~ 
14 
fills, whiclr, as far as the eye can reach, 
are covered with an underwood of broom, 
and crowned with a foreft of beech and 
fir-trees. The city ifelf is fmall, and, for 
a French e:ty, tolerably neat: it does not 
appear to poflels many good buildings at 
ptefent; but the ruins of fome goad 
boufes are to be feen! The cathedral, I. 
think, is one of the fineft that we have 
entered: the outfide of the church is ne- 
verthelefs heavy, and, I think, devoid of 
magnificence ; the infide would certainly 
have impreffed me with an idea of noble- 
nefs and grandeur had not fome mifcreant 
ehurchwarden deltroyed the fobernefS and 
violated the foiemnity of its character, by: 
white-wafhing its pillars and its walls !-— 
= have written “till I-am quite tired— 
good meght! We hope to bein the car 
riage to-morrow morning by three o’clock. 
We are not fickle lovers. you fee's but as’ 
the moon fmiled: on usin the lovelinels of 
youth, and imthe fulnefs of beauty, we 
defert her not when life is in the wane, 
‘and. her luftre is fading away. Is the 
omen aufpicious? Bear it in mind, and 
may. it never deceive you! 
Forgny,. Dec. 28.—Laft night I was too’ 
fatigued to. write: we rofé at three in the 
morving, were on the road before’ four, 
and w:th the exception of one half hour, 
which we found it neceflary to allow our- 
felves for breakfaft, ftirred not from the 
earriage till half paft fix at night. The 
length of time, however, during whieh we: 
were encaged, had little to do with the 
fatigue we fuffered : the roads! the roads! 
the roads! In good truth I have almoft 
left the ule of my right arm, which,  at- 
tached to one of the loops of the carriage, 
bore the weight of my body during great! 
part of the day.. We fcarcely travelled 
a-hundred yards without feeling ourielves: 
im very imminent danger of breaking: 
down or of being overturned. The car- 
- riage of M. Perigord, we are told, broke 
down. here the day before yefterday: I 
am glad of it,, and hope from:my heart,. 
ghat the Firft Conful. may be: ferved the 
fame ;.it will give him a good hint for: 
repairing the roads.. But all’s well that 
ends well, and after maiy a hard knock, 
which bruifed us from head to foot, we 
arrived fafe and found at Avalion, though 
none of the party had the flightef difpo- 
fition to eat or drink. ‘This morning, 
however, we rofe again at four o’clock, 
traveiled by the morning moon-light, and 
are now fately houfedat Joigny. 
How is it: poffible fur a man who is 
ccoped in a cazriage day after day, day 
after day, in the depth of winter, from 
An Excurfion through France to Geneva. 
[Febity 
twelve to fourteen hours, to make any re- 
marks, or collect any information worth the 
trouble of noting down in his memoranda. 
We fee nothing, if you will allow me an 
Hibernicifm, but a monotonous variety of 
hill and vailey, wood and water: now and 
then we pafs iull gallop through'a town ; 
F make no attempt at a journal, having 
no one thing in the world to fay, but that 
the country is highly cultivated with vines, 
which appear fo fonrifh’ on every foil. 
The town in which we’ new are is Gtuated 
on the fide of a hill, which reaches down 
to the Yonne, a navigable river, which F 
believe falls into. the Seine. We have 
not beem able to walk about: it was very 
dark and rainy whew we arrived, and, as 
ufual, we fhall be off in the morning very 
early. What nafty places thefe Frenchy 
hotels are! I fhall enjoy a little cleanli- 
nefs and quiet at H £. AES. 
. Paris, Dee. 31.—From Joigny we had 
avery hard day’s work to reach Melwn,. 
where we flept from about half paft eight 
at night till half paft eight in! the mom- 
ing: this was making up for loft times 
At.a little after nine we fet off and reach- 
ed the Hotel: de Vendome at three o’clock 
yelterday. On my return hither I pro- 
mifed to condué you into the: Statue- 
gallery: but it is impoffible,. for our 
horfes are ordered to be at the door by 
feyen to-morrow morning. We have this 
inftant. received our paffports from Mr.’ 
Jackfon, who, not being at home when'we 
called at his hotel, has politely fent them 
to us here. It fhows: this is the fi: ft 
flight that the Parifians have had this 
year! During-our abfence the weather has 
been uniformly mild here. 
Calais, fan. 5, 1802—Thus. far we 
are arrived fafeand found: but very much 
againft my wifes and my hopes weiare 
now detained here by a north-eaft wind, 
which prevents us from getting out of the 
harbour. How provoking this-is! I be- 
lieve truly that I muft' be under the in+ 
fluence of the vulgar laws of gravitation: 
attraction towards home has increaféed, F 
think, as the fquares of my diftance from 
it have diminifhed. The weather has 
been extremely turbulent for fome time: 
two wre. ks"are now within fight from the 
fhore, the fea is very heavy, and we un- 
deritand that the two Jait packets which 
failed from Calais: were biownu ito the 
Downs. To mend the matter, the French 
packets have the reputation of being bad 
failers ; and by a regulation agreed on be- 
tween the two Governments, an Englifh 
Captain can take no paflengers aboard at 
Calais, nora French-Captain at Dover. 
Devers 
