THENARRATIVE,&c.CHAP. I.DEPARTURE FROM ENGLAND, AND JOURNEY TO PARIS.
My friends expressed considerable surprise, when I announced my actual determination to undertake a continental tour, and I believe many of them, to the last moment, were inclined to doubt whether I seriously intended it; they did not fail to question how I proposed, with my personal defects, to make progress through a strange country, unaccompanied by even a servant to assist and protect me, and with an almost total ignorance of the languages of the various people I was about to visit. I urged in reply, that the experience of more than twenty years, during which I had been, as it were, a citizen of the world, and a great part of which had been spent in foreignclimes, would be sufficient to direct me through the common occurrences and incidents, to which the traveller is exposed; that for the rest, I was content to leave it to God, upon whose protection, in the midst of dangers, I had the most implicit reliance, and under whose providential guidance, I doubted not to attain the completion of the various objects of my journey, remembering, as Cowper happily expresses it, that
“To reach the distant coast,The breath of Heaven must swell the sail,Or all our toil is lost.”
“To reach the distant coast,The breath of Heaven must swell the sail,Or all our toil is lost.”
“To reach the distant coast,The breath of Heaven must swell the sail,Or all our toil is lost.”
“To reach the distant coast,
The breath of Heaven must swell the sail,
Or all our toil is lost.”
It may be difficult to say, under what description of traveller I proposed to class myself. Sterne enumerates the following species of the wandering tribe. “Idle travellers; inquisitive travellers; lying travellers; proud travellers; vain travellers; splenetic travellers; travellers of necessity; the delinquent and felonious traveller; the unfortunate and innocent traveller; the simple traveller; and last of all (if you please), the sentimental traveller.” Now I do not think any of these titles strictly applicable to myself; I shall not, however, attempt to determine the point, but leave it to the courteous reader to apply that which he may consider most appropriate.
I reached Dover on the evening of the 14th of October, 1819, and on the following morning embarkedwith a fair wind for Calais. This day is the more remarkable to me, as being, in addition to the present incident, the anniversary of my birth, as well as the same day of the year in which, after my loss of sight, I first set out for Edinburgh, to commence a course of studies at that celebrated university. In little more than three hours we arrived off the harbour of Calais, when the tide not answering for our making the pier, a boat came out for the mail, and I availed myself of the opportunity of going on shore; for this earlier accommodation I was charged five francs, a sum nearly equal to half the fare across the channel.
Behold me, then, in France! surrounded by a people, to me, strange, invisible, and incomprehensible; separated from every living being who could be supposed to take the least interest in my welfare, or even existence; and exposed to all the influence of national prejudice, which is said to prompt this people to take every advantage of their English neighbours. To counteract these disadvantages, I had nothing but the common feelings of humanity, assisted by the once boastedpolitesseof the great nation, and which might be expected to operate in favour of an afflicted stranger.
My commencement however proved auspicious, for I found an Englishvalet-de-place, orcommissionaire,on the pier, who assisted me through the ceremonials of the Custom-house, where they did me the favour to take two francs as a remuneration for their trouble in inspecting my luggage. He then conducted me to the Grand Cerf Hotel; and after I had taken refreshment, went with me to facilitate my inquiries respecting the diligences to Paris, for which place I proposed setting off on the following morning. After this, we extended our walk through the town, and visited the ramparts and banks of the canal to St. Omer.
On returning to the Hotel, I partook for the first time of a French dinner; and, the commissionaire having left me, had the advantage of being waited upon by Paul thegarçon, who did not understand one word of English; I had no little difficulty in getting through the routine of this important repast. Afterward I repeated my walk through the town, and on my return was surprised to learn that a person had been enquiring for me. It proved to be the waiter of the Hotel where I had breakfasted at Dover, who had crossed the channel in pursuit of a French gentleman who had taken his breakfast at the same table with me, and whom a friend of mine had endeavoured to interest in my favour. This gentleman had received from the waiter a ten pound note in exchange instead of a smaller one, and the latterwas anxious to recover his lost property. I was sorry that I could give him no satisfactory information, for notwithstanding he had promised to shew me all possible attention before leaving Dover, and even regretted he could not give me a place in his carriage to Paris, he kept himself quite aloof after getting on shipboard, so that in short I heard no more of him.
In the evening Virginie, thefille de chambre, attended to put me to bed, and appeared literally to have expected to assist in the various operations of disrobing, &c. I was, however, enabled, through the medium of the commissionaire, to assure her, that it was quite unnecessary to give her that trouble. So, dismissing my attendants with the candle, I secured the door, and retired to rest.
In the morning I arose early, and inhaled the fresh breeze upon the pier, a wooden structure, which extends itself for a considerable distance into the sea. At the extremity near the town, is a pillar, erected by the loyal people of Calais, in commemoration of the landing of LouisXVIII.immediately after the first subjection of Napoleon, and near to it a brass plate, with the figure of a foot cast in it, fixed upon the very spot where this monarch first trod the French ground, after so long an absence from hisaffectionatesubjects.
Breakfast was scarcely concluded, when it became necessary to take my place in the diligence for Paris; I occupied a seat in the cabriolet, which, in this coach, was unusually large, being sufficiently commodious to accommodate six persons, and where I had the pleasure of finding two of my countrymen, each with a son, proceeding to some school near Paris.
It may be worth while to mention, that upon the information of my commissionaire, I had paid forty-five francs for my fare. This was indeed the regular charge, but I have found, by taking advantage of certain opposition carriages, the expense might have been materially lessened. One of my companions, in fact, had bargained for forty francs for himself and his son; and the other had secured his two places for thirty-five only.
The usual hour for the departure of the diligence was ten o’clock; but we anticipated this time, and set out at half-past nine, in consequence of its being a fête day, when the gates of the town are closed from ten till noon, during the performance of high mass.
About two o’clock we reached Boulogne, where we dined, and took into our vacant place a journeyman bootmaker, who was going to Paris. We now proceeded without stopping, except to change horses, until midnight, when we reached Abbeville.On arriving at this place, the passengers in the body of the coach, which, cumbrous as it was, had but two wheels, hastily and unexpectedly jumping out, without apprising the cabriolet, the whole weight of ourselves and the carriage was thrown forward, to such excess, upon the backs of the horses, that, unable to sustain the pressure, they sunk under it, and were with difficulty raised again.
We were at this place thankful for a refreshment of cold meat and wine, as we had tasted nothing since leaving Boulogne, except some sour apples, which our young gentlemen had knocked down on the sides of the road; it was necessary, however, to disturb three or four houses before we succeeded in procuring it.
The morning gave us “token of a goodly day.” At eleven o’clock we halted for breakfast at Beauvais, and were apprised that an excellent one,a la fourchette, was prepared at the hotel where our carriage rested; but the party agreeing to give the preference to coffee, the bootmaker offered to conduct us where we should get it both good and cheap. We consented to follow him, and were regaled with a large bowl of coffee, with as much milk, sugar, and toasted bread, as we pleased; for which they charged us at the extraordinary rate of five sous per head.
At noon we pursued our journey, and at seven in the evening arrived at Paris. When the business of the coach was arranged, the conducteur walked with me to the Hotel de Suede, near the Palais-Royal, to which I had been recommended.