We had last night a good deal of rain. The weather is completely broken
up, and we are at least three weeks or a month later than we ought to
have been.

* * *

We have arrived at Cosne to-night, (the 11th), after a journey through a
country better wooded, more varied, and upon the whole, finer than we
have seen yet on this side of Paris, though certainly not so beautiful
as Normandy. The road is pretty good, though not paved, excepting in
small deep vallies. It lies along-side of the river Loire, and on each
side, there are well cultivated fields, chiefly of wheat, but
interspersed with vineyards.

For the first time, this day we had a very severe frost in the morning,
but with the aid of the sun, which shone bright and warm, we enjoyed one
of the finest days I ever saw. I sat and chatted with the coachman, or
rather with Monsieur le Voiturier. I led the conversation to the past
and present state of France, and the character of Napoleon, and
immediately he, who till this moment appeared to be as meek and gentle
as a lamb, became the most eloquent and energetic man I have seen. It is
quite wonderful, how the feelings of the people, added to their habits
of extolling their own efforts, and those of Bonaparte, supply them with
language. They are on this subject all orators. He declared, that Paris
was sold by Marmont and others, but that we English do not understand
what the Parisians mean when they say that Paris was sold. They do not
mean that any one was paid for betraying his trust by receiving a bribe,
but that Marmont and others having become very rich under Bonaparte,
desired to spend their fortunes in peace, and had, therefore, deserted
their master. He said that Bonaparte erred only in having too many
things to do at once; but that if he had either relinquished the Spanish
war for a while, or not gone to Moscow, no human power would have _been
a match for him_, and even we in England would have felt this. He seemed
to think, that it was an easy thing for Bonaparte to have equipped as
good a navy as ours. He was quite insensible to the argument, that it
was first necessary to have commerce, which nourishes our mariners, from
among whom we have our fighting seamen. He said, that though _this was a
work of years for others, it would have been nothing for Napoleon_: In
short, he venerates the man, and says, that till the day when he left
Paris, he was the greatest of men. He says, he knows well that there is
s