his own
apartment. The fille-de-chambre too was handsome and cleanly-looking,
but somewhat more loquacious than a weary traveller required. She
endeavoured to bring me into a conversation on the subject of
Mademoiselle St. Sillery's beauty. The familiar impertinence of these
girls must be seen to be understood. One maxim is universal in
France--that difference of rank has no place between a man and a woman.
A fille-de-chambre is on a perfect footing of equality with a marshal of
France, and will address, and converse with him as such. They enter your
room without knocking, stay as long as they like, and will remain whilst
you are undressing. If you exhibit any modest unwillingness, they laugh
at you, and perhaps two or three of them will come in to rally Monsieur.
I must do them the justice, however, to add, that though their raillery
will be sometimes broad enough, it is never verbally indelicate. There
is less of this in the lower ranks in France than in England. The
decencies are observed in word, however violated in fact.

Nevers is a pleasant town, and very agreeably situated on the
declivities of an hill, at the bottom of which flows the Loire. On the
summit of the hill is what remains of the palace of the ancient Counts;
it has of course suffered much from time, but enough still remains to
bear testimony to its original magnificence. We visited some of the
apartments. The tapestry, though nearly three centuries old, still
retains in a great degree the original brilliancy of its colours: the
figures are monstrous, but the general effect is magnificent. There is a
portrait of Madame de Montespan, the second acknowledged mistress of
Louis the Fourteenth. According to the fashion of the age, her hair
floats down her shoulders. She is habited in a loose robe, and has one
leg half naked. Her face has the French character; it is long, but
beautiful: its principal expression seemed to me voluptuousness, with
something of the haughty beauty. It is well known that her temper was
violent in the extreme, and perhaps the knowledge of this circumstance
might have impressed me with an idea which I have imputed to the
expression of the picture.

The cathedral of Nevers is one of the most ancient in France. About one
hundred years since, in digging a vault, a body was discovered enveloped
in a long robe; some very old coins were found in the coffin, and the
habit in which the body was wrapped was of itself of the most ancient