Father, Sir John T. Stanley, Bart._

ROUEN, _June 11, 1802_.

MY DEAR FATHER,--You have already heard that I arrived here, & have been
fortunate in every thing since I left England. Our passage from Brighton
to Dieppe was short and pleasant, and so was our stay at Dieppe, which
we left the morning after we arrived in it. I never saw France before
the Revolution, & therefore cannot judge of the Contrasted appearance of
its towns, but this I can safely say, that I never before saw such
strong marks of Poverty both in the houses & Inhabitants. I have as yet
seen nothing like a Gentleman; probably many may affect the dress and
manners of the lower Orders, in order to screen themselves & may
consider that an outward show of Poverty is the only way of securing
what Riches they have. I can conceive nothing so melancholy.

When I saw fine seats without Windows or with shattered Roofs, &
everywhere falling to decay, I could not help thinking of their
unfortunate Owners, who, even if they were lucky enough to be reinstated
in their possessions, might fear to repair their Places, lest an
Appearance of comfort might tempt the Government to seize their Effects.
The only Buildings at all tolerable are the Barracks, which in general
are large and well taken care of, & plenty of them there are in every
town and village. Every Person is here a Soldier, ready to turn out at a
moment's warning. This Town is in a flourishing State at present, tho'
during the war not a single ship made its appearance in its Ports; now
there are a great number of Vessels, chiefly Dutch. The Trade is Cotton,
for the Manufactory of Stuffs and Handkerchiefs. It is said to be one of
the dearest towns in France; certainly I have not found things very
cheap. We were at the Play last night. An Opera called "La Dot," and an
after piece called "Blaise & Bullet" were performed. The Actors were
capital, at Drury Lane they could not have acted better. The House is
very large for a Country Theatre and very pretty, but so shockingly
filthy and offensive, that I wondered any Person could go often, but
habit, I suppose, reconciles everything. There were a great many
officers in the Boxes, a haughty set of beings, who treat their
Compatriotes in a very scurvy way. They are the Kings of the place and
do what they please. Indeed, we had a fine Specimen of Liberty during
the Performances. An Actress had been sent to Rouen from Paris, a
wretched Performer she was, but from Par