16 THEIR GRATITUDE.-MAKE THE PORT OF HAVRE.

dantly repaid, by the thankfulness of all, and the serviceable attentions of some of our agreeable guests, when we landed; an instance of which I shall afterwards have occasion to mention. The wind slackened during the day, but in the evening it blew rather fresh, and about nine o'clock the next morning, after a night passed something in the same way as its predecessor, we were awakened by being informed that Havre was within a league of us; news by no means disagreeable, after the dead dulness of a sea calm.

The appearance of the coast was high, rugged, and rocky; to use a good marine expression, it looked ironbound all along shore. To the east, upon an elevated point of land, are two noble light houses, of very beautiful construction, which I shall have occasion to describe hereafter.

At some little distance, we saw considerable flights of wild ducks. The town and bason lie round the high western point from the lights, below which there is a fine pebbled beach. The quays are to the right and left within the pier, upon the latter of which there is a small round tower. It was not the intention of our packet

PANIC OF THE EMIGRANTS.

17

captain to anchor within the pier, for the purpose of saving the port anchorage dues, which amount to eight pounds sterling, but a government boat came off, and ordered the vessel to haul close up to the quay, an order which was given in rather a peremptory manner. Upon our turning the pier, we saw, as we warped up to the quay, an im mense motley crowd flocking down to view us. A panic ran throughout our poor fellow passengers. From the noise and confusion on shore, they expected that some recent revolution had occurred, and that they were upon the point of experiencing all the calamities which they had before fled from; they looked pale and agitated upon each other, like a timid and terrified flock of sheep upon the approach of a noisy and voracious cur... It turned out, however, that mere curiosity, excited by the display of English colours, had assembled this formidable rabble, and that the order which we received from the government boat, was given for the purpose of compelling the captain to incur, and consequently to pay, the anchorage dues. In a moment we were beset by a parcel of men and boys, half naked,

C

18

LANDING DESCRIBED.

and in wooden shoes, who hallooing and "sacre

dieuing" each other most unmercifully, began, without further ceremony, to seize upon every trunk within their reach, which they threw into their boats lying alongside.

By a well-timed rap upon the knuckles of one of these officious functionaries, we prevented our luggage from sharing the same fate. It turned out, that there was a competition for carrying our trunks on shore, for the sake of an immoderate premium which they expected to receive, and which occasioned our being assailed in this violent manner. Our fellow passengers were obliged to go on shore with these vociferous watermen, who had the impudence and inhumanity to charge them two livres each for conveying them to the landing steps, a short distance of about fifty yards. Upon their landing, we were much pleased to observe that the people offered them neither violence nor insult. They were received with a sullen silence, and a lane was made for them to pass into the town. The poor old clergyman, who had survived the passage, was left on board, in the care of two benevolent persons, un

LANDING DESCRIBED.

19

til he could be safely and comfortably conveyed on shore. We soon afterwards followed our fel

low passengers in the captain's boat, by which plan we afforded these extortioners a piece of salutary information, very necessary to be made known to them, that, although we were English, we were not to be imposed upon. Upon our landing, and entering the streets, I was a little struck with the appearance of the women, who were habited in a coarse red camlet jacket, with a high apron before, long flying lappets to their caps, and were mounted upon large heavy wooden shoes, upon each of which a worsted tuft was fixed, in rude imitation of a rose. The appearance and clatter of these sabots, as they are called, leave upon the mind an inpression of extreme poverty and wretchedness.

They are, however, more favoured than the lower order of females in Scotland. Upon a brisk sprightly chamber-maid entering my room one day at an inn in Glasgow, I heard a sound resembling the pattering of some web-footed bird, in the act of climbing up the miry side of a pond. I looked down upon the feet of this bonny lassie,

20

HOTEL DE LA PAIX.

and found that their only covering was procured from the mud of the high street.-Adieu! to the tender eulogies of the pastoral reed! I have never thought of a shepherdess since with pleasure.

I could not help observing the ease, dexterity, and swiftness, with which a single man conveyed all our luggage, which was very heavy, to the custom-house, and afterwards to the inn, in a wheelbarrow, differing from ours only in being larger, and in having two elastic handles of about nine feet long. At the custom-house, notwithstanding what the English papers have said of the conduct of the revenue officers, we were very civilly treated, our boxes were only just opened, and some of our packages were not examined at all. Away we had them whirled to the Hôtel de la Paix, the front of which looks upon the wetdock, and is embellished with a large board, upon which is recorded in yellow characters, as usual, the superior advantages of this house over every other hôtel in Havre. Upon our arrival, we were ushered up a large dirty staircase into a lofty room, upon the first floor, all the windows of which were open, divided, as they always are in