(33) 



partment, whose labours are seconded by 

 the ardour of enlightened individuals; but 

 great meliorations must spring from a gene- 

 ral spirit of emulation, which it is not easy 

 to awaken. The French, notwithstanding the 

 rapidity of their conceptions, are a passive 

 people , tenacious of routine. The number of 

 liberally educated men who unite a taste for 

 rural life with a fortune sufficient for expe- 

 rimental farming , is comparatively small. 

 The gentry of France rush into the capital to 

 escape from ennui, as, in the noble days of 

 chivalry, the defenceless inhabitants of the 

 champaign fled into the castles, at the ap- 

 proach of some plundering knight or lawless 

 baron. The inspired twilight of their native 

 groves is forsaken for the luxurious shades of 

 the royal gardens, and the simple indepen- 

 dance of rural life , for the gilded servitude 

 of the court. Existence has a charm only in 

 Paris ; those who cannot reside in the metro- 

 polis, hurry into the provincial capitals to 

 attend the levee of the prefect, and prefer 

 bending in the saloon of this humble repre- 

 sentative of royalty, to dispensing instruc- 

 tion and happiness among their dependants 



3 



