The King Of France, In Order To Give
Strength And Stability To His Administration, Ought To Have Sense
To Adopt A Sage Plan Of Oeconomy, And Vigour Of Mind Sufficient
To Execute It In All Its Parts, With The Most Rigorous Exactness.
He ought to have courage enough to find fault, and even to punish
the delinquents, of what quality soever they may be:
And the
first act of reformation ought to be a total abolition of all the
farms. There are, undoubtedly, many marks of relaxation in the
reins of the French government, and, in all probability, the
subjects of France will be the first to take advantage of it.
There is at present a violent fermentation of different
principles among them, which under the reign of a very weak
prince, or during a long minority, may produce a great change in
the constitution. In proportion to the progress of reason and
philosophy, which have made great advances in this kingdom,
superstition loses ground; antient prejudices give way; a spirit
of freedom takes the ascendant. All the learned laity of France
detest the hierarchy as a plan of despotism, founded on imposture
and usurpation. The protestants, who are very numerous in
southern parts, abhor it with all the rancour of religious
fanaticism. Many of the commons, enriched by commerce and
manufacture, grow impatient of those odious distinctions, which
exclude them from the honours and privileges due to their
importance in the commonwealth; and all the parliaments, or
tribunals of justice in the kingdom, seem bent upon asserting
their rights and independence in the face of the king's
prerogative, and even at the expence of his power and authority.
Should any prince therefore be seduced by evil counsellors, or
misled by his own bigotry, to take some arbitrary step, that may
be extremely disagreeable to all those communities, without
having spirit to exert the violence of his power for the support
of his measures, he will become equally detested and despised;
and the influence of the commons will insensibly encroach upon
the pretensions of the crown. But if in the time of a minority,
the power of the government should be divided among different
competitors for the regency, the parliaments and people will find
it still more easy to acquire and ascertain the liberty at which
they aspire, because they will have the balance of power in their
hands, and be able to make either scale preponderate. I could say
a great deal more upon this subject; and I have some remarks to
make relating to the methods which might be taken in the case of
a fresh rupture with France, for making a vigorous impression on
that kingdom. But these I in list defer till another occasion,
having neither room nor leisure at present to add any thing, but
that I am, with great truth, - Dear Sir, Your very humble Servant.
LETTER XXXVII
NICE, April 2, 1765.
DEAR DOCTOR, - As I have now passed a second winter at Nice I
think myself qualified to make some further remarks on this
climate. During the heats of last summer, I flattered myself with
the prospect of the fine weather I should enjoy in the winter;
but neither I, nor any person in this country, could foresee the
rainy weather that prevailed from the middle of November, till
the twentieth of March. In this short period of four months, we
have had fifty-six days of rain, which I take to be a greater
quantity than generally falls during the six worst months of the
year in the county of Middlesex, especially as it was, for the
most part, a heavy, continued rain. The south winds generally
predominate in the wet season at Nice: but this winter the rain
was accompanied with every wind that blows, except the south;
though the most frequent were those that came from the east and
north quarters. Notwithstanding these great rains, such as were
never known before at Nice in the memory of man, the intermediate
days of fair weather were delightful, and the ground seemed
perfectly dry. The air itself was perfectly free from moisture.
Though I live upon a ground floor, surrounded on three sides by a
garden, I could not perceive the least damp, either on the
floors, or the furniture; neither was I much incommoded by the
asthma, which used always to harass me most in wet weather. In a
word, I passed the winter here much more comfortably than I
expected. About the vernal equinox, however, I caught a violent
cold, which was attended with a difficulty of breathing, and as
the sun advances towards the tropic, I find myself still more
subject to rheums. As the heat increases, the humours of the body
are rarefied, and, of consequence, the pores of the skin are
opened; while the east wind sweeping over the Alps and Apennines,
covered with snow, continues surprisingly sharp and penetrating.
Even the people of the country, who enjoy good health, are afraid
of exposing themselves to the air at this season, the
intemperature of which may last till the middle of May, when all
the snow on the mountains will probably be melted: then the air
will become mild and balmy, till, in the progress of summer, it
grows disagreeably hot, and the strong evaporation from the sea
makes it so saline, as to be unhealthy for those who have a
scorbutical habit. When the sea-breeze is high, this evaporation
is so great as to cover the surface of the body with a kind of
volatile brine, as I plainly perceived last summer. I am more and
more convinced that this climate is unfavourable for the scurvy.
Were I obliged to pass my life in it, I would endeavour to find a
country retreat among the mountains, at some distance from the
sea, where I might enjoy a cool air, free from this impregnation,
unmolested by those flies, gnats, and other vermin which render
the lower parts almost uninhabitable.
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