George Washington Flowers 
 Memorial Collection 
 
 DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 ESTABLISHED BY THE 
 FAMILY OF 
 
 COLONEL FLOWERS 
 
4S^ v' ^ 
 
 ^rv 
 
THE 
 
 AMERICAN 
 
 WANDERER, 
 
 THROUGH 
 
 VARIOUS PARTS of EUROPE, 
 
 >* IN' 
 
 i 
 
 X A SERIES OF LETTERS 
 
 T O 
 
 A LADY, 
 
 (Tnteifpcrfed wirh a Vanetj' of iaterefling Anecdotes) 
 
 By a VIRGINIA N. 
 
 Hos patr'ia fines t Sf dulc'ta Ihquimus ar-va ; 
 
 If OS patriam fugimus : tu, TUyre, kntus in wnbra, 
 
 Formofam refonarc daces Amarjllida Jylvas . ViRciLi 
 
 Round the wide world in banifliment 'uoe roam, 
 
 f oic'd from our pleafmg fields and native home : 
 
 While Rretch'd at cafe, you fing your happy loves j 
 
 And Amaryllis fills the fludy groves. Dxyde.v, 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for J. R O B S O N, Bookseller, im 
 New Bond Street. 
 
 M DCC LXXXIII. 
 
THE FLO^i^ COLLECTliK 
 TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 THESE nnftudled travelling flietches 
 were written, at the requeft of and 
 for the amufenient of a Lady and her 
 friends, during a refidence abroad in the 
 years 1776 and 77. 
 
 With unaffetfted diffidence they arc 
 now fubmitted to the Public. — It is a 
 moot point, whether that hackneyed af- 
 fertion, " the Author wrote not for the 
 public eye," be a valid apology for the 
 jmperfed:ion and inaccuracy incident to 
 human productions — Yet it is fancftified 
 by ufage ; and he who now, he fears too 
 raflily, fteps out of his private line be- 
 fore the awful tribunal of criticifni, fen- 
 fible how much he will need indulgence, 
 hopes it may be admitted in palliation. 
 
 a That 
 
 42S360 
 
iv TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 That the excu(e is founded in fa<fl:, he 
 appeals to the intelligent reader, who 
 ^vill judge for himfelf and decide, whe- 
 ther, if thefe letters were fabricated in 
 the clofet with a vain view to popular 
 celebrity, the writer would not have been 
 lefs lavifh. of his panegyric upon a rival 
 nation, more prodigal of his incenfe to 
 the people by whofe fiat his literary re- 
 putation muft ftand or fall ? 
 
 It may be objeci:ed, that the fields of 
 France and Switzerland are fo beaten by 
 various defcriptions of learned travellers; 
 have been fo recently trod by the ingenious 
 and ironical Moore, that little worthy of 
 obfervation is left to be gleaned by their 
 fuccefTors, efpecially by him who feels 
 himfelf, though a cordial Amateur, a 
 mere Tyro in fcience, a mere novice ia 
 the arts which pollfli and adorn life. — 
 jBiit, as a fimple portrait, fketched by the 
 pencil of genius, prefents different ideas 
 
 of 
 
TO THE PUBLIC. v 
 
 of its technical merit, or of its likenefs 
 to the original, as it is viewed in dif- 
 ferent points of light, or by men of dif- 
 ferent degrees of judgment and tafte — fo 
 the grand hiftoric piclure of mankind, 
 though often gazed at, and ftill more 
 often defcribed by the cognofcenti, will 
 yet throw out new lights and fliades, to 
 every beholder of common fenfe, who 
 contemplates it with the honed deiire of 
 extra(fling pleafare and improvement : — 
 if the prefent individual has, haply, feized 
 any new tints, any flight nuances, or 
 gradations of colouring, with which this 
 rich, interefting, and inexhauftible Ta^ 
 hleau is replete, he is very fure, that he 
 has, unfeduced by the love of fingularity, 
 fo fafcinatinq; to all travellers, delineated 
 them, if not with powder, at lead with 
 juftice and candour. 
 
 With the million the author is fenfible 
 
 fome few fentiments he h^ hazarded, 
 
 a 2 refped- 
 
vi TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 rcCpe^ing the French nation, may be 
 invidious. — The liberal and judicious, he 
 trufts, will think, with him, that we 
 may allow our gay neighbours a pre- 
 eminence in the light and pleafing vir- 
 tues, flowing naturally from their allidu- 
 ous cultivation of ies pctitcs morales, 
 without depreciating the fterling value 
 of the old Englidi national charadler. — 
 An exile from his native clime, the 
 writer afpires to the philofophic charac- 
 ter of a citizen of the world ; — if, how- 
 ever, a predilecTion for any people may 
 be imputed to him, his private hiftory, 
 a flight allufion to which may be difco- 
 vered in this feries of letters, will 
 prove, beyond a doubt, how fatally he 
 felt it for the Britifli nation : he has in- 
 deed little apology to offer for his opi- 
 nions, fince he again declares, they were 
 governed by truth—** and truth, to be 
 loved, needs but to be fcen." 
 
 One 
 
TO THE PUBLIC. vli 
 
 One merit thefe letters may be proved 
 to pofTefs — They are genuine, and were 
 written, by a traveller, upon the fpot. 
 This circumftance, with the candid, will 
 extenuate tlieir faults. 
 
 It is but too probable, that thofe who 
 have the happinefs to be born with cool 
 pafFions, ever under the controul of fb- 
 ber prudence, will condemn many of the 
 writer's fentiments, as outre ^ if not re- 
 prehenfible. — He can only fay, that the 
 fimple meaning of the word cor-refpon- 
 dcnce implies eifufions from the heart, 
 and letters, though glowing with the 
 pathos of fentimcnt, and fancifully ar- 
 rayed in the gaudy attire of language, 
 if tliey have not this merit, have no 
 merit at all. The author is a vounsr 
 man, who has not yet had the cares of a 
 family to compofe the mind. He was 
 born under vertical fun-beams, which 
 rarefy the imagination and melt the foul 
 
 as t© 
 
vlli TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 to a fublimatioii unknown, and perhaps 
 un ad mired by the chilly natives of hu- 
 mid climes. He is, in fliort, replete 
 ^vith the flugifton of enthufiafm, and, 
 with more gallantry than poUcy, wages 
 eternal war againfl that very numerous, 
 very refpe(^able, very dull, and, of 
 courfe, impenetrable body of men whofe 
 fole merit confifts in haying co)d hearts 
 and cunning heads. 
 
 Long fince thefe Letters were written 
 the writer has difcovered, that an inci- 
 dent to which they allude, conveys, he 
 owns, without his having dreamt of it, 
 a fpecies of moral ; w^iich he has, with 
 pleafure, feen recently anticipated by 
 the elegant author of The Sorrows of 
 Wcrtcr,— — Infinitely Icfs mafterly in their 
 compofition, the Letters which now fee 
 the light, have the advantage of enibrac- 
 ing the memoirs of real perfonages, and, 
 therefore, it is prefumed, may be held 
 
 up 
 
TO THE PUBLIC. Ix 
 
 up a more confpicuous beacon to can- 
 did and impetuous youdi, dian the mofl 
 fplendid and pathetic difplay of fidlitious 
 diftrefs. 
 
 The fubjccH:, to which thefe Letters 
 perhaps too often allude, is an addi- 
 tional evidence, that, originally, they 
 were not intended for, and would na- 
 turally have precluded them from publi- 
 cation, but for an event for ever to be 
 deplored — The Lady, for whofe amufe- 
 nient they were written, uniting a mofl 
 delicate frame to a dill more delicate 
 mind, now fleeps with her fathers, leav- 
 ing the ill-fated Author the poignant re- 
 colledion to have adored, and to have 
 loll the mofl amiable of her fex ! 
 
 To her memory he infcrlbes this feeble 
 monument of his attachment and her 
 unfading merit — If, unwittingly, he ever 
 offended her while alive, let thefe literary 
 
 a 4 wreaths, 
 
X TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 wreaths, facrcd to friendfliip, twining 
 around her bier, plead expiation, and let 
 the fons of fentiment, ** ilriking their 
 penfive breads," exclaim with him, 
 
 " Be the turf ever hallow 'd 
 << Which pillows her head!" 
 
 The Wanderer.. 
 
 THE 
 
THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Letter I. 
 
 CAUSE of exile — Exiles arranged in their 
 various clajfes — The author under the clafs 
 ^Ovidius Nafo — Sketch of his fellow tra- 
 vellers from London^ page i 
 
 Let. IL Aaion of Dover Cliff— Calais afid 
 Dover Antipodes in manners^ 1 1 
 
 Let. IIL A noble ruin — Night-race between a 
 beautiful Duchefs and a learned law Lord. 
 — Pays has, the European Arabia felix, 29 
 
 Let. IV. Life— Petit-maitre— Learned Abbes 
 — Pronunciation of Latin — Cambray, 38 
 
 Let. V. St. ^lentin—De Breifac— Beauti- 
 ful Engli/lj Lady— A French family, 50 
 
 Let. VL St. S>uentin— French Lady upon the 
 Tow— A woman born in England and bred 
 in France a non-pareil— French female edu- 
 cation 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 cation — Boarding Jchool mtjj'es — Society be^ 
 iween the fexes, a reciprocal Jchool of hu- 
 manity — Panegyric on old maids ^ dj 
 
 Let. VII. St, ^entln — French courtjjlp — 
 French air contagious — French babies polite 
 in their cradles — Americans profit and lojs m 
 the trade of gallantry fated — Madame de 
 PlelTonV garter — French Improvements In 
 geography-— Profejors of kljmg, 7 5 
 
 X«ET. VIII. Common place travellers St, 
 
 ^entln defcrlbed — Its beauty and Its agre- 
 mens, 88 
 
 Let. IX. Amufements of St. ^entln — Sketch 
 of the charming Mrs, C*** — Marquis de 
 Petlt-rlen — Americanos concert'-F^tQ Cham- 
 petre — Maid of the Oaks ^ 99 
 
 Let. X. Farewell to the belles, beanx, ajfes, 
 dogs, and cats of St, ^enthty 1 09 
 
 Let. XI. Paris — 'J'he genuine agreeable com- 
 panion In a pojl-chalfe delineated — My friend 
 Chatham — Conp d'oeil of Paris — Parlflan 
 
 beau Rotterdam clt — His opinion of Paris 
 
 "—The American chofen chaperone to the 
 
 clfs 
 
CONTENTS. xi 
 
 cWs daughter He declares war againft her 
 
 — Zig-zag approaches->^jHl her out-works 
 carried — ^hird parallel formed— 'General dif-^ 
 fojitions for ^ fiorm — Siege raifed by papa^ 
 
 iiS 
 J^ET. XII. Paris — Gardens of Paris and 
 London compared — Haunting public walks, a 
 pious amufemcfif— External manners of a 
 'French and EngliJJj lady -^Palais royal-^ 
 ^uilleries'^'To be fafiionably drefed^ and ia 
 be happy ,fynonimous at Paris^— Foppery con- 
 tagious-Red heels a pafle p^ir tout — A 
 philofophic motive for drefs — Boulevards — 
 Fafoion a perpetual dictator at Paris-rr-Re- 
 ceipt to make Scotland Fairy Land^ 121 
 I^ET. XIII. Gallery of Rubens — Palais royal 
 — Canity of defcription — Raphael — T^itiarCs 
 Venus — Painting, mufc — IVefi^ Gainfhorough^ 
 
 Reynolds Scots Italian mufc — T'afe — 
 
 Flemifj and Italian fchool — Guido Rent- 
 Opera — Ballets — Italian comedy — -'Gar rick 
 
 ' Previllc — ^Ecole militaire Churches 
 
 rs^French lady s legs and feet — Hotel Dieu, 
 
 — Gallic 
 
xii C O N T E NTS. 
 
 — Gallic and Br'itijh charity compared — 
 JSlurfes — French king wq/hing the feet of the 
 beggars — Beguine - — Corporal Trim — ■ Re- 
 ceipt to excite love — New theory of phyjic — 
 
 Duchejfe of D V ha?id a panacea, 
 
 143 
 
 Let. XIV. Palaces — lf7jy more fuperb in 
 Paris than ifi London — Univerfal trait in the 
 Trench character — Gallic oflracifm — Ver- 
 failles the Montpellier for all nervous com- 
 plaints incident to the French nobility — T^our 
 Frenchman s beings end -and aim — Villas — 
 Converfation of Paris with London compared 
 • — Why the Parijtan preferable — Litterati of 
 London and Paris — Parifah predilediion for 
 learned men — Palatable bribe to a fcholar^-- 
 Voltaire^ Roujfeau and de Berni introduced to 
 a rich London cit — T^heir reception — Paris 
 an Utopia for the amateurs of Apollo^ 162 
 
 Let. XV. A Frenchnans prominent mental 
 
 feature — St. Cloud — Ferf allies — The moment 
 
 of a Frenchman s triumph — Naked Venus — 
 
 Madame Pompadour^ her delicacy — Prfer- 
 
 piney 
 
CONTENTS. xiil 
 
 plne^ her qffair — Triation—St, John — 
 
 Rape of Onthia — 'Trianofi private gardens 
 
 Le Roi — La Reine — ^een of England--^ 
 Marll — Gobelins, i ^rs 
 
 Let. XVI. Retrograde movement—Boulogne fur 
 mer—EngU/Jj Baronet on his travels-Charac- 
 ter of Sir Harry Hardinhand — Horf. -racing 
 improved — Tour of Europe performed agaitifl 
 time — Sir Harry s ohfervations upon foreign 
 coufitries — His critique upon the deux Re- 
 nommes — Rencontre with the Venus of Ti- 
 tian — His liberal propoftioti — Our partings 
 
 163 
 Let. XVII. Sketch of Seymour — Americanos 
 fecond filly — Lucky thought — Peripatetic 
 iravelling, why preferable to feel fprlng 
 ditto — American s efate, why borrowed by 
 his coufitry7nen — Deprecates the wit of mi 
 Lord Anglois— Ccjo^^ d'ceil of the Boulonnois 
 — Aptflence, a fecial chann — Chords in con- 
 verfition equally as in niufc — Idea of travel- 
 ling topics adapted to a pofi road, or a de^ 
 vious paih~~Odd thought of the Captain of 
 the Briti/Jj Guards — Americans digrcjfon-^ 
 
 His 
 
xlv CONTENTS. 
 
 His modefy njoounded by the philofophic franh- 
 nefs of the French ladies — Flying pidlure of 
 the peculiar beauties of Europe, ^faj j^frica, 
 and America — Paphian bill of fare fet be- 
 fore Seymour, who falls to — American s falfe 
 appetite — Why he quitted his Country — Grand 
 cbjedi of his travels — Etiquette of the court 
 cfFez — Eventual nuptials with a maid of 
 honour to an AJrican princefs, 196 
 
 Let. XVIIl. Capucin of Montr euil*^Irifh 
 recollet — Sterne s Fere Lorenzo — Rencontre 
 of an Irifh monk with an Englifh petit- 
 maitre, 212 
 
 Let. XIX. Abbeville la Pucelle, a hot-bed of 
 virgin beauty — Fille de chambre — Sentimen- 
 tal barter — he bon marche — VAbbe du 
 Gard — Waflnngion — La belle Paifanne et le 
 Moine — 'The wifh, 234 
 
 Let. XX. The family of the old Soldier — 
 Fontenoy — Amiens — Third bottle of cham^ 
 faigne, why indifpenfable — How to acquire 
 the title of mi Lord Anglols, 246 
 
 Let^ XXI. Amiens Cathedral — Chantilly — 
 
 Hunt the flag with the Prince of Conde — 
 
 Bunt 
 
CONTENTS. XT 
 
 Hunt (^efcribed Marquis de Sans Scucty 
 
 the Wmchejler bujhel of la vrai politefle. 
 An etigant card — Burgundy^ a moral drink 
 — An antidote agahijl human frailty — Small 
 beer a cut-throat liquid — Pheafantfhoothig — 
 Ifle d' Amour — Chantilly forejl — Night hunt 
 *with flambeaus in honour of the King of Den* 
 mark, 255 
 
 Let. XXII. Ccache d^Eau, its agremens — 
 Mademoifelle d'Artaux — Seine ^-^ Night fcene 
 — Aftronomic re^c cries — Aurora — Julia, 269 
 
 Let. XXllI. Fotitainbleau Sens, Joigny 
 
 Peiit-maitre, coquets, jilts Auxerre^ 
 
 Dijon, 280 
 
 Let. XXIV. Djon Trial of a lawyer for 
 
 a bagatelle — Civil in/ii tut ions Public 
 
 buildings, curiofiies, agremens Chartreufe, 
 
 297 
 
 Let. XXV. Monks of Citeaux Story of the. 
 
 noble Aufirian, qio 
 
 Let. XXVI. Dole — Befan^on, 223 
 
 Let. XXVII. Befancoji defcribed — Its great 
 
 antiquity Public buildifigs Du Vache — 
 
 Nuns of the Holy Ghoji — Regiment du Roi 
 
 —Cha- 
 
xvi CONTENTS- 
 
 ^-^Chamars Its beauty Marquife de 
 
 St,Smond River Doube, Leucadian Lakcy 
 
 Let. XXVIII. Marquis dEntragues — j^d- 
 ventures of a Butt of claret — Holy hand- 
 
 herchief — ProceJJicns Devotees — Made- 
 
 moifelles de Juffi, 343 
 
 Let. XXIX. XXX. Nuns and nunneries, 
 
 361,55'^. 
 Let. L II. III. Politkaly commercial^ morale 
 
 38i,esfc. 
 
THE 
 
 AMERICAN 
 
 WANDERER. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 MADAM, 
 
 TO you I do myfelf the honor to 
 addrefs my travelUng ideas of 
 men and manners — llich as they 
 are, there is a propriety in dedicating 
 tliem to you ; for you are the caufe that 
 I travel. — In the various climes through 
 which it is my fate to wander, if, haply, 
 I obferve any objecl:, any incident wor- 
 thy your attention, I will tranfport it an 
 offering to the llirine of BritiQi beauty— 
 
 A I Hiall 
 
2 The AMERICAN 
 
 I fliall feel a femblance of happinefs 
 while I fix, for even a fleeting hour, the 
 fweeteft eyes that illumine the banks of 
 the Thames — A heart, a yet agonizing 
 heart, tells me that it is not for me, for 
 many fucceeding years, to indulge the 
 hope of a return to a region which I 
 now call my country. Exiled, by almofl 
 the fame fatality which, whilom, banifli- 
 ed Ovid from the banks of Tiber ; like 
 Ovid too I contemplate the charms of 
 my Britifli Julia ! like him I drop the 
 filent tear ; like him, ftriking my pen- 
 five breafl, I cry, What, baniflied be- 
 caufe I loved ? 
 
 I feel no alleviation, when I com- 
 pare mine with the banifliment of the 
 
 heroes of antient or modern flory 
 
 Some were interdided fire and water, 
 becaufe they became obnoxious to men 
 polTelTed of more power and lefs virtue 
 than themfelves ; fome, becaufe their 
 
 fuperior 
 
WANDERER. 3 
 
 Superior talents, riches, or felicity held 
 them up objects of the envy and hatred 
 of their fellow-citizens; fome fen^, be- 
 caufe they were really too bad, and 
 many becaufe they were too good to 
 aflimilate with the common mafs of hu- 
 manity in their own, or in any country. 
 Of this lafl: clafs of illuftrious exiles 
 Ariflides the Jufl: is a memorable exam- 
 ple — All of thefe entertained hopes of a 
 return to their friends, their hou(l\old 
 gods, the wives of their bofom, their 
 little ones^ their darling country ! — Phi- 
 iofophers, pardon me the word. Madam, 
 lince you teach me the practice, philo- 
 fophers aflert that pain or mifery is lefs 
 to be meafured by its acutenefs than by 
 extent of duration — He who knows, that 
 in all probability, there will be an end to 
 his forrows, ftretches his aching eye to this 
 gladfome though diftant profpetil, while 
 lie turns his head from the bitter cup -of 
 e vil which the prefent moment holds out to 
 
 A 2 him ; 
 
4 The VIRGINIA 
 
 him; and, if he mnft tafte, he meliorates 
 the flavor with the idea of the nedlareous 
 draft domeftic love prepares for him at 
 the end of his pilgrimage : thus he jour- 
 neys on, hugging to his bofom the fairy- 
 trifler Hope — But where is my hope once 
 more to kiis my mother earth ! — to fcaft, 
 once more, my eyes with the chalky cliffs 
 of Albion ; once more to indulge the 
 melancholy pleafure of gazing upon the 
 lovely caufe of my ruin ! You requeft, 
 and, from the lips of beauty, a requeft 
 is law — you enjoin me to wander until 
 I fliall forget the faireft maid of a coun- 
 try where thoufands are fair I or, until 
 fome more amiable foreign lady lliall de- 
 face from my bofom the piclure of my 
 dove-eyed Julia — Alas I your humility 
 ihading your exquilite judgment per- 
 mitted you not to fee the inhumanity of 
 yo\;r fen ten ce — had you glanced thofe 
 dovc-tyes upon your mirror ; had you 
 reconnoitred a form that might give to 
 
 the 
 
WANDERER, 5 
 
 the creator of the jN'Icdlceaii Venus new 
 ideas of beauty,- your Mnc tade would 
 have infinuated that decreeiufr a re- 
 turn, under fuch conditions, was, virtu- 
 ally, decreeing a perpetual banifliment 
 — For in what far country fliall I find a 
 %voman like you ? Tills is not the age of 
 miracles — the difcriminating philofophic 
 eye, or even the poet's eye, *' in a fine 
 frenzy rolling," from Indus to tlie Pole, 
 lights upon few phenomenons I prodi- 
 gies flioot not fpontaneous on the funny 
 margin of the Ganges, nor on the 
 Iieights of Nova Zembla, robed in eter- 
 nal fnow — But, 'tis yours to be inexor- 
 able, and to ordain — 'tis mine to lament, 
 and to obey. 
 
 One morning, the beginning of June, 
 efcaping from myfelf, I leaped into the 
 Dover pod-coach. I had no cloaths with 
 me, except a few unfortcd things in a 
 portmanteau, whicli had remained in it 
 
 A q iince 
 
6 The VIRGINIA 
 
 fince my laft vifit to your uncle in Berk-. 
 flilre. I had made the necefTary ar-r. 
 rangements refpefling my foreign cre- 
 dits, and that fmall effort exhaufled my 
 refo Union. Often I attempted to pack 
 up my trunks ; but when I opened my 
 drawers, if I chanced to fee or touch 
 any the mod trifling token which in, 
 thofe halcyon days, when I poileiTed 
 your confidence, you had given me, I 
 forgot n^y purpofe. I prefTed it to my 
 burning lips with adoration pure and 
 holy as ever animated devotee killing 
 the crucifix ; — I let fall the lid of my 
 trunk, and remained abforbed in thought, 
 looking " like Patience on a monument,, 
 fmiling at grief I" 
 
 I remember that the day harmonized 
 not wdth my feelings; for the fun dart- 
 ing his beams through the blufliing man- 
 tle of Aurora, feemed to infult my woe. 
 My companions were an Englifli mil- 
 
 lener, 
 
WANDERER. ^ 
 
 iener, who had ingrafted French ah' ?nd 
 manner upon Bntlfli neatnefs and fim- 
 plicity. She had been pretty, but was 
 verging towards thirty, and, having met 
 with many difagremcns in the courfe 
 of her peregrinations between Paris and 
 London, that preved upon her fcnfibi- 
 iity, the Lancafliire rofes had vaniflied 
 from her cheeks, to which a flight tinge 
 of French rouge afforded a fuccedaneum ; 
 a prepofTelling figure, and a large lan- 
 guifliing jetty eye, a lafting feature, yet 
 remained. A young mufcular Italian, 
 who, by order of the good man her huf- 
 band, attended in the capacity of Cava- 
 liere Serviente, the wife of a rich citizen 
 of London, who had efcaped from the po- 
 lite circle in the environs of Fifli-flreet- 
 hill, with a view to imbibe Spa water, 
 by way of reparation to her deranged 
 nerves. The city-lady, though nervous, 
 was by no means confumptive ; flie was 
 more than en bon point, and fliaded 
 
 A 4 with. 
 
8 The VIRGINIA 
 
 with the left wing of her petticoat ^ 
 meagre yet interefting figure, who, with 
 that modefcy and felf-denial, ever the 
 companion of genuine merit, contenting 
 himfelf with a corner feat, had ceded to 
 the fex his priority of pretenfions with 
 refpe^l to rank. His outre figure, the 
 vivacity of his look, and the ftrong Hues 
 of genius which marked each working 
 feature of his face, immediately ftruck 
 me. I cannot defcribe him ; but if you 
 will dip into Smollet's Humphry CHnkcr 
 you will fee him in the perfon of Lifma- 
 hago. Had this gentleman fent to Smol- 
 let, the refemblance could not have been 
 more perfecl. He was fecretary to the 
 
 Duchefs of , whom he was going 
 
 to join at Calais. He added to the birth 
 and manners of a gentleman a com- 
 petent knowledge of the dead and liv- 
 ing languages ; and was fingularly 
 learned in the Italian, which he wrote 
 with the precifion of a Tufcan, and pro- 
 
 , nounced 
 
WANDERER. 9 
 
 nouncecl with the true Roman melody. 
 As a proof of this the young Roman, 
 our companion, held a difFufive conver- 
 fation with him the whole day, believing 
 he was converfing with a learned coun- 
 tryman. At Dover the millener with 
 the young Roman, who, under the pre- 
 tence of fpending the evening with a 
 friend at another inn, whilcd away his 
 time with the fair millener, parted from 
 us, fubmitting to our protection tlie bet- 
 ter moiety of a city tradefman, the ami- 
 able deputy from the firft coterie of Fifli- 
 flreet-hill. The fecretary of the duchels, 
 and the faithful flave of Julia advanced, 
 with profound refped, and prefTmg to 
 their bofoms either arm of the lady, ufli- 
 ered her, witli infinite gallantry, into 
 tlie bed room in the befc inn of Dover. 
 I begged the lecretary to do the honors 
 of the houfe, as, in a whifper, I told 
 liim, though my body was prefent, my 
 foul yet hovered about a certain villa in 
 
 Berk- 
 
10 The VIRGINIA 
 
 Berkfliire ; nor could the agremens of 
 the lady before us call it from thofe 
 groves, and lawns, and meads, which it 
 ftill delighted to haunt. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 L E. T T E R 
 
WANDERER. ^5; 
 
 I, E T T E R 11. 
 
 EHOLD us at fupper ; the fecre- 
 taiy on the right, your chevalier on 
 the left of the faiv denizen of London. 
 Our pctites attentions awoke her fenlibi- 
 lity, or, if you will, her vanity : the 
 millener having quitted the field to her, 
 fhe refolved to annoy us with all the 
 round and grape in the park of Paphian 
 artillery. Confcious of the advantage 
 of our pofition, which embraced the 
 right and left flank of the enemy, we 
 were unanimoufly of opinion, we could, 
 at leall, maintain our ground. In this 
 moment of time the aftion began, by a 
 languifliing glance from two fweet blue 
 eyes, manifeftly pointed at the heart of 
 your chevalier ! Haply the wing of a 
 capon, enveloped in its culinary fafcine 
 falary fauce, which, in that inflant, the 
 ^hevalier was convoying to the plate of 
 
 the 
 
If The V I R G I N I A 
 
 the lady, broke the force of the fire ; 
 the fpent fiiot (truck upon his knife, 
 and, rebounding, gleamed along the 
 table, daggering the fufceptible fecre- 
 tary ! I make a point of looking my 
 enemy in the face, and I obferved that 
 fhe was rather animated than difcou- 
 raged by my contumacy. She flretched 
 forth an arm, plump, round, and white, 
 by way of meeting me half way with her 
 plate. On this arm the only thing that 
 interefted me was a pearl bracelet, with 
 a miniature. From the chalk and putty 
 colour of the large vacant eye ; the ina- 
 nity, quietifm, and perfect exemption 
 from thought in each compofed feature 
 of the face, I conceived it muft be de- 
 ligned for fome rich city head ; perad- 
 venture, the noddle of her huiband. 
 Before the fecretary could recover 
 from the impreffion of the fpent fliot, 
 the lady, obferving that her appetite was 
 proflrate, carelefly threw herfelf, with 
 
 heacl 
 
WANDERER. 13 
 
 head half reclining, tyes half fluit and 
 languiilihig, upon the back of her chah*, 
 and feemcd, a few feconds, abforbed ia 
 a reverie. This manoeuvre, which made 
 denionftration of giving np the battle, 
 threw ns off our guard : however, in 
 this fludied degagee attitude the enemy 
 contrived, partly, to unmade a battery 
 which did decifive execution. Her bo- 
 fom feemed yet to retain the reflftance 
 to external prefTure, the elafticity of 
 
 fifteen ! the undulating pillows, 011 
 
 which the bantling of Venus delights to 
 loll, gently agitated the gauze which 
 played around her travelling fliirt ; for 
 (he was a la chafle, in an elegant 
 green and illver riding habit. Well, 
 you know, Madam, how obflinately I 
 cling to a fine neck ! Had not my glow- 
 ing imagination continually exhibited 
 to me a neck nonpareil, the fair citi- 
 zen would have chained me to her car, 
 a willing (lave, to have graced her tri- 
 umphant 
 
t4 IThe VIRGINIA 
 
 umphant entry into BrufTels ! The fecr^- 
 tary was guarded by no divine influence^ 
 of courfe our right wing, (Irongly prefix 
 ed, gave ground ; and by a heavy well- 
 dired:ed fire, fupplied from the undu- 
 lating battery aforefaid, was, in a few 
 minutes, turned — to avoid having my 
 works Jlormed, mine being only an in- 
 trenched camp, I beat the chamade> 
 offering to capitulate upon certain con- 
 ditions. The terms granted us w^re^ 
 
 that the forces of general B r fliould 
 
 furrender prifoners of war ; that his 
 allied forces, belonging to the fove- 
 reign princefs Julia, headed by general 
 
 fliould be allowed to march off 
 
 with the cuftomary honors. The lady 
 called for glaffes of claret, the number of 
 the graces, and, with that mutual refpetl 
 and urbanity which ought ever to obtain 
 amongfl: polite enemies, the victors and 
 the vanquiflied kiiTed goblets, drinking 
 to the health of all the fons and daugh- 
 ters 
 
WANDERER. 15 
 
 ters of humanity. The lady, the re- 
 tnahider of the evenhig, confidering her 
 prifoners as her guefts, did the honors 
 of the houfe, and continued her difplay 
 of accomplifliments, lifping barbarous 
 Italian to the fecretary, and chattering 
 good French, for aught I know to the 
 contrary, for I am yet a novice, to the 
 chevalier. Our harmony was however 
 interrupted by the faux pas of the Italian 
 ferviente. The lady arraigned him, for 
 negledl of duty, in the following ha- 
 rangue : *" I believe I fliall fend the idiot 
 back to my hufband ; he is as ignorant 
 of the attentions due to perfons of a 
 certain fafliion, as ungrateful for the con- 
 defcenfion of his fuperiors. My huf^ 
 band fcnt him to attend me as a kind of 
 travelling He ward, or upper fervant, to 
 prelide over the minutiae of expenditure, 
 a departiuent beneath my attention. Be- 
 caufe I, whofe weaknefs is milkinefs of 
 foul, permitted him to dine with us to- 
 day 
 
i6 The VIRGINIA 
 
 clay at Ganterbnry, he abfolnrely for- 
 gets his routine of duty* To be fure^ 
 half bowing on each fide of her, I have 
 had the good fortune to be left under 
 the protection of men of the world, of 
 men who can diftinguifli between ladies 
 of a certain rank and mere canaille ; in 
 a word, who are gentlemen : yet, for 
 aught he knows to the contrary, I might 
 be committed with ftock-jobbers or fliop- 
 Jifters, mountebanks or minifters, Jews 
 or contractors, pimps or privy-counfel- 
 lors." The fecretary afFe(!:led to be the 
 advocate of the haplefs ferviente, and, 
 under pretence of foothing the lady, by 
 an artful ftrain of irony, irritated her an- 
 gry paflions. Your chevalier, compofing 
 the mufcles of his face to the myfterious 
 gravity of a chamber-counfellor, or a 
 mid-wife ; prefling his left breaft with 
 his right hand extended, making a 
 profound obeifance, by w^ay of retort 
 courteous for her implied compliment, 
 
 thus 
 
 I 
 
WANDERER. 17 
 
 thus compounded the anodyne draft of 
 flattery, according to the prefcription of 
 the fau^ denizen of Fifli-ftreet-hill. For 
 myfelf I am free to declare, that, far 
 from pleading juftification, I cannot find 
 in my heart the lead palliation for the 
 young Roman. Sure I am his conduct 
 will be covered by no precedent in the 
 page of modern or of ancient reporters 
 of Paphian common or flatute law. Born 
 in a clime prodigal of public virtue and 
 of private gallantry, where men were 
 heroes, and heroes gods ! I marvel that 
 the fliade of a Ccefar or of an Anthony 
 did not arife to warn him of this faux- 
 pas ! A Caefar ! wlio in playing the fub- 
 lime parts of the invincible foldier and 
 confummate (latefman, forgot not that he 
 was alio born the fineit gentleman of his 
 own or of any age ! AnAnthony! who in 
 raffling, with the petits maitres of his 
 day, for the prize of ancient beauty, 
 gallantly fee a world upon a caft ; and 
 
 B thp 
 
i8 The AMERICAN 
 
 the noble Caftor, with all the fang froid 
 and collcdion of mind worthy a ftudent 
 of Almack's or of Brookes's, cooly flood 
 the hazard of the die ! Would to God ! 
 taking his hand from his own and place- 
 ing it on the breaft of the fecretary, 
 would to God, my dear Sir, the young 
 Roman's had been yours or my lot ! Truft 
 me, our condutH: would not have called 
 tears from eyes fo fweet, or fighs from a 
 bofom fo lovely I We would not, like 
 him, have retired from an angel to feed 
 upon garbage 1 We would not have bar- 
 tered the fweetefl rofes in the parterres 
 of Flora for the crimfon dye of the Ibe- 
 rian fleece \ We would not have em- 
 braced a cloud inftead of a Juno ! We 
 ... would not for a millener have exchanged 
 a Madona I This unlucky hint dillurbed 
 the benign operation of my fpecific ano- 
 dyne, which, mixing with the whole 
 mafs of blood, had in the courfe of cir- 
 culation flowed in balmy rills to the 
 
 aorta> 
 
WANDERER. 19 
 
 aorta, there communicating with the 
 fympathetic duels, which lead to the 
 bread and eye, had juft began to excite 
 pleafureable palpitations in the bofom 
 and radiant llniles in the countenance I 
 The chevaUer was broke in upon-^^ 
 What ! did he go off with the millener ? 
 Be compofed, my dear madam, — yet — • 
 if I mud: fpeak the truth — I fear he did — - 
 I faw, or feemed to fee, the young Ro- 
 man give his arm to the degagee Mar- 
 chand de modes — in a twinkling, that 
 milkinefs of blood which (lie had fucked 
 in, infufedinto her portion of twopenny, 
 at her alma mater in the polite environs 
 of St, Giles, fled, never more to inhabit 
 the breaft of the fair denizen ! Thofe boa 
 ton maxims which had been inftilled in-* 
 to her, even from her girlifli years, when 
 flie was admitted a novice into the cote- 
 ries of Fifli-ftreet-hill, were totally ef- 
 faced ; and, oh wondrous change 1 the 
 rib of a mild, placid city alderman exhi- 
 
 B 2 bited 
 
20 The AM ER I CAN 
 
 bited the pklure of Alecflia, environed 
 by her hiffing fnakes. In this nnpropi- 
 tious moment the poor ferviente opened 
 the door. Unconfcious of his crime, he 
 gaily advanced half way into the room. 
 He faw indignation flafli from the eye of 
 his fair patronefs. Italian aflion is upon 
 a large fcale — off-dropped his hat, daflied 
 by his uplifted hands ; his eyes now up- 
 raifed to heaven, imploring divine inter- 
 pofltion ; now fixed upon the Fifli-ftreet 
 fury, who was haftily advancing to him. 
 So Hamlet ftands appalled at the appari- , 
 tlon of his royal father, fo Garrick re- 
 tires from the approach of the ghoft ! But 
 here the comparilbn drops. Benignity 
 beamed not in the eye of the fair citizen ; 
 eveiy working feature menaced annihila- 
 tion to the haplefs ferviente. The fccre- 
 tary, with more generofity than prudence, 
 threw himfelf between the combatants ; 
 the chevalier, beckoning the young man, 
 retired with him from the fcene of action, 
 
 and,. 
 
WANDERER. ^i 
 
 and, after explaining to him, with nnre- 
 laxed mulcles, the enormity of his of- 
 fence, advifed him to attempt no jufti- 
 fication, but to plead at the tribunal of 
 mercy. He, for fear is credulous, thank- 
 ed the chevalier and begged his inter- 
 pofltion — hoping that, e'er this, tlie 
 
 Tufcan melody flowing from B r's 
 
 tongue had mollified the lady's ire, he 
 ventured to advance arm in arm with 
 his client, fprung from the banks of 
 Tibur. The chevalier had done juflice 
 to the wit and eloquence of his friend—- 
 as he opened the door he faw a lambent 
 fmile dawning in the lady's dimples, 
 while (lie liftcned, nothing loath, to the 
 eloquence of a Murray, cloathed in the 
 language peculiarly adapted to the cx- 
 prelllon of tender fentiments. At the 
 fight of the ferviente the fever of refent- 
 jiient again began to flufli her cheek, but 
 pur humility permitted it not to predo- 
 fiiinatc. \\c fell on our knees, each dc- 
 
 B 3 vouring 
 
11 The a xM eric an 
 
 vourlng a hand of the lady ; the Cheva- 
 lier, animated by compafilon, deprecated 
 the lady's rage, mingling with his plead- 
 ings flight infulions of his anodyne fpe- 
 cific — to be cruel, to be inexorable is 
 not, nor ought to be, the charaderiftic 
 of the fex. The fair citizen was a woman, 
 flie fmiled forgivenefs, and harmony 
 was again reftored to our little fociety — - 
 in half an hour the lad}'^ retired, the Ro- 
 man in another half hour. The tea tables 
 in Dover, and the polite world in its 
 environs did not fcruple to whifper the 
 next mornings that, like his great pro- 
 genitor iEneas, 
 
 Diffugient comites, et nofle tegentu.r opaca : 
 Speltincam Dido dux & Trojanus eandem 
 Devenient. Virgil. 
 
 But your Chevalier, following the 
 maxim of Lord Chefterfield, never be- 
 lieves above /?^//" of what the world fays. 
 
 Pardon 
 
WANDERER. 23 
 
 Pardon however tlie Latin quotation ; 
 when I aflert a piece o^ f caudal, I always 
 veil it under the fliade of a dead lan- 
 guage, thorouglily fenlible that this is a 
 fubjed: ever painful to the ear of a lad)\ 
 
 In about four houi*s we were landed 
 in France ; how iliort the time which 
 tranfported us to a new world of man- 
 ners ; continual commercial intercourfe, 
 you would think, might foften the angles 
 of difference between the inhabitants of 
 Calais and Dover — the very contrary is 
 the fact ; the hind of Canada gliflering 
 with icicles, and the mild Otahitean 
 ballving under meridian fun-beams, ex- 
 hibit not a contrafl: more complete ! 
 when I crofled the Atlantic, at the dil- 
 tance of two thoufand miles, I found 
 myfelf at home ; the fame Itile of living, 
 the fame language, the fame manners : 
 here the difference was extreme — the tall, 
 B 4 meagre. 
 
24 The AMERICAN 
 
 meagre, perpendicular, bien poudrc 
 French foldier, on the ramparts of Ca- 
 lais, feemed of a fpecies quite diftinft 
 from the fat-eyed, rubicund citizen of 
 Dover — hi one particular, the canaille of 
 each place feem to play into each others 
 hands mod happily, in railing contribu- 
 tions upon the adventurous traveller ; 
 but their rapacity has been fo feverely 
 animadverted upon by the jaundiced 
 Smollet, that I fliall wave the fubjecl. 
 Immediately upon, nay, previous to my 
 landing, I underwent the ufual transfor- 
 mation into mi Lord Anglois, which you 
 know was countenanced by my old buff 
 and gold waidcoat; one fprightly fub- 
 jecl of the grand monarque feized my 
 portmanteau,another my cane,and fo ou 
 to my fword,and even my laced hat, each 
 parcel had its peculiar protector ; abfent 
 from you, I was a mere non-entity, but 
 had I been myfelf, I never fume upoa 
 
 thefe 
 
WANDERER. 25 
 
 thefc occafions ; I fwim with the flream 5 
 I fnbmit to the etiquette dicflated by all 
 refpedrable bodies, and the canaille of all 
 countries is, from its numbers at lead, a 
 very refpeftable body — with arms acrofs, 
 carelefsly bowing confent, I followed my 
 lao'^ed ouides — they led me to the Doui- 
 anc; here I was aroufed from my reverie, 
 by obferving a monftrous figure drclfed 
 in coarfe blue and gold, a greafy bag, 
 ears adorned with gold bobs, a huge up- 
 per lip embrowned by a quantity of 
 Strafburgh fnuff — his right paw was jufc 
 forcing its way into my portmanteau ; I 
 feized it, while I jabbered a remonr 
 fcrance. I found I could not extracft: the 
 paw. I was ignorant of French cu- 
 ftoms, but, at this moment, happening 
 to recollecl; the paflligQ in the ^neid of 
 the wonderful efficacy of a fop upon the 
 Dog Cerberus, I applied the precedent 
 .to the c£|fe in point. Imperceptibly infi- 
 
 nuating 
 
26 The AMERICAN 
 
 nuatlng a half crown into the left paw, 
 inftantaneoufly, as if by a mechanic con- 
 iie^flion, the right one flew out of my 
 port-mail ; this was not all, the figure 
 turned round upon its heel, a placid 
 fmile played around its muftachios, and 
 whifpering his companion in a way that 
 I might hear, apparament c*efi un feigneur 
 infinimcnt ai?nahlc, gave me a profound 
 bow ; I was not accuftomed to a bow 
 upon fo large a fcale ; it was, of itfelf, 
 intrinfically worth three half crowns ; I 
 had, indeed, nothing contraband, but 
 by this manoeuvre I avoided having my 
 cloaths deranged ; I received an earneft 
 of Gallic politefTe, and, above all, I pre^ 
 vented the precious trifles, the gifts of 
 my fair Britifli maid, being touched by 
 unhallowed hands. 
 
 Here I am marched to Monfieur Dei- 
 fein's J my veneration for the fliade of 
 
 Yorick 
 
WANDERER, 27 
 
 Yorick led me to liis hotel ; I have flood 
 looking wiftfully at the very coach door, 
 where once he prefled the half will- 
 ing hand of the gentle Madame de L— . 
 J have lolled in the very fame difobligeant 
 immortalized by him ; but, far be it from 
 me to attempt to write a chapter in it, 
 or, in any refpe^l, to prefume I emulate 
 that darling child of fentiment ! 
 
 Tiie fecretary, the Italian friend to the 
 young Roman ferviente, and myfelf, are 
 now fet down to a dinner of fifli, fricon- 
 dean dc veauy iin pouilard roti et dii faU 
 lad ; we imbibe occafionally goblets of 
 ■paffahlement hoii hiirgund^ ; this is faid 
 to be a potation oblivious of corroding 
 care; yet, trufl mc, it has not the power 
 to make me forget the horrid thought 
 that, at this moment, the fea roars be- 
 tween me and my blue-eyed angel of 
 light ! I name no names, for well I know 
 
 that 
 
28 T II E A M E R I C A N 
 
 that your mind, equally with your exter- 
 nal form, renders you the plioenix of 
 your fex : while they eagerly gulph down 
 the ne£lar of flattery, prefented even by 
 profane hands, you, like the fenfitive 
 flower flirinking from the beams of the 
 fun, obrtinately elude all femblance of 
 praife at the very moment your fine 
 fenfe mufl tell you it is critically juft. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 LETTER. 
 
WANDERER, 29 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Calais, Li/lc, Cambray, 
 
 T Forgot to mention to yon, that pre- 
 
 vions to our dining, B r carried 
 
 me with him when he went to wait upon 
 his patroncfs ; I was, I own, curious 
 to fee a woman, whofe beauty, wit, and 
 fingular fortune had excited tlie admira- 
 tion and aflonifliment of the polite world; 
 her recent exhibition in the Houfe of 
 Lords, and the caufe of it, rendered her 
 acquaintance a very deflrable acquifition 
 to the curious traveller ; her grace re- 
 ceived me w^ith that politenefs, conde- 
 fcenfion, and affability, which fits eafy 
 as your glove upon pcrfons of genuine 
 breeding ; (lie faid, *< My fecretary tells 
 
 me 
 
30 The AMERICAN 
 
 me you mean to make the tour of France 
 and Shvitzerland, e'er you return ; let 
 me advife you, by all means, to pene- 
 trate as far as Italy ; what a laudable va- 
 nity prompts a Frenchman to fay of his 
 own capital {il n^y a quUin Paris) may, 
 with more juftice, be faid of Rome. 
 Italy too is certainly the garden of Eu- 
 rope, and the Italian women the forbid- 
 den, yet moft delicious fruit of that gar- 
 den ; if your palate waters for garden 
 fruits, I will give you commendations 
 to my friends. Lord Tilney and Lord 
 Brook.'* I thanked the duchefs as well 
 as I knew how, for a condefcenfion I 
 had fo little claim to ; imbibed a glafs of 
 her fack, and made my bow. 
 
 The fair Chudleigh is a noble ruin ! 
 not that I infinuate her grace is not yet 
 a very deiirablc objedl; no, it is the pri- 
 vilege of a fine woman never to grow 
 
 old; 
 
WANDERER, ^x 
 
 old ; her grace is a beauty in the grand 
 and majeftic ftile ; her flun of a fifigular 
 whitenefs, yet retains all the fmoothneis 
 of youth; this added to a German plump- 
 nefs of perfon, yet enables her grace to 
 excite ideas of the mofl voluptuous kind. 
 When the late Lord C — — r, her bail, 
 flept in her grace's houfe at Knight's- ' 
 Bridge, he dreamt that his principal was 
 running off ; this fo afted:ed his imagina- 
 tion, that he jumped out of bed, and, 
 forgetting the dignity of the wool-fack, 
 ran down (lairs in his fliirt to fecure the 
 noble fugitive ; the noife put the duchefs 
 in fuch a fright, that fpringing out of 
 bed in a delicious night -drefs, (lie began 
 to run in good earned, old A — y met 
 and joftled againft her grace in the pa(^ 
 fage ; this apparition reali(ing his dream- 
 ing ideas, the luminary of the law, like 
 another Apollo, vigoroirfly purfued the 
 Britifli Daphne, and could he have over- 
 taken her, dans luis dipabille ft appetif- 
 
 fantc. 
 
32 The AMERICAN 
 
 fantCf I dare fay the colliflon would haVc 
 been interefling : probably the laws of 
 nature, paramount to common, ftatute^ 
 and chancery law, would have (limu- 
 lated the fage to attempt the enormity 
 which our wife Qiieen EHzabeth deemed 
 fb arduous, if not impracticable. 
 
 The Italian and myfelf hired of Mon- 
 fieur DefTein a poft-chaife to St. Omer's, 
 where we arrived about nightfall. Iil 
 the morning I was aroufed from a deli- 
 cious dream, by the vociferous execra^ 
 tions of the Italian, who fwore by St. An- 
 thony, that he would annihilate Deffein's 
 poftilion, who peremptorily demanded 
 payment of a Louis, the hire of the 
 chaife, although we had, the day before, 
 paid the aforefaid Louis to Deffein's wai- 
 ter, at the fame time that we difcharged 
 the dinner-bill. I remember that the 
 Italian afked me for a guinea for that 
 purpofcr. This ^eing rather unufual in 
 
 England, 
 
WANDERER. 33 
 
 England, I objertecl ; but he obferved 
 that it would thus be but one trouble ; 
 and I faw him pay it to the waiter. This 
 obje6lion the poflilion liftened to with 
 philofophic fang froid. I faw my friend's 
 eloquence made no imprellion ; for the 
 poflilion, in return for the Italian's oaths, 
 puffed, from a tremendous pipe, vol- 
 canos of fnioke, vibrating his head in 
 token of contumacious adherence to his 
 demand ; and, at length, knocking his 
 pipe againit his jack-boot, the enormity 
 of which formed a fine contraft to his 
 fpindle fliank, he declared, that, if he 
 were not paid, he would order the pofl- 
 man of St. Omer (\\ho was unluckily 
 our landlord) to refufe us horfes. He 
 was as good as his word. My fellow- 
 traveller fvvore he would flay at St. 
 Omer from the Flood to the Conflagra- 
 tion e'er he would fubmit to an impofi- 
 tion fo flagrant. I had previoufly con- 
 certed to flay all that day. The Italian 
 C has 
 
34 The A MERICAN 
 
 has his young foil at the Jefuits College^ 
 and it would not have been fair to have 
 parted them fooncr. We were fliewn 
 tlie town, the college, and the fiiperb 
 church of the Jefuits by a fenfible, hand- 
 fbme, polite, young Jefuit, a Mr. H — ,. 
 one of the profefTors of their college^ 
 He invited us to dine that day with his 
 brethren* The Italian related to them 
 his grievance. They were, all of opinion 
 with me, that, if it was infifted upon,, 
 we fliould be obliged to repay for the 
 chaife. They however added, that they 
 would reprefent the matter properly at 
 Calais, and, if praclicable, recover for 
 us our money. Next morning, as we 
 were upon the point of departing for 
 Lifle, Deffein's poililion returned with a 
 letter from his mafter, denying the re- 
 ceipt of the Louis. Finding, that il fal- 
 loit pr.JJl'f parhly the Italian threw at his 
 head the fecond Louis ; adding to it a. 
 reafonable quantity of oaths and curfes^ 
 
 by 
 
WANDERER. 35 
 
 i)y way of fmall change. In England no 
 r-eputable tavern-keeper would venture 
 to believe a waiter, in contradiction to 
 the afTcrtion of two gentlemen ; efpecial- 
 ly as their allertion was corroborated by 
 
 a third, Mr. E r, a pcrfon wholly dil- 
 
 interefled— ■ Such a nianceuvre might 
 
 have hurt his houie ; but cbaqtie -pa^s 
 thaqtic fiico'.u 
 
 At this fcafon of the year the journey 
 from St. Omtr to LiOs is delightful: 
 from the heights of CalTel eipecially, the 
 eye commands the richeft landfcape I 
 ever beheld. Innumerable hamlets, vil- 
 lages, and towns, variegated with noble 
 woods, ilreams, and flocks grazing on 
 meads beyond clefcription fupcrb and 
 luxuriant. The whole country of French 
 Flanders Is, now, a mere nofegay. The 
 Vvings of Zephyr continually emit pcr-» 
 fume, embalming the ambient air with 
 odours io fragrant, that the fanciful tra- 
 
 C 2 vcUer 
 
36 The AMERICAN 
 
 veller almoft perfuades himfelf he ap- 
 proaches the confines of Arabia the hap* 
 py. I faw the fweet FJemifli maids with 
 robes fuccincV, fair, pkimp, and rofy ; 
 fome toffing the new-mown hay ; fome, 
 with limbs half bare, lolling upon the 
 cocks, their breafts kiiTed by the ardent 
 beams of the fun, whofe amorous rays 
 half way met their bofoms, heaving with 
 fenfations excited by their innocent yeC 
 fanciful dreams, and I could not help 
 repeating. 
 
 Oh had I been by fate decreed 
 Some humble cottage fwain 
 
 Ah me ! did I but pofTefs yon fmiling 
 mead, with the flocks feeding upon it ; 
 yon fimple modefl: cottage, fliaded from 
 Boreas by the melancholy myrtle, facred 
 to Venus, flanked on one fide by a fweet 
 wood, on the other a brawling trout 
 ftream, and, might I perfuade my Julia 
 to prefide over and give relief to the 
 
 fcene. 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 3? 
 
 fcene, wrapt in the contemplation of 
 my own riches, with what contempt, 
 mingled with pity, fliould I look down 
 upon fiich, comparatively, poor devils, 
 as kings and princes. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 C 3 LETTER 
 
-^S The AMERICAN 
 
 L E T 1^ E R IV. 
 
 T IS LE, where xve arrived to dinner, is 
 
 a fiiperb populous city, the capital 
 
 of French Flanders. It is fituated in a 
 
 country environed by a variety of little 
 
 rivers, all of whom confining, large bat- 
 
 teaux are capable of palling from tiie 
 
 river Lis to a fuburb of the tou'n, which 
 
 is indeed now fliut up within the tovv^n 
 
 by the fortifications which Lewis the 
 
 Fourteenth had conftrucled by Marflial 
 
 Vauban. Thefe fortifications join to the 
 
 citadelle, which is efleemed one of the 
 
 flrongeft in Europe. It held out three 
 
 months, after open trenches, in the year 
 
 1708, againfl the whole allied army, 
 
 headed by two of tiie firfc generals of the 
 
 age, Marlborough and Eugene — yet Lewis 
 
 had taken it in feventeen days. This 
 
 fa6l is of itfelf a fufHcient culogium upon 
 
 the abilities of the celebrated Vauban. 
 
 The 
 
WANDERER. 39 
 
 The grand fquare is fiUTOiinded by 
 liandfome well-built houfes. There are 
 ill Lifle above fifty churches and a noble 
 hofpital. It has alio a change, for the ac- 
 commodation of its merchants, who traf- 
 fic largely, particularly in camlets, for 
 which this place is famous. 
 
 My fellow-traveller's rout, who was 
 bound to Italy, here deviated from mine. 
 He is good-natured, and I agreed to 
 accompany him in the Paris road as far 
 ^s Lens, a fmall town lying on the little 
 river de Souchers. I recollect nothing 
 for which this town is celebrated, unlefs 
 it be for the antiquity of its collegiate 
 church, founded about 700 years ago, 
 and for the victory gained in the year 
 1648 by the Prince of Conde over the 
 Archduke of Auflria. The town remains 
 to France from ceffion at the Pyreneaii 
 treaty. In the morning we parted, and, 
 as I had not French enough to venture 
 C 4 alone 
 
40 T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 alone in a poft-chaife, the Italian put me 
 in a diligence, which goes from Lens 
 toCambray. I thought I pofrcfTed enough 
 of the language to lerve me, with my 
 purfe, by way of commentary, for my 
 exigencies on the road from Calais to 
 St. Qiientin ; but I was egregioufly mif- 
 taken, my pronunciation was fo vicious, 
 that I was totally unintelligible; my fitua- 
 tion became truly painful, and gladly 
 would I have been again in London, but 
 this retrogade motion was at once (liamc- 
 ful, and more difficult than a forward 
 movement. My companions In the 
 diligence were a petit maitre from 
 Lifle, two Abbes, and two of the fof- 
 ter fex. Now and then I could catch 
 a fentence from my fellow travel- 
 lers, from the two ladies efpecially ; 
 for I was more attentive to them, while 
 their exprelTive eyes tranflated their 
 words ; but they could not underftand 
 a fyllable I faid ; the petit-maitre wreath- 
 
WANDERER, 41 
 
 ed himfelf into a thoufand attitudes to 
 aiiifl my compreheniion, but in vain ; 
 this was the more mortifying, as I found 
 he was very vohible, and full of fome 
 intereiling fubjecl: ; before he had been 
 half an hour in the coach, he had, as I 
 iindcrftood afterwards, given the ladies 
 a detail of his innumerable bonnes far-^ 
 tunes, from thirteen years of age, the 
 period when he firft entered his career 
 of gallantry, until that day, when he 
 M^as twenty-ieven years old ; concluding 
 that he was then on his way, by the 
 command of his grandmother, a s'etahlir, 
 that is, marry himfelf to a lady of Cam- 
 bray, who, indeed, he had never feen, 
 mais qiiil ramoit h la folie, for (lie was 
 iVune famille dijiingtiee, was puijjammeut 
 riche, and, fur toutes cbofes, fon couftn, 
 au troifiemc degrcy avoit une charge h 
 la cour. He was not a little anxious to 
 
 pake me his confident; from his geftures, 
 
 a 
 
4^ The AMERICAN 
 
 a flranger would have thought us inti- 
 mate for years. The coach flopt about 
 eight o'clock, the petit-maitre jumped 
 out, and taking me in the moft friendly 
 manner by the arm, bowing, capering, 
 and crying out, pilous, avancez monfieur, 
 uQiered rae into a room of the Auberge, 
 where he fwore all the French oaths at 
 the waiter, and feemecl as anxious to 
 get me breakfaft, as if my life depended 
 upon it. At the fame time that he was 
 plying me with jamhon, faucijfon et du 
 *Din hlanc, he was recapitulating to me 
 his love adventures, and his prcfent 
 matrimonial proje6t ; he feemed as ear- 
 neft and as pleated as if I had under- 
 flood him ; he might have recollecled 
 that I comprehended not a fyllable ; but 
 to recoUecl or combine is not the forte 
 of a Frenchman. He peremptorily re- 
 fufed to let me pay for my breakfaft ; 
 having done the honours of it, accord- 
 ing to French etiquette, the right of 
 
 pay- 
 
'WANDERER. 45 
 
 payment was in hlni, and he was au 
 defefpoir at every attempt I made to de- 
 fraud him of this privilege. My new- 
 friend recondiided me, with tlie fame 
 fednlous air, to the diligence, and, as 
 if I could underfland his flattery, told 
 the ladies in a whifper he took care 
 I fliould hear, ma foij monficur, quoique 
 rev car a l* Angloifcy a Infiniment d^ef- 
 frit ! the ladies reiterated their at- 
 tempts to entertain die dumb ftranger. 
 Meflrs. les Abbe's too joined their en- 
 deavours ; they at length addrelTed me 
 in Latin, and here, for the firft time of 
 piy life, I found my fmall knowledge of 
 the Latin tongue of elfential fervice. I 
 
 told them that I had been bred at 
 
 college, and had read the cladics ; they 
 feer,ied pleafcd to hear this, and imme- 
 diately began to quote upon me with 
 true French volubility. I had been very 
 little accullomed to fpeak the language ; 
 
 they 
 
'44 The AMERICAN 
 
 they pronounced with foreign accent, 
 and of courfe quite different from the 
 Englifli manner. I believe, after fearch- 
 ing Europe, the beft Latin fcholars will 
 be found in the Englifli fchools ; but the 
 Scotch, I believe, the Irifli and all fo- 
 reigners, pronounce it nearly alike ; the 
 Englifli adopt a pronunciation flmilar 
 to that of their own language, which I 
 think an abfurd method, becaufe it is 
 different from the ufage of all other na- 
 tions. Had not they better adopt a pro- 
 nunciation common to other people ; 
 thus they will underftand their neigh- 
 bours, and this medium of learned com- 
 merce will become more generally bene- 
 ficial. No living people, I verily believe, 
 pronounce the Latin properly. I make 
 no doubt but that an old Roman apple- 
 woman, were (he now alive, would be 
 competent to correct the pronunciation, 
 of the firfl Oxonian or Cantab. Pardon 
 
 me. 
 
W A N D E R E R. 4^^ 
 
 irie, madam, if I approach a lady with 
 an air fo pedantic ; I mean thefe en paP 
 fant obfervations for your learned ac- 
 quaintance. However, a pronuncia- 
 tion to which I had been unufed, added 
 to Gallic volubility, confufed me not 
 a little. I had jud told MefTrs. les Ab- 
 be's that I had read the clafTics, and I 
 feared they might impute to me a ridicu- 
 lous vanity. I recollecled my lead pen- 
 cil, by the medium of which we held a 
 kind of disjointed converfi\tion ; in the 
 courfe of it, they informed me of the 
 contents of the petit-maitre's narrative, 
 he being too fine a gentleman to under- 
 Hand a word of Latin. At night we 
 arrived at Cambray, where, by the aG- 
 fiflance of the learned churchmen, I got 
 proper accommodations ; they begged 
 I would allow them to introduce me to 
 an Englidi family then i\t Cambray, 
 
 which fdccHning, they politely took theii; 
 
 leave, 
 
46 The AMERICAN 
 
 leave, promlfing to breakfaft with me 
 in the morning. I then defcended, with 
 my French grammar in one hand, dic- 
 tix)nary in the other, to the kitchen ; 
 with their afliftance, but chiefly by point- 
 ing to, or laying violent hands on what 
 I chofe, I got a comfortable fupper. 
 
 The fituation of Cambray is, I think> 
 more happy than that of Lifle ; it is the 
 capital of the Cambrefis, a country litua- 
 ted between Picardy, Artois, and Ha- 
 nault, abounding in fertile plains, wa- 
 tered by the river Efcaut. This river 
 alfo runs through the town, which, by 
 the fide of the river, is defended by 
 a fort. The town being on this fide 
 rather low, the approaches to it may be 
 laid under water ; but the principal 
 flrength of Cambray refults from the ci- 
 tadel, built by Charles the Fifth, at the 
 expence of the inhabitants, left, as he 
 pretended, the French might take pof^ 
 
 feilioii 
 
WANDERER. 47 
 
 feffion of the town. It is a regular pen- 
 tagon, environed by ditches, cut out 
 of the folid rock. So early as the year of 
 ChriO: 445, the Emperor Clodion made 
 himfelf mafter of Cambray ; it was after- 
 wards burnt by the Danes ; it then became 
 a free and imperial city : and was fre- 
 quently the caufe of war amongft the em- 
 perors, the kings of France, and the counts 
 of Flanders. Francis the Firft granted it 
 a neutrality during the war which he 
 waged againfl the Emperor Charles the 
 Fifth ; but the lefs generous Charles, re- 
 fuling to accede to this neutrality, took 
 poirellion of it in the year 1543 ; after- 
 wards the Duke of Alencon, brother to the 
 third Harry of France, gave this city to 
 John of Montluc, Lord of Balagry, whom 
 Henry the Fourth firfl made Marflial of 
 France, and then created prince cf Cam- 
 bray. Th.e cathedral church, dedicated 
 to the Virgin, is among the fined in 
 Europe ; it is replete with rich chapels j 
 
 the 
 
'48 The AMERICAN 
 
 the pillars are adorned with fculpture— ^ 
 fine wrought marble tombs: there are 
 many other churches of note in Cam-'' 
 bray, many handfome monaflries of ei- 
 ther fex. It is one of the moft opulent 
 and commercial towns of the LowCoun* 
 tries> and celebrated for the beauty of 
 its cambrics, which derive their name 
 from this town, though St. Quentin has 
 ftolen from Cambray the moft fliilful of 
 the cambric weavers, and is, at prefentj 
 the firfl mart for this beautiful manufac- 
 ture- In fliort, Cambray, with its envi* 
 rons, is one of the fweeteft Situations I 
 ever faw. I promife myfelf again to 
 vifit it during my refidence at St. Qiien- 
 tin ; I will make my vifit at the time of 
 the grand procellion, performed annually 
 on the day of the afFumption of the 
 Holy Virgin, which is celebrated with 
 fuch pomp, that it attracts to the exhi- 
 bition at lead thirty thou land ftrangers ; 
 from defcription it is a noble fight, but 
 
 I will 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 49 
 
 t will give you a flcetch of it, when I 
 fee ic with my own eyes. At prefent I 
 fancy you will readily wave this detail, 
 efpecially, as my letter is already pro- 
 tradled to a mofl fatiguing length ; of 
 this I am the more aQiamed, as upon 
 reading it over, I find the real matter 
 might be reduced to a very fmall com- 
 pafs. I really have not the courage to 
 attempt an abridgment of a letter, in 
 itfelf, I fear, little interefling. I will 
 rely on your benevolence to pardon it. 
 I flatter myfelf the charming town of 
 St. Quentin, wltere I now live, may hold 
 out Tome fubjed: more worthy the pen of 
 a traveller, and eye of a fine lady, and 
 fo I bid you good night. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 D LET- 
 
50 The AMERICAN 
 
 LETTER. V. 
 
 St. ^lentin, 
 
 TH E morning after my arrival, by 
 the afiiftance of my interpreter, a 
 fair pretty Englifli fille de chambre to 
 
 Madame de C , a ftill more pretty 
 
 Englifli lady, I announced my bufinefs 
 at St. Quentin, and got myfelf intro- 
 duced, with my credentials, to Monlienr 
 de Breifac, a French merchant of the 
 town, who has, it feems, a valuable 
 landed eftate, independent of tlie gre-ac 
 emoluments derived from his commerce 
 in cambrics ; happily he/ fpeaks Eng- 
 lifli; he made me dine with him, and 
 treated me with excellent champaigne. 
 Monfieur de Breifac is a pha^nomcnon, 
 for to the thorough-bred merchant, he 
 mnites the urbanity of a courtier. At 
 
 the 
 
Wanderer. 51 
 
 the age of fifty lie pofTefTes infinitely 
 more vivacity than falls to the lot of an 
 Engllfli youth of fifteen ; between the 
 firfl and fecond conrfe, while his daugh- 
 ter, the elegant Madame Nandine, pal- 
 fed round the long corked burgundy, 
 lie fung chanfoiis a boirCy des chanfonettes 
 tendres, and danced round the room 
 with all the agility of a Veflris, all the 
 cnjoiianeiit of an emancipated fchool-boy. 
 A genuine Englifliman, who has never 
 travelled beyond the limits of a fox- 
 chace, were he to read this letter, would, 
 without ceremony, fet this picture down 
 une caricature, or the flictch of a half 
 madman ; not fo, Monfieur de Breilac 
 is a man of underdanding, and of fa- 
 fliion, but he is a Frenchman. Finding 
 I intended to refide fome time at St. 
 Quentin, to acquire the French lan- 
 guage, which is here fpoken, by the bet- 
 ter fort of people, with great purity, 
 
 Monfieur de B exerted himfelf to 
 
 D 2 eftabliai 
 
52 The AMERICAN 
 
 eftabllfli nie in a reputable French fami* 
 ly, and, by a pleafant (tratagem, fuc- 
 ceeded ; the family confifts of an elderly 
 lady and three daughters — the mother 
 being extremely (liort fight ed, de Brtifac 
 palmed me upon her for a gentleman of 
 forty years of age ; which manoeuvre 
 was to be countenanced by my prefent- 
 ing myfelf next day unfliaven, dufty tra- 
 velling drefs, &c. the fatigue of a win- 
 ter's campaign in London, added to the 
 poignant anxiety refulting from your 
 abfence, throwing a gloom upon my 
 vifage, highly favoured the deception. I 
 had invited to dinner to-day my French 
 mafter, Mr. Brown, an Irifli gentleman, 
 bred at St. Omer's. Mademoifelle Hen- 
 riette told me, by means of our inter- 
 preter, elk etcit enchantee de mc tronvcr 
 tin cavalier jetni, et iiifitmnein aimahhy 
 (fweet creature !) Car Monfieur de Brei- 
 fac faifoit croire a fa mere^ que Monfieur 
 etoit d'un certain age. The more I re- 
 flea 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 5i 
 
 fleet upon my pofidon, the more I feel 
 myfelf obliged by the ftratageiii of de 
 Breifac. I have now fo firmly e/labriflied 
 liiyfelf with the old lady, that (lie forgives 
 me for my youth, calls me her fon, de- 
 fires me to honor her danirhter with the 
 
 o 
 
 appellation of fifler- — fays, (lie has too 
 high an opinion of the morality of Mon- 
 jQeur to conceive he would form a de- 
 fjgn upon his lifters ; and fometimes flie 
 condefcends to beg I would fpare them. 
 This with me is a more efficacious argu- 
 ment than the appeal to my morality — - 
 for when my power is even by implica- 
 tion acknowledged, I feldom abufe it. 
 The girls therefore fliall be fpared. 
 
 You will expect a (ketch of the amia- 
 ble family with whom I now while away 
 the weary hours of exile, and you fliall 
 not be difappointed. 
 
 D 3 Madame 
 
54 
 
 The AMERICAN 
 
 Madame Henry is the ^vidow of a 
 eeiitleman of the Ions: robe, who lived 
 at Perron lie, and held there a place under 
 the king of 10,000 livres a year; but, 
 being addicted to hofpitality and fliew, 
 died without having fet apart any por- 
 tion of his income for the maintenance 
 of a widow and nine young children, 
 •who had been bred in habits of expence. 
 In this untoward fituation the widow- 
 took a refojution which does her honor, 
 Inflead of, like mod widows, exhibiting 
 lierfelf in all the pomp of woe, wailing, 
 and leaning, like our mother earth in its 
 fallen (late, afkew upon her axis, imme- 
 diately quitted Perron ne and came to re- 
 fide here, a few leagues from her former 
 
 abode took a genteel houfe, fet out a 
 
 large elegant millener's fliop, and a fpe- 
 cics of general warehoufe for Parifian 
 perfumery, ribbons, gloves, fword knots, 
 &c. People of a liberal way of tiiinking 
 pitied her, and admired the eifort flie 
 
 hac^ 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 55 
 
 had made. She was countenanced by 
 tlie rich Proteftant merchants here, ob- 
 tained a confiderable credit at Paris, and 
 fucceeded in her fcheme. By her in- 
 chiftry and by tlie talents of the three 
 daughters who now live with her, (lie has 
 been enabled to Tettle in the matrimo- 
 nial walk two others — a fixth, confulting 
 her mirror, and having the fingular hu- 
 mility to fee herfclf leis handfome than 
 her fifters, and the candor to confefs it ; 
 jQie was advifed to dedicate herfelf to the 
 love of God — having the modefly to 
 think, 11 etant ni puijfainineiit riche ni dia- 
 hlcment jolicy flie had little likelihood of 
 killing her man ; (lie embraced this as 
 her pis dilcr — (lie is now in a convent in the 
 fuburbs of this town- I fometimes go to 
 fee my nun iifier, who feems to fiibmit 
 to the cruel law of nccellity with a toler- 
 able ^race. The eldeft fon is happily 
 married, in Germany, to a Saxon lady, 
 who, a la Alamandc, loves good cheer, 
 
 D 4 goes 
 
56 T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 goes tame about her houfe, obeys her* 
 hufband, and is a fruitful vine, breeding 
 like any German princefs. The youngr 
 eft Ton was born for and bred to the pro^ 
 fefTion of petit-maitre, in which he is at 
 prefent eminent. He dreifes, games, lies, 
 and makes love en bonnet homme ; he has 
 ffcrved a few years in the army, partly 
 by way of fatisfying the martial fentiment 
 coeval with the birth of every French- 
 man, and partly to guarantee his ap- 
 proaches to the foftcr fcx. A uniform, 
 you know, is, with the ladies of all polite 
 countries, un pajfe par :cut, Thefe ac- 
 complifliments, added to his being hand- 
 fome and endowed with a modeft afFur- 
 ance, renders him, comme de raifon, the 
 favorite with the mother. The three 
 youngeft daughters infinuate they might 
 e'er this have had portions to buy them 
 hufbands, but for the abfolute neceftity 
 of anfwering the large drafts of the 
 young gentleman, to fupply the necel^ 
 
WANDERER. 57 
 
 fary demands for odcur de rofe et de jc.p 
 mill, play money, polite forms for billet^ 
 douXy Valencie?ty Briijfelsy and point ruf>- 
 flesy requifite to enable Monlieiir de 
 Henry to roll in the orb defcribed by his 
 brother petit-maitres. As the young 
 gentleman is more of the coxcomb than 
 the gambler, he is generally duped, and, 
 en denier refort, has always recourfe to his 
 fond mama. Mademoilelle Henry is 
 verging upon forty, en bon point, good 
 teeth and eyes, replete with the milk of 
 human kindnefs, and learned in the cu- 
 linary fclence — by the bye, flie would 
 fuit admirably as a houfe-keeper to 
 your coufin P — - — , who piques himfclf 
 upon being an adept in the myftery of 
 lauces, and, if I miflake not, has lately 
 been ballotted for and chofen a member 
 of the calapafli and calapee cogno- 
 fcenti — fleek rogues, who delight to roll 
 their white eyes and fhake their green 
 fat, waddling between the congenial re- 
 
 siong 
 
5$ The AMERICAN 
 
 gions of Temple-bar and Leadenhall ! 
 Mademoifelle Collette, la f(rnr puifnee^ 
 appears to be about twenty-five ; of a 
 ilender but exquilltely elegant form — 
 height nor tall nor (liort — compledlion 
 rather inclining to the pallid, but extreme- 
 ly fair and delicate ; coral lips, ivory 
 teeth, large black eyes, radiant with vi- 
 vacity, long eye-laflies, full eye-brows, 
 which give relief to her fnowy forehead, 
 terminated by a head of hair, though 
 black, extremely fine in quality, and in 
 quantity beautifully redundant ! By turns 
 . fhe is witty aud fentimcntal, and is faid 
 to have happy writative talents — polite, 
 o-enteel, glides a minuet with grace, hops 
 a cotillon with vivacity, and touches 
 a harpfichord with wonderful judgment 
 and power — flic is indeed an elegant 
 fcbantilloji of Gallic beauty ; yet will I, 
 if you can fpare him, fpare her to my 
 rival the gallant Col. G . 
 
 Ma- 
 
WANDERER. 59 
 
 Mademoifelle Heiiriette, la cadette, 
 appears to be about twenty-two. She is, 
 I think, full as tall as you, confequently 
 the exad: ftandard height of a fine wo- 
 man. Her air, her flaape, her whole 
 perfon, tliough bold in the contour, yet 
 beyond conception eafy, natural, and 
 graceful : the French terms lejie et delie 
 fingularly apply to her : her features Ro- 
 man, her hair a dark chefnut, in huge 
 ringlcis fporting on her neck, and fliad- 
 ing a poliflied forehead : her upper teeth 
 a little uneven, but white as feather- 
 ed fnow ; her under lip fwelling, blub, 
 and pulpy. When (lie fmiles two dim- 
 ples, vifible only to the eye of tafte, play 
 on either llde of her mouth juft where 
 her lips terminate. I liave not courage 
 to attempt the drawing of her eyes; 
 they mufl: be {^gcw, and if i^Q^n by a man 
 they muft alfo be felt; but I'll anfwer for 
 it nor pen nor pencil can defcribe them. 
 They do not feem created by fouie god- 
 like 
 
6o [The AMERICAN 
 
 like power merely to fee, but to fpeak, 
 to ordain, to give law ! The moment 
 they dreamed celeflial lightening upon 
 your faithful chevalier, he recollected and 
 thought no longer ridiculous thofe lines 
 of, I believe. Dry den : 
 
 ** Then only hear her eyes ! 
 Tho' they are mute they fpeak, nay more command f 
 For beauteous eyes have arbitrary power ! "— 
 
 You who too well know, that the rays 
 of a blue eye have already poifoned my 
 foul with the never-dying fever of ten- 
 dernefs, will not wonder that I dwell fo 
 long upon the beautiful though irregular 
 eye-brow, the long fllken eye-lafh, and 
 the large funny full eye of Mademoifelle 
 Hcnriette : undoubtedly they are the fiuefl 
 black eyes that ever blazed, languiflied, 
 and died away in the head of woman I 
 I have now reconnoitred every oftenfible 
 part of her tout enjembky except her 
 neck. As my drawings are all from the 
 
 life. 
 
WANDERER. 6i 
 
 life, I cannot delineate it, for T have 
 fworn by the bofom of the goddefs of 
 love, an oath with me mod facred ! never 
 to touch, or, if I can help it, glance my 
 eye upon a mortal neck until you agaia 
 permit me to gaze ! But I mufl not trufl; 
 myfelf with this idea — Her completion 
 a clear brunette, animated by cheeks 
 flufiied with the downy red of fouthcrii 
 fun-beams. She is more of the languifli- 
 ing than the fpritely beauty : the venom 
 of her charms is therefore lefs dreaded, 
 
 though more deadly ; lels noxious to men 
 of levity than of fentiment. An air of 
 fimplicity, mildnefs, piety, and refignation 
 foften the majefty of her countenance ! 
 You have, I dare fay, feen in England, 
 fome fpecimens of Guido's manner : her's 
 is juft fuch a head as Guido Reni would 
 like to paint, and jufl; fuch a ftyle of 
 beauty as a man of fine feeling would 
 wifli to infpire with love! Figure to 
 yourfelf, Madam, this gentle, elegant 
 
 iu- 
 
6i' The AMERICAN 
 
 interefling mortal fitting at dinner vis-" 
 ^-vis Monfieur le Chevalier : behold her 
 anxioufly attentive to his every move- 
 ment, anticipating every wifli, and, 
 though we are mutually ignorant of each 
 other's language, tranflating into very 
 good French, each glance of his eye i 
 See her with tlie agility of a wood-nymph, 
 the emprejfement of a courtier, and the 
 grace of a maid of honor, fpringing from 
 her chair, and making the fervant re* 
 fign to her the agreeable tafk of pouring 
 vin de champagne or de mufcat pour f on 
 aimahh Anglois, Behold this real pic- 
 ture, and blame me if you can when I 
 confcfs, file has a\vaked in my foul a 
 tender friendfliip that fliall never die t 
 If the national manner^ refemble thofe 
 of this agreeable family, France is indeed 
 a polite nation, and the mofl eligible 
 country in the world for the abode of a 
 (tranger. The whole family diftrefs me 
 by their fedulous yet polite attention ; 
 
 their 
 
WANDERER. 6^ 
 
 their unremitting efforts to tranflate my 
 wiflies ; their anxiety left their ignorance 
 of my language (liould preclude them 
 from any the moil trivial occafion of ob- 
 liging me. My fvveet fifter Henriette, in 
 the abfence of the French mafter, is the 
 family interpreter. I do believe there is a 
 congeniality, a fympathy of fouls. I have 
 met with no other French perfon who 
 
 can make me underfland afentence,much 
 lefs can they comprehend me, yet they 
 perfecute me with an unceafing babble, 
 Henriette, on the contrary, fpeaks much 
 lefs, and with lefs eagerncfs than her 
 countrywomen in general ; but when 
 llie does fpeak, heaven-born melody vi- 
 brates on my raviflied ears ! I may not 
 underftand the force of each particular 
 word, but I comprehend the fcope of 
 each fentence, and my French, though 
 vicious, aided by my ilgns and expref- 
 five geftures, enables her generally to 
 comprehend me» While I fpeak I watch 
 
 attei> 
 
64 The AMERICAN 
 
 attentively the motion of her cye-Iids ;' 
 if I find chagrin and difappointment 
 fliading her countenance, I know I am 
 not underflood, and attempt fome other 
 turn, but the moment flie has me celcftial 
 rays ftream from her funny eyes, flie 
 bows, fmiles with the benignity of a Se- 
 raph, and immediately tranflaces me to 
 the whole circle. She has alfo under- 
 taken to be my midrefs. — Don't hate 
 her, Madam, I only mean my miftrefs in 
 the native language of politenefs. Whe- 
 ther it proceeds from her more happy 
 manner or my more fixed attention, I 
 will not determine, but fare I am, that 
 I receive ten times more profit from her 
 lefTons than from thofe of my mafter. 
 In the morning (lie makes me read to her* 
 a ftbry from the fimple elegant Marmon- 
 tel; in the afternoon ihe fills out my tea, 
 and at intervals reads to me a chapter of 
 r Imitation de Jefu Chrift ; a book wrotel 
 ill aftyle at once fimple and fublime, and, 
 
 being 
 
WANDERER. 6$ 
 
 being calculated to pour the balm of conlb- 
 lation into the hearts of devout Chriftians 
 of all denominations, when read and 
 commented upon by this amiable mortal, 
 what a noble efFe(^ it mufl: produce in 
 the foul of your friend, who, amidfl; all 
 his vagaries and back-flidings, happily, 
 never loft his tafte for pure religion. This 
 book is richly and modiflily bound : flie 
 has given it to me comme un fouvenir ; 
 and if ever I alienate or lofe it, may my 
 good angel lofe fight of me I 
 
 The price I give for my lodging, board, 
 24C. is called, in France, line -penfioii 
 chere ; and yet I have for loo livres a 
 month three rooms, two of which are 
 very genteely furniQied, and all of them 
 look upon la grande place^ one of the 
 fincft fquares in France. I have tea or 
 coffee for breakfafl and afternoon. I have 
 at dinner and fupper two courfes and a 
 defcrt, red cliampagne, a pretty dry 
 E wine 
 
66 T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 "Nvine for ordinary drink, white cham- 
 pagne whenever I chnfe it, vin de mnP- 
 cat and Ilqiiers, and all thele handed 
 to me by three nymphs who might well 
 fit for the picture of the Graces. Surely 
 I ought to be happy, yet why is it that 
 I fo eagerly point to the northern hemi- 
 fphere ? that I fo frequently feel the big 
 tear darting from my aching eye, the 
 involuntary figh heaving from my ago- 
 nizing heart I Go to your mirror and 
 anfvver this problem. — You fee the air of 
 France begins to have its ufual effedl", 
 I begin to be a polite gentleman ; for I 
 do not quit you until I place you with 
 the moft charming company for a fine 
 woman, her own image. 
 
 Adieu* 
 
 LETTER 
 
WANDERER. 67 
 
 L E T T E R VI. 
 
 St, ^cntin, 
 
 "you order nic to communicate to yon 
 my obfervations upon the cuftoms 
 and manners of the French ; though the 
 fliort time I have lived amongfl: them can 
 afford but fuperficial views of a field fb 
 fpacious, yet as the commands of a fine 
 woman are to me among the mofl: facred 
 of all obligations, I hallen to obey you. 
 To pay due deference to rank, I will firfh 
 handle the fofter fex. Nature was furely 
 in a playful mood when flie created a 
 French woman. The Graces are con- 
 ftant attendants at the toilerie of a fine 
 French lady, and where the Graces loiter 
 en famillCi the Loves will not long be ab- 
 fent. Conceive all that is gay, all that 
 is witty, fpritely, vivacious ; give to this 
 creature of your fancy a female form; 
 
 JI 2 though 
 
•6€ The AMERICAN 
 
 though not abfoliuely beautiful yet eii- 
 cliantiug ; thougli not perhaps of fyni- 
 metry critically juft, yet more piquant e, 
 more intcrejj^antc, more apetijfante than 
 the moft perfect lifelejs harmony of pro- 
 portion a fliape, though unconfined, 
 
 eafy and free, yet not inelegant; a com- 
 pleclion though feldom fair, yet free from 
 a certain inlipidity which frequently foils 
 the charms of the fnowy beauties of 
 
 northern climes it is a clear animated 
 
 brunette ; ivory teeth, hair dark, and 
 beautifully redundant j eyes black, vivid, 
 and exprefiive ! When you have col- 
 lected in your fancy thefe united agrc- 
 mens you will have a faint idea of the 
 toui: enfemhle of a fine French woman. 
 Had not the Supreme already^, by a de- 
 cree unchanging, fixed my fate, had I 
 yet a choice to make, I would wifli for 
 a nymph born and bred in England un- 
 til eleven years of age. By this time fhe 
 would probably be grounded in that true 
 
 genuine 
 
WANDERER. 69 
 
 genuine neatneis and purity, both of 
 perfon and min^l, peculiar to the girls of 
 the Thames and their American defcend- 
 ants ; I would then tranfport her to 
 France, to imbibe, with the language, 
 that chaftened franknefs of manner, eafc, 
 elegance, and politenefs endeniial in the 
 air of this country. Wth this finifliing 
 file would furely be tlie nc plus tdtra of 
 feminine perfection ! Could I then, as 
 peradventure I might, for French wo- 
 men too have their caprices, could I but 
 infufe into her a predilection for fuch an 
 oddity as myfelf, I fliould certainly be a 
 thrice happy mortal, nnenvicd only by 
 angels ! Indeed the French language, 
 which is in a great meafure made up of 
 phrafes, and is, beyond a doubt, the bed 
 converfation language now living, is a 
 happier medium of urbanity than our 
 downriglit Englifli. This, and a flight 
 tindure of the Itahan, are the only ad- 
 vantages I recoIlc6l a French girl of 
 E 3 fafliioii 
 
70 The A M E R 1 C x\ N 
 
 fafliion can boafl: over our Britifli ladies. 
 They are each educated, what a pity I 
 far from the parental eye, in feminaries 
 different in name, but nearly flmilar in 
 their objects — Mifs in a boarding-fchool, 
 Mademoifelle in a convent. Of the two, 
 I think, and I could fiipport my opinion, 
 with many plauflble reafons, the latter 
 infinitely the lead liable to exception. 
 To be fure there are many Engliili ladles 
 educated in boarding-fchools whofe vir- 
 tues adorn human nature ; but thefe ex- 
 ceptions prove not the advantage of a, 
 boarding-fchool, they only prove that 
 there are fome feminine natures fo in- 
 trinfecally pure, that neither the conta- 
 gion of precept or example can adulte- 
 rate them. Be this as it may, the young 
 lady in a cloifter converfes only with her 
 own fex. This is by no means calculated 
 to infpire thofe ideas of civility, com- 
 plaifance, and attentive politenefs which 
 the fexes, by a happy contagion, ufnally 
 
 imbibe 
 
WANDERER, 7^ 
 
 imbibe from a cliaflened interconrfe vvIlIi 
 each other. I iiave ever thought, that 
 what the poet fays of learning is much 
 more juflly applied to the fcntiment 
 which refults from a fecial mingling of 
 the fexes — 
 
 " yEmollit mores nee finit effe feros ! " 
 *' It foftens our manners, it will not permit 
 " us to be rude ! " 
 
 *' Woman was certainly made to temper 
 ** man ! We had been brutes without 
 ** them" — and, vice verfd, the maxim 
 is equally appoflte — Eve, the faireft, the 
 fweeteft of her daughters, was, I own, 
 formed by the hands of the Supreme, 
 mild and benign as the dew-drops trickling 
 from the trelTes of Aurora ! yet lee it be 
 remembered, witii graiiiudc, that flie 
 was built out of the fide of man ! Wo- 
 man therefore mufl ever pant after, muft 
 ever figh for her natural, her original 
 home — mult ever be bed pleafed, and 
 
 E 4 there- 
 
72 The AMERICAN 
 
 therefore moft prone to give pleafure 
 when (lie is or vif-a-vify or aupres that 
 noble wiiole of which (lie is only a part. 
 This certainly is the fecret bias of female 
 nature — fomefew half-witted prudes may 
 affect: to deny this ; yet, allowing tliem 
 to fpeak their real fentiments, they only 
 prove, that they are unnatutal, and of 
 courfe vicious. If then the converfatioii 
 of even the moft amiable of their own. 
 fex is not the happieft fchool of female 
 politenefs, much lefs can be expecflecl 
 from the fociety of nuns — from a groupe 
 of old maids, if maids indeed they be, 
 from their fituation without hope, ancl 
 therefore, in all probability, lefs placid 
 than their venerable body in general — ; 
 This is a large body in all civilized coun- 
 tries-— every paultry witling can break 
 his jeft upon them. God forbid that I 
 fliould infult their diftrefs ! — if they have 
 lefs of the milk of humanity flowing in 
 tjieir rigid veins than others of their fex, 
 
 the 
 
WANDERER, 73 
 
 the fault is not in them but imputable to 
 man, and his unnatural capricious infli- 
 tutions. Time was, when they were 
 fufceptible of and might communicate 
 tender impreflions — as a bow long un- 
 bent lofes its native elafticity, fo, by 
 long difufe, the fources of their fine feel- 
 ings arv dried up. Chafte, love-lorn 
 maids, ne'er will I obtrude upon your 
 retirements but to adminifter confola- 
 tion — if ye are lefs apt to infpire love 
 than young hoyden-flirts, well I ween 
 ye are more grateful for the love ye 
 infpire ; more tender, more conftant, 
 more learned in the refinements and my- 
 flcrics of that noble fentiment ! Would 
 my capahilit'j but walk hand in hand 
 witli my charity, I would wipe the 
 Icrcaming tear from ofi' all thine eyelids ; 
 I would fmother with kiifes thofe fighs, 
 the fad offspring of the hopelefs wiili, 
 lor you know not what — and I would 
 wonderfully diminifli the frightful num- 
 ber 
 
74 The AMERICAN 
 
 bcr of forlorn tabbies foredoomed to lead 
 apes in hell. Far from infulting, could 
 I be the happy inftrument of banifliing 
 Tnalice, envy, and all uncharitablenefs for 
 ever from thy lonely afylums, my worft 
 fin wex*e done away ! 
 
 Adieu* 
 
 LETTER 
 
W A N D E R E R. 75 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 "OUT to return, a French girl thus 
 educated, never fees a male animal, 
 lier own relations excepted, until flie is 
 taken from her afyliyn to the arms of her 
 hufband, who perhaps die never faw ! If 
 mama is dUpofed to outre "her tendernefs 
 and indulgence, flie will once or twice 
 bring the cavalier to the grate with her ; 
 but what is a lover in the prefence of 
 mama? a mere fhadow of himfelf. Ma- 
 demoifelle, however, feldom protefts 
 againil this arrangement — ilie is glad, on 
 any terms, to efcape from iron bars, 
 matins, nones, complies, fufty abbefTes, 
 and tattling nuns — fhe fubmits to take a 
 man from the hands of mama rather than 
 Jiave no man at all. Now and then too. 
 
76 T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 by the force of bribery, a modern French 
 novel has made its way to the devour- 
 ing eyes of monadic mifTes — the young 
 lady fucks in the effence of modern ma- 
 trimonial morality — (lie learns, that a 
 hufband is an animal born at once to be 
 an obje^l of hatred and a cloak for love — 
 Be this as it may, Mademoifelle, the mo- 
 ment ihe efcapes from monaftic gloom, 
 as if by the power of enchantment, blazes 
 out in all the effulgence of courtly beauty 
 — (lie is critically juft in the complicated 
 manoeuvres of a drawing-room, exhibits 
 her petits rieiu, her petitcs attentions,, 
 with due regard— paying minute defe^ 
 rence to time, place, and rank, (lie knows 
 as well as her mother, the exacl moment 
 when it is proper to flirt her fan againft 
 the brilliant epaulet of Monfieur le Mar^ 
 quis, while at the fame time flie darts a 
 tender fide glance at Monfieur le Cheva- 
 lier de Make, who tells of his hair-breadth 
 Tcapes 2.nd v/ondVous mifchances by 
 
 flood 
 
WANDERER.' 77 
 
 flood and field during his caravans ; 
 
 then dropping her glove, (lie permits 
 
 MoJificur rjbbe, qui fait le hel efprit 
 
 aupres des datties, d'avoir la fdicite et 
 
 Phonneur de k rcmajfer, de Ic prefentcr 
 
 jolliment, et de lui foupirer qiielqiie chofe 
 
 de galant ; thus engaged, you would 
 
 fuppofe that the lady's attention was ab- 
 
 forbed — not fo — Is a faQiionable author 
 
 announced ; docs -xpetit-maitre habille au 
 
 dernier gout glide into the room; the one 
 
 ihe annoys with a fafcinating bow, and 
 
 an inimitable (lirug of her Ilioulders ; the 
 
 other (lie annihilates by rifing fuddenly 
 
 from her bow, endeavouring to fupprefs 
 
 an involuntary figh, and tlirowing her- 
 
 felf upon the back of her fauteui I, which 
 
 naturally produces a palpitation of her 
 
 handkerchief that miffht rekindle the 
 
 embers of defire in the bofom of a frozen 
 
 hermit I Recovering from this manoeuvre 
 
 flie calls the pretty thing to her, and 
 
 charms him with the mofl bewitching 
 
 ^er ft ft age. 
 
y^ The AMERICAN 
 
 perfijiage. In a word, a French wo- 
 man, like a true philolbplier, is at 
 home in. whatever fituation her for- 
 tune fliall place her — if bred in an An- 
 chorite's cell, and wafted, at once, by the 
 force of magic, to the gallery of Ver- 
 failles, file breathes the air of that polite 
 region with almoft as little embarraflr- 
 ment, as if (lie had imbibed it with her 
 nurfe's milk I 
 
 I know very well that in England there 
 are perfons of birth and fafliion, as eaiy 
 and as well bred as any people in the 
 world ; but commend me to untutored, 
 innate urbanity, to a frifeur who is an 
 defefpoir if you complain of a head-ach ; 
 to a filie de chambre qui fe troiive aneantce 
 de chagrin fi par une malheiireiife bazar dy 
 elk auroit oubliee dechaiiffcr le lit de tnou" 
 fieiir ! to a cobler who bows to you with 
 the air of a gentleman uflier ; to a milk- 
 maid 
 
WANDERER, ^^ 
 
 maid who prefents you curds and cream 
 widi the grace of a maid of honour! 
 There is a young lady of fome diftin6lion, 
 who frequendy vifits les Mefdemoifelles 
 Henrys. Byway of acquiring the fafliion- 
 able babble of the country, I fometimes 
 make love to this finiflied coquette, who 
 is only nine years old. She comports her- 
 felf in this emergency, as if (he had long 
 expelled the declaration. She fports the 
 fide glance, the languid fmile, the half 
 fupprelFed iigh, the affetled reverie, the 
 encouraging leer, gleaming through a 
 look of anger and difdain ! and when 
 catechifed even in the more occult mys- 
 teries of the helle pajfioUf fhe feems won- 
 derfully adroit, and ready in her refpon- 
 fes. Laft night, upon my attempting to 
 raviQi a kifs before her aunt, (lie flung from 
 me with a well-difTembled air of a little 
 fury ; waved her little arm, bidding me 
 an eternal adieu 1 protefting, fince mon- 
 sieur mlfgonftrued mere civility, fans con- 
 
 fequenccy 
 
8o T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 fequencc, into predilection, fne would 
 Jiever more come here, or be at home to 
 him when he called on her aunt and 
 mama 1 Looking jufl now out of my win- 
 dow, this being Sunday, to reconnoitre 
 the brigade of belles and petit-maitres, 
 from fix years old to fixty, afTembled, 
 babillees en toutes flein chofes, to grin> 
 ogle, figh, and caper in the beautiful 
 fquare, vis-a-vis Madame H. 1 o^ferve 
 my little miftrefs floating along, en habit 
 de fetey a footman carrying her parnfol 
 and lap-dog, a watch by her fide, and 
 cane in her hand ; pointed, patched, 
 powdered a la marcchalc, and menacing 
 annihilation to her love-fick Angloisj 
 who with his right hand, prcfled upon 
 his left breaft, profoundly bows, is dif- 
 regarded, he retu'es three paces and 
 bows again, ftiil the lady afteds not to 
 iee him ; and when he defcended, the 
 ily ji^<^*e played off an air of high furprifc, 
 
 and 
 
WANDERER; 8i 
 
 and vowed (he fuppofed monfieur had 
 gone a la campagncy to ramble in the 
 gardens of his friend Monfieur deBreifac ; 
 for indeed flie would never have thought 
 of trufling herfelf with him again, when 
 he had fo recently forgot him (elf, behav- 
 ing commc un AngloiSy ceft a dire^ comme 
 un veritable bar bar { While I coquette 
 with this fine woman in miniature, a 
 thought occurs to me, I could wifli her 
 juft as (he is now drefTed, d fe. trouver, 
 to find herfelf, as the French idiom has 
 it, in an elegant afTembly in London. 
 I flake my hon ton reputation, fhe would 
 be chcz die ; fhe would betray no affec- 
 tation on the one hand, mauvaife honte, 
 or embarrafTment on the other. In her 
 movement, air, and manner, fhe would 
 be upon a par with a young Engliflilady 
 of eighteen ; in her enjouementy her fkill 
 at repartee and raillery, flie would far 
 exceed her ; I will not anfwer for her 
 
 F fuflain. 
 
82 The AMERICAN 
 
 fuftainlng her chara<fter fo well, after (he 
 has fed for fome time on road beef, and 
 imbibed the thick ale and foggy air of 
 your country. If this fweet girl is fo in- 
 terefting, when (lie only flmulates the 
 paflion, what mufl (he be after a trip to 
 Paris, when, perad venture, fome finifh^ 
 ed petit-maitre, born to make woman 
 frail, fliall have realifed her now imagi- 
 nary feelings, and by ills inconftancy, 
 blended an air of languifliment and me-* 
 lancholy tendernefs, with the natural vi-^ 
 vacity of her countenance ? Certainly 
 file will be irrefiflible I 
 
 You are curioits to know my progrefsi 
 in the world of gallantry, and thus the 
 account ftands. I have fometimes the hor 
 nour to give my arm to Mademoifelle de 
 H. the only daughter of the commandant, 
 I am en famillc with the Mefdemoifelles 
 Lancy, who fing Ics petit cs chanfonnettes, 
 
 amoureux 
 
WANDERER. 83 
 
 amourcux comme dcs Sipens ; I am enfant 
 de la 7naifon with Monfienr TAbbe Be- 
 nolt et [on agreahh foouVy gens d'une fa* 
 milk dlflingu'ec, I make love to Madame 
 L. dame Siiijfe, belle, fpirituelle, et fillc 
 unique de Monfienr R. un des profonds fa- 
 vantr qui compiloit rEncjclopedie. I at- 
 tend the toilette of the lovely Madame 
 Nardine, and I once had the honour and 
 felicity to tie the garter of the beautiful 
 Madame de PlefTon ! unlearned in the 
 etiquette of French toilettes, you will 
 here tax my vanity with violating hiflo- 
 rical truth. You are to underftand then, 
 madam, that in the firfl: place, the left 
 leg of Madame de PlelTon, thie only one 
 I had the honour to reconnoitre, is a 
 luxury that might ftiinulate the guflo of 
 the moft refined connoideur ; and you 
 are alfo to know that the tying on a 
 lady's garter, which, in this country is 
 F 2 generally 
 
S4 The AM ERIC AN 
 
 generally helow knee, with thefe dcgagee 
 people, is not a favour fo dec i five as yoi^ 
 would naturally conceive ; with you 
 fufpicious Britifli nymphs, who cautiouf- 
 ly guard every out-pofl:, it is preparatory 
 to, and leads in a diredl line to Elylium I 
 In France a fimple kifs of the cheek is a 
 much higher favour, for to kifs a French 
 lady's lips, when (lie is full dreft, is high 
 treafbn againft the ftatutes of the toilette \ 
 of this I had an inftance a few nights 
 
 ago. Monfieur TAbhe B- with my 
 
 very good friend his agreeable fifter, 
 fupped at our houfe ; as this lady has 
 long loft fight of her teens, never was a 
 prodigious beauty, and thofe charms 
 which nature lent her, are now paft 
 their meridian lufcre, I did imagine a, 
 little decent impudence would not be 
 difreliflied. I fat next to her, had fre- 
 quently drank ^/^J" amities in vifi niufcat^ 
 
 anci 
 
WANDERER. $$ 
 
 and had I hoped, by my attentions and 
 flattery, lulled to reft every prudifli idea, 
 if any fiich dwell in the bofom of a 
 French-woman. Whilfl: her brother the 
 elegant churchman was gallanting the 
 fan, and whifpering tender things to 
 Mademoifelle Henriette, I adventured to 
 kifs his iifter: this attention (he Was un- 
 grateful enough to return with a few 
 fmart ftrokes of her fan, which totally 
 demoliQied one of my fide curls, and 
 crippled the other ; I was piqued and afto- 
 niflied at this rebuff, the reafon of which 
 I could not conceive ; for when iete d 
 tite with her at her brother's, far greater 
 encroachments had been permitted with 
 chrillian refignation. When I retired to 
 bed, the amigma was unravelled ; I found 
 my lips and one of my cheeks plentiful- 
 ly tinged with the die of the Iberian 
 fleece ! tiie next morning I confulted 
 
 F 3 my 
 
86 The AMERICAN 
 
 my Apollo in etiquette le Marquis de 
 Petit-rien, who, with our elegant friend 
 le Conite de Tour de Pin, were of opi- 
 nion that I had committed a great enor- 
 mity ; — they obferved to me that there 
 were only two kiflablc fpots in a full 
 dreft French lady's face; they were very 
 minute on each fide of her face, between 
 her cheeks and her lips ; that there were 
 French mailers who got a comfortable 
 living by inflrucling foreigners in this 
 art ; and that thefe learned gentlemen 
 were called maitres dc la geographic dn 
 vifage des da?nes parees. As I am de- 
 termined to refpecl, not only the reli- 
 gion, but even les petites morales of every 
 country in which I refide, I ordered a 
 profefibr of this delicate art to attend me 
 the next morning. I begin to make a 
 progrefs, and that I may not forget 
 <vhat I have taken fuch pains to acquire^ . 
 
 laiali 
 
WANDERER. 87 
 
 I fliall be happy to pracTlice with you, 
 and will even affign to you my know- 
 ledge, gratis, if ever I return to Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 F 4 LETTER 
 
88 The AMERICAN 
 
 LETTER VIIL 
 
 THAT it may not be fuppofetl I af- 
 fe<fl to deviate from the beaten 
 path trod by the hofl of travellers^ of all 
 ranks and denominations, who have, 
 unluckily for my celebrity, preceded 
 me in the tour of France, I will attempt 
 a fliort fketch of the principal places 
 through which I pafs. I (hall thus elude 
 the imputation of fingularity; but as I 
 feel, I fliall be aukward in the execution, 
 and as you may, at any time, have re- 
 courfe to the elaborate manu failure, in 
 this way, of a variety of mechanical au- 
 thors already extant, I fliall very much 
 generalife my defcriptions of flreets of 
 towns, brooks and rivers, dales and 
 hills, mountains and feas» A landfcape 
 
 iketchcd 
 
WANDERER. Hg 
 
 fketched by the pen, even of genius, 
 conveys but a vague and confufcd idea 
 of a country unexplored by die eye of 
 fenfe. Indeed I confefs I am too indo- 
 lent to fucceed in this walk, nor fliall I 
 ever envy thofe who can. It has often 
 been my misfortune to be taxed with a 
 mechanical traveller, who, inftead of re- 
 laxing himfelf from his fatigue, by ex- 
 ploring the new fcyle of beauty and 
 manners of the inhabitants of the town j 
 inftead of acquiring its origin and public 
 hiftory, from the communicative INlon- 
 fieur TAbbe, or the fecret hiftory of the 
 prefent inhabitants, by flattering into 
 franknefs the iiaive and degagee mille- 
 ner, cafls a look of pity, blended with 
 contempt, upon his fellow-travellers ; ex- 
 hibits an enormous common-place-book; 
 draws out his fcale and compafles ; falls 
 to meafuring the length of an old church, 
 or the height of a mutilated ftatue, and 
 fcribbling alternately } all this he does 
 
 with 
 
9^ The AMERICAN 
 
 with the mod unrelaxed folemnity of 
 phiz. He introduces his vade-mecum at 
 his meals ; he lips his tea with a gravity 
 quite edifying, then writes, looks wife, 
 and writes and fips, and fips and writes 
 by turns. In vain do we attempt, by 
 the introduction of nonpareil burgundy 
 to call him off; in vain does exhilarating 
 champagne mantle and fparkle near his 
 olfadlory nerves ! Hermitage, cote roti, 
 vin de nuit or vin du pa^js, are all one to 
 him ; he fills his glafs, palTes the bottle, 
 drinks, is filent, and writes on. When 
 he is difpofcd to be what, in aftage coach 
 is called pretf^ company, he will read to 
 us his travels. Here a town, there a 
 village, here a poft-houfe is accurately 
 delineated ; now we pafs a river, then 
 we ford a brook, now we again pafs a 
 river, and arrive at a valley refreQied 
 by a babbling (Iream. We are then in- 
 formed that a certain number of trees 
 
 which 
 
WANDERER. 91 
 
 which (oh, wondrous (Irange !) flioot up 
 Ipontaneous and fufpended, hang on the 
 marghi of the flream, produce a refrefli- 
 ing fhade ! ** If thefe trees were want- 
 ing, this retreat would be lefs commo- 
 dious to the weary traveller ! that in the 
 fall, the leaves of thefe trees wither, fade, 
 and die, leaving the branches and trunk 
 without raiment, and of courfe wholly 
 expofed to the biting frofl, and nipping 
 northern blafts which are apt, in this 
 'ualley, to howl during the winter 
 months," transforming the grafs whicli 
 is naturally grecUf into a ruflet brown — 
 fingular melancholy change ! This gives 
 him a happy occafion to moralife ; he 
 tells his fair readers that rofes will fade, 
 pinks will iicken, lilies languifli and 
 hang their pallid heads : he prettily 
 plays with this novel difcovery during 
 two or three pages- — then he draws a 
 corollary equally fmgular and ftriking, 
 
 to 
 
fp THE AMERICAN 
 
 to wit, that when ladies are old, they 
 will be no longer young ! he now thinks 
 it high time to quit this delicious valley ; 
 we, in confequence, mount a hill; here 
 a melancholy coup d'oeil opens upon us 1 
 a wide extended barren plain ; not a 
 a tree nor even a fhrub on which to reft 
 our aching eyes ! not one drop of water 
 with which to allay our parching thirft t 
 here no flocks bleat ! no wood-pigeons 
 coo ! no cows bellow for their finiple 
 calves ! Dreading to be overwhelmed in 
 a whirlwind, which, peradventure, might 
 fpring up in this fandy defart, we dafli 
 boldly on, and, at length we are reliev- 
 ed from our apprehenfions by the un- 
 expected apparition of a fweet wood, 
 which opens upon a pleafant village, 
 which again leads us to a wafte, pretti- 
 ly terminated by a pi^turefque profpecft 
 of a fwamp, or a gallows, or an hermit- 
 age, or an abbey, or an old woman pay* 
 
 ing 
 
WANDERER* 93 
 
 ing her vows to the goddcfs, or a gibbet, 
 or fome other objecl: equally -peculiar to 
 foreign countries. We then fall foul of 
 an ancient caftle, which he accurately 
 delineates, and leaves in our imaginatioa 
 a con fu fed jumble of pillars, of cornices 
 of baflb-reiievo, of orders Gothic, Doric, 
 Ionic, but not one iingle diftincl idea. 
 
 If you wifli for accurate defcriptions 
 of fteeples, churches, columns, ftreets, 
 fend over fome fuch elaborate fellow as 
 I have defcribed, whofe head is equal- 
 ly hard with the ftone he will have 
 to work upon ; for me, mine be the 
 laudable ambition to foar at higher game, 
 manners, and mankind, that nobler part, 
 efpccially woman kind, are my darling 
 objeds! thefe I fliall unceafingly explore; 
 thefe divine forms I (liall, with philofb- 
 phic ardour, eagerly purfue even to 
 their more hidden retreats ; and though 
 my feeble talents little befriend me in 
 
 the 
 
94 The AMERICAN 
 
 the curious Inveftigation, my zeal may 
 enlighten my powers, or I may confole 
 myfelf in my defeat, magnis tamen occidit 
 aufus I in great attempts 'tis glorious 
 e'en to fail ! 
 
 St. Quen tin is a town inPicardy, hanging 
 upon the Confines of that part of French 
 Flanders called the Cambrefis; it has 
 twelve parifhes : the chanoins appertaining 
 to the cathedral church have genteel and 
 liberal ftipends arifing from wheat which 
 is commuted for money. The town 
 may contain about nine thoufand fouls ; 
 the principal of whom, with refped: to 
 riches^ are French proteftants, whofe 
 opulence refults from a liberal and ex- 
 tenflve traffic in the cambric manufacflure, 
 of which they have in fome meafure rob- 
 bed Cambray. This town, I believe, 
 was formerly more populous than it 
 now is ; it is famous for a great vidory 
 obtained here by the Spaniards, monu- 
 ments 
 
WANDERER. 9^ 
 
 ments of which yet remain in the town. 
 In honour of this vidlory, and in confe- 
 quence of a vow made to obtain it, the 
 efcurial at Madrid was built by Philip IL 
 of Spain. St. Quentin ftands upon a fite 
 very elevated, upon a hill riling on both 
 iides gradually, from the adjacent plains. 
 The air is tonfequently fubtle and elaftic. 
 The ramparts, which in the provincial 
 towns of this country generally form the 
 Mall, are faid to be the liigheft and moft 
 beautiful of any in France ; they are 
 ^bout a mile and a half round, finely 
 fliaded on each fide of the walk, by trees 
 planted for that purpofe, which here 
 and there open to a country pid:urefque, 
 and lovely beyond defcription. The 
 height of the ramparts gives large fcope 
 to the eye, which ranging over a fweet 
 and beautiful variety of hills, meadows, 
 and water, refts upon woods, rich, tall, 
 ^nd luxuriant, rifing, in bold amphi- 
 theatre and fweetly robing the fides of 
 
 the 
 
p6 THt AMERICAN 
 
 the circumjacent mountains ; the lowing 
 of thekiiie, the bleating of the flieep, who 
 in one field crop the tender grafs ; the 
 blithe Picarde female peafants, who with 
 fuccindl cotillons, bleach Cambric in the 
 contiguous clofes, form a happy com raft. 
 Here people of fafliion, of either fex, aG- 
 lemble about five o'clock, after their 
 dinner, which is at a very early hour in 
 all provincial French towns ; here they 
 walk, chat, caper, make love, make par- 
 ties to vingt'uriy brelan, reverfecy or high- 
 mafs, a religious ceremony, with ihefe 
 pleafant people, being a party of plea- 
 fure. In the morning here fat Abbes 
 walk and get an appetite to their vermi- 
 celli foup, while they ponder upon di^ 
 vine things, ladies and lap-dogs j here 
 ftudents ambulate, ruminating the cud 
 of fcience ; here too, in the evening, 
 love-lorn fwains and damfels, of all or* 
 ders; arm in arm, or walk, or loll on 
 the inviting benches ; exprefllng the big 
 
 wifli. 
 
WANDERER. 97 
 
 ivlfli, letting fall tears of lentimental ten- 
 dernefs, and bartering fighs, foft as the 
 vernal breeze, which gently agitating the 
 imminent branches, harmonifes with 
 their innocent feelings ! Here too, at 
 night-fall, the anti-platonic fwain, (lung 
 with lawlefs love, urges to the unhal- 
 lowed bower, the half-willing, half-af- 
 frighted maid, while the confcions ftars 
 and the pale moon bluQi and fickeii at 
 the impious abufe of that modeft light 
 they difpenfe to fi'ail mortals ! Often 
 alone in my robe de cha?nhre, I ramble 
 round thefe delightful ramparts, a philo- 
 fophic fpeclator of the motley exhibitions 
 they afford ; fometimes I fally forth in 
 a ftyle, gallanting my two younger lif- 
 ters, la petite Collette on one fide, la 
 belle Henrictte on the other, and mingle 
 with the delighting and delighted throng! 
 What a vain filly people, quotii the fple- 
 netic traveller! thrice happy country, 
 fay I I thrice happy pleafant beings ! 
 
 G who 
 
98 The AMERICAN 
 
 who can extradl felicity from fources Co 
 trivial ! to be contented with little, is 
 faid to be wifdom ; not only to be con- 
 tented, to be gay, blithfbmc, dehonnaire 
 with a little, often with nothing, this 
 IS \\\Q oW^ihlQ JCjavoir vivre y this is true 
 philofophy. 
 
 Farewell, 
 
 LET- 
 
WANDERER. 99 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 Si. ^lentin* 
 
 ''npHERE are twenty convents and 
 churches at St. Qneiithi. One of the 
 convents very liberally endowed, and (b 
 fpacious that it occupies almofl: one 
 \vhole fide of la belle rue St. Vincent — 
 It is appropriated to ladies of rank and 
 fortune, nuns and penfioners, that is, in 
 Englifli, boarding-fchool mifles, who re- 
 fide here, learning to knot, make Jile, 
 point, en attendant ?nari. The abbefs is 
 nominated by the King. It is called Fer- 
 vacque, or la convent de riches dames. 
 The richer fort of people here are Pro- 
 tcftants ; but have no religious place of 
 worQiip. They are however allowed a 
 fepulture, which is, I believe, a piece of 
 ground belonging toMonlieurdeBreifac. 
 
 G 2 The 
 
lOo The AM E RI C A N 
 
 The ftreets are wide, the buildings of 
 brick : there is, I think, no houfe of fin- 
 gular archited:ure ; nor indeed any 
 church of note, except la grandc Eglifcy 
 or Cathedral, which is certainly a noble 
 pile of building, and, viewed from the 
 ramparts, fills the eye mofl happily, ex- 
 hibiting, in my poor opinion, very fweet, 
 juft, elegant, and bold proportions. There 
 is one o^ the many facred paintings 
 within worth regarding — the features of 
 the Virgiii give an idea of fweetncfs, in- 
 noceucei and majefty, harmonioufly 
 blended. To this church I frequently 
 
 auend Mademoifelie H . Slie fome- 
 
 times chants the hymns, and methinks I 
 hear the choral fymphony of angels ! 
 
 Society is upon a liberal plan in this 
 town. A gentleman who comes here for 
 health, amufemenr, or, as many do, ta 
 learn tiie language, is commended to 
 fome merchant in the town, it being 
 
 not 
 
WANDERER. loi 
 
 not a town of nobkfTe ; nor have they 
 the military amongfl: them. This gen- 
 tleman attends his friend to each particu- 
 lar houfe of the quarticry as' they are 
 called — that lo, to die principal people 
 of the place. Thefe vifits are fure to be 
 returned, and this is all the introdudliori 
 requilite — You are, from this time, ex- 
 pcdled to prefent yourfelf at all their 
 routes, concerts, &c. They, in turn, 
 give afTemblies frequently, and elegant 
 aflemblies too. They have in winter 
 two concerts a Nveek ; performers f en- 
 tlemen, and of courfe it is an amufe- 
 ment you have gratis — there are many 
 mufical cognofcenti in this town. There 
 is alfo a very elegant little theatre, which 
 is frequently filled by good aflors. At 
 their routes or card parties they play for 
 bagatelles y almofl: -pour fc.ffcr h temps — 
 fo far from your expecting a formal in- 
 vitation to them, the lady thinks herfelf 
 jll-ufcd if you do not mnke your cntrcy 
 G 3 to 
 
102 The AMERICAN 
 
 to fill up her room — and this is the lefs 
 onerous, fince if you jull: make your 
 appearance it is fufficient — You play or 
 not, glide in or out, when and as often 
 as you pleafe — you have wine, and cake, 
 and comfitures handed to you, or difplay- 
 ed on a fide-board, and the lady during 
 the evening engages as many as will fill 
 her table to fup with her. There is a 
 route or card party every night, at fome 
 one houfe or another. In fine weather 
 you give your arm to the ladies, gallant 
 them to the ramparts, and tafte as fweet 
 a landfcape as ever filled the raviflied eye. 
 Thus, if a (tranger has a focial bias, his 
 time will be eafily killed at St. Qiientinl 
 We have frequently Englifli families re- 
 fiding here. There is at prefent a lovely 
 young EngliQi married lady, a Madame 
 
 de C at St. Qtientin — her hufl^and, 
 
 though a German, in his ideas of domefiic 
 government is as liberal as a French- 
 man — He has furely no acqviaintace with 
 
 the 
 
WANDERER. 103 
 
 the green-ey'd monfler, or he would not 
 leave this lovely jewel at St. Qiientin, 
 while he trudges over Europe, chewing 
 the cud of Tome half-digefted mercan- 
 tile projecl. Were flie mine, I would 
 be the oak and flie the ivy. She is in- 
 deed a diamond of fmall magnitude, but 
 of a mod exquifite water! of courfe (lie is 
 adored by every St. Qiientin petit-maitre 
 from fourteen to fourfcore. We have 
 alfo a Mrs. Hunter, an Englifli lady, who 
 has for many years refided here. She is 
 the widow of a general officer — is a wo- 
 man of birth and of finiflied breed- 
 ing, and highly refpected at St. Quen- 
 
 tin file underflands Italian ; fpeaks 
 
 French equally well with a native, and 
 pronounces with more grammatical purity 
 
 than the Frencii ladies in general flic 
 
 contributes to render this town agreeable 
 to her countrymen. There are four 
 gentlemen viih myfelf refiding here, 
 
 to learn the language u Mr. Fane, 
 
 G 4 bro- 
 
104 The AMERICAN 
 
 brother to Lord W d, a very hand- 
 
 fonie falhionable young man ; a Mr. 
 Chatham, ekleft {on of a gentleman of a 
 large fortune, a very good fellov^' ; and 
 the only fon of a younger brother of the 
 late Lord A. who I call the Marquis de 
 Petit-rien — as I love a iiiiiilied characl:ei% 
 I cannot but be partial to him. Tlie 
 3Marquis de Petit-rien is certainly unique t 
 He whirls with fplendid eccentricity from 
 the brilliant orb of petit-maitres, and 
 blazes a comet ! I am delighted to fee 
 him carry the war into the enemy's coui|- 
 try I to foil them at their own weapons ! 
 It is charmins: to fee the defcendant of the 
 
 gallant Duke of O • (liine a coxcomb 
 
 Vv'orthy the envy and admiration of a re- 
 gion which has, for ages, been fuppofed 
 the European hot-bed for the gi'owth, 
 production, and manufacture of true ge- 
 nuine unadulterated coxcombs ! He is 
 indeed very young, a mere boy ; has 
 wit and talents— fpeaks French prettily j^ 
 
 hums 
 
WANDERER. loj 
 
 hums an Italian air, dances divinely, 
 plays upon die mandolin, knots ^z/^, and 
 makes i.vv;eet-meats ! When the levity of 
 youth and the vagaries. of ielf-love re- 
 cede; when years fliall have mellowed his 
 fancy and matured his judgment, I hope 
 and believe my amiable little friend the 
 Marquis de Petit-rien will be a ufeful 
 member of fociety, and, fliould ilTue of 
 his coulln fail, an ornament to the Houle 
 of Peers, We countrymen mingle wUb 
 each other as much as our attention to 
 the object for which we relide here v;ill 
 permit — fometimes we dine witli each 
 other ; fometimes we give little fetesy to 
 which we invite the fafhionable young 
 people of St. Qiientin. I once a fort- 
 night exhibit a public breakfall with a 
 little concert in my w ay : the Marquis, 
 de Petit-rien touches his mandolin, the 
 honorable ?vlr. F. the German flute, the 
 Count de Chamblc, the violoncello; the 
 two Mefdemoifelles Lancy, mcs bonnes 
 
 {i?nics, 
 
io6 The AMERICAN 
 
 antiej, iing des petites chanfonnettes ten- 
 (ires, Mr. Chatham and I talk, nonfenfe 
 to ihe ladies. My breakfaft confifts of 
 tea, coffee, de petits faucijfonsy du jam- 
 hofi, du vin-hlancy et des comfitures — the 
 whole, together with my concert des 
 dinateursy cofts me about a quarter of a 
 guinea. When the concert is over Petit- 
 rlcn teaches by example his petite chienne 
 to make entre chats! Madame Nardine 
 fwims a minuet with M. le Count deTour 
 
 de Pin ; Monf. C m drinks du vin 
 
 nmfcat commc un pojfcdc ; the bewitching 
 Mademoifelle Montpelfan, fnatching the 
 hand of Monf. le Chevalier, whi(ks him 
 two or three mazes of an allemand, and 
 mod cruelly, at the very critical part of 
 the tune, where the gentleman is obliged 
 to dwell I minute 45 feconds upon the 
 lips of the lady to fill up the time, (lie 
 ikips like a fawn out of the faloon, 
 bounding acrofs the fqiiare to the hotd- 
 vard, leaving her lefs mercurial partner 
 
 to 
 
WANDERER. jo; 
 
 to fail after her with his invaluable 
 freight — the ladies farafol in one arm, 
 his fliaggy rival Monfieur Joii-Jou in the 
 
 other the whole party file off in pairs, 
 
 and either lounge on the ramparts, or 
 flroll to the beautiful wood la Fayette, 
 about a mile from the town, in whofe 
 lovely lawns, copfes, and groves we ram^ 
 ble or loll on the mofl)^ grafs, crown our 
 miftrefTes with young honeyfiickle, inter- 
 woven with woodbine and wild roles — 
 thus we folatre until the hour of dinner 
 approaches; the whole party unceaflngly 
 capering, gambolling, and laughing with 
 or at each other, God knows which. 
 This wood with the adjoining villa is, I 
 think, at prefent pofTcfTcd by a Dowager 
 (vf the Noaille family. It is thrown open 
 to rhc people of St. Qiientin, and liighly 
 contributes to the recreation and health 
 of the inhabitants — art with nature con- 
 fpires to render it a delicious retreat, a 
 liappy afylum from the noife and hurry 
 
 of 
 
I0& T-HE AMERICAN 
 
 of tlie town. Once a year, in Septem- 
 ber, there is a fete champetre exhibited 
 at Fayette. It is compofed of the beau 
 monde of St. Quentin, and the fwains 
 and nymphs of the adjacent villages. It 
 continues three days, and is an uninter- 
 rupted fcene of feafting and hilarity — 
 little bands of muck are arfembled in the 
 various bowers, where cotillon parties 
 are formed, coquetting parties arranged, 
 and love-matches adjufted — good hu- 
 mour and glee pervade the whole foreft. 
 In a word, the/^V<? of laFa-jette, though 
 Jefs georgous, lefs brilliant, yet, well I 
 "ween a happinefs more unmixed, more 
 pure, and exalted, did not infpire the 
 Britifh youth, who adorned the fete chajti" 
 fetre in honor of the lovely maid of the 
 oaks \ 
 
 Adieu. 
 LETTER 
 
WANDERER. to^ 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 St, ^entin, 
 
 ■pARDON a profound filence during 
 an interval of two months. Youi* 
 menacing letter lies before me, and I 
 kifs the rod which chaflifes me. Altho' 
 your approbation is ever the utmoft 
 boundary of my ambition, yet, believe 
 me, I admire you in your reproofs. I 
 feel that I mud be culpable, fince I have 
 offended you, and I proftrate myfelf, 
 with all becoming humility, at your feet 
 a fuppliant for mercy. 
 
 Thought and recolIe<^ion are no friends 
 to a man in my unpleafant predicament. 
 I have therefore endeavoured to fliuri 
 fuch uncivil intruders : lulled in the ob- 
 livious lap of carelefs philofophic French 
 indolence, I have been 'whiling away 
 
 my 
 
no The A MERI CAN 
 
 my time, the world forgetting by the 
 World forgot* I thus endeavour to elude 
 the agonizing remembrance of the anar- 
 chy which pervades my country ; the 
 misfortunes of my family ; the difperlioil 
 of my friends, and the wreck of my own 
 private fortune* I was taking lellbns of 
 this merry people in the happy fcience 
 of frivolity ; I was beginning to make a 
 progrefs in my fludies ; I was indeed 
 reducing my fcience to pradlice, while 
 in my Indian night-gown and African 
 flippers I fauntered with my profefTor, 
 an honeft rofy-cheeked friar of the flcek 
 order of St. Bernard, when I was aroufed 
 from my Lethean flupor by your epiflle. 
 As darknefs vaniflies at the approach of 
 Aurora, fo at thy e'en ideal prefence I 
 awake to fenfibility I the big wifli fvvells 
 my heart, the tear of fentiment fuffufcs 
 my eye at the poignant reflexion that 
 yet, oh yet I the fca roars between hea- 
 ven and me 1 
 
 Yet, 
 
WANDERER. tii 
 
 Yet, truH: me, it was mere terreftial 
 ideas of which I fought an oblution. I 
 felt I could not fucceed in the attempt ; 
 nor indeed did I wifli to forget things 
 divine ! the lock of hair which you 
 deigned to tie about my neck yet vibrates 
 on my palpitating bofom ! there it fliall 
 ever reft, a facred talifman, protecting 
 its faithful owner *gainft the numerous 
 mifchances by flood or field which await 
 him in his weary journey, in his hope- 
 lefs attempt to flee from the voice of the 
 charmer I 
 
 Forgive me if an air of melancholy 
 pervades this letter. I cannot avoid it 
 juft now — if I would write cordially — it is 
 really a faithful tranfcript of my prefent 
 feelings ; for I am upon the point of 
 quitting, perhaps for ever, St. Qiientin, 
 and its amiable inhabitants. The day af- 
 ter to-morrow I fct out for Paris. ^ I 
 dread it is my lot perpetually to wander; 
 
 y^t 
 
112 The AMERlCA^lsr 
 
 yet a heart, too fufceptible of the conta* 
 gion of frlendfliip, tells me nature form- 
 ed me not for a traveller — never yet did 
 I ftray one four-and-iwenty hours in the 
 mod homely modefl village without feeling 
 my focial affedlions fpringing forth, and 
 attaching themfelves to fome particle of 
 organized matter ! Never did I fay to 
 myfelf, 1 fee this fweet village maid, who 
 with the blufliing innocence of a Hebe 
 prefents me, for the laji time, a cup of 
 milk ; or this mutilated foldier who, for 
 the lajl time, boafts of his feats ; for the 
 laji time bares his head, embroidered by 
 th€ fabres of the enemy ; for the laft time 
 with his cicatrized arm waves to me a 
 cordial farewell, without breathing ail 
 unbidden figh, Avithout feeling an in- 
 voluntary pang I nay I never, for the 
 lajl timey behold the purring of a village 
 K:at, receive the blandifliments of an old 
 houfe-dog, or e'en the lajl adieu of an 
 honell jack-afs, without exclaiming in the 
 
 bitter- 
 
WANDERER. uj 
 
 Vitternefs of my grief, mine hoiieft friend, 
 ere we both return to duft, I will again, 
 if it be within the laws of pofribility, re- 
 turn to thee ! again I will liften, high 
 pleafed, to thy indignant brayings againfl: 
 the ingratitude of mankind I again I 
 will folace mine eyes with^contemplating, 
 wiftfully, thy fincere, artlefs, fimple, 
 philofophic phiz! If then I do, as indeed 
 I do, refpire the figh of regret at the 
 idea of breaking off thefe the lefs fliining 
 part of acquaintance, how muft my 
 heart bleed to be torn from the focial 
 elegantly learned converfe of the letter- 
 ed churchman ; the brilliant ebullitions 
 of the gay accompliflied petit-maitre ; 
 the feafl: of fentiment and flow of foul, 
 with my heaven-born Picard Madona I 
 Dear, angelic, long-fuffering maid, who 
 with the perfon of a Venus, and the foul 
 of a dying faint, is yet doomed to a 
 precarious dependance upon the caprici- 
 ous and the vain, — 'tis not a puffing hour 
 
 H iince 
 
 I 
 
114 The AMERICAN 
 
 flnce thou didft prefent me ^vith thy 
 purlc, the work of thine hands, with 
 the night ribband, wherewith to bind 
 my weary temples ; thy funny eyes were 
 humid with tears, through which thou 
 fmiledfl: more beautiful than a Kourie ; — ' 
 thou faidfl:, man chevalier, fouvenez-vous. 
 de nos amities I Jouvejiez-vous quelqiiefois. 
 ds la malheureufe Henriette et de [on trifle, 
 hifloire \ Remember the haplefs Henrietta 
 and her fad (lory ! her flory, which not 
 till now, wouldfl: thou ever tell him ; it 
 is indeed a tale of woe, — you mufl not 
 hear it ; it would be too much for your 
 gentle heart ; it would extract fym pathe- 
 tic tears from the eyes of apathy ! mild, 
 lovely, fafcinating maid ! fo may the god 
 of fentiment deal with me, as I remem- 
 ber, gratefully remember thee ! and if 
 ever w/^r, the plague mofl dreadful which 
 God in his wrath has permitted to vilit 
 the unhappy children of men, if horrid 
 war (liall ceafe to rage in my native coun- 
 try, 
 
WANDERER. 115 
 
 try, 1 will fpeak peace to thy wounded 
 fpirit I or if this beatitude is denied me 
 at leaft, I may open an afykim to perfe- 
 cuted beauty ! thou mayfl: leek flicker 
 under my vine, and repofe under my fig- 
 tree : and my houfehold gods, proud of 
 fucli a gueft, fliall proted thee wkh their 
 divine inliuence. 
 
 Gentle fetit-maitres of St. Qiientin \ 
 dehonnairey blithe Picard maids, coquet- 
 ifli, fafcinating nymphs, fain would your 
 fauvre Anglais exprefs to you his never- 
 dying thanks for the fweet emotions, 
 your brilliant wit, your kill more bril* 
 liant eyes, have imprelfed on his fufcep- 
 tible foul ! But here exprefTion fails ! 
 fain would he, while his hand preffes 
 his beating break, breathe out the word 
 adieu ! but his grateful heart fwePo too 
 big for utterance, and the fatal wo d, lofl 
 in an agonizing figh, dies upon his trem-' 
 tliiig lips ! 
 
 H 2 And 
 
ji6 The AMERICAN 
 
 And thou finifhed model, defigned 
 by fairy hands, elegant Petit-r ten, though 
 lait, not leaft in love ( farewell 1 When- 
 ever the thorns which fo plentifully 
 fpring under the feet of an haplefs wan- 
 derer, fliall be contrafled by a bed of 
 rofes ; whenever I fliall behold a lily of 
 the valley, or an iris-robed tulip, or ^ 
 a pink flaunting in all the pride of its 
 birth-day fuit, then will a cafual aflbci- 
 atlon of ideas recal thy fairy form to my 
 view ! then will I recolledl thy delicacy 
 of foul harmonizing with thy ilill more 
 delicate frame ! I have made a vow, and 
 I will, at Paris cull for thee, the quin- 
 tefTence of choice boquets, and wafted 
 on the wings of love, it fhall be convey- 
 ed to thy bofom! 
 
 Pity me, and do not laugh at this 
 Vhapfody, for indeed, fair lady, I am at 
 prefent in what the French call a mood- 
 larmo'^ante I I feel that a wandering life, 
 
 to 
 
WANDERER. 1,7 
 
 to which it feems you and fate condemn 
 me, cannot lead to a happy end ! I am 
 going yet farther from yon, and that idea 
 would flied ganl and wormwood in my 
 path, did the journey lead me, not to 
 Paris, the Utopia of coxcombs^ but e'en 
 to the paradife of Mahomet, where Ga^ 
 nymedes would pour out nectar to the 
 weary traveller, and all lovely, half- 
 willing, blufhing Houries fmooth his 
 pillow. 
 
 Farewell. 
 
 H 3 LET- 
 
ii8 The AMERICAN 
 
 LETTER XL 
 
 Paris, 
 
 TAKING a French leave of my 
 Madona^ and the fair town where 
 Ihe deigns to abide, I arrived here ten 
 days ago, accompanied by Mr. Chat- 
 ham, an EngUfii gentleman reflding at St. 
 Qiientin, whofe partiality to me, induced 
 him to take a trip in my company to the 
 capital. We palfed through Compeigne, 
 a royal refidence, and its princely foreft, 
 but met with no incident in our flying 
 journey, worthy your attention. The 
 morning after our arrival, we hired a 
 caroffe de remifc^ and with our valet dc 
 place behind, fallied out to reconnoitre 
 the town. This capitol has been fo mi- 
 nutely defcrlbed by a variety of travel- 
 lers, wiiofe talents and opportunities far 
 exceeded mine, that an elaborate detail 
 
 would 
 
WANDERER. u^ 
 
 v/ould be fnperfluous and prefnmptuous. 
 There are, I am informed, many dif- 
 fufive writers upon this lubjecH:, yet, 
 SmoHet excepted, I do not recolle<5l I 
 have read any of them ; the few remarks, 
 therefore, which I will venture to make 
 to you, if not interefling, will at leafl 
 have the merit of being original. It is 
 my way to delineate my ideas limply as 
 they arife upon the fubjecH: before me. 
 1 have too much indolence to beat my 
 noddle for a brighter thought, or a more 
 brilliant drefs in which to robe it ; and I 
 have too much pride to copy ; if then 
 my obfervations are trivial or ridiculous, 
 I frankly confefs the folly is my own ; 
 yet, in my curfory remarks upon this 
 place, my fellow traveller, while he con- 
 tinues with me, fliall fliare the ridicule. 
 You have long ago, I dare (ay, fet me 
 down, if biaffed at all, guilty of a lin- 
 gular prejudice for an Englifliman, a 
 prediled:ioii for the French nation. Mr, 
 H 4 Chatham 
 
120 The AMERI C AK 
 
 Chatham is as oppofite to me in this, a» 
 Indus to the Pole; this gave me a fingu- 
 lar fatisfaiftion in his company. A diffe- 
 rent ftyle of thinking, upon points not eC- 
 fcntial to morals, or honour, when Ibft- 
 €ned by philanthropy and breedings in 
 my opinion, forms the bafis of the agree- 
 able ia a fellow traveller. An infipid 
 famenefs of conception, a monotony, if 
 I may be indulged the expreflion, of 
 thought, renders two travellers like twa 
 parallel lines ^ tliey glide on fide by fide 
 to eternity I no hopes of touching, no 
 hopes therefore of combining in focial 
 friendftiip, harmony, and lover in fliort, 
 a voyage even through the Elyfian 
 Fields, with fuch a chalk and cream 
 fouled wight, would to me be as duli 
 and melancholy as '* a lover's lute," or 
 the drone of a liighland bagpipe, or that 
 confammation of dulnefs, a city feaft t 
 Conceive not from v»'hat I have juft faid> 
 that I would fubmit to loll in the fame 
 poft-chaife with tl^at noxious animal, a 
 
 pro- 
 
WANDERER, lit 
 
 profeflional difputant. No, I would chiife 
 a companion who would keep attenticii 
 awake by feeing really, not afFe cling to 
 lee, the lame object in a different point 
 of view from mine ; this would mutually 
 excite emulation ; we Qiould adduce va- 
 rious reafons in fupport of our different 
 opinions; and thus the fubjed:, whether 
 vegetable or animal, primrofepetit-maitre 
 or coquette, would be turned topfy-turvy, 
 and accurately handled ; and thus the 
 mifls of error receding before the rays of 
 truth, our mutual prejudices, clafliing 
 againft each other, might be dilhpated. 
 
 Now, my friend C m, is as 
 
 thorough bred an Englifliman as ever 
 hanged himfelf in a November fog ; he 
 carries the war into the enemies country, 
 fronding moft unmercifully, man, woman, 
 and child, all the animal, all the vege- 
 table kingdom, which has the misfor- 
 tune to be of French origin ; — -not a 
 blade of gr^fs efcapes him. He is as ro- 
 
 bufl. 
 
lii The AMERICAN 
 
 bufi:, hearty, handfome, rofy- cheeked art 
 Engliflimaii as you (liall wifli to fee ; hd 
 has a remarkable fine head of hair, yet 
 upon our firft acquaintance at Sr. Qtieii- 
 tin, he lamented with tearful eye, that 
 his father confined him in this noxious 
 climate. I think it my duty. Sir, faicl 
 he, to inform you, that the men are all 
 fcoundrels, the women all w — s ; there 
 is no flavour or nutriment in their beef 
 or mutton, infomuch, that my hair has 
 fallen off through deprivation of radical 
 moifture. If I ftay here another twelve- 
 month, I exped to become quite bald I 
 We happened at the thne to be walking 
 through the market, which, adapted to 
 the fize of the town, is as good a one 
 with refpedl to meat, vegetables and but-^ 
 ter, as I ever faw : upon my word. Sir, 
 thofe cabbages have the femblance of be- 
 ing good cabbages, fuch large on,es I 
 never before beheld. I grant you the 
 cabbages are large, firm and white, yet, 
 
 upon 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 125 
 
 npofi honour, Sir, I know by experience 
 there is no nutriment in them, they are 
 iiotEnglifli cabbages ; this being a truilhi 
 I had no more to fay: though naturally 
 a good-natured, . and really a fenfible 
 fellow, never did I find my friend look* 
 ing at the bright fide of a French pro- 
 fpecft until we came to Paris. As we 
 drove up the ftreet St. Honore, his 
 mufcles began to dilate to a fmlle ; but, 
 when turning to the left, our coach 
 flopped upon the Pont-neuf, where the 
 eye takes in a prodigious fcope of build- 
 ing, on every fide upon a fcale bold, 
 grand, and fuperb in the extreme! while 
 I was loft in fpeechlefs admiration, my 
 friend exclaimed with an air of high fa- 
 tisfaclion, blended with ftrong marks of 
 furprife and aftonifliment, good God ! 
 I muft allow Paris to be a noble town ! 
 never before, not even in London, did 
 I behold fuch a grand coup d'ccil ! cer- 
 tainly Paris, however, it may be fmaller, 
 
 have 
 
124 The AMERICAN 
 
 have lefs beautiful fquares, be lefs com- 
 modious and comfortable, is upon a more 
 fublime fcale of beauty than London; 
 The grand range of fine ftone houfes on 
 each fide of the Seine ; the princely 
 building called the Louvre, one fide of 
 which opens to a view of the Tuilerie, 
 create a high idea of the riches, power j 
 and magnificence of the Bourbon family; 
 The ftreets of Paris are in general nar- 
 row, deftitute of foot paths or trotoirs, 
 confequently by no means fo commodi- 
 ous as thofe of London. Indeed of all 
 the cities I ever faw, Paris is the leaft 
 eligible for peripatetics of all denomina- 
 tions, whether the habit arifes from po- 
 verty, or her filler, philofophy. If you 
 are abftracled for a moment you will be 
 brought to yourfelf by a broken leg. 
 Keveries in tlie ftreets of Paris are ex- 
 tremely mal-a-propos, tout a fait hors de 
 faifoiu From the in commodity of the 
 ftreets, the hackney coachmen are more 
 
 numerous, 
 
WANDERER, ,25 
 
 numerous, the drivers, if poflible, lefs 
 civil than their brethren of London. You 
 have only a choice of difficulties and dis- 
 graces ; you muft either let a fiacre drive 
 againfl: you, to the danger of your limbs, 
 or you mufl: plunge into a heap of mud 
 to the danger of your muff, chapeau bras, 
 and all your Parifian parapharnalia ; it 
 muft be confefTcd thefe bout de Paris afy- 
 iums are very plentifully diflributed on 
 each fide of the ftreets, and are the der- 
 nier reforte of the walking inhabitants. 
 Wonderful is the fldll derived from cuf- 
 tom, and from a defire to enjoy the ru- 
 ling pairion. Looking out of the window 
 of my hotel, this morning, I obferved a 
 petlt-maitre about five feet fix inches 
 high, he had on a coat velour deprintcms, 
 a rich Lyons waiftcoat, gra de lind finall 
 cloaths, chapeau bras, cane, parapluie and 
 a huge muff. You would apprehend fuch 
 a cargo was enough to overfet the poor 
 little gentleman, I admired his addrefs 
 
 111 
 
126 The AMERICAN 
 
 in the emergency. No general ever re- 
 connoitred with more eager eye, or chofe 
 his ground with more fedulous and anxi- 
 ous attention previous to a battle that 
 might decide the fate of kingdoms ! I 
 I felt for him, it was the Rue St. Ho- 
 nore, the moft frequented in Paris ; every 
 rude charioteer who darted by my little 
 friend, made me tremble with him and 
 for him. While he glided on tip-toe, J 
 followed him with my aching eye, near 
 a quarter of a mile, and I had the hap- 
 pinefs to find that he furmounted all his 
 difficulties, without the leafl: fpeck on 
 his filk flocking, or the le^ift ftain upon 
 his embroidered vefc. Gentle fluttering, 
 flitting thing ! from my foul I congratu- 
 late your vidory, and I honour you for 
 your rnafterly manoeuvres ! fo mny you 
 elude the dire mifiiaps which await your 
 profeffion ! fo may Bon Jon, the favourite 
 lap-dog of your miftrefs, forego his hold, 
 ^nd fpare your chapeau hrasl fo rnay 
 
 her 
 
WANDERER. 127 
 
 her peroqnet forbear to confecrate to the 
 gocldefs, your fwan-like muff! Foreigners 
 are not fo adroit. We had a rich citizen 
 of Rotterdam, with his only daughter,, 
 who took a fuite of apartments in our 
 hotel, arriving in Paris, with a view of 
 fefiding three months, to fliew mifs th^ 
 capitol, and its environs. The morning 
 after his arrival, the Dutchman fallied 
 out to take a comfortable walk, fee fights, 
 and get an appetite to his dinner, llie 
 4ay before I had offered myfelf, and had 
 been accepted as chaperone to the young 
 lady ; in a few minutes papa returned, 
 and never did I before fee phlegmatic 
 Dutchman in fuch an immortal rage! he 
 Avore that, of all places in the world, 
 Paris was tiie moft barbarous ; its inha- 
 bitants were as booriili as Tramontanes, 
 were totally deftitute of breeding ! a 
 Dutchman criticifing upon Parifian inci- 
 f ivility was a novelty that excited our at- 
 tention ; he faid, he had been trudging 
 
 quietly 
 
128 The AMERICAN 
 
 quietly along, ruminating upon a pur- 
 chafe in the Englilli (locks, -when he was 
 alarmed by a (plaQi of mud plump in hi^ 
 face, fucceeded by a cry of, gare Myn* 
 heery gare ! gare ! endeavouring to make 
 way, he {tumbled into a d d quag- 
 mire ; recovering, fliaking and adjufl- 
 ing himfelf, he advanced, ftinking along, 
 ftunried and abaflied all the way by 
 the hues of gargon peruquiers, the titter- 
 ing of griffetts, and the chattering and 
 grinning of Marquis, he believed they 
 called them. He, however, arrived as 
 far as the barrier, when he was induced 
 to halt by a file of bayonets, pointed at his 
 breaft, and glittering in his eyes, which 
 it feems was, left he fliould be in the 
 way of the running footman, preceding 
 the chaife of Madame la DuchefTe de 
 Chartres. Finding the military law be- 
 ginning to prevail over the civil, he 
 wheelled to the right about, with a der 
 termination to quit this execrable town 
 
 imme- 
 
WANDERER. 129 
 
 immediately, declaring that he thought a 
 Dutch hogfty an abode much more neat 
 and comfortable tlian the capitol of 
 France. Immediately after dinner, he 
 hoiflcd his fat-fided, though comely 
 daughter, into a cbaife de pojf, and drove 
 off with precipitation fingular indeed 
 for a Dutchman! hurrying back Mifs, 
 Ipien a contrc ccoiir, to dabble in her native 
 dikes, far from brutality and French- 
 men ! to acquire, far from Vcrfailles 
 and Marli, the lafl refinements of poli- 
 tcfTe, by frequenting the beau monde of 
 Rotterdam ! ! ! I thought myfelf the prin- 
 cipal fufferer, by the retreat of the indig- 
 nant Dutchman • for I had finiflied with 
 incredible difpatch, and in the preced- 
 ing evening liad opened a battery of my 
 French artillery againft the Dutch hulk of 
 a daughter, which teemed to make prac- 
 ticable breaches through the clumfy tim- 
 bers of her left fide. I had alfo poured 
 in upon her a (liovver dcs petites louaugcr, 
 
 I des 
 
jjo T H E A M E R I C x\ N 
 
 des petitcs attentions, et des fctits riens. 
 tons naeufs de rarfenalde V erf ai lies ! in fliort, 
 I had fo egregioufly flattered Mifs, that 
 I began to flatter myfelf Mils was upon 
 the point of beating the chamade with 
 an offer of carte blanche, when this 
 wily Dutchman thus raifcd the fiege, 
 wrefting from me my prey in the very 
 moment of victory, and with dutchified 
 unhallowed hand, tearing away the lau- 
 rels which were beginning to wreathe 
 themfelves around my glorious brows ! 
 
 Farewell. 
 
 LET- 
 
\V A N D E R E R. 131 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 Paris, 
 
 tF the ftreets are incommodious for the 
 walker, the noble and pleafant gardens, 
 to which he may at all times have re- 
 courfe, make him ample amends. Saun- 
 tering in public walks and gardens is an 
 innocent and falutary amufement, of 
 which the French are much enamoured. 
 The gardens of London, I think, are 
 not comparable to thofe of Paris, either 
 for the elegant defign of the gardens 
 themfclves, or the brilliant drefs of thofe 
 who frequent them. T!ie Tuileries, Pa- 
 lais Royale, Luxemburgh, Elyfian Fields, 
 and Bois de Boulogne, as efforts of art, 
 are undoubtedly fuperior to St. James's, 
 the Green Park, and Kenfington — altho', 
 for myfeir, I think Kenfington and St. 
 
 I 2 James's 
 
132 The AM E RI C A N 
 
 James's Park more prodigal of natural 
 beauty than any of tlieParifian gardens — 
 Undoubtedly the fudden burfi: of the 
 Tuilcries, from the grand entrance of the 
 Louvre, (Irikes the fpe^lator with an idea 
 of the grand and beautiful, blended with 
 the picburefque and romantic, which en- 
 chants the foul, and hurries him in ima- 
 gination to thofe gardens of Elyfium fo 
 fweetly fung by ancient bards, a faint 
 femblance of which he fees terminating 
 the view of the Tuileries, and like them, 
 called Champs Elifes. Yet, methinks the 
 hand of art is not enough concealed ; 
 the eye of tafle is foon fated, and wiQies 
 to range over the lefs gorgeous, but 
 more natural, more fweet, more lovely 
 Mall of St. James's! Your fair country^ 
 women too, more artlefs, lefs gaudy, 
 more innocent, more natural, harmonize 
 with the fimply elegant flyle of beauty 
 predominant in St. James's Park ; exalt- 
 ing the foul of the enamoured gazer 
 
 from 
 
WANDERER. 133 
 
 from thofe lovely types of divine power 
 to the Supreme Architecl himfelf : thus, 
 a walk in St. James's Park, to a man of a 
 right turn of thinking, is not only be- 
 nign and falutary ; it is alfo a religious 
 and trnly orthodox exercife — wherefore 
 I generally prefer this y7/Z' dio worfliip to 
 going to church. A fine woman, I have 
 ever been of opinion, exhibits a moft 
 perfuafive a pojleriori argument in fa- 
 vour of a firft caufe. I own indeed one 
 painful idea occurs to me upon the oc- 
 cafion : I fee in St. James's Park many 
 fhinino; female conllellations olidino; in 
 a fphere fo far above me, that it pains 
 mine eyes to look up to them — efpecially 
 when I look up to them with little 
 hope of their coming within my fphere 
 of attraction ; fo little hope, indeed, 
 that I am fain to gaze upon them as fo 
 many Virgin Marys — Now this is an 
 idea that never ftrikes you in your ram- 
 ble through the Tuilcrics ; a French wo- 
 I 3 man's 
 
134^ The AMERICAN 
 
 man's air and manner is by no means 
 calculated to preclude Iiope — however 
 a French lady may be detcrmhied to dif- 
 pute every inch of ground, to make a 
 helle dcfenfcy yet is the imagination of her 
 admirer always tickled with the ecftatic 
 profpecl of being foon ufliered to the 
 fan Bum fan [tor iim of the Cyprian templet 
 I do not infinuate, that chaftity is a 
 flower peculiar to Britifli foil— Genius 
 may hereafter arifein Holland, humility 
 in Scotland, modefly in Ireland, and 
 pure patriotifm in England — and I do 
 believe that chaftity, though a northern 
 plant, will fometimes live in a fouthern 
 hot-bed — yet certain it is, a Frenchwo- 
 man totally degagee and deliee in her air, 
 is alfo in her manners more philofophi- 
 eal, lefs confined, Icfs flrait-laced than 
 ihe ladies of your humid hemifphere. 
 
 The Palais Royal is a pretty garden ; 
 the grand alley or mall in the fpring and 
 
 fun^ 
 
W A N D E p. E R. 135 
 
 fiimmer Tea Hon is enchanting. The tops 
 of the noble trees on each fide mutually 
 inclhie, entwine their amorous branches, 
 and embrace each other with exprellive 
 tendernefs, exhibiting a natural and very 
 inftrucTive leflbn to the brilliant animals 
 of either fex that fit, or loll in chairs, or 
 play around the margin of the flieet of 
 water, or walk in the fliady alley below; 
 flaunting in all the elegance of fafliion, 
 dazzling each other by the brilliancy of 
 their wit, and the ftill more brilliant hue 
 of tlicir drefs ; difplaying the mofl at- 
 tradlive aflemblage of the beauties of art 
 and nature that ever feafled the eye of a 
 contemplative traveller. Paris furely is 
 the native region of wlr, politenefs, en- 
 jo'uemeiity vivacity, and total exemption 
 from ferious thought and corroding 
 care — gay, engaging, happy people, you 
 fay to yourfelf every ftep you take in 
 the Tuileries — upon my honor they ap- 
 peared to me a fociety of itfelf, who had 
 
 I 4 en- 
 
136 The AMERICAN 
 
 entered into a conipaci: to forget or langh 
 at every care, every ill, every anxiety of 
 life ! — the whole group feemed animated 
 by this one fingle idea — never could I 
 trace a gloomy thought in the face of a 
 full'drejjcd French man or woman parad- 
 ing the mazes of the Tuileries ! — the lady 
 is eternally bowing, fidgeting, fmiling, 
 languiQiing, or flirugging her flioulders: 
 the petit-maitre flattering, chattering, 
 laughing, cringing, hopping, flapping, 
 making cnt}-e cbats, and buffetting the 
 ambient air with his red heels I This air 
 is certainly contagious. Falflaff fays, that 
 he ** is not only witty himfelf, but the 
 ** caufe of wit in others :'' fo may a Pa- 
 rifian petit-maitre boaft, that he is not 
 only a coxcomb himfelf, but he infpires 
 ftrangers with his native puppyifm. 
 Would you think it ? I too have my red 
 heels ! and, fince I have arrived at Paris, 
 I find I have taken wonderful pains to 
 render myielf completely ridiculous, if 
 
 ever 
 
WANDERER. 137 
 
 ever I return to London. With refpedt 
 to my Pariflan metaniorphofe in general, 
 it proceeds from flieer vanity, which 
 you will fuppole not a little gratified 
 whenever I hear, as I flit along the Mall, - 
 in anfwer to an audible whifper, Voil^ 
 un hommc de condition ncft il fas? — C^cfl 
 
 monficiir un tel, voyageur yinglois Man 
 
 Dieul Je Paurair crii veritable Cavalier 
 Francois ! il fe forme rapidement ! il at' 
 trape la maniere de nous autresl appara- 
 mcnt il a d^efprit I I take fliame to my^ 
 felf, and acknowledge this may be my 
 general motive ; but my order to my 
 flioe-maker for a crimfon heel was rather 
 a political than a vain manoeuvre. The 
 argumentum ad homineniy in plain Englifli, 
 the driving the nail that will go, is a fpe- 
 cies of reafoning to which I frequently 
 have recourfe : now you mu(t know, 
 that a crimfon heel is a pajj^e- par-tout 
 into many places here worthy of being 
 explored by a curious traveller. It a- 
 
 mazingly 
 
138 The AMERICAN 
 
 inazingly fmoothes and facilitates an in- 
 trodnction to the fofter fex. I love to 
 drefs as a man of fafliion, calculated to 
 the meridian of the fpot where I ncfide— 
 not that I afFecl drcfs myfelf — far from 
 
 it 1 put it on or off as a medium or 
 
 engine of approach to the confines of 
 fublunary blifs 1 will therefore, go- 
 verned by this principle, without a blufli 
 buckle on my crimfon-heel'd pump, ftand 
 upon one leg or both, walk or hop, ac- 
 cording to the reigning mode of the 
 court at which I happen to figure. Nay, 
 I would go naked were I to meet with 
 fine women philofophical enough to de- 
 light in the contemplation of the wonder- 
 ful works of naturig ! 
 
 The boulevards or ramparts around 
 Paris is a very fafliionable refort. They 
 exhibit a beautiful profpedl, and may be 
 very well in the fpring and fall, but in 
 the fummer and winter months they 
 
 would 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 ^39 
 
 would Teem to be rather incommodious. 
 However, in this, as in every thing elfe, 
 at Paris, faQiion predominates over every 
 other confideration. She gives laws from 
 which there lies no appeal. In obedi- 
 ence to her mandate thoufands in cha- 
 riots, on horfeback,'^ and on foot, run 
 with cagernefs from the fweeteft gardens 
 in France, in their own neighbourhood 
 too, to joftle, crowd, and dufl: each 
 other upon the boulevard ! fome kick up 
 the dud and mud, which others fnufF 
 np, with exquifite delight and fatifac- 
 
 tion all return charmed, inchanted, 
 
 fatigued, and dirty ! 
 
 The garden of Luxembourgh, fo call-* 
 ed from the palace of that name, which 
 looks upon it, though lefs flaunting, left 
 gaudy, lefs gorgeous in her appearance 
 than the Tuilcries, fmilcs in the modefl 
 garb of nature with a wild luxuriance, 
 highly pleafing to a pcnfive mind. The 
 
 Tuile- 
 
740 The AM E RICA N 
 
 Tuileries, the Palais Royal^ the Luxem- 
 bourgh are filled with a flyle of company 
 peculiar to each. The Lnxembourgh 
 is the refort of the church, the robe, the 
 faculty, politicians, and the learned in ge- 
 neral — Here friars lounge ; here ftu dents 
 ruminate ; here ill-fated lovers haunt : 
 here too, leaving my gay travelling com- 
 panion, enveloped by the brilliant circle 
 of belles and beaux, at the Palais Royal, 
 
 I delight to retire there is a certain 
 
 iiielancholy lilence, a monadic gloom, 
 which reigns over the Luxembourgh 
 gardens that harmonizes with my pre- 
 fent feelings — here too I can indulge 
 that air dijlrait, very unfafliionable in a 
 Frenchman, but extremely natural to 
 any man of tade and fentiment who 
 knows and is abfent from you. 
 
 I fancy you are heartily tired with the 
 long walk I have led you in the gardens 
 of Paris. As they ftrike me to be one 
 
 of 
 
WANDERER. 141 
 
 pf the firfl: agr'emens of the capital, I have 
 detained you the longer in them — not 
 that they, with all tiicir natural and ac-? 
 quu'ed charms, can fill my foul — Ahfent 
 from '^ou the celebrated hanging gardens 
 of Semiramis would, to me, be a wil- 
 dernefs — ivith you the mofb craggy rock 
 in the mofl; barren ifland of Scotland 
 would fecm a revived Eden ! Scotland 
 would be fau^y-land, the rock an in- 
 chanted palace, and the cataract dafliing 
 from the rock would, to my glowing ima- 
 gination, feem the chiming of the fpheres! 
 The Highland hind's cottage would be a 
 nuptial bower ; and — the nuptial bower 
 
 would be oh heaven 1 here defcrip- 
 
 tion tails I liere too let me paufe- left 
 
 the mere idea of my immortal blifs ex- 
 pite the envy of demi-gods ! 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 J.ETTEII 
 
142 The AMERICAN 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 Paris. 
 
 TI7E are juft returned from a walk in 
 the famous gallery of Rubens. The 
 preceding morning we had pafTed in 
 contemplating, with infinite delight, the 
 colle6lion of paintings in the Palais Royal, 
 belonging to the Duke of Orleans. I 
 wifli with all my heart you had been with 
 us, becaule I am fure you would have 
 been inchanted by viewing with your 
 own eyes fuch mafterly efforts of genius 
 in this fweet imitative art. I am fure 
 too that a defcription of them, however 
 ftudied, would fatigue your mind, and 
 leave upon it no adequate idea of objcds 
 not to be equaled by modern pencils, far 
 lefs defcribed by the pen of a novice. I 
 could indeed take this occafion to write 
 
 a very 
 
WANDERER. 143 
 
 a very curious epiftle ; I could make a 
 parade of greac reading and learning ; I 
 could ring the changes upon the techni- 
 cal terms -want of keepingy boldnefs of con* 
 tour, havtnony of defign — Corregio's ten- 
 dernefs of colouring ; Le Brun's flutter- 
 ing of drapery ; the glowing tints of Ti-^ 
 tiano 1 the beautiful heads of Raphael \ 
 the rich flower* pots of Wanuzzen ! the 
 mafterly execution of Michael Angelo ! 
 the inimitable clear obfcure of Caravagio! 
 the horrible fublime of Ribera, and the 
 wild majefly of Salvator Rofa ; and I 
 fliould make you jufl as wdfe after readt 
 ingy as I was when I uurote a letter fo af- 
 fedcd, fo trite, fo ridiculoufly pompous. 
 I frankly confcfs, that, though I feel ex- 
 quifite fcnfations wlien I gaze on fome 
 ver^few of the great number of paintings 
 adored by tlie initiated, I pretend to no 
 critical fldll in the art. Of painting, as 
 of mufic, I am an amateur, but by no 
 means a connoiffeur., Admitting that I 
 
 >vas. 
 
14-4 The AMERI C AN 
 
 was, ftill I think a laboured defcription 
 of things, which to he felt mufl be feen, 
 a kind of paper-fcratching very idle, nfe- 
 lefs, and reprehenfible. Unread as I own 
 niyfclf to be in the refined myfteries of 
 this bluQiing fifler of poetry, fuffice it 
 for me to fay, that the gallery of Rubens 
 did not meet the exalted ideas I had 
 formed of it. His conception is bold and 
 daring, his execution always lirong, 
 fometimes mafterly ; yet methinks in the 
 ftyle of Rubens a grace, an eafe, a deli- 
 cacy is wanting ; there is a roughnefs, a 
 want of finifliing in many of his pieces, 
 I know what I hazard by this criticifm ; 
 but to you I have ever, been accuftomed 
 to fpeak the real fentiments of my heart : 
 no doubt 1 am wrong, and mufl lament 
 my want of tafte, for Paul Rubens is 
 efVabliflied by the Cognofccnti as a very 
 
 celebrated painter Remember that I 
 
 except the landfcapes of Rubens from 
 
 this 
 
i 
 
 WANDERER. • 145 
 
 this crlticifin. I have feeii many of them 
 ill a fweet and piclurefque ftyle. 
 
 With the pahuhigs at the Palais Royal 
 I was highly delighted — particularly lb 
 with thofe of the divine Raphael, and a 
 Venus arifing from the fea by Titlano : 
 to be candid, I confefs, that the pleafure 
 I felt in gazing upon this Titian Venus 
 might arlfe (notwithftanding the colours 
 are certainly moft fweet, tender, and 
 glowing) more from the ftrlking likenefs 
 the face had to that of a lady whofe ac- 
 quaintance is my higheft honor, than from 
 my power ofdifcrimlnatingand tafting the 
 leading beauties of the piece. I continued 
 in the Palais Royal all that morning, and I 
 am fure I could pafs two hours in the 
 day there for fix months, and the longer I 
 gazed the more exquifite pleafure Ifliould 
 feel. I flatter myfelf, could I dedicate 
 fuch a portion of time to this ftudy, in 
 fuch a theatre, it would in ibme degree 
 
 K form 
 
J^6 The AMERICAN 
 
 form my tafte. I am apt to believe, that 
 a tade in painting and mufic is Jefs in- 
 nate and more within the power of appU- 
 cation than is generally fuppofed. I 
 have been told by an eminent mafter 
 here, that he has known many people, 
 by application and attention, dance very 
 well to time, who, when he firfl: took 
 them in hand, could not diftinguifli Han- 
 del's ivater-^icce from the black joke. In 
 London I always felt myfelf little at 
 the exhibition of painting, or at the 
 opera. I confefs I was afraid and aQiamed 
 to praife a painting, however it might 
 pleafe me, without looking atthebook,le{l; 
 
 I (liould take the rude daubing of 
 
 for the mafterly touches of aWeft, aGainf- 
 borough, or a Reynolds. At the opera 
 I was flill more out of my element. I 
 loft all patience, when I faw a great fat- 
 headed fellow wreathing himfelf into a 
 thoufarid grotefque, painful, and laugh- 
 able attitudes, to exprefs what I fufpefted 
 
 he 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 47 
 
 he never felt. I flattered myfelf it was 
 all ridiculous grimace and afFe^lation, 
 and I wiflied him and the performers at 
 the devil. I fighed after plaintive Cale- 
 donian melody ; after a fimplicity of har- 
 mony that I could follow widi my ear, 
 while I execrated the quick, and, as 1 
 thought, unnatural vibrations of the Ita- 
 lian fchool : but, when I return, I pro- 
 mife you I fliall be a better judge of the 
 bufinefs — I'll boldly fliut my book and 
 bet the odds, that I lay my finger on the 
 delicate delicious fwellings, and point to 
 the graceful attitudes of Reynolds — and 
 at the opera, I fliall know when to ex- 
 claim, with half-fupprefl^d fighs, Ab del! 
 ancora ! ancora ! 
 
 Be this as it may, with refpefl: to mufic 
 and painting, I prefer tendernefs and fim- 
 plicity to boldnefs of defign or maft:erly 
 execution. I fl:ill think Italian mufic 
 would make more lafting imprefllons, 
 K 2 even 
 
148 The AMERICAN 
 
 even upon the moil: chaflened, refined 
 ear, were it lefs intjicate, lefs violent and 
 furprifing in its changes : it would melt 
 more though it afl:oni(hed lefs. In pain- 
 ting, while I turn away my eye fated 
 "with the gaudy colouring of Le Brun 
 and the Flcmifli fchool in general — I am 
 never tired with the modefl demeanor, 
 the mellow colouring, the air of mild- 
 nefs, delicacy, and divine fimplicity, the 
 charaderiftics of my beloved Guido, 
 
 The opera at Paris, you will readily 
 
 fuppofe, excels every other theatre in 
 
 the world for the elegance of its dancers. 
 
 This is, I own, the part of the theatrical 
 
 fare mofl to my palate ; their ballets are 
 
 inimitable ; my eye is highly delighted, 
 
 and my imagination fired, while I gaze 
 
 upon a delicious exquifitely-formcd fe* 
 
 malcj fwimming, volting in the air, and 
 
 exhibiting limbs that would force a dying 
 
 faint to recoiled: he was a man. The 
 
 powers 
 
WANDERER. 149 
 
 powers of the high dancers are inde- 
 fcribable; they really recalled to my 
 mind the hyperbole of the Gafcon, who, 
 obferving that he had been a fliining 
 chara&r at the late mafquerade, was 
 afked what part he played— he afnwered, 
 a la Gafcon Cy je faifois des entrechats — et 
 que je m* ennuis dans Pair / 
 
 I often frequent the French and Ita* 
 lian comedy. They are good fchools to 
 learn the French pronunciation. I am 
 not yet reconciled to the violent action 
 of the players — to me it leems outre and 
 ridiculous : I therefore give the prefe- 
 rence to the Italian comedy, where 
 laughter and grimace are fo a propos. It 
 mufl: be confeifed however, that Le Kain 
 is a mafterly player in the tragic walk — ■ 
 His manner is equally majeftic and pa- 
 thetic. I never faw Garrick in Lufig- 
 iian 5 but I have been fo charmed with 
 Le Kain's ading in that charadler, that I 
 
 K I have 
 
150 The A M ERIC AN 
 
 have little regret on the account. The 
 acconipliflied comedian Preville men- 
 tions an anecdote highly exprclTive of 
 Garrick*s command of mufcle. When 
 Garrick was lafl: at Paris Preville invited 
 him to his villa — Our Rofcius, being in 
 a gay humour, propofed to go in one of 
 the hired coaches that go to Verfailles, on 
 which road the villa of Preville lies. 
 When they got in he ordered the coach- 
 man to drive off — who anfwercd, that he 
 ■would do fo as foon as he got his com- 
 plement of four pafTengers. A caprice 
 immediately feized him ; he determined 
 to give his brother player a fpecimen of 
 his art. While the coachman was atten- 
 tively plying for pafTengers Garrick fllp- 
 ed out of the door, went round the 
 coach, and by his wonderful command 
 of countenance, a power which he fo 
 happily difplays in Abel Drugger, palm- 
 ed himfelf upon the coachman for a 
 ftranger. This he did twice, and was 
 
 admitted 
 
WANDERER. 151 
 
 ^.dmitted each tune into the coach as a 
 frefli pafTenger, to the aftoiiifliment and 
 admh'ation of PrevUle t He \vhipped out 
 a third time, and addreOing himfelf to 
 the coachman, he was anfwered, in a 
 furly tone, that he had ah'eady got his 
 complement, and would have drove off 
 without him had not Preville called out, 
 that as the (Iranger appeared to be a very 
 little man, they would, to accommo- 
 date the gentleman, contrive to make 
 room. 
 
 The Hotel des Invalids creates a very 
 grand idea of tlie magnificence of the 
 reign of Lewis the Fourteenth. The 
 dome is highly and jufUy admired. It Is 
 in a bold, lofty, fublime ftyle, and richly 
 ornamented with marble. An aiylum for 
 maimed foldiers was, in a great meafure, 
 a debt Lewis owed to his people, as a pro- 
 pitiation for his unbounded ambition — 
 
 K 4 yet 
 
t$i The AMERICAN 
 
 yet I fliould conceive, that a walk in the 
 Invalids was calculated to fill the mind 
 of that prince with pain and humility, 
 rather than pride : lb many horridly mu- 
 tilated human remains of his ambition 
 mud have exhibited to him the dark fide 
 of His character. A point of light in 
 which we neither wifli to fee ourfelves or 
 to be viewed by others. 
 
 L'Ecole Militaire was built towards 
 the clofe of the late reign. It is a noble 
 pile of building, and well adapted to its 
 defign. At prefent it is fliut up, I am 
 told, from motives of ceconomy, as well 
 as from an idea of its being unnecelTary. 
 Count Saxe fiid, when this building was 
 fuggefted, that France rather wanted a 
 fchool for minifters than a military fchool, 
 for every Frenchman was born a foldier. 
 The total difufe of this grand and com- 
 modious building feems a fine comment 
 
 upon 
 
WANDERER. 153 
 
 npon the idea of that confummatc cap- 
 tain. 
 
 We have taken an en pajfant view of 
 the churches. Notre Dame is a fine Go- 
 thic building, a good deal like Weflmin- 
 fter Abbey ; near the high altar, which 
 is compoled of rich Egyptian marble, is 
 an image of the Virgin, with a dead 
 Saviour upon her knees, an admirable 
 work ! On one fide of this image is a 
 ftatue of Louis XIII. on the other, that 
 of his fon Louis XIV. both in poftures 
 of adoration. The high altar of the 
 church, St. Sulpice, is richly decorated 
 with precious ftones ; near it is an image 
 of the Virgin of filver, as large as life. 
 The windows of this church are curioufly 
 painted. In the church of the Cclefl:ines 
 you fee two mofl beautiful marble Ita- 
 tues of angels ; their legs and feet are fo 
 delicate, fo harmonioufly proportioned, 
 fo cxquifitely fafiiioned, that the eye is 
 
 never 
 
154 The AMERICAN 
 
 never tired with gazing upon them. If a 
 Fi-enchman were the (latuary, I preibnie 
 he worked from imagination, for the 
 French ladies are not famous for pretty 
 legs and f^et ; their legs, at leafl thofe, 
 with very few exceptions, which I have 
 had the honour of reconnoitring, are 
 enormoufly thick. Un pie mignouy a de- 
 licate little foot in France is a phaeno- 
 menon. 
 
 While I contemplate the beautiful feet 
 of the angels in the St. Celeftins, I recoi- 
 led: the barefooted Carmelites, I recoi- 
 led the hiftory, the forrows, and mag- 
 nanimity of Madame delaValiere. What 
 a pathetic example of human vicifTitude! 
 This lady, born of a noble houfe, was 
 many years favourite miftrefs to Louis 
 the XlVth. of courfe had been long habi- 
 tuated in the court of that polite mo- 
 narch, to fee herfelf at the head of the 
 fplendid, the luxurious, the elegant, and 
 
 the 
 
WANDERER. 155 
 
 the gay; the objedl of the envy of her 
 own fex, the adnih'ation of ours ; envi- 
 roned and dazzled by every allure that 
 is wont to falcinate the human heart ; 
 and yet Madame de la Valiere voluntari- 
 ly defcended from the effulgent throne 
 of vanity, fpurned from her the rattle of 
 ambition, which has fo often lulled the 
 nnderltanding of the good and the wife ; 
 with alacrity robed her delicate body in 
 the fimple attire of a Carme de cbaujfee ; 
 with perfeverance adhered to the priva- 
 tions of a mofi: rigid order, and, in her 
 lail hour, declared flie had tafled pure 
 happinefs, not under the canopy of a 
 royal penetraliay not in the arms of a 
 grand monarque, but in the lonely haunts 
 of a cloifter, in the adoration of a fu- 
 preme ! Blufli, ye haughty lords of the 
 creation I tell it not in Gath, no longer 
 proclaim it in the ftreets of Afcalon ! 
 that ambition and levity are chafa(!:l:erif- 
 tics of the lex ; for hiftorians tell us, 
 
 that 
 
 I 
 
156 The AM ERICA N 
 
 that this exalted being did not defcend 
 immediately from heaven, but was really^ 
 and bona fide, born of a woman I ! ! 
 
 Surely ambition petrifies the heart- 
 much I fear that fome royal flight from 
 the fickle Louis, firft induced tliis un- 
 tunate lady to ficken at her fituation* 
 Confcious that (he loved not the monarchy 
 but the man, her delicate foul could not 
 tolerate a rivalry didlated by fordid 
 motives. Had I been Louis, I feel 
 that I fliould have flirunk with horror 
 from a throne braided with the thorns of 
 ingratitude! I fhould have fallen at the 
 feet of the woman who loved me, and, 
 if it were not given me to foothe her ge- 
 nerous foul into an acH: of oblivion and 
 reunion, quitting with difdain the anti- 
 quated widow of Scaron, tearing with in- 
 dignation the crown from my brows, I 
 would have exchanged it for a tonfured 
 head, and, a monk, I would have confejfed 
 
 la 
 
WANDERER. 157 
 
 la charmante de la Vnliere f A fine picflure 
 
 of her, as large as life, in an inclining 
 
 poftnre, is now placed in the church of 
 
 their convent. I beheld it not with the 
 
 cold, fcientific, hypercritic eye of a mere 
 
 connoIfTeur. I faw, or thought I faw, the 
 
 noble foul of the fair Carmelite irradiate 
 
 her features, and dart a gleam of light 
 
 around the whole dome ! I gazed at her 
 
 with the ineffable luxury of a congenial 
 
 mind ; IkifTed her bare feety thofe bleeding 
 
 feetfo often lacerated by iheruthlefs ftones, 
 
 with rapturous ecftafies, emulating the 
 
 burning kiifes that a fond lover imprints 
 
 upon t'le hando^Kis darling miftrefs, in the 
 
 moment flie Jiavimerj or looks the celeG- 
 
 tial "jes ; and might my eager eyes, re- 
 
 fponfive to the feelings of a glowing 
 
 heart, have been permitted to flafli Pro- 
 
 tnetheandre, and animate the picture, not 
 
 Venus herfclf, a candidate for my choice 
 
 in 
 
158 The AMERICAN 
 
 in the delightful undrefs in which (lie 
 won the apple, would have challenged 
 competition ! the mortal would have beat 
 her hollow ! — let who would arrange 
 with the goddefs, I am not proud, I 
 pant after humble, but real happinefs, 
 
 the wife of 's bofom fliould have 
 
 been the charming de la V all ere I 
 
 Not far from the church of Notre 
 Dame (lands the celebrated hofpital Hotel 
 Dieu; this charity is upon a moft extenllve 
 and liberal fcale ; individuals of all ages, 
 religions, and counti'ies, are admitted, 
 nor are incurables turned out, as I be- 
 lieve they are, in all thehofpitals of Lon- 
 tlon, where they are difmifled to periQi 
 in the ftreets for the very reafon that 
 fliould heighten commiferation, that they 
 
 are incurable. The wards of the Hotel 
 
 Dieu 
 
WANDERER. i 
 
 59 
 
 Dieu are neat and decent; the patients 
 are attended with the utmofl: alTiduity 
 and tendernefs by nuns, whole vocation 
 it is to ad: as nurfes in this holj^ital. 
 The Eiigllfli are highly celebrated for 
 their charity — as far as parting with your 
 money defcrves the name, you certainly 
 are charitable; but contenting yourfelves 
 with this effort, which is indeed highly 
 meritorious, you take little care that 
 your donations are properly applied. 
 The French give not fo much money, 
 but they are watchful that all the little 
 offices and attentions which fmooth the 
 fick man's pillow, fliould be never want- 
 ing. It is not uncommon to fee ladies 
 of the firft rank performing the tender 
 office of nurfe to patients in the Hotel 
 Dieu, whofe fole merit is derived from 
 their mifery. Perhaps the wafliing the 
 feet of the twelve beggars, in imitation 
 of our Saviour's wafhing the feet of the 
 
 ApofUes, 
 
 I 
 
i6o The AMERICAN 
 
 Apoftles, which every Eafter week is 
 performed by the King of France, is the 
 precedent from v, hence this falliion ori* 
 ginates. Whatever may be its origin, 
 the performance mufl: certainly be at- 
 tended with falutary confequences — fuch 
 is the conftitution of man, that even 
 upon the bed of ficknefs, where other 
 paflions are dead, he is all alive to vanity. 
 You remember, while the fair Begulne 
 rubbed the limbs of Corporal Trim, 
 what tender fenfations flic excited in the 
 bread of that honeft fellow ; notwith-* 
 ftanding all her charities, had the Sains 
 S(£ur omitted this ceremony, the corporal 
 had never loved ; now, though the paflion 
 of love may not be necefTary to the com^ 
 pletion of the cure of corporeal malady, 
 yet it is allowed that pleafurable ideas 
 wonderfully conduce to that end. Le| 
 us fuppofe the DqchefTe of D— ftooping 
 to the office of the fair Beguine ; how 
 
 vivify^ 
 
WANDERER. 161 
 
 vivifying the confeqiience ! if the patient 
 were not yet dead, every torpid limb 
 would inftantaneoufly palpitate with new 
 life ! and nature be regenerated by tho 
 magic touch of a hand divine ! 
 
 Adieu, 
 
 LET- 
 
i62 The AMERICAN 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 "I3ARIS abounds in fuperb palaces 
 -*- for the nobility ; they cover a great 
 deal of ground, are elegantly and gor- 
 geoufly furniflied, and, being built of 
 fine white (lone, form, I think, one of 
 the principal beauties of Paris, The 
 palace of Bourbon, belonging to the 
 Prince of Conde, hanging vipon the 
 Seine, would be thought a princely refi- 
 dence for any crowned head in Europe. 
 The reafon is obvious why the town 
 houfes of the French nobility arc, in ge- 
 neral, upon a larger fcale than thofe of 
 the like defcription in England. It is 
 the fafliion for the nobility of England 
 to fpend a certain portion of the year 
 upon their domains in the country, 
 where they enjoy their freedom and 
 vank in a higher degree than at court ; 
 
 on 
 
W A N D E R E R. 163 
 
 on the contrary, the French noblemen, 
 and men of fortune live the year round 
 at Paris, where they deem themfelves a 
 forte to Verfailles, having little villas 
 contiguous to the capital, where they 
 fometimes dine, or give a petit-foupe to 
 a few choice friends, and generally re- 
 turn to town the fame evening. A 
 Frenchman is never truly happy out of 
 the court atmofphere ; the air inhaled 
 by the lips of majefly is his congenial 
 clime ; this is an axiom fo invariable, 
 that they have here a punifliment, which 
 is termed a banifliment to your own. 
 eftate. And a grievous punifliment it is; 
 although called Monfeigmury although 
 looked up to, by the hinds around his 
 chatcauy with an air of adoration, your 
 true Frenchman can tajl<i no power, no 
 din:in(fl:ion,unlef9 reflefled from the royal 
 fmlle, beaming upon his delighted coun- 
 tenance! Although, when exiled to his 
 houfehold gods, he is himfelf a little god 
 L 2 below. 
 
l6\ The AM E RI C AN 
 
 below, the rofes retire from his cheek !■ 
 he lofes even French vivacity, he fickens 
 -—and, if the agrcmens of his wife, his 
 daughter, his mother, or the irrefiflible 
 charms of his grand-mother*, cannot 
 foften the prince, or the miniiler cannot 
 procure him a recal to Verfailles, the 
 lick Frenchman's true Montpelier, he 
 flirugs his (lioulders, cries out, facrci 
 Dieu ! pcjie ! vviflies that a hundred 
 thoufand devils may fly away with the 
 reigning Madame Pompadour ! damns 
 the minifter, blefTes his king ! drops a 
 tear of refpeclful love as he pronounces 
 the facred word le roi I and, giving about 
 three half feconds to recollection and me- 
 ditation, he exclaims, c^ot eft fait ! il 
 ny a qiiun parti a prendre — he fends for 
 his prieft, confeffes, and dies ! 
 
 * Allufion to the predileflion of feveral French mo.- 
 narchs.for ciJ women, 
 
 Thofe 
 
WANDERER. 165 
 
 Thofe little elegant villas of the nobi- 
 )ity, gentry, and richer citizens hanging 
 round the town, render the environs of 
 Paris Angularly enchanting ; they have 
 more the airof elegant cottages tlian coun- 
 try houfes ; are all white on the outfide, 
 which contrails happily with the verdant 
 Waving hills on which they (land. With- 
 in they are the fan^tuarifcs of convivia- 
 lity, governed by tafle ; where genuine 
 burgundy elicits pure genius ; where 
 fparkling champagne, fermenting in the 
 imagination, produces brilliant ideas ; 
 where the wit of the men is only equal- 
 led by the graces of the women ! That 
 converfation at Paris generally takes a 
 more refined turn than at London, I be- 
 lieve, will not be difputed by any maa 
 who has had an opportunity of tailing 
 the fele<^ focieties of each— this is allow- 
 ed ; but I do not tiiink the real caufe 
 has been hitherto alfigned. It appears 
 
 L 3 ., to 
 
i66 The AMERICAN 
 
 to me to refult from the cuftom, pre- 
 valent at Paris, of not only admitting, 
 but courting the literati to adventure 
 into the beau-monde — in London learned 
 men are feldom to be met with, unlefs 
 you trace them to their own cells, break 
 in upon them in their night-gown and 
 flippers, or view them in flieets at their 
 bookfeller's — here you behold them, ha- 
 bille an dernier gout, blended with red 
 coats and flioulder-knots, giving zefl to 
 fetits foiipesy figuring at court, or adapt- 
 ing Ovid's art of Love to the genius of 
 modern toilets ! With all the levity a- 
 fcribed to this people, they certainly ex- 
 ceed their more grave northern neigh- 
 bours in a tafte for, or at leafl, in the 
 encouragement they give to the fciences. 
 I grant fomc few literary Comets have 
 made their fortune, and arrived at the 
 pinnacle of fame in England ; but very 
 few there are whole modefty or mauvaife 
 hontc, if you will, too often the conco- 
 mitant 
 
Wanderer. 167 
 
 mitant ofgenius, has not excluded from the 
 haunts of the polite world, and the fmiles 
 of their fuperiors in riches, birth, and 
 rank— rewards infinitely more pleafing 
 to a liberal mind, than the mere accu- 
 mulation of money, a fordid idea to 
 which men of learning are fuperior. Be- 
 fides, in Paris, a man of letters may 
 look up to a genteel annual income, as 
 well as to literary honours during his 
 life ; with you it depends a good deal 
 upon caprice and the chapter of acci- 
 dents, if they live comfortably ; honour 
 attends them not till they are dead, 
 Nvlien peradventiire their bodies, ne- 
 gledled, if not contemned while living, 
 may have the glory to rot with thofe of 
 kings and princes. At Paris, the fcx 
 hold out a reward to learning, which, 
 with a man of fentimeni, is beyond all 
 price. I believe mod women of birtli 
 and breeding at Paris or Verfailles would 
 L 4 prefer 
 
i68 The AMERICAN 
 
 prefer the approbation and attentions of 
 Voltaire, Roufleau, or de Berni, to the 
 frothy adoration of a court meteor. 
 Should fuch figures prefume to knock at 
 the door of a mere rich citizen of Lon- 
 don, Voltaire would be thought a plea- 
 fant fort of buffoon, and might be ad- 
 mitted occafionally to a Sunday's pud- 
 ding and glafs of port, which he was to 
 pay for, by making jokes for the chil- 
 dren ; the elegant de Berni would be 
 taken for a prefbyterian parfon, and 
 as for that aukward baQifuI dog, 
 Rouffeau, he might be fent to the round- 
 houfe as a thief, or admitted to a glafs 
 of two-penny, with the butler, juft as 
 the citizen fliould have had a good or a bad 
 digeftion the preceding evening, or as 
 he had got a good portion of fcrip, or 
 as omnium was high or low. 
 
 Paris certainly is the true Utopia for II- 
 tei'ary men. But whither am I wander- 
 ing ? 
 
WANDERER. 169 
 
 ing ? I am chattering about learning, and 
 learned men, to a fine Englifli lady ! a 
 fymptom io chara^leriftic of a fit of dnl- 
 nefs indicates an approaching crifis to 
 my letter ; I dread to be branded with 
 the name of pedant, and I bid you, 
 
 Farewell. 
 
 LETTER 
 
170 The AMERICAN 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 Paris. 
 
 nr^ WO days ago Mr. C — m and I drove 
 to the ftand of coaches, called Les 
 Carojfes de la Cour, with an intention of 
 going to Verfailles. We jumped into a 
 coach in which a Frenchman, genteely 
 drefled, had already entered. Upon our 
 appearance he began to exhibit a French- 
 man's natural penchant a fe faire valoir. 
 He ordered the coachman, with an air of 
 confequence, to drive off inftantly ; who 
 replied, that he would not until his vehi- 
 cle was full, unlefs he would pay the 
 fourth place. Cent mille diahles femporte, 
 cries the indignant Frenchman, dcpeche- 
 tot, vous me ferez manque des affaires ! vous 
 tne perdrez a la cour; monte, allczvite — 
 eji pour moi d'entendre raifon dans un tel 
 
 cas / 
 
WANDERER. 171 
 
 cas! eft pour toi, inalotru, de contrarier 
 un homme tel que moi / He then fhook his 
 cane at the coachman, and raved and 
 fvvore as if he had been poflefTed by the 
 devil — He could not imprefs an idea of 
 his confequence upon the coachman — he 
 could neither move him or liis horfes — 
 he however had gained his point by 
 (hewing away before Mejficurs Us Anglo is. 
 "We promifed the coachman to pay the 
 vacant place, and he drove off. Our 
 companion, after offering the above facri- 
 fice to vanity, defcended from the flilts 
 of tragic rage, relaxing to the good na- 
 ture and hilarity congenial to his real 
 diipolition. 
 
 The road from Paris to Verfailles Is 
 ftrewed with beautiful villas on each 
 fide of the river. Six miles from Paris 
 and half-way from thence to Verfailles 
 you behold, on your right, St. Cloud, an 
 elegant, delightful village, hanging upon 
 
 the 
 
i7± The AMERI CAN 
 
 the declivity of a boldly rifing hill, vvlucli 
 giving the houies the form of an amphi- 
 theatre, exhibits the town in a full point 
 of view, and holds out a ftriking objc(ft 
 to the numerous cavalcades which ar6 
 continually going to Verfaillcs. It was 
 Sunday, always a court-day, and morci 
 crouded than any other. I was aftoniili- 
 ed at the prodigious number of people 
 whom we overtook and who overtook 
 us. Ninety-nine out of a hundred had 
 frequently feen the pageantry, to arrive 
 at which they now fo eagerly joftled and 
 dufted each other — but their avidity was 
 
 yet unfated to fee again, and again to 
 
 fee h Roy is the firft objed: of a French- 
 man's ambition — In a circle of fifty peo- 
 ple you will readily difcover the happy 
 man who has recently been at Verfailles — . 
 his impofing air, his confequential look, 
 the air of deference, if not of envy, with 
 which he is regarded by the company, fo 
 
 llrongly 
 
WANDERER, 173 
 
 llrongly mark him, that you cannot mll^ 
 take your man. 
 
 At about half a league's diflance from 
 Verfailles you arrive at a noble avenue, 
 confifling of three rows of trees, extend- 
 ing quite up to tlie palace — > the middle 
 avenue is very fpacious ; througli this 
 vifta you have the firft coup (^(Eil of the 
 palace, which at a diftance makes afuperb 
 appearance. At the extremity of this 
 vifla is a grand parade. The King's 
 flables are on the right and left — they 
 are princely, but not fo grand as thofe of 
 the Prince of Conde at Chantilly. From 
 the flables, having paffed the parade, 
 you enter through the gate of the iron 
 pallilade into the firfl court, flanked 
 with four pavilions. From this you pafs 
 the gate of another iron pallilade, and 
 enter the fecond court. This, tho' not fo 
 large as the firfl:, is built in a more mag- 
 nificent ftylc of beauty, and prepares 
 
 the 
 
174 The AMERICAN 
 
 the mind of the fpe£lator to tafte the 
 third court, which is terminated by a 
 grand pile of buildings. Here is a noble 
 portico, with three large doors, elegantly 
 gilt, through which you enter the hall. 
 The grand ftair-cafe is extremely wide, 
 and compofed of marble exquifitely beau- 
 tiful. Againft the wings and front of 
 this court there are feveral bufls, and in 
 the center of it a fountain, adorned with 
 gilt flatues. The fide of the palace 
 which fronts the garden is far the moft 
 beautiful ; and, take it for all in all, 
 Verfaillcs, though of made ground, and 
 by no means eminent for that natural 
 beauty of which St. Germains and Fon- 
 tainbleau are prodigal, is replete with 
 right royal magnificence. Many of the 
 apartments are, however, too iinall for 
 the grand ideas excited by viewing the 
 external edifice. The Hall of Mercy is 
 painted principally by Titiano ; a fuffi- 
 cient eulogium. In the Hall of Mars 
 
 there 
 
'WANDERER. 175 
 
 there is an excellent painting of the fa- 
 mily of Darius, fupplicant at the feet of 
 Alexander the Great, by Le Brun — an 
 air of tendernefs foftens the majcfty of 
 the hero-— while he gazes upon his weep- 
 ing Statiray the conqueror of the world 
 feems to have a prefentiment of his ap- 
 proaching thraldom. 
 
 The Gallery of Verfailles is in a bold 
 majeftic ftyle. It is of a prodigious 
 length, and wide in proportion. The 
 ceiling, painted by Le Brun, reprefents 
 the vi(Slories of Lewis the Fourteenth. 
 On the fide of this gallery, which looks 
 upon the garden, are feventeen lofty- 
 windows — the oppofite fide is wainfcot- 
 ted with looking-glafs — this has a happy 
 effecl, and mud be fingularly congenial 
 to the tafte of French petits-maitres, who 
 niay reconnoitre their fweet perfons as 
 they trip after their royal mafter* Mod 
 pf the apartments are gilt, The noble 
 
 front 
 
i;^ The AMERICAN 
 
 front which looks upon the gardens is 
 of beautiful flone. The vaft length of 
 the Palace of Verfailles, difproportioned 
 to its height, at a diftance, gives it a 
 heavy look. 
 
 I have now introduced you to the 
 gardens of Verfailles, and were I to infill 
 upon your parading quite through them, 
 I fliould fatigue you exceedingly. They 
 are immenfely fpacious — are ornamented 
 with a profufion of ftatues by maflerly 
 hands — it would be endlefs to particu- 
 larize. A ftatue of Venus muft not be 
 pafled unheeded. Several young noble- 
 men, pages of Louis Quinze, are faid to 
 have died for love of this marble goddefs. 
 The {latue certainly conveys the idea of 
 a mod lufcious perfon. Had I not myfc^lf 
 been pre-engaged to an animated marble- 
 hearted goddefs, I might have met a fimi- 
 lar fate. At prefent a fig-leaf veils the 
 beauty paramount to all beauties ! — a 
 
 ma- 
 
I 
 
 WANDERER. 17; 
 
 manoeuvre di(5latecl by the humanity of 
 that celebrated moralifl and politician 
 Madame Pompadour, to lave the lives of 
 his majeity's pages. 
 
 In the firft walk you behold feveral 
 beautiful fountains, with dolphins and 
 various figures of animals, out of whofe 
 mouths water guflics to a great height 
 and again defcends, in imitation of re- 
 freflilng fliowers. From this walk you 
 view the famous fountain of Latona, 
 around which are levcral flatucs, 
 highly finiflied, reprefcnting Apollo, 
 Diana, and Latona. As you defcend 
 you will have a profpccft of the rape of 
 Proferpine, admirably well done — you 
 recollect how your favourite Milton hap- 
 pily touches it : 
 
 *' Not that fair field 
 *' Of Enna, where Proferpine gathering flowers, 
 *' Her/elf a fairer flow'r, by gloomy Dis 
 
 ** Was gather'd, Might with this Paradife 
 
 " Of Eden vie." " 
 
 M At 
 
178 The AMERICAN 
 
 At the corner of every turning yoli 
 meet either a ftatne or a fountain — in- 
 deed the marble ftatues, the cafcades, 
 the labyrinths, the groves are fo various 
 and fo pleafing ; the babbling of the birds 
 and the murmuring of diftant water-falls 
 fo delightful, that the fanciful traveller 
 feems to wander o*er inchanted ground, 
 f^afting his raviflied eyes with gay fcenes 
 and luxuriant landfcapes which beggar 
 defcription. 
 
 The Trianon, or fummer-houfe, is fitu- 
 ated at the entrance of a wood, orna- 
 juented in front by a lovely periRile, and 
 fupported by pillars. At the extremity 
 of the wings of the Trianon are two pil- 
 lars, imd on the top a fine balludrade. 
 From the noble gallery of this building 
 you have a more happy profpedl of the 
 gardens of Verfailles than even from the 
 great gallery of the palace — You here (ee 
 a mafterly painting of St. John the Evan- 
 
 gelifl, 
 
WANDERER. 179 
 
 gcllit, by Le Brun. The rape of Orithla, 
 which yon fee in the great hall, is a deli- 
 cious performance. You who are paG- 
 lionately fond of flowers would love to 
 haunt the prettily difpofed parterres of 
 the Trianon private gardens. They a- 
 bound in the molt clioice flowers, as well 
 exotics as natives. The bafons and foun- 
 tains have marble borders, and are en- 
 vironed by beautiful groves. 
 
 We faw their majefties at chapel as well 
 as at the grand coirjcnt. They feeni 
 very abfteniious — The Qiieen drank no- 
 thing but water; which, confidering flie 
 is a German lady, is rather Angular. The 
 King is of a fickly habit — J^-idging from 
 the lines of his face, he will not be fup- 
 pofed a fliining genius, but, what is 
 preferable, a very good man — He pofl^ef- 
 fes in a high degree the virtue of ceco- 
 nomy — a very great becaufe ufeful vir- 
 tue for a prince. He is free from flrong 
 M 2 paflions 
 
i8o The AMERICAN 
 
 paflions — no darling vice has yet appear- 
 
 ed 1 am inclined to think he poUefTes 
 
 in an eminent degree that milkinefs of 
 foul, the charaderiflic of the Bourbon 
 race. 
 
 I flood very near the Qvieen the whole 
 time file was at table. She (cems ex- 
 tremely affable. When flie rofe from the 
 table file turned round and converfed 
 fome time with a lady exaclly before me, 
 fo that I had a complete view of her 
 majefly. The Queen would have been 
 called a very pretty girl had flie been 
 born in the moft humble fphere ; judge 
 then how flic muft be admired as Qiieen 
 of the moft polite, gallant, and loyal na- 
 tion in the world I Her majefly is fair, 
 and light haired ; has not the thick lips 
 fo common to the Auftrian family. In 
 her countenance fweetnefs with dignity 
 are happily blended. She is much ad- 
 dicted to drefs and public amufcments ; 
 
 fre- 
 
WANDERER. i8i 
 
 frequently goes to the opera at Paris, 
 and returns to Verfailles the fame night, 
 as the King never fleeps in the capital. 
 She fometimes appears at a court-maiqua- 
 rade, and afFecls to perfonate the mod 
 lowly chaiaders. Her majefty lately ex- 
 hibited in the character of a boulangiere, 
 or baker's-girl, and diftributed her pettts 
 pains with inexpre(Tible grace — when flie 
 ply*d the Duke de N with her hot- 
 rolls, he addrefTed her in the happy 
 extempore which you will fee in the 
 recueil of poetry for the lafl: year I here- 
 with fend, beginning thus y 
 
 ynntec Boulangiere, 6cc. 
 
 To the gayer accompliflients of a pretty 
 woman ihe is faid to unite great fweet- 
 
 nefs of difpofition many adls of her 
 
 charity evince, that flie follows (^haud 
 paffibus equis) at an awful diftance, the 
 fublimc virtues of our auguft Queen. 
 
 HI I Wc 
 
i82 The A M E RIC A N 
 
 We (laid at Verfailles three days. On 
 our return to Paris we vifited Marli, 
 built by Lewis the Fourteenth. It is a 
 pretty ilimmer-houle. The gardens are 
 elegant. The firft curiofity, Iiowever, 
 of Marli is the ftupendous machine that 
 forms the grand refervoir, by which the 
 water-works of Verfailles and IMarli are 
 fupplied. But as I have no nicclianical 
 head, and you, I fancy, ftill lefs me- 
 chanical talle, I fliall wave the dcfcrip- 
 tion. From Marli we returned to Paris. 
 The next morning we drove to the fub- 
 iirbs of St. Germains, to view the Gobe- 
 lin manufadlure. This I think the firfl: 
 curiofity in France. With refpecl to 
 delicacy of colour the French fcarlet 
 cloth, as well as their filks, far exceed 
 thofe of England. The Gobelin tape- 
 flry is exquifitely beautiful ; the vivid 
 glow of its tints and the happy difpofition 
 of the lights and (liades are unique. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
W A N D E: R E R. 183 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 Boulogne fur met. 
 
 A N unexpe6led and difagreeable event 
 on your fide of the water occafioned 
 this retrograde movement. I expeclcd 
 to be obliged to go to London, but a 
 letter lias met me here, advifing me, that 
 the biifinefs has been arranged. I had 
 the lionour of being franked from Paris 
 to this place in the led-carriage of a 
 young Englifli baronet, of great hopes, 
 on his return from his travels, to whom 
 I was introduced by his governor, in 
 confcquence of an accidental acquaint- 
 ance I made with him at the opera. This 
 young gentleman is all over Englifla — a 
 high fenfe of honour, naturally good- 
 natured, generous, fenfible, but impe- 
 tuous, impatient of controul, replete 
 
 IVI 4 with 
 
i84 The AMERICAN 
 
 with attachment to the cuftoms of his 
 country, and wuh ineffable contempt for 
 ihe manners of all other nations. Sir 
 Harry was a very happy man at the pe- 
 riod when our acquaintance commenced. 
 When we are pleafed with ourfelves we 
 are the kfs difficult to be pleafed with 
 others, which was I prefume the reafon 
 the Baronet took fuch a fancy to me at 
 the firfl interview. The caufe of his 
 happinefs was fingular : he had betted 
 ten thoufand pounds to perform the Tour 
 of Europe againft: tijne. In four months, 
 upon three horfes of his own find, he en- 
 gaged to dafh through all the polite courts ; 
 fee everything in them worthy of being 
 feen by anEnglifliman ; take his travelling 
 notes, anecdotes of great men, (Sec. 6cc. 
 and, on his return, publifli the travelling 
 thoughts and opinions of Sir Harry Hand- 
 in-hand. When I had the honour of firfl 
 beholding him he told me, ** it was now 
 a hollow thing — he had two weeks, one 
 
 tlay, 
 
WANDERER. 185 
 
 day, forty-five minutes, and fome few 
 feconds to do his work ; he had fet his 
 {top watch by the Horfe Guards as he 
 mounted, and, wind permitting, he 
 could bring his horfes in at the pod of 
 darting, within eight and forty hours ; 
 but that fearing accidents, he had made 
 running through the courts of Italy and 
 Germany ; yet, in Italy he had been a 
 good deal impeded by tlie numerous re- 
 ligious proceflions croudnig the public 
 roads — he was under the neceiTity of ri- 
 ding over feveral priefts and devotees, 
 whofe outre garbs and grotefque coun- 
 tenances had well nigh made his hunling 
 mare, though a fteady tit, run ruily. 
 As for Spain, he had not lain upon a 
 bed, or indeed feen a bed to lay upon ; 
 he was obliged to pulli through whip 
 and fpur, for the whole kingdom of his 
 mod Catholic Majedy would not furnifli 
 a bait fit to be fet before an En<'lidi 
 liorfe ; he would therefore pull up in 
 
 France, 
 
i86 The AMERICAN 
 
 France, for he had really begun to have 
 a better opinion of the country, lince 
 horfe-racing had been introduced ; this 
 "was, he conceived, the firfl ftep to civi-* 
 lization in any country. He was making 
 intereft to get introduced to the Count 
 d'Artois and the Duke de Chartres ; he 
 wiflied nothing better than to make a 
 match with them — theymufl: be all dupes 
 1 — far from being knowing, he verily 
 believed they did not know how to make 
 a horfe-flioe in any catholic country j 
 for which reafon he had taken the pre- 
 caution to difpatch, ere he would ven- 
 ture to dart upon the grand tour, a cer- 
 tain quantity of EngUfli horfe-flioes, to 
 be depofitedj at certain diftances, upon 
 the great pod-road o( Europe. Without 
 this precaution, he was very fure, he 
 had never faved his diftance, lie then 
 aflvcd me, if I would take a walk with 
 him to (ee the Tuillerics — he had never 
 yet fecn them — It will give us an appe- 
 tite 
 
W A N D E R E R, 187 
 
 tite to dinner, fays the honeft baronet, 
 when I'll treat you with a glafs of port 
 my banker has obliged me with at half a 
 guinea a bottle ; you mufl: be fatiated 
 
 with your d d cholicky French wines 
 
 — Before I could bow a confent to his 
 propofition, he faid, with my leave, ha- 
 ving on his boots and Ipurs, he would 
 gallop through the Bois de Boulogne, 
 and meet us in the Elyfian Fields. He 
 immediately mounted, while his bear- 
 leader and myfelf flrolled through the 
 Palace Royal, to the Tuilleries to meet 
 him. However, before we could arrive 
 aux champs Elifes, we defcried Sir Harry 
 on his return — he was on foot, examin- 
 ing with accurate attention, and high 
 delight, the two beautiful equeftrian 
 IVatues oy Coyzevox, bearing Ics deux 
 Renommcs, {landing at the bottom of the 
 Tuillerie garden. He afked me if I knew 
 from what Englifh horfes thofe ftatues 
 were deligned ; he could wifli to have 
 
 their 
 
i88 The AMERICAN 
 
 their pedigrees. I told hlin I believed 
 the ftatuary had never been on Englifli 
 ground ; he fliook his head, alFuring me 
 J mud bemilinformed, thatfuch thorough 
 bred horfes could be the production of 
 Old England only ; he was convinced 
 that the ftatues were alio Englifli ; for no 
 Frenchman could have had fuch a tafle 
 in horfe-flefli, as to have executed theni 
 in a rnanner fo mafterly. I ventured not 
 to difTent from fo learned a judge as I 
 verily believe him to be in equeftrian 
 flatues — We went on, and, at the defire 
 of his governor, I had the good fortune 
 to perfuade him to take a peep at the 
 Duke of Orlean's colle(flion of paintings. 
 However, his admiration and panegyric 
 had been exhaufled upon the equeftria^ 
 ftatues — he glared around him with a, 
 look, in which contempt and apathy 
 were blended, and then funk into En-t 
 glifli reverie, fighing bitterly — I feared 
 he was fick, but he relieved mc, by ex- 
 claiming 
 
WANDERER. 189 
 
 claiming, with the mod woe begone 
 phiz — ** My dear Sir, what have I not 
 
 loft by my governor's d d hankering 
 
 after virtu ! what a foft morning ! how 
 the fcent would lie ! had we not have 
 been eating of frogs in this infernal town, 
 we might have had a fup of mild ale and 
 cold cut this morning ; I might have 
 been in at the death ! I hoped to call my 
 friend off from his hounds, by introdu- 
 cing him to the Venus of Titiano ; he 
 gave a fide leer at the lady — pronounced 
 the model to have been a poor piece — 
 lie could have a finer w^nch at King's 
 Place for a guinea ; and wheeling round 
 from the goddefs, he gave a fmack with 
 his whip which ftartled the Pariflan pe- 
 tit-maitresy and had nearly cut off one 
 of the golden locks of Venus, that hung 
 gliftering with fea-drops, and luxuriantly 
 floating upon her neck ! then takin^^ 
 me by the arm, he quitted the Palace 
 Royal, and hurried me away to dinner 
 
 upon 
 
Jpo The AMERICAN 
 
 upon a round of beef, corned under 
 his own diredion, whiftling as we retired, 
 the technical terms, yonks, forward, 
 tally oh I wind him, 6cc. to the wonder- 
 ful aftonifliment of my Lord Duke's fer- 
 vants, and the whole groupe of Parilian 
 cognofcenti! they could not articulate a 
 word, but contented themfelves with 
 uplifted eyes and llirugs of admiration. 
 In mutual feelings of contempt, my 
 friend was at leaft upon a par with 
 them. Had the Venus of Medicis been 
 there, or had the goddefs herfelf defcend- 
 ed from Mount Ida to fafcinate the ba- 
 ronet, he would not, (unlefs her deiti- 
 fliip had put herfelf up to the highefc 
 bidder, and confented to barter her per- 
 fon pro des fotipirs Jlerling) have ftaid a 
 fecond to run the riflt of having the 
 round over-done, efpecially as that had 
 been the cafe with fome beef-ftakcs the 
 preceding day, although he had in one 
 day rode round Belvoir and Marli, and 
 
 hurried 
 
WANDERER. 191 
 
 linrricd through the Gallery of Verfailles 
 in order to return to Paris to dine upon 
 this AntigalUcan delicacy, to which he 
 had been invited by a countryman. The 
 port wine again recalled Old England 
 and a fox-chace to his imagination ; he 
 determined to fet off that very niglit, 
 left he fhould lofe the whole hunting fea- 
 fon — So fond am I of every fpecies of 
 charadler, that I could not refufe the 
 reiterated invitation of travelling with 
 him, or rather with his governor; for 
 Sir Harry, to fulfil the terms of his bet, 
 as well as through inclination, was to 
 ride on horfeback ; at twelve o'clock at 
 night precifely, he mounted, and faying 
 he would order us breakfaft at Chantilly, 
 rode off; his bear-leader and friend fol- 
 lowed in his pofl-chaife. We flept moft 
 of the way to this place ^ we could only 
 now and then have a view of our leader. 
 Our motion was too rapid to fee any thing 
 on the road. I could have wiflied to 
 
 have 
 
192 The AMERICAN 
 
 have liad more of his company. I long- 
 ed to get a view of his travels — his im- 
 petuoufity gave little fcope for my inter- 
 rogations — his criticifm upon one of the 
 mofl intire remains of Roman grandeur 
 now in the world, I fliall never forget* 
 I afked him how he liked the amphi- 
 theatre at Nifmes. ** He faid, whilft his 
 horfes took their feed, he had walked 
 round it, and he thought if the huts 
 within, and the rubbifli about the Arene 
 were removed, it might make an excel- 
 lent pit for a main of cocks, or an out- 
 riding houfe — If Aftley had it, he would 
 
 make a penny by it; but the d d in-^ 
 
 habitants of Nifmes knew how to make 
 nothing but onion foup and fllk ftock- 
 ings.'' This fpecimeii of Sir Harry's turn 
 for obfervation, increafed my longing 
 after his porte feuilky but the (liort time of 
 our acquaintance countenanced me not 
 in fuch a requeft — we were obliged to 
 part — He would have laughed me out of 
 
 my 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 93 
 
 my ridiculoiis defire to make the tour of 
 Europe — faid nothing, but the hopes of 
 takhig in knowing ones, would have fup- 
 ported him through the journey — He 
 would be glad I would fpend the winter 
 with him in Nottingiiamfliire. I fhould 
 have good dogs, his fecond bcft hunting 
 mare, mild October, and rofy cheeked 
 farmers dau2:hters. He concluded with 
 mentioning a relblution, which, as it 
 does honour to his underftanding of 
 heart, I will give you as the finifliing to 
 his picture — He faid, it was by no means 
 a love of money, but through a laudable 
 ambition to immortalize Englifli hunters, 
 that he had made this match, with the 
 European map for his race ground — 
 that he hid two fiftcrs, good EnglKli 
 bony fillies, full of hard meat, and 
 Handing well upon their pins — that his 
 mother had led them in hand through 
 mod of the watering places, and had 
 darted them laft feafon at Bath ; but he 
 
 N was 
 
194 The AM E RI C A N 
 
 was informed that they had not yet gone 
 off, which he imputed to their having 
 more blood than money. — His father's 
 expences on the lincil pack of hounds 
 in all England, a great, but neceflliry 
 expence for an Engliili gentleman, had 
 been a heavy weight upon the rent-roll, 
 and prevented him from leaving liis 
 daughters more than five thoufand pieces 
 each ; but he would raake it ten ; and, 
 if either of the girls took a capricio for 
 me, and 1 for her, he would give lier to 
 me, for he thought me a very honefl 
 fellow, only a little queer. Penetrated 
 with admiration and gratitude for his un- 
 expectedly generous ofi^er, to a characT:er 
 fo oppollte to his own, my heart fwellcd 
 too bin for utterance ; I could not arti- 
 culate my unceafing remembrance of 
 this alTeding mark of his partiality, of 
 which a (Iranger and a fugitive was fo 
 
 little 
 
W x^ N D E R E R. 195 
 
 little worthy ! but the tear of gratitude 
 guiliHig from my eye, fooke for me. 
 I bowed, rung his hand, and he rode 
 off; 
 
 A PI E u. 
 
 N 2 LET. 
 
196 The AMERICAN 
 
 LETTER XVII, 
 
 Boulogne, MontreiuL 
 
 "DOULOGNE fur Mcr appears to me a 
 very agreeable retirement during the 
 fummer and fpring fcafons. There are fe- 
 veral Britifli merchants fettled in it ; to 
 one of them, a Mr. Ballyndine, I am in- 
 debted for many marks of efleem and 
 hofpitality ; he is a very fenlible, amiable, 
 intelligent man ; and is, I am convinced, 
 the charader fo often talked of, and fb 
 feldom feen, a liberal merchant ! I am 
 proud of giving this tellimony of his 
 merit and my gratitude. 
 
 I have the good fortune to have com- 
 mended to me, by a friend in London, 
 an Englilli gentleman, a very different 
 character from Sir Harry Hard-in-hand, a 
 
 Captain 
 
WANDERER. 197 
 
 Captain Seymour, an officer of the Guards, 
 a man of birth and breeding, a polite 
 fcholar, a man of nice honour, a very 
 agreeable companion, and a gentleman 
 in the mod exalted fenle of the word — 
 to finiQi the character, in the eyes of 
 a lady, he is alfo a very wOttff 
 man. 1 have the lefs fear of mentioning 
 this circumftance, as I am told he is en- 
 gaged to the mod beautiful woman in 
 England ; you will readily conjecture 
 that my informer had not the honour of 
 your acquaintance. In company with 
 this gentleman, behold me beginning 
 my fecond fally in the wide world, in 
 quell of adventures. The day we fet 
 out, we had invited to dinner our ami- 
 able friend B , who with a fon of 
 
 Admiral Taylor, had jufb arrived at Bou- 
 logne, in their way to Paris. I had the 
 pleafure of accommodating them with the 
 lodgings we were about to leave, at the 
 the houfe of Monfieur PAvocat Rutier 
 
 N 3 and 
 
ipS The AMERICAN 
 
 and his lady, a family in a very genteel 
 fituation here, where they would live 
 very well, and hear good French. Tak- 
 ing a few glalFes of burgundy with my 
 
 countryman B c, to the health of our 
 
 friends in London, we fet out on bidets — 
 ?HBH^9t Samers, inflantaneoufly, and 
 in the fame moment of time, as if obey- 
 ing a voice from heaven, we fprung off 
 our horfes, paid our poll:, and deter- 
 mined to make the tour of Europe on 
 foot ! Although this decifion feemed 
 merely the effed: of enthuliafm, upon re- 
 fle^lion, upon weighing the pro and 
 the con, we found that it was good ; 
 we recollected that we were both debtors 
 to caili ; the officer of the Guards liad 
 anticipated his pay, the American had 
 neither pay or eftate, the great men of 
 his country having borrowed his fortune, 
 without intereft, to amufc themfelves by 
 v.'agingwar againft: their king. Unincum- 
 bered with horfes, unembarraflcd with a 
 
 load 
 
WANDERER. 199 
 
 load of equipage, or a numerous fuite of 
 fervaiits, we ilioulcl be enabled at our 
 eafe, to reconnoitre each devious path, 
 and every curious objecl, on, or near 
 the great road — Knowledge too, which 
 is purchafed by the fweat of man's 
 brow, is indelible. From ouii^aifiuicy, 
 even to our gaudy years, our difpo- 
 fitions inclined us to a partiality for the 
 Groves of Academus and the peripatetic 
 
 feci: leaving to your fagacity, Madam, 
 
 to determine which of thefe reafons had 
 the mod weight with us — and depre- 
 cating the wit ot^ thofe travellers whom 
 kinder ftars permit to read men and 
 manners, while they (lumber through 
 the courts of Europe in well-hung poft- 
 chaifes — befeeching them, that they 
 would not laviQi their Attic fait upon be- 
 ings fo little worthy of their attention ; 
 that they would referve it to befprinkle 
 their own memoirs, which, haply, may 
 fave them from that ru(l and oblivion to 
 
 N 4 which 
 
aoo T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 ■which then* infipidity would Teem to 
 condemn them, — we took our refbkition 
 with a good grace. Our legs being firm 
 and our hearts contented, we marched 
 on almofl a Frenph pod every hour. It 
 was as fweet an afternoon as you fliall 
 fee of a fpring-tide. The uneven but 
 verdant country of the Boulonnois, fine- 
 ly waving in hill and dale, cloathed with 
 wood and refredied by dreams, ftretched, 
 on every fide, a happy landfcape. The 
 fun, haftening to hide himfelf in the arms 
 of Thetis, illumined our faces with his 
 oblique rays ; our faces fmiling with 
 good-w-ill to all our fellow-travellers by 
 land and water, beaming philofophic re- 
 fjgnation to the will of fate, and exprefl- 
 ing, in each compofed feature, a firm 
 convi^lion of the maxim of Pope, ** what- 
 ever is, is right'^-^ — and that an honefl 
 man may have a chance of walking as 
 well as riding to heaven. We were con- 
 genial fouls, yet, fearing fatiety, fome- 
 
 timcs 
 
WANDERER. 26t 
 
 times one or the other fell back, enjoying 
 his own converfation, and inly mufing 
 until he recovered the Ibcial tone ; for 
 there are chords in harmonious converfe 
 as well as in nuilic — neither fliould re- 
 main dillended too long or too intenfely 
 ft retched, left they relax to the languid 
 by one extreme, or from the other vi- 
 brate harili difcord. He who firft felt 
 himfelf in colloquial tune would ftay for 
 or advance to his friend — we w^ould then 
 trudge lide by (idc, chattering of philofo- 
 phy, of the bcllrs IcttrcSy of men, of things, 
 of women, and of heaven ! An odd idea 
 came acrofs the powdered head of the 
 captain of the Englifli guards — he thought 
 it was a pity, that an apple-tree had hap- 
 pened to be planted in the garden of Pa- 
 radiie, as it was but too probable that 
 our great grand-mother Eve, during a fit 
 of the grecn-ficknefs, would have a long- 
 ing to nibble at unripe fruit. The cap- 
 tain was going on to obferve, that had not 
 
?oa The AMERICAN 
 
 (lie eaten of thofe apples, two of her chil- 
 dren would not be, now, forlorn wander- 
 ers, on foot, in fc^rch of happinefs from 
 Dan to Beerflieba — But your chevalier, not 
 piquing himfelf upon being fo very pro- 
 found as his friend, and, learning from 
 you to be very godly, to feel a high re- 
 fpect for the myfteries of holy writ, broke 
 in upon the captain's theology, content- 
 ing himfelf with lamenting, that there 
 were many ufages in foreign countries 
 not at all to his tafte — He obferved, that 
 the Supreme took pleafure in forming- 
 minds as well as bodies different in dif- 
 ferent climates — halting the captain 
 
 and, according to cuftom when any thing 
 ftrikeshim, placing the fore finger of his 
 left hand upon the left fide of his nofe, 
 his right hand grefTuig the boforn of his 
 friend^, ^bis^look fad and woe begone — 
 he thus conM«ued, deducing, philofo- 
 pher like, particular truifms from general 
 proportions — '* What a pity, my dear 
 
 friend. 
 
WANDERER, 2oj 
 
 friend, that, in the bed of poffible worlds, 
 the fouls as well as the bodies of the 
 French ladies have a lefs delicate contex- 
 ture than thofe oi your fair country wo- 
 men. I am more and more of opinion, 
 that climate has an effert upon the ani- 
 mal as well as vegetable kingdoms ; and, 
 while each country has its peculiar pro- 
 ductions, there is in each an analogy be- 
 tween the produ(fl:ions of the earth and 
 of human nature. In America, plants and 
 trees grow elegantly tall and flender, fo 
 the men and women of the weftern world 
 are not flrongly but elegantly faihioned ; 
 Flanders mares and Flanders women are 
 the reverfe. In Holland, the very cab- 
 bages emulate their High Mightinefles ; 
 they are fquab, fliort, and thick. In all 
 other countries you will find this rule 
 
 hold good." But to the (hade I was 
 
 about to give to the pidlure of the French 
 
 ladies fo long, my friend, as thefe 
 
 /west creatures obftinately perfift to en- 
 tertain 
 
204 The AMERICAN 
 
 tertain their company, men as well as 
 women, with a detail of their maladies 
 and their remedies ; of the necellity un- 
 der which they labour of exhibiting a 
 p — e or ^lavcmenty can one chace away 
 the unhappy idea, that in fpite of all their 
 charms, in fpite of the fafcination that 
 accompanies all their footfteps, the dear 
 creatures have! 
 
 AhCelia! Celia ! Celia ! 
 
 Csetera defunt-^D. Swifti 
 
 In vain do the admirers of this unfeemly 
 yet philofophic cuftom contend^ that, 
 "while the mind of the hearer is forced to 
 dwell on this dark fide of human nature, 
 a cafual concatenation of ideas will re- 
 lieve the fatigued imagination, by lead- 
 ing it to contemplate adjacent beauties ! 
 beauties which no pen can defcribe, and 
 none but an infpired imagination trace ! 
 The contemplation of this lovely part of 
 the perfpedive is, I own, confolatory — 
 
 yet 
 
WANDERER. 205 
 
 yet however conforing, however reliev-? 
 ing to the eye of fancy, when we are 
 thus obliged to think of them together, it 
 only occafions an unhappy confufion of 
 ideas which (hades and injures the more 
 noble and divine parts of the profpe£l ! 
 The French ladies pique themfelves upon 
 being more polite than the fair fex of any 
 other country — generally fpeaking they 
 are right, but furely candour muft allow 
 this to be a folecifm in their politenefs — 
 Let them but abolifli this one cuftom, 
 and I will forget they are mere mortals ; 
 I will adore them as angels 1 But, to 
 purfne the chain of reafoning from which 
 the French ladies have led me to de- 
 viate, according as you feel yourfelf born 
 to tafte a particular ftyle of beauty, you 
 (liould fliape your courfe to that corner 
 of the globe where inch beauty abounds— 
 Does your heart beat high when your 
 eye glances upon a little, delicate, fine- 
 ly turned foot (^un ^pie mignon) a leg firm, 
 
 taper, 
 
2o6 The AMERICAN 
 
 taper, and A " lllng gradually as it rifts 
 towards the knee, ierving as an outward 
 vifible fign of delicious invifible things 1 
 Are ye touched by delicate features, a 
 compleclion where the lily predominates 
 over the rofe I Travel to my country, 
 to America — Love you the fair complcc- 
 tion, a fliape fmall and elegant- — cheeks 
 where the rogue Cupid tranquilly lum- 
 bers almofl fmothcred in rofes ! pouting 
 mouth! lips moift, blub, and fwellingl 
 Do you wiQi to tafte fuch checks I do 
 you love to fmack fuch lips ! IVavel not 
 net at all. — ftay in England — Do you 
 iigh for a (liape rather degagec than deli- 
 cate, a luxuriant head of hair, which 
 tickles the imagination with the ambition 
 of touching *' hairs lefs in light, or any 
 other hairs!"— are you pl.mct-itruck by 
 eyes glov/ing with fire and vivacity ! 
 teeth white like feathered fnow ! prepof- 
 fefling philiognqmy— free, bold, eafy per- 
 fon ! llriking politencfs ! frank manners \ 
 
 little 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 207 
 
 little attentions, little nothings, as in 
 French they are called, which, infinuat- 
 ing themfelves I'nfenfibly, make way to 
 the inmofl receffcs of the human heart ? — 
 are theie your objecls, live iii France — 
 here you will find all or mod: of thefe 
 accompliftiments even in a village maid! 
 Do you pant after a fine neck, a bofom 
 highly formed, delicate, yet fwelling, 
 reiiding yet fuing to be prefs'd ! a per- 
 fon cii hoii point, full, lufcious, yet in 
 fymmetry harmonious as a model ! hips 
 which rife and fall as the nymph like a 
 o-oddefs walks ! do fuch delicacies fli- 
 mulate your palate, travel to the country 
 famed for ancient virtue and modern 
 mufic ? — Have you an Englifli roafl-beef 
 appetiie ; that is, do you hone for large 
 joints of raw fat meat, fucculeni indeed, 
 but diveded of poignant high-fcafoning? 
 pufli on to the Swifs Cantons, the Dutch 
 States, or the German Courts — you cannot 
 be taken in when you cheapen beauty at 
 
 thefe 
 
2o8 The AM E RI CAN 
 
 thefe markets — Beauty and butter are there 
 fold by the fame meafure, by the pound. 
 A happy expedient, by which German 
 and Dutch petit-maitres elude thofe fre- 
 quent and fanguhiary duels, fought by 
 impetuous lovers of fouthern clhnes to 
 afcertain the fpecific quantum of charms 
 pofFeffed by their refpetlive miftrefles ; 
 when fuch a difpute arifes between two 
 nymphs, or two of their dying fwains at 
 Amfterdam, the ladies are immediately 
 thrown into the fcales, being previoufly 
 flript, to the end that (their lieads al- 
 ways excepted) the Cutch milTes may 
 carry no lead about them-^ln proportion 
 as a lady rifes in the fcale, her charms 
 fnik in value ; in thefe markets you may 
 cheapen breads, white indeed like fnow, 
 but in fize rather too luxuriant ; prodigi- 
 ous hips ! and but I have ventured 
 
 on to the brink of my ruin ', liere let me 
 halt I — you fee, my friend, I have fet be- 
 fore you all the diflics in Europe, fall to, 
 
 chufe 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 209 
 
 chiife according to your palate ; happily 
 for yon, you love firnule meats, for me, 
 partial as you know to ragouts, my de- 
 licacy is the fource of my diftrefs, and 
 my travels in foreign countries, aggra- 
 vates my misfortune — for accuftomed to 
 behold beauty array herfclf in a thouland 
 different forms, the charms of fimple na- 
 ture to me are infipid. In vain does a 
 lady dazzle me with eyes black and 
 flrcaming meridian fun-beams, if (lie 
 owns not a taper leg I in vain does flie 
 fliow me even a taper leg, if, as with en- 
 thuliaftic ardour I travel on, the adjacent 
 limbs harmonize not with the fymmetry 
 of the leg and ancle ! unhappy deli- 
 cacy ! for tifis J quit my darling coun- 
 try ! for tivis, iorcgoing all hopes of 
 fliining, of foaring to immortality, as a 
 general, or a conful, I trulted myfelf tp 
 the horrid Atlantic, to waves, to winds, 
 tempefts, and tlorms ! for this I fleg 
 Albion, a country prodigal of fimple 
 beauty ; for this, in coach, on horfe- 
 
 O back, 
 
2IO The A M E RI C AN 
 
 back, in chariot, or on foot, I have, and 
 I will explore all the towns^ villages, and 
 hamlets in France, Switzerland, and Ger- 
 many — I will mount the frozen hills of 
 Savoy — The Alps and Ferineans finking 
 before me, I will make my court to the 
 haughty Spanifli Donnas, and I will at- 
 tempt to foften the beautifully furious 
 Italian Senoras — If it is not given me to 
 fatiate my capricious hunger,by tafting the 
 charms pecviliar to the fair fex of Europe, 
 I will chew opium and fip coffee with 
 the Cadi of Conftantinople ; and taking,. 
 en pajfanti a fmack of Turkifli beauty, I 
 will travel to the polite court of Fez, — 
 pcKadventure T may have the honour to 
 be prefented to his fable majcfly, accord- 
 ing to the etiquette of this augufl: court, 
 riding in ftate upon a jack-afs — a cour- 
 tier on each fide of me, holding one of 
 my feet, a privy counfellor mounted be- 
 hind me, to whifper in my ear, as we 
 move on, how I fliall demean myfelf in 
 
 tb^ 
 
WANDERER. 211 
 
 the prefence— -at this court I have a pre- 
 fentiment, I fhall fiiccced. I flatter 
 myfelf I may, in time, afpire to the ho- 
 nour of being diftinguiflied by the en- 
 viable dignity of the baflinado ; after 
 which aggrandifement her gracious nia- 
 jefty of Morocco, purfuing the dictates 
 of iier partiality, may venture to cele- 
 brate tlie connubial rite between her fa- 
 vourite American, and the mod amiable 
 of her footy maids of honour! — but I 
 mufl, however reluctantly, dcfcend from 
 the njyfterious beatitude of my nuptial 
 bed to make a little progrefs in my 
 journey. 
 
 Adieu, 
 
 O 2 LET- 
 
212 The AMERICAN 
 
 LET r E R XVIII. 
 
 MontreiiiL 
 
 TTAVING finiflicd this fine digrefTion, 
 we quickened our pace, and, de- 
 fcending a hill, about night-fall, we over- 
 took a little monk, a poor Capuchin, 
 riding upon an afs. He was of the fame 
 order with Yorick*s monk; but, after his 
 pathetic chapter which I never read with- 
 out ^veeplng, who will dare defcribe a 
 monk : Not I. Befides I cannot fay this 
 monk had a very prepofTclIing counte- 
 nance. He was indeed no interefting 
 figure, yet his face exprefled milkinefs 
 of foul. He was rather old than young, 
 little beard, lefs hair on his head, fo that 
 he had no need of the tonfure. His eyes 
 little, but black and vivid. He might 
 be verging towards fifty. His ?nanteau, 
 
 whicl^ 
 
WANDERER. 213 
 
 which feemed rudely attacked by the de- 
 leterious hand of time, and had been a 
 long fufFerer from rain, fnow, and hail, was 
 about the length of the cloaks worn by 
 the lower order of Englifli women ; no 
 (lockings, fandals, much worn, fupplied 
 the place of flioes ; — although the poor 
 fellow was not above four feet five 
 inches high, he held in his hand a 
 Herculean club ; his (hort cloak, his fan- 
 dals, his club, his little eyes fliining in a 
 head large and fat as the noddle of a 
 common-council-man, rendered him ra- 
 ther a grotefque than an intereding 
 figure ; — he ceafed to beat his afs, who 
 brayed horribly every flroke the little 
 monk gave him, immediately as we 
 came fide by fide, and looked at us with 
 a fmile. Tanflate this fmile into univer- 
 fal language, the conftrudion will run 
 thus. Gentlemen, we are denizens of 
 the world, we are fociable animals, 
 there is a decency, there is a propriety 
 O 3 in 
 
214 The AMERICAN 
 
 in our foftening the fatigues of travel by 
 familiar converie : in anfwer to this ci- 
 vil propofition, we faluted him in good 
 French ; the little monk feemed agree- 
 ably furprized at this, for we had on 
 Englifli riding frocks ; Seymour too, 
 though a perfectly well-bred Englilli 
 gentleman, had not yet caught thofe 
 fetits-riens, on which Frenchmen are too 
 apt to pique themfelves — Gentlemen, 
 we are only a (liort league from Mon- 
 treuil, we may go on at our leifure, with- 
 out fear of having the gates fliut upon 
 us ; belides I have intereft enough, in 
 the worft event, to introduce us all, for 
 I am fourth coulintoone of the Montreuil 
 noblefTe, whofe power is aftonifliing. In 
 his difcourfe he, now and then, mingled 
 a word of bad Englifh, of which he feem- 
 ed not a little proud ; he told us he had 
 the good fortune to learn Englifh of an 
 IriQi footman to an Englifli Lord, with 
 whom he had lived in habits of intimacy 
 
WANDERER. 215 
 
 at Dunkirk ; he afked us whether the 
 "Eiiglifli Monks, Abbes, and Bifliops tra- 
 velled on foot or upon alFes ; we informed 
 •him that we had neither Friars orAbbes in 
 England, and that Englifli Bifliops were 
 too rich and too dignified to beftride 
 jack-afTes ; then, quoth tlie monk, they 
 are prouder than their Lord and mafter, 
 who rode pofl: to Jerufalem upon an afs, 
 perhaps not better than mine. This 
 poor creature, miferable in himfelf, de- 
 rived confequence from the number and 
 influence of his order, " although his 
 habit was coarfe, his purfe empty, and 
 Jie rode upon a jack-afs," yet, Dieu foit 
 loitCy he drank almofl: daily, very good 
 wine, of which we might be convinced, 
 would we honour his brethren with our 
 company at dinner the next day. The 
 rccollediion of this good wine dilating 
 his mufcles, made him laugh fo cordially, 
 that he fliewed every tooth in his head, 
 ^nd then he fmackcd his lips as if he had 
 
 O 4 jufl: 
 
ai6 The AMERI C AN 
 
 jufl: imbibed a glais. Barring a little ro- 
 guery, of which tliis poor fellow feemecl 
 deftitute, this is the portrait of capuchins 
 ill general ; tew of them have I feen, 
 whofe looks and manner were not re- 
 voking ; yet, liow pathetic the dcfcrip- 
 tion of Sterne, how he makes you love 
 the haplefs Pere Lorenzo ! a propos of 
 Mr. Sterne, fince I have lived i;i France, 
 I have learned to admire his genius flill 
 more, if polTible, but I am lefs aff-cled 
 at his inierefting defcriptions, becaufe I 
 believe they were not taken from nature, 
 btit were the work of his own brain. I 
 enquired particularly of MonfieurDefTeiu 
 about Pcre Lorenzo, he afTured me, that 
 no monk any way anfwering that de- 
 fcription, ever in his time, lived at Ca- 
 lais ; indeed, whoever has refided much 
 in catholic countries, will have his mind 
 made up relative to the chapter of the 
 monk ; the difciples of St. Francois, with 
 a few illuflrious exceptions, at the head 
 
 0/ 
 
WANDERER. 217 
 
 of which was Ganganelliy are little 
 efteemed either hy the clergy or laity of 
 catholic countries ; they too often m-erlt 
 the appellation of flnrdy- beggars ; they 
 are fo importunate, that a modcft Gran- 
 ger cannot ehide their demands. T Qiall 
 never forget an Irifli RecoUet, who had 
 the urbanity to pay me a vifit during 
 my refidence at St. Qiientin, in fpite of 
 the endeavours of my valet, who well 
 knowing the objed: of his viiit, and, 
 thinking that a fugitive could little bear 
 fleecing from two rogues at once, told 
 him that his mafter was that moment go- 
 ing to gallant fome ladies to their villa ; 
 but capuchins are dull at taking hints, 
 the brawny Hibernian monk bruQied 
 by my fervant, and without knocking, 
 flood con felled before me. 
 
 Monk, Bon jour, Mofifieii?- le Chev-alier^^ 
 *;; m''a dit que vous etes * Bojionian"^ 
 
 * The common name at this time given in France to 
 Ihe North Americans. 
 
 Ameri" 
 
2i8 The AMERICAN 
 
 American, — Monfieiir, mon faint pere, 
 ^ai Vhonneur de vans faliier, a^ez la bonte 
 de prendre un fat cut — ct faites moi la grace 
 de me fair c f avoir a qui parle-je? a qui 
 aurai-je rhonneur de faire mes remerci- 
 mens de Vhonnetete de cette vifite? votrc 
 nom, Monfteur, s^il vous plait — 
 
 Mo?iL I am called : I 1 was born 
 
 in Ireland — I had a brodier in your very- 
 province — he was a celebrated phylician, 
 very rich, rode in his coach ; without 
 doubt he was known to you— 
 
 Amer, I have heard of him, my holy 
 father ; I have, indeed, feen him ; but 
 he was not then in a coach, he was upon 
 a forry pony — I am told, he was happy in 
 his manner of playing upon a fiddle and 
 drawing of teeth — he died about a year 
 before I quitted my country — Your niece, 
 a buxom young hulFy, very pretty, left 
 Jier mother a little while after the death 
 
 of 
 
WANDERER. 219 
 
 of her father, to throw herfelf into the 
 road of fortune, or perhaps to vifit her 
 rich Irifli relations. The tea-tables of our 
 parifli hinted that our Governor had the 
 benevolence to offer Mifs a flate-room in 
 the fame fliip, and adjacent to his own- 
 but I will not vouch for this. 
 
 Monk. Very poflible. The jade has 
 her allurements, and I venture to aflert, 
 your Governor would have been content 
 with her manner of comporting herfelf 
 in fuch a trpng fituation. At prefent 
 file flarves, for the love of God, in a 
 miferable convent in Flanders, far from 
 the ^o//c^z/;j- of Governors. What a pity 
 flie had the (lupidity to decline an eligi- 
 ble arrangement with this gentleman; as 
 you tell me he is a man of wit, of pre- 
 dilection for the fex, and has been an 
 officer in the guards, flie would have 
 been happy in his fociety. Though a 
 (aptcin myfelf, I am quite fenfible that 
 
 a dc- 
 
Z20 The AMERICAN 
 
 a decent arrangement with a governor 
 is preferable to meagre fare in a con- 
 vent — but the I family were ever 
 
 mulifli (lie rauft fufter for her con- 
 tumacy 
 
 j4met\ I am inclined to be of your 
 opinion; but (looking on his watch) how 
 chagrined I am, my dear Sir, to be un- 
 able longer to tafte your fociety ; an un- 
 lucky pre-engagement permits me not 
 a continuation of my happinefs. In 
 France, you know, we are flaves to the 
 prince, flaves to the church, to the 
 army, and, to complete our misfortune, 
 we are flaves alfo to the ladies- 
 Mow^. You are in the right. Sir ; 
 France is a villanous country — 
 
 Amer, Pardon me, my holy father, I 
 was fpeaking of their misfortunes, not 
 of dieir crimes. France is, in itfelf, a 
 ^"•noDy country ; the climate and the 
 
 nian^: 
 
W AN D E R E R.' 221 
 
 rtianners mild ; the gentlemen, thofe of 
 the army particularly, elegantly polite ; 
 the ladles have the mod engaging ad* 
 drefs and mofl: brilliant eyes. I fliall be 
 ever indebted to the attentive civility of 
 the men and the tender friendfliip of the 
 women. T never countenance the leafl: re- 
 fie(flIon upon the French nation. Befldes, 
 holy father, as you live by the bounty of 
 the French people, the leaft infinuatlon 
 againft them is, in you, moll unfeemly — 
 
 Monk, Keep yourfelf cool, Sir ; you 
 are born in a hot country : your zeal 
 for the French has urged you to hazard a 
 very odd argument. If the poor French 
 people might reckon upon the protec- 
 tion of all the tonfured heads whom they 
 fupport, they would have for their friends 
 a third of the kingdom : for that will be 
 found the proportion of property in the 
 hands of the church. But we monks 
 treat the people as the peafant does hii 
 
 ais. 
 
222 The AMERICAN 
 
 a(s. We ride them, male or female a§ 
 it may happen ; we goad them — and, if 
 they manoeuvre badly, we reiterate the 
 fpnr. But there is'a dlftin^lion in favour 
 of the honefl afs — when he is fpurred, 
 he is allowed to confole himfelf by bray- 
 ing mod heartily ; but the poor of ca- 
 tholic countries muft not indulge the 
 luxury of fighs and groans. This would 
 be a crime inexpiable in the eyes of 
 their proud maflers ! What ! perfuade a 
 churchman to be grateful to thofe who 
 give him bread ! You are difpofed to be 
 pleafant. Sir ! Were Peter, James, or 
 Paul, or our Blefled Mafter himfelf, with 
 his old fafliioned habit, now upon earth, 
 think you they would have a general in- 
 vitation to dine at the houfe of Monfieur 
 TAbbe, who tops his part as a man of 
 wit and fire in a Parifian circle ? 
 
 Amer. Upon my foul, father, I fear 
 not. Perhaps indeed our Redeemer 
 
 might 
 
WANDERER. 213 
 
 nilglit now and then, for decency fake, 
 be Invited, provided always that he came 
 full drefl: — that is to fay, that he put oft' 
 his coat made without a feam, and con- 
 fented to give into the rage — to the end 
 that Madame laMarquife might not blufli 
 to receive from his hand her fallen fan, 
 nor Madame la Compteffe the Brelan 
 fiQi — But how I am embarrafTed by this 
 unlucky engagement — 
 
 Monk, yl propos, IMonfieur- — ^you have 
 
 juft been writing -What letters are 
 
 thofc ? 
 
 Amer\ A modefl: queftion ! Father, 
 
 thefe are letters which I write to my re- 
 lations and friends in America. It is 
 true that war, that plague of human 
 
 kind ! War, the vicious hobby-horfe 
 
 which my beloved countrymen are now 
 riding through thick and thin, will pre- 
 vent my tranfmitting them- But, in 
 
 throw 
 
224 The AMERICAN 
 
 throwing my thoughts upon paj>er, I feel 
 my muid relieved trom a mclancho}y 
 
 weight It is a fweet pleaftire to con- 
 
 verfe, even ideally, with thofe we love — 
 
 Monk, But it is polTible you may have 
 an occalion of fending your letters, I 
 wiQi fo with all my heart, becaufe, while 
 you walk out, I will make ufe of your 
 pen and ink, to write to my lifter and 
 nieces — Poor things, they will be charm- 
 ed with a letter from their uncle — You 
 will put thefe letters in your envelope; the 
 charge will be fmall. 
 
 Amer, Bagatelle, bagatelle! don't men- 
 tion it — you do me honour. But, my 
 dear Sir, 1 muft quit you. My valet will 
 be flattered by your orders. He will ferve 
 yon tea a I'^jlngloife, or caffe, petit pates, 
 cream and ftrawberries /? la Frafigoije — * 
 You are in your own houfe, my father ; 
 think yourfelf fo, and be at your eafe — 
 
 I leaVe 
 
WANDERER. 125 
 
 t leave you with regret, penetrated with 
 your humility, modefly, and urbanity, 
 and have the honour to be, with my 
 whole heart, Sir, your mofl: obedient 
 humble iervant — 
 
 Monk. Stop, Sir, pray {lop — 
 
 Amcr. Can I be ufeful to you, Sir ? 
 pray command me, fpeak frankly. 
 
 Monk* Look at thofe feet — behold thac 
 
 \ 
 
 leg- 
 
 Amci\ Hem— Sir — I do behold them ; 
 the feet as well as the leg feem to want 
 foap — the foot has but half a flioe ; buc 
 for the leg — • 
 
 Monk. *Ti3 lame, Sir—Well — It is a 
 long and tirefome road from St. Quen- 
 tin to Donay, the town where I live; 
 the fun is very hot, and, hard fortune, 
 although my brother lolled in his coach, 
 I have not a fingle fous! Without money 
 
 P there 
 
226 Thi AMERICAN 
 
 there is no place for me in the diligence. 
 You, Sir, have felt the frowns df fortune: 
 the ears of the unhappy are ever open to 
 the complaints of a IcIIow-fufferer. Ma- 
 dame H , Monfieur P vour ac- 
 
 quaintance, have befriended me — 
 
 Amer, Madam H — • — is the wife of a 
 
 general, Mr. P the only fon of a 
 
 gentleman of two thoufand a year — pof- 
 fibly he will be heir to the title and eftate 
 of Lord O — y — . I am a poor fugitive^ 
 I am almoll: a capuchin — But here is two 
 crowns. It is my wifli I could do bet- 
 ter, but I am not able — 
 
 Monk, I am much obliged to you, 
 
 Sir Your addrefs — I am not like my 
 
 order in general ; I am no beggar — I 
 mean to repay you — 
 
 Atner, Sir, I wifli no repayment, I am 
 too well paid in having the honour to be 
 ufeful to you. What little I have given^ 
 
 freely I give for the love of God — 
 
 Monk. 
 
h 
 
 W A N D E R E Ri 227 
 
 Monk. Sir, you are a gallant gentle- 
 man. 
 
 Amer. Father, you are too partial ; 
 
 but I am beyond my hour 1 muft bid 
 
 you adieu. I quit you, highly fenfible 
 
 of the politcnefs of your vifit. 1 then 
 
 broke away, and ordered my fcrvant, 
 after the friar had his tea, to get rid of 
 him by fome finefle — I went away, hap- 
 py to get clear for two French crowns, 
 and heartily praying, that the devil 
 would have the benevolence to fly away 
 with the whole capuchin tribe. My fer- 
 vant told him, that Mr. P had com- 
 pany with him ; that there would be 
 very good eating ; that his mafter would 
 be there, and mod of the Englifli gen- 
 tlemen — Paint to yourfelf an interview 
 between this giant in'fable and little Petit- 
 rlen, who is by nature fo delicate that, 
 even in France, it fubjec^s him to the 
 imputation of being fuppofed a beautiful 
 P 2 Engliih 
 
228 The AMERICAN 
 
 Engllfli girl in boy's cloaths. Suppole 
 you fee this little Adonis fitting of a fuin-* 
 mer's moon-fliine night in his arm-chair ; 
 his face fufFufed with a languid fmile; 
 his night-gown of white nmflin, quilted 
 and doubled with gris dc lind taffete ; his 
 green flippers, embroidered with filver 
 and crimfon Cupids ; his fine hair fu- 
 flained by a comb, mother-of-pearl flud- 
 ded with emeralds ; his little Italian 
 bitch Cloe on one arm of his fateiiil, his 
 fquirrel on the other ; his chamber with- 
 out lights, lefl the glare of the candle 
 might injure his compleclion ; the moon 
 flione upon him ; and, leaning at the 
 window, he played upon his mandolin a 
 tender Italian air, accompanying it wltFi 
 his voice broken by his fighs ; his fpaniel 
 and fquirrel looking wiflfully and charm- 
 ed with his fong Behold the Irifh friar 
 
 l)reak in upon him with the menacing 
 air of a French drum-major ! he had alfb 
 a very flrong refemblance of his mother, 
 
 who. 
 
WANDERER. 229 
 
 who, as I fince learned, had the honour 
 to be the grand-daughter of the famous 
 Cartouche, who dying, like many great 
 men, fuddenly, the poor gu'l, deprived 
 of fuch an illuftrious protecflor, conde- 
 fcended to give her hand to an kifli fer- 
 jeant in the pay of his moft Chriftian ma- 
 jelly. Some time after this alliance the 
 Hibernian took French leave of his co- 
 lours, and retired, with his beloved wife, 
 to the kingdom ; where, repofing under 
 his laurels, he led a philofophic life. Their 
 little villa happening to be burnt the 
 
 very night Mrs. J found flie had oc- 
 
 cafion for obftetric aid ; on a bog adja- 
 cent to their domain the lady was deli- 
 vered of the hero who now glares his ox- 
 eyes upon the lucklefs defcendant of the 
 
 renowned Duke of O- . The fcene 
 
 ftruck me fo forcibly that it is this mo- 
 ment before my eyes ! the petit-maitre 
 did not recognize him. He believed, 
 that the devil himfelf had honoured him 
 P 3 ^vith 
 
230 TheAMERICAN 
 
 with a vifit to fly away with him, in pu- 
 nifliment of the enormous crime of hav- 
 ing touched his cheeks with a little Spa- 
 
 nifli wool He gave a dreadful fliriek, 
 
 and fell fainting on the floor, fliattering 
 his mandolin in the fall ! His fquirrel 
 laid hold of his left ear, fcratching, dif- 
 compofing his curls, and muttering in 
 the ear of his mafter, as if he was anxi- 
 ous to know the reafon of his difcomfi- 
 turc ; but in vain he teftified his curio- 
 fity : his beloved mafter heard nor him, 
 nor the indignant barking of little Chloe, 
 who tore the Capuchin's robe, and, bury- 
 ing her teeth in his lame leg, made him 
 roar and dance round the room like a 
 half-ltrangled bear. When I had returned 
 to my lodgings, the moment my rogue 
 of a fervant told me the trick he had 
 played my friend rather than my enemy, 
 I dreaded the melancholy confequences. 
 I immediately ran to the affiftance of lit- 
 tle Petit-rien, The howling of the dog, 
 
 the 
 
WANDERER. 231 
 
 the bellowing of the Capuchhi, and th« 
 cries of my friend's Italian valet, con- 
 vinced nie that I had reafon for my fears. 
 On entering the room the fcene was irre- 
 fiftibly ridiculous. 1 enjoyed it a few 
 moments, and then leaving the field of 
 battle free for the dog and the monk, I 
 threw a pail of cold water upon the 
 Petit-maitre and the fquirrel. The one 
 fcampered off, the other opened his eyes ; 
 but he was not right for fome minutes : 
 he (till believed he was vis-ci-'vis du diable* 
 He was going to relapfe in a fainting fit! 
 I ordered candles. I made the Capuchin 
 turn four or five times round the Petit- 
 maitre, who, as he turned, followed him 
 with anxious eye. At length he recol- 
 lected his habiliments ; and, as the Capu- 
 chin had now got the w^eather-gage of the 
 Petit-maitre, he began to fnuff up certain 
 odours, lefs aromatic than thofe whicli 
 load the gales in Araby the Bleft, ex- 
 
 P 4 haling 
 
2,^2 The AMERICAN 
 
 haling from the monk's fltin. Thefe be- 
 ing a fiiccedaneum for afTa fetida, began 
 to revive Petit-rien, He recognized the 
 monk, and conceived the trick I had 
 played him. Gentle creature! he is too po- 
 lite, too delicate to fcold, far lefs to fwear, 
 but he protefted by his laylock gloves, 
 that he would not give me a boquet for 
 ever fo long ! In the mean time he he- 
 feeched me to drive away the fable mon^ 
 fler* I ordered his Italian to infinuate 
 into the monk's paw a fix livre piece, 
 and he retired — But this rogue of a 
 monk has induced me to be guilty of a 
 piece of rudenefs to his brother of Mon- 
 ireiiil. The poor little fellow had the 
 mortification to find the gates of Mon- 
 treuil fliut — He was in a fearful paffion, 
 that they opened not at the will of a 
 monk, who had for his relation a noble- 
 man of the town. Captain Seymour and 
 I clambered over the gates, and threw 
 
 aa 
 
WANDERER. 23^ 
 
 an argument, that is, a four-and-twenty 
 fous piece, to the centinel — The gate 
 immediately flew open as if of itfclf. We 
 politely received the little monk and his 
 jack-afs. We invited them both to fnp 
 with us at the fign of the Crown of 
 France ; where we found a roaded ca- 
 pon, a wild duck, fricafleed hare, a 
 fallad, and a flafli of pretty good Bur- 
 gundy. We are now at fupper. It has 
 coil me many flieets of paper to make 
 out eight leagues of my travels. You 
 mult be as tired with the length of my 
 letter as I am with the length of my 
 walk. 
 
 Good Night. 
 
 LET- 
 
'234 The AMERICAN 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 Abbeville la Puce lie, 
 
 A FTER fupper we called a council, 
 to determine upon the plan of our 
 pedeftrian travels. Seymour's fervant 
 iupped in the room next to us with 
 his companions of the diligence. While 
 we walked he rode to attend our bag- 
 gage — Befides, Frank being a man of 
 the world, and of a convivial turn> 
 and following, with unequal ftep, his 
 younger and more robuft mafter, had 
 given a good deal into fafhionable dilli- 
 pation, by which he had acquired an 
 occafional flight attack of the gout. His 
 mafter therefore was too humane to al- 
 low him, as he feemed difpofed, to walk 
 with us — unfupported by our enthuliafm 
 
WANDERER. 2^$ 
 
 it would have been too fatiguing for the 
 poor fellow : we refolved therefore that 
 we would lend our fervant before with 
 our baggage, ordering him to flop at any 
 great town until we overtook him. Wc 
 were to follow as inclination and the cu- 
 riofities of the road permitted. Jufl: as 
 we had arranged our line of march, 
 Francifco came into the room to attend 
 our commands ; but the fille de chamhre 
 having informed us, that there was a 
 Portuguefe Cavalier fupping with the 
 party who came in the coach, who was, 
 in her opinion, a polite, pretty gentle- 
 man, and a great favourite with the fair 
 part of his fellow-travellers — Thinking it 
 a pity to degrade the poor fellow, when 
 he entered the room his mafler gave him 
 a hearty (liake by the hand — was happy 
 
 to meet with his friend fo unexpectedly 
 
 made him drink a glafs of Burgundy, 
 and, giving his orders in Englifli, he, 
 in French, infilled upon his returning 
 
 to 
 
336 T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 to his company, left his abfence fliould 
 reduce the ladies au defefpoir ! 
 
 In the morning, after indulging in the 
 luxury of green tea, we marched off 
 about nine o'clock, and at duflc arrived 
 at ylhbcville la Pucclle, This lovely 
 maiden city, the capital of Lower Picar^ 
 dy, though built in a modeft, unelevated 
 fjtuation, is environed by an agreeable 
 country. It would make as fweet a 
 place of refidence as a man of a philofo-. 
 phic difpofition could defire. I quitted it 
 with regret, I (hould have endeavoured 
 to perfuade my friend to (lay here with 
 me a few months ; but, being told the 
 inhabitants fpoke bad French, it would 
 not fuit our plan. 
 
 Abbeville is highly and defervedly fa- 
 mous for the finenefs of its cloths and 
 the beauty of its virgins. It is furprifing 
 how the quality of this laft manufadure 
 
 differs 
 
WANDERER. 237 
 
 differs in a very fliort difference of di- 
 llance. As France abounds in hard-fea- 
 tured pealants, fo has the French lan- 
 guage a much ftronger phrafe to cxprefs 
 iighnefs than I recoiled: in Englifli. Be- 
 tween this virgin city and Montreuil it 
 is only ten French leagues, yet the wo- 
 men of Montreuil, in general, deferve 
 the French epithet — elle font richement 
 hides, an d'un laideur amere. At Abbe- 
 ville every (Ireet and little court is 
 crowded with Hebes. I pretend not to 
 account for this prodigious diverfity^ It 
 is the bulinefs of a traveller to record 
 fa(fl:s worthy of rcfletSlion — It is the ftudy 
 of the naturalift to trace effects up to 
 their caufcs — 
 
 ThePofl here is an exceeding good inn. 
 Our hoftejfs a widow lady r a genteel, in- 
 telligent woman — confccjuentl^ (lie imme- 
 diately difcovercd the gentlemen through 
 our dilguife — gave us an excellent fup- 
 
238 The AMERICAN 
 
 per, good beds, and pretty wine, which 
 was poured out by two fair files de 
 chamhre — fuch delicate famples of Abbe- 
 villian beauty did, I own, not a little 
 heighten our regret at quitting this 
 maiden town — 
 
 Paying without a murmur the bill, 
 and kiffing the cheek of the amiable wi- 
 dow, whofe blufhes emulated thofe with 
 which Aurora tinged the window of her 
 bed-chamber, the fcene of our audience 
 of leave, — thrice (lie waved her hand and 
 bad us adieu ; and thrice flie pointed the 
 path to Amiens, and hoped (lie fliould, 
 on our return, be honoured by a call of 
 two flich amiable cavaliers — Thrice we 
 vowed, that if heaven lent us life, we 
 would again commune with her, again 
 we would contemplate, high pleafed, the 
 fair daughters of Abbeville — thrice we 
 returned to enquire the near road flie 
 had fo often pointed out to us in vain-— 
 
 She 
 
WANDERER. 239 
 
 Slie felt the full force of the implied 
 compliment, her jetty eyes beamed the 
 fmile of gratitude ; file flirngged her 
 flioulders ; ^lelle etourderie dit-elle I ha, 
 <^a tenez. CollettCy vous aurez Vhonncur 
 d'accompagner Meffleins les ^ngloist mes 
 tres dignes amis, jufqu'au but de la ville. 
 Ties volontiersMadame — Behold us under 
 the convoy of the fsi'iv /il/e de cJ?ambrc-'^ 
 her air naive, degage perfon, delicious 
 en bon pointy the glimpfe of a delicate 
 ankle and fwelling calf, which, as fhe. 
 walked, flie contrived to exhibit, com- 
 bined to render our condud:refs interefl- 
 ing, and give a patlios to our lafl: adieus. 
 — Bon voyage, MeJ/ieurs, quiU me tardera 
 de vous rcvoir en bon JantL — AdicUy belle 
 Collette — fi nous rejlions h Abbeville vous 
 trouverions nous aujfi cruelle que belle ? 
 
 Da?ne! apparemment vous me moquez 
 
 les cavaliers tels que vous, font f aits pour 
 plairey aux dames bien nes, en tout pais, 
 mais pour trouver dcs cruelles jamais — 
 
 The 
 
240 T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 The pill was Co happily compounded, Co 
 congenial to man's conftitiitional weak- 
 nels, we could not but Iwallow it ; we 
 put our hands to our purfc firings, 
 bluQiing that we had forgot to reward 
 our conduclrefs, we both gave her, I 
 will not fay what we gave her ; be the 
 fum what it will, we could expect no 
 praife from the gift, for we were acfiua- 
 ted rather by felf-love than charity. 
 Without prying too curioufly into the 
 motive, I fliall ever recollccl, with ineffa- 
 ble plcafure, the incident. Prudence, 
 (aid we, had given too much — but Pru- 
 dence is an old maid, with whom a maa 
 of (pirit feldom forms u?t arrangement 
 bonnete. When we faw the happinefs we 
 procured the poor girl ; when we faw 
 joy, affedion, gratitude fuffufe her 
 countenance, and irradiate her eyes, we 
 fighed that we could give fo little — Eh 1 
 Mejfieurs, que jevous dois des remercimens, 
 maisje ne puis plus parler, que mes pleurs 
 
 parlent 
 
WANDERER. 241 
 
 parknt pour nioi ! De votre Cadcau jc 
 grojjerai man dot — hcureufcmcnt ma grandc 
 mere tii'a laiffcc qiiatre vingt ecus — four 
 s*etahlir chcz nous une jiUe doit etre paf- 
 fahlemcnt richc, car les hommes d^atijourd- 
 huinous rccherchcnt moinspar fentimcnt que 
 par ambition. I (aw the tear of Icnfibi- 
 lity and of joy hang upon the cheek of 
 my friend ; never did I myfelf feel more 
 delicious fenfations I we could not help 
 killing the amiable creature, and, by 
 heaven I a more innocent Platonic pref- 
 fure of a female lip never was imprinted 
 by man ! we promifed her, that if her 
 Jittle fortune, and her numberltfs accom- 
 pliflniients, procured her not a hufband 
 worthy of her tcndernefs, when we re- 
 turned to England, which ever of us 
 was firft married, would create her firfl 
 maid of honour to the wife of our bofom 
 — She reiterated her thanks, and made 
 lier courtefy ; we broke from her, exult- 
 ing in our fkill at fentimental commerce. 
 
242 The A M E R I C A N 
 
 in the cheap bargain t\'c had ft ruck ; witit 
 a few grains of yellow earth, we had 
 purchafed the never dying gratitude, 
 the gailelcfs heart of one of creation*s 
 fairclt forms. When the hcai't is glad, 
 the feet are light. Gay, hlithfome, dcbon- 
 iiaire, we marched on rapidly, ponder- 
 ing upon the beauty and fimplicity of the 
 fair fille de chanihrc ; for many miles we 
 fj^oke not a word ; real happinefs con- 
 tents itfelf with its own fenfations, it is 
 not loquacious ; it is a femblance only of 
 felicity, which infpires garrulity. Our 
 hearts were fo full, that we had march- 
 ed near five leagues, without recol- 
 lecting that we had not breakfaded ; 
 the recollection came too late, we were 
 near a league from the lafl: polt-houfe, 
 we were therefore fiin to elude the calls 
 of hunger, by feafting ideally upon the 
 charms of the fweet maidens of Abbeville. 
 At length we dcfcricd the little town of 
 Pecquigny on our left, lying upon our 
 
 road. 
 
WANDERER. 243 
 
 road, at about the diftance of an hour's 
 walk ; fomewhat nearer, on our rioht, 
 we beheld a goodly looking chateau, 
 hanging upon the fide of a gently de- 
 clhiing Iiill, cloathed with a rich wood 
 that arofe in amphitheatre behind it, 
 and ftretching on each fide, circularly, 
 nearly envellopped the whole pile of 
 building, covering it from the fummcr 
 fun-beams, and penetrating winter winds. 
 We immediately concluded it to be the 
 af>lum of lioly men ; General Wafli- 
 inoton exhibits not more fixill in chufins: 
 his ground ; the pofitions of each are 
 always the bell the nature of the coun- 
 try will admit, always maftcrly ; we un- 
 derRood from a peafint that it was 
 TAbbaye du Gard, a monaflcry of the 
 Order of Clteaux, and indeed havino* 
 jufl: arrived at the brow of the hill, we 
 Q^ Z defer ied 
 
24+ The AMERICAN 
 
 defcried at the extremity of the vale be- 
 neath a monk apparently in very ear- 
 2ieft colloquy with a country girl, who 
 was lolling iupinely upon the grafs, by 
 the hde of the father, leaning her head 
 upon the mofTy fragment of a rock that 
 overlooked a pellucid flream, which 
 eroding the high road, flowed and' 
 babbled along an adjoining meadow. 
 Ah ! the liquorifli holy (inner, cries the 
 Captain of the Guards, how he prefles 
 the infant devotee to tafte the manna of 
 fpiritual love ! Gome on, my friend, let 
 us ftep between the fpirit and the flefli, 
 EfTay this adventure alone, lieaven for- 
 bid that I (hould ever rival a friend, or 
 that the man I love (liould rival me ; 
 the occafion is inviting, the village maid 
 is tempting — yet, in my breait, it excites 
 only one darling wifli — Were but the 
 
 village 
 
WANDERER. 24s 
 
 village maid transformed to Julia ! the 
 
 American in the habit of the Friar! 
 
 if then, the village maid would be an 
 angel of mercy, the Friar would be a 
 God I 
 
 Far 
 
 E WELL. 
 
 aa LET. 
 
 I 
 
246 The AMERICAN 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 The fa7?iil'j of the Old Soldier, 
 
 AS we drew near, we bkiQied at tlie 
 uncharitable ideas, acflnated by 
 which we had approached the holy man 
 and the village maid ; we learned to 
 doubt appearances, to be aQiamed of the 
 infipid frothy common place we recent- 
 ly played off againft the church. The 
 objeft of our obloquy was the prior of 
 the adjacent convent, a venerable impo- 
 flng figure ; — his head, whitened by time, 
 and by reflecting upon the frailties of 
 human kind, united with an air of un- 
 confcious piety and benignity, an ad- 
 drefs modeft, flmple, awe-infpiring, Toon 
 convinced us that the God of defire mufl: 
 have long ago retreated from a bofoni fo 
 chilly, to bafk his pinions in the fun- 
 
 fliine 
 
WANDERER. 247 
 
 flline of young and gaudy years : he held 
 in his hand a little book, it was the Ca- 
 techilhi uled in catholic fchools ; he was 
 examining the daughter of a tenant of a 
 finall farm held of the convent ; we obfcr- 
 ved no criminal confufion flufli his check 
 at our approach ; his fweet difciple too 
 fmiled confcious innocence ; butj at once 
 to didipate all remaining doubt, at the 
 dillance of a few paces, we difcovcred 
 the father and mother of the girU the one 
 weaving ozier balkets,. the other fpinning 
 (iax, at the door of a fmall cottage, 
 fiiadcd by a clump of oak trees, which 
 had> till now, hid it from our view-^- 
 Qbieitving tvvo ftrangers eouverllng with 
 the holy father, whofe exotic appear- 
 ance excited their curiolity, they advan- 
 ced towards us. The dame, though 
 long pad her meridian, had not that 
 rigid look, fo common to the old womcil 
 of ti\is country ; flie had a plump mel- 
 low countenance — the hu{band with no 
 (I 4 clif. 
 
248 The AMERICAN 
 
 diftingu idling trait, by his afliircd look, 
 his eafy difengaged walk, we guelFed had 
 ferved ; this was confirmed by a long 
 deep fear running acrois his temple ; he 
 foon informed us, that he had the honour 
 of wading through the bloody field of 
 Fontenoy, and had got his head thus em- 
 embroidered, on that memorable day, 
 by an Englilli cutlafs. His wife told us 
 that her family was upon the point of 
 fetting down to a dinner of milk, cheefe, 
 and fricafeed eggs. Voiis etcs encore bien 
 loin (TAmiens—Mefpeursfaitesnous rhoniieur 
 de faire maigre avec nous* The captain of 
 the guards made polite cxcules for us 
 both, adding, that we fliould be obliged 
 by a glafs of her milk and water ; this 
 requefl: called up Mademoifelle, their 
 daughter, who (kipped like a young- 
 fawn, to their cottage, and in a mo- 
 ment came bounding back with a large 
 filver goblet of the beverage we had 
 demanded. In her face Mademoifelle 
 
 Dupont 
 
WANDERER. 249 
 
 Dupont could not be called a regular 
 beauty, yet her features blended together, 
 produced an hiterefling efFetH:, frequently 
 wanting to lifelefs fymmetry ; her com- 
 plexion fair, vivid, and glowing, with 
 the rouge of nature ; her eyes of a {ap- 
 phire blue, full of capability, but feem- 
 ed yet untaught to exprefs any wiflies, 
 fave thofe flowing from a pure heart, un- 
 adulterated by too familiar commerce 
 with betraying man ; her hair, a light 
 glofly auburn, floated in rich ringlets 
 around her polidied neck ; her nofe was 
 greek — A fevere connoifTeur would have 
 contended that her mouth was too wide, 
 had not the feeming defed: been richly 
 compenfated by the coral hue of a dewy 
 under lip, which, fwelling a little out- 
 wards, difcovered a fet of teeth elegant- 
 ly fmall and fuperlatively white. Though 
 not tall, the delicacy of her fliape exhi- 
 bited her to the eye above the common 
 
 iize ; 
 
250 The AMERICAN 
 
 fizc; (lie was drefFed in her holiday gnrliy 
 a white cotton jacket, faced with lay- 
 lock ribbands ; the waifl of her jacket 
 tightly hugging her fliape, happily threw 
 out the whole contour of her perfon, 
 which had all the luxuriance that con- 
 fifts with fymmetry ; although fcarcely 
 fourteen, the tempting mellownefs of her 
 whole perfon feemed to render her an 
 eligible candidate for hymeneal rites : fo 
 early does love emancipate thole votaries 
 whom he deflines to the fupport and 
 ornament of his empire ! Obferving us 
 eye attentively the filver goblet, the old 
 man told us, that it was a prefent from 
 his colonel, a French nobleman, who 
 fell mortally wounded the firfl: charge lie 
 made upon the Britifli infantry at Fon- 
 tenoy I that he had the honour of carry- 
 ing him off from the field of battle, that 
 his prefent wife was at the time blan- 
 chijfciije to his dear colonel ; had nurfed 
 him the few languiihing days he furvived 
 
 the 
 
WANDERER. 2^1 
 
 the fangulnary adion, and that he had 
 given him his purfe, ^nd her this cup, 
 as a reward of their fidelity. The poor 
 fellow fpoke this with a voice broken 
 with gratitude and with love, yet, with 
 that innate politenefs, never quitting a 
 true Frenchman, he added, notre fille a 
 ju hien anticipce nos foubaits, car nous nc 
 montroiis ce gohht jamais^ ft ce neft qua 
 temoigner not're bienviellauce a ccux quen 
 font digues ! 
 
 The good Prior, as foon as wq ap- 
 proached, had put up his book, not with 
 the quick abrupt motion of guilt, but as 
 if he would avoid an oflentatious dif- 
 play of piety. He greeted us with a ten- 
 der affectionate unBuous air, only becom- 
 ing from age to youth, begging us with 
 a look fo benign and hofpitable, that we 
 would eat our fo up with his brethren, 
 that we were induced to quit the old fol- 
 dier and his amiable family, to follow 
 
 ths 
 
2SZ The AMERICAN 
 
 the man of God — The Bernardlnes are a 
 fieek order ; ** they little wreck to find 
 the way to heaven," by fafting and mor- 
 tification. Tlie Prior's five brethren had 
 rubicund countenances. It was a day 
 of Lent ; our dinner was fimple, but deli- 
 cately drefled ; they gave us a fmall white 
 wine at dinner, and at the defert a glafs 
 of excellent red champaignc ; declining 
 the offer of a bed, and bidding adieu 
 to our holy hofts, we fet off for Amiens, 
 where we arrived with the fetting fun. 
 Supper had been ordered by our fervant, 
 finding ourfelves a little exhaufled by 
 this day's march, and it having been, at 
 our out-fet, determined that the difference 
 of our expences between walking and 
 pofling fliould be dedicated to charity, 
 love, and wine, we rcfolved to facrifice 
 ^ bottle of champaigne, as a libation to 
 each of our miflreffes— thefe were foon 
 imbibed, and whether from weari* 
 ircfs or languifliment at the abfence 
 
 of 
 
WANDERER. 253 
 
 .of our goddefTcs, our low fpirits flill 
 continuing, Seymour, who at all times 
 ingenious, is fingularly brilliant when 
 good wine is the objed:, obferved, 
 that as either of our Dulcineas would, 
 without doubt, have won the apple 
 had they been exhibited in a fimi- 
 iar drefs with the three goddefTes of 
 Mount Ida, and, as they combined in 
 their perfons all the united charms of 
 the three Graces, we could not hope to 
 render them propitious by a facrifice fo 
 niggardly. — The logic was good — there 
 could be one only proper anfwer to it. 
 Gargou ! apportons ugus encore unc hou- 
 teillc dc champagne tnoujfout — -fort bien mi 
 Lors — in France the third bottle always 
 creates you a peer — inflead o£ the gar- 
 fjOUi the landlady herfelf entered with 
 tiie third bottle, and informed us that 
 tlie Prince of Conde was to hunt the (lag 
 at Chantilly, the day after to-morrow — 
 
 this 
 
254 T H E AMERICAN 
 
 tills intelligence determined us to go 
 pofl: next day, that we might have the 
 honour of attending tlie Prince — boji. 
 foivy mn belle Priticejfe, 
 
 A DI E u. 
 
 LETTER 
 
WANDERER. 25^ 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 Amiens f Chant illy. 
 
 AMIENS, the capital of Picardy, a 
 large commodious French town, is 
 lituated upon the river Somme. It has 
 fine, large ftreets, ornamented by many 
 well-built houfes. Part of the ramparts 
 afford a beautiful walk, fliaded by lofty 
 oak trees — But the principal ornament 
 of Amiens certainly is its cathedral church, 
 dedicated to the Viroin. It is adorned 
 
 o 
 
 vith paintings, three of which, reprefent- 
 ing the triumph of our bleiTcd Lady, are 
 in white marble, of exquifite workman- 
 fliip. The ifle of the church is 213 
 paces, that at Notre Dame at Paris is 
 only 170. It is faid to have been built 
 by our Englifli anceftors. A more beau- 
 tiful dome certainly is not in the world, 
 
 We 
 
256 The AMERICAN 
 
 We were prepared to admire it, but found 
 it furpafs onr ideas. Never did I behold 
 an arch fb fweet, bold, and delicate i it 
 feemed to us no mortal work, but created 
 by the fiat of fome God I We gazed at 
 it a confiderable time with ineffable 
 delight ; went out, returned, gazed 
 again, and, at length, with infinite re- 
 gret, hurried ourfelves away. 
 
 Amons; the faered curiofities in the 
 cabinet of this church the pious are 
 fliewn the head of St. John the Baptift, 
 yet in good prefervation. It was found 
 at the taking of Conllantinople, in the 
 year of Chrift 1204, by Valon de Sarton, 
 a gentleman of Picardy, who being a 
 good Chriftian and patriot as well as a 
 good foldier, made a compliment of it 
 to decorate the principal church of his 
 province. 
 
 We left Amiens at one o'clock ; at night 
 we arrived at Chantilly — In the morn- 
 ing 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 257 
 
 ing we hired the befl: bidets we could 
 procure, and dadiing in amongH: princes, 
 counts, marquis, and chevaliers de Malt, 
 partook of the hunt — The (lag had jufl 
 been darted, and was followed by the 
 Prince of Conde, the Duke of Bourbon 
 his fon, and about thirty French gentle- 
 men, mod of them officers of the Condes 
 regiment — Tliey were all mounted upon 
 fine Englifn hunters, which they rode 
 with manege bits — were equipped with 
 enormous jack-boots, and wore the 
 Prince of Conde's hunting livery. This, 
 though here an honour, would, withEng- 
 liQi noblemen, have been a diftinction 
 by no means enviable. The French fay, 
 this prince piques himfelf upon hunting 
 a la Angloifcy on avec la vitejfc d\in diable ; 
 yet we foon overtook the whole hunt, 
 capering along at a hand-gallop. Sey- 
 mour, who is a very genteel and bold 
 rider, was eager to dnfh with his little 
 bidet up to the dogs ; obferving that this 
 
 K ma- 
 
258 The AMERICAN 
 
 manoeuvre would introduce us gallantly 
 to the hunt and announce us as EnglifJj 
 gentlemen. But this the etiquette to the 
 prince, which in Englifli chace would 
 have been fufpended, did not permit — 
 We kept with the hunt for two hours, 
 and ^until our forry bidets were blown. 
 The Prince of Bourbon frequently rode 
 up to us, politely pointing the way that 
 the buck had took ; and, without com- 
 mitting his own dignity, treated us with 
 that obliging familiarity which young 
 / nobility know not how to afTume. The 
 Marquis de Sans Soucy, a tall, genteel 
 figure, an officer of diftinclion in the 
 regiment of Condc, rode up to Seymour, 
 and told him, that he had the honour 
 to ferve againfl the Englidi laft war 
 in Germany — and if ever I am difpofed 
 to indulge an emotion of vanity, fays 
 the polite Marquis, it is when I recollecl 
 that I had the honour, to ferve in the 
 regiment that once puflied Burgoyne*s 
 
 light 
 
> 
 
 WANDERER. 259 
 
 light horfe. That regunent was not in 
 Germany, retorted the Englifliman, with 
 a tone fnrly enough — The Marquis was 
 not rebuffed. — Peut-etrc cctoit les che^ 
 vaux legers d' Elliot ; c\toit, certainement, 
 on run on V autre ; c cfl uii foiivenir qui me 
 fern cber, jufquW mon dernier fo up ir — The 
 Englifli officer of the horfe-guards could 
 not refifli this attack upon the Britifli ca- 
 vahy, however executed with GalHc ur- 
 banity ; and the elegant Marquis hap- 
 pening to mention ks infurgents, he 
 fnatched the opportunity to fliift him to 
 me — faying, that I was an American, ne- 
 phew to General • of the republican 
 
 army (a travelling title which he had 
 thought proper to give me — that, of 
 courfe, I was more competent to fatisfy 
 his curiofity relative to General Wafliing- 
 ton, the Congrefs, &c. 
 
 About one o'clock they took le daind, 
 and the hunt ended. The Prince and 
 his fuite had a cold collation prepared 
 
 R 2 for 
 
26o T II E A M E R I C A N 
 
 for them at a little temple In the wood ; 
 after which they propofed to flioot phea- 
 fants until niglit, when they were to re- 
 turn to Paris. 
 
 Captain Seymour had heard me, after 
 I thought I had won the Marquis' heart, 
 by giving a picture of Wafliington, which 
 Ifaw pleafed him, in reply to his inquiry 
 whether we were well accommodated at 
 the hotel, carelefsly anfwer in the nega- 
 tive ; faying, ** We were not a little fur- 
 prized that an inn, built exprefsly for 
 the accommodation of ftrangers who re- 
 forted here, to fee the noble palace and 
 princely forefl of Chantilly, fliould have 
 fuch indifferent wine— this was the more 
 extraordinary as the Prince was alfo go- 
 vernor of Burgundy." The Marquis had 
 given me the opening and I refolved to 
 hit it. The hint was a good one : if he 
 underftood it not the fault was not in me. 
 However, my friend had the laugh againft 
 
 me 
 
WANDERER. 261 
 
 me when we fat clown to dinner — But 
 jufl as the fecond courie was ferving one 
 of the Prhice of Condc*s domcflics was 
 • announced — quiy dc la parte dc Monficur 
 le Marquis de Sans Souciy avoit a purler a 
 Mejficurs les Anglois He entered — Ne- 
 ver did I behold a more pleafant-looklng 
 fellow, for he held in his left hand a 
 wicket bafket, in his right a card from 
 the Marquis, ** who did himftif the 
 honour to requeft we would be fo oblig- 
 ing as to tafte the Prince of Condc's Bur- 
 gundy ; wifliing it might (land the te/l 
 offach good judges." — He added, " that 
 he was au defefpoir, we did not intend 
 any (lay in Paris, as Inch an arrangement 
 militated againfl his ambition of culti- 
 vating our acquaintance." The bafket 
 contained fix bottles of exquifite Bur- 
 gundy and two of Mufcat. The more I 
 imbibe the more I am cojivinced, tlint 
 pure Burgundy is a moral drink. Njvcr 
 ' do I tafle it genuine, but I ^cq\ my heart 
 
 R. 3 c\- 
 
262 T H E A M E R 1 C A N 
 
 expanding in plillanthrophy and good 
 will to all human kind : next to love it 
 Is tlie greateft inlpirer of generous ac- 
 tions. Man is a frail being, and, warned 
 by me, let him beware of relying too 
 much upon his native virtue : let him 
 continue to nourifli that tender, lickly 
 ofTspring of the foul by generous infu- 
 fions of this moral mixture. For mvfelf 
 I frankly declare, that I ever find myfclf 
 calculating compound interefl: and the 
 vibrat'ons of (lock, e'er I finidi my pint 
 of port ; I flumber and dream of my 
 tithes over a cup of mild ale, and con- 
 fined to fmall beer, I am capable o^ pett'j 
 larceny and all ungentlemanly mifde- 
 meanors : but while J fip imperial bur- 
 gundy I feel myfelf a hero or a demi- 
 god ! I have, or wiHi I had, kingdoms to 
 give away to others, and kneeling Sta- 
 tiras to keep to myfelf and prefs to my 
 globing bolbm ! 
 
WANDERER. 263 
 
 We imbibed a bottle to the health of 
 the Prince, and refolved to ftay all the 
 next day, to review his royal domain 
 and do juftice to his moral potation. 
 
 To a real fportfman the diverfion of 
 pheafant (liooting was rather ridiculous. 
 About threefcore peafants beat the buQies 
 of the foreft, and drove up to the fcene of 
 action, flocks of game as large as flocks 
 of turkeys. You would really have fup- 
 pofed they wci'e driving the birds to their 
 rooft. The French fporting petits-maitres 
 were arranged in a groupe, prepared 
 with fufees a deux coups, to allail the wino-- 
 ed foe. They did not ever give them- 
 felvcs the trouble to load or reload their 
 pieces — over-grown valets attended for 
 that purpoie. In about half an hour 
 they brought down about twenty couple 
 of pheaiants, to my aftonifliment and the 
 indignation of Seymour. Before we 
 could recover from our reverie of admi- 
 R 4 ration^ 
 
264 The AMERl CAN 
 
 ration, they had put the buck and the 
 reft of the game into a led-coach, and 
 rode off for Paris. 
 
 The palace of Chantilly is a venerable, 
 ancient caflle, and abounds with valu- 
 able paintings. There has been lately 
 ereifted a detached building, fome hun- 
 dred paces from the old caftle, merely 
 intended as a nurfery for the Prince of 
 Conde's grandfon and his fuite. I think 
 it is above loo feet long, containing a 
 fuite of rooms in one continued range. 
 1 admire exceedingly this modern build- 
 ing. The rooms are much in the Eng- 
 lifli tafte ; not large or lofty, but com- 
 modious and neat — furniflied with great 
 elegance and propriety, but rather in a 
 fimple than a fuperb or rich ftyle. 
 
 The Prince of Condc*s refidence for 
 his horfes is much more admired than 
 that for himfelf. I have not feen fucli 
 
 noble 
 
WANDERER. 265 
 
 noble flables in the pofTeflion of any 
 monarch whom I have yet had the ho- 
 nour to vifit — They are elegantly built 
 of fine (lone, may contain near 300 horfes ; 
 and, when we faw them, they had at lead 
 a hundred of their flails filled with fine 
 Englifli hunters. 
 
 The gardens are well difpofed. The 
 IJle (T amour is an afylum worthy of the 
 laughter-loving goddefs : it is indeed in- 
 chanting I 'Had Mount Ida been fo be- 
 witching, Adonis had never ftray'd from 
 the arms of Venus. The Forefl of Chan- 
 tilly is a beautiful, immenfcly fpacious, 
 rich wood, abounding with prodigious 
 quantities of every fpecies of game — Con- 
 fcious of the refpeclability of tlieir afy- 
 lum, of the protection they enjoy under 
 fo powerful a prince, they are as tame as 
 fowls in ail Englifli f^irm-yard — This is 
 no exaggeration. I perfuade myfelf, 
 that, at many feafons of the year, you 
 
 might. 
 
266 The AMERICAN 
 
 might, with your guilelefs countenance, 
 encourage the pheafant to eat out of your 
 hand, the infant partridge to neftle in 
 your bofom ! an a(ylum to be envied by 
 his princely mafter t 
 
 Well may die (lag, the chevreul, and 
 the whole feathered throng, tenants of 
 the groves and copfes of Chantilly, be 
 fearlefs, gay, and happy. In England, 
 and Hill more fo in America, a peafant 
 would deem it a meritorious action to 
 deftroy them, could he do it with impu- 
 nity. In France, I verily believe, there 
 is not a fingle hind but would blufli to 
 be thought guilty of it — I verily believe, 
 he would almofl ftarvc e'er he would lay 
 his hands upon a little tomtit y facred to 
 the pleafure of his prince: fo pure, ar- 
 dent, and inviolable is the homage they 
 pay not only to their kings, but to all the 
 princes of the blood. 
 
 The 
 
t 
 
 WANDERER. 267 
 
 The Prince of Conde always hums in 
 a royal llyle, and upon Englifli horfes, 
 great numbers of which are held by ya^ 
 lets, at different diftances, in this immenfc 
 foreft, to be ready to mount occaiion- 
 ally the prince and his fuite. It is in- 
 deed a noble light. This prince treated 
 his gueft the King of Denmark wi^h a 
 hunt in the foreft of Chantilly in the 
 night. ' T!ie whole extended wood for 
 twenty miles round, being lighted up 
 with flambeaus, exhibited the brilliant 
 appearance of a ball-room ! The con- 
 courfe of people of all ranks, you will 
 fuppofe, mud be prodigious; the neigh- 
 ing and trampling of the horfes ; the 
 mufic of the hounds dying along the 
 boundlcfs avenues of the foreft ; the 
 bounding of the aftonidied deer; the 
 flitting of the affrighted birds ; and tlie 
 prattling of the fwains and village maids, 
 who in the groves danced cotillions, ap- 
 pearing like wood-nymphs or fairies, who, 
 
 under 
 
l68 T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 under the influence of the pale moon, 
 celebrated their myfteries ; all thefe unit- 
 ing rendered the hunting fete of Chan- 
 tilly a mod enchanting fete — highly wor- 
 thy of the Prince of Conde ! But I fhoukl 
 think, that a being who could behave fa 
 unfafliionably, not to fay brutally, to the 
 flfler of our royal mafter, deferved no 
 fuch honour. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 LETTER 
 
WANDERER. 369 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Coache (TEau. 
 
 IN the evening of the day, after onr 
 hiinthig with the Prince of Conde, 
 we went to Paris ; in the morning we 
 found onrfelves, bag and baggage in the 
 Coache d'Eau, which travels from Paris 
 to Auxerre in Burgundy — this mode of 
 conveyance was ftrongly recommended 
 to us. It is a lai'ge vefTel with different 
 compartments, which is drawn along 
 the river by means of horfes on the ad- 
 joining (liore. It is certainly very cheap 
 and commodious for baggage — Were the 
 pailengers in this vefTel allowed, as they 
 are in the fame vehicles in the fouth of 
 France, to fleep on (hore at night, they 
 would be eligible ; however, to curious 
 travellers as we profefs ourfelves to be, 
 
 this 
 
^7^ T It E AMERICAN 
 
 this fpecies of conveyance is well worthy 
 of eflay. Ic was a fine day, and as we 
 flowly moved along, the windings cf the 
 river Seine afford a rich variety of coun- 
 try. Elegant villas, well difpofcd gar- 
 dens, nioffy hills, and fweet little towns, 
 blending together, exhibited a very plea- 
 iing, picfturefqne landfcape. Noah's ark 
 contained not fo great a diverfity of hu- 
 man animals as did this coache d^au of 
 Auxerre. Fidlers, perfumers, mounte- 
 banks, milliners, monks, mantua-makers, 
 coquettes, abbes, village-maids, foldiers, 
 llatefmen, old women, pimps and pctits- 
 maitres I motley groupe ! yet not un- 
 worthy the contemplation of a philofophic 
 eye ! It was a microcofm, a world in mi- 
 niature ! various is the tafte of man, yet 
 the coache d'eau of Auxerre afforded io- 
 ciety congenial to the mod capricious 
 palate. At firfl: we converfed promifcu- 
 oufly, feeling the focial pulfe of each 
 other ; quadrilles were foon formed in 
 
 the 
 
WANDERER. 271 
 
 the cabin, and on various parts of the 
 deck. The Captain of the guards had 
 arranged a party of reverfee, with the 
 wife of a citizen of Fontainbleau ; an 
 Abbe and a Chevalier de St. Louis ; the 
 the lady was comely, appetijfante, rather 
 fat, but having from her infancy fucked 
 in the court air, her demeanor was 
 gentle and infinuating; (lie feemed to 
 liften nothing loth to the fcurets of le 
 hcllc Anglois ; the good man, her huf- 
 band, bowed to the captain, in acknow- 
 ledgement how fenfible he was nux pro- 
 cedes ; to the captain's predilcdiion for a 
 branch of his family. For myfelf, I glided 
 from one party to the other, like a bee ex- 
 tra(n:ing the efTence of various flowers in va- 
 rious parterres ; at length I fettled upon a 
 family piece, who were at breakfafl in a 
 retired corner, defended from the (un 
 by a temporary awning ; it was an in- 
 terefting groupe ! I was meditating how 
 I fliould introduce myfelf. I was hover- 
 
2;2 T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 ing near, iinclctermined, when their Ton, 
 a roly-cheeked urchhi, about four years 
 old, jumping from the lap of his filler, 
 who was powdering his golden locks, 
 and Aiding along the veifTel, caught held 
 of the filver and laylock tafiels of my 
 cane, on which I leaned nonchalentl) my 
 chin, while my eyes ran over the charms 
 of his filler; the young rogue feemed 
 delighted with the firing — I took it off, 
 hung it about his neck, and having 
 caught him in my arms, without cere- 
 mony, went and fat myfelf down befide 
 
 his mother ; flie feemed pleafed, yet (lie chid 
 the little pollifon, as flie called him, for his 
 rudenefs, while I hugged and luffed him, 
 declaring I felt myielf highly indebted to 
 the politencisof the young gentleman for 
 introducing me to a family fo amiable ; 
 the mother thanked me for my partial 
 compliment. The turn of her converfa- 
 tion was fb delicate, her choice of words 
 fo happy, that I conjedured flie muft 
 
 have 
 
WANDERER. 273 
 
 have been educated far above her prefent 
 fphere ; her hiifband, by birth a Swifs, 
 had the air of limpncity and honefty, (b 
 frequently feen in the faces of thofe vir- 
 tuous people ; he urged me to take a 
 coup of wine and a flice of ham, which I 
 declining, Mademci clleNannettepreirmg 
 her undulating bofom with the mofl: de- 
 licate hand I ever beheld, faid, au moins, 
 MonfteuVy voudra bien nous fairs Vhonneiir 
 de prendre line tajfe de caffe\ we attached 
 ourfelves entirely to this party, infiflino- 
 upon their dining with us upon the beft 
 fare our travelling hotel would furnifli. 
 
 Mademoifelle Artaux was not tall, 
 which is an idea we generally have in 
 our minds, as a part of the delicious tout 
 enfenihUy which goes to the compofition 
 of a fine woman ; but I think I never 
 faw fo pretty a woman in any country. 
 True beauty, like genuine wit, is to 
 be felt, not defcribed ; yet will I en- 
 
 S dcavour 
 
274 The AMERICAN 
 
 deavour to give a faint copy of this per- 
 fect original. When I pourtray femi- 
 nine beauty, I generally begin with the 
 hair, becaufe I think a fine head of hair 
 a beauty, in a woman, the deprivation 
 of which is not to be palliated by any, 
 or every other charm ; but in this I re- 
 gard quantity more than colour — there 
 cannot, I humbly think, be too great a 
 profufion upon a female head — this be- 
 witching redundancy always makes my 
 fancy glow with a cafual aflbciation of 
 ideas, wonderfully pleafing to a man, 
 whofe predominant paflion is woman! 
 This lady's hair was in colour a clear filky 
 flaxen — its growth encroached upon 
 her forehead, and terminated there in a 
 point — it was braided up after the Gre- 
 cian fafhion — Her forehead low, her 
 languifhing eyes a glofly blue- — long eye- 
 lafhes, and, as well as the eye-brows, 
 feveral fliades darker than the hair of her 
 head-^Under her left eye there was a 
 
 little 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 '^IS 
 
 little purple fpot, which I (liould have 
 taken for a blood drop from the point 
 of the arrow of love, had not her mama 
 told us it was the natural mark of a 
 grape-ftone — her every limb, her every 
 feature feemcd the more perfedl the 
 longer you gazed upon them — If, how- 
 ever, there could be faid to be a grada- 
 tion in her charms, the preference mud 
 be given to her hand and arm, leg and 
 foot — the mere glimpfe of her ancle 
 would have made a Stoic forget his apa- 
 thy — his palpitating bofom would tell 
 him he was made to feel pleafure, if not 
 pain — Her neck long and exquilitely 
 white, terminated by falling flioulders — 
 X waift: rounded by the hands of the 
 Graces — her complexion 
 
 Fairer to be feen. 
 Than the fair lily on the flow'ry green ! 
 More frefh than May herfelf in blofToms new— 
 
 S 2 Tiiis 
 
276 The AMERICAN 
 
 This fweet girl had been with her parents 
 to Paris, upon feme affair relative to 
 their commerce in wine; — for Mademoi- 
 felle Artaux, with all the glowing graces 
 of a wood nymph, all the eafy politenefs of 
 a court meteor, was the daughter of a lim- 
 ple Vigneron ! I underftood afterwards, 
 that her father had been fteward to the 
 Marechal D , and, marrying the fa- 
 vorite maid of Madame la Marechale, 
 two fons and this daughter were the fruit 
 of their loves. Little Nannetteinfinuating 
 herfelf into the good graces of the only 
 daughter of the Marechal, was con- 
 tinually at her fide participating the 
 lefTons in the various polite accomplifli- 
 ments taught her noble patronefs. — Her 
 prefent elegant manners fliewed how 
 well (he had profited by her opportuni- 
 ties — though not fixteen, flie fung with 
 tafte, danced with cafe and elegance — 
 and her mother, in the effufions of pa- 
 ternal fondnefs, told us, that Nannette 
 
 fetit 
 
WANDERER. 277 
 
 pent pincer rharpe tres jolimcnt : an in- 
 flrument happily calculated to difplay 
 the beauty of a fine arm, After dinner, 
 to which two remaining bottles in the 
 wicker bafl^et gave a zeft — Seymour, with 
 a milliner of Dijon, a petite brunette tres 
 appetijf ante, the lady ofFontainbleau, and 
 an old Croix de St. Louis, INIademoifelle 
 Nannette, and myfelf danced cottillionsoni 
 the deck, Mademoifelle having previoufly 
 enchanted us by her naive manner of 
 finging fome of the airs of the Deferter, 
 particularly, 
 
 Pent-on affliger ce qu'on aime ! 
 
 We continued our dancing by moon- 
 light, until twelve o'clock, wlien we fc- 
 parated to pay tribute to the flumbering 
 god — There were five beds for one hun- 
 dred people ; this being no age of mira- 
 cles, they could not fuffice — three of 
 them were poflefTed by the two families I 
 
 S 2 have 
 
278 The A ME RIC AN 
 
 have already mentioned. — Seymour and 
 I kept guard at the door of the chamber, 
 graced by Nannette and the little milli- 
 ner of Dijon, who flcpt together — We 
 were fain to elude the attacks of Mor- 
 pheus, by diverting our ennui with a ru- 
 bicund Cordelier, who fang us chanfons a 
 hoirct while nymphs, fwains, priefts, and 
 old women, on the deck, (lumbering 
 around us, breathed a chorus, to his 
 fongs — At length, wrapping my Spanifli 
 cloak about me, I too laid me down, ha- 
 ving for my pillow the plump jowl of the 
 rofy gilled Cordelier ; but the fpiritual 
 rogue fnored fo abominably, thatflecp was 
 denied me ; I therefore amufed myfelf 
 by counting the trees by which our boat 
 glided, whofe branches reflected the pale 
 rays of the filver moon upon the watry 
 bofom of the Seine — I gazed upon the 
 Pleiades, the Milky way ; I pondered 
 upon the fixed (lars, upon comets ; I 
 was calculating the tranllt of Venus, and 
 
 lament- 
 
WANDERER. 279 
 
 lamenting the abfence of Julia ! At this 
 critical moment, Aurora difplayed her 
 gre de lind robe dc chamhre upon the dewy 
 orient — I darted up, planet ftruck, be- 
 lieving it was you, but alas ! I called you, 
 and you would not anfwer — I looked 
 for you, but my blue-eyed naicd of the 
 Thames would not be found ! 
 
 A D I E u. 
 
 S 4 L E 7^ 
 
28o The AMERICAN 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 Fontainhhau, /Juxerre^ Dijon. 
 
 "1X7 E continued in the coache d*eau un- 
 til the fucceeding evening, when, 
 dreading to pafs another night without 
 fleep, and wifliing to fee Fontainbleau, 
 "whofe noble foreft vye now defcried at a 
 diflance on our left ; we fubmitted our 
 baggage to the charge of Frank, and, 
 promifing to rejoin our acquaintance at 
 Auxerre, we again became peripatetic 
 travellers. 
 
 The fun was near fetting wlien we ar- 
 rived at this romantic forefl: : his declin- 
 ing rays gleaming through the branches 
 of the lofty oaks, and blazing upon the 
 gigantic craggy rocks, which I'ecm to 
 have been planted here coeval with the 
 
 crea- 
 
WANDERER. 281 
 
 creation, rendered the fcene worthy the 
 pencil of Salvator Rofa ! A beautiful 
 horror pervaded the whole wood ! the 
 coup d*(ril was gloomy, awful, and fub- 
 lime ! yet, as we penetrated the bofom 
 of the wood, the pheafants and partridges 
 flitting; the chevreul and fawns gambol- 
 ing around us, foftened and enlivened 
 
 the awful majefty of the profpetfl:. The 
 
 grand flicets of water around Fontaiii- 
 bleau, from the beauty of which the cha- 
 teau takes its name ; the numerous crag- 
 gy rocks growing among the oaks, give a 
 mofl interefting wildnefs to this land- 
 fcape, rendering Fontainbleau, to mv 
 tafle, much more pleafing than either 
 Compeigne, Verfailles, or Marli. 
 
 By the bye, I know not a more eligi* 
 ble retirement to acquire the French 
 tongue : it being a court, the language 
 is fpoken in all its purity ; and when the 
 court is abfent, which is ten months in 
 
 the 
 
tti The AMERICAN 
 
 the year, I am told a ftranger may live 
 reafonablv at Fontainblean. 
 
 We viewed the different apartments of 
 the chateau. The gallery of cerfj, about 
 I GO paces in length, is the mod ftrik- 
 ing. The quantity as well as fize of the 
 bucks horns, trophies of the royal hunt- 
 ting at Fontainblean, is ftupendous* 
 There are few paintings here worth com- 
 menting on. I am told Lewis the Four^ 
 teenth took the mod valuable of ihem to 
 adorn his favourite refidence Verfailles. 
 There are few ftatues of value in the ex- 
 tenfive and romantic gardens adjoining 
 this palace : that which pleafed me mod: 
 was two infants phuing with a ferpcnt : 
 the expredive innocence in their coun- 
 teiTances finely contrails the guile of their 
 iniidlous piay-mate. r ontainbleau is an 
 antique — built, fome fay, by St. Louis, 
 others by Francis die Firft. It was em- 
 belliihed by Kenry the Fourth. The pre- 
 
 fent 
 
WANDERER. 2^83 
 
 feiit King feldom vifits this place. The 
 Prince d'Artois refides here a great part 
 of the hunting feafon, to which diver- 
 flon the forefl: feems well adapted. Le 
 Jar din d^Etan^ is furrounded by a num- 
 ber of canals, full of the largefl carp I ever 
 faw. The garden of pines, the grottoes, 
 cafcades, and grand canal are on the 
 fame magificent fcale with the foreft. 
 Next morning, with the rifing fun, we 
 left Fontainbleau, and, without encoun- 
 tering any thing remarkable, arrived at 
 Sens. 
 
 Sens, the capital of Senonois, is fitu- 
 ated upon the river Yonne, over which 
 we pafs to the town upon a long flone 
 bridge. Tho' I have hardly faith enough 
 to believe, with the inhabitants, that this 
 place was built by Samotes, one of the 
 four fons of Japhet ; yet its narrow and 
 winding ftreets are ftrong marks of its 
 great antiquity. It is among the largeft 
 
 and 
 
284 The AMERICAN 
 
 and moft agreeable towns of France. Tlic 
 numberlefs rivulets meandering acrofs 
 the ftreet muft be very refrediing in the 
 fummer feafon, and commodious for va* 
 rious domeftic ufes. They arife from 
 the river Vanne, which, dividing in vari- 
 ous canals, renders the environs of the 
 town one continued garden. 
 
 The metropolitan church of Sens, de» 
 dicated to St. Etienne, is very large, and 
 richly adorned with facred paintings. The 
 dome is highly celebrated ; it is beauti- 
 ful, but much lefs fo than that of Amiens. 
 The glafTes of this church are of a moft 
 lingular beauty — They were painted by 
 one Jean Coufin, a native of Sens. 
 Among many lovely chapels there is one 
 tranfcendently fo — Its cloifter reprefents 
 a fphere, with all its conftellations — The 
 fub-bafe of the grand altar, only exhi- 
 bited on fetes J is a bas-relief upon a table 
 of gold covered with jewels ; which re-- 
 
 prcfents 
 
WANDERER. 285 
 
 prefents St. Edennc on liis knees in the 
 middle of the four Evangelids— ^-Loitering 
 a good while in this church, we could 
 not leave Sens until twelve o'clock of the 
 day after our arrival. We frequently 
 faw the coache d'eau gliding in the mean- 
 dring river Yonne, which hung along 
 our road upon the right ; and once we 
 faw, or thought we faw, la petite Nan- 
 nette wave tons her fnowy hand. Certain 
 that we (liould arrive at Auxerre as foon 
 as our baggage, we contented ourfclves 
 with making ^e\c\\ leagues, arriving 
 about an hour by ^w\\ at the agreeable 
 little town of Joigny, which hanging 
 upon the declivity of a hill, and looking 
 upon the rivers Amancon and Yonne, 
 which join at the bottom of the town, 
 and, thus united, fweetly flow and 
 meander through a large fertile meadow, 
 renders Joigny a delicious retreat. — As 
 we entered the hotel, a young petit- 
 maitre accoflcd us with true Gallic eafe, 
 
 crying, 
 
zZ6 The AMERICAN 
 
 crying, regardez, Mejpeurs, voila Je beau 
 mondc de Joign-jy qui va fe dijflper; allons 
 nous meler-pile mile avec eux'-^He took us 
 each by an arm, but being a little dufted, 
 we cxcufed ourfelves, begging his com- 
 pany at fuppcr ; he was au defefpoir, he 
 could not have the honour of introducing 
 us to the ladies, bowed and ran after 
 them — in efFecH:, looking out of the win- 
 dow, we faw a large groupe of belles 
 and beaux, elegantly drefled, walking 
 on the banks of the ftrcam which flowed 
 through the beautiful meadow, at the 
 foot of the town — the defpairing petit- 
 maitre was already romping with one of 
 the girls — On his return he told us, in 
 confidence, that he pitied this fweet maid 
 with his whole foul, car effeBinsement elU 
 eji fort ^ plaindre, — ^ ?non arrive ici jc 
 m*avifois, pour pajfcr le teynpSy de foupircr 
 (lupres d^elle — le pauvre enfanty elle a 
 p>ris ce ftmple badinage aux ferieux / tant 
 pis pour ellc — car je do is epoufer, incejfa- 
 inentyune fille d'un rang difiingue que Ihais 
 
 de 
 
WANDERER. 287 
 
 de tout mon cceur, mats unefemme eft faltt 
 -pour ccla, — For the firft time, my fpleen 
 
 rofe agalnft a Frenchman for, of all 
 
 characters, I thuik a male coquette, 
 or a female jilt the mod abominable ; 
 the latter efpecially is a monfter in pet- 
 ticoats — to be furc, in an age where fen- 
 llbility is an objedl of ridicule, when to 
 be frivolous, is to be fafliionable, my 
 ideas on this occaflon may appear outje; 
 but if the crime mofl fatal to the peace 
 of a generous foul, if the crime mofl 
 fubverfive of the happinefs of its devoted 
 object, may be fairly deemed the mod 
 enormous, furely I am right. A writer 
 of your country, whofe views into the 
 human heart were profound, thus in- 
 dignantly and pathetically pourtrays the 
 effects of this enormity, — " AfTure your- 
 felf, my Lord, he who has never felt the 
 anguiQi of being betrayed by the perfon 
 he paffionately loves, has but a, faint idea 
 of the forrows incident to human life. 
 The fliipwreck gf a brilliant fortune, at 
 
 leaft. 
 
288 The AMERICAN 
 
 leaft, leaves us the advantage of dilC- 
 playing our magnanimity of foul, either 
 by evincing our moderation in fupport- 
 ing the reverfe^ or exhibiting that noble 
 firmnefs which elevates the man above 
 the misfortune — The excellive vanity with 
 which every human heart is replete, is 
 often a confolation in its moft poignant 
 chagrins ; happy he who can feed in fe- 
 cret upon the delicious banquet of felf- 
 admiration ! but what refource remains 
 to the devoted wretch, who having rafli- 
 ly concentered all his joy and felicity in 
 o.ie flngle object, fees himfelf in a mo- 
 ment bereft of it, accufes, as the caufe of 
 his tears of blood, the very hand he 
 would have chofen to wipe them away» 
 if any other grief could have caufed them 
 to flow ? To be wretched and wretched^ 
 becaufe one. loves, is an intolerable fpecies 
 of mifery, which it is impoflible even to 
 comprehend, without having made the 
 
 melancholy trial !" 
 
 Auxerre 
 
I 
 
 WANDERER. 289 
 
 Auxerre, where we arrived next day- 
 Co dinner, is a frontier town of Bur- 
 gundy, lying partly on a hill, and part- 
 ly on a valley, watered by the river ^ 
 Yonne which divides it from the province 
 of Nivernois — This river is a very com- 
 modious medium of commerce between 
 Auxerre and Paris, and is iikewife re- 
 forted to as a pafTage to and from the 
 mod confiderable towns of France. 
 
 The church of St. Germains in this 
 town is worthy of being explored, on 
 account of the many tombs and bones of 
 of faints it contains, in high preferva- 
 tlon. 
 
 We had the plcafure of arriving In 
 lime to hand Mademoifelle Nannette 
 out of the coache d'eau — her countenance 
 lighted up with innocence and joy at 
 our approach — with a happy mixture of 
 gaiety and naivete flie gave each of us an 
 T arm. 
 
290 T H E A xM E R I C A N 
 
 arm, fciying, jnes amis jc me fie a vous — 
 file was now drefled from head to foot 
 ci la Grecque — we flew with this fah* Cy- 
 prian embafladrcis to the hotel — The old 
 Chevalier de St. Louis, an amiable young 
 foldier, his nephew, the rubicund friar, 
 the family of Artaux, Seymour, and I 
 fpent the evening together—Mademoifclle 
 fang, played upon the guittar, and danced 
 an allefnande with the nephew of the Che- 
 valier, while the uncle entertained us with 
 an account of the feats, which he did 
 not, the day he ran from Rosbach, The 
 Francifcan recounted the hiftory of his 
 transformation from a drummer to a 
 mountebank, and then to a monk of the 
 order of St. Francis — In the capacity of 
 phyfician he had, he feared, put many a 
 chriflian to death, but now he would 
 
 fliew them the way of eternal life We 
 
 all fecmed happy with each other, and 
 regretted that the approaching morning 
 
 would 
 
WANDERER. 291 
 
 would difperfe iis — Madame A told 
 
 ns that (lie lived in Franche Compte on 
 the borders of Switzerland ; that it would 
 be in our way to the Cantons, and that 
 file and Nannctic would be infinitely 
 happy to entertain us at their hermitage. 
 — We afTured her that a vifit to a family 
 for which we had fo juffc a predilecflion 
 could never be out of the way of men 
 of fentiment — She then retired, followed 
 by the fair Greek, who left us all in ad- 
 miration of the delicacy of her perfon, 
 the fweetnefs of her manners, and the 
 graces of her wit. 
 
 There being no dated conveyance from 
 Auxerre to Dijon, we hired a coach, ra- 
 ther for the accommodation of our baggage 
 than ourfelves, for we were now become 
 fond of walking, and Co corroborated by 
 it, that we could walk thirty and forty miles 
 a day, with lefs fatigue, than we could 
 make ten when we firfl began our march. 
 
 T 2 Wc 
 
192 The AMERICAN 
 
 We had a fourth feat to dlfpofc of, 
 with which we complimented the Cheva- 
 lier de St. Louis, who was going to Di- 
 jon to fee his relations — He was a good- 
 natured, garrulous, companionable old 
 fellow ; was lame, and living intirely 
 upon the fmall penfion incident to his 
 ribband, fuch a favour was not unaccept- 
 able. In the morning Seymour and I 
 generally walked before or behind our 
 coach — we had fo much the foot of it, 
 that we could explore the wild country 
 of Burgundy at our leifure, arriving iu 
 time to order dinner, and get acquaint- 
 ed with the landlady ^ndfille dc chambrc, 
 before the coach with the old foldier 
 came up. After our repaft, we got into 
 the coach, where the Chevalier fet us 
 to flumbering over his lieges and bat- 
 tles : for he was a modeft Frenchman, 
 and was not the little hero of his tale un- 
 til his vanity was awakened by the juice 
 
 of the grape. Journeying on, in this 
 
 man- 
 
WANDERER. 293 
 
 manner, we, the third afternoon, arriv- 
 ed in the capital of the Duche of Bur- 
 gundy, and were fet down at the Hotel 
 
 dc Conde. 
 
 We went next morning to the cofFee- 
 honfe, where we met with feveral of our 
 countrymen of rank and fafliion. Mr, 
 
 R , Ton of L. Langford, of Ireland, a 
 
 gentleman, whofe opulent fortune is his 
 leaft merit ; the two fons of Sir James 
 Campbell, with their governor, a fenfible 
 Scots gentleman ; a Mr. Jackfon, an 
 Irifli gentleman, of mofl: fweet/ amiable 
 manners ; a Mr. Alexander, of Edin- 
 burgh, who has refided fome time with 
 his two accompliflied daughters inDijon ||; 
 laflly, a Mr. Rubijo, a Weldi gentleman 
 — a mixed character, feldom to be found 
 in nature, a violent politician, and moft 
 
 II The youngeft daughter, an amiable girl, has beea 
 /ince married to the grandfon of Dr. Franklin, and Se- 
 cretary to the American Erabafly. 
 
 T 3 pom- 
 
294 The AMERICAN 
 
 pompous and elaborate antiquarian ; he 
 is exceedingly entertaining — inthecourle 
 of an hour's converfation at a coffee- 
 houre,he made an oration upon the Olym- 
 pic games of the Greeks, the gymnaiia, 
 pugiles, and baths of tl>e Romans — then 
 dived into the profound recefTes of Her- 
 culaneum, emerged, loaded with moft 
 choice antiques, and finiflied wiih pane- 
 gyrics upon the Congrefs ; upon tlie fa- 
 cred fire of Roman virtue, which well 
 nigh extinguiflied by the Goths, was re- 
 kindling with redoubled blaze, in the 
 hearts of the Americans ! 
 
 We have received fach polite invita- 
 tions from the Englifli to dine with tiicni 
 in rotation, that we (hall ftay longer 
 than we intended ; for finding Dijon an 
 extravagant French town, we foon agreed 
 it would not anfwcr our purpofe, as a 
 place of halt, for a few months, to im- 
 prove 
 
WANDERER. 295 
 
 prove or.r knowledge of the French 
 Jangiinge, to which this town is well 
 adapted — The French is fpoken here with 
 
 the utnioll purity a vicious phrale is 
 
 leldom to be found in the mouth of a 
 peafant around Dijon. 
 
 Tlie Hotel de Conde, where we now 
 are, is as dear as any Hotel in London; 
 an anecdote relative to the unbounded 
 avarice of our hod, was mentioned to 
 us by our friend the antiquarian. Lord 
 A. P. with his lady, arrived there from 
 the fouth — upon her arrival. Lady P. 
 was brought to bed — his Lordfliip order- 
 ed the landlord not to let a waggon or 
 a coach enter the yard until his lady 
 was recovered — to make his bill, flatinir 
 what he (liould lofe by the above arrange* 
 
 ment He had the modefty to charge 
 
 fifty pounds a 'day — had it been a ihou- 
 
 T 4 fand. 
 
296 The AMERICAN 
 
 fand, in fuch a fituatlon, Lord P. muft 
 have acquiefced. — In ten days her lady-^ 
 (liip got well enough to continue her 
 route to Paris. Exchifive of all other ex- 
 pences, Lord P. paid five hundred 
 pounds for the tranquiUity of the hotel. 
 
 Farewell. 
 
 LETTER 
 
WANDERER, 297 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Dijon. 
 
 THIS is an elegant and commodious 
 town ; the flreets are wide ; the 
 houfes built low, and more in the Englifli 
 manner than I have yet feen in France ; 
 the ramparts exhibit a very beautiful 
 pifturefque country; feveral pleafant lit- 
 tle villages, fituated on high hills, whole 
 declivities are cloathed with vines, are 
 happy objects, terminating the different 
 views; they have adjoining the ramparts, 
 a retreat called Vaux-Hall ; the only par- 
 ticular in which there is a fimllitude be- 
 tween this and tlie celebrated Vaux-Hall 
 of your country ; it is to be fure a faint 
 imitation, but if, as I am told it does, 
 it tends to concenter fociety in the funi- 
 mer months, the principal end of a plea- 
 
 furc 
 
zgS The AxMERICA^N 
 
 fure garden is anfvverec] : indeed the en- 
 virons of Dijon are one continued plea- 
 fure garden. Tlie town lies at a little 
 diftance from Talan and Fontaines, be- 
 tween two hills, at the entrance of a vafl; 
 plain which extends about eight leagues 
 to the fouth ; to the wefl: it looks upon a 
 long chain of mountainous country, robed 
 with vineyards, flowing with the mod 
 delicious wine in the world. 
 
 There are feven parifli churches in 
 Dijon, none of them very remarkable 
 for the beauty of the workmanfliip, or of 
 their paintings ; I muft; except the fagadc 
 of Notre Dame, which is highly, and I 
 think julUy admired. The public build- 
 ings are magnificent, and arranged v'itii 
 propriety; the parliament was cftabliflied 
 by Lewis XL in the place of the Dukes of 
 Burgundy in 1480. Great form and 
 dignity are obferved in French parlia- 
 mentary proceedings. We were prefent 
 
 at 
 
WANDERER, 299 
 
 at a pleading ; it was npoii a cafe flngu- 
 lar enough ; an attempt was made to di- 
 veft an advocate of his gown ; the pre- 
 text immoral condud: ; a tender connec- 
 tion with a lady, whole reputation was 
 rather problematical, and whofe humble 
 rank in life countenanced not her didi- 
 pated manners, was adduced in proof of 
 the allegation ; the poor devil of an ad- 
 vocate was upon his legs at lead four 
 hours, and laboured hard to exonerate 
 himfclf from the charge; infifting much 
 upon the innocenty fentlmental nature of 
 the arrangement ; however, as the lady's 
 apron was oblerved by the fage and pe- 
 netrating judges to be too fhort for a 
 profcdbr of the Platonic fyflem, the 
 advocate loft his gown : in France it is 
 expected that lawyers prefcrve, at leafl 
 the outward femblance of honefty. 
 
 There are three fuperb hofpitals of 
 Dijon ; one in the city, called St, Anne, 
 for the accommodation of orphans ; a 
 
 fine 
 
jo6 The AMERICAN 
 
 fine, well-adapted building ; the fecond, 
 in the fuburb d'Ouche, is rHopital de 
 St.Efprit, founded and built by Eudes 
 the third Duke of Burgundy, in 1204. 
 It is of the order of St. Efprit de Mont- 
 pellier, ferved by les pritres hofpitaliers, 
 for pilgrims and travellers; the third, in 
 the lame fuburb, is a fuperb building, at 
 the ex pence of the principal magiftrates 
 and inhabitants of the town — it is called 
 PHopital General de la charite — it is ap- 
 propriated to the ufe of poor helplefs fick, 
 and is fervid by nuns, who had, for 
 their inftitutor, a certain Benigne Jolto, 
 Docl:or of Sorbonne, who, dying a faint, 
 perfumed with holinefs, was buried in 
 this hofpital. 
 
 One of the principal curlofities of Di- 
 jon is the Chartreufe, fituated about a 
 mile without the town — it is richly en- 
 dowed, and makes a good ufe of part of 
 its revenues — it gives a very confider- 
 
 able 
 
WANDERER. 301 
 
 able fum annually to the PHopital de St. 
 Efprity and to the poor, fix hundred 
 large loaves of bread a week. There arc 
 from ten to a dozen monks in this houfe, 
 who are fuch ftrid; obfervers of filence, 
 that you would think yourfelf in a defart 
 — This chartreufe was built and endowed 
 by the laft Dukes of Burgundy ; its cir- 
 cumference is prodigious ; the cloifters 
 and the church itfelf beautiful ; in the 
 middle of the choir you may fee two fu- 
 perb tombs of black marble ; upon one 
 of which is mofl: naturally reprefented 
 Duke Philip the Bold, upon the other 
 the figure of his fon, Duke John, fans 
 peur, with that of his wife, Margaret of 
 Bavaria ; you are fhewn the body and 
 the head of this lafl Duke, who was killed 
 upon the bridge of Montreal! Faut* 
 Yonne ; around thefe noble tombs you 
 fee a number of little figures, in white 
 marble, about a foot and a half high, 
 reprefenting the convoy of this prince—- 
 
 their 
 
302 The AMERICAN 
 
 their different attitudes, and the expreG- 
 flons of their countenances are very in- 
 terefting. 
 
 Among the paintings, our Saviour 
 taken down from the crofs, has great 
 merit — 'I think I never faw any thing 
 more naturally reprefented than the 
 blood flowing from his feet that had been 
 nailed to the crofs : it was fo horribly 
 fine, it made me fliudder ! 
 
 I mud: not omit to mention a curiofity 
 (hewn in one of the principal churches 
 of this town, la Sainte Chapellct founded 
 by Hugh the Third, and Sixth Duke of 
 Burgundy, of the firfl; race, at his return 
 from the Holy Land. In the cloifter of 
 the canons which joins this church, you 
 fee a miraculous hofl, marked with drops 
 of blood which flie flied when flie was 
 pierced with feveral llrokes of a pen- 
 knife, by the facrilegious hand of a cer- 
 tain 
 
I 
 
 W A N D E R E Rr 303 
 
 tain Jew ! It was fent in the year 1430, 
 by Pope Eugene the Fourth, to Philip 
 the Good Duke of Burgundy, who made 
 a prefent of it to this church, where it 
 is preferved in a golden coffer, garnifhed 
 with precious Hones, a gift of the Duke 
 of Epcrnon. It is expofed in an annual 
 fete, placed in a golden fun of maflive 
 weight, adorned with jewels. In this 
 church you fee the efcutcheons painted of 
 the Knights of the Golden Fleece, infti- 
 tuted by Philip the Good, at BrufTels. 
 
 The lad and moft celebrated curiofity 
 of Dijon is an edifice behind the church 
 of the order of St. Benigne. It is a ro- 
 tunda, and has (Irong marks of extreme 
 antiquity ; it is compofed of three vaults, 
 one above another, fuflained by one 
 hundred and four pillars, each of one 
 intire piece j it receives no light, but 
 from an opening at the top of the build- 
 ing ; it is fuppofed to have been a temple 
 
 of 
 
304 The AMERICAN 
 
 of the Pagan gods, now confecrated to 
 the god of Chriftians, by means of feve- 
 ral chapels worked in it, as well as by the 
 devotion of the faithful, who there re- 
 vere the tombs of primitive chriflians, 
 i)r unknown martyrs, to whom this 
 building has ferved as a place of afylum^ 
 or burying place. 
 
 As wc were with our guide defcend- 
 ing to this gloomy edifice, we defcried a 
 glimmering taper moving about the pa- 
 gan temple by a hand that appeared, in 
 the darknefs vifible, to be that of a giant ! 
 We called a halt in front, — the dead fi- 
 lencc reigning around the awful vault ! 
 the idea of the impious pagan rites that 
 had been celebrated there ; their abomi- 
 nable facrifice of the primitive chriftians^ 
 rufhing upon our difordered fancy, made 
 us conceive this figure to be fome un- 
 happy foul reconnoitring his dreary 
 abode ! Our guide appalled, fell head- 
 long 
 
WANDERER. J05 
 
 A 
 
 Jong down the fleps, upon this gigantic 
 pliantom 1 the guide fcreamed mofl: woe- 
 fully, while the phantom cuffed and 
 
 curfed the guide. The bad French iti 
 
 which he cloathed his execrations, led 
 me to dilcover hira ; furely, I cried, this 
 muft be the flower of modern antiqua- 
 rians, the profound Rubijo ! none but a 
 genius like him would quit Dijon, its 
 ladies and its agrimeiUy to bury himfelf 
 with heathen gods and chriftian martyrs! 
 He claljied me in his arms, my dear ! — . 
 none but a man of your tafte would have 
 traced me in my philofophic haunts ! 
 
 He politely offered to be our guide ; 
 fliewed us a large aperture on one jfide 
 of the wall ; he was convinced this was 
 the door at which the beaft was intro- 
 duced at the ancient facrifice ; he ad- 
 duced fo many arguments in favour of 
 the conjecture, that we were fain to be 
 convinced likewife ; he traced the build- 
 
 U ing 
 
3o6 The AMERICAN 
 
 ing beyond the time of ChrifV. Having 
 filled his pocket handkerchief with an^ 
 tique duft, purloined from the fides of 
 the door of facrifice, he led us to certain 
 figures of wild beads (tygers) very plain- 
 ly wrought in Moialc, on the pavement ; 
 this was, with femblance of truth, fup- 
 pofed to be a remain of Roman fupcrfti- 
 tion ; it gave Rubijo occafion to expa- 
 tiate diffulively upon the cats, dogs,mon- 
 kies, and other gods and goddcilcs of 
 the Egyptians, Aflyrians, Grecians, and 
 Romans. This brougb.t ustotwo o'clock; 
 we afcended to dinner. We liave been 
 folicited by our countrymen here to re- 
 fide in this town ; they have in their 
 turns entertained us in a fumptuous and 
 elegant ftyle : indeed the very agreeable 
 manners of the Engiilli refiding at Dijon 
 is a principal reafon for quieting them ; 
 we perceive their fociety will feduce lis 
 from our firfl: obje^ft, the attainment of 
 the French language. As a place of 
 
 abode. 
 
WANDERER. 307 
 
 abode, Dijon is very eligible ; it is the 
 capital ot" a moft Tweet country ; con- 
 taining, within itfelf, every thing re- 
 cpilite to the kixuries, as well as neceP- 
 laries of life. Ceres and Bacchus walk 
 hand in hand, difpenfing to their favo- 
 rite Burguignons, their peculiar blefP 
 ings. 
 
 Dijon is alfo the feat of a parliament. 
 Once in three years the ftates are here 
 afTembled by their governor, the Prince 
 of Conde, when the town blazes with 
 royal fplendon 
 
 They have a good theatre ; the firfl: 
 a^lors of Paris frequently refort to Di- 
 jon, at the meeting of parliament, or 
 the alTembly of the flates. Some of the 
 principal nobility, and a great number y 
 of the learned, particularly the learned 
 of the long robe, refide here. Dijon 
 has at prefent a concert, gentlemen per- 
 U 2 for- 
 
3o8 The AMERICAN 
 
 formers. AH amateurs of the city, and 
 travellers of fafliion, arc here received 
 with politenefs. 
 
 Lectures on botany, natural and ex- 
 perimental philofophy are given gratis 
 by profefTors appointed for that purpofe ; 
 ftrangers of decent appearance may 
 readily procure an introduction, and 
 here they meet with the citizens of rank 
 and faQiion of boih fexes. Women ai'e 
 diought by thefe polite people, by no 
 means out of their Ipheres in a philo- 
 fophic circle. I coincide with French 
 ideas upon this oecafion ; I have ever 
 thought tlie fair fex podcfTed a happy 
 difpofition to the (ludy of natural philo- 
 fophy, nor do I tafte the experimental 
 part of the fcicnce, unlefs the fair are 
 the obje<Sts of my experiments. 
 
 To-morrow we (hall ride out of town, 
 about twelve miles, to fee the monks 
 
 and 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 }0^ 
 
 and the celebrated Abbey of Citeaux-^ 
 after which we fliall, though with regret, 
 bid adieu to this town and its numerous 
 agremens ; from elfenced petits-maitres, 
 we fliall again become peripatetic philo- 
 fophers, and fliape our courfe to Be- 
 fan^on. 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 Us LET- 
 
310 The A xM E R I C A N 
 
 sL E T T E 11 XXV. 
 
 Monks of Citeaux in Burgfindy, 
 Story of the Noble Austrian. 
 
 ''^^E were fiirniflicd with a letter of in- 
 troduclioii to the prior of tlie con- 
 vent, from Monf. TAbbe Butler, a native 
 of Ireland, defervedly refpetled here, 
 who takes all occafions of evincing his 
 benevolence to his countrymen. Sey- 
 mour and I, attended by our fervant, 
 went on horfeback, and arrived at Ci- 
 teanx a few moments before dinner was 
 ferved. It was a Lent-funday — We were 
 not expecfted, yet I have feldom feen a 
 repafl: at once ib fuperb and elegant — 
 There was no meat, yet we had, in the 
 different courfes, at lead fifty diflies, ex- 
 clufive of the defert, which confided of 
 fmeetmeats, a variety of fruits, and half a 
 " dozen 
 
Wanderer. 311 
 
 tlbzen diflerent kiiuls of exquifite cheefe. 
 The dinner confined of white foups, a 
 fpecies of aquatic wild fowl, vegetables 
 ^nd eggs drcded in various manners, all 
 delicious. The Abbe of Citeaux is a 
 younger brother of one of the firft fami- 
 lies in France. Tlie man of birth, of edu- 
 cation and breeding is confpicuous in his 
 every aclion ; he is too a very handfomc 
 man, polite, ealy, genteel, and, although 
 above fifty, yet fuch is the elegant otium 
 €uin dignitatc he enjoys, as monarch of 
 Citeaux, tliat he appeared to me not more 
 than thirty. He invited, with the prior, 
 half a dozen of his fiibjefts to dine at his 
 table with his Englilh gliefls — in all we 
 made the number of the ]\Iufes, with 
 Apollo at our head. — If brilliant wit flows 
 from fparkling wine ours was of the 
 purefl: water. The fjmpofi7im Dei, as 
 dcfcribed by the antient poets, was ra- 
 ther a boifterous club — the fimpofium Dei 
 U 4 at 
 
312 The AMERICAN 
 
 at Citeaux was '* the fcaft of reafoii and 
 the flow of foul!" 
 
 This monaftery was founded hy a Duke 
 of Burgundy. The Abbe walks next to 
 the Prince of Conde in proceffions, and 
 is deemed the fecond man, with refpe(ft 
 to rank, in the duche. His revenues, 
 about 5000 1. a year, an enormous fum 
 ia this country, arife principally from 
 the exquillte wines made upon the lands 
 contiguous to and belonging to the con- 
 vent — Befides white, he gave. us nine dif- 
 ferent kinds of red Burgundy, with each 
 of which Bacchus himfelf might have 
 deigned to purple his mouth I The noble 
 Abbe drank moderately, yet feeing the 
 captain of the guards and the wild 
 American fmack their lips after each 
 glafs, he had the happy talent of induc- 
 ing his guefls to imbibe cheerfully. His 
 cUfcourfe was fo powdered with Attic 
 fait that it excited third. His look was 
 
 fo 
 
WANDERER. 313 
 
 fo benign, Co friendly, he would beg us 
 ib carneftJy to tafte yet another and an- 
 other glafs ; he was fo delirous tiiat fuch 
 good judges fliould give him their opi- 
 nion of the comparative value of his 
 feveral kinds of wine : he had fuch an art 
 of exhibiting a better and ftill better 
 bottle, that we were fain to oblige our no- 
 ble hod — Potations fo exquifitc, uniting 
 with our fenfibility of a reception fo very 
 friendly and polite, heightened our fpi- 
 rits and Simulated our natural defire to 
 pleafe. We gave the Abbe and his bre- 
 thren a fketch of the ridiculous inci- 
 dents of our travels. We had the hap- 
 pinefs to lee that our attempt to divert; 
 the good monks was crowned with fuc- 
 cefs — Their holy countenances were 
 lighted up, and their fat fides fliook with 
 laughter — They became full of enjouc- 
 mcnty replete with repartee — Indeed the 
 benign air of the Abbe, the peculiar garb 
 
 of 
 
314. The AMERICAN 
 
 of him and his holy bretliren, the'u* 
 flaflies of wit and merriment, contraftinof 
 with the folemn awfnl lilence pervading 
 the whole fcene around usj operating up- 
 on imaginations fluftered by moll exqui- 
 fitc beverage, induced us to conceive 
 that we were far above the tcrreflial 
 hemifphere, and 
 
 " Purpurea hihimiis ore iieclar f* 
 
 Without incurring the imputation of va-* 
 nity we may fuppofe our fociety was 
 agreeable to thefe honeft Bernardincs — 
 Secluded by the rules of their inftitution 
 from the world, feeing little company 
 but thofe whom curiofity excites to vifit 
 them, I know no defcription of men 
 more eafily pleafed, more fufceptible of 
 the charms of fociety than monks in ge- 
 neral. — In the bufy fcenes of life, in the 
 public haunts of men, where almofl: every 
 
 fource of enjoyment is exhaufted, a 
 
 weari- 
 
f 
 
 WANDERER. 315 
 
 wearlnefs, a tedium hangs upon the mind, 
 which makes it delicate and faftidious to 
 cxcefs, and, in a manner, impervious 
 to agreeable fenlations — With the man of 
 the world novelty is exhaurted, with the 
 reclufe every thing is new — every little 
 incident therefore becomes an objecft Si- 
 mulating curiofity — Tailing, as we did, 
 the refined pleafure of pleafing, we were 
 ourfelves highly pleafed — We agreed that 
 we never had palled a more agreeable 
 day. 
 
 Of the monks invited to dine with us 
 there was one by birth an Auftrian — a 
 tall, manly, commandingfigure! Courage 
 and dignity beamed in his countenance — 
 He had more the air of a general than of 
 a monk ! We fince learned that he was 
 a man of birth ; that, in early life, he 
 had been a foldier-- had loved, but a dis- 
 appointment in the moll tender and irre- 
 iillible of all human paflions had induced 
 
 him 
 
3i6 The AMERICAN 
 
 him to dedicate the remains of his un* 
 happy life to the fcrvice of God-^ln this 
 holy afyium he endeavours, by medita* 
 tion, and by acfls of beneficence, love, 
 and charity, to obliterate or foodie the 
 remembrance of his melancholy lot ! I 
 don't know how it was, but a certain 
 pre-fentiment that his might one day be 
 my defliny, immediately gave me a pre- 
 dilection for the nobly unfortunate Au- 
 ftrian ! He is now old and infirm, and 
 looks as if the grave, the only fure re- 
 fuge for forrows like his, will foon clofe 
 upon him ! He had the gout, the Abbe 
 told us — I loved the good Abbe for the 
 refpeCl and attention he paid the old 
 man— Cheer up, my father, faid the Ab- 
 be, the fit is going off; you will foon be 
 out of pain ; drink cheerfully of this 
 old wine — good wine is a panacea for 
 the ills of all you Germans. — Here is to 
 the health of the Emprefs your amiable 
 
 Qiieen The Englifh gentlemen will 
 
 pledge 
 
WANDERER. 317 
 
 pledge yon. The Englifli gentry were 
 once knight-errants in the fervice of your 
 
 Imperial miftrefs. A flgh that heaved 
 
 the manly breaft of the noble Auftrian, 
 and a big tear that trembled upon his 
 woe-worn cheek, told ns that his fick- 
 nefs was in his heart, and tliat he would 
 never be out of pain until his pulie 
 fliould forget to move! — Yet he drank to 
 the health of liis royal miftrefs, and taught 
 his countenance to wear the (emblance of 
 joy, left f) mpathy for his fufterings might 
 (lied a gloom over the (bcial circle. 
 
 After coffee the Abbe very politely 
 prelled us to take a bed, and ftay a 
 few days at the convent, faying, he 
 would give us meat for fupper, which 
 we (liould have liad at dinner had he 
 known of the honour we intended him — 
 He afked us to look at his convene, me- 
 dal-room, library, &c, — Seeing our pre- 
 dilecHiion for the ill-fated Auftrian, he de- 
 fired him to accompany us. 
 
 The 
 
3i8 The AMERICAN 
 
 The church is beautiful and orna- 
 mented with a great number of pictures, 
 chiefly copies taken at Rome of the firfl: 
 pieces in that ci:.y, fo celebrated for the 
 merit of its paintings — Tiie library is 
 well chofen ; the medals ncidicr nu- 
 merous nor intrinficaliy valuable ; they 
 are mofl of them in brafs — A head of 
 Otho and one of the emperor Julius Caefar 
 ^re much admired — In the lad you trace 
 or fancy you trace all the fingular talents 
 of that eminent warrior and (latefman in 
 the lines of his countenance. — While the 
 Auftrian held the head of Casfar in his 
 hand he defcanted, with an amiable en- 
 thuflafm, upon the virtues of his royal 
 mafter the reigning Emperor, and, by 
 way of relief to the picture, was lavifli of 
 his fatire upon the PrufTlan Frederick — 
 He lamented, that by our joining this 
 fanguinary fcoundrel, as he called him, 
 the lad war, we had precipitated, hi en a 
 contre cosury his beloved miftrefs Therefa 
 
 into 
 
WANDERER. 319 
 
 into the arms of the French, in violation 
 of true policy and of the natural byas of 
 -the Auftrians to the Englifli people : for, 
 faid he, our habits and our manners are 
 in unifon — We love the Englifli, and our 
 love is heightened by our remembrance 
 of and gratitude for your generous and 
 powerful protedion of our young Qiieen, 
 when a combination of her enemies 
 made her totter on her throne. Our al- 
 liance with the infidious French is not 
 countenanced by our feelings ; it is auk- 
 ward : we are took frank, they are too 
 crafty. On the other hand, connedied 
 with the Englifli, it Is ever thus, faid the 
 honefl: Aufl:rian, eagerly fnatching my 
 hand to his mouth and kijfuig it. He 
 then btggcd we would examine if we 
 had any medals, i\\M is half pence, of the 
 Kings and Queens of I'.ngland. It is 
 the greatefl: prefent you could make me, 
 faid he — A true Auftrian infinitely prefers 
 fjL brafs head of an Englifli king to a 
 
 golden 
 
320 The AMERICAN 
 
 golden ftatue of a French monarch I The 
 captain of the guards was highly de- 
 lighted with this elegant and linccre eu- 
 logiam upon his country and his fove- 
 reign — By the afliltance of his man Frank 
 he had the happinefs to accommodate 
 our friend with a halffcore of the medals 
 to which he was fo partial — Never did 
 he receive fo many thanks for fo trivial 
 a gift— The old man's heart overflowed 
 at the fight of two individuals of a na- 
 tion he loved — He faid, fliould we, as 
 we had given room to hope, vific their 
 convent on our return from Switzerland, 
 he would tell us the fad ftory of his life — 
 The lady I adored was a native of your 
 happy country, faid he — She is now no 
 more — I have the additional anguifli to 
 know, that her attachment to me pre- 
 cipitated her fate ! E'er I go to my 
 
 dear Adelaide I will confide to you the 
 hiftory of our loves. — Her countrymen 
 and her lover fliall with tears of ^en- 
 
 timent 
 
WANDERER. 321 
 
 tinlent and of pity moiflen Tier nrn ! Here 
 the voice of onr noble friend fanltered — 
 He fighed, feemed confnfed at betraying 
 a tendernels unfuited to Iiis holy garb — 
 He bluflied, clapfed his folded hands to 
 his agonizing breafl, which laboured to 
 contain a broken heart I threw a lonoino:. 
 fixed look to the heavenly abode of his 
 niiflrefs! — fliudder^d! — with his fuccind: 
 robe, * candid type of an unfpotted foul, 
 he veiled his gnfliing eye-lids, and ab- 
 ruptly retired! 
 
 Thrice worthy ill-fated mortal ! fare 
 thee w^ell ! could I but fpeak peace to 
 thy wounded fpirit my worfl fin were 
 done away ! Mayft thou hereafter meet 
 thy beloved Adelaide in a purer world, 
 where no crofs accident fliall break in 
 funder the indifioluble bond of love ; no 
 cares cloud your joy I 
 
 * White, the drefs of the monks of Citteaux. 
 
 X To 
 
322 The AMERICA N 
 
 To recover our tone, we took a walk 
 around the offices of the convent. The 
 monks of Citteanx retahi only the rational 
 part of devotion : they clog not their 
 
 way to heaven with ufelefs reftraints 
 
 They have for relaxation a tennis-court, 
 and even a billiard-table — They are lords 
 of many villages and large tracts of land 
 in the environs- — They go a-fliooting, 
 and have a proper fporting apparatus for 
 the ufe of their vilitors. — They again in- 
 lifted upon our tarrying two or three 
 
 days in their retirement. Having an 
 
 indifpenfable engagement, we made polite 
 excufes to the Abbe, and, promiling to 
 vilit him on our return home, we rode 
 back to Dijon. 
 
 Adieu, 
 
 L E T- 
 
WANDERER. 323 
 
 LETTER XXVI* 
 
 Dole, Bt'fan^o?/, 
 
 WE an*ived here a week ago-^about 
 rnn-riie, two days after I lall wrote. 
 We left Dijon, which, from the fweetnefs 
 of the ah' and luxuriancy of its viands, 
 feme call the Capua of France— we too 
 found it a Capua alluring us into the fault 
 for which Hannibal is fo highly cenfured. 
 — We had enervated ourfelves by loiter- 
 ing too long, and tailing too freely the 
 luxuries prefented by our amiable coun- 
 trymen, temporary refidents of Dijon. 
 We had loft much of our enthufiafm. an<i 
 walking was not fo pleafant as in the af- 
 ternoon we had entered this eleg^ant 
 town ; however, we determined to (liake 
 off a languor fo unmanly, and to perfc- 
 Vere in our ambulating fcheme — we ftop- 
 
 X 2 ped 
 
SU The AMERICAN 
 
 ped to breakfafl: at the hamlet of Genlis, 
 and then puflnng on with ardour, pafTed 
 through Auxonnc, a little fortified town, 
 determining not to halt until we arrived at 
 Dole* — Juft as we faw an extenfive plain 
 open upon us, we were overtaken by the 
 moft dreadful ftorm of rain, hail, and 
 thunder I ever faw in an European coun- 
 try — we were in a moment wet to the 
 fkin — The fall of rain continued the whole 
 day. — It was {o pitchy dark that we had 
 not the confolation to fee each other ;. 
 but when a flafli of lightning gleaming 
 along the plain, fliewed to each the fleek 
 countenance of his friend — we trudged 
 on gloomy and unfocial — the Captain of 
 the Guards, ever and anon ejaculating a 
 fev/ Frencli oaths as the hail beat upon 
 his indignant phiz — the American, pen- 
 five and refigned, educated in the fchool 
 of adverfity, enured to patience and long- 
 iuffering, followed the footfleps of his 
 friend, inly muling, ruminating on the 
 
 chequered 
 
WANDERER. 325 
 
 chequered fcenes of his life, and eluding 
 the wearilbmeners of the march, by com- 
 paring the lowering of the fky to the 
 frown on your brow, the flafliing of 
 lightning to the blaze of your eyes. — Juft: 
 as we defcried the town of Dole the ftorm 
 pafTed away.— The declining fun faintly 
 glimmering upon the tops of the houfes, 
 and blufliing upon the fweet river Doube, 
 whofe waves waflied a vaft meadow lying 
 before the town, exhibited Dole and its 
 environs in a beautiful light. — It was a 
 fweet picfturefque fcene, not wild like 
 the rocky landfcapes of SalvatorRofa, or 
 Poufiin, but mild, gay, and inviting, 
 like the rural views of Titiano. 
 
 Dole was formerly the capital of 
 
 Tranche Compte The parliament has 
 
 been transferred to Benfan^on — The 
 ftreets are wide, the houfes large and 
 
 well built There ai*e many remains of 
 
 Roman grcatnefs to be feeii here; part 
 
 X 3 of 
 
326 The AMERICAN 
 
 of an amphitheatre ; near the river, frag- 
 ments of a mofl fuperb palace, and two 
 aqueducts ; there are alfo veftiges of fe- 
 veral Roman temples in the environs of 
 Dole, almoft hidden by villages, w hofc! 
 names are evidently Roman ; for in- 
 ftance JouCf and many others fituated 
 along the pent of a hill covered with 
 vines, which look upon a delicions val- 
 ley, from its amenity, called the valley 
 of Love. There are two mineral fprings 
 at the village of Joue, highly efleemed: 
 take Dole for all in all, I hardly know a 
 fpot better adapted to the refidence of 
 a man who panes not alter the gew-gaw 
 of life, and is content with fimple, yet 
 elegant iilvan fcenes. At the moment we 
 arrived, Dole and its environs had few 
 charms for us ; we were fliivering with 
 cold, and dripping with the remains of 
 the liail dorm ; of courfe a good fire, 
 generous wine, and an elegant fupper 
 would have been more welcome than a 
 
WANDERER. 327 
 
 pnrtie-quarree with princefTesof Circafliaii 
 beauty, in the inchaiiting gardens of 
 Alcinons ; our firft object therefore was 
 the bed inn in the town ; but how to 
 make a handfome cntrc was the difficulty. 
 Inn-keepers have no predilection for pe- 
 ripatetic philofophers : add to this, we 
 were wet and overwhelmed with dirt 
 and mud ; our appearance was rather 
 piteous or grotcfque than brilliant and 
 prepofTeding. To be fure the coup d^ooil 
 we exhibited was not at all prevenante. 
 The captain ordered me in front, obferv- 
 ing that an old green fattin riding 
 waiftcoat, laced with gold, that I had 
 on, might peradventure plead for us. 
 I threw open my Englifn frock to make 
 the mofl: of my plea ; I fpoke in a com- 
 manding furly tone, becaufe humility, 
 efpecially on foot, in all civ ilize dcowntviGSy 
 excites fufpicion : happily for us, as we 
 entered the door of the hotel, a rubicund 
 capuchin demanded qiielques fons for the 
 
 X 4 love 
 
328 The A ME RI CAN 
 
 love of God ! we had luckily the day 
 before united in one purfe the remains 
 of our travelling y?;o/7o; box* I was the 
 then purfe-bearcr ; I pulled out, witli a 
 carelefs air, all our riches, alid threw 
 the fat monk a twelve fous piece; Ibme 
 precious few pieces of gold gave a rich 
 relief to the large French crowns with 
 which the purfe was filled ; the land- 
 lady's daughter, a plump, handfome, 
 buxom huiley, tall as a grenadier, leer- 
 ing her jetty eye obliquely at the pre- 
 cious metal, fmilcd benignly, and imme- 
 diately opened the heft room in the houfe. 
 Having no led-dr.rts, we hinted fome- 
 thing about expecting a fervant with 
 our baggage. Mademoifelle, with true 
 French eate and polkcnt^t?, offered us a 
 couple of her Ihifts by way of fucceda- 
 neum ; in our predicament, the offer 
 was refpecli.ble; (lie brought in her flfifts 
 and a pair of petticoats in lieu of fmall 
 cloath3 ; (he equipped Seymour with a 
 ^•/" taflj. 
 
W A N D £ RE R. 329 
 
 tafty filk polonefe, and me with a cle- 
 gagee niarning drefs, or dipabillec of a 
 fafliionable griflette ; (he drefTed us her- 
 fclf, and feemed mightily pleafed with 
 the metamorphofe of her hands, faying, 
 Mon Dieu ! quelle dommnge quit foit U 
 Car erne J car viola de tres beaux mafques — 
 Tlins transformed, we fat down to fup- 
 per — To complete the number of the 
 graces, we infifted that Madcmoifelle 
 fliould fet at the head of the table — A 
 French woman never lets flip an oppor- 
 tunity of difplaying all her accomplifli- 
 ments, a fe faire valoir — flie hinted 
 flie could fing ; iier voice, though 
 not powerful, was mellow — flie fang 
 chanfons h boire, des chanfonettes tendresy 
 and aided by a^ioule of old wine, foon 
 diflipated all remembrance of the florm. 
 
 Wc flcpt with Madcmoifelle 's fhifts, 
 
 and in the morning exchanged them for 
 our fhirt?. About twelve o'clock we quit- 
 ted 
 
330 The AMERICAN 
 
 ted Dole, marching on for Bcfan^on, 
 with a pleafant hilly country on our left, 
 the valley of Love and the river Doube 
 on our right — We dined at St. V. and 
 was overtaken about fun-fet by the dili- 
 gence and our man Frank. Befan^on, 
 being a garrifon town, we were appre- 
 henfive the gates might be fliut upon us, 
 we therefore got into the diligence, and 
 under covert of the night arrived here. 
 
 Adieu 
 
 LET- 
 
WANDERER. 331 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 BENSANCON, now the capital of the 
 Compte of Burgundy, called Fraiiche 
 Compte, lies in a vale furrounded by 
 hills fo gigantic, that they rather deferve 
 the appellation of mountains ; it is fitua- 
 ted upon the river Doube, which divides 
 the town into two unequal parts, the 
 largefl of which forms a peninfula, wafli- 
 ed by the river ; this peninfula is clofed 
 by a high mountain, on which they have 
 built a ftrong citadelle. The citadelle 
 Hands upon a rock, and commands the 
 >vhole town, but is itfelf commanded by 
 the Cbadaiiy a mountain, where former- 
 ly facrifices were made in honour of 
 Diana. 
 
 Many 
 
S3Z T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 Many monuments remain, evincing 
 Befa^on to be one of the mod ancient 
 towns in Europe ; on tlie mountain, fa- 
 cred to the goddefs Diana, you fee the 
 remains of a Pantheon, now called /es 
 Collonnes ; the remains of an aqueducl ; 
 the following names of places at Befan- 
 ^on are evidently Roman, as Cb/im^rs, 
 f Camp us ^JanirJ Chamufc (Campus Mu- 
 far urn J Chailla (Campus hunae^ <^c,) On 
 the foot of the mountain on which the 
 citadelle now Hands, Julius Cseiar cut a 
 hole above forty feet through the folid 
 rock ; this (erves at prefent for one of 
 the principal gates of the town ; through 
 this palTage his vi6lorious legions entered 
 and took the city from the Gauls ; an in- 
 
 fcription of this event is now placed oa 
 the gate. 
 
 The ftreets of Befau^on are hand- 
 fome, ftraight, and very fpacious. The 
 houfcs are built with fine flone, and 
 
 in 
 
WANDERER. ^33 
 
 in a commodious ftyle. There are le- 
 veral Iquares : that of Battan is orna- 
 mented by a fountain, which gives its 
 water through a figure of Bacchus. The 
 town houfe is a large building, of four 
 wings, which form a fquare court. On 
 the Cafcadc you fee a brazen ftatue of 
 the emperor Charles the Fifth, who in one 
 hand holds a globe, in the other a fword, 
 with thefc words, Plut h Dicu ! expref- 
 five of his fuppofed thirfl for univerfal 
 empire. The Imperial eagle rifes, diJp- 
 playing his wings over a large bafon, 
 fpouting water through his beak. 
 
 The governor's palace is well arranged. 
 A fountain before it is embclliflied by the 
 ftatue of a woman: flie is in a fitting 
 pofture, and difpenfesher water by means 
 of apertures artfully wrought in two lit- 
 tle globes embofTcd upon her bofom. 
 Befan^on, it feems, is fultry during the 
 fummer : the inhabitants therefore flock 
 
 to 
 
334 The AMERICAN 
 
 to fountains, and, by the above exhibi- 
 tion, feem defirous of indulging two 
 fenfes at the fame time. 
 
 The parliament was transferred in 
 1676 from Dole to this town ; fo was the 
 univerfity in 1691. The grand hofpital 
 of Befan^on, of the order of the Holy 
 Ghoft of Montpelier, is a noble and mag- 
 nificent building. A Monf, de Vacbc, a 
 very amiable man, our acquaintance, is 
 principal phyfician to this hofpital. He 
 has carried us to fee it. The interior 
 difpofition is admirable : the utmoft neat- 
 nefs and regularity is obferved. I tafted 
 their broth, which was excellent. I faw 
 large quantities of fine mutton and veal 
 hanging in their kitchen. The fick are 
 attended by a number of nuns. They 
 are arrayed in a very modefl and becom- 
 ing ftyle : a French grey robe with a 
 large, fnowy, fine, white linen veil, fit- 
 ting like a clofe cap their heads, and 
 
 flow- 
 
WANDERER. s^S 
 
 flowing negligently upon their Hecks and 
 (hoiilders. They are many of them very 
 handlbme. The fimplicity of theh' drels 
 gives a zeft to their charms. Under the 
 anfpices of our agreeable little friend 
 de Vache we often flroll to the hofpital^ 
 which is infinitely neater than many ball^ 
 rooms I have feen, to converfe with thefe 
 amiable nung, and partake of their re- 
 freQiment of coffee and fweetmeats. The 
 refined fenle and elegant manners we 
 difcovered in many of them excited at 
 once our admiration and pity — Admira- 
 tion, that fenfe and elegance fliould 
 abide with the reclule inhabitants of an. 
 hofpital ; pit}^ that women fo happily 
 moulded by nature to top their parts in 
 the mofl tender fcenes of connubial blifs, 
 (liould, by a barbarous law, be deftined 
 to converfe with man only in his fallen 
 Hate ! 
 
 Befan5;on, 
 
33^ T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 Beran9on, hanging upon the Swifs 
 fronticrj is ftrongly fortified, and has 
 generally a garrifon from fix to ten thou- 
 fand men. A regiment of dragoons^ 
 one of artillery, two of Swilsj and the 
 regiment du Roi, of four battalions, are 
 now here. The world cannot produce 
 a finer regiment of infantry than the re- 
 giment du Roi. It may indeed be ftyled 
 rather a moving military academy than 
 a fimple body of foldiers. Befides their 
 colonel, the King, it has two other co- 
 lonelS) whofe pay, I am told, is much 
 larger than that of the colonels of other 
 regiments, becaufe they are prefumed to 
 prefide over, not only the military difcl- 
 pline of the regiment, but the morals 
 and polite improvement of the numerous 
 noble youth attached to it — Numbers of 
 whom ferve for fome years in this regi- 
 ment without pay* They have a riding 
 and a mathematical mafter attending the 
 regiment. The reafon why fo many 
 
 more 
 
WANDERER. 337 
 
 more young noblemen and youth of dif^ 
 tinction ferve than are conliflent with 
 the proper number of officers neceffary 
 for each company arifes, I am told, from 
 certain privileges which two years ferv- 
 ing in this regimrnt confer upon them, 
 under cover of which they may, in fome 
 meafure, anticipate their years, and pufli 
 the natural intcreft flowing from their 
 high birth. Through the politenefs of 
 my friend of the guards, whofe coat, in- 
 dependent of his amiable manners, is a 
 fufficient introdudlion to all the Euro- 
 pean military, I am acquainted with 
 moft of them. They are men of finiflied 
 breeding ; many of them Knights of Malta, 
 who confequently have travelled, and are 
 generally men of obfervation. We were this 
 morning upon the parade, and had the 
 honour to be introduced to the command- 
 ant I\Ionr. le Marquis d'Entragues, and 
 to the governor Monf. le Marquis de Saint 
 Shuond — Men of high birth and poliOieJ 
 
 Y man- 
 
338 The AMERICAN 
 
 manners. Than the former, I think, I 
 never faw a perfbn who had more the air 
 of a man of fafliion. He is about forty, 
 a bachelor ; very handfome, a modefl 
 Frenchman, an addrefs, elegance blend- 
 ed with eafe. He was, it feems, a very 
 great favourite of the late King of France, 
 iand always made one of his private whift 
 parties, of which game Louis Qiiinze was 
 very fond. 
 
 The parade is at the entrance of the 
 ChajnnrSy which is the principal rural 
 beauty of Befan^on. I believe no forti- 
 fied town can boaft a more filvan fccne. 
 It is an inchanting promenade, filled 
 with beautiful walks, and planted with 
 noble trees, in imitation of the Elyfian 
 fields terminating the Tuilleries at Paris. 
 The mall fingularly pleafes me : on one 
 fide you have the whole garden ofCb^mars, 
 on the other the trees waving over the 
 verdant margin of the ramparts, which 
 
 partly 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 339 
 
 partly fliacle the river Donbe from the 
 eye of the fpeftator. The view from this 
 walk is again bounded on the other fide 
 of the river by the Cljadan, one of the 
 mod gigantic mountains in the world, 
 whofe tremendous head threatens to fall 
 upon the beau monde walking in this 
 alley. This awful coup cVcoil fills the 
 mind with a fpccies of fear, infpiring ra- 
 ther penfive than unpleafant ideas. From 
 this mountain Louis the Magnificent, or, 
 as the French will have it, Louis le 
 Grand, attacked and carried the town ; 
 and is fiiid to have had a horfe fiiot under 
 him. — But let me retire from the oflen- 
 tatious Louis, to purfue my ranible in 
 this delicious mall. The zephyrs un- 
 ceaflngly flap their downy wings, and 
 the birds for ever fing in the impending 
 fprays of the lotty oaks nodding o'er the 
 palfing flood. The f\vect view of the 
 Elylian fields on your left, contrafled 
 with the awful mountain on the right of 
 
 Y 2 the 
 
340 The AMERICAN 
 
 the river, which, well nigh hid from the 
 fight, daflies along its rocky fliore, its 
 didant murmurs limiilating the fighs of 
 unhappy lovers, camhines a pleafing, 
 melancholy, bewitching fcene. La belle 
 Marquife de St. Sim on d tells me, there 
 is a tradition, that the water of this 
 filver ftream pofiefTes virtues fimilar to 
 thofe afcribed by the antients to the Leu- 
 cadiaii Lake ; accordingly, if a fwain 
 finds all efforts fruitlefs, if he finds that 
 the lady is neither moved by oaths or 
 vows ; is deaf to the Syren voice of flat- 
 tery, he has recourfe to this dernier re- 
 fort. Previoufly taking leave of his rela- 
 tions and friends, he plunges in, and 
 generally drinks death, or obUvion to his 
 love, in the benign waters of the Doube. 
 This experhuent is, it feems, fo common, 
 that a lover's leap here is as little at- 
 tended to, by the mall, as a duel fought 
 by Irifiimeii at Lucas' CofTec-houfe in 
 Dublin is regarded by the fpeclators. I 
 
 faw 
 
WANDERER. 341 
 
 faw a well-clrefl: petit-maltre plunge in 
 the other day. I v^'as runnnig to his 
 afllftance, when I was ftopt by a Knight 
 of Malta, with whom I was walking 
 
 Ne vous derangez fas, Aionfieur, dit-il — 
 ce ncfi qiCun amourcux tr-anfi que appa- 
 remnicnt vent fe prcvaloir de la virtue 
 du Douhe, 
 
 When the filvcr moon, gleaming 
 through the rich foliage of the trees, darts 
 her pale beams along the mountain fa- 
 cred to the goddefs of innocence, and 
 kifles the palling flream, here I delight 
 to ramble — here I endeavour to pervade 
 the future volume of my life — here I 
 anticipate the pleafures and the pains 
 which vou and fate doom me to fuffer — 
 and, flirinking from the chain of my 
 gloomy ideas, I fometimes liave caught 
 rnyfeli in the dcfponding attitude of the 
 ill-requited Sappho; I hear my felf repeat- 
 ing her fweet invocation previous to her 
 fall: 
 
 Y 3 ' Yc 
 
342 T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 ' Ye gentle gales ! beneath my body blow, 
 ' And Ibftly lay me on the waves bdow : 
 
 * And thou, kuul Love ! my finking limbs fiiftain, 
 ' Spread thy foft wings and waft me o'er the main 
 
 * Nor let a lover's death theguiltlefs flood profane 
 
 
 But hitherto I recoil from the nn manly 
 aftion : for, though my malady tinges 
 my whole life with (liades of forrow, yet 
 cannot I wifli a cure. 
 
 Farewell. 
 
 LETTER 
 
WANDERER. 343 
 
 LETTER XXVIIL 
 
 The Holy Handkerchief, 
 
 VI7E dined ycfterday with that amiable 
 nobleman, the Marquis d'Entratiges 
 — there were about fifty covers — the re- 
 pafl: fumptuous to excels ; the wines de- 
 licate ; the Marquis ordered to be fat 
 before Seymour and myfelf a couple of 
 bottles of claret of a hogQiead that had 
 travelled to PoJidicherry in the eaft, repo- 
 fed one twelvemonth in the cellar of the 
 ill-fated Count de Lally, tlience wander- 
 ing to the weji, had received its utmoft 
 amelioration at Martinico^ under the au- 
 fpiccs of that accompliflied foldier and 
 elegant gentleman, the Marquis dc la 
 Bouille. The commandant politely obfer- 
 ved, " I always recolledl with pleafure 
 and with pride, the intimacy and friend- 
 
 Y 4 fliip 
 
344 The AMERICAN 
 
 fliip I have tafted with my Lord Clair 
 and feveral other noblemen, your coun- 
 trymen : I rejcolIecTt their predilection for 
 claret f and I was charmed to be inform- 
 ed by my butler this morning, that Iliad 
 flill a few choice bottles to fet before my 
 Englifli friends." Partial to all Englifli- 
 men, and, of courfe, to their prejudices, 
 I am willing to allow, that of all hereftcs 
 from found orthodox hurgiind'^y the clarat 
 herefj is the lead damnable ^ yet,, well 
 aware of the dangerous tendency of all 
 heterodox opinions, I fip it with the mod 
 pious caution. I imbibed a few glaflcs, 
 as a decent retort courteous to the Mar- 
 quis- elegant compliment, and for tlie 
 remainder of the afternoon, devoted my- 
 felf to pure wordiip at the burgundy 
 flirine. llie commandant's burgundy 
 was the more pleaiing to rnc, as it con- 
 vinced me I was a connoifTeur ; upon 
 tafting it, I faid, 1 thought it had the fame 
 
 flavor 
 
W A N P E R E R. 345 
 
 flavor with a bottle given to us by the 
 Abbe of Cittcaux — the Marquis replied, 
 that he had purchafed it from that cou-^ 
 vent. We had at dinner, the Governor, 
 le Marquis de St, Simondy the Intendanty 
 and about forty officers and gentlemen 
 of difl:ind:ion. Araongfl; a variety of 
 topics, the converfation rolled upon the 
 approaching ceremony of St, Suaire, 
 which a Knight of Malta recommended 
 to our obfervation, as the moft curious 
 religious pageant exhibited in any catho- 
 lic country ; we are juft returned from 
 this exhibition. St, Suaire is the holy 
 handkerchief with which Ghrift wiped 
 his face during his fufFerings upon the 
 crofs. There is only one moiety of this 
 precious handkerchief at Benfangon, the 
 remainder is at Rome, Voltaire fays, 
 that when the town was taken by Lewis 
 the Fourteenth, the only article of capi- 
 tulation infijled upon by the inhabitants 
 
 wa5. 
 
346 The AMERICAN 
 
 was, that their conqueror Hiould not re- 
 move from Bcnfan(^oii the holy handker- 
 chief, and, as Lewis was more of the 
 politician than the faint, he readily ac- 
 ceeded to this article. 
 
 St, Suaire has the marvellous power of 
 driving out devils ; at Benian^on it is 
 faid to be fingularly efficacious in its 
 power of curing les femmes fojfedh ; this 
 being the cafe, what a pity we have not 
 a fragment of the holy handkerchief in 
 every country of the univerfe; for where 
 is the couutry in which a curious obfer- 
 ver may not difcover ladies pofTefTed of 
 the devil ? 
 
 St, Suaire is fhewn twice a year, Eaf- 
 ter and Whitfun-Monday, from the gal- 
 lery belonging to the church of St. John, 
 by the Archbilhop of Befan^on, who is 
 alfo prince of the empire. 
 
 The 
 
WANDERER, 347 
 
 The church of St. John lies at the foot 
 of a prodigious mountain ; the gallery 
 from whicli the holy handkerchief is ex- 
 hibited, looks upon the fide of this 
 mountain ; ^vhich, by eight o'clock in 
 the morning, was covered with fpedta- 
 tors, alTembled from all parts of the ad-« 
 jacent country, to the number of forty 
 thoufand, to behold this lingular pheno- 
 menon. The grand ftreet of Befan^on 
 leading up to the church, was lined on 
 each fide by foldiers, about two thoufand 
 men under arms, to prevent riots, and 
 to add to the pomp of the fccne. All the 
 windows fronting the ftreet were thrown 
 open, from which were fufpended rich 
 tapeltry hangings, paintings, and car- 
 pets ; on thefe the whole collec'l:ed beauty 
 of the town reclined, arrayed in tlieir 
 holiday cloadis, flrctching out their 
 lovely necks, and flalliing around their 
 funny eyes, at once to indulge the eyes 
 of theh' lovers, and to fatiate their own 
 
 curiofity ; 
 
348 The AMERI C AN . 
 
 curiofity. A coup d^cril more pleafing, 
 more pompous, more magnificent, I ne-f 
 ver faw ! through the hay formed by the 
 foldiery, Seymour and I advanced up 
 the llreet to the lummit of the hill, un- 
 der the prote^lion of the young officers 
 of the regiment di4 Roi upon duty, who 
 were ordered to advance a detachment 
 to the fide of the hill, to keep oif the 
 mob, who, ftimulated by curiosity, croud- 
 cd around the pojfejfed* 
 
 There was one perfon only who pre-< 
 {ented herfelf to Saint Suaire — a hand- 
 fome country girl, about feventeen years 
 of age. The Archbifliop, furrounded by 
 his canons, now appeared in the gallery, 
 in their blue filk capes, faced with reel 
 taffety, the drefs of the order. The bi- 
 ihop unfurled the holy handkerchief, 
 which yet retained the fpots of blood 
 impreffed upon it by Jefus Chrift, while 
 the drunis beat, the n:iufic flruck up, 
 
 and 
 
 1 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 349 
 
 and awe, reverence, and eager expecta- 
 tion beamed in the faces of the devout! 
 The officers, Seymour and myfelf, at this 
 moment, furrounded the pofTefTed dam- 
 fel; we had therefore an opportunity of 
 obferving all her manoeuvres. I had 
 often the honour of lifting her up when 
 flie was over-born by the waving to and 
 fro of the immenfe multitude. While 
 the holy handkerchief was flying, the 
 devil feemed ftrong upon her, evincing 
 himfelf by inward groanings of the fpirit, 
 foamings at the mouth, and a thoufand 
 antic tricks ; but as foon as the good 
 biQiop took in his anti-fatanic handker- 
 chief, the pofTcired lady remained placid 
 and compofed ; flie even attended to the 
 fiowets of a young urchin of an officer 
 in the king's regiment, the fon of the 
 
 Duke de N s ; this profane rogue 
 
 would make love to her, tickle her, flat- 
 ter her ; flie fcemcd to Tiflcn nothino- 
 loth to his attentions ; would even laush 
 
 and 
 
S5<^ The AMERICAN 
 
 and totally forget the part it became her 
 to play, until the roll of the drum, and 
 and the fluttering of Saint Suaire again 
 difturbed the devil within her; (lie would 
 then reiterate her murmurs and groans. 
 Thrice the good bifliop with anxious and 
 difmayed countenance difplayed the holy 
 handkerchief, and thrice he retired it 
 without vifible effec^K The devil dill 
 pofTcfTed the w^oman, for (lie yet attend- 
 ed to the blandifliments of the young 
 officer ! the devotees were fcandalized ; 
 the bifliop was in a dilemma ; thoufands 
 of gaping believers flood appalled, fear- 
 ing that the tutelar faint of Befangon 
 ■would no more fliower down his blefQngs 
 upon fuch miferable flnners ! I really 
 myfelf fympathized with fuffering huma- 
 nity, and thinking that the devil, from 
 the contumacy he had recently evinced, 
 mufl be partial to the company of the 
 military, I was endeavouring to perfuade 
 the young foldier to retire. I had juft 
 ' ' gained 
 
WANDERER. 351 
 
 gained my point, and hearing a mur- 
 mur Infinuating, tliat the prefence of 
 heretics mud have dilgufled the faint, 
 Seymour and myfclf vere efcaping with 
 him, when there arrived an order from the 
 biiliop to withdraiv the young girl from 
 the fpot appropriated to the poffelled ; 
 for that {lie was a liar, and neither the 
 truth or tlie devil was in her ; for that 
 had (lie been polFelTed by a free citizen 
 of hell, the facred handkerchief would 
 infallibly have made her whole. We 
 had obferved an elderly man who ap- 
 peared indignant at the unfeemly de- 
 meanor of the pojjejfed, pufti through the 
 croud to the church ; it feems he had 
 informed the bifliop of tlic poor girl's in- 
 confiftent behaviour, which information 
 induced the above order. This officious 
 fellow now came back, reviled bitterly 
 the poor maid, and I believe would have 
 a<flually beat her, had (lie not been pro- 
 tected by the military. 
 
 No 
 
35Z T H E A M E R 1 C A N 
 
 No other demoniac appearhig to 
 claim the interpofition of St, Suairc that 
 day, the holy handkerchief was return- 
 ed to its place of depolit, nnder the altar 
 of St. John, dedicated to the mother of 
 Jefus, and the croud began to difpcrfe. 
 I was now well nigh paying dear for my 
 curioflty— -in the waving of the immenfe 
 croud upon the fide of the mountain, 
 which is almoft as fteep as a precipice, 
 I had negligently fufFered myfelf to be 
 joftled by the rtiultitude, far from the 
 iphere of attra^lion defcribed by my mi- 
 litary friends. It was early in the morn- 
 ing, and I was muffled up in an Englifli 
 furtout ; thus unknown and unprotec1;ed, 
 I was endeavouring to ftem a very heavy 
 column of human beings, whofe weiglit, 
 aided by dieir inclining pofition, prellcd 
 with great momentum upon me, and thofe 
 who were contiguous to me. Tlicre was 
 a clufler of fix.ed bayonets jufl below 
 gliftening in our eyes, and pointed at 
 
 our 
 
WANDERER. ^^^ 
 
 our breads; by way of keeping order, 
 where order was iinpradlicable ! a poor 
 little petit-maitre of the lower rank, was 
 immediately behind me — his flrcngtli 
 unequal to mine, could not refift: the 
 column, he flipped by under my arm, 
 and immediately a bayonet, fixed to the 
 firelock of a grenadier, infinuating itfelf 
 into the mouth of the petit-jnaitre, in* 
 duced him to fwallbw three of his fore 
 teeth — the bayonet in advancing to fa- 
 lute the pctit-maitre^s mouth, had flruck 
 through my furtout and waiftcoat — My 
 indignation at tliis fliameful difplay of 
 power, not permitting me to fee my own 
 danger, I peremptoVily ordered him to 
 defift, a/I^^ing him how he dared to punifli 
 thus cruelly the poor fellow for what he 
 mud fee was not his own fault ? for the 
 haplefs petit-maitre was a mere dwarf, 
 deformed, and flckly, and had, more- 
 over, a prodigious muff, a lap-dog, and 
 ^ chapeau bras to take care of — how then 
 
 Z could 
 
354 The AMERICAN 
 
 could he oppole his foihk to the forte of 
 the miilcitude ? The loud menacing air 
 with which I fpoke, made the grenadier 
 conceive I muft be iin homme comme il 
 ■faiit — He hefitated — at that moment my 
 friend the Marquis de Fojitinejf hap- 
 pening to fee my danger, called out to 
 the grenadier — feeing I had the honour 
 of being known to his officer, whom he 
 had wiflied to pleafe by this barbarous 
 difplay cf zeal, he inftantaneoufly reco- 
 vered his firelock, and dropped into the 
 elegant attitude of a prefent, crying, 
 Monfeigneur I demande mille -pardons ,\ Js 
 fitis au defef-poir d" avoir fait une telle me- 
 frife ! Such was my hatred of the fellow 
 for his recent a6V of unprovoked barba- 
 rity, that, for the firft time of my life, 
 the dofe of flattery was bitter to my pa- 
 late. I left him in difguft ; but I imme- 
 diately had the pleafure of feeing him 
 arrefled ; haply for him the paflion of va- 
 nity had abforbed all the deadly revenge- 
 ful 
 
WANDERER. ^55 
 
 ful pafllons in the breafl; of the poor 
 ■petit-maitre. — We duicd wkli Fontiney 
 that clay, a collecJilioa after dinner was 
 made to enable the difcomfitted beau to 
 purchafe three teeth and a new muff — 
 upon which tlie gentle creature infifted 
 upon their pardoning the grenadier, and 
 ' made me a prcfcnt of his lap-dog — he is 
 a perfecfi: beauty, and ambitious of the 
 honour of being your pet. 
 
 I went home refle6ling upon the mar- 
 vellous power of faith, — which would 
 make forty thoufand rational beings be- 
 lieve, not only th?t a piece of cloth had 
 the power of exorcifing devils, but that 
 the holy handkerchief with which Chrill, 
 under the agonies of the crofs, wiped 
 his face near 1800 years ago, fliould 
 feem to fuffer no injury from fuch an 
 immenfe length of time '. 
 
 Z 2 It 
 
Ss6 The AMERICAN 
 
 It appeared to be a large cotton flieet, 
 here and there clotted with gore, rather 
 than the moiety of a handkerchief, unlefs 
 handkerchiefs of that day were much 
 larger than thofe of the prefent faQiion — 
 I thought too, that had the handkerchief 
 been older, it would have made ic look 
 more natural. 
 
 lam told thatthis ceremony, which feems 
 to be adapted to the dark ages of monkifli 
 fway, is now kept up, more with a view 
 of being beneficial to the city of Befan^on, 
 than from aconvidl:ion of its healing power 
 over individuals poflefTed of the devil. — - 
 For two or three days, twice a year, the 
 exhibition collects a prodigious muki,- 
 tude; of courfe merchants, milliners, and 
 inn-keepers are great friends and be- 
 lievers in the virtue of the holy handker- 
 chief; be this as it will, I uas far from 
 fuifering the lead fcmblance of incredu- 
 lity to fettle upon my countenance this 
 
 morning 
 
WANDERER. o^s^ 
 
 morning — I was really vexed at the le- 
 vity of the young officer. I ever fliew 
 an outward au' of refpect for the reli- 
 gious ceremonies of all countries where 
 I refide — a contrary condudl is at once 
 indecent, imprudent, and impolitical— 
 in Catholic countries efpecially, the good 
 will and countenance of the church is a 
 great relief to the characfler of a travel- 
 ler — At Befan^on I have frequent occafion 
 to evince the tolerating turn of my mind 
 — the inhabitants having blended the 
 French with the Spanifli and imperial 
 faints, procelfions and religious fpec- 
 
 taclcs of all kinds occur frequently 
 
 Hods of devotees continually line the 
 lireets, and block up the pafTagc, fo that 
 I pafs much of my time upon my knees 
 on the bare pavement. If I have a quar- 
 ter of a mile to walk, on particular faints 
 days, I am not certain of arriving in lels 
 
 Z 3 than 
 
353 The AME RI CAN 
 
 than two hours. Lad week, beuig holy- 
 week, procefTions were innumerable. 
 
 One afternoon I had fullied out, full 
 drefled, to pay my devours to the beauti- 
 ful Mademoifcllcs dc yujp a proceflion 
 
 crouded the whole flreet, St, Vincent. 
 Anxious to get within their fphere of at- 
 traflion, I attempted feveral detours to 
 arrive unnoticed to the houfe of their 
 father — ^I had well nigh gauied my 
 point, when, jud oppofite to the win- 
 dow, I fell in with a column of kneel- 
 ing devotees. — Such contumacious ho- 
 linefs appeared in their countenances ; 
 their knees feemed fo glued to the 
 pavement, that I ibon perceived the de- 
 file to be impaffable — to retreat was 
 
 equally imprafticable 1 flood gaping 
 
 like Tantalus with delicious fruit which 
 I could not tafte, bobbing at my lips ; 
 for the two lovely fiftcrs were leaning 
 
 over 
 
WANDERER. 359 
 
 over the window, contemplating the hoft 
 and the croud — A pious old lady pull- 
 ing at the (kin of my coat, I had the 
 grace to kneel down befide her, and 
 prayed in union with her a full hour ; 
 to the no fniall fatisfadion of my fair 
 friends at the window, who were highly 
 tickled to fee an errant heretic in a pof- 
 ture fo edifying. 
 
 We live at prefent at the King's Aca- 
 demy at Befan^on with Monfieuj' deForno, 
 a Swils gentleman of family, who has 
 been an officer in the Count d''^rtois*s 
 guards, but is now mafter of the Royal 
 Riding Academy iicre, a genteel place 
 
 in this country He and his lady, a 
 
 Parifian, are agreeable, polite, and fen- 
 liblc' — they keep tlie firfl company, and 
 have introduced us to the principal fa- 
 
 Z 4 milvf s 
 
360 The AMERICAN 
 
 milies in Befan^on— xan eligible ^cir- 
 cumllance, as, not originally intending 
 to make a flay here, we came with no 
 commendations. 
 
 A D I E u. 
 
 LET- 
 
WANDERER. 361 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 Nunneries and Nuns* 
 
 TTAVING pafTed much of my time in 
 France with the Church, I ought to 
 be, in fome degree, competent to latisfy 
 your curiofity relative to Monks and Mo- 
 nafterics, particularly Nunneries. 
 
 In the firfl: ages of Chriflianity, when 
 the hiftory of the Apoflles, who had fealed 
 by their blood the truth of their doctrines, 
 was yet recent, a few enthufiafts, ambi- 
 tious to emulate the virtues and aufteri- 
 ties of thefe facred men, taught, that 
 works of fupererogation were efTential to 
 celeflial beatitude— and deemed a reclufe 
 and contemplative life more meritorious 
 than the performance of the focial duties 
 ftri(^ly enforced by the Divine Legiflator. 
 
 5uQh 
 
362 The AMERICAN 
 
 Such IS the orlgni of thefe religious maf- 
 qucrades, one of the mofl: (Iriking fpec- 
 tacles exhibited in catholic countries. — 
 But my particular intimacy \vith fe- 
 veral learned Abbes, many of whom 
 arc communicative, has given me occa- 
 Hon to know, that, whatever might have 
 been the original principles upon which 
 monaderies were inftituted, they are, in 
 this enlightened age, fuffered to exlft 
 merely from political and ceconomical 
 motives. Thefe motives apply equally to 
 monafteries of either fex. At prefent I 
 will treat particularly of Nunneries. — A 
 .father of a family is liappy to find a cheap 
 yet honourable provlfion for one of his 
 daughters — Probably he has many of 
 them. The uf^lieft is always feleded for 
 this barbarous facrifice t becaufe (lie has 
 the worft chance of getting a livelihood 
 through the channel of matrimony. — If, 
 of tv/o or three, it is unluckily difficult 
 to felecl the mofl ugly ; they caft lots, 
 
 and 
 
WANDERER. 363 
 
 and the fortune of the viclim goes to her 
 fillers, or to the eflabUQiment of the 
 elder brother — Thus nothing is more er- 
 roneous than the vulgar notion, that 
 Nunneries are crowded with beauty — 
 That there are fine women in convents 
 I will not deny, but they are envelloped 
 in a deep fliade of furrounding uglinefs. 
 AfTure yourfelf, in this country, monaf- 
 tic beauty is fcarcc. A fine French wo- 
 man knows her value too well to fnbmit 
 to this cruel facrifice. If (lie is not re- 
 ftrained by felf-Iove, her love of juftice 
 will turn her footfleps from the grate — 
 She would deem fuch a procedure to be 
 a violation committed againft the rights 
 of men of tafte, a robbery of the polite 
 world ! 
 
 There remains, however, yet one pal^ 
 fion which too often illumines a grate 
 
 with the rays of beauty Female jea- 
 
 loufy — Maiden aunts and old women, of 
 
 all 
 
364 T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 all denominations and of every country, 
 •^'ho never have and never hope to effay 
 connubial ecilacies themfelves, form a 
 combination much more dangerous to 
 the rights of Love than the family com- 
 pact of Bourbon will ever be to the liber* 
 ties of Europe. — Though pioufly hating 
 each other, they cordially confpire with 
 family pride to dafli from the purple and 
 thirfty lips of beauty that myftic cup of 
 felicity which, alas I they can never tafte. 
 It is but too frequent that the mother, 
 forgetting maternal love, joins the dia* 
 
 bolical confpiracy For, if a handfome 
 
 %voman happens to marry young, her 
 daughters will probably have pretenfions 
 to and will be throwing out Uu'es for ad- 
 miration and flattery long e'er mama in,- 
 clines to withdraw her's. A pretty wo- 
 man, like the Grand Turk, will bear no 
 rival near the throne. Mothers, in France, 
 have very exten five legal powers. A jealous 
 v/oman will ufc her power to its utmoft 
 
 extent. 
 
WANDERER. s^S 
 
 extent. In this unequal conteft the 
 dauirhter, unlefs her wit emulates her 
 beauty, will be defeated, and be fnrely 
 doomed by her enraged and victorious 
 foe to exile for life — -to, 
 
 ' Thefe deep walks and awful cells, 
 « Where, heav'nly penfive, contemplation dwells.' 
 
 Pope. 
 
 The father, although he may love his 
 child, feldom protefts againft this ar- 
 rangement; for notwithflanding it is alfo 
 probable he may cordially hate his wife, 
 yet, according to French immemorial 
 ufage or common matrimonial law, he 
 deems it by no means hienfeant to inter- 
 fere with his wife in domeflic details; fuch 
 interference would be flying in the face 
 of the Gallic female Ma^na Charta. 
 
 t>' 
 
 In modern times a fine woman is fel- 
 dom Immured but from the above felfiili 
 motive — Formerly a contrary ufage ob- 
 tained — -When the minds as well as bodies 
 
 of 
 
366 The AMERICAN 
 
 of the female world were under monkifli 
 nndne influence, beauties were fele61ed 
 for this facrifice. As it is called a mar- 
 riage to God, they prefumed the more 
 beautiful the bride the greater the com- 
 pliment. This idea, fo infuking to the 
 Supreme, feems to be borrowed from the 
 Pagans, who deemed a facrifice eflimable 
 in the eyes of their gods in proportion as 
 it was valuable amongft mortals! It was 
 this abominable idea that guided the 
 bloody hand of the infernal Grecian pried 
 to the palpitating bofom of the heaven- 
 born Iphigene ! 
 
 Thus, anciently. Nunneries were the 
 prifons of the moft lovely of the lovelieit 
 work of creation ! That they are not fo 
 now, had I no pofitive information upon 
 the point, I fliould deduce from this cer- 
 tain fadl: Formerly facrilegious enlive- 
 
 7nents, or ravifliings of women from con- 
 vents, were frequent : they are now very 
 
 rare 
 
WANDERER. 367 
 
 rare — A (Irong proof this that nunne- 
 ries a^lnally contain but few ravilliing 
 obje<5\s; for what avail bars, bolts, ftone 
 walls, or iron laws, if Love infplrcs the 
 attack and Beauty is the reward of 
 vidory ? 
 
 MonaRic finiplicity of drcfs, added to 
 tliat pity which their unhappy fituation 
 excites, powerfully intereft the fpeclator, 
 and give reliefe to the few charms nuns 
 may poffcfs. We behold the fex, whom 
 nature prompts us to love and protect, 
 inhumed in living fepulchrcs — We feel it 
 impracl:icable to extricate them- — It is not 
 given us to extend to them any thing but 
 ourtendernefs; and to complete our indig- 
 nation againftthe tyrainiical law to which 
 they are martyrs, our imagination fond- 
 ly paints the objecfts of our poignant re- 
 gret in beauty's fafcinating form ! Thus, 
 whatever may be the intrinfic perfonal 
 merit of nuns, they are always viewed 
 
 with 
 
368 The AMERICAN 
 
 with partial eyes ; they ahvays excite 
 pleafing blended with melancholy Cen- 
 rations. 
 
 Voluptuaries look up with envy to the 
 poft of monaftic confefFor — This is one, 
 among the numerous cafes, in which we 
 find our punifliment in the gratification 
 of our willies. — It may be prefumed, that 
 where a number of females are immured 
 together, who have little occupation but 
 to pray, fleep, and confefs, there will 
 be great identity and infipidity in their 
 confeflions. Their idlenefs will be fruit- 
 ful of imaginary crimes ; their ciinili, 
 flowing from a natural impatience of un- 
 juft reftraint, will give acidity to their 
 tempers ; they will be continually teiz- 
 ing their holy guides v»'ith vain fcruples 
 and ridiculous chimeras. A confeilbr of 
 a certain nunnery here is of my acquain- 
 tance ; he is old, yet a cheerful, agree- 
 able companion ; he has himfelf confefF- 
 
 ed 
 
WANDERER. 369 
 
 ed to mc, that, efpecially after a certain 
 age, the confeflio!! of nuns is, to a ma?i, 
 
 2t, fatiguing bufinefs Ceft un vilain fue- 
 
 tier, Monfieur, quoth the honed monk, 
 after I have rendered hhn communicative 
 by the mediation of a fecond bottle of 
 Burgundy. At St. Qiientin I knew a 
 monk of a monaftery at SoilTons ; he is 
 however a native of St. Qiientin — all his 
 relations lived there, and his wifli was to 
 refide among t!iem— He told me, that he 
 might fojourn in his native place, if he 
 would undertake the department of con- 
 feiFor to the convent o^ Fervaqjie, or, as 
 it is called, Le convent de riches dames — 
 He was young, mufcular, and rubicund, 
 and, while I envied, him the promotion, 
 I was not a little lurprized at his refufal; 
 but he told me, that he would fooner 
 fuffer perpetual banifhment from his 
 kindred and friends than fubmit to a 
 drudgery more intolerable than the 'la- 
 bours of Syfiphus ! 
 
 Adieu. 
 
 A a LET- 
 
370 The AMERICAN 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 Nuns and Nunneries, in continuation, 
 
 /CERTAINLY the fequeftered fituation 
 of Nuns mud produce many little 
 foibles that will render them irkfome and 
 faftidious to each other and to their fpi- 
 ritual guides — Yet, abandoned by fo- 
 ciety, left to themfelves alone, and at 
 liberty to meditate e'en to madnefs upon 
 the fanguinary law under which they 
 groan, who does not marvel, that their 
 failings are fo trivial, their virtues fo ex- 
 emplary ! Who does not lofe the me- 
 mory of their faults in the recolle(^ion of 
 their fufFerings ! 
 
 I cannot pals one of thefe monuments 
 of bigotry, of family pride and feminine 
 refentment, without feeling my bread 
 
 fwell 
 
WANDERER. 371 
 
 fwell ■with indignation and pity ! The 
 very walls feeni to groan, re-echoing the 
 fjghs of agonizing humanity! beyond 
 the bourne of thofe walls they cannot 
 pafs I — Here they mnfl languifli and wi- 
 ther, like tender flowers expofed to the 
 rays of meridian fun-beams ! The pale, 
 wan vifage of thefe interefting vicflims is 
 lets imputable to abflinence than to the 
 blighting power of pallions to which all 
 human beings, all creation^s children, 
 for godlike purpofes, are liable — Paflions 
 which rage more violent becaufc they are 
 concentered, and have no external ob- 
 jedl to diffipate them ! Thus a cruel and 
 premature death mines them I — Like 
 birds in a cage they beat their wings, and 
 
 ftruggle for emancipation But, can I 
 
 utter it without indignation ! it is too 
 late ; eternal decrees fever them from 
 focicty ! In vain do they implore huma- 
 nity and the laws — the laws are deaf to 
 their cries, regard them as dead, and 
 A a 2 abandon 
 
372 The AMERICAN 
 
 abandon them to tlieir fate the moment 
 thofe dire vows are pronounced which an 
 age of repentance cannot recal ! The 
 only confolatlon that remains to them is 
 a melancholy coniblation indeed, from 
 which the mod manly heart recoils with 
 horror ! It is to groan in filence ; it is 
 daily to retire, and bathe with tears, 
 ftreaming from the heart, the fhrowds 
 enveloped in which their bodies fliall 
 repofe. 
 
 To a jufl: God I appeal Can it be 
 
 fuppofed, that a Supreme of infinite be- 
 nevolence can dehght in the perpetual 
 imprifonment of his innocent creatures! 
 can be pleafed to behold the fairefl work 
 of his hand, which he created ** free and 
 gay as air," deprived almoft of the fun- 
 fhine and the day ! interdided, by an 
 impious decree, the foft endearments, 
 the tender charities, the delicious fenfa- 
 tions flowing from the various connec- 
 tions 
 
WANDERER. ^y^ 
 
 dons of focial life ! At an inditntion fo 
 inhuman, fo unnatural, fo repugnant to 
 the grand end for whicli woman was 
 created, I am afloniflied all Europe does 
 not revolt, for the Europeans boaft they 
 
 are a philofophic people. Were I a 
 
 prince, far from tolerating it in my 
 own domains, I would carry fire and 
 fword into the dominions of my neigh- 
 bours, animated with the laudable tho' 
 finffular ambition of unrivettins; the 
 chains by which humanity is wounded. 
 I would open wide the doors of all con- 
 vents, all fpiritual prifons of all orders 
 and denominations, and I would marry 
 the males of the one to the females of the 
 ether. — Angelic fiiffcrers ! fwcet bleed- 
 ing daughters of humanity ! from my 
 foul I pity you ! and con Id my faint rc- 
 prefentation of feelings unfpeakably in- 
 dignant, be the humble means of banifli- 
 ing tears from thine eyes and fighs from 
 thy bofoms, I (liould, while I forget my 
 A a 3 own 
 
374 The AM ERIC A N 
 
 own misfortunes, tafte, by anticipation, 
 celeftial beatitude ! 
 
 I think there might be a laudable Imi- 
 tation of monafteries. There are misfor- 
 tunes incident to humanity, the unhappi- 
 nefs refulting from which religion and 
 philofophy may palliate, but can never 
 
 totally fubdue There are flrokes to 
 
 which fenfibility is liable not to be par- 
 ried or obliterated by philofophy — ^There 
 are woes that ** fiefh is heir to," not to 
 be waflied away by an age of tears '. 
 Mighty forrows enervate and relax the 
 foul, rendering all focial pleafures fiifti- 
 dlous. — The mind for years fixed to the 
 painful contemplation of a fingle objed; 
 can feldom be fo eftranged from it, as to 
 be made again fufceptible of the little du- 
 ties and proprieties requilite to thofe who 
 would pleafe, while tliey mingle with the 
 gay and bufy world ! To thefe haplefs be- 
 ings, of either fex, I would open an afy- 
 
 lum 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 375 
 
 lum — Their woes would be a tax upon 
 fociety — Here they might pour them in 
 the bofoms of fellow fufferers — Here they 
 might tafte the only comfort left them to 
 hope — The pleafure of receiving and 
 giving confolation and pity for wounds 
 to fenfibility not to be healed ! 
 
 But as it is devoutly to be wiflied, that 
 griefs, of a magnitude fo painful, are 
 feldom the lot of humanity, I would have 
 the number of thefe afylums very limited. 
 None fliould be adniittcd who were not 
 of that age when the law deems them 
 competent to judge for themfelves. — 
 Thofe who were admitted fliould always 
 be at liberty y at certain Jlated periods, to 
 quit the retreat and mingle again with the 
 Ivor Id, 
 
 Travellers, efpecially proteflants, arc 
 apt to devour with eager cars, and to dwell 
 with an air of triumph upon the various 
 
 A a 4 anec- 
 
376 The AMERICAN 
 
 anecdotes feminated refpeding monaftic 
 incontinence — For my part, I believe that, 
 in genera], thefe tales are rather the ofF- 
 fpring of malignity than of truth — It is 
 very difiicult to penetrate the interior of 
 convents. — Where certainty is precluded 
 tlie mind mufl: have recourfe to cohjcct 
 ture, and I fliould fuppofe the various 
 incentives to devotion, the filence and 
 the awful gloom which reign over iponaf^ 
 tic abodes would have a tendency to 
 ed range the mind from vice and difpofe 
 it to the contemplation and practice of 
 virtue and piety — ■ — That diforders do 
 ibmetimes arife there can be liiile doubt. 
 I prefume priefts and monks are but 
 men — k is not probable, that a fable habit, 
 a band, and a toniurcd head have the ma- 
 gic power to regenerate a human being— 
 Where monks are the only male kind ad- 
 mitted to the toilettes of women, whofe 
 feftraincd fituation muil give a ftimulus 
 to their tender palTions, an electrical 
 
 fliock. 
 
WANDERER. 377 
 
 fliock, from the genius of Love, piuim^ 
 ming in the c)es of the fair niiUy may ba- 
 nilli, for a moment^ the genius of religion, 
 and the monk may recollccl his man- 
 hood : for laivs have an intermitting fiu ay ^ 
 hut nature is a povjer always adive, al^ 
 ivays watchfuly always eager to feize her 
 rights. When this critical minute does 
 arrive, I blame neither the monk nor 
 the frail devotee, biit point my jufl: in- 
 dignation at the framers of laws abro- 
 gating the frft^ the divine, univerfal law 
 of nature — increafe and multiph\ 
 
 Pardon mc, if an air of melancholy 
 pervades this letter— To a mind given to 
 reflection the fubject prcfents not gay 
 ideas — I cannot write in a carelefs, di{-- 
 engaged manner upon this iqftance of 
 tyranny inflicted upon the fex, froni 
 which flow^ed all my former happinefs ; 
 fl'pm v.'hich I have a pre-fcntimenc that 
 
 I can- 
 
378 The AMERICAN 
 
 I cannot conquer, all my future forrows 
 may be derived. 
 
 Farewell. 
 
 Never, for a moment, forget that you 
 are the bright, though cold northern ftnr, 
 on which I gaze, by which I ihape my 
 adventurous courfe ; — bear in mind that 
 my hopes of retribution are as jujl as 
 they are pure and dijinterejled* — -May 
 your frmnefs emulate your beautyy and 
 fbon I fliall have letters of recal to my 
 lawful princefs. — You know to what in- 
 effable bUfs I am to look up, if, two long 
 years a Wanderer, I (hall confcfs you the 
 female non-pareil ! my probation draws 
 to a period, my iiour-glafs of patience 
 and felf-denial is almoft run — I am like 
 the dove-envoy from the ark of Noah — 
 I can find no place of reft for my foot, 
 no quietus for my agonizing foul, no 
 country, however productive of brillia?it 
 
 fojf.ls. 
 
WANDERER. 579 
 
 fojfils, which can boafc a load-Jloue, that 
 may, for a moment, attract my ardent 
 fixed gaze from the fuperior inagnetijm, 
 blazing in the blue eyes o^- — a charming 
 nymph of the 7hamesl 1 have recon- 
 noitred palpitating beauty of every Jpe- 
 cies, of every tijir, of every clime — I rile 
 pure and conftant from the celeftial or- 
 deal — and now — en favaiit Connoijfeiir et 
 preux Chevalier, I throw my gage — I will 
 fliiver a lance in the teeth of the moft va- 
 lorous knight, erring by land or water, 
 and hurl him to his native country, the 
 Antipodes of Tajle, who raflily refufes to 
 recognize you — the lingular Phoenix of 
 your fex, from whofe allies no flmilar 
 
 Phconix fliall ever arife. Confcious of 
 
 the ftrength of my arm and of my cou- 
 rage, becaufe confcious that my caufe is 
 juft, my good angel tells mc^ I (liall furely 
 conquer. — When loaded with the fpoils 
 of the vanquilhed I proftrate mylclf, with 
 
 be- 
 
380 The AMERICAN 
 
 becoming humility, a fuppliant at your 
 feet — be content — be grateful. 
 
 So may God guide all your footfteps 
 and blefs all your days. 
 
 The Wakder e r. 
 
 r# 
 
WANDERER* 38? 
 
 To a Noble Lord^-^ivhofe genius is inform^ 
 edhy the Spirit, and whofe title is eX' 
 prejfed by letters, the facred number 
 
 of the Nine, 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Befan(^on* 
 
 LAST week I had the honour of an- 
 fwering your Lordfliip's letter of 
 February, which I received at Dijon, 
 while we halted thereto recover ourfelves 
 from the fatigues of a forced march from 
 the fea to that place. — I fent my letter 
 by a Mr. Jackfon, an Irifli gentleman 
 of family and infinite merit, with whom 
 we commenced an acquaintance during 
 our fliort refidence at Dijon — Having 
 finiQied his travels, he was returning to 
 his native country, and was upon the 
 
 wing 
 
382 The a xM E R I C a N 
 
 wing when 1 left the elegant capital of 
 Burgundy — I then did myfelf the honour 
 to return your lordflilp every acknow- 
 ledgment in my power for the politenefs 
 of your offers — It is likely that the above 
 letter is received, but as it is poflible 
 that the agremens of Paris, feducing Mr. 
 Jackfon, may have induced Jiim to pro- 
 craftinate his journey to London, I will 
 in the poftfcript of this letter, repeat 
 that part of the former relative to the 
 bufinefs your lordfliip mentioned — 
 
 When you defire a flcetch of the per- 
 fons, manners, habits, commercial genius 
 and military ufages of the French nation, 
 a defire flowing from politenefs, not real 
 want of information, you impofe a weight 
 much too heavy for my flioulders — I feel 
 that my humble talents are incompetent 
 to fuch fubje£ts — befides thefe details 
 have been copioufly defcanted upon by 
 able pens. Upon a topic on whidi fo 
 
 much 
 
WANDERER. 383 
 
 much has been faid, it becomes me to 
 fay little : however, as it is my wifli 
 rather to oblige thail to fliine, I may 
 hazard, occafionally, a few of my ideas 
 upon thefe points ; yet I fliall hope that 
 your lordfliip may receive my letters, 
 when, with brows unclouded and totally 
 exempt from the weight of your ferious 
 affairs, you are in your night-gown and 
 nippers, relaxing with your chaplain 
 over a bottle of French wine. 
 
 I before hinted our method of travel- 
 ling — It may be thought fatiguing for 
 gentlemen, yet giving us the opportu- 
 nity of inveftigating common as well as 
 high life, the difadvantages incident to 
 it were more than compenfated. — Moft 
 other Englifh travellers fet off and con- 
 tinue in the ftrait line marked out by 
 their fortune or rank in life — we, while 
 with our fimple Englifh frocks and oaken 
 flicks, we trudged chearfully on, tafling 
 
 every 
 
3S4 The AMERICAN 
 
 every curiofity incident to devious roads;, 
 exploring every little hamlet, and con- 
 verfing, upon a footing of equality, 
 with each artlefs village nraid, had al- 
 ways in our pockets commendations to 
 peribns of condition in every great town 
 where we propofed to halt — We had too 
 a fervanc with a convoy of faQiionable 
 habiliments adapted to the external ap^ 
 pearance of gentlemen— confequently, 
 from the humble guife of vagrant philo-^ 
 fophers, from the companions of friars, 
 milleners, mantua-makers, ftrolling play- 
 ers, hinds, and rural nymphs, we would 
 fuddenly be transformed to petits-maitres 
 du dernier ton, and find ourfelves wafted, 
 •js if by enchantment, to the toilette, of 
 at the feet of Madame la ComptelTe or 
 Madame la Marquife, afton idling by the 
 recital of our Jurprizing adventures, her 
 brilliant circle : a tranfition at once 
 flriking, agreeable and ufeful — Nor is 
 there d^inger attending themetamorphofe, 
 
 for. 
 
WANDERER. 385 
 
 fbr, be yvon where you will, the French 
 are too hienfennt to aflc how you came 
 there — nor it' they knew, wonld they 
 lefs ambition your fociety ; for walking 
 in this country, by no means lets a man 
 down as it does in England — according- 
 ly, many French gentlemen, particular- 
 ly officers, who have more curiofity than 
 money, adopt the pra«5lice. We have 
 now tried it from the North of France 
 to the Confines of Switzerland, and we 
 find it gives us luch variety of accefs, and 
 of courfe fuch inlets to knowledge, that 
 while we are not limited by time, and 
 have good health and fpirits, wc fliall 
 walk on. 
 
 AVith the advantage I have hinted at, 
 I wonld yet wifli to wave the invidious 
 fubjecb, a dlfcriminatlon or comparifon 
 between the manners of nation and na- 
 tion, were I not convinced that all Ena;- 
 
 o 
 
 Ilfii travellers, vvhofe writings I have 
 
 B b had 
 
386 The AMERICAN 
 
 had accefs to, have viewed the French 
 through the medium of national preju- 
 dice, and coniequently have mifled — 
 mofi: of them have heen actuated by the 
 natural and perhaps amiable partiality 
 of Engliflnnen to every thing Englidi — 
 A late writer (Smollet) to this, if you will, 
 laudable prejudice, fuffered his brilliant 
 talents to be clouded by a fick fancy, 
 and the irritability of his nerves — re- 
 garding with the jaundiced eye of difeale 
 the natural hiftory of this fine country 
 through a diminifliing, its moral turpi- 
 tude through a magnifying mirror — 
 prompted by my love of truth, by my 
 gratitude for the friendly attentions I 
 have received from this amiable people, 
 I wifli to render them more juftice, and 
 though the mediocrity of my talents may 
 fruflrate the completion of my wifli, yet 
 will the attempt, I hope, pafs uncen- 
 fured. 
 
 It 
 
WANDERER. 387 
 
 It mufl. be confefled, nature has been 
 fingiilarly lavidi in her dilpeniations to 
 the khiodom of France. — The clhiiate 
 is benign and foil fruitful-— almoft every 
 particular province hath, within itfelf, 
 not only the necefTaries, but the luxu- 
 ries of life — It is no exaggeration to aflert 
 that it is naturally a modern land of 
 Canaan, abounding in corn, wine, oil, 
 milk, and honey — confequently the 
 French have a chance of obtaining whole- 
 fome fuflenance, and of growing to the 
 height comnjon to human behigs ; yet 
 mod Englilli writers upon the fubjecl 
 will have it a nation of dwarfs, fickly, de- 
 formed, and ftarved. This is furely not 
 true, nor is the afl'ertion a jufl compli- 
 ment to the llirine of Englifli felf-love; 
 for as you generally tilt yourfelf againft 
 the French with fuccels and with glory, 
 I Qiould think depreciating the merit of 
 the vanquiflied would tarniOi the laurels 
 of the vi(n:ors. 
 
 B b 2 It 
 
388 The AMERICAN 
 
 It Is true, certain vices, inherent in 
 the French political conftitution, may, 
 in fomc meafure, be fiippofed to counter' 
 a^ty but can never wboll-j counterpoife 
 the many great natural advantages to 
 which I have alluded : it is true that 
 the lands here are by no means fo highly 
 and neatly cultivated, or lb well enclo- 
 fed as they are in England, yet it is cer- 
 tain that agriculture, the bountiful mo- 
 ther of population, is rapidly improving 
 in this country ; their productions are 
 at prefent more than adequate to the 
 confumption of the numerous inhabi- 
 tants. 
 
 The common people of France, gene- 
 rally fpeaking, are not (o florid, {^o 
 plump, fo handfome as the Englilli pea- 
 fantry ; but furely this is not owing to 
 the freer government, or better nouri- 
 ture of the latter ; the common people 
 of Holland are equally free, have equally 
 o-ood appetites, and full as much to eat ; 
 
 yet. 
 
WANDERER. 389 
 
 yet, in the domains of their High Migh- 
 tineflcs, beauty is almod as great a phx- 
 nomenoii as luit. In every age the fair 
 and rofy checked Albion peafantry have 
 won the apple from all other nations, 
 while they have difputed it with their 
 lifter kingdom, the Lifli. Csefar in his 
 commentaries, if my recolleclion ferves 
 me, celebrates Englifli beauty^ yet at the 
 j3eriod of the defcent of Casfar, the peafan- 
 try, as well as nobles, groaned under a 
 tyranny, of all others, the moft onerous, 
 the ecclefiaftical tyranny of the Druids. 
 It is probable we muft trace their pecu- 
 liar beauty, not from their ftile of living, 
 but from their German anceftors. Csefar 
 alfo celebrates the Germans for their 
 lovely complexions ; to this day the 
 Saxons, the women efpecially, are re- 
 markably handfome ; I mean that fpecies 
 of beauty which refults from fair fldns, 
 and lufcious perfons ; a ftile well exprefted 
 by the epithet comd-j^ or by the Scotch 
 B b 3 word 
 
390 T H E A M E R I C A N 
 
 word honnjy which is I think the cha- 
 racfieriftic of ^ritifli beauty. This defect 
 in the French (tile is perhaps richly com- 
 penfated by expreirion in the counte- 
 nance, vivid eyes, animated piquante air, 
 and by wiiat the French term finejfe of 
 vifage. — I have ieen more comely Eng- 
 lifiimen, or rather IriHimen, than of 
 any other nation, yet 1 may fay that 
 fome of the handfomefl men I ever faw, 
 were Frenchmen, and though, in gene- 
 ral, candour muft own tliat the lilies of 
 France fade and llcken at the fight of the 
 bluQiing Englifli rofe, yet there are 
 French village maids of Circaifian 
 beauty. 
 
 Motitcfquieu aflerts that honour is die 
 pervading principle of monarchies — with 
 refpecl to the native country of that il- 
 lullrious man, I am fure the aflertion is 
 perfectly juft. I know not a people who 
 pofTefs fuch poliflied and delicate minds, 
 
 fo 
 
WANDERER. 391 
 
 fo jealous of perfonal character, (b im- 
 patient of perfonal affronts, fo polite, fo 
 anxious to pleafe, fo avid of perfonal re- 
 I'pecH:. I have often met with a French 
 foldier, vvhofe manners would adorn a 
 drawing-room, vvhofe fentiments would 
 do honour to a nobleman ; nor are they 
 inertly fentimenta/f they evince the deli- 
 cacy of their feelings by aciions, and by 
 an appeal to tlie fword. This being a 
 garrifon town, a week fcarcely pafTes 
 without a duel between private foldiers, 
 generally upon a puncftilio ; there are 
 four now in the hofpital wounded ; one 
 of them, lafc night, died of his wounds. 
 
 When I inftance the manners of the 
 French foldiery, I mean to charadlerife 
 the French in general, from the pervad- 
 ing fentiment of honour and attachment 
 to the prince, fcope to which fentiment 
 is given by the judicious policy of en- 
 lifting their foldiery for a term of years, 
 B b 4 dlmoft 
 
392 The AME RI C A N 
 
 almoft every Frenchman, of a proper 
 height, hi rotation becomes a Ibldier. A 
 Frenchman from his infancy is fo accu- 
 ftomed to unite the profelFion of a foldicr 
 as infeparably annexed to birth and ho- 
 nour, that he cannot for the foul of hin^ 
 fever them ; the firfc queftion he is fare 
 to aflc an individual who has the appear- 
 ance of a gentleman, is, Monfieur a fervi 
 fans doubt e ', if you aiifwcr no, notwith- 
 llanding every effort of his politenefs, in- 
 yoluntarlly and indantanecufly (lirinking 
 from you ; he will eye you with furprize, 
 wondei% and momentary alienation ! 
 
 The French are accufed of indulging 
 an overweening contempt of all other 
 nations ; with refpcft to their haughty 
 neishbours and immediate rivals the En- 
 glidi, I am fure the imputation is not 
 founded. It is true, your glorious ter- 
 mination of lalt war, exhibiting you in 
 an invidious light, you are not loved by 
 
 the 
 
WANDERER, 393 
 
 the common people of France ; yet the 
 French refpccly ou more than they do any 
 nation in the world, in fome inftances 
 more than they do themfelves; compar- 
 ing yom' mental facnlties with thofe of 
 other nations, and even with their own, 
 they ftyle the Englifli genius the Ki^ig of 
 Genius : it is plealant to obferve the mif- 
 takes this general idea fometimes induces 
 them to make ; they will frequently dig- 
 nify the invincible (tupidity of a Common 
 Council Man with the name o^ philofopby 
 — when he is fullen, it is greatnefs of 
 mind ; when he is dozing over repletion, 
 he is in a reverie, he is loft in the pro- 
 fundity of his cogitations ; or they will 
 palliate his impolite abfence of mind, 
 by obfervi ng, en verite. Men few eft nn 
 peu lourd, mais il a du talent, or Mopfieur 
 mange heaucoup, mais en revanche, ilpenfe! 
 
 Such is their prepofleffion in this re- 
 fpedl, that whenever they obferve an 
 
 Englifli- 
 
394 The AMERICAN 
 
 Englifliman totally filent, and obftinate- 
 ly contemptuous of all around him, and 
 ■when, perad venture a philofophic fportf- 
 man, beating his noddle for a fortnight, 
 could not fpring a leape of ideas, a 
 Frenchman will gaze at him with unaf" 
 fe£led admiration, and will exclaim, ma 
 foiy voila unfhilofophe Angloislll 
 
 I h^ve the honour to be, &c. &.c. 
 
 A. W, L. 
 
 LETTER 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 39S 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 TNDEED it is not uncommon to hear 
 
 your French politicians affert, that it 
 
 is the intcreji of the two countries to be 
 
 united that things go badly on each 
 
 fide of the narrow fea \vhich rolls be- 
 tween Dover and Calais, becaufe we are 
 not willing to under Jl and one another. 
 They arraign your mutual jealoufies, 
 jealoufies reduced to a fyftem, as pitiful 
 and deflru£live chimeras. They have 
 ever in their mouths this maxim, that 
 were England and France in alliance, 
 they miglit awe and controul the world 
 united againfl them. 
 
 It is certain that the factitious exiftence 
 of Europe, fuch as it is eftabliflied by 
 treaties, which form at prefent the rights 
 and regulate the JIare of nations, would 
 
 be 
 
2,^6 The AMERICAN 
 
 be affetfted by an alliance of England 
 %vith France ; that is to fay, the other 
 powers who gain fo much by our divi- 
 fions, becaufe they either render theni- 
 lelves formidable to us, or oblige us to 
 pay them fubfidies, would lofe by our re- 
 union. \\\ tracing the real original of 
 our dlffentions we find not their fourcc 
 in the motives of animofity which an- 
 tientl.^ fubfifted. On the contrary, they 
 are the work of thofe whofe intere/l it 
 was to foment them, and if poilible make 
 them a flate maxim for the two nations. 
 After their eftablifliment upon the throne, 
 the princes of the houfe of Stuart were 
 not enemies to France : fo far from it, 
 they were fometimes her allies, and almofl 
 continually neuter. This circumPtance 
 aided the enterprizes of Lewis the Four- 
 teenth. Europe /^/r his force, and from 
 thence (he mud have concluded, that it 
 was neceffary to oppofe to him Great 
 
 Britain. Hence may be deduced the 
 
 com- 
 
WANDERER. -^^^^^ 
 
 combination, fo happy in other refpecls, 
 againft James the Second. It was re- 
 folved to place on the throne a prince that 
 would point his arms againft France. — 
 By means of fnares thrown in the way of 
 James, whole monkifli bigotry would 
 furely make him eagerly catch at tlie 
 bait, they plucked the crown from his 
 head and wreathed it round the brows of 
 his fon-in-law the Prince of Orange. — 
 Ancient anlmofities, though their objecfls 
 exifled no more, were awakened ; anl- 
 mofities which fince that period have 
 taken root, deep indeed, but fatal to the 
 two countries, who have often waged 
 war with each other merely becaufe it was 
 
 convenient for their neighbours, The 
 
 fecrct hiftory of Europe evinces, that the 
 aflVighted princes of the Empire formed, 
 at Berlin, the confederacy that produced 
 this revolution. Thus tlie ambition of 
 Lewis the Fourteenth hath been the 
 caulb of all the unhappy errors that 
 
 fuc- 
 
398 The AMERICAN 
 
 fucceeded : but noiu diat this rcfllefs 
 thirit of vain-glory and of conqueft 
 hath fubfided as nations, as well as in- 
 dividuals, become more philofophical, 
 the two Governments ought to fee what 
 dupes they are to ruin tbemfclves for the 
 convenience or emolument of othersy in- 
 ftead of pointing their power (a thing 
 very pradlicable) to the object of mutual- 
 ly enriching themfelves. 
 
 Remember I am not, in the above po- 
 litical flight, giving you my own original 
 fentiments — No ; I am not fufficiently 
 converfant in a matter fo momentous as 
 to have my mind made up upon the fub- 
 jecH: — Arguments fuch as thefe are very 
 common now among liberal French- 
 m.en — They are thrown in a beautiful 
 light by the elegant author of Le ^in^ 
 zaine Angloife, 
 
 I own, 
 
WANDERER. 
 
 399 
 
 I own, however, I am inclined, with 
 them, to think there is great force in 
 this fpecies of reafoning — It is a political 
 axiom, that intereji is the cement of all 
 unions — ^Now, whoever beholds with phi- 
 lofophic eye the ph^fical fltuation of the 
 two countries will fee, that nature in- 
 tended them for fijler kingdoms — No two 
 countries can be more a portc to hold out 
 to each other reciprocal commercial ad- 
 vantages.— -It would feem indeed, from a 
 view of the oppofite banks of the two 
 kingdoms, that, originally, they were 
 one continent or peninfula, violently- 
 fevered from each other by fome natural 
 convulfion, of the exiftence of which, 
 though political hiftory is lilent, natural 
 hiftory exhibits very fpecious prefumptive 
 proofs. The breaks in the cliffs between 
 Calais and Dover, Boulogne and Mar- 
 gate, which are oppofite points, corre- 
 fpond furprizingly with each other. The 
 coftvexjty o^ the one furface always an- 
 
 fwcring: 
 
400 The AMERICAN 
 
 fvvering to the concavity of its neighbour 
 on the oppofite fliore. Though the two 
 countries are contiguous, yet their diffe- 
 rent climates, co-operating with the dif- 
 ferent laws and manners, flowing from 
 modern political innovations, have given 
 to each different produclions, different 
 manufa<n:ures, and different wants ; fo 
 that great and mutual advantages intrads 
 are held out as commercial baits for a re- 
 union. 
 
 The wars waged between the two na- 
 tions have only tended to multiply their 
 mutual calamities. The fuccefles of Eng- 
 land, in the laft war, gave her fcope in- 
 deed for felf-gratulation. She made her- 
 felf miftrefs of the commerce which 
 France would have participated with 
 her : but was the part flie could raviJJy 
 from her neighbour the onl-j one capable 
 to flatter her intereft and ambition ? It is 
 but too probable, that the event of the 
 
 pre- 
 
WANDERER. 401 
 
 prefent commotions in America will de- 
 inonftrate, than the profits wrefted from 
 France by the fplendid feats preceding 
 the treaty of Fontainblcau will not be 
 equivalent to the commercial advantages 
 that muH: have refulted to England from 
 a connedlion with France — And, how- 
 ever it may make Britifli merchants and 
 Antigallicans in general flare, it poffibly 
 might be demonrtrated, that tlie more 
 [France aggrandized herfelf, pre-fuppof- 
 ing a commercial union, the more the 
 commerce they and us would have toge- 
 ther would be advantageous to each. — • 
 This inveftigation would lead us into a 
 field too extcnfive for the limits of this 
 letter — However, he who wiflies to illul- 
 trate the paradox fully, will do well to 
 take his meajurcs and the terms of his 
 comparifoiis from the traffic, immenfe in* 
 deed, which Holland ufnrps from both 
 countries — He muft alfo put into the ac- 
 count the prodigious clandcfline traffic 
 
 C c which 
 
402 The AMERICAN 
 
 which the Induftiy of individuals oppofes 
 to the abulive ordon nances, which ancient 
 prejudices have didated to governments 
 led aftray by popular animoflty. 
 
 In infant countries^ where manufaclures 
 are in a rude flate, commercial jealoufy, 
 the parent of all commercial taxes upon 
 exports and imports, may be wife — But 
 the arguments which apply to evince fuch 
 expediency are inapplicable to a country 
 where manufa^lures, as in Eiigland, are 
 arrived to fuch a mawellous pitch o^ per- 
 feBiou as to defy all attempts at cojn- 
 petition. 
 
 The patriot on this occallon would an- 
 xioufly inquire on which iide the balance 
 of trade would turn. — To folve this diffi- 
 culty the aid of the philofbpher mull be 
 called in, to enlighten the views of the 
 mere patriot or mere merchant. 
 
 If 
 
WANDERER. 403 
 
 If ever a commercial interconrfe be- 
 tween the two countries obtains the fanc- 
 tion of law, it will be found that the con- 
 fequential trade will be rather of luxury, 
 oi vanity f th^no^ nee ejftty — and I, though 
 far from arrogating the title of philofo- 
 pher or merchant, will boldly affirm, 
 that the balance of vanity ^ ever proponde- 
 rating with the Ft encb, will always tlirow 
 the balance of money into the Englifi fcale. 
 The niofl: fuperficial obferver immediate- 
 ly fees, that vanity is the prominent fea- 
 ture in the charadler of this polite and 
 witty nation. It may be no exaggera- 
 tion to affirm, that their fiock of this pre- 
 cious commodity nearly equals that of 
 all the reft of Europe united. If this is 
 granted, let us apply it to the articles of 
 commerce in the refpedlivc countries to 
 which it will naturally attach itfelf. To 
 be fure the rich, jolly, and luxurious 
 Englifli gentlemen would imbibe deeply 
 thofe light, deUcate French wines, the 
 
 C c 2 natural 
 
404 The AMERICAN 
 
 natural corrector of John BuWsfatutiiijie 
 crnfis. This, indeed, would be the firfi, 
 and a very extenfive article : but this 
 luxury would be confined to tlie gentry 
 and more opulent citizens. It is true 
 alfo, no country ever has, and I pro- 
 phefy never will, vie with the French in 
 the arts and manufacUires which depend 
 
 upon tafte, The magic power of the 
 
 Parifian mantua-maker, the creative ge- 
 nius of her millener, are yet unrivalled ! 
 The maflierly hand of the French hail'- 
 drefTer vies with the light heel of the fcien- 
 lific dancing-mafter, who volting from 
 Calais to Dover, propagates the fine arts 
 and immortalizes his country ; while he 
 drills John Bull in the manoeuvres of the 
 cottillon, while he gives the word to my 
 Lady Mayorefs, and flie fwims throug'i 
 the minuet de la Reinc ! Thefe arts and 
 their profefTors are indeed invaluable in 
 the eftimation of the cognofcenti, but 
 weighed in the commercial fcale will foon 
 
 kick 
 
WANDERER. 405 
 
 kick the beam oppofecl to EngHfli horfcs, 
 Coventry ribbands, Birmingham toys, 
 hardware of every denomination, Tun- 
 brldge-ware, Englifh boots, flioes, lad- 
 dies, coarie cloths, long wool, ale, Lon- 
 don porter, and all the articles which 
 fnpply the African trade. 
 
 In fliort, exclnfive of your decided fu- 
 periority in the finijijing of every com- 
 mercial article, the prcfcnt French rage 
 is for every thing Englifli merely hccaiifc 
 it is Englifh. Your enthuflafm for French 
 frippery is of anticnt date, and time, 
 which foftcns aim oft every paflion, muffc 
 in fome degree have dillipated its fervor. 
 The French caprice is recent ^ and confe- 
 quently more iinpetuoiis and incontronl' 
 able. If a Frenchman accofts you with 
 hauteur and uncommon felf-complacency, 
 you may certainly infer, that he has, or 
 flatters himfelf he has, fomething Englijh 
 fibout him. — He will look cunning and 
 
 C c 3 feem 
 
4o6 The AMERICAN 
 
 feem anxious you fliould make the im- 
 portant dlfcovery yourfelf. — If, out of 
 afFe(flation or negligence, you fail to do 
 fo, he can contain no longer, but ex- 
 claims, regardez donCf and fliewing his 
 button or laying hold of his fleeve, facra 
 Dieu ! mais cela vient d' Angle t err e I 
 
 Bat evcr'j confideration united will not 
 fo much tend to throw the balance into the 
 hands of thcEnglifii as t\\G different genius 
 of the two nations. With you comnerce 
 derogates not from the orcntleman\ on the 
 contrary, thofe mere fons of earth, wlio 
 have no other pretenfions to this facred 
 character, will, while they oftentatioufly 
 boafl of their wealth, from that very cir- 
 cumftance, arrogate it — Here a thorough 
 Frenchman blujhes to be found making- 
 money by trade, and when he has made 
 it, is almoft apamed to confejs it ! 
 
 I am 
 
WANDERER. 407 
 
 I am no judge, and I will not pre- 
 tend that I am on ftrong ground in the 
 above commercial reveries : but of this I 
 amfuref that tliere arc no two nations 
 in Europe Co happily formed to enter 
 into partnerJJnp in a fpecics of com- 
 merce, compared to the returns on 
 which, in the eyes of a man of fenti- 
 ment, the ingots of Peru, the fands of 
 Paclolus, and the gems of Golcond are 
 bagatelles — I allude to a branch of 
 commerce little known upon your Royal 
 Exchange, focial commerce, — Every libe- 
 ral Frenchman, while he hates a Spa- 
 niard, loves not a German, and loathes 
 a Dutchman, thinks it his highefl: honour, 
 however averfe to trade, to traffic 
 largely, in this way, with MeffJeurs les 
 Anglois. — The pride of the EiigliOnnan 
 is gratified by the Frenchman's defe- 
 rence and unfeigned refpe^l, while the 
 influence of his November fogs is dil- 
 fipated by the Frenchman's gay and 
 
 C c 4 ^^g^g^ 
 
4o8 The AMERICAN 
 
 degage manners ; fo that the moft conge- 
 nial happy mixture of male company \ 
 know is a judicious combination ot 
 well-bred Frenchmen with ienfible Eng- 
 liflimen. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. &c. 
 
 LET- 
 
WANDERER. 405^ 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 npHE French are, I think, the mod 
 pallionate people I ever faw ; their 
 natural impetuofity frequently hurry^ 
 ing them beyond themfelves, induces 
 them to commit atlions which they are 
 the flrd to condemn. An old Swifs 
 Knight of St. Louis told me, that ac 
 the ftormi ng of Bergen-op-Xoo^ny where 
 he was prefent, he faw the French fol- 
 diery flaugliter a great number of the 
 enemy, after the place was evidently car- 
 ried, confequently farther butchery was 
 unneceflary, and tlierefore cruel — ^yet, 
 faid he, I am perfuaded they did fo, not 
 from a principle of cruelty, and I faw 
 fome of them flied tears for what they 
 had done ; but the impetuofity of the 
 French temper, combining with their 
 
 natural 
 
4IO The AMERICAN 
 
 natural courage, gives them in the 
 heat of action, a momentary madnels, 
 ** It IS this entliufiafm which makes them 
 the befl troops in the world for a coup 
 
 A general officer with whom I dined 
 the other day at the Marquis d^Erragues, 
 thus exprefTed himfclf — ** It was impof- 
 iible for politenefs to be carried to a 
 greater length, than by the Englifli lafl 
 •war in Germany to the French," — we 
 endeavoured to return it — we dined with 
 each other almoft every day — The French 
 and Englifli foldiers would cull potatoes 
 very fociably together in the fame field, 
 although they expefled to come to blows 
 the next morning. I remember, C^'id 
 he, that I was one day at dinner with 
 an Englifli captain, my very good friend, 
 who had done me the fame honour the 
 day before; I was faying that I did not 
 know what I fliould do, for that my men 
 
 had 
 
WANDERER. 411 
 
 had neglecled to colle^l the rations of 
 forage required of me that morning — 
 Mine, faid he, have colletfted near twice 
 as much as my complement, and if you 
 will fend to fuch a po(t, I will have the 
 furplus delivered to you — To be fure, 
 continued the Frenchman, it is againfl: 
 t\vi principles of war to give proviflon 
 to your enemy, yet, in armies of one 
 hundred thoufand men of a fide, what 
 hurt could the common caufe receive 
 from this particular inftance of polite- 
 nefs ? The intimacy between tlie two 
 armies was fo confpicuous, that MarJJml 
 Broglio gave orders that it fliould be dif- 
 continued, and this was the only par- 
 ticular in which we wiflied to difobey 
 him. The mutual refped: was fo great, 
 that I have known French private foldiers 
 turn off with indignation any Swifs who 
 prefumed to obtrude upon them, when 
 they had the honour to entertain their 
 Englifli friends ; and I am told the Eng- 
 
 lilh. 
 
412 The AMERICAN 
 
 lifli, the war before lafl, teftified a fimi- 
 lar difguft: to their Dutch allies." 
 
 I every day fee four French with two 
 Swifs regiments paraded together, and I 
 have remarked that the privates never 
 converfe with each other. When the pa- 
 rade is over, they refpeclively diverge, 
 and exprefs a reciprocal fliynefs and diG- 
 like. They never commune together but 
 in the capacity of mafter and fcholar. 
 The French foldiers teach their Swifs 
 allies to dance. It is pleafant to pafs by 
 their quarters, where you will often ob- 
 ferve a French foldier with a becoming 
 gravity, leading a great Swifs boor the 
 mazes of the minuet de la cow\ and tlie 
 louvre y or whifking him through the 
 quicker vibrations of the allemande — the 
 Swifs difpenfes for his accomplifliments, 
 part of his fubfiftence, and thus makes 
 fome atonement for the invidious diP 
 
 tindlion 
 
WANDERER. 413 
 
 tinclion arifing from the difference of 
 their pay* 
 
 Indeed the difference of manners be- 
 tween the French and Swifs is fo obvious, 
 and the fuperiority of pay to the latter, 
 render them fo obnoxious, that, at firfl 
 view, it would feem impolicy in the 
 French to employ them ; but a little re- 
 fledlion will tell us that Switzerland forms 
 an excellent barrier to the eafl of France; 
 a fuflicient reafon to induce the French 
 to conciliate that country, by dealing 
 largely in *ts principal article of mer^ 
 cbandizcj id ej}, foldiers ; this diftindtion 
 in pay is a fufficient folution of the ha- 
 tred of the French to the Swifs ; but the 
 diflike of the latter muffc arife from diG- 
 Umilarity of manners. 
 
 The French troops are the befl: fct up, 
 and march better than any troops I have 
 feen — A nice fenlc of honour, the ibul of 
 
 their 
 
414 The AMERICAN 
 
 their armies, extends itfelf to the meanc/l 
 private ; he will not, under the idea of 
 difcipline, fubniit to perfonal infult-— 
 his officer muft not ftrikehim — Frequent 
 attempts have recently been made to in- 
 troduce this ufage, common in Germany, 
 and but too prevalent in England; but 
 the foldiery have univerfally fliewn fuch 
 abhorrence of it, that it is now entirely 
 aboJIflied, and imprifonment fubflituted 
 in its place. Some little inconveniences 
 may arife from this, yet they confefledly 
 fpring from a noble caufe. 
 
 In England officers and foldiers are re- 
 garded by their countrymen, rather widi 
 fufpicion than with love. With you a 
 man goes into the army to get a livelihood 
 — here the point of honour is to ruin 
 yourfelf in the fervice of your king. This 
 certainly is a mofl: artful policy for a 
 court to inculcate, yet to individuals it 
 Induces many bad confcquences. Al- 
 though 
 
WANDERER. 415 
 
 though the ftrongeft reafons may concur 
 to reader it expedient, it is a mod dif- 
 ficult thing, in France, to retire from 
 the army, even in time of peace, and 
 prefcrve your honour untinged ; in war 
 it is abfolutely impoffible. I have an 
 intimacy with a young gentleman of fa- 
 mily and forttuie, of the regiment du 
 Roif the Chevalier de G y ; our ac- 
 quaintance originated from his earned 
 dellre to fpeak the Englifli language, 
 which he reads very well. For a young 
 Frenchman, he has an amazing turn for 
 (ludy, and a diflike for the noify, yet 
 brilliant fcencs of life ; — he is a valetudi- 
 narian ; is fometimes affecfted with flight 
 attacks of the epilepfy ; thus is he entire- 
 ly unfit for, and I know he is averfe to 
 military habits. Pie and his intimate 
 friend the elegant Count de Beanmontf 
 partial to every thing EngHrii, frequent- 
 ly do me the honour to breakfaft with 
 me a V Angloife, I this morning took the 
 
 liberty 
 
4i6 The AMERICAN 
 
 liberty to infinuate to the young Cheva- 
 lier, my furprize that he continued in 
 the army ; he replied) ** neither' my 
 health or my difpofltion incHne me to it; 
 I would indeed moft cheerfully give half 
 of my eftate to quit the army and retala 
 my honour unblemiflied ;" but I might 
 as well banifi myfelf as retire* I fliould in- 
 evitably be defpifed, even by my own re- 
 lations ; my native country would afford 
 no countenance, no afylum for me ; in 
 France, a man of l^irth to be refpe^ed, 
 nmjl he a foldier; — In France there is no 
 fuch character as ^private country ge?itlc- 
 man, a characfter with you fo highly and 
 fo defervedly refpecled. 
 
 A late writer alFerts, that of all people, 
 the French have the leafl: compaffion ; he 
 muft have been very unlucky in the 
 choice of his acquaintance ; indeed the 
 natural liilarity of the French difpofltion 
 precludes that penfive air, that languifli- 
 
 ment 
 
WANDERER. 417 
 
 ment of countenance, the general index 
 of deep fenfibilicy — yet, with all their 
 apparent levity and frivolity, they have 
 hearts very fiifceptible, hearts feelingly 
 alive to the diftrelTes of humanity ; they 
 are born in too mild, too fweet a clime to 
 partake of that infenlibility characleriftiq 
 of the icy hearts, organized in the en- 
 virons of the northern pole ; a French- 
 man has great delicacy of nerve. I have 
 often obferved that the relation of a pa- 
 thetic flory hath call a gloom over a, 
 whole group — tears have immediately 
 fucceeded to the higheft cxcefTes of laugh- 
 ter and glee. I once faw an old French 
 ofHcer weep like an infant at the woes 
 o^ Liifignanj fo admirably reprefented by 
 Le Kdiji. One would think age is more 
 callous, lefs iifed to tiie melting mood 
 than youth, yet is it here very common 
 to fee tears fall from the eyes of age ; 
 nor are they barren tears : the piirfe of 
 the Frenchman, in proportion to his abi- 
 X) d litv. 
 
4i8 The AMERICAN 
 
 lity, is equally open to the demands of 
 diflrefs ; his heart, equally with his richer 
 neighbour, fufceptible of god-like cha- 
 rity. 
 
 Permit me to adduce a recent inftance 
 of the friendfiiip of a Frenchman to my- 
 felf, which has exceedingly affecfled me. 
 My friend and travelling companion has 
 preceded me in our intended jaunt to 
 Switzerland ; fince which, having had a 
 flight fever ; and being alone, left to 
 my own thoughts, I brooded too much 
 over my own unpleafant, uncertain fitua- 
 tion upon a point on which the whole 
 happinefs or hiftory of my future life 
 huifl hinge — This threw the fever upon 
 my nerves, and I was frequently fo low- 
 fplrited as to refufe all vifits, and entire- 
 ly to evade fociety. I have before men- 
 tioned our little agreeable friend du 
 Vacht, the principal phyfician here— 
 he Viiited me, and prefcribcd very ra^ 
 
 tionally 
 
WANDERER. 419 
 
 tionally to me during my iiiclifpofition. 
 Upon finding that he abfolutely refufed 
 all his fees, I as peremptorily refufed hFs 
 vifits, which feemed to dirtrefs him very 
 fenfibly ; I was for fome days at a lofs 
 to account for this conducl:, but he at 
 length explained himrdf; he came one 
 morning and infifted to {"ce Monficur his 
 friend ; he had conceived, as he was in- 
 formed, that all my relburccs from Ame- 
 rica were cut off, that my lownefs of 
 fj:)irits proceeded from derangement of 
 finance. — After fome helkation and much 
 circumlocution, he told me tliat he loved 
 me like a brother ; how happy fliould 
 he be, would I honour him with that 
 title ; to convince Iiim that I did fo, I 
 mud put confidence in hiiu, I mud 
 let my elder brother know the real fitua- 
 tion of my affairs. ** I am now a wi- 
 dower ; until you, my dear brother, can 
 get the income of your eflate in America 
 remitted to you, mod cliecrfully will I 
 D d 2 (liare 
 
420 The AMERICAN 
 
 fliare mine with you ; It is not large, but 
 you know my falary as principal pliyfi- 
 cian of the hofpital, makes a great part 
 of it certain ; in this cheap country it 
 will amply faffice us botli !" I was fo 
 aftoniflied, that I let him run on — ** Wc 
 have an amiable fifter, my dear brother, 
 who lives in a mofl delightful villa upon 
 the margin of the noble Lake of Geneva, 
 // vous faut la grandc air, mon cher en- 
 fant — I will carry you to reflde at her 
 houfe until the winter fliall induce you 
 to return hither — I am convinced the 
 change of ah' and her attentions will re- 
 flore your health." — Upon my refuiing 
 his oiTers with warmth, he reiterated 
 them in the mofl prelTing manner, fay- 
 ing, ** // Ic faut monfrkrc — ici vous nctcs 
 pas fur voire paille — chez vous je ferois 
 fier de vous etrc redevable dc ccs mcmcs 
 
 viiferes, 1 allured liim, candidly, tiiat 
 
 my ennui proceeded by no means from 
 
 a pecu- 
 
WANDERER. 421 
 
 a pecuniary caufe ; that my mind was 
 above tlie lois of fortune, and that I 
 (liould thuik he meant to affront me if 
 he faid another word upon the fubjeiS:. 
 -Upon my abfohite refufal, he retired with 
 ftrong marks of chagrin. From the ami- 
 able character of the man, I perfuade 
 myfelf his friendly overtures were dicta- 
 ted by fincerity, and I feel myfelf cor- 
 ^lially his debtor. 
 
 There is a trait in the characH-cr of this 
 good creature, in a Frenchman lb fingw 
 Jar, that honourable mention fliould be 
 made of it. He has loft a beautiful and 
 amiable wife, and, thougii (lie has been 
 dead Jix months, he flill laments her with 
 tears unceafingi!! He is like Rachel 
 weeping for her children, and will not 
 be comforted; he refufed for many weeks 
 to take any fnftenance, and iiis friends 
 are yet fearful that this bagatclky as they 
 term it, will cofl: him his life. I know 
 
 him 
 
422 The AMERICAN, &c. 
 
 him well, and I am convinced his for- 
 row is unfeigned, yet it is not of a fo- 
 litary kind, it is woe a la Fram^oife — one 
 moment he flirugs his flioulders and la- 
 ments his fate, the next fings, dances, 
 and fhuffiles the cards, and, while he deals 
 them, the dew drops of defpair for the 
 wife of his foul moiften the Brelan-fifli \ 
 
 FINIS. 
 

 Date Due 
 
 
 CARRFI f^rj 
 
 
 
 
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 W <- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Form 335— 40M— 6-40 
 
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 914 A512 
 
 American VTanderer 
 
 4P9360 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 DATE 
 
 ISSUED TO 
 
 
 
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