etty quick and
ready utterance of common-place phrases in our language; and he is not a
little proud of his attainments therein. Seriously speaking, I consider him
quite a phenomenon in his way; and it is right you should know that he
affords a very fair specimen of a sharp, clever, French servant. His bodily
movements are nearly as quick as those of his tongue. He rises, as well as
his brethren, by five in the morning; and the testimonies of this early
activity are quickly discovered in the unceasing noise of beating coats,
singing French airs, and scolding the boot-boy. He rarely retires to rest
before mid-night; and the whole day long he is in one eternal round of
occupation. When he is bordering upon impertinence, he seems to be
conscious of it--declaring that "the English make him saucy, but that
naturally he is very civil." He always speaks of human beings in the
_neuter_ gender; and to a question whether such a one has been at the
Hotel, he replies, "I have not seen _it_ to-day." I am persuaded he is a
thoroughly honest creature; and considering the pains which are taken to
spoil him, it is surprising with what good sense and propriety he conducts
himself.

About eleven o'clock, we sprung forward, at a smart trot, towards the
barriers by which we had entered Rouen. Our postilion was a thorough master
of his calling, and his spurs and whip seemed to know no cessation from
action. The steeds, perfectly Norman, were somewhat fiery; and we rattled
along the streets, (for the _chausse_ never causes the least abatement of
pace with the French driver) in high expectation of seeing a thousand rare
sights ere we reached Havre--equally the limits of our journey, and of our
contract with the owner of the cabriolet. That accomplished antiquary M. Le
Prevost, whose name you have often heard, had furnished me with so dainty a
bill of fare, or carte de voyage; that I began to consider each hour lost
which did not bring us in contact with some architectural relic of
antiquity, or some elevated position--whence the wandering Seine and wooded
heights of the adjacent country might be surveyed with equal advantage.

You have often, I make no doubt, my dear friend, started upon something
like a similar expedition:--when the morning has been fair, the sun bright,
the breeze gentle, and the atmosphere clear. In such moments how the ardour
of hope takes possession of one!--How the heart warms, and the conversation
flows! The barriers ar