the duke and his carriages on board.

We took two hours and a half in crossing the Channel; the wind was
strong, but we made a good passage.

The stranger who sets his foot on English soil has need of a good deal of
patience. The custom-house officials made a minute, vexatious and even an
impertinent perquisition; but as the duke and ambassador had to submit, I
thought it best to follow his example; besides, resistance would be
useless. The Englishman, who prides himself on his strict adherence to
the law of the land, is curt and rude in his manner, and the English
officials cannot be compared to the French, who know how to combine
politeness with the exercise of their rights.

English is different in every respect from the rest of Europe; even the
country has a different aspect, and the water of the Thames has a taste
peculiar to itself. Everything has its own characteristics, and the fish,
cattle, horses, men, and women are of a type not found in any other land.
Their manner of living is wholly different from that of other countries,
especially their cookery. The most striking feature in their character is
their national pride; they exalt themselves above all other nations.

My attention was attracted by the universal cleanliness, the beauty of
the country, the goodness of the roads, the reasonable charges for
posting, the quickness of the horses, although they never go beyond a
trot; and lastly, the construction of the towns on the Dover road;
Canterbury and Rochester for instance, though large and populous, are
like long passages; they are all length and no breadth.

We got to London in the evening and stopped at the house of Madame