, that the English
Ministry were mad when they attempted any thing against Boulogne. The
harbour appeared to me impregnable. I must confess, however, that the
French appeared to me equally mad, in expecting any thing from their
flotilla. Three English frigates would sink the whole force at Boulogne
in the open sea. The French seem to know this; yet, to amuse the
populace, and to play upon the fears of the English Ministry, the farce
is kept up, and daily reports are made by the Commandant of the state of
the flotilla. There is a delightful walk on the beach, which is a flat
strand of firm sand, as far as the tide reaches. In the summer evenings
when the tide serves, this is the favourite promenade this is likewise
the parade, as the soldiers are occasionally here exercised.

There is a tolerable theatre, but the dramatic corps are not
stationary. They were not in the town whilst I was there, so that I can
speak of their merits only by report. One of the actresses was highly
spoken of, and had indeed reached the reward of her eminence; having
been called to the Parisian stage. Bonaparte is notoriously, perhaps
politically, attached to the drama, and is no sooner informed of any
good performer on a provincial stage, than he issues his command for his
appearance and engagement at Paris.

The principal church at Boulogne is a good and respectable structure,
and I learned with much satisfaction and some surprise, that on the
Sabbath at least it was crowded. The people of Boulogne execrate the
Revolution, and avert from all mention and memory of it, and not without
reason, as their environs have been in some degree spoiled by its
excesses. Several miles on the road from Boulogne, those sad monuments
of the popular phrensy, ruined chateaux, and churches converted into
stables or granaries, force the memory back upon those melancholy times,
when the property and religion of a nation became the but of bandits and
atheists. May the world itself perish, before such an era shall return
or become general!

I had received from an American house in London some bills on a
mercantile house at Boulogne; a very convenient method, and which I
would therefore recommend to other travellers, as they hereby save very
considerably, such bills being usually given at some advantage in
favour of those who purchase them by coin. Bills on Boulogne, Bourdeaux,
and Havre, are always to be had of the American brokers, either in
London or in New York