THE common people are in general much better clothed than they were
before the Revolution, which may be ascribed to their not being so
grievously taxed as they were. An English Gentleman who has gone for
many years annually from Calais to Paris, remarks, that they are almost
as well dressed on working days at present, as they were on Sundays and
holidays formerly.
All those ornaments which three years ago were worn of silver, are now
of gold. All the women of the lower class, even those who sit behind
green-stalls, &c. wear gold ear-rings, with large drops, some of which
cost two or three _louis_, and necklaces of the same. Many of the men
wear plain gold ear-rings; those worn by officers and other gentlemen
are usually as large as a half-crown piece. Even children of two years
old have small gold drops in their ears. The general dress of the women
is white linen or muslin gowns, large caps which cover all their hair,
excepting just a small triangular piece over the forehead, pomatumed, or
rather plaistered and powdered, without any hats: neither do they wear
any stays, but only _corsets_ (waistcoats or jumps.) Tight lacing is not
known here, nor yet high and narrow heeled shoes. Because many of the
ladies _ci-devant_ of quality have emigrated or ran away, and that those
which remain in Paris, keep within doors, I saw no face that was
painted, excepting on the stage. Most of the men wear coats made like
great-coats, or in other words, long great-coats, without any coat: this
in fine weather and in the middle of summer made them appear to me like
invalides. There is hardly any possibility of distinguishing the rank of
either man or woman by their dress at present, or rather, there are no
ranks to distinguish.
The nation in general is much improved in cleanliness, and even in
politeness. The French no longer look on every Englishman as a lord, but
as their equal.
The inns on the road from _Calais_ to _Paris_, are as well furnished,
and the beds are as clean at present as almost any in England. At
_Flixcourt_ especially, the beds are remarkably excellent, the furniture
elegant, and there is a profusion of marble and of looking-glasses in
this inn. The plates, dishes, and basons which I saw in cupboards, and
on shelves in the kitchen, and which are not in constant use, were all
of silver, to which being added the spoons and forks of the same metal,
of which the landlord possesses a great number; the ladies and gentlemen
who were with me there, going to and returning from Paris, estimated the
value at, perhaps, a thousand pounds sterling. Now, if we allow only
half this sum to be the value, it is, notwithstanding, considerable.
Every inn I entered was well supplied with silver spoons, of various
sizes, and with silver four pronged forks; even those petty
eating-houses in Paris, which were frequented by soldiers and
_sans-culottes_.
There are no beggars to be seen about the streets in Paris, and when the
chaise stopped for fresh horses, only two or three old and infirm people
surrounded it and solicited charity, whereas formerly the beggars used
to assemble in hundreds. I did not see a single pair of _sabôts_
(wooden-shoes) in France this time. The table of the peasants is also
better supplied than it was before the revolution.