Chapter 15

From _St. George_ to _Macon_ is five leagues. Nothing on earth can be more beautiful than the face of this country, far and near. The road lies over a vast and fertile plain, not far distant from the banks of the _Soane_ on one side, and adorned with mountains equally fertile, and beautiful, on the other. It is very singular, that all the cows of this part of the country are white, or of a light dun colour, and the dress of all the _Maconoise_ peasants as different from any other province in France, as that of the Turkish habit; I mean the women's dress, for I perceived no difference among the men, but that they are greater clowns, than any other French peasants. The women wear a broad bone lace ruff about their necks, and a narrow edging of the same sort round their caps, which are in the form of the charity girls' caps in England; but as they must not bind them on with any kind of ribband, they look rather _laid upon_ their heads, than _dressed upon them_; their gowns are of a very coarse light brown woollen cloth, made extremely short-waisted, and full of high and thick plaits over the hips, the sleeves are rather large, and turned up with some gaudy coloured silk; upon the shoulders are sewed several pieces of worsted livery lace, which seem to go quite under their arms, in the same manner as is sometimes put to children to strengthen their leading-strings; upon the whole, however, the dress is becoming, and the very long petticoat and full plaits, have a graceful appearance.

At _Lyons_ I saw a _Macinoise_ girl of fashion, or fortune, in this dress; her lace was fine, her gown silk, and her shoulder-straps of silver; and, as her head had much more of the _bon gout_ than the _bon ton_, I thought her the most inviting object I had seen in that city, my delicate landlady at _Nismes_ always excepted. I think France cannot produce such another woman _for beauty_ as _Madame Seigny_.

I bought a large quantity of the _Macon_ lace, at about eight-pence English a yard, which, at a little distance, cannot easily be distinguished from fine old _pointe_.

Between _St. George_ and _Macon_, at a time we wanted our breakfast, we came to a spot where two high roads cross each other, and found there a little _cabbin_, not unlike the Iron House, as to whim, but this was built, sides, top, and bottom, with sawed boards; and as a little bit of a board hung out at the door informed us they sold wine, I went in, and asked the mistress permission to boil my tea-kettle, and to be permitted to eat our breakfast in her pretty _cabbin_? The woman was knitting; she laid down her work, rose up, and with the ease and address of a woman of the first fashion, said we did her honour, that her house, such as it was, and every thing in it, were at our service; she then sent a girl to a farmer's hard by, for milk, and to a village a quarter of a league distant, for hot bread; and while we breakfasted, her conversation and good breeding made up a principal part of the _repas_; she had my horse too brought to the back part of her _cabbin_, where he was well fed from a portable manger. I bought of her two bottles of white wine, not much inferior to, and much wholesomer than, Champaigne, and she charged me for the whole, milk, bread, fire, _conversation_, and wine, thirty six _sols_, about seventeen pence English! Though this gentlewoman, for so I must call her, and so I believe she is, lived in such a small hut, she seemed to be in good circumstances, and had _liqueurs_, tea, and a great variety of _bons choses_ to sell. This was the only public house, (if it maybe called by that name,) during my whole journey _out_ and _in_, where I found perfect civility; not that the publicans in general have not civility _in their possession_, but they will not, either from _pride_ or _design_, _produce it_, particularly to strangers. My _wooden-house landlady_ indeed, was a prodigy; and it must be confessed, that no woman of the lower order in England, nor even of the middling class, have any share of that ease and urbanity which is so common among the lower order of the _people_ of this kingdom: but the woman I now speak of, had not, you will perceive, the least design even upon my purse; I made no previous agreement with her for my good fare, and she scorned to take any advantage of my confidence; and I shewed my sense of it, by giving her little maid eight times more than she ever received for such services before--an English shilling.

Let not this single, and singular woman, however, induce you to trust to the confidence of a French _aubergiste_ especially a _female_; you may as well trust to the conscience of an itinerant Jew. Frenchmen are so aware of this, that have heard a traveller, on a _maigre_ day, make his bargain for his _aumlet_ and the number of eggs to be put in it, with an exactness scarce to be imagined; and yet the upshot was only two pence English.

The easy manner in which a French officer, or gentleman, can traverse this mighty kingdom, either for pleasure or business, is extremely agreeable, and worthy of imitation among young British officers.--In England, if an Ensign of foot is going a journey, he must have two horses, and a groom, though he has nothing but a regimental suit of cloaths, and half a dozen shirts to carry; his horses too must _set both ends well_ because he is a _Captain_ upon the road! and he travels at about five times the expence of his pay.

The French officer buys a little _biddet_, puts his shirts and best regimental coat into a little _portmanteau_, buckles that behind his saddle, and with his sword by his side, and his _croix_ at his button-hole, travels at the expence of about three shillings a day, and often less, through a kingdom where every order of people shew him attention, and give him precedence.

I blush, when I recollect that I have _rode_ the risque of being wet to the skin because I would not _disgrace my saddle_, nor load my back with a great coat; for I have _formerly_, as well as _latterly_, travelled without a servant.

I have a letter now before me, which I received a few days ago from a French Captain of foot, who says, _sur le champ j'ay fait seller ma petite Rossinante (car vous scavez que j'ay achete un petit cheval de 90 livres selle et bride) et me voila a Epernay chez Monsieur Lechet_, &c. This gentleman's whole pay does not amount to more than sixty pounds a year, yet he has always five guineas in his pocket, and every convenience, and some luxuries about him; he assists now and then an extravagant brother, appears always well dressed; and last year I bought him a ticket in the British lottery: he did not consider that he employed an unfortunate man to buy it, and I _forgot_ to remind him of it.

After saying thus much of a virtuous young man (_though a Frenchman_) there will be no harm in telling you his name is _Lalieu_, a Captain in the regiment _du Maine_.--Before I took my last leave of him, talking together of the horrors of war, I asked him what he would do if he were to see me _vis-a-vis_ in an hostile manner? He embraced me, and said, "turn the but end of my fusee towards you, my friend." I thank God that neither his _but-end_, nor my _muzzle_ can ever meet in that manner, and I shall be happy to meet him in any other.

_P.S._ I omitted to say, that the _Maconoise_ female peasants wear black hats, in the form of the English straw or chip hats; and when they are tied on, under the chin, it gives them with the addition of their round-eared laced cap, a decent, modest appearance which puts out of countenance all the borrowed plumage, dead hair, black wool, lead, grease, and yellow powder, which is now in motion between _Edinburgh_ and _Paris_.

It is a pity that pretty women, at least, do not know, that the simplicity of a Quaker's head-dress, is superior to all that art can contrive: and those who remember the elegant _Miss Fide_, a woman of that persuasion, will subscribe to the truth of my assertion. And it is still a greater pity, that plain women do not know, that the more they adorn and _artify_ their heads, the more conspicuous they make their natural defects.