lost, when suddenly riding out upon an open I saw several peasants, male and female, at work near a _bergerie_,[17] which occupied the centre of the place. I rode forward to inquire my way, when lo! down went hoes, and away went men, women, and dogs as fast as their legs could carry them into the neighbouring woods, leaving me as much at a loss to account for their fright, as to which of the many roads (_forest_) diverging hence I should take to extricate myself from my dilemma. As the English nowhere inspire terror, these people must have taken me for a Prussian hussar, from my pelisse and enormous mustache. As no information was to be procured, I had nothing left but to push on and take my chance. I had not ridden far when the ground began to descend (I had been travelling on an elevated plateau), the thickets and wood became thinner and more scattered, and below me I saw several farmhouses. From subsequent inspection of the map, this must have been La Selle de St Cloud. I rode up to the first substantial-looking house, tied my horse up in a shed, and without ceremony marched into the kitchen, where the mistress and her maids were busily employed in their household concerns. My entrance did not in the least disconcert them, or even occasion them any apparent surprise: they entered gaily into conversation without for a minute interrupting their work. No running away here. I was very hungry, but, _malgré_ the opulent appearance of the house, the good lady could give me nothing but bread (sour, as usual), some very fine cherries, and delicious milk. For this she would accept no remuneration, but her maids thankfully accepted the trifle I offered them for their trouble. I found that my deviation from the direct road to Versailles had not been great; and having received instructions for my future progress, and taken leave of my kind hostess, I once more plunged into a forest, from which, however, I soon emerged upon a cultivated country sprinkled with farms and villages, and very agreeably diversified with hill, dale, and woodland. At last the palace of Versailles, overtopping the trees and buildings in its neighbourhood, burst upon me with imposing grandeur, and I soon after entered the town.