About three o’clock in the afternoon, while proceeding so quietly that it might almost be presumed that not only the conducteur and his passengers but the horses themselves were fast asleep, we were aroused by the very interesting incident of our whole carriage, including the horses, being over turned into a deep ditch.
I shall not attempt to describe the noise and confusion which followed. The party were almost frantic with terror.
At length, having succeeded in extricating ourselves from our unpleasant situation, I took shelter under a large tree while the rest assisted the conducteur in raising the carriage and horses. This operation took up half an hour, during which I could hear our guide contributing abundantly both with his whip and imprecations.
The carriage being righted, the conducteur urged forward his jaded horses with little mercy, probably stimulated by revenge for what had happened, which was mainly attributable to his own negligence.
Fortunately no serious injuries were sustained, and I felt strong reason to congratulate myself, for in the morning I had heard we were to cross the Garonne that afternoon, and my first impression had been that we were falling into this river. Nor had I forgotten my adventure on the Dordogne.
extract from The Narrative of a Journey through France, &c. (London, 1822) by James Holman FRS, pp.30-31, edited and read by Joe Rizzo Naudi.
His 'adventure on the Dordogne' refers to this anecdote: https://holmansjournal.substack.com/p/journey-down-river