518 
plaint lodged againft him; is entitled to a 
penfion of not lefs than 160 nor more than 
200 francs. _ Aftuated’ by” this double 
motive, the poft-boys here are far more 
civil, and lefs diffatished, than they’ are 
in England. 
Dijsn, Dec. 13.—We feem to have 
taken Jeave of ‘the  vine-coveted hills 
and gay regions of France,’ having tra- 
velled this day a much morerocky, moan- 
tainous, and uncultivated region, than 
any we had hitherto paffed: with fix 
horles, we have not been able to averag 
f5ur ‘miles and a halfan hour!» That it 
fhould not be the fafhion ‘here to travel 
for mere pleafure, is not to be wondered 
at ? to whatever perfe€tion the arts and 
{ciences may be carried in this country, 
the Frénch are very far behind us in the 
common cenveniences and delicacies of 
life. Aman has very little chance of 
-gecting a comfortable dinner here, unlefs 
he brings his knife in lis: pocket : even at 
Paris, you are not fuppofed to want more 
than one at’a meal, althongh you cannot 
dine without dirtying half-a-dozeh places. 
A knife is never fharpencd from’ the ‘day 
it comes from the cutler’s to’ the day of 
its deftruétion—to wipe it is’ though 
abundantly fuffic:ent: we have frequently 
been ob] fd to call for knives after the 
dinner was brought up. At Chatillon,we 
afked the two girls who were waiting, to 
bring us fome—' 4h, Monfieur! quaire 
couteaux—Out, oui”—and each of them 
immediately pulled out of her pocket two 
dirty well-heated clafp-knives, and, wip- 
ing them with their aprons, with the ut- 
moft good humour offered us the accom- 
modation, which we very gracioufly ac- 
cepted, . 
The French are, in many refpects, a 
very nafty people: their cabinets d’aifance, 
as they are called by a moft violent mif- 
nomer, are of all peftilent places the moft 
horrible and offenfive: a traveller, how- 
ever, may reft perfectly affured, that at 
the end of his day’s journey he will’ find 
plenty “of clean Iinen, comprehending 
fheets, table cloths, napkins, and towels ; 
good bread, good coffee, good milk, ‘good 
wine, and good cookery ; together with 
{prizhily, good-humoured countenances 
among the girls who wait upon him. - 
Our journey this day would have been 
delightful in fummer-time: the road fre- 
quently twined between two friendly 
mountains, and led the eye along a Jovely 
vale, watered by the infant Seine, which, 
like the God of Labours, gives evidence 
of his future firength even in the cradle. 
We have travelled along the banks of the 
An Excur fion throush France to Geneva. 
July 1, 
Seine’ all the way from ‘Parisy and the 
fiream is impetuous wherever we fee it 
yetterday itevidently diminifhed in breadth; 
this morning more fo, and more fo and- 
more fo as we proceeded, and we were 
curious to trace its fourcesyand detect its 
head, which we certainly did»-between 
Chanceaux and St. Seine: within the 
{pace of fix or eight miles, five .hundred 
little nills\ from the . mountains: rippled 
down their fides, “and colle&ted into a 
fiream, which, riotous as it was, appeared 
fo narrow, that’ one might ‘almoft have 
{pvutig over it—this was the Seine. j 
Since our arrival_here; wes have learned 
that 1c is impoflible to proceed to Geneva, 
that much fnow has fallen, from the melts 
ing of which the Lake has overflowed its 
banks, and rendered accefs to it extremely 
Gangerous: thefe fort of tales are-invent- 
ed in order to delay. us : we certainlythall 
not {top'till we are forced tovit. 
Dole, Dec. 1%4.—T really begin, to fuf- 
pect there may be fome truth’ in ourdand- 
lérd’s report: ‘we have hitherto had de- 
lightful weather—clear and. ferene—till 
this morning, when, to our? aflonifhment 
and vexation, the ground was covered with 
fnow! If-the winter fets in, the roads 
muti furely be impaflable; as they are 
every thing but that alreadyseDjon is 
the beft town, except Paris, that we have 
yet feen-: it contains feveral very handfome 
churches, feveral very handfome public 
edifices, and private houfes: the ftreets are 
wider, more airy, and more clean, than 
thofe of any town we have yet entered. 
But as ‘we have no: time for /church-— 
hunting, we fet off as foon as the diurnal 
reparation of our carriage was completed. 
At Auxonne, we croffed the river Saone, 
of which we were informed by the fight of 
feveral hundred gcres of land on our right- 
hand and on our left; which were deluged 
by his overflowing waves: a’noble road, 
fringed with trees, has been thrown up, at 
an immenie expence, and we feemed, like 
the hoft of the Ifrdelites; to be travelling 
on dry land fecurely through «the divided 
waters. be St 
Poligny, Dec. 15.—This little village is 
at the toot of Mont jura, which» we ex- 
pected to have croficd this day: but, on 
our arrival here, an nour ago, we learned 
that the fnow’ was_ drifted on the other 
fide of the mountain, and blocked up the 
road. The Diligence has made three at- 
tempts to reach Geneva, and been “ thrice 
fent' bootlefs home and weather-beaten 
back:”” it is now ftanding in the poft- 
houfe yard, encrufted with»ice, where it 
has been delayed thefe three weeks, » The 
I day 
“we 
