150 Travels in France 



court having made an immense collection of pamphlets, buying 

 everything that has a relation to the present period; and, 

 among the rest, the cahiers of all the districts and towns of 

 France of the three orders; it was a great object with me to 

 read these, as I was sure of finding in them a representation of 

 the grievances of the three orders, and an explanation of the 

 improvements wished for in the government and administration. 

 These cahiers being instructions given to their deputies, I have 

 now gone through them all, with a pen in hand, to make extracts, 

 and shall therefore leave Paris to-morrow. 



2Sth. Having provided myself a light French cabriolet for 

 one horse, or gig Anglois, and a horse, I left Paris, taking leave 

 of my excellent friend. Monsieur Lazowski, whose anxiety for 

 the fate of his country made me respect his character as much 

 as I had reason to love it for the thousand attentions I was in the 

 daily habit of receiving from him. My kind protectress, the 

 Duchess d'Estissac, had the goodness to make me promise that 

 I would return again to her hospitable hotel when I had finished 

 the journey I was about to undertake. Of the place I dined 

 at on my road to Nangis, I forget the name, but it is a post- 

 house on the left, at a small distance out of the road. It 

 afforded me a bad room, bare walls, cold raw weather, and no 

 fire; for, when lighted, it smoked too much to be borne; — I was 

 thoroughly out of humour: I had passed some time at Paris 

 amidst the fire, energy, and animation of a great revolution. 

 And for those moments not filled by political events, I had 

 enjoyed the resources of hberal and instructing conversation; 

 the amusements of the first theatre in the world, and the fascinat- 

 ing accents of Mandini, had by turns solaced and charmed the 

 fleeting moments; the change to inns, and those French inns; 

 the ignorance of everybody of those events that were now pass- 

 ing, and which so intimately concerned them; the detestable 

 circumstance of having no newspapers, with a press much freer 

 than the English, altogether formed such a contrast, that my 

 heart sunk with depression. At Guignes, an itinerant dancing- 

 master was fiddling to some children of tradesmen; to relieve 

 my sadness, I became a spectator of their innocent pleasures, 

 and with great magnificence I gave four 12 sou pieces for a cake 

 for the children, which made them dance with fresh animation; 

 but my host, the postmaster, who is a surly pickpocket, thought 

 that if I was so rich, he ought also to receive the benefit, and 

 made me pay 9 livres 10 sous for a miserable tough chicken, a 

 cutlet, a salad, and a bottle of sorry wine. Such a dirty, pilfer- 



