tar, which gives them an appearance of being very heavy, and very mean.

The commerce formerly carried on at Havre, was very extenfive. There is here alfo large manufactories for lace, The theatre is very fpacious, well arranged, and as far as we could judge by day-light, handfomely decorated. The players did not perform during our stay. In the vegetable market place, which was much crowded, and large, we faw at this feason of the year abundance of fine apples, as fresh in appearance as when they were first plucked from

the tree.

In our way there we were accofted by a little ragged beggar boy, who addreffed himself to our com- paffionate difpofitions, by the appellation of " très charitable citoyen," but finding we gave nothing, he immediately changed it to "mon chère très charitable monfieur."

The ftrange uncouth expreffion of citoyen is gene-rally laid afide, except amongst the immediate officers under government, in their official communications, who, however, renounce it in private, for the more civilized title of " monfieur."

The principal church is a fine handsome building.. and had been opened for worship, the Sunday before we arrived: On that day the bell of the Sabbath first founded, during ten years of revolution, infidelity, and bloodfhed ! ! !

The royal arms are every where removed. They formerly constituted a very beautiful ornament over the door of the hotel of the prefent prefect, at the head of the market place, but they have been rudely beaten out by battle axes, and replaced by rude republican emblems, which every where (I speak of them as a decoration) feem to disfigure the buildings which bear them. When I made this remark, I muft, however, candidly confefs, that my mind very cordially accompanied my eye, and that a natural fentiment mingled with the obfervation. The quays, piers, and arfenal are very fine, they, together with the docks, for fmall fhips of war and merchandize, were conftructed under the auspices of Lewis XIV. with whom this port was a great favorite.

We faw feveral groups of men at work in heavy chains.

They were foldiers, who had offended. They are dreffed in red jackets and trowfers, which are fuppofed to increase their difgrace, on account of its being the regimental color of their old enemy, the English. When my companion, who wore his regimentals, paffed them, they all moved their caps to him with great respect.

The town, and confequently the commerce of Rouen, was most fuccefsfully blockaded, for near four years, by British commanders, during the late war, and particularly by Sir Sidney Smith. It was here,] when endeavoring to cut out a veffel, which in point of value, and confideration was unworthy of fuch an]

expofure, that this great hero, and distinguished being, was made a prisoner of war. The inhabitants, who never speak of him, but with emotions of terror, confider this event as the rash refult of a wager conceived over wine. Those who know the character of Sir Sidney, will not impute to him fuch an act of idle temerity. No doubt he confidered the object, as included in his duty, and it is only to be lamented, that during two lingering years of rigorous, and cruel confinement, in the dungeons of the unhappy fovereign, his country was bereaved of the affiftance of her immortal champion, who, in a future feafon, upon the fhores of Acre, fo nobly filled up the gloomy chafm of fufpended fervices, by exploits which to be believ ed, must not be adequately described, and who revenged, by an act of unrivalled glory, the long endurance of sufferings, and indignities hateful to the magnanimous fpirit of modern warfare, and unknown to it, displayed within the walls of a Pruffian dungeon.

*

I fhall hereafter have occafion to mention this extraordinary character, when I fpeak of his escape from the Temple, the real circumstances attending which are but little known, and which I received from anauthority upon which the reader may rely.

This town is not unknown to hiftory. At the

The cruel imprisonment of la Fayette is alluded to.

celebrated fiege of it, in the time of Catherine de Medicis, that execrable princefs, distinguished herfelf by her perfonal intrepidity. It is faid, that she landed here, in a galley, bearing the device of the fun, with these words in greek, "I bring light, and fine weather"-a motto which ill correfponded with her conduct.

With great courage fuch as feldom affociates with cruel, and ferocious tyrants, the here on horseback, at the head of her army, expofed herself to the fire of the cannon, like the most veteran foldiers, and betrayed no fymptoms of fear, although the bullets flew about her in all directions. When defired by the duke of Guife, and the Conftable de Montmorenci, not to expose her person fò much, the brave, bút fanguinary Catharine replied, "Have I not more to "lose than you, and do you think I have not as "much courage?"

The walk, through la ville de Sandwiche, to the light houses, which are about two miles from Havre, is very pleafing. The path lay through flax and clover fields. In this part of the country, the farmers practise an excellent plan of rural economy, which is alfo ufed in Dorsetshire, and fome few other counties, of confining their cattle by a string to a fpot of pafture, until they have completely cleared it.

Upon the hill, afcending to the cliffs, are feveral

D

very elegant chateaus and gardens, belonging to the principal inhabitants of the town.

Monfieur B, the prefect de marine, has a beautiful refidence here. We were accidentally stopping at his gate, which was open, to view the enchanting profpects, which it prefented to us, when the polite owner observed us, and with that amiableness, and civility, which still distinguish the defcendants of the ancient families of rank in France, of which he is one, requested us to enter, and walked with us round his grounds, which were difpofed with great taste. He afterwards conducted us to his elegant houie, and gave us dried fruit, and excellent burgundy, after which we walked round the village to the light. houses. From him we learnt, that the farmers here, as in England, were very refpectable, and had amaffed confiderable wealth during the war. The ap-. proach to the light houses through a row of elms, is very pleasant; they stand upon an immense high perpendicular cliff, and are lofty fquare buildings, compofed of fine light brown free ftone, the entrance is handfome, over which there is a good room, containing four high windows, and a lodging room for the people, who have the care of the light, the glafs chamber of which we reached, after afcending to a confiderable height, by a curious fpiral stone stair cafe. The lantern is compofed of ninety immenfe Kell

reflecting lamps, which are capable of being raifed or

depreffed with great cafe by means of an iron wind