realize by promotion or their talents, emoluments equal with what
portion they inherit to place them in as favourable a position as the
brother on whom devolves the estate. In other instances the son who
holds the land is taxed to pay from it a certain amount to his brothers
and sisters, in order to render their situation in life somewhat upon a
par; but it so happens that very large families are not so frequent in
France as in England. A system of frugality is prevalent amongst all
classes of the French, and a habit of contenting themselves with but
little as regards their daily expenses; nor have they that ambition to
step out of their class so general throughout England. A farmer in
France works much the same as his men, dresses in a plain decent manner,
and considers himself very little superior to his men, whilst his wife
goes to market with her butter and eggs upon one of the farm horses; and
without any education herself she thinks she does wonders in having her
daughters taught to read, write and cypher, but invariably economises to
give them a marriage portion. This applies to most of the farmers
throughout France, and will be found descriptive of those inhabiting the
country from Calais to Paris; but in Normandy they are frequently what
is in French estimation considered very rich, and their habits and
expenses are in proportion; and about Melun and some few parts of France
where the farms are very large, the occupiers would even in England be
termed wealthy. The extreme of poverty or what may be designated misery
is but little known; the traveller is deceived by the number of beggars
which infest the high roads, and is induced to imagine that the lowest
orders must be in a most wretched state, but the fact is otherwise, and
begging is no other than a trade on the most frequented roads. Turn into
the by-lanes, penetrate the interior of the country and in the villages
distant from the highways and but few beggars are to be found, nor could
I ever hear of an instance of any one in the country parts of France
perishing from want; yet there are no forced poor rates, the landed