or ran away, and that those
which remain in Paris, keep within doors, I saw no face that was
painted, excepting on the stage. Most of the men wear coats made like
great-coats, or in other words, long great-coats, without any coat: this
in fine weather and in the middle of summer made them appear to me like
invalides. There is hardly any possibility of distinguishing the rank of
either man or woman by their dress at present, or rather, there are no
ranks to distinguish.

The nation in general is much improved in cleanliness, and even in
politeness. The French no longer look on every Englishman as a lord, but
as their equal.

The inns on the road from _Calais_ to _Paris_, are as well furnished,
and the beds are as clean at present as almost any in England. At
_Flixcourt_ especially, the beds are remarkably excellent, the furniture
elegant, and there is a profusion of marble and of looking-glasses in
this inn. The plates, dishes, and basons which I saw in cupboards, and
on shelves in the kitchen, and which are not in constant use, were all
of silver, to which being added the spoons and forks of the same metal,
of which the landlord possesses a great number; the ladies and gentlemen
who were with me there, going to and returning from Paris, estimated the
value at, perhaps, a thousand pounds sterling. Now, if we allow only
half this sum to be the value, it is, notwithstanding, considerable.
Every inn I entered was well supplied with silver spoons, of various
sizes, and with silver four pronged forks; even those petty
eating-houses in Paris, which were frequented by soldiers and
_sans-culottes_.

There are no beggars to be seen about the streets in Paris, and when the
chaise stopped for fresh horses, only two or three old and infirm people
surrounded it and solicited charity, whereas formerly the beggars used
to assemble in hundreds. I did not see a single pair of _sabots_
(wooden-shoes) in France this time. The table of the peasants is also
better supplied than it was before the revolution.

ASSIGNATS.

EXCEPTING the coins which I purchased at the mint in Paris, I did not
see a piece of gold or silver of any kind; a few brass sols and two sols
were sometimes to be found in the coffee-houses, and likewise
_Mouneron's_ tokens.

The most common _assignats_ or bills, are those of five _livres_, which
are printed on sheets; each sheet containing twenty of such _assignats_,
or a hundred _livres_; they are cut out