1824.] Journal of a Tour through France 



small diameter, suppose an inch, and of 

 any required length, is to have at one 

 end a machine to exhaust it of its air, 

 at the other end a hollow ball, of rather 

 less diameter than that of the tube, with 

 be inserted. 



307 



a letter enclosed, is to 

 When the air shall be withdrawn, — 

 which, if the tube be twenty miles long, 

 can easily be done in twelve minutes, 

 the ball containing the letter will, by 

 the pressure of the atmosphere, be 

 forced to the other end. E. S. 



Temple; April II, 1824. 



For the Monthly Magazine. 

 EXTRACTS from the .iournal of a 



TOUR through FRANCE. 



A UG. 14.— .Spent a delightful day at 

 XjL my friend'.s, IHIr. W. in company 

 with an engraver from Munster, and 

 his amiable daughter. We were not 

 only feasted, but regaled, afterwards, 

 with the harmony of tliree musical 

 boxes, which Mr. W. had purchased in 

 Switzerland, After dinner we went to 

 drink a glass of champaigne at the en- 

 graver's iini : it is the Crown, and con- 

 sidered, if not the best, at least the most 

 expensive, of Mullionse; it is likewise 

 the Post-house. While there, Mr. W. 

 observing a traveller at the door, who 

 lie thought was an Englishman, told 

 me, in fiis lively manner, to go and 

 speak to my countryman; which I did, 

 and had the pleasure of being answered 

 in English by tlie traveller, and whom 

 I found in the sequel a most intelligent 

 man. He had been two years travelling 

 and residing in Germany, in order to 

 make himself master of the language, 

 and to see men and manners. He had 

 been disappointed in Dresden, de- 

 scril>ing it^ celebrated bridge over the 

 Elbe, at least after sun- set, as gloomy 

 and jjeavy, and more like the way to a 

 Bastille than that to a great city. The 

 latter had lost mueli of its consequence 

 through politii!"! events and changes. 

 The old king, he said, was greatly at- 

 tached to ancient court forms and cere- 

 monies, but, for his private virtues, be- 

 loved by his subjects. This gentleman 

 seemed to have much curiosity for 

 visiting manufacturing establishments, 

 and Mr. W. offered to gratify it, but he 

 excused himself by saying he had taken 

 his place in the diligence for Paris, and, 

 moreover, his leave of absence from 

 England was expired, — which would 

 imply that he was in the army. With 

 all his intelligence, however, he was not 

 free from the anglo-mania of prejudice ; 

 for, on the engraver expressing some 



anxiety that wc had not (he company 

 of t!ie ladies since dinner (twelve 

 o'clock), and proposing that we should 

 take them out in a coach, I observed 

 that this showed, as had always been 

 the case, the gallantry of the nation. 

 The stranger said, it might be nothing 

 more than a habit ; that there was little 

 real merit in it, being the superfices of 

 politeness or attachment to the sex. 

 One could not, it is true, inspect the 

 heart ; and, as outward signs and appear- 

 ances were in this case to be connected 

 with effects, — the sole, and perhaps 

 surest, criterion, — 1 could not certainly 

 but prefer this pleasing politeness in 

 the French towards the sex to that cold 

 and jealous conduct which in general 

 chnracferized our countrymen. It seem- 

 ed that in this respect the lord of the 

 creation had made a false estimate of 

 his power and the intrinsic value of 

 woman, or he would never exert it in so 

 tyrannical manner, to the production of 

 pain and misery instead of pleasure and 

 happiness. It was observed that this 

 apparent coldness towards the sex con- 

 cealed a warm heart, and that the real 

 domestic virtues flourished to greater 

 perfection under so ungcnial a clime 

 and rude culture, than in the gay and 

 factitious sunshine of French politeness. 

 There might be instances, I allowed; 

 but the probability, I thought, was that 

 connubial affection, parental love, filial 

 piety, in short all the sweet charities of 

 life and the grand virtues of society, 

 were more likely to be the result of 

 mildness, politene.ss, and mutual parti- 

 cipation in labours and pleasures, than 

 regarding woman as inferior to man, 

 and treating her as a pleasing toy, a 

 drawing-room ornament, or a kitchen 

 appendage. 



The women in France seemed, on the 

 contrary, to fill that station which has 

 been indicated by the order of creation, 

 and sung by the immortal bard of 

 Scotia, perhaps in the too glowing 

 transports of his first affection and native 

 gall.intry :— 



Her 'prentice hand she tried on man, 

 And then she made the lasses O ! 



Be that as it may, and whether the 

 history of Father Rib be true or not, 

 they have evidently caused more pain 

 to the sides of men than Father Adam 

 experienced in furnishing the material 

 for their creation. But that is abun- 

 dantly compensated by their delightful 

 converse and virtuous society. 



It is worth while to CNaniiiic a little 



into the moral and political effects of 



women 



