_Passports procured.--Coins.--Town of
Havre.--Carts.--Citoyen.--Honfleur.--Deserters.--Prefect de
Marine.--Ville de Sandwich.--French Farmers.--Sir Sydney
Smith.--Catherine de Medicis.--Light Houses.--Rafts._
If Havre had been a Paradise, the feelings of restraint would have
discoloured the magic scenery, and turned the green to one barren brown.
As we could relish nothing, until we had procured our release, the first
place we visited the next morning was, once more, the residence of the
municipality, where we found that our worthy friend had previously
arranged every thing to our wishes, and upon his signing a certificate,
that we were peaceable citizens, and had no intention to overturn the
republic, our passports were made out, and upon an exchange of a little
snuff, and a few bows, we retired. The other two englishmen had their
wishes gratified, by the same lucky incident, which had assisted us.
Having changed our guineas for french money, and as in future, when
money is mentioned, it will be in the currency of the country, it
perhaps may not be unacceptable to subjoin a table of the old, and new,
and republican coins. For every guinea of full weight, which we carried
over, we received twenty-four livres, or a louis d'or, which is equal to
twenty shillings sterling, of course we lost one shilling upon every
good guinea, and more, according to the deficiency of weight. The course
of exchange and commission, with our country, I afterwards found at
Paris, to be one shilling and eight pence, in the pound sterling,
against us, but the difference will be progressively nearer par, as the
accustomed relations of commerce resume their former habits. I was
surprised to find the ancient monarchical coin in chief circulation, and
that of the republic, very confined. Scarce a pecuniary transaction can
occur, but the silent, and eloquent medallion of the unhappy monarch,
seems to remind these bewildered people of _his_ fate, and _their_ past
misfortunes. Although the country is poor, all their payments are made
in cash, this is owing to the shock given by the revolution, to
individual, and consequently to paper credit.
To comprehend their money, it must be known, although the french always
calculate by livres, as we do by pounds sterling, that the livre is no
coin, but computation.
MONARCHICAL COINS.
GOLD.
_s._ _d._
A louis d'or is twenty four livres french, or 20 0 English.
SILVER.
A grand ecu, or six livre piece, 5 0
An ecu, or three livre piece, 2 6
The vingt quatre sols piece, 1 0
A douze sols piece is twelve pence french, or 0 6
A six sols piece is 6d french, or 0 3
COPPER MIXED WITH SILVER.
A deux sols, or two pence french, and one penny english, is nearly the
size of our sixpence, but is copper, with a white or silverish mixture,
twelve of these make a vingt quatre sols piece, or one shilling english.
They have also another small piece of nearly the same size and colour,
but not so white, and rather thinner, which is one sol and a half, three
halfpence french, or three farthings english.
COPPER.
A sol is like our halfpenny, value one penny french, or a halfpenny
english, twenty-four of these make an english shilling.
A deux liard piece is half a sol french, or a farthing english.
A liard is a farthing french, and of the value of half a farthing
english.
NEW COIN.
A thirty sols piece, is a very beautiful and convenient coin, worth one
shilling and three pence english, having a good impression of the late
king's head on one side, and the goddess of liberty on the other; it was
struck in the early part of the revolution.
REPUBLICAN COIN.
SILVER.
A fifteen sols piece is half of the above and very convenient.
COPPER.
A six liard is a bit of copper composition, such as the fine cannon are
made of, and is worth three sols french, or a halfpenny, and a farthing
english.
A cinq centimes is worth a halfpenny and half a farthing english.
The centimes are of the value of half farthings, five of which are equal
to the last coin, they are very small and neat.
An early knowledge of these coins, is very necessary to a stranger, on
account of the dishonest advantages which french tradesmen take of their
english customers.
To return to my narrative: finding ourselves at liberty to pursue our
route, we went from the municipality to the bureau des diligences, and
secured our places in the voiture to Rouen, for the next day.
After this necessary arrangement, we proceeded to view the town, which
is composed of long and narrow streets. The fronts of the houses, which
are lofty, are deformed by the spaces between the naked intersections of
the frame work being filled up with mortar, which gives them an
appearance of being very heavy, and very mean.
The commerce formerly carried on at Havre, was very extensive. There is
here also large manufactories for lace. The theatre is very spacious,
well arranged, and as far as we could judge by day-light, handsomely
decorated. The players did not perform during our stay. In the
vegetable market place, which was much crowded, and large, we saw at
this season of the year abundance of fine apples, as fresh in appearance
as when they were first plucked from the tree.
In our way there we were accosted by a little ragged beggar boy, who
addressed himself to our compassionate dispositions, by the appellation
of "très charitable citoyen," but finding we gave nothing, he
immediately changed it to "mon chère très charitable monsieur."
The strange uncouth expression of citoyen is generally laid aside,
except amongst the immediate officers under government, in their
official communications, who, however, renounce it in private, for the
more civilized title of "monsieur."
The principal church is a fine handsome building, and had been opened
for worship, the Sunday before we arrived: On that day the bell of the
Sabbath first sounded, during ten years of revolution, infidelity, and
bloodshed!!!
The royal arms are every where removed. They formerly constituted a very
beautiful ornament over the door of the hotel of the present prefect, at
the head of the market place, but they have been rudely beaten out by
battle axes, and replaced by rude republican emblems, which every where
(I speak of them as a decoration) seem to disfigure the buildings which
bear them. When I made this remark, I must, however, candidly confess,
that my mind very cordially accompanied my eye, and that natural
sentiment mingled with the observation. The quays, piers, and arsenal
are very fine, they, together with the docks, for small ships of war and
merchandize, were constructed under the auspices of Lewis XIV, with
whom this port was a great favourite.
We saw several groups of men at work in heavy chains. They were soldiers
who had offended. They are dressed in _red_ jackets and trowsers, which
are supposed to increase their disgrace, on account of its being the
regimental colour of their old enemy, the english. When my companion,
who wore his regimentals, passed them, they all moved their caps to him
with great respect.
The town, and consequently the commerce of Rouen, was most successfully
blockaded, for near four years, by british commanders, during the late
war, and particularly by sir Sidney Smith. It was here, when
endeavouring to cut out a vessel, which in point of value, and
consideration was unworthy of such an exposure, that this great hero,
and distinguished being was made a prisoner of war. The inhabitants, who
never speak of him, but with emotions of terror, consider this event as
the rash result of a wager conceived over wine. Those who know the
character of sir Sidney, will not impute to him such an act of _idle_
temerity. No doubt he considered the object, as included in his duty,
and it is only to be lamented, that during two lingering years of
rigorous, and cruel confinement, in the dungeons of the unhappy
sovereign, his country was bereaved of the assistances of her immortal
champion, who, in a future season, upon the shores of Acre, so nobly
filled up the gloomy chasm of suspended services, by exploits, which to
be believed, must not be _adequately_ described, and who revenged, by an
act of unrivalled glory, the long endurance of sufferings, and
indignities hateful to the magnanimous spirit of modern warfare, and
unknown to it, until displayed within the walls of a prussian
dungeon[2].
[2] The cruel imprisonment of la Fayette is alluded to.
I shall hereafter have occasion to mention this extraordinary character,
when I speak of his escape from the Temple, the real circumstances
attending which are but little known, and which I received from an
authority upon which the reader may rely.
This town is not unknown to history. At the celebrated siege of it, in
the time of Catharine de Medicis, that execrable princess, distinguished
herself by her personal intrepidity. It is said, that she landed here,
in a galley, bearing the device of the sun, with these words in greek,
"I bring light, and fine weather"--a motto which ill corresponded with
her conduct.
With great courage, such as seldom associates with cruel, and ferocious
tyrants, she here on horseback, at the head of her army, exposed herself
to the fire of the cannon, like the most veteran soldiers, and betrayed
no symptoms of fear, although the bullets flew about her in all
directions. When desired by the duke of Guise, and the constable de
Montmorenci not to expose her person so much, the brave, but sanguinary
Catharine replied, "Have I not more to lose than you, and do you think I
have not as much courage?"
The walk, through la ville de Sandwiche, to the light houses, which are
about two miles from Havre, is very pleasing. The path lay through flax
and clover fields. In this part of the country, the farmers practise an
excellent plan of rural economy, which is also used in Dorsetshire,
and some few other counties, of confining their cattle by a string to a
spot of pasture, until they have completely cleared it.
[Illustration: _Light-house at Havre_]
Upon the hill, ascending to the cliffs, are several very elegant
chateaus and gardens, belonging to the principal inhabitants of the
town.
Monsieur B----, the prefect de marine, has a beautiful residence here.
We were accidentally stopping at his gate, which was open, to view the
enchanting prospects, which it presented to us, when the polite owner
observed us, and with that amiableness, and civility, which still
distinguish the descendants of the ancient families of rank in France,
of which he is one, requested us to enter, and walked with us round his
grounds, which were disposed with great taste. He afterwards conducted
us to his elegant house, and gave us dried fruit, and excellent
burgundy, after which we walked round the village to the light houses.
From him we learnt, that the farmers here, as in England, were very
respectable, and had amassed considerable wealth during the war. The
approach to the light houses, through a row of elms, is very pleasant;
they stand upon an immense high perpendicular cliff, and are lofty
square buildings, composed of fine light brown free stone, the entrance
is handsome, over which there is a good room, containing four high
windows, and a lodging room for the people, who have the care of the
light, the glass chamber of which we reached, after ascending to a
considerable height, by a curious spiral stone stair case. The lantern
is composed, of ninety immense reflecting lamps, which are capable of
being raised or depressed with great ease by means of an iron windlass.
This large lustre, is surrounded with plates of the thickest french
glass, fixed in squares of iron, and discharges a prodigious light, in
dark nights. A furnace of coal, was formerly used, but this has been
judiciously superseded by the present invention. Round the lantern, is a
gallery with an iron balustrade, the view from this elevation upon the
beach, the entrance of the Seine, Honfleur (where our Henry III is said
to have fought the french armies, and to have distinguished himself by
his valour) the distant hills of Lower Normandy, and the ocean, is truly
grand. It brought to my mind that beautiful description of Shakspeare--
------------------The murmuring surge
That on th' unnumbered idle pebbles chafes,
Cannot be heard so high: I'll look no more,
Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight
Topple down headlong.
We did not visit the other tower, as it was uniform with this. The woman
who has the charge of the light, was very good humoured, and very
talkative, she seemed delighted to show us every thing, and said she
preferred seeing englishmen _in_ her tower as friends, to the view she
frequently had of them _from_ it as enemies, alluding to the long, and
masterly blockade of this port by a squadron of english frigates. She
carried us to her little museum, as she called it, where she had
arranged, very neatly, a considerable collection of fossils, shells, and
petrefactions. Here she showed us with great animation, two british
cannon balls, which during the blockade, had very nearly rendered her
husband and herself, as cold and as silent as any of the petrefactions
in her collection. In this little cabinet was her bed, where amidst the
war of winds and waves, she told us she slept as sound as a _consul_.
In the basins of Havre, we saw several rafts, once so much talked of,
constructed for the real, or ostensible purpose of conveying the
invading legions of France, to the shores of Great Britain. I expected
to have seen an immense floating platform, but the vessels which we saw,
were made like brigs of an unusual breadth, with two low masts. The
sincerity of this project has been much disputed, but that the french
government expended considerable sums upon the scheme, I have no doubt.
I must not omit to mention, the admirable mode, which they have here,
and in most parts of France, of constructing their carts. They are
placed upon very high wheels, the load is generally arranged so as to
create an equipoise, and is raised by an axle, fastened near the shafts.
I was informed by a merchant, that a single horse can draw with ease
thirty-six hundred weight, in one of these carts. These animals have a
formidable appearance, owing to a strange custom which the french have,
of covering the collar, with an entire sheep's skin, which gives them
the appearance of having an enormous shaggy mane.
At night, we settled our bills which amounted to forty livres each. A
considerable charge in this country, but we had lived well, and had not
thought it worth our while, on account of the probable shortness of our
stay, to bargain for our lodging, and board, a plan generally proper to
be used by those, who mean to remain for some length of time, in any
place in France.
[Illustration: _Paris Diligence._]