Thickets obscured the many little villages and farmsteads inhabited by the rustics, and so in several particularly interesting spots, the Darcys removed from their carriage in order to better explore their surroundings. Elizabeth—fond of walking as she was—found great pleasure in these little deviations in their journey. The men of this area wore what appeared to be white night-caps and long smocks of indigo; Elizabeth surmised that the elderly men they had previously passed must have been dressed in the habit of the Ancien Régime, as was their long-custom, and that this unbecoming ensemble was the product of the Nouveau. They stopt at a post-house, named the Tête de Boeuf, and, whilst the horses were being changed, Elizabeth went inside to enquire for some refreshment against the dust. She wandered about, and seeing no-one at the door, entered the kitchen. A group of peasants were seated comfortably around a wood fire, awaiting their meal, which was being finished by a pretty, lively paysanne. As Elizabeth stood watching, she took the pot from the fire, and served them. The soup looked and smelt deliciously, and appeared to be a ragoût of vegetables, herbs, and the rinds of bread. It did not escape Elizabeth’s sense of the absurd that, in England, it was the pride of every gentle family who could afford it to employ a Frenchman as their cook; in France, she would willingly compound for the talents of this simple young woman, in preference to any of the aubergistes they had as yet encountered.

Within the kitchen was seated an older woman, likely the proprietress, who regarded Elizabeth’s entrance with some surprise, but apologised most civilly for the state of her kitchen. Unlike an English cottage kitchen, where the dishes and other utensils were kept upon the side-board or within the cupboard, here they were arranged everywhere about the room. Noticing that Elizabeth was looking at the crockery displayed in the kitchen, the vieille dame expressed her regret that the dishes were not as clean as they should be, but the flies made everything so dirty. Such an explanation was enough to inspire Elizabeth to quit the room without either refreshment or regret, and cheerfully rejoin her husband and sister in the carriage.