But it is not only Barrere and his colleagues who ſuppoſe the whole country bribeable—the notion is common to the French in general; and vanity adding to the omnipotence of gold, whenever they ſpeak of a battle loſt, or a town taken, they conclude it impoſſible to have occurred but through the venal treachery of their officers.—The Engliſh, I have obſerved, always judge differently, and would not think the national honour ſuſtained by a ſuppoſition that their commanders were vulnerable only in the hand. If a general or an admiral happen to be unfortunate, it would be with the utmoſt reluctance that we ſhould think of attributing his miſchance to a cauſe ſo degrading; yet whoever has been uſed to French ſociety will acknowledge, that the firſt ſuggeſtion on ſuch events is "nos officiers ont ete gagnes," [Our officers were bought.] or "ſans la trahiſon ce ne ſeroit pas arrive." [This could not have happened without treachery.]—Pope's hyperbole of
"Juſt half the land would buy, and half be ſold,"
is more than applicable here; for if we may credit the French themſelves, the buyers are by no means ſo well proportioned to the ſellers.
As I have no new political intelligence to comment upon, I ſhall finiſh my letter with a domeſtic adventure of the morning.—Our houſe waſ yeſterday aſſigned as the quarters of ſome officers, who, with part of a regiment, were paſſing this way to join the Northern army. As they ſpent the evening out, we ſaw nothing of them, but finding one was a Colonel, and the other a Captain, though we knew what republican colonels and captains might be, we thought it civil, or rather neceſſary, to ſend them an invitation to breakfaſt. We therefore ordered ſome milk coffee early, (for Frenchmen ſeldom take tea,) and were all aſſembled before the uſual time to receive our military gueſts. As they did not, however, appear, we were ringing to enquire for them, when Mr. D____ entered from hiſ morning walk, and deſired us to be at eaſe on their account, for that in paſſing the kitchen, he had perceived the Captain fraternizing over ſome onions, bread, and beer, with our man; while the Colonel was in cloſe conference with the cook, and watching a pan of ſoup, which was warming for his breakfaſt. We have learned ſince, that theſe heroes were very willing to accept of any thing the ſervants offered them, but could not be prevailed upon to approach us; though, you are to underſtand, this waſ not occaſioned either by timidity or incivility, but by mere ignorance. —Mr. D____ ſays, the Marquiſe and I have not diveſted ourſelves of ariſtocratic aſſociations with our ideas of the military, and that our deſhabilles this morning were unuſually coquetiſh. Our projects of conqueſt were, however, all fruſtrated by the unlucky intervention of Bernardine's ſoupe aux choux, [Cabbage-ſoup.] and Euſtace's regale of cheeſe and onions.
"And with ſuch beaux 'tis vain to be a belle."
Yours, &c.
Amiens, Dec. 10, 1794.
Your American friend paſſed through here yeſterday, and delivered me the two parcels. As marks of your attention, they were very acceptable; but on any other account, I aſſure you, I ſhould have preferred a preſent of a few pecks of wheat to all your fineries.
I have been uſed to conclude, when I ſaw ſuch ſtrange and unaccountable abſurdities given in the French papers as extracts from the debates in either of your Houſes of Parliament, that they were probably fabricated here to ſerve the deſigns of the reigning factions: yet I perceive, by ſome old papers which came with the muſlins, that there are really members ſo ill-informed or ſo unprincipled, as to uſe the language attributed to them, and who aſſert that the French are attached to their government, and call France "a land of republicans."