CHAP. IV.JOURNEY TO TOULOUSE.
My stay in Bordeaux was too brief to enable me to acquire any knowledge of this ancient and celebrated city, nor indeed, had it been prolonged, do my inclinations, or powers, qualify me for topographical description; the chief object of the present narrative, being to relate the incidents of a journey, which at the time greatly interested me, and to give as faithful representations of men and manners, as the opportunities which presented themselves, and my personal disadvantages would admit of; in short, to
“Eye nature’s walks, shoot folly as it flies,And catch the manners living as they rise.”
“Eye nature’s walks, shoot folly as it flies,And catch the manners living as they rise.”
“Eye nature’s walks, shoot folly as it flies,And catch the manners living as they rise.”
“Eye nature’s walks, shoot folly as it flies,
And catch the manners living as they rise.”
I was apprised by a porter, at three o’clock, that the voiture was in readiness, and after bustling to be in time, was by no means pleased to find that I had been disturbed an hour too soon; nor was my dissatisfaction diminished, when the porter, by signs, gave me to understand, that I must traverse the greater part of the city with him to the coach-office; it was in vain to remonstrate with a person who could not understand me, and insist upon the fulfilment of my agreement; at length, however,to cut short the argument, my conductor, with a mixture of passion and impatience, seized my portmanteau, and gave me to understand, that I had no alternative but to accompany him, or lose my passage. In fine, I was obliged to submit, and after half an hour’s walk, we reached the voiture in safety. The next measure was to place my portmanteau in security, and which, unless I had interfered, would have been exposed on the outside of the voiture. Travellers in France should always superintend the stowage of their luggage, as it is not unusual to have it stolen from the exterior of the carriage. Dr. O⸺, a gentleman, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in the summer of 1820, at Aix in Provence, in travelling from Lyons to Geneva, lost his trunk, containing valuable collections he had made in Italy, and other property, worth some thousand francs, from the outside of the diligence. He was induced to commence an action against the proprietors, either to stimulate them to recover his property, or to make them compensate his loss; but finding that, after a tedious and expensive process, the utmost he could recover, would be a thousand francs, he thought it most prudent to abandon it.
At length our arrangements being completed, the voiturier made the customary signal with his whip, and we bade adieu to Bordeaux.
One of the earliest, and most obvious attentions of the traveller in a public stage, is to reconnoitre his companions, and endeavour to ascertain whether it be possible to elicit information or amusement from them; the group with which I was now thrown into collision, was not unlikely to be productive of interest; I was soon convinced, from the nature of their conversation, that my companions were not of the genteelest stamp. The women were at home in speaking patois, and the only one who could not join in this, was the person who, I suppose from his wearing a large cocked-hat, had been taken for an officer, but who, I afterwards found, had been a bootmaker in one of Bonaparte’s cavalry regiments.
At ten o’clock we halted, and were regaled with a breakfasta la fourchette, consisting of soup bouillè, ragoûts, roasted fowls, and little birds; the compliments of the table were paid me; my companions did not sit down until I had nearly finished; and the voiturier placed himself by my side, serving me with every dish as it was brought in, and appearing to expect me to partake of all of them. I confined myself chiefly to the soup and rôti; the little birds would have relished well, had not a slice of bacon placed on the breast of each, destroyed their natural flavour.
At one o’clock we recommenced our journey,and at six in the evening, reached our resting place for the night. After a delay of two hours, a profuse supper was served up in regular courses, and concluded by a dessert of grapes, pruins, apples, pears, nuts, and small sponge cakes. I was not a little surprised at their mode of cooking a cauliflower which I had inquired for; after a great many “toute a l’heure’s,” it made its appearance, boiled as soft as batter, and mixed up with oil, vinegar, and pepper, like a salad!
The wine was excellent, and the glass circulated freely. Who thought I, would not travel in a voiture, to live thus cheerily, and at so trifling an expense, for it will scarcely appear credible, that the proprietor had engaged to convey me to Toulouse, a distance of one hundred and twenty-five miles, occupying five days on the journey, and providing me with every necessary, beds included, for thirty-five francs, equal to about five shillings and ten pence English money per day!
Our supper party consisted of nine or ten persons, not indeed of the most select kind, but I had no right to complain, as with a view of avoiding trouble, and imposition, and at the same time, with some prospect of deriving gratification from themelangeof characters I expected to meet with, I had engaged to put up with the general fare.
My companions appeared to enjoy their repast,and every additional glass evidently produced increased animation, as they talked louder and faster. They were, however, particularly attentive to myself, my want of sight probably exciting their sympathy.
At length, fatigued with the scene, I gave them to understand that I wished to retire, and was conducted to a chamber which was furnished with several beds, and had the pleasure of finding the one that had been selected for my repose, good and commodious. But an important dilemma now presented itself: taking thefille-de-chambreby the hand, in order to ascertain that she was carrying the candle away with her, a point I am always particular in attending to, as, when it has been left behind, I have occasionally burnt my fingers, and once even made an extinguisher of my chin; and then making a motion to lock her out, that I might, according to the especial clause in my agreement to that effect, appropriate the room entirely to myself, I was surprised to find her as strenuously oppose this measure, as most of the fair sex, I have no doubt, would an attempt to lock them in. It was useless endeavouring to comprehend her meaning, and only by returning to the supper-room, did I learn, that the room in question, was intended for the accommodation of the whole party. It is not easy to conceive theconfusion which ensued, on my evincing a steady determination not to pass the night by the side of the conducteur, or even the ladies of our party; I persisted, however, in my resolution, and folding my arms, and closing my eye-lids, reclined, in the posture of repose, in a large easy chair in which I happened to be placed.
At length, the bootmaker’s wife, taking me by the hand, conducted me to a single-bedded room, from which, after having assisted in my arrangements, and warmed my bed, she permitted me to lock her out.
I cannot but express myself grateful, for the interest this kind-hearted woman evinced in my favour, on the present occasion; but this is not the only time, that I have been indebted for support and success, to a fair advocate.
At four in the morning we were summoned by the conducteur, and the soldier’s wife kindly came to assist me down stairs. The party were assembled in the parlour, and fortifying themselves, against the fatigues of the day, with bread and brandy, but I gave the preference to some grapes. At eleven, we halted for breakfast, and, according to the usual custom, rested two hours in the middle of the day; after this we pursued our journey, the conducteur mounting under cover in front of the voiture, to protect him from the rain, whichwas falling heavily. About three o’clock, while proceeding so quietly, that it might almost be presumed, that not only the conducteur and his passengers, but the horses themselves were fast asleep, we were aroused by the very interesting incident of our whole equipage, including the horses, being overturned into a deep ditch. I shall not attempt to describe the noise and confusion which succeeded; the party were almost frantic with terror; at length, having succeeded in extricating ourselves from this unpleasant situation, I was placed for shelter under a large tree, while the rest assisted the conducteur in raising up the coach and horses. This operation took up half-an-hour, during which, I could hear our guide contributing abundantly, both with his whip and imprecations.
Fortunately no serious injury was sustained, and I felt strong reason to congratulate myself, for I had heard in the morning, that we were to cross the Garonne this afternoon, and my first impression was, that we were falling into this river; nor had I forgotten my adventures on the Dordogne.
The carriage being at length righted, the conducteur urged forward his jaded horses with little mercy, probably stimulated by revenge for the late occurrence, which was mainly attributable to his own negligence. At six o’clock we crossed the Garonne, and in consequence of delays and accidents,did not arrive at ouraubergeuntil eight o’clock, when we dispatched a hasty supper, and retired to bed. I here found the advantage of my resolution on the preceding evening, having an undisputed bed-room to myself.
We resumed our journey at the usual hour in the morning. Before we set out, the conducteur requested me to advance him a part of his fare, and which I believe is usual, if not generally necessary, as these people are so miserably poor, that, otherwise, they would be unable to bear the unavoidable expenses of the journey; but in my case, as it was agreed that he should be paid by my banker, on my safe arrival at Toulouse, he had no right to expect the indulgence. This arrangement had been adopted from my wish to have it supposed that I was travelling without money, notwithstanding, I had the precaution, as a resource against accidents, not only to have a few napoleons in my portmanteau, but also some in a girdle round my waist, so that I had a double chance of not being left destitute.
In the present case, in order to put this surly fellow into good humour, I thought well to advance him a couple of five franc pieces, but without producing the effect I had anticipated; for finding myself suffering from headach, which I attributed to want of due exercise, I made signs for him tohalt, while I might get out of the coach, with the intention of walking for a time; he only, however, replied, with much coolness, “toute a l’heure;” and notwithstanding my repeated request, was quite indisposed to accommodate me, until I manifested my intention of jumping out: he now thought well to stop his horses, and proffer his assistance; however, I refused it, and succeeded in finding the back part of the coach, where I secured my hold by means of a piece of cord (which when travelling I make a rule to carry always in my pocket), and which, in the present instance, served me as a leading string; I then followed, in this way, on foot for several miles, to the no small amusement of the villagers, who laughed heartily, and even shouted after me. I had, however, the satisfaction of getting rid of my headach, and succeeded in completely tiring myself. We did not reach our breakfast point before two o’clock, and proceeding again at four, arrived proportionately late at the end of the day’s journey.
The succeeding morning proved remarkably fine, and we prosecuted our journey with additional pleasure. I found the conducteur more humble, and my companions, in general, more attentive to me than usual. The advantage I had derived from exercise on the preceding day determined me to walk again, and the bootmaker civilly offeredme his arm. After proceeding some distance, he proposed entering a wine-shop, to which I assented; we tried three, however, before we found any wine to our taste: in consequence of the time thus lost, the voiture got considerably the start of us, so that we were obliged to exert ourselves to regain it.
On producing our wine, the provision-bags were also brought forward; we became merry as gypsies, and my cocked-hat friend particularly facetious. Soon after one o’clock, we arrived, in high glee, at our breakfasting-place, where we found a voiture full of students, on their way to the university of Toulouse. These young gentlemen paid me a marked attention during our repast, assisting me liberally to the produce of the table, and replenishing my glass before it was empty. When the voiture was ready, I walked forward with the soldier’s wife, who appeared a far more respectable woman, than from her situation in life might have been expected. I now learnt, partly by words, and partly by signs, the situation and circumstances of her husband; that subsequently to the peace, he had attempted to support himself in Germany by his trade; but difficulties arising, he was removing to Toulouse, her native place, in hopes of proving more successful.
In the course of our walk, we ascended aconsiderable hill, from which, my companion informed me, the prospect was most extensive and beautiful. The air at this spot I found so soft, balmy, and exhilarating, that I felt assured I had now reached the south of France. After crossing a river, at seven o’clock we reached our quarters for the evening. The students had preceded us, and in consequence of their occupying the attention of the house, we had to wait a long time for our supper.
On the following morning we resumed our journey in high spirits, from the prospect of arriving at Toulouse in the evening. We reached Agen for breakfast, which I understood to be a very fine city: I was at this place so much charmed with the manners and attentions of some young ladies at the inn, that I admit I did not depart without regret. Had I the same talents for acquiring languages, as Joseph Scaliger, who was a native of this place, possessed, I might by this time have known sufficient of the French to have benefitted by the agreeable conversation of these ladies. At six in the evening we entered Toulouse, and were set down at a miserable inn, termed the Three Mules.
While our supper was getting ready, I went, under protection of the soldier’s wife, to call upon Mrs. W⸺, a lady who had kindly offered to assistin procuring me a reception, for the winter, in some respectable French family. I was fortunate enough to find her at home; when she expressed much surprise at the manner in which I had travelled so far, and informed me, that preparatory arrangements had been made for my residence in the family of Colonel du B⸺. In returning to the inn we experienced some embarrassment; for my conductress had been so long absent from her native city, that we had much difficulty, in consequence of the narrowness and intricacy of the streets, in finding our way back to the inn.
After supper I was conducted to one of the most comfortless rooms that could be imagined; every thing felt so damp, so antiquated, and dusty: some of the chairs were without legs, others without backs; and the windows were broken: but as there was no remedy, I was obliged to make the best of it, and congratulated myself on having reached my destined winter residence, and thus far, negatived the doubts, and kind apprehensions of my friends.