This person had been to England, and preserved pleased recollections of London "_half-and-half_" which he seemed to consider little short of nectar, and was astonished at my ignorance when, appealed to, I was obliged to plead guilty of not being acquainted with its virtues.

He was the first Frenchman I ever heard refute the calumnies against our climate; for, though he agreed that we had fogs in London occasionally somewhat denser than in Paris, he had not fallen into the error,--which it is thought heresy to dispute,--that, at Brighton, Richmond, or Windsor, the blue sky is never seen.

A very supercilious man who sat near him, annoyed at his praises of England, and his raptures at the Tunnel,--that great object of foreign admiration,--endeavoured to silence him by pronouncing that London had no monuments, and was not half as big as Paris; for, though he lived in Poitou, he had seen the capital.

The comic look which our champion gave us when this oracle was pronounced was irresistible.
We had inquired for the fountain and castle of La Font, famous in the annals of the Liege; and our hostess, finding that we were bent on seeing all the sights that La Rochelle could furnish, when she met us one morning at her door, where we had been greeted by her husband, who officiated as cook in the dark retreat which we had to cross on our exit, with the salutation of "_Go to sleep_;"-- which English phrase he considered as expressive as any other,--proposed to show us the way to the village of La Font, and its chateau--a short walk from La Rochelle.
We accepted her offer; and, accompanied by her little girl--a forward, clever child of about seven years old, and two friends,--in one of whom we recognised one of the solemn officials of the dinner-table, who, it seems, was playing only an amateur part on that occasion,--we set out.
The ideas of all French people, in every part of France, it appears to me, are the same respecting sights and views: to take a walk means, with them, to put on your best gown and cap, take your umbrella, and proceed, at a sauntering pace, talking all the way, down some hot, dusty road, where the _monde_ is expected to be met with.

The end of the journey is usually at some shabby cottage, or _cabaret_, where seats are set out in the sun, and refreshments are to be had.