L 16 ] 
a wine country, the common drink of the farmers 
was a light weak beer. Upon the whole, I saw no 
reason to believe, either from the looks of the pea¬ 
santry or from the provisions I found in their hou¬ 
ses, that they were in want of any comforts of life, 
which their station required. Their moderation in 
the article of dress, in which they made no sacrifi¬ 
ces to vanity, and their sobriety (for I have not seen 
three drunken men in France) enabling them, not 
ouly to procure more of the necessities, but even to 
afford more to their amusements, than the people of 
any other countries. Their pleasures are all social, 
and they know of none in which their women do 
not participate; which may, among other causes, 
contribute to their sobriety and cheerfulness. 
The farm-houses are very generally built of stone, 
and covered with thatch of rushes. The thatching 
is very thick and neat, and near the sea, it is gener¬ 
ally overgrown with moss and other plants, so that 
it is a warm and not a dangerous covering, as it 
would be in our country : you will remark that 
these observations are to be confined to the coun¬ 
try I travelled through on my route to Paris ; and are 
not applicable to many other parts of France. 
ENCLosiJiiEs.-~~Few of these are to be seen af¬ 
ter leaving Nantz ; those between that and L’Ori¬ 
ent I have mentioned. On the low grounds along 
the Loire, fields are separated by ditches only ; but 
enclosures are of little moment, where no cattle are 
guffered to rim at large without a keeper. 
