dresses of any other nation in modern Europe. Many of the female fashions are very becoming; and I have seen some girls, so accoutred, who would have excited the praises of admiration even in London or in Paris. In some parts of Switzerland, the women wear large straw hats, ornamented with roses and wild flowers: in others, black beavers, with gold bands. Their hair is sometimes folded in tresses round their heads; sometimes enclosed in plaits, which are so long as to reach their feet; and sometimes covered by a black lace cap of singular shape. Their jackets are of different forms and different colors. A short petticoat here discovers a red stocking, with a wooden slipper; and there, a white one, with a black leather sandal of peculiar form. In short, the In short, the eccentricities of dress are innume rable: and in traveling in this country, a man may easily imagine himself at a masquerade.

"The appearance of the people, with some exceptions, is respectable. There seems still to reign much comfort, independence, and general ease.

"The houses in most of the villages are of wood, and are frequently built without chimneys, the smoke being allowed to make its way through the windows. This is an inconvenience not arising from poverty, for many of the houses so constructed belong to persons in affluent circumstances, and contain rooms of some extent, but occasioned by the prevalence of long usage, which has not yet yielded to the improvements of the present day.

"The Swiss are a tall, athletic, hardy race of men: civil, reserved, and cautious in all their proceedings: much attached to their own

country and customs; zealous advocates of rational freedom; inclined to military exertion; and entertaining a violent antipathy to their neighbours and oppressors, the French nation. Having given them this character, it is almost needless for me to add, that, if France wishes to sink the name of Switzerland into that of a department of the republic one and indivisible,' she can only succeed in her object by superior force: voluntarily this brave people will never become the vassal of that or any other country whatever.

"We strolled yesterday evening, after our arrival at Geneva, accompanied by some American friends, to see the junction of the Rhone and the Arve, which takes place very near the town. This promenade is delightful; and the object which we went to see fully answered our expectation.

"On returning, just before we entered the gates, we found a party of English gentlemen playing at cricket. This sport, new in the country where it was now exhibited, excited no little portion of Ge nevese curiosity.

"As we proceeded towards our inn, we passed by the house where Rousseau was born. It is now a barber's shop, and is a mean shabby building. Over it is written, on a brass plate, Ici naquit Jean Jacques Rousseau.

You will rea

dily believe that I looked on this humble roof with more interest than I have often experienced on viewing the proudest palaces. The birth of genius fully entitles it to the notice and observation of all strangers who have been moved by the animated language or entertained with the eccentricities of that extraordinary man."

ACCOUNT

"AS

"Verdun, Decem. 17, 1803.

S we had but one day more for our specified arrival at this place, and 'twenty leagues to travel, we were obliged to depart at so early an hour as to prevent us from seeing distinctly any part of Châlons, which is a considerable town, and capital of the department of the Marne. The first four posts from thence to Orbeval offered little worthy of remark but the church of a village about two leagues on our journey, whose exterior presents one of the finest examples of the enriched gothic I had ever seen. Tradition, for I have no historical evidence, states it to have been built by the English, when in possession of this part of France; and this circumstance, whether founded in fact or not, rendered it an interesting object to me. On approaching Orbeval we passed the heights of Valmy, from whence the Prussian army, which was supposed to be on its march to Paris to reinstate Louis XVI. on his throne, so unexpectedly retreated in September 1792, and that excellent prince left to fall a sacrifice to the Jacobin faction. The next stage brought us to St. Menehould, the spot in which the king was discovered in his flight from Paris to Montmedi. This sad catastrophe, from which such a stream of horrors has flowed, is too well known for me to repeat its melancholy history. Drouet the postmaster, who made the fatal discovery, is, at this time, the deputy prefect of the place. On descending the heights from St.Mene

8

hould we left the department of the Marne, for that of the Meuse, of which Verdun is a principal town, and proceeded onward to Clermont en Argonne, a place of litttle consequence, but in the road to it the face of the country changed from dreary plains to all the pleasing variety of hill and dale, domes. tic cultivation and forest scenery. This beautiful country, however, did not continue, but that through which we since passed is well cultivated, and appeared to possess a considerable population.

"The day had closed before we reached Verdun, when we stopped at the barrier, and, after our passport had been examined, we were ordered to alight and walk to the citadel; but, from the darkness and rain of the night, were permitted to return to our carriage, which, attended by two soldiers, conveyed us through gates and over draw. bridges to the quarters of the commandant; where we were all examined as to country, age, profession, &c. My portrait was then taken gratis for the third time, and our visit concluded with being informed, that I must not pass the town gates, but might walk on the ramparts: that I must appear at the hôtel de ville every morning at ten o'clock, and repair to my lodg ing every night at the tolling of the great bell of the cathedral. Thus ended our journey to Verdun, where, for the first time, in rather an eventful life, I find myself de prived of my liberty, and confined within the walls of a fortress."

« Verdun,

"Verdun, Decem. 31, 1803. "HAD I written to you under first impressions, I should perhaps have troubled you with little more than an account of my unpropitious journey to this place; no very amusing subject, I assure you: I have therefore waited till I have the satisfaction to inform you that we are settled in a comfortable lodging, with a physician's family, to whom we were recommended from Paris; which, considering there are eight hundred English already here, and more expected, is no trifling acquisition. We have also been able to procure music, drawing, French, and dancingmasters for my daughter. Parisian excellence is not to be expected in Verdun masters: Vestris demanded a louis per lesson for dancing at Paris; here, M. Boriquet, the first professor in the place, humbly asked only ten sous: the drawingmaster, having studied six years at Rome, expects fifteen pence, and for music we are to give a shilling a lesson. Mons. Harpin, the French master, is professor of the belles lettres in the college, and formerly professor of chemistry at the central school of Verdun: he was a priest before the revolution, when, being absolved from his vows, he married; and is now the father of a family. The singing-master has been forty years one of the choristers at the cathedral, a wor. thy old gentleman; who tells us many sad stories of revolutionary phrensy at Verdun: among other wanton sallies, he saw a sacrilegious party enter the church, proceed to the sacred repository of the consecrated wafers for the Eucharist, and give those holy symbols to be eaten by the dogs they had brought in for the purpose.

"We might certainly have been

in a more uncomfortable situation; but, still, it is rather trying to a British spirit to be compelled to appear every morning at the general appel of the English, and at nine in the evening, when the great bell of the cathedral tolls, to be compelled to repair to our lodgings, or be sent to prison. A walk without the gates is at present prohibited; at the same time the promenades within the walls are pleasanter than most of those which I have seen in fortified places. The town stands on very unequal ground: the citadel, cathedral, and episcopal palace, are on the summit of a lofty hill, in the vici nity of shady walks, and fine prospects; particularly from the gardens of the episcopal residence, and the adjacent parade. The bishop's palace, now inhabited by the sous-préfet, and many of the best houses, are situated on the summit of the hill near the cathedral; on its acclivity, and immediately surrounding it, is the rest of the town; which consists of several streets, with many good houses and well-furnished shops; particu larly those selling liqueurs and confectionary, for which Verdun is famous. The convents and numneries, formerly amounting to eigh teen, are all suppressed; and the parish churches reduced from twen ty to three. The lower part of Verdun, where we reside, is pleas ingly diversified with wood and water, fields and gardens. The Meuse flows here through verdant meadows with great rapidity; and in its principal stream and different branches, forms several noisy cascades over the artificial precipices from which it rushes into the town. Here the ramparts are shaded by large trees, and the walks through the meadows planted with

osiers,

osiers, willows, and alders, a scene very unlike the interior of a fortress, and bearing a great resemblance to Dhirboy in the East Indies, where I so long resided among the peaceful Brahmins. Such is the place of our captivity."

"Verdun, Jan. 29, 1804.

"I EMBRACE a safe opportunity to thank you for your letter dated on Christmas day; which I received unopened. What a treasure of kind. ness and comfortable intelligence from our friends and native home! We are here kept in total ignorance of what passes in the political world on both sides of the channel; the newspapers of this country give us no authentic intelligence; and not an English one have we seen since the month of June, except the scurrilous Argus, or London reviewed in Paris; which is printed in English, and published three times a week; but as it is the only vehicle by which we can obtain intelligence of any kind from England, I am among the subscribers to this infamous paper.

"We hear various reports concerning the Verdun captives, who at present amount to near eight hundred, some of whom are daily removing to Biche and Charlemont; but I give such rumour no credit; sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. We continue to be favoured with good health and spirits; my personal restrictions are few; for general Wirion has lately excused me from appearing at the municipality more than once in five days, and given me permis sion to walk or ride out of the gates when I please; but the weather, ever since our arrival, has been too rainy and tempestuous to enjoy

that satisfaction. In the mean time we amuse ourselves as much as we can within the wails: but that you may exactly know our situation, I will give you a short sketch of one Verdun day, which may serve for a general diary, as the days here succeed each other with little variety, except from the hopes, fears, and anxieties, which our peculiar destiny naturally sug gests.

"About nine o'clock, after attending the appel, we breakfast à l'Anglaise. My daughter then attends to her studies. Her mother looks to her domestic engage ments; and my hours pass on in a succession of reading, writing, and drawing. At three my brother joins us on the public promenade, a dry and shady eminence, in the midst of meadows, gardens, groves, water-falls, and rivers, although within the walls of a garrison; we dine together at five, and in the evening are often joined by our English acquaintance, and a very few French visitors. We are happy in a small selection of the former, with whom we can enjoy something of the feast of reason and the flow of soul.' We have here English gentlemen in the ar my, navy, law, physic, and divinity; and many very amiable, as well as highly qualified persons among thern. A large college hall has also been permitted to be commodiously fitted up as a place of public worship, where a numerous congregation assembles every Sunday morning: one of the clergymen has undertaken to perform the sacred offices of our church, and is occasionally assisted by his clerical brethren who are among our fellow-prisoners. The general also, by way of entertaining the English, sent for comedians from Metz; and

the

the theatre at Verdun is now constantly open, either for the comedy or opera: he has also encouraged a subscription-ball, concert, and other amusements; among them I wish I was not under the necessity of adding a gaming-table: these, with many, will certainly render captivity less irksome; but the English and French do not associate well together in their diversions: I think, indeed, the separation is gradually increasing; and if we have no spies among ourselves, we shall perhaps be the happier

"Verdun, Feb. 13, 1804. "I SHOULD Sooner have acknowledged your kind favour accompanying the Henriadę, had I possessed a single topic to render a letter interesting or entertaining. You, who reside in the gay metropolis, have no idea of the monotony which reigns in a fortress cut off from all communication with the rest of the world day succeeds to day without variety, and this scene of dull uniformity is only interrupted by the dreadful anxiety which pervades some minds, when informed that, for the delinquency of a few individuals, who have effected their escape, prisons, dungeons, bolts, and bars, are preparing for their unfortunate countrymen. How ever, as the French papers inform you that we are eating, drinking, dancing, singing, and playing all day long, I will leave you to draw your own conclusions; and assure you that your friends from the Ho

1806.

tel de la Rochefoucault, in whose welfare you so kindly interest yourself, are neither depressed by the rumours of increased severity, nor elated with the hope of a speedy deliverance, reports of which are sometimes circulated among the listening crowds of captives, and cause a momentary gleam of joy to gladden their hearts. The expectation of our freedom has however a very different effect upon the generality of the Verdunois, especially the shopkeepers who are fattening at our expence; having raised the price of their commodities almost double since our arrival: nevertheless, Verdun is altogether a cheap place, as you will readily believe when you have looked over the table accompanying this letter; and on which you may rely, as I took considerable pains to obtain a correct account. It is calculated that the English spend here several thousand pounds a week, which is a gold mine of some consequence to a French provincial town, where not long ago the officers upon garrison duty had a dinner of three removes, a dessert, and a bottle of wine cach, for thirtysix livres per month; and a family could live in a good style, and keep a horse and cabriolet, for an hundred pounds a year. It is not so with the English, though they cannot complain of the charges being exorbitant: our small family, for instance, is comfortably accommodated in a first floor, consisting of four rooms well furnished, together with a coach-house, stables and other conveniences, and are provided with linen, glass, and china-ware, at a guinea a week. We have a plentiful dinner, and drink Champagne and other good wines, at four louis a week: adding two more for fuel, washing, grocery

N

and