heing disgufted at fome brutal battle be- 
tween two draymen, porters, coal- heavers, 
hackney-coachmen, &c. &c.: if he is in 
the habit of at pees the theatres and 
other p! aces of public amufement, he muft 
always calcviate upon being plant alr 
by fome nofy “dranken fellows, who 
either quarrel among themielves, + quar- 
rel with the performers ; and if his lodg- 
Jags are unfortunately near the haunts of 
thofe unhappy females. who s:oam_ the 
ftreets at night, 
his repofe not unirequently broken in upon 
by the loofe and riotous ergies of them 
and their paramours, or by the noify ren- 
counters which often take place between 
them and-the watchmen, 
Such difturbances are unknown at Paris: 
B , you know, has refided here be- 
tween two and three years, during which 
time, he tells us, that he has never feen a 
ferious and perfonal quarrel between two 
Frenchinen! On the SnEraty the lower 
clafles behave to each other with a fur- 
prifing degree of civility—a degree of ci- 
vility by no means obfervable among the 
fame ‘clafs of iso in England. the 
Jilles-de-joie are infinitely lefs obtrufive and 
rude here than they are in London, where 
a modeft woman cannot walk in the even- 
ing, although attended by fome male pro- 
tector, without having her ears as well as 
her eyes offended by the unblufhing re- 
probates of her own fex. In Paris, on 
the contrary, under the piazzas even of 
the Palais-royal, a modeft woman will 
certainly have violence done to one only 
of her fenfes ; and lefs violence to that 
than the fame caule would excite againt 
an Englifh matron in London. But it 
muft be acknowledged, that in-England 
the ‘duo poma finu’’ are now fhaded, even 
by our Veltals with a more light and airy 
foliage than formerly; ftill, howev er, the 
ladies there fearcely rival the Parifian 
damfels, the chafteit of whom bluth not 
to dilplay, through a tranfparent goffa- 
mery muflin, the fine Medicean form’ of 
the laGtefcent bofom. 
At the theatres, I underfiand, the tran- 
quillity of the audience is very feldom i in- 
terrupted : people go for the wife purpofe 
of being pleafed, and with the good- 
humoured difpofition to be fatishied; ex- 
preffions of diflatisfaction are therefore 
rare. Thefe places of amufement ate 
doubtlefs much indebted for their tran- 
quillity tothe national fobriety of the 
French: the delicious wines of Burgundy 
and Bourdeaux are light and innocuous; 
thefe qualities belong to the many others, 
ail of which, it thot uld feem, are ufed 
ae ¥ 
An Excurfion through France to Geneva. 
he muit-expect to have’ 
[A pril 1, 
with fingular moderation. I have nat yet 
feen an inttance of i intoxication, or of any 
thing which approaches it: you well know 
that it is not the cuftom here, as it is in 
Ensland, to ft round the table after dinner, 
and drink wine, bottle after bottle, and 
boitle after that: in France, the ceffert is 
bi rought on with the cheeie, and all are 
taken away together ; and when the cloth 
is removed, the company ‘rife and take 
coffee.. 
Lait night (out I hear you fay, this is a 
hittle out of’ order, my good Friend), we 
went to the French Opera, and teok the 
thanklefs unnece{ ary ‘trouble of drefiing 
as we fhould have done in England! The 
houle feems to be between the fizes of 
Covent-garden and Drury-lane: fhe de- 
corations are rich, but the gilding is tar- 
nifhed: the band very full and good. The 
Seti oF the performers is highly -anis 
mated and expreffive, the mufic and the 
finging well fupported, and. the fcenery 
extremely grand. Thefe united powers 
were not loft upon us; we acknowledged 
their influence, and returned home per- 
feily fatisfied, although neither ae 
nor Talma had exhibited before us. 
to the dancers! I dare not fay any aha 
about them: Camoens’ naked x ng 
have been tranfported hither from his 
Ifland of Love: 
the chafte and pious - 
Bifhop of Durham would certainly be for - 
returning them to their own country. 
You afk me to defcribe our mode of 
living here, the expences of it, &c. &c.: 
on our arrival we were of courfe welcomed 
by the maitre-d’ hotel with a politenefs and 
fincerity which were not to be queftioned : 
one fet of rooms’ only was vacant in this 
fpdcious building: they are on the third 
ftory, and confift of three fmall bed-rooms, 
a dining-room, with an ante-chamber for 
our domeftique, and that neceflary evil the 
laquais-de-place.’ For this accommodation 
We pay five louis and a half per werk: 
we have no attendance whatever but that 
of the fille de-chambre, who in the courfe 
of the day does fpare.time to make our 
Beds. We have our breakfafs, dinners, 
Secs from a réeffaurateur in the Palais- 
royal, who for tour livres and a half per 
head (3s. 9d. Englifh money) fupplies us- 
with as hendfome and well-covered a table 
as any § gentlemen will dehre. 
So you really perfitt in believing that 
provifions are as dear in Paris as they aré 
tm Londen; fuch accounts have been in- 
duftrioufly circulated, but I theught they 
had long fince beet faficichtly refuted to 
deftroy your belief in them. ‘The lait beef- 
Keak that Tate in London cof fourteen- 
pep ce 
~ 
