eo 
ence fince, and has it in contemplation 
to pay them a vifit in the courfe of the 
enfuing fummer. 
“The young adventurer engaged himfelf 
as valet to a gentleman who was then 
going abroad, and demeaned him(elf with 
iuch propriety, as to obtain from him a 
valuable recommendation when he quitted 
his fervice: his paffion for travelling has 
increafed with his opportunities for in- 
dulging it, and he ftates himfelf to have 
refufed feveral very tempting offers of fet- 
tlement which his patrons (many of them 
perfons of rank) have made him in con- 
fideration of his fervices. He has been 
tortunate in his matters, and fays, that he 
has acquired a2 competence, with which 
he is now in a fituation to retire from bu- 
jimefs whenever he may be difpofed. He 
has repeatedly travelled over almoft every 
country in Europe, and has refided for a 
confiderable time in the Weftindies. There 
is fcarcely a living language with which 
he is not acquainted: he {peaks Englith, 
French, and Italian; High Dutch, Low 
Dutch, Spanifh, German, and Roffian, 
and can converfe with a wild Irifhman or 
Scotch Highlander in his own tongue. 
With this jargon in his head, it is not to 
be fuppofed that he fhould trouble himlelf 
much with grammatical refinements: in 
fhort, though he {peaks every language he 
does not underftand one, not having any 
which he can call hisown; and it is no 
‘uncommon thing with him to begin a fen- 
tence in one language, and finifh it in 
another. eat 
De Buck is a tall athletic man; active, 
patient, or rather ignorant of fatigue: he 
3s extremely attentive and obliging, and 
we have every reafon to believe him mof 
accupuloufly honeft—in one word, he is a 
very valuable fervant.* 
The country over which we have tra. 
velled to-day is very generally cultivated : 
it is almoft a dead flat, uninterfeéted by a 
ingle hedge; an immenfe breadth of wheat 
"as growing, but it is almoft every where 
fodden with water. If the French can 
grow crops wich their prefent carelefs cul- 
* Francois de Buck, at Mr. Johnftone’s, 
South-fireet, No. 3, near Berkley-fquare, 
London. Ithink it proper to give the ad- 
drefs and charaéter of a man who will fave 
more than his wages to any traveller who 
-is unacquainted with the Continent, by de- 
feating the numerous tricks and cheats with 
-which he is perpetually befet. 
' De Buck’s polyglot head: reminds one of 
the celebrated epigram which was written on 
“a portrait of Mr, Gibbon. 
~* 7 « 
An Excurfion through France to Geneva. 
[July 1, 
tivation, what would they do if an Enga 
lith farmer could fit down among them, 
and encourage the natural fecundity of 
the foil by his fkill and induftry ! 
Every inch of the ground we have tra+ 
velled to-day is paved pyecifely like the 
ftreets of London, and the broad road is 
on either fide ornamented with a fingle line 
of lofty trees; the perfpective produced 
by this long vifta is extremely pleafing, 
even in the Jeaflefs month of December— 
in the furmmer furely it muft be delightful. 
Troyes, Dec. 11.—Sixty miles on the 
pavé yelterday had well nigh diflocated 
every bone in our frames, and I was 
heartily glad to ftretch my limbs between 
the fheets: indeed I fotefee that it will 
not be ih my power to devote much time 
to you till we get toGeneva. We break- 
faft early, and from the time that we entet 
the carriage ftop not for refrefhment till 
we have reached the end of our day's 
journey: a good dinner and a bottle of 
Burgundy have then a very foothing and 
foporific influence. The face of the 
country to-day is very much the fame 
with that we had already pafled over: here 
is an immenfity of young wheat, much of 
which looks flourifhing. We fee no ftock 
except a few fheep, no turnips or winter- 
food of any fort: no corn-ftacks! Thirty 
miles in any corn-county of England would 
exhibit to a traveller more corn-ftacks 
than the three hundred which we have 
travelled. in the interior of France. I 
cannot conjecture where the depofitories of 
corn are, or where the live ftock is, for here 
certainly can be no deficiency of either. 
We fee but few barns, and remark an ex= 
treme rarity of farm-houfes! We are com- 
pelled, therefore, to form a very inade- 
quate idea ae population of France, 
which here iS apparently thinner than that 
of England. ‘The proportionate popula- 
tion even of Paris itfelf appears to be 
much lefs than that of London: no ftreets 
in the former-place exhibit fuch a crowd- 
ed fcene as Cheapfide, Ludgate-hill, Fleet- 
ftreet, and the Strand. When we made 
this remark to our friend B—, he ac- 
counted for the deception {for fuch it 
probably is) from the {uperior accommo- 
dation which London affords for its foot- 
paflengers:—In Paris there is no feparate 
pavement, fo that there are almoft as’ 
many walkers in the middle of the ftreet © 
as there are on its fides; thus difperfed, 
they appear to be lefs numerous than in 
London, where a foot. man never leaves the 
fide-pavement, except to crofs over the 
ftreet. vee 
‘Chatillon, Saturday, 12.—-It is now 
drawing 
