FRANCE. 



615 



an independence, without which, no virtue is secure. They have many comforts, and poverty 

 is seldom so extreme among them, as to harden the heart, or depress the spirits. They are 

 almost universally above want. 



There is a cow to every cottage, and as there is little pasturage, it is the employment of the 

 family, on part of the Sabbath, to go forth, and cut grass in the woods, and the way-side. 

 Every cottage has its grande chambre, where all the articles of finery are bestowed. A high 

 and neat bed is indispensable ; this is well furnished with curtains, and mounted by steps. At 

 the head are the relics, the image of the Virgin, and there is generally a clock. The garden 

 produces a variety of flowers, for which there is a national taste. In the season, everybody 

 has a boquet, and children stand ready to toss bunches of flowers into the passing coaches, with 

 the good wish of " bon voyage." Fontenay-aux-Roses had the privilege of supplying the 

 court and the parliament with roses. The peers and magistrates, in their assembly, in May, 

 received a bunch of flowers, in which the roses were arranged according to the rank of the 

 individual. 



It is unsafe to draw general or sweeping conclusions, in writing of national character. We 

 are too apt to forget, tliat the substance of all character is the same, and that the accidents only 

 differ. Individuals of the same nation, differ much more, than the general character of two 

 nations. The difference of language, manners, and dress, is so apparent to the senses, that it 

 is often extended to other points, in which there is no dissimilarity. It would be well for our 

 species, could there be, in one nation, a union of what is estimable in the English character, 

 with what is amiable in the French ; that the asperities of the one, could be softened by the 

 gracefulness of the other ; that unbending principle and inflexible faith, could be blended with 

 innocent gayety and happy simplicity. 



21. Amusements. There is no country in the world, where there is such a variety of amuse- 

 ments, as in France ; and no people in the world are so easily amused. A stranger, who visits 

 Paris for the first time, finds himself in a perpetual whirl of petty diversions, which, however 

 childish, are amusing, as long as the charm of novelty lasts, but which never become insipid to 

 a Frenchman of any age or rank. One of the chief resorts of persons of every condition, in 

 Paris, are the public gardens at Tivoli. They are thrown open twice a week, and brilliantly 

 illuminated with colored lamps, and are somewhat in the style of Vauxhall, in London, but 

 animated by diversions, which could never be imagined by a sober Englishman ; such as sailing 

 in wooden boats, slung to wires ; swinging in balanfoirs, which go so high as nearly to take away 

 the breath, &c. There are, also, small temporary theatres, filled with mountebanks, buffx)ons 

 of every description, fortune-tellers, dressed like hermits, and jugglers, all exciting the laughter 

 and admiration of the assembled crowds. 



In some parts of the gardens, groups of well-dressed persons, of the lower class, are dancing 

 to the sound of the violin, with that native ease and grace, which seem inherent to the French 

 peasantry. There are, also, ca/rs, with ices and lemonade, for those who wish for refresh- 

 ments. Tivoli is the resort of every class, the highest and the lowest ; yet there is neither 

 riot nor excess of any kind. The utmost mirth, and gayety, is mingled with the most perfect 

 decorum. The evening concludes with fireworks of the most brilliant description, and the 

 whole scene, the lights, gay dresses, and sounds of merriment, are lively in the extreme. 

 Sometimes a "■fete extraordinaire'^ is announced for Sundays, and more is then paid for ad- 

 mission, except by the regular subscribers for the season. On these occasions, there is usually 

 a mock-siege, with all the accompaniment of cannon and fireworks, and which generally ends 

 in a mock battle between the French and English, in which the latter are beaten, and dead 

 bodies, in red coats, are strewed about in all directions. 



Beaujon, was another garden of the same description, famous for its jllontagnes Russes., and 

 lately suppressed, by order of government, on account of the numerous accidents, which hap- 

 pened in the flying cars. A scafl^olding was erected, in the form of a steep mountain. Over 

 this, ran an iron railroad. Small cars were drawn up to the summit, by means of ropes attach- 

 ed to the cars, and pulled round a wheel by horses. When they reached the top, they were 

 pushed down with amazing rapidity. The smallest obstruction, a pebble or a piece of wood, 

 on the road, occasioned their overturn. Nothing could exceed the enthusiasm of the Parisians 

 for this amusement. The cars were engaged for hours before the/eVe began, and anxious 

 crowds stood waiting for their turn, with breathless anxiety. The Czar of lJussia, when he 

 visited Paris, under his traveling name of Count Ruppin, used to make frequent journeys over 

 tho Montagnes Russes. There r;re similar mountains at Tivnli, but the descent is less .^teep. 



