Travels of His Royal Highness the Duke d'Angoulême, through several departments of France, in 1817. Containing a statistical account of the principal commercial towns, the present state of their manufactures, etc

Front matter

DUKE OF AXGOULE3IK, TRAVELS OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE D'ANGOULEME, THROUGH SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS OF FRANCE, in 1817. CONTAINING ct statistical ctr.ount OF THE PRINCIPAL COMMERCIAL TOWNS, THE PRESENT STATE OF THEIR MANUFACTURES, &c. &c. &c. BY EDWARD PEMBERTON, ESQ. AN EYE-WITNESS. Quæsitam mentis sume superbiam. Ho*. LONDON : PRINTED FOR E. COX AND SON, ST. THOMAS'S STREET, SOVTHWARK: SOLD ALSO BY SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL, STATIONERS'-COURT ; DICKINSON AND CO. EDINBURGH; AND HODGES AND M'ARTHUR, DUBLIN. 1819. ♦ BARNARD AND FARLEY, Skinner- Street, London* TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE D'ANGOULEME, This Relation of his Travels, in which he so nobly strove to give a new life to Com merce and Industry, and to heal the bleeding wounds of conflicting opinions, and thereby gained the glorious surname of the Peace maker, is humbly dedicated, By His Royal Highness's Most obedient and devoted Servant, Edward Pemberton. a THE STATE OF FRANCE AT THE PERIOD OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE D'ANGOULEME'S TRAVELS.

X HE despotism of Napoleon, had under the pretence of encouraging commerce and manufactures, imposed such shackles on them, that at the period of the restoration they were found in a very languishing state. The character of the French nation is ready to give into the most opposite extremes ; they are all hope or fear, all confidence or despair ; and what Cæsar said of the Gauls 2000 years since, is true at the present day, " at the first onset more than men, afterwards less than women." No nation is calculated to carry success further than the French, none to despond so readily on a reverse of fortune. At Waterloo it required all the cool and invincible courage of the British phalanxes VI to resist the impetuous shocks of the French divisions, till that " hope deferred which makes the heart sick," and the appearance of the Prussians, when they expected Grouchy, struck a panic into them all ; and sauve qui peut was the signal of a flight as precipitate and as unworthy of brave men, as their previous conduct had been heroic.

In vain the brave Cambronne, at the head of a handful of the old guard, resisted and preferred death to flight. The army was annihilated, and its chief leading the van of the fugitives. Such were the French on that day, and such they will ever be found, elated or depressed beyond measure. On the second restoration, commerce was languishing, and the factions all in movement; it is true the defeated party only aspired after the peace and oblivion which His Majesty in the excess of his bounty, solemnly enjoined ; but another part ofthe nation, calling itself Royalists, merely to mask its private interests, dared to transgress His Majesty's command, and in his name hoist the standard of civil war: for in proportion as the others were depressed, they were elated, vn and signalized their joy by the most guilty excesses.

Book I

A Topographical and Statistical Description of the principal Departments through which His Royal Highness passed. A description of the above tendency is a preli minary necessary to a relation of the journey of His Royal Highness, as it not only prepares the Reader for the attention paid by His Royal Highness to the different departments, in regard to their individual importance, but it also conveys a fund of information relative to France, which cannot fail under several points of view to be interesting to the general reader. The commerce and industry of these department al offer important consideration"- to the English reader, from their greater proximity to England, and their manufactures and indus ry bearing the nearest affinity to our own. This part has therefore been embodied under one general view, that it may be seen how far we are entitled to boast of our superiority in many things, and at the same time to ascertain what we may advantageously copy from our neighbours.

B A Topographical and Statistical View of the Department of the Aisne. This department, situated in the north of France, is one ofthe richest and most populous in the kingdom; it exhibits at once a fine state of agriculture, numerous manufactures, and a very active trade. Ancient State. — It is formed of several little pro vinces, called Thierache, Vermandois, Laonnais, Jar denois, and Soissonais, comprised in southern Picardy ; of a part ofthe Valois, and another part of Brie Cham penoise, depending on the ancient province of Champagne. In the time of Cæsar, all this country was inhabited by the Suessones and the Veromandui, but the Remi occupied a part of it. Under the Roman emperors, it was comprised in the second Belgica; and after Clovis, was included in the kingdom of Soissons, which extended to the Lower Rhine ; but it was afterwards annexed to the kingdom of Austrasia.

Under the feudal go vernment, a great portion of it passed into the hands of some vassals, of whom the Counts of Vermandois were the most powerful. The towns of Laon and Soissons were included in the small number of those which con tinued directly subject to the crown. About the end of the 12th century, the county of Vermandois was re united to France. As to the part called Brie Cham penoise, its late was connected with that of Cham pagne, till the extinction of the family of the Counts of that great province, the heiress of which married, in 1284, Philippe-le-Bel, King of France. The greatest length of this department from north to south, is 29 leagues, and its greatest breadth from east to west, 18 leagues. Its name is derived from the river Aisne, which crosses it from east to west, and divides it nearly into two equal parts.

The climate, which is pretty temperate, is never theless generally cold and damp on the mountains. The transitions from heat to cold are very sudden in spring and autumn, and the finest days in summer. This variation is particularly felt three times in the day; in the morning there isa considerable freshness; towards noon, in summer, violent heat, and a piercing cold in the evening. The wind blows violently almost every day on the heights, which detain the fogs that are very frequent. These fogs are occasioned by the marshes, and as their weight varies according to the temperature of the air, their elevation is seen to change at different hours of the day. After having been driven about by the winds on the surface of the plains, they rise by degrees along the hills and mountains, and rest on their summits, while the plains are entirely free.

It was observed with care during thirty-two years at Laon, that on an average, there were 110 days of rain, 15 of snow, 60 of frost, 104 of wind, 5 of storm, 35 of fog, and 36 of thunder. The inhabitants of Laon are subject to various diseases, which appear to result from the sharpness of the air, the frequent variation of its temperature, and the bad quality of the water. That which descends from the mountains is in fact a source of infirmities to the natives; its extreme coldness hurts their teeth, and its chalky quality occasions swellings, obstruc tions, and other bad consequences. The inhabitants of the mountains are not subject to b epidemic diseases, while those on the plains are much troubled with them, particularly in marshy places, almost every year. The vapours that rise from the marshes fall on the neighbouring villages, and do much mischief.

Though this department, properly speaking, has no chain of mountains, nor mountain, properly so called, but merely hills, yet nature seems to have divided it into two distinct parts; one to the north, which isa boundless plain, and appears horizontal ; the other to the south, covered with a chain of hills, which present every kind of sinuosity, and extend from east to west. This chain is every where 300 feet above the plains, and 630 above the level of the sea. The declivity of these hills is in general rather rapid, and forms with their base an angle of 60 degrees. The mountain of Laon is one of the most remark able in this district, owing to its insulation in the midst ofthe vast plain which surrounds it ; it is only 300 feet above the level of this plain. This department is watered by several rivers, four of which have their source in it, and become considerable streams.

The Scheld rises at a small distance from Castelet, and hav ing passed by Cambray, and received the waters of the Scarpe, becomes navigable. Below Fort Lillo it divides into two branches, one of which, passing near Bergen op Zoom, is called the Eastern Scheld, and the other running towards Flushing, where it falls into the sea, is named the Western Scheld. The Sambre rises in the sorest of Rouvion, and falls into the Meuse at Namur. The Somme takes its source at Fonsomme, about two leagues from St. Quentin, passes by Amiens and Abbeville, and falls into the English Channel, a little below Crotoy. This river, flowing through a broad meadow, which being lower than its bed, forms marshes very injurious to the salubrity of the air, and is not navigable till it reaches Amiens. The Ourcq rises in the forest of Ris, and falls into the Marne.

This department has several canals in a finished state, besides some which are in a course of completion, and others in contemplation. The important canal of Ourcq reaches to the barrier of La Villette, at Paris, where its waters are received in a bason or reservoir, and thence distributed to the different quarters in the north of Paris. Soil and Agriculture. — The actual soil of the de partment of the Aisne, seems to attest its sub-marine origin ; the nature and disposition of its sandy and chalky plains, and its hills, which present salient angles corresponding with returning angles, exhibit strong proofs of it. In general, the nature of the soil is calcareous, in horizontal layers, with the exception ofthe north-east part, at which begin the argillaceous schisti in vertical or inclined beds, and extend from thence perhaps to the banks of the Rhine.

In divers points of the department the calcareous earth disappears under the sand and sandstone ; on the side of Soissons, on the contrary, the sand is commonly the basis of the calcareous earth. At St. Gobain, the calcareous stone is almost immediately under the vegetable mould. The quarries which have been opened in the forest mostly serve for houses to the poor inha bitants of the country. In general, the principal layers which compose the soil of this department, from the summit of the hills to the greatest depth that has been dug in the plain, are, 1. Under three feet of vegetable mould, a bed of calcareous 6tone, nearly 50 feet deep: 2. A layer of clay, 6 feet thick : 3. A bed of fine sand of 232 feet : 4. A layer of argillaceous earth, 9 feet: 5. A bed of chalk that has not yet been penetrated through.

The land of this department is very much diversified with respect to the nature of the soil. It is slimy or argillaceous, sandy or calcareous. That which is called mountain land, and consists of the most elevated plains, is the most fertile, and produces the best corn. The principal part of the agriculture consists in three successive courses; one, of wheat and rye; the second, of oats, barley, vetches, and other small grain ; the third, fallow. Lands which will not grow wheat, are sown with buck-wheat, oats, and saintfoin. In general, agriculture is pretty well understood in this department, and has made great progress during the last fifty years, but it is still susceptible of improvement. The farmers are intelligent, but, as in other places, they are often too much attached to an ancient routine of management.

The meadows, though nearly equally distributed through all parts ofthe department, are not abundant. The most fruitful are on the oanks ofthe Oise, and the environs of Fere especially, furnish hay ofthe first quality, of which a part is carried off for the supply of Paris. The vallies near the Murne also produce good grass, and in great abundance, but every where else it is bad, and particularly that which grows on the marshy grouu ... In those parts where there are no meadows, a supply is obtained from artificial grasses; but this practice is not so general as it might be. The farms, especially in the district of Soissons, are from three to eight ploughs, 90 or 100 acres to a plough ; but in general they are of less extent in other districts. • The proprietors, who lease out their lands, furnish nothing but the dwelling; the live-stock, the seed, the labouring instruments and tools, all belong to the farmer.

The leases are in general for nine years. Since the revolution, the number of proprietors has augmented a little ; but if, on one hand, the result has been a better system of agriculture, with some, on the other hand, in a country of which the principal pro duction is corn, too great a division of land is hurtful to agriculture; it increases the expense of tillage, requires a greater quantity of seed, and diminishes the quality ofthe produce. It must be observed, moreover, that the great farming operations have themselves suffered from want of sufficient capital in the new pro prietor. It is thus, that some of the farmers, who as such, were in easy circumstances before they acquired the property which they farmed, had no longer, after the acquisition, the means of carrying on their agriculture on a sufficiently extensive scale.

Neither has the partition of the Commons in this de partment produced the advantages expected from it : on the contrary, by the tillage to which it has given rise, it has considerably diminished the stock of cattle, and especially the sheep. This diminution is the less compensated by the tillage, as the land of most of the Commons was not of a quality good enough to be tilled with regular success, and the proprietors, who had no other land, had not the means of manuring them sufficiently to maintain their fertility. Many parishes now regret having made use of a faculty of which they did not foresee the inconveniences. The observations in this, and the preceding para graph, are applicable to the greatest part of France. The principal vegetable productions of this depart ment are, wheat, rye, barley, oats, vetches, and other small grain ; hay, wood, cider, wine, vegetables, hemp, flax, and other oleaginous plants.

Flax is an object of great cultivation, especially in the district of St. Quentin. Hemp also is sown, but chiefly in the district of Laon and Soissons ; it is made into linen for domestic use. Vegetables are cultivated nith great care ; and the district of Laon furnishes artichokes, which are much esteemed in the Paris market, and a great quantity of carrots; in the environs of Soissons, the haricots are produced, which bear its name. Oil is made from the rape and other plants, and from the seed of hemp and flax ; the mast which is gathered in the forest of Villers-Coterets, yields an oil that is proper for food. The wine, moreover, is an object of culture ; but the districts of St Quentin and Vervins, and a great' part of that of Laon wholly neglect it ; it only begins to the south of Laon, and on the hills which border the rivers Aisne and Marne.

The vicinity of the marshes occasions, almost every year, destructive frosts to the vineyards that are ex posed to them, which has even induced many pro prietors to tear them up. The quality of wine, and its produce, vary "according to the nature of the soil, and its exposure ; but the greater part is consumed in the country. Cider and beer are the common drink of the inhabitants of the northern part ofthe department. The department of the Aisne is well wooded, and the extent of the forests is estimated at 216,000 acres, which is about a seventh of its territory. There are several departments in Francp, of which one third of the surface is covered with wood. As to its animal productions, horses, cattle, sheep, &c. are the principal ; as this department has no very good grass lands, and the cultivation of artificial grasses is not much extended, the rearing of live stock is not one ofthe principal resources.

Horses are only used in ploughing in general, and are of a poor kind. In the vine districts, asses, of a small bad breed, are used for transporting manure, and for carrying provisions to the markets. The horned cattle also are generally poor, especially in the marshes. They have a bad practice of selling their calves too young, which are often killed when they are only ten, and even only two or three days old. The breed of sheep is bad, and their wool coarse, though they have a few Spanish rams among their flocks, but not in sufficient number. Swine are very numerous, and it is almost the only meat which is consumed by those who live in the country. This department is not rich in mineral productions; it has no metallic mine at work, nor any coal pit; and it seems doubtful if this substance could be found, unless, indeed, they bored considerably below the hori zontal calcareous beds, of which the soil is composed.

A substance called earth-coal (terre-houille), is to be found, however, in great abundance, in beds, more or less thick, and generally situated at no great depth under the cultivated lands. It is a sort of in flammable peat, but burns ill, and cannot be applied to the uses of coal. It is chiefly used, either in its natural state, or when burnt for manure, and is called black ashes (cendres noires). The whole extent of this department is 1,484,500 acres (arpens) ; and the population is 430,618 in habitants, which gives 1160 fora square league. The natives of this department are commonly tall and robust; laborious, economical, and make good soldiers. They are intelligent, and capable of ap plication to the arts and sciences, which some of them cultivate w ith success. Their disposition is open and gentle, though mixed with vivacity,and being submissive to the laws and government, thev are at.ire peaceable than stirring.

Agriculture is their principal occupa tion, and manufactures are almost exclusively confined to the northern parts ofthe department. Before the revolution, the department of the Aisne had several establishments for the cultivation of litera ture and the arts. There was au academy at Soissons, established by letters-patent, in 1694, composed of 20 academicians, which took the title of eldest daughter of the French Academy at Paris. Its device was a young eagle, rising towards the sun, with this motto, " Maternis ausibus audax." They distributed every year a gold medal, worth 300 livres, for the best com position in prose or verse. There is no lyceum or college in this department at present, the nearest being at Rheims, but there are several public schools. There are several protestants in this department, but they have only one consistorial church.

Laon is a considerable town, situated on an insu lated hill, in the midst of an extensive plain, and enjoys a very fine view It is supposed that it occupies the place of Bibracte, of which Cæsar speaks in his Commentaries. In ancient times, and before the in vention of artillery, its position placed it in the rank of an important place, and it has sustained many sieges. It contains 6,600 inhabitants. The only remarkable edifice is the ancient cathedral, which is spacious, and has four towers of delicate workmanship, 150 feet liigh. Laon was the native place of Anselm, dean of the church, and founder of the school which flourished there, during the 11th, and beginning of the 12th century, from which came the most learned men of the time, and among them the famous Abelard. St Quentin is a very ancient, fortified town, situated on the Somme.

It was known in the time of the Romans, by the name of Augusta Veramanduorum, and is celebrated for the battle fought under its walls in 1577, after which the Spaniards took it by assault. Its church is one of the finest in France. It contains 10,400 inhabitants, enjoys a flourishing state of com merce, and ha3 always been renowned for its linen manufactures. This town has produced several very remarkable men Luke Dachery, a most learned antiquary, Charlevoix, the celebrated missionary, and Peter Ramus, were natives of this place. The latter was born in the year 1515; he was one of the first who attacked the doctrines of Aristotle, and one of the most zealous Protestants in tbe beginning of the Re formation. He perished in the massacre of St. Bar tholomew's day, at Paris, in the year 1572.

Babœuf, and Condorcet, who made such a distinguished figure in the French Revolution, were also natives of St. Quentin, or the immediate neighbourhood. Soissons is an ancient, fortified, and fine town, situated on the banks of the river Aisne. The inhabitants of the Soissonais have almost preserved the name of Suessones, which they had when Cæsar entered Gaul. It was in the»vicinity of this town, that the victory gained by Clovis over Syagrius, in 486, completed the destruction of the Roman power in Gaul. It was the residence of many kings of the first race in France, and Pepin, the founder of the second, was there elected king. Vervins is famous for the peace concluded there, between Henry IV. and Philip II. in 1598. Chateau-Thierry was the birth place of La Fontaine, the fabulist. La Fere is a small, but ancient and fortified town, remarkable for its school of artillery, the most ancient in France, as well as its arsenal.

Guise is a little town on the Oise, famous for having given its name to a younger branch of the House of Lorraine, which acted so great a part in the history of France in the 16th century. Coucy, renowned for its ancient lords, called Sires de Coucy, had formerly a strong castle, built in 1052, by Enguerrand de Coucy. One enormous tower still remains, 260 feet high, and 300 in circumference, of which the walls are 32 feet thick. Its construction is so solid, that an earthquake which happened in the 16th century, split it from top to bottom, without af fecting its perpendicular. La Ferte-Milon is situated on the Ourcq, and gave birth to Racine, considered by some as the first of the French tragic poets. Some vestiges of Roman camps, with tombs, urns, and medals, have been discovered at different times in this country.

About the year 1636, the remains of a building from 80 feet long to 30 broad, were discovered under ground near St. Quentin. The bottom was covered with a cement, nearly six inches thick, very smooth and hard, and under it was a bed of large strong tiles, of different sizes. In the ruins was found, also, half a saucer, of a fine red earth, with a varnish equally as fine. Monuments of another k ind, and of still greater antiquity, are heaps or barrows, in some of which armour and bones have been found, while others do not contain any thing. They are thought to have been the tombs of some Gaulish generals, who, it is well known, used to be buried with their horses and arms, and had a heap of earth raised over them. A Topographical and Statistical Description of tke Department of the North. This department, situated in the north-west part of Fiance, is the most populous, and one of the richest and most industrious : its soil is very fertile, its agri culture excellent, its commerce very active, and it contains many flourishing and manufacturing towns. .indent State. — It is formed of French Flanders, almost the whole of French Hainault, and the Cam bresis.

This part of ancient Belgium was originally inhabited by a people who came from Germany, and who were attracted thither by the fertility of the soil ; but hardly any thing of them is known before their conquest by Julius Cæsar. It appears by Cæsar's Commentaries, and from other authors, that the people spread over that part of Bel gium which now forms the Department of the North, were known by the four different names of Nervii, Atrebates, Morini, and Menapii. They lived under chiefs who were chosen from among the nobles, and had Druids for their legislators. They were in general celebrated for their courage, and Cæsar says, that in this respect they surpassed the other people of Gaul. The Roman general employed six years in subduing them, and only succeeded in part by leaving them their privileges and laws.

At the time of this conquest, the country was already fertile, and abounded in corn and millet ; flax was cultivated as at present, and the agriculture was in a good state. They had a species of wheat, which gave a greater quantity of flour than any other; it was called brame, a word which is probably still preserved in a good sort of corn, called blanzi. The power ofthe Romans continued in Belgium for near 500 years. About the middle of the fifth century, (446) Clodian king ofthe Franks (who came from beyond the Rhine,) at the head of some warlike tribes, seized Tournay, entered the country of the Atrebates, defeated the Romans in a spot called Helena vicus, and took possession ofthe whole country as far as the Somme. This country experienced various revolutions, and acknowledged different masters in after times.

Charles the Bold, king of France, in the year 862, gave to Baldwin his son-in-law, first count of Flanders, all the coantry situated between the Scheld, the Somme, and the sea, except Cambray, and the Cambresis, which made a part of the kingdom of Lothaire, since called the kingdom of Lorraine. In 130., Walloon Flanders was under the domina tion of the kings of France : but in 1369, it was again united to the county of Flanders, by the marriage of Philip duke of Burgundy, brother of Charles V. king of France, with Margaret, only daughter and heiress ofthe count of Flanders. All these provinces, with the rest of Belgium, came to the house of Austria, in 1477, by the marriage of Maximilian of Austria, afterwards Emperor, with Mary of Burgundy, daughter and heiress of Charles the Bold. Their son ascended the throne of Castile, and his descendants reigned over all Spain; so that Flanders and Hainault were Spanish provinces, till the conquest of them by Lewis XIV. which was con firmed by the treaties of Aix la Chapelle in 1668, of Nimeguen, in 1678, and of Utrecht, in 1713.

The Department ofthe North is ofthe small number of those which derive their name from their topographical position ; it is the most northern one of France. Climate. — The climate of this department is generally cold and damp : and the neighbourhood of the sea, its low and often marshy soil, the numerous rivers and rivulets which traverse it in every direction, and the TRAVELS OP HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS frequent fog.=, preserve a great humidity in the at mosphere. This department being generally flat and even, has few elevations. On the borders of the sea, there are downs, which keep in the waters, and prevent them from spreading over the land which is below their level. The mountain on which the town of Cassel is situated, is properly speaking only a hill, which is called a mountain in that country, because for several leagues round it is only a vast and very low plain.

This mountain, which has a conical form, is only about 280 feet above the plain, and 330 above the level of the sea. In clear weather, the coast of England, which is 15 leagues distant in a direct line, may be seen from its summit, and the view extends over a vast horizon on all sides. It is said that from this point 30 towns, and 100 villages at least may be discovered ! The soil of the department of the North, being generally flat, and but little raised above the level ofthe sea, gives rise to the surmise that its plains, now so fertile and well cultivated, were once vast marshes successively dried by the most extensive and obstinate labour. The lands in the district of Bergues, which is the nearest to the sea, can only be cultivated at present by laborious drainings, renewed and followed up assidu ously every year.

Every winter they are partly covered by water ; but by means of these works, they are drawn off, and industry triumphs over the obstacles of nature. Between Cassel and St. Omer, there is a considerable marsh, called Clair-Marius, which has never yet been drained. It is even so deep, that it supports on its sur face floating islands, nearly 300 feet in extent. These islands, where cattle are driven tograze,are directed from one place to another by means of a cord fastened to an anchor which is sunk in the sod. Besides the rivers which flow through it, it is also intersected by a great number of canals, some of which serve for navigation, and the others for draining the low, wet, and marshy grounds. The department of the North has long enjoyed the advantage of easy, safe, and speedy means of communication, and transport, by its rivers and navigable canals, not only in every part of its territory, but also with the surrounding countries, and even with the sea.