The French army too was beloved by the people, instead of being dreaded by them as the armies of most other European nations are.  In short, whenever I met with and held conversation with soldiers of this army, I was always tempted to address them in the words of Elvira to Pizarro when she seeks to console him for his defeat: 

  Yet think another morning shall arise,
  Nor fear the future, nor lament the past.[50]

The French Major was very much inclined to take up a quarrel with an Austrian officer, on my account, but I dissuaded him.  The cause was as follows.  A young Austrian boy, servant to one of the officers of Artillery, had entered the coche d’eau at Chalon, some minutes before his master, and began to avail himself of the right of conquest by taking possession of the totality of one of the cabins and endeavouring to exclude the other passengers; among other things he was going to thrust my portmanteau out of its place.  I called to him to let it alone, when the French Major stepped forward and said that if he dared to touch any of the baggage belonging to the passengers, he would punish him on the spot and his master also, for that he longed to measure swords with those “Jean F——­ d’Autrichiens.”  Fearful of a serious quarrel between them and being unwilling that any dispute should occur on my account, I requested the Major not to meddle with the business, for that I was sure the Austrian officer would check the impertinence of his servant when he came on board; and that if he did not, I was perfectly able and willing to defend my own cause.  The Austrian officers came on board a few minutes after, when I addressed them in German, and explained to them the behaviour of the boy; they scolded him severely for his impertinence to us and threatened him with the Schlag, should it occur again.  The rest of the journey passed without any incident.  I found that my friend the Major had served in the French army in Egypt in the division Lanusse in the battle of the 21st March, 1801, (30 Ventose) and that consequently we were opposed to each other in that battle, as I was then serving as a Lieutenant in the Queen’s Regiment, commanded by that excellent and amiable officer the Earl of D[alhousie] in General Doyle’s brigade.

The voyage on the Saone presents some pleasing and picturesque points of view; the coteaux on the banks of the river are covered with vines.  We arrived at 8 o’clock in the evening to sup and sleep at Macon and put up at the Hotel des Sauvages.  We had a most sumptuous repast, fish, flesh, fowls, game, fruit and wine in profusion, for all which, including our beds, we had only to pay 2-1/2 francs the person.

There is a spacious Quai at Macon, which always adds to the beauty of a city, and there are some fine buildings, public and private.  I need not enlarge on the excellence of the Macon wine.  The country girls we observed on the banks of the river as we floated along, and the grisettes of the town who were promenading on the Quai when we arrived, wore a peculiarly elegant costume and their headdress appeared to me to be something Asiatic.