travellers have exhausted almost every subject for remark in that great kingdom, his very accurate observation, and peculiar vigour of thought and illustration, would have produced a wonderful work. During his visit to it, which lasted but about two months, he wrote notes or minutes of what he saw. He promised to show me them, but I neglected to put him in mind of it; and the greatest part of them has been lost, or perhaps destroyed in a precipitate burning of his papers a few days before his death, which must ever be lamented: one small paper book, however, entitled "France II.," has been preserved, and is in my possession. It is a diurnal register of his life and observations, from the 10th of October to the 4th of November, inclusive, being twenty-six days, and shows an extraordinary attention to various minute particulars. Being the only memorial of this tour that remains, my readers, I am confident, will peruse it with pleasure, though his notes are very short, and evidently written only to assist his own recollection. Tour in 66 Tuesday, 10th October.-We saw the école militaire, in which one hundred and fifty young boys are educated for the army--They have arms of different sizes, according to the age-flints of wood-The building is very large, but nothing fine except the council-room-The French have large squares in the windows-They make good iron palisades -Their meals are gross 2. "We visited the Observatory, a large building of a great height-The upper stones of the parapet very '[Alluding, probably, to the fine grilles so frequent in France. He had, probably, just seen that of the Hôtel des Invalides, which is one of the finest.— ED.] [The contrary has been the general opinion; and Johnson was certainly a bad judge in that point, if he believed that his own taste was delicate.-ED.] France. large, but not cramped with iron-The flat on the Tour in top is very extensive; but on the insulated part there is no parapet-Though it was broad enough, I did not care to go upon it-Maps were printing in one of the rooms. "We walked to a small convent of the Fathers of the Oratory-In the reading-desk of the refectory lay the Lives of the Saints. 66 Wednesday, 11th October.-We went to see Hôtel de Chatlois, a house not very large, but very elegant - One of the rooms was gilt to a degree that I never saw before-The upper part for servants and their masters was pretty. "Thence we went to Mr. Monvil's, a house divided into small apartments, furnished with effeminate and minute elegance-Porphyry. "Thence we went to St. Roque's church, which is very large-The lower part of the pillars incrusted with marble-Three chapels behind the high altar; the last a mass of low arches-Altars, I believe, all round. "We passed through Place de Vendôme, a fine square, about as big as Hanover-square-Inhabited by the high families-Louis XIV. on horseback in the middle 3. "Monville is the son of a farmer-general-In the house of Chatlois is a room furnished with japan, fitted up in Europe. "We dined with Bocage, the Marquis Blanchetti, and his lady-The sweetmeats taken by the Marchioness Blanchetti, after observing that they [There was neither iron nor wood originally used in any part of the building. An iron rail was afterwards added to the great stairs.-ED.] 2 [This seems to be a mistake; probably for the Hôtel de Chatelet.-ED.] 3 [Of one block.-ED.] 4 [Madame Du Bocage. See post.-ED.] France. Tour in were dear1-Mr. Le Roy, Count Manucci, the abbé, the prior, and Father Wilson, who staid with me, till I took him home in the coach. "Bathiani is gone. "The French have no laws for the maintenance of their poor-Monk not necessarily a priest-Benedictines rise at four; are at church an hour and half; at church again half an hour before, half an hour after, dinner; and again from half an hour after seven to eight-They may sleep eight hours-Bodily labour wanted in monasteries. 66 "The poor taken into hospitals, and miserably kept-Monks in the convent fifteen: accounted poor. Thursday, 12th October.—We went to the Gobelins-Tapestry makes a good picture-imitates flesh exactly-One piece with a gold ground-the birds not exactly coloured-Thence we went to the king's cabinet; very neat, not, perhaps, perfect Gold ore-Candles of the candle-tree-Seeds-Woods -Thence to Gagnier's house, where I saw rooms nine, furnished with a profusion of wealth and elegance which I never had seen before-Vases-Pictures-The dragon china-The lustre said to be of crystal, and to have cost 3,500/-The whole furniture said to have cost 125,000l.-Damask hangings covered with pictures-Porphyry-This house struck me-Then we waited on the ladies to Monville'sCaptain Irwin with us-Spain-County towns all Johnson seems to suggest, that it would have been better bred not to have eaten what was dear; but the want of good-breeding (if any, which would depend on the context) was in alluding to the dearness, and not in eating what was on the table.-ED.] 2 [Who the abbé was does not appear. The two latter gentlemen were probably members of the English Benedictine convent.-ED.] 3 [Perhaps Gagny, Intendant des Finances, who had a fine house in the Rue de Varennes.-ED.] 4 The rest of this paragraph appears to be a minute of what was told by Captain Irwin.-BOSWELL. [And is therefore marked as quotation.—ED.] 6 France. 'beggars—At Dijon he could not find the way to Tour in 'Orleans-Cross roads of France very bad-Five 'soldiers-Woman-Soldiers escaped-The colonel 'would not lose five men for the death of one woman '—The magistrate cannot seize a soldier but by the 'colonel's permission-Good inn at Nismes-Moors 'of Barbary fond of Englishmen--Gibraltar emi'nently healthy; it has beef from Barbary-There ' is a large garden-Soldiers sometimes fall from the 'rock.' 66 Friday, 13th October.-I staid at home all day, only went to find the prior, who was not at homeI read something in Canus1-Nec admiror, nec multum laudo. "Saturday, 14th October.-We went to the house of M. [D'] Argenson, which was almost wainscotted with looking-glasses, and covered with gold-The ladies' closet wainscotted with large squares of glass over painted paper-They always place mirrours to reflect their rooms. "Then we went to Julien's 2, the treasurer of the clergy-30,000l. a year-The house has no very large room, but is set with mirrours, and covered with gold-Books of wood here, and in another library. "At D********'s 3 I looked into the books in the lady's closet, and in contempt showed them to Mr. T[hrale] Prince Titi'; Bibl. des Fées,' and other 1 Melchior Canus, a celebrated Spanish Dominican, who died at Toledo, in 1560. He wrote a treatise "De Locis Theologicis," in twelve books.-Boswell. [He was celebrated for the beauty of his Latinity: "Melchior Canus parlait Latin comme Ciceron."--Vigneul-Marvilliana, v. p. 161.-ED.] [M. de St. Julien, Receveur général du clergé.-Mém. de Bachaumont, v. viii. p. 180.-ED.] 3 [D'Argenson's.-ED.] 4 [The history of Prince Titi was said to be the auto-biography of Frederick Prince of Wales, but was probably written by Ralph, his secretary. See Park's Roy, and Nob. Auth. v. i. p. 171.-ED.] Tour in books-She was offended, and shut up, as we heard afterwards, her apartment. France. "Then we went to Julien le Roy, the king's watchmaker, a man of character in his business, who showed a small clock made to find the longitude---A decent man. "Afterwards we saw the Palais Marchand1 and the courts of justice, civil and criminal-Queries on the Sellette-This building has the old Gothick passages, and a great appearance of antiquity-Three hundred prisoners sometimes in the gaol. "Much disturbed; hope no ill will be 3. "In the afternoon I visited Mr. Freron the journalist-He spoke Latin very scantily, but seemed to understand me-His house not splendid, but of commodious size-His family, wife, son, and daughter, not elevated, but decent-I was pleased with my reception-He is to translate my books, which I am to send him with notes. "Sunday, 15th October.- At Choisi, a royal palace on the banks of the Seine, about 7m. from ParisThe terrace noble along the river-The rooms numerous and grand, but not discriminated from other palaces-The chapel beautiful, but small-China globes-Inlaid tables-Labyrinth-Sinking table*— Toilet tables. [Dr. Johnson is in error in applying, as he always does, the name of Palais Marchand to the whole of that vast building called generally the Palais, which from being the old palace of the kings of France had (like our own palace of Westminster) become appropriated to the sittings of the parliament and the courts of justice; and the Conciergerie of that palace (like the Gate-house of ours) became a prison. The Palais Marchand was only the stalls (like what are now called bazaars) which were placed along some of the galleries and corridors of the Palais.-ED.] 2 [The selette was a stool on which the criminal sat while he was interrogated -questioned by the court. This is what Johnson means by "queries."-ED.] This passage, which so many think superstitious, reminds me of “Archbishop Laud's Diary."-BoswELL. [It, perhaps, had no superstitious meaning. He felt, it would seem, his mind disturbed, and may naturally have been apprehensive of becoming worse.-ED.] 4 [A round table, the centre of which descended by machinery to a lower floor; so that supper might be served and removed without the presence of servants. It was invented by Louis XV. during the favour of Mada.ne du Barri. -ED.] |