as with us in July; and the waters of the Mediterranean lay in a +perfect calm, clear and still, and beautiful, under the light of a +glorious sun. The general appearance of the country is certainly not +beautiful. It improves much upon coming near Pezenas, where the fields +are divided into green meadows, and interspersed with little gardens, in +which, although it is now only April, the fruit trees are in full +blossom, and giving to the view an uncommon beauty. The blossom of the +pears, peach, and apple-trees, is, I think, richer than I ever saw in +England. The season is not only much more advanced here than at Aix, but +the warmth and mildness of the climate gives to the fields and flowers a +more than common luxuriancy. Many of the meadows are thickly sown with +the white narcissus, and the hedges, which form their inclosures, are +covered with the deepest verdure, which is finely contrasted with the +pink-flowers of the almond trees, rising at intervals in the hedge-rows. +The wheat round Montpellier was now, in the middle of April, in the ear. +We set off to-morrow at half-past five, in order to get into the <i>coches +d'eau</i> at Beziers before 12 (the hour of starting). Hitherto we have +proceeded without the slightest molestation. The English, I am now +thoroughly convinced, are not popular amongst the lower orders; but as +we are the couriers of good news, we are at present well received. Could +it be believed by an Englishman, that we, who travel at the miserable +rate of 30 miles a-day, <i>should be the first to spread the news wherever +we go</i>. The reason is, that we get the authentic news through our +friends and bankers, and circulate it in the inns, instead of the +ridiculous stories invented by those groping in ignorance. The feelings +of the people seem excellent every where; the troops alone maintain a +gloomy silence. The country, from Montpellier, is the same as hitherto, +flat and insipid: but the crops are much farther advanced than in +Provence. We had some fine peeps at the Mediterranean this morning. The +town of Pezenas is prettily situated, and is surrounded by numbers of +beautiful gardens, though on a small scale. All the fruit trees are here +in blossom: Green peas a foot and a half high. The ploughs in this part +of the country are more antiquated than any I have seen. The ploughing +is very shallow; but nature does all in France.——Distance about 34 +miles.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Wednesday</i>, 22d.—Left Pezenas at half past five, and arrived to +breakfast at half past nine at Beziers. We went to see the <i>coches +d'eau</i>, described as <i>superbes</i> and <i>magnifiques</i> by our French friends. +Their ideas differ from ours. It would be perfectly impossible for an +English lady to go in such a conveyance; and few gentlemen, even if +alone, would have the boldness to venture. The objections are: there is +but one room for all classes of people; they start at three and four +each morning; stop at miserable inns, and if you have heavy baggage, it +must be shifted at the locks, which is tedious and expensive. Adieu to +all our airy dreams of gliding through Languedoc in these <i>Cleopatrian +vessels</i>. They are infested with an astonishing variety of smells; they +are exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather; and they are filled +with bugs, fleas, and all kinds of bad company. The country to-day, +though still very flat, is much improved in beauty. Very fine large +meadows, bordered with willows, but too regular. Bullocks as common as +mules in the plough. Wheat far advanced, and barley, in some small +spots, in the ear. I learnt some curious particulars, if they can be +depended upon, concerning this conspiracy of Bonaparte from a Spanish +officer, who had taken a place in our cabriolet. He says, that one of +the chief means he has employed to create division in France, and to +make himself beloved, has been by carrying on a secret correspondence +with the Protestants, and persuading them that he will support them +against the Catholics; and by representing the King as wishing to +oppress them. To the army he has promised, that he will lead them again +against the allied Powers, who have triumphantly said they have +conquered them; this is a tender point with the French: At the present +time, when the troops are deserting their King, and flying to the +standard of the usurper, still even the most loyal among the people +cannot bear the idea that the allies should assist in opposing him.</p> + +<p>We have continued with our coachman, and carry him on to Toulouse. He is +an excellent fellow, has a good berlin, with large cabriolet before, and +three of the finest mules I ever saw. He takes us at a round pace, from +15 to 20 miles before breakfast, and the rest after it, making up always +30 miles a-day. The pay for this equipage per mile is not much above a +franc and a half. We have found it the most comfortable way of +travelling for so large a party. He carries all our baggage, amounting +to more than 400 pounds, without any additional expence. The country +between Pezenas and Beziers, and between Beziers and Narbonne, is richer +and more beautiful than any part of Languedoc which we have yet seen. It +is divided into fields of wheat, which is now in the ear, divisions of +green clover grass, meadows enclosed with rows of willows, and orchards +scattered around the little villages. These orchards, which are now all +in blossom, increase in number as you approach the town of Narbonne. We +have enjoyed to-day another noble view of the distant summits of the +Pyrenees, towering into the clouds.——Distance, 34 miles—to Narbonne.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Thursday, 23d.</i>—We left Narbonne at half past five, and have travelled +to-day, through a country more ugly and insipid than any in the south; +barren hills, low swampy meadows, and dirty villages. There is a total +want of peasants houses on the lands; but still a very general +cultivation. Ploughs, harrows, and other instruments, a century behind. +Fewer vines now, and more wheat. At Moux, one of the police officers +read out a number of proclamations, sent by the prefect of the +department, exciting the people to exertions in repelling the usurper. +The cries of "Vive le Roi" were so faint, that the officer harangued the +multitude on their want of proper feeling. He did not, however, gain any +thing. One of the mob cried out, that they were not to be forced to cry +out "Vive le Roi." Wherever we have gone, I have heard from all ranks +that the English have supported Bonaparte, and that they are the +instigators of the civil war. In vain I have argued, that if it were our +policy to have war with France, why should we have restored the +Bourbons? Why made peace? Why wasted men and money in Spain? It is all +in vain—they are inveterately obstinate.——Distance 39 miles.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Friday, 24th.</i>—We left Carcassone at seven, as we have but a short +journey to-day. Arrived at Castelnaudry at half past five, and found the +inn crowded with gentlemen volunteers for the cavalry. The volunteers +are fine smart young men, and all well mounted. Their horses very +superior to the cavalry horses in general. We passed a cavalry regiment +of the line this morning, the 15th dragoons. Horses miserable little +long-tailed Highland-like ponies, but seemingly very active. The whole +country through which we have travelled since the commencement of our +journey in France, is sadly deficient in cattle. We meet with none of +these groupes of fine horses and cows, which delight us in looking over +the country in England, in almost every field you pass. This want is +more particularly remarkable in the south. The country to-day is the +same; a total want of trees, and of variety of scenery of any kind. No +peasants houses to be seen scattered over the face of the country; the +peasantry all crowd into the villages.—Yet there is no want of +cultivation. The situation of the lower classes is yet extremely +comfortable. The girls are handsome, and always well drest. The men +strong and healthy. The young women wear little caps trimmed with lace, +and the men broad-brimmed picturesque-looking hats: both have shoes and +stockings. The parish churches in this part of France are in a miserable +condition. It is no longer here, as in England, that the churches and +<i>Curès'</i> houses are distinguished by their neatness. Here, the churches +are fallen into ruins; the windows soiled, and covered with cobwebs. The +order of the priesthood, from what I have seen, are, I should conceive, +little respected.——Distance 29 miles.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Saturday</i>, the 25th.—We left Castelnaudry at five o'clock, and have +travelled to-day through a country, which, from Castelnaudry to +Toulouse, is uniformly flat and bare, and uninteresting. We were +surprised to-day by meeting on the road a party of English friends, who +had set out for Bourdeaux, returning by the same road. They informed us, +they had heard by private letters, that Bonaparte was at the gates of +Paris, on which account they had returned, and were determined to pass +into Spain. They told us, that the roads were covered by parties of +English flying in every direction; and that all the vessels at Bourdeaux +were said to have already sailed for England. It was, however, +impossible for us now to turn back; and we continued our route to +Bourdeaux with very uncomfortable feelings, anxious lest every moment +should confirm the bad news, and put a stop to our progress to the +coast, or that, when we arrived, we should find the sea-ports under an +embargo. Near Toulouse, are seen a few country seats, which relieve the +eye; but the town is old and ugly, and situated, to all appearance, in a +swampy flat. We shall see more of it to-morrow. The road from +Castelnaudry to this is very bad, the worst we have seen yet in the +south of France; it has been paved, but is much broken up.——Distance +41 miles.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Sunday</i>, 26th.—It has become necessary now to change all our plans of +travelling. Upon visiting our banker this morning, I received from him a +full confirmation of the bad news—Napoleon is in Paris, and again +seated on the throne of France. Our banker has procured for us, and +another party, forming in all 29 English, a small common country boat, +covered over only with a sail. In this miserable conveyance we embarked +this afternoon at two, and arrived the first night at Maste. Our passage +down the Garonne is most rapid, and as the weather is delightful, the +conveyance is pleasant enough; but our minds are in such a state we +cannot enjoy any thing. To-morrow I shall continue more connectedly.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Monday</i>, the 27th.—We are now gliding down the Garonne with the utmost +rapidity and steadiness. The scene before us presents the most perfect +tranquillity. The weather which we now enjoy is heavenly,—the air soft +and warm,—and the sun shedding an unclouded radiance upon the glassy +waters of the Garonne, in whose bosom the romantic scenery through which +we pass, is reflected in the most perfect beauty. On each side, are the +most lovely banks covered with hanging orchards, whose trees, in full +blossom, reach to the brink of the river. We have passed several small +villages very beautifully situated; and where we have not met with +these, the country is more generally scattered with the cottages of the +peasantry, which are seen at intervals, peeping through the woods which +cover the banks. As our boat passes, the villagers flock from their +doors, and place themselves in groups on the rocks which overhang the +river, or crowd into the little meadows which are interspersed between +the orchards and the gardens. At the moment in which I now write, the +sun is setting upon a scene so perfectly still and beautiful, that it is +impossible to believe we are now in the devoted country, experiencing, +at this very hour, a terrible revolution; the most disastrous political +convulsion, perhaps, which it has ever yet undergone. In former times, +the changes from the tranquillity it enjoyed under a monarchial +government, to the chaos of republicanism, and from that to the sullen +stagnation of a firm-rooted military despotism, were gradual; they were +the work of time. But the unbounded ambition of Bonaparte, after a +series of years, had brought on his downfall, by a natural course of +events, and France had begun to taste and to relish the blessings of +peace. On a sudden, that fallen Colossus is raised again, and its dark +shadow has over-spread the brightening horizon. Could it be credited, +that within one short month, that man whom we conceived detested in +France, should have journeyed from one extremity of that kingdom to +another, without meeting with the slightest resistance? I say journeyed, +for he had but a handful of men, whom, at almost every town, he left +behind him, and he proceeded on horseback, or in his carriage, with much +less precaution than at any former period of his life. France has now +nothing to hope, but from the heavy struggle that will, I trust, +immediately take place between her and the allied powers. It will be a +terrible, but, I trust, short struggle, if the measures are prompt: but +if he is allowed time to levy a new conscription; if even he has +sufficient time to collect the hordes of disbanded robbers whom his +abdication let loose in France, he possesses the same means of +conducting a long war that he ever possessed. The idea so current in +France, that this event will only occasion a civil war, is unworthy of a +moment's attention. Every inhabitant in every town he passed, was said +to be against him. We heard of nothing but the devoted loyalty of the +national guards; but at Grenoble, at Lyons, and at Paris, was there +found a man to discharge his musket? No! against a small number of +regular and veteran troops, no French militia, no volunteers will ever +fight, or if they do, it will be but for a moment; each city will yield +in its turn.</p> + +<p>The country is improving; the banks, in many places, are beautiful; for +some days past we have been in the country of wheat, but now we are +again arrived among the vines. Very little commerce on this river, +although celebrated as possessing more than any one in France. It +reminds me of the state of commerce in India,—boats gliding down +rapidly with the stream, and toiling up in tracking. The shape, also, of +the boats is the same. We have this moment passed a boat full of +English, and the sailors have shouted out, that the white flag is no +longer flying at Bourdeaux. If the town has declared for the ex-Emperor, +I dread to think of our fate.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Tuesday</i>, the 28th.—This morning, at three, I left my party, and took +a very light gig, determined (as the news were getting daily worse, and +the road full of English hurrying to Bourdeaux), to post it from Agen. I +was attended by a friend. By paying the post-boys double hires, we got +on very fast, and although, from their advanced age and infirmities, the +generality of French conveyances will not suffer themselves to be +hurried beyond their ordinary pace, this was no time to make any such +allowances. We accordingly hurried on, and after having broke down four +times, we arrived at Bourdeaux at six in the evening, a distance of more +than a hundred miles; and were delighted to see the white flag still +displayed from all the public buildings. The country from Agen to +Bourdeaux is the richest I have seen in France, chiefly laid out in +vines, dressed with much more care than any we have yet seen; many +fields also of fine wheat, and some meadows of grass pasture. Every +thing is much further advanced than in Languedoc, even allowing for the +advance in the days we have passed in travelling. Barley not only in +the ear, but some fields even yellowing. Bourdeaux is a noble town, +though not so fine, I think, as Marseilles. We arrived just in time: a +few hours later, and I should have found no passage.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Wednesday</i> morning, the 29th.—I have settled for the last +accommodations to be had, viz. a small cabin in a brig, for which I pay +L.130. The owner, like every other owner, is full of great promises; but +in these cases, I make it a rule to believe only one half. Bourdeaux +shews the most determined loyalty; but, alas! there are troops of the +line in the town, and in the fort of Blaye. Instead of sending these +troops away, and guarding the town by the national guards, they content +themselves with giving dinners to each other, and making the drunken +soldiers cry, "Vive le Roi!" In England, every thing is done by a +dinner; perhaps they are imitating the English: but dinners will not do +in this case; decided measures must be taken, or Bourdeaux will fall, in +spite of its loyalty, and the noise it makes. The journal published +here, of which I have secured most of the numbers, from Napoleon's +landing to this day, is full of enthusiastic addresses:—The general +commanding the troops to the national guards,—the national guards to +the troops,—the mayor to his constituents,—the constituents to the +mayor;—all this is well, but it will do nothing. Although every thing +is yet quiet, I am determined to hurry our departure, for I do not think +there is a doubt of the issue. Since I entered Bourdeaux, I have always +thought it would yield on the first attack.</p> + +<p><i>Thursday</i>, the 30th.—Things look very ill. The fort of Blaye has +hoisted the tri-coloured flag. Thank heaven our vessel passed it to-day; +we should otherwise probably have been fired upon. We go to Poillac, +where we are to embark by land, as a party of English, who attempted to +go by water, were stopt and made prisoners. The town of Bourdeaux is in +a dead calm; the sounds of loyalty have ceased, and a mysterious silence +reigns throughout the streets: I am sure all is not well. Suddenly after +all this silence, there has been a most rapid transition to sentiments +of the most devoted loyalty. This has been occasioned by a great +entertainment given by the national guards to the troops of the line; so +that I am afraid that although these regular soldiers of the regular +army, when elated with wine, choose to be devoted loyalists, their +political sentiments may undergo many different changes upon their +return to sobriety. At present, the shout of Vive le Roi, from the +different troops of the line and national guards which are patroling the +streets, is loud and reiterated. Napoleon has sent to-day his addresses +and declarations to Bourdeaux, but the couriers have been imprisoned, +and the civil authorities have sworn to continue faithful to their King. +This loyalty will be immediately put to the test, for Clausel is +advancing to the walls. The Dutchess d'Angouleme passed through the +streets, and visited the <i>casernes</i> of the troops: Indeed her exertions +are incessant. To her addresses the people are enthusiastic in their +replies, but the troops continue, as I expected, sullen and silent; they +answered, that they would not forget their duty to her, as far as not +injuring her. I trust that she passed our hotel this evening for the +last time, and that she has left Bourdeaux for England. Every individual +in this city, the troops excepted, appears to hate and detest Napoleon +as cordially as he detests them. They expect immediate destruction if he +takes the town. Their commerce must be ruined; yet there is no +exertion—nothing but noise. Vive le Roi is in every heart, but they +are overawed by the troops; it costs nothing. Subscriptions, however, +for arming the militia, go on slowly. They seem always to keep a sharp +eye to their pockets, although, as far as shouting and bellowing is +required, they are willing to levy any contribution on their lungs. The +French are indeed miserably poor, but they are also miserably +avaricious. There is nothing even approaching to national spirit; yet +their prudence sometimes gets the better even of their economy. One +instance, which I witnessed to-day, will shew the way in which a +Frenchman acts in times like these: I was in a shop when one of the +noblesse entered, bearing a subscription paper. He addressed the +shopkeeper, saying, that he begged for his subscription, as he knew he +was a royalist. I never <i>subscribe</i> my name in times like these, said +the cautious Frenchman, but I will give you some money. The gentleman +entreated, urging, that respectable <i>subscriptions</i>, more than money, +were wanted; but all in vain. The shopkeeper paid his ten shillings, +saying, <i>he would always be the first to support his King</i>.</p> + +<p>I entered a bookseller's shop, and asked for the political writings of +the day. The man looked me cautiously in the face, and said he had none +of them. I happened to see one on the table, and asked him for it, +telling him that I was an Englishman, and wished to carry them with me; +he then bid me step in, and from hidden corners of the inner-shop, he +produced the whole mass of pamphlets.—All this denotes that a change is +immediately expected.</p> + +<p>This last night has been passed as might be expected, owing to the +circumstances in which we were placed, in much agitation. Clausel is +every moment advancing up the town. Every thing is in confusion. The +troops declare they will not fire a shot. The national guards are +wavering and undecided, and this moment (five in the morning) our +coachman has knocked at our door to tell us that we cannot remain +another moment safe in the town.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p><i>Friday</i>, the 31st.—We set off accordingly at sunrise, before any one +was abroad in the street. Our coachman reported, that General Clausel +had reached the gates, and that the national guard had been beat off. We +have arrived, therefore, at the most critical moment, and may be +grateful that we have escaped. The road between Bourdeaux and Poillac +is very bad. Arrived at the inn at half way, we met with the Marquis de +Valsuzenai, prefect of the town, who confirmed the bad news: We learnt +from him, that at three in the morning of the 30th, the town had +capitulated without a shot having been fired. Two men were killed by a +mistake of the soldiers firing, upon their own officers; a miserable +resistance! But it could not be otherwise, as no militia could long +stand against regulars. Still I expected tumults in the streets—rising +among the inhabitants—weeping and wailing. But no: the French are +unlike any other nation, they have no energy, no principle. Miserable +people! We arrived at Poillac just as it grew dark, and owing to the +sullen insolence of our coachman, who was a complete revolutionist, and +to his hatred for the English, which evinced itself the moment he found +that Bourdeaux had capitulated, we found it difficult to get any thing +like accommodation. I am happy to add, that this same fellow, meeting +another party of English, and beginning to be insolent, an Irish +gentleman, with that prompt and decisive justice which characterises his +country, by one blow of his fist laid him speechless upon the pavement.</p> + +<p>Upon meeting the Prefect of Bourdeaux, between that town and the little +sea-port Poillac, in disguise, and hurrying to the shore, he informed us +that before leaving the city, he had fallen on his knees before the +Dutchess d'Angouleme, to persuade her to embark for England, and had, +after much entreaty, succeeded. That before setting out himself, he had +sent her post-horses, and most anxiously expected her arrival, although +he had doubts whether she would be permitted to leave the town. As we +pursued our route, we passed the Chateau Margot. The Marquis, to whom it +belonged, was watching on the road with his young daughter; and the +moment our carriage came in sight, he rushed up in great agitation, and +exclaiming, "Where is the Dutchess? Why does she not come. She must be +concealed at my house to-night. There are troops stationed at a league's +distance from this to prevent her escape." Then observing the fair +complexion of one of the ladies of our party, he cried out, "It is the +Dutchess, it is my beloved Princess. Oh! why have you no avant garde; +you must not proceed." The poor old man was in a state of extreme +agitation, and his daughter weeping. It was a few minutes before we +could undeceive him, and his assurances that we should be stopt by the +troops on the road, afforded us no very cheering prospect as we +proceeded on our journey. No troops, however, appeared, and we arrived +safely at Poillac at seven o'clock.</p> + +<p>The Dutchess did not appear that night; but early next morning, we were +called to the window, by hearing a great bustle in the street. It was +occasioned by the arrival of this unfortunate Princess. She had three or +four carriages along with her, filled with her attendants, and was +escorted by a party of the national guards. Their entry into Poillac +formed a very mournful procession; she herself looked deadly pale, +although seemingly calm and collected. We saw many of the officers of +the national guard crowding round her with tears in their eyes. There +was a little chapel close to where we were lodged, and while the other +ladies went down to the frigate to prepare for the embarkation, we heard +that the Dutchess herself had gone to mass. After we imagined that the +service would be nearly concluded, two of the ladies of our party +entered the chapel, and placed themselves near to where they knew she +would pass. As she came near them, observing that they were English, and +much affected, she held out her hand to them; one of them said, "Oh, go +to our England, you will be cherished there." "Yes, yes," replied she, +"I am now going to your country;" and when they expressed a wish that +this storm would be quickly over, and that when she again returned to +France it would be for lasting happiness. The Dutchess replied with an +expression which was almost cheerful, "Indeed, I hope so." This was the +last time that any of us saw her. There was then in her expression a +look of sweet and tranquil suffering, which was irresistibly affecting.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p>We embarked, this morning, <i>Saturday</i>, the 1st, on board the William +Sibbald, after a night of troubles. Most fortunately for me, I had not +trusted entirely to the owner's word, and had provided three beds and +some provisions; for the captain told us, he could not provide ship +room, and neither mattress nor provision of any kind.——Here we are +then, in no very comfortable circumstances, yet thankful to escape from +this miserable country. There are others in much greater misery than we. +The Count de Lynch, Mayor of Bourdeaux, his brother, and another +relation, the General commanding the national guard, and four or five +French fugitives, have been sent on board here, by the Consul and the +English Captain of the frigate; and they have neither clothes, nor beds, +nor victuals: they leave their fortunes and their families behind them. +"Alas! what a prospect," one of them exclaimed to-day; "this is the +third fortune Bonaparte has lost to me." The unfortunate Dutchess +d'Angouleme is now safe on board the English frigate. On leaving +Bourdeaux, the Dutchess printed an address to the inhabitants, stating +the reasons of her leaving them, to prevent the town from becoming a +scene of blood and pillage. Alas! she knows not her own countrymen; they +would not fight an hour to save her life: yet it is not because they do +not love her—she is adored—the whole family are adored. The good among +the nation wish for peace, but the troops are for war, and they are +all-powerful. It is unjust to say that France ought to be allowed to +remain under Napoleon, as she has desired his return: the army chiefly +have desired it, and plotted it. They burn for pillage and for revenge +on the allies, who had humbled their pride. If the allies are not +prompt, he will again be master of his former territory. Something might +even yet be done at Bourdeaux by an English army.</p> + +<p>We are now in the mouth of the English channel, and in full hopes, that +as our stock, of water and of patience is almost exhausted, the Captain +will put us into the first English port. May God grant us soon the sight +of an English inn, and an English post-chaise, and in a day we shall +forget all our troubles.</p> + +<p class="c top5 smcap">end of the journal.</p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_a_III" id="CHAPTER_a_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h3> + +<p class="head">STATE OP FRANCE UNDER NAPOLEON.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">T</span><span class="smcap">o</span> +trace, with accuracy, the effects of the revolution and of the +military despotism of Napoleon on the kingdom of France, it would be +necessary to attend to the following subjects:—the state of +commerce—wealth of the nation, and division of this wealth—the state +of agriculture—the condition of the towns and villages—of the noblesse +and their property—the condition of the lower ranks, namely, the +merchants, tradesmen, artificers, peasants, poor, and beggars—the state +of private and public manners—the dress of the people—their +amusements—the state of religion and morality—of criminal delinquency +and the administration of justice.</p> + +<p>But to treat all these different subjects, and to diverge into the +necessary observations which they would naturally suggest, would form of +itself a voluminous work. In order, however, to judge fairly of the +state of France, and of the character of the people, we must select and +make observations on a few of the most material points. In my Journal, +which accompanies this, I have purposely said but little on the state of +the people and their character, as I intended to finish my travels +before I formed my opinion. I did not wish to be guilty of the same +mistake with another traveller, who, coming to an inn in which he had a +bad egg for breakfast, served by an ugly girl, immediately set down in +his Journal, "In this country, the eggs are all bad, and the women all +ugly." My readers are already aware of the opportunities I possessed of +obtaining information. They are such as present themselves to almost +every traveller in France; and they will not therefore be surprised if +my remarks are somewhat common-place. They will recollect that our party +disembarked at Dieppe, and travelled from one coast to the other by +Rouen, Paris, Lyons and Aix. By travelling very slowly, never above 30 +miles a-day, I had, perhaps a better opportunity than common of seeing +the country, and of conversing with the inhabitants; and I have been +more than commonly fortunate in forming acquaintance with a number of +very well informed men in the town, which we selected as the place of +our residence in the winter: This was Aix, in Provence. I have described +it before in my Journal, and have only to add, that the head court for +four departments is held there; that there is a College for the study of +Law and Divinity, and that it is remarkable for possessing a society of +men better informed, and of more liberal education, than most other +towns in France.</p> + +<p>The inhabitants of Provence have always been marked by excesses of +affection or disaffection. They do nothing in moderation; "Les têtes +chaudes de Provence," is an expression quite common in France. In the +commencement of the revolution, the bands of Provençals, chiefly +Marseillois, were the leaders in every outrage. And when the tyrant, +Napoleon, had fallen from his power, they were among the first to cry +"Vivent les Bourbons!" They would have torn him to pieces on his way to +Frejus, had he not been at times disguised, and at other times well +protected by the troops and police in the villages through which he +passed. It will then easily be imagined that the English were received +with open arms at Aix. They heaped on us kindnesses of every +description, and our only difficulty was to limit our acquaintance. From +among the most moderate and best informed of our friends at Aix, I +attempted to collect a few traits and anecdotes of Napoleon, and with +their assistance, I shall, in the first instance, attempt giving a +sketch of his character. It would be tedious, as well as unnecessary, to +detail all the circumstances of his life; for most of these are +generally known. I shall therefore only mention such as we are not +generally acquainted with.</p> + +<p class="sp"><span class="smcap">Napoleon</span> was born at Ajaccio, in Corsica, not, as is generally supposed, +in August 1769, but in February 1768. He had a motive for thus +falsifying even the date of his birth; he conceived that it would assist +his ambitious views, if he could prove that he was born in a province of +France, and it was not till 1769 that Corsica became entitled to that +denomination. His reputed father was not a <i>huissier</i> (or bailiff) as is +generally stated, but a <i>greffier</i> (or register of one of the courts of +justice). His mother is a Genoese; she is a woman of very bad +character; and it is currently reported that Napoleon was the son of +General Paoli; and that Louis and Jerome were the sons of the Marquis de +Marbeuf, governor of the island. The conduct of the Marquis to the +family of Bonaparte, then in the utmost indigence, would sanction a +belief in this account; he protected the whole family, but particularly +the sons, and he caused Napoleon to be placed at the Military School of +Brienne, where he supplied him with money. This money was never spent +among his companions, but went to purchase mathematical books and +instruments, and to assist him in erecting fortifications. The only +times when he deigned to amuse himself with others was during the +attacks of these fortifications, and immediately on these being +finished, he would retire and shut himself up among his books and +mathematical instruments. He was, when a boy, always morose, tyrannical +and domineering. "<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a>Il motrait dans ces jeux cet esprit de domination +qu'il a depuis manifestée sur le grand theatre du monde; et celui qui +devoit un jour epouvanter l'Europe a commencè par etre le maitre et +l'effroi d'une troupe d'enfans<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a>."</p> + +<p>He left the military college with the rank of lieutenant of artillery, +and bearing a character which was not likely to recommend him among good +men. He had very early displayed principles of a most daring nature. In +a conversation with the master of the academy, some discussion having +taken place on the subject of the difficulty of governing a great +nation, the young Corsican remarked, "that the greatest nations were as +easily managed as a school of boys, but that kings always studied to +make themselves beloved, and thus worked their own ruin." The infant +despot of France was certainly determined that no such foolish humanity +should dictate rules to his ambition. He was once in a private company, +where a lady making some remarks on the character of Marshal Turenne, +declared that she would have loved him had he not burned the Palatinate. +"And of what consequence was that, Madame," said the young Napoleon, +"provided it assisted his plans?" We may here trace the same unfeeling +heart that ordered the explosion of the magazine of Grenelle, which, if +his orders had been executed, must have laid Paris in ruins. Some of my +readers may, perhaps, not have seen an authentic statement of this most +horrid circumstance, I shall therefore give a translation of the letter +of Maillard Lescourt, major of artillery, taken from the Journal des +Debats of the 7th April: "I was employed, on the evening before the +attack of Paris, in assembling the horses necessary for the removal of +the artillery, and was assisted in this duty by the officers of the +'Direction Generale.' At nine at night a colonel gallopped up to the +gate of the grating of St Dominique, where I was standing, and asked to +speak to the Directeur d'Artillerie. On my being shewn to him, he +immediately asked me if the powder magazine at Grenelle bad been +evacuated? I replied that it had not, and that there was neither time +nor horses for the purpose. Then, Sir, said he, it must be blown up. I +turned pale, and trembled, not reflecting that there was no occasion to +distress myself for an order which was not written, and with the bearer +of which I was unacquainted. Do you hesitate? said the Colonel.—It +immediately occurred to me, that the same order might be given to +others, if I did not accept of it; I therefore calmly replied to him, +that I should immediately set about it. Become master of this frightful +secret, I entrusted it to no one." At Paris we met with persons of much +respectability, who vouched for the truth of this statement.</p> + +<p>There can be no doubt that this order was given by Napoleon, for at this +time the other ruling authorities had left Paris. It is by no means +inconsistent with the character of the man; never, in any instance, has +he been known to value the lives of men, where either ambition or +revenge instigated him. Beauchamp, in his history of the last campaign, +gives the following anecdote;<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> "Sire, (lui disoit un general, en le +felicitant sur la victoire de Montmirail), quel beau jour, si nous ne +voyions autour de nous tant de villes et de pays devastès. Tant mieux, +replique Napoleon, cela me donne des soldats!!"</p> + +<p>The second capture of Rheims in that campaign was an object of little +consequence to him, but he now determined it should suffer by fire and +sword. From the heights he looked down on the town, then partly on fire, +and smiling said, <a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a>"Eh bien, dans une heure les dames de Rheims +auront grand peur." His resentment against the towns that declared for +the Bourbons was beyond all bounds; The following account of the murder +of the unfortunate De Goualt is taken from Beauchamp's interesting +work:<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> "On le saisit, on le conduit à l'hotel de ville, devant une +commission militaire, qui proçede à son jugement, on plutôt à sa +condamnation. Une heure s'etait à peine ecoulee qu'un officier survient +se fait ouvrir les portes, et demande si la sentence est prononçee. Les +juges vont aller aux voix, dit on. "Qu'on le fusille, sur le champ," dit +l'officier; "l'Empereur l'ordonne." Le malhereux Goualt est condamne. +Le deuil est génerale dans la ville. Le proprietaire de la maison, +qu'avoit choisi Bonaparte pour y etablir son quartier, solicite une +audience; il l'obtient. "Sire, (dit Monsieur du Chatel à Napoleon), un +jour de triomphe doit etre un jour de clemence. Je viens de supplier +votre Majesté d'accorder à toute la ville de Troyes la grace d'un de nos +malheureux compatriotes qui vient d'etre condamne a mort." "Sortez," dit +le tyran, d'un air faronche, "Vous oubliez qui vous etes chez moi." Il +etait onze heures et cet infortune sortait de l'hotel de ville, escorte +par des gens-d'armes, portant, attache à son dos, et à sa poitrine un +ecriteau en gros caracteres, dans ces mots, "Traitre a la patrie," +qu'on lisait à la lueur des flambeaux. Le dechirant et lugubre cortege +se dirigeait vers la place du marche destine aux executions criminelles. +La on veut bander les yeux au condamne. Il s'y refuse, et dit d'une voix +ferme qu'il saura mourir pour son Roi. Lui meme donne le signal de tirer +et c'est en criant, "Vive le Roi! Vive Louis XVIII!" qu'il rend le +dernier soupir."</p> + +<p>Tacitus, in describing the Corsicans, gives us three of the principal +ingredients in the character of Napoleon, when he says, <a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a>"Ulcisci, +prima lex est, altera, mentiri, tertia, negare Deos." To these we may +add unlimited ambition, insatiable vanity, considerable courage at +times, and the most dastardly cowardice at others. It must be owned, +that this last is an extraordinary mixture; but I am inclined to +believe, in despite of the many proofs of rash and impetuous courage, +that Napoleon was in the main, and whenever life and existence was at +stake, a cool and selfish coward. His rival Moreau always thought so. +Immediately before the campaign of Dresden, in a conversation on +Napoleon's character, this General observed, <a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a>"Ce qui characterise +cet homme, ce'st le mensonge et l'amour de la vie; Je vais l'attaquer, +je le battrai, et je le verrai a mes pieds me demander la vie."—It +pleased Providence that a part only of this prediction should be +accomplished; but we have seen that Bonaparte dared not court the death +of Moreau. Never was more decided cowardice shewn by any man than by +Napoleon after the entry of the allies into Paris. How easily might he +have fought his way, with a numerous band of determined followers, who, +to the last minute, never failed him; but he preferred remaining to beg +for his life, and to attend to the removal <i>of his wines and +furniture</i>!! But we must proceed more regularly in developing the traits +of this extraordinary man. A gentleman of Aix, one of whose near +relations had the charge of Napoleon, when his character was suspected +at Toulon, gave me the following particulars of his first employment. +During the siege of Toulon, he had greatly distinguished himself, and +had applied to the "Commissaires de Convention," who at that time +possessed great power in the army, to promote him; but these men +detesting Bonaparte's character, refused his request.—On this occasion, +General De Gominier said to them, <a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a>"Avancez cet officier; car si vous +ne l'avancez pas, il saura bien s'avancer lui meme." The Commissaries +could no longer refuse, and Bonaparte was appointed colonel of +artillery. Shortly after this, having got into some scrape from his +violent and turbulent disposition, he was put under arrest; and it was +even proposed that he should be tried and executed (a necessary +consequence of a trial at that period). His situation at this time was +extremely unpromising; Robespierre and his accomplices, Daunton, St +Juste, Barrere, &c. were all either put to death or forced to conceal +themselves. Bonaparte now perceived, that for the accomplishment of his +views, it was necessary that he should forsake his haughty and +domineering tone, and flatter those in power. He immediately commenced a +series of intrigues, and by the assistance of his friends at Paris, and +that good fortune which has always befriended him, he soon found an +opportunity of extricating himself from the danger which surrounded him. +Barras, who was then at the head of the administration, under the title +of Directeur, alarmed by the distracted state of Paris, and dreading the +return of the Bourbons, assembled a council of his friends and +associates in crime; it was then determined that an attack should +immediately be made on the Parisian royalists, or, as the gentleman who +gave me this account expressed it, <a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a>"Dissiper les royalistes, et +foudroyer les Parisiens jusque dans leurs foyers."</p> + +<p>But where were they to find a Frenchman who would take upon him the +execution of so barbarous an order? One of the meeting mentioned +Bonaparte, and his well-known character determined the directors in +their choice. He was ordered to Paris, and the hand of Madame +Beauharnois, and the command of the army of Italy, held out to him as +the reward of his services, provided he succeeded in <i>dissipating</i> the +royalists. It is well known that he did succeed to his utmost wish; the +streets of Paris were strewed with dead bodies, and the power of the +Directory was proclaimed by peals of artillery.</p> + +<p>Shortly after this, Bonaparte commenced that campaign in Italy, in which +he so highly signalised himself as a great general and a brave soldier. +It is the general opinion of the French that this was the only campaign +in which Napoleon shewed personal courage; others allege, that he +continued to display the greatest bravery till the siege of Acre. To +reconcile the different opinions with respect to the character of +Napoleon in this point, is a matter of much difficulty. After having +heard the subject repeatedly discussed by officers who had accompanied +him in many of his campaigns; after having read all the pamphlets of the +day, I am inclined to think that the character given of him in that +work, perhaps erroneously believed to be written by his valet, is the +most just. This book certainly contains much exaggeration, but it is by +no means considered, by the French whom I have met, as a forgery. The +author must, from his style, be a man of some education; and he asserts +that he was with him in all his battles, from the battle of Marengo to +the campaign of Paris. He declares, that Napoleon was <i>courageous only +in success, brave only when victorious</i>; that the slightest reverse made +him a coward. His conduct in Egypt, in abandoning his army, his +barbarous and unfeeling flight from Moscow, and his last scene at +Fontainbleau, are sufficient proofs of this.</p> + +<p>The battle of Marengo is generally instanced as the one in which +Napoleon shewed the greatest personal courage; but this statement +neither agrees with the account given in the above work, nor by Monsieur +Gaillais. From the work of the last mentioned gentleman, entitled +"Histoire de Dix huit Brumaire," I shall extract a few lines on the +subject of this battle.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> "A la pointe du jour les Autrichiens +commencerent l'attaque, dabord assez lentement, plus vivement ensuite, +et enfin avec une telle furie que les Français furent enfoncès de tous +cotès. Dans ce moment affreux ou les morts et les mourants jonchaiènt la +terre, le premier Consul, placè au milieu de sa garde, semblait +immuable, insensible, et comme frappè de la foudre. Vainement les +generaux lui depechaient coup sur coup leurs Aides de Camp, pour +demander des secours; vainement les Aides de Camp attendaient les +ordres; il n'endonnait aucune; il donnait a peine signe de la vie. +Plusieurs penserent que croyant la battaille perdue, il voulut se faire +tuer. D'autres, avec plus de raison, se persuaderent qu'il avoit perdu +la tête, et qu'il ne voyait et n'entendait plus rien de se qui se disoit +et de ce qui se passait autour de lui. Le General Berthier vint le prier +instamment de se retirer; au lieu de lui repondre il se coucha par +terre. Cependant les Français fuyerent a toutes jambes, la bataille +etoit perdue lorsque tout a coup on entendait dire que le General +Dessaix arrive avec une division de troupes fraiches. Bientot apres on +le voit paroitre lui meme a leur tête; les fuyards se ralliaient +derrierè ses colonnes—leur courage est revenuè—la chance tourne—les +Français attaquent a leur tour avec la meme furie qu'ils avoient etê +attaquè—et brulent d'effacer la honte de leur defaite du matin."</p> + +<p>Desaix fell in this battle, and the whole glory of it was given to +Napoleon. The last words of this gallant man were these: <a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a>"Je meurs +avec le regret de n'avoir pas assez vecu pour ma patrie.".</p> + +<p>This account of Napoleon's behaviour at Marengo was confirmed to me at +Aix, by two French officers of rank who had been present at the battle.</p> + +<p>I do not mean to give a life of Napoleon; ere a year is past, I have not +a doubt that we shall have but too many; indeed, already they are not +wanting in England. I mean only to give such anecdotes as are not so +generally known, and to attempt an explanation of the two most +interesting circumstances in his career, viz. the means he has employed +in his aggrandisement, and the causes of his downfall. It is only when +we survey the extent of his power, without reflecting on the gradual +steps which led to it, that we are astonished and confounded; for, in +reality, when his means are considered, and the state of France at the +time is placed before our eyes, much of the difficulty vanishes; and we +perceive, that any daring character, making use of the same means, might +have arrived at the same end. It is foolish to deny him (as many of his +biographers do), great military talent, for that he certainly possessed, +as long as his good fortune allowed him to display it. This talent he +not only evinced in the formation of his plans, but in the execution +also. No man knew better the means of calling forth the inexhaustible +military resources of France. The people of that country were always +brave; but Bonaparte alone knew how to make them all soldiers. The +desire of glory has ever characterized the nation, and the state of +tyranny and oppression in which they were kept under his government, had +no effect in diminishing this passion. The French people under Napoleon +furnish a striking exception to the maxim of Montesquieu, when he says, +<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a>"On peut poser pour maxime, que dans chaque etat le desir de la +gloire existe avec la liberté de sujets, et diminue avec elle; la gloire +n'est jamais compagne de la servitude."</p> + +<p>The French forget their misfortunes almost immediately. After the +campaign of Moscow, one would have thought that the hardships they +endured might have given them a sufficient disgust, and that it was +likely they would forsake one who shewed so little feeling for them. I +happened once to meet with several of the poor wretches who had been +with him; they were then on their road home; most of them were entirely +disabled; one had his toes frozen off—they declared that they <i>would +again fight under him if they were able</i>. At one of the inns, I met with +a young officer who had also been with him at Moscow: I happened to +enquire how they could bear the cold? "We were as comfortable," said he, +"as you and I are at this fire-side." The poor fellow was not twenty-one +years old. <a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a>"La jeunesse d'aujour-d'hui est elevee dans d'autres +principes; l'amour de la gloire sur tout a jetè des profondes racines; +il est devenu l'attribut le plus distinctif du caractere national, +exaltè par vingt ans de succes continues. Mais cette gloire meme etoit +devenue notre idole, elle absorboit toutes les pensees des braves mis +hors-de-combat par leurs blessures, toutes les esperances des jeunes +gens qui faisaient leur premieres armes. Un coup imprevu l'a frappè, +nous trouvons dans nos cœurs une vide semblable a celui qui trouve un +amant qui a perdu l'objet de sa passion; tout se qu'il voit, tout ce +qu'il entende renouvelle sa douleur. Ce sentiment rend notre situation +vague et penible; chacun cherche a se dissimuler la place qu'il sente +exister au fond de son cœur. On le regarde comme humilie, apres vingt +ans des triomphes continues, pour avoir perdu une seule partie +malhereusement etait la partie d'honneur; et qui a fait la regle de nos +destinees."—Such is the language of the military.</p> + +<p>In conversation one evening with one of the noblesse, who had suffered +in the revolution, he told me that this military spirit extended not +only to all ranks and professions, but to all ages. He said that the +young men in the schools refused to learn any thing but mathematics and +the science of arms; and that he recollected many instances of boys ten +and twelve years of age, daily entreating their fathers and mothers to +permit them to join Napoleon. It was in vain to represent to them the +hardships they must suffer; their constant reply was, "If we die, we +will at least find glory." Read the campaign of Moscow, said another +gentleman to me, you will there see the French character:<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> "Les +François sont les seuls dans l'univers qui pourroient rire meme en +gelant."</p> + +<p>Napoleon certainly greatly encreased the military spirit of the people: +Before his time, you heard of commerce, of agriculture, of manufactures, +as furnishing the support of the community; under him, you heard of +nothing but war. The rapid destruction of the population of France +occasioned constant promotion, and the army became the most promising +profession. It was a profession in which no education was wanting—to +which all had access. Bonaparte never allowed merit to go unrewarded. +The institution of the Legion of Honour alone was an instrument in his +hands of sufficient power to call forth the energy of a brave people; to +this rank even the private soldier might arrive. In this organization +of the army, therefore, we may trace his first means of success.</p> + +<p>The next was his military <i>tactique</i>:—The great and simple principle on +which this was founded, is evident in every one of the pitched battles +which he gained;—he out-numbered his opponents,—he sacrificed a +troop,—a battalion,—a division,—or a whole army without bestowing a +moment's thought. Bonaparte has sometimes, though very seldom, shewn +that his heart could be touched, but never, on any occasion, did the +miserable display of carnage in the field of battle call forth these +feelings; never was he known to pity his soldiers. On seeing a body of +fresh recruits join the army, his favourite expression was always, +<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a>"Eh bien, voyez encore de matiere premiere, du chair a cannon." +After a battle, when he rode over the ground, he would smile, and say, +<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a>"Ma foi, voyez une grande consommation." The day after the battle of +Prusse-Eylau, his valet thus describes his visit to the field of blood: +<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a>"Il faisoit un froid glacial, des mourants respiroient encore; la +foule des cadavres et les cavitès noiratres qui le sang des hommes avoit +laisse dans la neigè faisoit un affreux contraste. L'etat Major etoit +peniblement affectè. L'Empereur seul contemplait froidement cette scene +de deuil et de sang. Je poussai mon cheval quelques pas devant le sien; +j'etois eurieux de l'observer dans un pareil moment. Vous eussiez dit +qu'il etoit alors detachè de toutes les affections humaines, que tout ce +qui l'environnait n'existoit pour lui. Il parloit tranquillement des +evenemens de la veille. En passant devant une groupe des grenadiers +Russes massacrès, le cheval d'un Aide-de-Camp avoit peur. Le Prince +l'appercevait: "Ce cheval, lui dit il, froidement, est un lache."</p> + +<p>It cannot be doubted that such a man would sacrifice regiment after +regiment to obtain his purpose; we may indeed wonder, that when known to +possess such a heart, he was obeyed by his men: But a little thought, a +little reflection on the means he took to ingratiate himself with his +troops will remove this difficulty. Look also at his dispatches, his +proclamations, and orders; they appear the effusion of the father of a +family addressing his children: "Their country required the sacrifices, +which he deplored." All thought is at an end when they are thus attacked +on their weak side. At other times, the hope of plunder was held out to +them. The words, <i>glory, honour, their country, laurels, immortal +fame</i>—these words, fascinating to the ear of any people, are more +peculiarly so to the French. When conversing with an old French officer, +who had served under the Prince of Condè in the emigrant army, on this +subject, he made this remark: "Sir, you do not know the French; +assemble them together, and having pronounced the words <i>glory, honour +and your country</i>, point to the moon, and you will have an army ready to +undertake the enterprise." Napoleon was well aware of this weakness of +the French. He would ride through the ranks on the eve of a battle, +would recall their former victories to one body; make promises to a +second; joke with a third,—cold, distant, and forbidding at all other +times, he is described as affable in the extreme on all such occasions. +The meanest soldier might then address him.</p> + +<p>The rapid military promotion may be given as another cause of Napoleon's +success. The most distinguished corps were, of course, the greatest +sufferers; and the young man who joined the army, as a lieutenant, on +the eve of an action, was a captain the next day, perhaps a colonel +before he had seen a year's service. <a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a>"Des ouvriers sortis de leurs +atteliers (says Monsieur Gaillais in his "Histoire de Dix Huit +Brumaire,") des paysans echappes de villages, avec un bonnet sur la tête +et un baton a la main, devenaient au bout de six mois des soldats +intrepides, et au bout de deux ans des officiers agueris, et des +generaux redoubtables au plus anciens generaux de l'Europe." Nothing +struck me more forcibly than the youth of the French officers. The +generals only are veterans, for Bonaparte well knew, that experience is +as necessary as courage in a General.</p> + +<p>Next, we may direct our attention to the means which this despot +possessed, by filling the war department with his own creatures; by +giving liberal salaries and unlimited power to the prefects of the +different departments, he amassed both troops and pay to support them. +The tyrannic measures for levying these became at last insupportable; +the people were rising in the villages, and by force of arms rescuing +their companions; and it is very probable that he might have found, +latterly, a want of men; but for years he has had at his disposal three +hundred thousand men annually. In describing the effects of the +conscription, one of the members of the Senate made use of the +following expression:—<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a>"On moissonne les homines trois fois +l'anneé."</p> + +<p>With such supplies, what single power could resist him? War with him +became a mere mechanical calculation. Among the causes of his elevation, +the use he made of the other continental Powers must not be forgotten; +whether gained by corruption, treachery, or force, they all became his +allies; they were all compelled to assist him with troops. When the +Sovereigns of these countries consented to his plans, they were +permitted to govern their own kingdoms, otherwise the needy family of +Bonaparte supplied the <i>roitelets</i> at a moment's warning. These little +monarchs, he is said to have treated with the utmost contempt.</p> + +<p>My readers may perhaps be inclined to smile, when I mention among the +causes of Napoleon's elevation, the use made by him of ballad-singers, +newsmongers, pedlars, &c. But really, on a deliberate view of his system +of juggling and deception, I am inclined to believe, that it was one of +his most powerful engines. The people of France are not only the most +vain, but the most credulous in the world. To work on their feelings, +he kept in constant pay author of every description, from the man who +composed the Vaudeville, which was sold for half a sous, to the authors +of the many clever political pamphlets which daily appear in France: for +the dissemination of these, he had agents, not only in France, but in +distant countries. When he aimed at the subjugation of any part of the +continent, his first endeavour was always to disseminate seditious and +inflammatory pamphlets against its Government. It is never doubted in +France, that even in <i>England</i>, he had his emissaries.</p> + +<p>Editors of newspapers, in every part of the globe, were in his pay. The +method in which the newspaper, called the Argus, was published, is an +extraordinary proof of this fact. The Argus, whose principal object was +to abuse the English, was first of all written in French, by one of the +"Commissaires de Police;" it was then translated into English, and a few +copies were circulated in this language, to keep up the idea, that it +was smuggled over from England; after these found their way, the French +copy, or in other words, the original, was widely circulated. A more +infamous trick can scarce be conceived. Extracts from this paper were, +by express order of Napoleon, published in every French paper. Nothing +was considered by him as beneath his notice. He encouraged dancing, +feasting, gaming. The theatres, concerts, public gardens, were under his +protection. The traiteurs, the keepers of caffès, of brothels, of +ale-houses, the limonadiers, and the wine-merchants, were his particular +favourites. His object in this was, to produce a degree of profligacy in +the public manners, and a disgust at industry; and the consequence was, +the resort of all ranks to the army, as the easiest and most lucrative +profession.</p> + +<p>With regard to the many other causes which will suggest themselves to my +readers in reading a history of his campaigns, I shall say nothing; for +on all of these, as well as on the causes of his downfall, which I shall +merely enumerate, I leave them to make their own observations. I have +already been very tedious, and have yet much to observe on different +points of his character.</p> + +<p>To the last rigorous measures for the conscription, to the institution +of the "Droits Reunis;" to the formation of the garde d'honneur; and to +his attack on the religion of France, Bonaparte owed his first +unpopularity. The hatred of the French is as impetuous as their +admiration. They exclaimed against every measure when they were once +exasperated against him: still he had many friends; still he possessed +an army which kept the nation in awe. This army he chose to sacrifice in +Spain and Russia. The nation could no longer supply him, and the strong +coalition which took place against him, was not to be repelled by a +broken-down army. His military talent seemed latterly to have forsaken +him, and never was the expulsion of a tyrant so easily accomplished.</p> + +<p>His excessive vanity never left him—of this, the Moniteur for the last +ten years is a sufficient proof; but in reading the accounts of him, I +was particularly struck with the instances which follow.</p> + +<p>Anxious to impress on the minds of the Directors, the necessity of the +expedition to Egypt, he made a speech, in which the meanest flattery was +judiciously mingled with his usual vanity. <a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a>"Ce n'est que sous un +gouvernement aussi sage aussi grand que le votre, qu'un simple soldat +tel que moi pouvait conçevoir le projet de porter la guerre en +Egypte.—Oui, Directeurs, à peine serais je maitre d'Egypte, et des +solitudes de la Palestine, que l'Angleterre vous donnera un vaisseau de +premier bord pour un sac de bled."</p> + +<p>Some days before his celebrated appearance among the "Cinq Cents," his +friends advised him to repair thither well armed, and attended with +troops. <a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a>"Si je me presente avec des troupes (disait Napoleon), c'est +pour complaire à mes amis, car en verité j'ai la plus grande envie d'y +paraitre comme fit jadis Louis XIV. au Parlement, en bottes, et un fouet +à la main."</p> + +<p>In his speech to the Corps Legislatif, on the 1st of January 1814, he +made use of the following words at the close of an oration, composed of +the same unmeaning phrases, strung together in fifty different shapes. +<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a>"Je suis de ces homines qu'on tue, mais qu'on ne dishonore pas. +Dans trois mois nous aurons la paix, ou l'enemi sera chasse de notre +territoire—ou, je serai mort."</p> + +<p>A further specimen of Napoleon's style, will, I think, amuse my readers; +I shall, therefore, copy out an extract of his speech to the Legislative +Body: <a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a>"Je vous ai appellè autour de moi pour faire le bien, vous +avez fait le mal, vous avez entre vous des gens devouès à l'Angleterre, +qui correspondent avec le Prince Regent par l'entremise de l'avocat +Deseze. Les onze-douziemes parmi vous sont bons; les autres sont des +factieux. Retournez dans vos departments;—je vous y suivrai de l'œil. +Je suis un homme qu'on peut tuer, mais qu'on nè saurait deshonnorer. +Quel est celui d'entre vous qui pouvait supporter le fardeau du +pouvoir; il a ecrasè l'Assemble Constituante, qui dicta des loix à un +monarque faible. Le Fauxbourg St Antoine nous aurait secondé, mais il +vous est bientot abandonnè. Que sont devenus les Jacobins, les +Girondins, les Vergniaux, les Guadets, et tant d'autres? Ils sont morts. +Vous avez cherché à me barbouiller aux gens de la France. C'est un +attentat;—qu'est que le trone, au reste? Quatre morçeaux de bois dorè +recouverts de velours. Je vous avais indiqué un Commité Secret; c'etait +là qu'il fallait laver notre linge. J'ai un titre, vous n'en avez point. +Qui etes vous dans la Constitution? Vous n'avez point d'autorite. C'est +le Trone qui est la Constitution. Tout est dans le trone et dans moi. +Je vous le repete, vous avez parmi vous des factieux. Monsieur Laisnè +est un mechant homme; les autres sont des factieux. Je les connais, et +je les poursuivrai. Je vous le demande, Etait ce cependant que les +ennemies sont chez nous qu'il fallait faire de pareilles choses? La +nature m'a doué d'un courage fort; il peut resister à tout. Il en a +beaucoup coutè a mon orgueil, je l'ai sacrifiè. Je suis au dessus de vos +miserables declamations. J'avais demandé des consolations et vous m'avez +dishonoré. Mais non; mes victoires ecrasent vos criailleries. Je suis de +ceux qui triomphent ou qui meurent. Retournez dans vos departments."</p> + +<p>The vanity of Napoleon led him to suppose that he was fitted to lay +down the law to the most eminent among the French philosophers; that he +could improve the French language, the theatre, the state of society, +the public seminaries, the weights and measures of the realm. He +meddled, in short, with every thing. Under the walls of Moscow, he +composed a proclamation in the morning, declaring that he would soon +dictate a code of laws to the Russians; and, in the evening, he dictated +a code of regulations for the theatres of Paris. His ardent wish was, to +have it thought that he had time and capacity for every thing. It arose +from this, that he trusted to no one, and having himself every thing to +do, that he did nothing well. If he went to visit a college, he prepared +Latin and Greek sentences for the occasion; in many of his speeches he +introduced scrapes of classic lore. His love of Greek terms is admirably +described in a little epigram, made on his new <i>tarif</i> of weights and +measures, in which the <i>grams</i> and <i>killograms</i>, and <i>metres</i> and +<i>killometres</i> are introduced.</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Les Grecs pour nous ont tant d'attraits</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Qui pour se faire bien entendre,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Et pour comprendre le Français</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ce'st le Greque qu'il faut apprendre.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>He was particularly anxious that his police should be perfect. He +pursued, for the accomplishment of his views, the same plan so +successfully employed under the celebrated Sartine. He had spies in +every private family, and every rank and denomination. These he did not +employ as Sartine did, for the detection of thieves and robbers; with +him, the dreadful machine of espionage was organised, in order that he +might always know the state of public feeling; that knowing also the +character of each individual, he might be the better able to select +instruments fit for his purposes. Fouche had brought this system to the +utmost perfection. Bonaparte distrusted him, and demanded proofs of his +activity. Fouche desired him to appoint a day, on which he should give +him a full account of every action performed by him. The day was +appointed, the utmost precaution was used by the Emperor; but the spies +gave an account of his every action from six in the morning till eight +at night. They refused to inform Fouche what had become of Bonaparte +after eight; but said, that if the Emperor desired it, they would inform +him in person. The Emperor did not press the subject farther, but +confessed <i>that he had not spent the remainder of the evening in the +best of company</i>. Ever after this he was satisfied with the state of +the police. To give some idea of the activity of this system, I may +mention a curious anecdote, which I received from our banker: One of the +most respectable bankers in Paris, whose name I have forgot, was sitting +at supper with his chief <i>commis</i> or clerk. They were served by one +faithful old servant, who, during 30 years, had been tried, and had +always been found worthy of confidence. The conversation turned on the +subject of the last campaign—this was before the campaign of Paris. The +<i>commis</i> happened to remark, that he thought Bonaparte's career was +nearly finished, and that he would meet his fate presently. The next +morning the banker received a letter from the Police Department, +instructing him to order the departure of his <i>commis</i> from Paris within +24 hours, and from France within a month.</p> + +<p>The same gentleman gave me a genuine edition of the celebrated story of +Sartine's stopping the travellers at the gates of Paris. It may amuse my +readers, although, I dare say, they have seen it before in other shapes.</p> + +<p>A very rich lace merchant from Brussels, was in the habit of constantly +frequenting the fair of St Denis. On these occasions, he repaired to +Paris in the public diligence, accompanied by his trunks of lace. He +had apartments at an hotel in the Rue des Victoires, which he had for +many years occupied; and to secure which, he used always to write some +weeks before. An illness had prevented his visiting the fair during two +years; on the third, he wrote as usual to his landlord, and received an +answer, that the death of the landlord had occasioned a change in the +firm and tenants of the house; but that he was well known to them, and +that they would keep for him his former rooms, and would do their utmost +to give him satisfaction.</p> + +<p>The merchant set out—arrived at the barrier of Paris; the diligence was +stopped, and a gentleman whom he had never seen before, accosted him by +name, and desired him to alight. The merchant was a good deal surprised +at this; but you may judge of his alarm, when he heard an order given to +the <i>conducteur</i> to unloose numbers one, two, three—the trunks, in +which was contained his whole fortune. The gentleman desired he would +not be afraid, but trust every thing to him. The diligence was ordered +away, and the lace merchant, in a state of agony, was conveyed by his +new acquaintance to the house of Monsieur de Sartine. He there began an +enumeration of his grievances, but was civilly interrupted by M. de +Sartine—"Sir, you have not much reason to complain; but for your visit +to me here, you would have been murdered this night at twelve." The +minister then detailed to him the plan that had been laid for his +murder, and astonished him by shewing a copy, not only of the letter +which he had written to the landlord of the hotel, but also the answer +returned by the landlord. Monsieur de Sartine then begged that he would +place the most implicit confidence in him, and remain in his house until +he should recover himself from his fright. He would then return to the +coach in waiting, and would be attended to the hotel by one of his +emissaries as valet. The merchant told him that the people of the house +would not be deceived by a stranger, for they were well acquainted with +all his concerns, and even with his writing. "Examine your attendant," +said M. de Sartine; "you will find him well instructed, and he speaks +your dialect as you do yourself." A few questions convinced the merchant +that the minister had made a good selection. M. de Sartine then +described the reception he would meet with, the rooms he was to occupy, +the persons he should see, and laid down directions for his conduct; +telling him, at the same time, that if at a loss, he should consult his +attendant. On his arrival at the inn, every thing shewed the wonderful +correctness of the information. His reception was kind as ever. Dinner +was served up; and the merchant, according to his practice, engaged +himself till a late hour in his usual occupations. The valet played his +part to a miracle, and saw his master to bed, after repeating to him the +instructions of Monsieur de Sartine. The merchant, as may well be +supposed, did not sleep much. At twelve, a trap door in the floor opened +gently, and a man ascended into the apartment, having a dark lanthorn in +one hand, and in the other, some small rings of iron, used for gagging +people to prevent their speaking. He had just ascended, when the valet +knocked him down and secured him; the room was immediately filled with +the officers of the police. The house had been surrounded to prevent +escape; and in a cellar under the room where the merchant had slept, and +which communicated with the trap door, were found the master, mistress, +and all the members of the gang—they were all secured.</p> + +<p>Let us proceed with the character of Napoleon. All the world is well +acquainted with his vices; it is less probable that they have ever heard +of his virtues, of his having shown that he felt as a man. The +following instance is authentic:</p> + +<p>After the capture of Berlin, the command of the city was given to one of +the Prussian generals, who had sworn fidelity to Bonaparte. This officer +betrayed his trust, and communicated to the King of Prussia all the +information which he obtained of the motions of the French army. +Bonaparte obtained sufficient proof of his crime, by intercepted +letters. The officer was arrested, a military trial was ordered, and +sentence of death pronounced. The wife of the officer threw herself at +the feet of Bonaparte, and implored the life of her husband. He was +touched, and drawing out from his pocket the letters which proved the +crime, he tore them to pieces, saying, that in thus destroying the +proofs of his guilt, he deprived himself of the power of afterwards +punishing it. The officer was immediately released.</p> + +<p>If Napoleon did not possess feeling, or even common humanity, he was at +least anxious that the people of France should believe that he had these +good qualities. It is said that, on the evening before he left Paris on +his last campaign, he sent for the tragedian Talma, and had taught to +him the action, features and aspect which he the next day employed when +he left his wife and child to the care of the national guard. The +following scene will at once show his desire to be esteemed generous, +and his utter meanness of character:—<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a>"Un de ses Ministres l'aborde +un jour et lui presente un rapport qu'il avait desiré; il s'agissait +d'une conspiration contre sa personne. J'etais present à cette scene. Je +m'attendais, je l'avoue, à le voir entrer en fureur, fulminer contre les +traitres, menacer les magistrats, et les accuser de negligence. Point du +tout; il parcourt le papier sans donner le moindre signe d'agitation. +Jugez de ma surprise, ou plutôt quelle douce emotion j'eprouvais quand +il fit entendre ces paroles touchantes et sublimes:—"Monsieur le Comte, +l'etat n'a point souffert; les magistrats n'ont point etè insultés; ce +n'est donc qu'à ma personne qu'ils en voulaient; je les plains de ne +point savoir que tous mes vœux tendent au bonheur de la France; mais +tout homme peut s'egarer. Dites aux ingrats que je leurs pardonne. Mons. +le Conte aneantissez la procedure." Maintenant je defie le royaliste le +plus fidele qui seroit temoin d'un proçede si magnanime, de ne point +dire, si le ciel dans sa colere devait un usurpateur a la France; +remercions d'avoir du celui ci. Arrete malhereux, tes yeux ont vu, tes +oreilles ont entendu, ne crois rien de tout; mais deux jours apres +trouve toi, au lever de ce hero, si magnanime, si peu avide de se +veuger—on ouvre, le voici, la foule des courtisans l'environne, tout le +monde fixe les yeux sur lui. Sa figure est decomposée, tous les muscles +de son visage sont en contraction, tout son ensemble est farouche et +colere. Un silence funebre regne dans l'assemblée. Le Prince n'a point +encore parlè, mais il promene des regardes sur la groupe: il appeicoit +le meme officier, qui deux jours avant lui avait presente le rapport, +"Monsieur le Conte, (dit il), ces laches conspirateurs sont ils +executés? Leurs complices sont ils aux fers? Les bourreaux on ils donnè +un nouvel example a qui voudrait imiter ceux qui veuleut a ma personne?"</p> + +<p>A distinguishing feature in Napoleon's character was unnecessary +cruelty; of this the campaign in Moscow, (of which Labaume's narrative +is a true though highly-coloured picture), the slaughter of the Turks in +Egypt, the poisoning of his invalids, and the death of every one who +stood in his way, are sufficient and notorious proofs. St Cloud was in +general the scene of his debaucheries. The following anecdote was +related by Count Rumford to a gentleman of my acquaintance, and may be +depended on as correct; for at the time that it happened, Count Rumford +was in lodgings on the spot. Napoleon had brought from Paris a beautiful +girl belonging to the opera; he had carried her into one of the arbours +of the garden. Many of the little boys about St Cloud were in habits of +climbing up among the trees, whether merely as a play, or from curiosity +to see the Emperor. On leaving the arbour with his favourite, Napoleon +saw one of these boys perched upon a high tree above him. He flew +straight to one of the gates, and bringing the sentinel who was +stationed there, he pointed out the boy, exclaiming, "Tirez sur ce b—— +la." The order was executed, and the boy never more seen.</p> + +<p>But for no one act did he incur the hatred of the French in such a +degree as for the murder of the Duke d'Enghien; in committing this +crime, not only the laws of humanity, but the laws of nations were +violated.</p> + +<p>This branch of the Royal Family was under a foreign power; he could by +no means be esteemed a subject of Bonaparte. Even the family of +Bonaparte, who, (as we shall presently see), did not possess many good +qualities, were shocked with this crime; they reproached him with it; +and Lucien said to him, <a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a>"Vous voulez dont nous faire trainer sur la +claye."</p> + +<p>The treatment of the Pope, of Pichegru, of Georges, of Moreau, furnish +us with further instances of his cruelty. Bonaparte did his utmost to +make the Parisians believe that Moreau was connected with Pichegru in +the conspiracy to establish the Bourbons on the throne. This was totally +false. But Napoleon, jealous of a rival like Moreau, could not bear that +he should live. Moreau's bold and unbending character hastened his +downfall. He always called the flat-bottomed boats, <a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a>"Ces coquilles +de noix;" and after an excellent dinner which he gave at Paris to many +of his fellow Generals, in mockery of the <a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a>"Epées d'honneur, fusils +d'honneur," &c., which Bonaparte at this time distributed; Moreau sent +for his cook, and with much ceremony invested him with a <a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a>"casserole +d'honneur."</p> + +<p>There are many interesting traits of this noble character, which, if I +had time, I should wish to give my readers. When he had been condemned +to imprisonment for two years, by the express orders of Bonaparte, the +impression made on the mind of the soldiery, of the judges, and of all +the court, was such, that they seemed insensible to what was going on. +Nobody was found to remove him from the bar; he descended the stairs of +the court; walked down the street amid a crowd of admirers; and instead +of escaping, as he easily might, he called a coach, and ordered the +coachman to drive to the Temple. When arrived there, he informed the +Governor of his sentence, and its execution. My readers will, I am sure, +be pleased with a few extracts from the account of Moreau's death, given +by his friends, M. Breton de la Martiniere and M. Rapatel:</p> + +<p>"Moreau conversait avec l'Empereur Alexandre, dont il n'etait separé que +le demi longueur d'un cheval. Il est probable qu'on apperçut de la place +ce brillant etat major, et que l'on tira dessus au hazard. Moreau fut +seul frappé. Un boulet lui fraccassa le genou droit et à travers le +flanc du cheval alla emporter le gros de la jambe gauche. Le genereux +Alexandre versa des larmes. Le Colonel Rapatel se preçipitait sur son +General. Moreau poussa un long soupir et s'evanouit. Revenu à lui meme, +il parle avec le plus grand sang froid, et dit à Monsieur Rapatel, "Je +suis perdu, mon ami, mais il est si glorieux de mourir pour une si belle +cause, et sous les yeux d'un aussi grand Prince." Péu d'instants apres +il dit à l'Empereur Alexandre lui meme, "Il ne vous reste que le +tronc—mais le cœur y est, et la tête est à vous." Il doit souffrir des +douleurs aigus—il demanda une cigare et se mit tranquillement à fumer.</p> + +<p>"Mons. Wylie, premier chirurgien de l'Empereur Alexandre, se hata +d'amputer la jambe qui etait la plus mal traiteé. Pendant cette cruelle +operation, Moreau montra à peine quelque alteration dans ses traits et +ne cessa point de fumer la cigarre. L'amputation faite, Monsieur Wylie +examina la jambe droite, et la trouva dans un tel etat qu'il ne peut se +defendre d'un mouvement d'effroi. "Je vous entend," dit Moreau, "Il faut +encore couper celle ci, eh bien, faites vite. Cependant j'eusse preferé +la mort." Il voulait ecrire à sa femme. Il ecrivait donc d'une main +assez ferme ces propres expressions. "Ma chere amie,—La bataille se +decide il y a trois jours.—J'ai eu les deux jambes emportées d'un +boulet de canon—ce coquin de Bonaparte est toujours hereux. On m'a +fait l'amputation aussi bien que possible—l'armée a faite un mouvement +retrograde, ce n'est pas par revers, mais par decousu et pour se +rapprocher au General Blucher. Excuse mon griffonage. Je t'aime et +t'embrasse de tout mon cœur. Je charge Rapatel de finir."</p> + +<p>"Tout à l'heure il dit: "Je ne suis pas sans danger, je le sais bien, +mais si je meurs, si une fin prematurée m'enleve à une femme, à une +fille aimèe; a mon pays que je voulais servir malgre lui meme; n'oubliez +pas de dire, aux Français qui vous parleront de moi, que je meurs avec +le regret de n'avoir pas accompli mes projets. Pour affranchir ma patrie +du joug affreux qui l'opprime pour ecraser Bonaparte, toutes les armes, +tous les moyens etaient bons. Avec quelle joie j'aurai consacré le peu +de talent que je possede à la cause de l'humanite! Mon cœur appartenoit +a la France."</p> + +<p>"Vers sept heurs le malade se trouvant seul avec Monsieur Svinine lui +dit d'une voix affaiblie—" Je veux absolument vous dicter une +lettre.—Monsieur Svinine prit la plume en gemissant et traça ce peu de +lignes sous la dictée de Moreau.</p> + +<p class="sp">"<span class="smcap">Sire</span>,—Je descends dans le tombeau avec les memes sentiments de +respect, d'admiration, et de devouement que votre Majesté m'a +constamment inspiré, des que j'ai eu le bohheur de m'approcher de votre +personne."</p> + +<p>"En pronoçant ces derniers mots, le malade s'interompit et ferma les +yeux M. Svinine attendit, croyant que Moreau meditait sur la suite de sa +depeche—Vain espoir—Moreau n'etait plus."<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></p> + +<p>I am impatient to finish the character of Napoleon, and to get upon some +other more agreeable subject. I shall end by giving an account of his +last appearance in France, as related to me by the Sub-Prefect of Aix, +who accompanied him on his way from Aix to the coast.—After passing +Montlement, the public feeling began to burst forth against him. The +spirit of the Provençals could not be restrained. In every village was +displayed the white cockade, and the fleur de lis. In one, the villagers +were employed at the moment of his passing in hanging him in effigy; at +another they compelled him to call out Vive le Roi, and he obeyed them, +while his attendants refused. For a part of the way he was forced to +mount a little poney in the dress of an Austrian officer. Arrived at the +village of La Calade, the following extraordinary scene passed at the +inn—It was also related to me by our banker, who had it from the +hostess herself: The landlord was called for, and a mean-looking figure +in plain clothes, with a travelling-cap, and loose blue pantaloons, +asked him if he could have dinner for twenty persons who were coming. +"Yes, (said the landlord), if you take what fare I have; but I trust it +is not for that <i>coquin</i> the Emperor, whom we expect soon here." "No, +(said he), it is only for a part of his suite.—Bring here some wine, +and let the people be well served when they arrive." Presently the +landlady entered with the wine, a fine, bold Provençal, and a decided +royalist, as all the Provençal snow are. <a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a>"Ecoutez, bonne femme, vous +attendez l'Empereur n'est pas?" 'Oui, Monsieur, j'espere que nous le +verrons?' "Eh bien, bonne femme, vous autres que dites vous de +l'Empereur?" 'Qu'il est un grand coquin.' "Eh! ma bonne femme, et vous +meme que dites vous?" 'Monsieur, voulez vous que je vous dise +franchment ce que je pense: Si j'etais le capitaine du vaisseau, je ne +l'embarquerai que pour le noyer."</p> + +<p>The stranger said nothing. After an hour or two, the landlord asked his +wife if she would like to see Bonaparte, for that he was arrived. She +was all anxiety to see him. He took her up stairs, and pointed to the +little man in the travelling cap. The surprise of the woman may be +conceived. The Emperor made her approach, and said to her she was a good +woman; but that there were many things told of Bonaparte which were not +true.</p> + +<p>I shall continue the Sub-Prefect's narrative in his own words:—<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a>"Les +Commissaires, en arrivant à Calade, le trouvoient la tête appuyée sur +les deux mains, et le visage baignè de larmes. Il leur dit qu'on en +voulait decidement à sa vie; que la maitresse de l'auberge, qui ne +l'avait pas reconnu lui avait declaré que l'Empereur etait detesté comme +un scelerat, et qu'on ne l'embarquerait que pour le noyer. Il ne +voulait rien manger ni boire quelque instances qu'on lui fit, et +quoiqu'il dut etre rassurè par l'example de ceux qui etaient a tablé +avec lui. Il fit venir de la voiture du pain et de l'eau qu'il prit avec +avidité. On attendait la nuit pour continuer la route; on n'etait qu'à +deux lieues d'Aix. La population de cette ville n'eut pas eté aussi +facile à contenir que celle des villages ou on avait deja couru tant de +perils. Monsieur, le Sous-Prefét, prenant avec lui le Lieutenant des +gend'armes et six gend'armes, se mit en route vers la Calade. La nuit +etait obscure, et le temps froid; cette double circonstance protegea +Napoleon beaucoup mieux que n'aurait fait la plus forte escorte. Mons. +le Sous-Prefét et la gend'armerie rencontrerent le cortege peu +d'instants apres avoir quitté la Calade, et la suivoient jusqu'à ce +qu'ils arriverent aux portes d'Aix à deux heures du matin. Apres avoir +changé les chevaux, Bonaparte continuant sa route, passa sous les murs +de la ville, au milieu des cris repetés de "Vive le Roi," que firent +entendre les habitants accourus sur les remparts. Il arriva a la limite +du departement à une auberge appellee la Grande Prgere, ce fut là qu'il +s'arreta pour dejeuner. Le General Bertrand proposa a Mons. le +Sous-Prefét de monter, avant que de partir, dans la chambre des +Commissaires ou tout le monde etait à dejeuner. Il y avoit dix ou douzes +personnes. Napoleon etait du nombre; il avait son costume d'officier +Autrichien, et une casque sur la tête. Voyant le Sous-Prefét an habit +d'auditeur, il lui dit, "Vous ne m'auriez pas reconnu sons ce costume? +Ce sont ces Messieurs qui me l'ont fait prendre, le jugeant necessaire à +ma sureté. J'aurais pu avoir une escorte de trois mille homines, qui +j'ai refusé, preferant de me fier à la loyauté Française. Je n'ai pas eu +à me plaindre de cette confiance depuis Fontainbleau jusqu'à Avignon; +mais depuis cette ville jusqu'ici j'ai eté insulté,—j'ai couru bien de +dangers. Les Provençaux se dishonnerent. Depuis qui je suis en France je +n'ai pas eu un bon battaillon de Provençeaux sous mes ordres. Ils ne +sont bons que pour crier. Les Gascons sont fanfarons, mais au moins ils +sont braves." Sur ces paroles, un des convives, qui etait sans dout +Gascon, tira son jabot et dit en riant, "Cela fait plaisir."</p> + +<p>Bonaparte continuant à s'addresser an Sous-Prefét, lui dit, "Que fait le +Prefét?" 'Il est parti à la premiere nouvelle du changement survenu à +Paris.' "Et sa femme?" 'Elle etait partie plutôt.'—"Elle avait donc +prit le devant. Paie l'on bien les octrois et les droits reunis?"—'Pas +un sou.'—"Y-a-t-il beaucoup d'Anglais à Marseilles?" Ici Mons. le +Sous-Prefét raconta à Bonaparte tout ce qui s'etait passè naguere dans +ce port, et avec quels transports on avait accueilli les Anglais. +Bonaparte, qui ne prenait pas grand plaisir à ce reçit y mit fin en +disant au Sous-Prefét, "Dites à vos Provençaux que l'Empereur est bien +mecontent d'eux."</p> + +<p>Arrivè a Bouilledon, il se s'enferma dans ua apartment avec sa sœur +(Pauline Borghese)—Des sentinels furent places a la porte. Cependant +des dames arriveés dans un galerie qui communiquait avec cette chambre, +y trouverent un militaire en uniform d'officier Autrichien, qui leur +dit, "Que desirez vous voir, Mesdames?" 'Nous voudrions voir Napoleon.' +"Mais ce'st moi, Mesdames." Ces dames le regardant lui dirent en riant, +'Vous plaisantez, Monsieur; ce n'est pas vous qui etes Napoleon.' "Je +vous assure, Mesdames, ce'st moi. Vous vous imaginez donc que Napoleon +avait l'air plus mechant. N'est pas qu'on dit que je suis un scelerat, +un brigand?" Les dames n'eurent garde de le dementir, Bonaparte ne +voulant pas trop les presser sur ce point detourna le conversation. Mais +toujours occupé de sa premier idée, il y revint brasquement: "Convenez +en Mesdames, leur dit il, maintenant que la Fortune m'est contraire, on +dit que je suis un coquin, un scelerat, un brigand. Mais savez vous ce +que c'est que tout cela? J'ai voula mettre la France au dessus de +l'Angleterre, et j'ai echoué dans ce projet."</p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_a_IV" id="CHAPTER_a_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h3> + +<p class="head">STATE OF FRANCE UNDER NAPOLEON—CONTINUED.</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="head"><i>AGRICULTURE.</i></p> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">T</span><span class="smcap">o</span> +one unacquainted with the present division of society, and the +condition of each of its branches in France; to one who had only cast +his eye, in travelling, over the immense tracts of cultivated land, with +scarcely an acre of waste to diversify the scene, and who had permitted +first impressions to influence his judgement, it might appear, that in +agriculture, France far excelled every other country in the world. In +England, we have immense tracts of common in many of the counties;—in +Scotland; we have our barren hills, our mosses, and moors;—in America, +the cultivation bears but a small proportion to the wilds, the swamps, +and the forests. In our beautiful provinces in the East Indies, the +cultivation forms but a speck in the wide extent of common, and forest, +and jungle. Why should France furnish a different spectacle? Why should +the face of the country there wear a continual smile, while its very +heart is torn with faction, and its energies fettered by tyranny? There +are many who maintain that this state of the country is the happy effect +of the revolution; but it will, I conceive, not be difficult to shew, +that though certainly a consequence of the great change, it is far from +being a happy one. We surely would not pronounce it a happy state of +things, where the interests of all other branches of the community were +sacrificed to promote the welfare of the peasantry alone.</p> + +<p>The peasantry, no doubt, when their rights are preserved to them, as +they are the most numerous, so they become the most important members of +a civil society. "Although," as is well observed by Arthur Young, "they +be disregarded by the superficial, or viewed with contempt by the vain, +they will be placed, by those who judge of things not by their external +appearance, but by their intrinsic worth, as the most useful class of +mankind; their occupations conduce not only to the prosperity, but to +the very existence of society; their life is one unvaried course of +hardy exertion and persevering toil. The vigour of their youth is +exhausted by labour, and what are the hopes and consolations of their +age? Sickness may deprive them of the opportunity of providing the least +supply for the declining years of life, and the gloomy confinement of a +work-house, or the scanty pittance of parochial help, are their only +resources. By their condition may be estimated the real prosperity of a +country; the real opulence, strength, and security of the public are +proportionate to the comfort which they enjoy, and their wretchedness is +a <i>sure criterion of a bad administration</i>."</p> + +<p>I have quoted this passage at length, in order that I might shew that +France supplies us in this case, as in many others, with a wide +exception from those general rules in politics which time and experience +had long sanctioned. We shall in vain look at the state of the peasantry +of that country as affording a criterion of the situation of any other +branch of the community. It did not remain concealed from the deep and +penetrating eye of Napoleon, that if the peasantry of a country were +supported, and their condition improved, any revolution might be +effected; any measure, however tyrannical, provided it did not touch +them, might be executed with ease. For the sake of the peasantry, we +shall perceive that the yeomanry, the farmers, the <i>bourgeoisie</i>, the +nobility, were allowed to dwindle into insignificance. His leading +principle was never to interfere with their properties, however they may +have been obtained; and he invariably found, that if permitted to enjoy +these, they calmly submitted to taxation, furnished recruits for his +conscription, and supported him in every measure.</p> + +<p>In tracing the causes and effects of the various revolutions which take +place among civilized nations, political writers have paid too little +attention to the effects of property. France affords us an interesting +field for investigation on this interesting question; but the narrow +limits of our work will not admit of our indulging in such speculations. +We cannot, however, avoid remarking by the way, that the facility of +effecting a revolution in the government of France, so often shewn of +late, has arisen, in a great measure, from this state of the property +of the peasantry. Under the revolution they gained this property, and +they respected and supported the revolutionists. Under Napoleon, their +property was respected, and they bore with him, and admired him. Louis +commenced by encouraging them in the idea that their rights would be +respected, and they remained quiet:—his Ministers commenced their plans +of restoring to the noblesse their estates, and the King immediately +lost the affections of the peasantry. They welcomed Napoleon a second +time, because they knew his principles: They have again welcomed their +King, because they are led to suppose that experience has changed the +views of his Ministers: but they suspect him, and on the first symptom +of another change they will join in his expulsion.</p> + +<p>The nobility, the great landed proprietors, the yeomanry, the lesser +farmers, all the intermediate ranks who might oppose a check to the +power of a tyrannical prince, are nearly annihilated. The property of +these classes, but more particularly of the nobility, has been +subdivided and distributed among the peasants; become their own, it has, +no doubt, been much better managed, for it is their immediate interest +that not an acre of waste ground should remain. They till it with their +own hands, and, without any intermediate agents, they draw the profits. +Lands thus managed, must, of course, be found in a very different state +from those whose actual proprietor is perhaps never on the spot, who +manages through stewards, bailiffs, and other agents, and whose rank +prevents the possibility of his assisting, or even superintending, the +labour of his peasantry.</p> + +<p>Having shewn the causes of the present appearance of France, we must +describe the effects, by presenting to our readers the picture which was +every where before our eyes in traversing the country. The improvement +in agriculture, or to speak literally, in the method of tilling the +soil, is by no means great. The description of the methods pursued, and +of the routine of crops, given by Arthur Young, corresponds very exactly +with what we saw. It may be observed, however, that the ploughing is +rather more neat, and the harrowing more regular. To an English eye both +of these operations would appear most superficial; but it ought to be +considered, that here nature does almost every thing, little labour is +necessary, and in many parts of the country manure is never used: but +the defect in the quality of the cultivation is somewhat compensated by +the quantity. Scarce an acre of land which would promise to reward the +cultivator will be found untilled. The plains are covered with grain, +and the most barren hills are formed into vineyards. And it will +generally be found, that the finest grapes are the produce of the most +dry, stony, and seemingly barren hills. It is in this extension of the +cultivation that we trace the improvement; but there must also be some +considerable change for the better, though not in the same degree, in +the method of cultivation, which is demonstrated by the fact, that a +considerable rise has taken place in the rent and price of land. In many +places it has doubled within the last twenty-five years; an <i>arpent</i> now +selling for 1000 francs, which was formerly sold for 500.</p> + +<p>It is, however, extraordinary, that these improvements have, as yet, +only shewn their influence in the dress of the peasantry, and no where +in the comfort or neatness of their houses. Between Calais and Paris, +their houses are better than we found them afterwards on our way to the +south. In that direction, also, they were almost invariably well +clothed, having over their other clothes (and not as a substitute for a +coat) a sort of blue linen frock, which had an appearance of attention +to dress, not to be seen in other parts of the country, for the +peasantry in most other parts, though neatly clothed, presented, in the +variety of their habits and costumes, a very novel spectacle. The large +tails, which give them so military an appearance, and impress us with +the idea that they have <i>marched</i>, are by no means a proof of this +circumstance; for we were informed, that the first thing done in most +instances, was to deprive the conscripts of their superabundant hair. +But the long tail and the cocked hat, are worn in imitation of the +higher orders of older time. It is indeed a sight of the most amusing +kind to the English eye, to behold a French peasant at his work, in +velvet coat and breeches, powdered hair, and a cocked hat. But we do not +mean to give this as the usual dress of the peasants, although we have +frequently met with it. Their dress is very often as plain, neat, and +sufficient, as their houses are the reverse.</p> + +<p>In Picardy, the luxuriant fruit-trees which surround the cottages and +houses, give an appearance of comfort, which is not borne out by the +actual state of the houses on a nearer inspection. Near Laon, and +towards the frontiers of French Flanders, the condition of the peasantry +appeared exceedingly comfortable. Their dress was very neat, and their +houses much more substantial, and, in some parts, ornament was added to +strength. In this district, the people had the advantage of being +employed in the linen manufacture in their own houses, besides their +ordinary agricultural occupations; and their condition reminded us of +the effects of this intermixture of occupations presented by a view of +Clydesdale in Scotland, or of the West Riding of Yorkshire.</p> + +<p>Towards Fontainbleau, and to the east of Paris, on the road of Soissons, +the peasantry inhabit the old villages, or rather little towns, and no +cottages are to be seen on the lands. No gardens are attached to the +houses in these towns. The houses have there an appearance of age, want +of repair, and a complete stagnation of commerce. And even the peasantry +there seemed considerably reduced, but they were always well dressed, +and by no means answered Arthur Young's description. Still their houses +denoted great want of comfort; very little furniture was to be seen, and +that either of the very coarsest kind, or of the gaudy and gilded +description, which shewed whence it came. The intermixture is hideous. +In the parts of the country above named; the food often consisted of +bread and pork, and was better than what we found in the south. But +even here, the small number of pigs, the poor flocks of sheep, and, +indeed, the absence of any species of pasture for cattle, demonstrated +that there was not a general or extensive consumption of animal food or +the produce of the dairy.</p> + +<p>The little demand for butcher meat, or the produce of pasture, is +probably, as Arthur Young has hinted, one great cause of the continuance +of the fallow system of husbandry in France; for where there is no +consumption of these articles, it is impossible that a proper rotation +of crops can be introduced.</p> + +<p>In noticing the causes of the decided improvement in the condition of +the peasantry, we may observe in passing, that the great consumption of +human life, during the revolution, and more particularly under +Napoleon's conscription, must have considerably bettered the condition +of those who remained, and who were able for work, by increasing the +price of labour.</p> + +<p>The industry of the peasants in every part of the country, cannot be +sufficiently praised—it as remarkable as the apathy and idleness of +tradesmen and artificers. Every corner of soil is by them turned to +account, and where they have gardens, they are kept very neat. The +defects in the cultivation arise, therefore, from the goodness of the +climate, the ignorance or poverty of the cultivators, or from inveterate +prejudice.</p> + +<p>We must now say a few words with regard to the state of agriculture and +the condition of the peasantry between Paris and Aix, and more +especially in the south of France. Here also every acre of land is +turned to good account, but the method of tilling the land is very +defective. The improvements in agriculture, in modern times, will be +found to owe their origin to men of capital, of education, and of +liberal ideas, and such men are not to be found here. The prejudices and +the poverty of their ancestors, have not ceased to have their effects in +the present generation, in retarding the improvement in the tillage, and +in the farm instruments. They are, in this respect, at least a century +behind us. From the small subdivisions in many parts of the country, +each family is enabled to till its own little portion with the spade; +and where the divisions are larger, and ploughs used, they will +invariably be found rude, clumsy, enormous masses of wood and iron, weak +from the unskilfulness of the workmanship, continuing from father to son +without improvement, because improvement would not only injure their +purses, but give a deadly wound to that respect and veneration which +they have for the good old ways of their ancestors. There is endless +variety in the shape and size of the French plough; but amid the +innumerable kinds of them, we never had the good fortune to meet one +good or sufficient instrument.</p> + +<p>The use of machinery in the farm-stead is unknown, and grain, as of old, +is very generally trodden by oxen, sometimes on the sides of the high +roads, and winnowed by the breath of Heaven.</p> + +<p>In the south of France, we met with much more regular enclosure than +around Paris; but even here, little attention is bestowed in keeping the +fences in repair. Hedges are, however, less necessary in the south than +elsewhere; for there is a complete want of live stock of every +description, and no attention paid to the breeding of it. This want does +not strike the traveller immediately, because he finds butcher meat +pretty good in the small towns; excellent in the larger cities, and +cheap everywhere. But he will find, that France is, in this respect, +much in the same state with India. Animal food is cheap, because the +consumption is very limited. In France, but more particularly in the +south, I should say that not one-sixth of the butcher meat is consumed +by each man or woman which would be requisite in England. Bread, wine, +fruit, garlic, onions and oil, with occasionally a small portion of +animal food, form the diet of the lower orders; and among the higher +ranks, the method of cooking makes a little meat go a great way. The +immense joints of beef and mutton, to which we are accustomed in +England, were long the wonder of the French; but latterly, they have +begun to introduce (among what they humorously term <i>plats de +resistance</i>) these formidable dishes.</p> + +<p>Excepting in the larger towns, butcher meat, particularly beef and +mutton, is generally ill fed. In the part of the south, where we resided +during the winter, the beef was procured from Lyons, a distance of above +200 miles. In the south, the breed of cattle of every description is +small and stinted, and unless when pampered up for the market, they are +generally very poor and ill fed. The traveller is everywhere struck with +the difference between the English and French horses, cows, pigs, sheep, +&c. and in more than the half of France, he will find, for the reasons +formerly assigned, an almost total want of attention to these useful +animals among the farmers. At Aix, where we were situated, there was +only one cow to be found. Our milk was supplied by goats and sheep; and +all the butter consumed there, excepting a very small quantity made from +goat's milk, was also brought from Lyons. This want is not so much felt +in Provence; because, for their cookery, pastry, &c. they use olive oil, +which, when fresh, is very pleasant.</p> + +<p>The want of barns, sheds, granaries, and all other farm buildings, is +very conspicuous in the south. The dairy is there universally neglected, +and milk can only be had early in the morning, and then in very small +quantity; nay, the traveller may often journey a hundred miles in the +south of France without being able to procure milk at all; this we +ourselves experienced. The eye is nowhere delighted with the sight of +rich and flourishing farm-steads, nor do the abundant harvests of France +make any shew in regular farm-yards. All the wealth of the peasantry is +concealed. Each family hides the produce of their little estate within +their house. An exhibition of their happy condition would expose them to +immediate spoliation from the tax-officers. In our own happy country, +the rich farm-yard, the comfortable dwelling-house of the farmer, and +the neat smiling cottage of the labourer, call down on the possessors +only the applause and approbation of his landlord, of his neighbours, +and of strangers. They raise him in the general opinion. In France, they +would prove his ruin.</p> + +<p>To conclude these few observations on the state of agriculture, we may +remark, that the revolution has certainly tended greatly to promote the +extension of the cultivation, by throwing the property of the lands into +the hands of the peasantry, who are the actual cultivators, and also by +removing the obstructions occasioned by the seignorial rights, the +titles, game laws, corveès; yet I think there cannot be a doubt, that, +aided by capital, and by the more liberal ideas of superior farmers +benefiting by the many new and interesting discoveries in modern +agriculture, France might, without that terrible convulsion, have shewn +as smiling an aspect, and the science of agriculture been much further +advanced.</p> + +<p>If, by the revolution, the situation of the peasantry be improved, we +must not forget, on the other hand, that to effect this improvement, the +nobility, gentry, yeomanry, and, we might almost add, farmers, have been +very generally reduced to beggary. The restraint which the existence of +these orders ever opposed to the power of a bad king, of a tyrant, or of +an adventurer, might have remained, and all have been happier, better, +and richer than they are now.</p> + + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="head"><i>COMMERCE.</i></p> + + +<p>It was probably the first wish of Napoleon's heart, as it was also his +wisest policy, that the French should become entirely a military, not a +commercial nation. Under his government, the commerce of France was +nearly annihilated. It was however necessary, that at times he should +favour the commercial interest of the towns in the interior, from which +he drew large supplies of money, and his constant enmity against the +sea-port towns of Marseilles and Bourdeaux, induced him to encourage the +interior commerce of France, to the prejudice of the maritime trade of +these ports. Under Napoleon, Paris, Lyons, Rouen, and most of the large +towns which carried on this interior commerce, were lately in a +flourishing state. In these towns, if not beloved, he was at least +tolerated, and they wished for no change of government. But at +Marseilles, and at Bourdeaux, he was detested, and a very strong +royalist party existed, which caused him constant annoyance. At +Bourdeaux, it may be recollected, that the Bourbons were received with +open arms, and that that town was the first to open its gates to the +allies. It was also among the last that held out. I was in that town +while the royalist party were still powerful, while every thing shewed a +flourishing commerce, while the people were happy; the wine trade was +daily enriching the inhabitants, and they blessed the return of peace, +and of their lawful princes. In two days the face of things was changed. +A party of soldiers, 300 strong, were dispatched by Napoleon, under the +command of General Clausel. The troops of the line here, as everywhere +else, betrayed their trust, and joined the rebels, and Bourdeaux was +delivered up to the spoiler.</p> + +<p>Never was there a more melancholy spectacle than that now afforded by +the inhabitants of this city. You could not enter a shop where you did +not find the owners in tears. We were then all hastening to leave +France. They embraced us, and prayed that our army might soon be among +them to restore peace and the Bourbons. Here I am convinced that +Bonaparte is hated by all but the military. Yet what could a town like +Bourdeaux effect, when its own garrison betrayed it?</p> + +<p>Besides the bad effects of Bonaparte's policy on the commerce of France, +I must notice the wide influence of another cause, which was the natural +result of the revolution. Although at first an attack was only made +against the noblesse, yet latterly, every rich and powerful family was +included among the proscribed, and all the commercial houses of the +first respectability were annihilated. These have never been replaced, +and the upstart race of petty traders have not yet obtained the +confidence of foreigners. The trade of France is therefore very +confined; and even were opportunities now afforded of establishing a +trade with foreign nations, it would be long before France could benefit +by it, from the total want of established and creditable houses.</p> + +<p>The manifest signs of the decay of commerce in France cannot escape the +observation of the traveller, more especially if he has been in the +habit of travelling in England. The public diligences are few in number, +and most miserably managed. It is difficult to say whether the +carriage, the horses, or the harness, gives most the idea of meanness. +Excepting in the neighbourhood of large towns, you meet with not a cart, +or waggon, for twenty that the same distance would show in England. The +roads are indeed excellent in most parts; but this is not in France, as +in most countries, a proof of a flourishing commerce. It is for the +conveyance of military stores, and to facilitate the march of the +troops, that the police are required to keep the roads in good repair. +The villages and towns throughout France, are in a state of dilapidation +from want of repair. No new houses, shops, and warehouses building, as +we behold every where in England. None of that hurry and bustle in the +streets, and on the quays of the sea-port towns, which our blessed +country can always boast. The dress of the people, their food, their +style of living, their amusements, their houses, all bespeak extreme +poverty and want of commerce.</p> + +<p>I was at some pains in ascertaining whether, in many of their +manufactures, they were likely to rival us or injure our own.—I cannot +say I have found one of consequence. There are indeed one or two +articles partially in demand among us, in which the French have the +superiority; silks, lace, gloves, black broad cloth, and cambric are +the chief among them. The woollen cloths in France are extremely +beautiful, and the finer sorts, I think, of a superior texture to any +thing we have in England; but the price is always double, and sometimes +treble of what they sell for at home, so that we have not much to fear +from their importations. Few of the French can afford to wear these fine +cloths.</p> + +<p>French watches are manufactured at about one half of the English price; +but the workmanship is very inferior to ours, and unless as trinkets for +ladies' wear, they do not seem much in estimation in England. The +cutlery in France is wretched. Not only the steel, but the temper and +polish, are far inferior to ours. A pair of English razors is, to this +day, a princely present in France. Hardware is flimsy, ill finished, and +of bad materials. All leather work, such as saddlery, harness, shoes, +&c. is wretchedly bad, but undersells our manufactures of the same kind +by about one half. Cabinet work and furniture is handsome, shewy, +insufficient, and dear. Jewellery equal, if not superior to ours in +neatness, but not so sufficient. Hats and hosiery very indifferent. In +glass ware we greatly excel the French, except in the manufacture of +mirrors. Musical instruments of all descriptions are made as well, and +at half the English price, in France. In every thing else, not here +mentioned, as far as my memory serves me, I think I may report the +manufactures of France greatly inferior to those in England. I have +sometimes heard it stated, that in the manufacture of calicoes, muslins, +and other cotton goods, the French are likely to rival us. On this +subject I was not able to obtain the information I wished for, but one +fact I can safely mention, the price of all these goods is at present, +in most parts of France, nearly double what it is in England or +Scotland, and their machinery is not to be compared with our own.</p> + + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="head"><i>WEALTH OF THE NATION AND ITS DIVISION.</i></p> + +<p>To the traveller in France, every thing seems to denote extreme poverty, +and that extending its influence over all ranks of society; and +certainly, compared with England, France is wretchedly poor. But many of +its resources remain hidden, and it is certain, that on the demands of +its despotic ruler, France produced unlooked-for supplies. His wars have +now greatly exhausted this hidden treasure, and there is, fortunately +for the peace of the world, very little money left in the country. The +marks of the wealth of the country, both absolutely, and in relation to +other countries, are to be found in the manner of living, and extent of +fortunes of its inhabitants; in the size, comfort, and style of their +houses; in their dress and amusements; in the price of labour; the +salaries of office; the trade and commerce of the country; the number of +country houses, of banks, &c. In examining each of these heads, we shall +find that France is a very poor country.</p> + +<p>The sum of two thousand pounds a-year is reckoned a noble fortune in +France, and very, very few, there are that possess that sum.</p> + +<p>One thousand pounds a-year constitutes a handsome fortune for a +gentleman; and four hundred for a <i>bourgeois</i>, or for one employed in +trade or commerce. Few of the nobility are now possessed of fortunes +sufficient to maintain a carriage; and none under the rank of princes, +in France, have <i>now</i> more than one carriage.</p> + +<p>The style of living is wretched: only the first, and richest houses, can +afford to entertain company, and those but seldom. It requires a large +fortune to maintain a regular cook; in half the houses they have only a +dirty scullion, who, among her other work, cooks the dinner. In the +other half, a traiteur sends in the dinner; or if a bachelor, the master +of the house dines at a <i>table d'hôte</i>, as a <i>pensionaire</i>.</p> + +<p>The interior management of the French houses denotes extreme poverty. +Some few articles of splendid furniture are displayed for shew in one or +two rooms, while the rest of the house is shut up, and left dirty and +ill furnished.</p> + +<p>Of their dress and amusements I have already said enough, to shew that +they denote poverty, and I shall say more when I come to the French +character.</p> + +<p>The price of labour is far lower than what we are used to, fluctuating +from fifteen to twenty pence a-day. The salaries of office are, +throughout France, not above one-third what they are in England. Of the +want of trade and commerce I have already spoken. The public banks are +very few in number, and only to be found in very large and commercial +towns. Country houses and fine estates, there are none, or where they +are found, it is in a state of dilapidation.</p> + +<p>Where, then, is the wealth of France? I was at some pains to solve this +question. The remaining wealth of France is divided among the generals +of Napoleon; the army furnishers and contractors; the prefects, +sub-prefects; the numerous receivers and collectors of taxes; and, +lastly, but chiefly, the peasantry. It may appear strange to those who +are not acquainted with the present state of France, that I have +mentioned the peasants among the richest; but I am convinced of the +fact. The peasants in France have divided among themselves the lands and +property of the emigrants. Napoleon drew supplies from them; but very +politically maintained them in their possessions. Their condition, and +the condition of the lands, shew them to be in easy circumstances. They +are well clothed, and abundantly, though poorly fed.</p> + +<p>France is, in fine, a very poor country, compared with our own; but it +is not without resources, and its wealth will remain concealed as long +as it is under Napoleon; for whoever shewed wealth, was by him marked +out as an object of plunder. By allowing unlimited power to his +emissaries and spies, he was able to discover where the wealth lay, and +by vesting the same power in his prefects, sub-prefects, receivers, and +gend'armes, he seized on it when discovered. In the public prints, +previous to his downfall, we may observe almost continually the thanks +of Government to the farmers, proprietors, and others, for <i>their +patriotic exertions in supplying horses, grain, &c.</i> In these cases, the +<i>patriotic farmers</i> had bands of gend'armerie stationed over them, who +drove away their horses, their cattle and grain, without the hope even +of payment or redress of any kind. Nothing denotes more the poverty of +the country, than the want of horses, of cows, and all kinds of live +stock.</p> + +<p>In no country in the world is there found so great a number of beggars +as in France; and yet there are not wanting in every town establishments +for the maintenance of the poor. These beggars are chiefly from among +the manufacturing classes; the families of soldiers and labourers. The +peasants are seldom reduced to this state, or when reduced, they are +succoured by their fellow peasants, and do not beg publicly. The +national poverty has had the worst effects on the French character; in +almost every station in life they will be found capable of meanness. +What can be more disgusting, than to see people of fashion and family +reduced to the necessity of letting to strangers their own rooms, and +retiring into garrets and other dirty holes—demanding exorbitant +prices, and with perfect indifference taking half or a third—higgling +for every article they purchase—standing in dirty wrappers at their +doers, seeing the wood weighed in the street, on terms of familiarity +with tradesmen and their own servants. All this you see in France daily; +but on this subject I have elsewhere made observations.</p> + +<p>As connected with this part of the subject, a few words must be said on +the condition of the towns and villages; for although I had at first +intended to treat this, and the situation of the different ranks, as +separate subjects; yet they seem to come in more naturally at present, +when speaking of the wealth of France and its division. The towns +throughout France, as well as the villages, particularly in the south, +have an appearance of decay and dilapidation. The proprietors have not +the means of repair. It is customary (I suppose from the heat of the +climate), to build the houses very large; to repair a French house, +therefore, is very expensive: and it will generally be seen, that in +most, houses only one or two rooms are kept in repair, and furnished, +while the rest of the house is crumbling to pieces. This is the case +with all the great houses; in those of the common people we should +expect more comfort, as they are small, and do not need either expensive +repair or gay furniture; but comfort is unknown in France. On entering a +small house in one of the villages, we find the people huddled together +as they are said to do in some parts of England and Scotland. Men, +women, dogs, cats, pigs, goats, &c.—no glass in the windows—doors +shattered—truckle-beds—a few earthen pots; and with all this filth, we +find, perhaps, half a dozen velvet or brocade covered chairs; a broken +mirror, or a marble slab-table; these are the articles plundered in +former days of terror and revolution. All caffés and hotels in the +villages are thus furnished.</p> + +<p>The streets in almost every town in France are without pavement. Would +any one believe, that in the great city, as the French call it, there is +a total want of this convenience? On this subject, Mercier, in his +Tableaux de Paris, has this remark: <a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a>"Dès qu'on est sur le pavè de +Paris, ou voit que le peuple n'y fait pas les loix;—aucune commoditè +pour les gens de pied—point de trottoirs—le peuple semble un corps +separè des autres ordres de l'etat—les riches et les grands qui ont +equipage ont le droit de l'ecraser ou de le mutiler dans les rues—cent +victimes expirent par annee sous les rues des voiture."</p> + +<p>Besides the want of pavement to protect us from the carriages, and to +keep our feet dry, we have to encounter the mass of filth and dirt, +which the nastiness of the inhabitants deposits, and which the police +suffers to remain. The state of Edinburgh in its worst days, as +described by our English neighbours, was never worse than what you meet +with in France. The danger of walking the streets at night is very +great, and the perfumes of Arabia do not prevail in the morning.</p> + +<p>The churches in all the villages are falling to ruin, and in many +instances are converted into granaries, barracks, and hospitals; +manufacturing establishments are also in ruins, scarcely able to +maintain their workmen; their owners have no money for the repair of +their buildings. The following description of the changes that have +taken place in the French villages, is better than any thing I can give; +and from what I have seen, it is perfectly correct:</p> + +<p><a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a>"Avant la revolution, le village se composait de quatre mille +habitans. Il fournissait pour sa part, au service general de l'Eglise et +des hopitaux, ainsi qu'aux besoins de l'instruction cinq eclesiastiques, +deux sœurs de la charité, et trois maitres d'ecol. Ces derniers sont +remplacé par un maitre d'equitation, un maitre de dessin et deux maitres +de musique. Sur huit fabriques d'etoffes de laisne et de coton, il ne +reste plus qu'une seule. En revanche il s'est etabli deux caffés, un +tabaque, un restaurat, et un billiard qui prosperent d'une maniere +surprenante. On comptait autrefois quarante charretiers de labour; +vingt-cinq d'entre eux sont devenus couriers, piqueurs, et cochès. Ce +vuide est remplie par autant de femmes, qui dirigent la charette et qui +pour se delasser de tems en tems menent au marché des voitures de paille +ou de charbon. Le nombre de charpentiers, de maçons, et d'autres +artisans est diminué à peu pres de moitie. Mais le prix de tout les +genres de main d'œuvre ayant aussi augmenté de moitie—cela revient au +meme—et la compensation se retablit. Une espece d'individus que le +village fournit en grande abondance, et dans des proportions trop +fortes ce sont les domestiques de luxe et de livrée. Pour peu que cela +dure on achevera de depeupler le campagne de gens utiles qui le +cultivent pour peupler les villes d'individus oisifs et corrompus. +Beaucoup de femmes et de jeunes filles, qui n'etaient que des +couturiers, et des servantes de femmes, ont aussi trouvè de l'avancement +dans la capitale, et dans les grandes villes. Elles sont devenues femmes +de chambre—brodeuses—et marchandes des modes. On dirait que le luxe a +entreprit de pomper la jeunesse; toutes les idèes et tous les regards +sont tournès vers lui à aucun epoque anterieure le contingent du village +en hommes de loi—huissiers—etudiants en droits, mediçins, poetes et +artistes, ne s'etait eleve au dela de trois ou quatre; il s'eleve +maintenant à soixante deux, et une chose qu'on n'aurait jamais su +imaginer autrefois c'est qu'il y a dans le nombre autant de peintres, de +poetes, de comediens, de danseuses de theatre et de musiciens ambulans, +qu'une ville de quatre vingt mille hommes aurait pu en fournir il y a +trente ou quarante ans."</p> + +<p>Another mark of the poverty of France at present occurs to me: In every +town, but particularly in the large cities, we are struck with numbers +of idle young men and women who are seen in the streets. Now that the +army no longer carries away the "surplus population of France," (to use +the language of Bonaparte), the number of these idlers is greatly +increased. The great manufacturing concerns have long ceased to employ +them. France is too poor to continue the public works which Napoleon had +every where begun. The French have no money for the improvement of their +estates, the repair of their houses, or the encouragement of the +numerous trades and professions which thrive by the costly taste and +ever-varying fashion of a luxurious and rich community. Being on the +subject of taste and fashion, I must not forget that I noticed the dress +and amusements of the French as offering a mark of their poverty. The +great meanness of their dress must particularly strike every English +traveller; for I believe there is no country in the world where all +ranks of people are so well dressed as in England. It is not indeed +astonishing to see the nobility, the gentry, and those of the liberal +professions well clothed, but to see every tradesman, and every +tradesman's apprentice, wearing the same clothes as the higher orders; +to see every servant as well, if not better clothed than his master, +affords a clear proof of the riches of a country. In the higher ranks +among the French, a gentleman has indeed a good suit of clothes, but +these are kept for wearing in the evening on the promenade, or at a +party. In the morning, clothes of the coarsest texture, and often much +worn, or even ragged, are put on. If you pay a lady or gentleman a +morning visit, you find them so metamorphosed as scarcely to be known; +the men in dirty coarse cloth great coats, wide sackcloth trowsers and +slippers; the women in coarse calico wrappers, with a coloured +handkerchief tied round their hair. All the little gaudy finery they +possess is kept for the evening, but even then there is nothing either +costly or elegant, or neat, as with us. In their amusements also is the +poverty of the people manifested. A person residing in Paris, and who +had travelled no further, would think that this observation was unjust, +for in Paris there is no want of amusements; the theatres are numerous, +and all other species of entertainment are to be found. But in the +smaller towns, one little dirty theatre, ill lighted, with ragged +scenery, dresses, and a beggarly company of players, is all that is to +be found. The price of admittance is also very low. The poverty of the +people will not admit of the innumerable descriptions of amusements +which we find in every little town in England: amateur concerts are +sometimes got up, but for want of funds they seldom last long. My +subscription to one of these at the town where we resided, was five +francs per month, or about a shilling each concert. This may be taken as +a specimen of the price of French amusements.</p> + + +<p class="head"><i>STATE OF RELIGION</i>.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> order of the priesthood in France had suffered greatly in the +revolution. They were everywhere scouted and reviled, either for being +supporters of the throne, or for being rich, or for being <i>moderès</i>. +Napoleon found them in this condition; he never more than tolerated +them, and latterly, by his open attack and cruel treatment of their +chief, he struck the last and severest blow against the church. Unable +to bear the insults of the military, deprived of the means of support, +many of the clergy either emigrated or concealed themselves. In the +principal towns, indeed, the great establishments took the oath of +allegiance to the tyrant; but the inferior clergy and the country +curates met nowhere with encouragement, and were allowed to starve, or +to pick up a scanty pittance by teaching schools in a community who +laughed at education, at morality, and religion.</p> + +<p>Many of the churches, convents, and monasteries were demolished; many +were converted into barracks, storehouses, and hospitals. We saw but +<i>one</i> village church in our travels through France, and even in the +larger towns we found the places of public worship in a state of +dilapidation. I went to see the palace of the Archbishop at Aix; out of +a suite of most magnificent rooms, about 30 in number, <i>one miserable +little chamber was furnished for his highness</i>. In the rest, the +grandeur of former days was marked by the most beautiful tapestry on +some part of the walls, while other parts had been laid bare and daubed +over with caps of liberty, and groupes of soldiers and guillotines, and +indecent inscriptions. The nitches for statues, and the frames of +pictures, were seen empty. The objects which formerly filled them were +dashed to pieces or burnt.</p> + +<p>The conduct of the people at the churches marked the low state of +religion: the higher ranks talked in whispers, and even at times loudly, +on their family concerns, their balls and concerts. The peasantry and +lower ranks behaved with more decency, but seemed to think the service a +mere form; they came in at all hours, and staid but a few minutes; went +out and returned.</p> + +<p>We had in our small society some very respectable clergymen; but I am +sorry to say, we had one instance shewing the immoral tendency of the +celibacy of the clergy.</p> + +<p>Very few of the convents remain. I have detailed our visit to one of +them in my journal; we found every thing decent and well conducted, but +not with any thing like the strictness and rigour we expected. At Aix +there was a small establishment of Ursulines, a very strict order; there +was also a penitentiary establishment of Magdalenes, the rules of which +were said by the people of Aix to be of the most inhuman nature. The +caterers for the establishment were ordered to buy only spoilt +provisions for food; fasting was prescribed for weeks together; and the +miserable young women lay on boards a foot in breadth, with scarce any +clothing. Their whole dress, when they went out, consisted of a shift +and gown of coarsest hard blanket stuff. They were employed in educating +young children. I once met a party of them walking out with their +charges, who were chanting hymns and decorating these miserable walking +skeletons with flowers.</p> + +<p>We had also at Aix a very celebrated preacher named De Coq. I went to +hear him, and, though much struck with his fluency of language, did not +much admire his style of preaching; there was too much of cant and +declamation, and at times he made a most intolerable noise, roaring as +if he were addressing an army. This man, however, succeeded in drawing +tears from the audience; but this did not surprise me, for it is +astonishing how easily this is accomplished. This reminds me of a scene +which I witnessed one evening at the theatre at Aix. We were seated next +an old Marquise with whom we were acquainted. The tragedy of Meropè, and +particularly the part of the son Egistus, was butchered in a very +superior style; the Marquise turned to my sister, and said to her, "Oh +how touching! how does it happen that it does not make you cry? But you +shall see me cry in a minute; I shall just think of my poor son whom +Napoleon took for the conscription." She then by degrees worked herself +up into a fit of tears, and really cried for a pretty tolerable space of +time. A most amusing soliloquy took place at our house the night before +the national guard left Aix, in pursuit of Bonaparte. This lady came to +pay us a visit; and after crying very prettily, she exclaimed, "Oh, the +<i>barbare</i>, he has taken away my son—he has ruined my concert which I +had fixed for Thursday—we were to have had such music!—and Jule, my +son, was to have sung; but Jule is gone, perhaps to——<i>Oh, mon Dieu! +mon Dieu!</i>—and I had laid out three hundred pounds in repairing my +houses at Marseilles, and not one of them will now be let—and I had +engaged Ciprè (a fiddler), for Thursday; and we should have been so +happy."—But this is a most extraordinary episode to introduce when +talking of the state of religion.</p> + +<p>Some measures taken latterly by the King, seem to have been but ill +received by the French, and they then shewed how little attention they +were inclined to pay to religious restraints, which were at variance +with their interests and their pleasures: I allude to the shutting of +the theatres and the shops on Sunday. Perhaps, considering the nature of +their religion, and the long habit which had sanctioned the devoting of +this day to amusement, the measure was too hasty. Certain it is, that +neither this measure, nor the celebration of the death of Louis XVI. did +any good to the Bourbon cause. The last could not fail to awaken many +disagreeable feelings of remorse and of shame: It was a kind of +punishment to all who had in any way joined in that horrid event. At +Aix, the solemn ceremony was repeatedly interrupted by the noise of the +military. We remarked one man in particular, who continued laughing, +and beating his musket on the ground. On leaving the church, our +landlord told us, he was one of those who had led one of the Marseilles +bands at that time; and that there were in that small community, who had +assembled in church, more than five or six others of the same +description. How many of these men must there have been in all France +whose feelings, long laid asleep, were awakened by such a ceremony!</p> + +<hr class="ten" /> +<p class="head"><i>ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE</i>.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Napoleon's</span> greatest ambition was to inter-meddle with everything in the +kingdom. With most of the changes which his restless spirit has +produced, the French have no great reason to be satisfied; but all +agree, that with regard to the administration of justice, and the +courts, for the trial of civil suits in France, the alterations which he +has introduced, have been ultimately of essential benefit to the +country. Previous to his accession to the government, the sources of +equity were universally contaminated, and the influence of corruption +most deeply felt in every part of the constitution of their courts. On +the accession of Napoleon to the throne, the most respectable and able +men among the judges and magistrates were continued in their +appointments, and the vacancies, occasioned by the dismission of those +found guilty of corruption, (many of whom had, during the confusions of +the revolution, actually seized their situations), were supplied, in +frequent instances, by those of the older nobility, whose characters and +principles were known and respected. In addition to this, the civil and +the criminal codes were both carefully revised. In this revisal, the +greatest legal talents in the nation were employed. The laws of +different nations, more particularly of England, were brought to +contribute in the formation of a new code; and by a compilation from the +Roman, the French and the English law, a new institute, or body of civil +and criminal justice, was formed, intended for the regulation of the +whole kingdom. Previous to this change, it must be observed, that the +laws, in the different provinces of the kingdom, were in some measure +formed <i>upon</i>, and always interwoven <i>with</i>, the particular observances +and customs of their respective provinces; the inevitable consequence +was, that every province, possessing different usages, had also a +different code. <a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a>"La bizarrerie des loix," says Mercier, "et la +varieté des coutumes font que l'avocat le plus savant devient un ignore +des qu'il se trouve en Gasgogne, ou en Normandie. Il perd a Vernon, un +procés qu'il avoit gagné a Poissy. Prenez le plus habile pour la +consultation, et la plaidoyerie, eh bien, il sera obligé d'avoir son +avocat et son procureur, si on lui intente un proces dans le resort de +la plupart des autres parlemens." The consequence of this was an +uncertainty, intricacy, and want of any thing like regulating principles +in the laws, and an incoherency and inconsistency in the administration +of both civil and criminal justice.</p> + +<p>The improvements introduced by the late Emperor, have therefore, +considered under this point of view, been of no common benefit to the +kingdom, as they have given, to some measure, certainty, principle and +consistency, the essential attributes of good laws, to what was +formerly a mass of confusion.</p> + +<p>At Aix, where we resided, the head court is held for four provinces, and +there is a college for the study of law and divinity. Most of the +acquaintances I there formed were gentlemen belonging to the law; many +of them had been liberally educated, were men of talents, and some of +them possessed acquirements which would have done honour to any bar. The +opinion of all these was strongly in favour of the new codes; and they +go so far as to say, that when the matter comes under consideration, +there are very few things which the present government will change, and +very few judges who will lose their situations.</p> + +<p>They allowed, however, that latterly, Napoleon had forgotten his usual +moderation, and, incensed against the importation of foreign +merchandise, had instituted a court, and formed a new and most rigorous +code for the trial of all cases of smuggling and contraband trade. But +fortunately for the people, this court had scarcely commenced its severe +inflictions, when the deposition of Napoleon, and the subsequent peace +with England, rendered its continuance unnecessary. The punishments +awarded by this court, were, in their rigour, infinitely more terrible +than that of any other in Europe. There was not the slightest +proportionment of the punishment to the offence. For the sale of the +smallest proportion of contraband goods, the unfortunate culprit was +condemned immediately to eight or ten years labour amongst the +galley-slaves. For the weightier offences, the importation of larger +quantities of forbidden goods, perpetual labour, and even death, were +not unfrequently pronounced.</p> + +<p>I was informed, that when Napoleon commanded the Senate to pass the +decree for the institution of this court, one of the members asked him, +if he believed he would find Frenchmen capable of executing his orders, +and enforcing such laws? His answer was, "my salaries will soon find +judges;" and the consequence of this determination, upon his part, was, +that while he paid the judges of the other tribunals at Aix by a +miserable annuity of one hundred and fifty pounds, and two hundred +pounds, the judges of the court of contraband were ordered to receive +seven hundred pounds and eight hundred pounds. Napoleon was perfectly +right in his opinion; that such was the want of honour and principle, +and such the excessive poverty of France, that these salaries would soon +find judges. I have heard from unquestionable authority, that, for the +last vacancy which was filled up in that court, there were ten +candidates.</p> + +<p>The court-room, in which this law tribunal was held, is now occupied by +a society of musical amateurs, and a concert was given there, during our +stay at Aix, once every week. One of the lawyers, in talking of this +court, informed me, that in that very room, where the judges of the +court of contraband sat, he had played in comedy and tragedy, pleaded +causes, had taken his part in concerts, and danced at balls, under its +several revolutions, its different political phases of a theatre, a +court of justice, a concert and a ball-room. Exactly similar to this was +the fate of the churches, palaces, and the houses of individuals under +Napoleon, which were alternately barracks, hospitals, stables, courts of +justice, <i>caffés, restaurats</i>, &c.</p> + +<p>The penal code of the late Emperor breathes throughout a spirit of +humanity, which must astonish every one acquainted with his character. +The punishment of death, which, according to Blackstone, may be +inflicted by the English law in one hundred and sixty different +offences, is now in France confined to the very highest crimes only; the +number of which does not exceed twelve. A minute attention has been +paid to the different degrees of guilt in the commission of the same +crime; and according to these, the punishments are as accurately +proportioned as the cases will permit. One species of capital punishment +has been ordained instead of that multitude of cruel and barbarous +deaths which were marshalled in terrible array along the columns of the +former code. This punishment is decapitation. The only exception to this +is in the case of parricide, in which, previous to decapitation, the +right hand is cut off; and in the punishment for high-treason, in which +the prisoner is made to walk barefoot, and with a crape veil over his +head to the scaffold, where he is beheaded. Torture was abolished by +Louis XVI., and has never afterwards been resumed.</p> + +<p>After Napoleon had it in view to form a new code for France, he was at +great pains to collect together the most upright and honourable, as well +as the most able amongst the French lawyers; the principal members of +whom were Tronchet, one of the counsel who spoke boldly and openly in +defence of the unfortunate Louis XVI., Portalis, Malville, and Bigot de +Preameneau. Under such superintendance, the work was finished in a short +time.</p> + +<p>The trial by jury has been for some time established in France; but the +Emperor, dreading that so admirable an institution, if managed with an +impartial hand might, in too serious a manner, impose restraint upon his +individual despotism, took particular care to subject those crimes, +which he dreaded might arise out of the feelings of the public, to the +cognisance of special tribunals. All trials originating out of the +conscription, are placed under the care of a special court, composed of +a certain number of the criminal judges and military officers. In +France, there is no grand jury; but its place is supplied by that which +they have denominated the <i>Juré d'Accusation</i>. This is a court composed +of a few members amongst the civil judges, assisted by the +Procureur-General or Attorney-General. Their juries for the trial of +criminals are selected from much higher classes in society than with us +in England; a circumstance the effect of absolute necessity, owing to +the extreme ignorance of the middling ranks and the lower classes. In +the conducting of criminal trials, the manner of procedure is in a great +measure different from our English form. A criminal, when first +apprehended, is carried, before the magistrate of the town, generally +the Mayor. He there undergoes repeated examinations; all the witnesses, +are summoned and examined, in a manner similar to the precognitions +taken before the Sheriff of Scotland, and the whole process is nearly as +tedious as upon the trial. All the papers and declarations are then sent +with the accused, to the <i>Juré d'Accusation</i>, who also thoroughly +examine the prisoner and the witnesses; if grounds are found for the +trial, the papers are immediately laid before the "<i>Cour d'Assize</i>." +Before this court, the prisoner is again specially examined by its +president. His former declarations are compared and confronted with his +present answers, and the strongest evidence against him, is often in +this manner extracted from his own story. It might certainly be +imagined, that with all these precautions, it would be scarcely possible +that the guilty should escape. The very contrary is the case, and I have +been informed by some of the ablest lawyers in the courts here, that out +of ten prisoners, really guilty, six haves good chance of getting clear +off. They ascribe this to two principal causes, 1st, That the +proceedings become so extremely tedious and intricate, that it is +impossible for the jury to keep them all in their recollection, and +that, forgetting the general tenor of the evidence, they suffer the +last impressions, those made by the counsel for the prisoner, to bias +their judgment, and to regulate their verdict. In the 2d place, It is +customary for the president of the court to enter into a long +examination and cross-examination of the prisoner, (assisted and +prompted in his questions by the rest of the judges), in a severe and +peremptory style, and what is too often the case with the judge, in his +anxiety to condemn, to identify himself with the public prosecutor. He +appears, in the eye of the jury, more in the light of an interested +individual, anxious to drag the offender in the most summary manner to +the punishment of the law, than as an upright and unbiassed judge, whose +duty it is coolly to consider the whole case, to weigh the evidence of +the respective witnesses, to consider, with benevolent attention, the +defence of the prisoner, and, after all this, to pronounce, with +authoritative impartiality, the sentence of the law. This naturally +prejudices the jury in favour of the prisoner; and few, even in our own +country, who may have been witness to the common routine of our criminal +procedure, will not themselves have felt that immediate and irresistible +impression, which is made upon the mind of the spectator, when he sees +on one side the solemn array of the court, the judges, the officers, and +all the terrible show of justice; and on the other, the trembling, +solitary, unbefriended criminal, who awaits in silence the sentence of +the law. One difference, however, between the effects produced by the +respective criminal codes of France and England, ought to be here +remarked. In England, owing to the principles and practice of our +criminal law, it too frequently happens, that the most open and +notorious criminals escape, whilst the less able, but more innocent +offenders, those who might be easily reclaimed, who have gone little way +in the road of crime, but who are less able to do themselves justice at +their trial, fall an easy sacrifice to the rigour of our criminal code. +In France, owing to the custom of the cross-examinations of the +prisoner, by the president and the different judges, this can never +happen. The notoriety of his character prevents the common feelings of +compassion in the breasts of the jury; the severity of the +interrogations renders it impossible that any fictitious story, when +confronted with his former examinations before the magistrate and the +<i>Juré d'Accusation</i>, can long hold together, and he is, in this manner, +generally convicted by the evidence extracted from his own mouth upon +the trial.</p> + +<p>The present style of French pleading is exactly what we might be led to +expect from the peculiar state of manners, and the particular character +of that singular people. It is infinitely further removed from dry legal +ratiocination, and much more allied to real eloquence, than any thing we +met with in England. Any one who is acquainted with the natural inborn +fluency in conversation of every individual whom he meets in France, may +be able to form some idea of the astonishing command of words in a set +of men who are bred to public speaking. One bad effect arises from this, +which is, that if the counsel is not a man of ability, this amazing +volubility, which is found equally in all, serves more to weaken than to +convince; for the little sense there may be, is spread over so wide a +surface, or is diluted with such a dose of verbiage, that the whole +becomes tasteless and insipid to the last degree. But this fluency, on +the other hand, in the hands of a man of talents and genius, is a most +powerful weapon. It hurries you along with a velocity which, from its +very rapidity, is delightful; and where it cannot convince, it amuses, +fascinates, and overpowers you.</p> + +<p>One thing struck me as remarkable in the French form of trial, which +perhaps might be with benefit adopted by England. All exceptions and +challenges to jurymen are made in private, and not, as with us, in open +court. This is a more delicate method, and no man's character can suffer +(as is sometimes the case in England) by being rejected. The trial by +jury is very far from being popular in France; indeed, upon an average I +have heard more voices against it than advocates for its continuance. +The great cause for this dissatisfaction is that which leads to various +other calamitous consequences in that kingdom,—the want of public +spirit in France.—The French have literally no idea of any duties which +they must voluntarily, without the prospect of reward, undertake for +their country. It never enters their heads that a man may be responsible +for the neglect of those public duties, for the performance of which he +receives no regular salary.—There is a constant connection in their +minds, between business and payment, between money and obligation: and +as for that noble and patriotic spirit which will undergo any labour +from a disinterested sense of public duty, it is long since any such +feeling has existed, and it will probably, if things continue in their +present state, be long before it will exist again in France.</p> + +<p>It might be imagined, from the advantages in the administration of +criminal justice, that France was in this respect equal, if not superior +to Britain.—This, however, is by no means the case. The written +criminal code of France is indeed apparently more humane, and the civil +code less intricate and voluminous than with us in England. But there is +a wide and striking difference between this code, drawn up with all the +luminousness of speculative benevolence, and the manner in which the +same code is carried into execution: What signifies the purity of the +code, if the executive part of the system, the nomination of the judges, +the direction of the sentences, and the reversal of the whole +proceedings, was submitted to the power, and constituted part of the +iron prerogative, of a despotic Sovereign. It was the constant practice +of the late Emperor to appoint, whenever it was necessary for the +accomplishment of his own ends, what he denominated a <span class="smcap">cour prevoitale</span>—a +species of court consisting of judges of his own selection, who, with +summary procedure, condemned or acquitted, according to the pleasure of +its master. Not only was this court erected, which was in every respect +under the controul of the Emperor, but by means of his police +emissaries, of those pensioned spies whom he insinuated into all the +offices, and the remotest branches of the political administration, he +contrived to overawe the different judges, to keep them in perpetual +fear of the loss of their official situation, and in this manner to beat +down the evidence, to bias the sentence, and finally, to direct the +verdict. The judicial situations became latterly so completely under the +influence of the creatures of the Court, that I was informed by the +lawyers, that no judge was sure of remaining for two months in his +official situation.</p> + +<p>Upon the important subject of criminal delinquency, I am sorry to say +the only information I contrived to collect was extremely +unsatisfactory. I had been promised, by an intelligent barrister, with +whom I had the good fortune to become acquainted, a detailed opinion +upon the state of criminal delinquency in France; but in the meantime +Napoleon landed from Elba, and my friend was called away from his civil +duties to join the national guard, who were marched, when it was too +late, in pursuit of Bonaparte.</p> + +<p>From the calendar of crimes, however, which I had the opportunity of +examining at the Aix assizes, as well as from the decided opinion of +many of the lawyers there, I should be induced to hazard the opinion, +that the crimes of robbery, burglary, and murder, are infinitely less +frequent than in England. The great cause of this is undoubtedly to be +attributed to the excellence of their police. Wherever such a preventive +as the system of Espionage, and that carried to the perfection which we +find it possessing in that country, exists, it is impossible that the +greater crimes should be found to any alarming decree. There is a power, +a vigour and an omnipresence in this effective police, which can check +every criminal excess before it has attained any thing like a general or +rooted influence throughout the kingdom; and its power, under the +administration of Napoleon, was exerted to an excessive degree in +France. Such a mode, however, of diminishing the catalogue of crimes, +could exist only under a state of things which the inhabitants of a free +country would not suffer for a moment; and indeed, to anyone possessing +but the faintest idea of what liberty is, there is something in the idea +of a system of espionage which is dreadful. It is like some of those +dark and gigantic dæmons, embodied by the genius of fiction, the form of +which you cannot trace, although you feel its presence, which stalks +about enveloped in congenial gloom, and whose iron grasp falls upon you +the more terrible, because it is unsuspected. Fortunately such a monster +can never be met with in a free country. It shuns the pure, and +untainted atmosphere of liberty, and its lungs will only play with +freedom in the foul and thick air of a decided despotism.</p> + +<p>The effects of this system of espionage, in destroying every thing upon +which individual happiness in society depends; the free and unrestrained +communication of opinion between friends, and even the confidence of +domestic society, can hardly be conceived by any one who has lived in a +free country. Upon this subject, I had an opportunity of conversing with +a most respectable and intelligent British merchant, who, previous to +the revolution, had been a partner in a banking-house in the French +metropolis; and afterwards had the misfortune of being kept a prisoner +in Paris for the last twelve years. The accounts he gave us regarding +the excessive rigour of the police, and the jealousy of every thing like +intercourse, were truly terrible. It had become a maxim in Paris, an +axiom whose truth was proved by the general practice and conduct of its +inhabitants, to believe every third person a spy. Any matter of moment, +any thing bordering upon confidential communication, was alone to be +trusted <i>entre quatre yeux</i>. The servants in every family, it was well +known, were universally in the pay of government. They could not be +hired till they produced their licenses, and these licenses, to serve as +domestics, they all procured from the office of the police. From that +office their wages were as certain, and probably (if the information +they conveyed was of importance), more regularly paid than those they +received from their masters. Even, therefore, in the most secret +retirement of your own family, you could never speak with perfect +freedom. Mr B——, the gentleman above mentioned, informed me, that +before he dared to mention, even to his wife or family, any subject +connected with the affairs of the day, or when they wished to speak +freely and unrestrainedly upon any point whatever, every corner of the +room was first examined, the chinks of the doors, and the walls of the +adjoining apartments underwent a similar scrutiny; and even then they +did not dare to introduce any subject which was nearly connected with +the political government of the country.</p> + +<p>A lawyer, who lived upon the same floor with this gentleman, was +astonished, one morning, by the entry of the police officers into his +room at four in the morning, without the slightest previous warning. +They pulled him out of bed—hurried him away to the police office, kept +him in strict custody for several days, seized all his papers; and +having at last discovered that their suspicions were ill-founded, and +that he had been secured upon erroneous information, he was brought back +to his lodgings by the same hands, and in the same summary manner in +which he had been removed; and he is to this day ignorant of the cause +of his detention, or the nature of the offence of which he had been +suspected.</p> + +<p>Amongst the few English who, along with Mr B. were detained in Paris, it +was naturally to be expected, that the precautions taken to deceive the +police, and to prevent the suspicion of any secret intercourse, were +still more severe and rigorous than were used by the native French. As +the subjects of this country, they naturally became the objects of +continual suspicion, and were more strictly watched than any other +persons. They contrived, however, to procure, although at distant +intervals, the sight of an English newspaper. Nine or ten months +frequently elapsed without their receiving any intelligence from +England. When they had the good fortune to procure one, the precautions +necessary to be adopted were hardly to be believed. The same gentleman +informed me, that upon receiving an English paper, he did not venture to +mention the circumstance even to his wife and children, lest, in their +joy, some incautious words might have escaped from them before the +servants of the family, in which case, detection would have been +immediate, and imprisonment inevitable. Keeping it, therefore, entirely +to himself, he concealed it from every eye during the day, and at night, +after the family had gone to bed, he sat up, lighted his taper, and, +when every thing was still and silent about him, ventured, only then, to +read over the paper, and to get by heart the most important parts of the +intelligence regarding England; and he afterwards transmitted the +invaluable present to some secret friend, who, in the same manner, dared +only to peruse it at midnight, and with the same precautions.</p> + +<p>A very sensible distinction has been made in the French code, in the +difference of punishment which is inflicted upon robbery, when it has or +has not been accompanied by murder; and the consequence of such +distinction is, that in that country the most determined robberies are +seldom, as they often are with us, accompanied with murder; whilst the +accurate proportionment of punishment to the crimes, encourages persons +possessing information to come forward, and removes those natural +scruples which all must feel, when they reflect that they may be the +chief instruments in bringing down a capital penalty upon the head of an +individual, whose trivial offence was in no respect deserving of this +last and severest punishment of the law.</p> + +<p>The crime of which I heard most frequently, and of which the common +occurrence may be traced to the miserable condition to which trade and +commerce were, during the last few years, reduced in France, and to that +general laxity of moral conduct which even now distinguishes that +country, was <i>Fraudulent Bankruptcy</i>. The merchant, no longer possessing +the means of making his fortune by fair speculation, has recourse to +this nefarious mode of bettering his condition. He settles with his +creditors for a small per centage; disposes of his property by +fictitious sales, <i>ventes simulees</i>, and thus enriches himself upon the +ruin of his creditors. At a small town in the south of France, where I +for sometime resided, there were several individuals, who, it was well +known, had made their fortunes in this manner; and at Marseilles it +had, as I understood, become in some measure a common practice. The +crime is seldom discovered, attended at least with those circumstances +of corroborative evidence which are necessary in bringing it to trial. +Upon detection, accompanied by complete proof, the punishment is severe. +It consists in being condemned for fourteen years, or for life, to the +galleys, and in branding the delinquent with letters denoting his crime: +<i>B F</i> for Fraudulent Bankruptcy. At one of the trials of the Aix +assizes, at which I was present, a young man of excellent family, son of +the Chevalier de St Louis, was convicted of this crime, and although it +was proved that he had been deceived by his partner, a man of decidedly +bad character, but possessed of deep cunning, he was condemned for +fourteen years to the galleys: Owing to a flaw in the process, the +sentence was set aside by the Cour de Cassation, or Supreme Court of +Appeal at Paris, and a new trial was ordered.</p> + +<p>From the same cause, which I have mentioned above, the perfection of +their police, petty theft is not of such common occurrence in France as +in England. The country, in short, at the time when we passed through +it, was very quiet, and few crimes were committed; but on the +disbanding of the troops, a great change may be expected. These restless +creatures must find work, or they will make it for themselves. It is a +hard question how the un-warlike Louis is to employ them. Many talk of +the necessity of sending an immense force to St Domingo; and it would +appear wise policy to devise some expedition of this nature, which would +swallow up the restless, the profligate, and the abandoned.</p> + +<p>It is not our intention, nor indeed would the limits of our work permit, +of entering into the question of what ought to be the conduct of the +King. But there is another question, from answering which we can +scarcely escape.</p> + +<p>Are the majority of the French nation well affected to the Bourbons? +This is a question which is put to every person who returns from France. +It is a natural, a most important, but a most difficult one to answer. I +endeavoured, by every method in my power, by a communication with those +gentlemen of the province where I resided, whose characters and +situations entitled them to implicit credit; by endeavouring to satisfy +myself as to the real sentiments of the peasantry, and by a perusal of +those documents regarding the state of the country, which were believed +the most authentic, to acquire upon this subject something like +satisfactory information. As to the sentiments entertained at present by +the generality of the French people upon this subject, I cannot speak, +but with regard to the period which I passed in France, which began in +November 1814, and ended at the time of the landing of Napoleon from +Elba, I have no hesitation in declaring, that it appeared to me, that +the majority of the French nation were at that time hostile to the +interests of the Bourbons. On the other hand, in consulting the same +sources of information as I have above enumerated, it was as evident +that they are not generally favourable to the restoration of the +Imperial Government under Napoleon. What appeared at that period to be +the general desire of the nation, was the establishment of a new +constitution, formed upon those principles, embracing those new +interests, and compatible with that new state of things which had been +created by the revolution. It was on this account that they favoured +Napoleon.</p> + +<p>The situation of France then exhibited perhaps one of the most singular +pictures ever presented to view by a civilized nation; a people without +exterior commerce, and whose interior trade and manufactures, except in +some favourite spots, was almost annihilated; whose youth was yearly +drained off to supply the army, but whose agriculture has been +constantly improving, which, for the last twelve years, had been +subjected to all the complicated horrors of a state of war, but which, +after all this, could yet earnestly desire a continuance of this state. +A nation where there was scarcely to be found an intermediate rank +between the Sovereign and the peasantry—for since the destruction of +the <i>ancienne noblesse</i>, and more particularly, since all ranks have +been admitted to a participation in the dignities conferred on the +military, all have become equally aspiring, and all consider themselves +upon the same level:—A nation where, notwithstanding the division into +parties, possessing the most opposite interests and opinions, and +pulling every different way, the greater part certainly desired a +government similar to Napoleon's, and would even unite to obtain it:—A +nation who talked of nothing but liberty, and yet suffered themselves to +be subjected to the conscription, to the loss of their trade, to the +severest taxes, the greatest personal deprivations, and the most +complete restraint in the expression of their opinions—to the continued +extortions of a military chief, the most despotic who ever reigned in a +European country, and whose acts of oppression are truly Asiatic; and +who tamely bore all this oppression, supported by their national vanity, +because they wish to bear the name <i>of the great people</i>: Great, because +their ambition is unbounded; great as a nation of rapacious and +blood-thirsty soldiers; great in every species of immorality and vice! +Who, led away by this miserable vanity, have been false to their oaths, +so recently pledged to a mild and virtuous prince, very unfit to rule +such a race of villains, because he is mild and virtuous.</p> + +<p>But it is not generally believed, that the majority in France favoured +Napoleon, though it is but a natural consequence of the state of the +country; I shall therefore enumerate the divisions of ranks, and the +sentiments of each.—All allow that the army were his friends; on that +subject, therefore, I shall say nothing.—Next to the army, let us look +to the civil authorities.—All these were in his favour—all that part +of the civil authorities at least, who have the immediate management of +the people.—It is in vain that the heads of office in Paris, the +miserable bodies styled the Chambers of Parliament and the Counsellors +of the realm, were favourably inclined towards the King.—Napoleon well +knew that these were not the men who rule France.—France, as an entire +kingdom, may be said to be governed by these men; but France, +subdivided, is governed by the prefects, and the gens-d'armes of +Napoleon.—Not a man of these was displaced by the King, and although +they were all furious in their proclamations against the usurper, they, +with few exceptions, joined him, and these few exceptions were removed +by him.—The most powerful men in France under Napoleon were these +prefects and gens-d'armes, and knowing their power, he was always +cautious in their selection; wherever he conceived that they really +favoured the Bourbon interest, he removed them.</p> + +<p>Next, the whole class of Receveurs were his devoted friends.—These men +were all continued in place under the un-warlike reign of Louis, but +where no conscription and no droits reunis were to be enforced, they had +poverty staring them in the face.—Is it unnatural that they should +favour him whose government enriches them?</p> + +<p>To the shadows of nobility, to the ghost of aristocracy which had +re-appeared under the King, no power or influence can be +attributed,—they dared not think, and could not act.</p> + +<p>The better classes of the inhabitants of the cities, whether the traders +and manufacturers, or the bourgeoise of France, are those who were the +most decided enemies of Bonaparte: but let us look how their arm is +weakened and palsied by the situation of their property.—They have many +of them purchased the lands of the emigrants at very low prices, and, in +many instances, from persons who could only bestow possession without +legal tenure.—These feel uneasy in their new possessions; they dread +the ascendancy which the nobility might still obtain under their lawful +Sovereign: Napoleon came proclaiming to them that he would maintain them +in their properties. Nor were all the traders and manufacturers his +enemies.—He encouraged the trade of Lyons, for example, of Paris, of +Rouen, and other interior towns, and he pitted these interior towns +against the sea-ports of Bourdeaux, Marseilles, &c. Thus, even with +commercial men, he had some friends.—And here, in mentioning Paris, I +must observe, that the most slavish deference is paid by the whole of +France to the opinions, as well as the fashions, which prevail at the +capital. From the encouragement which he offered to its interior trade, +from the grand works which he was constantly carrying on, affording +labour to the idle rabble; from the magnificent <i>spectacles</i> supplied by +his reviews, fetes, and festivities, and most of all, from the +celebrated system of gulling and stage-trick, practised by his police, +and through the medium of the press—From all these circumstances, it +arises, that Napoleon was no where so much beloved as at Paris; and +Napoleon took good care that Paris afforded to all France an example +such as he would wish them to follow.—It is difficult to say why the +French should tamely follow the example of their despot; but they forgot +that he was a despot, and they were not singular as a nation in +following the example <i>of their chief</i>, though, perhaps, they carried +their obedience to a more slavish pitch than any other people.—"En +France (says Mons. Montesquieu) il en est des manieres et de la facon de +vivre, comme des modes, les Français changent des meurs selon l'age de +leur Roi,—Le Monarque pouvait meme parvenir a rendre la nation grave +s'il l'avait entrepris."</p> + +<p>Next in rank, though, from their numbers and influence, perhaps, after +the army, the most powerful body in the community, the situation of the +peasants must be considered. They had either seized upon, or purchased, +at a low rate, the lands of the emigrants, and the national domains; +these they had brought into the best state of cultivation; without the +interference of any one, they directly drew the profits. The oppression +in agriculture, which existed before the revolution, whether from the +authority of the Seigneurs, from the corvees, from tythes, game laws, +&c. all are done away—become rich and flourishing, they are able to pay +the taxes, which, under Napoleon, were not so severe as is generally +supposed.—But they had every thing to fear from the return of the +noblesse, and from the re-establishment of the ranks and order which +must exist under the new constitution of France. Can it then be +considered that the peasantry should see their own interest in +maintaining the revolutionary order of things? The more unjust their +tenure, the more cause have they to fear; and unenlightened as many of +them are, their fears once raised, will not easily be controlled. +Napoleon had most politically excited alarm among them, and they are +favourably inclined towards him. This powerful body have no leaders to +direct them: The respectable and wealthy farmer, possessing great landed +property; the yeoman, the country gentleman,—all these ranks are +abolished. Where the views of the Sovereign are inimical to the +peasantry, as was imagined under Louis XVIII. that body will powerfully +resist him; where they were in concert, as under Napoleon, that body +became his chief support next to his military force.</p> + +<p>It is not enough that Louis XVIII. had never invaded their property—it +is not enough that in different shapes he issued proclamations, and +assurances, that he had no such intentions,—the peasantry felt +insecure; and they dreaded the influence of his counsellors, and of the +noblesse. The low rabble of France, at all times restless, and desirous +of change, were favourable to Napoleon;—they wished for a continuance +of that thoughtless dissipation, and dreadful immorality, which he +encouraged; they wished for employment in his public works,—they looked +for situations in his army.</p> + +<p>It may then be said, that among all ranks Napoleon had friends. Who then +were against him? All those who wished for peace: all those who desired +the re-establishment of the church: all those who had the cause of +morality and virtue at heart—all the good,—but, alas! in France, they +were few in number.</p> + +<p>I have only enumerated the great and leading parties in the community. +It was my intention to have touched on the sentiments of the different +professions, but I have been already too tedious; I shall here only +enumerate a few of the classes, who, as they are thrown out of bread by +the return of the Bourbons, and the new system of government, will be +ever busily employed in favouring a despotic and military government, a +continuance of war, and of a conscription.</p> + +<p>1st, All the prefects, collectors of taxes, and their agents, who were +employed in the countries subjected to Napoleon.</p> + +<p>2d, The many officers, and under agents, employed in the conscription, +and in collecting the droits reunis.</p> + +<p>3d, The police emissaries of all ranks, forming that enormous mass who +conducted the grand machine of espionage, directed the <i>public spirit</i>, +and supplied information to the late Emperor.</p> + +<p>4th, All the rich and wealthy army contractors, furnishers, &c. &c.</p> + +<p>Having attempted to shew that the situation of the people in France was +highly favourable to the views of the usurper, let me now observe, that +there are other circumstances which greatly aided his cause.</p> + +<p>1st, The vanity of the nation was hurt: they had not forgotten their +defeat by the allies, and the proceedings of Congress, in confining +within narrow bounds, that nation, who, but a year ago, gave laws to the +continent, had tended to aggravate their feelings. It is difficult for +any nation to shrink at once into insignificance, from the possession of +unlimited power; it is impossible for France to maintain an inglorious +peace.</p> + +<p>2d, The spirit of the nation had become completely military. One year of +peace cannot be supposed to have done away the effects of twelve years +of victory.</p> + +<p>3d, The general laxity of morals, and the habits of dissipation and +idleness, which have followed from the revolution, and have been taught +by the military, and especially by the disbanded soldiers, were +favourable to him.</p> + +<p>4th, He came at the very time when his prisoners had returned from all +quarters of the globe; he came again to unite them under the <i>revered +eagle</i>, emblem of rapine and plunder, which they everywhere looked up +to; in short, if it had been suggested to any one, possessing a thorough +knowledge of the situation of France, to say at what time Napoleon was +most likely to succeed, he must have pitched on the moment selected by +him. There are indeed many circumstances which induce me to suppose, +that the plan for his restoration had been partly formed before he left +Fontainbleau; for it is well known, that he long hesitated—that he +often thought of making use of his remaining force, (a force of about +thirty thousand men), and fighting his way to Italy; that his Marshals +only prevailed on him, and that he yielded to their advice, when he +might have thought and acted for himself. The conduct of Ney favours the +supposition: he selected for him the spot, of all others, the most +favourable for his views, should they be directed to Italy; he +stipulated for his rank, for a guard of veterans; he is described as +using a boldness and insolence of speech to Napoleon, which he would not +have dared to use, had there not been an understanding between them. He +covered his treachery by a garb of the same nature, when in presence of +his lawful Sovereign: open in his abuse of the usurper, while laying +plans to join him.</p> + +<p>There is a very peculiar circumstance in Bonaparte's character, which +is, that at times, he makes the most unguarded speeches, forgetful of +his own interest. Thus, when the national guard of Lyons begged +permission to accompany him on his march, he said to them, "You have +suffered the brother of your King to leave you unattended—go—you are +unworthy to follow me." Thus, when at Frejus, he said to the Mayor,—"I +am sorry that Frejus is in Provence; I hate Provence, but I have always +wished your town well; and, <i>ere long, I will be among you again</i>." This +speech, which I had from the Prefect of Aix, who was intimately attached +to Napoleon and his interests, I know to be authentic. In it, even the +place of his landing seemed to be determined. One thing is certain, that +the plan, if not commenced before his abdication, was, at all events, +begun immediately after; for a long time must have been necessary to +arrange matters in such a manner that he should not find the slightest +opposition in his march to Paris.</p> + +<p>I have thus attempted to give my readers some account of the state of +France under Napoleon. From this account, hastily written, they will +draw their own conclusions. Mine, attached as I am to one party; knowing +little of politics, only interested as a Briton in the fate of my +country, are these:—That France decidedly wishes to live by war and +plunder—that France deserves no such government as that of the virtuous +Louis—that, till the soldiery are disbanded, and their leaders +punished, France can never be governed by the Bourbons:—that the +majority in the nation do not wish for Napoleon in particular, but for a +revolutionary government, and that we have no right of interference with +their choice: but that the propriety of our immediately engaging in war +could not be doubted, for our very existence as a nation depended on +such conduct—that we had the same right to attack Bonaparte, as we had +to attack a common robber, more particularly, if this robber had +repeatedly planned and devised the destruction of our property.</p> + +<p>They will draw the happiest conclusions in favour of our own blessed +country, from a comparison with France—looking on that unhappy nation, +they will exclaim with me, in the beautiful words of La Harpe: +<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a>"J'excuse et n'envie point ceux qui peuvent vivre comme s'ils +n'avoient ni souffert ni vu souffrir; mais qu'ils me pardonnent de ne +pouvoir les imiter. Ces jours d'une degradation entière et innouie de +la nature humaine sont sous mes yeux, pesent sur mon ame et retombent +sans cesse sous ma plume, destinée à les retraçer jusqu'à mon dernier +moment."<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a></p> + + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_a_V" id="CHAPTER_a_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h3> + +<hr class="ten" /> + +<p class="head">MODERN FRENCH CHARACTER AND MANNERS.</p> + +<p class="no"><span class="lt">A</span><span class="smcap">n</span> +Englishman never dreams of entering into conversation without some +previous knowledge upon the point which is the subject of discussion. +You will pass but few days in France before you will be convinced, that +to a Frenchman this is not at all necessary. The moment he enters the +room, or caffé, where a circle may happen to be conversing, he +immediately takes part in the discussion—of whatever nature, or upon +whatever subject that may be, is not of the most distant consequence to +him. He strikes in with the utmost self-assurance and adroitness, +maintains a prominent part in the conversation with the most perfect +plausibility; and although, from his want of accurate information, he +will rarely instruct, he seldom fails to amuse by the exuberance of his +fancy, and the rapidity of his elocution. But take any one of his +sentences to pieces, analyze it, strip it of its gaudy clothing and +fanciful decorations, and you will be astonished what skeletons of bare, +shallow, and spiritless ideas will frequently present themselves.</p> + +<p>In England, it often happens, that a man who is perfectly master of the +subject in discussion, from the effect of shyness or embarrassment, will +convey his information with such an appearance of awkwardness and +hesitation, as to create a temporary suspicion of dulness, or of +incapacity. But upon further examination, the true and sterling value of +his remarks is easily discernible. The same can very seldom be said of a +Frenchman. His conversation, which delights at the moment, generally +fades upon recollection. The information of the first is like a +beautiful gem, whose real value is concealed by the encrustation with +which it is covered; the other is a dazzling but sorry paste in a +brilliant setting. <a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a>"Un Français," says M. de Stael, with great +truth, "scait encore parler, lors meme il n'a point d'idees;" and the +reason why a Frenchman can do so is, because ideas, which are the +essential requisites in conversation to any other man, are not so to +him. He is in possession of many substitutes, composed of a few of those +set phrases and accommodating sentences which fit into any subject; and +these, mixed up with appropriate nods, significant gestures, and above +all, with the characteristic shrugging of the shoulders, are ever ready +at hand when the tide of his ideas may happen to run shallow.</p> + +<p>The perpetual cheerfulness of the French, under almost every situation, +is well known, and has been repeatedly remarked. One great secret by +which they contrive to preserve this invariable levity of mind, is +probably this extraordinary talent of theirs for a particular kind of +conversation. An Englishman, engaged in the business and duties of life, +even at his hours of relaxation, is occupied in thinking upon them. In +the midst of company he is often an insulated being; his mind, refusing +intercourse with those around him, retires within itself. In this manner +he inevitably becomes, even in his common hours, grave and serious, and +if under misfortunes, perhaps melancholy and morose. A Frenchman is in +every respect a different being: He cannot be grave or unhappy, because +he never allows himself time to become so. His mind is perpetually +busied with the affairs of the moment. If he is in company, he speaks, +without introduction, to every gentleman in the room. Any thing, the +most trivial, serves him for a hook on which to hang his story; and this +generally lasts as long as he has breath to carry him on. He recounts to +you, the first hour you meet with him, his whole individual history; +diverges into anecdotes about his relations, pulls out his watch, and +under the cover shews you the hair of his mistress, apostrophizes the +curl—opens his pocket-book, insists upon your reading his letters to +her, sings you the song which he composed when he was <i>au desespoir</i> at +their parting, asks your opinion of it, then whirls off to a discussion +on the nature of love; leaves that the next moment to philosophize upon +friendship, compliments you, <i>en passant</i>, and claims you for his +friend; hopes that the connection will be perpetual, and concludes by +asking you <i>to do him the honour of telling him your name</i>. In this +manner he is perpetually occupied; he has a part to act which renders +serious thought unnecessary, and silence impossible. If he has been +unfortunate, he recounts his distresses, and in doing so, forgets them. +His mind never reposes for a moment upon itself; his secret is to keep +it in perpetual motion, and, like a shuttlecock, to whip it back and +forward with such rapidity, that although its feathers may have been +ruffled, and its gilding effaced by many hard blows, yet neither you nor +he have time to discover it.</p> + +<p>Nothing can present a stronger contrast between the French and English +character, and nothing evinces more clearly the superiority of the +French in conversation, and the art of amusement, than the scenes which +take place in the interior of a French diligence. They who go to France +and travel in their own carriages are not aware of what they lose.—The +interior of a French diligence, if you are tolerably fortunate in your +company, is a perfect epitome of the French nation.—When you enter a +public coach in England, it is certainly very seldom that, in the course +of the few hours you may remain in it, you meet with an entertaining +companion. Chance, indeed, may now and then throw a pleasant man in your +way; but these are but thinly sown amongst those sour and silent +gentlemen, who are your general associates, and who, now and then eyeing +each other askance, look as if they could curse themselves for being +thrown into such involuntary contiguity.</p> + +<p>The scene in a French diligence is the most different from all this that +can be conceived. Every thing there is life, and motion, and joy.—The +coach generally holds from ten to twelve persons, and even then is +sufficiently roomy.—The moment you enter you find yourself on terms of +the most perfect familiarity with the whole set of your travelling +companions. In an instant every tongue is at work, and every individual +bent upon making themselves happy for the moment, and contributing to +the happiness of their fellow travellers. Talking, joking, laughing, +singing, reciting,—every enjoyment which is light and pleasurable is +instantly adopted.—A gentleman takes a box from his pocket, opens it, +and with a look of the most finished politeness, presents it, full of +sweetmeats, to the different ladies in succession. One of these, in +gratitude for this attention, proposes that which she well knows will be +agreeable to the whole party, some species of round game like our +cross-purposes, involving forfeits. The proposal is carried by +acclamation,—the game is instantly begun, and every individual is +included: Woe be now to the aristocracy of the interior! Old and young, +honest and dishonest, respectable and disrespectable, all are involved +in undistinguished confusion—but all are content to be so, and happy in +the exchange. The game in the meantime proceeds, and the different +forfeits become more numerous. The generality of these ensure, indeed, +from their nature, a punctuality of performance. To kiss the handsomest +woman in the party, to pay her a compliment in some extempore effusion, +or to whisper a confidence (<i>faire une confidence</i>) in her ear—all +these are hardly enjoined before they are happily accomplished. But +others, which it would be difficult to particularize, are more amusing +in their consequences, and less easy, in their execution.</p> + +<p>The ludicrous effect of this scene is much heightened by its being often +carried on in the dark, for night brings no cessation; and we have +ourselves, in travelling in this manner in the diligence, engaged in +many a game of forfeits where, it is not too much to say, that our +play-fellows, of both sexes, were certainly nearer to the grave than +the cradle, being somewhere between fifty and fourscore. The scenes +which then take place, the undistinguished clamours of young and old, +the audible salutes from every quarter, which point to the perpetual +succession of the forfeits, altogether compose a spectacle, which to a +stranger is the most unexpected and extraordinary that can be possibly +imagined.</p> + +<p>The conversation of a Frenchman, who possesses wit and information, is +certainly superior to that of a clever man of any other country. It has +a variety and playfulness, which, upon subjects of taste or fancy, or +literature, delights and fascinates; but even their common conversation +upon the most trivial matters is of a superior order, as far as +amusement goes. However shallowly they may think upon a subject, they +never fail to express themselves well. This is the case equally with +those of both sexes. It is true, certainly, that in their subjects for +conversation, they indulge in a wider range of selection; and in +consequence, far more frequently without evincing the slightest scruple, +overstep the bounds of decorum and delicacy. This is the inevitable +effect of the peculiarity above noticed, that they must constantly +converse; as their appetite for conversation is inordinate, their taste +is necessarily less nice; provided they continue in motion, they are +careless about the ground over which they travel. One unhappy +consequence of this certainly is, that such carelessness extends to the +women, even amongst the highest and best bred classes; and that these +ideas of delicacy and tenderness, with which we are always accustomed to +regard, in this country, the female mind, are shocked and grated against +by the occurrence of scenes, the employment of expressions, and the +mention of books which tend rather to disgust than to amuse, and which +destroy in a moment that female fascination, which can never exist +without that first and most material ingredient, modesty.</p> + +<p>The science of conversation in France, is not, as with us, confined +principally to the higher classes, but extends to the whole body of the +people. The reason is, that the lower ranks in that country invariably +imitate the manners, style of society, and mode of conversation used by +the higher orders. The lower ranks in England converse, no doubt; but +then their conversation, and the subjects upon which it is employed, is +exactly fitted to the rank they hold in society.</p> + +<p>In speaking of the literature of France, we shall have occasion to +remark, that there is nothing in that country like an ancient or +national poetry. This is perhaps not so much to be attributed to the +excessive ignorance of the peasantry, as to the circumstance, that from +the French peasantry invariably imitating the manners of the higher +orders, there is no adaption of the manners of the labouring orders to +the simple rank they fill in society. The innocence of rural life is +thus lost. The shepherd, the peasant girl, the rustic labourer, whom you +meet in France, are all in some measure artificial beings. They express +themselves to any stranger they meet with ease and politeness, with a +point and a vivacity which is certainly striking; but which is, of all +things, the farthest removed from nature: and it is the consequence of +this interchange which has taken place,—this imitation of the manners +of the higher orders by the lower classes of the peasantry—that we +shall in vain look for any thing in France like a simple national +poetry. The truth, the simplicity, the nature, which ought to form it, +are not to be found amongst any classes of the French people. The poetry +of France, both ancient and modern, that of Ronsard and Marot, in +earlier days; and that of Boileau, Racine, Corneille and Voltaire, in +more modern times, bears the marks of having been formed in the court. +If, for instance, in Scotland, the lower ranks, the labouring classes, +like those of France, had transplanted the fictitious manners of the +higher classes into the innocence of their cottage, or the sequestered +solitude of their vallies—where, under such a state of things, could +there ever have arisen such gifted spirits as Burns, or Ramsay, or +Ferguson? and where should we have found, that truth, that beauty, that +genuine nature, in the lives and manners of our peasantry, which has not +only furnished such poets with some of their finest subjects, but has +instructed these peasants themselves to pour out, in unpremeditated +strains, those ancient and beautiful songs, which art and education +could never have taught them; and which, in the progress of time, have +formed that unrivalled national poetry, perhaps one of the brightest +gems in the diadem of Scottish genius. But we must return to France.</p> + +<p>The French have been always celebrated for their natural gaiety of +character. One exception from this is material to be noticed. It must +strike you the moment you look into the countenances of the soldiery, or +examine the air and manner of the generality of the lower officers. A +dark and gloomy expression, if not a suspicious, and often savage +appearance, is their characteristic feature; and although this is +disguised by occasional sallies of loud and intemperate mirth, these +sallies are more like the desperate and reckless exertions of a troop of +banditti, than the temperate and unpremeditated cheerfulness of a +regular soldiery. Nor is this look confined entirely to the military. +The habits of the whole nation are changed; but yet, with all this +alteration, there remains enough of their characteristic gaiety to +distinguish them from every other people in Europe.</p> + +<p>Their excessive frivolity is perhaps even more remarkable than their +gaiety; they have not sufficient steadiness for the uninterrupted +avocations of graver life. In the midst of the most serious or deep +discussion, a Frenchman will suddenly stop, and, with a look of perhaps +more solemn importance than he bestowed upon the subject of debate, will +adjust the ruffle of his brother savant, adding some observation on the +propriety of adorning the exterior as well as the interior of science. +<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a>"Leur badinage," says Montesquieu, "naturellement fait pour las +toilettes, semble etre provenu a former le caractere general de la +nation. On badine au conseil, on badine a la tête d'une armee, on badine +avec un ambassadeur."</p> + +<p>The vanity of the whole nation, it is well known, is without all bounds; +and although this is most apparent, perhaps, and less unequivocally +shewn in every point connected with military affairs, it is yet confined +to no one subject in particular, but embraces all—in arts, science, +manufactures; in every thing, indeed, upon which the spirit and genius +of a nation can be exercised, it is not too much to say, that they +believe themselves superior to every other nation or country. Nay, what +is very extraordinary, so much have they been accustomed to hear +themselves talk in this exaggerated style; so natural to them have now +become those expressions of arrogant superiority, that vanity has, in +its adoption into the French character, and in the effects which it +there produces, almost changed its nature.</p> + +<p>In other countries—in our own, for instance, a very vain man is an +object of ridicule, and generally of distrust. In France he is neither; +on the contrary, there appears throughout the kingdom a kind of general +agreement, a species of silent understood compact amongst them, that +every thing asserted by one Frenchman to another, provided it is done +with sufficient confidence and coolness, however individually vain, or +absolutely incredible, ought to be fully and implicitly believed. It is +this excessive idea which the French instil into each other of their own +superiority, joined to the extreme ignorance of the great body of the +people, which composes that prominent feature in their national +character—<i>their credulity</i>—and which has long rendered them the +easiest of all nations to be imposed upon by political artifice, and the +submissive dupes of those travelling quacks and ingenious charlatans, +who in this country are more than commonly successful in ruining the +health and impoverishing the pockets of their devoted patients. An +instance of this occurs to me, which happened to myself when residing in +the south of France.</p> + +<p>At one of the great fairs where I was present, there appeared upon an +elevated stage, an elderly and serious-looking gentleman, dressed in a +complete suit of solemn black, with a little child kneeling at his feet. +"Messieurs," said he to the multitude, and bowing with the most perfect +confidence and self-possession—<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a>"Messieurs, c'est impossible de +tromper des gens instruits comme vous. Je vais absolument couper la tête +a cet-enfant: <i>Mais</i> avant de commencer, il faut que je vous fasse voir +que je ne suis pas un charlatan. Eh bien, en attendant et pour un espece +d'exorde: Qui est entre vous qui à le mal au dent?" "Moi," exclaimed +instantly a sturdy looking peasant, opening his jaws, and disclosing a +row of grinders which might have defied a shark. "Monsieur, (said the +doctor, inspecting his gums), it is but too true. The disorders +attending these small but inestimable members, the teeth, are invariably +to be traced to a species of worm, and this the most obstinate, as well +as the most fatal species in the vermicular tribe, which contrives to +conceal itself at the root of the affected member. Gentlemen, we have +all our respective antipathies; and it is by means of these that the +most fatal and unaccountable effects are produced upon us. Worms, +gentlemen, have also their prevailing antipathies. To subdue the animal, +we have only to become acquainted with its disposition. The worm, Sir, +at the bottom of your tooth, is of that faculty or tribe which <i>abhors +copper</i>. It is the vermis halcomisicus, <i>or copper-hating worm</i>. Upon +placing this penknife in the solution contained in this bottle," +(continued he, holding up a small phial, which contained a +green-coloured liquid), "it is, you see, immediately changed into +copper." The patient then, at the doctor's request, approached. A female +assistant stood between him and the crowd, and in a few minutes the +tooth was delivered of a worm, which, from its size, might certainly +have given the toothache to the Dragon of Wantley,</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Who swallow'd the Mayor, asleep in his chair,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And pick'd his teeth with the mace."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>The peasant declared he felt no more pain, and the crowd eagerly pressed +forward, (with the exception, we may believe, of the coppersmiths +amongst the audience), and purchased the bottles containing this +invaluable prescription. Before I had left the party, I discovered that +the doctor, previously to the performing another trick, had borrowed +from the crowd a gold piece of twenty francs, two pieces of five francs, +a silver watch, and several smaller articles, nor did it appear they had +the slightest suspicion that the learned doctor might have changed these +articles as well as the penknife; and that although there were +copper-hating worms, there might exist other kinds of human vermin, +which might not reckon silver among their antipathies. This +characteristic vanity, and the excessive credulity of the people, were +strikingly exhibited in another ludicrous adventure of the same kind, +which happened to us when I was resident at Aix.</p> + +<p>We were alarmed one morning by a loud flourish of trumpets, almost +immediately under our windows. On looking out, we beheld a kind of +triumphal car, preceded by six avant couriers, clothed in scarlet and +gold, mounted on uncommon fine horses, and with trumpets in their hands. +In the car was placed a complete band of musicians, and it was, after a +little interval in the procession, followed by a superb open carriage, +the outside front of which was entirely covered with rich crimson velvet +and gold lace. The most singular feature about the carriage was its +shape, for there projected from it in front, a kind of large magazine, +(covered up also with a cloth of velvet,) which was in its dimensions +larger than the carriage itself. In this open carriage sat a plain +looking, dark, fat man, reclining in an attitude of the most perfect +ease, and genteelly dressed. The whole cortege halted, in the course of +Aix, almost immediately below our house. I joined the audience which had +collected around it. Of course all was on the tiptoe of expectation. +There was a joyful buzz of satisfaction through the crowd, and endless +were the conjectures formed by our own party at the window. At length, +after a flourish of trumpets, the gentleman rose, and uncovering the +large magazine, showed that it contained an almost endless assemblage of +bottles, from the greatest to the smallest dimensions. He then, +advancing gravely, addressed himself to the audience in these words: +<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a>"Messieurs, dans l'univers il n'ya qu'un soleil; dans le royaume de +France il n'ya qu'un Roi; dans la medicine il n'ya que Charini." With +this he placed his hand on his heart, bowed, and drew himself up with a +look of the most glorious complacency. This exordium was received with +the most rapturous applause by the crowd, who, from having often seen +him in his progress through the kingdom, had known before that this was +<i>Charini himself</i>, the celebrated itinerant <i>worm doctor</i>. "Gentlemen," +he then proceeded, "it has been the noble object of my life to +investigate the origin and causes of disease, and fortunate is it for +the world that it has been so. Attend, then, to my discoveries: Worms +are at the bottom of all disease,—they are the insidious, but prolific +authors of human misery; they are born in the cradle with the infant; +they descend into the grave with the aged. They begin, gentlemen, with +life, but they do not cease with death. Behold, gentlemen," he +continued, "the living and infallible proofs of my assertions," +(pointing to the long rows of crystal bottles, filled with multitudes of +every kind of these vermin, of the most odious figures, which were +marshalled in horrible array on each side of him), "these, gentlemen, +are the worms which have been, by my art, extracted from my patients; +many of them are, as you see, invisible to the naked eye;" upon which he +held up a small phial of pure water. "Not a single disease is there, and +not a single part of the human body which has not its appropriate and +peculiar worm. There are those whose habitation is in the head;—there +are those which dwell only in the soles of the feet;—there are those +whose favourite haunts are in the seat of digestion;—there are those +(happy worms) which will consent to dwell only in the bosoms of the +fair. Even love," said he, assuming an air of most complacent softness, +and casting his eye tenderly over the female part of his audience, "even +love is not an exception; it is occasioned by the subtlest species of +worms; which insinuate themselves into the roots of the heart, and play +in peristaltic gambols round the seat of our affections. Painters, +gentlemen, have distinguished the God of Love by the doves with which he +is accompanied. He ought, more correctly, to have been depicted riding +upon that worm, to which he owes his triumphs. Behold," said he, holding +up a phial in which there was enclosed a worm of a light colour, "behold +the fatal love-worm, from which I have lately had the happiness to +deliver an interesting female of Marseilles!" The crowd were enchanted, +purchased his bottles in abundance; and I heard afterwards in Aix, that +by this ingenious juggling, he had contrived to amass a fortune +sufficient to purchase a large estate, and to maintain, as we had +witnessed, a cavalcade worthy of an ambassador.</p> + +<p>It is difficult to conceive any thing more ridiculous than the +characteristic vanity and scientific expressions, which are employed by +the French workmen. The wig-makers, tailors, barbers, all consider their +several trades as in some measure allied to science, and themselves as +the only beings who understand it.—This they generally contrive to +communicate to you with an air of mysterious importance. "Monsieur," +said a French barber to a friend of mine, an English sea captain who +came in to be shaved; "you are an Englishman—sorry am I to inform you, +but I do it with profound respect, that the science of shaving is +altogether misunderstood in England. In their ignorance of its +principles, they have neglected the great secret of our art. Sir," said +he, coming closer up to him, and putting his hand to his own chin with +an air of solemn communication, "I am credibly informed that in England +they actually cut off the <i>epiderme</i>. Now, mon Dieu," continued he, +turning up his eyes, and raising his soap-brush in an attitude of +invocation, "who is there in France that will be ignorant that, in the +destruction of this invaluable cuticle, the chin of the individual is +tortured, and the first principles of our art degraded!"</p> + +<p>I have already hinted at the ignorance of the French, as a component +part of their national credulity. This ignorance, as far as our +opportunities of observation extended, in travelling across France, +appeared to be deep and general; not only amongst the lower orders, but, +on many subjects, pervading also the higher classes of the people. The +only subjects upon which Napoleon considered that any thing like +attempts at a national education should be made, were those connected +with military affairs; mathematics, and the principles of mechanical +philosophy.—Schools for these were generally founded in all the +principal towns in the kingdom; it was there the younger officers of the +army received their military education, and there were many public +seminaries for public education, in addition to the Ecole Polytechnique +in Paris, where the pupils were maintained and educated at the public +expence. Every other branch of education, as tending to change the +direction of the public mind, from military affairs into more pacific +employments, was sedulously discouraged, and the consequence is seen, in +that melancholy ignorance which is distinguishable in those generations +of the French people which have sprung up since the revolution, and +frequently even amongst the old nobility.<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> "Vous etes Ecossois?" said +a French nobleman to me; 'Oui, Monsieur.' "Oh, que cela est drole." 'Et +comment, Monsieur?' "C'est le pays de Napoleon. C'est un isle n'est ce +pas?" 'Oh que non, Monsieur.' "Ma foi, je croyois qu'on l'appelloit +<i>l'isle de Corse</i>." Whether, in the geographical confusion of this poor +Marquis's brain, he had mistaken me for a Corsican, or actually believed +that Napoleon was a Scotchman, is not very easy to determine.</p> + +<p>"You are an Englishwoman?" said the wife of a counsellor to one of the +ladies of our party: "and I have been at London."—"And how did you like +the people?" "Oh, they are very charmant; <i>bot</i> I like better that other +town near London,—Philadelphia."</p> + +<p>It is well known, that formerly in France the order of the Jesuits had +acquired so pre-eminent an interest, as to insinuate themselves into +almost every civil branch of the political government; and that, more +especially, by the seminaries which they established generally +throughout the kingdom, they had created a system of national education, +in many respects highly beneficial to the community. As to the effects +produced by this system, under the Jesuits, on the literature of France, +very different opinions certainly may be entertained; and that +artificial, and in many respects unnatural, style of poetry which has +arisen, and still continues in France, may be perhaps attributed, +amongst other causes, to that excessive passion for classical learning +which was so religiously instilled, whereever the influence of these +seminaries of the Jesuits extended. The utter abolition of this order is +well known, and the consequence is, that where there existed formerly a +general passion for that species of literature, which they cultivated, +and which consisted in an intimate and critical knowledge of the +languages of antiquity, and a taste for classical learning, as the only +object of their imitation, there remains now nothing but a deep and +general ignorance upon every object unconnected with military affairs; +an ignorance which is the more fatal in its consequences, because it is +founded upon contempt. It is difficult to say which of these conditions +is the worst, the former or the latter. Among physicians and lawyers, +however, you meet with many individuals, who, having been educated +probably in foreign countries, or under the old <i>regime</i>, preserve still +a passion for that which is so generally despised.</p> + +<p>In speaking of the education of the French people, it is impossible for +any one who has at all mingled in French society, not to be particularly +struck with what I before alluded to, the extreme ignorance and the +limited education of the women, even amongst the higher orders. In a +family of young ladies, you will but rarely meet with one who can +accurately write her own language; and in general, in their cards of +invitation, or in those letters of ceremony, which you will frequently +receive, they will send you specimens of orthography, which, in their +defiance of every established rule, are as amusing as Mrs Win. Jenkins' +observations on that grave and useful gentleman, <i>Mr Apias Corkus</i>. +Amongst the boys, any thing like a finished education was as little to +be expected; the <i>furor militaris</i> had latterly, in the public schools, +proceeded to such a pitch, as to defy every attempt towards giving them +a general, or in any respect a finished education. They steadily +revolted against any thing which induced them to believe that their +parents intended them for a pacific profession. Go into a French +toy-shop, and you immediately discern the unambiguous symptoms of the +military mania. Every thing there which might encourage in the infant +any predilections for the pacific pursuits of an agricultural or +commercial country, is religiously banished, and their places supplied +by an infinite variety of military toys:—platoons of gens-d'armerie, +troops of artillery, tents, waggons, camp equipage, all are arranged in +imitative array upon the counter. The infant of the <i>grande</i> nation +becomes familiar, in his nurse's arms, with all the detail of the +profession to which he is hereafter to belong; and when he opens his +eyes for the first time, it is to rest them upon that terrible machinery +of war, in the midst of which he is destined to close them for ever.</p> + +<p>In every country, and in every age of the world, the great and leading +effects of tyranny, and of military despotism, will be discovered to +have been the same. Nothing could be a stronger corroboration of this +remark, than that singular and unexpected parallel which was +immediately observed by one of our party who had been long in India, +between the policy adopted by Napoleon, and that followed by the +Brahmins in the East. The Brahmins religiously prohibit travelling; and +the <i>sin</i> of visiting foreign countries is particularized in their +religious instructions. The free publication of the sentiments of +travellers was never permitted under the late Emperor; and the severe +regulations of the police made it extremely difficult for any Frenchman +to travel. The object of both was the same, to prevent any mortifying +and dangerous comparisons between the situation of their own, and the +condition of foreign countries. The Brahmins made it a rule to check the +progress of education, and to discourage the study of their <i>shasters</i>. +As to these seminaries of education, unconnected with military subjects, +Napoleon, if he did not dare actually to abolish them, at least threw +over them the chilling influence of his imperial disapprobation; whilst, +by that general inattention and impunity extended to vicious conduct, +and the ridicule with which he regarded the clergy, he succeeded in +rendering the scriptures contemptible. If, again, the condition of the +French people was in many material respects analogous to the state of +the Hindoos, the education of the women among them (the effect of the +same causes operating in both countries), is completely Mussulman. +Singing, dancing, and playing on the guitar, with a lighter species of +ladies needle-work, forms the whole education of the French women; and +this similarity of political treatment has produced a striking parallel +even in the minuter parts of their national character.</p> + +<p>It is disagreeable to dwell upon the darker parts of their characters; +even amongst those whose dispositions, it must be acknowledged, if +formed in a purer country, and encouraged to develope themselves in all +their native beauty, would have done honour to any nation. Such is the +laxity of moral principle, that a woman of unimpeached character is but +rarely to be found; and I can speak from my own observation and +experience, that examples of criminal conduct, being of frequent +occurrence and generally expected, have ceased to be the objects of +reprobation, and are no longer the subjects of enquiry. What is more +extraordinary, and shews a deeper sort of depravity, is the circumstance +that such instances are entirely confined to the married women. These +are, in their conversation and conduct, indulged, by a kind of general +consent, with every possible freedom, and, by the extraordinary state +of manners, are presented by their husbands with every possible facility +they could desire. A husband and wife in France have generally separate +apartments, or rather inhabit separate wings of their <i>hotel</i>. The +lady's bed-room is appropriated to herself alone. Its walls would be +esteemed polluted by any intrusion of the husband. It is there that, in +an elegant dishabille, she receives the visits of her friends. It is +secure against observation, or interruption of any kind whatever. It, in +short, is the sacred palladium of female indiscretion. Much of this +mischievous licence may, I think, be easily traced to the treatment of +the younger and unmarried women. They are confined under a +superintendance which is as rigorous, as the licence allowed to their +mothers is unbounded. All those affections which begin in their early +years to develope themselves—all those dispositions which are natural +to youth, the innocent love of pleasure, and the passion for the society +of those of their own age, are violently restrained by a system of +confinement. In their early years, they are either banished by their +parents to the seclusion of a convent, or are confined in their own +houses, under the care of a set of severe and withered old women, whom +they term <i>bonnes</i>. The consequence is, that the sullen influence of +these unkindly beings is reflected upon their pupils, and that when, +after their marriage, they are permitted to come forth from their +prison, and mingle in general society, all the sweetness and gentleness +of their original nature is gone for ever. But to return from this +digression upon the ladies, other strong points of resemblance might +easily be pointed out between the French and the native Indian +character. The same low cunning, the same restless spirit of intrigue, +the same gross flattery, the same astonishing command of countenance, +and invariable politeness before strangers, the same complete sacrifice +of every thing, character, principle, reputation, to the love of money; +all these strong and melancholy features are clearly distinguishable in +both. A servant who wishes for a place, a workman who is a candidate for +employment, a shopkeeper who is anxious for customers, all invariably, +as in India, pay money to some one who recommends them; and such is the +poverty of the higher orders, that they compromise the meanness of the +transaction, and receive these bribes with all the alacrity imaginable; +and this system, which begins in these lesser transactions, is, in the +disposal of offices under government, and the regulation of the +patronage of the crown, the prime mover in France. If an office is to be +disposed of, the constant phrase in France is, as in India, <i>il faut +grassier la pate</i>. I was acquainted with two judges in France, who made +not the least scruple to acknowledge that they owed their appointments +to bribes, delicately administered. The bribes consisted in presents of +<i>fruit</i>, presented in <i>a gold dish</i>. The similarity between the French +and the inhabitants of eastern countries, on their hyperbolical +compliments, had been observed by Montesquieu, in his Persian Letters, +before the revolution; and by the effects of that lengthened scene of +guilt and of confusion, as well as by the consequences of the military +despotism under Napoleon, it has been increased to so great a degree, as +to present a parallel more apt and striking than can be easily +conceived.</p> + +<p>The excessive poverty of the higher orders, more particularly amongst +the old nobility, has not only subjected them to this meanness of taking +bribes, but has produced also amongst them a species of fawning +servility of manner towards their inferiors; and this has, in its turn, +in a great degree destroyed that high feeling of superior rank and +superior responsibility, and that standard of amiable and noble +manners, which are amongst the happiest consequences resulting from the +institution of a hereditary nobility. The consequence of this servility +amongst the <i>noblesse</i>, has inevitably produced a corresponding +arrogance and insolence in the lower orders. One may see a French +servant enter his master's room without taking off, or even touching his +hat, engage in the conversation whilst he is mending the fire, throw +himself upon a chair, and thus deliver the message he has been entrusted +with, arrange his neckcloth at the glass, and dance out of the room, +humming a tune. To an Englishman, this familiarity, from its excessive +impudence, creates at first more amusement than irritation; but it +becomes disgusting when we consider its consequences upon national +manners, and that its causes are to be traced to national crime. I have +seen a French gentleman take his grocer by the hand, and embracing him, +hope for his company at supper. This submissive meanness towards their +tradesmen, is of course much increased by their dread of the day of +reckoning; and is therefore ultimately the consequence of their poverty.</p> + +<p>It happened that an English nobleman, who lately visited France, had +shewn much kindness to one of the <i>ancienne noblesse</i> during his stay in +England. For upwards of a year, he had insisted on his living with him +at his country seat. Upon the eve of leaving England for France, he +wrote to his old acquaintance, desiring him to take suitable apartments +for him in Paris. The Frenchman returned a most polite answer, +expressing how much he felt himself hurt by the idea that his Lordship +should dream of taking apartments, whilst his hotel was at his service. +The English nobleman, accordingly, lived for two months at the hotel; +but to his astonishment, upon taking his departure, Monsieur presented +him with a regular bill, charging for every article, and including a +very high rent for the lodgings. This is hardly to be credited by those +unacquainted with the present condition of France; but I am induced to +believe the story to be in every particular correct, as the authority +was unquestionable. This excessive poverty amongst the higher classes, +their being often unable, from their narrow circumstances, to support a +house and separate establishment, their living in miserable lodgings +when they are low in purse, snatching a spare meal at some cheap +restaurateur's, and being unaccustomed to the comfort of regular meals +in their own house, is the cause that they are all devotedly and +generally attached to good eating, whenever they can get it, and that to +such an excess, that a stranger, in attending a ball supper in France, +or treating a French party to dinner, will be astonished at the +perseverance of their palates, and the wonderful expedition with which +both sexes contrive to travel through the various dishes on the table. +The behaviour of Sancho at Camacho's wedding, when he rolled his +delighted eyes over the assembled flesh-pots, is but a prototype of what +I have witnessed equally in French men and French women upon these +occasions.</p> + +<p>At a ball supper, where it is often impossible in England to prevail +upon the ladies to taste a morsel, you may see these delicate females of +France, regale themselves with dressed dishes, swallow, with incredible +avidity, repeated bowls of strong soup, and after a short interval, sit +down to potations of hot punch, strong enough to admit of being set on +fire. Nothing can certainly be more destructive of all ideas of feminine +delicacy, than to see a beautiful woman with one of these midnight bowls +burning before her, and when her complexion is rendered livid by its +flames, looking through this medium like some unknown but voracious +inhabitant of another world.</p> + +<p>An English family of our acquaintance, who had settled at Aix, and who +wished to see company, imagined, naturally, that it would be necessary +to go through all the tedious process of preliminary introductions, +which are necessary in England. A French friend was consulted upon the +subject, and his advice was as simple as it was effectual: <a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a>"Donnez +un souper, cela fera courir tout le monde." Sometime after this, +happening to be conversing with the same gentleman upon this +subject:<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> "Soyez bien sur, Monsieur, (said he), que si le diable +donne a <i>souper, tout le monde soupera dans l'enfers</i>."</p> + +<p>Versatility, that ruling feature in the French character, ought not to +be forgotten. They have of late been so accustomed to change, that +change has become not only natural, but, one would imagine, in some +measure necessary to their happiness. They change their leaders and +their sovereigns, with as much apparent ease as they do their fashions. +On the slightest new impulse, they change their thoughts, their oaths, +their love, their hatred. In this particular, a French mob is the most +remarkable thing in the world; they cannot exist without some favourite +yell, some particular watch-word of the day, or rather of the hour. One +day it is, <a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a>"<i>A bas le tyran! A bas les soldats!</i>" the next it is +"<i>Vive l'Empereur! Vivent les Marchaux! Vive l'armée!</i>" or it is, "<i>Vive +Louis le desiré! Vive le fils de bon Henri!</i>" and in the next breath, +"<i>Vive le nation! Point de loix foedaux! Point des rois! Point de +noblesse!</i>" then, "<i>Point des droits reunis! Point de conscriptions!</i>" +and during the desolating æra of the revolution, their favourite cry +presented an exact picture of the character of the nation—of the same +nation, which, in these dark days of continual horror, could yet amuse, +itself by an exhibition of dancing-dogs, under the blood-dropping stage +of the guillotine; their cry was then, <a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a>"<i>Vive la Mort</i>!" Utterly +inattentive to these inconsistencies, the French people continue +willingly to cry out whatever rallying word may be given to them by +those agents who, working in secret, according to the ruling authorities +and the prevailing politics of the day, are employed to excite them. The +calamitous consequence of this mean and thoughtless principle is, that +they submit themselves to the regulation of all the spies and police +emissaries who, as the pensioned menials of government, are continually +insinuating themselves amongst them. Louis XVIII., unaccustomed to this +system, from his long residence in England, has employed fewer spies +than Napoleon, and the consequence has been, that the cry of Vive le Roi +has never been re-echoed with that same high-sounding, though hollow +enthusiasm, with which they vociferated Vive l'Empereur. An instance of +the pliability of a French mob occurred a short time before our coming +to Aix: When Napoleon, on his way to Elba, passed through Moulines, his +carriage having halted at one of the inns, was immediately surrounded by +a mob, amongst whom a cry of Vive l'Empereur was instantly raised. The +Emperor's servants began laughing, and some one amongst, the mob +imagining it to be in derision, exclaimed, with manifest disappointment, +"Eh bien, Messieurs, que voulez vous donc; mais allons mes amis! crions +tous Vive le Roi;" and having once received this new impulse, they not +only raised, with one consent, a shout of Vive le Roi, but next moment, +by their menaces, compelled Napoleon, who began to tremble for his +person, to join in the cry of loyalty. Such was the miserable situation +of that man, who, in the words of Augereau, <a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a>"apres avoir immolé des +millions des victimes, n'a su mourir en soldat;" and such the treatment +of a French mob to one whose name, the moment before, they had extolled +with all the symptoms of the most devoted enthusiasm.</p> + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">J'ai vu l'impie, adorè sur le terre</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Pareil au cedre, il cachoit dans le cieux</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Son front audacieux.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Il sembloit a son grè gouverner la tonnere,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Fouler aux pieds ses enemis vaincus,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Je ne fis que passer, il a'etoit deja plus.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Amidst all their misfortunes, the French people, and more especially the +peasantry, have contrived to preserve their characteristic gaiety. They +are still, without, doubt, the most cheerful people in Europe, the least +liable to any thing like continued depression, and the most easily +amused by trifles. If we except the peasantry, whose situation is +comparatively comfortable, they are subject to continual deprivations. +They are wretchedly poor, and driven by this poverty to meannesses which +they would in other situations despise. Their labour is frequently +demanded where refusal is impossible, and obedience attended with no +remuneration. They themselves are hurried away, if young, to fill up the +miserable quotas of the conscription; torn from the happiest scenes of +their youth, and banished from every object of their affection. If old, +they are doomed to pass their solitary years uncomforted, and +unsupported. The hopes of their age may have fallen, but amidst all this +complicated misery, it is indeed most wonderful that they yet continue +to be cheerful. The accustomed gaiety of their spirits will not even +then desert them; and meeting with a stranger who enters into +conversation with them, or seated with a few friends at a caffé, they +will sip their liqueurs, smoke their segars, and talk with enthusiasm +of the triumphs and glory of the <i>grande nation</i>, although these +triumphs may have given the fatal blow to all that constituted their +happiness, and in this glory they may see the graves of their children. +This is not patriotism: It is a far lower principle. It is produced by +national pride, vanity, thoughtlessness, a contempt or ignorance of +domestic happiness, and all this allied to an unconquerable levity and +heartlessness of disposition. It is not therefore that severe but noble +principle, the silent offspring between thought and sorrow, which +soothes at least where it cannot cure, and alleviates the acuteness of +individual sufferings, by the consolation that our friends have fallen +in the courageous execution of their duty. It has in its composition +none of those higher feelings, but is more an instinct, and one too of a +shallow and degrading nature, than any thing like a steady and +regulating moral principle.</p> + +<p>This, however, which makes them unconscious to any thing like +unhappiness, renders them, under imprisonment, banishment, and +deprivation, more able to endure the hardships and reverses of war than +any other troops.</p> + +<p>It is perhaps an improper word in speaking of imprisonment and +banishment to a Frenchman, to say they endure it better; the truth is, +they do not feel it so acutely, and the reason is, that the military, +owing to their restless and wandering life, are comparatively less +attached than other troops to their native country. They suffer better, +because they feel less.</p> + +<p>In courage the English soldiers certainly equal them, and in physical +strength they far surpass them; but the mind of a Frenchman is, for hard +service, far better constituted than that of an Englishman. Nothing, it +is well known, is so difficult as to rally an English force after any +thing approaching even to a defeat. This is by no means the case with +the French, and the history of the last campaign, preceding the +restoration of the Borbons, contains a detailed account of many +successive' defeats, after which the French army rallied and fought as +undauntedly as before; and during the last war there was not perhaps a +single battle contended with more determination than that of Toulouse.</p> + +<p>In regard to the lower orders of the peasantry, it is amongst them alone +that we can yet distinctly discern the last traces of the ancient French +character. They are certainly, from the sale of the great landed estates +at the revolution, (which, divided into small farms, were bought by the +lower orders,) for the most part comparatively in a rich and independent +situation; and poverty is far more generally felt by the higher classes +of the nation, than by the regular peasantry of the country. Yet with +all this, they have become neither insolent nor haughty to their +superiors; and you will meet at this day with more real unsophisticated +politeness, and more active civility amongst the present French +peasantry, than is to be found among the nobility or the soldiery of the +nation.</p> + +<p>It is to them alone that the hopes of the revival of the French nation +must ultimately turn. It is from this quarter that France, if she is +ever to possess them, must alone derive those pacific energies, which, +whilst they may render her as a nation less generally terrible, will yet +cause her to be more individually happy.</p> + +<p>In every country, we must regard the peasantry as the sinews and stamina +of the state. They are, in every respect, to the nation what the heart +is to the individual; the centre from which health, energy and vigour +must be imparted to the remotest portions of the political body. If such +is the rank held by the peasantry <i>in all countries</i>, much more +important: is the station which they at present fill in <i>France</i>, and +far more momentous (owing to the circumstances in which that kingdom now +stands), are the duties which they owe to their country. It is there +alone that any sufficient antidote can be found for that political +misery, occasioned by such a course of unprincipled national triumphs, +as had been so long the boast of France, and which we have so lately +closed in all the splendour of legitimate victory. It is to them that +the court must look for the restoration of that moral principle, which, +under the administration of the late Emperor, it so thoroughly despised: +It is to them that the army must look for the restoration of those high +feelings of military honour, which we shall seek in vain in the present +soldiery of France: It is from them that the great landed proprietors +and the country gentlemen (if that honourable name is ever again to be +realised in France), must learn to sacrifice their schemes of individual +enjoyment, and to renounce the dissipations of the capital for the +severer duties which await them in the interior of the kingdom.</p> + +<p>I have before mentioned that civility and politeness which is still so +characteristic of the peasantry of the kingdom. In addition to this, +from every thing I could observe, they appeared to be really +comfortable, and their invariable cheerfulness was accompanied by that +flow of easy unpremeditated mirth, which gave us the impression that +they were really happy. In the streets of Paris, and in the different +ranks of society in the capital, you see, I think, the same outward +symptoms of happiness; but, in many instances, their high sounding +expressions of joy appear more like the wish to be happy, than the sober +possession of happiness. The soldiery, in particular, seem, by their +loud and repeated sallies, to have embraced a desperate kind of plan, of +actually roaring themselves into forgetfulness; whereas the peasantry of +the kingdom, after having passed the day in the labour of their fields +or vineyards, dispersing in little troops through their village, the old +to converse over the stories of their youth, the young dancing to the +pipe and tabor, or singing in little groupes, arranged on the green +seats under their orchard trees, appear, without effort, to sink into +that enviable state of unforced enjoyment, which falls upon their minds +as easily and calmly as the sleep of Heaven upon their eyelids.</p> + +<p>Amongst the French, dancing is that strong and prevailing passion which +is found in every rank in society, which is confined to no sex, nor +age, nor figure, but is universally disseminated throughout every +portion of the kingdom; from the cottage to the court, from the cradle +to the grave, the French invariably dance when they can seize an +opportunity. Nay, the older the individual, the more vigorous seems to +be the passion. Wrinkles may furrow the face, but lassitude never +attacks the limbs.</p> + +<p>It is their singular perseverance in this favourite pursuit which +renders a French ball to a stranger more than commonly ludicrous. In +England, when the company begins to assemble, you are delighted with the +troops of young and blooming girls, who throng into the dancing room, +with faces beaming with the desire, and forms bounding with the +anticipation of pleasure. In France, you must conceive the room to be +superbly lighted up, and the walls covered with large mirrors, which, in +their indefinite multiplication, suffer nothing, however ludicrous, to +escape them. The folding doors slowly open, and there begins to hobble +in, (as quick as their advanced years will permit them,) unnumbered +forms of aged ladies and gentlemen, intermixed with some possessing +certainly the firmer step of middle life, but few or none who dare +pretend to the activity of youth. On one side comes the old <i>Marquis</i>, +dressed in the extremity of the fashion, every ruffle replete with +effect, and not a curl but what he would tremble to remove, stepping, +with the most finished complacency, at the side of some antiquated dame +of sixty, who minces and rustles at his side in the costume of sixteen. +Previous to the dancing, it is indeed ridiculous to observe the series +of silent tendernesses, the sly looks and fascinating glances with which +these old worthies entertain each other. Meanwhile the music strikes up, +and the floor is instantly covered with waltzers. It is well known, that +the waltz is a dance, above all others, requiring grace and youth, and +activity in those who perform it. Nothing, therefore, to a stranger, can +be more entertaining, than the sight of those motley and aged couples, +who, with a desperate resolution, stand up to bid defiance to the +warnings of nature; and who, after they have first swallowed a tumbler +of punch, (which is their constant practice,) begin to reel round with +the waltzers, putting you in mind of Miss Edgeworth's celebrated Irish +horse, <i>Knockegroghery</i>, who needed to have porter poured down his +throat, and to be warmed in his harness, before he could achieve any +thing like continued motion. In England, few ladies, unless those who +are extremely young, ever dream of dancing after their marriage. In +France, the young ladies before marriage are seldom admitted into +company; after marriage, therefore, their gaiety instantly commences, +and continues literally until the total failure of the physical powers +of nature puts an end to the ability, though not to the love of +pleasure. Any thing, therefore, it may be well believed, which comes +between the French ladies and this mania for dancing, produces no +ordinary effect. One of our party observed at a ball, a French lady of +quality in the deepest mourning. On coming up to her, she remarked to +the English lady, with a face of much melancholy, that her situation was +indeed deplorable. "Look at me," said she, "these are the weeds for my +mother, who has only been two months dead. Do you see these odious black +gloves; they will not permit me to join in your amusements; but oh! how +the heart dances, when the feet can't." "Come, come," said another +female waltzer of fifty, whose round little body we had traced at +intervals, rolling and pirouetting about the room; "come, we forget that +the fast of Ash Wednesday begins at twelve. We may sup well before +twelve, but not a morsel after it. We have but one short hour to eat, +but we may dance, you know, all night."</p> + +<p>By our acquaintance with the best society in Aix, we have enjoyed no +unfavourable opportunity of forming an idea of the present condition of +society in the south of France. One of the first circumstances which we +all remarked, and which has probably occurred to most who have +associated in French society, was the wide range over which the titles +of nobility extended. We indeed heard, that at Aix, where we resided, +and at Toulouse, there were to be found more of the old nobility than in +any other parts of France. These towns were, on account of the cheapness +of living, the depôts of the emigrant gentlemen whose fortunes had been +reduced by the revolution, the receptacles of the ancient aristocracy of +France. Yet even making every allowance for this circumstance, when we +recollect the appearance and manners of many who were dignified by the +titles of Marquis, Counts and Barons, it was impossible not to feel +that, when compared with our own country, there was a kind of +profanation of the aristocracy; and I should not be much surprised, if +it was afterwards discovered, by some who would take the pains to +investigate the subject narrowly, that in these remote parts of the +kingdom, there subsisted a species of silent understood compact, by +which the parties agreed, that if the one was dignified by his friends +with the title of <i>Marquis</i>, he would in his turn make no scruple to +favour the other with the appellation of <i>Count</i>. Certainly, when +requested to explain the principles upon which titles of dignity +descended, the account given by these noblemen themselves was quite +unsatisfactory, and nearly unintelligible. The different orders also of +knighthood, appeared to us to be very widely extended. The Chevaliers de +St Louis were literally swarming. You could scarcely enter a shop, where +you did not instantly discover one or more of these gentry sitting on +the counter, conversing with the shopkeeper, or flirting with his +daughter or wife. In their dress and general appearance in the forenoon, +there appeared to be an unlimited latitude of shabbiness allowed both to +the ladies and gentlemen; while in the evening, on the contrary, whether +at home or abroad, we found them uniformly handsomely, and, making +allowance for the difference of national costume, often elegantly drest. +Nothing, indeed, could be more singular than the contrast between the +extraordinary apparel of the same ladies (and those ladies of quality, +marchionesses and countesses) whom we had visited at their own houses +in the forenoon, and their appearance, when we met them in the evening, +at the public concerts or private parties given at Aix. In the morning, +you will find them receiving visits in their bed-rooms in the most +complete dishabille; their night-cap not removed, a little bed-gown +thrown carelessly over them; their hair in papillots, and their handsome +ancles covered by coarse list slippers. In the evening, the <i>bonnet de +nuit</i> is discarded, and a snow-white plume of feathers waves upon its +former foundation; the little bed-gown is thrown aside, and a superb +robe of satin rustles and glitters in its stead; the head, instead of +being bristled with papillots, is clothed with the most luxuriant curls; +and the unrivalled foot and ancle display at once, in the beauty of +their shape and the elegance of their decoration, the bounty of nature +and the unwearied assiduity of nature's assistant journeymen—the +shoemakers. The style of French parties is certainly very dissimilar to +those we are accustomed to in our own country. And this difference is +easily to be traced to the remarkable differences in the character of +the two nations. To the prevailing influence of the fancy, the power of +imagination and the love of amusement amongst the French, and to those +ideas of sober sense, that spirit of phlegmatic indifference, and the +engrossing influence of public employments, which are remarkable in the +English nation. During our residence in the south, we were invited by +the Countess de R—— to a ball, which, she told us, was given in honour +of her son's birth-day. We went accordingly, and were first received in +the card-rooms, which we found brilliantly lighted and decorated, and +full of company. We were then conducted into another handsome apartment +fitted up as a theatre. The curtain rose, and the young Count de R—— +tripped lightly from behind the scenes, with the most complete +self-possession, and at the same time, with great elegance, begun a +little address to the audience, apologising for his inability to amuse +them as he could have wished, and concluded his address, by singing, +with a great deal of action, two French songs. He then skipped nimbly +off the stage and returned, leading in the principal actress at the +theatre here, M. de——. They performed together a little dramatic +interlude composed for the occasion; the company then adjourned into the +card-rooms, and the evening concluded by a ball. At another private +party we attended when the company were assembled; a folding door flew +open, and a party of ladies and gentlemen, fantastically drest as +shepherds and shepherdesses, flew into the room, and to our great +amusement, began acting with their pipes and crooks and garlands, and +all the paraphernalia of pastoral life, those employments of rural +labour, or scenes of rustic courtship, which, in their public +amusements, we have before remarked as peculiar favourites with the +French people.</p> + +<p>If, as we have above remarked, for the hopes of the restoration of +truth, and honour, and principle, in France, we must turn to the lower +orders, it will not, I trust, be thought too trifling to observe, that +any thing like real excellence in music, another favourite national +propensity, is, as far as we could observe, to be found in the peasantry +alone. The music of the capital, the modern compositions performed at +the opera, the prevailing songs of the day, are all noisy, unmeaning, +unharmonious (I speak, of course, merely from personal feeling, and with +deference to those better able to form an opinion upon the subject;) but +it is impossible to hear the unharmonious crash which proceeds from the +orchestra of the opera, without immediately recollecting the celebrated +pun of Rosseau: "Pour l'Academie de musique, certainement il fait le +plus du bruit du monde." On the other hand, it is amongst the peasantry +alone that you now find the ancient music of France. Those airs which +are so deeply associated with all the glory and gallantry of the old +monarchy; those songs of olden times, which were chanted by the +wandering Troubadours, as they returned from foreign wars to their +native vallies, and whose simple melody recalls the days of chivalry in +which they arose: these, and all others of the same æra, which once +composed in truth the national music of this great people, are no longer +to be found amongst the higher classes of the community. But they still +exist among the peasantry. The vine-dresser, as he begins, with the +rising sun, his labours in the vineyards; or the poor muleteer, as he +drives his cattle to the water, will chant, as he goes along, those +ancient airs, which, in all their native simplicity, he has heard from +his fathers; and which, in other days, have echoed through the halls of +feudal pride, or have been sung in the bowers of listening beauty. Of +the prevalence of this refined taste in poetry among the lower orders of +the peasantry, the following fragment of an old ballad, still very +commonly sung to the ancient Troubadour air by the peasantry of +Provence, may be given as a familiar instance:</p> + + +<p class="poem"><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">LE TROUBADOUR.</span><br /><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Un gentil Troubadour</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Qui chant et fait la guerre,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Revennit chez son Pere</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Revant a son amour.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Gages de sa valeur</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Suspendus en echarpe,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Son epée et sa harpe</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Croisaient sur son cœur.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Il rencontre en chemin</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Pelerine jolie</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Qui voyage et qui prie</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Un rosaire a la main,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Colerette aux longs plies</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Gouvre sa fine taille,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Et grande chapeau de paille</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Cache son front divin.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Ah! gentil Troubadour,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Si tu reviens fidele,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Chant un couplet pour celle</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Qui benit ton retour."</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Pardonnez mon refus,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Pelerine jolie,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sans avoir vu m'amie,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Je ne chanterai plus."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Ne la revois tu pas—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Oh Troubadour fidele,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Regarde la—C'est elle,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ouvre lui donc tes bras.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Priant pour notre amour</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">J'allois en pelerine</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A la vierge divine</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Demander son secours."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>I believe no apology need be made for subjoining here, another very +favourite song in the French army: One of our party heard it sung by a +body of French soldiers, who were on their return to their homes, from +the campaign of Moscow.</p> + + + + +<p class="poem"> +<span style="margin-left: 6em;">LA CENTINELLE.</span><br /><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">L'Astre de nuit dans son paisible eclat</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lanca ses feux sur les tentes de la France,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Non loin de camp un jeune et beau soldat</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ainsi chantoit appuyè sur sa lance.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">"Allez, volez, zephyrs joyeux,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Portez mes vœux vers ma patrie,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Dites que je veille dans ces lieux,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Que je veille dans ces lieux,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">C'est pour la gloire et pour m'amie.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">L'Astre de jour r'animera le combat,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Demain il faut signaler ma valence;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Dans la victoire on trouve le trepas,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Mais si je meura an coté de ma lance,—</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Volez encore, zephyrs joyeux,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Portez mes regrets vers ma patrie,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Dites que je meurs dans ces lieux,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">Que je meurs dans ces lieux,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">C'est pour la gloire et pour m'amie."</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>It is certainly productive of no common feelings, when, in travelling +into the interior of the country, you find these beautiful songs, so +much despised in the metropolis! of the nation, still lingering in their +native vallies, and shedding their retiring sweetness over those scenes +to which they owed their birth.</p> + +<p>How much is it to be desired that some man of genius, some lover of the +real glory of his country, would collect, with religious hand, these +scattered flowers, which are so fast sinking into decay, and again raise +into general estimation the beautiful and forgotten music of his native +land.</p> + +<p>In a discussion upon French manners, and the present condition of French +society, it is impossible but that one great and leading observation +must almost immediately present itself, and the truth of which, on +whatever side, or to whatever class of society you may turn, becomes +only the more apparent as you take the longer time to consider it; this +is, that the French <i>carry on every thing in public</i>. That every thing, +whether it is connected with business or with pleasure, whether it +concerns the more serious affair of political government, or the pursuit +of science, or the cultivation of art, or whether it is allied only to a +taste for society, to the gratification of individual enjoyment, to the +passing occupations of the day, or the pleasures of the evening—all, in +short, either of serious, or of lighter nature, is open and public. It +is carried on abroad, where every eye may see, and every ear may listen. +Every one who has visited France since the revolution must make this +remark. The first thing that strikes a stranger is, that a Frenchman has +<i>no home</i>: He lives in the middle of the public; he breakfasts at a +caffé; his wife and family generally do the same. During the day, he +perhaps debates in the Corps Legislatif, or sleeps over the essays in +the Academie des Sciences, or takes snuff under the Apollo, or talks of +the fashions of the Nouvelle Cour, at the side of the Venus de Medicis, +or varies the scene by feeding the bears in the Jardin des Plantes. He +then dines abroad at a restaurateur's. His wife either is there with +him, or perhaps she prefers a different house, and frequents it alone. +His sons and daughters are left to manage matters as they best can. The +sons, therefore, frequent their favourite caffés, whilst the daughters +remain confined under the care of their <i>bonnes</i> or <i>duennas</i>. In the +evening he strolls about the Palais, joins some friend or another, with +whom he takes his caffé, and sips his liqueurs in the Salon de Paix or +Milles Colonnes; he then adjourns to the opera, where, for two hours, he +will twist himself into all the appropriate contortions of admiration, +and vent his joy, in the strangest curses of delight, the moment that +Bigottini makes her appearance upon the stage; and, having thus played +those many parts which compose his motley day, he will return at night +to his own lodging, perfectly happy with the manner he has employed it, +and ready, next morning, to recommence, with recruited alacrity, the +same round of heterogeneous enjoyment. Such is, in fact, an epitome of +the life of all Frenchmen, who are not either bourgeoise, employed +constantly in their shops during the day, or engaged in the civil or +military avocations—of those who are in the same situation in France, +as our gentlemen of independent fortune in England. Another peculiarity +is, that the Frenchmen of the present day are not only always abroad, in +the midst <i>of the public</i>, but that they invariably flock from the +interior of the kingdom into Paris, and there engage in those public +exhibitions, and bustle about in that endless routine of business or +pleasure, which is passing in the capital. The French nobility, and the +men of property who still remain in the kingdom, invariably spend their +lives in Paris. Their whole joy consists la exhibiting themselves in +public in the capital. Their magnificent chateaus, their parks, their +woods and fields, and their ancient gardens, decorated by the taste, and +often cultivated by the hands of their fathers, are allowed to fall into +unpitied ruin. If they retire for a few weeks to their country seat, it +is only to collect the rents from their neglected peasantry, to curse +themselves for being condemned to the <i>triste sejour</i> of their paternal +estate; and, after having thus replenished their coffers, to dive again +from their native woods, with renewed strength, into all the publicity +and dissipation of the capital. This was not always the state of things +in France. Previous to, and during the reign of Henry IV. the manners, +the society, and the mode of life of the nobility and gentlemen of the +kingdom, were undoubtedly different The country was not then deserted +for the town; the industry of the peasantry was exerted under the +immediate eye of the proprietor; and his happiness formed, we may +believe, no inferior object in the mind of his master; If we look at +the domestic memoirs which describe the condition of France in these +ancient days, we shall find that even from the early age of Francis I. +till the commencement of the political administration of Richelieu, the +situation of this country presented a very different picture; and that +the lives of the country gentlemen were passed in a very opposite manner +from that unnatural state of the kingdom to which we have above alluded. +Even the condition of the interior of the kingdom, as it is now seen, +points to this happier state of things. Their chateaus, which are now +deserted,—their silent chambers, with tarnished gilding and decaying +tapestry, remind us of the days when the old nobleman was proud to spend +his income on the decoration and improvement of his property; the +library, on whose walls we see the family pictures, in those hunting and +shooting dresses which tell of the healthier exercises of a country +retirement; whilst on the shelves, there sleeps undisturbed the +forgotten literature of the Augustan age of France—all this evidently +shows, that there was once, at least, to be found in the interior of the +kingdom, another and a different state of things. In the essays of +Montaigne, the private life of a French gentleman is admirably +depicted. His days appear to have been divided between his family, his +library, and his estate. A French nobleman lived then happy in the seat +of his ancestors. His family grew up around him; and he probably visited +the town as rarely as the present nobility do the country,—the +education of his children,—the care of his peasantry,—the rural +labours of planting and gardening,—the sports of the country,—the +<i>grandes chasses</i> which he held in his park, surrounded by troops of +servants who had been born on his estate, and who evinced their +affection by initiating the young heir into all the mysteries of the +chase, the enjoyment of the society of his friends and neighbours; all +these varied occupations filled up the happy measure of his useful and +enviable existence. The life of the country proprietor in these older +days of France, assimilated, in short, in a great degree to the present +manner of life amongst the same classes which is still observable in +England.</p> + +<p>It is impossible to conceive any thing more striking than the difference +between this picture of a French chateau in these older days, and the +condition in which you find them at the present moment. We once visited +the chateau of one of the principal noblemen in Provence; and he +himself had the politeness to accompany us. The situation of the castle +was perfectly beautiful; but on coming nearer, every thing showed that +it was completely neglected. The different rooms, which were once +superb, were now bare and unfurnished. The walks through the park, the +seats and temples in the woods, and the superb gardens, were speedily +going to decay. The surface of his ponds, in the midst of which the +fountains still played, were covered with weeds, and the rank grass was +waving round the bases of the marble statues, which were placed at the +termination of the green alleys; every thing showed the riches, the +care, and the taste of a former generation, and the carelessness, and +neglect of the present. On remonstrating with the proprietor, he +defended himself by telling us how lonely he should feel at such a +distance from Paris: "<i>C'est toujours ici (said he), un triste sejour</i>." +A collation was served up, and after this, being in want of amusement, +he opened a closet in the corner of the room, and discovered to us, in +its recess, a vast variety of toys, which he began to exhibit to the +ladies, telling us, "that when forced to live in the country, he +diverted his solitary hours with these entertaining little affairs."</p> + +<p>Nothing certainly can be more striking than this contrast between the +modern and ancient life of a French proprietor or nobleman; and it is a +question which must necessarily arise in the mind of every one, who has +observed this remarkable difference, what are the causes to which so +great a change is owing? Perhaps, if we look into it, this extraordinary +change will be found to have arisen chiefly out of the vigorous, but +dangerous policy of that age, when, under the administration of +Richelieu, the power of the sovereign rose upon the ruins of the +aristocracy—when the institution of standing armies first began to be +systematically followed—and when, by the perfection of their police, +and that vilest of all inventions, their espionage, the comfort, the +security, and the confidence of society was destroyed, by the secret +influence of these poisonous and pensioned menials of government. In the +successful accomplishment of these three great objects, was involved the +destruction of that older state of France, which was to be seen under +Henry III. and IV. The schemes by which Richelieu succeeded in drawing +the nobility from the interior of the country to Paris, the style of +splendid living, sumptuous expences, and magnificent entertainments +which he introduced, produced two unhappy effects; it removed them from +their country seats, and forced them at the same time to drain their +estates, in order to defray their increasing expences in the capital. It +made them dependent in a great measure upon the crown; and thus tied +them down to Paris. On the other hand, by what has been termed his +<i>admirable</i> police, by his encouragement to all informers, by the +jealousy of any thing like private intercourse, he rendered the +retirement of their homes, the fire-side of their families, instead of +that sacred spot, around which was once seated all the charities of +life, the very center of all that was hollow, gloomy, and suspicious. It +was in this manner that the French seem actually to have been driven +from the society of their families, to seek a kind of desperate solitude +in public; and that which was at first a necessity, has, in the progress +of time, become an established habit. But I have to apologise for +introducing, in a chapter of this light nature, and that perhaps in too +strong language, these vague conjectures upon so serious a subject as +this change in the condition of French society.</p> + +<p>One necessary effect of the taste for publicity, formerly mentioned, is, +that in France every thing is in some way or other attempted to be made +a <i>spectacle</i>; and this favourite word itself has gradually grown into +such universal usage, that it has acquired such power over the minds of +all classes of the people, as to be hardly ever out of their mouths. +Whatever they are describing, be it grave or gay, serious or ludicrous, +a comedy or a tragedy, a scene in the city or in the country; in short, +every thing, of whatever nature or character it may chance to be, which +is seen in public, is included under this all-comprehensive term; and +the very highest praise which can be given it, is, "Ah Monsieur, c'est +un <i>vrai</i> spectacle. C'est un spectacle tout a <i>fait superbe</i>." It is +this taste for spectacles, this inordinate passion for every thing +producing <i>effect</i>, every thing which can add in this manner to what +they conceive ought to be the necessary arrangement in all public +exhibitions, which has, in many of these exhibitions, completely +destroyed all the deeper feelings which they would otherwise naturally +be calculated to produce. It is this taste which has created that +dreadful and disgusting anomaly in national antiquities, the Museé des +Monumens François, which has mangled and dilapidated the monuments of +the greatest men, and the memorials of the proudest days of France, to +produce in Paris a spectacle worthy of the <i>grande nation</i>. It is this +same taste, which, in that solemn commemoration of the death of their +king, the <i>service solennel</i> for Louis XVI. contrived to introduce a +species of affected parade,—a detailed and theatrical sort of grief,—a +kind of meretricious mummery of sorrow, which banished all the feelings, +and almost completely destroyed the impression which such a scene in any +other country would inevitably have produced. Any thing, it may be +easily imagined, which gratifies this general taste for public +exhibitions, and any thing which is fitted to increase their effect, is +greeted by the French with the highest applause. One would have +imagined, that the first appearance of Lord Wellington in the French +opera, would, to most Frenchmen, have been a circumstance certainly not +to make an exhibition of: Very far from it—The presence of Lord +Wellington added greatly to the general effect of the spectacle. This +was all the French thought of; and he was received, if possible, with +more enthusiastic applause, and more reiterated greetings than the royal +family of France. Would a French conqueror have met with the same +reception in the opera at London?</p> + +<p>When the reviews of the Russian troops were daily occurring in the Champ +de Mars, an anxiety to examine the state of their discipline, and the +general condition of their army, induced us punctually to attend them. +What was our astonishment, when we saw <i>several</i> barouches full of +French ladies, seemingly taking the greatest delight in superintending +the manœuvres of the very men who had conquered the armies, and occupied +the capital of their country; and delighted with the attentions which +were paid them by the different Russian officers who had led them to +victory?</p> + +<p>But there is yet another exhibition in Paris, which is at once the most +singular in its nature, and which shows, in the very strongest light, +this general deep-set passion in the French, for the creation of what +they imagine the necessary <i>effect</i> which ought to be attended to in +every thing which is displayed in public, I mean that extraordinary +exhibition which they term the Catacombs. These catacombs are large +subterraneous excavations, which stretch themselves to a great extent +under Paris; and which were originally the quarries which furnished the +stones for building the greater part of that capital. You arrive at them +by descending, by torch light, a narrow winding stair, which strikes +perpendicularly into the bosom of the earth; and which, although its +height is not above 70 feet, leads you to a landing-place, so dark and +dismal, that it might be as well in the centre of the earth as so near +its surface. After walking for a considerable time through different +obscure subterranean streets, you arrive at the great stone gate of the +catacombs, above which you can read by the light of the torches, "<i>The +Habitation of the Dead.</i>" On entering, you find yourself in a dark wide +hall, supported by broad stone pillars, with a low arched roof, the +further end of which is hid in complete obscurity; but the walls of +which, (as they are illuminated by the livid and feeble gleam of the +torches), are discovered to be completely formed of human bones. All +this, as far as I have yet described,—- the subterranean streets which +you traverse,—the dark gate of the great hall, over which you read the +simple but solemn inscription,—and the gloom and silence of the +chambers, whose walls you discover to be furnished in this terrible +manner, is fitted to produce a most deep and powerful effect. To find +yourself the only living being, surrounded on every side by the dead; to +be the only thing that possesses the consciousness of existence, while +millions of those who have once <i>been</i> as you <i>are</i>—millions of all +ages, from the infant who has just looked in upon this world, in its +innocent road to heaven, to the aged, who has fallen in the fullness of +years;—and the young, the gay, and the beautiful of former centuries, +lie all cold and silent around you:—it is impossible that these deep +and united feelings should not powerfully affect the mind,—should not +lead it to rivet its thoughts upon that last scene, which all are to act +alone, and where, in the cold and unconscious company of the dead, we +are here destined to "end the strange, eventful history" of our nature: +But unfortunately, the guide, who now approaches you, insists upon your +examining the details, which he conceives it is his duty to point out; +and it is then that you discover, that this prevailing taste for +producing effect, this love of the arrangements necessary to complete +the <i>spectacle</i>, has invaded even this sacred receptacle. The ornaments +which he points out, and which are curiously framed of the whitest and +most polished bones; little altars which are built of the same materials +in the corners of the chambers, and crowned with what the artists have +imagined the handsomest skulls; and the frequent poetical quotations, +which, upon a nearer view, you discern upon the walls;—all this, in the +very worst style of French taste, evinces, that the same unhallowed +hands which had dared to violate the monuments of their heroes, have not +scrupled to intrude their presumptuous and miserable efforts, even into +the humbler sanctuary allotted to the dead.</p> + +<p>I have above described the singular, and, to a stranger, most +entertaining scenes which take place at the French balls. If, however, +owing to this extraordinary state of manners, to the ludicrous ardour of +the old ladies, and the very moderate proportion of the young ones, a +French ball is more the scene of aged folly, than of youthful pleasure, +it must be allowed, that in another style of society, their lesser +parties, they far excel us. The conversation in these is easy, natural, +and often even fascinating. The terms of polite familiarity with which +you yourself are regarded, and with which you are encouraged to treat +all around you; the absence of every thing like stiffness, or formality; +the little interludes of music, in which, either in singing, or in +performing on some instrument, most of those you meet are able to take a +part; the round games which are often introduced, and where all forget +themselves to be happy, and to make others so,—this species of party is +certainly something far superior to those crowded assemblies, engrafted +now, as it would appear, with general consent, upon English society; +and which, with a ludicrous perversity, we have denominated by that +sacred word of Home, which has so long connected itself with scenes of +tranquil and unobtrusive enjoyment.</p> + +<p>After having given such a picture of the general state of French +society, as we have presented in this chapter, it would be highly unjust +if we did not mention, that to the above descriptions of life and +manners, we found many exceptions. That we met with many very +intelligent men, of liberal education and gentlemanly conduct; and that +in the town where we resided, and indeed generally during our travels, +we experienced the greatest hospitality and kindness. The most amiable +features in the French character are shewn in their conduct to +strangers. But this is one of the few points in which we think they +deserve the imitation of our countrymen; and we have been the more full +in our observations upon their faults, because we trust that there may +ever remain a marked difference between the two nations.</p> + +<p>The present we consider as the moment when all those who have had +opportunities of judging of the French character, ought in duty to make +public the information they have collected; for it is now that a more +perfect intercourse must produce its effects upon the two nations; and +taking it as an established maxim, that "vice to be hated, needs only to +be seen," we have thus hastily laid our observations before the public, +claiming their indulgence for the manifold faults to which our anxious +desire to avail ourselves of the favourable moment has unavoidably given +rise.</p> + + +<h3><a name="REGISTER" id="REGISTER"></a>REGISTER OF THE WEATHER.</h3> + +<hr class="ten" /> +<p class="no"><span class="lt">T</span><span class="smcap">he</span> +climate of the south of France is, very generally, recommended for +those invalids who are suffering under pulmonary complaints. The author +of the foregoing work having resided at Aix, in Provence, during the +winter months, has thought it right to publish the following short +Register of the Weather, for the use of those who may have it in view to +try the benefit of change of climate. His object is to show, that +although, in general, the climate is much milder than in England or +Scotland, yet there is much greater variety than is generally imagined. +Upon the whole, he conceives, that he derived considerable benefit from +his residence at Aix. But such were the difficulties in travelling, and +so great was the want of comfort in the houses in the south of France, +that he is of opinion, that in most cases a residence in Devonshire +would be found fully as beneficial.</p> + +<p class="sp">From experience in his own case, he can venture to affirm, that where +the patient, labouring under a pulmonary complaint, visits the south of +France, he should perform the journey by sea, which appears to him as +beneficial as the land journey is hurtful.</p> + +<p class="sp">In keeping the following Register, the thermometer was in the shade, +though in a warm situation. The time of observation was between 12 and 1 +in France, and between 10 and 11 in Edinburgh.</p> + + +<table summary="weather" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" +style="text-align:center;"> + +<tr><td colspan="4" +style="line-height:100px;"> </td></tr> + +<tr><td colspan="4" align="center" +style="line-height:100px;border-bottom:1px black solid; +border-top:1px black solid;"><b>AIX.</b></td></tr> + + +<tr><td align="right">Dec.</td><td> </td><td align="right"><i>Ther</i></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">12.</td><td>Air delightful, like a fine day in June--sun very powerful,</td><td align="right">60</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">13.</td><td>The air rather damp and heavy--the sun very powerful,</td><td align="right">65</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">14.</td><td>Excepting in the sun, it was cold to-day, like to a spring day--the <i>Vent de Bise</i> prevailed in the morning,</td><td align="right">59</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">15.</td><td>Frosty day--but between twelve and two the sun powerful, and the climate delightful,</td><td align="right">56</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">16.</td><td>The air frosty, but the sun very powerful--temperature delightful, though sharp and bracing--air very dry,</td><td align="right">56</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">17.</td><td>Air more mild--sun exceedingly hot--this was a charming day--the air still sufficiently bracing,</td><td align="right">59</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">18.</td><td>No sun to-day--very mild air, but damp,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">19.</td><td>No sun to-day--air very damp, and a little rain--a mild day, but very disagreeable,</td><td align="right">56</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">20.</td><td>Rain all night--thick mist in the morning, air damp--at twelve, the day broke up, and it was pleasant,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">21.</td><td>Rain in the night--day damp, raw and cold,</td><td align="right">52</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">22.</td><td>Day cleared up about twelve--air rather damp and raw--a great deal of rain in the night,</td><td align="right">52</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">23.</td><td>Clear day, but wind fresh and cold--pleasant in the sun,</td><td align="right">53</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">24.</td><td>Clear day--wind fresh and unpleasant--air damp,</td><td align="right">53</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">25.</td><td>Clear day--wind very cold, but pleasant in the sun,</td><td align="right">52</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">26.</td><td>Day very cloudy, with rain--rain all night--air damp and very cold,</td><td align="right">50</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">27.</td><td>Day still cloudy, though clearing up--air rather raw,</td><td align="right">52</td><td>½</td></tr> + + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">28.</td><td>Day clear, morning frosty, but at noon temperature delightful,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">29.</td><td>Day clear, frosty, at twelve most charming,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">30.</td><td>The same as yesterday,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">31.</td><td>Ditto, <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">1815. Jan. 1.</td><td valign="bottom">Day frosty, very cold in the morning, ice of one-fourth of an inch on the pools; at twelve most delightful in the sun,</td><td +valign="bottom" align="right">52</td><td +valign="bottom">¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">2.</td><td>Clear frosty day, very pleasant in the sun,</td><td align="right">52</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">3.</td><td>Dark, cloudy, raw and cold; no going out,</td><td align="right">45</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">4.</td><td>A clear frosty day, very cold, but pleasant in the sun,</td><td align="right">47</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">5.</td><td>Intensely cold and cloudy; no sun,</td><td align="right">40</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">6.</td><td>Intensely cold, a bitter wind, cloudy, and no sun,</td><td align="right">41</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">7.</td><td>Not quite so cold, but raw, windy and disagreeable; snow at night,</td><td align="right">47</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">8.</td><td>Very cold, but pleasant in the sun; no wind,</td><td align="right">44</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">9.</td><td>The same as yesterday,</td><td align="right">43</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">10.</td><td>Air much milder; very pleasant in the sun,</td><td align="right">50</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">11.</td><td>Cold and windy; air rather raw; the <i>mistral</i> blowing,</td><td align="right">50</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">12.</td><td>Cold and windy; <i>mistral</i> blowing,</td><td align="right">45</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">13.</td><td>Wind fallen, but cold continues; air more dry,</td><td align="right">44</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">14.</td><td>Snow in the night, rain in the morning; cold and raw day,</td><td align="right">45</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">15.</td><td>Cold, but more dry; no sun, very unpleasant, and every appearance of snow,</td><td align="right">43</td><td>¼</td></tr> + + + + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">16.</td><td>Snow in the night, dry cold day, but brilliant and powerful sun,</td><td align="right">41</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">17.</td><td>Very high <i>mistral</i>, blowing intensely cold; air milder than yesterday,</td><td align="right">43</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">18.</td><td>Still very cold, but pleasant in the sun; no wind,</td><td align="right">43</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">19.</td><td>Cold increased, hard frost; not wind,</td><td align="right">34</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">20.</td><td>Cold continues, but not so severe,</td><td align="right">38</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">21.</td><td>Clear frosty day, but cold diminished; delightful in the sun,</td><td align="right">43</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">22.</td><td>Clear frosty day, but cold; sun very powerful</td><td align="right">43</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">23.</td><td>Clear frosty day, sun pleasant,</td><td align="right">48</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">24.</td><td>Cloudy and damp, but air milder; no sun,</td><td align="right">43</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">25.</td><td>Rain the greater part of the day, cloudy and damp; air milder,</td><td align="right">43</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">26.</td><td>Cloudy all day, but air milder,</td><td align="right">47</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">27.</td><td>Cloudy and damp; but the air very mild,</td><td align="right">50</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">28.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span></td><td align="right">50</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">29.</td><td>Day clear and sunny, very pleasant</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">30.</td><td>Rainy all day long; air colder,</td><td align="right">50</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">31.</td><td>Day clears up, but air moist; air mild,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">Feb. 1.</td><td>Day cloudy and damp; air mild,</td><td align="right">52</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">2.</td><td>Day very clear, delightful sun,</td><td align="right">54</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">3.</td><td>Day cloudy and damp, air very mild,</td><td align="right">52</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">4.</td><td>Day clear, very windy, but air very mild,</td><td align="right">56</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">5.</td><td>Day very clear, bright sun, no wind, but air colder,</td><td align="right">52</td><td>¼</td></tr> + + + + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">6.</td><td>Day very clear, bright sun, no wind, air mild</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">7.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span></td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">8.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span></td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">9.</td><td>Day cloudy, a little rain, air colder,</td><td align="right">52</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">10.</td><td>Day very cloudy, a little rain, air mild, but damp, heavy, and unpleasant,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">11.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span></td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">12.</td><td>Day clearer, but still heavy, and rather damp; air mild</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">13.</td><td>Day damp, cloudy, great deal of rain wind, air cold,</td><td align="right">50</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">14.</td><td>Much the same,</td><td align="right">50</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">15.</td><td>Fine clear day, sun very hot, air mild,</td><td align="right">56</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">16.</td><td>Raw and damp, a little rain,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">17.</td><td>Delightful day, but good deal of wind; sun very powerful,</td><td align="right">56</td><td>¾</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">18.</td><td>Delightful day, no wind, sun very powerful,</td><td align="right">61</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">19.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>, high wind,</td><td align="right">61</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">20.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>, less wind,</td><td align="right">61</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">21.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span></td><td align="right">61</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">22.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">61</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">23.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">61</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">24.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">61</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">25.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">61</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">26.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">64</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">27.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">64</td><td> </td></tr> + + + + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">28.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">64</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">Mar. 1.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">61</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">2.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">64</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">3.</td><td>Delightful day, sun very powerful,</td><td align="right">64</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">4.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">64</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">5.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">64</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">6.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">64</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">7.</td><td>Ditto<span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">ditto</span>,</td><td align="right">50</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">8.</td><td>Day damp and raw, rain in the evening,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">9.</td><td>Fine day, but high wind,</td><td align="right">60</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">10.</td><td>Day damp and raw,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">11.</td><td>Day very cold, high wind, a little hail,</td><td align="right">52</td><td>¼</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">12.</td><td>Cold and raw, high wind, and a little rain,</td><td align="right">54</td><td>½</td></tr> + +<tr><td colspan="4" +style="line-height:100px;"> </td></tr> + +<tr><td colspan="4" align="center" +style="line-height:100px;border-bottom:1px black solid; +border-top:1px black solid;"><b>EDINBURGH.</b></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">Dec.</td><td> </td><td align="right"><i>Ther</i></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">12.</td><td>Misty and damp--cleared up at mid-day, the thermometer rose to 54,</td><td align="right">44</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">13.</td><td>Fine clear day,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">14.</td><td>Mild and damp,</td><td align="right">40</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">15.</td><td>Showery and disagreeable,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">16.</td><td>Wind and rain,</td><td align="right">47</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">17.</td><td>A great deal of rain and very stormy,</td><td align="right">44</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">18.</td><td>Incessant rain--very windy at night,</td><td align="right">42</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">19.</td><td>Heavy showers of rain and sleet,</td><td align="right">39</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">20.</td><td>A fine clear day,</td><td align="right">32</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">21.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">31</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">22.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">37</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">23.</td><td>A cold east wind,</td><td align="right">32</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">24.</td><td>A very cold N. E. wind,</td><td align="right">35</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">25.</td><td>Cold wind and showers of snow,</td><td align="right">33</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">26.</td><td>Cold wind and showers of snow,</td><td align="right">33</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">27.</td><td>Cold north wind--damp and dark,</td><td align="right">34</td><td> </td></tr> + + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">28.</td><td>Dark and damp,</td><td align="right">34</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">29.</td><td>A good deal of snow,</td><td align="right">33</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">30.</td><td>Stormy and tempestuous,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">31.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">35</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">1815<br /> +Jan. 1.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">35</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">2.</td><td>Cloudy and damp,</td><td align="right">47</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">3.</td><td>Cloudy,</td><td align="right">44</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">4.</td><td>Very rainy,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">5.</td><td>Mist and rain,</td><td align="right">38</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">6.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">34</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">7.</td><td>Damp, and a good deal of rain,</td><td align="right">38</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">8.</td><td>Clear frost--some snow,</td><td align="right">30</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">9.</td><td>Wind and rain,</td><td align="right">42</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">10.</td><td>Snow in the forenoon--a perfect tempest of wind and rain at night,</td><td align="right">33</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">11.</td><td>A great deal of snow during the night,</td><td align="right">32</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">12.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">34</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">13.</td><td>A fine day--snow melting,</td><td align="right">37</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">14.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">40</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">15.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">30</td><td> </td></tr> + + + + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">16.</td><td>A good deal of rain,</td><td align="right">37</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">17.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">35</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">18.</td><td>Very gloomy,</td><td align="right">32</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">19.</td><td>Hard frost in the night--very gloomy,</td><td align="right">32</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">20.</td><td>A great deal of snow,</td><td align="right">35</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">21.</td><td>Snow,</td><td align="right">34</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">22.</td><td>Clear fine day,</td><td align="right">31</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">23.</td><td>Very hard frost in the night--fine day,</td><td align="right">25</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">24.</td><td>Very cold,</td><td align="right">29</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">25.</td><td>Good day, but very cold,</td><td align="right">22</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">26.</td><td>A great deal of snow,</td><td align="right">32</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">27.</td><td>Snow--a cold north wind,</td><td align="right">34</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">28.</td><td>Snow and hail,</td><td align="right">32</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">29.</td><td>Rain and snow--very wet,</td><td align="right">36</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">30.</td><td>Very wet and disagreeable,</td><td align="right">36</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">31.</td><td>A fine mild day,</td><td align="right">35</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">Feb. 1.</td><td>Very damp--heavy rain in the evening,</td><td align="right">38</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">2.</td><td>Rain, and very thick mist,</td><td align="right">40</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">3.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">38</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">4.</td><td>Damp and rainy,</td><td align="right">38</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">5.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">40</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">6.</td><td>Damp and rainy,</td><td align="right">40</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">7.</td><td>Very mild, but damp and cloudy,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">8.</td><td>A fine day; rain in the evening,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">9.</td><td>A very fine day; quite summer,</td><td align="right">38</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">10.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">32</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">11.</td><td>A pretty good day; rather damp and cloudy,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">12.</td><td>A fine forenoon, rain from two o'clock,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">13.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">14.</td><td>Cloudy and damp,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">15.</td><td>Cloudy and some rain,</td><td align="right">44</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">16.</td><td>Damp and showery,</td><td align="right">43</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">17.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">41</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">18.</td><td>Cloudy, and a cold N. E. wind,</td><td align="right">41</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">19.</td><td>Damp and rainy, very windy in the evening,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">20.</td><td>A cold north wind; showers of rain,</td><td align="right">42</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">21.</td><td>Showery,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">22.</td><td>A pretty good day, but windy,</td><td align="right">50</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">23.</td><td>Quite a summer day,</td><td align="right">49</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">24.</td><td>A good deal of rain in the morning,</td><td align="right">47</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">25.</td><td>Rain; very tempestuous at night,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">26.</td><td>A cold north wind,</td><td align="right">38</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">27.</td><td>A pretty good day,</td><td align="right">38</td><td> </td></tr> + + + + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">28.</td><td>A charming summer day,</td><td align="right">48</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">Mar. 1</td><td>Rainy,</td><td align="right">48</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">2.</td><td>A very fine day,</td><td align="right">38</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">3.</td><td>A pretty good day, but windy,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">4.</td><td>A very fine day,</td><td align="right">42</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">5.</td><td>A fine day,</td><td align="right">45</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">6.</td><td>A very fine day,</td><td align="right">43</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">7.</td><td>A pretty good day, but a perfect tempest of wind and rain in the night,</td><td align="right">43</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">8.</td><td>A very good day,</td><td align="right">44</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">9.</td><td>Showers of snow,</td><td align="right">36</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">10.</td><td>A very cold north wind,</td><td align="right">32</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">11.</td><td>A very cold day,</td><td align="right">35</td><td> </td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right" valign="top">12.</td><td>A very cold wind, and showers of snow,</td><td align="right">40</td><td> </td></tr> +</table> + +<p class="c top15">FINIS.</p> + +<p class="c"><span class="smcap">Edinburgh</span>: Printed by <span class="smcap">John Pillans</span>, James's Court.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> This statement, which we had from an officer who was with +him at the time, may be easily reconciled with the account of the battle +given by La Baume, which is in some measure inconsistent in its own +parts.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> "See, Monsieur le Count,—said I, rising up, and laying +some of King William's shillings on the table,—by jingling and rubbing +one against another, for seventy years, in one body's pocket or another, +they are become so much alike, you can scarce distinguish one shilling +from another. The English, like ancient medals, keep more apart, and +passing but few people's hands, preserve the first sharpnesses which the +fine hand of nature has given them. They are not so pleasant to +feel,—but, in return, the legend is so visible, that at the first look +you see whose image and superscription they bear." +</p><p> +<i>Sentimental Journey</i>, Vol. II. p. 87.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> De l'Allemagne, tom. 2d. 303.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> "We have no more war."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> "Great silence."—"Ah! how terrible is this house! It is +the house of God, and the gate of Heaven."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> "Don't be alarmed, Sir; this is nothing."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> "War! war!"</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> A small bit of wood.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> "Adieu! to meet at supper."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> "It is well enough for the moment, but this will not last +long."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> "He shewed at his sports, that spirit of tyranny which he +has since manifested on the great stage of the world; and he who was +doomed one day to make Europe tremble, commenced by being the master and +terror of a troop of children."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Such are the emphatic expressions made use of by a French +gentleman, who took the trouble to draw up for me a short memoir, +containing what he considered the most correct and well authenticated +circumstances in the political life of Napoleon.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> "Sire," said a General to him, while congratulating him on +the victory of Montmirail, "what a glorious day, if we did not see +around us so many towns and countries destroyed." "So much the better," +said Napoleon; "that supplies me with soldiers!"</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> "Well, in an hour the ladies of Rheims will be in a fine +fright."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> They seize him, they conduct him to the town-hall, before +a military commission, which proceeds to his trial, or rather to his +condemnation. An hour was scarce elapsed when an officer appears, orders +the doors to be opened, and demands if sentence is pronounced. They tell +him that the judges are about to put the question to the vote, "Let them +instantly shoot him," said the officer; "this is the Emperor's order." +The unfortunate Goualt is condemned.—The voice of mourning is heard +throughout the whole city. The proprietor of the house which Bonaparte +had chosen for his head-quarters solicits an audience; he obtains it. +"Sire, (said M. Duchatel), a day of triumph ought to be a day of mercy; +I come to entreat your Majesty to grant to the whole city of Troyes the +pardon of one of her fellow-citizens, who has been condemned to death." +"Begone! (said the tyrant, with a savage look), you forget that you are +in my presence." It was 11 o'clock at night when the unfortunate man +left the town-hall, escorted by gens-d'armes, and carrying, attached to +his back and breast, a writing in large characters, in these words, +"Traitor to his country," which was read by light of flambeaux. This +heart-rending assembly advanced towards the market-place, appointed for +the execution of criminals. There they wished to bind the eyes of the +accused;—he refused, and said, with a firm voice, that he knew how to +die for his King. He himself gave the signal to fire, and exclaiming, +"Long live the King! Long live Louis XVIII!" he drew his last breath.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Revenge is their first law, lying the second, and to deny +their God is the third.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> "The distinguishing features of this man are, lying and +the love of life; I go to attack him, I shall beat him, and I shall see +him at my feet demanding his life."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> "Promote this officer; for if you do not, he knows the way +to promote himself."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> "To dissipate the royalists, and to batter the Parisians +even at their firesides."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> "At break of day the Austrians commenced the attack, at +first gently enough, afterwards more briskly, and at last with such +fury, that the French were broken on all sides. At this frightful +moment, when the dead and the dying strewed the earth, the first Consul, +placed in the middle of his guard, appeared immoveable, insensible, and +as if struck by thunder. In vain his Generals sent him their Aides de +Camp, one after another, to demand assistance. In vain did the Aides de +Camp wait his orders. He gave none. He scarcely exhibited signs of life. +Many thought, that, believing the battle lost, he wished himself to be +killed. Others, with more reason, persuaded themselves, that he had lost +all power of thought, and that he neither heard nor saw what was said or +what passed about him. General Berthier came to beg he would instantly +withdraw; instead of answering him, he lay down on the ground. In the +meantime, the French fled as fast as possible. The battle was lost, when +suddenly we heard it said, that General Dessaix was coming up with fresh +troops. Presently we saw him appear at their head. The runaways rallied +behind his columns. Their courage returned—fortune changed. The French +attacked in their turn, with the same fury with which, they had been +attacked; they burned to efface the shame of their defeat in the +morning."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> "I die regretting that I have not lived long enough for my +country."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> We may lay it down as a maxim, that in every state the +desire of glory exists with the liberty of the subjects, and diminishes +with the same; glory is never the companion of servitude.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> "The youth of the present day are brought up in very +different principles: the love of glory, above all, has taken deep root; +it has become the distinguishing attribute of the national character, +exalted by twenty years of continued success. But this very glory was +become our idol; it absorbed all the thoughts of the brave fellows whose +wounds had rendered them unfit for service—all the hopes of the +youthful warriors who for the first time bore arms; an unlooked-for blow +has been struck, and we now find in our hearts a blank similar to that +which a lover feels who has lost the object of his passion; every thing +he sees, every thing he hears, renews his grief. This sentiment renders +our situation vague and painful; every one seeks to hide from himself +the void which he feels exist in his heart. He is looked upon as +humbled, after twenty years of continued triumph, for having lost a +single stake, which unfortunately was the stake of honour, and which had +become the rule of our destinies."—<span class="smcap">Caront's Memoir</span>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> "The French are the only people in the universe could +laugh even while freezing."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> "Well, there's more materials—more flesh for the +cannon!"</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> "My faith, there's a fine consumption." The word +<i>Consommation</i>, is also a mess, a finishing. It is not easy to say +whether it was used in one or all of these senses by Napoleon.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> "It was icy cold. The dying were yet breathing; the crowd +of dead bodies, and the black gaps which the blood had made in the snow, +were horribly contrasted. The staff were sensibly affected. The Emperor +alone looked coolly on that scene of mourning and of blood. I pushed my +horse a few paces before his, for I was anxious to observe him at such a +moment. You would have said that he was devoid of every human feeling; +that all that surrounded him existed but for him. He spoke coolly on the +events of the evening before. In passing before a groupe of Russian +grenadiers who had been massacred, the horse of one of the aides-de-camp +started. The Emperor perceived it: "That horse (said he, coldly) is a +coward."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> "Workmen who had just left their workshops, peasants +escaped from the villages, with bonnets on their heads, and a staff in +their hands, in six months became intrepid soldiers, and in two years +skilful officers and generals, formidable to the oldest generals in +Europe."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> "They cut down the crops of men three times a-year."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> "It is only under a government as wise and as great as +yours, that a simple soldier like me could have formed the project of +carrying the war into Egypt.—Yes, Directors, scarcely shall I be master +of Egypt, and of the solitudes of Palestine, than England will give you +a first rate ship of the line for a sack of corn."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> "If I present myself with troops (said Napoleon) it is +only to please my friends, for in truth, I have the greatest desire of +appearing there as of old; Louis XIV. appeared in the Parliament <i>in +boots</i>, and a whip in his hand."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> "I am one of those whom men kill, but whom they cannot +dishonour; in three months we shall have peace—either the enemy shall +be chased from our territory, or I shall be no more."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> "I have called you around me to do good; you have done +ill. You have among you persons devoted to England, who correspond with +the Prince Regent, by means of the Advocate Deseze. Eleven-twelfths of +you are good; the rest are factious. Return to your departments;—I +shall have my eye on you. I am one whom men may kill, but whom they +cannot dishonour. Who is he among you who could support the load of +government. It has crushed the Constituent Assembly, which dictated laws +to a weak king. The Fauxbourg St Antoine would have assisted me, but it +would soon have abandoned you. What are become of the Jacobins, the +Girondins, the Vergniaus, the Guadets, and so many others? They are +dead. You have sought to <i>bespatter</i> me in the eyes of France. This is a +heinous crime;—besides, what is the throne? Four pieces of gilded wood +covered with velvet. I had pointed out to you a Secret Committee; it is +there that you should have established your griefs. It was in the family +that our <i>dirty linen should have been washed</i>. I have a title; you have +none. What are you in the Constitution? Nothing. You have no authority. +The Throne is the Constitution. Every thing is in the throne, and in me. +I repeat it to you, you have among you factious persons. Mr Lainè is a +wicked man; the rest are factious. I know them, and I shall pursue them. +I ask you, Was it while the enemy were among us that you ought to have +done such things? Nature has endowed me with great courage, it can +resist every thing. Much has it cost my pride, but I have sacrificed it. +But I am above your miserable declamations. I had need of +consolation,—and you have dishonoured me. But no; my victories crush +your complaints. I am one of those who triumph or who die. Return to +your departments.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> "One of his Ministers one day addressed him, presenting +him a report which he had desired. The subject was a conspiracy against +his person. I was present at that scene; I expected, I confess, to see +him enter in a fury, thunder forth against the traitors, threaten the +magistrates, and accuse them of negligence. Not at all; he ran over the +paper without the least sign of agitation. Judge of my surprise, or +rather what sweet emotion I felt, when he pronounced these <i>touching and +sublime</i> words:—Count, the state has not suffered, the magistrates have +not been insulted. It was only my person they aimed at; I pity them for +not knowing that my every wish is for the good of France; but every man +may go astray. Tell the ungrateful men that I pardon them." Now, I defy +the most faithful royalist, who should have witnessed such an action, +not to exclaim—If Heaven was to give an usurper to France, let us thank +it for having given this one! But stop, unfortunate one: your eyes have +indeed seen, your ears have heard; believe nothing, but be present at +the levee of this hero, so magnanimous, so little desirous of revenging +himself. The doors are opened—Behold him! The crowd of courtiers +surround him—all fix their eyes on him—his face is changed—the +muscles are violently contracted—his whole appearance is that of a +ruffian; a death-like silence reigns in the assembly—the Prince has not +yet spoken, but he surveys the group: He perceives the same officer, +who, two days before, had presented him the report. "Count (said he), +are these vile conspirators executed? Are their accomplices in chains? +Have the executioners given a new example to the imitators of those who +aim at my life?"</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> "You wish to see us drawn on hurdles to the scaffold."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> These nutshells.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Swords of honour—guns of honour.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Saucepan of honour.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> "Moreau was conversing with the Emperor Alexander, from +whom he was only distant half a horse's length. It is likely, that they +perceived from the place this brilliant staff, and fired on it at +random. Moreau alone was struck; a cannon-ball broke his right knee, and +passing through the horse's side, carried off the flesh of his left leg. +The generous Alexander shed tears. Colonel Rapatel rushed towards +Moreau, who uttered a long sigh, and then fainted. Returned to himself, +he spoke with the utmost coolness. He said to Monsieur Rapatel, "I am +lost, my friend, but it is so glorious to die for such a cause, and +under the eyes of so great a Prince!" A few minutes afterwards, he said +to the Emperor Alexander himself, "Nothing remains, Sire, save the +trunk; but the heart is there, and the head is your's." He must have +suffered the most excruciating pain; but he called for a segar, and +quietly began smoking. Mr Wylie, first surgeon to the Emperor, hastened +to amputate the limb, which was most severely used. During this cruel +operation, Moreau scarce shewed a change of countenance, and did not +cease to smoke his segar. The amputation performed, Mr Wylie examined +the right leg, and found it in such a state, that he could not refrain +from expressing his terror. "I understand you," said Moreau, "you must +cut off this one too.—Well, do it quickly.—However, I would rather +have died." He wanted to write to his wife; and he wrote to her, with a +steady hand, these words:—"<span class="smcap">My Dear Friend</span>,—The battle was decided +three days ago.—I have had both legs carried off by a bullet—that +rascal Bonaparte is always lucky. They have performed the amputation as +well as possible. The army has made a retrograde movement, but it is not +occasioned by any reverse, but from a manœuvre, and in order to approach +General Blucher.—Excuse my scribbling.—I love you, and I embrace you +with all my heart. I have charged Rapatel to finish."—Immediately after +this, he said, "I am not without danger, I know it well; but if I die, +if a premature fate hurry me from a beloved wife and child—from my +country, which I have wished to serve in spite of itself; do not forget +to say to the French, who shall speak of me, that I die with the regret +of not having accomplished my projects—To free my country from the +frightful yoke that oppresses her;—to crush Bonaparte-every species of +war, every possible means, were laudable. With what joy would I have +consecrated the little talent I posses to the cause of humanity. My +heart belonged to France." +</p><p> +At seven o'clock, the sick man finding himself alone with Mr Svinine, +said to him, with a faint voice, "I must absolutely dictate a letter to +you."—Mr Svinine took up the pen, and sighing, traced the few following +lines, dictated by Moreau. +</p> +<hr class="ten" /> +<p> +"<span class="smcap">Sire</span>,—I sink into the tomb with the same sentiments of respect, +admiration, and devotion with which your Majesty has always inspired me, +since I have had the happiness of approaching your person." +</p><p> +"In pronouncing these last words, the sick man stopped short and shut +his eyes. Mr Svinine waited, thinking that Moreau was deliberating on +the sequel of the letter—Vain hope—Moreau was no move."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> "Well, my good woman;—You expect the Emperor, don't you?" +'Yes, Sir; I hope we shall have a sight of him.' "Well, my good woman, +what do you folks say of the Emperor?" 'That he is a great villain.' +"Eh, my good woman; and what do you yourself say?" 'Shall I tell you +frankly, Sir, what I think?—If I were the captain of the ship, I would +only take him on board to drown him.'</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> "The Commissaries, on arriving at Calade, found him with +his head leaning on his two hands, and his face bathed in tears. He told +them that people decidedly aimed at his life; and that the mistress of +the inn, who had not known him, had told him that the Emperor was +detested as a rascal, and that they would only embark him to drown him. +He would eat or drink nothing, however pressed to it; and though he +might have been assured by the example of those who were at table with +him, he made them bring him some bread and water from his carriage, +which he ate with avidity. They waited for night to continue the +journey; they were only two leagues from Aix. The populace of that town +would not have been so easily constrained, as in the other towns, where +he had already run such risks. The Sub-Prefect, taking with him the +Lieutenant and six of the gens-d'armes, rode towards Calade. The night +was dark, and the weather very cold; which double circumstance protected +Napoleon much better than would have been effected by the strongest +escort. The Sub-Prefect and the guards met his suite a few instants +after they had quitted Calade, and followed him till he arrived at the +gates of Aix, at two in the morning. After having changed horses, +Bonaparte continuing his route, passed under the walls of the town, and +the reiterated cries of "Long live the King," which were shouted forth +by the inhabitants assembled on the ramparts. Arrived at the limits of +the Department, at an inn called the Great Pagere, he stopped there for +breakfast. General Bertrand proposed to the Sub-Prefect to ascend to the +room of the Commissaries, where all were at breakfast before his +departure. Here were ten or twelve persons. Napoleon was of the number; +he had the dress of an Austrian officer, and a helmet on his head. +Seeing the Sub-Prefect in his councillor's habit, he said to him, "You +would not have known me in this dress; it is these gentlemen who have +made me take it, thinking it necessary to ensure my safety. I could have +had an escort of 3000 men, which I refused, preferring to trust myself +to French honour. I have not had reason to complain of that confidence +from Fontainbleau to Avignon; but between that town and this, I have +been insulted, and have been in great danger. The Provençals degrade +themselves. Since I have been in France, I have not had a good regiment +of Provençals under my orders. They are good for nothing but to make a +noise. The Gascons are boasters, but at least they are brave."—At these +words, one of the party, who no doubt was a Gascon, pulled out his shirt +ruffle, and said, "that's pleasant." Bonaparte continuing to address +himself to the Sub-Prefect, said to him, "What is the Prefect +about?"—'He left this at the first news of the change which had +happened at Paris.' "And his wife?" 'She had left it before.' "She then +took the start. Do the people pay the revenue and the droits +reunis?"—'Not a halfpenny.'—"Are there many English at Marseilles?" +Here the Sub-Prefect related all that had lately passed in that port, +and with what transports they had received the English. Bonaparte, who +did not take much pleasure in such a recital, put an end to it, by +saying to the Sub-Prefect, "Tell your Provençals that the Emperor is +very ill pleased with them." +</p><p> +"Arrived at Bouilledon, he shut himself up in an apartment, with his +sister (Pauline Borghese)—Sentinels were placed at the door. +Notwithstanding which, some ladies arriving at the gallery, which +communicated with that room, beheld there an officer in Austrian +uniform, who said to them, "Ladies, what do you wish to see?" 'We wish +to see Napoleon.' "But that's myself." The ladies, looking at him, said, +smiling, 'You are joking, Sir; you are not Napoleon.' "I assure you, +ladies, it is I.—What!—You thought Napoleon must have a more wicked +appearance. Don't they say that I am a wretch, a rascal?"—The ladies +did not care to undeceive him. Bonaparte, not wishing to press them hard +on this subject, turned the conversation.—But always occupied with his +first idea, he returned to it immediately.—"Acknowledge, at least, +ladies, that now, when fortune is against me, they say that I am a +wretch, a miscreant, and a marauder. But do you know the meaning of all +this? I wished to make France superior to England, and I have failed in +this project."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> "When we are on the paved streets of Paris, we perceive +that the people do not there make the laws;—no convenience for +pedestrians—no side pavement; the people seem to be a body separated +from the other orders of the state—the rich and the great who possess +equipages, have the right of crushing and mutilating them in the +streets—a hundred victims expire every year under the wheels of the +carriages."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> "Before the revolution, the village contained four +thousand inhabitants. It furnished, as its share to the general service +of the church, and of the hospitals, as well as for the instruction of +youth, five ecclesiastics, two sisters of charity, and three +schoolmasters. These last are replaced by a riding-master, a +drawing-master, and two music-masters. Out of eight manufactories of +woollen and cotton stuffs, there remains but one. But in revenge, there +are established two coffee-houses, one tobacco-shop, one restaurateur's +shop, and one billiard-room, which flourish in a manner quite +surprising. We reckoned formerly forty ploughmen. Twenty-five of these +have become couriers, riders, and coachmen. Their place is filled up by +women, who conduct the plough, and who, to amuse themselves, carry +occasionally to the market, carts full of straw or of charcoal. The +number of carpenters, masons, and other artisans, is diminished by about +a half. But the price of all articles of workmanship having risen also +one half; <i>it comes to the same thing, and a compensation is +established</i>. One class of individuals, which the villages furnishes in +great abundance, and in much too great a proportion, are livery servants +and domestics of luxury. Whilst this lasts, the country will be +depopulated of all those useful ranks who cultivate the soil, and the +towns will be peopled with the idle and corrupt. Many women and young +girls, who were only sempstresses and under servants, have found +advancement in the great cities, and in the capital. They have become +waiting maids, embroiderers, and milliners. One might say that luxury +had exhausted our youth; all eyes are turned towards it, and it alone +occupies every thought. Never, at any former period, did the contingent +in lawyers, bailiffs, law students, physicians, and artists, exceed +three or four; it is now raised to sixty-two: and what we should never +have conceived in former days, there are now among us as many painters, +poets, comedians, opera dancers, and travelling musicians, as a city of +eighty thousand souls would have furnished thirty or forty years ago."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> The variety of the laws and customs is attended with this +effect, that the most intelligent advocate becomes as ignoramus when he +finds himself in Gascony or in Normandy. He loses at Vernon a case which +he had gained at Poissy. Select the most skilful for a consultation or +for pleading; well, he will be under the necessity of having his +advocate and his attorney, if we commit to his care a cause in most of +the other courts.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> "I can excuse, but do not envy those who can live as if +they had neither suffered nor seen others suffer; but they must pardon +me, who am unable to imitate them. These days of total and unheard-of +degradation in human nature are yet before my eyes, press heavily on my +soul, and fall incessantly from my pen, destined to retrace them even to +my last hour."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> The reader will easily perceive, that the end of this +chapter was written at the time of Napoleon's landing from Elba. Not a +word of it has been altered, for the author is convinced that it is an +accurate picture of France in its present state.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> "A Frenchman, (says Madame de Stael, with great truth,) +can still continue to speak, even when he has no ideas."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> "Their trifling, naturally intended for the toilet, seems +to have become accessary to the formation of the general character of +the nation: They trifle in council, they trifle at the head of an army, +they trifle with an ambassador."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> "Gentlemen, it is impossible to deceive persons +enlightened as you are; I am absolutely going to cut off the head of +this child: But before commencing, I must let you see that I am no +quack. Well, in the meantime, as an exordium, Who is there among you who +has the toothache?" "I," exclaimed instantly a sturdy peasant, &c.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> "Gentlemen, in the universe there is but one sun; in the +kingdom of France there is but one king; in the science of medicine +there is Charini alone."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> "You are a Scotchman?" 'Yes, Sir.' "Oh, how droll that +is." 'And how is it droll, Sir?' "It is the country of Napoleon. It is +an island, is it not?" 'Certainly not, Sir.' "On my faith, I thought +they always called it the Island of Corse."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> "Give a supper; that will make every body run."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> "Even if Old Nick should ring his supper-bell, The French +would lick their lips, and flock to H—II."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> "Down with the tyrant! Down with the soldiers! Long live +the Emperor! Long live the Marshals! Long live the army! Long live +Louis, the wished-for Monarch! Long live the descendant of Good Henry +IV.! Long live the nation! No feudal laws! No Kings! No nobility! No +assessed taxes! No conscription."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> "Long life to death!"</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> "Who, after having sacrificed millions of victims, could +not die like a soldier."</p></div> +</div> + +<table summary="errata" class="top15" +cellspacing="0" +cellpadding="5"> +<tr><td colspan="2" align="center">ERRATA. [Transcriber's note: already corrected.]</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">Page 20.</td><td>line 3. for <i>a</i> read <i>est</i>.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">21.</td><td>18. after <i>sont</i> insert <i>de</i>.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">97.</td><td>6. for <i>les</i> read <i>des</i>.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">156.</td><td>last line, for <i>c'est</i> read <i>ce m'est</i>.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">272.</td><td>line 20. for <i>des</i> read <i>de</i>.</td></tr> +<tr><td align="right">273.</td><td>17. for <i>des</i> read <i>de</i>.</td></tr> +</table> + +<hr class="full" /> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels in France during the years +1814-1815, by Archibald Alison and Patrick Fraser Tytler + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN FRANCE *** + +***** This file should be named 27410-h.htm or 27410-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/4/1/27410/ + +Produced by Carlo Traverso, Chuck Greif and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://dp.rastko.net +(Produced from images of the Bibliothèque nationale de +France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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