_Paris, March 28, 1802._
Whatever changes may have been introduced by the revolution, in one
respect at least, the Parisians still preserve towards foreigners
that urbanity for which they were remarkable half a century ago, when
Sterne paid them a visit. If you ask a shopkeeper here, of either
sex, the way to a place, perhaps at some distance, he or she neglects
the occupation of the moment to direct you, with as much solicitude
and attention as though a considerable advantage was to be the result
of the given information. It is the small sweet courtesies of life,
as that sentimental traveller remarks, which render the road of it
less rugged.
Sometimes, indeed, a foreigner pays dearly for the civility shewn him
in Paris; but, in laying out his money, he must ever bear in mind
that the shopkeepers make no scruple to overcharge their articles to
their own countrymen, and some will not blush to take, even from
them, a third less than the price demanded.
Soon after my arrival here, I think I mentioned to you the excessive
dearness of