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diff --git a/old/53908-0.txt b/old/53908-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3cce846..0000000 --- a/old/53908-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3806 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Diary of a Girl in France in 1821, by Mary Browne - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Diary of a Girl in France in 1821 - -Author: Mary Browne - -Contributor: Euphemia Stewart Browne - -Editor: H. N. Shore - -Illustrator: Mary Browne - -Release Date: January 6, 2017 [EBook #53908] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DIARY OF GIRL IN FRANCE, 1821 *** - - - - -Produced by Madeleine Fournier. Images provided by The Internet Archive. - - - - - THE DIARY OF A GIRL IN FRANCE IN 1821 - - - [Illustration: Dieppe fishwoman] - - - THE DIARY OF A GIRL - - IN FRANCE IN - - 1821 - - BY MARY BROWNE - - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY HERSELF AND - - AN INTRODUCTION - - BY EUPHEMIA STEWART BROWNE - - EDITED BY - - COMMANDER, THE HON. H. N. SHORE, R. N. - - - NEW EDITION, 1918 - - - - NEW YORK - - E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY - - 681 FIFTH AVENUE - - - * * * * * - - - INTRODUCTION - - -The child who wrote this quaintly-illustrated diary, eighty-three years -ago, was the second daughter of William Browne, Esq., of Tallentire -Hall, in the County of Cumberland. She was born there, February 15, -1807. - -Descended, on her father's side, from a race of sturdy Cumberland -yeomen, and on her mother's from the Royal Stuarts and Plantagenets, -she grew up, as might be expected from this childish production, an -original and uncommon woman. - -A keen naturalist and observer of nature, at a time when such pursuits -were unusual, she delighted in long solitary country rambles round her -beautiful home: an old border watch-tower, dating from 1280 A. D., in -full view of the Solway to the north, and of Skiddaw and the Cumbrian -mountains to the south. - -An exquisite collection of butterflies and moths is still in existence, -painted by her clever fingers from specimens reared by herself. -Each one is depicted upon its favourite flower, and accompanied by -its caterpillar and chrysalis on the food plant. This was, alas! -left unfinished at her death, on May 30, 1833, at the early age of -twenty-six. - -A picture poem, painted on the page of one of the albums of the -period, in drawings so minute and so finely finished that, like -the butterflies, they can only be adequately seen through a -magnifying-glass, still shows her accuracy of observation, and the -dainty and patient care of her work. - -She loved flowers, and the garden may still be seen where, in the very -early mornings, she planted and tended with her own loving care such -fragrant, and old-world flowers as rose de meaux, clove pinks, and -gillyflowers. - -But these were only the pastimes of a busy life of unselfish devotion -to others. Shy, retiring, and strangely indifferent to appearance and -to worldly advantages, she was little understood by the merry young -circle around her. She was, as a child, even considered stupid and -slow, her governess declaring that 'friend Mary does as well as she -can.' But children loved her, and if there was sickness or sorrow in -the village it was always 'Miss Mary' who was wanted, and who was never -appealed to in vain. - -At a time when rural education was viewed with suspicion, and Mrs. -Hannah More was contending for the right of the poor to win knowledge, -she and her clever elder sister opened the first Sunday-school in the -neighbourhood. They also devoted several hours of every morning to -teaching in the village dame school. - -The visit to France recorded in this diary extended from April 25th to -August 12th, 1821. Mary Browne went abroad when she was fourteen, with -her father and mother and five brothers and sisters, all but one being -younger than herself, and all being alike in their childish loyalty to -their own country, and their whole-hearted conviction that everything -un-English must be bad; and that even to admire anything foreign was -the blackest treason. Starting in this firm belief, they treasured up -everything ugly, eccentric, or uncouth that they came across in their -travels, as may be seen in the primitive but forcible illustrations of -her diary, with no dawning suspicion that, though different, foreign -customs might nevertheless be better than the familiar ways. - -They travelled slowly, in two of their own carriages, being a party -of thirteen, including the six children, a governess, nurse, cook, -manservant, and courier. - -The long journey; the brief sojourn at school; Madame Vernier, their -cross landlady; and, above all, the children's delight at finding -themselves again in their beloved England--these are all recorded with -a vivid and naive wealth of detail, which makes the child life of the -early days of the nineteenth century live again as we read of it. - -The eldest daughter, Catherine, had been in France before with her -parents, in the spring of 1815, when Napoleon Buonaparte escaped from -Elba. They were then obliged to leave Paris hurriedly, travelling night -and day for fear of detention. - -To all the other children everything was new and marvellous, and their -keen, though unconscious, delight in all that they saw is evident -throughout these pages. - -E. S. BROWNE. - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - Dieppe Fishwoman - - The Home of Mary Browne, with Distant View of Solway Firth and - Criffell - - Trees with Coverings like Tombstones.--The most amusing Thing in - Miss Linwood's Exhibition.--A 'Pioneer' with Long Beard and Leather - Apron.--Miss Wragge being sprinkled with Holy Water - - A French Woman and Child - - A French Boy and Girl, eating, at the Door - - Sœur de la Charité - - A French Postillion - - Limonadière - - Cabriolet - - Water-woman - - Part of the Funeral Procession - - Old Woman of Versailles - - A Priest in his Common Dress and a Boy - - Woman with the Curious Cap - - A Bonne and Children - - French Miller - - The Fountain with the Animals.--Latona's Basin.--The Cupid at - Tivoli - - French Puppet Show - - Lavoir - - Cuirassier - - Madame Vernier - - Village Fête - - Procession at the Première Communion.--Processions at the Fête - Dieu.-_Reposoir_ in the Avenue Sceaux.--One of the Children's - little 'Petites Chapelles.'--A Passing Soldier in the Street.--The - Troublesome Boy in the King's Garden - - Garde Royale. Infanterie Chasseur, 1er Régiment - - The Shepherd of the Andalusian Sheep.--Priests carrying the Host to - Sick People.--Dancing upon Stilts.--Beggar Woman in a Bower of Dead - Leaves.--The Virgin in the Church of St. Remis - - Louviers Woman - - Old Woman with a Cotton Cap - - Fruit-woman with Gilt Cap - - Dieppe Woman and Children - - Dieppe Market-woman - - -[Illustration: THE HOME OF MARY BROWNE, WITH DISTANT VIEW OF SOLWAY -FIRTH AND CRIFFELL - -_From a drawing by Lady Alton in_ 1842] - - - - - JOURNAL - -_April 25th, 1821._--We arrived at London about eleven o'clock: all -the hotels we enquired at being full, we drove to the British Hotel, -Jermyn Street. We passed through Cavendish Square, which was very -pretty, but I was rather disappointed at not seeing London till I was -in it. After we had rested, we walked through Burlington Arcade: it -was quite cool and pleasant, although the weather was as hot as the -middle of summer. There were rows of shops along each side, which had -many pretty things in them, particularly artificial flowers; not far -from this is the Egyptian Temple, which has sphinxes, etc., carved on -it: we saw the Opera House, which is a very fine building. Regent's -Street and Waterloo Place are built of white stone. Regent's Street -(when finished) is to extend a long way; at the bottom of it is Carlton -House, which is very much blackened by the smoke: there is a great -contrast between it and St. James's Palace, the latter being built of -red brick, and looks like a prison. In the evening we saw the lamps in -Regent's Street, which was lighter than any other street I saw; one -house was illuminated. We saw Waterloo Bridge. - - -_April 26th._--We went to see the panorama of Naples: it was a -beautiful view, there were a number of vessels in the bay; after one -had looked long at them, one could fancy they were moving: in one of -the boats there were some ladies sitting under a crimson canopy; in -another some fruit; in one place there were some men fishing for mullet -in a kind of round net, with fishes jumping through it; there was a -man swimming with a basket in one hand, and several other figures; -the ships were painted very gay colours, the water and the sky were -as clear as crystal, and the whole so natural that one could hardly -persuade oneself that it was not reality. The next panorama we saw was -the battle of Waterloo: it was not near so pretty as Naples, it seemed -all confusion; the farmhouse, however, was very natural, also some of -the black horses. We next went to the panorama of Lausanne: the Lake of -Geneva was very like Keswick Lake, but the lower end not so pretty; the -mountains did not look very high. There were a great number of trees; -some of them had on kind of covers, which looked like tombstones; the -white railings and the shadows of the trees were remarkably natural; -there were several figures, the prettiest was a little child learning -to walk. We went to St. Paul's, and just walked through it. I thought -it very fine, but spoiled by the blackness. I had no idea of the height -till I observed some people in the gallery, who looked no bigger than -flies; the pillars were very thick. In our way to St. Paul's we passed -by Perry's glass-shop; in the window there was a curtain of glass -drops, with two tassels; it had a very pretty effect, and when the sun -shone it appeared all colours, but when we entered the shop it was -quite beautiful, there were such numbers of large glass lamps hanging -from the ceiling, and chandeliers, etc., in all parts. We saw the jugs -belonging to a dessert-set for a Spanish nobleman, which was to cost -twelve hundred pounds. Also a picture of a lamp which the King had had -made there: it was gilt dragons with lotuses in their mouths; in these -the lamps were placed so as to be quite hid. I should think it would be -more curious than pretty. We passed by Green Park, and saw Lord William -Gordon's house, which has a very nice garden. We drove through Hyde -Park; the trees were very pretty, and the leaves far out; we passed -very near the Serpentine. It was excessively hot weather. - - -_April 27th._--We saw the Western Exchange, which is something like -a large room full of shops; from that we went to Miss Linwood's -Exhibition. The pictures were exactly like paintings; there was a -railing before them, so that one could not see very near them; some of -the prettiest were Jephtha's Daughter, a nymph turning into a fountain, -a little girl and a kitten, some children on an ass, a girl and a bird, -a woodman and a lobster; in a smaller room were several pictures of -our Saviour, the finest was a head; there was no railing before them, -and when one looked near and could see the stitches, they looked quite -rough; we went along a passage and looked through a kind of grating -in which there was a head of Buonaparte, in another a lion's den; but -the most amusing thing was some children in a cottage; underneath a -shelf lay a little black-and-white dog, which we were afraid to go -near thinking it was alive; Catherine said she saw its eyes moving. -The streets in London were a great deal prettier than I imagined, such -numbers of shops, carriages, etc.--indeed the whole far exceeded my -expectation. There were a great many carriages in Bond Street driving -backwards and forwards. - - -_April 28th._--We left London about half-past nine o'clock; we passed -close by Westminster Abbey, which is prettier than St. Paul's; we had -a beautiful view of London from Westminster Bridge, where I think it -looks best, all the ships look so lively on the river, and London -appears so large. Somerset House is one side of the Thames; we had -another view after we were out of the city, where we saw London much -better than when we were coming in; we saw the Monument and the Tower -at a distance: it was delightful weather, the leaves were quite out; we -saw a great number of butterflies, one kind of a bright yellow (that -I had never seen before). The country looked very pretty, but the -cottages were not so nice as those in Hertfordshire; we had several -views of the Thames; we slept at Canterbury. - - -_April 29th._--We breakfasted at Dover. - - -_April 29th._--We embarked at half-past nine on board the Trafalgar, -Captain Melle; we waited for passengers for above half an hour; the -ship was very full--there were twelve of ourselves, a foreigner, Mr. -and Mrs. Wilkinson, six children, their uncle William, Miss Ash, a -manservant and a maid, who were going to Smyrna; the next people I -observed were three tall young women with hats and feathers; they had -a mattrass put in a boat, which they lay on, there was an old woman -with them; next came Mr. Johnson, his sister and daughter; an affected -lady; Mrs. Moses and a little girl; a French lady and her daughter; -two gentlemen with plaids; a curious old man and an old lady; besides -servants and many other people whose names I do not know. There were -fifty passengers. It was so foggy that we could hardly see Dover -Cliffs. Before we sailed the old man came and sat down not far from us. -He was very shabbily dressed, and looked a curious figure. A man came -and asked him for some money for carrying down his luggage to the ship. -'Nononono, no no,' said the old man; 'I paid you for my breakfast.' -'But my master, and not I, got that money,' said the man. 'No no no -no, 'said the old gentleman, tapping the deck with his cane, and his -stomach with his hand. The man continued to remonstrate, saying that he -paid those who did nothing, and did not give anything to those who were -really useful; but it was all in vain. So he went away, and presently -returned with another man, and they both tried to persuade the old -man to give them something. 'Nono-nono-nono,'said he. 'I gave you so -much' (mentioning what it was); 'nono-no.' 'But that was for your -breakfast, sir, and not for carrying your trunks.' 'Nono-no no; keep -it to yourself, keep it to yourself,' said he, nodding, and at last -the two men were obliged to leave the ship without having accomplished -their purpose. One of them muttered as he went along, 'I'm sure if -I'd known this I would not have taken all this trouble; such work as -I've had, hunting after that old man's gloves for this half-hour.' We -could not tell who he was, nor did any person appear to know him, as -they sometimes spoke English to him and sometimes French, he always -returning the answer, 'No-no.' He continued to nod and talk to himself -long after the men were gone, to our great amusement. I was very sorry -to leave England, but I had not much time to think about it, as the -ship began to move. As I had not been in a ship before, I was very -much frightened, and when the ship leant to one side I felt as if we -were all falling into the sea together. A great wave came over the -ship, and wetted all the people at that side, who were obliged to run -up higher. Mamma was so ill, she looked like death. She said you might -have thrown her into the sea, or done anything with her. After a short -time I was sick also; indeed there were hardly any of the passengers -that were not, except Euphemia, William, and Caroline[1]. One of the -plaid gentlemen was very civil, and took Caroline on his knee. When -she was tired she crept by mamma, and fell asleep. She scarcely spoke -a word, except once: when I asked her how she liked being in the ship, -she lifted up her head, and said, 'Not at all.' The gentleman said he -had come over for pleasure, and was going back again the next day. -Oh (thought I), who can come for pleasure?--to be sick oneself, and -see every person sick around one, to be surrounded by people who look -dead or dying, to hear women groaning, and children crying, and to -add to all, to be shivering with cold--who can come for pleasure! Mr. -Wilkinson's two little boys cried, and were rather troublesome; the -youngest had an immense long whip. His little baby had just recovered -from the measles; he nursed it almost the whole time. The little girl -with Mrs. Moses had, in addition to being sick, the cramp in her legs. -The lady that was with her did not take any charge of her except -calling out when the ship tacked, 'O child! come to this side, or else -you will be drowned.' The first time somebody was sick, and called -'Steward,' our little Stewart started up and said, 'What, papa?'[2] -William told us that he looked on one side; he saw a spout: he looked -on the other side; he saw another spout: so there was nothing for him -to look at but the sea. There were a number of seabirds and fishes. We -got within sight of Calais in three hours. No boats came out for a long -while, and it was generally agreed that the men had gone to the play; -but the reason ... - -(two pages missing here) - -... to their mouths to make him understand, but he always returned the -same answer, 'O nonononono, nononono,' so they were obliged to leave -him. Only a few people went in the boats. We laid down on the deck, -with our head on a basket and a coat over us. The deck was covered with -people lying in a heap like pigs. It was so disagreeable, that when I -heard that we could not get in till six or seven o'clock, I thought -that I would almost sooner go in the next boat than stay where I was. -Soon after, Euphemia told me that the next boat was come, but we did -not go in that either. Soon after, almost everybody went down to the -cabin, except Carruthers, the affected lady, and me. The old man again -began to be troublesome: he wanted to get to a chair at the opposite -side of the cabin, and all at once down he got on his hands and knees, -and began to crawl over the ladies, who called out, 'O! O dear! he -will crush us.' He then wanted to go to bed, and kept poking about: he -came to Euphemia's bed, and said, 'I'll get in here. Why mayn't I get -in here?' and he stood upon a chair, and peeped into the bed. One of -the ladies called out, 'There's a child in that bed.' 'Nononono-no,' -said he, and there he stood. Euphemia prepared herself to jump out of -bed if he got in, but after looking a little while he went away. Every -time she spoke to Catherine he held up two of his fingers, and said, -'That won't do, that won't do.' The affected lady had laid her head on -our knees, and she was never still for a moment. She kept continually -asking how long it would be before we got in; it was very foggy, and -the sailors had lost sight of the fort, so this lady thought she would -direct them. 'Oh!'said she, 'I wish I could look up; I've got such -famous eyes,' and then she sat up. 'Oh yes, I can see it.' One of the -sailors tried to persuade her that one might fancy anything in a fog, -but she still wanted to direct them. 'I'm sure,' said she, 'I see the -fort. It would be much better if you were to go into the harbour.' They -at last said they thought we should not get in all night.[3] Whenever -they moved the helm, the lady screamed out that it would crush her. I -felt very stupid and sleepy, and in a short time I fell asleep. When -they were going in to Calais we went into the cabin; they took me -down half asleep, and when I awoke I could hardly tell where I was; -it looked like a burial-ground; the floor was covered with people and -basons, and it was almost dark; in a little while we heard that we were -going into the harbour, to our great joy; I thought I would sooner stay -all my life in France than cross the sea again. We reached Calais a -little after eight; every person got up and groped about: a gentleman -said it was like a resurrection. One of Mr. Wilkinson's little girls, -about three or four years old, said, 'Papa, must my kisses and cakes -go to the custom-house?' When Euphemia[4] was getting up she said, -'I think we all look like wild beasts in our dens'; one of the plaid -gentlemen said, 'And you look like a laughing hyena!' Our brothers -had been all the time in the hold with the luggage. One of the ladies -said she would never cross the sea again, except to go home. I was -rejoiced to leave the ship, having spent one of the longest and most -disagreeable days I had ever felt. When we landed it was quite dark. - - * * * * * - -After we had landed we went to the custom-house. It looked like -a public-house, there were some queer-looking men and women with -long earrings;[5] here we saw the affected lady--she pulled about -her petticoats and said they should feel that she had got nothing -about her. From this we went to Rignolle's Hotel; it was very nicely -furnished: there were very pretty clocks on the chimney-piece. We -went to bed directly after tea; the rooms had a very particular, -disagreeable smell. - - -_April 30th_.[6]--We took a walk on the pier: it was excessively cold -and windy; we saw the place where Louis the Eighteenth first put his -foot on his return from England--there is a little piece of brass, of -the shape of a foot, put into the stone: there is also a pillar on -which is marked the time that this event took place. There was not much -difference between the dress of the people at Calais and that of the -English. The custom-house officers had examined our things; they took -away nine cambric muslin petticoats, which were slightly run up, and a -worked gown of mamma's, which they afterwards gave her back, thinking -that she might have worked it. They took away two yards of cambric -muslin from Miss Wragge;[7] they likewise examined a shawl and a cotton -gown of the servant's many times over: the gown had been washed several -times. The servants dined at a table d'hôte; there was a dinner which -they thought very fine, a dessert, wines, brandy and coffee. Rignolle's -is a very good hotel; most of the servants speak English; it is in the -Rue Eustâche de St. Pierre. - -[Illustration: - -1. TREE WITH COVERINGS LIKE TOMBSTONES - -2. THE MOST AMUSING THING IN MISS LINWOOD'S EXHIBITION - -3. A 'PIONEER' WITH LONG BEARD AND LEATHER APRON - -4. MISS WRAGGE BEING SPRINKLED WITH HOLY WATER] - - -_May 1st._--Being sufficiently recruited we recommenced our journey; -our horses were tied with ropes, they looked quite wild; there were -three in each carriage. Calais is surrounded with fortifications. It -was very cold, disagreeable weather. Papa has a great aversion to east -winds, and dislikes Tallantire on that account, so we expected that -in France we should find a delightful climate; but alas! no sooner -had we arrived there, than we found both east and north winds. About -Calais was the ugliest country without exception I ever beheld; there -was scarcely a tree to be seen, no hedgerows, no pretty cottages, -everything looked dirty and miserable; there was a great deal of sand, -and the country looked exactly like a desert: I thought that if this -was a specimen of France, it was certainly a most charming place! We -passed through La Chaussée, a scattered village which skirts the road -for more than a mile; after ascending a hill we had a view of the -sea, but the weather was so thick that we could not see Dover Cliffs. -Our horses began to kick and seemed very restive, but on the driver's -dismounting and calling to them in a curious voice they were soon -quiet; after we had passed Wimille about a mile there was a succession -of hills as far as Boulogne: on one of them we had a view of the town -and the tower, which was commenced by Buonaparte to commemorate his -intended victories over England. We entered the town by an avenue of -trees; we met a procession in the Rue Grande in honour of the Duke of -Bordeaux's baptism, which was that day to take place; it was a general -fête throughout France. We stopt till the procession had passed. The -principal things I remarked were the pioneers with their long beards -and leather aprons, with hatchets over their shoulders. We went to the -Hôtel Angleterre, Rue de l'Eau; it is kept by an Englishman of the -name of Parker. We breakfasted on bouillon. Euphemia had been very -unwell all day: she had no appetite; so we and Miss Wragge went out to -buy some oranges for her; we asked several people, and enquired at a -number of shops, but all in vain, and we began to despair: we, however, -succeeded in getting some of an Englishman--he was the only person in -the town who sold them; he told us that he got them from England and -was obliged to pay a high duty; we only took four, as the smallest -were four sous apiece. After leaving Boulogne the country was a little -prettier; it had not that desert appearance that there was at the -sea-coast. Before we reached Saumur we saw a woman riding like a man, -wrong side before, on a horse, and a cow tied to the horse's tail; in -some places we saw women ploughing. About Saumur it was rather pretty; -there were rows of apple-trees on each side of the road, but on many of -them there was scarcely a leaf; not any of the trees were so far out as -they were in England. The country looks barren, as there are no hedges. -The villages in France are also very ugly--there are no gardens before -the houses, and instead of the lovely cottages we saw in Hertfordshire -we here saw only dirty, untidy-looking houses; it was curious to see -the astonishment of the servants, who imagined that they were to travel -through bowers of grapes and groves of oranges. I was most disappointed -at the weather, as I expected a delightful climate in France. After we -had passed Saumur we entered the forest of Longvilliers; we saw some -large lilac periwinkles in the hedge.[8] We reached Montreuil in the -evening; there is a very steep ascent to the town; it is supposed to be -nearly impregnable. We went to Varennes, Hotel de la Cour de France; -it was a tolerably clean and civil inn. They told us there was to be -a grand illumination on account of the fête; they begged to put some -lights in our windows, and stuck two or three candles in. The servants -went out to see the balls and illuminations: they said that there were -very few lights, and that they saw some ladies going to the ball, but -that, as for the dance on the green, it was so dark they could hardly -see, but the people appeared to be in their working dresses; that there -was one fiddler; that first one person got up and ran across the green, -and then another; but it was nothing like dancing. At this hotel we -first saw the curious French beds; they consist of a pole in the wall -with the end gilt, over this is thrown a curtain; sometimes instead of -the pole there is an octagon; the beds are very uncomfortable, and the -curtains slip over one's face. The basons are like pie-dishes. - -[Illustration: A FRENCH WOMAN AND CHILD] - -[Illustration: A FRENCH BOY AND GIRL, EATING, AT THE DOOR] - - -_May 2nd._--It was a cold, disagreeable, rainy morning when we left -Montreuil; the country was not pretty; we went for a long way between -rows of trees, of which there was nothing left but the stumps; the -branches are cut off nearly all the trees, which makes them look like -broom-sticks. There were great numbers of beggars. At every village we -passed we were followed by men, women and children; if we gave to a -few they came in a double quantity up to the carriage-window; in one -village we counted about twenty. Begging seemed to be quite a trade: -in some places they brought baskets with cakes and flowers in them; -if we would not buy the flowers they threw them into the carriage. In -one place a little girl ran by the side of the carriage and said in -English 'How do you do? Very well thank you. Give me a penny, papa. How -do you do, my dear? I hope you're very well.' Papa asked them where -they had learned to speak English; they answered that the English had -lived there three years. In one of the villages where we stopped two -little girls came and danced by our carriage; they danced in a slow, -dull kind of way, and sung a tune something like our quadrilles. The -people were in general fat, plain and clumsy; their eyes were half -shut, they looked like the pictures one sees of Chinese. The women wore -a woollen or cotton petticoat with a body of a different colour, an -apron with shoulder-straps, and a coarse cotton handkerchief: some had -high caps on their heads, but most of them wore a checked handkerchief -done up like a toque, and long earrings; they had scarcely any hair to -be seen, which was very unbecoming. Their waists were generally very -short, and they looked quite a bundle; some of them wore sabots (wooden -shoes). The children[9] were heavy, ugly figures; they were quite -muffled up with clothes, and had very large stomachs, and their clothes -were tied over their breasts. They had not the liveliness of children -in England; they seemed so fat they could hardly walk,--like what in -Scotland they call _douce bairns_; they had all caps or handkerchiefs -on, even the babies. The men wore coloured woollen nightcaps; they were -much better-looking than the women. All the people looked untidy and -dirty. We passed through the Forest of Cressy, near which was fought -the celebrated battle which bears its name. We reached Abbeville about -one o'clock: we breakfasted at the Hôtel d'Angleterre, which is a very -good inn, but was rather in confusion when we were there. At Flixcourt, -where we stopped to change horses, we saw some people dancing on a -green; they told us it was on account of a wedding. In several of the -villages there were people standing at their doors eating bean-bread; -in one stage we tasted it; it was rather sour, but not bad tasting. -The people did not seem to make much use of their houses, as we often -saw them out of doors. It was above six o'clock when we arrived at -Amiens.[10] The entrance into the town is pretty. We went to the -cathedral; it has a pretty light spire: there is a beautiful portal -with figures carved all round. The inside is very prettily ornamented; -the pulpit is supported by Faith, Hope and Charity; above it are three -angels holding a curtain underneath which is the glory; all the figures -are gilt. There are two pretty painted wheel-windows; the organ is -silver, and looks rather poor. There are little chapels round the -inside of the cathedral, and images with cases of artificial flowers -before them. The pillars are so formed that when you strike them they -sound as if they were hollow. I did not think it altogether near so -grand as York Minster, but it is a very pretty thing. The concierge -told us that he had seen ten thousand in the church. When you look -up it looks too low, as if the top was cut off. There were several -nuns[11] walking up and down the cathedral. We returned to dinner at -the Hôtel des Ambassadeurs, where we slept; it is quite in the French -style, with red stone floors, no grates, fine clocks, etc. - -[Illustration: SŒUR DE LA CHARITÉ] - - -_May 3rd._--In the morning when we asked for soap they said they had -none in the house; we at last sent out to buy a piece, and they brought -us in a bit of coarse brown soap. The soap that the French wash their -things with smells of aniseed and gives their beds a disagreeable -smell. The inn was by far the worst we met with; and the servants were -very careless. We set out with very fine weather for the first time, -and as the day advanced two or three butterflies made their appearance. -Our postillion seemed very gay, as he sung most of the time; presently -some of the ropes broke about the horses' heads, and while he was -employed in mending, with the help of another bit of rope and an old -knife, the postillion at the other carriage had also dismounted, and -was amusing himself by plaiting up his horses' tails. The harness often -broke and the horses kicked, but the men did not seem to mind it; if -we asked what was the matter, they always answered, 'Soyez tranquille, -soyez tranquille.' The French horses are little, clumsy-looking beasts. -At Hebecourt we met a kind of covered cart full of children and nurses -going to the Hospital des Enfans Trouvés at Paris; there was a soldier -to guard it, who sat on his horse like a woman and slapped his horse's -face. There seems to be a great want of living creatures in the fields; -we never met any except here and there a drove of pigs with very long -legs, or a walnut-coloured old woman leading (by a string) a thin, -miserable-looking cow. We once met a flock of sheep which followed -a man like dogs. Breteuil is a mean, dirty town; we had a very bad -breakfast in the Hôtel de ----.[12] The country about Breteuil is very -dreary and unpleasant. We saw several vineyards which were not near -so pretty as I expected: they were little, diminutive-looking things, -not so high as raspberry bushes. Near the villages we saw a number of -people washing in the _lavoirs_ or ponds made purposely. There were, -as usual, plenty of beggars; some of whom came and begged for bread -and wine. One of our postillions had a dog with him; he threw off his -gloves, the dog always picking them up and bringing them to him. Soon -after we had passed the village of Wavigny we were overtaken by a -violent storm of rain, hail, thunder and lightning, and as the storm -increased we were glad to take shelter in the post-house at St. Just. -Here we had a good deal of conversation with a servant girl; she told -us that they kept all the cattle in stables, and never out of doors. -Seeing some pigs that looked finer than usual in the farmyard, she said -that they had got them from a school where they brought up pigs. She -had a child in her arms which she offered to us all to kiss. When we -asked what it eat, she said soup and sweetmeats; she afterwards brought -it in some sugar and milk. The child had on a cotton cap trimmed with -black net: when she took it off to show us its hair, we told her how -much better it looked without it; she said 'yes, but that in France -they were afraid of their children catching cold if they went without -caps': which accounts for one's never seeing the children's neck, arms, -or hair. The people seemed to have been at dinner; there was a large -plate of cabbage, some curd, and apples on the table. Before we went -away mamma gave the girl a franc; she seemed hardly to know whether to -accept it or not, turned it about, and at last put it into her pocket -without saying a word. We were amused at one of our servants saying -'It's well we're off the _common_ now it rains' (owing to the want -of hedgerows and trees, the country did look more like a common than -anything else). When we set out the storm had abated, but the water -was running over the road in streams. A little further on the hail -was collected into large heaps, some of them nearly three feet long, -and above half a foot thick: these were lying on the sides of the -road, and over the fields for a quarter of a mile. We picked up some -small pieces: they were hail and mud stuck together; the hailstones -were bigger than large peas. A few miles from St. Just we had a very -fine view of Clermont; the town and castle are situated on a hill, -nearly surrounded by wood. It was about here that a little dog which -I fed with bread followed us for near half a mile. The country was -very pretty as we approached Chantilly: the wood of Hallate borders -the road on the left, in which we saw some wood pigeons; nearer the -town is a meadow, and canals are on each side of the road. In entering -Chantilly one of the horses got its leg over the traces, and horse -and man fell down beside the carriage; they, however, got up without -any accident. We drove to the Hôtel de Bourbon, an excellent inn. The -mistress is a nice, civil little woman; the master, who is also cook, -was twenty years in England. The rooms were very nicely furnished; in -the parlour was a jug full of lilies of the valley, which gave the room -a very sweet smell. While dinner was preparing we walked out towards -the palace stables. We passed by several neat houses, with gardens -and trellis-work covered with vines before the door. The trellis-work -was arched: I should think when it is covered with bunches of grapes -it must be very pretty. The stables consist of one enormous building, -six hundred feet in length and forty in height; above the entrance are -some very fine figures and horses. There was formerly a figure, which -the Allies melted into cannon balls when they were quartered there. -The palace was destroyed by a mob from Paris early in the Revolution; -a smaller château connected with it was spared, which is now the -habitation of the Prince of Condé. Several people asked if we wanted -to see the inside of the stables, but we had not sufficient time. It -was a very fine evening, the country round was very beautiful; there -was a great deal of wood about it. We walked a little in the garden -belonging to the inn; there were an immense number of cockchafers that -flew humming over our heads. Soon after we returned there was a great -deal of thunder and lightning. Before I went to bed I sat and watched -it at a window; when it lightened, the whole sky seemed illuminated. It -continued during part of the night, so that we were obliged to close -the windows. I liked Chantilly better than any place I had seen in -France. - - -_May 4th._--Before we set off we got some rolls to take in the -carriage. They were not the rolls, a yard and half a quarter long, but -quite round like rings, that the bakers carry hung over their arms. We -took a turn in the garden, where we met with an Irishman, who told us a -great deal about the stables, etc. He said that the Prince of Condé had -an extensive forest, where he was very fond of hunting; that one day he -would hunt the wild-boar, another day the roe-buck, another the stag, -and so on. After we had left Chantilly the country was very pretty, -and the forest of Chantilly soon began to skirt the road on the left. -Near Ecouen is a seminary for the education of the orphan daughters -of the members of the Legion of Honour. As we approached Paris, the -postillions were very smart, their queues were well powdered, and -at one place their boots were so large that they stepped into them. -Whenever the French postillions come near to a town or village, they -begin to crack their whips very dexterously, with which they make an -immense noise. The horses are tied with ropes, have sheep-skins over -their backs, and are always three abreast. Near many of the villages -we saw crucifixes and images. There are some little obelisks on the -side of the road, where Philip the Bold and his brothers rested when -they bore the corpse of their father from Paris to St. Denis. There is -an avenue of trees on each side of the road which bears marks of the -ravages of war. Soon after the village of La Chapelle we passed the -barrier of Paris. We entered Paris along the Rue de Clichy. We stopped -at Meurice's Hôtel, Rue St. Honoré. The sitting-room was carpeted and -had a boarded floor; there was a pretty clock and vases of alabaster -on the chimney-piece, and mirrors about the room; the furniture was a -kind of figured blue cotton velvet, which they have a great deal of -in France. Meurice and many of the waiters speak English; the inn is -very good; the servants did not seem to hear the bells, but we thought -that was probably because we were at the back of the house, rather out -of the way. The back of the hotel looks towards the gardens of the -Tuileries. We went to bed directly after tea. - -[Illustration: A FRENCH POSTILLION] - - -TUILERIES - -_May 5th._[13]--We took a walk in the gardens of the Tuileries. The -palace was founded by Catherine de Medicis, and derives its name -from having been erected on a piece of ground appropriated to the -manufacture of tiles. The front consists of five pavilions, connected -with four ranges of buildings. The whole façade is adorned with Ionic -pillars placed on pedestals. All the pillars are formed of brown and -red marble. The portico of the centre pavilion towards the court -is decorated by columns, and on each side of the gate are statues -of Apollo and a Faun. The portico towards the garden is similarly -ornamented. On the galleries are eighteen marble statues of Roman -senators clad in the toga, and in other parts of the façade are -twenty-two busts of Roman emperors and generals. The extraordinary -height of the roof in front towards the garden gives an air of -heaviness to the façade. An iron palisade encloses the coachyard of -the palace. The principal entrance to the court of the Tuileries is by -a most beautiful triumphal arch. It was erected by Napoleon, and was -built on the plan of that of Septimus Severus at Rome, and is said not -to be inferior to the original. It is sixty feet wide and forty-five -feet high. The centre arch is fourteen feet wide, the others eight and -a half. Each front is decorated with four columns, supporting marble -figures, representing different soldiers. On the outside are, on the -right, the arms of France, supported by Peace and Plenty; and on the -left the arms of Italy, sustained by Wisdom and Strength. Four other -bas-reliefs are over the smaller arches. The inside of the arches is -beautifully carved. Over the centre arch was formerly the statue of -Napoleon. The gardens are the work of Lenostre; the principal walk -extends through the whole length of the garden. The trees are all cut, -which gives it a formal look. In the parterres of flowers are statues -and basins of water; in one were two swans, and in the others some gold -and silver fishes. From the terrace of the garden towards the Seine -we had a very fine view of the river; and on the opposite terrace, of -the Place Vendôme, the triumphal column, and the Boulevards beyond. -Along the walks are rows of chairs, for which you pay two or three -sous: there are also stone seats. In the afternoon these gardens are -crowded by a gay assembly. In returning we passed through the Place -Vendôme. The buildings which enclose the square on three sides are -uniform. In the middle is a beautiful column 130 feet high, formed on -the model of that of Trajan at Rome. It is entirely covered with brass, -furnished by the artillery taken from the Austrians. The pedestal is -fitted with bas-reliefs, and at each angle is an eagle grasping a -crown of laurel. At the foot of the column commences another set of -bas-reliefs, which trace in chronological order the principal events -of the campaign of 1805: a spiral line separates each row. On the top -of the column is a gallery, and above the gallery is a small dome on -which is a white flag. There were a great many carriages in the square, -so that we had to skip first to one side, then the other. There are no -pavements for foot passengers in the streets of Paris, which makes it -very disagreeable to walk; the coachmen drive close to the very doors -of the houses, and if it were not for the _portes cochères_, one would -be run over by the carriages. The streets are narrow and dirty, and the -shops in general very shabby. There were a good many people about with -nosegays; we bought a bunch of lilies-of-the-valley and ranunculuses -for two or three sous. The flower-girls are quite troublesome; they -follow one and throw the flowers into one's hand. - - -_May 6th._--We were very much surprised at having a very good -plum-pudding at dinner, and on enquiry we found that they had one every -Sunday. The servants complained terribly of not having enough to eat; -they said that sometimes they could not each get a potatoe: and other -things in proportion. A great many troops passed by the door. - - -JARDIN DES PLANTES - -_May 7th._[14]--Soon after breakfast we set out in a carriage to go -to the Jardin des Plantes. We crossed the Seine by the Pont Royal; -the river is dirty and muddy, the water is so green that it cannot -be drunk without being filtered. On the bridge were several women -clipping poodles, and the limonadiers, both men and women, were -passing backwards and forwards with their castles full of lemonade -or sorbets on their backs, their cocks by their sides, and their tin -cups over their shoulders, crying as they went along, 'Voulez-vous -boire, voulez-vous boire?' Some of them had larger things, a great deal -ornamented. When we alighted at the entrance of the botanic garden -several women crowded round us, begging us to buy a description of the -menagerie. It was a very fine day. This charming garden was founded -by Jean de la Brasse, physician to Louis XIII. At the entrance of the -garden are several square enclosures. The first contains different -kinds of soil and manure; in the second are specimens of hedges, -fences, and ditches; there are likewise every different method of -training fruit-trees, some like a cup, some like a pyramid, and two -trees fastened together with a gate between them. In another enclosure -are vegetables, and in another different kinds of fruit-trees and -bowers. We then walked to the menagerie, near which are some very -fine Judas trees which were covered with lilac flowers. The wild -beasts' dens were very large and kept remarkably clean. There were -several lions, tigers, panthers, hyenas, wolves and bears; but what -pleased me most was a dog in the den with one of the lions. One very -fierce-looking black bear was rearing up against the bars. The bears -were formerly kept in sunken enclosures, but since an accident happened -they have been confined with the other wild beasts.[15] At the end -of the menagerie is the aviary, the bars of which were so close that -we could hardly see into it; there did not seem many rare birds, but -plenty of monkeys were skipping about. Some distance off this is the -house for the elephant: it is a large-looking building near a pond, -the whole enclosed by a railing. The elephant was plunging about and -enjoying the water while its keeper was rubbing it with a wet broom. -In several enclosures were antelopes, deer, elks, and different kinds -of sheep. They were so tame as to come up to the railings and take -pieces of bread out of the people's hands. In one enclosure were -different kinds of fowls, storks, and an ostrich, and a Botany Bay -bird of immense height. There were also two old camels, and two young -ones. There were some curious long-eared goats, which were very tame. -In the pit, where the bears were formerly, are now some wild boars, -and several young ones. The botanic garden consists of more than seven -thousand plants, every one of which is labelled, and the beds are -divided by little hedges of box. A piece of water, supplied from the -Seine, is appropriated to the aquatic plants. We did not look into the -greenhouses or hothouses: several of the plants were ranged out of -doors. After we had passed these we ascended by a path an artificial -hill at the top of which is a kind of temple: from this we had a view -of the greater part of Paris. The Museum of Natural History is at the -end of the garden opposite the entrance; it is open on Tuesday and -Friday. We could not see it the day we were at the garden. - -[Illustration: LIMONADIÈRE] - - -LOUVRE AND PALAIS ROYAL - -_May 8th._--As we had taken a house at Passy, the servants and trunks -went there: but we staid till the afternoon that we might see the -Gallery of the Louvre and as much of Paris as we could. In the first -saloon of this museum are the earliest works of the French and Italian -artists. In the next the celebrated battle-pieces of Le Brun. We -then entered the great gallery, which appears to have no end; this -magnificent apartment is fourteen hundred feet in length. The ceiling -is particularly pretty. I was very much disappointed in the pictures; -there were such a number that I could hardly distinguish them. The -Déluge by Poussin is very sublime. I also admired the St. Michael -vanquishing Satan. The inside of a kitchen, and another painting in -which there is a lamp, are very natural. There is a picture of some -dogs, and another of some game, both of which I liked. A basket of -fruit and some butterflies is also very pretty. - -From the Louvre we went to the Palais Royal. It was begun by Cardinal -Richelieu in 1629, and completed in 1636. It was converted by the Duke -of Orleans into a bazaar: the front towards the street of St. Honoré -was built by him after the destruction of the Opera House. It presents -two pavilions adorned with columns. After passing under a portico we -entered a square. In the centre is a garden interspersed by young trees -and encircled by lattice work; in the middle of the garden is a _jet -d'eau_, which cools the air very much. Round the square are beautiful -little shops; the prettiest are the jewellers'. In the windows were -a great many ornaments of mother-of-pearl, harps, dogs, men, carts, -etc. The china-shops are very pretty also. One very pretty ornament -was a gold boy with a china cup on his back and a dog holding a stick -in its mouth, at each end of which was a glass for ink; there were -bead-necklaces, smelling-bottles, and every kind of thing. When we -returned we went immediately to Passy. This village was about a mile -from Paris. When we arrived at our house in the Rue Basse, we found all -hands busily employed in cleaning. It was a large house, but dirty from -top to bottom. It had been occupied for a year by an English family -who had been abroad for three years; their housekeeper and lady's-maid -were English, and disliked being in France so much that they sat in -their own rooms and left the management of the house entirely to the -foreign servants. There was a courier who bought and managed for the -family. The consequence was that we found the house in the greatest -confusion. The kitchen was like a pig-sty, and the rooms were very -dirty and untidy. There were backs of books, old bottles, and all kinds -of litters lying about. There was a German housemaid who was to stay on -in the house with us, and she and our servants did little that day but -clean. Though we were all anxious to come to a house, I began to think -I would sooner have stayed where we were than come here. When we went -to bed we expected at least to be at rest, instead of which the beds -were so full of bugs that we were bit all over. - - -PASSY - -_May 9th._--We got up pretty early, glad enough to leave our dirty, -disagreeable beds. The servants began to clean the kitchen, but the -smell was so bad that it made them sick; they therefore got two men in -to clean it; and when they came to the pipe that carried away the dirt, -they were also unable to proceed till they got a glass of brandy. The -oven was an inch thick with dirt; when it was a little cleaned they -discovered a looking-glass at the back of the oven. All the egg-shells, -stalks of vegetables, etc., had been thrown under the charcoal fires; -the rolling-pin was covered with dirt. Indeed, a dirtier place could -not have been imagined. The meat chopper was also an inch thick of -dirt. The cellar was overrun with lizards, and the closets with ants, -etc. It was rather more agreeable out of doors. The front of the house -was turned from the street, and before it were two terraces, one above -the other, which were covered with vines, and at the end were some fine -Judas trees. From the terrace we had a view of the Seine and Paris. -The weather was fine, but we none of us were in a humour to enjoy this -view. The porter that lived at the end of the terrace had a little boy -of five or six years old. François was a nice boy, but, like most of -the French children, rather forward. We walked through the village as -far as the Bois de Boulogne. There are streets in Passy like a town, -but very few shops; the people who live there get all their things from -Paris. We picked up several cantheræ. - - -_May 10th._--We now found the dirt so intolerable that mamma determined -to speak to Madame Gautier, the lady from whom we had taken the house. -She said that she would have the house cleaned and painted; but that -if we wished to leave it, not to consider that any agreement had been -made. (Our house had been taken for a year.) On hearing this papa went -immediately to Versailles to look after a house; when he returned he -told us that he had taken one, to which we were to go next day. We went -to bed in rather better spirits, comforting ourselves that it was the -last night we should sleep here. - - -_May 11 th._--This morning we were busy packing and settling our -things. We were rather at a loss about some clothes which we had at the -wash, not knowing how we could get them. The porter, however, told us -that we might be easy, as he knew a coachman who passed constantly by -the door, with whom he would send the things. That we might be sure, -we again asked him if he was certain of being able to send the things; -but he repeated his answer so often that we had not the least doubt of -his being as good as his promise. Soon after breakfast we set off in -a cabriolet, which is rather a curious conveyance, but very roomy. It -has two seats, one before the other, and it opens in front where the -man sits. It jogged very much going downhill. There is only one horse. -The man drove so close behind the cabriolet in which the servants were -that we could not see anything; on asking him to go to one side he -went straight before. Presently he stopped and took up another man, -which they call a 'lapin,' and they chatted and laughed all the way, -frequently stopping to get little glasses of brandy, as all the French -drivers do. They stopt for a long while at a post-house, where the men -got some bread out of a bin in the corner, and some wine. The people at -the inn brought us out a few little cakes, for which they afterwards -charged several francs. It was about the middle of the day when we got -to Versailles. - -[Illustration: CABRIOLET] - -It is a nice-looking town. There are three avenues up the middle. The -soldiers were exercising in the Avenue de Sceaux when we passed; they -exercised there several times a week. We used to like to hear their -music, but they spoilt it with drumming. Our house was near the end of -the Avenue de Sceaux, No. 6. Before the door was what they called 'Deux -jolis jardins,' which turned out to be a small garden with a walk, and -two hedges up the middle which divided it. We had not the upper story -of the house. We paid 300 francs a month. The rooms were all round a -court, so that one had to pass from one room to get to another. The -drawing-room was furnished quite after the French fashion: there was -a round table with two large pieces of marble on it; another table -supported by bronze sphinxes; a beautiful piece of furniture that had -belonged to the palace, which contained fourteen secret drawers and -several mirrors. But besides this there were two clocks, neither of -which would go; linen curtains hung on common iron rods; common painted -frames round the glasses. Instead of a carpet there was a very little -shabby piece of green cloth; and no grate; and such fire-irons as you -would not see in an English kitchen. The furniture was stamped blue -cotton-velvet. On the floor of the dining-room there was a little -ragged piece of old tapestry; this and the green cloth were the only -pretensions to carpet in the house, so that what with the want of -grates and the red stone floors, it looked very cold and comfortless. -But that we did not much mind, as the heat was what we always dreaded. -The locks of the doors hurt all our fingers, they were so stiff. -After we had thoroughly looked through the house, we went out to walk -through the town. The trees in the avenues are kept cut, which is very -formal-looking. We passed before the King's stables. They are in the -form of a half moon; before the court is a railing with gilt tops. -The great and the little stable are separated by the Avenue de Paris. -Nearly opposite is the palace. Higher up the avenue, on the side of the -Grande Ecurie, is the kennel. It looks pretty, and I think very large -for a dog-kennel; it was, however, found too small. After walking as -far as the Place d'Armes (which separates the old from the new town) we -returned, and spent the evening in condoling with one another. - - -VERSAILLES PALACE - -_May 12th._--We went this day to see the palace and the gardens. When -one looks at it, from the side next Paris, one might fancy it was a -town of itself, there seem so many different buildings. As you go up -to it there are some curious-looking buildings in imitation of tents. -The iron railing that separates the palace from the Place d'Armes is -very much ornamented and gilt, and on each side there is a group of -gilt figures. After passing by the chapel we entered the park. On this -side the palace is 1800 feet long, and from its great length looks -rather low. The park of Versailles is divided into the great and the -little park, which united form a circuit of sixty miles. The great -park includes several villages. The little park includes the gardens, -the groves, the pieces of water, etc. There are several entrances. The -principal one is by the arcades of the palace. When one stands in the -middle of the terrace one sees the Basin of Latona, the Tapis-vert, -Apollo's Bath, and the canal at the right, the parterre of the north, -and Neptune's Bath; and at the left the parterre of flowers, the -orangery, and the _pièce d'eau des Suisses_. The whole garden seems -almost composed of statues and vases. The vases are, I think, the most -beautiful things in the garden; they are mostly of white marble (a few -are of bronze), and covered with the most beautiful carving; some are -very simple, having only a border round them, and others are covered -with figures, sunflowers, or vines. There are also a great many basins -of water. The finest is Neptune's Bath. It is a large piece of water -surrounded by twenty-two vases. There are several groups of figures: -the principal one in the front is Neptune and Amphitrite seated in a -large shell, and surrounded by tritons and naiads. Apollo's Bath is -another very fine one. Apollo is represented in his car drawn by four -horses, and surrounded by sea-monsters. Latona's basin is as curious as -any: in the middle, on several steps of red marble, are Latona and her -children, and around them, on the steps, are seventy-four frogs, which -represent the Lybian peasants metamorphosed by Jupiter on the complaint -made to him by Latona. Some of them seem half frogs and half men. -Besides these there are a great many smaller basins. There is one basin -which seems gone to decay. In it is represented the giant Enceladus -crushed under the ruins of Mount Olympus, and a number of groups of -bronze children supporting basins. Around many of them are parterres of -flowers. - -The Tapis-vert is a long piece of grass, at each side of which are -numerous vases and statues. In the evening, before sunset, this is the -favourite promenade, and is quite crowded by all ranks of people. It is -a favourite game to try and walk down this green blindfold. The canal -is at the bottom of the Tapis-vert, below Apollo's Bath. It is very -long, but not very pretty, as it does not finish with anything; it is -crossed by another canal, which conducts to the Trianon. - -There are a great many long avenues and squares, several of which are -closed. The avenues looked suitable to the rest of the garden, but -_very_ formal. There are also rows of yew-trees cut into every kind -of formal shape, which spoils the look of the gardens very much. The -prettiest part of the garden is Hartwell, or the King's garden, which -is made in imitation of the place where he resided when in England. -It is very like an English garden. In the middle is a column of very -pretty marble, with a small figure of Flora at the top. This garden -is railed in, but is open every evening for people to walk in. I was -very much disappointed in the orangery: it is lower than the rest of -the garden. Most of the orange-trees were standing out, but there is a -gallery to put them in. There is a basin of water in the middle of the -orangery, and borders of flowers all round. There are immense numbers -of orange, lemon, citron, laurel, and pomegranate trees:--the oldest -orange-tree is said to be five hundred years old; but they are by no -means pretty; they are all in large tubs; and instead of the branches -being allowed to spread, they are all cut like box, which make them -look still more formal. Even the flowers in the borders of the orangery -are planted alternately yellow and white. The blossoms of the oranges -are sold. From the orangery we had a view of the Etang Suisse; it looks -like a dirty pond on a common. The whole garden is open to every person -till nine o'clock, when a drum beats. At the entrance there is a list -of rules: no dogs are to be brought in unless tied with a string; and -nobody is to fish in the ponds, or to touch the statues or flowers. -Notwithstanding, however, these prohibitions, I have counted seven -or eight dogs at one time running over the flower-borders, and boys -climbing on the beautiful vases, or fishing for gold and silver fish, -of which there are a great many, particularly in Apollo's Bath. As we -returned through the court, several very ugly old women pressed round -us and asked whether we would like to see the apartments of the palace, -but we thought it was better to defer this till another day. - - -_May 13th._--I was very much surprised to see here, as well as at -Paris, not the least regard paid to Sunday. All the shops were open, -houses were building, and people sitting working at their doors, -seeming more industrious this day than any other; even the tradespeople -made a point of bringing their things on a Sunday. The English -clergyman was a Mr. Beaver. At church we saw several people that we had -formerly seen at Clifton and Bath; it was quite full of English. - - -JACK - -_May 14th._--About this time a little circumstance happened which shows -the French inconsistency. We wanted a jack put up in the kitchen. The -mason and his boy came first, but not finding the blacksmith there, -they went away; then came the blacksmith and his boy, but not finding -the mason, they went away. After going on in this way for some time, -they at last all met. The mason then took out of a paper bag some -delicate-looking white powder, which, after mixing into a paste, he -layed with great care on to a fine silver trowel, and then proceeded to -dab it on to the wall with his fingers. - - -_May 15th._--We now began to be rather surprised that the clothes we -had left at Passy, and which the porter said he would send directly, -had not arrived. Stephens, our foreign courier, who spoke English, was -therefore despatched to bring them. We afterwards found that, so far -from knowing a person to send them by, the porter had consulted with -Stephens and asked him if he knew of any person; so that we might have -waited long for our clothes if we had trusted to the porter's word. -The French are very fond of making promises, but not quite so fond of -performing them; this we found to be the case with our house: one of -our beds broke down several times; some rooms wanted tables, some jugs, -some carpets, and all window-curtains--so that you could see across the -yard from one room to another; they found it very easy to promise all -these things, but we waited many a week before we got one. The English -family above us had one baby of a few months old, called Angelica -Ellen, which we were very fond of nursing. The lady was so ill as not -to be able to attend to it, and seemed to leave it entirely to the care -of a French nurse, who attended to it very badly. She would take it out -in the rain, or give it to anybody in the street to hold, while she -played at hide-and-seek with the old porter and his wife, who looked to -be above seventy; she one day let it fall into the fire and burnt all -its poor little hands. There is a porter to all the French houses. Our -porter's wife took care of children: we sometimes used to get her in to -clean the pans, etc.; then the nurse used to come in also to chat with -her and meddle with the things in the kitchen. - - -TRIANONS - -_May 19th._--This day was, for a rarity, very warm. We saw in the -garden a swallow-tail butterfly and some small red moths, which -were almost the only kinds I saw in France. I never saw anywhere so -few butterflies: we thought it quite a treat to see a single white -one. There was the same scarcity of birds; and, notwithstanding the -quantity of wood in the gardens, we hardly heard one. In the middle -of the day we walked to the Trianons. The Grand Trianon is situated -at the extremity of one of the branches of the canal. We went to it -from the palace garden along a hayfield, near which we sometimes saw -the soldiers playing at ninepins. Near the Trianons were some tall -lombardy poplars and some very pretty acacias. At the gate were a great -many soldiers. An avenue leads up to the little Trianon, which, though -it is called a palace, is not larger than a small private house. The -Grand Trianon is very pretty, but looks small after the other great -palace: it is adorned with eight green marble, and fourteen red marble -pillars. We this day saw neither the inside nor the gardens, but merely -passed by it. Lower down was a pond near which some sheep were feeding, -which, with the wood of the forest, formed a pretty scene. We returned -through part of the forest, and home through the gardens. As we were -going along one of the walks we saw a great many people running, -and on enquiring the reason we were told it was to see the Duchesse -d'Angoulême: we saw her go into one of the walks which were closed, -and afterwards pass through the Orangerie. She was on horseback; there -were some ladies and gentlemen beside her, and other attendants behind. -She was dressed in a dark habit; her eyes were red, as if she had been -crying, and she was not good-looking. We saw her two or three times -afterwards, when she came to visit a college for educating priests to -send over the country, and which was very near our house. We often -saw scores of students going a-walking in their long black gowns -tucked up through the pocket-hole. They were in general very vulgar -and ungentlemanly-looking. The people did not seem to pay them much -respect, as the porter's wife and the nurse pointed, and then burst -out a-laughing when they passed. There were above three hundred at the -college. - - -BALL - -_May 17th._--There was this day a ball given at the palace in honour -of the Duke of Bordeaux's baptism. Mamma did not go, as Mrs. Murray, -the only person she knew there, could not go on account of the death -of a friend. They said the supper was to be very splendid. We went to -a _pâtissier_ to see some of the ornaments. There were very few, and -those were not very pretty: one of the best was the arms of France, -made of cake and ornamented with coloured paste. They told us that -there were no more ornaments for supper than what we saw; but there -must have been more, as we saw people carrying several out of the shop -into another room: what we saw were merely a few in the windows. In the -evening we walked towards the palace to see the illuminations. Beside -the gate and across the court were pieces of iron this shape - -[Illustration: triangle above a short line], - -to which the lamps were fastened. The carriages drove up between the -rows of lamps. Mamma and my sisters were not a little surprised to see -a _gondole_ (which is the same kind of thing as a stage-coach) drive -up to the entrance. The driver lifted out of it a very fat, gouty -lady, dressed in a black lace gown over a white satin slip; she had -a white satin turban on her head, short sleeves, and dirty-looking, -lead-coloured gloves. She had very thick legs, and there was something -very peculiar about her feet. She had worsted stockings on! This is -one of the instances out of many of the inconsistency of the French, -in dress as well as in other things. The poorest-looking people will -have gold chains and earrings, although in other respects remarkably -shabbily dressed. The lower class of people are much worse dressed than -the English. - - -_May 20th._--We all now began to feel very uncomfortable; everything -was so very different to the things in an English house. From the -drawing-room to the kitchen all was uncomfortable, and the habits of -the people were so dirty and untidy that our three English servants -begged that they might do the work themselves instead of having a -foreigner to assist them. Stephens our courier was gone, so that we -had often to go with Carruthers (our cook) to the market to speak -for her. When she went by herself she, however, contrived to make -herself understood; she went all round the market and searched about -till she got hold of the thing she wanted, then she touched it and -said, _Combeen_. She soon learnt a few words such as _pom-de-tary, -chu, mungy, francs, sows, kickshaws_, etc.; if she did not understand -what they said she answered _Inglytary nong comprehendy_. Robins (our -manservant) got on best; he stammered out a word of French and a word -of English, till by words and signs he contrived to get what he wanted. -One word they all knew, and that was _bukkah, bukkah_; they were so -determined not to be cheated that Carruthers went all the way back from -the Avenue de Sceaux to the market if she found they owed her one sou. -Notwithstanding all our care we frequently were cheated; they will try -every possible means:[16] sometimes when the market-people set down -what we had bought, they would write down a few more pence than they -had before charged, or contrive some other way for getting money. The -provisions at Versailles were fully dearer than in England. One of the -best shops in the market was Madame Segan's, although she, as well as -the rest, would cheat if she could. The butter was very bad in France. -Madame Segan's was the best, but as there was no salt in it, and they -only got it once a week, it did not keep good. The butcher's meat -(except the pork and veal) is not good: they have a curious custom of -blowing it up so as to look very large. The French bread being made of -leaven is very sour; we got English bread from a baker at Versailles. -Another good shop for eggs, etc., is The Black Hen. - - * * * * * - -Madame Vernier, the woman whom we took the house from, was a -_restaurateur_ next door, so we often got some dishes from her. Her -_chef de cuisine_ used sometimes also to come to our house to make -dishes. It was very curious to see his proceedings; the beginning of -all his dishes was the same, a large piece of batter and a little -flour; to this he often added some bouillon. He was one day going to -make a small dish off a large dish of cold roast beef. Instead of -cutting off a few slices, (before we saw what he was about) he cut -every bit of the beef to pieces, and then broke the bones and threw -them into the _pot an feu_, to the great discomposure of Carruthers. -The French can make a dish out of almost anything. One day he began to -tell us a long story about a place where he used to dip the children, -and to show us what he meant he took little Caroline in his arms and -pretended to bathe her. This cook was a true French figure; he used to -come in with his white nightcap and apron on, and a sharp pointed knife -hung by his side. After scraping up the charcoal with his fingers he -used to dip two of them into the pan, and putting them to his mouth he -used to say, 'Très bon, très bon.' He was, however, a civil enough old -man in his way. - - * * * * * - -Another curious figure was our water-woman. She was a remarkably ugly, -vulgar-looking old woman, and like all the old French women, an immense -size. She used to wear a brown petticoat, a tattered apron, and a -knitted woollen body. Notwithstanding her uncouth appearance, however, -she was by far the most polite old woman I saw in France. Though -upwards of seventy, she one day sang us some songs very well. When she -came she used to make a curtsy and enquire after us all in the civilest -manner possible. Indeed she was nearly the only person whose manner -was at all like what I expected. Although one hears so much of French -politeness, I do not think that the French are near so polite as the -English. The men make better bows, etc., but in other things there is a -kind of forwardness in the manners of the people that I cannot admire. -If you are walking in the street and a person happens to run against -you or hit you with his stick (which frequently happens), he never -thinks of saying anything except calling out 'eh!' laughing, and then -walking on. - -[Illustration : WATER-WOMAN] - - -MASTERS - -_May 21st._--By this time we were sufficiently settled to have some -masters. The dancing master who had been recommended to us was Monsieur -le Breton. I believe he taught dancing very well in the French style -and took a good deal of pains, but he was not a very agreeable master. -The French dancing is completely different from the English; they think -it beautiful to dance on the flat of the foot and to bend every step, -which makes the dancing look very heavy: they do not like jumping, -although their steps are full of little hops. Their tunes too are very -dull. The French in general do not admire the English dancing; we -were told, however, of one English lady who had danced at the balls, -quite after the English fashion, and whose dancing had been very much -admired. The constant cry of Monsieur Breton was _pliez, pliez_, and -indeed part of the time we danced on a stone floor so that we could -dance heavy enough to please him. He had expressions like the rest -of the French, such as dancing, or working, 'like an angel,' etc. He -called the little ones Williaume, Henault, and Coquette. Our dancing -master had one very disagreeable, though common French trick; he used -to spit so about the floor that it was quite unpleasant to dance. He -taught six of us three times a week for six francs a lesson. He had the -smallest kit I ever saw. He stayed two hours each time. Madame Breton -was a dressmaker. We tried her, but she was by no means a good one. She -had three children, one of whom was an idiot; and as three children in -France are reckoned a large family, she used always to be complaining. -The best dressmaker was Mademoiselle Bouillet, Rue Charcelere. She made -our things very well; but towards the last, when she found we were -going away, she hurried over the work without taking the least pains, -charging very dear for some things, and quite spoiling others. She used -constantly to be promising us to send our things, and as often breaking -her promise. She one day told us very coolly that we might believe -_her_ promises, as she never told lies; that her little girl was in the -habit of lying, but that it was not the case with herself. Another day -she told us it was not her _nature_ to tell lies, but her profession. -The French people do not seem to think it wrong to cheat or lie, or -the least disgraceful to be told they do. Sometimes when we thought -anything we were buying dear, and told the shopkeeper that we had -bought the same thing cheaper in another shop, she answered, 'O madame, -vous ne pouvez pas; c'est impossible.' - - * * * * * - -Monsieur Violet was our French master. He was a good-humoured little -man, and spoke English very well. He generally wore a green coat and -light drab slippers; his hair looked as if it had not been combed out -for a month: altogether he very much resembled an ape. He came for an -hour every day, and charged two francs a lesson. - - * * * * * - -Miss Wragge had the best Italian master---Monsieur Pecci--in Europe (so -they told us). He charged a napoleon for twelve lessons, whether she -took them or not. He was a dark, disagreeable-looking man. He looked -like one of the banditti. - - * * * * * - -We went to enquire about Monsieur Capan, the drawing master (none of -us, however, went). He was finishing one very pretty picture; but he -seemed to have a great objection to show us his drawings: he said -it was quite unnecessary for us to see them. His pupils drew from -busts, he said; they might draw all day if they liked it, but that he -generally looked after them for an hour or so in the middle of the day. - - * * * * * - -We did not get any music master. The general run of French pianos are -not good. Madame Verny offered to sell us a harpsichord for forty -francs-certainly cheap enough; but as half the notes were like a pestle -and mortar, and the other half would not sound at all, we thought it -would be no acquisition. - - -FUNERAL - -_May 23rd._--As we expected French young ladies to be very elegant, -mamma was most anxious that we should go as day scholars to a French -school; she thought, besides, that it would be a change, as we were -all sufficiently tired of Versailles. We therefore enquired of several -people, and were told that the pension of Madame Crosnier de Varigny, -Boulevard de la Reine, No. 55, was the best at Versailles: they said -it was not indeed the largest, but the best and the most select. -We thought that so near the capital there must be good schools; we -therefore set out this day to go and speak about it. In our way, as -we passed the Church of Notre Dame, we observed it was all hung with -black; we walked in, and enquired of some people the cause. They -answered, 'On va faire un enterrement; c'est une dame forte à son -aise.' We walked round the church, which is plain and dirty. A number -of priests, boys, and beggars went out to meet the corpse with candles -in their hands. After waiting till we were almost tired, the funeral -at last made its appearance. There first came in the beggars bearing -lighted candles in their hands; then a priest carrying a crucifix; -then a number of priests, and boys that attend the priests, in black -and white; then two priests who held a sort of black pipe, a serpent -through which they blew; after that came the coffin, covered with white -silk and bordered with black velvet: it was placed on a bier elevated -on a platform covered with black near the altar. A great many candles -were lighted around it. A priest chanted the whole way up the church -and during mass. Mass lasted half an hour. After it was finished they -made a collection, after which the procession left the church in the -same order as when it entered. The old beggars also went out, taking -their candles along with them. There were forty of them, the most -frightfully ugly creatures that can be imagined. Their skins were like -brown leather; they had on old patched petticoats; they were blind -and lame; one had a nose as big as her face, and the next no nose at -all: they were altogether the most frightful set I ever beheld. There -were not many people at the church, except some old women, a number -of whom are generally standing about the churches. (Some of them take -care of the chairs. Every person that takes one chair pays two liard, -or on great fêtes two sous.) These old women were likewise very ugly. -As the French women (except the ladies) do not wear bonnets, their -faces get sunburnt, and the old women's skins look like leather. Some -grow excessively fat. They wear a curious kind of cap, and generally -a red gown and a dark-blue apron with pockets, and a kind of large -chintz handkerchief. After leaving the church we proceeded to Madame -Crosnier's. There were two or three queerly-dressed, vulgar-looking -girls standing at the window. We were shown up into a bedroom. -Madame Crosnier is a good-looking woman, genteel, and altogether -the nicest-looking woman I saw in France: she had on a neat cotton -gown (which is more worn in France than in England) and a pelerine. -Mademoiselle Allemagne, her _sous-maîtresse_, was not near so -nice-looking. The terms were for day-scholars, who did not get their -meals there, 10 francs a month, drawing 10 francs, music 18 francs, -harp 36, dancing 9, and Italian 10 francs. School hours were from nine -to twelve, and from one to three. Thursday was a half-holiday. Madame -Crosnier showed us some of the young ladies' work: it was principally -little figures embroidered with coloured silks on white silk. Catherine -went to this school the next day; Euphemia and I not till above a -fortnight after. - -[Illustration: PART OF THE FUNERAL PROCESSION] - - -_May 25th._--We took a walk in the forest. It is full of paths, so -that one might easily lose one's way: the wood is very pretty. It -was evening when we walked in it, and we saw one moth, the only one -I saw in France, except the cinnabars and some brown midges. We met -the King's gamekeeper, whom papa spoke to: a little further on a -drunken man passed us: drunken people were by no means a rare sight -here, although we had been told the contrary. When we got home it was -quite dark, and they were lighting the lamps, which are hung on ropes -stretched across the street. - -[Illustration: OLD WOMAN OF VERSAILLES] - - -ASCENSION - -_May 29th._--This was Ascension Day, which is a grand fête. We saw a -long procession of priests and soldiers, which I do not remember very -distinctly. After breakfast we went to high mass at St. Louis, which we -were told was to be very grand. The priests had on very fine dresses, -gold, scarlet, silver, purple, green, and all colours. It was quite -like some show; they changed places on the steps and figured about as -if they were waltzing. The bishop had on a gold mitre; he was dressed -very splendidly. There was a great deal of fine flourishing music. The -priests flung about the incense, and the little boys dressed in white -muslin over red gowns rang little bells, on which the people knelt -down. We went to see service again in the afternoon; it consisted of -nothing but loud music like a waltz tune.[17] I missed the prettiest -sight, which was seeing a lady make the _quête_ or collection for the -poor. The lady sat before the altar; she had on a white gauze gown, -and a veil which hung down behind fastened round her head with a -wreath of roses. She had on white gloves and shoes, and was dressed -as if she was going to a ball. An officer handed her about, and the -concierge went before, knocking on the ground with his stick. (The -concierge is generally a very tall man dressed in plum colour; he -goes before the priests, funerals, etc.) The lady held in her hand a -little box of crimson velvet and gold which she presented to everybody, -and curtsied; a servant followed with a crimson bag, into which she -emptied the money when the box was full. The French churches are just -like some show. We were told that a French gentleman had stayed at -the English chapel one Sunday during the sacrament; he said he was -very much struck with the stillness and solemnity, 'avec nous c'est -tout comédie.' In the afternoon, before service began, we observed a -very poor, miserable-looking man sitting with a money-box before him, -and at one side a shell full of holy water (which we did not at first -observe). Miss Wragge, thinking he was a miserable object, as she -passed dropped a sou into his box; which no sooner had she done than he -dipped a little mop which he held in his hand into the holy water, and -sprinkled it over her face. This set some women who were kneeling down -a-laughing. After mass we saw the rooms of the palace; they were very -magnificent, but I had a much better view of them some time afterwards. - -[Illustration: A PRIEST IN HIS COMMON DRESS AND A BOY] - - -NANNETTE - -_May 29th._--As we rather wanted some person to assist our servants, -Nannette, the German servant we had at Passy, was sent for. She was -most useful in going messages, as she would run all day; several people -said they were sure she was not a French woman, she was so active. -She, however, had most of the French habits; if she was making a bed, -or doing anything else, if she heard anything, down went her work and -off she went to see what was the matter. She never could do without -going to _promener_ in the evening, and going for a day up to Paris -once every week. Nannette also copied the French in eating; besides -taking the same meals as our other servants, she used to be continually -eating at odd times. Sometimes she cooked herself some _potage_, or -else she asked for _pain_ and _quelque chose_; one day she eat half a -tureen of cold sorrel soup soon after breakfast; and frequently cold -meat and bread. Besides all this, she never went out without buying -herself fruit. Her language was a strange mixture of French, English, -and German. She hated the French, and used to be very rude to them: -they in return could not bear her; they used to call her a Prussian. -Our dancing master once said, 'La Prusse est la plus vile de toutes les -nations de l'Europe.' If Nannette cleaned a room, she used to throw a -pail of water over the floor till the water ran into the passage. The -French say themselves, that nothing has spoiled the servants like the -Revolution: if anything offends them they will go off; and frequently -choose to leave you when you have company, or some time when you most -want them. - - -HEAT - -_June 1st._--This day was excessively hot: the heat lasted just three -days. - - -[Illustration: WOMAN WITH THE CURIOUS CAP] - - -WATERWORKS - -_June 3rd._--In the morning we were informed by the porter's wife -that the waters were to play. In the afternoon we accordingly walked -in the palace garden, and were very glad to find it was the case. The -gardens were very full, as a great many people had come from Paris to -see the waters play. Some of the large waterworks did not play, such -as Neptune's Bath; and some of the others only partly. Latona's basin -was beautiful; it was playing very little at first, but while we were -looking at it all the frogs began to spout water, which formed a bower -of water over Latona's head, and covered her and her children. The -frogs, lizards, etc., at the bottom, spouted water the contrary way, -which did not look so well. In the same basin at each side were two -pipes, which sent out a column of water. Apollo's Bath was playing a -little out of the horses' mouths. Two smaller pieces of water had a -very good effect: in the middle was a _jet d'eau_; on each side of one -was a lion tearing a wolf, and another lion killing a wild boar; on the -other was a tiger tearing a bear, and a blood-hound killing a stag--out -of the mouths of these figures came streams of water. The figures are -bronze. One of the large waterworks, called Le Basin de l'Obélisque, -consists of a number of pipes in imitation of reeds in the middle of -the basin, which send out a column of water to the height of 75 feet: -this waterwork was playing very little when we were there--it appeared -like a basket of froth. Some of the smaller waters are quite as pretty -as the large ones: one represents Ceres seated on some sheaves and -surrounded by children. Another, a number of children, some holding -masks, shells, and one a pair of bellows. The one that I liked best -was a small basin, in the middle of which there is a little island -which appears to be made of bronze: on this are six little children -playing with flowers, and one on each side which seems to swim or -float. Out of the island rises a column of water. The waters looked -particularly pretty among the trees. There were a great many people -in the gardens, and the variety of colours resembled a bed of tulips. -Some of the people were very oddly dressed. One woman had on a most -extraordinary cap composed of pink satin and very pretty lace; she had -a gold chain round her neck, a white gown, and pink cotton apron. (Her -cap was not at all common.) The French are very fond of colours, and -put them on with very bad taste. We saw some people with perhaps a pink -handkerchief, a blue sash, a coarse cotton gown, a yellow bonnet, and -green shoes. We saw one lady in church with a yellow bonnet spotted -with every colour; and another lady with one side of her bonnet one -colour, and the other another colour. The ladies are in general very -plain. We were told that a lady having tried to persuade an English -gentleman that the French ladies were pretty, he took her to one of -the great waterworks, where she could see ten thousand people, and -told her that he would give her a gown worth five hundred francs if -she could find three handsome women. The lady tried, but was obliged -to acknowledge that she could not. The French women have not good -figures: the old women are very fat, and the others are as flat as two -boards.[18] Many of the ladies were attended by _bonnes_, some of whom -were dressed more neatly than the French women generally are:--with -light cotton gowns, muslin handkerchiefs, and caps trimmed with -lace over blue or pink paper. The children that were with them were -queer-looking little things. The French children are old-fashioned, -dull, grave, and ugly: like little old women in their appearance. The -babies are wrapt up in swaddling-clothes like mummies, and they wear -queer little cotton hats. The nurses carry them very carefully hanging -on their arms; they say that nursing them, or tossing them about, makes -them mad. Some of the children have long hair hanging down their backs -and little hats stuck on the tops of their heads and little ridicules -in their hands. We stayed in the gardens this evening later than usual -looking at the waters, which from the terrace had a very pretty effect. - -[Illustration: A BONNE AND CHILDREN] - - -COLD - -_June 4th._--Our long-expected and much-dreaded hot weather has never -arrived, but instead of it cold, wet weather. The French said it was -an unusually bad season; they were quite _en colère_. It was this day -quite a storm; from the quantity of rain which had fallen there was a -little canal before the door; and as the dining-room was across the -yard, we could hardly get to it in wet weather without getting our -feet wet. I never felt anything so cold as it was in France. We used -to sit shivering, wrapt up in shawls to try and keep ourselves warm. -There were no grates; the fire was lighted on the hearth between two -dogs, and we used to sit round it blowing the wood to try and make it -burn: to make matters worse there were two holes, one on each side of -the fireplace, apparently made to let the smoke into the room; these we -were obliged to stuff with paper. It was as bad in bed, and though we -had sent repeatedly, we could not get any quilts and only one cotton -blanket to each bed. There were no carpets in the rooms; only bare -stone floors, from which, besides being very cold, all the red came -off on to our gowns. We were most of us sufficiently tired of France. -I would have given anything in the world to get back to England, but -we thought there was no chance of that for a long time. Every person -was dismal: one got the rheumatism, another had a cold, another was -ill, another had chilblains, and another was melancholy; and all said -they would not grumble if they did not see other people grumble. I went -from room to room, and could get no consolation. In spite of their -spectacles and processions, there was a dulness in the streets and a -want of life in the people: everything seemed to be creeping along and -looking like oysters. The boys amused themselves with a swing; when the -soldiers were exercising they used sometimes to look in at the garden -gate to watch them. The servants were very dismal: they used often to -say how much they had been mistaken in France, and what fine stories -they would tell about it when they got back to Cumberland. - - -FRENCH SCHOOL - -_June 11th._--This day Euphemia and I went for the first time to Madame -Crosnier's. Catherine had gone for some time, and given us a very -strange account of it; but notwithstanding all she had said, it was -far worse than we had expected. There were twelve or fourteen English -girls, three Miss Stephens whom we had formerly seen at Bath, where -they did not look at all nice--they were here very well dressed and -genteel-looking; Miss Fuller, a daughter of General Fuller, who had -a French mamma, a complete little dandy; Miss Fitzgerald, who was a -little plague; Miss Molyneux, a nice little girl who had been left -there; Miss Julia Carpenter, and several others. The nicest were two -Miss Wergs. The eldest was scarcely nine years old. They were sweet, -pretty little girls, with good colours; they were a great contrast to -the French girls beside them. Ellen Werg told me that they had come to -France for their education, and that their papa liked it so much that -they were never going home again; but that they and their mamma hated -it. They used sometimes to cry when they heard the other girls talk of -going home, and say, 'Oh, I wish I was going too!' We used often to -see them at church; their papa was very crabbed-looking. They could -not speak a word of French: they left school about the same time as I -did without knowing a word more than when they came. Their mamma said -it was such a ruinous school they should stay no longer. The French -girls were the dirtiest, rudest set I ever saw. They wore very coarse -dark cotton frocks or black petticoats, dirty blue or red aprons with -pockets, spotted with ink, black worsted stockings, and listen shoes. -Some of them had large bunches of keys hung by their sides, and others -sashes and braces of broad scarlet galloon. One girl--Mademoiselle -Rose--was so dirty, that even Madame Crosnier used to speak to her -about it. She had on an old cotton frock bedaubed with ink, that did -not meet by three or four inches; through the gap one saw a pair of -dirty stays and an old striped worsted petticoat, and on the top of a -frock there was a gauze frill hanging in rags. Her hair was matted with -dirt. Some of the girls had pieces of green glass in their ears for -earrings, black velvet round their head, and gilt combs with the teeth -broken out stuck in their dirty, black, uncombed hair, which hung over -their faces. Their skins were dirty and yellow. The neatest of these -young ladies was a Mademoiselle Sélina--who was conceited-looking, -and Mademoiselle Joséphine. The girls' manners were as elegant as -themselves--they called each other names, and used the most vulgar -words. If in school-time any of them were speaking, and their teacher -reproved them, they answered, 'Vous mentez, Mademoiselle, vous êtes -menteuse, je ne parle pas.' Indeed, if they were doing a thing all -the time they were spoken to, they did not scruple to say they were -not. There were, beside Madame Crosnier, Mademoiselle Allemagne, the -first teacher; Mademoiselle Croissé, the drawing mistress, who also -taught in the schoolroom; and Annette, a kind of half teacher, who -had been one of the _young ladies_. I certainly never saw an English -kitchen-maid dressed in the way she was. A dirty cap without a border, -a black petticoat, a coarse blue gown tucked up like a bed-gown, a very -coarse kind of linen apron, and shoes down at the heels, completed -her dress. She used to go about with a broom sweeping the rooms. The -girls took it by turns to clean the schoolrooms once every week. They -used to tuck up their frocks, sweep the dirt into the _cabinet noir_ -(or closet into which the litters were swept), and then throw a pail -of water on the floor and mop it up. Miss Stephens used to call it -her _malheureuse semaine_. The first morning we went earlier than -usual, school had not begun, and a number of dirty girls were sitting -or rather lying on the floor about the passages, looking like a set -of gypsies. We went upstairs to the _salle de dessin_. Mademoiselle -Croissé taught drawing. She was tall and sallow, and was reckoned -pretty. She had a pair of staring black eyes, and a great deal of long -black hair, which she seemed to admire very much, and used to bring -in pieces of butter in a curl-paper and grease it beside us. She had -done two very pretty drawings, which she kept to show. We sat down to -our drawing. Mademoiselle Croissé drew us an eye for a copy and left -us; we might do it or not, just as we pleased, she never looked near -us. Little Miss Fitzgerald had been learning drawing for a great many -months, but she had only drawn two or three sheets full all the time. -Nearly every day that I was there she did not even get out her paper, -but sat playing, talking, or running out of the room. Mademoiselle -Croissé used sometimes to stand at the window, and if she happened to -see a cat, she had such a dislike to the sight of cats that she was -obliged to send one of the girls from their drawing to drive these -animals away. At other times she was out of the room, or employed -with her own drawing, so that she had hardly time to tell us how our -drawings looked when we had done them. Once when we had just settled to -our drawings (Mademoiselle Croissé absent as usual), in came two of the -maids--'Mademoiselle, il faut sortir, car je vais baller la chambre'; -we were therefore obliged to decamp. The servants were the rudest set I -ever saw. Catherine had a music mistress, Mademoiselle Pascal; but she -begged to have her no longer. One of the pianos would hardly sound, and -they had no additional keys. The mistress did not seem to understand -music very well, and she used to like heavy playing. I do not think -it is any credit in the French masters being cheap; at least, from -the specimens we saw here they got their money very easily. Monsieur -le Chevalier, the writing master, came once or twice a week; he used -to sit down at one end of the table, and never move; he had a curious -squeaking voice. I could never find out what he did except mending -pens, and those were so bad that we were obliged to get Madame Crosnier -to mend them afterwards;-she also gave us the copies: he never saw -what I had written the whole time. Euphemia one day said to one of the -English girls, 'Pray, is that man sitting there, mending pens, called a -writing master?' As for the dancing, it was quite a farce. We heard a -great deal about the _salle de danse_, so we imagined it to be quite a -fine place; but what did this beautiful _salle_ turn out to be, but a -passage leading to the schoolroom, in which we hung up our hats, etc. -There was not a chair in the place. It was to my astonishment that they -could dance at all in such a hole as it was. Monsieur Bréton taught -here. The girls dressed in the same elegant dresses as they generally -wore, and we used often to hear them laughing, crying, and romping. Of -course we did not learn. - - -FRENCH SCHOOL - -_June 11th._--After we had finished drawing, we went downstairs into -the schoolroom. It was a long room; in it there were two tables, which -seemed originally to have been white, but they were now almost black -with ink-stains and dirt; at the top of one of the tables sat Madame -Crosnier, and at the other Mademoiselle Allemagne. We none of us did -anything but write and copy one another's writings; Madame Crosnier -sat reading the newspapers, every now and then looking up and saying -'travaillez,' or 'paix.' The girls stained all their frocks and aprons -with ink; if the rulers were inky they wiped them on their aprons, and -if there were not inkstands enough, they had a very short expedient; -they made an inkstand of the table, by pouring some ink on it into -which they dipped their pens. The paper of the room was torn off, so -that in many places one could see the canvas that covered the walls. -Round the room were hung several maps, which looked as if they had been -nibbled away by mice. The girls jumped over the stools, spirted ink at -one another, tossed about the books, and danced upon the tables;[19] -it did not seem to be in the teachers' power to make them be quiet, -though they sometimes gave them verses to write; but the most common -punishment was either making them kneel down (which the girls seemed -to think good fun), or else sending for the _bonnet de nuit_, which -they put on and laughed. Soon after we had come down, one of the -girls brought in Madame Crosnier's breakfast. She used to have such -a variety; one day fish, another asparagus and oil, another dressed -eggs, another pease, another minced beef, etc., along with this she -had bread, and wine and water; and afterwards she had a cup of coffee -and some more bread, so that she did very well. Soon after Madame -Crosnier had finished her breakfast, they had prayers; the girls knelt -down, while one of them gabbled over a prayer as quick as she could; -the only words we could distinguish were, 'C'est ma faute, c'est ma -faute, c'est ma grande faute, par St. Jean, et St. Paul, et St. Pierre' -(then all the French girls crossed themselves). Madame Crosnier and -Mademoiselle Allemagne very seldom knelt down; they used to be employed -mending pens or correcting exercises. After prayers were finished, -the girls got up and wrote as before. Madame Crosnier's two children -used to come running in, or squealing at the door most of school-time. -The youngest was quite an infant, a miserable-looking little thing, -wrapt up in a woollen cloth, daubed with dirt: the servants used to -sit in the kitchen with it on their knees, and stuff its mouth full of -curd. The other child was liked by some of the girls, but I thought -it a most disagreeable little brat: it had on a dirty, ragged, little -brown pinafore, and its face looked as if it was never washed. At -twelve o'clock Madame Crosnier rang a bell, and then all the girls -left off school, and went into the luncheon-room. The day-scholars -brought their own luncheon, mostly bread and cherries, and capillaire -or sorbet to drink; two little French girls brought a bottle of wine, -or wine and water, which they drank _between_ them. Those that did not -bring their luncheon got the sour French bread and curds, or apples. -Mademoiselle Allemagne or Mademoiselle Croissé helped the luncheon. -The girls used to eat one, and sometimes two, half slices off the flat -loaves a foot in breadth, cut very thick, and sour curd as thick as -the bread; the girls used to take dirty knives out of their pockets -and spread the curd on the bread. The English girls told us that -they got for breakfast, broth or radishes, or apples and bread; for -dinner, _bouilli_ or roast mutton, and instead of pudding, vegetables -dressed with butter; and for supper nearly the same as at luncheon. -After luncheon they used to go into the garden (which was more like -a wilderness) and skip or run, or sit and talk, or else they used -to amuse themselves in the house, in making little baskets, fishes, -crosses, birds, etc., of beads; which was very agreeable work.[20] At -one o'clock the bell rang again, and we employed ourselves much the -same as in the morning, till two o'clock, when school was over. Annette -taught in a different room, principally the little ones. We once looked -in: all the little girls were sitting dawdling and scribbling round -the table up to their elbows in ink; Annette was walking round rapping -the table with a short ruler and saying 'travaillez, travaillez.' The -youngest of her scholars, who was only five years old, used to walk up -and down the passages most of schooltime, and if any of the English -girls spoke to her she used to say, 'Moitié Anglaise, moitié Anglaise.' -She could, however, speak nothing but French. Notwithstanding the -number of English, not one of the French girls could speak a word of -English except Mademoiselle Selina, who used to say 'Good nih, good -morning.'[21] - -We were altogether very much astonished at this _genteel_ and select -school; if I had not seen it, I could not have thought it possible for -the girls to be specimens of French young ladies. I only attended a -month, and though, at first, it was a change, I was not sorry to leave -such a dirty, disagreeable place. Catherine and Euphemia were ill, and -therefore stayed a much shorter time. Madame Crosnier's fête was some -months after. I was told that on her fête she gave a ball and supper, -to which she invited (besides her own friends) all the young ladies -and their parents. One English girl said if she might she would have -no wish to come, for she knew they would get nothing but scraps to eat -and sugar and water to drink.[22] Before the fête it is the custom -to give Madame Crosnier a present. One year they gave her a gown, -another year a carpet, and this year it was to be a clock. Each of the -girls subscribed ten francs or 8s. 4d., and some of the little ones -six francs. They also gave a drawing or some present of their own. At -Christmas they each gave a pound of tea or sugar, or a pair of gloves -or some other thing. - -[Illustration: FRENCH MILLER] - -Before the girls took their _première communion_ (which they take as -soon as they are ten years old) Madame Crosnier instructed them a great -deal on their catechism, etc.; they did not come down or speak to any -of the other girls for a week before. - -Near the stables there were several girls who used to beg from every -person they met; two were quite rude. As we went we used to see people -sitting out of doors getting their breakfasts or dinners. They seemed -to have very curious messes: bread and fruit, broth, and porringers of -preserves into which they dipt their bread, for dinner. On one bench -we generally used to see a number of millers[23] sitting getting their -breakfast, with a very long roll and a knife in their hands, and a -bottle of _vin ordinaire_ beside them. - - -RUDE BOY - -_June 14th._--We had been with Carruthers to the market, and after she -had bought her things, as there were more than she could carry, she -got a boy (of whom there were plenty ready) to carry some of her goods -home for her. When we reached home she paid him the common price, but -to our surprise he refused to take it unless he could get a great deal -more; she then offered him some meat and bread besides the money, but -this he also refused unless he might carry away the plate; and to try -and frighten Carruthers he said he would go and bring the commissaire. -After remaining for a quarter of an hour the porter's wife came in, and -after scolding him for some time she at last obliged him to take the -money (which she said was more than was usually given) and the meat and -go away, which he did, abusing Carruthers all the way. This was one of -the boys who used to point at us on our way to school. - - -TRIP TO PARIS - -_June 15th._--I this day went to Paris with mamma and papa: papa had -been staying there for a few days. We had a very pleasant ride, and -reached the Hôtel du Mont Blanc, Rue de la Paix, where papa had been -before. This street is one of the best in Paris; there are footpaths at -the sides, and the boulevards run along the bottom. We walked along the -boulevards under the rows of trees; at one side there are the Chinese -baths, the outsides of which are curiously ornamented with artificial -rocks and figures holding umbrellas, etc. There seemed to be a great -many people idling about. There was a man with a canary in a kind of -moss bower; the bird was so tame as to sit still without attempting to -fly away. There was another man with a tame hedgehog, which he held -up in his hand to the people; it seemed to be playing tricks. We went -through the Passage des Panoramas, where we bought a bunch of clear -beads for five sous, a sou dearer than at Versailles. We afterwards -went to the Palais Royal, where they asked eight sous a bunch: the -shops in the Palais Royal are very dear and disagreeable. There were -some curious things at the windows. - - -FLOWER MARKET--TIVOLI, ETC. - -_June 16th._--A very fine day. After breakfast we went in a coach to -the flower-market. We walked down it: the women had on large straw -hats. There were rows of flower-pots down each side, the prettiest -collection I ever saw. There were roses, carnations, myrtles, -beautiful campanulas, geraniums, Madagascar periwinkles, etc.: -there were also strawberries, currant, apple and orange trees, all -in pots. The apple-trees were a a very small kind, the branches of -which were covered with fruit; there were likewise little oranges on -the orange-trees. From this we drove to the Church of St. Sulpice. -There is a picture over the altar on which the light falls from the -top. There was a wedding going on in it when we entered. They were a -curious-looking pair that were married. I was not near enough to see -plainly what the priest was doing, but when the ceremony was over he -passed close by us muttering to himself all the way; he was dressed -very finely, but he was the most horrid-looking old man I ever saw; he -reminded us of the Inquisition and everything horrible. - -Near the church is the Fontaine de St. Sulpice; it is a very plain -little fountain. From this we went to Notre Dame, where we saw the end -of a christening. After that we went to the Fontaine des Innocents; it -is a large, high fountain, with several lions' heads, which were not -playing when we saw it. From this we drove to Tivoli. In going to it we -passed through the narrowest streets I was ever in. I do not think two -carriages could possibly have passed. They were very dirty and close, -and had such disagreeable smells; I was not sorry to get through them. -We got out at Tivoli, and walked under a kind of trellis-work up to the -house where you pay. Tivoli is not near so nice, or so large as Sydney -Gardens at Bath. There are several winding walks bordered with Austrian -roses, box, etc. There are a great number of swings and roundabouts -of ships, swans, and horses. We saw a man playing at a kind of game; -to a long wooden box was fastened a string with a wooden bird at the -end of it; he threw it so as to fire a pistol, and then Cupid came out -of the top. At one part of the garden there is a steep hill; at the -top is a temple, and near the bottom a sort of grotto; at the top are -kinds of carriages, and whoever wants to ride down gets into one; they -slide in grooves down the hill and under the grotto. I should think -it would be a frightful thing. After we had walked over the garden we -went into a café and got some cakes and wine. We then left Tivoli and -walked up to Montmartre; it is very steep up to it, but when one gets -to the top near some windmills one has a view of the whole of Paris -and the country round it, quite like a panorama. On our way home we -stopped at several shops to buy a cap; but they asked us very dear, and -had nothing particularly nice. At some shops there is written 'English -spoken here,' and on one 'English _spiked_ here.' It requires a great -deal of bargaining to get things for a right price. At some shops there -is written 'prix fixe.' The people in the shops are remarkably plain, -and plainly dressed. - -[Illustration: THE FOUNTAIN WITH THE ANIMALS] - -[Illustration: THE CUPID AT TIVOLI] - -[Illustration: LATONA'S BASIN] - - -SUNDAY - -_June 17th._--No sooner were we out of bed than there came several men -before our windows, and played tunes. One man came into the street -with a fiddle, which he played on, made grimaces, and jumped about as -if he were crazy. He was a most extraordinary-looking creature; he -was dressed like a merry-andrew, with a white wig and a queue on his -head; if one had seen him in England one would have thought he was mad. -While he was capering about, another man came into the street with a -puppet-show; he put a table on the ground, and made first some men -and women, and then a carriage, go round it[24] In the middle of the -day we walked in the gardens of the Tuileries, which were excessively -crowded, and through the square of the Louvre. It is the most beautiful -thing of the kind I ever saw; I think it is a much more magnificent -palace than that of Versailles. It is beautifully carved round every -window and door, and excessively white and clean-looking. I altogether -admired this palace, and the Colonne de la Place Vendôme, the most of -any of the buildings in Paris. In the evening I walked with papa on -the boulevards as far as the Fontaine de Bondy, which was not playing. -It was dark when we came back, and the boulevards were crowded with -people. The cafés were lighted up, and were full of people sitting -taking refreshments. There were stalls like a fair, puppet-shows, and -conjurers. I never saw anything so unlike Sunday.[25] - -[Illustration : FRENCH PUPPET SHOW] - - - -LUXEMBOURG-MAN AND STILTS, ETC. - -_June 18th._--We went to the Palais Royal (on our way we bought a -souvenir). I wanted some little remembrance of France: we went into -several shops in the Palais Royal, and the cheapest thing I could get -there was a little gilt cart and horse, for which the woman asked ten -francs. We, however, got it for eight, which was far too much, as we -got as pretty a one in the Rue de la Paix for half the price; we also -got some silk winders of mother-of-pearl. The shops in the Palais Royal -are very dear and disagreeable: the people seem to make quite a favour -of selling you anything.[26] Near this we got some strawberries and -cream in a café (Véfours). After that we drove to the Luxembourg. We -walked in the gardens, which are _very_ formal, but pretty in their -way; there are a great many flowers and roses growing out of the banks -of grass. There are a few basins of water, and a great number of -statues. We did not see the inside of the palace. As we were returning -we saw the King in his coach a good way before us; he had a great many -attendants with him. In the afternoon we dined at Major Cape's. Most of -the party liked France very much. Just before we went there we saw a -crowd in the street, and after looking a little while we observed a man -dressed up in scarlet _à la_ Henri Quatre, with a feather in his hat, -on horseback. He rode up and down, and seemed to be making a speech. -The people then made a large circle round him, and three little boys -and a girl who were with him, dressed up like merry-andrews, got on -stilts, and marched and danced before him. The man then got off his -horse, and got on stilts; the man and the children were on stilts so as -to make them the same height, so that the least, who did not look above -five or six years old, must have been more than a yard from the ground. -They all took hold of hands, waltzed, _sauteused_, ran under each -other's arms, and danced a fine figure-dance. The man did the worst. -They danced to the beating of a drum; the little one curtsied on his -stilts, and after they had done, the man put him on the horse, and sent -him round to collect money. We stayed very late at Major Cape's; and I -was glad to go to bed when we came in. - - -RETURN TO VERSAILLES - -_June 19th._--This was the last day I was to stay in Paris, for which -I was very sorry, as I liked being in Paris a great deal better than -in Versailles. There are some very amusing things in Paris, though I -do not think it is to be compared to London. We expected Miss Wragge -and brothers and sisters to see the museum, which we had been long -promised. Miss Wragge, Barbara, the two boys, and Caroline came just -after we had finished breakfast; but Catherine and Euphemia were so ill -they could not come. (Catherine was not well when we came to Paris, but -we hoped by this time she would have been better.) After they had come -we bought some gilt gigs, baskets, etc., in a _very_ cheap, _civil_ -shop in the Rue de la Paix, where there were a great many little -ornaments. We also bought some silk shoes at a good shop near. After we -came in, Mr. and Mrs. Fisher called. We did not go to the museum, but -went instead to the Louvre, where we had a longer view of the pictures -than before; I did not like them better this time than when I first -saw them. There were several Quakers in the Louvre; we saw some in -the streets of Paris at different times. As soon as we came back from -the Louvre we returned to Versailles. On our way we saw the Duchesse -d'Angoulême in an open carriage. When we reached the Avenue de Sceaux -we found Catherine _very_ ill, and Euphemia not at all well. - - - -COMMUNION - -_June 20th._--Before breakfast we went to see the girls and boys take -their _première communion_ at Notre Dame. The church was so full we -could hardly get near to see them.[27] The first set of young ladies -that came in were dressed in white muslin frocks trimmed with lace -and satin, white sashes, gloves, shoes, and ridicules, lace and white -satin caps, and lace or muslin veils; the next set were dressed in the -same way with pink sashes; the third set blue; the fourth set green; -and the two next sets white. After that came a school of girls dressed -in buff cotton frocks and common muslin veils, who seemed to be poor -girls: several nuns sat with them. Another set had on thick white -frocks. All the girls sat in a seat by themselves. The boys had bows -of white ribbon on their arms. Madame Crosnier's school was very smart -with white sashes like the others; those of her girls who did not take -their communion were dressed in neat white frocks, scarlet sashes, and -Leghorn bonnets. Madame Crosnier and her teachers were very nicely -dressed. The girls had every advantage that dress could give them; but -we could not help remarking how very different a set of English girls -would look to those with their dingy complexions. They had candles -in their hands, which they lighted and blew out several times during -mass. Some of the candles were very much ornamented with gold paper, -etc.; one had a little gilt basket filled with flowers round it, and -others lyres on them. I thought there was a great chance of the girls -setting fire to each other as they sat close together. While we were in -the church there were two women with a little child beside us, which -squalled and fretted the whole time. It first would have one thing, -and then another. The women managed it excessively stupidly; they -first gave it a cake, then snatched it away from it, then whipped it, -then kissed it; and they looked at each other as much as to say it is -impossible to make it be quiet. The French children are little petted, -disagreeable, spoiled things; they say that it hurts their health to -find fault with them.[28] They are very dirty, and their heads are -covered with a cap of dirt which they call the _Écaille du bon Dieu_, -and it is reckoned a kind of sacrilege to take it off. Even the highest -ranks of people do not comb their children's hair till they are two -years old, that they may be covered with this cap of dirt, which, they -say, prevents them having sore eyes and makes them cut their teeth -easily. Another prejudice that they have is that nursing and tossing -the children about makes them mad; the doctors say that it is only the -dull air of _England_ that requires it:[29] some of them say that it -is that which causes so many mad people in England. The consequence is -that the French babies are dull, heavy, and stupid. We were obliged to -leave the church to go to breakfast, so we missed seeing the girls take -the sacrament, which they take on their tongues and eat whole without -breaking it. After they had done we saw them go home; Madame Crosnier's -school went in a coach. In the evening we went again to Notre Dame, -where one of the priests preached a sermon to the boys and girls that -had taken the sacrament, and told them to prepare for being confirmed -the next morning. After the sermon was finished they walked in -procession round the inside of the church, the girls first and the boys -after, with lighted candles in their hands. Some of the candles were -so much broken that they could hardly hold them upright. One or two of -the girls did not look more than six or seven years old: we supposed -that they had not been taking the communion, but were only walking in -the procession. It was altogether a pretty sight. After they had walked -round the church they all went home. When they receive their _première -communion_ it is customary to give the priest something: this time they -gave a clock. - - -TREE BURNT DOWN - -_June 23rd._--This day is the fête of St. Jean. We were told that in -the evening there was to be a tree burnt down opposite the palace. -Accordingly Miss Wragge, brothers, and some of the servants, went to -see the ceremony. A tree was fixed up round which were tied bundles of -straw and faggots, and a guard stood round it. The son of the governor -of the château came out in great style, attended by several servants, -with a torch in his hand; he set fire to the tree, and the people tried -to pull away the faggots as they were burning. The whole party gave me -a very poor account of it. The servants said they could not think what -made the people make such a fuss about seeing a bit of a tree burnt -down. - - -FÊTE DIEU - -_June 24th._--This was the _Fête Dieu_, a grand fête day in France. -Soldiers and priests were passing all the morning. There was a -procession at eight o'clock, which I did not see. At half-past eleven -we went to the Avenue de St. Cloud, where we were told the procession -would pass. There were a _very_ great number of people, amongst others -our porter's wife, who ran to get near the procession that the priests -might touch her baby. We stood near Madame Crosnier's school; the girls -(except Mademoiselle Rose, who was much as usual) were neatly dressed. -There were soldiers along each side of the avenue. We were amused at -several women who tried to run quickly across before the procession. -After we had waited for a long time the procession at last came:--1st, -three men on horseback; 2nd, a man in a red gown trimmed with fur, who -carried a large red flag--two boys held the strings; 3rd, a man in -purple who held a purple flag--two boys held the strings; 4th, a priest -with a red flag--two priests held the strings; 5th, pioneers and a band -of music; 6th, priests singing; 7th, a number of priests with books and -crosses, and a concierge; 8th, priests with censors full of incense, -and baskets full of flower-leaves;[30] 9th, several priests holding a -crimson velvet canopy, under which was the Bishop of Versailles, an -old man of eighty-four. A number of pages dressed in coats embroidered -with gold, fleurs-de-lys, etc., and a number of officers, closed the -procession. Along each side of the avenue there walked the boys and -girls who had taken their _première communion_, dressed as before. -The girls walked on one side and the boys on the other. One of the -girls was dressed in white silk and a blue and gold mantle, with long -hair over her face and back. We were told that this little girl was -dedicated to the Virgin; she was a very curious-looking figure. Several -nuns walked with the girls. After them, along each side, there walked a -number of priests in very brilliant dresses, gold, red, and green, etc. -Besides these there were priests in different parts of the procession. -Every now and then the procession stopped, and the priests that went -before the bishop turned round and threw incense and flowers, which -looked very pretty. - -After the procession had passed, we went to see the _reposoir_ of the -Lyceum, which we were told was the prettiest. It is a building like -a temple. The doors were shut, but a very civil, gentlemanly-looking -person let us go in. The pillars were hung with wreaths of green, and -there were rows of trees in boxes up the middle, cut like those in -the gardens. The altar was a good deal ornamented: there were golden -candlesticks, artificial flowers, etc., on it. They were putting away -the things while we were there. The person who let us in said it was -customary to give away the flowers; we got two or three, which were -all that were left. Before the _reposoir_ there was grass laid for -the priests to kneel upon; we saw some women picking it up. There was -another _reposoir_ in the Avenue de Berri, and one near us at the end -of the Avenue de Sceaux, which was made slightly up, out of doors. -There were flower-pots on the sides, and a cross of lilies and roses on -the top. The children had dressed up little chapels on tables against -the wall, in the streets, with little figures, vials full of flowers, -coloured paper, etc. As people went by they came to beg 'pour la petite -chapelle.' One girl who came was quite a monster: she had no nose, and -two teeth that stuck out of her mouth like tusks. Out of some of the -windows in the streets were hung pieces of tapestry and old carpets. - - -_June 26th._--Catherine was now extremely ill; indeed, no person -seemed very well. What with the cold, and one thing and another, we -grew more dismal than ever. This day papa told us for our comfort (for -the first time) that as soon as Catherine was able we should all go -home. This piece of intelligence made us all happy for a short time, -as it was what we did not at all expect. I cannot tell what made me -dislike France so very much; one reason I think was that I raised my -expectations too high. I had heard so much of the fine climate, the -excellent fruit, and the lively people, that I was quite disappointed -at the cold weather, the bad fruit,[31] and the dull people. Besides, -I felt so far away from home that I grew quite unhappy. Nothing seemed -agreeable; I was tired of the gardens and the processions. My greatest -amusement was a little rose-tree that died soon after I got it. In the -morning when I got up, the only thing I wished was that the day was -over, and that we had a day less to stay at Versailles. The family that -had lived above us was now gone. Miss Ward and Miss Johnson--two Irish -ladies, with Mab, their French servant--now inhabited that part of -the house. They had come to France on account of being ill. They were -remarkably civil in sending down 'comed-milk,'[32] fruit, or anything -else they thought Catherine might like. - - -BAKER - -_June 28th._--Carruthers saw our bread-baker standing at the street -door talking to some women, with _nothing_ on him but a _small_ apron. -The French do not seem to have _any_ idea what delicacy is. - - -LAVOIR - -_June 29th._--We went to the _lavoir_ which is at the end of the Avenue -de Sceaux. It is covered at both sides, and the water is between. There -are boxes full of straw placed along for the women to kneel on. They -beat the clothes with wooden things of this shape. When we saw it this -time there were twenty women. One - -[Illustration: shape] - -good-natured, civil kind of woman took us to see her wash-house, -where she made lie. She told us a great deal about the _lavoir_. A -porter takes charge of it; the _blanchisseuses_ pay three, and the -_bourgeoises_ four sous each time, and so much for line for drying -their things upon. It closes at seven o'clock. The people go to the -porter and say, 'Place my boxes in such a place for so many,' and -then he arranges them accordingly. I took a sketch of the side of the -_lavoir_; the people seemed very much amused at it. One disagreeable -kind of woman called out, 'Mettez moi en peinture, elle n'est pas -gentille, je suis plus gentille qu'elle,' and then she held up her face -to show us how pretty she was.[33] She told us to draw a woman with a -barrow, and she laughed and said, 'Elle est blanchisseuse de torchons.' - -[Illustration: LAVOIR] - -In France they do the things up _very_ well, but in the washing they -spoil them very much. They put the clothes into some kind of liquid -which brings the colour out, and they beat them almost into holes. A -gown of the servants' was quite spoiled. Our washerwoman had a little -girl with green bead baskets in her ears. - - -DUCHESSE D'ORLÉANS' FUNERAL--MARRIAGE - -_July 2nd._--We went to the Avenue de Paris to see the funeral of -the Duchesse d'Orléans, which was to come from Paris. It was close -weather; one heavy shower came on and obliged us to take shelter under -the trees. There was a person sitting on a stone who told us she was -reduced, and talked[34] a great deal. There were soldiers along both -sides of the avenue as far as the eye could reach. There were a great -many cuirassiers; when the sun shone on their steel armour it glittered -very much; two of their horses got loose and galloped all the way down. -We waited above two hours before the funeral came. First there came -three men on horseback, and after them several other men, then several -shabby post-chaises, and next the hearse, which was covered with black -velvet and silver. After that came guards, pages, people, carriages, -etc. The avenue was _crowded_ with people. - -[Illustration: CUIRASSIER] - -At twelve o'clock we went along with Miss Ward and Miss Johnson[35] to -Notre Dame to see the marriage of Marshal Soult's nephew to the _femme -de chambre_ of the Duchesse d'Angoulême. We sat very near the altar. -The church was excessively full; there were a great many English. -The bride was not at all pretty. She wore a white gauze gown trimmed -with flowers, over a white satin slip, and a veil fastened round her -head with a wreath of white roses. She was little, and had not a good -figure; the waist of her gown was very long and made very high in -front (which most of the French gowns are), which was not improving -to her figure. Marshal Soult was a vulgar-looking man, with a cross, -disagreeable countenance. His nephew was not ill-looking. There were -three bridesmaids, who looked old enough to be the bride's mother; they -were little and fat, and queerly dressed. The marriage ceremony was -chiefly done by the priest; he read and prayed by himself, and seemed -to have nothing to do with them. At last they each held a lighted -candle; the priest read some prayers to them; and one of the little -boys brought them a silver castle and a silver plate to kiss. Marshal -Soult seemed to look at it with great contempt. During one part of the -ceremony a curtain was held over them. While the ceremony was going on -we saw the priest do something that appeared very irreverent. After he -had been praying on the steps of the altar, no sooner had he risen than -he spit on them: we afterwards saw him dancing across the vestry. After -the ceremony there was a collection of money. Miss Ward told us only to -give a sous or two; we observed the bridegroom thought he had given too -much, as he took out of the plate what he had at first given, and put -in a smaller sum. - -After we returned from the church there was a great deal of rain, -thunder and lightning. - - -PALACE ROOMS--TRIANONS - -_July 3rd._--A very hot day. We went along with uncle Lancaster to see -the inside of the palace. The first part we were shown into was the -chapel. It is extremely beautiful and magnificent. We looked at it over -the railing, which is marble and gold; the ceiling is painted, and -the organ (though silver) is very light and pretty. We next entered -the Salon d'Hercule. It is 64 feet long and 54 broad. It is entirely -composed of beautiful marble; there is a great deal of painting and -gold about the ceiling. The Salle de l'Attendance, Salle de Vénus, -Salle de Diane, Salle de Mars, Salle de Mercure, etc., are all much -alike, decorated with painting, gold, and marble. After passing through -these splendid apartments several other large rooms appeared quite -small. The King's library is not fine, nor the bedrooms of the King -and Queen. There are some very curious glass closets in which one sees -oneself reflected at the top, the bottom, and all sides, apparently -without end. The Œil de Bœuf is a long room, but not very splendid. In -it is a picture of Louis XIV. surrounded by his family; at the end is -a round window like an ox's eye. There is a very plain dining-room, -white, with small paintings, which, though _nothing_ like the other -rooms, I liked very much; it was quite a relief to my eyes after so -much splendour. The Salle de la Guerre is a good deal painted and gilt; -there are some very good imitations of bronze. From this you enter the -Grande Galerie, which is 222 feet long, 32 broad, and 40 high. There -are seventeen large windows, and as many mirrors opposite to them. -These are separated by pillars of marble. On the ceiling is painted, in -nine large pictures and eighteen small ones, the history of Louis XIV. -From the windows of this gallery you have a good view of the gardens. -When we were there they were repairing part of it. We passed from this -to the Salon de la Paix and several other apartments. The Salle de -l'Opéra is very large, and I dare say when it is lighted up it would -look very fine; but I thought it far the least pretty of any of the -rooms; it looked gone to ruin. The staircase in the palace is marble. -The only piece of furniture in the whole palace is a small clock. I -don't think I ever saw anything so unlike the residence of a king: -there appears to be nothing but gold, marble, glass, and paintings. A -man shows the rooms, to whom you give something; both times I was there -it was full of people. - -We went through the gardens to the Grand Trianon. The rooms are all -on one floor. They look very different to the rooms of the other -palace, but amusing in their way. We waited in a hall for the person -to conduct us through the other apartments. In one of the rooms there -is a beautiful inlaid table, round which are represented the signs of -the zodiac; it was made by a pupil of Sicard who was deaf and dumb. -The beds have plumes of white feathers at the top; they reminded us -of hearses. Some of the chairs are very pretty tapestry worked in -lilies, roses, and birds. There are also several tapestry pictures. -There is a long gallery between the windows, in which there are a great -many models of ships. There are also several statues and some curious -little agate ornaments in it. In one room there is a beautiful green -malachite-of-copper basin, and slabs of the same, given by the Emperor -of Russia to Maria Louisa; the man who showed us the rooms did not seem -to like to speak about it. In the same room there were some common, -vulgar tongs, such as one would not see in a kitchen. There were gold -arrows on the chimney-piece for lights, and very pretty lustres. I -think the palace is a great deal more _amusing_ than the other. After -we had been through the rooms we got some cider and cakes at the place -where we left our umbrellas. We did not see the gardens, which are said -to be pretty. - -When we were rested we went to the Petit Trianon. There is nothing -at all to see in the rooms; it is like any small private house. The -Queen's bed is gold muslin, and the walls of the room are covered -with blue silk. The gardens are remarkably pretty; they are made -in imitation of English gardens, designed by the unfortunate Marie -Antoinette, and have none of the stiffness and formality of the other -French gardens. At one part of the garden there is the figure of a -Chinese holding an umbrella; it ought all to turn round like a swing. -Near that is a small theatre, or rather music-room. There are little -streams in different parts of the gardens, an artificial river, and -a pond. After you cross a bridge with rocks at the sides, you enter -a dark grotto, from which you go out by a staircase. There is a -music-room and a temple and a tower; the man _told_ us that the late -Queen used to get on the top of the tower and sing. The pond scenery -makes quite a pretty landscape; several willows overhang it, and three -or four swans were swimming in it; at one side there is a farm-house, a -dairy, and a mill. We were told that the Queen used sometimes to dress -herself up like an English farmer's wife, and call herself Mrs. Browne; -she used to stay at the farm, and her attendants used to dress up as -her servants. - -We returned home very much tired with the heat; in the evening there -was rain, thunder and lightning. - - -MADAME VERNIER - -_July 6th._--As our house was very cold, and the stone floors were -thought to be bad for Catherine, we took a house in the Rue Reservoir, -which we this day went to; before we went, however, we had quite a -battle with Madame Vernier. We warned her a fortnight before that we -were going to quit the house; but it was at five in the afternoon, -and she said we ought to have given her warning before twelve; she -therefore charged us for another month. As mamma knew this was -an imposition she was determined not to pay it. She sent for the -proprietor of the house (who was very civil), and also for Madame -Vernier. The proprietor talked to her a long time, but she would -take no less; he then wanted Miss Wragge to go with her to the _juge -de paix_, which of course she did not do. Madame Vernier had been a -camp-follower: she was a great, fat woman with a voice like a man's. We -heard of several tricks that she had played the English; she said that -the French had payed plenty of contributions, and she was determined -that the English should make up for it. Once when some people would -not pay her what she asked for, she went round the house and picked -out every scratch and hole, saying a franc for this, and so much for -that, till she made up the sum she wanted. Another time she charged an -unreasonable price to some people who were dining there (her husband -was a _restaurateur_), and on their refusing to pay it she locked the -gates and threatened to detain their trunks. As the gentleman was very -lame, he was glad to pay what she required and get off, though they -had bargained before for dinner at so much less per head! When mamma -knew what a woman she was she determined not to pay her for the next -month. Accordingly she sent for papa, who was at Paris, and papa and -Dr. Murdoch (who had resided long in France and spoke French perfectly) -went along with Madame Vernier to the _juge de paix_, who said she -was wrong, and in case of her detaining our trunks gave papa the name -of a _huissier_. Madame Vernier told the _juge de paix_ that papa had -attempted to strangle her, to which he replied that she looked more -likely to strangle one of the _garde de corps_. She told him that he -knew nothing at all about it, and came away in a great passion. She -then got a relation of hers who was a lawyer's clerk (or something of -the kind), and she brought him upstairs to convince us. The proprietor -tried to persuade her to take the money; she, however, refused it; but -when she found papa was determined not to give any more they all went -downstairs, and after consulting a little while, she sent up to say she -would take the money. After this contest she was, like a tamed lion, -and was quite civil. We went to our house in the Rue Reservoir, which -we did not find quite so comfortable as we had expected. - -[Illustration: MADAME VERNIER] - - -NEW HOUSE - -_July 7th._--Our new house was nearly opposite the theatre, which on a -Sunday, particularly, was crowded with people; every Sunday evening a -number of drunken people passed our windows; one Sunday we counted six -close together.[36] Our servants went one day to the play, but it was -so dirty that it made them quite sick. Near our house was a priests' -school; we used to hear the boys singing a great part of the day and -sometimes in the night. Behind our house there was a small garden with -very little in it. When mamma went to see the house two of the rooms -were carpeted, and everything was very comfortable. Although Monsieur -Grincourt had several days to prepare it, when we came to our new -house the carpets were taken up, the curtains were taken off some of -the beds, and everything was uncomfortable. The fireplaces were full -of every kind of rubbish. There were not enough plates, glasses, etc. -And we were reduced to many curious expedients. The French are very -dilatory about bringing things. We saw they did not intend to give us -back our carpets, as the next day they sent a frotteur[37] to clean the -floors; however, as we had taken the house with a carpet, we told them -to bring it, and we used to send Nannette to scold every day till at -last we got all we wanted. They also brought quilts for the beds, but -they gave great charges that they were to be taken off at night. We -got two tea-kettles which were a most extraordinary shape. The French -make some little things very nicely, and other common things extremely -awkwardly. There was a bath in the house, and the room adjoining it was -remarkably damp; a great many toad-stools grew in the closet; there -was also an ants' nest below the floor. The porter's wife was _much_ -younger than the one in our other house; her husband lived at Paris; -she had one son of eleven or twelve, a very rude boy. Different people -lived above us, latterly a Mr. and Mrs. Spurrier. Mr. Spurrier was -determined his French servants should do like English servants; if he -succeeded, I think he did more than any person did before him. - - -SUNDAY - -_July 8th._--The lady above stairs played the whole day without ceasing -on the harp; the boys at the priests' school made more noise than usual -in their playground; numbers of people were going to a village fête; a -great many people passed by on their way to the theatre, among whom was -Mademoiselle Croissé; we counted six drunken people; shops were open as -usual, and people going about their work as on any other day. On Sunday -Madame Crosnier's girls spent the day in working and dancing. - - -VILLAGE FÊTE - -_July 9th._--We went in a carriage to see the village fête of -Louvécienne. Little Miss Foaker went with us. It was a fine evening. -Louvécienne, or Lucien, is above four miles from Versailles; it is -very pretty about the village. There were lamps hung across the trees, -and seats placed round on the ground where they danced. Three fiddlers -were stuck up in a kind of orchestra, and they played a very dull tune -extremely badly. I was very much disappointed in the dancing: it was -more like a funeral than a dance. The figure was a quadrille. They -walked it all till they came to the setting, which they danced in their -way, which was almost duller than the walking. All the time they were -dancing their faces were as grave as judges: they behaved as if it was -a lesson they wished to be done with; as soon as the dance was done -they laughed, pulled each other round, and ran off to buy a sweetmeat -at one of the booths; then they came back as grave as possible. One of -the nicest girls was dressed in a white gown, pink apron, green shoes, -and a gold chain; there was one very impudent, disagreeable, vulgar -woman, dressed in blue cotton. Some were in white, and some had on red -petticoats, high caps, gold chains, etc. There were booths, stalls, -whirligigs, roundabouts, etc., like an English fair. We saw an old man -and woman of sixty or seventy riding in a roundabout. At the other end, -near some trees, there was a party of ladies and gentlemen; they danced -much like the peasants, in some respects worse--one or two of them, -however, danced tolerably well. This party had rather better music, but -very dull. As we went away they were beginning to light the lamps. It -looked very pretty to see the people under the trees, but the dancing -nearly put one to sleep, and the music was like a funeral dirge. They -say that the French like dancing better than anything, and we heard it -very much admired. For my part, I think it is neither graceful, nor -pretty, nor merry. - -[Illustration: VILLAGE FÊTE] - - -MUSEUM - -_Tuesday, July 10th._--We went up to Paris at nine o'clock to see the -museum; it was a fine morning, but rather cold. It is a very pretty -drive; the country is beautiful about the Seine. There were a great -many bluebottles and scarlet poppies in the corn, more than I ever saw -in England; the fields looked like a sheet of blue and red. In Paris -they sell pretty wreaths of bluebottles. We met a cart guarded by -eight soldiers, with nothing in it but old chairs and broken tables. -We arrived at Paris at twelve o'clock, and went to two flower-shops, -where were beautiful artificial flowers. The carnations were scented. -They had not many wreaths: the flowers that brides wear are the buds -of orange flowers. We bought several single flowers, jessamine, roses, -camilla,[38] japonica, etc. From this we all went to the cabinet -d'Histoire Naturelle. We remarked the floating baths on the Seine. When -we reached the Jardin des Plantes the museum was not open, so we walked -in the garden till three o'clock, when the doors are opened. There was -quite a crowd of people of all ranks. I think it is wonderful that the -things are not hurt, as the people press close to the glasses. We went -to the upper gallery first, that we might have more time to examine -it. Several rooms open one into the other. There were soldiers with -swords in their hands, walking up and down. We had not time to look at -everything; we only skimmed over the things. The first rooms contain -above two hundred monkeys; we scarcely looked at them at all. In this -museum there seems to be every kind of creature. There is a great -quantity of bats of all sizes; a rat with a young one on its back; -some very small mice, marmottes, opossums, armadillos, lions, tigers, -panthers, etc.; a horse; most beautiful little deer, some very small; -a chevrotin; cats and dogs. These were all in _glass cases_ round the -room. In the middle of the room there were two enormous elephants, a -rhinoceros, etc., a hippopotamus, which is a frightful-looking creature -with an immense mouth. On the top of the cases there is a morse. In -the middle of the next room there is a whale, a wild ox, a buffalo, -and a cameleopard which almost touched the top of the room. There was -the skin of a snake, like a trunk of a tree, near the top of the room. -The animals in the middle of the room were not in cases. There was a -great variety of springboks, sjrisboks, etc., in this room, and also -porcupines, foxes, and a variety of other animals. - -The most beautiful and amusing room was that in which the birds were. -There were a great many owls; pink spoonbills, scarlet flamingoes, -toucans, parrots of every colour, very pretty kingfishers, penguins, -cassowarys, peacocks and hens; there was one petrified ibis. The most -beautiful were the humming-birds; their colours were quite dazzling: -some were very small, and others larger. There was one beautiful -forked-tailed humming-bird: its throat was of the most brilliant green, -and its breast amethyst purple; the rest of its body was a shining -black. The topaz humming-bird is also very pretty; it has a yellow -breast and a red topping. The red-throated humming-bird is also pretty, -but not so brilliant as my favourite fork-tail. One of the larger -humming-birds is all bright black, like velvet, except the neck, which -is the colour of an emerald. No colours could express the brightness -of their plumage. There were several nests which were whitish. In the -same case with the humming-birds there were some scarlet creepers, -very bright and pretty, and one or two blue creepers which were like -precious stones. We examined this case longer than any other. - -There was a glass case up the middle of the room in which were -lobsters, corals, shells, sponges, etc. In one part all the insects -were arranged. The butterflies were the most beautiful things I ever -saw. There was one very large blue one that dazzled my eyes to look -at; another black and bluish lilac; and the Amboyna butterfly, an -immense green and black one, with most brilliant colours and shining -like velvet. There were several small ones striped yellow and black; -one very beautiful small scarlet and purple one; several very large -greyish butterflies or moths which had small clear spots in their -wings like glass; there were two or three smallish butterflies marked -with every colour like marble. The large butterflies were excessively -beautiful. There were several English ones beside them that looked -quite dull and ugly. There were a great many large moths; one grey and -a great deal marked was even bigger than the green butterfly; there was -another beautiful large grey moth with purple eyes in its under wings. -Besides the butterflies there were several other insects: dragon-flies, -the colours of which were quite gone; enormous spiders; a great -variety of bees; an ant lion at the bottom of a small pit; very large -caterpillars; and a great many other insects. - -We then went to the lower gallery, which is not so amusing; but there -are some curious fishes, a crocodile, very pretty marbles, a large -piece of gold ore, and a great variety of stones, etc. Instead of real -precious stones there were only imitations in glass, which looked very -shabby. I was very sorry to leave the museum; it was the most amusing -and beautiful thing in France. It closes at five o'clock. After we had -left it we returned to Versailles. - - -DUCHESSE DE BERRI--DUCHESSE D'ANGOULÊME - -_July 15th._--Hearing a great deal of noise amongst the boys in the -priests' school, we enquired what was the matter, and were told that it -was the Duchesse d'Angoulême and the Duchesse de Berri come to visit -the priests' school. We went out to see them, and after waiting a very -long time for them, they at last came out, got into an open carriage, -and drove away very quickly. There were a lady and a gentleman in the -carriage with them, and several soldiers on horseback. There were a -great many priests and boys looking out of the windows. Neither the -Duchesse d'Angoulême nor the Duchesse de Berri are pretty: the Duchesse -de Berri has very red eyes. Before this we had heard of the death of -Buonaparte. A man used to go about the streets with a bundle of papers, -crying, 'Voici les dernières paroles, et la confession importante que -faisoit Napoléon Buonaparte avant de mourir.' We were told that this -was a famous spy. It was hot weather for two or three days, and every -person watered before their doors. - - -ENGLISH ROBBERS - -_July 17th._--This evening we had just returned from walking in the -gardens when we were told by the servants that three English robbers -had been just then taken up. There were two men and a woman, who had -robbed some English at an hotel in Paris of a great deal of money, -and gone off with it; they were, however, all stopped and taken up -at Versailles. We heard of another Englishman that had swindled. An -English lady told us that at Boulogne there were quantities of English -who came over in debt, and that a prison there was so full of English -that it was called the British Hotel. - - -HAYFIELD--MUSIC--CHILD - -_July 18th._--This (and several other) evenings we walked to the -hayfield near the Trianons. There were a great many grasshoppers and -brown butterflies (meadow arguses) flying out of the haycocks. We sat -down on the hay, and Miss Wragge got a wisp of hay round her leg, which -she took for a snake; this amused the people very much. Near here we -used to see some little pensions of poor children going out to walk. -At the gate of the Trianons we saw a little child of about three years -old standing. It came up to us with a straw in its hand, which it held -like a soldier; it then put it to our faces and tickled them. We asked -it where it lived; it said 'là-bas.' Miss Wragge gave it a sou. The -French children have a very forward manner; they come up to strangers -and talk quite at their ease. We returned by the gardens. There was -now a band of music (every Wednesday and Friday) in the King's garden, -or the Tapis-vert. There were a great many flowers out in the King's -garden: many different sorts of columbine, honeysuckle, syringas, and -roses on sticks. The trees in the garden (Hartwell) are not cut like -those in the rest of the garden, but are suffered to grow naturally. -The music was not pretty; the players seemed very much afraid of tiring -themselves, as they rested more than half the time. While the music -played to-day, the Tapis-vert was crowded with people. We observed -one little boy, who did not look more than three or four years old, -with light curly hair and rosy cheeks; he had a kind of little bag -before him, in which were different sweetmeats--dogs, lambs, etc. He -ran to every person and begged them to buy; his little sweetmeats were -a sou apiece. At first we thought it looked very pretty to see the -little fellow selling the things, but we soon discovered that he was -accompanied by a very disagreeable woman, and as the child followed and -plagued every one it was quite unpleasant. As we returned through the -gardens we saw some watering-pots--great, awkward, copper things--which -we drew on our nails. This was a fine day. - -[Illustration: - -1. PROCESSION AT THE PREMIÈRE COMMUNION - -2. AND 3. PROCESSIONS AT THE FÊTE DIEU - -4. _REPOSOIR_ IN THE AVENUE SCEAUX - -5. ONE OF THE CHILDREN'S LITTLE 'PETITES CHAPELLES' - -6. A PASSING SOLDIER IN THE STREET - -7. THE TROUBLESOME BOY IN THE KING'S GARDEN] - - -MONSIEUR SOUPÉ - -_July 20th._--Monsieur Soupé (from whom we got our wine) was the King's -wine-merchant. He told us that there were 500 bottles of wine a day -drunk in the King's house, and that the bills are settled every night; -and that the King breakfasts at twelve o'clock on eggs and tea. He -told us also that he had seen Buonaparte dine, and that he never took -longer than eleven minutes. In the beginning of Louis XVI.'s reign 1300 -bottles a day were drunk. - - -SHEPHERD - -_July 21st._--This evening (being fine) we walked past the Trianons. -We met a shepherd with a flock of Andalusian sheep, and two fine dogs -with pieces of wood hung to their necks. He had a crook in his hand, -and a bag with a bottle in it by his side; one end of his crook was -brass, and at the other there was a kind of little spade. We stopped -to talk with the shepherd. Papa asked him what the dogs' names were; -he answered 'Petit et Beau-Rouge.' The wood was round their necks so -that he might know them. He said that he used the crook to catch the -sheep by their legs. He told us that the use of the spade was to punish -his dogs, and to explain what he meant, he dug up a piece of earth and -threw it at them. Papa asked what was in his bottle. 'Méchant cidre,' -he answered. Papa gave him a franc to fill the bottle. - - -BAL CHAMPÊTRE - -_July 26th._--We drove out in the carriage this afternoon with -Catherine, who was getting better, and who frequently drove out. We -went round by the Trianons; in the forest we saw some pretty roebucks, -which bounded through the wood. We passed a field full of lilac -poppies. In returning we stopped at the Boulevard de St. Antoine, where -there was a _bal champêtre_. There were lamps hung on the trees. The -music was very dull. We saw them dance two quadrilles. One _garde du -corps_ danced in a most extraordinary manner: he jumped and hopped, -and kicked and bounced, as if he had learned off a bear at the North -Pole. His partner, a little girl of ten or eleven years old, danced -very well. One lady in a pink silk bonnet seemed as if she had learned -in the French style, but wanted to dance lighter, for she walked two -or three steps and then jumped up. They all kept bad time, walked and -hopped. The three Miss Williams and their father were there. In the -middle of their dance a heavy shower of rain came on; everybody ran -into a house or went home. We saw the Miss Williams standing under a -tree, like three white graces, half-way home. - - -TOADSTOOLS, ETC. - -_July 28th._--This was an excessively rainy day; we found ten -toadstools in Catherine's room. There were several people dining here; -there were fires in the rooms, which everybody was glad to get near. It -was wet, disagreeable weather. We were all waiting eagerly to go home; -the days seemed like weeks. To make them appear shorter, I made a list -of all the days till the time we were to go home, and I scratched out -one each day. This day was Nannette's fête; she went to a Dutch frow (a -German woman), who gave her a nosegay. - - -BELLE VUE - -_July 29th._--We drove out this evening to Belle Vue. It was a fine -evening. We saw a man standing before his door watering some boxes full -of mushrooms. At Belle Vue we went through a house where we had a very -fine view of Paris, the Seine and St. Cloud. We looked at a vineyard; -there were no grapes on the vines there. We heard that the bad season -had injured them.[39] - - -PRIESTS WITH HOST--CORPSE, ETC. - -_July 30th._--As we were walking out, we saw some priests carrying the -host to a sick person across the street. A boy in red and white walked -first, carrying a lantern on the top of a stick; next went another boy -carrying a cross. After him two men in scarlet holding a little red -canopy over the priest who carried the host. The sick man died next -day. The servants saw the body laid out in the _porte cochère_ with a -vessel of holy water and a ladle beside it; every person that went past -took a ladle full of holy water and sprinkled the corpse with it. - - -VILLE D'AVRY - -_August 4th._--We drove out this evening to Ville d'Avry. This drive -is the prettiest I saw about Versailles; there are woody banks and -paths, more like England. It was late when we reached the village, -but there was a clear, bright moon; and a woody hill with a house on -the top, looked exceedingly pretty in the moonlight. There was also a -house under a woody bank covered with vines; and a man was standing on -a ladder pruning them. This place is beautiful; more like what I had -imagined France. We got out of the carriage to see it plainer. - - -KING AND WATERS - -_August 6th._--We were told this morning that the King and Prince -Leopold were expected at Versailles. Quantities of troops passed our -windows in their way to the Avenue Trianon, where the King was to -review them. There were some La Roche Jacquellines on black horses. -At about twelve o'clock we went (along with Mr. and Mrs. Spurrier) to -Neptune's Bath, near which the King was to pass. The women charged a -franc apiece for our chairs. There were rows of soldiers behind the -trees. There was a great quantity of people around Neptune's Bath; -there seemed to be nearly all Versailles.[40] - -There were several carriages waiting for the King in case it should -rain, etc.; one of them was gold and red, very gaudy-looking. A -carriage came on first before the King. When the King came, one needed -four eyes: to look at the King on one side and round to Neptune's Bath -at the other, for as soon as ever he came the waters began to play -like fairy-work. The water shot out of each vase, Neptune's horses -spouted, and the whole water seemed covered with spouts and cascades. -In the first open carriage was the King, the Duchess d'Angoulême, -Monsieur, and the Duchess de Berri. Prince Leopold did not come. -Several carriages followed with attendants. The King is a _very_ fat, -contented-looking man. As soon as the carriages had passed the waters -stopped. It was an extremely pretty sight. The King went on to the -Trianons and stayed there for a long while. When he returned the waters -played again. They came back with large bunches of flowers in each -carriage. We saw great numbers of the soldiers returning. Although the -waters played for so short a time, some of the pipes burst. It costs -1200 francs every time the great waters play. The _restaurateurs_ make -a great deal of money when they play, as it brings numbers of people -from Paris. About a week before this the _restaurateurs_ caused it to -be put in the newspapers that the great waters were to play; and this -brought a great many people, who found to their disappointment that it -was all false. - -[Illustration: GARDE ROYALE. INFANTERIE CHASSEUR, Ier RÉGIMENT] - - -SÈVRE - -_August 7th._--A very honest man with a _voiture_ was to come for -us from Abbeville, and then we were to go home. We expected him on -Thursday, but to our great joy he came to-day, two days sooner than -was expected. The whole house was in confusion; I was so delighted -that I hardly knew what to do. We set off directly to see the china -manufactory at Sèvre. The day was very fine, and we had a most pleasant -ride. The rooms in which the china was were up a long pair of stairs. -In the first room there was nothing but plain white china: the plates -are a franc apiece. There were beautiful large painted vases, some -with landscapes on them, some purple, and others brown. Very pretty -white baskets of flowers; three little children under lace veils made -of white biscuit china. Curious-shaped salt-cellars; an inkstand the -shape of a boat, etc.; several pictures, one of the King, the Duchesse -d'Angoulême, Sappho, etc.; beautiful cups with humming-birds painted -on them; a set of plates with flowers, jonquils, polyanthuses, etc., -on them; another set with roses, and another with vegetables, with -their names marked in gold; Bacchus and Ceres in a car drawn by bulls -ornamented with wreaths of gold flowers--the figures are white; a -set of plates with Eastern pictures on them, and another with birds -beautifully painted. There are several very large vases: one with a -purple ground that cost 27,000 francs. There is a large china table on -which Minerva is represented presenting the Louvre and other galleries -to France. Another table, on which there are different palaces, cost -35,000 francs. There were also some very pretty white ornaments, with -cones on the top and baskets of grapes about them. On one plate there -is a view of Windsor, and on another General ---- drowning in a river -in Egypt. - -[Illustration: - -1. THE SHEPHERD OF THE ANDALUSIAN SHEEP - -2. PRIESTS CARRYING THE HOST TO SICK PEOPLE - -3. DANCING UPON STILTS - -4. BEGGAR WOMAN IN A BOWER OF DEAD LEAVES - -5. THE VIRGIN IN THE CHURCH OF ST. REMIS] - -The man told us that china was much cheaper than formerly. There was -a transparency in the window; and some round pieces of glass on which -were feathers, flowers, sea-weeds, etc., made in the shape of birds. -From Sèvres we drove to St. Cloud. We could not go in front of the -palace because the King was there. I did not think it pretty; there -were a number of stalls and shops near it which did not look well. -There were a great many guards. We returned home by Ville Daure, a very -pretty drive. As soon as we got home the whole house was in a bustle, -as we were to set off next morning. We had shoes to buy, calls to make, -bills to pay, clothes to get from the washerwoman's, masters to pay, -gowns to get from Mademoiselle Bouillet, and things to pack up. In the -midst of all this bustle, Nannette, who had gone up to Paris, had not -returned when she promised, so we left Versailles without her knowing -it. We tasted some green almonds at dessert, which were tasteless and -insipid. The servants packed till two o'clock in the morning; they got -the clothes from the wash at twelve at night. All was confusion, but -every person was merry. It was the happiest day we spent in France. I -went to bed with delight, happy to think it was the last night I should -sleep at Versailles. - - -WEDNESDAY - -_August 8th, 1821._--We had a cool but pleasant day to begin our -journey. Miss Wragge did not get her gown from Mademoiselle Bouillet -till we were all in the carriage, and she declared she would not go -without it, and told the man to drive off. At last after _great_ -bustling we set off at eleven o'clock; papa, mamma, Catherine and -Caroline went before in the carriage, the rest of us went in the -_voiture_. I never felt so little regret at leaving a place. I looked -with joy at the houses and people, glad to think I should see them no -more. We sang most part of the way. At a distance we saw the convent of -St. Cyr. We passed the very long, fine aqueduct of Marli, and a small -one further on. About here it was pretty country; there were a good -many vineyards and orchards in corn. We had a view of Mount Calvary; -near which we saw a set of gypsies by the side of the road. We then -saw the Seine running through a pretty valley; and numerous vineyards -continued to St. Germains, about which the country is pretty and well -wooded. We stopped for some time at Poissy while the man rested his -horses. The house was like a public-house, but the mistress was a civil -little woman. There was a cloth on the table on which was some Gruyère -cheese, a loaf of bread and some pears; we took the pears, which were -very good: she charged a franc. She told us that an English lady had -been staying there a month. There was a pretty view out of the window. -We walked along beside the river, and got a nice view from the bridge; -there were a number of washer-women beating their clothes, and the -water was white with soap-suds. After we had left Poissy we saw several -horses carrying corn; their backs being hung with sheaves in a very -curious manner. The corn about here did not look good. There was a good -deal of asparagus; in some places there were alternate rows of corn and -asparagus. The man who drove us sang most of the time, and altered his -voice: he had been in England, and he said that when he came back to -France he could not persuade the people that in England it took only -one man to shoe a horse. He had an English dog with him, which he said -understood English, French, and Spanish. The name of the man was Jean -de Grange. Here the country was not so pretty, as there are no hedges; -the patches of corn and grass looked just like ribbons, particularly on -the side of a hill. We reached Mantes in the evening. After crossing -two bridges we saw a curious old church. The river looked full of soap; -I think the water must be very unwholesome considering the quantity of -soap which goes into it. We went to Hôtel du Grand Cerf. The floor of -the parlour was boarded, and there were two vases full of artificial -flowers; the people of the inn were civil. Two of our beds were in the -parlour, from which they were divided by doors that shut like a closet. - - -_August 9th._--We set off at a quarter to six. There were a few -vineyards, but the country was not pretty as far as Châlons. The banks -of the Seine are quite lovely, and the river looks well here, as there -are several islands in it. We saw a boat full of cattle going across -the river. There are a good many houses and vineyards on the banks. -Further on there were rows of walnut and plum trees by the roadside, -which looked very pretty. The corn looked fine, but very much laid. -There were not any animals, except here and there a skinny cow tethered -by the roadside. We breakfasted at Vernon. The room we were in was very -shabby. In one corner of a room we passed through there was a queer -jug--a boy sitting across a barrel. They brought us in an odd-looking -teapot; the water was smoked, as the tea-kettle had no lid, and the tea -tasted like herbs and water; the milk too was thymy, the butter bad, -and the bread sour. We had been told that in this part of the country -chickens were _fourpence_ a pair; the woman here told us that they were -_three francs_ and a half. It was at Vernon we saw a man sitting at the -door eating a raw artichoke and oil. After leaving Vernon there came on -a heavy shower of rain. We saw several men mowing the corn. When it was -fair, we got out at a cottage to gather some plums; the man shook the -tree, and we picked up those that fell; we gave him half a franc, with -which he seemed satisfied. We walked up a hill where we saw several -butterflies; some with black and yellow striped upper wings, and under -wings the colour of a dead leaf. There were rows of apple and pear -trees; we picked up a few apples and pears which were not ripe; the -apples were like alum and the pears like stone. The country was here -much prettier: it was more like England; we even saw a few flocks of -sheep, but they did not seem to get much: in one place they were eating -the earth. As we were walking up the hill an old woman came to beg; -the driver offered her a card of an inn, which he told her was a Bank -of England note: she did not, however, take it, but turned away. There -were several crucifixes in the villages and at the side of the road. -The women about here had generally short petticoats, and _very_ high -caps. The babies were wrapped up in swaddling-clothes, like mummies. We -stopt at Louviers. The inn was very poor and shabby. The mistress had -on a curious cap with long muslin lappets. While dinner was preparing -we walked through the town. We went into a curious old cathedral, where -were several figures with candles burning before them, and some Virgins -dressed with little veils, artificial flowers, etc. There were a great -many people kneeling down and repeating prayers. We went into a shop -to look for some caps, but they asked a great deal for the commonest, -so we did not buy them. The women here all wore the high caps. There -was one little boy with long flaxen hair, and the lady who was with him -took off his velvet cap to shew us his hair. On our way home we saw -the same man and boys dancing upon stilts that I had seen at Paris: -there was a great crowd round them, and a woman went about collecting -money, saying, 'Encouragez la petite famille.' When we reached the inn -dinner had been ready some time. As soon as we had dined we continued -our journey. We passed Pont Large in going out of the town. The country -was beautiful, and we had another view of the Seine; they were making -hay on one of the islands. Our eyes were quite refreshed by seeing two -or three green fields _hedged_ in, with a few cows feeding in them. -Certainly if any person wished to have a pleasant impression of France -they ought to come this way: it is beyond comparison prettier than the -Calais road; the banks of the Seine are so beautiful. Near Rouen there -is a chalk rock and several caverns with people living in them; and we -had another beautiful view of the river. It was dark when we reached -Rouen. It is an old, ugly town, but there appeared to be some good -shops. We stopped at the Custom-house (there were a number of ships -near it): they did not examine our trunks, but sent a person on to -the inn with us. We went to the Hôtel de Normandie, which was all in -confusion; the father of the people there was _just_ dead: their mother -had been dead two years. When papa and mamma asked what we could have -for dinner, they said anything; after it was ordered, however, they -brought in only very few of the things and said the table d'hôte had -eaten it all: and then they brought in two raw pigeons and asked if we -would like to have them dressed. One of the hotel servants had been at -Brighton, and she said she was very sorry to leave England, and was -going to try to get there again. She spoke English tolerably. - -[Illustration: LOUVIERS WOMAN] - - -_August 10th._--Before breakfast we went to see the Church of St. -Ouen, where there is a beautiful wheel-window over the organ. One of -the churches here is like a coach-house. We set off again at nine. The -streets we passed through were extremely narrow and dirty, and the -town looked very busy, particularly about the shipping and river.[41] -We had a fine view of a hill just out of the town. There were a few -hedges here. We saw a coffin covered with black and white velvet on -some chairs before a door, with several candles burning round it, and -a procession of priests and boys with crucifixes at a distance. As -we were walking up a hill we saw an old beggar woman sitting by the -roadside in a bower of dead leaves: her petticoat was covered with -patches of all colours; she begged of us as we went past. We also saw -two very curious figures with gilt caps and red cloaks. We did not -see _near_ so many beggars this way as we did on the Calais road. We -stopped at Tôtes, where we dined. Before dinner we walked out past a -long building; we asked some women what it was: they told us it was a -corn-market, which belonged to Madame D'Ossonval _seigneur du village_. -We got sugared peas, etc., for dinner. After Tôtes, the country was -pretty: there were hedges like England. A good many of the people -here (especially the old women) wore ugly cotton caps and ribbons and -crosses. We walked up a hill near Dieppe. I almost strained my eyes to -see the sea; it was what I had wished to see for a long time; at last, -when we had reached the top of a hill, we had a view of the sea and of -Dieppe. We went to Taylor's English hotel. Out of the window of the -sitting-room you look upon the ships: it is close to the harbour. This -day we saw none of the curious caps we had heard about. - -[Illustration: OLD WOMAN WITH A COTTON CAP] - - -_August 11th._--After breakfast we went into the market, where we saw -quite as curious figures as we had expected. Some of the caps had -lappets like butterflies' wings, and large bunches of hair turned up -behind. We saw some of the hair hanging at a shop-door: it was coarse -like horse-hair. A number of the people were dressed in black. We saw -three women, like a mother and her daughters, coming in to market -with baskets on their arms. They had on black gowns, aprons, and -handkerchiefs; caps, the lappets of which blew out with the wind and -showed a great bunch of hair; and gold ornaments about their necks. -There was one woman selling fruit who had on a very curious cap: the -frame was made of pasteboard, and the front of it covered with gold, -silver, spangles, tinsel, etc.; round the top there was a long piece of -muslin which hung almost to the ground. The women we saw in the market -had their lappets pinned up. Some of the old women had on cotton caps. -We passed several shops (in our way to the market) full of little ivory -ships and figures beautifully cut. We walked up to the castle, from -which we saw the whole of the town. We afterwards went on the cliffs -on the outside of the castle, from which we had a view of the sea with -several boats on it. A woman came and spoke to us about a house which -she had to let; she spoke very bad French: she called _cinquante_ -'_shinquante_.' I could hardly understand the Dieppe people; they spoke -so much through their noses.[42] We wanted to buy a cap and a pair -of sabots. We went into two or three shops before we could get a cap -to our mind; we at last got a leno cap and an under cap to wear with -it, such as the women in black wore, which was the most common kind. -They told us that a gilt cap when new cost 20 francs. Our sabots cost -sixpence: the old woman thought we intended to wear them, and said we -ought to have a nicer kind. We asked several people the way to the -Church of St. Remi: the people of Dieppe seemed to have a disagreeable -manner. The Church of St. Remi is not beautiful. In one of the little -chapels there was a small figure of the Virgin Mary with a child in -her arms; her petticoats were painted scarlet, and she had on a lace -veil, a crown, and a bunch of flowers in her hand. We went to see the -Church of St. Jacques. There is a very pretty purple wheel-window over -the organ; and in a kind of recess in the wall there were a great many -figures holding a sheet covered with real flowers: before which there -were twenty-nine candles burning; several people came and stuck in a -candle. We looked into several of the little chapels: in one there was -a virgin, in another a ship, in another some filigree work in frames. -We dined at the table d'hôte. There were five English gentlemen. We -could not sail this evening, as the wind blew into the harbour; so -we went to buy pears to take in the ship next day. While we were -buying the pears we observed a number of children standing about and -looking at the fruit. Papa bought some currants and held them out to -the children, upon which they all ran away; papa and the woman told -them that the currants were for them, but they cried and seemed quite -stupid. At last one boy rather bigger than the rest took courage and -said to the others, 'Comme vous êtes bêtes'; and they all began to -eat, except one little child who screamed and tried to get away, and a -little girl who ran home. We were all anxious to go next day. - -[Illustration: FRUIT-WOMAN WITH GILT CAP] - - -_August 12th._--We walked on the pier. There were a number of men -working at the ships; and a great many people were walking about. The -women had on full petticoats, coloured jackets, red aprons, queer -caps, gold chains, long earrings, and large buckles. The children -had high caps, and very full petticoats, so that when their backs -were turned I took them for dwarfs. Even some of the babies had old -women's caps and earrings.[43] Some of the people had very curious -caps trimmed with lace; one had a cap with the crown filled full of -frills. The most extraordinary-looking creatures were the fish-women: -I could hardly tell whether they were men or women. They had on coarse -canvas petticoats, so short that one could see their red garters; blue -jackets, and canvas belts round their waists. They brought in a great -deal of fish this evening on their backs, which they threw down in the -streets. Soon after the Peace an English gentleman brought over twelve -of these Dieppe fish-women to Brighton to see England; they galloped -up and down the streets like wild things, stopping to drink at every -public-house: he kept them for a day or two, and then sent them back. -The sea looked so smooth and pretty we wished to be on it. We saw the -Irish come in. We walked out again in the afternoon beside the chalk -cliffs. There are a number of caves in them; one large one with doors -at the entrance was full of barrels, etc., and in another was a very -deep well. At each side of the pier there is a very large crucifix. -Some men were employed driving in posts, and others in filling holes up -with mud. There were more people to-day at the table d'hôte; amongst -whom was a Frenchman who had a very rough voice; he had just returned -from England from seeing the Coronation. He scraped out the inside of -his roll, and eat a great many French beans and oil. In the evening -we saw a child's funeral passing the window: the coffin was covered -with a white cloth with flowers painted on it. We all got ready to go -down to the ship. Papa had taken the ship for ourselves, as it was so -disagreeable when we came to Calais with so many people. A lady begged -that Miss Reed (her niece), who was sixteen, might go over with us, as -her father was dead, and her mother wanted her home. She therefore went -in the same ship with us. - -[Illustration: DIEPPE WOMAN AND CHILDREN] - -[Illustration: DIEPPE MARKET-WOMAN] - - -SEA - -_August 12th, 1821._--We embarked at eight o'clock on board the -_Wellington_, Captain Cheeseman: we got down to the ship by a ladder. -The moon shone beautifully on the sea. The _commissaire_ came after -we were on board; he asked William how he liked France. William said, -'Je déteste la France,' and Stewart added, 'Et je déteste la France -aussi.' We went to bed in the cabin, which was very nicely furnished; -but the beds were small and uncomfortable. Soon after we felt the ship -moving out of the harbour, and I thought with pleasure that I should -awake far from France. Mamma and Catherine, who slept in another room, -were pretty well; all the rest of us, except Euphemia, were very sick. -The light went out, and papa was obliged to awake the steward, who was -quite tipsy. The captain slept on the sofa. The steward went every now -and then to a bottle, and drank out of it. - - -_August 13th._--I awoke very sick. At ten minutes to six Euphemia went -upstairs to see England. After we had had some tea I went on deck, -where I lay down, very glad to leave the close, hot cabin. Euphemia was -a very useful little person; she went up and down, and got us all we -wanted. William and Stewart sang 'Merrily every bosom boundeth, merrily -oh, merrily oh.' I raised myself up to see England; the sight of the -white cliffs quite refreshed me. A boat came out at eight o'clock in -the evening; it was very rainy, but we soon got on shore. We went to -the Old Ship Inn; the beds were _very_ comfortable. - - -ENGLAND - -_August 14th._[44]--This morning all our bones ached after being at -sea, and everything seemed topsy-turvy. It rained so hard that we could -not go out. The rooms looked very comfortable, and in the drawing-room -there was a pretty clock, and fruit under glasses. There were two -neat, civil chambermaids, who looked nicer than some of the French -ladies. Our things went to the Custom House; they examined and opened -out everything. We had to pay for all our books and drawings, and a -smelling-bottle; and for two pipes which only cost twopence a-piece we -paid eighteenpence, through a mistake of the servants about the price. - - -ARUNDEL - -_August 15th._--Before we set out for Mrs. Howard's[45] at Arundel we -went to look at the Pavilion. I did not much admire it; it looks like -some Chinese thing. We asked a man if we could go in front of it, but -he answered very rudely that we could not. It was delightful weather -when we set off. It so happened that both when we left and when we -returned to England it was fine weather, and very cold while we were -in France. I did not think the country about Brighton so very ugly as -I had heard it was. We got on the first stage very quickly. We were -particularly struck with the neatness of the cottages; most of them -were covered with roses or vines, and the grapes were much more forward -than they were in France. Everybody looked so genteel and nice, and the -children so pretty. There is a steep hill going into Arundel, and one -has a very fine view of the castle. Before Mrs. Howard's house there -is a small terrace full of flowers; there were geraniums, and large -myrtles growing out of doors, though in France they are obliged to take -the laurels into the house in winter. - - -OWLS - -_August 16th._--It was _very_ hot to-day. In the evening we went to see -the owls at the castle. There is a great deal of fine ivy about the -keep. There are altogether seven owls. One they call 'Lord Thurlow,' -another 'Lord Ellenborough,' and two others 'barons of the Exchequer'; -they crack their bills very badly. One that had come from Hudson's Bay -could mew, bark, and make various noises. We afterwards went along a -new walk they were making, and then through a field in which were some -deer. - - -_August 18th._--We were surprised to observe this morning that the sun -was a bluish silver colour, more like the moon; we afterwards saw it -was noticed in the newspaper. We went to see the dresses of Mr. Wyndham -(the Catholic priest), who lived next door; he was a very civil old -man, and used to bring us in apricots and gooseberries. His dresses -were very splendid-purple, red, green, gold, etc. We saw the chapel; -there were artificial flowers, gold candlesticks, etc., on the altar. -As we were walking on the terrace we saw the Duke and Duchess of -Clarence, the Duchess of Kent, and the Princess Fedor, the Duchess of -Kent's daughter. We saw them afterwards in a carriage. I never saw any -place with such swarms of children as Arundel; but I thought them very -pretty after what I had lately seen. The weather continued oppressively -hot. - - -CORONATION - -_August 24th._--We set off five minutes before seven. It was very -foggy. There is a pretty hill and a good deal of wood going out of -Arundel. After the fog cleared away it was _excessively_ hot; every -person looked half roasted. There were a number of pretty cottages; -most of which, and even some of the sheds, were covered with vines, -roses, and jessamines; there were also many remarkably fine hollyoaks -before the doors. Every person looked clean and neat; there seemed to -be no poverty: we did not meet with a single beggar. It was delightful -to see the green fields full of sheep and cows, all looking so happy. -There were several boats full of ladies on the Thames. We saw London -some time before we were in it; it only appeared like a great deal of -smoke. We scarcely saw any soldiers in London--very different to Paris! -We arrived at the New Hummums, Russell Street, at half-past four. In -the evening we went to Drury Lane and saw the Coronation. The first -play was very ugly. The first scene of the coronation was a distant -view of Westminster Abbey. There were a number of soldiers and people -painted at a distance. The procession was very long and beautiful. -The herb-women walked first, strewing the way with flowers; they were -dressed in white, and pink roses on their heads, and the first had -on a scarlet mantle. The king had on a crimson velvet robe with an -immense long train covered with gold stars, and borne by seven pages. -The second scene was the inside of Westminster Abbey: the ceiling was -covered with scarlet drapery; there were a great many chandeliers, and -one could not imagine anything more magnificent. There were painted -people in the galleries, and real people at one end. There was a great -deal of music and a large harmonica. The king went up to the altar, -and they put on him a purple crown. In the third scene there came in a -sailor who sang a curious song about the coronation. The fourth scene -was the banquet. There were gold plates and such a number of lights -that they made my eyes quite sore. The champion came in on horseback -and threw down the glove: two other men on horseback followed him: the -horses reared and plunged: a man in armour made of rings stood on each -side of him. It was altogether beautiful. It was very hot. - - -_August 25th._--Before we set off we went to Covent Garden market, -and saw some beautiful fruit in the shop windows; we had not time -to go through it, but what we saw was not to be compared to the -flower-markets in Paris. We did not see anything here very pretty. It -was _excessively_ hot when we set off. We passed several pretty houses, -and we stopped at Hampstead Heath to see Mr. and Mrs. Spedding.[46] We -dined at Welwin, not a very good inn. There were several nice little -girls dancing along with bundles of corn on their heads. We slept at -Antonbury Hill. It was a nice inn, and the people were civil. - - -_August 26th._--The weather to-day was quite changed: it was cold and -rainy. We dined at Grantham. In one of the towns we passed through -there were some soldiers and a band of music. We slept at Tuxford. It -was a middling inn, and the people were civil. - - -_August 27th._--The weather continued cold and disagreeable. We -breakfasted at Bawtry. We passed Robin Hood's well. About Ferry Bridge -we saw a number of people gathering teasels. We dined at Leeds: it is a -dirty, disagreeable town. Numbers of children ran after the carriage; -sometimes six or seven got up at a time; we had nothing to do but to -watch for them. The country was very pretty. Before Otley there is an -excessively steep hill; we walked down it: a number of children got up -behind the carriage. We slept at Otley. - - -_August 28th._--It was very rainy when we set off. We went along by -a river; where was a pretty wooded bay. There was a great deal of -honeysuckle in the hedges, which smelt very sweet. We breakfasted at -Skipton, where there was a cattle-market; and saw some hills near -Settle; and passed a pretty rocky river before Kirby Lonsdale. We -stayed all night at Kendal, in the same room that we were in before, in -1819. - - -_August 29th._--We set off at seven, happy to think we were near the -end of our journey. No person in the inn was ready. It was a dull -morning. We passed Windermere and breakfasted at Ambleside. After -this we passed some beautiful mountains very much wooded, and Rydal -Water, a pretty little lake, and also Grasmere. As soon as we passed -the boundary wall and entered Cumberland the sun came out and shone -brightly for a little while. We saw the blue mountains peeping up -behind, and the clear mountain streams. We passed Thirlmere, which is -more like a river, and Helvellyn, an ugly mountain. We saw Keswick -Lake; arrived at Keswick by one o'clock, and stayed there till three. -After we had left this, a flock of sheep ran on before the carriage for -above a mile with a man and his dog after them. The sun shone as we -went up Whinlatter; and we saw the end of Bassenthwaite; the sixth lake -we saw to-day. The time seemed very short till we reached Cockermouth, -where we saw the new bridge they were building. At last we arrived in -safety at Tallantire. - - M. B. - - -Friday, _December 21st_, 1821. - - - -Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty at the -Edinburgh University Press - - - -[1] Married Lord Teignmouth, Conservative member for Marylebone, in -1838.--EDITOR. - -[2] The steward was very civil. - -[3] The packet was nearly lost going in; we lost sight of the -lighthouse in the fog, before the light was put up as a signal that -there was water enough. In standing in to discover it again, we got -into shoal water, near the breakers, and had to tack in ten feet of -water, the vessel drawing near eight feet. It was a mere accident our -not striking the ground. - -[4] In after years published a clever children's book, _Aunt Effie's -Nursery Rhymes_ (illustrated), which ran through many editions; also a -volume of sacred poems, _The Dove on the Cross_.--EDITOR. - -[5] We expected we were going for a carriage, so we could not think -where they were taking us; the custom-house looked more like a den of -robbers. - -[6] I awoke this morning very uncomfortable; although I had been very -anxious to go to France, I now felt so far from home that I would have -done anything to get back again. - -[7] The governess. This 'clever and progressive' lady published, -anonymously, in 1821, _The History of William and his Little Scholar, -Joseph, with some account of Joseph's Mother_: sketches of Cumberland -life, based on her experiences with the Brownes, from whose household -the characters were taken.--EDITOR. - -[8] There is a hedge at one side of the Forest. - -[9] At the doors of many of the houses we saw children eating something -out of a porringer and holding long rolls in their hands. - -[10] Here papa left a pocket-handkerchief which was afterwards sent, -but another gentleman got it by mistake. The French are very honest -about stealing. - -[11] They were the _Sœurs de Charité_; dressed in a black cloth jacket -and petticoat, a full apron, and a kind of linen cap. By their side -they carry a rosary, a death's head, and a pair of scissors. - -[12] The room we breakfasted in was painted like a panorama. - -[13] Miss Wragge went to see the Church of Notre Dame which was dressed -up with gold cloth, artificial flowers, etc., round the pillars for the -Duke of Bordeaux's baptism. - -[14] Before breakfast we bought some Leghorn bonnets at Madame Denis, -Rue St. Honoré. - -[15] As several men were looking down at the bear, one dropt a shilling -into the enclosure, and imprudently jumped in to get it, when the black -bear tore him to pieces as soon as he reached the bottom. A man told us -that the bear had never been well since. - -[16] Mamma sent a small gold earring to Paris to be mended, instead of -which they changed it for a brass one. - -[17] We saw part of the mass at Notre Dame; it was much the same as the -other. - -[18] It may be of interest to quote the remarks of the author of _The -Diary of an Invalid_ (Henry Mathews), in 1819: 'The French women must, -I think, yield the palm to their English and Italian neighbours.... It -is a curious fact that in 1814, the English ladies were so possessed -with a rage for imitating even the deficiencies of their French -sisterhood, that they actually had recourse to violent means, even -to the injury of their health, to compress their beautiful bosoms as -flatly as possible, and destroy every vestige of those charms for -which, of all other women, they are perhaps the most indebted to -nature.' _Paris, May_ 28, 1819.--EDITOR. - -[19] While Mademoiselle Allemagne was questioning them on geography, -Miss Fuller stood on the table fiddling with her hand and imitating M. -Bréton. - -[20] When we used to work at beads, the French girls were very fond of -taking our horsehair, etc. If we discovered them they used to call us -every name they could think of, 'Diable,' 'Menteuse,' etc. - -[21] The French girls seemed very ignorant; one of them (Mademoiselle -Josephe) of thirteen or fourteen, on being asked what an active verb -was, replied, 'Un verbe actif c'est un verbe passif.' Another, on being -asked what map the map of Africa was, answered, 'C'est Amérique.' - -[22] A common refreshment in French parties; and a favourite medicine -also (_eau sucrée_). - -[23] The French millers wear very large, curious hats. - -[24] We saw a monkey in the opposite balcony which played a number of -tricks. - -[25] One Sunday, when papa was at Paris, he counted nineteen places of -public amusement open; on another seventeen, besides many for the lower -classes. - -[26] The milliners'shops are very ugly, but there are some very pretty -things in the others, particularly little dolls' chairs, etc., of -mother-of-pearl and gold, and flowers at the bottom. We saw some pretty -clocks; also a snuffer dish and a pair of snuffers covered with flowers -under glass. - -[27] The girls think of their dresses for weeks before. - -[28] They spoil them very much in _some_ things, but they are not near -so _kind_ to them as the English. - -[29] I never felt anything but dull air in _France_; while we were at -Versailles six French people killed themselves. - -[30] The baskets were _very_ pretty: they were ornamented with silk and -muslin. - -[31] The fruit that we tasted in France (except the melons) was very -bad. Their best cherries--_cerises anglaises_--were so hard one was -obliged to chew them, their gooseberries were like blighted ones, and -their pears and plums indifferent. (Grapes were not ripe.) - -[32] A Cumberland name for 'curds.'--EDITOR. - -[33] She happened to be very plain. - -[34] The French are _excessively_ great talkers. If one asks a question -in the street, they tell such roundabout stories one can hardly get -away. They never say they do not know a thing. We one day went in -search of a Mr. Dyas; we enquired of nearly a dozen people the way; -they each told us _different_, and not one _right_. The people in the -house he lived in directed us to a different one. - -[35] There were several French _ladies_ with them, who, they said, gave -the most fashionable parties in Versailles, and were very agreeable. -These ladies were as much like ladies in their _appearance_ as -servants. - -[36] I think this must be a mistake.--W. B. Indeed it is not.--M. B. - -[37] A _frotteur_ is a man that comes to clean the rooms; he fastens a -small brush on to each foot and skates about the room till the boards -or flags are polished. - -[38] An old-fashioned name for camellia.--EDITOR. - -[39] It was a young vineyard; there were plenty of _unripe_ grapes in -the old ones, but spoiled by the weather. - -[40] It rained part of the time, so we were obliged to keep up our -umbrellas. - -[41] There were several pretty white buildings which were -manufactories. - -[42] A number of people were standing round a woman who was quarrelling -with her husband. - -[43] Some of their earrings were tied on. - -[44] Papa would not pay the steward anything as he had been so tipsy -(but he asked poor Miss Reed for five shillings). Papa had also a -battle with the people, who wished to make some additional charge for -landing, which was contrary to his agreement at Dieppe. - -[45] An aunt of Mrs. Browne's.--EDITOR. - -[46] Of Mirehouse, Keswick.--EDITOR. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Diary of a Girl in France in 1821, by -Mary Browne - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DIARY OF GIRL IN FRANCE, 1821 *** - -***** This file should be named 53908-0.txt or 53908-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/9/0/53908/ - -Produced by Madeleine Fournier. 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