YOUNG S TRAVELS IN FRANCE.
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I hid for dinner two good flat fifh, a difh of oyfters, foup, a fine duck roafted ; withan ample defert of grapes, pears, walnuts, bifcuits, liqueur, and a pint of good Bour-deaux wine : my mare, befides hay, had three-fourths of a peck of corn, and thewhole 5OS. 2s. to the fille and two to the gallon, in all 2s. 6d. Pafs landes—landes—landes—to la Roche Bernard. The view of the river Villaine is beautiful from theboldnefs of the fhores ; there are no in'ipid flats ; the river is two-thirds of the widthof the river Thames at Weltminfter, and would be equal to any thing in the world
if the fhores were woody, but they are the lavage wafles of this country.-33
miles.
The r 9th. Turned afide to Auvergnac, the feat of the Count de la Bourdonays,to w'hom I had a letter from the Duchefs d’Anville, as a perfon able to give me everyfpecies of intelligence relative to Bretagne , having for five-and-twenty years been firllfyndic of the noblefle. A fortuitous jumble of rocks and ffeeps could fcarcely forma worfe road than thefe five miles : could I put as much faith in turn bits of wood laidover each other, as the good folks of the country do, I Ihould have croffed myfelf,but my blind friend, with the mofl incredible fure-footednefs, carried me fafe overfuch places, that if I had not been in the conftant habit of the faddle, I fhould havefhuddered at, though guided by eyes keen as eclipfes ; for I fuppofe a finer racer, onwhofe velocity fo many fools have been ready to lofe their money, mull have goodeyes, as well as good legs. Such a road, leading to feveral villages, and one of thefirll noblemen of the province, fhews what the date of fociety muft be;—no commu-nication—no neighbourhood—no temptation to the expences which flow from fociety;a mere feclufion to lave money in order to fptnd it in towns. The Count receivedme with great politenefs ; I explained to him my plan and motives for travelling inFrance , which he was pleafed very warmly to approve, exprefling his furprife that Ifhould attempt fo large an undertaking, as fuch a furvey of France , unfupported bymy government; I told him he knew very little of our government, if he fuppofedthey would give a fhilling to any agricultural project or projedtor ; that whether theminilter were whig or tory made no difference, the party of the plough never yet hadone on its fide; and that England has had many Colberts, but not one Sully. Thisled to much intere'ling cohverfation on the balance of agriculture, manufadtures,and commerce, and on the means of encouraging them ; and, in reply to his enquiries,
I made him underhand their relations in England, and how our hufbandry fiourifhedin fpite of our minifters, merely by the protection which civil liberty gives to property :and consequently that it was in a poor fituation, comparatively with what it wouldhave been in, had it received the fame attention as manufactures and commerce. Itold M. de la Bourdonaye' that his-province of Bretagne feemed to me to have nothingin it but privileges and poverty ; he fmiled, and gave me fome explanations that areimportant; but no nobleman can ever probe this evil as it ought to be done, refultingas it does from the privileges going to themfelves, and the poverty to the people. HeShewed me his plantations, which are very fine and well thriven, and fhelter him tho-roughly on every fide, even from the S.W. fo near to the fea; from his walks we feeBelleifle and its neighbours, and a little ifle or rock belonging to him , which he faysthe King of England took from him after Sir Edward Hawke’s vidlory, but that his
majefty was kind enough to leave him his ifland after one night’s poffeflion.-20
miles.
The 20th. Take my leave of Monfieur and Madame de la Bourdonaye, to whofepolitenefs as well as friendly attentions I am much obliged. Towards Nazaire thereis a fine view of the mouth of the Loire, from the rifing grounds,, but the headlands
that