In this city are three very distinct kinds of society. But the order
I shall adopt in the description of each of them must not, in any
way, lead you to prejudge my opinion respecting the rank which they
hold among the French themselves. In this respect, I shall abstain
from every sort of reflection, and, confining myself to the simple
character of a faithful narrator, shall leave to your sagacity to
decide the question.
I shall begin by the society, chiefly composed of the _ci-devant
noblesse_, several of whom, never having quitted France, have
preserved some of their property; and of emigrants, lately returned
to their own country, and who have enough remaining to allow them to
have a household establishment, but in a very modest style indeed,
compared to that which their rank and fortune enabled them to support
before the revolution.
You present yourself at the residence of _Madame la Marquise de
C----_. In the anti-room, you declare your name and quality to the
groom of the chambers. Then, the opening of one or two folding-doors
announces to the mistress of the house, and to the company, the
_quantum_ of the ceremonies which are to be paid to the newcomer.
Keep your eye constantly on the _Marquise_, her behaviour will
regulate yours in regard to the individuals who compose her party. In
the course of conversation, take special care not to omit the title
of the person to whom you address yourself. Such an instance of
forgetfulness savours of a man of the new _régime_. Never pronounce
the new denominations respecting the divisions of the French
territory, the months, the weights, measures, &c. Those words would
draw on you an unfavourable interpretation. If you are inclined to
hear a discussion on the arts and sciences, or on any new discovery
whatever, you seldom find, in these parties, persons who can gratify
your taste; though you may meet with many who, as Locke says, "know a
little, presume a great deal, and so jump to a conclusion."
From the plebeians, whose presence the _ci-devant_ nobles are so
condescending as to endure, much obsequiousness and servility are
required; and it is expected that the distance of rank should never
be forgotten. But the learned or scientific French revolutionist, who
admits no other distance than that between knowledge and ignorance,
not choosing to submit to such conditions, seldom presents himself at
the house of _Madame la Marquise de C----_. However, you will hear
her company speak of the court of France, of the interest which each
individual had there, and also a few anecdotes not uninteresting, and
which will furnish you with some ideas of the brilliant parties there
formed. After this discussion, one will talk to you of his regiment;
another, of his hunting establishment, of his _châteaux_, of his
estates, &c. _Chez Madame la Marquise de C----_, you will find no
inconsiderable prepossession against every thing that is not of the
old order of things, and even some exclusive pretensions to manners
which belong to those only who are real gentlemen. Yet, through all
these absurdities, you will always see good-breeding prevail in this
society, and the disposition which distinguishes a Frenchman from
other polished nations, will here break forth and present itself to
you in a striking manner.
While speaking of the _ci-devant noblesse_, I cannot forbear to
mention the loss which those who had the happiness of her
acquaintance, have sustained by the recent death of Madame DE
CHOISEUL, the relict of the duke of that name, minister to Lewis XV.
Her virtues shed such a lustre round her, that it reached even the
monarch himself, who, when he banished her husband to Chanteloup,
wrote to him: "I should have sent you much further, but for the
particular esteem I have for Madame DE CHOISEUL, in whose health I
take no small interest." This uncommonly-respectable woman will long
be quoted and deservedly regretted, because she was modest in
greatness, beneficent in prosperity, courageous in misfortune, pure
in the vortex of corruption, solid in the midst of frivolity, as
simple in her language as she was brilliant in her understanding, and
as indulgent to others as she was superior to them in grace and
virtue.
I shall next lead you to the house of a _parvenu_, that is, one of
those, who, from having made some successful speculations, and
possessing a conscience not overnice as to the means of fixing
Fortune, is enabled to live in the expensive style of the _ci-devant_
court-lords and farmers-general. A letter changed in the person's
name, not unfrequently a _de_ or a _St._ added, (sometimes both)
puzzles the curious, who endeavour to discover what was formerly M.
_de St. H------_, now in the enjoyment of an annual income of a
hundred thousand francs, or £4000 sterling.
At his house, more than any where else, etiquette is kept up with an
extraordinary minuteness; and evil tongues will tell you that it is
natural for M. _de St. H------_ to remember and avail himself of the
observations which he had it in his power to make in the place he
formerly occupied. Under his roof, you will find little of that ease
and amiableness which are to be remarked in the other societies of
Paris. Each individual is on his guard, and afraid of betraying
himself by certain expressions, which the force of habit has not yet
allowed him to forget. But if you are fond of good music, if you take
a pleasure in balls, and in the company of _femmes galantes_ or
demireps; and even if first-rate jugglers, ventriloquists, and mimics
amuse you by their skilful performances, frequent the house of M. _de
St. H------_, and every day, or at least every day that he is at
home, you will have a new entertainment.
Between the acts, the company make their remarks, each in his own
way, on what they have just seen or heard. Afterwards, the
conversation turns on the public funds. Little is said, however, on
affairs of State, the bankruptcies of the day, and the profit which
such or such a speculation might produce. The ladies, after having
exhausted the subject of the toilet, finish by giving, as an apology
for their own conduct, the charitable enumeration of the peccadilloes
which they fancy they have remarked in other women.
So little am I disposed for gaming, that I forgot to mention
_bouillotte_, _quinze_, and also whist and reversi, which are
introduced at all these parties. But the two last-mentioned games are
reserved for those only who seek in cards nothing more than a
recreation from the occupations of the day. At the others, gain is
the sole object of the player; and many persons sit at the
gaming-table the whole night, and, in the depth of winter even,
never leave it till the "garish sun" warns them that it is time
to withdraw.
I have now only to introduce you at M. _B------'s_, Counsellor of
State. Here you will find the completion of the other two societies,
and a very numerous party, which affords to every one a conversation
analogous to his taste or his means. Refrain, however, from touching
on politics; the French government, still in its infancy, resembles a
young plant exposed to the inclemency of the air, and whose growth is
directed by skilful hands. This government must remove, and even
sometimes destroy every obstacle it meets with, and which may be
prejudicial to the form and direction that it thinks proper to give
to its branches and various ramifications. Beware, above all, of
speaking of the revolution. That string is too delicate to be touched
in regard to certain individuals of M. _B------'s_ party, perhaps
also in regard to himself: for the periods of the calamities which
the French have undergone are still quite recent, and the parts that
many of these persons may have acted, call to mind recollections too
painful, which, for their tranquillity, ought ever to be buried in
oblivion. And, in fact, you will always perceive, in the meetings of
this class, a harmony, apparent indeed, but which, surprises a
stranger the more, as, of all the societies in Paris, it presents to
him the greatest medley in point of the persons who compose it.
In this society you will hear very instructive dissertations on the
sciences, sound literature, the fine arts, mechanics, and the means
of rendering useful the new discoveries, by applying them with
economy to the French manufactories, either public or private: for M.
_B------_ considers it as his duty to receive with distinction all
the _savans_, and generally all those called men of talent. In this
line of conduct, he follows the example set him by the government;
and every one is desirous to appear a Mæcenas in the eyes of
Augustus. In other respects, the house of M. _B------_ will afford
you the agreeble pastimes which you have found at M. _de St.
H------'s_.
In Paris, however, are several other societies which, to consider
them rightly, are no more than a diminutive of those you have just
left; but which, nevertheless, are of a character sufficiently
distinct in their composition to justify their pretensions to be
classed as well as the others. This difference proceeding chiefly
from that of political opinions alone, an acquaintance with the great
societies here will enable you to select those of the middle class
which you may think proper to frequent, according to your taste, or
your manner of seeing and judging of the events of the French
revolution. Yet, you must not hence conclude that the conversation
turns chiefly on that subject in this particular class of the
Parisian societies. They concern themselves less about it perhaps
than the others, whether from the little share they have had in it,
or because they have but very indirect connexions with the
government, or lastly, and this final reason is, I believe, the most
conclusive, because a Frenchman, from the nature of his character,
ends by forgetting his misfortunes and losses, cares little for the
future, and appears desirous to enjoy the present only; following, in
that respect, the precept of La Fontaine:
_"Jouis dès aujourd'hui, tu n'as pas tant à vivre;
Je te rebàts ce mot--car il vaut tout un livre."_
In truth, although, among this people, vexations and enjoyments are
almost always the result of imagination, they have preserved the
remembrance of their misfortunes only to turn to account the terrible
lessons which they have received from them, by adopting, in regard to
the present and to the future, that happy philosophy which knows how
to yield to the circumstances of the moment. This it is (you may rely
on the fact) that has contributed, more than any other cause, to
re-establish, in so short a period, the order and tranquillity which
France presents to the eyes of astonished foreigners. This it is too
that has, in a great measure, obviated the fatal consequences which
their past troubles must have made them fear for a long time to come,
and for which few remedies could be expected, especially when we
reflect on the divisions which the revolution has sown in almost
every family in this country.
P. S. The sound of cannon, which strikes my ear at this moment,
announces the signature of the definitve treaty. In the evening, a
grand illumination will take place to celebrate the return of the
most desirable of all blessings.
"------------O beauteous Peace!
Sweet union of a State! What else but thou
Giv'st safety, strength, and glory to a people?"