1 54 Travels in France 



pretty wife, to return the first visit of ceremony : he has a fine 

 chateau at Montigny, and an estate of 4000 louis a year. This 

 lady was Mademoiselle de Cour Breton, niece to Madame Calonne; 

 she was to have been married to the son of Monsieur Lamoignon, 

 but much against her inclinations ; finding that common refusals 

 had no avail, she determined on a very uncommon one, which 

 was to go to church, in obedience to her father's orders, and give 

 a solemn no instead of a yea. She was afterwards at Dijon, 

 and never stirred but she was received with huzzas and acclama- 

 tions by the people for refusing to be allied with la Cour Pleniere; 

 and her firmness was everywhere spoken of much to her ad- 

 vantage. Monsieur la Luzerne was with them, nephew to the 

 French ambassador at London, who, in some broken English, 

 informed me that he had learned to box of Mendoza. No one 

 can say that he has travelled without making acquisitions. Has 

 the Due dOrleans learned to box also? The news from Paris is 

 bad: the commotions increase greatly: and such an alarm has 

 spread, that the queen has called the Marechal de Broglio to the 

 king's closet; he has had several conferences : the report is, that 

 an army will be collected under him. It may be now necessary; 

 but woeful management to have made it so. 



July 2. To Meaux. Monsieur de Guerchy was so kind as to 

 accompany me to Columiers; I had a letter to Monsieur Anvee 

 Dumee. Pass Rosoy to Maupertius, through a country cheer- 

 fully diversified by woods and scattered with villages; and 

 single farms spread everywhere as about Nangis. Maupertius 

 seems to have been the creation of the Marquis de Montesquieu, 

 who has here a very fine chateau of his own building; an 

 extensive English garden, made by the Count d'Artois' gardener, 

 with the town, has all been of his own forming. I viewed the 

 garden with pleasure; a proper advantage has been taken of a 

 good comm.and of a stream, and many fine springs which rise 

 in the grounds; they are well conducted, and the whole executed 

 with taste. In the kitchen-garden, which is on the slope of a 

 hill, one of these springs has been applied to excellent use: it 

 is made to wind in many doubles through the whole on a paved 

 bed, forming numerous basins for watering the garden, and 

 might, with little trouble, be conducted alternately to every bed 

 as in Spain. This is a hint of real utihty to all those who form 

 gardens on the sides of hills; for watering with pots and pails is 

 a miserable, as well as expensive succedaneum to this infinitely 

 more effective method. There is but one fault in this garden, 

 which is its being placed near the house, where there should be 



