hoped to reach to sleep.

I had again occasion to observe, how much the environs of Paris differed
from those of London. Scarcely had we reached our first stage (about
seven miles), before every appendage of a metropolitan city had
disappeared. With the single exception of the road, which still
continued worthy of a great nation, the scenery and objects were as
retired as in the most remote corner of England. This absence of
commercial traffic has, however, one advantage--it adds much to the
beauty and romance of the country. In England, the manners, habits, and
dress of the capital, pervade to the remotest angle of the kingdom:
there is little variety in passing from London to Penzance. On the other
hand, in France, every Province has still its characteristic dress and
manners; and you get but a few miles from Paris, before you find
yourself amongst a new order of beings.

We breakfasted at Palaiseau, a beautiful village, about twelve miles
from Paris. The inn being dirty, and having no appearance of being in a
situation to accommodate us to our wishes, Mr. Younge ordered the coach
to drive to a small cottage at the further end of the village. Our party
here dismounted; a small trunk, containing a breakfast equipage, was
taken from the coach, and the table was covered in an instant. The woman
of the house had been a servant of Mrs. Younge's, and married from the
family; her husband was a petty farmer, and was out in his fields.
Nothing could persuade Susette to sit in the presence of our ladies; but
she was talkative in the extreme, and seemed to be much attached to Mrs.
Younge, playing as it were with her hair as she waited behind her chair.
To Mr. Younge's questions, whether she was happy, and how she liked her
new state, she replied very carelessly, that her husband was as good as
husbands usually are; that, indeed, he had an affair with another
woman; but that he was gay, and not jealous, and therefore that she
overlooked it. Whilst she was saying this, the latch of the door was
raised, and a sturdy young peasant made his appearance; but seeing an
unexpected company, drew back in some confusion. Mr. Younge cast a
significant look at the ladies and Susette, whose looks explained that
they were not without foundation. Such are the morals, or rather the
manners, of the lower order of French wives. Gallantry is, in fact, as
much in fashion, and as generally prevalent through all orders, as in
the most corrupt aera of