of several hundred feet in height, when a servant from the hotel came running to us out of breath, to communicate the information that the steam was up and the boat on the point of departing. Breakfast was out of the question, as hardly time remained for paying the bill of expenses already incurred; but each of us took the precaution to put a roll of bread in his pocket, as nothing is to be had on board. To increase our embarrassments and toils, a drawbridge had been taken up to let a vessel out of the dock, which compelled us to go round the harbour, making a circuit of a mile or more. But notwithstanding these delays, we reached the dock in season to embark on board the steam-boat Medusa at 10 o'clock, and to hear for the last time at present, the importunate claims of English servants-"please to remember the waiter-please to remember the porter-please to remember the person who saw your baggage safely on board," and half a dozen other demands in the same style. One of the men at the wharf carries the joke so far, as to put in a claim of sixpence for every passenger, who walks over his plank laid upon the side of the boat. This circumstance reminded me of a little incident, which occurred in our ride from Limerick to Dublin. As the coach drove up to the door of a small inn, a female placed a flight of portable steps reaching to the top of the vehicle, and the passengers thoughtlessly walked down, thinking the people at the hotel very accommodating. But on reaching the ground, the good woman presented a charge of an Irish sixpence for descending by her ladder. The steam-boat Medusa has a name not more classical than appropriate; for she is clothed with as many terrors as her Grecian prototype, She is a mere cock-boat in size, of about thirty-five tons burthen, and of course without any convenient accommodations for passengers. Her construction is extremely rude, awkward, and uncomfortable. It occasioned not a little surprise to find such a packet at one of the most frequented points in Europe. In our country, the vessel would be condemned as unseaworthy, or if she attempted to run, the number of passengers would not pay for her fuel. But here no alternative offers, and the traveller is compelled to submit to such inconveniences. Fortunately our voyage of about thirty miles was accomplished in three or four hours. Had the boat met with adverse winds, and been compelled to remain on the water during the night, as is frequently the case, our situation would have been intolerable. The preceding packet which left the French shore did not arrive at Dover, till 11 o'clock in the evening, being driven about the Channel all day and a part of the night, without provisions or refreshments of any kind. The duty on a ~ boat is £10 sterling a trip, levied by the French government -fare, half a guinea. The day on which we crossed was perfectly clear, and comparatively tranquil. There was, however, a heavy swell coming in from the south-west, occasioned by a severe gale on the night previous, from the agitations of which the sea had not yet subsided. For the first mile or two, the receding view of the English coast, and of the white cliffs of Dover, with the town and harbour at the base, was charming. But it was of short duration to a great majority of the passengers, who thronged the deck; for no sooner had the Medusa reached mid-seas, than she began to dance and roll about upon the waves like an empty cask. 66 and The geological formation of the French coast is similar to that of the English about Dover. Bold chalky cliffs and promontories rise from the sea in the same manner. The two shores appear as if they had been divided by what geologists, with all the vagueness of Cowper's sticklers for primary causes, denominate some great convulsion of nature." By the time two thirds of our passage had been accomplished, the boat was in the lee of the Gallic hills, the water became less agitated, resuscitating our crew, and rendering their condition more comfortable. The Castle of Dover is just discernible above the surface of the sea from the opposite side; and it is possible there was no exaggeration in the picture, which the itinerant orator, Ogilvie, was fond of drawing, and in which Napoleon was represented as casting a wistful eye upon the white cliffs of Albion. There is much less probability in the vulgar belief, that the steamguns of Perkins, will be able to send shot across the Channel, and that the two quarrelsome neighbours may hereafter have a kind of national cannonade from their respective hills, over the narrow frith that divides them. LETTER XXXIII. ARRIVAL AT CALAIS-DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN--CUSTOM November, 1825.-At about 2 o'clock in the afternoon of the 27th, we arrived at Calais, which is situated upon a patch of alluvial ground, reclaimed from the dominion of the sea, and susceptible of being restored to its former allegiance at any moment, by opening the flood-gates of the dikes. This is one of the defences of the place, and if my memory serves me, it has been used with success. The harbour is small and inconvenient, being entirely artificial; and the town, owing to its sunken position, does not appear to any advantage from the water, although it is not wanting in a due proportion of churches, steeples, monuments, and other architectural orna ments. The wharf on which we landed is one of the greatest works at Calais, and would do credit to a port of more commercial importance. It is faced with hewn stone, and rises several feet above high-water mark, possessing all the usual conveniences for embarking and debarking. The Custom House fronts upon it, near which is the light-house, as also a monument to commemorate the landing of Louis XVIII. on his return to France after his exile. A strong barrier, with a handsome iron gate, separates the port from the town, and prevents the entrance of strangers, until they have undergone the requisite examinations. At the arrival of the steam-boat, the wharf was covered with a great crowd of spectators, all jabbering with the usual French loquacity, and producing a curious jargon. A laughable incident occurred in two minutes after setting foot upon the strand of another country. One of our party, who had not taken the precaution to fix on the hotel to which he would go, was beset at the same moment by a dozen waiters and runners from the various inns, all extolling their respective accommodations, and urging their claims to a preference in the most obstreperous manner. As he had not made up his mind what to say, he at first stood mute, and endeavoured to elude the clamours of the mob by a profound silence; but this was construed into indecision, and the importunities of the circle around him were carried so far, as to take hold of his garments and pull him different ways. Such treatment produced a degree of irritation, and he dashed through the throng like a second Sampson. Our baggage was all taken to the Custom House, where it underwent another examination, although on inspecting our trunks afterwards, we could not find that a single article had been moved from its place, or in any way molested, either here or on the other side of the Channel. It has been our good fortune thus far to escape all those vexations arising from a rigid inspection of baggage and a demand of exorbitant fees, to which other travellers have been subjected. On landing in Ireland, and subsequently in England, our trunks were not examined at all; and in the present instance, the business was accomplished in a few minutes, without any trouble, and for a very moderate fee. The present peaceful state of Europe has undoubtedly produced a relaxation of the system regulating the intercourse between nations. Our passports were delivered in at the police office, and substitutes handed to us, which were taken to Paris, where the originals were restored. After going through with these ceremonies, we were permitted to enter within the walls of Calais, and to take lodgings for the night at Dessein's Hotel, in the Rue Royale. Our reasons for selecting this in preference to a multitude of others, were grounded on the celebrity it has received from Sterne's Sentimental Journey. The chamber which the eccentric author of this work occupied yet remains unaltered, and was pointed out to us. It is on the second floor of the hotel, fronting upon a pretty flower-garden, which in the season of its bloom might inspire taste and sentiment, especially of the description in which Sterne most delighted. The door of the room bears his name. I suppose we saw the very "Remise" that contained the "Disobligeante," in which the preface to the Sentimental Journey was written, and where Yorick held high colloquies with the fair brunette, the monk, and Monseiur Dessein. The latter has been dead many years though the establishment he left behind has been enlarged, and is kept up in good style. It is a spacious house, standing round two open courts, and presenting a showy exterior. The apartments of this hotel, which is above the ordinary standard of French inns, are handsomely finished and furnished, with the exception of the floors and fire-places, both of which are uncomfortable in cold weather. Count Rum-` ford's philosophy does not seem to have reached the firesides of France. There is a want of system and economy in the mode of constructing chimneys and warming houses-a fact the more remarkable, since fuel, consisting almost entirely of wood, is scarce and extravagantly high. In winter it costs a family more to supply the hearth than the table. At Dessein's we met with good fare, and at comparatively moderate prices, although it is the most expensive house at Calais. Of French cookery and French dishes, I shall say little at present. The science of gastronomy has been carried to what gourmands consider the utmost perfection. Innumerable dishes are placed upon the table, many of them so disguised as to puzzle one to know whether they are composed of fish, flesh, or fowl. Every thing is eaten separately, meat by itself, and potatoes and other vegetables by themselves. The bread is generally excellent, being of a fine quality, light, and palatable. It is done up in rolls, some of which are several feet in length, and six or eight inches in diameter. Each person cuts off a section of the cylinder for himself. Ordinary red wine is set upon the table both at breakfast and dinner, without any extra charge to the traveller. It is drunk out of tumblers in the same manner as cider with us. Coffee and chocolate are universally good, far surpassing what is to be found in the best hotels in England or the United States. One article of the furniture at all public tables in France, however humble may be the inn, appeared to me particularly worthy of imitation at the hotels in our own country, where it has not been generally introduced. Every plate has a napkin, which is sufficiently large to shield the lap, and supersedes the use of a handkerchief, or a more vulgar resort to the table-cloth. On retiring, each person rolls up his cloth, and thrusts it through a wide ring to keep it in place, and containing a number corresponding with that of his chamber. Finger-cups are seldom used, as at the better hotels in England. Our stay at Calais was occupied in looking at the scanty |