of 330 miles, for the sum of 630 francs, or, at our exchange, nearly
L.30. As this bargain was made for us by Mr B----, a French gentleman,
it may afford a good standard for this style of travelling.

We travel at the rate of 10 or 12 leagues a-day; and for invalids or
persons wishing to see the country, this is by far the most pleasant, as
well as the most economical way. There are two other methods of
travelling, namely, _en poste_, which, though rapid, is very expensive;
the charge being, at least a horse, often more, for each person, and
very little baggage being taken; and the other is in a diligence, which,
as it travels night and day, would not do for us. The carriage we now
have is a large and commodious coach, very neat and clean, and we have
three good strong horses. Our journey has as yet been varied by very
little incident. The amusement derived from travelling in a foreign
country, and becoming gradually familiarised to foreign manners,--the
contrast between the style of travelling here, and that which you are
accustomed to in England,--the amusing groupes of the villagers, who
flock out of their houses, to see the English pass,--the grotesque and
ludicrous figures of the French beggars, who, in the most unbounded
variety of costume, surround the carriage the moment we stop,--and the
solemn taciturnity of Monsieur Roger, our coachman, who is an
extraordinary exception to the general vivacity of his nation; these are
the only circumstances which serve at present to exhilarate our spirits,
and to remove the tedium of French travelling.

Between Paris and Montargis, as we travelled during the day, we had a
good opportunity of seeing the country. But we passed through it, to be
sure, at an unfavourable season of the year. The vines were all
withered, and their last leaves falling off. The elm, oak, and maple,
were almost bare. There is not much fine wood in that part of the
country through which we passed; and on the side of the road, there were
many wild and sad looking swamps, with nothing but willow and poplars
docked off for the twigs. The chief produce seems to be in grapes and
wheat; the wheat here is further advanced than between Dieppe and Paris.
The cows are of the same kind, the horses smaller, weaker, and yet
dearer than those of Normandy; the agricultural instruments are massy
and awkward; their ploughing is, however, very neat and regular, though
not deep; their plough here has wheels, and seems