A Diary of the French Revolution

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VI

A VERY LONG DRIVE

THROUGH FLANDERS AND THE RHINELAND IN QUEST OF IMMIGRANTS

SEPTEMBER 1790

Saturday 25.—Leave Dartford this Morning at five. The Inn is good. Arrive at the City of London Inn at Dover at three oClock. The Distance is not quite fifty five Miles and we are ten Hours in accomplishing it. After agreeing for my Passage and getting my Dinner I walk out and ramble to the Top of the highest Cliff. The View from hence is extensive but it is chiefly Water. I am told that the dreadful Trade, as Shakespear calls it, of gathering Samphire is still carried on in the same Way as formerly. A Man drives a Stake into the Ground above, to which he fastens a Rope and descends by that to the Spot where this Plant is found. The Price when gathered is 20d per bushel, being quite as much as it is worth, and yet one would suppose that the Price is hardly worth the Risque. His Wife attends the Adventurer and draws up the full Baskets at a Signal agreed on. A fine Opportunity is afforded her of changing her Helpmate, should she be so inclined. A little before ten I go on board the Packet. According to Custom at this and every other English Port on the Channel (as far as I can learn) all Sorts of Claims and Impositions are made and practised. But we must in all Cases pay the Customs. At half past ten we get under Way in the Harbor of Dover, a fine fair Breeze from the North West and a charming Moon Light so bright that I see plainly in Mid Channel both the french and english Coasts. At three Quarters after one we are at the Key in the Harbor of Calais. The Master of the Packet being charged with Dispatches for the English Embassador, gets the Gates opened and we proceed to Monsr. Dessein’s.

Sunday 26.—Having given the needful Orders last Night, every Thing is ready to depart immediately after Breakfast this Morning. It costs me just eleven Guineas from London before I can clear out from this Spot. Leave the Gates of Calais about Noon. N. Westerly Wind and very fine Weather. We proceed for some Distance over a sandy Plain to a little Village, the Country on the right is evidently very good and so is that which we now get into & go thro to Gravelines, crossing once or twice a pretty meandring Stream which is I suppose dignified with the Name of a River. Two Hours and a Quarter bring us to this Place and about the same Time, thro a fine level Country, to Dunquerque, which is however in a very sandy Position as must be the Case with the Seaports, because the Shore from Calais to the Zuyder Zee is nothing but Sand. The Distance is five Posts, about twenty five Mile.

Monday . We walk down to the Port, the Mouth of which is choaked with Sand. The Weather is very fine. Return from hence to the Exchange, where I see Mr. Gregory, to whom I present a Letter and we confer a little on Business. Dine with him and he promises to write to me after consulting his Father, and to inform me whether they will accept Bills upon Receipt of Bills of Lading, Invoice and orders for Insurance. They will come under Acceptance at the Rate of £10 Stg. per Chest for Hyson Tea which they expect to sell at about £15, but they can sell a Quantity only to the India Company. The Commerce of this Place, which consisted chiefly in a Contraband with Great Britain, has been much injured by the lowering of the Duties in that Kingdom. At present they have got into the Whaling and West India Business. The Import of Tobacco is considerable also. Their Population is said to be abt. 30000 and there is great Activity among them.

Tuesday 28.—This Morning I leave the Hôtel de Flandre where I found the Entertainment good and not dear. We go to the Sea Shore as it happens to be low Water, which is fortunate for it seems that the Road along the Dunes is very heavy, being indeed a deep light Sand. When we arrive at the Beach the View is fine. The Sun being upon our right shines brightly against the Sails of Vessels in the Offing, which are numerous, of different Sizes and at various Distances. It is nearly calm and the least Surge which I ever saw on a Beach. On our right are the sandy Hills called the Dunes, blown up into fantastic Irregularity, in Part bare and white, in other Parts covered with such coarse dark colored Vegetation as they admit of. I observe here a Kind of Fishing which is novel to me and which is now carrying on in its fullest Extent. A great Number of People are employed, some in digging large Worms which are found between high and low Water Mark. These are for Bait. Others in taking the fish from off the Hooks; these are tied by Cords of about a Yard long to Poles stuck in the Sand in Lines at right Angles to the Shore, so that when the Tide is out the fish who take themselves are found hanging at about a foot from the Shore. They are flat fish and taken in great Numbers. After travelling some Time along the Coast we turn to the right and get upon a Pavement which leads to the Shore, and thence we go to a little Village called la Banque, situated in the Middle of the Dunes upon a Plain of Sand. After passing it a little Way we come into a fine Country. I am again for the second Time strongly impressed with the Difference between austrian and french Flanders. The Appearances of Affluence in the former and Poverty in the latter are striking. Such is the powerful Energy of Freedom even in a slender Degree. We arrive at Furne after three Hours spent in going two Posts. Here we are provided after long Delay with three miserable Horses, with which we are to go all the Way to Ostend because they are not strong enough to draw us to Nieuport, the usual Route. This it seems is Part of the Way sandy, but by going farther round we have a Pavement. We pass thro a Village called Previse or Pervise and stop at the Bridge of Scorback for our Horses to be fed. Poor Devils, they want Food I believe, tho this is not the best Mode of giving it. From hence we proceed to a little Village called Ghistel where (as in some other Places) I observe there is a Kind of College for Education of the french and english. I suppose Religion comes in for Something in this Business, and certainly those who desire that their Children should imbibe the most blind and obstinate Prejudices which Superstition ever engendered upon Ignorance, cannot do better than send them to Flanders for Education. Here we stay as at Furne and at the Bridge of Scorback just half an Hour, and in an Hour and an Half we get to Ostend. Thus our Route stands to Furne 3 hours 2 posts, 1/2 an Hour to change, then to Scorback Bridge 1 1/2 & 1/2 an Hour to feed, to Ghistel 1 1/2 and 1/2 an Hour to feed, to Ostend 1 1/2 being 4 posts tho short ones, which gives in the whole 6 Posts of scarce 36 Miles in 9 Hours. The Country is a rich Sand. The Weather is very fine. There is a great Deal of Tobacco raised in this Country but the most miserable I ever beheld. At fifty Paces Distance we could not tell whether a Field we saw was Tobacco or Turnips. Having omitted to enquire untill near our Journey’s End for a Hotel we are directed to the Hôtel de Ville, which is I fear a bad one: from Appearances it certainly is. After Dinner I look at the Harbor which seems to be a very good one of the Kind. Return Home pretty well fatigued and go early to Bed. A very fine Day.

Wednesday and deliver to Mr. Keith a Letter from Phyn Ellices and Inglis; a polite Reception, a little general Conversation, News, Politics &ca.. I am not inclined to seize Openings here because I doubt a little of the Strength of the Parties. Call on Messrs. Gregory Benquet & Co: and deliver a Letter from Messrs. Gregory of Dunquerque. General Conversation. Speaking this Morning with Mr. Parker of the smuggling Trade to London, He tells me that for 20 p% any Article will be delivered free of all Risques at any House which may be named in London. After Dinner I write, among others to Short & to Bouinville and Ternant for Letters of Introduction on my proposed Route. Mr. Keith visits me and is very polite. I pay in the same Coin et nous voilà quitte. This Town is small and contains but ten or twelve thousand Inhabitants. The Commerce also is falling off. The flemish Merchants have no Enterprize & there are few others who have the needful Funds. It has however many Advantages for Traffic. Sup with Mr. Gregory, and having nothing else to do or think of I entertain the Party with pleasant Conversation; it consists of only four besides myself, of which two are the Host & Hostess. A Lady (her Sister I believe) and a Parson are the other two. They tell me that I cannot get on without a Passport and I cannot get that untill ten oClock ToMorrow. It has been a very fine Day.

Thursday 30.—This Morning I rise pretty early and write. Dress and Breakfast, which last I cannot get till after nine. It seems there is a Law prohibiting the Peasants from selling any Thing before the Market Hour, which is nine oClock. This seems to have been contrived by the indolent. I walk into the Market which is well furnished. The Beef is not large but looks well and the Vegetables of every Kind seem good, and there is a great Plenty. I observe here what I have frequently seen in different Places along this Route, small flat fish dryed apparently without Salt, and tied up in Bunches for Sale. They seem to be of the Kind which the People near Dunkirk were gathering. I wait till ten oClock for Mr. Gregory to bring my Pass, but then call and find he is not up. Call again a second Time and go with Monsr. Benquet, his Partner, to the Town House, and give my Name, Country, Occupation and the Name of my Father; to this is added a Description of my Person. Return again to Mr. Gregory’s and wait a considerable Time before the Pass arrives, for the Magistrates were occupied with Business when we were at the Maison de Ville. By this Means I do not get off till half past eleven. I get here very good Horses and my Bill is not extravagant, tho I ought to have put up at the Couronne Impériale, that being the best Hotel. Mine was not cleanly. We go again to Ghistel in an Hour precisely. It is about seven Miles and our Stop there is just a Quarter. Hence in another Hour to Yerbeke, about the same Distance. After stopping again a Quarter of an Hour we go on to Brugges & put up at the Hôtel de Commerce which is also the Post House; the Distance is not quite so great as the last but the Time to the Gates of Brugges is the same. I think the whole is not less than 19 Miles. I pay three Posts. The Road is well paved, which for the greater Part of the Way is indispensibly necessary. The Country from Ghistel a deep poor Sand worth very little, and but little cultivated. Immediately on my Arrival I go down to the Bason which terminates the Canal from Ostend. Ships of 500 Tons can come up this Canal. There is now in it sixteen feet Water and the Rivers and Brooks are low at this Season of the Year. The Distance, I was told at Ostend, is about twelve Miles. It is a wonderful Effort of commercial Industry, but alas it now answers but little Purpose. There are however now in the Bason a Ship and a Brig. A Number of Fly Boats are discharging Sugars, Cotton and Coffee. I return to the Hotel and dine worse than I expected from its Reputation. After Dinner I ask for Tea and get some black Strap.

OCTOBER 1790

Friday 1 October.—This Morning I take some Tea and in the Sea Phrase clear out for Departure. The Hôtel de Commerce is very good I find at making out a Bill. The House however is clean & the Cook I believe pretty good. At half past seven I leave Bruges and proceed to Maldeghem in an Hour and three Quarters, the Distance about 9 Miles; we stop here a Quarter of an Hour and then go on to Eckelo in an Hour, Distance scarce 6 Miles. This is 2 Posts and an Half. The Country very poor & sandy. We are half an Hour in changing Horses and then we have two Posts of about twelve or thirteen Miles thro Warmstadt to Ghent, which is performed in two Hours. The Country about a League from Eckelo begins to mend and (chiefly by force of Culture) is beautiful and luxuriant. Near Ghent there are some fine Meadows. It is worthy of Remark that even in the poorest Soil the Houses are well built of Brick and there is throughout an Air of Neatness and Comfort not to be met with I believe in Great Britain. After Dinner I proceed to view the Cathedral which contains many Productions in Painting, Statuary and Architecture which merit Attention. The Martyrdom of Saint Barbe appears to me the finest Painting, altho there is a very fine one of Reubens. But the Figure, Manner and Countenance of the young Dévote who is endeavoring to draw out one of the Arrows with which the Saint is pierced, seem to be the utmost Perfection which Art can arrive at, and perhaps Nature herself could not go farther. Piety & Humanity in the lowly bending of sedulous Attention, mingled with all the Delicacy of female Tenderness, impress the Heart most forcibly. There is a fine old Woman also, but there are many such. In this Cathedral there are some modern Imitations of Bas Relief by a Painter now living in this City. One must see them to form an Idea of the Effect which can be produced by Light and Shade. This Cathedral is dedicated to St. Bavon and it is the Saint’s Day. While I am examining the Paintings &ca. a stout Friar is roaring vehemently in Praise of his Saintship. Luckily I do not understand Flemish. After viewing the inside of the Church I come out & go round into the Steeple and mount up to the Top, which they tell me is 310 flemish feet. The View from hence is not so fine as I expected, for the Atmosphere is hazy, which my Guide says is always the Case with a North or East Wind. The Weather is nevertheless as fine as is possible. The Country about Ghent is in general sterile and covered with what appears from this Heighth like Forest, but is indeed chiefly Bushes. After descending from this Tour my Guide leads me to the Citadel of Charles the fifth, made to awe the rebellious Spirit for which this City has always been remarkable. They are now demolishing that Side which faces the City. A Number of Houses in the Neighbourhood were destroyed by the Troops but my Guide acknowleges that it was rather by the poor Inhabitants. However, there was enough of Pillage & Ravage by the Troops. We proceed from hence to the great Square and thence to the Hôtel de Ville, which is quite a Janus, having one Face of Gothic and one of Grecian Architecture. The former, like all such Buildings, looks like an oldfashioned Piece of Cabinet Work. The latter is neither fine nor despicable. Return to Quarters well tired. I find that the People of this Town are very much divided in their Opinions. The Exclusion of the Tiers État works but badly. They have received this Day the inflated Account of a successful Action of the 28 Sepr. to ballance a severe Defeat of the 15.th. But I think their Countenances are not bright. During my Walk this Afternoon I find that I have been much deceived in the Opinion I formed of the River Scheld. I did suppose that there was Tide as far up as Mons, because in passing thro that City there was the Appearance of a River at low Water, altho the Straitness of it resembled more a Canal. I find now that the Flood goes no farther than Ghent, where there is a Damm to confine the upper Waters to a certain Level. But it seems that the Navigation in Canals is preferable to the other. One Horse draws a very large Vessel and they go with Certainty a given Distance in the Time allotted for that Purpose.

Saturday 2d..—This Morning as soon as I have breakfasted I go to the Church of the Recollets, in which are two admired Paintings of Reubens, a dying Magdalen and a thundering Jehovah. The Magdalen is a very fine Form and the Expression is good. The other is considered as very fine. The Idea is that God the Father raises his right Arm which grasps a Thunderbolt to strike this sinful World. The holy Virgin catches his left Arm and in the Style of a good Wife points to her Breast which had suckled his Son, and Saint Francis, a faithful old Servant, covers the Globe with his Mantle. According to the Mythology of the roman catholic Religion, both the Idea and Execution of this Piece are fine, but I cannot admire the latter because the former is so absurd, and so degrading to the Omnipotent, if indeed it were possible for Man to honor or dishonor Him. From this Church we go to the Abbey of St. Peter, belonging to the Order of Benedictines. The Abbot is well fledged. He has here a Palace, and his Income they tell me is immense. The first Place we visit is the Refectory of the Holy Fathers. In it are some fine Paintings. It is large, clean, and just far enough from the Kitchin, so that they are not incommoded either by the Heat or Smell, and yet the Victuals cannot get cold in the Passage in Times of hard Frost. From hence we go to the Library, which contains a great many Books and some very good Paintings. From hence we go to the Church, in which they are celebrating Mass so that we cannot examine the Altar, which is of great Size and composed of massy Silver, partly gilt. There are many fine Paintings in this Church, and among them two very large Pieces bought lately of the Jesuits of Ypres. One of them is a Magdalen offering herself to an Infant Jesus. The Figure and Expression are prodigiously fine. The other is the Triumph of the Church in the Case of a young Monarch who turns Friar. He embraces the Cross and turns his Back upon the Pomp and Pleasure of the World, represented by two female Figures, both of which are fine. St. Ignatius, to whom the young Devotee presents himself, is also an excellent Figure. The Expression of his Countenance dignified and majestic. There is also a good Assortment of Snakes and Thorns and Devils.—The Celebration of the Mass is an excellent Accompanyment to the View of these Paintings and it is not, I think, to be wondered at that a gloomy natural Temper, educated in the bigotry of Catholic Superstition, should after the Disappointments to which all human Plans and Wishes are liable, be at some melancholic Moment so impressed by the seeming Calm which reigns within monastic Walls, as to wish for that Retirement from the tumultuous and tormenting Solicitudes of Life. Such was the Fate of Charles, who first saw the Light in this City, and after vexing himself and his Neighbours during the Age in which he lived, threw himself at length into a Spanish Cloister. And thus he demonstrated by a lengthy Comment the solemn Declaration that ‘Man walketh in a vain Shadow and disquieteth himself in vain.’ I observe two well fed Novices who with Difficulty preserve the Tartuffe Visage during the Mass. I fancy they are not Novices in some of the monastic Mysteries. They are a Brace of as handsome young Dogs as ever enlisted in the Cuckold-making Corps. A View of such fine Paintings on religious Subjects and the solemn sounding Anthems thro long drawn Ayles of Gothic Architecture, seem well calculated to inspire reverential Awe. But when a little Familiarity has taken off the first Impressions, and the Youth, pampered with high and stimulating Food, sees female Beauty in the most enchanting Attitudes which the Painter could imagine or his Pencil express, will Nature, who speaks so expressively to all her Creatures, be silent only to him? I fancy not.—I think Charles the fifth in building a Fortress to bridle his fellow Citizens of Ghent, should have borrowed of St. Peter the Ground on which stands this Abbey and Church; it is high, airy, healthy and commanding. Perhaps Leopold may by & bye do Something of this Sort.—At eleven oClock I leave Ghent and go in one Hour to Loochrist and in another to Lockeren, together two Posts of about six Miles each, over a sandy Plain. The Soil very poor but the Culture very good. It takes 20 Minutes here to change Horses. This is a pretty large Village lying on the River Durme, which we cross to come into it. From hence we cross again that River and go on the North Side of it to the Village of Waesmunster, and thence we go northwardly to the Star, a Post House; the Distance is one Post of about six Miles which with three Horses we accomplish in about seventy Minutes. There is no Pavement on this Part of the Road excepting thro Waesmunster, and the Sand is very deep. The Grounds along the River are fine but those at a little Distance from it very bad, and yet by Force of Culture they yield well. We change Horses here, which takes 25 Minutes, and go to St. Nicolas, the Road for the first League lying thro the Sand, but then we get on a very fine Pavement. This is a very large Village. In going thro it Somebody throws a Brick against the Door of my Carriage, a Kind of Wit which I have been told is not uncommon in Flanders. At Beveren, another very large Village (indeed they might both be called Towns) we stop ten Minutes to give the Horses a little Bread and Water. We came hither in an Hour and forty Minutes, the Distance a Post and an Half, about nine Miles. In one Hour more we go another Post to the Ferry at Antwerp, the Distance about six Miles. The Scheld appears as wide here as the Hackinsack River in the Road from New York to Newark; I find the exact Width is 225 Yards. We cross in a Scow, and the Wind being contrary and partly with the Tide which runs here strongly, we are obliged to go a great Way down before we stand across. We are just an Hour from our Arrival at the Ferry to the Hotel of the Grand Laboureur in Antwerp, which lies indeed a considerable Distance from the Water Side where we landed. The View of Antwerp from the other Side of the River is fine. The most prominent Feature at a Distance is the Spire of the Cathedral, which to the Top of the Cross is said to be 466 feet, and that Part to which I ascended is said to be 400 feet, about 375 English. This Country throughout abounds with Churches and all along the Road there are Sancta Marias and Crucifixes for the Convenience of itinerant Worshippers. My Guide of Ghent (who had served a long Time in the french Army, which is not the School of most rigid Superstition) pointed out to me in my Walk, which he took Care should be thro the Streets where the Patriots and Soldiery fought, the Marks of many Musket Balls in the Wall of a House against which was an Image either of the Virgin or her Son, I forget which, and miraculously not a Bullet had touched that sacred Spot. Chance might have done this, was the first Idea which entered the unbelieving Noddle of a Protestant, but after passing I looked back and found that the Miracle would have been to have hit it, for it stood on a Corner exactly out of the Line of Fire. I might therefore very easily have explained this Miracle, but if I should convince him of the Folly of the Faith he has held for above sixty Years, ’tis ten to one if he could now find a better and therefore it is best to leave him in Possession of his present Property. The Weather has this Day been very fine. The Distance we have come is about thirty to thirty three Miles and we spent six Hours and three Quarters in doing it; near one Hour of the Time was consumed in stopping and changing Horses. I find upon looking over my Route thro the Province of Flanders and begining at Furne where we got the first imperial Horses, that altho the Country is so level that Roads might be run in almost every Direction, I have travelled about six Miles to get a real Distance of five. The Time consumed in going a given Distance is about the same as I have found it in France and the Expence of the Post Horses is the same as nearly as may be, considering the Difference of Measures and Coins. There is however the additional Expence of Tolls or Turnpikes in this Country. Including the Money to Postillions, the Difference of Expence between this and England is about as 3 to 4, or 1/3 more in England. The Turnpikes also are more expensive in that Country, and the Inns infinitely dearer. My Expences from Calais till I arrive at the Hotel in this City are Stg. £10, Distance about 112 to 115 Miles.

Sunday 3d.—After Breakfast this Morning I send to see if I have Letters at the House of Mr. Wolfe, not having any at the Post Office. About Noon Mr. Wolf calls on me and after some Conversation says he will call again this Evening. He has not yet made Enquiries respecting the Sale of Lands. I dine at Home and after Dinner walk along the Ramparts from the Middle of the Town up to the Citadel. While near this latter Place a Procession comes by. They make them every Day. I walk a little Way with them but can hear nothing more than the tedious Repetition of ora pro nobis Domine Deus. These good Folks seem to be of Opinion that the Omnipotent can be coaxed and flattered into their Measures, but in this Idea I fear they are not singular. Voltaire’s Observation is very just: ‘Si le bon Dieu a fait l’homme d’après son Image, l’homme le lui a bien rendu.’ I return Home pretty well fatigued, take Tea and write till eleven. The Weather has been very fine this Day.

Monday 4.—This Morning I dress and visit the various Persons from Whom I received Civilities when last in this City. They are all abroad except Mr. Cogels. I meet Mr. Van Ertborne in the Street, then go to a Coffee House where I see Mr. Dubois, thence to the Church of Saint Walburge, a Lady whose History I am ignorant of. The Altar Piece is very noble, and particularly famous for an Elevation of the Cross by Rubens. We go thence to the Church of the Dominicans in which are many fine Paintings and on the Outside is a Representation of Mount Calvary, such as it exists at Jerusalem. The Monk who shewed it to me told me that the Dominican who took the Dimensions of each Part at the holy City omitted only one, and finding out this Omission when he had got Home, he returned again. The Flagellation of our Saviour by Reubens is not only an excellent Painting but it is in high Preservation, and looks as freshly as if it had been finished Yesterday. Dine at Home. Wolfe comes in the Evening. He has sounded some Capitalists about Lands but they will not listen to it. He is selling at 75 p% the Stock he bought of Parker & Rogers. He calculates that it cost him about 50 p% and a Loss of 5 p% on the Exchange, but with all this he makes between four and five thousand Pounds Sterling by his Bargain. I find that he grows a little more difficult than he was. Go to Mr. Van Ertborne’s to Supper. Conversation turns on the public Affairs of this Country. It is said that the existing Government have left themselves no Room to Retreat, but they are Priests and therefore they will find a Hole to creep out at whenever it shall be necessary. There was a Raree Show this Day upon the Presentation of a Cannon by the Women of Antwerp, and the other Processions are going, it seems, every Day and all Day long. These Things will do to keep the People in Breath for a while but Something more will become necessary by & bye. The Weather has been very pleasant.

Tuesday 5.—This Morning write. Mr. de Wolf brings me some Letters and is curious to learn the News. I tell him they are Duplicates, and so some of them are and all of them appear, but I afterwards find that there are originals among them. Mr. Van Ertborne the younger calls and sits a little while, and Mr. Cogels comes shortly after and takes me up to go to his Country Seat. It is a very pretty Spot, indebted much to Art, because being a dead Level, Nature has given to no Part of this Country any particular Advantages of Prospect unless indeed it be the Banks of a River. I return to Town at six and go to the Church of the Dominicans where we have some fine Music. Return Home and converse with Mr. de Wolf a little farther about Business, then go to Mr. Van Ertborne’s (the younger) to Supper, a good Supper and Wines and pleasant Conversation. The Weather has this Day been very fine. Mr. Cogels, who is an amateur of botanical Subjects, is now employed in the Culture of American Forest Trees. There are some young ones which are very promising, and there are some very fine Trees of the original Growth of this Country. It seems this Terre belonged formerly to the Jesuits. The Land Measure of this Country is the Bunder, which contains forty square Perch, the Perch is 20 feet long, consequently the Bunder contains 160000 square feet, but the Foot is about 11 1/4 Inches English and I find that the Bunder is about 3 1/4 Acres. The Medium Price of Land is about five to six thousand Florins per Bunder, say about five hundred Dollars per Acre.

Wednesday 200 per Acre for the ordinary Soil. We have a pleasant Day. Return early and write. The Weather is very fine.

Thursday 7.—This Morning write. Mr. Wolf calls and is to come again this Evening. At one Mr. Van Ertborne calls again and takes me up to go into the Country and dine with Mr. Dubois; Mr. Cogels and his Lady are in the Coach with us. He is Son of Mr. Cogels, my Acquaintance, and has married a Woman who seems old enough almost to be his Mother, a Love Match on his Part, and turned adrift for making it by his Father. We have a pleasant Party at the House of Dubois. Walking with him after Dinner I take Occasion to observe that he has suffered for the Sins of his Youth in the Urethra, and then propose to him the Means of Cure, which he thankfully accepts. There has been a Man executed at Brussels by the Mob for insulting some Monks in a Procession. They gave him however Time to confess himself, and one of the holy Fathers was employed for that Purpose. It is a fine Thing to be a good Catholic. We return to Town early and I return Home, expecting Mr. de Wolf, who does not come. The Weather is still very fine. This Afternoon there were a few Drops of Rain.

Friday 8.—This Day I write. Dine at Home; in the Evening de Wolf calls and we come pretty near to an Agreement upon some Points. I then tell him that he must chuse whether to be jointly concerned with me in future Operations or leave me at Liberty to connect myself with others. He owns that this is fair, but it is what he don’t like. He is to consider and give me an Answer ToMorrow. This has been a fine Day.

Saturday 9.—This Morning write. Receive a Letter from Paris which mentions a Negotiation now carrying on for the Debt due by the United States. Dine with Mr. de Wolf; we converse farther on Affairs and he proposes a Commission of 2 p% for his Trouble, and then that the Business be in thirds. I am to consider of this. We go to a Cabinet of Paintings, some of which are very fine. Afterwards walk to the Abbey of St. Michael, which we are to visit again ToMorrow, it being too late to see the Paintings. At my Return Home I find a dozen of Ortolans which I had ordered in the Feather. They are precisely the Reed Bird of America. Having been fatted in Confinement they are more oily than they are in America and have less Flavor. I but just taste them, having eaten a hearty fish Dinner. One of the Dishes was Sturgeon. It is I find highly prized in this Country. It is good but dear, a florin per Pound. This Morning there was a little Rain but it is fair Weather in the Evening.

Sunday 10.—This Morning write till nine when Mr. de Wolf comes to Breakfast. Give him some Papers to examine. After Breakfast we go again to the Abbey of St. Michael’s where there is a Collection of fine Paintings. Leave him here and go out to the Seat of Mr. Dubois. We have here a pretty large Company and as usual Good Chear which is chearfully distributed. Return pretty early and read. It has rained a little this Day and looks like the Approach of Autumn. Two People were found in their House murdered this Morning. I took that Occasion to propose to Dubois a Society for the Purchase of Land in America.

Monday for the Excrement of its Inhabitants. He tells me farther that Gen¹. Dalton quarrelled with the Corporation of Bruxelles upon this Subject. He insisted on his Right to sell the Offal of his Troops, and obliged them to worship Cloacina in a Place prepared for the Purpose. The precious Offerings thus collected were sold by his Excellency, but the vigilant Agents of the City made a Seizure of it as contraband. This Matter was in Consequence brought forward by Appeal to the States of the Province, but before a final Decision the Gen¹. was obliged to quit the Country. This is one among many Grievances suffered under the former Government. It was a Violation of the Privileges secured to the Capital of the Province, if not by Charter, at least by long Usage, and I should suppose an uninterrupted Possession. It seems however to be but a whimsical Cause of Quarrel and I can’t help telling my friend Wolf that if the History of the eighteenth Century should be written hereafter by a very merry Philosopher, he may be tempted to observe that towards the Close of it a War broke out in America for Tea and in Flanders for Turd. The Weather continues fair but is a little cooler than it was, this Evening.

Tuesday 12.—This Morning write. Dine with the younger Dubois in the Country. After my Return, write. De Wolf calls but makes his Visit short. We are to finish ToMorrow. I spoke to Cornelison about a Speculation in American Lands & told him that I had left a Note on the Subject with Dubois. He says that he is much more in a Situation to do a Thing of the Sort than Dubois. I enquire again about a Grass cultivated here for Pasturage which they call Spurry. It is sown after Grain is taken off, and having been fed, the Remainder is ploughed in as a Manure and other Grain sown. The botanic Name, they tell me, is Spartilla. This Morning the Weather was fine, at Noon cloudy and this Evening cold and blustering; about ten it begins to rain.

Wednesday 13.—This Morning write, and conclude Matters with Mr. de Wolf. Dine with Mrs. Dubois. He dines with the Bishop in Gala and leaves an Apology. The Count d’Otromonde also, whom I expected to meet, is in the same Predicament. The Countess presses me very politely to dine to Morrow. This is a charming Society and I quit them with great Regret. Return to Town and write. Mr. Wolf sups with me and stays till twelve. The Wind was high last Night and this Morning from the Northwest, with Showers. This Evening it is again calm, and promises fine Weather.

Thursday 14.—This Morning compleat my Letters and prepare for Departure. Mr. de Wolf calls to take Leave and at 1/4 past eleven I step into the Carriage. My Expences at Antwerp amount to £12 . . 10 Sterling. From Antwerp we go to Walhem, at entering of which we cross the River Neethe, a Branch of the Scheld, which is here between thirty and forty Yards wide. A Wooden Bridge & a Drawbridge of Course, for this River is navigable even with a Tide. We pass thro Maline without stopping, having bated about a League short of it. Shortly after bating, the poor Dog in following the Carriage gets his Foot much hurt by the Wheel, and we are obliged to take him in. We are near six Hours in going from Antwerp to Louvain and yet I do not think the Distance is above 26 Miles. I have strong Horses, taken of Mr. Loos, mine Host at Antwerp. The Road from that City is very fine, particularly from Malines to Louvain, a Strait Line of twelve Miles. The Road wide, well paved in the Center, with fine Trees on each Side. The Country very good, being less sandy than the Route thro Flanders by a great Deal. At Louvain we put up at the Ville de Cologne where I have but bad Fare; this is wholesome. Mr. Werbroock comes in after Dinner and gives me much Conversation. It is very tiresome, but perhaps the Manner of Listening to it may hereafter turn to Account. The Weather has this Day been unpleasant. A high Southwest Wind which threatens Rain without Raining, but we shall probably have a little To Night.

Friday 15.—This Morning at six I leave Louvain. The Inn is bad and dear. The Town is large and surrounded with Works now crumbling to Pieces. It is connected commercially with Maline by a Canal which the Road crosses. It is situated in a Hollow, having Hills to the Eastward and a rising Ground to the Westward. In two Hours we reach Tirlemont where we stop twenty Minutes, the Distance about ten Miles. We then go on to St. Tron where we arrive in two Hours and ten Minutes, Distance about eleven Miles. We breakfast at the Sauvage Hotel. Dirty, with a very civil, crooked old ugly Landlady. A bad Place enough. About 4 Miles short of St. Tron, at a little Village called Halle, we leave Brabant and get into the Païs de Liège. In an Hour and three Quarters from St. Tron we arrive at a Post House in a Village, or rather Hamlet, called Oreye, the Distance about nine Miles. This Village is on the Waters of the Meuse. We stay here a Quarter of an Hour and then go on in two Hours and a quarter to Liège, being about ten Miles, but a considerable Time is spent in descending the Hill, examining Passport and going thro the City to the Hotel de l’Aigle Noir. This last Stage is over a high Plain, the precedg. Part of the Route thro a waving Country; on the whole it is not unlike Picardy. The Soil is very good and it is well cultivated but I think not quite so well as the flat Country. Liège, altho the Soil is not worse than the adjacent Country of Brabant, has Marks of great Poverty. I attribute this to a defective Constitution or imperfect State of Society, but it may have arisen from political Combinations or Events. I am inclined to think from what I see of this Country, that did the whole belong to one Sovereign or State it would not be difficult to extend an inland Navigation from Malines to the Meuse, and the very many Waggons which we meet laden with Coal would seem to shew not only the Advantage but almost the Necessity of attempting it. An Observation which strikes me very forcibly in this Day’s Ride is that if the Emperor can obtain from the Liegeois a free Passage thro their Country, and comes this Way with twenty thousand Men, while with ten thousand he watches Namur and pushes forward with ten thousand by the Route of Charleroy, it will (humanly speaking) be impossible for the Patriots to make Head. There is I think nothing from the Citadel of Liège to the Citadel of Antwerp which could delay the Advance of good Troops well commanded, for twenty four Hours. At Tirlemont there are the Remains of very extensive and strong Lines but they would require a great Army to man them, and then it is I think questionable whether they would not be rather pernicious than useful. Our Journey this Day is 40 Miles. The Road very good and the Weather pleasant.

Saturday 16.—This Morning before Breakfast I walk out to see a little of the Town and call at an Armorer’s. He shews me some well finished Work and from his Manner of speaking I think he understands the Business. The Difference in Price between Work done here and in London is very great. He tells me that he has now in hand an Air Gun, which being charged, will discharge twenty Bullets in a Minute. That from thirty to forty Yards the Shot is sure. The Price will be from four to five Guineas. In passing thro the Market I purchase a Hare, very large and fine, for three Escalins of this Country, of which there are thirty nine in a Louis. My Guide tells me that the Price of Beef is from 9 to 10 Sous per lb., Veal and Mutton eight, Pork seven. There are ten Sous in one of their Shillings, so that 13d of this Currency is about 8d Stirling, and a Penny is about equal to a Penny of the Currency of Pensilvania. This is I think the filthiest Town I ever yet beheld, owing in some Measure to its Coal Trade. This Article is dug all round the City they tell me, and in great Abundance. The Price per Cart Load is I think ten of their Shillings, but perhaps ten Florins or twenty Shillings. Care would keep them clean, for there is much Declivity to the Meuse, but they have not I believe any Concern on the Subject. According to Custom, Filth and Beggary keep Company together. At every Step I am importuned by squalid Wretchedness. This also I consider as arising from a vicious Government. The Insecurity of Property is fatal to Industry, & Idleness must inevitably be productive of Crimes and both of Misery. This is equally true applied to Individuals and to Nations. A large Abbey dedicated to the Patron of the City will perhaps account in some Measure for the Poverty of the People. The Liègeois appear to me to possess a Mixture of German Steadiness and french Vivacity. Muscular, active, & a Countenance of Enterprize. They are strongly attached to the imperial Cause and opposed to the Brabançons. They say that they have had already too much of priestly Authority not to oppose the Establishment of it. At 1/2 past nine I leave the Hotel of the Black Eagle which is but indifferent and very dear. We are half an Hour from hence to the Top of the Hill on the other Side of the Meuse, which we cross on a good Stone Bridge; it is not very wide here and is at present low. After ascending this Hill, called according to Custom (from the poverty of Language) Montagne, we go on thro Herve and Henri Chapelle to Aix la Chapelle, over a waving Country of long Hills which we cross obliquely; they run about Northwest from the Mountains on our right and our Course is first East, then North East and afterwards more northwardly. I think this Country is without Exception the most beautiful I ever beheld. The Shape and Soil remind me of America but as it is more a pasture than grain Country and as the Fields are small and Cottages numerous, the View is more pictoresque. The Mountain, covered with Forest now grown brown by the Approach of Winter, forms a fine back Ground. It is a high even continued Ridge. Shortly before we reach our Journey’s End we cross a Spur of it, if not the main Ridge. The Road is here unreasonably bad, having never been paved nor (from Appearances) otherwise taken Care of. Both the Ascent and Descent are steep and in a deep Gully so narrow that for the greater Part of the Way it is impossible for two Carriages to pass each other. We meet several Waggons and Carts but (luckily) in Places which admit of a Passage, tho with Difficulty. The Custom is to stop and look out for the next Reach of this winding miserable Route, which is a Reflection upon the Police of Aix la Chapelle, within whose Territory it is. Thro Limbourg and Liège the Road is very good, being paved. We have come about 27 Miles or at most 30, and including three Quarters of an Hour of Stoppage to refresh the Horses we are eight Hours and a Quarter on the Way. This gives seven and an Half of Movement, the first Half of which was employed in ascending from Liège and of the remaining seven two were consumed in the last four Miles. The Weather this Day is prodigiously fine. I put up at the Hotel of Dubich, which being full, Madame surrenders to me her own Appartment. If it be not clean it is at least scented, but alas! it is by a Close Stool. My Dinner would have been very bad but for Half a dozen of Grives which I bought in the Morning. Patience!

Sunday 17.—This Morning as soon as I have taken Breakfast, which from the Badness of the Butter is reduced to a Dish of Tea, I walk out to view this City, which within Walls of vast Extent is but small, containing I find about twenty thousand People. They are poor and likely to continue so from the Spirit of Gambling not barely tolerated but absolutely encouraged by the Magistracy. Call on Mrs. Waller, who is not at Home. Then look into the Cathedral and at the Town House. Take a Walk round a Part of the Town, then come in again and see the Baths, the public Walk or Watering Place and one of the Gaming Rooms, where a great Circulation goes forward. Dine at Home, tho much prest by a french Gentleman whose Name I forget, to partake of his Repast; and I should have dined better had I accepted the Invitn.. After Dinner read, and in the Evening visit again Mrs. Waller from whom I received a Note to take Tea. Here is a pretty considerable Party, among whom are a beautiful Aunt of Madame de Chastellux. She tells me that she has been informed by her of my Intention to visit this Place. There is here an ancien Maître d’Hotel of the King’s, réfugié. Mr. Livingston, whom I had met at Gen¹. Morris’s, a sensible well informed Man. He as well as I stays Supper and we sit till about one. Return Home together & he indicates to me the best Inns on my intended Route. The Weather has been very fine this Day.

Monday 18.—This Morning I am detained above an Hour by the sleepy Indolence of the Post Master and his People, so that I do not get off till a Quarter after seven. The Grand Hotel Dubich, once very good, is now very bad and very dear. The old People are dead and their Son, who has been some Time in Paris, resides here and his great fat Mistress superintends the Ménage, which is in Consequence more like a Bagnio than an Inn. We go about four Miles over a wretched Pavement, which like every Thing else in and about this City bespeaks Indolence and Wretchedness. I learnt last Evening a further Reason for the Neglect of the Roads and other Objects of public Utility. There have been for a long Time political Disputes in this City, and Commissaries have been named by the Chamber of Wetzlaer to examine into and adjust the Differences. They have now been sitting for Years, receiving considerable Pay and Emoluments which consume the Revenues, and therefore it is not likely that the Affair will be speedily terminated. They have however committed one of the antient Magistracy to Prison for Embezzlement of public Money to considerable Amount, and such Delinquencies were it seems among the primary Causes of Discontent, so that in examining to the Bottom of the Business it may fairly be traced to the Spirit of Gambling and Dissipation. After we get to the End of the pavé we are on a gravelly Road and go thro a wretched Village called Aldenham to Juliers. The Soil is all the Way gravelly and the Country in that as in its Shape resembles the Neighbourhood of London. It is in its natural State far more fertile but the Culture is greatly inferior. We are half an Hour in changing Horses and were three and an Half in coming hither, about fifteen Miles. From hence we go in two Hours and an Half about 12 Miles over a gravelly Plain to Bercheim, which lies on a small Branch of the Rhine. The Grounds about it are cultivated as are those immediately adjacent to Juliers, all the Rest is in Forest except a few Acres at the little Hamlet of Steinstraes, lying half Way between Juliers and Bercheim. The Trees in this Forest are small and bespeak a Soil far from luxuriant. We are again Half an Hour in changing our Horses and then proceed in three Hours about fifteen Miles to Cologne over a gravelly Country. Immediately after we set off we ascend a Hill of tolerable Elevation, after which the Country is waving but without Streams in the Hollows excepting in one or two Places. The Water bespeaks a similar Country at their Sources, being clear and bright. At Keuningdorf we come to the gentle Declivity which leads to the Rhine at about six to eight Miles Distance. It is a Plain but a little inclined. The Soil a gravel with a little Loam and if well cultivated it must produce much, but I think from Appearances that there is more Industry than Intelligence in the Husbandry of this Neighbourhood. We have been ten Hours and an Half to get on forty two Miles. After taking an Indifferent Repast, the greater Part of which I give to my Dog, and drinking a Bottle of good Rhenish, I (in the Sailor Style) turn in. The Weather has been pleasant this Day but a high Wind at West threatens for ToMorrow.

Tuesday 19.—It rained hard last Night, and this Morning it is fair. Upon Enquiry I find that (the Hour of nine being passed) I must stay till three if I wish to view the Tomb of the three Kings in the Cathedral. I determine therefore to make Use of the fine Weather and depart. From the Chamber in which I am lodged I have a View of the Rhine which is here about as wide as the Delaware at Trenton Ferry. It is crossed by what is called a flying Bridge. This consists of two large Boats joined together by a Stage which projects beyond the Sides considerably, and the Landing is on each Side a sloping Wooden Bridge, so that whether the River be high or low it can be used with equal Facility and Convenience. This Stage is large enough to hold many Carriages and Horses which are drawn in at one Side and come out at the other, the Whole being railed round with a Place apart for those on Foot and a little Gate to go into it. Between one Half and one third of the Distance from the Bow, but I think about one third, stands in each Boat a Mast tolerably high and these are strongly connected together at Top. Near the Top is a cross Piece below that which connects the two together, over which slides the Hawser, fastened a Midships near the Stern by a Capstern or Windlass. From each Mast there are Shrouds to the outside of the Stage, and from each a fore Stay to the Bow of the opposite Boat. The Bows are also connected together by a Piece of Round Timber. Each Boat has a broad Rudder, and I suppose the Tillers are connected by a Piece of Timber, but cannot distinguish. Each Tiller, however, has a Man at Helm. The Boats are neither flat nor sharp forward, but as it were between, both having a kind of double Stern joined at Top and diverging. I suppose they are built with two Keels so as to take the Ground occasionally. The Hawser goes a considerable Distance up Stream and is fastened to a Chain in a small Boat, that again to another and that to a third, and so on a sufficient Distance, to a Boat moored in the Middle of the Stream. In each of these Boats the Chain is raised a few feet by a kind of Mast standing far forward, and to each there are fixed at the Stern two Leeboards to operate as a kind of Rudders, which by keeping the Head to the Stream check the Rapidity of the Motion. Those nearest the Bridge have these Boards most perpendicular, and the upper Boat has none. One Effect of these Rudders is to give the Boats a considerable Heel, for evident Reasons, and would overset them if the little Mast were high. The Motion is acquired by steering the Bridge across the Stream in an Angle of 45°.; by encreasing or diminishing the Angle the Velocity is encreased or diminished. The greater the Length of the Chord, or in other Words the smaller is the Segment of the Curve, the easier is the Crossing performed. At a Quarter after twelve I leave the Hotel of the Holy Ghost at Cologne for Bonn. We go along the Rhine, tho only once in Sight of it. The Distance is about seventeen Miles which we go in three Hours and an Half, including a small Stop for refreshing the Horses. The Soil is a gravelly Loam cultivated in Corn and Vines. It resembles very much the Soil of a Plain on my Farm formerly called Snake Rock. It is level and I believe fertile. With good Husbandry it would certainly yield well. After Dinner I wait on the french Minister with a Letter from the Count de Montmorin,