•84 



Travels in France 



2yd. To Trianon to view the queen's Jardift Anglois. I 

 had a letter to Monsieur Richard, which procured admittance. 

 It contains about loo acres, disposed in the taste of what we 

 read of in books of Chinese gardening, whence it is supposed the 

 English style was taken. There is more of Sir William Chambers 

 here than of Mr. Brown — more effort than nature — and more 

 expense than taste. It is not easy to conceive anything that art 

 can introduce in a garden that is not here; woods, rocks, lawns, 

 lakes, rivers, islands, cascades, grottos, walks, temples, and even 

 villages. There are parts of the design very pretty and well 

 executed. The only fault is too much crowding; which has 

 led to another, that of cutting the lawn by too many gravel 

 walks, an error to be seen in almost every garden I have met with 

 in France. But the glory of La Petite Trianon is the exotic 

 trees and shrubs. The world has been successfully rifled to 

 decorate it. Here are curious and beautiful ones to please the 

 eye of ignorance and to exercise the memory of science. Of 

 the buildings, the temple of love is truly elegant. 



Again to Versailles. In viewing the king's apartment, which 

 he had not left a quarter of an hour, with those slight traits of 

 disorder that showed he lived in it, it was amusing to see the 

 blackguard figures that were walking uncontrolled about the 

 palace, and even in his bed-chamber; men whose rags betrayed 

 them to be in the last stage of poverty, and I was the only 

 person that stared and wondered how the devil they got there. 

 It is impossible not to like this careless indifference and freedom 

 from suspicion. One loves the master of the house who would 

 not be hurt or offended at seeing his apartment thus occupied 

 if he returned suddenly; for if there was danger of this, the 

 intrusion would be prevented. This is certainly a feature of 

 that good temper which appears to me so visible ever^^vhere in 

 France. I desired to see the queen's apartments, but I could 

 not. Is her majesty in it? No. Why then not see it as well 

 as the king's ? Mafoi, Motisieur, c'est un autre chose. Ramble 

 through the gardens, and by the grand canal, with absolute 

 astonishment at the exaggerations of writers and travellers. 

 There is magnificence in the quarter of the orangerie, but no 

 beauty anywhere; there are some statues good enough to wish 

 them under cover. The extent and breadth of the canal are 

 nothing to the eye, and it is not in such good repair as a farmer's 

 horse-pond. The menagerie is well enough, but nothing great. 

 Let those who desire that the buildings and establishments of 

 Louis XIV. should continue the impression made by the writings 



