Several of Cobbett’s best anecdotes of Philadelphian life are associated with Frenchmen; here is one:-- “A Frenchman, who had been driven from St. Domingo to Philadelphia, by the Wilberforces of France, went to church along with me one Sunday. He had never been in a Protestant place of worship before. Upon looking round him, and seeing everybody _comfortably seated_, while a couple of good stoves were keeping the place as warm as a slack oven, he exclaimed, ‘_Pardi! on se sert Dieu bien à son aise ici!_’” It need not be imagined, however, that he had no American friends. On the contrary, as we shall see in the sequel, he made some friendships that lasted through life. FOOTNOTES [1] “Histoire philosophique et politique des établissements et du commerce des Européens dans les deux Indes.” The author was assisted by Diderot, and others; and, at last (about 1780) the work was forbidden in France. Raynal lived to regret the extreme notions which he had advocated, and actually appeared at the bar of the National Assembly (in the month of May, 1791), there, to the surprise and displeasure of his audience, boldly to expostulate with them on their rash and ruinous courses; the principal charge being that they had too literally followed his principles, and reduced to practice the reveries and abstracted ideas of a philosopher, without having previously adapted and accommodated them to men, times, and circumstances! Raynal exercised a great deal of influence upon his generation, and may be considered as having contributed largely to the uprooting of institutions which resulted from the French Revolution; and this singular piece of moral courage was displayed at an advanced period of his life, when he had little to fear from any possible violence; the usual consequence, in those days, of reaction in opinion. [2] Isaac Weld. See his “Travels through the States of North America, and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, during the years 1795, 1796, and 1797” (2 vols., London, 1800). [3] According to Brissot, even the Quakers were getting less strict, some of them being inclined to lapse into luxury, and have carpets! [4] Now a flourishing town, with several newspapers, and extensive manufactures.