5. By the poor of the city.
6. By the porters, &c.
We gave the priest some money, and he pronounced a blessing and departed very well pleased. I was told that he and his convents got their living altogether by begging. We gave the captain half a crown a-piece, and some silver, sous, &c. to the other beggars.
In a few minutes another swarm of beggars came that belong to Calais, and as we did not supply all their wants, some of them broke one of the windows belonging to the room where we were sitting, by a rapid stroke with a stick, stone, or some such thing.
We soon sat down to dinner. The table was spread in an elegant manner, with napkins laid in our plates, which we used to keep our clothes clean.
I was asked, A'imez vous la soupe à la Françoise, Monsieur?
My answer was—Oui, Madame.
Besides soup, we had beef, mutton, veal, rabbits, hares, geese, fowls, pigeons, &c. several sorts of pies, excellent wine, and sweet cakes, figs, appricots, cherries and strawberries; the latter we mixed with white sugar and wine, and eat the composition with spoons, which is the French fashion. Their loaves of bread were about two feet in length, and six inches in breadth, and their knives had picked points, and their forks four tines a piece. Every one of us was allowed a tumbler to drink out of: but the French do not drink healths, though they pretended at the Custom-house, that we must give them money to buy liquor with for that purpose. We did not pay for our wines in France as we were on our way to Paris, as we had done at Dover, &c.
The drinking of healths has been, and still is, too much practised both in Great Britain and America; and especially among the lower class of people. For when Timothy Toss Pot is in company, he says, "Your healths ladies and gentlemen," every time he drinks, which will be perhaps fifty times in an evening; whereas it might be as well, nay much better, to drink their healths but once, or not at all, which would save much trouble, and prevent the company from being interrupted with such clamours.
I have asked why the health drinkers do not follow that practice when they drink tea, or coffee; as the Irish woman did when she partook of the sacrament; and have been told, that it is because it is not the fashion, and that from hence it has been omitted. The fashion, however, must be followed, right or wrong; for, Out of the fashion out of the world, according to the old woman's scripture: And, When we are among the Romans we must do as the Romans do. For,