none but by land-carriage from
Spain, Portugal, and Flanders. Upon examining two or three of their
articles, I thought them very dear, but very good. I visited two or
three of their manufactories, and upon inquiring for others, was
informed that they had been shut up. The effect of the war had been, to
raise prices to double their former rate: every one expressed an anxious
wish for peace, and imputed the continuance of the war to the English
Ministry.

The general character of the people of Amiens is, that they are lively,
good-humoured, and less infected by the revolutionary contagion than any
town in France: as many of them as I had an opportunity of conversing
with, spoke with due detestation of jacobinism, and with an equal wise
submission to the present order of things. Besides the native
inhabitants, there are many foreign residents, and some English. As
these are in general in good circumstances, they have usually the best
houses in the town, and live in the substantial style of their
respective countries. The English denizens very well understand that
they are constantly under the eye of the French government, and its
spies: they live, therefore, as much as possible in public; and in their
balls, and dinners, and entertainments, have a due mixture of French
visitants. Several of them avoid this restraint by passing for
Americans; but the detection of this deception is most severely
punished. The English have contrived, however, to procure both the good
will and the good word of the people of Amiens, and even the French
government seems to regard them with peculiar favour.

Every considerable town in France has its public walk, and Amiens has
one or more of singular beauty; but being situated in an unenclosed
country, and amongst corn-fields, its private walks are still more
frequented than its ancient promenade. I was informed that the English
had brought these private walks into general fashion, and I considered
it as an additional proof of their good sense and natural taste.

The multitude of people assembled from every part of the province, gave
me an opportunity of seeing the national costume of the peasantry. The
habits of the men did not appear to me so various, and so novel, as
those of the women. The greater part of the former had three-cocked
hats, some of straw, some of pasteboard, and some of beaver; jackets,
red, yellow, and blue; and breeches of the same fancy colours. The women
were dressed in