ovided
for, I walked through the town, which is clean, lively, and in many
respects resembling towns of the third rate in England. I visited the
cathedral, which pleased me much; but has been so often described, that
I deem it unnecessary to say more of it. It was built by the English in
the time of Henry VI. and the regency of the Duke of Bedford, and has
much of the national taste of that people, and those times. Though
strictly Gothic, it is light, and very tastefully ornamented: it
infinitely exceeds any cathedral in England, with the exception of
Westminster Abbey. I went to see likewise the _Chateau d'Eau_, the
machine for supplying Amiens with water. There is nothing more than
common in it, and the purpose would be answered better by pipes and a
steam-engine. It excited one observation which I have since frequently
made--that the French, with all their parade of science and ostentation
of institutions, are still a century behind England in real practical
knowledge. My Tour in France has at least taught me one lesson--never to
be deceived by high-sounding names and pompous designations. I have not
visited their schools for nothing. The French talk; the English act. A
steady plodding Englishman will build an house, while a Frenchman is
laying down rules for it. There is more of this idle pedantry in France
than in any country on the face of the globe: every thing is done with
science, and nothing with knowledge.

Walking through the market-place, my attention was taken by an unusual
bustle--the erecting of scaffolds, booths, and other similar
preparations. I learned, upon inquiry, that the half-yearly fair was to
be held on the following day; a piece of information which confirmed my
previous intention of passing that day at Amiens.

Upon returning to the inn, I had a supper as comfortable as any I had
ever sat down to, even in England. The landlord, at my particular
request, took his seat with me at table. He complained bitterly of the
oppression of the taxes, and more particularly of their uncertainty,
which was so indeterminate, according to his assertions, that the
collectors took what they pleased, and employed their offices as means
of favour, or to gratify their personal piques. One of the collectors of
Amiens, it seems, was likewise an inn-keeper, who availed himself of the
power of his office to harass his rival. There is no appeal, as long as
the collector is faithful to the government, and pays in what