César-François de Saussure Quotes

All these seats [in the House of Lords] are upholstered and covered with red cloth, as are also the bales of wool, which are placed in this hall according to an ancient custom, intended to remind Parliament of the great wealth England has derived from woollen merchandise, and in order to encourage the development of this branch of her industry. The hall is hung with tapestries formerly belonging to Mary Queen of Scots, and which she is supposed to have embroidered, with the help of her ladies, during her long captivity. These tapestries are all of silk, and represent the history of the famous Spanish Armada which Philip II of Spain sent against Queen Elizabeth. This is an immense piece of work; you see the fleet sailing from the ports of Spain, its dispersal by storm, and its final destruction by the English fleet.

An innumerable quantity of Englishmen are still more corrupt in their morals than in their religion. Debauch runs riot with an unblushing countenance. It is not the lower populace alone that is addicted to drunkenness; numbers of persons of high rank and even of distinction are over fond of liquor. This vice is said to be less widely spread than formerly; but all men, even churchmen, have a particular club or tavern, where they meet at least twice in the week to drink together in company. Though no wines are grown in England, it is no hindrance to drunkenness, for in the daytime the lower classes get intoxicated with liquor and beer, and the higher classes in the evening with Portuguese wines and punch.

Would you believe it, I have actually seen women—belonging, it is true, to the scum of the people—fighting in this same manner. The insolence of the populace is so great that as soon as an honest man has any disagreement with one of their kind, he is at once invited to strip and fight. It would be dangerous to retaliate with a cane or sword; the lookers-on would at once be against him, and things might end badly for him. Noblemen of rank, almost beside themselves with anger at the arrogance of a carter or person of that sort, have been seen to throw off their coats, wigs, and swords, in order to use their fists. This sort of adventure often befell the Duke of Leeds, and he even made it into an amusement. My Lord Herbert, who is a very strong and robust man, recently fought a porter, and punished him well; the man was so surprised that he exclaimed, "D— sure you are the son of a porter, not of a lord; you know how to use your fists too well."

London is assuredly the greatest commercial city in the world.

It may be said with entire justice that Englishmen are very brave; they give a convincing proof of this in seeming to fear neither death nor danger. Their soldiers fight with the greatest valour. This has been sufficiently proved in the latest wars. However, few Englishmen seek service out of England, and very few are partisans of duelling, so that you do not often hear of this mode of settling quarrels, but should duels occur, the combatants will always come out of the fight with honour.

English workmen are everywhere renowned, and that justly. They work to perfection, and though not inventive, are capable of improving and of finishing most admirably what the French and Germans have invented.

What attracts enormously in these coffee-houses are the gazettes and other public papers. All Englishmen are great newsmongers. Workmen habitually begin the day by going to coffee-rooms in order to read the latest news. I have often seen shoeblacks and other persons of that class club together to purchase a farthing paper. Nothing is more entertaining than hearing men of this class discussing politics and topics of interest concerning royalty. You often see an Englishman taking a treaty of peace more to heart than he does his own affairs.

They cherish their liberty to such an extent that they often let both their religious opinions and their morals degenerate into licentiousness. This is the reason why so many different sects are to be found in England, and also so great a number of persons with deistical opinions, and who, taking advantage of the leniency of the government, occasionally publish pamphlets against the established religion, that in any other country would, together with their authors, pass through the hands of the executioner. A man of the name of Woolston was profane and godless enough to write and publish a treatise against our Saviour's miracles.

Though many people look on these different parties which divide England as a misfortune, others, on the contrary, think that they contribute to the maintenance of the liberties and privileges of the people. For, say they, were there in the country neither Whigs nor Tories, the tendencies of the Court would be blindly followed, and the fundamental laws of the State would suffer seriously by this state of things. Despotism would soon be established in England as it is in France. On the other hand, if the Tories did not uphold the King's authority and power, and if everyone followed the principles of the Whigs, the country would very soon be in a state of anarchy, as was the case in the time of Charles I and of Cromwell. Numbers of prudent politicians, who are not blinded by foolish prejudices or by their own particular interests, are convinced that this form of government is the happiest in the world, and they sometimes side purposely with the weakest party, so as to preserve to the country a wholesome equilibrium.

The greater number of educated Englishmen have much solid good sense, and in many cases rare genius, and I am certain that the liberty they enjoy, allowing them to say and write their ideas and opinions freely, contributes immensely to make science popular; but you rarely meet with that bright, petulant, and lively wit you meet with in France. Few Englishmen would amuse themselves inventing and writing love stories after the manner and style of the French, but they write scientific and sound works like those of Newton, Tillotson, Radcliffe, Addison, and others. The writings most in fashion at the present period are pamphlets for and against the government, on politics and different subjects of interest relating to England and her allies. Almost every day some of these works appear and are eagerly sought after, for politics in this country seem to interest everyone. I suppose this taste is cultivated by the liberty which the government affords, and in which Englishmen take great pride, for they value this gift more than all the joys of life, and would sacrifice everything to retain it. Even the populace will make proof of this, and will give you to understand that there is no country in the world where such perfect freedom may be enjoyed as in England.

You can imagine nothing more beautiful than the banks of the Thames; on either side are charming country houses and many pretty towns and villages, the principal being Sheerness, Gravesend, and Greenwich; in the latter place is a magnificent hospital for seamen.

Englishmen are, however, very lavish in other ways. They have splendid equipages and costly apparel when required. Peers and other persons of rank are richly dressed when they go to Court, especially on gala days, when their grand coaches, with their magnificent accoutrements, are used. The lower classes are usually well dressed, wearing good cloth and linen. You never see wooden shoes in England, and the poorest individuals never go with naked feet.

The numerous pamphlets that appear every day for and against these two political parties is certainly a means of maintaining and augmenting animosity between them, and another is the interests of certain individuals who become either zealous Tories or ardent Whigs, according to whether their hopes of power lie in the one or the other of these parties. The Anglican clergy of inferior rank are accused of being exaggerated Tories, and of writing the greater number of violent pamphlets in the hope of attracting the favour of the King, who disposes of the bishoprics and of many important benefices. All Anglicans are not Tories; many of them, on the contrary, are Whigs, and they try to please the people in order to strengthen their own power. You would naturally suppose that the party at Court always upholds the Tories, but it is not so; this party sometimes has reasons for raising the Whigs to power. King William III owed his throne to this party, and always upheld and favoured its politics.

The curious sect of Quakers, or Shakers, arose in the troubled times when England was torn by revolutions, anarchy, and fanaticism, that is to say in the time of Cromwell. A rather crazy shoemaker's apprentice, George Fox, was the founder of this sect. It can almost be said that the Quakers form a particular nation of people, quite different from ordinary English citizens, by their language, manner of dressing, and religion. Amongst their other customs, one of which is the use of the pronoun "thou," is that of never giving any man his titles, whatever his position or worth may be, for everyone to them is but a vile earthworm inhabiting this planet for a few years. Quakers make use of a sort of Bible talk, which strikes you more particularly, as it appears to date two hundred years back, no Bible having been printed in England in the fine modern language, the earliest edition of the Holy Book being still in use.

The Tories uphold all the prerogatives of the Sovereign, and declare that his or her subjects must submit without resistance, even though his or her power be arbitrary. The opposite party, or Whigs, accuse their opponents of wishing to upset the recognised form of government and the liberties of the nation by endeavouring to establish despotism, thus making the King a tyrant and his subjects slaves, and they, moreover, consider that respect and obedience are owed to the King only so long as the latter maintains the conditions under which supreme power has been given him, but were he to attempt to govern the consciences, lives, and possessions of his subjects, and thus violate the fundamental laws of the State, the latter should not only refuse him obedience, but also take the necessary measures to be governed according to the established laws of the country. The Tories reproach the Whigs with these principles, and declare that they are real republicans, desirous of taking all authority and power from the Sovereign, leaving him no more rights than are allowed to a Doge of Venice.