Paris y^ 



criminate^ bette r; and the -ouaib er i o infinit e-th at g i ve s fjfte.an 

 opimon of the good te mper of the^rengJ!, . I am fond neither of 

 a man nor a recital that can appear only on stilts and dressed 

 in holiday gear. It is every-day feelings that decide the colour 

 of our lives ; and he who values them the most plays the best 

 for the stake of happiness. But it is time to quit Liancourt, 

 which I do with regret. Take leave of the good old duchess, 

 whose hospitality and kindness ought long to be remembered. 

 — 51 miles. 



gth, 10th, and nth. Return by Beauvais and Pontoise, and 

 enter Paris for the fourth time, confirmed in the idea that the 

 roads immediately leading to that capital are deserts, compara- 

 tively speaking, with those of London. By what means can the 

 connection be carried on with the country? The French must 

 be the most stationary people upon earth, when in a place they 

 must rest without a thought of going to another. Or the 

 English must be the most restless; and find more pleasure in 

 moving from one place to another than in resting to enjoy 

 life in either. If the French nobility went to their country 

 seats only when exiled there by the court, the roads could not 

 be more solitar}'. — 25 miles. 



i2th. My intention was to take lodgings; but on arriving 

 at the hotel de la Rochefoucauld, I found that my hospitable 

 duchess was the same person at the capital as in the country; 

 she had ordered an apartment to be ready for me. It grows so 

 late in the season that I shall make no other stay in this capital 

 than what will be necessary for viewing public buildings. This 

 will unite well enough with delivering some letters I brought 

 to a few men of science; and it will leave me the evenings for 

 the theatres, of which there are manv m Pans. In throwing on 

 paper a rapid coiip d'ceil of what I see of a city so well known 

 in England, I shall l)e apt to delineate m)" own ideas and feelings 

 perhaps more than the c/ujects themselves; and be it remembered 

 thatnrj5fofess to dedicate this careless itinerary to trifles much 

 more than to objects that are of reai-consequence. From the 

 tower of the calliedraF^the view d Paris is complete. It_is„a 

 vast city, even to the eye that has seen London from St. Paul's : 

 being circular gives an advantage to Paris; but a much greater 

 is the atmosphere. It is now so clear that one would suppose it 

 the height of summ.er: the clouds of coal-smoke that envelop 

 London always prevent a distinct view of that capital, but I 

 take it to be one-third at least larger than Paris. The buildings 

 of the parliament-house are disfigured by a gilt and taudry 



