ue: cattle resting under the shade, and attentively eyeing the
river, whilst the country around is of a nature and character, which the
fancy of a poet would select for the haunt of Dian and her huntresses.
The peasantry, as many of them as we met, seemed to have that life and
spirits the sure result of comfort; if they were not invariably well
clothed, they seemed at least sufficiently so for the climate of the
province. The younger women had dark complexions and shining black eyes;
their shapes were generally good, and their air and vivacity, even in
the lowest ranks, such as peculiarly characterize the French people. If
addressed, they were rather obliging than respectful, and had all of
them a compliment on their tongues' end. It was not indeed easy to get
rid of them with a mere word or question. I must add, however, that I am
here describing their manner towards Mr. Younge and myself. Towards the
ladies it was somewhat different. When Madame or Mademoiselle spoke to
them, they seemed modest and respectful in the extreme; to the latter,
indeed, they were more familiar, and many of them, on giving the adieu
after a ten minutes' conversation, very prettily embraced her, gently
putting their arms round her neck, and kissing the left shoulder; a form
of salutation very common in the French provinces. In a word, the more I
saw of the French character, the more did I wish that the more weighty
and valuable qualities of the English and American character, their
honesty and their sincerity, were accompanied by the gentleness, the
grace, the affectionate benevolence, which characterise the French
manners.

Ingrande, where we dined, is the last town of the province of Bretagne,
on the Loire, and thenceforwards we had entered Anjou. It is a town of
above three hundred houses, built round the base of a sandy hillock, the
church being on the hill. The houses are intermingled with trees, and
the country very prettily planted. It is not to be expected that the
habitations in such a town could be any thing better than cottages; but
they were tolerably clean, and not very ruinous.

We had now passed through the province of Bretagne as it lies along the
Loire, and it is but justice to say, that in point of natural scenery,
in the wildness and tranquillity which constitute what I should term the
romance of landscape, it exceeds every thing in Europe. Along the banks
of the Loire, France has meadows, the verdure of which will not sink