a passport and introduction to society, at times, when abroad, as well as letters, in this present enlightened age.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

Paris; Visit to General Cass; Invite to a Fête; Tower of Neslc; Prefecture du Police; Amusing Tête-à-tête; Passports; Departure for Boulogne; Diligence; Roads; Scenery; Abbeville; Montreul; American Host; Warm Reception; View of Dover Cliffs; Railway from Paris to Boulogne; Yankee Enterprise; Mr. Holt, etc. etc.

HAVING made the necessary arrangements for leaving the gay city of Paris, I rode to Versailles, to piss the evening with my friend, General Cass, and family, and personally to express my grateful thanks for their polite and courteous attention while sojourning in the city. I was warmly pressed by the General to stay and accompany himself and family, the following day, to visit the palace and gardens of Versailles, for the purpose of being present at a fête, which would be grand and imposing, more so, he thought, than the national fête, which I had witnessed in the Tuileries Gardens, but as business with the American Minister at London required my being in that city on a certain day, I was reluctantly compelled to decline his kind and polite invitation, and at 10 o'clock, taking the return train of cars, arrived in half an hour at my hotel.

As an American citizen, I felt a degree of pride in having ocular demonstration of the influence and high esteem in which, even among the common classes in Paris, our Minister, General Cass, was held and it was a pleasing satisfaction to me, while in Paris receiving his polite attentions, in knowing that the first breath we both respired was the pure air amid the granite hills of New Hampshire; the same pure air that inspired his father and mine from the same county, in 1776, to defend their country, and shed freely their blood in achieving its independence.

The place where once stood the "Tower of Nesle," so celebrated in history in the reign of Louis X., and lately dramatized, was pointed out to me. The plot, as represented in the drama, would seem incredible, had not the historian of those times given to it his endorsement in part, to justify the author of the drama to draw from it scenes too disgusting for the eye, ear, and taste of an audience of the 19th century. The whole is founded on a story which was rife in those days, that Margaret of Burgundy, Queen

of Louis the Xth, maintained herself in the "Tower of Nesle," on the Seine, and having many desperate spies in her pay, caused them to arrest all travellers of distinction, wealth, &c., who visited Paris and bring them to the tower, then selecting those who had personal property, such as money and jewels, and without influential friends to cause search or inquiry to be made, had them at midnight, thrown from the top of the tower into the Seine. The author of the drama of "La Tour de Nesle" has, like many authors, drawn rather largely on fancy, and deviated from the true history of the horrible transactions which took place at "Nesle Tower," making Queen Margaret, if possible, as despicable a character, if not more so, than Catharine, late Empress of Russia.

The following morning I called to pay my respects to the Prefecture du Police, and receive my passports, which remained on file in his department since my arrival at Paris; and it was amusing to see the vast crowd in the court-yard and rooms, all waiting to have their names called to receive their passports to leave the country, either on business or pleasure, which restriction, thanks to the people and righteous liberty, is not known either in England or America. While detained at the office, the chief Secretary, Monsieur O., invited me to his room, from whom I received a fund of information as regarded the strictness and regularity of the police system in France, more particularly in Paris. I said to him, "I believe I could leave France without the usual form of a passport, after throwing aside the autograph of the Prefecture, which answered all my purposes within the dominions of the King; and provided he would not give any intimation to the police of my intentions at Boulogne, from which city I should leave France for England, I would make the attempt." The Secretary laughed heartily at the idea, and observed, "You Yankees can do anything but get out of France without our permission. When you come here you are caged, and must come to this office for the necessary key to open the door for escape." And, smiling, he presented me with the passport which had been demanded of me fifty miles before arriving at the city. I then remarked, I would, at all events, test the vigilance of his police agents at Boulogne, and, if I succeeded, would apprise him by a note from Dover. The Secretary promised not a word should be mentioned, or any notice given at Boulogne of my intentions, and after a warm shake of the hand and many adieus, with an admonition to be careful of the police, we parted.

From the police office I drove to the coach-yard of Lafitte & Co., Rue St. Honore, and secured my usual seat by the side of the conducteur, for the purpose of observing the country, and obtaining information as we rode through the villages and towns on our journey. The fare by the Diligence from Paris to Boulogne, is 30

francs, 170 miles, and is most generally performed in about twentyfour hours. The road is paved the whole distance, similar to street paving, with a beautiful gravel way on each side. From the moment we passed the coach-yard, the six horse team of many colours, harnessed with ropes to the ponderous diligence, were put to a hand-gallop, whi'e the conducteur took good care to give the merry citizens warning of our approach, while dashing through the narrow streets, by the continued winding of his fine bugle; and the merry coachman kept time to the music with his long whip, around the heads of his sorry team, and singing with might and main to keep them at the top of their speed, notwithstanding the crowded state of the diligence, and the immense load on its reeling top. —The whole distance is through a highly cultivated, undulating, picturesque country, and the person who could have the blues in such a pleasant, merry, song-singing, happy country, deserves to have a home in some insane asylum. No sign of a fence of any kind is seen the whole distance, or an animal at large; which, to an American eye at first appears very strange, and would seem as if the whole country belonged to one individual. Yet the tourist, who has previously travelled in England, will miss in France the beautiful English cottage, which, in no other country is to be found, with its neat tasteful flower gardens and beautiful arbours, which meet the eye every few miles through that garden of the world.

Most of the small towns we passed through appeared to have but little business; yet the people all seemed gay and happy, if the merry tambourine and violin, with the mazy dance, are any indications of happiness, which were heard and seen even in the most remote villages, and it would seem, with the spirit of Napoleon, fled the ambitious spirit of the French yeomanry. In consequence of the numerous long steep hills throughout France, the building of railways has been neglected on account of the immense expense of making a level by cutting down or tunnelling these small mountains. I little thought while pondering on the subject in climbing up these hills, that France would be indebted to a Yankee (Mr. Holt) for causing them to sink to plains as by magic, with his very ingenious steam machine, to the astonishment of the first engineers in Europe, and when the railway now in progress is completed, between Paris, Amiens, and Boulogne, the London merchant can take his breakfast as usual at his own fireside, and on going out say to his wife, he shall dine in Paris that evening at the Palais Royal; and for this improvement the world will be indebted to Yankee enterprise and ingenuity. Had Louis Philippe expended the vast treasure of the Nation years ago in the construction of railways throughout his kingdom, connecting Paris with the sea coast, instead of throwing away the millions of

public treasure in constructing the useless fortifications on the walls of Paris, it would have redounded to his lasting fame, and ere this, the railways would all have been completed. But all Monarchs are not Napoleons. A delay of an hour at Abbeville, gave me an opportunity of having a bird's-eye view of the town and its manufactures of woollen cloth, canvass, carpets, soap, &c., and the pleasure to a stranger, enhanced by the polite attention of the people. On asking them to show you any place, it is always with a most graceful bend and smile: "Avec grand plaisir, Monsieur."

The next morning we entered the strongly fortified town of Montreuil. In passing from Abbeville to Montreuil, the tourist will ride through the forest of Crecy, where Edward the Black Prince, gained his celebrated victory over the French. I took breakfast at Montreuil, and found to my surprise, a Yankee repast, in every sense of the term, and on inquiry, was introduced to the proprietor of the hotel, who hailed from Vermont, and had, as waiting maids, two girls from the Green Mountains of Vermont. So pleased was Mr. M. to meet one from New Hampshire in France, and at his house, that he not only refused to take pay for my breakfast, but insisted on my stopping with him a week, and would then take me in his own coach to Boulogne. Finding my engagements would prevent me from accepting his polite invitation, he gave me a note of introduction to an English friend of his, the proprietor of the Hotel de Flandre, at Boulogne, which I found of great use while sojourning there, and visiting all that was worthy of seeing for a stranger. Montreuil is considered one of the most strongly fortified towns in France. Napoleon, while superintending his transports, and assembling his army of invasion at Boulogne to subjugate England, would frequently pass a week at a time at Montreuil, giving directions in person while the fortifications were advancing to their impregnable completion.

CHAPTER XXXI X.

Boulogne; Napoleon's Invasion of England, in 1808; Its Success had Steam Power been known; The Consequence; English Residents at Boulogne; Bathing; Napoleon's Monument; The Landing of Louis Napoleon at Boulogne in 1839; His Failure and Capture; Statue of Napoleon; Excitement; National Guard; Encampment; Raising of the Statue; Demonstration of Joy; Fire-Works; Illumination, &c.

A FEW miles from Boulogne, on reaching the summit of a high

hill overlooking the picturesque town, we had a delightful view of the Channel and numerous vessels of different nations sailing on their course, and arriving in the lower harbour. The chalky cliffs of Albion could be distinctly seen without the aid of a glass, so transparent was the atmosphere on that morning. So truly inviting to the keen eye of Napoleon were these white towering cliffs, on one of which stands the impregnable Dover Castle, with the proud banner of England floating from its lofty towers, that he was determined, if possible, to possess the treasure he had so long coveted, and fortunate was it for England that the present power and use of steam was unknown during the glorious and triumphant reign of that mighty genius; had it been, the tri-coloured banner of France would soon have waved in triumph from the telegraph at Buckingham Palace, St. James's Park, London, and its Eagles found a resting-place on the turrets of Windsor Castle, from which citadel its triumphant chief would have proclaimed to the astonished world that war should be no more. What Napoleon planned, will be for America to carry out at no distant day, when the veil of tyranny shall have dropped from the eyes of an enlightened people, and the goddess of Liberty, in all her purity, appear to them, pointing to the land of Washington, the land of freedom and happiness-and whisper, such canst thou be, free and independent.

Boulogne is a beautiful town, and a cheap place as a residence, remarkably healthy, and during the summer months thousands from England come over to enjoy the luxury of sea-bathing, which cannot be excelled any where. I should suppose one-third of the inhabitants of Boulogne are English, who, on small incomes live in much better style than they could in England, and have more real enjoyment of life. The sea-beach appeared covered with small bathing houses, fixed on wheels; the bathers enter one and lock the door-when ready, a signal is made, and they are backed into the breakers as far as they wish, and then leap out and enjoy themselves as long as they please, for one shilling,

The towering monument to the memory of Napoleon, erected by subscription from the National Guard of France, stands on the lofty summit to the left, as you enter the harbour, on which is now the statue of the Emperor, with its face toward England. The spot on which the monument stands, is where Napoleon usually resorted to examine the English coast through his glass, while preparing his fleet for the contemplated invasion. It was at the base of this cliff where Louis Napoleon landed in 1839, with a few followers, and on this monument displayed his flag to the wondering citizens of Boulogne, at early dawn. Louis Napoleon was in a uniform similar to that of his late uncle, the Emperor, with a three-cornered chapeau-his officers all in full rich uniforms. On