iri Brittany and Normandy. 233 



mandy seem a superior race of men to those of Brittany ; in 

 short, more like English farmers. I remember seeing at a fair, 

 between Dinan and Rennes, many hundreds of Breton farmers: 

 they seemed all of one grade, neither rich nor poor. I ob- 

 served many returning from the fair with their purchases of 

 stock. A Suffolk farmer would have turned up his nose with 

 contempt at the smallness of their ventures. Some had one cow 

 and a calf; these were great men : for the majority had some 

 two, some three, others four, sheep of the goatish breed before- 

 mentioned ; these they were leading by a line round their 

 necks. The whole affair looked, by contrast Avith our own far- 

 mers, poor and miserable enough. Still these people are happy. 

 They have small farms, which in most cases are their own free- 

 holds ; they have few wants, and these are all supplied. In 

 that part of Brittany the country seemed peopled by these 

 small farmers ; no common labourers were to be seen. Un- 

 doubtedly this contributes to the happiness of the people, and 

 offers a striking contrast to the wealthy farmers, large farms, 

 and numerous and ill-paid labourers in our agricultural districts. 

 Whether the general welfare of the country is promoted by this 

 system is another question, and one requiring much consider- 

 ation to answer. 



Honfleur, July 29. — At Lisieux we found that no diligence 

 could be taken to carry us to this little town ; we, therefore, 

 bargained for a " cabriolet" for the journey of twenty miles, for 

 which we paid twenty francs. Let it not be supposed that by 

 this name was designated a roomy chaise on springs. Oh, no ; 

 our cabriolet was a large market-cart on springs, in which were 

 double seats. In this my three friends, myself, and the driver, 

 were amply accommodated, and our "bonne jument," as our 

 driver affectionately called his old mare, jogged along at the 

 rate of four miles an hour to Pont I'Eveque, about half-way, 

 where we rested and j)artook of " cafe noir ; " thence, after walk- 

 ing up a tremendous hill, a three miles' ascent, we arrived here, 

 descending to the town through a magnificent avenue of elms. 

 The famous Honfleur melons, we ascertained, were grown to 

 the south of tlie town, at some distance from it: our time did 

 not permit us to view the melon gardens, and we found no 

 other matter of any horticultural interest, so that we crossed the 

 Seine to Havre as soOn as possible by the steamer, thence by 

 steam to Southampton ; thus terminating a rapid, agreeable, and 

 mentally j)rofitable tour of twelve days. 



Sawhridgeworth Nursery, Ajml 4. 1843. 



