In a very few days I shall leave this town, and having procured letters
of recommendation from some men of fashion, now in England, to their
friends in _Spain_, I am determined to traverse this, and make a little
tour into that kingdom; so you may expect something more from me, than
merely such remarks as may be useful to you on any future tour you make
in France; I mean to conduct you at least over the _Pyrenean_ hills to
_Barcelona_; for, though I have been two or three times before in Spain,
it was early in life, and when my mind was more employed in observing
the _customs_ and _manors_ of the birds, and beasts of the field, than
of their lords and masters, and made too, on the other side of that
kingdom. Having seen as much of Paris as I desired, some years ago, I
intend to pass through the provinces of _Artois_, _Champaigne_,
_Bourgogne_, and so on to _Lyons_; by which route you will perceive, I
shall leave the capital of this kingdom many leagues on my right hand,
and see some considerable towns, and taste now and then of the most
delicious wines, on the spots which produce them; beside this, I have a
great desire to see the remains of a Roman subterranean town, lately
discovered in _Champaigne_, which perhaps may gratify my curiosity in
some degree, and thereby lessen that desire I have: long had of visiting
_Herculaneum_, an _under-ground_ town you know, I always said I would
visit, if a certain person happened to be put _under-ground_ before me;
but the CAUSE, and the event, in all human affairs, are not to be
fathomed by men; for though the event happened, the _cause_ frustrated
my design; and I must cross the _Pyranean_ not the _Alpian_ hills. But
lest I forget it, let me tell you, that as my travelling must be upon
the frugal plan, I have sold my four-wheel post-chaise, to _Mons.
Dessein_, for twenty-two guineas, and bought a French _cabriolet_, for
ten, and likewise a very handsome English coach-horse, (a little touched
in the wind indeed) for seven. This equipage I have fitted up with every
convenience I can contrive, to carry me, my wife, two daughters, and all
my _other_ baggage; you will conclude therefore, _light_ as the latter
may be, we are _bien charge_; but as we move slowly, not above seven
leagues a day, I shall have the more leisure to look about me, and to
consider what sort of remarks may prove most worthy of communicating
from time to time to you. I shall be glad to leave this town, though it
is in one respect, something like your's,[B] everyday producing many
_strange faces_, and some very agreeable acquaintance. The arrival of
the packet-boats from Dover constitutes the principal amusement of this
town.
[B] BATH.
The greater part of the English _transports_ who come over, do not
proceed much further than to see the tobacco plantations near _St.
Omer_'s; nor is their return home less entertaining than their arrival,
as many of them are people of such _quick parts_, that they acquire, in
a week's tour to _Dunkirk_, _Bologne_, and _St. Omer_'s, the _language_,
dress and manners of the country. You must not, however, expect to hear
again from me, till I am further _a-field_. But lest I forget to mention
it in a future letter, let me refresh your memory, as to your conduct at
Dover, at Sea, and at _Calais_. In the first of these three disagreeable
places, (and the first is the worst) you will soon be applied to by one
of the Captains of the packets, or bye-boats, and if you hire the boat
to yourself, he will demand five guineas; if you treat with another, it
is all one, because they are all, except one, partners and equally
interested; and therefore will abate nothing. Captain Watson is the
only one who _swims upon his own bottom_; and as he is a good seaman,
and has a clean, convenient, nay an elegant vessel, I would rather turn
the scale in his favour, because I am, as you will be, an enemy to all
associations which have a tendency to imposition upon the public, and
oppression to such who will not join in the general confederacy; yet I
must, in justice to the Captains of the confederate party, acknowledge,
that their vessels are all good; _well found_; and that they are civil,
decent-behaved men. As it is natural for them to endeavour to make the
most of each _trip_, they will, if they can, foist a few passengers upon
you, even after you have taken the vessel to your own use only. If you
are alone, this intrusion is not agreeable, but if you have ladies with
you, never submit to it; if they introduce men, who appear like
gentlemen upon your vessel, you cannot avoid treating them as such; if
women, you cannot avoid them treating them with more attention than may
be convenient, because they _are_ women; but were it only in
consideration of the sea-sickness and its _consequences_, can any thing
be more disagreeable than to admit people to _pot_ and _porringer_ with
you, in a small close cabin, with whom you would neither eat, drink, or
converse, in any other place? but these are not the only reasons; every
gentleman going to France should avoid making new acquaintance, at
Dover, at Sea, or at _Calais_: many _adventurers_ are always passing,
and many honest men are often led into grievous and dangerous situations
by such inconsiderate connections; nay, the best, and wisest men, are
the most liable to be off their guard, and therefore you will excuse my
pointing it out to you.
I could indeed relate some alarming consequences, nay, some fatal ones,
which have befallen men of honour and character in this country, from
such unguarded connections; and such as they would not have been drawn
into, on the other side of the "_invidious Streight_." When an
Englishman leaves his own country, and is got no further from it than to
this town, he looks back upon it with an eye of partial affection; no
wonder then, if he feels more disposed to be kind to a countryman and a
stranger he may meet in this.--I do not think it would be difficult to
point out, what degree of intimacy would arise between two men who knew
but little of each other, according to the part of the world they were
to meet in.--I remember the time, when I only knew your person, and
coveted your acquaintance; at that time we lived in the same town, knew
each other's general character, but passed without speaking, or even the
compliment of the hat; yet had we met in London, we should certainly
have taken some civil notice of each other: had the interview been at
York, it is five to one but it would have produced a conversation: at
Edinburgh, or Dublin, we should have dined, or gone to the play
together: but if we had met at Barbadoes, I should have been invited to
spend a month at your PENN, and experienced many of those marks of
hospitality, friendship, and generosity, I have found from the Creoles
in general. When you get upon the French coast, the packet brings to,
and is soon boarded by a French boat, to carry the passengers on shore;
this passage is much longer than it appears to be, is always
disagreeable, and sometimes dangerous; and the landing, if the water be
very low, intolerable: in this case, never mind the advice of the
Captain; his advice is, and must be regulated by his _own_ and his
owner's interest, more than your convenience; therefore stay on board
till there is water enough to sail up to the town, and be landed by a
plank laid from the packet to the shore, and do not suffer any body to
persuade you to go into a boat, or to be put on shore, by any other
method, tho' the _packet-men_ and the _Frenchmen_ unite to persuade you
so to do, because they are mutually benefited by putting you to more
expence, and the latter are entertained with seeing your cloaths
dirted, or the ladies _frighted_. If most of the packet-boats are in
_Calais_ harbour, your Captain will use every argument in his power to
persuade you to go on shore, in the French boat, because he will, in
that case, return directly to Dover, and thereby save eight-and-twenty
shillings port duty. When we came over, I prevailed upon a large company
to stay on board till there was water enough to sail into the harbour:
it is not in the power of the Captain to deceive you as to that matter,
because there is a red flag hoisted gradually higher and higher, as the
water flows into the harbour, at a little fort which stands upon
_stilts_ near the entrance of it. When you are got on shore, go directly
to _Dessein_'s; and be in no trouble about your baggage, horses, or
coach; the former will be all carried, by men appointed for that
purpose, safely to the Custom-house, and the latter wheeled up to your
_Hotel_, where you will sit down more quietly, and be entertained more
decently, than at Dover.