1 1 o Travels in France 



one of the twelve prisoners from the Bastile arrived here — he 

 was the most violent of them all— and his imprisonment has 

 been far enough from silencing him. 



2^th. It was not without regret that I quitted a society both 

 intelligent and agreeable, nor should I feel comfortably if I did 

 not hope to see Messrs. Epivents again; I have little chance of 

 being at Nantes, but if they come a second time to England I 

 have a promise of seeing them at Bradfield. The younger of 

 these gentlemen spent a fortnight with Lord Shelburne at 

 Bowood, which he remembers with much pleasure; Colonel 

 Barre and Dr. Priestley were there at the same time. To 

 Aucenis is all enclosed: for seven miles many seats. — 

 22| miles. 



26th. To the scene of the vintage. I had not before been 

 witness to so much advantage as here; last autumn the heavy 

 rains made it a melancholy business. At present all is life and 

 activity. The country all thickly and well enclosed. Glorious 

 view of the Loire from a village, the last of Bretagne, where is a 

 great barrier across the road and custom-houses to search every- 

 thing coming from thence. The Loire here takes the appear- 

 ance of a lake large enough to be interesting. There is on both 

 sides an accompaniment of wood, which is not universal on this 

 river. The addition of towns, steeples, windmills, and a great 

 range of lovely country covered with vines; the character gay 

 as well as noble. Enter Anjou, with a great range of meadows. 

 Pass St. George and take the road to Angers. For ten miles 

 quit the Loire and meet it again at Angers. Letters from 

 Monsieur de Broussonet ; but he is unable to inform me in what 

 part of Anjou was the residence of the Marquis de Tourbilly; 

 to find out that nobleman's farm, where he made those admir- 

 able improvements which he describes in the Memoire sur les 

 defrichemens , was such an object to me that I was determined 

 to go to the place, let the distance out of my way be what it 

 might.— 30 miles. 



2']th. Among my letters one to Monsieur de la Livoniere, 

 perpetual secretary of the Society of Agriculture here. I found 

 he was at his country-seat, two leagues off at Mignianne. On 

 my arrival at his seat, he was sitting down to dinner with his 

 family; not being past twelve, I thought to have escaped this 

 awkwardness; but both himself and madame prevented all 

 embarrassment by very unaffectedly desiring me to partake 

 with them, and making not the least derangement either in table 

 or looks, placed me at once at my ease, to an indifferent dinnex-. 



