"I consider the English as the happiest people under the sun"

We interrupt this story for some author patriotism.

Pages and pages of it.

One of the characters has just come back from a trip to England and his friends ask how the trip was.

He goes off into raptures on the people (naturally brave, friendly, and benevolent), the government (they enjoy the blessings of a mild and free government), the laws (their personal safety is secured by the laws), the court of law (no man can be punished for an imaginary crime, they have fair trials). And on and on and on....

                             .....And on and on and on.

The nobility (generous and benevolent), merchants (rich and respectable), politicians (perfectly acquainted with the government of different nations, as much as of their own), and laws against gambling (a habit that dissipates fortunes, distresses families, hardens the heart, depraves the mind, and renders useless all the good qualities they receive from nature).  But wait!  There's more!

"What I most admire in the English, is the great encouragement given to all manufactories, and to all useful discoveries."  The generosity to the poor.  The greatness of the economy.  The public buildings, the entertainment and the performers.

And the ladies, of course!  "The English women, take them all in all, are more fascinating than any other nation I ever saw."

All this coming from a Frenchman at a time when the English and French went to war every twenty to thirty years.  They were fighting each other again at the point the book was published.  I can suspend belief for a lot of things, but a room full of French nobility all happily discussing the superiority of the English in 1792 and everyone agrees on this is just ridiculous.

But it is a great excuse to find every image of Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry that I can and shove them all into one post.

Also, will be a bit slow in posting.  Having some vacation and fun time.  See you soon!