rent kinds, which had been little used for several
years; one of which we hired from a "magasin des chaises," which
reminded us of the Sentimental Journey, and set out at noon on the 3d,
for Paris, accompanied by a French officer who had been a prisoner in
Scotland, and to whose kindness and attentions we were much indebted.

We were much struck with the appearance of poverty and antiquity about
Calais, which afforded a perfect contrast to the Kentish towns; and all
the country towns, through which we afterwards passed in France,
presented the same general character. The houses were larger than those
of most English country towns, but they were all old; in few places out
of repair, but nowhere newly built, or even newly embellished. There
were no newly painted houses, windows, carriages, carts, or even
sign-posts; the furniture, and all the interior arrangements of the
inns, were much inferior to those we had left; their external appearance
stately and old-fashioned; the horses in the carriages were caparisoned
with white leather, and harnessed with ropes; the men who harnessed them
were of mean appearance, and went about their work as if they had many
other kinds of work to do. There were few carts, and hardly any
four-wheeled carriages to be seen in the streets; and it was obvious
that the internal communications of this part of the country were very
limited. There appeared to be few houses fitted for the residence of
persons of moderate incomes, and hardly any villas about the town to
which they might retire after giving up business. All the lower ranks of
people, besides being much worse looking than the English, were much
more coarsely clothed, and they seemed utterly indifferent about the
appearance of their dress. Very few of the men wore beaver hats, and
hardly two had exactly the same kind of covering for their heads.

The dress of the women of better condition, particularly their
high-crowned bonnets, and the ruffs about their necks, put us in mind of
the pictures of old English fashions. The lower people appeared to bear
a much stronger resemblance to some of the Highland clans, and to the
Welch, than to any other inhabitants of Britain.

On the road between Calais and Boulogne, we began to perceive the
peculiarities of the husbandry of this part of France. These are just
what were described by Arthur Young; and although it is possible, as the
natives uniformly affirm, that the agriculture has improved since