Letters from France, describing the manners and customs of its inhabitants: with observations on the Arts and Manufactures ... Interspersed with anecdotes of ... public characters

Preface

. IT is right tlie reader should know that these Letters were not only written in 1802, but that a great part of them were actually printed in that year; since which, until the present moment, they have remained in the hands of the printer. Hav ing made no pledge, I do not conceive myself bound to assign the motive which induced me to n-ithhold them from the world, but the most cursory perusal of them, will render any further explanation unnecessary. Many authors have travelled with an intention of submitting to their country men the result of their inquiries ; and on their return home, have quietly composed in tlieir closets, a series of Letters for the press, which every one knows, were never sent from the countries that they had a 2 vi-ited. visited. There is no fault to be found with this method; on the contrary, it is perhaps, the most correct, provided the writer as serts merely what he had previously as certained, and noted for future use. .Vhen the manners of a people, and the character of a government arc about to be described, the most retentive memory ought not to be exclusively trusted.

But, in either case, the easy familiarity ofthe epistolary style is the best whicli can be employed. This style 1 have adopted in these volumes, from necessity; the greater part of them having been written in Paris, for the information of a respected and learned friend, whose enfeebled state of health, inclined him. to resort to the milder cli mate of France, in case my representa tions of its political condition Mere such, as to exhibit a reasonable expectation, that security of property, and tranquillity of mind, might be enjoyed in that country. But, 1 would not be understood, that all tlie Letters written with this view, readied the person for whom they werC intended ; nor are they, even now, inserted in the body of this work, without selection. Much V Much has been withheld, for ihe present, from the eye of the public, and that which appears, my personal safety com pelled me to suppress Avhile in France. -, A short time after the correspondence commenced, I learnt that my Letters had been inspected before they left Paris.

A distinguished member of the French Go vernment gave me early information of the fact, and about the same time I received intelligence from England, that they had been opened before they reached the General Post-OfKce in London. With my experience ofthe genius ofthe Govern ment, under whose protective power I then lived, these hints sufficed to inspire pru dence. Hence, several of my Letters were written in France, but not sent to England ; and the remainder have been since com piled from the notes, which I invariably wrote down every night before I retired to rest. This circumstance will therefore ac count for the freedom which is apparent throughout these volumes; the impression of the facts recorded, being to this hour strong in my mind. A 3 But VI But here are details foreign from the objects which my friend required me to explore, and which demand explanation.

My principal motive in going to Fiance was, to collect the ashes of a beloved and lost relative; the secondary one was, to investigate, as far as the opportunity would permit, the state of a people, whose cause, it had been my fate to espouse in the morning of my days, and for which act of youthful ignorance and infatuation, the unforgiving hand of pro scription still weighs heavily upon me, in despight of every gratuitous concession, of recantation, public, solemn, and un invited, of seven years of disinterested and ardent zeal in the cause of my King and Country, accompanied by the greatest voluntary personal sacrifices, without de scending to cringing baseness and servi lity. Such a change in the habit of think ing is not common, and the avowal of it much less so *. It requires some courage * The public have already acknowledged this fact, by the favourable reception my political writings have experienced from their candour. to to brave the frowns of those from whom wre separate ourselves, and I feel by ex perience, that it requires also the most inflexible fortitude, to persevere.

I have succeeded in both ; but the stru_r_rle has not been very great, because I acted from the dictates of conscience awakened by ex perience. Hence, although as an indi vidual, I think I have not met with Jus tice, and cannot reconcile to any rules of morality, public or private, the con duct which I have experienced from those who have debarred me from the exercise of an honourable profession, to which I »m entitled1 by education, character and study ; yet, few men can be more happy than I am, and none triumph more than I do, in the welfare, power, and prosperity of this country. Observe now, the.amaz ing difference which accident occasions in the minds of men. There are virgin characters who have never trodden out of the beaten track of their forefathers, and who believe themselves chaste, because they have never been tempted.

These, never pardon a faux-.pas ; and I am sure, I will not quarrel with them on that ao a -i count. count. But, ask any of these constitutional virgins, in what chastity consists ? by the power of common sense, they will be ready to tear your eyes out. 1 am not querulous upon this head. Suppose then, without metaphor, you ask of a man who believes as his father believed before him, and who never committed political in his life, to define the nature and effects of the English constitution ; I will ven ture to stake my head (to which, by the bye, I am a little more attached than 1 was twelve years ago) that in ninety-nine out of a hundred, the only answer you will extort from them will be, that their fathers were happy under it, and so are they. Even with this answer, I am satis fied — it is to be expected from the mass of mankind ; and it is amongst the mercies of Providence, (remember, 1 always speak under the impression of experience, that useful monitor) that the spirit of con tentment should, in a greater or lesser degree, pervade the minds of the millions governed, for the sake of their own happiness.

But, conceive the marvellous pos sibility ol a repentænt sinner, who once believed believed as his father did ; who afterwards erred, and then, after having fed swine, repents and says, " I have sinned, Sec" ask of Mm to define the English constitution. To the prejudices of education, yon .vill find snperadded the advantages of experience ; he will have journejed into a far country, seen much, and brought back nothing but regret at his departure from home; he will illustrate it by reason, grasp it with affection, and be ready to shed his blood in its defence. If such a man can prove it to be without compe tition, in the equity of its principles, and the universal beneficence of its effects; Avould you not have compassion, run, fall on his neck, &c. ? — There are, however, some men in this country who think dif ferently.

Every man attentive to the operations of his own understanding, must distin guish between that mental satisfaction which results from habit, and that which results from the combinations of reflection. I should listen with greater attention to a defence of the Christian religion, from a man who had renounced, and af terwards resumed it on conviction, than to the X the most erudite divine ; because, the workings of his mind, which led to that conviction, must carry with them unusual force and evidence, j An instance of this kind, has fallen within my own observa-. tion. But I think the argument is ten fold stronger in politics, because we have visible demonstration every day before us, on which to form our judgment. This then, is the rock on which I have stationed myself for many years, and from which, I am not afraid to challenge discussion, The constitution of this empire, is not to be sought after in books, in forms, in outr ward vanities, or in imperishable compacts which are burnt twelve months after their enregistration ; but in that happy dispo. sition of human power and freedom, by which, the advantages of Government are reconciled with the only object of society, namely, the protection of property; under which generical term, are implied, the personal security, the domestic union, the intellectual and progressive improver ment of the people governed.

This is my opinion of the English constitution, and the following pages will attest, that I recogrecognize nothing under the assumed name of Liberty, which is not resolvable into this principle. Was it therefore, irrational, that I should wish to fill up the complement of my own conviction, by repairing to the land of Liberty, Equality, and Philosophy, in order to see what treasures the Wise Men, who had come from the F^ast, had brought to the most enlightened nation that ever existed, or will exist, upon the face of the earth P Had I no interest in making my prejudiced countrymen acquainted with that illustrious scheme of legislation which these sages brought from Grand Cairo ? And should I not have degraded my dignity as a travelling philosopher, if I had not marked down for their benefit, the il luminated habits of a regenerated people?

Fortunately, I stood in no need of many Letters^ of introduction to that class of society, whose acquaintance was indis pensably necessary to the resolution of my inquiries. On my arrival at Paris, I found that most of those whom I had known years ago, filled the highest situations in the state, and it is but justice to declare, they they received me with the greatest politeness and cordiality. The only part whicli I had to act, was that of a diligent and impartial observer. This circumstance is no otherwise important than, as far as it shews, that I had free access to men of experience, and not unfrequently to public documents. I had seen France, clothed in many different garbs, royal, constitutional, and democratic ; I wished to see her in her consular dress, and to ascertain, by ocular demonstration, what were her views, her wishes, and her hopes; whether the state of her mind displayed contentment and happiness, or whether, fatigued by great exertions, she were merely taking breath.

The zeal and anxiety with which I pursued these researches, can be conceived only by persons who are incessantly occupied in some favourite pursuit; and as to my qualifications for forming any judgment on political sub jects, I prefer no other claim before the public, than that experience which the most ordinary capacity must have acquired, during fifteen years of habitual observation, and often of active engagement, ment, in some of the most busy and tem pestuous scenes, that ever employed the attention of mankind. In the discharge of what I conceive to be a duty to my country, I have abstained from compromising those to whose at tentions and intelligence, the public and myself are indebted for many important facts. Had it been possible for me to have narrated all that I had learnt, without endangering their personal safety, tliese volumes would have exhibited the blackest and most dismal record of human cruelty, ambition, and perfidy, that ever was sub mitted to the. world.

Where I have men tioned names, and occasionally with as perity, let it be recollected that the objects of my censures, have merited them, from their voluntary exposure of themselves to public animadversion. There is not a line in these volumes that will cause one pang, in the breast of an honest soul. But public murderers, thieves, and pros titutes, legislative coxcombs, and political coquettes, in Avhatever shape they appear, are open to the lash of criticism, and I trust 1 have done them justice. The fi The sacred war, in whfcfi Ave ate nOAV fortunately embarked, seems to invite me, to disclose Avhatever may prove serviceable to the Public Cause ; and above all, to examine the constitution, and unprin cipled objects of that infernal Govern ment, which has long meditated, and ex ists only by pursuing the destruction of property, morals, and public felicity.

If my private obligations should not call me many thousand miles from this glorious theatre of human struggles ; or should 1 be so fortunate as to escape that pesti lential malady with which the sins of Europe are visited on its sons in the Torrid Zone, I here pledge myself, on my return, to share in the general efforts, as long as o 7 _> pen, ink, and paper are to be found in the world, and this arm possesses strength enough to push a sword up to the hilt in the body of a. Corsican slave. In the mean time, let these volumes be my re presentatives. I am not insensible of the aAvful magnitude ofthe present conflict; but it is with pride I declare from local experience, that if we remain true and stedfast to our pur pose, pose, being neither too much elated by prosperous events, nor depressed by ad verse ones, Ave shall infallibly cleanse the earth of the vilest incendiaries by whom it was eA'er scourged ; and Ave shall place the safety, power, and independence of our beloved country upon a basis, invul nerable against the violence of conquest, or the ravages of time.

No subject of this empire can now be an indifferent spectator of the contest ; from the prince to the shepherd, the interests to preserve are mighty beyond description ; it is therefore the cause or one and all. Every station is become a post of honour, and the private Avho smites an invading Frenchman, merits the thanks of his country, as well as the General who leads him into battle. Vengeance for Heaven, vengeance for Mankind, vengeance for Britain, vengeance for Public Freedom, are the rallying Avords to action, and the voice of bleeding humanity in every region of the world. < Vengeance has at last become justice and mere}'. It is possible we may fall: but if' we should, fall, let us expire in dreadful glory; let let us leave the world such a desolation, that no honest man shall wish to live in it ; and that it shall be a proper habitation only for raging Avolves and tygers. ,*# A Volume, containing my Travels in Swissf.ulak p, is now in the Press, and will shortly be submitted to the public. CON- CONTENTS.

Letter XVI

Garden of Plants — Gallery qf Natural fiistory — Philosophical Lectures- •••.«•• 223 LETTER XVtl. The Arsenal — Site qf the Bastille — Fauxbourg St. Antoine. The Donjon de Vincennes — Short Account of the Ex-Director Francois de Neufchateau. The Temple ■ • 247

The Pantheon and its Library — Halle au Bled — The Sorbonne — Observatories • • • • 340 LETTER LETTERS PROM FRANCE, iisr 1802.

Letter I

Arrival at Calais. Paris, April 14, 1802. J. HE concourse of Englishmen who are flocking to this capital, induce me to give you an enlarged detail of the moral and political state of France. Twelve years of unceasing revolutions, have, in a great degree, changed the face of a country, highly favoured by nature, in richness of soil, and mildness of climate. But, amidst all the dilapi dations of civil discord, and the ravages of foreign armies, this nation has become doubly formidable to Europe, by the inordinate encrease of her territory and population. The causes which have conspired to effect this wonderful change, I shall endeavour to explain ih my future letters ; at the same time, I shall have the melancholy task of unfolding to your mind, that after all the bloodshed, the misery, and the changes which have vol. r'. e been been wrought by the Revolution, France, has re turned into all the habits of her ancient system, and is compelled to seek internal repose in the bosom of an uncontrolled military despotism.

After having passed three days at Dover, where A\e met with the greatest attentions from Mr. Payne, at the York Hotel, we embarked on board the Venus for Calais. The price of the passage before the war, was only half a guinea ; on the signature of the preliminaries of peace, the sum of six guineas was demanded, which was gradually reduced to one guinea and an half each per son, which was the sum we paid, with five shillings to the Mate, and seven to the Steward. The sailors also expect to be remembered, but it is a matter that is wholly left to your own discre tion., For a carriage you pay two guineas. Both at Dover and at Calais, the passports are examined with great minuteness, but on both sides of the water, every effort is made to render this circumstance as little irksome as possible to the traveller.

My passport was signed by the King, and countersigned by Lord Pelham, the Secretary of State. On our arrival at Dover, Mr. Payne undertook to see it properly verified at the Custom house, Avhere it was again countersigned by the Controller. This is all that is requisite on your side of tlie water, but at Calais, the ceremony is much more .ciupulous and imposing. Unfortunately, at the time time of our arrival off the coast of Calais, the tide was ebbing, and our vessel, by running too near to the land, got upon the sand, where we were obliged to remain till the tide flowed. From this circumstance Ave did not enter the harbour until three o'clock in the morning, after having been at sea fourteen hours. I mention this occurrence that in case you should cross the channel you must take the precaution of leaving Dover early in the morning, if possible, as you will find we were exposed to great inconveniences from arriving in the harbour after the gates of the town were shut.

As soon as we had anchored, an officer at tached to the municipality came on board the packet to inspect our passports, and to carry them to M. Mengaud, the Commissary General. I inquired of this person whether I could not be permitted to land, to which n3 replied, that it was impossible to enter the town until the gates were opened at eight o'clock in the morning, but there Avas a cabaret, or little pot alehouse, to Avhich strangers were permitted to resort in order to refresh themselves, if they thought proper. As I had never experienced a similar difficulty at any former period when I visited France, it sfruck me forcibly, that this was a manœuvre of the officer, who was in colleague with the keeper of the alehouse, to bring travellers to his house, for the sake of a little gain. Accordingly I demanded B 2 to to examine his commission, with which he in stantly complied, and with the greatest politeness.

It was couched in most peremptory terms, and contained a general prohibition against the ad mission of any stranger unless permission had been previously granted by the Commissary- General, and the passport had been duly verified by the Municipality. Under these circumstances it was evident no blame whatever attached to the officer ; and as the permission rested solely in the breast of the Commissary General M. Mengaud, I immediately gave the officer a letter of recommendation with which I had been favoured to the Commissary, and requested him, in behalf of the lady who was with me, to deliver it to him immediately, not doubting in the least but that the usual gal lantry of the French character Avould facilitate our entrance into the town, and save us the disagreeable necessity of sitting up all night in the cabin of the packet.

But I was, in this instance, compelled to undergo another mortification. The officer willingly undertook to deliver the letter, but assured me that it was more than his place was worth to disturb M. Mengaud when he was asleep. " What! not for a lady ?" " No, Sir, not for the prettiest woman upon the face of the earth." " Tell him then that I am a French citizen, and have served in the French armies, and am come to seek my property." " This, Sir, 4 (hs (he replied with a good natured but significant smile) will be one of tlie best reasons for retarding your progress." Finding that his orders were peremptory, and that his situation precluded him from acquiescing with a request which I am persuaded his good nature would willingly have complied Avith, I de sisted from giving any further trouble, contenting myself Avith the remark, that since the revolution the spirit of gallantry had changed sides, for in England a French lady Avould have experienced a different reception *.

We were thus obliged to remain until past six o'clock in the morning in this uncomfortable situation, when being completely exhausted, we were compelled to leave the vessel, and aocept of the invitation which the officer had made us. As we were going to the cabaret, we met the officer, and I immediately inquired whether he had delivered the letter to M. Mengaud, to which he answered, that he had been to his house, but that he was still asleep. " What time will the bashaw rise?" " When he is awake." " How long will it be before that great event will take place ?" " Not before nine o'clock, for he went to bed drunk last night." * This is a fact, which on my return to England, I had an opportunity of seeing realized. We B We Avere then conducted to a little pig-stye beside the gates of the tOAvn for the purpose of undergoing a little pleasant ceremony, quite unique in its kind.

It is called la visite de la personne, or the examination of each person. Four of the passengers only could be admitted at the same time, when tAvo officers of the customs gently passed their hands over the ladies dresses, and contented themselves with asking me, Avhether I had any contraband goods about me; " Yes," I replied, " I have three English guineas." "Eh, Monsieur," said one of them, " they are Avel come to France." After this pleasantry, Ave were allowed to enter the cabaret, Avhich was a wretched hovel, filled Avith fishermen, Avho were drinking beer and gin. There Ave Avere regaled with coffee and bread, so disgustingly bad, that we could not touch either, and for Avhich each person was charged three English shillings ! I could not avoid observing, while paying our hostess, that I did not doubt but that when I next visited France, I should have the honour of Avaiting upon her husband as Mayor of Calais, within the walls of the town ; for at the rate she Avent, she was certain of amassing a large fortune very soon.

There were nine of us in company, so that she cleared twenty-seven shillings in a moment; and certainly such imposition gave to strangers a very unfavour able impression of their future treatment in the interior. % While While Ave Avere thus expecting the happy moment when M. Mengaud had snorted aAvay the fumes of the Avine on the preceding night, I en tered into conversation Avith a fisherman who was sitting in the room. He stated, that the peace with England had caused a general joy through out all France, particularly in the tOAvn of Calais, Avhich had suffered extremely by the war; that its existence depended on the communication Avith Dover, and that at some periods during the Avar, the inhabitants were in a most deplorable condition ; and had it not been for the humane interference of the Municipality, many of them would hWe been starved ; that the young and the middle aged had no other resource to avoid being famished than to repair to the armies, which were chiefly subsisted by the plunder of foreign coun tries.

He confessed that this usage of the inhabitants of foreign states was extremely hard, but what could they do ? they had no alternative be tween famine and conquest, and self-preservation dictated, that of two evils it was the interest of Frenchmen to choose the least. These opinions Avere fully supported by a young" man avIio joined in the conversation, and who in formed me that extreme necessity had forced him to abandon the roof of his father, and to become a soldier.- He had served Avith reluctance in all the campaigns against the English, and had risen to the rank of Captain of Grenadiers. The b 4 French French armies, he said, were perfectly heedless of the events which occurred in Paris during the revolution ; their common principle was to obey their officers, and to plunder for bread.

When ever any new general was sent to take the com mand of a division of the army, his language was uniformly the same as that of his predecessor; " Behind you there is nothing but want and misery; in front, glory and plenty;" and thus for glory and plenty they fought and bled, but never for liberty, which he acknoAvledged Frenchmen did not understand, and never could enjoy." When I remonstrated on the great inconveni ence to which English ladies were exposed by the port regulations, the only reply he made was, " It is not the fault of our Municipality, for they are really men of worth ; if you were to write to any person in the administration of our govern ment, the only ansAver you would obtain would be, it is the will of the first Consul, and that must be obeyed." I next inquired, whether a little douceur would not procure me admission into the town?

He answered, that for five shillings I might bribe the whole town, but that no sum of money could purchase disobedience to an order of the first Consul ; besides, the Argus he had planted in it (alluding to Mengaud) was so much the terror of the whole department, that nothing could escape his prying eyes. At At length the officer returned, about half past eight o'clock, and acquainted me that M. Men gaud would be happy to receive me. We were first conducted to the town-hall, where we an- SAvered to our names, and thence Ave were per mitted to go to our respective inns, after being solemnly charged to present ourselves before the great bashaAv for our passports. After having refreshed myself at Ducrocqs *, I proceeded to the house of the Commissary Gene ral, and, for the. first time in my life, had an opportunity of seeing the man who too faithfully fulfilled the orders of the Executive Directory, and who illumined the flames of civil discord, and paved the Avay for the introduction of the French troops into a country whose former independence, freedom, and simplicity, formed the theme of universal admiration, and amidst whose cloud capt mountains and retired valleys I had passed the happiest hours of my early youth.

Such an interview could not be grateful to one of my. habits of thinking, much more when the recollection of unhappy S.visserland rushed upon my mind. The Secretary announced that I was waiting without. A voice like thunder exclaimed, " Shew * Lion d'Argent, or Silver Lion, one of the best hotels in France, and where an Englishman is sure to meet with the greatest attention and civility. him him in." I Avas instantly introduced; M. Mengaud made a most profound bow, and desired me to be seated : the door was shut, and A\e were left together. If you be a physiognomist, you may form an idea of the character of this man, by a description of his person. He is of vast stature, and immense calibre, Avith a round countenance, not unlike our Harry the eighth, large rolling eyes,, and black bristly hair.

Mallet du Pan has analyzed him Avith his usual fire and energy, in his Sorrowful Account of the Fall of his beloved Country. The room Avas hung Avith carabines, horse pistols, daggers, and a pike, proper symbols of his trade. I mentioned, that as I had a lady with me, I had taken the liberty of desiring the officer to present him the letter which I had brought at an early hour, in the hope that she would have experienced, from the knoAvn politeness of the French, that indulgence which is always conceded to her sex. Mengaud. The orders of the government make no distinction of sex (making another profound reverence). Yorke. I am .veil aware, that a law is general ; but I flattered myself there might be a discre tionary power in the person entrusted with its execution. Mengaud. There is no discretionary power vested in the hands of any but the government of France.

Yorke. Yorke. Had I been aware of the difficulty I should have experienced, I might have previously written to M. Talleyrand Perigord. Mengaud. If I had received an order from the government to that effect, your lady should have been admitted. Yorke. I recollect an instance of the same kind Avhich occurred while I Avas in the garrison of Douai, a fortified town. Mengaud. Examples drawn from the ancient tyranny cannot apply to the Republic. Yorke. Is this regulation to continue ? Mengaud. I can't tell. Yorke. I hope not. Mengaud. It's all the same to me. Yorke. Do you suppose you will remain here ? Mengaud. I hope so. {Here ensued a silence of a few mimeses; I was in hopes he would have put some questions to me, or asked after the health of the gentleman who gave me the letter of recommendation, but he was dumb).