| Description | [Diary Transcription]
299
1826
September Friday 1
6
2
§
.. M- [Mariana] and I off at 7 1/2 in a shabby calèche to Rosny — there in 1/2 hour — No difficulty — a servant in
green and scarlet livery shewed us all over the chateau — unpromising exterior — red brick — every comfort within —
M- [Mariana] owns the French understand furnishing better than we — but for its tasteful furniture, this chateau would be a
bad old mass of shabby comfortless rooms — the dining room curtains very pretty — shawl-pattern of etoffe de Juine —
2 most interesting pictures, one the little duc de Bordeaux in bed, and his little sister mounted on a stool [illegible] taking hold of his hand —
the other the duchess in weeds (a large black veil thrown back over her shoulders the little girl with clasped hands
looking up in her face) presenting the infant duc de Bordeaux to the bust of her husband — the library very comfortable —
the musée de l’histoire naturelle very good, and beautifully kept — chiefly birds — the gardens and grounds pierced
in all directions by gravel walks — very pretty — not quite à l’Anglais — but not in the formal French style —
very pretty aviary — handsome lodges from Mantes — no carriage suffered to pass through them except of the duchess’s
friends — drove from there to the chapel — tout près — very pretty small Ionic — very handsome tomb enclosing the
heart of the duc de Berri, erected by the duchess — her own heart to be there hereafter — the tomb surmounted
by a fine statue of the duke’s patron saint, Saint Charles Borromée — joined by 2 arcades to the chapel, a neat
small hospice for some old men and women, and containing a small school for boys and girls — got back at 10 25/60 — breakfast
at 11 — off at 11 55/60 — Mantes a very nice town — the cleanest we have yet seen — fine, and pretty extensive
valley beautiful closed in on every side — vineyards prettier about Mantes than elsewhere — chateaus, villages
towns — steeples — woods beautifully studding the range of hill all along our right — at one
(left) a very pretty country house (a larger and red brick chateau above it) near a pretty village — this house
with nice little parkish grounds would just suit us for the summers, should we wish for a place in the
country — country very pretty hereabouts — river everywhere beautiful — Meulan at 1 1/4 — a tolerable sort of
town — still the river — a little hemp near the river side — the people cutting it — at 1 50/60, wooded island
in the [illegible] river — packet boat towed by 4 horses — everywhere villages — at Triel at 1 55/60 —
12 minutes there changing horses, and greasing our 2 hind wheels — very beautiful just out of Triel —
undulating wooded range of hill (right) beautifully wooded — good chateaus, and villages — beautiful —
[illegible] trees on each side the road — a continued garden of vines, asparagus potatoes (left) — great
deal of a yellow flower like rape or weed? — at 2 20/60 — on the hill (right) more and more chateaus woods,
villages — population — very beautiful — cherry orchards right and left the road — at 2 25/60 passed over the long pont
de Poissi — dry bridge merely to raise the road over the low ground — country beautiful — wood bridge (close to
the dry bridge) over the river, very wide here (3 islands 4 streams) — large preparations as if to build a
stone bridge instead of this wooden one — Poissi large town — long street of shabby houses — not one neat or good one —
at 2 3/4 pass through the gate, and enter the forest of Saint Germaine, — and at 3 5/60 stop at the castle of Saint Germaine —
my aunt waited there in the carriage — M- [Mariana] and I 35 minutes seeing the interior of the castle — the chapel very golden
and splendid — will be quite done next year — fine beautiful view from the leads — Mont Valérien — the towers of Saint
Denis — the forest, etc. — the great hall 140 feet by 40 — they are working hard at the new church where
is deposited the heart of our James 2nd — off from the castle of Saint Germaine at 3 54/60 — beautiful descent
of the hill just immediately from the castle — beautiful along the river and road to Paris — beautiful all around Saint Germaine
very good town — in 10 minutes leave the Paris road on our left — our own road lovely through a fine avenue
300
1826
September
of elms — beautiful road and through an avenue all the way — the pavement does not shake one as in
England any where that we have been observed my aunt and M- [Mariana] — at 4 3/4 beautiful peep down towards Versailles —
entered the gateway and fine avenue of elms, and turned down that to the left at 3 or 4 minutes before 5 — at
the end of it a peep of the palace ‘Oh! dear how beautiful’ said M- [Mariana] — got out at the Hotel de la duchesse
de Berri about 5 — the postboys recommended us there — quite 2nd rate — bad rooms — asked 25 francs for them a night —
quite a cheat — the woman then asked if we would give 15 francs — came went away in a huff — they drove us here to the Hotel de France — nice rooms for my aunt and us, and a nice salon — 12 1/2
francs a night — ordered dinner — had it at 6 1/2 (Just before sitting down used the pot found my
cousin had been long and much come could not put anything on have sat without all the evening and all my things
are and must be beastly) — from 7 1/2 to now 12 20/60 settled the accounts from leaving Rouen up to night and wrote
from the top of page 297. to here — very fine day — Fahrenheit 68° at 1 at night and 74° about 10 this morning in our hot lodging room at Mantes —
Mantes to Meulan, 2 postes, from 11 55/60 to 1 1/4. changed horses in 7 minutes
changed horses in 7 minutes Meulan to Triel, 1 poste, from 1 22/60 to 1 55/60 changed horses and greased 2 hind wheels in 12 minutes
Triel to Saint Germain-en-laye, 1 1/2 poste, 2 7/60 to 3 5/60 (saw the castle) —
Saint Germaine to Versailles (1 1/2 poste + 1/2 poste distance de faveur) 3 54/60 to 5 1/4
Saturday 2
7 1/2
2
Comfortable bed — M- [Mariana] had got up at 6 — was writing her journal — Put on all clean linen and then repacked my
seat box etc. breakfast at 9 3/4 — M- [Mariana] and I out at 12 25/60 — made for the palace — a man shewing a
brass ticket authorising him to be guide through the gardens etc., offered himself as guide — took him — too soon
to see the palace — not shewn till 11 — went to the library — 7 rooms en suite — about 50,000 volumes — a very small
room appropriated to curiosities — american arms, hatchets, etc. but not deserving the name of museum — thence
to the gardens — 1st the orangery — walked through the vaults — walls 14, and 18 feet thick — very fine statue of
Louis 14 in the orangery du midi — the orange flowers sold for 25,000 francs a year, but this not enough to pay the
cost of the orangery — M- [Mariana] delighted — walked up and down to the different fountains — then to the Ionic temple —
then to the great Trianon — the arrangement of the furniture of the great gallery quite changed since my my aunt and I
were there — nothing down the middle of the room — all stuck close to the sides of it — did not look 1/2 as well
as before — thence to the little Trianon, its theatre, and gardens — these latter to my mind the prettiest things at
Versailles — very pretty little bijou to relieve the eye after all the other formal grandeur — thence to the
palace — several people shewn round at the same time with us by a stately footman — the rooms that were all in
disorder and desolation in 1819, now new done up — ceilings newly painted — the walls covered with pictures,
and magnificent as gilding, paintings, and mirrors could make them — M- [Mariana] thought she had never seen grander before —
Windsor Castle nothing to it — no one’s mind could be large enough without seeing Versailles — 35 minutes in
the palace — 1/4 hour in the theatre — then went to the cathedral church of Saint Louis (clean and handsome) saw the handsome monument erected to the memory of the duc de Berri by the citizens of Versailles, then to the church
of Notre dame (not so handsome but clean — the architecture rather heavy) after having gone to a pastry cooks
and eaten enough for luncheon of good biscuits and pastry — Got home at 4 1/2 — gave our guide 3 francs — he said it was too
little — said I used to give my valet de place in Paris regularly 3 francs a day — but, having forgotten to bargain with the man,
obliged to give him his price, 5 francs — yet would not therefore buy his guide book at all without he would take 3 francs instead of 4/.
[margin text:] Versailles to Sèvres, 1 poste and 1/2 poste distance de faveur from 5 to 5 35/60
Sèvres to Paris 1 1/4 postes, and 1 poste distance de faveur from 5 3/4 to about 6 1/2
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