The Darcys attended the theatre during their stay, and saw Mr. Talma in the rôle of Nero; Darcy remarked that his stile of acting was much akin Mr. Kean’s, save perhaps the superior voice of Talma, which was shewn to greater effect in the soliloquies of the character. They took a voyage in the steam-boat to Pavillac to see the great confluence of the Dordogne and the Garonne. Georgiana read from her book that, many years previous, there had arisen a disputation between the partisans of each river to decide the appellation of the united stream; at last, the reasonable La Gironde was adopted, being the name of the region common to both rivers. Perhaps most surprisingly to all the Darcys, it was found to be nearly impossible to procure good-quality claret—and this in Bordeaux! Mr. Darcy discovered—to his extreme disappointment—that the produce of the vineyards was controulled by a few merchants, who found more profit in adulterating the local wines, augmenting the best with an inferior more cheaply had—this admixture judged sufficient for ready sale to the Russians and East Indiamen.

They took a southerly route from Bordeaux to Lyon, to view the Château d’Yquem and its famed vineyard, passing through Bergerac and thence to Mazères, Niversac, and Hautefort to see the lovely Château de Roquetaillade. The countryside about Lyon was become very lush, Mr. Darcy declaring the soil to be very rich, indeed, a fact confirmed by the number of very fine châteaux to be seen. They observed a variety of white cattle, again ploughing, but with a very peculiar veil of red hanging from their horns, over their ears and eyes, and concluding in a fringe of tassels. The accoutrement, upon enquiry, was said to protect them from the flies. This information led Mr. Darcy to remark that the cattle were better off than themselves, as they had no such deterrent against the continual swarms of biting flies and all other manner of irksome insects. His speech had the salutary effect, however, of reminding the ladies of their veils, which, along with their shawls, gave them some relief, if not universally extensible to quite everyone in the chaise, as Mr. Darcy selflessly declined the use of a bonnet.

“Brother,” began Georgiana, “I wonder that no-one has resorted to the expedient of producing a veil to cover the windows. If we had such a contrivance, we could see out of the chaise nearly as well as with the blinds open, allow the breezes, but would be spared the influx of insects.”

“Capital idea, Georgiana! Well done, indeed. I have seen blinds made of thin slats, which allow for some visibility, but this is far more preferable. I wonder if we could not find a coach-maker in Lyon or Geneva who could contrive such an inner frame for the veils?”