A VIE 0 F SOCIETY AND MANNERS 1 N FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, AND GERMANY: WITH ANECDOTES relating to fomeEMINENT CHARACTERS. BY JOHN MOORE, M. D. INTWOVOLUMKS. VOL. I. Strenua nos exercet inertia : navibus atque Quadrigis petimus bene vivere. Quod petis, hie elL Hor. The SECOND EDITION, Correaed. LONDON: Printed for W. Strahan ; and T. Cadell, in the Strand. 24 DCC LXXJX. w ADVERTISEMENT. JpROM a diffidence of his own abilities, and from other motives not fo well founded, the Author of the following Let- ters thought it expedient, in the firft edition, to throw a flight veil'over the real fituation in which they were written : he imagined alfo, that by this means fome reflections, particularly thofe on gaming, might be in- troduced more naturally, and with a flronger effect. But having been aflfured by thofe of whofe friendffiip and judgment he is equal- ly convinced, that the affumed character and feigned fituation in the two firft letters gave an air of fiction to the real incidents in the reft of the work, he has now reftored thofe two letters to their original form. TO HIS GRACE DOUGLAS, Duke of Hamilton and Brandon^ Marquis of Douglas, My Lord duke^ A lthough eflabUfhed praaice might, on this occafion, juftify my holding a language to your Grace which I never before ufed, yet you have nothing of that kind to fearj it is as inconfiftent with my difpo- fition to offer adulation, as it is con- trary to yours to defire it. — Nor does VoL. I. a this a 11 DEDICATION. this addrefs proceed from a vain be- lief that the luftre of your Name wili difpofe the Public to wink at the ble - miflies of my performance. The higheft titles do not fcreen even thoEe to whom they belong from contempt, when their perfonal charaders are contemptible; far lefs can they flielter the dulnefs or folly of others. I am prompted to offer this View of Society and Manners to your Grace, by fentiments of the mofl fincere efteem and attachment; and, exclufive of all confiderations of that nature, it is pre- fented with peculiar propriety to you, as no other perfon has had equal op- portunities of knowing how far the objects it comprehends are juft, and faithfully drawn from nature. Some dedication. Ill Some perhaps may imagine, that I fhould have difplayed more prudence in offering this work to a lefs com- petent judge ; but I am encouraged in my defire of prefixing your Name to thefe itiiperfe<5t Sketches, by the fond perfuafion that nobody can be more inclined to afford them the in- dulgence of which I am fenfible they (land in fo much need. I have the honour to be, with the mofl refpedful and cordial regard^ Your Grace’s Mofl: obedient, and obliged Servant, THE AUTHOR, a 2 vi CONTENTS. L E T T E R IV. p. i?6. French manners, LETTER V. p.33. Far IS, ^London. — French opinions, — Mar- quis de F — — and Lord M . LETTER VI. p. 38. Loyalty^ EngUJh^ German^ Turkijh^ French, « — Le Roi. — Princes of the blood, — Ideas of government, LETTER VII. p. 48. Sentiments of Frenchmen concerning the BrF tifh confitution, LETTER Vm. p. iT4. French Kings have peculiar reafons to love, their fuhjelis, — The three fins of Catharine of Medicls, — Henry IV, — Natural effeBs of exertion and of jloth on the hody^ under<- fundings heart* A French lover > Croundlefs accufations*—Friendfhip . — Eng- lifh travellers. Englijh prejudices. — Converfation vuith Mr, B RefleBions. tragedy of Siege of Calais. <^B on mot of Hue d'Ayen. — RuJJia. — F ruff a, — France.'^Sta- tue of Lewis XF. — Epigrams* a 4 viii CONTENTS, LETT E R XIII. p. 95. Chevalier B and his lady. — Madame de M > her char adier\ — her misfortune. LETTER XIV. p. 103. Condition of the common people in France. Unwillingnefs to cenfure the King. -^French parliaments. — Lavoyers indifcriminately ridiculed on the French fiage. — Oppofition in England. LETTER XV. p. 113. Dubois and Fanchon. LETTER XVI. p. 126. Mankind do not ahjuays a6l from motives of f elf inter efl. — A fine gentleman and a pine- apple. — Supper at the Marquis de F V. —Generofity of Mr, B . Men who calculate. — Men who do not. 3 CONTENTS. lx LETTER XVII. p. 137. Different tajle of French and EngUJh with refpeSl to tragedy.'— ^Le Kain. — Garrick , — French comedy. — Comedie Italienne^ Car- lin.-^Repartee of Le Kain. letter XVIII. p. 150. Fleafure and hufinefs. — Lyons. — Geneva. LETTER XIX. p. 157. Situation of Geneva. — Manners. — Govern- ment. — The clergy. — Peculiar cufioms , — Circles. — Amufements, LETTER XX. p. 168. Fnglijh families at Cologny. — Le jour de VEfcalade. — Military efablijhment. — Po- litical fquabbles.-— Sentiments of cm Eng-- lijhman. — Of a gentleman qf Geneva, X CONtENTS. LETTER XXL p. 178. King of Arquehufters, — A Procejffion.-^A Battle^ LETTER XXIL p. 187. A Feoft, LETTER XXIII. p. 193. The garrifon and fortifications of Geneva not nfelefs. — Standing armies in other coun- tries. — The freedom and independence of Geneva of fervice to the King of Sardi" nia. LETTER XXIV. p. 201. Journey to the Glaciers of Savoy. — Mole,-^ Clufe. — The Rhone and the Arve. — SaU lenche, — Mules ^ — A church. — Converfa^f tion with a young peafant in the valley of Chamounu Mountanv “ kingdorn ; but that thofe wh^o qy^e^,t|ieir. “ importance folely to their, fortune, o\i2ht> “ not to riilc it fo >vantonly as- Jie rnight “ dO;j whofe fortune had always,, been of- ^ little iinportanpej when cornpared with hi$ abilities; and fi ace they could r^t. “ imitate Mr. F in the things for- “ which he was fo juflly applauded, they “ ought not to, foHoiw his example .in thdfe “ for .which he wai as puilly eOivdepcmed j ; “ for the fame fire which burnis ^ piece of wood to afiics,. can only melt, a guinea* , which fiill retains its intrinfic. value,) though his Majefif's counUnaiKe no longer - ^ yjoines upon it(- ■. ; ; , , , ;> ■ tlifi not feem to relifh my ar- gument, and foon after left us:; but our young friend feemed confirmed in his folutlons, MANNERS 'IN - FRANCE, A^c. 9 fblutions, gave me fr^pi taffu ranees, ths day oQj,whrfh: I left'L.o^on, tha!t he'oever •wouki’^V^ry--: - • , \ i •• - Knowing the intereft you take in his welfare, and the high efteem he has for you, I have thought it right to give you this piece of information which I know will afford you pleafure. His greateft difficul- ty in adhering to the new adopted plan will be at firft ; in his prefent ftate of mind, the foothings and fupport of friendffiip may be of the greateft fervice. When your affairs permit you to go to London, I dare fay you will take the earlieft opportunity of throwing yoiirfelf in his way: You will find no difficulty in perfuad- ing him to accompany you to the country. Removed for fome months from his pre- fent companions and ufual lounging-places, the influence of his old habits will gra- dually diminifli ; and, confirmed by your converfation, lo VIEW OF SOCIETY AND converfation. fmall chance will remain of his being fucked into the old fyftem, and again whirled round in the vortex of diffi- pation and gaming. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. ii L E T T E R n. Paris, Y^UR fetting out for London imme- diately on the receipt of my letter, is what might have been expeded. — No- thing renders a man fo adive as an eager defire of doing good ; and I might have forefeen, that you would catch at the op- portunity with which I furnilhed you to indulge a ruling paflion. It gives me great fatisfadion to know, that our young friend and you are upon fuch a confidential footing ; and I heartily hope that nothing will interrupt a connec- tion which muft be a fource of pleafing re- flexion to you, and in every way advan- tageous to him. — I had no doubt that he would tt : V I E. W- ;0 F, 5 0 C II T Y A xN D would readily agree to accompany you to the country ; but I was not fo certain that he might not have found it neceflary to accept of your othep-very friei^Py propofal. — His refufal is a proof, that he has reconciled his rnind to his circumftances ; and, with thofe fgUtiments, I arn convinced that he will he ^hle to live >y;thin his reir^aiuing yearly in- come fatisfaflion than he enjoyed whei>‘ fpent five times that , You infift fo much on my writing to you regularly, from the different places where I may refide during my abfence from England,, that I begin to believe you are in earneft, and fhall certainly obey your com- mands. „ I know you do not expert from me ^ minute account of churches and palaces* However agreeable thefe rUvsy be to the fpedator, I^ANNMS iN 'FRA'NCE, &c. ^ rpedator, they generally affoixi but a flen-f de'r erttertainment when ferVed u|> in de* (eHptioh. Thera are countries, Tome of which I may again ivlfit heforfi my return to Eng** land, whofe kppearance always ftrikes the eye 'with delight ; but it is difficult to convey a precife idea of their beauties in words. The pencil is a more powo'ful vehicle than the pen for that -purpofe; for the landfcape is apt to vaniffi from, the mind before the defcription can be read. The manners, culloms, and charaders of the people may probably furniffi the chief materials, in the correfpondence you exad, with fuch reflections as may adfe from the fubjeCt. In thefe, I ap?» prife you before-hand, I ffiall take what datitudc I pleafe: And though the com- plexion 14 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND plexion of my letters may moft probably receive fome tint or Ibade of colouring from the country where they may be wrote; yet if I take it into my head to infift on the little tricks of an attorney, when you expedl to hear of the politics of a prime minifter ; or, if I tell you a tale about an old woman, when you are impatient for anecdotes of a great general, you muft not fret or fall into a paflion ; for if you do not permit me to write on what fubjeds I pleafe, and treat them in my own way, the correfpondencc you require would become a fad flavery to me, and of confequence no amufement to you. Whereas, if you leave me free and unreftrained, it will at leaft form fome occupation to \myfelf, may wean me from the habit of lounging, and will afford an excufe, in my own mind, for my leaving thofe parties of pleafure where people are apt to continue, forc- 2 ing MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c: 15 ing fmiles, and yawning fpontaneoufly, for two or three hours after all relifh is fled. Yet in this difmal condition many re- main night after night, becaufe the hour of fleep is not yet arrived, and whatelle can they do ? Have you never found yourfelf in this liftlefs fituation? Without any pleafure where you are, without any motive to be gone, you remain in a kind of paflive, gaping oyfter-ftate, till the tide of the company moves you to your carriage. And when you recover your reflection in your bed-chamber, you find you have pafled the two lafl; hours in a kind of hum- ming buzzing ftupor, without fatisfa6 'VIEW or SO<:iETV AND <6^ vaJet-de-ihambrelhip,- I- fee the full fofce of tbo facrifiee you ape -williog to make. If I could be fo felnfli on ano'- ther occafion as to accept your offer, the good-will I bear to your old friend John would prevent me ^at prefent. Dupont, to be fure, is worth twenty of John for that employment; but lean never forget his long attachment, and I am now fo habituated to him, that one generally efteemed a more per fed: fervant would not fuit me fo well. I think myfelf benefited even by his deficiencies, which have obliged me to do many things for myfelf that other people perform by the hands of their fervants. Many of our ac- quaintances feem abfolutely incapable of motion, till they have been wound up by their valets. They have no more ufe of their hands for any office about their own perfons, than if they were paralytic. At night they .muff \vait for their fervants, be- fore they can.undrefs themfelves,* and go ^ to MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 17 to bed : In the morning, if the valet hap- pen to be out of the way, the mafter muft remain helplefs and fprawling in bed, like a turtle on its back upon the kitchen-table of an alderman. I remain, &c. VoL. L C i8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND letter III. Paris. J Went a few nights fince to the Italian Comedy ; while I enjoyed the exquifite naivete of my old friend Carlin, the Mar- quis de F , whom- you have fcen art: London, entered the box : — He flew to me with all the vivacity of a Frenchman, and with every mark of pleafure and regard. He had ten thoufand queftions to afk about his friends in England all in one breath, and without waiting for an anfwer. Mon cher ami this, ma chere amie t’other ; la belle fuch a one, la char- mante fuch another. Perceiving we difturbed the company, and having no hopes that the, IVfarquis would be more quiet for fome time, I pro- pofed MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 19 pofed leaving the Comedy. He aflented immediately: — Vous avez raifon : il n’y a perfonne ici ; c’eft un defert — (by the way, the houfe was very much crowded)— Je fuis venu comme vous voyez en po- liflbn; — tout le monde eft au Coliflee— Allons. — We ftepped into his vis-a-vis; He ordered the coachman to drive vite comme tous les diables. The horfes went as faft as they could, and the Marquis’s tongue ftill fafter than they. When we arrived, I propofed going up to the gallery, where we might fee the company below, and converfe without in- terruption. Bon, fays he, nous nous nicherons dans un coin pour critiquer tout k monde, comme deux diables boi- teux. A lady of a fine lhape and majeftic air drew my attention : I alkcd the Marquis if he did not think her remarkably hand- C 2 fome ? 20 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND fome?— La, la, faid he, coldly.— Nous fommes heureufement places pour elle. C eft un tableau fait pour etre vu de loin. —I then took notice of the exceflive white- nefs of her Ikin.^ C'eft apparement le gout de fon amant d aujourd’hui, faid he; et quand un autre fe prefenteroit qui pre- fere la couleur de puce, a I’aide dun peu de Teauchaude, elle feroitaufli fon affaire. I next remarked two ladies dreffed a little beyond the extravagance of the mode. Their features betrayed the ap- proach of fifty, in fpite of all the art which had evidently been ufed to conceal that hated age. At fight of them the Marquis flatted up. Ah ! parblieu, faid he, ces deux mor- ceaux d’antiquite font de mes parentes. — Ifxcufez moi pour deux minutes : il faut que je m approqhe d’elles, dans le deffein de les feliciter dejeurs appas. Old ladies, continued MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 21 continued he, who have the rage tp be thought young, are of all animals the moft vindictive when negledte'd, and I have par-« ticular reafons for wifhing to remain in their good graces. He then left me, and having walked round the circle with the ladies, returned and took his feat. I have got myfelf well out of the fcrape, faid he ; I told them I was engaged with a Milord, whom I Ihould have the honour of pre- fenting at their houfe ; and I fixed a young officer with them, whofe heft hopes of pro- motion depend upon their influence at court, and who dares as foon quit his co- lours in battle, as forfake thefe two pieces of old tapeftry till they chufe to retire. A young man very magnificently dreffed entered the room : He announced his im- portance by his airs, his buflle, the loud and decifive tone of his voice. The Mar- quis told me, it was Monf. le Due de ; that it was indifpenfably neceflary that I C 3 Ihould 22 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND fhould be prefented to him ; there was no living at Paris without that advantage; add- ing,— II eft un peu fat, infiniment bete; d’ailleurs le meilleur enfant du monde. A fine lady next appeared, who feemed to command the admiration of the whole aflfembly. She floated round the circle of the Coliflee, furrounded by a clufter of Petits Maitres, whofe eyes were fixed on her, and who feemed moved by her motion, like fatellites under the influence of their planet. She, on her part, was perfedly ferene, and unembarrafled by the attention and the eyes of the fpedators. She fmiled to one, nodded to another, fh rugged to a third, ftruck a fourth with her fan, burft into a fit of laughter to a fifth, and whif- pered in the ear of a fixth. All thefe, and a thoufand tricks more, flie ran through with the eafe of an adrefs and the rapidity of a juggler. She feemed fully perfuaded that fhe was the only perfon prefent worthy of 3 attention ; MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 1^3 attention ; that it belonged to her' to deve- lope her charms, difplay her graces and airs, and that it was the part of the reft of the company to remain attentive and ad- miring fpe£tators. Cette drolefle la, faid the Marquis, eft jolie, et pour cette raifon on croit qu’elle a de I’efprit; On a meme tkhe de repeter fes bons mots ; mais ils ne font faits que pour fa bouche. Elle eft beaucoup plus vaine que fenlible, grand foutien pour fa vertu ! au refte, elle eft dame de qualite, en faveur de laqiielle elle poflede un gout de hardiefle fi heureux, qu’elle jouit du benefice de I’efFronterie fans etre effron- tee. I was furprifed to find all this fatire di- r^ded againft fo beautiful a woman, and fufpeded that the edge of F ’s re- marks was (harpened by fome recent pique. I was going to rally him on that fuppofition, C 4 when 24 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND when he fuddenly darted up, faying, Voila Monf. de , le meilleur de mes amis. — 11 eft aimable ; on ne peut pas plus. — 11 a de I’efprit comme un de'mon. — II faut que vous le connoifliez. Allqns : — Defcendons. So faying, he hurried me down ftairs, pre- fented me to Monf. de — — r- as un philofophe Anglois, who underftood race-horfes better than the great Newton himfelf, and who had no averfion to the game of Whift. Monf. de received me with open arms, and we were intimate friends in ten mi- nutes. He carried the Marquis and me to flip at his houfe, where we found a nume- rous company. The converfation was cheerful and ani- mated. There were fome very ingenious men prefent, with an admirable mixture of agreeable women, who remained to the laft, and joined in the converfation even when it turned on fubjeds of literature ; upon which occaftons Englifti ladies gene- I manners in FRANCE, See. 25 rally imagine it becomes them to remain filent. But here they took their fhare without fcruple or hefitation. Thofe who underftood any thing of the fubjed; deli- vered their fentiments with great precifion, and more grace than the men ; thofe who knew nothing of the matter rallied their own ignorance in fuch a fprightly manner, as convinced every body, that knowledge is not neceffary to render a woman exceed- ingly agreeable in fociety. After paffing a moft delightful evening, I returned to my lodgings, my head un- difturbed with wine, and my fpirits un- jaded by play. 26 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND BETTER IV. Paris. w E have been a month at Paris; a longer time than was intended at our arrival : yet our departure appears to me at a greater diftance now than it did then. F— — - has been my moft conftant com- panion; he is univerfally liked, lives in the very beft company, and whoever is in- troduced by him is fure of a favourable recep- tion. I found little or no difficulty in excuf- ing myfelf from play. The Marquis under- took to make this matter eafy; and no- thing can be a greater proof of his in- fluence in fome of the mofl: fafhionable circles, than his being able to introduce a man without a title, and who never games. He MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 27 He is alfo intimately acquainted with feme of the moft eminent men of letters, to whom he has made me known. Many pf thofe, whofe works you admire, are re- ceived at the houfes of the firft nobility on the moft liberal footing. You can fcarcely believe the influence which this body of men have in the gay and diflipated city of Paris. Their opinions not only determine the merit of works of tafte and fcience, but they have conlider- able weight on the manners and fentiments of people of rank, of the public in general, and confequently are not without effeci on the meafures of government. The fame thing takes place in fome de- gree in moft countries of Europe j but, if I am not miftaken, more at Paris than any where elfe; becaufe men of letters are here at once united to each other by the various academies, ^8 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND . academies, and difFufed among private focieties, by the manners and general tafte of the nation. As the fentiments and converfation of men of letters influence, to a certain de- gree, the opinions and the condud of the fafliionable world; the manners of thefe laft have a more obvious efFed upon the air, the behaviour, and the converfation of the former, v^iich in general is polite and * eafy; equally purified from the awkward timidity contraded in retirement, and the difgufting arrogance infpired by univerfity honours, or church dignities. At Paris, the pedants of Moliere are to be feen on the ftage only. In this country, at prefent, there are many men diftinguiflied by their learning, who at the fame time are cheerful and eafy in mixed company, unprefuming in ar- gument, and in every refped as well bred MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 29 bred as thofe who have no other pre- tenfion. Politenefs and good manners, indeed, may be traced, though in different propor- tions, through every rank, from the great- eft of the nobility to the loweft mechanic. This forms a more remarkable and diftin- guifhing feature in the French national character, than the vivacity, impetuofity, and ficklenefs, for which the ancient as well as the modern inhabitants of this country have been noted.— It certainly is a very fingularphaenomenon, that politenefs, which in every other country is confined to people of a certain rank in life, fhould here per- vade every fituation and profeflion. The man in power is courteous to his depend- ant, the profperous to the unfortunate, the very beggar who folicits charity, does it ‘ en homme comme il faut;’ and if his requeft be not granted, he is fure, at leaft, that it will be refufed with an appearance 5 3Q VIEW OF SOCIETY AND of humanity, and not with harfhnefs or infult. A ftranger, quite new and unverfed in their language, whofe accent is uncouth and ridiculous in the ears of the French^ and who can fcarcely open his mouth without making a blunder in grammar or idiom, is heard with the moft ferious at* tendon, and never laughed at, even when he utters the oddeft folecifm or equivocal expreffion, I am afraid, faid I, yefterday, to a French ^gentleman, the phrafe which I ufed juft now is not French. Monfieur, replied he, cette expreffion effedivement neft pas Fran^oife, mais elle merite bien de Fetre. The moft daring deviation from faftiion, in the important article of drefs, cannot make them forget the laws of good-breed* ing. When a perfon appears at the public walks, MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. gj walks, in clothes made againft every law of the mode, upon which the French are fuppofed to lay fuch ftrefs, they do not gaze or fneer at him ; they allow him firll: to pafs, as it were, u^nobferved, and do not till then turn round to indulge the ourio- fity which his uncommon figure may have excited. I have remarked this injUance of delicacy often in the ftreets in the’ioweft of the vulgar, or rather of the common people ; for there are really very few of the natives of Paria, who can be called vnlgar. There are exceptions to thefe, to a}} general remarks on the manners and cha- rader of any nation. I have heard inflances of the military treating poftillions and inn-keepers with injuftice ; and the feigneiir or intendant opprefling the peafant. Examples of the abufe of power, and infolence of office, S2 VIEW OF> SOCIETY AND are; to be met with : every where. If they are tolerated, 'the fault lies in the govern- ment. I have not been fpeaking of the French government. Their national character is one thing; the nature of their government is a very different matter. But I am con- vinced there is no country in Europe where royal favour, high birth, and the military profeffion, could be allowed fuch privileges as they have in France, and where there would be fo few inftances of their pro- ducing rough and brutal behaviour to inferiors. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. , 33 id Engll in life he may be, dignation, that every thing in is arranged for the accommodation of the rich and the powerful ; and that little or no regard is paid to the comfort of citizens of an inferior Ration. This appears in a thbufand inRances, and ftrikes the mediately on entering Paris. I think I have feen it fomewhere re- marked, that the regular and effedual mati^ ner in which the city of London is lighted at night, and the raifed pavements on the fides of every ftreet, for the fecurity and conve- niency of foot*paflengers, feem to indicate, VoL. I. D that 34 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND that the body of the 'eople, as well as the rich and great, are counted of fome importance in the eye of government. Whereas Paris is poorly and partially light- ed ; and except on the Pont Neuf and Pont Royal, and the keys between them, is not provided with little walks on the fides of the ftreets, for the accommodation and fafety of foot-paffengers. They muft there- fore grope their way as they beft can, and fkulk behind pillars, or run into (hops, to avoid being crufhed by the coaches, which are driven as near the wall as the coachman pleafes ; difperfing the people on foot at their approach, like chaff before the wind. It muft be acknowledged, that monarchy (for the French do not love to hear it called defpotifm, and it is needlefs to quarrel with them about a word) is raifed in this coun- try fo very high, that it quite lofes fight of the bulk of the nation, and pays attention I only MANNERS IN FRANCE, &e. 35 only to a few; who being in exalted Rations, come within the Court’s fphere of vifion. Le peupie, in France, is a term of re- proach. — Un homme du peupie, implies a want of both education and manners. Un homn^e comme il faut, on the other hand, does not imply a man of fenfe or principle, but fimply a man *of birth or falhion ; for a man may be homme comme il faut, and yet be devoid of every qua- lity which adorns human nature. There is no queftion that government leaves the middle and inferior ranks of life in fome degree unproteded, and expofed to he in- juftice and infolence of the great ; who are confidered in this country, as fomewhat above the Law, though greatly below the Monarch. But the polifhed mildnefs of French manners, the gay and fociable tuni of the nation, the affable -and eafy coadu<5I of s? mafters 36 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND matters to their fervants, fupply the defi- ciencies, and corre£l the errors, of the government, and render the condition of the common people in France, but parti- cularly at Paris, better than in feveral other countries of Europe ; and much more tolerable than it would be, if the national charader refembled that of thofe countries. = 1 ^ 4 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 1 was Interrupted by Lord M. who ar- rived laft night. He agreed to dine with us. F called foon after ; he was difengaged alfo, and promifed to be of the party. You know how laborious a thing it is to keep alive a dialogue with my Lord M. The converfation either degenerates into a foliloquy on your part, or expires altoge- ther. I was therefore exceedingly happy with the thoughts of the Marquis’s com- pany. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c, 37 pany. He was uncommonly lively ; ad- drefled much of his converfation to his Lordlhip ; tried him upon every fubjed:, wine, women, horfes, politics, and reli- gion. He then fung Chanfons a boire, and endeavoured in vain to get my Lord to join in the chorus. Nothing would do. — He admired his clothes, praifed his dog, and faid a thoufand obliging things of the Englifh nation. To no purpofe; his Lord- fhip kept up his filence and referve to the laft, and then drove away to the opera. Ma foi, faid the Marquis, as foon as he went out of the room, il a de grands talens pour le filence, ce Milord la. 38 VIEW OE SOCIETY AND An Englifliman, though he views the virtues of his king with a jealous eye during his reign, yet he will do them all juftice in the reign of his fuccefibr. A German, while he is filent with re- fped to the foibles of his prince, admires all his talents much more than he would the fame qualities in any other perfon. t N a former letter, I mentioned good breeding as a ftriking part of the French national charader. Loyalty, or an un- common fondnefs for, and attachment to, the perfons of their princes is another. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 39 A Turk, or Perfian, contemplates his Emperor with fear and reverence, as a fu- perior being, to whofe pleafure it is his duty to fubmit, as to the laws of Nature, and the will of Providence. But a Frenchman, while he knows that his king is of the fame nature, and li«d)le to all the weaknelTes of other men ; while he enumerates his follies, and laughs as he laments them, is neverthelefs attached to him by a fentiment of equal refpedt and tendernefs ; a kind of affedionate prejudice, independent of his real charader. Ro'i is a word which conveys to the minds of Frenchmen the ideas of bene- volence, gratitude, and love; as well as thofe of power, grandeur, and happi- nefs. * We tranflate le Roi, by ‘ the King,* which is by no means equivalent. Le Roi does himfelf, and makes others do, what he pleales. The King cannot do what he pleafes, but does what others pleafe. D4 They 40 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND They flock to Verfailles every Sunday, behold him with unfated curiofity, and gaze on him with as much fatisfadion the twentieth time as the firft. They confider him as their friend, though he does not know their perfbns ; as their protedor, though their greateft danger is from an Exempt or Lettre de Cachet ; and as their benefador, while they are oppreffed with taxes. They magnify into importance his moft indifferent adions ; they palliate and excufe all his weakneffes ; and they impute his errors or crimes, to his minifters or other evil counfellors ; who (as they fondly aflert) have, for fome bafe purpofe, impofed upon his judgment, and perverted the undeviating reditude of his intentions. They repeat, with fond applaufe, every ■ faying of his which feems to indicate the fmalleft MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 41 fmallefl: approach to wit, or even bears the mark of ordinary fagacity. The moft inconhderable circumftance which relates to the Monarch is of import- ance : whether he eat much or little at dinr ner; the coat he wears, the horfe on which he rides, all afford matter of converfation in the various focieties at Paris, and are the moft agreeable fubjeds of epiftolary cor- refpondence with their friends in the pro- vinces. If he happens to be a little indifpofed, all Paris, all France, is alarmed, as if a real calamity was threatened : and to feem interefted, or to converfe upon any other fubjed till this has been difcufled, would be confidered as a proof of unpardonable indifference. At a review, the troops perform their manoeuvres unheeded by fuch of the fpec- tators as are within fight of the King. They 42 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND They are all engroffed in contemplation of their Prince. — Avez vous vu le roi ? — — Tenez — ah ! — voila le roi. — Le roi rit, — Apparement il eft content. — Je fuis charme, —ah, il toufle ! — A-t-il toufle ? ‘Oui, parbleu ! et bien fort. — Je fuis au deferpoir. At mafs, it is the King, not the Prieft, who is the objedf of attention. The Hoft is elevated ; but the people’s eyes remain fixed upon the face of their beloved Mo- narch. Even the moft applauded pieces of the theatre, which in Paris Create more emo- tion than the ceremonies of religion, can with difficulty divide their attention. A fmile from the King makes them forget the forrow of Andromache, and the wrongs of the Cid. This exceffive attachment is not confined to the perfon of the Monarch, but extends to ■ ■f: manners in FRANCE, &g. 43 to every branch of the royal family ; all of - whom, it is imagined in this country, have an hereditary right to every gratification and enjoyment that human nature is capable of receiving. And if any caufe, moral or phyfical, impede or obfl;ru(Sl; this, they meet with univerfal fympathy. The moft trivial difappointment or chagrin which befalls them, is confidered as more ferious and affe£Hng, than the moft dreadful calamity which can happen to a private family. It is lamented as if the natural order of things were counteraded, and the amiable Prince, or Princefs, deprived, by a cruel phse- nomenon, of that fupreme degree of hap- pinefs, to which their rank in life gives them an undeniable title. All this regard feems real, and not af- feded from any motive of intereft ; at leaft it muft be fo with refped to the bulk of the people, who can have no hopes of ever being known to their princes, far lefs of 44 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND of ever receiving any perfonal favour from them. The philofophical idea, that Kings have been appointed for public conveniency ; that they are accountable to their fubjeds for mal-adminiftration, or for continued ads of injuftice and oppreffion ; is a doc- trine very oppofite to the general prejudices of this nation. If any of their kings were to behave in fuch an imprudent and outra- geous manner as to occafion a revolt, and if the infurgents adually got the better, I queftion if they would think of new-mo- deiling the government, and limiting the power of the crown, as was done in Britain at the revolution, fo as to prevent the like abufes for the future. They never would think of going further, I imagine, than placing another prince of the Bourbon family on the throne, with the fame power that his predecelTor had, and then quietly lay down their arms, fatisfied with his 4 royal MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 45 royal word or declaration to govern with more equity. The French feem fo delighted and dazzled with the luftre of Monarchy, that they cannot bear the thoughts of any qua- lifying mixture, which might abate its vio- lence, and render its ardour more benign. They chufe to give the fplendid machine full play, though it often fcorches and threat- ens to confume themfelves and their ef- fe< 3 ts. They confider the power of the king, from which their fervitude proceeds, as if it were their own power. You will hardly believe it; but I am fure of the fa£t : They are proud of it ; they are proud that there is no check or limitation to his authority. They tell you with exultation, that the king has an army of near two hundred thoufand men in the time of peace. A French- 46 VIEW OF SOClEtY AND Frenchman is as vain of the palaces, find gardens, number of horfes, and all the pa- rapharnalia belonging to the court of the Monarch, as an Englifhman can be of his own houfe, gardens, and equipage. " When they are told of the diffufion of wealth in England, the immenfe fortunes made by many individuals, the affluence of thofe of middle rank, the fecurity and eafy comfortable fituation of the common people, inftead of being mortified by the comparifon v;hich might naturally occur to their imaginations, they comfort them- felves with the refledtion, that the court of France is more brilliant than that of Great Britain, and that the duke of Orleans and the Prince of Conde have greater revenues than any of the Englifh nobility. When they hear of the freedom of de- bate in parliament, of the liberties taken in writing or fpeaking of the condud of the MANNERS IN FRANCE, See. 47 the king, or meafures of government, and the forms to be obferved, before thofe who venture on the moft daring abufe of either can be brought to punifhment, they feem filled with indignation, and fay with an air of triumph, C’eft bien autrement chez nous : Si le Roi de France avoit affaire a ces Meflieurs la, il leur enfeigneroit a viyre. And then they would proceed to inforna you, that, parbleu ! their minijder would give himfelf no trouble about forms or proofs ; that fufpicion was fufEcientfor him, and without more ado he would fhut up fuch impertinent people in the Baftile for many years. And then raifing their voices, as if what they faid were a proof of the courage or magnanimity of the minifter— Ou peut etre il feroit condamner ces droles la aux galeres pour la vie. i(;8 VIEW OF SOGIETY AND t E T T E It Vli. Paris. JT would be almoft fuperfliious to obfervei that there are a great many people iri France, who think in a very different mari- ner from that which I have mentioned iri my laft, and who have juft and liberal ideas of the delign and nature of government, arid proper and manly fentiments of the na- tural rights of mankind. The writings of Montefquieu are greatly admired : This alone is fufiicient to prove it. Many later authors, and the converfation of the philo- fophical and reafoning people difplay the fame fpirit. What is mentioned iri my laft letter, however, comprehends the general turn or manner of thinking of the French na- tion, MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 49 tibn, and evinces how very oppofite their fentiments upon the fubjed of civil go- vernment are, to thofe of our countrymen. I'have heard an Englifliman enumerate the advantages of the Britifh conilitution to a circle of French Bourgeois, and explain to then! in what manner the people of their rank of life were protected from the dnfolence of the courtiers and nobility ; that tthe poorell fliop-keeper, and loweft tradef- iman in England, could have immediate ffedrefs for any injury done him by the greateft nobleman in the kingdom. Well, what imprefiion do you think this cileclamation had upon the French auditory ? ^ou will naturally imagine they would ad- iinire fuch a conftitution, and with for the fTame in France : — Not at ail. They fym- p)athi 4 ed with the great: TheyTeemed to fTeel’for their want of importance. One oibferved, C’eft peu de chofe d’etre noble VoL. I. E chez 50 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND chez vous ; and another, Ihaking his head, added, Ce n’efl pas naturel tout cela. When mention was made that the king of Great Britain could not impofe a tax by his own authority ; that the confent of par- liament, particularly of the houfe of com- mons, was neceflary, to which affembly people of their rank of life were admitted ; they faid with fome degree of fatisfadion, Cependant, e’eft affez beau cela. But when the Englifh patriot, expeding their complete approbation, continued informing them, that the king himfelf had not the power to encroach upon the liberty of the meaneft of his fubjeds ; that if he or the minifter did, damages were recoverable at a court of law, a loud and prolonged diable iflued from every mouth. They forgot their own fituation, and the fecurity of the people, and turned to their natural bias of fympathy with the King, who they all MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 5* all feemed to think muft be the moft op- pfefled and injured of mankind. One of them at laft, addreffing himfelf to the Englifti politician, faid, Tout ce (que je puis vous dire, Monfieur, c’eft que 'votre pauvre Roi eft bien a plaindre. This folicitude of theirs for the happi- mefs and glory of royalty extends in fome (degree to all crowned heads whatever : But with regard to their own monarch, it feems tthe reigning and darling paffion of their Ifouls, which they carry with them to the grave. A French foldier, who lay covered with wounds on the field of Dettingen, demand- ed, a little before he expired, of an Englifti (officer, how the battle was likely to termi- mate ; and being anfwered, that the Britifti troops had obtained a great vidory ; Mon pauvre Roi, faid the dying-man, que fera- t;-il ? E 2 For 52 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND For my part, my friend, although I heartily wifh his M^efty al], public and d»- meftic happinefs, yet if the fmalleft folici- tude about either fhould difturb my dying moments, it will be the ftrongeft proof that my own affairs, fpiritual and temporal, your concerns, as well as thofe of my other private friends, are in a moft coinfoi:table fituation. Adieu. P. S. I have not feen the Marquis for feveral days. Ke had informed me, at our very firft meeting, that he was paying his court to a young lady of family, at his mother’s defire, who was impatient to fee him married. He faid, he could refufe bis mother nothing, parcequ’elle etoit le meilleur enfant du monde : Befides, he faid, the young lady was very pretty and agreeable, and he was over head and ears in love with her*. He has told me fince, that every thing was arranged, and he expeded MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 53 ej^peded to be in a fliort time the hap- pleft man in the world, and would have the honour of prefen ting me to his bride very foon. I lliall let you know my opi- nion of the lady when I fee her — But let her be what ftie will, I am forry that F thinks of marrying fo early in life; for a Frenchman of five and twenty, is not quite fo fed ate an animal as an Engliflimanr of fifteen. 54 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND LETTER VIII. Parts. ^JpHERE is an abfolute penury of pub- lic news. I have nothing particular to inform you of concerning myfelf ; but you hold me to my engagement : So here I am feated to write to you, without hav- ing as yet determined upon a fubjed, in hopes, however, that my pen may gather materials as it moves. In whatever light this prejudice in fa- vour of monarchy may appear to the eye of philofophy ; and though of all paffions the love of a King, merely becaufe he is a King, is perhaps the fillicftj yet it furely ought to be confidered as meritorious by thofe who are the objects of it. No manners in FRANCE, &c. 55 No people exifting, or who did ever exift, have had fo juft a claim to the gratitude and affedions of their fovereign, as the French. They rejoice in his joy, are grieved at his grief, proud of his power, vain of his accomplifhrnents, indulgent to his failings. They cheerfully yield their own conve- niences to his fuperfluitieSi and are at all times willing to facrifice their lives for his glory. A King, one would imagine, muft be a perfe litenefs I rejoined I. The utmoft a Frenchman will do for you, added he, is to endeavour to amufeyou, and make your time pafs agreeably while you remain in his country. And I think that no trifle, V anfwered 5 MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. Sir anfwered I. — There are fo many fources of uneafinefs and vexation in this life, that I cannot help having a good will, and even gratitude, to all thofe who enable me to forget them ; — For fuch people alleviate my pain, and contribute to my happinefs. But thefe Frenchmen, rejoined he, do not care a farthing for you in their hearts. —And why ihould I care a farthing for that ? faid I. — We have nothing to do with their hearts — You do not expert a friend in every agreeable acquaintance* But they are an interefted fet of people ; and even thofe among theni who pretend to be your friends, — do it only for fbme felfifh end. That is only an afTertion, faid I, But no |)roof.=**®If you flood in need of pecuniary SLiliflance, they would hot advance you a louis to fave you from a jail, continued Be. VOL, I. I hope G 82 _VIEW -OF SOCIETY AND I hope never tp be perfe(3;ly afcertained of that, faid I ‘j—but if we were to culti- vate friendfhip from the idea of affiftance of that nature, it would be doing exadly what you accufe them of: Befides, conti- nued I, the power and opportunity of ob- liging our acquaintances and friends with great, and, what are called, eflential fer- vices, feldom occur; but thofe attentions and courtefies, which fmooth the commerce between man and man, and fweeten focial life, are in every body’s power, and there are daily and hourly occafions of difplaying them, — particularly to ftrangers. Curfe their courtefies,- faid he, they are the great- eft Bore in nature.— I hate the French.— They are the enemies of England, and a falfe, deceitful, prefidious— But as we did not come over, interrupted I, to fight them at prefent, we fhall fufpend hoftilities till a more convenient feaion ; and in the mean time, if you have no objedion, let us go to the play. He t MANNERS IN FRANCE, See, S3 He agreed to this propofal, and here our converfation ended. You know B — — is as worthy a fel- low as lives; and, under a rough addrefs, conceals the beft difpofition in the world. His manner, I imagine, was originally af- fumed from a notion, which he has in com- mon with many people, that great polite- nefs, and apparent gentlenefs of behaviour, are generally accompanied with falfehood and real coldncfs ; — even inhumanity of character, — as if human nature, like marble, took a polifh proportionable to its hardnefs. This idea is certainly formed without an accurate examination, and from a fuperfi- cial view of mankind. As a boorilh ad- drefs is no proof of honefty, fo is politenefs no indication of the reverfe; — and if they are once reduced to an equality in thefe particulars, it is evident that the latter is preferable in every other refpe^t. G 2 But 84 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND But to return to the French, I am clear- ly of opinion, that a ftranger may fairly avail himfelf of every conveniency arifing from their obliging manners, although he Ihould be convinced that all their affiduity and attention are unconneded with any re- gard to him, and flow entirely from vanity and felf-love* He may perceive that his Pa- rrfian friend, while he loads him with civi- lities, is making a difplay of his own pro- ficiency in the fcience of poMtenefs, and endeavouring to thruft himfelf forward in the good opinion of the company, by yield- ing the preference on a thoufand trifling pccafions : — Though he plainly fees, that all this fliooping is with a view to conquer^ why fliould he repine at a vidory which is accompanied with fo many conveniencips to himfelf ? why quarrel with the motive while he feels the benefit of the effed ? If writers or preachers of morality could, by the force of eloquence, eradicate felfifli- ' nefs MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 85 nels from the hearts of men, and make them in reality love their neighbours as themfelves, it would be a change devoutly to be wifhed. But until that blefled event, let us not find fault with thofe forms and attentions which create a kind of artificial friendfhip and benevolence, which for many of the purpofes of fociety produce the fame effeds as the true. People who love to amufe themfelves with play, and have not ready money, are obliged to ufe counters. You and I, my friend, as long as we cut and fhuffle to- gether, fhall never have occafion for fuch a fuccedaneum; — I am fully perfuaded we are provided, on both fides, with a fufficient quantity of pure gold. 86 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND Paris, w H EN B arjd I went to the play^ houfe, as was mentioned in my laft, we found a prodigious crowd of people be- fore the door : We could not get a place till after a confiderable flruggle. The p|ay was Th^ Siege of Calais, founded on a po- pular ftory, which muft needs be interefting and flattering to the French nation. You cannot conceive what preffing and favourite piece, which has had the lam fuccefs at Verfailles ag at Paris. There are fome few critics, however, who aflert that it is entirely devoid of me- rit, and owes its run to the popular nature of MANNERS IN FRANCE, &g. 87 of the fubjed, more than to any intrinfic beauty In the veiTes, which fome declare are not even good French. "When it was laft aded before the King, it is faid, his Majefty, obferving that the Due d’Ayen did not join in applauding, but that he rather fhewed fome marks of difguft, turned to the Duke and faid, Vous n’applaudiflez pas ? Vous n’etes pas bon Francois, Monfieur le Due: — To this the Duke replied, ~a Dieu ne plaife que je ne ' fuTe pas meilleur que les vers de la piece. Obedient to the court in every other particular, the French difregard the deci- fions pronounced at Verfailles in matters of taRe. It very often happens that a drama- tic piece, which has been aded before the royal family and the court, with the high- eft applaufe, is afterwards damned with every circumftance of ignominy at Paris. In all works of genius the Parilians lead G 4 the Sa VIEW OP SOCIETY AND the judgment of the courtiers, and didate to their monarch. In other countries of Europe, it has hap- peried, that feme Prince of fuperior talents has, by the brightnefs of his own genius, enlightened the minds of his fubjeds, and difpelled the clouds of barbarifm from, his doipinions. Since the commencement of this century a. great empire has been improved from a ftate of grofs ignorance, refined by the arts of peace, and inftruded in the arts of war, by the yaft genius and induftry of one of its Princes, who laid the foundatior; of its prefent power and grandeur. Another inconfiderable ftate, with fewer refources, has, at a later period, beeir created a powerful monarchy, by the afto- pilhing efforts, perfeverance, and magna- pi^ty of its prefent king 5 whofe love of know- manners in FRANCE, &c. 89 j^nowledge and the arts has drawn fome of the greateft geniufes in Europe to his capital ; whence fcience and tafte muft gra- dually flow through his whole dominions, where they were formerly but little che- rifhed. In thefe inftances, and others which might be enumerated, the princes have been fuperior in genius to any of their fub- jeds. The throne has been the fource whence knowledge and refinement have flowed to the extremities of the nation. But this has never been the cafe in France, where it is not the king who po- lifhes the people; — but the people who refine the manners, humanize the heart, and, if it be not perfedfly opaque, en- lighten the underftanding of the king. Telemaque, and many other works, have been compofed with this intention. In 2 • many 90 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND many addreffes and remonftrancevS to the throne, excellent precepts and hints are infinuated in an indired; and delicate manner. By the emphatic applaufe they bellow on particular paflages of the pieces repre- fented at the theatre, they convey to the monarch the fentiments of the nation refpeding the meafures of his govern- ment. By afcrlbing qualities to him which he does not poflefs, they endeavour to excite within his breaft a deiire to attain them ; they try to cajole him into virtue. Conli- dered in this point of view, the defign of the equeflrian ftatue which the city of Paris has erected in honour of Lewis XV. may have been fuggefted from a more ge- nerous motive than flattery, to which it is generally imputed. This was begun by Bouchardon ; who died when the work was MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 91 was well advanced, and has fince been com^ mitted to Pigal to be finilhed. The horfe is placed on a very tigh pe- deftal. At the angles, are four figures, handing in the manner of Caryatides, who reprefent the four virtues, Fortitude, Juf- tice. Prudence, and the love of Peace. All the ornaments are of Bronze. The two fmall fides of the pedeftal are ornamented with gilded laurels and infcrip- tions. On the front, towards the Thuil-* leries, is the following : LUDOVICO XV. OPTIMO PRINCIPI QUOD AD SCALDUM, MOSAM, RHENUM, VICTOR PACEM ARMIS PACE SUQRUM ET EUROPjE FELICITATEM QUiESIVIT. The 92 VIEW OF SOCfETY AND The large fides of the pedeftal are adorri- ed with trophies and has reliefs. One re- prefents ^Lewis giving peace to Europe; the other reprefents him in a triumphal chariot, crowned by Vidfory, and conduded by Renown to a people who fubmit. When we recoiled that the infcription and emblems allude to the conclufion of the war before the laft, and what kind of infcriptions are ufually put under the ftatues of kings, we fhall not find any thing out- rageoufly flattering in the above ; the mo- ral of which is, that the love of peace is one of the greateft virtues a king can pof- fefs The heft moral that can be in- fmuated into the breaft of a monarch. In this work the horfe is infinitely more admired, by fculptors and fatirifts, than the king. But the greateft overfight is, that the whole group, though all the figures are larger than life, have a diminutive appear- MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 93 appearance in the centre of the vaft area in which they are placed. The wits of Paris could not allow fuch an opportunity of indulging their vein to efcape unimproved. Many epigrams are handed about. — Here are two : Bouchardon eft un animal, Et fon ouvrage fait pitie 5 11 place les vices a cheval, Et met les vertus a pied. Voila notre Rol comme il eft a Verfailles> Sans foi, fans loi, et fans entrailles. Both are too fevere 5 giving the idea of wicked dlfpofttions, and cruelty of temper, which do not belong to Lewis the Fif- teenth j whofe real charadter, in three words, is, that of a good-natured, eafy- tempered man, funk in floth and fen- fuality. I have 94 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND I have feen another infcriptlon for the llatue handed about; it is in Latin, and very Ihort. STAT-UA STATUTE. You may imagine that the authors of thefe would meet with a dreadful punilh- ment, if they were difcovered. No danger of that kind is fufficient to reftrain the in- habitants of this city, from writing and fpreading fuch pafquinades, which are greatly reliflied by the whole nation. Indeed, I imagine there is more of the fpirit of revenge, than of good policy, in attempting to repel fuch humours j which, if they did not get vent in this manner, might break out in a more dangerous fhape. Adieu. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 95 J Dined yefterday with an equal number of both fexes, at the Chevalier B— 's. He is F — ’s very intimate friend, and has a charming houfe within a few leagues of Paris, which the Marquis makes full as much ufe of as the owner. The Chevalier has a confiderablc revenue, which he fpends with equal magnificence and oeconomy. He has been married many years to his prefent lady, a moft agreeable woman, with whom he poflefles every thing which can make their union happy, except children. They endeavour to for- get this difagreeable circumftance, by a conftant fucceflion of company ; and, which 6 IS 96 VIEW OP SOCIETY AND IS very fingular here, the fociety entertained by the hufband and wife are the fame. jr though much younger than either, is a great favourite of both; and they are always pleafed when he invites a fmall company of his friends to dine at their houfe. The prefent party had been propofed by Madame de M , a rich young widow, much admired here ; of whom I fhall give you a glimpfe, en paffant- — -for do not imagine I undertake to defcribe the moft undefcribable of all human beings, fine French lady. Madame de M- has fome wit, more beauty, and a greater fhare of vivacity than of both : — if there were a fourth degree of comparifon, I fhould place her vanity there. 3he laughs a great deal, and fhe is in the right ; for her teeth are remarkably fine. 2 She MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 97 She talks very much, and in a loud and deci- five tone 6f voice.-r-This is not lb judicious, becaufe her fentiments are not fo brilliant as her teeth, and her voice is rather harlh. — She is received with attention and refpedt every where; — that Ihe owes to her rank. — She is liked and followed by the men ; this Ihe owes to her beauty. She is not difliked by the women, which is probably owing to her foibles. This lady is thought to be fond of F— — : fo, to prevent fcandal, Ihe de- fired me to call at her houfe, and attend her to the Chevalier’s. I found her at her toilette, in confulta- tion with a general officer and two abbes, concerning a new head-drefs which Ihe had juft invented.— It was fmart and fanciful ; andi after a few corre never appeared fo perfedly amiable. B called and fupped with me the fame evening. I was too full of the ad- venture of Fanchon and Dubois not to tnention it to him, with all the particu- lars of the Marquis’s behaviour. This F of yours, faid he, is an honeft fel- low. Do —contrive to let us dine with him to-morrow, By the bye, continued he after a little paufe, are not thofe F 's originally from England ?•— I think I have heard of fuch a name in York- fliire. Adieu. *26 VIEW Of' SOCIEtY AND! LETTER XVI. Paris, J Am uneafy when I hear people affert, that mankind always ad from motives of felf-intereft. It creates a fufpicion that thofe who maintain this fyftem, judge of others by their own feelings. This con-* elufion, however, may be as erroneous as the general aflertion ; for I have heard it maintained (perhaps from affedation) by very difmterefted people, who, when pulh- ed, could not fuppoirt their argument with- out perverting the received meaning of language. — Thofe who perform generous or apparently difmterefted adions, fay they, are prompted by felfifti motives by the pleafure which they themfelves feel. There are people who have this feeling fo ftrong, that they cannot pafs a miferable objed MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 127 objed; without endeavouring to affift him.— Such people really relieve themfelves when they relieve the wretched. All this is very true: but is it not a ‘ ftrange afiertion, that people are not bene- volent, becaufe they cannot be other- wife ? Two men are (landing near a fruit-(hop in St. James’s ftreet. There are fome pine- apples within the window, and a poor woman, with an infant crying at her empty bread, without. One of the gentlemen walks in, pays a guinea for a pine-apple, which he, calmly devours; while the wo- man implores him for a penny, to buy her a morfel of bread — and implores in vain : not that this fine gentleman values a penny; but to put his hand in his pocket would give him fome trouble ; the diftrefs of the woman gives him none. The other man happens to have a guinea in his pocket 4 alfo ; 128 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND alfo; he gives it to the woman, walks home, and dines on beef-fteaks, with hb wife and children. Without doing injuftice to the tafte of the former, we may believe, that the latter received the higher gratification for his guinea. — —You will never convince me* how^ever, that his motive in bellowing it Was asfelfilh as the other’s. Some few days after the adventure I mentioned in my laft letter, I met F— — and B— — at the opera. They had be- come acquainted with each other at my lodgings two days before, according to B ’s defire. — It gave me pleafure to fee them on fo good a footing. F— — ' invited us to go home and fit an hour with him before w'e went to bed; —to which we alTented. The MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 129 The Marquis then told us, we Ihould have the pleafure of feeing Fanchon, in her heft gown, and Dubois, with his new leg-^ for he had ordered his valet to invite them, with two or three of his companions, to a little fupper. While the Marquis was fpeaking, his coach drove up to the door of the opera™ where a well-known lady was at that mo- ment waiting for her carriage. B — — feemed to recoiled himfelf of a hidden, faying, he mufl be excufed from going with us, having an affair of fome importance to tranfad at home. The Marquis fmiled fhook B by the hand — faying, c’eft apparemment quelque affaire qui regarde la conftitu- tion, vivent les Anglois pour 1* amour patriotique. VoL. L K When 130 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND When we arrived at the Marquis’s, the fervants and their guefts w^re affembled in the little garden behind the hotel, and dancing, by moon-light, to Dubois’s mufic. He and Fanchon were invited to a glafs of wine in the Marquis’s parlour. — The poor fellow’s heart fwelled at the fight of his benefai^lor. — —He attempted to exprefs his gratitude ; but his voice failed, and he could not articulate a word. Vous n’avez pas a faire a des ingrats, Monfieur le Colonel, faid Fanchon. My hufband, continued Ihe, is more alFeded with your goodnefs, than he was by the lofs of his leg, or the cruelty of my rela- tions.— She then, in a ferious manner, with the voice of gratitude, and in the lan- guage of Nature, exprefled her own and her hufband’s obligations to the Marquis ; and, amongft others, fhe alluded to twenty louis which MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 131 which her hufband had received de fa part that very afternoon. You intend to make a faint of a fmner, my dear, faid th& Marquis, and to fuaceed the better, yo,u* invent falfe miracles. I know nothing of ' the twenty louis you mention. -But I know a great deal ; for here they are in my pocket, fays Dubois. — The Marquis ftill inhfted they had not come from him.— The foldier then declared, that he had called about one o’clock, to pay his duty to Monfieur de F ; but not , finding him at home, he was returning to his lodgings, when, in the ftreet, he obferved a gentleman looking at him with attention, who foon accofted him, demanding if his name was not Dubois ? If he had not loft his leg at Corlica ^ and feveral other quef- tions, which being anfwered in the affiria- ative, he flipped twenty louis into his, hand, telling him that it would help to furnifh his houfe. Dubois in aftonifh- ment had exclaimed — Mon Dieu ! voil^ K ^ encore 132 VlEVsT OF SOCIETY AND encore Monfieur de F . Upon which the ftranger had replied : — Y'es, he fends you that, by me : and immediately he turned into another ftreet, and Dubois * faw no more of him. We were all equally furprifed at the fingularity of this little adventure. On enquiring more particularly about the ap- pearance of the ftranger, I was convinced he could be no other than B . I remembered he had been affeded with the ftory of Dubois when I told it him. You know B — is not one of thofe, who allow any emotions of that nature to pafs unimproved, or to evaporate in fentiment. He generally puts them to fome practical ufe, — So having met Dubois accidentally in the ftreet, he had made him this fmall prefent, in the manner above re- lated ; and on his underftanding- that Dubois and Fanchon were at F ’s, he MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. *33 he had declined going, to avoid any expla- nation on the fubjedl. Had our friend B been a man of fyftem, or much refle of their boafted Le Kain, appear, in my eyes, a little outre. The juftnefs, the dignified fimplicity, the energy of Garrick’s adion, have de- ftroyed my relifli for any manner different from his. That exquifite, but concealed art, that magic power, by which he could melt, freeze, terrify the foul, and com- mand the obedient pafTions as he pleafed, we look for in vain, upon our own, or any other ftage. What Horace faid of Nature, may be applied with equal juftice to that unri- valled ador ; Juvat, 140 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND Juvat, aut impellit ad iram, Aut ad humutn moerore gravi deducit, et angit. One of the moft difficult things in a<5t^ ing is the player’s concealing himfelf be- hind the character he aflumes ; The inftant the fpedator gets a peep of him, the whole illufion vanilhes, and the pleafure is fuc- ceeded by difguft. In Oedipus, Mahomet, and Orofmane, I have always detected Le Kain; but I have feen the Englifh Rofcius reprefent Hamlet, Lear, Richard, without recolleding that there was fuch a perfon as David Garrick in the world. The French tragedians are apt in my opinion to o is the moft magnifi- cent town in France, enlivened by in- duftry, enriched by commerce, beautified by wealth, and by its fituation, in the mid- dle of a fertile country, and at the conflu- ence of the Saone and the Rhone. The numbers of inhabitants are eflimated at 200,000. The theatre is accounted the iineft in France, and all the luxuries in Paris are to be found at Lyons, though, not in equal perfection. The manners and converfation of mer- chants and manufacturers have been gene- rally confidered as peculiar to themfelves. It is very certain that there is a ftriking difference in thefe particulars between the inhabitants of all the manufacturing and commercial towns of Britain, and thofe of Weftminfter. I could not remark the fame difference MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 153^ difference between the manners and addrefs of the people of Lyons and the courtiers of Ver failles itfelf. There appeared to me a wonderful fynl- litude between the two. It is probable, however, that a Frenchman would perceive a difference where I could not. A foreigner does not obferve the different accents in which an Englifhman, a Scotchman, and an Irifhman fpeak Englifh; neither per- haps does he obferve any difference between the manners and addrefs of the inhabitants of Briftol, and thofe of Grofvenor-fquare, though all thefe are obvious to a native of ^England. After a fhort flay at Lyons, we pro- ceeded to Geneva, and here we have re- mained thefe three weeks, without feeling the fmalleft inclination to fhift the fcene. That I fhould wifh to remain here is no way furprifing, but it was hardly to be expeded ^54 VIEW OF'SOCIETY AND expected that the D — of H- would have been of the fame mind. — Fortunatclf, however, this is the cafc.-^I know no place on the continent to which we could ■go with any probability of gaining by the change : The opportunities of improvement here are many, the amufements are few in number, and of a moderate kind : The hours glide along very fmoothly, and though they are not always quickened by pleafure, they are unretarded by languor, and unrufHed by remorfe. ' As for myfelf, I have been fo very often and fo mifer'ably difappointed in my hopes of happinefs by change, that I ihall notj without fome powerful motive, incline to forego my prefent date of content, for the chance of 'more exquifite enjoyments in a different place or fituation. Thave at length learnt by my own ex- perience (for not one in twenty profits by the manners IN FRANCE, 155 the experience of others), that one great fource of vexation proceeds from our. in- dulging too fanguine hopes of enjoyment from the bleffings we expeft, and too much indifference for thofe we pofTefs. We fcorn a thoufand fources of fatisfadion which we might have had in the interim^ and permit our comfort to be difturbed, and our time to pafs unenjoyed, from im- patience for fome imagined pleafure at a diftance, which we may perhaps never ob- tain, or which, when obtained, may change its nature, and be no longer pleafure. Young fays. The prefent moment, like a wife, we Ihun, And ne’er enjoy, becaufe it is our own. The devil thus cheats men both out of the enjoyment of this life and of that which is to come, making us in the firft place prefer the pleafures of this life to thofe of a future ftate, and then continually prefer future 156 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND future pleafures in this life to thefe which gre prefent. The fum of all thefe apophthegms amounts to this:— We lhall certainly remain at Geneva till we become more tired of it than at prefent, MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 157; LETTER XIX. Geneva. ^ H E fituation of Geneva is in many re- fpeds as happy as the heart of man could defire, or his imagination conceive. The Rhone, rufhing out of the nobleft lake in Europe, flows through the middle of the city, which is encircled by fertile fields, cul- tivated by the induftry, and adorned by the riches and tafte, of the inhabitants. The long ridge of mountains called Mount Jura on the one fide, with the Alps, the Glaciers of Savoy, and the fnowy head of Mont Blanc on the other, ferve as boun- daries to the moft charmingly variegated landfcape that ever delighted the eye. With t'5S VI that the battle might be as mag- nificent as poffible. As neither of thefe gallant commanders would confent to the being defeated, the reverend author of the engagement could not make the cataftrophe fo decifive and ^ffeding as he intended. While Vidory, with equipoifed wings, hovered over both armies, a meflenger ar- rived i86 VIEW OF S'OCIETY AND rived from the tOwn-hall with intelligence that dinner was ready. This news quickly fpread among the combatants, and had an effect fimilar to that which the Sabine wo- men produced when they rufhed between their ravilhers and their relations. — The warriors of Geneva relented at once;, and both armies fufpendcd their animofity, in the contemplation ‘of that Which they both loved.-^ — They threw down their arrris, ^hobk hands, hhd were friends. ’Thtis ended the battle. -don’t know how it will affe£t you ; but it has fatigued me fo completely, that I have lofl all appe- tite for the feaft. Which muft therefore be dt^iayed till another pbft. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 187 LETTER XXII. Geneva. fame company which had attended the King to the field of battle, 'marched with him in proceffion ' from that to the Maifon de Ville, where a fumptuous en- tertainment was prepared. This was exa(ftly the reverfe of a fete champetre, being held in the town-houfe, and in the middle of the ftreets adjacent; where tables were covered, and dinner pro- vided, for feveral hundreds of the officers and foldiers. The King, the Syndics, mofl of the members of the Council, and all the flran- gers, dined in the town-hall. The other rooms, i88 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND rooms, as well as the outer court, were Hkewlfe full of company. There was much greater havoc at din- ner than had been at the battle, and the en- tertainment in other refpe£ts was nearly as warlike. A kettle-drum was placed in the middle of the hall, upon which a martial flourifli was performed at every toaft. This was immediately anfwered by the drums and trumpets without the hall, and the cannon of the baftion. Profperity to the republic is a favourite toaft: — When this was announced by the firft Syndic, all the company ftood up with their fwords drawn in one hand, and glaftes filled with wane in the other. Having drank the toaft, they claflied their fwords, a ceremony always performed in every circle or club where there is* a pub- lic V. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 189 He dinner, as often as this particular toafl is named. It is an old cuftom, and im- plies that every man is ready to fight in defence of the republic. After we had been about two hours at table, a new ceremony took place, which I expeded as little in the middle of a feaft. An hundred grenadiers, with their fwords drawn, marched with great folemnity into the middle of the hall, for the tables being placed in the form of a horfe-flioe, there was vacant fpace in the middle fufficient to admit them. They defired permiffion to give a toaft : This being granted, each of the granadiers, by a well-timed movement, like a motion in the exercife, pulled from his pocket a large water-glafs, which being immediately filled with wine, one of the foldiers, in the name of all, drank a health to King Mofes the firft. His example was followed by his compa- 190 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND companions and all the company, and waS^ inhantly honoured by the found of the drums, trumpets, and artillery. When the grenadiers had drank this, and a toaft or two more, they wheeled about, and marched out of the hall wiih. the fame folemnity with which they had entered, refuming their places at the tables in the ftreet. Soon after this a man fantaftlcally drefled entered the hall, and diftributed among the company fome printed Iheets which feemed to have come diredly from the prefs. This proved to be a fong made for the occafion, replete with gaiety, wit, and good fenfe*, pointing our, in a humorous ftrain, the advantages which the citizens of Geneva polfelfed, and exhorting them to un- animity, induftry, and public fpirit. — This ditty was fung by the man who brought it, while MANNERS IN FRANCE, &i‘. 191 while many of the company joined in the chorus. When we defcended from the town-hall, we found the foldiers intermingled with their officers, ftill feated at the tables in the ftreets, and encircled by their wives and children. They all arofe foon after, and dividing into different companies, repaired to the ramparts, the fields, and the gardens, where, with mufic and dancing, they con- tinued in high glee during the reft of the evening. The whole exhibition of the day, though no very juft reprefentation of the manoeuvres of war, or the elegance of a court enter- tainment, formed the moft lively picfture of jollity, mirth, good-humour and cordiality, that 1 had ever feen. r The 192 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND The inhabitants of a whole city> — of a whole Hate if you pleafe, united in one fcene of good fellowfhip, like a fmgle fa- mily, is furely no common fight. If this fketch conveys one half of the fatisfadion to your mind, which the fcene itfelf afforded mine, you will not think thefe tw'o long letters tedious. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 19^ LETTER XXIII. Geneva. npHERE are feme of the citizens of Geneva themfelves who deride the little military eftablifhment of the repub- lic, and declare it to be highly ridiculous in fuch a feeble Rate to prefume that they could defend themfelves. The very idea of refiftance againft Savoy or France, they hold as abfurd. They feem to take pleafure in mortify- ing their countrymen, afluring them, that in cafe of an attack all their efforts would be fruitlefs, and their garrifon unable to Rand a fiege of ten days. Thefe politicians declaim againft the needlefs expence of keeping the fortifica- VoL. I. O tions 194 VIEW OF S^OCIETY AND tions in repair, and they calculate the mo- ney loft, by fo many manufadurers being employed in wielding ufelefs firelocks, inftead of the tools of their refpedive pro- feflions. Were I a member of this republic, I fhould have no patience with thefe difcou- raging malcontents, who endeavour to de- prefs the minds of their countrymen, and embitter a fource of real enjoyment. I am convinced that the garrifon, fmall as it is, aided by the zeal of the inhabitants, and regulated by that fhare of difcipline which their fituation admits, would be fuf- ficient to fecure them from a coup-de-main, or any immediate infult, and might enable them to defend the town from the attempts of any one of the neighbouring ftates, till they fhould receive fuccour from fome of the others. Indc- MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 195 Independent of thefe confiderations, the ramparts are moft agreeable walks, conve- nient for the inhabitants, and ornamental to the city. The exercifing and reviewing the militia form an innocent and agreeable fpedlacle to the women and, children, contribute to the health and amufement of the troops them- felves, infpire the inhabitants in general with the pleafing ideas of fecurity and of their own importance^ Upon the whole, I am convinced that the fortifications, and the militia of Geneva, produce more happinefs, in thefe various Ways taken together, than could be pur- chafed by all the money they coft, expended in any other manner. This I imagine is more than can be faid in favour of the greater part of the ftand- ing armies on the continent of Europe# O Si whofe 196 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND whofe numbers fecure the defpotlfm of the prince, whofe maintenance is a moft fevere burthen upon the countries which fupport them, and whofe difcipline, inftead of ex- citing pleafing emotions, impreffes the mind with horror. The individuals who compofe thofe ar- mies are miferable, by the tyranny exercifed on them, and are themfelves the caufe of mifery to their fellow-citizens by the ty- ranny they exercife. But it will be faid they defend the na- tion from foreign enemies. — Alas, could a foreign conqueror occafion more wretched- nefs than fuch defenders .? -When he who calls himfelf my protedor has ftripped me of my property, and deprived me of my freedom, I cannot return him very cordial thanks, when he tells me, that he will de- fend me from every other robber. The MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 197 The moft folid fecurity which this little republic has for its independency, is found- ed on the mutual jealoufy of its neigh- bours. There is no danger of its meeting with the misfortune which has fo lately befallen Poland. — Geneva is fuch an atom of a ftate as not to be divifible. It ferves, however, as a kind of barrier or alarm-poft to the Swifs Cantons, particu- larly that of Bern, which certainly would not like to fee it in the hands either of the King of France or of Sardinia. The acquifition is not worth the atten- tion of the firft ; and it is better for the fecond, that the republic fhould re- main in its prefent free and independ- ent fituation, than that it fliould revert to his pofleffion, and be fubje£l:ed to the fame government with his other domi- nions. O 3 For 198 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND For no fooner would Geneva be in the poflefTion of ^Sardinia, than the wealthieft of the citizens would abandon it, and carry their families and riches to Switzerland, Holland, or England. Trade and manufabje€f. For my own part, though' I wifli well to the Glaciers, and all the inhabitants of Cha- mouni, having paffed fome days very plea- fantly in their company ; I will take no part in this controverfy, the merits of which I leave to your own judgment. 236 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND letter XXVII. Geneva. T HE morning of the day on which we departed from Prieure, I obferved a girl of a very fingular appearance fitting before the door of one of the houfes. When I fpoke to her, fhe made no anfwer; But an elderly man, who had been a foldier in the king of Sardinia’s fervice, and my ac- quaintance fince the moment of our arrival, informed me, that this girl was an ideot, ^nd had been fo from her birth. He took me to two other houfes in the village, in each of which there was one per- fon in the fame melancholy fituation ; and he alTured me, that all over the valley of Chamouni, iri a family confifting of five or fix MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c, 137 fix children, one of them, generally fpeak- ing, was a perfc(St natural. This was confirmed by fome others, to whom I afterwards mentioned it. I was told at the fame time, that the parents, fo far from confidering this as a misfortune, looked upon it as an indication of good luck to the reft of the family, and no un- happinefs to the individual, whom they always cherilh and proted with the utmoft tendernefs, I alked my foldier, if any of his own family were in that fituation ? Non, Mon- fieur, anfweredhe; et auflij’ai paffe une vie bien dure. Don’t you think thefe poor creatures very unhappy ? Demande pardon, Monfieur Ils font tres heureux But us^ . VIEW OF SOCIETY ANl3 But you would Ticut like to have 'beedi born in that ftate yourself? . Vous croyez domc> Monfieur>,q.ue j’aurois ete bkn attrape ? Attrape ! — certainly don’t you think fo too ? Pour eela, non, Monheur; je n’auroia jamais travaille.— To one who has through life been ob- liged to work hard for a bare fubfiftcnce labour appears the greateft evil, and perfect!: idlenefs the greatef; bleffing. If this foldier had been brought up in idlenefs, and had experienced all the horrors and deje£lion which attend indolent luxury, very poffibly he would be of a different opinion. During this journey, I remarked, that in fome particular villages, and for a conli- derable tract of country, fcarcely w^as there any MANNERS IN FRANCE, See. 239 any body to be feen who bad that fwelling of the throat and neck, which is thought fo general among all the inhabitants of the Alps. In particular, I did not obferve any body at Prieure with this complaint; and, upon enquiry, w^as informed, that there are many pariflies in which not a fingle perfop is troubled with it, and that in other places at no great diftance it is almofl: univerfah In the valley of Chamouni there is only one hamlet where it is common ; but in the Pays de Vallais, I was told, it is more frequent than in any other place. As this difeafe feems to be endemical, it cannot, as has been imagined, proceed from the drinking of water impregnated with fnow or ice; for this beverage is common, to all the inhabitants of the Alps, and of other mountains. If 240 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND If the water be in reality the vehicle of this difeafe, we muft fuppofe it impregnated not only with difTolved ice and fnow, but alfo with fome fait, or other fubftance, pof- fefled of the noxious quality of obftruding the glands of the throat ; and we muft alfo fuppofe, that this noxious fubftance is to be found in no other inhabited place but the Alps. After one of the inhabitants of Cha- mouni had enumerated many pariflies where there were, and others where there were no Guatres (which is the name they give this fwelling), he concluded by telling me, I fhould fee them in great abundance among the Valaifans, to whofe country we were going. — When I told the man, I thought his country-people very happy, in being quite free from fuch an odious difeafe, ■which afflided their poor neighbours En revenche, faid the peafant, nous fommes accables MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 241 Qiiid caufas ell, merito quin illis Jupiter ambas, Iratas buccas inflet. accables des impotsj — et dans le pays de Vallais on ne paye rien. The d 1 is in the fellow, exclaimed I.— Were it in your choice, would cept of Guatres, to get free of taxes Ties volontiers, Monfieur; — 1’ bien I’autre. You fee, my friend, that it is not in courts and capitals alone that men are dif- contented with their fortunes. The caufes of repining are different in different places ; but the effeO: is the fame every where. On the morning of the fixth day, we bid adieu to Prieure; and having afeended the mountains, which fhut up the valley of Chamouni at the end oppofite to that by VoL, I, R which 242 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND which we had entered, after various wind- ings on a very rugged road, we gradually defcerided into a hollow of the moft difmal appearance. It is furrounded with high, bare, rugged rocks, without trees or verdure of any kind, the bottom being as barren and craggy as the fides, and the whole forming a moft hideous landfcape. This dreary valley is of a confiderable length, but very narrow. I imagine it would have pleafed the fancy of Salvator, who might have been tempted to fteal a corner of it for one of his pieces, which, when he had enlivened with a mur- der or two, would have been a mafter-piece of the Horrible. Having traverfed this, w^e continued our\ journey, fometimes afcending, then de- fending into other vallies whofe names I have forgot. — -We had a long continued afeent over Mont Noir, a very high hill, 4 covered MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 243 covered with pine-trees, many of which are above a hundred feet in height. I was obliged to walk on foot moft of this road, which is full as deep as any part of that by which we had afcended Montanvert. We came at length to the pafs which feparates the King of Sardinia’s country from the little republic, called the Pays de Vallais. Acrofs this there is an old thick wall, and a gate, without any guard. This narrow pafs continues for feveral miles, — A few peafants arranged along the upper part of the mountains could, by rolling dowm ftones, deftroy a whole army, if it fhould attempt to enter into the country by this road. When you have paffed through this long defile, the road runs along the fide of a high and fteep mountain; but is Rill fo ^ very narrow, that two perfons cannot with fafety go abreaft, and all paflengers are en- R 2 tirely 144 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND tlrely at the mercy of thofe who may be polled on the higher parts of the mountain. From the fide of the mountain on which we pafled, we could have fpoken to the people who inhabited the fide of the moun- tain oppofite. But I am convinced it would have taken three or four hours walking, to have gone to them : Becaufe we muft, by a long, oblique tour, have firft reached the bottom of the cleft between us, and then have afcended to them by another long, fa- tiguing path, which could not be done in lefs time than I have mentioned. Wherever there is a fpot of the mountain tolerably fertile, and the flope lefs formi- dable than ufual, you are alinoft certain to find a peafant’s houfe. All the houfes are built of the fine red pine, which grows near at hand. The carriage of this, even for a fhort way, upon thofe very fteep mountains, muft have been attended with no manners in FRANCE, trc, 245 no fmall difficulty and danger. Thefe dwellings are raifed on wooden props, or pillars, two or three feet above the ground. On the top of each pillar a large flag or broad ftone is placed, to obftrudt the en- trance of rats. — Indeed the fltuation of thefe abodes is fo very aerial, that they feem al- moft inacceffible to every animal that has not wings, as well as to rats. The road led us at length to the fummit, which is level, and covered with pines for feveral miles. Having traverfed this, and defcended a little on the other fide, the lower Vallais opened to our view. No- thing can be imagined more Angularly pic- turefi^ue j — It is of an oval form, about feven leagues in length, and one in breadth, furrounded on all fides by mountains of a ftupcndous height, the lower parts of which are covered with very rich pafture.— The valley itfelf is fertile in the higheft degree, finely cultivated, and divided into meadows, R 3 gardens. 246 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND , gardens, and vineyards. The Rhone flows in beautiful mazes from the one end to the other.— Sion, the capital of the Vallais, is fituated on the upper extremity, and the town of Martigny on the lower, many vil- lages and detached houfes appearing all over the valley between them. The pro- fpeid on the very border Hand Of the bkft promifed land, And from the mountain top of his exalted wit Saw it himfelf, and (hewed us it. he MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 271 he left the room, Voltaire faid, he fuppofed him to be an avanturier, un impofteur. — Madame Denis faid, Impoftors never ham- mer: — To which Voltaire replied — Moife, ne begayoit-il pas ? You muft have heard of the animofity which has long fubfifled between Voltaire and Freron the Journalift at Paris. The former was walking one day in his garden with a gentleman from Geneva. A toad crawled acrofs the road before them : — The gentleman, to pleafe Voltaire, faid, point- ing at the toad, — There is a Freron. — What can that poor animal have done to you, replied the Wit, to deferve fuch a name ? He compared the Britifh nation to a hoglhead of their own ftrong beer ; the top of which is froth, the bottom dregs, the middle excellent. A friend of Voltaire’s having recom- mended to his perufal, a particular fyfteih of 272 . VIEW OF SOCIETY AND of metaphyfics, fupported by a train of reafonings, by which the author difplayed his own ingenuity and addrefs, without convincing the mind of the reader, or proving any thing befides his own elo- quence and fophiftry, afked, fome time after, the critic’s opinion of this per- formance ? Metaphyfical writers, replied Voltaire, are like minuet-dancers ; who being drelT- ed to the greateft advantage, make a couple of bows, move through the room in the fineft attitudes, difplay all their graces, are in continual motion without advancing a ftep, and finifh at the identical point from which they fet out. ¥- This, I hope, will fatisfy you for the prefent ; in my next, I fhall fend you what farther particulars I think worth your no- tice concerning this fingular man.— Mean while, I am, 6cc. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c, 173 Geneva, ^Onfidered as a matter, Voltaire appears in a very amiable light. He is affable, humane, and generous to his tenants and dependants. He loves to fee them profper; and takes part in their private and domettic concerns, with the attention of a patri- arch.— -He promotes induttry and manufac- tures among them, by every means he can devife : by his care and patronage alone, Ferney, from a wretched village, whofe inhabitants were funk in floth and poverty, is become a flourifhing and commodious little town. That acrimony, which appears in fome of Voltaire’s works, feems to be excited only againtt rival wits, and cotemporary VoL. I. T writers. 74 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND writers, who refufe him that diftinguilhed place on Parnaffus, to which his talents en- title him. If he has been the author of fevere fatire, he has alfo been the objed of a great deal. Who has been the aggreflbr, it would be difficult to determine; but it muft be con- feffed, that where he has not been irritated as a writer, he appears a good-humoured man ; and, in particular inftances, difplays a true philanthropy.— — The whole of his condud refpeding the Galas family ; — his protedion of the Sirvens, his patronage of the young lady defcended from Cor- neille, and many examples, which might be mentioned, are all of this nature. Some people will tell you, that all the buftle he made, on thefe, and fimilar oc- calions, proceeded from vanity; but in my mind, the man who takes pains to juftify opprefled innocence, to roufe the indigna- tion MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 275 tion of mankind againft cruelty, and to re- lieve indigent merit, is in reality benevo- lent, however vain he may be of fuch actions.- Such a man is unqueftionably a more ufeful member of fociety, than 'the humbleft monk, who has no other plan in life, than the working out his own falvation in a corner. Voltaire’s criticifms on the writings of Shakefpear do him no honour; they be- tray an ignorance of the author, whofe works he fo rafhly condemns. Shakefpear ’s irregularities, and his difregard for the uni- ties of the drama, are obvious to the dulleft of modern critics; but Voltaire’s national prejudices, and his imperfedl knowledge of the language, render him blind to fome of the moft fhining beauties of the Englifh Poet ; his remarks, however, though not always candid nor delicate, are for the moft part lively, T a One 2;6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND One evening, at Ferney, the converfa- tion happening to turn on the genius of Shakefpear, Voltaire expatiated on the impropriety and abfurdity of introducing low characSters and vulgar dialogue into Tragedy ; and gave many inftances of the Englifh bard’s having offended in that par- ticular, even in his moft pathetic plays. A gentleman of the company, who is a great admirer of Shakefpear, obferved, by way of palliation, that though thofe charac- ters were low, yet they were natural (dans la nature, was his expreffion). Avec per- miflion, Monfieur, replied Voltaire, mon cul eft bien dans la nature, et cependant je porte de coulottes. Voltaire had formerly a little theatre at his own houfe, where dramatic pieces were reprefented by fome of the fociety who vifited there, he himfelf generally taking fome important character ; but by all ac- counts this was not his fort, nature having fitted MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 277 fitted him for conceiving the fentiments, but not reprefenting the adions of a hero. Mr. Cramer of Geneva fometimes aflifted upon thefe occafions. 1 have often feen that gentleman ad at a private theatre in that city with deferved applaufe. Very- few of thofe who have made ading the ftudy and bufinefs of their lives, could have reprefented the charaders in which he appeared, with more judgment and energy. The celebrated Clairon herfelf has been proud to tread Voltaire’s domeftic theatre, and to difplay at once his genius and her own. Thefe dramatic entertainments at Fer- ney, to which many of the inhabitants of Geneva were, from time to time, invited, in all probability increafed their defire for fuch amufements, and gave the hint to a T 3 company 278 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND company of French comedians, to come every fummer to the neighbourhood. As the Syndics and Council did not judge it proper to licenfe their ading, this company have ereded a theatre at Chate- laine, vc'hich is on the French fide of the ideal line which feparates that kingdom from the territories of the Republic, and about three miles from the ramparts of Geneva. People come occafionally from Savoy and Switzerland to attend thefe reprefenta- tions; but the company on which the adors chiefly depend, are the citizens of Geneva. The play begins at three or four in the afternoon, that the fpedators may have time to return before the fhutting of the gates. I have been frequently at this theatre. The performers are moderately good. The admired Le Kain, who is noW at Fer- ney, on a vifit to Voltaire, fometimes ex- hibits: I MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 279 hibits but when I go, my chief induce- ment is to fee Voltaire, who generally attends w^hen Le Kain ads, and when one of his own tragedies is to be repre- fented. He fits on the ftage, and behind the fcenes ; but fo as to be feen by a great part of the audience. He takes as much in- terefl: in the reprefentation, as if his own charade r depended on the performance. He feems perfedly chagrined and difgufted when any of the adors commit a miftake ; and when he thinks they perform well, never fails to mark his approbation with all the violence of voice and gefture. He enters into the feigned diftrefTes of the piece with every fymptom of real emotion, and even fheds tears with the profufion of a girl prefent for the firft time at a tragedy. T 4 I have 28 o view of society AND I have fometimes fat near him during the whole entertainment, obferving with aftonifliment fuch a degree of fenfibility in a man of eighty. This great age, one would naturally believe, might have conr. fiderably blunted every fenfation, particu- lariy thofe occafioned by the fiditious dif- trefles of the drama, to which he has been habituated from his yoi^th. The pieces reprefented having been wrote by himfelf, is another circumftance which, in my opinion, fliould naturally tend to prevent their efFedt on him. Some people indeed aflert that this, fo far from diminifhing, is the real caufe of all his fenfibility ; and they urge, as a proof of this affertion, that he attends the theatre only when fome of his own piecjes are tp he aded. That he fhould be better pleafed to fee his own tragedies reprefented than any others. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 281 others, Is natural ; but I do not readily com- prehend, how he can be more eafily moved ^nd deceived, by diftreffes which he him- felf invented. Yet this degree of decep- tion feems necefiary to make a man fhed tears. While thefe tears are flowing, he muft believe the woes he weeps are real : he muft have been fo far deceived by the cunning of the fcene, as to have forgot that he was in a playhoufe. The moment he recolledts that the whole is fidion, his fym- pathy and tears muft ceafe. I fhould be glad, however, to fee Vol- taire prefent at the reprefentation of fome of Corneille or Racine’s tragedies, that I might obferve whether he would difcover more or lefs fenfibility than he has done at his own. We fhould then be able to afcertain this curious, difputed point, whe- ther his fympathy regarded the piece or the author. Happy, 282 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND Happy, if this extraordinary man had confined his genius to its native home, to the walks which the mufes love, and where he has always been received with diftin- guifhed honour, and that he had never de- viated from thefe, into the thorny paths of controverfy. For while he attacked the ty- rants and oppreflbrs of mankind, and thofe who have perverted the benevolent nature of Chriftianity to the moft felfifh and» ma- lignant purpofes, it is for ever to be regret- ted, that he aliov^ed the fhafts of his ridi- cule to glance upon the Chriftian religion itfelf. By perfevering in this, he has not only fhocked the pious, but even difgufted infi- dels, who accufe him of borrowing from himfelf, and repeating the fame argument in various publications ; and feem as tired of the ftale fneer againft the Chriftian doc- trines, as of the dulleft and moft tedious fermons in fupport of them. Voltaire’s MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 283 Voltaire’s behaviour during ficknefs has been reprefented in very oppofite lights, I have heard much of his great contrition and repentance, when he had reafon to be- lieve his end approaching. Thefe ftories, had they been true, would have proved, that his infidelity was affectation, and that . he was a believer and Chriftian in his heart. I own I could never give any credit to fuch reports; for though 1 have frequently met with vain young men, who have given themfelves airs of free-thinking, while in reality they were even fuperftitious, yet I never could underftand what a man like Voltaire, or any man of common under- ftanding, could propofe to himfelf by fuch abfurd affedlation. To pretend to defpife what we really revere, and to treat as hu- man, what we believe to be divine, is cer- tainly, of all kinds of hypocrify, the mofi: unpardonable. I was 284 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND I was at fome pains to afcertain this mat- ter; and I have been alTured, by thofe who have lived during many years in familiarity with him, that all thefe ftories are without foundation. They declared, that although he was unwilling to quit the enjoyment of life, and ufed the means of prefer ving health, he feemed no way afraid of the confequences of dying. That he never dif- covered, either in health or ficknefs, any remorfe for the works imputed to him againft the Chriftian religion. That, on the contrary, he was blinded to fuch a de- gree, as to exprefs uneafinefs at the thoughts of dying before fome of them, in which he was at that time engaged, were finilhed. Though this conduct is not to be juftified upon any fuppofition, yet there is more con- fiftency, and, in my opinion, lefs wicked- nefs in it, if we admit the account which his friends give, than there would be in his writing at once againft the eftablifhed opi- nions MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 285 nions of mankind, the convidion of his own confcicnce, and the infpirations of the Deity, merely to acquire the applaufe of a few miftaken infidels. However erroneous he may have been, I cannot furped him of fuch abfiirdity. On the contrary, I imagine, that as foon as he is convinced of the truths of Chriftianity, he will openly avow his opinion, in health as in ficknefs, uniformly, to his laft mo- ment. 286 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND Geneva, J N obedience to your requeft, I fhall give you my opinion freely with regard to Lord — ; — ’s fcheme of fending his two fons to be educated at Geneva. The oldeft, if I remember right, is not more than nine years of age; and they have advanced no farther in their education than being able to read Engliih tolerably well. His Lordfhip’s idea is, that when they lhall have acquired a perfe(St knowledge of the French language, they may be taught Latin through the medium of that language, and purfue any other ftudy that may be thought proper. 2 I have MANNERS IN FRANCE, &e. 287 I have attended to his Lordfliip’s objec- tions againft the public fchools in England, and after due confideration, and w^eighing every circumftance, I remain of opinion, that no country but Great Britain is proper for the education of a Britifli fubjed, who propofes to pafs his life in his own country. The moft important point, in my mind, to be fecured in the education of a young man of rank of our country, is to make him an Englilhman ; and this can be done no- where fo effedually as in England. He will there acquire thofe fentiments, that particular tafte and turn of mind, which will make him prefer the government, and relifli the manners, the diverfions, and ge- neral way of living, which prevail in Eng- land. He will there acquire that charader, which diftinguifhes Englifhmen from the natives of all the other countries of Europe, and 288 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND and which once attained, however it may be afterwards embellifhcd or deformed, can never be entirely effaced. If it could be proved, that this charader is not the moil amiable, it does not follow that it is not the moft expedient. It is fufficient, that it is upon the whole moft approved of in England. For I hold it as indifputable, that the good opinion of a man’s countrymen is of more importance to him than that of all the reft of man- kind: Indeed, without the firft, he very rarely can enjoy the other. It is thought, that, by an early foreign education, all ridiculous Englifh prejudices will be avoided. This may be truej^but other prejudices, perhaps as ridiculous, and much more detrimental, will be formed. The firft cannot be attended with many in- conveniencies ; the fecond may render the young people unhappy in their own coun- try MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 289 try when they return, and difagreeable to their countrymen all the reft of their lives. It is true, that the French manners are adopted in almoft every country of Europe: they prevail all over Germany and the northern courts. They are gaining ground, though with a flower pace, in Spain, and in the Italian ftates. — This is not the cafe in England. — The Englifli manners are uni- verfal in the provinces, prevail in the capi- tal, and are to be found uncontaniinated even at court. In all the countries above mentioned, the body of the people behold this preference to foreign manners with difguft. But in all thofe countries, the fentiments of the people are difregarded ; whereas, in Eng- land, popularity is of real importance; and the higher a man’s rank is, the more he will feel the lofs of it. VoL. I. U Befides, 290 VIEW OF SOCIETY AN0 Befides, a prejudice againft French man- ners is not confined to the lower ranks in England : — It is diffufed over the whole nation. Even thofe who have none of the ufual prejudices ; — who do all manner of juftice to the talents and ingenuity of their neighbours; — who approve of French man* ners in French people; yet cannot fuffer them when grafted on their countrymen. Should an Englifh gentleman think thi& kind of grafting at all admiffible, it will be in fome of the loweft clafles with whom he is conneded, as his tailor, barber, valet- de-chambre, or cook; — but never in his- friend. I can fcarcely remember an inftance of an Englilhman of fafliion, who has evinced in his drefs or ftyle of living a preference to French manners, who did not lofe by it in the opinion of his countrymen. What I have faid of French manners is applicable to foreign manners in general, -5 which Manners in France, & c . 291 which are all in feme degree French, and the particular differences are not diftin- guifhed by the Englifh. The fentiments of the citizens of Geneva are more analogous in many refpeds to the turn of thinking in England, than to the general opinions in France. Yet a Gene- vois in London will univerfally pafs for a Frenchman. An EngliOi boy, fent to Geneva at an early period of life, and remaining there fix or feven years, if his parents be not along with him, will probably, in the eyes of the Englifh, appear a kind of French- man all his life after. This is an inconve- nience which ought to be avoided with the greateft attention. With regard to the objedions againft . public fchools, they are in many refpeds applicable to thofe of every country. But I freely own, they never appeared to me U 2 . fufficient 292 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND fufficient to overbalance the advantages which attend that method of education; particularly as it is condudfed in Englifli public fcliools* I have perceived a certain hardihood and manlinefs of charader in boys who have had a public education, fupcrior to what appears in thofe of the fame age educated privately. At a public fchool, though a general at- tention is paid to the whole, in many par- ticulars each boy is neceflitated to decide and ad for himfelf. His reputation among his companions depends folely on his own condud;. This gradually ftrengthens the mind, infpires firmnefs and decifion, and prevents that wavering imbecility obfervable in thofe who have been long accuflomed to rely upon the affiftance and opinion of others. The MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 293 The original impreflions Vv’hich fink into the heart and mind, and form the charac- ter, never change. — The objedfs of our at- tention vary in the different periods of life. — This is fometimes miftaken for a change of charadler, which in reality remains ef- fentially the fame. — He who is referved, deceitful, cruel, or avaricious, when a boy, will not, in any future period of life, be- come open, faithful, compafTionate, or generous. The young mind has, at a public fchool, the bed chance of receiving thofe fenti- ments which incline the heart to friend- fhip, and corredl felfifhnefs. They are drawn in by obfervation, which is infinitely more pov/erful than precept. A boy perceives, that courage, genero- fity, gratitude, command the efteem and applaufe of all his companions. He che- rifhes thefe qualities in his own bread, and endeavours to connedf himfelf in friendfhip U 3 with ^94 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND ■with thofe who poflcfs them." — He fees that meannefs of fpirit, ingratitude, and per- fidy, are the objeds of deteftation.— He fhuns the boys wdio difplay any indications of thefe odious qualities. What is tlie ob- jed of contempt or applaufe to his fchool- fellows he wdll endeavour to graft into, or eradicate from, his own charadler, with ten thoufand times more eagernefs than that which was applauded and cenfured by his tutor or parents. The admonitions of thefe laft have pro- bably loft their effed by frequent repeti- tion ; or he may imagine their maxims are only applicable to a former age, and to manners which are obfolete.— But he feels the fentiments of his companions affe(ft his reputation and fame in the moft fenfible manner. In all the countries of Europe, England - excepted, fuch a deference is paid to boys of rank at the public fchools, that emula- tion. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 295 tloii, the chief fpur to diligence, is greatly blunted. — The boys in the middle rank of life are deprefled by the infolence of their titled companions, which they are not al- low'ed to correct or retaliate. This has the word: effedt on the minds of both, by rendering thefe more infolent, and thofe more abjed;. The public fchools in England difdain this mean partiality ; and are, on that ac- count, peculiarly ufeful to boys of high rank and great fortune. Thefe young people are exceedingly apt to imbibe falfe ideas of their own importance, xvhich in thofe im- partial feminaries will be perfcdly afeer- tained, and the real merit of the youths weighed in juftcr fcales than are generally to be found in a parent’s houfe. The young peer will be taught by the tnafters, and Rill more effedually by his comrades, this moR ufeful of all leiTons, ■ U 4 C96 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND to expert diflindtioQ and efteein from per- fonal qualities only j becaufe no other can make him eftimable, or even fave him from contempt.— — He will fee a dunce of high rank flogged with as little ceremony as the^ fon "of a tailor; and the richeft coward kicked about by his companions equally with the poorefl: poltroon. — He will find that diligence, genius, and fpirit, are the true fources of fuperiority and applaufe, both within and without the fchooL The afbive principle of emulation, whep allowed full play, as in the chief fchools in England, operates in various ways, and al- ways with a good effea:. If a boy finds that he falls beneath his companions in literary merit, he will endeavour to excel them in intrepidity, or fome other accom- plitkment. If he be brought to difgrace tor negledling his exercife, he will try to fave himfelf from contempt by the firmnefs ^ith which he bears his punifliment. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 297 The liftleffnefs and indolence to be found fo frequently among our young people of rank, are not to be imputed to their educa- tion at a public fchool, which in reality has the greateft tendency to counteract thefe habits, and often does fo, and gives an energy to the mind which remains through life. Thofe wretched qualities creep on after- wards, when the youths become their own mafters, and have enfeebled their minds by indulging in all the pleafures which fortune puts in their power, and lu'^ury prefents. Upon the whole, I am clearly of opinion, that the earlieft period of every Englifh- man’s education, during which the mind receives the moJft lafdng impreffions, ought to be in England. If, however, the opinion of relations, or ^ny peculiarity in lituation, prevents his being VIEW OF SOCIETY AND being educated at home, Geneva fliould be preferred to any other place. Or if, by fame negled, either of his own or his parents, a young Englilh gentleman of for- tune has allowed the firfl: years of youth to fly unimproved, and has attained the age of feventeen or eighteen with little literary knowledge, I know no place where he may have a better chance of recovering what he j has loft than in this city. He may have a j choice of men of eminence, in every branch j of literature, to affift him in his ftudies, a great proportion of whom are men of ge- 11 nius, and as amiable in their manners as j they are eminent in their particular pro-* j feftions. i I He will have conftant opportunities of 1 being in company with very ingenious j people, whofe thoughts and converfation | turn upon literary fubjeds. In fuch fo-^ ciety, a young man will feel the neceftlty of forne degree of ftudy. This will gradually | form I MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 299 form a tafte for knowledge, which may re^ main through life. It may alfo be numbered among the ad- vantages of this place, that there are few objeds of diffipatlon, and hardly any fources of amufement, befides thofe derived from the natural beauties of the country, and from an intimacy with a people by whofe converfation a young man can fcarce fail to improve. P. S. An Englifh nobleman and his lady having taken the refolution of educating their fon at Geneva, attended him hither, and have elFedually prevented the incon- veniencies above mentioned, by remaining with him for feven or eight years. The hofpitality, generofity, and benevo- lent difpofilions of this family had acquired them the highefl; degree of popularity. I faw them leave the place. Their carriage could with difficulty move through the multitude. VIEW OF SOCIETY AND 300 multitude, who were aflembled in the flreets. Numbers of the poorer fort, ■who had been relieved by their fecret cha- rity, unable longer to obey the injunctions of their benefaCtors, proclaimed their gra- titude aloud. The young gentleman was obliged to come out again and again to his old friends and companions, who prefled around the coach to bid him farewel, and exprefs their forrow for his departure, and their wiflies for his profperity. The eyes of the parents overflowed with tears of happinefs ; and the whole family carried along with them the affections of the greater part, and the efteera of all the citizens. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 301' LETTER XXXII. Geneva. gUICIDEis very frequent at Geneva. I am told this has been the cafe ever fince the oldeft people in the republic can re- member ; and there is reafon to believe, that it happens oftencr here, in proportion to the number of inhabitants, than in Eng- land, or any other country of Europe. The multiplicity of inftances which has occurred fince I have been here is aftonilh- ing. Two that have happened very lately are remarkable for the peculiar circum- ftances which accompanied them. The firft was occafioned by a fudden and unaccountable lit of defpair, which feized the fon of one of the wealthieft and moll ^ refpedable VIEW OF SOCIETY AND refpe€table citizens of the republic. This young gentleman had, in appearance, every reafon to be fatisfied with his lot. He was handfome, and in the vigour of youth, married to a woman of an excellent cha- racter, who had brought him a great for- -tune, and by whom he was the father of a line child. In the midft of all thefe bleffings, furrounded by every thing which could in- fpire a man with an attachment to life, he felt it infupportable, and without any obvious caufe of chagrin, determined to deftroy himfelf. Having palTed fome hours with his mo- ther, a mofl; valuable woman, and with his wife and child, he left them in apparent good*humour, went into another room, ap- plied the muzzle of a mufket to his fore- head, thruft back the trigger with his toe, and blew out his brains, in the hearing of the unfufpeCting company he had juft quitted. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 303 The fecond inftance, is that of a black- fmith, who, taking the fame fatal refolu- tion, and not having any convenient inftru- ment at hand, charged an old gun-barrel with a brace of bullets, and putting one end into the Ere of his forge, tied a firing to the handle of the bellows, by pulling of which he could make them play, while he was at a convenient difiance. Kneeling down, he then placed his head near the mouth of the barrel, and moving the bel- lows by means of the firing, they blew up the fire, he keeping his head with afionifii- ing firmnefs, and horrible deliberation, in that pofition, till the farther end of the barrel was fo heated as to kindle the pow- der, w^hofe explofion infiantly drove the bullets through his brains. Though I know that this happened li- terally as I have related, yet there is fomething fo extraordinary, and almofi in- credible, in the circumfiances, that perhaps I fhould 304 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND I fhould not have mentioned it, had it not been well attefted, and known to the inha« bitants of Geneva, and all the EngUih who are at prefent here. Why fuicide is more frequent in Great Britain and Geneva than elfewhere, would be a matter of curious inveftigation. For it appears very extraordinary, that men fhould be moft inclined to kill themfelves in coun- tries where the bleffings of life are beft fecured. There mull; be fome flrong and peculiar caufe for an elfedt fo prepofterous. Before coming here, I was of opinion, that the frequency of fuicide in England was occafioned in a great meafure by the ftormy and unequal climate, which, while it clouds the fky, throws alfo a gloom over the minds of the natives. — To this caufe, foreigners generally add, that of the ufe of coal, inftead of wood, for fuel. I refted MANNERS iN FRANCE, &c. 305 1 refted fatisfied with fome vague theory, built on thefe taken together But nei- ther cart account for the fame effed: at Ge- neva, where coal is not ufed, and where the climate is the fame with that in Swit- zerland, SavOy, and the neighbouring parts of France, where inftances of fuicide are certainly much more rare. Without prefuming to decide what are the remote caufes of this fatal propenfityi it appears evident to me, that no reafoning can have the fmallefl; force in preventing it, but what is founded upon the foul’s im- mortality and a future ftate. — What effedli can the common arguments have on a man who does not believe that neceflary and im- portant dodrine?— He rnay be told, that he did not give himfelf life, therefore he: has no right to take it away ; — that he is a centinel on a poft, and ought to remain till he is relieved — what is all this to the VOL. I. X man 3o6 view of society ANP man who thinks he is never to be quef- tioned for his violence and defertion ? If you attempt to pique this man’s pride, by aiferting, that it is a greater proof of courage to bear the ills of life, than to flee from them ; he will anfwer you from the Roman hlftory, and afk, Whether Cato, Caflius, and Marcus Brutus, were cowards ? The great legiflator of the Jews feems to have been convinced, that no law or argument againft fuicide could have any influence on the minds of people who were ignorant of the foul’s immortality ; and therefore, as he did not think it neceflary to inftrudt them in the one (for reafons which the Bifhop of Gloucefler has un- folded in his treatife on the Divine Legation of Mofes), he alfo thought it fuperfluous to give them any exprefs law againft the other. Thofe MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c, 307 Thofe pbilofophers, therefore, who haVe endeavoured to (hake this great and im- portant conviction from the minds of men, have thereby opened a door to fuicide as well as to other crimes. — For, whoever rea- Tons againft that, without founding upon the dodrine of a future (late, will foon fee all his arguments overturned. It muft be acknowledged, indeed, that in many cafes this queftion is decided by men’s feelings, independent of reafonings of any kind. Nature has not trufted a matter of fo great importance entirely to the fallible reafon of man ; but has planted in the human breaft fuch a love of life, and horror of death, as feldom can be overcome even by the greateft misfortunes. But there is a difeafe which fometimes affeCls the body, and afterwards communi- cates its baneful influence to the mind, over X z which 3 o8 view of society AND which it hangs fuch a cloud of horrors as renders life abfolutely infupportable. In this dreadful ftate, every pleafmg idea is banifhed, and all the fources of comfort in life are poifoned. Neither fortune, honours, friends, nor family, can afford the fmalleft fatisfadion. Hope, the laft pil- lar of the wretched, falls to the ground — Defpair lays hold of the abandoned fufferer — ^Then all reafoning becomes vain— Even arguments of religion have no weight, and the poor creature embraces death as his only friend, which, as he thinks, may terminate, but cannot augment, his mifery. I am, &c. P. S. You need not write till you hear from me again, as I think it is probable that we fhall have left this place before your letter could arrive. , 4 MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 309 LETTER XXXIII. Laufanne. D — of H having a defire to vifit fome of the German Courts, we bade adieu to our friends at Geneva, and are thus far on our intended journey. It is of peculiar advantage in Germany, above all other countries, to be in company with a man of rank and high title, becaufe it facilitates your reception every where, and fuperfedes the necefiity of recommen- datory letters. I have met here with my friend B — n, whofe company and converfation have re- tarded our journey, by fupplying the chief objects of travelling, if amuferaent and in- ftrudtion are to be ranked among them. He is here with the M- — -«s of L y, X 3 a lively, 310 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND a lively, fpirited young man ; — one of thofe eafy, carelefs characters, fo much beloved by their intimates, and fo regardlefs of the opinion of the reft of mankind. Since you hold me to my promife of writing fo very regularly, you muft fome- times expert to receive a letter dated from three or four different places, when either my fhort ftay in one place deprives me of the leifure, or meeting with nothing un- common in another deprives me of mate^ rials for fo long a letter as you require. The road from Geneva to this town is along the fide of the lake, through a de- lightful country, abounding in vineyards, which produce the ^in de la cote^ fo much efteemed, All the little towns on the way, Nyon, Rolle, and Morges, are finely fitu- ated, neatly built, and inhabited by a thriv-^ ing and contented people. Laufanne MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 311 Laufanne is the capital of this charm- ing country, which formerly belonged to the Duke of Savoy, but is now under the dominion of the canton of Bern. However mortifying this may be to the former pofleffor, it has certainly been a happy difpenfation to the inhabitants of the Pays de Vaud, who are in every refpe£t more at their eafe, and in a better lituation, than any of the fubjeds of his Sardinian Majefty. This city is fituated near the lake, and at the diftance of about thirty miles from Geneva. As the nobility, from the coun- try, and from fome parts of Switzerland, and the families of feveral officers, who have retired from fervice, refide here, there is an air of more eafe and gaiety (perhaps alfo more politenefs) in the focieties at Laufanne, than in thofe of Geneva ; at lead: thfe is firmly believed and aflerted by all X 4 the 312 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND the nobles of this place, who confider theinfelves as greatly fuperior to the citi- zens of Geneva. Thefe, on the other hand, talk a good deal of the poverty, fri- voloufnefs, and ignorance of thofe fame nobility, and make no fcruple of ranking their own enlightened mechanics above them in every elfential quality. Vevay. The road between Laufanne and Vevay is very mountainous; but the mountains are cultivated to the fummits, and covered with vines. — ——This would have been impradli- cable on account of the fteepnefs, had not the proprietors built ftrong ftone-walls at proper intervals, one above the other, which fupport the foil, and form little terraffes from the bottom to the top of the mountains. The MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 313 The peafants afcend by narrow flairs, and, before they arrive at the ground they are to cultivate, have frequently to mount higher than a mafon who is employed in repairing the top of a fteeple. The mountainous nature of this country fubjedfs it to frequent torrents, which, when violent, fweep away vines, foil, and walls in one common deftrudtion. The inhabitants behold the havoc .with a fleady concern, and, without giving way to the clamorous rage of the French, or finking into the gloomy defpair of the Englifh, think only of the mofl efFedual means of repairing the lofs. — As foon as the florm has abated, they begin, with admirable pa- tience and perfeverance, to rebuild the walls, to carry frefli earth on hurdles to the top of the mountain, and to fpread a new foil wherever the old has been waflied away. Where 314 ^ VIEW OF SOCIETY AND Where property is perfedly fecure, and men allowed to enjoy the fruits of their own labour, they are capable of efforts unknown in thofe countries where defpotifm renders every thing precarious, and where a tyrant reaps what Haves have fown. This part of the Pays de Vaud is inha- bited by the defcendents of thofe unhappy people, who were driven by the moft ab- furd and cruel perfecution from the vallies of Piedmont and Savoy. I will not affert, that the iniquity of the perlecutors has been vifited upon their children but the fufferings and ftedfaft- nefs of the perfecuted feem to be recom- penfed by the happy fituation in which their children of the third and fourth ge- nerations are now placed, Vevay is a pretty little town, containing between three and four thoufand inhabit- ants. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 315 ants. It is fweetly fituated on a plain, near the head of the lake of Geneva, where the Rhone enters. The mountains behind the town, though exceedingly high, are entirely cultivated, like thofe on the road from Laufanne. There is a large village about half-way up the mountain, in a dired line above Vevay, which, viewed from below, feems adhering to the fide of the precipice, and has a very fingular and romantic appearance. The principal church is detached from the town, and lituated on a hill which overlooks it. From the terrace, or church- yard, there is a view of the Alps, the Rhone, the lake, with towns and villages on its margin. Within this church the body of General Ludlow is depofited. That ftea4y republican withdrew from Laufanne to this place, after the aflaffi nation of his friend Lifle, who was ftiot through the heart, 3 i 6 view of society and heart, as he was going to church, by a ruffian, who had come acrofs the lake for that purpofe, and who, amidfl the confu- fion occafioned by the murder, got fafe to the boat, and efcaped to the Duke of Savoy^s territories on the other fide, where he was openly proteded.— This was a pitiful way of avenging the death of a monarch, who, whether jiiftly or not, had been publicly condemned and, executed. There is a long Latin epitaph on Lud- low’s monument, enumerating many cir- cumftances of his life, but omitting the moft remarkable of them all. He is called, Patri^ libertatis defenfor, et poteftatis arbi- trari^ propugnator acerrimus, &c. — But no nearer hint is given of his having been one of King Charles the Firft’s judges, and of his having figned the fentence again ft that ill-fated Prince. * However fond the Swifs in general may be of liberty, and however partial to its alTertors, MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. aflertors, it is prefumable that thofe proteded Ludlow, did not approve part of his ftory, and on that account a particular mention of it was not made on his tomb. There is no travelling by poft through Switzerland ; we therefore hired horfes at Geneva, to carry us to Bafil ; from whence we can proceed by poll to Strafbourg, which is the route we defign to take. We Laufanne the day after to-morrow. 3i8 view of society AND LETTER XXXIV. Bern, o N my return from Vevay to Laufanne, I found our friend, Mr. H — ; — y, at the inn, with the D — of H . His Grace .inclines to remain fome time longer at that city ; but defired that I might proceed with the carriages and all the fervants, except his valet-de-chambre and one footman, to Strafbourg, which I readily agreed to, on his promifmg to join me there within a few days. H — y, at the fame time, made the very agreeable propofal of accompany- ing me to Strafbourg, where he will remain till our departure from thence, leaving his chaife for the D — . We began our journey the following day, and were efcorted as far as Payerne by 5 Meflrs. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 319 Meflrs. B— n and O o, where we paffed a gay evening, and proceeded next morning to the town of Avanche> the ca- pital of Switzerland in Tacitus’s time** No country in the world can be more iigreeable to travellers during the fummer than Switzerland: For, befides the com- modious roads and comfortable inns, fpme of the moft beautiful obje< 3 :s of nature, woods, mountains, lakes, intermingled with fertile fields, vineyards, and fcenes of , the moft perfed cultivation, are here prefeated to the eye in greater variety, and on a larger fcale, than in any other country. From Avanche we advanced to Murten, pr Murat, as it is pronounced by the * Near this town the Helvetians were defeated by Ca*- cina, one of Vitellius’s Lieutenants. — Malta hominum millia Ciefa, multa fub corona venumdata, Cumque direptis om- nibus, Aventicum gentis caput jufto agmine peteretur, Taciti Hidoria, lib. i. cap. 68. Frend^, 320 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND French, a neat little town, fituated upon a rifing ground, on the fide of the lake of the fame name. The army of Charles Duke of Burgundy, befieglng this town, was defeated, with great daughter, by the Swifs, in the year 1476. Near the road, within a mile of Murat, there is a little building full of hu- man bones, which are faid to be thofe of the Burgundians flain in that battle. As th4 curious cabinet was erected many years after the battle, it may be fuppofed, that fome of the bones of the victors are here packed up along with thofe of the van- quifhed, in order to fwell the collection. There are fever al infcriptions on the chapel. D£0 OPTIM. MAk. CAROLI INCLITI ET FORTISSIMI BURGUNDI/E DUCTS EXERCITUS MURATUM 06 SIDENS AB HELVETIlS C/ESU 3 HOC SUI MONUMENTUM RELIQUIT, 1476. On MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 321 On another fide is the following : SACELLUM QUO RELIQUIAS EXERCITUS BURGUNDICI AB HELVETIIS, A. 1476, PIA ANTIQUITAS CONDIDIT. kENOVARI VIISQUE PUBLICIS MUNIRI JUSSERUNT RERUM NUNC DOMINIE REfPUBLIC^ BERNENSIS ET FRIBURGENSIS ANNO 1755. The borders of the lake of Murat are enriched with gentlemen’s houfes, and vil- lages in great abundance. The drefs, manners, and perfons of the inhabitants of this country indicate a differ- ent people from the Genevois, Savoyards, or the inhabitants of the Pays de Vaud. VoL. I. y We p2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND We dined at Murat, and remained feve- ral hours in the town. There was a fair, and a great concourfe of people. — — The Swifs peafants are the talleft and moft ro- buft I have ever feen. Their drefs is very particular. — They have little round hats, like thofe worn by the Dutch Ikippers. — Their coats and waiftcoats are all of a kind of coarfe black cloth. — Their breeches are made of coarfe linen, fomething like failors trowfers ; but drawn together in plaits be- low the knees, and the ftockings are of the fame fluff with the breeches. The women wear fhort jackets, with a great fuperfluity of buttons. ‘The unmar- ried women value themfelves on the length of their hair, which they feparate into two divifions, and allow to hang at its full length, braided with ribands in the Ra- millie fafhion. After marriage, thefe treffes are no longer permitted to hang down j MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. | 2 j down ; but, being twilled round the head in fpiral lines, are fixed at the crown with large filver pins. This is the Only differ- ence in point of drefs Vv^hich matrimony makes. Married and unmarried wear draw hats, ornamented with black ribands. So far the women’s drefs is becoming enough; but they have an aukward manner of fix- ing their petticoats fo high as to leave hardly any waifl. This encroachment of the petticoats upon the v/aift, with the amazing number they wear, gives a fize and importance to the lower and hind part of the body to which it is by no means en- titled, and mightily deforms the appear- ance of the whole perfon. The elegant figure of the Venus de Medicis, or of the fs of D re, would be impaired, or annihilated, under Y 2 fuch 324 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND fuch a prepofterous load of drefs.^ -As we arrived only this afternoon, I can fay nothing of Bern. You fhall hear more in my next. Meanwhile, I am, &c. MANNERS IN FRANCE, Ac. 325 LETTER XXXV. Bern. jgERN is a regular well-built town, with fome air of magnificence. The houfes are of a fine, white, free-ftone, and pfefty uniform, particularly in the principal ftreet, where they are all exadly of the fame height. There are piazzas on each fide, with a walk, raifed four feet above the level of the ftreet, very commodious in wet weather, A fmall branch of the Aar has been turned into this ftreet, and being confined to a narrow channel in the middle, which has a confiderable flope, it runs with great rapidity ; and, without being a difagreeable objed of itfelf, is of great fervice in keep- ing the ftreet clean. Ys Another 326 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND Another circumftance contributes to ren- der this one of the mofl cleanly towns in Europp:- — Criminals are employed in re- moving rubbilh from the ftreets and public walks. The more atrocious delinquents are chained to waggons, while thofe who are eondepfin^d for fmaljer crimes, are em- ployed in fweeping the light rubbiiT into the rivulet, and throwing the heavier into the carts or v»aggon.s, which their more critninal companions are obliged to pufli or draw along. Thefe wretches have collars of iron fixed around their necks, wnth a projeding handle in the form of a hook to each, by which, on the flighteft od’ence or mutiny, they may be feized, and are entirely at the com- mand of the guard, whofe duty it is to fee them perform their work,-— rpeopie of both fexes are condemned to this labour for months, years, or for life, according to the nature of their crimes. 2 It manners IN FRANCE, &c. 327 It is alleged, that over and above the de- terring from crimes, which is elFeded by ^his, in common with the other methods of punifhing, there is the additional advan- tage, of obliging the criminal to repair by his labour the injury which he has done to the community. I fufped, however, that this advantage is overbalanced by the bad effeds of habi- tuating people to behold the mifery of their fellow-creatures, which 1 imagine gradu- ally hardens the hearts of the fpedators, and renders , them lefs fufceptible of the emotions of compaffion and pity feel- ings, which, perhaps of all others, have the beft influence upon, and are the moft be- coming, human nature. Juvenal fays, molliffima corda Humano generi dare fe natura fatetur, Qu^ lachrymas dedit : haec noftri pars opti- ma fenfus. Y 4 Wherever 328 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND Wherever public executions and punifh- ments are frequent, the common people have been obferved to acquire a greater de* gree of infenfibility, and cruelty of difpofi- tion, than in places where fuch fcenes fel- dom occur. •! remember, while I was at Geneva, where executions are very rare, a young man was conoemned to be hanged for muider, and there was a general gloom and uneafinefs evident in every fo- clety for feveral days before and after the execution. The public buildings at Bern, as the ho- fpital, the granary, the guard-houfe, the arfenal, and the churches, are magnificent. There is a very elegant building juft com- pleted, with accommodations for many public amufements, fuch as balls, concerts, and theatrical entertainments. There are alfo apartments for private focieties and af- femblies. It was built by a voluntary fub- fcription among the nobility ; and no fo- cieties, MANNERS IN FRANCE, See. 329 cieties, but of the patrician order, are al- lowed there. Theatrical entertainments are feldom permitted at Bern ; none have as yet been performed at this new theatre. The walk by the great church was for- merly the only public walk, and much ad- mired on account of the view from it, and the peculiarity of its fituation, being on a level with the ftreets on one fide, and fome hundred feet of perpendicular height above them on the other. But there is now ano- ther public walk, at fome diftance without the town, which has been lately made upon a high bank by the fide of the Aar, and is the moft magnificent I ever faw belonging to this or any other town. From it there is a commanding view of the river, the town of Bern, the country about it, and the Gla- ciers of Switzerland. I have 330 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND I have vifited the library, where, befides the books, there are a few antiques, and fome other curiofities. The fmall figure of the prieft pouring wine between the horns of a bull, is valuable only becaufe it illuf* trates a paffage in Virgil, and has been mentioned by Addifon. An addition was lately made to this li- brary by a colledion of Englifh books, magnificently bound, which were fent as a prefent by an Englifh gentleman ; who, though he has thought proper to conceal his name, has fufficiently difcovered his political principles by the nature of the colledion, amongft which, I diftinguiflied Milton’s works, particularly his profe wri- tings; Algernon Sidney on Government, Locke, Ludlow’s Memoirs, Gordon s tranf- lation of Tacitus, Addifon’s works, particu- larly The Freeholder; Marvel’s works, Steel’s, &c. They were the largeft and fined editions, and might be about the value of MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 331 of 200 1. — ’I'his gentleman made a prefent of the fame nature to the public library at Geneva. I happened to open the Glafgow edi- tion of Homer, which I faw here, on a blank page of which was an addrefs in Latin to the Corfican General, Paoli, figned James Bofwell. This very elegant book had been fent, I fuppofe, as a prefent from Mr. Bofwell to his friend the General ; and, when that unfortunate chief was obliged to abandon his country, has, with others of his efFe(SIs, fallen into the hands of the Swifs officer in the French fervice, who made a prefent of the Homer to this library. The arfenal I could not have omitted fee- ing had I been fo inclined, as the Bernois value thcmfelves 011 the trophies contained in it, and upon the quantity, good condi- tion, and arrangement of the arms. Nothing 332 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND Nothing interefted me fo much as the figures of the brave Switzers, who firft took arms againfl: tyranny, and that of William Tell, who is reprefented aiming at the apple on his fon’s head. I contemplated this with an emotion which was created by the circumftances of the ftory, not by the workmanfhip ; for, at that moment, I Ihould have beheld with negle£t the moft exquifite ftatue that ever was formed of Auguftus Caefar. Surely no characters have fo juft a claim to the admiration and gratitude of pofterity as thofe who have freed their countrymen from the capricious infolence of tyrants : And whether all the incidents of Tell’s ftory be true or fabulous, the men {who- ever they were) who roufed and incited their fellow- citizens to throw off the Auf- trian yoke, deferve to be regarded as pa- triots, having undoubtedly been actuated by MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 333 by that principle, fo dear to every generous heart, the fpirit of independence. “ Who with the gen’rous ruftics fate, “ On Uri*s rock, in clofe divan, “ And wing’d that arrow fure as fate, “ Which afcertain’d the facred rights of « man.” Mr. Addifon obferves, that there is no great pleafure in vifiting arfenals, merely to fee a repetition of thefe magazines of war ; yet it is worth while, as it gives an idea of the force of a ftate, and ferves to fix in the mind the moll confiderable parts of its hiftory. The arms taken from the Burgundians, in the various battles which eftablilhed the liberty of Switzerland, are difplayed here ; alfo the figure of the General of Bern, who. In the year IJ'36, conquered the Pays de Vaud from Charles III. Duke of Savoy : — And, if they have no trophies to fliew of a later date, I am convinced it is becaufe they SS4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND they are too poor and too wife to aim at any extenfion of dominion: — And becaufc all the neighbouring powers are at length become fenfible, that the nature of their country, and their perfonal valour, have rendered the Swifs as unconquerable, as, from political confiderations, they are averfe to attempt conquefls, manners in FRANCE, &c. 335 LETTER XXXVI. Bern, np HE different cantons of Switzerland, ^ though united together by a common bond, and all of a republican form of go- vernment, differ in the nature of that form, as well as in religion. The Roman Catholic rdigion being fa- vourable to monarchy, one would naturally imagine, that, when adopted by a republic, it would gradually wind up the govern- ment to the higheft pitch of ariflocracy. The faiff neverthelefs is, that thofe can- • tons, which are in the ftrongeft degree de- mocratical, are of the Popifh perfuafion; and the moft perfed ariflocracy of them all 33 ^ VIEW OF SOCIETY ANT) all is eftabliflied in this Proteftant canton of Bern, which is alfo indeed the moft powerful. In extent of country, and num- ber of inhabitants, it is reckoned nearly equal to all the others taken together. The nobility of Bern are accufed of an extraordinary degree of pride and ftateli- nefs. They affedt to keep the citizens at a great diftance ; and it is with difficuTfy that their wives and daughters will conde- fcend to mix with the mercantile families at balls, afleinblies, and fuch public occa- lions, where numbers feem eflential to the nature of the entertainment; by which means a nobility ball lofes in cheerfulnefs what it retains in dignity, and is often, as I am told, as devoid of amufement as it is folemn. The whole power of the government, and all the honourable offices of the ftate, are in the hands of the nobility. As it is not permitted MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c, 337 permitted them to trade, they would natu- rally fall into poverty without this refource : But by the number of places which the nobles enjoy, and to which very conlider- able penfions are annexed, the pooreft of them are enabled to fupport their families with dignity. The bailliages, into which the whole canton and the conquered territories are divided, form lucrative and honourable eftablifhments for the principal fami- lies of Bern. The bailiff is governor and judge in his own diftrid, and there is a magnificent chateau in each for his accom- modation. An appeal may be made from all fubordinate courts to him; as alfo from his decifion, to the council at Bern. The nobility of Bern, though born to be judges, are not always inflru^led in law. It has therefore been thought requifite, to appoint a certain number of perfons, as their VoL. I, Z afTeffors, 338 VIEW OF SOCIEtV AND afTefTors, who have been bred to the pro-- feffion. But in cafe the judge fhould differ from thofe afTeffors, and retain his own opinion in fpite of their remonflrances, as nobility has the precedency of law, the de-» cihon tnuft be given according to the will of the judge. This office remains in the hands of the fame perfon for the term of fix years only; I have been informed, that in fome of thefe bailliages, the governor may live with pro- per magnificence, and lay up, during the period of his office, two or three thoufand pounds, without extortion, or unbecoming parfimony. There is no law againft his being afterwards named to another bailliage. The executive power of the government, with all the lucrative and honourable of- fices, being thus in the hands of the nobi- lity, it may be imagined, that the middle and lower ranks of people are poor and op- preffed* 2 manners In France, &c: 33^ preffed. This, however, is by no means the cafe; for the citizens, I mean the mer- chants and trades-people; feem, in general, to enjoy all the comforts and conveniericies of life. And the peafantry is uncommonly wealthy throughout the whole canton of Bern, The Swifs have lio objedUon to theif nobles being their judges, and to the prin- cipal offices of government remaining in their hands. They look upon the nobility as their natural fuperiors, and think, that they and their families ought to be fup- ported with a certain degree of fplendor ^ But the power of dired taxation is a differ- ent queftion, and muft be managed with all poffible caution and delicacy. — It is a common caufe, and the condud of the nobles in this particular is watched with very jealous eyes. They are fufficiently aware of this, and ufe their power with moderation. But left the nobles fhould at Z 2 any ^40 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND any time forget, a very good hint is givers in a German infcription in the arfenal, im- plying, That the infolence and rapacity of high rank had brought about the liberty of Switzerland, A people who have always arms in their hands, and form the only military force of the country, are in no danger of being op- prefled and irritated with taxes. It has been confidered by fome as a per- nicious policy in the Swifs, to allow fo many of their inhabitants to ferve as mer- cenaries in the different armies of Europe. There are others, who confider this mea- fure as expedient, or lefs pernicious in the Swifs cantons, than it would be in any other country. They who fupport this opinion, aflert, that every part of Switzerland, which is ca- pable of cultivation, is already improved to 6 the MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 541 the higheft degree;— that, after retaining a fufficient number of hands to keep it al- ways in this condition, and for the fupport of every manufadory, hill there remains a furplus of inhabitants, which forms the troops that are allowed to go into foreign fervices. They add, that thefe troops only engage for a limited number of years, after the expiration of which, many of them re- turn, with money, to their native country; and all of them, by flipulation, may be re- called by the ftate on any emergency.— By this means, they retain a numerous and well-difciplined army on foot; which, fo far from being a burden, in reality enriches the hate ; — an advantage which no other people ever pohehed. There is hill another motive for this meafure, which, though it be not openly avowed, yet, I fufpe(h:, has confiderable weight : The council are perhaps afraid, that if the young nobility were kept at 2) 3 home, VIEW OF SOCIETY AND '342 home, where they could have but few ob- jects to occupy them, they might cabal and fpread dlffeniions in the ftate ; or perhaps, through idlenefs and ambition, excite dan- gerous infurre^Iions among the peafants. For, although the laws are fevere againft flate crimes, and cafily put in execution againft ordinary offenders, it might be dif*- ficult and dangerous to punifh a popular young nobleman. It may on thefe accounts be thought highly prudent, to allow a large proportior^ of them to exhauft, in fome foreign fer- vice, the fiery and reftlefs years of youth, ■which at home might have been fpent in fadion and dangerous intrigues. Very probably the ftates would incline to per- mit the officers to go, while they retained the private men at home ; but are under a neceffiiy of allowing the latter alfo, becaufe without them the officers could not be yaifed to thofe diftinguiffied fituations \n foreign MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 343 foreign fervices which are their greateft in- (ducements to leave their o\yn country. After having ferved a certain time, aU moft all of them return to Switzerland* Some, becaufe they are tired of difppation; others to inherit a paternal eftate; and many with penfions from the Princes they have ferved. — The heat of youth is then moft probably over. — They begin to afpire to thofe offices in their own country to which their birth gives them a claim, and which they now prefer to the luftre of mi- litary rank. They wifti to fupport thofe laws, and that government, which they find fo partial to their families ; or they defire to pafs the remainder of life in eafe and tirenient on their paternal eftates. It is remarkable, that the Swifs officers, who returrj from foreign fervices, particu- larly that of Francp, inftead of importing french ipanners to their native mountains, Z 4 344 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND and infeding their countrymen with the luxuries and fopperies of that nation, throw off all foreign airs with their uniform, and immediately refume the plain and frugal ftyle of life which prevails in their own country. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 345: LETTER XXXVII, BaW. J^AVING, on a former occafion, made a more extenfive tour through Switzer- land, we determined not to deviate from the diredt road to Strafbourg. In purfuance of this refolution, H y and I, when we left Bern, paffed by Soleurre, the canton of the fame name. Soleurre is an agreeable little ated on the river Aar. The houfes are neatly built, and not inelegant ; the mean* eft of them have a cleanly appearance. The common people feem to be in eafier circumftances, and have a greater air of content, than in any Roman Catholic coun- try I have ever viftted. The inn where we lodged ^34^ VIEW OF SOCIETY ANJJ lodged has the comfortable look of an Eng** iilh one. The French ambalfador to the cantons has his refidencein this town. One of the churches of Soleurre is the moft mag*- pificent modern building in Switzerland* The arfenal is ftored with arms in prp-r portion to the number of inhabitants in the canton ; and there are trophies, and other monuments of the valour of their anceftors, as in the arfenal of Bern. In the middle of the hall there are thirteen figures of men in complete armour, reprefenting the thir-* teen Swifs cantons. The country between Soleurre and Bafil> though very hilly, is beautiful, perhaps the more fo on that account; becaufe of the variety of furface and different views it prefents, and I had more leifure to admire thofe fine landfcapes than we wilhed, for the axle-tree of the chaife ^roke at fome miles diftant from Bafil. Is MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 347 It was the gay feafon of the vintage.-r-' The country was crowded with peafantry of both fexes and every age, all employed in gathering and carrying home the grapes. Our walk for thefe few miles was agreeable and amufing. In all countries this is the feafon of joy and feftivity, and approaches neareft the exaggerated defcription which the ancient poets have given of rural hap- pinefs. Perhaps there is in reality not fo much exaggeration in their defcription, as alteration in our manners. — For, if the pea- fants were allowed to enjoy the fruits of their own labour, would not their lives be more delightful than thofe of any other people ? —In fpite of poverty and oppreffion, a happy enthufiafm, a charming madnefs, and perfedb oblivion of care, are diffufed all over France during the vintage. — Every village is enlivened with mulic, dancing, dnd glee ; — and were it not for their tattered cloaths and emaciated countenances, one ^yho viewed them in the vintage feafon, would 548 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND would imagine the country people of France in a fituation as enviable as that which, ac- cording to the Poets, was formerly enjoyed by the Shepherds of Arcadia. — The pea- fantry of this country have not fo great a fenfibility or expreffion of joy ; and though blefled with health, freedom, and abun- dance, a compofed fatisfadion, a kind of phlegmatic good-humour, mark the boun- daries of their happlnefs. When we arrived at Bafil, we went di- redly to the Three Kings. This inn, in point of fituation, is the moft agreeable you can well imagine. The Rht>ne wafhes its walls, and the windows of a large dining- room look acrofs that noble river to the fertile plains on the oppofite fide. I am jufi returned from that fame dining- room, where H y and I thought pro- per to fup. — ^There were ten or a dozen people at table. — I fat next to a genteel- looking MANNERS IN FIiANCE, &c. 249 looking man fromStrafbourg, with whom I converfed a good deal during fupper. He had for his companion a round-faced, rofy, plump gentleman from Amfterdam, who did not fpeak French; but the Strafburgher addreffed him from time to time in Low Dutch, to which the other replied by nods. When the retreat of the greater part of the company had contracted the little circle which remained, I exprefled fome regret to my Strafbourg acquaintance, that Mr. H — y and I could not fpeak a little Dutch; or that his friend could not fpeak French, that we might enjoy the pleafure of his conver- fation. This was immediately tranflated to the Dutchman, who heard it with great compofure, and then took his pipe froiA his mouth, and made an anfwer, which I got our interpreter, with fome difficulty, to explain. It was to this effeCt : — That we ought to confole ourfelves for the accident of our not underftanding each other; for as we 330 VIEW OF Society and we had no connedion, or dealings in trade together, our convening could not poffibly anfwer any ufeful purpofe. y made a low bow to this compliment, faying, that the juftiiefs and good fenfe of that remark had certainly efcaped my obfervation, as he acknowledged it had hitherto done his. A man that travels, you fee, my friend, and takes care to get into good company^ is always learning fomething. — Had I not vifited the Three Kings at Bafil, I might have converfed all my lifetime without knowing the true ufe of language. MANNERS IN FRANCE, 35! letter XXXVIIl. Bafi!. ^T^HERE has been an interval of three days fince I had the converfation with jny ingenious acquaintance from Amfter- dam. We are affured that the chaife, which has been accommodated with a new axle-tree, will be ready this afternoon. In the interim, t fliall write you a few re- marks on this town. Bafil is larger than any town in Switzer- land, but not fo populous for its fize as Geneva. The inhabitants feem to be un- commonly afraid of thieves, moft of the windows being guarded by iron bars or grates, like thofe of convents or prifons. 1 obferved 352 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND I obferved at the lower end of many windows a kind of wooden box, projefl- ing towards the ftreet, with a round glafs, of about half a foot diameter, in the mid- dle. I was told this was for the conve- niency of people within ; who, without being feen, choofe to fit at the windows, and amufe themfelves by looking at the paflengers ; — that they were mofily occu- pied by the ladies, who are taught to think it indecent to appear at the win- dows. The inhabitants of Bafil feem to be of a referved and faturnine difpofition ; whe- ther it is natural or affeded I cannot tell, but the few I converfed with, had fome- thing uncommonly ferious and formal in their manner. How an unremitting gra- vity and folemnity of manner in the com- mon affairs of life, comes to be confidered as an indication of wifdom, or of extraor- dinary parts, is what I never could under- fiand. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 353 ftand. — So many ridiculous things occur every day in this world, that men who are endowed with that degree of fenfibility which ufually accompanies genius, find it very difficult to maintain a continued gra- vity. This difficulty is abundantly felt even in the grave and learned profeffions of law, phyfic, and divinity ; and the indi- viduals who have been moft fuccefsful in furmounting it, and who never deviate from the folemnity of eftabliffied forms, have not always been the moft diftinguiftied for real knov^7ledge or genius ; though they generally are moft admired by the mul- titude, who are very apt to raiftake that gravity for wifdom, which proceeds from a literal w'eight of brain, and rauddinefs of underftanding. Miftakes of the fame kind are frequently made in forming a judgment of books, as w^ell as men. Thofe which profefs a formal defign to inftru< 5 t and reform, and carry on the w^ork me- thodically till the reader is lulled into re- Vo l. L A a pofe, 354 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND pofe, have paflfed for deep and ufeful per- formances ; while others, replete with original obfervation and real inftrudtion, have been treated as frivolous, becaufe they are written in a familiar ftyle, and the precepts conveyed in a fprightly and indi- re6t manner. Works which are compofed with the laborious defire of being thought profound, have fo very often the misfortune to be dull, that fome people have confidered the two terms as fynonymous ; and the men who receive it as a rule, that one fet of books are profound becaufe they are dull, may naturally conclude that others are fuperficial becaufe they are entertaining. With refpedf to books, however, matters are foon fet to rights ; thofe of pulfed and falfe pretenfions die negleded, while thofe of real merit live and fiourifli. But with regard to the men, the cataftrophe is often different ; we daily fee formal affuming blockheads MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 355 blockheads flourifli and enjoy the fruits of their pompous impofitions, while many men of talents who dlfdain fuch arts, live in obfcurity, and die negledted. afk you pardon, I have juft recolleded that I was giving you fome account of Baftl. The library here is much efteemed.— « It is reckoned particularly rich in manu- fcripts. They ftiowed us one of a Greek New Teftament, with which you may be- lieve H — y and I were greatly edified. We are told it is above a thoufand years old* At the arfenal is fliown, the armour in which Charles Duke of Burgundy was killed. That unfortunate prince has orna- mented all the arfenals in Switzerland with trophies. We vifited the hall where the famous Council fat fo many years, and voted fo A a 2 intrepidly 356 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND intrepidly againft the Pope. Not fatisfied •with condemning his conduct, they ac- tually damned him in effigy. A famous painting, in the town-houfe, is fuppofed to have been executed under their aufpices. In this piece the Devil is reprefented driving the Pope and feveral ecclefiaftics before him to Hell. — Why they fhould fuppofe the Devil fhould be fo very adtive. againft his Holinefs, I know no reafon. Elere are many pictures of Hans Hol- ben’s (who was a native of Bafil, and the favourite painter of Henry VIII. to whom he w'as firft recommended by Erafmus) ; particularly, feveral portraits of Erafmus, and one fketch of Sir Thomas More’s fa- mily. Though portraits are in general the moft infipid of all kinds of paintings, yet thofe of fuch celebrated perfons, done by fuch a painter, are certainly very intereft« ing pieces. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 357 The mofl: admired of all Holben’s works, is a fuite of fmall pieces in differ- ent compartments, reprefenting the paffion and fufferings of our Saviour. In thefe the colours remain with wonderful viva* city. We were alfo conducted to the difmal gallery, upon whofe walls, what is called Holben’s Death’s Dance, is reprefented. The colours having been long expofed to the air, are now quite faded, which I can fcarce think is much to be regretted, for the plan of the piece is fo wretched, that the fineft execution could hardly prevent it from giving difgufl:. A fkeleton, which reprefents Death, leads off, in a dancing attitude, people of both fexes, of all ages, and of every con- dition, from the emperor to the beggar. All of them difplay the greateft unwilling- nefs to accompany their hideous partner, A a 3 who. 358 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND who, regardlefs of tears, expoflulations, and bribes, draws them along. You will take notice, that there is a Death for each charadler, which occafions a naufeous repetition of the fame figure ; and the reludance marked by the different people who are forced to this hated minuet, is in fome accompanied with grimaces fo very ridiculous, that one cannot refrain from fmiling, which furely is not the ef^ fe£t the painter intended to produce. — If he did, of all the contrivances that ever were thought of to put people in good-hu- mour, his muft be allowed the moft ex- traordinary. To this piece, fuch as it is, Prior alludes in his ode to the memory of Colonel Vil- lers. Nor aw’d by forefight, nor miQed by chance, Imperious Death directs his ebon lance. Peoples great Henry’s tomb, and leads up Holben’s dance. In MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 359 In this city all the clocks are an hour advanced. When it is but one o’clock in all the towns and villages around, it is exadly two at Bafil. This fmgularity is of three or four hundred years {landing ; and what is as fingular as the cuftom itfelf, the origin of it is not known. This is plain, by their giving quite different ac- counts of it. The moil popular ftory is, that, about four hundred years ago, the city was threatened with an affault by furprife. The enemy was to begin the attack when the large clock of the Tower at one end of the bridge fhould flrike one after mid- night. The artift who had the care of the clock, being informed that this was the ex- pected fignal, caufed the clock to be altered, and it ftruck two inftead of one ; fo the enemy thinking they were an hour too late, gave up the attempt; and in commemora- tion of this deliverance, all the clocks in A a 4 Bafil 36 o view of society AND Bafil have ever fince ftruck two at one o’clock, and fo on. In cafe this account of the matter fhould not be fatisfadory, they fhow, by way of confirmation, a head, which is placed near to this patriotic clock, with the face turned to the road by which the enemy was to have entered. This fame head lolls out its tongue every minute, in the moft infult- ing manner pofiible. This was originally a piece of mechanical wit of the famous clock-maker’s who faved the town. He framed it in derifion of the enemy, whom he had fo dexteroufly deceived. It has been repaired, renewed, and enabled to thruft out its tongue every minute, for thefe four hundred years, by the care of the ma- giftrates, who think fo excellent a joke caut- not be too often repeated. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 361 LETTER XXXIX. Straiburg. O TH I N G can form a finer contrafi: with the mountains of Switzerland than the plains of Alface. From Bafil to Strafburg, is a continued, well cultivated plain, as flat almoft as a bowling-green. We faw great quantities of tobacco hang- ing at the peafants doors, as we came along, this herb being plentifully cultivated in thefe fields. We have pafled fome days very agreeably in this town. One can fcarcely be at a lofs for good company and amufement, in a place where there is a numerous French garrifon. Marechal Contades refides here at prefent, as commander of the troops, and governor of the province. He lives in 362 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND in a magnificent manner. The Englifii who happen to pals this way, as well as the officers of the garrifon, have great reafon to praife his hofpitality and polite- nefs. After dining at his houfe, with feveral Englifh gentlemen, he- invited the com- pany to his box at the playhoufe. Vol- taire’s Enfant Prodigue was aded ; and for the Petite Piece, le Francois a Londres. Our nation is a little bantered, as you know, in the laft. The eyes of the fpec- tators were frequently turned towards the MarechaPs box, to obferve how we bore the raillery. We clapped heartily, and fhowed the moft perfed good-humour. There was indeed no reafon to do other- wife. The fatire is genteel, and not too fevere ; and reparation is made for the li- berties taken ; for in the fame piece, all manner of juftice is done to the real good qualities belonging to the Englifh national charader. An MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 363 An old French officer, who was in the next box to us, Teemed uneafy, and hurt at the peals of laughter which burft from the audience at fome particular paflages: he touched my fhoulder, and aflured me that no nation was more refpe(fted in France than the Englifh ; — adding, ‘ Hanc veniam damns, petimufque viciffim.’ It were to be wifhed that French cha- raders, when brought on the Englifh ftage, had been always treated with as little fe- verity, and with equal juftice; and not fo often facrificed to the illiberal and abfurd prejudices of the vulgar. I have Teen the greater number of the re- giments perform their exercife feparately, and there has been one general field-day fince I came hither. The French troops are infinitely better clothed, and in all refpeds better appointed than they were during the Jaft war. For this reformation, I am told they 364 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND they are obliged to the Due de Choiicul, who, though now in difgrace, ftill retains many friends in the army. There are, befides the French, two Ger- man regiments in this garrifon. Thefe ad- mit of the difcipline of the cane upon every flight occafion, which is never permitted among the French troops. Notwithftand- ing their being fo plentifully provided with thofe fevere flappers to roufe their attention, I could not perceive that the German regi- ments went through their exercife with more precifion or alertnefs than the French j and any difference would, in my opinion, be dearly purchafed at the price of treating one foldier like a fpaniel. Perhaps what improves the hardy and phlegmatic German, would have a contrary effed on the more delicate and lively French- man ; as the fame feverity which is requifite to train a pointer, would render a greyhound good for nothing. After MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 365 After all, I queftion very much whether this fhocking cuftom is abfolutely neceflary in the armies of any nation ; for, let our martinets fay what they pleafe, there is furely fome difference between men and dogs. With refped to the French, I am con- vinced that great feverity would break their fpirit, and impair that fire and impetuofity in attack, for which they have been diftin- guifhed, and which makes French troops more formidable than any other quality they poffefs. I muft own I was highly pleafed with the eafy, familiar air, and appearance of good will, with which the French officers in ge- neral fpeak to the common foldiers. — This, I am told, does not diminifli the refpedt and obedience which foldiers owe to their fupe- riors, or that degree of fubordination which military difcipline exads. On the con- 3^6 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND trary, it is averted, that to thefe properties, which the French poflefs m common with other foldiers, they join a kind of grateful attachment and afFedfion* la fome fervices, the behaviour of the officers to the private foldiers is fo morofe, fevere, and unrelenting, that a man might be led to believe that one of their principal enjoyments was to render the lives of the common men as miferable as poffible. If a certain degree of gentlenefs does no harm in the great articles of obedience and fubordination, it is furely worth while to pay fome attention to the feelings of fo large a proportion of mankind, as are by modern policy neceffitated to follow a military life. To put their happinefs entirely out of the queftion, in the government of the armies of which they form infinitely the major part, is rather hard treatment of creatures who are of the fame fpecies, employed in the o fame MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 367 fame caufe, and expofed to the fame dangers with their officers. When I began this, I intended to have told you a few things about Strafburg, in- ftead of which I have been led out of my way by French and German foldiers. — Di- greffing is a trick to which I am very fub- jeft, and rather than not be indulged in it, I would throw away my pen altogether. The D — of H arrived here exadlly at the time he propofed. 568 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND LETTER XL. Strafburg. '^HE cathedral of Stralhurg is a very fine building, and never fails to attrad the attention of ftrangers. Our Gothic anceftors, like the Greeks and Romans, built for pofterity. Their ideas in architedure, though different from thofe of the Grecian artifts, were vaft, fublime, and generous, far fuperior to the felfilh fnugnefs of modern tafte, which is generally con- fined to one or two generations ; the plans of our anceftors with a more extenfive bene- volence embrace diftant ages. Many Go- thic buildings ftill habitable evince this, and ought to infpire fentiments of gratitude to thofe who have not grudged fuch labour and MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 369 and expence for the accommodation of their remote pofterity. The number and magnitude of Gothic churches, in the different countries of Eu- rope, form a prefumption, that the clergy were not devoid of public fpirit in thofe days ; for if the powerful ecclefiaftics had then been entirely actuated by motives of felf-intereft, they would have turned the exceffive influence which they had acquired over the minds of their fellow-citizens, to purpofes more immediately advantageous to themfelves ; inftead of encouraging them to raife magnificent churches for the ufe of the public, they might have preached it up as fliil more meritorious to build fine houfes and palaces for the immediate fervants and ambaffadors of God. — But we find very few ecclefiaftical palaces, in comparifon with the number of churches which ftill remain for the public conveniency. Thisfufficiently fhows the injuftice of thofe indifcriminating yoL* !• B b fatirifts, 370 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND fatirifls, who aflert that the clergy in all ages and countries have difplayed a fpirit equally proud and interefted. No fpecies of architedure is better con- trived for the dwelling of heavenly penfive contemplation^ than the Gothic; it has a powerful tendency to fill the mind with fu- blime, folemn, and religious fentiments ; the antiquity of the Gothic churches con- tributes to increafe that veneration which their form and fize infpire. We naturally feel a refped for a fabric into which we know that our forefathers have entered with reverence, and which has flood the af- faults of many centuries, and of a thoufand florms. That religious melancholy which ufually poflefles the mind in large Gothic churches, is however confiderably coun- teraded by certain fatirical bas reliefs with which the pillars and cornices of this church of Strafburg was originally ornamented. — The vices of monks are here expofed under 5 the MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 371 the allegorical figure of hogs, afles, monkies, and foxes, which being drefled in monkifh habits, perform the mofl venerable fundions of religion. And for the edification of thofe who do not comprehend allegory, a monk in the robes of his order, is engraved on the pulpit in a mofl indecent pofture, with a nun lying by him. Upon the whole, the cathedral of Straf- burg is confidered by fome people as the mofl impious, and by others as the merrieft Gothic church in Chriflendom. I leave you to folve the problem as you pleafe.— As for me, I am a very unconcerned paflen- ger. ‘ I fay nothing of the great clock and its various movements. Though it was an ob- jed of admiration when firfl conflruded, it is beheld with indifference by modern art- ifls. B b 2 I had 372 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND I had the curiofity to afcend the fteeplc of this cathedral, which is reckoned one of the higheft in Europe, its height being 574 feet. You may eafily form an idea of the view from it, when I tell you it compre- hends the towm of Strafburg, the extenfive plains of Alface, wdth the Rhine flowing through them. Such views are not uncom- mon: They are always agreeable, but do not aftonifli and elevate the mind, like the wild, irregular, and fublime fcenes in Swit- zerland. One forenoon as I was fauntering through the ftreets wdth fome of our countrymen, we were informed that the mufic of fome of the regiments had been ordered to a par- ticular church, where the Count de — — , fon of Lew’is the XVth by Madam de Pompadour, was expe(fled to be* at mafs. — \V e ail immediately went for the fake of the military mufic, and found a very numerous and genteel company attending. After having MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 373 having waited a conhderable time, it ftruck twelve, upon which the whole company retired, without hearing the mufic or mafs. — After mid-day the ceremony could not have been performed, although the Count had come. Something very important muft have intervened to prevent a Frenchman, and one of his chara< 3 ;er for politenefs, from attending on fuch an occafon. There was however a murmur of difapprobation for this want of attention, and the prieft was not applauded, who had hazarded the fouls of a whole churchful of people, out of com- plaifance to one man ; for thofe who ima- gine that a mafs can fave fouls, rnufl; admit that the want of it may be the caufe of damnation. Mr. H — y whifpered me, “ In England they would not have had half the complaifance for the king himfelf, “ accompanied by all his legitimate chil- “ dren, that thefe people have fhewn to “ this fon of a w — e.” Bb 3 To 374 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND To indemnify myfelf for this difappoint- ment, I went the fame afternoon with a, French officer to hear a celebrated preacher. The fubjedt of his dlfcourfe was the mife- rable fituation of men who were under the dominion of their paffions. — Do you wiffi for a fample of his difcourfe ?— Here it is : ‘‘ A flave in the galleys (cried the “ preacher) is happier, and more free, than a man under the tyranny of his paffions ; for though the body of the flave is in chains, his mind may be free. — Whereas ‘‘ the wretch who is under the government “ of his paffions, has his mind, his very “ foul, in chains.— Is his paffion lull ? — He “ will facrifice a faithful fervant to gratify it ; — David did fo. — Is it avarice ? — he will betray his mafter ; — Judas did fo.— “ Is he attached to a miftrefs ? — he will murder a faint to pleafe her;— Herod did fo.” As we returned from the church, the French officer, who had been for fome time in MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 375 in a reverie, faid, Ma foi, cet homme parle avec beaucoup d*ondtion j je vais profiter de fon fermon.— On eft-ce que vous allez ? faid I.— Je m’en vais chez Nanette, replied he, pour me debarraffer de ma paffion do- minante. Among the curiofities of the cathedral, I ought to have mentioned two large bells, which they Ihow to ftrangers. One is of hrafs, and weighs ten tons j the other of filver, which they fay weighs above two — They alfo {how a large French horn, whofe hiftory is as follows.— About four hundred years ago, the Jews formed a confpiracy to betray the city, and with this identical horn> they intended to give the enemy notice when to begin the attack. Is it not amazing that fuch a number of ftrange ftories have been circulated concern- ing thefe fame Jews? Bb 4 The 37^ VIEW OF SOCIETY AND The plot, however, was difcovered ; many of the Jews were burnt alive, the reft were plundered of their money and effects, and banifhed the town. And this horn is founded twice every r?ight from the battle- ments of the fteeple in gratitude for the de- liverance. The Jews, as you would expe^, deny every circumftance of this ftory, except the murdering and pillaging their countrymen. They fay the whole ftory was fabricated to furnifh a pretext for thefe robberies and murders, and affert that the fteeple of Straf- burg, as has been fald of the monument of London, “ Like a tall bully lifts the head and lies,’* manners in FRANCE, &c, 377 LETTER XLI. Manheim. ^LL the advantages I might propofe from the D — of H ’s company, did not prevent my regret at parting from my friend H — y, who fet out for Lyons the fame morning on which we left Strafburg. Upon crofling the Rhine we entered into the territories of the Margrave of Baden Durlach, which lie along the banks of that river immediately oppofite to Alface. At Raftade we were informed that the Margrave and his family were at Karlfriich, Raftade is the capital of this prince’s domi- nions. — The town is but fmall, and not very populous: — The Margrave’s palace, how- ever, is fufficiently large. — We made only a fliort 2 378 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND fhort flay to examine it, being impatient tQ get on to Karlfruch. There is another very magnificent palace at Karlfruch, built in good tafte. It was begun many years ago, and has been lately finiihed by the reigning prince. The town of Karlfruch is built on a regu^ lar plan. It confifts of one principal ftreet of above an Englifh mile in length. This flreet is at a confiderable diftance in front of the palace, and 'in a parallel diredion with it. All the other ftreets go oflF at different angles from the principal one, in fuch a man- ner as that whichfoever of them you enter, walking from it, the view is terminated by the front of the palace. The length of thefe fmaller ftreets is afcertained, none of them being allowed to encroach on the fpacious area, which is kept clear before the palace. The MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 379 The principal ftreet may be extended to any length, and as many additional Rreets as they pleafe may be built from it, all of which, according to this plan, will have the palace for a termination. The houfes of this town are all as uniform as the flreets, being of an equal fize and height ; fo that one would be led to ima- gine that none of the inhabitants are in any confiderable degree richer or poorer than their neighbours. There are indeed a few new houfes, more elegant than the others, belonging to fome of the officers of the court, built at one fide of the palace ; but they are not, properly fpeaking, in the town. Having announced in the ufual form, that we wifhed to have the honour of pay- ing our court to the Margrave, an officer waited on the D — of H-— and conducted US to the palace. There 380 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND There were at dinner the reigning Prince and Princefs ; — three of their fons, the el- deft of whom is married to a Princefs of Hefte Darmftadt. — She with one of her lifters was prefent, alfo the Princefs Dow- ager of Bareith, daughter to the Duke of Brunfwick; two general officers in the Im- perial fervice, and other ladies and gentle- men, making in all a company of above thirty at table. The entertainment was fplendid. — The Margrave behaved with the politeft atten- tion to the D — of H , and with affabi- lity to every body. The Princefs of Bareith is of a gay, lively, agreeable charader. After dinner the Duke took a view of the different apart- ments of the palace, and afterwards walked with the Margrave in the gardens till the evening. The MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 381 The fame company were at fupper ; a band of mufic played during the repaft, and the day went off in a more eafy, agreeable manner than I could have expedled, con- fidering the number of Princes and Prin- cefles. The Margrave of Baden Durlach is be- tween forty and fifty years of age. He is a man of learning, good fenfe, and benevolent difpofitions. I had heard much, long be- fore I faw him, of his humanity and atten- tion to the well-being of his fubjeds. This made me view him with a cordial regard, which his rank alone could not have com- manded. He fpeaks the Englifh language with con- fiderable facility, and is well acquainted with our befl: authors. Solicitous that his fon fhould enjoy the fame advantages, he has engaged Mr. Cramer, a young gentleman from Scotland, of an excellent charader, who 382 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND who has been for feyeral years at this court as tutor and companion to the young Prince. The German Princes are minute obfervers of form. The fame eftablifliment for their houfehold, the fame officers in the palace* are to be found here, as in the court of the moft powerful monarch in Europe. — The difference lies more in the falaries than in the talents requifite for thefe places ; one Paymafter for the forces has greater emolu- ments in England, than a Grand Marechal, a Grand Chamberlain, two Secretaries of State, and half a dozen more of the chief officers of a German court, all taken to- gether. The Margrave of Baden has body guards who do duty in the palace, foot guards who parade before it ; alfo horfe guards and huf- fars, all of whom are perfedly well equipped and exadly difciplined ; — a piece of mag- nificence which feems to be adopted by this MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 383 this prince, merely in conformity with the cuftom long eftabliflied in his country. He keeps on foot no other troops befides the few which are neceflary for this duty at the palace, though his revenue is more confiderable, and his finances are in much better order than fome Princes in Germany who have little (landing armies in conftant pay. He has too juft an underftanding not to perceive that the greateft army he could pollibly maintain, could be no defence to his dominions, fituated as they are between the powerful dates of France and Auftria: And probably his principles and difpofitions pre- vent him from thinking of filling his cof- fers by hiring his fubje of tlie'moft brilliant repartees for my pri- vate ufe. As this good-natured officer did not.feem to have a great command of the French lan- guage, the whole fpirit of the jeft was al- lowed to evaporate during the tranflation At leaft I could not fmell a particle when the procefs was over. However, as thefe tranflations evidently coft him a good deal of trouble, I thought myfelf obliged to feem delighted with his performance ; fo I joined in the mirth of the company, and endeavoured to laugh as much as any perfon at the table. My interpreter afterv^rards informed me that this genius was from the Tyrol, that he fpoke the German with fo peculiar an accent, that whatever he faid never failed to fet the whole table in a roar; c’eft pourquoi, added he, il eft en pofleftion d entrer tou- jours avec le defert. This MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c* 393, This is the only example that I know remaining of a court fool or licenfed jefter ; an office formerly univerfal in all the courts of Europe* 394 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND LETTER XLIIL Maihheim, w E made a fhort jaunt to Heidelberg a few days fince. That town is about four leagues from Manheim. Heidelberg is fituated in a hollow on the banks of the Neckar, and is furrounded by charming hills perfedly cultivated. More cheerful fcenes of exuberant ferti- lity are to be feen no where than along the fine chain of hills which begin near this town. The fummits of thefe hills are crowned with trees, and their fides and bottoms are clothed with vines. The Elector’s caftle is placed on an emi- nence, which commands the town, and a view MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c; 395 view of the valley below ; but the caftle it- felf unfortunately is commanded by another eminence too near it, from which this noble building was cannonaded when the whole Palatinate was pillaged and burnt, in confe-i quence of that cruel order of Lewis XlV. too literally executed by Turenne. The particulars of that difmal fcene have been tranfmitted from father to fon, and are ftill fpoke of with horror by the peafantry of this country, among whom the French nation is held in deteftation to this day. While we were in the caftle we did not omit vifiting the renowned Heidelberg tun; but as it was perfedly empty, it made but a dull and uninterefting appearance. The inhabitants of the Palatinate are partly Proteftants, and partly Roman Catho- lics, who live here in harmony with each other. The great church at Fleidelberg is divided ‘396 VIEW OF SOClETr AND divided into two. apartments, In one of which- the Proteftants, and in the other, the Papifts, perform public worfliip :— A fin gu- lar proof of the moderation and coolnefs of people’s minds with regard to a fubjeft that inflamed them fb violently in the days of their anceftors. . We remained only one day at Heidelberg, and returned in the evening to this place, The lives and manners of the inhabitants of this city feem to be as uniform and formal as the flreets and buildings. No noife, mobs or buflle ; at mid-day every thing is as calm and quiet as the flreets of London at mid- night. This gives one the notion that the citizens are under the fame reftraint and dlfcipline with the troops. I have feen thefe laft perform their exer- cife every morning on the parade. I was a good deal furprifed to obferve, that not only the movements of the foldiers mufkets, and MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 397 and the attitudes of their bodies, but alfo their devotions, were under the direction of the major’s cane. The following motions are performed as part of the military ma- .noenvres every day before the troops are marched to their different guards. The major flourifhes his cane ; — the drum gives a fingle tap, and every man under arms raifes his hand to his hat ; — at a fecond ffroke on the drum, they take off their hats, and are fuppofed to pray; — at a third, they hnilh their petitions, and put their hats on their heads. — If any man has the affurance to prolong his prayer a minute longer than the drum indicates, he is puniflaed on the fpot, and taught to be lefs devout for the future. The Ingenious inventor of drums certainly never dreamt of their becoming the regula- tors of people’s piety. — But the modern im- provements in the military art are truly won- derful ! — 39S VIEW OF SOCIETY AND derful ! — and we need notdefpair, after this, of feeing a whole regiment, by the progrefs of difcipline, fo modelled as to eat, drink, and perform other animal functions, uni- formly together, at the word of command, ^ they polfe their firelocks. MANNERS IN FRANCE. &c. 395 LETTER XLIV. Manheim, H A VING left orders at Geneva to for- ward all our letters of a certain date to Manheim, and to dired: thofe which fhould come afterwards, to Frankfort oa the Maine, I had the good fortune to receive yours laft night. I feel as much indignation as you pofllbly can, againft thofe who endeavour to hurt the peace of families by malignant publications, and I enter fully into Lord — *-’s on fo un- merited an attack. Yet I fhould be heartily forry to fee thefe evils remedied by any re- ftrid:ion on the freedom of the prefs ; be- caufe I am every day more and more con- vinced that its unreftrained prodiidions, the licentious newg-papers themfelves not ex- cepted, ,4co VIEW OF SOCIETY ^ND cepted, have conveyed to every corner of Great Britain, along with much imper- tinence and fcurrility, fuch a regard for the conftitution, liich a fenfe of the rights of the fubjed, and fuch a degree of general knowledge, as never were fo univerfally dif- fufed over any other nation; Such a law as your friend propofes might, no doubt, prd- , ted individuals from unjuft attacks in print: but it would at the fame time ;‘emove one great means of clearing their innoponfe, and making known their wrongs, when injured in a more eflential manner. It would limit the right which every Briton has of publicly addreffing his countrymen, when he finds himfelf injured or oppreffed by the perver- lion of law, or the infolence of office. Examples might be given of men of great integrity being attacked in the moft cruel and ungenerous manner by people liigh in office and guarded by power. Such men had no other means of redrefs than that of 4 appealing MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 401 appealing to the candour and good fenfe of the public, which they ufed with fuccefs. Every maif s obfervation may fuggeft to him many kinds of injuftice and oppreilion which the rich, the irtfidioUs, or the powerful, caii Commit in fpite of law, or perhaps by the aid of law, againft the poor, the unfuf- peding, and the friendlefs. — Many, who can filence cohfcience and evade law, trem- ble at the thoughts of their injuftice being publiftied; and nothing is, nothing can be, a greater check to the wantonnefs of power, than the privilege of unfolding private grie- vances at the bar of the public. For thus the caufe of individuals is made a public con- cern, and thej general indignation which their wrongs excite, forms at once one of the fevereft punifhments vvhich can Be iri- fiicfted on the oppreflbr, and one of the ftrongeft bulwarks that can Be railed in de- fence of the Unprotected. Dd VoL. h By 402 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND By this means alfo the moft fpeedy and effedual alarm is given all over the nation when any great public mifconduft happens, or upon any appearance of a defign againft the conftitution; and many evils are detect- ed and prevented, which otherwife might have been unobferved, till they had become too ftrong for remedy. And though this liberty produces much filly advice, and ma- lignant cenfors without number, it like- wife opens the door to fome of a different character, who give ufeful hints to minifters, v/hich would have been loft without the freedom of anonymous publication. The temporary and partial diforders, which are the confequences of public free- dom, have been greatly exaggerated by fome people, and reprefented as more than equi- valent to all the advantages refulting from a free government. But if fach perfons had opportunities of obferving the nature of thofe i ; 8 evils MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 403, evils which fpring up in abfolute govern- ments, they would foon be convinced of their error. The greateft evil that can arife from the licentioufnefs which accompanies civil li- berty is, that people may raflily take a dillike to liberty herfelf, from the teafing imperti- nence and abfurdity of fome of her real or affeded well-wifhers ; as a man might be- come lefs fond of the company of his belt friend, if he found him always attended by a fnappilh cur, which without provocation was always growling and barking. But to prove the weaknefs of fuch con- dud, we have only to call to mind that the flream of licentioufnefs perhaps never rofe higher than it did fome years fmce in Eng- land. — And what were the mighty evils tlfht followed ? — Many refpedable charaders were grofsly mifreprefented in printed publi- cations* — Certain daring fcribblers evaded D d 2 the 404 VIEW OP SOCIEtY ANt) the puniflimenttheydeferved : — Many win- dows were broken, and the chariots of a few members of parliament were befpat- tered with dirt by the mob.- What are thefe frivolous diforders when compared to the gloomy regularity produced by defpo- tifm ? in which men are obliged to the moft painful circumfpedion in all their adions ; are afraid to fpeak their fentiments on the moft common occurrences ; fufpicious of chcrifhing government fples in their houfe- hold fervants ; diftruftful of their own re- lations and moft intimate companions, and at all times expofed to the oppreffion of men in power, and to the infolence of their favourites ? — No confufion, in my mind, can be more terrible than the ftern difci- pllned regularity and vaunted police of arbi- trary governments, where every heart is de- preffed by fear, where mankind dare not aflume their natural characters, where the free fpirit muft crouch to .the flave in office, where genius muft reprefs her effufions, or like MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c, 405 like the Egyptian worfhippers, offer them in facrifice to the calves of power; and where the human mind, always in ftiackles, ilirinks from every generous effort* P d 5 4o6 view of society ANQ , L E T T E R XLV, Mentz, left Manheim five or fix days ago. It is very eafy travelling through this part of Germany, the roads being perfedtly good, and the country a continued plain. From Bafil to within a few miles of Mentz, the porting road does not make even the mort gentle afcent ; a vart length of coun- try to be all along a perfect level. By the great numbers of Monks and Friars, of all colours and conditions, that are to be met near this city, we "were ap- prifed of our entrance into an ecclefiartical Hate, while the plump perfons and rofy complexions of thefe Fathers fufficiently proved, that they did not live i|i the fertile land of Rhenifh for nothing. How^ever manners in FRANCE, &c. 407 Howevet good Chriftians they might be, many of them had much the appearance of paying occafional homage to the ancient heathen deity Bacchus, without being re- ftrained in their worfliip like the foldiers on the parade at Manheim. — One of them in particular appeared to have juft arifen from his devotion. — He moved along in the moft unconcerned manner imaginable, without obferving any direct courfe, or re- garding whether he went to the right hand or to the left. He muttered to himfelf as he went. — Does he repeat his pater- nofter ? faid I.— I rather imagine he prays front Horace, replied the D— — — — • Qiio me, Bacche, rapis tui plenum ? Quje nemora, auc quos agor in fpecns Vclox mente nova ? On bothfides of the Rhine the ground here beginAo become hilly and irregular, D d 4 forming 4Q8 view of society AND forming banks finely expofed to the fun. Here the beft Rhenifii v/ine is produced, and even a very fmall portion of thefe exuberant; banks is of confiderable value. A chain of well-inhabited villages runs along from Mentz, by Bacharach, all the way to Co- blentz, where the Rhine is joined by th^ Mofelle. Bacharach is faid to derive its name from an altar of Bacchus (Bacchi Ara) fuppofed to have been ereded by the Romans in gratitude for the quantity and quality of the wine produced in the neighbourhood. A little before we entered Mentz, we pafled by the Favorita, a beautiful palace Ipelonging to the Ekdor, fituated where the Rhine is joined by the Maine, Mentz is finely fituated, built in an irregular manner, and moft plentifully pro- vided with churches. The cathedral is but a gloomy fabric. In this there is what they manners in FRANCE, &c. 499 they call a t^eafury, which contains a tiumber of clumfy jewels, fome relics, and a mighty rich wardrobe of priefts veft** Hients. There are fome troops in this capital, but I do not think the officers have that y . ■ ■ ■ fmart prefumptuous air which generally accompanies men of their profeflion. They feem confcious that the clergy are their jpafters ; and, I have a notion, are a little out of countenance on that account. The ftreets fwarm with ecckfiaftics, fome of them in fine coaches, and attended by a great number of fervants. I remarked alfo many genteel airy abbes ; who, one could eafily fee, were the moft fafliionable people, and g;ive the ton at this place. Though it is moft evident that in this eledorate the clergy have taken exceeding good care of themfelves j yet, in juftice to them. 410 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND them, it muft be acknowledged, that the people alfo fcem to be in an eafy Etuation. The peafantry appear to be in a ftate of far greater abundance than thofe of France, or even thofe in the Eledor of Manheim’s dominions. I have fome defire to fee an ecclefiaftical courf, and woi^ld willingly vifit this of Mehtz; but the of H •, who feems to have no exceffive fondnefs for any court, fays, a court of clergymen muft be more difmal and tedious than any other, and I fear will not be prevailed on to ap- pear d t:hisj in which cafe we will leave thi$ place to-morrow morning early, with-? out further ceremony. L E T T T E R XLVI MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 4ii Frankfort on the Maine. w E have been here two weeks, — T q form a proper judgment of the genius and manners of any nation, it is neceffary to live familiarly with the inhabitants for a conliderable time ; but a fmaller degree of obfervation will fuffice to give a pretty juft idea of the nature of its government. The chilling effects of defpotic oppreffion, or the benign influence of freedom and com- merce, ftrike the eye of the moft carelefs traveller. The ftreets of Frankfort are Ipacious and well-paved ; the houfes ftately, clean, and convenient, the fhops well furnifhed ; the drefs, the numbers, the air, and general manners 4J2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND manners of the inhabitants, fufficiently Ihow, Without other information, thai there is no little defpot within their walls^ to impoverifli them in fqpport of his gran-f 4eur, and to put every adion of their lives, ^very movement of their bodies, under yeftraint by his caprice. The houfes are of brick, but have a better appearance than brick houfes in ger neral, owing chiefly to their being covered with a kind of reddifli ftucco, which is come into ufe here of late., and, it is be- lieved, will render the buildings more durable. The fronts of many of the fineft are alfo adorned with bas reliefs, of white ducco, in imitation of marble. Thefe white ornaments, on the red ground, form too ftrong a contraft, and do not pleafe an eye fond of fimplicity. But the Germans, in general, have a tafte for fliowy orna- ment, in their drefs, furniture, and houfes. Frankfort is a free, imperial city, having a fmall MANI^ERS in FRANCE, 415 fmall territory belonging to it, and is go- verned by its owri magiftracy. All religions are tolerated here, under certain reftridions ; but Lutheranifm is the eftablifhed faith, as the magiftrates are of that communion. The principal church is in the pofleflion of the Roman Catholics, but no public procefliom of the hoft is permitted through the ftre(ets. All the ceremonies of their religion are confined to the houfes of indi- viduals, or performed within the walls of this church. In it there is a chapel, to which the Emperor is conducted immedi- ately after his election, in order to be crowned by the Elector of Mentz. The Jews have a fynagogue in this city, where they perform their religious rites ; but the Calvinifis have never been allowed any public houfe of worihip within the ter- 4t4 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND ritory of Frankfort. They attend divind fervice at a place called Bockenhelm in the county of Hanauj where they have built a church. This is but unkind treatment; and it feems, at firfl: fight, a little extraordinary* that Martin Luther fhould fhow more in- dulgence to his old enemy Lord Peter, and even to Judas Ifcariot himfelf, than W his fellow reformer John Calvin. Though Frankfort is thought a fine town, and the elFed: produced by the whole is magnificent, yet there are no buildings in particular worthy of attention. It is expeded, however, that all ftrangers fhould vifit the town-houfe, and fee the chamber where the Emperor is elected. And it would be reckoned a great want of curiofity, not to fee the famous golden bull which is kept there with the utmofi care* A fight of this cofts a golden duca.t ; a fuf- ficient manners in FRANCE, &c. 415 ficlent price for a glance of an old manu- fcript, which not one perfon in. a hundred can read, and ftill fewer can underftand. A countryman of ours, who expeded tnore amufement for his money, com- plained loudly of this as an impofition, and on hearing a German talk of the high price which every thing bore in England, he re- torted on him in thefe words II n’y a rien en Aragleterre fi cher que voixQ.taureau d’or a Framkfort. There is a cuftom obferved here, which I {hall mention on account of its fingularity, though I enquired in vain for its origin. Two women appear every day at noon on the battlements of the principal ileeple, 'and play fome very folemn airs with trum- pets. This mufic is accompanied by vocal pfalmody, performed by four or five men, who always attend the female trumpeters for that purpofe. The %i6 VIEW OF Society ano The people here have a violent tafte for pfalm-finging. There are a confiderable number of men and boys, who have thi^ for their only profeffion. They are engaged by fome families to officiate two or thtee times a week in the morning,’ before the mafter and miftrefs of the family get Out of bed. f When any perfori in tolerable circura- ftaiices dies, a band of thefe fweet fingers affemble in the ftreets before the houfe, and chant an hour every day to the corpfe, till it is interred. The fame band accom- panies the funeral, finging hymns all the way. Funerals are conduced with an Uncom- mon degree of folemnity in this town : — • A man clothed in a black cloak, and car- rying a crucifix, at the end of a long pole, leads the proceffion : — A great number of hired mourners in the fame drefs, and each with banners in FRANCE, &c. 417 with a lemon in his hand, march after him : — Then come the fingers, followed by the corpfe in a hearfe ; and laftly, the relations in mourning coaches. The crucifix is carried in this manner at dll funerals, whether the deceafed has died a Roman Catholic, a Lutheran, or a Cal- vinift. That this cuftom fhould be fol- lowed by the two latter, furprifed me a good deal. I fhould have imagined that the Calvinifts in particular, whatever they did with the lemons, would never have been able to digeft the crucifix. There is a very confiderable number of Calvinifts in this place ; it is generally thought they are the moft: induftrious. They unqueftionably are the richeft part of the inhabitants. This may be partly owing' to a circumftance that fome of them confider as a hardfhip their being ex- cluded from any fhare in the government VoL, I. E e of 4i8 view of society AND of the city. — -Many of the Calvinift fami- lies are defcendents of French Proteftaats, who left their country at the revocation of the edidt of Nantz. There are fome villages near Frankfort eonfifting entirely of French refugees; who, deferting their country at the fame time, have fettled here in a clufter. Their de- fcendents fpeak French in their common converfation, and retain many of their ori- ginal cuftoms to this hour. Two or three families now living at Frankfort are of Englifh origin. Their predecelTors fled firft to Holland, during the perfecutions in the reign of Mary, and being afterwards driven out of that country by the cruelty of the Duke of Alva, they at length found an afylum for themfelves, and their pofterity, in this free imperial city. The MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 419 The number of jews in Frankfort is prodigious, confidering one difmal incon- venience they are fubjedted to, being obliged to live all together in a fingle ftreet built up at one end There is a large gate at the other, which is regularly jfhut at a certain hour of the night, after which no Jews dare appear in the ftreets ; but the whole herd muft remain cooped and crowded together, like fo many black cat- tle, till morning. As this ftreet is nar- row, the room allotted for each family fmall, and as the children of Ifrael were never remarkable for their cleanlinefs, and always noted for breeding, the Jews quar- ter, you will believe, is not the fweeteft part of the town. I fcarce think they could have been worfe lodged in the land of Egypt. They have feveral times made offer of confiderable fums to the magiftrates of Frankfort for liberty to build or purchafe E e 2 ano- 420 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND another ftreet for their accommodation; but all fuch propofals have hitherto been rejected.. The Jews in Frankfort are obliged to fetch water when a fire happens in any part of the city, and the magiftrates in re- turn permit them to ehoofe judges out of their own body for deciding difputes among themfelves ; but if either party refufes to fubmit to this, an appeal is open to the magiftrates. They muft unqueftionably enjoy fome great advantages by the trade they carry on, to compenfate for fuch inconveniencies. During the day-time they are allowed the liberty of walking all over the town; a privilege which they improve with equal afliduity and addrefs. They attack you in the ftreet, ply at the gate of your lodgings, and even glide into your apartments, offer- ing to fupply you with every commodity you MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 421 you can have occafion for : And if you happen tc pafs by the entrance of their ftreet, they intreat your cuftom with the violence and vociferatiou of fo many Thames watermen. I was twice at their fynagogue. There is nothing magnificent in their worfhip; but much apparent zeal and fervour. I faw one of their moft important rites per- formed on two children. It was impoflTible not to feel compaffion for the poor infants, thus cruelly initiated into a community, who had formerly the misfortune of being defpifed by the Heathens, and now are c>-ccrated by all pious Chriftians, ^S^2 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND LETTER XLVir, Frankfort on the Maine, you will be furprifed at our remaining fo long at a place where there is no court, and few of thofe entertainments which allure and retain travellers. The truth is, the D— of H— — feems fond of this place ; and as for my own part, I have formed an acquaintance with fome very worthy people here, whofe friendfliip I fhall take every occafion to cultivate. Society here is divided into Noblefle and the Bourgeois. The firft confifts of fome noble families from various parts of Ger- many, who have chofen Frankfort for their refidence, and a few original citizens of Frankfort, but who have now obtained the rank of nobility. The citizens who con- ned MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 423 ned themfelves with ftrangers, have made their fortunes by commerce, which fome of them ftill follow. There is a public aflembly for the nobi- lity once a week, at which they drink tea, converfe, or play at cards from fix to ten. On the other nights, the fame company meet alternately at each other’s houfes, and pafs the evening in the^fame manner. None of the Bourgeois families are invited to thefe parties, but they have aflemblies of the fame kind among themfelves, and often entertain their friends and the ftrangers with whom they are acquainted, in a very hofpitable manner at their tables. The noblemen who refide in Frankfort, and the nobility of all degrees, and of every nation, who acci- dentally pafs through it, cheerfully accept of thefe Invitations to dine with the citizens, but none of the German ladies of quality conde- feend fo far. While their fathers, hufbands, §nd brothers, are entertained at a Bourgeois E e 4 table. 424 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND table, they chufe rather to dine at home by themfelves; and they certainly judge wifely, if they prefer a fpare diet to good cheer. The diftindion of ranks is obferved in Germany, with all the fcrupulous precifion that a matter of that importance deferyes. There is a public concert in this place fup- ported by fubfeription. One would imagine that the fubferibers would take their feats a^ the^ entered the room, that thole who came carlieft would have their choice. — No fuch matter.-— The two firft rows are kept for the ladies of quality, and the lyives and daugh- ters of the citizens muft be contented to fit behind, let them come at what hour, and pay what money they pleafe.— After all, this is not fo bad as in an aflembly of no- bility, where commons are not permitted to fit, even in the lobby, whatever price they may have paid for their feat in par- liament. Since JylANNERS IN FRANCE, $cc, 425 Since we arrived, the theatre has been opened for the winter, by a troop of Ger-p man comedians. I was there the firft night ; previous to the play, there was a hind of al- Jcgorical prologue, intended as a compliment to the magiftrates of Frankfort. This was performed by Juftice, Wifdom^ and Plenty, each of whom appeared in perfon, with the ufual attributes. The laft was very pro- perly perfonated by a large fat woman, big with child. As to the two former, I hope, for the fake of the good people of Frankfort, that they are better reprefented in the town- council, than they were on the ftage. This prologue was concluded by a long harangue pronounced by the plumped: Apollo, I dare venture to fay, that ever appeared in the heavens above, or on the earth beneath. After this the play began, which was a German tranflation of the Englilh play of George Barnwell, with confiderable altera- tions. 426 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND tions. Barnwell is reprefented as an impru- dent young man ; but he does not mur- der his uncle, as in the Englifh play, or com- mit any grofs crime ; the German tranflator therefore, inftead of hanging, only marries him at the end of the piece. Moft of the plays reprefented on the Ger- man ftage, are tranflations from the Engliflr or French ; for Germany, fo fertile in wri- ters in divinity, jurifprudence, medicine, chymiftry, and other parts of natural philo- fophy, has produced few poets till of late, Jam nova progenies ccelo demlttitur alto, and the German mufe is now admired all over Europe. Her beauties are felt and ap-r plauded by men of genius, even through the medium of a tranflation, which is a ftrong proof of her original energy. It muft, how- ever, be a great difcouragement to Qerman poetry in general, and to the dramatic iia particular, that the French language prevails 8 m manners in FRANCE, &c. 427 in all the courts, and that French plays are reprefented there in preference to German, The native language of the country is treated like a vulgar and provincial dialed, while the French is cultivated as the only proper language for people of fafhion, — . Children of the hrft families are inriruded in French, before they acquire their mother- tongue, and pains are taken to keep them ignorant of this, that it may not hurt their pronunciation of the other. I have met with people who confidered it as an accomplith" ment to be unable to exprefs themfelves in the language of their country, and who have pretended to be more ignorant, in this par- pcular, than they were in reality. I have been affured by many, who under- hand the German language well, that it is pervous, copious, mod exprefhve, and ca- pable of all the graces of poetry. The truth pf this appears by the vvorks of feveral late writers, 428 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND writers, who have endeavoured to check this unnatural prejudice in their country men| and to reftore the language of their anceftors to its native honours.— But what are the ef- forts of good fenfe, tafte, and genius, in op- pofition to faihion, and the influence of courts ? Among the winter amufements of this place, traineau parties may be reckoned. Thefe can take place in the tirne of frofl: only, and when there is a confiderable (quan- tity of fnow upon the ground. I had an opportunity of feeing a very fplendid enter- tainment of this kind lately, which was given by fome young gentlenaen to an equal number of ladies, A traineau is a machine in the fhape of a horfe, lion, fwan ; or in that of a griffin, unicoruj or fome other fanciful form, with- out wheels ; hut made below like a fledge, for the conveniency of Aiding over the fnow. Some MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 429 Some are gilded, and otherwife ornamented, according to the whim of the proprietor. — A pole ftands up from one fide, to which an enfign or flag is fattened, which waves over the heads of thofe placed on the machine. The lady, wrapped in fur, fits before, and the gentleman ttands behind on a board made for that purpofe. The whole is drawn by two horfes, which are either conduced by a pottillion, or driven by the gentleman.— The horfes are gaudily ornamented, and have bells hanging from the trapipings which cover them. This party confitted of about thirty traineaiis, each attended by two or three fervants on horfeback with flambeaux ; for this amufement was taken when it began to grow dark. — One traineau took the lead ; — the reft followed at a convenient diftance in a line, and drove for two or three hours through the principal ttreets and fquares of Frankfort. 430 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND Frankfort. — The horfes go at a brifk trot ot canter ; the motion of the traineau is eafy and agreeable; the bells, enfigns, and torches, make a very gay and fliowy ap- pearance, which Teemed to be much relifhed by the parties immediately concerned, and admired by the fpedators. A few days after this exhibition, as we were preparing to fet out for Hanau in a traineau, Mr. S — , brother to Lord S — , arrived at the inn. Though he had travelled for two days and nights, with- out having been in bed, he was fo little fatigued, that he went along with us. Ha^ nau is fome leagues diflant from Frankfort. We had a full proof of the fine eafy motion of the traineau, which, in the time of froft, and when there is a proper quantity of fnow on the ground, is certainly the moft delight- ful way of travelling that can poflibly be imagined. Hanau MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. ^451 Hanau Is the refidence of the Hereditary Prince of Heffe Caflel. As we entered the town we met the Princeia, who*ia,fift^-in- law to the King of Denmark. She, with fome of the ladies of the court, was taking the air alfo in a traineau. Befides the troops of Harn^u, two regi- ments of Hanoverians ,^te there at pr.elsnt. The Hereditary Prince is not on the befl; terms with his father. He lives here, how- ever, in a ftate of independency, polTeffed of the revenues of this county, which is guaranteed to him by the Kings of Britain, Denmark, and Prullia : but there is no in- tercourfe between this little court and that of Hefle Caflel. After dinner we returned to Frankfort. The D — prevailed with Mr. S — to remain a longer time at Frankfort than he had in- tended. He is a fenflble young man of fpirit and ambition. His grandfather, the old Earl 432 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND Earl of D — , endeavours to feduce him into holy orders, promifing him a living of 2000 1 . a year, which is in the gift of the family. This you will acknowledge to be a tempta- tion vrhich few younger brothers eoiald with- lland. Nature, however, feems to have deftined this young gentleman for another line in life. My own opinion is, he would father have the command of a troop of dra- goons, than be promoted to thb See of Canterbury. MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 43^, LETTER XLVIII. Frankfort. gOME of the nobility who refide in this city, take every opportunity of pointing out the eflential difference that there is, and the diftindfions that ought to be made, be- tween their families and thofe of the Bour- geois, who, though they have, by commerce or fome profeffion equally ignoble, attained great wealth, which enables them to live in a ftile of magnificence unbecoming their rank ; yet their noble neighbours infinuate, that they always retain a vulgarity of fenti- ment and manners, unknown to thofe whofe blood has flowed pure through feveral ge- nerations, unmixed with that puddle which ftagnates in the veins of plebeians. F f VoL. L The 434 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND TheD — • of H does not feem to have ftudied natural philofophy with accuracy fufficient to enable him to obferve this dif- tindion. He mingles in the focieties of the citizens, with as much eafe and alacrity, as in thofe of the nobility, dining with the one, and drinking coffee with the other, in the inoft impartial manner, and between the two he contrives to amufe himfelf tolerably well. The two families with which we are in the greatefl degree of intimacy, are thofe of Monf. de Barkhaufe, and Monf. P. Gogle. The former is a principal perfon in the ma- giftracy, a man of learning and worth. His lady is of a noble family in the dukedom of Brunfwic, a woman of admirable good fenfe and many accomplifhments. She is well acquainted with Englifh and French literature. The French language flie fpeaks like a native, and though fhe cannot converfe in MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 435 III Englifli withaut difEculty, fhe under- Rands and relifhes the works of fome of our beft authors. Mr. Gogle has travelled over the greateft part of Europe, and is equally acquainted with men and books. He has made a plen- tiful fortune by commerce, and lives in a very agreeable and hofpitable manner. In thefe two houfes we occafionally meet with the beft company of both the clafles of fociety in this place, and in one or other when there is no public aflembly we generally pafs the afternoon. — The former part of the day (a thaw having lately diflblved the fnow) we often pafs in jaunts to the environs of this place, which are very beautiful. As the D — of H and I were riding one day along the banks of the Maine, near the village of Heix, which is in the territo- ries of the Eledlor of Mentz, we obferved a F f 2 building 43^ VIEW OF SOCIETY AND building which feemed to be the refidence of fome prince, or bifliop at leaft. We were ' furprifed we never had heard it fpoken of, as it had a more magnificent appearance than any modern building we had feen fince our arrival in Germany. We rode up, and upon entering it, found that the apartments within, though not laid out in the bed: tafte, feemed to correfpond, in point of expence, with the external appearance. We were informed by the workmen, wfio were employed in finifhing thefe apart- ments, that this palace belonged to a tobac- coniftin Frankfort, where he ftill kept fhop, and had accumulated a prodigious fortune by making and felling fnuif. Near to the principal houfe, there is another great building intended for a work- houfe, in which tobacco is to be manu- factured, with many apartments for the workmen, and vaulted cellars in which the 5 various MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 437* various kinds of fnufF are to be kept moift> till fent for inland fale to Frankfort, or flipped on the Maine for foreign markets*. The owner informed us, there were exadly three hundred rooms in both buildings, and the greater number of thefe belonged to the dwelling-houfe. We did not chufe to puzzle the man by difficult queftions, and therefore refrained from enquiring, what ufe he inr tended to make of fuch an amazing number of rooms, which feemed rather contrived as barracks for two or three thoufand foldiers, than any other purpofe. On our return to town, we were informed that this perfon,. who is not a native of Frankfort, though he has been many years eftablifhed there, had applied to the magi- Rrates for liberty to- purchafe a certain fpot of ground, on which he propofed to build a dwelfing-hpufe, &c. wliich cannot be done ^7 hut citizens, without the confent pf F f 3 the 438 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND the council. This being refufed, he bought a little piece of land in the territory of Mentz, immediately beyond that of Frank- fort, and on the banks of the Maine; and being highly piqued by the refufal he had met with from the magiftrates, he had reared a building greatly larger and more extenfive than was neceflary, or than he at firfl had intended, in the full perfuafion that the remorfe of the magiftrates would be in proportion to the flze of this fabric. The tobacconift has already expended fifty thoufand pounds on this temple of vengeance, and his wrath againft the ma- giftrates feems to be yet unappeafed — for he ftill lavilhes his money with a rancour againft thefe unfortunate men, that is very unbecoming a Chriftian. The inhabitants of Frankfort, while they acknowledge the imprudence of the magiftrates, do not ap- plaud the wifdom of their antagonift, in whofe brain they aflert there muft be fome apartments manners in FRANCE, Src. 439 apartments as empty as any in the vaft ftrudure he is building. Another day his Grace and I rode to Bergen, a fmall village which has been ren- dered eminent by the attempt made there by Prince Ferdinand on the French army in the year 1759. We were accompanied by the Meffrs. de Leffener, two gentlemen, now retired from the fervice, and living at Frankfort, who had been in the adion, one a Captain in the Hanoverian army* the other of the fame rank in the French. During the winter of that memorable year, you may remember that the French, with more policy than juftice, had feized upon this neutral city, and eftablifhed their head-quarters here. This was attended by great advantages, fecuring to them thecourfe of the Maine and Upper Rhine, by which F f 4 thef 440 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND tVey received fuppHes from Strafburg, and ' all the intermediate cities. Prince Ferdinand having formed the de- fign of driving them from this advantageous fituationj before they could be reinforced> fuddenly aflembled his army, which was cantoned about Munfter, and after three days of forced marches, came in fight of the French army, at that time commanded by the Duke de Broglio, who, having received intelligence of the Prince’s fcheme, had made a very judicious difpolition. On the forenoon of the 1 3th of April , the Prince began his attack on the right wing of the French army, which occupied the vil- lage of Bergen. — ^This was renewed with great vivacity three feveral times. The Prince of Ifembourg, and about 1500 of the Allies, fell in the adion, which was prolonged till the evening; Prince Ferdi- nand then determining to draw off his troops, MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 441 ^oops, made fuch a difpofition as convinced the enemy he intended a general attack next morning — and by this means he accom- plilhed his retreat in the night, without being haraffed by the French. I have heard officers of great merit aflert, that nothing could be more judicioufly planned and executed, than this enterprife; the only one of importance, however, ia which that great General failed during the whole war. By this misfortune the allied army were reduced to great difficulties, and the progrefs of the French, with the continued retreat of the Allies, fpread fuch an alarm over the Eledorate of Hanover, that many individuals fent their moft valuable effeds to Stade, from whence they might be conveyed to Eng- land. — The affairs of the Allies were foon after re-eftabliffied by the decifive vidory of Minden, which raifed the military charader of 442 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND of Prince Ferdinand higher than eve*'; though officers of penetration, vffio were at both adions, are ftill of opinion, that his talents were to the full as confpicuous at Bergen, where he was repulfed, as at the glorious field of Minden, by which Hano- ver and Brunfwick were preferved, and the French obliged to abandon almoft all Weft- phalia. XLIX manners in FRAN The reigning Prince of Hefle Darmftadt not being there, we were direded to pay our firft vifit to the Princefs Maximilian, his aunt.— Slie" invited us the fame evening to play at cards and fup with her.— There were about ten people at table.—The Prin- cefs was gay, affable, and talkative.—The D— confeffed he never had paffed an even- ing fo agreeably with an old woman in his life. T Returned a few days fince from Darm- ^ ftadt, having accompanied the D — of OQ a vifit which he made to that court. Next 444 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND Next marning we went to the parade, which is an objed: of great attention at this place. The Prince has a moft enthufiaftic paffion for military manoeuvres and evolu- tions.-— Drilling and exercifmg his foldiers are his chief amufements, and almoft his foie employment. That he may enjoy this in all kinds of weather, and at every feafon of the year, he has built a room fufficiently capacious to admit 1500 men, to perform their exercife in it all together. This room is accommodated with fixteen ftoves, by which it may be kept at the exad degrees of temperature which fuits his High- nefs’s conflitution.— On the morning that we were prefent, there was only the ordinary guard, confining of three hundred men, who having performed their exercifes, and marched for an hour up and down this fpa- 4imus Gymnafinm, were divided into parties and detached to their refpedive po/is. The MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 445 TheDarmftadt foldiers are tall, tolerably clothed, and above all things remarkably well powdered. They go through their manoeuvres with that dexterity which may be expeded of men who are continually employed in the fame adion, under the eye of their prince, who is an admirable judge, and fevere critic in this part of the military art. There is no regular fortification round this town; but a very high ftone-wall, which is not intended to prevent an enemy from entering, being by no means adequate to fuch a purpofe ; but merely defigned to hin- der the garrifon from deferring, to which they are exceedingly inclined ; thefe poor men taking no delight In the warlike amufe- ments which conftitute the fupreme joy of their fovereign. Centinels are placed at fmall diftances all round the wall, who are obliged to be ex- ceedingly 44^ VIEW OF SOCIETY AND ceedingly alert. One foldier gives the words till is well in German, to his neighbour on the right, who immediately calls the fame to the centinel beyond him, and fo it goes round till the firft foldier recei\res the words from the left, which he tranfmits to the right as formerly, and fo the call cir- culates without any intermlffion through the whole night. Every other part of garrifon duty is per- formed with equal exadnefi^ and all ne- gleds as feverely puniflied as if an enemy were at the gates. The men are feldom more than two nights out of three in bed. This, with the attention requifite to keep their clothes and accoutrements clean, is very hard duty, efpecially at prefent, when the froft is un- commonly keen, and the ground covered with fnow. There MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 447 There is a fmall body of cavalry at Darmftadt juft now. They are drefled in buff coats, and magnificently accoutred. Thefe are the horfe-guards of the prince. Few as they are, I never faw fo many men together of fuch a height, in my life, none of them being under fix Englifh feet three inches high, and feveral of them confider- ably above that enormous ftature. The Prince of Hefle Darmftadt for- merly kept a greater number of troops; At prefent his whole army does not ex- ceed five thoufand men. But as the con- du(ft of princes, however judicious it may be, feldom pafles uncenfured, there are people who blame him for entertaining even this number. They declare, that this prince’s finances, being in very great diforder, cannot fupport this eftablifti- ment; which, though fmall, may be counted high, confidering the extent of his dominions. They infift alfo upon the lofs. 448 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND lofs, which agriculture and manufa(5bures muft fuftain, by having the flouteft men taken away from ihefe neceflary employ- ments, and their ftrength exhaufted in ufe- lefs parade. For thefe rigid cenfors have the aflurance to affert, that an army of five thoufand men, though burdenfome to the countiy, is not fufficient to defend it ; that the number is by far too great foe amufement, and infinitely too fmall for any manner of ufe. The fame day, we dined with the Prin- cefs Maximilian, and in the afternoon were prefented to Prince George’s farnily. He is brother to the reigning Prince. He happened to be indilpofed; but his princefs received the D— with the ut- moft politenefs. Their two youngeft fons and three daughters were at fupper. The former are ftill very young ; the latter are well- looking. manners in FRANCE, &c.' 449 looking, remarkably accompliflied, and do much credit to the great pains their mothet has beftowed on their education. Next morning we were invited to break- faft, by the Baron Riedefal, at a pleafant country-houfe he has near Darmftadt.-^ fjis G — went with him, in a carriage of a very particular conftrudiion. The Baron fat on a low feat next the horfesj and drove ; tjie D in a higher place behind him. Each of thefe is made for one perfori only 5 but behind all, there was a wooden feat, in the fhape of a little horfe, on which two fervants were mounted. The ufual pofting- chaifes in this country hold fix perfons with eafe ; and people even of the firft rank generally have two or three fervants in the chaife with them. In point of oeconomy* thefe carriages are well imagined; and, in the time of froft, not inconvenient; for here travellers take fpecial care to fortify themfelves againft cold by cloaks lined Vol.L Gg 4S0 VIEW OF SOCIETY AND with fur. But when it rains hard, two of the company at leaB muft be drenched ; for the German chaifes are never intirely cpr vered above. I went with Count Cullemberg in hi^ coach. We pafled the forenoon very agree- ably at this houfe, which feems to be ad- vantageoufly fituated; but in its prefent fnowy drefs, one can no more judge of the natural complexion of the country, than of that of an a^refs new-painted for the ftage. We dined with Prince George, who was fufficiently recovered to be at table. He is a handfome man, of a foldier-like appear- ance, and has all the eafe and ppennefs of the military charader. His fecond fon, who had been abfent for feme weeks, arrived while we were at table. He is a fine young man, about eighteen yeaisofage. It was pleafing to obferve the ^ fatisfailion MANNERS IN FRANCE, &c. 451 fatisfadion which this fmall incident dif- fufed over the faces of father, mother, and the whole family, which formed a groupe worthy the pencil of Greufe. Do not fufped that I am prejudiced in favour of this family, merely becaufe they belong to a prince. An appearance of domeftic happinefs is always agreeable, whether we find them in a palace or a cot- tage ; and the fame fymptoms of good hu- mour, though they would not have fur- prized me fo much, would have delighted me equally in the family of a peafant. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.