ness. An Englishman is apt to pronounce
every man a scoundrel, who, in making a bargain, attempts to take him
in; but he will often find, on a closer and more impartial examination,
that the judgment formed by this circumstance alone in France, is quite
erroneous. One of our party entered a small shop in the Palais Royal to
buy a travelling cap. The woman who attended in it, with perfect
effrontery, asked 16 francs for one which was certainly not worth more
than six, and which she at last gave him for seven. Being in a hurry at
the time, he inadvertently left on the counter a purse containing 20
gold pieces of 20 francs each. He did not miss it for more than an hour:
on returning to the shop, he found the old lady gone, and concluded at
first, that she had absented herself to avoid interrogation; but to his
surprise, he was accosted immediately on entering, by a pretty young
girl, who had come in her place, with the sweetest smile
imaginable,--"Monsieur, a oublie sa bourse--que nous sommes heureuses de
la lui rendre."

* * *

It is certainly incorrect to say, that the _taste_ of the French is
decidedly superior to that of other nations. Their poetry, on the whole,
will not bear a comparison with the English; their modern music is not
nearly so beautiful as their ancient songs, which have now descended to
the lower ranks; their painting is in a peculiar and not pleasing style;
their taste in gardening is antiquated and artificial; their
architecture is only fine where it is modelled on the ancient; their
theatrical tastes, if they are more correct than ours, are also more
limited. We have already taken occasion more than once to reprobate the
general taste of the French, as being partial to art, and brilliant
execution, rather than to simplicity and beautiful design.

But what distinguishes the French from almost every other nation, is the
_general diffusion_ of the taste for the fine arts, and for elegant
amusements, among all ranks of the people. Almost all Frenchmen take not
only a pride, but an interest, in the public buildings of Paris, and in
the collections of paintings and statues. There is a very general liking
for poetry and works of imagination among the middling and lower ranks;
they go to the theatres, not merely for relaxation and amusement, but
with a serious intention of cultivating their taste, and displaying
their critical powers. Many of them are so much in the habit of
attending the theatres when f