The next town of any note is _Sens_, a large, _ragged_, ancient city;
but adorned with a most noble Gothic cathedral, more magnificent than
even that of _Rheims_, and well worthy of the notice of strangers; it is
said to have been built by the English: With the relicks and
_custodiums_ of the host, are shewn the sacerdotal habits, in which
Archbishop _Becket_ (who resided there many years) said mass, for it was
his head-quarters, when he _left_ Britain, as well as _Julius Cæsar_'s
before he went there. The silver hasps, and some of the ornaments of
these garments, are still perfect, though it has undergone so many
darnings, as to be little else.
_Becket_ was a very tall man; for though it has many tucks in it, yet it
is generally too long for the tallest priest in the town, who
constantly says mass in it on _St. Thomas_'s day.
How times and men are changed! This town, which resisted the arms of
_Cæsar_ for a considerable time, was put in the utmost consternation by
_Dr. Smollett_'s causing his travelling blunderbuss to be only fired in
the air, a circumstance "which greatly terrified all the _petit monde!_"
It is very singular, that the Doctor should have frightened a French
nobleman of _Burgundy_, by shaking his cane at him, and even made him
assist in the most servile offices; and in the next town, terrify all
the common people, by only firing a blunderbuss in the air!
I would not willingly arraign a dead man with telling two fibbs so close
upon the back of each other; but I am sure there was but that single
French nobleman, in this mighty kingdom, who would have submitted to
such insults as the Doctor _says_ he treated him with; nor any other
town but _Sens_, where the firing of a gun would have so terrified the
inhabitants; for, drums, guns, and noise of every sort, seem to afford
the common French people infinite pleasure.
I spent in this town a day or two, and part of that time with a very
agreeable Scotch family, of the name of _Macdonald_, where Lieutenant
Colonel _Stuart_ was then upon a visit.
I have some reason to think that _Sens_ is a very cheap town. Several
English, Scotch, and Irish families reside in it.
From _Sens_ to _Port sur Yonne_ is three leagues, and from _Yonne_ to
_Foussart_ the same distance.
At the three Kings at _Foussart_, suspecting there was a cat behind the
bed in wait for my bird, I found, instead thereof, a little _narrow
door_, which was artfully hid, and which opened into another room; and
as I am sure the man is a cheat, I suspect too, that upon a _good
occasion_, he would have made some _use_ of his little door.
_Foussart_ is a small place, consisting only of three or four public
houses. From thence to _Morret_, is three leagues, on which road is
erected a noble pillar of oriental marble, in memory of the marriage of
_Lewis_ the XVth. Soon after we passed this monument, we entered into
the delightful forest of _Fontainbleau_; and passing three leagues to
the center of it, we arrived at that ancient royal palace: it stands
very low, and is surrounded by a great many fine pieces of water, which,
however, render the apartments very damp. The King and royal family had
been there six weeks, and were gone but ten days, and with them, all the
furniture of the palace was also gone, except glasses, and a few
pictures, of no great value. In a long, gallery are placed, on each
side of the wall, a great number of stags' heads, carved in wood, and
upon them are fixed the horns of stags and bucks, killed by the late,
and former Kings; some of which are very _outre_, others singularly
large and beautiful.
_Fontainbleau_ is a good town, stands adjacent to the palace; and as the
gardens, park, &c. are always open, it is a delightful summer residence.
We staid a few days there, to enjoy the shady walks, and to see the
humours of a great annual fair, which commenced the day after we
arrived. All sorts of things are sold at this fair; but the principal
business is done in the _wine way_, many thousand pieces of the inferior
Burgundy wine being brought to this market.
We made two little days' journey from _Fontainbleau_ to _Paris_, a town
I entered with concern, and shall leave with pleasure.--As I had
formerly been of some service to _Faucaut_ who keeps the _Hotel
d'York_, when he lived in _Rue de Mauvais Garçon_ I went to this
_famous Hotel_, which would have been more in character, if he had given
it the name of his former street, and called it, _L'Hotel de Mauvais
Garçon_ for it is an hospital of bugs and vermin: the fellow has got the
second-hand beds of _Madame Pompadour_, upon his first floor, which he
_modestly_ asks thirty _louis d'ors_ a month for! All the rest of the
apartments are pigeon-holes, filled with fleas, bugs, and dirt; and
should a fire happen, there is no way of escaping. Nothing should be
more particularly attended to in _Paris_ than the security from fire,
where so many, and such a variety of strangers, and their servants, are
shut up at night, within one _Porte Cochere_.