lister’s TRAVELS IN FRANCE.
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my fever abated; yet notwithftanding fo rude a journey, I recovered, and was per-fectly cured of my cough in ten days; which was the chiefeft reafon of my leavingLondon at that time of the year, and never had the lead: return of it all the winter,though it was as fierce there as I ever felt it in England. This great benefit of theFrench air I had experienced three feveral times before, and had therefore longed fora paffage many years; but the continuance of the war was an infuperable obllacle to mydefires. Therefore the firft opportunity which offered itfelf I readily embraced, whichwas my Lord Portland’s acceptance of my attendance of him in his extraordinary era-baffy ; who ordered me to go before with one of my good friends, who was fent toprepare matters againft his arrival.
Now that I might not wholly trull my memory, in what I faw at Paris , I fet down mythoughts under certain heads.
THOUGH I had much fpare time the fix months I {laid in that city, yet the rude-nefs of the winter feafon kept me in for lome time. Again, I believe I did not feethe tithe of what deferves to be feen, and well confidered; becaufe for many things Iwanted a relifh, particularly for painting and building; however I viewed the cityin all its parts, and made the round of it; took feveral profpects of it at a dillance,when well thought on, I mull needs confefs it to be one of the moll beautiful andmagnificent in Europe , and in which a traveller might find novelties enough for fixmonths for daily entertainment, at leaft in and about this noble city. To give there-fore a ItriCl and general idea of it, and not to enter far into the vain difputes of the num-ber of inhabitants, or its bignefs, compared to London ; fure I am, the {landingcroud was fo great, when my lord ambaffad*r made his entry, that our people werellartled at it, and were ready the next day to give up the queltion, had they not wellconfidered the great curiofity of the Parifians, who are much more delighted in finefhews than the people of London , and fo were well near all got into the way of thecavalcade. One thing was an evident argument of this humour, that there were fomehundreds of coaches of perfons of the bell quality, even lome bilhops and lords whichI faw, who had placed themfelves in a file to line the ftreets, and had had the patienceto have fo remained for fome hours.
It is alfo almolt certain, thatfor the quantityof ground poffeffed bythe common people,this city is much more populous than any part of London ; here are from four to fiveand to ten menages, or diftinct families in many houfes; but this is only to be under-flood of certain places of trade. This difference betwixt the two cities alfo is true,that here the palaces and convents have eat up the people’s dwellings, and croudedthem excefliveiy together, and poffeffed themfelves of far the greateft, part - of theground ; whereas in London the contrary may be obferved, that the people have de-ftroyed the palaces, and placed themfelves upon the foundations of them, and forcedthe nobility to live in fquares or ftreets in a fort of community: but this they havedone very honeftly, having fairly purchafed them.
The views alfo which it gives upon the river are admirable : that of the Pont-neuf downwards to the Tuilleries, or upwards from the Pont-Royal; and in fome otherplaces, as from Pont St. Bernard, the Greeve, &c. The river Seine which paffesthrough the midfl of the city, is all nobly banked or keyed with large free-ftone ; andinclofes in the heart of the city two iflands, which caufes many fine bridges to be builtto pafs over them. One of thefe iflands called I’lfle de Palais was all Paris for fome ages
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