A Year's Journey through France and Part of Spain Volume I Part 1

A Year's Journey through France and Part of Spain, 1777.

by Philip Thicknesse.

Volume 1.

LETTER I

CALAIS, June 20th, 1775

DEAR SIR,

As you are kind enough to say, that those letters which I wrote from this kingdom, nine or ten years ago, were of some use to you, in the little tour you made through France soon after, and as they have been considered in some degree to be so to many other persons, (since their publication) who were unacquainted with the manners and customs of the French nation, I shall endeavour to bring together, in this second correspondence with you, not only some of the former hints I gave you, but such other remarks as a longer acquaintance with the country, and a more extensive tour, may furnish me with; but before I proceed any further, let me remind you, of one great fault I was then guilty of; for though your partiality to me might induce you to overlook it, the public did not, I mean that of writing when my temper was disturbed, either by cross incidents I met with upon the road, or disagreeable news which often followed me from my own country into this. I need not tell a man of your discernment, in what a different light all objects, whether animate, or inanimate, appear to those, whose temper is disturbed, either by ill health, ill treatment, or, what is perhaps more prevalent than either, the chagrin he may feel at not being rated in the estimation of others, according to that value he puts upon himself.

Could Dr. Smollett rise from the dead, and sit down in perfect health, and good temper, and read his travels through France and Italy, he would probably find most of his anger turned upon himself. But, poor man! he was ill; and meeting with, what every stranger must expect to meet at most French inns, want of cleanliness, imposition, and incivility; he was so much disturbed by those incidents, that to say no more of the writings of an ingenious and deceased author, his travels into France, and Italy, are the least entertaining, in my humble opinion, of all his works. Indeed I have observed that most travellers fall into one extreme, or the other, and either are all panegyric or all censure; in which case, all they say cannot be just; for, as all nations are governed by men, and the bulk of men of all nations live by artifice of one kind or other, the few men who pa.s.s among them, without any sinister views, cannot avoid feeling, and but few from complaining of the ill treatment they meet with; not considering one of Swift's shrewd remarks; _I never_ said he, _knew a man who could not bear the misfortunes of another perfectly like a Christian_.

Remember therefore, when I tell you how ill I have been treated either by _Lords_ or _Aubergists_, or how dirtily served by either, it is to prepare myself and you too, to be content with neighbours' fare.

When a man writes remarks upon the manners and customs of other nations, he should endeavour to wean himself from all partiality for his own; and I need not tell you that I am in _full possession_ of that single qualification, which I hope will make you some amends for my defects in all the others; for it is certainly unjust, uncandid, and illiberal, to p.r.o.nounce a custom or fashion absurd, because it does not coincide with our ideas of propriety. A Turk who travelled into England, would, upon his return to Constantinople, tell his countrymen, that at Canterbury; (bring out of _opium_,) his host did not know even what he demanded; and that it was with some difficulty he found out, that there were shops in the town where _opium_ was sold, and even then, it was with greater, he could prevail upon the vender of it to let him have above half an ounce: if he were questioned, why all these precautions? he would tell them, laughingly, that Englishmen believe _opium_ to be a deadly poison, and those people suspected that he either meant to kill himself, or to poison another man with it.

A French gentleman, who travelled some years since into Spain, had letters of recommendation to a Spanish Bishop, who received him with every mark of politeness, and treated him with much hospitality: soon after he retired to his bedchamber, a priest entered it,[A] holding a vessel in his hand, which was covered with a clean napkin; he said something; but the Frenchman understanding but little Spanish, intimated by signs his thanks, and desired him to put it down, believing, that his friend, the Bishop, had sent him a plate of sweetmeats, fruit, iced cream, or some kind of refreshment to eat before he went to bed, or to refresh his exhausted spirits in the night; but his astonishment was great indeed, when he found the priest put the present under the side of the bed; and more so, when he perceived that it was only a _pot de chambre_;--for, says the Frenchman, "in Spain, they do not use the _chaise percee_!" The Frenchman is surprized at the Spaniard, for not using so convenient a vehicle; the Englishman is equally surprized, that the Frenchman does;--the Frenchman is always attentive to his own person, and scarce ever appears but clean and well dressed; while his house and private apartments are perhaps covered with litter and dirt, and in the utmost confusion;--the Englishman, on the other hand, often neglects his external dress; but his house is always exquisitely clean, and every thing in it kept in the nicest order; and who shall say, which of the two judge the best for their own ease and happiness? I am sure the Frenchman will not give up his powdered hair, and laced coat, for a clean house; nor do I believe those fineries would sit quietly upon the back of an Englishman, in a dirty one. In short, my dear sir, we must take the world, and the things in it, as they are; it is a dirty world, but like France, has a vast number of good things in it, and such as I meet with, in this my third tour, which shall be a long one, if I am not _stopped_ by the way, you shall have such an account of as I am able to convey to you: I will not attempt to _top the traveller_ upon you, nor raise monuments of wonder, where none are to be seen; there is real matter enough to be found upon this great continent, to amuse a man who travels slowly over it, to see what is to be seen, and who wishes not to be seen himself. My style of travelling is such, that I can never be disturbed in mind for want of respect, but rather be surprised when I meet with even common civility. And, after all, what does it signify, whether Monsieur _ou Tel_ travels in a laced coat _et tres bien mis_, attended by half a dozen servants, or, as Pope says,

"will run The Lord knows whither in a chaise and one."

I am, your's &c.

[A] The Bishops in Spain are attended and waited upon by inferior clergy.

LETTER II.

June 25th, 1766.

Before I leave Calais, let me remind you, that an English guinea is worth more than a _Louis d'or_; and observe, that the first question _my friend Mons. Dessein_, at the _Hotel D'Angleterre_ will put to you, (after he has made his bow, and given you a side look, as a c.o.c.k does at a barley-corn) is, whether you have any guineas to change? because he gets by each guinea, full weight, ten _Sols_. By this hint, you will conclude, he will not, upon your return, ask you for your French Gold; but in this too you will be mistaken, for he finds an advantage in that also; he will, not indeed give you guineas, but, in lieu thereof, he has always a large quant.i.ty of _Birmingham Shillings_, to truck with you for your _Louis d'ors_. I am afraid, when Lord North took into consideration the state of the gold coin, he did not know, that the better state it is put into in England, is the surest means of transporting it into France, and other countries; and that scarce a single guinea which travellers carry with them to France, (and many hundred go every week) ever returns to England: Beside this, the quant.i.ty of gold carried over to the ports of _Dunkirk_, _Boulogne_, and _Calais_, by the Smugglers, who always pay ready money, is incredible; but as money, and matters of that kind, are what I have but _little concern in_, I will not enlarge upon a subject no way interesting to me, and shall only observe, that my landlord, _Mons. Dessein_, who was behind-hand with the world ten years ago, is now become one of the richest men in _Calais_, has built a little Theatre in his garden, and has united the profitable business of a Banker, to that of a Publican; and by studying the _Gout_ of the English nation, and changing their gold into French currency, has made, they say, a _Demi Plumb_.

Notwithstanding the contiguity of _Calais_ to England, and the great quant.i.ty of poultry, vegetables, game, &c. which are bought up every market-day, and conveyed to your coast, I am inclined to believe, there are not many parts of France where a man, who has but little money, can make it go further than in this town; nor is there any town in England, where the fishery is conducted with so much industry.

Yesterday I visited my unfortunate daughter, at the convent at _Ardres_;--but why do I say unfortunate? She is unfortunate only, in the eyes of the world, not in her own; nor indeed in mine, because she a.s.sured me she is happy. I left her here, you know, ten years ago, by way of education, and learning the language; but the small-pox, which seized her soon after, made such havock on a face, rather favoured by nature, that she desired to hide it from the world, and spend her life in that retirement, which I had chosen only to qualify her _for_ the world. I left her a child; I found her a sensible woman; full of affection and duty; and her mangled and seamed face, so softened by an easy mind, and a good conscience, that she appeared in my partial eyes, rather an agreeable than a plain woman; but she did not omit to signify to me, that what others considered her misfortune, she considered (as it was not her fault) a happy circ.u.mstance; "if my face is plain (said she) my heart is light, and I am sure it will make as good a figure in the earth, as the fairest, and most beautiful." My only concern is, that I find the _Prieure_ of this convent, either for want of more knowledge, or more money, or both, had received, as parlour boarders, some English ladies of very suspicious characters. As the conversation of such women might interrupt, and disturb that peace and tranquillity of mind, in which I found my daughter, I told the _Prieure_ my sentiments on that subject, not only with freedom, but with some degree of severity; and endeavoured to convince her, how very unwarrantably, if not irreligiously she acted. An abandoned, or vicious woman, may paint the pleasures of this world in such gaudy colours, to a poor innocent Nun, so as to induce her to forget, or become less attentive to the professions she has made to the next.

It was near this town, you know, that the famous interview pa.s.sed between Henry the Eighth, and _Francis_ the First, in the year 1520; and though it lasted twenty-eight days, and was an event which produced at that time so many amus.e.m.e.nts to all present, and so much conversation throughout Europe, the inhabitants of this, town, or Calais, seem to know little of it, but that one of the bastions at _Ardres_ is called the Bastion of the Two Kings.--There still remains, however, in the front of one of the houses in _Calais_, upon an ornamented stone, cut in old letter,

=G.o.d Save the King=;

And I suppose that stone was put, where it now remains, by some loyal subject, before the King arrived, as it is in a street which leads from the gate (now stopped up) which Henry pa.s.sed through.

LETTER III.

In a very few days I shall leave this town, and having procured letters of recommendation from some men of fashion, now in England, to their friends in _Spain_, I am determined to traverse this, and make a little tour into that kingdom; so you may expect something more from me, than merely such remarks as may be useful to you on any future tour you make in France; I mean to conduct you at least over the _Pyrenean_ hills to _Barcelona_; for, though I have been two or three times before in Spain, it was early in life, and when my mind was more employed in observing the _customs_ and _manors_ of the birds, and beasts of the field, than of their lords and masters, and made too, on the other side of that kingdom. Having seen as much of Paris as I desired, some years ago, I intend to pa.s.s through the provinces of _Artois_, _Champaigne_, _Bourgogne_, and so on to _Lyons_; by which route you will perceive, I shall leave the capital of this kingdom many leagues on my right hand, and see some considerable towns, and taste now and then of the most delicious wines, on the spots which produce them; beside this, I have a great desire to see the remains of a Roman subterranean town, lately discovered in _Champaigne_, which perhaps may gratify my curiosity in some degree, and thereby lessen that desire I have: long had of visiting _Herculaneum_, an _under-ground_ town you know, I always said I would visit, if a certain person happened to be put _under-ground_ before me; but the CAUSE, and the event, in all human affairs, are not to be fathomed by men; for though the event happened, the _cause_ frustrated my design; and I must cross the _Pyranean_ not the _Alpian_ hills. But lest I forget it, let me tell you, that as my travelling must be upon the frugal plan, I have sold my four-wheel post-chaise, to _Mons.

Dessein_, for twenty-two guineas, and bought a French _cabriolet_, for ten, and likewise a very handsome English coach-horse, (a little touched in the wind indeed) for seven. This equipage I have fitted up with every convenience I can contrive, to carry me, my wife, two daughters, and all my _other_ baggage; you will conclude therefore, _light_ as the latter may be, we are _bien charge_; but as we move slowly, not above seven leagues a day, I shall have the more leisure to look about me, and to consider what sort of remarks may prove most worthy of communicating from time to time to you. I shall be glad to leave this town, though it is in one respect, something like your's,[B] everyday producing many _strange faces_, and some very agreeable acquaintance. The arrival of the packet-boats from Dover const.i.tutes the princ.i.p.al amus.e.m.e.nt of this town.

[B] BATH.

The greater part of the English _transports_ who come over, do not proceed much further than to see the tobacco plantations near _St.

Omer_'s; nor is their return home less entertaining than their arrival, as many of them are people of such _quick parts_, that they acquire, in a week's tour to _Dunkirk_, _Bologne_, and _St. Omer_'s, the _language_, dress and manners of the country. You must not, however, expect to hear again from me, till I am further _a-field_. But lest I forget to mention it in a future letter, let me refresh your memory, as to your conduct at Dover, at Sea, and at _Calais_. In the first of these three disagreeable places, (and the first is the worst) you will soon be applied to by one of the Captains of the packets, or bye-boats, and if you hire the boat to yourself, he will demand five guineas; if you treat with another, it is all one, because they are all, except one, partners and equally interested; and therefore will abate nothing. Captain Watson is the only one who _swims upon his own bottom_; and as he is a good seaman, and has a clean, convenient, nay an elegant vessel, I would rather turn the scale in his favour, because I am, as you will be, an enemy to all a.s.sociations which have a tendency to imposition upon the public, and oppression to such who will not join in the general confederacy; yet I must, in justice to the Captains of the confederate party, acknowledge, that their vessels are all good; _well found_; and that they are civil, decent-behaved men. As it is natural for them to endeavour to make the most of each _trip_, they will, if they can, foist a few pa.s.sengers upon you, even after you have taken the vessel to your own use only. If you are alone, this intrusion is not agreeable, but if you have ladies with you, never submit to it; if they introduce men, who appear like gentlemen upon your vessel, you cannot avoid treating them as such; if women, you cannot avoid them treating them with more attention than may be convenient, because they _are_ women; but were it only in consideration of the sea-sickness and its _consequences_, can any thing be more disagreeable than to admit people to _pot_ and _porringer_ with you, in a small close cabin, with whom you would neither eat, drink, or converse, in any other place? but these are not the only reasons; every gentleman going to France should avoid making new acquaintance, at Dover, at Sea, or at _Calais_: many _adventurers_ are always pa.s.sing, and many honest men are often led into grievous and dangerous situations by such inconsiderate connections; nay, the best, and wisest men, are the most liable to be off their guard, and therefore you will excuse my pointing it out to you.

I could indeed relate some alarming consequences, nay, some fatal ones, which have befallen men of honour and character in this country, from such unguarded connections; and such as they would not have been drawn into, on the other side of the "_invidious Streight_." When an Englishman leaves his own country, and is got no further from it than to this town, he looks back upon it with an eye of partial affection; no wonder then, if he feels more disposed to be kind to a countryman and a stranger he may meet in this.--I do not think it would be difficult to point out, what degree of intimacy would arise between two men who knew but little of each other, according to the part of the world they were to meet in.--I remember the time, when I only knew your person, and coveted your acquaintance; at that time we lived in the same town, knew each other's general character, but pa.s.sed without speaking, or even the compliment of the hat; yet had we met in London, we should certainly have taken some civil notice of each other: had the interview been at York, it is five to one but it would have produced a conversation: at Edinburgh, or Dublin, we should have dined, or gone to the play together: but if we had met at Barbadoes, I should have been invited to spend a month at your PENN, and experienced many of those marks of hospitality, friendship, and generosity, I have found from the Creoles in general. When you get upon the French coast, the packet brings to, and is soon boarded by a French boat, to carry the pa.s.sengers on sh.o.r.e; this pa.s.sage is much longer than it appears to be, is always disagreeable, and sometimes dangerous; and the landing, if the water be very low, intolerable: in this case, never mind the advice of the Captain; his advice is, and must be regulated by his _own_ and his owner's interest, more than your convenience; therefore stay on board till there is water enough to sail up to the town, and be landed by a plank laid from the packet to the sh.o.r.e, and do not suffer any body to persuade you to go into a boat, or to be put on sh.o.r.e, by any other method, tho' the _packet-men_ and the _Frenchmen_ unite to persuade you so to do, because they are mutually benefited by putting you to more expence, and the latter are entertained with seeing your cloaths dirted, or the ladies _frighted_. If most of the packet-boats are in _Calais_ harbour, your Captain will use every argument in his power to persuade you to go on sh.o.r.e, in the French boat, because he will, in that case, return directly to Dover, and thereby save eight-and-twenty shillings port duty. When we came over, I prevailed upon a large company to stay on board till there was water enough to sail into the harbour: it is not in the power of the Captain to deceive you as to that matter, because there is a red flag hoisted gradually higher and higher, as the water flows into the harbour, at a little fort which stands upon _stilts_ near the entrance of it. When you are got on sh.o.r.e, go directly to _Dessein_'s; and be in no trouble about your baggage, horses, or coach; the former will be all carried, by men appointed for that purpose, safely to the Custom-house, and the latter wheeled up to your _Hotel_, where you will sit down more quietly, and be entertained more decently, than at Dover.

LETTER IV.

RHEIMS, in Champagne.

Little or nothing occurred to me worth remarking to you on my journey hither, but that the province of _Artois_ is a fine corn country, and that the French farmers seem to understand that business perfectly well.

I was surprised to find, near _St. Omer_'s, large plantations of tobacco, which had all the vigour and healthy appearance of that which I have seen grow in _poor_ America. On my way here, (like the countryman in London, in gazing about) I missed my road; but a civil, and, in appearance, a substantial farmer, conducted us half a league over the fields, and marked out the course to get into it again, without returning directly back, a circ.u.mstance I much hate, though perhaps it might have been the shorter way. However, before I gained the high road, I stumbled upon a private one, which led us into a little village pleasantly situated, and inhabited by none other but the poorest peasants; whose tattered habits, wretched houses, and smiling countenances, convinced me, that chearfulness and contentment shake hands oftener under thatched than painted roofs. We found one of these villagers as ready to boil our tea-kettle, provide b.u.t.ter, milk, &c. as we were for our breakfasts; and during the preparation of it, I believe every man, woman, and child of the hamlet, was come down to _look at us_; for beside that wonderful curiosity common to this whole nation, the inhabitants of this village had never before seen an Englishman; they had heard indeed often of the country, they said, and that it was _un pays tres riche_. There was such a general delight in the faces of every age, and so much civility, I was going to say politeness, shewn to us, that I caught a temporary chearfulness in this village, which I had not felt for some months before, and which I intend to carry with me. I therefore took out my guittar, and played till I set the whole a.s.sembly in motion; and some, in spite of their wooden shoes, and others without any, danced in a manner not to be seen among our English peasants. They had "shoes like a sauce-boat," but no "steeple-clock'd hose." While we breakfasted, one of the villagers fed my horse with some fresh-mowed hay, and it was with some difficulty I could prevail upon him to be paid for it, because the trifle I offered was much more than his _Court of Conscience_ informed him it was worth. I could moralize here a little; but I will only ask you, in which state think you man is best; the untaught man, in that of nature, or the man whose mind is enlarged by education and a knowledge of the world? The behaviour of the inhabitants of this little hamlet had a very forcible effect upon me; because it brought me back to my earlier days, and reminded me of the reception I met with in America by what we now call the _Savage_ Indians; yet I have been received in the same courteous manner in a little hamlet, unarmed, and without any other protection but by the law of nature, by those _savages_;--indeed it was before the _Savages of Europe_ had instructed them in the art of war, or Mr. Whitfield had preached _methodism_ among them. Therefore, I only tell you what they _were_ in 1735, not what they _are at present_. When I visited them, they walked in the flowery paths of Nature; now, I fear, they tread the polluted roads of blood. Perhaps of all the uncivilized nations under the sun, the native Indians of America _were_ the most humane; I have seen an hundred instances of their humanity and integrity;--when a white man was under the lash of the executioner, at _Savannah in Georgia_, for using an Indian woman ill, I saw _Torno Chaci_, their King, run in between the offender and the corrector, saying, "_whip me, not him_;"--the King was the complainant, indeed, but the man deserved a much severer chastis.e.m.e.nt. This was a _Savage King_. Christian Kings too often care not who is whipt, so they escape the smart.

LETTER V.

RHEIMS.

We arrived at this city before the bustle which the coronation of _Louis_ the 16th occasioned was quite over; I am sorry I did not see it, because I now find it worth seeing; but I staid at _Calais_ on purpose to avoid it; for having paid two guineas to see the coronation of George the Third, I determined never more to be put to any extraordinary expence on the score of _crowned heads_. However, my curiosity has been well gratified in hearing it talked over, and over again, and in reading _Marmontell_'s letter to a friend upon that subject; but I will not repeat what he, or others have said upon the occasion, because you have, no doubt, seen in the English papers a tolerably good one; only that the Queen was so overcome with the repeated shouts and plaudits of her new subjects, that she was obliged to retire. The fine Gothic cathedral, in which the ceremony was performed, is indeed a church worthy of such a solemnity; the portal is the finest I ever beheld; the windows are painted in the very best manner; nor is there any thing within the church but what should be there. I need not tell you that this is the province which produces the most delicious wine in the world; but I will a.s.sure you, that I should have drank it with more pleasure, had you been here to have partook of it. In the cellars of one wine-merchant, I was conducted through long pa.s.sages more like streets than caves; on each side of which, bottled _Champaigne_ was piled up some feet higher than my head, and at least twelve deep. I bought two bottles to taste, of that which the merchant a.s.sured me was each of the best sort he had, and for which I paid him six livres: if he sells all he had in bottles at that time, and at the same price, I shall not exceed the bounds of truth if I say, I saw ten thousand pounds worth of bottled _Champaigne_ in his cellars. Neither of the bottles, however, contained wine so good as I often drank in England; but perhaps we are deceived, and find it more palatable by having sugar in it; for I suspect that most of the _Champaigne_ which is bottled for the use of English consumption, is so prepared. That you may know however, for the future, whether Champaigne or any other wine is so adulterated, I will give you an infallible method to prove:--fill a small long-necked bottle with the wine you would prove, and invert the neck of it into a tumbler of clear water; if the wine be genuine, it will all remain in the bottle; if adulterated, with sugar, honey, or any other sweet substance, the sweets will all pa.s.s into the tumbler of water, and leave the genuine wine behind. The difference between still _Champaigne_, and that which is _mousser_, is owing to nothing more than the time of the year in which it is bottled.

I found in this town an English gentleman, from whom we received many civilities, and who made us acquainted with a French gentleman and lady, whose partiality to the English nation is so great, that their neighbours call their house "THE ENGLISH HOTEL." The partiality of such a family is a very flattering, as well as a very pleasing circ.u.mstance, to those who are so happy to be known to them, because they are not only the first people in the town, but the _best_; and in point of talents, inferior to none, perhaps, in the kingdom. I must not, after saying so much, omit to tell you, it is _Monsieur & Madame de Jardin_, of whom I speak; they live in the GRANDE PLACE, _vis-a-vis_ the statue of the King; and if ever you come to Rheims, be a.s.sured you will find it a GOOD PLACE. _Madame de Jardin_ is not only one of the highest-bred women in France, but one of the first in point of letters, and that is saying a great deal, for France abounds more with women of that turn than England. Mrs. Macaulay, Mrs. Carter, Miss Aikin, and Mrs. Montague, are the only four ladies I can recollect in England who are celebrated for their literary genius; in France, I could find you a score or two. To give you some idea of the regard and affection _Mons. de Jardin_ has for his wife,--for French husbands, now and then, love their wives as well as we Englishmen do,--I send you a line I found in his study, wrote under his lady's miniature picture:

"Chaque instant a mes yeux la rend Plus estimable."

This town stands in a vast plain, is of great extent, and enclosed within high walls, and a deep ditch. The public walks are of great extent, n.o.bly planted, and the finest in the whole kingdom. It is, indeed, a large and opulent city, and abounds not only with the best wine, but every thing that is good; and every thing is plenty, and consequently cheap. The fruit market, in particular, is superior to every thing of the kind I ever beheld; but I will not tantalize you by saying any more upon that subject. Adieu!

_P.S._ The Antiquarian will find amus.e.m.e.nt in this town. There are some Roman remains worthy of notice; but such as require the information of the inhabitant to be seen.

LETTER VI.

DIJON.