the cross roads are absolutely impassable to carriages of every
description, except the common carts of the country.--There is nothing
in which England has a more decided superiority over France than in the
facility of communication between its different towns; and there is also
nothing which more decidedly marks a superiority of civilization.
English travellers, who usually roll on the beaten track to and from the
capital, return home full of praises of the French roads; but were they
to attempt excursions among the country-towns and villages, their
opinion would be wofully altered.--The forest of Feuillee extends about
four leagues on each side of the road, between Rouen and Gournay. It
adds little to the pleasantness of the ride: the trees are planted with
regularity, and the side-branches are trimmed away almost to the very
tops. Those therefore who expect overhanging branches, or the green-wood
shade, in a French forest, will be sadly disappointed. On the contrary,
when the wind blows across the road, and the sun shines down it, such a
forest only adds to the heat and closeness of the way.

The country around Gournay is characterized by fertility and abundance;
yet, in early times, the rich valley in which it is situated, was a
dreary morass, which separated the Caletes from the Bellovacences. A
causeway crossed the marshes, and formed the only road of communication
between these tribes; and Gournay arose as an intermediate station.
Therefore, even prior to the Norman aera, the town was, from its
situation, a strong hold of note; and under the Norman dukes, Gournay
necessarily became of still greater consequence, as the principal
fortress on the French frontier; but the annexation of the duchy to the
crown of France, destroyed this unlucky pre-eminence; and, at present,
it is only known as a great staple mart for cheese and butter. Nor is
it advantageously situated for trade; as there is no navigable river or
means of water-carriage in its vicinity. The inhabitants therefore look
forward with some anxiety to the completion of the projected canal from
Dieppe.

Gournay is a small, clean, and airy place. The last two circumstances
are no trifling recommendation to those who have just escaped from the
dirt and closeness of Rouen. Its streets are completely those of a
country town: the intermixture of wood and clay in the houses gives them
a mean aspect, and there are scarcely two to be found alike, either in
size, sh