CHARACTERS. 



765- 



*rs into casks, to afford a pure be- 

 verage to the thirsty. These heaps 

 ©f corn have likewise been borne 

 up its bosom, and it conveys those 

 pipes of wine unadulterated into flie 

 cellars of the anabaptists. Here 

 you see a motley mixture of buyers 

 and sellers. Take care not to go 

 too near those black coal-heavers 

 with your white robe; and keep 

 out of the waj' of those merry quar- 

 relsome Auvergnats, who are tiglit- 

 ing for fun so seriously hard, that 

 the blows would kill either yon or 

 me, if we were to receive such a 

 drubbing. They likewise speak a 

 gibberish, of which we do not un- 

 derstand a syllable. 



Let us retire from this confused 

 crowd into that square. Alas! it is 

 the Place de Greve, where formerly 

 criminals only suifered death, but 

 which, during the reign of terror, 

 was stained w ith the blood of many 

 iliiistrious characters. Here is the 

 spot on which the guillotine was 

 long permanent, and in yon corner 

 is the lamp-post on which Foulon 

 was hanged. You shudder. We 

 will quit this place, which, a few 

 days previous to the last execution, 

 served for the exhibition of shews. 

 For future executions, goveirnnent 

 has provided another place, in a dif- 

 ferent quarter of the town ; w here, 

 I did not take the trouble to en- 

 quire, for 1 am not fond of such 

 spectacles. 



In order to draw your lively ima- 

 gination from these melancholy sub- 

 jects, we will mingle with the crowd 

 surrounding that mountebank dres- 

 sed in scarlet. This man, with his 

 aquiline nose, pretends to speak 

 Frt-nch with an Italian accent. " I 

 am just arrived from Naples," says 

 he. " I liave heard of (he good 

 people of Pariii. It 1* iiol interest 



that brings me hither : no, it is only 

 the desire to be of service to tlia 

 great nation, and the good people 

 of Paris. Look here, gentlemen, 

 at this invaluable medicine: every 

 bottle of it costs, upon my honour, 

 six livres, but I am satisfied if I caa 

 administer relief to suffering huma- 

 nity. I ask nothing, nothing at 

 all : I give away my bottles — yes, 

 yes — I give them away. IIow? 

 does nobody call? Indeed the peo- 

 ple of Paris are better than they 

 have been represented to me; they 

 are too proud, too generous, they 

 will have nothing given them. 

 Well ! not to offend your delicacy, 

 I will set a price upon it. Instead 

 of six livres, I ask only six sous. 

 Buy ! buy ! buy !" And behold 

 multitudes rush forward to purchase. 

 Now we go home laughing; don't 

 we, my sweet friend? 



LETTER III. 



I lately mentioned to you, my 

 dear lady, the portrait of our Savi- 

 our, which may be had for one sous 

 on the Boulevards; to-day I will 

 make you acquainted with a similar 

 spL*culation. Look at that sheet of 

 paper, decorated with large wooden 

 cuts, and printed only on one side; 

 it contains, notwithstanding, nothing 

 less than tiie " Lives and Manners 

 of the Nations of Europe : Vies et 

 Mcenrs dcs Nations de I'Europe," 

 says the superscription. For my 

 part, being a (ierman, and only 

 knowing the manners of nations 

 iVoiu thick volumes in quarto, my 

 curiosity is jiaturally excited, and I 

 read with pleasure the quintessence 

 of the judgment and prejudices of 

 FrenchiiuMi respecting themselves 

 and their neighbours. The follow- 

 ing are examples: 



'i In rcliijioa, the German is un- 

 believing J 



